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  1. - Top - End - #691
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    Default Re: MERC XIX: Toss a Coin to your Goblin

    Astrana's Office

    Sam lets the crew do their work, giving a double-shrug at everything. Once again his weapon vanishes in a poof of light.
    "Well, I'll take you up there once we know it's safe, then." He doesn't think the crew will mind him getting her out of there as long as they know she won't get possessed again.
    Spako Highclaws by Ceika.

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  2. - Top - End - #692
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    Default Re: MERC XIX: Toss a Coin to your Goblin

    [Astrana's Office]

    "We're offering free showers to our guests now? Figured we'd charge for that." Eir inquiries in a jovial tone which seems to be enough for Viitesha to poke her in the ribs with her elbow.

    "Be gentle, dumbass." She hisses.

    "I'm kidding, I'm kidding!" The hobgoblin gestures towards Siana. "She knows I'm kidding."

    "You should at least make sure your jokes are funny then."

    At this point Jaedrick loudly clears his voice. "I was told it's safe it would last for about twenty minutes so I'm afraid you have to remain in there for, uh..." He looks up at the only clock in the room. "I'm gonna say fifteen minutes to be safe." He then gestures around the room. "Meanwhile, we should probably start cleaning up this mess. Looks like a vampire tornado went through here."

    Viitesha starts looking around the room for cleaning equipment but can't find anything at a first glance. "Is that a thing?"

    "Vampire tornadoes?" He stops to shrug. "Why not? Everything else seems to be." Then he continues towards the door with the "private" sign on it.

    Eir steps closer to the circle and Siana. "Are you a 'vampire tornado', miss?" She inquires with a wry smile that can't be felt in her voice even through her mask.
    Last edited by Shadowcaller; 2021-09-05 at 03:12 AM.

  3. - Top - End - #693
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    Default Re: MERC XIX: Toss a Coin to your Goblin

    A Considerably Terribelle Idea

    "No... it's. It's fine," Reina lies, brushing her hair out of her eye and chewing on her lip a little. Should she be reserved? Off-put? Mad? Happy? Flirtatious? Remorseful? No one ever taught her how to deal with awkward meetings with semi-exs from prior 'It's Complicated's.

    "Down the stairs, first door on the left you can talk with our resident ghost expert. As for psionics, well... after you work out something with her, you'll have to check with Kirk, Dena, or Dipsnig. I'm not sure our resources regarding that is. I'm surprised you haven't built up as much a tolerance as I have. We both had it pretty rough for awhile." Reina built up one faster because of racial bonuses built into her magically stunted species. Though maybe talking about it isn't what anyone's looking for right now. Reina points back down the hall towards the stairs further in.

    ... That's it. No other surprises await him. Instead Reina looks down, avoiding his eyes. "It was good to see you again," she says. It's probable she's just being polite. After all, it's not like they caught up. Or even said hi. Asked how they were doing. Yeah, when has a Rein ever actually meant the words they say?
    Quote Originally Posted by Lord Magtok View Post
    Gods, Reinholdt was right, a hundred percent right.
    Spoiler
    Show
    -Nyahahaha~
    Quote Originally Posted by Supagoof View Post
    Tale as old as thread
    And you find yourself dead
    Reinholdt was the Beast
    Quote Originally Posted by Philistine View Post
    Reinholdt had already told the truth once in that post, and therefore was over his annual quota.

  4. - Top - End - #694
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    Default Re: MERC XIX: Toss a Coin to your Goblin

    An Utterly Dreadful Idea

    Kirk, Dena, or Dipsnig. So the goblin boss, the somewhat scary snake lady Fettina was very excited to introduce to him, or the traitor to AMEN. Gee, what a lovely set of options we've got here.

    Actually no, that's not really fair to Kirk, all surviving AMENites are traitors in some form or another, especially if our definition of treason is broad enough to include quitting and joining up with MERC instead. Plus, we backstabbed the organization quite a few times before anyone alive today was even around. We can't go judging people for disloyalty to an Association we ourselves never expressed an ounce of fealty towards. Let's just call Kirk 'Raril but with a cool hat' instead. That's a little bit less petty and mean, right? Maybe a little racist to assume he's going to be just like the only other drow male that we know of, but this is an internal monologue, it's our own thoughts. We can think all the racist thoughts about elves we want; nobody can reach into our head and do anything about it. Well, no one except that one guy trying to kill us, but that's besides the point.

    "Down the stairs, first door on the left," Magtok repeats for clarity, suddenly jolting out of his absent-minded daze. He takes a few steps in that general direction and halts. Wait a moment, he should say something, shouldn't he? Let her know that one clone she knew is safely part of the MagFleet once again, and their memories have been carefully isolated, analyzed, and censored for academic and strategic use? Ask her what she meant about building a psychic resistance? Request that she pass a message along to the bastard cat in HALO so he doesn't have to talk to it himself? Shoot her on sight and report to the MagHegemony that there'll be one less cat to worry about from now on?

    "Should I knock first or just walk right in?" he asks, looking over his shoulder back at Reina, his face burning with the realization of how exceptionally stupid that question is the moment it's too late to take it back. Of course you knock, you dimwit! This is a Nexus organization, people could be curtaining at any given moment, in any given room! You can't just barge in and assume everyone will be fully-clothed and working on official organization business!

    ...Actually wait, hold on. Since when did you care if knocking or pushing open a door would bother someone? Plus, you've met MERC's expert in spooky ghost nonsense before; nobody who spends that much time with rats is getting laid around here. No way, not when there's all these drow, catgirls, medusae, and other weird fantasy races with a sense of hygiene to sleep with instead. No, you're just trying to stall, aren't you, Magtok? You want to talk to the cat for some godsforsaken reason. Disgusting.

    Well now that you've realized your mistake, cut it out before it gets you in trouble, okay? No more hesitation, no more waiting for something bad to happen. We don't have time for this self-sabotaging nonsense now that Prime is on the loose. Head down those stairs, knock twice, and then step through the door.
    Quote Originally Posted by RabbitHoleLost View Post
    Magtok's the best
    "You probably found 'How to Survive a Robot Uprising' in the humor section. Let's just hope that is where it belongs."
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    Unhooded Magtok avvie by urodivoi

  5. - Top - End - #695
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    Default Re: MERC XIX: Toss a Coin to your Goblin

    [Astrana's Office]

    "Alright, knock it off." Olvisin can't be very imposing or authoritative due to her height, but she's doing her best. "It was a mishap during a spirit ritual."
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  6. - Top - End - #696
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    Default Re: MERC XIX: Toss a Coin to your Goblin

    [Astrana's Office]

    Siana doesn't laugh at the hobgoblin's joke at first; there wasn't really anything funny about the situation, was there? Yeah, the place was a disaster area. Yeah, she caused it. The hobgoblin wasn't really doing much more than stating the obvious.

    ...Then again, it was a joke. They could all use a little lightheartedness after the nightmare they'd just gone through.

    So, with that in mind, Siana puts a hand over her mouth and forces a giggle, smiling at the budding comedian. She still didn't think it was funny, but if it helped lighten the dour atmosphere around here, she had an obligation to do so.

    And yet again, Siana's gaze goes around the room. They really should start cleaning, somehow. And she should help. There wasn't really much she could do while confined to the circle, but she was stuck there with a lot of blood and fresh rags. She starts rolling what was left of her clothes around in an attempt to soak up some of the puddles; this outfit was completely ruined anyway, it might as well spend the remainder of its time doing something else useful.

    A thought occurs to her at this point; Astrana had left the room, and therefore neither of them could really regard the other as a threat. Which meant she didn't have to crawl around like a kicked puppy anymore. "Excuse me, miss Olvisin?" She begins. "Can I have my cane back now?" She pauses, then, "I promise I'm not going to stab anyone."

    Another joke. Ha.

    As she works, she also turns her gaze over to Sam. He'd come in while she was still out of it, so he was a totally new element that sort of just popped out of nowhere for her. What was he like, really? Was he going to hate her for being a freaky demon-thing the first time they saw each other? Or maybe he was the kind, understanding type? She hoped it was the latter. He looked like the kind of person she'd want to hang out with if, by some miracle, she did manage to get a license.
    Last edited by Ironsmith; 2021-09-05 at 03:53 PM.

  7. - Top - End - #697
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    Default Re: MERC XIX: Toss a Coin to your Goblin

    A Significantly Appalling Idea

    "You should knock," Reina says. "If you don't hear a reply, presume she's in the middle of a ritual and wait." You don't barge in in the middle of rituals. It's just bad practice.

    "I can show you where it is if you want," The catgirl says, half standing out of her seat. Arrrgh, what is this? She definitely didn't need to do this. It was completely unnecessary. A monkey could follow those instructions. A lobotomized monkey! A brain dead, lobotomized monkey in two wheelchairs chained to a fence wearing a blindfold! Reina absolutely did not have to go with Magtok anywhere for anything. And she definitely didn't want to. That would be even more absurd.

    No, no. She already gave him the goodbye, he would just turn her offer of a catgirl escort down, which would prove that there was nothing to talk about anyways and everything would be good. Yeah, this is just some absurd test to confirm what she already knows and has always known. They were both adults here. Professional adults, just doing their jobs and parting ways.
    Quote Originally Posted by Lord Magtok View Post
    Gods, Reinholdt was right, a hundred percent right.
    Spoiler
    Show
    -Nyahahaha~
    Quote Originally Posted by Supagoof View Post
    Tale as old as thread
    And you find yourself dead
    Reinholdt was the Beast
    Quote Originally Posted by Philistine View Post
    Reinholdt had already told the truth once in that post, and therefore was over his annual quota.

  8. - Top - End - #698
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    Default Re: MERC XIX: Toss a Coin to your Goblin

    A Distressingly Hideous Idea

    "No, it's fine, I can find it, thank you," Magtok answers, uncharacteristically polite as he heads on down. Magtok, no, that was your chance! The thing you were wasting our time being useless and indecisive over! All you had to do was pretend to be a completely worthless nitwit with less than half the processing power of your average Magbot and let Reina lead the way. If you just put your pride aside for a moment, you could've had exactly the stupid dramatic nonsense you craved! C'mon, you know you want to jeopardize the mission for some stupid melodrama, so do it! Go for it! Make everything worse for yourself like you always do!

    "I'll probably be back to bother you in a few minutes about where to find Dena or Kirk, though," he points out, presenting the potential for another awkward conversation in the near future, which should give Reina plenty of time to mentally prepare or go on break or lay a trap or whatever it is cats do in situations like this one. Mostly just sit there and watch him knock on a door, I presume. Knock knock knock, is Jaahlyn there? It's definitely Jaahlyn, right? Yeah, it's gotta be the spooky satyr woman. She's weird and magical and just the sort of oddball to get recruited in a place like this.
    Quote Originally Posted by RabbitHoleLost View Post
    Magtok's the best
    "You probably found 'How to Survive a Robot Uprising' in the humor section. Let's just hope that is where it belongs."
    -Daniel H. Wilson
    Unhooded Magtok avvie by urodivoi

  9. - Top - End - #699
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    Default Re: MERC XIX: Toss a Coin to your Goblin

    A Distressingly Hideous Idea

    Going by Reina's directions there is a door down in the basement level of the base.

    It isn't Jaahlyn's office though. The plaque on the door reading:

    ASTRANA TYRAMERA'S OFFICE
    Occult Consultant

    But hey, she could always have go by different names? She was a spooky goat after all. Could have a lot of reasons to use aliases.
    However, if he does knock twice a voice which distinctively isn't Jaahlyn's calls out. "Come on in. Door's open."

    The office is spooky and the woman sitting by the desk does have horns so Magtok might give himself a pat on the back for getting so close to a right guess. You know he wants to.

    But no, he's never met this red-skinned woman before. She seems to recognize him however, her yellow eyes seemingly doing a double-take as he enters as if not believing what she's seeing. "...ah, how may I help you, Magtok?" A beat and rather than wait for his reaction to his name being mentioned, she continues. "Your reputation does proceed you I'm afraid." Astrana smiles. "Don't worry though, I'm a bit of a fan." The warlock gestures to herself. "Astrana Tyramere, in case you missed that big plaque outside."
    Last edited by Shadowcaller; 2021-09-06 at 03:06 AM.

  10. - Top - End - #700
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    Default Re: MERC XIX: Toss a Coin to your Goblin

    Astrana's Office

    Sam scratches his chin.
    "Well, Alysha always was good at magic. She might have been able to pull off a tornado spell. But. Does anyone want snacks? I can whip up some snacks."
    It seems that Sam is falling back onto what he's good at. But that shouldn't really be surprising given that he's literally the chef around here.
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  11. - Top - End - #701
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    Default Re: MERC XIX: Toss a Coin to your Goblin

    [Astrana's Office]

    "Not before we cleaned up in here. Isn't our motto 'business before pleasure'?" Jaedrick tells Sam as he opens the door leading into the 'private' room and the lights go on inside what seems to be a custodians closet. "Or am I thinking of something else? Anyway, found a mop and a bucket." Which he triumpantly fishes out of the room and presents to the others.

    "You're definitely thinking of something else." Viitesha tells him and turns to walk over to Siana, giving Eir a light shove backwards. "You have to excuse my sister. She's the family clown. You know the type, always have to make everything into a joke."

    Eir smiles and shrugs. "Hey, just trying to cheer people up. Speaking of which..." The hobgoblin turns to Sam. "I do think everyone has earned a snack, yeah? I could have one of those, ah icecreams? The blue one."
    Last edited by Shadowcaller; 2021-09-07 at 05:01 PM.

  12. - Top - End - #702
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    Default Re: MERC XIX: Toss a Coin to your Goblin

    A Shockingly Ghastly Idea

    MERC's ghost expert is a some sort of tiefling or devil lady who's a fan of us. That...can mean a lot of things, many of which aren't ideal. Magtoks have been many things to many people over the years. He's saved the world, involved himself in efforts to conquer it, started businesses, paid off assassins, gotten into internet flame wars, ran massive ad campaigns, killed gods...there's a lot to love or loathe, for good reasons and bad. Still, it's not Jaahlyn and her rat friends, so this is probably a better, safer outcome. Just don't ask why she's a fan, and we won't have to find out how poorly the Magtok that's here now compares to the Magtok in her head.

    "I was told this is where to go for ghost problems, Ms. Tyramere. This particular ghost is...he's a problem. A 'this guy could take over an entire city tomorrow' level problem. Do you have anything that can completely seal off an entire mountain? Just completely prevent a ghost from going anywhere within a mile or two of the MagCave, something cheaper than a giant circle of salt? Or just make my own body possession-proof, if the other options aren't viable? Ideally, I'd like the ghost erased from existence, but from my understanding of it, exorcism is a long and complicated process, one that's hard to complete when a psychic ghost is hypnotizing everyone else in the room with his voice and commanding them all to stab you, so I'd rather stick to preventative measures for now," Magtok says, cutting right to the point with a series of strange questions and mysterious statements.
    Quote Originally Posted by RabbitHoleLost View Post
    Magtok's the best
    "You probably found 'How to Survive a Robot Uprising' in the humor section. Let's just hope that is where it belongs."
    -Daniel H. Wilson
    Unhooded Magtok avvie by urodivoi

  13. - Top - End - #703
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    Default Re: MERC XIX: Toss a Coin to your Goblin

    Quote Originally Posted by Shadowcaller View Post
    [Demands of Snakes]

    The tiefling let's out a small groan as Kirk glances at her and rubs her templates tiredly. "Well, as I've pointed out to you before, fey are not my expertise. In fact, the line between what's a fey and a yokai haven't been thoroughly explored as far as I know. There's still a lot we don't know about spirits and since I've cut myself off from the fourth tower I don't even know if new discoveries have been made in that regard." She shrugs. "I don't mean to discourage you now that you're here but I feel I need to make myself clear. If you had come to the fourth tower with this request you would not have been recommended to seek my advice. I majored in the field of zodiac yokai, or in other words, prominent animal spirits. While it's certainly related to other occult fields I'm afraid I can't offer you the same kind of service that a dedicated feyologist would." She lets out a small sigh. "So to give you a shorter answer to your question, Kirk, I'm grateful for any advice I can get here. Not that what Helios told you is completely new to me."

    Dena can't help but to give Astrana a concerned look as she's saying all of this. "Well..." Her gaze wanders off to Kirk, not that he'd be able to tell. "Our people have a lot of knowledge about the fey, right Kirk? However weak that might sound..." Dena's knowledge about the fey could be condensed down into a single word though, 'DON'T'. That and how to tell them to **** off of course.
    [Demands of Snakes]

    Kirk shrugs casually after they both stop speaking. "It doesn't matter. It's not as though I didn't remember what he said. Do you have a paper?" Provided that, Kirk will jot down a list of Helios's advice. "Just do me a favour. If it comes up, don't give him the acknowledgement that he was useful. People like him will root out whatever leverage they can gain."
    Last edited by Gullara; 2021-09-07 at 11:49 PM.

  14. - Top - End - #704
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    Default Re: MERC XIX: Toss a Coin to your Goblin

    [Demands of Snakes]

    "I make deals with entities for a living, mister Locke. You should know that by now." Astrana remarks with a faint smile. "I'm not going to give him anything."

    Dena looks between them, not saying a word. Just observing that knowing smile on Astrana's lips and the way she spoke. She had seen them interact before, like before they went to free Tina from miss Tellytubby, and she could see a change.

    They were definitely screwing now.

    "Pretty sure we've all given the mega-creep enough already, yeah. So are we good to go then? I'm honestly getting a bit antsy."

    "Right, of course. Just give me a little bit to prepare. I've already set up everything for you so it should only take a couple of minutes."

    A Shockingly Ghastly Idea

    Astrana's eyebrows raise as Magtok explains as soon she puts her hands together in contemplation while leaning back in her chair. "You want my help to stop a ghost that can take over an entire city? I guess I shouldn't have expecting anything less of you." She smiles to herself. "It's... doable though. Both the cave-ward and the possession-proofing." Her smile fades as she starts to stare up at the ceiling thoughtfully. "Less sure about the erasure considering how powerful they seem to be. That would end up costing a fortune too considering all the risks involved."

    Astrana breaks out of her completive state and focuses her gaze on Magtok once more. "But the other things I might be able to do relatively cheap with some assistance. There's a couple of things I need from you first however. Such as access to your cave, including for anyone I decide to bring along. Only trained professionals of course. Secondly, the wards I create won't discriminate. They won't just ward off this ghost but every ghost and spirit. Anything immaterial really. So I need to know if you're okay with that."

  15. - Top - End - #705
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    Default Re: MERC XIX: Toss a Coin to your Goblin

    [Astrana's Office]

    "A snack does sound like it might make this fiasco a little better." Olvisin will take a mop, if one is available, and start helping with the cleanup. "You know how to make goblin food, right? The boss being one of us and all."
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  16. - Top - End - #706
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    Default Re: MERC XIX: Toss a Coin to your Goblin

    Astrana's Office

    Sam nods and trots off.
    He returns some minutes later with a wide tray.
    "Okay, one bunch'a mushroom cream-puffs, ice cream, and one Ichor Liquor slushie." he says, holding the tray which has a bunch of little round puffs made of a particular oddly-sweet mushroom, blue ice cream, (it's salty, but sweet!) and what looks like a very ordinary red snow-cone.
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  17. - Top - End - #707
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    Default Re: MERC XIX: Toss a Coin to your Goblin

    [Astrana's Office]

    ".. It does seem to be helping." Siana smiles, offering Eir a little "go on" gesture. "My family doesn't have any clowns. Maybe that's why everyone's so cranky all the time. (Could you pass me a mop? I'll get started in here.)"

    Then Sam gets back with the snacks. Siana's uncle had worked in a bar long enough for her to know what an Ichor Slushie is, and what it looks like, and that Sam seemed to have gotten it special for her, completely unprompted.

    It wasn't a very big gesture, but it did clear away certain nagging doubts in her head. Sam was going out of his way to be nice to her; that was probably the most overt way he could say "no hard feelings". Which Siana really needed to hear.

    So, if and when Sam gets to her, she's going to give him a nice, big hug. Which, while definitely an affectionate gesture, might not be too comfortable given her current state of near-undress and being covered in blood. "Thank you!"
    Last edited by Ironsmith; 2021-09-12 at 05:34 AM.

  18. - Top - End - #708
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    Default Re: MERC XIX: Toss a Coin to your Goblin

    A Shockingly Ghastly Idea

    Magtok frowns. All ghosts and spirits? He takes a seat on the opposite side of the desk and thinks it over. It seemed like such a simple matter only a few minutes ago, but now that Astrana's actually asking the question, all the potential issues he'd overlooked are staring back at him, wondering how he ever could've been so blind.

    "Needs, is that okay with you? Can we have your ghost stuff moved off-site for a few days?" Magtok asks, looking to the ceiling, addressing what appears to be absolutely no one at all. That's unusual...maybe he has some sort of radio or phone built into his head? Or an invisible friend sneaked into the office behind him? Maybe this ghost problem has him so stressed out he's imagining people who aren't even there? He's lived in the Nexus for a long time, maybe he saw one too many impossible aberrations beyond mortal comprehension and his mind has finally snapped?

    "Needs says it's fine," our cyborg nods, glancing at an extremely poisonous yellow frog sitting on his shoulder, one which definitely wasn't there just a few seconds ago. Is...is the frog Needs? Is he talking to frogs now, and keeping them concealed inside his pockets? "And don't worry, I'm sure we won't have to actually do anything to eliminate the ghost. A bunch of adventurers recently became aware of its existence, so it's really just a matter of time. I just need to keep myself safe and secure until that time has passed," he adds with a casual, dismissive shrug. Magtok Prime might has our name and face and a sinister plot to take over the Nexus, but should that really make him our responsibility? There's so many eager and unqualified cannon fodder vigilantes out there itching for a good fight; would it really be fair to deny them an opportunity to make a name for themselves? Plus it's so much easier to wait for things to blow over, y'know? I mean, what's the worst that could happen?
    Quote Originally Posted by RabbitHoleLost View Post
    Magtok's the best
    "You probably found 'How to Survive a Robot Uprising' in the humor section. Let's just hope that is where it belongs."
    -Daniel H. Wilson
    Unhooded Magtok avvie by urodivoi

  19. - Top - End - #709
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    Default Re: MERC XIX: Toss a Coin to your Goblin

    [Main Hall]

    Fade returns from his job and immideatly heads for the clerks desk who is in charg of contract payment.
    He unloads some jewelry and stuff, and a few trinkets on the desk. Almost all of it is just normal, but a couple of the jewels are psychic crystals which is pretty neat, even if not useful. Also there are two sets of armor and weapon for paladins.

    "Those are the payment for the 'looking for Jo' Contract." he says in his typical voice. "I grab my share later after things are appraised."

    He then heads for the black board looking at other oppotunities to entertain himself.
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    Default Re: MERC XIX: Toss a Coin to your Goblin

    A Shockingly Ghastly Idea

    [Astrana's Office]

    "Then maybe we can trade families? I could do without clowns for a while. Probably a lifetime."

    Eir turns to face them as Sam goes to get the snacks. "Was that a joke, sis? Whose the clown now, eh?"

    Viitesha shakes her head. "Still you, Eir. Still you."

    There's unfortunately only one mop and bucket, but Jaedrick will hand Olivisin them and then start heading out the office, probably around the same time Sam does. "Gonna get more mops, looks like we're gonna need 'em."

    He probably returns before Sam carrying three more mops and another bucket. Making them able to start to clean up the office for real.
    "So we're going to clean up this mess before we start 'eatin. I for one don't find a room full of blood particularly appetizing. Probably unhygenetic too."

    Viitesha crosses her arms over her chest. "So you got snacks and you got mops, but neither of you considered bringing this poor girl some clean clothes while you were at it?" She remarks with a gesture at Siana and then rolls her eyes. "Guess that's up to me then."

    Eir grabs a mop in one hand and a snow-cone in the other as it's now Viitesha's turn to disappear up the stairs. "You ran out of the blue ones, eh?" She remarks before starting to lick it up regardless.

    A Shockingly Ghastly Idea

    Astrana briefly considers putting on the mask of spirit sight to see if she could spot Needs. But then she thinks better of it, he was probably just talking through some technological means, right? No magic involved.

    Then she notices the frog. Oh.

    A familiar or... was that Needs? It was a question she couldn't just put away.
    "Right, right... good." She takes up a notebook and makes a note. "But I'm sorry for asking but, ah, is that Needs? The frog I mean." Astrana gestures at it. "I've heard about him. Needs that is, not the frog." If it was just that. Maybe it was Needs familiar?
    Last edited by Shadowcaller; 2021-09-12 at 08:46 AM.

  21. - Top - End - #711
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    [Astrana's Office]

    "Cut me some slack, I've been dealing with this situation since it started," Olvisin grumbles. "And it's still not really resolved. Once this place is clean we still need to find out what's wrong with Reina. That's... the cat. In the box."
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  22. - Top - End - #712
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    Astrana's Office

    "Ma'am, she's absolutely soaked in blood. She needs a shower before she gets clothes, and she can't shower until the meds wear off. And also that's blood substitute." Sam gently but firmly snatches the (singular) snow-cone to make sure Siana gets it.
    He also allows himself to be hugged despite what it does to his outfit.
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  23. - Top - End - #713
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    [Astrana's Office]

    "I don't think you'd actually want that." Siana explains to Viitesha. "My little brother is at least as bad, and doesn't have the sense of humor to compensate, and my uncle... well, he's a good person, but not necessarily a nice one. Also, he's a werewolf." She sighs. "And my parents are still unaccounted for. I don't know if they made the crossing or not."

    Well, that was depressing.

    Siana perks up a little. "You'd like my big sister, though! She's the coolest. Maybe I'll introduce you sometime." She gives Eir a look straight out of a charity advertisement when she takes the snowcone, but smiles again when Sam brings it to her. And, of course, hugs.

    Which really only leaves the question of whether she'll still eat the snowcone when it's got hobgoblin spit on it.

    Hmm.

    Hmmmmmmm.

    Yes, apparently. Can you blame her? She's hungry.
    Who're you? ...Don't matter.

    Want some rye? 'Course ya do!


    Here's to us.
    Who's like us?
    Damn few,
    and they're aaall dead.


    *gushes unintelligibly over our cat, Sunshine*

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  24. - Top - End - #714
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    A Shockingly Ghastly Idea

    Magtok shakes his head, gently nudging the frog from his shoulder to his left hand where he can safely keep an eye on it, since it appears to have no intention of leaving or vanishing out of existence.

    "If you're already familiar with Needs, you might know that he has some trouble with languages. Too much ancient magic, occult magic, and forbidden lore in his head, it does...things. Sometimes I can figure out what he's trying to say, other times it's wrapped up in riddles or spoken like a recording played in reverse or spoken in twelve ancient dead languages from twelve different worlds. He doesn't do it on purpose, he just has limitations that-" he pauses to lay his right hand on top of the left, interrupting the extremely poisonous frog's attempt to leap away and escape.

    "Long story short, we have a few simple systems to try to get around this, the most basic of which is 'one for yes, two for no,' since that's something he can reliably get right every time, even with his power's wild inconsistencies. For example, he hates fast food, so if I were to say 'Hey Needs, I'm picking up MagDonald's on the way home, can I get you anything?' then he would-" Magtok turns white as a sheet and swears under his breath as a pair of snakes wriggle out from his sleeves, their thick bodies curling around his forearms and smiling broadly at Astrana with toothy grins full of human teeth. The serpents look somewhere between ridiculously goofy and horrifying, that strange uncanny valley where everything is wrong and bad and terrible.

    "You get the idea," the cyborg adds tiredly, recovering rather quickly once he's gotten over the initial shock of having two anomalous reptiles slide out of his robe.
    Quote Originally Posted by RabbitHoleLost View Post
    Magtok's the best
    "You probably found 'How to Survive a Robot Uprising' in the humor section. Let's just hope that is where it belongs."
    -Daniel H. Wilson
    Unhooded Magtok avvie by urodivoi

  25. - Top - End - #715
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    Quote Originally Posted by Shadowcaller View Post
    [Demands of Snakes]

    "I make deals with entities for a living, mister Locke. You should know that by now." Astrana remarks with a faint smile. "I'm not going to give him anything."

    Dena looks between them, not saying a word. Just observing that knowing smile on Astrana's lips and the way she spoke. She had seen them interact before, like before they went to free Tina from miss Tellytubby, and she could see a change.

    They were definitely screwing now.

    "Pretty sure we've all given the mega-creep enough already, yeah. So are we good to go then? I'm honestly getting a bit antsy."

    "Right, of course. Just give me a little bit to prepare. I've already set up everything for you so it should only take a couple of minutes."
    [Demands of Snakes]

    Kirk nods. "Do what you need to do." He stands then and goes over to Dena. He positions himself between her and Astrana and asks in a low voice. "Are you doing okay?" His eyes are searching as he tries to meet hers.

  26. - Top - End - #716
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    [Astrana's Office]

    "A werewolf brother? That's... thematic. But, uh, I hope things work out for you despite..." Viitesha gestures around the room. "All this."

    Then she is about to go and get clothes when Sam talks to her.
    "And what about when she walks to the showers? There's no showers down here so she'd would have to walk through the base. I'm just gonna get some disposal clothing from the medbay really." Viitesha gestures at the stairs before disappearing up them.

    Jaedrick have started to help swabbing the floors clean of blood at this point. "Ignore her, she can have a pretty nasty attitude at times."

    "Yeah, she ain't- hey! My icecone!" The hobgoblin laments as Sam swipes the bloodscream from right under her nose.

    "That's for the vampire lady, Eir. Not sure how you missed the blue one."

    "...whoops."




    Once they're almost done cleaning, and Siana is given some temporary plastic clothes to wear, Astrana returns. Cautiously opening the door to her office. "Everything's alright down here?"

    A Shockingly Ghastly Idea

    The tiefling's eyes widens as the toothed serpents and leans back in her seat, as far away from the creatures as possible.

    After her own recovery of what had just happens, she nods. "...yeah, that's an effective way to say 'no'." Astrana waves dismissively at the abominations. "So do they just stay around or...?" She would rather not have to stare at them while she was working on this.

    "But if Needs is okay with it, that means we got a deal?"

    [Demands of Snakes]

    Kirk better not meet hers, I'm sure he recalls what happened last time he did.
    "All of this is messed up, but I'm fine." Dena claims as Kirk right now has all of her attention.

    Then after what seems to be a moment of consideration she goes on. "...but it's not just messed, it's also that it goes against everything that I've been taught. It's like I'm letting fey mess around with my body and we both know how well that works out. I just feel that I don't have any control over this situation and that makes me freak out." She's talking quietly now as if she's afraid that even Astrana would overhear her.

  27. - Top - End - #717
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    A Shockingly Ghastly Idea

    "They'll usually be gone after a minute, you just have to wait," Magtok answers, as the snakes lunge for one another, swallowing up each other's tails, forming a sort of ouroboros that grows smaller and smaller until both snakes just pop right out of existence. He nods sagely, and then glances expectantly at the frog, who...just continues to be a frog, sitting comfortably in his chrome hand. Dammit.

    "But anyway, yeah, it sounds like we've got a deal. Now, as an added security measure, I was thinking of some sort of anti-psychic defenses, something to further ward my brain against ghostly intrusion or hypnotic suggestion. Reina suggested Dipsnig, Kirk, or maybe Dena for that. Are any of them actually trained in that sort of thing, or-?" There's a split-second where Magtok looks like a deer in the headlights, like he's been caught doing something illegal and inappropriate when he says 'Reina' instead of 'the cat,' but that's probably just Astrana's imagination. It's more likely that Needs said something weird or the frog tried to hop away again or something.
    Quote Originally Posted by RabbitHoleLost View Post
    Magtok's the best
    "You probably found 'How to Survive a Robot Uprising' in the humor section. Let's just hope that is where it belongs."
    -Daniel H. Wilson
    Unhooded Magtok avvie by urodivoi

  28. - Top - End - #718
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    A Shockingly Ghastly Idea

    Astrana doesn't attempt to hide herrelief once the serpents disappear, or her confusion at these suggestions. "Not to my knowledge. But Dipsnig, Kirk or Dipsnig might know who is however. They're supposed to know what everyone does around here at least." She takes up the notes she put down while leaning away from those serpents. "That said, would it be alright if I came over tomorrow by noon? I'm planning to have at least one and at top two persons accompanying me."

  29. - Top - End - #719
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    [Astrana's Office]

    "For a given degree of alright." Olvisin sounds tired and resigned. "No one's dead and we've mostly finished cleaning. But Reina's condition remains a mystery."
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  30. - Top - End - #720
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    Astrana's Office

    Sam gives the hobgoblin a double-shrug. He already fetched a towel for Siana to cover herself with. He doesn't know what she wants of him.

    "All good, Astrana. I'll take my gun back. Let me know if you want anything." His supply of ice cream was taken but he still has a couple of mushroom-puffs if she wants one.
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