MERC XIX: Toss a Coin to your Goblin

[Shadowcaller]

[Astrana's Office]

"I... would have to look that up as I don't have her name in my head right now. But she's married to Vax, the leader of the compound and you can't miss her. She's a diim, they're plant, ah, people." Astrana didn't exactly know them as people but apparently some of them were as opposed to maneaters.

[Hope for Babies]

"Bear is a good one, though in some cases the child end up more hairy than they might have wanted. But that's the case with most animals. Hair is certainly more common than say feathers or scales and it doesn't happen too often." She gestures to Sophie. "But I suddenly remembered, I should be asking you to explain what you exactly meant when you said you were a demigod. Since that's something that might effect the outcome of this." Astrana then glances to Trick. "And you could go ahead and mention if you have any pacts or inherited traits that could influence the spirit or the pregnancy too. I expect you've already told one another this but I would need to know as well in this case."

The warlock gives them a nod. "And yes, this is all confidential. I can't even discuss what is said in this room with my spouse or boss."

[Halae]

[Astrana's Office]

"Bloodline of the archfiend Asmodeus," Trick says calmly. It's information that even Sophie hadn't heard before, "Doesn't actually affect much; I'm too thin-blooded to get much from it aside from knowing that it means any child I have is going to be a tiefling, and some elements of my pacts with fiends.

[Morty]

[Hope for Babies]

"Oh, I understand. It's the same thing with my therapy. Even Trick never hears anything about what is said there." Sophie is familiar with confidentiality. "And I'm one of the Solar Exalted. People chosen by a sun deity called the Unconquered Sun. I'm physically human, but my soul is charged with tremendous divine energy that lets me perform miracles. It's... mostly a superhuman and supernatural extension of my own skills and aptitudes. It can be hard to describe." The Solar pauses. It's like describing a sense to someone who lacks it. "I can perform supernatural or superhuman feats sometimes, but a lot of the time, everything I do is just... more." She shakes her head. "I believe at least some children of Solar Exalted are touched by our power. It's not something we can discount, at least. Also, spirits and other supernatural beings tend to recognize me as a diplomat. It's apparently the role the Unconquered Sun meant for some of his chosen. If I don't initiate hostilities, they're compelled to treat me accordingly."

She has indeed never heard about Trick being related, however distantly, to Asmodeus. But she knows tieflings are descended from demons and devils, so it's not exactly a surprise. She might ask Trick about the details later.

[Dipsnig's Office]

"A ruler of fairies that's asleep is a step up from one who's awake and making a mess of things," Dipsnig agrees. "This is normally something we leave up to Vigil and HALO... but we might make an exception. If nothing else, the King has already hired us once and we need to be on lookout if he tries to do it again, under yet another guise. I'll need to talk to Kirk and Dena about it." He looks off to the side. "I have a personal stake in it, you could say. The King in Rags is... credited in some stories with creating us goblins."

[Shadowcaller]

[Hope for Babies]

"A supernatural diplomat you say? Have you ever considered becoming a warlock yourself? Since that would be extremely useful here. Animal spirits aren't much for diplomacy of course but you might still be able to nudge into a preferred direction. Whatever you choose I think you would be able to handle the animal spirits I use. Indeed, I'm sure Sophie could almost choose whatever traits the spirit might grant depending on how good she is. It will certainly make my job a lot easier." Astrana replies, sounding more than a little curious to see Sophie in action.

[Morty]

[Hope for Babies]

Sophie smiles, her eyebrow rising a little.

"That depends on what 'warlock' means in this context. I already have my hands full as GLoG's therapist. But negotiating with spirits does seem to be within my power now. And I'll be happy to use it for the sake of our child."

[Reinholdt]

[Astrana's Office -> Outside Astrana's Office]

"Vax. Alright, I can work with that. Uhh... thanks." Reina's left with the feeling she kind of owes Astrana some money or at least a lunch or something. Maybe after this all gets sorted.

First she better get Krayger and send him down. Well, no, first is stepping outside and seeing Siana.

Reina sighs a little and runs her hand through her hair. "Sorry for the wait. I didn't mean to... well... sorry."

[A Trio of Talking Triumphs]

"Oh, the other Magtoks have decided to return... wait, where were they? I mean, I know they obviously haven't been around, but you never struck as me the exploring the multi-verse type." Not even the conquering type either. Well at least, not the type to quit one conquest to start a new one. And they haven't decided Magtok's the Nexus' supreme leader yet so where have they all been all this time?

Reina's eyes slide to one side surreptitiously as if it could somehow hide her blush. "Ah. Knowing Astrana, she probably already has someone in mind. But it couldn't hurt for me to swing by and make sure she's bringing the right woman for the job..." And if Astrana's not, then Reina will just have to volunteer herself. No one else here has nearly as much intimate knowledge with the Magcave as Reina. It would only be professional to include the catgirl on the team.

Her plotting gets cut short when Pania arrives. The rogue flashes her a smile. "It's alright. It wasn't too long. Don't let me get in the way either." Reina heads over to a high balance beam and hops upon it, sitting and watching the two.

[Zefir]

Spoiler

Show

[A new Customer]

A lous stomping noise can be heared from outside right befor the dors to the main hall open. A big figure, nearly as wide as tall, passes through the open gate. It's movement are kinda strange. His steps seem to be very stif and from time to time you can hear a strange noise. Something else that is strange is the mans proportions. as mentioned he is nearly as wide as tall with big feets and arms thicker then the waist of top-models, but his head appears a bit lower then you might expect. If you assume he is human you would say he has his head coming out the front of his chest or he is walking bowing forward all time. He turns to a clerk or anyone who looks like they work here.

"Hoi. I need some hands to clear an area. Where can I set things up here."

[Plant Problems]

Job Description: I need some people to help clear a lumberjack camp. Some plants took it over and killed the people working there.
Contract Type: MERC Licensed Contract. BOTH
Hired by: Steamsmith Jeremy(Zefir).
Target: Plants (Zefir).
Payment: Either get a decent amount of Money or he crafts you a magical enhanct firearm.
Notes: Those plants can't be burn down.

[Deathkeeper]

Dipsnig's Office

How do you respond to that? Minotaur creation stories range from being the work of demons to bovine gods but Krayger is happy to say he's never met any of them.
"Well, either way we should be careful. And call me if anything overt happened. The serpent insisted that the power he gave me would work against the King's minions. It's a big weapon but I don't want to summon it indoors."
It probably wouldn't play nice with nearby electronics.

[Ironsmith]

[Astrana's Office -> Outside Astrana's Office]

"Vax. Alright, I can work with that. Uhh... thanks." Reina's left with the feeling she kind of owes Astrana some money or at least a lunch or something. Maybe after this all gets sorted.

First she better get Krayger and send him down. Well, no, first is stepping outside and seeing Siana.

Reina sighs a little and runs her hand through her hair. "Sorry for the wait. I didn't mean to... well... sorry."

[Outside Astrana's Office]

"If I ever write an autobiography, I think you just gave me the title." Siana manages a small smile. "That's pretty much all I've been saying since our accident in the training room. Besides, that sounded important. Like, really important." She winces as her migraine flairs up again, but resists the urge to put her hand to her head as that wouldn't actually help. "...That reminds me. How are you feeling?"

[Morty]

[Dipsnig's Office]

Dipsnig nods, shaking himself out of an existential reverie. He probably shouldn't have mentioned that, really.

"I will. And I'll add your report to the big pile I'll need to discuss with Dena and Kirk sooner or later."

[Outside Astrana's Office]

"Have you been able to find out what happened?" Olvisin asks. It's not her business, strictly speaking, but after this merry parade of disaster she'd really like to at least know what caused it.

[Reinholdt]

[Outside Astrana's Office]

Reina blinks, having not realized Olvisin was still there. Another vision thing? No... Nexus thing. Probably. Sometimes it's just as simple as having looked left instead of right.

"Ah that's still being, umm... worked out. Best guess is possession? But I don't want to raise false alarms with half knowledge. We'll see," Reina says shifting uncomfortably. She still needs to talk to other people to get any sort of confirmation about what happened.

She turns her attention back to Siana, the book idea drawing a small smile out of Reina in turn. "Better now. I suppose." Reina sighs tiredly. "What about you? Figure out what you're going to tell the folks back home about your new horns?"

[Ironsmith]

[Outside Astrana's Office]

"Possession? That doesn't sound good." Siana frowns, stating the obvious. "Here's hoping that gets sorted out q-"

"...Hold on. My new WHAT now?!"

Siana reaches up and tentatively feels around her forehead, a look of dread and horror slowly building up on her face. "Oh, no, no no no nonononoNO!" She squeals, feeling up the horns, just big enough for her to wrap her pinky around. Still uttering on about how this can't be real and she couldn't be seen like this, she half-draws her sword and quickly sets about trying to saw her horns off, seemingly oblivious to the cuts and blood she's drawing this way.

Thankfully, it works. Within seconds, her horns are off her head and clattering across the floor like a pair of bloody pebbles.

It takes less time than that for her to sprout a new set, though.

"My uncle's going to kill me..."

[Shadowcaller]

[Hope for Babies]

"Simply someone bargaining with spirits as a job. Though I understand that the name have some more negative connotations in the nexus so perhaps 'spiritualist' or 'yogai' as we're sometimes called would be more appropriate. Either way, knowing that you might pick the traits with more precision would bear still be your choice? You don't have now of course. You can read those books I recommended and think about it." Astrana suggests.

[Morty]

[Outside Astrana's Office]

Well, this is awkward.

"This day just... keeps on giving," Olvisin says, for lack of anything else. "Are you going to be okay?" She asks Siana.

[Hope for Babies]

"If we have a choice in the matter, devoting some thought to it seems like a good idea." That only makes sense to Sophie. They'd be making a choice that will stay with their child their whole life. "I can wonder about what to call myself once the negotiations are complete."

[Reinholdt]

[Outside Astrana's Office]

Reina's response is less tepid. Her hand darts forward to grab Siana's wrist and twist it hard in a disarming maneuver she learned back in her superhero days, trying to get the sword out of the girl's hands.

"The hell!?! STOP MUTILATING YOURSELF!!" She snaps. This is not the first time today Siana's actively injured herself in front of Reina and it's making Reina's maternal instincts rage.

[Ironsmith]

[Outside Astrana's Office]

"No! No, I'm not o- hey! Give that back!" Siana protests, as her cane is taken away for the second time today because she threatened a horned lady with it.

When Reina probably doesn't comply, Siana slumps onto the wall and lets out a shaky sigh. "...It's bad enough I snuck out here to do this." She grumbles. "But my uncle would freak if I came home with a pair of horns." Her eyes widen the more she considers this. "Oh, no, he'd do worse than freak. Absum almighty, I can't go home like this at all..."

[Halae]

[Hope for Babies]

"We have a lot of options," Trick says, "Astrana, can you give us a list of the options we can work with? There may be some things we don't consider on there."

[Morty]

[Outside Astrana's Office]

Olvisin probably should have reacted more strongly. But she's at capacity for being shocked, concerned or surprised by now.

"So your uncle doesn't know you're trying to get a job with us. And he'll be mad about the horns. But you're not surprised about the horns, just terrified. So they're something that can happen."

[Gullara]

[Demands of Snakes]

The serpent tilts its head, appearing confused "By whose authority? I'm afraid I don't recognize either of you so I would need a name."

Which was the thing they weren't supposed to give.

"Ssakha Elyri." Dena replies without hesitation. "But I suppose you will need more than that since we don't know one another."
She sounds tired, yet another hoop to jump through wasn't it?

Astrana seems fine with the two taking the charge here. As she had said earlier, fey were not her expertise.

"I'm afraid that my instructions doesn't include helping people unknown to the court, no. However, you are a gorgon and therefore allowed your case to be tried. Though keep in mind that this will involve the court looking into your personal history." The serpent turns to Kirk. "I assume you are the intended father to the dragon, sir? Since we might need your details as well, which would include your name."

[Demands of Snakes]

"Kophyn Elyri, and yes." Kirk replies without hesitation. Adapting aliases with practiced ease is certainly an asset in this line of work. "To whose authority should we be subject to? Neither of us have willingly given up our autonomy, and as far as I can tell this should be a matter between us."

[Reinholdt]

[Outside Astrana's Office]

No one could blame Olvisin for being too surprised. Reina probably would have reacted the same if she hadn't already seen Siana's predisposition for self-harm.

The catgirl's glare doesn't let up very much despite Siana's pity party. She steps back, keeping the sword cane out of the strigoi's reach. "Maybe it would be best if we just gave him a call and had him come pick you up."

[Lord Magtok]

Magtok And The Mercenaries' Mental Malady Minimization

Spoiler

Show

[A Long-Due Dorm Departure]

Pania's godawful headache was taking far longer to dissipate than she was used to, even with the rather advanced painkillers she had been given. Perhaps the power of Prime's psionics had caused it to linger more than usual. Or perhaps the person writing her happened to have some major assignments due and then collapsed for two days once they were finished but who knows. Either way, it meant she had plenty of time to look around at the mess she had created in her room. Hmm. She might want to look into getting some of that furniture nailed down. And maybe keep a lot of her loose stuff tied down or in containers as well. Because cleaning up chaos of this degree every time she had a bad day was not going to be an enjoyable experience.

Cursing in her native tongue, she pushed herself to her feet, and headed to the training room. She pushed her way through the doors, seeing Magtok and Reina in conversation and approaching. "Sorry I'm late. This damn headache was being a [beach]. I'm ready now."

[A Trio of Talking Triumphs]

"Oh, the other Magtoks have decided to return... wait, where were they? I mean, I know they obviously haven't been around, but you never struck as me the exploring the multi-verse type." Not even the conquering type either. Well at least, not the type to quit one conquest to start a new one. And they haven't decided Magtok's the Nexus' supreme leader yet so where have they all been all this time?

Reina's eyes slide to one side surreptitiously as if it could somehow hide her blush. "Ah. Knowing Astrana, she probably already has someone in mind. But it couldn't hurt for me to swing by and make sure she's bringing the right woman for the job..." And if Astrana's not, then Reina will just have to volunteer herself. No one else here has nearly as much intimate knowledge with the Magcave as Reina. It would only be professional to include the catgirl on the team.

Her plotting gets cut short when Pania arrives. The rogue flashes her a smile. "It's alright. It wasn't too long. Don't let me get in the way either." Reina heads over to a high balance beam and hops upon it, sitting and watching the two.

Magtok visibly flinches when Pania arrives. Oh **** he's been caught he's been caught she's back he's dead now everyone's going to know that he-

...oh right, all we did was talk. We weren't even saying anything particularly incriminating when Pania came in, either. Honestly, the flinching is probably more questionable than anything else we were doing a moment ago. Dammit, we really need to do something about those nerves and the constant expectation of catastrophe falling down upon us, don't we?

"...Right. I suppose we'll get started. Pania, here's an earpiece with a mic built into it, it'll allow me to say the word without upsetting Reina. You can pull it out of your ear if things are getting too intense," he advises, arm extended with a weird, vaguely ear-shaped purple plastic device. He then takes a few steps back from both of the ladies, holding his hand to his mouth before muttering the faintest kneel command he can manage.

[Ironsmith]

[Outside Astrana's Office]

Olvisin probably should have reacted more strongly. But she's at capacity for being shocked, concerned or surprised by now.

"So your uncle doesn't know you're trying to get a job with us. And he'll be mad about the horns. But you're not surprised about the horns, just terrified. So they're something that can happen."

[Outside Astrana's Office]

No one could blame Olvisin for being too surprised. Reina probably would have reacted the same if she hadn't already seen Siana's predisposition for self-harm.

The catgirl's glare doesn't let up very much despite Siana's pity party. She steps back, keeping the sword cane out of the strigoi's reach. "Maybe it would be best if we just gave him a call and had him come pick you up."

[Outside Astrana's Office]

"If you pronounce 'best' like 'worst', maybe." Siana snaps, following the statement almost immediately with an apologetic slump in her shoulders. "Sorry. It's... miss Olvisin is right. Maesdans get these all the time." She points up at her horns. "And the way they get them involves betraying people who trust them and undergoing a rather specific magical ritual to do so. If I go home without getting rid of these, it'd be like... like..." She stumbles over her words for a second while she tries to find an analogy they'd both understand.

"It'd be like coming home with a set of conspicuous gang tattoos." Siana says finally. "I need to get rid of them before I even think about going home. And if you call my uncle here, I..." She swallows a hard lump in her throat. "...He wouldn't take it well. At all."

Then her expression brightens a little. "Fortunately, you can't! He doesn't have a phone. Or a car." Crisis averted.

[Shadowcaller]

[Hope for Babies]

"I couldn't leave you a complete list of options as theoretically could hunt down any type of spirit that you'd request, though that would cost extra. But I can give you a list of house-yokai which I recommend for this purpose." A list which she already prepared it seems as she hands over a folder.

Inside are a number of animals, or rather spirits of them, including hyena, elephant, hippo, wolf, bear, lion, rhino, zebra, giraffe, warthog, waterbuck, crocodile, ostrich, secretary bird and vulture.

There are pictures included as well as some notes on how each yokai might influence the child.
Is there any of these the two would like to take a closer look at?

[Demands of Snakes]

The fey serpent eyes Kirk and then Dena but whatever they might have been looking for they aren't satisfied.
"If you excuse me one moment, I will need to discuss this with my superiors."

Then the serpent is gone for exactly one moment. As imprecise that measurement of time is, it feels like that span somehow perfectly encompasses a single moment of time before the serpent returns.

"Well, ah, congratulations are in order as the court have agreed to grant your request." The fey stare down at the circle surrounding them. "Which means you would have to step into this circle I believe. To be clear though, the act would have to be done inside of it too. I realize this is impractical but these rituals haven't been updated in a long time so apologies for that."

This wouldn't be the first time Kirk has been doing acts in the circle though...

[Halae]

[Hope for Babies]

Trick quickly looks over the list, nodding to herself, before she hands it to Sophie, "I think crocodile would likely be our best option. Patient but opportunistic, strong, large, almost immune to most disease, and far more intelligent than most people assume. What do you think?"

[Morty]

[Outside Astrana's Office]

That does explain a thing or two. Not much, but enough. Time to focus on solvable parts of this mess.

"Right, but eventually he'll start wondering where you are. So you'd need to either fix this or come up with a way to explain it to him before he does."

[Hope for Babies]

"Animals aren't really my strong suit," Sophie admits. "I'm a small town girl. But those do seem like traits we'd like our child to have. What would the side-effects be? Scales? Teeth?"

[Reinholdt]

[Outside Astrana's Office]

Reina's frown softens. Just a little.

To be fair though, Siana is trying to join a gang. Just an organized one that does things people want them to do. "Why don't you start with why you felt the need to sneak out in the first place?" Reina asks.

[Shadowcaller]

[Hope for Babies]

"It might, but between me and you convincing it otherwise, I think we can strongly dissuade anything you wouldn't want." Astrana nods and holds out her hand, presumably wanting the list back. "But if that's your final decision we could book a date for the ritual. Could even do it this week if you've made up your mind."

[Ironsmith]

[Outside Astrana's Office]

That does explain a thing or two. Not much, but enough. Time to focus on solvable parts of this mess.

"Right, but eventually he'll start wondering where you are. So you'd need to either fix this or come up with a way to explain it to him before he does."

]

[Outside Astrana's Office]

Reina's frown softens. Just a little.

To be fair though, Siana is trying to join a gang. Just an organized one that does things people want them to do. "Why don't you start with why you felt the need to sneak out in the first place?" Reina asks.

[Outside Astrana's Office]

"Well..." Siana begins, rolling the whole incriminating story over in her head. The next few minutes were going to be very embarrassing for her. "I... it goes something like this. We live up in Butterfly Bay, by the seaside. We'd run into a kind rich man who, for reasons I still can't fathom, offered to let us spend a few hours at his house." She waves her hand dismissively. "The why there isn't important. That just... wasn't a good night for me. A quirk of our condition leaves my sister and I ravenous on certain nights, and whoops, this was one of them. By the time I came back to my senses, we'd trashed the place." She shuffles nervously, painfully aware that mentioning this was probably hurting her chances of ever being allowed to stay here, given how destructive she could be when she wasn't blood-starved and crazy.

"The owner was furious. He demanded to be compensated for the damages, and my uncle complied. A little more so than the man ever intended, I think." She wrings her hands together anxiously. "He had to sell some valuables to come up with the money. Relics I know meant a great deal to him. They're gone because of me." She shakes her head. "...I'm not letting it end there. My intent was to work up the money needed to buy every last one of them back. MERC seemed like the perfect intersection between that and what I can already do well, and so here I am. As for sneaking out..." She shrugs. "I don't think I have to tell you my uncle likely wouldn't approve of this plan."

And it's only gone further off the rails since then.

Siana turns to Olvisin, a little frown working its way onto her face. "I... don't know how I'd be able to do either." She says, shaking her head sadly. "He'll start wondering about me when I don't come home at dawn. I don't think we'll have an answer before then."

[Halae]

[Hope For Babies]

"You're the one with a busy schedule, honey," Trick says to Sophie, "When would you prefer to do this?"

[Morty]

[Outside Astrana's Office]

Olvisin's ears dip progressively as she listens. That's just great. She sees no way out of this situation for Siana. No good way, at any rate.

"Your best bet at this point might be to hope he understands that you meant to help him, even if everything went down the garbage chute. Trying to lie and hide things from him is liable to spiral."

[Hope For Babies]

"I think I'd rather see it done sooner rather than later." Sophie sounds uncertain at first but then her voice grows stronger. "I'll find a way to clear up my schedule." She seems to be frighteningly good at it, as Trick knows. "I've wanted this for a long time now."