MERC XIX: Toss a Coin to your Goblin

[Deathkeeper]

[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.

Dipsnig's Office

"All right, boss. You just call me if you need me, then." Krayger says quietly, leaving Dipsnig to his work. Sounds like he has a lot of reports to compile.

[Gullara]

[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...

[Demands of Snakes]

Kirk quirks an eyebrow. Just like that? He doesn't voice it, not wanting to question what appears to be a good thing, but he'd been expecting them to put up some kind of fight.

Instead of speaking any of his thoughts, he nods and looks to Astrana. "Is stepping into the circle safe?" He understands she might not be able to answer that question, but he'll defer to her anyway.

[Reinholdt]

[Outside Astrana's Office]

Reina sighs slowly and runs her hand through her hair. Siana was a piece of work that's for sure. If Reina wanted to be babysitting, she would have stayed at GLoG. Can't fault the kid's intentions at least. Heartwarming even.

"And your Uncle is your legal guardian, correct?" That much seems obvious so far, but Reina likes to be thorough.

[Ironsmith]

[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."

[Outside Astrana's Office]

Reina sighs slowly and runs her hand through her hair. Siana was a piece of work that's for sure. If Reina wanted to be babysitting, she would have stayed at GLoG. Can't fault the kid's intentions at least. Heartwarming even.

"And your Uncle is your legal guardian, correct?" That much seems obvious so far, but Reina likes to be thorough.

[Outside Astrana's Office]

"Normally, I'd agree with you, miss Olvisin." Siana replies. "Honesty being the best policy and the best way out being through and all of that. But this-" She points up at her horns. "-goes well beyond normal circumstances. Walking up to my uncle like this is likely to end with me dead and him heartbroken, and don't even start me on my brother and sister. Recent events aside, I'm not stupid."

When Reina asks her question, Siana just nods. She's not quite up on all the legalities of custody and adoption and such, but her uncle takes care of her and her siblings, and is the foremost authority in doing so, which is probably what she wanted to know, right?

[Morty]

[Outside Astrana's Office]

"Then you can consider concealing those horns somehow. But that might not be easy and it'll make things even worse when or if they're discovered." Olvisin's out of ideas otherwise. There's not much time to fix it or come up with some elaborate deception.

[Reinholdt]

[Outside Astrana's Office]

Reina considers for a moment. Telling Siana she needs her Uncle's permission in order to join MERC at this point seems unwise. Parental figures were overrated anyways. Sounds like this one might literally kill Siana. The catgirl does not believe a long term deception plan would work out well and removing the horns would require knowledge and time.

"Do wish to request Asylum?"

[Shadowcaller]

[Demands of Snakes]

Instead of answering, Astrana looks to the serpent as to ask it the same question.

As if understanding what she mean a tail comes into view, lifted up like a hand before the serpent. "Let me assure you- no, Promise, that you won't be harmed in any way while fullfilling this contract."

But Dena isn't satisfied. "Why are you just letting us do this when we needed permission earlier? This seems too easy." She states, her hand crossing her chest.

"Good thing you asked as I wanted to give you a bit more context. The council have in their decision agreed to support any efforts of restoring the dragon race to the world. The only condition they would like to apply is that they're being raised well."

Dena's eyes narrow behind her glasses and she looks to Astrana. "Is there any way we can tell they're telling the truth or not?"

"Fey- well, I know they keep their promises. Some kind of magical code-"

"Law." The serpent interrupts her. "We all abide by unbreakable laws. So I will reiterate for clarity. I Vez, Admistrator of the outer realm department of the Orobou Court, Promise that neither you or your associates will be harmed in any way while fullfilling the conract. I gurantee that you and your children will be safe as long as you're under our care."

[Hope For Babies]

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

[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."

[Hope For Babies]

"Alright, so let's do it later this week then. Does Friday sound good to you?" Astrana asks as she takes up a calendar. "You might want to bring a change of clothes. Not that I think you will need it but just in case. I will supply the rest of the equipment so you don't have to worry about anything else."

[Ironsmith]

[Outside Astrana's Office]

"Then you can consider concealing those horns somehow. But that might not be easy and it'll make things even worse when or if they're discovered." Olvisin's out of ideas otherwise. There's not much time to fix it or come up with some elaborate deception.

[Outside Astrana's Office]

Reina considers for a moment. Telling Siana she needs her Uncle's permission in order to join MERC at this point seems unwise. Parental figures were overrated anyways. Sounds like this one might literally kill Siana. The catgirl does not believe a long term deception plan would work out well and removing the horns would require knowledge and time.

"Do wish to request Asylum?"

[Outside Astrana's Office]

"...Asylum?" Siana looks confused. She'd only ever heard the term used in two ways before; as a description of a mental institution, and as a political thing. She wasn't aware of it applying between entities as (relatively) small as a mercenary company and her uncle.

"...What all does that entail? It wouldn't keep me from working here, would it?" She asks anxiously. She's still dead-set on that license; after all the complications that arose in the process of applying, actually obtaining it would be a bittersweet experience... but still much better than walking away empty-handed and having made her whole situation worse.

At Olvisin's suggestion, Siana reaches up and feels around her horns, trying to get an idea for how big they are and how hard they would be to conceal. For the moment, the answer to both is "not very"... they were about as long and thick as the last knuckle of her pinky, so for the moment, she could do a decent job hiding them with just a change of hairstyle. That probably wouldn't last, though.

[Morty]

[Outside Astrana's Office]

Olvisin appears as confused as Siana.

"Do we... have the authority to grant anyone asylum?"

[Reinholdt]

[Outside Astrana's Office]

"You don't need 'authority' to help someone whose life is in danger," Reina claims.

Reina eyes Siana for a moment. She was still deadset on working here to pay off a debt for her uncle who now probably wants to kill her? Well that certainly fits with her other decision choices so far. "Asylum is asking for shelter when you're in serious danger if you go home. More than likely you wouldn't end up staying here. We'd probably arrange for you to head to GLoG or something and have them help you since they specialize in exactly that. Or you end buying some kind of long term contract with us? The kind you can pay off by doing work around the base I suspect." Someone's gotta clean up after those wolves.

"Not gonna lie. Don't know exactly what would happen if that's what you ask for. Wouldn't be up to me." But it's likely better than her father figure killing her.

[Ironsmith]

[Outside Astrana's Office]

Siana takes a moment to weigh this in her head. GLoG probably wouldn't be a good place to hide her; her brother was there all the time, for similar reasons, and while he might not be as inclined to take her horns as the bad omen that they were, he still had a big mouth. She could probably live with a contract, if that didn't push her further into debt... that she would at least have a solid basis for paying back.

"I... I think I'd need to sit in on those arrangements." She says finally. She didn't much like that conclusion, having never been a part of any negotiation in her life, but desperation was a hell of a motivator. "How soon can we talk to someone about it?"

Hopefully soon. She didn't want her adrenaline running out between now and then.

[Morty]

[Outside Astrana's Office]

"I've heard of GLoG. One of their cartakers is goblin. Reelshka Troll... something. A southerner like the boss." Olvisin looks down at her communicator. "The boss... that is, Mister Razortooth says he can spare us some time now."

[Reinholdt]

[Outside Astrana's Office]

"Trollfinger," Reina clarifies, seemingly knowledgeable of GLoG's occupants. "Why don't you go ahead and take Siana to meet with Dipsnig and start explaining the situation? I need to swing by and talk to Krayger real quick about something that can't wait, but I'll join you shortly after."

[Halae]

[Hope For Babies]

"Alright, so let's do it later this week then. Does Friday sound good to you?" Astrana asks as she takes up a calendar. "You might want to bring a change of clothes. Not that I think you will need it but just in case. I will supply the rest of the equipment so you don't have to worry about anything else."

[Hope For Babies]

"Alright then," Trick says, and lets out a breath, "You ready to go, Sophie?"

[Morty]

[Hope For Babies]

"I am." Sophie reaches out to take Trick's hand. "See you on Friday, Mrs. Tyamer. Thank you for all your help."

[Ironsmith]

[Outside Astrana's Office]

"I've heard of GLoG. One of their cartakers is goblin. Reelshka Troll... something. A southerner like the boss." Olvisin looks down at her communicator. "The boss... that is, Mister Razortooth says he can spare us some time now."

[Outside Astrana's Office]

"Trollfinger," Reina clarifies, seemingly knowledgeable of GLoG's occupants. "Why don't you go ahead and take Siana to meet with Dipsnig and start explaining the situation? I need to swing by and talk to Krayger real quick about something that can't wait, but I'll join you shortly after."

[Outside Astrana's Office]

Siana nods and grabs her cane, standing up and preparing to follow Olvisin out to meet with Dipsnig. She's not looking forward to this meeting, but then, he might pleasantly surprise her.

[Morty]

[Outside Astrana's Office ==> Dipsnig's Office]

"Alright, just hurry up. I don't fancy explaining this to Razortooth on my own. If looks could kill, his would be military-grade." She waves Siana over. "Come on. His office is also on the sub-level. Which means he might have heard this racket..." She leads her through the tunnels of the MERC base's sub-level to another door, marked as Dipsnig's office. She knocks.

"Come in."

Olvisin breathes out and leads Siana inside. The office is... somewhat odd. It clearly belongs to someone small who nonetheless sees larger people there frequently so the furniture comes in two different sizes. Dipsnig is sitting behind a desk, dealing with paperwork. There's a large grey wolf sleeping next to the desk.

"Mr. Razortooth, this is-"

"The person involved in the continued emergency we're having today, I presume. Start from the beginning, please."

[Shadowcaller]

[Hope For Babies]

"Great, once you arrive I will have prepared a ritual and we can discuss the details then. But if there is anything you're wondering before that point, don't hesitate to call me. You can see my phone hours right here." Astrana replies as she hands out her business card to both of them.

[Ironsmith]

[Dipsnig's Office]

A military-grade death stare?

Oh, that was very comforting.

Siana kind of hides behind Olvisin as they go in, understandably nervous about meeting with MERC's CEO so soon after... well, all of that. The fact that she was clearly not at her best (horns aside, she's still dressed like she woke up on an autopsy table) isn't exactly doing her confidence any favors, either. But when Olvisin introduces her, she steps forward, leaning in her cane and brushing the hair out of her eyes, giving him a small, nervous smile, and generally trying to make a good impression, for whatever that's worth.

When prompted, she tells him the whole story; her arrival at MERC, her encounter with Reina, their trouble in the training room ("sorry about that", she cringes), Reina's subsequent hospitalization, their visit to Astrana ("sorry again"), the accident that resulted in her transformation (which yields another apologetic look), something about the King in Rags, and her present request for work and/or asylum, which comes out a little sheepish after the laundry list of things she did wrong. She keeps eying the wolf, seeming put off by its presence. Not outright scared, but confused by the emotions it brought out in her.

[Reinholdt]

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

"I'll always be there with you... in your heart," Reina tells Olvisin as she starts to glide backwards out of the hall, her voice becoming quieter as she goes.

Once she's out of sight, she stops the elaborate moonwalking and just heads for the dorms. She takes a deep breath and knocks on the door. If Krayger opens the door, he'll see a catgirl there in a full motherly figure, complete with a deep ara ara aura and her hair tied up in a bun. Might even recognize her as Reina too, even though she looks somewhat different from her time at the hunt. Having a schrodinger's body is curse enough, she really doesn't need this oracle thing adding to her problems.

Alas.

[Meowmai]

[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 And The Mercenaries' Mental Malady Minimization

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.

[A Studies Sorry Start]

Pania wasn't paying much attention to the contents of the conversation Magtok and Reina were having as she arrived, and frankly she didn't care much. She was here to get a job done, not listen to the chatter of two strangers. So indeed, Magtok had nothing to worry about with being 'caught'. She did give the cyborg a long, judgmental look though. Had she scared him by arriving? It's not like she had been particularly loud.

She nodded at Reina's reassurances, but did not offer a smile back, before reaching out to take the earpiece from Magtok. Pania examined it for a long while, a little confused, never having used such a device herself before. It's name and shape did mean she was able to figure it out though, and she put it into her ear.

And then, kneel.

The warrior had not been ready for it, and she found herself on the ground before she even knew what was happening. Her head blazed with pain once more, as she tried to fight to control her body. As she tried to will herself up, instead all the light items in the room would be flung upwards much like they had been in her room earlier. Thankfully, said force was not strong enough to lift a person, nor the heavier equipment in the training room.

When at last it's effects faded, she would warily stumble to her feet. Her head was on fire, but she fixed her gaze on the cyborg with a bitterly determined look on her face. With a shaky voice, she simply said, "Again." She didn't want to go again. Her implant felt like it was killing her, and the sensation of feeling her body move against her own will was deeply unsettling. But she was determined to, nonetheless. Now she knew what it felt like to loose control over her own body, she was going to try her damn hardest to make sure she could learn to resist it.

[Deathkeeper]

Outside Krayger's Room

Krayger never found out about the whole incident or that Reina had been having problems until he gave his report to Dipsnig, which means right around now he's at the Skullfort asking Leah to help him look into his own shard of fey essence. If either she or Astrana need him he'll return after giving Dipsnig the report the next morning.

[Morty]

[Dipsnig's Office]

Dipsnig listens to Siana's recount with a weary resignation. This is not the first mess of this caliber to be dropped into his lap. Nor will it be the last. It's just part of his job. This changes, however, when he hears the name "King in Rags". Its mention causes him to recoil, slightly but visibly, fear passing through pale red eyes. At the exact same moment, Olvisin also cringes, less visibly. She just heard the name and it at least doesn't come as a surprise. Dipsnig shakes his head and recovers.

"That spiralled, didn't it? From one thing to the other. I'm going to have to hear Reina's version of this story but it seems you were trying to help. Except for also attacking Astrana. So I'm going to need Astrana's take on the situation as well. And no matter what she says, what you're proposing is... unusual and not something I recall us ever doing."

[Ironsmith]

[Dipsnig's Office]

"Yes, sir. I understand, sir." Siana replies, starting in on an awkward little bow before realizing Dipsnig might not go for that and just leans on her cane. She's... not really sure what else to say. She can't exactly provide Reina and Astrana's version of events, so there's not much else for her to-

"Is it okay to pet him?"

She was curious. The wolf was kind of like a big dog, yeah? Some part of her wondered if Dipsnig ever pet him. Or her! Oh, sure, the wolf probably wasn't there to be an object of affection, but they'd hardly mind, right?

[Reinholdt]

[Outside Krayger's Room -> Dipsnig's Office]

Reina pounds on the door pretty loudly for a moment, wondering if Krayger was as heavy a sleeper as he looked. When she tires of getting her fist sore, she rolls her eyes a little because of course. This day was terrible.

Nothing but to be done but join up with Siana and Olvisin in Dipsnig's office with a quiet, "Sorry for the wait." Whether she can actually contribute anything is another question. She certainly has opinions about the situation and how to handle it now, but if Dipsnig's just looking for a professional recounting of the events leading to this point, it's going to be more or less the same, just with more blank spots.

[Viewer Visualizing Victory]

Reina mostly stays quiet as Pania gets wrecked by the first kneel, feeling a sympathetic pain in her chest. But her only reaction comes when Pania lifts herself off the mat.

And starts to lifts Reina's skirt with her. Reina quietly eeps and pushes the cloth down in place, holding it through the sheer willpower and force of her hands. If she knew there was going to be so much psychic turbulence today, she would have worn anything else.

Once Pania's back on her feet, Reina shifts her position entirely so that she's sitting with her feet firmly holding her clothing in place. It's awkward, but she's going to watch from this angle from now on.

[Morty]

[Dipsnig's Office]

Dipsnig's ears flick. He's used to people wanting to pet his wolves, so this isn't a surprise to him.

"Go ahead and pet him," he tells Siana, before Reina walks in. "Reina. Just in time. Siana just finished recounting what had happened. I'll need input from people involved before I decide. That includes you, since you were in the middle of it. As I understand it, you're the one who suggested giving her asylum."

[Ironsmith]

[Dipsnig's Office]

Siana gives a polite little smile and goes to pet the wolf. Well, maybe "pet" is an understatement. "Cuddle his face" would be more accurate. "Who's a good... boy? You, yes you! Such a good boy! Mmmmm!"

She's going to be at that for a while.

[Reinholdt]

[Dipsnig's Office]

"I brought up the concept as an idea she could consider since her primary concern was that her uncle would attempt to kill her in a very literal sense over her new horns." Reina sighs and runs her hand through her hair.

"Horns which we, despite circumstances, are at least partially to blame for." It's hardly MERC's fault in any sense of the word, but the PR could be spun that way by someone who had it out for MERC.

[Morty]

[Dipsnig's Office]

Dipsnig glances at Siana with some amusement. A common reaction to his wolves. It took him a while to get used to everyone fawning over Viima when he first got her. The wolf wakes up and accepts the affection stoically, rubbing his head against Siana.

"It's true that we're... not exactly responsible for this mess, but connected to it enough that it wouldn't look good to just turn her out and have her fend for herself," Dipsnig admits. "We could write up a contract to accept her on a trial basis, until she can prove that today's chain of catastrophes was an accident, which would also keep her away from her uncle. But he'll start looking for her eventually. And getting rid of the horns might take a while, even if it's possible."

"Could always ask the alchemists, boss. They helped me once with some medical issues. Maybe alchemy could work here?"

Dipsnig looks intrigued but unconvinced.

"Convincing them to work on non-goblins is never easy, not to mention if their concoctions will even work on a topsider. But... it might be worth a try."

[Reinholdt]

[Dipsnig's Office]

"There's no telling how long it would take to formulate an alchemical 'cure', nor how long it'd take for the cure to take affect," Reina points out. "If we're to pursue this route and put Siana under contract, I believe it would be best to have a third party approach the uncle and explain the full truth to him while emphasizing she's under MERC protection. Better than him finding out through his own means and accusing us of 'secreting' her away or kidnapping her."

Plus they can actually gauge the uncle's reaction that way. So far they only have what Siana has said to be true. Whose words could be horribly biased in the same sort of way a teenager who wrecked a car they can't legally drive yet would be.