Riverside 21: Older than Arkh

[Ironsmith]

[MERC Office]

"Again, he never gets close enough for any of us to see his face." Malady replies. "But he's got a distinct silhouette. He's... built kind of top-heavy. Broad shoulders. Usually wearing a long coat of some kind. And this weird hat... flaps in the front and back."

"A deerstalker." Euphoria elaborates.

"Aw, you called us 'dear'." Ecstacy quips.

To the annoyance of all her bandmates. Even Mania cracks open an eye to glare at her incredulously.

"...Right. Awful timing. Sorry."

"Anyway." Malady continues. "He sometimes has a dog with him. A german shepherd, I think. Mean-looking, but quiet. I don't remember seeing any vehicles or anything. And of our band, I've seen him the most... I don't know if he's focusing on me or I'm just catching him more often, but hopefully that's helpful information."

[Shadowcaller]

[MERC Office]

Dena notes down all their answers, with the exception of Ecstasy's joke probably.
"That should be helpful enough. So how long until the concert then? We could at least use a few days to prepare for it. Maybe as much as a week."

[Ironsmith]

[MERC Office]

"Ah." Malady shuffles uncomfortably.

"Well, um..." Ecstacy rubs the back of her neck.

"It's tonight." Euphoria says flatly. "Sixteen hours from now."

"Give or take a few minutes." Ecstacy adds oh-so-helpfully.

"...teach, I don't even know what 'procrastination' means..." Mania snores.

[Shadowcaller]

[MERC Office]

The gorgon just stares at them for a moment. "You- alright." Dena shrugs, just brushing this off. "I can't guarantee that your protection will be nearly as good as I'd have to get whoever just happens to be free."

[Ironsmith]

[MERC Office]

Mania bolts upright in her chair, suddenly awake and alert. "Did she just say 'free'?!"

"As in, available. Go back to sleep." Ecstacy drones.

Mania sighs and digs her shoulders back into the chair, and within seconds, is once again blissfully napping.

"...Right. So." Malady nods. "Whoever you can spare would be better than nothing, thank you."

Euphoria nods, but doesn't add to the conversation.

[Morty]

[Elf to the Manor: MERC Adventure]

Amalungak drops to the floor, stunned, when he's hit. He's as helpless as he was before in this situation and there's nothing he can do, other than hope the rescue succeeds. The critters continue their assault, undaunted and seemingly fearless. Something larger seems to emerge on the roof of a nearby building and climb down. It appears to be a multi-limbed creature made out of dead food and flint, its head a rough-hewn sculpture of a spider.

[Earl of Purple]

Elf to the Manor- MERC Adventure

Mister Slash is not easily stopped by shotgun shells, though the blasts shred through his coat. Few pellets reach the flesh beneath, due to him wearing crude body armour underneath, made primarily from compromised ballistic glass. He also keeps running after the van, though he's not supernaturally fast- just supernaturally scary, and resilient enough the shotgun pellets aren't doing much. He still grips the glass shard-knife, and despite how tight his grip seems the broken glass doesn't break his skin and he's not yet bleeding. If he bleeds.

[Shadowcaller]

Elf to the Manor: MERC Adventure

Jaedrick doesn't attempt to close the door. Instead he pulls up his shotgun and fires two blasts in the super-creepy man's direction, silently praying that non-magical weapons would work against this monster.
Inside the van Amalungak can feel a powerful blow being delivered to the side of his head. Most likely by the Malechenar woman sitting besides him.

But as the shots been fired and Amalungak is punched the vehicle suddenly starts to speed off.

This causes a number of things to happen at once:

1. Jaedrick loses his balance and just manages to hold on by starting to cling to the other still closed door but drops his shotgun in the process. It's now laying on the floor of the truck, just behind the second door.
2. Eir starts to steer off sharply to the left as the creatures start to attack her and loud honks can be heard as other drivers react to her starting to drive up on the pavement. She slows down in an attempt to regain control of the vehicle but that isn't easy with all the critters attacking her.

Elf to the Manor- MERC Adventure

Eir seems to have two options here, stop and possibly get eaten by birds or continue driving and possibly crash and then definitively get eaten by birds.
The whole thing was made a lot harder by said birds attempting to peck her eyes out as she's trying to make the decision.

She chooses to do something in-between.

The hobgoblin suddenly turns the wheel 180 degrees, causing it to almost spin around in a half-circle before it comes to an abrupt halt as she pushes the breaks. Hopefully that would throw off most if not all the invading critters.
She's also going to press the button to raise the sidewindow to stop more of the critters entering the driving seat.

Viitesha is able to fight off the critters on her side of the car as her hands aren't preoccupied driving the car and quickly raises her side window as soon as Eir's manuver temporarily frees them from the invading horde.

---

However, the veichles sudden turn throws all the passangers in the back section of the car for a loop.
Amalungak will be thrown to the other side of the car while Jaedrick completely loses his balance as well.

Mister Slash will find himself now facing the front of the car as it has turned itself almost 180 degrees.
Should he simply decide to run around it however he will find that backdoor is still hanging open and there's no one there to stop him from entering.

[MERC Office]

"Great, though we will have to charge you in advance considering the tight time window you just gave us." Dena disappears underneath her desk for a moment and then returns with a mobile cash register. "Unless you prefer to pay with cash of course."

Were they all going to pull out money and/or credit cards out of their combined cleavages now? Dena was honestly curious.

[Ironsmith]

[MERC Office]

"Manny?" Malady prompts.

"Hm?" Mania pops open an eye.

"The card?"

"Oh, I gave it to Euphoria." She shrugs. "For safekeeping."

"I'll get it!" Ecstacy volunteers. Before anyone else can say anything, she walks over and drops her hand down the front of Euphoria's dress.

There's a loud snap and a yelp from Ecstacy, who hastily withdraws her hand. Her pointer and middle fingers are caught in a mousetrap.

Euphoria rolls her eyes, reaches in, and pulls out a black-and-pink credit card, which she turns over to Dena.

"Hold still, I'll get it."
"Owowowow getitoffgetitoffgetitoff!"
"...There we go. It's off."
"Mm! Why would she even- oooh, I get it."

[Shadowcaller]

[MERC Office]

Dena stares dumbly as this is taking place in front of her.
"...are there mousetraps in any other unexpected places that we should know about as we're working with you?" She asks once she has put in the code to complete the transaction.

[Ironsmith]

[MERC Office]

"Always a pleasure. Teehee~♡" Chirps the card.

"As long as your employees are not in the habit of raiding their clients' underwear drawers, there should not be any problems." Euphoria says matter-of-factly.

Mania glances up at her languidly. "You found room for an underwear drawer?"

"...Did you not?"

"Kind of pointless when you don't own a pair." Mania yawns and stretches, the bottom of her skirt coming dangerously close to demonstrating what she was talking about.

Ecstacy would like to chip in some sort of remark here, but she's too busy trying to suck the pain out of her fingers. Malady just gives an exasperated sigh and flashes Dena an apologetic smile.

[UncleWolf]

Spoiler

Show

Ms. J Investigation

"Experienced it? Seen it more like it. Always good to have a back-up." Anika pats her staff. "But sure, I will just tell like one or two people who won't tell it to anyone else. Druidic-pledge." She raises one middle finger in what to Jezebel might look like a backwards version of a rather obscene gesture until she glances at it and raises the finger next to it to. "Whoops, force of habit. Been a while since I did the druidic pledge." She let's out a nervous laugh as she for a moment was giving Jezebel the finger.

The druid quickly recovers by making a dismissive gesture towards the ring. "Nah, I'm good. You seriously can go inside people's houses with that thing though? 's a bit creepy." Anika went into people's houses all the time but it would feel weird if they didn't start chasing her out of there once they noticed. "Is it like, magic? Or do you do regular inspections and stuff around here?" Maybe Jezebel was a panty inspector back in her wild days.

Lotus Gardens

Jezebel, don't you know all wacky humor has to have a straight man? Cessie would fulfill that role despite not being a man nor particularly straight.

The sorceress nods and lets out a low cough as if to clear her throat. "Of course. I... just wish I had been more prepared. You're quite an unusual woman, Jezebel."

Cessie would have to discuss this later with her. While it was difficult getting used to Jezebel's impulsive behavior it wasn't like she minded it either. It was... refreshing in a way as it wasn't near Harnel's level of impulsiveness either.

"But I regret to inform you that from what I've heard KABAL planted some kind of explosive in MERC's foothold in the city and utterly destroyed it. Killing most people inside no doubt. They've not exactly been trying to keep it a secret either. They're proud that they managed to 'chase MERC out of the city'. That does make MERC unusually trustworthy if we want to work together with them against KABAL or Skyside though."

[Lotus Gardens]

Wenomir proceeds to act as if Jezebel hadn't just changed shape. Cessie no doubt recognizes his "I'm going to ignore this because I have no idea how to address it" tone and expression.

"Trying to 'fix' Skyside had never even occurred me before. It's not a place our skills can help. We could fight its robber-princes, but for any of them we'd take down, another would take their place." He shakes his head. "Tellysandra offered to help us combine our strength with her political influence there. It sounds like it could work. But it also sounds like a trap. MERC is also trying to re-establish themselves there, but I don't know if their goals and ours would necessarily align."

The Ms. J Investigation

Jezebel waves off the gesture with a shrug. "I've seen more vulgar, no worries about that. But as for letting you in, yes and no. It's mostly a symbol of my house crest. It grants authority rather than security access. But it does also allow you to bypass a few security measures that require a scan." Jezebel would likely never say if she was a "panty raider" in the past if asked. At least not by Anika. "So, I suppose you could say it's equivalent to magic. Most inhabitants of the Gardens will know what it is, and if you go to any of the Mask stations, they'll show you inside. It'll even take you into the holding cells if you desire, though there's only one permanent resident there." She said she would be open and honest, which included the possibility of prison or jail cells. "The only place it won't work is my home's security and personal armory." She stands, as if to see Anika out, but she hesitates a moment. "Uh...one last thing." She adds, heading over to her bar to pull out a box about the size of a shoebox. "To not beat around the bush, and to be open, the one I fear hostility from is Ilpholin. I could probably never say this directly to her, so I would say it to you instead as I know you are likely to see her after this." She walks over to Anika, holding out the box. "For all our muddied past and troubled antagonistic history, I am not one to forget what she did for Riverside, let alone for my people and even my family during the invasion. Charles may grumble over her a bit, but he grumbles over everyone, and I would at least seek to bury the hatchet or offer the proverbial olive branch. You can check the box yourself as inside is a piece of the divine tree that's growing here. It is untainted by my hands, should it be a concern, and it is a rod long enough to be carved or set into anything. I like to think it represents the hopes and dreams of the people who live here, and even if the feeling isn't mutual, I do wish her and her child well and this represents that."

True to her words, inside is a small foot long rod of white and grey wood, sanded smooth and resting in a wrap of blue velvet.

Impzabel

The news that it had been Tellysandra that had destroyed MERC's presence there seems to take Jezebel by a bit of surprise as she frowns and considers things surprisingly deeply despite her current state of form. Skyside had always been a large patch of fog of war when it came to her vision and intelligence. "That makes things...tenuous, it is true." She admits quietly. "But I will point out that the offer could very well be both genuine and a trap, or even entirely genuine on its own. After all, if we were to help stabilize the city, who would benefit the most? It wouldn't be us, it would be her. It would allow us to crunch down on the slaver guilds more, root out potential seeds of cult cells, and bring relative safety, but it would be a battle of attrition and political intrigue. More than that, it would be a battle of money. Money that I am uncertain we and KABAL both could afford. Even if MERC was brought into the fold willingly as well. But...I suppose it does bring the question of if such a venture is worthwhile at all?" Jezebel asks.

"I admit, I find the prospect of chasing people through massive steel industrial piping and rathole tunnels appealing in a way that only nostalgia can hit me, but if she seeks to only bring stability or justice to the city, HALO would be a better prospect than us."

[Gullara]

[MERC Office]

"Oh no, she left much earlier than that. She usually came and went. I'm told that her people usually don't stay on one location for long. I believe it's since they feel uncomfortable staying in one location for too long." A beat. "Oh, she's a heliot. You know them, right? The... reptilian people. Red skin, black eyes... if you've seen them you know what I'm talking about."

Zhareen nods.

"The only problem will be to contact her. I guess we could pay the MERC people to leave her a message? Assuming of course she's returned to the Riverside compound." She scratches her chin.

It should be noted that Korrina might have heard that heliots bulwark cannot be opened to spirits meaning that their minds can't be influnced by them. This of course also means they can't see or interact with them either meaning it would be difficult for them to be warlocks as they would have a hard time doing even the most basic tasks.

[MERC Office]

"I'm not sure we want to involve Merc any further. We're already taking a risk. Better not ask them to deliberately go behind Malachenar's back." Korrina's wary attitude surely reminds Zhareen of Vax. "Maybe we can employ a spirit to track her down?" She suggests instead.

[Shadowcaller]

[MERC Office]

"That sounds like something Vax would say." Zhareen observes thoughtfully.

Which probably meant it was for the best. Her wife usually didn't want to rely on anyone but she was also pretty savvy when it came to these political things.
"But yes, if we to give them a call back at the compound they could actually do it for us. See, we don't usually tell the younglings this but there are rituals specifically made to track down fourth tower members. As long as you still consider yourself a member of the fourth tower, the spell can find you. Vax would probably have told you that sooner or later so you might as well learn it right now. The issue is of course if Kai'm's in Malechenar right now, or way too far for us to travel... but I suppose that day that sorrow, right?" Zhareen grins.

"So let us, uh, leave the bathroom now. 's getting stuffy in here." Been stuffy in here for quite a while really.

The Ms. J Investigation

"Uhu-uhu..." Anika nods, these details unimportant to her until Jezebel starts hesitating. That peeked her curiosity.

She let's Jezebel finish explaining and then peeks at the box. "Ilpholin, eh?" So C-command had told her about her and Ilpholin, huh? Interesting!

"I suppose I could hand this over to her." But she's going to open the box right now to take a look inside first. Assuming it isn't difficult to open of course. Ilpholin would be suspicious of such a box no doubt so she would have to thoroughly investigate it first!

Impzabel

"I'm not sure what Tellysandra is after exactly. She's a noble, yes. But she's also a business woman. I've never actually met a combination like that before. Since you are aware that Skyside was once a monarchy, right? I don't know the details myself but it was thrown over by the greedy overlords that now control the city. It's possible that she, or perhaps her family, are loyalists that wish to reinstate the royal rulers."
Cessie glances at Wenomir. "I'm not saying they would do a better job but it's a possible motivation for her actions."

[MERC Office]

What the fu-

Dena quickly, and then I mean quickly, swipes the cards and practically places it in Malady's hand and leaves it there. She didn't fancy ever touching it again.

She really should be used to this by now but these gals made Tina look chaste in comparison.
"Right, I do already have some people in mind for this so let's hope they're not occupied shall we? I'm going to call them now so you can just wait downstairs and we'll see who turns up." She musters up a confident smile for the band despite that the voice of the card still made her shudder internally.

[Ironsmith]

[MERC Office]

Malady gives Dena the tired, apologetic smile of someone who sees this happen time and time again but can't do anything about it because she gets outvoted 3 to 1 whenever the subject of changing cards comes up. "Right. We'll just... meet whoever down there, I guess. Thanks again in advance for all your help." She turns and opens the door, ushering her bandmates out.

Euphoria lightly plucks the card from Malady's hand as she passes, giving Dena a bored little wave as she exits the office.

Ecstacy stops by the door. "You look really cute, by the way. Are you seeing anyone?" She asks Dena.

"Stacy!" Malady scolds.

"Okay, okay, I'm going!" Ecstacy giggles as she walks out.

Mania stretches and yawns, giving Dena a little smile. "For real, though. Could we grab some coffee sometime? You seem like you run a tight ship around here, I'd love to talk shop with you." She flicks out a business card she definitely wasn't holding a moment ago (not from any part of her body, thankfully) and sets it on Dena's desk, before walking out herself, her tail flicking out from under her skirt to give Dena one last wave (and a little too much of a view) as she leaves.

Malady sighs and closes the door behind them, leaving Dena to make whatever arrangements she could.

[Morty]

[Impzabel]

Wenomir frowns. That is, on its own, not unusual. But this frown is deeper than his default expression. This is Wenomir's face of political opinions.

"Being a royalist would be one way to make me even more dubious about this enterprise than I already am," he says, his voice as cheerful as his face. "If we were to wrest Skyside from the hand of the robber-princes, the power would need to go the people. But it's pure speculation. Unfortunately, by the time we could find out what her true motives are, it would likely be too late to back down. This is the kind of plan one commits to." He rests his chin on his hand, his anti-royalist indignation ebbing a little. "There are too many unknowns and too many ways for us to end up in a compromised position with no way out here. And would HALO really be better-suited to this than we are? They're researchers and explorers. They can't research Skyside's way to stability any more than we can fight our way to it."

[Elf to the Manor- MERC Adventure]

The gambit succeeds and most of the critters are flung off the car, scattering like so many dry leaves. The ones that manage to stay inside the vehicle are bounced off the walls and dazed. The drivers and passengers will have a possibly temporary reprieve from their attacks, but the wood-spider is coming in fast. It will try to jump to the top of the car, if it can catch up.

[Earl of Purple]

Elf to the Manor- MERC Adventure

Mister Slash doesn't want to run all the way around to the back, not when he's in front of the vehicle. He wants to stop it, to make things easier to rescue his target. His ability to hide behind glass also means he's invisible through the windscreen, meaning the driver and front passenger probably have very little idea he's there. He's running to the driver's side door, dropping the glass shard- which hits the ground and shatters into tiny pieces- and tries to punch through that window and grab the driver and drag them out of the van. He's got an affinity to glass, making punching through the window easier and also ensuring he's unharmed by the move.

[Shadowcaller]

[MERC Office]

'Cute'.

Yeah, these girls reminded her of Tina alright.

"You planning to stick around in town then?" Dena inquires, not sounding like she has taken any kind of offense. It was hardly the first time a client had attempted to flirt with her. Even the snake-hair didn't seem to prevent that.
"I'm not one for ladies, not that I'm saying no to a social call if that's what you're asking for. I could always introduce you to some of my friends. If you're planning to stay around in the nexus for a longer time it probably couldn't hurt to get to know some of the more prominent figures around here, yeah?" Tina could be considered 'prominent' by some standards at least.

[UncleWolf]

The Ms. J Investigation

"Uhu-uhu..." Anika nods, these details unimportant to her until Jezebel starts hesitating. That peeked her curiosity.

She let's Jezebel finish explaining and then peeks at the box. "Ilpholin, eh?" So C-command had told her about her and Ilpholin, huh? Interesting!

"I suppose I could hand this over to her." But she's going to open the box right now to take a look inside first. Assuming it isn't difficult to open of course. Ilpholin would be suspicious of such a box no doubt so she would have to thoroughly investigate it first!

Impzabel

"I'm not sure what Tellysandra is after exactly. She's a noble, yes. But she's also a business woman. I've never actually met a combination like that before. Since you are aware that Skyside was once a monarchy, right? I don't know the details myself but it was thrown over by the greedy overlords that now control the city. It's possible that she, or perhaps her family, are loyalists that wish to reinstate the royal rulers."
Cessie glances at Wenomir. "I'm not saying they would do a better job but it's a possible motivation for her actions."

[Impzabel]

Wenomir frowns. That is, on its own, not unusual. But this frown is deeper than his default expression. This is Wenomir's face of political opinions.

"Being a royalist would be one way to make me even more dubious about this enterprise than I already am," he says, his voice as cheerful as his face. "If we were to wrest Skyside from the hand of the robber-princes, the power would need to go the people. But it's pure speculation. Unfortunately, by the time we could find out what her true motives are, it would likely be too late to back down. This is the kind of plan one commits to." He rests his chin on his hand, his anti-royalist indignation ebbing a little. "There are too many unknowns and too many ways for us to end up in a compromised position with no way out here. And would HALO really be better-suited to this than we are? They're researchers and explorers. They can't research Skyside's way to stability any more than we can fight our way to it."

Ms. J Investigation

Inside the easily opened box is precisely what Jezebel promised, an expertly carved and sanded wooden rod, about the length of her forearm and ready to be used after basic preparations. The lavender woman inclines her head a little in thanks once it has been inspected. "Thank you, Anika. For both this and your understanding."

Impzabel

"A royalist...is certainly an interesting possibility." The imp ponders, reaching up to idly scratch at one of her horns. "If she seeks to reinstated royal power, either for her own interests or if she were part of the royal family or court before, it would explain quite a bit. But Wenomir is correct I suppose, guessing at motivations wouldn't likely change anything." She leans back, looking up at her ceiling in thought. "As for why I wondered about HALO, it was the idle thought that they're likely to be able to infiltrate a little better. Unless you'd like me to call in a few of my subordinates to start digging through the city. Old hivers like myself. Probably jump at the chance to get into another gang again and inflict some organized crime on crime violence." She tosses the idea in her head a bit before leaning back forward on the table and taps on it with a finger. "There's the possible in, really. The balance of skyside is probably like any Underhive's. A delicate balance of temporary truces and treaties all ready to be unraveled by a choice conflict or lit up with a spark of friction. The downside of course is that if a city wide conflict is started, it could spill over to the public if the place is as wrapped up in it as it seems. But any attempt to "clean up" Skyside would result in it. It would need to be guided and directed by our hands."

[Ironsmith]

[MERC Office]

'Cute'.

Yeah, these girls reminded her of Tina alright.

"You planning to stick around in town then?" Dena inquires, not sounding like she has taken any kind of offense. It was hardly the first time a client had attempted to flirt with her. Even the snake-hair didn't seem to prevent that.
"I'm not one for ladies, not that I'm saying no to a social call if that's what you're asking for. I could always introduce you to some of my friends. If you're planning to stay around in the nexus for a longer time it probably couldn't hurt to get to know some of the more prominent figures around here, yeah?" Tina could be considered 'prominent' by some standards at least.

[MERC Office]

Malady stops by the door. "Well, yeah. I suppose we probably should. It's always a good idea to netw-"

Mania bursts back into the room, going straight in to hug Dena, wings unfurled. "Yes!" She crows. "Oh yes please introduce m- us to some of your prominent friends! We'd love to meet them!" She giggles.

Now, as Jaahlyn had already seen, this particular type of succubus uses their wings being folded as a focus for any and all glamour effects. When the wings are folded, the costume comes on. Unfolded, costume off. As a result, many succubi (of Mania's type) use unfolded wings as an expression of sincerity; they underscore the fact that their statements aren't "dolled up" by physically being the same.

Of course, since infernal illusion magic is much easier for them to apply and maintain than actual clothing and makeup, many succubi see it as redundant and don't bother wearing anything "underneath" their wings. As Jaahlyn also saw earlier, Mania is among those who subscribe to this school of thought.

So, to recap; Dena's offer to meet with certain "prominent figures" results in a not-even-scantily clad demoness of lust with a wild look in her eye bodily throwing herself into the gorgon's arms, in what will probably result in some poor HR official needing to update their heart medication.

Malady sighs and shakes her head. "Oh my god, Manny... down, girl..."

[Shadowcaller]

The Ms. J Investigation==> The Toy Shop

Anika peers at it closely but she ultimately knew that she wasn't going to be able to tell much simply from looking at it. Thus she closes the box as she starts to consider who could help her find out more about it.
"Uh, no problem. Take care and stuff. Bye!" She waves Jezebel and her cronies farewell and then heads out into the city to find someone who could properly identify this thing.

In fact, she had someone in mind already!

The druid slams the door open to the toy store and unless there's a line she's going to place the box right on the counter. "Hey, can someone in here help telling me what this is?" She inquires while opening up the box.

[Impzabel]

As Jezebel is scratching her horns and leaning backwards, Cessie once again have to push out all the questions regarding her current form.

This was so bizarre...

"I'd like to avoid any larger conflict within the city as much as possible. We have to strike at the leaders with as much precision as possible if we would do this. Of course, I'm not certain we even should. Just imagine the reactions to VIGIL directly involving themselves with Skyside politics. We'd be called pawns and tyrants. Serving the interests of whoever ends up in charge once its over, which is most likely Tellysandra herself or someone she's allied with. I don't think we can touch skyside itself for now unless we prove that they're engaging in activities that threatens all of the nexus. However, that's not to say we should sit idle either. There is one aspect of Skyside that I think we can touch without the world getting too upset about it." She taps her finger against the table.

"The slaver transports entering and leaving the city. They've gone unchecked for far too long and I think it's finally time to do something about it. Now we can't just start shooting them down, if we would do that it's likely we'd end up targeting the wrong one or they'll just disguise them as something else. Eventually we'd be forced to stop once they claim one of their transport was filled with civilians or whatever lie they're going to put fourth. Instead, we're going to start gather intelligence on them and then board the vessels we confirm to house slaves or slavers. We'll ambush them out in the open, far away from the city, where there can be no collateral."

Cessie gestures towards Jezebel. "If you like the idea of subterfuge we could also start sabotaging their ships and vehicles before they can even take off. If we keep that up for long enough the slavers would start to turn inwards and target their own population which would put them in conflict with the other factions within the city."

[MERC Office]

Dena wasn't quite expecting such a explosive reaction. Though before Mania can embrace her hand quickly grabs hold of the temples of her sunglasses so they don't accidentally get knocked off as she's suddenly hugged. That could have ended disastrously, would she need to put up signs in her office in the future perhaps?

The fact she was now being hugged by a naked succubi was really the lesser of two evils.

"...ma'm." She declares sternly as she gently attempts to free herself from Mania's embrace. "That could have ended badly, please don't do that again." The apparent nudity only made it all worse. She would have to clean all those chairs, wouldn't she?

[Ironsmith]

[MERC Office]

Mania releases Dena and gives her a kind-of-sort-of-but-not-really embarrassed little giggle. "Sorry. I guess a simple 'yes' would have sufficed."

Though it wouldn't have been as memorable.

Malady holds open the door and gestures emphatically, prompting Mania to walk out of the office for the second time.

Then, before she goes to wait herself, she turns back to Dena. "...Just Manny and Stacy's seats." She says. Then, realizing Dena wouldn't have had much context, adds, "To be cleaned. Euphoria and I are both as dressed as we appear to be." She flicks out her wings for emphasis, temporarily dispelling the few glamours she had bothered with, which mostly covered small details like sweat stains under the arms and a persistent bit of bedhead she hadn't been able to wrangle that morning. "Just... thought you'd want to know. It should save you some trouble."

[Morty]

[Impzabel]

"Involving ourselves in Skyside openly is risky in its own right, yes." Wenomir seems to become more certain of the right course of action here. "And doing so alongside KABAL? I don't know how we'd even explain it to our own people. They might mutiny. Taking on the slavers is something within our limits, perhaps. But I can't help feeling..." He sighs. "We'd only be treating the symptom, not the disease. But maybe that's the best we can hope for in our position."

[Gullara]

[MERC Office]

"That sounds like something Vax would say." Zhareen observes thoughtfully.

Which probably meant it was for the best. Her wife usually didn't want to rely on anyone but she was also pretty savvy when it came to these political things.
"But yes, if we to give them a call back at the compound they could actually do it for us. See, we don't usually tell the younglings this but there are rituals specifically made to track down fourth tower members. As long as you still consider yourself a member of the fourth tower, the spell can find you. Vax would probably have told you that sooner or later so you might as well learn it right now. The issue is of course if Kai'm's in Malechenar right now, or way too far for us to travel... but I suppose that day that sorrow, right?" Zhareen grins.

"So let us, uh, leave the bathroom now. 's getting stuffy in here." Been stuffy in here for quite a while really.

[MERC Office]

"Yes. Please." Korrina agrees readily. She was uncomfortable since minute one of being in here. "But are we done here then? I mean at Merc. I'm not sure what else they can offer us." Zhareen, being the senior, can make the final call on that, though.

[Shadowcaller]

[MERC Office]

Zhareen nods as she exits the bathroom. "I'd say so. Let's leave and call the compound so they can perform the ritual for us. Then we can only hope for the best."

[DEATHKISS TOUR]

Some memories are best not to make.

"...while I appreciate the commitment to the theme, I recommend not going around wearing illusionary clothing. Considering we're supposed to act as law-enforcement here in Westside I wouldn't want to have to arrest any of you for public indecency or whatever they call it." Dena tells Malady with a shrug. "So do whatever you want at your concert, I'm sure your fans will love it, but be careful about this sort of thing outside them in the future, okay? I don't really care but a lot of people do."

[Ironsmith]

[DEATHKISS TOUR]

Malady nods and gives a weary sigh. "I know, I know." She drones. "Manny and Stacy can be a bit... much, to try to rein in. This wouldn't be the first time they've gotten us into trouble if you did decide to arrest us." She rests her chin on her fist and shakes her head. "It probably doesn't help that that's what they want, usually. Manny calls the scandals 'free publicity' and Stacy... well, Stacy seems to have a principle problem with it. Some sort of 'rebel without a cause' schtick she's leaned into ever since we formed up." She sighs. "I've tried talking it out with both of them. They just won't have it. If you could maybe... imply to whoever you send our way that it'd be in their best interests to help those two kick the habit, I'd be glad to throw in a bonus."

[Murkus]

The Ms. J Investigation==> The Toy Shop

Anika peers at it closely but she ultimately knew that she wasn't going to be able to tell much simply from looking at it. Thus she closes the box as she starts to consider who could help her find out more about it.
"Uh, no problem. Take care and stuff. Bye!" She waves Jezebel and her cronies farewell and then heads out into the city to find someone who could properly identify this thing.

In fact, she had someone in mind already!

The druid slams the door open to the toy store and unless there's a line she's going to place the box right on the counter. "Hey, can someone in here help telling me what this is?" She inquires while opening up the box.

[The Toy Tinker]

The noise startles the fellow behind the counter so badly that his spectacles nearly fly off his face. They still hang a little ajar, but the eyes behind them blink in befuddlement. The counterman is tall, lean, dressed in a green felt shirt. He appears elfish, with blue-grey skin mingled amongst strange copper prosthetics. His ears, parts of his face and neck are all fitted with them. His eyes appear to be entirely artificial devices of some kind, metal orbs with glowing pupils of gold. His coiffed hair is an autumnal red.

"Uhm... is it a toy you need identified, miss...?" Asks the man in a stiff accent as he looks into the box. Other customers in the little store are giving Anika bewildered or skeptical looks. Another crazy in Riverside, how droll!

[Shadowcaller]

[The Toy Tinker]

"Uhh... yeah! A very mysterious toy. Got it as a gift." Anika explains with a nod.

If the toy store owner opens the box he will find a branch of a tree. Mysterious indeed.
"It's magical." Anika adds helpfully(?).

[DEATHKISS TOUR]

Dena looks skeptical. "You want me to...? Look, I promised a social meeting. I shouldn't get involved in their business if you catch my drift. I mean if you, their co-worker and friend can't convince them why do you think I can? Not a trained personal trainer or therapist. Just a simple mercenary that happens to do rather well for herself."

[Ironsmith]

[DEATHKISS TOUR]

"Well, mostly because you're not me. Using the collective 'you' here, of course." Malady sighs. "I mean, yes, I'm their coworker and friend. I'm also their coworker and friend who has been the least enthusiastic about this whole super-slutty succubus thing. Euphoria being a close second, but she doesn't seem to enjoy anything. I just think it'd be a little more persuasive if they heard it from someone other than miss party pooper." She gives Dena a pained little smile and hides behind the door. "Just a thought. I'm only asking."

And with that, she walks out again, leaving Dena to her own devices.

[Gullara]

[MERC Office]

Zhareen nods as she exits the bathroom. "I'd say so. Let's leave and call the compound so they can perform the ritual for us. Then we can only hope for the best."

[MERC Office]

"Alright, good." Korrina nods and heads back to where Dena is waiting on them. She winces as she starts talking. Just that short time standing up has been hell on her feet. They're soar enough without carrying around all this weight.