Riverside 21: Older than Arkh

[Shadowcaller]

[Xar'cha Residence]

The brief and sordid misadventures of Spider and Myr drone will forever go untold.

Some time later Ilpholin does arrive, dressed in her usual officer-esque uniform with purple cape. The cape is the only part of her clothes that isn't the clothing Tauron expertly stitched together for her some time back. "Sorry for keeping you waiting. I was in the middle of working on a new prototype with Mister Squiggles for a specialized transportation system." Not that she needs to explain herself to the unexpected guest.

"I guess offering you anything to eat is unnecessary?" Ilpholin asks as she moves to sit down in a chair. "I can't say that I'm not surprised to see you. I hope this isn't bad news regarding your temple or anything?"

[The Toy Tinker]

Sticks barely looks up from his task, but he frowns when he sees the picture. With a nasally sigh he replies, "No, I could not. A photograph does not dedicated research make. Though if you really wish to be relieved of more gold, I could research her for you. I ought to be paid for my time, after all." This sounds like it's entirely intended as a jest, but he's so bad at it that it may not come across that way.

"In the mean time, I have good news. There's nothing sinister about this object at all. Quite the opposite, in fact," Sticks reaches up without looking and, with a rusty crank, adjusts one of his lenses. "It is infused with a pure, purposeless, unaligned aura of positive energy. There is no direction to the power, no... will. No direct origin. It is, almost literally, the coalesced power of benign mortal hopes and dreams."

"Emotions, especially strong ones, can lend things power, you see," says Sticks. "Most people don't realize it, but your metaphysical self - the soul, to the layman - touches everything that you touch. Emotions are very closely mingled with the power of the soul. This energy that you put out into the world resonates. Clings. You trade invisible power with everything and everyone around you, every moment of every day. A multitude of people putting strong emotions out into the world can have wondrous effects... or disastrous ones. With enough time, even dead clay can be infused with the will of generations. Or, hm, wood, in this case."

"I'm not sure if this is what happened here, but it resembles a sanctified object-- like an altar that has been prayed before many times. What this means is that it's prime material for crafting into a proper tool. What's more, there is so much energy pouring out of this item that it could even bend certain physical laws. Becoming slightly larger or smaller and acquiring more mass as the purpose of its new shape requires. A rod, a staff, a wand, a stave, a... club. Even the shavings would be useful."

[Xar'cha Residence]

"I'm afraid so. My creator unfortunately didn't think to give me the gift of taste so the subtle pleasure of food would be lost to me. Alas." Tauron shakes his head as he pulls back his hood. "But I come bearing the news of quite the opposite at least. See, I am considering attempting to expanding and start up a new temple in one of the cities. Riverside of course came to mind considering your presence within it and what they've suffered at the hands of these demons." He will gesture at a window from which the city can be seen if there's such a thing. "But another potential city I considered was Skyside as my research suggests that they would be far more open to my craft and they've suffered demonic problems of their own." Two of his surgical claws now gestures to her. "Thus I have something of a dilemma and I came to you in hopes that your experience with this place could help me solve it. What do you think would be the ideal place of those two?"

[The Toy Tinker]

Anika looks to the photo and then at Sticks. "I guess that makes sense."
She had hoped such a thing would be obvious to a dedicated undead(?) mage like him.

Her eyes then are directed to the item in question as Sticks once again brings her attention to it. As he corrects his lenses Anika peers closer as if that would make her see what he's talking about.

His explanation makes her long eyebrows raise before her expression turns into something like disgust. "So you're saying that our soul trade energies with poop and stuff like all the time? Eww. No wonder people are so dirty-minded. Their souls are rubbing itself all over the place. I mean, no offense but I don't know where most people's souls have been so I certainly wouldn't want that in my face. Or inside me for that matter." She sticks out her tongue in disgust.

"But this is a tree with a collection of clean soul energy then, huh?" Anika eyes the branch and then Stick. "...my soul isn't unclean, right? Since I've been in some pretty disgusting places and I don't remember ever cleaning it. I mean, none of my masters have made any comments so I assume its cool."

[Ironsmith]

[St. Leonard's Hospital]

St. Leonard's Hospital

"Aye, good f'r ye t' be so unnerstandin'. It weren't Deathkiss. T'were a fan who threw th' bomb at the fo'c'stle. Ah, stage, I guess be the landlubber term, aye? An attendee, not one o' th' girls I be hired t' guard." If the stage isn't the forecastle, it's the quarterdeck. Maybe the poop deck, but generally there's living quarters underneath, and Frigate's pretty sure there wasn't a bedroom under the stage. He could have been mistaken, though.

"Yeah, I know. I was there." The nurse replies nonchalantly, bapping the elevator's emergency stop button rather forcefully, bringing the lift to a screeching halt. "I appreciate that you're just doing your job and all, but a guard of your caliber is going to be just annoying to get around. I'd consider this a happy medium, wouldn't you?" The nurse pulls her hand away from the button, dripping molten red plastic onto the elevator floor. "I'll just tell my superiors you were 'watching helplessly', they should enjoy that."

[St. Leonard's Hospital]

Doesn't matter what Euphoria intended: Carmen's thoughts are already predisposed on this subject. If someone else said the same thing about having a lasting relationship with a paladin, she'd probably react the same.


Once again, she's getting the feeling that by being here, she's intruding somewhere she doesn't really belong.

What should she do?
Just act like she's not here? Let them deal with everything in peace even though she's spent the last while talking with them? But she just barely met them, too, so wouldn't doing something be far too intruding? She's never even met Mania and only knows her singing voice and what she looks like, so saying anything would be incredibly inappropriate.

Realizing that, regardless of what she does, it's going to be awkward one way or another, she decides something is better than nothing so
even though it's quite uncomfortable
and also a little painful
she leans over and up, to put a palm on Euphoria's arm (or hip, or whatever is closest). Not really to say anything, but just as a gesture of human warmth. (Succubus warmth. Whatever. Same thing.)

That... seems to help. Just a little. Euphoria's stopped screaming, at least. Her tail wraps around Carmen's arm almost instinctively, and she slowly pulls back from the window. The demoness has a set of fresh tear tracks running down her cheeks, and it's clearly taking her a considerable amount of effort to not break all the way down after recieving this news; if Carmen hadn't been here, she probably would've curled up on the floor and just given up.

Then Fade explains what happened in more detail, and grief gives way to cold fury.

[St. Leonard's Hospital]

"An assassin from a group calles SAINT killed her. She was pretending to be a big fan and Mania did trust her immediatly. While we dealt with the man you saw, whos name was Mixer, Mania tried to protect the 'fan' and was killed by her. She tried to stall me." He holds up his bandaged hand. "I had to left her to get here in time."

Fade doesn't seem to startle by Euphoria's action. much like he saw what she is going to do even while he's not looking at her. He sights heavily.

"I didn't want to do that, but I notice you are affected by the news and any discusions won't get us anywhere. Just give me a moment and try to group up."

He extends his hand and after a while white obs with sun symbols fly through the walls and collect inhis hand. It seems to take a while befor he is going to do something, but it should be obviouse that it takes him some effort.

"Wrong." Euphoria snaps, seizing ahold of Fade's collar. "You're going to take me to find this assassin. You're the reason we don't know where she is, so you are going to find her. And when you have, I am going to tear her apart, joint by joint, piece by piece, one morsel of meat and bone at a time, and feast on her screams until she's no longer capable of making them, then keep going until all that is left of her are her eyes, so she can watch me do the same to everything she loves and see how she likes it!" The demoness growls, baring a set of needly teeth. "Or you can fail to find her and I'll take it out on you before doing the job myself!"

"...Holy [crap], Phory..."

Melody and Stacy shift uncomfortably in their beds, trying to avoid meeting Euphoria's gaze. They're not any happier than she is about Mania, but that still seems just excessive.

[Earl of Purple]

St. Leonard's Hospital

"An' what makes ye think ye're superiors will be able t' get any word from ye? Ye've stopped the elevator, wi' me in it, an' the doors won't open, aye?" Frigate swings an arm out, trying to backhand the nurse with his bronze-and-stone fingers. Hopefully, that'll knock her out and not break her neck. If it works, he'll get to work on prying the doors open with his cutlass serving as a lever, the enchanted brass ensuring it won't snap.

[Reinholdt]

[Xar'cha Residence]

"Oh has it? I've not heard of Skyside's demon problems," Ilpholin says, trying to think of what Tauron means. Tellysandra?

"But I fear offering your services to Skyside would be a waste in general. They would never appreciate Compleation and what it truly means on a spiritual level. Only seek to twist and use it for profits and power. Indeed, I believe you'd even find your visitors to be stunted into only the Haves of the upper class. If you're fine with that, then by all means go ahead. Just know you're probably limiting your own research in the process. I'd think at any rate. Tis only a guess."

She shrugs a little. "You'd have your own problems here I suppose. The whole East, West, South, North thing keeps this city artificially divided and it's not common to cross those lines. Not as unheard of, but certainly a factor in deciding where you'd want to settle. For instance, Southside is still pretty desolate overall, but doesn't have to deal with the democratic process of Eastside. I'm not sure there's much of a wrong answer."

[Ironsmith]

St. Leonard's Hospital

"An' what makes ye think ye're superiors will be able t' get any word from ye? Ye've stopped the elevator, wi' me in it, an' the doors won't open, aye?" Frigate swings an arm out, trying to backhand the nurse with his bronze-and-stone fingers. Hopefully, that'll knock her out and not break her neck. If it works, he'll get to work on prying the doors open with his cutlass serving as a lever, the enchanted brass ensuring it won't snap.

[St. Leonard's Hospital]

The nurse slams first into Frigate's arm, then into the side of the elevator, tumbling to the floor of the tiny room she'd sealed them both into. It looks as though he'd managed exactly what he set out to-

"You got another one of those in ya?"

The nurse chortles and stands, wiping fresh blood from her lip, a series of blades springing from her fingertips.

"You know, I could take you apart first." The demon smirks, stabbing the control panel and watching as it drips onto the floor. "...Hell, why not? That psycho fangirl put me behind on my count anyway. I'll just rip whatever passes for a soul from your body instead!"

[Murkus]

[The Toy Tinker]

Sticks wants to sigh in general fatigue at this line of questioning, but the last one is actually somewhat important.

"It's not about a thing being clean or dirty. But I guess if you had to frame it as such, it's actually very difficult for a soul to become unclean. I would know. That's my business, and the source of my power, you see. Souls."

"In terms that... you might appreciate," Sticks says, thinking quickly. "Your soul can't become dirty in such a mundane way as you think. It's... perfect. Clean. Eternal. The filth and rot of the material cannot touch it. It can become mired with foul emotions or wants... or with evil doings. But I suspect you have a nearly spotless one, miss. So don't fret."

Sticks picks up the branch and hands it back to her. "Did you hear what you were hoping to? I can undertake a more serious examination if you wish, but I suspect I'll find more of the same. The item is not complicated."

[5a Violista]

[St. Leonard's Hospital]

Having a tail wrap around her arm makes it...slightly? less uncomfortable? Well, just having pressure on her arms helps a little, so that's probably why.
She just keeps her arm there on her.


Carmen finally puts two and two together.
Ugh, why did it take so long? It makes sense that Euphoria didn't put it together, because grief does that. But...
"Wait," Carmen looks at Fade's face(?) (isn't he shadowy? How can she tell that's actually his face?). "When you got here, you asked how fast they could leave. And you just said she was trying to stall you." She pauses, to make sure her conclusion makes sense. "So does that mean that murderer's partners are already here?"

Carmen glances at the door, hoping Frigate is going to come back through it right now, and not some other person. "That Frigate...how long did the nurse tell him the paperwork would take?"

[Earl of Purple]

St. Leonard's Hospital

Frigate doesn't waste time talking, as the demon is distracted by monologuing and ensuring the lift is disabled. He pulls his cutlass free of his belt and in a single swift movement he swings the short, heavy blade at the 'nurse's' neck. The brass blade is enchanted, harder and sharper than it should be so it out-performs a steel blade, and the cutlass was designed for use in the cramped conditions belowdecks aboard a ship. The lack of space within the elevator is not a hindrance to Frigate's use of the blade.

His other hand drops to rest on his pistol to pull that free, but finds only an empty space- he gave that one to Euphoria, and drew his weapons on instinct and mechanical memory.

[Zefir]

St. Leonard's Hospital

For clear up, Fade is a rather human looking man with a face and all that. His skin has a perfect tone so it's easy to make out between his grey/black clothing. That means Carmen can clearly see his face.

While Fade was preparing his healing spell he gets interrupted by a mad Euphoria. The mana he collected spreading away as he drops the concentration. He assumed they might fall under the curse of emotions, but he assumed they are able to withstand it. After all they are demons who paly with emotions of their surrounding on a daily basis. This is kind of annoying. He swipes her hand away, having some incredible force behind it, since he assumes her anger is letting her use most of her strength to keep a hold. Itproperbly results in the collar get ripped of by her, but when this happened it tries to escape the grip and return to it's place.

"Snap out of your blind anger." Fade replies in his typical emotionless voice. "If you threaten me you should be aware that this will result in the end of the contract. You are free to go on your revenge tour, but listen carefully. If you do, you will have at least two more revenge tours to go as your band mates here will meet a simular fate as Mania."

Then Carmen makes herself the most competent succubus in the room, for the moment.
"Exactly. For now I have to belive there are four different groups that wanna see you dead. Three of them seem to be local as their reason to kill you mostly results from the demon attack a while back. If we can leave the city we should be able toavoid them. The one that will hunt you anywhere are the demons like the man you saw. But having only one problem is making things easier."

Fade has no idea what happened to lead Fridgate away so he won't be able to answer it.
"It seems i arrived just befor the main act."

[Shadowcaller]

[Xar'cha Residence]

Tauron nods thoughtfully. "Yes, I was aware of this but I had admittedly not put much thought into it until now." He pauses for a moment. "Your reasoning is sound. All too often in the past has the grand vision been corrupted by... smaller minds. This leaves only Riverside as an option. There I see two possibilities. Either I work with one of the factions which governs this city or I open up a temple at one of the sides and see how the population reacts to it." A beat. "Though, perhaps the latter could lead to the former?" His eyes once again focus on her.

"But this reminds me, you should be pleased to know that I've made recent updates to the glistening oil which functions as the basis of Compleation. Rendering individuals such as yourself completely immune to the mutations and other alterations that comes with the exposure to that demonic mutagenic substance. So I could theoretically make the entire city, if not the entire nexus, immune." He let's out what sounds like a sigh. "But one step at the time. I wanted to ask your opinion on my reasoning regarding starting up in Riverside so we can at long last start this process."

[The Toy Tinker]

"Oh, okay. That makes sense. I always though the soul was just a little wisp thing that blew up in people's faces but I guess there's more to it than that." Sticks had quite a revelation here!

"But nah, its okay dude. You've helped me more than enough already." Anika gently pats him on the back and then places her hand on his shoulder with a smile. "I'll make sure to recommend your cool shop to everyone I know."

[Ironsmith]

[St. Leonard's Hospital]

St. Leonard's Hospital

Frigate doesn't waste time talking, as the demon is distracted by monologuing and ensuring the lift is disabled. He pulls his cutlass free of his belt and in a single swift movement he swings the short, heavy blade at the 'nurse's' neck. The brass blade is enchanted, harder and sharper than it should be so it out-performs a steel blade, and the cutlass was designed for use in the cramped conditions belowdecks aboard a ship. The lack of space within the elevator is not a hindrance to Frigate's use of the blade.

His other hand drops to rest on his pistol to pull that free, but finds only an empty space- he gave that one to Euphoria, and drew his weapons on instinct and mechanical memory.

snk-rrk!

The now-disembodied head of the nurse gives a vaguely annoyed expression as both parts tumble to the floor of the elevator. I suppose that works, too. She mouths, unable to properly speak with her lungs and diaphragm separated from her larynx.

Well, that's that handled. Now how does Frigate intend to get out of the elevator?

[St. Leonard's Hospital]

Having a tail wrap around her arm makes it...slightly? less uncomfortable? Well, just having pressure on her arms helps a little, so that's probably why.
She just keeps her arm there on her.


Carmen finally puts two and two together.
Ugh, why did it take so long? It makes sense that Euphoria didn't put it together, because grief does that. But...
"Wait," Carmen looks at Fade's face(?) (isn't he shadowy? How can she tell that's actually his face?). "When you got here, you asked how fast they could leave. And you just said she was trying to stall you." She pauses, to make sure her conclusion makes sense. "So does that mean that murderer's partners are already here?"

Carmen glances at the door, hoping Frigate is going to come back through it right now, and not some other person. "That Frigate...how long did the nurse tell him the paperwork would take?"

Carmen probably doesn't realize how right she is. Even now, a certain mulchman is already pulling himself through a portal in the downstairs supply closet, shaking off his recent decapitation with minimal effort. His hound trails behind him, sniffing and growling, making his way back to the elevator; Frigate's likely going to be delayed even longer if he can get that door open.

St. Leonard's Hospital

For clear up, Fade is a rather human looking man with a face and all that. His skin has a perfect tone so it's easy to make out between his grey/black clothing. That means Carmen can clearly see his face.

While Fade was preparing his healing spell he gets interrupted by a mad Euphoria. The mana he collected spreading away as he drops the concentration. He assumed they might fall under the curse of emotions, but he assumed they are able to withstand it. After all they are demons who paly with emotions of their surrounding on a daily basis. This is kind of annoying. He swipes her hand away, having some incredible force behind it, since he assumes her anger is letting her use most of her strength to keep a hold. Itproperbly results in the collar get ripped of by her, but when this happened it tries to escape the grip and return to it's place.

"Snap out of your blind anger." Fade replies in his typical emotionless voice. "If you threaten me you should be aware that this will result in the end of the contract. You are free to go on your revenge tour, but listen carefully. If you do, you will have at least two more revenge tours to go as your band mates here will meet a simular fate as Mania."

Then Carmen makes herself the most competent succubus in the room, for the moment.
"Exactly. For now I have to belive there are four different groups that wanna see you dead. Three of them seem to be local as their reason to kill you mostly results from the demon attack a while back. If we can leave the city we should be able toavoid them. The one that will hunt you anywhere are the demons like the man you saw. But having only one problem is making things easier."

Fade has no idea what happened to lead Fridgate away so he won't be able to answer it.
"It seems i arrived just befor the main act."

Euphoria's expression hardens briefly when Fade refuses to comply, but as his reasoning sinks in, she abruptly releases him, further encouraged by his efforts to get free on his own. "...Consider it on your to-do list." She grumbles. That woman was still going to pay, and pay dearly, for killing her friend... but focusing on that was likely to get everyone else in the room killed, too. There's going to be a better time and place to make that arrangement. For now, she needs to keep her thoughts on her other bandmates... and Carmen.

She reaches back and holds the half-succubus to her, giving her a protective side-hug as she wipes her eyes dry. "...Do you know how to defend yourself?" She asks Carmen abruptly.

[5a Violista]

[St. Leonard's Hospital]

Don't worry, I'm sure Carmen is capable of proving herself incompetent at a future point in time.

"Pretty decent defending myself against most magic," Carmen answers. Then, with only a little more thought needed, she adds, "And I should be okay otherwise, unless, like, they have something like an Abstinaxe or a Lust Sword. Or if I'm pinned down." She'd be more confident if moving around didn't hurt, because then she'd be more confident in being able to weave false memories or trace magic circles quickly.

[Arkhosia]

Valentine's at Bloodsong's

The sunset dims and the streetlights are coming on around the time that a dark blue corvette rolls to a stop outside the elegant exterior of the Bloodsong's Oasis, sleek and new. The driver's side slips open and Cantata steps out of it in a stunning dress, her wavy brown locks tied up in a stylish bun. She looks around before slipping out a makeup case and double-checking her lipstick as if nervous that someone might catch her in the act, and starts to head towards the entrance. She looks around to see whether her date has arrived, clasping her pocketbook closed.

[Earl of Purple]

St. Leonard's Hospital

Now he's alone, Frigate still uses his sword. First, he slides it into the space between the lift's doors, and pushing on it like a lever to force the aperture open. He might need to do that again, if there's another set of doors beyond- and there often are, with elevators. He's probably between two floors, so once the doors are open Frigate will reach for the floor or ceiling- whichever is closer without bending- and heaving to push himself and the broken transport up or down, to a floor he can step out of- though he'd be lost once he did. There's also no guarantee any of it would work; he has no idea how heavy the lift is, nor how strong the gears responsible for moving it up and down are, the ones he's fighting to move it.

[Reinholdt]

[Xar'cha Residence]

"Perhaps," Ilpholin muses. "I've heard talk of the election period coming up for Eastside. The political savvy would get out ahead of it and start laying the groundwork now. Maybe tie your agenda in with a particular candidate you want to endorse. Risky, should they fail to be elected, but profitable if they succeed."

The phyrexian nymph raises an eyebrow as Tauron mentions the upgraded base component of compleation. "That's... amazing news. I would no longer have to have such an extensive silver filtration network." Which means... she's less likely to overheat? Or something. That it can be offered to the general populace is the more important factor here. "But I don't know what I could offer you that you haven't already heard from me. There's certainly support to be had in Riverside, but there may be pushback as well. There are admittedly growing pockets of anti-demon activity. I could try to talk to those groups to send them your way so that they too may know the glory of being compleated."

[Shadowcaller]

[Xar'cha Residence]

Tauron taps his claws against one another. A gesture makes him seem rather pleased. "Ah, I knew that the residents of Riverside would be in need of my assistance. I've been waiting for my chance to truly help the people of this plane and this might finally be it."

He nods to Ilpholin. "So yes, if you like to gather some like-minded individuals and tell them about what I can grant them I'd be very happy." His lower set of claws fold together contently, making him look more pleased than Ilpholin can recall ever seeing him. "This is the beginning of something great, Ilpholin. I can feel it, and its mostly thanks to your efforts really."

[Reinholdt]

[Xar'cha Residence]

"Oh I wouldn't say that. I haven't done anything yet," Ilpholin protests. At least nothing in regards to spreading the enlightenment of Phyrexia.

"Besides, you shouldn't discount your own contributions. After all, you compleated me. Rescued me from those demons." Ilpholin crosses one leg over the other and leans back a little in her chair, watching Tauron's reactions. "Speaking of, I was talking to a friend about that and wasn't really able to give them much in terms of details. Perhaps you could relay it to me again. How did you manage to rescue me from those demons?"

[Shadowcaller]

[Xar'cha Residence]

The upper pair of Tauron's limbs twitch as Ilpholin asks. "Ah... yes, I never did tell you the whole story, did I? At the time I was honestly not sure I could trust you for reasons that are going to become obvious.But you deserve to know the while truth now." Tauron will gesture for her to sit back. "You might want to get comfortable for this one."

"See, you have by now seen my remaining tools and servants, yes?" He gestures towards one of the myr's. "Does it strike you likely that they would have been able to rescue you from those creature?" The phyrexian tilts his head as inquires this.

"The answer is unfortunately no. Instead, what really happened was that one day all the alarms went off within my temple. I was expecting an invading force but instead my servants detected a single creature carrying you. I naturally expected it to be some kind of trap to lure me out. But then it occurred to me that if one the demons was just walking up to my gate like this it meant they knew the location of the temple. Meaning that they could easily have just sent a larger force so this was something else, something different. Cautiously my servants approached the creature as it didn't seem to have violent intentions and it spoke. It offered you to me and in return I was simply expected to save your life or at least your soul since it was clear you had become infected by the demonic scourge. It was probably the only thing that had made you survive so far I suspected. Though I know that you would have very much preferred death now."

"The creature informed me that you were a powerful hunter of its kin and could be of great value to me. Through my servants I asked why it would do such a thing but got no answers." He let's out a sigh. "I actually did decline at first, knowing it had to be a trap. But instead of carrying you back the way it came it just left you there on the ground and walked away. So there I was watching you slowly turning into one of those creatures through the eyes of my servants and I knew that I couldn't find it in me to do nothing." Tauron pauses a moment as to let all that sink in.

"So... once my servants couldn't find any obvious traps on you I had you brought inside the temple." He gestures to her. "See, at that point I had no idea if the corruption was even reversible but I figured that if I couldn't grant you that then I could at least grant you a proper death. But I did manage to find a way to reverse it and eventually bring you back from the brink. My finest work really." One of his claws points at her once more, but now specifically to her head. "And before you ask, I did find several devices of demonic origin inside of you actually but managed to remove all of them though I couldn't tell you what they did. Their design is arcane to me though I ventured they did nothing good." He makes a dismissive motion. "And there you have it. The truth." Tauron shakes his head.

"I should really have told you sooner but it still seemed so unbelievable. My initial lie seemed more plausible than the idea that the creatures would have so willingly handed over the tool of their own demise. So once it was clear you weren't a infiltrator I had wanted to give you more than what I had. To give you answers to why you were given to me, but I still have nothing. Most of my efforts went into saving you and relocate the temple afterwards. I had one of my servants follow the demon that delivered you to me but it teleported away. Leaving no trace behind." He turns to look her in the eyes. "I hope you can forgive my stupidity and ignorance since I know I could have done more."

[Zefir]

St. Leonard's Hospital

Euphoria and the others will hear a clear "No" on her demand that it remains on his To-Do List. Fade doesn't futher argue here. He just has no reason to do this unless they hire MERC again. Even then he doubts MERC will take a job hunting down a person for a kill. Sounds much like an assassination job.

"Now don't disturb me any further." he says to Euphoria. "I was about to heal them, but it is extremly challenging for me to do and the area isn't made for the mana I need. I reduce it to a minimum so they should be able to get out of here on their own."

He will then again start to channel mana like befor. It will need time.

[Ironsmith]

[St. Leonard's Hospital]

St. Leonard's Hospital

Now he's alone, Frigate still uses his sword. First, he slides it into the space between the lift's doors, and pushing on it like a lever to force the aperture open. He might need to do that again, if there's another set of doors beyond- and there often are, with elevators. He's probably between two floors, so once the doors are open Frigate will reach for the floor or ceiling- whichever is closer without bending- and heaving to push himself and the broken transport up or down, to a floor he can step out of- though he'd be lost once he did. There's also no guarantee any of it would work; he has no idea how heavy the lift is, nor how strong the gears responsible for moving it up and down are, the ones he's fighting to move it.

The doors come open fairly easily; in a model like this, their function is more or less ornamental, with the only practical use being that they protect the passengers from scraping up against the shaft while the lift traverses the floors. In a situation where the lift has been stopped, such as resulting from a cable failure or when the emergency functions are invoked, they're designed to be opened easily by rescue crews; Frigate can take advantage of that from the other direction.

What might not be so easy is the part that comes afterwards. By the same token, the elevator's emergency stop is designed to not allow the carriage to move for anything if invoked; the alternative is to risk it coming free and sending the passengers down a ten-story plunge in a little metal cage, likely to their deaths.

So, Frigate's going to find himself in an open, but very definitely, unnegotiably stuck elevator, between the tenth and eleventh floor, with no way to turn off the emergency stop. If he were more flexible, he might be able to fit through the gap provided by the door anyway; he'd just have to crawl through it to get to the floor below or hoist himself over to get to the floor above.

But maybe he can still find a solution?

[St. Leonard's Hospital]

Don't worry, I'm sure Carmen is capable of proving herself incompetent at a future point in time.

"Pretty decent defending myself against most magic," Carmen answers. Then, with only a little more thought needed, she adds, "And I should be okay otherwise, unless, like, they have something like an Abstinaxe or a Lust Sword. Or if I'm pinned down." She'd be more confident if moving around didn't hurt, because then she'd be more confident in being able to weave false memories or trace magic circles quickly.

Euphoria raises an eyebrow. That's... actually much better than she was expecting. Her bandmates would pretty much be limited to spitting in their attackers' faces. Which would actually be helpful if they weren't being hunted by another demon, given that their saliva is poisonous.

"You're taking point, then." Euphoria finally replies, hauling Carmen up next to her.

St. Leonard's Hospital

Euphoria and the others will hear a clear "No" on her demand that it remains on his To-Do List. Fade doesn't futher argue here. He just has no reason to do this unless they hire MERC again. Even then he doubts MERC will take a job hunting down a person for a kill. Sounds much like an assassination job.

"Now don't disturb me any further." he says to Euphoria. "I was about to heal them, but it is extremly challenging for me to do and the area isn't made for the mana I need. I reduce it to a minimum so they should be able to get out of here on their own."

He will then again start to channel mana like befor. It will need time.

He's not likely to get it. Even now, Mixer is on his way back to their room. With Frigate out of the picture, all he really needs to worry about is Fade. That other girl doesn't look like she'll be much of a threat... sure, she's another demon(?), but he's well-equipped to handle those. And hey, yet again, bonus soul.

The only delay he's going to give them is that he stops to carve something into the floor first; a nasty surprise for them if they try to run out the door. He's got them backed into a corner; this seems to be the perfect way to exploit it.

[Murkus]

[The Toy Tinker]

"Oh, okay. That makes sense. I always though the soul was just a little wisp thing that blew up in people's faces but I guess there's more to it than that." Sticks had quite a revelation here!

"But nah, its okay dude. You've helped me more than enough already." Anika gently pats him on the back and then places her hand on his shoulder with a smile. "I'll make sure to recommend your cool shop to everyone I know."

[The Toy Tinker]

Sticks looks slightly uncomfortable at the contact, but he smiles anyways. Anika was a little frustrating to interact with... but at least she seemed like a kind person, as he'd already commented on in regards to her soul.

"Well... thank you. But mostly know that I prefer selling toys to plying the wizard's trade." Preferred making them, too. "Still, if you require either, I am at your service."

[5a Violista]

[St. Leonard's Hospital]

To be fair, Carmen would actually be uniquely susceptible to those succubi's poison, simply because it's coming from a succubus. So if she were attacking them, spitting on her would be sorta useful.

She's thankful that she got helped up. It'd be pretty hard to get over there by herself, since her legs feel like jelly. Carmen starts thinking about how she would handle this. Frigate's still out there, so she can't lay any outright traps. There's assassins who could come by who were prepared to take on the three succubi, but also maybe nurses. There's so much she doesn't know - how many there are, how many are already here, what they look like, what they can do...
Oh! But there's these three here. It's been a while since she's been able to fight alongside other succubi, so that really opens up her tactics.

Carmen gestures to the door. "Take me by the door? So I'm not immediately visible when someone comes in."

She starts carefully weaving together a magic with her hands, starting off with a paladin(?) magic thanks to her half-paladin(??) heritage(???). "I hope you gals don't mind if I use you as lust batteries and reservoirs for my magic." Might have to draw from them or put surplus lust energy into them.
Let's see...she needs to create a simple and basic memory. Something that would buy time for her to figure out who comes in and how to handle it.

Once there, she holds the simple woven memories in her hand (simple from necessity); the next person she touches with that hand will get that 'memory' into their mind. Specifically, the 'memory' is that feeling of a momentary lapse in thought, making someone wonder why they're even here, the feeling that they don't know who DEATHKISS is, followed by a memory of the sudden realization that they walked into the wrong room. That the room they intended to enter was the next room over, complete with a little embarrassment for making such a basic mistake.
It's not the best memory alteration she could come up with, but it's the best she could come up with these injuries and the knowledge that there's an unknown number of assassins already in the hospital.
She readies herself to touch the next person who walks by.

[Felandria]

[Attack of the plantlover]

"So you are with him." The Dryad replies. "I never heared he has offsprings or could even make one with flesh. The corruption is deep and we will free you from it." thought her voice sounds convidentt and maybe fanatic she backs away to hide.

The treeling is burns and takes his last seconds in life rolling on the floor. There is no sign of return, as the dryads and treelings continue to rip any electivc apars which causes some fire and others run down passangers to free them from the hypnotic effects of smartphones and headsets.

While none seems to care for the giant woman, an array flies from the üark at her. Sure it is to small to kill Felandria, but the weapons of those dryads are made to pierc through iron hulls and maybe hurt a god so it won't just reflect from her armor or skin. Whoever shot is hidden behind trees and bushes

Ow.

OW!

Felandria gets hit a few times before she manages to cast a Shield spell to deflect the rest, those shots did hurt quite a bit.

Alright, I see we’re playing dirty.

Fair enough, I know that plants aren’t terribly fond of frost.

At which point she will unleash an Ice Storm spell, unleashing a bitter cold towards the dryad and the plants.

Now just frickin chill for a minute and we can settle this.

[Reinholdt]

[Xar'cha Residence]

Ilpholin does not reply to Tauron's obviously simplistic, leading questions, the surgeon clearly trying to sugar coat the truth. She already knew she wouldn't like the answer and it was only a sign of respect that she asked him at all instead of her other instincts. Prepared as she was, the nymph's face is dangerously unreadable as Tauron relays his story, betraying nothing of what she's thinking.

"And you have no idea why it sought you out, found you, nothing, huh?" How mysterious. Supposedly. "What did the creature look like?"

She gives Tauron room to answer the question before asking another. "And how did you know about my clone in AMEN?"

[Zefir]

Ow.

OW!

Felandria gets hit a few times before she manages to cast a Shield spell to deflect the rest, those shots did hurt quite a bit.

Alright, I see we’re playing dirty.

Fair enough, I know that plants aren’t terribly fond of frost.

At which point she will unleash an Ice Storm spell, unleashing a bitter cold towards the dryad and the plants.

Now just frickin chill for a minute and we can settle this.

[Attack of the plantlover]

(Sorry for my bad writing last time i noticed not even I understand it)

Playing dirty? Felandria is a half god/giant woman. Kind of pointless to go into 1on1 combat. Especially when she is just physicaly overpowering them. Not to mention her godly protection she likly has. After all they are mortals in comparison.

The storm has some effect. a few treelings who came out of the bush got frozen immediatly. Also some part of the park does which will likly die, but The gouverment can afford that if it saves lives? If the dryad is hit is unclear. For some time there won't be anoter arrow coming at her.
On the otehr hand the other dryads do take note now and stop their current actions, seeking cover from the giant lady. They seem to plan something.


[St. Leonard's Hospital]

Does he even know Fade is there? He came right when Frigate left the door which means the nurs was already out as well. Unless he got something to spy into the room. Either way Fade does notice when someone is in front of the door and carvs something into the floor. (Assuming he carves it with his claws which is an unusual sound in a hospital. He stops the channeling and immediatly relases the spell. It creates a whit mist that covers the room and disapears a moment later. Everyone in it should feel a little bit of warmth, which results in a minor healing. So scrathes should heal but no broken bones or the full burned body.

He looks at the others and nods at the door to make them aware of the danger. then he steps to the side so he won't be noticed by anyone who comes in. His shadow manifestst as a copy of him, but then it changes his shape in that of an armed men with plate armor, shield and flail. Carmen might notice that this guy is much likly a paladin or was? Sadly he still has no color other then shadow grey so people won't think there is a normal paladin in the room.

[Shadowcaller]

[Xar'cha Residence]

Tauron considers her questions for a moment, or perhaps how to answer them.

"Now that you mention it, there was something else it wanted." He starts while nodding in a manner that seems thoughtfulness. Though if that's just mimicry of living beings or actual mannerisms is anyone's guess.

"It had brought with it a collar, a 'command collar' it called it. As far as I could guess it had been made to control its wearer though I couldn't tell you how from just looking at it. Either way, the demon wanted me to adjust it, making it able to fit a much larger creature than the type of humanoid it had clearly been made for." One of his claws lightly starts tapping against his metal chest while he's seemingly starting to think back.

"It was... curious, I admit. Not since I would want to use such a device myself but since it had clearly not been made by the demons themselves. Something I was sure of after removing and studying those demonic implants I found inside of you. That I guessed was probably why they needed my help to adjust it. Whatever creature they needed it for they didn't seem to know its exact measurement either. Telling me that it needed to magically adjust to whatever neck it was attached to. In retrospect I should probably have accepted it, if only to gauge more of their plans. Yet at the time I was afraid that this collar too was part of an elaborate trap which is why I declined and they just left you there to die."

Tauron then gestures towards one of the myr servitors he brought along. "As for what it looked like, my servants did capture its likeness." He myr comes fourth and inclines its head towards the floor and from the middle of its head it projects a small holographic image of what first glance seem to be a black-colored pit fiend but at closer inspection is in fact a metal simulacrum of one.

The metal its made of should be recognizable to Ilpholin at this point as its the same the fiends use for their armor. The fiend is otherwise unremarkable though it doesn't seem like a simple construct. For one, copying the exact appearance of a fiend would be more of an art project than attempting to build an effective machine and secondly it seems more like an animated statue than something with internal machinery.

"As for your last question, that was something it simply told me. Almost like it wanted to sabotage their own scheme. I've speculated that it might have been the work of a separate faction within their ranks but unfortunately I haven't been able to find out much more since then." He looks to her. "Do you have any more questions? I can let you have a look at the implants if you want. You might be able to find out more about them than me with all your contacts."

[The Toy Tinker]

Sticks looks slightly uncomfortable at the contact, but he smiles anyways. Anika was a little frustrating to interact with... but at least she seemed like a kind person, as he'd already commented on in regards to her soul.

"Well... thank you. But mostly know that I prefer selling toys to plying the wizard's trade." Preferred making them, too. "Still, if you require either, I am at your service."

[The Toy Tinker]

"Yeah, but I actually know a whole bunch of kids that'd be all over your toys. Not so many wizards in the nexus though." Only Cass and Cessie (?) really. "Actually, there is another wizard- ah, whatever. I'm sure to tell them about you either way."

Anika would prefer to have a bag to take the branch in now that Sticks have analyzed it. But once that's done she will leave the shop.

[Rebonack]

[The Toy Tinker]

Lapis put the pieces together.

That wood turtle that walked around was great, she loved it! But where had it come from? What's the origin of these wonderful toys the other kids have?

A toy store of course!

But where could she find such a fabled place?

It was, of course, Anika who came to the rescue. Her big purple friend told her about an AMAZING toy store that would be just perfect! And it's where the turtle came from too she thinks? But it was a long ways away in Riverside and Lapis has never been to Riverside before but that's okay since Lapis is big and intrepid and she's been to way scarier places than a city before and everything will be great!

So!

That's why there's a half-drow child coming in through the front door of the shop, eyes flitting too and fro at all the sights. She looks... any age? It's hard to tell with half-elves, really. Their mixed biology can make it kind of hard to guess who old they are. Certainly a pre-teen of some kind but not the smallest of babs for sure. Thankfully there's no 'unaccompanied children will be given an espresso and a puppy' sign otherwise this would end in tragedy for everyone.

[Earl of Purple]

St. Leonard's Hospital

Well, that is frustrating. If brute force and ignorance fails to move the lift so that Frigate can leave it, gunpowder will have to do the trick. And the advantage with this second plan is he'll know which direction to head in to find the girls. So Frigate looks to see if the elevator has a ceiling hatch, and if so he'll try to open it. Might be tricky for him, since he's not adapted to look up. Still, if he manages it, he'll see if he can see where the cables holding the cab are, and tries to shoot one with his wheellock pistol; he only gave one to Euphoria, not both. If there's no hatch, he's still shooting at the ceiling, he just can't see what he's aiming at and the gunpowder weapon might not be enough to penetrate the top of the lift. If it takes more than one shot, well, that's... Not exactly OK because Frigate suspects there's a time limit, but his powder horn contains an extradimensional space filled with gunpowder and he also has plenty of bullets. And if they bounce off the ceiling, he might be able to squeeze the lead back into spheres and reuse them.

Earl realises Frigate arrived with a blunderbuss, but Earl can't remember what happened to it or where he left it.

[Reinholdt]

[Xar'cha Residence]

All of that told Ilpholin less than she had hoped. She just gives Tauron a look when he asks if she has any more questions. She has many, many more questions, none of which he could provide reasonable answers to, that much was clear. To her frustration, she didn't recognize the demonic figure. The collar... kind of looked like the one that was on that beargon many years ago, but then most collars look like each other.

"I'll have Mister Squiggles look at them," Ilpholin suggests when offered the demonic implants. She'd love for Doctor Xeyal to look at them as well, but he's been missing lately and hasn't responded to any of her inquiries. Probably have to cross that contact off her list.

Still, she can't shake the most pressing issue of all. "So... you have no way of knowing whether or not I'm a clone." Who is to say the demons ever gave back the real Ilpholin Xar'cha? She never woke up feeling 'herself' after all. She felt more than herself, being compleated, but it was still different. She was different. Like how the AMEN clone was very accurate but also different. Knew things it shouldn't have known. Knew things she knows. Was Tauron playing her? The demons? What was the point in such a high level sleeper agent? Had something gone awry?

Was she a person or a project?

[Shadowcaller]

[Xar'cha Residence]

"Well... do you know if there's a sample of your blood that was taken before your near-death experience? I and Mr. Squiggles could simply compare it to your current blood and see if there's a difference. But if not that surely there's some manner of spell that could be employed to find out? Not that I can cast of course but I know that you have other allies that might be able to assist you." Tauron suggests, seemingly trying to be helpful here.