Riverside 21: Older than Arkh

[Gullara]

[Moth Park]

Eliseo laughs and grabs her hand to lead the way. He takes her to a gazebo. The area is pretty quiet, as it usually is in the winter. He leads her inside and then turns to face her. "Good spot?" His eyes are alight and he chuckles nervously. He was teasing at first, but what if..?

[Arkhosia]

Moth Park

Anastasia seems to slow down a little as they approach, her eyes drifting up to take everything in as the thin layer of snow crunches under her shoes. "So that's where you bring all the girls, huh?"

She's probably as lively and nervous as Eliseo is, squeezing his hand a little tighter for a moment as they enter - but as much as she enjoys how he leads her like some manner of gentleman, she doesn't plan on letting this be a repeat of his visit to her room. So Ana gives him a nervous and expectant look, waiting for Eliseo to take the invitation and lean in for the first move... but with just the slightest little glint in her eye this time.

[Gullara]

[Moth Park]

Eliseo laughs, filled with nervous energy. Oh, she's waiting for him, isn't she? The boy puts his hands on her arms and shuffles in a bit closer. A dozen thoughts flash across his mind in that brief moment. Does his breath smell fine? Is he supposed to close his eyes? Shouldn't someone have told him how to do this by now? Welp, no time for any of that. Eliseo leans in, tilts his head slightly, his eyes flutter closed as the inches close, and he kisses Ana. He's uncertain and firm at first, but maybe he has a knack for this because in moments he's exploring her lips with his.

[Arkhosia]

Moth Park

Anastasia has a few of the same fleeting, doubting thoughts herself as Eliseo works up his own courage, her tail wagging briefly as her own hands rest on his hips. The fretting vanishes for once as he leans in however, replaced by a surge of action as the kitsune tries to seize the lead for herself, trying in part to mask her own uncertainty with bravado by leaning up and kissing him first. It might make the start a little more rough than Eliseo would have alone, but she starts to reciprocate - and a little more than that, pushing back with her own exploratory adjustments as Anastasia tries to lead the kiss without coming off too forceful or insistent.

[Gullara]

[Moth Park]

Oh, alright. Eliseo wasn't expecting that of Ana. Not that he minds at all. They linger like that for a little while, lips locked as they get the hang of it. Eliseo's the first to breath the kiss, breathing a bit heavily. How are you supposed to get a breath doing that anyway? "Wanna sit down?" He suggests with a goofy grin.

[Shadowcaller]

[Abandoned Village]

Irena eyes Ruby and suddenly realizes that she might just be from Southside which was a slight improvement from being with MERC in her book. "You from Southside?" She inquires. "Better take him there then, don't want Malechenar to get their grubby hands on him. Will probably cover it all up and blame it on the homeless. I mean, they kept all these tunnels secret from us, didn't they?" Irena doesn't actually know if Malechenar knew about the tunnels or not but she was making some assumptions as she went along.

Fade and Holly gets the silent treatment, they were obviously from MERC so she wouldn't argue with them as they were in Malechenar's pockets.

She had no idea what or who Jaahlyn were but she was pretty confident that she could find her way out of here on her own. Sure didn't want to trust some weird-eyed hoof-woman.
Speaking of which, Jaahlyn gives the rat-tails that Flicker is holding a concerned look, thought probably not for the reason Flicker might think, but still nods to acknowledge her. "Then follow me, miss. This way."

The satyr stops before Holly and gives her a curt nod. "Until we met again then, miss. Whatever masks we might carry." Then she will procede to help Flicker to find her way out, going towards the entrance from which Fade and Ruby entered. The others can follow her if they like.

"Great, good job. I'll make sure you all get a extra payment this month. Solving this is a huge relief. But when you say there's a lot of people down there, one of those wouldn't be someone called 'Archera' wouldn't it? Woman with water powers in an armor with a water skirt. She stands out and I suspect she was heading into these tunnels too based on some recent sightings of her." Dena tells Holly over the communicator.

[Expedition: Fishbowl]

Zhareen puts away the cellphone with a confident grin, but Korrina's hesitation breaks it. "I think it's our best alternative as I'm not sure where else to go. I read that Malechenar solved the rat problem on their own." She strokes her chin thoughtfully and turns to Eon. "Do you have any ideas, Eon? A vision would be helpful too!"

[Abandoned Village => Out]

The ancient tunnels are empty, all that is here are mushrooms and the bodies of dead rats. The former seemingly having starting to grow over the latter, slowly absorbing the flesh.
Thus, her journey back is uneventful until she starts to climb up the rope which they used to descend. When she's almost at the top she can hear footsteps and voices coming from outside the building. She even recognizes one of them, Dena's.

The two had a bit of a history at this point with a failed kidnapping attempt and her enforcing Malechenar's law in Westside. So perhaps not the best of relationships.
Now it sounded like she and some others were close to the warehouse they climbed down in and it sounded like they were looking for a way in.

[bc56]

Expedition: Fishbowl

"Unfortunately, they don't come when called. When something happens to trigger one, I'll let you know." Eon says. He follows behind

[5a Violista]

[Abandoned Village]

Holly nods and looks around. Archera? There might have been someone like that.

She looks at the satyr. "Yeah, um, I...yeah. Nice meeting you; until we meet again."

She speaks into the communicator. "Yeah, I think there was someone there like that," Holly says, a little unsure. "She...hold on, my way out's leaving."

Not wanting to be left down here, Holly ends up following the direction Jaahlyn and whoever-else-followed-her went. "I think she was here, but pretty sure she already left before the communicator started working again."

[Earl of Purple]

Abandoned Village

Flicker is amongst the party following Jaahlyn to the surface. She'll walk most of it, occasionally using her power to rest and keep going. She teleports a very small distance very quickly, so it looks like super-speed, except she doesn't need to move a muscle. She's with the group, but she's keeping a distance. That communicator thingy looks a bit suspicious, if nothing else; Kabal didn't give her one when she signed on to rat-hunting down here. She can't recall if those trolls or whatever they were had anything similar, but they could have done, and Flicker's not interested in another fight. Not right now, at least, not with people. She doesn't have a club or anything, just her shotgun and a few shells for it.

[Arkhosia]

[Moth Park]

Oh, alright. Eliseo wasn't expecting that of Ana. Not that he minds at all. They linger like that for a little while, lips locked as they get the hang of it. Eliseo's the first to breath the kiss, breathing a bit heavily. How are you supposed to get a breath doing that anyway? "Wanna sit down?" He suggests with a goofy grin.

Moth Park

Anastasia's a little more breathless when they finally part, thanks to the first surge forward she began with. She's not sure either, frankly, and she worries that maybe they've gotten something wrong in that respect. Something to look up later, maybe.

"Um, y-yeah. That'd be... good," she answers, tail waving slightly behind her as she looks for some manner of bench. She fiddles awkwardly, unsure what to talk about or even suggest they do after that.

[Gullara]

[Moth Park]

There's plenty of benches to choose from, so they take a seat. Eliseo sits right next to her, half turned toward her. The break gives him a moment to think clearly, but why change a good thing? "Wanna keep going?" He grins.

[Arkhosia]

Moth Park

Anastasia raises her eyebrows at this, a little surprised by how daring Eliseo is being - but a spark of cunning returns to her eyes as she scoots a little closer, lifting her butt off the bench and planting herself sideways in her boyfriend's lap. "We could if you want," she offers sweetly, wrapping her arms over his shoulders.

[Gullara]

[Expedition: Fishbowl]

Zhareen puts away the cellphone with a confident grin, but Korrina's hesitation breaks it. "I think it's our best alternative as I'm not sure where else to go. I read that Malechenar solved the rat problem on their own." She strokes her chin thoughtfully and turns to Eon. "Do you have any ideas, Eon? A vision would be helpful too!"

Expedition: Fishbowl

"Unfortunately, they don't come when called. When something happens to trigger one, I'll let you know." Eon says. He follows behind

[Expedition: Fishbowl]

"Fine, but we should tread carefully." Korrina comments simply.

[Abandoned Village => Out]

The ancient tunnels are empty, all that is here are mushrooms and the bodies of dead rats. The former seemingly having starting to grow over the latter, slowly absorbing the flesh.
Thus, her journey back is uneventful until she starts to climb up the rope which they used to descend. When she's almost at the top she can hear footsteps and voices coming from outside the building. She even recognizes one of them, Dena's.

The two had a bit of a history at this point with a failed kidnapping attempt and her enforcing Malechenar's law in Westside. So perhaps not the best of relationships.
Now it sounded like she and some others were close to the warehouse they climbed down in and it sounded like they were looking for a way in.

[Abandoned Village => Out]

Archera pauses for just a moment when she hears the voices. She curses internally and completes her climb and gets firm ground beneath her feet again. She checks on the baby quickly and then listens more closely to the approaching Mercs. She recognizes the voice, even though it's been years. She tries to pick up what they're saying, but more importantly she tries to discern their location. There were two ways into this place, and she intends to leave the one opposite them.

Moth Park

Anastasia raises her eyebrows at this, a little surprised by how daring Eliseo is being - but a spark of cunning returns to her eyes as she scoots a little closer, lifting her butt off the bench and planting herself sideways in her boyfriend's lap. "We could if you want," she offers sweetly, wrapping her arms over his shoulders.

[Moth Park]

The boy is left blinking away a stunned look at that maneuver. He grins. "Definitely." He puts his arm around her waist. She hasn't thrown him off, it seems, because he leans into her to kiss her again, assuming she meets him half way.

[Arkhosia]

Moth Park

There's a bit of a smug look on Anastasia's lips when she sees that she's managed to take Eliseo by surprise, though she might seem a little disappointed at how quickly he shrugs it off. Her eyes light up a little as she looks to see where his hand has fallen before the two are kissing again, Ana tugging against the back of his neck.

It'll be her to break away after a minute or two this time, leaning away to look over to the sun. "Do- how long do you have til you have to go back," she asks.

[Gullara]

[Moth Park]

"Uh..." Eliseo has to gather himself to think about anything but kissing a cute girl. "Oh, um, like I was supposed to be out of a couple hours maybe?" He hasn't really been minding the time, despite strict instruction.

[Arkhosia]

Moth Park

”Well, I wanna keep kissing you some more, but - I don’t want to give your parents more trouble. Like, it does make it hard to keep doing this,” Anastasia reluctantly points out. Besides, she very much can’t try to sneak in for this; what would his moms think if they found her sneaking in for this? Probably some very bad conclusions, and even worse consequences.

[Shadowcaller]

[Out]

The warehouse is finds herself once again is as far as she can tell unchanged. But now that she's up there she does get a better sense of what's being said. They're still outside the warehouse so it's still limited but she can now make out the following facts:

1. Dena sounds like she's talking with someone over the phone.
2. Dena have mentioned the name "Archera" at least once.
3. The others, whoever they are, seems to be divided into separate groups as the sounds of them looking around seem to be coming from different locations.

[Expedition: Fishbowl]

"We will! But without any visions to help us I gotta ask how do we get to the MERC office undetected? It's a big manor on a hill so it's hard just going there without drawing a lot of attention, I got a picture of it right here." Zhareen shows the two her phone again. "Maybe we could just... call them and tell them to met us up somewhere?" She scratches her headfins. "I'm uncertain."

[Gullara]

[Moth Park]

"I guess you're probably right." Eliseo admits, managing to rein in his hormones. "We should get together again soon, though. How about we catch a movie this weekend?" They'll surely pay close attention to it.

[bc56]

Expedition: Fishbowl

"I can create a distraction, if you want to sneak in." Eon has an idea. The other two aren't exactly sneaky, so he might need to be a very effective distraction. But he thinks he can do it.

[Arkhosia]

Moth Park

Anastasia giggles. "that'd be great! I'll have to, like, have an idea or two," she responds with a smile, shifting back onto the bench. "Sooo... want me to walk you home? Or would I be too much of a distraction?"

[UncleWolf]

Spoiler

Show

[Lotus Gardens]

"How much trouble has she caused for you?" Wenomir wasn't aware of anything personal Tellysandra had done to Jezebel. And this sounds personal. "But I know what KABAL has done besides. Even if she might disavow it. She is the last person I would normally trust, but he proposal is something we need to at least discuss. If for no reason except to decide what to do instead."

The Empress's Estate

The plating's sheer chill isn't something Octavia expects, and she jumps a little when the metal first touches her skin. It's a little strange to feel the cold so acutely now, she realizes - a boost of sensitivity she'll have to be mindful of, considering the nature of her kith and kin. She does manage not to drop the frost-coated armor despite this, but she certainly has to pause and rub the warmth back into her fingers, raising her eyebrows in surprise as the Empress relays Glahr's remark.

"I, uh- I wouldn't say- well that is good to know, I guess," she answers, not quite sure how to gauge the level of burn she's been handed. She kind of trails off as she stares at the Empress's sculpted physique looming above her before hurriedly returning to the buckles of her leg plating with a blush. Kneeling down as she must to do so makes it all the more unexpected to feel the Empress draw her up into her arms, drawing a gasp before letting herself be drawn close and snuggled up to. "I uh- I don't quite see why you can't afford the luxury - but I'm honored to hear such words."

Lotus Gardens

They can hear who Jezebel can tell is Cessie by the footsteps she makes slowly descending down the stairs. Wenomir can hear her too of course but as he haven't heard her go down this particular set of stairs before he can't tell it's her.

She's probably going to join them in the next post.

The Ms. J Investigation

There were many questions swirling around in Anika's head.
Like why Jezebel had mentioned tentacles specifically. She certainly hadn't looked for those, so did that mean Jezebel had them hidden somewhere on her body? Was she planning to use them to squeezed her? Ew!

Secondly, was she implying that was C-command's mark?! That was kinky as ****, wow! She had no idea they had that kind of relationship.

Thirdly... "Does Wenomir know about all this? If so, why haven't he told me or the others! They deserve to know one of their sorta-commanders is a demon." Anika inquires as she crosses her arms over her chest. Despite all Jezebel's intuitions about her intelligence she was gonna keep her sudden cool.

If Jezzy was truly bound to C-command that raised all sort of questions regarding Jezebel's position. Could she even disagree with C-command if she was her demon-slave or whatever? Sounded like they needed an investigation into this as soon as possible!

Empress' Estate

The Empress is quiet for a bit, simply taking in the presence of her companions for the moment. "Then I hope you never shall have to understand the weight of responsibilities that Power and Divinity requires one to bear." She explains as Glahr drags a blanket over to cover all three of them. Glahr and the Empress both are only luck-warm when it comes to body heat, but Octavia ought to produce enough for the three of them to actually warm up. Glahr very much doesn't seem like she's willing to let Octavia go for a while given how close she's snuggling up with her, trapping her between the two.

The Ms. J. Investigation

"Not yet. Given mine and Wenomir's mutually combative past, I was wishing to make sure this was all...stable before revealing it to him in person." Jezebel reaches up to adjust her outfit, her technique at summoning it not quite perfected yet it seems and it hangs a touch loose. "I do not know if it is a common story any longer, but there was a time where he and I dueled to the death. I do not wish to repeat such an experience even if we've buried the proverbial hatchet. Especially since I know there are some who would seek to use this as an excuse to attack or kill me, regardless of my morality and goals. Much like your own presumptions when all I had were horns, that is enough for many. Which is why I would genuinely appreciate your discretion in this matter. Not for long however. Just a few days to a week."

The Lotus Gardens

Jezebel gives a tired sigh. It was far too early in the morning for this, but oh well. What had to be done had to be done. "Christine, you may go." She commands the "maid", and gratefully, the woman quickly departs. She stands, repositioning her chair away so she doesn't knock anything over and finishes her ReCaff in a single pull. As soon as the cup is set back down, Jezebel shrugs out of her skin as she shifts. Large powerful clawed wings unwrap from her shoulders and her scaling grows more plentiful. Many of the scales seem to sprout into full on feathers, and overall she seems to relax more once the shift is over. She has to reform her clothes afterward, but that was something she'd handle well with just a bit more practice. "...that's better." She adds with a sigh as she reaches out for the ReCaff to pour herself another cup.

[Shadowcaller]

The Ms. J. Investigation

Anika crosses her arms over her chest. "Only if you call him right now and arrange a meeting. Wenomir was also part demon too, y'know? But he cleansed himself so he can probably do the same for you. You're a fellow warrior, right? So all you need is a good training montage or whatever and you learn to defeat your demonic side in a epic duel as you while you and Wenomir get over your differences."

[Morty]

[The Lotus Gardens]

Wenomir almost leaps out of his seat, his hand going to where his sword's hilt would be if he had it on him. To his credit, he composes himself quickly, but there was a brief moment when he reflexively went into a danger reaction.

"What happened?" he asks. "Is Tellysandra somehow responsible?"

[Ashen Lilies]

[Northside - Museum]

"Not at all. You look good." Fayyaad watches Cass over more carefully. "Handsome and dashing, I would say. But yes, let us go. What name should I refer to you by?" He asks as he heads towards the entrance.

[Underhill Draconic Branch Museum]

The orc curator Turge Vetorkag will greet the two mercenaries at the door, unlocking it to let them in only after he goes through the rigorous process of insisting to see their licenses. His museum did just get robbed. Unfortunately any talent he might possess in analyzing art is lost in translation when it comes to being a bouncer so he couldn't actually tell even if they used fakes.

He'll usher them inside to the lobby. A nice place with a centered reception area/help desk. It's not manned right now, being after hours. There's also pamphlets near the entrance and helpful signs plastered on the wall like 'No Running' and 'Smile, You're Being Recorded'.

Coming out of one of the branching hallways the museum has connecting to the lobby is a kobold in a security outfit. Tall for his race perhaps, but still smaller than any of the three. It doesn't look like he intended to step out right then because the look on his face suggests he wants to immediately turn around, but it's too late. He's been spotted.

"Vreig!" Turge calls to him. "Go tell the others MERC is here. I want them to have full cooperation! Anywhere they want to go, they can, got it?"

Vreig nods in a hurry. "On it boss." He seems relieved to be allowed to be somewhere else, if just for moment and Turge's immediate scowl at him sends him scurrying back into the hall. Despite Vreig complying immediately, the curator's displeasure seems to linger.

Turning back to the duo, he motions to them. "My office is right around the corner. We'll get you some keys," Turge suggests.

[Underhill Draconic Branch Museum]

"Uh, thanks," says Noc, mask slipping slightly as he blushes at the compliment. "I go by Nocturne in this getup. Or 'Noc', since you're a friend."

He gives Fayyaad a little smirk, regaining some of his confidence. It's just a disguise, of course you look dashing. That's part of the role.

When the curator arrives, Noc greets him politely, introducing himself (as Cass) and providing ID as requested.

"Lead the way," he says to Turge, respectfully.

[Morty]

[Underhill Draconic Branch Museum]

Fayyaad will likewise show his license. After what happened, he can forgive the staff for being conscious about it.

"We'll do our best to perform our search with discretion. Are all employees who were present at the night of the break-in here now?"

[Gullara]

((Will get Fishbowl tomorrow.))

[Out]

The warehouse is finds herself once again is as far as she can tell unchanged. But now that she's up there she does get a better sense of what's being said. They're still outside the warehouse so it's still limited but she can now make out the following facts:

1. Dena sounds like she's talking with someone over the phone.
2. Dena have mentioned the name "Archera" at least once.
3. The others, whoever they are, seems to be divided into separate groups as the sounds of them looking around seem to be coming from different locations.

[Out]

Archera pauses for a moment to listen. She can't pick up very much, but at least she can tell to head to the back entrance. She creeps through the building, stepping quietly and watching her step. When she reaches the back entrance she pauses a moment to listen, and if she hears nothing she cracks the door open to look outside.

Moth Park

Anastasia giggles. "that'd be great! I'll have to, like, have an idea or two," she responds with a smile, shifting back onto the bench. "Sooo... want me to walk you home? Or would I be too much of a distraction?"

[Moth Park]

"I'm pretty sure I can walk with you around. It's not too tough." He laughs. "But you are gonna have to get off my lap if you really want me to get home."

[Reinholdt]

[Underhill Draconic Branch Museum]

Turge nods to Nocturne before heading around the corner and entering his office. There are various draconic pictures about and a dragon tooth on his desk, but much of it is professional and boring. There's even a doctorate hanging on the wall.

He takes to digging in a filing cabinet. "Yeah, all of em are here. We keep three security guards on the graveyard shift. You already met Vreig Hardchew. The big fellow's Rhaz Grurqoz. And the cranky centaur with a bad attitude is Eudyne Nikania." He finds the keys he was looking for and swivels back to the MERCs, sliding them across the desk. "The gold one's the one you want," he explains, the keyring having a few options on it, mostly in silver.

"I also made sure the janitor stayed late tonight. Qraiw Rhiyin. She wasn't on overnight when the theft took place cause she usually leaves around 8 pm and comes back around 6am. But she was the first one to discover and report that Life's Limit was missing."

[5a Violista]

From the Riftline

June, a woman who has a larger-than-desired chest, a more-risqué-than-intended outfit (involving a T-shirt, a hoodie, and jeans), a prehensile tail, and a hat that sufficiently covers anything that might suggest that something is off, gets off the Riftline with some luggage, having come back from her vacation to Inside.

She gets off and transfers to a bus that goes into the city proper.

[Arkhosia]

Moth Park

"You mean you don't wanna, like carry me there?" Anastasia jokes as she shifts back onto the bench beside him, waiting for Eliseo to stand first.

[Gullara]

[Moth Park]

"If you wanted me to hold onto you you wouldn't be making me go home." The boy snickers and stands. "So I guess you'll have to walk." He offers a hand up.

[Expedition: Fishbowl]

"We will! But without any visions to help us I gotta ask how do we get to the MERC office undetected? It's a big manor on a hill so it's hard just going there without drawing a lot of attention, I got a picture of it right here." Zhareen shows the two her phone again. "Maybe we could just... call them and tell them to met us up somewhere?" She scratches her headfins. "I'm uncertain."

Expedition: Fishbowl

"I can create a distraction, if you want to sneak in." Eon has an idea. The other two aren't exactly sneaky, so he might need to be a very effective distraction. But he thinks he can do it.

[Expedition: Fishbowl]

Korrina glances at Eon. "We could do that, but why is the secrecy so necessary in the first place? As far as I know Merc and Malachenar are the people we'd like to dodge around these parts, but we're headed to their front door anyway. Unless you're concerned we'll be watched by the minions of the King in Rags?"