Skyside 7: The Big Pizza in the Sky

[Shadowcaller]

[Searching for Truth]

The drones do move closer once they're enticed by the pheromones which also allows Ilpholin to plug into them using her hair.
Sure enough, they're quickly convinced that there's nothing here to see and soon leaves if she allows them to.

Even if these drones have flesh-based operators that's also watching through their eyes it still gives Ilpholin time to reach the top of the crane before any alarms are issued.
She would of course normally need a key to operate the crane, but she could probably bypass that too.

[Reinholdt]

[Searching for Truth]

Have a pleasant... whatever drones call life.

Ilpholin has no intention on operating the tower crane. It's already pointed the direction she needs. Once on top, she drops a cube which begins to unfold into machinery until her hoverbike is revealed and she hops astride it. Activating it in silent mode goes against her sensibilities, but she does it all the same. It never had to make noise when she was driving it, it just was a more authentic experience that way.

She carefully points it down the top of the crane and revs up, before slamming on the accelerator and building up as much speed as possible. It's a narrow drive, but driving it with her hair interfaced into the controls make it an easier ask until that final push, sending her and the bike flying into the gap. With the height of the tower crane and the hoverbike's ability to, well, hover, she theoretically should be able to glide the distance necessary to reach Tellysandra's private estate. Even if she has to run the engine harder and hotter than is recommended.

[Shadowcaller]

[Searching for Truth]

The drones would probably wish Ilpholin the same, especially considering what she was about to do.
Luckily for her, these tower cranes are favorably designed for what she's about to do. However, that doesn't mean that this stunt is any less dangerous.

She whir's up the engine.

A thousands of things could go wrong here. Even if she made the jump there could be all sort of unpleasantness waiting on the other side.

Petal to the metal.

The wind, air traffic, hundreds of potential security measures...

The bike speeds forward.

The air resistance will nearly blind her considering how far up she is and how fast she's going.

She's in the air.

The wind protests violently against her casual disregard for gravity. All that she can hear is it tearing through her ears.

Ilpholin and the bike are reduced to a single purpose, forward.

Gravity takes hold, she couldn't ignore it forever. Even if she made the jump had she considered the tool it would take when she lands?

Falling forward.

The wind threatens to tear her and the bike apart. The very forces of nature are conspiring to take her down.

Forward.

She will fall forever. She will die. She will-

Resistance.

Ilpholin has not been able to see much at all with all the air rushing towards her but she can still feel as the bike slams into something.
If she opens her eyes even a little bit she can see Tellysandra's manor right underneath her. Which of course means she's still in the air yet she's now also driving upwards somehow.

There's nothing underneath her though so would that mean she's actually flying now? But as her vision starts to clear she can see that she's actually driving on a forcefield which must be surrounding the manor.

[Reinholdt]

[Black Abyss Body Shop]

Raven is delayed as she turns to face Rose. She has no idea what Rose is trying to get at, but when she gets to the part about liking Raven, the catgirl has much to say. "Why of course! In the face of such gloriousness, attraction is inevit-mmph!"

Raven's burgeoning monologue is cut short, her mouth preoccupied with a second mouth intruding upon her. Make itself known deeply and passionately. Raven's tail stands up tall, her eyes wide for but a moment until both relax into the growing kiss. It's hard to call it a kiss at this point, becoming kisses somewhere along the line, Raven's hands falling to Rose's side. Permitting more. Taking more. Raven becoming lost in Rose's ardor.

The further upstairs they go, the more hesitation Rose will sense from the Evil Empress, but she can get hormones to break the barrier she's been facing until now. Should Rose begin removing garments, she might wish to mind her fingers as there are scalpels hidden in Raven's gown.

[Searching for Truth]

Should Ilpholin feel the fear of death? Exhilaration of life? Dread that she may meet Darcy today to finally beg forgiveness? Joy?

Then why couldn't she feel anything at all?

No.

She felt one thing.

Disappointment.

Not surprise. Just raw disappointment as the bike took to the forcefield. This was always an option. Spellcasters love having their boring, non-descript barriers protecting them. She learned that much with her time with Nadas. There was likely some point of entry. A mansion of this wealth did not live in a vacuum. Things had to be imported regularly for maintenance of some kind or another, not to mention the staff alone. But she would hear Anika's thoughts on the matter as she drove to one of the higher points on the field.

[Ironsmith]

[Black Abyss Body Shop]

Fortunately for Rose, her approach makes it such that she's not likely to stumble over many medical instruments. She's been leading Raven in this dance for the most part; first to ask for a date, first to kiss, first to go up the stairs, and finally, when the time comes, first to disrobe, each time waiting for Raven to match her. Of course, at one point she does get a little "over-eager" (it's all still theatrics) and ends up slicing open a fingertip when helping Raven; this is met with an understanding smile and a two-second recess for a band-aid, but nothing that would stop proceedings outright.

A while later, Rose finds herself cuddled up next to Raven, walking her fingers up the catgirl's arm, breathing heavily from their collective efforts. "Heh... ha... you never cease to amaze, Raven." She smiles, pulling her into a tight hug.

[Earl of Purple]

Alecto's Office

It's upstairs, in the living quarters above the slave-shop known as GIRLS. Korvin can talk his way past the shopkeepers- a pair of bored-looking seventeen-year-olds with enough resemblance to each other to suggest they're twins, and some resemblance to Alecto, too, so they're likely related but not full siblings. One of the twins, the boy, opens a door and leads him upstairs to the office. Inside, it's a large room with a big desk, a thick plush green carpet, and three chairs around the desk. Alecto's already sat in one on the other side of the desk, which is covered in paperwork. Jasper's sat next to her, in a far less fancy chair- it looks it's been brought into the room from the dining room. There's also a large pet bed next to the desk, a chain coiled in it and attached to a ring set into the desk.

Alecto is wearing a grey business suit, though she's still wearing a chainmail hauberk under the jacket. Jasper is less formally dressed, wearing a pair of jeans, heavy boots, and a black hoody with the letters SSG printed on it, in a font resembling the links of a chain. Alecto smiles at the strawberries. "Thank you, Korvin. You should leave, Fred. Make sure Dad's asleep, if he needs anything help him. If not, go be with your sister." Fred nods and rolls his eyes, before leaving.

Warehouse

The lights are turned back on, and some guards start to move around. Not orcs, these ones are all human, wearing similar black body armour to the orcs. They've all got tattoos on their foreheads, presumably their blood types, and they carry shock poles. They rattle all the cage doors, making sure nobody's died in the night. Abbi stirs, and turns to sit up. The guards are accompanied by three robed figures who are going straight to the newcomers. The first is a bald Vedalken woman, tall and blue-skinned in purple robes, carrying a HotBox. The second is an androgynous half-elf, with an eyepatch and a nine-tailed whip tattooed on the opposite cheek, wearing black robes and holding a bone wand. The third is a yellowy-green gith wearing blue robes, his stiff moustache decorated with bone beads and carrying a crystal staff. The Vedalken will stop outside Abbi and Hana's cell, but doesn't say anything, her long fingers playing over the device in her hands. The other two stop elsewhere, and order hands to be held out of cages.

[Ironsmith]

[Alecto's Office]

Korvin nods to Fred as he leaves, passing the strawberries off to Alecto. "Now, then." He begins. "I'm sure you're wondering why I've asked to see you two this morning." He stands and makes his way over to the window, looking out onto the street below. "I trust you've heard of a certain resistance band, recently assembled from a shipment of escaped slaves... numbering around a dozen in total, including their liberator, am I correct?"

[Warehouse]

Hana doesn't wake up all at once. In fairness to her, she's only managed to get a couple hours' worth of sleep; their sleeping arrangements were already uncomfortable, but to Hana, this place would be too cold, too breezy, and too lacking in any familiar smells and tastes to be comfortable.

So it takes her a moment to recognize the chrome-plated box in the woman's hand, or rather, that she shouldn't have it.

Hana looks groggily up at the woman and scowls; one way of emoting that was still somewhat easy for her to do on two hours of sleep. "...Yes. And?" She drones belligerently.

[Deathkeeper]

Mina’s Manor

Mina always thought cauliflower was okay but frustratingly is more interested in it with her new taste buds.
”See, that’s fine for one day. Don’t worry, Sai. I’m going to pull my own weight too. And maybe we can get someone to help out around here? Or just Mom. She doesn’t really deserve to stay in the apartment when we have this place.” she muses.

[Earl of Purple]

Alecto's Office

"We have, yes. They're lurking in the alleyways, we think, which is risky for them. There's gangs and worse in the alleyways. If they stay there, they'll take casualties sooner or later. If they move out, we can find them. They have guns, and they aren't afraid of torture either, using devices we'd be interested in getting our hands on." The flayer Klaus used to detach the skin from his captive's hand in particular. Even with healing magic, that was tricky to fix. "Two bird shifters- they're probably gone, it's hard enough keeping them when they don't have outside help, a marshwiggle, a goblin, a transhuman cat, a squirrel woman, five merpeople, one with wings, a half-elf and a full elf with a history of attempted liberation. A kor, a half-orc and a drow, plus whoever helped them. Do you have further information? Raodan's the one in charge of security, he's best positioned to take advantage of anything new you know." She seems to have all this information on the desk in front of her, judging by the fact she just glanced at a piece of paper.

Warehouse

The vedalken doesn't respond to Hana's query, instead turning the HotBox over and looking at it.

Abbi stretches and turns around when she hears Hana's voice, and looks nervously at the blue-skinned figure. "She's not going to talk to us, I don't think. I don't know who she is or what she wants." She whispers in Hana's ear, possibly a bit too quiet- she's got very good hearing, due to her large ears and transhuman nature.

The black-robed half-elf stops outside the cage with Ehequi in it, next to Abbi and Hana, gesturing at the half-elf inside. The gang leader gets up and frowns, but walks over to ask when she's getting breakfast. The cleric ignores the question, and reaches in and grabs the ganger's wrist, pulling her hand out roughly. A glow the colour of blood coalesces about the grip, dripping down Ehequi's arm and pooling in her elbow. The ganger struggles to get free, and then screams when the one-eyed woman outside jabs her with the wand.

[Ironsmith]

Mina’s Manor

Mina always thought cauliflower was okay but frustratingly is more interested in it with her new taste buds.
”See, that’s fine for one day. Don’t worry, Sai. I’m going to pull my own weight too. And maybe we can get someone to help out around here? Or just Mom. She doesn’t really deserve to stay in the apartment when we have this place.” she muses.

[Mina's Manor]

"...Your mother." Sai echoes, seeming to have just now thought of this. "Of... of course. Yes. No sense in leaving her out." He says, not sounding entirely convinced.

Whoa boy. Sai never dealt with Tarr's mother; the legendary heroine of yore was already an orphan when they met. And he hasn't had the pleasure of meeting Mina's mother, either. He's heard stories about how fearsome mothers in general can be; worse than demons, since nobody objects to throwing a demon through a wall.

He is not at all prepared for this.

Alecto's Office

"We have, yes. They're lurking in the alleyways, we think, which is risky for them. There's gangs and worse in the alleyways. If they stay there, they'll take casualties sooner or later. If they move out, we can find them. They have guns, and they aren't afraid of torture either, using devices we'd be interested in getting our hands on." The flayer Klaus used to detach the skin from his captive's hand in particular. Even with healing magic, that was tricky to fix. "Two bird shifters- they're probably gone, it's hard enough keeping them when they don't have outside help, a marshwiggle, a goblin, a transhuman cat, a squirrel woman, five merpeople, one with wings, a half-elf and a full elf with a history of attempted liberation. A kor, a half-orc and a drow, plus whoever helped them. Do you have further information? Raodan's the one in charge of security, he's best positioned to take advantage of anything new you know." She seems to have all this information on the desk in front of her, judging by the fact she just glanced at a piece of paper.

[Alecto's Office]

"...Yes, I suppose you could say I do have some relevant information." Korvin chuckles, taking a seat opposite Alecto, crossing a foot over his leg as he leans back to relax. "Far better than that, even." He glances idly up at the ceiling. "Suppose for a moment this... ragtag bunch of escapees grows. As much as we'd like to be, we aren't by any means the only slavers in the city. We have competition, and at least a few organizations here in Skyside don't get their slaves from a market at all, preferring their own methods of acquisition." His foot taps out a plaintive rhythm on the arm of his chair as he muses. "Not that these ex-slaves would care much. To them, a slaver is a slaver is a slaver. If allowed to run unchecked, every slaving business in Skyside would suffer for it. Some would fail entirely. Why, I'm certain only the strongest organization would survive such a catastrophe."

Klaus reaches up and unslings his mask, removing it so Alecto and Jasper can both get a good look at his face. "Now let's talk about how we can use that to our advantage."

Warehouse

The vedalken doesn't respond to Hana's query, instead turning the HotBox over and looking at it.

Abbi stretches and turns around when she hears Hana's voice, and looks nervously at the blue-skinned figure. "She's not going to talk to us, I don't think. I don't know who she is or what she wants." She whispers in Hana's ear, possibly a bit too quiet- she's got very good hearing, due to her large ears and transhuman nature.

The black-robed half-elf stops outside the cage with Ehequi in it, next to Abbi and Hana, gesturing at the half-elf inside. The gang leader gets up and frowns, but walks over to ask when she's getting breakfast. The cleric ignores the question, and reaches in and grabs the ganger's wrist, pulling her hand out roughly. A glow the colour of blood coalesces about the grip, dripping down Ehequi's arm and pooling in her elbow. The ganger struggles to get free, and then screams when the one-eyed woman outside jabs her with the wand.

[Warehouse]

Hana's eyes widen as she watches what's happening in the cage next door. "I... don't think that's quite it." She mumbles back. She knows cold-blooded torture when she sees it. Or at least she thinks she does. This bears some striking resemblance, at any rate. She's going to stay back near the back of the cage, not wanting to get within gripping distance of those... people.

[Deathkeeper]

[Mina's Manor]

"...Your mother." Sai echoes, seeming to have just now thought of this. "Of... of course. Yes. No sense in leaving her out." He says, not sounding entirely convinced.

Whoa boy. Sai never dealt with Tarr's mother; the legendary heroine of yore was already an orphan when they met. And he hasn't had the pleasure of meeting Mina's mother, either. He's heard stories about how fearsome mothers in general can be; worse than demons, since nobody objects to throwing a demon through a wall.

He is not at all prepared for this.

Mina's Manor

...right. Since Mina had been getting Gwas sorted she hadn't had time to actually go home in the last two days.
"My mother is a wonderful person even if she's kind of ditzy sometimes. You'll like her. And if you don't you can't get her turned into a minotaur too." she raises an eyebrow.
"They didn't already do that, right?" Mina's mother would entirely be the type to not mention that sort of thing.

[Reinholdt]

[Black Abyss Body Shop]

If Raven has a leg up on Rose over her breathing, it's because of all of Raven's practice delivering monologues to mirrors and zombies and passerbys who don't care. Her legs still feel like jelly regardless. And the newfound passion in her eyes as she looks at Rose borders on mania.

Raven grins in return, melting into the hug and squeezing Rose tight. "And your devotion to me is above all reproach. You're perfect Rose."

[Ironsmith]

Mina's Manor

...right. Since Mina had been getting Gwas sorted she hadn't had time to actually go home in the last two days.
"My mother is a wonderful person even if she's kind of ditzy sometimes. You'll like her. And if you don't you can't get her turned into a minotaur too." she raises an eyebrow.
"They didn't already do that, right?" Mina's mother would entirely be the type to not mention that sort of thing.

[Mina's Manor]

"I don't... think so, no." Sai replies hesitantly. "I never asked for her to be. She might have been as a logical extension of you being one, but it's hard to be certain without her here." If he did end up magicking her into a beefier form, he had a hard time imagining her approaching this situation with any less than an openly hostile attitude toward him; Mina hadn't exactly been thrilled, either.

[Black Abyss Body Shop]

If Raven has a leg up on Rose over her breathing, it's because of all of Raven's practice delivering monologues to mirrors and zombies and passerbys who don't care. Her legs still feel like jelly regardless. And the newfound passion in her eyes as she looks at Rose borders on mania.

Raven grins in return, melting into the hug and squeezing Rose tight. "And your devotion to me is above all reproach. You're perfect Rose."

[Black Abyss Body Shop]

Rose reddens at what was already high praise, even more so coming from the woman who regards herself as Empress. "Well... I try." She giggles. When she was training at the Academy to do this job, that heading even appeared in her notes: "How to be Perfect Girlfriend". Tonight had gone more or less by the book... her training manual or a cheesy romance novel, one.

Rose nuzzles Raven's nose and settles in for a night of blissful sleep, a perfect end to the evening.

Almost.

There was one problem with that.

Rose still suffered from a certain affliction, which had made its presence known at the beginning of this mission and decided to pay her a second visit tonight.

So in a few hours, her tender embrace is going to be a lot less tender. Entwined fingers turn to frightened grasps and terrified squeezes. Her body racks itself with a second kind of convulsions; not an amorous desire to please, but a fearful instinct to protect and cover herself. Those soft lips which had hours ago been whispering sweet nothings into the catgirl's ear are now only offering frightened murmurs, which grow into desperate pleas to leave her alone, to not hurt her, she'll tell you everything, just put it away please.

It seems not even Raven's arms are enough to keep the nightmares away.

[Deathkeeper]

Mina’s Manor

Mina sighs.
”You’re not sure, which means the answer is probably yes because it would make my life weirder. Whatever. I’ll invite her to come. Any other features you want me to see?” she asks while she eats her “meal.”

[Reinholdt]

[Black Abyss Body Shop]

Rose will find her shoulder shaken lightly by the tight grip of Empress Ebondark. "Rose, wake up!"

Should Rose's eyes open, she will be treated to Raven's knee leaning on the bed from off it. The nekomancer is dressed in a black and darkred silken robe that appears to be lighter than it is warm.

Well of course Rose is having night terrors! Raven appears to have left her side, slipping out of bed at some point. When? Does the catgirl ever sleep? What's she doing up this late? Was she just... staring at Rose while she slept? If she were down in the workshop she surely wouldn't have noticed Rose's distress.

Many questions to be had, but Raven wants hers answered first. "Are you alright?"

[Ironsmith]

Mina’s Manor

Mina sighs.
”You’re not sure, which means the answer is probably yes because it would make my life weirder. Whatever. I’ll invite her to come. Any other features you want me to see?” she asks while she eats her “meal.”

[Mina's Manor]

"There are a few." Sai replies. "Before the day is out, I want you to see the dojo and the treasury. We'll be spending a lot of time in the former. And obviously, you'll be seeing the master bedroom, as well. And I suppose the guest room, since your mother will likely be staying there." He enumerates these on his fingers as he talks, already on the verge of running out. "I suppose that will cover it for now. The rest will not be so time-dependant."

[Black Abyss Body Shop]

Rose will find her shoulder shaken lightly by the tight grip of Empress Ebondark. "Rose, wake up!"

Should Rose's eyes open, she will be treated to Raven's knee leaning on the bed from off it. The nekomancer is dressed in a black and darkred silken robe that appears to be lighter than it is warm.

Well of course Rose is having night terrors! Raven appears to have left her side, slipping out of bed at some point. When? Does the catgirl ever sleep? What's she doing up this late? Was she just... staring at Rose while she slept? If she were down in the workshop she surely wouldn't have noticed Rose's distress.

Many questions to be had, but Raven wants hers answered first. "Are you alright?"

[Black Abyss Body Shop]

"No! Get off of me! Let me go!"

Rose's eyes snap open and she springs up, the black sheets tumbling around her. Still breathing heavily, she looks quickly around the room, needing time to figure out where she is. Why isn't she in her sleeping pod? Where are her clothes? Where's her Hotbox?

The answers become apparent when she looks. Raven's presence checks off the first two immediately. That's right, they were in her room for reasons, weren't they? And if she had any further questions about her clothes, she can see them scattered around the room, unless Raven took it upon herself to tidy up.

Okay, two of the three. That's enough for her to start paying attention to what Raven has to say.

Is she alright?

Normally, Rose would try to put up some kind of convincing facade here. Yeah, she's all right. It's just a bad dream with no significance whatsoever. Everyone gets those, she'll go back to bed now.

But whether it's exhaustion from maintaining her role as Raven's "perfect girlfriend", compromised judgement resulting from having just woken up, being freshly overwhelmed by reliving that nightmare again, or some combination of the above, tonight (this morning?), she just can't manage it.

Rose shakes her head, fresh tears running down her cheeks.

No.

She is not alright.

[Deathkeeper]

Mina’s Manor

”Right. You’re going to have to teach me your moves. Assuming you can see me.
Um. So you have your own room, right? If you don’t sleep do you just…keep working?”
It sounds tiring to her but he clearly considers himself an instrument.

[Earl of Purple]

Alecto's Office

"...Huh. Well, we can rule out MERC as the liberators. They have a very strict no-slavery policy." Which is why crude replica of a MERC licence is in many of the Guild's security posts. "We can make an interim deal, if you target our smaller competition and leave us alone, but anything longer term... That'd require bringing this to the Guildmasters. I'd have to arrange that, which might take a while." And the Guildmasters are likely to decide it's better to go after the escaped slaves than the rival slavers, because any liberation organisation that people know and hear about makes their stock restive and more rebellious.

Warehouse

The cleric releases the ganger's arm, and Ehequi recoils back and pants. She looks unharmed, though, no sign of where the blood came from- or even that it was ever there. An illusion of blood, maybe? She makes a note on a pad she's got, before moving up to Hana and Abbi. "Pity you had to see that. She fought. Don't fight, you don't get hurt. Give me your hand, one of you. Don't care which. You disobey, you get the pain-wand. You obey, and you don't get the pain-wand. Come on, hurry it." The cleric holds her hand out, reaching into the bars for it. Abbi looks nervous and gulps, eyes wide, but doesn't reach out immediately.

[Ironsmith]

Mina’s Manor

”Right. You’re going to have to teach me your moves. Assuming you can see me.
Um. So you have your own room, right? If you don’t sleep do you just…keep working?”
It sounds tiring to her but he clearly considers himself an instrument.

[Mina's Manor]

"There are only so many hours in the day." Sai shrugs. "Why waste any of them doing things like laying unconscious if you don't need to?" By a similar logic, Sai did not include a room for himself; it was pointless if he wasn't going to sleep, or even be home most of the time. "Besides, until recently, I've needed all of them, to cover both my work and the labor of building the manor. I finished that bathroom just last week."

Alecto's Office

"...Huh. Well, we can rule out MERC as the liberators. They have a very strict no-slavery policy." Which is why crude replica of a MERC licence is in many of the Guild's security posts. "We can make an interim deal, if you target our smaller competition and leave us alone, but anything longer term... That'd require bringing this to the Guildmasters. I'd have to arrange that, which might take a while." And the Guildmasters are likely to decide it's better to go after the escaped slaves than the rival slavers, because any liberation organisation that people know and hear about makes their stock restive and more rebellious.

[Alecto's Office]

"Oh, miss Alecto..." Klaus chuckles and shakes his head. "Don't be ridiculous. If I turned these slaves on everyone but the Guild, it would be pretty obvious what's going on, wouldn't it?" He paces around behind her desk, grinning. "No, the Guild has a target on its caravans, same as everyone else. Where it will differ is the quality of the merchandise." He rubs his fingers together to emphasize the profit involved. "When the movement hits its stride, all of the businesses in Skyside will feel it. Capturing slaves will be harder, keeping them contained will be harder, keeping them obedient to their new masters harder. Narrower profit margins for all dealers... save for the Guild, which will still have abundant, obedient, subsmissive slaves, courtesy of Witness Korvin. And if they somehow aren't... well, you have a hand in the basket where they'll end up. A return can be arranged every now and then, at minimal cost. By the end of the year, we will have out-competed every other dealer."

Warehouse

The cleric releases the ganger's arm, and Ehequi recoils back and pants. She looks unharmed, though, no sign of where the blood came from- or even that it was ever there. An illusion of blood, maybe? She makes a note on a pad she's got, before moving up to Hana and Abbi. "Pity you had to see that. She fought. Don't fight, you don't get hurt. Give me your hand, one of you. Don't care which. You disobey, you get the pain-wand. You obey, and you don't get the pain-wand. Come on, hurry it." The cleric holds her hand out, reaching into the bars for it. Abbi looks nervous and gulps, eyes wide, but doesn't reach out immediately.

[Warehouse]

Hana reluctantly reaches for the cleric's hand... but just before they touch, she points with her other hand to the dots on her neck and gives a taunting smile. That's all the warning she gives before grabbing the cleric's hand and trying to yank her forcefully against the bars, with the intent of pinning her in place up against them, or at least twisting her arm in a way that might cause some serious damage.

[Deathkeeper]

Mina's Manor

Mina seems taken aback.
"So...that's it? You've been doing nothing for a hundred years besides gardening for pay, and hand-crafting this place? Did you even make the bridge and the sculptures?" she mostly asked because the sculptures seemed straight-up magic.

[Earl of Purple]

Alecto's Office

"Quality? Our stock is already the best in the city. We offer a three day guarantee against death, with a full refund if what is bought dies within that time frame, excepting only if they died of violence." After three days they can start dying of neglect, water deprivation mostly. "The Guild is the largest slave organisation in Skyside. We like that. We also like having competition. Because if there's competition, outsiders to the City won't be focused on removing us. They can't, our business is the biggest but if somebody tried to remove the Guild, another business- the Hutts, maybe, or one of the kidnapping crews with slaving links- will step into our shoes and slavery will continue. MERC, Vigil, HALO, GLoG, Intersection, NERD, Magtok and Riverside all despise slavery. We could not survive a war with all of them and without competition, that is what will happen. Because we have competition, their attention is divided and we remain profitable. If we make this deal, we gain more power and more profits, though perhaps less than we would have without it. And then you betray us, with your ragtag band of misfits, and by then you'd have wormed your way in deeper. Perhaps you'd have discovered the names and identities of the Guildmasters, and then assassinate them. Perhaps you'd find our outposts beyond Skyside, and wipe them out. Perhaps you'd find the information and sell it for a profit, so we get hit and you keep your hands clean." It's even possible some of their 'competition' is run by the Guild behind the scenes, to provide the Guild with a way to survive even if somebody did dismantle most of the organisation.

Warehouse

The half-elf is pulled into the barred doorway, gripping Hana's hand tight. She grunts when she hits the bars, but still the blood will appear where the cleric's hand meets Hana's flesh, dripping down Hana's arm. It's totally illusionary; a magical side-effect of the cleric using magic. She's using a sort-of healing spell to determine how healthy Hana is, whether she's pregnant, and the basics of her medical history. She won't catch what medicine or magic was used to treat a serious disease, but she'd find traces of it.

Once the spell has started, the cleric points her wand at Hana and triggers it. The wand, as the cleric said, is a wand of pain- if it hits, most of Hana's pain receptors will be triggered all at once and quite badly. No physical harm is caused, and the wand is... it could be worse. If Hana had to rate it out ten, it'd probably be a six or a seven- high, and maybe the most painful thing she's experienced, but not necessarily unbearable.

[Reinholdt]

[Black Abyss Body Shop]

"Shhh..." Raven says in an attempt to be calming. She's not exactly well equipped to handle these situations, but in the moment it likely suffices. It may help she's not afraid to get her hands dirty, her thumb going to run along Rose's cheek to brush away the tears.

"I'm here. Empress Ebondark will keep you safe." Raven seems less concerned about this situation emotionally than perhaps she should. Like this isn't a terribly big deal or dealbreaker. Not exactly the most comforting, but if she wasn't concerned at all she wouldn't have waken Rose up to begin with surely.

Raven will wait a bit for Rose to calm down. No point in trying to have a conversation with someone who is sobbing.

"What frightens you so?"

[Ironsmith]

Mina's Manor

Mina seems taken aback.
"So...that's it? You've been doing nothing for a hundred years besides gardening for pay, and hand-crafting this place? Did you even make the bridge and the sculptures?" she mostly asked because the sculptures seemed straight-up magic.

[Mina's Manor]

"And the external security system. Sorry about that, by the way." Sai shrugs. "It's been a busy century, yes. When I haven't been working, I've been building. When I haven't been building, I've been learning. It's my job, remember?"

Alecto's Office

"Quality? Our stock is already the best in the city. We offer a three day guarantee against death, with a full refund if what is bought dies within that time frame, excepting only if they died of violence." After three days they can start dying of neglect, water deprivation mostly. "The Guild is the largest slave organisation in Skyside. We like that. We also like having competition. Because if there's competition, outsiders to the City won't be focused on removing us. They can't, our business is the biggest but if somebody tried to remove the Guild, another business- the Hutts, maybe, or one of the kidnapping crews with slaving links- will step into our shoes and slavery will continue. MERC, Vigil, HALO, GLoG, Intersection, NERD, Magtok and Riverside all despise slavery. We could not survive a war with all of them and without competition, that is what will happen. Because we have competition, their attention is divided and we remain profitable. If we make this deal, we gain more power and more profits, though perhaps less than we would have without it. And then you betray us, with your ragtag band of misfits, and by then you'd have wormed your way in deeper. Perhaps you'd have discovered the names and identities of the Guildmasters, and then assassinate them. Perhaps you'd find our outposts beyond Skyside, and wipe them out. Perhaps you'd find the information and sell it for a profit, so we get hit and you keep your hands clean." It's even possible some of their 'competition' is run by the Guild behind the scenes, to provide the Guild with a way to survive even if somebody did dismantle most of the organisation.

[Alecto's Office]

"Why, Alecto." Klaus chuckles. "I would think you would know better than that. If our enemies really wanted to see us destroyed, the threat of a few dozen smaller contenders wouldn't be enough to keep them away. And even if it were, surely you've seen enough corporate branding to know we don't have to dissipate that image?" He reaches into his Hotbox and produces a quartet of photos, each depicting a member of one of the other orgs. "Besides, my allies will ensure they're too busy to take too close a look at what we're doing. GLoG, Vigil, HALO, MERC... they're going to be... preoccupied, for a time." He sets his mask on her desk. "What's more, if I wanted to eventually betray you, there would be no profit in coming clean to you now, would there? The Korvin persona is for the public's benefit, not yours." He leans in. "I'm offering you an opportunity for expansion such as you've never seen before and are unlikely to see again. Why do you still hesitate?"

Warehouse

The half-elf is pulled into the barred doorway, gripping Hana's hand tight. She grunts when she hits the bars, but still the blood will appear where the cleric's hand meets Hana's flesh, dripping down Hana's arm. It's totally illusionary; a magical side-effect of the cleric using magic. She's using a sort-of healing spell to determine how healthy Hana is, whether she's pregnant, and the basics of her medical history. She won't catch what medicine or magic was used to treat a serious disease, but she'd find traces of it.

Once the spell has started, the cleric points her wand at Hana and triggers it. The wand, as the cleric said, is a wand of pain- if it hits, most of Hana's pain receptors will be triggered all at once and quite badly. No physical harm is caused, and the wand is... it could be worse. If Hana had to rate it out ten, it'd probably be a six or a seven- high, and maybe the most painful thing she's experienced, but not necessarily unbearable.

[Warehouse]

Hana is extremely healthy; no signs of disease or malnutrition. She's never been pregnant. She has been injured extensively in the past, but made a full recovery every time. She's been on a few meds, which the cleric might find traces amounts of in her system... sleep aids, mostly, but there are some artificial steroids as well.

Hana convulses in pain under the wand, but grits her teeth and just twists the cleric's arm harder; she's going to give at least as well as she gets in this exchange.

[Black Abyss Body Shop]

"Shhh..." Raven says in an attempt to be calming. She's not exactly well equipped to handle these situations, but in the moment it likely suffices. It may help she's not afraid to get her hands dirty, her thumb going to run along Rose's cheek to brush away the tears.

"I'm here. Empress Ebondark will keep you safe." Raven seems less concerned about this situation emotionally than perhaps she should. Like this isn't a terribly big deal or dealbreaker. Not exactly the most comforting, but if she wasn't concerned at all she wouldn't have waken Rose up to begin with surely.

Raven will wait a bit for Rose to calm down. No point in trying to have a conversation with someone who is sobbing.

"What frightens you so?"

[Black Abyss Body Shop]

For once, Raven's self-declared title comes as a comfort. Not many people can say they have an empress looking out for them. The fact that she's remaining calm, but clearly still cares, even more so. By accident or design, Raven was being exactly the sort of person Rose needed.

Rose takes a brief, shuddering sigh and puts her hands on Raven's, giving them a gentle squeeze. "I... I just had a really bad dream." She begins, before cringing and shaking her head. No, that wasn't accurate. Bad dreams are fiction, this actually happened to her. "No, no, not... not quite a dream. More of a flashback. You remember how I said I used to be a... well, you know?" She shakes her head slowly. "Well, my sister, Jasmine, she was a cop around the same time. Detective, actually. She got close to blowing open a... I don't remember, a money laundering or trafficking scheme or something." She sniffs. "The local mob weren't very happy about that, so they decided to send her a message."

Rose holds up her hands, turning the backs to face Raven. "They... they tied me down and they peeled my hands." She takes a second to calm down as the memory manifests itself as a faint, but visceral, sensation that makes her cringe in anticipation. "Then they healed them up and they did it again. And again. And again. And every time they did it, they used that pain to ruin something for me. My favorite song. Favorite food. My sister's face. Anything they thought would give me comfort. I don't know how long I was in there, but eventually, they left me for the police to find. They wanted me to show my sister just how miserable they could make me, her, and the rest of our family if she didn't back off."

"It backfired on them horribly. Jasmine came down on them like a crashing jetliner. Didn't stop until everyone responsible, and a lot of people who weren't, were behind bars or in the ground. Justice served." She sniffles and shakes her head. "That didn't help me much, though. I couldn't look Jasmine in the face after that. I couldn't find anything to calm myself down. I'd stay locked up in my room for months at a time and still not rest easy." She gives a deep, shuddering sigh. "It took years for me to put myself back together. More therapy than you ever dreamed of. Having to calm my pulse down every time I came near a corner. I had to learn to love those things again. I'm... I'm better now. Tons better." She rubs her hands to her upper arms, shaking a little. "But then, every now and then, I go to sleep and I'm back there again and it's like the past few years never happened, and like I'm going to fall apart all over again."

Rose sways a little as she talks, internally questioning the wisdom of giving Raven something so close to the truth. Some of the details were changed around... she didn't have a sister, and the mob in question was a rival agency, who intended to kill her when they were done... but that didn't really matter. She was still baring a very real psychological weak point to someone who was, by all accounts, something of a sociopath. Clearly she's not thinking right.

[Deathkeeper]

Mina's Manor

"So. You actually straight up learned how to sculpt and how to enchant statues to float in midair. You're wasted on a mortal lifespan, Sai. When this whole demon thing is taken care of I'm giving you a vacation. And I'm going to make this up to you at least a little. And no buts! I will not take no for an answer on this one." Mina fixes Sai with what he will recognize as The Tarr Look. He's not going to weasel out of getting something to show for his effort on this one.

[Earl of Purple]

Alecto's Office

"This... Hm. Jasper, fetch Dad. He'll know more about what the Guildmasters will want in a deal, and... My own position is not one where I regularly work on behalf of the Guild as a whole." Mostly Alecto uses her position as a High Master to order Low Masters around and get her way; if there were a step between Low and High Master, she'd probably be there. "Don't comment, when he gets here. He'll probably be accompanied by someone, my mother or half-mother most likely. Perhaps a nurse instead, but he prefers my mothers." Alecto's mother is, obviously, her mother. Her half-mother is the mother of her half-siblings.

Jasper does leave the room, off to find her dad. It doesn't take him long to find Mr. Gilderman, but actually organising the man's movement takes longer.

Warehouse

The cleric lets go of Hana's arm and the blood all disappears, but doesn't wince as it's twisted. She pulls back her other hand, and ceases activating the wand. All the pain immediately ceases. "Let go, please. You have a nice cell, at the moment. It is within my power to have you transferred elsewhere- somewhere smaller, perhaps, with no bucket. I've already decided to deny you both clothing privileges. Your lover has you to blame for all the people who will come by later and gawk at her, but you will currently be having breakfast." She also points the wand at Abbi, who gulps, eyes flicking between the two women. Abbi does rather nervously proffer her own hand, though. She doesn't want to be zapped, judging by how Hana is convulsing and grimacing.

[Ironsmith]

Mina's Manor

"So. You actually straight up learned how to sculpt and how to enchant statues to float in midair. You're wasted on a mortal lifespan, Sai. When this whole demon thing is taken care of I'm giving you a vacation. And I'm going to make this up to you at least a little. And no buts! I will not take no for an answer on this one." Mina fixes Sai with what he will recognize as The Tarr Look. He's not going to weasel out of getting something to show for his effort on this one.

[Mina's Manor]

Sai opens his mouth to respond, but stops when he sees that look in Mina's eye. It's a potent cocktail; sterness that says she's not going to back down from her position, softness that says he'll only be hurting her if he tries to make her, and genuine concern for her friend that reminds him it's in his best interests to let her have her way on this one in the first place. "...Heh. All right. I'll, ah, pencil in a vacation after we save the world again." He smiles.

Alecto's Office

"This... Hm. Jasper, fetch Dad. He'll know more about what the Guildmasters will want in a deal, and... My own position is not one where I regularly work on behalf of the Guild as a whole." Mostly Alecto uses her position as a High Master to order Low Masters around and get her way; if there were a step between Low and High Master, she'd probably be there. "Don't comment, when he gets here. He'll probably be accompanied by someone, my mother or half-mother most likely. Perhaps a nurse instead, but he prefers my mothers." Alecto's mother is, obviously, her mother. Her half-mother is the mother of her half-siblings.

Jasper does leave the room, off to find her dad. It doesn't take him long to find Mr. Gilderman, but actually organising the man's movement takes longer.

[Alecto's Office]

Klaus gives a little smile, taking that as a good sign. Alecto seemed half-convinced he could- and would- deliver as promised if given the chance. If he could get his proposal to the Guildmasters, his plan had a good chance of succeeding. If nothing else, coming forward with this plan should cement his allegiances pretty well... a crucial step in his plan, no matter which way it ends up going. He'll wait patiently for Mr. Gilderman to arrive, turning his mask over in his hands.

Warehouse

The cleric lets go of Hana's arm and the blood all disappears, but doesn't wince as it's twisted. She pulls back her other hand, and ceases activating the wand. All the pain immediately ceases. "Let go, please. You have a nice cell, at the moment. It is within my power to have you transferred elsewhere- somewhere smaller, perhaps, with no bucket. I've already decided to deny you both clothing privileges. Your lover has you to blame for all the people who will come by later and gawk at her, but you will currently be having breakfast." She also points the wand at Abbi, who gulps, eyes flicking between the two women. Abbi does rather nervously proffer her own hand, though. She doesn't want to be zapped, judging by how Hana is convulsing and grimacing.

[Warehouse]

There's no part of what the cleric said that doesn't infuriate Hana. "You want your arm back?" She growls, putting the cleric's thumb in a position to break it. "Bring my friend a long shirt, and don't you dare threaten her again." She looks the cleric in the eyes as she says this, making it very clear she was willing and able to break every bone in this lady's hand if she didn't comply.

Which is unlikely to hold much sway over someone with access to healing magic, but Hana doesn't know or care about that. It'll still hurt.

[Deathkeeper]

Mina's Manor

That's good. Mina has to get pretty close for Sai to be able to read her facial expression so it would have been awkward if he dug his hooves in on this one.
"Good. So you can continue with the tour then. I hope you at least built an elevator so you don't have to go up and down the stairs with those joints of yours, gramps."

Of course, when she returns the next day she might have something for those...

[Earl of Purple]

Alecto's Office

Jasper returns, pushing a wheelchair. In the chair is Alecto's father, although it's hard to be sure. He's been badly burnt at some point in the past; he has no hair, and every inch of visible skin is a burn scar. The eyelid on his right eye has fused shut, and his left eye is white and milky. They're accompanied by a woman in her forties, short black hair and grey eyes. Alecto smiles when she sees them, and they immediately go to stand by the wall. Alecto's mother doesn't have a say in the Guild's operations; she's not even really a member.

The man in the wheelchair frowns, or perhaps that's the expression his burns force his face into. "You want a deal with the Guild? Come here. I want to feel your face." Mr. Gilderman raises his right hand, the left remaining hidden under a blanket in his lap. The fingers of his right hand are burnt as well, though effort has been made to give him as much movement in his fingers as possible.

Warehouse

"Go ahead. Break my fingers. I'll transfer the injury to your... pet and laugh as she squeals. You'll be able to try again, of course, but that's fine. You have fingers, too. And then I'll have you moved to a cage so small it'll make this one look like a palace." The cleric grins, before sticking her tongue out and biting it so hard it bleeds. More illusionary blood drips from her hands, and Hana will feel the pain of the bitten tongue and taste blood as she transfers the injury across.

She's lying about the fingers; the magic she's using requires touch, and also works best on soft tissue injuries such as bitten tongues rather than broken bones. She's relying on the demonstration and the threat cowing Hana, though either way she's not scared of injury.

[Reinholdt]

[Black Abyss Body Shop]

Raven can only kind of remember what Rose had told her about her previous occupation. It was a- oh wait, we're continuing the story. Hah! Raven knew remembering silly things like your girlfriend's profession didn't actually matter.

Actually listening to the story is certainly a wave of emotions and Rose can probably sense that Raven is mentally gearing up to go take down this mob herself until Rose gets to the part where 'Jasmine' did it herself at which point she lets go of that possibility. It seems like Raven is starting to settle for a raw sympathetic look, but at the end it shifts to one of determination. An understanding of what Raven must do.

Her hand settles on Rose's shoulder and Raven gives her girlfriend what she hopes is a comforting smile, but there's something dark and broken in it. "I can chase those feelings away. Let me be your new favorite thing. Let me be your everything."

If Rose only dreams of Raven, she doesn't have to have nightmarish flashbacks anymore.

[Shadowcaller]

[Searching for Truth]

Should Ilpholin feel the fear of death? Exhilaration of life? Dread that she may meet Darcy today to finally beg forgiveness? Joy?

Then why couldn't she feel anything at all?

No.

She felt one thing.

Disappointment.

Not surprise. Just raw disappointment as the bike took to the forcefield. This was always an option. Spellcasters love having their boring, non-descript barriers protecting them. She learned that much with her time with Nadas. There was likely some point of entry. A mansion of this wealth did not live in a vacuum. Things had to be imported regularly for maintenance of some kind or another, not to mention the staff alone. But she would hear Anika's thoughts on the matter as she drove to one of the higher points on the field.

[Searching for Truth]

Well, Ilpholin might be in luck as she turns to spot Anika, who is right now diving towards the manor, she can see that a skyship approaching the manor in the distance.

That might just be a transportation ship.

Then Anika, in mid-air just before landing, turns back into her humanoid form and falls the rest of the way before making contact with the forcefield. She seems to have made sure to land really close to the nymph so if Ilpholin favors trying to catch her she always could. The druid and her 7 feet might not be the easiest catch on her arms though.

"AWESOME! I wish I was half as cool as you, Ilp!" She sings the nymph's praises with a huge grin on her face.