Skyside 7: The Big Pizza in the Sky

[Ironsmith]

[Trust-Worthy Hotel]

"Well, sorreh for nawt havin' written myself off foh dead jus' ye-" Hazel ducks under the chain the second it becomes clear Sandels is trying to entangle her further, cutting herself off in the process. "Whad da [heck] do ya tink youhe doin'?!" She demands, attempting to pull the rest of the chains off of her. "Let go'a me! Off, OFF!" She pulls out a stun baton from under her coat (right where it would be when she had a body) and flicks it open, smacking at Sandel's side with the electrified tip.

[Deathkeeper]

[Mina's Manor]

The plan now is for you to rest and recover. Sai replies nonchalantly. I'll worry about the cleanup. That is, after all, part of my job. A weapon-spirit's work is never done, apparently. If you need to do something, Miss Ty-Maldwyn was here earlier this week. It seems likely you've forgotten. She brought over something called a pee-ess-three. I don't understand the appeal, but it's not especially strenuous and you two seemed to enjoy it enough. It's in the master bedroom.

Mina's Manor

"I left you on your own for a century and found you with no friends, no hobbies, and a treasury from three jobs worked nonstop. Don't pretend you're not a workaholic." Mina coughs gently. She does her best to get up to her hooves and limp over to her bed.
Game systems are a little hard for her due to her GIANT MITTS that her hands have become but it's something that she can use to kill some time at least.

[Earl of Purple]

SSGTV

"In that case... how about we make a deal? I give you one every day, and in return if anyone else stiffs me on payment, you fight them in the arena. I could do it myself, but you've got a better fight record than me, and we're cellies anyway." Abbi gets to work on Hana, rubbing and massaging her shoulders, back and arms. She's still very good at it.

Trust-Worthy Hotel

Master Trust doesn't move, and the valets continue running away. Well, limping away. They're getting away from the mad masked man who killed their boss. Master Trust does continue to ooze blood, however. There's quite a lot of it.

[Ironsmith]

[SSGTV]

Hana has to mull that over for a moment. On the one hand, she's not entirely certain about continuing to use Abbi's services effectively for free; she'd be inclined to beat senseless anyone who stiffs her in the first place. On the other hand, in doing so, she'd be effectively securing Abbi's income, ensuring she gets paid when she otherwise wouldn't; in aggregate, that's probably worth a little more than the five tokens Abbi would charge anyone else. That... comes out fair, she decides.

In any case, it's definitely worth it. Hana lets out a not-quite-voluntary groan as Abbi goes to work on her shoulder. "Mmmph... okay, you've got a de... mmph!" She tenses briefly when Abbi's fingers pass over a conspicuous knot in her shoulder. "That's the spot..."

Hopefully she's not giving Abbi the wrong idea. That's a really good massage.

[Reinholdt]

[Searching for Truth]

"Ha, you bet!" The mercenary then turns to her coworkers. "See you later, boys~"

"But, uh-"

But if her body language wasn't enough the saber baring its teeth and letting out a low roar certainly is for the goblin to stop following.

Now they were along with the two mercenaries off to see the pixie.

After a bit of looking around they are told by what seems to be an animated suit of armor that Lumie is at the tennis court at the moment so that's where they're heading.

As it turns out the tennis court is about as big as everything is in here. You could play six games of tennis in here simultaneously.

Of course, now every one of the courts are being occupied by skeletons in white polo shirts and shorts who are playing rather stiff games of tennis. Barely moving anything but their arms as they bat the ball between each other.

"Well, well, well, we got some new challengers!" A squeaky voice can be heard coming from the seat that normally would be reserved for the judge. Its owner is so tiny that they can barely make it out from here but it looks like their voice is being enhanced by a megaphone held by a zombie which is unusual in how traditionally attractive it is. Sporting a similar figure to the 'dancer'. "You gals up for a game of tennis? Winner gets a grand prize!"

[Searching For Truth]

Bellana's eyes glance around the huge tennis court. Gosh this mansion was ridiculously big. She's glad they didn't try this another way. You could wander around in it for days and never even encounter Tellysandra. She's mapping in her head what she can though as they traverse the halls. A partial map is better than none.

"I don't know what a tennis is," Bellana says, her eyes falling and focusing upon the judge's seat. "I'm here to dance and... more, and I was told you were the one to invite to that particular party in order to give it that extra kick it needed."

She looks to her two merc friends. "Uh, this is Lumine, right?"

[Vahnavoi]

[Trust-Worthy Hotel]

"Stopping you, you witch! Did I stutter the first time?" The bandaged man grabs a length of the chain with both hands, using it to deflect strikes from the baton while backpedaling into the fire. When Hazel gave in to her impulse to smack the man, she put herself closer to the flames. If he can keep her focused on himself a while longer, he can finally enclose her in them and complete the binding. That ought to buy him time to figure out a longer-term solution, maybe put her in a bottle like Trust suggested. Now if she just plays along...

[Ironsmith]

[Trust-Worthy Hotel]

"Stop me frawm doin' wha? Existing?! Hazel demands, dropping the baton (which disappears in an ectoplasmic fog) and grabbing ahold of the chain with both hands, planting her feet and pulling back. "Dat sunovabish is dead, dere's no stoppin' me frawm anything. Let go!" She pulls back as hard as she can, which she thinks should be harder than Sandels can manage; she was able to physically check him back in the lobby, after all, and she wasn't quite as "there" at the time. Unless he was holding back, she's confident in her ability to win rhis tug of war.

Especially if she cheats by flicking the chain in his eyes.

[Earl of Purple]

SSGTV

Abbi smiles at the noises Hana's making, but she's aware this is the massage, not anything else. She could do more with one, but... Hana's married, and whilst Abbi would like more, she's pretty sure Hana doesn't. So she'll content herself with the effect she's having now, for now.

Trust-Worthy Hotel

The valets continue limping away. Some of the other doors open now, including the doctor's room. The doctor hurries out, a pale-skinned man in his thirties with greasy black hair in a ponytail, eyes hidden behind thick goggles, wearing a blood-spattered leather apron over surgical scrubs. Someone screams from the room as he leaves, but he ignores them. He looks both ways, and sees his employer and Sandals nearby, gulps and runs very hard away.

[Ironsmith]

[SSGTV]

Hana moans ecstatically as Abbi works at her shoulders, settling in as the rat-girl works her hands over and...

And why is she shaking?

Not from Abbi, that much is certain. Or at least, not directly.

Hana sniffs and blinks quickly, tensing up almost as quickly as Abbi can work her shoulders loose again.

[Vahnavoi]

[Trust-Worthy Hotel]

Maybe the man could win a straight tug-of-war, maybe he couldn't - that will go unanswered today, because he, too, is hoping to win by trickery rather than by his raw strength. When Hazel drops her baton, the bandaged man rapidly wraps part of the chain around his left arm, while letting go with his right hand, gesturing towards the flames and squeezing his hand into a fist. This gives Hazel time to throw the chain on his face and begin pulling, but when she does, she finds escape is no longer simply a matter of pulling the chain out of his hands or dragging him with her. The flames have gotten ahead of her, and are now rising from the floor and licking down from the ceiling like teeth in the mouth of some infernal beast. "Path of Binding: Crimson Flame Prison! Engulf! Constrain! Swallow! Devour!"

This is the crucial moment in the binding. Last time, Hazel managed to slip through floor. This time, the chain should keep her from doing the same, but it's not a sure thing. The man holds his closed fist in front of himself, counting seconds in his mind. If a spirit can't break the binding in ten seconds, they usually can't do so at all before the flames die out. It's not something he can rely his precognition to tell him, as it's mainly concerned with things putting him or others in peril. Hazel escaping here will almost certainly prove bad for whoever has her wife, but that's far enough into the future to be behind the horizon of his foresight.

[Ironsmith]

[Trust-Worthy Hotel]

"Stop it! STOP IT! STOP!" Hazel screams as the flames engulf her. She doesn't know quite enough about Sandel's binding ritual to fully understand what's happening here, but being surrounded on all sides by fire while he chants about swallowing and consuming does not bode well. She tugs against the chain and tries to pull away, for all that will mean at this stage.

But even she can see that brute force isn't going to work.

"Stop it! PLEASE!" Hazel begs, dropping to her knees. "I can't go in anudder prison! Please! Stop it!"

[Vahnavoi]

[Trust-Worthy Hotel]

The man lets go of the chain and it turns back into formless flame - it has served its purpose. He motions to the flames, creating just enough room for himself to sidle past Hazel. "If I wanted to confine you for good, I'd send you straight to Hell - where you'd rot until the causality of your actions has run its course", he says dryly, looking at Hazel through the flames. "For now, I will settle with binding you into some less dangerous form, if you promise to behave. Stay put for fifteen minutes and we'll see."

He continues moving past Hazel, cautiously approaching Trust's unmoving body. Getting killed by an evil spirit is a good way to become one, so he's worried what's left of Trust's soul might jump on him. If Trust's ghost does not show itself, next the bandaged man looks into the room from which the doctor fled - he heard a scream, there might be someone there. More importantly, there might be some container to put Hazel's spirit into. Please let there be no more trouble...

[Shadowcaller]

[Searching for Truth]

"Yep, that's her alright." The cyborg merc confirms.

"In the flesh!" The tiny person proclaims through the megaphone. "But if you don't wanna play, newbie, come over here."

The zombie holding the megaphone gestures for them to approach.

If Bellana does approach so does the mercenaries. At this point she can see that there is indeed a pixie sitting in the seat. Sporting a bathing suit, a sunhat and a pair of sunglasses.

"Wow, you're quite a looker are you? I mean, just those knockers. Wow!" The pixie let's out a wolf-whistle as she leans forward. "Mind if I travel in them if we go and do that 'more' thing?" She's certainly... goal-oriented.

[Earl of Purple]

SSGTV

"Are you OK? You... aren't relaxing very well." Which is unusual, in Abbi's experience. Normally this works so much better at helping people relax.

Trust-Worthy Hotel

A ghost- or possibly evil spirit- does stand up out of Trust's corpse. Unlike the corpse itself, this one is slimmer and younger. It doesn't do anything immediately, looking around with quite a bit of confusion- especially at his own body.

In the doctor's room, there's several things that are a little unusual. There's a bench like in many doctor's offices, and a gynaecological chair as well, plus a desk and office chair. But it's also quite a large room, and in the very centre a pair of steel shackles hang from the ceiling, with a small moveable step placed underneath. The person who screamed is stood on the step, a pretty young woman with dark skin, dark brown eyes, slightly pointed ears and purple-black hair. The half-drow is wearing a loose grey skirt and a bronze collar about her neck, nothing else. A whip is draped over her naked shoulder, and her bare feet are dangling- the step has fallen over. She's not been whipped yet, but there's a fire- she can smell the smoke- and she's chained and stuck. There's also a slight scar on her left ankle, which isn't dangling properly; her Achilles tendon has been cut.

[Reinholdt]

[Searching for Truth]

Bellana steps forward when beckoned, 'used' to being summoned. Or trying to play off that image when she's very much not used to it at all. She still has to squint a little to see the pixie at all.

The dancer shakes her head. "I don't mind. As long as you promise to behave!" Bellana entirely expects Lumine to not behave in the slightest. That's fine. "We were all thinking about having some fun in Lady Tellysandra's ritual room. It'll be exotic and exciting. Would you be able to lead us there?"

[All Around Skyside]

Real estate is being snatched up left and right. Buildings and businesses that go on sale are getting offers for twice to three times their original asking price with all costs included no questions asked. A lot of smaller outfits are getting bullied into selling. Though those that truly holdout don't get pressured particularly hard, because there's a good chance those holdouts also own death rays or self-destruct sequences. But even the smallest of lots are going for exorbitant prices, flooding the market with a lot of newly enriched people. Some of whom leave to other cities to spend their money there, on account of no longer having a place here to stay or work. Other people come in trying to take advantage of these opportunities and get a piece of property to resell. There's a lot of natural flux happening around all these purchases.

The only thing that's certain is that a new name is rising in Skyside and throwing stupid amounts of money at it in the process as the corporation gobbles up the vulnerable and considerably drives up inflation. A company by the name of Black Abyss.

[Vahnavoi]

[Trust-Worthy Hotel]

The bandaged man stands at the doorway of the doctor's room, looking back and forth between the chained elf and Trust's emerging ghosts. Great. Not just one, but two new things to take care of.

He points his left index finger at the ceiling, shooting apart the chains with the crimson flame, leaving the elf to fall on the floor. He then returns to Trust's body, looking directly at his ghost. "It seems my efforts to stop your untimely demise have failed. My apologies", he says to Trust. "There's nothing left for you to do here. I'll be sending you to your final resting place soon enough. I have another ghost un tow, so I'll have to be quick about it. My apologies, again." He nods and beckongs toward Hazel in her fiery prison, then holds his left palm before him. "Reverse Path of Binding: Soul Burial!"

From Trust's perspective, the world around the bandaged man seems to warp. The corridor seems to expand and a door that was not there a moment ago appears ahead of them, in thw direction of where the shortcut out of the building would've been. The door is flanked by two blindfolded skeletons, the left one holding a pair of scales, the right one holding a sword. Slowly, they begin pulling the door open. It's easy for Trust to understand he's meant to pass through - but will he?

[Ironsmith]

[SSGTV]

"Am I?" Hana asks, snapping back to reality. "Sorry. I don't mean to be. I just can't stop thinking about Hazel. And, um..." She rolls her shoulders, looking at Abbi guiltily. "And what she'd be thinking if she could see us now."

[Trust-Worthy Hotel]

Bound as she is, Hazel can only watch as Trust(?) climbs out of the corpse and stares at it. "What da... what da [funk]?!" She gasps in astonishment, like she's never seen a ghost before.

Oh, yeah.

That could be a problem.

Unfortunately, it's not one she's equipped to solve. Sandels left her tied up, and while she'd normally be willing to try her hand against physical restraints, there's some freaky-deeky supernatural stuff going on here, and she has no idea how to approach it.

So all she can do is wait for Sandels.

[Interesting Times]

Gwas considers himself a reasonably polite man. When visiting a friend, he runs through all the normal courtesies; show up on time, knock loudly but be patient while the door is being answered, wipe your feet, that sort of thing.

But his trip up to Mina's manor home had been just the worst. First he had to find his way to Groundtown (which was somehow more heart-rendingly poor than his cursed homeland), then he fell out of the lift because of lax handrail standards. Then, when he got up to Skyside proper, he got mugged twice on the way to the district Mina's home is in, and to top it all off, he's been struck by lightning a further three times on his way to the door.

So he lets himself in. Still soaking wet from the sudden rainstorm, fur frazzled from the lightning, blood still staining the front of his armor and him still picking bits of fabric from his teeth. He's not especially proud of how he handled that last mugger.

"Hello? Miss Tososora? Are you home?" Gwas calls from the foyer, wiping himself off in an attempt to look more presentable.

[Abyssmal Takeover]

Korvin, of course, noticed this explosive growth almost immediately. As an enforcer of the Slaver's Guild, it's his job to notice things like this. And as the head of SIN, even more so. This Black Abyss company, whatever it is, seems to be quickly becoming a noteworthy figure in Skyside's politics. But the real question is, what role would they play in relation to his designs? Obstacle? Asset? Ally? Competition?

The easiest and fastest way to find out is to try to deal with them on a mundane level.

Which is why he's pulling up here now, flanked by a pair of orcs on loan from the Guild. The plan is simple; go in, find a line to the owner, arrange to buy back a small parcel of land from him/her, and leave. If they refuse to sell, find out why. Extrapolate from there.

The bird-masked man steps into the building, robes flowing behind him dramatically. Let's see how this goes.

[Earl of Purple]

Trust-Worthy Hotel

The girl screams slightly when the fireball blasts the chain from the ceiling, especially as she falls a short distance, lands awkwardly and falls to the floor. She's able to stand up, and quickly looks around before grabbing a shirt slung over the back of a chair and draping it over her shoulders as best she can; her hands are still bound together. She looks at Sandals, but doesn't say anything- he's doing magic or something, and she really doesn't want to distract him.

The ghost of Trust laughs as the gateway appears and he knows he's supposed to go through it. "I'm not stupid. I know where I'm going if I use that door. Can't succeed without stepping on a few backs, and you saw how much I weighed. No, I'm staying here." He'll ignore the flames, and strides purposefully away from the door.

SSGTV

"I'd... be happy to give her a massage, too?" Abbi frowns a little, not quite understanding what Hana means. Some of the people she's given massages wanted more; but some individuals that wanted more didn't want a massage. She hasn't made the connection, since a lot of those people are ones she'd prefer not to think much about.

[Ironsmith]

[SSGTV]

Hana gives a mostly-involuntary snort of laughter. "Of... of course you would." She smiles and lays back down. What was she so worried about? Abbi is as innocent as the day is long. She's just helping Hana relax between bouts, in the best way she knows how. So what if that involves a lot of rubbing and groping and moaning from Hana, the kind only Hazel could normally achieve? They're not doing anything wrong. The Hazel in her head would be making a big deal out of nothing. She's been known to do that sometimes.

Thus reassured, Hana's shoulders drop as she lets herself relax again... perhaps a bit too much. After a few more minutes, she'll be asleep under Abbi's hands.

[Vahnavoi]

[Trust-Worthy Hotel]

The flames blaze and jump on ghostly Trust's way, trying to block his path much like they earlier blocked Hazel's. "If you knew where you're going, you'd know trying to stay behind only makes things worse!", the bandaged man calls out. But that's all he can do for the moment. If the flames aren't enough to keep Trust from wandering off, he can't work another binding to keep him in place while he's already restraining Hazel. He needs to finish dealing with her first.

To that end, he turns his attention to the elf woman. "You there! I can make it so that you can run out of this place on your own feet. But I need your help! Bring men a flask, vial, anything! Any closed container will do. Quick!"

[Reinholdt]

[Abyssmal Takeover]

The building is a run down affair. One of the taller buildings in the area, the seven story brick building probably should have been demolished years ago. Yet here it is and it's clearly being rebranded and restored. They've got a pile of giant letters stacked in the alley beside the building ready to go up, but haven't gone ahead with it on account of the structural reinforcement and paint job they're half in the middle of. Making the outside all black. And the inside too. The fumes are pretty excessive, but then, the place doesn't particularly look open for business of any kind.

Of course, not being open yet doesn't have to stop Korvin, he can walk inside anyways. The doors aren't locked, or even on. They'll put new doors in place eventually. The first thing he'll probably note are all the zombies with cybernetic implants running around dressed in construction orange and doing construction type things. The area he walked into at least kind of looks like a lobby. There's some doors leading places, an openish area, and a semi-fancy desk with a mecha-zombie behind it staring at Korvin and his two goons. Unlike his friends, he's wearing a mechanics outfit with the nametag Brent that has some dried blood on it and asks Korvin one very simple question.

"Braaaaaakes?" The mecha-zombie asks, sliding forward a form. The form has nothing to do with brakes. The form is one for selling assets and land to Black Abyss. They'll buy your house for cash it seems.

Upon the desk beside the mecha-zombie is a tray of mint looking things and a sign:

Rad-Away
Take One (Every three to four hours)
No seriously, take one.

[Shadowcaller]

[Searching for Truth]

Bellana steps forward when beckoned, 'used' to being summoned. Or trying to play off that image when she's very much not used to it at all. She still has to squint a little to see the pixie at all.

The dancer shakes her head. "I don't mind. As long as you promise to behave!" Bellana entirely expects Lumine to not behave in the slightest. That's fine. "We were all thinking about having some fun in Lady Tellysandra's ritual room. It'll be exotic and exciting. Would you be able to lead us there?"

[Searching for Truth]

The pixie grins. "Which ritual room? There's probably a few not even I know about." She claims while gesturing at herself.
Then she lays down to the side, resting her head on her hand. "But why would you want to be there anyway? The only one with a bed is... well, I'm not allowed in there right now. Due to my prowess." Luminie boasts.

[Earl of Purple]

SSGTV

Abbi would like more, but the problem is she doesn't know how to go about it. Not in a way that she thinks would properly repay Hana her kindness; very few of the guests she's served have been kind, so she hasn't got as much experience.

Once Hana's fallen asleep, Abbi smiles and strokes the back of Hana's head, before climbing into bed herself and having a nap. Nobody's going to interrupt for a while, not for an hour or two- but then there's a gentle cough as a keyholder tries to attract attention.

Trust-Worthy Hotel

The ghost of Trust is cut off by flames. He thinks something shifty's going on there, since he can now see Hana chained in fire and Sandals seems to be using it against him. So he doesn't want to get burnt. So he looks up, and then mimes a ladder. He's climbing nothing, but climbing still. He closes his eyes, but he's going to start disappearing through the ceiling unless stopped.

The receptionist nods and hurries over to the doctor's desk, opening a drawer and rummaging in it before retrieving a few things. The first is a silver hipflask, currently half filled with rum. Another is a vaccuum flask with tea in it. The third is a chrome scalpel, which isn't what Sandals asked her for but does make her feel better.

[Ironsmith]

[Abyssmal Takeover]

The building is a run down affair. One of the taller buildings in the area, the seven story brick building probably should have been demolished years ago. Yet here it is and it's clearly being rebranded and restored. They've got a pile of giant letters stacked in the alley beside the building ready to go up, but haven't gone ahead with it on account of the structural reinforcement and paint job they're half in the middle of. Making the outside all black. And the inside too. The fumes are pretty excessive, but then, the place doesn't particularly look open for business of any kind.

Of course, not being open yet doesn't have to stop Korvin, he can walk inside anyways. The doors aren't locked, or even on. They'll put new doors in place eventually. The first thing he'll probably note are all the zombies with cybernetic implants running around dressed in construction orange and doing construction type things. The area he walked into at least kind of looks like a lobby. There's some doors leading places, an openish area, and a semi-fancy desk with a mecha-zombie behind it staring at Korvin and his two goons. Unlike his friends, he's wearing a mechanics outfit with the nametag Brent that has some dried blood on it and asks Korvin one very simple question.

"Braaaaaakes?" The mecha-zombie asks, sliding forward a form. The form has nothing to do with brakes. The form is one for selling assets and land to Black Abyss. They'll buy your house for cash it seems.

Upon the desk beside the mecha-zombie is a tray of mint looking things and a sign:

Rad-Away
Take One (Every three to four hours)
No seriously, take one.

[Abyssmal Takeover]

"Well, aren't you just adorable." Korvin cackles, giving the inquiring mecha-zombie a little pat on the head. "Look at this, gents; have you ever seen a better example of Asthania's blessings?"

The orcs shuffle nervously and mutter some vague assent; they really have no idea what he's talking about. One of them grabs a pair of rad-away capsules and splits them between them; their boss might be crazy enough to ignore the dangers of radiation poisoning, but their mothers certainly didn't raise any fools! (Or them, for that matter, but no fools either way.)

"Well, little guy." Korvin begins, leaning in to examine Brent's name tag. "I'm not here for any braaaaaaaakes, no. In fact, I'm not here to sell at all. I'm here to talk with the man in charge. Or woman, as it may happen. It's the twenty-seventh century, after all." He chuckles, the sound reverberating behind the porcelain mask he wears. "Would you be so kind as to take us to him/her, my dear?"

SSGTV

Abbi would like more, but the problem is she doesn't know how to go about it. Not in a way that she thinks would properly repay Hana her kindness; very few of the guests she's served have been kind, so she hasn't got as much experience.

Once Hana's fallen asleep, Abbi smiles and strokes the back of Hana's head, before climbing into bed herself and having a nap. Nobody's going to interrupt for a while, not for an hour or two- but then there's a gentle cough as a keyholder tries to attract attention.

[SSGTV]

Hana, as it turns out, is a pretty heavy sleeper, now that she doesn't have the benefit of sleeling gel regulating her breathing and metabolism. That keyholder can cough all he wants; he could slap Hana across the face and still not wake her. It's likely going to take much more than he, personally, can do to get her out of bed... at which point he'll probably wish he hadn't, as Hana is also not a morning person... or at least, not a "immediately after waking up" person, since it's probably not morning.

[Reinholdt]

[Abyssmal Takeover]

The mecha-zombie doesn't react all too much, but does offer the semblance of a reply.

"Braaaaaaash."

Well, there you have it.

One of the nearby slightly cracked doors opens fully to reveal a creature maybe four feet tall wearing some kind of specialized suit equipped with a breathing apparatus. It's hard to say what it looks like under the suit, but rotund is a decent description of the Volus. And perpetually nervous as well in both his mannerisms and mechanically filtered speech.

"Brent, how many ti- oh! Hello. I, uh, didn't realize we had company. We certainly weren't expecting anyone but... well, nevermind all that." The Volus clasps his hands together and rubs them awkwardly. "Are you here to sell? Just fill out the form and we'll be happy to get your money right away. By we I mean me. I'll get you your money."

Korvin will undoubtedly repeat his request to the more conversational living person who stands out as well... still being alive, to which the Volus apologetically shakes his head. "Ah, s-sorry, she's not seeing anyone. Err... well she will, but you're not the one she'll see. Without good reason I guess. Any acquisitions business I take care of, so I-I'm the guy you want to talk to. Probably. About business. Umm... how can I help you?"

[Searching for Truth]

"The ones she summons demons in of course... what other ones could there be?" Asks a person who is 'ignorant' in the art of the arcane. "Because it would be super neat and cool and I think the occult is just... really fun, like aesthetic wise."

Bellana leans her head down to whisper conspiratorially to Lumine. "And a candlelit room with spooky ambiance really turns me on, know what I'm saying?"

[Vahnavoi]

[Trust-Worthy Hotel]

The bandaged man sighs as Trust's ghost disappears through the ceiling. Looks like he'll have to hunt him down separately.

When the elf woman manages to bring him the objects, the bandaged man rapidly appraises them and snatches the silver flask with his left hand. "This will do." Holding the flask, he extends a finger and points at Hazel's fiery prison, speaking to the elf. "There's an evil spirit there. I don't know if you can see her, but I know you can see the flames. I will put her in this flask, and then you will have to drink her. It won't fix your injuries, but it ought to give you enough strength to not mind them for a while. She's been tossing people and things around, propping you up ought to be easy in comparison."

He moves closer to Hazel, opening the flask with his teeth and spitting the cork away. "Hear that, evil spirit? You will help this woman out of this building and follow her command until I've dealt with the man you killed. State your name and swear by sign of the Reaper!"

[Ironsmith]

[Abyssmal Takeover]

The mecha-zombie doesn't react all too much, but does offer the semblance of a reply.

"Braaaaaaash."

Well, there you have it.

One of the nearby slightly cracked doors opens fully to reveal a creature maybe four feet tall wearing some kind of specialized suit equipped with a breathing apparatus. It's hard to say what it looks like under the suit, but rotund is a decent description of the Volus. And perpetually nervous as well in both his mannerisms and mechanically filtered speech.

"Brent, how many ti- oh! Hello. I, uh, didn't realize we had company. We certainly weren't expecting anyone but... well, nevermind all that." The Volus clasps his hands together and rubs them awkwardly. "Are you here to sell? Just fill out the form and we'll be happy to get your money right away. By we I mean me. I'll get you your money."

Korvin will undoubtedly repeat his request to the more conversational living person who stands out as well... still being alive, to which the Volus apologetically shakes his head. "Ah, s-sorry, she's not seeing anyone. Err... well she will, but you're not the one she'll see. Without good reason I guess. Any acquisitions business I take care of, so I-I'm the guy you want to talk to. Probably. About business. Umm... how can I help you?"

[Abyssmal Takeover]

"Good reason, he says." Korvin chuckles. "And what sort of reason would that be? In inability to delegate the job to someone else?"

In broad terms, probably.

Korvin snaps his fingers over his shoulder and stands there a moment as an awkward pause falls over the room. He snaps again and holds out his hand to one of the orcs expectantly, getting only a blank stare in return. "The suitcase, peabrain, you're supposed to give me the suitcase!" Korvin hisses through the mask, prompting the orc to finally comply and put a black leather suitcase in his outstretched hand.

"Come on, Krimp, try to keep up."
"How was I supposed to know that's what he wanted? He snaps for everything!"

Korvin snaps his fingers again, and the orcs fall silent, "Krimp" giving his comrade a meaningful look.

The priest of Asthenia holds out the suitcase to the Volus, popping it open to reveal a collection of fist-sized diamonds. "Your boss bought up a property I had my eye on. A property which contains an asset of some importance to me. I'm here to buy it back. Is that something you are equipped to handle?"

[Trust-Worthy Hotel]

The bandaged man sighs as Trust's ghost disappears through the ceiling. Looks like he'll have to hunt him down separately.

When the elf woman manages to bring him the objects, the bandaged man rapidly appraises them and snatches the silver flask with his left hand. "This will do." Holding the flask, he extends a finger and points at Hazel's fiery prison, speaking to the elf. "There's an evil spirit there. I don't know if you can see her, but I know you can see the flames. I will put her in this flask, and then you will have to drink her. It won't fix your injuries, but it ought to give you enough strength to not mind them for a while. She's been tossing people and things around, propping you up ought to be easy in comparison."

He moves closer to Hazel, opening the flask with his teeth and spitting the cork away. "Hear that, evil spirit? You will help this woman out of this building and follow her command until I've dealt with the man you killed. State your name and swear by sign of the Reaper!"

[Trust-Worthy Hotel]

"Ahe you nuts?!" Hazel demands. "I'm naht lettin' anybahdy drink me! Dat's at least thirteen diffehnt flavahs of gross and wrong!" She struggles against her bindings and looks up at the elf woman. "I'll get heh out of the hotel, I promise you dat. But I'm only doin' it wif my own body, undehstood?"

She's hoping he'll acquiesce. It's not like they have a whole lot of time to debate this.

[Earl of Purple]

SSGTV

Abbi, however, is not a heavy sleeper. For a very long time, she's been unable to afford to be. So the keyholder wakes her- not deliberately, but she's awoken anyway. There's some discussion, which may wake Hana, but if not then Abbi's going to gently shake Hana and then keep shaking until she wakes. Hopefully Abbi's face is a more pleasant sight to awaken to than the naked eunuch's flabby form.

Trust-Worthy Hotel

Now he's holding the flask, Sandals might note an inscription on the flask; For you, my Love will never die. It doesn't have a cork, it has an integrated stopper.

The receptionist who narrowly avoided a whipping is half-elf, not full elf. She nods slowly, but all this magic is well beyond her experience and she doesn't know how to react to it. "I'm... I'm not too badly hurt. I could get out on my own, I think." The whipping hadn't started yet; her only extant injury is an ache in her wrists from the drop after the step fell over and also the old injury of the cut tendon on her ankle.

[Reinholdt]

[Abyssmal Takeover]

"Uhhh..." The Volus hesitates a response, recognizing something of a verbal trap and getting lost in it. He's not about to disparage his boss's delegating skills in front of her mecha-zombies. It was hard enough convincing her he was more useful to her alive. He's still relatively certain it only worked not because of his unique skills and talents but because he would make a horrible zombie.

Fortunately the question seemed to be all hypothetical and Korvin snaps his fingers for... something. That eventually turns into a suitcase full of diamonds after some bumbling from the help. Something which certainly holds the Volus' attention as he speaks primarily to the diamonds more than he does to Korvin.

"Ah, well, umm, unfortunately we're under strict guidelines to acquire only. We're not in the business of selling any of our properties or assets. I-I could set up a rental lease agreement if you wish. And... and if you were to remove an asset from a leased property, well that would be a breach of contract," The Volus says in a way that suggests that is probably the best way to get his asset, whatever it is. Of course, the cost to set up such a contract and lease would be much higher than normal. Might cost a few diamonds for the deposit alone.

[Vahnavoi]

[Trust-Worthy Hotel]

Correct taxonomy if various elf mongrels is both beyond and beneath the bandaged man's interests. "If you can go, then GO!", he shouts to the woman. It's without malice, but with such volume that it'd send small animals and easily scared humans running regardless. He then turns his attention fully to Hazel, walking closer to her fiery prison.

"Be glad I'm not binding you to the corpse of that guy you just killed. If that doesn't suit you either, then you have two... hmm, three options left. One, you get into the bottle and stay there until I've dealt with that other ghost", he says, brandishing the flask before Hazel. "Two, you do what he didn't and go through those doors", he beckons down thw corridor, where the faint outline of the skeleton-flanked doorway is still visible. There doesn't seem to be anything other than just the corridor behind the open doors, but they still radiate a foreboding sensation. "Or three, I leave you here to ponder on your evil deeds for as long as it takes for this place to burn down to cinders. So what will it be?"