Planeside 3

[Geopol4r]

Scorching Depths
The bottle spins, with more blue flashes. It seems like the mist inside is banging on the bottle.

[Ironsmith]

Scorching Depths
"That's not it. Even if it wasn't hidden, it wouldn't do that," Charcoal comments. "I'm going to keep looking, can you check out the weird bottle, oh Valaktos the Incomprehensible?" She's making fun of him for that joke.

Scorching Depths
The bottle spins, with more blue flashes. It seems like the mist inside is banging on the bottle.

[Scorching Depths]

"...If this turns out to be a genie in a bottle and we end up wishing our grandparents out of existence or something, I'm putting the blame for that entirely on you." Vlad mumbles, retrieving the bottle and popping off the cork.

[bc56]

Scorching Depths
"Just don't make any wishes! Problem solved," Charcoal replies. She's pushed aside some bottles and is reaching way back into the dark of the shelves. "There's a space back here. Just a second." It must be a large space, because she's up to her waist in the gap in the shelves.

[Geopol4r]

Scorching Depths
The cork is pulled, and a small cloud flows out.
(Telepathically) 'ey! 'ow are you? I've been better. A'least I'm na'sealed in a bottle. Ugh, I nee' watah.
The cloud flows around it's liberator.

[Ironsmith]

Scorching Depths
"Just don't make any wishes! Problem solved," Charcoal replies. She's pushed aside some bottles and is reaching way back into the dark of the shelves. "There's a space back here. Just a second." It must be a large space, because she's up to her waist in the gap in the shelves.

Scorching Depths
The cork is pulled, and a small cloud flows out.
(Telepathically) 'ey! 'ow are you? I've been better. A'least I'm na'sealed in a bottle. Ugh, I nee' watah.
The cloud flows around it's liberator.

[Scorching Depths]

"...There's a cloud talking to me in my head." Vlad oh-so-helpfully informs Charcoal, watching the mist flow around him cautiously. "Scale of one to ten, how much should that worry me?" He looks over to Charcoal for answers, but since he can only address her lower half just this moment he'll keep back a respectful distance.

[Geopol4r]

Scorching Depths
The cloud swirls around you.
[COLOR="#FF8C00]'ey, you freed me. 'ow do you wan' me da 'elp you?[/COLOR]

[bc56]

Scorching Depths
"4? 5? Depends what it's saying." Charcoal's disappeared up to her ankles in the hidden space. "Oh, this is clever. As long as there's plenty of bottles no one would even know it's here. Whoops!" She vanishes completely from sight with a thump and the sound of breaking glass.

[Geopol4r]

Scorching Depths
The mist flows after the fallen person. It attempts to wrap around them.

[Ironsmith]

Scorching Depths
The cloud swirls around you.
'ey, you freed me. 'ow do you wan' me da 'elp you?

Scorching Depths
"4? 5? Depends what it's saying." Charcoal's disappeared up to her ankles in the hidden space. "Oh, this is clever. As long as there's plenty of bottles no one would even know it's here. Whoops!" She vanishes completely from sight with a thump and the sound of breaking glass.

Scorching Depths
The mist flows after the fallen person. It attempts to wrap around them.

[Scorching Depths]

"Well, it hasn't offered to buy my soul yet, so..." Vlad jumps as Charcoal crashes out of view, noting that the cellar is apparently much larger than he'd been at first led to believe. "...Okay, that's either a whole hidden room or a secret tunnel out of here, used for smuggling either way. How close am I?"

[bc56]

Scorching Depths
"If you want a good deal for that soul, you should really talk to the queen," Charcoal jokes. She's not hurt, just surprised, lying on the floor of the secret chamber amidst broken glass and black slime (which seems to have come from the broken bottle). "I think it's both, but I haven't gotten a good look around. I found the stuff I was looking for, at least."

[Geopol4r]

Scorching Depths
The cloud will swirl way the sharp glass, and push out the black slime so the floor is clear for everyone. He will push a path through wherever you guys walk.

[Recaiden]

[Brefaisil]

As the workers dutifully move aside so Marcie can pass through, she'll be quickly reminded that the situation here is that it's very hard to murder someone, not impossible, and there are methods to make it happen.

Such as, for example, decartication. Marcie will have seen the aftermath of that method before, in a jewelry box on the queen's nightstand.

It appears that the victim in front of her today has suffered a similar fate. His chest cavity has been ripped open, to such a violent degree that she'll be able to see that a number of his organs (not just his heart) have been displaced and/or misplaced, nowhere to be seen, along with some fractures in his ribcage. The body was then dumped down the lift shaft, where it's now come to rest, deprived of any dignity, on a crate full of rubble.

Marcie won't have to worry about meeting up with Seth again. He's come to her. Though it doesn't look like they'll be discussing their respective findings.

Marcie had been under the impression that losing your heart was a serious but reversible condition around here.
But even if so, that wouldn't have helped Seth. There's a handful of people here who are at the default, very-high, level of murderability.
Like Marcie herself. Would she have been attacked in his stead if he weren't there?

She freezes up when she glimpses who it is, parts of her torn between not wanting her to see thing, and wanting to prove that she can handle this. Is she not a soldier? Is she not the oldest and strongest part of herself?

Marcie reaches up and catches her other crystal - not the one that's casting light - as it hovers around her, and activates its first power: deeply comprehensive diagnostic capabilities. The world before her eyes fills with detailed historical trivia, but she focuses on the murder victim. Exactly when were these wounds made? With what angle, force, and weapon? What foreign traces were left on his form between arriving at the city and falling down this shaft? Do his hands indicate a struggle, or was he torn apart with no chance to resist? All this she expects to be there to be seen, secretly written on the matter that composed Seth.

[Ironsmith]

Scorching Depths
"If you want a good deal for that soul, you should really talk to the queen," Charcoal jokes. She's not hurt, just surprised, lying on the floor of the secret chamber amidst broken glass and black slime (which seems to have come from the broken bottle). "I think it's both, but I haven't gotten a good look around. I found the stuff I was looking for, at least."

Scorching Depths
The cloud will swirl way the sharp glass, and push out the black slime so the floor is clear for everyone. He will push a path through wherever you guys walk.

[Scorching Depths]

Vlad steps into the newly-discovered space, scooping up the lantern and looking around as best as the illumination will allow. "Speaking of the stuff you were looking for..." He prompts, crouching to examine the black goop. "What exactly is it? Expired molasses?"

[Brefaisil]

Marcie had been under the impression that losing your heart was a serious but reversible condition around here.
But even if so, that wouldn't have helped Seth. There's a handful of people here who are at the default, very-high, level of murderability.
Like Marcie herself. Would she have been attacked in his stead if he weren't there?

She freezes up when she glimpses who it is, parts of her torn between not wanting her to see thing, and wanting to prove that she can handle this. Is she not a soldier? Is she not the oldest and strongest part of herself?

Marcie reaches up and catches her other crystal - not the one that's casting light - as it hovers around her, and activates its first power: deeply comprehensive diagnostic capabilities. The world before her eyes fills with detailed historical trivia, but she focuses on the murder victim. Exactly when were these wounds made? With what angle, force, and weapon? What foreign traces were left on his form between arriving at the city and falling down this shaft? Do his hands indicate a struggle, or was he torn apart with no chance to resist? All this she expects to be there to be seen, secretly written on the matter that composed Seth.

[Brefaisil]

These wounds are recent... made no more than a few minutes ago, with some sort of blunt intstrument. The vast majority of the damage seems to come from the act of decardication itself, as though something teleported into his chest and then jumped out through his sternum. There are minor injuries on his hands, neck and face, bruises and scratches that indicate something on the level of fisticuffs, as though this occurred in the middle of a bar fight. The body also has traces of dust and high-value fabrics on it, both of which come from the palace, likely a royals' quarters. There's also dirt in his wounds that clearly came from outside... clearly to Marcie, at any rate.

[bc56]

Scorching Depths
"Fiendish essence! It's a rush, really puts a spring into your step." Didn't Sekhmet warn Vlad not to consume that? "Looks like mid-grade stuff here, that's pretty good." Not counting the one that was broken, there are roughly a dozen bottles resting on shelves in the small room. "There's a tunnel too, looks like it might be a way out." It's narrow and rough, wide enough for one person to crawl through at a time, and very dark.

[Geopol4r]

Scorching Depths
I'll lead the way and scout for you. It's there a body of water nearby?
The cloud flows through the tunnel. It sees ahead.

[Ironsmith]

Scorching Depths
"Fiendish essence! It's a rush, really puts a spring into your step." Didn't Sekhmet warn Vlad not to consume that? "Looks like mid-grade stuff here, that's pretty good." Not counting the one that was broken, there are roughly a dozen bottles resting on shelves in the small room. "There's a tunnel too, looks like it might be a way out." It's narrow and rough, wide enough for one person to crawl through at a time, and very dark.

Scorching Depths
I'll lead the way and scout for you. It's there a body of water nearby?
The cloud flows through the tunnel. It sees ahead.

[Scorching Depths]

"Um... okay, yeah, do that." Vlad mumbles belatedly after the cloud, watching it roll into the tunnel. What exactly is that thing's deal, anyway?

The Russian engineer sighs and puts a hand to his head, giving it a little shake. This being the Nexus, there's a fair chance the cloud isn't even real and he's hallucinating from... demon wine fumes, he would guess.

Returning back to the subject at hand, he turns to Charcoal and raises an eyebrow. "...Okay. So. Quick reminder; not from this neighborhood." He begins. "Why would you drink demon essence in the first place? Isn't that like gulping down a bottle of blood?"

[bc56]

Scorching Depths
"Sure. That's exactly what it's like, but we're like vampires," Charcoal answers. "It heals us, makes us stronger, satisfies the urge to feed. And it feels good." That's a lot. No wonder the stuff is valuable. "I've got bad news for you, cloud guy. There's no bodies of water anywhere around here. Not in the whole kingdom." That doesn't bode well.

[Recaiden]

[Brefaisil]

These wounds are recent... made no more than a few minutes ago, with some sort of blunt intstrument. The vast majority of the damage seems to come from the act of decardication itself, as though something teleported into his chest and then jumped out through his sternum. There are minor injuries on his hands, neck and face, bruises and scratches that indicate something on the level of fisticuffs, as though this occurred in the middle of a bar fight. The body also has traces of dust and high-value fabrics on it, both of which come from the palace, likely a royals' quarters. There's also dirt in his wounds that clearly came from outside... clearly to Marcie, at any rate.

"He was in the palace ... there was a fight, blunt instruments. ... and then he was ripped apart form the inside." Marcie muses, if only out of some foreign habit if all the tunnel-diggers are hanging back away from the murder victim.
"He was outside at the time or just after..."
She really needs to get up the lift as soon as possible.

[Geopol4r]

Scorching Depths
Really? Well, how do you guys drink? As long as I'm around you, I could probably absorb your perspiration. Speaking of, thanks for freeing me. I'll make myself useful to you for a time. And I'm not seeing any traps or anything here. It's safe to come through.

[Ironsmith]

Scorching Depths
"Sure. That's exactly what it's like, but we're like vampires," Charcoal answers. "It heals us, makes us stronger, satisfies the urge to feed. And it feels good." That's a lot. No wonder the stuff is valuable. "I've got bad news for you, cloud guy. There's no bodies of water anywhere around here. Not in the whole kingdom." That doesn't bode well.

Scorching Depths
Really? Well, how do you guys drink? As long as I'm around you, I could probably absorb your perspiration. Speaking of, thanks for freeing me. I'll make myself useful to you for a time. And I'm not seeing any traps or anything here. It's safe to come through.

[Scorching Depths]

"An advance scout is pretty useful." Vlad admits, ducking into the tunnel and carefully stepping around the broken glass, his feet boots splashing in the demonic essence as he moves through. "...You know, I don't think I caught your name, little guy. Or what you were doing in a sealed bottle in a smuggler's hold in a bar in the Scorching Depths. That sounds like it could be quite a story."

[Brefaisil]

"He was in the palace ... there was a fight, blunt instruments. ... and then he was ripped apart form the inside." Marcie muses, if only out of some foreign habit if all the tunnel-diggers are hanging back away from the murder victim.
"He was outside at the time or just after..."
She really needs to get up the lift as soon as possible.

[Brefaisil]

Fortunately, with the lift itself down, there's nothing obstructing Marcie's path if she chooses to simply fly up. That's probably the fastest way, too... but even like that, the killer is likely to have already fled. They don't exactly have any reason to stick around.

If she can think of a reason for it, she could always take the lift, too. The operator would be plenty willing to help her up... though as previously noted, it will be much slower. And she'll have to spend more time with Seth's corpse.

[bc56]

Scorching Depths
"We don't technically have to drink, but the palace has a device to conjure water." To Vlad, that probably explains how there's running water in the palace even though the rest of the plane is a volcanic hellscape. "Yeah, what's your story, cloud guy?" It doesn't seem like a native demon or a damned soul, so it must be something else, right?

[Recaiden]

[Brefaisil]

Fortunately, with the lift itself down, there's nothing obstructing Marcie's path if she chooses to simply fly up. That's probably the fastest way, too... but even like that, the killer is likely to have already fled. They don't exactly have any reason to stick around.

If she can think of a reason for it, she could always take the lift, too. The operator would be plenty willing to help her up... though as previously noted, it will be much slower. And she'll have to spend more time with Seth's corpse.

Flying up a lift shaft is disconcerting in its own particular way.
But that's exactly what she does. Time could be important here, and waiting for the lift to rise up is time that shouldn't be spared.

[Geopol4r]

Scorching Depths
I am Alabaster, and I am a sapient cloud. As you can see. Someone sealed me in a bottle, and cut my total mass down a lot. I'm a lot weaker because of it. As for my story, well, people just need to be more careful with their magical lightning. Someone hit a cloud with a bolt of lightning, and now it is my life force. In fact, my mass is very important, because it generates friction, which makes more lightning in me. I just need to find water and sit on it and I'll be good unless you freeze me, hit me with dynamite, or else disperse my body.

[Ironsmith]

Scorching Depths
"We don't technically have to drink, but the palace has a device to conjure water." To Vlad, that probably explains how there's running water in the palace even though the rest of the plane is a volcanic hellscape. "Yeah, what's your story, cloud guy?" It doesn't seem like a native demon or a damned soul, so it must be something else, right?

Scorching Depths
I am Alabaster, and I am a sapient cloud. As you can see. Someone sealed me in a bottle, and cut my total mass down a lot. I'm a lot weaker because of it. As for my story, well, people just need to be more careful with their magical lightning. Someone hit a cloud with a bolt of lightning, and now it is my life force. In fact, my mass is very important, because it generates friction, which makes more lightning in me. I just need to find water and sit on it and I'll be good unless you freeze me, hit me with dynamite, or else disperse my body.

[Scorching Depths]

"...A sapient cloud." Vlad echoes, nodding slowly. "Not a genie or an elemental or an advanced alien life-form. A spaient cloud." He grins and lets out a little chuckle. "I think that makes it official; now I've seen everything."

Not by a long shot, Vlad.

"All right, then. Let's find you some water, little buddy." He turns his attention back to Charcoal. "Which, like you said, is probably going to involve bringing him back to the palace... where we should probably be going anyway. If her highness hears that the guy she hired to fix up security in her vault has just disappeared, she's not likely to take it well, I think."

[Brefaisil]

Flying up a lift shaft is disconcerting in its own particular way.
But that's exactly what she does. Time could be important here, and waiting for the lift to rise up is time that shouldn't be spared.

[Brefaisil]

Up the shaft she goes!

The top opens out into a wide, plaza-like space, dotted with a number of blocky houses, carved directly into the stone. There's a sweet smell in the air, wafting up from a partially-destroyed building near the lift, where a goat-man is busy at work, dabbling something from a flask onto the ruins and muttering to himself. Further up from here, Marcie will see the huge but no doubt impractical ornamental doors that mark the entrance to the palace, which dominate that particular wall of the cave. Empty market stalls line the street between the palace and the lift, relics of a happier, busier time. As she watches, a small crowd starts to gather around the lift itself, anxious murmurings echoing off the cavern walls. It's not difficult to find where the deceased was standing; there's a large pool of blood near the edge of the lift, still so fresh it hasn't had time to dry.

No sign of the killer, though. Not one that's obvious, anyway.

[bc56]

Scorching Depths
"She'll be worried sick. We'd better get going." Charcoal looks around. "I'll be back for the stuff. It's not going anywhere. Just one for the road." She slides a bottle into her cleavage, where it somehow disappears without a trace. It's probably some sort of succubus magic trick. Then she gets on her hands and knees and crawls into the exit tunnel.

[Geopol4r]

Scorching Depths
The cloud will settle on Vlad's skin, slicking off his sweat, yet keeping him cool.

[Ironsmith]

Scorching Depths
"She'll be worried sick. We'd better get going." Charcoal looks around. "I'll be back for the stuff. It's not going anywhere. Just one for the road." She slides a bottle into her cleavage, where it somehow disappears without a trace. It's probably some sort of succubus magic trick. Then she gets on her hands and knees and crawls into the exit tunnel.

Scorching Depths
The cloud will settle on Vlad's skin, slicking off his sweat, yet keeping him cool.

[Scorching Depths]

Vlad stares at Charcoal's magic trick for an awkwardly long time before letting out a little cough and following her out the tunnel... right behind her, in fact. Today is not a good day to have a wandering eye, apparently.

"So... when you offered to take me out for a drink, is this really what you had in mind?" Vlad jokes, apparently addressing the wall.

[bc56]

Scorching Depths
"Nah. I figured I'd just show you the country, we'd have a beer or something, and then go back. The hellhound messed things up, and I started looking for the essence because if we didn't have a way out, I figured one of us needed to power up and fight that thing off." That's a pretty thorough explanation. "But since we found it and don't need it, I figure I'll just take some and come back for the rest later."

Meanwhile, depending on how well the disguise is working, Vlad may not be sweating at all. Real succubi don't (unless they choose to) but since Vlad is only a mortal disguised as one (and the disguise is not fully functioning), he might still perspire.

[Recaiden]

[Brefaisil]

Up the shaft she goes!

The top opens out into a wide, plaza-like space, dotted with a number of blocky houses, carved directly into the stone. There's a sweet smell in the air, wafting up from a partially-destroyed building near the lift, where a goat-man is busy at work, dabbling something from a flask onto the ruins and muttering to himself. Further up from here, Marcie will see the huge but no doubt impractical ornamental doors that mark the entrance to the palace, which dominate that particular wall of the cave. Empty market stalls line the street between the palace and the lift, relics of a happier, busier time. As she watches, a small crowd starts to gather around the lift itself, anxious murmurings echoing off the cavern walls. It's not difficult to find where the deceased was standing; there's a large pool of blood near the edge of the lift, still so fresh it hasn't had time to dry.

No sign of the killer, though. Not one that's obvious, anyway.

More closed spaces. But the buildings were once fine, and the place clearly was once lively. She'll remember the sight, and later, it will be appreciated.

As it is, she lands by the bloodstain, the site of the battle, and calls out to the gathering crowd-
"Who did this? Who here saw of what happened?"
Though she does not expect for too much. A murder in broad...lack of daylight, just down the way from the huge palace doors - but the stalls are empty, the people clearly having only been passing by.

More blood. Sickening, slightly. But they didn't clean up the evidence at all. A stolen heart would be covered in and full of blood, wouldn't it? There may be drops leading through the plaza, or streams of scent on the air or on the killer - likely too faint for a human to notice, but not, she believes, for the magics of her ancient crystal and other selves.

[Geopol4r]

Scorching Depths
I could probably help fight the hellhound off. What hurts it most?