Inside 73: Holiday Rush

[bc56]

Abandoned Hospital
The files are written in precise hand. The most recent one has only one page in it; a patient record, but the words have little to do with patient information.
The notes read:
"Not much time left. Someone sabotaged the test bots. Their control cores were replaced with some sort of dark magic. Hostile. Most of the staff is dead. Don't know what to do next."

[Vahnavoi]

[Glass Lake Penitentiary]

"Did the man you tried to kidnap look like an ordinary human, then?" Michalson asks. A simple question, but how Hazel answers will determine a lot.

Uh oh. "Hazel" does not really know a damn thing about whoever she supposedly kidnapped. Given the context, this sounds like a loaded question, but she's not sure what kind of trap she's trying to dodge.

Okay. Play it cool. Don't take too long to answer. "Well, what passes for ordinary here? You have pointed ears, the gal standing behind me in cafeteria line is, what, nine feet tall and green?", she snarks. "If you mean, by standards of where I come from? Of course not. But I had no reason to suspect, ah, "supernatural powers"."

[Morty]

[Glass Lake Penitentiary]

Michalson knows a dodge when he hears one. Why would she do this instead of telling him to cut out the barkle because the guy was a Wolfen, not a human? Time to do what he does best and just be annoyingly persistent.

"So... nothing outside the human norm, such as it is. No pointed ears, bright purple eyes, visible aura, nothing?"

[Ironsmith]

[Outside Krentist Dental]

Arthfael sighs and tries to force himself to calm down. Jace was at least trying to be friendly. He might have a little trouble getting along with Khannie, but from this first interaction with her father, that might not necessarily be a family trait. "Right. ...Sorry, sir." He says, straightening up and looking back at Jace again, almost (but not quite) standing at attention.

[Vahnavoi]

[Glass Lake Penitentiary]

"Are you asking about those things specifically? Doesn't match him. I don't remember what his race or species or whatver is called. If it matters, why won't you look up the dude's picture in a case file or something?", "Hazel" replies, with only partially feigned annoyance. She can tell Michalson is trying to trick her into some obvious contradiction, but doesn't know if confirmation or denial is more revealing. She is guessing based on how the detective is phrasing his questions that the guy real Hazel kidnapped wasn't a human, but that doesn't get her far. The guy could've been a sentient lobster for all she knows.

[Deathkeeper]

Outside Krentist Dental

Jace tilts his head with a raised eyebrow.
"Kid, you don't have to call me sir. Or stand there like I'm your boss. If you want to go you can, but I'm not going to rip your head off for saying the wrong thing. Not that I'd be able to, mind you." Even after working out for years Jace is a bit too noodle-armed to fight a vampire bare-handed.

[Ironsmith]

[Outside Krentist Dental]

Arthfael lets out a sigh of relief as his shoulders sag. Okay, whew. Jace wasn't a particularly strict parent. And he seemed to actually kind of like Arthfael... or at the very least, not hate him. And also, thanks to Zebes, Jace already knew about Arthfael's lessons with Braeg...

It might be good to talk with someone about that.

"...So... exploding glassware?" He prompts.

[Fenric]

The shell funnel swirls back away into Omiko's form, and her gun arm fires another destructive ray at one of the little blobs - the one nearest the wall. A fanged pseudopod sprouts from her hip and tries to bite a second. All of the rest of her is taking a moment to breathe, recover, appreciate not being covered in ooze, etc.

Selekhael sweeps a ray of entropy from her pistol across the time-frozen slimes. Hopefully it won't cause them to split again. Or if it does, they'll be even smaller and hopefully easier to kill.
But she doesn't have many other weapons that would have any effect on them.

The small oozes are really no more pleasant to bite than the large one was.

Time-frozen slime hit by entropy turns into time-frozen residual particles that will disperse into nothingness as soon as they are un-frozen. This is very successful, indeed.

[Deathkeeper]

Outside Kentish Dental

Jace shrugs.
”Sorcery can be easily pulled out of control by emotions. Especially without a familiar to steady your hand. Some can cast entirely with those emotions, but I need a clear head to keep me steady.

Of course that’s just me. I don’t know how your magic works. And to my familiar’s credit he’s right that some magic is more volatile than others.”
Like chaos magic!
Never use that.

[Ironsmith]

[Outside Krentist Dental]

"Well... yeah. I guess that makes sense." Arthfael sighs. "Not quite like that for me, though. I'm not... from what Lord Braeg tells me, I'm not so much casting spells as I am creating spirits. Most of which are whole or partial copies of me. He says I'm having a hard time of it because I don't know myself very well, and I'm not very easy to work with." He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a fist-sized gemstone. "He also says making spirits is hard, so I need a 'lens' like this to make it work. If I ever want it to stop, all I need to do is get rid of this."

[Morty]

[Glass Lake Penitentiary]

Clever. Hazel is avoiding his questions expertly. Time to stop beating around the Spire, then.

"That won't be necessary, I think. I'll dispense with the subtlety, miss Hazel... or is it? It's becoming apparent you're not actually Hazel. I would like to know who you are instead and how you came to inhabit her body."

[5a Violista]

[Abandoned Hospital]

Carmen reads the notes. She was kinda hoping they would tell some sort of amazing secret, like "this is the passcode to turn them off" or "the red robot is the leader" or something cryptic like that.

She sighs.
And then fishes out the little statue of the little evil man from her bra. The one that she took from one of the robots after shooting it. She sets it down next to the notes and sinks to her arms.
She sighs again.
"Would be so nice if you could, like, tell everyone to stop chasing me."
She stretches. "Or, like, if you could convert lust energy to electric. But you seem to run on something else." Ugh. Because, then, she could run the saw off of this little statue, since it doesn't seem to run out of evil magic. It would be really nice to just have an always-running saw.

"But, no, my only current weapon is to convert your energy to lust energy when between my hands. And I can't charge it fa—"

Carmen pauses.
Her problem is that she can't safely charge the energy she needs fast enough. These robots use these statues as an inexhaustible dark energy source, so what if she does the same? She would just have to tweak the magic circles a little. Use the lust energy she creates as a catalyst to convert the dark magic stuff from the statue, then make it feed back and continue the conversion. Then! She won't have to wait for her hand-conversions to recharge. No need to worry about the saw; if she can get this to work, she could temporarily disable any robot that gets within arms' reach.

Carmen starts tracing out circles and equations in the air on the table, to help her visialize how the altered circle will work.

So long as she doesn't get interrupted, Carmen will be able to create a continuous conversion circle on her hand (drawing the circle with her blood), that'll work so long as she holds the evil magic statue.


[Silent Night]

Silent because, although they're quite capable of Shouting, they are decidedly not doing that.
It's cold out.
In the cold, you don't shout. You shiver.

Shivering in a park under a tree, there's a woman. Red hair. Viscous black gunk leaking from her eyes. Probably something off about her mouth, too. Fingernails look just a bit too sharp. Gives off a spooky feeling. And, she has dozens of pixies swarming her.
Don't worry, though. It's to keep them warmer, since they're not really a fan of this cold either. Jeez, why couldn't this park just be subtropical year-round? That would be so much nicer.

[Deathkeeper]

[Outside Krentist Dental]

"Well... yeah. I guess that makes sense." Arthfael sighs. "Not quite like that for me, though. I'm not... from what Lord Braeg tells me, I'm not so much casting spells as I am creating spirits. Most of which are whole or partial copies of me. He says I'm having a hard time of it because I don't know myself very well, and I'm not very easy to work with." He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a fist-sized gemstone. "He also says making spirits is hard, so I need a 'lens' like this to make it work. If I ever want it to stop, all I need to do is get rid of this."

Outside Krentist Dental

"I'm not a psychologist but if copies of you are acting out against you that uh, that might say something. But regardless, may I?" he asks, gesturing at the stone. Surely Arthfael wouldn't mind a sorcerer satisfying his curiosity to examine a magical item?

[Ironsmith]

[Silent Night]

Silent because, although they're quite capable of Shouting, they are decidedly not doing that.
It's cold out.
In the cold, you don't shout. You shiver.

Shivering in a park under a tree, there's a woman. Red hair. Viscous black gunk leaking from her eyes. Probably something off about her mouth, too. Fingernails look just a bit too sharp. Gives off a spooky feeling. And, she has dozens of pixies swarming her.
Don't worry, though. It's to keep them warmer, since they're not really a fan of this cold either. Jeez, why couldn't this park just be subtropical year-round? That would be so much nicer.

[Silent Night]

clink-a-tink

That's the sound of a handful of Septims dropping onto the ground in front of June. If she cares to look up now, she'll see a pair of spiny black boots made from the chitin of some gigantic insect. Said boots will then turn to walk away, as their owner has convinced himself he's shown her enough charity. That's all these beggars typically asked for; enough for a hot meal and a seat by the fire. Assuming June doesn't mind being presumed to be a beggar.

Outside Krentist Dental

"I'm not a psychologist but if copies of you are acting out against you that uh, that might say something. But regardless, may I?" he asks, gesturing at the stone. Surely Arthfael wouldn't mind a sorcerer satisfying his curiosity to examine a magical item?

[Outside Krentist Dental]

Arthfael glances between Jace's hand and the stone, momentarily questioning the wisdom of relinquishing his arcane focus. But... Jace seems to know what he's doing.

Jace will be able to tell a few things about this stone when he touches it. Primarily that it's alive. He's holding another person in his hands, or at least, part of one. What he can gather from that depends on how much he knows about strigoi.

[Recaiden]

[Fenric's Quest]

Selekhael sweeps a ray of entropy from her pistol across the time-frozen slimes. Hopefully it won't cause them to split again. Or if it does, they'll be even smaller and hopefully easier to kill.
But she doesn't have many other weapons that would have any effect on them.

The small oozes are really no more pleasant to bite than the large one was.

Time-frozen slime hit by entropy turns into time-frozen residual particles that will disperse into nothingness as soon as they are un-frozen. This is very successful, indeed.

Yeah, it's not that the portion was too large; they're just not good food.
But now they're out of the way, and the teeth will grow back before you know it.

"Do you have any more of those guns?"
Dissolving them into particles should be good for just about any danger down here.
Except all the poisons.

[Deathkeeper]

Outside Krentist Dental

Jace doesn't know a lot about strigoi, but he does have a odd amount of experience with a few varieties of vampires, demons, and dragons, so it might be kind of familiar. As well as his blood being about 46% magic by volume means that he and his familiar are very adept at analyzing forms of magic and how they interact with the world around them.

Carousel Court

Artesia of House Wadjet is looking for something under very vague directions. All she knows is that she's looking for a large horse-like creature capable of assaulting some form of fey in the form of metaphysical bonds.
Given that she doesn't have much else to work with she's started in Carousel Court, aiming to ask around if anyone there has a talent for grappling with metaphysical creatures. Artesia is somehow probably less alarming to the equestrians than she used to be. They tend to find centaurs alarming. But after taking her role as an Orobou Artie now appears as a very long serpent with glittering scales like a peacock's plumage below the waist and a young woman of Mediterranean descent above, with wings and feathers on her head in place of hair. All of which is strange to most but not quite as uncanny as a centaur to the ponies of this neighborhood.

[bc56]

Fenric's Quest
"Uh, just the two, and, uh, I can't give them away. They just return to me." The sword too, but Omiko didn't ask about it.

Abandoned Hospital
Carmen will be uninterrupted. The room is pretty dusty and poorly ventilated; it seems likely the machines don't come in here often. But once she has her magic ready, she'll still need to decide what to do next.

[Ironsmith]

Outside Krentist Dental

Jace doesn't know a lot about strigoi, but he does have a odd amount of experience with a few varieties of vampires, demons, and dragons, so it might be kind of familiar. As well as his blood being about 46% magic by volume means that he and his familiar are very adept at analyzing forms of magic and how they interact with the world around them.

[Outside Krentist Dental]

Jace will discover, then, that the function of this crystal and the soul trapped therein seems to be somewhat similar to that of a familiar. But instead of providing stability and control, the soul provides power; what Arthfael is trying to do is a particularly energy-intensive form of magic, and the resulting burden is too much for one soul to bear; some of it gets shunted off to the crystal instead. He'll also know that this only works as well as it does because the two share a sort of link; this crystal won't work so well for anyone other than Arthfael, or possibly his relatives. Definitely not someone so far removed as Jace or Zebes.

[Rebonack]

[Carousel Court]

Okay.

So.

Two important points.

One?

It's Hearthwarming season. Which means all sorts of colorful winter holiday decorations everywhere.

Two?

It's Hearthwarming season. Which means all sorts of colorful equestrians dressed up in festive outfits everywhere. Which means seasonal goodies. Which means a celebration of unity and the defeat of tribalism in the face of a common foe. Which means a time for being extra super nice and friendly to outsiders and travelers. Which means Artesia will be met with cheerful greetings, offered hot coco and spiced cider, and a fair bit of confusion over this 'horse' he's looking for. Every now and again a Narnian talking horse or a Houyhnhnm will stop by Carousel Court, but for the most part the absolutely GINORMOUS equinoids don't live here. The accommodations around these parts are mostly for smaller folk.

Namely?

Equestrians and hobbits for the most part.

Their equally gregarious attitudes makes them a natural match for each other.

Eventually, though, Artesia, as a first time visitor to the Court, will encounter the gauntlet every newcomer here eventually faces.

"Hiyah!"

Namely, a pink arion with a candy blue mane filled with colorful round glass beads popping out of a nearby hedge and landing in front of her. The pony is nearly vibrating with excitement.

"Oh wow I haven't ever seen you here before and that means you're NEW! A visitor just in time for Hearthwarming! I'm so super happy to meet you! I'm Bubblegum Confetti, do you want a tour of the Court? I know aaaaaall the best ponies (which is all of them) and aaaaaall the best places for snacks (which is also all of them) and AAAALLLLLLLL the best places for having fun!"

She looks this way.

Then that.

Then leans in close to whisper conspiratorially.

"Still all of them."

[Deathkeeper]

Carousel Court

Artie is weird because she’s a snake but she’s also warm blooded and has an incredibly complex digestive system. All she has to do to keep warm is wear something slightly thick and cover the wings on her arms, as her wings are mostly for cooling.
Speaking of her digestive system, the feathery rattle on the end of her tail disperses a peppermint perfume scent as she moves. She chose her breakfast specifically to synthesize that.
”Hello. Ah, I’m looking for a very special equine. They’re someone who can beat up even metaphysical things. Do you know a pony like that? They’re friends with someone I need to talk to.” she asks the hyperactive pony.

Outside Krentist Dental

Jace quirks an eyebrow.
”Have you considered that you might be having trouble with it because your focus is a soul trapped in a rock, and it might not be happy about it?” he asks gently.
Meanwhile, Zebes tries to telepathically contact the soul in the stone to see if it’s sapient or not a full soul.

[Ironsmith]

[Outside Krentist Dental]

"...It's a what?!" Arthfael's eyes widen as he looks back and forth between the stone and Jace. "I mean, he told me there was a spirit involved, that it was born in there... is that what you meant?"

Back. Back! We did not come all this way to be stopped by a fiendling, least of all by you! These people are under my protection; you won't get even one!

[Deathkeeper]

Outside Krentist Dental

"Um, Zebes seems to be hearing a memory, please give us a moment." Jace says, holding up a finger for Arthfael.
Zebes digs a little harder. It does seem like a memory, but that doesn't mean anything definitive. It could simply by a memory of Braeg's, who made the stone perhaps. Zebes' telepathy pushes harder, trying to find a thought in there.
[Hello? Is anyone there?]

[5a Violista]

[Silent Night]

The unsettling-June looks at the Septims and the guy who dropped them. She doesn't say anything, but instead just curls her knees up tighter.

Meanwhile, though, a handful of the pixies get off of her. Two of the pixies fly towards the man, while the others go towards the coins to see how many of them it takes to lift it up.

Regarding the pixies that flew towards the mysterious man, they're both quite small. They have wings like this, with a quite long tail-wing and transparency, and they have dark blue dresses and a matching mushroom cap atop their head. One lands on one shoulder, while the other lands on the other.

"Hey, dummy, you dropped something," the one on the right says.
"Yeah, look!" The one on the left points back.
The right one says, "You might need that for bus fare, I think."

Turns out, it takes about four or five of them to pick up such a heavy coin. They start helpfully start flying it towards the man.


[Abandoned Hospital]

Having a way to defend herself that doesn't depend on ammo or that needs recharging is a great feeling.
All she has to do is keep her right hand gripping the little statue thing.
She grabs the saw, and then reaches for the door, only to realize she's only got two hands.

Carmen puts down the saw again, and opens the door without the saw.
Well, anyway, she's much more confident about going around especially since she can stun them more easily.

Speaking of, she contemplates her goals. Either find the way out, or find the way to shut them down. Or find a map, but that just leads to one of the other outcomes.

She heads out and looks for another doorway that she hasn't gone through yet.

[Vahnavoi]

[Glass Lake Penitentiary]

Clever. Hazel is avoiding his questions expertly. Time to stop beating around the Spire, then.

"That won't be necessary, I think. I'll dispense with the subtlety, miss Hazel... or is it? It's becoming apparent you're not actually Hazel. I would like to know who you are instead and how you came to inhabit her body."

"Hazel" stares at the elf detective. Ah crap, he figured that much out? Which would do more harm, firmly denying it or coming clean? Are there other options?

"Is that what your candle is telling you?", she asks, though it's an observation more than a real question. She leans as close to Michalson as her shackles alone. "Well, okay. Let's pretend for a moment that you're right. If I'm not Hazel Reeverman, where is Hazel Reeverman?"

[Rebonack]

[Carousel Court]

Bubblegum isn't really concerned with how snake-like someone is or how pepperminty their tail smells. She was born here in the Nexus, weird stuff is just a fact of life.

"Somepony who can beat up anything?" Bubblegum replies quizzically. "That sounds like a pretty not-fun special talent to me. But sometimes some ponies have to do the things that aren't very fun so the rest of us can have a nice time! Like Mister Clog! Somepony has to clean out the septic systems after all."

There are lots of jobs that are less glamorous than throwing parties or... being a magical snake person.

"But I think that somepony you're talking about might be Princess Sunder? She used to live here at Carousel Court AND she didn't use to be a princess. She lives over at Midnight Park now in a greaaaaaaat big treehouse! It's pretty neat."

Tree houses often are.

"Do you need something spooky clobbered? She's pretty good at that! Though I guess she mostly has other ponies do the clobbering for her these days. Comes with the territory of being a princess. Lots of delegation. Oh! Oh, or you could come with me over to Peppermint Pattie's house! She makes some mean hot coco I bet you would love it. We were going to go to the bi-annual Nexus Yodeling competition afterwards."

That sounds like a good time, Artie.

Are you sure you don't want to drink hot coco and listen to yodelers instead of what you're doing?

[Deathkeeper]

Carousel Court

Artie nods.
"Midnight Park? The one down the road that's all dark? Thanks, that sounds like exactly who I'm looking for. I'd go with you but someone's in trouble so I need to be quick about this. Thank you!"
Artie attempts to slither off for Midnight Park. Luckily there aren't any fey in this equation which would make saying thank-you awkward.

[Ironsmith]

Outside Krentist Dental

"Um, Zebes seems to be hearing a memory, please give us a moment." Jace says, holding up a finger for Arthfael.
Zebes digs a little harder. It does seem like a memory, but that doesn't mean anything definitive. It could simply by a memory of Braeg's, who made the stone perhaps. Zebes' telepathy pushes harder, trying to find a thought in there.
[Hello? Is anyone there?]

[Outside Krentist Dental]

Hello? Who is this? The voice is brusque, deep, probably belongs to a man. Big fella, by the sound of it.

Arthfael goes silent, waiting to see what Zebes turns up.

[Silent Night]

The unsettling-June looks at the Septims and the guy who dropped them. She doesn't say anything, but instead just curls her knees up tighter.

Meanwhile, though, a handful of the pixies get off of her. Two of the pixies fly towards the man, while the others go towards the coins to see how many of them it takes to lift it up.

Regarding the pixies that flew towards the mysterious man, they're both quite small. They have wings like this, with a quite long tail-wing and transparency, and they have dark blue dresses and a matching mushroom cap atop their head. One lands on one shoulder, while the other lands on the other.

"Hey, dummy, you dropped something," the one on the right says.
"Yeah, look!" The one on the left points back.
The right one says, "You might need that for bus fare, I think."

Turns out, it takes about four or five of them to pick up such a heavy coin. They start helpfully start flying it towards the man.

[Silent Night]

Yuvan wordlessly lifts a pouch of coins from his pocket and gives them a little jingle. No, the paltry amount he'd left behind wasn't going to hurt him much. Never mind that this was deliberate charity, not a hole in his pocket.

Although, now that they've prompted him to look back, he's noticed that June isn't moving. She hasn't said a word, either. Normally when he gave money to beggars, they'd at least thank him. "Divines bless your kind heart", or something along those lines.

But June hasn't really moved or spoken. That was cause for concern.

Yuvan turns and walks back up to her, kneeling so he can make eye contact with her... though with the insectile helmet he's wearing, that might be more than a little unsettling. Bearing that in mind, the altmer slips the helmet off and eyes June worriedly, reaching out with the back of his hand to feel her forehead. Is she sick? Possibly hypothermic? It's awfully cold out here, she could have caught something.

[Deathkeeper]

Outside Krentist Dental

Bingo!
My name is Zebes Vallarm. Can you tell me who I am speaking to? Um, and how I’m speaking to you through a rock?
Zebes doesn’t indicate that he’s fairly sure the soul is inside said rock so he doesn’t give the intelligence a panic attack right away.

[Ironsmith]

[Outside Krentist Dental]

...Damn. I suspected as much, but...

Let me start again. My name is Maldwyn of Redmont. Wait, no...Lord Maldwyn, of the Bridge. I can't seem to get used to the title. And you aren't speaking to me through a rock. You're just speaking to me. Or what's left of me. Cursed fiendling must have gotten a lucky blow in.

[Deathkeeper]

Outside Krentist Dental

Well Zebes supposes that it’s lucky he was at least able to make contact. He had to push as hard as he could. If this were anyone else’s mind the volume of the voice would be deafening.
Gotcha. Fiendling. Dark hair, smiles a lot, voice like grease in your ears? Um. Do you know a boy named Arthfael? I suspect there might be some villainous irony being attempted here.
Namely that the stone clearly doesn’t respond to the two of them but it does the kid. And Zebes knows the type evil enough to put souls in rocks and what they think is funny.