Seaside 7: Seven's the Shark

[Zefir]

[Expedition into the Dark]

Mia will likly enter the building and goes to the room the two others are in. She carefully studies her surroundings. She stiĺ has a bad feeling and needs to be on guard. If she sees Khafir released she looks a bit suprised, but catches herself.

"Where should we go next?" She says and looks at Calm Reed. She got the map or was it still standing around?

[Ironsmith]

[GGGG-M]

"War? Hm. I do not think you will enjoy that as much as you think you will."
(BUT I WILL.)

TALBot watches quietly as Siana talks to and releases the pixies. The robot notes that this woman seems to be quite good with people. A respectable talent.
(HOW CORNY.)

[GGGG-M]

The pixies are released!

"Yeah you better let us go you colossal nincompoop!" one of them yells at Siana.
"What fish frog thing?" the other asks.

Both pixies appear to be completely clueless. What have frogs got to do with declaring war on people and getting grabbed by giants?

Nothing, that's what.

It appears as though they have utterly forgotten about their earlier argument already.

That really isn't a huge shock. Pixies are very small and they can only hold so many thoughts in their heads at once.

Lapis is mostly just watching these shinanagins skeptically.

Eventually she shrugs and continues on down the trail.

[GGGG-M]

"Oh, well. I suppose it wasn't too important anyway." Siana smiles and double-shrugs, a gesture she's learned from her boss and which seems to be quite good for conveying "no big deal" to twice the effect.

And... well, since they seem to be perfectly fine with trading insults in a comrade-y way...

"All right, all right. You two pinheads take care of yourselves, okay? And no more fighting; I don't want to have to come back here and pull apart a couple of petulant-" her speech briefly devolves into an inhuman buzz-growl; she's not entirely used to her new vocal setup yet, and she finds herself tripping over a few Maesdan curse words she hadn't practiced in front of the mirror. "Got it?"

...They've probably got it. Broad strokes at least.

Siana shuffles off after Lapis as soon as her upbraiding is done. "Are those two typical of what we're going to be seeing out here?" She asks the half-elf. Since she seems to know what things are like here.

[Gold Leaf]

[GGGG-M]

TASBot follows along behind Lapis and Siana, throwing the revolver off behind him as if it was garbage.

(I LIKED THOSE FAIRIES. KNEW THE VALUE OF A GOOD WAR.)

That voice is starting to get on TALBot's nerves again, so he drowns it out by playing a random song on his 500 hour playlist.
"Seaside Hill - Sonic Heroes? I don't remember putting any videogame music on this playlist. Then again, when you have 500 hours of music, not all of it is going to be... wait, this is actually quite good."
Everyone nearby should be able to hear this music. Hopefully, they share the same opinion he does.

[Morty]

[Expedition into the Dark]

"We should likely start with the archives the voice mentioned," Calm Reed says to Mia, as she unplugs Khafir. "There may be more information there. In truth, I am not certain what our goal here should be. This place has great potential for danger." She looks down at the doctor. "What did you converse with the intelligence about in private?"

[Rebonack]

[GGGG-M]

Both pixies GASP when Siana insults them!

"This giant gross butt-face knows how to insult people!"
"I thought giants were too stupid to know how to insult people."

They begin chattering back and forth over this worldview shaking revelation they just encountered.

Regardless!

"Most Enchanted Forest faeries aren't mean I don't think, they just don't understand that the things they do hurt people sometimes," Lapis warns the others as she continues along the trail past a number of pepper-wood trees with suspiciously anthropomorphic shapes in their trunks. "It's important that you don't give them your name if they ask for it. And don't thank them for anything. And if they offer you something to eat don't accept it. If you do any of those things then bad stuff happens sometimes."

They don't want bad stuff to happen!

That would be bad!

And for some reason...

That music is making Lapis feel like she's gotta go fast.

"The faeries we're after are goblins, though. They're bad and mean and want to make people miserable."

Before long the trail splits in three.

One path meanders down a switch-back hill that follows the top of a little rise down to a hidden beach cover. It smells like salt spray. The sound of rancorous sea birds and crashing waves is strong.

One path moves inland and upwards, the forest growing dark and threatening. Brambles and murky pools, and swollen mushrooms abound. The scent of rot and oppressive stillness are heavy that way.

One path moves down into a gully full of lush ferns, horse tails, and enticing dancing lights. The water burbles, clear and clean, swarmed by dragonflies. The surreal feeling of smeared colors and half-imagined forms is weaker here.

[Ironsmith]

[Expedition into the Dark]

Mia will likly enter the building and goes to the room the two others are in. She carefully studies her surroundings. She stiĺ has a bad feeling and needs to be on guard. If she sees Khafir released she looks a bit suprised, but catches herself.

"Where should we go next?" She says and looks at Calm Reed. She got the map or was it still standing around?

[Expedition into the Dark]

"We should likely start with the archives the voice mentioned," Calm Reed says to Mia, as she unplugs Khafir. "There may be more information there. In truth, I am not certain what our goal here should be. This place has great potential for danger." She looks down at the doctor. "What did you converse with the intelligence about in private?"

[Expedition into the Dark]

Khafir stares at the dragonblooded monk with a slightly stern expression on her face. "Miss Reed. You've no doubt heard rumors about my beliefs regarding the nature of privacy... that it is ineffectual, obstructive, and therefore without meaningful purpose." She stiffens. "As you can plainly see, that is not the case here. If I find the details of our discussion to be relevant, I will divulge them. Until then, our private discussion will remain private."

The clairvoyant straightens and turns her attention to the map slate. "We already have a lantern in custody. It may not be strictly necessary for the purposes of a complete investigation to obtain a second one. The option is available if Doctor Richards deems it necessary. But as for myself, I see little reason or direction to continue investigating."

[GGGG-M]

TASBot follows along behind Lapis and Siana, throwing the revolver off behind him as if it was garbage.

(I LIKED THOSE FAIRIES. KNEW THE VALUE OF A GOOD WAR.)

That voice is starting to get on TALBot's nerves again, so he drowns it out by playing a random song on his 500 hour playlist.
"Seaside Hill - Sonic Heroes? I don't remember putting any videogame music on this playlist. Then again, when you have 500 hours of music, not all of it is going to be... wait, this is actually quite good."
Everyone nearby should be able to hear this music. Hopefully, they share the same opinion he does.

[GGGG-M]

Both pixies GASP when Siana insults them!

"This giant gross butt-face knows how to insult people!"
"I thought giants were too stupid to know how to insult people."

They begin chattering back and forth over this worldview shaking revelation they just encountered.

Regardless!

"Most Enchanted Forest faeries aren't mean I don't think, they just don't understand that the things they do hurt people sometimes," Lapis warns the others as she continues along the trail past a number of pepper-wood trees with suspiciously anthropomorphic shapes in their trunks. "It's important that you don't give them your name if they ask for it. And don't thank them for anything. And if they offer you something to eat don't accept it. If you do any of those things then bad stuff happens sometimes."

They don't want bad stuff to happen!

That would be bad!

And for some reason...

That music is making Lapis feel like she's gotta go fast.

"The faeries we're after are goblins, though. They're bad and mean and want to make people miserable."

Before long the trail splits in three.

One path meanders down a switch-back hill that follows the top of a little rise down to a hidden beach cover. It smells like salt spray. The sound of rancorous sea birds and crashing waves is strong.

One path moves inland and upwards, the forest growing dark and threatening. Brambles and murky pools, and swollen mushrooms abound. The scent of rot and oppressive stillness are heavy that way.

One path moves down into a gully full of lush ferns, horse tails, and enticing dancing lights. The water burbles, clear and clean, swarmed by dragonflies. The surreal feeling of smeared colors and half-imagined forms is weaker here.

[GGGG-M]

Siana bops her head to the beat of TALBot's music as she follows Lapis along the path. Without even thinking, she's turned herself towards the first branch... towards the coast. They're after pirates. Pirates mean boats. Boats mean water. Lots of water. An ocean of it, in fact.

"...I've, um... heard that one before." Siana mutters, running a finger along one of her horns. "'Bad and mean and want to make people miserable', I mean. Are y... please don't take this the wrong way, but are you sure about that?" She flutters her fingers on the hilt of her canesword nervously.

[Gold Leaf]

[GGGG-M]

TALBot doesn't like to be a follower, but it's clear both women know much more about this world than he does, so he begins taking the path Siana is taking. He then realises it leads to the coastline and hesitates.

"Are you... sure we should go this way? Don't think I don't trust your judgement, it's just that..."

TALBot isn't afraid of water. He is, however, highly wary of it. If his energy core is submerged in water, it will begin electrifying the entire body of water, probably killing everything inside there but also rapidly draining his own power, which could leave him incapacitated in a matter of minutes. Couple that with the fact that he doesn't under any circumstances float in water, and you can see why he'd try his best to avoid it.

"...well, this middle path seems like a far more fitting hideout for goblins who aim to make us miserable."

He also tries his best not to let anyone know.

In response to Siana's comment:
"What does it matter if they're bad or mean or not? What they are right now is a problem. Now, let us solve it.
As TALBot says this, he pulls an SMG from his energy core for effect.

"Alright. I vote middle path and the girl who messed with my Timbs please tell me your name so I don't have to call you stuff like that again says first. Adventurer, what do you think?
With that last part, he gestures to Lapis, implying that the rest referred to Siana.

[Rebonack]

[GGGG-M]

"The goblins from the Dreamlands aren't really people," Lapis says, giving her head a little shake. "They'll all the bad thoughts and ideas that people have but never do because they're too awful. All those unfilled dark wishes sink down into the pit and rot and goblins are what crawl out of the rubbish pile."

Lapis' gaze flicks between the paths before them.

"There are actual people in the Nexus called goblins, too. But they're just regular people. They aren't faeries. They have families and homes and jobs and things and some are adventurers at VIGIL."

The Nexus is confusing because there are some many things with the same name that are still different things.

"Things from the Dreamlands aren't like things from the Waking World. They're all dreams and thoughts and nightmares come to life. It's the land of make-believe."

And humans make believe some pretty terrible things.

Oh!

And the robot is asking her name, isn't he?

"I'm Lapislazuli Xar'cha. Everyone just calls me Lapis, though. And we can check both! We can go down to the beach and if we can't see any pirate ships there then we know we went the wrong way," Lapis replies.

There!

Easy!

The lower path meanders steadily downward, eventually taking our heroes to a bouldery hill overlooking the sea with a little stream running through it and creating a neat sea arch. There aren't any huge pirate ships down here.

But there IS a skiff pulled up on the beach. And along with the skiff?

Four goblins.

They're all recognizably human. In a manner of speaking. But they're all deformed and monstrous in the original sense of the word. Their features are all warped and distorted each in unique and horrible ways. They're wearing fairly pirate-y looking outfits and armed with crude iron weapons. Two are busy carrying a large chest from the skiff to the beach while a third is busy digging in the sand the and fourth yelling at them to go faster. There's screaming and pounding sounds coming from inside the chest. It sounds like a child.

"Hurry it up ya lazy scallywags!" the goblin who is clearly in charge here and thus wearing the largest hat hollers. "The Captain wants this snotling buried with the others before the tide rolls in!"

[Ironsmith]

[GGGG-M]

TALBot doesn't like to be a follower, but it's clear both women know much more about this world than he does, so he begins taking the path Siana is taking. He then realises it leads to the coastline and hesitates.

"Are you... sure we should go this way? Don't think I don't trust your judgement, it's just that..."

TALBot isn't afraid of water. He is, however, highly wary of it. If his energy core is submerged in water, it will begin electrifying the entire body of water, probably killing everything inside there but also rapidly draining his own power, which could leave him incapacitated in a matter of minutes. Couple that with the fact that he doesn't under any circumstances float in water, and you can see why he'd try his best to avoid it.

"...well, this middle path seems like a far more fitting hideout for goblins who aim to make us miserable."

He also tries his best not to let anyone know.

In response to Siana's comment:
"What does it matter if they're bad or mean or not? What they are right now is a problem. Now, let us solve it.
As TALBot says this, he pulls an SMG from his energy core for effect.

"Alright. I vote middle path and the girl who messed with my Timbs please tell me your name so I don't have to call you stuff like that again says first. Adventurer, what do you think?
With that last part, he gestures to Lapis, implying that the rest referred to Siana.

[GGGG-M]

"The goblins from the Dreamlands aren't really people," Lapis says, giving her head a little shake. "They'll all the bad thoughts and ideas that people have but never do because they're too awful. All those unfilled dark wishes sink down into the pit and rot and goblins are what crawl out of the rubbish pile."

Lapis' gaze flicks between the paths before them.

"There are actual people in the Nexus called goblins, too. But they're just regular people. They aren't faeries. They have families and homes and jobs and things and some are adventurers at VIGIL."

The Nexus is confusing because there are some many things with the same name that are still different things.

"Things from the Dreamlands aren't like things from the Waking World. They're all dreams and thoughts and nightmares come to life. It's the land of make-believe."

And humans make believe some pretty terrible things.

Oh!

And the robot is asking her name, isn't he?

"I'm Lapislazuli Xar'cha. Everyone just calls me Lapis, though. And we can check both! We can go down to the beach and if we can't see any pirate ships there then we know we went the wrong way," Lapis replies.

There!

Easy!

The lower path meanders steadily downward, eventually taking our heroes to a bouldery hill overlooking the sea with a little stream running through it and creating a neat sea arch. There aren't any huge pirate ships down here.

But there IS a skiff pulled up on the beach. And along with the skiff?

Four goblins.

They're all recognizably human. In a manner of speaking. But they're all deformed and monstrous in the original sense of the word. Their features are all warped and distorted each in unique and horrible ways. They're wearing fairly pirate-y looking outfits and armed with crude iron weapons. Two are busy carrying a large chest from the skiff to the beach while a third is busy digging in the sand the and fourth yelling at them to go faster. There's screaming and pounding sounds coming from inside the chest. It sounds like a child.

"Hurry it up ya lazy scallywags!" the goblin who is clearly in charge here and thus wearing the largest hat hollers. "The Captain wants this snotling buried with the others before the tide rolls in!"

[GGGG-M]

"Oh, right. Where are my manners?" The strigoi gives a stiff bow. "I'm Siana Redmont, of the house of Lord Maldwyn Bridger. It's a pleasure to meet you."

...A bit of a distraction, though.

As the proceed down the path and Lapis explains about Dreamlands Goblins, Siana frowns, not entirely convinced. "See, people told me the same things about fiendlings. Well... something similar, really. But then I ended up one and my little brother got one as a tutor, and I've been mistaking a few people for them, and... I just want to be careful. I don't want to mess around and hurt someone who doesn't deserve it based on a superficial view of the sit-"

...Is that... are those creatures up on the beach burying a child alive? And are they implying they've done that to many others?

"...Moral crisis averted." Siana growls, a blue gleam running down the tip of her blade as she hobbles down the beach towards the goblins.

"You there! Stop what you're doing!" She calls out, giving them more warning than they deserve.

Instant Messaging
<TheFox> Let me check
<TheFox> That looks good
<TheFox> I wonder why they named it Pool of Tears
<TheFox> I'll see you there soon

[Lachrymose Lagoon]

Owena Ty-Maldwyn sighs and lowers her phone, pacing nervously by the water's edge. She's taking a bit of a risk in agreeing to meet Jade like this... having no bystanders nearby also meant there wouldn't be anyone to go for help if something went wrong. Jade seemed friendly enough, and her sister vouched for the woman's goodness, but still...

It didn't help that the lagoon was looking especially gloomy tonight. Something about the combination of a light fog rolling in from the sea, mixed with pale illumination from the moon and long shadows from the trees made this place seem especially eerie. Owena never really cared when she was out here swimming... but when she's here to meet someone who may or may not be in her right mind when she arrives, the creepiness factor suddenly seems a lot more relevant.

The vampire quietly shuffles off her robe and throws it over the branches of one of the aforementioned trees, leaving her clad in a modest two-piece bathing suit. She still planned for this. She's going to be in the water when Jade gets here; she doesn't run the risk of drowning and she knows the underwater topography of the lagoon like the back of her hand. If something goes wrong, it'd be easy for her to give a pursuer the slip. She'll just have to make sure her stuff is safe in the meantime...

Owena lifts her hand as a small blue ember materializes in it, weaving together a spell to ward her wordly goods against any tampering. With that done, she makes her way down the beach and into the water, stopping once it's up to her waist and turning around to watch for any sign of Jade. She might end up waiting a while... but at least the water's nice and she can relax a bit.

[bc56]

Lachrymose Lagoon
"Hello?" Someone's coming. A woman, by her voice that's calling out. In the dim light it's hard to make out details exactly, but she has a bunch of fluffy tails and a pair of pointy ears. As she comes closer more becomes apparent. She's a redhead, quite conventionally attractive, and the tails are fox tails. She's wearing a tank top, jeans, and sneakers, nothing fancy and evidently she wasn't planning to swim.
Her ears prick and she turns towards Owena. "Hello? Are you Owena?"

[Zefir]

[Expedition into the Dark]

Khafir stares at the dragonblooded monk with a slightly stern expression on her face. "Miss Reed. You've no doubt heard rumors about my beliefs regarding the nature of privacy... that it is ineffectual, obstructive, and therefore without meaningful purpose." She stiffens. "As you can plainly see, that is not the case here. If I find the details of our discussion to be relevant, I will divulge them. Until then, our private discussion will remain private."

The clairvoyant straightens and turns her attention to the map slate. "We already have a lantern in custody. It may not be strictly necessary for the purposes of a complete investigation to obtain a second one. The option is available if Doctor Richards deems it necessary. But as for myself, I see little reason or direction to continue investigating."

[Expedition into the Dark]

"We are on a mission here together. It's suspiciouse if you go have a privat conversation with the local entity and don't want to tell us." Mia points out but doesn't press the term any futher as they need to be on guard and better on the move.

"Getting to the archives would be best, I agree." Mia says. "It may hold more informations that will help us deal with things."

[Ironsmith]

Lachrymose Lagoon
"Hello?" Someone's coming. A woman, by her voice that's calling out. In the dim light it's hard to make out details exactly, but she has a bunch of fluffy tails and a pair of pointy ears. As she comes closer more becomes apparent. She's a redhead, quite conventionally attractive, and the tails are fox tails. She's wearing a tank top, jeans, and sneakers, nothing fancy and evidently she wasn't planning to swim.
Her ears prick and she turns towards Owena. "Hello? Are you Owena?"

[Lachrymose Lagoon]

"Yeah, that's me." Owena calls back with a smile. While everything below the waist is obscured, Jade will be able to make out some key features... the vampire is clearly on the tall side, with a long torso and limbs, though she is conversely rather slight in her build. Her jet-black hair is pulled up into a braided crown, though the exact shape is going to be a little difficult to make out from here. Her skin is almost porcelain-like in its pallor; even if Jade didn't already know she was a vampire, it would be obvious she doesn't get a lot of sun. She looks back at Jade with a set of black-brown eyes and pulls her lips up into a bigger smile, the tips of her teeth poking out from under her upper lip.

But, even from here, it couldn't be more obvious that she's young. Maybe just barely an adult by legal definition, assuming she didn't have some of that "I look young but I'm actually seven hundred" nonsense vampires tend to be prone to.

"You must be Jade." Owena greets. "I'd step out and shake your hand, but... you seemed kind of worried about that. So..." She curls her fingers around a blue ember in her hand, causing a similarly-composed disembodied hand to appear on the beach just in front of Jade, outstretched in the usual greeting gesture. "It's good to meet you in person."

[Gold Leaf]

[GGGG-M]

"Lapis and Siana. It's a pleasure to meet the both of you."

Looks like they made up their mind about what path they're taking. Ugh.

"Okay... looks like we're going to the coast." TALBot says, more than a little disappointed.

As he continues down the path, he also spots the goblins, and... is that a CHILD he hears locked up in there!?

TALBot immediately warps in front of Lapis and Siana and fires a burst of 5 rounds at the goblin pirate horror show. The gun he chose is quite accurate, so none of his shots should hit the box. TALBot would never allow a child to come to harm. Speaking of which...

"OPEN THAT BOX RIGHT NOW! YOU DON'T WANT THIS TO GET VIOLENT, BUT I DO! SO CHOOSE YOUR NEXT ACTION CAREFULLY!"

[bc56]

Lachrymose Lagoon
Jade shakes the extended magic hand. "Yeah, that's me." She relays the story of what happened on that uninhabited island not long ago. "...so I'd rather not snap like that again. I want to know what that was and how to keep it from happening."

[Rebonack]

[GGGG-M]

"I've seen where they come from, though. I've been to Bottomless Pit to kill a nightmare that had crawled out of there to do terrible things to a little village. Killing a goblin doesn't even leave a body behind; they're just bones and garbage and magic," Lapis says as they approach the beach. "They aren't real. They're pretend."

And speaking of approaching the beach!

Trouble.

Siana yells at the goblins as she hobbles toward them!

TALBot fires a burst of rounds, raking the weapon to the side across the whole group of goblins! This is, of course, very loud. The goblin digging the hole is hit, staggering and dropping his shovel. The two chest-carrying goblins give a yelp and drop the heavy box, from which there comes a cry of alarm when it thumps into the sand. The leader of the little group with the fanciest red hat does something really weird. He draws his gross, rusty looking cutlass swings it through the air in front of him, leaving a trail of disgusting chum just sort of hanging in mid-air such that the meat-shield absorbs the brunt of the impact.

Then TALBot starts yelling at them. They probably aren't very keen on being cooperative after getting shot, even if they seem weirdly fine in spite of the fact.

"You scurvy dogs think you can push Rotbeard's crew around?" the goblin with the fanciest hat yells. "You've got another thing comin'! Have at 'em, lads!"

Lapis, by contrast, doesn't yell anything.

She draws her sword, grasps the Law of Perfect Steps, and takes a single stride froward from atop the little hill overlooking the beach.

There comes a sound.

Like crystalline chimes tinkling in the breeze.
Like rain falling on hot glass.
Like water flowing from a split stone.
Like a promise whispered into the waves.

Lapis is now on the other side of the beach and the two goblins that were carrying the chest have been bisected, the magic that holds them coherent coming unwound as they're reduced to rancid heaps of rubbish. Not quite done, Lapis focuses her killing intent on the leader and her allies will discover that he's suddenly highlighted with an eerie golden-orange glow, a little recital indicating something that is (apparently) indicating a weak-point under his hat.

The goblin with the hat seems VERY alarmed by this.

"W-what? You lubbers are fool enough to go cavortin' with a devil? N-now let's not get too hasty, here," he says, raising his hands above his head. "You want the snotlings, aye? We'll just leave 'em here and be on our way."

Both of the remaining goblins are slowly scooting toward the skiff, the chest left behind.


[Expedition into the Dark]

Geneva isn't going to be breaking into the questioning about Doctor Khafir's conversation with the entity, what she WILL say though is-

"I have interest in the spacetime warping properties of this structure, device? Manipulating gravity in this fashion would be quite useful in my research specifically and in any equipment that otherwise fights against gravity in general."

Like airships!

And the whole VIGIL island for that matter.

"We have an interest in determining how this technology functions. I would suggest investigating this archive to see what relevant data we can find."

[Ironsmith]

[GGGG-M]

"Lapis and Siana. It's a pleasure to meet the both of you."

Looks like they made up their mind about what path they're taking. Ugh.

"Okay... looks like we're going to the coast." TASBot says, more than a little disappointed.

As he continues down the path, he also spots the goblins, and... is that a CHILD he hears locked up in there!?

TALBot immediately warps in front of Lapis and Siana and fires a burst of 5 rounds at the goblin pirate horror show. The gun he chose is quite accurate, so none of his shots should hit the box. TALBot would never allow a child to come to harm. Speaking of which...

"OPEN THAT BOX RIGHT NOW! YOU DON'T WANT THIS TO GET VIOLENT, BUT I DO! SO CHOOSE YOUR NEXT ACTION CAREFULLY!"

[GGGG-M]

"I've seen where they come from, though. I've been to Bottomless Pit to kill a nightmare that had crawled out of there to do terrible things to a little village. Killing a goblin doesn't even leave a body behind; they're just bones and garbage and magic," Lapis says as they approach the beach. "They aren't real. They're pretend."

And speaking of approaching the beach!

Trouble.

Siana yells at the goblins as she hobbles toward them!

TALBot fires a burst of rounds, raking the weapon to the side across the whole group of goblins! This is, of course, very loud. The goblin digging the hole is hit, staggering and dropping his shovel. The two chest-carrying goblins give a yelp and drop the heavy box, from which there comes a cry of alarm when it thumps into the sand. The leader of the little group with the fanciest red hat does something really weird. He draws his gross, rusty looking cutlass swings it through the air in front of him, leaving a trail of disgusting chum just sort of hanging in mid-air such that the meat-shield absorbs the brunt of the impact.

Then TALBot starts yelling at them. They probably aren't very keen on being cooperative after getting shot, even if they seem weirdly fine in spite of the fact.

"You scurvy dogs think you can push Rotbeard's crew around?" the goblin with the fanciest hat yells. "You've got another thing comin'! Have at 'em, lads!"

Lapis, by contrast, doesn't yell anything.

She draws her sword, grasps the Law of Perfect Steps, and takes a single stride froward from atop the little hill overlooking the beach.

There comes a sound.

Like crystalline chimes tinkling in the breeze.
Like rain falling on hot glass.
Like water flowing from a split stone.
Like a promise whispered into the waves.

Lapis is now on the other side of the beach and the two goblins that were carrying the chest have been bisected, the magic that holds them coherent coming unwound as they're reduced to rancid heaps of rubbish. Not quite done, Lapis focuses her killing intent on the leader and her allies will discover that he's suddenly highlighted with an eerie golden-orange glow, a little recital indicating something that is (apparently) indicating a weak-point under his hat.

The goblin with the hat seems VERY alarmed by this.

"W-what? You lubbers are fool enough to go cavortin' with a devil? N-now let's not get too hasty, here," he says, raising his hands above his head. "You want the snotlings, aye? We'll just leave 'em here and be on our way."

Both of the remaining goblins are slowly scooting toward the skiff, the chest left behind.

[GGGG-M]

Siana lets out a little gasp as two of the goblins just disintegrate and Lapis moves from right next to her side to across the beach.

...They really need to compare notes sometime.

Siana keeps her sword up and pointed at the goblin captain. "...Make no mistake. Nobody wants to let you leave here alive. Burying children is a heinous crime and you're going to answer for it." She growls, mandibles flaring under her cheeks.

"...But lucky you, 'answering' doesn't mean 'on-the-spot execution'." She continues, lowering her weapon and quietly hoping the others do the same. "We heard you. You've buried other kids here as well. And you're not leaving until you've dug up every last one of them."

Despite their obvious malevolence, Siana's... still a little worried about how quickly Lapis cut the other two apart. She's not sure she could bring herself to act that callously. Fortunately, she has a good excuse not to; the goblins would be the only ones privy to the particulars, and while there's a good chance all these children are dead, reality seems a bit skewed here, and they might be stuck in a more horrifying situation.

Lachrymose Lagoon
Jade shakes the extended magic hand. "Yeah, that's me." She relays the story of what happened on that uninhabited island not long ago. "...so I'd rather not snap like that again. I want to know what that was and how to keep it from happening."

[Lachrymose Lagoon]

"And all of that because some guy stole your tail?" Owena questions. She's moved a little closer to Jade over the course of her story and is now sitting just off the beach, arms wrapped over her knees as she listens to the story. "Did you ever figure out exactly what he was trying to do with it? Maybe that interfered with you somehow."

[Gold Leaf]

[GGGG-M]

That was probably the coolest sword move ever. Of all time.

"Impressive."

And it actually scared them into listening, where his gun failed.

Meanwhile, hearing what Siana says he realises it's actually a very good idea and something he hadn't thought of. He can't abide by it being completely non-violent though, so he throws out the SMG and pulls a massive rocket launcher from his energy core. He fires off a big, juicy rocket, headed straight for the goblins' skiff.

"Still deciding whether you're going to dig up those children like she said? I think I just made that decision much, much, easier."

Also, the song's over now, so General Cragiemore is back.

(OH, I LOVE IT WHEN YOU DO THAT!)

[Vahnavoi]

[Expedition into the dark]

Outside the structure, Geneva manages to scare the rat away. It cannot see her, but her screeching makes it clear it'd be better off following its kin to the sea rather than try to eat her or her equipment.

Inside, the structure is quite a bit more silent now that the artificial intelligence's voice is no longer responding to any of them. It's also less lit. At the moment Khafir was disconnected, the flow of blue liquid to and from the room slowed down to earlier levels. Based on glyphs Mia can see on the walls, the rate of information transfer between parts of the building is reduced significantly when no-one's connected to it. There are some new, static glyphs on the walls however, serving as guidance. In addition to a stick figure running towards a door informing them where the exit is, there are also arrows and a picture of a book, guiding them back to the chamber with four pillars, and then "east", again taking the exit as "north" and the brainy room with the chair as "south".

This is also displayed as a map on the floating instruction slate. When Khafir begins moving, it lets out a sharp ping again and begins following her, floating with arm's reach and face level of her. It will adjust its position so that it doesn't get in the way of Mia or Calm Reed.

On the "east" wall of the four pillar chamber, there is now a circle with a large X drawn over it. There is a picture of a button next to it, and a pictogram of a stick figure touching it. The map shows that a long tunnel has arranged itself behind this "door", connecting to a spiral stairwell going down. The archives are at the bottom of that stairwell. All the expedition members have to do is open the door and follow the path, if they wish to investigate.

Ghosts of other rooms haunt the map, some with symbols of their own. One that might catch their eye is a long passage terminating in a giant cubical hall, with a shield and crossed swords placed on it. "Armory" is what it appears to be. It is not connected to any room the expedition has been in, but a simple touch of the map could create an intersection between it and the tunnel leading into the archives - that is, if the expedition members are inclined to utterly disregard recommendations of the artificial intelligencence.

[bc56]

Lachrymose Lagoon
"I think it's actually because that tentacle thagomized me. And if any physical trauma could cause me to snap like that..." It could be bad. Hence the need to prevent it. And for reasons she doesn't want to explain, she can't just avoid danger.

[Ironsmith]

Lachrymose Lagoon
"I think it's actually because that tentacle thagomized me. And if any physical trauma could cause me to snap like that..." It could be bad. Hence the need to prevent it. And for reasons she doesn't want to explain, she can't just avoid danger.

[Lachrymose Lagoon]

"Believe me, I know what that's like." Owena replies, idly pressing a hand against the back of her head. "And I'm guessing you've already tried the standard mind-over-matter and danger avoidance solutions, inasmuch as you can, right?" She frowns. "...How long would you say that 'snap' lasted?"

[Rebonack]

[GGGG-M]

No one wants to goblins to leave.

Least of all the little flaming chunks of boat flying through the air.

The force of the blast knocks the pair of goblins over pretty effectively, sending them briefly groveling in the sand before standing upright and glaring at the trio of heroes surrounding them.

And Siana is thinking along the right terms here. Normally burying a child in the sand below the tide line results in a swift and horrible death. But this is a story book. A fable. A spur of the world of make-believe intruding into the real. If a wolf devours a child and her grandmother then those people are dead in the real world. But in the land of make believe? The Woodcutter can chop that wolf right open and the pair will tumble out whole and well.

"But wes got eights kids buried it'll take all day to dig 'em up!" the lesser-hat goblin complains in the most petulant, whiny voice imaginable.

Lapis approaches the chest still sitting in the sand and with a single flick of her sword swats the lock right off, the goblins scrambling away from her as she pulls the chest open. Inside, his hands bloodied from pounding at the inside of the chest, is a little boy who look like he might be seven or eight. The boy immediately bolts out of the chest and away from the goblins, making it about twenty feet down the beach before tripping face first into the sand. He seems absolutely terrified.

"You had better start digging right now or we'll just have to find the other buried chests ourselves," Lapis says, a dangerous edge to her voice.

The goblins grab their shovels and begins digging.

[Ironsmith]

[GGGG-M]

That was probably the coolest sword move ever. Of all time.

"Impressive."

And it actually scared them into listening, where his gun failed.

Meanwhile, hearing what Siana says he realises it's actually a very good idea and something he hadn't thought of. He can't abide by it being completely non-violent though, so he throws out the SMG and pulls a massive rocket launcher from his energy core. He fires off a big, juicy rocket, headed straight for the goblins' skiff.

"Still deciding whether you're going to dig up those children like she said? I think I just made that decision much, much, easier."

Also, the song's over now, so General Cragiemore is back.

(OH, I LOVE IT WHEN YOU DO THAT!)

[GGGG-M]

No one wants to goblins to leave.

Least of all the little flaming chunks of boat flying through the air.

The force of the blast knocks the pair of goblins over pretty effectively, sending them briefly groveling in the sand before standing upright and glaring at the trio of heroes surrounding them.

And Siana is thinking along the right terms here. Normally burying a child in the sand below the tide line results in a swift and horrible death. But this is a story book. A fable. A spur of the world of make-believe intruding into the real. If a wolf devours a child and her grandmother then those people are dead in the real world. But in the land of make believe? The Woodcutter can chop that wolf right open and the pair will tumble out whole and well.

"But wes got eights kids buried it'll take all day to dig 'em up!" the lesser-hat goblin complains in the most petulant, whiny voice imaginable.

Lapis approaches the chest still sitting in the sand and with a single flick of her sword swats the lock right off, the goblins scrambling away from her as she pulls the chest open. Inside, his hands bloodied from pounding at the inside of the chest, is a little boy who look like he might be seven or eight. The boy immediately bolts out of the chest and away from the goblins, making it about twenty feet down the beach before tripping face first into the sand. He seems absolutely terrified.

"You had better start digging right now or we'll just have to find the other buried chests ourselves," Lapis says, a dangerous edge to her voice.

The goblins grab their shovels and begins digging.

[GGGG-M]

Siana watches the boy stumble his way sown the beach and sighs, sheathing her weapon and leaning in next to Lapis. "Go on and help that poor kid out." She mutters to the half-elf. "Poor boy's clearly terrified and could use a friend... and he might know a couple of things. I'd do it, but..." her cheeks briefly turn luminescent. "I've got a bit of a bugger face and I don't want to scare him any further. Same deal for our metal friend... I mean, he's not ugly, but the kid's traumatized and a war machine might send the wrong message."

That, and she has doubts about his interpersonal skills. She's not sure he could handle talking to a frightened child. He's the kind of "heroic" figure best viewed from afar.

"I'll keep an eye on the goblins and make sure they don't try anything." She adds, with a rueful little smile. "Well, three eyes, more like. You get the idea."

Part of her also quietly hopes they will try something... they seemed to be more afraid of Lapis than her or TALBot. If they're emboldened enough that she ends up having to defend herself, a lot of the foreseeable moral quagmires (i.e. what to do with clearly-evil prisoners after their work is done, other than a stomach-churning execution) get resolved quite easily.

[bc56]

Lachrymose Lagoon
"Until my boyfriend pinned me down and yelled at me? Fiveish minutes." Jade shrugs. She suspects it wouldn't have ended if Tristan hadn't forced her to snap out of it. "That's fiveish minutes where I very nearly killed someone." She would really rather not do that again.

[Gold Leaf]

[GGGG-M]

TALBot is sorry to see the child in pain, but...

Siana's probably right.

"I heard that. I won't argue with it, though."

A gun-toting faceless robot probably isn't the right type of person to comfort a crying child. TALBot also isn't a particularly good communicator. Not that he minds this - after all, more talking means less violence. That said... cooperation got things done much more effectively and efficiently than if he had been working alone. Maybe he'll try that more often in future.

(SERGEANT MAJOR, I'D LIKE TO KNOW WHAT YOU PLAN TO DO WITH THOSE GOBLINS ONCE THEY'RE FINISHED DIGGING?)

TALBot lowers his voice to an inaudible whisper.
"Who knows... maybe I'll let you snap a neck or two later."

(TALBOT, IF I WAS A DIFFERENT MAN, I'D BE YELLING 'WAHOOOO!' THIS VERY MOMENT. FOR NOW, I SHALL SETTLE FOR A 'SATISFACTORY'.)

With this, an arm that appears to be made entirely out of green energy and wearing the sleeve of an old military uniform (also made out of this energy) extends from TALBot's chest where his energy core is, gives a thumbs-up, and then retracts back into his core.

"Don't do that."

This will probably attract a look or two, so to change the subject, TALBot will bring up what the captain said earlier about Lapis.

"When that pirate captain said we were working with a devil... what did they mean by that?"

[Rebonack]

[GGGG-M]

"Okay, I'll go try cheering him up a little," Lapis says, her voice still subdued. She knows the sorts of things goblins do to people but seeing it first hand is-

It never really gets any better.

She sheathes her sword and hangs her shield across her back before moving away to kneel down next to the crying child in the sand, speaking with him in comforting tones.

That's one problem taken care of for now. Hopefully Lapis is going to be able to calm the kid down and some answers out of him, right?

"Hi, I'm Lapis. I'm a hero from VIGIL, I'm here to help okay? Do you want to tell me what happened?" she asks.
The child shakes his head no.
"That's okay. Is it okay if I sit here with you?"
This time he shakes his head yes.

Progress!

The goblins are digging.

They are not, however, digging very quickly.

This is actually unusual, if anyone present is familiar with the stories revolving around goblins. If someone manages to snare a faerie and get them to work for them they're often able to do the labor of ten men in a night easily. They accomplish impossible tasks in very sort spans of time. Goblins, kobolds, kelpies, there are stories about all of them plowing fields or building bridges or cobbling dozens of shoes. But these two goblins are digging at the pace of petulant teens who really aren't at all invested in the task.

Almost as if they're trying to waste the time of our heroes.

"What I meant," the pirate with the fanciest hat (not a captain!) pipes up, taking this opportunity to lean on his shovel instead of digging. He points one long, crooked finger at Lapis. "Is the one with the black hair is a devil. It's wearing girl-flesh but it's no girl."

[Morty]

[Expedition into the dark]

Calm Reed holds Khafir's gaze for a long while, two strong wills clashing almost perceptibly.

"I concur," she simply says. "We must reach the archives at the very least. We have accomplished too little to return yet."

[Purple Eagle]

[Submarine - Interior]

"Oh, wow, he is!" Olvisin isn't very familiar with dogs, but she recognizes a cute one when she sees him. "Reminds me of the boss's wolves." She also doesn't mind being helped up. "There are bound to be some in Underside. It's a goblin colony in the Nexus. Bit of a multi-cultural hub."

[Submarine - Interior]

Chidi grins as she semi-gushes at the cuteness of the dog. "You'll soon meet him, he's over playing with Marzie. The doc's pet fox." Once he's up, he turns to the door. "Let's get moving. Underside sounds interesting, but I doubt I'd fit."

[Zefir]

[Expedition into the dark]

Mia seems a bit concerned as she sees the map. She can make out that the room they want to reach is futher down the structure. Not really the best way to go, but she won't object. She will open the door tot he archive floor, ready for any interruption. While on her path she will try to concentrate on the machine voice. To explain, in her world every machine makes noise in a way which is like they try to talk. High Priestress can hear this voice so Mia could talk to a toaster or a like. Depending on the complexity of the amchine she can get more complex thoughts and eaven hold up a conversation. A mechanical toaster is rather short on words, but if you got one of those high tech with screens and what not she could talk with it. Her attemp is to listen if the machines have a bad intend like attacking them or just imprison them.

"It seems to be a long path down." she says to the rout they go. "We shouldn't bother going to that other room for now, I have the feeling that this entity is more capable then we imagine."

[Morty]

[Submarine - Interior]

"You'd be surprised," Olvisin comments as they leave. "It's not just goblin-sized tunnels. There's plenty of space."

[Ironsmith]

Lachrymose Lagoon
"Until my boyfriend pinned me down and yelled at me? Fiveish minutes." Jade shrugs. She suspects it wouldn't have ended if Tristan hadn't forced her to snap out of it. "That's fiveish minutes where I very nearly killed someone." She would really rather not do that again.

[Lachrymose Lagoon]

"I'm aware." Owena replies briskly. "Ten years-level aware. Believe me when I say I'm not the slightest bit interested in forcing you to go through it again. I'm only trying to find the limits of this transformation." She gently runs her fingers through the water in front of her. "If what you've already been through is indicative of what you could expect, then there may be merit to setting up some form of automatic snap-back. Something to kick in when you lose clarity of thought to bring you back to it as soon as possible." She points to her upper arm, where a glowing blue brand appears around it, just below the shoulder. "It's not a full solution by any means. But a failsafe that ensures you're only out of it for five minutes at most is far better than leaving that time indeterminate and causing Absum-only-knows what sort of damage in the interim."

Owena smiles. "Fortunately, I've had some time to create just such a spell. I would need to adjust it for you, since it sounds like you're not still semi-lucid like I am on a blood moon. But that's the arcane equivalent of pushing a few buttons." Her smile fades slightly. "...If nothing else, it might give you the peace of mind needed to better focus on solving the problem permanently. If you're panicking and/or locking yourself up to handle it, it's going to hurt your ability to get help and information."

[GGGG-M]

TALBot is sorry to see the child in pain, but...

Siana's probably right.

"I heard that. I won't argue with it, though."

A gun-toting faceless robot probably isn't the right type of person to comfort a crying child. TALBot also isn't a particularly good communicator. Not that he minds this - after all, more talking means less violence. That said... cooperation got things done much more effectively and efficiently than if he had been working alone. Maybe he'll try that more often in future.

(SERGEANT MAJOR, I'D LIKE TO KNOW WHAT YOU PLAN TO DO WITH THOSE GOBLINS ONCE THEY'RE FINISHED DIGGING?)

TALBot lowers his voice to an inaudible whisper.
"Who knows... maybe I'll let you snap a neck or two later."

(TALBOT, IF I WAS A DIFFERENT MAN, I'D BE YELLING 'WAHOOOO!' THIS VERY MOMENT. FOR NOW, I SHALL SETTLE FOR A 'SATISFACTORY'.)

With this, an arm that appears to be made entirely out of green energy and wearing the sleeve of an old military uniform (also made out of this energy) extends from TALBot's chest where his energy core is, gives a thumbs-up, and then retracts back into his core.

"Don't do that."

This will probably attract a look or two, so to change the subject, TALBot will bring up what the captain said earlier about Lapis.

"When that pirate captain said we were working with a devil... what did they mean by that?"

[GGGG-M]

"Okay, I'll go try cheering him up a little," Lapis says, her voice still subdued. She knows the sorts of things goblins do to people but seeing it first hand is-

It never really gets any better.

She sheathes her sword and hangs her shield across her back before moving away to kneel down next to the crying child in the sand, speaking with him in comforting tones.

That's one problem taken care of for now. Hopefully Lapis is going to be able to calm the kid down and some answers out of him, right?

"Hi, I'm Lapis. I'm a hero from VIGIL, I'm here to help okay? Do you want to tell me what happened?" she asks.
The child shakes his head no.
"That's okay. Is it okay if I sit here with you?"
This time he shakes his head yes.

Progress!

The goblins are digging.

They are not, however, digging very quickly.

This is actually unusual, if anyone present is familiar with the stories revolving around goblins. If someone manages to snare a faerie and get them to work for them they're often able to do the labor of ten men in a night easily. They accomplish impossible tasks in very sort spans of time. Goblins, kobolds, kelpies, there are stories about all of them plowing fields or building bridges or cobbling dozens of shoes. But these two goblins are digging at the pace of petulant teens who really aren't at all invested in the task.

Almost as if they're trying to waste the time of our heroes.

"What I meant," the pirate with the fanciest hat (not a captain!) pipes up, taking this opportunity to lean on his shovel instead of digging. He points one long, crooked finger at Lapis. "Is the one with the black hair is a devil. It's wearing girl-flesh but it's no girl."

[GGGG-M]

Siana starts as TALBot sprouts an extra arm out of his chest, which returns as abruptly as it came.

Well.

Okay then.

Weird robot guy is weird.

...Thought the bug-girl to herself.

Fortunately, that distraction doesn't last long and she quickly finds herself talking to the goblins again. Not that she finds what they have to say to be particularly helpful. If she didn't know the goblin was talking about Lapis specifically, she'd probably assume it was talking about her, which sort of takes the sting out of its "accusation". "So she's not like everyone else. Is that meant to be a problem?" She asks plainly, mandibles twitching under her cheeks.

[Expedition into the dark]

Outside the structure, Geneva manages to scare the rat away. It cannot see her, but her screeching makes it clear it'd be better off following its kin to the sea rather than try to eat her or her equipment.

Inside, the structure is quite a bit more silent now that the artificial intelligence's voice is no longer responding to any of them. It's also less lit. At the moment Khafir was disconnected, the flow of blue liquid to and from the room slowed down to earlier levels. Based on glyphs Mia can see on the walls, the rate of information transfer between parts of the building is reduced significantly when no-one's connected to it. There are some new, static glyphs on the walls however, serving as guidance. In addition to a stick figure running towards a door informing them where the exit is, there are also arrows and a picture of a book, guiding them back to the chamber with four pillars, and then "east", again taking the exit as "north" and the brainy room with the chair as "south".

This is also displayed as a map on the floating instruction slate. When Khafir begins moving, it lets out a sharp ping again and begins following her, floating with arm's reach and face level of her. It will adjust its position so that it doesn't get in the way of Mia or Calm Reed.

On the "east" wall of the four pillar chamber, there is now a circle with a large X drawn over it. There is a picture of a button next to it, and a pictogram of a stick figure touching it. The map shows that a long tunnel has arranged itself behind this "door", connecting to a spiral stairwell going down. The archives are at the bottom of that stairwell. All the expedition members have to do is open the door and follow the path, if they wish to investigate.

Ghosts of other rooms haunt the map, some with symbols of their own. One that might catch their eye is a long passage terminating in a giant cubical hall, with a shield and crossed swords placed on it. "Armory" is what it appears to be. It is not connected to any room the expedition has been in, but a simple touch of the map could create an intersection between it and the tunnel leading into the archives - that is, if the expedition members are inclined to utterly disregard recommendations of the artificial intelligencence.

[Expedition into the dark]

Calm Reed holds Khafir's gaze for a long while, two strong wills clashing almost perceptibly.

"I concur," she simply says. "We must reach the archives at the very least. We have accomplished too little to return yet."

[Expedition into the dark]

Mia seems a bit concerned as she sees the map. She can make out that the room they want to reach is futher down the structure. Not really the best way to go, but she won't object. She will open the door tot he archive floor, ready for any interruption. While on her path she will try to concentrate on the machine voice. To explain, in her world every machine makes noise in a way which is like they try to talk. High Priestress can hear this voice so Mia could talk to a toaster or a like. Depending on the complexity of the amchine she can get more complex thoughts and eaven hold up a conversation. A mechanical toaster is rather short on words, but if you got one of those high tech with screens and what not she could talk with it. Her attemp is to listen if the machines have a bad intend like attacking them or just imprison them.

"It seems to be a long path down." she says to the rout they go. "We shouldn't bother going to that other room for now, I have the feeling that this entity is more capable then we imagine."

[Expedition into the Dark]

Khafir keeps eye contact for a short while longer, before turning toward the indicated exit in the direction of the archives. "Very well." She says simply, raising no particular objection to this course of action.

...Although she'd be lying if she said she had no concerns about the armory.

Her third eye turns itself in that direction, as she looks to remotely survey the room that is undoubtedly full of high-tech weaponry. While she has no interest in raiding it herself, if they leave the Octahedron open, someone may well come and look into it later. They should at least know what they're leaving behind.