Skyside 6: Return of the Cheddar

[5a Violista]

Blackheart Street

At first, it looks like they are going to start fighting, but...

Viviane hears the scream and backs away.
She is alright. Not seriously injured, though the catching wire was on a little tight.


She is a little curious about what caused the orc to scream like that, but.
.
.
.
.
.
At least she did get some fighting and adrenaline in. Even if that is some awfulnasty thing and she has to get away, at least it was not a total loss of a night.

[Earl of Purple]

Slaver's Guild Warehouse

I've reread slightly, and had previously missed that Sapphira's probably been trying to lead them out already. Whoops.

The helfling gasps as she feels the clothing materialise around her, hand flying to the money pouch and assessing its weight. She grins up at Sapphira and twirls experimentally. She loves the feel of the dress, it's amazing. "This is... amazing. I love it. Wait, manor, oh, I could die this is the best day of my life." She follows Sapphira quite willingly, reaching up without realising to take the demoness' hand.

The guards at the warehouse's exit are a mixed group, a punishment detail of three orcs, a human and a gnoll, all wearing body armour and carrying catchpoles and shock-pointed spears. The human is wearing robes instead, and a blindfold of red satin. She can't see with it on, but it's quite dark so that's not much of a matter- and it does let her see illusion and concealment magics, and she's staring into the complex. It probably isn't a powerful enough item to detect Sapphira, but Bluefoot glares a little at the guards. She doesn't like some of them.

[bc56]

Blackheart Street

Athena agrees with Smoke on one point. Whatever causes a scream like that isn't friendly. And in this city, it could be anything. She reactivates her shield and proceeds carefully into the smoke.

Killdren are nasty. She's encountered some herself, and she's improved her suit to deal with their tactics, but she still doesn't want to fight them.

Slaver's Guild Warehouse

Sapphira's concealment isn't an illusion or invisibility anyway, but rather a psychic field that just prevents anyone from remembering seeing them pass. "A noblewoman can't be homeless, can she?" Sapphira opens the doors, but the most anyone standing guard should notice would be a strange breeze for a few moments. "I think you'll like what I have for you." How did Sapphira procure all this on such short notice? Magic, mostly, plus a bit of pre-preparations. You never know when an old manor house in the nicer part of the Raindrop District will come in handy.

[Shadowcaller]

Spoiler: Quotes

Show

Looking for Jinn's Shop

Well.

That was not promising in the least. The elf's heart sinks at the sight, but when she spots the drone, there remains a glimmer of hope. "H-Hello?" She asks nervously, stepping up to the drone. "Are...we're looking for someone named Jinn."

Manor Lab

"In that case, having it left behind for recouping losses would be preferred by a great deal." Norael says with complete seriousness as she pulls back the cloth covering the body without a hint of flair. Under it lays a rather pretty and athletic young woman. "A little more muscled than you were expecting, I'm sure, but it was honestly necessary." The Angel admits, setting a hand on the body's shoulder. "Now, I will explain it as simply as I can, but it is a lengthy explanation about why and how it all works, and you'll need to understand it. We can start with the simpler stuff first though." She reaches out, taking the body's right arm and gives it a twist at the shoulder, detaching it. "Unfortunately, the meat b- the torso didn't have the capability to grow limbs, even with my work. Instead however, I've been able to get upper-mid grade cybernetics for you. They can touch, feel, sense, and even better, they're light. Well, light for cybernetics. Titanium alloys make them strong and light, but it IS still metal. Because of such, I've had to grow and shape extra muscle and bone density to support it all. Inside the limbs, just in case, I took the time to have silver etched in to allow the better transfer of magics should it help." Norael reaches over to the socket, tapping it before reattaching the limb. "And please, PLEASE, for Atom's sake...never take all four off at the same time or allow someone else to do it. Not unless you REALLY trust that person. Seriously, there's some incredibly weird people out there who are attracted to that sort of thing and...well, you get the picture. Just be cautious." She warns.

"The sockets are standard though, so if you ever need to adjust or replace the limbs or head, then you should be able to get it replaced at any reputable cyberneticist."

Letting out a sigh through her nose, Norael moves over to the head. "I tried to get it as close of a match as possible to what you wanted, but it probably isn't perfect. It's made much the same way and includes an air filtration system AND the actual capability to eat and drink which is needed to sustain the body. I was informed you can actually taste stuff as well, though it may be a little muted in flavor. And better yet..." She reaches down, using both hands to press points on either side of the head before lifting up the face, revealing cybernetics underneath. "It is entirely modular so you can fine tune your appearance and doesn't contain a single truly important thing necessary to sustain your biological functions. Not even a brain. All this is used for is sensory input, food, air, and hydration. If it gets destroyed or damaged, it CAN get replaced. Just don't let others know. The head itself connects halfway down the neck and should the head get removed, extra barriers move to block off the trachea and esophagus so there's no actual damage dealt and you can get help." She takes a moment to put the face back on, showing where the pressure points were in the process.

"Now for the complicated part. I said the head doesn't have a brain, but that doesn't mean there isn't one." Norael points out, tapping the torso. "It isn't a brain as you'd know it, at least nothing so advanced, but with some help I was able to graft in a secondary and tertiary nervous system to help provide all the functions and reactions you could need. You might even end up better than before, though it does mean that if the body itself takes damage, then you could lose function faster than usual. On the OTHER side of things, there's no glaring weak spot and it means you can feel things better than before as well. Everything you could want is in the body. Digestion, breathing, blood, bone, some of the messy necessities though I made them as efficient as possible...and of course, the FUN parts. And I made sure they're EXTRA fun." She seems quite smug about that last one and would grin if she could, though Norael settles for a coy wink.

"I'll explain more about the body itself in a bit, but there's one final piece of the puzzle. The Soul Jar." She explains, the amusement tamped down as she pulls out a tiny sliver of metal hardly a centimeter long and offers it to Anri. It was blank on both sides but seemed to be made of surgical steel. "You've about a hundred of those in you, made out of surgical steels, ceramic, or dragon's bone depending on where they were grafted in. Each one has part of an all-together frighteningly complicated formula etched into it. Together, it will not only provide the structure for your soul and consciousness to cling to, but also PREVENT outside forces from knocking you out of it. Effectively, your being will be trapped in this body for better or worse. And I do mean the latter." She heads back to her desk, sitting down and looking quite serious now.

"The reason the body has no true brain is because, ultimately, you no longer NEED one, Anri. Whomever did this to you either unknowingly or uncaringly released you from the confines of normal mortality. Your requirements for biological interpretation of sensory input and memory are minimalized now. Your consciousness, your soul, your sense of being is all now freed from that mortal coil that traps so many others. For all intents and purposes now, that body there is only an accessory for you to wear and use. And that is something you need to start considering relatively soon. Some day, some year, far into the future, that body is going to hit its limits. YOU won't. You're immortal unless someone takes the time to obliterate your soul itself. That's part of what the slivers will try to help protect you from. It does mean however that should the body expire, despite the gene-tailoring to prevent vulnerabilities to disease and promote longevity, if you don't make plans to get a new body your consciousness could be trapped in it for a long time." She warns. "I have put in sensors to give off distress calls should all neurological processes cease to be, but that should only be a last resort."

After her serious warning however, the angel seems to grin, proud of herself and her work. "So, what do you think? Can't wait to take her for a spin? Go out on the town? Get absolutely railed?"

Jinn's Workshop

Sam gives Alexia his best reassuring smile. He walks straight up to the drone with her.

"Yes, we'd like to speak to Jinn. I'm a returning customer. Has he relocated?" he tells it. Jinn is weird. Sam wouldn't be surprised if the apparent fire did little to nothing to stop him.

Manor Lab

Anri stands still for that entire and very long explanation. Being a machine, she's good at that.
"Hm. I do wish you had consulted me with this, Nora. I'm...well, I'm not sure about any of this. You could have saved quite a bit of the cost omitting some of those...features.
And frankly, I'm far more interested in the analyses you apparently did on me. How exactly do you know this and what exactly does this make me? Because if I'm anything like my ancestor, I don't need a body at all. I just need to be freed from this wretched thing and I could form my own like she was known to. Dust and smoke and flames.
Frankly, this seems to be a very expensive way to make it likely that I'll end up trapped in an immobile corpse with no way out if these devices are as good at securing me to the body as you say. You're making it sound like 'making plans for a new body' would be even more complicated than these in front of us."
Why does everything have to be so complicated? Anri can't help but feel like Tellysandra could just use her demon magic to break the demon curse on Anri, but she hasn't because it would be too much effort. She's not entirely buying Tellysandra's claim that it was too risky.

Looking for Jinn's Shop

The drone starts to glow softly violet and comes to life as the two approach. A beam of the same color starting to move across them one by one. "Welcome." It greets while its seemingly scanning them, even as Sam is explaining why they're there.
"One moment, I'm processing your words..." It remarks as he finishes, only to continue a moment later. "I'm afraid the shop has been demolished and is closed down for the foreseeable future. However, if you are a returning customer and still interested in our services I can take you to one of Jinn's other shop located in Gale Spire, Seaside."

Manor Lab

The drone's camera lens keeps itself focused on the body as Nora speaks and starts to get in closer and circle around it as if to get all the angles of it. Once its satisfied however its lens turns to Nora and then to Anri as she replies.

Eventually, once Anri is finished talking, its loudspeaker buzzes to life. "I told you to work on this together." They can hear a rather frustrated-sounding Tellysandra. "Since if the person that's supposed to live in it isn't satisfied then what's the point? Please don't tell me you've wasted all these resources on a unsatisfactory product, Dr. Nora. Surely it can be... adjusted, adapted to Anri's needs and desires? You can't just wait until you finish a product, especially one as critical as this, and then ask for feedback. There has to be a back and fourth."

- - - Updated - - -

Return to the Ship

"I do not know. Nobody told me anything. There appears to be enough cargo to make the trip, and none of it is the sort of thing that they would have shipped down. Crates of seeds, and one mostly filled with sand to short-change the Rogue Trader. Six guns, curious design. Human, but not matching any design I am familiar with. I will fetch them, see if you can recognise them. They are not bolt weaponry, nor autoguns. They fire sharp discs of metal. I have... done some tests, and the weapon can be charged so the disc explodes when it hits. That is possibly an inferior method of using it, however. The discs are capable of bouncing around corners." The techpriest hovers off, leaving Minerva, the gunslinger, the rescued girls and the haphazard crew on their own.

The Militarum vet salutes Minerva. "Flight Officer Izmayl Furslending, formerly of Sammael's Thunder Squadron reporting for duty, Ma'am. Not a Valkyrie, alas, but this bucket doesn't look too bad. I'll let you and the enginseer discuss the technicalities of this operation, I'll get everyone aboard and settled. Pleasure to serve the Emperor again, Ma'am." He smiles, and lurches away. There's a bit of lag in his cybernetic leg, which he needs to compensate for, but he's used to it.

Return to the Ship

Weapons not approved by the imperium? Sounded like tech-heresy to her. But that was generally not her concern. As far as she cared, as long as the weapons didn't have obvious xeno or ruinous design and were effective in killing her enemies they could be used. Especially in a situation like this.

"If they're effective, we'll use them to the best of our ability." Is her final words on it before she turns to the veteran.

She wasn't completely sure if she was supposed to return the salute or not as the ranking order was rather muddy in these circumstances but does so anyway. It was just nice to see someone that recognized her for what she was. "A pleasure as well." Minerva replies while also returning the smile.
The slight lag of the leg was something that she couldn't help but notice though. "You should probably have her check up on your leg too before we are brought before our enemies. Each soldier counts after all and I want you all to be in the best condition possible."

[Earl of Purple]

Blackheart Street

In the alleyway, Smoke and Jade find the orc. He's lying face-down about halfway down the alleyway, with three children sitting on him. His feet are pointing at where the heroes have arrived. One child, a dark-skinned human boy with no hair and wearing a dirty and then blood-spattered t-shirt and jeans, is on the orc's shoulders, squatting down and apparently looking at their face. The second is on the small of the orc's back, an elf girl with red skin, long ears and short orange hair wearing a crude dress made from stitched-together plastic bags is clawing at the orc's bodyarmour, trying to get into it. The third is sat on the orc's legs, a nonhuman lass with grey-white skin and short tendrils instead of hair, wearing a black bin-bag with holes in it for her arms, holding one of the orc's legs up and revealing the nature of all three children. Her mouth is open, revealing a black-irised eye, and she's pulled his boot and sock off, and a pair of short tentacles emerge from her eye sockets as she strips meat off the orc's foot and ankle. The nonhuman kyld sees the heroes first and hisses, the other two looking up and staring at the interlopers. The human has a pale blue iris on his eye, and the elf a sickly yellow.

Viviane could go investigate, or she could help the Thaylen in searching the bodies, or try to stop the surviving orcs- two awake and getting up, one unconscious and starting to stir, and the fourth who is still out cold- from escaping. The awake ones are going to help the one who stirs up; the other could be dead for all they know, so is left for now.

Slaver's Guild Warehouse

The helfling clicks her fingers as they walk through the guards, and any incidental noise the might have made- their footsteps, the rustling of her new dress, and the clicking of her fingers- fades to nothingness. Not their voices, however; they can still consciously make noise, but it's a try thing. She's assuming Sapphira's covering those, and it's easier for her to cover accidental stuff anyway. "I suppose she can't." She grins, a skip in her step. Ooh, she's a lady. "So, right. GLoG. The Good League of Good, it's called. If it exists. The Slaver's Guild vacillates between denying it exists and saying it's a camp in the middle of the wilderness and those that try for shelter there are eaten by the cannibals that call it home. Any caught talking about it in the warehouses and slave barracks like the one we've just left get punished, so I don't know much. Not where it is or what it's like- or if it exists. Some of the stories... It sounds too good to be true, sometimes."

The guards don't notice them at all, though they might show up on some of the external security cameras.

Return to the Ship

Or they are made by an STC the tech-priest is unfamiliar with.

"As you order, Ma'am. I've had it forty years, longer'n my mark-one bio-leg. I'll find the cogboy, well, I guess she's a coglass, and get it tweaked." He limps off after the techpriest.

The gunslinger, meanwhile, walks up. "These girls are willing, but if you're going into a fight they'll be more hindrance than help. And they're reliant on me 'n me coat for guns. I'll be sendin' 'em to GLoG. I'll help, if they go. If you disagree, I'll lead 'em to GLoG meself and you'll be down a fighter you've seen in action as well as them. Don't think your armour scares me, neither. I've got guns that can punch through it, I reckon. It's why you want me." All the ex-slaves are wearing clothing taken from corpses and all of them carry a pistol. They've got two longarms and a chainsword, but there's more than I can remember.

[bc56]

Slaver's Guild Warehouse

"It exists. It must, or they wouldn't be so focused on preventing people from talking about it." The pair is out the door and free of the slavers. Still no one notices their passing, and won't until they're well away. Sapphira leads Bluefoot on a path towards the Raindrop District, the buildings getting nicer and more well upkept as they go into nicer parts of Skyside. They pass a patrol of private guards going the other way as they go through a gated neighborhood. "We're nearly there. Just a little farther."

[Earl of Purple]

Not Slaver's Guild Warehouse

"That does make sense. I'll help you find out more about it, if you'd like. Or anything else I can do. Anything, to repay you for releasing me, and the rest." She doesn't feel the information she gave was very useful, and certainly not worth her freedom, let alone the money and the manor and everything else.

[bc56]

Not Slaver's Guild Warehouse

"If you could help me with a few simple things from time to time, I would appreciate it," Sapphira replies. She opens up a wrought-iron gate and beckons Bluefoot through. On the other side is an old and stately manor house. Not in perfect condition, but it could be worse. "As far as anyone knows, you're a noblewoman from out of town who bought this house when it was scheduled for demolition." Technically that was Sapphira who did that, but under a charm that caused people to forget what she looked like. So Bluefoot should be fine. "I'll give you some time to get settled in, then give you a call, see if you're still interested in helping me."

[Earl of Purple]

Not Slaver's Guild Warehouse --> Shivernight Manor

Bluefoot follows inside, looking around at all the space. Even slightly decrepit, it's bigger, larger and probably less leaky than the tenement the helfling shared with her mother. "That... Wow. Thank you. I look forward to seeing you, then." Presumably now Sapphira leaves, to let Bluefoot get settled in and start renovating the place and spending the money she was given.

[bc56]

Shivernight Manor

Sapphira does leave, with a short farewell, and vanishes.

She won't be back for a while, giving Bluefoot plenty of time to get everything in order here.

[Earl of Purple]

Shivernight Manor

When Sapphira returns, the manor is still quite decrepit in appearance, though the renovations have begun. The external wall is much sturdier in appearance, with broken glass cemented into the top of it, although it's also covered in vines that might make climbing over it easier- unless Sapphira is aware of assassin vines and other motile and predatory plants, in which case they're another layer of defence.

Bluefoot has hired a few guards to defend the property, human thugs with bludgeons and pistols. Avoiding them isn't going to be hard, not for Sapphira, and the helfling is in one of the renovated rooms, a large bathroom. She's sat in a large bath, with a full halfling servant washing her hair as she relaxes. The halfling is shorter than Bluefoot, with large yellow-green eyes, short purple-black hair and pale brown skin, wearing a white bathrobe- and she's prettier than Bluefoot, besides. Neither notice Sapphira immediately.

[bc56]

Shivernight Manor

Sapphira appears.
She's glad to see Bluefoot is using her wealth well. She clears her throat, but the servant won't hear or see anything. Only Bluefoot will. "I need a favor. One of my friends needs a place to stay for a while. Do you have any spare rooms?" She knows the answer is yes. She wouldn't have come if it wasn't.

[Rebonack]

[Blackheart Street]

"I really hate kildren," Smoke grumbles as he manifests a blade of roiling foxfire, approaching the trio of monsters cautiously.

He doesn't want to smoke bomb them.

Not yet.

They'll just run.

The best solution is to kill them quickly and then burn the bodies to get all the maggots.

"Have you fought these abominations before?" he asks Athena.

Hopefully the answer is yes.

Their gravity tricks are a pain in the butt and catch people by surprise.

[bc56]

Blackheart Street

"Yes, unfortunately." Athena replies. She strides boldly towards the killdren. "But I've picked up some new tricks since then." She raises a hand, and a ball of foxfire materializes in it. Then she throws it at the nonhuman kyld. She jumps up onto a fire escape, boot rockets firing, and throws another fireball. "Hey, up here! Come and get me!"

[Earl of Purple]

Shivernight Manor

Before responding, Bluefoot waves the servant away, and she leaves obediently. She trusts the girl, and the halfling likely couldn't tell anyone even if she wasn't trusted, but it's always better to reassure the people you're working with. She turns around in the bath and looks at her devilish patron. "I do. I have several rooms available, one in the basement if that's the sort of friend you want me to look after. I have invested the money you gave me, and it's working quite well. I could repay you, if you want it back." The room in the basement is a cell, with plain concrete floor and walls, a very narrow and uncomfortable bed and accessed by walking through a torture chamber. She's not refurbished them much, but they're still very secure. And she's bought a share in a decent hotel in Tempest Row. If she repaid Sapphira, it'd slow the repair of the manor and possibly some of her other merchant ideas, but... she'd do it, if the devil queen wanted the money.

[bc56]

Shivernight Manor

"Keep the money. I have plenty," Sapphira replies dismissively. "The basement room will be perfect. He has a bit of a mental condition, so he shouldn't be allowed to roam free. He's a danger to himself and others. I think you understand." She vanishes for an instant, and reappears with a man in a straightjacket over her shoulder. "He can be a bit troublesome at times. I've enchanted him to be sustained without food or drink. He's unwilling to consume anything anyway." The bound man struggles weakly and mutters nonsense.

[Earl of Purple]

Shivernight Manor

"Unfortunately, I can't carry him down myself. Is he docile enough to be led? No, probably not. Not if he's a threat to himself or others." Bluefoot sighs and climbs out of the bath, grabbing a towel and wrapping around herself. She'll hopefully be able to go back to the bath after, so she's not going to dry herself or get dressed. "This way." The helfling leads Sapphira out of the bathroom and through a short corridor to an area dominated by small bedrooms, with no doors. The halfling dismissed earlier is sat on one of the beds, throwing a ball in the air. Two more rooms are occupied, also by pretty halfling girls, one sleeping and the third drawing (rather badly) on the wall. The first might notice Sapphira, if she's noticeable, but isn't going to interfere. At the end of the corridor is a locked door. Bluefoot opens it easily and grabs an electric torch, turning it on. Down a set of concrete steps is a dark torture room with rusty manacles hanging from the ceiling and a row of mouldering leather whips hanging on a wall. There's two doors leading beyond, and the lady of the manor reaches up to pull one of the doors open. Inside, it's dark, with a grate in the floor, a rusty sink and a rotting mattress on the floor. "Should I fetch better bedding from one of the girls? The other's worse, I'm afraid, and... I wasn't foreseeing an immediate need for these rooms so they were bottom of the queue for renovation. There's no electric down here yet."

Blackheart Street

The kyldren jump up and run. The human boy is heading deeper down the alleyway, towards a rusty old dumpster. The elf has jumped onto the wall opposite the one Jade is atop, and is running for the top. The third, with the hair-tendrils, is running up the wall towards Jade. They're all travelling the same speed, being the same height, but they're hoping the heroes can't focus on all three of them and at least one will escape, carrying a snippet of meat.

[bc56]

Shivernight Manor

Sapphira looks at the cell. "No need." Magically, it's suddenly cleaned up, with a fresh mattress, the rust cleaned off the sink, the grate repaired, the damp chased away. She sets the prisoner down on the repaired mattress and smiles. "Thanks for helping. Perhaps I can do something for you?" she asks pointedly. Her expression seems to indicate she thinks there is something Bluefoot wants.

[5a Violista]

[Blackheart Street]

Those superheroes seem like they can do magic or something, so she'd rather just stay away from them. So no going to investigate with them.

She goes over to the Thaylen, instead. "Hey, you finding everything alright?" she asks, since asking if he's alright is a boring question.

[Rebonack]

[Blackheart Street]

Smoke raises one hand, causing a billowing blast of smog to explode further down the alley to cut off the monster's path of retreat toward the dumpster. Then he takes off in a run, throwing the foxfire blade at the nasty thing. The vigilante's aim is impeccable, so there's a pretty good chance that the grotesque little thing is going to get skewered.

Also?

He's going to briefly check on the orc.

Is he dead?

He's probably dead.

But one way or the other Smoke wants to be completely sure.

Once he's certain the orc has died (one way or the other) he'll turn his attention back to the abominations skittering around. These vermin can't be allowed to live.

[bc56]

Blackheart Street

Jade sees the kyld run up the wall towards her. Perfect. She has it just where she wants it. She blasts a hole in the fire escape she's on, kicking the resulting fragments of heated metal down to rain on the little monster. Then she takes aim and fires a beam of burning light at it as a follow-up.

[Earl of Purple]

Blackheart Street

The Thaylen nods, replacing his ragged shoes with the boots from one of the orcs. "Got freed, so's I'm not a slave, and now I've made money so's I can get out of here. Well, not money-money. Some goods I can fence, that's enough for me." He's also got a couple new knives, a wallet with some actual money in it, and a few other knickknacks. Viviane might notice a lady's handbag under one of the orcs; the Thaylen hasn't noticed it yet. It wasn't his, it seems, and he's not looked in it yet.

The orc is dead. One of his feet has been stripped of muscle, and at the other end his eyes and tongue have been removed and his throat ripped out. The kyldren always eat eyes and tongues first.

Smoke's thrown dagger hits the boy-thing in the back, and it falls over onto its face, continuing to crawl away. It doesn't seem to care about the smog, if it gets that far.

The inhuman monster running towards Jade dives to the wall and rolls to one side as the heated metal and laser blast are directed towards it, before springing back to its feet and continuing its run, aiming not for Jade but the rooftop on the other side of her.

The elf on the opposite wall continues running up the wall.

Shivernight Manor

"I have money. I have a house, which is far bigger and fancier than any I had imagined. It's ruined a little and decrepit, but... That means I can shape it how I like. I've had a few visits from proper noblemen, trying to see how rich and powerful I was, and if I would be a useful addition to their own houses. What more could I want?" Bluetooth smiles and spins on the spot, but she's thinking as she does it. "Find the man who my mother paid to take me back to the Guild, after your daughter broke me out. He's in Groundtown, a human gangbanger named Sylvester Flynt. He's the leader of the Rickety Tenement 45 Protection Crew. He's too powerful for me to get revenge personally, and too low for me to hire thugs for it. That'd attract attention from the real nobles, and if they investigate they'll find my mother. I'd appreciate it if you could bring him to me. I've got a room to keep him in." She nods at the other cell, the one that wasn't as nice (even before Sapphira renovated it) as the one Ananais was deposited in.

[Rebonack]

[Blackheart Street]

Knife'd!

Normally just getting hit with a knife is bad.

The fact that the knife bursts into a roaring inferno of ghostly red flames is probably way worse. The foxfire burns just as physically as actual flame does, but it sears the spirit too. Nasty stuff.

Smoke figures that particular kildre is down and out, so that means its time to head after the tentacle hair one next. He doesn't have any rocket boosters, though.

But you know what he DOES have?

Absolutely inhuman strength.

He crouches down for a moment, smoke curling in a ring around him, before LEAPING skyward and aiming a sword-slash at the fleeing kildre as he goes sailing past to land on the roof. Man, he just took off like a rocket, didn't he? Pchoo! Up he goes!

[5a Violista]

[Blackheart Street]

That purse probably belongs to that elf-lady, right? she wonders. If it stays here, someone'll probably be able to track her down.

She quickly grabs the handbag. "Just make sure you get out of here before whatever's-down-that-way comes out," she says. She decides to leave him to doing that.


Viviane leaves in the opposite direction that the superheroes went. When out of the alley, she starts looking through the handbag, especially for ID or something.

[bc56]

Blackheart Street

As the kyld scampers up the wall next to her, Jade moves. In a swift motion, she reaches out to grab it by the shoulders and get it at point-blank range. "I have you now!" Of course, there's the question of what she'll do with a kyld once she's holding it. But this version of her armor should be kyld-proof, unless they've developed some new tricks.

Shivernight Manor

"I'll look into him. Rest assured, I will help you get your revenge." A delicious motive. Sapphira won't do it herself, mind. But she'll have some cultists in the area hunt him down, maybe throw in a little of her magic to make him less able to resist.

[UncleWolf]

Jinn's Workshop

Sam gives Alexia his best reassuring smile. He walks straight up to the drone with her.

"Yes, we'd like to speak to Jinn. I'm a returning customer. Has he relocated?" he tells it. Jinn is weird. Sam wouldn't be surprised if the apparent fire did little to nothing to stop him.

Manor Lab

Anri stands still for that entire and very long explanation. Being a machine, she's good at that.
"Hm. I do wish you had consulted me with this, Nora. I'm...well, I'm not sure about any of this. You could have saved quite a bit of the cost omitting some of those...features.
And frankly, I'm far more interested in the analyses you apparently did on me. How exactly do you know this and what exactly does this make me? Because if I'm anything like my ancestor, I don't need a body at all. I just need to be freed from this wretched thing and I could form my own like she was known to. Dust and smoke and flames.
Frankly, this seems to be a very expensive way to make it likely that I'll end up trapped in an immobile corpse with no way out if these devices are as good at securing me to the body as you say. You're making it sound like 'making plans for a new body' would be even more complicated than these in front of us."
Why does everything have to be so complicated? Anri can't help but feel like Tellysandra could just use her demon magic to break the demon curse on Anri, but she hasn't because it would be too much effort. She's not entirely buying Tellysandra's claim that it was too risky.

Spoiler: Quotes

Show

Looking for Jinn's Shop

The drone starts to glow softly violet and comes to life as the two approach. A beam of the same color starting to move across them one by one. "Welcome." It greets while its seemingly scanning them, even as Sam is explaining why they're there.
"One moment, I'm processing your words..." It remarks as he finishes, only to continue a moment later. "I'm afraid the shop has been demolished and is closed down for the foreseeable future. However, if you are a returning customer and still interested in our services I can take you to one of Jinn's other shop located in Gale Spire, Seaside."

Manor Lab

The drone's camera lens keeps itself focused on the body as Nora speaks and starts to get in closer and circle around it as if to get all the angles of it. Once its satisfied however its lens turns to Nora and then to Anri as she replies.

Eventually, once Anri is finished talking, its loudspeaker buzzes to life. "I told you to work on this together." They can hear a rather frustrated-sounding Tellysandra. "Since if the person that's supposed to live in it isn't satisfied then what's the point? Please don't tell me you've wasted all these resources on a unsatisfactory product, Dr. Nora. Surely it can be... adjusted, adapted to Anri's needs and desires? You can't just wait until you finish a product, especially one as critical as this, and then ask for feedback. There has to be a back and fourth."

- - - Updated - - -

Manor Lab

"I might be capable at white magic, but I'm not a literal miracle worker! There's certain things I just can't avoid while trying to make a living body!" Norael says, sounding exasperated and feeling like she's being berated for her work. "I'll admit I might have gotten caught up in the work, but I'm not a fleshcrafter or artificer. I can enhance and manipulate existing functions, and make it so the body can live as long as possible without my tending while minimizing wear and tear, but I can't gift immortality or work without certain handicaps." She points out, rubbing her face with a groan. "I didn't need to scan you, Anri. It was something easy to put together since we're in the same boat. I got turned into an angel. Should this body get destroyed, I still live but I certainly won't be able to maintain a material presence and will get sent to whatever realm I was linked to. More than that, if you didn't believe you needed a body in the first place, why come to us? If that's the case, you've done this completely ass-backwards and the simple solution, while uncomfortable, is just to destroy your current body to free your spirit and essence." She points out, letting out a deep breath to let her anger(and glowing hair) cool.

The angel takes a moment, brushing her orange hair back and returning it to a cooler radioactive blue so she can collect herself. Anger wasn't good for her nor for those around her given it usually meant little spikes of radiation. Once she's fully calm, she continues. "I'm sorry. Barring that, the soul jar grafts CAN be removed easily enough AFTER you're in the body. They serve to act as an anchor and protection since beings of spirit are usually vulnerable to being trapped or manipulated by other means. Even I am bound by a set of Rules that could be manipulated if people knew them. More than that, I could leave in a small number to offer some resistance to those who might seek you out for your powers and bind you. A number small enough to provide metaphysical purchase but not enough to prevent you from dispersing from the body should you need it, like sticky tape. Things CAN still be changed. It's not all set in stone. Even if I can't work miracles, I can at least modify anything and everything you see before this point. Barring the cybernetics of course, but that's easy enough to swap out."

Jinn's Ex-Workshop

"Sure." Alexia says with a smile before stopping at a thought. "Wait, you will be transporting us?" She asks the drone, suddenly wary and unsure how they'd be taken from Skyside all the way to Seaside.

[Deathkeeper]

Manor Lab

"I came here because I was under the impression I merely needed a demon's curse lifted. I wasn't aware of the possibility I didn't need a physical body until one hundred and ninety-six seconds ago." Anri does not comment that the only reason that she hasn't left by now is that Tellysandra turned around and told her after her months of service that the curse couldn't be broken after all, then tried to sucker her into a new job in a field she has zero interest in to pay for the second-rate solution she didn't ask for.
"I assure you Lady Tellysandra that you have little to worry about. When all is said and done I'm sure my powers can recoup the losses that the body has incurred, regardless of whether or not I'm in it. I think that would be a better alternative to acting as Nora's permanent assistant given my lack of training. Speaking of which, considering that my powers have been proven to have flesh-warping capabilities, it might be easier if I merely inhabit the body for a few moments, then someone can make a wish to get me my own separate one. That way I have what I want and you still have your expensive cyber-body to do whatever you want with." That is to say, "heck no I am not working here and will be 100% done with all of this the absolute moment I'm free."

Jinn's workshop

Sam frowns. He was under the impression that Jinn was in Skyside and not the Spire for a reason, especially when he let his counterpart go after the novelty wore off.
"Yes, I'm a returning customer. We can come with you, under the agreement that both of us will be transported to the Spire and then back to a location specified by us when we're done." he says carefully.

[Earl of Purple]

Blackheart Street

The boy stops moving as the fire spreads, and maggots start to eat their way from the burning corpse.

The elf, meanwhile, is bisected, and two halves fall off the wall and hit the ground, spilling maggots and black goo.

The inhuman child in Jade's grip appears to go limp, head, arms and legs pointing down to the bottom of the alley as the mouthed tendrils also flop, apparently limp down the thing's face. It's faking death, however, and can't reset its personal 'down' to the ground without touching it. Jade might be able to tell it's faking, since it's still pulled to the wall behind her. If she's fooled and drops it, it falls to the wall, bounds to its feet and continues running to the top of the wall. I think they're quite close to the top of it?

-

In the handbag, there's a lady's purse, a single-shot derringer, a punch-dagger, a scrap of lined notebook paper wrapped tight with an elastic band, a plain wooden box and a clam-mirror. There's also a tin of tomatoes, an apple and a bag of dry pasta. In the purse, there's a bit of money, a Riverside driver's licence with a photograph of the driver, and a family photograph with a pair of laughing babies. Neither image is likely to be much help, however, as they aren't of the elf who the bag possibly previously belonged to- the driver is a human woman, who doesn't look like the elf did- even slightly.

Shivernight Manor

"Thank you, Sapphira. Um, will I need to be undressed until he arrives, or is it coincidence that every time you've turned up I haven't been wearing very much?" Bluefoot doesn't mind the interruption of her bath, since there's a chance of revenge from it, but she's not particularly keen on remaining basically naked or near-naked until the cultists have done their work. Particularly since she'd prefer him not to see that much of her.

[bc56]

Blackheart Street

It doesn't matter whether or not Jade is fooled by the kyld playing dead. Why? Because as soon as she has a hold of it, she summons a ball of foxfire around it to incinerate it. That should kill off its spawn before they spread. She moves towards the bisected kyld corpse, blasting wide-beam lasers to try and sear the grubs before they can escape.

Shivernight Manor

"Merely coincidence. But if you want me to only appear when you are undressed, I can arrange it." Sapphira chuckles. She doesn't actually care about the state of dress of her new minion, or herself for that matter. She's been naked this whole time. "Your victim should arrive in a few days. Have fun!" And the devil vanishes. The prisoner she brought suddenly rages at Bluefoot. "Is a hammer daft to be used? Suffering is all that you'll reap! Don't follow me!"

[5a Violista]

[Blackheart Street]

Oh.
...
Weird.

Viviane keeps on walking, to get out of this area, since it's likely something might happen here.

"Riverside," she says aloud. Yeah, she knows Riverside pretty well. She gets out her phone and makes a call to her assistant in the Eastside city hall to look up the driver and any recent police reports or city reports or other news information. After talking for a few moments, she thanks her and hangs up.
But...
It's not the elf.
This is weird...? Probably nothing.
She glances up, though, to see if she can be fortunate enough to just see the elf around. Probably not, she supposes.