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PostPosted: Thu Jul 09, 2015 1:37 pm
by The Krogan
Loken was admittedly a little disappointed that they didn't care whether or not he left, but it was probably for the best anyway.... He and organics shouldn't spend to much time together. Before he turned to go though he looked towards Alec and asked,

"Organic? what was this town you mentioned again and where is it?"

PostPosted: Thu Jul 09, 2015 1:41 pm
by Ardavia
The Krogan wrote:Loken was admittedly a little disappointed that they didn't care whether or not he left, but it was probably for the best anyway.... He and organics shouldn't spend to much time together. Before he turned to go though he looked towards Alec and asked,

"Organic? what was this town you mentioned again and where is it?"


"Zufbridge or Zurbridge, whatever the place is called. Place full of egghead scientists and inventors, I understand. I'm on the way there myself, it's in that direction." He jerked a thumb over his shoulder without looking at the warmind, instead looking around at the nearby terrain and trying to judge what hill would be best.

He then points to one that's about two-three hundred meters away from their current position, and speaks again. "Think that one'll do for a camp?"

PostPosted: Thu Jul 09, 2015 2:04 pm
by The Krogan
Scientists and inventors.... Sounds worth looking into Loken thought, he might be able to find some useful upgrades or knowledge there.

"Tell me organic, how far away is this Zufbridge?"

PostPosted: Thu Jul 09, 2015 2:07 pm
by Ardavia
The Krogan wrote:Scientists and inventors.... Sounds worth looking into Loken thought, he might be able to find some useful upgrades or knowledge there.

"Tell me organic, how far away is this Zufbridge?"


"Not sure on the exact distance, but should be about a day? Maybe two? At normal walking speed." This time, he turned back to the warmind while awaiting Xander's response to his query about the hill.

"You sure you don't want to join up, at least temporarily? There was a bunch of raiders a bit back, this entire part of the wasteland has been crawling with them recently. You look like you can handle yourself, but I certainly wouldn't mind the extra firepower if any of the bastards appear."

PostPosted: Thu Jul 09, 2015 2:21 pm
by Sanabel
Ardavia wrote:
The Krogan wrote:Scientists and inventors.... Sounds worth looking into Loken thought, he might be able to find some useful upgrades or knowledge there.

"Tell me organic, how far away is this Zufbridge?"


"Not sure on the exact distance, but should be about a day? Maybe two? At normal walking speed." This time, he turned back to the warmind while awaiting Xander's response to his query about the hill.

"You sure you don't want to join up, at least temporarily? There was a bunch of raiders a bit back, this entire part of the wasteland has been crawling with them recently. You look like you can handle yourself, but I certainly wouldn't mind the extra firepower if any of the bastards appear."

"That hill will do." Xander says. It was ok. The raiders and beasts of the night would be easier to fight off from that point. Whether or not the warmind will be joining them, he starts heading towards it. Hopefully, this wanderer wouldn't want to share his rat meat, which will be cooked on his lightweight camp stove with an almost invisible flame. But Cain had taught him to be polite, so he would of course offer it. And again, he's walking. Walking turns the world.

PostPosted: Thu Jul 09, 2015 4:34 pm
by Saleon
"yeah," Asha said while bartering with a tech junkie, "H-11 generator, big one... no not that big you moron! how do I fit that in a warmind." bartering was a long, infuriating process, which often left her questioning humanity. It was just one of the draws of looking for parts to a warmind, something most people had no knowledge of, even tech junkies. "least we got the parts. You know you are quite expensive." Red Rhino only grunted in slight satisfaction, slight apologies.

They continued on with unimportant things, continually bringing up the past, but always with a pleasant light. One good trait they both had was a healthy case of optimism, bat least when she wasn't yelling at someone.


Ameriganastan wrote:The inside of The Drunken Dragon was in shambles. After completely destroying the place, the Unbroken and his opponents had gone back to being friendly drunks instead of fighting ones.
She made her way towards a local bar, The Drunken Dragon. One of her favorite bars as well, though today it looked a little different. "it open?" She mumbled while peering into the now glassless window, "Well the miss is in." She walked in, if only to see the damage. "oh, lady Asha," replied the friendly old tender.

"Iris! what happened!"

"a bunch of drunkards got into a fight, one wiped out a good portion of the guests."

"How many?"

"25, I think, though to be fair he was the only one with an axe."

"dang. any drinks, left?"

"nope, 'fraid they smashed my stock on their heads. They all laughed it off, though," sighed Lady Iris.

While they were chatting up about a couple more futile things, dull things, and joking things, Red Rhino had noticed a paper on the ground. A bounty? Frome The Arch Regent? He continued reading till he got to the words 'The Payment shall be high.'

"what you got a bounty?," She says, while looking it over. It takes a second, but soon she has a smile on her face. Whatever the Arch Regent calls high pay... is some real good pay. "****," she giggles, "looks like we are meeting some inbreds."

"one of these days someone is going to shoot you for that mouth," joked Iris.

PostPosted: Thu Jul 09, 2015 4:53 pm
by Illan
Akaro Vistho, the Shaman Without a Clan
On the outskirts of Thanedice


The two Draconid's travels had brought them to Thanedice, as it seemed - a shining pearl amidst the dust and dirt of the wastes. Akaro had not yet desired to enter the city yet...for some reason. Maybe he wished to straighten himself up a bit before he did....or to simply enjoy his solitude for a bit longer. Aksa'a went off on some sort of business that Akaro wasn't entirely sure about. He didn't pry much into what he did on his own. Akaro was doing the same usual thing that he did while alone - thinking. Pondering. Praying.

He sat in the large tent-like shelter he had every time they stayed somewhere. In it, he clutched a small idol in his hands - made of an oddly warm metal, and bathed in a natural orange light. It was a statuette resembling a Draconid goddess, Llisiana, the Maiden of Light and Justice - a paragon of life, holiness, and virtue. A sacred one that Akaro did not worship back with the Ssevis, but he did now. As he held it in his scaled palms, he whispered a number of incantations, enjoying the solemnity.

PostPosted: Thu Jul 09, 2015 6:08 pm
by The Krogan
Ardavia wrote:
The Krogan wrote:Scientists and inventors.... Sounds worth looking into Loken thought, he might be able to find some useful upgrades or knowledge there.

"Tell me organic, how far away is this Zufbridge?"


"Not sure on the exact distance, but should be about a day? Maybe two? At normal walking speed." This time, he turned back to the warmind while awaiting Xander's response to his query about the hill.

"You sure you don't want to join up, at least temporarily? There was a bunch of raiders a bit back, this entire part of the wasteland has been crawling with them recently. You look like you can handle yourself, but I certainly wouldn't mind the extra firepower if any of the bastards appear."


Loken thought about the organics offer, measuring the pros and cons. For one he wouldn't mind some company on the road, it had been a long time indeed since he had last worked in a team and could use the social practice. The human was also right about the bandits, Loken had noticed a few roving bands operating in the area, and new that one in particular was hunting in the direction of the organics destination. He had his doubts about joining the organics though as well.

Firstly he was more of a lone wolf ever since he had awoken in this era, and didn't like the added burden of watching over others in combat. Once though he had enjoyed the feeling of fighting side by side with others of his kind and organics, but those days were long gone, never to return. Also there was something else that made Loken wary, his memory and information core had been glitching lately, causing memories of past events to spring to the forefront of his thought processes, sometimes causing him to go into moments of rage, fear, or extreme irrational paranoia. At this time he didn't know if he was a danger to others because of his dysfunctional memory core, but if he was he would rather not find out the hard way with these two. In fact this Zufbridge might have someone able to help him with that problem, as he had also been going to Thanedice in search of an artificer that may be able to help him.

Loken looked at Alec, took a homing device from a compartment, and upon handing it to the organic said,

"Though I thank you for the offer organic, I think we would all be better off if I scouted ahead and cleared your path of hostiles, as I neither need sleep nor rest I can make the trip to this Zufbridge much faster than you two, especially if I set a quick pace, if you do get into trouble though merely press this button and I will respond to aid you as fast as I can... I'll wait for you in Zufbridge to make sure you make it there before moving on."

With that said Loken turned and set a fast walk/jog in the direction of the town, keeping a close watch out for any bandits.

Several hours pass

Loken was descending into a shallow valley, still at the same speed he had set when he left the trio hours earlier and showing no signs of slowing. The moon was giving off a little light, but for the most part it was pitch dark out, but he could see just as well as when it was daytime out and easily avoided any obstacles in his path. Loken was about halfway across the valley when a gunshot rang out in the darkness and he felt a medium caliber flesh shredder round impact on his chestplate. Though it did little damage, merely scratching the paint up even more and making a slight dent, Loken immediately dropped to the ground playing dead; in order to lure out his ambushers. Laying there for several minutes, he eventually heard and felt the approach of his attackers, his sensors telling him that there were four organics in total approaching his position.

As they approached Loken heard one say,

"Oi, bill, nice shot ye fugger, fuggin sniped the batter ya did, didn't needs ta even risk our leeves",

Ahhh, very uneducated, Waste bandits most likely... uncultured swine and known for their habit of fornication with their livestock, if I remember correctly... I'll be doing the world a service this night it seems, Loken thought, as the group continued to banter among themselves and get closer to his position.

Soon a figure appeared over top of Loken, the sniper that had shot him by the looks of his long gun and scope. He was also wearing night vision goggles, and by what he said next they must have been very low quality.

"Oi boys! looky likes we'sa gotts er selves a fuggin Warmind an not some shupid exporer likes yous said Loggy, yous owes me a goats ya derp!" the sniper exclaimed.

Loken had the overwhelming urge to perform a face palm, these idiots didn't even understand how their ammunition worked. Flesh shredder were for organic penetration, not armor penetration, and if these raiders had understood that they wouldn't be acting like they had just killed a Warmind, hell, these shredder rounds would have a hard time even putting down an unarmored Warmind. Loken decided to end this idiocy before he got really pissed.

In the blink of an eye he had shot to his feet, wrapped his hand around the sniper throat in a vice like grip, and crushed it seconds later; keeping it between himself and the dead bodies comrades as a shield. He had also pulled his pistol from it's holster and had blown the nearest bandits brains out before they had even brought up their guns. It helped that they didn't have any night vision goggles themselves and could barely see what was happening. Loken had shot the next closest bandit before the other two started letting loose in his direction, shredding the body Loken was using as a shield and the surrounding landscape.

Seconds later the last two bandits lay in a growing puddle of their own blood, dead. Loken dropped the body he had used as a shield to the ground and began to survey the battle area to make sure there wasn't any more of them hiding in the brush. Once he was satisfied that there weren't anymore about he began to search the bodies for any valuable tech or drunk; and was pleasantly surprised to find that one of them seemed to have been a collector of USB's. After collecting the USB's and a few pieces of random junk, he up and left at the same pace that he had entered the valley in, leaving the guns and ammunition for the two organics to find and salvage.

Loken continued on his way to Zufbridge, with but a scratch and some blood on his armor from the encounter with the amateur bandits.

PostPosted: Thu Jul 09, 2015 6:48 pm
by Fascist Russian Empire
Shijō, the Chosen One


After gathering the supplies he needed and saying farewell to his comrades in arms, Shijō finally departed Arroyo. He had been out of his village numerous times in the past, mostly to accompany war parties on attacks against neighboring Nisse groups, but for the first time in his life he wouldn't have his tribe to guide him. Either way, it was the will of the Gods that Shijō embark on this quest, and Shijō was comforted, knowing that he had the Gods to guide him. The journey would no doubt be difficult, and full of many trials, but it was something Shijō had to do, for the Gods and for Arroyo. Without another word, the Chosen One began marching east; what his exact destination was, the Draconid had no clue, but he had a feeling he'd know it when it saw it.

Several uneventful hours of traveling later, and something strange happened; the sword he had found in the Temple of Trials began glowing. Shijō took the blade out of its sheath, and began examining it, wondering why it was glowing again, only to moments later hear the sound of rustling in a nearby bush. Seeing the long ears of a Nisse behind the bush, Shijō got into his battle stance and charged at the demon. Before it could even raise its weapon, or try to cast a spell, it had Shijō's sword crashing down upon its head, being instantly decapitated. Shijō didn't know what the demon had been doing, but he knew that their kind were never up to any good; he'd happily kill them on sight wherever he went, and if people got upset because of it, then they were demon sympathizers and they needed to die too. Shijō knew better than to trust them, especially after the vision he had received at the Temple of Trials.

After the demon had been slain, Shijō's holy sword stopped glowing, and he immediately realized what the sword had been doing; it sensed the presence of demons nearby, and it glowed to warn him of the threat. No doubt that was something that would help him tremendously with his quest, Shijō imagined, though he didn't really know what exactly the necklace he had found at the temple did; perhaps it's some sort of good luck charm, Shijō pondered. Either way, Shijō took anything valuable or worthwhile off the dead body of the demon and resumed his journey east. He still had no idea where he was supposed to go, his vision had just told him to travel east, but Shijō had faith his destination would be made clear in time. For the rest of his day, Shijō wouldn't run into any more interruptions, leaving him to peacefully travel.

While he traveled, the Chosen One couldn't help but contemplate what things would be like now that he was away from his tribe. Back home, things were simple; train every day to become a great warrior, give praise to the Gods, and keep out barbarians. In Arroyo, everyone had a similar mindset, killing outsiders without hesitation under the motto of expel the barbarians. Now, though, things would be significantly different; he couldn't just kill every single person on sight who wasn't part of his tribe, and it was also unlikely he'd find many people who shared his tribe's fanatical religious zeal. This meant he would have to adapt, and learn to coexist with the outsiders if he wanted to get anywhere, and that alone with an extremely alien concept for the Chosen One; throughout his entire life, Shijō had learned nothing but killing, and his entire life had revolved around killing. The thought of ignoring, trading with, or even befriending anyone not from his tribe was, well...Shijō wasn't sure he'd be able to do it, or even that the Humans, Unbroken, Orcs, and other races wouldn't just attack him on sight, anyway; the stories his tribesmen had shared with him about the other races didn't exactly paint them as friendly and open.

Fighting was easy for Shijō, he had learned to hold a blade almost before he had even learned to walk; he had been a fighter all his life, and that, along with faith in the Gods, was all he knew. It was more difficult for him to learn how to not fight, and how to coexist with the outsiders, than it was for him to fight in massive and high risk battles. While Shijō wanted to believe he could complete his quest single handedly by killing everything in sight, something gave him the feeling he was going to need help to defeat the great evil the Gods had told him about, and that killing a great many outsiders without second thought would end up doing him and his quest more harm than good. Either way, Shijō was still going to kill Nisse demons on sight, and he still wouldn't hesitate to kill anyone who disrespected him, disrespected his tribe, or, worst of all, disrespected his religion and the Gods. The Chosen One had a strict set of morals and he was going to stand by them no matter the cost, even if it won him vast amounts of enemies.

PostPosted: Thu Jul 09, 2015 11:38 pm
by Cerrania
Aksa'a Vistho, Fallen Warrior of the Ssevis Clan


The draconid sniffed at the air, snarling as he did. His target was close, no more than a quarter mile away. And he was afraid. Aksa'a could smell his terror. It saturated his scent with a pungent, odious stench. Aksa'a's mark knew he was being tracked, knew he was being hunted, and he did was terrified of what was to come. Aksa'a did not blame him.

"Good. Fear makes the blood run. And that makes them sevenfold tastier." Came the whisper from the back of his mind. Aksa'a did not produce this thought on his own free will, however. It came from the warrior spirit that had inhabited Aksa'a's body since the day that he tries so hard to forget. Aksa'a has taken to calling the murderous presence "Thesa Na'Aksa'a", or "Impure Warrior". Almost constantly, Aksa'a was tormented by the spirit's murmurs of bloodshed and violence. More than once, Aksa'a had been very close to giving in. Only his unwavering faith in the Holy Thirteen had kept him on his righteous course.

And that course was about to lead him to a cleansing of Uasa. A small one, perhaps, but every scum that was denied a chance to corrupt the world was a victory to Aksa'a. Shaking off the disconcerting voice in his head, Aksa'a ran forward. After a moment of gaining speed, he closed his eyes. With a resounding, mental, shout, he called out to the Aether.

Vesperis umbra.

And the Aether replied, in full. With a sensation of becoming lighter, Aksa'a became a ghost in the wind. His physical form faded, and his perception of the world turned to a warped, twisted, and dark realm. He had entered the Shade Realm. Still maintaining his sprint, Aksa'a smiled and whooped, knowing he was invisible and very hard to hear in the physical realm. He relished the burning of his muscles, the raggedness of his breath, as he bounded forward. Taking another long draw of breath, Aksa'a sniffed his target. It was near, and Aksa'a was closing fast. After cresting a hill, he saw the mark. It was running hard through the trees, weaving back and forth and occasionally looking behind his shoulder.

As if that would help.

Aksa'a dropped to all fours, once again roaring, as he closed the last hundred feet between him and his prey. Once within ten metres, Aksa'a lunged, opening his maw and splaying his hands.

Spectaculum. He called to the Aether, and with a vicious roar Aksa'a was once again plunged into the physical plane. His target whirled around and ushered a scream before Aksa'a crashed into him, sending them both rolling. Recovering quickly, Aksa'a stood, once again bipedal, and began to walk towards the man. The target cowered, crawling back away from Aksa'a and drawing a petty handgun. He aimed it shakily, still attempting to flee. Aksa'a threw his weight to the side, lashing out with his tail. It struck the man's wrist, knocking the pistol out of his grip. Aska'a growled, and the man looked at him with eyes filled with horror. Then, with a press of a button on the small pad on his wrist, Aksa'a activated his combat armor. The suit deployed from the spinal implant on his back, and left his head exposed.

Aksa'a wanted this man to see the face of his executioner. It was one of the only respects that could be paid to this doomed soul.

"You stand trial for murder, for rape, and for thievery. Your name is Avara Kelnett. I, Aksa'a Vistho, find you guilty of these crimes. In the light of the Holy Thirteen, I condemn you to the punishment of death. I hope that whatever gods you believe in will have mercy upon you, because I will not." Aksa'a stated, solemnly. Closing his eyes, Aska'a called out to the Aether once again.

Ysatha.

From the hilt in his grip emerged a blue blade, springing forth into existence with a dull hum. Ysatha was a brutally efficient blade, and now its Blade Soul hungered. Aksa'a would sate it. Raising the weapon, and pointing it downward, Aksa'a spoke,

"Zakita a'zum, naku'ol, ssvitha."

Almost immediately, the frenzied and ragged reply of the condemned reached Aksa'a's ears. A desperate call, one meant to prolong the inevitable, but a cry nonetheless,

"The Aether can't save you! It comes, it comes for all of us!"

Aksa'a did not pause, and plunged the blade downwards. There was barely a sound as the tip pierced through the man's shoulder and kept moving, travelling all the way through until it lodged itself into the dirt. The dead man ushered forth one gurgle, and then was silent. Withdrawing the blade from his body, Aksa'a let it retreat back into its sanctuary in the hilt. Its work was done for the day. But Aksa'a's was only beginning. Kneeling down, the morose executioner laid his prize flat, and crossed the arms over the chest. If he was to kill, Aksa'a would respect the dead. Now, standing, he let a grin slip from his maw. It would be a long run home, and Aksa'a relished the thought of rigorous exercise to clear his mind of the barbaric thoughts that now clouded his coherence. Retracting his armor from his body, Aksa'a idly felt a spot on his upper thigh. There laid a glyph, its purpose quite simple, and its name short. He called out to it in its dimension.

Celeri Ssevi.

Immediately, Aksa'a felt raw power course through his veins and clear his mind, and he felt as if he could run for years on end without stopping. With a shout - equal parts triumph and anticipation - he sprinted forward, back towards home. He ran fast, and he ran hard, dropping to all fours after a short time. He ran so fast he became a whooping blur in the wind, a streak across the forests and plains of Thenadice and its surrounding towns.

Aksa'a felt invincible, as if nothing would touch him. And surely, nothing ever would. He was too fast, too strong.

He was a warrior.

Several Hours Later

Aska'a was exhausted by the time he skidded to a halt in front of the large tent he and his brother called home. Breathing hard, Aksa'a stood on his hind legs and took stock of the situation. It was dusk, the sun settling down to hide its luminescence below the horizon. Inside his tent, however, a faint glow was lighting the area around it. Once he had caught his breath, Aksa'a adjusted a loose pad on his clothing, and stepped inside silently. He ducked his head in respect as soon as he saw his brother, Akaro, was in the midst of a prayer. While Aksa'a was just as spiritual and reverent as his brother, Akaro was much more theological than Aksa'a. He was more likely to analyze the wonder of the gods, to predict where they will grace Uasa with their touch, than to honor their name in combat as Aksa'a did. However, to say that made Akaro any less proficient in the art of battle was entirely untrue. He was a fair match for Aksa'a, and the pair's combined power was a swirling typhoon of death.

Approaching the altar with his eyes still cast downwards, Aksa'a knelt at the foot of the display and let his eyelids slide shut. After muttering a greeting incantation, Aksa'a spoke directly to his brother.

"Brother, I have killed today. I seek humbly seek repentance. Will you grant me this honor, under the light of the Holy Thirteen?"

Aksa'a knew, with some confidence, that the absolution he sought would be granted. However, to assume without first proceeding through the proper approach was both sacrilegious and extremely disrespectful to both Akaro and the gods above, and Aksa'a was entirely sure he did not inflict the wrath of any of the Thirteen.

"Forgive me, Father. Forgive me, Mother. Forgive me, Shield and Sword. I have violated the sacred pacts to which I swore myself over to on my day of birth. I beg your absolution, for today Uasa has been made safer. I beg you see the means, and not the end." Aksa'a whispered faintly, barely perceptible to even Akaro. Prayer was a silent affair in Draconid religion, as it was meant to be a personal commune between oneself and the Holy Thirteen. To disrupt ones prayer with your own was to tangle their link to the gods and terminate the connection they may have made.

Aksa'a waited silently, letting his message travel to whatever plane the divine lived on, and sat absolutely still.

To pray was to subsist to Aksa'a and Akaro. Their very lives depended on it.

PostPosted: Fri Jul 10, 2015 2:15 am
by Ameriganastan
"Okay...got my forging materials. Got my weapons. Got enough booze for the trip. Got directions...alright. Time to hit the road!"

Pulling a wrench from his pile of random whatnot's, he whacked the console. The decrepit old heap sputtering to life.

"And they said it'd never start after I lost that key. And they said..."

He kicked it next, the console beeping and booping. That was how he turned on the auto-pilot.

"The auto-pilot would never work after I accidentally shot it. Set course for Teglah, Bessie."

He kicked back as his rust-bucket house/workshop/mode of transport started crawling along. He didn't get far before he spotted something out of the corner of his eye. Some young punk mugging an old lady.

"Can't be any older than 16...well, might as well do a little community service while I'm here."

Rifling in the back, he fished Genevieve out of his junk pile.

"Hey, son."

The kid turned around. And was greeted to the barrel of a shotgun 3 inches from his face.

"You're young, son. I suggest you don't pursue this current lifestyle you're employing. Muggers become thugs. Thugs become raiders. Raiders..."

He cocked his shotgun.

"Are killed by me. And not mercifully either. Now go home. Tell your mom you love her. Get a job."

He dropped his knife, scurrying like a scared toddler to wherever he lived. Bhal hopped back in Bessie, whacking the console with the butt of the shotgun.

"Resume course for Teglah, Bessie."

Chuckling, he tossed Genevieve in the back.

"Stupid kid couldn't even tell it was unloaded."

PostPosted: Fri Jul 10, 2015 8:13 am
by The Armed Republic of Dutch Coolness
Ruins of Teglah, Uadas
Meravynn

Teglah was different. Last time Meravynn had seen it, which was coincidentally also the only time and even then from a distance, it looked like a boring old rural village, with some stone buildings but mainly a lot of wooden huts and houses. Now, there was naught but ashes and blackened ruins. The one thing that hadn't changed was that Teglah was pretty shit. Teglah still was pretty shit, like it had always been.

As soon as the former gladiator had arrived at Teglah, she had been greeted by some of the Arch-Regent's soldiers, all of them looking like a bunch of Wasteland bandits with better equipment - which wasn't much of a coincidence, seeing as they pretty much were just that. The group had, after the Nisse had given a short introduction of herself, led Meravynn through the town's ruins, pointing out the... odd... smelling ashes and the blackened ruins of what had once been stone. Done with their little tour, she was led to the man that appeared to be the group's commanding officer, going by the name of "Colonel Hundy".

The Colonel had, while smoking a cigar, handed Meravynn a datapad with a massive spreadsheet on it. The Nisse studied it for several seconds, before looking towards the military man, frowning. "What am I looking at, exactly?

"If only I knew that, darling. I don't even understand half of the fucking things it says on there. It means, however, that there's been a lot of activity with the Aether and such here the last twelve hours. That's what one of the Arch-Regent's Warlocks said, anyway - he's gone now though, back in Thanedice already."

Meravynn reflected on her journey to Teglah from Thanedice, spending several hours in a rusty bus and then having to walk the rest due to Teglah not being on the bus' route. Yeah, she wasn't going to do that journey again today (tonight?). "Alright, got anything else that might help me on this, err, investigation?"

The Colonel nodded, taking the cigar from his mouth. "That we do." He turned to some of his men. "Bring the poor sod here, boys." Two of the soldiers turned and left for a reinforced truck that stood next to Teglah's ruins, brought there by the Arch-Regent's ever faithful troops. After several minutes, the two returned, dragging a man between them towards the Colonel and Meravynn. "We found him a couple of hours ago." the officer simply stated. "He's in a pretty bad state. Mentally, at least. Sole survivor of this whole incident, apparently." The two soldiers placed the man on the ground, sitting in front of Meravynn.

The officer looked towards the Nisse. "Let's hope he's in a sane mood, eh?" Meravynn remained quiet and looked at the man, realising that that wasn't really how moods worked. "Alright," the Colonel spoke. "Tell the nice lady what you saw."

The man looked up, staring Meravynn straight in the eyes. Terror was clear on his face, the man somehow reliving the moment the 'Teglah incident' happened. "Ghosts, eyes and hair ablaze with fire..." He shook his head. "Darkness." He winced. "Riding through the sky..." He remained quiet for half a second. "So fast. Need to run." The man seemingly wished to stand up and run away, but was held in place by the soldiers. "No! They're taking them! Into the sky! No! No!" The man became furious, only uttering curses now as he screamed in rage. The Colonel gestured with his right hand. "Take him back boys." He turned back towards Meravynn. "Exactly the same as he always says. Always ends up like this, too." He shook his head. "Got nothing else to give or show ya. Stay here for the night if you like, or don't. Good luck with whatever you're gonna do."

The soldier left, leaving the Nisse behind, staring at the horizon as the sun began to set. She muttered under her breath, no one else hearing her words. "Ghost riders in the sky, eh? Well I'll be damned..."

PostPosted: Fri Jul 10, 2015 10:16 am
by The Krogan
Zurbridge: Southern Entrance

Loken had traveled all night and through most of the morning, only stopping once to deal with the bandits. His quick and tireless pace had allowed him to cover the distance to Zurbridge much faster then a regular organic on foot could have and he was now approaching what appeared to be a guarded checkpoint into the city. He began to scan the checkpoint, taking into account the number of organic guards, their equipment, and their positions; just in case things went south. He had been denied entrance to towns and cities before, none of them had been pleasant experiences.

As he approached the checkpoint he slowed his pace to a casual walk, as to continue his original gait would probably have made the guards jumpy watching a Warmind coming their way with such purpose. One of the guards stepped into Loken's path and said,

"Halt! Warmind aye.. haven't seen you around here before, state your name and business for entering the city".

Loken came to a stop in front of the guard, "My name is Imperator Loken, my reasons for entering the city are for business purposes, and what I have heard of Zurbridge interests me... May I enter now?" he asked.

The guard shook his head and pointed towards a nearby table saying, "First I need you to put your weapons and anything else you have on you onto the table for inspection."

Loken dutifully complied, placing his assault rifle, pistols, and energy sword upon the table, along with the few pieces of junk and USB sticks he had with him. The guard began to look through the stuff and asked jokingly,

"Pack heavy aye?"

Loken merely nodded and watched to make sure the man didn't pocket any of his stuff, especially when the man paused at his inspection of Loken's junk and mumbled to himself, "hmmm USB's.. Koro would be interested in these.."

Immediately Loken asked, "Would this Koro be willing to pay for them?"

The organic finished his inspection and indicated that Loken could collect his stuff before answering Loken's question, "Oh yeah definitely, she loves the stuff, here, why don't I show ya were she lives on this map here," the man said, reaching into his coat pocket and withdrawing a map. After he laid it out on the table, the guard pointed out a warehouse district that the women lived in and told Loken the exact address, warning him not to cause any trouble. Loken thanked the organic and made his way in into the city.

hmmm the city does in fact seem to be quite the place of learning and technological engineering, Loken thought, watching the day to day going on's of the city's inhabitants. There were many retail and craft shops seeming to specialize in the selling and fabrication of tech, as well as more then a few organics wondering about with mountains of literature in their arms. Some of that stopped though as Loken got closer and closer to the warehouse district, the retail and residential buildings becoming slightly less appealing the closer he got to his destination. If he had been an organic he would probably started to become worried of being mugged.

Finally Loken reached his destination, an old looking warehouse that had seen better days. He walked up to the door and knocked, stood back, and awaited an answer.

PostPosted: Fri Jul 10, 2015 10:30 am
by Sonitusia
Koro had run out of energy around midnight, so she was startled to wake up when there was a knock on the door. "Keh... Yes, I'm coming..." She picked her self up, taking the hat off and yawning widely, something she had learned from the humans. I still can't understand why they do it, but it does feel nice to stretch my mouth's pistons... Grabbing her M1911 just in case, she peered outside the peek hole of her door, seeing a very big metallic man out front. He's not organic for sure.

She opened the door slightly, smiling rather awkwardly to the warmind, and said, "Hello, can I help you? I have to work in a couple hours..."

PostPosted: Fri Jul 10, 2015 12:02 pm
by The Krogan
Sonitusia wrote:Koro had run out of energy around midnight, so she was startled to wake up when there was a knock on the door. "Keh... Yes, I'm coming..." She picked her self up, taking the hat off and yawning widely, something she had learned from the humans. I still can't understand why they do it, but it does feel nice to stretch my mouth's pistons... Grabbing her M1911 just in case, she peered outside the peek hole of her door, seeing a very big metallic man out front. He's not organic for sure.

She opened the door slightly, smiling rather awkwardly to the warmind, and said, "Hello, can I help you? I have to work in a couple hours..."


Loken watched as the door opened, and a women peered through the crack and said
"Hello, can I help you? I have to work in a couple hours..."


Before Loken responded he decided to do a quick scan of the women and the door in case, finding very interesting results...

Scanning... ALERT: Metallic structure detected, non organic being present... possible Warmind

Hmmmm looks very much like an organic... No matter Loken thought to himself, having not seen another Warmind in a while now he was very curious, but knew enough know that some did not like it when he became nosy, and thus left the subject alone for now.

"Excuse me miss, but might your name be Koro? I was told you would be willing to trade or pay for some salvage I have," Loken asked.

PostPosted: Fri Jul 10, 2015 12:19 pm
by Sonitusia
"Salvage?" Koro opened the door a bit more, becoming intrigued. "What kind, and what's your offer of transaction?" She kept the M1911 holstered, but quick draw could end it for the warmind, though she didn't know just how fast he was. Most likely, it had already detected she had a pistol, so he would also be on its guard. Don't try anything cocky... I don't want to be late for work!

PostPosted: Fri Jul 10, 2015 12:27 pm
by Brusia
The Grand Temple of Magi, Uadas

Galen Jones was sitting at his desk inside his small office in the Grand Temple translating an ancient text he had recently recovered from a nearby ruin. He'd been working on this translation for several hours now, and while he usually enjoyed performing this kind of laid back work for awhile after a research expedition, this particular text bored him half to death. After he finished typing his translation of page 104, he stopped for a moment to lean back in his chair and yawn. As he did so, Magister Cornelius, his mentor and friend, just happened to be walking by and turned to enter Galen's office.

"You're not trying to work yourself to death in here again, are you?"

"No" Galen replied with a smile "Just trying to finish translating this text as quickly as possible."

"Maybe you should take a break, you look tired."

"I'm not tired" Galen replied while rubbing his eyes "Just bored. I think I'd rather shoot myself in the foot than translate another page of this stupid cookbook."

"It's a cookbook?" asked the Magister "What kind of cookbook?"

"I still don't even know. All the recipies require some sort of mystery meat, and I can't even translate the full title because the lower part of the cover has become too worn down to read."

"What was the title on the upper part of the cover?"

"To Serve Man. Exactly what it was they were trying to serve man however, I may never know."

"That's too bad" Cornelius replied, somewhat sarcastically "If I might make a recommendation, I think you should consider taking on another assignment for awhile. I'm sure we'll manage to get by without a translation of this cryptic ancient cookbook, and I'd rather not see you hopping down the hall with a bullet in one of your feet."

Galen chuckled and closed the cookbook "Thanks Cornelius, that sounds like a good idea to me. I'll check the assignment log now."

"Alright then" Cornelius replied while walking out of the office "And try not to work too hard. Don't forget that everyone needs a break once in awhile. Even you."

Before Galen could respond, Cornelius was already gone. Galen then looked back at his computer, saved his progress on the translation, and opened up the Order's assignment log, where tasks which the Order needed to have performed were posted. As he was doing so, a new message was suddenly posted on the log by one of the other Order members which read "Been seeing these posters up all over Thanedice, someone might want to look into this." Below the text was an image of a poster which read:

BY ORDER OF THE ARCH-REGENT OF THANEDICE

Any and all willing so-called "Adventurers", "Wasteland Wanderers", bounty hunters, and mercenaries are hereby to report to Troops located at the residence of Teglah.

Those that take this job will be involved in a long-term investigation and are expected to report to the Arch-Regent and his officials with anything worthwhile they discover.

The mission, which shall be explained in-detail at Teglah to those interested, is considered of utmost importance and as such the payment shall be high. The reward shall be given after completion of the mission.


"Hmm" Galen thought "The poster does say this is of the utmost importance, and my operational budget is starting to run a little low...Eh, why not?"

Galen then typed a short reply to the message saying "I'll look into this right away. -Magus Galen Jones"

With that, he printed off a copy of the poster, then left his office and headed past one of the vast libraries in the Grand Temple to the armory. Once there, he put on his armor, grabbed his weapons and equipment, and activated his research AI. Once activated, the AI's little light turned on and it hovered into the air near Galen.

"Greetings master!" it stated "Do we have another assignment already?"

"We do" Galen replied "From the Arch-Regent no less."

"Interesting. Where are we headed?"

"To Teglah."

"Understood. I'll follow your lead..."




Teglah, Uadas

When Galen arrived at what little was left of Teglah, he showed one of the soldiers the copy of the poster he had printed out and the soldier pointed him in the direction of one Colonel Hundy. Galen thanked the soldier, then headed through the ruins of the town towards the Colonel.

"Good Heavens..." he said quietly as he walked through the ruins

"What do you think happened here?" his AI asked

"I don't know" Galen replied "But that peculiar stench seems...familiar somehow. This might be Aether related, but whatever the case, I intend to find out."

Galen then approached the Colonel

"Excuse me, Colonel Hundy? I'm Galen Jones from the Order of Magi" he then handed his print out of the poster to the Colonel "I'm here about this 'investigation...'"

PostPosted: Fri Jul 10, 2015 12:29 pm
by The Krogan
She is very cautious this one... smart, Loken thought before answering her.

"I have several USB's that the guards at the city entrance said you would be interested in, I have not had the time to look through them though... I would prefer to be paid in currency if that's possible Miss Koro."

Loken opened one of his storage compartments and withdrew the bag he had put the salvage in, offering it towards Koro for her to look through.

PostPosted: Fri Jul 10, 2015 12:54 pm
by Saleon
Anton's Rental Hoverbikes

"Anton!" shouted Asha

"Asha! What you doing back in Thanedice!"

"Bit if maintenance, turn in a bounty, here and there," She paused gave him a friendly hug and then changed the subject, "hey, you have a buddy close to the Regent, right? what's up with Teglah?"

Anton's face turned scarce. "nothing, nobody not a soul in Teglah. One day theto are here, now, ghost town. Word is it has to do with the Aether. word had been that they were planning a revolt, but now, there is not a word to be had."

"you'd kidding!"

"wish I was," he paused once more before continuing, "look, just be careful. Nothing about this job seems easy." Despite his pleading, she decided to go, rather no amount of pleading would have changed that. Anton prepared to hover bikes and plotted the course. "hey Rhino? Keep her safe."

They both departed from Anton's rental hoverbikes. Anton kept solace in thefact that those two... are probably the best for this kind of stuff.


Teglah

They slowed the hoverbikes to a stop and dismounted. The bikes seemed to respond to the dismount. A red light activated, 'You have reached your location. Thank you for your business. Returning to store.'

Red Rhino seemed to react to the environment, making an audible grunt. He felt easily unsettled. This was what happens when one messes with the Aether, and it never was good. Asha waved it off and moved on. Rather she knew that it was already pretty bad, the truth of the matter was that they weren't going for a spa. it was going to be a rough day.

A soldier welcomed her, and lead her to the colonel. While waiting she also read up about the 'witness testimony.' She then asked, "so, um, what the ****, are ghost riders in the sky?" Red Rhino looked just as confused. He searched his records, but nothing close could be found. He refined his search, broadened his search. The only conclusion he could make was that the man was... malfunctioning.

PostPosted: Fri Jul 10, 2015 1:19 pm
by Sonitusia
Koro's eyes lightened up when she saw the pile of USB sticks inside the little bag. The data! There must be plenty in there! She quickly calculated the price of an average punch of ancient memory, and said, "I'll take all of these for 160 credits a piece, how's that?" Koro had all the funding she needed, as she rarely used it for anything, considering she only used it to replenish ammo and replace her rechargeable battery pack once in awhile. She glanced at her wrist for a moment, checking the battery's status. I changed it a week ago, of course it's still in 98% condition...

PostPosted: Fri Jul 10, 2015 2:20 pm
by Brusia
Teglah, Uadas

"About damn time one of you Warlocks showed up" replied the Colonel, who then tossed a datapad to Galen "One of the Arch-Regent's Warlocks collected this data. Maybe you can make some sense out of it."

Galen looked over the data, becoming increasingly more wide-eyed as he continued reading.

"Dear God" he said, without even thinking "These Aetheric energy readings are off the charts, I've never seen anything even close to this..." he looked up from the datapad at the Colonel "Were there any survivors?"

"One" Colonel Hundy replied "Not sure you should talk to him right now though, I'm afraid he's in his screaming mode at the moment. When he does speak, all he talks about is ghosts in the sky with their hair and eyes on fire, if that means anything to you."

Galen shook his head "I'm afraid it doesn't. If you'll excuse me for a second, I'll try contacting my Order. Maybe someone there will know something about this. Oh, and do you mind if I download a copy of this data?"

"Go nuts"

"Thanks" replied Galen, who then walked a few paces away.

"Dinklebot, download a copy of the data on this datapad and send it to Magister Cornelius with the following message attached: "Cornelius, I'm participating in an investigation in Teglah. The whole town was destroyed by an unknown entity or entities, and one of the Arch-Regent's Warlocks managed to collect the data attached to this message. The Aetheric energy readings contained within are unlike anything I've ever seen, and I was hoping you or someone else in the Order might be able to shed some light on this data. Also, the town's sole survivor reported something about 'ghosts in the sky with their hair and eyes on fire.' Apparently the man is mentally unsound, so it might just be some sort of crazed raving, but I thought someone should look into it just in case. Please contact me as soon as you have any information. Galen out."

"Message sent, master."

"Very good" Galen replied, then started walking back towards the Colonel. "Here's your datapad back, hopefully I'll have more intel on whatever happened here soon."

"Good" replied the Colonel, while stomping out his cigar "Feel free to stay the night here if you want. You might want to talk to the Nisse woman over there while you're here. She's investigating whatever the hell happened here too."

"Thanks Colonel, I'll do that." Galen then walked over to the Nisse woman, who appeared to be watching the sunset.

"Sorry to bother you" Galen said to the woman "I'm Galen Jones from the Order of Magi; Colonel Hundy suggested I speak with you. I understand you're investigating what happened here as well?"

PostPosted: Fri Jul 10, 2015 6:53 pm
by The Krogan
Sonitusia wrote:Koro's eyes lightened up when she saw the pile of USB sticks inside the little bag. The data! There must be plenty in there! She quickly calculated the price of an average punch of ancient memory, and said, "I'll take all of these for 160 credits a piece, how's that?" Koro had all the funding she needed, as she rarely used it for anything, considering she only used it to replenish ammo and replace her rechargeable battery pack once in awhile. She glanced at her wrist for a moment, checking the battery's status. I changed it a week ago, of course it's still in 98% condition...


Loken did his own calculation as well, and found that she was spot on with the price, At least you can always trust a fellow Warmind not to rip you off, he thought. Then he thought of something, since she was a Warmind she might know someone in the area that may be able to help him with his memory core problem.

"160 credits is great, as long as I'm not taking from your maintenance costs or anything... And by the way miss, I was wondering if you might know of anyone in the area with expertise in Warmind information and memory core processing? My own are experiencing problems and my software scanner can't seem to pinpoint the problem" He asked.

Hopefully she knows of someone, otherwise he'd have to search the whole city himself just to make sure, and that would be a waste of time if the search proves fruitless... Though he had promised those organics that he would wait for them though.

PostPosted: Fri Jul 10, 2015 7:06 pm
by Sonitusia
Koro took out the cash, mumbling slowly in reply. "Expertise... Warmind..." She began to count the exact amount of credits. "Memory core... Help..." She handed the credits after counting them precisely, the other hand also out to receive the USBs. "Yes, I know exactly where. Because I work for the fellow." Since she had let go of the door, it revealed that she was only wearing her undergarments. Sure, it may not faze most warminds, but a straggling organic might be stunned to see her in this form.

PostPosted: Fri Jul 10, 2015 7:25 pm
by Ameriganastan
"Slow down! Slow down I said! You disobedient bucket of bolts!"

Up the road from Teglah, Bessie and Bhaltair stormed towards the gate.

"Get out of the way! The accelerator is stuck and the brakes don't work when the accelerator is stuck!"

Fruitlessly whacking the control panel with Delilah, the front left wheel hit a large rock.

"...Hey, I'm flying!"

Technically, he was. More accurately, he'd been flung from the driver seat when it hit the rock. He flew about 50 feet before his momentum ran out. He wound up bouncing the rest of the way until he skidded to a stop at the entrance.

"...I hear you fellas are looking for bounty hunters?"

PostPosted: Sat Jul 11, 2015 4:27 am
by The Armed Republic of Dutch Coolness
Ruins of Teglah, Uadas
Meravynn


Meravynn turned her head as she was approached by a man, one Galen Jones of the Order of Magi. A Warlock, then. Perhaps he could make some more sense out of that data? The Nisse nodded. "Correct. I'm Meravynn. Used to me somewhat of a famous gladiator in Thanedice years ago. But yeah, I'm here for the bounty. Looks like you are, too. So..." Meravynn turned around fully, rubbing her hands together. "You've been shown everything? What do you make out those numbers to be? I'd assume you can do more with them than I can, seeing as you're a Warlock of the Order of Magi.

The Nisse looked up, surprised, as she heard a lot of loud noises coming from the road to Teglah. She saw a small figure, probably an Unbroken (ugh), being flung out of the seat of whatever the thing he was driving would be called, bouncing towards the ruined town's entrance. She looked back towards Galen. "I don't think he's one of the Arch-Regent's men. Looks like we won't be the only ones investigating this whole thing."