Of Steam and Steel: IC (Mature) {Currently Open}

[techmaster-glitch]

Outside the Aelisium Town

   After the brothers had given their information to the guard, an officer showed up, telling the guard to hold off. She then said that they did indeed have a job for them, and passed up a folder containing the details to Gaakronacht in the main pilot's seat.
   The brothers, on their part, were actually staring. Even their jaws hung open at the sight of Lieutenant Taige. However, if she looked closely and did not immediatley brush off their gaze as completely insensitive at seeing someone in such a condition and looked closer, she would notice that their expressions were not of shock and fear, but...wonder and awe?
   In unision, the brothers suddenly blurted out, "Who made those parts for you?!", possibly damaging whatever "professonal" image that had been going for up till then.
   "Or...did you make them yourself?" Gaakronacht added. The brothers had heard of people with such clockwork prosthetics and of the engineers who made them around Aelisium, but they had never seen any such thing in person. It was always a story or "friend of a friend". But seeing them here, in person, for the first time...
   But, that wasn't urgent at the moment. Gezzemocht suddenly spoke up from the secondary cockpit. "Er, my apologies, Lieutenant. Forget our inquiries for the moment, I suppose questions like that can wait. You did say you'd be our liason, right? I'm sure we'll have much better opportunities to converse in depth..." Gezzemocht spoke in a friendly voice that masked undercurrents of excitement, and his smile back to the Lieutenant was genuine.
   Gaakronact piped up again. "I got a better question; can you open the gate and show us where we'll be lodging before we get started on our patrol? We can also discuss precise details while we're at it." Gaakronact flipped through the folder, looking at times, patrol routs, local information, and other things. This was far more organized than any assignment other towns had given them, it was almost good to be back with fellow military. Gaak tossed the folder to Gezz in the rear cockpit as both sat back down, ready to move the mech to wherever it needed to go.

[Noone]

Kyirri looked up to Mr. Arklan with a blank stare. He knew better than to think that his boss genuinely cared about him. He could have easily found another assistant if Kyirri dared to make any demands of him. People were expendable in the slums, if one poor beggar off the streets stopped being useful, one could always find another.

"Cut the fake sentimentality." He stated blankly, as he glanced towards the slip of paper and bag, then back to Arklan, summarizing that the bag and paper weren't for him. I wonder what he intends by giving me twice my normal pay though... he knows I'm on no position to demand a better salary, and that I'm completely expendable to him beyond how I can give service. Plus, his wording makes me think he wants me to do something dangerous. It's not like most of the deliveries I give are safe, all of his previous assistants met rather gruesome ends, and I've had a few close calls myself. Still... I should get more details. After a moment's pause, he asked a simple query.
"What did you want me to do?"

[Kafzeil]

Lucy unlocked her door, slammed it shut as she ran over to her wardrobe, quickly switching out of her bloodied clothes, leaving them in the hamper, her brain not really clicking she'll likely never use that hamper ever again.

Grabbing a towel from her bathroom, she wiped down her gash in her chest, and  as she she redressed, she wrapped the towel around her chest and began to dress, hoping the towel would act as a banage, at least preventing any more blood from staining her fresh clothes in case more seeped out while she moved.

She carefully but quicklycollected her equipment, looking at the knife. It glinted at her, as if grinning a sadistic grin. The blade would at least be useful if she got in a fight...

Lucy began scrawling a note to her mother as quickly as she could, her heart heavy for the first time that day. the reality of her condition was starting to ht her. Either way, she'd never see her family again most likely. Her brothers had felt the region, and her mother was all alone now. If this note didn't reach her, then her mother would likely merely be told she was dead.

She felt like crying now.  Her hand clenched into a fist, as she let out an anguished scream as she punched the wall. This wasn't fair. She couldn't even cry now.

Her eye caught the clock. Her time was up. She could hide here-

"Miss Alighieri?"An assertive, firm male voice called. It was her landlord, Mr. Tenpenny. He had likely just gotten back from worship, and he sounded kind of pissed.Of all the days to be late for the rent...

[Tipod]

Bart snorted loudly, looking between the wreckage, airship, and down the tracks. It was so tempting to just leave before the authorities showed up to gather and question everyone, but--

...Weeelll, shit.

A scream from one of the burning cars kept him rooted. Most of the other passengers, beings especially, were trying to get away; where did that leave the survivors pinned underneath heavy luggage or KO'd by the impact? In deep trouble, that's where. And what was a naturally flame-resistant Creature to do?

Grumbling, Bart approached one of the cars and grabbed its door, ripping and tearing it off the hinges before slipping inside. "Anyone here? Scream or get left behind, your choice!" At least the interior was nice and smoky, just the way his dark lungs liked it.

[SpottedKitty]

Zelah had barely taken a couple of steps from the cabin door when his ears perked at a sudden noise and a torrent of emotion smashed down on him, apparently from the deck above. He snarled and staggered against the wall. Something had gone badly wrong on the airship, and the sour "taste" of most of the mental barrage wasn't a good sign. It reminded him of at least one fight she'd been in during her time in the Aeliseian army. Just in case... the 'Cubi ducked quickly back into his cabin, grabbed his weapons — plus the fully loaded spare stripper clips for his pistol — from his bag, made sure his chain-blade was fully wound up, and stuffed them into various pockets he'd added to his jacket for this purpose.

He left the bag behind as he rushed back out and along the corridor that led up on deck. The sudden roaring noise from far above was horribly suggestive of disaster. Footsteps echoed from various directions as he put his hand into the pocket that hid his pistol and reached for the final door that led up and outside. A bulge under the back of his jacket wriggled along his left sleeve as far as his wrist. If it was an attack, anything hostile on the other side of the door would get a sharpened wing-tentacle tip in the gizzard if it was close enough, a bullet if it wasn't.

[Ashen Star]

The question of her prosthetics always came up.  Sometimes it was just staring.  Sometimes it came as nervous questions.  Rarely was it so direct.  Her initial reaction was to scowl, the clockwork eye whirring faster in its socket before she checked herself.  Anger wasn't helpful in situations like this.  "No, I didn't.  Don't ask me who did, how, or where.  I don't know."  She remembered though.  Every time she thought she might forget it always came back.

Her ears swiveled forward at their tone.  She was used to detachment.  She was superior to soldiers under her command, expected to order them to die.  Inferior to her officers, who used her to delegate their commands.  It created familiar barriers she was used to.  Soldiers knew better than to ask her unpleasant questions.  Officers didn't need to.

She lifted her forearm and pushed back a plate in her wrist to look at the clock.  With all the gears inside her it was an obvious addition.  "The captain wishes us to depart as soon as possible.  There are reports of deserters hiding out in the western scrublands, raiding farms and food stores.  I'd like to catch them before news of your arrival reaches them and they're on the lookout."

However her nose sniffed a moment before she sighed and shook her head.  "All right.  We can delay a hour.  Give you two a chance to stretch your legs and catch a meal.  If you need anything delivered to your quarters, leave it with the gate guard.  He'll have it transported for when we return."  She said as she walked around the steel arachnid.  Being infantry, she had only a rudimentary understanding of such vehicles.  "Where do I put my weapon?"

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Whittington-Smythe listened attentively, and openly, to the proposal from Countess West-Hollow. He did not, however, make any move to accept the letter immediately - he was far too worldly-wise to do that. Besides, her reputation preceded her. He appreciated the effort she had gone to, as well, with her dress. It just failed to have any effect on him - after all, he'd had years of people trying this to get information out of him on the various projects he'd worked on.

He raised one eyebrow, and then reached for the letter, declaiming "This does not constitute acceptance, yet, of your offer. Neither am I declining it out of hand." His fingers gently closed on the letter, and pulled it from hers.

He got up, sauntered over to the desk, and daintily selected a paper knife from the organised drawer, turned the letter over and opened it, returning the knife to the drawer, before extracting the folded parchment, placing the envelope on the desk, and looked it over.

He paused, glanced up at the Countess, and indicated the paper with a wave of his other hand. "Were you privy to the contents of this?"

She nodded, and he went back to reading it. The official seal in the top corner was familiar, but the overlaid pattern indicating the diplomatic branch of the government was not one he'd seen very often before. The Department of Defence, sure, all the time, but not the Office of Foreign Relations.

... officially request that you join the diplomatic party on their journey to the city of Wolksheem. While there, you are requested and required to render all assistance to both the diplomatic envoys, and, should the occasion arise and the opportunity develop, and, in the opinion of the envoys or yourself,  the likelyhood it would improve diplomatic relations between the countries, to both the city of Wolksheem and the country of Voethfel.

After that, some details of where he should go, and with who. And at the bottom, something that - briefly - raised both of his eyebrows in surprise:
Should you accept this charge, know that you will have the grateful, personal thanks of your sovereign.

He folded the parchment carefully, and looked up at the vixen seated on the armchair in his office. "I presume the length of the assignment is indeterminate, and that the arrangements have been made to cater for my students and responsibilities at the Academy?" His tone almost made it a statement. At her nod, he nodded back, reflectively.

"In that case, I believe that I will be honoured to accept the charge you carry. If you will give me a minute or two to pack, I would be pleased to accompany you back to your ship. Unless you'd prefer we travelled separately?"

At her smile, he bowed a half-bow from the hip, slid the folded parchment into a pocket, and turned to open a closet and withdraw his suit jacket, flipping it out and putting it on, then opened various drawers on the desk, and selecting various small items, putting them in the pockets of his waistcoat, jacket, trousers, and shirt; nothing that upset the line of his suit, of course, but a surprisingly large number of items could be stored in the various deep pockets, without looking at all scruffy.

In merely a minute or so, he was ready to travel. He selected a great-coat, since airship travel tended to coldness, if one wasn't careful; and, of course, the Academy was sheltered from the prevailing winds; and hooked that over one arm, before presenting his other, with a smile, to the Countess.

"Shall we proceed, Aleyna?"

[WhiteFox]

Gabriel finally found Walsh. Its crate was intact, but on it's side.

After dragging the steam-powered bike out of it's box and apart from the rubble, he started checking it over for damage. The boiler, firebox, and  fuel tanks were fine. Checking over the Walschaerts valve gear that gave the bike its name took a little more attention. The motorcycle looked massive with Gabriel standing next to it, but it was actually not more then two meters long. Gabriel constantly darted looks at the people around him, and reached for Holland once or twice, but no one seemed to pay any mind to the tinkering, four foot tall, young, rodent.

After going through a quick tuneup, and making sure the gear was on "All Stop," Gabriel lit it up.

Not only did the firebox blaze up, oil fuelling into six burners, but a set of enchantments flash heated the boiler to jump start the process. In scant seconds, steam pressure had built up. Once Gabriel took the bike out of park, the force would course through a myriad of brass tubes, powering each of Walshes three engines in turn, to the pipes that passed through the water pre-heating tank, and finally out the ornamented exhaust pipe. A second exhaust on the opposite side blew  out smoke from the firebox.

Gabriel was rather proud of the bike, having to hand assemble it from spare parts and scrap-metal. It was designed to be as long range and efficient as possible. The triple-expansion engines made full use of the steam pressure that fed them, and the co-genertation exhaust manifold recycled any "waste" heat, steam and smoke, to pre-heat water as it passed from the storage tank to the boiler. There was even a system of enchantments that would draw thermal energy from the firebox to fully re-energize the flash-heating crystals after fifteen minutes of burn. Really, the most expensive element was the oil, but a tank of oil went a lot farther then a scoop of coal.

Besides, Gabriel thought as he looked over the gauges and dials on the dash, How am I supposed to shovel coal while I'm sitting on a bike?

White steam and black smoke vented out the dual exhaust pipes, but Gabriel paused before pushing the hand lever from "All Stop" to "Dead Slow." Traveling with a stranger was risky, but traveling alone was outright dangerous. He glanced around to see if anyone else was setting up to head out.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Adelaide accepted the letter from the messenger, then with a jerk of her head directed him towards the kitchen. He could find a warm seat and get an invigorating drink from the cook. If he passed out it might delay her getting out of this dead end town.

She slit the envelope open with one claw as she walked back to her quarters. Adelaide only gave it a quick glance; she had the official transfer letter memorized. Funny thing was she didn't remember anyone getting mad at her recently, or rather unusually mad. She was also surprised to see that her new assignment was the hospital in Sebatos. That was a large city, almost the opposite of her current posting. She shrugged and tucked the letter into one of the many pouches on her belt. The masters of the order didn't use any sort of logic she could discern in her transfers.

At least she had packing down to an art form. When you moved at least once a year you tended not to collect much extra.

[Gabi]

(OOC: I have visitors at home until Sunday, I'm afraid keeping up is going to be a problem. I'll try to make a quick post while my mum talks to Adi right behind me. Apologies in advance for the inevitably low quality.)

"What's going on?" Anabelle wondered as she walked out the door to see what the noises were.

A small crowd had gathering. Everyone was talking in whispers. Then she saw him.

She stepped back for a moment. She'd seen a few Demons before. She'd never spent enough time in their company to get to know them well, but she'd heard many stories about them. Some of them were scary - mostly tales passed on by oral tradition, probably with little truth behind them - while others were only mildly disturbing. All of them agreed on one thing, however: demons were incredibly resilient. What could possibly hurt one like that? Unless he was only part demon... it was a possibility, but even if that was the case he appeared to be quite strong. Yet someone or something had managed to fill him with holes.

Anabelle felt a tinge of fear when she thought that whatever had done it could still be around. She looked as far as she could see, but found nothing unusual - other than the Demon and the scared yet curious crowd. She found herself walking towards the Demon, compassion and curiosity outweighing her fear. People made way for her as she got closer to him. A few watched in silence, while others kept whispering.

She kneeled down to examine him. He was a feline, with long, dark hair and leathery wings, which had been perforated in many places and were dripping blood. His fur and clothes (uniform?) were also blood-stained. But he was still alive. Then she noticed the weapon, and concluded he was probably some kind of soldier. Which meant he was trained to fight. And still...

She looked in the direction of the gate once more, but found nothing.

"Did anyone see anything?" she asked out loud, but she got no useful answers.

She wondered what to do next. For some reason the attack she was fearing wasn't coming, which meant the attacker was either gone, incapacitated, or biding his/her/its time. She thought of using magic to detect it, but didn't know what to look for. And if it was that good at attacking and disappearing, it would probably be able to hide from her magic too. There wasn't much she could do on that front.

There was, however, something else she could do. In the middle of such a strange and worrying situation, only one thing was clear: someone was hurt. Annie didn't know who he was, nor what she wanted. She didn't know if he would attack her or others upon regaining consciousness, nor whether helping him would turn his attacker's attention against her. she didn't know what everyone else was thinking - oh, how she wished they could help her find the right course of action. But she couldn't leave him like that. If she let a stranger die knowing she could have helped, it would weigh on her conscience forever.

So she did the only thing she could think of: she carried him home as carefully as she could, and started to work on healing him. The general murmur became louder behind her back, but she knew it wasn't worth listening to: they didn't know anything more than she did. She'd work on quelling their doubts and catching up with the rumors the following day, if everything went well. She was aware that it was a big 'if'. At least she could use as much magic as she needed this time: Demons were highly magical Creatures, his body wouldn't resent it. She took his weapon and put it in a place she hoped was safe, took off the clothing items which were torn or stained, and then began the cleaning and healing process. Hopefully, he'd understand she was helping him. And maybe she'd get to learn what was going on once he woke up.

[Lisky]

Falling
Challam could see the ground rushing up to greet him, probably rather certain his shield would protect him.  He couldn't feel anything, no emotions, not the shielded mind that was quickly gaining on him.  The last thing he heard before things went dark was what sounded like glass shattering, a sound something akin to a hammer hitting solid wood, then burlap being ripped.  After that, his whole world seemed to disappear for a moment.
The smell of salt, the gentle sound of rolling waves and a faint wet spray greeted the incubus back into the world.  Something was radiating heat behind him, he could feel in on the back of his neck.  Voices were coming from in front of him.
Standing in front of him was an equine demoness, white fur, with a crimson and gold long-coat over tight, brown, leather pants and a black corset.  She was standing in a partial circle, comprised of mostly cheering and jeering beings along with a few demons.  Immediately next to him were 2 other survivors from the crash, he'd noticed them both when he'd been boarding the airship just outside SAIA's Voethfel gate.
The equine started circling.  A wolf being was standing with a small knife in his hand, the equine had a slightly longer dagger in her own grasp.  The being made a lunge, lightning quick, and Challam was almost certain it would hit.  Instead, the equine grabbed the wolf's arm just below the wrist and yanked him forward, her other hand flipped the knife into an underhand stance as the blade flickered across the wolf's gray fur.  A pink and crimson mist  erupted from behind the equine as she stood, in total calm.  She approached the 3 survivors.
She stood in front of them, blood across her face, and long vicious teeth glaring at the survivors in a bear-trap smile.  She said in an eerily calm and emotionless voice, "I am captain Kattia Nohklin, you three are all that remains of the vessel you were on.  however, we seem to have a little problem.  I only have room on my crew for one..."
Pausing to flip the dark steel blade around in her hand, a sadistic mirth stained her tone, "That's why, we're going to have... TRYOUTS!  Though, do make it quick, we're leaving shortly, and we wouldn't want to have to arbitrarily decide for you."  
The same bear trap gleamed at the survivors as she flicked the knife carelessly between them.  The blade wedged itself into the sand, hilt up, inviting any of them to take hold of it's finely crafted grip.

Burning Train

Seth could pick up several thoughts and emotions, a lot of fear and despair near the front, and a lot of confusion near the back.  Most of the confusion, however was mostly annoyance.  He could see the outline of a dark shape near the front car.  A shadowy shape in the smoke.  That car was smoldering, and just about ready to go aflame.  The next one back had 3 or 4 different sets of emotions.  Probably beings from the general feel of things.

The demon could see a figure in the far corner of the car.  A young, shaggy, mutt looking being, maybe 20.  He looked unconscious .  other than that, there were small bags littered everywhere, and a few obviously dead bodies.

As far as Gabe could tell, most people weren't actually looking for a ride.  In fact, most people were moving their own way, either towards the airship, or city. The ones he could catch were either heading back into the inferno or heading away.  The slow moving motor cycle drew the attention of a few rather gruff looking beings, but the sight of the large gun cradled in his arm made them reconsider anything so foolish as trying to steal the machine.

Muddy Road
The city grew more clear, though the road grew harder to travel by.  The rain had continued it's constant patter had neither ceased, nor grown harder.  The mud was growing slicker, though the towers grew to imposing figures as their peaks seemed to raise higher into the air.  The airship had started raising, and gaining altitude as it began making it's docking pass.
The city gates were growing close.  A mildly annoyed demon, looked to be an elk, stood guard at the main gate, a blackened dome over his head.  He gave Sikici a skeptical look as the angel approached.  Waving the tiger forward, the demon said in a calm, almost pleasant alto  " 'ello sir.  Do you wind statin' yer business?  And also, is there anything you're carrying that might be considered, eh, contraband?  if you answer yes to the latter, you can either dispose of it here, or try and hide it off in the wilderness..."  
The demon flashed a toothy smile, "Just playin' with ya.  Welcome to Yagsandras, and don't cause too many problems.  I'd recommend putting up a light shield though, boy... some of those roofs are giving off waterfalls."

Flamehaze

The city ahead was just a few miles east of the Voethfel border, and, in fact was a mere 10 minute flight from Yagsandras.  If a new crew couldn't be acquired here, the Voethfellian population always seems more than willing to go on adventures into 'less than upstanding' business ventures.  In fact, most sky-pirates were based in Voethfel for that very reason.
The City of Avendal quickly approached, several other sky-ships came into view, including a pair of heavy battle-cruisers, and a battleship... the battleship looked brand new too.   A few unusually large civilian ships were approaching, but really, nothing else in the skies caught Locke's attention.  Down below, a pair of dockworkers were using light-wands to guide Locke into the berth, located at the top of a 300 foot tower.  The center of the tower was a large elevator, which made it very easy to transport goods.
The towers had several advantages.  They kept the city-streets clear of air-ship bows.  They allowed for quick deployment of military vessels, and the biggest advantage was that they also had a sense of security.  One could plant a ward on their ship's elevator, and it would only allow specified magic signatures to use said elevator.  The town below had many shops, every type of essential supply and many luxury items free flowed into Avendel, as such, it was one of many trade hubs where, chances are, if you're looking for it, you can find it here... or in the city just across the river and border.

Airship (Zelah)
As he eased outside, the first thing he would notice was that the entire crew he'd met when boarding was dead, along with several wearing identical uniforms, but obviously far better armed then what she'd seen when she'd first come aboard.  There were a few creatures standing on the deck.  Black coats, gold trim.  And to the port side, a massive airship, bristling with guns, armor, and at least twice the size of the civilian ship Zelah was on.
Standing in the middle of the deck, almost directly in front of the cubi was a very tall demon.  His long-coat bore a great deal more gold embroidery.  Wings folded back and a massive revolver in his left hand.  In his right was the captain with which Zelah had purchased a bunk from for the duration of the trip.  The demon looked very angry.   The demon, an unnaturally bright silver, mixing with an unnaturally dark black, met in the middle with a crimson colored fur patches where, perhaps brown would be on a being of similar pattern.
Thoughts were coming through much clearer now.  Although the words exchanged between the two couldn't be heard over the rush of wind,  the lack of people made their thoughts come through very clearly,  The captain was thinking of nothing in particular, and radiating fear.  Then demon, however, was radiating anger, and judging by his lips, the words matched his thoughts.  ' I thought i told you, if i catch you operating your slaving ring in Wolkshammer airspace again, i'd gut your crew, and throw you off your own deck before burning this wreck to the ground.  Maybe i'll save you the humiliation you piece of pirate shit, and just end your life here, if you tell me where your new victims are, and tell them to come out, that it's safe and they're in no trouble at all, then perhaps we can make an arrangement. '
The demon carelessly tossed the captain to the deck, holstered the weapon, and grew his claws.

BIG OOC NOTE
I'll finish the rest of the posts tomorrow morning, apologies to all who i didn't get to, but sleep needs come before the game, this will be updated ASAP.

[Paladin Sheppard]

Paige gave the Cougar the brightest smile she could manage in her current state, "I call bullshite Vince, even when I'm as drunk as last night I'm still not that easy to get into bed." She patted his shoulder as she passed. "Nice try though."The wolfess followed him though the lockup to the out-processing where he left her to return to his post.

Waiting around for a few minutes she soon had her possessions back and buckled in place, and once set headed back towards the hanger her old band owned, she was hoping someone else would turn up but after nearly three weeks had just about given up. As she walked she remember the letter Vince gave her.

Opening it with a thin blade she had hidden in her hair, Paige began to read.

[Tapewolf]

Seth breathed a silent sigh of relief at the fact there were still living people in the train.  He felt annoyance and confusion at one end and fear at the other.  Since this was Creature territory it was a reasonable bet that anyone reasonably powerful would be able to save themselves.  The confused and angry people likely fell into that category.

Instead he made his way quickly to the front - people who were scared were almost certainly in more danger and thus a higher priority.  He opened his mouth to call out and promptly fell into a coughing fit - while he didn't need to breathe much, his body still had the protective reflexes of a regular Being and it took all his strength and discipline to recover.

The wolf revealed his backwings and morphing them into razor-sharp tentacles, began hacking into the door.  Once he was through he'd be able to slice open the carriage itself and provide some kind of escape route.  He began to prepare a low-level ice blast in case there were flames he needed to douse.

[Ghostwish]

Challam groaned softly, rubbing the back of his head as he picked himself up off the ground. He looked around, noting the fighting ring, and gritted his teeth in frustration. Now how in the hells did she manage to drop my shield that well? And my rifle's gone. Lovely. But then an idea occurred to him.. pirate loyalty was about as solid as water..

He grinned. Suddenly those classes in deception didn't seem so silly anymore, and he came to appreciate the value of playacting..

"And who would want to follow a two-bit demon like you?" He announced, crossing his arms. "I take a look at your crew and I see rusting weapons and desperate eyes. I suspect you're keeping nearly half the loot all for yourself, aren't you? Would explain the harried state of this crew, it would!" He continued, and then raised his voice higher for everyone to hear.

"If I led this group, I'd see to it that everyone got their fair share of the winnings, not just some dolt with a quick blade and a fancy hat. That way, everyone could obtain even better equipment, and a well-armed crew would mean bigger targets for all of us. And bigger targets means even more for everyone who's in. It's a cycle that builds upon itself in an endless climb of wealth. Not that you'd know anything about that, would you, 'captain'?"

"I mean honestly, Nokhlin, look at you. Hitting passenger liners? That's small game, demon. There are military transports everywhere during these troubled times. And thanks to demands on the front lines, they've often only got a single platoon to protect them and maybe a mech or two!" He said, and then flashed a big grin at the gathered crowd. "Think of it, gentlemen. Hit the transport, make off with her cargo AND her weapons, then keep what we need, and sell the rest to her enemies at, dare I make a funny, cut-throat profit. We'll be RICH!" He announced.

He had ignored the knife entirely, but his wings had slowly morphed into six long, whip-like tentacles, each complete with a head on the tip. They slowly moved around him in a semi-circle, encircling him like a living shield. "Or you could stay with this incompetent mare, and continue to have your rightfully earned profits swindled away." He said, and gave one last grin. "Your choice, gentlemen."

[techmaster-glitch]

Aelisium Town

  Both brothers were slightly surprised at the way Ashlynn's seeming irritation about mention of her prosthetics, though they had been rather abrupt. She went on to say exactly what they were patrolling for, which was good for direction, including the detail of it actually being important to leave as soon as possible. And apparently, being "liaison" actually meant she was going to accompany them, as she asked where to stow her weapon, which was somewhat unexpected, but not unwelcome.
  From the rear cockpit, Gezzemocht spoke up. "Oh, uh, hang on a sec..." He pushed some levers in his cockpit, then climbed down the side and went around to the rear of the mech, and opened up a side-hatch to the compartment where they kept their own possessions. After she put in everything she wanted, Gezz said "We're going to go park our mech for just a little bit while we catch a meal to-go, we can get going after that. If whatever bandits we're looking for being alterted to our arrival is a bad thing, then I agree that getting along as soon as possible is important. And don't worry, there's not really anything we have that's worth leaving behind or unpacking." Gezzemocht then pointed to some rungs bolted to the mech. "Hold onto those if you don't want to run to keep up on foot."
  Gezzemocht clambered back up the mech, but instead of going to the rear cockpit, he shimmied along the 'spine' of the mech until he was hanging next to Gaakronacht in the front cockpit as Gaak maneuvered the mech into the town.
  Gezz whispered to his brother. "Something's up."
  "Yep."
  "This is a military-occupied town and they're looking for outside help? Though not exactly a full regiment, the force they've got here isn't insignificant, even without heavy support. The raiders around here must be worse than we thought."
  "Yeah...something just doesn't feel right. It might just be that these 'deserters' managed to hijack some serious hardware, but then again...there could be something going on we don't know about."
  "Keep an eye out, let me know if you come up with anything else. And, uh...I'll get the food. Stay with Storm Scorp, keep the engine warm. We'll be leaving pretty quick, I guess."
  "Sure thing."
  The mech pulled up near the town square, and shuffled into the largest available space. Gezz jumped off, folder containing their "contract" in hand, and rounded back to Ashlynn. Looking at the nearby stores, he said "So, where do we go for some quick but decent-quality food?" He opened the folder and began examining its contents more thoroughly. "And what else can you tell us about the troubles you've been having?"
  Gezz then blinked. "Oh, right! You told us your name, Lieutenant, but we haven't introduced ourselves to you, just to that guard... You already know our last names, so I'm Gezzemocht, and that there's my brother, Gaakronacht." He said, pointing to his brother in the mech's main cockpit.
  "You can call us Gezz and Gaak!" Gaakronact called down.

[Azlan]

Locke slid out of the pilot's seat and retrieved his jacket from its hanger.  Pausing to consider his arms locker, the feline angel took only his 'dueling' pistol wand to accompany his saber.  He was careful to observe the rules of port with regards to his weapons, before striding off to the dock port, preferably before Flamehaze or one of the new maids decided to open it.

Egress from the ship was easy, and the dock crews of Avendel accommodated all types, with a large, wide and railed ramps and wide, clear berths for those who could glide or fly.  Awaiting at the bottom of the ramp was a smartly dressed badger being with a slight air of mendaciousness about him when he caught sight of Locke.

The angel removed his locket, causing his wings to issue forth from his back.  His jacket, being a special weave, had the appropriate spots once the enchantment was released.  The badger backed down slightly and scribbled something on his clipboard.

"Welcome to Avendel sir, the Flamehaze has been here before... you are?"  spoke the badger in a pleasant tone tinted with a smidgen of curiosity.

Locke's reply was offhanded and casual, after all there was nothing to hide about the ownership, "Locke, here are the papers and such.  I acquired her from the previous owner, amiably I might add, everything is in order from the 'Nyad registries."

The badger examined the paperwork, "I am Geoff.  Ah yes, everything appears in order, appropriate seals and magical marks.  Here you are, my lord, berthing fees and such will be handled when you are prepared to depart.  Here is the manifest of port charges, do you have anything to declare?"

Taking back his registry papers and the offered list of fees, Locke shook his head, "just what I have on me for arms, I have no cargo as I'm off mark."

They both entered the elevator down and during the descent, Geoff offered Locke a small marker.  "If you plan on warding the lift, you can include this staff marker... if not, any berthing services will only be handled with your permission.  There is an extra service charge for a private berth of course."

"Naturally."  Locke sighed as the door opened to ground level, "thank you for your attention Mister Geoff."

Bowing, the badger retired back towards the administrative area for the port authority, "thank you my lord, enjoy your time here."

A newcomer to this city, the lone cheetah angel felt small, but it was nice to be back to civilization.

[Ashen Star]

Ashlynn looked at them a moment.  Frowned in thought, then pointed.  "I'd recommend Aldele's if you can handle spicy.  She makes a vegetarian stew that should suit you.  If not, that corner market has a selection that should.  The contract has a three hundred credit chit.  Just show it to the owners and they'll send us the bill."  She folded her hands behind her back, "Don't go over the limit please.  Audits are fun only for the auditors."

As the one brother ran for provisions she sighed, standing besides the rungs.  Not at ease.  Not leaning.  She stood almost completely motionless.   However she did look at the other brother... not sure still which was which.  "Our problem is that we are away from the front, which means most of our force is sent northeast or east but far enough from the capital that individuals think they can leave, evade, and return home.  We have soldiers to secure the town from raids but not to dispatch armed patrols.  The result is we're stuck in here, they're out there, and they know we can't go after them."

Ashlynn let out a disgusted snort.  "Deserters are only the first possibility.  They could also be raiders looking to plunder vunerable assets or even soul slavers."  Hate dripped from her voice, "We've had difficulty with airships sneaking in and hiding in the badlands outside town.  They grab who they can and withdraw.  We don't think its military action.  The Anhks generally just level everything in cannon shot, occupies, and rebuilt to suit.  Might be a Nyad strike force too, but that's really stretching it.  Never know with them though." She said as she crossed her arms and shook her head.  "The only way to know for sure is to go out there when they're not expecting us and see.  So we hire irregulars.  If they're deserters, they get a chance at surrender.  If they're not then they get a ballistic trial."

She returned to that utterly neutral stance, without even a bit of stray movement.  "So what about you two?  How'd you get the equipment?  It doesn't look like a standard warmech and is much too advanced to be an Anhk refit."

[SpottedKitty]

There was a slight chance it might not have been one of Zelah's absolute worst ideas, but the suddenly revealed carnage and the significance of the thoughts he'd overheard from the hulking Demon had left him a little numb and not thinking clearly. "Hey, you, what're you doing with Captain Hake?" the 'Cubi shouted over the wind noise as he took a few steps forward. Just then his brain caught up with his muzzle, he made a startled what-the-hell-am-I-doing! "mew" noise like a frightened kitten, turned and bolted back towards the door.

Zelah's tactical advance to the rear would have carried him through the door if he'd noticed a gust of wind had caught it and nudged it shut while his back was turned. He hit the door snout-first with an almost comical grunt, and a sparkle of disrupted magic at the back of his head marked the spot where a pair of green batlike wings abruptly sprouted through his hair. The no longer disguised 'Cubi stood there for a few seconds, headwings jerkily sinking to half-mast, then he very slowly took his hand out of his jacket pocket, making it clear his fingers weren't holding a weapon, and had no intention of holding a weapon of any kind. He turned again to face the Demon, an anxious look on his face, ears and whiskers drooping, and his tail fluffed out from root to tip. He stared in horrified fascination at the huge claws the Demon's hands were growing.

[insidexml]

On the plus side, Sikici was getting where he needed to go. On the minus side, the road was getting muddier. If his clothes got wet, they could be dried; if his clothes got muddy, they could be washed. But washing his clothes would make them wet, and then they would have to dry, which was the situation that the angel had been trying to avoid in the first place. But Sikici was careful enough not to slosh around in the mud too much, and luckily did not get any of the liquid dirt upon his clothing. The airship he had been using for cover was rising to go to wherever it needed to go, which was fine, seeing as how Sikici had arrived at the city gates.

Ah yes, the city guard. A gate usually had a guard accompanying it, and Yagsandras had a city gate, therefore it made sense for there to be a guard. Sikici gave the guard his reply, in a monotone and with a rather emotionless face. "I wouldn't say business, so much the fact that I am going somewhere, and Yagsandras happens to be in between where I started from and that somewhere I am going. I supposed I could stop and browse the city for my amusement for a while. I wouldn't say I have anything that is contraband, although that's rather obvious. Would you tell anybody that you had something illegal in your possession?"

The angel cocked his head to a side. "If I did have contraband, I would certainly try to cause many problems. But I don't, so therefore I won't try to cause too many problems. And thank you for the advice regarding the light shields. I've heard that waterfalls are beautiful sights to behold, but I'll put one up regardless."

If nothing else happened (i.e. the guard threw him in jail because he thought Sikici was a lunatic), the angel would continue into the city, placing up a light shield so as not to suddenly find himself underneath a deluge of water. He wasn't quite sure where he was going to go now. Wandering around aimlessly in the hopes that something would happen seemed like a good idea.

[Lisky]

At the Job Boards

Several different jobs caught the feline's eye, an ad for some item in the wilderness, request for crewmen aboard both sea and air ships.  There was a request specifically for a water-mage of some kind in a southern province, perhaps a day's travel.  If nothing else, the pay was good on that one.

While his attention was transfixed on the boards, a female feline, black fur, with a white belly, and white paws.  She dressed in full adventuring garb, and looked to be in her mid 20s.  She strolled up next to Arroyo and began checking out the board as well.  She looked at the addresses, though, she occasionally stole a few glances at the golden furred boy while making her way down the many advertisements.

Cafe

As the two sat together getting their breakfast, the town continued on peacefully.  Various news and gossip could be overheard as the town went about another sleepy and seemingly uneventful day.  A lot of talk was focused around a recent train crash, but other than that, it seemed to be a whole lot of nothing.
A scantily clad succubus vixen walked by, flashing Stephan a wicked grin, and a wink.  She was not someone he recognized in the slightest, however, if he followed where she'd gone, he'd note that she had disappeared from view into a near-by library.

Aeliseium Apartment

"Lucy, is everything alright in there?  Do you have a visitor or something?  I thought i may have heard a scream."
The voice was followed by a knock, and probably the man pressing his ear to the door to listen for activity.  At that point Lucy seemed to have but 3 real options.  Jumping wasn't an option, too dangerous from that height.  She could, however, use the planters and window sills to scurry down the building.  Or up for that matter.  She could climb to the roofs, and make her way to relative safety over the crowds.  Or she could try and bluff her way down to the streets, and work her way to the gate that way.  She'd only have a few seconds to choose and act before the decision was made for her, however.

Sleepy Grove

Almost on cue, the outline of a chartered airship started settling into a standard landing pattern, that would put it just above the sanctuary's outer garden.  It grew closer by the minute.  A relatively small courier vessel, probably sent specifically to pick her up.  Not completely unheard of, but generally such luxuries were spent on those who'd earned the papering, not those who were being taught a lesson in humility.
The captain of the airship was a cross looking Scottish terrier, everything about the being said he was annoyed to be here, but, apparently he'd been paid just enough to compel him to not have the order come looking for their money.  He dropped a few lines down, finding a clearing only slightly larger than the small zeppelin.  The 3 man crew quickly slid down the ropes, running in the different directions, pulling the airship down to it's landing position.  The captain stepped out, onto the ground, finding Addy without much effort at all.  His weak attempts at politeness were obvious.  He didn't want to come out to this sleepy town,  and his gruff attitude towards Addy made that completely obvious, "Alright Ms. Montegu, i'm here to take you away... hopefully you've got everything packed, because you're leaving in 20 minutes or less... whether your stuff comes with you is all up to you, lass."

Book Store

The canine gave the roo-rat a gentle gaze, "Kyirri, there's a specific book i've managed to track down.  It's in the hands of a private collector, and he's very graciously agreed to sell the book.  It's going to be a 2 or 3 day trip however, and it's not the safest of routes.  Think of the double-pay as a sort of bonus for both doing me a great favor, and as a means of compensating you for the relative danger this trip will put you in.  You've been a good assistant, you're quiet, and unobtrusive, yet you do good work.  That, in and of itself is valuable.  So i hope you trust me when i say that i don't lightly send my assistants on jobs like this.  If it was really too dangerous, i'd hire a proper adventurer to go get it... As is, double pay, and you can keep the leftovers of the travel money.  Just  remember that it's 3 large gold, and 5 silver pieces for the book.  Everything else is yours for travel, food, and whatever else you might want or need."

Trinity Academy

The vixen grinned in a most un-countess-like way, a twinkle of the eye, and a toothy, overly-devious grin.  "Why Cyril, it's good to see that you've decided to add a little informality to our working relationship, which, i regret to inform you, will only go so far as getting you to Wolksheem... after  that, you'll have the rest of the diplomatic team to meet with and work on building relations with the Voethfellian population."
She paused to take a look around, "if that's everything you'll need then yes, let's get going.  I'm docked in slip 3"
She slid her arm around his, and headed towards the diplomatic airship waiting at the dock.  The trip would be a few hours to get to Wolksheem.

Airship Deck

Zelah would be rather surprised to find that after the captain had gone to cowering in the corner.  The large demon went from an impressive, imposing figure, to one of polite smiles, and even friendliness.   The demon came over to check on the horribly startled cubi, the long vicious claws had shrunk back into regular fingers, the massive revolver was sitting in a holster on the canine's hip.  A soft rolling tenor carried over the wind, "Hello, there!  I'm sorry our meeting had to be under such dire circumstances."

The demon extended a hand, and gave a friendly smile, "Baseel Wolkshammer, and you've got nothing to fear from
me or men, sir."

Police Station

As Paige read through the letter, the basic gist was an open invite to join the ducal heir for a little project he was working on, under his father's request.  If she was truly interested in joining him, she could find him at, depending on the time, a few specific sets of coordinates, one was the palace, a 15 minute walk from where she was.  However, that didn't happen until late this evening.  Earlier times were listed with map coordinates.
With the letter was a picture that seemed familiar yet she didn't recognize the male  german shepherd.  Clearly a demon, large horns and wings, blue eyes.  Everything about him seemed familiar, yet... as her memory of him was a daze.

Beach

The crew themselves were more amused by the boldness of the cubi, a few interested ears perked up, but all in all, it seemed amused sneer was the more prevalent expression.  The demoness snorted, " i do hope you're joking little cubi.  If you're really planning on challenging me, i suggest you try intimidating someone who didn't shatter that glass-globe you called a shield with a single kick."
Long vicious claws grew from her hand, a swirling, sparkling red powder seemed to rise from her hands.  "you question my tactics, and yet we made more from this little raid then the last 3 Aeliseian military transports we hit combined."  A very toothy grin on her face as she unsheathed the long blade strapped to her side.  It's long, jagged teeth looking more like they belonged in the mouth of a shark than on the edge of a sword.  She flicked a switch and the teeth began spinning with a soft hum.
"Have you ever fought against an Aeliseian chain-blade?  they're vicious little tools... take a bit of work to get use to, and prepared, but once they're up to speed, they'll cut through just about anything."
The demoness began stalking forwards, the large, single-edged sword in one hand, her other rested near her hip.  the grip of a pistol in plain view, though he couldn't tell by the grip, as it wasn't a design he'd seen before.

Avendel

The city seemed to reach out and take the angel in, it was a welcoming place at first, though clouds seemed to be rolling in from the east, unusual, though not unheard of this time of year.  High above the city, Airships came and went, delivering goods to and from the sprawling commerce center.  A couple of beggars were waiting in the corridor leading from the "docks" to the main city districts, trying to grab the attention of any captain they could find.
A wand salesman stopped the cheetah for a moment, trying draw his attention to the various specialty wands he sold.  A few looked of decent quality, though the actual enchantments were probably of dubious quality at best.  The shops district was the best place to go looking for something like that.
The town seemed mostly pleasant, if not a little busy at the moment.  The smell of freshly seared meat greeted the feline's nose as a restaruant opened it's doors for the lunch crowd.  A young looking chipmunk, perhaps in her mid 20s.  Down the street, a clothing vendor was advertising his enchanted robes, tunics and dress shirts, claiming them to be as strong as plate-mail, and as light as cotton.  Given the prices, he either wasn't joking... or didn't get too many repeat customers.

Train Crash

The door gave Seth little trouble as it was splintered then ripped away.  The survivors inside were all beings.  They were huddled on the floor, cowering.  As soon as the light came flooding in, and the smoke began leaving, they rushed for the hole, moving in a messy lump as they cleared the train.  The last being cleared the newly created doorway just as the smoldering in the car became a full blown inferno.  The entire wall burst into flames.  If there was anyone else in the car, they were clearly dead, or, were emitting no emotions at all, were exceedingly well hidden, and had a nigh-impossible mind shield... probably the former...

Aeliseium Town

A group of civilians seems to be trying to get a better look at whatever was going on.  Strangeness without hostility was always a welcome break from the monotony of village life, and so the collection of farmers and tradesmen began peeking out over the wall surrounding the city at the strange contraption before them.  It was clearly of Aeliseium design, too "fragile" looking to be insectis, and it -looked-  too complex to be within the grasp of creatures.  However, the civilians merely stood behind the skunk officer, and let her do the talking.  No sense causing trouble with something that was probably powerful enough to level the entire town in a matter of hours, if that...

[Tipod]

Bart sifted through the corpses and luggage fervently, several times tugging on a person's wrist only to have the flesh literally disintegrate into ashes. God, it would take hours for the smell of death and burnt hair to wash off. He was about to ditch the search effort and smash into the next car when he picked up the only living, uncharred figure in sight: the mutt. "Hey, you," Bart effortlessly lifted him by the shoulders and gave a rough shake, "Upsy-daisy."

A piece of loose timber dropped from above and clonked him on the head, reminding him that now wasn't the time to screw around. He tossed the limp being over his shoulder, easily barreling through and into the fresh air outside before tripping and dropping the canine like a ton of bricks. The poor guy was lucky Bart didn't break his neck in the process.

[Paladin Sheppard]

The Blonde succubus stared at the photo, hoping to figure out where she could possibly know his face from. Oh she knew he was the Duke's heir, and had seen his photograph in the papers a few times, but she had this feeling she'd met him in the flesh.

Then it hit her...Last night she was preeety sure she had given  him what amounted to a lapdance and propositioned him right after..."Oh godsdamnit" She said loud enough to turn a few heads, which just caused her to blush a nice fiery red. 'Damnit why'd he have to be cute' her inner monologue added.

Now that her headache had been blasted away by the realization she'd made a fool of herself with the possibly second most powerful man in the Duchy, she fairly sprinted back to the Hanger. Yes, she needed a job if that's what this demon was offering, but turning up in her current alcohol soaked jeans and t-shirt was not a good idea.

Stripping off once in the hanger she dumped her old clothes in a bin she had been using, she really needed to wash what was in there but so far he days had been getting up getting dressed in something resembling clean and then getting drunk as fast as possible.

Once in the shower Paige relaxed some, the hot water soaking her fur and getting the little kinks out of her muscles. Drying off with the aid of a minor spell she looked again at the letter, noting that she'd missed two of the times, once while checking out of the jail, and the other while cleaning up but still had time till the third. Fussing with her hair properly instead of just shaping into place she tied it into a pair of braided pigtails. Done with her hair she padded over to her closet and pulled out her flightsuit, mainly because it was the most presentable (and rugged thanks to a few minor spells). Dressing she belted on her swords and her thigh holster, then decided to grab the fur-lined jacket she wore in the cockpit to keep her warm.

Certain she didn't quite look as bad as she might have last night (and hopefully a bit more professional) she left the hanger and headed to meet the heir.

[Tapewolf]

Seth backed out of the flames quickly and watched the Beings escape.  Once they were out of immediate danger, Seth made his way back towards the far end of the train where the confusion and annoyance had come from.  While Creatures would have a better chance at survival he wasn't about to leave anyone who might need help.

[Tezkat]

Train Crash, Nhylamar

An insistent magical chime echoed in the back of his mind. Something had triggered the silent alarm ward he'd set on his vehicle. Rolling around in a derailed train car might have done that. So would a looter taking advantage of the chaos. Tezkat rubbed the bridge of his nose. How the hell could anyone call such annoying sensation a "silent" alarm, anyway? The spell's creator was clearly a sadist.

Ky continued buzzing around as a hummingbird. The tiny creature flitted up above the fallen train cars, surveying the devastation. Something on the other side of the car caught his attention.

"Hey. There's a little rat guy pulling a bike out of the baggage car."

"What?" Tezkat scowled and vaulted over the car.


A shadow descended over Gabriel. The dark form, silhouetted against the morning sun, dropped from above the adjacent train car. His leather coat fluttered around him, open to reveal a muscular, black furred chest. His hand rested on the silk-bound hilt of a sword. The rune-lined grip of a handgun poked out of a holster at his hip.

The panther sized up the young rat, sapphire eyes blazing and dishevelled blond hair matted with soot. His demeanour quickly softened. He didn't look much older than Gabriel--late teens at most. He stood up straight and adjusted his coat with a quick jerk on the lapels. His relaxed grin revealed a sharp, white fang.

"Nice ride, kid."


Tezkat strode past the young rider and hopped into the baggage car without waiting for a reply. He had his own ride to look after.

You might have mentioned that it wasn't my bike.

You didn't give me a chance!

The car was a mess. Luggage and supplies lay strewn all over the place. Ky swooped inside, circled a few times, and came to rest on an overturned wooden trunk. His form shifted upon landing. Now a sleek little black ferret, he dove into the clutter and sniffed around.

Tezkat found his crate in the corner of the car. The crash had smashed it open, but its contents seemed intact. He dispelled the wards with a wave of his hand and pulled away the covering to reveal a demonic contraption of black, purple, and gold.

The metal beast sat in the corner like a gargoyle, lifeless crystal eyes staring into space and wings folded against its sides. Tezkat ran his hand along the sleeping machine. A hiss of air announced the opening of an access panel over its heart--three concentric rings of gold engraved with arcane glyphs. He removed a shimmering crimson gemstone from his pocket and set it in the center of the rings.

At the touch of the soulstone, the machine flared to life. Crimson flames sparkled in its eyes. Arcane symbols crackled with eldrich light, and the three rings whirred into motion, each spinning on a different axis. The access panel swung shut and sealed. The bike purred softly.

Tezkat straddled the padded leather seat and took hold of the metal reins. "Come on, Ky. We're going."

The little ferret poked his head out of a pile of clothing. "I found you a shirt. It looks like your size."

Tezkat eased the bike forward, pushing debris and clutter out of his path. He leaned over and snatched the shirt from the pile. The previous owner had indeed been about his size--and surely had more pressing concerns at the moment than some missing articles of clothing. He rummaged around for a few other items and stashed them away.

Ky hopped onto the bike and scurried up the leather coat. His form shifted once again. He rode out of the baggage car wrapped comfortably around his master's head as a pair of brass goggles.

[Arroyo Milori]

Arroyo's eyes skimmed through the job board quickly. 'An item quests...redundant and boring. New crew mate needed on airship, as if I'm going back on a boat again after being out at sea for a long time...what's this?' He plucked the advertisement of help wanted from a water mage, very odd to him. A specific kind of person for a certain little quest. But the pay was hard to pass up.

He folded the advertisement and stuffed it in his pocket, just so no one could steal this job from him,then again who would be able to? He to ponder a bit, what about his boat? It would have taken a day's journey to get their by boat. It would seem quicker by train. He started to casually walk away from the job board, taking long strides towards the docks, thinking whether or not to go by sea or by train while thinking of the risks of each method of transportation. But while he was thinking about that, he reexamines the advertisement for his mission so he knows what exactly he's getting himself into.

[techmaster-glitch]

Aelisium Town

  It seemed that the mech's arrival hadn't escaped the attention of the townsfolk, though neither brother was bothered.
  At Ashlynn's information that their contract had some credit on it already, Gezzemocht smiled. "Actually, the credit now won't be necessary...we've still got some money from our previous jobs. In fact, when coming to a new town, I'll normally spend money getting parts and other things, and spending a day tuning up our mech before taking on the assignments, but I apparently don't have time for that this time as surprise is of the essence..."
  Gezzemocht then headed over to the market while Gaakronacht stayed in the mech's main cockpit, listening to Ashlynn describe the nature of the town's raider troubles. Gaakronacht absorbed the information intently, thinking on its potential implications.
  To Ashlynn's questions, Gaak responded, "Oh, Storm Scorp here? You're correct, it isn't a standard warmech, but it's not an Ahnk refit, either. We--well, mostly Gezz, but I and a team of engineers helped--actually built this thing ourselves, when we were in the military."
  Gaak made sure to meet Ashlynn's eyes after that. "No, we're not deserters, our service time expired legitimately, thank you. If fact, we would have stayed on if it weren't for the increase in raider activity along the fringes, and we figured we'd do more good out here than on the lines.
  "Anyway, as we told the gate-guard, we were in the 35th Mechanical Corps; I in the pilot and operator's division, Gezz in the engineer and developer's division. Gezz worked as the lead engineer on a lot of prototyping projects, while I often field-tested new experimental mechs. It always seemed that the stranger it was, the better I could handle it...anyway, Gezz finally got the go-ahead to work on a project of his own and, well, Storm Scorp was the result. He actually did draw some inspiration from some Ahnker configurations, he thought he could redesign them from an Aelisian standpoint, and well, he did. Best thing he's ever built, and the best thing I've ever piloted. We took the Scorp into several major battles together, and then our time finally expired. Go figure; due to all the other work Gezz had done, we were able to keep the Scorp when we left, though I think the Corps still has copies of most of the blueprints. I doubt they'll bother trying to reproduce the Storm Scorp though, it's too unusual to fit into a regular mech division."
  "That it is." Gezzemocht said, returning from the market. "Lunch!" He called up to Gaakronacht, tossing a small bag up. Gaak happily dug into the fresh fruits and other foodstuffs. "I actually rather miss working for the military, though." Gezz said, digging into his own food. "You'd be hard-pressed to find any better supply of high-quality materials, workshops, whole teams of lesser engineers, and the experience of superior engineers... Much of my best work, including the Storm Scorp of course, was done there. That quadrupedal design? You would not believe how complex it is. There have been other experiments with such radical designs, but they've only had limited success, and they weren't able to scale it down as much as I have. But, while in the military, I managed to get it working. I think I hope to return, but of course, they're always looking for the next bright spark, and it's likely they'll retain any new candidates longer than me, which means said candidates will have been kept up with the times, leaving me behind in the dust... oh well. What we're doing now is important."
  Gezzemocht looked up at the Storm Scorp. "Well, unless there's anything you need to do or collect, I suppose we should get going. Although...the Storm Scorp really was designed as a two-person mech, not three. I figure you don't have your own small transportation, otherwise you wouldn't have asked to store your weapons, so... I guess you can sit in the rear cockpit, I'll be up front with my brother. But if anything happens, I'll need you to disembark quickly so I can man the rear cockpit. Just don't touch anything while we're traveling, please. Especially the controls."
  Gezzemocht climbed up the side of the mech, eventually settling up in the front cockpit with his brother, and waited for Ashlynn to embark or go do anything else she needed to first.

[Noone]

Kyirri stared at Mr. Arklan silently, not sure what to make of his speech. He'd worked alongside him enough so that he probably knew about Kyirri's thoughts on apparent generosity. Always a trap, it is. He didn't even have to mention anything.

"A proper adventurer... kind of like the ones who would go back on their deals as soon as someone shines a few coins in their face." He said dryly. I suppose he could also add that I've never stolen from him to that list. Not that I could really blame anyone, since I get nearly killed once every week or so and I only get barely enough to feed myself. Double pay though... I expect that I'll have to spend most of it just getting to and from my destination intact, with little to nothing to spare. He shook his head, and began thinking about his assignment.

I'm picking something up instead of delivering it, and I'm carrying an unusually large amount of money for this assignment. That means I won't have anyone after me in particular for the first stretch, but I'll still have to watch out for being mugged. As for the return, I'll probably have someone coming for me, though I won't have as much money with me. Still, I should take two different routes, going the same way both ways will only make me an easy target...
"If it's a two or three day trip, then I take it I will be leaving the slums for a time. Where am I headed to?"
"Also..." he continued. "Is there any specific time-frame in which you want me to be back? I know you'd prefer as soon as possible but moving quickly is often risky."

[Azlan]

Avendel


Locke waved off the wand salesperson with a shake of his head, "not today I'm afraid, strictly business and all, no need for one right now."

The cheetah angel strode off with purpose and quickness before the wand merchant could formulate a new approach, and ducked into the restaurant.  The smell of seared meat was a little more than he was willing to bear, especially since he was rather hungry.

The maître d' greeted him at the front, "good day sir, one for lunch?"

He nodded to the young lady, who gathered a menu and gestured for Locke to follow, "this way sir."

The restaurant was not very busy yet, so a booth was easy to obtain and what he was seated at.  The menu was opened and presented, "the fish is especially good this time of year sir, and we have a fine selection of aged meats.  Your server will be with you shortly, enjoy your time with us sir."

Locke nodded his appreciation and perused the menu while awaiting the wait staff.  He ordered a fine lunch, but not extravagant and merely sparkling water, nothing distilled or fermented.  It was an excellent change to mechanical chefs and bulk food stores on Flamehaze.  Settling his bill, Locke left and headed deeper into the shops district, stopping to examine the wares at the clothing vendor selling enchanted wares.

"Pardon me, you would not happen to have a long coat with dimensional pockets by any chance?"  The angel inquired.

[SpottedKitty]

Zelah's anxiety reduced a little as the Demon approached, looking much less threatening now. An odd wriggling motion along his sleeve marked where his ready to strike tentacle pulled back and vanished into his body. He smiled politely, although calling his expression a smile might be generous. Despite Wolkshammer's words, the 'Cubi was still nervous and on edge. "Heh, you're right," he said, extending a hand himself, "hardly the best of introductions. I'm Zelah Marazanvose, late of Aeliseium. Very late, if I ever go back there and they get hold of me." He smiled wryly, and a little sadly, and flapped his right headwing.

Abruptly Zelah's whole attitude changed, his expression now one of disbelief, then anger, then a white-hot fury. "Wait, I though I'd heard you say... Hake was a slaver? He planned to sell me? And here, in Nhylamar, that means..." More than just the 'Cubi's face was showing his emotional turmoil; an odd wave of distortion, not really much like a normal 'Cubi shapeshift, washed over Zelah's body, its effects only obvious at head and hands, although the sudden bulge at the front of her jacket was a pretty strong clue as to what had just happened. She ignored the Demon for the moment and turned her head, snarling with a mixture of literally soul-deep fright and burning rage, towards the scruffy beagle huddling in a corner of the deck where he'd been dropped.

As Zelah charged towards the terrified captain, her hand dipped into her jacket pocket and this time took out her pistol, an Ailiseium army model with a distinctive wooden grip and a boxy magazine hanging underneath. A practiced thumb motion pushed the safety catch off and pulled the hammer back. She grabbed the beagle's hair in her free hand, and shoved the muzzle of her pistol under his throat. "Hake, you son of a bitch!" she screamed as her headwings flared out behind her ears, "you were going to sell my soul? After what I paid you for this trip? Give me my money back!"

[WhiteFox]

Train wreck, Nhylamar

Gabriel watched the other biker roll out. The rider's comment had nearly given him a heart attack.

He's thrice my size, loaded for bear, and riding a bike that looks it was forged in hellfire, he thought. On the other hand, he liked Walsh.

Gabriel slid Holland into a sheath just under the handlebar, and got Walsh moving.

Once he caught up with Mister Hell-on-Wheels, he cut back from Ahead, Full to Ahead, Standard.

"Hoy!" He shouted. "Not safe to go it alone, aye?" His voice was light, typical of a youth, but he was used to shouting over the din of engines. "Saftey in numbers, y'know? If ya have me along, I might be able to keep that bike of yours in full trim, too."

"The name's Gabriel!"