Reckoners RP: What Happened In Buffalo

[Aeternum]

“Sir, a worker is requesting an emergency audience with you. Said something about Sundew and plants?”

Not this again. Fish thinks he’s going to start throwing things at his secretary if he’s asked for an audience one more time today. And it’s about Sundew? That’s the last thing he wants to deal with, but he doesn’t have much of a choice – his city doesn’t run itself.

“Fine,” Fish sighs, waving to his secretary to let the worker into his office. He draws on his power, increasing his incorporeality. He's almost invisible at this point, except for his glowing yellow eyes, which serves as a great intimidation tactic. Plus, it keeps him safe, just in case this worker is actually an assassin sent by one of the many rival Epics vying for territory in this city. Not that there’s much concern for safety when almost all of his territory is spread out on a floating city about 3.5 kilometers off the shore of Lake Erie, with a tight security perimeter that hasn't let him down in a while. He’s still not really sure how almost half the city ended up out here, but it serves as a great base for someone who's more powerful the more water there is nearby.

The door opens again, and his secretary steps back in with the worker, who stares meekly at the ground.

“Uh, Fish, er, uh, sir,” The worker babbles. Fish doesn’t bother hiding how annoyed he is as he stares down at the worker. The worker clears their throat and continues. “I was walking down by the shore, and I, uh, I saw some plants, uh, I think they’re Sundew’s because they look different than, uh, normal. Sorry to bother you, sir.”

Well, that's inconvenient. Fish would rather not talk to that powerful plant Epic today (or ever again), but he can't just sit there and let Sundew break their agreement by putting her plants in his territory. He looks at his secretary. “Send this person away and send a messenger to Sundew. I’ll meet her at the closest dock in three hours.”

“Three hours?!” His secretary looks shocked. “Sir, that’s not enough time to get a message to Sundew! Last time we sent a messenger, they never came back!”

“Is that a problem?” Fish asks, irritated already. His secretary wisely doesn't respond. The recent increase in Epic activity in the mainland part of the city has had Fish on edge for days now, and he might just start killing people if they keep annoying him. “Find a way to get a message to Sundew, otherwise you can be the one who meets with her.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The new Reckoners RP! If you’re interested in joining, you can message here, in the sign-up thread!

Here is a list of current participants and their characters.

@Lord Spirit @TheFrugalWizard @TwinSouls @Lunamor @RoyalBeeMage @Aeoryi @Scars of Hathsin

[Lunamor]

Plastique strode forwards, brushing a lock of platinum blonde hair behind her ear with scarlet-nailed fingers adorned in gaudy rings. Her gait was rather stiff; her bright red shirt fit a bit too tightly and was matched by an equally uncomfortable pair of white pants. Looking around to make sure no one was watching, she readjusted her outfit, centering her necklace’s golden pendant on her chest. The large “sapphire” embedded in it sparkled even without bright lighting. 

Satisfied, she continued on with more relaxed strides, her silver platform heels clicking on the ground with each step. Several passersby were stopping and staring. She winked one of her icy blue eyes at a particularly agog man, who quickly looked down and resumed his shuffling. 

Plastique smirked at his reaction, then melted her ears. Holding her hands under the now amorphous blobs of flesh, she felt the tiny metallic clinks of many earrings landing on her palms. She stowed them in her sequined purse, reforming her ears and wearing large cuffs on them instead. She had to tuck her hair behind her ears again.

Her previous adornments had spelled out a rather naughty word on one ear, so the cuffs felt more professional. Her nose and lip piercings didn’t feel particularly professional either, but she decided to leave them in. She was Plastique, after all. No one could tell her what to wear.

She arrived at her destination, which she liked to call the Aquarium, and stepped inside. The clicking of her heels now sounded crisper on the smooth stone floor. She found the tanks of water embedded into the walls filled with fish rather gaudy, but had to respect the commitment to a style. This space was devoid of gawkers. Most already knew Plastique or were used to being around Epics. She planned to correct their reactions to her presence.

A man approached her and tried to ask her to stop, so she melted her face. He stumbled backwards a step. The guard had likely been trying to confirm that she wasn’t an intruder of some sort. She’d changed her looks a fair bit since her last visit, no longer auburn-haired and green-eyed, and some Epics were able to imitate others quite well. She figured that a demonstration of her powers was enough proof of identification. Indeed, the man let her continue by. She unmelted her face.

Her eyes itched, but she resisted the urge to rub them; that would mess up her makeup. She’d chosen a light blue eyeliner the same color as her eyes and had applied heavy eyeshadow. Her lips were a cherry red. She’d finally managed to stop her hair from brushing her face and getting stained with makeup.

Plastique walked up to Fish’s office door. She knocked on it loudly, then stood impatiently. She crossed her arms and straightened her shoulders. She then switched to leaning more on one leg and uncrossed her arms. She crossed her arms again. That felt like it finally looked suitably confident.

@Aeternum

Edited March 7 by Lunamor
Continuity

[TwinSouls]

Phalanx pulls up the collar of his trench coat. Sometimes, I really wish this thing wasn’t necessary. 

He walks into an alleyway where a man is waiting for him.

“you’re late.” The man says

“I couldn’t be seen. There are… elements in the city who would not like to see me in the ‘filth’” 

“Ah… I see. Well, tell me already.”

”Oh! Er…” Phalanx clears his throat, trying to maintain an air of uncomfortableness “ I recently learned of an epic causing trouble in the city. They appear to have ‘Plant related powers’, and have been making sundews appear along the banks.”

”I already knew that! Tell me more.”

”I’m afraid that’s all I know. Fish has kept it all rather quiet.”

”Hm…” the man snorts and turns away, walking away. Phalanx had never learned his name, but he knew that the man was influential.

Phalanx walks out of the mouth of the alley, and into the street.

”Hey John!” A Shop owner calls “Want a cuppa?”

”Not now, Dan. Maybe tomorrow.” 

“Ah well.” 

Phalanx couldn’t go about with people calling him Phalanx. After all, then everyone would treat him like the Epic he was.

Pretending to be an informant is hard. He thinks, I have to garble the information I get from the other Epics, and give that to them.

Phalanx heads out towards the nicer sections of the city, ditching his trench coat in another alley, and donning a fancy leather jacket.

He adopts an air much more befitting an Epic, and just barely creates a shield around him for visual effect. The people in this part of the city appear to live far more rich lives, Probably because they pleased some Epic. He doesn’t draw very much attention. Epics in this section are neither rare nor common

Edited March 7 by TwinSouls
Adding

[Scars of Hathsin]

Aries walks down the path of the floating city, a breeze flowing through the city, brought the smell of water and fish. By now he had gotten quite used to the smell. The regular mortals that blocked his way as he strolled along, quickly got out of his way...

Whether by choice or not. Some he had to launch slightly into the air, and move them. Which seemed to scare them.

Good 

He continues walking, going nowhere in particular. He did not need to be helping build anything today under Fish's orders, which he only found somewhat tolerable. But it also helped make the place look nicer, which was always a plus. He remembered the way it used to look and shuddered. As he continues walking he begins to see the bright blue water of the lake, enter his line of sight.

I wasn't aware I walked THAT far...

As reaches the end of the island he sits down, floating somewhat of course, couldn't get his clothes dirty or wet. Looking around, he notices the plants that were growing

"Sundew is back at it again"

He mutters, I should probably go see Fish about this. He says to himself.

[Lord Spirit]

Philip walked down the street, just an ordinary citizen trying to avoid epics and the trouble that followed. 

That’s what most people saw. Shakespeare was a master at acting and no suspected that the seemingly innocent pedestrian was one of the most important epics in the city. That was the point. He was headed toward the edge of the city where strange plants were encroaching on Fish’s territory to investigate why Sundew had decided to expand her domain. 

He knew better than to tell fish about the plants. He would find out from the other wannabe informants who copied everything they heard. Shakespeare would learn the important information. He was an important epic after all. 

Philip turned left and kept walking…

Edited March 7 by Lord Spirit

[Aeoryi]

The plants grew.

Of course plants grew! They thrived, lived, and flourished. But Sundew, one of the Fractured States' greatest plant epics, changed that. She made them live with a purpose. These plants grew to serve a purpose. The waterwheels existed to defend against unauthorized sea vehicles. The gas pods existed to counter other Epics' prime invincibilities. 

But as all plants grew from a seed, they need a place to be nurtured. They needed a place to develop and mature. They needed a caregiver to watch over them. Even if Sundew could instantly accelerate their growth, it didn't mean there wasn't benefits to letting them grow naturally.

Sundew knew she could take over the city if she wanted. But what use was that? Fish's water powers interacting strangely with her plants, and she had no real reason to expand her territory.

Sundew herself was an illusive fellow. She was scarcely seen, spoken of only under hushed tones, as if speaking to loudly about her would get them killed. She was regarded as a force, bringing the wrath of nature to the city of Buffalo, rather than an epic. Some even doubted that the plants came from an epic, but all knew there was no other explanation.

She had already implemented several vital hinge points of her other plans. Nearly all of the plants in and around the city were modified by her gift.

She whispered to her plants, and they whispered back. The city was a large supply of information, and her plants were able to harvest that. Her plants told her all about what she had missed, and how she was perceived.

Maybe she started her underwater expansion as a bit of a test toward the rowdy water epic who thought he owned more of the city than he did. Maybe it was so she could remind Fish of his place. Maybe it was part of a greater plan.

Just like plants, the truth would be revealed in time.

But for now, Sundew enjoyed her power.

Let him make the first move, Sundew thought, show him the power you have over him.

Edited March 7 by Aeoryi

[Aeternum]

Fish is actually going to kill someone. It’s been barely a minute since he sent his secretary away, and there’s already another knock at the door. If it’s his secretary again, someone WILL be dying today. And soon. Maybe that would help him relax before having to meet with Sundew.

He’s incorporeal enough to have to stand so that he doesn’t fall through his chair, so he takes a deep breath and walks over to the door and opens it angrily. “What do you want now–”

@Lunamor

-----------------------------------------

For his first day in this city, Parry is incredibly underwhelmed. After almost an hour of walking around, he hasn't seen very many people. A couple of the civilians he had asked told him that a powerful plant Epic ruled a nearby the area where he arrived at, so Parry has been making his way in the opposite direction. He thinks there is another Epic living here in this area, but Parry hasn’t seen any signs of an Epic yet. He decides that he will just keep walking in this direction for a while, and just see what he finds.

@Lord Spirit 

[Lunamor]

1 minute ago, Aeternum said:

Fish is actually going to kill someone. It’s been barely a minute since he sent his secretary away, and there’s already another knock at the door. If it’s his secretary again, someone WILL be dying today. And soon. Maybe that would help him relax before having to meet with Sundew.

He’s incorporeal enough to have to stand so that he doesn’t fall through his chair, so he takes a deep breath and walks over to the door and opens it angrily. “What do you want now–”

@Lunamor

Plastique raised an eyebrow. Fish was not in a pleasant mood today. She smirked slightly. It was always fun to see the higher-ups upset at someone- so long as that someone wasn’t herself, of course.

”I wanted to ask if you had any jobs available.”

She shifted her weight so that it was equally distributed between both of her feet again and leaned slightly forwards.

”But now I also want to ask who’s been bothering you.”

Plastique loved gossip. It was good for tearing rifts. Rifts left vacuums, and she constantly looked for the chance to fill them. Even if it was about someone entirely unimportant, she enjoyed hearing about their strife anyways.

[RoyalBeeMage]

ignis wallked through his home, his fortress, his sanctuary. he felt the warm built-in heaters warm his feet. he rubbed a hand across the hard black stone walls of the cave house. he entered his large industrial bakery and checked on his automated cookie production. smelling a cookie ignis siged and eat it. moving onwards to his planning room. around a round table there was 5 hooded and masked people. his generals. his protectors.

"has all copper been left behind?" ignis asks 

"all copper that has wound up in the fortress has been destroyed." one of his genarals replied.

"good. anti-epic cookie production?" ignis asked again

"none at all. we cant work out how to make most of the cookies." a different geranal replied.

"Any epics that want to join us? non-epics?"

"still looking."

@TwinSouls 

Quote

souls you want to join my faction?

 

Edited March 7 by RoyalBeeMage

[Lord Spirit]

6 hours ago, Aeternum said:

For his first day in this city, Parry is incredibly underwhelmed. After almost an hour of walking around, he hasn't seen very many people. A couple of the civilians he had asked told him that a powerful plant Epic ruled a nearby the area where he arrived at, so Parry has been making his way in the opposite direction. He thinks there is another Epic living here in this area, but Parry hasn’t seen any signs of an Epic yet. He decides that he will just keep walking in this direction for a while, and just see what he finds.

A new epic? Shakespeare thought as he saw the bored man walking nearby. He was good at identifying epics based the way they walked, the way they carried themselves with such confidence. Good information. But he still hasn’t found what he set out to do, so he kept going towards the plants to learn what secrets they held. 

[TheFrugalWizard]

Andrew Vinyl sat in the dark cellar of an old building in Buffalo. He waited patiently, tapping his pencil on the wooden tabletop. Tap tap. Tap tap. He waited for another hour or so before starting to worry. He tapped the pencil, which had made quite a mark on the table by now, a little faster. Tap tap tap. Tap tap tap. He stood up after sitting there for another ten minutes, waiting. 

His hand was on the door handle when it flew open. Andrew stumbled back, surprised. John stood there, a proud look on his face and - was that a corpse? He threw the corpse - for that was what it was - on the table. An exhausted looking Kira walked in behind him, slumping down in a chair.

"Calamity, John! What on earth is that?"

@Lord Spirit

Kira answered him. "Well, we were on our way back from Diamond's when John here spotted this guy."

"Please tell me he's an epic."

"Yeah. He's a minor illusionist who was robbing a guy when we found him."

Andrew rubbed his temples. "You guys can't do that!"

"Well. We did."

[Lord Spirit]

8 minutes ago, TheFrugalWizard said:

Andrew Vinyl sat in the dark cellar of an old building in Buffalo. He waited patiently, tapping his pencil on the wooden tabletop. Tap tap. Tap tap. He waited for another hour or so before starting to worry. He tapped the pencil, which had made quite a mark on the table by now, a little faster. Tap tap tap. Tap tap tap. He stood up after sitting there for another ten minutes, waiting. 

His hand was on the door handle when it flew open. Andrew stumbled back, surprised. John stood there, a proud look on his face and - was that a corpse? He threw the corpse - for that was what it was - on the table. An exhausted looking Kira walked in behind him, slumping down in a chair.

"Calamity, John! What on earth is that?"

@Lord Spirit

Kira answered him. "Well, we were on our way back from Diamond's when John here spotted this guy."

"Please tell me he's an epic."

"Yeah. He's a minor illusionist who was robbing a guy when we found him."

Andrew rubbed his temples. "You guys can't do that!"

"Well. We did."

"Our job is to kill epics, sir. Someone was in trouble and we protected them." John calmly responds. "We got away clean and we got some cells. Anyways, we got the equipment you wanted from Diamond." 

[TheFrugalWizard]

3 minutes ago, Lord Spirit said:

"Our job is to kill epics, sir. Someone was in trouble and we protected them." John calmly responds. "We got away clean and we got some cells. Anyways, we got the equipment you wanted from Diamond." 

Andrew sighs. "You can't be doing that! What if you'd been seen? We may be good at our jobs, son, but we're not invincible. I am not dealing with hotheads like you getting us killed."

[Lord Spirit]

2 minutes ago, TheFrugalWizard said:

Andrew sighs. "You can't be doing that! What if you'd been seen? We may be good at our jobs, son, but we're not invincible. I am not dealing with hotheads like you getting us killed."

"It was Kira's idea. Besides, I never get seen. We can still do what we came here to do. Nobody will think we killed this minor of an epic." John responds, slightly annoyed. I'm the hotheaded one? I just do what I'm told.

[TwinSouls]

9 hours ago, RoyalBeeMage said:

ignis wallked through his home, his fortress, his sanctuary. he felt the warm built-in heaters warm his feet. he rubbed a hand across the hard black stone walls of the cave house. he entered his large industrial bakery and checked on his automated cookie production. smelling a cookie ignis siged and eat it. moving onwards to his planning room. around a round table there was 5 hooded and masked people. his generals. his protectors.

"has all copper been left behind?" ignis asks 

"all copper that has wound up in the fortress has been destroyed." one of his genarals replied.

"good. anti-epic cookie production?" ignis asked again

"none at all. we cant work out how to make most of the cookies." a different geranal replied.

"Any epics that want to join us? non-epics?"

"still looking."

@TwinSouls 

 

Quote

Sure!

As Phalanx walks through the city, he notices a fortress of a building made of large black stone bricks. It appears to have survived some kind of fire. I suppose I should get a job. Phalanx thinks. 

He heads over to the building. 

“Oy!” Phalanx shouts, adopting an air befitting of an Epic, “Open Up! I want to talk to whoever owns the building!”

Then he creates a shield, breaking the doors open, and heads inside.

@RoyalBeeMage

Edited March 7 by TwinSouls

[TheFrugalWizard]

2 hours ago, Lord Spirit said:

"It was Kira's idea. Besides, I never get seen. We can still do what we came here to do. Nobody will think we killed this minor of an epic." John responds, slightly annoyed. I'm the hotheaded one? I just do what I'm told.

"I don't have time for this. We have something to discuss. I've been hoping to hit another epic. A real one."

[Lord Spirit]

Just now, TheFrugalWizard said:

"I don't have time for this. We have something to discuss. I've been hoping to hit another epic. A real one."

“Which one? There are a lot of epics more important than this one.”

[TheFrugalWizard]

6 minutes ago, Lord Spirit said:

“Which one? There are a lot of epics more important than this one.”

"A new epic has been seen around here recently. I've heard her refered to as "Sundew". I think we can pull it off."

Edited March 7 by TheFrugalWizard

[Lord Spirit]

3 minutes ago, TheFrugalWizard said:

"A new epic has been seen around here recently. I've heard her refered to as "Sundew". I think we can pull it off."

“The plant lady? I’ve heard of her. So what’s the plan? Do you know her weakness, or are we going in blind?”

[TheFrugalWizard]

2 hours ago, Lord Spirit said:

“The plant lady? I’ve heard of her. So what’s the plan? Do you know her weakness, or are we going in blind?”

"We'll figure it out."

Edited March 7 by TheFrugalWizard

[Lord Spirit]

2 hours ago, TheFrugalWizard said:

We'll figure it out."

"We can? She's been in power a long time, and I haven't heard anything about her weakness" John says skeptically.

Edited March 7 by Lord Spirit

[TheFrugalWizard]

1 hour ago, Lord Spirit said:

"Are you saying that the plant epic's weakness is trees?" John says skeptically.

"Not sure. We'll have to do some research into that. But she seems powerful enough for us to take notice of." He eyes the corpse. "Let's get to work."

Quote

What do you think we'll be able to actually figure out on this topic?

 

Edited March 7 by TheFrugalWizard

[Aeternum]

“I wanted to ask if you had any jobs available,” Plastique says. “But now I also want to ask who’s been bothering you.”

Of course it's Plastique. She's the only one arrogant enough to just saunter in like this, and she's always trying to get on his nerves. Fish thinks that her confidence is a good trait, as long as she stays loyal to him. He'll just kill her if she tries to do anything. Speaking of killing people… Fish looks over Plastique’s shoulder to check if his secretary is still there. Good thing they're gone, hopefully off to send a messenger to Sundew. Fish doesn’t really care if a messenger gets sent today. Sundew will find him as soon as he shows himself by her territory. He hates to play right into her hands like this, but it would do well for everyone to be reminded of his power. Regardless, Fish really isn’t in the mood to deal with Plastique.

“You're currently bothering me,” He responds, crossing his arms. Now that she's here, Fish thinks he'll bring Plastique with him to meet Sundew. Actually no, that would probably end terribly, because in his opinion, Plastique never knows when to shut up. Fish simply tilts his head and waits for her response.

@Lunamor

-------------------------------------------

Parry has his head down, so he doesn’t notice the other person walking towards him. Parry doesn't like being noticed. He prefers to stay quiet and in the shadows, especially because he knows there are many Epics who would love to use him for his powers. He isn’t paying attention enough to where he is going, and accidentally bumps into the other person. Parry blinks and steps away, raising his hands placatingly. “I’m sorry sir, I didn’t see you there.”

@Lord Spirit

[Lunamor]

20 minutes ago, Aeternum said:

“I wanted to ask if you had any jobs available,” Plastique says. “But now I also want to ask who’s been bothering you.”

Of course it's Plastique. She's the only one arrogant enough to just saunter in like this, and she's always trying to get on his nerves. Fish thinks that her confidence is a good trait, as long as she stays loyal to him. He'll just kill her if she tries to do anything. Speaking of killing people… Fish looks over Plastique’s shoulder to check if his secretary is still there. Good thing they're gone, hopefully off to send a messenger to Sundew. Fish doesn’t really care if a messenger gets sent today. Sundew will find him as soon as he shows himself by her territory. He hates to play right into her hands like this, but it would do well for everyone to be reminded of his power. Regardless, Fish really isn’t in the mood to deal with Plastique.

“You're currently bothering me,” He responds, crossing his arms. Now that she's here, Fish thinks he'll bring Plastique with him to meet Sundew. Actually no, that would probably end terribly, because in his opinion, Plastique never knows when to shut up. Fish simply tilts his head and waits for her response.

Unfortunate. Plastique pouted briefly. She had been looking forward to hearing some juicy gossip. She was also not too terribly fond of becoming the target of Fish’s ire, although that wasn’t exactly a new situation. He was not always the most appreciative person- her opinions were often disregarded despite their total accuracy. He couldn’t see her true value. He would learn it, though. He would learn exactly how superior she was to him. It was only a matter of time.

”That’s one question answered, then.”

She leaned backwards to her previous confident, practiced stance. She maintained eye contact with those two yellow orbs that seemed to almost float in the air. Not quite in a defiant way, more in an unmoved way.

”Do you have any jobs available for me?”

Plastique repeated her previous question. She wasn’t pleased that he had ignored it. She was an asset he needed to use more often. Fish was just too dimwitted to understand that.

Quote

Fish has got a pretty accurate understanding of Plastique, she’s the worst 

 

Edited March 7 by Lunamor
Wording

[Lord Spirit]

7 minutes ago, Aeternum said:

Parry has his head down, so he doesn’t notice the other person walking towards him. Parry doesn't like being noticed. He prefers to stay quiet and in the shadows, especially because he knows there are many Epics who would love to use him for his powers. He isn’t paying attention enough to where he is going, and accidentally bumps into the other person. Parry blinks and steps away, raising his hands placatingly. “I’m sorry sir, I didn’t see you there.”

"It's fine, I wasn't paying attention either. Sorry if I caused you any trouble." Shakespeare responds, playing the part of a man not wanting to upset any epics. Obviously this new epic wasn't very powerful if he was scared after bumping into an innoncent looking stranger, but he still didn't know what he could do. "You seem new here, be careful who you walk into." or those you've already walked into, He adds mentally.

2 hours ago, TheFrugalWizard said:

"Not sure. We'll have to do some research into that. But she seems powerful enough for us to take notice of." He eyes the corpse. "Let's get to work."

"reconnaissance time? I'll get started on finding where she is and why she's here." John says. He grabs his rifle and jacket and heads towards the door. "anything else you want me to do?"