What Happened In Astoria

[Edgedancer he/him]

It was to be expected that the room Deathgale had to wait in was fairly lifeless. There had by no means been time for Bioterror to furnish it yet. The bare nature of it however did nothing to

make his wait more pleasant.

 

While Bioterror didn't appear immediately,  the wait at least wasn't long enough to be considered an insult. Only a minor slight that would be filed away in case they amass. He still held on to the information, if only because their queen would want to know if she could expect her subjects to jump on her call, even without prior notice.

 

At least Bioterror had the decency to apologize. A good attitude was important to conducting business, solely to spare him from having to administer disciplinary action. The undercurrent of annoyance was a blemish on his behaviour. Something that would be reason for punishing a lesser Epic. With his powers, however, Bioterror should prove himself valuable enough to avoid such rebuke. Though he was already getting his second chance.

 

Deathgale took Bioterror's hand in greeting. The way it shifted was an interesting sight, though by far not the most grotesque aspect of the Epic's body. An appearance like his was likely a gift for intimidating weak minded underlings. Something to consider, if he ever had a public task for him.

"To get to the point, work. You of course know already of the attempted attack by the shadow Epic on our town. This wasn't the only attack of its kind in a very short time span and while none of them were any more effective, their timing is suspicious to say the least. If you're interested in the investigation I'd like to give you the details."

[Blackhoof]

 

Winterspell smiled as his messengers raced out across the bridge, heading to Astoria. They would carry hand-written invitations to each epic in Astoria, inviting them to a grand display of power and might tomorrow afternoon.

For you see, he had been "challenged" to a duel by that upstart pyromancer, Hellfire. From the perspective of his colleagues, this would be an interesting, or at least diverting, show between two elemental epics with opposite powers.
But of course, that was all part of the ruse.

He didn't wait for the affirmative responses to return hours later when he flew himself out to the middle of the bay, hundreds of metres from the shore, and began constructing the arena.

With a mighty gesture, reminiscent of Moses, he raised the sea. Four pillars of water rose from the centre of the bay, slowly climbing like reverse waterfalls a hundred feet in the air. He held his arms still, and the pillars halted. He lowered and spread his arms, and the top half of the pillars broke like melting wax, flowing in the air to meet each other and form a thick, high basket of water, a rectangular prism between the four pillars. Closing his fist slowly, the pillars began freezing. From the seabed to the arena, the pillars slowly became solid Icesteel, harder than stone or metal. As the arena itself began freezing, he molded it into a wide coliseum, with row upon row of bleachers and two special boxes for the government epics overlooking a wide, circular dais, on which the combatants would "fight".

With a smile and a flourish, Winterspell put the finishing touches on his work of art, and froze it solid. He was ready. He activated the microphone in his ear and said, "Dragoon, the Arena is finished, and the invitations have been sent. The plan is in motion, for tomorrow afternoon."

 

 

[Edgedancer he/him]

Deathgale’s smoke form gathered within the box Winterspell had set aside for them for his little spectacle. By no means was he the first one to arrive, different from the common rabble flooding the bleachers or the likes of the Metal he had work that was too important to postpone on a whim after receiving an invitation just the day before. However, he was still arrived well in time before Winterspell started his little show.

 

“Cuttin it close, eh, Smokey?” The Metal said. He accompanied the greeting with a slap to his back that was hard enough to dissolve him into a cloud of smoke.

“I’m punctually.,” he responded once he reformed. “Don’t think you can be as rowdy as you want, just because Winterspell is putting on a show.”

“Oh come on, let your hair down and enjoy yourself some. Just because Lucentia is gone doesn’t mean you have to be the biggest killjoy around.”

 

Deathgale simply responded with a growl, no point in wasting his effort on him. He glanced over to the pedestal holding a vessel filled with blood. It was as much a presence as Bloody mary would give. She may have been the one that decided to indulge Winterspell’s little show but at least she has the good sense to stay protected. He himself wasn’t quite as optimistic. Letting Winterspell demand so much attention in the current situation seemed unwise. Though, with some luck it would flush out all the other maggots squirming around the city, so they can round them all up.

 

Apart from the three of them, the box was empty. They opted to leave the second box to some of their more worthwhile minions, like Bioterror. It was up to them if they’d use the offer. Deathgale himself had nothing else to do but wait for the fight to start. With some luck nobody would bother him until then.

“Hey Smokey, think I should go ask Winterspell what kind of background music he wants?”

It had been a vain hope.

[Voidus]

Bioterror took a seat in the box that he'd been informed was for his use, along with perhaps a few other notable Epics in the city. He'd considered ignoring the invitation and skipping this even entirely, but he had no idea who this Winterspell was, what kind of power he wielded, both supernatural and political.

Taking a grape from a nearby bowl, he reclined in his chair, looking only slightly oddly shaped as opposed to his previous hulking reptilian mass. This did seem to be a formal event of some kind, so he'd left most of his biomass back at the house, assuming a form that was more or less human, although his muscles would appear oddly shaped to an observer.

Tapping on his collar, he set some slightly softer than usual music to play while he waited, there was little chance of him getting to fight personally any time soon so nothing too dramatic, perhaps something melancholy? Heart of Courage?, no, after the fall perhaps?
He relaxed back, closing his eyes as he let the music wash over him before reluctantly opening them again. This would be a good chance to observe some of his competition, and a good place to gather information.

He had accepted Deathgales offer to lead the investigation on that shadow Epic but how did you investigate a sparking teleporter? You found a place that looked interesting, and watched the shadows, that was how. It was not particularly likely that he'd find his quarry here, but if nothing else he'd learn about some of the other Epics. And if that shadow-slontze did show up, then Bioterror was ready to pounce at any moment.

[Citadel16 he/him]

hours earlier...

 

Clouds roared beneath him, a white contrast to the red streak burning through the sky.

He was alive. He was free.

He was back.

Ragnarok soared through the sky above Astoria, taking in the view, the vibrant skies, the crystal structures, that random dark spire in the sky, everything seemed better, in a way.

Freedom would do that to a person.

Deaccelerating, he touched down in a quiet neighborhood near that ice castle.  there was something he hadnt noticed before, a giant ice arena of some sort. he wondered for a moment what he had missed.

“Wow,” lizzy said. “That was subtle.”

“I tend to be a show off,” Ragnarok said tightening one of his gloves. “In my free time.” he’d gotten a new set of clothes, and now had a good sized back pack.

Lizzy snorted, “That will work here. Definitely. With that wonderful little entrance you made for yourself.”

“It wasn’t that bad.”

“You wrecked two buildings in less than three minutes.” she reminded him “you’re not exactly gonna be popular with the locals.”

Ragnarok paused, “Maybe not all the locals” and with that he began walking towards the ice castle.

 

 

 

Edited August 31, 2017 by WarriorMark16
making it less bold and more sensible

[Blackhoof]

Hours Earlier.

With his lieutenants surrounding him, Winterspell waited in his Keep and made sure that all was prepared. Wireless cameras were hooked in across the arena, ostensibly to film the action, but in reality to give Blindsight a full view of the arena in full night-vision. When the plan began, it would be necessary. Secret compartments and bombs had been placed by him within the ice itself, and his agents had been trying to ferret out the weaknesses of Deathgale, Mary and the Metal. So far, they'd only narrowed down Deathgale's weakness to have something to do with seafood or fish. It would have to do.

"Blindsight." Winterspell turned to his most trusted adviser. "Are you prepared with directions for our Epics? You will be our eyes and ears in the command room." Blindsight nodded in response. He knew the plan well- he had devised it, after all. But Winterspell did feel the need to vocalise things, it helped him think in stressful situations, and right now he was more stressed than he had ever been. Although he didn't show it.

"Sir!" A voice crackled in his earpiece- Fish on lookout duty.
"Receiving?"
"That Ragnarok is coming back." 
Winterspell raised an eyebrow, and scowled. "In broad daylight? He could be seen! Have a detachment of soldiers escort him inside-"
"Uh, sir... he is flying. Right for us! Do I have permission to engage?"
"No Fish you do not. Just when he gets to you, invite him in and we can-"
"Sir, lookout!"

With that, a wall rumbled and the sound of an explosion filled the Keep. Alarms began sounding and guards readied their weapons, but Winterspell just growled. Another explosion, closer this time, and then a second later the wall to his right crumbled into water and steam. Ragnarok stood, smug and proud. Winterspell glared at him. "If you have come to offer your services.... I accept. Now get to this table and stop blowing up my Keep!"

 

 

[Blackhoof]

 

 

Now

Hellfire saw the arena on the river. It was an impressive construction... for a yank. 

He stood in some ruins on the far side. Banarang had left hours ago- taking the Destructors and the forces of Dragoon and skirting around behind the city using Blackwave's ship. Hellfire hadn't been paying too much attention, but something about attacking the city from both land and sea while he used his powers and destroyed the high command of Astoria. The deal was, of course, that he would cease his duel with Winterspell once it all began.... but he wasn't done with that yuppy yet. No, Hellfire was going to finish him off, once and for all. But first, he would go along with the plan, and once the Astorian Epics were dead, Winterspell would be next. He wouldn't live to see the success of his little plot.

With a smile, Hellfire took off, fire bursting from his hands and feet. He felt the wind in his hair and was glad he had remembered his sunglasses to protect his eyes. In seconds, he had shot over the river, and was hovering above the arena. The crowd below cheered, but it sounded more forced and was tinged with nervousness. It was hard to cheer for any Epic, but the crowd seemed to feel that inadequate enthusiasm could be dangerous.

Hellfire laughed and shot towards the arena full-blast, landing in the centre of the duelling ground with a thud and a blast of flame. The ice beneath him cracked and steamed, and he found himself standing in a puddle an inch deep. He spread his arms and began walking the edges of the arena, flame dancing on his fingertips.

Then a great door began opening, and he readied himself for battle.

..........

Winterspell took a deep breath.

Everything around him was cold. The air was frigid, every wisp of wind like the caress of a frozen hand. Mist came from the breaths of those around him, human and Epic alike feeling the bite. Only he was immune. He was made of ice- in more ways than one, and the cold would never concern him.

He and his entourage were within the arena, beneath the seating, facing the entrance to the duelling ground. A cheer went up.... Hellfire must have arrived.

He nodded to his lieutenants, and Nightstand put a finger to his earpiece. "The phoenix has landed, and the white eagle rises. I repeat- phoenix landed, white eagle rises." The signal was given. All his forces were on alert, and taking their final positions. Dragoon and the Destructors would be hiding out of sight down the road, ready to attack the city. And right now, Eternity should be about to approach the Metal and take him out of the fight with his powers of time manipulation. Winterspell wasn't sure how much luck he would have- all he could do was hope. Now it was time for the show, and the charade, to begin. For a time, at least, until everything was ready. The doors opened, and with a heavy sigh, Winterspell entered the light.

 

[Edgedancer he/him]

Spoiler

This is intended to be a final post to give Astoria somewhat of an ending point, much in the same vein of Comatose’s final post for Corvallis. The same rules concerning people still being allowed to post apply here.

For the vague story of Astoria bringing us to this point, the idea is that the attack currently being set up in the thread starts but doesn’t go quite as planned. The fighting is fierce and most of the city gets destroyed, to the point that the attackers eventually retreat. Not because they have lost outright but because there is simply nothing to be gained from fighting anymore. This post picks up when Lucentia eventually returns to her city.

However, for that segment to be properly comprehensible, I first need to bring Nighthound’s story to an end. Given that at the point of writing this, there is no agreed upon end of Portland, some of the details here are vague or otherwise abstracted. The important part is that Ray has done her best to gain Voidgaze’s help in escaping from Nighthound and the following is the conclusion of that, taking place at roughly the time the attack on Corpsemaker comes to a head.

 

Nighthound slipped away from the collaborations attack on Corpsemaker at the first chance he got. His sister should be able to handle it. Either way, it wasn’t like Corpsemaker or any of his flunkies could kill her. The worst that could happen was some bruises to her ego, at which point he would have to listen to her talking about all the mistakes everyone but her made. He really hoped they weren’t about to spark this up.

 

Once Corpsemaker was out of the way, the mock alliance between them and Thoughttown would come to an end. Lightward’s Empire of light would presumably follow soon. Either way, today was the last day their guards would be down towards him and he had nothing to gain from not backstabbing them. What better moment to pick off his prey?

 

He left Ray and C4 out as bait in a house not far away from where they had send in Voidgaze. It hadn’t gone past him that Ray was holding on to Voidgaze as her big chance to escape. He hoped she would try to rescue her. Killing her then might just be the last push to break Ray.

 

He’d also stashed a couple of hounds there out of their sight just in case he needed an alarm system. None of them had perished yet, so he knew they hadn’t escaped yet. When he arrived at the house, he did find the door open. Seems like his timing was about perfect.

 

When he entered, he also picked up a couple of paint he’d placed there. A bit further inside he found Voidgaze and her walking grease dispenser just freeing his pets. The nearby hounds stirred the moment the girls’ chains were broken. He held them back for now.

 

Ray was the first to notice him, she bolted and stabbed him with an energy lance. “Honestly, is that any way to greet your master?” Nighthound said as he casually continued to walk towards them, pushing the lance further through his body. “And you, Voidgaze, so nice of you to look after the girls but it’s not their time to go on a walk yet.”

 

He came to a stop as close to Voidgaze as the lance in his chest allowed him to and then twisted around. Along with the motion he slammed one hand against the lance, levering with his body to knock it away from Ray. Once she lost grip of it, the energy dissipated.

 

Voidgaze didn’t answer him, instead she simply stared at him. He could see her waiting for the moment he attacked. He could basically taste her fear. This would be good. He had one hound on the upper floor throw itself against the wall as hard as it could without completely breaking it. Voidgaze jumped, turning towards the noise.

 

At the same time he threw the content of one of the paint buckets at her. She didn’t have the time to react anymore. Big Al did. The little Epic jumped into the paint. His death if he wanted to get involved. He kicked him in the stomach, hard enough to throw him into Voidgaze instead.

 

She caught him as gently as she could but either way, there was no chance he’d stand up anytime soon again. Some of the paint splattered over at her but not enough that he’d want to risk getting in close already. Instead he started moving one of his hounds and walked over to C4. He dropped the second paint bucket on one of her hands, roughly. “Now really, you should know better than to go along with them, nono?”
 

C4 barked in response but he didn’t pay much attention to it. He had trained her to see the nono as the signal to excrete her explosives and that was all he’s after right now. There wasn’t time for more playing around. Voidgaze had laid down her boyfriend and seemed was about to attack him.

 

Then his hound broke in through the window. Ray stabbed it to one of the walls with an energy lance. Voidgaze, assuming his ace in the sleeve was dealt with, attacked him. Nighthound threw the second paint bucket. One of her sleeves reached out to disintegrate it but before it could make contact, C4 detonated it. Hot pink paint splattered all over Voidgaze.

 

She reeled back and reached inside her robe. He should be able to crush her skull right now but they she’d just reanimate. He pulled out a gun and shot her in the leg instead. She crumbled and Nighthound gripped one of her arms that ended up flailing around. He broke it. Then-

 

Ray shot a lance through him and into Voidgaze, killing her. So much for dismantling her until she was at his mercy. He jumped Ray and pushed her against the wall. ”I appreciate the effort but you know that until she’s back, it’s just the two of us?”
“Sp-”
Nighthound punched her in the stomach, ending her insults into a grunt. “Sorry but we don’t have the time to flirt. I’ll have to tie you down before your friend comes back.”

 

Something threw itself at the back of his legs. He looked down and found that it was Big Al, pretty though to still be moving. Ray used the moment to headbut him. “I told you this-”

He could just barely catch a glimpse of a pyramid shaped pink paperweight before Ray slammed it into his mouth. Then she used her powers. A lance significantly thicker than her normal ones sprung forth from the object and pierced through his skull. At the same time, it pushed back his head towards the ground with enough force to break his spine.

 

His legs were still pinned by the walking fast food, so Nighthound kicked him away. That still left him with the lance. Ray used it to push herself up to to the ceiling, out of reach. He’d rather not rip it out of his head, that could end messy. That left him with one option, he braced his feet against the wall and pulled himself up on the lance with his hands.

 

Calling the climb pleasant would be a sparking lie but he did make progress. Ray throwing her shoes at him didn’t change that. He came close enough to Ray, he reached out to grab her. At the same time, he could see the wall next to him bleach.

 

His feet were gone before he could do anything and a vaguely human shaped white nothingness stretched out of the wall. Voidgaze reached out and simply cut through his stomach and one of his arm.

 

He held onto the lance with his remaining hand but then Ray dissipated it. They both fell to the ground, she on top of him. She pinned his one arm under her body and brought the paperweight down on his head. And again. Again. Agai-

 

Days Later

 

Bloody Mary, Deathgale and the Metal had gathered outside the remains of the diamond garden, once they learned that their queen was about to return. Mary wasn’t sure if she should be afraid of how displeased Lucentia would be with them or excited. If she was returning from Portland, Nighthound should be with her. Her worry wasn’t alleviated by the Metal just lunging around like the worst he did was forget dusting his room. Not that chiding him would yield any results.

 

The wave of diamond Lucentia was riding on came to stop in front of them and crumbled. She stood before them alone, behind her a man sized casket. Mary ignored whatever Lucentia was saying and rushed to the casket. She pried it open and inside found the badly mangled body of Nighthound. Not healing. No. No. No no no no no!

 

Someone put a hand on her shoulder and turned her around. Lucentia was looking at her, instead of her usual scowl she didn’t seem sure what expression to make. Multiple times she opened her mouth only to close it again without saying anything. Ultimately she simply pulled in Mary for a hug.

 

Sparking what? Lucentia had been with Nighthound and she let him die. And now? Trying to comfort her? Mary pulled out of the hug and meet Lucentia’s eyes.

“I-” Lucentia started to say but Mary interrupted her with a quick kiss, blood from her lips prickling into Lucentia. She could see the color drain from her face. First, because of the fear triggered by her weakness, then because Mary literally drained all of her blood outside her body. Leaving her an empty shell that fell to the ground.

 

Deathgale sprung into action but he was blown away in his smokey for by the Metal. He walked over to Lucentia’s body and kicked it away. “Calamity that felt good. So we good now?”
“No,” Mary said. “Leave me alone. Just go and destroy things or whatever you do.”
“Sure, I didn’t had a good rampage in a while anyway.” With that he pushed himself away into the sky.”

 

She walked over to Nighthound’s corpse. It all just felt empty. Eventually, she removed his bloody tattered cloak and put it on herself. The people that killed him still had to be out there. She’d show them her sorrow.