Story Topic

[The Frostbourne he/him]

Why did one person stand out so, against a crowd of unique individuals with extreme power and, often, some measure of insanity? If this is some sort of Destiny Manipulation, Top swears... That it's working. He attempts follows the figure, wishing for a more intimidating way of shoving through crowds than apologizing excessively.

[Silus - Shard of Flame he/him]

Top

You move quickly through the crowd, but whoever he is moves faster. You barely pay attention to where you're going and who's around you, causing you to run right into Ambrosius.

[The Frostbourne he/him]

Top reflexively checks his pockets and other pouches and bags, as he apologizes to the odd man swathed in what appear to be straps of leather. "Please excuse Top, he was not paying enough attention to his path." He reluctantely allows the man to escape, for now. Top will have to keep an eye out for him... He turns his attention to the situation at hand. Only then does he recognize the man he had run into. "Top was rude earlier, he now realizes, and never asked for your name. You likely know his already; he is Top."

Edited October 24, 2011 by The Frostbourne

[Cuaiir he/him]

I've finished cutting up that Sphere, and she's obviously frazzled. But if I'm not here when Quinn gets back... Endarkened take it.

I chase after Victoria, still trying to get her to calm down. "You realize I'd have done the same thing for you if you'd asked me to? Heck, I don't even know if I was accurate - I based that little phrase off your use of an omni-tool, I've never seen you in Form. I don't know what you mean by thiefskin. Ambro seemed normal enough to me, maybe with a bit of chronic rash, but that doesn't make him a bad man. A little paranoid, yeah, but not bad."

She's irrational... is this what Hapori meant when he spoke of heightened pains and betrayals? Because this is getting out of proportion

"Vikki. I'm not going to try and flatter you - you've already said you don't like that kind of thing. But I am going to try to be a decent human being and fellow Spheremorph, and be here if you need someone to talk to. Burly and Gregory don't exactly seem like the types to be good at listening. Not to brag, but I am because I had to help my sisters get through tough breakups while they were dating. I know what I did seems like a betrayal, and I'm trying to apologize for that. I didn't mean for it to harm you, I only meant to support my friend - you've got Burly and Gregory ready to catch you if you fall, while Ambro has... well, he has me. Maybe Eerongal, too, but that's beside the point. Every Spheremorph here fights alone, but that doesn't mean we have to be alone outside the arenas."

[Comatose he/him]

River:

I nod to Gustav. A little dinner sounds good about now. I still haven't eaten since breakfast. With a Spherematch thrown into the mix, I realize I'm starving.

"I'm not too arrogant to take good advice when it comes," I say with a smile. "I'll look forward to meeting with you again." With a friendly wave, I walk away, moving towards the dining area.

When I get there, I do a quick survey of the place, looking at how people are reacting to each other, and keeping an eye out for Piscun or Jezebel. I take note of the power dynamics in the room, hoping to seat myself with the people who look the most influential.

[Emeralis00 she/her]

Jack Mckinney

Interesting. I wonder if its the same lightsaber or if he has a power that allows him to get various weapons.

Jack runs, ducks and weaves sending spells of a multitude of wide variety elements bouncing and colliding off each other and the Glyphs walls. using the spells as a screen Jack shifts to baseline, then Chemist.

Ambrosius

I wonder what a firemark is. It sounds pricey.

Ambro quick retracted his hand that was reaching for the pockets of the man who bumped into him.

Did he know I'm a thief or was his pocket checking reflex?

Ambro hears the mans greeting and name.

Top... an unusual name.

"Hello. I am Ambro."

Edited October 24, 2011 by Emeralis00

[The Frostbourne he/him]

Top bows slightly in acknowledgement of the introduction. "You wouldn't happen to be busy, would you? To be honest, Top has met only one other combatant, and would like to... Expand his spheres." Top checks to see what, if anything, is happening in the arena at the moment. he also keeps an eye out for the strange person he had been following.

[Emeralis00 she/her]

Ambrosius

Spheres? I hope he doesn't think I would trade formspheres.

"What do you mean by expanding your spheres?"

Ambro notices Top looking at the crowd.

Who is he looking for?

[The Frostbourne he/him]

Expand Top's...? Oh, right. Top cannot expect everyone to understand his sayings.

He begins to chuckle.

"Top gives apology; the phrase is one which can be used in many circumstances, generally meaning that one wishes to gain a greater understanding, aptitude, or amount. Top meant simply that he wishes to meet more people. In other words, your Spheres are safe.

Top is somewhat curious by the way; of all the costumes and clothings Top has seen, your outfit is possibly the strangest. Would you care to elucidate him on the reasons for the straps of leather, as opposed to, say, breeches and a shirt? Perhaps some boots?"

Top gives up searching for the stranger and turns his attention to the conversation, still keeping an eye on the arena. Top will simply have to search later. This is more important at the moment.

[Emeralis00 she/her]

Ambrosius

Ambro smiles "My clothes? It is the traditional dress of the male line of my family. Each band is actually meant to hold a weapon. Whenever a male of my family kills an opponent he would take their weapon and attach it to his clothing. The more battles he wins the more weapons he wears. I have only one such weapon," Ambro indicates the shock stick. Which makes it rather hard to surprise people when you have only one weapon in baseline.

"I suppose it could be considered a way of ranking in my family. One of my Uncles has so many weapons you can't see his body at all when he wears them all. He made a lot of the decisions in the family." Like to try taking away my spheremount.

[Eerongal he/him]

Eerongal

The nurse giggles a little, whether from your manner or from your shirtless torso is anyone's guess. "Right, no charge. But..." She reaches out and takes the coins. "The Sisters of Preservation always appreciate donations." You recognize the name; a religion run hospital in Desert's Edge, a well known one for their skill in healing. Looking around, you see at least a dozen other nurses, and can spot the distinctive metal touches in their uniforms that mark them as Shardist nuns of the Order of Preservation.

Experimentally flexing my now healed flesh, I begin to redress myself. With a smile and a nod, i bid the healer a farewell, and work my way out of the infirmary.

Let's see....What to do now? I assume I have a bit of free time on my hands to play with, given the vast amount of fights that are to be happening for first rounds still.

Grimacing, I glance around my whereabouts to get my bearings on my current location.

Honestly....I could probably do for a little relaxing. Maybe I'll find myself a nice pub. Who knows, maybe I can glean a little information about something there, between a few nice, relaxing drinks of course....

I smirk a bit and nod to myself, and with that, I set off to look for somewhere for a bit of unwinding after a hard fought battle.

[The Frostbourne he/him]

"That sounds as if it would quickly grow inconvenient. It would be useful to hold a few, but all things in moderation. Not that Top critiques you, of course. He is just curious as to how such an odd tradition began. Did you say from whence you hail? Top himself is from the area near the Crags of Dichotomy." Top is curious about this... The practice sounds vaguely familiar for some reason. Perhaps it is simply his imagination.

[Emeralis00 she/her]

Ambrosius

"In battle yes, but when you need to make certain your client knows just what he is dealing with..."

Ambro trails of with a creepy smile.

""My family originally came from Frozen Foothills, we were a family of thieves and the occasional assassin. Of course, that was long ago, recently my family had taken residence in the area of Calm Beach, though not anymore."

I'm not sure where they went exactly though.

[Silus - Shard of Flame he/him]

Jay'el

I've finished cutting up that Sphere, and she's obviously frazzled. But if I'm not here when Quinn gets back... Endarkened take it.

I chase after Victoria, still trying to get her to calm down. "You realize I'd have done the same thing for you if you'd asked me to? Heck, I don't even know if I was accurate - I based that little phrase off your use of an omni-tool, I've never seen you in Form. I don't know what you mean by thiefskin. Ambro seemed normal enough to me, maybe with a bit of chronic rash, but that doesn't make him a bad man. A little paranoid, yeah, but not bad."

She's irrational... is this what Hapori meant when he spoke of heightened pains and betrayals? Because this is getting out of proportion

"Vikki. I'm not going to try and flatter you - you've already said you don't like that kind of thing. But I am going to try to be a decent human being and fellow Spheremorph, and be here if you need someone to talk to. Burly and Gregory don't exactly seem like the types to be good at listening. Not to brag, but I am because I had to help my sisters get through tough breakups while they were dating. I know what I did seems like a betrayal, and I'm trying to apologize for that. I didn't mean for it to harm you, I only meant to support my friend - you've got Burly and Gregory ready to catch you if you fall, while Ambro has... well, he has me. Maybe Eerongal, too, but that's beside the point. Every Spheremorph here fights alone, but that doesn't mean we have to be alone outside the arenas."

"You're not from the Foothills, so you wouldn't know. The thiefskin is a mark, it marks the descendants of those who stole from us. Those we shunned. It marks the untrustworthy, the murderous. And while you may assume the best about your 'friend', it's obvious he would slit your throat without a second thought if he had the inclination.

"The thing that bothers me the most about you is that you assume so much. You think you know my friends, and me, after less than a day. You think that the solutions to a teenage girl's problems will carry over to the real world, the world of Spheremorphs. You're wrong.

"You sabotaged me, or tried, you assumed on that one too, and no simple apology will make up for that. I can't take you at your word alone. Now if you'll excuse me I need to find some sucker who'll take this Bleeding Sphere."

She walks out and away toward the living quarters.

River

I nod to Gustav. A little dinner sounds good about now. I still haven't eaten since breakfast. With a Spherematch thrown into the mix, I realize I'm starving.

"I'm not too arrogant to take good advice when it comes," I say with a smile. "I'll look forward to meeting with you again." With a friendly wave, I walk away, moving towards the dining area.

When I get there, I do a quick survey of the place, looking at how people are reacting to each other, and keeping an eye out for Piscun or Jezebel. I take note of the power dynamics in the room, hoping to seat myself with the people who look the most influential.

The matches are still going on, so neither of them is present. It's only about 2'o'clock, so dinner is still some ways off. Most people are still watching the fights. But you see there are some stragglers around. A sound distracts you, and you turn to see Peter, now thoroughly sober, standing behind you.

"Hello, River."

Jack Mckinney

Interesting. I wonder if its the same lightsaber or if he has a power that allows him to get various weapons.

Jack runs, ducks and weaves sending spells of a multitude of wide variety elements bouncing and colliding off each other and the Glyphs walls. using the spells as a screen Jack shifts to baseline, then Chemist.

Tank is able to reflect the shots that get too close, but the number of them is able to to him off your back while you shift, finishing just as he cleaves through the last of them. His attention is back on you.

Eerongal

Experimentally flexing my now healed flesh, I begin to redress myself. With a smile and a nod, i bid the healer a farewell, and work my way out of the infirmary.

Let's see....What to do now? I assume I have a bit of free time on my hands to play with, given the vast amount of fights that are to be happening for first rounds still.

Grimacing, I glance around my whereabouts to get my bearings on my current location.

Honestly....I could probably do for a little relaxing. Maybe I'll find myself a nice pub. Who knows, maybe I can glean a little information about something there, between a few nice, relaxing drinks of course....

I smirk a bit and nod to myself, and with that, I set off to look for somewhere for a bit of unwinding after a hard fought battle.

There's a bar in the main room. The bartender, a short man with graying hair, is wiping the counter when you come in. He smiles at you, revealing a smile that's more gold teeth than real.

"What'll it be, Morph?"

Edited October 28, 2011 by Silus - Shard of Flame

[Comatose he/him]

River:

I am slightly disappointed. I thought our battle would be the end of me and Peter's interaction. One disadvantage of the spheremounts' safe guard and a rule against killing is your adversaries is that they can come back to haunt you. At least he isn't annoyingly drunk this time.

"Peter," I say with a sheepish smile. What is there to say to a man whose insides I lit on fire recently? That it wasn't personal? "I'm glad to see you are recovering." I hold out my hand for him to shake, trying to be a good sport. "Good match."

[The Frostbourne he/him]

Ambrosius

"In battle yes, but when you need to make certain your client knows just what he is dealing with..."

Ambro trails of with a creepy smile.

""My family originally came from Frozen Foothills, we were a family of thieves and the occasional assassin. Of course, that was long ago, recently my family had taken residence in the area of Calm Beach, though not anymore."

I'm not sure where they went exactly though.

Interesting. Top wonders what it is that made them move... "And yourself? Do you take after the thieving ways? Know that Top will hold no ill to you if you answer with the affirmative, for all people are necessary to make the world what it is; just try to remember that thieves need allies as much as anyone else, and it is generally advisable to keep a sense of propriety and non-alienation when regarding them. Of course, if Top has misunderstood, he apologizes for the question in advance."

Though he's almost positive he did not misunderstand...

[Emeralis00 she/her]

Ambrosius

"You are the first to actually ask if I was, but then again, you are only the third to ask about my family history"

Ambro thinks for a moment.

"yes, though I actually haven't done anything worth noting. In my family, I was the one who was supposed use the spheremount, so I haven't specialized."

Which is true, but not quite all of the truth.

[The Frostbourne he/him]

he was the one supposed to use the SphereMount; the only ShpereMount? Surely a gang of thieves wouldn't have willingly let him leave... I wonder what he, or they, did to make him flee?

"Enough of the past. Top has some money, and surely you do as well; he would like to see what this dark place has to offer in way of merchandising. Care to take the lead? Top would likely end up perusing books for hours. He assumes you will be able to find something more entertaining."

[Eerongal he/him]

Eerongal

There's a bar in the main room. The bartender, a short man with graying hair, is wiping the counter when you come in. He smiles at you, revealing a smile that's more gold teeth than real.

"What'll it be, Morph?"

Sitting down heavily at the bar, i feel the weight of my exhaustion from the fight.

Mulling over the bartender's question for a moment, i reply, "I'll have a dancing spheremorph, heavy on the gin"

Pulling out some coins, i throw a few extra down on the bar

"Also, whatever talk that's going about that you've been keen enough to pick up...."

[Cuaiir he/him]

Jay'el

"You're not from the Foothills, so you wouldn't know. The thiefskin is a mark, it marks the descendants of those who stole from us. Those we shunned. It marks the untrustworthy, the murderous. And while you may assume the best about your 'friend', it's obvious he would slit your throat without a second thought if he had the inclination.

"The thing that bothers me the most about you is that you assume so much. You think you know my friends, and me, after less than a day. You think that the solutions to a teenage girl's problems will carry over to the real world, the world of Spheremorphs. You're wrong.

"You sabotaged me, or tried, you assumed on that one too, and no simple apology will make up for that. I can't take you at your word alone. Now if you'll excuse me I need to find some sucker who'll take this Bleeding Sphere."

She walks out and away toward the living quarters.

Seeing that the situation can't be salvaged, I let Victoria walk away without chasing after her. "Dark take it," I mutter to myself as I get back to the SphereBreaker. There goes another perfectly good relationship down the drain. Does it always come down to choices like that? Does being friends with Ambro mean a lot of people will hate me? If they hate me based on that association, are they really worth my time? Will Ambro try to kill me, like Vikki said? I hope not.

Who can I really rely on here? Tori is using me for free labor. Eero... we barely talk. Ambro, well, he's Ambro. Jack seemed like a nice enough fellow, but a bit flighty. River? Bah, his introduction was a lie, that's not the mark of someone you can trust. The family... but no. I've taken enough from them. Victoria doesn't trust me, and i think she'll talk to Burly and Gregory about this incident. So who can I trust? It's always the same answer: only myself. Ati's tears, why can I never make friendships work?

I arrive at the SphereBreaker to find Quinn inspecting my latest cuts. He went to reintegrate those pieces. Seems like that's a time-consuming process if it took him this long.

[Emeralis00 she/her]

Ambrosius

about the money...

"One of the drawbacks of this outfit is that it lacks pockets. I can't actually carry my money. I gave it to a friend to hold, but I neglected to specifically say that it was still mine. Thus he may or may not still have it."

I need to keep this guy's attention though, he may prove a useful piece later. Especially since he is from an area near frozen foothills and may know the whereabouts of my family.

"Though, if you wouldn't mind companionship..."

[Emeralis00 she/her]

Jack Mckinney

"Never gonna give you up

Never gonna let you down

Never gonna run around and desert you

Never gonna make you cry

Never gonna say goodbye

Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you"

I LOVE that song, don't know why everyone cringes when they hear it though.

Jack shifts to airbender and jumps into the air, shifting to Adept Jack pushes his opponent toward the abyss and down.

With this angle he will have a very difficult time stopping, especially since a lightsaber can't grip on the ground.

The opponent careens towards the edge of the arena as Jack lands on the ground.

[The Frostbourne he/him]

Ambrosius

about the money...

"One of the drawbacks of this outfit is that it lacks pockets. I can't actually carry my money. I gave it to a friend to hold, but I neglected to specifically say that it was still mine. Thus he may or may not still have it."

I need to keep this guy's attention though, he may prove a useful piece later. Especially since he is from an area near frozen foothills and may know the whereabouts of my family.

"Though, if you wouldn't mind companionship..."

"The companionship will be welcome; Top finds shopping rather dull by one's lonesome, unless one is searching for a specific purchase."

He turns toward a near hall, the direction he hopes is the markets. He makes a mental note to see if there is any actual schedule planned out for the fights; if so, he'll want to check it on the way by. It wouldn't hurt to keep an eye out for Mr. Strange from earlier, either...

Top remarks over one shoulder, "Though pocketless, could you not simply attach a money pouch, similarly to the way you attach weapons?" and strides away, glancing back to ascertain that Ambrosius follows.

[Emeralis00 she/her]

Ambrosius

Ambro follows Top. He isn't thinking like a thief.

"Not a good idea if you live with a family of around thirty or so thieves. Its like trying to pet a Voracious Mouther wearing a meat vest."

And if you try to do that you deserve whats coming for you.

Ambro walks behind and slightly of center, occasionally looking over his right shoulder and then over his left shoulder and vice-versa.

[Cuaiir he/him]

Eerongal

As the bartender goes to mix your drink, he says, “Sounds like someone’s had a long day. Just a moment.” He pulls three bottles from the shelf and gets out a tall glass, then pops open a hidden compartment filled with something that look like Formspheres, all separated by color. The first bottle is spun around his left hand, and a bright blue liquid pours into the glass as he tosses in a deep purple sphere. He pours the blue liquid until it fills half the glass, then pours in both of the other bottles at the same time, one stream of red the other yellow. He nearly fills the glass, then adds two more spheres – one a bright yellow, the other a lime green. The liquids all separate into distinct layers as he carries the drink over to you.

“One Dancing Spheremorph. Popular drink around here, it seems. Had one lady, fresh off a fight, come in, order one, down it, and dash off to the Spheresmithy. She was muttering to herself about some prophecy or other, I don’t remember the words, then said something about a Bleeding Sphere just before she left. Can’t tell me that sounds good.” He grimaces in distaste, and pours himself a shot of something black, drinking it with a smile.

“Much better. Nothing like a T’Loakian brandy to clear the memory of unpleasantness. Not available to the public, of course, as it’s distilled from Archivist Spheres. Copper Chemists, Ferrings, whatever they’re going by these days. But anyway. The arenas are where all the action is, I just hear about it afterwards.

“In Waterfall, some guy lit a puddle on fire to win his match. Crazy, if you ask me. Not sure how that happens. Glyph had someone pull out some sort of blinding light and end his match pretty quick. But Mist… something’s weird about Mist Cavern.

“It’s the fifth match in there right now, I think, but the third was over before anyone could blink. Some joker with an eye-shaped Grid did something, no one’s really sure what, and blew his opponent out of Form and into the chasm. It coulda been lethal if Mr. Benefactor hadn’t shifted into some crazy blue and black thing and sped down there faster than you could spit.”

He takes another shot of the black T’Loakian brandy, and looks over the bar. “You came at the right time for information. Much later and one of the arena’s matches would probably be over, and all those Spheremorphs would be in here buyin drinks.”

River

Peter takes your hand and shakes it briefly. There’s no strength in his grip, though, which is something you’d expect from a man who over-does everything. He meets your eyes and says, deadpan, “Aye. Good match.” His hand drops to his side and feels for something, likely a flask, but doesn’t find it. He notices himself doing this, and stops, shaking his head.

A bit of life comes into his voice as Peter says, “That was a cruel thing you did, River. The Sisters of Preservation can’t Soulcast what they can’t touch, and no Soulcasting means no healing. I can’t have a drink for a month.” His voice escalates until he is spitting his final words at you. “A month, River! Do you know what my life is like, the life of a Defender? No, you left before you could truly take on that role, Defender and head of a Riverheart house. Some argument between you and Arthur, that chull. Believe me it would drive anyone to drink.”

Peter’s hands check for his flask again as his voice drops back to a more normal level. “You used to be a good man, River. Sera gushed over you even after you dumped her; how kind, virtuous, and ever so proper you were. Whatever happened between your house and Arthur’s stupid crusade made you vicious, nasty, and small. I’d love to hear what Sera would have to say if she saw you now, but she can’t say anything anymore. She’s dead. Three months before you left, and you never even dropped by to say ‘I’m sorry.’” Peter is practically in tears at this point, but he continues, “No one came by. Two years and no one said ‘I’m sorry, Skell.’ I lost my little sister, my only family, and no one said a word to me. So I left. Riverheart only has twelve Defenders now.”

The large man sags to his knees and cries, his façade finally broken.

Edited November 3, 2011 by Cuaiir