Story Topic

[The Frostbourne]

Top looks up as he hears a long shriek. He manages to pick up a few words, but those are enough for him. They stink of prophecy. Top mutters, "If there's one thing Top hates, it's prophecies. Always forcing people to a certain Destiny, taking away their choices. Top needs to know whatt that was about." He closes his mouth. Top should probably not talk to himself here... He stops his study of the Glyphs and enters the Waterfall Arena, looking for someone who would have been able to understand what the lady had been screaming. He sees a woman being hauled off the arena floor. She was probably the screamer... And who better to have heard the scream then the man she faced? Top quickly approaches the man she had been fighting as he steps out of the arena.

Edited October 9, 2011 by The Frostbourne

[Emeralis00]

Ambrosius

Ambro felt..uncertain.

What was that she just said, and why do I feel so unusual.

Ambro reluctantly shifts back to baseline, still pumped up on adrenaline.

Is this an illusion? is that why I feel off?

Ambro looks up to see a figure approaching.

[Emeralis00]

Jack Mckinney

Jack had been watching the whole match from his position on the floor.

Jack smiles, "just as I thought." Still need those supplies, I should get those quickly before the next match starts.

He walks to the market area, looking for an arms-merchant selling guns.

[The Frostbourne]

Top approached the figure as he finished shifting to Baseline, and stopped a respectful distance away. "Excuse me sir, but you were the screaming woman's opponent, correct? Would you be willing to tell Top what it is that she said. He did not hear clearly, but suspects it to be prophetic." Perhaps Top can gain a second ally in this man...

[Silus - Shard of Flame]

Jay'el

"Alright, where do I start cutting, how deep, and at what angle?" My brain feels like mush. So much information... I'll retain it more and more as I use it. Focus on getting these breaks right, Jay'el. Study the rest of it later, when you have a moment to think. Probably right before bed.

I grip the cutting tool like it's a sword, unsure of how to use it. With all the information Quinn just dumped on me, I'm a little nervous and my hand shakes minutely.

"If you look at the numbers here-" a swath of the statistics is highlighted in yellow "-you can identify it as the joining border of one of the weapons. You need to approach this more like a surgeon or an electronics expert. Hold the blade like this." A hand grips yours, positioning the tool like a pair of chopforks. You can see a pair of hands placing the Sphere in a vice-like clamp, attached to the same sort of arm that your blade is.

"You hold both of them, think of them as extensions of your hands, rather than tools. Now, you're going to make two incisions. Here and here." A diagram of the Sphere appears, showing the inside of it, where two yellow swaths appear, chunking off a portion of the Sphere.

River:

I turn my attention back to the match, now that is obvious Piscun does not want to be bothered. Overall, Eerongal impresses me, though I think I could have done better. He wasted too much time with the bear I think, He should have gone after the girl immediately. His hesitation to kill a child-like form nearly cost him the match.

I am more than a little miffed that he managed to end the fight without shifting. I was looking forward to seeing what some of his other forms could do.

No that Piscun has declared the match over, I take my chance to speak with him. His comments about loneliness surprise me, as I hadn't expected him to be so candid. "Sorry about earlier," I say. "I should have seen you were busy. I also didn't mean to pry into your personal life. My question was meant to be about this match specifically. I was merely offering to keep you company, if you wished for it."

I pause, thinking out my next move carefully. I can't afford to mess things up, and I know it. "So, if you don't mind me asking, how did you end up here, in your current position?"

"I don't mind the curiosity, or even the asking of the question. But the answer is one I'll keep to myself. There are more secrets there than my own. And the walls have ears." He gives you a nod, then turns back into the unknown rooms behind the balcony, and it retracts.

Jack Mckinney

Jack had been watching the whole match from his position on the floor.

Jack smiles, "just as I thought." Still need those supplies, I should get those quickly before the next match starts.

He walks to the market area, looking for an arms-merchant selling guns.

You approach a shop with a large rifle on display. Behind the counter is a man wearing a sombrero, facing away from you. Muttering in what you think might be New German.

[Eerongal]

Eerongal

Keeping the cold charge in your hammer takes a measure of concentration, making you less nimble than you need to be to keep up the game of cat and mouse (or bear and person) that you have going with Tibbers. Your tactician's mind makes it easier, though, allowing you to make your movements precise and better able to predict the beast's. It really isn't that smart, but it is protective. Once it sees you near where Darla has fallen it goes into an even greater rage.

The speed of its charge is nothing like you've seen before from it. But your hammer falls swift and sure, and the light of transition disperses the bear's claws inches away from tearing into your face. Your eyebrows are singed.

You look around, and see that Darla is back to her proper stature, now unconscious. The crowd cheers for you, and Piscun announces your triumph. You barely pay attention, checking over your wounds; enough burns to cook a pig, it looks like. You slump out of the arena.

Ugh....I hate burns. Why did i have to fight someone who uses fire.....?

Shifting back to my baseline, i feel the fatigue of hard fought battle settle in and my mind slow as the powers of my form fade away. Afterwards, I carefully collect up the remnants of my armor. Before exiting the arena, i turn and, suppressing winces, i give my unconscious opponent a quick salute and whisper, "You fought well. Rest now, you are safe from harm."

With that, I turn and take my time removing myself from the arena.

Let's see....This armor could take a bit to fix up. I'm going to need to find myself an armorer. After that, I better get these wounds seen to.

[Cuaiir]

Jay'el

"If you look at the numbers here-" a swath of the statistics is highlighted in yellow "-you can identify it as the joining border of one of the weapons. You need to approach this more like a surgeon or an electronics expert. Hold the blade like this." A hand grips yours, positioning the tool like a pair of chopforks. You can see a pair of hands placing the Sphere in a vice-like clamp, attached to the same sort of arm that your blade is.

"You hold both of them, think of them as extensions of your hands, rather than tools. Now, you're going to make two incisions. Here and here." A diagram of the Sphere appears, showing the inside of it, where two yellow swaths appear, chunking off a portion of the Sphere.

"Okay. Here I go." I move the vice so I can easily see where I'm cutting and tighten down the joints on the clamp's arm, preventing from moving as I cut. I start the first cut, but when I'm half-way through the swath of coding I can see I'm going off-course little by little. I correct by tilting the cutting tool the other direction, and finish the cut where I'm supposed to. The entire cut, with all the care I put into it, took me five minutes. You need to get better at this, Jay'el. five minutes for one cut, and at least two cuts per weapon? This will take you hours, especially if you screwed up. Wait...

Looking over my work, I notice a chunk of coding, part of some other ability, still attached to the weapon I was cutting away and ask Quinn, "Can I go back later and fix that? I see where I went wrong, and I think I can improve it." I try to point to the chunk of coding, but then I recall that with the headsets on, neither of us can see my hands.

[Emeralis00]

Ambrosius

Ambro narrows his eyes, overly friendly people seem to be swarming as of late.

"Hello, yourself. Why do you wish to know?"

The eye? Does it mean Geass? But, what then, is the stone? How do I use this? There are too many questions, I must ponder this. I could tell Jay and Eero, but not River, definitely not River.

Jack Mckinney

Well this fellow seems to have what I need.

"Excuse me Sir" Jack displays a wide smile as the man turns.

"What wares do you sell? I am looking to purchase a few armaments."

[Silus - Shard of Flame]

Eerongal

The girl behind the counter at the Armorer shop is not what you would have expected. Horizontally striped red and blue hair tied in a ponytail, chewing a piece of gum, reading a book, looking bored. She glances up at you, sighs, then puts a scrap of paper in her book and turns her attention to you.

"Welcome to Arachne Armor, how can I help you?"

Jay'el

"That's tricky, it'll need to be reintegrated. Just shave it off and I'll take care of it." A yellow line shows where you need to put another incision. "And here's the lines for the next one." Two more lines, similar to the first.

Jack

The man turns to face you, and the first thing you notice is the twitch in his cyborg eye. It clicks and spins, the pupil constantly changing its dilation. When he speaks, his German accent is heavy, despite his Hispanic skin.

"We have some stock guns, but mostly we do custom orders. Just look around. See what you want."

[Cuaiir]

"I understand that I need to get these weapons isolated, but I'd be interested in learning the reintegration process at some point. So I can fix my mistakes, if I make any more." And modify my spheres if I can. I wonder if you can get around the Full Fuser using this tech?

Listening for a response, I start the next cut. I finish in roughly the same time, but my line is much straighter, no extra chunks of code this time. The next cut is even better, but still a little rough - and takes me a minute less. Lifetime of tinkering... gotta learn quick. I finish the final line, a perfectly straight cut that only took me four and a half minutes.

Pretty cut... but it took too long. I've been here nearly an hour and I've only got two weapons isolated. You knew this was going to be long when you signed up, Jay. Get used to it. Maybe there's something else you can learn to do before the day is out.

As Quinn highlights the next places to cut, I ask, "Quinn, correct me if I'm wrong, but Soldiers only have four weapons. How are we going to get ten out of these two Spheres?"

[Eerongal]

Eerongal

The girl behind the counter at the Armorer shop is not what you would have expected. Horizontally striped red and blue hair tied in a ponytail, chewing a piece of gum, reading a book, looking bored. She glances up at you, sighs, then puts a scrap of paper in her book and turns her attention to you.

"Welcome to Arachne Armor, how can I help you?"

Strange. But i suppose anyone who has the skill to do so can be a competent smithy...

Wordlessly, i dump the parts i'm carrying off on the counter, and being carefully peeling off the rest of my armor from melted flesh, and add them to the pile.

Enjoying the slight relief of the cool air wafting over my burns, I clear my throat and address the young woman.

"I need my armor repaired. It's been heavily dented from hard blows, so watch for cracks that may need to patch with a like filler. It's also been exposed to high heat, so the oxidization will need to be cleaned off of it before it has a chance to damage the metals, and obviously this goes doubly so for the previously mentioned cracks."

Unless this girl is just the receptionist...?

Cocking an eyebrow, I finish akwardly, "You....are the smith here, are you not?"

[Silus - Shard of Flame]

Jay'el

"I understand that I need to get these weapons isolated, but I'd be interested in learning the reintegration process at some point. So I can fix my mistakes, if I make any more." And modify my spheres if I can. I wonder if you can get around the Full Fuser using this tech?

Listening for a response, I start the next cut. I finish in roughly the same time, but my line is much straighter, no extra chunks of code this time. The next cut is even better, but still a little rough - and takes me a minute less. Lifetime of tinkering... gotta learn quick. I finish the final line, a perfectly straight cut that only took me four and a half minutes.

Pretty cut... but it took too long. I've been here nearly an hour and I've only got two weapons isolated. You knew this was going to be long when you signed up, Jay. Get used to it. Maybe there's something else you can learn to do before the day is out.

As Quinn highlights the next places to cut, I ask, "Quinn, correct me if I'm wrong, but Soldiers only have four weapons. How are we going to get ten out of these two Spheres?"

"Reintegration is a separate process, completely different machine. You're doing this today."

He keeps a close eye on your work as you progress, occasionally nodding his approval at a particularly good cut. When you ask about the Soldier weapons he raises an eyebrow at you.

"Pistol, Submachine Gun, Assault Rifle, Shotgun, Sniper Rifle. That's five. You said to correct you if you were wrong."

Strange. But i suppose anyone who has the skill to do so can be a competent smithy...

Wordlessly, i dump the parts i'm carrying off on the counter, and being carefully peeling off the rest of my armor from melted flesh, and add them to the pile.

Enjoying the slight relief of the cool air wafting over my burns, I clear my throat and address the young woman.

"I need my armor repaired. It's been heavily dented from hard blows, so watch for cracks that may need to patch with a like filler. It's also been exposed to high heat, so the oxidization will need to be cleaned off of it before it has a chance to damage the metals, and obviously this goes doubly so for the previously mentioned cracks."

Unless this girl is just the receptionist...?

Cocking an eyebrow, I finish akwardly, "You....are the smith here, are you not?"

She looks you up and down, taking note of the patches of exposed skin from the burns, but you can see her scribbling down your words with one hand.

"Legs! Get out here!"

You here a rustling from the back room, and an enormous spider, at least five feet tall, emerges into the room from the dark back.

[Cuaiir]

I wince, thinking You forgot about the shotgun again, dummy. Though how anyone hits something with such an inaccurate weapon is beyond me...

"Fair enough. I can't tell quite yet which weapons are which, I thought that portion there was for grenades." Once again, I realize after I gesture that he can't tell. I start making the next cuts, taking my time to do it right. I isolate two more weapons in seventeen minutes, and I can sort of make out where the coding joins the adjacent abilities - exactly which pieces of code need to be taken out. Starting on the next separation, I use the tool like a stiletto knife, excising only the portions of code that I need... I think. I hope I'm doing this right...

[Emeralis00]

Jack Mckinney

'Okay." Jack nods.

Now what do I have memorized?

blinding shot (magic)

fire blast (magic)

wide shot (tech)

earth shock-wave (magic)

coldfire (magic)

fireball (magic)

steel push (magic)

Hmm, one bright-steel pistol, and a hand bombard should work. Oh and an airgun, for the airbender form.

Judging from the displayed prices, those should cost just enough that I will have only enough for a dagger.

"Do you have a bright-steel pistol, hand bombard, and airgun pistol? If not, how long would it take for you to make them?"

Edited October 12, 2011 by Emeralis00

[The Frostbourne]

Ambrosius

Ambro narrows his eyes, overly friendly people seem to be swarming as of late.

"Hello, yourself. Why do you wish to know?"

The eye? Does it mean Geass? But, what then, is the stone? How do I use this? There are too many questions, I must ponder this. I could tell Jay and Eero, but not River, definitely not River.

Top sighs slightly as the man takes him in instantly and begins to analyze. Some people have no sense of trust... Or at least of feigning trust.

He steps closer, dropping his polite mannerisms. "Top sees that you won't be eased by subtlety or euphemisms. So he'll be blunt. Top chases prophecy for two reasons: to avoid being ensared in one if at all possible, and to... recover something he lost of value." Top looks at... Ambro, the announcer had said? straight in the eyes. "Please, repeat what that woman said, word for word if possible. If not, Top will find another who can." Let Top see what the man makes of that.

[Comatose]

River:

Well, that was a waste, I think to myself. At least I learned a bit more about Piscun. For one, he's far more open and candid than expected. A noble of Riverheart would be instantly suspect if they behaved in such a way, but I remind myself that in other places, honesty and genuineness are actually valued. The problem are Psicun's superiors, whoever they are. Though both he and Jezebel seem to wield some sort of power here, it is becoming clear they gain their power from elsewhere. They are but the visible hands of the hidden mind who is running this tournament. I have no leads on the ring leader however, and Piscun, Jezebel, are the only officials I have had the opportunity to meet. The other man, with the invisible presence following him, remains a mystery.

I decide to leave the arena. It's obvious I need more information before I can start rising through the ranks here and find the people in charge. My pursuit of power will have to wait. I realize that if I don't keep winning, any further plans are pointless. Right now I need to focus on preparing for my next match.

I swing by the bracket to check who my next opponent is, asking several likely candidates along the way if they have any information on Piscun, Jezebel, or any of the other 'administrators'. Once I've checked the bracket, I head to the shops. The Jay-El's amalgam form caught my eye on the hill, and I wonder if I can find something similar for myself here. I'm sure I could come up with some devious combinations of my three forms that could make me a dangerous contender. Or at least, more of a danger than I already am.

[Silus - Shard of Flame]

Jay'el

"Slow down a bit, you're cutting too close. Remember, quality over speed. A Spheremorph won't care if you take a while as long as you get it right."

River

You approach a shop next to the Spheresmithy, practically an extension of it as the wall between them is open. A number of other customers are here as well, looking over the merchandise. The items for sale are straight Sphere components, which makes sense. One store to sell them, another to put them together; no wonder they're so close.

A tall, spindly man in a sharp suit, sporting a long mustache, approaches you. "Welcome to my shop, how may I help you, Spheremorph?"

[Cuaiir]

I pause for a moment, not wanting to mess up my current separation, and reply, "Of course. I'm going at a speed that seems natural, and trying to be as precise as possible. Look. I'm removing just the portions that actually bind these together, nothing else. Actually cutting removes other sections - small, but I think they may be important."

[Eerongal]

She looks you up and down, taking note of the patches of exposed skin from the burns, but you can see her scribbling down your words with one hand.

"Legs! Get out here!"

You here a rustling from the back room, and an enormous spider, at least five feet tall, emerges into the room from the dark back.

Interesting....Good thing I'm not arachnophobia, i suppose.

Crossing my arms carefully, I watch as the creature sets about its task, waiting patiently time estimate.

[Emeralis00]

Ambrosius

Bluntness. I like bluntness.

"The stone is false and always has been! A shelter for the immortal who holds the horrid secret that damns us all! Beware the eye: the eye that stares into the void and, unblinking, unflinching, feeds on its power! That is what she said."

Maybe this guy knows something of this, and he seems open enough to share.

[Silus - Shard of Flame]

Jay'el

I pause for a moment, not wanting to mess up my current separation, and reply, "Of course. I'm going at a speed that seems natural, and trying to be as precise as possible. Look. I'm removing just the portions that actually bind these together, nothing else. Actually cutting removes other sections - small, but I think they may be important."

"The bonding code between pieces is thicker than you're thinking, and has its own pieces within itself. Wherever you cut it inside the bonding doesn't matter, since we'll just have to match it back up in the integration process."

Interesting....Good thing I'm not arachnophobia, i suppose.

Crossing my arms carefully, I watch as the creature sets about its task, waiting patiently time estimate.

Definitely a good thing, as you notice the multi-eyed goggles, trucker hat, and gloves around the end of its first four limbs. It clicks at the receptionist in what seems to be a language she understands.

"Do you see that? I'm pretty sure that's burnt skin on the inside of that piece, no way am I touching that long enough to carry it to the back."

More clicking, accompanied by vigorous leg gestures.

"So? You wanting to hide out in the back isn't enough for that."

What you could swear is a sigh, then more clicking.

She slumps back in her chair, picking up her book - a battered copy of what seems to be Watchmen: The Return. "Tell him yourself."

The spider, yes, rolls its eyes, then raises a leg to its neck, pressing a button on a silver collar you now notice.

A computerized, disjointed voice speaks to you. "Don't mind my niece. She's just annoyed at being in a dungeon this long, even a hollow one. We'll have it ready by tomorrow morning. You do have another match, yes?"

[Eerongal]

Definitely a good thing, as you notice the multi-eyed goggles, trucker hat, and gloves around the end of its first four limbs. It clicks at the receptionist in what seems to be a language she understands.

"Do you see that? I'm pretty sure that's burnt skin on the inside of that piece, no way am I touching that long enough to carry it to the back."

More clicking, accompanied by vigorous leg gestures.

"So? You wanting to hide out in the back isn't enough for that."

What you could swear is a sigh, then more clicking.

She slumps back in her chair, picking up her book - a battered copy of what seems to be Watchmen: The Return. "Tell him yourself."

The spider, yes, rolls its eyes, then raises a leg to its neck, pressing a button on a silver collar you now notice.

A computerized, disjointed voice speaks to you. "Don't mind my niece. She's just annoyed at being in a dungeon this long, even a hollow one. We'll have it ready by tomorrow morning. You do have another match, yes?"

Niece? Interesting....Not entirely sure I want to know how that works.....

I consider, cocking my head slightly at the mention of "niece".

Nodding, I begin, "Yes, I do have another match. Also, I don't know what your normal clientele prefers, but if it comes down to it, I prefer function over style. So if you have to cut corners on looks for strengthening purposes, so be it."

"Now, if i could beg your pardon, but I must be out to see to some more....uh....."

Shrugging my shoulders and gesturing a bit to my burns, i finish "....'Repairs'"

After pausing momentarily to catch the smith's response, I turn and set about finding myself the nearest healer.

If push come to shove and they have no competent healers here, I could change to paladin and heal myself, but the additional fatigue that would cause on top of the fatigue from a hard fought battle is certainly not preferable....

[Cuaiir]

Jay'el

"The bonding code between pieces is thicker than you're thinking, and has its own pieces within itself. Wherever you cut it inside the bonding doesn't matter, since we'll just have to match it back up in the integration process."

Ah. So wouldn't more precision be preferable? But if it's joined to something that isn't as cleanly separated... I see. Easier to match rough to rough and add filler, especially when filler comes easily and cheaply. The cutting method also seems a bit quicker, and if the net result is the same...

"Very well. I'll just excise the entire bonding portion." With that in mind, I return to cutting the pieces apart, rather than pulling out the bonding portion. With three more cuts, I take my time and do a neat job. I finish roughly fifteen minutes later and ask, "What do I do with the rest of the Sphere? The armor, abilities, and other things are all still intact." Liar. "Well, except for that one that I cut into."

I could chop it up into component parts, but that seems wasteful of time since Tori needs those weapons quickly. Will I fix that mistake I made? Cut off the portion of the other ability so he can reintegrate it... I wonder if he'll go do that while I cut up the other Sphere...

[The Frostbourne]

Ambrosius

Bluntness. I like bluntness.

"The stone is false and always has been! A shelter for the immortal who holds the horrid secret that damns us all! Beware the eye: the eye that stares into the void and, unblinking, unflinching, feeds on its power! That is what she said."

Maybe this guy knows something of this, and he seems open enough to share.

"Interesting... Less subtle than some, yet as infuriating as all... It could be referencing a monster, but it's more likely to be a Spheremorph... Maybe more than one Spheremorph? It does not appear to reference me, but maybe I should-" Top breaks off suddenly. He takes a long, slow breath, obviously trying hard to control himself, though the reason for doing so is perhaps not so obivous.

"Top apologizes for getting so excited. For your honesty, he will tell you should he discover any plausible meanings of the prophecy. Hopefully, it's nothing too life-altering. I'll tell you this, though: keep an eye out for people with eye-related powers, and those who carry objects with the powers mentioned in the prophecy. It's possible that Top is taking this too literally, but prophecies are often less subtle than they seem. Be wary, but not paranoid."

Top strides rapidly away after a quick, polite bow. When did Top last slip like that...? Perhaps the topic reminded him of Ale- his studies. He had best be more careful... He heads toward the Glyph Arena - there are a few more tests he would like to run before his battle, plus he would like to spectate any ongoing battles.

[Comatose]

River:

I nod respectfully to the man. "I'm not to familiar with the mechanics behind spheremounts, but I'm looking for a gated fuser, or something like it. I noticed an amalgam form the other day, and am interested in something similar. Do you know if its possible to fuse more than one form together?" I pause, wishing I knew more about what I was talking about. I hate looking like a fool, but my training focused more on using and maintaining my Spheremount. There were always servants around when I needed some sort of upgrade. "Actually, any sort of upgrade would be helpful," I pull out a wallet, holding it suggestively. "Do you think you could help me out? Or point me in the direction of someone who can?"