main plot All Lights Quenched

[overlord stick]

1 hour ago, RayOfSunshine said:

One stepped forward, slowly, step by step, the green pulse moving with it. The filth fell back in behind it, and was repelled as it walked forward.

The Aon chain on it's left hand glowed brightly, and the sand was all blasted backward in a second.

It approached the man with the sand, and it's hand shot out, grabbing for the man's neck.

Kendul ducked, grabbed the man's arm, and punched the grunt in his face, and reformed 2 ribbons, one shoving into his mouth, the other his nose, attempting to choke him.

@RayOfSunshine

[Rushu42 she/her]

38 minutes ago, RayOfSunshine said:

It moved back to the edge of the rooftop silently.

The helicopter materialized behind him, and he threw her to a waiting footsoldier.

The helicopter disappeared again.

The footsoldier grinned slightly, cracks on his face visible.

"I'm John. I'm gonna take you to our bunker."

He stuck out his hand.

Aln started at him, breath coming fast. She was still unsteady from being unexpectedly tossed like a bag of grain, but very hesitantly shook his hand. "Um, I'm Aln. I'm just a scholar. I'm not on anyone's side." Although, she added to herself, I'd really prefer that you don't burn down my library.

Edited July 22, 2019 by Rushu42
Grammatical error

[Voidus]

Voidus' brow creased into a frown as he looked towards Deteca. She'd risked a lot coming here through the Alleys, apparently simply because it was faster than other travelling options, and now she wanted to interfere with their internal affairs?

His gaze brushed over Lita's body, lying unconscious on the ground. She was breathing, still alive. The spike had been well placed, as expected of one with the Strangers experience in the arts of Hemalurgy. She was in no more immediate danger than anyone else in the city. Most likely she'd been flaring her tin during the storm and been overwhelmed by the pain, she would awaken once her mind had recovered.

Once more his eyes shifted towards Laurelai, like iron towards a magnet. She started for a moment before reacting, but a look of worry crossed over her as Lita collapsed. She didn't rush forwards as Deteca had, but she was clearly concerned, casting gazes towards the Stranger and seeming to be forcibly holding herself back from trying to help in some way.

I suppose they are friends, concern is understandable. A little aid wouldn't go astray then, and based on that placement...

He pulled a small vial from a pocket, crossing the distance towards Lita's body in an instant. He uncorked the vial, moving it towards her mouth and pouring a small trickle through her parted lips. He then looked across towards Deteca, still crouched down and holding onto Lita's wrist.

"Would you please remove your hands from our Denizen?" He asked coldly, taking back his own hand at the same time and straightening himself. "Healing would only do more harm anyway."

Pewter was more helpful here, simply healing the wounds wouldn't help her to cope with the overload. Lita's body should be used to Allomancy enough to burn it unconsciously.
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Laurelai stood stunned, she'd been trying to puzzle out Lita's behaviour while she was speaking with the Stranger, something about her just seemed a little off. Less reserved perhaps? Then again she hadn't known the other woman for that long of a time, perhaps she was simply opening up after becoming more comfortable? Though comfort was hardly the word she would have used to describe their recent circumstances.

But as she'd been musing the Stranger had quickly and inexorably slammed a spike into Lita. Laurelai took a moment to process what had just happened, it wasn't until she saw the small trickle of blood that she realized. She'd almost stumbled forwards a step reflexively to try to patch the wound, but this was Hemalurgy the wound wouldn't be fatal regardless. And she usually relied on Resealing for medical aid, but the spike would likely interfere with that in unpredictable ways.

So she simply stood still for a moment, watching as Deteca rushed over and began checking Lita's pulse.

That was something strange, why had she collapsed? Momentarily she could understand, being stabbed with a spike was hardly a relaxing experience for most, but she seemed to have fainted entirely.

She looked worriedly over to the Stranger, to Voidus and Mac. None of them seemed particularly perturbed by Lita's sudden unconscious state, had they been expecting this? Or was that spike intended to be lethal? Was this the punishment that she'd seen waiting for them, caused by whatever she had done to anger them?

She looked back over to Lita, still lying on the ground. Should she try to Reseal her? The Alleystorm was still about, and she'd never tried before in the Storm for fear of what might happen, but could she let Lita die just because of what might happen?

Wait... The storm.

Lita was a tineye, in the Alleystorm that too would have been enhanced. She'd seen signs of it when Lita had replied to her, glimpses of that look of exhilaration and exultation of power. If she'd had her tin charged by the storm then how would being stabbed have felt? The pain of a spike piercing her body would have been magnified along with everything else, becoming dozens of times more intense, maybe hundreds. It was no wonder then that she'd been unable to maintain consciousness.

Voidus stepped up to Lita, seemed to give her something. More tin? That seemed unlikely to help. And Lita had already refilled her vials, already drank those vials...

How many vials? From what she recalled tin was one of the slower burning metals, but how many vials had Lita already used tonight?
@AonEne @ZincAboutIt
 

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Not sure that I'll be able to do many more but some responses up at least.

 

[AonEne he/him]

57 minutes ago, Voidus said:

She'd risked a lot coming here through the Alleys, apparently simply because it was faster than other traveling options, and now she wanted to interfere with their internal affairs?

Quote

And you can deal with it, Mr. Spiky.

Deteca looked up with a start to see Voidus administering a vial of something, probably Allomantic metals, to the young woman. Would they help?

"Would you please remove your hands from our Denizen?" the man who led the Dark Alley asked, voice icily annoyed as he stood. "Healing would only do more harm anyway." He seemed not to care that the woman - whose name she still didn't know - had fainted.

Deteca laid down the Denizen's arm, nudging it away from the wetter part of the ground - without much variance in how wet she was getting. She went to move away, then hesitated, eyed her, and then dropped to her side again and worked one arm under her back. Placing the other under the backs of her knee joints, Deteca lifted the woman a bit. Oof. Not nearly as young as I used to be. She managed to move her to a slightly drier place under the eaves of the nearby building, leaning her up against the wall while making sure to jostle the spike as little as possible. It's steel, she noted. That was...physical Allomantic metals, right?

Standing, she brushed off the knees of her pants automatically where she'd knelt, to again no effect. Storming Alleystorm...er, rusting Alleystorm... She gave the poor Denizen one last look, then walked the few steps back to the DA delegation. "And why wouldn't healing help?" She felt a spark of anger ignite in her stomach, like how she imagined burning metals might feel, as she took a step closer to Voidus. "I mean, I suppose you'd know better than I when it comes to your Metallic - Art..." She had to force the word out. "...but still, not doing anything for her? Not giving her painkillers beforehand or even warning her -" Now she cast a disgusted look at the Stranger. "- or at least doing it out of the rain, when the Alleycity isn't in imminent danger?"

Even being reminded of the fact that they would soon be under attack - maybe sooner than she'd thought, considering the far-off cries, shrieks, and crashes she was beginning to hear - didn't stop her from glaring at the two of them. They thought they were so above the members of their own guild? Well fine then, let them face another leader of one.

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Yes, I realize that they don't really care that she's a leader, and yes, I realize that antagonizing these two people is possibly one of the worst ideas in the Alleyverse. The only thing I'm going to apologize about is the fact that I'm still interacting with IC-Voidus. Sorry, Sharder-mod-RPer-Voidus.

 

Edited July 23, 2019 by AonEne
never mind, thought of moving Lita to a sitting position but that could be bad for the injury, jostling the spike or somesuch.....................never mind again I did it anyway

[+Sorana she/her]

Althea grimaced slightly in disgust when the scholar allowed herself to be taken away. Didn't she realize, that if they all died, nobody would be left?

Do you want to take on the leader? And do you need some support?

She asked Max and then turned to one of the attackers.

"We won't leave."

She announced loudly, mostly, to make clear, that all of were standing on the same side of the table. Her mind touched the cloths of the man (=Grunt#4) and then the air around him. Quickly she encased him in a thick, solid cocoon of metal, felt the air rush towards him while she soulcast it. She made sure to leave so holes around his face to give him a chance to breathe.

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I'm toning Althea down a bit, because she kind of can take care of all grunts with nothing more than a thought, and I don't want to spoil the fun. So I only took one, and I didn't kill him.

@RayOfSunshine

@I think I am here.

[Fatebreaker he/him]

The Stranger watched as Lita's eyes went wide. Her flared tin during the spiking would make this an experience she would never forget. He'd done it a few times himself, and man did it hurt. It was no surprise that she collapsed. 

What was surprising was the TUBA woman stepping in. She seemed horrified, though it could have been at the use of Hemalurgy rather than the potential loss of life. He snortedin derision as she checked for a pulse. As if his placement hadn't been accurate on the molecular level. Fearing for Lita's safety was an insult to his skill, but he supposed a member of TUBA couldn't understand.

Voidus stepped in immediately after and remedied the situation. The Stranger nodded approvingly as Voidus administered a vial of pewter solution to the unconscious Lita. He moved with certainty and skill, until his eyes found Laurelai. Then they were touched with a whisper of longing and regret, as soft and brief as a passing breeze. It struck the Stranger like a blow to the throat, snatching the air from him for an instant. It had been one thing when they were in a room dawdling and bandying pleasantries with the other guilds. Nothing there could have been more pressing than the presence of his kin. But here, in the midst of ongoing hemalurgy and an attack on the city, Voidus's attention wandered. Voidus possessed dedication and focus that was unmatchable, yet the very presence of Laurelai caused his focus to waver.His heart yearned. For her, for the time lost, for the time they could have had.

The Stranger's eyes moved to Lita, to the new gleaming spike, to the trickle of blood that dyed her clothes the color of finality. For others, this would have been a simple upgrade, a mere enhancement. He had seen the scales in her eyes, weighing her past and future. He had felt something within her break, something that had nothing to do with muscle and tendon. The Coin had fallen to land beside her, Spiked Skull grinning up from it's now slick surface. He bent down and picked it up.

It weighed heavy in his hand, as if to imply the gravity of the current situation. Had this really been her choice? Had he been pushing a young impressionable denizen on a path without giving her the chance to forge her own destiny? Had he just robbed her of creating her own Scientific path? Was he now manufacturing people as he did abominations? These were not things an Archdenizen worried about. He should forge ahead, in pursuit of knowledge and discovery.

But he looked at Laurelai, and realized something. She had no idea that she was currently the safest person in the Universe. Voidus would do anything to protect her, but she was afraid of him, her own father. She feared for the safety of herself and her friend as if their lives weren't worth the price of postage. Because her father hadn't been there to tell her so, so declare her value to the world. He had been with the Stranger, forging a world. The Stranger's friendship with Voidus had cost her a family.

The Stranger looked at the people around him, then at Mac. The wind tore at his dapper clothes, but could not seem to rumple them. He had held onto that core element of humanity. He still felt like a person, not an entity. A powerful person, make no mistake, but still a person. The Stranger had become a deity, or a devil, depending on who you asked. And so had Voidus. Gods had servants, followers, and worshipers. Maybe even friends, if they were very, very lucky. But never families.

There was still much to be done this day, but the Stranger had much to think about. But that could wait, now was the time for business.

He knelt down and placed the coin in Lita's palm, where her hand closed around it instinctively. He allowed himself a smirk. Now that she had this power, she would be even more tenacious. Good, the Alleys needed vim and vigor these days. Whatever the price had been, Lita had already paid it. She would have to deal with the consequences of her sacrifice. But she would not do so as a helpless maiden. She was a Denizen.

He lifted his head to speak to Laurelai, "She's fine, just wasn't prepared for the procedure. Pulled a rookie move, flaring tin while receiving an unpgrade, likely blacked out from sheer sensory overload. We'll have her up and running in no time." 

He whispered softly, and his words carried a stirring power. "Now now, napping comes after we save the day. It's just a wee spike, and it wasn't even one of the more dangerous bindpoints, though our friend from TUBA here likely couldn't tell the difference. Rise and face your new reality, Little Lita."

@ZincAboutIt

Edited July 23, 2019 by Fatebreaker

[AonEne he/him]

6 minutes ago, Fatebreaker said:

Fearing for Lita's safety was an insult to his skill, but he supposed a member of TUBA couldn't understand.

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If he decides to deign to argue back at her, please say something along these lines, l have a comeback but I feel like saying it OOC might be rude (even if I agree with it). 

 

[Fatebreaker he/him]

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Edited 

 

[AonEne he/him]

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Very nice of you, good sir 

I’m going to wait on one or two more posts before l post again, however. 

 

[kenod]

9 hours ago, RayOfSunshine said:

The armor absorbed the hit, a small crack appearing where it hit. He reached out superhumanly fast, grabbing Aylitha's wrist. Then he activated his chromium. He was burning pewter, and his grip was unnaturally strong.

Aylitha frowned when she suddenly felt her connection to her mass vanish, her mind cut off from her other body. "Canceller," she muttered, sounding alarmed. "How?" She shrunk her wrist, reshaping it into a tentacle, making slippery, and pulled it out of the man's hand. She jumped back, and felt her connection appear again. "So you aren't..." she muttered. "Right, local magic..." She got annoyed with herself, she should have been able to remember that, instead of jumping to her previous conclusion.

[I think I am here. he/him]

6 hours ago, Sorana said:

Althea grimaced slightly in disgust when the scholar allowed herself to be taken away. Didn't she realize, that if they all died, nobody would be left?

Do you want to take on the leader? And do you need some support?

She asked Max and then turned to one of the attackers.

"We won't leave."

She announced loudly, mostly, to make clear, that all of were standing on the same side of the table. Her mind touched the cloths of the man (=Grunt#4) and then the air around him. Quickly she encased him in a thick, solid cocoon of metal, felt the air rush towards him while she soulcast it. She made sure to leave so holes around his face to give him a chance to breathe.

I’ll try. Do you think you could soulcast an aluminium plate?

Max asked Athea and he summoned Sethramir, stepping forward and staring at the leader. If he could take control of them, maybe he could command the other grunts to leave. But, no. He’d already taken control of one abomination, and he’d hated it.

Moving forward, Max made sure to keep his distance, and swung Sethramir low, trying to slice the legs of the leader.

@RayOfSunshine

[+Sorana she/her]

1 hour ago, I think I am here. said:

I’ll try. Do you think you could soulcast an aluminium plate?

Althea sent him the image of herself laughing in joy. She loved to soulcast on a normal day, now with the storm, the thought to create a whole plate, with ties and everything, it was difficult, daring even, but she was good. There was so much stormlight calling out for her to use it, to finally do something, that the prospect of a challenge was like a bag full of chocolate. There was soulcasting, and then there was soulcasting. Changing an object was easy, especially with that much investiture at her disposal. Changing a human body was tricky, but if you knew how, it got easy. But to soulcast a plate, something consisting out of different parts, but still seeing itself as a unit - or she had to create all the smaller parts and they had to fit perfectly together.

Of course. For you or for him?

She asked and inhaled again, strocked the storm inside her body, her soul. It was glorious, powerful, her home, her haven. She knew she was standing in the middle of a battle, of an invasion, felt the memories tug on her mind, the fear, the panic, the dread reaching out for her, it was too close too similar... But for now there was the storm and its glory blew the memories away, its might held her close, so close, kept her safe. She wished nobody was here, so that she could close her eyes, dance in the rain, give in to the wind, but no. She had her mask, and the mask was good. It protected her in a way the storm never could.

Edited July 23, 2019 by Sorana

[+ZincAboutIt she/her]

Lita floated in darkness. It was a warm, close darkness, the kind of darkness that came with dreamless sleep. It wrapped around her in velvety folds, gentle and heavy. There was no time here - there was no need for it. There was only darkness, and warmth, and silence. Something moved around her, a slight breeze tickling her neck. The darkness surrounding her began to shift and grow, expanding outward and upward, becoming vast and cavernous, like a cave. Like a void.

Lita crouched in this new darkness, now cold and hollow. Behind her came a bright, metallic sound, something small falling on stone and bouncing once, twice, three times. 

Pling! Plip! Plik!

The sound danced through the air, shimmery and golden. It rolled across the floor before it nudged up against her foot, falling onto one side with a slight clink. Lita picked it up, feeling the cool weight of it in her hand, recognizing its shape despite the pitch blackness.

A coin. The Coin.

‘Lita?’  The voice was almost-familiar. It seemed to come from all around her, the darkness itself hissing and murmuring. She turned to the side, searching for it. That voice. It was so familiar, she could have sworn she’d heard it before.

“Lita, girl?” A man’s voice echoed through the dark behind her. Lita froze, her heart in her throat. Impossible.

“Is it really you?” The man continued, his strong baritone roughened by emotion. Lita stood, still frozen in the darkness. Her hand shook as she held the Coin, gripping it in her fist.

“My Lita girl,” Conrad Attarre whispered, and she could hear the tears in his voice. “Come back to me.”

Lita felt hot tears of her own spill down her cheeks. She bit her lip to keep from sobbing, wiping the back of her hand across her eyes. “You’re not real,” she whispered into the dark. Her voice sounded so weak in this cavernous void. “You’re not.”

“We can fix it,” her father said, so close now. Lita felt her nails dig into her palms, the sting a bare echo next to the howling pain within her heart. “We can fix it all, Lita girl. Just come back to me.”

Lita tasted blood in her mouth as the sob ripped past her teeth, filling the blackness. “You know I can’t,” she choked. “You know I can’t come back.”

“Then let me look at you, my Lita girl,” he pleaded, soft and low. “One last time.”

He was right behind her. Why didn’t she turn? Why didn’t she turn?

She spun. “Father!” She called into the blackness. But there was nothing. No one. Lita reached out, hands searching the darkness.

“Sacrifice,” came a new voice. Colder. Older. Stranger. A pale, ghostly light pulsed behind her.

“Rise and face your new reality, Little Lita,” the Stranger whispered.

And Lita opened her eyes.

- -

She drew in a deeper breath and braced herself for pain, and pain was there to meet her - though not so bright and vicious as before. The world was a watercolor blur without her Tin or her glasses, and the Alleystorm still raged around them. Lita felt something in her hand; she looked down. The Coin sparkled between her fingers, and she peered closer at whoever was kneeling before her.

The Stranger? Kneeling? 

“Sir?” She groaned, trying to do...something. Rusts, her body felt like she’d been beaten with a table leg, though she had to admit, she’d expected to feel far worse. Metal burned pleasantly within her, the Allomancy a familiar --

Wait. She was out of Tin, and as she concentrated, the burn felt different. Hotter, more insistent, stronger. Lita felt her eyes go wide, and she cocked her head to one side, the tiniest smile growing in the corner of her mouth.

“Sir?” She said again, this time wide awake. Lita felt her heart beat a little faster. Power. “What does it do?” 

@Fatebreaker

[+Ark1002]

21 hours ago, Lord Furret said:

Kendul ducked, grabbed the man's arm, and punched the grunt in his face, and reformed 2 ribbons, one shoving into his mouth, the other his nose, attempting to choke him.

@RayOfSunshine

The sand slid of the mask. The mask was also a hell of a lot stronger then the punch.

The grunt again grabbed for the mans neck, faster this time. The man also wouldn't be prepared.

21 hours ago, Rushu42 said:

Aln started at him, breath coming fast. She was still unsteady from being unexpectedly tossed like a bag of grain, but very hesitantly shook his hand. "Um, I'm Aln. I'm just a scholar. I'm not on anyone's side." Although, she added to herself, I'd really prefer that you don't burn down my library.

He grinned. "Sorry, protocool. Just following orders."

16 hours ago, Sorana said:

Althea grimaced slightly in disgust when the scholar allowed herself to be taken away. Didn't she realize, that if they all died, nobody would be left?

Do you want to take on the leader? And do you need some support?

She asked Max and then turned to one of the attackers.

"We won't leave."

She announced loudly, mostly, to make clear, that all of were standing on the same side of the table. Her mind touched the cloths of the man (=Grunt#4) and then the air around him. Quickly she encased him in a thick, solid cocoon of metal, felt the air rush towards him while she soulcast it. She made sure to leave so holes around his face to give him a chance to breathe.

Grunt 4 tried to move, but found himself unable. He growled, and bit down. Poison entered his mouth, and his eyes rolled back into his head. He was dead in seconds.

12 hours ago, kenod said:

Aylitha frowned when she suddenly felt her connection to her mass vanish, her mind cut off from her other body. "Canceller," she muttered, sounding alarmed. "How?" She shrunk her wrist, reshaping it into a tentacle, making slippery, and pulled it out of the man's hand. She jumped back, and felt her connection appear again. "So you aren't..." she muttered. "Right, local magic..." She got annoyed with herself, she should have been able to remember that, instead of jumping to her previous conclusion.

It stepped forward. "Do you want to know what death is like? I can help you with that."

Quote

Okay, apparently I wasn't clear enough with this.

Their armor covers the entire body. Nothing is visible. No features. There is arms, legs, body, and a head. But you wouldn't be able to identify nose, eyes, mouth, ears.

The armor is very strong.

There is an air tank that can last an hour, but it has small holes on the back that fill it while air is available.

 

[kenod]

6 minutes ago, RayOfSunshine said:

It stepped forward. "Do you want to know what death is like? I can help you with that."

Aylitha tilted her head, then fell apart, suddenly changing into a strange black liquid, splashing down into the filth. Behind the armored men she rose out of the filth again, skin black like tar, holding a bone-white knife. She rushed forwards, stabbing the knife towards the closest man. At the same time tentacles continued to launch themselves at the armored men from the front.

[Rushu42 she/her]

1 hour ago, RayOfSunshine said:

He grinned. "Sorry, protocool. Just following orders."

Aln swallowed. "Where are we going?" she asked, stopping herself from reaching for her spanreed. She couldn't hear the sound of fighting over the spinning of the rotors, and she didn't dare check out the window. Instead, she just focused on the scene around her, determined to remember as much as possible to later record in her notebook. 

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Could I have a description of the soldier, please? Is he armored in the same way as the others?

 

[+Sorana she/her]

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Are there more of them throughout the city? If yes, can Wes and Mike find one of them?

And you missed Itiah's/ Max attack.

@RayOfSunshine

[AonEne he/him]

Deteca heard the Stranger speak and turned to face him, but he wasn’t talking to her. First he explained to the other Denizen that the spiked one had been flaring tin at the time when she’d been stabbed, and during the Alleystorm it would’ve been even worse. Deteca relaxed...slightly. 

"It's just a wee spike,” he continued, kneeling at her side, “and it wasn't even one of the more dangerous bindpoints, though our friend from TUBA here likely couldn't tell the difference. Rise and face your new reality, Little Lita." 

Oh, Lita’s a nice name, a piece of Deteca’s brain the size of one of those tiny chocolate chips she hated using in cookies thought. 

The rest of her was far too busy being set off again, ignoring the status of this man - if that was indeed the right term, she wasn’t sure if he was exactly human - as the person to have most recently physically attacked someone in the vicinity and verbally attacking him herself. “No. No, I couldn’t tell the difference,” she agreed with him, voice light but biting. “Because I am not someone who spends her time hurting other people in the name of science. I don’t know bindpoints because I haven’t ever stabbed someone with the intention of either stealing what isn’t mine from them or giving them something that they shouldn’t have, something unnatural -“ She cut herself off, then took a breath and started again, quieter. 

“I don’t understand Hemalurgy, and I don’t understand how anyone could be so callous as to perform it in the way that you just did. I don’t understand what it is about science and power and knowledge that makes you and so many others harm and kill others to get it, when there must be better ways. I don’t understand why you feel the need to create the abominations you do, since I have never known them to serve a purpose besides sowing fear, and I don’t understand why you won’t help the city in a way that won’t destroy half of it.” Deteca realized Lita was waking up and muttered, “Well, anyway. You’re right. I couldn’t tell the difference.” 

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In just a bit she might ask Lita if she’s okay or something along those lines, depends on the circumstances. 

 

[I think I am here. he/him]

23 hours ago, Sorana said:

Of course. For you or for him?

For me,

Max said and inwardly smiled at the image of her she sent him.

Something to counter his aon chains. I would say a shield but I don’t want to distract you for too long.

[Voidus]

Deteca had not released Lita, at least not immediately. Voidus watched carefully as she slowly moved her body, ready to deal with her should she try anything, but it seemed there was no ill intent in her actions. She moved Lita a little and seemed to try to make her comfortable before standing up again.

As though being drier is going to help compared to the pain she just experienced.

He suppressed the urge to roll his eyes, but it was harmless enough wasn't it? No need to press the issue. He did arch an eyebrow towards the Stranger as he knelt down beside Lita though, he had to have seen the signs of a Tineye flaring. Why had he spiked her so suddenly? Even disregarding the pain she would have endured, this was not exactly a controlled environment. Was he trying to build her up? Break her? Both?

He shelved the thought for now, there would be time later for discussions like that. He was sure the Stranger would have a number of questions of his own.

“Because I am not someone who spends her time hurting other people in the name of science." Deteca's voice broke through his musings, her eyes swiveled accusingly towards the Stranger. "I don’t know bindpoints because I haven’t ever stabbed someone with the intention of either stealing what isn’t mine from them or giving them something that they shouldn’t have, something unnatural“

He silently turned towards her, moving forwards to stand beside the Stranger. Waiting for her to finish. When she finally did she turned towards Lita, seeming to notice that she'd regained consciousness. Voidus waited another moment before speaking.

"Inhalers are not natural." He began. "Insulin shots, anesthetics, aspirin, antibiotics. Not natural. Synthetic fibers, materials and construction techniques are not natural. We use the unnatural for the same reason that all other sapient beings do, because it is an improvement over the natural. You think us monsters because we pay the price that others are unwilling to but you stand on a world which would not exist if it were not for that price. You and every other hypocrite who condemns Hemalurgy while reaping the benefits from its use. You ask why I'm reticent to help this city? This city that speaks of us as horrors in the night to be feared and hated? That tried to mount an army to march on the Worldspike? Who was it that fired upon this city at the end of the war? Who was it that called the Phoenix here both then and now? Not us."

He stared at her as he spoke, holding himself up and allowed a touch of his irritation to show on his face. But then his posture deflated a little, and he was once more simply tired.

"This city's continued existence is a mark of my near infinite patience with it." He said finally, moving towards the entrance of the Alley. "Count yourself lucky that it still stands at all. We shall see if it still does by the time this day is over."

Reaching the entrance he looked around the cityscape before him, eyes scanning the skyline and finding several other flying figures now along with that purple imitaiton of the Phoenix. In the far distance it seemed that land based forces were nearly carpeting the ground around the city, making a push forwards.

"I'll be back shortly."

Voidus began striding down the street, towards the chaos. Trusting that the Stranger and Mac would be able to handle anything else that made it this far in even without his help. He'd taken too long to take a personal hand in these events, it was time for this day to end.

[Fatebreaker he/him]

“What does it do?” Lita’s eyes were wide wide wonder.

The Stranger grinned and was about to reply when the TUBA woman spoke up, railing against Hemalurgy. The Stranger felt his grin tighten ever so slightly in irritation. He was about to respond when Voidus stepped forward. His words were filled with eloquence and weariness. The Stranger looked from him to Laurelai as his friend spoke, and thought about things in the deep part of his mind that he kept locked away. The limitless power place, where obstacles were disregarded and possibility reigned unchecked. His hunger, to test, to reach, to grasp the world and crush it just to see how the tectonic plates would react. There were ideas brewing, rising to the surface like a waking leviathan. And it would not be stopped.

Voidus left, his words hanging heavy in the air. The Stranger rose and faced the TUBA woman, speaking in a measured tone.

“You’ve no idea who he really is. You all think you know him, know what he wants and how he thinks. You think you’ve earned your place in this city, that they deserve whatever they deem necessary. You act as if you were equals, and every victory is won though your own skill and power.”

He turned to where Voidus had left, looking out at the city beyond, lit in the eerie light of the Alleystorm.

“But you persist in this world only by our grace. If you had even an inkling of the might of the Dark Alley you would be quivering in your homes, praying for mercy. But Voidus is patient and merciful, and allows you to grow and flourish. You continue because you are allowed to. That is not a boast or a threat. That is a fact.”

His voice was colder that a crypt, and his eye deeper than despair. 

“The only thing that remains unnatural is your presence. Voidus May have godlike patience, but he is only a man. And I am not so lenient.”

He grinned a crocodilian grin the spoke to Lita without looking at her. “Lita, there’s a wooden door a little to your left. I’d like you to hit it, if you would be so kind.”

[+Sorana she/her]

3 hours ago, I think I am here. said:

For me,

Max said and inwardly smiled at the image of her she sent him.

Something to counter his aon chains. I would say a shield but I don’t want to distract you for too long.

Althea wondered what kind of shield he meant, because a shield was a lot easier than a whole plate armour, but then she simply discarded the thought. They would have to talk about fighting and tactics and all that later. For now, she had something to do.

The good thing was, she knew Max coat. She loved how it looked on him, how it stressed his shoulders, and his trained figure. For a moment she was almost sorry, that she would have to change it, but there was no helping that. You couldn't wear a plate without something beneath. She remembered having washed Max gambeson and so she went with what she remembered, not too thick, not too thin, more like a think lined winter jacket. Cotton, the upper layer made out of linien, the lining out of cotton mixed with some wool. Satisfied she observed his coat change, the spren giving in surprisingly easily. So much investiture around her, there was almost no need to discuss. Everbody had a price, spren, human, everybody. Probably she'd just offered more than it had ever expected to gain. Her glow diminueshed a bit and she inhaled again, wanted to feel the storm, to power. Almost needed it. It made it so easy to go on, to forget about the memories, about her exhaustion, the fact that she'd healed more wounds in the last thirty hours, than during the last year. She knew, she would have to pay a price, but not now, not here. Here there was only the storm and the rain and the stupid monsters thinking they could invade her city. She would stop them. She would never stand down.

Tilting her head to the side, she started to think about the armour. She had a vague image in her mind, they had a full set of plate armour in their cellar after all, but still, it wasn't like she'd really cared how it worked, how the single parts were fastened together. A challenege. It was a challenge to get it right, the dimensions, the fastenings. If she messed it up, the parts would either fall of Max, or sit too tight. Both cases probably lethal. Althea touched the air around Max, then decided to go with the water on his cloths. Water to metal. Easy. Metal was like water, when it was hot and water was like metal when it was cold. At least if you simplified it a lot. She started to size Max up, to judge the dimensions, he was moving, it was hard to see the details, she knew him, knew his body, but she needed a different kind of knowledge here.

The storm was strong, urged her to do it, to try it out,  screw the consequences. It was a challenge, it was glorious if she managed, if she used it and created a full, working plate armour -

Althea stopped the thought, pulled her thoughts back, left the spren of the water alone again. The storm was strong, but she was in control. Would she bet Max life on her judging his body dimensions correctly, on guessing how a plate armour worked?

No.

So a shield it was. A shield was easy, almost boring. There was so much water around, she touched it, bribed the spren and there it was, an aluminum shield for Max. Disappointed she looked around, the one she had incased, stood around like a statue, the others were fighting. She wanted to do something. Lifting her hand into the air, she grabbed some of the flying monsters and changed them, soulcast their flesh into dust. There, that was better.

=======================

All over the city, the toops of the Ghostbloods readied themselves, started to fight back.

@RayOfSunshine

Quote

Do you have a preference how to handle this NPC vs NPC stuff without a player around?

 

[+ZincAboutIt she/her]

Lita sat still as Voidus and the Stranger spoke with Deteca - or rather, as Deteca antagonized two near-gods.

She's got fire, I'll give her that, Lita thought, trying not to wince at both Deteca's utter lack of respect and the throbbing pain in her side. The Stranger rose, his grin a white scythe blade in the darkness, visible even to Lita's blurred vision.

She gritted her teeth and slid her feet back under her, using the wall to support her as she stood. Her body felt... strange. Not quite tight, but taut. Efficient. Somehow more solid than before. The beginnings of a suspicion worked through her mind, and her hand brushed her pocket as Voidus strode out of the alleyway.

I'm no use if I can't rusting see a bloody thing. Her senses felt like blunted knives without the edge of Tin. No, not blunted knives. Like spoons - curved, wide, and pointless. She knew what she had to do, but it would not be pleasant.

'Oh, I won't need my glasses, I'll have Tin,' Lita thought bitterly, grimacing as she drew her fourth, and final, vial from her pocket. Great plan, Lita. Really bright of you. She flicked the cork off the tiny glass bottle and drank the liquid within, feeling the familiar reserve nestle beside her new metal. The Alleystorm still raged around her, tempting and wild.

Don't be stupid, she told herself. Just a bit, just a trickle. Enough to see - just a sip. If she flared again, she might pass out a second time and make a right royal fool of herself. Lita grit her teeth and burned a whisper of Tin. Instantly, the pain in her side rose from a throb to a hammering, and she became hyper-aware of the cold wind as it cut into her soaked clothing. But her vision became blessedly sharp again, and her hearing easily tripled in sensitivity, just in time to catch the razor edge of the Stranger's retort.

"...only thing that remains unnatural is your presence. Voidus may have godlike patience, but he is only a man. And I am not so lenient."

Lita suppressed a shiver at that, chilled even though his words had not been for her. This woman is thrice a fool to needle him, Lita thought, watching the Stranger grin at Deteca. 

“Lita, there’s a wooden door a little to your left. I’d like you to hit it, if you would be so kind.”

He spoke this last bit without looking at her, and it took her half a moment to process what he'd said. She looked to her left, somewhat baffled. Hit...the door? She stepped toward it tentatively, casting a glance toward Laurelai, who seemed just as confused and soaked to the skin as Lita, if slightly less bloody. Well, there's no refusing him.

Lita slipped the Coin into the pocket of her pants and curled her right hand into a fist. I can always tap Gold, she thought, clenching her teeth at the anticipated pain before throwing a punch at the very solid-looking wood of the door.

Her fist punched right through the door, planking splintering around her fingers and causing her to stagger forward. A half-cry, half-curse sprang from her lips as her eyes widened. Lita righted herself, staring at her hand, which had disappeared up to the wrist in a battered thicket of splinters. Her knuckles stung slightly, but as she drew her hand out of the hole her skin appeared unbroken. She flexed her fingers, gazing at them as though her hand was some relic from the World of Ash. Then, like honey dripping from the comb, a wide grin slid across her face.

She looked down at the gleaming spike in her side, then up at the Stranger. The second fire within her continued to burn hot and strong. She laughed then, a high, clear sound that was quickly snatched away by the wind.

"Pewter," she breathed, glancing at the hole in the door. I did that. Her smile curved into something sharper. Power indeed.

[AonEne he/him]

Quote

Wait, so did Voidus notice and I just didn’t see it? Sorry for bothering you again... 

Deteca watched Voidus leave before she could retaliate. Things that helped were different, things that didn’t first murder someone. Even Hemalurgy could help if used right - she wasn’t condemning what they used so much as how they used it. Clearly she hadn’t done a good job of expressing that. You let yourself get too worked up, she accused herself. 

And I wasn’t even here when the other guilds did all that. Even when it was TUBA, my input was minor, if I knew what was happening at all. 

And then the Stranger starting speaking, and he took an entirely different tactic, building the Dark Alley up with his words and not tearing the other guilds down but rather showing them as constructs that were nothing in the first place. Deteca decided not to argue. Now wasn’t the time for debates, and these weren’t the people. Not to mention that he’d finished with something that was far too close to a threat for her liking. Next time, talk philosophy with another unInvested person, not the highly powerful people who hate you. Deal? Deal. 

“Well,” she said finally. “You were correct, she - Lita, right? - is okay. And my original purpose for being here no longer exists, so I’ll be going now. To help defend the city.” Guilt-tripping them wasn’t likely to work, but she couldn’t say much else without feeling like someone harping on on a topic left long dead by everyone else. “My apologies again for Alleytraveling and interfering in your...business.” 

Deteca nodded at the four and turned around, then began walking quickly toward where she knew a tunnel entrance to be. 

Edited July 24, 2019 by AonEne

[Fatebreaker he/him]

The Stranger’s grin widened as Lita smashed a hole in the doorway. No hesitation, as expected. She will be dangerous. Excellent.

The woman from TUBA realized she would be winning no arguments here and began to leave. The Stranger called after her. “You’ve made quite an impression, young lady. Had you the will, you could have been a great scientist. I shall remember your bravery. But remember,”

He vanished, then reappeared in front of her. His expression was simultaneously amused and dangerous. “bravery will only get you so far.”