DrakeMarshall

"Very well, N- Nathaniel. I'm Stephany." A false name, but it would have felt weird to give her real one since she hadn't used it in ages. She never even liked her given name that much anyways. Plus, she kind of doubted his name was genuine either. "So, are there any people and/or places I should stay away from? I'm from Calgary," she explained truthfully. Maybe he could give her an idea of which factions she might approach. Epics of Blindside's caliber had to take refuge in a bigger name epic eventually, willingly or not. It was better to do it by choice. The important decision was who. "Miss Rook, you are under arrest for using an unknown epic power against this government facility, and accomplice in the epic-assisted break-in of another government facility." Taya blinked in the bright light, clearing the last of the drowsiness from her eyes. She noticed the guns pointing at her. "What." "You will relinquish your bag and put your hands above your head." Taya let out an inarticulate noise of displeasure. "Can we not do this right now." "You are under arrest," the officer repeated. "I can see that. And I very do not have time for it." "You will make time fo--" "Did you miss the fact that I was here on diplomatic business? Or perhaps you missed the part where the actual government pulled out and left us all at the mercy of complete monsters." "If you do not comply within three seconds, force will be used to subdue you." Slowly, she placed her hands above her head. "I wonder, have you ever read their files? The epics outside your little haven?" "Not personally, no. Now drop the bag." "Chrysalis. Violent takeover of Calgary. Several hundred instances of unwilling bodily control over civilian bystanders. Several war crimes." "That is unrelated. Kick your bag over to me, now." "Karabiner," she continued quickly. "Vicious local arms trafficker. Kidnapping, exploitation, premeditated murder, desecration of the dead, and the occasional act of ethnic cleansing. Zealous neo-Nazi and epic supremacist." "I said now!" "Quietus," she pressed on stubbornly. "Chief enforcer of ERA. Multiple counts of perversion of justice, several types of theft, premeditated murder, rape, cold-blooded torture, mutilation, blackmail, a few instances of slavery, and inducing suicide." "Detain by forc--" A flurry of dark and indistinct feathers filled the room, followed shortly after by several gunshots. . . . "Well, that could have gone better," Taya said to nobody in particular, looking back over her shoulder towards the Alberta Government office. You win some and you lose some. Or something like that. She flung her pack over one shoulder, stifled a yawn, and left the office behind her. She hoped the illusory storm of feathers wouldn't take more than a few days to fade.

The epic answered in a breathy voice, positively dripping with submission. Quietus was going to enjoy her considerably. “With your strength, Quietus, as I’m sure it is vast enough to dissuade any thoughts of betrayal, and precise enough to punish those who dare disobey." "Yeah, pretty much." An interesting case. She was literally begging to be abused, in every way. While they might be diverting, conventional methods of breaking her in would probably fall short. Quietus debated with himself the merits of finding a creative weak spot to control her with, or instead deliberately assailing what he knew to be a less vulnerable side of her and seeking heights of physical pain that could master her anyhow. Or he could just do both of those things. "The way this works is pretty simple. I don't generally take on prisoners as slaves, because most prisoners aren't worth my time. Fail me, and you're not valuable enough to be a slave, and so you get the same ending most prisoners do." He rested his hand on the cuffs that restrained her. "You will start by explaining in detail what you can do for me, apart from getting captured by a team of incompetents."

"Whoever you want me to be, master." A pure and perfect orb of blood bloomed from the epic's outstretched hand, suspended for a moment in the empty space between her and Quietus. The display was... Pleasing. Blood epics had a good aesthetic going, without even trying. Her offer of servitude, although suspect, was also pleasing. She could be more than a mere prisoner or plaything. "My name's Red." Red. A simple name. To the point. Blunt. Unlike the sharpened steel that gave her those scars. It was not lost on Quietus that she still asserted her name, immediately after offering up her identity to him. Consciously or not, she resisted giving up her individuality completely. Quietus would fix that. Women were like shoes, in that both of them had to be broken in. His pupils dilated as he switched into heat vision, sizing her up. Her body was warm. Not unusually warm however: she was unafraid. A sweet and delicate moth drawn nearer to the flame. The marks on her body laid her bare. They bespoke a special familiarity with physical pain, but probably as a coping mechanism for emotional pain. He caressed her bare neck and shoulders, feeling her warmth, running his fingers along the criss-crossed scarring. "Great. Red," Quietus drawled out with a slight smile, hand still resting on her bare skin. "You can call me Quietus. I will be exacting your servitude either way of course, but why should I trust that your offer is genuine?"

The border unrest was just a symptom, Finley told himself. A microcosm of a larger issue. The flood of refugees meant the increasing intervention of displaced epics. He grabbed a hardcover book, a pen, and a napkin, and started writing: To all epics displaced displaced epics fleeing to seeking residence in Edmonton, I extend my welcome. I also offer a deal. I would will gladly host any of you within ERA territory, with access to every amenity within reason. The rules are few and simple: Rampaging within ERA territory will not be tolerated. Similarly, assaulting ERA officers will not be tolerated. If you Free transportation will be provided to and from other regions of the city, should you desire to pursue these activities. If ERA territory falls under attack during your time of residence, you will coordinate with ERA authorities to defend it. You will not be Provided you make your intent to accept these terms clear, you will not be harmed when approaching ERA territory. Yours truly, Epoch "This'll do." Considering how rare working television sets had become after Calamity, it would have to. "Get this typed up and circulate it around," he ordered, passing the napkin off to Vera, the ambassador. If she thought there was anything out of the ordinary about mass-publishing the contents of a paper napkin, she didn't let on. "I am also authorizing further increases in recruitment of enforcers in response to the influx of refugees." Epoch leaned back in his chair. Once the probability epic was out of his hair, he could begin preparing for tonight's meeting in earnest.

"If you're hungry, I have some food back at my place." He gestured in a general direction. Blindside narrowed her eyes slightly. Even before Calamity, that kind of hospitality was suspect, and Calamity hadn't exactly done humanity any favors in that department. But, she was an epic. A basic like this stranger couldn't be a serious threat to her if he tried. And he was offering food. It was such a bother to take every necessity by force. "Kind of you. I would like that. What is your name?"

"Epoch, sir?" an attendant voiced timidly. "The darkness is--" "I know," Finely said tiredly. "Lockdown's canceled." He stared across the room at the assistant with a trace of agitation. "O- Oh. Right. So... What do we do now?" "Now," he answered, "We cut to the heart of this nonsense. I'm calling for a meeting. Commonwealth Stadium, tonight." He reached out across the city with his mind, extending his powers, grasping the flow of time and squeezing it into the right shape. He plotted out six spokes radiating out from the stadium, precipitating the gradual formation of six massive corridors. Conjoined paths that cut across the city, leading from the outskirts to the meeting place. "An invitation is to be delivered to each of the major players. This meeting will be relevant to any epic who cares about the rulership of Edmonton. We meet on neutral ground, and I am prepared to allow the epic Justice to witness that I shall make no move to harm or entrap those present for the duration of the meeting. We all have a great deal to discuss."

Tarina accepted the stranger's hand up, finding her way to her feet. Kind of him, although running about like that had still been reckless. The sun was shining again, and a scattering of other people around them were recovering from that darkness thing, whatever it was. Speaking of which... "I am a new arrival. Do you know anything about what just happened?" Ask him where I can find something to eat in this Calamity-forsaken city. Shush, you. We'll get to that.

Quietus cocked his head, staring up at the sky with intense curiousity. The sun had just winked out of existence. Funny thing, that. The sky was making a valiant attempt at mirroring the shade of his soul. He glanced back across the myriad of new arrivals. A cabal of epics. Their heat glowed like beacons in the gloom. Behind him, Epoch was evidently trying to raise the barrier to send in additional redshirts. You'd think the man would have figured out by now that redshirts can't do jack. Ever. Probably, there were too many powers in play. It was a total clusterspark. With the right presentation, that would work out in his favor. . . . He moved with speed and silence under the curtain of blackness. Quietus scanned the scene, and noticed the telltale glow of a human form cowering under a dilapidated ford minivan. One of his enforcers? Eh. The vanilla could fend for itself. More importantly, there was the red epic, who was waiting patiently with her face in the dirt like a good little hostage. She would make a satisfactory prize. He snatched her shackled figure up off the road, hauling her over the border into Epoch's territory and then expeditiously dumping her roughly on the ground again. "Not to worry chérie, I'll be with you shortly." He had lost at most a second or two wading across the checkpoint; the barrier was as good as open. Quietus grabbed some things from the team of waiting enforcers. A few finishing touches, and then he would ask Epoch to close the barrier again. A colorful Welcome to Edmonton! brochure deposited near the flying epic, just as promised. An explosive, hurled on a whim in the general direction of the red Samba. He could see that it was empty, but with any luck, it would be disabled. The vehicle was obviously well cared-for, so the damage would be felt. And now I make my dramatic exit under cover of absolute darkness. Quietus turned his back on the checkpoint and re-entered his territory. . . . The lights went up. He would leave it to Epoch to figure out what the storms that was all about. Quietus stood before a group of confused looking ERA special forces, the red epic restrained at his feet. A bedraggled-looking enforcer also stood before him. Apparently the cowering vanilla from before had made it after all. "Who the hell are you?" "A- Alder, sir," the enforcer replied, standing up straighter. He looked badly shaken. "Right then, Alder. I'm disappointed by how these epics were handled, but I don't blame you." "Thank you, sir." Alder was visibly relieved. "See, it's not actually your fault. What you really needed," he continued cheerfully as he kicked Alder in the gut, doubling him over, "is more contact with epics." Another blow connected with Alder's nose with a fleshy crack, followed by a combat-booted kick between the legs that sent him sprawling. Quietus continued to rain down choice blows on the enforcer's cringing body. "I completely accept the blame for this lapse in your training, and I am rectifying it with all haste." He kicked Alder savagely to drive the point home, breaking at least one rib in the process. Another impact followed. And another. When the man finally ceased all effort to defend himself, Quietus knew he was nearly finished. When he paused, and Alder made an effort to stand, he knew he wasn't quite finished. . . . Quietus turned on the red epic. "Now it's your turn. Who the hell are you?"

Blindside was blinded. Was this sort of thing normal in Olympia Polaris? She couldn't see a thing. Nada. Nil. Worse, she had no idea why. After a moment of utter loss and panic, she hit the ground, reflexively enabling her power. The asphalt was still sun-warm beneath her skin, incongruous with the nothingness that surrounded her. She could hear her heart thrumming furiously against the hard ground. She could hear exclamations of alarm from other people, footfalls stumbling and fumbling about the street. Don't tread on me, the double commented with an impression of irony. Amid the confused commotion of blindness-induced blundering, the darkness lifted abruptly. Blindside was quickly on her feet again, dusting the road-grime off of her clothes. A stranger was barreling full speed straight towards her. Not quite able to percieve that she was situated in his path. She realized her own power was hindering her, and disabled it. The stranger stumbled to a halt, as the delayed revelation that she was standing in his path struck home. "Look where you're going," she commanded. Taya blinked. A power outage? It was really dark. Disconcertingly so. She couldn't even see her own hands. Light? She fetched her mobile, mashing the buttons to light up the screen. Nothing. Still pitch black. She felt a growing sense of alarm. Was she blind? Was this some kind of trap? The local government had reason to be pissed at anyone claiming to be from the Circle. She took a step back from where she had last seen Premier Notley, paranoia growing. Part of her realized that this was irrational. Part of her understood that the government already had many opportunities to harm her that they did not take. That part of her was overlooked in favor of the reality of being unexpectedly blinded. And then, before her concerns could really sink in, the darkness vanished. Like flipping a switch, she could see again. Everything is fine. She released a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. What just happened? "Did... Did you see that?"

Also remember that fabrication is the greatest form of hattery.

So much to be done today. Thank Calamity Finley made his time count. He stopped pacing and lowered himself into his armchair, letting out a long sigh. He would need to have Quietus screen Jacklyn at the soonest possible opportunity. Speaking of which... Finley shifted his vision, focusing in on the checkpoint that Quietus was defending, taking in the scene from multiple angles. The street was suffused with smoke drifting lazily away from the two combatants, impeded on one side by Finley's own barriers. The two epics glowered at each other from across the street, apparently having reached a lull in activity. This has gone on for too long. Epoch felt a swell of impatience. "Ashla," he called out, demanding her attention. "Have the counter-epic division rush the checkpoint. No holds barred." These were individuals whose training and arsenal was guided by the assumption that conventional attacks would be ineffective; they might upset the balance in the best possible way. Perhaps he should bring Phytomagnet to bear as well... Unfortunately, Finley's own time barrier was coming back to bite him in the arse. It took just as long to lift a time zone's effect as it did to lay it down in the first place. "Your team is to wait inside ERA territory until I give the go-ahead that the slow-zone blocking their way is gone." The epics at the checkpoint would see the team coming, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Satisfied that his orders were being followed, he focused back on the border. That was when things started to get weird. A red VW bus pulled up on the street, screeching to a halt. It was a familiar vehicle. The fugitives from the government break-in? An eclectic party filed out from the van, including one woman that looked uncannily similar to the one engaged with Quietus, and an epic that was packing more neon than Las Vegas. The woman ran headlong into the fight. Probably an epic as well. Adding to the general confusion, a scroll popped into existence next to the vehicle, seeming to float in the air while the fugitives examined it. Sparks. Alarm seeped through Epoch. He was dealing with 5+ unknown epics all converging on a single inconsequential checkpoint, and it was all because of the girl that made coincidences happen. How the hell was that even possible? How did-- Void. He could see nothing. The entire scene was gone. Finley's unease multiplied. His vision had never failed him before. Could one of the new arrivals have an ability that countered his sight? He shifted his focus further out, trying to determine how large an area was rendered unobservable. Blackness. With growing concern, he scrolled his vision rapidly across the city. More blackness, everywhere he went. Epoch recalled his sight back into his own surroundings. Within the confines of headquarters, he could see fine. And yet, pressing in from the outskirts of the facility, there was still darkness. Absolute darkness, blanketing the entire city. Either the rumors of Nightwielder's death had been greatly exaggerated, or an epic of similar capabilities was making a move. Now that he knew what to look for, Finley realized that the darkness did not completely bar him from seeing other parts of the city. If he focused in the right places, he could still peer inside of buildings. With the structures as a reference point, he began sealing off the entry points to his headquarters. "Order all citizens to shelter in place," he addressed his staff in a measured tone. "We go on the defensive until we figure out what's happening."

Taya tried to look composed and poised as a contingent of security escorted her further into the building. She wasn't so sure how well she was succeeding. They made a show of scanning her over with some sort of device. A metal detector? She tensed for a second, but it didn't go off. A metal detector would probably have gone haywire near the contents of her pack. Whatever it was, she noticed that pinpricks of crimson light appeared to be leaking from it. That probably meant something important... But it was so hard to think clearly; she didn't have the mental effort to spare. She was directed into the Premier's office. It was a tidy affair, showcasing several government emblems that were long since eradicated in most cities. She wondered if this group even still counted as government. "Premier Notley," Taya greeted with a warm smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you." Epic technology, she realized belatedly. The scanner was epic-derived, and the glowing was Taya's own gifted ability kicking in without her realizing. That they owned such a device spoke volumes about what these people were capable of. "Agent Rook," Taya introduced herself, crafting the illusory insignia on her hand for a second time. She had to force out the words quickly without faltering. Better get to the point, or she might get arrested or something. "I would like to offer sincere apologies on behalf of the Circle for recent events. I strongly suspect our agent may be compromised by the influence of an epic currently traveling with him. In any case, it was not our intention to cause an incident like this. I am prepared to make amends, and have been authorized to pay restitution for any damages incurred. The only caveat is that I intend to join our other agent as soon as possible, both to ensure the success of the mission and to keep his activities in check, and therefore I cannot linger here for overly long."

>gets assigned the role and anon account of Dalinar Kholin in-game >is already Dalinar Kholin

Thank you I endeavor not to be an evil liar (or at least not both evil and a liar at the same time).

Most of the other enforcers had dispersed. Alder was still watching. He peered around the cover of a long-derelict minivan, safely removed from the skirmish. Smoke filled the street. Projectiles ripped through the area, a staccato of impacts on their surroundings. Chaos. He had experienced a real firefight, once before. This was nothing like that. Suddenly, the curtain of smoke was pushed back. There was stillness. Almost tranquility. It was disconcerting. The two epics faced off, both showcasing grins that were more akin to predators baring their teeth at each other than any human facial expression. The blond woman hovered several feet above the road in the epicenter of the clearing, every muscle taught, coiled up like a snake poised to strike. Quietus stood planted on the ground, his coat flapping behind him in slow motion, whisps of smoke gradually breaking free from his skin where they had been held. It was probably treasonous, but Alder hoped Quietus would die in the fight. "An impasse then?" The blond woman asked. Her voice was muffled, echoing, as if heard from a very long distance. Quietus didn't respond for a while, continuing to watch her with a disturbing intensity. They were thus engaged in a staring contest when the van arrived, and so Alder spotted it before either epics did. A van pulling up on the scene, and several figures filing out. One of them looked mostly average; one of them was painfully, painfully colorful; and one of them looked very much related to the flying bond woman, sharing the same blond hair and even similar styles of outfit. The last arrival, the relative, rushed headlong towards the conflict. Quietus finally noticed. "My god," he commented. "Whoever told me that imitation is flattery was seriously mistaken."

I like this setup. I might change it if signups become filled, but for now please sign me up. How long are the cycles?

Jacklyn was thrown off her stride by Epoch's comment. Her facade momentarily slipped. "What Epic?" "The third epic," Epoch repeated. "Surely you don't think I would believe this was coincidence. They were drawn to the same place by something." Jacklyn thought rapidly. A third Epic? Maybe she could use that somehow? Fake a coincidence power of some sort? Or maybe this Epic was chasing her? "I did not know there was another. But I can't say I'm surprised. If you tell me more about this Epic, I may be able to clarify." “Oh, the fire epic,” Epoch said casually. “I thought you knew.” It probably was unrelated, but it could be her... "What gender was this fire Epic?" Even if the Epic was female, it still probably wasn't her. Jacklyn tried to not let her nervousness show in her voice. Her expression was fine to let show. Epoch wasn't there to see her. "How is that related?" he wondered, skepticism bleeding into his voice. "She was female," he conceded. Belatedly. Sparks. "I... met a female fire Epic once. She... we didn't get along. She might have followed me here." "Ah." Epoch was momentarily at a loss. "I can assure you this is not the same epic." . . . This is the first half of a collaborative post with @The Young Pyromancer.

She forced away more of the smoke, scattering it and pushing it up against the barriers that blocked off ERA. A spray of projectiles flew towards Quietus. A bullet by any other name... Two of them were on-target, losing velocity moments before they reached him. Quietus raised his hand and made a show of plucking one of the balls out of the air with his thumb and index fingers, as if he had caught the moving pellet. The second bounced harmlessly off his chest, while the remainder shattered a window behind him. Both of them acted untouchable. Yet one of them would lose. Quietus laughed at the absurdity of the situation, the sound carrying through the silence. She was a ballsy little slontze, but when hurting badly enough, fear would overrule everything else. It was human nature. He took a casual step towards his prize.

Not fighting back. Surprising. Not his impression for the mark. It was fine, though. He liked it better that way. One of the terrific things about epics was that no two were the same: even this one, in all her flying-brick splendor, conferred a unique opportunity. Quietus advanced carefully, drawn by her diminishing body heat. Clearly, she would require something to take her mind off of that. It was frustrating, that she was brushing off his attacks. Try something different. There were many forms of attack. More than the stones in the ground, more than the stars in the sky, more even than all the idiots that walked this earth. Quietus dropped his power for a split second. She enjoyed talking. "Not lifting a finger," he hissed, raising his power and relocating himself. "Is that how you lost your home last time?"

You know, it occured to me that more and more sites are asking users to accept cookies, but this one probably does it the best

“Before today, I’d never met her. She must have been an Epic of some sort, as she bore scars that no Maple could survive. She carried a knife. Most interestingly, she was able to detect that I was an Epic as well. Oh, and she’s probably insane.” "Interesting," Finley mused. "Thank you for conclusively verifying that you are an epic, by the way. So you are saying that you've never seen her before? What about the third epic?" The description of scars suggested a healing factor, in addition to some kind of perception ability. He would feel much, much better when the checkpoint situation was completely resolved. Epoch's mobile beeped, announcing a second incoming call. Phytomagnet. "One moment." An inconvenient time to call, but it could be important. Casually, he tugged on the flow of time in the penitentiary, slowing things down so Jacklyn would likely only experience two or three seconds of mild tunnel-vision as she skipped over the delay. Then he switched over to the incoming call. "Yes, Phytomagnet?" "So, uh. Those criminals you had me after... One of them was an epic, some kind of mentalist power. They've escaped. I sent a few trackers after them, but I doubt they'll find anything." "I see," Epoch answered, carefully keeping the disapproval from showing in his voice. He would need more information, to determine the target of his disapproval. "A mentalism epic? Send me the details as soon as you are no longer in pursuit. If that is all, we may discuss this more later." He hung up, switching back to Jacklyn, and canceling the time zone over the penitentiary. "There. Now, we were discussing the other epics?"

Yes, that was MR25, GMed by Lopen. The game had a secret role as part of the eliminator team, who had a win condition to kill/lynch at least one teammate, in addition to meeting the eliminator win condition. I was the one playing this role. Since the village succeeded in lynching one of the eliminators on the first day, and I hopped on the bandwagon, I could have theoretically explained my secret role to the remainder of my team, and played the rest of the game as a normal elim. That isn't quite what I ended up doing.

“Doesn’t the dowser display the Epic’s power as well?” "Um. Touché," Finley answered, letting out a bark of a laugh. "I'm pretty sure they don't, for the record, but what would I know?" If she had continued to affect harmlessness, he would have started to get worried. The dissonance with her original reply was not lost on him, though. He paused, considering for a moment. His power affecting the headquarters made pauses like that somewhat harder to notice. "That answers my question, in a roundabout way," he noted. "Another evidence that you are an epic, or otherwise intimately connected to epics. I can live without the details, for the time being. You seemed more eager to share about the red epic. Tell me about her."

A google doc just has a lot of nice features that makes collaboration easier: You can rapidly converse with your teammates in real time, if you both happen to be online. You can scroll through 100 pages of content and find something much faster than a PM allows. You can compile important information at the top/bottom of the doc: Tables of contents Charts and tables Lists of questions for the GM All of these features are quite useful, and commonly utilized in a doc. Theoretically, you could create a game where the eliminator team is deliberately handicapped, and only gets a PM instead of a google doc. But generally, I'm pretty sure this is the reason GMs make google docs.