old man moomba

Jamie smiled apologetically, standing up again. “I think better on my feet anyway.” she nodded to Leona, who was talking to the other girl, but continued to address Aya. “So, the Metallic Arts. That’s what you and I can do. You’ve already got some idea of how Allomancy works, right? We eat certain metals and can ‘burn’ them to get certain effects. Along with Allomancy is Feruchemy and Hemalurgy. You’re a Mistborn, so it’s unlikely you’ll experience either of those firsthand.” Jamie shuddered, thinking back to some of the terrible creations that hemalurgists had wrought. “Both are similar to Allomancy in that they use metal, and specific metals give certain abilities. But how they work is very different. Feruchemy involves storing one’s attributes in metal to use at a later time. You can’t draw more of an attribute from the metal than you’ve previously stored, but you can use up all of the stored attribute at once, which gives you a burst of power. Hemalurgy...” Jamie shook her head. “Hemalurgy is terrible. I’d rather not talk about it now.” she ran a hand through her hair teasing some of the tangles apart. “There are 16 metals that can be used in the Metallic Arts. Since you’re a Mistborn, you can burn all 16. There’s an equivalent for Feruchemy, that can store attributes in all 16 metals as well. Most Feruchemists and Allomancers only have access to one of the 16 metals. I’m a Twinborn, so I can do both Allomancy and Feruchemy, but with different metals.”

"'Twice and Twice he shall be marked, twice to live and twice to die. Once the heron to set his path, twice the heron to name him true. Once the dragon for remembrance lost, twice the dragon for the price he must pay.'" Dapper quoted thoughtfully. "I could never explain why that particular passage stuck in my head."

Dapper extinguished his pipe and began to eat the Chinese takeout that had just arrived. It matched the order on the receipt.

Luckily Dapper was smoking a type of tabacco that didn't have nicotine in it, as nicotine is an addictive chemical.

Dapper took a vial from inside his coat, putting some sand inside. "You're welcome to, though it might just be sand."

"It's a receipt for Chinese takeout, with what appears to be someone's will written on the back in Rosharan women's script." Dapper shook his head. "Definitely from Hoid."

"Thaumaturgy, actually. Or something. Don't bother attributing a name to it, there's no point." Dapper produced a large knife and cut the envelope open. Within was a large amount of sand and a much wrinkled note.

Dapper smiled, a different pipe appearing in his hand, already lit. He blew a ring of smoke and continued to inspect the letter.

Dapper checked his pocketwatch, then looked back at the letter. He inspected the envelope for some time, trying to determine what was inside.

"Well onto other topics then, I suppose." Dapper lit his pipe, sucking on the stem for a moment.

Dapper watched the jellyfish burn to ash and sighed. "No point, really. Too much hassle. A fascinating creature to be sure though. A pity you were so fixated on slaying it."

Dapper held out a hand. "If you would wait a moment please. This creature has yet to answer my question."

Dapper inspected the jellyfish nonchalantly. He wondered if it had a name. "Do you have a name?" He asked.

Dapper picked up this odd jellyfish and put it into a jar, intending to remove it from this plane of existence.

Dapper helpfully pointed out that in the case that this creature was functionally immortal then it must be a sea jelly and not a fish made of jelly.

Ashley watched Alexander sprint up the fire escape, cursing in Old Norse as a bullet grazed her. She quickly cast a spell, and armor forged from air covered her body just as more shots pinged off of it. She quickly took out several of the men attacking Alexander. After she'd disabled the gunmen, she pulled herself up onto the fire escape, drawing her sword and cut down yet more combatants. These ones looked like local thugs, probably part of one gang or another. Not stopping for long, she pulled herself through the window, breathing a sigh of relief. Alexander was standing close by, eyes locked with a blood-covered man. Something about him made her blood run cold. "Does he have the weapon?" she asked, not realizing she was still speaking Old Norse.

Dapper paused what he was doing to inquire whether the jellyfish was a fish made of jelly or a sea jelly, which are often confused with fish made from jelly, despite the two being from totally different places on the tree of life.

Ashley looked at Alexander, hiding her surprise well. He was certainly not one to whistle while walking. She glanced up where he nodded, spotting the glint of a gun barrel poking out through the window. She took a breath, wrapping her fingers around the grip of her revolver, feeling as if everything around her was still. As soon as she shot that sniper, all hell would break loose. "Here we go." she murmured under her breath, then drew her gun and fired a single shot, managing to hit the sniper in the shoulder.

Ashley shook her head. "Perhaps, but I don't intend to keep it for very long in this case anyway. It would be too dangerous, since I know so little of its power, and since it's so dangerous. I'd have to learn more about it if I was truly going to wield it." she watched the nearly empty road closely, following behind Alexander. She kept a hand on her revolver; her reactions had been honed beyond what was usually possible for a mortal, and she had gained an acute awareness of everything around her. Especially now, with her mind calm. She continued down the street, feeling the gladius's presence in her mind, ringing with a pure, yet somehow discordant, note.

Ashley shook her head, quickly getting her bearings. They were on the street, somewhere in the outskirts of Chicago. She looked at Alexander, shaking his head slightly. He could stand to learn some humility, even if most of what he said was true. He had the air of a god, almost, despite only being a man. "If I had a weapon with the power of that gladius, I would keep it, I think. Not because I want to wield it, but because I fear what others would do if they had it. If I could destroy it, I would." Ashley shook her head, feeling the presence of the gladius as she spoke. Quickly, she focused her mind, pushing away emotion and letting an near-nothingness grip her. As she'd thought, it drove the thoughts of bloodlust away, and left her with a clear mind. ~~~~~~ Sangus stood, nodding to his friend. “I must go now, to speak to my other followers, but I’ll be back soon enough, for tea.” Koichi nodded, “Please, allow me to send some of my men with you, for extra protection. Even Luna cannot watch everywhere at once, I think.” Sangus sighed. His old friend was right, and with Luna’s blessing, the men Koichi sent would be very helpful. Sangus would trust Koichi with his life, the yakuza boss had very nearly sacrificed his own life for Sangus more than once. And Koichi’s men were loyal to death. “That is a good idea, my friend. Luna may think she can be everywhere at once, but she is still somewhat limited.” Luna scowled slightly, but had no other reaction. “My nephew, Ken, has a group of warriors. I will call him.” Koichi said, taking his phone from his pocket and dialing a number. He spoke for a few moments, then hung up. “He’ll be up in just a moment.” Sangus nodded, walking to the door and opening it. As he entered the lobby, an elevator opened, allowing a group of five men onto the landing. They were well dressed, though their choices were more casual than sharp. “You know who I am?” he asked the leader, a tall man in a trench coat and a white shirt with the collar undone, revealing the tattoos that covered his body. Ken nodded, glancing at Luna as she exited the room. Sangus looked at Luna, then nodded to the men. His daughter sighed, but murmured under her breath, giving the men a powerful blessing to aid them. Now when protecting another, they would have near-superhuman strength and stamina, and be able to recover from wounds that would kill a normal human relatively easily. “At least one of you should stay with me at all times, but I may send others away on various missions. Now, we have many other groups to visit before our journey is done, so let’s go.” Sangus looked over the men again, noting their weaponry. Several of them had folding-stock submachine guns in their hands, and all of them carried handguns. Ken himself had an odachi, which he carried casually over one shoulder. Sangus considered his next destination for a moment, then shifted them to New Orleans. There was a rather large group of his followers here, and they had many connections all over the US.

Ashley handed him the arrow, expressionless. "Understood. I was unprepared this time. I won't be again." She didn't plan to be caught off guard again. There were ways that she could protect herself from the effects of the weapon, both magical and mundane in nature. "Do you think they're foolish enough to actually wield the gladius? Or will they keep it hidden?" She had lost quite a bit of her bravado and was mentally preparing herself for the inevitable battle that lay ahead of them.

trading card game. cool.

"Places where there is constant violence. That could be any major city in the world." Ashley said with a smile, pulling her sword out of the ground. "She closed her eyes, focusing on the sword in her hands, which seemed to gain a slight sheen, as if the light was slipping off of it. She sent her senses out, feeling for places where violence was constant, unending. After a minute, she opened her eyes. "Nothing stands out." Ashley muttered, trying to think of a way around the problem. She looked at Alexander, then down at herself. She still had Baalhan's arrow, stuck through her belt. It had a resonance, one that reminded Ashley of every battle she'd fought, every person she'd had to kill. She let that resonance fill her, then closed her eyes once again. She felt blindly across the world once again, searching the places she'd found before again, this time, looking for something like the resonance that now filled her. After a few minutes, she found something. "Chicago." she murmured, then fell to her knees, overwhelmed by the echoes of bloodlust that rang through her head. She breathed deeply, willing the feeling away. It dissipated after a moment, leaving only a slight headache.

Sangus stood and nodded to Luna. “I will go talk to my followers. As I’ve said, they will have much insight into our problem.” he and Luna shifted away, appearing back in Tokyo. There was one group of his followers who weren’t peaceful. The exact opposite, in fact. Sangus smiled, watching placidly as several armed men surrounded the two of them. They were in the lobby of an opulent hotel in downtown Tokyo. “I would be careful, my friends. You know who she is?” he asked, nodding to his daughter. His words were met with confused looks. “No, old man, who is she?” one of the men asked, training his pistol on Luna. “Luna, please educate them.” Sangus said tiredly. Luna moved like a bolt of lightning, jumping from each man to the next within a few seconds, disarming each one and knocking them to the floor. The entire fight, if it could be called that, lasted about 10 seconds. “This is my daughter, Luna, the goddess of protection.” Sangus continued, smiling a little. “You’re... him... then.” one of the men breathed, coughing a little. “Our patron.” Just then, another group of men appeared, led by a man with steel gray hair that framed a firm, scarred face. When he saw Sangus, he bowed deeply. “Master Sangus, you honor us by visiting.” Sangus smiled. “Many thanks, Koichi. I apologize about your men.” Koichi waved it off. “They will survive, which is more than can be said for most who have faced your daughter.” Sangus chuckled, nodding for Luna to follow as Koichi led them to an elevator. They rode up to the highest floor and got out, still followed by several bodyguards. “I’m afraid I do not have much time to talk, Koichi. I have some requests for you, then I must go.” Koichi nodded, leading them into his office, but didn’t sit down. Instead he walked to the window and looked out contemplatively. Sangus stood next to him, hands clasped behind his back. “You’ve heard of the God Complex?” he began, waiting for Koichi’s nod before continuing. “They’ve managed to kill several of our number, and capture still others. They pose a real threat to every god that lives on this world. Myself and several other gods have formed an alliance of sorts, and we need mortal soldiers on our side. Perhaps you could provide us with some manpower, Koichi. Your yakuza are among the best warriors in Japan.” Koichi nodded. “I will send some of my men your way, any that I can spare.” Sangus smiled widely. “Thank you Koichi. I always hesitate to ask much of my followers, but each time that I do, I find that you are willing. We must have tea some time, we have much to talk about, I think.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ashley couldn’t resist responding to Alexander’s warning. “Trust, me, I know. I’ve been tortured in ways most couldn’t imagine. Sometimes, the only escape is death.” she left it at that, instead turning her mind to other, less unpleasant things. She thought for a moment, then sighed, pulling her shotgun off of her back. “You know, I like this gun, but it’s a bit clunky sometimes.” She closed her eyes for a moment, focusing her power, and the shotgun shifted in a pair of revolvers, and a set of holsters appeared at her waist. She spun her new guns around in her hands, then holstered them. With a sudden move, she drew her sword and slammed it into the ground in front of her, closing her eyes and pushing her will into the weapon. It focused her power better than she ever could on her own, and she willed that power into the earth around her, letting it run across the whole surface of the world. After a few minutes she opened her eyes. “So, if the God Complex does have the gladius, then where would they be keeping it?” She cast one hand out, and a map of the world appeared there in front of her, floating in the air. “They must have a vault of some kind, maybe even a prison...” she mused, tapping her lips. “No, no, they would be in different places. But where?” Ashley looked at Alexander. “Any insight?”