Stormlightsong

Asylum started dressing their wounds as Eza berated them. Shaking ash from their suit they said plainly, “to answer your question you must understand something about me. I do as I please.” They smiled at Eza while straightening their cuffs. “I am not bound by law nor fear. I am only bound by my talent’s nature and my own will.” They leaned over Eza and stared down at her with eyes that could pierce steel. “If you have a problem with that you may leave.” As they walked away they started to reconsider their actions. Shaking their head the thought forcefully, she is not my problem, if she wants to be around me she has to take care of herself. Keshi, the corridor. The target has left the shop, Keshi thought, teleporting to the next observation point. Taking a closer look at the gun in the target’s hand through his binoculars, Keshi started to plan a plan of attack. Most of his missions had been reconnaissance and had relied on not engaging the enemy. He knew how to fight, but it could get dangerous if not approached correctly. As the target wandered around as if looking for something, Keshi sat back and continued his watch.

Asylum, The Mistwarrens. Asylum limped away from the radiants as they argued. Once they got into an alley, they started a good luck ritual. They had gathered many superstitions of good and bad luck over the years so they completed their routine on auto pilot. “Eza,” they said, looking up to see the girl sitting on a roof. “ I think I need those bandages now.” Keshi, The Corridor. Keshi camped out on a roof two blocks away from the Silver Dagger as the Hemolurgist entered. Looking down from his binoculars he took inventory. Peeking into one of Goto’s saddle bag, he felt a sensation of fear. Keshi sat up suddenly before noticing that the feeling wasn’t coming from himself but from his steed. He pet the hyperslug as he sent feelings of comfort. Don’t worry, he sent, we’re just going to spook them and see what their plans are. He went back to looking through the binoculars and reviewed his plan a few more times for good measure.

“I would never accept a gift from an enemy.” Asylum said puffing up their chest and immediately regretting it as the pain resurfaced. “I reject your pity as I reject everything you stand for.” Turning away from the radiant they whispered to Eza. “Be a saint and steal those bandages please.” @Lunamor @Scars of Hathsin

Asylum looked blankly at the radiant standing in front of them. “I hate to interrupt this meaningfull conversation but all the ‘innocents’ have already left” they looked around quickly to make sure this information was accurate. “Expect maybe this ‘she’ you speak of.” The fire subsided as Asylum’s misfortune ran out. Well that happened, they thought as their adrenaline ran out. They were hit by a burst of pain from the cuts and burns all over their body. “as much as I’d love to stay and chat. I need to stop myself from bleeding to death. Farewell.” At that they walked out of the building, making sure to spit in the fire for good luck. “Eza!” They called “do you happen to have some bandages?” @Scars of Hathsin @Lunamor

“I think you aren’t hearing me well enough,” Asylum said, taking a seat on the floor of the bar. “I can’t really control my powers.” They flicked a shard of glass which ricocheted 3 times before hitting them in the foot. “Also why would I care about the ‘innocent’ people here. Misfortune comes to us all.” They thought for a moment while grabbing some bandages from the inside of their vest which immediately slipped out of their hands and into the fire. “Y’know I could speed this up,” they said smiling “I was going to wait until everyone got out, but if you are so impatient…” they pushed their misfortune out just like they had with the dice. A loud crack sounded around the bar as three wooden support beams broke. The fire that had been mostly gone flared bright and hot. “This better?” @Lunamor @Koloss17 @Ravenclawjedi42 @TheRavenHasLanded @Scars of Hathsin

Asylum laughed. “I won’t die.” They said confidently. “Will I be burned, yes. Will I get scars, maybe but usually I can hide them. Will I be in enough pain that I beg for the sweet release of death only to have the disappointment of still being alive, well, I think you get the point.” Asylum stood up and was immediately brought back to their knees by a falling wooden beam. “Ok,” They said to the radiant, grimacing through the pain. “Imagine this: you have a spren, right, and that spren gives you power when you follow its rules. My talent’s kind of like that. I follow its rules, and I get power incomparable to your own. And if I break those rules…” they gestured to the room. “This happens.” They looked around at the rest of the building which was mostly collapsed. “This should be over soon.” They said with a sigh. “Y’know, it’s like living with a child who throws temper tantrums when everything doesn’t go the way it wants.” A bottle of wine that was late to the party exploded, sending shards of glass into Asylum’s back. “That was deserved.”

Asylum looked around with disappointment. “Did you not hear what I just said?” They shouted with irritation. they looked down at the man in the hole who is trying to save them. Going into a squat, they looked them directly in the eyes. “the way I see it, you have two options. A, you leave and heal your wounds and go on with your life. Or B, in three minutes-“ chunks of the roof collapsed to reveal a swarm of crows circling overhead. “In one minute, you will be crawling on the ground, blooded, begging for death, and the worst of all, I have to watch that. So what will it be. I sincerely don’t care, I lose either way.” Could be worse, they thought then immediately regretted thinking. @Lunamor @TheRavenHasLanded @Koloss17 @Ravenclawjedi42 @Scars of Hathsin

Asylum stared at the collapsed table in horror. Then started laughing uncontrollably. Composing themself, they put a hand on the new man’s shoulder. “I wish it was that easy.” The collapsed bar table caught fire again, fiercer than before. “Nice try though!” Asylum yelled over the roaring flame. “you guys can leave by the way.” But I cannot, they thought. They knew the moment they headed for the door it would collapse. This wasn’t new. Many restless nights were spent going from burning building to burning building. ”whatever you do, don’t try to save me.” They said before the shelf, stacked to the brim with bottles, exploded, engulfing the Asylum in flame. This is fine. @Lunamor @Koloss17 @Scars of Hathsin @TheRavenHasLanded @Ravenclawjedi42

“I don’t know!” Asylum exclaimed. They swung their arm in a grand gesture over the bar, subsequently knocking over the salt shaker. “My reasons are beyond everyone’s understanding including my own.” Asylum glaring at the new radiant. Though it now seemed impossible to be sure of anything. “Give those dice back!” They said, stepping towards the new person. They stumbled on the first step. And stepped on their own mirror on the second. Slowly a small mechanical cylinder fell out of their sleeve on the alcohol covered bar. The fog of alcohol disappeared from Asylum’s mind as they comprehended the most likely outcome of this situation. “Eza,” they said as calmly as possible. “Run.” the lighter clicked and the bar was engulfed in flame. @Lunamor @TheRavenHasLanded @Koloss17

Asylum watch the radiant roll a different pair of dice. “Cheating, are we?” They said with amusement. “Guess I will have to go all in.” in one swift motion they picked up their dice. This time though, they did not hold their talent back. Their movements became precise and accurate. Asylum felt the surge of power leaving them as they released the dice. Asylum looked at the radiant and smiled. Then as they looked down at the dice their smile shifted to a look of horror. Two serpentine eyes stared back from the bar. Cursing under their breath, they slammed the wooden bar to save what little luck they had left. But it was too late. They grabbed the shot glass with shaky fingers. Most of the drink spilled, but they were still tipsy from what was left. “Ask your question radiant,” Asylum said, spitting out the last word. Call me Icarus, they thought, always too close to the sun. @Lunamor @Koloss17 @Ravenclawjedi42

Asylum takes the dice and twirls them in one hand. Each time the dice make a full circle they judge their odds. A little luck should do, they thought as they rouse the chaos of their talent resting within them. Wakey wakey. After seven spins the dice are set free. They dance and turn on the bar settling finally on a 4 and a clover. “Ten,” Asylum said with satisfaction, pushing the radiant’s Horneater white closer to his hand. “Now drink.” They tapped their finger lightly on the wood impatiently. Awaiting the next fleeting moment of dice rolling against wood. Never truly knowing the outcome. “First question: what is your name?”

“Well if that’s the case. I have the perfect idea,” Asylum said with a smile. “Tim, two Horneater Whites, on my tab.” The bartender made the drinks and passed them to Asylum. “By the way, how do you know my-“ ”Thanks Tim.” Asylum said, reveling in the bartender’s confusion. “Let’s play a game. The rules are simple.” They placed one glass in front of the radiant and pulled out two golden dice with silted eyes instead of ones and clovers instead of sixes. “We each roll the dice. Whoever gets lower must drink and then answer a question. You don’t have to tell the truth, But you must answer. After the question is answered, we repeat. Here you go first.” They handed the dice over with a playful smile. May the fun begin. @Lunamor @Ravenclawjedi42 @RoyalBeeMage @Koloss17

“I see you are familiar with my family,” Asylum said with a hint of disappointment. “I hope you then understand why I dislike, for a lack of a better word, nobility.” “I still don’t think you came here just for the drinks.” Asylum said while casually reaching up to scratch their nose. In a quick and subtle motion they slipped small nose plugs deep into their nostrils. “So why did you come here knight of honor?” They discretely pulled out a small spray bottle labeled ‘Sneeze Spray(TM)’.then, after silently thanking Lucy, they tapped the trigger. Dodge this radiant, they thought with satisfaction. After a few seconds the sneezing started, and Asylum gave no blessings. @Koloss17 @Lunamor @Ravenclawjedi42

The bartender slid a glass of water to Asylum. “Thanks Tim,” Asylum said, watching the man flinch with an amused smile. The radiant arrived at the bar and ordered, an Orange? That’s weird, Asylum thought. I guess Mr. High And Mighty here has never been to a bar before. They smiled. I think I’m going to have some fun. Asylum approached the radiant with the gait of a Shakespearean actor. “why hello Sir. Holy Radiant,” they said, bowing so low that they could sneakily place a small mirror behind the radiant’s foot. Quickly pulling themself upright they continued, “I do say, why do we plebians have the immense honor of having such a refined noble such as yourself come down to our house of sin.” Asylum turned to the rest of the room and raised their glass up high. “A toast to our angel, who has left their comfy heaven to purify us.” They took a big gulp of water and placed their glass right next to the radiant’s orange. Suddenly, Asylum’s demeanor changed. Their voice quickened. Instead of speaking to the entire bar they turned their attention to the radiant. “You know you folk always think you’re better than us,” they said pulling a salt shaker out of their pocket while maintaining eye contact. Eyes up here, They thought, pulling out a a small tread. “You think just because you don’t have to fight to live your life matters more.” They tied the tread around the salt shaker and quietly placed it on the table. “You take your moral high horse because you swear oaths like somehow limiting yourself, makes you stronger.” With one had they wrapped the thread around the orange so that if it is picked up the salt shaker would fall. “I’ll tell you a secret. No matter how many oaths you swear or how many bonds you make, you’re just as selfish as the rest of us.” Finally, Asylum leaned back and waited for the dominoes to fall. @Lunamor @Ravenclawjedi42 @Koloss17

“Oh nothing much yet,” Asylum said calmly. “Just your average hemalergist. Fight’s gangs, levels buildings, but overall he’s a pretty chill guy.” They took a sip of their wine, looked straight at the radiant who had just entered, and chugged down the rest of their drink. Without a word, Asylum walked up to the bar. “Could I have a water please?” @Lunamor @Ravenclawjedi42 @Scars of Hathsin

“Ok,” Keshi said wearily. “This is my first time doing something like this. I have read up on the theoretics but I’m not that great with visuals.” He flipped to the page with a rough sketch of the Corridor and envisioned it as he closed his eyes. Keshi reached out and found Corbeau’s mind. Forming a connection, he cracked open an eye to look at the flat wood across the dresser. Looking down at the page with the map, he began to project an image of the Corridor onto the dresser to Corbeau. It was a simple, rough sketch in hologram blue; the buildings were rectangular prisms, and the streets straight and grid-like, but it did the trick. “Ok,” he said, trying to maintain focus on the image. “The Silver Dagger is here.” He colored the building red. “The target will arrive there in three days. we will allow him to enter and exit, but keep a watch on him from these watch points.” He colored the buildings set to be watchpoints in green. “I chose these buildings because no matter where the target goes,” he drew a few red lines on the roads to demonstrate possible routes. “we will be able to watch from atop one of their rooftops from a safe distance of at least two blocks. Then once they enter another building.” he colored a random building in red. “I can teleport us in front of it, and, finally, we bust in.” Keshi released the projection with a big sigh. “Questions?” —————————————————— “Itsuki, you wound me,” Asylum said, siting down and taking a sip of their wine. “I don’t understand why you are so obsessed with some cultist who left you the moment her god called. Well I don’t see why anyone gets obsessed with anyone else. In my experience, attachment without substantial personal gain never ends well.” “Sorry for assuming,” Asylum said throwing salt over their shoulder. I should probably start building up some luck, they thought. “As of how we met, let’s just say he was looking for friends and got involved in some trouble involving my employer.” Then, Without looking behind themself, “and this is Eza, we have a business arrangement for mutual profit.” @Lunamor

Keshi, Mistwarrens, Corbeau’s hotel room. I forgot they don’t have cytonics here, Keshi thought, how can I explain it? Keshi cleared his throat. “So, where I come from there are people, and slugs, called cytonics who have a wide range of abilities ranging from faster than light teleportation,” he motioned to Goto. “to creating extremely sharp projectiles that can cut through spaceships. I am a cytonic who has the ability to, how do I explain it, Give people auditory, and sometimes visual, hallucinations.” He stood awkwardly for a few seconds. “So… would you like me to show you the rest of my plan?” —————————————————— Asylum, Mistwarrens, The Bendalloy Bar Asylum started to mingle once more. They got another drink for themself and a juice for Eza while looking around the place for potential gambling opportunities. Suddenly they spotted a familiar face. “Eza wait here for a second.” They said, not caring if she actually listened. They walked over to a table where a familiar sad Japanese man sat. “Itsuki!” They exclaimed, hugging the man’s shoulders. “how have you been man? I was worried after our last encounter. I hope there are no hard feelings between us my friend.” They looked across the table to see a very punk looking woman. “and who is this? A new suitor perhaps? I’m glad you got over that ghostblood.” Asylum held out a hand to the woman across the table. “hello my dear, the name’s Asylum. I’m a friend of Itsuki here. A pleasure to meet you.” @Lunamor @Koloss17 @Ravenclawjedi42

“Of course sir,” Keshi said. “The plan is, simply, to preform a sting operation in which we wait for the target to come into range and then track their position back to their base. We can then raid their hideout which has the advantage of even if we do not catch them we will be able to extract more information and halt their progress.” Keshi turned to the page in which he created a map of the Mistwarrens. wait. I don’t have a projecter. I’ll have to improvise. “the specifics of this plan will require a visual model to explain. Do I have your consent to Cytonically implant visual data into your mind?” He asked like this was a totally normal question.

Keshi, Mistwarrens, Corbeau’s hotel room. Keshi swelled with pride before regaining his composure. “Thank you sir, it wasn’t too much of a proble- wait did you just ask if you could see my notebook?” he looked down at his 1 inch notebook with small fine cursive, then back up to Corbeau, then back down to the notebook. Goto let out a sound that resembled an amused laugh. “I mean you could- I wouldn’t stop you- I just-t.” Keshi stuttered, furrowing his fluffy brow. “Not to sound rude, but wouldn’t it be more effective for me just to read out my plan?”

Keshi was going over his plan when he heard the door open. He put down his notebook and waited until he heard Corbeau’s voice. ”yes! Or, well, kind of?” Keshi replied tentatively as he exited his tent. “I know where he’s going to be. There’s this shop.” he looked down at his notes. “‘the silver dagger’ he commissioned a custom weapon from there. I talked to the shopkeeper, and he told me when this inquisitor fellow is going arrive as long as we don’t implicate him in the arrest.” he flipped through a few pages of his notebook. “I actually have a pretty good plan for the catching him, but I don’t know much about his abilities. Maybe you could help me with that?”

“Alright,” Keshi said, letting go of Venser’s mind. “we have a deal. Speak of this interaction to no one, and if you tell your spiky friend that I am following him, well, let me just say there are a lot worse things I can do.” He sent Goto the image of Corbeau’s room. —————————————————— Keshi, Mistwarrens, Corbeau’s hotel room. he materialized on top of a cabinet in Corbeau’s room. Unfortunately his host was not there yet. Well, he thought, dismounting from his steed. If I’m going to be working with the guy, I might as well set up camp. He took off one of the saddlebags and took out a mesh of wire and fabric. At the click of a button. it started to unfold into a decently sized tent (relative to Keshi). he stepped inside and sat on an inflated mattress. He had spent many nights in here on enemy ships, hiding right under their noses. But he didn’t need nostalgia right now, so he grabbed out a notebook and pen and started planning for his next mission. @Ravenclawjedi42

Keshi, The Corridor, The Silver Dagger. Keshi started panicking. If I don’t get information I will fail the only thing I’m good at, Keshi thought A soft, soothing trill came from Goto as if to say “you can do this” Keshi calmed himself. “I’m sorry, But I can’t allow you to leave.” I can’t go back empty handed. Before Venser could react. Goto teleported onto his shoulder. Quickly after, Keshi knocked off the man’s hat. Suddenly his mind was visible to Keshi. there you are. Keshi teleported back to the table, and then cut off Venser’s sight. Keshi projected his voice into Venser’s mind, making it sound as though it was coming from every direction at once. “Now are you ready to talk?”

Keshi, The Corridor, The Silver Dagger. ”money…” Keshi said idly as he thought. The whole point of this job was to get money and that sheriff person probably wouldn’t give him any for this job. An idea struck him. “This spiky fellow probably paid you quite a bit to make this gun, yes? If I neutralize him, I’ll let you keep the rest of his money and whatever is on his person. Deal?” Keshi put out a hand. —————————————————— Asylum, Mistwarrens, Bendalloy Bar. Asylum looked at the stranger and blinked. “what child?” Asylum gaslit. “This is my colleague and she is 32. I assure you she is of legal age.” They said this with the poker face of a seasoned gambler. Your move, they thought holding back a playful grin.

I don’t think a cheap diner would be of Asylum’s taste. Also, you under underestimate the power of asylum being a really irresponsible guardian. I think a bar would work. ps. Sorry for taking a while.

Keshi, Mistwarrens, Venser’s workshop. Keshi wasn’t used to getting caught But had learned the skills needed to improvise. “Hello, I am Keshi;” He said bowing slightly. “I am here to track down and collect the bounty of this man.” he pulled out the comparatively large wanted poster for the spiked man. “I believe he has commissioned a weapon from you and request you go through with this commission, but I plan to arrest him when he arrives.” “Before you get back to work though I have a few questions,” Keshi brought out a tiny notebook and a pen. “How long have you known the fugitive, and what is your understanding of his abilities?” ———————————————— Asylum, Mistwarrens, Lucky’s Gaming Emporium. ”well,” Asylum began. “Lucy is complicated. She basically has the ability to alter her past so that instead of being a socially awkward caffeine addict she is…” sorry Lucy “actually competent in anything other than making magic tattoos.” ”anyway,” Asylum said, changing the subject. “We should get to bed. Tomorrow should be fun!” ———————————————— Asylum, Mistwarrens, outside of the Bendalloy Bar, the next morning. The Bendalloy Bar was new. Which was good because that means Asylum didn’t have a reputation there yet. Asylum walked into the bar alone and began wandering around. They got a drink and eventually settled by the wall next to the window. When no one was looking they whispered through the window. “Eza, It’s all clear. Just be careful and don’t draw too much attention.” @Lunamor @Brik_head