Steel Speedster

We’re in the middle of a scene, but nothing’s really happened yet, so now would be a better time to cut to a new episode than later. I definitely wouldn’t mind more people jumping in on this plot line. I wasn’t planning on anything huge happening, but if people are interested in this being a major plotline, I can work with that too. Currently, I would prefer not to say too much about what’s happening, but I can certainly provide any info needed to get people involved. A little bit of info will be revealed organically pretty soon though.

Thav, Underground, Sewers Thav referenced the directions and then led the way down the sewer tunnel. Eventually, they reached an opening in the wall, leading into a natural cave. A surly looking guard leaned against the doorway, eyeing them suspiciously. As they drew nearer, his eyes flicked to the piece of paper in Thav's hand, and he nodded curtly, allowing them to pass without a word. As they moved down the passage, voices echoed, growing steadily louder, until they reached a wide cavern filled with people. Another group of guards stood near the entrance. Thav held up the invitation in his hand, heart beginning to beat. This was the real test of his disguise. To his relief, they let him pass. "This is a friend," Thav said, gesturing to Aradan. He did his best to speak in a slightly deeper voice to match the person he was imitating. The guards nodded, allowing Aradan to enter as well. Thav turned to examine the room. Tapping zinc, he quickly counted about forty attendees. There were also some grunts, who he presumed were already under the employ of this mysterious enclave. Thav burned bronze, but as he had expected, felt no Allomantic pulses. The cave was being smoked. @Qianweilian Fenna, Underground, Meeting Cavern Fenna glanced up as two newcomers arrived. They were let through and allowed to mingle with the rest of the group. There was no clock, but she thought the meeting must be starting soon. She sat down against the wall and began storing weight to pass the time. @Mistfallen Soldier Jerrin, Smokestack With some relief, Jerrin crossed back into the Scadrian zone and let his speed lapse completely. He felt slightly guilty for leaving when everyone else at the crater had been taken by the police force, but there wasn't much he could do about it either. Kaiden would be fine. He was a Radiant, and he hadn't done anything wrong. The Nalthians had no reason to hold him for long. Jerrin didn't have that luxury. He operated outside the law, and he doubted the New Hallandren guard would have shown him much kindness if he had been captured. If Kaiden actually needed help, he would send a message via his spren, and Jerrin could figure something out from there. For now, he could just go home. His job was done. Arriving at the safety of the hideout, Jerrin finally turned off his electrum. Inside, he found it empty. Didn't Thav have some 'job' tonight? he realized. The two of them were still working on the case, but they were each pursuing separate avenues to cover more ground. Thav had seemed pretty adamant that this particular mission was a one-person job. Jerrin tried not to worry too much about the kid, but it was hard, considering what they had been through. Instead of going to sleep, he sat back down at his desk to continue searching the papers there.

Thav, Smokestack After donning the hat and coat of the recruit he had knocked out, and pasting a fake mustache on his face, Thav led the way out of the hideout and down the streets of Smokestack towards the Mistwarrens. He felt in the pocket of the coat and found a piece of paper, which seemed to contain directions to the meeting place and bore an odd symbol. That was useful. Thav already had roughly figured out where they needed to go, but this would make it much easier to get there. Near the edge of the Mistwarrens, Thav located a particular manhole, which he lifted off, opening an entrance into the sewer. Lovely. "Well, in we go," he said, and descended the ladder into a smelly tunnel. @Qianweilian Fenna, The Underground, Meeting Cavern Fenna looked up as people began to arrive. None of them would have stood out on the streets--they were mostly ordinary looking people, but given Mask's secretive approach, she expected that each of them had been carefully selected. That meant they must have been preparing this meeting for a long time. The man on the platform--Cuvel, she had heard him called--was still there. Fenna suspected he was Mask's spokesperson. Apparently that man enjoyed delegating so much he couldn't even bothered to run his own recruitment meeting. Cuvel stood out the most from the other people in the room. He was dressed simply, but stylishly in a brown suit, and his hair was well-groomed. More like a teacher than a criminal. The other one, Bairn, had disappeared. Fenna frowned, briefly wondering where he had gone, then went back to watching the new arrivals. She wasn't sure what she was looking for, but she needed to make sure this job went perfectly.

Thav, Smokestack, Hideout Thav checked his watch. "We should go now," he said. "That meeting is starting soon and I want to make sure we get there on time." He opened a safe on the wall containing his supplies and extracted a pair of zinc bracelets and several metal vials containing bronze and steel. Slipping the bracelets onto his arms and downing one of the vials, he turned to Aradan. "Ready?" @Qianweilian Mask, Mistkeep Without another word, Mask withdrew into the shadows and departed. @Mistfallen Soldier Fenna, Mistwarrens, Sewer Fenna dropped lightly into the dark tunnel of the sewer system beneath the Mistwarrens. Wrinkling her nose, she proceeded down the tunnel for several minutes. As the tunnel made a turn, she stopped to reference the directions given to her by Mask, then located a groove in the wall and pulled. With a click, a section of the wall slid back and she pushed it to the side, revealing another tunnel--this one natural looking--branching off. Fenna knew that there were supposed to be tunnels hidden underneath the tunnel, but she had never actually been in one. While she had previously been annoyed about Mask's cryptic remarks, assuming it to largely just be posturing, she was now beginning to think he actually had access to the infrastructure he hinted at. She proceeded into the cave complex, trying to keep her steps from echoing too much. Soon, she began hearing quiet voices. She turned a corner and found herself in the entrance of a large cavern. It was wide and deep, but the ceiling wasn't much higher than the tunnels outside, making it feel a little claustrophobic despite that. There were a half dozen rows of chairs, all facing a raised platform at one end of the cavern where to figures stood conversing. There even seemed to be a stand for refreshments set up in the corner. Rust and ruin, this is elaborate! Fenna thought, feeling a slight chill. She had thought this would be a small meeting. Based on the preparations, however, it looked like Mask was expecting upwards of fifty potential recruits. As Fenna stepped into the cavern, the figures on the platform turned towards her. "Who sent you?" demanded one, a stocky but muscular man with short black hair. Fenna held up the paper Mask had given her, showing a strange, jagged symbol. The man relaxed. "You're our security detail, then?" he said. "I expected a security detail to have, y'know, multiple people." "I assure you, I will be sufficient." Fenna responded. "Where's Mask?" "Him?" the man said. "He ain't gonna be here. Cuv' and I are running this meeting." The other person, a tall well-groomed man nodded absently. He stood at a lectern in the middle of the stage, shuffling through some papers. A speech, perhaps? The two resumed their conversation, paying Fenna no further attention, so she moved away. There were a few other people in the cavern, but all low-level grunts by the looks of it, only there to arrange things for the meeting. With nothing better to do, Fenna took up a post near the entrance, leaning against the wall.

Mask, Mistkeep "We both crave the same thing," Mask said. "Power. I have seen you are already powerful, as are we. But one can always have more power, wouldn't you agree? You could be of great service to us. And we could grant you more of what you seek." He produced a folded piece of paper. It was stamped with a jagged black symbol, like a row of icicles. "This contains directions to a meeting taking place tonight. There, you can hear more, if you wish." @Mistfallen Soldier Thav, Smokestack, Hideout "We own the building above, but it's empty," Thav said. "If people see it's abandoned, there less likely to suspect anything is down here." He headed towards the hallway to the side of the room. "We might have some iron. I'll take a look." Thav walked down the hall and turned right into one of the rooms near the end. It hadn't been lived in recently, but he and Jerrin had never cleared it out, so there were various odds and ends lying around. This room had belonged to Drin, the team's Lurcher. Sure enough, a drawer in one corner contained a couple metal vials labeled 'iron.' Thav returned and set the vials down on the table. "Here you are." @Qianweilian Jerrin, New Hallandren Jerrin stood in shock as the Fused from the scene of the explosion appeared out of the air, cutting down the three Nalthian guards in front of him and disappeared into an Alley after the Radiant. Jerrin hesitated for a moment, then tapped steel and dashed after him. He closed his eyes, considering how rusting stupid it was to be charging into an Alleyway. When he opened them, he found himself skidding to a halt--not in an interdimensional horrorscape--but on the next street over, still in New Hallandren. The portal had closed. Spinning around and trying to regain his bearings, Jerrin could hear shouting from the direction of the crater. It was time to get out. The Alley was gone, the Fused was gone, he was low on speed, and even his electrum reserves were running out. The shortcut through the alley would give him a decent headstart on the guards. He took off back towards the Scadrian districts, cursing under his breath. He kept his speed low, trying to conserve as much as possible. It should be enough to get out.

Thav, Smokestack Thav led the way back to the hideout, descending the staircase from the street to a fairly spacious but sparsely furnished basement. The walls and floor were hard cement. Furniture was limited to a table and chairs in the middle of the room, a desk in one corner (covered in a pile of newspapers), and a few cabinets and shelves. There was an adjoining hall that led to a few small rooms containing beds. "Do you need any supplies?" Thav asked. "Metals? We might have some pewter or iron around here somewhere." @Qianweilian

Mask, Mistkeep "Saitaku of JinDo," said a cloaked figure, stepping out of the darkness. "We've been observing you. I believe we have...interests in common. We have a bargain for you if you'd like to hear it." @Mistfallen Soldier

Thav, Mistwarrens Thav hesitated. He trusted this man, but he didn't know for sure that that trust was warranted, and Jerrin would not be pleased if he compromised their hideout. The offer of help, however, was tempting. Changing the plan at the last moment seemed risky, but having back-up sounded good. "Alright," Thav decided. "If you're willing to help, I'll take it. There's still a few hours until the meeting. I know a place where you can stay, at least for the night. It's over in Smokestack--not far. I can show you if you like." @Qianweilian

Thav, Mistwarrens Thav relaxed. "Oh. So, you're new here then?" If that was true, it was very unlikely he was working for Thav's enemies. "Well, I don't know how much you've figured out about this place, but it's a sort of nexus for a bunch of different worlds. You step into in alley and sometimes you just come out here. You can't really get out after that. Alleys here can lead to bad places, so be careful about those. People from different places sort of have their own parts of the city. You're Scadrian, so you'll probably be more comfortable around here, but there's a bunch of other districts." "Anyway," Thav continued. "If you need to know, the person I'm looking for killed a lot of people I cared about. I don't know who he is, but I need to find him, and this meeting is the closest I've ever been." "So, that's me," he finished, crossing his arms. "Now tell me a little about yourself." @Qianweilian

Thav, Mistwarrens Thav spun to face the newcomer, his hand moving to his aluminum gun. He did not draw, however, as the stranger already had a weapon trained on him. "Um..." He tapped zinc, quickly thinking through possible actions. The man seemed to genuinely want an answer. Who was he? An enemy agent? Just someone passing by? Thav burned bronze and sensed to different Allomantic signatures coming from him: pewter and iron. That was certainly unusual. Was he spiked? For the moment, Thav reasoned, it would be best just to tell the truth. If the man was an enemy, keeping him close might be the best option, and if he wasn't providing more detail couldn't be worse than letting him think Thav was a simple robber. "He's a criminal," Thav said. "Although he's not the person I'm after. I need information about a group he may be involved with." He waited, hoping the stranger would accept that as an answer. His hand stayed hovering near his weapon, and he burned bronze and steel, ready to react if the other man attacked. @Qianweilian

Thavel Talin, Mistwarrens Thavel Talin wound his way through the narrow, dirty streets of the Mistwarrens. This part was a particularly shady area, but Thav wasn't concerned about being mugged at the moment. That was because he was planning on doing the mugging. Thav trailed behind his target, a tall man wearing a tan coat and a brimmed hat, doing his best not to look conspicuous. According to his previous investigations, this man had been invited to some sort of recruitment meeting, which Thav believed to be linked to his ultimate target. He and Jerrin had still found very little information about the Hemalurgist who had attacked them, but they had some evidence that he was connected to a highly secretive enclave operating in the Scadrian districts. This recruitment meeting was their best lead yet. Thav burned bronze and steel. He could sense Allomantic pulses coming from his target. Steel. The man knew he was being followed and was wary. A faint blue line pointed to his coat pocket where, Thav guessed, a gun lay concealed. The man turned a corner, moving down a particularly narrow street, almost as tight as an alleyway. Thav tracked him using steelsight, then turned the corner tapping zinc. The man spun around drawing his gun. In an instant, Thav calculated the bullet trajectory and nudged the gun to the side Allomantically. At the same time, he drew his own weapon, lining up a shot and firing. The first bullet whizzed harmlessly past Thav's head. His own bullet precisely impacted his opponent's weapon, causing him to cry out in pain as the shock passed through his hand and the gun spun away. Thav stepped forward and punched him across the face. The man stumbled backwards then turned back towards him, shooting a spray of coins with his good hand. Thav, having seen the attack coming with his bronzesense and steelsight, side-stepped the coins, nudging them slightly to the side and swung his gun into his opponent's face. Well, that was simple enough. Now all he had to do was make sure the man stayed put while Thav impersonated him. They were similar enough in size that Thav felt fairly confident his disguise could hold up. He picked up the man's hat from the ground and pulled off the tan coat. He also had procured a fake mustache for the occasion. If the information he had gathered was correct, this man had been selected as a potential recruit, in which case no one would notice the slight differences. Hopefully. The only thing left to do was make sure he stayed put until Thav was done using his identity, for which purpose, he had brought along a length of rope. @Qianweilian Fenna Koss, The Corridor Fenna pushed inside a dingy abandoned shop. The front windows were so stained and dusty that it was dark inside, despite their large size. She made her way past rows of empty shelves to the front desk. Hopping over it, she bent down and tapped the floor three times. After a moment of silence, a floorboard shifted away, revealing a ladder leading down into darkness. Fenna stored weight and dropped down, landing lightly in a small room under the shop's floor. The floorboard above slid back into place, moved by an unseen mechanism. She proceeded to a small hatch on the wall and stepped through to a second room. This one was slightly larger and was softly illuminated by a single lantern on a desk in the middle of the room. Behind the desk, a man wearing a dark cloak reclined, his hands clasped calmly in front of him. He leaned forward as Fenna entered. "You have it?" he asked in a soft voice. Fenna produced a bag that clinked as she set it on the desk. The man--whom Fenna knew only by the pseudonym "Mask"--smiled as he opened it and held up a shiny piece of aluminum. "Excellent," Mask said. Despite the name, he wore no mask. His face looked generic, with his only notable feature being his eyes, which were sharp and somewhat unnerving. Mask put away the bag of aluminum and passed a small pouch containing coins across the desk. Fenna knew very little about the man or what he did, but he paid her well for a variety of jobs. She did know that he was some sort of crime boss, but she had rarely met anyone else under his employ. It always seemed to her that he enjoyed keeping her in the dark. "Listen, Mask," Fenna said, leaning over the desk. "I'm happy to get paid for small jobs, but you know I want to do more. When are you going to let me in on something big? It's been long enough." Mask sat back in his chair, still smiling in an unnerving way. "You have a point," he acknowledged. "We shall consider." "Why can't you decide now?" Fenna demanded. Mask made no answer, instead producing a sealed envelope and handing it to her. "In the meantime," he said. "I do have another job for you. While you're there, you might pick up something that interests you." With that, he leaned back once more, saying nothing else, which Fenna knew was a dismissal. She frowned but turned and left the room. Climbing back up into the shop, she pulled out an aluminum knife--reworked from a spear tip she had acquired in New Hallandren the previous year and slit open the envelope to read her new instructions.

That is a good point. I was forgetting that Ebon would also be exiting through the alleyway when I originally thought about it. Four does seem a bit more difficult to RP with. I might just think on it for a bit. I haven't really planned where Jerrin is going to go from here.

@Koloss17 In case you missed it when I asked in the era 9 thread, do you have a preference on whether Jerrin follows Perses and Lux? CoderDrag0n says he doesn't care either way. I can go either way. KnightSkye nudged me in this direction, but I can do something else. Jerrin would have just seen Ebon kill a group of guards and go through though, so he'd probably be inclined to follow, but we could just have the alleyway close before he gets through if the preference is that he does not follow.

Welcome! As far as a rundown goes, not a lot has happened so far. Basically, a Fused named Ebon attacked a facility belonging to the Crimson Breath (an organization that little is known about, though you can see some details on Hoid Slayer's last post on this thread.) However, the building got blown up by an anti-Investiture bomb, vaporizing an area within New Hallandren (the Nalthian district.) A bunch of people came to the crater to see what was going on, and now the Nalthian guard has arrived and arrested most of them, except for a few who ran for it. That should pretty much be all you need to know to get started, especially since it looks like your character is new to the city and wouldn't know anything anyway. I have a couple characters who are not currently involved in a plotline. I believe @Mistfallen Soldier is also looking for someone to collab with. (Also, I just remembered I forgot to get back to you, Mistfallen. Sorry.) So, there's three of us who could potentially work together. Give me a minute to look over your and Mistfallen's characters and see if any ideas come to mind. EDIT: Okay, so, here's my thoughts so far. @Qianweilian Your character might get along with my character Thav. The full character sheet is here if you want to take a look, but if you want a quick rundown, Thav is a Twinborn mercenary who is currently looking for the people who killed his friends. He is a fairly friendly sort, so he might help Aradan if they ran into each other. @Mistfallen Soldier My other unoccupied character, Fenna, could potentially interact with or work with Saituku. Saituku seems a bit more ruthless than Fenna currently is, but she's kind of leaning that way and they might be able to get along if they had a reason to work together. (Fenna's sheet is here if you need it for reference.) If you wanted to start by just having them run into each other and see where it goes from there, that would work with me. So, that's what my thoughts are currently. These are just offers, so you're of course both perfectly free to suggest other arrangements or find someone else entirely--I wouldn't be offended.

@Koloss17 @CoderDrag0n8

Jerrin, New Hallandren, Crater This certainly was not going well. Jerrin glanced around quickly, considering his options. He had no intention of being captured by the guard force. He could just make a dash for it, but he wasn't sure he could get out fast enough. His steelminds were already emptier than he felt comfortable with. "What?" Jerrin asked, startled by the spren's sudden appearance. He glanced in the direction Skye had pointed. "'Husked-One'? Isn't that Transportation? I don't--" Just then, Awakened ropes went flying everywhere. Rusting--! Without waiting to finish that thought, Jerrin tapped speed and bolted off in the direction Skye had indicated. There was no more time for standing still. As he broke away from the crowd, a rope coiled around his arm and he jerked to a halt. He spun to see a pair of guards rushing towards him, one holding on to the other end of the rope. Jerrin gritted his teeth. This was not a fight he wanted to take. With another burst of speed, Jerrin ran a tight circle around one of the guards, binding his arms with his own rope, then cutting it from his own wrist with a quick flick of a glass dagger. He narrowly dodged an attack from the second guard, his electrum giving him just enough time to react, then sped off again, leaving the two guards behind. Jerrin turned a corner coming face to face with another group of guards. One of the Radiants from the crater was also there, but there was no sign of his target. @KnightSkye Reforged @Koloss17 @CoderDrag0n8

The guards does seem to be what everyone is waiting for. I have two characters who are not involved in anything yet, so if you want to do something with one of them, I'd be open.

Jerrin, New Hallandren, Crater Jerrin surreptitiously patrolled around the crater towards the back of the mob, looking out for any further disturbances. Ah, Rusts, he thought, seeing a large force of Nalthian Guards forcing their way through the crowds. Jerrin put his head down. New Hallandren wasn’t always friendly to outsiders. At the moment, the guard would hopefully be occupied by dealing with the devastation, but they weren’t always entirely reasonable. Jerrin considered simply leaving. There wasn’t much he could do here anyway. But he also couldn’t just ignore an event of this scale. For the time being, he would stay to watch.

It would probably make sense for them to. I’m good with that.

Okay, yeah, I did see that, but I assumed we were just waiting for an answer.

Jerrin, Mistwarrens, Brass Street Jerrin turned the corner onto Brass Street and skidded to a stop in front of the police station there. He entered, nodding stiffly to the constables on duty. "Just here to fetch something for the Radiant," he muttered. Making his way into one of the rear rooms of the station, he found a set of filing cabinets. As he made his way across the room, Jerrin observed his future shadows as they inspected the various cabinets in front of him. One pulled out a small pouch. Perfect. * * * Jerrin emerged from the station, tucking the pouch into his belt. The trip had so far consumed about half the speed in one of his bracers. He switched to the other one as he began the run towards New Hallandren. He preferred to keep them equally filled when possible, as keeping them partially full allowed them greater resistance to other forms of Investiture. It was a slight advantage, but Jerrin took every advantage he could get. It wasn't hard to find his way to the scene of the explosion. The streets were clogged with panicked civilians trying to figure out what was happening. The chaos pointed him towards his destination. Following his future shadows, Jerrin dodged around pedestrians, narrowly avoiding collisions. He slowed to a stop as he came to a large ring of people surrounding a massive crater. Rust and Ruin! he thought. I know Skye said it was bad but I didn't think... Jerrin made his way slowly through the crowd. Electrum allowed him to slip through the mass of bodies, finding gaps before they opened. He reached the front of the onlookers, getting a better view of the devastation. Kaiden stood near the crater, along with several other people, including what looked to be a Fused. Not wanting to draw attention to himself, Jerrin hung back. He preferred to stay under the radar and would rather not reveal any association with Radiants in public. Instead, he tossed the Voidlight spheres towards the group and quickly turned around, disappearing into the crowd. @KnightSkye Reforged @Ink and Embers @Koloss17 @Hoid Slayer @CoderDrag0n8 @KaladinsSenseOfHumourSpren

Jerrin, Mistwarrens That was certainly concerning news, though he doubted it had anything to do with his own problems. Still, he did his best to help when Kaiden needed it. He just hoped this was important. This would take a lot of speed. “No,” said Jerrin. “I haven’t heard anything in particular.” However, if Kaiden suspected Perses had something to with the event, that could mean this was more serious than Jerrin thought. He tapped speed and set off in a blurring sprint, heading towards the police station. @KnightSkye Reforged

Jerrin, Smokestack, Jerrin's Hideout Jerrin stood up from his desk, tossing the day's paper into a bin. Just like all the papers for the last year, none of the stories contained any clues for his search. Despite this, Jerrin continued to search the paper each day. Anything he might find was worth the time spent. He liked to keep all avenues of information open. As he strode across the room, Jerrin allowed his speed storage to lapse, returning to normal speed. He unlocked a small safe on the wall and opened it, revealing a number of metal objects within. Removing a steel ring from one hand, he placed it inside. Just then, Jerrin's electrum shadows shook around him, a few falling to the floor. He tapped speed from one of his bracers, quickly steadying himself as a thunderous boom reverberated through the hideout. Several steelminds tumbled from the safe and clattered to the floor. He hurriedly tapped speed again, scooping the metalminds up and returning them to their place, then ran to the door. Jerrin emerged and looked around. Activity in the street had come to a halt as people stared in shock in the direction of New Hallandren, which seemed to have been the origin of the sound. Rusts, what's going on now? Not wanting to draw too much attention, Jerrin tapped a small amount of speed and started off towards New Hallandren, cutting through the Mistwarrens. Jerrin came to a halt, thinking he heard his name. He glanced around and saw a wisp of light dashing down a side street. Kaiden's spren. "What's your Radiant want now?" Jerrin asked the windspren. "I'm in the middle of something." @KnightSkye Reforged

A summary would be great! I did skim everything but couldn't catch all the details.

Hey, everyone! I'm a bit late to the party (busy with Christmas stuff), but I'm ready to jump in now. I don't really know what's going on right now, and it'll take me a bit to catch up, but I would be happy to have my characters join a plotline if anyone would like that. Otherwise, I'll start my own thing once I figure out what's going on and go from there.