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Some Sticky Business

Scene details

  • Start date: Aug. 28, 2021, noon
  • End date: Aug. 28, 2021, 6 p.m.
  • Location: Granse - Zerhem Kingdom
  • Participants: Ivo Galvan, Priel, Argent

Setting: The party arrives in Zerhem Kingdom, the capitol of Granse, and notes the presence of Cosmopolitan magitech for sale in the bustling market now that the Spiring City has opened its borders. A magitechnical mishap leads to an unexpected fracas and new encounter.

Log

In the quiet city of Zerhem in the country of Granse, there is a startlingly bustling marketplace. Bright pennants dangle from twine threading from booth to booth, forming a kind of colorful web to ensnare visitors with the prospect of affordable and unusual wares. Granse is a particularly weak state, its armies and inhabitants spread thin, its many communities lacking a strong national identity and often at odds. Yet it has a long history as a seat of civilization and remains relatively peaceful save for monsters, bandits, and eidola in need of expulsion or containment. Thus Granse, and Zerhem specifically, has become a mecca for adventurers, who drift here in search of quests in need of doing and relics waiting to be found.
  "Now *this* is a surprise."
  Amidst the mild but pervasive tumult of commerce, a young dark-haired man's rippling blue cloak stands out, enthusiasm evident on his pleasant features, eyes bright as he examines an odd contraption he's lifted from among a vendor's wares. He looks to the red-haired woman by his side, radiating earnestness.
  "Cosmopolitan magitech has already reached Granse. They're obviously selling the castoffs, but some of this jun-- stuff is still functional. Even if the prices are abs-- striking." He sets the item down and sighs. "We could use it to repair the ship's blown aether fuse if we could afford it. If only we'd brought some magitech to sell ourselves, we'd make a killing. Maybe Reize'll be willing to switch careers to merchant."
  He shakes his head, looking to bright blue sky, eyes drawn wistfully to the bone white of Zerhem's crumbled aqueduct's stone visible in the distant horizon.
  "Who decided we should leave Cosmopolis in such a hurry?"

  • Character: Priel
  • 2 years, 4 months ago

"You. It was you." Comes Priel's voice from aside Ivo, her arms crossed as she stands next to him and looks over the wares at the vendor's storefront they're standing in front of. "You were the one who suddenly blasted us off on that boat of yours. Had us fight pirates." Pause. "... They were pirates, right?" She asides to no one in particular. But somewhere, off in Cosmopolis, someone sitting in a cell has the urge to shout.
  'I'm a racer, damn it!'
  'Shut up in there!'
  Moving along.
  "...And then crashed that fancy tugboat of yours in the end." The red haired lady finishes recounting with a clear amusement in her tone. "So here we are." She spreads her arms in a faux dramatic fashion. "Out here looking over these overpriced-"
  '-Ahem' The shopkeeper gives her A Look(tm).
  "I mean- very rare and appropriatedly priced artifacts." She gives the owner a sweet smile, then turns away and rolls her eyes. Sigh.
  "... Maybe I should find the nearest Guild HQ and check in." Priel murmurs to herself, a hand to her chin.

"In my defense," Ivo protests, "that tavern owner was very scary."
  Grinning, he returns his gaze to the truly exquisite inventory on display. "I've heard the Vanguards have a strong presence in Granse," the Cosmopolitan continues conversationally. Though he's read and heard much about the outside world, this is his first time ever leaving his home city's isolated plateau. Though Cosmopolis is something of a world unto itself, Ivo's excitement clearly stems from at last visiting novel environs. "Do you know who leads the chapter here? Oh!"
  He stops before pointing at an inscrutible little contraption half-buried under a mound of jun-- stuff.
  "May I see that fine item, please?" he says to the shopkeeper, offering him his second-best smile. Somewhat mollified by the interest and the fact that Ivo looks like the sort of person who might have money, the merchant puffs up and launches into a speech regarding this object's virtues.
  "You have a good eye, sir!" the fellow crows. "Why, this is a malarkatron, a fabulous panacea from far-off Cosmopolis, capable of curing all from aether sickness to the common cold! You simply, uh, push this button here, and pull this doo-dad there, and--"
  "It's an amplifier," Ivo quietly asides to Priel while the merchant is distracted. "An old model, but good enough to fix our problem. Any big aether gem can do the trick, but this technology can amplify even trace amounts of aether without much energy expenditure, so-- ah," The young man raises his voice, his decorous tone a little strained. "I wouldn't do that, sir. If there's any concentrations of aether in the vicinity--"
  A flash of light and ripple of force emanate from the object in the merchant's hands, who hurriedly drops it to the limestone cobbles, where it rattles and rolls toward the center of the market. Before the eyes of onlookers, water begins to visibly condense in midair, forming three growing bubbles, a core of ice hardening within each.
  "Priel!" Ivo shouts, reaching under his cloak to draw a longsword from its scabbard. "Break those ice cores, hurry!"
  The curious murmurs of the marketgoers soon turn to cries of panic and dismay as shards of ice continue to form on the surface of those growing bubbles and whirl about dangerously, shredding and hacking away at nearby booths, the sudden appearance of the minor water eidola sending bystanders fleeing in every direction.

  • Character: Argent
  • 2 years, 4 months ago

Well, most bystanders. There's a glaring exception in the form of a woman who's just stood a scant few inches out of range, her impractically long silver hair blowing around as an occasionally shard of ice whirls dangerously near her face. She doesn't seem particularly bothered by it. Once it seems as though they aren't going to get out of her way anytime soon she looks left, looks right...and starts walking forward. She's got somewhere to get to, and she's not going to let some lumps of overactive ice get in her way.
  A piece of hair falls to the floor as she walks, a little slit opens in her dress, a few droplets of blood spill down her cheek...though, that last one doesn't seem to be a problem for her. The odd woman brings a hand to her mouth, licks her tongue over her fingers and then slaps them down on the small wound, and then it's just...gone, and she's off again.
  You know, closer to the centre of all the action.

  • Character: Priel
  • 2 years, 4 months ago

".... Uh huh..."
  Priel just stares and watches as the shopkeeper explains badly what the part Ivo wanted to see was... and then Ivo gives her the real explanation. Which, of course, means that she puts two and two together a little after Ivo does, and pauses. "Hey, wait a second. Don't tell me-" FLASH. "-...There it is." She sighs, watching as water condenses in the air, and those ice cores form. Right on cue, they start rampaging, sending sharpened shards of ice flying all over the place, much to the panic of marketgoers. "Greaaaaaat." Priel rolls her eyes, while leaning her head aside to avoid a chunk of ice that flies past.
  "Am I even getting paid for this?" She wonders aloud, while flames gather in her hand, forming into a glowing red sword shape. "Ah, fine. I guess it would be a problem if this whole place got torn down." She finally decides, hefting the weapon onto a shoulder and walking forward. "....Hm?" As she makes way, she notices a strange lady in an overly fancy dress that clearly doesn't seem like she belongs here... just... ignoring the panic and... "-...hey wait a second... is she walking TOWARDS the problem? Is she stupid?"
  God! Priel decides maybe it's not time to play it cool, and so she goes into a run, cutting down frozen shards of ice that fly at her as she makes her way towards the market center.
  "Hey! You!" She calls to the weird lady taking her time walking. "You might wanna clear the area unless you feel like being turned into a pincushion!" She says as she runs past, and towards the radiation cores of ice near the center, flaming sword at the ready. Leaping into the air to avoid a particularly large ice spike, Priel spins on the way down, and then brings her sword down into one of the rampaging cores.
  "Hah!"

Ivo's grin has inverted into a grimace as he, wielding his sword in his right hand, he takes an odd object from his belt, a handle attached to an empty ring, and holds it in his left. Trusting Priel to take care of the strange woman with an apparent deficit of self-preservation instincts, he flips switches on both hilt and handle with his thumbs and elicits two more flashes of light. On his left, a field of energy shimmers into being into the hollow of the ring, forming an energy buckler. On his right, the longsword's blade detaches from the hilt, floating suspended in air, bound to the hilt by a faint crackle of lightning.
  "Time is of the essence!" he calls. "They'll only grow and harden!"
  He's so focused he doesn't even crack a joke. Normally, the more nervous Ivo is, the more he wants to play it cool, but much like Priel, he's concluded this situation calls for a more direct approach. Thus, with a slight flourish, he launches the blade through the air. It changes courses as he twists his wrist, darting in to pierce one eidola's core before it completes, easily shattering it and dispersing the elemental. But the third, attacked neither by Priel nor Ivo, seems to finish its growth, now both swirling with blades and warded with chunks of ice that seem to serve as shields.
  With a sweep of his cloak, Ivo sends his floating sword toward the remaining elemental, but it deflects off one of the shield and is sent clattering to the cobbles.
  "Come now," he murmurs, "don't be so cold."
  Oh, there's the joke. He sounds strained, though.

  • Character: Argent
  • 2 years, 4 months ago

Priel's call at least seems to get the woman's attention, head turning to peer at her. She...doesn't seem to be blinking very much. "They are not using pins." she says blandly, pointing out the obvious.
 "Furthermore, I do not believe that I could be used as a cushion."
  Then her attention finally turns to that last, largest elemental. For a long few seconds she just watches it, stood still before her head turns left and right. Yep, it's right in her way.
  "I require you to destroy this." she says out loud to both the fighters, arm raising slowly to point at the thing that needs removal. Another beat passes before she adds "Please do not be concerned about injury." ...because she'll help heal them afterwards, right?
  Right?

  • Character: Priel
  • 2 years, 4 months ago

"Wow, you had a prime opportunity for a dumb joke, and you didn't take it. That's not like you." Priel says as she stands back up after cutting down one of the elementals. She sees that Ivo managed to get one himself, but the last... ...is still there. And finished forming to boot. Well. That's lovely.
  The redhead looks at the white haired lady, and for a moment, it almost.... ALMOST seems like she might reveal she's actually amazing, but... no. She just tells them to defeat the elemental.
  If it weren't a tense situation, she would have facepalmed. But there's no time for that. "What was I expecting?" She rolls her eyes and turns toward the rampaging creature, sizing it up momentarily. "Those shields look annoying..." But after a bit, she gets an idea. "...Aha. Hey Ivo! Let's keep this simple. I'll make sure to occupy all of its shields. While I do so, you do your zippy sword thing and destroy core. Got it? Cool. Let's go!"
  She doesn't even given him a chance to confirm the plan. Priel just darts forward into a run, her sword newly igniting into flame. "Hey! Over here! Eyes on me!" She shouts, swinging her weapon and sending out fireballs from the trails of her slashes that arc through the air and converge towards the elemental in an obvious, easily defended way. Then a couple more are sent out to follow up and keep it busy to give Ivo time to enact this hastily thought up plan.

"Oh, well, if it's *required*, then--"
  Ivo tries to make his tone light and droll, but he can't prevent his voice from tightening up as the remaining eidola, appearing to have detected his attempted attack, begins floating toward him. Glancing behind himself, he confirms that retreating would bring it within range of the merchant's stall. Deciding to keep property damage to minimum and unsure of how many have evacuated, the magitech fencer takes a deep breath and advances instead.
  "How could I do otherwise?"
  His buckler flashes, its field distorting and flickering but holding as steel-sharp shards of ice bounce off of it. With patience and precisions, he punches them away as they approach, actively repelling them, braving the elemental to find an opening. But he doesn't have much luck until Priel descends.
  "I think that's a good pl--" It doesn't matter if you think it's a good plan! She's already here and she's ready to rock. And who or what could keep eyes, literal or metaphorical, off of Priel in action? Ivo himself seems momentarily distracted watching her before he blinks and, for the first time since the fight began, grins again.
  "Let's make sure this elemental--"
  Detecting a greater threat, the elemental rotates all its shields to absorb the brunt of Priel's flame. Ivo, thrusting out his hand again and rotating his wrist in a fencer's disengage, sends his blade wheeling through the air elegantly toward its destination.
  "--gets the point!"
  With a resounding impact, the blade tip strikes the core just so, and with a satisfying crack, it shatters into glittering dust, the ice around it swiftly melting away and the water sloshing to the ground. Ivo's blade returns to his hilt and his buckler switches off, the young man putting them both away as he approaches the so-called malarkatron lying dormant.
  "Perhaps water-aspected elemental essence will serve in lieu of coin for this," he remarks, reaching out to grasp it-- "Ouch!" --only to flinch, glancing at his shoulder to see his shirt torn and fresh bleeding there. "It's not properly heroic unless you're at least scratched," he explains, glancing to Priel. Oh, so it was on purpose. Of course.

  • Character: Argent
  • 2 years, 4 months ago

"Ah. You have destroyed it." Argent says, her face betraying not a single trace of surprise. Or awe. Or gratitude, really. Tap tap tap go her shoes as makes to walk on, only for her gaze to turn back towards Ivo.
 "You have been injured. Please, remain still." the silver haired woman says, carefully stepping around the puddle that marks the remains of the elemental to get to him. Her hair tickles against his back as she leans over him, pale eyes examining the wound. Is she going to use some magic? Perhaps provide a bandage?
  Oh...no. She just spat on him instead, saliva landing right on the cut. Lovely. ...it does seem to be feeling a little better, though.

  • Character: Priel
  • 2 years, 4 months ago

"Whew... well then." Priel lets the swird she was holding dissipate into bunch of magic particles, and turns toward Ivo. "Good job. You managed to not totally screw that one up." She says, congratulating him, and yet she sounds like she's totally making fun of him somehow. How? They won!
  She does notice that he somehow got hurt in the confusion and blinks. "Oh huh. When did that happen?" She inquires as she walks towards Ivo, stopping partway when Argent steps in. Looks like she's examining the wound. Oh. Is this it? Is she finally going to reveal that she's actually really cool and amazing!? Not even realizing she's holding her breath, Priel stares....
  ...Only to see Argent just spit on the wound.
  ".........."
  Blink.
  Blink blink.
  She rubs her eyes, thinking that maybe she was seeing things, and looks again.
  Nope. Still there.
  "....uhhhhhhhhhhh"

"It's true!" Ivo replies cheerfully to Priel's faint praise, eyes sparkling with amusement. Despite the cut, his good mood seems to have returning now that combat has ended. When Argent approaches and leans over, her hair brushing against him, his smile softens. "Thank you," he says gently. "I'm glad you're sa--"
  *ptooey*
  "--aaaah..."
  Ivo trails off. Silence follows. In the background, a tumbleweed rolls by, soon pursued by a frazzled tumbleweed salesman.
  "If you lick it, it might help me even more," he at last helpfully supplies. A keen eye may notice, however, that despite Ivo's apparent composure and suggestive tone, his cheeks are a little pinker than before. Let's not think about that too hard.
  He's rolling his shoulder and blinking in surprise. "It worked," he reports to Priel, marveling. "Quite extraordinarily effectively. Thank you, Miss, ah--?" There's a look of intense interest in his eye. Such an ability is highly unusual. As a Cosmopolitan magitech engineer, he would associate it with modified lifeforms.
  That's definitely the only reason he'd look so interested right now.
  "Sir, about the malarkatron--" But the merchant, peeking up from under his stall, is shaking his head and waving his hands wildly, so Ivo just smiles and picks up the item with his now healed arm. "We'll leave him some eidola dust, at least." Emphasis on some. "Now, why would it have summoned *water*-aspected elementals? From the lake?" he murmurs. "No, that's too far for a model like this. It'd have to be closer, somewhere that people wouldn't visit-- ah."
  He's gazing into the distance, over the tops of the market's stalls, in the direction of that ruined aqueduct.
  "Priel," he says, "fancy a bit more elemental hunting?"

  • Character: Argent
  • 2 years, 4 months ago

"I do not believe that increased medical attention is required at this time." Argent says, just...looking at Ivo after examining his injury one last time. She's not responding qui- "Ah. You wish to know my name. It is Argent." she adds suddenly, seeming to realize that there's a social convention there that she was briefly forgetting.
  "I have a query. Given that these were created from water, is it not also possible that they were created from a more local source? The human body contains large amounts of water."
  Well, that's a little morbid.

  • Character: Priel
  • 2 years, 4 months ago

".........."
  It takes a bit for Priel to shake off the Big Weird that was injected into the situation all of a sudden, but she sighs and looks off into the distance, wondering about a great many things... before she turns back to Ivo and Argent. "Argent huh?" She crosses her arms, looking the weird lady over a moment. "... Are yo some kind of big shot? You're dressed like you should be at a ball. Not slumming it at this marketplace."
  Well, not that it's any of her business. Ivo speculates as to the reason why water based eidola had taken form and then comes to an apt conclusion... made morbid by Argent. "...Let's not consider that, why don't we?" She shudders. Imagine? Nah, let's not.
  At Ivo's invitation to investigate the source, however, Priel just puts up a hand. "Ah. That's gona be a no thanks from me, chief. I've done more than enough fighting for free for one day." With that, she rests a hand on a hip, tail idly swishing. "I'm going to get to the local Vanguard HQ and see what's going on." The redhead says, jerking a thumb off in some other direction. "I'll be back later, so try not to get killed."
  With that, she turns away and starts walking off, waving a hand over her shoulder without looking back. "Seeya losers~"

"Argent," Ivo gushes, giving her his *best* smile, one that he judged the merchant unworthy of. "A lovely name to suit a lov--" He trails off again, but this time he's blanching, not blushing. "Ahem. Hypothetically, yes, but a much larger and more sophisticated amplifier would be required to draw water out of organic material. So, in this case, it's more likely that magitech like this amplified preexisting water-attuned aether crystals located where those might form." He looks again to the horizon. "And I wouldn't be surprised if the aqueduct, besides retaining some standing water, was deliberately equipped with such crystals at some point, perhaps for purification purposes."
  He looks back to Argent.
  "Also, if someone nearby exploded from having all the water dragged out of them, we probably would've noticed."
  Well, he gave her a serious answer, anyway.
  "Argent, are you otherwise occupied?" He turns to face her head on, placing a hand to his chest, expression almost solemn. "I have another question of my own. Will you..."
  He takes a deep breath.
  "...go out with me?"
  Pause.
  "...to the aqueduct? I'd appreciate a healer's company."
  Was that a joke? He's flushing a little again. Maybe he just choked.
  "Ah, Priel--" But she's leaving and he doesn't even have any more money to pay her with to stay. Ivo smiles lopsidedly. Priel getting in touch with the local Vanguards is for the best in any case, especially if this city is vulnerable to eidola incursions with the markets now full of magitech no one knows how to use. "Now I'll doubly appreciate a healer," he remarks. "Let's nip this elemental problem in the bud, shall we?"
  Should Argent follow, Ivo will turn and make his way out of the market in the direction of the rolling grassy hills on which the ruins of the old aqueduct lie.

  • Character: Argent
  • 2 years, 4 months ago

In Argent's head, little cogs are turning. Elementals are often a useful source of materials. Thus, a source of elementals is also a source of materials. But...
  "I would be interested in accompanying you. However, at the present time I have business to attend to." Well, she was trying to just walk straight through the scuffle. Maybe she was in a hurry. "Additionally, I do not believe it would be optimal to confront potential threats with only one combatant. I lack in combat abilities, and as such would not be able to contribute directly."
  In other words, You Must Gather Your Party Before Venturing Forth.

"You are as wise as you are beautiful," Ivo shamelessly flatters. He's confident that they could investigate together, but thinking more about it, Reize would probably complain if Ivo went off on an adventure without him when it would be possible to wait. "This matter isn't so urgent that it can't wait until your business is concluded. It's enough for me to know of your interest."
  He beams.
  "And if that business happens to be conclude before the evening, I noticed a restaurant near the castle that serves fresh-caught Gerisian fish, if you might be interested in dinner..."
  Is he shifting gears seamlessly from an adventure to a date? Yes. Is he lonely because Priel abandoned him? Maybe.

  • Character: Argent
  • 2 years, 4 months ago

"While it is appreciated that you are willing to provide nourishment for me, my dietary requirements are unconventional. I do not believe they can be provided in such an establishment." Argent says, seeming to miss entirely what Ivo is trying to imply. A slow blink, and then. "However, it is possible my wife may be interested in such things. If I am able to provide my own food, it is possible I may be able to attend with her."
  Her face is utterly impassive, not even so much as a hint of a knowing smile on her face. ...she really doesn't get it, does she?

"Ah ha ha," Ivo laughs awkwardly. "I see." He doesn't, at all. "Your... wife." He hesitates, and as he does, his expression shifts, becoming first rather pained, then thoughtful. He tilts his head, one eyebrow raising. He tilts his head the other way, pursing his lips. Then he nods.
  "Certainly," he then says grandly, as though he had expected this all along. "I would relish meeting your wife and becoming better acquainted with you before our adventure, Argent."
  Innocently, he looks forward to finding out what she eats.