Dragonball M, Chapter 2: Lighthouse! Across the Shores of Shattered Time!

[grampagen]

Alt Zaofan watches the group. His posture, his demenour all slightly laid back but his eye is keen. It observes with the long practice of a former trainer killer. It catelogs their movemnets, their motions, reactions and conversations.

He pauses on seeing Jinzi hugging Meagan.


It would be easy, a cold part of him says to himself. None of them could react fast enough to stop him before he ended the inventor’s life. No waiting, no maybe’s, just done and done.

Another part, the Sheriff and not the judge and executioner, argues that they brought him here in good faith and to betray that would be wrong. That it would destroy what he had worked so hard to be these last fifteen years.

As his crimson gaze watches this all, his power slowly rises and rises. Past Zaofan’s, then Blizzar’s, the strongest here.

Then past Koolard’s.

Then past Loup’s.

And still a bit higher until he is the strongest thing on the Lookout, or even on the planet.

It is not a massive flaring aura. There is no grunting or screaming. No, in fact the slow and subtle way it builds is actually kind of terrifying. Like a monster lurking in the dark you were unaware of until it was too late. Anyone with their ki senses active or a scouter of some sort would see it, of course.

Alt Zaofan makes no hostile moves, just stands and observes his new allies, the one eye a burning crimson gaze as he speaks.

“Ya’ll should be more careful in your trusting.” He says quietly.

“Just so you realize, if I was not so inclined to hold to being a goodly Sheriff, with you bringing me and him here I could have slaughtered Jinzi before ya’ll even knew I moved. You have to be smarter than that if ya’ll going to beat the Doctor, I reckon. Trust is nice but don’t border into foolishness.”

"Our star must has fallen farther than we thought if this is your reason, your justice," a bemused, basso voice called out behind Sheriff Zaofan, "After all you, are a man of the law, are you not?"

Having traced the path of that fallen piece of Atmospheric Chaff, Ochazuke had been concerned with the length of the ripple between reality, when the spike of power rendered itself in a torrent of ash and fire so soon over Capital City. Thankfully, the familiar presences of the group gathered with all haste and the presence died down.

That is, except that same deadening energy from that fallen mote from the sky above. It rendered itself into a figure in all the likeness and words of a man, but with none of the spirit, despite the rise in ki.

"What law are you fighting for? Nothing principled if it would be so cowed by this ransom that you would forget it, and fall your blooded gaze to inflict the pain that fell upon your head onto others, heedless of what that makes of you," he continued. "Know, then, that mercy should not be taken for granted. A man that fights to uphold order and reason in a lawless world should know that better than anybody"

Ochazuke turned his gaze for a moment toward the presence that toiled within the kitchen. Then with a nod to Meagan, he placed himself before Jinzi as well.

"For all your threats, your bluster, and ineffectual powers of resistance, perhaps that's what made the difference between you and our Zaofan. But...I guess you didn't see that, did you?"

[Yun Lao]

"Well, I overheard some talk between Zaofan and Dash about something he cooked up that boosts power. Didn't have a chance to ask either what that was about."

"What now?" How in the hell did Zaofan pull that off? Zaofan was a damned good chef but making food that increased one's power seemed like something out of fiction. "Huh... I'll have to try it out."

Praxat looks at Charco and Cyanna saying " Hi there you two you both come to the kitchen to get a bite to eat too?" Qaztoh shouts at Praxat saying " hey Praxy you really should try these fired grasshoppers on top of meatballs they're great." " by the way Praxy you should wear pair of tight short shorts all the time." " I think you would look good wearing a pair of tight short shorts."

"... Grasshoppers on meatballs... had them separate, but never together."

Contemplating the combination, Charco never got a chance to decide on what to eat.

Alt Zaofan watches the group. His posture, his demenour all slightly laid back but his eye is keen. It observes with the long practice of a former trainer killer. It catelogs their movemnets, their motions, reactions and conversations.

He pauses on seeing Jinzi hugging Meagan.


It would be easy, a cold part of him says to himself. None of them could react fast enough to stop him before he ended the inventor’s life. No waiting, no maybe’s, just done and done.

Another part, the Sheriff and not the judge and executioner, argues that they brought him here in good faith and to betray that would be wrong. That it would destroy what he had worked so hard to be these last fifteen years.

As his crimson gaze watches this all, his power slowly rises and rises. Past Zaofan’s, then Blizzar’s, the strongest here.

Then past Koolard’s.

Then past Loup’s.

And still a bit higher until he is the strongest thing on the Lookout, or even on the planet.

It is not a massive flaring aura. There is no grunting or screaming. No, in fact the slow and subtle way it builds is actually kind of terrifying. Like a monster lurking in the dark you were unaware of until it was too late. Anyone with their ki senses active or a scouter of some sort would see it, of course.

Alt Zaofan makes no hostile moves, just stands and observes his new allies, the one eye a burning crimson gaze as he speaks.

“Ya’ll should be more careful in your trusting.” He says quietly.

“Just so you realize, if I was not so inclined to hold to being a goodly Sheriff, with you bringing me and him here I could have slaughtered Jinzi before ya’ll even knew I moved. You have to be smarter than that if ya’ll going to beat the Doctor, I reckon. Trust is nice but don’t border into foolishness.”

The sudden increase in power caught his attention, prompting the boy to close the door in order to head out and find the source of this building power. Suer enough, his hunch was correct as it was the alternate Zaofan, who seemed to be making a point about something, mentioning a doctor or some jazz. A sudden twinge of force was felt in his sternum, almost as if his heart tried to physically burst through his chest. That and the whispers of Rex in his mind only confirmed that the Sheriff's power had roused Rex from his slumber.

"Man, all this trouble just for some dick-waving? I'm too hungry for this ****."

[MrSandman]

Alt Zaofan watches the group. His posture, his demenour all slightly laid back but his eye is keen. It observes with the long practice of a former trainer killer. It catelogs their movemnets, their motions, reactions and conversations.

He pauses on seeing Jinzi hugging Meagan.


It would be easy, a cold part of him says to himself. None of them could react fast enough to stop him before he ended the inventor’s life. No waiting, no maybe’s, just done and done.

Another part, the Sheriff and not the judge and executioner, argues that they brought him here in good faith and to betray that would be wrong. That it would destroy what he had worked so hard to be these last fifteen years.

As his crimson gaze watches this all, his power slowly rises and rises. Past Zaofan’s, then Blizzar’s, the strongest here.

Then past Koolard’s.

Then past Loup’s.

And still a bit higher until he is the strongest thing on the Lookout, or even on the planet.

It is not a massive flaring aura. There is no grunting or screaming. No, in fact the slow and subtle way it builds is actually kind of terrifying. Like a monster lurking in the dark you were unaware of until it was too late. Anyone with their ki senses active or a scouter of some sort would see it, of course.

Alt Zaofan makes no hostile moves, just stands and observes his new allies, the one eye a burning crimson gaze as he speaks.

“Ya’ll should be more careful in your trusting.” He says quietly.

“Just so you realize, if I was not so inclined to hold to being a goodly Sheriff, with you bringing me and him here I could have slaughtered Jinzi before ya’ll even knew I moved. You have to be smarter than that if ya’ll going to beat the Doctor, I reckon. Trust is nice but don’t border into foolishness.”

"As opposed to rampant underestimation, which is flat out foolish." Etrina spoke, capping it with a sigh. "Now pull up your pants and stop waving that power level around...This is courtesy, not trust. You obviously didn't marry a Stoltengarde in your timeline or you'd know better."

The mage crossed her arms, changing her tone a little. ".......That being said....you don't seem like the type to back stab, at least from what I gathered of you.....Married with child I'm told?"

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Alt Zaofan sighs, then moves to sit on the stairs. He leans back against the pillar, relaxing, eye closed.

“Nah, not married. I got five kids back home, all adopted. Orphans, so I took ‘me in. One of the main reasons I contemplated doing as the Doctor asked was fear of what would be done to them if I refused.”

His eye cracks open and looks at Ochazuke.

“Sheriff’s are supposed to protect their people, their town. That’s all I’m trying to do.”

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Alt Zaofan sighs, then moves to sit on the stairs. He leans back against the pillar, relaxing, eye closed.

“Nah, not married. I got five kids back home, all adopted. Orphans, so I took ‘me in. One of the main reasons I contemplated doing as the Doctor asked was fear of what would be done to them if I refused.”

His eye cracks open and looks at Ochazuke.

“Sheriff’s are supposed to protect their people, their town. That’s all I’m trying to do.”

"We all do what we have to do to protect those who depend on us," Sarada told him. She understood completely where he was coming from. "That just means we need to work our asses off the next few days so we can be ready the moment the chaff comes down."

[bruceleegreyhulk]

"You do know that Zoahan would take that as a challenge should he ever meet your sister?" Cyanna paused at the entrance to the kitchen, "I'm not so brave to challenge Zaofan to anything right now, especially when it's either his cooking or leftovers. Though even his leftover are great." She then follows Charco into the kitchen.

Praxat replies to this saying" yeah I know and my sister would willing accept the challenge back." " of course now in my head I'm picture my sister Sraxat and Zaofan together." Qaztoh chips in saying " well Praxy your sister Sraxat always said she like to go out with a guy who could cook." Praxat replies to this saying " you still keep calling me Praxy you know what I'm not going to even bother with it ."

Praxat then walks over to Cyanna and whispers to her saying " Qaztoh has been trying to get me into skimpy outfits. " " now I come to conclusion that Qaztoh is probably gay or at least bisexual." " I don't have any problem with her preferring females or both male and females. " " it's just that I don't swing that way ."


" at least I don't think I do?" " I'm not really sure."

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

Sarada felt her lover's heavy gaze on her and felt its implied weight even more. The upcoming battle was going to be intense, she knew. Alt-Zaofan had a power lurking within him that exceed anyone else. A fight with him (so exciting) would be over in seconds, before she even knew the fight had started. It was only fair to assume that, if there were other alternate versions of them from other timelines, then it was the same result.

That meant that, like Ishtar said, they needed to get all the training in that they could.

She reached up and gently stroked her cheek. "You're not going to lose me. I promise. I'll keep fighting until I have nothing left, and then I'll still keep fighting." She had an empire to protect and, more importantly, a future to protect. Not just with Ishtar, but of this entire universe. Whatever Evil Jinzi planned on doing once he reached the summit of his plans, they weren't going to be good if those plans including killing their Jinzi.

"I should ask Ronin if the Room of Spirit and Time is ready."

Ishtar smiled and reached up to hold Sarada's hand.

"I will do my best to ensure you never have to."

Confidence was something the young monarch had in spades, and in some ways it was as comforting as her constant presence. Yet the near death at the hands of an as of yet unknown assailant had proven there were at least a few small cracks in the armor as it were; and that the alternate version of herself was likely the result of some failure to protect something or someone she loved ... it was added cause for concern. Still, such was for later, and the happiness of the moment was for now.

... so she focused in on the training Sarada mentioned.

"If we cannot use the Room however, I suggest sparring with whomever will have us. Even this Alternate Zaofan."

There were more important things to handle than settling her petty score with the time magician; yet, on the other side of that coin, this was vital training that she needed to hone her anti-magic enough to combat any other alternates out there. That alternate Ishtar sounded especially daunting, especially if she destroyed Vocado some decades ago without any trouble.

"Don't worry," Parsley answered. "Etrina will remain in one piece once I'm done with her." Whether or not her pride would be intact depended on how well she took losing.

Ishtar chuckled.

"Then I look forward to seeing how it goes. For now I suppose I should figure out ... something or other." Before she could consider what that might be however, there came a subtle increase in power that caused the Oni to turn.

And still a bit higher until he is the strongest thing on the Lookout, or even on the planet.

It is not a massive flaring aura. There is no grunting or screaming. No, in fact the slow and subtle way it builds is actually kind of terrifying. Like a monster lurking in the dark you were unaware of until it was too late. Anyone with their ki senses active or a scouter of some sort would see it, of course.

Alt Zaofan makes no hostile moves, just stands and observes his new allies, the one eye a burning crimson gaze as he speaks.

“Ya’ll should be more careful in your trusting.” He says quietly.

“Just so you realize, if I was not so inclined to hold to being a goodly Sheriff, with you bringing me and him here I could have slaughtered Jinzi before ya’ll even knew I moved. You have to be smarter than that if ya’ll going to beat the Doctor, I reckon. Trust is nice but don’t border into foolishness.”

Ishtar blinks at the massive -- if subtle -- increase in Ki. This Zaofan was far stronger than anything they had faced to this point ... short of Nergal, perhaps. Considering what he had to say on the matter of how smart they were to bring him to the Lookout where Jinzi was -- and a quick check confirmed that Jinzi was indeed there ... returned from parts unknown -- the Oni selected a donut from what remained before tossing it to the 'Goodly Sheriff'.

"You make a very valid point." The Oni commented. "Yet the courtesy of trust was something you earned, when you arrived. As strong as you are ... you could have forced your hand. Yet outside of a few bruised egos, and some damage to Capsule Corp: you did not." The golden-eyed Oni pointed toward the donut that Sheriff Zaofan had hopefully plucked from the air.

"So try the donuts. They are quite good."

Meagan barely looks at him as her Third Eye awakens and Alt-Zaofan suddenly finds his energy levels, his powers, drained almost as low as the cuffs he placed on her. She then turns to him, "I grew up on a planet torn apart by a war that began before I was born. It was a harsh life that taught me how to survive, how to fight. We ended that war and now I am Guardian of my home world. We brought you here in good faith, but don't assume we are so naive as to allow you to do as you please."

His power then returns to base level, "You got the jump on me once, " Meagan says, "It will not happen again."

She then smiled slightly, "Word of advice, as soon as I was conscious, I could have escaped from those cuffs of yours at any time. Don't try using them again, on me or on anyone else here."

Ishtar blinked.

"If he can react faster than we can perceive him, he will always get the drop on us." The Oni considered something else a moment before, chuckling. "Also please refrain from threatening our guest. At least for comments like this. He was merely offering advice."

[grampagen]

Alt Zaofan sighs, then moves to sit on the stairs. He leans back against the pillar, relaxing, eye closed.

“Nah, not married. I got five kids back home, all adopted. Orphans, so I took ‘me in. One of the main reasons I contemplated doing as the Doctor asked was fear of what would be done to them if I refused.”

His eye cracks open and looks at Ochazuke.

“Sheriff’s are supposed to protect their people, their town. That’s all I’m trying to do.”

"Then perhaps you should have heed your own advice, 'goodly Sheriff,' for while you sought to slay another to save your own, who then stands before your people to protect them?"

"And you chide us as if we are the naive company," Ochazuke chuckled. "What is the Doctor's bond? A coercion by fear that makes one forget themselves, that breaks a man into chasing blindly through the ripples of space? Or is it his word, the very same that utters those threats?"

His gaze hardened, one eye narrowed, blackened by its wound, locked unblinkingly into this interloper's scarred, red one in knowing. "If you think this is a man to stand by his promises, you are not alone then, only another to add to ranks of mistaken company. And consider, Zaofan, while you're here who is it that holds him to his terms?"

Standing there between the Sheriff and his mark, Ochazuke raised his hand idly before him.

"If you'll roll over and allow this man twisting in the ether to win, then it would be better for you to do nothing. But we do things differently on this world, and have little patience for hollow words," he said. "If yours are not, Sheriff, then it would serve you better to help. Start talking."

"The suspension that covers our world, that is the means you used to come here, wasn't it?"

[KingofPie]

Alt Zaofan watches the group. His posture, his demenour all slightly laid back but his eye is keen. It observes with the long practice of a former trainer killer. It catelogs their movemnets, their motions, reactions and conversations.

He pauses on seeing Jinzi hugging Meagan.


It would be easy, a cold part of him says to himself. None of them could react fast enough to stop him before he ended the inventor’s life. No waiting, no maybe’s, just done and done.

Another part, the Sheriff and not the judge and executioner, argues that they brought him here in good faith and to betray that would be wrong. That it would destroy what he had worked so hard to be these last fifteen years.

As his crimson gaze watches this all, his power slowly rises and rises. Past Zaofan’s, then Blizzar’s, the strongest here.

Then past Koolard’s.

Then past Loup’s.

And still a bit higher until he is the strongest thing on the Lookout, or even on the planet.

It is not a massive flaring aura. There is no grunting or screaming. No, in fact the slow and subtle way it builds is actually kind of terrifying. Like a monster lurking in the dark you were unaware of until it was too late. Anyone with their ki senses active or a scouter of some sort would see it, of course.

Alt Zaofan makes no hostile moves, just stands and observes his new allies, the one eye a burning crimson gaze as he speaks.

“Ya’ll should be more careful in your trusting.” He says quietly.

“Just so you realize, if I was not so inclined to hold to being a goodly Sheriff, with you bringing me and him here I could have slaughtered Jinzi before ya’ll even knew I moved. You have to be smarter than that if ya’ll going to beat the Doctor, I reckon. Trust is nice but don’t border into foolishness.”

In the Lookout's library, Sasheem senses the power level of this Alternate Zaofan shoot through the roof, surpassing many of their allies and previous foes. Sasheem shrugged. "Another power level far higher than Sasheem's...go figure. Alternate Ishtar's is even higher, I bet," the Majin sighed. "Sasheem supposes she truly is the undisputed Greater Annihilator..." he sulked. His bags full of various books, old tests, and scrolls, Sasheem sunk through the Lookout floor and quietly left, utilizing the Spider's Blessing to make his ki untraceable.

"You make a very valid point." The Oni commented. "Yet the courtesy of trust was something you earned, when you arrived. As strong as you are ... you could have forced your hand. Yet outside of a few bruised egos, and some damage to Capsule Corp: you did not." The golden-eyed Oni pointed toward the donut that Sheriff Zaofan had hopefully plucked from the air.

"So try the donuts. They are quite good."

Blizzar arrived back on the Lookout, having sensed the power level rising there. Nothing appeared amiss, everyone seemed fine, so he had to assume it was this alternate Zaofan. But there was a slightly more pressing matter at the moment. He glanced at the Oni and muttered, "Pardon me if I'm interrupting anything important, but I would like to speak to you when it is most convenient, Oni."

[Tami]

Ishtar smiled and reached up to hold Sarada's hand.

"I will do my best to ensure you never have to."

Confidence was something the young monarch had in spades, and in some ways it was as comforting as her constant presence. Yet the near death at the hands of an as of yet unknown assailant had proven there were at least a few small cracks in the armor as it were; and that the alternate version of herself was likely the result of some failure to protect something or someone she loved ... it was added cause for concern. Still, such was for later, and the happiness of the moment was for now.

... so she focused in on the training Sarada mentioned.

"If we cannot use the Room however, I suggest sparring with whomever will have us. Even this Alternate Zaofan."



Ishtar chuckled.

"Then I look forward to seeing how it goes. For now I suppose I should figure out ... something or other." Before she could consider what that might be however, there came a subtle increase in power that caused the Oni to turn.



Ishtar blinks at the massive -- if subtle -- increase in Ki. This Zaofan was far stronger than anything they had faced to this point ... short of Nergal, perhaps. Considering what he had to say on the matter of how smart they were to bring him to the Lookout where Jinzi was -- and a quick check confirmed that Jinzi was indeed there ... returned from parts unknown -- the Oni selected a donut from what remained before tossing it to the 'Goodly Sheriff'.

"You make a very valid point." The Oni commented. "Yet the courtesy of trust was something you earned, when you arrived. As strong as you are ... you could have forced your hand. Yet outside of a few bruised egos, and some damage to Capsule Corp: you did not." The golden-eyed Oni pointed toward the donut that Sheriff Zaofan had hopefully plucked from the air.

"So try the donuts. They are quite good."



Ishtar blinked.

"If he can react faster than we can perceive him, he will always get the drop on us." The Oni considered something else a moment before, chuckling. "Also please refrain from threatening our guest. At least for comments like this. He was merely offering advice."

"We'll see how you feel when his 'advice' is in regards to Sarada." Meagan then changed the subject, "The issue now is can we keep our end of the arrangement, and if so how do we go about doing it?"

[bruceleegreyhulk]

Praxat replies to this saying" yeah I know and my sister would willing accept the challenge back." " of course now in my head I'm picture my sister Sraxat and Zaofan together." Qaztoh chips in saying " well Praxy your sister Sraxat always said she like to go out with a guy who could cook." Praxat replies to this saying " you still keep calling me Praxy you know what I'm not going to even bother with it ."

Praxat then walks over to Cyanna and whispers to her saying " Qaztoh has been trying to get me into skimpy outfits. " " now I come to conclusion that Qaztoh is probably gay or at least bisexual." " I don't have any problem with her preferring females or both male and females. " " it's just that I don't swing that way ."


" at least I don't think I do?" " I'm not really sure."

Praxat then says " I know I shouldn't bother you with this stuff." " I'm just not really sure if I prefer males , females or both?" " get embarrassed when ever Qaztoh calls me Praxy and I'm not even sure why?!?" " also I actually never dating anyone before not even from my own species. "

" FYI my species Toadians can date other species. " " to me Qaztoh is like a little sister at least that's how I think I feel about her." Qaztoh replies to this saying" yeah that's true I actually date a bunch other species that were both male and female ." " even date a Brench-seijin female space pirate once, she had a amazing body."

" yeah I prefer both male and female."

[Miburo]

The Nevadian might have sensed the chaos that had resulted; the flaring of Ki, the convening of signatures he knew like the back of his hand, the telltale signs of battle.

None of this mattered to him, the signs of trouble as dull and faint as raindrops to a man inside of a house. His attention was entirely affixed on one thing. The truth.

Jinzi had did exactly what he had promised, the recording device of Helds ship was restored to almost pristine condition, a perfect transmission of what had occurred. The Nevadian had waited for what seemed like ages, to get to this point. But, throughout all of his waiting, and thinking, and planning, he now found himself face to face with a question he had never asked himself:

What if he was indeed responsible for the calamity that befall Agrippa?

Even as he replayed the internal recordings of his ship, and checked it against the video and audio evidence, time and time again, the result was the same. Something had been released from his ship. Something had been activated. Something had flew towards the planet, and in less than a moment, pandemonium had reigned supreme.

And so, Held stared, dumbfounded, and in disbelief. It was hard to tell just how much time had passed since he had been confronted by the truth. He had long ago put aside anger, despair and disbelief. Sorry had been drowned by a cold numbness, that cold professionalism, that majestic apathy.

And so, he focused not on what he had already knew--Agrippa had been rent asunder ages ago, and he was still assumed to be the perpetrator, to everyone but himself--but on what he could finally learn about that day.

What had escaped--or been released--from his cargo hold? Where did it come from? Nothing that He carried on board was a weapon, let alone anything with that level of power. It was a mission of mercy, to render aid, not some war run, after all. And even if it had been, Held hardly had the funds to arm his ship with such power, let alone the rank and clearance to cut through so much red tape to procure it. And even if he had been inclined to go into the underworld of the merchants guild, the number of beings who could have been able to obtain it for him, would be a slim number, with a price that would make the Devil look fair.

But, there it--whatever it was--on the screen, clearly jettisoning from the cargo hold beneath his ship, which he flew, and had personally been responsible for.

He pushed the sinking feeling that lodged in the pit of his stomach out of his mind, still focusing, trying to make sense of it all.

At once, the recording contradicted, and reaffirmed. It dispelled the idea that Held was completely innocent, a victim at the wrong place at the wrong time, and yet it confirmed the events what he recalled before he awoke to chaos and hellfire.

He was asleep at the time, and nothing contradicted his own recollection of what had transpired. There was no manual piloting of his ship, or unsealing of the cargo bay, after all. The Auto-Pilot was still active.

So, there was only one conclusion that Held could make. Something was on his ship that should not have been, and something had done something that neither the ship, or it's pilot would have allowed. There was something that his eyes had missed, something that remained hidden, something that he had yet to see.

Wordlessly, he pulled up the ships Cargo manifest, slowly beginning to examine it with vacant eyes, the with the reality of that day playing on another screen, silently looping in the background.

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

"We'll see how you feel when his 'advice' is in regards to Sarada." Meagan then changed the subject, "The issue now is can we keep our end of the arrangement, and if so how do we go about doing it?"

Ishtar shrugged.

"I would feel much the same. There is a difference between a threat, and advice in the form of harsh truth. The difference is important, and one worth learning."

The question Meagan asked after was certainly the matter of the day however, and with a moment's thought the Oni responded with, "we devise a means to track the specific type of temporal manipulation innate to Zurvan. For which Etrina will prove most useful, as will Jinzi, and Sheriff Zaofan. Presuming the latter was brought here via the selfsame manipulation."

Blizzar arrived back on the Lookout, having sensed the power level rising there. Nothing appeared amiss, everyone seemed fine, so he had to assume it was this alternate Zaofan. But there was a slightly more pressing matter at the moment. He glanced at the Oni and muttered, "Pardon me if I'm interrupting anything important, but I would like to speak to you when it is most convenient, Oni."

Ishtar turned towards the Arcosian.

Wondering what it was he could possibly want, the Oni stared silently a moment before shrugging.

"Now is fine. If seems we are in a lull as everyone recovers from this new information. So ... what is it you wish to discuss ?"

[KingofPie]

Ishtar turned towards the Arcosian.

Wondering what it was he could possibly want, the Oni stared silently a moment before shrugging.

"Now is fine. If seems we are in a lull as everyone recovers from this new information. So ... what is it you wish to discuss ?"

"Very well, then. I've payed a visit to the donut, er...establishment," Blizzar began. "When I spoke to the owner of it's current...lack of inventory, he informed me that you were the one that purchased them. With, er...I believe two bars of gold, was it? How did you come into such money, if I may ask?"

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

"Very well, then. I've payed a visit to the donut, er...establishment," Blizzar began. "When I spoke to the owner of it's current...lack of inventory, he informed me that you were the one that purchased them. With, er...I believe two bars of gold, was it? How did you come into such money, if I may ask?"

Ishtar blinked.

Was that really what was important enough for Blizzar to ask to speak about ? After a moment of silence, Blizzar confirmed as much with his almost too-eager look.

The Oni chuckled.

"I own a city, and it came with a mine that has made me wealthy by mortal standards. Certainly not Jinzi Pantaloons levels of wealthy ... but perhaps on the same tier."

The golden-eyed Oni fell silent a moment before then asking.

"Why ?"