Dragonball M, Chapter 4: Kidnapping! Invasion! A new Threat Strikes First!

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Etrina raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

She was pretty sure that dragon just purred....

In any event, she nodded to Dash and turned her attention to the remaining contents of the chest. A dagger and a vial it seemed.

The dagger is an Athame, or mage-killer. Even on another world, such things can be found. The dagger can bypass magic shielding and magic durability to strike at the heart of the magician straight on.

The vial is concentrated magic, pure and simple, but from a place Etrina does not recognize.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Op shakes his head.

“I fear you’re mistaken, Parsley. Auroc was not so much our employer as he was our client. One of dozens.”

He gestures back.

“And we aren’t currently working his request. Those screens are another’s interest.”

"What?"

She wasn't so much surprised that Auroc was merely a client. This place was seedy; a universal spy network that worked on commissions was completely within the realm of possibility for a place such as this. Her shock came from the fact that these screens, including the one spying on Vocado's throne room, was another's request.

Who was the pertinent question, followed by why.

"Who is spying on my sister?"

[Tami]

He happily chirps, climbs up her arm, and perches on her shoulder, purring happily.

Etrina raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

She was pretty sure that dragon just purred....

In any event, she nodded to Dash and turned her attention to the remaining contents of the chest. A dagger and a vial it seemed.

"I'll be back in a little while." Dash, feeling happier than she has in a long while, walks out of the room. Making her way carefully outside, she looks up at the sky, before speaking to the dragon. "How'd you like to go flying with me?" As she spoke, she lifted a foot off the ground, not wanting to scare the little guy.

[Yun Lao]

Studying this one's face as he seemed to be at a loss for an answer, Ochazuke felt the malaise and exhaustion redouble within him. This new entity was a precocious sort, but prepared to face whatever came before him nonetheless. If this were a design from a higher power, it had the same chaotic pattern he'd unfortunately gotten quite used to by now.

How very characteristic of him. Seems Rex was not the only thing to persist through generations. Still, he was ready and willing to fight, come what may. For now that may be all that matters.

"We shall see your mettle rather shortly. Whatever you can remember of Genesis will need to be shared, as well as this Beast God."

If he spoke true, then Ochazuke wondered it the memory-consciousness the hybrid carried with him, the thousands of lifetimes of the Ogatan successorship he carried within him now, would be enough to see him through the coming days of battle. Before they'd been limited, living on borrowed time and forgotten but for shame of weakness.

"It seems you've already settled on a path, at the very least." Those fallen ones, caught up now in this strange karmic anomaly, at last, might live. "It is one you no longer walk alone. Don't ever forget that."

A path...

He wouldn't exactly say he had chosen a path, rather that the path he had been forced upon had opened out into a vast expanse. The possibilities were endless, but with it came to the dilemma of uncertainty. He was not Charco and attempting to pick up where the boy had left off would be living a lie.

But wasn't that what he was already doing? Using his mannerisms to Ochazuke and using his name out of convenience?

All of these memories and experiences, yet he felt like a mere child hoping for some wisdom from another.

"This is uncharted territory for me, Ochazuke," He began, letting the facade of "Charco" droop a bit, "My "birth" might have been planned by angels and dragons, but what I do with this life is ultimately my own now... even if I don't have a cause to fight for."

[MrSandman]

-Ten Crystals - "Lodestones/Mana Batteries. Need to be pre-charged, but can be used to add firepower to spells.....will need a design a method for carrying and use."

-One large crystal in a skull apparatus. This one hums with magical power. - "Scrying/Recording Device, likely for magical espionage. Make note to test and check for anything Maven recorded.....assuming its not Auroc porn"

-One closed and locked spell book. - "Book of Eldrich Spellcraft. Very Old. Unlocked with the name of a God of Destruction(Significance perhaps?) Major find, will need detailed study.

-One open spell book - "Contains basic primer on Threshling Magic, along with notation on Blood Magic. Note to have Foci do a sketch of the contents for later, copies may make a nice gift for Cyanna(Threshling Magic) and/or Inanna(Blood Magic)

-One brazier/forge/oven
-About twelve different Reshlan native plants and samples for potions and spell work.
-Two pre-made potions
-One locked trunk
- One Dragon Familiar. Likely being used as magical materials by the Maven. Cute, hopefully doesn't eat as much as Erosa.
- Athame Mage-Killer Dagger. Bypasses magical defenses, good for attack spellcaster targets...useful as a surprise weapon.
- Magic vial -
-About ten different books on plants, minerals, and their various works in magic and alchemy

-One blue and black stone ring - "Auto Translate ring for written information. Several possible applications when it comes to pre-historical writings."

-One red amulet - "Access to sideways plane....possible applications yet to be determined, safety of "sideways" dimension also needs to be determined. Making note to test for later."
-And other such paraphernalia and equipment.

The dagger is an Athame, or mage-killer. Even on another world, such things can be found. The dagger can bypass magic shielding and magic durability to strike at the heart of the magician straight on.

The vial is concentrated magic, pure and simple, but from a place Etrina does not recognize.

After a brief examination of the dagger, Etrina placed it on the table with the other items. Interesting....but she felt weird holding something so solely designed for mage murder.

Then the vial.....

Etrina held the liquid up to the light. Strange, it was like no form of magical essence she had seen. Perhaps it was the essence specific to some not yet discovered species of magic user...or some fluid distilled from a source of magic tapped by species long before her race even existed.

Tilting the vial to the light, Etrina pondered...

...perhaps this sort of situation had become less and less exotic over time, perhaps she had spent one too many times watching Ishtar so brazenly quaff anything even the slightest bit mysterious, perhaps some distract fragment of Erosa managed to wedge itself between the various brain cells that were spinning to work over the contents.

For whatever reasons the will of the cosmos aligned, Etrina....a woman as methodical with her own magecraft and study as machine.....popped the cap on the vial, gave the contents a casual sniff, determined nothing to be particularly poisonous about it(clearly).....and followed the footsteps of her friend, downing the vial in one glorious gulp.

"No discover was ever achieved in the complete absence of risk."

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

The drone remarkably dodges away.

————-

OT: I misunderstood what you were sensing for. I’ll adjust what she sensed here.

————-

IC:

The planet actually sports a very robust series of leylines and concentrations of large amounts of magic near each of the poles. Now removed from the taint of Auroc, the planet itself seems more alive and vibrant than most Inanna has seen.

Inanna sighs.

It would figure that creation of Pants' would be a dodgy little ****. Ah well. While she was busy being bored, she'd picked up on something worth jamming her craw into. Possibly literally. Leylines. Settling on the Southern Pole, Inanna did as Inanna was wont to do; and IT'd her way to the confluence of these aetherial energies... to assess. Yea that's right. Merely to assess.

[bruceleegreyhulk]

Praxat finishes drawing up her blueprints but leaves one piece of paper blank. ( Okay, I should find her majesty and show these to her. ) Praxat thought.

Praxat puts her mechanical pencil in her right pants pocket, grabs her blueprints and, goes off to find the Queen.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"What?"

She wasn't so much surprised that Auroc was merely a client. This place was seedy; a universal spy network that worked on commissions was completely within the realm of possibility for a place such as this. Her shock came from the fact that these screens, including the one spying on Vocado's throne room, was another's request.

Who was the pertinent question, followed by why.

"Who is spying on my sister?"

Op shakes his head.

“Our business is quite well known for our privacy. We don’t tend to sell our clients out. You understand this, yes?”

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"I'll be back in a little while." Dash, feeling happier than she has in a long while, walks out of the room. Making her way carefully outside, she looks up at the sky, before speaking to the dragon. "How'd you like to go flying with me?" As she spoke, she lifted a foot off the ground, not wanting to scare the little guy.

It chirps excitedly at this.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

After a brief examination of the dagger, Etrina placed it on the table with the other items. Interesting....but she felt weird holding something so solely designed for mage murder.

Then the vial.....

Etrina held the liquid up to the light. Strange, it was like no form of magical essence she had seen. Perhaps it was the essence specific to some not yet discovered species of magic user...or some fluid distilled from a source of magic tapped by species long before her race even existed.

Tilting the vial to the light, Etrina pondered...

...perhaps this sort of situation had become less and less exotic over time, perhaps she had spent one too many times watching Ishtar so brazenly quaff anything even the slightest bit mysterious, perhaps some distract fragment of Erosa managed to wedge itself between the various brain cells that were spinning to work over the contents.

For whatever reasons the will of the cosmos aligned, Etrina....a woman as methodical with her own magecraft and study as machine.....popped the cap on the vial, gave the contents a casual sniff, determined nothing to be particularly poisonous about it(clearly).....and followed the footsteps of her friend, downing the vial in one glorious gulp.

"No discover was ever achieved in the complete absence of risk."

It’s cool and sweet, and upon ingesting it, your entire body feels like it’s on fire from the inside. This is magic that isn’t for humans, and by ingesting it, you’ve begun the painful process of altering your body to a certain degree.

As your body...changes...you receive a vision of a massive forest, trees taller and thicker than you’ve ever seen. Magic seems to literally hang in the air, old and ancient and alien. You see different races, magic their birthright, moving through the trees. You see a strange, small winged humanoid flying over the forest, all pale blue/grey skin and pixie wings on a female body. She stops and slowly turns, seeming to watch you.

“Oh my! It seems you’ve done something very naughty. That wasn’t yours, little Etrina. Now you’ve been marked. I’ll see you soon to....talk to you. Until then.”

———

You awaken mere seconds after drinking the vial, feeling better than you ever have before. Stronger, more full of magic. And, if your ears are just the slightest bit more pointed, your eyes just a tiny bit slitted and more green, well, a small price to pay, right?

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Inanna sighs.

It would figure that creation of Pants' would be a dodgy little ****. Ah well. While she was busy being bored, she'd picked up on something worth jamming her craw into. Possibly literally. Leylines. Settling on the Southern Pole, Inanna did as Inanna was wont to do; and IT'd her way to the confluence of these aetherial energies... to assess. Yea that's right. Merely to assess.

Arriving there, Inanna sees a massive glacier capped with snow and ice. Before her, massive ice and rock crystals tower upon the glacier surface, light reflecting through and around them in a kaleidoscope of colors. Some she doesn’t even have names for.

It’s actually quite a beautiful sight.

Beyond that, in the heart of the massive ice crystal like maze before her, is the thrumming of a nexus of magic.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Praxat finishes drawing up her blueprints but leaves one piece of paper blank. ( Okay, I should find her majesty and show these to her. ) Praxat thought.

Praxat puts her mechanical pencil in her right pants pocket, grabs her blueprints and, goes off to find the Queen.

She’s outside still.

[Tami]

It chirps excitedly at this.

Dash takes it slow at first. Ascending vertically, high enough to clear most buildings and obstructions, as well as high enough to get a good view of the ground below. She then leveled off and started flying over the populated area below, heading towards the outskirts, but not going too far.

She wanted to see if the little feller preferred to be a passenger, or if he (or she) could fly on his own. She'd start to fly a little faster if he indicated that was what he wanted.

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

Arriving there, Inanna sees a massive glacier capped with snow and ice. Before her, massive ice and rock crystals tower upon the glacier surface, light reflecting through and around them in a kaleidoscope of colors. Some she doesn’t even have names for.

It’s actually quite a beautiful sight.

Beyond that, in the heart of the massive ice crystal like maze before her, is the thrumming of a nexus of magic.

Crystalline and ancient, the magics here were as pure as water that had frozen around it. Inanna was glad she'd come. Of course, she'd have been lying if she said she'd merely come to assess. Such was not her nature, especially when bored.

So true to form, Inanna drew close, and reached out. Tapping into the nexus in front of her.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Op shakes his head.

“Our business is quite well known for our privacy. We don’t tend to sell our clients out. You understand this, yes?”

She felt her teeth clench. Professional integrity was the one thing keeping her from this person's name. Her word was the only thing keeping her from threatening this creature's life.

There were a few ways she could have gone about this. Threatening was no good. Even the very valid promise of death, should she have chosen to inform Sarada or, gods forbid, Inanna, would have been enough. On the other hand, that would have killed even the prospect of them working together in the future. For as unscrupulous as this operation was, Parsley could see the use and wished to maintain that option if the need arose.

That left only one option.

"Very well. Say I wanted to buy your services for the purposes of keeping an eye on this person for me, how much would that be?"