Oblitus Magia: Verse 1 - Fateful Encounter in the City of Fools

[grampagen]

Forte or not, it seemed Kinu had a better idea of what needed doing than Arx did; so by the time the wrestler was nearly finished the girl certainly wasn't going to die... or at least the Dragon assumed it was the case. In her experience humans had a tendency to just sometimes die from seemingly minor injuries, let alone multiple.

Her opinion on the matter changed slightly, when Morgiana stirred.

"Oh. Hey, you're alive!" Then she started thrashing, and Arx actually had to physically hold her a teensy bit. Not as frail as I thought. Though desperation does lend one strength in fits and starts... "Got some fight in you yet. Knew I liked you for a reason."The girl was quick to cease her flailing about in the end, so the Dragon's grip relaxed. Just in time to her her muttered explanation.

Selma recognized the fact the woman's words as a challenge. She'd dealt with them enough back... back home in A-9. But now wasn't the time to acknowledge it, since Morgan needed medical attention. Perhaps later, along with the mouthy people-eating lizard woman. But not now.

Yes, there is. If I had some needle and thread I could sew it her up. Unfortunately, using my Transfiguration spell won't work, since the threads wouldn't last nearly long enough, even if we ignored 'Rosie'. But you have are right about needing to go, so I doubt we have time for cauterization either. So I guess I'll have to settle for this..." Selma said, reaching out and grabbing something that hopefully wouldn't be too missed and focused on it. In a matter of moments, it transformed into a roll of gauze bandage.

"...haah? Why would we ignore Rosie?"

After all, Morgen still sat before them. Conscious, but still loopy, the tightly wound Noblesse struggled in Arx's grip.

"Fuh fuh fuh...looks like she's comin' around, which fortunately means this stuff, on the surface at least, just looks worse than it is"

"We can use this. Don't know how long it'll last since this spell of mine seems to have changed quite a bit recently. Hopefully it won't be too long a trip. Both so the bandages don't revert back and so we can give Morgen here proper treatment." Selma said.

"As for something cold..." she grabbed a small discarded cup, and with a few moments concentration, transformed it into a medicinal sponge. Setting it down, she formed a small sphere of ice magic and touched it against the sponge for several seconds before pulling it away and dispelling the ice magic. Touching it experimentally, she nodded and carefully lifted the now ice-cold sponge and offered it to Kinu.

"There you go." she said simply.

"That'll do," she said, swapping out the rag for Selma's conjured sponge, and set the cold compress atop the wound. "Once we slow down the blood flow, then we can clean her up. How long do you figure these will last?"

Morgen was neither dying nor unconscious, but the abrupt blow to the head had left her severely dazed -- outside of visible surface injuries, it became evident that she had suffered a concussion. Perhaps she would have fared a little better if Lucia's headbutt from earlier hadn't left hair fractures in her skull, but she wasn't in a position to rewind time. With both her motor and thinking skills handicapped, she had been unsteady in applying wounds to herself, leaving gashes deeper than she'd intended. The subsequent blood loss caused her to drift in and out of consciousness, but was slowly beginning to come to as the voices around her echoed and she felt hands upon her body.

"Don't... touch me..." she murmured, staring groggily with half-open eyes. "Just watch... like you always do..."

Her eyes scrunched up as the dull, throbbing pain in her body steadily became sharper and sharper as the seconds passed. The applied pressure began waking her from her stupor; now, their hands on her wounds felt like firecrackers under her skin, she suddenly jolted away from their touch and let out small, pathetic whimpers as her mind attempted feebly to cope with the chaos of sensations. She was dry of tears, but her face was visibly crying something fierce -- contorted into something ugly and unsightly. It wasn't just the firing nerve endings... in this moment, she truly looked as though she believed she were the most miserable person alive.

Seeing these emotions on display as Morgen woke from her fugue state, Kinu's brow wrinkled, her eyes briefly welling as she pursed her lips in half-mocking worry.

"Oh~! Milady~!" she simpered, before guiding her other hand towards the cold sponge, prompting her to hold it in place "I won't handle you any longer than you need it. Now keep this steady."

"The adminstratum... they had a lead, to this place... tried to play dumb, turn their intel around by implying we wanted to set up an ambush for them here..." Her voice came out weak, but was just loud enough for those around to hear. "Seems they didn't like that, suspected me of being a rebel... they're probably... chasing a different lead now, but if they are it'll only buy a little bit of time..."

"I did bring her home.....and not soon afte I get a message from her that the administratum is gearing up for an attack. I heard over to check and she's nowhere to be found.....Maybe she tried to get back here on foot...." Ange eyed her wounds.


"En.....you got anything on this?" Ange walked over to the communicator and punched up a transmission.

"I'm getting word on movement into the slums.....north west sector. No sign of any large movements in your area." En replied. "Our escape window is closing though...no telling how long before they search this area."

Administratum leads. Witch.

Tch.

"Figured they'd have just nabbed you for an execution," Arx said after a moment's thought. "It's how they save face." On the heels of that, and after squinting at Morgen she added. "You'd make a good patsy." Though that was probably going to be concerning for some, assuming it was true. Administratum hunting the group here- and the Resistance- meant they'd have boots on the ground and would be turning over the Slums... but when Arx opened her mouth again there'd be no denying the anticipation in her voice.

"How... many Witches?"

"That means we need to get moving," Xia said, announcing her presence nearby. She didn't know if she believed the story Moneybags told. She supposed her high status would have prevented the Big Bosses from simply executing her, if only to avoid a ruckus from her family. She had no reason to not believe her; yet by the same metric, she had no reason to buy it, either.

She took a few steps forward to get closer while still keepi g her distance. "Is she good to walk? If not, there may be something we can carry her in."

As she unspooled the roll of Selma's transmuted gauze, Kinu prepared a compress and a head bandage, seemingly deaf to the emergent conversation around them.

Her eyes were strictly on Morgen, the extent of this last, problem wound...and trying to sort out just what happened here.

"...they're not very bright, are they," she remarked, "taking a shot like this and letting you fall through the cracks."

Setting a bit of gauze wadding down, Kinu then began to unroll it in loops around Morgen's head.

"...you remember what they look like?"

[Tami]

"I'm fine." Matthias pulled his cowl and hood over his head and made his way to the exit, "If all goes well, we'll see you there." with that, he lowered his presence to next to nothing, left the bunker, and immediately used Find to locate his first pickup. Once located, he moved with the skill and deftness of one experienced with the area and with this kind of retrieval.

Before he went too far away, he received a message from En, a change of plans. Matthias was told to not go after the others, that instead he was asked to clear the path to the Escape point. When he asked why En explained that she had her reasons and to trust her.

While the client wasn't always right, he wasn't in the habit of questioning them too often. Scanning the area, he turned and slowly made his way to the escape point. As he did, he observed the area, using his abilities to seek out potential dangers and find ways around them. Once he made it to the location, he contacted En and passed along the information regarding the safest path.

Once that was done, he stayed nearby, making sure that the exit remained unobserved and clear.

[MrSandman]

Owen nods.

“If she can’t move on her own, I can do so with my power without slowing us down.

He smiles kindly to Morgen.

“It will be gentle, I promise.”

"No, let me handle it....she'll have to move less with me." Ange nodded. "Besides, I owe her this for not being able to back her up.....once she's ready just help her up on my back and we'll move out."

Before he went too far away, he received a message from En, a change of plans. Matthias was told to not go after the others, that instead he was asked to clear the path to the Escape point. When he asked why En explained that she had her reasons and to trust her.

While the client wasn't always right, he wasn't in the habit of questioning them too often. Scanning the area, he turned and slowly made his way to the escape point. As he did, he observed the area, using his abilities to seek out potential dangers and find ways around them. Once he made it to the location, he contacted En and passed along the information regarding the safest path.

Once that was done, he stayed nearby, making sure that the exit remained unobserved and clear.

"Ok Everyone.....the path should be clear. I've sent the info to papa, gee gee and Mercer." En came over the comms. ".....I'll be radio silent til your out of the city.......looking forward to meeting you all. Gee Gee, make sure they get here safe....all of em."

"....you bet..." Ange mumbled, giving a curt nod.

[MrSandman]

Edit: Moving this post up with some edits since its now more relevant.

~Slums: Evening~
The order had been given for the final evacuation. Though Morgan was barely in any condition to move on her own just yet.....time was of the essence, and they had to move out soon.

Those that were at the hideout were to be led out in small groups, along a very specific path that had been scouted by saint.



Their destination was an abandoned building against the slum wall, perhaps once a factory of some kind....though now old and decrepit. Looted by slum gangs over the years and left to rot as a artifact of an earlier age of the slums. Inside....a well hidden path to a basement area, were everyone was gathered and awaiting the journey out through what appeared to be a tunnel.

In addition to the group, there were also some civilians set to go with them.....including some Sig and Lucifer recognized from the cell they had all been imprisoned in what seems like a lifetime ago. Two Sisters, one of them crying quietly while the other did her best to console her......and the old lady from the terminal, stood up staring blankly at the wall and slapping mercer with her cane every time he ventured near.

[Tami]

Saint was standing guard, remaining vigilant as the unexpected travelers gathered together. As they arrived, he observed each one but said nothing. Some might be prepared for this, others less so, but hopefully the final destination will not be too far off.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Owen stayed near the rear, on guard, keeping his senses on full in case of attack.

He would also flare his Odin’s Eye momentarily every bow and then.

[bruceleegreyhulk]

When Jacob with Rhea, he took off his shirt and coat to check the mark on his arm. ( Hmm, most likely how I got this mark under my right arm is in my repressed memories,) Jacob thought. Judging by the scar tissue, the mark on Jacob was branded on him by someone.

[The Dog]

"...haah? Why would we ignore Rosie?"

After all, Morgen still sat before them. Conscious, but still loopy, the tightly wound Noblesse struggled in Arx's grip.

"Fuh fuh fuh...looks like she's comin' around, which fortunately means this stuff, on the surface at least, just looks worse than it is"

"Because it could have been required to keep Morgan alive. Fortunately, it appears that making making that decision won't be necessary." Selma explained.

"That'll do," she said, swapping out the rag for Selma's conjured sponge, and set the cold compress atop the wound. "Once we slow down the blood flow, then we can clean her up. How long do you figure these will last?"

"Well, I know that the more 'complicated' something is, the shorter the time it will last. But it seems my magic has gone through a change, so at best I can only estimate. But going by previous examples and something that happened yesterday, and considering how simple the sponge and bandages are, I'd say... roughly three or so hours, give or take a few minutes."

"Hopefully we'll get where we're going quickly, though I can transfigure more easily and quickly enough if necessary."

[Melon God]

"How... many Witches?"

"...you remember what they look like?"

"I don't remember." Morgen slowly shook her head. "I'm trying to recall... but my head feels like it's splitting..."

[grampagen]

Edit: Moving this post up with some edits since its now more relevant.

~Slums: Evening~
The order had been given for the final evacuation. Though Morgan was barely in any condition to move on her own just yet.....time was of the essence, and they had to move out soon.

Those that were at the hideout were to be led out in small groups, along a very specific path that had been scouted by saint.

*snip*

Their destination was an abandoned building against the slum wall, perhaps once a factory of some kind....though now old and decrepit. Looted by slum gangs over the years and left to rot as a artifact of an earlier age of the slums. Inside....a well hidden path to a basement area, were everyone was gathered and awaiting the journey out through what appeared to be a tunnel.

In addition to the group, there were also some civilians set to go with them.....including some Sig and Lucifer recognized from the cell they had all been imprisoned in what seems like a lifetime ago. Two Sisters, one of them crying quietly while the other did her best to console her......and the old lady from the terminal, stood up staring blankly at the wall and slapping mercer with her cane every time he ventured near.

Keeping what happened to Rosie in mind, just a step off the beaten path home, Kinu was set quite on edge, and after they'd cleaned and wrapped her wounds and the Warrior of the Wasteland washed the sticky blood off of her hands, she was on the hunt for trouble once more.

With her overcoat bound and the large market bindle tied across her chest, she leapt from the rooftops of this urban maze once more, pausing every few bounds to check the road ahead.

It'd be a bit different if they weren't escorting citizens.

They got a lot to figure out, the homeless home crowd. No place to go, noone to help 'em out...

Of course, while the current path was probably the safer of the two options - most of them didn't have any sort of magical gift so they weren't worth taking in - the Warrior of the Wasteland was not entirely sure if the EN could give them anything close to what they wanted. As she counted off the little groups as they moved, her thoughts drift, incidentally, to Sigourney.

Keeping 'em alive...means what happened won't fade away. Shrugging her shoulders beneath her coat of a thousand stitches, she continued to move on.

She meant to make an impression when she came here, naturally. Standing out was great, but not so much in mixed company. So again, she opted to take the high road. Besides, it'd be hard to pick up the sight of much if the streetlamps didn't shine on you.

Saint was standing guard, remaining vigilant as the unexpected travelers gathered together. As they arrived, he observed each one but said nothing. Some might be prepared for this, others less so, but hopefully the final destination will not be too far off.

It wasn't long before she caught sight of the Saint outside of the decrepit factory.

Hidden entrances everywhere, guess he went ahead to find them. Not too shabby, Red.

As everyone trickled in, with the tail end of the last few stragglers, Kinu descended into the derelict.

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

"I don't remember." Morgen slowly shook her head. "I'm trying to recall... but my head feels like it's splitting..."

Arx squinted at Morgen a long moment before shrugging. "I'm sure we'll find out sooner or later; and then I'll eat them."

Edit: Moving this post up with some edits since its now more relevant.

~Slums: Evening~
The order had been given for the final evacuation. Though Morgan was barely in any condition to move on her own just yet.....time was of the essence, and they had to move out soon.

Those that were at the hideout were to be led out in small groups, along a very specific path that had been scouted by saint.



Their destination was an abandoned building against the slum wall, perhaps once a factory of some kind....though now old and decrepit. Looted by slum gangs over the years and left to rot as a artifact of an earlier age of the slums. Inside....a well hidden path to a basement area, were everyone was gathered and awaiting the journey out through what appeared to be a tunnel.

In addition to the group, there were also some civilians set to go with them.....including some Sig and Lucifer recognized from the cell they had all been imprisoned in what seems like a lifetime ago. Two Sisters, one of them crying quietly while the other did her best to console her......and the old lady from the terminal, stood up staring blankly at the wall and slapping mercer with her cane every time he ventured near.

Arx for her part, kept pace with Ange.

Why?

It was where Morgiana was. Not that she quite understood herself why it mattered where the girl was; only that making the girl was relatively safe during their flight from the Slums was at the forefront of her her mind... and was for the moment keeping her distracted enough to ignore the fact that she was getting hungry. Arx had the bloody rag for that, of course; but she'd avoid devouring that immediately for two reasons. First and foremost? It was a dirty rag covered in dried blood. Not starving enough, or desperate enough, to chew that to pieces...

Yet.

"Hey Mor-giana." Arx piped up, about the time they hit the basement and were in sight of the tunnel.

"You doing okay?"

[Melon God]

"You doing okay?"

Morgen coughed and wheezed into her own shoulder. "Not to... be dramatic... but I wish I were dead," she replied in her first genuinely true answer since the day had started. "... that doesn't count as permission... to take a bite out of me, by the way..."

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

Morgen coughed and wheezed into her own shoulder. "Not to... be dramatic... but I wish I were dead," she replied in her first genuinely true answer since the day had started. "... that doesn't count as permission... to take a bite out of me, by the way..."

"If I wanted to do that, I'd have done it when I took you off the old man." Arx replied. "Sounds pretty dramatic if you ask me though; you managed to survive a shakedown... somehow. Plus you're gonna get some nifty scars, maybe!" The Dragon added, trying in her own weird way to be cheerful. "From what I understand humans dig edgy **** like that. So it'll make you cool... or something.

Better than piercings, too. Scars..." **** got stuck in her teeth.

[Tami]

At some point, Saint left his lookout and moved in close enough for Ange to hear him, "Will there be any other's joining us? Or is everyone here?"

[bruceleegreyhulk]

After checking the mark on under his right arm one more time, Jacob puts his shirt and coat back on. In that brief moment, anyone on the right side of Jacob could have seen the mark under his right arm.