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

[Yun Lao]

Stepping out of the lift after she had exited first, Saint stood and watched her. He then looked up at the darkening sky, before turning back to see if she would actually leave, or if she just needed some air.

Looking to the sky, Sigourney raised her free hand as if reaching out to something. She hadn't noticed it before, but her senses were dulled here thanks to the dampener that surrounded the rebel's base. That wasn't to say she was completely numb to them as the faint sensation of something watching her eventually returned.

In a world that she could no longer trust, it was fitting that she had placed her own into something otherworldly.

Looking back, she saw Matthias still lingered and upon fishing for something in her pocket, Sigourney tossed it to him, "Here... payment for walking me out," Upon catching it, he would find it to be some of Ange's chocolate.

"This is where we part ways, mister scavenger."

[grampagen]

"Down to business....right then." Mulvric nodded. "Sadly the trip didn't do much to clear the fog in my head......Our plan is still on for our Luxweave friend to extract those memories into something tangible. Perhaps it'll make em easier to work with."

"Worst case scenario, we'll need to investigate the scene for more information." En said. "The Administratum's Operational Mandate has been to firebomb Ruin Compromised locations....for whatever reason, they haven't mobilized the needed force for it yet. So the city is largely intact....to a point. But we can't get anything past the parameter slums due to high air concentrations of ruin...." En paused. "....creates a kind of fog like gas....only thing we can still determine from inside is the Conflux tower is still active, light becon barely manages to cut through the cloud."

"But of course.....it isn't that simple. Concentrated exposure of that level would take all but a minute to do any number of horrible things to your bodies. Anyone going in would need special gear or....hmm" En paused, eyes replaced with little spinning circles as she thought.

"In any event....we can't make a move in that regard until we have a way to do so.....We'll go ahead with the memory extraction and keep brainstorming a way to check out A9." Mercer added. "The A9 evacuees are welcome to stay here for the time being....heck......we could use the extra hands. This area is safe and hidden as well as it can be." "

"Mm..." Kinu considered, idly scratching the back of her ear, eyes scrunching from mild discomfort. Mulvric's mention of the creeping fog clearly had caught her attention, but unlike the prospect of facing down a Witch or some wild prisoner, the Warrior of the Wasteland, she hesitated and found herself short of words. Only for a moment though.

"Yeah...that's not gonna be good enough. It starts like a little mist, like the kind that kicks up after a thin rain? Little droplets that cling in dewdrops. Then it spreads, rolling over against the wind like it's got a mind of its own. Nothing that goes in...comes back out. Only things that move behind the mist are things that don't belong in the open air."

She didn't say it aloud, but it hung there like the shroud of Ruin as it always had over those that knew life within the Wards.

This phenomena was something inevitable outside of the confines of the Administrative Zones.

"But...you're saying the head honchos in A-9 are still around. I find that hard to believe, but if that's so, you should be able to prove it, yeah?"

"And we'll be happy to give you some if you earn it." Ange suddenly retorted. ".....it won't be like the safehouse here....you want something you damn well pull your weight for it."

"I don't care about stuff like that," She retorted, somewhat annoyed being told what she could or could not write down. Chewing what information she had, Sigourney stared off into the distance while tapping one end of her pen against her open diary.

"They always gendered ship as women in books but for a fairy named Enterprise? There's got to be something in there... Pity she wasn't a male, she could have had an alias like Ian Prise... hmm... No wonder she's been going by En all this time."

The speed and intensity of her idle tapping had grown akin to a woodpecker beating its face against a tree.


Catching a snippet of that caused her to fully pause, a disgusted look crossing her features, "So, is this how you do your recruiting? You promise us a choice and after all of that travel we're now expected to "pull our weight"? How, by blowing up another Urban Center like you so gracefully did yesterday?"

"No.....you pull a potato out of the ground, and then you get to cook and eat it." Ange crossed her arms. "Or do you think because we're trying so hard to "recruit you" that we need to bend over backwards and let you mooch whatever you want, whenever you want. Asking to pulls your weight isn't a invite to join....its common, fucking, curtsy. God I hate kids..."

"Now, Now Gee Gee....No fighting." En crossed her arms and proclaimed. "That's a Court Martial."

"Tsk..." Ange responded.

"Like the way you pulled your weight over the Skyport Bridge, right, Red?"

Even though it was the dead of night at this elevation, the heat in this room had been rising. As much as she had her own questions to ask of the EN, Kinu would be remiss to not read the room. First rule of winning over the Away Crowd...

She raised her hand, two digits of the fingergun pointed toward Ange as she clicked the trigger of her thumb, mouthing 'pow' silently. Get one over the Home Team, and then-

"Am I hearin' you correctly? You callin' a survivor a mooch? Well listen up, your man and your pixie got a whole hundred or more mouths to feed down there, and they came all this way for," she unfurled her fingergun to a pointer which now moved over to En, "What was it? Hope? And this' how you treat your talent?"

[Tami]

Looking to the sky, Sigourney raised her free hand as if reaching out to something. She hadn't noticed it before, but her senses were dulled here thanks to the dampener that surrounded the rebel's base. That wasn't to say she was completely numb to them as the faint sensation of something watching her eventually returned.

In a world that she could no longer trust, it was fitting that she had placed her own into something otherworldly.

Looking back, she saw Matthias still lingered and upon fishing for something in her pocket, Sigourney tossed it to him, "Here... payment for walking me out," Upon catching it, he would find it to be some of Ange's chocolate.

"This is where we part ways, mister scavenger."

Tossing it back to her, "You will need it more than I. Before you leave, I'd like to offer some free advice. First, it would have been safer to spend the night here then leave in the daylight, traveling at night is always more dangerous. But if you must, keep moving no matter what."

He then pointed in a direction, "The path is not straight, but the destination is. Don't panic if it feels like you are going in circles, that is just the way the path is designed to keep out unwanted visitors."

"If something or someone approaches you, do not try and fight it. Do not run, but move quickly. If it follows you, then make a run for it. Once you reach the tunnel, nothing from the outside will follow you in, usually."

He then took a step back towards the lift, "Best of luck, may you arrive at your destination safely."

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"She is..Nothing much different." Mulvric mused. "When we found this place, was even worse then you see it now by a big margin......But I'm an engineer, I solve problems. Fixing this place up, keeping it intact...learning how the systems work, and how they used to work. Eventually...I manage to her En working again too. Been stuck in a low power, barely functional state for who knows how long...."

"And yes we let kids in!" En added. "A lot of the people you see out there were born here ya know."



"I have sensors that still work all over the ship, so technically I'l everywhere here." En chuckled.



"Down to business....right then." Mulvric nodded. "Sadly the trip didn't do much to clear the fog in my head......Our plan is still on for our Luxweave friend to extract those memories into something tangible. Perhaps it'll make em easier to work with."

"Worst case scenario, we'll need to investigate the scene for more information." En said. "The Administratum's Operational Mandate has been to firebomb Ruin Compromised locations....for whatever reason, they haven't mobilized the needed force for it yet. So the city is largely intact....to a point. But we can't get anything past the parameter slums due to high air concentrations of ruin...." En paused. "....creates a kind of fog like gas....only thing we can still determine from inside is the Conflux tower is still active, light becon barely manages to cut through the cloud."

"But of course.....it isn't that simple. Concentrated exposure of that level would take all but a minute to do any number of horrible things to your bodies. Anyone going in would need special gear or....hmm" En paused, eyes replaced with little spinning circles as she thought.

"In any event....we can't make a move in that regard until we have a way to do so.....We'll go ahead with the memory extraction and keep brainstorming a way to check out A9." Mercer added. "The A9 evacuees are welcome to stay here for the time being....heck......we could use the extra hands. This area is safe and hidden as well as it can be."

"

“Is the tower poking out of the gas far enough the concentration wouldn’t be as harmful that high?”

[Yun Lao]

Tossing it back to her, "You will need it more than I. Before you leave, I'd like to offer some free advice. First, it would have been safer to spend the night here then leave in the daylight, traveling at night is always more dangerous. But if you must, keep moving no matter what."

He then pointed in a direction, "The path is not straight, but the destination is. Don't panic if it feels like you are going in circles, that is just the way the path is designed to keep out unwanted visitors."

"If something or someone approaches you, do not try and fight it. Do not run, but move quickly. If it follows you, then make a run for it. Once you reach the tunnel, nothing from the outside will follow you in, usually."

He then took a step back towards the lift, "Best of luck, may you arrive at your destination safely."

She nodded, taking down those notes. It was doubtful he would purposely give her directions to a fatal end, but she would have to keep a close watch should she decide to go that route.

For now, though, the girl simply made her way down the mountainous path and through the villages and town that surrounded the old-world vessel.

[Tami]

She nodded, taking down those notes. It was doubtful he would purposely give her directions to a fatal end, but she would have to keep a close watch should she decide to go that route.

For now, though, the girl simply made her way down the mountainous path and through the villages and town that surrounded the old-world vessel.

Turning back towards the lift, he once again made his way to the Bridge. Quietly, he hoped she would return, but it was not his place to force anyone not to take risks.

[The Dog]

"Mm..." Kinu considered, idly scratching the back of her ear, eyes scrunching from mild discomfort. Mulvric's mention of the creeping fog clearly had caught her attention, but unlike the prospect of facing down a Witch or some wild prisoner, the Warrior of the Wasteland, she hesitated and found herself short of words. Only for a moment though.

"Yeah...that's not gonna be good enough. It starts like a little mist, like the kind that kicks up after a thin rain? Little droplets that cling in dewdrops. Then it spreads, rolling over against the wind like it's got a mind of its own. Nothing that goes in...comes back out. Only things that move behind the mist are things that don't belong in the open air."

She didn't say it aloud, but it hung there like the shroud of Ruin as it always had over those that knew life within the Wards.

This phenomena was something inevitable outside of the confines of the Administrative Zones.

"But...you're saying the head honchos in A-9 are still around. I find that hard to believe, but if that's so, you should be able to prove it, yeah?"







"Like the way you pulled your weight over the Skyport Bridge, right, Red?"

Even though it was the dead of night at this elevation, the heat in this room had been rising. As much as she had her own questions to ask of the EN, Kinu would be remiss to not read the room. First rule of winning over the Away Crowd...

She raised her hand, two digits of the fingergun pointed toward Ange as she clicked the trigger of her thumb, mouthing 'pow' silently. Get one over the Home Team, and then-

"Am I hearin' you correctly? You callin' a survivor a mooch? Well listen up, your man and your pixie got a whole hundred or more mouths to feed down there, and they came all this way for," she unfurled her fingergun to a pointer which now moved over to En, "What was it? Hope? And this' how you treat your talent?"

Selma wasn't quite sure how she felt about Kinu or where exactly they stood with each other, but she was making good points. And Selma had to honestly admit that the strange woman was enjoyable to watch and listen to. A natural entertainer, this one.

"Sounds like it, to me." Selma agreed, adding "I'm honestly wondering why they even bothered bringing us here, since it seems like 'Gee Gee' feels about having us here like I felt about roaches in my home back in A-9. And I never brought the roaches into my home and then got mad that they were there."

[bruceleegreyhulk]

"I'll make an appointment with the doctor then." En nodded.

" You mind pointing me in the direction, I can find this doctor?" Jacob said.

[MrSandman]

"You're aware I don't eat any of that, mm?" Arx asked, turning her ears toward the discussion about food.

"That's fine, we can work something out." Mulvric nodded. "I can whip up some more fluid......maybe baste a chicken with or something..."

".....you sure that won't make it grow six heads or something...." Mercer muttered.

"Chicken and potatoes, sounds delightful." Xia bowed her head gratefully. "Should be a nice spread, thank you. Some people could learn a thing or two about hospitality." She didn't name names or look at anyone else, but her smirk made it obvious who she was talking about. She was going to have some fun with Red, she could tell.

"....If only there were fewer people who'd abuse it, you'd find more willing to give it...." Ange shrugged. "Sad world isn't it.....why, i know someone who ate 3 dozen eggs and had the gall to leave a note asking us to buy more.....what kind of person would do such a thing, I wonder. "

[Sub-Zero MKA]

"....If only there were fewer people who'd abuse it, you'd find more willing to give it...." Ange shrugged. "Sad world isn't it.....why, i know someone who ate 3 dozen eggs and had the gall to leave a note asking us to buy more.....what kind of person would do such a thing, I wonder. "

"You're talking to her," Xia admitted with zero remorse. "But don't get your panties in a bunch; they went to a great cause. Over two dozen people in the slums had a hearty breakfast this morning."

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

"That's fine, we can work something out." Mulvric nodded. "I can whip up some more fluid......maybe baste a chicken with or something..."

".....you sure that won't make it grow six heads or something...." Mercer muttered.

"Good. Fluid works, but I've a preference for infused-meat." Arx said simply. "It's why I kill and eat them, Witches." A lie, at least in part, but what the Resistance didn't know, wouldn't hurt them.

... in this instance.

"....If only there were fewer people who'd abuse it, you'd find more willing to give it...." Ange shrugged. "Sad world isn't it.....why, i know someone who ate 3 dozen eggs and had the gall to leave a note asking us to buy more.....what kind of person would do such a thing, I wonder. "

"You complain a lot." Arx said, with a flick of the tail.

"If you don't want people here, just say so. I doubt anyone here is a snowflake." The Dragon said with a shrug. "Plus, itl'll save both time, and the headache."

[Tami]

"That's fine, we can work something out." Mulvric nodded. "I can whip up some more fluid......maybe baste a chicken with or something..."

".....you sure that won't make it grow six heads or something...." Mercer muttered.



"....If only there were fewer people who'd abuse it, you'd find more willing to give it...." Ange shrugged. "Sad world isn't it.....why, i know someone who ate 3 dozen eggs and had the gall to leave a note asking us to buy more.....what kind of person would do such a thing, I wonder. "

Having just arrived back on the bridge, Matthias walked over to the window where he could look outside. As he did, he used Find to locate Sigourney and keep track of her. As he did, he frowned slightly, then relaxed a little as he remembered his first time beyond the walls. Still, he wondered if perhaps he made a mistake, maybe he should have gone with her, even though it was clear she didn't want him to.

[MrSandman]

"Oh, I'm sorry. Am I supposed to be grateful that most of us were picked up as "bonuses" when you really wanted only two people?!"

Closing her diary with an audible clap, her free hand clenched down hard, "Get over yourself and your shitty assumptions; I don't want to mooch off of you. I came here because I wanted answers... that and..." She bitterly laughed, "It's not like I have now, do I? After all, my home is gone and it looks like both sides want to experiment on me!"

She could taste the bittersweet poison called hatred on her tongue again and felt a pang of anxiety. The room was far too small now and there were far too many people.

"I'm done here..."

Heading towards the same door they had entered, Sigourney proceeded out back to the lift. From there, she was uncertain.

Ange hadn't expected the girl to simply up and leave, and her parting words were not helping her disposition one bit....and yet before she could curse up a storm, something in the girls words stabbed a cold knife in her ribs......

"W..wait..." Ange moved to follow her just before..

"Like the way you pulled your weight over the Skyport Bridge, right, Red?"

Even though it was the dead of night at this elevation, the heat in this room had been rising. As much as she had her own questions to ask of the EN, Kinu would be remiss to not read the room. First rule of winning over the Away Crowd...

She raised her hand, two digits of the fingergun pointed toward Ange as she clicked the trigger of her thumb, mouthing 'pow' silently. Get one over the Home Team, and then-

"Am I hearin' you correctly? You callin' a survivor a mooch? Well listen up, your man and your pixie got a whole hundred or more mouths to feed down there, and they came all this way for," she unfurled her fingergun to a pointer which now moved over to En, "What was it? Hope? And this' how you treat your talent?"

Selma wasn't quite sure how she felt about Kinu or where exactly they stood with each other, but she was making good points. And Selma had to honestly admit that the strange woman was enjoyable to watch and listen to. A natural entertainer, this one.

"Sounds like it, to me." Selma agreed, adding "I'm honestly wondering why they even bothered bringing us here, since it seems like 'Gee Gee' feels about having us here like I felt about roaches in my home back in A-9. And I never brought the roaches into my home and then got mad that they were there."

Ange breath caught, her face...already confused and angry, nearly turned bright red. "Are you serious...." Ange slammed her fist against the bulkhead, causing En to flinch. "and what exactly did you do....nearly break my friends back and speech the administratum witches to death? I sure as hell don't know...I was too busy getting suckerpunched! But fine...fine....I'll say it one more time so you can hear me. In this place, we're all equal, and we all work for what we get.....and now that we have more then a hundred mouths to feed, we can't 'afford' to treat our talent special. Especially not when it'll be days before the city cools down enough for any extra supply runs. So no...I'm not calling you a mooch.....if you were a mooch I would have thrown you out before you even got here....and I'll damn well throw you out if you DO turn out to be one."

Ange turned to leave. "En, you and the chief handle the rest....I gotta go and catch up to the princess before she gets into trouble."

A moment later....she had vanished through the door.

".....I.....Uhh..." En muttered. ".............please forgive Gee Gee.......She's our Provision Officer and.....she's a glass half empty kind of person." The Ai tried to smile. "And we'll still go ahead with the feast....don't worry....your our guests, you deserve one night of reward for what you've done."

[MrSandman]

"Mm..." Kinu considered, idly scratching the back of her ear, eyes scrunching from mild discomfort. Mulvric's mention of the creeping fog clearly had caught her attention, but unlike the prospect of facing down a Witch or some wild prisoner, the Warrior of the Wasteland, she hesitated and found herself short of words. Only for a moment though.

"Yeah...that's not gonna be good enough. It starts like a little mist, like the kind that kicks up after a thin rain? Little droplets that cling in dewdrops. Then it spreads, rolling over against the wind like it's got a mind of its own. Nothing that goes in...comes back out. Only things that move behind the mist are things that don't belong in the open air."

She didn't say it aloud, but it hung there like the shroud of Ruin as it always had over those that knew life within the Wards.

This phenomena was something inevitable outside of the confines of the Administrative Zones.

"But...you're saying the head honchos in A-9 are still around. I find that hard to believe, but if that's so, you should be able to prove it, yeah?"

"Just because the conflux is still operation doesn't mean anyone is at the controls...." Mulvric responded. "Lights are on, yes....but that could just mean the power is still going. We haven't heard a peep of communication coming out of there since the event. In all honestly.....you'd never get a better chance to examine Admin tech unsupervised....save all the poison and monsters."

“Is the tower poking out of the gas far enough the concentration wouldn’t be as harmful that high?”

"Nope, ruin has formed a bank of gas as fall as the tower near the center of the city. Only reason we know its on is the light coming from inside..." Mercer exclaimed.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"Just because the conflux is still operation doesn't mean anyone is at the controls...." Mulvric responded. "Lights are on, yes....but that could just mean the power is still going. We haven't heard a peep of communication coming out of there since the event. In all honestly.....you'd never get a better chance to examine Admin tech unsupervised....save all the poison and monsters."



"Nope, ruin has formed a bank of gas as fall as the tower near the center of the city. Only reason we know its on is the light coming from inside..." Mercer exclaimed.

“What about inside? Would that be flooded with ruin as well?”