[The Forever Tree]Rustdeity IC.

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Sakuro
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Re: [The Forever Tree]Rustdeity IC.

Post by Sakuro »

A brief 'hm' came from him as he listened to Shi'Halal. Before leaving the medical lab he looked to the disabled camera, then the refrigerator; remembering what he had left there and the unknowns it represented. Then he stepped outside. There was a clear enough picture of the events that happened here. At least for him. What was missing, was the whereabouts of the criminal and antagonistic party. There was too much obfuscation, and not a solid lead to follow up on in order to track that trail at this time. So Imperious decided to use his time to better understand the things in this place and what was done here. While he awaits the arrival for the Tempestineers, Imperious takes a more thorough tour of he facilities and talks with the local items. Getting a feel for what it was like in this place and what went on there before Mr. Mystery came along. He will likely end up looking like a lunatic in the event people watch the camera footage …
OOC wrote:I'm at the end of the investigation I'm wanting to do. Or at least I am unable to think of a means of getting the information I am after that would fit the character and be accessible to them. There is the potential to gather recordings from the cameras or digging into computers, but Imperious is unwilling to trespass to that degree without permission so long as someone clearly has a claim to these things.
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Re: [The Forever Tree]Rustdeity IC.

Post by Hoid »

OOC:
So, are you just going to wait on the Tempestineers? Or will you, as you say, blitz the base one more time? It won’t be long, in-game, before the Tempestineers arrive...
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Re: [The Forever Tree]Rustdeity IC.

Post by Hoid »

Shi’Halal informs Imperious of four approaching entities outside. Presumably the Tempestineers, but she still argues caution.

Outside, on the corrugated metal of the artificial flood plains stand four Tempestineers:

The first, the woman who actually interacted with Imperious, must have been beautiful once, but her face was covered in scar-tissue and she wore a half-Mask covering her upper face. Dressed in black, with a clean-shaven head, her Mount was a strange sight: a gigantic lion’s head, floating, surrounded by a harsh solar nimbus. It was clearly capable of flight. Her Weapon, sheathed at her side, was a fist-sized beetle, whose rear wings jutted out considerably and had strong legs to cling with—-clearly the equivalent of a bladed gauntlet. And her Sphere was a golden mouse sitting on her shoulder, quite obviously reading from a tiny open book.

The second, a man, was massively obese, almost comically so, with albino-white features, wearing luxurious, loose-fitting synthweave robes. He had a mildly placid look on his chubby face, and he smiled broadly. His Mount, the largest Mount among the four, was a toad of gargantuan size, sickly green, with an enormous porous cyst on its back; inside this cyst sat the Tempestineer. His Weapon was a bio-organic yet strangely flexible bone whip, while his Sphere was an ugly tiny decapitated head, glaring angrily at the world.

The third Tempestineer, also a man, had dark, dusky skin, and was whipcord-thin, but, like the woman, his face was covered in ugly scars. He wore no mask though. He was heavily bearded but was otherwise bald. He wore a tight-fitting blue flightsuit, with a barcode running down his left arm and another barcode, different than the first, running down his left leg. His Mount was a serpentine beast, 11’ long, that he rode as if it were a horse. His Weapon was a squat handheld creature vaguely resembling a firearm. Worryingly, his Sphere could not be seen.

The fourth Tempestineer was unique, for he was a beastman. Imperious knew only two such Tempestineers existed. A hulkingly muscular goat-headed brute, his horns were made of utterly smooth ivory, and he wore only pants, leaving his barrel chest bare. His face was broad and squat. His Mount was a great flying insect. His Weapon was a biotech staff resonating with sonic energy. And his Sphere was a fleshly orb the size of a marble that flew through the air like an agitated wasp.

The woman said, “Imperious, I take it?” It was clear she was ready for a fight. (They all were.)
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Sakuro
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Re: [The Forever Tree]Rustdeity IC.

Post by Sakuro »

"Agreed. These people may not be our enemies, neither are they friends."

…. came Imperious's response to Shi'Halal's warning of the Tempestineer's arrival and her words advise for caution. Rather than wait inside the structure, Imperious excused him self from his present conversation with a bed to greet the new arrivals. Striding outside of the entrance he moved to the side of the door so as not to present the image of someone barring their passage.

"Yes. What designations do you use?"

With this question posed Imperious panned his emerald lenses covered eyes over the eleven people he could visually detect. One, he knew was missing. Behind Shi'Halal's lenses his eyes narrowed at that. After giving them a chance to supply him with names that he may address them as, Imperious goes on to supply a warning before any further action or dialog.

"I advise you not to make use of the facility's supplies. At leas the food and drink. Even in the stables. It is possible they have been poisoned, or otherwise contaminated."
OOC wrote:At this point I'd like to use Well Informed to see if Imperious can identify these people and determine if he knows anything about them.
Well Informed, Tempestineer 1: 1d20+12 25
Well Informed, Tempestineer 2: 1d20+12 24
Well Informed, Tempestineer 3: 1d20+12 30
Well Informed, Tempestineer 4: 1d20+12 26

Then use Assessment to gauge their combat proficiency relative to himself and Shi'Halal.
Assess Tempestineer 1: 1d20+12 20
Assess Tempestineer 2: 1d20+12 31
Assess Tempestineer 3: 1d20+12 13 That is a natural 1.
Assess Tempestineer 4: 1d20+12 32 That is a natural 20.

… and finally perform a scan on them/their Organisms to try and determine their abilities. Detect Life and Microscopic Vision may help for this. As a general reminder, unrelated to these rolls, Imperious does have an Accurate Mental Sense/Danger Sense.
Physical/Life Science: 1d20+12 14
Physical/Life Science 2: 1d20+12 18
Physical/Life Science 3: 1d20+12 31
Physical/Life Science 4: 1d20+12 18
Last edited by Sakuro on Fri May 17, 2019 4:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: [The Forever Tree]Rustdeity IC.

Post by Hoid »

OOC:
Analysis results:
* Tempestineer 1: She must be new, as you’ve heard nothing of her. She’s roughly somewhere in the neighborhood of PL10/150pp. He can’t get a terribly good read on her Organisms.
* Tempestineer 2: His real name is unknown, but his Tempestineer designation is ‘Orc’, after a creature from pre-spaceflight human mythology. He’s the strongest of the four, somewhere around PL12-14 and right at 200pp. His Mount is an aquatic brick: while riding it, Orc is also able to breathe water. His Weapon is toxic in some manner, but exactly HOW is unclear. His Sphere is an unknown, though.
* Tempestineer 3: You’ve heard ALL sorts of things about THIS guy. His real name is unknown, but his Tempestineer designation is ‘Shedu’, after a creature of pre-soaceflight human mythology. No clue about his exact level of power. His Mount can elongate some distance, Devour literally ANYTHING it can fit down its mouth no matter HOW toxic, and can bizarrely heal poisons by BITING you. His Weapon is basically a gun. His Sphere, which isn’t visible, is supposedly a tiny man with EXTREMELY sharp blades for arms.
* Tempestineer 4: Real name Bor (no Tempestineer designation). One of only TWO beastmen Tempestineers. Less powerful than Orc, but stronger than the female Tempestineer. He can do aerial dogfights with his Mount; it has a projectile Weapon of some sort, butits not entirely clear WHAT. His Weapon is a sonic weapon. His Sphere can be ‘fired’ like Yondu’s arrow from the Guardians of the Galaxy movies!
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Re: [The Forever Tree]Rustdeity IC.

Post by Hoid »

The woman nodded. “Our thanks, for the warning. As to ourselves:

“I’m Sun’s Flower.” She pointed at the fat Tempestineer. “He’s Orc.” She pointed at the bearded man. “That’s Shedu.” And she nodded at the beastman. “This is Bor.” She paused. “Who struck, here?”
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Sakuro
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Re: [The Forever Tree]Rustdeity IC.

Post by Sakuro »

Having taken the measure of the Tempestineers he offers a singular nod of acknowledgement once Sun's Flower has provided introductions for herself and her compatriots. Hearing her question Imperious brought his eyes to rest on Sun's Flower.

"An individual known as Mr. Mystery is your antagonist. However, there was no fight. From what I have learned your people were tricked into consuming a poison engineered to kill individuals with extraordinary abilities. Their remains, along with those of their symbiotes, were taken elsewhere. I discovered some of the poison, as well as a mutagenic biotoxin that does not match Tempestineer biotechnology, in the medlab."

After deliverying this overview he turns to the side and uses his left hand to gesture to the door.

"You should check your security systems for records of the events."
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Re: [The Forever Tree]Rustdeity IC.

Post by Hoid »

Sun’s Flower dismounted, and walked over to Imperious. “My thanks,” and as she said it, she extended her hand in greeting. Bor dismounted also; both Tempestineers entered the base with only their Weapons and Spheres. The little mouse Sphere on Sun’s Flower’s shoulder closed its minuscule book and gave a tiny bit of regard of Imperious, as if making an assessment of its own.

Orc spoke, his voice easily carrying distance. “I know you,” he boomed, “or rather, of you. You’re one of Lord Jaxon’s children, aren’t you? How fares your parents?”
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Sakuro
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Re: [The Forever Tree]Rustdeity IC.

Post by Sakuro »

When Sun's Flower extends her hand, Imperious does not take it right away. Initially he looks to her extended limb for a handful of seconds, then after this pause he reaches out and clasps hold of her forearm with a black gauntlet clad hand that looked like a clear night's sky filled with stars. The mouse on the woman's shoulder does not go ignored, and he meets it's smaller eyes as it takes the time to assess him. Then Orc speaks up and Imperious draws his hand back. Turning his head he looks at the plump man mounting a toad.

"They are dead."

Imperious responds simply, his voice made stoic. Then he moved to follow those who had decided to enter the building. Accompanying them he spoke on.

"Come. I've been unable to ascertain where Mr. Mystery left to. Perhaps you can."
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Re: [The Forever Tree]Rustdeity IC.

Post by Hoid »

Orc shakes his head no. “My companion and I will stay here, and stand watch.” He gestured. “No one’s stopping you, though. Oh, and...Imperious, is it?...I don’t know what your father told you of us, but he was never cast out. He left of his own accord.”
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Re: [The Forever Tree]Rustdeity IC.

Post by Sakuro »

His words were spoken generally to the group, when he talked about going inside to find out more. Still, Imperious paused to listened as Orc said his peace. There remained a certain demeanor of distance … maybe even coldness, but not hostility, towards the Tempestineers as a group despite the obese man's words. Imperious' only response to this bit of information was a wordless departure as he moved to accompany Sun's Flower and Bor inside.

"Are either of your familiar with Mr. Mystery or the people that lived here?"
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Re: [The Forever Tree]Rustdeity IC.

Post by Hoid »

The bearded man...Shedu...spoke, “We’ve encountered him before. Crazy in the head, him. Powerful, but unstable. Normally too chaotic a plan, for such as Mr. Mystery. Too much noise in his head...”

Orc spoke, too, “We don’t know the Tempestineers stationed here. We’re not a hive-mind.”
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Re: [The Forever Tree]Rustdeity IC.

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With that, Imperious turned and entered the Tempestineer base. Sun’s Flower’s Sphere had opened it’s tiny book, revealing it to be a xenogen microcomputer of great value. The mouse hurriedly scried the base’s security footage. Bor was elsewhere in the base, looking.

Sun’s Flower looked up as Imperious entered. “We may be in some small amount of trouble,” Sun’s Flower said. “My Sphere is looking through everything—-and what she’s telling me isn’t good. We may already be infected with something very nasty.”
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Sakuro
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Re: [The Forever Tree]Rustdeity IC.

Post by Sakuro »

Imperious looked between Sun's Flower and the mouse with it's book when the taller of the two shared the information about the infection. He didn't seem worried for himself. Imperious did have the benefit of a sealed suit providing for his atmospheric needs. This possibility was one reason he remained 'suited up' on his approach and during his tour of the facility. There had been too many unknowns in a suspicious circumstance. Even with Shi'Hala's protection, he realized there was still a potential risk to himself ... but that didn't change the circumstances. At the least, two more lives were at risk. In any event, after he had considered the ramifications of what Sun's Flower had revealed to him Imperious pressed on.

"Infected. Do you have any details on the nature of this infection?"
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Re: [The Forever Tree]Rustdeity IC.

Post by Hoid »

“Well, a bioweapon, obviously. But it’s both natural and engineered.” Sun’s Flower continued saying, “My Sphere recognized the strain immediately. We have the data back at Tempest. The bacterial infection is the byproduct of an Arcaninaut, a freakish monstrosity calling itself Kaiju. The good news is, Kaiju’s been dead for over seventy years. The bad news is, my faction never got a hold of Kaiju’s body. An Iron Enginseer did.”

Sun’s Flower frowned. “This strain has been weaponized. The original disease is a flesh-eating germ, but THIS version of it works at a much faster rate. I’d wager the drugs Mr. Mystery was using prevented them from recuperating enough that this filthy disease easily wiped them out.”
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