[The Forever Tree]Rustdeity IC.

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Hoid
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Re: [The Forever Tree]Rustdeity IC.

Post by Hoid »

The stables seemingly come to life as Imperious enters. Divided into one giant chamber bordered to the left by three stables, each stable was equipped with a sac-like...growth...a biotech pod the three Organisms of each Tempestineer slept in.

The floor speaks, “Welcome, welcome, welcome. A thousand welcomes. Your voice is like music, so quiet have things been.”

Imperious asks his questions, and the first of the three stables asks, “You are of iron. Are you trustworthy? Or are you a liar, like the other of iron?”
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Sakuro
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Re: [The Forever Tree]Rustdeity IC.

Post by Sakuro »

When the floor speaks it's greeting Imperious raised a black and star covered hand, which he moved in a slow and subtle side to side motion. A gentle wave. As though the floor had senses to see and apreciate the action. For a moment he inspected the biotech pods and began to approach them for inspection. It was unlikely the Organisms remained, but he looked still. When the first of the stalls addressed him Imperious turned to face it. He was quiet for a few seconds, then the black scales peaked away from his face to reveal the man underneath, along with his fire skinned cheek and neck.

"We are two. Flesh and Iron together. I reveal this, so you may better trust us."

After sharing this with the objects in the stables the armor crawled back into place over his face, sealing him up in Shi'Hala's protection once more.

"Someone of Iron came and lied. What lies did they tell?"
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Re: [The Forever Tree]Rustdeity IC.

Post by Hoid »

The third stable spoke, saying, “It was a liar, telling promises untrue. It made oaths, then broke them. I heard it. I heard it. I heard it all.”

The first stable continued, “It promised them a mercy, but gave no mercy. It promised them a healing, but poisoned them.”
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Sakuro
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Re: [The Forever Tree]Rustdeity IC.

Post by Sakuro »

A lot seemed to happen around these stables. How much time did the Tempestineers spend there? Stopping the thought before it distracted him Imperious' hear turned from stall to stall as each spoke in turn, trying to paint a picture of past actions. His frow furrowed in thought as he internalized the vaguries of the story thus far. Still, he could not help but ask more.

"A terrible deception. Did they die from the poison? Where are their bodies and their animal companions?"
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Re: [The Forever Tree]Rustdeity IC.

Post by Hoid »

The floor speaks, “Cold. Still. Silent. They were made cold, still, silent. Their movement stopped, their warmth dimmed.”

Stable one shrieks, “Drink not the water! Poison! Poison!

Stable two finally speaks, “The four who are one are gone, gone, gone. Taken by the one of iron, hidden in cloaks of not-there and not-seeing. Away, taken away.”
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Sakuro
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Re: [The Forever Tree]Rustdeity IC.

Post by Sakuro »

Ah. There it was. They died there. That explained why the things in the stable building were so well informed. When the first stall shrieks out it's warning Imperious approaches and inspects the Organism sleeping pod, and the fluids inside. One stall at a time.

"Others who know those that dwelled here are coming. I will warn them about the poison."

… he comments in a tone meant to reassure the inanimate object.

"Shi'Halal, do you detect any foreign substances in the fluids here? Something that might terminate the life of the Tempestineers or their symbiotes?"

As he voices his question Imperious tries to make sense of the sensor data on his heads up display.
OOC wrote: Imperious will use Microscopic Vision to study to fluid/water in the pods and try to determine how it might be tainted:

Life/Physical Sciences: 1d20+12 13 That is a natural 1.
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Re: [The Forever Tree]Rustdeity IC.

Post by Hoid »

I know too little about this substance,” Shi’Halal informs Imperious. “I will need longer to examine the fluid.
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Sakuro
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Re: [The Forever Tree]Rustdeity IC.

Post by Sakuro »

An audible 'hm' came from him when his armor-companion mentioned the need to study the fluid over a longer period of time. With this in mind he looked around the stable building for a container he could store a sample in, and carry with him. Once he found such a thing he used it to collect a measure of the reportedly poisoned liquid. Then he looked between the items that had been vocal in the room. The stalls and the floor. To them he posed a new question.

"Did anyone say the name of the Iron one? It would be good to know who this threat is."
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Re: [The Forever Tree]Rustdeity IC.

Post by Hoid »

The floor whispered, as if afraid to vocalize it, “Mr. Mystery. Mr. Mystery!”
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Sakuro
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Re: [The Forever Tree]Rustdeity IC.

Post by Sakuro »

Imperious' took in the floor's intonation of the name, Mr. Mystery, as it whispered. Cautious about sharing the information. The title suggested a masculine persona. Not likely the female cybermagus brought to his attention by Marie. That was good. Holding the container of pod-fluid at chest height he looked at it, then around the room.

"Thank you ... I will do what I can to see this deceiver is punished for their treachery."

Turning to the door he made his exit. Thinking as he talked and not in any particular hurry.
OOC wrote:Going to use Well Informed to see if Imperious knows anything about this Mr. Mystery, since you are allowing the check. Well Informed (Mr. Mystery): 1d20+12 18
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Re: [The Forever Tree]Rustdeity IC.

Post by Hoid »

As Imperious walks out the stables, his mind turns to the name, Mr. Mystery. Though it takes a few moments, some bit of information surfaces from the gossip and small talk of his life:

Mr. Mystery (not his real name) was a xenohybrid—-a rare human/xenogen crossbreed, no doubt created in some lab. Able to switch between six different bioconfigurations——one of these bioconfigurations being a psychic!—-Mr. Mystery was deeply insane. He held multiple personalities inside his head, and they were all very violent. Some were subtle, some were openly antagonistic, but none were trustworthy. Why the Tempestineers would even deal with such a being was, itself, a mystery!
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Sakuro
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Re: [The Forever Tree]Rustdeity IC.

Post by Sakuro »

"They must have been desperate ..."

… Imperious mused aloud once he put some background to the name he had gotten from the stable floor. There could have been psychic influence or engineered assurances of honest dealing. But desperation seemed the most likely given what he had heard from the objects. A mercy promised … There were more questions. Why take the bodies of the Tempestineers and their symbiotic companions? Did Mr. Mystery have a use, or need, for them? Was it a compulsion? The questions made for unsettling lines of thought.

Outside the stable now, he looked around at the cityscape beyond the compound. An urban jungle in ruins. Where would someone like Mr. Mystery operate out of? What did they feel they needed to do … whatever it was they did? To feel safe and secure enough to rest. Imperious mulled this over. It had been days since the event and he wasn't sure how fast this monster traveled. After scanning the area around the three buildings, both to get a feel for the environment as to look for signs of activity from the approaching Tempestineers, Imperious moved to the main building. Perhaps the medical lab had insights into the events that took place. The items there, at least, might have a better understanding of the physical condition of the Tempestineers if they were ailing somehow.
OOC wrote:Will another Gathering Information check be needed for questioning the medlab's occupants? If the Tempestineers do not interrupt before he has a chance to.
Arriving at the medlab Imperious stops just inside of the door. Slowly his head turns, panning his gaze over the room and the things into it. Then he spoke, as though addressing an assembled crowd.

"Greetings. I have learned the humans that lived and worked here were killed because they trusted someone they should not have. It is my intent to see that the person who did this to them is punished for their treachery. Will you help me understand what happened here?"
OOC wrote:In case a new roll is needed: Gather Information: 1d20+12 28
Last edited by Sakuro on Tue May 14, 2019 5:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Evelyn Gracen, in AEGIS Squad
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Hoid
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Re: [The Forever Tree]Rustdeity IC.

Post by Hoid »

OOC:
Go ahead! Questioning the medlab equipment will probably get you useful information.
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Re: [The Forever Tree]Rustdeity IC.

Post by Hoid »

“Yes,” came the chorus of voices, “Yes. Yes.”

“He gave me to them,” a vial of clear liquid proudly proclaimed. “They drank me. My venom ate at them. They screamed! They begged! They died!”

A microscope proffered, “Through my eyes they sought to make the pain go away, but my eyes were not keen enough. I could not help them. They died.”

“In the stables,” scoffed a refrigerator. “Like animals. They died in the stables. Had they opened me, perhaps they would have lived.”

The clear liquid spoke again, saying, “I am proud of my work. I have been drunk. I have fulfilled my purpose. Will you drink me? You, too, I wish to kill. It is my nature.”
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Sakuro
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Re: [The Forever Tree]Rustdeity IC.

Post by Sakuro »

As each object spoke up, sharing it's view point of events, Imperious looked to them. One after another. Listening. When the clear fluid proclaimed openly it's part, and pride, in what had come to pass Imperious did not frown or look down on it. It was true to it's nature and honest about it. As the poison had been the first to speak clearly of what had happened Imperious approach it as he spoke. He picked up the vial and studied it, giving Shi'halal's sensors to scan it while he talked.

"You did your job well. I do not wish to die, but I will take you with me. If I find someone who desires or deserves death, I will introduce you to them. Tell me though, how did he get the humans to drink you? Did he claim you were something else?"
OOC wrote:For Shi'Hala's scan, Microscopic Vision and Detect Life may be useful. Here is a roll if you feel this is adifferent enough or enough time has passed since the stable scene: Physical/Life Sciences: 1d20+12 21
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