Fantasy Ascent into Madness

[C.DEX]

Cyell pulled himself upward in his seat to get a glance at the blueprint that Kytrek and Vaila were looking at, distracted once again from what he had been doing. "For some reason it doesn't seem like a good idea to put something in your mouth that shoots bullets, but that's just me." he said, pondering. "But then again, all of these blueprints have a mark of insanity in some way or another. The cloak I was looking at seems to be able to flip to technicolor, but I don't think I'll be using that."

He stood from his seat, satisfied in what had occurred. Nervous, slightly, of course. Stomach turning from the elevator ride. Wondering if he'd simply be killed, and not deliberating too much on that matter. But ... surprisingly okay. In fact, a small hint of excitement marked his features. "We'll be there on time." he said, laissez-faire to the air of scorn that Gertrude had placed upon them. His eyes came up from the blueprint, looking to Kytrek once again.

"Should I ask the dwarf for lodgings, or are we going to stay at the esteemed Professor's home? Maybe we should invite everyone, since they all seem to be so fascinated with you. It'll be fun." His eyes shifted as he thought about just what they'd be doing in the days preparing. He served as a wanderer, in these weeks past, but he did still have a home near one of the Adventurer's Guild Academies in the lower levels. "I imagine you're going to be writing up scrolls, so if you need any help with that, I'd rather be doing that than having to be off of leave from the Academy."

Lexielai Lyro

 

[Jeda Teq]

Kniges looked tired and exhausted. "If I had attacked you, you would be dead. Possibly in my stomach, but you are alive so I did not attack you." He tried to maintain a regal appearance by crossing his arms and straightening his back. "If you do not wish to obtain a reward you do not need to participate in the contest." He then smirked glancing at the two Fauns before turning his back to them, "I mean, if I was up against someone who was clearly better than me, I'd give away the prize too."

He walked out of the Upwards Relations building to go find lodging for himself.

 

[Lexielai]

Otres Upward Relations
Lyro C.DEX

Vaila took the blueprints from Kytrek’s hands with a newly curious eye. “Is that so?” she said, once again inspecting the parchment. “Thank you, Gertrude.”

The drawings were indeed musical instruments, and welcome ones at that. It had been some time since she’d played the flute; the last must have been six year ago, when she loaned her voice and talent to Dr. Dren’s latest album for a significant fee.

“Seems unwieldy to me,” Vaila commented as she looked over the paper once more. “I’ve never used a gun before, but don’t you boy usually have to aim before you shoot?” The instrument looked neat enough, but the infernal boy was right. Putting a gun in your mouth was never a good idea. Especially if you had a hard time seeing where the bullet went.

She then inspected the second of the two items. “Now this...this is suitable for a woman like myself.”

On the paper was a seemingly typical violin save for some runes carved into the wood, and a mess of arcane symbols to accompany it. It seemed almost like her lute, but upgraded and refined. Vaila smiled slowly. Praise her stalker fans for their attention to detail.

“I’d rather find my own accommodations for the night, thank you,” Vaila said to the infernal. “Being a vulnerable woman walking alone on these dangerous streets is much preferable to dear old Kytrek’s home.” She winked.

 

[Lyro]

Prof. Kytrek Rhodius
Mentioned: C.DEX Lexielai ​

"I'm sure a talented artist such as yourself could find a way to charm the bullets to their destination with the appropriate song,"

replied Gertrude, sounding increasingly distracted as the background noise in her location steadily increased in volume.

"I am told it is also one of the safest pieces of equipment we have produced. Just avoid letting it overheat in your mouth. Refrain from using E minor on the violin, too."

"And as for dear old Kytrek's home,"

growled Kytrek while levelling an irritated glare at Cyell,

"it's not a boarding house. You,"

he added, nodding towards Cy,

"I'll tolerate, if you help me prepare my ink and buy some books while we're here. The rest of you, feel free to be late for departure; you won't be missed. Anything else?"

"Nothing on my end. We'll write up the necessary documents in the meantime; you'll have one last chance to review them three days from now."

There was the sound of a chair scraping in the background, as if Gertrude was getting up.

"Ah, yes, one point you might want to communicate to your fire-breathing colleague - your shares of the reward will not be redistributed should some of you... fail to return. Let's not make this any harder than it already is. Right. I must be going now. Dr. Vzik will be your liaison over the next few days; if you have any questions, ask him. Good-bye n--"

Her voice abruptly cut off as somebody began to shout in her area, just before the speaker's light switched off and all sound disappeared.

Kytrek grunted and bent down to pick up his equipment, taking a moment as he did so to take a last look at the blueprint he had nabbed before he put it away.

"Puppets on strings, come watch us dance,"

he muttered in a slight sing-song tone, recalling a popular children's ditty from his home. It seemed appropriate.

"Let's get going, boy; I'd like to be home by lightdim."

CLEAR

 

[Jeda Teq]

A shiver went up Knigs' spine making him stop dead in his tracks. One of the locals bumped into, but the the scaled one did not move. "My shard senses are tingling... something terrible has happened." Slowly he looked over his shoulder back at the direction he came. The air around Otres Upward Relations seemed a bit dark now. Maybe it was due to a broken lamp, but Kniges had an awful feeling that he might receive some bad news. He shook the thought from his head before waltzing into an unlocked home as if it were his own.

 

[Dalamus Ulom]

The drow accepted the hug of his old companion, before letting go a few moments later. "I'm doing wonderful now that you're here! I've gotta say, there are just so many rude people around lately. Not even an hour ago, I was called a racial slur by this tiny little dwarf woman! Just walked right up and insulted me! Was going to rip her bones out, but I decided against it. Oh, and by Tzeentch, the movies are horrible these days! I remember not even a century ago, they were making documentaries on me. Now, they're making super fake looking action flicks, with ton of elves doing drow face. Drow face! Can you believe the audacity!?" Dalamus would explain, taking a quick breath before starting again.

"Other then those things though, I've been doing surprisingly well. Although, Tzeentch has been getting more and more pushy as of late on my mind. I keep telling him that he should be talking to Uk Vel'uss Kla'athe. You remember Uk, right? He was my replacement back in Amus. I think I introduced you two. Anyway, Tzeentch just ignores me and keeps telling me to do really weird stuff. Like murder. Stranger still, Nurgle's started doing the same thing, except with really gross stuff. Like pretending to be a fly." He rambled on for a little while, nearly oblivious to everyone and everything around him.

Suddenly, Dalamus would notice Kytrek and company beginning to leave. "I guess people are starting to head out. Want to follow them, or what?" Dalamus asked, before quickly grabbing one of the sets of blueprints and stuff them into his bag, with a muttered "Tzeentch told me to do it." As an explanation, before turning back to Shigi. "Come on. Let's go."

Some1 Lyro

 

[TripTripleTimes]

Falean, after clearly hearing the dismissal, gets up and pick up their bags. Today has been a eventful day and in three days, ze is sure that the weeks following will be even more chaotic than today's. If possible, the half-orc will be spending the time in peace until that day. Three days will be enough time to review their copy of the equipments. If the client will not give them the storage of bags like ze requested, Faelen will think again in picking something from the list.

"Well, it is nice seeing you all," Ze says as they walk towards the exit. "I'll see you folks three days from now."

 

[Some1]

Shigi smiled and nodded along with everything Dalamus said, appearing to be intensely focusing on the words being said. Although in reality he only understood half of what he said; he was talking at a speed that was hard to follow. Out of the corner of his eye he saw members of their group leaving. Dalamus saw this too, but before Shigi could respond to his question, Dalamus had already grabbed his arm and was pulling him out the door. Shigi offered no resistance.

 

[Lyro]

Three days later...

.

.

Day 1

Outskirts of Loyeqris

Fourth Level

Prof. Kytrek Rhodius
Mentioned: C.DEX ​

"If I ever find the sadist who designed these suits, I will... do something very unwise."

Kytrek cried out in exasperation as he momentarily gave up fiddling with his gloves and moved on to his collar. They had been given the manasuits over half-an-hour ago, and the struggle to put them on was only now nearing its end. He couldn't help but spare an annoyed glance at Vaila. Her suit fit just fine - a little too fine, if you asked him - and she had finished putting it on over fifteen minutes ago. Was every single engineer on this expedition some obsessive fan of hers?

Cursing again as a buckle he had just finished adjusting slipped loose, he stamped his foot on the ground in frustration. The sound reverberated throughout the metal floor and ceiling of the antechamber they had been placed in after their arrival. The trip itself had been a quiet affair - they had all managed to be punctual enough and had set off from the central station in various unbranded, armored cars. Throughout the trip, Kytrek had attempted to get some answers out of his driver, but they had remained unseen and unresponsive, hidden as they were behind tinted glass. Studying the car itself had provided no additional details either. Whoever these people were, they were thorough.

The ride took them through several winding and uneven paths, eventually reaching some kind of smaller, auxiliary cavern adjacent to the city's upper cavern. The cars had stopped then, admitting them out into the courtyard of what seemed to be some sort of military base. Or at least, a heavily fortified base. He had spotted several armed guards watching them from the surrounding walls; most of them were tall enough to be humans, but he had spotted a few smaller ones. Their faces had remained masked.

It hadn't been long before the unassuming front door in front of them had swung open revealing a white-clad and smiling man. As the man welcomed them and thanked them for their tremendous courage, guiding them through the labyrinthine innards of the base, Kytrek had studied his facial features. He was definitely a deep human, but there were signs of mixed blood in his heritage. His name, which he had announced as Doctor Pryt, was not uncommon down here either.

They had passed by several other people on their way through the base - engineers, technicians, assistants. Most seemed to be human or dwarven, but there were others too, such as elves, gnomes, and even one particularly wizened goblin. If there was a common theme to these people however is that none seemed to be suffering from any amount of withdrawal, which had surprised Kytrek; some of these races usually lived in the upper Middle, and yet here they were, greeting them politely as they passed them by. He wondered at this, but found no satisfying answers, and so kept going in silence, only occasionally interrupting their guide with a question.

Finally, they had been brought to this room and told to suit up. Small containers labeled with their names had been placed around the room, containing their suits, instructions on how to put them on, and various pieces of equipment. He had noticed some of the others had received their toys in their boxes - the ones that would fit, presumably. His had only contained a mana counter, a shoulder-mounted detachable flashlight, and a sealed protective cover for his notebook, which he had considered rather thoughtful of them. Sonata wasn't the only one who had admirers around here.

His goodwill had evaporated when he had tried on the suit. The thing was heavy. It was bulky. It was stiff. It was horrendously uncomfortable. And to top it all off, they would have to wear them every time they got into the rocket, and then permanently once they reached the Fifteenth Level. Supposedly they would shield them from mind-lethal doses of background magic, which the rocket's magical drive would begin to emit once it was engaged. When he had protested that there was no need to wear them for the first stretch of their journey, while only the conventional engine was running, he had been told it was "good practice" to put them on now. And that they had no choice in the matter. He had begun suiting up, grumbling as he did so, while Pryt watched with an insufferable smirk on his face.

"Somebody tighten the dangling cord in my back - my right glove keeps slipping,"

he announced as he pulled his collar to and fro. He was starting to feel himself sweating.

"And please tell me there's some AC in that tin can of yours."

CLEAR

 

[C.DEX]

The blood mage had followed close behind, dark bags under his eyes after several days of attempting to prepare for the journey on his own end, and a long while of restless nights filled with deliberation. Still, it was nothing new. In fact, since the esteemed professor had met the blood mage, that seemed to be the regular theme; despite attempting to avoid work if he had the chance, the mage would often be up before the working hours and awake long into lightdim. Sluggish but still functioning, he made his way into the building where they had been contracted to show, making good on his promise to be there on time. The building itself had caused a certain wonder that permeated his tiredness; seeing the guards in their posts, weapons hugged tightly to their chests, making sure that nothing was going awry. He stared a far bit more than one who was suppressed by the sight, wondering briefly if he had been in the right place at all.

He pushed the thought aside and continued into the building, not making too much of an effort to disturb the peace. He, too, asked the guide a few questions, but having mostly pertained to the nature of the building that they were in itself rather than the mission at hand. Some were answered, and some were met with a steely silence; one that attempted to shame him into stopping. It didn't work, and soon they had all joined up at the convening room. Benches lined the sides of the room as well as in the middle. It was windowless, only having two doors on either side of the room. The mage broke away, tending to his own box and toys. He set his own luggage down to do so, sliding the top of the box away and finding that he wasn't given much in the way of toys.

It was expected, after all, but that didn't mean it wasn't disappointing. He was only an apprentice; one that wouldn't have garnered any fans in his pursuits. Luckily, the subject hadn't been brought up as to just why he had been there at all, and he didn't want to press it, feeling a dull obligation to help out the old man. He took out his suit to find that the cloak he'd requested tucked neatly at the bottom. It set his mood fairly right again, as he'd briefly glanced over the instructions on how to put on the suit. He began, making fairly quick work of the task himself.

Then, he looked over.

"Having trouble?" he asked, smirking at the Professor's displeasure and shoving away his own irritation in light of the moment. "Well, to their credit, nobody wants to see you in a form-fitting suit. Me either, apparently. What's the purpose of lining it with itchy felt, other than to make this a more miserable journey? Going to the surface is already at our expense."

Tucking his helmet under one arm, he grabbed the strap on the Professor's back and fastened it.

 

[Lexielai]

Lyro C.DEX Absurdisan

Vaila Sonata

Location: Outskirts of Loyeqris

Vaila placed one hand on her hip and leaned forward teasingly. “Oh, Kytrek, what’s the matter? Age catching up with you?” she said playfully.

Unlike the other, cumbersome mana-suits equipped by the rest of the party, Vaila had the best of the best. A skin-tight suit that fit her eerily perfectly, was dark blue in color, and had streamlined versions of the life support apparatus weighing down the others. She was quite pleased with its flexibility and sense of weightlessness.

Discarded, of course, behind her was the note from the fan who created the suit. From “an enthusiastic magi-tech engineer from the eighth level,” it said, somewhere in between the words of “single” and “charming”. Vaila didn’t even bother reading it, so she didn’t even know that much. All she cared about was that it was very comfortable, and really complemented her legs.

Vaila leaned back upright, twirling her finger in the air. “Alright. Quickly, minions!,” she said, amused by the rest of the party’s struggles. Vaila adjusted the strap attaching her new violin across her back, keeping one hand still resting on the flute attached to the belt across her waist. Her eyes wandered over to the faun, Xhin, wondering how the adorable runner was faring with her suit.

 

[Jeda Teq]

The vehicle transporting Kniges was the last to link up in the convoy. It was an amored police vehicle. Two days prior he had been taken into police custody after a sleepong incident in the home of some locals. He was mistaken for a dragon but when some members of the guild arrived they recognized him. With much glee in their hearts they had him locked up. Thanks to his current employer he wasn't kept as long as he should have.

Once they arrived at the gates one of the armored officers kicked Kniges out the back of the truck. Finally waking up, Kniges picked himself up from the ground. With a confused expression. Tearing of his cuffs and shackles, He followed behind the group as they were escorted into the building.

In the room where they were to acquire their equipment and prepare Kniges finally managed to rip the muzzle from his face. Smacking his scaly lips together and stretching his mouth he saw a box with his name on it. 'Dr. Dick VonVoom'. Upon opening the box he saw a metal suit with a green cloak. The limbs were far too long and skinny for Kniges to make any use of it, "Hey! Who's the Knuckle head that designed mine? It doesn't Fit!" Hissed at the nearest staff member, after he put on the cloak. It was then he was presented with another suit, one that was extremely baggy. So baggy that it would appeared to have been meant for an extremely large man. The suit did allow room for Kniges' long tail and wing. However he felt cramped inside without the ability to move his tail and spread his wings around. "This is soo dumb"

 

[Some1]

The past few days had been uneventful. That is what Figi wrote in the journal, anyways. In reality, Figi was quite busy during his day. He woke up alone in an inn, and after some reading to catch himself up on the situation, decided to go out on the town. Since he believed that no one else would grab the things they needed (or wanted) Figi took it upon himself to "obtain" a few choice objects. Namely a guitar. He was still sore about Tigi forgetting to grab it before they left, so he grabbed a new one from a local music store. It was a nice guitar, homemade, he believed. It was a beautiful guitar, made with real wood imported from the upper levels. The pale-brown top being made from maple and the dark chocolate bottom and sides being made from rosewood. Whoever made this clearly spent hours laboring on it to make sure it produced the best sound. It might even be better than his old guitar back at home.

He had grabbed a few other items, including some tea herbs and a flask, and stashed them away, as he did not trust his other selves to not lose them before the trip. The last thing he remembers from that day is getting drunk in a tavern and passing out. Next thing he knew he was waking up on a roof in the middle of town, with no money. Neither Shigi nor Tigi said they did anything with it, but he knew one of them was responsible for losing it all. He grabbed the stuff he had hidden away and met up at the address Shigi wrote in the journal. And after a long car ride of silence (which let Figi write an essay about why the pursuit of magic would benefit them all in the journal for the other two to read later) He and the group had finally arrived at what he assumed to be the rocket they were going to ride in.

Locating the box with his name on it, he was dismayed to find out that the only thing that was in there was the stupid suit. The others had gotten nifty gadgets and other interesting things, but he got nothing other than the suit. "I see how it is. No one cares enough about poor old Figi to give him a small parting gift. How come no one ever considers how I feel? Huh?" Figi muttered to himself as he stuffed himself into the suit. It was a bit tight, as it was designed for a smaller being, but he could make it work. A few cuts here and there would make it better.

"Alright let's get going" Figi said, walking away in a random direction.

 

[Lyro]

Prof. Kytrek Rhodius
Mentioned: C.DEX Lexielai Jeda Teq Some1 ​

Kytrek glowered at Cyell and Vaila in turn.

"Both of you can shut it. Especially you,"

he added to Vaila as he looked at her suit in envy once more.

"By the time we get to the top, I'll have the perfect spell to handle this. Until then, no comments."

At least he seemed to be faring better than the dragonborn. He took solace in that, feeling slightly hypocritical about it. As for the quiet one, he puzzled him slightly; he had taken to referring to himself as "Figi", even though he was practically certain that he'd used a different name three days prior. His behavior seemed slightly different too, but maybe that was just his imagination.

Looking around the room, it seemed everybody had more or less finished putting on their suits. Kytrek picked up his helmet along with the rest of his equipment and heavily walked towards Vaila.

"No comments,"

he reminded her in a low growl, just as the door behind her swung open.

"Time to be on your way, now,"

said Pryt cheerfully, as he in turn opened the door behind him they had come through.

"The rocket's control systems are mostly automated, and its trajectory is preset. Even you should have no trouble operating it. Just remember what I've told you; in case of doubt, consult the onboard manuals. We'll be in radio contact until about a minute into its flight. Good luck!"

The end of his speech was punctuated by a small salute, following which he turned around and exited through the entry door, closing it behind him.

On the other side of the room, the open door revealed a narrow corridor, bordered on both sides by large windows looking into the cavern outside. As Kytrek approached one of them and looked to his right, his breath caught in his throat as he stared at the launch pad outside.

The cavern itself wasn't so much large as it was tall; it had almost certainly been carved out artificially, at least in part. A narrow shaft in the ceiling seemed to go on forever above them, and directly below it lay the rocket itself. A towering goliath of dwarven engineering, it looked like the entire cavern could have collapsed on it without even leaving a dent. Various crews seemed to be making the final preparations, checking inventories and testing controls from inside its cockpit. The boosters on its bottom were producing a continuous white fog, obscuring the workers on the ground, while an ambient orange light gave the scene an eerie glow.

Of much more immediate concern to Kytrek, once the sense of wonder had faded, was the distance between them and the rocket they would have to walk in these suits. The corridor they were in seemed to lead directly to the launch pad, several hundreds of meters away. With a groan, he tore his face away from the window and resumed his walk.

"Let's get this over with."

CLEAR

 

[TripTripleTimes]

The three days before the launch date passed by in peace for our half-orc, Faelen. They spend their time mostly writing. From writing letters to their family to form of requests for equipment enchantment and repairment, Faelen had made sure to prepare zeself for the fast travel mission to the Surface. Of course, the green skin giant took the time to read through their stack of papers from the meeting (though in truth, ze ended up skimming the thing. At least ze tried.) and shopped around the city ze for items ze thought useful for the mission.

In the present time, Faelen adjusts the strap of their suit one more, this time around their chest, and then twists their hip around to test the fit of the suit. It is still much too bulky and awkward to the half-orc’s taste and ze just sighs and gives up trying to look nice in it. Aside from the aesthetic of the suit, the wear of the suit is clearly for the protection but definitely not for motion. Looking over to Vaila in her own custom made suit, Faelen expressed their opinion on the suit’s lack of mobility and flexibility out loud. It is a high wish to hope that the client will be able to provide the team with better suit by the time they reach the last stop on the uppermost level. Imagen fighting in the suit. Just imagine it, especially if they are the one swinging a sword around. Faelen perks up when the professor says something about a spell.

Without any more complaints from the half-orc, Faelen slings on their pack and claymore to their back, secures their trusty frying pan to their hip, and finally draps their pristine red cape over zeself. It’s an old thing, often worn in their travel but Faelen has sent it for an upgrade a few days ago. It arrives in the box with the suit. Made of waterproof material, the cloth produces an afterimage, very effective when Faelen is moving quickly and subtle when ze is moving calmly or when doing everyday activate.

Faelen follows the group through the open door and takes a peek out the window in the corridor. Ze had seen the blueprint and saw the number of the size of the rocket, but being in the presence of it all seems to finally seep into the half-orc.

“So, this is it,” Faelen says out loud and follows Kytrek towards the centre of the cavern. Then under their breath, they mumble, “This is almost surreal.”

 

[C.DEX]

"All this for us...? They might be putting too much faith." Cy said, ducking his head closer to the frame of the window in order to get a better glance upwards. He let out a deep sigh, wondering. Feeling quite like he'd got himself in over his head. And by all means, he had. But he wasn't there to impress his employer, anyhow, so he shoved those thoughts to the back of his mind and willed his feet to step forward. One at a time. This made for a very long walk, of course, and the suits adorning them didn't aid much in the way of speed. That, and he'd stuffed all of his belongings into a dufflebag half the size of himself, carrying it close to his body.


"I wouldn't be surprised if you had only one spell prepared by the time we got to the top." Cyell chided, though his intentions weren't exactly malicious. "If you're complaining about the walk now ... well, we have to get to the Surface. I don't really like it, either." he said, a sigh rattling through his chest. "But it'll be worth it. We're going to see some things that no one has seen before. If we go by there, too, I'd... Maybe like to go to where I last saw Izik. I don't expect to see him again, and to be honest, I'm not entirely sure exactly where it was, but..." He went silent, contemplating. "Maybe it's not a good idea after all."

 

[Absurdisan]

Xhin Dionis​

An Undisclosed Location near Loyeqris - Miserable
Tears struggled to free themselves from Xhin's eyes, a fight that they were close to winning.

The last few days had been fairly uneventful, having stayed in a local tavern she had patronised before on delivery jobs to the city. Several people from the organisation came to visit her asking for exact measurements and such for her manasuit - they obviously wanted to accomodate her as best they could - but otherwise not much had happened. When she had first been driven to the compound, it was a wonderous sight - great buildings, armed guards, scientists, it was all very exciting. But any delight and intrigue had long since left her.

The faun sniffed as she struggled to maintain her balance, having donned the manasuit that was provided to her. It was custom made for her, obviously - her cervine legs were well accounted for in the suit, and while it was a bit bulky it was otherwise a good fit. The problem was her feet. Having hooves, fauns didn't take to wearing shoes at any time, their cloven feet providing a direct connection with the terrain allowing them to easily take on challenges that any landscape may provide.

But now, this suit completely encased her legs and feet, and it was the single most awkward and debilitating feeling she had experienced - she couldn't feel the ground beneath her properly and it felt like she was constantly standing on the floor, so her sense of touch and balance was all over the place. This, coupled with the general unwieldiness of the suit, meant that she could barely stand, let alone run. Her main joy and ability, her speed, had been taken from her. Behind the tears welling in her eyes she wondered that if she couldn't get used to the suit, she would be no use at all on the excursion.

One hand on the wall and the other held outstretched to maintain her precarious balance, she nervously looked around the changing room as she wobbled. She had kept quiet to avoid drawing any attention to herself in her current pitiful state, and luckily it seemed to have worked. Kytrek was complaining, as expected, but even he seemed to be faring better than her. Even the half orc was doing fine. Vaila looked fantastic, even in a manasuit, which didn't surprise her at all. Unfortunately, she was looking her way. Xhin quickly averted her gaze to the floor, not wanting her idol to see her this close to weeping.

As everyone started making their way to the walkway, she holstered her sword and daggers - the suit had been designed with perfectly-placed holsters for her weapons, which was a nice touch - and picked up her large helmet, noticable taller than the others' so as to accomodate her antlers. She slowly and awkwardly hobbled to the doorway, grasping onto the wall when she reached it, and looked out the window.

For a brief moment, all of her despair was swept away as she beheld the rocket, arguably one of the finest pieces of machinery ever created, at least that she had personally seen. But her awe was short-lived as her equilibrium shifted beneath her and she dropped her helmet with a clatter, and she teetered dangerously on her feet as she tried to watch it roll away from her. Letting out a small and pitiful, "nooo," she very slowly and very carefully bent down to retrieve it, one hand firmly grasping the doorway and the other reaching as far as it could so she wouldn't have to take any steps.

Interactions & Mentions
Lyro Lexielai TripTripleTimes

 

[Enkerzed]

For the past half an hour so, Rico Bleska had been in turns pacing about and leaning against the wall beside the door as she waited for the other Uptrekkers to arrive. She was just standing beside the door when the first to arrive, a female faun, had dropped her helmet like a clod whilst gawking at the rocket.

Narrowing her red eyes with disapproval, Rico drew a final puff from her third cigarette for the day and let it out in a sigh as she said, "Better hope that ain't broken."

Flicking the spent cigarette aside, she pushed herself away from the wall and put her gloves back on as she stepped forward to introduce herself, "Name's Rico, designed the suits. Here to see how they they hold up. Would appreciate it if you didn't fuck em up before we begin."

Then when she noticed the redhead human woman wearing a distinctly different suit, Rico jabbed a finger in her direction and said, "That ain't one of mine."

For the past few days, Rico had been hoping to join a team of professionals, but so far she was thoroughly unimpressed with what she was seeing. Mentally throwing up her hands, she shook her head and said, "Ah fuck it, when you're all ready, I'll give a quick rundown on the suits before we start."

 

[Happy Red Mage]

​

Aura Cassidy was incredibly late, there was no other way to describe it. The manasuit clad demifairy was steadily making her way to the walkway. She wasn't used to wearing a suit that probably weighed almost as much as her, give or take, and added to that was the fact that she had donned her trusty backpack stuffed with reagents and completed explosives, just in case, so she was moving very slowly whilst struggling to keep her balance and her grip on her suit's helmet. Slowly, she made her way to the walkway before deciding to take a small break to catch her breathe, muttering a sentence in Fairy Tongue.

If anyone that wasn't a fairy was to approach her they'd hear the odd series of what sounded like bells, chimes, and tinkling glass. If it was a fairy, they'd probably berate her for having such a crude and foul vocabulary and using it to describe these person shaped moving prisons called manasuits.

"Sorry I'm late." She apologized as the certifiably unhinged and small bomb maker caught up with the rest by slightly picking up her pace.

 

[Lyro]

Prof. Kytrek Rhodius
Mentioned: Absurdisan C.DEX TripTripleTimes Lexielai Enkerzed Happy Red Mage ​

Kytrek looked at Cyell out of the corner of his eye. Still? It had been several months. Had he been mulling this over the course of the past few days, or was it really just an afterthought?

"The world is a big place,"

he replied, attempting a slightly gentler tone.

"Our course takes us far away from where I met you. Don't count on it."

He turned from the window and was about to begin the harrowing walk down the hallway when a pitiful sound from below gave him pause, and he glanced towards its origin. Somehow, the faun creature (one of them, at least) had already managed to cause some trouble for herself. A look at her suit's legs revealed the source of her problems, and Kytrek's expression darkened.

"Is there anything these suits can do right?"

he muttered as he walked over to Xhin's helmet and picked it up.

"Somebody pick her up and carry her before she hurts herself. You there, orc. Or better yet, Miss Sonata, since you're in such a rush."

An unexpected voice made him look up, still holding the helmet in his hands. An unknown woman, wearing another one of those preposterous-looking suits, was looking down at him. It took him a few moments for the words she had just said to sink in, and when they finally did, he straightened himself, handed the helmet back to Xhin, and...

... was immediately distracted by yet another arrival, this time coming from behind them. Who had let a kid... No. A fairy. Wonderful. Because this trip wasn't off to a sufficiently poor start.

"Professor Rhodius. And keep your bragging to yourself,"

Kytrek growled at Rico as he turned around and pushed past her, clumsily making his way down the hallway.

"So long as they do their job, these suits'll be the least of our worries."

CLEAR

 

[TripTripleTimes]

Faelen turns around to the clanking sound, only to see the poor tiny Fauna struggling to get her helmet. With professor Kytrek picking up the helmet, the half-orc makes their way towards Xhin, towering over her, before gently scooping her up with both arms. Ze adjust the weight around for a moment before asking, "Comfortable?" to Xhin.

Faelen then turns to look at the two newcomers. Both the two newcomers have their reasons for Faelen's eyebrows lift. The girl's appearence is an odvious surprise as Faelen was taken aback that a child of all things would be joining them, but after a single look to her back, Faelen realises that this is no mere motal.

"No worries and welcome," Faelen greets the child-like being. The half-orc stares at her a little bit long, not to be rude but because of the soft chimes ze realises that are coming from her. Ze smiles down at the fairy before continuing on to the other newcomer.

The other, a much taller gal than the first, is a bit harder to pin-point and judge in Faelen's perspective. The half-orc notices the scar poking out from under her side sweeped fringe and the tattoo on her arm is an impressive sight.

Seeing Professor Kytrek's gruff mood, Faelen looks on amused and looks back at the grey haired woman. "Don't mind him too much, but no offence, the suits does not have the best mobility. So excuse us when the suits are altered during our travel."

Something clicks in Faelen's head seeing the creator of the suit on the other side of the door, in the long hallway with the rest of the party. Ze looks up and down at the... scientist and then at the door with a confused look drawn on their face.

"Aren't you on the wrong side of the door?" Ze asks, brows drawing down with their confusion.

Absurdisan Enkerzed Happy Red Mage Lyro

 

[Jeda Teq]

Walking fast to get ahead of everyone, Kniges was holding the waist of his suit. His tail had to encircle his body so he could wear it. If he had let go it would make the suit drag down on his shoulders. The extra weight didn't impede his movement, but the restriction of movement with his second pair of arms and tail made him cranky. Occasionally he could be seen trying to remove the suit, but the gloves limited the dexterity of his nimble fingers.

His eyes grew wide the moment the Rocket came into his sight. He had instantly forgotten about his discomfort and began to run, on all fours, towards the ship. The sound of tearing fabric could be heard as he zipped past Rico. Either he was given the wrong suit or the engineer who designed them forgot to account for the jagged spikes that lined his back and his sharp claws. That, however, was of no concern to Kniges. He wanted to be the first to climb to the top of the "Sword" and claim it as his own. "THAT'S THE SWORD I WAS PROMISED!!" He shouted with excitement.

 

[Enkerzed]

Rico had already guessed that she would dislike the professor as soon as she saw his bespectacled features, but it brought her no solace to have her suspicions so swiftly affirmed when the surly old scholar went above and beyond to fulfill all expectations within a matter of seconds. As soon as he opened his mouth, Rico knew they were simply not going to get along, even more so after he so rudely barged his way past down the hallway with his eyes myopically set upon the rocket.

When another of the uptrekkers approached to speak, an orc of some kind, Rico could only nod her head and mutter 'mm hmm' as she half-listened whilst struggling to maintain her composure. Then someone else, or rather something, came bounding past with mindless enthusiasm and thereby broke the dam walls of Rico's limited patience.

Venting her frustration in a single depressurizing sigh, she lifted her red eyes towards the dragonborn and held him back with a casual flick of her fingers, using telekinesis to yank at the back of his collar before saying, "Hold it right there, scales." Turning her scarlet gaze on the professor, she continued, "You too, mister egg head. Trust me, you'll wanna hear what I'm about to tell you."

Rico remained where she stood as she lifted a beckoning finger, telekinetically floating a cigarette out of her suit's pocket and towards her lips. Afterwards, she held a thumb towards its end, conjuring a flickering flame to light it until it glowed and began to singe. Then she drew in a deep puff of smoke, as much to calm herself down than to demonstrate what she wanted to convey.

Exhaling with no small amount of relief, the manatech engineer spoke, "As you can see, you can still use magic without any problems in these suits, but as soon as you put your helmet on, it becomes a sealed environment. Feels like you're in the deep levels, but don't worry. Still lets you use magic. Only difference is, the suit acts as a substitute for your body and whatever mana you get is siphoned from the suit instead of the outside. Becomes a middle man. Keeps you from going crazy. Keeps you from dying too. Same deal with the rocket. Long as you're inside, you should be safe."

Rico paused to take another drag from her cigarette before continuing, "You only get three spares each. Fuck one up, I might be able to patch it up, depends on the extent. If it's an emergency though, each suit has a resin injector in the pocket. Small black disc, can't miss it. Just take it out, cover the breach, pull the plug and twist. Hole's too big, you can activate the suit's mana shield by tracing any of the runes on your collar. Runes are embossed so you can feel em through your gloves. Lasts for an hour. Spend it wisely if it comes to that coz if all else fails, you're screwed."

Then another puff of smoke before looking towards the red haired woman. "Dunno if your suit has as many fail-safes, blue, but the resin should work on any material, including yours. Otherwise, you got spares in the rocket. Any complaints about the fit, you'll just have to get used to it. They're uncomfortable no matter what, but they'll keep you alive so don't fuck around with them. Any questions?"

 

[C.DEX]

Cyell afforded a small grunt of malcontent at the Professor's answer. That was that, he supposed. But he couldn't really expect anything else. It was a pipe dream. Or a nightmare, as it was. Then, his attention had been captured before he had more time to mull about the situation. It was a positive thing for Kytrek, who would undoubtedly be bothered by the troubled youth. Before looking to the weary, red-eyed engineer, he afforded a closing thought. "I figured, but I also figured I'd ask. I'm not sure our course anyway; I didn't read it." he admitted, never particularly attempting to feign a lie toward his laziness regarding the subject.

He turned his attention to the red-eyed manatech engineer, brow contorting when he'd seen her use magic as if they were in an environment that would allow it. It was kind of ingenious, actually. After all, mana madness was a very real thing; one that he'd seen himself, firsthand. If the suits could protect them from that, then they were a holy grail, and the woman wasn't getting as much credit as she deserved. And she still wouldn't, because she wasn't getting it from him. He offered a small, "Neat," and pulled the disc from his pocket as she'd elaborated on how to use it. He placed it back inside the pocket soon after and fastened it down, unwanting to tempt fate with the small life lines they had been given. Unlike the others, he thought, as he'd glanced to Kniges and ... was it Figi?

"So that means you're coming with us?" he asked her, more curious than the Professor, but also not having made up his mind either way on whether he'd appreciated the thought or not.

Enkerzed Lyro

 

[Lyro]

Prof. Kytrek Rhodius
Mentioned: C.DEX Enkerzed ​

Kytrek had stopped in his tracks when the woman had told him to listen, the tone of authority in her voice getting to him despite his misgivings about her. What she was saying was interesting after all, even though she seemed to be making it as hard as humanly possible for him to listen. He sniffed as the foul-smelling smoke from her cigarette reached him; while the professor wasn't a stranger to smoking, this smelled of cheap, mid-imported tobacco, where none of the quality plantations were to be found.

"If half of what you claim to have invented is true,"

Kytrek began, waving his hand back and forth to clear the smoke in front of him,

"you're a bright one. I'll give you that. At least one other person will be competent on this trip. But watch your attitude - I've dealt with your type before, don't test me."

With that, he turned and resumed walking, answering Cyell's question as he passed him by.

"What do you think, boy? I doubt even she would walk around in these suits for fun."

No thought was spared for the rampaging dragonborn; the farther away he got from them the better.

CLEAR