Graded [Ryken City] Faster than the Fastest

[Shatter Shard]

Dayle Keller
"Red Star's Bastard Dog"

Strength
Precision
Intelligence
Vitality
Speed

[ A ]
[ F ]
[ E ]
[ A ]
[ B ]

C

Active Titles:
Human | Thug | Unruffled | Underbelly Survivor | Crimson Troop

-Ryke-
Capital City Ryken

Code by: Shatter Shard

Dayle and his men laughed even harder. "You really are a dumbass, aren't you?" Dayle wheezed. "What made you think I'd accept that?" He scoffed and gave the rhino a mocking expression. "Yeah, sure, have a fistfight with a guy clearly under your weight, and not in the best conditions to fight. That'll improve your image." Dayle shook his head as if dealing with a child, and he doesn't even know how to deal with a child.

Now that the guards were already too near, he and his men couldn't afford to stay any longer. They haven't done anything, sure, but he'll be damned if he'd let the authorities do something to him. "But you know what, rhino? I'll take you up on that, yeah? Three days from now, I'll find you." Dayle promised as he and his man started walking away. "Until then, get ready." He pointed at the rhino and grinned, before turning around to finally run away. The rest of his men gave the rhino man and the onlookers one final threatening nod, before running away as well.

Mentions: Elvario

 

[RavenSong]

Amelia had been mid air a few feet when she slashed the darting bird, the first crashing onto her claw with a clang as feathers and poultry matter flew about, most of it taken by the wind. Perhaps it was her footing, her lack of timing or simply bad luck, but all she could feel was a sudden warmth in her arm, after slashing at the other bird.

Time appeared to stop for a few moments, her eyes widened, as the severed nerves in her arm roared with alarm.

She cursed under her breath as her opposite hand came over the injury, it wasn’t too terrible of a wound, but one that she’d need to at least get wrapped, as soon as possible. “Dammit..” she muttered, “..I.. can’t quit, now.” She groaned, before quickly turning around and making her way towards the others.

She suddenly thought of Isac, and how he was likely expecting her anytime now back in the Trelan Woodlands, near the north fork. Not that the satyr was family, but as close to that as she had in her life. If only her ideals hadn’t gotten in the way, along with her curiosity, she wouldn’t be in this mess.

Once atop what appeared to be a treehouse, she’d look at the opened portal, then watch as the half fling searched the place, before finding another one in a cupboard. “Ugh.. clever..” she said, as blood dropped down her arm onto the floorboards of the lofty tree house. “..we’re too far into this now, our best bet will have to be the less obvious one. Let’s go.”

After entering, she jumped forwards, rolling onto the ground. She quickly got up however, as she realized she’d just rolled in snow. “Y-you’ve g-got t-to be kidding me!” She exclaimed, as she shielded her eyes from the blizzard. Her tailed quickly wrapped around her leg, and her ears sort fell to the sides of her head. “This really sucks!” She complained, before Orchid pulled out a towel, which the neko quickly took. “T-thanks!”

Turning to Victorique, she started, “There’s no way this half fling will get very far in this..” Amelia would take a few steps back as a gusty wind pushed against her balance. “..it looks like that might be where he’d go.” Amelia suggested as she pointed at the giant apparently frozen hand. She would wince as the shock of her wound would wear off. She’d take a little snow, and place it on the wound however, to hopefully minimize the bleeding.

[Survival F]

 

[Elvario]

Mentions: Orchid Lucius Cypher | Amelia RavenSong

Victorique Sopheana
​

“S-s-s-so... f-f-f-uck—king... c-c-c-old.” Victorique shivered. She'd followed up shortly after the Orc, only to be hit full by the brunt of this cold weather and hadn't quite recovered from it. Did they fall for a double-bluff? Had the obvious portal been the right one? She tried using her usual tactic, using Ultimate Past Detective E to see if she could see where the thief had went. She couldn't. Either he'd never been here or he had left and vanished from this area more than a minute ago. “Let's... mo-m-ve.. Before we fr-freeze.” She tried following those words up by actions, but almost instantly slipped n the slippery ice and had to dance around to keep her balance. Great. Her greatest ability, her speed, was practically nullified on a surface like this.

She looked around for tracks, but rather than freshly powdered snow, most of the ground were thick ice sheets that didn't leave much of an imprint when stood upon. The cat already wanted to go towards the hand, but Victorique was sceptical. “Assuming he's here to begin with, I doubt he'd go towards the only place that stands out. Unless he was sure that he'd lost us already.” She had no clue what to do, until something occurred to her. “That Elixir he s-s-stole, I doubt it can withstand f-f-reezing. If he risks s-staying in the cold with it f-f-for too long, it might f-f-freeze and break, or get useless. It's a bit of a s-s-stretch, but if he's been here, he must've left s-s-short after. If we split up and go look for a p-portal, we might find it before it vanis-s-shes.” It was their best option, at least according to Victorique. The cold didn't help her think things through and made pronouncing them between the shivers all the more tough.

Within reasonable distance, there were three spots of interest. The obvious one they'd already noted; the hand. It'd need some climbing or jumping to fully inspect it from top to bottom, with the risk of slipping and falling off. A less obvious one, the ridge to the left of it. There might be some openings there to hide stuff in there, such as a tactically hidden portal. Finally, just before them and stretching out back and away from there, there was a crack through the ice that was just broad enough to fall into, but easily deep enough to cause a deadly fall. It would be very dangerous to investigate without the risk of slipping and falling into it, but that might be a good reason to make use of it for hiding portals. “Right, who's going to go where?” Victorique asked, managing to stop shivering for just long enough to get a full sentence out.

B Grade Cooldowns energised (3/3)
C Grade Cooldowns energised (2/2)
D Grade Cooldowns energised (1/1)
E Grade Cooldowns energised (0/0)
Ultimate Past Detective – Appraisal E, Heightened Senses [Hearing/Sight] E, Insight E, Investigation E, Perception E, Postcognition F – Character peers up to one minute into the past of a specific creature or object and combines all their applicable senses and knowledge to get to the bottom of a mysteries or to be on high alert for clues, dangers or hints. – Grade E – 0 Post Cooldown.

Mentions: Dayle Shatter Shard

Enraged Rhino Warrior

​

Spoiler: Full Image

Dayle's challenge was heard, but not answered. After all, the Rhino was not planning to stay in Ryken for that long, having already been planning to return to Kuridan prior. Dayle didn't need to know that, though, as the Rhino didn't bother about the chance of looking like he'd fled. The Rhino was already glad he'd been (at least in his own mind) able to chase off the thugs without losing face. When the guards came, he gladly bragged about it. “Some thugs were bothering the good folk here, but I managed to chase them off.”

OOC: If you want to move on Dayle to the next RP, I'll consider this the end of his participation. I don't think I'll end the thread in Ryken, so it'd only be in the aftermath that he might briefly get mentioned again otherwise.

 

[Lucius Cypher]

Tags: Victorique ( Elvario ), Amelia ( RavenSong )​

---

Sneezing violently before putting her helmet back on, Orchid looked to Victorique when she suggested the group split up. "All due r-r-respect boss, never split the p-p-party. Already lost Dayle. This place is too d-d-d-dangerous for all three us, going separately. Shit goes one, it'll be too late to s-s-s-save us." Despite her heavy layers, even Orchid was getting cold. Frankly she just wanted to get out of here fast, so if Victorique was insistent that everyone split up, Orchid wasn't going to argue it. Taking out a lantern, Orchid turned it on to provide some light and warmth. It wasn't a lot of warmth, but it was at least better than having no warmth at all. She gave it to Victorique, since she was smaller and was more likely to freeze to death in these conditions.

"Right. Let's just get this over with." Moving her body so that she can stay warm, Orchid looked at the three places that the thief could've went. There was the giant hand, which looked perilous enough. Than there was a ridge, could be some hiding spot there. And finally a ravine that Orchid just now noticed. That could've made for a messy fall. "I'll search the r-r-ravine. Fucking cold! Cripes.... I can secure myself with a harpoon, and then I'll dive in, see if I can find something down there. I'll let you know ASAP what I find." Plus hopefully being within the ravine itself would protect Orchid from this windchill. Hopefully there weren't monsters in there but if there were, hey, maybe she can make some sort of coat out of their skin. At this point Orchid was half tempted to skin Amelia for a warm scarf, but maybe that was just the cold getting to Orchid's head.

 

[RavenSong]

Amelia, quickly ripped a piece of the towel, wrapping it around her wound. Shivering uncontrollably, as she heard Victorique's assessment, struggling to keep her teeth from chattering. Her green accented eyes went to all of the three locations mentioned. She crossed her arms closely to herself, her knees the same as she pointed towards the giant hand. "I c-can inspect that.." She wanted to go down the ravine for the same reasons Orchid did however, but it was simply too cold to even begin to argue, "..his p-p-portal has g-got to be there!" She said with a healthy dose of confidence. Her hope was that there would be some kind of cave along the path, somewhere she could start a fire, not that she planned on staying, but her instincts certainly wanted out of this cold as much as her. "I'll call out i-i-if I find anything like a portal."

With that she began to make her way towards her intended destination, shivering and meowing a bit when the gusts got too strong along the way.

[Survival F]

 

[Elvario]

Mentions: Orchid Lucius Cypher | Amelia RavenSong

Victorique Sopheana
​

“If we don't s-s-plit up, we'll risk los-s-ing him and freezing h-here.” Victorique retorted to the comment that they shouldn't split up. She had no clue how long those portals from the thief stayed up, but she feared they were on a timer. She did hug the lantern like it was a long-lost childhood teddy bear that finally got out of the attic during spring cleaning. As the others started to head their own ways, Victorique started to slip and slid towards the cliffs, all while hugging the lantern tightly. The cliffs were... just that. Cliffs. Try as she might, she couldn't find a single thing of interest at them. Perhaps the others were better off?

Amelia was able to make her way towards the hand and although there wasn't a cave on the path, standing behind the hand did at least get her out of the wind somewhat. However, ass he was getting closer to inspect it, she'd notice something... Did that hand just... move? Surely not... right? A crack. Another crack. The ice around the hand was cracking. That was... weird. The cracks got bigger. Now either her eyes were fooling her, or that finger really just wiggled a little. That's when she'd likely realise. This hand wasn't just a statue or from some frozen body. This was the hand of something alive. Something big. Something about to wake up! With the hand being of solid rock and many times larger than them, they'd have no chance of facing whatever this was, but would they be able to make it out before the rest of what this hand belonged to would be able to make it out of the ice?

Orchid, being the largest of them, would actually find it tough fitting into the ravine. The main reason she hadn't spotted it sooner was due to how narrow it was. It could be mistaken for just a small ditch, yet it went far deeper than that, deadly so. Her size would help her, oddly enough, as whilst it made fitting in more difficult, it also allowed her to take hold of both sides of the ravine. As she got in deeper, she'd get out of the wind and a tad bit warmer. Her plan worked. However, she'd soon find something even better than warmth. A small cave, halfway down into the ravine, with something glimmering in the back. Upon closer inspection, it was the portal! That said, it seemed to be flickering and fading...


Victorique CD's
B Grade Cooldowns energised (0/3)
C Grade Cooldowns energised (0/2)
D Grade Cooldowns energised (0/1)
E Grade Cooldowns energised (0/0)

 

[RavenSong]

After what seemed like an eternity, Amelia had finally arrived at the giant hand coming out of the ice. The neko was shivering, her arms crossed, her ears low and her lips starting to get a little blue along with a bit of frost. Once at the scene, she looked around, mountains with snow, cliffs with snow and fissures with snow. Snow. Snow. And guess what else? More snow. She thought, too cold and heat too precious to even speak.

She’d place a hand above her eyes, looking out into the distance in search of Victorique or Orchid, but it seemed they were also searching their respective locations. Amelia hopes they had better luck than her. But then again it was her luck that had brought her here, or lack there of, it seemed.

Suddenly, the sound of ice cracking could be heard, Amelias ears would detect it, however it’d be difficult to pinpoint as to where the rumbling was coming from, what is the cliff? An avalanche? The beastkin would then look towards the ground, a fissure beginning to form right in between her feet, then quickly noticed there was many fissures opening. She’d take a few steps back, her breathing getting quicker with anxiety as she barely caught the hand moving it’s fingers. It was then that Amelia quickly understood that there was something awakening beneath the ice, how she woke it up she didn’t know, but she started to run back towards the other two. Suddenly, she wasn’t very cold as the adrenaline forced her limbs to move.

 

[Lucius Cypher]

Tags: Victorique ( Elvario ), Amelia ( RavenSong )​

---

In hindsight, perhaps Orchid shouldn't be spelunking into tiny holes in the ground. Using her poleaxe to chip away at the ice, Orchid made sure to anchor herself via a harpoon attached to a rope, and shimmied her way down. While her orichalcum armor allowed her to easily scrap and cut her way through the ice, the fact that Orchid was sandwiched between ice and stone suddenly made Orchid feel very claustrophobic. There were even a few moments where Orchid thought she was stuck and started panicking, but she kept her cool and kept going down. Soon she felt a warm breeze, which provided some comfort. It didn't exactly thaw Orchid out, but this literal breath of fresh, warm air gave Orchid the strength to push forward. And sure enough she saw the portal! It looked... Strange however. Maybe it was fading?

Suddenly Orchid heard some sort of trembling above. "Oh for fuck's sake! An earthquake, right now?! Shit!" Orchid needed to get back to the group, and more importantly get the hell out of here! She began to climb the rope back to the surface, following the path she had already made. If she had an opening for it, she'd just jump straight out of the hole, or at least closer to the exit. Once she surfaces Orchid raised her poleaxe into the air to try and get the other two girls attention. "HEY, OVER HERE! I FOUND THE PORTAL, HURRY!" Orchid saw something moving where that giant hand was... Or perhaps that was the giant hand, now awaken. Orchid did not want to have to fight that thing in this condition, right now.

 

[Elvario]

Mentions: Orchid Lucius Cypher | Amelia RavenSong

Amelia would find herself slipping and sliding across the ice as fast as her legs could carry here, as more and more movement started to be shown by the hand behind her. She'd soon know where to change her direction towards by the sound of Orchid's voice and the sight of her pole-axe.

Victorique Sopheana
​

Victorique had been casually going through the motions of investigating nooks and crannies when she felt an odd tremble, but she didn't think too much of it. Ice tended to move, right? It was only when Orchid called out and her sharp hearing picked up on it, that she started to make her way back... only to see Amelia sprint from something... wait... was that hand coming out of the ice? Her heart skipped a few beats, but then she set off in a sprint, slipping and sliding her way towards Orchid.

Just before the Orc, she tried to slow down, but ended up slipping and sliding right at the Orc. Then again, the one likeliest to get hurt from the impact with Victorique herself. Either way, they managed to make their way down as an entire arm started to come into view behind them. If the portal closing wasn't a good reason to want to get the hell out of here, the awakening giant sure was. As they managed to barely threw themselves through the portal before it closed, the pleasant warmth Orchid felt would soon make way for something else...

Sweltering heat. The sun burning down on their skins relentless and having just come from the bitter cold, the temperature shock was enough to make them feel sick and even dizzy, especially in combination with the portal-travel making them feel like their bodies were being made into mince-meat once more. Orchid, in her heavy armour, would feel particularly toasty.

“Ughgh...” Victorique grumbled, as she was trying to keep it together and not just pass out from what going from below freezing to this level of heat was doing to her body. She failed and flopped over onto her stomach, trying not to pass out.

As they were eventually able to regain some composure, they'd spot some bones of an animal and humanoid, a few dead trees, another ravine (this one not all that deep) and some rock formations surrounding them. There was no immediately sight of the thief they'd been chasing and Victorique wasn't in any condition to try using her post-cognition. She did manage to turn around on her back. “This sucks... I'm starting to feel like we're being played with... also... what in the world was up with that giant hand moving?!?”

 

[RavenSong]

Amelia ran, ran as hard as she could, she'd turn her head only to briefly see the hand spur to life and crash onto the glacier picking the rest of its body up from within the ice. A rumble could be heard, or was it a roar?

The blizzard made it very difficult to see, but soon to her great relief, the neko would spot Orchids pole axe. Then shortly after that, she'd see Victorique peek from above the snow, "Run! It's a stone giant!"

Amelia would follow closely behind the other two, panting with anxiety and a good bit of fear that could be clearly seen upon her features. That would be the last of what Amelia would see of the giant. But before them time was of the essence, and quite frankly it wasn't even a question in Amelia's mind to simply jump through, anything was better than this. The neko would be the last to enter the shrinking portal, her tail just barely making it past before it closed.

Once on the other side, Amelia would shield her eyes, "Ugh! its.. so bright here!" She'd complain as the snowflakes and ice on her boots would quickly vaporize in this entirely opposite environment. Her otherwise wet hair and fur on her tail would also evaporate, and whatever didn't simply dripped onto the parched earth beneath her feet.

The sudden change of temperature would cause her to get a bit light headed dizzy, but unable to sit on the burning hot rocks for obvious reasons she simply crouched down until her mental state balanced itself and got used to the blistering heat.

"Where are we now?" She said, as she rubbed her eyes and brushed her ears with her hands as the cold dissipated and made way for merciless heat.


Amelia nodded, "Yes, this sucks!" Then Victorique asked about the hand, "I haven't a clue. I simply walked up to it, looked around, and was about to curl up into a ball when I heard a low rumble coming from within the snow. From a distance you would think its inanimate, a statue, or even a dead stone giant, but never would I think of a living one!"

"I'm going to kill that little bastard!" She growled, looking at Orchid for equal frustration "Does he plan on doing this forever!?" A fair question she desired an answer to, however, before anyone could answer she began to look around. "There must be a way we can predict his movements. Lest our luck run out and we accidentally take a wrong portal into a vast ocean!"



"Shall we spread out again?" She asked Victorique.

 

[Lucius Cypher]

Tags: Victorique ( Elvario ), Amelia ( RavenSong )​

---

Orchid didn't have much to quip about as she dove through the portal, preparing her stomach for the inevitably nausea. She thought she'd be fine now that she knew what to expect, and for the most part she was. Didn't need to upchuck her guts. But the combination of portal travel plus appearing in a desert was quite a shock to her system. Steam rose off Orchid's body as the ice that was once coating it rapidly began to melt, and despite only being here for a few minutes at most Orchid was already feeling the heat. "Fucking hells. What's this thief made out of, if he's able to make these portals and jump through them time-and-time again? And where the fuck is he even going? At this point feels more like he's just fucking around with us by going to all of these different places." Orchid grumbled, getting rather annoyed at this whole job. She knew that Victorique was good for the money and she isn't exactly the type to mess with the mercenary, but so far Orchid felt very angry at effectively just being forced to constantly endure repeated sickness and nausea, on top of trying to find what may as well be a fly across contienets. Worse still, Victorique herself wasn't in any condition to continue, and Orchid highly doubts that Amelia nor Orchid herself had the needed skills to track down the thief at this rate.

While Orchid doubts that Victorique was going to give up anytime soon, Orchid felt the need to at least bring up the topic of planning ahead. "Nyanyan's right. We can't just keep chasing after him and expecting him to just show up on the other side of the portal, boss. We're jumping blind into the unknown, and we're getting whittled down by passive damage before we even see a foot trail. You can't stand on your feet, and crazy claws over here is still bleeding. At the rate we're going even if we somehow find the guy, we'll be in no condition to even talk to him, let alone arrest him." Seeing Amelia's wounds, Orchid reached into her pack and brought out a canteen. It was filled with refreshing green tea, to help maintain fluids, nutrients, and body temperature even in these harsh conditions. Not to mention infused with some magic to provide healing.

"For all we know we got duped the moment we dove into the cupboards. Before we start running ahead to our demise, we need to put our heads together and actually try to figure out where this thief could be going, or at the least try and keep ourselves healthy to be portal hopping and taking environmental damage to every different instance of hell we bamf to. Maybe we can start by figuring out just where the hell were at now. Like, did we just get isekai'd into a whole different universe, or are we still on the continent somewhere? Also what does the thief even look like? No one has told me who we're looking for. And finally, if we're going to be running into anymore portals we need to down some medicine so we aren't knocked flat on our ass if we happen to appear in the vacuum or space or some other bullshit like that." Hopefully getting through to Victorique to coordinate something more coherent than blind panic, Orchid would help her client sit up and offer her some water. This was just normal water, but hydration was important when you're adventuring. Especially since as much as Orchid currently hates this job, she's as good as dead if she can't find civilization, to which she needs Victorique's skills for. And if Victorique felt the need to continue on this path, than Orchid wants to at least stick around until she can safely ditch her client without dying a pathethic wastrel in the wilderness.


Cooldown F 0/0
Healthy Snack - Domestic Arts F, Healing F - Orchid makes a snack that can miraculously heal one's wounds. While it might not save someone's life, it could help them get through a rough day. Could heal minor aches and injuries, as well as some weak diseases. - Grade F - 0 Post Cooldown

 

[Elvario]

Mentions: Orchid Lucius Cypher | Amelia RavenSong

Victorique Sopheana
​

“You're right...” Victorique groaned to answer Orchid, as she dragged herself to where she could sit in the shade of Orchid's shadow whilst taking the water and medicine. It was a good thing for her that the Orc was pretty tall and heavily armoured, as it gave a fair bit of shade. She then turned to Amelia. “Part of me is inclined to spread out again, just to not loose his trail, but Orchid's right. We won't be able to keep this up for long.”

They hadn't seen much of a sign of thief since the Fae village... had they been double-bluffed by taking the cupboard portal? Or would that mean there couldn't have been a portal in the frozen hell-scape to begin with, meaning they were still on the right track? Both felt like valid options. For now, Victorique focussed on taking in the environment with [Ultimate Detective].

“The remains are humanoid. Bone structure suggest a normal human. The animal remains were... a horse, it seems. That suggests we're not too far off from more hospitable places. I've heard there were rock giants in the Paizu mountains, the location we were at previously was either in the See or Widersia... “

She drew a rough outline of the continent in the sand, then attempted to put their previous locations on it. “With how tall the trees were, we must've been pretty deep in the See, but it was also pretty abandoned, so maybe... around here? The Paizu mountains cover a smaller area and I'm fairly sure we were deep into them, so about here... then this desert. I know next to nothing here, but it's more rock than sand, so if I had to make a guess... I'd say here, the desert between the Kingdom and West Empire... That's put the previous three locations in an almost perfect trianglel, with Ryken itself being on a line connecting two of the points. Assuming nobody is able to pull off this type of magic without some sort of support, he might be forced to follow a pattern...” That still wasn't telling them much. She placed a few dots on the map, attempting to see if she could spot such a pattern. Eventually, she pointed at the Continental Lake. “Almost feels like the Bermuda Triangle...”

She snapped back out of her own world. “Ah, right. From what I saw he had blonde hair, pointed ears, wore blue and ware are-footed. Can't imagine how he didn't freeze his toes off or burned his soles.” That suddenly made her realise something.“Actually, I can imagine how... If these portals are set-up as some sort of network, he might've made them so you can only go to the edges of the triangle without some trick to it! He would've never even been in the Paizu Mountains or this desert, but would've gone straight through his destination after throwing a curveball at us in the See... or perhaps he needed to get back to this triangle frame first, as he'd have come from Ryken? Either way, there has to be a trick to using those portals to get to centre!” It was, admittedly, a fair bit of speculation, but at this rate, it was too hot to think clearly.

“We'd best start looking for the portal and pray it hasn't vanished yet. When we find it, I'd like to attempt something... I can peer a few seconds into the future. What would happen if I imagine myself going into it in a specific manner to see where I'd arrive at? Perhaps that'll help us figure out how they work. I just worry I won't be able to try it often enough before the portal vanishes, if we can even find it in time...” She was unaware that Amelia had the same ability.

As for finding the portal, they didn't have to look long. It was only a few paces away behind the rocks in their vicinity. Like the portal they found in the Paizu Mountains, however, it was shimmering and seeming to fade. Victorique gritted her teeth, as she attempted to use [Precognition F] before wanting to jump into it, but... nothing happened. Either something disconnected or perhaps there wasn't a direct timeline without actually jumping in. That's when she realised she needed to use the back-up plan. “This is gonna suck.” She sighed. “Get the rope and tie it around me. I'll jump in whilst using my precognition. Then, pull me out almost immediately after I jump in. The combination should tell me something... I hope.” She wasn't fond of the idea, but it was worth a shot. Amelia would be able to go through the same procedure, if she'd offer to give Victorique a break. Meanwhile, it was up to Orchid to keep her head cool and pull them out in time, if she'd be on board with this plan to begin with...

Victorique CD's
B Grade Cooldowns energised (0/3)
Ultimate Detective – Appraisal C, Heightened Senses [Hearing/Sight/Smell/Taste/Balance] B, Insight D, Investigation D, Perception C, Law D, Energised B – Character combines all their applicable senses and knowledge to get to the bottom of a mysteries or to be on high alert for clues, dangers or hints. - Grade B – 3 Post Cooldown.
C Grade Cooldowns energised (0/2)
D Grade Cooldowns energised (0/1)
E Grade Cooldowns energised (0/0)
F Grade Cooldowns energised (0/0)
Precognition F

 

[Lucius Cypher]

Tags: Victorique ( Elvario ), Amelia ( RavenSong )​

---

The green merc was glad that Victorique was willing to slow down and see reason for a bit. Even if it meant standing in this blistering heat for a while longer, Orchid would rather suffer through a few minutes of discomfort than quickly meet her demise. She would provide some shade to the halfling and fan her with a plate so that Victorique could cool down a little. When she brought out the map Orchid listened intently, despite not understanding most of what Victorique was saying. Orchid elected to eat one of her power bars to maintain her stamina and provide some much needed sodium to retain fluids and energy under the sun. Nothing Victorique was saying made much sense to Orchid, but she assumed that Victorique now had a more coherent idea of what to do than running into every portal they find.

Of course when they did find a portal, Victorique tried to use her magic on it but wasn't able to suss out much. "Yeah, suppose if you could figure out everything at a glance, we wouldn't even need to be here. Alright boss, I'll pull you in as soon as you go on through. Just let me tie this rope round ya in case these are one of those sucking portals that instantly pull anything that touches in. Keep your wits about ya boss. You're going to feel like shit going out, and who know what's on the other side." Taking out some rope, Orchid makes a harness that ought to hold on tight without cutting off circulation to the body. It should be able to fit Victorique or Amelia, should she choose to be the volunteer. Either way Orchid was in position to pull, bracing herself against a nearby rock in case there was some strange resistance that would pull Orchid into the portal instead of pulling Victorique out.


Cooldown F 0/0
Healthy Snack - Domestic Arts F, Healing F - Orchid makes a snack that can miraculously heal one's wounds. While it might not save someone's life, it could help them get through a rough day. Could heal minor aches and injuries, as well as some weak diseases. - Grade F - 0 Post Cooldown

 

[RavenSong]

Amelia began to breathe Increasingly heavier as her eyes scanned her surroundings. Listening to the orc curse the cat nodded along in agreement to her frustration and the substance that could make up this most frustrating thief creature. “He’s certainly, “out of this world” for sure.” She agreed.

Amelia would wiggle her nose a bit, resisting annoyance at being referred to by ‘nyanyan’ but by this point, everything was much too chaotic to really fixate on such petty things. However she would tilt her head at the orc, slightly. It would almost seem Orchid wanted to get a rise out of the neko when calling her ‘crazy claws’ shortly after however. The cat would audibly scoff at Orchid, brushing sweat off her brow with her arm. However, it was a bit amusing, “Thats a first.” She replied, rolling her eyes before spotting the pale carcass under the blistering heat.

Upon Orchids question, she decided to chime in, “Well, Miss orc, from what I made out, he’s short, blue, bare footed and a damn weasel!” Looking down at her claws, a confused tone in her voice. “A bigger question is how he managed to vanish so suddenly? I’ve caught the fastest fish no one could ever dream of catching, with my bare paws!”

Then almost as if giving a peace offering, the orc would pull out a canteen, she sniffed the air around it as a look of curiosity appeared in her feline eyes, “F-for me?” She asked, before taking it and drinking. It wasn’t common for Amelia to simply consume something from a strangers hands, but this was quite the big exception. Suddenly any annoyance Orchid had provoked dissipated like the remaining trickles of water falling off the felines hair.

As she drank she attentively listened and observed the drawing Victorique drew upon the parched earth, briefly glancing at the bones once more laid out on the ground. After the half-flings interpretations and theories Amelia blinked as she pondered. “I see. So for all we know he’s probably out there somewhere in his cozy tree house having a feast while we’re here, looking for him.” The idea made Amelias blood boil, it was very difficult considering it was unbearably hot.

Once the plan was explained, Amelia noticed the bit about precognition, certainly she was referring to the ability she also possessed to glimpse only moments into the future, making it easier to anticipate a targets movements. It was a secret. But she’d never met anyone with this remarkable ability, perhaps Amelia was simply beginning to ‘warm’ up to this unlikely party. “You mean, you can glimpse into the future too?” She asked before taking a final sip of the canteen and giving it back to Orchid. “I.. I think I can do the same..” she would sort of scratch her quickly scabbing and healing arm, looking for the words to best hide any kindness in her expression. “..you’ve gotten us this far without dying, It’d be a shame if I didn’t offer my help in return.”

Finding the portal was fairly easy, although when they found it they were already pressed for time. Listening to Victoriques suggestion Amelia nodded and intercepted the rope. “Too slow!” She interrupted as the neko quickly tied the rope around her waist. Her expression was determined, but her ears and tail betrayed her confidence, “uh.. hope for the best right? Please don’t let go of the rope. I’ll hate you forever otherwise!” She said in a sarcastic albeit teasing tone, to the others with a nod. Then dived in as if jumping into a river or swimming pool, using [Precognition F] as she did so.

 

[Elvario]

Mentions: Orchid Lucius Cypher | Amelia RavenSong

Victorique, all things considered, was not the most eager to follow-up on her own plan. It's why she didn't object at all when Amelia managed to beat her to it. “Alright, try not to die before telling us what we need to know~” Even in this heat, Victorique managed to sent the catgirl off with a nice goodbye wish just before she dove into the portal.

As soon as Amelia passed through and used her precognition, she could see herself end up in some sort of forest again, with massive trees all around her. She could neither see nor hear any sign of the thief, finding herself back in the desert almost immediately afterwards, after having been pulled back again by Orchid. The Orc, meanwhile, would start to get a little woozy from standing in the blasting sun without any shade and her armour was heating up by the minute.

On the assumption the cat would share her findings (after she recovered from the horrible feeling you got going through these things and now also being pulled back violently before landing on the other end), Victorique pondered their options. “We know they don't change their destination each time randomly, as all three of us ended up in the same place each time, but perhaps there is still a trick to it somehow... yet if it closes, we might not have any means to reopen it...” It was quite the problem.

That's when she had another thought occur. “If I temporary enclose it in a pocket dimension, I might close it off from whatever 'network' it is on. Either it'll vanish entirely and we'll be stuck in this desert, or it might try to connect back to the network at random, or in a best case scenario, to its anchor point, which is where the thief might be.” She didn't like their chances, but it was her best idea for now. “I'd estimate there to be a large chance it'll make the portal vanish and a moderate chance it'll just connect it back to another point, with only a small chance that it'll get us what we want, but it's the bets plan I have for now.” Feeling very unsure of her own plan, she looked up to Orchid and Amelia. “It's going to be a big risk, but... should I try it?”

As the question lingered in the air, however, the suddenly heard a screeching sound no the horizon. In the far distance, an odd 'cloud' of fire and smoke seemed to be heading their way. It wasn't clear what it was at first, perhaps just a mirage, but considering its size, they might not want to wait for too long to find out. They had some time left to debate their options, but the creature would be onto them soon (after this round).

 

[Lucius Cypher]

Tags: Victorique ( Elvario ), Amelia ( RavenSong )​

---

It was honestly hard for Orchid to pay attention to Victorique's explanation. Orchid just wasn't built for this environment. She honestly wished she was back at that tundra right now: Orchid can easily keep herself warm, but has no way to cool herself off in this searing heat. Even after dumping her water onto her head only provided a momentary relief, and in a minute Orchid was dry. Of everything she heard, all Orchid could recognize was that Victorique was asking them permission to do something. "Yeah sure, whatever boss. Whatever gets us the fuck outta here, gods, I can smell myself frying in my own armor. Goddamn need to install some AC in here or something, shit..." Orchid was too exhausted by this heat to even notice the creatures coming, and while she was keeping a general guard up, it wasn't so sharp that she could make out the shadowy figure rapidly approaching without someone telling her. The noise got lost to Orchid as she took her helmet off, leaving it strapped onto her belt just to get a bit of relief from the heat. "Fuck, regardless of what we find on the otherside we need to take a goddamn break or something. Need to get out from this heat...."

 

[RavenSong]

“No promises!” She called out behind her in response to Victoriques request,

What she beheld after was an immense deciduous forest, birds signing, the smell of rich loam in the air. It reminded her of home, her eyes slowly lit up as the sound of a nearby river came into her awareness, running water usually meant fish! But as soon as her feet touched the ground, the other two pulled her back out. “N-no!” She muttered, trying to come free of the rope, but it was useless. She’d get pulled back into the merciless desert, with the added detriment of teleportation sickness.

Amelia would fall to her knees, her eyes shut, and her hands on the sun baked sand. She looked down, dizzy and sick to her stomach. “I.. I just wanted some fish.” She managed, before holding her stomach and lightly heaving. It reminded her of her previous life, how she hated spewing out hair balls.

Once recovered she’d elaborate on what she saw, describing it vividly, and mentioning the prospect of food. Once she was done explaining, Amelia paid close attention to Victoriques dilemma. “I don’t think things could get much worse than this..” she said still sick to her stomach. “..I’m with your plan, but let’s hope the next place we go is either the thief, or back to the lush forest I just saw..” a bit of a desperate look overcame her feline features. “..I SO loved the place I just saw.”

The neko would soon after give a confident smirk, and a metal clad thumbs up, “Ready when you are, shorty.”

 

[Elvario]

Mentions: Orchid Lucius Cypher | Amelia RavenSong

For a moment Ntaj was himself again. He was surrounded by a dozen beautiful women with rather size-able assets, in particular in the 'behind' section of their body. They were all eager to welcome him back, expressing their utmost concern that he'd been gone for so long. It was a very welcoming return. That's when Orchid realised she was starting to suffer from some serious heat-stroke.

Meanwhile, Amelia was violently ripped back out of wonderland, asking for... fish? How peculiar. That said, Victorique noticed the ominous cloud of smoke and fire in the distance and realised they didn't have a lot of time left. With the other two sort-off agreeing with her, she used [Pocket Dimension] on the portal itself, swallowing it up and trying to take it out again. “Please don't be gone... please don't be gone...” She said, as she opened the Pocket Dimension back up and revealed... the portal to still be there!

So far so good. However, the attempt to see if it'd lead to the same place as Amelia saw, the hub place of this all or some entirely new location altogether, was going to have to be one 'for realisies' as Victorique didn't wish to spent much longer in this heat and not with some sort of fire creature flying towards them. “Alright, let's go.”

The moment they got out of the portal, they found themselves on a small dock looking up to some sort of giant structure. Ladders, stairs, roofs and chimneys were randomly located through-out, with water stretching out as far as the eyes could see in all directions. It didn't look like this place had an 'inside' but was instead a collections of buildings surrounding a single solid rock formation. It seemed to be completely empty, at least at first glance, but this was definitely something that seemed like a fair more promising thief's hide-out than any of the earlier locations they visited.

Victorique Sopheana
​

“I think it worked!” Victorique called out in relief. She quickly reached down to try scooping up some water, only to realise she was too short to reach it without jumping in. “One of you, try to get some water and taste it. See if it's sweet or salt. If it's sweet or brackish, we're likely in the continental lake, as expected.” (It's sweet water. They're surrounded by a giant lake.)

“I guess you've got plenty of place to try catching fish now.” She joked to Amelia, but then she got a tad more serious. “Let's see if the biggest fish on our list is here as well.” She said, looking around for traces, wanting to delay using her senses to their fullest until she felt a little less sickly from the heat and portal usage moments ago. “Now... if I were a thief that thought I had this whole island-construction for myself, where would I stay..?”

 

[RavenSong]

Amelia held her breath as her attention turned towards a strange cloud approaching them. Her feline eyes widened, taking a few steps back before looking back the half fling. “Uhm, you better hurry!” She exclaimed, fairly panicking, but composed nonetheless. “What the hell is that?” She said looking up at the ominous cloud.

Then Victorique moved the portal into her mysterious bag, the nekos tail twitched and curled with suspense. If her fingers could cross, she totally would, but then, to Amelias relief, Victorique confirmed the portal was still there!

“Yes! Let’s go!” She exclaimed before jumping head first into the humming portal.

Once on the other side, a strange sight appeared before her eyes. It was definitely some kind of living quarters, or perhaps many. Amelias nose instantly caught onto the smell of water, turning around to behold a large body of it. Then Victorique joked about the fish. "Ha! lol. Looks like I got my wish a thousand fold, little miss." She smiled, but only briefly, she didn't want anyone to get any ideas she was a cat craving affection or anything.

When her companion leader then attempted to gather some water to determine its properties, suddenly asking for help. The neko patted her on the head once, "You know? For having such incredible speed and wit, you have your 'little' limits." She then gathered some water and tasted it. "It's sweet. This must be some kind of body of water fed by numerous springs and rivers. But thats just a wild guess." She reached for another bit, this time cupping the puddling the water in her clawed hands, some of it dripping down her elbows. "See for yourself?"

Then it was time to get to the reason why they had arrived. She thought to stay close to the others while beginning their search for this mangy thief. She'd use her [Heightened Senses: Cat Ears F ] to hopefully detect any creaking in the floor boards, or sounds that could resemble footsteps or conversation. She'd also use [Stealth F] to keep her own presence hidden, lest they alarm the thief and sending them on another wild chase around the continent, packed with more teleporting sickness, blistering cold, unbearable heat, and unfathomable fiends.

 

[Lucius Cypher]

Tags: Victorique ( Elvario ), Amelia ( RavenSong )​

---

Orchid wasn't sure what was worse, standing out in the open of a boiling desert, or suddenly shifting through space-time and appearing in the middle of a lake. Orchid was too tired to even vomit, feeling no worse than she was before. She suppose she had that to be glad about at least. Taking a deep of breath air she was at least glad to be out of the heat. The cool lake air was a godsend compared to before, and Orchid did not hesitate to dunk her helmet into the water and splash it over her head and shoulders. If she wasn't aware she was in the middle of a lake, she would've just dove into the water and risk drowning. But she held herself back, cooling herself down with water. She even drank some, despite knowing not to drink unfiltered lake water. She did take her time to fully cool her body down however, willing to get her feet wet to help cool her body down. Orchid was left soaking wet and a bit cold, but this was far better than what she was feeling just moments ago.

Now that Orchid wasn't about to die from heatstroke, she looked around. They were on some weird floating... Building? Island? This place definitely wasn't natural, but she has no idea how someone could build what was basically a small castle on this island. The logistics implied were just astounding. And as far as a secret base goes, nothing was more obvious than a huge village in the middle of a lake. "Well, suppose we could head to the top. Looks like there's a lot more going on up there. Either that or we find a way inside, which I think we still got to go up top to reach." Orchid did note a few buildings on the side but she had no idea where they lead. "Let's keep our eyes peeled and our wits about ourselves. At best, we're visitors to a new town. At worse, we're walking right into a den of thieves. Why don't we conduct ourselves all mercenary like, make it seem like we're here to find work? If this is the town our man ran to, I'm sure they're no strangers to scoundrels. Act like we fit in, and more doors will open for us."

 

[Elvario]

Victorique Sopheana
​

Mentions: Orchid Lucius Cypher | Amelia RavenSong | Leiana NeramoDJI

Victorique merely grumbled in reply to the comment from Amelia. She wasn't little, the rest of the world was just too tall. Either way, at least she got her confirmation. “So we're indeed in the continental lake.” She confirmed to herself, not eager to try some herself. Amelia wouldn't hear anything whatsoever. “You're right, although this place looks pretty abandoned.” Victorique replied to Orchid, as she, like Amelia, didn't spot or hear anything. Of interest.

As they were starting to go through the buildings, making their way towards the top, they'd be quick to realise they were at the right place. Some of the rooms had expensive looking paintings hanging in them, some had weapon racks with fancy weapons in them (although more decorative than useful). Victorique only recognised a few of the things they came across, but one thing was clear. It was all stolen. “Either you're right and this guy isn't working alone, or he's been at it for a very long time...”

Checking every room, they eventually managed to make it to the top. There hadn't been a single sign of the thief. “Maybe he thought he shook us off and is already planning his next heist... or he realised we got here and fled. Either way, he should be coming back for his stolen wares eventually. Perhaps we can set a trap for him?” She looked around. Orchid was pretty good at jumping, the cat at climbing, she at running. “If we set things up right, we might be able to corner him at his own base. He might not suspect us to be here and if we lay down a few traps, even as simple as spanning some ropes and tripwires, we might throw him off enough to catch him.”

She liked her own idea. However, they didn't have that many supplies. “Perhaps one of these rooms even has the tools we need.” She said, as she started looking around some more. Some of the rooms had fancy statuettes in them, but she eventually found one room that was actually locked. (If Orchid and Amelia were to look around as well, they'd eventually stumble upon a tool-shed with climbing gear, ropes and other materials they could use. Along with it would be your average thieves' tools, such as crowbars and lock-picks.)

Victorique, however, was fascinated by the locked door. After some looking around, she spotted a small window a bit higher up. “I think I can fit through there...” She mumbled. “Orchid, can you help me try clear out the glass from that window? I want to check what's inside this building!” She called over Orchid. The door itself was well reinforced and could be trapped, so the window felt like a safer bet, were they to get the glass out. Orchid could easily jump high enough to reach the window and break it, although it'd leave a fair few shards sticking out. Amelia would be able to use her climbing to get and stay there. The only one small enough to fit through, however, was Victorique herself

That said, after eventually getting in, she realised the door could be unlocked from the inside. She did need a moment to take in what she spotted though. The upper floor she entered through was nothing too interesting, but the floor below that, at the level of the door, had currencies from all over the continent in it as well as all sorts of jewellery and other expensive looking items. She even spotted a desk with some notes and books on it, perhaps a dairy or notes of the thieves' new plans. Most of it was likely stolen though. Short after the she opened up the door, she confirmed her findings with Amelia and Orchid. “This seems to be the main room he uses. Considering the door locks from the inside, he might be able to portal directly into or out of this room, so perhaps we should set a trap in here.” As she was looking around to check for opportunities, her eyes fell upon a peculiar lamp.

“Oh, wow, the thief's even got his hand on one of these. Reminds me of all the fairy tales about them, where a genie would pop out if you rub them.” Although she knew they were supposed to be setting up to catch a thief, she couldn't resist giving the lamp a rub, looking at Orchid and Amelia. “You two ready to make a wish?” She said, not expecting for anything to happen and ready to get serious again after the throw-away joke.

 

[NeramoDJI]

Leiana Offer

​

Spoiler: Lamp

The lamp began to rattle a little bit as Victoriques small hands rubbed along the polished surface, as a gurgling and bubbling sound came from the lamp, a tan ooze coming from the lamps flame point. It dripped out very quickly, as a puddle of the ooze formed. It began to bubble, as suddenly it rose from the ground, a woman with six arms and exotic clothing forming from it, a smile on her beautiful face, as she stretched out her six arms. "Hello there dear customers! My name is Leiana Offer, and I am pleased to offer you some of the best deals you'll ever se-... Where am I?" She began with a happy tone, before trailing off as she realized she was not where she went to sleep, looking around the building and at all the expensive objects, looking down at the short little halfling that was holding her lamp.

The surroundings had plenty of very fancy things around, making Leiana realize someone had likely bought or taken her lamp without her knowing, leading to her being in some kind of gallery while she napped. "Oh dear me, this is terribly embarrassing. Some poor soul has bought my lamp without realizing that I was inside it." She said with a sheepish smile, rubbing the back of her head with one of her hands while three hands found themselves holding her hips, one hand under her chin in thought, and the last hand slowly moving toward Victorique. "Erm, could I have my lamp back please? I'd be happy to sell you things when we clear up whatever misunderstanding has led to my lamp being in this display room."

 

[Lucius Cypher]

Tags: Victorique ( Elvario ), Amelia ( RavenSong ), Leiana ( NeramoDJI )​

---

"Damn. This guy must be some sort of collector. He's just hording all this stuff instead of trying to fence it for cold hard cash. Think we can mess with his head if we wreck this stuff? Make him pissed and try to take us on instead of running away?" While Orchid wasn't too keen on fighting a speedy teleporter, it would certainly work in her advantage to provoke the potential thief into a fight on her terms instead of this wild-goose chase. Orchid stayed on guard in case the thief was here or had left traps, but the entire compound seemed to be lacking in any sort of defenses or security. This guy must've been very sure of his safety here to not have any sort of sentry or guard here. Hell most of the doors weren't even locked. As Orchid continued to look around she did eventually find some sort of supply closet. It was no armory, but it had plenty of useful tools for getting around, perfect for a thief trying to heist some sort of secure fortress or compound. Kind of like them, now that Orchid thought of it.

At the ideas of laying traps, Orchid needed to think carefully about this. Obviously they would need to make sure these traps are indeed subtle enough that the thief doesn't immediately spot them and sense something is wrong. Orchid imagined that the thief had senses fast enough to react to his own super speed, so a badly hidden trap would easily be avoided by him. They would need to do their hardest to distract him to reasonably hit him with anything, be it their weapons or a trap. To that end, Orchid decided to keep things relatively simple. She found vials of oil, likely used as lubricant, and would strategically pour them around the compound. Namely on stair cases and on the edges of rooftops. This way if the thief tries to go up/down a stair case, there was a high probability that he could trip and send himself tumbling. Just as well Orchid made the rooftops slippery so that if he tried to parkour up onto the rooftops, he would find a nasty surprise when he loses his grip. Naturally, Orchid made sure to inform Ameila and Victorique of her traps so they don't end up running into it themselves. Best part of all were the oil was fairly translucent, so it's not immediately obvious as to what it was.

After setting up a few traps, Orchid would reconvene with Victorique and finally find a locked door. It must've been pretty important if the thief bothered locking it up. Orchid was pretty confident she could just break through it with her poleaxe, but her client spotted a closed window that could be used instead. Too small for Orchid to fit through, maybe even for the cat girl too, but Victorqiue would fit snugly. However shattered glass wasn't the most comfortable thing to have to push through. Fortunately, Orchid still had her towel she had taken out during their tundra exploration. So once Orchid gauged how high she would need to jump, she leaped towards the window, smashing it with her poleaxe while hooking it into the wall to stay in place for a moment. She smashed the rest of the glass away using her armored gauntlet, easily breaking any remaining shards without any risk to Orchid's personal well being. Then she just laid the towel down around the window to protect Victorique from any more errant shards.

Shortly after, Victorique was able to get the door opened and let the two inside. Orchid made sure to lock the door behind them, even go as far as to jam it so it couldn't be opened easily from inside without some serious muscle. Orchid herself could easily open the door by force, but she doubts their thief had the same level of brawn as she did. Hopefully. Either way Orchid aid a few more oil slicks around the room too, once again at stairs but also near any windows. As Orchid was finishing up the oil slicks, she saw Victorique mess with some fancy lamp. "Careful boss. Don't know what most of this stuff does. I imagine they're magical in some fashion though, this guy isn't some petty thief." At her joke about granting a wish, Orchid smirked. "How about a hot babe with a set of legs strong enough to crush me through my armor? That'd be a dream come true."

Oh but how fate plays with Orchid sometimes. As the warrior was just about to get serious about taking down this thief, someone did come out of the lamp. A scantily clad, curvaceous woman, with six arms and a set of legs more deadly than the Undercity Champion himself. Orchid needed to put her helmet back on just to hide her thirsty expression, mentally reminding herself that she's on a job right now and cannot afford to fail because she got horny. That would be embarrassing. And yet still Orchid couldn't help but gawk as the woman appeared and introduced herself as Leiana Offer. It didn't take much for Orchid to realize that she was some sort of Genie, which made Orchid wonder just what sort of wishes this woman could grant. But once again, Orchid needed to remember that she's here for a job, and seeking pleasure now of all times could lead to catastrophic failure.

"Uh. Boss. She's uh, a real genie ain't she? Whoa. That's, damn. Who'd a thought huh? Um, hi! Name's Orchid!"

It was truly a good thing she was wearing a helmet to hide the drool.

 

[RavenSong]

When Victorique started towards the building without another word, Amelia sipped the dripping water in her hands. It was a welcomed relief after nearly cooking alive in the sweltering desert.


Amelia would evaluate the locked door that was brought to everyone’s attention. She thought about it while looking out to the window, once the half fling was through however, she opened the door to reveal an ornate room. She searched, looking under desks, and cupboards. After breaking and entering, and searching the neko sighed when it was evident the place was empty, “Dammit. He’s not here either!”

Frustrated she pushed a chair out of the way on her way out, only for her eyes to notice the faint glimmer of something shiny upon the table. “Huh?” She gasped. Her eyes glimmering along with the light reflecting from the jewel.

The cats armored hand would move some ornate clothing, and under them she’d find a jewel encrusted bracelet. Taking it in her steel claws, she’d look it over carefully.

“If something is stolen from a thief, is it still stealing?” She asked out loud, almost daydreaming. Images of poverty and disease had suddenly invaded her mind. Reminded of the arduous hardships that her clan had endured. Escaping slavery, the few free beastkin in the eastern empire had managed to organize, formidable in their own right. However, their supply routes were constantly under threat, which kept their struggle mostly secret to the rest of the continent. Not to mention anyone who managed to petition for aid, if not murdered in clandestine ways were usually referred to officials who made sure the news never got to the right authorities.

Suddenly the potential of this stash of valuable loot took on a different meaning for the neko. Her eyes scanning through the jewelry laid about the room and in cases. However, she didn’t fully know those she was with, much less trust them with such personal information.

Before she could mention anything regarding the matter however, she turned to behold a strange liquid spilled onto the floor before taking form, from within an object Victorique was holding. “W-what is that?!” She exclaimed, quickly going into a battle stance with her claws out at her sides, the bracelet now around her left wrist.

She blinked a few times, almost with disbelief at the sight that slowly appeared before the billowing thick mist. Then recoiled a bit when the six armed figure began to recite some kind of merchants offer, before realizing she wasn’t before the busy market streets of a city.

“How did you-“ she half asked, “You mean, you came out of that lamp?” Her arms were fairly outlandish to the cat, but she resisted being too astonished, her frame easing up as she began, “You mean you don’t know who took your lamp? Well, you’ll be surprised to know that you’re in a thief’s hideout, and these extravagant wares are the outcome of his plundering. As far as I’m concerned, you’re stolen property miss Leiana.” The nekos tail would sway slowly as she explained.

 

[Elvario]

Victorique Sopheana
​

Mentions: Orchid Lucius Cypher | Amelia RavenSong | Leiana NeramoDJI

The supposed joke was very quick to escalate, as some weird stuff started drooping out of the lamp. Did she fall for some trap. She wanted to throw the thing away ASAP, but worried that might only make it worse. Her best option, for now, as to hold it as far away from her as she could whilst weird looking goop was dripping out. “What the...” She mumbled, as the goop started to take the form of a woman.

As the woman started speaking, Victorique looked at her sheepishly for a moment, before figuring out the who's what and where. Sort-off. “So genies are real... yet their wishes aren't, I'm assuming?” Well, looking over her again... “Although you could probably make Orchid's wish come true.” She mumbled, before shaking her head. This was weird enough as it was already. “Like that cat said, I'm fairly sure you weren't bought, but stolen. We were planning out how to catch him when your lamp caught my eye.” She said, as she handed the lamp itself back over. As she got closer, she made sure to observe the genie with [Ultimate Detective] just to ensure she wasn't working for the thief.

After confirming the genie had no criminal titles and wasn't a monster, she nodded. “I'm Victorique, a Ryken Guild Investigator. Peculiar as our circumstances may be, it's nice to meet you ma'am.” As for selling things, that might have to wait. “You can try to sell us your wares later. We don't know when the thief we're trying to catch might return, so we'd best be on guard. Come to think of it, if you've got anything that might help us set a trap for him...” As she was speaking, an idea formed in her head. “If that thief stole your lamp with you in it and just put you here, he doesn't know what your lamp is, which means that we can catch him off guard with it... you've got six arms, that should be enough to hold him.... although the way you come out is too slow, unless you'd be coming out if it whilst heading at him so he can barely figure out what's going on...” As she was making up a plan, she grinned. “Oh, that might work.” She looked up at the genie again. “If you're up for some payback, I think I have a plan how to catch him. You come out of your lamp whilst Orchid sends it flying towards the thief. She's got a good throwing arm. Before he'll know what's going on, you can be out and on top of him.”

She realised she shouldn't forget to comment on Orchid's earlier words and work. As well as on Amelia's ideas. “As for you two... If we wreck his stuff, we might risk becoming [Vandals] and getting such a criminal title will make entering city's a pain. I'd suggest against trying to test the limits. The same goes for stealing from a thief. The fact that he took them doesn't make these items his, so if we steal them rather than return them, we'd just become another thief and risk getting such a criminal title to our names. Neither of your suggestions seem worth risking to become an outlaw and get banned from every major city on the continent.”

“The slippery stairs and surfaces might work though. If he does get to run, that should at least slow him by having to go around and at best it'll actually trip him.” As she said it, she looked around again. As she did so, a ripple started to form, somewhat similar to her [Pocket Dimension], but slightly different. “That could be the portal opening! Quick, get ready to capture him!” If they had any last-second plans, now would be the time to execute them and hide or lay in wait. With how fast that portal was opening, they'd had about 30 seconds left. The room was filled with enough curios to hide behind, the door outside had been locked by Orchid. Parts of the floor and the stairs upwards had been covered in translucent oil by the Orc as well. The portal was opening in the middle of the room, with the others surrounding where it was forming. (OOC: If you want to know more for this scene, don't hesitate to task.)

C Grade energised CD (0/2)
Ultimate Detective – Appraisal C, Heightened Senses [Hearing/Sight/Smell/Taste] C, Insight D, Investigation D, Perception C, Law D, Energised C – Character combines all their applicable senses and knowledge to get to the bottom of a mysteries or to be on high alert for clues, dangers or hints. - Grade C – 2 Post Cooldown.