[Story] The Pandora Predicament

[Eye of Horus]

Stats

Strength: 1
Stamina: 3
Speed: 3
Shimmer: 2
Soul: 3
Brawl: 1
Melee: 4
Ranged: 1
Preparation: 1

Terrain Affinity: Desert
Terrain Weakness: Aquatic, Swamp
Element Affinity: Lightning (black arcanite)
Element Weakness: Earth (green arcanite)

Weapon Bonus:12

Character Name:Dariaq Syvanios
Date | Time: 29.12.1322 | Evening
Location: The Luxe, Onyx Central
Wearing: Fancy suit with glossy dark-green jacket and matching silk tie
Tagging | Mentioning: Hulta Elderfond, Marlowe Ashe, Lyra Myalis
Notes: Find a route
Dari cursed, slowing as he lost sight of the stranger. He looked up as there was a clattering sound overhead, and he was just in time to see Hulta swing by, hanging from a dislodged conveyor chain as if it were a vine from one of her beloved climbing trees.

“Hey, Keerla!” he shouted up to her, even though it felt silly to still be using their cover names now. “Where’d he go?”

He wasn’t sure if the gesture she made was a point or merely a flail for balance, but he took it on faith.

“Come on.” he urged Lyra, beckoning her to follow as he pushed off one foot then the other to navigate a standing compressor and took off towards what he hoped was the stranger and the exit. They had to keep moving fast but the locals weren’t making it easy - a worker lunged from behind a machine and tried to grapple him, but he managed to spin her and slam her back against the metal casing, breaking her hold. He scooped up a cylinder of welding gas from beside an abandoned station and hurled it at the next ambusher in his path, folding the man and sending his hard hat rolling across the floor.

He ducked past a folded robotic arm and turned left. Ahead was a huge laser cutter - what was all this equipment even doing down here? - still sparking away at a sheet of metal behind its safety screens. The metal box of its arcanite power unit stood a good two metres tall. He paused and stooped.

“You might get a clearer shot from up there.” he suggested to Lyra, jerking his chin up to indicate the power box before cupping his hands into a saddle for her foot. No sooner had he boosted her up the workers were on them again, this time moving as a pair. He ducked the heavy swing of a wrench and found himself face to face with a pistol in the hand of the second man - he felt the impact like a punch, and his Soul buzzed a frantic orange as he seized the man’s gun hand in both of his and tried to slam it repeatedly into the side of the cutting machine. He coughed in pain and his Soul flared again as the other worker swung the wrench into his neck and shoulder. He wheeled around, dragging the gunman with him and throwing him into the wrench-wielder, sending both men sprawling. If he could keep the defenders off his squad-mates, then the girls might be able to use their elevated positions to corner the stranger.

[FyreFoxx]

Stats

Strength: 0
Stamina: 5
Speed: 1
Shimmer: 6
Soul: 5
Brawl: 0
Melee: 0
Ranged: 0
Preparation: 2

Terrain Affinity: Aquatic, Arctic
Terrain Weakness: Mountain, Urban
Element Affinity: Water
Element Weakness: Earth, Sonic

Weapon Bonus: 12+5

Character Name: Lyreilynn "Lyra" Xyrven Myalis
Date | Time: 12.29.1322 | 8pm
Location: The Luxe
Wearing: Teal Arcanite pendant, short black dress, stockings, and heeled boots
Tagging | Mentioning: Dariaq | Hulta, Marlowe
Notes: fry the door, block the exit
Pale blue eyes drifted over the room, trying to survey their surroundings as best she could. Lyra spotted the door in the distance, but not their target. So, too, were most of those blocking their path taking cover. A few had dared to retaliate, Lyra flinching as more bullets grazed past her. She frowned, staring at the new holes in her dress. “This was new!” she cried out in dismay, taking her frustration out on someone that got a little too close to her, a heeled foot smashing into the side of their head as she spun and kicked them away from her from atop her vantage point on a conveyor that had stopped moving.
 
Flicking her gaze upwards, Lyra eyed the contraption Marlowe was trying to dislodge, before looking around the room again for their target. He clearly had the advantage here with the knowledge of the layout they did not have, and even now, they had no idea where people might be hiding from them. She knew where the man was headed but with the threat of ambushes at every turn, it was dangerous to proceed without a plan. Still, anything was better than letting him escape, and even though she couldn’t see him now, she knew where he was going to be.
 
At Dariaq’s urging, the dainty elf followed her companion without hesitation. Lyra had seen Hulta clamor up a hanging chain and it seemed both she and Marlowe had the idea of attacking from above. If that was the case, then she and Dariaq could attack from below. A two-front attack would cover far more ground! She took that moment to collapse her spheres back into rings, sliding them onto her wrists for safekeeping.
 
A few more steps and she ran out of the conveyor, where a man was waiting for her approach with a large mallet in hand, reared back and ready to take a swing at her. With a startled cry of alarm, Lyra stopped dead in her tracks, arms flailing as she rotated them to keep her balance, her upper body leaning too far forward while her middle was pushed back, but it was enough that the mallet just grazed her stomach, her Soul flashing green. Blinking rapidly, she counter balanced herself as the man offset himself with the follow-through. Using that brief opening, she let her foot connect with his chin - why did she ever learn how to punch when she always ended up kicking them? - to send him sprawling to the ground, dropping his makeshift weapon.
 
Another approached from her blind spot and tried to grab her standing leg. He almost managed to topple her but Lyra steadied herself by placing her hands on the man’s shoulders, yanking her ankle from his grasp as she used the momentum to flip over his body. The moment her feet connected with the floor, Lyra tightened her hold on his shirt as she kept the forward motion going, using her tiny frame to bend him over backwards as she slammed the poor sod against the ground.
 
Heeled foot connected with his chest as she literally stepped over him and kept running towards the door. Lyra avoided another worker trying to block her path by utilizing her smaller frame and sliding under a workbench, scrambling back up to her feet and continuing after Dariaq. Powder blue eyes followed his indication as he called out towards her. Already the gears in her head were turning as she nodded to him. “Yes, that could work.” It took her only a moment to understand what he was doing when he created the cradle with his hands. Lyra hesitated, taking a half step back, before she shook her head, then sprinted towards him. She had to stop hesitating like that!
 
No sooner did her foot connect with his hands than Dariaq used his strength to propel her upwards. For a brief moment, she felt weightless before gravity took over. Lyra clutched at the edge of the unit, the corner of it digging into her stomach as she scrambled to climb all the way on top of it. With her new vantage point, Lyra hopefully had a clear line of sight of the door and the ground they covered getting there hopefully put them that much closer. She took a second to scan her surroundings, trying to locate her target, but she didn’t let herself be distracted for long. She knew being up here like that was going to make her a sitting duck and a prime target for being shot at, with no cover to hide behind.
 
But she didn’t need cover. All she needed was a clear shot of the door. Taking a deep breath, Lyra held it for a moment and then exhaled, focusing her Soul into her bracelet as she pulled forth the energy of the elements, tracing the Negalu for a lightning bolt with as much power as she could muster, aiming for the door panel. If she could short-circuit the controls before he could reach it, she’d effectively block his escape route.

[TheFluffyOne]

Stats

Strength: 1
Stamina: 2
Speed: 3
Shimmer: 5
Soul: 2
Brawl: 0
Melee: 3
Ranged: 1
Preparation: 2

Terrain Affinity: Forest
Terrain Weakness: Aquatic
Element Affinity: Air
Element Weakness: Water

Weapon Bonus:12+2

Character Name: Hulta Elderfond
Date | Time: 12.29.1323| 8pm
Location: The Luxe
Wearing: Slinky green dress, heels
Tagging | Mentioning:Dariaq Syvanios, Marlowe Ashe, Lyra Myalis
Notes:

Standing over the felled enemy, Hulta’s gaze trained on the back of the man who was running from them. Copper curls tumbled free and landed on her bare shoulders. She had no weapon, only her shimmer which she wouldn’t be fast enough with when he ducked out the way. A growl bubbled from the back of her mouth. She couldn’t figure out who she was more pissed at. Darren or Marlowe. She had ruined their plan, they had been doing so well, and she jumped on Dari like this was all some game.

The only focus of her annoyance that remained was the woman hanging from a piece of metal from the ceiling. She was trying to tear something down. A frustrated sigh snapped as she turned her head towards Dari. “There.” She flicked her hand towards the machine that Darren had turned around and sent a slash of her shimmer to knick the side of the machine. Dari and his new partner Lyra were attacking from below, that meant….”Euggghhhh” She let the noise extend out of her chest as she stepped over the felled man and headed towards one of the work benches.

Flinging herself up and then over, she headed towards Marlowe. Narrowly missing another attack as she slipped out of the way and catching the second attack on her shoulder. She responded by shunting the base of her palm up at the man’s nose. Cartilage crackles against her palm and she grips his shoulder to use him to propel herself onto another workbench. Two large steps then she flew towards the machine that Marlowe was hanging from. Her strength nothing compared to Marlowe’s but she tried to use her body weight to yank the machine down.

This was not how she wanted Marlowe to see her in this outfit. She wanted to look perfect with flawless hair and make-up. Not covered in a fine layer of sweat and soot. Not with her dress very nearly revealing her entire chest as it was skewed violently. Not with her hair hanging in loose curls. But she used that anger at her current state and the anger at Marlowe’s ‘distraction’ attempt to jostle the machine more. Twisting herself, she managed to get her feet flat against the ceiling as she tried to yank from below.

[Aethyrium]

Character Name: Marlowe “Lolo” Ashe
Date | Time: December 29th |  8pm
Location: Gravity Dormitory ->
Wearing: White suit with plunging open face
Tagging | Mentioning: Dariaq, Hulta, Lyra |
Notes:
She felt the jostle as the bolt gave way. The track she was hanging on bounced slightly, but didn’t dislodge her. For a moment excitement bubbled up inside of her. Upside down eyes scanned the rest of the track and she realized that she had not made anywhere near the sort of progress that she had hoped. This has been wasted effort. Her cheeks puffed up in frustration, and she scanned for a spot with more leverage - but she felt the soreness in her hands from gripping and straining so hard. There was no way she was going to rip this down on her own - and she was not clever enough to find a weak point. For a moment she considered swinging from bolt to bolt and pulling it down, but she’d get shot down before she had a chance to do that - and with how much effort it had cost, the others would already have the man before she could possibly finish.

Letting go, Marlowe twisted over herself and landed in a crouch, narrowly avoiding gunfire from somewhere off across the factory. She thumped her head back against the… Whatever it was that she was leaning against… and sighed. She should have just caught the guy in the hallway. Maybe she could go bounding over the machines, but things looked too spread out - and again, being a target. She tapped into the well inside of her and found it dry, there was no whirlwind left inside of her. Pitiful echoes of her and Dari’s footfalls as they ran down the hallway. Not enough to do anything with, not anything meaningful anyway.

Sitting there wasn’t going to accomplish anything, she thought. Whipping up, Marlowe grabbed the top of the machine and vaulted herself over it. Springing off its far edge, she flung herself to an empty space, only to be greeted by two of these people on either side. They were just as surprised as her, and swung wildly at her. She slapped away one fist and rolled around the man's outside, making his arm catch the pry bar swing from the other. Lolo grabbed the side of the man's head and jammed it into the solid steel of a hammering machine beside him, dropping him as the other advanced and swung again. She blocked with her forearm. The sting radiated through her arm, but her flickering Soul caught the brunt of the damage. Lolo gave him a shove back, jumped at him and kicked him three times in the chest, the final of which sent him toppling backwards to the ground.

Keeping forward, Marlowe recklessly abandoned safety in favor of speed. She flung herself over the maze-like factory aisles, becoming a target each time she went over - but her Soul provided sufficient buffer that those brief glimpses weren’t too bad. Thankfully, Dari and Lyra’s efforts had cleared the way. As she moved, Lolo peeked and saw a heavy machine dangling from the tracks - part of the Goliath, probably. That had enough weight that it might be able to bring it down. Her thoughts reverted and Marlowe flung herself up, grabbing it.

All she had to do was yank with all her might!

Marlowe tried to find a way to pull it down that would give it sufficient swing to rip the rest down, and found her place of attack. She pulled herself over the thing, hooked her hands and began to heavy down on it. Only letting up when she felt the rocking of it, and saw Hulta on the other side. Lolo paused for a second and blinked at her. There was something sassy on her tongue, but all she actually managed to say was, “Hi,” before working with Hulta to pull it down.

[Aethyrium]

S T O R Y T E L L E R
December 29th, Evening (~8pm) | Onyx Prairie | Urban  - Earth Resonance
Next Post: 4.29.25 | Hulta, Dariaq, Lyreilynn, Marlowe
There was a lot happening. From Dari and Lyra’s movement and the defense of Lyra’s action, to Hulta and Marlowe’s attempt to tear things down, and the slow advancement of the people through the factory. Noise, heat, and general frustrations were all high.

Ahead of the four squire’s efforts, Darren bobbed and weaved through the factory. He needed to get back to his employers. They needed to know what had happened here. They would hear about it before long, but they needed to know what he knew - that squires had come for them. This meeting had been known about. There was a leak somewhere. Crouched, Darren was careful with his movements, gliding across the concrete floor as quickly as he could without exposing himself to the continued assault. His throat throbbed - another blow like that and they might catch him. Being interrogated wasn’t something he was looking forward to. All he had to do was make it to the door.

Hulta and Lolo strained on the goliath path, but in the end they couldn’t get it to budge. Lolo’s idea was a failed one from the onset - at least, it failed without coordination between all of them. She was strong, but this equipment wasn’t rickety or in disrepair. Quite the contrary, it was quality stuff and properly built. It was meant to survive great weight on it, and no matter how hard her and Hulta pried, they could not break the secure holdings without a power greater than raw muscle and determination.

And failing that gave Darren the clear path. With no solid obstructions, he moved undeterred through the space toward his goal.

“This isn’t working,” Marlowe snapped at Hulta. She wasn’t mad at her as much as she was frustrated that she wasn’t strong enough. Lolo abandoned the project without another word and gave up all of her thoughts of defense. She lunged forward, throwing herself over an aisle to the next one and landing on a machine with a thud. Then she went for another - Lolo was determined to close to distance in a hurry to the far wall, if she couldn’t slow him down, she’d just catch him at the end!

Lyra took her position and began drawing her negalu. A man came around the corner, only to be greeted by Dari throwing the wrench-man aside. He lunged to tackle, but went wide and hit the ground. Above them both, the lightning energy began to coalesce for Lyra. Then she saw it, the man at the door - she was too late. He hit the controls and the door opened. In the corner of her eye she could see Lolo headed that way. The lightning sparked, surged, and the elemental energy formed before streaking out. The door opened, and Darren passed through it. The energy hit the controls and they popped, sizzed, and detonated. The lighting around the door changed - there was some kind of automatic failsafe. In lockdown, the door hissed and shot to move closed, locked.

Marlowe hit the ground near the door, too late to catch Darren, but she was able to grab the door. It moved with such force that it jerked her to the side, nearly crushing her fingers. But she grabbed what little energy she’d amassed from the fighting around her and unleashed it. The extra strength let her wrestle with the mecdhanisms that tried to close the door, and Lolo strained at the side, “GO!” she shouted to all of them. Her teeth gritted, her brow furrowed, and she tugged on the door, pulling back against the device to hold open a slit - large enough that others could fit squeeze through, “Don’t let him get away!”

N O T E S

Stats

Marlowe (52%)

• Vitality: 80/80
• Soul: 40/40 (Green)
• Resources: Full
• Shimmer: 0.6 dots

Lyreilynn (70%)

• Vitality: 97/100
• Soul: 93/100 (Green)
• Resources: Full

Hulta (53%)

• Vitality: 61/70
• Soul: 25/55 (Yellow)
• Resources: Full

Dariaq (60%)

• Vitality: 37/80
• Soul: 29/70 (Orange)
• Resources: Full

The squires failed to stop Darren, but their efforts have afforded them a small chance to keep going. It will take Hulta, Lyra, and Dari to catch Darren on the other side, and they will have to leave Marlowe in the factory - however the people in the factory should not, largely, be considered a threat to Lolo, short of getting mobbed.

If anyone stays behind with her, the other two will not be able to catch Darren this round - and may fail altogether. If this is the case, characters who follow should be written as in pursuit with efforts to try and stop him.

However, if all three do proceed ahead. You will follow Darren to a T-junction at the top of some stairs - they’ll gain on him. He will make a right, go down a hall, and they can capture him inside another room. It will require effort from all three people to catch him - if you try to get him physically, the first person will be intercepted by his reflective shimmer, but that will leave him vulnerable to the others.

Regardless, with all three, they will successfully catch him - safe themselves, and without accidentally murdering him. The room that they’re in will be odd once they have a chance to take note of it, it looks like perhaps a storage room but there is notably only one object in it. A large metal box - vaguely coffin shaped and sized. It’s standing on its end in the center of the room.

[Eye of Horus]

Stats

Strength: 1
Stamina: 3
Speed: 3
Shimmer: 2
Soul: 3
Brawl: 1
Melee: 4
Ranged: 1
Preparation: 1

Terrain Affinity: Desert
Terrain Weakness: Aquatic, Swamp
Element Affinity: Lightning (black arcanite)
Element Weakness: Earth (green arcanite)

Weapon Bonus:12

Character Name:Dariaq Syvanios
Date | Time: 29.12.1322 | Evening
Location: The Luxe, Onyx Central
Wearing: Fancy suit with glossy dark-green jacket and matching silk tie
Tagging | Mentioning: Hulta Elderfond, Marlowe Ashe, Lyra Myalis
Notes: Pandora’s box
Dari wrenched the worker’s pistol out of his hand and shoved him back. He brought the gun up, pointing it inexpertly in both hands, but it was enough for the nearest workers to get the message. They hastily backed up, hands raised.

“Jolie?” Dari urged, unwilling to use Lyra’s real name as he glanced up and back. He was in time to see a jagged lance of electricity thunder from Lyra’s fingertips and burst against the far wall - no, not the wall, a door panel - the portal standing open as the scarred stranger vanished through it.

Dari swore in the coarsest possible dialect of Johtan elvish. He snapped back his arm and hurled the gun as high and as far as he could manage, then spun and bolted - hard on Lyra’s heels towards the door and its sparking, sputtering control panel. An arcanite lamp above the door turned from green to red, an alarm bell rang, and with a steady grinding sound the door began to slide closed.

One final worker tried his luck, lunging from behind a table to vice his arms around Dari’s ankles. Dari went down hard on his front, smacking his chin against the floor with teeth-jarring force, and a moment later bringing a bright flash of pain as he bit the edge of his tongue. Mouth full of iron, he twisted onto his back and drove a heel into the worker’s face. A second kick and the man let go. Dari rolled back over his shoulders, turned, spat blood and ran. Ahead of him the brightly-lit corridor behind the door shrank to a rectangle, then a sliver. He was never going to make it.

Marlowe smashed herself into the closing gap, back to the steel jamb and arms straining as she forced the steel slab back on its runners. Gears juddered in protest. Marlowe’s Soul rippled as her arms shook.

“GO!” she shouted to all of them. Her teeth gritted, her brow furrowed, and she tugged on the door, pulling back against the device to hold open a slit - large enough that others could fit squeeze through, “Don’t let him get away!”

Dari heard several sharp bangs, and something whined past him to strike sparks from what looked like a half-built Goliath walker standing against the wall. He summoned the last of his strength, ducked and ran towards Marlowe, slipping beneath her arms and into a long corridor. Lyra was just ahead of him, Hulta just behind. He offered a hand to yank his wing-partner through, and turned back just in time to see the stranger sprinting up a set of stairs a hundred metres ahead of them.

“Watch his Shimmer!” Dari warned as he took off again, fighting to get the words past his own jagged breathing and a mouthful of blood. “Some kind of mirror…breaking it kicked the shit out of me!”

Adrenaline and willpower warred against screaming muscles as he gained ground on the stranger, who bolted right at a T-junction at the top of the stairs. There was nothing at the end of it except another door, standing open on a dead-end room.

“I’ve got point.” he insisted stubbornly, and threw himself at the door.

No sooner had his foot slammed down on the steel panels of the room beyond, he felt a familiar sick rush of vertigo as the world around him began to distort and stretch. He drove his left foot into the ground and sidestepped to try to avoid it, but the pale walls were closing in on him again, the stranger a twisted figure behind it with palm outstretched. Dari backpedalled and saw his reflection rushing towards him as he slipped, going down hard on his back in a last-ditch attempt to avoid the incoming Shimmer.

[TheFluffyOne]

Stats

Strength: 1
Stamina: 2
Speed: 3
Shimmer: 5
Soul: 2
Brawl: 0
Melee: 3
Ranged: 1
Preparation: 2

Terrain Affinity: Forest
Terrain Weakness: Aquatic
Element Affinity: Air
Element Weakness: Water

Weapon Bonus:12+2

Character Name: Hulta Elderfond
Date | Time: 12.29.1323| 8pm
Location: The Luxe
Wearing: Slinky green dress, heels
Tagging | Mentioning:Dariaq Syvanios, Marlowe Ashe, Lyra Myalis
Notes:

She kept shaking the machine violently. It wouldn’t budge and instead of filling her with anger, it was flooding her with defeat. Her fingers rattling the machine as she nearly used her entire body weight to pull it down. Marlowe snapped at her and Hulta snapped instantly back. “I KNOW” She growled back as Lolo leapt back and down to the ground. Hulta rolled her eyes violently as she followed the mass of hair and tried to sprint after Darren. Marlowe clawed the door open, and the red headed elf sprinted for the gap. Lyra went forward through the gap with Dari just behind the white-haired elf.

A hand shot out through gap and wrapped around her wrist to drag her through. Hulta slipped beside Dari and kept running with him. He quickly took the lead, but she heard his instructions. Darren had a shimmer. He had a shimmer that was like some kind of mirror, it hurt Dari. Noted. She slipped between the two of them as Dari sprinted ahead of them. ‘I’ve got point’ She wasn’t going to contest that second order. She kept moving even after Dari slammed himself against the steel panel and then folded like a deck of cards.

She knew that he could go down, he wasn’t dead. The palm was outstretched towards Dari and Hulta whipped her fingers around which sent a blade of air towards that wrist. Slicing deep into his palm and then tearing down. Hulta slipped into the room and kicked the man harshly in the thigh. Using the momentum gifted to her by sprinting into the room, she lunged towards him. Hitting him back against the concrete floor, she tried to pin him down to allow Lyra the chance to knock him out.

[FyreFoxx]

Stats

Strength: 0
Stamina: 5
Speed: 1
Shimmer: 6
Soul: 5
Brawl: 0
Melee: 0
Ranged: 0
Preparation: 2

Terrain Affinity: Aquatic, Arctic
Terrain Weakness: Mountain, Urban
Element Affinity: Water
Element Weakness: Earth, Sonic

Weapon Bonus: 12+5

Character Name: Lyreilynn "Lyra" Xyrven Myalis
Date | Time: 12.29.1322 | 8pm
Location: The Luxe
Wearing: Teal Arcanite pendant, short black dress, stockings, and heeled boots
Tagging | Mentioning: Dariaq, Hulta, Marlowe
Notes: corning their target, questions asked
She could feel that electric energy obeying her, the tingling sensation of it gathering at her fingertips. It pulsed through her wrist where the metal touched, throbbing in the palm of her hand. A slight tug of her lips upwards at her success in drawing forth the lightning, but that smile quickly fell as she spied their target quickly approaching the door. No! She just needed a moment longer! Just another few seconds! It sparked, surging energy that she sent forward to fry the controls and prevent his escape - but not before he managed to get there first and slip out.

A groan of frustration left her lips as Lyra glared at the smoking panel and open door, immediately crouching down to slip off her high perch. Another series of bullets whizzed past her head the moment she jumped down, but the offender was knocked out by a flying pistol that Dariaq had haphazardly tossed, somehow still expertly handing the hit without even trying. “Thanks!” she called out, fingers curling into her skirts to pick them up - done out of pure habit as they were short enough it wasn’t needed.

She refused to let their target escape! It had been her fault she wasn’t fast enough, that she hadn’t made a move sooner. He had spotted her in the casino, had recognized her, and had bolted as he caused a scene that ruined their plan. Everything could be traced back to her as she chewed on her inner cheek. She had to make this right.

But she wasn’t going to make it. Panic took over her features as Lyra realized the failsafe had been engaged and it would close before she reached it. But then, like a star in the darkness, Marlowe jumped down from the ceiling and forcibly yanked the door back, keeping it from shutting as she struggled against the automatic closure. Lyra stumbled, taken aback by the sudden appearance of her partner, and she lingered on the warehouse side of the door, unsure of if she should continue. It’d mean leaving her behind! But she wasn’t going to let Marlowe’s choice be in vain. Shir had said to trust Marlowe on this mission, and she was going to do just that.

Picking up the pace, Lyra reached the door in a few more steps, shimmying past the open door as she let her fingers trail along Marlowe’s arm. “Stay safe. I trust you.”

That was all she had time to say if she wanted to keep up with their target. He was already sprinting up a set of stairs, Lyra hot on his heels as hers clicked against the floor. As he reached the top, she momentarily lost sight of him until she, too, ascended the last step, watching him go to the right. “Stop!” she yelled out in a desperate attempt that he might listen. Of course, he didn’t, however, a futile action even before the words had left her lips.

As she started to gain on him, Dariaq not far behind her, with Hulta behind him, she overheard the elf’s words, casting a glance towards him over her shoulder. It caused her next step to falter, nearly stumbling and face planting, but she was able to catch herself and retain her balance. “Got it!” So, this stranger had an even stranger Shimmer. While curious to see it in action, knowing he had an unknown skill made her cautious, so when Dariaq claimed he wanted point, having seen it in action already, Lyra was more than happy to slow her steps and let the dark-skinned elf go ahead of her.

With Dariaq taking the brunt of the mysterious Shimmer, somehow finding himself on his ass, that left Lyra and Hulta to be side by side once more, like they had been in the lobby. The redhead wasted no time in rounding on the man they were chasing, trying to tackle him to the ground. “You have nowhere to go now.” Lyra walked up to the pair, crouching down in front of them if Hulta managed to successfully tackle him. She had questions and she wanted answers. “You recognized me earlier. How? I am certain we have never met…” Was it mere coincidence or did someone tell him about her? Surely, it wasn’t because of her being a Myalis. Outside of Unovia, very few would recognize her. So, who? And why? Was it Ocean? Her fingers instinctively clenched into the folds of her skirts. The mission came first. “What were you sent here to trade?” Lyra didn’t see the orb anywhere, although she couldn’t be sure if that had been the item or not.

[Aethyrium]

S T O R Y T E L L E R
December 29th, Evening (~8pm) | Onyx Prairie | Urban  - Earth Resonance
Next Post: 4.29.25 | Hulta, Dariaq, Lyreilynn
As the power faded from Marlowe’s limbs, the door started to win, pulling her along towards the close. When the energized steel inside of her snapped, she nearly lost her fingers - the powerful sliding mechanism of the door slammed it shut. This door was reinforced, it was made for keeping things separated and its failsafe ensured that no one was coming back for her and that she wasn’t getting to her friends…

Past the T-junction, the trio of squires came up into a decently sized storage room. The far wall had two large rolling doors that were likely meant for trucks - they were definitely above ground now. Though for a place that was seemingly made for deliveries or pickups, there wasn’t much in here. Just a single large metal contraption. A box? A coffin? Hard to say. A cool blue color, like cobalt, wisping with chilled air wafting off of it. Six or seven feet tall, it was maybe four feet wide and perhaps three thick. While generally rectangular, its face and sides were covered in protrusions - strange bumps and devices and built in things. Nothing that made any immediate sense, except perhaps a condenser that was keeping it ice cold. There were large mechanical hinges - opening this thing manually would be a pain. However there was a control panel on the front, something that could be interfaced with. It was simple, and easily opened if one just wanted to press the button - though it clearly was capable of controlling more of this… Device?

Otherwise the room was empty. A people-sized door on the same wall as truck exits. Another door that looked like an elevator, and a stairwell next to it that went up. A double door opposite the truck bays.

Dari was just fast enough to abandon his attack. The reflection, whatever the nature of Darren’s Shimmer, seemed to respond to the attack itself. It was the connection that did its damage. But while ineffective at dispatching the squire, Dari’s efforts were sufficient to allow Hulta to get in while Darren was distracted. The redhead pounced him, and Darren went toppling over. He wrestled with her for a moment, but she was stronger than him. And with no sly tricks around him to use like he had with Dari, Darren quit fighting. “You don’t know what you’re getting yourselves into,” he grunted at Hulta, “The boss isn’t going to like you interfering.”

Lyra was right though, there was nowhere to go. Darren laughed a little and dropped his head back on the ground. Azakaban huh? Damn. He lulled his head to the side, “Lyreilynn Xyrven Myalis. You think Mr Specter would forget you?” Darren shook his head, “You had a deal, remember? We were all supposed to leave you be. Until you broke it, anyway.”

They really had been there for him. How had they known? A leak inside. Ocean would be interested to learn that. Darren looked away, “Mr Specter was trying to negotiate with some men from Ruby, to keep them out of Onyx.” his eyes caught Dari taking an interest in the box. They widened, and he started struggling against Hulta again, roughly trying to the buck her off, “HEY STOP IT! DON’T TOUCH THAT!” He wriggled beneath her, pulling all eyes to him for a moment, and then Hulta got control of him again. “Listen to me, even Mr Specter didn’t want that opened. That’s why we gave it to the league to keep out of anyone’s hands. Speaking of which, they’ll be here any minute, you don’t have time. If you don’t get out of here,” he licked his lips and looked up at Lyra, “They don’t have Mr Specter’s appreciation for you, Lyreilynn. They’re not going to be so kind.”

[Eye of Horus]

Stats

Strength: 1
Stamina: 3
Speed: 3
Shimmer: 2
Soul: 3
Brawl: 1
Melee: 4
Ranged: 1
Preparation: 1

Terrain Affinity: Desert
Terrain Weakness: Aquatic, Swamp
Element Affinity: Lightning (black arcanite)
Element Weakness: Earth (green arcanite)

Weapon Bonus:12

Character Name:Dariaq Syvanios
Date | Time: 29.12.1322 | Evening
Location: The Luxe, Onyx Central
Wearing: Fancy suit with glossy dark-green jacket and matching silk tie
Tagging | Mentioning: Hulta Elderfond, Marlowe Ashe, Lyra Myalis
Notes: Pandora’s box
Dari stayed silent as he tugged his suit back into place - partly because he was catching his breath, but also because silence sometimes yielded more answers than a question did. And so it was, as the scarred stranger told them not only that he was working for Ocean Specter, but also what had given them away - he had recognised Lyra. Dari wondered if Robyn had known, and if she might have been able to veto Lyra’s involvement if she had. He was still frustrated at that - how had two squire teams been sent to the same location and not warned of each other’s presence? Someone had dropped the ball.

Dari exhaled as he strode across the garage with clicking footsteps. Whatever the mistakes, they had managed to succeed in spite of them. Now we just need Lolo to catch up to us…

Darren looked away. “Mr Specter was trying to negotiate with some men from Ruby, to keep them out of Onyx.”

Dari looked back over his shoulder, and fished the crystalline orb out of his suit pocket. He handed it over to Hulta. “He dropped this.”

He paused before the strange, sensor-studded box, his eyes trailing from the heat exchanger radiating warm air from the side of the box to the keypad interface on the front. He splayed his fingertips experimentally on the front of the box. The metal was ice cold.

“HEY STOP IT! DON’T TOUCH THAT!”

Dari withdrew his hand from the box. “Oh?” he challenged, looking back once again, “Why not?”

The stranger wriggled beneath Hulta, pulling all eyes to him for a moment, and then Hulta got control of him again. “Listen to me, even Mr Specter didn’t want that opened. That’s why we gave it to the league to keep out of anyone’s hands.”

Dari’s eyes flicked a question towards Hulta and Lyra. The League was not something he had heard mentioned during his time in Onyx. He glanced down at his wristwatch, and changed direction towards the smaller door next to the folding metal screens designed to admit vehicles. Cold night air rushed in as he opened it. The street outside was bafflingly quiet, arcanite-powered advertising screens shining down on the empty road. Dari looked for street signs.

“We’re on the corner of Vandred and Kinesia.” he told the girls as he pulled the door closed. “Better call for backup if we want to secure all this.”

The stranger seemed amused by that, a death’s-head grin crawling up his face. “They’ll be here any minute, you don’t have time. If you don’t get out of here,” he licked his lips and looked up at Lyra, “They don’t have Mr Specter’s appreciation for you, Lyreilynn. They’re not going to be so kind.”

[TheFluffyOne]

Stats

Strength: 1
Stamina: 2
Speed: 3
Shimmer: 5
Soul: 2
Brawl: 0
Melee: 3
Ranged: 1
Preparation: 2

Terrain Affinity: Forest
Terrain Weakness: Aquatic
Element Affinity: Air
Element Weakness: Water

Weapon Bonus:12+2

Character Name: Hulta Elderfond
Date | Time: 12.29.1323| 8pm
Location: The Luxe
Wearing: Slinky green dress, heels
Tagging | Mentioning:Dariaq Syvanios, Marlowe Ashe, Lyra Myalis
Notes:

Green satin creased against pale skin but she cared little. All her concentration was on keeping the man under her, pinned and away from harming any of her team mates. “Does it look like I care?” She told him with not a hint of a smile on her face. Her warm amber eyes were like frozen honey. Lyra’s full name trickled from the man’s lips and Hulta glanced at Lyra, for her reaction. They had a deal. Leave you be. She broke the deal. What had Lyra been up to in the background of their missions? She trusted Lyra and hoped that perhaps this was something similar like Dari and Hulta had with Scarecrow. All for information. All for what they could do for Lyra and not the horrors that the other party may actually do.

Hulta kept the man below her, her hands burning into his shoulders as she refused to let him budge. He tried to move out of fear and anger when Dari approached the box. Hulta let the man move an inch, only to slam his head back on the floor. Her fingers digging into his skin through his suit jacket. Doesn’t want it open. She didn’t appreciate the threats. Dari tried to hand her something and Hulta took it swiftly in her right hand. Pushing it down the dress to rest snuggly against her chest.

“Mr Specter.” Was that not…Hulta’s gaze snapped to Lyra before returning to the man. “I think I have plenty of time.” Her words icey as still no smile trickled onto her lips. Her shimmer curled around her hair and lifted a few locks up at the same time. “I think we have enough time to get some last minute answers from you…Now speak…or we open the box.” She told him as her knee remained snug in his ribs. If he tried to move again, she would carve through his cheek. Only a small cut, but enough of a treat to keep him still.

“Look at me. Do not threaten Lyra again.” Hulta let her head hang closer to the man. “Or we’ll leave you in here with Marlowe….and ignore your pleads of mercy.” She held his gaze before speaking to Dari and Lyra. “Either we open the box now or we wait for backup and potentially get swarmed…..I vote to open the box and if I have to quieten this one…so be it.”

[FyreFoxx]

Stats

Strength: 0
Stamina: 5
Speed: 1
Shimmer: 6
Soul: 5
Brawl: 0
Melee: 0
Ranged: 0
Preparation: 2

Terrain Affinity: Aquatic, Arctic
Terrain Weakness: Mountain, Urban
Element Affinity: Water
Element Weakness: Earth, Sonic

Weapon Bonus: 12+5

Character Name: Lyreilynn "Lyra" Xyrven Myalis
Date | Time: 12.29.1322 | 8pm
Location: The Luxe
Wearing: Teal Arcanite pendant, short black dress, stockings, and heeled boots
Tagging | Mentioning: Dariaq, Hulta | Marlowe
Notes: Leaving Pandora's Box alone
At the mention of her full name, Lyra flinched, looking like she had just touched something scalding hot, her brows furrowed as she stared at the man in cold silence. As Ocean’s name left his lips, the color drained from her face. Of course he was working for Ocean. How could she have forgotten that one little detail? This entire mission had been about intercepting a deal between one of his associates and someone else. Had Shir mentioned whether it was this man or the other that had been the associate? She couldn’t recall in that moment, averting her eyes as the faintest hint of color rose to her cheeks.

Her eyes narrowed as he brought up the deal. “He broke it first,” she snapped back almost instinctively, her anger flaring just slightly as she turned her gaze back down at the man. So, that’s why he ran. He recognized her from the details Ocean must have given him and then instead of facing her, he ran from her. It gave her mixed feelings about the whole thing. Ocean was still trying to honor their deal not to involve her team as long as they stayed out of his business, but that was becoming harder to accomplish. What exactly was he trying to do?

Fingers curled into fists as she gripped a handful of her skirts. Lyra could feel the eyes of her teammates on her, feel their suspicion pricking her skin like needles. They had questions, she was sure, questions she couldn’t answer. But right now, their focus was shifted to the large container in the center of the room as the man shouted at Dariaq not to touch it. Lyra stood up and walked over towards it, letting Hulta manage Darren on her own - he didn’t seem able to put up a fight against her anyway. “Ocean did not want this opened,” she repeated softly, reaching a hand out towards it, but stopped before she touched it. Her curiosity was piqued, of course, but the danger was there.

There was still that strange sense of trust she felt towards their enemy. He had never once lied to her, even if he had managed to twist words and find loopholes. And their last deal was in the benefit of the people, saving lives that might otherwise have been lost. If Ocean wanted this thing out of Onyx, she wanted to know why and what it was, but the caution was there. Lyra threw a glance over her shoulder towards Darren. ‘Mr. Specter’s appreciation for you’ sent a new wave of heat to her face, turning her head away.

“I do not think we should open this.” Once she regained her composure, Lyra turned towards her teammates. “If Ocean did not want it opened, it was for a reason,” a good one, she suspected, as he never did anything without calculating the risks and costs, “I do not like the unknown, but not at the risk of endangering ourselves like this, not with…” She paused, gesturing towards Darren, “with the league about to collapse on us.” Another look at the large container in the room. “But this… thing is an anomaly. I think… Haimehen might have mentioned this?” The elf had told Gravity about something Ocean had been moving during his little escapade. Was this it? “But if he is right, we do not have time to waste.” That was all there was to it. “We accomplished our goal. Our mission was to apprehend the associate and whatever was being traded.” Why wasn’t Marlowe with her?! Shir wanted Lyra to trust her partner and she wasn’t confident about this decision. Would Shir be disappointed in her? What was that thing? “...We need to make a decision, whatever that is, and make it fast.” Even if that meant opening the box to find out what was inside, or waiting for backup at the risk of encountering the League. They still needed to go back for Marlowe, too. “But he,” she pointed at Darren, “comes with us.”