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The Next Generation; [P] Aricakes
Topic Started: Thu Apr 30, 2015 3:57 pm (405 Views)
Lorica
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A soft breeze wafted off of the ocean, carrying a whiff of salt with it. Not an unpleasant scent, simply a sharp tang that you didn’t get further from the coast. Nalani took in a deep breath, staring out over the sapphire waves. There was barely a cloud to be seen, the sun high in the sky. It was a picturesque tableau, the kind of image that you expected to see in painting but not in real life. She craned her head back, closing her eyes and letting the warm rays soak into her skin. She stood that way for a long time, not moving even when there was the heavy sound of footfalls crunching through the nearby sand.

“I have returned, Nalani.”

The voice had a metallic ring to it, a mechanical cadence to its inflections. She basked in the sun for a few moments longer before sighing and opening her eyes, turning towards the interruption. Sunlight gleamed off of the golem’s frame. It was humanoid and of roughly average height, but slightly wider than might be expected, giving it a squat appearance. Thick plates of metal had been expertly fitted together to leave no gaps in the outer shell, their location and shape suggesting natural musculature. Arcane nodes gleamed at its joints, and steam gushed out of a pair of exhaust valves on its shoulder blades at regular intervals. It wore a loose-fitting vest and leggings that did nothing to hide its true nature. According to the golem, people were simply more comfortable when it wore clothes.

“Well? Is this the right place?”

“Yes, Nalani. The village of Ka’lan, on the island Aketal’a, of the nation-“

“-Of Nalai,” She interrupted, rolling her eyes. “Yes, Kage. I am quite familiar. You provided me with all of the history on the trip here.”

“Oh, hardly all of it,” the golem replied. Although it lacked facial features, she could hear the smile behind the words. It had been a shock to her, at first, how human the golem seemed at times. If she didn’t look at him she could almost pretend it was a real, living individual instead of a complicated piece of technology that combined alchemy, artifice, and artistry in equal measures. “It is a fascinating country, with a rich history of-“

Nalani trudged off of the beach and up to the main road, ignoring the prattle of the golem. One she reached the packed dirt causeway she stopped to check her weapons. A knife on either hip, one strapped to her left forearm, another at the small of her back, plus a bandoleer of five throwing blades slung across her wide chest. Her fingers touched the pommel of each dagger carefully, reassuring herself that none had fallen free of their sheathes. That task done, she shifted the hang of her duster so that the loose, overlarge garment hid them from sight. The outer coat was a bit hot for the climate, but she felt more comfortable in it.

Kage was still rambling about Nalai’s past, forcing her to interject. ”The signs are all here, right?”

The golem stopped the tirade at once, nodding solemnly. “Yes. Several children in the appropriate age group have gone missing in Ka’lan in the past two weeks. The locals believe that it is due to the recent hostilities. However, our investigation reveals that none of the Stone Knight’s forces are responsible.”

”How sure are we that it is the Vanguard?”

The construct shrugged, the gesture accompanied by the noise of mechanical parts smoothly working in tandem. “Certainty is difficult to achieve in this situation. However, the pattern fits. No child older than five has gone missing, nor any younger than their first birthday. All were in good health. This match's the modus operandi of the Vanguard. It is my sponsor's belief that-"

"When was the last child reported missing?"

If the constant interruptions bothered the golem, its smooth face made it impossible to tell. "Last night, Nalani. People were whispering about it when I passed through town."

Nalani clenched her fists into tight balls, nails digging into the meat of her palm. Her voice was a low growl when she spoke. "The next generation of candidates." Kage simply nodded in agreement. Nalani entered the outskirts of town, shoulders slightly hunched and features hangman-grim.
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Ari
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Ari set her backless folding chair a healthy distance from the single couch in the room. Flanked by murals tall enough to reach the curved roof of the mansion's antechamber, she settled her whole armored body down and rested her palms on her knees. This room was once a lounge of sorts, filled with furniture and other exotic handiwork. Now it was stripped clean -- not looting, but her choice. She had no need for finery when they could serve a better purpose in the form of coins in her treasury.

A man sat on the couch across from her. His skin was a darker shade of brown than Ari's, and his head was shaved bald, but his wispy blackish-grey beard matched thick eyebrows. Ari understood him to be the village chief of a little fishing community called Ka'lan, right on the coast. It was one of only two villages under the jurisdiction of the hill-town Setubanda where Ari was based. Their greeting at the door had been courteous but restrained, not quite friendly but not tense either.

They sat in silence for several seconds until it occurred to Ari that he was too polite to initiate conversation with someone of a higher status. "How can I help you?"

"In Ka'lan, many young children have gone missing these past two weeks. We have sent search parties, conducted our own investigations, but we fear the worst. We-- we may have a child killer on our hands. I humbly request aid in the form of manpower in order to assist with our investigation." He sounded like he had rehearsed his request during the whole trip up the hill.

The hill-lord's fists clenched over her lamellar armor and her shoulders tensed. She saw the chief's expression change and decided to respond before he could add anything else. "I will make sure the killer is brought to justice. I'll send my best swordsman at once. She can help you track the perpetrator."

"May I speak, my lord?"

"As freely as you'd like."

"I know the Royal Guard is stretched thin, but can you not spare more than a single person?"

"I am confident that only this one person is needed. If I'm proven wrong, I will send more." She spoke matter-of-factly, not patronizingly, but the chief still left with the same cool demeanor as before. She reckoned he wasn't satisfied with her answer.

Agorst chuckled in Ari's mind. The Timeworn Swordsman is quite busy these days, the weapon said.

Once her assistant confirmed that no more audiences were scheduled for the day, the incarnation retired to her chambers to make preparations.



"Another one... how awful."

"The chief was so worried he hitched up a bird and flew straight to Setubanda. Gave the hill-lord almost no advance notice."

The older man raised his eyebrows. "Brave."

"It went fine, though, I think?"

A shadow fell over the two fishermen who were sitting and talking near the outskirts of town. They both turned at the same time and saw a woman standing with her hand resting on the hilt of a Nalaian curved sword. Despite the heat and sun, she was covered head to toe: hooded cloak, scarf around lower face, robe-like top and loose-fitting trousers. Even her sword sheathe was wrapped in strips of dirty linen. Most of the outfit looked like it had been worn across the Istan for months: faded colors, frayed and tattered edges, and rips crudely sewn shut. A few pieces of black hair clung to her neck or blew in front of her shaded eyes.

"Hello. I was sent by Hill-lord Bethari to find and destroy the person taking children here."

They both registered confusion at first, then sudden realization. "Right! We weren't sure about that huge stranger, wondering if she was you or something..."

"Huge stranger?"

"Really tall person came into Ka'lan. You could probably find her still, it wasn't too long ago."

The swordsman made a thinking sound, thanked the fishermen and then proceeded into the village.
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Lorica
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”Excuse me sir, do you have a moment to speak with us?”

The Nalaian paused on his way into the pub, stopping to size up the two strangers. He ended up having to tilt his head back to take in Nalani’s full bulk. She shifted uneasily at his stare. She could imagine the questions rifling through the man’s mind. He was wearing clothes and had the sun-weathered look of a fisherman, along with the pervasive scent of someone that spent most mornings disemboweling sealife.

She, on the other hand, loomed in the way that only someone that had to worry about braining themselves on a doorframe ever could. Her skin coloration was dusky enough that she could be a resident of the islands herself, although she wasn’t sure if that was her birthplace. She had no past before the Vanguard. Besides, her clothing marked her as a stranger if nothing else did. The duster was far too bulky and covering for someone that lived in the tropics.

“Can I help you?” He leaned against one of the beams on the porch with a neutral grin plastered on his features. It was the look of a man who loved to gossip and just realized he was about to be handed new ammunition for his taproom audience. Nalani felt a brief surge of hope that they might finally make some progress.

Kage nodded. ”We have heard there have been some disappearances recently. We were wondering if you could shed some light on the matter.”

The fisherman’s face closed as quickly and securely as a cell door slamming shut. “Nasty business,” he said. “No, I don’t have anything to say on the matter. You won’t make friends asking about that.”

He started to move past them into the pub, but Nalani’s beefy hand landed on his shoulder before he could escape. She didn’t apply any pressure. She didn’t have to. She had learned that her sheer size and stature got the point across just fine. ”We are trying to help,” she said softly, enunciating each word clearly so that they wouldn’t tumble out incomprehensibly.

“We don’t need your help,” he muttered. Still angry, but also aware of her overpowering physical presence and unwilling to upset her.

(You don’t even know what you’re facing little man, you little shit, you think you can handle it but you don’t know and I do and how dare you turn me away-)

She wasn’t even aware of tightening her grip until Kage’s metal fingers clamped around her wrist. The gleaming digits squeezed together, implacable. Nalani stared at the golem’s hand for several long seconds, her breath coming harshly. Eventually she let go of the man. Kage did not release its own hold on her wrist as she lowered her arm, keeping her in a firm hold.

”Thank you for your assistance, citizen,” the golem interjected smoothly. ”If you think of anything that will prove helpful, please come find us. I am sure you will be able to locate our lodgings.” The fisherman nodded hesitantly and fled to the relative safety of the pub. Not until the door fell shut behind him did Kage release her wrist. Her skin was white where the metal fingers had clamped down. There would surely be a bruise by tomorrow.

”You need to control yourself, Nalani.”

She didn’t look at the golem. ”They don’t understand.”

”Losing control will not change that.”

The overwhelming urge to turn and tear the golem limb from limb consumed her, tinging her vision with red. She only resisted the temptation because she knew that Kage was built for the express purpose of withstanding an assault. Specifically, an assault from her. So instead she mastered that inner anger, leashing and chaining it. Restraining it until it would be of use. ”Have we learned anything useful?”

”Not recently, no.” It was a diplomatic way of saying her presence put the locals on edge. ”I discovered the name and location of the house belonging to one of the missing children. Perhaps they know more.”

”Lead the way.” She circumspectly checked her knives again as she followed after the golem, making sure they were there and ready. You could never be too prepared.
Edited by Lorica, Tue May 5, 2015 5:03 pm.
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Ari
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"You sure keep your weapon close, miss."

The swordsman looked up from the scrap of paper in her free hand and saw an elderly woman crouching by the tamed flowers growing along the edge of her house. She touched the wide brim of her hat in greeting and smiled at the new arrival. Instead of greeting back, the sword carrier glanced back down at the list of addresses on her paper, stowed it, and approached.

"My condolences about your child," the warrior began, but there was no sympathy in her words. Not even her eyes were on the elderly woman; they scanned the property instead. "I understand you were the first family to demand action from the chief."

The woman stood, brushing loose soil off her trousers. "We've been very vocal. Doing everything we can. My grandson was lost in the First Battle, you know. Killed by one of those false incarnations. He was only seventeen. Losing yet another child has been... very difficult for us."

"May I enter the house?"

"I'll show you in." The grandmother waited for the swordsman to approach. She leaned forward, trying to see her shadowed eyes easier. Didn't comment on it, though. "My son might protest, but he knows your lord is a step up from the last one. He'll cooperate."

The house was close to the coast and three floors tall. Its back-end was built on wooden stilts. As they were walking up the two short flights of wooden steps to the porch, the warrior stopped and turned her head to the road. Two figures walked down: one whose exposed skin caught the sunlight, and another who towered over all the relatively short locals. The latter wore a longcoat found more often on the mainland, especially places like Balefire and Debon.

"Excuse me." She headed back down the steps quicker than she'd gone up them.

Holding her sword's sheathe with one hand and its handle with the other, the Nalaian took a stand in the middle of the road, shoulders squared, feet nearly shoulder-width apart.

When the pair was within about fifty feet, the swordsman spoke just loud enough to be heard: "That's close enough." She paused to gauge their reaction. "State your faction and name. In that order. Both of you."
Edited by Ari, Wed May 6, 2015 12:22 am.
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Lorica
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The house was near the water, three stories tall, with a precarious look about it. Nalani eyed the stilts curiously. She had never understood that particular architectural affectation and would feel nervous living in any structure that depended on such flimsy support to stay upright. She’d had the back legs of a chair break underneath her once when she was leaning back and could still remember the sudden shock of its collapse, the way her breath caught in her throat. She didn’t have much faith in a structure built in the same manner. Still, there had to be some sound reasoning behind the choice. Otherwise it wouldn’t be such a popular choice here; almost every building near the coast had a similar design. She silently guessed that it was meant to prevent flooding during the high tide or stormy season.

A voice called out as they approached. The sun was behind the building, which made it difficult to see clearly. Nalani raised one hand to shade her eyes, squinting at the blurry figure standing in the middle of the street. All she could make out was a woman’s shape, the outline of a curved sword on her hip. She demanded that they provide a faction and name in a tone that brokered no argument.

She leaned down to whisper in Kage’s ear. ”Faction?”

”Our allegiance in the current civil war, Nalani.” There was an odd note to the golem’s voice. Apprehension, perhaps. She still had difficulty sensing the golem’s mood. It cleared its throat (a gesture that it must have adopted simply to interact with humans, given how it didn’t need to breath and, in fact, had no lungs or throat whatsoever) and raised its voice to be heard. ”We are unaffiliated with any faction! We are outsiders to Nalai, here to investigate a business concern! We have docking papers cleared by the temporary government of the Royal Guard!” A panel on Kage’s thigh slid open, revealing several tightly-rolled pieces of parchment. It withdrew them and held them above its head as proof. They were indeed clearance papers, although their intentions were simply labeled as ‘business.’

Nalani waited a moment to see if the stranger would respond. When she didn’t she spoke as well. It took an effort to sort the words, to put them in their proper order and enunciate them clearly. ”Unaffiliated. Nalani.” She barely spoke loud enough to be heard over the distance, but it was the best she could manage.

Kage nodded imperceptibly in approval. They both knew that one of the golem’s functions was to do most of the talking. Most of the time, people assumed this meant Nalani was the muscle, a brainless brute. Her size only encouraged that impression. Sometimes it meant that they didn’t guard their tongues as closely as they might otherwise. Besides, social interactions still made her feel jittery. Having an extended conversation with anyone but the golem was nearly impossible.

”We mean no harm. We are simply trying to learn more about troubling events in Ka’lan recently.” Kage lowered its arm, extending the papers towards the woman. ”You are free to examine these, if you will allow us to come closer.”
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Ari
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The swordsman did not noticeably react to the golem's proclamation, but internally she was surprised. This is a local issue. No way the House of Thorns cleared foreigners to handle it. How do they even know of it, anyway?

"Approach. I wish to verify your papers."

The Royal Guard, as one of the weaker divisions in the complicated Nalaian civil war, reached out to the mainland on many occasions. She could not, however, do the thing she wanted most: enlist the aid of major foreign military units on Nalaian soil. As the only faction fighting for some idea of "traditional Nalai," a return to the status quo, the incarnation Melati would face serious loyalty issues from her troops if she did that. So now she was stuck bringing in small, elite combat teams that didn't make her subjects feel like another invasion was taking place. This fit the shrike woman's modus operandi perfectly, but...

Is this really a local issue after all?

As soon as the golem Kage got close enough, the warrior took his papers and examined them closely. "...These are legitimate." She sounded surprised. Gave them back. "The local hill-lord should have been warned of this. Had she known, she might not have sent me. But the House of Thorns is to blame for that." The capitol building of the Royal Guard's temporary government, called the House of Thorns, was an ancient seaside castle reclaimed and then covered in hundreds of defensive structures -- giant thorns made of crystallized blood. Likely these two had seen it during their process of obtaining the proper clearance to operate in this country.

"Call me Firstborn. Come assist me." She walked off, expecting Kage and Nalani to follow.

They ascended the porch staircases and entered the house. The other members of the family were already standing with the grandmother as she explained the situation to them. The most hostile-looking of the bunch was a middle-aged man with hair cropped short and a black stubble who gently bounced a swaddled infant in his arms. The others -- a young boy of perhaps nine or ten, a girl in her teens, and an elderly man -- merely looked uncomfortable.

"This one is the warrior the Lord Painted Mantis sent," the elderly woman explained, trying to put it in a positive light. "And these two, err, must be assisting her? If we help them, perhaps they will finally find the person who did this."

"What do you want to know?" the middle-aged man said.

"Who are your enemies?" Firstborn asked simply.

He glanced at the elderly man before answering. "The people of this village work together in order to survive. We don't have the time, money or energy for petty squabbles."
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Lorica
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Kage walked forward confidently, but Nalani trailed along slightly behind. She stopped just outside of the reach of the woman’s sword as the golem offered the papers, watching her closely. The stranger examined the documents closely. She looked and sounded surprised that they were official. She wasn’t sure exactly how they had gotten permission to land on the war-torn archipelago, but she knew that it had taken some delicate string-pulling on the part of Kage’s master.

The golem shrugged. ”The House was unaware that our business would involve us in this matter, so it is no fault of theirs.”

The woman provided an obvious alias and asked them to accompany her. They followed her into the dwelling, where the entire family was gathered. None of the citizens looked pleased with their presence, but there was one man in particular whose gaze was practically venomous. Nalani shifted under his stare, not meeting his eyes.

(You look at me like that, eh? You think you’re dangerous? I should show you just how-)

She shoved the thought away with a slight grimace, hoping that no one else noticed the momentary lapse. Nalani missed Firstborn’s question, but could infer her line of inquiry from the angry man’s response. It was entirely the wrong thing to ask, but there was no way that the woman could have known that.

Kage raised one hand slightly, clearly asking Firstborn for permission to speak. When it was granted the golem stepped forward slightly. [text=Times New Roman]”Excuse me, but could you please share some details of the child? Did she enjoy playing outside? How did she go missing?”[/font] It was a clumsy attempt to get the information they needed, but it had worked before.

The elderly woman looked towards Firstborn before replying, as if reassuring herself that the golem’s question met with the delegate’s approval. “She was a very active girl. She enjoyed playing on the beach and in the water. She had a garden as well. But no, that’s not how she went missing. Like the others, she simply disappeared in the night.”

Kage nodded solemnly. Nalani’s eyes glazed over slightly. “Water or thorn or… earth.” She didn’t appear to be aware that she spoke the words aloud, although they were a mere whisper. Her hands clenched into tight fists, the knuckles going white. The golem shot her a warning glare, but she didn't notice. She was staring into the distance, jaw clenched and expression fierce.
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Ari
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Firstborn tossed a brief sideways glance at the one called Nalani, but didn't mention anything that would disrupt an already tense conversation. She went on to ask a couple other basic questions, but yielded to Kage in most cases. His questions brought forth the most useful information. They were very pointed that way. A bit too pointed. Firstborn left the house with her mind swimming with questions -- more questions than she had before entering, and definitely more questions than she had answers. Most were directed at the two foreigners she now had in tow.

She nodded in a direction and led the way. They exited the village's main road and found themselves in a maze of narrow side-streets ringed with buildings, trees or both. Laundry lines hung between the windows above their heads. A few tree branches drooped so low that they acted like curtains.

Once they were suitably out of most of Ka'lan's attention, Firstborn whirled around and drew her blade in a flash. The single-edged, slightly curved sword was a Nalaian design for sure, but the steel was odd. Its matte grey material almost seemed to absorb light rather than reflect it, and the whole weapon was covered in raised ridges that looked almost like scars. In fact, on closer inspection it was obvious from all the wear and tear that the katana was dull. Still, Firstborn held it with confidence and skill.

"Tell me everything. Now. Why you're here, everything you know about what's going on here. You run, you die. You fight, you die." Even when delivering such a threat the swordsman spoke with the same calm, almost businesslike demeanor as before.
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Lorica
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The rest of the investigation provided varied information. All of it was useful, but it wasn’t enough to point them in the right direction. Nalani ground her teeth together as Kage asked question after question, trying to not let her impatience show. She couldn’t quite help clenching and relaxing her grip on the handle of one of her knives, although the movement was hidden by the folds of her duster. By the time the golem was satisfied she was ready to scream in frustration, but she kept it in check.

Firstborn led the way back into the town, although she stepped off of the main street and into a smaller alleyway. Kage followed her, and Nalani reluctantly brought up the rear. As soon as they were out of sight from any curious bystanders their guide whipped around, drawing a sword in one fluid motion. It was a curved blade, and she held it with experience. The large woman grunted in surprise, taking an instinctive step backwards.

The golem was, as always, calm and collected. It raised both hands in front of it with a whine of servos. ”Now now, there is no need for any violence. There is a reasonable explanation for-“ It cut off as the ground rumbled beneath them. Kage pivoted quickly, placing its back to Firstborn. ”Nalani! Stop!”

It was too late for that. She grinned so wide her cheeks hurt, one hand held out to her side. She could feel it, pulsing below the surface. The rage, the anger, the power. It had been waiting for this from the first moment she laid eyes on this stranger. She couldn’t see any reason to hold back anymore. The earth bulged upwards with a deep grinding noise, stone shifting unnaturally. A pillar took shape, growing until it was nearly as tall as her. ”Why not?” she snarled, never taking her eyes off of the woman. ”Who the hell is she? Gives us a false name, looks through our papers, acts like she’s in charge. She could be anyone. She could be a Vanguard.” She spat out the last world laden with bile.

Kage shook his head. ”I’m sure that’s not the case.” He still stood between the pair of them, empty palms raised in the universal gesture for peace.

Nalani sneered. ”Yeah, me too. That’s why she’s trying to ambush us. Because she’s a freaking upstanding citizen.” She thrust her hand into the pillar. The stone parted around her fingers like wet clay. With a wrenching motion she tore her arm free, ripping a huge claymore out of the rock. The pillar shattered from the violence of the weapon’s removal, chunks of stone clattering onto the ground. The blade itself was five feet long, the hilt adding an additional foot and a half to its length. The crossguard was two long and slanted prongs, bare of decoration. Pieces of rock and smudges of dirt still clung to the dark, lusterless metal.

(Yes, yes, take it, show her your strength, teach her to offend her betters, teach her a lesson with blood and pain!)

She shuddered with ecstasy, barely keeping a lid on that inner pot of mindless violence. Control. She had to keep control. She swung the claymore into a two-handed grip, still grinning. ”So you're gonna kill me, you Vanguard bitch? Thought they taught you better.” Her voice trembled with anger. ”But if you’ve forgotten what you did to me, I think a reminder is in order.”
Edited by Lorica, Tue Jun 2, 2015 6:05 pm.
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