Sura stares at the man. "What do you do here?" he asked.

Ruse

"Hrrrnh," grunted Roid, in an expression of acknowledgment. "My methods are my own. They are what is needed. You've heard about the rebirth of Osiris-Ra, then.. I warn you, Ruse, that it is not a rumour, and it is most certainly not something you should concern yourself with. Much, much too dangerous. You will - no, you will not enter Tushmuthut. Even with your advanced," he smiled, making Ruse feel very uncomfortable, "abilities, you would only mess things up more. Now it's a matter of damage control. I thank you for your concern and for your cooperation, but this is bad business. You best leave it."

Clavius said nothing.

Msonus

"We're testing for psychic abilities, mostly," said the administrator, a little confused, "But also for anarchistic or violent tendencies towards the Conclave."

Anik

(repeat)

"Good, good," said the administrator. "Now, what sort've Operations were you interested in? Familiar, Estranged, Aggressive?" He didn't bother explaining the terms. Anik could be expected to know.

Sura

"We are the Conclave," said the man, his voice a little sarcastic. "What do you think?"

Frank

(repeat)

"That is the whole story," said Bronus. "I swear it on my mother's grave! Nothing else to tell!"

Sura eyes the man, up then down. "I seek...", he started. He placed his hand down on the desk, sand pouring out of his sleeve, spreading across the surface. "Your leader. I want to meet him"

"Familiar Opperations, preferably research." He said quickly hopeing to get past all of this sort of administrative work, reminds him way to much of a cirtain god of lists. He didn't feel his sort of crafting would be useful in mass production, but better for say, the market. But his skills in knowlage and what they might grant him for research would definatly help.

Msonus nods, and bows his head slightly.

"Then I am ready, sir."

Ruse nodded courteously. He would stay away from the city for now, at least until he heard rumors of Osiris going back into relapse again. Roid was right - Ruse was not quite ready to be facing a foe like that yet. Although there were other ways of helping the conclave and especially the tree of life besides straight-up confrontation.

"Oh, and by the way councilman Roid, lord Clavius has been so kind as to come with me here to help me petition against the execution of Summers. I believe that the Conclave is acting too much out of anger in executing him, and humbly petition the Conclave to spare his life and please downgrade his offense category. If he was able to do such hacking, then he must be a man of great skill - skill that the conclave could utilize for its own benefits. Of course, we would be instructing summers under our most watchful eye."

It was interesting to Ruse how cowed Clavius was right now. Clavius probably somewhat realized that Ruse also was not merely some unimportant associate either. He would watch the future with great amusement.

"Lord Roid, I am willing to assist the Conclave with this, and take Summers on as a personal servant as a payment to us for reducing his sentence and saving his life. I feel that he would be a most valuable tool to the Conclave given his particular skillset, if molded properly and provided the correct tutelage in discretion and choice of action of course. Now more than ever I feel we need to gather resources to bolster our effectivenes against our enemies."

Ruse bowed his head, and added,

"I thank you for hearing my petition, and I will most graciously accept your lordship's judgement on this, be it if you choose to let him live or die. I merely had to do my duty as a concerned member of our glorious institution, and share with you my concern."

"Well how can there be nothing else to tell when you've barely told me anything?"

Frank was starting to get visibly agitated.

Crailek appears silently, and looks around. He knew he was supposed to be here, but earlier he had found no sign of what to do. For the moment he simply stands and waits, figuring if they wanted to talk to him so bad, they wouldn't jerk him around, and actually show where to go.
He still felt a bit annoyed about the bullet to the leg. He had experienced that feeling before, and he was still sure he didn't like it.

Ruse

Roid looked at Ruse, all of his eyes accept one closed. It was the Systemarch facial expression that meant, roughly, 'Are you an idiot?'

"You are aware," started Roid. "Of Riddel's support for the Cult of Osiris-Ra? The fact that he is a second-degree member of that dread faction? Perhaps, if you are not, you've heard stories two years past of the bombings of the Chapel of Methodes? His work. We'd just caught the bastard. We're not letting him go."]

The eyes opened again. For some reason, Ruse was relieved.

"Ruse," he said, "You are a deeply talented individual with several peculiar abilities. You will go far in the Conclave. I am sure of it. But still, I cannot trust such a talented technician and devoted of Osiris-Ra into anyone's hands accept Mother Death's. Anything less, I'm afraid, would be breaking my sacred Callisti oath," an eye winked, "And you know how important they are to the ethical core of the Conclave."

Msonus

The man nodded.

"Come with me, then, Msonus.."

Msonus was led to the back of the Hall, through winding, dark corridors, and finally to a door marked PSYCHE TESTING. The door was opened, and Msonus saw a friendly looking Systemarch filing through some papers. His desk was next to a long, black restrainer bed - straps and all - where, Msonus assumed, the tests would be underdone.

"Good afternood," said the Systemarch. "My name is Bludt, and I'll be overseeing your test. Now, just to clarify.. you're here for the Estranged Operations, right? You have no psionics? What's your name, please."

Anik

"Hmmm," said the administrator. "Familiar Operations it is. Sign here, and someone'll swing by your Realm to give you your oathsword and orders. Good-day."

Sura

"There is no single leader," said the administrator, annoyed. "It is a well-documented fact that the Conclave is run by a democratic Council of Ten members. Do you have an approved appointment with one of the Councilmen?"

Frank

"Sir," said Bronus. "I like you. I do. But please, consider how rude you must seem, visibly distrusting a man you've just met! Oh, if I wasn't so enamored with you, I'd almost be livid!"

Crailek

Crailek saw that, through all the commotion in the Hall, there was a rather long-looking line - moving along fast enough - in front of the administration desks. Presumably, this was where he had to enquire.

Sura coughs violently, sand expelling from his mouth as he does such. "Demo... cratic?", he smiles slightly, "No appointment. I will speak to someone in authority now."

Anik signed the paper. And then exited the Hall of the Sun.

Ruse couldn't help but grin at Roid. They danced around one another like cats (and Roid's sarcasm with the Callisti really made a point to Ruse), yet at the same time were totally seeing eye to eyes on things. It was a most fascinating interplay to watch, quite frankly.

"My lord Councilman, I deeply respect your judgement on this and will withdraw my petition. I suspected that he was involved in a highly criminal element, although was unsure if reform was possible or not at this stage. It seems by what you say that reform is impossible at this point, and in that case I defer to your wisdom and agree that Summers should be executed - both for his own good and that of the Conclave."

Ruse sighed though with some disappointment, and continued,

"I just feel that in these dark times, that not speaking up about certain concerns could be just as costly as dismissing them. In this case, the potential to utilize a resource personnel versus throwing away such a potential tool. But if reform is simply not possible, then the resource becomes too dangerous to spare, and there is no point to even making the effort. I just am always on the lookout for potentially new and viable tools for our operation."

Ruse bowed his head respectfully, and said,

"Thank you very much councilman for taking a moment and listening to my concerns and hearing me out. Even though we both agree now that summers should be executed, I think that having an inquiring mind like we do may one day be the difference between victory and loss at the hands of our enemies. If you need assistance with anything in the future, please do not hesitate to let me know. I will try to accomodate your needs as best as possible."

Msonus looks at the restraints rather than the systemarc, staring at the black bed and straps. He takes a breathe and sighs quietly to himself. His third eye flicks over to glance at who he was talking to.


"No psionics, sir, " Msonus says. He seems to stop, as if remembering something.

"but ah, where are my manners? I suppose you enjoy hearing the full name around here, yes? Then I am Grey Hierophantasm Msonus the First of the Lesser Realm of the Hills of Som, Returned God and Fragile Thaumaturgist of Mysticism and Dreams. It is a pleasure to meet you Bludt, though I do hope it remains that way. It wouldn't be very pleasant if we did not enjoy it anymore."

Crailek heads over to the line and waits in it with a deadpan expression.

Frank looked at the God of Cheats, for some reason sure that he was somehow being cheated...

"Sorry, friend. I did not mean to get upset like that. The problem is, I can't really see any way out of your current predicament."

He turned to the officials. "Hello gentlemen. Perhaps you would be kind enough to explain to me why this man cannot have what is rightfully his?"

Ruse

"Thank you, Ruse," said Roid. "I like you, even as your unorthodox approach to Conclave politics is something that bewilders me and heartens me equally at times. Listen closely," he growled, not unfriendly, "We're both aware of your little trick. We both know I could destroy you right here. But in troubled times like these, with bastards like," he spat, a common habit among Systemarchs, "Lictros in power, sucking the Dhaal of the Cult of Osiris-Ra, and the problems in Niborkerese, and.. Tushmuthut.."

He drifted off. Clavius was silent, a distant expression in his eyes - the Systemarch had put his mind to sleep.

"I wish to give you a personal deal. I want you to work with me, but I can't allow such a loose cannon to exist. I want you to be my personal.. inquisitor, of sorts, but in order to fully do that I'd need to know - one hundred percent - that I could trust you. This would involve, I fear, measures taken by me to ensure that. Using a tooth. Honestly, I didn't want to mention it to you, but the Leviatus are restless and I fear the Tree is in further danger.. my hand is forced. You are the sneakiest bastard I've met in a long time."

Roid looked at Ruse square in the eyes.

"Well? What're you looking at? Give me an answer. Will you bind yourself to my pursuit? To the safety of the Tree above all else?"

Msonus

"Hahahahahaha!" bellowed Bludt. "Oh, I do like your sense of humour. Now, if you'd lie down upon the bed, I'll begin the probe. You won't feel a thing, I promise."

Sura

"Friend," said the administrator diplomatically, "If you take a seat I will send a Low Lord to meet you as soon as possible. Please. Be patient."

Frank

"What man?" growled one of the grey-cloaks. "I suggest you speak sense, lowling, lest I poke you full of holes."

Bronus was gone.

Crailek

Crailek should cheer the fuck up. It's the end of the world!

He soon reached the front of the line, and an administrator waved him over.

"Yes?" she asked. "How can I assist you?"

Sura looks at the man harshly then did as the man said - taking a seat and waiting.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:46, Tue 20 Oct 2009.

Ruse considered for a moment, and was a bit sad that him giving over the osiris items was not proof enough. However, he equally understood what was motivating Roid - the councilman could not be too careful right now. Ruse could be be an enemy still despite everything. Although Roid was smart and his hunch about Ruse being affiliated with the tree was correct.

He didn't know how to respond to Roid. Did he tell him that systemarch teeth wouldn't work on him? Did he take it and just placate Roid? Did he display his trustworthiness by admitting the truth to Roid - a HUGE deal for a mist god full of secrets? Ruse decided that in this case, telling Roid the truth was literally the greatest way of displaying his sincerety. Ruse could offer Roid no better assurance of his sincerity.

Ruse shook his head, and replied,

"Don't bother wasting a tooth. I will offer you something far more personal for a mist god...something that will be so hard for me to do that you will have to know that I am sincere. I will offer you the truth. I will tell you something about myself that no other being knows, and in displaying my vulnerability to you I hope that you will see my sincerity."

Ruse moved closer to Roid, and whispered into the spider's ears in case the walls had ears.


Ruse then stood back, and said aloud,

"However, if you still prefer, I will submit to your tooth anyways, in so far as being related to desiring to protect the tree and everything else we've talked about. I respectfully accept your offer Councilor, and hope that my "proof of sincerety" was to your satisfaction. Again, I freely offer my soul's destruction to the Master Divine if I have lied to you right now about my intentions."
This message was last edited by the player at 13:56, Tue 20 Oct 2009.

Msonus does not laugh, having not made a joke in his own eyes, but he does smile at the cheerful noise. He gets onto the bad and lies down, hoping indeed that Bludt did not make promises idly.

He appears through shadow in a fashion similar to crailek's. He remember the divine valley the open fresh air and the beauty of the marketplace. This was death to him cold marble and intricate designs of metal and glass. What mockery was this? Although slightly upset by this development he remembered what he came here to do. To speak to the conclave itself. Moving forward to the line he looks about and wonders in his heart of hearts if this was what the world had truly become? Was this what was left?
*beat*
The heart, he would follow his heart.

Crailek shrugs to the woman. "I am unsure. I am Crailek of the Lesser Shadowlands. I have a feeling that I am supposed to be here."

Ruse

"Very well," said Roid. "I hope that -"

There was a crashing scream from above, and the electric lights within Roid's study flickered and went out. The roar of the crash was horrifying, as if the entire glass Hall of the Sun had been destroyed, and Ruse heard - telepathically rather than aurally - the screams of several dozen beings above. Chips of rubble fell from the stone roof, and then there was a terrible howling, as if a tornado had swept entire Valley..

Ruse fell to the floor, his head in agony. It was too much. Too much. He saw an unblinking red eye.. a city in the sand.. the dying screams of too many people..

For once, telepathy wasn't such a boon.

"I - I.." continued Roid, clearly shocked. "What -?"

A second, less horrible howl rose from nearby. Emergency sirens.

Sura & Crailek & Foun

There was a howl as a gust of wind, carrying pure white sand in its hands, spread across the Hall of the Sun. Several grey cloaks looked around angrily in protest. Many swore to themselves. The sand whipped knees, necks.. bizarre, but nothing particularly dangerous.

A few grey cloaks started towards Sura, who was sitting innocently on the couches. Chatter continued as normal.

"Ah, that was odd. Anyway, the Conclave would be glad to offer -" said the administrator to Crailek. Her last words.

Suddenly, a bubble of solidified sand surrounded Sura, obscuring what must be a deeply evil grin. The grey cloaks began to yell, draw weapons -

There was a great groan, and the Hall of the Sun - made of the strongest glass - crashed to the stone floor, shattering into a thousand shards and piercing all within. Crailek felt himself be pinned down by a shard that hit his left leg as another series of glass spikes hit his gut and shoulders. He saw the administrator fall, glass through her head.

Even wounded, need allowed him to react incredibly quickly. A psychokinetic bubble formed about him, deflecting most other pieces of falling glass.. he would keep it formed until the storm had finished. He was bleeding, in agony, but he would survive..

Foun saw the beings in front of him be devastated by the glass, but he was relatively lucky - a flesh wound to the knee, crippling him for a moment but nothing fatal. There were screams of anger, agony, despair.. many were deafened by the destruction of the Hall, and many more were blinded by the hundreds of dazzling shards flashing down in a deathly strike.

Frank saw the shard fall, as if in slow motion, yet could do nothing as it turned his head to mush, instantly killing him and splattering his brains all over the floor.

The golden enchantments of protection still glimmered hopefully. They'd protect the Hall from any invaders from inside.. but attackers from within were never considered. The Conclave was too mighty for such an attempt!

The glass shards had turned to sand or been harmlessly deflected whenever they hit the barrier about Sura.

Suddenly, the nightmare got worse. Sand rushed back towards the Hall of the Sun, ripping through the flesh at immense speeds. Everyone within the Hall of the Sun was killed. Crailek felt the sand hit the energy bubble, but it didn't pierce his protection. Foun was torn to pieces, his death no less painful. The howl was extremely loud, a monsoon of sand and death..

When the howl died, a siren rose from within the Inner Hall of the Sun - within the stone bunker that was, luckily enough, protected from the vicious storm. Most of the core members of the Conclave would be safe. Sentient metal grills descended upon the two doorways to below, attempting to protect the vital individuals within from any further violence.

Crailek was alive. Sura was alive. Exhausted, Crailek let the bubble drop and collapsed unto the bloody floor.

Gunshots rung out. Soldiers gathered. Everything that was within the Outer Hall, save the General of Osiris-Ra, was dead. The barracks were emptied. A diamond bullet struck through Sura's defences, striking him in the leg. The pain was immense, but nothing compared to the agony he had caused on this day.

He would pay for such a heinous crime.

Msonus

The lights within the room flickered on and off. Bludt gripped his head in his hands and fell to the floor, screaming. There was a massive crash from above, a deafening roar.. followed by an even louder howl of devastation. The Systemarch continued to scream.

A siren went off from within the Conclave halls.

"Stay here," said the administrator who had taken Msonus to the psyche test. "Lock the door when I leave. Open it only when the sirens stop. I need to go."

With that, the administrator slipped out into the havoc..
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:56, Wed 21 Oct 2009.

A stream of eyes follow the administrator a few moments later, spreading out and moving down hallways trying to see what happened. Msonus himself calmly goes to the door and, as the administrator instructed, locks it.

He walks over to Bludt and kneels down. Though he knows little of the situation, Msonus watches the screaming systemarch with a slightly pitying confusion.

Now, no longer needing secrecy, Sura creates more sand. He then uses it to create deadly sand storm. Within the sand storm were several sand spikes - along with the shards of glass, randomly flying about at high speeds. Finally, under the cover of the storm, Sura made his escape by moving his sand bubble with him still in it.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:01, Wed 21 Oct 2009.

Ruse writhed in agony for a moment on the floor as his mind was flooded with the psychic screams of the dying. Gods died. Mortals died. And sand...horrifying visions of sand spreading around eathing things like a cancer. It took a short moment for his mental defenses to kick in and push the "static" out, but Ruse wasn't too thrilled right now. Something horrible had happened up in the outer halls. Something deadly...it was a miniature genocide.

Ruse shifted into mist form, in case some falling piece of debris landed on him or something. He would be sure to paradox SUIT's activation of the shielding system from his godrealm self when it was up. Aesin and now this had taught him that leaving it on would be best.

Ruse's misty form drifted around Roid, circling him like a cat. More mist had begun to form around them, which then rose upward a bit in a dome-like shape and hardened using the power of the mist god. Ruse had effectively created a protective mist-bubble around Roid that would deflec tmost debris from it. He also attuned his mist to Roid as well, who found that he could see through it with ease.

"Roid..." An odd loud whispering sound said as it emanated from the mist. It sounded vaguely like Ruse...and in fact it was.

"Something horrible has happened in the outer halls. I think we've been attacked! Many gods and mortals have died. Are you okay? This mist bubble should protect you from any falling rubble, although this inner area is impressively fortified it seems."