Cery gasped as the man managed to kick his knife and drive it into his arm. Filled with adrenaline as the blood gushed from the wound he side steped another kick and punched the man hard in the head, knocking him out. He let the shadow bindings fall as the man slumped down to the floor unconscious. He turned to the woman he'd been threatening and with a tilt of his head addressed her, "I hope he didn't hurt you. This the guy you want done in right?"
He began to examine and bandage his arm using strips of cloth ripped from the unconscious dwarf.

Diffle had stood in shock at the fight, but at Cery's question she snapped out of it. She grabbed a cloth from the wall and wiped her face, causing the bruises and cuts to nearly disappear, then she wiped Cery's injury and it sealed up and stopped bleeding as she said, "Yes, this is the guy I needed killed. He's been threatening to kill me for weeks, and each time it gets worse. Last time he cut my throat and only handed me my healing cloth just before I lost consciousness. He told me that the next time he wouldn't be so generous and that I'd better decide that I was his before I couldn't be anyone's ever again. He's serious. He will kill me. Please help me!"

Cery marvelled at the cloth as it wiped away his wounds, something like that might have put him out of action for days and yet he flexed his arm and instead of a stab of pain felt soreness and tenderness. He winced at the woman's declaration. He had hoped that it was just a lover's spat gone wrong; well it was but not in the way he'd hoped. He regarded the unconscious man, then looked back at the woman. "Are you sure about this? I think I understand the situation and you want to be rid of him, but it's also a big decision, one that leaves a stain on you."

He racked his brain, thinking of if there was anyone he knew who could offer an alternative, someone who could make the man disappear without killing him, or perhaps have a word with the thug's bosses so that they might put him in his place, or threaten him directly and use fear to keep him away.

09:46, Today: Ceryni rolled 11 using 2d6 with rolls of 5,6.  I know a guy.

Cery has a vague recollection about a treewoman named Stella he heard about who had created her own Oner that operated by its own rules. He remembers that the Portal Creators Guild has recently had an influx of new members, and that his childhood friend, Djust Iss who was obsessed with law and order, had been also fascinated with Portals and the possibility of prison Oners. He has a hunch that Djust might just have a solution. In any case, someone at he Portal Creators Guild should know of some place to send unwanted people.

Diffle answers Cery, "I... I don't know. If it's him or me, I'd rather live with the guilt than die innocent." While she's talking, she grabs some rope and begins tying up Hamish.

Cery nodded, "I do understand that feeling. Listen, I know a couple of people; the kind who make people disappear without killing them. I can ask if they can do anything with him if you'd prefer that?"

"Alright. I think I can keep him here for about day. I have some sleeping herbs and he kept me secret from his family and friends so they'll never know to look here."

Cary pauses to look at the woman, not sure what he'll find. Probably fear but he wasn't sure what else, "Are you sure? I won't be gone long, I'll be back by the evening."

If she agreed then Cery took off for the portal makers in hopes of finding Djust and finding a resolution as soon as possible.

Diffle lowered her head but held his gaze, "I'm a level 5 traditional herbalist. I can handle this."

Ceryni went to the main Portal Terminal to visit the Portal Creators' Guild. To reach the Guild, he had to go through to the centre of the Ring of Portals, and down a spiral staircase into a room beneath. Half of one of the walls was taken up by a Portal that he went through into the Portal Creators' Guild World. They had chosen an Oner with no gravity and with plenty of atmosphere but very few floating objects to minimize potential damage from Portal explosions that were so common and frequently fatal for the unexperienced.

A network of ropes created a 3D spider-web of interlinked locations within the guild. The first location was Reception. Once he gave the clerk, Djust's name, he was handed a rope to follow. He followed the rope out to Djust's primary Portal. Djust was inside the Portal, so Cery went into Djust's Oner.

Cery was floating in a void of royal blue with perfectly white fractal clouds. Djust stood in front of him with his arms crossed.

This message was deleted by the player at 15:45, Tue 28 Jan 2020.

(As a note, she would be totally down to help some one set up a prison oner, if the focus was therapy, rehabilitation, and re-ingratiation rather than segregation from the rest of the population.  They do not believe in prisons as a place to store bad people, they should be a place to help people work out the problems they have that made them do bad things.)

"I'll never get the hang of this," Cery laughed as he lost his grip on  the rope and tumbled a little before regaining his orientation. "Hey Djust, haven't seen you in several weeks. These portals and stuff keeping you busy?"

He held her gaze for a moment, she'd known him long enough to know there was something bothering him. "I took a job, someone wanted her violent ex-boyfriend done away. It's like that guy that used to give Julie  trouble. I walked in and I swear he was about to cut her up. You know I can't stand people like that, I almost did do him in then and there, but I'd rather we get rid of him; same way - I'm sure you've got one of those correctional places we could dump him in. The guy's got more than enough of a rough streak to warrant it. Could you help me?"

Djust answered, "Yeah, I think I can do something for you. I've got a section of my personal Oner here set up to confine people like that. I've also heard that Star Lady has a similar place." Djust held his thumb and forefinger together and said, "Show me Corrections Planet, my Oner." And suddenly a viewing screen of a planet pictured on it appeared before them. Djust continued, "Zoom in on some of the inmates." The image zoomed in to the surface of the planet to reveal various people working together on a building project. "That will be all." Djust turned to Cery, "I've made violence impossible, and given them constructive projects to work on. They eat the food here, so they can't leave even if they found a Portal out. Whenever my Oner says they're rehabilitated, I send them through a series of moral tests and if they pass, I replace their fake matter for real matter that I bring in from outside, then I free them. I can take the guy you're talking about. Here, take this."

Djust hands Cery a small ring with a button. "Press the button and a Portal will expand from the inside of the ring. Toss the man into the Portal and I'll take care of the rest."

"Aww thanks Djust you're the best," he rushes in to give her a hug. "You always got the right answers when I need them. How about I take you to lunch when you're free, to say thank you? Been way too long since we caught up."

Djust sighed and relaxed a little, then smiling she said, "Yeah, okay."

Cery gives a friendly pat on the shoulder and calls out another thank you as he leaves the room heading back for his client with a bit of a smile.

Diffle was waiting for him, and when he knocked on the door, she let him in fairly quickly. Spying the ring with the button, Diffle said, "That's a Portal Ring!" as she snatched it from Cery and pressed the button, sending Hamish into the Portal which promptly closed right afterward, leaving the ring behind on the floor.

Diffle said, "Thank you so much! Here is the price I promised." She hands Cery a bag with $200, more than some people make in a year, but less than a CEO makes in an hour.

"By the way, my mom is working on a project to bring medicine to a people who are completely without modern medical care, but the only Portal to these people is owned by a man who refuses to let anyone bring medicine through his Portal. No one else can find this world, so he has exclusive access, and he locks away in a private Oner, anyone he finds smuggling medicine. Can you think of any way you might be of help to us?"

Cery takes the money with a quick, "Thanks. I hope you'll feel a bit safer now."

"What kind of medicine are we talking about here? I could scout it out if you're giving me another job."

Diffle stares for a moment at Ceryni, as if weighing him in her mind. "It's mostly a salve made from the same plant whose fibres the cloth I have is woven from. It... does have other benefits and occasional side-effects too. It helps people feel more at ease, and some people get unhealthily attached to that feeling, but it's nothing like BadBlood."

There are many drugs on the streets of Nexus, but BadBlood has always been the most notorious. BadBlood is extremely addictive and extremely fun, but always lethal to quit. Only someone who is injected with BadBlood against their will can be saved from the life-threatening effects, but only with the hard-to-find and expensive bonhemotin.

"I am willing to give you the job, and my family will back the pay. But we have to wait for the first load of medicine to be delivered. You can scout first if you like, and I'll keep the first packet of medicine here for you to pick up when you're ready. Or you can take the packet even now. You're choice. The medicine is in these marbles," Diffle shows Ceryni a few marbles in a bag. "For each marble delivered, we will pay $10." Ten days' wages for each small marble delivered. That could add up quickly. And Ceryni got the feeling that Diffle's family might be more organized than most.

Cery couldn't manage containing the surprise on his face at Diffle's quick change in attitude and clear organisation. "Well damn this is sounding good to me. I can't make promises because I don't know this guy or what his security's like. Just let me know where I can find him, and where this portal of his is though and I'll see if I can do it. If I can I'll come tomorrow, or maybe the day after and we'll go from there."

With that in mind he takes off to see if he can find this man and size him up.

Ceryni had heard about Mr. Lyenz. He was not a pleasant man. He'd just as soon cheat you as pay you, and you never knew if you were getting a fair deal from him. He was reckless with his own life and safety, and he didn't treat his employees much better. He learned Portal Creation the hard way, before safe Private Oner schools opened up. He had the explosion scars to prove it. His leonid ancestry left him without any social skills, and without regard for anyone he walked on.

Mr. Lyenz operated out of a warehouse, with his proprietary Portals all partitioned off with two points of access for each. The premium pay outside-entry, and the laymen's labyrinth of corridors inside the warehouse. Premium pay guards were stationed where they could attend to 6 Portals at a time (2 below, 2 beside and 2 above), and a special entry cage permitted access by only one vehicle at a time to only one entry at a time.

The laymen's main entrance had guards, but the internal halls to the Portals were only patrolled by 5 guards. The entry guards search everyone who enters.

While watching for about an hour, Cery notices 4 produce delivery carts exiting the warehouse, 5 carts entering, and a steady stream of about 2 people per minute coming and going.

Satisfied with the knowledge he'd acquired so far, Cery now waits for Lyenz to leave the premises and follows him in the hopes that he'll go to a public place for a drink or meal or something of the like. He fully expects the man to sit alone brooding in the corner of some bar. Hopefully a chance to interact with him. If instead the man goes straight home Cery notes the location and returns here in order to see what security is like at night and if there are any holes or problems he can exploit.

Lyenz goes to a seedy bar in the Pirate district and buys a vial of Badblood and a Whisky Sour from the bartender. He goes to a corner booth as Ceryni expected and begins sipping his Whisky and getting out his pipe to smoke the Badblood.

Cery noticed no holes to exploit, but also only a few Magem users in the guards - no employees seemed to have any other magic than Magem.

Cery orders a weak ale not wanting to get himself drunk and just wanted to appear to be drinking heavily. He takes his mug and heads in the direction of the booth. He makes as if he's looking around at tables in that direction before picking out someone sitting on his own who looks like he's too drunk to really know what's going or probably even be able to stand without assistance.

He grabs the man by the scruff and drags him to his feet, saying loud enough that Lyenz can notice, "I thought I told you not to show your face again till you have my money." He pushes the man away letting him fall to the floor and takes his seat, giving him a sideways view of Lyenz sitting nearby in his booth. He grumbles in Lyenz's direction, "Give them an inch and they'll take a mile."

Lyenz watched bemusedly as Cery roughed up a delinquent customer. He answered, "Tell me about it!" as his mind raced. Here was a potential client. A shrewd business man like himself who wasn't bogged down by what the sheeples called 'morals'. He needed to feel this guy out and see if he could sell access to one of his more exploitable worlds he discovered. He followed up with, "Why not finish that drink over here at my booth? What business you in?" He pulled a few drafts from the Badblood pipe and waited on Cery.

Cery shrugs and then shifts from the chair he'd sat in to the one opposite Lyenz. "Some people just got no respect for paying them they owe, you know what I mean?" He takes a swig from his mug and then indicates the unconscious man speaking in a boistrous but not too loud voice, "Take that bum. He pays me to do a job, agrees to half upfront. When I come back to collect the other half, he flips me off and tells me he aint got it and yells at me to shove off. I'd turn him in but a night in a cell would probably be a luxury to filth like that."

He shakes his head then turns his attention back to Lyenz, "Sorry 'bout that, sometimes you just gotta let off some steam you know. Name's Cery, I do odd jobs for those that can't or won't do business with the guilds. Usually specialise in deliveries, sometimes acquisitions too," he gives Lyenz a knowing look. "And what about you?"