"So, your next tale begins here? You must think it important to be this detailed."

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While being reconstituted from having his vision taken out, Magnus's jumbled vision had enough time to register a green ball of what would have been magical terror to anyone else, but was simply one of Magnus's bigger spells to him. Even so, this one was pure power, even by his metric.

His unconstituted form was battered and destroyed, his reforming vision blackened out once more before turning into a swirl of silver and argent light, attempting to forcibly reconstitute him into a horrid construct of bone, metal and glass. The nature of Sol synergized with the demonic radiation engaged in a push and pull on his very essence, and his verser nature proved to be the tipping point in the debate of what Magnus was going to become.

Magnus was reborn, his birth cry being a spreading corona of aquatic, watery flames that birthed an alien oasis, washing out from him to the surrounding black glass that made up the ground, crushing it into soil, and causing oddly geometric flowers to bloom forth.

His vision stabilized. His avatar was gone. Tariel was no longer a companion, but now a part of him, an extension of his own will.

Only Magnus was left, with only his own thoughts about what had just happened and the glare of the clear aqua sky above.

I blink a few times and look around noting any land marks or other features of note.
He finds Unfettered in his hand And The Hoarfrost Giant's sword on his back along with the Karnstein sheath for unfettered is also on his back. the sack with his few possessions hangs on his belt. How is this stuff still here?

He checks the bit of his soul that stores the blueprints for Last Citadel and notes that He manage to get Faithful Avenger. Perhaps he manage to defeat Lucian with that Final Strike?...

He then feels the Link he has with Tariel and asks him
How are you feeling? Did that hurt you?

After talking with Tariel to make sure he is ok. Magnus starts taking off his armor to make the ritual to examine himself easier. He sits down to meditate for a bit and focus on the flows of power within himself. Feeling out the power that ...Rebuilt? him.
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:56, Wed 01 Jan 2020.

Of course I am okay. Tariel sounded a bit...off, even through a psychic connection. However, it seems you have been altered, and myself with it. This is strangely empowering, and I believe I have grown beyond normal limits.

Unfettered is no longer in its sheath, although he senses that one could simply reach sideways and get it, just by reaching back to the sheath. Indeed, all of those weapons are there, along with the feeling of having an infinite forge of anything he wants within his reach, a factory that has yet to be fully restored to its rightful glory, a field filled with army destroying weapons meant to be given in turn to an army that will annihilate all who oppose it under the Green Sun and the supplies to field them. The giant's weapon is gone - obliterated by the energies that had just rebuilt him.

That said, there are ice crystals sprouting from the ground amidst the flowers and grass. How long they will last under this sun is another story. The weapon will not be missed for long.

He feels the magic around him, but it is unresponsive. The harsh techniques of dark magic could simply tear the power out of the air around him at a cost, but there otherwise seems to be some kind of strange ritual either required or encouraged before power can be tapped into here - a lock barring it, with a key of unknown yet somehow simple nature. Inside of himself, he feels a strange ionic storm and a zigzag series of power circuits that his body has rewritten itself to move energy along.

And right now, those power circuits have a lot of conduits that end at the joints of his limbs, shoulders, elbows, knees, fingers, toes, and the heels, oddly enough. His head feels clearer than ever - an understanding that no one is perfect, all must beware falling victim to the self, and all must simply strive to do their best, whatever the personal cost. He's pretty sure this idea makes sense...alien though it is.

Maybe Tariel's just rubbing off.

Either way, Magnus feels like a living weapon that can make more weapons.

The wind simply howls as the air returns here, blowing debris and sand around him up and into the sky. The sky goes dark, and the sun is momentarily blotted out. Magnus, and his oasis, are a strange calm in this sandstorm as a mushroom cloud announces the arrival of a verser and the change they wrought.

He swears he hears the faint sound of cheers and engines, but he cannot pinpoint where.
This message was last edited by the GM at 09:40, Sun 12 Jan 2020.

I am glad you are ok, Tariel. How have you grown beyond your normal limits?


Magnus feels the thing sideways from him and gets the impression that he can draw things from there. But can he put things there?

He takes his helmet and pushes it sideways into the space that he feels connected to him. If this work he will pull it back out and store it again to get the feel of doing this. Then He will store everything he has besides the cloths on his back.


He feels the circuits and the ionic storm within himself.
Magic Circuits like Fate Stay Night? This will require examination.
But not now. I could force the issue. But it is not worth annoying reality just yet. Let's see if I can figure out what hoops the world wants me to go through for magic.



hmmmmmmm... Does the other space control the temperature?

He breaks off a few ice crystals and stores them to see what happens to them later.

He thinks some more.
I felt my Avatar get Destroyed or... Eaten By me. Yet. I feel that I can still do magic if I wanted to. Was this fusing with my Avatar like Chang told me about? This is incredibly weird. I am literally standing under a mushroom cloud as it forms.

Object could enter and leave easily. It was a subspace set within himself.

Around Magnus, the ground rumbled one more time, the skies cleared, and he had enough time to realize that he had somehow caused some kind of chain reaction simply by coming into existence here. The ground began to buckle and reform, with the flat lands around him rupturing forward into hills. A mountain emerges from in front of him, and part of it cracks to pour water out from it.

He knows this is not his power, but something he did jump started something else. The technical power that flowed through the ground screamed in objection as another system pushed it out. His oasis was turning into the bottom of a valley.

Green, strangely geometric blades of grass emerged from the ground. Everything here had the quality of being created, and yet it had all the impressions of being life otherwise.

After five minutes, and he was pretty sure the shaking was simply in his mind at that point, actual rumbling was felt in the ground as part of the mountain blasted free. Lights, technological in nature, beamed out from the sides of the mountains as a fairly large group was apparently driving out of the mountain side in his direction.

A group of about fifteen on stylized motorcycles made it to him first, led by some wiry woman with a busted, heavily scarred face, and keeping up with them was a heavily modified bulldozer with cannons mounted on its front.

The woman yelled something to him, clearly a challenge as she drew what was unmistakably a submachine gun, but there was a sound like an engine rumbling very, very loudly all around him, drowning out all other sounds. The others with her were well armored for people who were clearly either finding or scavenging their own stuff, and looking at him with war-hungry eyes.

Master, I cannot hear what this savage is saying. It seems to be something rude with unwise intent. We must show them mercy - they know not what they are trifling with.

Behind them was a slower convoy of vehicles of much larger size. There looked to be around one hundred vehicles with aggressive signs on them, followed by other vehicles of a more distinctive nature, all with trailers that had slabs and various construction materials on them.

I Stand to my full height and Shout back over the idling of their engines.
"I am New here. So you Don't know who you are Dealing With. Therefore, I will allow you to take back your challenge. Otherwise I will have to knock you out."

I stand there obviously fearless. I don't regard their group as a threat.

Honestly, I don't expect that they will back down. If they try to shoot me, I will dodge towards their leader then charge with a restrained Strike.

Magnus witnesses the woman get a confused look on her face. She turns to one of the others next to her and starts yelling, looking back and forth as she gestures them to turn their bikes off. As they do so, she seems to yell something at the makeshift tank, and the smoke stops rising from it.

The rumbling doesn't stop, and it drowns out what appears to be an amused question, which looks to him like "what was that?" She has a twisted smile on her face, although the scarring really wouldn't allow any other type. Her firearm is pointing to Magnus, but she's disguising like it is a casual action, propped up on the bars of her chopper.

At this point, Magnus hears a screeching noise like a radio, and the engine noises go silent as he hears a woman's deep voice. Okay, so this thing actually does work on you. Keep T-Bone busy for a bit. That's the fucked up looking lady with the two souls...or man. I don't know what you see her as. She says she's a she, and we don't argue here.

Stall them. I am on my way. We are well armed, and my guys are fucking psycho. Don't panic.

"Hey!" The scarred woman the voice called T-Bone yells out, and discharges three rounds from her weapon into the ground next to Magnus. "I'm talking to you, asswipe! What the fuck did you just say to me?!"

I don't react to the bullets striking the ground near me.

"I told you to back down from your challenge. You and your men wouldn't survive If I fought you Seriously... But you wouldn't believe that.
How about this? How about you come off that motorcycle and fight me? I'll even allow you to use your gun and your armor to make it as fair as possible. "

Now she squinted her eyes at Magnus.

"Guys, you want to help me fuck this man up?" There are a lot of assenting murmurs as they cock their weapons.

One of them chimes in. "T-Bone, are we taking him for a joyride?"

"Hell yeah. After the tunnels, I am in the mood for a joyride." All of them put their weapons up and pull chains from the sides of their bikes, ones with hooks at the tops. "You don't fuck with one chopper, asshole. You fuck with all of us."

"Hey, T?" A deep voice came out from the tank.

"WHAT?" T-Bone was clearly eager to get to what her gang wanted to do.

"We have this guy standing in a land we just got done terraforming, and he clearly doesn't give a shit about anything you are doing or nor is he slackjawed at the suddenly transformed land he is in. Maybe we should let the others do the talking."

"Or, you could shoot him with those gods' damn cannons of yours."

The voice in the tank got defensive. "I might fuck up our new home shelling him!"

"He will feel it more! And if he is a fucking demon, we need to kill him right now!"

"Mister? Hi, name's Marilyn, cause I'm a wizard with a car. My friend asked you what you were doing here, and you responded with...kind of a not answer? How about you tell me? We have a do-over!"

There was a collective sound of disappointment from the other bikers, with T-Bone's "engine's sake" clearly sounding over the rest. "What? Poor stupid bastard's about to die, might as well hear him out!"

"Sorry. I couldn't hear her at first Because of a Loud Engine That apparently most of you can't hear. I Just got here and witnessed the transformation firsthand. Where you the ones that cast that nuke spell?"

"Nope. We were in the tunnels at the time. Wasn't told anything about a nuke going off. Maybe that was just the Geck you felt?"

T-Bone yelled to Marilyn. "Is this guy another fucking Quarantine? He's just as annoying as he is."

"I...maybe? Say, you don't happen to know where your pods are, do you? There's usually some pretty good stuff in those."

A large, covered flatbed truck with way too many people on its back was driving up behind Marilyn's tank, and T-Bone groaned, making her thoughts known. "Oh, great. Now the fucking savvyhead tells us exactly what we can see for ourselves. One bar says she tells us to kill the motherfucker."

Marilyn, muffled in the tank though his voice (her voice?) is, sounds cheerful. "I'll take that bet. I like rations."

"Geck? Quarantine? Savvyhead?... I'm pretty sure that I don't have any diseases. Especially ones that would need quarantined. And I don't have any pods now."

T-Bone looked to the tank incredulously. "He is another quarantine! Fucker probably woke up when we fired up the Geck and doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground."

A woman wearing a tech suit with a hunchback and squinting eyes came out from the passenger seat of the flatbed holding some kind of oversized walkie in her hands. She waved to the flatbed, which had similar men to those riding the chopper on it.

The woman spoke. "T-Bone, this one's open to the engine. They hear it as clear as a child does. Had to use this to close his brain for a moment. Was he acting deaf or something?"

T-Bone got defensive. "Naw! He answered my questions and everything. Said he was going to kick my ass and take my pack, and I told him to get fucked and prepared to send him out of this life."

The new woman just looked at T-Bone, an expression that proclaimed 'really?'

"You tell her that's what happened Marilyn!"

"Umm...so, Leah, that freaky thing you are holding do anything else?"

The woman with squinting eyes, apparently Leah, looked up to Magnus. "You are different from the other one who joined us. We will be building a modular town here, and we have no intention of leaving. Quarantine is good at warfare, motivation, and being annoying with his inquisitiveness."

Leah smiled, accentuating a kind face, and continuing as T-Bone added "glad I'm not the only one who's noticed".

"You are likely skilled in personal warfare. Where do you feel you are useful?"

"Yeah. I couldn't hear a things at first because of this loud engine. I had to guess what she was saying."
I gesture to T-Bone.

"I would be really surprised if any of you where better than me in personal warfare. I'm also decent at leading people in battle.

You mentioned Demons before. Are there Demons or other monsters around? I Would be excellent at killing them."

"Cocky fucker, for a man who was seconds from a joyride."

"Violence is how you define yourself?" Leah chuckled. "I suspect you are more than that, but a man of your talents will never find themselves wanting. You will probably want to give...either Frog or Green Andes, your talents. Frog is the fat man with the face-concealing battle helmet and the shotgun, while Green Andes is a half-dressed, scarred, wiry man who always looks like he's about to break into tears at any moment. Frog doesn't say a lot beyond commands, while Green Andes is fairly preachy."

"You have to earn your bars around here, but I think you'll do fine at it. Let me know who sounds more interesting to you, and Marilyn here will get you there."

"I have a reason to be cocky T-Bone.

I am also decent at building things. But I would prefer eliminating major dangers to your town before I go into that.

She Mention demons. Is there Magic here as well?

I Guess I'll talk to Green Andes."

"Oh, fu-" T-Bone is cut off into irrelevancy as Leah directs you to the side of Marilyn's tank. She knocks on the side door twice as she answers you. "There is no magic. It is only the rumbles of the engine, and each of us hears and touches it differently. You will learn to make the engine work, in your own way. I can feel it in my bones."

"Hold on a second. It's hard to open for a good reason." Magnus hears a handle slowly turn, and then the door pops open. He sees that the interior of the tank has been reduced to a borderline crawlspace with lots of padding. "How are you, big guy? Climb on in, I'll take you to one of the holy folk we got."

The sun has truly guided your decisions. We shall learn their faith.

T-Bone snorts. "Holy. Hah! Fucking crazy bastard, more like it. You'll see when you meet him, Q2 Badass."

T-Bone yells to her gang. "Let's ride! Clear the perimeter of anyone not us!"

All vehicles start up, and as you enter the tank, Leah hands Magnus the walkie she was holding. Once he gets in, he cannot hear anything over the sounds of the actual, real tank engine. Marilyn is apparently a very effeminate man, build like a solid rail, almost a reverse of T-Bone. He can can barely hear her as she yells to you, "Hey, I gotta let Lang know what we are doing."

She grabs a shortwave radio receiver, and starts yelling into it. "YO, LANG! PICKED UP A NEW GUY! TAKING HIM TO 5TH UNIT! LEAH'S ADVICE! OVER!"

Magnus can barely make out the reply. "Gods damn Leah. She does not outrank me. I'll talk with her and her new guy later, the one that seems to have delayed Cavalry. 5th is rearguard. Drive around us. Over."

He arrives, gets out of that rattling tank that seems to have been driven by a mad person who only understands accelerate, power slides, and sudden stop, and a paramilitary unit in inferior armor is setting up at the base of the mountain, where the water comes down. They are already setting up the edges of what will become an impressive white building.

A wiry man only wearing pants and boots, who shows signs of a savage beating with a hot brand, greets Magnus. "Welcome, welcome good sir. You are the first outsider to witness the creation of our new home, K'mek. This is the resting place of a god that answered to no god. I am Green Andes, bearer of the sacred water that quenches any thirst. You have yet to cross the threshold, nameless sir, so the laws of the water do not apply yet to you. Ask what you wish, and I will answer, and ask, in kind."

Despite his demeanor, he seems to be sizing you up, his watery eyes bearing into the soul.
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:09, Tue 14 Jan 2020.

I'll follow her to the tank and reply to Marilyn.

"I am fine."


I actually enjoy my ride. It reminds me of Riding with Laura Karnstein.

"I am called Magnus. What is this God that answered to no god you are talking about? What are the Laws of water?"

This message was last edited by the GM at 06:00, Sun 24 May 2020.

Green Andes looked quizzically at Magnus. "K'mek was. City and guardian both. He is dead now, but he is not forgotten."

He seems to be warming up a bit as he considers the laws of water. "There are four laws you need to know. I didn't make them, and I didn't choose the punishments. But they are absolute, and either the one who breaks them is punished, or I am. The alternative is the return of thirst, and one man is not worth that."

"First rule - keep your agreements. Any deal you make by the waters of the gods is binding. So do not agree to anything carelessly. It is better to be silent. The punishment is forced labor to one of the other councilors here."

"Second rule - everything belongs to everyone else, so give freely. Your possessions are not your own while you are here. Do not get attached to them. Bear in mind, this rule comes full circle, so try not to abuse it. Also, it only applies while here - once they leave, and you leave, anyone you took property from might have an issue with that, or you might have an issue with them. The punishment for hoarding by the waters of the gods is disfigurement." His smile became wry. "That one made me into the man I am today."

"Third rule - do no violence and no intentional harm. This one is pretty clear. The waters demand peace. The punishment is forced labor, again, to another councilor."

"Fourth rule - a slave who crosses the threshold is free. They have to find their own way out, but neither I nor anyone else can make demands no more of them than any other freeman. The punishment for collecting a freed slave is public humiliation. It is worse than it sounds - the former slave gets to have a say in how that goes down."

Green Andes exhaled in frustration. "That is a lot to recall for a few people. I repeat myself a lot or others do, because a lot of people cannot read what I post. I have to put a threshold in front of my threshold so that people have the time to learn what is expected of them."

City and Guardian?... that sounds interesting.  I would like to hear his story later if you don'tmind.

I listen to the laws he lays out.

"I see. You have made a neutral zone where people can come to talk and make agreements. I would imagine that you have trouble enforcing that 2nd law... oh I see. You only enforce that while they are here.


Well. The others said that you have work that I could help with. What kind of work is it?"

Green Andes gave Magnus a long look. "Well, I only enforce the law of the gods in regards to their water. I will later be asked to help with the law of the council in regards to this town, once we make it. My law is separate from theirs, and theirs from mine. Lang and I have an understanding, and the council honors it."

"Don't know why you were sent my way, but if the gods will it, I will work you. I will offer you bars for work, because you are no mule. You carry yourself like a warrior, but not like my...well..."

He gestured to a small group of men, one of whom was thrusting the air with his groin while the others laughed, undoubtedly entertaining them with some bawdy tale. "They are at least a resourceful bunch. I will say that in their defense. Rearguard, and battlefield salvage. Last to enter, but last to leave. If they actually die, then all is truly lost."

"You, on the other hand, are made of sterner stuff. Closer to Frog, Ruby or Doom." He caught a look in Magnus's eye, one that betrayed unfamiliarity with the names. "Our officers, such as they are, commanders of the 4th, 1st, and 2nd Units, respectively. I command the 5th. Formidable, and a grand cut over men like my...'soldiers.' Frog's a taskmaster, Doom Rex is a damn tyrant, and Ruby Tavi is an introverted duelist who was offered and accepted a position she honestly cares little for."

"ok. I should warn you. I have some strange abilities. Such as the ability to store things in a space outside of out space. And pull them out.


I pull out a Stone Dragon scroll and let Andes see it before putting it back.

"Therefore, You can't enforce your 2nd law on me or even know what I have unless I allow it. Even then, it would be incredibly easy for me to cheat.

If you are willing to deal with me, then I can work with you. Indeed,  I can fight. But I can also build things."

"Brother." Green Andes squinted his eyes at Magnus incredulously. "This is not about enforcement. I do not make these rules. They are the gods' rules regarding the water. Do you seriously want to game those who are the providers of the Source?"

"Nothing you possess is worth that." Green Andes gave a wry smile. "It's interesting that you can charge into battle or offer to throw up a wall, heedless of your life and danger, and that you refuse to risk losing a bauble to a stranger."

I shrug
"I didn't consciously develop this. What I have Isn't that valuable to you. But it Valuable and has meaning for me. If I saw a need that one of the things I got could be used for, I would probably give it to them or let them borrow it. But I'm going to keep them in that other space until they are needed.

I Didn't have tell you about my inventory. And If I didn't tell you about it there would have been no way for you to know about it. I told you to prevent a potential violation of your laws. Since I don't want ether of us hurt over this.
"

Green Andes shook his head. "I'm glad you informed me of this, and felt a need to be honest. It speaks well of you. But what is in there that has no value to another and yet value to you? These are the wastes of the north. Anything that does not quench your thirst, whatever form that takes, is weighing you down. Besides, maybe you will quench the thirst of another through your gift."

He puts a hand on Magnus's shoulder, looking up at him with those eyes. "It's scary at first. Most would try to hide it from me and eventually fail. You have some scandal about you that will boil up, but you are not a danger to us - as long as you don't try to game the gods. You can choose to not bring it here, by putting it in your own place, or just not reveal you have it, but you will know what you are doing, and you will know what you are doing, and what the price is. These others who do that risk everyone. Be better. Do not fear the laws of the gods."

"Ok. Now that critical information is out of the way. What kind of work do you have?"

Green Andes frowned and sighed. "Well, you can go from person to person, make sure the laws are being followed, and otherwise be a good example."

He pointed to a group. "Take those guys. They gave their word that they were going to help set up this place, but they are just in a circle smoking some local dope."

"We just got here, too. They work fast."

"They think I broke my word to them. I promised them rest after the waters were secure, but they seem convinced that has happened right now. Some of them are going to start taking their chances in the desert. They are tired, and their faith is on the edge of a knife, right at the moment when we are almost truly done. And I need your help at pushing them to make that extra effort to get this place built, because they really don't want to talk to me right now."

"You do that, and you've earned yourself a bar." Green Andes slapped Magnus's shoulder. "I have work to do. I've got to make sure the instruments of the gods are attuned to this place."

I walk around the compound, looking at the materials and figuring out how they are put together.
Is it set up so that you have to have multiple people working together to put it up? Or could I theoretically put it up by myself?

After I examine how the building is put together, I will go and talk to the Men smoking the drugs.

"That water doesn't look very secure to me. Aren't you the guys that are supposed to be setting up this building?

The walls are modular in nature, and the hardest part about them seems to be getting them into position. Occasionally, one breaks down, and at that point welding torches get broken out, or failing that more scrap metal to just pound a solution into place. It is the walls going up first, and you realize that this place is, to a point, already planned out as scrap metal-wearing men with berets on their heads yell out orders to the soldiers in this area.

Putting a slab of wall up would be extremely difficult and slow for one, mostly due to the balancing act required. They are doing by hand a job best done with heavy equipment. Trucks and cars are being conscripted for the job, but they are limited in what they can do without actual heavy equipment - barring Marilyn's tank, which is in a different part of this town-to-be.

The circle of men look to you. "So Green got you working for him, doing the job he won't."

The one who is speaking is wearing blue and white dirty robes, with multiple patches in them. "Tell Green that we have done our part. The soldiers are here, the water is here. We have finished our role as we promised. We want the labors of the road and the tunnels to be over, as he promised."

The speaker smiles smugly. "We are here at the site of the waters, so we are not slaves. He cannot use violence on us. We have honored the exact words we made."

"It is Green Andes who demands too much!" There was murmuring of agreement behind him from the others.

"Green Andes seems to think that you are breaking your word. But since you are insistent on the use of exact words. What where the exact words of your agreement with him?"

The speaker walks up to Magnus and glares up at him. "How about he comes over here so that he can tell us himself, and then we can tell him to shove it up his ass! We listened to him ramble on about his damn gods for half a year! We want our due, or the gods can get a new bearer of water!"

At that point, one of the others chimes in. "Hey, whoa. I didn't sign up for this interfighting crap. Me and Dean are hitting the road."

The speaker spins from Magnus to the one talking. "To the Sun with you and Dean! Faithless bastards! The gods want a replacement for Andes, and we will be their hands in making it happen!"

The sun's representative is standing before him. This man should show respect.

The others were nodding their heads in agreement at the words of the fiery orator, although one of them gave Dean's friend a sympathetic look.

indeed I grow tired of them taking me lightly. I'll show...
A flash of insight hits me. They used Sun like I would used Hell. They are a Culture inhabiting a desert. Therefore the sun isn't seen in the same light here.
...The Sun here is not like Pelor. They use it's name like a curse.
but... I can Invoke his authority without lying.

I radiate the commanding presence that I used on my troops before. The Mark of a Master of White Raven.
"I AM a representative of a god. And I am holding judgment on this situation until I have more inforemation. You will stay here and Answer My Questions."

At that point, a whole bunch of people start standing up and looking at Magnus, several of whom he had not seen until this point. Even the guards stop cracking jokes at that point and look to him. The one who had been yelling seemed taken quite by surprise.

"S-ss..." He recaught his footing. "So what? There are five others just like you, here, and we are pretty sure they all just worship themselves!"

"Hey. Magnus." Green Andes chimes in, having stopped his work to approach, having noticed the mood changing among his followers. "Which thirst does your god quench?"

"The Thirst my god quenches... He is Mercy and Compassion. He gives strength to those that Fight to protect their Communities and the Innocent Against all that is Evil. He wants your community to grow and prosper. He wants people to be kind and compassionate to one another. He wants us to alleviate suffering And Help those who need it. He wants us to watch out against Evil and to Fight against it. In the cases where evil can be redeemed, he wants us to show mercy and Redeem them."

"Well, he's a demanding god in a demanding world." The angry speaker was calming down, although still staring daggers at Green Andes. "So, he wants us to quench the thirst of others. But what thirst does this god who wishes for mercy for others quench in us?"

There were murmurs of assent and legitimate questioning behind your challenger.

Green Andes was silent, and just quietly looking at Magnus with a soft smile.

"He grants you the inner strength to bear the weight of the World and Carry on. He Grants the Strength of Community. One small iron rod can bend and break. But if you have a multitude together and working for the same purpose, They support each other lending their strength to the whole structure. And The force that easily bends the iron bar cannot touch the structure. He guides you into a better future. Working together as a community, we can tame this land so that it grows enough food for everyone, Water flows where it is needed And Everyone has what they need."
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:29, Sat 18 Jan 2020.

Green Andes steps forward, tears in his eyes. "It is clear the gods sent you in a time of need, to remind us that we need each other, and that the thirst of loneliness, of being one in a harsh world, is one that needs to be quenched. The thirst of anger and retribution - we will quench it for each other. The gods have sent a messenger, and he has spoken - we are to forgive one another our transgressions, as the gods have forgiven us all for ours."

Green Andes grabs Magnus's hand, and raises it up to the heavens, acting as if they are both doing it together. "The messenger has shown us that we must not be complacent. In the moment of our greatest triumph, we nearly failed in our duties to the gods."

"Let us praise the gods! Immerse yourselves in the waters, my brothers and sisters! Cleanse the darkness of the tunnels from our bodies and souls!"

Men and women, plainly dressed, are raising their hands to the skies, and then whoop, cheer and basically race each other for a splash party in the pool. Some of the soldiers shrug, and jump in themselves.

"Truly, Magnus, thank you." Andes palmed a small silver bar into Magnus's hand, as he spoke quietly. "You have more than earned this. I will always have work for you. May your thirst be quenched."

Green Andes then smiled, and jumped in after his followers.

I'll Raise my hand with Green Andes to help sell this.

When he gives me the silver bar I'll close my hand around it and then send it into my inventory. And Smile back to Green Andes.

I conciser whether or not I should join them in the water. I decide against it. Since it would expose the mark and I would have to explain it.

Instead I will walk to where the guards where and Watch them and watch out for danger for them.

Just enjoying a peaceful moment for now.

A few days pass...

The walls go up, and workers sing songs as they build, although they are singing in a different language than one you have grasped. Magnus learns that "Bar" is not only the term for a small bar of silver - it is a deteriorated form of "barter."

What can he get with one? Depending what's in town:

A night in high luxury & company.
Any weapon, gear or fashion not valuable or hi-tech.
Repair of a piece of hi-tech gear.
A week’s hire of a violent individual as bodyguard.
The material costs for crash resuscitation by a medic.
A month’s tribute to a warlord.
A month’s maintenance and repairs for a hi-performance vehicle well-used.
Bribes, fees and gifts sufficient to get you into almost anyone’s presence.
A week in poor accommodations - two bars will make them tolerable accommodations.

Magnus has three now, due to the steady work contributions. He might have two, depending on his standard of living.

He has learned that he is in District One of the new town, K'mek. Over the course of its set-up, it gained quite the influx of immigrants, all having set up just outside of the walls of this place, called the Skirts, with a new group of smiths and a vintner team among them. There are seven districts - Ein District, and the rest are simply called One through Six, arranged in a clockwise pattern starting from One.

Crude farming and scavenging are always available as work nearly anywhere in K'mek, and minor trade is available anywhere except Ein District. District One is home to a protection racket of some kind, Districts Two and Four have some kind of underground market going through them, District Five has a manufactory, and Ein District offers hunting and lucrative raiding jobs.

On an individual basis, Magnus could hire himself to someone wealthy as an enforcer (which would require careful target selection), a bodyguard, or likely even a raid leader in his own right.

The name of the woman who runs K'mek, or at least who has the tiebreaking vote, is Colonel Lang, known as General Colonel Lang to outsiders.

In addition to Green Andes himself, there are two others in District One who are considered big deals among the inner town. The first is Cybelle, Lang's interrogator and person Magnus has heard many bad things about - especially if his perverse residents are any indication of what the...man...is about. To hear Green Andes speak of him, Cybelle is not homosexual - one would need to have one soul first, before they can lay claim to having two of them.

So we are clear, "two-soul" or "twin-soul" means they are either homosexual, or identify as another gender other than their own.

The other person in town is a twin-souled man named Di Doc, who happens to be one of two reliable medics in the entire town - the other one being Leah Oliver, who is considered someone for little ailments, but serious ones want Doc. Di Doc is a battlefield medic and apparently claims to know how the Engine works, and possesses a working infirmary staffed with people Magnus hasn't gotten to know yet.

This is a lot of detail. Where do you wish to begin?

Didn't Colonel Lang want to talk to Leah and myself?

Is there any work to hunt nearby monsters?

How much would it cost to set of a forge for smithing?

I would like to talk to Di Doc about the Engine.

I'll go ahead and spend 2 bar to live in tolerable accommodations.
I have a ritual that eliminates the need for sleep and the need to eat.
I'll see if that works here
The people probably notice my morning ritual of Meditation. 100 pushups, 100 Situps and a 6 and a half mile run.

after a day or two I'll try to pull out the ice crystals from my inventory to see if they are ok or if they melted.

I would also like to talk to Colonel Lang to see if I can get hired as a specialist for dealing with monsters or defending the town.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:18, Mon 20 Jan 2020.

Lang seems to be investing her efforts into District Five, which is currently been quarantined off as a sudden outbreak of plague and riots tear into it. Rumors suggest that Frog, the overseer of District Five, and his gang are pinned down trying to protect a local artist and exotic beauty named Shade from starving rioters. Large parts of the district are behind schedule in construction, making getting in their difficult.

District Four and Six are also suffering from food shortages, and District Three is simply giving deep hints of unrest to come. The folks of District One have also been giving Andes's growing establishment some rather hungry looks - setting the stage for a localized civil conflict.


In District One, there is no such work. The guild that would normally offer hunting jobs is occupied with District Five.


Colonel Lang is not hard to find, as they have made it abundantly clear that they are about to retake District Five...as soon as Di Doc gives them the all clear to go inside - so until then, Lang is sealing it off. She would really like it, however, if someone was immune to disease and just solved her problems - and while she is at it, she would also like manufactories to self-operate and to have an actual fucking army. She's really eyeballing the idea of just offering Frog's post to whoever goes in and gets this place running again.

Lang projects the air of a no-nonsense, hard as nails professional soldier, with a wiry frame being at odds with her strong face, her commanding gaze, and her junta gear complete with green beret, contrasting with the red that her own soldiers wear. "So, you are the new guy that made Green's people calm the fuck down and get back to work. If you think you can make lightning strike twice in the same place, you are free to go into that plague zone. Just know if you try to leave it before Doc gives the all clear, my boys will put firepower into you until we hit you with something that does kill you."

"Be advised, the issue seems to be a one-two punch between Frog's people and Shade's bizarre groupies. Frog's people are a bunch of lazy, useless stoners who would die of starvation left to their own devices, and Shade's people are a bunch of sexually frustrated cenobites who swear off the things of this world until they realize she won't fuck them or something. I don't know their deal, and they piss me off."

"Kill whoever you have to. I want this plague dealt with and this manufactory up and running." She gives Magnus an up and down. "You have your own weaponry, I presume."

"I have my own weapons. What Can you tell me about this Plague? Or do I need to talk to Di Doc?"

If she says that I should talk to Di Doc about it then I'll go talk to him.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:15, Mon 20 Jan 2020.

Lang raised a hand dismissively. "No need. The disease starts as a form of scurvy, but is mutant and contagious. Swelling starts around and in the mouth, and then those swellings burst open, causing foul pus to fly out as far as five feet. High fever, hallucinations, thirst - generally requires water, because treatment is about keeping them cool. Not doing so causes those in its grip to act even dumber than normal."

"Given that it starts with not getting something you need, I'm guessing this started with fucking Shade's people. Again."

Lang's four guards looked completely disinterested in the conversation. They were really more decorative than practical.

I briefly go What the Fuck with the Idea of mutant Scurvy. But conclude that it must be a disease that takes advantage of a lack of vitamins.

"About how many rioters are there in there? What caused the shortage of food in there?
Too many People or not enough of them Growing food?"

"About twenty, give or take - mostly Shade's lot." Lang shook her head. "Without Frog popping the whip, most of his people don't care enough to save their own lives. His gang should have restored order, so I'm guessing one of them decided to try and push him out of power."

"I hope his gang isn't among those laying siege to Shade's residence. They aren't bright enough to wear quality armor, but they are very well armed."

"As for what caused the food shortage - that would be being underground for six months. Not all of us consumed or replenished equally. His population is small - they are just lazy bastards in a world that normally kills their kind. Frog is good at keeping them from dying, and the rest of us are paying for it."

"So - I am hoping you understand why I would not shed many tears if his whole community died off. Killing them all off would probably frighten the others in realizing I have a strong hand and don't fuck around. But since you wouldn't be asking these questions if you weren't going in, I'll actually hold off until I get word that you are dead."

"hmmmm... Only 20 people. And the possibility of Frog's well armed gang. By well armed I assume you mean machine guns."

I let her answer and then continue.

"I suppose that is all the information I need. Except maybe a look a a map of section 5 so I know where this Shade's place is. I am going to try to restore order in there without killing them. Do you have a door you can open up to let me in? Or do I need to go over the walls? "

"No autos. Semis at best. A few Magnums, shotguns, machetes, axes, and one or two chainsaws. Shade's crew has jack and squat - they'd be a joke if anyone was opposing them, because they are stupid and forswear the world, until they decide they want to get violent psychopaths and normally just get punched in the face for their trouble, sobering them back up." Lang shrugs. "Nobody's perfect. But sure. I'll send word ahead of you."

"And as for a map - it will be no good. My map is how the place should look, not how it is. Shade's not hard to find, though. She should be in the luxury building, or what's left of it. If she isn't there, and she isn't dead, look for Frog. Just follow the violence - if he's still alive, you will find him, or he'll come to you. He always does."

"Anyways, you don't need to rush over the walls to your death. Just tell the guard, wherever you enter from, that Colonel says it is okay for you to go in. You will note that is not permission to leave." She waves a hand. "You have all I can give you. Dismissed, unless you feel I have missed something."

"I can't think of anything else I need to ask. Thanks for letting me try."

I'll go to the nearest entrance that I know of and tell the guards that the Colonel said I can go in. And then go in once they open the door.

Once I am in I'll listen for Fighting and then head that direction.

The guards have a bit of an argument initially when Magnus comes by with his proposal, but ultimately back the car up from the outward opening gates, and swing them open. Nothing comes up, and nothing is in the streets. When Magnus goes in, the gates slam shut behind him, and the car is moved back into the gate.

Based on all reports, there are not more than one hundred total souls in District Five. Frog's people, his gang, Shade's cult - the three major groups that make up Five.

The streets are completely silent. Every now and then, moaning and muttering can be heard from the insides of some of the shacks lining the street. There is far less order here than there was in District One - for all the faults of Cybelle and Green Andes, they had gotten their people to build more or less according to Colonel Lang's designs. Here, it is simply sprawl - they built wherever they felt like in the moment, and the stone and metal constructs do not look like they will hold up if something serious happens.

There are two structures that stand out here. One is a three floor building that is of dubious construction value - it looks like a poor man wanted a mansion and simply stacked trailers on top of each other in a pyramid, and painted the outside white. The other is a massive blocky building with a pair of smokestacks coming from the top - it is completely silent, and entire parts of its walls are unfinished, but it takes up half of the entire District by itself.

I'll guesstimate whether the 'Mansion' or the factory is closer and walk go the closer one first. Investgating to see who is in the area.

The Manufactory happens to be closer. The exterior looks bad, because it is incomplete. The interior, however, looks like OSHA's nightmare. Places for the smelting of metal, sections where molds are supposed to be cast - all of this is meant to product firearms and vehicular parts, but most of these are missing crucial machinery to do the work.

Everything here is made by hand, and it looks to be a slow process.

There is a large room here labelled "BO RDROOM", where there is chanting and copious amounts of moaning. A voice shouts from the inside of the structure. "Shut up, weakling! Soon you will be free of your poison, and we will ascend with our divine! The worthy are being prepared as we speak! Soon the Frog and his goons will be gone, and WE will become one! Your salvation is at hand, and your affliction shall become blessing!"

I walk into the room. And glare at the ones yelling at other.

"I have meet gods before and I don't see anything divine here. Just a bunch of cruel and delusional men. Now Stop what you are doing before I get Angry. "

Throughout this room, there are about twenty people total. Half of them are lying down, starved and showing signs of severe treatment. The other half, wearing black velvet robes, turn, and don't actually notice Magnus per se.

They all yell one form of complaint or another at him, ranging from "demon" to "Lang's lackey" to "spacorshalslacks", whatever that is. Either way, they charge as an undisciplined mob, drawing makeshift jagged knives, coming at Magnus in what can be mathematically reduced to a staggered line.

OOC: Three of the ten will make contact in the opening round. Your initiative allows you to choose how you wish to engage them. The bodies on the floor and the discarded and broken stone, carapace, and metal furniture make this a difficult battlefield to navigate.

First strike to Magnus.

I analyze their movements and health in an instant and find that they are just barely tougher than normal humans. I'm going to have a hard time subduing them without killing them. Even with my Restrainted Strike.

I try to come up with a way to weaken my strikes further. But draw a blank.
I will just have to be really careful.

I charge in with a carefully controlled punch. Intending to hit as lightly as I can but still do enough to knock them out eventually.

I simply leap out of the way of their counterattack.  And then reposition myself to keep the numbers coming at one manageable and to reset my stance for my Restrainted Strike.

Then I will Charge in again. Preferably on the same guy. And repeat the process until I am in danger of seriously hurting them. Then focus on another one.
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:23, Mon 27 Jan 2020.

Five restrained punches later...

Several of these people aren't even going after Magnus, instead choosing to attack chairs, walls, scream at the air, and in two cases cower in fear. They are rotating out - accidentally fighting as coordinated warriors except for doing nothing to recover their stamina. One of them delivers a few kicks to someone on the ground, and at this point a girder comes slamming through the wall with a burly, fat person with a face-concealing combat helmet and full, scrap metal body armor. It slams them on the opposite end of the room.

They are pinned in place while the gibbering cultists move in on them slowly, some with more focus than others. The fat person has a shotgun, but that arm is pinned in place as they growl and grunt in an effort to free themselves out from what should have been a lethal hit from a large piece of steel attached to some kind of crane.

All the metal near the girder flies or slides towards it, so how it is pinning them in place is made clear.
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:24, Fri 31 Jan 2020.

I rush the steel beam and use my momentum and strength to shove the steel off of the fat man. A task that would normally be impossible for one man. But I deliberately don't think about that. What you think you can do limits what you can actually do. One can often push past their limits and do the seemingly impossible with just the proper application of Determination.

The world slows as Magnus applies his determination, and he realizes that this electromagnet was activated by Frog, the masked...person...pinned to the wall. He realizes Frog's goal was to disarm all of the cultists with it, and that the plan seems to have gone horribly wrong because the magnet malfunctioned. If only the magnet had more power...

Power that cannot be accessed here, but can be accessed at the control panel that Magnus seems to not only know about, but also how to operate in the moment.

Time remains slow, and a new action may be taken instead of simply rescuing Frog.

My eyes widen in surprise momentary in response to the rush of information.
But I quickly put the information to use.
I run to the Control Panel and then use the controls to pull Frog out with the Electromagnet and Crane. Then lower it to drop Frog to the ground without hurting him.
Then I'll take the electromagnet and put it into the same hole in the wall that Frog made and turn the power on high enough to pull the weapons out of their hands.

Frog stepped far away from the room when the magnet went in and charged up. While Magnus could not see the effects of the magnet, he definitely heard them. From the sounds of things, all weapons were gone, and the crazed people below were no longer focused on a target - apparently, they had been trying to stave off delusion by focusing on their weapons.

Some of them were now worshiping the magnet as "the wrath of Shade" and begging it for mercy.

I will walk to Frog to check his condition.
"I assume that you are Frog. How are you? Are you hurt and have you caught the sickness in here?"

"I have not." Frog's voice was a deep croak, and one didn't have to think hard to figure out how Frog got their name. "Just mild pain. I'll live."

Frog's face was not visible, but their dead eyes were. "You should have killed the rioters. If I were not weak, my pack would have obeyed me and done it."

Frog's armor, on closer examination, was a reshaped tank tread turned into flak armor.

"I can take you to Shade. My men do not wish for me to kill these fools. They...claim it is not me, even though I told them to kill them. My pack is strange. They are not infected, although I did wonder."

"I don't believe what they did deserved death. Although all of them will die if they don't get water and medical attention soon.

I came across Shade's groupies abusing your men and I had to stop them. Unfortunately they where too out of it for me to talk to so I had to very carefully knock them out. Then you showed up with that magnet.

We need to separate your men from them for now. Do you think you can get your men to follow you to another area?

Do you know where the other rioters are?"

"I am taking you to Shade's because that is where the rest are. I do not know how I got out or here. Only that this was where I was called by the Engine." Frog looked at the cultist's struggling with the magnet. "Leave them. Deal with the problems we can solve. I am glad to have fists that work with me."

Frog's dead eyes sized up Magnus. "You must be already infected. You are without fear or self. That is rare. Death claims most like you."

"I don't think I am infected yet since I feel as strong as ever. I have another reason for the lack of fear...Now Lack of self? What do you mean?
Anyway. I need to get this riot under control. Let's go to Shade's."


I'll follow his lead to Shade's. I don't like leaving them here. But the Cultists seem busy with the magnet and I need to get this area under control as soon as possible so these people can get medical treatment.

Frog shook their head. "The disease takes time, a week. Dries you out, you shake, your skin boils and bursts on the face, you see visions that are not real. In a week, you will be like them on the ground, or mad like Shade's people. Your courage is born of ignorance."

As Magnus approached a tall, three-story building, Frog waved for him to duck down. "There are ten. Lightly armed. They wish to break in and force themselves on Shade as their due reward from their goddess. They try that sometimes, and the results are usually annoying and go poorly for them. This time is different. They brought a plague with them from the underground, and they are acting as one. Their normal leader disappeared right before all of these began."

"My pack refuses to fight them. They will not kill them, but they also fear the disease. You do not, nor should you at this point." Frog was clearly following Magnus's lead. "I assume you do not approve of my simple solutions. But if you can get me a path, my men and I can escape with Shade. I will make a hole through the wall. The Colonel's quarantine means nothing to me."

Briefly my rage flares before I get it under control with my iron will.
I radiate killing intent
"Don't Bother. It sounds like these men don't deserve my mercy."

I march out and then into the building where I think the groupies are.
"Yo Groupies. Tell me what you are planning on doing once you get to your 'goddess' Shade."

Frog shrugged. "I thought so too. My pack disagreed."

The first floor is clear and quiet. Signs of a struggle are down here, but most of this place is actually fairly well-to-do. Spent shells litter the floor.

The second floor, however, has the scent of food on it, and about ten of those robed men and women again. The moment Magnus asks his question, one of the shrieks. "He is here to prevent communion! Kill him!"

Frog, lagging behind, immediately goes for cover, preparing his shotgun for return fire. All of the cultists draw pistols, low-caliber revolvers and a few semi-automatics.

I charge in, leaping through the air in a flying side kick to one in the middle.


OOC: I am doing a charge action with a 4 point power attack. Attack roll is 9k6 from the charge and damage is 10k5.
If they are dumb enough to use a melee attack on me, I will counterattack.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:34, Mon 10 Feb 2020.

Upon seeing their comrade literally fly apart at the torso and burst all over the room, the rest begin seriously questioning their life decisions that led them to this point. Two of them just hold their pistols to Magnus, unmoving and shaking. Four of them simply pass out. One of them begins vomiting, incapable of doing anything other than staggering away in horror, trying desperately to keep her weapon leveled at Magnus. One of them drops to their knees, sobbing and pulling out their own hair in despair.

The last of them is panic firing, trying to back away and screaming in horror as he blindly discharges round after round at Magnus, to no effect.

Two are Stunned until further notice, and one is Dazzled.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:56, Wed 12 Feb 2020.

I don't feel good about killing a man like this. They are so weak. I still feel a cold rage at what they have attempted. I should probably go ahead and kill all of them. But I could spare them and and attempt to reform them. They are terrified of me.
...I should make an attempt.

I Glare to each of them that is still conscious. Blood dripping off of me from their former comrade. "Surrender now or I will be forced to continue."
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:36, Mon 17 Feb 2020.

Those that are still conscious and able to do so drop their weapons, some of them not quite responding right still. The only one that doesn't get the message is the one still backing away firing blindly, and Magnus is getting the impression that one is acting on pure panic reflexes. His weapon runs out of ammo, and the weapon clicks once.

"Huh." You hear that as Frog pokes his head. "That's what I wanted to do in the first place."

He looks at the floor and walls where the one Magnus kicked was. "Only less messy."

He points his shotgun at the one with the empty weapon, but less of a threat and more like he's just using it like a finger. "I don't think you'll need to kill him. He's stupid, not defiant."

He points to a door at the top of some stairs, one that shows extensive damage from constant attack. "Shade's there. So is my pack."

I nod to Frog and turn to the ones with their wits.

"ok. The only reason you are still alive is because I decided to be merciful and give you a last chance to be better people. You tried to force yourselves on someone and you deliberately cultivated a disease and spread it amongst the people causing them to suffer. Normally I would slay you all for such cruelty. But it is possible for you to change. But if you refuse to change, and continue to try to rape or torture people. "
I gesture to all the blood.
"Then I will continue where I left off. Now see if your other people are going to be ok. I will have to talk to them later."

I turn back to Frog
"Ok. We need to talk to Shade and your Men. And convince them the attacks are over. I could just walk up there and talk. But they will probably try to shoot me. Which would be annoying. Do you have a better suggestion Frog?"

They are certainly in agreement with something that lets them live. The ones paralyzed with terror eventually lower their weapons, and run past Frog down the stairs. Frog watches them go by with little more than a glance.

"They won't. Let me lead the way." Frog walks up to the battered door, and bangs on it. "It's Frog. I have an infected, but he made the room safe, and he is not showing sign yet. Open up."

A delay in response. "Frog? We were starting to wonder where you went this time, boss."

"Open the door. The streets are mostly clear, and the Shad-it are unwilling to fight anymore. We need to establish order, while we still can."

The door makes noise, and then pauses. "Say, boss...how did you get out? The door is jammed."

"I don't rememb -" Frog shakes his head, and looks to Magnus. "Would you like to break it in, or shall I?"

I say to Frog
"I don't mind ether way. So I guess I will do it. You might want to order your men to get away from the door and take cover if they don't listen to me."

Then I will raise my voise to be heard through the door.
"I am going to bust through the door. You should move away from it and take cover."

I will give them a minute to follow my instructions then I will punch the door hard with a Elder Mountain Hammer.

OOC: Power attacking for 5
Accuracy: 12k6+5-5k0=7k6+5
Damage:9k3+7+5k0+6k0=10k8+7
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:04, Thu 20 Feb 2020.

"If you can. Everybody down!"

Magnus breaks in the door fairly easily, and encounters a room with about ten or so people wearing light leather armor studded with whatever shell, plastic or metal they could scrounge up. A dark skinned androgynous woman is over by a painting, working on it, and she speaks in a deep, smooth voice with a thick accent. "So, is Hive dead? He said he was secluding himself at the factory, he assembled everyone there, and not long afterwards, the sickness spread and my disciples went berserk."

Frog speaks up. "We didn't see Hive, body or otherwise."

"You." She turns to Magnus with shadowed eyes. "Are Lang's people here?"

"No. I was allowed to come in here alone. I needed to restore order so that the treatment for the sickness can happen. Why do you ask?"

"You are tracking blood and worse all over my place." Shade sighed. "Frog, get your pack out of here. Be safe, all of you. If our guest is infected like Frog says he is, then he can handle Hive or his corpse."

"You have a few days, stranger, and then the visions will begin to drive you mad. You are very brave or very stupid to come here, and I do not know whether to thank you or curse you. I..." She took a breath. "...suppose it was necessary. Please find Hive, and get the doctor in here."

"He was last at the manufactorum, with the others. He has not been seen since things got bad."

"I am called Magnus.
... I had heard that your men where planning on forcing themselves on you. I tryed to talk to them to find out if this was the case. But they immediately attacked me... The one I hit is no more. And the rest listened to me after that...

I will get the Doctor then I will look for your Hive."

I will go to the entrance and call out.
"The area has been pacified! Send in the Doctor!"

Shade doesn't say anything as Magnus leaves.

The rest of Frog's pack, however, whistles at the stain. "Damn! I can't even tell who that was! Frog, what the fuck, man!"

Frog shook their head. "Not me this time. I kept our deal."

They look to Magnus as one as the lone voice continues to talk. "Did you hit this poor slob with Marilyn's Cannon or something?"

"He kicked them. Once." Frog's tone is deadpan.

They give Magnus a bit of space after that, but they break away to the factorum and seal it off. "Yeah, we aren't going in that. They are still sick."



When Magnus makes it clear the streets are clear, his response is lackluster. "Sure. The doctor is on the way. We'll send for him in a bit."

... They are afraid of me. Which makes sense considering what I did and what I can do... I will need to meditate on this.

-----------------

I'll tell them.

"I will give you half of a hour to get the Doctor here"

Then I will wait for those 30 minutes.

Time passes, and Magnus realizes they are not getting the doctor, but the guards have a conversation that does solve his problem. He can hear the whispering.

"...is he still there?"
"Looks like it. Just ignore him."
"He might be warming up. Thinking of attacking."
"Just shut up and act natural. He will realize we are not letting him out, and he will get his diseased ass away from us."
"I am calling for backup. He is creeping me out."
"Fine. Whatever. He is one man, not a perversion of birth."

The guard calls his superior on a walkie that looks like someone strapped some extra parts to it, relays what Magnus said, which gets him on the line with Lang. Her response is quite audible and profane, aimed at describing the mental state and lineage of the two guards in unflattering and biologically impossible terms, ending with "Give him the damn radio."

"Uhhh...but he's infec-"

Lang yells at him, a radio buzz distorting her voice. "Then tell him to catch it, you moron!"

OOC: No roll required to catch it from the shrugging guard.

His fellow guard is clearly trying and failing at laughing at his fellow guard's distress, as Lang speaks over the radio. "Frog, and Shade. What is their status?"

I catch the radio and talk to Lang.

"Both Shade and Frog are alive. Shade seems to be fine but she is down one follower and the leader of her followers seems to be missing. She wanted me to get the doctor and find her missing leader. I decided to get the Doctor first.

Frog is infected but he is keeping his mask on to not spread it.

All of Shade's followeers and half of Frog's gang are infected.

The area is secure. Shade's followers are back in line. We need the Docter in here."

--abandoned for now, have an idea--