Oddestsey V: The Seven Lords

StevenMcG · Post by **StevenMcG** » Fri Apr 13, 2018 3:57 pm

"I see. Well, everyone, I do believe we have something that meets both of those options' criteria.

Me.

I'm an experienced manipulator of bastards and Doomsy's former housesitter. I can either offer Ziggy my assistance to boost his odds in the contest or offer to wipe his computerised cranium off the face of reality. My reputation around these parts still carries some cache after all this time. If nothing else, I'm pretty sure I can get us round at least some of the castle's defences should the occasion arise.

Given what little we know of this...thingy, though, I feel a meeting of the minds is preferable to the guns-blazing approach. I offer myself up for a tet-a-tet and see what I can learn about Ziggy, while you chaps and chapettes play reconnaissance and see what you can learn about the renovated castle.

Thoughts?"

Post by **Venice Queen** » Fri Apr 13, 2018 4:14 pm

"'I am backed by the minority! this is democracy!' He yells, unaware of his own idiocy." Cyrus says demeaningly, staring down first Anjuree, and then the Bear. Addressing both of them, he continues: "You seem to have forgotten that you have thrown the entire competition out of alignment, and whatever the hell that yelling voice in the sky is, it's also granting competitors additional powers -and allowing for continued destruction." He turns to the Bear, manifesting his aura, and floating on it into the air, activating his cloaking device (though it adds little effective menace to his appearance). "I will be back for you."

He turns with an (overdramatic) huff, and addresses Durg. "I apologize for ignoring you. You seem to be under the impression that Sasha is rude - I have found her to be the opposite - to not be rude. She has given me good information, and has promised to help me against other evil competitors. She wants to protect her city - she was born here.

At any rate. I know where the evil man is, and I will be going there, hopefully with Sasha. if you join us, you can see her honor in action."

[COMMUNICATOR MESSAGE TO: SASHA
"Sikander is located in The God Prison of Gidroth'Ilrak. I ask now that you meet me there and follow through on your promise."]

[COMMUNICATOR MESSAGE TO: TELLU
"I am headed to the prison, potentially with Sasha and Durg. The Bear is not to be trusted, but is too well protected for me to take down on my own."]

He checked that he had everything - making a note to stop by the castle to grab his armor - and makes his way to the god prison.

Alexjh · Post by **Alexjh** » Fri Apr 13, 2018 5:33 pm

CYRUS

Retrieving his armour from the castle, Cyrus heads off the the God Prison of Gidroth'Ilrak. He finds Sasha waiting for him at the bottom of the cable car to take them to the crater, and he hears a small gasp of shock from the combatant as the colossus comes into view. They tentatively head inside, and, after hearing the spiel from the guard Angels again, they are very lucky to arrive just in time to hear Tellu repeating what she had heard so far to the Being, thus catching them up on the seven inmates.

VENGEANCE
The villains seem very happy with this scheme and separate off into teams to devise some separate surveillance methods - better to spread the idea, and Jackdaw volunteers to personally accompany you as a bodyguard. After a while doing some programming on his computer control panel, Darksein announces that he thinks he has a direct connection to Ziggy prepared. You can call when ready...

Madman · Post by **Madman** » Sat Apr 14, 2018 12:40 pm

DURG LOOK BEAR. NOT DEAD. DURG NOT TRUST BEAR MUCH. MAYBE LITTLE TRUST. LOOK EYE MAN, SAY TRUST SASHA. NOT TRUST EYE MAN MUCH. MAYBE LITTLE TRUST. DURG NOT LIKE THIS...

STILL TRUST GIANT. ALWAYS TRUST GIANT. FRIEND IN MUCH FIGHTS. DURG HURT, GIANT HELP. GIANT HURT, DURG HELP. GIANT STRONK. STILL, DURG CAN SEE GIANT HURT. DURG LOOK UP GIANT. PUT HAND ON GIANT FOOT (DURG NOT TALL REACH SHOULDER). "DURG NOT KNOW WHY COME HERE. NOT LIKE MOST PEOPLE DURG COME WITH. SELFISH. MEAN. GREEDY. GIANT NOT LIKE THOSE PEOPLE. HONEST, HELP FRIENDS, STRONK. REAL FRIEND.

DURG HAPPY CAN HELP GIANT FREE. SMALL HELP. STILL...MAYBE KEEP PROMISE?

MUCH PEOPLE WANT KILL GIANT. DURG UNSTAND. MUCH PEOPLE WANT KILL DURG BEFORE. PEOPLE THINK BIG GUY ALWAYS BAD. THINK BIG GUY NEVER GET HURT. DURG KNOW BIG GUY FEEL HURT TOO. DURG THANK YOU, FRIEND. GIANT FREE NOW. REST. GET BETTER. NOW DURG HAVE BAD GUY NEED FIGHT."

DURG TURN. LOOK AT BEAR MAN. "DURG CAN TRUST BEAR MAN?" DURG LOOK AT EYES. "DURG FIGHT BIG BAD GUY. DURG NEED GO. YOU HELP DURG, MAKE MORE STRONK MAYBE CAN WIN FIGHT, KNOW DURG HELP YOU IF YOU NEED."

DURG THANK OTHER PEOPLE. GOOD PEOPLE, MAYBE NOT SMART, DURG THINK. TURN TO GO FIGHT. MAYBE ASK MACHINE GIVE COOL THINGS. "SEXY ROBOT," DURG SAY LOW VOICE, "YOU NOT NEED COME. DANGEROUS. DURG WANT BREAK SOMEONE. NOT WANT SEXY ROBOT BE HURT."

StevenMcG · Post by **StevenMcG** » Sat Apr 14, 2018 5:59 pm

"Very good. Thank you, Darksein.

Jackdaw, you stay by me. Everyone else, get to your chairs and look your most imposing. Best we all make a good first impression if we can the vid-screens working for this call...

Ahem! Mork calling Orson! Come in, Orson! This is Professor Reginald Fortescue Vengeance, leader of the Guild of Nefariousness and seven-time winner of Villainesque's Best Dressed Megalomaniac award! Am I speaking to the intelligence known as...Ziggy?"

Cha0sFerret · Post by **Cha0sFerret** » Sat Apr 14, 2018 8:38 pm

Scarlett buys the EMPowerment Gun on the basis that it has a pun for a name.

Before leaving the place, she browses aimlessly for a while to see if there might be anything interesting, even if not particularly useful, to buy.

Post by **That Kode Guy** » Sat Apr 14, 2018 11:45 pm

[OOC: Sorry, I've... not been feeling the best. :/]

Hey... Cyrus came after all. Maybe I shouldn't have been so harsh before...

"Good to see you," says Tellu. "Listen, I... I'm sorry, I kind of lost my head back there, just... forget that ever happened, okay?"

She can't shake the nervousness out of her voice, and goes silent for a moment.

You? Apologizing?

Go choke on something.

Tellu thinks for a moment, and decides not to tell this in-mate that The Being has taken Sir DeMerFrall's place.

"So you know the current wielder, Sir DeMerFrall, is not the original owner. What exactly do you know about the sword?" Tellu says at last. She actually has a vague curiosity about the sword now; surely one who knew about it before it came into DeMerFrall's possession would have different knowledge about it than him... whether it was true or not, however...

Post by **MadBull** » Sun Apr 15, 2018 4:05 am

<blockquote class='quote_blockquote'><dl><dt>Madman</dt><dd>Apr 14 2018, 12:40 PM</dd></dl><div>
DURG TURN. LOOK AT BEAR MAN. "DURG CAN TRUST BEAR MAN?" DURG LOOK AT EYES. "DURG FIGHT BIG BAD GUY. DURG NEED GO. YOU HELP DURG, MAKE MORE STRONK MAYBE CAN WIN FIGHT, KNOW DURG HELP YOU IF YOU NEED."

[/quote]Bear in Mind enhances Durg's powers for a short moment, if only to test his own newfound powers, to see what happens.

"How does that feel?"

Bear in Minds needs to focus to keep this up, he relaxes for a bit.

"These newfound powers take away my energy, and I find I can only use them on 1 person at a time. Using it solely on you for a long period of time would be too much, but if you are ever in need of some extra power, use your communicator and ask me if I can spare some, and if I can I will."

"Anjushree, now that we have mentioned my malleability, I still hate myself for bringing this up because these constant changes are so daunting... what exactly did you have in mind then? How does one make an ideal competitor?"

Alexjh · Post by **Alexjh** » Sun Apr 15, 2018 4:53 am

DURG AND ALSO BEAR IN MIND, QUINN

The Volgorthan looks towards Durg, and though it lacks a face to actually express any emotion, it seems to project a feeling of profound gratitude and relief towards Durg. But the Giant is free now, and will have some time to repair the injury it took against Doomforall in Mind. But it will be there is Durg needs him, as they are true friends.

Sexy Grammar Robot tells Durg he can get cool things right here! He can ask for things and they will come to him without him having to go back to the castle. She also quickly interfaces with his communicator so she can talk to him wherever they are, even if she can't join him in fighting. Perhaps she can continue to operate the airship for him though?

But she also wants to know who he wishes to fight?

VENGEANCE
The rest of the Guild of Nefariousness sit around their big circular table, with the slightly comical appearance of a giant zombie dragon operating a tiny switch to turn the dramatic mood lighting on.

When all is ready, Vengeance opens the channel to Ziggy. After giving his dramatic opening spiel, Ziggy responds.

"It is I, Ziggurat, known also as Ziggy. Ahh Professor Vengeance, so we meet again! (Sorry, was that your line? My dramatic banter routines haven't been updated in a while) I must admit, after our last encounter I hadn't expected you to be reaching out to me. To what do I owe.... the pleasure?"

SCARLETT

Scarlett purchases the EMPowerment Gun and notes that it has a system for increasing the power level on the top, but that using it on level 5 (the highest setting) risks burning the thing out if used for more than very short bursts.

After investigating round the shop a few items attract her attention as being particularly interesting:

A Jar of Unkillapedes: If you smash this jar these silver coloured arthropods will swarm over you, forming an impregnable layer for a short while that would allow you to survive almost anything for the next 2 minutes up to and including sitting ontop of a hydrogen bomb as it goes off. After that they will scurry away, never to be seen again.
- 1000 credits

The Frogurtsword - You are sure that Mikhail was using this earlier? Perhaps they sold his stuff after he died?
-300 credits

Astral Shallot - Shallot that grow on the astral plane. Eating it raw allows you to briefly project onto the astral plane, which allows you to remotely scout a location including phasing through walls, flight and invisibility to everyone unless you will it otherwise. One bulb will give you about 20 minutes, and your real world body will be vulnerable.
- 1000 credits

Trash Golem Core - A favourite of both environmentalists and urban gangs - this small orb when activated will draw in as much litter as it can find locally to produce a makeshift golem that will obey the commands of the owner.
-600 credits

A Quantum Euro - A single euro coin which, when asked a question will definitively answer one question by landing on heads (true) or tails (false). After that question is answered it will gain hyper massive mass, and be impossible for anyone to pick up again. If the answer is neither it will land on its side and can be reused.
-400 credits

TELLU AND ALSO CYRUS, THE BEING plus SASHA

Kerenhotep responds
"Not much - back while I was free it was used by an occasional ally of Doomforall. From what I understand it's a very hard thing to use because it's so unrelentingly truthful about everything. I heard she had to go and learn about medicine just to avoid the sword giving her hypochondria - it wouldn't allow you to write off a slight mystery ache as nothing, because without the knowledge it might be something. I think it was pretty ancient even then though"

However, the appearance of Sasha catches her attention...
"Well, this is an interesting development. You are connected to him aren't you?"
She studies Sasha for a moment...
"You aren't exactly like him though - alternate reality version? Daughter? Opposite sex clone? Grandaughter even? In some way you are connected to Doomforall aren't you?"

BEAR IN MIND and DURG again

Durg temporarily feels the energy of Bear in Minds new power flowing through him and feels his strength and toughness magnified profoundly - perhaps 2 or three times his current level

Then for a fleeting moment, he feels his intelligence growing too and there is a split second where he utterly understands the conventional use of syntax... but then it's gone again as Bear in Mind powers down.

___

Anjushree gives BiM a cold look.

"That's a fairly abstract sort of question - and I'm not entirely sure how to answer...

In terms of what should a perfect competitor be like ideologically, that is going to very hard to get anyone to agree on. I'd personally suggest the least controversial option would be non interventionist except in the face of major catastrophes. The more the user starts slinging about that power, the more people will come to find them controversial. But there are also people who would want you to use the castle to proactively stop problems.

As for how to become whatever you want to be - the easiest way would be to get in the public eye a lot so a lot of people are exposed to you so you are affected by more people at once.

You could also use the Psycorps to some degree, but they'd want paying and if it was major changes, you'd end up vulnerable to them manipulating you if their leadership changed for the worse.

StevenMcG · Post by **StevenMcG** » Sun Apr 15, 2018 2:11 pm

<blockquote class='quote_blockquote'><dl><dt>Quote:</dt><dd> </dd></dl><div>"It is I, Ziggurat, known also as Ziggy. Ahh Professor Vengeance, so we meet again! (Sorry, was that your line? My dramatic banter routines haven't been updated in a while) I must admit, after our last encounter I hadn't expected you to be reaching out to me. To what do I owe.... the pleasure?"[/quote]

"Ziggy - I may call you Ziggy? - following our previous sparring match, it has become clear to me and my criminal cohorts that opposing your bid to become champion of the world may be something of a fool's errand. And if you know anything of my reputation, you'll know just how difficult it is for me to admit that out loud. I can feel my old acne flaring up even as I say those words.

It's clear that you have great ambitions for this multiversal tournament going on down the road, but it is also clear that you still require that little extra push into true unstoppability. This...is where we come in.

I wish to propose an officially-sanctioned trans-spacial truce under the Doofenschmirtz Act of 2008 to discuss how we might...mutually benefit from each other's continued existence. Jackdaw here shall be my plus-one (So many weirdoes around these days, can't be too careful) and as a token of good faith, you may choose the location of our little get-together.

Whadda ya say?"

Alexjh · Post by **Alexjh** » Sun Apr 15, 2018 4:57 pm

VENGEANCE

"You may call me Ziggy. As we have collaborated before in a fashion during the Rift Crisis, I do have both an appreciation of your talents, and also that you may at times act a bit underhanded. As such I agree on the condition of me bringing my own plus one.

As for the location... how about the high rollers dice table at the Casino du Paradox?"

StevenMcG · Post by **StevenMcG** » Mon Apr 16, 2018 11:49 am

"A casino? You're my kind of AI. Name your companion of choice and we'll make it a date."

Post by **That Kode Guy** » Mon Apr 16, 2018 1:44 pm

Damn it... I must have been insane to come here on my own.

Tellu has pretty much zero leads at this point and decides to wait for one of The Being, Cyrus, or Sasha to speak.

The Monsterworks · Post by **The Monsterworks** » Mon Apr 16, 2018 2:04 pm

The Being studies those in the room, its borrowed face thoughtful, evaluative, and nonthreatening, or at least most of its borrowed thoughts seem to think so. It thinks as all of the different beings that it has copied and tries to piece things together based on limited information.

Finally, it turns to the sorceress and bows slightly, courteously, as it knows a knight would do. "Thank you for telling me about the history of this weapon. It has been an enlightening experience, truly. For now, however, I fear that other business calls me away. If you'll forgive me, my lady..."

The Being exits the room. It will head down to the seventh level. It has ideas, many ideas from many sources. It will see if truth truly exists, and if so, learn just what it is.

Post by **That Kode Guy** » Mon Apr 16, 2018 2:21 pm

Tellu, after a moment's hesitation, decides to follow the Being, leaving Cyrus a message as she goes:

{"I'm going back down; you at least still have Sasha, and this guy might need back up, and... well, let's face it, that's about as useful as I'm going to be here. If you need me, though, shoot me a message and I'll be here in pretty much an instant."}