Water and Electric.

Can we say liquid lightening?!

Nurk 2010/04/17(Sat)17:48 No. 165807 ID: cbe5df
File 127155173731.png - (79.02KB , 459x548 , 001a.png )

Fire: 2
Water: 6
Wind: 2
Earth: 3
Electric: 5

Ah, yes, of course. Water and Electricity are at your command. Like any elemental, you feel much more comfortable while dressed in something to evoke your aspects. It's almost always something that people you meet can tell at a glance, even if you weren't--bright blue hair and glowing yellow eyes aren't exactly common to see in humans around here. Since Civiton is built by the seaside, fresh water is a little harder to come by than salty. With your powers, desalinating the salt water to get salt and fresh water becomes very economical. Your job mostly involves doing so at the right time for people to properly sort and cart off the results; it's useful for farming and to sell to sailors, enough so that you're technically working for the mayor.

> "Grace! Grace!"

Someone calls your name, and knocks on the door to your room. Your visitor doesn't waste time on little things like waiting for you to answer it; she just opens it any pokes her head in. Knocking is merely a formality for her.

It's Kassi, the girl who lives next door. You've known her as long as you can remember. She tends to just make herself at home absolutely anywhere, hence why she feels free to intrude in your room first thing in the morning.

> "Hey, c'mon, aren't you ready? Let's get going."

Kassi works as a waitress at a cheap restaurant down by the docks; as it's pretty much the same place you're going to, you often go most of the way together when your schedules line up. Apparently, she's already anxious to head out. You're not sure why that would be; you can't think of anything that would get her eager like this. You should probably greet her and get a move on, though.

>>165807
Ask what the hurry is while finishing morning preparations.

>>165807
Something's gotta be going on. Get yourself ready, ask on the way.

>>165807
Greet her and follow her.

>>165807
She's probably going to confess to you.
Take the initiative, KEES HER!

Nurk 2010/04/19(Mon)14:27 No. 166968 ID: cbe5df
File 127171242075.png - (83.89KB , 472x646 , 002.png )

>>166146

Unfortunately(?), Grace knows quite well that Kassi is straight.

Grace is practically ready by this point, anyway. She just pulls on her shoes and checks that she's got everything. It seems so!

"So," Grace asks as they leave, raising her voice to be heard above the loud seabirds, "what's the hurry? Something good happen?"

> "You bet! Guess who stopped by yesterday?"

"Who?" What are even the odds that she knows the boy? On the docks, there's an even chance that this is going to be some drifting sailor.

> "Xabi! You know, the town Champion."

"What, really? The monster hunter?"

> "Yeah! Came in, ordered something, asked me out. He said he has a chimera nest he had to deal with. He'll be back either late tonight or some time tomorrow. I guess our personalities just clicked."

"Well, it certainly wasn't your eyes. When was the last time you went out in public with more than half your face showing?"

All too quickly, and long before Kassi is done singing the praise of her new beau, the girls the point where it's time to split up.

Nurk 2010/04/19(Mon)14:27 No. 166969 ID: cbe5df
File 127171246969.png - (41.09KB , 333x485 , Work1.png )

Grace's job is dull, really. It takes a little concentration, but not much else. The proper jolt electrolyzes seawater pumped into a large vat, and from there her water magic is used to pipe fresh water into barrels connected by taps. As they fill, various people come in and cart them off. Grace is vaguely aware that the mayor sells them, but since the haulers are rarely familiar faces, she mostly tunes them out.

Salt collects below, but as that's both a smaller and more valuable resource, it's never touched until the end of the working day.

Unless there's some unusual need or a lower demand, Grace usually works here two or three days a week. It's not all that tiring--something like walking for an equivalent amount of time--but it does get dull. She doesn't even really have any co-workers, since no one else can actually do the job. Maybe she should think about getting a book or something.

Nurk 2010/04/19(Mon)14:28 No. 166970 ID: cbe5df
File 127171251270.png - (43.02KB , 334x485 , Work2.png )

Suddenly, something breaks the usual routine--a scream! It was pretty far away, though--well down the street. Grace's concentration flags for a moment, and for a moment she's torn--should she go investigate, or leave it be and keep working?

>>166970
Go check it out. Your job is important, but not urgent. Meanwhile, someone could be in trouble nearby.

>>166970
If it's entirely necessary to stick with the job for every single dull moment with no free time to take a break, stick with it. Otherwise, ADVENTURE!

>>166970
Investigate!

>>166970
At least inform your supervisor that you will be leaving your post. Playing hero is fine, but losing your job and damaging your reputation would be silly.

>>166970
Adventure ALWAYS trumps boring job.
Go out and be ready to shock and/or moisten a bitch.

Nurk 2010/04/19(Mon)19:51 No. 167124 ID: cbe5df
File 127173187128.png - (15.43KB , 522x473 , Store.png )

> "Hey, where you going? Have to check it out?"

It's the man who's doing "cashiering" today, making sure no one takes stuff they haven't paid for. He's apparently thinking it's nothing to do with him. Grace, on the other hand, is far too curious to just give up on it. "I'll be right back--I just need to check."

Her heart sinks as she travels a bit further, though--there's a hole in one building's front window, and no one is in sight who isn't trying to hide in a corner--something must have smashed through here. "What happened?" Grace demands of the first hapless person who she came across.

> "I-I didn't really see much," the man stammers. "I just heard a scream, and then something pretty big smashed through the restaurant's front glass."
What's worse, that's exactly where Kassi works... and Grace doesn't see her around here anywhere. With a sinking feeling, she drew the most obvious conclusion. "Which way did it go?" The man points, and Grace runs off.

Nurk 2010/04/19(Mon)19:52 No. 167126 ID: cbe5df
File 127173195272.png - (104.94KB , 668x566 , Kassib.png )

Kassi has not gotten far. It's only the next alleyway along when Grace finds her again. Unfortunately, she isn't alone. Something has dragged her off by her arm, all the way here. It's a huge green thing, lizard-like, but with large horns and over-long limbs. It's attached itself to the wall, by the simple expedient of digging its claws into the brickwork until it has handholds.

It doesn't look like Kassi is injured, at least not greatly, but she seems to be unconscious and it's got her arm in its mouth, and if its claws can dig into brickwork, doubtless its jaws can snap bones.

But... what is it even doing here? There's supposed to be all sorts of spells on the town, discouraging monsters from even approaching it. Yet, here it is, and brazenly attacking someone in broad daylight. Why did it come here? And, more importantly, what now?

>>167126
ZAP IT!

>>167126
If you zap it then it will clench its jaw.
Draw the water out of it instead. If that would be too much for you to handle then just force all the blood out of its brain.

>>167143
yes, take control of the water inside!

Sadly, almost all creatures have an intrinsic magical field that makes it incredibly difficult to harm them directly like that. This is why most mages use fireballs and other flashy created effects to fight, instead of just applying the same level of force directly to the target's heart.

Grace is capable of generating water, however. The only reason she handles her job the way she does is that creating fresh water is more draining than splitting the salty.

>>167157
Then create water inside its mouth. Specifically, enough and fast enough that it'll knock the damn thing away from Kassi.
Once that's done, trap its head in a bubble of water and start shocking it.

>>167126
Grab it's head, work a hand in it's jaw, pull.
Try to dislocate.
If it lets go, zap.
If not, pull harder.

>>167126
Generate a high pressure stream of water aimed at it's lower back. High enough pressure to push it into the building, but not concentrated enough to cut.

>>167208
If we can generate enough pressure to cut, just slice the thing in half.

>>167218
Nah, this thing looks interesting. If we can we should just knock it out. I have the sneaking suspiscion it might be related to a certain monster hunter. Might even be the monster hunter.

Nurk 2010/04/24(Sat)00:39 No. 169387 ID: cbe5df
File 127209478291.png - (43.41KB , 675x330 , Monster1.png )

>>167218

Grace's first impulse is to simply slice the creature in two with a super-concentrated jet of water. A flick of her hand sends a jet at the creature, which drops Kassi to regain the agility to dodge. Its leap to clear the wall is a thing of beauty--yet not quite faster than Grace's pressure jet. Its left rear leg is caught, and sliced absolutely neatly and clean through. The brickwork behind it, built thicker, is scored by the power of the water.

Its leap was directly at her; Grace ducks to avoid having the creature caroom into her head.

Nurk 2010/04/24(Sat)00:40 No. 169391 ID: cbe5df
File 127209483459.png - (41.84KB , 531x361 , Monster2.png )

Straightening up and whirling around, Grace finds herself with a clear look at the monster. Even with one leg removed, it looks beastial and ferocious, and its hefts itself up on its one remaining rear leg to flip over a tail that now reveals a scorpion-like stinger on the end; from head to tail, quite literally, it is a deadly weapon.

However, it is... hesitating. Not torn, more... confused. It is as if something is not conforming to its expectations.

Behind her, Grace hears Kassi groaning. It seems she's beginning to revive. For a moment, Grace is torn--spare a glance at Kassi, or deal with the now-injured monster first? And, if the latter, how severely should she deal with it?

>>169391

You've got to stop the monster now. Zap it.

>>169398
Yeah, it's off Kassi now, so there's no danger of the electricity jumping onto her. Zap it until it stays down.

if it seems resistant to the electricity then throw up a thin sheet of water to get it wet and then try zapping it again.

>>169391
I know what's going on. Xabi summoned this creature and ordered it to threaten her so he could rescue her and look like a hero.

Or maybe the creature just wanted to provoke Xabi so it could kill him, and didn't expect someone else to come running.

>>169391
Knock it out with some lightning, lets see the fucker dodge something at the speed of light. Keep it alive though, this thing might be useful if it's alive.

Nurk 2010/04/26(Mon)20:03 No. 170651 ID: aff67f
File 127233742921.png - (27.34KB , 424x422 , 0032.png )

Grace decides to check how well the beast resists a lightning bolt.

Nurk 2010/04/26(Mon)20:04 No. 170653 ID: aff67f
File 127233746681.png - (63.17KB , 357x316 , Smoking.png )

Not very.

cut it's head off it make sure it stays dead. having a monster come back to life suddenly is never fun.

Nurk 2010/04/26(Mon)20:05 No. 170656 ID: aff67f
File 12723375214.png - (67.05KB , 428x408 , 000.png )

> "You should probably finish it off," says an unexpected voice. Whirling, Grace finds a young man, seemingly from nowhere, checking over Kassi. "A guard beast doesn't break its instincts very easily. If it recovers, it's going to pull exactly this same sort of stunt again. Your friend is going to be all right, incidentally," he adds, as if in afterthought. "It seems to have been trying to seperate you and her, not maul her. It only caught her sleeve; see?"

"What?" Grace is understandably more than a little thrown by this sudden change of pace. "Wait, who are you?"

> "Oh, I knew I'd missed something. I am Ves, here on Lady Usha's orders. She told me one of Leander's pets had gotten out, and wanted me to stop it before it hurt anyone. I didn't catch it in time; I'm sorry."

Well, it seems an honest-to-goodness do-gooder has shown up, if that can be believed. The problem is, Grace hasn't heard of him or either of the other names he's shared, she's got an almost-dead monster behind her, and her friend is standing there woozily with bitemarks on her sleeve. Now she's got a moment to catch her breath. What should her priorities be here?

cut it's head off. then ask the dude why it would be trying that? would think monsters are eat first ask questions never.

>>170656

Ask where it was being kept that it could escape in the first place.

>>170656
Keep your eyes on him. He could be lying his ass off. Just shoot another water beam behind you at the monster.

also... from how much red and brown he has... he may be an elemental of fire and earth. aka: magma.

>>170656
I still suspect that thing might be Xabi.

Ask him if he has any idea why someone would send a guard thing after you. And shouldn't it be guarding you instead of attacking your friends?

Also, tell him to remove his hand from your friend.

>>170780
You have a point. If it's Xabi we don't want to kill it.

Nurk 2010/04/27(Tue)23:55 No. 171405 ID: aff67f
File 127243771289.png - (71.72KB , 492x371 , Group.png )

"Hey, get your hands off her!"

> "She looks like she might fall over..."

"Then I'll support her. Kassi, you okay?"

"Ugh. Might puke."

"...Good enough. Now, Ves, why would that thing try something like this? You said it's a 'guard' beast. Shouldn't it be guarding me, not attacking my friends?"

> "Oh, that's what it normally would do," Ves explains, with a dismissive handwave. "Leander doesn't normally entertain humans. I'd expect his beasts would separate humans out for him to choose what to do with later on. It probably got you mixed up with him, and decided to capture her when you weren't around. I'm only guessing, here, but I think it probably felt that when you weren't there, she shouldn't be there, either. It's only an animal; don't expect it to be rational."

"Why would it come after me to begin with? Or get me mixed up with... Leander?"

> "It got lost, I think. And you've probably got a similar magical signature to Leander; similar elements and all that."

Next to her, Grace feels Kassi start to go weak at the knees. "Grace," she manages, "Can we get out of here? That thing dragged me through a window and down the street; I want to sit down to catch my breath--and nowhere near it."

> "Probably not a bad idea," Ves agrees, looking fairly sympathetic. "I'm technically not supposed to be in town anyway; I was just trying to catch this thing before it got to someone. I should probably get going before Xabi or some hotshot warrior shows and I get into trouble. I can take the guard beat with me and put it down somewhere out of sight if you would like; I wouldn't be too surprised if you're feeling squeamish."

That wasn't quite why Grace had hesitated about finishing it off, but she didn't know if she wanted to voice her suspicions.

>>171405
Alright, let's just go. Let this guy do whatever.

His story matches with the behavior of the beast, anyway.

>>171405

Yeah, be polite and let him do what he wants. Haul your friend off somewhere she can rest. Check her for signs of a concussion or other non-obvious injury.

>>171405
Tie up the beast and put it in a cage. He seems a little bit to eagar to see it dead. I still think there is something up with that thing and that there is more to it than he is telling you.

Other than that, let Kassi find a good spot to rest at. Poor girl looks like she really needs it.

We've got no reason to get further involved. This guy seems like a dick, but there's nothing to suggest he's lying. Let him deal with it himself.

Ask who Leander and Usha are, though.

Nurk 2010/05/08(Sat)15:30 No. 175147 ID: dce7ba
File 127335782717.png - (73.76KB , 532x740 , Ves.png )

"Fine, let's do that. One last question: who are Leander and Usha?"

> "Hm? Oh, they're sort of the top of the power chain around here. Leander's a master of storms and seas. My lady Usha is the dawn and the dusk. You didn't know--oh, right. Geeze, I'm really going to get into trouble for this. Do me a favor and forget we met here?"

With that, and without so much as a gesture or incantation, Ves sinks into the ground, and glancing over, Grace finds that the guard beast has also vanished. Both have disappeared into the stonework of the ground as cleanly as if they had never been there.

Grace finds a bench to sit on, one with a view of the sea, and it only takes a minute or two for Kassi to compose herself. It was as much the shock of being attacked as anything else that threw Kassi, and once she has a chance to calm herself down, she's fine.

That's probably a good thing, as a muscular young man comes with a constable's baton comes up. It's not uncommon for young men to join the city guard for a couple of years; it's a good way to make a little money, and generally speaking they're not going to have to deal with anything more serious than theft or a drunken brawl, since anything more serious is the province of the town's Champion. So it's no wonder that he's more than a little nervous coming up to you after tales of the monster rampaging through town have doubtlessly already begun to be exaggerated. "Er... the mayor would like to see you, M-miss Grace."

Grace glances at Kassi at first, but Kassi waves the concern off. "I'll be fine. Go on, don't get yourself in trouble. Oh... and, thanks, really."

Nurk 2010/05/08(Sat)15:31 No. 175148 ID: dce7ba
File 127335787844.png - (32.96KB , 355x550 , BaseWork.png )

The mayor's office isn't really a grandiose place; Civiton couldn't afford that sort of luxury. It's simply a practical corner of another building set aside for official use. It's not often that Grace gets called in front of Mayor Edmund, either; this is only the third or fourth time she's met him, though she's technically in his employ.

As she enters, he gestures for her to take a seat, and switches the cigar from one side of his mouth to the other. His serious expression and tone of voice belie the casual words.

> "Glad you could get here so quickly. I'd just heard about the creature attack as it must have wrapped up; by the time my scrying ball found you, you were helping that girl out the alleyway, and I wanted to find out what happened straight from the source before things got... confused. Would you mind telling me what happened?" It's not too surprising that he doesn't know Kassi by name; in a town of several thousand people, knowing everyone by name would be difficult, if not impossible. Now, the question is... what to tell him?

>>175148
"Something was attacking my friend, I stopped it." Pause. If he asks about another figure, fill him in about Ves. If he doesn't, there's no reason to.

>>175148
Best not to tell him about Ves. How do we explain that the creature disappeared though...? We could say we mortally wounded it but it ran away. Or that we atomized it.

>>175196
Why lie? Tell it straight and get the matter over quickly.

>>175229
agree. start with hearing a scream and end with the guy shlorking into the ground.

>>175196

Agree with this. We should BS about the monster disappearing and not say anything about Ves.

Desperately resist the urge to comment on how his head looks like the scrying ball.

seriously guys, why are we lying for him? for all we know he is a wanted dude and giving info about him will net us a reward and keep bad stuff from happening.

>>176456
He's not wanted. He's just not supposed to be in town so he'd get in trouble.

>>176469
and that's our problem... why?

>>176470
No reason to be a dick.

>>176479
instead we just lie to the mayor of the town we grew up in. i don't know about you, but that sounds more dickish then not lying for some guy we JUST met.

Nurk 2010/05/13(Thu)16:34 No. 176939 ID: 48de3d
File 127379368012.png - (39.40KB , 321x590 , Intense.png )

After a brief moment of internal deliberation, Grace decides to come clean, no matter if Ves requested she didn't. Who was he, after all? Without knowing that, or him, it made more sense to include him in her story.

The Mayor listens as Grace goes over her encounter with the "guard beast" and then meeting Ves. He doesn't interupt until Ves enters, only to ask for clarification, and even then his face says... very little.

Finally, Grace wraps up and there is a long pause as Mayor Edmund digests what she's said. Finally, Grace breaks the silence. "Who is this 'Ves', then? Someone I should know?"

It's another long moment before she gets a response.

> "Ves is... a bit of a maverick. He's an Elemental who serves Usha, one of the major powers in this region."

"Why isn't he supposed to come into town, then?" The mayor hesitates over the seemingly innocent question. He's picking his words with care.

> "It's not just him. We have some standing agreements with several elder Elementals, and one of the tenets of those is that they agree not to enter town without permission from me or Xabi. Ves was probably telling the truth about hunting down that monster, which it's hard to be upset about, but he did break the letter of the law."

The cigar switches sides. Evidentally the mayor isn't exactly pulling on it too hard; it doesn't look any shorter than when Grace first came in. Really, she would have expected him to be dragging on it for a bit of nicotine relief given how serious he looks... but she doesn't know anything about cigars, anyway.

> "Figures this would happen while Xabi is out of town. Just simple rotten luck. I suppose the best thing to do would be to let him figure out what to do from here, he's always been more familiar with you Elementals than I have. Would you mind helping him if he wants that?"

For someone "more familiar", Grace has never actually met the man, unlike Mayor Edmund.

>>176939
Sure, fine. We'd want to meet him eventually anyway since it looks like he's going to start dating our friend, right?

indeed, getting to know someone that your long time friend will start hanging out with sounds good. and his way it wont be like you are stalking him as you have a legitimate reason to hang around him.

Nurk 2010/05/14(Fri)21:56 No. 177643 ID: 48de3d
File 127389936642.png - (114.68KB , 869x676 , Lots.png )

"Of course," Grace says, almost immediately. That seems reasonable.

> "All right, then I think we're about done. Take a few days off of work, if you need to; I can understand you've had a bit of a rough day, here."

That's basically the end of the meeting. They wrap up as quickly as politeness allows, and Grace is back outside shortly. She drops by Kassi's job, first, but it's closed; there's a couple people doing clean-up, but they're not open for business and Kassi isn't there; she left a message for Grace, though, saying that she just wanted some time by herself for the rest of the day.

So, Grace gets home late afternoon. It's earlier than she usually gets home; she actually gets back just as her dad is leaving. He works nights, as a cook in one of Civiton's nicer restaurants. He cocks his head questioningly as she comes back earlier than normal; usually they miss each other, instead of meeting at the front door. "Hi, Dad," Grace says. "Man, you wouldn't believe the day I've been having."

Dad doesn't reply verbally. He can't, actually. He got a curse placed on him about twenty or twenty five years ago now, that he's not able to use words or letters to communicate--spoken, written, or through any sort of code. Just random fall-out from a couple of mages fighting each other and being in the wrong place at the time. Instead, he gestures for Grace to come along and tell him about it on the way. He's going to be late otherwise, and much as he does care for his adoptive daughter, it's difficult enough to hold down a job without being able to speak. Finding a new one would be a nightmare.

So, Grace walks with him part-way, explaining her day as she goes. Repeated telling seems to have dimmed it to an almost mundane experience for her, but her dad is clearly worried. "Don't worry," she finishes, noticing her dad's concerned expression. "I'm not going to do anything stupid. The mayor just wants me to talk to Xabi. Nothing dangerous. Have a good shift." With a quick embrace, Grace and her father part.

She returns home, but isn't there too long before there's a knock at the door; she answers it to find an unfamiliar man on the step.

> "Grace?"

"That's me," Grace confirms, with a nod. She could probably guess who the man is, but he gives his name before she can ask.

> "Xabi. Good to meet you; I got back a little early, and was hoping you'd be here. No reason to wait until tomorrow what can be done today, right?"

"Uh... of course not. Come on in--can I get you something to drink?"

> "No, thanks. Can't waste time. I spoke to the mayor and Kassi already since I got back--I understand she's a friend of yours, too, right?--and apparently Ves was in town? Can't let that sit. The longer we spend before we act, the more we'll look like we don't know what we're doing. I was going to see Usha. She's only an hour outside of town or so, even on foot. I think I should speak to her today, if possible. Would you come along? I'd feel better if you did, and I suspect she'll want to see you, too. That's not a problem, right? If you have any questions, we can cover them along the way; I'll tell you everything I can."

How much energy does he have? Kassi mentioned him fighting a chimera nest earlier today, and he's still rushing about on something new right upon coming back home.

>>177643
Enough.

Get to work!

>>177643
What exactly are we going there to do? Just yell at them a bit for having Ves come into town?

Nurk 2010/05/15(Sat)00:13 No. 177692 ID: 48de3d
File 127390761132.png - (19.48KB , 233x260 , Cough.png )

>>177665

"What exactly are we going there to do?" Grace asks. "Just yell at them a bit for having Ves come into town?"

> "Well, honestly..."

Xabi looks abashed.

> "Usha's going to yell at me, too. You, uh, well, any Elemental--you're not really supposed to be in town. The Mayor and your parents brought you in here long before I ever became Champion--heck, we're almost the same age, right?--but that was really bending the rules. Elementals are an extremely rare and high-level spirit, and officially you're going to cause us some trouble. I don't blame you, though, alright? You weren't supposed to know. Your mother asked for that when she and your dad first found you and tried to settle here. But... Civiton, Usha, Leander... we've all had some agreements with each other, and now Usha's group broke one of them and she's going to find out we broke our end. It's going to be... touchy. But I think she's less likely to try to hit me with a laser if you're there. I don't want to have to fight; you Elementals really have more raw power than I do and there's no way I could take Usha and Ves together. So I'm hoping that you and I and Usha can smooth everything over before someone decides to wipe this whole town off the map. If Leander gets upset that there's a sixth Elemental in the area and no one told him, he might decide we could use a nice hurricane."

He doesn't sound like he's making a playful exaggeration with those last two lines.

... okay. sounds like a plan.

>>177692
This whole situation kind of sucks, doesn't it? Ah well. Can't think of any better way of dealing with it. We almost there?

>>177692
Ok, sounds good.
I think you should emphasize how you're just living your life, and would rather have nothing to do with their power squabbles.

Why is it that the presence of an unknown Elemental would cause such unrest? Xabi mentioned that an Elemental is rare, but enough to destroy an entire town over?

Civiton, Usha, Leander, and Ves. He said there were five. Did I miss one?

Nurk 2010/05/20(Thu)00:22 No. 180100 ID: 48de3d
File 127434017548.png - (62.38KB , 553x504 , VesAgain.png )

>>178053

Civiton is the name of Grace's hometown, not an Elemental.

Still, that doesn't add up yet. Although she hardly needs to, she makes a show of counting on her fingers. "So... you said six Elementals. Me, Leander, Usha, and Ves... that leaves two."

> "I don't know the other two. They're with Leander, and he and his crew don't like humans. He tends to just send out some messenger more to tell us what he's decided rather than negotiate. That's just his way. One of his friends there is a fire-aspect with empty eyes. I'm not sure what his second aspect is. The other one is a tall girl. No idea about her at all."

"So, then, why would me being around cause such problems? Why is that enough to talk about destroying a town over?"

> "Well... you've probably guessed that Usha and Leander don't see eye-to-eye. Leander's currently stronger, but one Elemental one way or the other upsets their balance as it currently stands, right? Usha's a lot more reasonable than Leander, but either one of them could blow up a lot of real estate if they took it into their heads to do so. It's not even really about you as 'you'; it's just being another really powerful being, right? That's all. But, if we and Usha have a united front, it'd be too costly for him to start anything. Well, really, just you showing up full-grown and not on either 'side' is the potential problem. I don't know Leander that well, but I could see him deciding that if someone's hidden you from him for the last twenty years, the only logical reason would be that we were planning against him. And if that's the case... better to strike preemptively, right? You going and introducing yourself to him might work just as well for defusing the immediate problem. He's no friend of humans, but you're not one. You'd probably get a warm welcome from him."

For obvious reasons, Xabi sounds a little bitter there. A moment later, a stone near Grace ripples and Ves' head appears. She tries not to jump in surprise. Ves doesn't really seem to notice either way. "Oh, so you're the ones I sensed coming to visit, hmm? Xabi and... I don't think you gave your name, miss?"

For a moment, Grace flushes--she hadn't realized she'd forgotten that. "Grace."

"Nice to meet you both again, then. Obviously you're here to meet Usha, so follow me." Ves steps completely out of the stone, and leads the way through the rocky terrain to a door--there seems to be a small cottage squirreled away here, where it could not easily be seen.

Nurk 2010/05/20(Thu)00:24 No. 180103 ID: 48de3d
File 127434025653.png - (59.42KB , 536x607 , Stuff.png )

Ves dramatically throws the door open to a small, cozy room, mostly dominated by a large table, with only one of its several chairs occupied. "I'm hooome~ Oh, and here's Xabi, and apparently the girl's named Grace." It's not a very good introduction, to Grace's mind. Two people are here, one is a woman--clearly an Elemental, by her eyes and the sense of power she radiates; doubtless Usha--sitting at the table in a simple wooden chair, reading, and behind her stands a human man with a monocle. His posture suggests that he's a servant.

Usha offers a small smile to greet you as you and Xabi file in.

> "Well, good to meet you then, Grace... Xabi. I understand we've got a lot to talk about. I wasn't actually expecting you until tomorrow or so. Xabi's always in a rush, isn't he, Grace? Take a seat. Can I get you something to drink? Would you care to split something alcoholic, or would you prefer coffee? Tea?"

Grace actually hasn't had too much experience with anything alcoholic... it's tempting...

>>180103
Go with Tea. If we're going to negotiating, it'd be much better to not also being dealing with getting drunk the first time.

Let Xabi take the lead in the discussion. It would honestly be best if we stayed out of this mess entirely, but I doubt that will happen.

Develop a crush on Xabi.
Also, ask for tea.

You can always get drunkexperiment later when you don't have to worry about needing to talk to important people.

Ask for the tea and openly check it for any foreign substances using your WATER powers. Alternatively, inform them as to your WATER prowess by simply filling your own cup/politely refusing any drinks by means of explanation.

As for discussion, stay true to your LIGHTNING roots and strike fast. Ask her what use she has in mind for your powers.

>>180354
As for checking for poison, I agree, but subtly.

Why would we do something so rude as to insinuate that our host would poison us? In fact, I must object to using any other powers in this setting. It may be rude or even threatening.

If we see Usha using them perhaps, but this is an unsure setting and we should follow the lead of someone more experienced.

No one is going to poison anyone, all parties involved are quite powerful, or are representatives for larger powers. A poisoning would go over like a lead balloon and would eventually lead to war.

Nurk 2010/07/13(Tue)22:36 No. 207553 ID: 1f380b
File 12790857756.png - (96.38KB , 850x506 , Finally.png )

"Tea, please." Usha seems disappointed, but gestures for the quiet man at her shoulder to serve some.

> "Too bad. Usually people get much more agreeable after a few drinks."

Well, that's... honest. Grace quietly extends her senses, and confirms to her satisfaction that there's nothing she can detect amiss in her tea or in Xabi's tea. Furthermore, it's identical to what Usha is drinking, so if something escaped Grace's detection, she should be vulnerable, too. Satisfied, Grace sits back to wait--she'd rather not take the lead. Usha takes a long drink before speaking again, looking at Xabi.

> "So... let me see if I got the order of events straight, here, just so we're all on the same page. Yesterday, I sense one of Leander's guard beasts, escaped from its pen and lost. I send Ves here to deal with it, and he comes back a few hours ago, telling me that not only did he have to chase it into town, but he's met a new Elemental there, not only living in town, but seemingly completely unaware that she should be circumspect. Then, sure enough, she shows up on my doorstep just to let me know that Ves didn't have some fever dream. Leander is going to check up on his little beastie, and it won't take him any time at all to notice what happened."

Usha folds her hands in a gesture of deep contemplation.

> "Very well. Then here are the immediate problems: first, the guard beast's memory. It's linked to one of Leander's more powerful magical devices, and it records what the beast sees, real-time. It's already seen Grace, as he will find out when he plays it back and finds out how it was put down. An unknown girl, putting down one of his stronger creatures in, according to Ves, two strikes. Two magical elements used, and clearly Elemental appearance. It doesn't get easier to put together than that. So that leads to the second problem. Leander is going to be quite upset that no one's told him about Grace, and given that he can't leave a town alone that's openly flouted a rule of his, he's probably going to want to level the town. Hell, Xabi, if I had any less self-control, I might just pitch in! Do you know how incredibly stupid this was? Signing an agreement not to harbor Elementals and then raising one there is like... like showing up to peace talks with a sword across your back!"

"Hey, now!" Xabi comes to his feet, irate. "By the time I ever even heard about Grace, she was seventeen, alright! I never met her until today! Whatever she is, she's never caused any uproar I've heard about--she's just been another normal person, and you're telling me I should have thrown her out two years ago just because, 'hey, sorry, someone else put you in a bad spot and I don't want to have to deal with this so get out'?"

> "Oh, and if everyone dies because of that, I suppose it would be a moral victory. I've spent a human lifetime trying to curb Leander's excesses, and today I find someone's spent almost two decades sitting on top of an excuse for him to rampage!"

It seems like it's going to be up to Grace to prevent the argument from escalating... so much for not taking the lead.

Oh, look, the tea's cold, too. This seems like it's taking forever.

Sorry--sidetracked, not abandoned. Next update will come rather quicker.

>>207553
What if we left? Would Leander blame the town if Grace were no longer living there? Or perhaps we can immediately go speak to him, and reveal ourselves before he knows where we came from? Two smaller shocks instead of one big shock.

slam your fist to get everyone's attention. 'then we need to do something now. let's meet Xabi and get this sorted out as soon as possible. just waiting for him to find out and jump to the wrong conclusion will be worse then him being told what is going on'

>>207560
We're with Xabi.
>>207558
To be honest Leander doesn't really know that we live there. All he'll see through the guard beast is someone showing up and putting down his creature.

The only option I see is putting up a pretense of blowing into town and deciding to play hero. We'd have to leave but it would absolve the town of any wrongdoing.

...we would make a good superhero. Wandering around the country righting wrongs and fighting for justice.

>>207841
ack.... i meant meet leander.

>>207843
Who to be honest doesn't sound like the most stable of people. Meeting him, especially with Usha's group involved would just make him feel like he's being conspired against. We want to draw his attention away from the town.

Well I've got an idea. It may not be a terribly good idea, but it's an idea for avoiding a war.

Let's destroy that magical device, or steal it, or erase it; remove the evidence anyway.

After that, let's set to removing the paper trail in city hall. We'd need to change the references to what exactly Grace did as an employee of the city to her being a clerk or something equally mundane and reasonable for a young woman. Anyone who knew what Grace did, or knew her actual nature, will be sworn to secrecy and made aware of the consequences of talking. If someone is uncooperative we will take whatever measures are required to silence them. One or two lives is nothing in comparison to a whole city.

With the immediate crisis resolved in that fashion, we'll return to negotiate about what will become of Grace.

>>207841
actually this plan sounds good. we were just in town at the time and killed the thing. we were planning to leave after that but then xabi and usha contacted us. leander never heard of us because we were always moving.

Nurk 2010/07/15(Thu)16:58 No. 208652 ID: 1f380b
File 127923830082.gif - (7.13KB , 410x346 , Usha.gif )

"Hey. Hey! Hey, calm down!" Grace finally manages to get herself heard over the two arguing. "Maybe we can try to figure this out without losing our tempers?"

Thankfully, they seem to take it pretty well. Xabi subsides back into his chair, and Usha takes a sip of tea to regain her composure.

> "I'm sorry, Grace," Usha says. "I suppose I really should be keeping my cool better than that. That's inexcuseable for me, and we should have brought you into the discussion earlier."

Grace nods, to show she accepts the apology. "So the real problem is Leander finding out exactly where I come from, right? How about if I sneak in there or something and destroy this memory recorder before he thinks to check it out?"

> "Hm. Dangerous. I wouldn't recommend it, because things would go very badly if you were caught. But, on the other hand, Leander doesn't normally keep a very large court. If there's only four to six people there... I could drop a spell on you to help prevent your discovery. Probably better than even odds of working in the short term, but then Leander's going to want to know why his little treasure broke. Still could work."

"Okay, so... maybe I just go talk to him? If I tell him I just came in by ship and Xabi told me to go see him, could that work?"

Usha answers promptly. She may have been thinking along these lines already.

> "That should work out just fine unless Leander starts asking around--and I can't imagine he would. He doesn't think like that normally, so unless he had reason to be suspicious, he wouldn't go ask around. If he did snoop on human towns, you'd never have been undetected until now. I do see one potential downside, though: what if he asks you to keep on moving? I don't know the chance that he would; it would probably depend on how well he takes to you. If he does send you on your way... well, that would save your hometown, for sure, but where would you go? That would be a noble sacrifice, indeed. For my own part, I'd hope you don't have to leave. To be completely transparent, I'm already thinking of ways I could use you if you stay here."

>To be completely transparent, I'm already thinking of ways I could use you if you stay here.

That's probably why it's better to move on. Both Usha and Leander want to get the upper hand, and staying unaffiliated wouldn't work because nobody likes a wild-card.

Still, ask Usha about the differences between her and Leander's groups. Then get Xabi's opinion.

>>208652
"To be completely transparent, I don't want one damn thing to do with the local power struggles. I'm not saying I wouldn't help you, just that I'm not going to play favorites."

>>208667

Being rude could cost Grace a favor if we want to use the sneaky method for ending this. Usha's a shadow and light elemental, so stealth and illusion would be her specialty. Being a skilled diplomat complements her powers nicely.

Still, it's an interesting sentiment. The way you phrased it is very undiplomatic and tactless though.

Usha wants two things: For Leander to not have a reason to become unhinged and destroy the town, and for Grace to side with her. Grace's powers make her a powerful offensive type.

Grace certainly wants the town to survive unscathed.

What about getting involved in the Elemental politics as one of Usha's enforcers? So far Usha's proven to be reasonable, and Grace, barring mishap, will live much longer than any of the humans she knows.

It seems like seeing Leander and claiming you just came into town is our best bet. What we'll do afterwards depends on how that goes, but really, staying out of the power struggle would be for the best. Usha doesn't seem that bad, but this whole problem is caused by everyone worrying about you being upset the balance.

What we need to decide on now is where you came from, why, and whether you're actually supposed to be there.

Also, if you do get forced to leave, I'm totally throwing my weight behind you becoming a superhero.

Nurk 2010/07/15(Thu)22:03 No. 208743 ID: 1f380b
File 12792566356.gif - (7.11KB , 410x346 , Usha2.gif )

Grace puts up her hands, in an obvious gesture to slow down. "Hey, I'm not trying to get involved without knowing what's going on. Can I at least ask what the difference is between you and Leander?"

> "Oh, philosophical, of course. We don't get along personally, but the bigger issue is how we interact with humans. I'd like to work together and apply everyone's talents for the common good. Leander's belief is that an Elemental's lifespan just precludes that, and we're all better off staying with our own kind. Of course, up until a century and a half ago, he was worshiped around here as a god of weather, and he's never once stopped issueing decrees, so I find his behaviour sort of hypocritical."

"Well, I'd like to stay out of it, but it seems like the best option for now might be meeting Leander and talking it out."

> "That would be my advice. Hm. How does this sound? You're from Silas. I know you probably don't know much geography, so that's the first little town on the other side of the sea. That's outside of Leander's usual stomping grounds, so you could reasonably have no idea of things over here until Xabi 'finds' you. Your adoptive parents sent you here to meet family of theirs. Don't sweat the details, they won't come up. Does that sound good?"

That's one plan, for sure. Grace hasn't fully committed, but Usha's got the answers if she wants to try it this way.

>>208743
How would he react to the truth? Just go over and tell him that nobody in charge knew? He wouldn't believe it, would he?

Sounds like Usha's plan is ideal for now.

>>208768
indeed, i highly doubt he would accept the truth.

Usha's plan is sound. Meanwhile, it seems fitting to ask her to expand on what she mentioned earlier about uses for Grace. It would be nice to work with her own people for a change, who surely have more creative intentions for her powers than purifying saltwater.

>>209230
Don't knock steady employment. Besides, providing clean water and a needed product, is that not part of the common good?

We should also get Xabi's view of Ushas description... just for a balanced perspective.

Suggestion 2010/08/06(Fri)21:06 No. 216015 ID: a9f6ce
File 128115397814.png - (92.71KB , 778x477 , Talk.png )

"Do you mind if I talk to Xabi outside?" Grace asks. She's a little more trusting of the town champion than this other Elemental. Usha gives a gracious wave, and the two exit. "She isn't going to listen in or anything, right?" There isn't much point if Xabi isn't going to be honest, after all, but he quickly assuages those fears.

> "Nah. If Usha has a good point, it's honesty. She won't listen in, and she won't lie if she can help it."

"You sound awful bitter with that compliment."

> "Well, I don't like her. Hm. I wouldn't really have gotten into a fight in there, alright? She's aggravating, but she's smart and she doesn't want to see anyone--human, Elemental, or lesser spirit creature--to suffer if she can help it. I figured that she could help now, plus with Ves she'd have figured something was up anyway, right?"

"So she's better than Leander, then?"

> "Hell no. Well, she's less likely to go on a killing spree right now, but she's a meddler." Xabi practically spits the word. "Last thing anyone needs is some nigh-immortal with superhuman power setting herself up as the supreme authority. I don't want that."

Xabi looks at Grace again, almost as if for the first time.

> "Well, I suppose it may not be too bad for you, right? Eh, whatever. She can help for now. I'd make a deal with a demon if that was the only way to save everyone. If I were in your position, I'd try this idea to placate Leander, and then worry about where to go from there. Heck, if it goes right, maybe you can even come back home, right?"

>>216015
Yeah, that's true. Let's go with this for now.