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Qualia: Mission Sub Rosa

Nazca Whitehall

Clockwork Autumn

Nazca retired to her dorm, tired and unsatisfied. For all of her attempts at intercepting the Mughal man, she had been rebuffed and ignored at every turn, and even her attempt (rather unsubtly, admittedly) at forcing him to dance had been an abject failure, with her target even deigning to share a dance with the unskilled and boorishly incapable Germanic scion.

Such misfortune.

Ah, well. It wasn’t like she didn’t have the rest of the year to encroach upon the student’s personal space again, to prize whatever information she needed out of the strangely skittish man.

The tram ride back to her new lodgings was uneventful compared to the ball, though it did give her a pleasant, brief tour of the eclectic neighborhood of student dorms the island had. Each building was distinctly unique, with its own architectural style based on every corner of the world. At least to her, some seemed far more practical than others, and when she got off at her stop in front of a tasteful structure that appeared to blend occidental architecture with that of Ayba Yala, Nazca felt right at home with the two familiar styles.

She was thankful to discover that her dorm building accommodated individual suites, and was also pleased by the large outdoor pool that she could see in the courtyard facing window of her private room.

Waiting for her in said room were the dozens of carefully packed boxes and pieces of luggage that made up her wardrobe, personal effects, and more importantly, her clockwork workshop. Frowning at the mess of organizing that she would have to do, she took a brief moment to inspect her quarters before she got to work organizing her new room. There was quite a lot to set up…

By the time Nazca had finished her basic unpacking (the workshop was nothing close to set up, and wouldn’t be for days) it was already later into the evening. Although she remained curious about the mysterious circumstances behind the curfew, she had no desire to mess with something she didn’t understand on the first day, and there was still much to do… like draw a nice bath and turn in for the night in preparation for whatever tomorrow awaited.

She would get around to properly socializing then, if only to make up for the horrendous social disaster that today had been.

The Epic of Beginnings - Fragments of a weathered scroll

Narkissa Langdon

@Rune_Alchemist

“Seems so,” Narkissa replied, with a bit of a smirk of her own as she followed Mie deeper into the camp. She would have some very fun chemistry to do later… or was it alchemy here? Soon enough though, she was collecting the ingredients she needed at a rapid pace. It wasn’t the wholesale amounts that she ideally needed, but it couldn’t be helped if what Mie offered was all that a traveling caravan could offer. She wrinkled her nose as she inspected the more odorous of the materials that she needed, quickly inspecting the box of sulfur before closing the lid. The saltpeter was… was it was, and she piled it on top of the other box. Hopefully, with the tools and processes she was going to use, Narkissa wasn’t going to blow herself up accidentally, but she was confident in her skills.

Together with the charcoal, it was an impressively cumbersome amount of material to carry. “Ayumi… right. Well, I think you know where I’ll be staying,” she replied, curious about the manner of messenger she was going to send.

“No, definitely not,” Narkissa agreed, drifting over to the cornucopia of tools that Mie had indicated. “Thanks for the help, especially on this short of a notice, by the way. I really appreciate it.”

Although she raised an eyebrow at the mention of Leannah, the tools took her attention away and she let the fox attend to the other matter. She didn’t know some of the names for the instruments she needed in this world, but she definitely needed a proper bag for everything at this point, so she made a beeline for picking a good one out first. Then… the tools. She probably was going to have to get some more wood again, because Narkissa was sure she’d have to remake a few things herself.

Dead Gods Dream: A post-apocalyptic divine action-adventure RP

No problem. Been pretty distracted myself...

The Epic of Beginnings - Fragments of a weathered scroll

Narkissa Langdon

@Rune_Alchemist @PKMNB0Y

“Sorry,” she shrugged at the Oni guard. It wasn’t like she was going to wait to see Mie after she left… because it seemed like she was leaving.

“Ah, I see…” She was curious what Misaki and Mie had been discussing, though. Perhaps the Japanese girl was getting supplies for the papermaking endeavor? With how things were going, though, it didn’t seem like that project would come to fruition anytime soon. “Well, it’s still worth a try. Where is the caravan heading to next, anyway?”

Narkissa quickly handed over the letter in response, knowing that she had caught the merchant fox just in time, shrugging at her own response. She was still wondering if she was doing the right thing… but in for a penny, in for a pound, eh? “Right then,” she agreed, curious just exactly what the other thing was. Was it the strange weapon detailed on the blueprint?

“I need some alchemical ingredients. Preferably wholesale quantities,” she explained, lowering her voice. “Mainly sulfur, saltpeter, and charcoal… Although I believe the former two are also known as brimstone and niter, if that sounds familiar. As for what they’re for… that’s a secret. No, really, it would be bad news if anybody else really knows what needs to be ordered for… the thing,” she continued, vaguely. “I’ll probably also need some tools for this, and a good quality bag to hold that,” she added, explaining in detail what else she needed. She was going to need a bag nonetheless for all the stuff she was acquiring, and now that she had a temporary free pass to pick up supplies, she was going to take it.

“As for the other thing… where and where should I meet you?”

Qualia: Mission Sub Rosa

Nazca Whitehall

Clockwork Autumn

Although it hadn’t been enlightening, the conversation with the Icelander, the Russian, and the Oriental had been interesting enough. And the food was even better, as expected of an institution like this. Nonetheless, it hadn’t been a conversation she had actively participated in, and she really did have a certain Mughal man to track down again. The white-haired girl had half a mind to send out a small insect drone into the ballroom to find out where the tanned fellow had disappeared off to, but as she wandered about the hall, an uncomfortable feeling began to strike her.

At first, the tanned girl thought that her stomach simply just disagreed with the delicious –yet foreign—cuisine, but it really wasn’t something that she couldn’t handle. She’d had and shrugged off far worse, especially when she was in her native lands. Sometimes, you’d really needed rock-hard guts to stay standing after eating some of what was available in her former country.

Whatever it was, though, it wasn’t getting better. It was getting far worse, actually, as waves of intensifying nausea began to rock her system. It wasn’t before long that Nazca had to rush for the water closet, and it wasn’t because of some half-assed excuse like Kalil had fobbed off on her earlier. This was… an emergency.

Some time later, she reemerged from the facilities with a groan.

Perhaps next time, she would be more careful before consuming raw seafood and shellfish.

Nah, who was she kidding, she was still going to have more of that delicious sushi. Just… no more for today.

The white-haired Tlaxcalan, still a bit put off by the experience, nonetheless returned to her task of finding a certain man, and finally caught sight of him once again, locking onto his figure and making a beeline for him… as he seemed to make a beeline for… was that another white-haired girl? The nerve!

“Ah! What a pleasant coincidence to run into you again,” she began, as she executed her intercept right in front of the German white-haired girl. “I trust you are feeling better, Mr. Gharbi?”

@SgtEasy @Izurich

The Epic of Beginnings - Fragments of a weathered scroll

Narkissa Langdon

@Rune_Alchemist @PKMNB0Y

“Hey!” Narkissa nearly barked back as the god more or less shoved the blueprints into her hand and shook them. “Both of us know very well just the blueprints are about useless to me. The payment is the device itself!” She had specifically noted it earlier on in the ‘negotiations’ anyway. She wasn’t just going to take a silly blueprint when she could make one herself. Barrel, stock, flintlock trigger, flash pan? Easiest thing in the world. Making it? Hardest thing in this world.

She and this god were going to have to have to another nice talk when they next met.

She glanced at the blueprint and note that she’d been handed. The rifle blueprint… thing… was actually kind of clever, now that she looked at it. The script was completely illegible to her, so she couldn’t know the exact dimensions of the thing, but from a modern perspective, it was easy enough to see how it worked at a basic level. It still seemed kind of strange, though. Not how she’d make such a thing.

The god had told her not to look at the note that was apparently for Mie… but with how unreliable he was, she decided to take a peek at it anyway. Not like it had a seal on it… and as far as she could tell, there wasn’t a trap or anything attached to it if she opened it.

She flipped the envelope open and read it with a deadpan expression.

Who’s a dumb clock worshipping lunatic? They had clocks in this world? Wait, wasn't she the only person with a watch in this world?

Shaking her head and filing the rest of the information in her head –especially about the hunters—she carefully returned the note back in its place and headed over to the fox merchant. It seemed that was where the commotion had been, anyway…

Well, she had been expecting that, but it seemed that had sort of… gone away, by the time she reached Mie’s place. A very angry Leannah and some strung up men aside, which she strategically avoided for the moment. Instead, she caught the tail end of a conversation between the fox and Misaki. Oh, Lazhira was there too, so she was safe.

Coughing, she entered. “Ah, am I interrupting something? I have a letter to deliver, and some supplies to request…”

Dead Gods Dream: A post-apocalyptic divine action-adventure RP

Aureia, of gold, commerce, wealth,

and the far less important, trivial aspects of travel and luck

So some of the others had also felt that the name Klois felt familiar. The problem was, like Aureia, none of the others could also fully recognize where they knew the name from. As a goddess that prided herself well on knowing lots of names and places (a very useful quality when it came to lording over commerce) it frustrated her to no end that the name was escaping her despite being on the tip on the tongue.

This was going to bother her for a long time.

It was then that the young girl began to bawl. But given the news of the death of her stalwart guardian… it was expected.

But why were her fellow gods so awkward? Did they not know how to deal with humans after ten thousand years?

She sighed, before heading over to the girl herself. Kneeling down, Aureia gave her a comforting pat on the head, before giving her a light hug around the shoulders. “There, there,” she comforted, before producing a silk handkerchief for her to dry her tears with. “His death was not in vain, since we’re here now. He wouldn’t want for you to be sad like this.”

Dead Gods Dream: A post-apocalyptic divine action-adventure RP

I'll do a thing after the thing after the thing, tomorrow, I guess. Gotta catch up, slightly falling behind on a lot of my posts >_<

The Epic of Beginnings - Fragments of a weathered scroll

Narkissa Langdon

@Rune_Alchemist

Despite his denial, Narkissa couldn’t help but to frown. He still couldn’t be trusted… but at least he wasn’t speaking in riddles anymore.

So that was it, then. She recalled Leannah’s explanation of her understanding of the situation. The goddess Delphiti was the goddess that brought them all here, and also happened to be the god that Narkissa had prayed to in the temple. As it happens part of her, the aspect of Conflict was sealed within the village, and it would be terrible news if she was unleashed.

Right then, if this ‘auntie’ of his was sealed beneath here, then that was her. Perhaps it was because she had summoned her, and she also had prayed to her, but Narkissa felt reluctance to actively mess with the goddess so. Don’t bite the hand that feeds you, and all that, and it would be a big betrayal if she turned around and stabbed her in the back.

On the other hand, if what she knew was true, then the part of her that was sealed under the village needed to be dealt with. Also, gun. That in itself was important, because she really wasn’t the best at sword fighting in this hostile world.

She clicked her tongue. It still felt like she was operating partially in the dark, but she knew something had to be done, even if her gut was telling her to get the hell out of town and drop this entire matter like the hottest potato known to man.

“Fine. But only if it’s limited to this scope, to the part of the one sealed below,” she hedged. “I’ll need money and supplies to make what you need,” she added.

The Epic of Beginnings - Fragments of a weathered scroll

Narkissa Langdon

@Rune_Alchemist @Crusader Lord

“…Oh.”

Oh god, this guy really did have a split personality. Literally.

That response was… interesting, though, and she knew there was more to it, especially given what Leannah had told her earlier. From his change of demeanor when reflecting on his other personality, though, it was probably pushing her luck if she pursued the topic.

Equally as interesting, though, was the half-lie Narkissa had apparently caught the Illuminator in. Did that mean he could only do a surface-level reading of her memories? If he simply only knew trivia, but not the underlying principles, that was actually a pretty gimped version of a god of knowledge, not gonna lie. She… sort of understood how the god was so insane, now. To know of everything, but not able to truly understand it all, that was nightmarish.

Then again, she couldn’t predict anything from this guy. “To kill a god,” she pantomimed, with a deadpan expression, before muttering. “This deal is getting worse by the minute.”

But could gods really be killed by something as simple as a bullet from a gun? Was it that easy? It couldn’t be. She looked at him in irritation as she thought about it. If she could just give him a bit of gunpowder without the recipe, that might be acceptable. It really depended on who the being wanted to kill, though, and how much actual firepower he needed.

“…You’re going to have to tell me what god you intend to destroy. But yes, I suppose I could sell you the product that creates such a power…”

The noise from the commotion nearby continued to escalate, until she heard Leannah calling for her… apparently in the aftermath of an attempted kidnapping. She shot the god in front of her a look.

“What is this now. You don’t have anything to do with this, do you?”