Mokley

The Zephyr Extinct

Post is up! Just some notes:

Although I threw a scene up underneath a quote from each of you, nobody is obligated to interact with that specific scene. Anyone is welcome to go join another PC with whatever they're doing.

Everyone should have at least two choices right now, but there are more if you want to be creative. 😉

A reminder that you all have earpieces that allow you to talk to one another when you're separated!

The Zephyr Extinct

"I'll take the back alley. Best to cover all ways in and out. Rose and Iris, it's up to you where you go. We could split evenly to both paths, unless you got some tricks or ideas up your sleeve. And I assume Fluke will make sure to report our deaths if anything goes wonky."

@Grey Omen

Fluke threw out an enthusiastic thumbs-up, jumped backward and perched like a cat on top of the weapons chest, clicking and wiggling the drone controller like the mission was a video game.

The little flying sphere glimmered and flashed and zoomed over the crowd at breakneck pace, perhaps out of Cedar's sight for awhile, zigzagging among the tents and banners and throngs of people. The drone waited for him at the entrance to a narrow alley between the potter's workshop and the florist, bouncing up and down in midair like an impatient hummingbird.

As soon as Cedar approached the alley (which was more of a gap between buildings) the drone sped off through the dark narrow space.

There was barely enough room here for Cedar to walk without turning sideways. The stucco walls dripped with old inexplicable stains, the ground under his feet had probably been recently used as a urinal and a compost site, and-- the deeper he went into the seemingly endless corridor --there was a burning, ever-present smell of rotten eggs.

Something moved behind him.

Cedar would see, in the corner of his mask's vision, a flicker of a shadow rippling along the wall beside him-- but then it was gone. Or it could've been a trick of the dim light, an illusion in the dank dripping stains.

Just ahead, an armadillo wiggled in the middle of the narrow aisle, snuffling and digging in the rancid dirt.

The drone continued onward, far ahead toward a brighter light at the end.

"It's safe to say I'll blend in best here, and Listener, I'm guessing you will too?" she asked. "How about you, Iris? Which path is it gonna be, marketplace, alleyway, or your own?"

@LuckyBlackCat

"WHY DON'T YOU JUST SHUT UP, OLD MAN?" A younger man with a scraggled goatee pointed up at Ruskali with a brown hand full of rings and bracelets. "It's always the same drivel: the world's going to end, the sky'll catch fire, the same story day after day and it never HAPPENS, does it? When will you get a clue, ya lunatic?"

Ruskali raised his bearded chin and puffed his chest. "People like you-- nonbelievers! --will be the first to repent when the end is upon us--"

"I know what you're really doing!" the goatee-man sneered with a smirk. "Come down here to earth with the rest of us, give up, and accept that NOTHING goes on forever. Everything's not ending. Just one thing's ended--"

"YOU KNOW NOTHING!" Ruskali howled with a spray of spittle, his eyes bugged and wild. "THE PREMONITIONS FORETELL--"

"Keep your trauma to yourself." Goatee-man turned his back on Ruskali, paid for a handful of wildflowers, and strode off toward the main street.

Ruskali wheezed as if he'd been punched. He dropped weakly to sit on the stairs, hunched with his head bowed low.

"I got the gist of it," she assured her fellow recruits with easy confidence. "Nobody's going to be able to tell me apart, and if there's trouble I'll have the birds-eye view. So no need for anyone to report any deaths or anything."

@Plank Sinatra

The bike cache was brimming with hoverbikes and folding gliders, left behind while their owners perused the wares of market day. The passersby left them alone-- save for the occasional glance that was impressed or envious or appraising --out of unspoken respect for the high fliers that lived on the wind.

The only disturbance was a little girl who'd dragged a hoverbike away from the wall and sobbed and choked and gurgled shaking, teary breaths while she squeezed the handles and kicked the engine and jumped up and down on the seat hoping to make it go.

"Come on..." she wailed. "Go up! Come on! Don't do this to me!" She was shaking, she couldn't see through her streaming tears.

High above, atop the building against which the other hoverbikes leaned, there was smoke.

Sickly blue smoke wisped swirling into the sky, from something burning atop the roof. It began to billow and spark with flying red embers, deeper and darker as the moments passed, shifting color from blue to heinous, swirling, unnatural violet that flashed and glowed within.

No one had noticed it. Not yet.

The Zephyr Extinct

Awesome! Maybe tomorrow I'll try to plot you all on a map, trace your movements, and concoct some trouble. (no guarantees on a post tomorrow, depends on how the day goes, so if anyone's got any more actions, decisions or movements go for it!)

The Zephyr Extinct

"THE FALL OF EVERYTHING AS WE KNOW IT IS UPON US!" Ruskali howled over the ignorant masses, flinging his cape like a restless duck. "LOOK AROUND YOU AT THE WORLD YOU KNOW, BECAUSE IT WILL BE GONE BEFORE YOU CAN BLINK!"

One of the spectators-- in ragged scrub and a dusty cap --was just rolling his eyes before a voice spoke behind him. He turned around to see a young woman standing there, minding her own business, neatly dressed and heavy with costume jewelry.

"Rusky's two blocks down on the corner," he gestured with his chin, while the woman stared at him like he'd grown a second head. "On the ground floor in an old storage room, he's got all these collections of ... well, I dunno what. Creepy stuff. Shrunk heads and jars of eyeballs and a stuffed dead cat. Sure he can get arrested just for that, I expect. Some kid could wander in there, it's a deathtrap with no door. Probably snakes."

The woman wrinkled her nose at him. "And why in Amalgam's name are you telling me where Ruskali sleeps? Are you his friend? Are you...?" She showed her teeth in disgust.

"Whah?! Naw!" The man wiggled his palms at her for mercy. "Ugh, oh gods! What?! No! I thought you said ... nevermind!"

"You thought I said what now?!"

"Just leave it, then!"

"I should have you arrested for that kind of talk!"

While the two bickered, Fluke's little drone proceeded to follow the lead Listener had provided, and scooted over the heads of the moving cityfolk until it stopped at the corner the hapless man had indicated.

"The way down there's crowded, but nobody suspicious," said Fluke to anyone still near him. "Spotted a back way too, an alley, kinda dark and spooky but the drone can lead ya."

"AND THAT!" Ruskali roared, a finger pointed rigid at the sky, "IS WHY WE'RE ALL DOOMED!"

The Zephyr Extinct

I think I've got ya! Success is basically guaranteed but I'll bite and move things along!

The Zephyr Extinct

@drewccapp Ah ha, good point! Any characters who spend a lot of time in this section of the city might know where Ruskali lives -- or any NPCs who happen to be around could probably tell you, for that matter. If the PCs aren't talking to Ruskali directly to find out, I'll go along with wherever you say it is, but I'll describe the interior when you get there.

If you ARE gonna talk to Ruskali I'll jump in as questions are asked.

(or, of course, if you guys collectively decide to do both, I'll do both)

The Zephyr Extinct

Throughout the story, if you ever have questions for me about the scenery, the situation, the construction or available resources, please do drop a note here in OOC! I won't think of every possible scenario, but I can fill in any gaps that might help!

The Zephyr Extinct

Fluke squeezed between Cedar and Iris, poked them sharply with his elbows, and puppeted his hand in the air like a chattering frog.

He hopped to Listener and Rose, flung his arms behind their necks, and walked his fingers in a gesture like sneaky little elves.

With a shushing finger against his mask, Fluke extracted himself from his comrades and dove for the big chest full of weapons, which he proceeded to dig into like a dog after a gopher.

Finally he found a smaller wooden box. He popped it open, then he tumbled toward Iris, then Cedar, then Listener and Rose, and he handed each of them a little plastic earpiece with insistent force.

He jammed his own earpiece under his mask, then shoved his hand into a glove that was thick with twisted wires and electronic nodules.

He flexed his fingers and turned his wrist, and a little round drone floated up out of the little box, its camera lens focusing and gleaming. It was like a blue tennis ball with tiny fluttery feet and a big shiny eye, hovering soundlessly in midair.

”I’ll stay outside and watch your backs,” he promised merrily, and they could all hear his (and each other’s) voice through the earpiece. ”If you die, I can go for help.”

The Zephyr Extinct

Ah ha! Yes! PLOTTING! Brilliant! 😁 *cackles*

Lantern

That's awesome that you're launching a YT channel! It sounds like a cool concept, I hope it really takes off! 💚

I'm not positive I fully understand what you intend to do (and thanks so much for asking!) but it seems like you'll be shifting bits of the story, concluding other characters' roles, and creating an ending?

Honestly, that sounds more like a remix story. I'd totally support you just creating a story that's heavily influenced/inspired by this RP, and credit all the great players who made it what it is. By altering what's actually posted, you're creating closely-canon fanfic to fill in the gaps that you found, that is also clearly your own speculation and not how the story actually happened.

It's a subtle difference, but one that I think is important, respectful, and would be a compliment to everyone who contributed and cared about this story. On a personal level, I'm not comfortable with someone else writing an official ending to this RP or other players' characters, but if you're presenting it as a fan work, absolutely go for it.