The Evrensel Conflict: Act 1 -- Chapter 1, Mission 3 -- Paragon Blues

Initial hostilities aside, since it was reasonable that they would be hostile, this other group of eclectic natives were willing to work with theirs. The noblewoman, Naeve, was something called a Grey Warden. The authority with which she compelled the guards to let them pass reminds her of the more senior Jedi, like Master Windu, who needed neither the Force or threats to be respected. Her empathic ability lets her feel the hesitation of the guards as they look over their motley group. Being so used to a galaxy where beings of all shapes and colors went about their business, it had not occurred to Markha until this moment that her bright pink skin would be unique.

She hears Kaz, sees her brush off a minor annoyance with a shake and smile.

“I would say I could have too. But I feel my Force connection is still clouded.” Markha says quietly to Kaz.

Pulling the hood of her robe wouldn’t do much, but Markha does pull it up as they pass into this city named Orzammar. Walking by the beggars, Markha wishes she had something to offer. The Imperial credits she’d left on the Pathfinder were no good here, but if only she had grabbed some food for herself first that could be passed on to them. All the Zeltron could do for them as she walked by was a wave of her hands, and the beggars would for a time feel the elation of a full stomach.

In the next chamber of this stone city they find an argument. Tempers were high, and heighten quickly over the matter of a sovereign. It escalates so quickly in fact, it ends in bloodshed before anyone can stop it. Perhaps the others were hesitant, as she was, since they had already jumped into a situation they did not know well once today. The blood is not pleasant, but the Clone Wars had numbed her somewhat to blood and death. Markha still feels saddened by it, but does not visibly react.

Markha notices Kaz’s reaction. The smell of fresh blood had to be wetting her appetite, but being cautious Kaz acts disgusted rather than hungry. She follows Kaz and Ami without hesitation, intending to come up next to Kaz and offer to feed her if she were hungry.

Two strangers just as out of place as their group get in her way, and for the life of her, Markha cannot figure out where they came from so suddenly. They bombard Kaz with questions and banter, but being so caught up in each other allows Markha to skirt around them to stand next to Kaz. The Jedi regards the two with cautious curiosity. Their accents are like those of the Coruscant elite.

“My girlfriend is quite alright, but thank you for your concern. If you would kindly point us to the nearest forge, that would be all the help we need.” Markha says to the pair tersely. Her hands are not near her lightsabers, but they could be at the first sign of trouble from these two.
 
Kaz's entire train of thought seemed to be derailed by the two individuals who approached her, and bombarded her with questions. Had she not been so well versed in deciphering meaning from basically feeling in some cases, she may have had trouble with the speed of the english they attempted to speak.

"One, I've always been pale. I spend most of my day inside a forge. And when I am outside, I put on some skin protection as I burn rather easily."

Thank The Powers this place hadn't dispelled her glamor just yet.


"Anyway. If you were wondering about my health, I have a rather strong nose, and the scent of blood is... not a pleasant one." Kaz pointed a thumb behind her at the display in the center of town.

"Anyway, would you kindly point me to one of the forgmasters in the area, I would love to trade notes."
"Oooooooh, vampire!" The male shouted upon realization.

"Shush!" The female quickly told him, putting her finger up to her nonexistent lips. "That's very rude!" She quietly scolded him.

"Ops. Sorry." He said back quietly. "Well, if you're afraid of blood, you'd best be careful in these parts. Lot's of civil unrest there is."

"There's been at least two fights a day since we first got here. Lot of bruised body or carcasses along the street from loyalists from both sides there are."

"Some lads called Bhelen and Harrowmont, looking to grab the throne of this place. Which is very odd, considering this society runs mostly on trading goods with the outside world, you'd think a monarchy would actually hurt them economically."

"Don't be ridiculous, they're self-sustaining! They'd only go out to the surface world for more profit than actual economic needs."

You'll notice they didn't actually answer, or seemingly pay attention, to her question of where the forges were in this city. Instead, as they continued bickering, when they focused back on Kaz, Ami and Kilgren were beginning to ask questions about them. "Oh, are you all not from this world?" It finally dawned on them after Kilgren and Ami asked their questions.

"And here I thought the only thing we'd run into was more dwarves--"

"Which isn't a bad thing--"

"But, we're not particularly keen on blacksmithing or trading--"

"We're much more interested in the scientific side of things in this world, like how magic operates off this 'Lyrium' stuff," he pulled out a small vile of blue dust that glowed slightly, "apparently this stuff is what makes mages here work their spells and conjurations--"

"But, we think it's much more complex than simply what connects this world with a spiritual one called 'The Fade,' it has to have a much more powerful chemical element than even uranium--"

"Because to generate that level of energy would require a controlled fission chain reaction you could only do in a nuclear reactor, and indeed, raw Lyrium is deadly to mages when exposed, it needs to go through a level of refinement--" if you gave up reading this, I don't blame you, they just kept talking and talking, and seemingly didn't even care about what any of the three wanted to know. They were just interested in their own thing, and like children with low attention spans, they just went from one topic to another without any focus on what the point of anything they discussed meant.

And when Markha came in, it got worse.

"GAAAAASP" They said aloud, looking upon Markha with complete wonder.

"You're pink!" The male shouts, this time attracting more attention to the local marketers and their customers. "This is extraordinary!"

"Unbelievable!" They both then crowded around her, pulling out little scanners to analyze her biology. "No signs of cell mutations to the world's atmosphere, no allergic reaction to the metal, the skin isn't scared or burnt--"

"Small bites along her neck, with deeper indexes where the canine set of upper teeth are, likely due to the vampire's blood cravings, yet no sign of vampirism showing, so it must be a controlled type of infection when she gives people a bite."

"Also has pupil dilation found in extreme sexual arousal, though unsure of if body libido is higher due to natural biology or from bite itself--"

"Blood pressure seems to be rising though, tell us: Have you had a lot of salt recently?"
 
Kaz's entire train of thought seemed to be derailed by the two individuals who approached her, and bombarded her with questions. Had she not been so well versed in deciphering meaning from basically feeling in some cases, she may have had trouble with the speed of the english they attempted to speak.

"One, I've always been pale. I spend most of my day inside a forge. And when I am outside, I put on some skin protection as I burn rather easily."

Thank The Powers this place hadn't dispelled her glamor just yet.


"Anyway. If you were wondering about my health, I have a rather strong nose, and the scent of blood is... not a pleasant one." Kaz pointed a thumb behind her at the display in the center of town.

"Anyway, would you kindly point me to one of the forgmasters in the area, I would love to trade notes."
"Oooooooh, vampire!" The male shouted upon realization.

"Shush!" The female quickly told him, putting her finger up to her nonexistent lips. "That's very rude!" She quietly scolded him.

"Ops. Sorry." He said back quietly. "Well, if you're afraid of blood, you'd best be careful in these parts. Lot's of civil unrest there is."

"There's been at least two fights a day since we first got here. Lot of bruised body or carcasses along the street from loyalists from both sides there are."

"Some lads called Bhelen and Harrowmont, looking to grab the throne of this place. Which is very odd, considering this society runs mostly on trading goods with the outside world, you'd think a monarchy would actually hurt them economically."

"Don't be ridiculous, they're self-sustaining! They'd only go out to the surface world for more profit than actual economic needs."

You'll notice they didn't actually answer, or seemingly pay attention, to her question of where the forges were in this city. Instead, as they continued bickering, when they focused back on Kaz, Ami and Kilgren were beginning to ask questions about them. "Oh, are you all not from this world?" It finally dawned on them after Kilgren and Ami asked their questions.

"And here I thought the only thing we'd run into was more dwarves--"

"Which isn't a bad thing--"

"But, we're not particularly keen on blacksmithing or trading--"

"We're much more interested in the scientific side of things in this world, like how magic operates off this 'Lyrium' stuff," he pulled out a small vile of blue dust that glowed slightly, "apparently this stuff is what makes mages here work their spells and conjurations--"

"But, we think it's much more complex than simply what connects this world with a spiritual one called 'The Fade,' it has to have a much more powerful chemical element than even uranium--"

"Because to generate that level of energy would require a controlled fission chain reaction you could only do in a nuclear reactor, and indeed, raw Lyrium is deadly to mages when exposed, it needs to go through a level of refinement--" if you gave up reading this, I don't blame you, they just kept talking and talking, and seemingly didn't even care about what any of the three wanted to know. They were just interested in their own thing, and like children with low attention spans, they just went from one topic to another without any focus on what the point of anything they discussed meant.

And when Markha came in, it got worse.

"GAAAAASP" They said aloud, looking upon Markha with complete wonder.

"You're pink!" The male shouts, this time attracting more attention to the local marketers and their customers. "This is extraordinary!"

"Unbelievable!" They both then crowded around her, pulling out little scanners to analyze her biology. "No signs of cell mutations to the world's atmosphere, no allergic reaction to the metal, the skin isn't scared or burnt--"

"Small bites along her neck, with deeper indexes where the canine set of upper teeth are, likely due to the vampire's blood cravings, yet no sign of vampirism showing, so it must be a controlled type of infection when she gives people a bite."

"Also has pupil dilation found in extreme sexual arousal, though unsure of if body libido is higher due to natural biology or from bite itself--"

"Blood pressure seems to be rising though, tell us: Have you had a lot of salt recently?"


Kaz simply grit her teeth for a moment. Her brother would have just drawn his pistol on the two. Good thing she wasn't her brother. Instead she simply took a breath and let herself calm down.

"We can talk all we want after. I don't need you two spouting your nutcase theories in the middle of town." Kaz shook her head as she made a shooing motion. Kaz thought for an moment as she reached behind herself and extracted a large tome from behind herself, seemingly out of nowhere.

"Judging from the inflection in your voices, lack of local accent, and the overall electrical signals from your body. Robotic I would assume. And judging from the local tech level. You aren't from round here either." Kaz smiled as she leaned over to get a better look at them. The runes on the page Kaz was looking at slightly visible to them. Said runes they were likely to never have seen as they were Kaz's native tongue.

"Though, I am a tad intrested now, tell me about this Lyrium stuff. As to where I come from... magecraft could quite possibly be different then this planes. And well, my knowledge of the inner workings of the universe may shed some light onto this strange rock." Where Kaz had come from words itself where power. A simple string of words with the right power put into it could shape a rock into a tree. Hell, one could convince a body of water to flow backwards for a moment, or even ask the air to remember when it was trapped in ice to form a temporary bridge. A little application of her will and a direction should be enough to steer a simple conversation in a direction to get her some information. That... and she was actually curious.
 
Jotaro Kujo
Near the strange duo


Watching as the conversation trailed rather pleasantly, Jotaro concluded that for now at least. The two weren't quite dangerous, strange sure. But that both didn't mean they were gunning for them, as neither said anything that'd border on recognition. No split second pause nor odd inflection or correction. He didn't have a face for the two to go off of in regards to anything suspicious.

But that didn't mean he wasn't weary, memory dragging back to days of old. The same trick he had pulled with that old woman who served Dio loyally to the end, despite being assassinated on his orders.

It was a simple trick, granted it required someone mistakenly mentioning his name and passing it off as simply overhearing it. So for now, he just hoped that it paid off.

Walking up to the group, deciding to speak up. "I take it you two have been around long? If so, would you mind telling us of any....Strange occurrences?" He worded his sentence very carefully. They were brought here for a reason, and that reason was their utmost objective, and any info regarding it could help. But he didn't want to telegraph too much and risk giving it away if they were indeed part of the damnable Robot Army they had encountered during that brief interaction awhile ago.

@Wade Von Doom @YeetLee @Henryboy003 @Noble Scion
 
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A tilt-headed stare at the dwarf Reegan replied to him incredulously as she stood scattering engrams near her feet, "Really? Well, If that's what you want."

In the pit of her mind she felt the voice was rightful to ask. Reaper spirit lurking deep in the bramble didn't talk to her as much as arise cold emotions. A perfect emptiness devoid of mercy simply assented without complaint. Reegan didn't think it was wise but who was she to refuse? They had to understand the implications to ask such a thing.

An inner voice resonated in the stone with that building pronouncement which closed her gate to the dwarven dead, "Qahnaar Oblaan Aar!"

Beneath her the black prints of two skeletal hands appeared on the stone side by side. A small curvy writing that refused acknowledgement of the barrier of language read in dwarven as well as english. The text in a curl about the truncated markings of both skeletal wrists. 'By the ask of a rightful will, a reaper forsakes succor evermore to the souls broken by horrors or those at their rightful end.' If the spirit of death here should see it and recognize such a thing it would not bode well for ghosts wandering between life and death.

The sickness fled from Reegan as she stopped supporting broken souls across the fade. Long felandaris hair dropping in withered chunks as her will, now unconnected from the Fade, no longer had to push demons and blight away from her presence. The ivy hair returned with a blossom of red mountain flower between and around her horns as her skin turned a healthier shade of green.

She looked at him to say as she went past relieved but with yellow misty eyes arched with concern, "Oh that feels much better! I can't touch your dead anymore and I'll be good. I'd be thankful but... your afterlife is really diseased. It was really tiring keeping my presence clean so I hope you know what you're doing."

Excited to see the city noticed Ashwin had gone and hurried off in the direction he'd left. The yellow glow inside her far brighter than it had been. "Ashwin, wait up. Jo said I'm spos'ta guard you!" @Wiggin
 
~=========~-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~=========~
Ashwin
Location: Orzammar Slums
~=========~-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~=========~

Ashwin had barely made it into the slums when Reegan caught up with them. “Oh, that’s kind of him,” they simply said in reply to Reegan. “You said there was something wrong with their dead right? Do you know what it is exactly?” Ashwin asked as the two of them continued to explore the downtrodden area.

~=========~-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~=========~
Kilgren
Location: Orzammar Markets
~=========~-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~=========~

If these two were part of some sort of system similar to Kilgren’s, they were in dire need of improving on their social interaction and thought process. The fact that they so loudly worded their thoughts in a crowded market without regard for who heard made that evident. These two also didn’t stay on topic very easily, simply jumping from one idea to the next. They had somehow made it to the topic of Markha’s skin and general health when Jotaro made his way over and asked about strange occurrences. Kilgren sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as she chimed in with him. “Yes, we would like to know about any strange events that have transpired while you have been here. You speak of this lyrium compound, has it created any odd mutations or something similar?” She finally asked. She should have realized it wouldn’t be this easy to find a system similar to hers. The fact that she had only met one individual who had understood her predicament in her lifespan made that obvious.
 


Reegan nods as spiky red balls rapidly grow on the vines of her long hair sending it swinging in long arcs. The density of the fruits gave her head a frizzy appearance of tiny spikes as she looked around quickly. There were a few beggars with cups looking for coins.

Stopped at one and started picking the fruits from her own hair and dropping them in the cup, "I can feel things moving around in their afterlife. Like Daedra they don't belong! I was connected there and the slyphid kept them away but the dwarf was rightful enough to tell me to stop. The magic feels like I'm walking in a house with dry rot!"

"I think these have nuts but the inside of the fruit you can eat," Reegan told the thin dwarf as she added to the pile of rambutan.
 
Kaz's entire train of thought seemed to be derailed by the two individuals who approached her, and bombarded her with questions. Had she not been so well versed in deciphering meaning from basically feeling in some cases, she may have had trouble with the speed of the english they attempted to speak.

"One, I've always been pale. I spend most of my day inside a forge. And when I am outside, I put on some skin protection as I burn rather easily."

Thank The Powers this place hadn't dispelled her glamor just yet.


"Anyway. If you were wondering about my health, I have a rather strong nose, and the scent of blood is... not a pleasant one." Kaz pointed a thumb behind her at the display in the center of town.

"Anyway, would you kindly point me to one of the forgmasters in the area, I would love to trade notes."
"Oooooooh, vampire!" The male shouted upon realization.

"Shush!" The female quickly told him, putting her finger up to her nonexistent lips. "That's very rude!" She quietly scolded him.

"Ops. Sorry." He said back quietly. "Well, if you're afraid of blood, you'd best be careful in these parts. Lot's of civil unrest there is."

"There's been at least two fights a day since we first got here. Lot of bruised body or carcasses along the street from loyalists from both sides there are."

"Some lads called Bhelen and Harrowmont, looking to grab the throne of this place. Which is very odd, considering this society runs mostly on trading goods with the outside world, you'd think a monarchy would actually hurt them economically."

"Don't be ridiculous, they're self-sustaining! They'd only go out to the surface world for more profit than actual economic needs."

You'll notice they didn't actually answer, or seemingly pay attention, to her question of where the forges were in this city. Instead, as they continued bickering, when they focused back on Kaz, Ami and Kilgren were beginning to ask questions about them. "Oh, are you all not from this world?" It finally dawned on them after Kilgren and Ami asked their questions.

"And here I thought the only thing we'd run into was more dwarves--"

"Which isn't a bad thing--"

"But, we're not particularly keen on blacksmithing or trading--"

"We're much more interested in the scientific side of things in this world, like how magic operates off this 'Lyrium' stuff," he pulled out a small vile of blue dust that glowed slightly, "apparently this stuff is what makes mages here work their spells and conjurations--"

"But, we think it's much more complex than simply what connects this world with a spiritual one called 'The Fade,' it has to have a much more powerful chemical element than even uranium--"

"Because to generate that level of energy would require a controlled fission chain reaction you could only do in a nuclear reactor, and indeed, raw Lyrium is deadly to mages when exposed, it needs to go through a level of refinement--" if you gave up reading this, I don't blame you, they just kept talking and talking, and seemingly didn't even care about what any of the three wanted to know. They were just interested in their own thing, and like children with low attention spans, they just went from one topic to another without any focus on what the point of anything they discussed meant.

And when Markha came in, it got worse.

"GAAAAASP" They said aloud, looking upon Markha with complete wonder.

"You're pink!" The male shouts, this time attracting more attention to the local marketers and their customers. "This is extraordinary!"

"Unbelievable!" They both then crowded around her, pulling out little scanners to analyze her biology. "No signs of cell mutations to the world's atmosphere, no allergic reaction to the metal, the skin isn't scared or burnt--"

"Small bites along her neck, with deeper indexes where the canine set of upper teeth are, likely due to the vampire's blood cravings, yet no sign of vampirism showing, so it must be a controlled type of infection when she gives people a bite."

"Also has pupil dilation found in extreme sexual arousal, though unsure of if body libido is higher due to natural biology or from bite itself--"

"Blood pressure seems to be rising though, tell us: Have you had a lot of salt recently?"


Kaz simply grit her teeth for a moment. Her brother would have just drawn his pistol on the two. Good thing she wasn't her brother. Instead she simply took a breath and let herself calm down.

"We can talk all we want after. I don't need you two spouting your nutcase theories in the middle of town." Kaz shook her head as she made a shooing motion. Kaz thought for an moment as she reached behind herself and extracted a large tome from behind herself, seemingly out of nowhere.

"Judging from the inflection in your voices, lack of local accent, and the overall electrical signals from your body. Robotic I would assume. And judging from the local tech level. You aren't from round here either." Kaz smiled as she leaned over to get a better look at them. The runes on the page Kaz was looking at slightly visible to them. Said runes they were likely to never have seen as they were Kaz's native tongue.

"Though, I am a tad intrested now, tell me about this Lyrium stuff. As to where I come from... magecraft could quite possibly be different then this planes. And well, my knowledge of the inner workings of the universe may shed some light onto this strange rock." Where Kaz had come from words itself where power. A simple string of words with the right power put into it could shape a rock into a tree. Hell, one could convince a body of water to flow backwards for a moment, or even ask the air to remember when it was trapped in ice to form a temporary bridge. A little application of her will and a direction should be enough to steer a simple conversation in a direction to get her some information. That... and she was actually curious.
"Quite right!" The male shouted in answer to Kaz's observation of them being robots... Like that wasn't obvious. "Sorry, forgive our manners,"

"I'm Robbins,"

"And I'm Hammond."

"We're on a special little secret mission!"

"But we can't tell you for reasons that are both too complicated to get into,"

"And we can't trust you with the details,"

"Because we're only so trusting. But, hello!" He waved to the group, like he had just met them once again. "We're not all that certain about lyrium ourselves,"

"We know it's a mineral that is extremely volatile and sometimes explodes for no reason,"

"But, that Lyrium consumption strengthens a mage's relation to the Fade, thereby boosting their mana,"

"But, over consumption leads to severe death,"

"And if you're not a mage, any exposure to it pretty much kills you outright."

"Think of it like uranium, it's not too harmful if you're close to it for short periods of time,"

"Though it's not recommended,"

"But if you physically touch it with exposed skin, you're essentially poisoning yourself to an uncurable degree."

"If it's Lyrium you wan' thoug'," Another voice chimned in from behind them, with a thick European accent. "You need look no further, strangers. Hehehehe..."

1627840189227.png

The Merchant
When he pulled back his tattered black trenchcoat, and showed off to Kaz the insane amount of items he had, from pistols, to ammo, to Lyrium cases, to spare parts, he was a literal walking shop of a man.

"OOOOOOHH! Customers!" Another voice then chimned in, running over to the group with her own backpack of goodies. She wasn't as mysterious as the Merchant, with a much higher and cheerier tone of voice, although certainly didn't lack in items as the Merchant did.

1627840464897.png

Anna
"Other-worldy ones too! And here I thought all I would meet were more Dwarves!" She revered, as her own shop had swords, potions, and a few fun looking trinkets, with rings and necklaces that were emitting some sort of magic from them. "If you're looking for quality items of purchase, then look no further than Anna's shop of weapons and trinkets!"

"Oh, come now, Anna. Surely these folks would like a bit more 'protection' than a little ol' sword."

"And yet, when it comes to reliability, you have more uses for a sword here than a loud, clumsy little 'gun.'" It seems they were playful rivals.

"Will you two keep it down?!" Yet another voice shouted! This one more robotic sounding, followed by a stark gasping noise. "How are either of you going to attract a customer if you constantly keep shouting over them like a pair of bickering Salarians!" Ami would recognize the voice as a Volus. That distinct voice alteration from their breathers, and the heavy breathing between words would be hard not to recognize as a distinct feature of such a species. He also seemed cranky.

1627841267251.png

As if this madness needed any more people showing up, the group would suddenly smell something in the air. Food. Specifically, cooked noodles. Just down the street past the other merchants, there was someone cooking food! Of course, the person doing it was....

"Nan-ni shimasho-ka?"

A Protectron

1627842117845.png
 
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It had been some time since Daedalus had strode off from the group in search of anything magical to add to his arsenal, with Icarus trailing close behind. And this city, it was strange he could feel it in the way the magic wove around-it was a far very his home. It was confusing and he couldn't be bothered to ask for directions and seem like a-so he continued to wander about the city his partner close behind as they search for anything valuable to his craft. Perhaps he could find whatever their magic seems to be focused around, and that's when a sturdy clasp brought him to attention.

"Icarus? Oh, it's our companions and some... extremely well-designed golems."

He halted immediately to study the pair, from a distance of course. They were so odd, and their armor was astonishing... If not for Icarus he wouldn't have dared to lower his guard so as the moments passed and he stared at their strange design. Why were they so talkative, they must've been crafted with care. Then the merchants arrived and his eyes widened, his hands patted for his pouch and moved towards them.

"Icarus, wheres our gold at? and don't mind the food you shouldn't be able to smell it."
 
Kaz's entire train of thought seemed to be derailed by the two individuals who approached her, and bombarded her with questions. Had she not been so well versed in deciphering meaning from basically feeling in some cases, she may have had trouble with the speed of the english they attempted to speak.

"One, I've always been pale. I spend most of my day inside a forge. And when I am outside, I put on some skin protection as I burn rather easily."

Thank The Powers this place hadn't dispelled her glamor just yet.


"Anyway. If you were wondering about my health, I have a rather strong nose, and the scent of blood is... not a pleasant one." Kaz pointed a thumb behind her at the display in the center of town.

"Anyway, would you kindly point me to one of the forgmasters in the area, I would love to trade notes."
"Oooooooh, vampire!" The male shouted upon realization.

"Shush!" The female quickly told him, putting her finger up to her nonexistent lips. "That's very rude!" She quietly scolded him.

"Ops. Sorry." He said back quietly. "Well, if you're afraid of blood, you'd best be careful in these parts. Lot's of civil unrest there is."

"There's been at least two fights a day since we first got here. Lot of bruised body or carcasses along the street from loyalists from both sides there are."

"Some lads called Bhelen and Harrowmont, looking to grab the throne of this place. Which is very odd, considering this society runs mostly on trading goods with the outside world, you'd think a monarchy would actually hurt them economically."

"Don't be ridiculous, they're self-sustaining! They'd only go out to the surface world for more profit than actual economic needs."

You'll notice they didn't actually answer, or seemingly pay attention, to her question of where the forges were in this city. Instead, as they continued bickering, when they focused back on Kaz, Ami and Kilgren were beginning to ask questions about them. "Oh, are you all not from this world?" It finally dawned on them after Kilgren and Ami asked their questions.

"And here I thought the only thing we'd run into was more dwarves--"

"Which isn't a bad thing--"

"But, we're not particularly keen on blacksmithing or trading--"

"We're much more interested in the scientific side of things in this world, like how magic operates off this 'Lyrium' stuff," he pulled out a small vile of blue dust that glowed slightly, "apparently this stuff is what makes mages here work their spells and conjurations--"

"But, we think it's much more complex than simply what connects this world with a spiritual one called 'The Fade,' it has to have a much more powerful chemical element than even uranium--"

"Because to generate that level of energy would require a controlled fission chain reaction you could only do in a nuclear reactor, and indeed, raw Lyrium is deadly to mages when exposed, it needs to go through a level of refinement--" if you gave up reading this, I don't blame you, they just kept talking and talking, and seemingly didn't even care about what any of the three wanted to know. They were just interested in their own thing, and like children with low attention spans, they just went from one topic to another without any focus on what the point of anything they discussed meant.

And when Markha came in, it got worse.

"GAAAAASP" They said aloud, looking upon Markha with complete wonder.

"You're pink!" The male shouts, this time attracting more attention to the local marketers and their customers. "This is extraordinary!"

"Unbelievable!" They both then crowded around her, pulling out little scanners to analyze her biology. "No signs of cell mutations to the world's atmosphere, no allergic reaction to the metal, the skin isn't scared or burnt--"

"Small bites along her neck, with deeper indexes where the canine set of upper teeth are, likely due to the vampire's blood cravings, yet no sign of vampirism showing, so it must be a controlled type of infection when she gives people a bite."

"Also has pupil dilation found in extreme sexual arousal, though unsure of if body libido is higher due to natural biology or from bite itself--"

"Blood pressure seems to be rising though, tell us: Have you had a lot of salt recently?"


Kaz simply grit her teeth for a moment. Her brother would have just drawn his pistol on the two. Good thing she wasn't her brother. Instead she simply took a breath and let herself calm down.

"We can talk all we want after. I don't need you two spouting your nutcase theories in the middle of town." Kaz shook her head as she made a shooing motion. Kaz thought for an moment as she reached behind herself and extracted a large tome from behind herself, seemingly out of nowhere.

"Judging from the inflection in your voices, lack of local accent, and the overall electrical signals from your body. Robotic I would assume. And judging from the local tech level. You aren't from round here either." Kaz smiled as she leaned over to get a better look at them. The runes on the page Kaz was looking at slightly visible to them. Said runes they were likely to never have seen as they were Kaz's native tongue.

"Though, I am a tad intrested now, tell me about this Lyrium stuff. As to where I come from... magecraft could quite possibly be different then this planes. And well, my knowledge of the inner workings of the universe may shed some light onto this strange rock." Where Kaz had come from words itself where power. A simple string of words with the right power put into it could shape a rock into a tree. Hell, one could convince a body of water to flow backwards for a moment, or even ask the air to remember when it was trapped in ice to form a temporary bridge. A little application of her will and a direction should be enough to steer a simple conversation in a direction to get her some information. That... and she was actually curious.
"Quite right!" The male shouted in answer to Kaz's observation of them being robots... Like that wasn't obvious. "Sorry, forgive our manners,"

"I'm Robbins,"

"And I'm Hammond."

"We're on a special little secret mission!"

"But we can't tell you for reasons that are both too complicated to get into,"

"And we can't trust you with the details,"

"Because we're only so trusting. But, hello!" He waved to the group, like he had just met them once again. "We're not all that certain about lyrium ourselves,"

"We know it's a mineral that is extremely volatile and sometimes explodes for no reason,"

"But, that Lyrium consumption strengthens a mage's relation to the Fade, thereby boosting their mana,"

"But, over consumption leads to severe death,"

"And if you're not a mage, any exposure to it pretty much kills you outright."

"Think of it like uranium, it's not too harmful if you're close to it for short periods of time,"

"Though it's not recommended,"

"But if you physically touch it with exposed skin, you're essentially poisoning yourself to an uncurable degree."

"If it's Lyrium you wan' thoug'," Another voice chimned in from behind them, with a thick European accent. "You need look no further, strangers. Hehehehe..."

View attachment 219603

The Merchant
When he pulled back his tattered black trenchcoat, and showed off to Kaz the insane amount of items he had, from pistols, to ammo, to Lyrium cases, to spare parts, he was a literal walking shop of a man.

"OOOOOOHH! Customers!" Another voice then chimned in, running over to the group with her own backpack of goodies. She wasn't as mysterious as the Merchant, with a much higher and cheerier tone of voice, although certainly didn't lack in items as the Merchant did.

"Other-worldy ones too! And here I thought all I would meet were more Dwarves!" She revered, as her own shop had swords, potions, and a few fun looking trinkets, with rings and necklaces that were emitting some sort of magic from them. "If you're looking for quality items of purchase, then look no further than Anna's shop of weapons and trinkets!"

"Oh, come now, Anna. Surely these folks would like a bit more 'protection' than a little ol' sword."

"And yet, when it comes to reliability, you have more uses for a sword here than a loud, clumsy little 'gun.'" It seems they were playful rivals.

"Will you two keep it down?!" Yet another voice shouted! This one more robotic sounding, followed by a stark gasping noise. "How are either of you going to attract a customer if you constantly keep shouting over them like a pair of bickering Salarians!" Ami would recognize the voice as a Volus. That distinct voice alteration from their breathers, and the heavy breathing between words would be hard not to recognize as a distinct feature of such a species. He also seemed cranky.

View attachment 219605

As if this madness needed any more people showing up, the group would suddenly smell something in the air. Food. Specifically, cooked noodles. Just down the street past the other merchants, there was someone cooking food! Of course, the person doing it was....

"Nan-ni shimasho-ka?"

A Protectron

View attachment 219606

Jotaro Kujo
Talking to the robot duo, with the others in the Marketplace


Jotaro carefully listened as the pair described that they were on a secret mission, the doubt from before returned. Not letting it show as they then talked about the 'Lyrium.'

Quickly putting the information that they gave to them into a checklist of sorts. It was deadly to magical users if overused but giving them extreme power, and non magical individuals were unfortunately on the side that'd die if exposed for too long, even being near it was dangerous. This train of thought confirmed some things, that the duo were not here for the aforementioned mineral, as otherwise they'd not really elaborate on the subject lest they risk their secret mission being at jeopardy. And that they were here for a decent enough time to learn about a mineral that's common to the world.

'These two are odd, but it just begs the question. What are they really here for?'

Jotaro did wonder what'd it do to a Stand User, but that was something he wasn't risking til he was more informed on the matter. He only got off one more question. "So where you two heading next? If you're accustomed to the area, then it's a logical move to stick around you two til we've learned the inner workings of everything." He would've asked another but that was when the local merchants began to advertise their wares.

The surge of noise and talking annoyed Jotaro somewhat, the shady one looking like he was also not of this land, the girl saying her wares were better than his, then came the nasally tone of some short pudgy thing in a suit, and then the familiar Japanese from a robot serving noodles.

"What are we having today?" While not exactly what the robot said, it was what essentially it could be best assumed thanks to the smell of food. The grammar was off.

At all the confusion and noise, Jotaro could only do one thing. Grab the tip of his hat and mutter "Good grief." In his native tongue.

This was going to be a long day..
 
Kobe just followed the others into the marketplace, looking around at all the strange people gathered. Then, the shoutings of the merchant grabbed the cat-man's attention. He had no idea what a gun was, but he knew swords, so he walked over to the young lady merchant. "Got something to protect hands?"
 
It had been some time since Daedalus had strode off from the group in search of anything magical to add to his arsenal, with Icarus trailing close behind. And this city, it was strange he could feel it in the way the magic wove around-it was a far very his home. It was confusing and he couldn't be bothered to ask for directions and seem like a-so he continued to wander about the city his partner close behind as they search for anything valuable to his craft. Perhaps he could find whatever their magic seems to be focused around, and that's when a sturdy clasp brought him to attention.

"Icarus? Oh, it's our companions and some... extremely well-designed golems."

He halted immediately to study the pair, from a distance of course. They were so odd, and their armor was astonishing... If not for Icarus he wouldn't have dared to lower his guard so as the moments passed and he stared at their strange design. Why were they so talkative, they must've been crafted with care. Then the merchants arrived and his eyes widened, his hands patted for his pouch and moved towards them.

"Icarus, wheres our gold at? and don't mind the food you shouldn't be able to smell it."
"You... Have soul?" A gruff voice asked Daedalus, as yet another merchant seemed to approach the group. Though, this one was much different than the others.

d7vtfvj-59fc642c-f538-43bd-a9cf-96614feb8517.jpg


Gavlan
He mug was filled with grog, and his beard had wet patches along his mouth from the constant drinking. "I Gavlan." He introduced himself. "Gavlan wheel? Gavlan deal. Gavlan want soul. Many many soul. Gah hah!" He laughed, before taking a massive gulp of grog from his mug. "What you want? With Gavlan, you wheel? You deal! Gah hah!" His wears were not as impressive as the others, simple knives draped in poison, poison moss, rotten pine resin, some poisoned arrows, (Daedalus might get the hint of what kind of merchant he was,) although he also seemed to have a varied collection of rings. Each seemed to hold different effects, as there was a sense of diverse magic in each one.

Kaz's entire train of thought seemed to be derailed by the two individuals who approached her, and bombarded her with questions. Had she not been so well versed in deciphering meaning from basically feeling in some cases, she may have had trouble with the speed of the english they attempted to speak.

"One, I've always been pale. I spend most of my day inside a forge. And when I am outside, I put on some skin protection as I burn rather easily."

Thank The Powers this place hadn't dispelled her glamor just yet.


"Anyway. If you were wondering about my health, I have a rather strong nose, and the scent of blood is... not a pleasant one." Kaz pointed a thumb behind her at the display in the center of town.

"Anyway, would you kindly point me to one of the forgmasters in the area, I would love to trade notes."
"Oooooooh, vampire!" The male shouted upon realization.

"Shush!" The female quickly told him, putting her finger up to her nonexistent lips. "That's very rude!" She quietly scolded him.

"Ops. Sorry." He said back quietly. "Well, if you're afraid of blood, you'd best be careful in these parts. Lot's of civil unrest there is."

"There's been at least two fights a day since we first got here. Lot of bruised body or carcasses along the street from loyalists from both sides there are."

"Some lads called Bhelen and Harrowmont, looking to grab the throne of this place. Which is very odd, considering this society runs mostly on trading goods with the outside world, you'd think a monarchy would actually hurt them economically."

"Don't be ridiculous, they're self-sustaining! They'd only go out to the surface world for more profit than actual economic needs."

You'll notice they didn't actually answer, or seemingly pay attention, to her question of where the forges were in this city. Instead, as they continued bickering, when they focused back on Kaz, Ami and Kilgren were beginning to ask questions about them. "Oh, are you all not from this world?" It finally dawned on them after Kilgren and Ami asked their questions.

"And here I thought the only thing we'd run into was more dwarves--"

"Which isn't a bad thing--"

"But, we're not particularly keen on blacksmithing or trading--"

"We're much more interested in the scientific side of things in this world, like how magic operates off this 'Lyrium' stuff," he pulled out a small vile of blue dust that glowed slightly, "apparently this stuff is what makes mages here work their spells and conjurations--"

"But, we think it's much more complex than simply what connects this world with a spiritual one called 'The Fade,' it has to have a much more powerful chemical element than even uranium--"

"Because to generate that level of energy would require a controlled fission chain reaction you could only do in a nuclear reactor, and indeed, raw Lyrium is deadly to mages when exposed, it needs to go through a level of refinement--" if you gave up reading this, I don't blame you, they just kept talking and talking, and seemingly didn't even care about what any of the three wanted to know. They were just interested in their own thing, and like children with low attention spans, they just went from one topic to another without any focus on what the point of anything they discussed meant.

And when Markha came in, it got worse.

"GAAAAASP" They said aloud, looking upon Markha with complete wonder.

"You're pink!" The male shouts, this time attracting more attention to the local marketers and their customers. "This is extraordinary!"

"Unbelievable!" They both then crowded around her, pulling out little scanners to analyze her biology. "No signs of cell mutations to the world's atmosphere, no allergic reaction to the metal, the skin isn't scared or burnt--"

"Small bites along her neck, with deeper indexes where the canine set of upper teeth are, likely due to the vampire's blood cravings, yet no sign of vampirism showing, so it must be a controlled type of infection when she gives people a bite."

"Also has pupil dilation found in extreme sexual arousal, though unsure of if body libido is higher due to natural biology or from bite itself--"

"Blood pressure seems to be rising though, tell us: Have you had a lot of salt recently?"


Kaz simply grit her teeth for a moment. Her brother would have just drawn his pistol on the two. Good thing she wasn't her brother. Instead she simply took a breath and let herself calm down.

"We can talk all we want after. I don't need you two spouting your nutcase theories in the middle of town." Kaz shook her head as she made a shooing motion. Kaz thought for an moment as she reached behind herself and extracted a large tome from behind herself, seemingly out of nowhere.

"Judging from the inflection in your voices, lack of local accent, and the overall electrical signals from your body. Robotic I would assume. And judging from the local tech level. You aren't from round here either." Kaz smiled as she leaned over to get a better look at them. The runes on the page Kaz was looking at slightly visible to them. Said runes they were likely to never have seen as they were Kaz's native tongue.

"Though, I am a tad intrested now, tell me about this Lyrium stuff. As to where I come from... magecraft could quite possibly be different then this planes. And well, my knowledge of the inner workings of the universe may shed some light onto this strange rock." Where Kaz had come from words itself where power. A simple string of words with the right power put into it could shape a rock into a tree. Hell, one could convince a body of water to flow backwards for a moment, or even ask the air to remember when it was trapped in ice to form a temporary bridge. A little application of her will and a direction should be enough to steer a simple conversation in a direction to get her some information. That... and she was actually curious.
"Quite right!" The male shouted in answer to Kaz's observation of them being robots... Like that wasn't obvious. "Sorry, forgive our manners,"

"I'm Robbins,"

"And I'm Hammond."

"We're on a special little secret mission!"

"But we can't tell you for reasons that are both too complicated to get into,"

"And we can't trust you with the details,"

"Because we're only so trusting. But, hello!" He waved to the group, like he had just met them once again. "We're not all that certain about lyrium ourselves,"

"We know it's a mineral that is extremely volatile and sometimes explodes for no reason,"

"But, that Lyrium consumption strengthens a mage's relation to the Fade, thereby boosting their mana,"

"But, over consumption leads to severe death,"

"And if you're not a mage, any exposure to it pretty much kills you outright."

"Think of it like uranium, it's not too harmful if you're close to it for short periods of time,"

"Though it's not recommended,"

"But if you physically touch it with exposed skin, you're essentially poisoning yourself to an uncurable degree."

"If it's Lyrium you wan' thoug'," Another voice chimned in from behind them, with a thick European accent. "You need look no further, strangers. Hehehehe..."

View attachment 219603

The Merchant
When he pulled back his tattered black trenchcoat, and showed off to Kaz the insane amount of items he had, from pistols, to ammo, to Lyrium cases, to spare parts, he was a literal walking shop of a man.

"OOOOOOHH! Customers!" Another voice then chimned in, running over to the group with her own backpack of goodies. She wasn't as mysterious as the Merchant, with a much higher and cheerier tone of voice, although certainly didn't lack in items as the Merchant did.

"Other-worldy ones too! And here I thought all I would meet were more Dwarves!" She revered, as her own shop had swords, potions, and a few fun looking trinkets, with rings and necklaces that were emitting some sort of magic from them. "If you're looking for quality items of purchase, then look no further than Anna's shop of weapons and trinkets!"

"Oh, come now, Anna. Surely these folks would like a bit more 'protection' than a little ol' sword."

"And yet, when it comes to reliability, you have more uses for a sword here than a loud, clumsy little 'gun.'" It seems they were playful rivals.

"Will you two keep it down?!" Yet another voice shouted! This one more robotic sounding, followed by a stark gasping noise. "How are either of you going to attract a customer if you constantly keep shouting over them like a pair of bickering Salarians!" Ami would recognize the voice as a Volus. That distinct voice alteration from their breathers, and the heavy breathing between words would be hard not to recognize as a distinct feature of such a species. He also seemed cranky.

View attachment 219605

As if this madness needed any more people showing up, the group would suddenly smell something in the air. Food. Specifically, cooked noodles. Just down the street past the other merchants, there was someone cooking food! Of course, the person doing it was....

"Nan-ni shimasho-ka?"

A Protectron

View attachment 219606

Jotaro Kujo
Talking to the robot duo, with the others in the Marketplace


Jotaro carefully listened as the pair described that they were on a secret mission, the doubt from before returned. Not letting it show as they then talked about the 'Lyrium.'

Quickly putting the information that they gave to them into a checklist of sorts. It was deadly to magical users if overused but giving them extreme power, and non magical individuals were unfortunately on the side that'd die if exposed for too long, even being near it was dangerous. This train of thought confirmed some things, that the duo were not here for the aforementioned mineral, as otherwise they'd not really elaborate on the subject lest they risk their secret mission being at jeopardy. And that they were here for a decent enough time to learn about a mineral that's common to the world.

'These two are odd, but it just begs the question. What are they really here for?'

Jotaro did wonder what'd it do to a Stand User, but that was something he wasn't risking til he was more informed on the matter. He only got off one more question. "So where you two heading next? If you're accustomed to the area, then it's a logical move to stick around you two til we've learned the inner workings of everything." He would've asked another but that was when the local merchants began to advertise their wares.

The surge of noise and talking annoyed Jotaro somewhat, the shady one looking like he was also not of this land, the girl saying her wares were better than his, then came the nasally tone of some short pudgy thing in a suit, and then the familiar Japanese from a robot serving noodles.

"What are we having today?" While not exactly what the robot said, it was what essentially it could be best assumed thanks to the smell of food. The grammar was off.

At all the confusion and noise, Jotaro could only do one thing. Grab the tip of his hat and mutter "Good grief." In his native tongue.

This was going to be a long day..
"Oh, we can't tell you." Hammond bluntly told Jotaro.

"Secret mission."

"If we did, we'd have to kill you-- nothing against you, of course!"

"But it's far too dangerous to entrust anyone with what we're doing."

"Far, far, FAR too dangerous."

"Both for yourselves, the multiverse, and ourselves."

"Hope you don't mind, but if you do, we'll have to taser you." Hammond said that way too cheerfully.

Kobe just followed the others into the marketplace, looking around at all the strange people gathered. Then, the shoutings of the merchant grabbed the cat-man's attention. He had no idea what a gun was, but he knew swords, so he walked over to the young lady merchant. "Got something to protect hands?"
"Oh, you mean gloves, armor, gauntlets, what's your fancy Laguz?" Anna asked Kobe from atop her massive bag of goodies, assuming what type of species he was.
 
"Oh, we can't tell you." Hammond bluntly told Jotaro.

"Secret mission."

"If we did, we'd have to kill you-- nothing against you, of course!"

"But it's far too dangerous to entrust anyone with what we're doing."

"Far, far, FAR too dangerous."

"Both for yourselves, the multiverse, and ourselves."

"Hope you don't mind, but if you do, we'll have to taser you." Hammond said that way too cheerfully.

Jotaro Kujo
Standing in the marketplace, talking to the Robot Duo


'So they know about the multiverse, possibly meaning this isn't the first place they've been to. Ready to kill or incapacitate anyone that interferes with their mission.' Jotaro mentally catalogued.

"Never said we were going to interfere with it, all we need to know if there are any special rules or lay of this land. Nothing more, nothing less if tagging along with you two is that big of a problem." He said bluntly. Jotaro gauged the distance, just about a meter away, maybe a meter and a half. But still close enough that if things got heated, he had [Star Platinum] in range to protect himself, or if need be, stop time to buy himself enough time to dodge.

He hid any and all signs that his body was prepping itself for a fight, keeping his heart rate nice and steady. His breath measured, and his face kept neutral. His Stand coiled up like a Cobra inside of him, partially manifesting its fists out of sight and beneath his heavy coat, so if a fight broke out, his Stand would waste no time in coming out to defend its master.

Jotaro remembered when they pointed out each detail on Markha, including the lady's physical relationship with Kaz, so this meant that any sign of distress would end up tipping them off.

@Noble Scion @Henryboy003 @YeetLee @Wade Von Doom
 
Ami'Lana Nar Marin

Choosing to remain mute throughout the conversation and let the two prattle on to get as much information as she could, though she was very much intrigued by their strange nature and apparent 'secret mission'.

Ami's head, which had formerly been flicking between the pair of strange robots and her omni-tool to make sure that it was recording correctly, suddenly shot a glare in the direction of the all-too-familiar weaselly tons of a Volus.

"Excuse me for one moment." she interjected suddenly, before wandering off in search of the voice, mainly to ask how they found themself here, though she wasn't very surprised that another of her universe appeared to have found their way to the same place as she was.

She had very little personal experience with Volus, but from what she'd heard and seen of them, they were at the forefront of insulting and blaming her people for crimes in the Citadel. Not that the other races were at any less fault for the known prejudice, but either way, her expectations were low and she was more than prepared to get into a fight if they antagonized her.

Finding her way through the crowd, Ami came mask to mask with the small huffing man, and folded her arms.

"Well, isn't somebody far from home, I expected little-legged ones like yourself to stay close to the council's teat" Ami grumbled haughtily "What're you doing here? And how'd you even get here?"
 
"Oh, we can't tell you." Hammond bluntly told Jotaro.

"Secret mission."

"If we did, we'd have to kill you-- nothing against you, of course!"

"But it's far too dangerous to entrust anyone with what we're doing."

"Far, far, FAR too dangerous."

"Both for yourselves, the multiverse, and ourselves."

"Hope you don't mind, but if you do, we'll have to taser you." Hammond said that way too cheerfully.

Jotaro Kujo
Standing in the marketplace, talking to the Robot Duo


'So they know about the multiverse, possibly meaning this isn't the first place they've been to. Ready to kill or incapacitate anyone that interferes with their mission.' Jotaro mentally catalogued.

"Never said we were going to interfere with it, all we need to know if there are any special rules or lay of this land. Nothing more, nothing less if tagging along with you two is that big of a problem." He said bluntly. Jotaro gauged the distance, just about a meter away, maybe a meter and a half. But still close enough that if things got heated, he had [Star Platinum] in range to protect himself, or if need be, stop time to buy himself enough time to dodge.

He hid any and all signs that his body was prepping itself for a fight, keeping his heart rate nice and steady. His breath measured, and his face kept neutral. His Stand coiled up like a Cobra inside of him, partially manifesting its fists out of sight and beneath his heavy coat, so if a fight broke out, his Stand would waste no time in coming out to defend its master.

Jotaro remembered when they pointed out each detail on Markha, including the lady's physical relationship with Kaz, so this meant that any sign of distress would end up tipping them off.

@Noble Scion @Henryboy003 @YeetLee @Wade Von Doom

"...... Wwwwwwwhy wouldn't you just ask the locals?" Hammond asked.

"They probably know what's going on more than us." Which was a fair point, they lived here longer.

Ami'Lana Nar Marin

Choosing to remain mute throughout the conversation and let the two prattle on to get as much information as she could, though she was very much intrigued by their strange nature and apparent 'secret mission'.

Ami's head, which had formerly been flicking between the pair of strange robots and her omni-tool to make sure that it was recording correctly, suddenly shot a glare in the direction of the all-too-familiar weaselly tons of a Volus.

"Excuse me for one moment." she interjected suddenly, before wandering off in search of the voice, mainly to ask how they found themself here, though she wasn't very surprised that another of her universe appeared to have found their way to the same place as she was.

She had very little personal experience with Volus, but from what she'd heard and seen of them, they were at the forefront of insulting and blaming her people for crimes in the Citadel. Not that the other races were at any less fault for the known prejudice, but either way, her expectations were low and she was more than prepared to get into a fight if they antagonized her.

Finding her way through the crowd, Ami came mask to mask with the small huffing man, and folded her arms.

"Well, isn't somebody far from home, I expected little-legged ones like yourself to stay close to the council's teat" Ami grumbled haughtily "What're you doing here? And how'd you even get here?"
"A Quarian?" The Volus said with a surprised tone of voice, not answering her questions yet. "Oh god, you have no idea how nice it is to see a familiar race here!" He added, chuckling as he ignored her passive aggressive tone and insult as well. "Please tell me your omni-tool is still in operation? I just need it to sync up a hard reset with mine, it crashed while working on the big guy," he explained, before pointing to the massive B2 Super Battle droid behind him, covered in human ties for some odd reason. It slowly began to walk up to Ami, towering over her with its height and massive metal body, raising its hands to show off the various ugly ties it had wrapped around its blaster arms.

"Would, you, like, a, tie?" It struggled to asked her with its synthesized voice.

"No, she doesn't!" The Volus shouted back at it. "Sorry, the processing power on this is staggeringly low for a droid meant for battle. It was a struggle to recode it, since I basically had to manually wipe its previous code and rebuilt it to fit the processing power, and without proper tools, trying with my omni-tool on alien tech not designed for it nearly had it blow up my hand." The droid moved its hand down and stepped aside for Ami to enter his little shop. The Volus had several strange items for sale, from ties, to uniquely shaped lighters, to VHS', to even Gameboys, Gameboy Advances, and old Nintendo DS's. It was like entering a thrift shop.

"Anyway! Haven't a clue how I got here. One minute I'm selling omni-games on the Citadel, the next I'm blinded by some sort of light that sends me flying in the air. At least I think I was flying. Felt like I was in zero grav with too much momentum to stop. Once I felt ground again, I ended up in a cave system along some old road connected to this city. These 'Dwarves' call it the Deep Roads, apparently they're abandoned highways that connected their cities together underground. Some group of explorers found me, got me out before some monster's got wind of my scent, and in the process found and rescued the big guy," he pointed to the droid again, "every so often, new people arrive in the Deep Roads, and I sent him and a few other droids I've collected out there to find whatever they can bring back. No weapons, unfortunately, those two have better deals for that stuff, and I'm not much of a weapons expert anyway. I prefer these odd trinkets instead, easier to sell souvenirs than guns or swords personally." He was walking around, checking his merchandise as he talked, before realizing,

"Oh! Where are my manners? Name's Orland, Orland Naz." He offered his hand to shake Ami's, showing he wasn't like other Volus at least.
 
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Ami'Lana Nar Marin

She was somewhat surprised by the enthusiasm the Volus showed at her appearance, but her stance didn't change despite the pleasantries offered as she made to move into the shop.

The droid approaching was a little startling, but after the initial shock of the offer, she began inspecting the robot with a little more intrigue. Unlike the previous two, it didn't seem to quite have the same level of intelligence, and although it wasn't of any make she'd seen before, it was clearly meant for battle based on the plating and visible weapons.

"My omni-tool works fine, and you just so happen to be in luck as I'm an engineer. I'll fix yours for a modest price, or... I suppose I could take the droid off your hands." she offered, her heart changed at least a little by Orland's honeyed words, or perhaps the prospect of finding a new project. "Take your time to consider the offer. I will take care of the droid, Keelah se'lai."

"Ami'Lana Nar Marin, but you may address me as Ami."
she offered in kind, shaking the fellow suited one's hand. "I had something similar happen, one moment I was alone in my bedroom and the next I was... Well, in the middle of a battlefield. Sadly your trinkets don't interest me all that much. My heart has been taken by modern technology, but I can tell my party about your shop and they might be a little more interested." though she tried to keep her eyes on the Orland as she spoke, it was apparent that she couldn't stop herself from looking at the droid.
 


Reegan had wandered off to the slums after a leader dwarf had absolved her of her duty as her mind was a little cloudy immediately afterward. She remembered she'd gone with someone but the name escaped her and he didn't seem to be around anymore. While that would have concerned her more she figured it just meant he'd left alive to a plane she'd never been on. That left her to her own devices and a mugger with a knife in her back then thrown twenty meters down the road made them eye her a little more seriously. Especially after she pulled out the dagger to swallow for safe keeping.

While inordinately obliging she wasn't a rube her normally yellow eyes flared a baleful red as one tried to collect sap from the wound, "What do you think you're doing?"

The well dressed looked to his bodyguard whom promptly turns a glance at the man she'd thrown through a wall down the street to shake his head vigorously. There was absolutely no way they were strong arming this whatever it was. The thug had a dire feeling even fire would piss off the wild woman faster than it could keep her from beating them with his disembodied arms.

"I, ah, apologize. " the black market dealer stammered with a switching of gears at a rare emphatic 'fuck no', "I collect rare things by rare means, topsider."

An obliging sort she had an idea what they were by the weapons the other one carried and the lost souls screaming in her ears from somewhere she couldn't reach anymore. Though, wanted to bring something back to her friends and collectors pay for things. This one would probably buy whatever it was that grew out of her head from their nearby magic plane.

Her inner light faded back to yellow as her 'hackles' lowered their draw, "I have things to do unless you have money to buy."

The fence side-eyed the beggar with a small pile of seeds behind her as he gave a thumbs up having picked apart lychee nuts eat the soft inside. Even if they were topsiders an empty stomach wasn't picky and rare fruit could be grown. Might not have money they could take by force but definitely had value.

"Well, I see you're feeding the locals but I'm an enterprising fellow. What do you have besides the fruit? The market for topsider foods isn't that rich," he left the half-lie open as she probably couldn't grow enough to be useful immediately but a unique fruit tree he could move to some greedy noble.

Reegan squinted her eye as she instinctively reached back to the rotten plane she'd got the plant from as the woody tree-stems draping lychee nuts shrank into their bark the red needles curling into painful thorns along a thick vine.

The man's brow rose instinctively though Reegan wasn't nearly the saleswoman to catch it. He chastised himself but kept on his guard as Reegan cocked her head at him in only base awareness than a sly partner forging a riposte for the deal. This was an adventurer at the very least with some level of distaste in those eyes making his black heart quiver.

The great death was riled by the refusal but understood it readily though the feeling pushed through in a curt offer, "This vine is rare; it comes from your death plane I think. Though I'm not aware of your customs but I know it's not easily gotten when it doesn't like existing in this plane. I'll cut you these healthy stems instead of life-withered ones for a good price in gold."

Her eyes and inner light threw past sunset into the black of a moonless night and the bodyguard recoiled though noted the man held his nerve, "Or you could lie or try to take them by force and I'll harvest you instead. I am grossly fair and my time is short."

The salesman's mind immediately hid into a realm of numbers as greed won over an instinct of self-preservation screaming about something darker than a demon. Instincts of the deal saying what this creature struck true. Even if he wasn't sure she could tell he was lying decided giving her a bad deal was not good for future business or his life. Neither did she seem like the sort that refused the idea of a healthy profit. Felanderis made vile poison and grenades. Both things in high demand with a price boosted by the strictures of inquisition. He also had a feeling this creature hadn't the least care about his ends toward its vile nature nor uses. He pondered a number, considered some buyers and costs, then looked at his bodyguard which definitely looked as deep underground as both of them felt right now.

He gave her a number what it was worth if one could even buy the stuff wholesale. A deal his other merchants would kill for but they'd definitely understand in these recent days. There were a lot of monstrous heroes about if you were in the right place and right time. A dangerous creature indeed that un-swallowed the dagger she'd been stabbed with, cut the lengths of hair that went to the small of her back, then tethered it into a bundle worth a king's ransom he was about to pay a duke's ransom for. Better deals were had but this wasn't a bad one either. His greed momentarily considered double-crossing her.

A grimace shot forth a grip upon wrist of that poxing soul for bones to creak enough he yelped as his skin under the gloves and his clothes turned leathery and dark. A black mark on his soul to ensure she was paid, "I'll going back to my friends in the market. Once I am paid what I am promised that bond goes away. I suggest not making a boon a bane."

The new moon of a reaper fae striking a deal springs back to golden spriggan sun as she leaves for the market. Perhaps not the wisest man given his profession, but wise enough, made his way back to his own boss to muster the funds. The topic of double crossing arose again and the black mark gained a second wrist but not his own. The funds were raised. Though she'd stopped at every hungry beggar along the way picked a fruit she was sure would grow underground. The hungry souls seemed both apprehensive of the food, she thought, but were appreciative. The great reaper quelled so her ire wasn't up anymore.

The smuggler and his bosses mark vanished with no small relief as the weight was released from his soul. A Pride demon manifested to great alarm on the bosses floor. Naked and alluring... but a skeletal canyon pressed into its chest the heart there crushed. He thought the boss would be mad for not keeping the money. They both just stared for a long moment as the boss stepped over the body to get an entire bottle of liquor.

A deep swig of the bottle loosed his bosses tongue, "Yours or mine? Ah, forget it. We'll just praise the stone we came out ahead. Not double crossing that one. Tell our folk to leave her the fuck alone. We've got herb to move."

He chanced a comment about their new problem at the dead mineshaft gaze of his boss, "Maybe the mages will want a demon corpse? It's not going to the Fade. I didn't think these things could die."

The boss rose in his chair at the realization to laugh until stress leaked out of his eyes, "Ha! Ha! Ha! You mad dealing bugger! Giving me more deals to make than my heart can take. Fine, a solid steal, I'll get you a share of the deal."

The black market dealer was stymied for a moment as that... didn't happen often... though the wording was odd. Well, right place right time, the stone knows where a dwarf needs to be. It seems the stone was watching him back today. Then the boss gave the bodyguard the rest of the bottle saying It's daft to do deals drunk. A look between them at the bottle then pouring a mug they both watched him go in a shared understanding and no small relief.

Reegan jingled slightly from the box she was carrying and Jotatro would certinaly hear her coming up behind her. Merchants likely eying her handled box as she had nowhere to keep it being too big to swallow. A small rivulet of green blood from the stab wound in her side though a careful eye would notice some darker sorts nearby holding their fellows back from following her. Runners spread the word fast, whatever she'd done in the slums, one whispering to Gavlan. @Wade Von Doom Vines of her formerly long hair hacked to a pixie cut as odd dread stumps poking out from her horn crown. Sliced vines make a slow retreat into her head until she could replace them again. Her eyes had the faint sunset tinge of a recent exertion.

Reegan looked around at the two then the other aliens, suprised at all the faces that didn't belong, whispering to Jotaro as he seemed the only one not actively engaged, "I found some stuff in the slums! You want to buy anything?" @The Wanderer
 
These droids were starting to prove useless.

Markha again seriously contemplates dismantling the robots so someone could hack their memory drives and get answers directly, if possible. She doesn't know if anyone in the team was able to do that, but it was an option that would give her some satisfaction as well.

Unseen by other eyes, Markha’s left hand moves to the saber on her left hip, ready to punish these droids if they did not elaborate on this special ore, Lyrium, they were asked about. They at least answer that inquiry and unknowingly spare themselves from all but their heads becoming scrap metal.

And then the merchants come out of the woodwork. They were like them, apparently from other realities, and still trying to ply their trade. Markha had seen a market somewhat like this in the deeper levels of Coruscant when doing training patrols in civilian clothes. The ‘Art of the Pitch’ was obviously a practice common across the multiverse.

None of the wares offered by the merchants interest Markha, even if she had credits to spare for some of the items presented and they accepted credits. What does entice her is the smell of cooked noodles that waft through the air. Her stomach grumbles. She had neglected to eat before leaving the Pathfinder for this mission.

“Kaz, did you-” She starts to ask but, turning to see Kaz, gets the impression Kaz is more interested in finding a forge than food. Perhaps the last ‘feeding’ had sated the vampire well?

“I will be wherever that wonderful smell is coming from.” She announces to the group before nudging through the crowd and down the street to the source of the smell. To her surprise, it is another albeit simpler droid cooking and serving noodles.

“Hello.” Markha takes a stool and sits, confused to not see any kind of menu posted anywhere. The droid is so simple it does not have a ‘face’ to address, but she talks to the droid nonetheless.

“Um. Do you have Corellian Shells and Noodles?” Markha asks hopefully. It had been her favorite dish during a very brief stop on Corellia.

"Nan-ni shimasho-ka?" is her only response as the droid continues to stir a steaming pot of noodles.

“Yes.” Markha answers, unsure what the words mean. The droid then stops its stirring hand, takes a bowl from under the counter, and pours in a portion of the contents of the pot into the bowl before sliding it towards her.

The noodle dish looks simple, but smells amazing. The droid even provides a clean fork.

“Thank you.” Markha gives the droid needless gratitude before having a first satisfying forkful of noodles, slurping the noodles into her mouth and sighing happily.
 
"Gavlan."
Daedalus approached the merchant brimming with poison and other wares.. Yet despite their appearance they carried something powerful perhaps? Whatever the case the rings certainly held unique properties he couldn't recreate, he would put them to great use if he could acquire them-with souls?

"Thank you for my coin pouch Icarus, and did you mention souls? Are those a coin to barter with Gavlan?"
He took out coins, Silver, Gold, hardly any bronze as he talked to the merchant. A glimmer ever-present in his eyes as he glanced to the rings. All the while Icarus stood proud behind him, a gleaming hand hovering over the hilt of his sword. He knew Daedalus's tendencies after all and that figure looked-Icarus struggled to find the words, his mind perhaps or was it his soul was too-

"Regardless of the currency Gavlan I'm sure we can come to a fair deal. For those rings especially."
Daedalus gave the merchant a true Noble's smile as he engaged in trade. For despite the figures dubious qualities he couldn't forsake an opportunity like this, not with all the strangeness in the air.
 
Ami'Lana Nar Marin

She was somewhat surprised by the enthusiasm the Volus showed at her appearance, but her stance didn't change despite the pleasantries offered as she made to move into the shop.

The droid approaching was a little startling, but after the initial shock of the offer, she began inspecting the robot with a little more intrigue. Unlike the previous two, it didn't seem to quite have the same level of intelligence, and although it wasn't of any make she'd seen before, it was clearly meant for battle based on the plating and visible weapons.

"My omni-tool works fine, and you just so happen to be in luck as I'm an engineer. I'll fix yours for a modest price, or... I suppose I could take the droid off your hands." she offered, her heart changed at least a little by Orland's honeyed words, or perhaps the prospect of finding a new project. "Take your time to consider the offer. I will take care of the droid, Keelah se'lai."

"Ami'Lana Nar Marin, but you may address me as Ami."
she offered in kind, shaking the fellow suited one's hand. "I had something similar happen, one moment I was alone in my bedroom and the next I was... Well, in the middle of a battlefield. Sadly your trinkets don't interest me all that much. My heart has been taken by modern technology, but I can tell my party about your shop and they might be a little more interested." though she tried to keep her eyes on the Orland as she spoke, it was apparent that she couldn't stop herself from looking at the droid.
"Oh-hohoho, I'm afraid my friend here," he tapped the droid's arm, "is staying with me. As much of a pain as he is, the weapons on him are by far the most superior thing to even weapons in our worlds. But, I would be willing to let you look at the other droids in my group as a substitute." He counter-offered. "The pleasure is all mine, Ami. Do tell your friends about my trinkets! I've been in need of new business around here. The locals have been fond of the items, but recent... developments with the city politics has made things difficult for the merchants. Mainly, outside ones."

"Gavlan."
Daedalus approached the merchant brimming with poison and other wares.. Yet despite their appearance they carried something powerful perhaps? Whatever the case the rings certainly held unique properties he couldn't recreate, he would put them to great use if he could acquire them-with souls?

"Thank you for my coin pouch Icarus, and did you mention souls? Are those a coin to barter with Gavlan?"
He took out coins, Silver, Gold, hardly any bronze as he talked to the merchant. A glimmer ever-present in his eyes as he glanced to the rings. All the while Icarus stood proud behind him, a gleaming hand hovering over the hilt of his sword. He knew Daedalus's tendencies after all and that figure looked-Icarus struggled to find the words, his mind perhaps or was it his soul was too-

"Regardless of the currency Gavlan I'm sure we can come to a fair deal. For those rings especially."
Daedalus gave the merchant a true Noble's smile as he engaged in trade. For despite the figures dubious qualities he couldn't forsake an opportunity like this, not with all the strangeness in the air.
"No... soul?" Galvan asked, and upon seeing Daedalus show off his purse of coin, the... Dwarf-maybe-person pulled away from him before he could analyze the rings further. "No soul! No deal! Gavlan deal soul! Not coin!"

"Oh for-- Gavlan!" Anna shouted at him, "You need coin! Sorry, he's not from around here, as you can probably tell." She explained to Daedalus.

"Gavlan want coin only for drink!" He threw up his mug to make the drink inside splash. From the sounds of it hitting the sides, the mug was nearly empty. "But soul, is greater!"

"Yeah, but only in your world! Not here!" Anna pointed out, only for Gavlan to scoff.

These droids were starting to prove useless.

Markha again seriously contemplates dismantling the robots so someone could hack their memory drives and get answers directly, if possible. She doesn't know if anyone in the team was able to do that, but it was an option that would give her some satisfaction as well.

Unseen by other eyes, Markha’s left hand moves to the saber on her left hip, ready to punish these droids if they did not elaborate on this special ore, Lyrium, they were asked about. They at least answer that inquiry and unknowingly spare themselves from all but their heads becoming scrap metal.

And then the merchants come out of the woodwork. They were like them, apparently from other realities, and still trying to ply their trade. Markha had seen a market somewhat like this in the deeper levels of Coruscant when doing training patrols in civilian clothes. The ‘Art of the Pitch’ was obviously a practice common across the multiverse.

None of the wares offered by the merchants interest Markha, even if she had credits to spare for some of the items presented and they accepted credits. What does entice her is the smell of cooked noodles that waft through the air. Her stomach grumbles. She had neglected to eat before leaving the Pathfinder for this mission.

“Kaz, did you-” She starts to ask but, turning to see Kaz, gets the impression Kaz is more interested in finding a forge than food. Perhaps the last ‘feeding’ had sated the vampire well?

“I will be wherever that wonderful smell is coming from.” She announces to the group before nudging through the crowd and down the street to the source of the smell. To her surprise, it is another albeit simpler droid cooking and serving noodles.

“Hello.” Markha takes a stool and sits, confused to not see any kind of menu posted anywhere. The droid is so simple it does not have a ‘face’ to address, but she talks to the droid nonetheless.

“Um. Do you have Corellian Shells and Noodles?” Markha asks hopefully. It had been her favorite dish during a very brief stop on Corellia.

"Nan-ni shimasho-ka?" is her only response as the droid continues to stir a steaming pot of noodles.

“Yes.” Markha answers, unsure what the words mean. The droid then stops its stirring hand, takes a bowl from under the counter, and pours in a portion of the contents of the pot into the bowl before sliding it towards her.

The noodle dish looks simple, but smells amazing. The droid even provides a clean fork.

“Thank you.” Markha gives the droid needless gratitude before having a first satisfying forkful of noodles, slurping the noodles into her mouth and sighing happily.
As she ate, Markha would feel something funny. Something she wouldn't have felt in a very long while. She could sense the energy of another being near by, and slowly, the wooden spoon the Protectron chef was using floated out of its hand and up to Markha.

A force user.

In this world of all places. The spoon floated gently in front of her, slowly spinning until the spoon pointed to the small stairs going down to the lower floor of this strange market. When she looked over, someone in a dark brown rob was looking back at her. She wouldn't make out who it was; their face being obscured by the baggy hoodie, along with the rest of their body, but whoever it was, waved back to Markha. The spoon then suddenly dropped to get her attention away from them, and when she looked back, they were gone.

The gold Reegan obtained was enough for everyone in their group to have 120 pieces of gold each, enough to purchase three small arms from the merchants, or one big weapon with ammo, and whatever supplies they needed, like potions or med kits. Whatever the choice was for their money, Naeve would finally return to the group. "I see you've all become accustomed to this place quickly." She remarked, seeing as they were all mingling with the merchants and strange robot people. "I realize you've come to this city for your own reasons, but I'm afraid I must ask for another favor, if at all possible."

"Oh, sorry, we can't."

"Very busy, you see, we're needed on our special mission."


"Very special,"


"And very secret,"

"VERY secret."

"..... I was talking to everyone else." She pointed the group around Hammond and Robbins. "I don't know you two."

"Oooooooh~"