The Tale of An Chéad Toshi: Uruk IC Thread

alatartheblue42

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This is a sci-fi/fantasy RP. The Players are young Mages who have been brought to the Academy in order to develop their magical talent and protect their city. They will fight monsters that roam in the wilderness, investigate nefarious plots against King and Country, and so on. But that is all in their future. For now, after a bit of general plot setup, let us have the characters meet up, get to know one another, etc. We can feed them to monsters later.

The plot so far:
The students meet their teacher, Professor Yuki Okamoto, and have their first few days of instruction.

About a week into their Academy life, they are unexpectedly sent out on a mission to investigate the town of Normaden. They learn that a Witch, a powerful monster that sometimes grows from humans with magical potential, has developed in the region. Their Professor takes on the role of exterminating the Witch itself, leaving the students to handle some of its Familiars. During the students' fight, though, they are unexpectedly brought face to face with an Angel. After a fierce fight, the students are victorious and return to their homes safely.

Back in Uruk, the plots grow thicker. A massive force of Angels has gathered near Babylon, and the head honchos discuss plans of how to deal with the threat. The Academy's Headmaster learns that the Angel that the students encountered was sent by the Chief of the Galileians. What could Chief Herschel be plotting, and why involve these young Mages?

Completely unaware of these plots, the students are assigned another mission: to resolve an incident over who should possess a valuable research subject. They will be escorted and monitored by Essence Parker, one of the academy's Student Council members...

To chat, give feedback, watch us fool around OOC, etc, please join the Discord

For a brief bit of worldbuilding or to create a character, please refer to the OOC thread

This club prides itself on having a very detailed combat and character system. For more information on said system, please refer to the System Info/Extra Lore thread.

To see a list of some detailed NPC sheets, please view this thread.
 
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Janus Hindemith
Interactions: Ezio @Valkan | Almeida @Elvario

After the conversation with the headmaster, Janus left to the dorm room that he had been assigned to. Luckily, he had not completely unpacked since his arrival in the academy, so repacking was not much of a hassle. After packing his bags, Janus conjured a small flame with a snap of his fingers. He took the papers that he had let the headmaster copy and held them to the flame, watching the embers slowly eat their way up the fiber.

A few minutes later, Janus returned with his bags, making his way to the ship dock. As he waited for permission to board, a girl a good bit older than he introduced herself to him and another fellow, who introduced himself as well. Unlike their bonded spirits, Janus's was either not present or not visibly present.

"Faust and Ezio Aldron, Valerius and Almeida... Magnhild." Janus smiled at both of them and did a tiny bow. "Greetings! Janus Hindemith, wandering bard and romantic, at your service." Janus brought one hand behind his back as he was speaking and, with a flourish, produced two flowers out of thin air, handing them out to both persons present. Almeida would be handed a chamomile; Ezio would be handed a violet. If either or both would reject the gift, Janus would shrug as if to say 'no offense taken' and toss the flower over his shoulder, where it would dissolve into nothingness before hitting the ground.

A man of some stature introduced himself as Weaver, the First Mate of the ship, and welcomed them to peruse the layout of the UAS Royal Pioneer until the captain returned. Janus inclined his head in acknowledgement of Weaver, and then made his way inside.

Almeida made a suggestion which Ezio agreed to after confirmation with his bonded spirit. Janus nodded in agreement. "I would love to join, if you wouldn't mind the company."
 
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Hibiscus Oswald


Londo Sperry THE GREAT!



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After saying he'd leave the RP but then coming back anyways because I can't help myself After Londo and Hibiscus introduced themselves to Xiao and Ezio: Londo with his usual pride and Hibiscus with her usual meekness, plus some extreme sleep-deprivation issues. Alice introduced herself alongside Londo, but Lyka did not, instead staying unchararistically silent, So Hibiscus had to introduce herself for her.

Afterwards they made their way inside the classroom, Londo being surprisingly silent as well, because I didn't post at all Hibiscus blushing and looking down towards the floor at the mention of her knowing what had happened... Yup, she knew exactly what had happened... The incident of the library and the attack on the city was her... MOSTLY her fault... Londo might have slapped her if he could read her thoughts right now...

Other than that, Nothing was to be found on their expressions, until they finally left the room and Londo's face lit up, his slow brain finally realizing what was happening, they were chosen for top secret missions and would now be leaving the city in an AIRSHIP! Amazing!

The guy in the weird tattered get-up was explaining things, and afterwards almeida said she would go around for a tour. Hibiscus spoke up, and walked towards the group, "I'd like to join you in looking around, if you don't mind..." In a voice that sounded less sleepy then usual, then turning to the new guy she hadn't spoke to yet, said, "My name is Hibiscus, my spirit's name is Lyka, she's probably a bit tired right now..." Hibiscus said, and in response the clothing on her shoulder shuffled around a bit, as if something were lurking underneath...

Londo on the other hand, broadly beat his chest with a hand, "Aha! An airship, something Londo, the GREAT!, will be happy to travel in! Onwards!" Londo said, running away from wherever the group was going to do his own thing, namely looking around in the armory.

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Alice, on the other hand, stayed behind, nodding to the newcomer, "My name is Alice, and if you try any of that stereotypical bard crap on me, I'll shove your head firmly in between your own legs. I already had one teacher simping after me, I don't need a student doing it too." She said, making it clear she wouldn't accept a flower if it was to be given, then continued, "I'll go with the group as well. Lord knows Londo is lost enough without running off to god-knows where not knowing where anything is."
 

Weaver
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The Mages walked up the gangplank, following the heavy steps of Weaver as his metallic feet clanked against the steel bridge. There was a slight breeze, but Uruk’s long history of airships had taught them nothing if not to make sure gangplanks had railings on them. Unless someone had acrophobia, everyone would likely cross onto the UAS Royal Pioneer without incident.

Weaver’s clanks turned to thuds as he stepped onto the wood of Deck 1. Actually, it was most likely merely a small later of wood set on top of metal, as metal hulls were common for modern ships. But perhaps the designer prefered a more traditional aesthetic. Weaver's body was also more comfortable to look at now that it was not reflecting the sunlight above. The massive balloon from which the airship was suspended served as a very handy shade generator during the middle of the day.

”I shall notify you via the ship’s intercom when the captain has boarded. I’d recommend taking a look around the lower decks first, and you can come to the bridge later.” Weaver started to turn away, but then paused for a moment and turned back to the Mages. ”I should warn you, our crew has many… eccentric individuals, to put it politely. However, rest assured. Personalities aside, they are the best crew to ever sail the skies.”

After gesturing to a descending staircase near the prow, Weaver turned towards the aft and made his way to the bridge. The group of Mages then split off into two, or rather, Londo went bouncing off down the stairs immediately while the rest took in the sights of Deck 1 a little longer.

Being largely exposed to the elements, Deck 1 had little in the way of “facilities”. Some crates of cargo remained up on this outer deck, and here and there, ropes and other materials were kept for easy access, but the bulk of it was merely flat, empty space. One could always climb up the rigging to reach the crow’s nest and the body of the balloon, but that would probably be a little on the adventurous side for an initial icebreaker activity. Not to mention that it wouldn’t really let them see the ship itself or meet its crew. The bridge was also an option, but they would likely be going there later on too, if they wished to meet with the captain for any reason.

Deck 2 was uneventful, being almost entirely housing for the ship’s crew. The long corridor led out from the staircase towards the far end of the ship, connecting to numerous cabins and the occasional gathering area. Here, too, the rustic atmosphere was preserved, with most of the surroundings at least appearing to be made from wood, and the gathering areas having large windows to let in daylight. Modern comfort was not entirely ignored though; carefully concealed lights kept the hall comfortably illuminated, and the chairs in the gathering areas had comfortable cushions. There were even TVs in the gathering areas, complete with an assortment of movies, shows, and games. The Mages could decide to enter someone's cabin, but trespassing within the first five minutes probably wouldn't leave too good of a first impression.

Part of Deck 3 was similar to Deck 2; a wooden hallway connecting to some cabins. These doors would connect to the Mages' homes for the duration of their voyage. Due to space limitations, each cabin was considerably smaller than the Academy dorms had been, but they remained well-furnished with beds, closets, and such. Each also had a curtained window, which would open only far enough to let in fresh air, but not enough to let someone accidentally fall out.

But Deck 3 had a noticeable difference from Deck 2. Namely, the smell of fried rice drifting from the cafeteria that took up the rest of the deck. Past several rows of tables and a wide granite countertop, a tall man stood, cooking a wok filled with the source of the scent.

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The wok was only one of many pots and pans filling the kitchen. "Well-equipped" would not do it justice; this kitchen seemed to have every implement known to humanity, and then some. The ingredient selection couldn't really be seen, as they were all stored away, but if the cooking implements were anything to go off of, there was likely no shortage of variety.

Perhaps there was a hidden camera or chime to alert him of new entries, or perhaps he decided to just turn around at that moment. Either way though, if the Mages were to enter the cafeteria, the chef would turn to face them and call out to them. "Yo, you must be the Mages we'll be flying with. Name's Johnny. Shrimp or chicken?" If any of the Mages were to answer his question, he would pull out said ingredient and toss it into his wok. A few minutes later, a plate with steaming fried rice and the indicated meat would be placed before them.




Meanwhile, Londo was down on Deck 4, looking for the armory that Weaver had mentioned. It didn't take all that long, as there were only three main rooms on this deck, and each was clearly labeled. As Londo looked around the room, he saw all manner of weaponry present, from blades to bazookas. There was also a miniature forge set up so that weapons could be repaired if need be. The crewmate looking over the weapons seemed surprisingly familiar to Londo though…

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The woman looked over at Londo as he entered, greeting him with a broad smile. "Hiya! You must be one of the new Mages, right? I'm Hannah Lorken, armorer and quartermaster extraordinare. Need any gear or anything?"
 
Almeida

Interactions: Ezio @Valkan | Janus @TubaPope | Hibiscus @LondotheGreat | Weaver / Johnny @alatartheblue42

Almeida wasn't sure what to make of the slightly grim looking kid apparently switching around the name by which he introduced himself, but decided not to pursue it. There was one thing that stood out. “They dragged you from your unit? Were you in the military?” There was a chance she just met a fellow former-soldier, although he seemed to be younger than her, so she wasn't entirely sure.

The other new person was even more peculiar. He had a slight familiarity to him as on of the best characters from Legend of Heroes, but she couldn't quite place it. It was probably just a coincidence. She only knew that she subconsciously wished to have a drinking contest with him at some point. For now, she accepted his flower. She wasn't sure what he meant by it, if anything at all, but figured it'd be rude to just ignore it. “Thanks?” There was one thing that stood out in his introduction, namely that he was a 'wandering' bard. She herself hadn't been outside of Uruk much, other than her military missions, so most of the places they'd be going to were likely new to her. Janus might not have that issue. “A wandering bard? Have you been to a lot of places outside of Uruk?”

Londo and Hibiscus showed up as well, both being pretty much as expected. Well, perhaps Hibiscus was a bit more awake? In either case, Almeida didn't mind her joining. “Of course not!” She was more surprised by Londo's spirit joining them. All in all, she hadn't interacted much with either Londo or his spirit. If anything, she felt sympathy for the spirit to have to put up with Londo.

Weaver's warning was taken. Among mages, eccentricity was more of a rule than an exception, but it sounded like this crew wasn't much different. “Thank you for the heads-up.” Deck 1 was largely uninteresting, but Almeida did plan on climbing to the crow's nest at some point. Deck 2 was also rather uninteresting, other than that it looked more comfortable than expected. The standard were definitely better than on military vessels. She tried to keep count of the amount of cabins; wondering how many people could take up semi-permanent residence on this ship. Apparently the cabins on Deck 3 were going to be theirs, so on the assumption at least one of them had its door open, she took a quick peak inside. It looked nice enough.

Soon enough, she got distracted by the scent of fried rice. Upon following it, she couldn't help notice how extreme this kitchen was, albeit in a good way. “That smells great.” She commented, as she approached the chef, who introduced himself as Johnny. “I'm Almeida Magnhild.” As for his follow-up question, she was feeling a little exotic. “Shrimp please.” It was (presumably) still a bit early for lunch, but the scent had gotten her curious to see if the flavor would match up to it, so she gladly took a plate. There'd be time to move onto deck 4 afterwards.
 
Ryan Gamaris

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Having not much else to say Ryan left the Operations Room in silence, and headed straight to his room. He continued to silently pick whatever he thought relevant for the trip in a travelling backpack in record time, then sat on his bed. "I'm... going to wait for you at the dock..." unsure on how to confront Ryan on what he was feeling, he assumed it was best for him to think on it by himself.

After a while of pacing around his room and a lot of discarded drafts, he had two brief messages written in paper and neatly folded, each with a name written on the visible side. With the backpack on his shoulder, Ryan ran across the dorm rooms, slipping the pseudo-letters under two different doors.

Hi
So, I'm going on an adventure.
I don't know for how long, so I decided to leave you a note in case I'm gone for a while
Even with all the teasing and joking around
You both are someone I enjoyed being with
It's a shame we never got to go on a date...
Being serious, though, I want to thank you
For being so friendly to such an awkward mess like me
And listening to me
And giving me advice
I hope to see you both soon but don't count of it



I also hope it all goes well with your sister.

-Ryan

Goo Hi Hello
I'm going to be honest, I don't know what to write. I wasn't even sure if I wanted to write.
But I want to get this off my chest.
We're going away for a while, and I understand why you wouldn't want to come along... Or maybe I don't.
You were always a mystery to me, but not in a bad way.
All I wanted ever since we first spoke was to help you. Again I may be misunderstanding, but I didn't want to see that scared Elisa anymore.
Not because you hid it, but because you were truly comfortable.
But I was scared.
So scared.
That you would push me away, or get angry at me, or that you wouldn't want to talk to me ever again.
... And I ended up not talking to you at all.
I'm sorry, I was so stupid.
Maybe if I actually tried, we could have gotten along, maybe I could've been there to help you out.
But now I'm leaving, for who knows how long.
What I'm trying to say is
I'm sorry, and I'll miss you

-Ryan

Having left the messages at Rose's and Elisa's room respectively, the hardest part about leaving. He arrived at the dock at the last minute, just in time to hear Weaver's introduction and instructions, but not saying a word. As soon as he was allowed to board he headed for his assigned room, dropped his bag in the middle of the room and laid face down on the bed. Not even bothering to close the door properly. Or exploring the room, the ship, anything at all.


Tidrog arrived quite earlier to the dock. Checking for Ryan every now and then. Not meddling with the other students for now, as he was more busy thinking on if he really should've left Ryan to do that on his own. Thankfully, he arrived at the very last moment, but he wasn't looking quite happy. Quite the opposite, actually. When Weaver introduced himself, Tidrog bowed his head and came up with "Tidrog, the spirit of Ryan. Looking forward to working with you" attempting to bring the least amount of attention to Ryan.

When the time came Tidrog decided to stick with the group, asking a tad bit less rashly than Alice "I'll accompany you all too, if that's okay. I want to get familiar with the place." Though this was mostly an excuse to give Ryan some time for himself. He already did it that way, he might as well commit to it. Deck 1 seemed like a nice place to get some air, but not much else. Tidrog had no comments of Deck 2, it looked ok. He would've explored Deck three further, but their impromptu leader got carried to the cafeteria by the admittingly nice smell of fried rice. The setup of the kitchen was quite a sight to behold, and there stood the chef, Johnny. Tidrog wasn't feeling any particular preference towards the question, so he allowed others to pick for Johnny. For now he just siad "Tidrog, nice meeting you." and like the others did, he took a plate of the chosen meal.
 
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Ezio Aldron

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Almeida made a question that may have been expected given his comment. "Sort of, former mercenary here. I assume you were in the actual military?" he asked, interested in the prospect of being around someone who knew how such a life worked, at least in the similar aspects of their previous jobs. Then Janus made his dramatic introduction, Ezio picked up on a detail he may be better off correcting now. "Oh! No no, I apologize for the mixup. Faust is, or rather, was my code name. My spirit's name is Xiao." he said as he almost reflexively took the gift, not wanting to incur the wrath of the spirit perched on his shoulder. As if cued, Xiao bowed his head as he was mentioned.

Hibiscus and Janus decided to join Almeida as well, and so did Alice, who didn't take too kindly to Janus introduction. Ezio suppressed a laugh, the poor spirit probably had to deal with a lot of unsolicited flirting, but to reject it so aggressively tickled him for some reason. On the outside, though, just a slight smile slipped.

When Weaver guided them to board, he warned them about the crew's personalities. Not that Ezio had much to complain about there, he had his fair share of quirky workmates over the years, a few more wouldn't hurt. Now, onto the ship. Overall, Decks 1 through 3 looked pretty nice. Having worked in way poorer conditions, it was refreshing to be aboard such a nice looking ship. Even nicer was the smell he detected as soon as they were near Deck 3. He walked along the group towards the inviting smell. Which came from the most equipped cafeteria, and more specifically, kitchen, he had ever seen, by a long shot. He whistled at the sight of the amount of instruments he could observe.

The chef in charge was quick to notice them, and was kind enough to let them pick their meal of choice. "Ezio and Xiao here..." he paused to think of the choice given to him. "I haven't had shrimp in ages..." Ezio commented as Almeida jumped the gun. Not that he was bothered, shrimp tasted pretty good if memory served right. It was then that Xiao came to mind "Johnny, mind giving me something small for Xiao, please?" He asked as he took the plate of tasty looking rice "I would appreciate it very much" added the avian, who was happy with Ezio's efforts so far. His speech was a little bit sloppy, but he behaved well enough.
 
Janus Hindemith
Interactions: Ezio @Valkan | Almeida @Elvario | Alice & Hibiscus @Londo

The sound of shoes on metal alerted Janus to new arrivals to the airship. Janus turned around, and his eyes quickly scanned over the purple and red haired children before locking eyes with the lavender-haired spirit. Before he could take a step towards them, the spirit immediately shut down any attempt at conversation Janus could have possibly made. A cross between a groan and a whimper escaped his mouth, and he remained frozen in his position with an iridescent blush on his face for a good minute before he fully recomposed himself.

After he did, Janus would incline his head to the grey-skinned spirit that introduced his absent master, presumably the red-haired boy slightly older than Londo who had left after the first mate's speech. The red-haired child seemed to have ran ahead, so Janus shrugged and continued walking with those that were here. He would approach Hibiscus and hand her a goldenrod, if she would take it. If she decided not to, he would throw it away in the same fashion he would have with Ezio's and Almeida's flowers.

Ezio corrected Janus on the spirit's name, which Janus immediately responded to as the blush in his cheeks finally faded. "Oh! My apologies, Ezio and Xiao. I didn't mean to offend. Do you prefer Ezio or Faust?" As Ezio was responding to the question, he would turn to the avian spirit and bow slightly as the spirit did. The youth stayed silent as he listened to Ezio and Almeida speak of their combat prowess, apparently having nothing to add to that conversation.

Almeida brought into question Janus's self-titled wandering nature, to which the latter responded by closing his eyes and frowning slightly in a pensive expression.
"Ah, I should amend that my wanderings were limited to the city. Much to my chagrin, my knowledge of the land outside of Uruk draws only from books. I'm afraid I won't quite be of aid in that aspect." Janus's apologetic smile morphed into a mirthful grin. "Although, I must say it is a privilege to have my first sojourn with such captivating company." The bard's grin faded as he eyed Alice nervously. "Err. Except you, of course. I mean, not that- not to imply that you're not captivating- ahem, not in the romantic sense, I mean. No unwanted head-in-leg shoving, please."

At the mess hall, Janus would have asked Johnny for a smaller portion of chicken fried rice, which he consumed at a modest pace. Once he was done, he would lean back in his chair and wait for the rest of the mages to finish, faintly humming a slightly familiar sounding folk song as he did so.
 
Hibiscus Oswald



Alice

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Hibiscus accepted the flower from Janus, at which Lyka popped out from underneath Hibiscus's shoulder cloth and said, "Fuck off, Prince Charming, don't even think about it." And before Hibiscus could say, "Lyka that's rude!" The small fairy disappeared back into the confines of the jacket.

Hibiscus glanced back at Janus and blushed, "S-Sorry about that, Lyka can be rude sometimes..." Before smiling back at him and following the tour guide to the various areas of the ship.

Past the crew cabins, which Hibiscus had no reason to look into, it may have been private, but she did feel Lyka start to creep out and sneakily start flying towards the rooms, which Hibiscus had to stop be grabbing her and holding her to her chest to make sure she didn't slip away. Lyka did put up a bit of a fight trying to escape Hibiscus's grasp, but even with Hibiscus being the weak child she was, she was still stronger than a small fairy like Lyka was. So eventually Lyka gave up the fight and just put her head on her hand, her elbow resting on Hibiscus's finger.

After that, they made their way to thelunch room, which Hibiscus spoke up and said, "Chicken please!" And Lyka replied the same, "Chicken, I guess..." To which Hibiscus recieved a bowl of the chicken, with Lyka recieving a smaller portion. Hibiscus let go of Lyka to eat, but Lyka didn't run, instead eating her food and then retiring to Hibiscus's jacket once more. Hibiscus ate the portion and finished, "It's delicious, thank you!" before placing the bowl down on the table, not knowing where to put it.

Alice, whom had been silent the entire time, suddenly spoke up, "Shrimp for me." And upon recieving her bowl, started digging in. It was good. Alice put the bowl back, unsure where to actually put it, and said, "Thanks."



Londo Sperry THE GREAT!



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Well now this was a surprise. After making his way to the armory, Londo met a familiar face. Or at least familiar to him only. He still only had a small amount of memories from his past lives, but this was a face he recognized, albiet very scarcely. Londo put his finger on his chin in deep thought, trying to remember what exactly she did in his past life. She was some sort of merchant, but what kind, and how exactly did she fight? But alas, Londo's memory failed him, or he didn't really know Hannah all too well, only in passing. If only Alice was here, maybe she'd know!

Londo gave Hannah a thumbs up regardless, "Nice to meet ya! I'm Londo, the GREAT!, and I just wanted to check out the armory and see what was up. Didn't realize I'd see a familiar face and all! But don't worry about that, you probably never met me anyways!"

Londo looked around the room, looking for anything resembling his weapon of choice, "Any chance you could make these gauntlets that I have better?"
 
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Hearing calls for both types of meat, Johnny's right hand reached down below the counter and pulled out two tubs, while his left acquired another wok from the wall. After the rice had been split between woks, shrimp pieces emerged from one tub and chicken from the other. A few minutes later, Johnny pulled out a selection of assorted sized plates and began separating the two types of rice between the plates.

After distributing the plates and utensils among the group, including a saucer with very finely chopped pieces of chicken for Lyka and a plate for Xiao, Johnny took a seat nearby with a plate of his own. "So, tell me what y'all are here for. Fortune? Fame? Friendship?" Judging by the chef sitting down for a chat, more crewmembers likely wouldn't be stopping by the cafeteria, or at least not until after they had left port.

Quality-wise, the fried rice was excellent, a perfect blend of short-grain rice, carrots, scallions, garlic, and the indicated meat. If Johnny prepared every dish this well, then good food would not be in shortly supply. Of course, if someone was used to high-class restaurants and master chefs for every meal, then the rice would not be quite up to their usual standards.


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Y'know, it was always nice to see Mages living up to their reputation of being weirdos. It only took like thirty seconds after meeting her for this kid to start talking about somehow knowing her even though she had never seen him before. But hey, Mages were decent customers.

Londo looked around the room for a moment, searching for something similar to his trusty gauntlets. After a couple seconds of swords, spears, and guns, he found a decorative cabinet with shelves for hand-based weaponry. There were katars, gauntlets, tekko-kagi, bagh nakh, and good old knuckledusters, all readily available. As far as Londo could tell from first glance though, nothing here seemed to be particularly more powerful than his standard gauntlets.

After reviewing the existing selection, Londo approached Hannah, showing her his current gauntlets. She spent a moment examining it, turning it over, fiddling with the fingers, and so on. "Hmm. What did you have in mind? With the materials I have here, I could maybe toughen it up a bit, or add a core slot to the other hand. Most other stuff, I'd need to get more specialized materials, but if you have an idea of what you would want, I can put the materials on my shopping list."
 
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Almeida

Interactions: Ezio @Valkan | Janus @TubaPope | Tidrog @Valkan | Johnny @alatartheblue42

Almeida was surprised to hear Ezio had been a mercenary, as he soon returned the question to her. “Yeah.” Considering enlisting in the army was mandatory, it wasn't strange for someone her age to have been in the army. In her case, she'd volunteered to stay in the army for a few extra years. “I did the required six months and then an additional two years.” It was a lot stranger for someone that seemed younger than her to have been a mercenary. She wondered if it was a touchy subject or not, but decided to throw diplomatic care out of the window. “If I might ask, how did you end up becoming a mercenary? It's not exactly a common job.”

She also learned that their wandering bard was more of a local performer, as he hadn't even left the city. She wasn't sure what to do with his compliments, but didn't exactly manage to take them serious. The kid was quite a bit younger, after all. “Ah, that means we'll be able to witness your first exposure to the world outside of Uruk. Let's hope that you'll be the one captivating an audience, when the time for it comes around.” She wasn't particularly knowledgeable about music or the bardic lifestyle, but it'd be nice to have some live music if the bard were able to back up his words and actually sound good.

Tidrog had also tagged along at some point, but Ryan was notably missing. Almeida figured she'd ask about it, just in case. “Is Ryan doing okay?” Out of the group taken along on this flight, he seemed like he'd have the most people that he'd have issues with leaving behind.

The food Johnny had plated for them was good, which was a great sign of future prospects. His intellect or subtlety was a bit lacking though. Asking mages why they were on certain missions was like asking water why it started boiling at a 100C. They had very little to say about things. “Predominantly specters and politics. The word 'no' doesn't exist when King Gilgamesh himself wants something, after all.” Trying to wipe away some tension that her answer might have caused she smiled. “Fortune, fame and friendship would be nice though, so if I can pick any of that up along the way, I'll take it.”

After finishing her plate, she'd get up. “Well, there's still a fair bit of ship to discover, so I'll be on my way again~” With that, she'd explore the remainder of the deck (if there was anything left) or otherwise move on towards the next deck.
 
Londo Sperry THE GREAT!




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Nothing here really suited Londo the way he wanted, he could tell they were all inferior or equal to his current gauntlets. Did that show the shoddiness of these weapons, or were Londo's gauntlets, that were provided by the school, just so much superior? Kinda weird thinking the school would invest so heavily into basic weapons for beginner mages though.

Londo stared at his gauntlet, thinking deeply, "Hmm, really don't wannanother spirit, Alice is probably the only one I'll need or want. Making these tougher definitely sounds fun though! How can you do that? Do you need materials or something? Do I need to do a gathering quest?"
 
Johnny
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The oldest of the Mages gave an answer to Johnny's question, though he found the answer a bit disappointing. "Only a puppet follows orders for the sake of following orders, lass. Having a mind of your own means having motivation of your own."

Ere long, Almeida (and presumably the others) finished their food and stood up to leave. "Galley's always open; drop on by if you're ever hungry." Johnny saw them off with a wave before clearing up the dishes they had left behind.


Hannah Lorken
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Londo said that he wasn't too interested in a new core slot, since he only had one Spirit. Instead, he was more interested in improving the durability, though he did seem to have some strange ideas about what she was planning.

"Well again, just using what I have here, I'd basically just make the metal on the back of the hand a bit thicker. It won't be a huge improvement, since the weakness of gauntlets are always the joints, but if you know what you're doing, it should help a bit. Course, if all you care about is how thick they are, I could basically turn them into bricks of iron that you strap to your hands, but that would make it kinda impossible to move your fingers then.”

After a moment’s more thought, she followed up on one of Londo’s questions. "Now, if you really want to toughen these up, we’d need materials that I don’t regularly stock around here. When we stop off in Elnai, I’ll see if I can pick up some damascus steel. I think a town of that size would be much more likely to have damascus steel than to have something like Latunite or Torite, but there’s a number of other metals that would be good for making durable gauntlets too. Shame we’ll be departing Uruk so soon, otherwise I’d do some trading here in the city.”

"Ah, but I’m rambling, aren’t I?” Hannah lifted a flask of some liquid, and after a quick swig, she spoke again. "I’ve got a bad habit of rambling when I’m discussing products. Anyway, feel free to leave your gauntlets with me or stop on by later if you’re interested in those simple improvements I mentioned. Otherwise, I’ll just look around in Elnai and see what I can get for you.”

It probably wasn’t intentionally coordinated, but not five seconds after Hannah finished her lengthy speech to Londo, the ship’s intercom began to sound with Weaver’s deep, metal-tinged voice: ”Ahem. If there is a ‘Londo’ on board, could you please make your way dockside? Someone is here to see you off.” If Londo were to leave, Hannah would give a quick, cheerful goodbye. Of course, if he stayed longer, there wasn’t much reason to say goodbye.


Regardless, Almeida and the others would arrive on Deck 4 ere long. Much like Londo had seen, this level was mostly taken up by three sizable rooms: the medical room, the armory, and the engine room. Unless someone started feeling spontaneously sick, Almeida and Co would likely pass right by the medical room for now. Were they to enter the Armory, they would see the same sights as Londo had, and receive a very similar greeting. "Hiya! You must be the other Mages we’ll be flying with. I'm Hannah Lorken, armorer and quartermaster extraordinare. Need any gear or anything?"


If the sound of machinery was more to their liking though, the group would proceed farther along, to the aft of Deck 4, where the engine room awaited them. Countless pipes and cords ran to and from different sections, connecting all sorts of systems and machinery. Stickers of questionable decorative value had been slapped on here and there, accompanied by various keychains and baubles hanging off of pipes and gadgets. Over the din of clanking and humming machinery, an old fashioned boom box perched on high belted out a pop hit from about twenty years ago.


Amid the chaos, though, four people flowed around machines and each other with ease, bestowing a much-needed sense of slight order to the madness. One person in particular noticed the Mages’ entrance and approached them after finishing whatever task he had been working on on one of the computers in the room. He offered up a handshake with his left hand to the lead person as he spoke to them. ”I’m Leon Tenkawa, chief engineer of this tub. We’re a bit busy with our final maintenance checks before we depart, so sorry if I don’t got much time to chat.”

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Meanwhile, if Londo were to make his way back up to Deck 1 and over to the dock, he would find someone familiar waiting for him…
Caoimhe Mallon
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Caoimhe clutched her broom to her chest anxiously with her left hand as she saw Londo approaching. Her right hand fiddled in her pocket while she waited for him to get within speaking range. Her eyes kept flickering up towards Londo’s face before darting down towards the ground, largely avoiding eye contact. Her puppet Spirit Hurik leaned against her right calf as she waited.

If Londo didn’t make the first move, after about twenty seconds of awkward silence and nervous glances, Caoimhe would begin to speak up. ”Um… Uh, hey L-Londo. I uh, I just wanted to say sorry for- for freaking out.”
 
Almeida

Interactions: Leon & Hannah @alatartheblue42

For as good as the chef's food was, his words were rubbish. Either he advised her to rebel against the enforced enlisting as a mage, as that'd be something she might have a mind and motivation of her own for, or he was telling her to change her motivation to be in line with whatever she was forced to do, at which point it didn't differ much from merely following orders. Either option was going to be little more than disastrous.

As she hopped into the fourth deck, she couldn't help feeling curious when she heard various sounds coming from the engine room. She'd seen just enough airship engines during her time in the military that she started recognizing some of them, so she was curious what type of engine was powering this vessel. She felt like she ran into some chaotic den of a mad genius, spotting all sorts of random accessories decorating the engine room. She accepted the left-handed handshake of the guy that approached them. “I'm Almeida Magnhild, nice to meet you.” He immediately went on to say that he didn't have much, which was understandable, so she figured she'd best leave them to it. “I understand, I won't hold you up then.” With that, she was out of the room short after entering. She could always get a closer look at things at a later date, when she wouldn't get in anyone's way.

She debated entering the sick bay for a bit, but decided not too. After all, she spotted an armory, which was many times more interesting. She was a bit surprised by the cheerful girl greeting her, as that wasn't the type of person she'd expect to run an armory. She'd reply in kind though. “Hello~ I'm Almeida Magnhild, nice to meet you!” She glanced around, recognizing some weaponry from her army days, but not even knowing the names of some of the more odd looking weapons there. She jokingly replied to Hannah's question whilst she was looking around. “No, I'm just looking around on the ship, I wouldn't dare to cheat on Valerius here.” However, her own joke made her come up with an idea. “Or do you happen to know about artificial spirits as well? It feels like there's a lot left for us to learn.” Valerius remained silent, for now.
 
Londo Sperry THE GREAT!





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Londo stared at the back of his gauntlet, where his hand seems wholly unprotected by only a thin sheet of metal. However, this gave him plenty of movement options with his hand, and if he wanted to lug around a thick block of metal that could launch people without even having a high strength stat, Londo would have had the foresight to bring a machine gun, "Naw, it's fine." Londo said dismissively, "I'd rather go on that quest for those materials you mentioned and make the gauntlets better THAT way! being able to move my fingers and give the opponent one of these-" Londo said, shooting Hannah the fingerguns, "Is just too valuable to pass up in a fight!" He said, before the ship immediately called for him as he was giving Hannah the fingerguns.

Londo gave one last look around the area, "Oh? Looks like the ship already knows the name of someone famous such as myself! I'll see ya around Hannah! I'll try and see if I can get some of that steel later on!" Londo called to her, before leaving for the dock.


Hibiscus Oswald



Alice

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Meanwhile, Hibiscus and Alice followed the tour group to the armory. Alice took one glance around, noting that Londo wasn't here. Of course he wouldn't be, that announcement must have caught his attention and fueled his ego even more, knowing that the entire ship now knew his name.

Hibiscus gave a small wave to Hannah, speaking up after she answered Almeida, "Nice to meet you! I'm Hibiscus Oswald! I use a book and knife for my transformation!" She said, pulling out the two, "I- uh, I tend to stab myself with my knife for my spells, so I was wondering if you could find a nice balance for me. If a knife is too sharp, blood isn't drawn as fast and I can't use my spells as effectively, and if the knife is too blunt, it hurts more and doesn't cut as well. Can you tell me if my knife is perfect for that, or can you make a better one for me?"

Hibiscus realized this sounded slightly insane, and her face grew red trying to keep a straight face and not hide out of embarresment. Fortunately for her, this was probably standard fare for a mage, but Hibiscus still wasn't used to it...


Londo Sperry THE GREAT! (again)



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At deck 1, and then finally over to the dock, Londo looked around, now who could it be that wanted to see him off? Could it be an admiring secret crush? Could it be a fan that saw Londo's boast to the king? Could Cadwgan have sent an envoy?

As it turns out, as Londo found the person glancing at him, it was none of those three, unless Caoimhe secretly harbored a hate-crush for Londo, but what came out of her mouth confused him even more, "W-Wait?... You're apologizing?! To me?!" Londo didn't know what to do in this situation, as he had been the one who was in the wrong in the first place.

Actually, Londo didn't know what was more confusing: The fact that Caoimhe apologized, or the fact that she was here at all! This caught Londo off guard, but he managed to at least stammer some words out, "O-Oh, well, apology accepted?..." Londo said.

Nailed it.

"O-Oh I uh, wanted to say sorry for, you know... The tournament. Thing." Londo finished embarresingly, scratching his head.​
 
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Janus Hindemith

Interactions: Almeida @Elvario | Hibiscus @Londo | Hannah @Alatar

The sudden surfacing of the sprite startled the stamen supplying student, who instinctively took a few steps backwards upon her appearance and reacted to her profanity with a look of incredulity. "W-Why, I'd never-!" Janus stammered, then took a few deep breaths and smiled back at the girl who was offering an apology. "Don't worry, I took no offense to that," he stated despite having visibly taken offense to that.

Janus simply smiled and nodded to Almeida's comment and was silent when chef Johnny asked his question. Listening to Almeida's response, Janus had no visible reaction to her first statement, but after she described her personal goals he closed his eyes with a look of contentment as if to convey that he thought Almeida was a woman of culture.

After parting with a slight bow with the chef, Janus would follow the rest of the group into Deck 4. Here, Janus was stick his head briefly into the engine room to acknowledge the engineer inside. Then, as he headed into the armory, Janus took out a small slip of paper from his breast pocket and read over the contents as he walked.

Inside the armory was a brown-haired woman, who introduced herself as the armorer-quartermaster. Janus would wait for his seniors before stepping up and introducing himself- this time not with a flower, but with a branch of a arborvitae tree.

"Hannah Lorken, my name is Janus Hindemith, bard and budding mage," said Janus with a bow. After Hannah accepted or rejected the branch, Janus would hand over his pistol. "My weapon of choice, but..." Janus wore a sorrowful expression on his face and continued, "But recently, I've been having difficulty maintaining a full chamber, if you catch my drift. Oh, I can only imagine the embarrassment that would befall me if I had performance issues when it counted! If only there was someone who could assist..." Janus feigned heartache, dramatically looking upwards with a hand on his forehead as he handed the slip of paper over to Hannah- on which were details of a modification he had planned out for his pistol.
 
Leon Tenkawa
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”'Preciate it." Tenkawa nodded to Almeida and Co as they departed, and then got back to work himself. There was always more work to be done, especially when it came to maintenance.


Hannah Lorken
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Londo didn't really seem to understand the concept of a quartermaster picking up supplies for her ship, but if he wanted to find stuff himself, that technically made her job easier. Hopefully he knew what he was looking for though.

Well, it didn't take long at all for the rest of Londo's Mage friends to stop by. Maybe he had told them to ask about upgrades, since they all seemed to be interested in some kind of power up. All the ones that spoke up at least. A couple of the boys looked a little out of it. If they were country kids, it might have been their first time on an airship, and while the Royal Pioneer may not have been the fanciest ship around, it was still far nicer than most common airships. That was enough musing on the new companions though; it was time for business.

Of course, the first question was a rather difficult one. "Hmm, can't say I know a whole ton about artificial Spirits. As far as I know though, they're basically the same as other Spirits though, just in less 'natural' forms. Was there something specific you wanted to know?”

The younger girl spoke up afterwards. Evidently, she stabbed herself to use spells? That seemed rather odd to Hannah, but who was she to question the ways of Mages? "Hmm, so you want more blood, but less pain?” Hannah carefully twirled the knife as she inspected it.

"Right now, I've got two ideas on how to do something like that. The first would be to coat the edge with an anesthetic, so that it should dull the pain without losing efficiency.

"The other idea would go in the opposite direction. We give the edge a coating that will make your blood flow a bit faster. The pain is caused by the damage rather than the blood loss, so it should be more efficient without any more pain. But for both of these ideas, you'd need to be careful. Too much anesthesia or too much blood loss will definitely cause you problems."


Her explanation finished, Hannah turned towards the third Mage. Or perhaps "apprentice philanderer" was a better description, considering his speaking style and the way he conjured up some sort of plant branch for her. She took both the branch and the paper from him with her left hand, and used her right hand to reach up and lightly ruffle his hair. "Sorry. You're cute, but I'm gay."

She took the branch and paper over to a desk off to one side of the room. The branch went into a simple pottery vase decorated with flowers, and from out of a pocket of her clothes, she pulled a small water sprite. As Hannah held it over the vase, the sprite chirped happily and poured some water into the vase, keeping the branch hydrated. The sprite was then put back into her pocket, where its head and arms could be seen ever so slightly peering out over the side as its watery arms held it up over the pocket edge.

Hannah focused a desk lamp towards the paper Janus had handed her, and nodded after a few seconds of inspection. ”Seems pretty straightforward. I shouldn’t have any trouble preparing that before we reach Elnai. Or, if you just want to grab something off my wall, that’s fine too.” Guns that could use the wielder’s prana to create bullets were nothing uncommon for Mages, so Hannah already had several of various styles on hand.


If any of the Mages in the armory were to step out into the hallway, they would see a strange woman nearby. Well, she was strange unless they thought it was normal for a woman to be wearing a lab coat over a blouse, but not wearing a skirt or pants over her strawberry decorated panties, grinning broadly as she stared at a flask filled with an electric blue liquid.

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If she saw anyone nearby, she would quickly approach them. "Ah, a new crew member! Perfect timing! Here, try this for me~" She held out the flask of electric blue liquid towards whomever she saw. From up close, one could see that "electric" described more than just the color; little sparks of energy could be seen within the liquid, crackling faintly. As for the scent, it had that distinct, classic aroma of a fine blend of blueberries, marinara sauce, and electroshock therapy.



Caoimhe Mallon
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Londo seemed confused by Caoimhe apologizing, though he offered an apology of his own. ”Ah… Yeah… I know.” She fidgeted for a bit before continuing. ”I uh, was actually there most of the time. I asked my friend Cilla to turn me invisible ‘cause I wasn’t brave enough to speak to you directly yet. So, I heard how much you wanted to apologize to me, and I’m sorry for hiding for so long.” Her right hand continued to fiddle with something in her pocket as she spoke to Londo.
 
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Londo Sperry THE GREAT!




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Londo shrugged at Caoihme's awkward attempt at apologizing, it wasn't as if she needed to, because she really didn't, "Eh, it's fine, I had nothing better to do anyways than looking for you, and Hibby wouldn't let it go, and Alice wasn't talking to me at all. As I said, it's fine, it was my fault anyways. I'm kinda bad at reading the mood and thought it'd be funny, but..." He scratched his head, trying to think of what else to say, "Anyways, no more apologizing! Everything's good now! Right?" Londo said, "Anyways. I thought you were real fun to fight against that round. Maybe we could have another go some other time?" he said, sticking out a hand towards Caoihme, "Friends?"
 
Almeida

Interactions: Hibiscus @LondotheGreat | Hannah & ??? @alatartheblue42

As Almeida was listening to Hibiscus's request to Hannah, she couldn't help but wonder (aloud) if Hibiscus had tried other options first. “Say, have you ever tried if there really isn't a way to activate your magic without blood? Or if there isn't, if you can use an syringe to get the blood out beforehand in a more controlled and less painful manner?” She recalled having asked Hibby about the blood magic at some point, but she'd forgotten what exactly they'd discussed, although it probably wasn't alternatives.

Hannah answer was as feared. “Not really. I'm mostly just wondering if there are ways to eh...” She wasn't sure how to say it without being rude, but she gave it her best shot. “Make him stronger?” Artificial spirits couldn't really train themselves, from what it seemed at least, so maybe there were other ways? Almeida started to realize how little she knew about the spirit she'd been swinging around and dragging along. Regardless, it was clear that Hannah wasn't really the one to ask, so Almeida would leave the room with a quick 'goodbye' nod, so that Hannah could work on the others' requests.

As she stepped into the hallway, she was immediately greeted by a rather odd person. Almeida couldn't help raise an eyebrow. “Eh? Are you the ship's medic, miss?” They had passed the medical bay not that long ago, so it was the obvious suggestion. “I'm Almeida Magnhild.” She carefully took the flask and sniffed it. Weaver's warning that the crew was 'odd' was still in the back of her mind, after all. It had a very odd combination of scents to it, as well as a worrying 'shock' going through it. Then again, she was a mage, so an odd drink wouldn't kill her and it probably not paralyze her either. Hopefully. Curiosity got the better of her. “Well then, bottom's up.” She tried to go through most (or all, depending on how much fluid there's in it) of the flask in one go, as she felt like sipping it would probably make her unable to finish it and thereby ruin whatever test results this was meaning to provide.
 
Janus Hindemith

Interactions: Hannah + New @Alatar

Janus ran a hand through his hair to un-rustle it after receiving Hannah's headpat, and watched the quartermaster with slight attention as she poured over the plans he had written up.

"I'm rather fond of my pistol, so I think I shall stick with it. I maintain it fairly well, don't I? I'm sure you've seen many a gun in your day. I'd surely hope mine compares well to the rest of them."

"...Wait, you're ga-"


After an awkward farewell, Janus sheepishly followed the rest of the group into the hallway where a white-haired woman with rather hastily thrown-on attire waited. While Almeida decided to test unknown, possibly hazardous substances, Janus stepped up to introduce himself.

"Janus Hindemith. Miss, you appear to be missing your pants."
 
Hibiscus Oswald



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Hibiscus tried thinking of what Hannah had told her, and shook her head at the mention of blood loss, "Blood loss is fine, I have a way of getting around that! But thanks for worrying! Coating the knife to make my blood flow faster might work! Thanks! Where can I find some?" She asked in excitement.

As for Almeida's question, Hibiscus shook her head, "My magic only works if I infuse it with magic at the point of drawing blood. Storing it in a syringe or vial wouldn't work, unless I can find a magical way around it... But I haven't so far..." Hibiscus said, pouting. She had definitely thought about storing it before, but because I don't like to cheese combat like that because of the way her magic worked, it wouldn't work at all, or at the very least be way less effective, which might work in a pinch, but Hibiscus hadn't tried that, and didn't want to bother, since the amount of work going into testing that wasn't as effective as just doing it right then and there.