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Post by CMPunkCMPunk on Apr 9, 2018 22:44:50 GMT -5
Day 1, Early Afternoon
It was such a beautiful day to spend a commencement. Blue sky, with only a few clouds up there to give it character. Cool air, not too moist or dry flying about in a pleasant breeze. Even birds were chirping a humble tune – or at least, she'd made sure that it sounded like they were. Wand in hand, the experienced witch glanced around at the motley crew that had assembled. Most of the faces were ones she had been expecting, but there were certainly a few unfamiliar faces. In particular, she wasn't exactly sure what was up with the mechanical duo somewhat far back among the assemblage, but a single check of the current roster scroll was enough for her to see that they weren't spies or assailants.
"We're all here. Enough of us to start, I should think." Whispering a simple word into her stick, she produced a small ethereal bobble atop it. "Welcome, one and all!" Warmly addressing the small crowd and placing the wand behind her ear to speak into it for a volume increase while leaving her hands free for gesturing. "We have come from such diverse environments, but all drawn together for reasons so similar. I don't know what you've been briefed on, but there is no way around it. We are all in danger of being wiped from existence." Waiting for this to sink in, she continued to speak as she assessed the crowd's reaction. "I'm talking about two things, of course - the Black Lanterns and the Elevator Heroes, both of which are dangerous in their own ways. While the Black Lanterns, brutal nihilists they are, would kill our worlds, the so called Heroes aren't as benevolent as their unimaginative name suggests. Make no mistake - they would gladly stick any or all of you onto a Landing Party and force you to fight for their ideals."
The pale-woman next to the speaking witch suddenly shrieked, throwing an abominably loud and intense scream into the fresh air. It was indeed completely and utterly unintelligible, and afterwards she went back to hiding in her long, straight, stringy mop of hair.
"That's right! Tell them, Ella! I don't want to die on one of those squads any more than you!" Looking around, her enhanced voice asked, "Is it just me, or do we want to live? And live in our own ways, at that? Yes, I think that sounds far greater than doing what Sycamore and the squad want."
As some of the varied individuals to have assembled nodded and murmured in agreement, a lone voice split them. “Excuse me! Jussss' a lil' question.” A slim and dainty young woman carrying a basket walked up and took the attention of the speaker. She cleared her throat quietly before going on. “Two questions, my I'm forgetful! The first is about the Elevators.”
“They're not called Elevators,” began the voice-augmented witch before having her initial response chopped off.
“Are they that bad? They visited my home many times, and those sirs and madams have never been a thing but polite!” The young lady beamed, clearly expressing her opinion on the subject.
The mousy-haired wand user frowned and weighed her answer carefully. “Speaking as a former member, I can say that their image is a bit cultivated. They have, however, been known to-”
“And is this all allowed? It's not unholy or against the teachings to travel like-”
“I will speak with you later, Mary.” Slapping her palm into her face before continuing, the woman who'd come up with the idea in the first place kept talking. “Again, I'm not exactly sure how much each of you've been briefed on except the ones I recruited, so I'll go over it as simply as I can. This is Harrow Plains – an incredible home! My home! And thanks to what all I've done, the hope is that it will be one to each of you in time. There's a lot still left to be built, but the core feature of this little sub-realm of mine is just over there!” Taking her wand out from behind her ear and whispering a spell, she flicked it. The result was a large wispy gloved hand appearing and pointing at a small, fenced off area. “That would be Boot Hill, our entry point to a finely curated selection of worlds. If any of you were to head over there and touch any given gravestone you found, you'd be whisked off to a place full of adventure, goodies, and challenges for us to overcome! There's a legend if you're the instructions type, but I highly recommend just jumping in! First things first, anyone who's not got one should grab a Hearthstone from the desk over there. Channel their power anywhere out in the worlds and you'll find yourself back here.” The hand, which appeared to now be tracking alongside her own, now pointed over at a card-table sized affair with many simple cards. Each followed the format of '-Name- and -Name-' for each of the teams. The exception invited “Golbez and 'Friends?'”. The table was staffed by a lady with blonde hair and a business suit, who waved from where she was standing.
The witch spoke one last time. “If any of you can't find your Hearthstone over there, feel free to ask Stella. Same in case you've got any other questions... Oh! Rules! Yes, that's a big one.”
An 'aww' reaction popped out of the crowd, to which she answered “Deal with it. They're not bad rules, and they're simple. One, don't fight anywhere in Harrow Plains. This is a place of peace.” She made the hand lift two fingers. “Two, if and when this new lot comes into open conflict with the Black Lanterns, you must participate. Any cowards that reap the benefits of this little dig and then sod off will have their rears kicked hard and with passion.” A big dude with spiky hair and a shirt saying 'KO' snickered when that was said. “Three, don't force anyone from the worlds to join. That's what the Elevator Heroes do.” 'Aww' again. “Don't care if you don't like it. Four, try your best. We want this to work out, so let's make it happen by choice instead of by force. That's all of them, by the way. No five. Just make it happen, that's the real rule.” Smiling becomingly to all of the new makeshift alliance, she said, “As I was going to say, if you've got any questions about Harrow Plains itself, feel free to ask the spicy Latina with blonde hair and,” she grinned wickedly, “Black fucking eyebrows.” The business suit lady laughed and shot a middle finger at the witch, but didn't seem genuinely angry. “Any other questions can be directed to me, Hermione Granger. Have fun, then!” She turned off her microphone and began looking around to see if anyone needed guidance.
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Post by Just14 on Apr 10, 2018 9:10:54 GMT -5
Matthew turned toward Nora with the speech coming to a close. "So you're going to be my partner. I guess this means we'll be working together to take down those threats. While Hermoine may seem a little...questionable at times, I do believe she has a point. The Black Lanterns destroy mercilessly and the elevator team forces others to do as they wish. It sounds like we'll be facing two very powerful threats."
Nora takes a moment to relax a bit. She raises both arms high in the air in a carefree stretch. "World destroyers, am I right? They suck. But I'm not as interested in fighting them as I am making a huge profit of these inter dimensional wars. Plus, I bet I could make some really nice weapons with other world materials. I can see them already. Finest blades in the multiverse! Ha!"
Concern crosses Matthew's face a moment. "You're not even the slightest bit worried, are you?"
"Pfft. Nah. If those assholes want to get to me, they'll have to get through my blades first."
Matthew then realizes...he completely forgot to bring a weapon with him. "...Oh no. Uh, hey, Nora, can you-"
"Weapons?" She gracefully flips one of her finest swords out of her bag and into the air before catching it and presenting it to him. "Gotcha covered!"
He takes the blade and inspects it. "And...this comes at no cost?"
"Oh, there's a cost alright. But you won't be paying it just yet. I'll let you know when your debt is repaid."
"Great..." Matthew sheathes the blade and wears it by his hip. "Yes, this should work."
Nora crosses her arms and nods. "Yeah. Now let's get moving. The world's not going to come to us. We gotta go to it."
"Don't you think you're rushing a bi-"
"Rule number 4! Make it happen!" Nora marches off toward Boot Hill.
"I think you've taken that a bit out of context..." Matthew runs after her.
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Post by mrfuzz111 on Apr 10, 2018 16:19:54 GMT -5
Golbez walks up to the desk with the Hearthstones on it, picks his out, and goes to Boot Hill.
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Post by Just14 on Apr 10, 2018 16:27:45 GMT -5
Oh, right. Matt will grab his team's Hearthstone too.
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Tight Dan
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Post by Tight Dan on Apr 10, 2018 17:03:56 GMT -5
Havel grunts as he and Hauchefraunt turn from the speech to pick up their Hearthstone "Yes, Yes I'll hold the magical item though I'm sure it's not nearly as heretical as you presume" Hauchefraunt replies as they make their way to the table he lifts up the card gingerly and examines it. "Umm Mam how exactly do these work I'm not certain on how we're meant to channel them." Hauchfraunt asks the suited women as he does so Havel let's out what can only be described as a growl "No I'm not going to ask her if it'll slowly erode away at the bedrock of society and quite frankly I'm not sure if that kind of language is necessary" Hauchfraint replies exasperated to his partner.
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Post by pielover19 on Apr 10, 2018 17:14:50 GMT -5
Henry elbows Starman and points to the cards. Starman does the same, knocking Henry off balance and into the dirt. Grumbling, he gets up, grabs the Hearthstone card, and heads to Boot Hill.
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Post by Malefio on Apr 10, 2018 17:30:41 GMT -5
Isaac looks at his gear. Statis module is empty. RIG is not fuctioning. He can't even remove his helmet. He feels like an actual robot. He turns towards Toy Ridley, looking at it carefully.
"So... I guess I'm stuck with you... I assume you'd send me back if you could?"
Ridley makes some mechanical noises, which Isaac cannot understand.
"Well... I could probably make you talk. I'm an engineer, you see? All we need are parts...
But there's those Black Lanterns guy that girl talked about... Sounds like another necromorph invasion to me. And those Elevator Heroes sound like those fucking unitologists."
Isaac feels like his "companion" is trying to respond, but all he gets are still mechanical noises. The engineer walks clunkily toward the Heartstones, as his RIG is not working. He eventually gives up and asks Ridley to get the stones. When Isaac touches his, all the lights on his suit activates and his stasis module fills up. Toy Ridley's power cores also light up. Isaac verifies everything again, removes his helmet so people can see that he's human, then walks towards Hermione.
"Sorry, ma'am. My name is Isaac Clarke. CEC Engineer... I was wondering if my services would be required anywhere...
I can certainly fight, but I'm a worker more than a soldier. In fact, I'm quite tired of fighting."
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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2018 18:59:38 GMT -5
"I have the nostalgia," Fawful says while flying around in the air.
"You been here before?" Rosalina asks with a quizzical look on her face.
"Who is doing the saying?". Fawful says just spinning in circles.
"La sigh, well you were the best available option,". "You haven't forgotten our deal right,". "The moment you even think of doing anything to put me or others in danger I will personally end you," Rosalina tells Fawful with an unusually calm voice.
"Oh I can sense the delicious fury coming from you," Fawful says still spinning in a circle.
"Well anyone who would even dream of hurting my children shall feel my wrath," Rosalina comments while grabbing the Heartstone Card.
"Children, planets, Galaxy, threat?" Fawful lists off.
"Yes my children the Lumas grow up and become various objects throughout space, whether they be planets, comments, etc," Rosalina adds with a hint of nostalgia to her voice.
"How do you give birth to a planet?" Fawful just sorta asks.
"Oh you, your not allowed to ask such questions," Rosalina replies.
"Whatever, the team of Beauty and the Bean shall spread their wondrous wings of chlortles and fury," Fawful says flying towards Boot Hill.
"La sigh I really wish mom, Mario, or someone else was here," Rosalina sighs heading off towards Fawful.
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Post by CMPunkCMPunk on Apr 11, 2018 3:49:46 GMT -5
Boot Hill goers
For those adventurers who, Hearthstone in hand, prefer to travel than to explore the homestead, Boot Hill was already all set up and ready. This being in contrast to a decent amount of the nearby buildings, which had an 'unfinished' look to them. The small, penned in area contained a simple iron gate that opens without a key or anything, and inside is a circle of stones. They were all carved finely out of different colors of stone, and display not words but images. Among the currently small array of stones are, in clockwise order, starting at where 12 would be on a clock:
A stone transformed by chisel into a lush landscape. Pretty trees line a grassy path leading towards a castle, and in the background... Hills with cartoony eyes? Strange.
A stone playing host to a vivid and bustling city, with modern, steel towers dwarfing the tiny citizens carved in.
A stone featuring two humans pointing at one another. Each has a sphere traveling toward the other.
A stone with a large suspension bridge carved into it, along with a city by a bay.
A stone upon which is carved a single building, uneven and quirky but somehow majestic in its asymmetry. It is surrounded by a ring of something or other, upon which fountains are spaced out all around the building and its flowers.
A stone that has had an image of a quaint neighborhood added. Upon closer inspection, each building's surface consists of many, many right angles, like they'd been assembled out of thick cubes.
A stone someone carved a bunch of jagged, looming trees and a highly detailed screaming female human onto.
In addition to the advances of Golbez, Matt and the others, a few of the other, less familiar members of the burgeoning faction began examining the stones and assessing them. In particular, a dark-skinned guy with silver hair seemed particularly interested in the one with the asymmetrical building, and a pair of young girls seem to be enthused about every one except the pointing people one.
Isaac and Toy Ridley
Pleasantly responding to the unfamiliar man, Hermione answered quickly. "There's always something to do here, even at this early stage. I'm afraid I'm not all that familiar with you or your robot, but I can tell right off the bat that you're just what the doctor ordered. I need high-technical people, because right now, the roster is looking very magic and superpower-heavy. You see, Isaac, the Hearthstones will repair machines and people to a certain extent, but if anything breaks profoundly or needs upgrading, we're obviously going to need better options." Gesturing once again with the wispy hand, she pointed to a row of buildings that have been established across from Boot Hill. "We've a bit of a high street forming, but I think we're going to need a machine shop sooner or later. None of the people I've already got working for us know a thing about things like that."
The exceptionally odd and pale screamer that was previously around Hermione also remained near - she uninhibitedly ran her long fingers across Isaac's gear and Ridley's skin, ignoring personal space entirely. She remained silent, though.
Hermione said more "Oh, I don't mean I want you to open a machine shop or science lab or anything. You could, of course, but I imagine you'd want to get out in the worlds - there are plenty of peaceful spaces out there that a man like you could seek respite in. But if you came across anyone you thought would be good for the job, but more of a homebody, I'd love to hear about it." She winked at Isaac, before a woman being carried on a heavy guy's shoulder started talking at her.
Havel and Haurchefant
Before the question could actually be answered, the basket girl from before whispered to H. "That's such a good question your friend is asking! I wonder about dangerous things like that all the time, like did you hear that there was this guy who used LSD and got his little brain broken? He thought he was a glass of orange juice, or at least that's what I heard, I hear a lot of things and..." she keeps going, even as the lady attending the table clarifies how the item is meant to be used.
"Trust me," the blonde lady quickly checked the name tag before addressing them, "H Boys! This is so simple to use, you'll take to it without any trouble. So what you do is, you grab your Hearthstone like thus." She takes her own out of a small holster at her hip, holds it aloft with the symbol on the front facing her hand, and just sort of wiggles. It's not even a matter of extreme gyration, just simple motion as if she were blowing in the wind. "And if it doesn't work, you can say 'wooooooo'." However, despite her explanation, the most striking fact about this woman was that she appeared to be principally composed out of rectangular cubes. Not literally - her body was actually shaped in such a way, it looked like. Definitely not like any human either of the two had met before. "And it doesn't take magical talent or anything. It just works as long as you can concentrate! Hope that helps!"
"And last year, at the raffle, the most amazing thing happened! There was a giant crocodile, and-" The girl was still going, before being scooped up and lifted shouldertop by the guy who appeared to be her partner - the burly 'KO' guy.
"She does this sometimes, we're gonna work on it. Kevin Owens, by the way." He nodded to the two RPG characters before heading off, as did the girl now draped over his shoulder. "Mary Bathsheba!"
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Post by pielover19 on Apr 11, 2018 6:16:14 GMT -5
To the vivid and bustling city!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 11, 2018 12:51:48 GMT -5
Rosalina will talk to the two young girls. Is there a reason why the one with the people holding the 2 spheres is not that interesting.
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Post by Just14 on Apr 11, 2018 12:57:01 GMT -5
Matthew will look around at the stones carefully. "Hmm..."
Nora walks up to the first stone she sees, the lush landscape with the cartoony hills and castle, and slaps her hand right on it, teleporting away.
"W-Wait!" Matthew follows after her, going through the same stone and struggling to keep up.
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Post by Tight Dan on Apr 11, 2018 18:14:20 GMT -5
Havel nods to the two as they leave a stiff gesture for anyone else but, remarkably smooth given his heavy-set armor. "I see thank you seems simple enough" Haurchefant says giving the blocky lady a polite bow before leading off a disgruntled Havel to Boot Hill. Haurchefant gazes at each of their options meticulously almost causing him to miss it when Havel slings Dragon Tooth over his shoulder and heads into the stone with the odd building "And he wonders why I couldn't let him go alone" Haurchefant sighs as he follows suit.
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Post by Malefio on Apr 11, 2018 20:43:23 GMT -5
Isaac nods at the witch.
"Thank you... I'll help with the construction in town and see where that leads me..."
Isaac puts his helmet back on.
"You said we could meet enemies as soon as we get out there right?"
He turns around and walks to Boot Hills in search of the town that is under construction.
Toy Ridley stares at Hermione as if it had a vague memory of her, but turns around and follows Isaac.
"Well... Are you my pet or something right now?"
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Post by CMPunkCMPunk on Apr 12, 2018 5:24:24 GMT -5
Rosalina and Fawful
The two girls' attention was quickly gained by the space being, and both of them answered at the time time. "We live there!" The one with the cute blue hair and adorable skirt whispered to the one with bike shorts and a sick red bandanna, and both of them laughed quietly. Were they making fun of Beauty and the Bean, or was it something else? They would have to have an eye kept on them.
The blue girl elaborated a little on what was said, pointing to some red and white balls they each had attached to belts they were wearing. "We're both pretty good Pokemon Trainers - it takes a lot of work to get balls as badass as these chicks!" They both thrust a fist into the air when she said that, as if they'd practiced getting into sync on that gesture.
"Are you two from any of these worlds, or just some rando world?" The athletic looking brown haired youth winked as she said this. These were teenagers, and young teens at that. Rosalina's true age was unclear, but whether she was as adult as she looked, or much older, she was definitely grown and they were not.
Henry and Star (Stickman and Man)
Each tapping the city-based stone, the two were whisked off to the skies of a world they had never once been to before. It was a hell of a view from so high up, and it became evident quite quickly that they were falling! Before the horror of panic and angst-filled aggression of being betrayed could kick in properly, they both realized that they had a simple balloon tied to each of them. And it was speaking! It wasn't a betrayal at all!
"These balloons will help you land where you want instead of having to walk straight off. They're what's keeping you from going splat - do not pop the balloons. If you pop the balloons and then fail to come up with a way to stick the landing, every single one of your fellows will laugh at you for sucking. You'll likely be dead or at least maimed, though!" Hermione's voice, incidentally.
As for the ground below, it was definitely a fairly large city - five distinct boroughs were visible from the air, but it was difficult to assess exactly what the big differences between them were from so high up. (see attachment for geographic info) However, there was definitely a very large, green colored statue in a dress or something on an island to the south of the city, and a huge pair of towers with the letter "K" on each of them towards the northern end of it.
Starman Data Analysis: Area superficially resembles urban center 'Fourside'. Area lacks crucial Fourside landmarks. Area is not Fourside.
(head to New Koopa City)
Matthew and Nora
Ah, eager young people with fit, excellent bodies and great hair - who doesn't love when they dash off to adventure? As the two of them made their stone selection, they were transported out of Harrow Plains and into open air above a lovely world that was entirely new to both of them! The first thing they noticed was that it was night, the second was that they were falling, and the third was that there was a balloon attached to each of them by some thick looking string. Indeed, the balloons were actually speaking with a unified voice!
"These balloons will help you land where you want instead of having to walk straight off. They're what's keeping you from going splat - do not pop the balloons. If you pop the balloons and then fail to come up with a way to stick the landing, every single one of your fellows will laugh at you for sucking. You'll likely be dead or at least maimed, though!" It was definitely Hermione's voice, and her attitude as well.
Well, at least since they were falling slowly, they had the ability to maneuver through the air towards an appropriate landing zone. Unfortunately, thanks to the darkness they only saw see an urban area that could be described as both 'pretty' and 'adorable' below them, with the grassy plains from the stone to what they assumed was the west, along with a very large body of water that was either an ocean or a massive lake, since the far end couldn't be seen. Nora and Matt also spoted forests to the east and some sandiness to the south. Overall, it did not look terribly threatening.
(head to Mushroom Kingdom)
Isaac and Ridley
Well, it certainly seemed that way. Despite the robot's lack of verbal communication, it seems to have adapted to Isaac. Its strange creator was nowhere to be found, but its strange stare was briefly noticed and answered with an awkward wave before they had headed off. The truth was, though, that there might be foes anywhere out in the worlds - even the most innocent seeming locale could have dangers in wait. Exactly nobody could blame the pair for sticking around the home base at the moment. The small cemetery known as Boot Hill, while being the primary feature of Harrow Plains, was right across from some buildings that were in various states of construction. Interestingly enough, they were each being built out of similar materials (cement, glass and wood principally), but the architectural styles of each were distinct. At the moment, there were four buildings in various states of construction, and Isaac was able to check each of them out before being noticed by any of those present.
The first was an obvious, if basic looking business with a partially constructed glass front designed to make it appealing and chic-looking. Inside, a burly man was moving in a bunch of chairs that looked as if they could swivel, and another was attaching a large mirror to the wall. Outside, it had a large sign identifying it as 'Salon Fernando'. Next to this mostly-finished building was a less complete one of slightly similar design with a single leaf on it - there were hammers banging away inside, and he could see a brown, furry looking duo inside swinging them. The third of these structures was currently being assembled, with a trio of burly men mostly staring at an incomplete set of four brick walls. They were being yelled at, interestingly enough.
"You sorry bastards!" verbally assailed an order man with a harsh face and a bald head. "Do you get how bad it looks to act that lazy here?"
"Come on, boss!" yelled a single burly man. "Those bricks are huge, why do we have to use such big heavy blocks for a restaurant?"
"It doesn't matter what we're building! Gah, I should have left you in Kaka-damn-riko and hired better workers to do the job!"
"Me?" another burly, mustachioed man asked.
"ALL! OF! YOU!" the old dude squawked.
Serious issues among that construction crew, obviously. As well, there was a fourth - this was merely a foundation, with 'Future Site of Syrup's Cauldron'. There were a ton of materials assembled, though, as well as a blueprint and some general tools that someone had left there.
Havel and Haurchefant
The two very different adventurers, having one after the other selected a stone, were transported to a wide open sky above a mid-sized settlement. Even from the sky, it was evident that there was a large, uneven castle with many branching spires (the carving turned out to represent a stylized version of it, along with some lovely and impressively sized blue stone mountain ranges and plateaus, and a town at the foot of the castle. Despite the fact that neither of them could fly, Havel did not instantly suffer the same fate as the mighty Black Iron Tarkus (peace be with him), and instead floated downward slowly thanks to colorful balloons that were attached to them.
"These balloons will help you land where you want instead of having to walk straight off. They're what's keeping you from going splat - do not pop the balloons. If you pop the balloons and then fail to come up with a way to stick the landing, every single one of your fellows will laugh at you for sucking. You'll likely be dead or at least maimed, though!" Another one of the witch's tricks? Maybe not. At least they weren't dying.
(head to Radiant Garden)
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