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Episode 1: Tip of the Iceberg
Twilight ![]() Firmament Park isn't the roughest place in Archon City, but it's not the most pleasant of places either once the sun goes down. The heavy growth from the thick oaks creates a dense canopy further in, and the grounds are irregularly maintained. It's an old-fashioned layout that creates many hidden pockets and shadowy groves within the large reserve. Jackie re-reads the note left for her by her teacher. The note is unsigned, but the jagged, deep penmanship is unmistakably from Professor Demiurge. The language is textbook Demiurge as well: vague hints at bigger things to come, statements and demands without much in the way of assisting facts - and all through it, that same damnable notion of purpose and destiny. Only the beginning of what? In any case, here she is. A few walkers amble about the cracked concrete paths. Beggars congregate around one of the large oaks, toying with pieces of bark mulch. Trying to see deeper into the park is alredy obstructed by shade and gloom as night creeps closer. Aside from the hum of nearby traffic, it's quiet. Might even be peaceful, if this were anywhere else in the world. Time to see what this is all about.
__________________
STATUS: Gone. Unsure if I can come back.
║ NPSG FORUMS ║ SOLO BAZAAR ║ EXPLOSIVE RUNES ║ SHARE YOUR STAT BLOCK ║ MY GAMES ║ |
#2
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__________________
I get lost in large posts easily, please be patient with me! Check out my podcast with my VA buddies; Rejected Party Members |
#3
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Firmament Park
Twilight ![]() The park seems normal, if a little eerie in the dim light. The beggars by the tree turn to her as one, peering with wary expressions and glassy eyes. They pick themselves up and scurry further into the park, past a line of hedges. A walker on one of the park's tattered pathways watches them go and mutters, "More of them every day." He meets Jackie's eyes my chance and shrugs helplessly, as if seeing the beggars had ruined his night. Something else catches Jackie's attention. A noise from beyond the trees and hedges, further in the park but out of sight from her current vantage point. Crying. Weeping, really - a steady mournful sound. More than one person; like a chorus of melancholy. Barely audible at first, but getting a little louder. Maybe that counts as unusual ...
__________________
STATUS: Gone. Unsure if I can come back.
║ NPSG FORUMS ║ SOLO BAZAAR ║ EXPLOSIVE RUNES ║ SHARE YOUR STAT BLOCK ║ MY GAMES ║ |
#4
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__________________
I get lost in large posts easily, please be patient with me! Check out my podcast with my VA buddies; Rejected Party Members |
#5
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Firmament Park
Twilight ![]() She's looking towards a public building of classical architecture, the Firmament Library. She sees a park bench, only partially illuminated by the pole lighting scattered along the adjacent path. A young man sits on the bench, shoulders hunched and quivering. His clothes look like they once might have been the expensive kind of trendy casual, but they're filthy now. People surround him, mostly sprawled on the grass or standing in small congregations, but all in orbit around this bench. The group as a whole is a motley bunch - some looks like more beggars and homeless folk, others are dressed for jogging, and one woman looks like she just got back from an inner city office. The young man is openly crying. His assorted company is all in various states of misery - some weeping, others simply slumped and forlorn. No one else is within sight aside from those in this group, and they haven't noticed Jackie yet.
__________________
STATUS: Gone. Unsure if I can come back.
║ NPSG FORUMS ║ SOLO BAZAAR ║ EXPLOSIVE RUNES ║ SHARE YOUR STAT BLOCK ║ MY GAMES ║ |
#6
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__________________
I get lost in large posts easily, please be patient with me! Check out my podcast with my VA buddies; Rejected Party Members |
#7
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Firmament Park
Twilight ![]() Back towards the entrance to the park, and even as she re-emerges from the hedge, something feels different. The park is quieter. There don't seem to be any walkers about anymore, and it's still technically twilight. In fact, the only signs of life in the park right now are ... that group of beggars, coming back again. They scan their surrounds, full of nervous energy. Then one grabs his head, shaking it from side to side. "Naw, man, not again ..." "Hey, again? I never feel it like that. You got some bad wiring," says another with scorn. "I ... I can't help it ..." the first one sniffles. He's face is scrunched, as if he's about to break into tears. Then they notice Jackie staring at them. "Oy!" calls out the second man. "You got a problem with us?" "Is she here looking for me?" the first man grumbles, his eyes shiny with fresh tears. "I know they're looking for me. I know they'll come. Someone will come. Everyone chasing me, but still alone. You're one of them, aren't you?" he shrieks, pointing an accusatory finger at Jackie. Outside of the two main talkers, there are three others, hanging back and in various stages of investment. One looks set to burst into tears as well; another looks bored; and the third seems pleased at the outrage, bouncing on his feet as if ready to join in for an argument - or even a fight.
__________________
STATUS: Gone. Unsure if I can come back.
║ NPSG FORUMS ║ SOLO BAZAAR ║ EXPLOSIVE RUNES ║ SHARE YOUR STAT BLOCK ║ MY GAMES ║ Last edited by HotsuSama; May 24th, 2020 at 10:35 AM. |
#8
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__________________
I get lost in large posts easily, please be patient with me! Check out my podcast with my VA buddies; Rejected Party Members |
#9
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Firmament Park
Twilight ![]() At first Jackie's answer is negative; what's he talking about? Then she stops. Wait. She does feel something. Like a claw scraping across the surface of her brain. It's someone else, intruding on her mind and consciousness. She recoils, resisting against the foreign influence. It wants to take over her movements, her thoughts. It nearly succeeds. She remembers at the last second how to prepare her mind and clear it of distractions, like when Professor Demiurge had her meditating to concentrate on her powers, and uses that discipline - earned from long, droll hours of listening to the professor go on and on about power and destiny - to push back the intruder. She picks up on some emotions from the intruder as she does so. Fear, anger and paranoia. Someone terrified of getting caught. And a brief image of Professor Demiurge. The thing retreated not because she successfully defended herself - it accessed her memory of the professor, and recognised him. Whoever this is, he or she doesn't want the professor specifically to find them. The beggar confronting her stiffened, then groaned. "Aw no ..." His eyes glazed over. Then the anger was back - he was ready to pick a fight again. "Yeah. You're looking for the Ragged King, aren't you? Not gonna happen. He's ours and you're not taking us from him!" Well then. It looked like they were going to back off, now we're right back to square one. But Jackie's learned something. The Ragged King. That must be why she's here.
__________________
STATUS: Gone. Unsure if I can come back.
║ NPSG FORUMS ║ SOLO BAZAAR ║ EXPLOSIVE RUNES ║ SHARE YOUR STAT BLOCK ║ MY GAMES ║ Last edited by HotsuSama; Jun 2nd, 2020 at 08:04 AM. |
#10
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__________________
I get lost in large posts easily, please be patient with me! Check out my podcast with my VA buddies; Rejected Party Members |
#11
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Firmament Park
Twilight ![]() Jackie's head tingles as she runs - after overcoming that feeling of the ephemeral claw scraping against her mind, it's like she can tell - the force behind that claw is changing. Like it's pulling itself back in, withdrawing from trying to invade other minds, like her own. As she runs past the hedge line, someone crashes through. "Wait!" he pleads, breathlessly. "Please, wait! I'm sorry! I ... I forget myself sometimes. Please, just let me talk to you!" Jackie recognises him as the young man who was on the park bench, crying uncontrollably while surrounded by the strange mob of weeping men and women from all walks of life. He's alone right now, though. His face is filthy and still streaked with wet track marks down his cheeks. He looks frantic, desperate. Dangerous? No way to tell ... yet.
__________________
STATUS: Gone. Unsure if I can come back.
║ NPSG FORUMS ║ SOLO BAZAAR ║ EXPLOSIVE RUNES ║ SHARE YOUR STAT BLOCK ║ MY GAMES ║ Last edited by HotsuSama; Jun 15th, 2020 at 08:22 AM. |
#12
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__________________
I get lost in large posts easily, please be patient with me! Check out my podcast with my VA buddies; Rejected Party Members |
#13
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Firmament Park
Twilight ![]() The night is still as the two size each other up. There's some faint conversation from past the hedge line - the crowd that had been gathered around this odd young man seems to have changed. From the fain traces of conversation Jackie can pick up, they're confused and dispersing. None of them had meant to linger in the park this long. "I could see you, through them," the man continues. "I know that sounds a little ... creepy, I guess. But you're looking for something, or someone. I think I get it." He lowers his voice. "He sent you, didn't he? Professor Demiurge. He sent you to look for me." He doesn't wait for Jackie to answer. "Please, I need a favour. You don't owe me anything, but ... tell him you didn't find anything. That the park's got some weirdos but nothing you'd call 'unusual'. That you never met me." He lowers his gaze, and finally his arms. "I'm getting better at controlling it, I swear. Getting better at letting people go when I get a hold of myself again. I never control anyone for long. He probably thinks I'm dangerous. Thinks he can't control me." The meekness drains from him in a flash, as he scowls in the direction of the ground and clenches a fist. "I don't want to be controlled. I'll never be controlled." He looks up once more, staring straight at Jackie with intense brown eyes, his gaze softer again. "But I could use a friend. My name's Attaf. Like to think of myself as the Ragged King at times, but ... it's just Attaf now."
__________________
STATUS: Gone. Unsure if I can come back.
║ NPSG FORUMS ║ SOLO BAZAAR ║ EXPLOSIVE RUNES ║ SHARE YOUR STAT BLOCK ║ MY GAMES ║ |
#14
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__________________
I get lost in large posts easily, please be patient with me! Check out my podcast with my VA buddies; Rejected Party Members |
#15
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Firmament Park
Twilight ![]() He keeps gesticulating, his eyes closed now. A vein visibly throbs on his temple. He hums, although there's no tune or rhythm to it - more like a meditation habit. It takes a moment, but Jackie soon hears ... squealing? He looks down and rats are amassing around her, darting out from within bushes and behind bins. They skitter across the paths, gathering around Attaf. He swings an arm out, drifting it across his chest, and the rats sway with the motion. He opens his eyes, looks around, and spots a discarded bag of potato chips drifting lazily along the grass, batted along by a light breeze. He doesn't even gesture, but the rats charge out as if he issued orders, surrounding the bag in a tight circle. "Neat, huh?" Attaf says. "It started with animals. But for a little while I've noticed I can do it with people too. It's more uncomfortable ... people tend to, you know, not like it as much, and I don't blame them ... but possible. I can control it when I meditate a little, make a ritual of it. Just wish I could do this all the time." The rats close the circle, launching on the rubbish and systematically chewing it into long strips. Attaf laughs a little to himself as he silently commands his little army to runs in circles, trailing the strips of shiny foil behind them. Then he make one last gesture, a chopping motion with both hands, and the rats halt. They scatter haphazardly, released from their compulsion. "Sorry, should've asked if you're scared of rats. But it's cool, right? So, you have powers too? What can you do?"
CHARACTERS IN SCENE
SCENE ASPECTS
__________________
STATUS: Gone. Unsure if I can come back.
║ NPSG FORUMS ║ SOLO BAZAAR ║ EXPLOSIVE RUNES ║ SHARE YOUR STAT BLOCK ║ MY GAMES ║ |
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