Nothing can possibly go wrong

[ezra_pyreborn]

Who: Ezra, Anyone
When: A day after arrival
What: Ezra is learning about the city the best way he knows how: by meddling.

The perimeter around the old library was slowly populated by a combination of well-understood mechanical devices and the strange light-emitting fixtures Ezra discovered. They provided illumination without fire, when powered by whatever tame lightning courses through the city's ley lines, and he was intensely interested. Ezra was no goblin or gnome, but he understood lightning, and a shielding spell against it allowed him to work safely with these peculiar gadgets.

And what was the purpose of this strange behavior? Simply put, things stopped working when he moved away. But why? Their internal rules suggested they ought to continue. Observation said otherwise. Clearly it was the city. But if there were rules for that, observation would uncover them. He suspected it was a function of inherent magical power, arcane reserves, or something similar, but needed a larger sample size to be sure.

From time to time he withdrew a voluminous tome from a satchel bag slung around his shoulder, taking notes with a quill pen in his crabbed and cranky handwriting. Once the observations of the hour were thus taken, he returned the book to its resting place and resumed his work.

The experiment would serve a secondary purpose. Anyone approaching the library would, naturally, trigger a series of lights and sounds. Should someone decide to sneak in and steal a book without permission, they would be in for a rude awakening. So would the neighbors, of course, but Ezra was interested in discovering if any indeed existed, so it was all for the best.

Comments

[kuromu_dokuro]

Given a collection of traps of various kinds, Chrome could not resist doing her best to get through it without setting anything off. Teenage assassins with illusion powers, what'cha'gon'do? She flipped and bounded, used her spear, used her Mist-flames (aka: illusion powers+*) shield, used her flames to fly as she'd seen the people in the future fly.


*Just...take illusion with a grain of salt. They're called illusions. They're about as traditionally illusory as Japanese Kit-Kats. **
** Canon starts with cursed magical assassin babies and goes sideways from there.

[ezra_pyreborn]

Unaware, the undead wizard continued his studies. A few times he checked on some of his other experiments: similar mechanical implements, meant to give off light and sound, attached to glass vials containing a red fluid.

Only once during the day did he need to refill one of the vials. And it became clear what his source for the stuff was, when he briefly sand-shifted into his living form and sliced open his own arm. His life's blood dripped into the vial until he judged it enough. Satisfied, Ezra tightly wrapped the arm, then shifted back into his charred undead state and moved on.

He would be an easy target, of course. The perimeter was an alarm, not a defense. There were plenty of gaps to exploit.

[kuromu_dokuro]

In time there was a chirping girl's voice from behind him, "Did you set up the traps?" she wondered aloud, her spear no longer in hand. She loved being able to summon and dismiss her weapon. She also liked startling people and face it she was really good at being overlooked until she wanted to be seen.

Especially for someone with brilliant purple hair.

When he did look he'd be greeted with a five-foot tall girl who weighed maybe ninety pounds soaking wet. There was the aforementioned purple hair, an eyepatch with a skull on it, and an olive green Japanese boy's school uniform. She'd been wearing it when she ended up in the city.

[ezra_pyreborn]

It takes working glands to be really startled, but surprise works on anyone with a mind. Ezra was at least quick-witted enough to recover with aplomb. One can always say one stood still while considering a response.

"Yes," he finally answered, and turned slowly, appraising his visitor in the process with his glowing eyes. "But not for anyone motivated enough to bypass them. It's not security, but an experiment."

He tipped his black hat politely. "Ezra L. Pyreborn at your service. Historian and linguist, currently acting librarian." He gestured with a bandaged and black-scarred hand toward the building itself. "Silence and attention to detail make for good readers, should you care to borrow a book."

[kuromu_dokuro]

Chrome bowed politely, "My name is Chrome. Chrome Dokuro. Assassin and Mist user. ...I think I somehow became the police force. Or possibly pest control. The city sends me places to take care of monsters destroying property, but it also gave me a badge."

[ezra_pyreborn]

"Ssome call me monsster. Decide for yourself, yess," the wizard answered, holding up his hands for inspection. Beneath the white stripes, the ruined undead flesh is obvious. "But I would know. What other monsterss have you encountered here? What iss there to fear?"

[kuromu_dokuro]

"I have a skewed perspective on humanoid monsters." Chrome said with a shrug, "My best friends from home had an unfortunate genocidal period, Loki-san of Asgard is my mentor, and my adoptive brother spent ten years without a heart. You're not even the first bandage-wrapped corpse that I've met, although if you're Vindice we'll probably end up fighting." she held grudges like trees held sap and the Vindice were not her favourite people, "You're not running around killing people and causing property damage, so you're not a monster to me.

"I mean, if you start doing so I'll stop you. Apparently that's what I get paid for now, and all. Until then, though." she shrugged, "Eh. Live and let live. Or whatever."

[ezra_pyreborn]

"I've fortunately killed nobody in quite awhile, and it iss alwayss a regrettable necessity, yess. Redemption iss my preferred outcome, always. Not alwayss possible, but always preferred."

Ezra thought a moment. "I know nothing of these 'Vindice', but.. I am gratified in a sense that I am not sso foreign to you. Otherss in this place are not as accepting of the undead."

[kuromu_dokuro]

"Well, we've definitely established the fact that you've got the moral high-ground. I'll kill almost anyone for the right price." She beamed up at him, "I'm widely considered somewhat weird, so dealing with undead people is just kind of par for course." it was light and chipper and bright.

[ezra_pyreborn]

"The Forsaken... having the moral high ground.. hur hur.. huehahaha..." The laughter itself was hideous, but the spirit behind it no less light.

"You, I should want to exhibit before those sself-righteous zealotsss, the Scarlet Crusade, yess. That would be mosst amusing."

He calmed down somewhat. "But perhapss there are no monsters here yet. Perhapss this is not the place for ssuch creaturess to exist. If the hunter has no quarry, what does she do, eh?"

[kuromu_dokuro]

She joined in the laughter because it was light in spirit; hers a "Ku fu fu fu fu fu fu fu fu fu fu!" that chirped like a little bird, "What are the Scarlet Crusade?" danger Will Robinson, answer one question for Mist and you'll be answering questions forever.

"Oh, no, there have been plenty of monsters. Last night I spent three hours chasing down lizards bigger than me that kept eating pieces of buildings. It was okay until they started ganging up on me...I'm really glad I learned how to do minor healing magic. I've been here for a couple of weeks and I've been really busy almost every day. It's nice."

[ezra_pyreborn]

"Call on me ssshould you wissh assistance, then, my friend. I have hunted my sshare of sscaled creatures, ho ho.." Ezra chortled at some private joke.

"The Sscarlet Crusade? They are zealots. Fanatics. They osstensibly defend the living, but are obsssessed with purity and fear any hint of 'corruption'. They are madmen, but understandably sso. Their circumstances made them sso, yes."

"My ex-wife joined them for a time. She has ssince had a change of heart, yes."

[kuromu_dokuro]

"Not everything has been scaled." she offered, "There've been birds and animals and all kind of other things. The giant floating jellyfish were fun to hunt. Still, if I need to I'll deputise you to help." maybe, although her voice was perfectly sincere. It wasn't the dead part, it was the adult-man part. She was much, much better with adults than she used to be but it was a work in progress.

"Huh. What do they consider impure and corrupted?" she perched on a table, swinging booted feet like any other teenage girl.

[ezra_pyreborn]

"Me." It was short, sweet, but also incomplete. Ezra elaborated after a moment. "The undead, in general. Alliesss of the undead. Living people who they sussspect to be secretly undead. Living people who may have had contact with the undead. Living people who are not allies of the Scarlet Crusade. Allies, but those who might secretly be enemies. When one category is empty, they move onto the next, because there musst always be enemies."

"That iss why I am curiouss about the fate of the hunter with no quarry."

[kuromu_dokuro]

She made a noise of disdain, "People can be so stupid." was her annoyed decision about the group, "Hate groups are a waste of time." Yes, she killed people for money but that wasn't out of hate. It was just a job.

"Don't think of me as a hunter. I'm not. I only kill for money. Even if I'm doing self-defense I prefer to leave people alive. If there aren't any monsters, eh. That's fine. I don't mind pulling a paycheque for randomly wandering around the streets making sure there isn't any crime. So far there really isn't, you're the second person I've met for the first time."

[ezra_pyreborn]

"I've worked for money, but I've preferred other motivesss," admitted Ezra. "In my condition, hunger, thirsst, and shelter are unnecessary, yes."

He narrowed his eyes slightly. "What is the use of a paycheck in this place, eh?"

[kuromu_dokuro]

"Well, apparently the city wants everyone to have a job," she said wryly, "and I do require food and drink...and while I have slept on the streets and in ruins I very much prefer a bed and hot water."

[ezra_pyreborn]

"And you pay ssomeone in thiss place money for these privilegess? Where does the money go then?" Ezra asked. "Do they ssimply return your money for the privilege of keeping their establishment ssafe?"

"Or.. more likely.. is thiss just another game played by the invisible masster of this city, eh?" This last question was directed not so much to his youthful guest as to the very air around them.

[kuromu_dokuro]

"I have no idea." Chrome said with a laugh, "I'm really just kind of going along with the flow for the moment. A potentially insane person with control over a mostly empty city...well, I suppose it hits my top-ten weirdest things to deal with, but only barely."

[ezra_pyreborn]

"Mine as well," muttered Ezra.

The suspicious mood passed, and he withdraw his thick notebook from the satchel. "Here, then, are my notess for the trapss - or ssignalling devicesss, rather." He carefully separated a page from the binding, then incanted a brief spell over his quill pen. Immediately it began scribing blueprints and instructions.

He rolled up the resulting sheet and presented it. "If you would be sso kind. Take a few from here, if you like. If you ssee these creaturess, place such a device near it and retreat a ssafe distance. Thiss will answer a point of curiosity. Does the city treat ssuch incursionss as partss of itsself, or are they like you and I and will activate ssuch thingss?"

[kuromu_dokuro]

"So far," she said, greedy hands accepting the page full of information because Chrome would always accept information. She'd hunt it out. "so far it's been kind of random. Some do, some don't. More don't, I think. I saw some show up from a portal, it spun and wavered like a mirage. Discretion being the better part of not getting eaten alive I did not try going through to where the giant wolf-things were coming out."

[ezra_pyreborn]

"Interesssting," mused Ezra. "And your disscretion is commendable, yes."

"Regardless, conssider the library a home away from home, should thiss other business become problematic. Wizards on my world are trained to conjure food, water, and shelter for comradess in wartime, and those skillss have not atrophied."

"If you wish to assist me in other ways, record the places and times that you observe portals opening. I pressume you mean portals of magic and transssport, not mere mundane doorways. Perhapss there is some pattern we can discern to the arrival of beings here."

[kuromu_dokuro]

"I'm very, very dedicated to staying alive." she said, with a sweet little smile that had secrets and shadows in it without ever losing any of it's sweetness. "Thank you for the offer, but...well, I don't really care much for adults. Very few are trustworthy, you see. I don't mind sharing information, though. Although I doubt you can read my writing. My people don't even use the same alphabet of pretty much anyone I have met ever since I was plucked away from home."

[ezra_pyreborn]

"Nor am I sspeaking your language now, my friend," Ezra replied with a smile. "The sspell of tonguess and communication providess translation. I have ssimilar magicss for writing, and have used them often. I am a linguist by profession."

[kuromu_dokuro]

"Oh, that's interesting." she said, and she really thought it. Chrome was greedy; she wanted all of the knowledge. Ever. "I'll take notes, then, and drop them off." now and then, at random intervals. Chrome didn't really like having a set schedule. "I guess being in a library makes a lot of sense for you, then."