06-11-2015, 10:37 PM
(From Saturday, June 6th)
The warm evening air welcomed Rhianna as she stepped out of the Bastard's Honor. Pinpricks of light, the first stars of evening, shimmered in the edges of her vision, barely visible. Her eyes passed blindly over them, the cogs of her mind whirring, thoughts racing as she planned her next moves. Two men had already lost their minds and, at this rate, she felt she wouldn't be far behind.
Work on the Primal Aether Collection Manifold, or PACMan, had completed earlier that week and after many long-houred days, Alexander had finally granted her two weeks respite. She hadn't been two days at the Bastard's Honor when the news came of Captain Dogberry's rallying cry for mercenaries to fillet Leviathan again, and THIS time he had a new weapon. She knew Alexander had to be involved in it, but her attempts to contact him were in vain. Despite the knot in her stomach, she'd hoped he was simply lost in research again. If only she were that lucky...
They'd met up with with the "good" Captain at his ship; he was bearing a spear that had a brilliantly glowing gem embedded in it. It was materia unlike any she'd seen outside of Alexander's notes and research; she was certain it was his. Where was he? Why did she know nothing of this weapon's forging? Foreboding had weighed heavily within her as they were escorted by two Maelstrom ships to where they would challenge Leviathan.
The great aether-beast met them on the roiling waves. He coiled around their vessel, causing it to rock dangerously in the water. Massive waves splashed across the deck, mixing with blood, giving the sea foam a pink tint as it washed down the ship's sides. Bones and timbers cracked, fangs snapped, weapons scraped across his shimmering scales and aether burst in fiery explosions as the combat raged on. The beast was weakened, then Captain Dogberry cried out and plunged the spear into Leviathan's heart. The battle was won, but only just.
They had little time to catch their breath and tend the wounded before Dogberry was proclaiming himself the new "Lord of the Whorl" and slew the Maelstrom's emissary sent with them into battle. Even as the group of mercenaries attempted to subdue him, the crazed captain had then called upon his crew to fire upon the Maelstrom's ships. As the Maelstrom gathered their wits and returned fire, the mercenaries managed to subdue the captain and his crew, but not without injuries being sustained on all sides. Much to Rhianna's dismay, Menelwen was among those wounded, but she had no time to deal with it; all their lives were at stake. Rhianna removed her own shirt and began frantically signalling their surrender to prevent the ship and all aboard being sent to the bottom of the dark, cold sea. Their surrender was accepted, the Syldra's Revenge was boarded, and all aboard were taken into custody. Their interrogation began aboard the Maelstrom ship as Captain Dogberry's ship slipped beneath the waves.
Even in chains, Dogberry continued ranting, reaching for his spear. Rhi finally took it, and drawing from her memory of Alexander's notes, shattered the glowing gem attached to it. Already exhausted from the fight with Leviathan, the effort sapped what little energy she had left, but the primal aether within the gem dissipated and, with it, Dogberry's mind seemed to be restored.
With that, they were all sent to the brig; Captain Dogberry and a man named Vash, who claimed to be his First Mate, were in chains. With the assistance of Blake, another medic, they'd managed to patch up Menelwen as Dogberry spilled the information about working with Alexander. Rage filled her, fueling her, giving her a second wind, and by the time they reached port, she was ready to blow out the side of the ship to go find Alexander. As luck would have it, only Dogberry and Vash were deemed threats and retained; the rest were released. Rhi left for Gridania immediately to find Alexander.
Upon reaching her home, she found her servants frantic. Alexander had not been home in several days. Worry and anger warred within her as she headed to his office to look for clues. When the door opened, she could do little more than stand, gaping at the sight. It was a wreck, even for Alexander. The machine they had toiled on day and night for weeks was a near-unrecognizable mess; pieces were missing and others damaged well beyond repair. His notes, all of his notes on the project were incinerated. All, except for a few pages resting on his desk that radiated a slight aetheric signature, warding them from the fate of their fellows.
Rhi grabbed them and started to read. They mentioned a secret project, one he had been working on alongside the PACMan. Using Primal aether, Alexander had been creating a new type of materia; "magicite", he called it. She remembered helping him with some of the early research and theoretical calculations, but she had never realized he had taken it to completion. The containment of Primal aether had a whole new set of problems, but to condense it? He hadn't accounted for all the problems...
She read through his notes. It was clear his mental faculties were degrading, his behavior growing erratic. He wished to protect people from the "unworthy"? A slippery slope. Finally, the words at the end; "Rhianna...stop us."
They pulled at her heart; Alexander was in danger and was counting on her. And yet... the idiot knew he was losing his mind. Why didn't he contact her? Destroy the magicite? Something? At least he had destroyed the collection machine before disappearing into the wilds of Gridania.
Frantically, Rhianna had returned to the Bastard's Honor to inform Menelwen and the others. They'd discussed. They would plan. They would hunt for him. But for now, they had to prepare. Rhianna had preparations of her own to make, people she needed to contact. And so she stepped out into the warm evening air and started to plan.
The warm evening air welcomed Rhianna as she stepped out of the Bastard's Honor. Pinpricks of light, the first stars of evening, shimmered in the edges of her vision, barely visible. Her eyes passed blindly over them, the cogs of her mind whirring, thoughts racing as she planned her next moves. Two men had already lost their minds and, at this rate, she felt she wouldn't be far behind.
Work on the Primal Aether Collection Manifold, or PACMan, had completed earlier that week and after many long-houred days, Alexander had finally granted her two weeks respite. She hadn't been two days at the Bastard's Honor when the news came of Captain Dogberry's rallying cry for mercenaries to fillet Leviathan again, and THIS time he had a new weapon. She knew Alexander had to be involved in it, but her attempts to contact him were in vain. Despite the knot in her stomach, she'd hoped he was simply lost in research again. If only she were that lucky...
They'd met up with with the "good" Captain at his ship; he was bearing a spear that had a brilliantly glowing gem embedded in it. It was materia unlike any she'd seen outside of Alexander's notes and research; she was certain it was his. Where was he? Why did she know nothing of this weapon's forging? Foreboding had weighed heavily within her as they were escorted by two Maelstrom ships to where they would challenge Leviathan.
The great aether-beast met them on the roiling waves. He coiled around their vessel, causing it to rock dangerously in the water. Massive waves splashed across the deck, mixing with blood, giving the sea foam a pink tint as it washed down the ship's sides. Bones and timbers cracked, fangs snapped, weapons scraped across his shimmering scales and aether burst in fiery explosions as the combat raged on. The beast was weakened, then Captain Dogberry cried out and plunged the spear into Leviathan's heart. The battle was won, but only just.
They had little time to catch their breath and tend the wounded before Dogberry was proclaiming himself the new "Lord of the Whorl" and slew the Maelstrom's emissary sent with them into battle. Even as the group of mercenaries attempted to subdue him, the crazed captain had then called upon his crew to fire upon the Maelstrom's ships. As the Maelstrom gathered their wits and returned fire, the mercenaries managed to subdue the captain and his crew, but not without injuries being sustained on all sides. Much to Rhianna's dismay, Menelwen was among those wounded, but she had no time to deal with it; all their lives were at stake. Rhianna removed her own shirt and began frantically signalling their surrender to prevent the ship and all aboard being sent to the bottom of the dark, cold sea. Their surrender was accepted, the Syldra's Revenge was boarded, and all aboard were taken into custody. Their interrogation began aboard the Maelstrom ship as Captain Dogberry's ship slipped beneath the waves.
Even in chains, Dogberry continued ranting, reaching for his spear. Rhi finally took it, and drawing from her memory of Alexander's notes, shattered the glowing gem attached to it. Already exhausted from the fight with Leviathan, the effort sapped what little energy she had left, but the primal aether within the gem dissipated and, with it, Dogberry's mind seemed to be restored.
With that, they were all sent to the brig; Captain Dogberry and a man named Vash, who claimed to be his First Mate, were in chains. With the assistance of Blake, another medic, they'd managed to patch up Menelwen as Dogberry spilled the information about working with Alexander. Rage filled her, fueling her, giving her a second wind, and by the time they reached port, she was ready to blow out the side of the ship to go find Alexander. As luck would have it, only Dogberry and Vash were deemed threats and retained; the rest were released. Rhi left for Gridania immediately to find Alexander.
Upon reaching her home, she found her servants frantic. Alexander had not been home in several days. Worry and anger warred within her as she headed to his office to look for clues. When the door opened, she could do little more than stand, gaping at the sight. It was a wreck, even for Alexander. The machine they had toiled on day and night for weeks was a near-unrecognizable mess; pieces were missing and others damaged well beyond repair. His notes, all of his notes on the project were incinerated. All, except for a few pages resting on his desk that radiated a slight aetheric signature, warding them from the fate of their fellows.
Rhi grabbed them and started to read. They mentioned a secret project, one he had been working on alongside the PACMan. Using Primal aether, Alexander had been creating a new type of materia; "magicite", he called it. She remembered helping him with some of the early research and theoretical calculations, but she had never realized he had taken it to completion. The containment of Primal aether had a whole new set of problems, but to condense it? He hadn't accounted for all the problems...
She read through his notes. It was clear his mental faculties were degrading, his behavior growing erratic. He wished to protect people from the "unworthy"? A slippery slope. Finally, the words at the end; "Rhianna...stop us."
They pulled at her heart; Alexander was in danger and was counting on her. And yet... the idiot knew he was losing his mind. Why didn't he contact her? Destroy the magicite? Something? At least he had destroyed the collection machine before disappearing into the wilds of Gridania.
Frantically, Rhianna had returned to the Bastard's Honor to inform Menelwen and the others. They'd discussed. They would plan. They would hunt for him. But for now, they had to prepare. Rhianna had preparations of her own to make, people she needed to contact. And so she stepped out into the warm evening air and started to plan.