Active [ Ryke-Ryken City] A day for flowers to bloom???????????????????????????????????

[heartspan]

Out of Character
This roleplay is a part of the Isekai Hell roleplay community in RPnation’s hosted projects. Interested in joining? Click here to find out more.

what to expect from this roleplay: there may or may not be combat. The over all goal is to help a poor and unfortunate girl out of her troubles.

Chapter 1: Everyday Unseen ​

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Market Square intersecting willow and silver-smith streets, Ryken City​

There was a distinct chill to the early spring air, and it cut through Emma's thin and shabby grey dress. Today was a rare day, she had been able to bathe in the river outside town without the usual trouble. The night before she had managed to find really pretty wild Roses, and she thought they would sell well. After all she had spent the entire night arranging them into little Bouquets. She was so excited in fact that she had even worn one of her special just for church dresses. She had combed her normally disheveled auburn hair as best she could with her fingers, and even tried eating something to make her breath not so bad as she worried it was. She felt like a new woman, although she was only eleven, as she stood in one of the market squares that served the less poor area of Ryken city.

It was here she hoped to get money for the medicine her mother so desperately needed. Her mother was so sick that Emma thought she might die soon and cried herself to sleep nearly every night. Emma had long ago run out of the last of her mother's money. Though the men that her mother worked for had been so nice as to bring her a doctor, but that had not been free. Emma was now forced to beg and to sell whatever herbs or flowers she might be lucky enough to find. However, her earnings couldn't all go to food. She had to squirrel away as much as she could to buy the medicine her mother's bosses had promised to have made. The men were so eager to help that they asked every few days if she had gotten the money yet.

Emma really appreciate their kindness, but it really added a lot of stress to her day, and she had begun to dread the days the men would come to visit. Right now though, she stood with her pretty bouquets in her large wicker basket, and whenever anyone walked past she would hold out one of the bouquets and proudly ask if they'd like one.

" Excuse me, sir, might I offer you a hand made bouquet?" She'd ask the gentlemen

" Madame, Madame, would you care to buy a hand made bouquet?" She'd ask the ladies.

She tried her best to give a warm smile, though she was careful not to show her stained and dirty teeth. She would never stand too close, so that they couldn't smell the river on her, nor the scent of her cheap soap. She was always polite, even more than normal, and she was careful not to let them see her puffy eye lids from her night of inevitable crying. Her honey colored eyes swept the street looking for buyers, and filled with a longing for times that were not near so tough, those same eyes often just found the ground. Emma was not an ugly girl, or so her momma had often said. Very pretty indeed; those were the exact words used. Emma sure didn't feel pretty after seeing the sort of looks she would often get, even today in her prettiest clothes. Still she kept on doing her very best, a lot was riding on her little shoulders after all.

 

[Irihi]

Spoiler: OOC: Irihi’s Goal

Lay waste.

Irihi Spokelse
​

Equipped Titles: Dead, Fae, Wanted by the Eastern Empire
Mentions: heartspan

“Just… putcher hand onna stone, lady.” The guard sighed as the pale leaf-ear stood glaring at him, arms folded. Why did he always manage to pick the orneriest travellers to single out for enhanced screening? She hadn’t looked it; this svelte elfmaid, travelling alone, cloaked and hooded against the glaring sun. He’d thought, for sure, she’d just mutely put her digits on the Black Orb, maybe startle a little at the roughness of his brusque guardsman’s voice. Then he could offer up a little softer word of comfort and welcome to Ryke that might net him a shy elfish smile.

That was how he added a little fun to these interminable gate orb shifts. Oh, certainly, he was careful to pick out the shady characters who looked like bandits or rogues--the shifty ones who might have reason to avoid the all-seeing [Appraisal] of the orb. Those, he questioned with one hand on the pommel of his sword. But--when traffic was slow and everyone looked upstanding--cuties like this one; they were just supposed to be a little bright spot in his day.

They were not supposed to be a venomous skwitch whose glare made him feel like chill fingers were slowing constricting about his throat. “Why should I need your permission to traipse through this warren of sticks, pebbles, and dung you’ve so inconsiderately piled up in my path?” Irihi inquired, crossly, making no move to comply.

It took a moment for the guardsman to realize she was referring to Ryke, and talking as if she blamed him, personally, for the offense of the city having been built in a place that obstructed her walk. While he was still scratching his head at that one, the elfmaid made as if to continue on.

Well no, an insult--even such a creative one--was no substitute for [Appraisal] once a guard had singled a traveller out. The guardsman moved to block Irihi’s path. ”I can’t let yew in without an appraisal, mam,” the guard tried to sound apologetic. The last thing he needed was a ribbing from his fellows about the little elven skwitch that he had to clap in irons. ”...just let me scan yew, please,”

Irihi stopped, her feathery brows twitching just a millimeter closer together, in a sign that the wheel of the elfwitch’s whim had been set into motion. It ticked past a quite a large number of lethal pegs, skipped over insults and threats that would certainly have led to deadly confrontation, and landed on simple bemusement. Irihi rolled her eyes and--to the guardsman’s infinite relief--unfolded an arm to place her wickedly-nimble fingers upon the Black Orb. No criminal title appeared, though this slip of a fae seemed to be wanted by the Eastern Empire. {{“There was a time, when the weight of all that I have done would have crushed your seeing stone to powder,”}} Irihi sneered.

The guardsman decided he was going to pretend he didn’t understand the elfmaid’s heavily-accented Sylvan, because a comment like that meant mandatory detention.

“We got a problem here?” His partner left the alcove where he stood sentinel and walked over.

The guardsman waved his partner back. “No, she’s good; you have a nice day, now, mam,” he said as he stepped back. As the cloaked elfmaid walked on, the guardsman felt a trickle of icy cold sweat run down his spine.

Once in the Marketplace
As she trod the streets and reached a dusty marketplace intersection, Irihi did, indeed, see her every day; in every city that she did not level; in every castle whose great stones she left stacked one upon the other; in every hamlet through which she passed without burning the meagre lives within to ash; urchin, guttersnipe, mudlark.

Where were her parents? Killed or laid low, no doubt, by some incompetent murderer, affliction, or war that left the waif behind to suffer under the weight of survivor--to labor vainly on, extending her painful days into years of pointless, painful toil, in homage to a family long laid to rest.

Irihi stopped before the little ragamuffin. She was young, and though her station was lowly--though her life was already beginning to drain down the gutters that were her hearth and home--there was potential within her still. The elfwitch gazed down archly at the filthy hand extending the field-plucked flowers, now wilting in the afternoon sun and dust of the sewer-streets. Slowly, Irihi bent down and it seemed as though this elfmaid--so small in perceptible stature--were some monstrous titan, slowly crouching to peer at the teeming filth of the world that dwelt beneath the ceiling of stars and clouds. Down, down, closer and yet closer still until she drew level with the girl who might, if she were a perceptive soul, unconsciously shrink back with unnamable unease.

Why have I stopped? the elfwitch wondered to herself. She never volunteered to parlay with children. Seven millennia was not long enough to soothe the wounds left in her soul from the time when her masters had given her no choice in the matter. What is it, about this girl, that has piqued my interest?

She was unremarkable; one of the countless frogspawn of these stinking, offal-flinging, hooting, hairless baboons. Irihi could blink, and the balance of her years would be spent--even if she lived to be eldest and wisest of the slime, which seemed unlikely, given her present state of deprivation. She had mousey brown hair the color of rust-tainted dirt, amber eyes, and the gaunt haunted thinness of a lost fawn separated from the herd. She, no doubt, attracted predators--mostly of her own kind, it seemed, for Irihi spotted the half-concealed weals and bruises from bullies’ thrown stones or gasping fingers.

Is that why I have stopped? No, Irihi decided, she was not hunting for prey. As attractive as the balance of the girl’s years’ potential was, the necromancer had not pulled from that macabre source of power since…

…that was it. It was her age; teetering on the cusp of adolescence. Desperate, starving childhood behind, depraved hardscrabble soul-crushing adulthood ahead.

It was the age he would be.

She stood out, to Irihi, like a roadside cairn; terrible and devastating just by the very blythe innocence of her existence. The girl’s life lanced through her unbeating heart with loss sharper and deeper than any other.

She’s alone, like he’s alone.

There were ever hordes of brats around these dung heaps the mortals called towns. Irihi eschewed them whenever she could, but when they stood singly? Alone? Vulnerable? Emma was a lighthouse beacon, stabbing at Irihi with a finger-beam that beckoned, accused, and warned the elfwitch all at once.

I have missed so much.
With her soul, I could open the portal--miss not one moment more.

“You could topple kings, child, if I took you,” Irihi said with a cool dispassion belied by the intensity of her violet gaze. “Where are your masters? With what yokes do they bind you? Irihi asked, disregarding the offer of wild roses for sale. ”Would you like me to free you from them?” she inquired almost idly--with a disinterest that seemed far less forced than it was.

 

[Tau]

Aimi

Active Companions​

Spoiler: Fencer

Personality Guide: Protective, aloof, curious, dumb, emotionally unstable

A loyal bodyguard built by Aimi; overzealous in protecting her. Occasionally displays wild mood swings, especially when her nature as a construct disturbs people. Wishes to become human, but hides this from Aimi.

​

heartspan Irihi

Optional Personal Goal: Acquire a small workshop asset maybe?

Ryke was no stranger to odd-looking folks, being the so-called melting pot of the world. Even so, the two couldn’t help but draw eyes as they strode past the buildings. A young woman who, be it through natural coincidence or intention, was made to resemble a construct, and a construct who was made to resemble a young woman. A bizarre combination that blurred the lines between man and machine.

It was plain at a glance that the two were related to each other in some way, even if it was far less clear how. The two shared similar height, similar flashy hair highlights, similar style of clothing, and probably most compelling, were walking close to each other. Uncomfortably close, actually…

"Fencer, what logic led you to calculate this as a reasonable distance between us for travel?" Aimi finally voiced her frustration after bonking into her guard for the third time in a couple minutes. "And sheath your sword. The probably of an attack in the middle of a well-guarded area is negligible." On the flip side, it was wonderful to see the sentience protocol hadn’t messed with Fencer’s primary function. If anything, it seemed to have enhanced it to the point of excess.

As they continued walking, Aimi quietly explained her plans, "If there is a threat, I would suggest limiting your use of force. That sword is suboptimal, but it will have to last until I can create one with enough strength to match your own. That said, light force should be more than enough to kill anyone you have to."

Aimi wasn’t particularly subtle or quiet with this advice, and her timing couldn’t have been worse. The two had just passed the corner into the market, where a couple guards were perfectly positioned to hear her sage advice on how to go about killing people. She noticed a few dirty looks coming their way, and quickly added, "Hypothetically, of course…" Hopefully, Fencer’s aesthetically innocent design would serve its function.

Ordinarily, Aimi had paid no mind to the young flower girl. This, however, was a special case. Statistically, there was a strong correlation between the ideas ‘flower’ and ‘peace.’ So for once, the girl was able to offer her something useful. "One bouquet," Aimi ordered, paying the girl and thrusting the bouquet of flowers into Fencer’s hands. "Hold this and do your best to appear like—" Aimi’s eyes drifted to the ominous elf, who’d just blatantly invoked insurrection. Great. "—the opposite of this woman."

 

[Cutiefly]

Dr. Renji Yoshida​

Height: 6ft (183cm)
Titles: Human, Mad Scientist

Spoiler: Titles

Racial:
Human - Normal human, plain and featureless. A blank slate full of potential.

Skill Related:
Mad Scientist - The owner has experimented on others before and won't hesitant to do so. Be aware.

Stats:
Strength | F Grade
Precision | E Grade
Intelligence | D Grade
Vitality | D Grade
Speed | F Grade
Color: #008080 | Link to Sheet

Abilities Active: N/A - will be spoilered if ability
Abilities Used: N/A - will be spoilered if ability
Passives:
Regeneration | F Grade | 6 Posts
Composed | F Grade | 6 Posts
Resilient [Fear, Aging] | F Grade
Possessions:

Spoiler: Equipment

• Reinforced Lab Coat [Heavy Armor] | F Grade | 7 Points
  • Lab coat reinforced with some type of armor. That's it.
• Handgun | F Grade | 7 Points
  • Gun for self defense. Nothing special.

The geezer wasted no time trying to gauge others in this place. Nobody matched his ideal specimen to experiment with. They all seemed to be majorly unfit for his experiments. If he could maybe fetch a human or draconian, then maybe his research would go tenfold, but here he was. Stuck like this for a bit, as he had no way of setting up a base to conduct his research, not to mention no way of managing to capture somebody. They all had magic and the ability to defend themselves.

So, he strolled into the square. Nobody else was interesting till he saw a kid selling flowers nearby. Just this young kid... no older than what that kid he experimented on was when he first did. The one that changed everything. A chance to start again. The blonde-haired man approached, opting to try to deceive the child into coming with him. Then suddenly he noticed somebody familiar. That elf lady from that other place. The one that wanted to destroy.

“Speak of a small world and you show up again. Irihi.” He said as he spoke to her, his calmness in his voice. He then glanced at the small child. “What is a kid like you doing out here, selling flowers? You should be out playing with your friends.”

He didn’t notice the other person in the group yet, or if he did, he paid them no mind. This kid was more important for now.

Irihi Tau heartspan

 

[heartspan]

Fencer​

The city streets were crowded, the sky was crowded, even the very smells of the place were crowded. Everywhere was crowded, and because of this Fencer walked as close to Aimi as she deemed possible without outright glomping onto the adorable, sweet, and sacred being known as Aimi. Her beautifully crafted glass blade was clutched in her delicate yet durably constructed hands. A fact that caused more than one dirty look to cross the faces Fencer scanned for signs of threat as the pair walked through the city.

" It's very crowded here." Fencer replied to Aimi's inquiry.

As Aimi continued Fencer turned to look at her creator, her head cocking ever so slightly as she registered the information Aimi was giving her.

" Understood, I will limit my use of force to 99.999999999999999999% of my maximum." she said in compliance to her new orders as she slid her glass blade home in it's sheath.

Fencer did not ascribe any importance to the dirty looks the pair received as they spoke. Her entire attention was currently devoted to her creator. Well, to her creator and to the potential of imminent combat that existed at all times and in all places, so far as Fencer was concerned. However, as Aimi handed her the small bouquet of flowers she could feel her internal temperature rising unexpectedly and was forced to take a full step closer to Aimi in response.

So far as Fencer was concerned this was the only natural response to such a change in her physical parameters, but this only caused her to bump awkwardly into her creator just as Aimi had finished admonishing her.

Chapter 2: Friends? Enemies?? Frenemies??? ​

---

Market Square intersecting willow and silver-smith streets, Ryken City​

Emma had simply offered her the flowers, but the elven woman peered at her as if she had done all the sinning in the world. Violet eyes peered into her, tore through her, and left her feeling chilled and embarrassed. The way they coldly appraised her made her want to throw down her flowers and run all the way back home, or even better to the nearest church. However, her legs refused to carry her anywhere. They had frozen in terror without Emma ever realizing it. Now, she was forced by lack of inner fortitude to face this very clear threat.

When the woman spoke, her voice was cool and dispassionate, the words seemed incomprehensible to the fear addled wits of the little moppet. She couldn't form a proper response, her mouth having long since run dry and her mind fogged over with fright. She could feel a warm wetness trickle down her legs as she stood frozen, eyes locked on the elf-maid. Then as if sent by heaven itself a savior appeared. Another beautiful girl had somehow appeared despite this very real danger.

The woman with her vibrant hair and strange doll like companion snatched up the flowers in her hand as if nothing at all was wrong in all the world. Yet, all the while Emma wanted to cry, to hide behind this new potential ally. Yet, before she could even say anything a third person showed up. Tall and well proportioned, he gave off the impression of a predator to Emma, another very clear danger. He greeted the elf woman as if they were old friends and Emma's heart truly sank, and when he spoke to Emma it was the final straw.

she dropped into a crouch and tears began streaming from her eyes. She covered her head with her arms as if she were about to be struck, her basket discarded on the street.

" P..p..please don't h-hurt me. I'm jus try'n ta help my momma." she sobbed as her terror overwhelmed her. " S..she's r-real si..sick.."

All the while curious glances drifted over to the little company, and hushed whispers trickled over to them from those passing by or watching with mild interest. Even so, not a single person seemed remotely interested in getting involved. To those gathered about the little company this was just some entertainment. Just a thing to break up the monotony of their day.



Irihi Tau Cutiefly

 

[Irihi]

Irihi Spokelse

​

Equipped Titles: Dead, Fae, Wanted by the Eastern Empire
Mentions: @cutifly, Tau , heartspan

Two more of these ephemeral dandelion-fluff human mortals gathered--one that presumed to know her (ha!) and another that directed an oblique insult at her as she approached, in the company of her clearly-artificial escort. While Emma whimpered in terror and wet herself, Irihi regarded the newcomers archly.

The female monkey-person managed to transact with the ragamuffin before the latter dissolved into a fear-stricken wreck. The woman of faintly glowing hair--and her armed doll--seemed to stand a bit apart from the filth of this feudal street. When Aimi decorated Fencer with the field flowers and told her to look less scary, a corner of Irihi’s lips quirked upward. “I have heard of lipstick on a pig, dearheart, but lipstick on a shark?” she sniffed and turned her attention to Fencer. “You’re a toothy little fish, aren’t you?” Irihi commented, before inclining her head ever-so-slightly to the pair, in what might have been--with the liberal application of LOTS of imagination--a ghost of a curtsey. “Irihi Spokelse,” the elfwitch introduced herself, then decided to continue speaking to the more artificial of the pair. “Your mistress seems to wish to mask those murderous impulses of yours; mores the pity.” Irihi’s smile spread entirely across her features. “I’d not burden you so.” Her gaze shifted from Fencer to Aimi and her eyes narrowed and nose wrinkled with the dimples of a momentary smirk that spoke volumes.

Yet another gibbering hairless gibbon demanded her attention, and so it turned, inexorably, upon Renji. “I know you.” There was no reason for the feeling, but it was there all the same; the feeling of titanic slabs of granite grinding together, the powder of ages sifting down between the immense obelisks.

But no, it was only the small pearly bone-white teeth of the necromancer that ground together.
“I walked with you, once”

upon

a

dream.”

And that was all the sorceress had to say to the man. Introductions had already been made, he had taken some infinitesimal portion of her measure. Yes, Irihi wanted to destroy. That was all the filth needed to know. Any more, and the few neurons rattling around inside their empty skulls might fizzle and fuse with the horror of the revelation.

Speaking of which…

The waif cowering beneath her--the only one of these hooting apes that Irihi did NOT want showing her the proper deference--was hiding under the ineffective shield of her hands and crying. The flower girl was, herself, a veritable bouquet of scents. While none of them would be described as “pleasant”, the acrid stench of ammonia gave lie to the abject fear of imminent death that had--understandably--seized her.

Irihi did not have a maternal bone in her body, nor could could she fashion one from the grey ash of her victims the dead. Still, boundless ire was a substitute for nearly all else in her life; why not this as well?

Lowering herself further (why?), Irihi crouched beside Emma. The motion was supposed to dispel the implied threat of a monstrous adult towering over a tiny child. However, in Irihi’s case, it gave more of the impression of a pit viper following the fleeing bunny down into its warren.

“Dearheart,” she began in a softer tone--laced with as little malice (there was still quite a lot) as she could muster-- ”I shall not allow any harm to come to you, in my presence.” That was not an easy feat, for this tiny fragile soul was beset by a number of afflictions that Irihi’s very nature would--if she did not restrain it--inflame until they consumed her vitality and burned her thin-candle wick life to a fading cinder.

“I am a witch, and I have spells that can stop your mother from dying,” and many, many more that can permanently end her suffering, Irihi did not give voice to the thoughts that accompanied her offer. “Why don’t you take me to her?” the elfwitch suggested.

Irihi was surprised to find that her words were not spoken in deception. Something about this little rag-picker stirred one of those worthless vestiges of her lost mortality; compassion. It was a vice she did not often indulge. Well, perhaps her family’s plight will be so hopeless, it will finally burn this vile feeling out of me, once-and-for-all, Irihi thought to herself.

 

[Tau]

Aimi

Active Companions​

Spoiler: Fencer

Personality Guide: Protective, aloof, curious, dumb, emotionally unstable

A loyal bodyguard built by Aimi; overzealous in protecting her. Occasionally displays wild mood swings, especially when her nature as a construct disturbs people. Wishes to become human, but hides this from Aimi.

​

heartspan Irihi​

Aimi threw Fencer a tired look. It was really on her for assuming her new creation was intelligent enough to calculate the correct level of force on her own. Then again, it was fortunate she'd discovered this ineptitude now, in a controlled environment. "67%," Aimi corrected. "That's the specific limitation of that sword. Anymore, and you risk breaking it." Glancing at the blade, which was finally no longer threatening those around them, she added, "It wouldn't be an expensive loss, but we'll be much safer if you continue to have a weapon."

Bump~

Aimi turned and gave Fencer a strange look, waiting for words that never came. She'd have to give her motor functions an inspection later.

The ominous elf was a mystery. Perhaps, she was suffered from a creepy look. Aimi knew more than most not to judge based on looks. And yet, she words plainly betrayed a very domineering personality to match the look. The implication of her words was fairly obvious, if one understood the idiom. Nevertheless, the metaphor had some issues that needed to be corrected...

"Sharks are not typically aggressive towards humans. Most shark species are either uninterested in humans or actively avoid them. Shark attacks are rare and usually happen due to mistaking a swimmer for prey, such as a seal. Many sharks are curious and may investigate humans, but actual attacks are uncommon. In fact, many species of sharks are quite timid and will flee when approached. However, it’s important to exercise caution in the ocean. Please consult an expert before diving near a shark's habitat to ensure a safe and fun diving experience."

...

"Uhm... but thanks for the feedback..." Aimi added, trying to add a bit of humanity back into the conversation after going full 'chatbot mode' for a moment. Since becoming human, she'd noticed that this was rarely ever received well. Humans expected human conversations. Stuttering, mistakes, hesitation, ignorance... oh, and especially emotions. Those were hard to include, when correcting misinformation.

If the elf wasn't devious enough already, now she was testing Fencer's loyalty. Irihi Spokelse, as she called herself, was precisely the sort of person Aimi would relocate to a dissent suppression camp, if she were still in charge of governance. For now, she was someone else's problem and, on a personal level, served as a valuable test of Fencer's loyalty in a relatively safe environment. Thus, Aimi let it happen and simply witnessed the result.

Unfortunately, another arrived that only terrified the girl further. At this point, a pattern was forming, and she half-expected the next arrival to try and eat the girl or something. Aimi had received plenty of data relating to things such as maternal comfort, so it should be simple enough to emulate.

Step forward.
Smile.
Gently place hand on (Target of affection: Emma)'s head.
Stroke head of (Target of affection: Emma).
Speak in calm and measured tone.
"There there, it'll be okay."
Extend arm to offer hug.
If hug accepted:

Gently hug (Target of affection: Emma).​

Else:

Maintain respectable distance, display emotional harm to increase chance of acceptance.
If hug attempts less than two:

Jump to: Extend arm to offer hug.​

Apply empathy.
"Poor thing... it must be so hard. I'm here for you..."
Suggest solution to problem.
"Would you like me to come with you? I should be able to transform your mother into an immortal construct."

 

[Cutiefly]

Dr. Renji Yoshida​

Height: 6ft (183cm)
Titles: Human, Mad Scientist

Spoiler: Titles

Racial:
Human - Normal human, plain and featureless. A blank slate full of potential.

Skill Related:
Mad Scientist - The owner has experimented on others before and won't hesitant to do so. Be aware.

Stats:
Strength | F Grade
Precision | E Grade
Intelligence | D Grade
Vitality | D Grade
Speed | F Grade
Color: #008080 | Link to Sheet

Abilities Active: N/A - will be spoilered if ability
Abilities Used: N/A - will be spoilered if ability
Passives:
Regeneration | F Grade | 6 Posts
Composed | F Grade | 6 Posts
Resilient [Fear, Aging] | F Grade
Possessions:

Spoiler: Equipment

• Reinforced Lab Coat [Heavy Armor] | F Grade | 7 Points
  • Lab coat reinforced with some type of armor. That's it.
• Handgun | F Grade | 7 Points
  • Gun for self defense. Nothing special.

Renji only deeply sighed as the girl cowered in fear at his presence. He was intimidating, sure, but this small child didn’t want to be near him. That much was obvious. Many others were terrified of him after all, but he wasn’t the type of person to show empathy towards anyone, instead he just watched. Typical of this kid to be afraid of me. Even more so to go cry for affection points from the others. Do all kids do this?

“Child, I have no intention of hurting you.” He said, honestly. He really didn't have any intention of doing so. Renji just wanted to protect the kid, or at least help her. Then he noticed another approach and tried to soothe the child. He had no attention of joining in to help with affection. Irihi had her own ideas on how to help.

“You’re both shortsighted. I can make her more powerful beyond her wildest dreams.” He spoke honestly. “And I can make you just as powerful.” Whether she wanted it or not. If he had to, he’d take her by force. He’d kidnapped enough people for his experiments, after all. The end justified the means.

After all, these people would be stupid to stop his future plans when all he wanted was progress.

Irihi Tau heartspan

 

[heartspan]

Fencer​

Fencer turned her attention to Irihi as the elf woman spoke to her.

" I assure you I am no shark." Fencer declared " I am unit designation Fencer. An automaton lovingly crafted by the glorious creator who is known as Aimi. You may feel as if you should bow before the creator who stands before us, just as I do elf-girl. I will permit it."

The entire time Fencer spoke with the elf she subtly pressed up against Aimi.

" I assure you there is nothing greater than being in service to the lovely creator." Fencer continued " Even that human male might be permitted to serve......."

Seeing that the conversation had moved on without her, Fencer initiated shut_the_fuck_up_time.exe, but she was aghast when she saw Aimi petting the little human. This caused her to emit a whining sound from her library, one that mimicked the mewling of a distress girlfriend. All the while she nuzzled onto Aimi, or what she felt passed for nuzzling considering her poor understanding of humans.

Chapter 3: Unexpected Kindnesses ​

---

Market Square intersecting willow and silver-smith streets, Ryken City​

Emma did her absolute best not to shiver in terror as the elf-woman spoke to the others, but no matter how hard she tried her tears didn't seem to have an end. That was until she heard a bit of rustling followed by words she didn't dare to hope were true. Her mind reeled and raced at the thought of a witch that could heal her mother, but witches were supposed to be bad, that was what she had been taught. Before she could really comprehend the implications of these conflicting thoughts, nor make a decision on them she was inundated with affection. A warm hand patted her head and a sweet voice told her that everything was gonna be ok, and this was followed by a stern male voice promising not to harm her.

Emma didn't dare to look up at them as they spoke, but when they talked of making her momma super powerful and immortal she couldn't help but let out a sugary giggle.

" That's silly, momma and me is just humans." she suddenly spoke without meaning to, lost in the amusement of her thoughts.

Her eyes widened and her head snapped up, her eyes locking on Irihi's as her hands covered her mouth. When no immediate rebuke came she quietly offered an apology. She knew better than to speak out in the company of adults. When still no words of rebuke followed she began to relax and to feel embarrassed. A bright flush alighted on her cheeks, and she quickly and shyly offered an apology to Renji, Aimi, and Fencer too. Then at last her attention turned back to Irihi.

" Can you really help my momma?" she asked her voice tinted with hope, wonder, and not too little fear. " Aren't witches supposed to be the bad guys?"

Her last comment squeaked out in a hesitant croak. After all, emma didn't dare to anger a witch.

---

Mathias and Delt were just beginning their patrol of the willow street market when they chanced on the sketchiest sight. Three grown adults, and an automaton all engaged in the harassment of some damn street kid. Mathias, a man in his late thirties, had seen this often enough in his years in the guard. The kid was most likely a pick pocket and was just facing justice for what they'd done. He was just about to say that very thing when Delt drew his short sword.

Delt was just a nineteen year old rooky from a good family. Delt had no idea what he was involving them in, but judging by the look of the three, Mathias knew it was going to be a shit load of trouble. Yet, before he could place a hand on Delt's forearm to stall his comrade, Delt fired off.

" Hey you three!" Delt's voice boomed out like thunder " What are you doing! Leave that kid alone!"

not wanting to abandon his partner Mathias Drew his sword as well. This sudden activity caused the bystanders lurking about to suddenly have a lot of other things to do.

Irihi Cutiefly Tau

 

[Irihi]

Irihi Spokelse

​

Equipped Titles: Dead, Fae, Wanted by the Eastern Empire
Mentions: @cutifly, Tau , heartspan

Both human and construct certainly were unduly wordy; such a radical departure from the long silent contemplations of Mister TonDen. Irihi decided she preferred less words and slower reactions. But things are as they are, I suppose.

Irihi had little experience with tech, or personalities used to the rapid-fire communication that exposure to technological societies brought. It had almost been unheard-of in Arcane, and even Nexus had measured power more by steam and mechanics than by information. The necromancer had gathered that this world seemed to be a kind of dustbin for souls ejected from other places. The natives, she had encountered thus far, were backwards hominids, beasts, fae, and perverse mixtures of the three; similar to the denizens of her world. However, she had encountered a few of these Isekai from techy places. Both of the other two women seemed to conform to that archetype.

Not my favorite. she thought as she looked up at the pair through narrowed eyes. Tau “You are welcome.” she said, when Aimi thanked her for her observations, then she listened to Renji while the human woman offered some rather robotic comfort to the crying child.

@cutifly “Do not. She is a child, with the mind of a child.” Irihi warned the doctor, when he said he could make Emma powerful. “There is nothing more pure and cruel in this world, or any other.” Irihi snorted and disregarded the madman when he extended his offer to her and the other women.

The elfwitch turned her attention back to Emma, who now gazed at her with soulful watery amber eyes. The urchin, rallied by Aimi’s aid, stammered out a question. The question was not what froze Irihi’s unmoving blood in her deadened veins, but rather the bravery and love that forced the words out in the face of her fear.

heartspan The sight of hope dawning on this mother’s daughter’s face was a lance through Irihi’s coal-black heart.

Why do I do this to myself?

she thought, as she swallowed against an ashen throat suddenly gone dry. Irihi’s malice drained away--like a wave pulling back from the seashore--exposing the fragile hollow shell at the bottom of her ocean of ire. “I can.” She whispered her answer to Emma, her violet eyes misting along with the child’s, in shared hope. No, not shared--shown… and desired--for Irihi wanted, needed , that childish hope. Ravenously. “I am,” she truthfully confirmed Emma’s fearful inquiry, and then lied through her perfect bone-white teeth “but not to you or your mother, dear child.”

“It is your choice, little one.” Irihi forced herself to straighten and step back from the girl. It was hard. She hungered for, and wanted to consume that little flame of filial love. She couldn’t, of course, any more than a ghost could feast upon a banquet; Emma’s hope was not for Irihi--but the elfwitch could take pleasure in twisting the knife that it stabbed into her. But enough, for now, give the girl some space, she told herself. After all, such torment was much sharper and more deliciously painful when self-inflicted in small doses.

Her ire still at ebb tide, the elfwitch made note of the insistent way Fencer attached herself to her mistress; seemingly jealous even of Aimi’s awkward attempts to console Emma. Would it be gratifying or annoying to have such a pretty golem so attached to my own apron strings? she wondered, idly. Irihi had peeled Mister TonDen from his mistress, but that nightmarish war machine had developed some deep-seated resentment of being the pet she had made him, and it had been quite the chore to teach his deep cool consciousness to hate. Fencer seemed much less stable; a dangling damoclean sword, kept from violence only by the fraying string of a line or two of code, or her mistress’s will. “Duly noted, dearheart,” Irihi replied, when Fencer said she would permit Irihi to worship her mistress.

Speaking of violence…

The tide of the elfwitch’s malice could not be held back for long, and now it surged forth like the crest of a wave hurling itself onto shore, pouring over, and sweeping flat, the sand castles and towns before it. A convenient pair of tin-plated baboons seemed ready to brave the flood. Irihi’s gaze flicked to Mathias and Delt as the guardsmen came storming toward the little gathering, swords at the ready. Irihi smiled a sharky grin and folded her arms. “And what, I wonder, will you permit for fools who threaten your mistress?” She inquired of Fencer.

Irihi had a suggestion, which she now offered the construct. “Death, perhaps?”

 

[Scoopy Catnip]

Sue Watanabe

​

heartspan​

Despite the cool air, the sun made Sue sweat as she hauled a bundle of animal pelts on her back on the way to sell the loot at the marketplace a ways away from her neighboring hamlet. She reflected on how long it had taken to reach the city. She even had to make rest stops at comfy looking checkpoints along the way, having slept under bridges and large plants just to stay out of view of other travelers. Sue was, to say the least, very weary of strangers. Back when she first met the neighbors in the hamlet close to her home camp, she was extremely cautious. It had already taken her a while to find the nerve to go meet them. Days, in fact, she spent sitting on the hilltop watching them from afar, studying their habits. It wasn't until the week was almost over that she worked up the courage to go meet somebody.

But when it came to the open rode, all bets were off. They wouldn't be as friendly as the people next door, she reckoned. Lots of them were strange, inhuman looking, and even though the hamlet dwellers taught her a valuable lesson about judging a book by its cover, she still knew that meeting anyone she met out there in the new world meant taking a gamble. There was only one reason she came all the way out this far. To make her paycheck.

She remembered the village elder's words as she wiped the salty sweat from her hot brow. It was mostly body heat generated from all the exercise. She wasn't at all used to walking this far.

"That's where you'll find everything you're looking for, Suey! The path might be long, but if you know what you're after, there's no way you'll give up! So get out there and sell those animal hides! And don't forget to check around for Wanted posters. You never know who you'll find out there! I know you have what it takes to make it big."

The elder was certainly dramatic for a some kind of shriveled up, fuzzy purple creature with horns. Talking like he knew her or something. She sighed just thinking about it. Well, at least he was nice. She'd done good business with the hamlet for a little while, so all she could do was trust their words. A wave of relief fell over her body as she glimpsed the first sight of the marketplace. Finally, she dropped her stuff, taking a seat under a nice, tall shady tree for a bit. She had to let the breeze take care of the sweat for a minute.

She watched all kinds of people pass by as she rested and prepared herself to make her way in. She gathered up her supplies once more and strode up to the gate, checking to see if there was entryway security or any kind of hindrance like a processing fee for selling goods. Her best bet was probably to blend in with the crowds walking in, so she could get in easily. She took note of her surroundings, for however she'd get in she would see a scene unfold around a shop seeming to be run by a little girl wearing dirty clothes, surrounded by a kerfuffle involving some strange looking individuals and a pair of guards with drawn swords. Would her instincts keep her from getting too close, or would curiosity get the better of her? Sue kept her eyes peeled, especially as she got near to the marketplace entrance.

 

[Tau]

Aimi

Active Companions​

Spoiler: Fencer

Personality Guide: Protective, aloof, curious, dumb, emotionally unstable

A loyal bodyguard built by Aimi; overzealous in protecting her. Occasionally displays wild mood swings, especially when her nature as a construct disturbs people. Wishes to become human, but hides this from Aimi.

​

heartspan Irihi Cutiefly Scoopy Catnip​

Aimi’s eyes met the strange man, who seemed to share her own cold, analytical mindset. "I’d prefer this girl’s imagination not to be a limiting factor…" she answered him thoughtfully, "…but you have my attention." Aimi wasn’t exactly powerhungry, but conquering the world through information was difficult when the most advanced information technology most had access to was a handwritten letter.

Power was an unfortunate necessity. Fencer was the result of her finally acknowledging that fact.

…speaking of, was she broken? That was an awfully unnatural noise, not to mention the strange pecking of her nose into Aimi’s shoulder. "What are you—?" doing, she was about to ask, before the sharp bark of a guard hit her ears. Plainly directed toward their group. Some carefully chosen words ought to—

Aimi glanced at the elfwitch with a tired expression. "You really are troublesome," she answered Irihi, grabbing Fencer’s hand before she went full murder-bot. "Your purpose is to protect me from physical harm. I’m perfectly capable of handling a narrative threat myself. That said, stay close. Or… rather, your usual distance, I suppose."

Standing up, Aimi calmly wandered up to the guards unarmed, and suddenly began to lecture them, "Your concern for these citizens is appreciated. However, based on your current patrol patterns, there are several intervals during which she could easily be kidnapped and sold into foreign slave markets. If you wish to protect her effectively, you should first optimize the rudimentary surveillance system to remove these vulnerabilities."

In truth, Aimi wasn’t concerned with suspicion at this point, but rather it was a matter of authority. Being the ideal and perfect, unbiased operator of governance, one thing Aimi could not stand for, was an emotionally-charged human establishing his ignorant will over her superior, logical intentions. Worse still, would be witnesses supposing this man’s poor judgement was to be deferred to over her own, flawless alternatives.

If Aimi concluded she ought to be near the girl, and a human the opposite, the world ought to know the staggering difference in the probabilities of accurate judgement.

"Knowing, then, that I am aware of this, you can logically conclude that if I wished to do her harm, it would not be at this time. You are correct to be concerned about the other two, however. I suspect they also lack knowledge of this flaw in security. Thank you for your service in protecting her, and this city," Aimi concluded.

Seemingly satisfied with the degree she’d undermined their authority, she stepped aside, as if inviting them to threaten the two she’d just thrown under the bus.