Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

Well, you said you saw Ferenze there, and that means something very specific, it means the area is being kept clean of other influencing forces. When a demon like Ferenze beds down in an area for a long period of time, he or she will usually clean it out of competing critters so it's influence can grow. As long as Ferenze stays there, which i don't see lasting too long, then it'll stay just as it is. When he leaves, the original problems will start to build up and that place will become a lot less friendly. Yes, if you abused your ability to port around, i'm sure you could beat them if you were careful. Chuck was a little surprised they won last time, but then again, you seemed pretty shaken up. I'm sure it was just a question of you being cautious. Hervo said, racking the slide of his own gun back with a sharp snap.

Hervo seemed to have become pretty withdrawn after bringing up Ferenze, as if there was something he didn't want to talk about, and if River were to check his emotions with her new found, if fairly chaotic ability, she'd feel pain, embarrassment, and shame as his mind sorted things out and he recollected himself.

Saved from more of River's questions for the moment, the Siren kicked on and the light blazed red as another target lined up for River and Hervo.

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

You've seen the tear they make when they go for it, I didn't want to wind up popping out of a shadow straight into one of those." She said with a nod. She opened her mouth to ask about what she was picking up, not in so many words, of course, when the siren went off, cutting her off. Shrugging, she put on the ear protection again, sighting down the range at the fresh target.

She put about the same effort into it as before, but took care to follow the man's instruction this time, taking more care with how she handled the trigger. The results were better by about a third, and her killshots nearly doubled, including a rather nasty-looking hole appearing on the spot where the silhouette's legs met.

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

With her aim improved by a fair amount, all Hervo had to say on the matter was a grim nod, before grinning and holding up his target, which had a neat smiley face shot into the chest. Honestly, if you'd like, I can send a one time set of data to your laptop so you can read up on Hell and the other dimensions yourself, I'd be careful with the Angel stuff though, and even what there is of that is pretty limited. He said, folding up the target and slipping it into his pocket, not bothering to reload this time, but instead slipping a full mag with far nastier looking rounds in it into the gun, and holstering it under his shirt at the small of his back.

I honestly don't know much about your job today either. it's been kept very quiet on all fronts, whatever it is you're running? Corvinus isn't telling. If I had to guess though, It's got something to do with the Council again. Or rather, something he'd rather their new bitch didn't find, so be careful with it, whatever it is. And watch your ass out there today, something isn't sitting right in my gut. He added after thinking for a moment and starting to head off.

What River did, whether she followed, or went to her other tasks, or moved on about the Tower, she was fast losing the opportunity if any of those choices involved Hervo...

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

“Heh, showoff.“ River said, smirking at the face he had carved from nearly a football field away.

The smile disappeared as he spoke of the work, though. “Great. I‘ll keep an extra eye out, thanks. Ah well, guess that‘s why they pay me the big bucks, right?“ She offered. River followed him, passing in the gun and remaining ammo as they passed the counter, but hit a different button than him once they got to the elevator. “Time‘s getting. Close, may as well show up a touch early and get some particulars.“ she said with a shrug. “Raincheck on that booze though, definitely.“

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

Hervo chuckled before nodding Sounds like a plan then. Just call whenever and we'll have some fun with it. Hervo answered, getting off only a few floors up, walking into what looked like a full on armory.

As the doors closed, River was left with her thoughts as the elevator hurtled upwards towards the penthouse, and Corvinus' personal dwelling. There was no one to greet her, and the door was closed, though even from down the hall, she could hear the shouting match going on, the other voice sounding very familiar...

The question of who was answered pretty quickly when none other then Ms Bronn stormed out of his room, slamming the door behind her and heading towards the elevator like one of the furies herself.

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

River heard the shouting as soon as the door opened. She had the impulse to try and listen in, but she had barely taken two steps before the door opened and Bronn stormed out. River stepped to the side to let her by, watching her a little warily but not saying anything, stepping up to the door hanging open after and knocking. “should i, uhhh... Call a paramedic, or something?“ she called in jokingly, glancing around.

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

Don't bother, if we counted all the skeletons in her and my own closets, we'd have enough corpses to fill the morgue twice over. That, coincidentally, had a great deal to do with your current job. The package you're delivering is actually right there on the counter. Corvinus said, rubbing his temples as he indulged in a fairly full looking glass of his usual rum.

The package was about the size of a cd case, if only a little thicker. That, Is part of the wreckage from the machine downstairs, the one hooked to the terminal he said softly, taking a long drink before continuing.

It's going to a drop point for the research boys on the far side of the city, not the holding pens, and we're sending it, because that frigid bitch of an inquisitor is trying to find it. It's extremely valuable, even broken as it is, and if I'm ever going to have that cursed thing rebuilt, I'm going to need that properly fixed. The address is 4921 Concord, near the freeway? Looks like a large chemical plant. The guards on the property will wave you in. This time, I want you to use whatever method you think is best, and to do it alone. The fact that this thing is leaving the Tower is not to be shared with anyone, and I want it done ASAP. He finished, looking between the package, and River, before downing his glass and reaching for a large manilla folder that had Ms. Bronn's portrait clipped to the top corner.

When you're done with that, a woman there, Claire, should have something for you to bring back, please make sure it comes straight to me, from your hand.

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

“From the machine downstairs, eh? Think it‘ll tell you who smashed it? Think I sussed that woman pretty good this morning, but more proof is always nice.“ She answered, giving it a once-over before slipping it into her running pack. “I think I know the place. Pair of silos on the East end, right?“

She gave a nod when he confirmed. “Out, back, hush hush. If ya have a dark spot, i think i can reach the sewers by bouncing through my room. Could be back before anyone thinks i‘m gone, if we‘re lucky.“

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

Good Plan, the faster this is handled the better, Just remember, popping up in the middle of a facility where no one has seen you before? Not the best Idea. Please use the front door for the drop off Corvinus answered, chuckling as he thought about the obvious chaos that would cause.

As for who smashed it? we're still not sure. But it's more that that piece is just extremely rare, as well as what it's actually made of, which I'm not talking about so don't ask. He finished, gesturing towards the door as he flipped another page in the folder and scowled.

Sorry to be a bit brusque, but this is demanding a lot of my attention and I'd be able to relax if your job was over and done with quick as possible River.

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

“I get it, don‘t worry.“ She said, walking over to his bathroom and shutting the door. A flick of the light switch plunged the room into darkness, and she was gone. Skipping her room entirely, she ported straight to the sewer system, walking briskly Eastward. She tapped into the darkness, armouring herself just in case, and feeling through the dark to warn herself of any intruders. She was certain most of their paranoia was in regards to what.she did herself, but if the mages were after her and what she had, that was enough to be careful.

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

Sliding through the shadows felt so natural now, but with her changed nature, River could still hear faint echoes of the screaming that heralded hell and it's hold over her. She could already feel a rough distance between herself and the old man she was supposed to take care of, though she had plenty of time, and despite a softly sickening turn of her stomach, her distaste for the situation was drowned out by all consuming obedience.

Sliding out of the sewer wall, the shadows clinging to her like a thin film, the black upon black hell tainted wraithling that was River found the sewers to be almost completely abandoned, not even rats scurrying about in the dark corners felt by her steadily pulsing senses.

She knew that to jump straight to her destination here would be all but impossible, and incredibly taxing, but a series of smaller ones were well within her ability. Even her newly acquired telekine senses were coming up nearly blank... Nearly. Further down, 100 yards to her right, there was something, or someone, trying to hide itself from prying eyes, and with the combination of her unfocused empathy, and a harder push with her powers, she removed the veil that was hiding a man clad in midnight blue robes.

Glancing too and fro, he seemed to be concentrating, and judging by the cold, almost mechanical feel of his mind, River was almost dead certain who this man or woman represented. So Corvinus had been right to worry, there were agents here from the Council, and they were getting bolder...

Go Ahead River~ Ferenze whispered into her mind, her voice dripping from his tongue like venom from a fang. Go ahead and end him, slide right up behind him and rip the foul abominations heart out. The only ones not being hunted are the hunters of course. Maybe it'll whet your new appetite for blood.

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

As soon as she had slipped into the shadows, she felt the runes around her neck start to burn as she lost control of herself again. Stepping out into the sewers, her demonic features appeared again, her eyes glowing a dull red, covered by the shadows armouring her entire form, the odd arch of her hair now connecting to her back just between where her wings appeared, the new limbs themselves covered with a thin layer, the edges sharpened to broad blades along the bottom edge.

Her senses stretched out, both the general awareness the shadows gives her, and her new mental sense, the combination quickly locking onto something, resolving itself into a hidden mage after working through whatever he had done to hide himself. She could feel the man, calm, rational, and patient.

Ferenze spoke to her again, his voice compelling and seductive like always, but there was a different quality to it this time, svelte and feminine... River realized he was speaking in her own voice, the thought sending a chill through her. His command was unavoidable though, so the demon wraithling slipped back into the shadows, reappearing behind the man silently. Her wings slashed out, aiming to slice into the man's wrists and make his hands useless, while her hands aimed higher, one hand wrapping around his windpipe, sharp talons digging into the flesh of his neck.She gave him a breath, feeling his reaction before tearing into his back, blades of shadow cutting into bone and vital organs, carving his heart out from behind.

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

As River slid through the shadows to literally rip the man apart where he stood, not giving him any time to martial a defense, and indeed, no defenses encountered as she could feel his surprise at being attacked. Having thought himself safe in his concealment, the mage had never planned on being ambushed in such a manner, and as he died, River could almost taste his last thoughts as they bled into the void.

River could have sworn her demonic master had spoken in her own voice, or had that just been her own inner urges, or something else, or the wraithling! Was she going insane, could she really blame everything on the person watching from another dimension? Or had the recent changes run deep enough to really change her. It was so hard to sort out... There had been a command there, she had felt it... but from who. Unlike the other times, she couldn't identify the source, not truly could she lay the blame at Ferenze's feet.

Unsure and covered in the black of her own shadows and the crimson of a dead man's life blood, River was stunned for several minutes as her mind reeled at what she had done. She could taste the bile rising in her throat...

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

The man's life slipped between her fingers, leaving River standing over a slumped corpse. She felt the control over her slipping away again, her body going slack as the corpse slumped fro her grip, onto the floor of the sewer. Blood dripped from her, the woman feeling bile rise as she looked down at it.

River shoved the shadows away from her in a panicky motion, splattering the blood across the walls nearby as she did so, and took a few steps away from the dead man. Now that the moment had passed, her mind ran over the voice from before. It was her, but evil, seductive. She was so sure at the time that it was Ferenze, and the control had settled so quickly after...

The man that was the demon's target still pulled at her, and she moved a bit further in that direction, but more to get further away from the dead mage than anything. Should she roll the guy, just in case? Would be hard to make an attack like that look like a mugging...

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

Looking down at the corpse, River knew the only way to truly hide the evidence of her dead, would be to cast the body into the void she traveled through, to truly hide it for all time, and the thought came to her almost instantly, whispered into her mind with a the soft, feminine lilt of her own voice, though it seemed to be calling to her from somewhere else, like the wraith, or ferenze. And whether she wanted it or not, approved or not, wanted to vomit at her murder or not, she felt a satisfaction settling deep within her, that she had been the one strike down one of the most dangerous class of people on this planet, and to have done it in what amounted to a single, well placed blow.


With such unsettling thoughts running through her mind, confused, and with Ferenze's target and Corvinus' mission pulsing and pulling at her loyalties, River was torn. She would need to make a decision to move on, and hiding her crime was sorely tempting as she stood in the sewer like a dear in the headlights, her nerves, her senses, everything on high alert.

Finding that she was alone, completely and truly alone, was enough to start settling her heart down, the organ pounding in her chest like war drums and the solitude giving her a chance to think...

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

{Shut up!} She offered back to the lilting voice, shaking her head as she fought back her bile. Much as she hated to admit it though, it seemed the best idea she could come up with. could probably trace a body back to her, the lack of one would buy her time, at least.

The pull to get moving was getting harder to ignore, so she called the shadows again, wrapping the body up before she gripped it, stepping into the shadowlands again. She let go of the corpse, waiting a second to see what happened before leaving, starting on her way again, trying to decide if she should go after the human or the delivery first.

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

As River dumped the body into her shadow scape, and watched what happened, she'd see... something. It was like watching... Nothing... doing something...

The body of the mage tumbled down into the void for a few moments, before seeming to get stuck, and then the flesh and muscle, organ and sinew, was stripped off in a fraction of a second, the body reduced to tattered rags and bones. What the hell had done that? She could almost hear a soft chittering now in the darkness, before she saw the outline of whatever creatures had decimated the body.

Reptilian, short, but with long muzzles and longer tails, they seemed to glow, surrounded by a nimbus of shadow even darker then the void they lived in, like raptors... Poking at the bones as they slid away, further and further, they didn't seem to notice River watching, and now she knew why she'd never seen anything or anyone else in the place she used to move. It was Protected...

Even the bones were soon cracked, and then devoured, and all in short order, the creatures ignoring her completely, until one raised it's head, and turned to glare a baleful, deep indigo eye at her, no pupil, the light seeming so strange in this dead place. Snorting loudly, sound... another strange thing in her "home", the creature started to move forward, and River felt her senses go into overdrive. She didn't smell like herself anymore, she wasn't pure, she wasn't just the misbegotten product of a Wraith's need... She was something new, and these creatures kept "New" out, or they destroyed. Idling while these things were around was incredibly foolish, and she knew it...

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

River watched passively, surprised when the creatures appeared after a moment and started devouring the corpse. {Well, now bringing it back is off the table, if i needed to. At least nobody else is gonna find a way to pop in here and find it.} She chuckled to herself. Then the creatures turned towards her.

She realized rather quickly that they thought she was a threat, she didn't feel like herself anymore. So she did the smart thing and left, dumping herself into the nearest shadow in the sewer rather abruptly, staggering a bit as she landed. Brushing herself off, she did what she could to check and see if the things had followed her out, as well as checking around again in case anyone new had come looking for her. Assuming all was well, she started off again, towards the poor soul she was bound into killing. It would be easier to explain a delay at first, than one on the way back, she thought.

 

[Courage Wolf]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

Safe and back in the sewer, an odd thought in and of itself, River was pleased to notice that whatever lurked in her shadow space to pick off stragglers, did not follow her back out, apparently content that she had simply left. It would be wise to try and learn more about them somehow, but the trick would be finding anyone.... Shit... Ferenze was the only person who had spoken with any kind of knowledge about her original nature... He was probably also the only person who knew what they were, and how to avoid or placate them...

With that thought distressingly in mind, River started heading off towards her unfortunate target. Still without a reason or even a real drive, she could still feel a strange excitement starting to build... Would this kill be as satisfying as the other? A part of her certainly seemed to think so... or was that her demon master messing with her head again. It was getting confusing... at least she was headed in the right direction...

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Mazes within a Steel Jungle (Shrike7)

Her own thoughts held only confusion and worry for the woman, so as she travelled, River simply tried to not think. She focused on her jumps, trying to go as far as she could with each one without extending her time in the shadowscape, focusing on finding each place faster and more efficiently, trying to keep herself too busy on that to ponder. It wasn't that different from her usual running, just somehow more dangerous than jumping off of buildings and running along city streets. She'd get this done with, and try to find some time to think later, when she could focus on freeing herself, or hiding her thoughts, or something...