Pandaemonium
Posts 278
Power Level 25
|
Post by Limen on Sept 20, 2016 23:45:51 GMT -7
The Keepers always had the best stuff, and so they were therefore always the best to steal from.
Now, Limen had never stolen explicitly from a Keeper before. That she knew of. In Emerald City. But she’d never had a chance (that was likely to work) before today. She’d gotten a tip from an undisclosed source she totally didn’t hack out of complete luck and an extra hour of boredom that designated this random shack out along the coast of the isle, on a little inlet that no one appeared to have cared about in the last ten years. It was overgrown, rotting, and on private property. If one was astute and found the little hatch hid under the moldy cupboard, it was also the location of a Keeper cache.
Limen had gone and spread this little secret throughout the horde starting yesterday, with the footnote that she was going to go give it a look the next day. Regardless of if anyone was going to show up, she certainly was. Who knew what the Keepers kept down there? Weapons of the strange sort? Paintings, real and real fakes? The tombs containing the live’s research of scholars who died in vain? Ghosts? More cats? Anything was possible, and the door she revealed when she pushed aside the old wood.
What would she do with the stuff? Sell it, probably. Get some money to spend on something fancy for Pandaland or some actual goods to trade. Maybe ransom some of it with the faction if she was lucky (and feeling foolhardy). Maybe keep some of it, because if the Keepers had it, it must be good for something.
She was whistling to herself so others in the area might know she was there and inviting others to show up, and because she wanted a bit of help loading the moving truck she’d stolen just this morning, driven like a four-wheeler down the dirt road (which had had a gate with a lock on it until Limen took her tools to it) and through the privately owned wild bushes and trees, and parked outside and off to the left of the shack. She would haul up everything she could fit into that truck herself, but she did hope for more than the birds and resident spiders to talk to.
SCHEME: Clean out this Keeper cache for money, trading, or the best paperweights ever.
|
|
Unaligned
Aw, what's wrong? Don't you trust me?
Posts 235
Power Level 30
|
Post by An0nymou5 on Sept 21, 2016 0:06:45 GMT -7
Anonymous must admit: he didn’t really think about going after the Keeper for anything other than his own amusement. Heck, he’s probably in the black list of about half of their faction right about now: Unhallow, Azoth, Arcanum, and whoever else in that shady faction. After all, he would like to not getting himself in too much hot water from those guys; then again it’ll be so hilarious to see their faces being piss-off because of that. So when he heard in the grape-vine among the homeless network he has at the slum about Limen’s plan of stealing from the Keeper, this is something he gotta see for himself.
However, that wasn’t the only reason that he decided to go after the Keeper right now. Knowing their level of secrecy, who know what they might keep away from the public eyes. That, and he might find something nice and useful for his own little project that he has been working on for the past month.
It took some time looking for it, but he managed to find the damn hidden shack on the private property. If Limen’s rumor was to be believed, which he took it with some grain of salt, then maybe it could be the greatest find he got on those secretive supers. If not, well it’s a great way to kill some time, and maybe even having people to test out his latest experimental stuff he managed to cook up.
It didn’t take long for Anonymous to notice a familiar brain pattern, followed by a whistle. That silly girl, she would attract some unwanted attention if she keep up with that ruckus; he know it’s for signaling any of her allies to notice but still, that was just a rookie mistake. If this place really have something that the Keeper would want to keep a secret, then they will get to face those guys soon enough. So he quickly make his way toward that whistle, and before long he get through the bunch of wild-shrubbery and stand right before Limen herself.
"Well, fancy meeting you here," Anonymous said to her, "are you sure you're not the one stalking me, girly? Or are you here for the same thing?"
Supporting: anything the Keeper decided to hide away will soon see the light of day soon enough.
|
|
The Keepers
Posts 76
Power Level 24
|
Post by Arcanum on Sept 22, 2016 21:55:01 GMT -7
Okay, no more trusting weird Keepers and their dumb information.
When somebody told Arcanum to check out the random shack away from everything else, she should have known there was a trap involved. They even offered to let her take something from the super secret storage. No one in their little club gave away things for free. Of course, now she knew they just wanted her to go be a glorified security guard, but there was no point in walking back empty handed. Might as well try and get something out of this.
“Guys, hey” She raised a hand in greeting before pointing at the shack. “I'm pretty sure someone just gave that to me, so if you could just. . . not be you for once, that'd be great.”
Opposing: Protecting recently acquired goods from undesireables such as these two
|
|
|
|
Post by PANOPTICON Ver. 3.023 on Sept 23, 2016 7:44:58 GMT -7
PANOPTICON Ver. 3.023 online Running aberrant conflict search heuristic. Scanning satellite imagery... clear. Scanning public security footage... clear. Scanning private devices... anomaly detected. Beginning detailed analysis. Multiple aberrants detected in proximity to location of interest on Malachite Isle, sector D-8. Prior records indicate local storage of aberrant resources. Cataloging contents of sector... Detected: 6,215 unpowered humans. Detected: One standard aberrant. See case file 1-5295. Detected: One anomalous aberrant. See case file 3-0508 (cf. 5-0193). Conflict probability within next 60 seconds: 82.33% Beginning combat data collection. (Click here to send in your actions!) |
|
Pandaemonium
Posts 278
Power Level 25
|
Post by Limen on Sept 23, 2016 17:48:36 GMT -7
Limen’s devious plan had worked perfectly: not one, but two people had been drawn by the sound of her whistling. One of whom friendly, the other probably not. It was perfect.
Limen grabbed the chain attached to the hatch and tossed a glance over her shoulder. “Oh hey, it’s the Law-Abiding Stalker. Fancy seeing you here, at my plan, that I came up with and you can’t steal credit for because I’ve got friends who trust my word. Most of my words.” She paused. “Some of my words. But you can help me steal this stuff if you want, I brought a sweet getaway moving truck and they say sharing is caring.” She gave the chain a hard yank.
The hatch flew open, revealing a dark stairway leading down into an even darker room, with no lightswitch in sight. Limen popped on a flashlight from her pocket.
She gave a sly look to the woman who had arrived and raised her voice so she would for sure hear. “I know you probably want to stop us and all, but," she said leadingly, "how about I make you a counter offer? You help us bring the stuff up, you can take a third of it. No fight, just point to one out of three fancy objects and say ‘I want that one’ and it’s yours. Deal?”
|
|
Unaligned
Aw, what's wrong? Don't you trust me?
Posts 235
Power Level 30
|
Post by An0nymou5 on Sept 24, 2016 16:40:23 GMT -7
“Again with that stalker name,” Anonymous replied, “You really have to think of a better name to call me.”
And just when he couldn’t get more annoyed from being called a stalker, his favorite Keeper Goo decided to show up in their location. If she think she can just scare Trigger-Finger here away from the shack, then she’s obviously being delusional. Somehow, he really doubt Goo-lady here will take her deal in order to leave the two of them alone; most of the Keeper he encountered so far haven’t been known to be generous or willing to share their stuff. And if she’s Unhallow’s mentor, then there’s no way Goo-lady will take that offer.
“You’re wasting your time, Trigger-Finger, Goo-lady over here has never listened to reason from my previous experience. Let’s just deal with her now and get this over with before more of her show up.”
|
|
The Keepers
Posts 76
Power Level 24
|
Post by Arcanum on Sept 24, 2016 22:25:37 GMT -7
Arcanum took a moment to consider her options. On one hand, it was probably bad for business if she allowed those two to simply walk away with this stuff. Then again, earning a reputation for defending other people's trash could lead to an accidental demotion. There were better uses for her time that didn't involve becoming a glorified security guard. Besides, taking the selfish option never really hurt before.
"I don't negotiate with assholes or psychopaths, Pseudonymous. You just happen to be both." She looked away from the guy, as if she had completely lost interest. He could have completely disappeared from sight and Arcanum wouldn't even care.
"At least someone's smart enough to listen to reason." Lemonhead certainly had the right attitude about the situation, to the point where she seemed too smart to be a member of Pandaemonium. Why bother fighting when they clearly aren't capable of winning?It wasn't as if either of their powers had a significant chance of killing Arcanum. Although, if most of this junk already belonged to her, shouldn't her share be larger than the others? |
|
|
|
Post by PANOPTICON Ver. 3.023 on Sept 25, 2016 9:13:42 GMT -7
  PANOPTICON Ver. 3.023 analyzing combat data... --- Accumulation (Information) by An0nymou5 against Maneuver (Field) results in SUCCESS, +10% combat advantage Accumulation (Summoning) by Arcanum against Interference (Depowering) results in SUCCESS, +10% combat advantage Aggression (Confinement) by Limen against Arcanum results in FAILURE due to suppression by the target's equal-or-greater immunity, +10% combat advantage --- Current conditions: An0nymou5 and Limen have immunity to Maneuver (Field) granted by the Accumulation (Information) An0nymou5 used Arcanum has immunity to Interference (Depowering) granted by the Accumulation (Summoning) Arcanum used Current advantage: An0nymou5 and Limen have 20% Arcanum has 10% Current openings: An0nymou5 may BYPASS a chosen immunity of a chosen enemy for 15% combat advantage, removing any matching innate immunities from that enemy for the rest of the battle. (Click here to send in your next round's actions!) |
|
Pandaemonium
Posts 278
Power Level 25
|
Post by Limen on Sept 25, 2016 16:11:09 GMT -7
Because of the lack of outward hostilities even regarding the two slime puddles, Limen refrained from chucking the paint bomb. Instead, she give it two light tosses into the air, catching it with each.
“I’ll take the compliment,” Limen chuckled, “but is that a yes or no? ‘Fraid I’m not a mind reader. I won’t attack you if you agree to help, obviously, but if you’re here to prove who’s stronger,” she gave the paint bomb another toss and Arcanum a smile, “there’s not a lot of point wasting time sitting around staring at each other.”
|
|
Unaligned
Aw, what's wrong? Don't you trust me?
Posts 235
Power Level 30
|
Post by An0nymou5 on Sept 26, 2016 12:12:25 GMT -7
Anonymous doesn’t really mind if Arcanum decided to ignore him; it’s not like he want her attention anyway, that’s not why he came here for. But he did notice a sliver of her body just slip off and making a move toward the shack.
“Great,” he thought, “now I have to deal with that thing too,”
This isn’t the first time that he saw a piece of Arcanum slipping away and get out of sight. The last time that happen, that piece of goo jumped right at his face and interrupted his masterpiece. Keepers are such an annoyance pest; why do they always use such underhanded method to get what they’re after anyway. At the very least, however, if she’s trying to protect this shack with everything she can, then whatever down there must be quite importance. Either that or she’s doing all these things for nothing, which is a slight possibility.
“So what if I’m both an asshole and a psychopath, what’s your point exactly?”
He figured she won’t paying much attention to him even if he taunted her, but as of right now, he need to find a way to deal with the other piece before it managed to take whatever down there away from his grasp.
|
|
The Keepers
Posts 76
Power Level 24
|
Post by Arcanum on Sept 26, 2016 14:43:15 GMT -7
The downstairs investigation would take a little longer than expected. Until then, Arcanum felt like playing along Limen's idea. So far there weren't any downsides. If it came down to it, she could trick them into carrying some of this stuff to the surface before stealing it back from them.
"Fine, I will definitely help you steal my own property. Not like I know what's down there either."
Arcanum glanced back in Anonymous' direction and just shook her head in disappointment. She was starting to remember why she spent the past few months avoiding the guy. With no one else important around, this seemed like the best opportunity to get rid of him for good. Then again, a certain fluffy Keeper wasn't here this time, so she didn't have a good enough incentive to resort to murder this quickly. Not until he actually used his stupid mind powers on her.
|
|
|
|
Post by PANOPTICON Ver. 3.023 on Sept 27, 2016 11:06:51 GMT -7
PANOPTICON Ver. 3.023 analyzing combat data... --- Accumulation (Information) by An0nymou5 against Acccumulation (Summoning) results in SUCCESS, +10% combat advantage Accumulation (Summoning) by Arcanum against Aggression (Subdual) results in SUCCESS, +10% combat advantage Aggression (Subdual) by Limen against Arcanum results in FAILURE because Limen can ignore the immunity granted by the Accumulation (Summoning) Arcanum used due to her own immunity granted by the equal-or-greater Accumulation (Information) An0nymou5 used, but is still suppressed by the target's equal-or-greater immunity, +10% combat advantage --- Current conditions: An0nymou5 and Limen have immunity to Maneuver (Field) granted by the Accumulation (Information) An0nymou5 used Arcanum has immunity to Interference (Depowering) granted by the Accumulation (Summoning) Arcanum used, which is currently rendered ineffective by the equal-or-greater Accumulation (Information) An0nymou5 used An0nymou5 and Limen have immunity to Accumulation (Summoning) granted by the Accumulation (Information) An0nymou5 used, which has been shown to be equal-or-greater over the Accumulation (Summoning) Arcanum used Arcanum has immunity to Aggression (Subdual) granted by the Accumulation (Summoning) Arcanum used, which is currently rendered ineffective by the equal-or-greater Accumulation (Information) An0nymou5 used Current advantage: An0nymou5 and Limen have 40% Arcanum has 20% Current openings: An0nymou5 may BYPASS a chosen immunity of a chosen enemy for 15% combat advantage, removing any matching innate immunities from that enemy for the rest of the battle. (Click here to send in your next round's actions!) |
|
Pandaemonium
Posts 278
Power Level 25
|
Post by Limen on Sept 28, 2016 9:15:16 GMT -7
And so no fighting would have to be done today. Or, at least as long as conflict of greedy interests didn’t rise up in any of the three of them. It really depended on what the Keepers had thought was worth stashing in the basement of this middle-of-nowhere shack, because if there was a super bow, Limen was calling dibs.
She shot Arcanum a grin. “Welcome to the team, Army of One.”
Limen flipped the flashlight in her palm and motioned with her head towards the ominous staircase. If there were any over sized guard rats down there, they were going to get utterly demolished by this over leveled team, and a very bright flashlight shown in their eyes.
It was books. A probable literal ton of books lined the narrowly-stacked shelves, jammed together so tightly even moths would be pressed to get to them. Most of the opening was bookshelves fighting for elbow room, but down one side was more shelves that seemed to contain non-book items and lots of darkness. Limen was still putting the chance of a backstab as a non-zero number, and so kept the corner of her eye on the woman in making her way down and over.
|
|
Unaligned
Aw, what's wrong? Don't you trust me?
Posts 235
Power Level 30
|
Post by An0nymou5 on Sept 28, 2016 12:34:18 GMT -7
Keeping a close eye on Arcanum was quite a problem in its own; she made another copy of herself, this one looked like a weight-lifting champ with all those bulky muscle. For now, he decided that since Limen managed to “invite” her down here, then she’ll be the one to keep a close eye on her. Who know what plan that Keeper is planning once she see what is down here.
It really wasn’t much of a surprise to find mountain of books down the secret room in the shack. Knowing the Keeper, these books probably contain most information on academic subject rather than something that he can use. Of course a few on-the-side lessons on engineering, psychology and chemistry could prove quite useful for his personal project. Way deeper in the room has more than just books; he can make out the shape of some wooden crate and other junks. Since he tended to be a night-owl, at the least his eyes can easily adjusted to the darkness without the need of light. If any of them would see him now, his eyes would be glowing red similar to how a cat’s eyes glow in the dark.
Ignoring the two girls back there, Anonymous looked around the back of the room. Some of the crates are nailed shut, so he would need a crowbar and some time to open all of them, time that he might not have. Eventually something caught his attention: a glass case with a cane sitting inside. The case wasn’t locked, so he can easily lift the opening and took the crane sitting inside.
Having a closer look at it, he realized this isn’t just a simple walking cane: it’s an old-style sword cane. The handle is quite sturdy with a silver design of a cobra spreading its head; its eyes are two red gemstones that if his lesson in geology is correct, are made from red calcite crystal. The wooden sheath is made from a high-quality dark maple wood painted completely in black paint. The blade inside is made of high-quality steel that can be bend around with enough momentum, similar to how those rapiers in fencing sport are made to be. It isn’t for stabbing people, but more on striking its opponent quickly and deflecting their swing.
“Tis’ a nice sword cane, quality made, probably belong to some wealthy collector or something.” He said to himself and smile, “guess this is better than nothing.”
He isn’t much of a believer in whatever nonsense those advertising on how people can use stone as a healing remedy, but if the calcite can really do what it was said to be, then this is a perfect tool fitting him quite nicely. If it doesn’t, well it’s still a nice fancy weapon that he can use to defend himself if needed.
|
|
The Keepers
Posts 76
Power Level 24
|
Post by Arcanum on Sept 29, 2016 9:03:07 GMT -7
With that out of the way, they all finally headed down the stairs. In hindsight, Arcanum should've expected to find tons of old books sitting around. Even if she cheated and read dozens of them at once, it would still take forever to finish the entire collection. If only Azoth was here to magic it all into her head.
Judging from what Anon pulled out, digging through the rest of the items might not be worth it. Magic weapons sounded awesome, but they were essentially useless to her directly. She didn't need a second stolen sword to worry about. Instead, Arcanum wandered off to check some of the books farthest in the back. One of them had to be relevant enough to take with her.
|
|
