[OPEN] Sandstorm Event + September Introduction Log

[soul_mods]

Given that the last time there was a sandstorm BREW had just...unceremoniously dumped the new arrivals outside to face the elements, Shibusen decided it would be prudent to send some people out to make sure the poor souls aren't left to flounder.

Outfitting their volunteers with the proper gear, they're allowed back into Death City not only to search for new arrivals but also to check for stragglers.

However, as the volunteers go through the city, they find more than just the expected stragglers and new arrivals. For some reason, there is the occasional Kishin Egg wandering around...

To make things worse, the sandstorm continues to rage, causing poor visibility and covering the streets with a thick layer of sand, making it hard to keep footing. A problem these Kishin Eggs don't seem to have when most of them are capable of diving under the sand to move like sharks.

Comments

Open to Lezard Valeth and Lily Ivory

[sp8der8itch]

She was going to prove just who she was and no one was going to tell her otherwise. Vriska wasn't one to take the doubts of others to heart. Instead she chose to prove herself and do what she wanted according to her plan. Friends gathered around her, putting her down, choosing to leave her and follow their own paths, this didn't matter to her.

She stands near the edge of a cavernous cliff and stares down into the glowing lava that pools at the bottom. Against the others judgment she moves forward and dives off. It is here that her treasure hunting has begun and yet it takes an unexpected turn. Luckily she lands on her feet, but this was not where she expected to be. Sand whistles around and threatened her breathing. She was sent into immediate coughing fits, instinctively an arm comes up to shield her eyes from the whipping storm, her free hand clutching around her mouth.

She moves to reach for the dice that lay within her sllyadex and immediate surprise came to her face when she realized that her weapons were no longer there. In fact most of her precious treasures had disappeared. Fuck! This was not a good start. Her immediate survival instincts internally screamed at the danger she was in now. She flashes into a different outfit, almost like a glitch filtering in and out of reality, choosing her god tier outfit and finding her wings to be her only option. However this new place had taken away her flight and she could only hover just above the ground. Needless to say it only worsened her condition as she uncovered her nasal cavities and attempted to fly again and again before she fell back to her knees. Once more she began to cough.

[lezard_valeth]

"BREW's impeccable timing strikes again," Lezard chuckled dryly. This would be the second power surge from the artifact during inclement weather, at least, from what the records say. Though blustering dust and sand swirled all around him, he found the further advantages of reverting to one's Weapon Form: The spellbook had no eyes or anything to be irritated by the weather's conditions, but to his dismay he was getting sand between his pages!

But the city was under some form of siege, with kishin egg sightings reported. Again, the perfect time for BREW to attempt to fulfill Death the Kid's wish.

"Well at the very least, my sensory abilities still function. The range is reduced to 20 yards, however.... keep your eyes peeled."

[vintage_magic]

"You'd think someone wished for that cotton-pickin' contraption to cause the most inconvenience possible. Of course, it has to pick a time when it's so dusty the rabbits are digging holes six feet in the air!" Lily grumbled as she made her way through the streets, trying not to lose her footing in the piles of sand that had accumulated over the cobblestones. She was better prepared today with a dust mask and goggles but the blowing sands still made seeing anything further than a few yards difficult.

Was that movement further down the street? Another pair out searching or a new victim of BREW's whims? She glanced down at the dark blue tome that was Lezard's Weapon form tucked into the crook of her arm. "Did you see that?"

Proceeding cautiously, she called out, voice muffled by the dust mask and the wind. "Is somebody there? Are you okay?"

[sp8der8itch]

She perked up at the sound of someone approaching. Immediately she prepared herself for the worst and raised her guard. However her guard lowered when they showed concern for her welfare. Slowly she rose to her feet, trying to make herself appear visible and easier to locate. Perhaps these beings could help her and give her the information she desired. Her arm once more comes to cover her nose in mouth, her eyes slimmed to try and see through the blistering sand.

"Over her-" she cried out, but fell back into short coughing spurts.

[lezard_valeth]

Lezard would merely observe at first. He had sensed something, but not exactly what it was. The response didn't bear a malevolent light... not on levels he could detect, anyway, but a kishin egg's soul is a beacon of hunger and malice. No, this was definitely someone lost in the storm.

With voice confirmation, he nodded from within the soul space. "One of the spare scarves, my sweet... the girl appears in need. The infirmary is filled enough with patients suffering from dust inhalation and minor silicosis, wouldn't you say?"

[vintage_magic]

The bright colors were dulled by the sand but Lily was able to make out someone in orange and hear the cry which turned into a series of coughs. She rushed over, reaching into her bag with her free hand to grab a scarf.

"Here. Take this and wrap it around your nose and mouth to keep the dust out." As she held the material out to the girl, she realized that the skin was a grayish shade. A troll?

[sp8der8itch]

Vriska peered through her closed eyes, just long enough to grab the scarf and wrap it tightly around her nose and mouth. Her eyes remained slimmed as she took in the appearance of her rescuer and book. Of course she hadn't heard the book speak, nor did she know the customs of this universe and so concluded that there was only one who had helped her.

"Thanks, umm?" She muffled through the cloth.

[lezard_valeth]

One thing at a time, he supposed. Perhaps a talking book was unusual for the gray-skinned girl's world. He focused his energy on scanning for anyone else nearby.

"There is a chance we will not be granted peace for much longer. The interference strengthens... I think a surge in the storm is coming soon. With hope a nearby building is unlocked to wait it out and give our new guest a little information."

[vintage_magic]

"I take it you weren't expecting a sandstorm." The storm had been going for three days now so surely if the girl had been in the city before, she would have realized it was a bad idea to go out without something to cover her face.

Lily wiped some of the grime from her goggles with her fingers and scanned the area around them. Where were they anyway? It was a bit difficult to tell when the landscape had been transformed into one of dust clouds and miniature sand dunes. Was that one of the apartment buildings a bit further down the street?

"You have questions, I reckon. But we should get inside first." She gestured for the troll to follow and started towards the building, hoping the doors wouldn't be locked.

[sp8der8itch]

Vriska was a bit taken a back by the sound of a book...talking. "Um, did.... Did that book just talk?" Even her words were hard to believe. Maybe it was just the shock of a new world and the disorienting sensation that came with loss of control, but this book talking was very surprising. She shakes her head and hangs it low, "Whatever. Doesn't matter if a book can talk. Information sounds like a much more needed thing to understand right now." With that she follows after the female, trying to get a glimpse of her surrounding through the sandy setting.

[lezard_valeth]

"One of many questions to answer, rest assured," he replied loftily, though his impatience can be felt through his connection with Lily. He was getting grit in his spine and pages and it wasn't the most comfortable feeling in the world.

Once nearest the building, he rubbed his chin. "Should the doors be locked, I've a back-up plan, but it would require my form shifting once more. Of course we could always brute-force it if need be. That would make the situation a tad more interesting than the howling wings slowly deafening our ears!"

[vintage_magic]

"It's a long story." Lily sighed behind her dust mask as they approached the building, the sign outside bearing the ominous name of Murder Manor. She could feel her partner's impatience through their link and it made her wonder a bit if he'd end up with sand in his shoes and clothes when he changed back.

The door refused to budge when she tried it. "Locked." She glanced down at the book. "You weren't thinking of that under the door trick again, were you?" Hopefully, it would go better than last time! Was there even a crack under the door that he could fit through? Crouching down, she brushed away at the sand that had collected at the base of the door.

[sp8der8itch]

She eyed their actions carefully, standing a well enough distance away form them in order to continue to check her surroundings. Trolls, living in a society where death and opponents could threaten you at any second, made it a common practice to be aware of their surroundings. Especially Vriska, who had a history of careful planning and making sure nothing went wrong as long as she could help it.

However in her current situation this was only to prevent any unnecessary fights. She was weaponless, but death was not something she feared being that she believed she was still dead, not yet aware that BREW had brought her back to life. She would need a mirror to figure that out. Back home death didn't change much, the only difference was you were no longer part of a main timeline and you drifted through your past memories in a world you created. Who's to say she just was drawn into a new world, but her dead composure was still very real?

Only time would tell. She grumbled under her breath and stomped her foot in impatience, "Coooooooome on can we hurry it up! Why not take the talking book and slam it into the door, with enough force it is sure to open!"

[lezard_valeth]

"...Let's not heed that," he drawled, and Lily had a better idea for handling the door than what he had in mind.

Once placed, the method was simple, drawing upon the location of some part of him to reshape and restore his normal form on the other side of the door. It was a simple enough matter after that- unlocking the door and pushing against the force of the wind to get the door open as wide as he could manage it.

"Everyone inside! And do make haste, won't you? The wind seeks to close this damned door..."

[vintage_magic]

Sure, Lily found Lezard annoying at times and had been tempted to toss him into a large body of water on occasion and wanted to get out of this storm too but... "I don't think he'd appreciate that."

Fortunately, he went under the door quickly, reappearing in human form on the other side. She stood and backed up a couple of steps as he unlocked the door and then hurried in at his urging before looking back to make sure the troll followed.

[sp8der8itch]

She sure did follow, quickly. The sight of a book now forming the body of a human, was not something she had been expecting. Taking a deep breath of sand free air and moving to remove the scarf around her mouth, she stood hip out and arms crossed at her chest. "Okay, so explain yourselves. Where is this place, what am I doing here, who are you and what brand of magic is that? I was never one to assume magic existed, but clearly you are human and humans do not morph into books!"

[lezard_valeth]

He shut the door tightly behind them, and shook the sand out of his hair. Hands brushed against his coat as he took a moment to absorb all the questions.

"Alas, the magic here is largely unexplored, but the extent of it is what you have witnessed: Full-body transformation as a means to the end we all seek here." Lezard slipped off his classes, and moved on to clean them.

"The Demon Tool, BREW, granted the wish of the child God of Death here who seeks to end a war that has persisted for over 800 years. He wished for reinforcements, and here we all are selected at random by our respective worlds. If you had any pressing arrangements before your arrival here in Death City - currently locked in a sandstorm, the very best timing - worry not. Your timeline has theoretically frozen, and will resume when BREW dismisses you back home at its own whim."

A tip of his upper body in a bow upon placing his glasses back upon his nose. "And I... am Lezard Valeth, a Demon Weapon here. The lovely lady here is my Meister."

[vintage_magic]

Lily dusted herself off, glad to let Lezard do most of the explaining. She'd never volunteered to greet new arrivals before so trying to explain all of this without seeming insane wasn't something she'd had practice with.

Pulling her dust mask down and pushing the goggles up on top of her head, she added, "In other words, a cotton-pickin' contraption called BREW dragged us all here to another world and we're stuck for now."

"I'm Lily Ivory." She paused a moment, taking the opportunity to look the girl up and down now that they were inside. "You're a troll, aren't you? Although I've not seen one with wings before..."

[sp8der8itch]

She stood staring and dumbstruck by the information she had been given. Wait what was that again? Demon Tool BREW? Weapon and Meister. Okay she understood weapon but she had no idea that a weapon could turn into a actual being. At least things would be okay back in her dream bubble...not that it was really a concern for her. "Thanks for that explanation it was very complicated."

Whoa, hang on she knew what trolls were? Okay screw complicated this was just getting more elaborate. "Yes I'm a troll, one of the better ones. As for the wings they are only obtainable through means of pure greatness. Achieving all the levels and ascending to god tier is one of those ways. Trolls get wings when that happens. That brings up another question of mine. Why can't I fly and how do you know about my species? Did brew bring others from my universe here?" She sure does catch on quick.

[lezard_valeth]

"Precisely that. A great number of your kind have been chosen to fight in the war, a mix among the Meister and Weapon numbers. When BREW sends an individual, their souls are then... altered, I suppose. They are designated either Weapons, like myself, given the ability to transform into an object that Meisters wield to defeat our foes. But BREW, in giving us our new powers, seals what we had from back home. In becoming a spellbook, I have been deprived of the magic I spent my life developing. To pair a Meister with a Weapon grants a power that must be seen to be believed, and it is the only way to defeat the creatures of madness that plague the world. You cannot fly, but you can instead either wield Weapons or become one yourself."

He shrugged. "A method to discover which you are is locked in Shibusen at the moment, our next destination if you so wish. The school and the shelters beyond are currently our safe havens until the sandstorm passes."

[vintage_magic]

"Um, god tier? So, you're some kind of troll goddess?" She might have thought a goddess being pulled into this world sounded unlikely but then BREW has messed with a lot of things. "I've met a few trolls here but as I said, none of them had wings."

"Usually, the folks at the school would also give you keys for an apartment to use while you're here. But this goldurned sandstorm has been going on for a few days and a lot of the city's residents have evacuated to a shelter until it's over."

[sp8der8itch]

"Yes god tier and that is exactly as you described. The humans who we created can also achieve all the levels, but only the really great ones can. I also have a title and it's the Thief of Light, which enables my luck powers to accelerate and I am unstoppable. Of course if what you say is true, or your book friend says, then my powers are gone." A short groan followed by a growl sounds from her. "Well then the best I can do now, is find out if I'm a weapon or a meister and master the levels that this universe holds.

She moves to hover just a bit off the ground, enjoying the freedom and privilege her wings gave her. " I would appreciate if that is our next destination. Also the communicator I was given, I'm right to assume that I can contact the other trolls. It would be soooooooo rude of me if I didn't tell them I'm here. Especially since you said none of them have achieved god tier. " She laughs at that. "Do you know their names?"

[lezard_valeth]

"Unfortunately, I know nothing of their names; merely text colors in their entries to the Network," he replied, brushing the last of the dust from his hair.

"But communication through the device can be seen and heard by others who possess them. Video, voice messages and text messages are possible to reach your fellow trolls. The others, no doubt, wait in the shelters now. The signals from the communicators are muddled currently due to the storm. What better than the face to face reunion, hm?"

[vintage_magic]

"Trolls can create humans where you're from?" she asked, staring. From what Disciple had told her, she'd had the impression there weren't humans in the troll world.

"Huh. Did you find one of those smartphone things in your pockets when you ended up out in the storm?" Really, if BREW was going to hand out communicators, too, why couldn't it have left the people it pulled in inside as usual? "And I've only met a few, a Disciple, an Aranea, and a Condesce. I think there are more but I'm not sure how many."

[sp8der8itch]

"So when we get to this shelter I can send out a signal and then meet up with them? Or do you think they will all be in the shelter because it's hard to imagine trolls sitting around and not going out on an adventure. Unless it's one of the lower caste ones. I'm sure they would just end up being sandstorm bait!" She went on, turning to look at the weapon. It was obvious that the gears were already turning in her head and she was thinking of a plan. She smirks as she turned to glance back at the meister. "Oh, we trolls created the humans universe and act as their gods. Some of us taking on that title a little more vocally then others. I have my own agenda of course." The smirk only deepens as she lists off those names. "So, Aranea is here and a couple of our Ancestors and our one and only Empress...well that is unexpected."