10-7-2018 - Jessi (Ruby) & Chantry (Rodrick)
Jessi: Ruby makes her way down the halls, somewhat shaken from the interaction she had with Hikaru. Having excused herself to step away for a bit, she wandered absentmindedly to the hold of the ship, lost in thought. Arriving, she sees it is in somewhat of a disarray, and looks around for you. "Rodrick? Ya in here? Ya alright?"
Chantry: Beneath a mound of blueprints, a muffled and garbled voice replies. "Uuh? ahem yep. I'm here. Must have fallen out of Firelord or sleepwalked..." Rodrick climbs out from under the small mountain of blueprints and dusts himself off before stumbling to his desk. "Where's that blasted coffee pot?" He mumbles to himself.
Jessi: She looks around, curiously. "Have you been... sleeping? You didn't hear anything out of the ordinary?"
Chantry: "Well, I heard... something... but I just thought it was Thorin or Zandar trying to shoot something with a cannon... aha!" Rodrick grabs the coffee pot and literally hugs it. He walks over to a barrel and puts some water in it before putting WAY more coffee than necessary into it and setting it on a small stove to heat. "Sorry... I didn't mean to sleep so long, what happened?"
Jessi: Ruby scratches her head. "Quite a lot, actually. Which is funny, seein' as we only recently left the city. I suppose I should fill ya in." She finds a chair and gently moves the papers off of it, before taking a seat. She takes an unusual amount of time straightening her dress ruffles, trying to gather her thoughts.
"We was headin' toward that rock Thorin is so keen on catchin', but as soon as we got close enough to it--we were attacked."
Chantry: "Attacked...? Hikaru's uncle is getting brave..."
Rodrick starts rummaging through a toolbox looking for a mug, but can't find one. He eventually grabs an old fuel cell and pulls the lid off, wipes it out with a clean rag, and pours his coffee into it before plopping down on a pile of blueprints and facing Ruby.
Jessi: "Well..." She shifts in her seat. "This seemed different. First it was... bees? Bugs? Thorin came on the tubes tellin' us all to watch out and stay in our rooms, somethin' was comin' in from the outside. But we're way over the sea... didn't seem right." She scrunches her nose at the smell of the too-strong coffee. "From what we could find after all the hullaballoo, they were mechanical."
Chantry: "Mechanical bugs...? Weird. Did you... find any that weren't destroyed? Maybe Thorin and I can look at them and figure out who made em..."
Jessi: She pulls out one of the insects from her purse, and places it in front of you. It's smashed, (likely from Thorin's hammer) but you can make out a metallic body with small gears and wings, and some type of tube-like needle. It is stained with a dark poisonous looking liquid.
"All the ones that weren't destroyed seemed to flee after everythin' settled down."
Chantry: Rodrick sips his coffee and sighs a happy sigh. He then lays down and rolls to his side, and grabs a small sack of food from under a nearby table. He rummages around inside for a minute, throwing the odd moldy pastry or fruit out the window nearby before holding up a Danish and proclaiming his victory with a very cheerful "aha!"
He peers at the small, mechanical insect. "Interesting... such craftsmanship. Those gears... so delicate... and the wings! That is incredible..."
Jessi: "Is that the sack of food I brought you before? I can get you fresh food from the galley." She smiles, a kind of grossed-out look on her face. "I thought so too... it's nothing like I've seen before. There's no steam either, nor anything like what you made with Firelord."
Chantry: "Probably... I've been a little busy. Lost track of time, and before you know it, yesterday bleeds into tomorrow and then it's next week..."
"Well, it's too small to have an internal combustion system, so steam is out of the question... and unless someone has my fuel composition, I doubt a thermo-dynamic system is possible... maybe they're clockwork? Like, wind them up the the first time and then a tiny pendulum keeps them moving?"
"Clockwork is good for small things. You can make them so small and delicate. There's just some things you can't do with fire or steam."
Jessi: "I see..." She studies it as you look it over. "Well... be it as it may... those ended up being the least of our worries. Right after those showed up, a hefty weight slammed the ship. Nearly knocked me senseless. Zander was callin' for help from the engine room... By the time I got there, the ship was listin' mighty bad, and one of the boilers was out."
"He kept swearin' he saw a... a dragon? Some metal beast-like creature. It had blown a hole right in the floor, and we lost all our coal. We're going back to the mainland--not the city, mind ya, just somewhere off the eastern coast--so we can get some supplies and patched up..."
Chantry: "A dragon, huh? My father told me stories about em... even with Firelord I'm not sure if I'd want to take one on. They've got claws as long as swords and sharper than needles... teeth like spears and a tail that can break stone... wings that make storms underneath them just by beating... 'least that's what Father used to say... but he's a bit... theatrical..."
Jessi: "Well it did a mighty blow to our ship, I'll say that much. But that was likely cause we wasn't expectin' it."
Chantry: "Say Miss Ruby... with the boiler being damaged and us out of coal and whatnot... do ya think that... maybe... the rest of the group would consider... letting me upgrade the airship? I want to power it with thermo-kinetics... just like Firelord..." he bites his danish and takes a sip of his coffee.
Jessi: "That sounds like a great idea... we might need something more..." She glances over at Firelord. "Powerful... to go where we're headin'."
Chantry: "It would give us the edge in maneuverability and speed... and if for some reason something was able to keep up at normal running speed, we could over pressurize the system and use the added pressure to overclock the engines... basically kicking them into overdrive... we might have to build something to help keep them cool, but I bet Thorin could help with that."
Jessi: "But we do need parts... argh." She slumps on the table. "We might have to pool our funds to get some supplies." She looks up sideways from the table. "But that sounds good."
Chantry: "I'm just not too sure the rest of the group would like the idea of using a potential bomb as the power source... I mean... if the thermo-kinetic dynamo isn't properly maintained, it will blow up... but it's super easy to keep track of. I'll show the whole crew how to do it..."
Jessi: Ruby gets a concerned look on her face. "Oh..." After trailing off for a minute, she tries to recover. "I--yes, that sounds--that sounds like a good idea. We can put it to a vote, perhaps."
Chantry: Rodrick dips his danish in the coffee and takes a big bite, then mumbles through his food. "Although, we might have to increase fuel production... right now I make about a gallon a day for storage... we'd probably need 5 gallons a day just to maintain the airship."
Jessi: "What do you make it from?" She looks around, as if trying to spot where such combustible fuel could be kept, or made.
Chantry: "It's a couple different chemicals I have learned to make. They're pretty basic, but when you combine them in the proper ratios, you get a highly volatile mixture capable of powering tons of things... I have a small version powering my shop back home... it's even got a couple automatons who keep it running properly.
Jessi: "Wow..." She thinks back to Mr. Luther and the automatons you made him, but shakes her head a bit to focus. "We'll see what the others say, and how much time we can spare in town. The dragon didn't follow us either, it... I guess, we lost sight of the rock in the clouds, and it--and the bugs--disappeared."
"When we make landfall, I'm not sure if... if we're..." She bites her lip. "Well, far enough away from where we left, ya know? We wanna keep our cover as best we can, I think."
"...No more goblins though." She looks a bit disgusted, thinking back to when we bought the decoy ship.
Chantry: Rodrick's face shows a bit of confusion, and he says "goblins?" then as quick as it came, it leaves. "Sorry, the memories are a bit fuzzy... it's difficult sometimes."
Jessi: "Oh! Right, that was--you were..." She trails off. "Don't worry about it, really."
Chantry: "We all share memories, but some are more subdued than others. Typically the thing we remember most is what we did."
Jessi: "Gotcha. Well--" She blanches a bit, suddenly remembering something. "Oh right... I… there's one more wrinkle in all this. It completely left my mind until I started thinkin' about the goblin critters. Um..." She seems really nervous, and fiddles with her gloves.
"We have another.... passenger." She kind of emphasizes the word, like she's not sure if that's the right term to use.
Looking around to make sure no one else is here, she leans closer. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to pry, but... the, hell place... you mentioned the other night... what did people look like, there?"
She's speaking in a hushed voice now, and appears apprehensive. It was such a strange, archaic conversation that night, that the words feel foreign on her tongue when discussing them in the daytime. For a moment, she worries she's a little not right in the head; like maybe she dreamed the whole ordeal and, bringing it up now, she worries you might deny any mention of it, and think she's teasing you, or is crazy.
Chantry: "To be honest, I'm not really sure. I spent most my time with my Mother... The little time I wasn't around her was with Asmodeus."
Jessi: Ruby shudders a bit at the name for some reason, but she feels relief wash over her knowing that it all wasn't a dream then. "I see... well, when we was listin' in the air, we almost crashed inta the sea. Into--on top of--a boat out there." She sighs. "The others tried mighty hard to get him on board, I reckon they thought he was gonna get killed out on the water. But he didn't seem ta wanna come."
"He... he's big. Like Ruck." She furrows her brow. "With big plate armor, and a big sword, and... big... horns." She trails off. "He's got deep crimson skin..."
"I just thought.. I'd never seen someone like that before, and it looked so mighty frightnin', I..." She tears up. "I shouldn't have assumed, but the first thought that came to mind was maybe he was from that hell place you was talkin' about. I thought maybe if he was, and if he got out, maybe he'd know how ta get back in with ya."
Chantry: "Oh?"
Jessi: "I..." She stutters, getting flustered. "I s-shouldn't assume stuff like that though, I know I've been tryin' to be better with all that. After learnin' more about you and-and about Mr. Karu, I feel like I"m just bein' so close-minded again. But darn-it-all, he s-scared me so bad when they fished him out of the water like some sea critter."
Chantry: "Crimson skin... horns... big like Ruck... hmm..." he stares out the window for a little while, lost in thought.
"One of the few times I still had access to my father's library... He has so many books. Old ones. Really old... like him..." He looks back at Ruby. "I may have heard or read something like that, but it's been so long ago I can't remember properly... sorry I can't be more help, Miss Ruby." He takes another swig of his coffee and pops the last bit of his danish in his mouth.
Jessi: "Oh no, it's--it's okay." She shakes her head. "I was tryin' to be the helpful one, but I suppose it's just the way it is." After a moment of watching you eat, she continues. "We've just had so much trouble with things lately. I can't get the look of that... creature, we fought at the church, out of my head. It was months ago, but seein' this new fella, I just felt so....... I'm tryin' to be open minded, that's all." She sinks into her seat, feeling frustrated and embarrassed, and not a small bit ashamed.
Chantry: "I wasn't in the church, but Hikaru filled me in... that's not a natural thing... your response, is. That... thing... was pure evil manifesting itself... don't feel bad for being put off by it."
Jessi: Ruby looks up at you. "I--I never felt like... like that, with--with Rakk. He surprised me. So did Ruck. You have a lot of surprises." She chuckles, but trails off. "That beast was different. Like you said... it was anything but natural. Just... just evil." She shivers.
"I've just been jumpy lately, I suppose. I should try to be nice to this... this new fellow." She looks contemplative. "I don't think he has a name, either."
Chantry: Rodrick pales at the name Rakk. "Wait... when did you... when did he come out?"
"Rakk... when did you see him?"
Jessi: She pales a bit, too. "Oh... I..." She thinks back and is quiet for a moment.
"There was a moment, when we was--was in the forest, in Wuxia. You were mighty upset with Ms. Trident, and Mr. Karu and I came to find ya. We talked a lot... at one point you said you--you was bothered by... by bein' you. And--and you changed your face, and body somewhat. But not all the way." She frowns. "It was differn't."
"I member bein' startled by it--er.. sorry, by him. By him." She blushes. "I felt mighty bad for feelin' so."
Chantry: "Oh, then. I thought he got full control..." he visibly relaxes.
Jessi: Ruby’s expression changes a bit. "Was... is he dangerous? Is he not like... like the rest of you?"
Chantry: "No. He's the true form of us, physically... but remember how I said our mind is broken? Well... he has the most broken parts. He just acts. He has no conscience, no compassion, no remorse... he is the dark part of the broken mind.”
"He... he is almost evil. He has no sense of right or wrong... no comprehension of emotion... no respect for laws, boundaries, or privacy. He does what he wants and anyone who gets in his way is removed from his way..."
Jessi: "Oh..." she trails off, contemplating what that would be like... to live with that.
Chantry: "That's the one thing Rolland, Ragnar, Ruck, Rhys and I all have in common... keep Rakk contained..."
"Besides sharing a physical space..." he chuckles and smiles.
Jessi: She smiles back, but it kind of falters. "I guess you had control that day, heh. At least, over him a bit. I didn't know he was so..." She pauses. "Dangerous."
Chantry: "That was more of an illusion than shifting... it's just like snapping to shift a hand into someone else's..." he snaps one hand and changes the other to resemble Ruby's own hand
Jessi: She jumps a bit. "Oh! I see..."
Chantry: "Rakk isn't necessarily dangerous, but he needs to be dealt with with caution.
Jessi: "So... that wasn't really him then?" She looks a bit worried. "Does... is there any sorta trigger when he comes out? What should I do if he does?"
Chantry: "No, that wasn't him. For the most part, we've got him under control... if he ever does start to get control..." he hesitates before continuing. "We'll flicker... change fast, between all of us... at that point, it's us versus him. We're all fighting for control, so it's a flash of faces as we fight..."
"And if it stops on him... run... or knock him out before he gets a chance to do anything..."
Jessi: "Huh..." she chuckles nervously, trying to relax. "But you said he wasn't necessarily dangerous, if... if we're careful? How.... how do you come back?"
Chantry: "The way we stay separate is... think of it like walls. When I'm in control, everyone else is outside the room... The others can catch glimpses and sometimes put things into my mind, like a whisper, but they can't control me... The same is true for everyone else... in order to get one of us to come back, the easiest way is to trick Rakk into letting his guard down... or knock him unconscious and then we're all in a "room" together... and then somebody can make a run for the controls.
Jessi: "I see... So when he comes out, it's--it's kind of a gamble when? There's not a time when you're under duress when he, well, makes a run for the controls?"
In Ruby’s mind, she sees flashes of times Hikaru changed into his beastly self to protect Rodrick--when Rodrick was peppered full of bolts, and almost bled out in the forests of Wuxia. When he was struck, and flung through the air like a rag-doll on the icy shores of the Northern Wastes. His small form slamming and bouncing off of the hard ice and snow. She shudders visibly; honestly thinking that you'd died in those instances. Feeling a bit sick at the memories, she wonders if Rakk never emerged for those events, what might do it.
Chantry: "Not exactly... while Riddick is unconscious, the others aren't... Rakk, since he's the true form, tends to have all things happen... for instance, if he gets knocked out, we all do. If he gets hurt, we all feel it..."
"It's weird, but that's how it works."
Jessi: Ruby nods, thinking she understands a bit more. "I wouldn't want to hurt you, tryin' to knock him out." She pouts. "But I'm glad... when you've been injured, that he hasn't taken that opportunity to... well, take advantage of the situation."
Chantry: "We'd all rather a bump on the noggin and a headache to rival hangovers than have someone we care about hurt... like you or Hikaru..."
Jessi: "Would my sleeping darts work against him? Does he have any desires or weaknesses that could distract him?" She's flustered a bit at your kindness, finding it so genuine and sweet.
Chantry: "Sleeping darts might work... as for desires or weaknesses, that's a shot in the dark. He's totally unpredictable. Even I don't know what he wants, and I share a mind with him..." Rodrick kneads his hands, hanging his head somewhat ashamed.
Jessi: "Oh, no no I didn't mean to frustrate you! That's--it's understandable..." She trails off. "Like you said he changes on a whim and just... goes for what he wants. So..."
"Pardon the intrusive questions, as well... I hope it's not been a bother. I know this is your private life. It's--you're just... a very interesting fellow. And a good friend.... We all care about you."
Chantry: "Not a problem, Miss Ruby. I feel safe talking to you."
Jessi: She smiles kindly, then chuckles. "Well... I'm safer to talk to than to trust with explosives." She looks sheepish. "I failed to say... I tried to help Zander with the boiler during the fuss earlier. And..." She buries her head in her arms, embarrassed.
She mumbles, "He asked me to bring my alchemy, to start a fire in the boiler and get it going... with no coal. I didn't know! I didn't--I didn't practice THAT as Arabella!" She peeks out from behind her arms and frilly sleeves, and sneaks a glance at your supplies. "I might have... tried to use one of those little incendiary shells you made me..."
She's a bright shade of red, and hides her face again.
Chantry: Rodrick's eyes get wide and a slight grin comes across his face. "Oh... well, what happened?"
Jessi: She snickers, still hiding her face. "Well whada think, you're the explosives expert." Up until this point she's been really ashamed about it, like when she mentioned it to Hikaru, but finally seems to be able to laugh. "I nearly blew the dang thing through the roof, that's what I did."
"I almost shot the stupid thing--ugh, I'm so dumb. I took it out and tried to mix it with my ingredients, and dropped it in, and... and shut the door..." She starts to laugh.
Chantry: Rodrick starts giggling. "I bet... those burn a whole hell of a lot hotter than coal! Haha!"
Jessi: "No kiddin'!! Poor Zander's face, he had just fixed all the tubing and that blew it all to pieces again. I was sure I'd doomed us, but he fixed it right as rain again." She stops laughing, and looks up again a bit guilty. "Burned his hands pretty bad though... I helped him with that after... good gracious though. I don't think I can be trusted with these things."
Chantry: "I wish I was awake... I should have helped..."
Jessi: "Awww, no, no I don't blame ya. You've..." Ruby thinks a minute. "You've been restin, and I don't know the last time I saw you get some shut eye. You've been as awake as a barn owl all week, 'til the other night we all came and bothered ya."
"And if that dragon is protectin' that rock, and Thorin really is keen on gettin' back to it someday... once we find it again... you can help us with an attack on it, how's that? Better now that we're expectin' it."
Chantry: "How long was I awake, anyways? And deal... against that dragon, we'll need all the firepower we can get..."
Jessi: "Blimey, I can't really say. I don't remember the last time you had any sleep. Granted, Mr. Karu might know better, he visits yer shop more often than all of us."
"Well, now that you are rested, I'll have him bring you down some decent-like food." She stands, "Thank ya for your company, and your help. We'll make landfall soon, and perhaps you and I can barter some good deals in town for the parts ya need. I'm sure you'll know best what's needed after all."
Chantry: "For sure! I'm hoping next time I start slipping into workshop fever you can snap me out of it. It isn't good for anyone... especially me."
Jessi: She smiles kindly, "I'll try to keep an eye on ya, then. Best if we're all in good spirits, and good wits."