AWKWARD ZOMBIE

Zephiur nodded and rolled into the culvert, it was just large enough for him to stand straight up with about an inch of headroom. He lowered his goggles over his eyes and tapped in a command on his arm panel: NVG. The goggles immediately switched from their reddish hue to a vivid green, and he could see everything inside the drainpipe. This feature was useful, but he would be rendered temporarily blind if a light were to suddenly jump out at him. He sloshed along in the shallow drain water, walking as far as he could go; the faint squeaking and scurrying of rats became common to his ears as he continued on. He felt and saw the water getting shallower and shallower until he walked across an iron grate on the floor. After that, there was no more water and he only had the echoing drips behind him and the pit-pat of his boots on the concrete to listen to.

After what felt like hours of walking, Zephiur started to see an increasingly brighter light, and he switched off the night vision function of his goggles, everything going back to the reddish hue they originally had. As he emerged from the pipe, he slid his goggles back up and the unique tang of sea salt wafted through his nose. The pipe came out of a cliff on the edge of the ocean. "Well, that would explain why it took so long to get here." he said, to nobody in particular. "Mekanos is a few miles away from any sort of large body of water." He cracked his neck and turned around, stepping on the edge of the pipe and looking up. The outcrop extended past the pipe a little ways, so there was just enough leeway for Zephiur to launch his grappling hook and climb up. He steadied his arm with his right hand and took aim for a spot close enough to the edge for him to climb up but far enough in for it to be stable, and shot. The industrial wire uncoiled rapidly as the metal claw streamlined for the cliff's face, and Zephiur opened the claw just before impact, closing it tight around the soil and yanking the wire to make sure it was stable. He rolled his shoulder and leapt off, arcing towards the cliff before crashing into it boots-first. Zephiur looked up, took a breath, and started to climb.

The door opened and in walked a simple-looking man. He wore none of the fancy garb his customers displayed in the VIP lounge, opting instead for a practical look. Eris liked that. He really wished he didn't have to die.

"Ah, you must be the new member I was informed of," said the owner of the casino, taking a seat behind his desk. "Although I'm afraid you're just a tad late."

"Oh?" said Eris. "How so?"

The man chuckled. "The Delacroix family was found slaughtered not two weeks ago. Every single one of them. We no longer have a purpose, so the group is disbanding."

"A shame," said Eris, shaking his head. "But then, if I may, I'm new to the group as you said. Since there is no longer a need for the group, might I know more about it? I was only informed of the barest details." He applied Relaxation, just a small nudge.

The man smiled. "Of course. Ordinarily this would be top secret, but with things as they are there's no harm in people knowing. To tell the truth, I'm the only Adviser in the group who feels that way, so you got lucky. Now," he reclined in his chair. "What do you wish to know?"

"Everything," said Eris. "I've researched the First War extensively, it's how I was led to this group. I only know tales and legends of the Gentle King, but not the facts."

"That's quite a lot to get through in one visit," said the man. "But I can summarize the King for you in a relatively short time. As you know, he's the man who appeared out of nowhere and united the ten greatest noble houses under one banner without any use of force. In one fell swoop he ended the war and became ruler of a good part of the world. Without raising a single weapon."

"Amazing," said Eris, partially acting and more than a little genuinely interested. "But there were rumors."

The casino owner nodded his head. "Yes, and it's the reason our group was founded. He gained power through peace, and kept order through peace, but none of it was genuine. He was an Eternal, before we even knew that mortal races could become such thing. His power was empathy. With his godlike strength, it was a simple feat for him to emit the very feeling of Peace to all of his subjects. That's the great secret left out of history books, the one we took pains to conceal from the rest of the world."

"Why?" said Eris. "It sounds like his rule was a better one than most I could name today."

The man shook his head. "On the surface. But our order was founded on the basis that forcing everyone to feel what he wanted constituted a form of mind control. When he died we tracked his descendants to ensure that no one would ever inherit that power again. During the First War, this world was almost new, with little technology. Nowadays, if another with that sort of ability appeared, they have the potential to command the entire world. That is the reason we kept watch until two weeks ago."

"Fascinating," said Eris with a smile. "Even I didn't know that much. Rule the world huh? Learning that alone makes this conversation worth it. Well, I think I'm done."

He Slammed the man with the full force of his power. People grew a resistance to attacks, given enough time. They could defend against a sword, or a spell, or even a tricky trap. But Eris had never encountered someone whose emotions had that kind of defense.

The casino owner sat in his chair quietly, staring straight ahead. He could see Eris, he could hear him, and if he so desired he could easily come after him. But he didn't want to. He didn't want to do anything really, or feel anything. Eris had hit people with a Blank before, and he was pleased to see it worked just as well as usual. The victim felt no emotions whatsoever under his power, and with the blank slate came the opportunity to implant his own emotions for them to act under. And so long as he stayed in the vicinity it was a simple thing to maintain the Blank.

He got up and walked behind the desk, opening the door. The casino owner made no move to stop him. Eris looked inside and saw papers scattered everywhere on a large table, with a fire crackling in the hearth. He examined some of them and found information sheets, all detailing his family. Every last member from direct blood to household servants were listed. He tossed those aside and caught view of a leather-bound book underneath them.

He picked it up and opened it. Right away there was a list of names, none of which Eris recognized, under the heading of Advisers. He turned the page was was greeted with the symbol of an open palm cut in half, with the words, "Peace is an illusion," in a circle around it.

Eris smiled and put the book in his pocket. He had names now. That was all the spymaster would require. In a short time he'd rid himself of his family's enemies, freeing him to rebuild. But he had to start the purge first.

Eris walked back into the other room and in front of the casino owner. He extended his power and placed Fear into the man's emotions. "My name is Eris Delacroix," he said. "Direct descendant to the Gentle King and heir to his power. I am Eterni with the power of empathy, with the potential to unite the world." Now Anger. "I have taken your roster from the other room, detailing the names of the Advisers of your order. Thank you for telling me that you're the only one with such loose lips, it saves me from hunting down the entirety. These names will suffice." Make it stronger, close to homicidal. Eris saw the man's veins bulging as his hands gripped the seat of the chair tight enough to turn his knuckles white. "If you don't stop me, every name in here will die by my hand. You can choose to let me walk away in exchange for your life, or stop me and risk losing it. Tata."

Eris walked out the door, channeling Rage and Determination into the man. By the time he exited the VIP lounge and was in the public area, he felt murderous intent all around.

Eris smiled, gripped his cane tighter, and bolted for the door with a good portion of deadly casino employees in hot pursuit. Time to finish this game.

"Oop--" Jade held out an arm to stop Galiena from walking any forward, potentially in the way of the security chasing after a man in PANK. "Wonder what that's all about," he mused, raising an eyebrow once they passed. "They looked pretty rustled." Someone was raising trouble, he guessed. It wasn't quite his problem, though...he might have stepped in if he saw what went on before.

As Martin saw the two guards leave another approached him and slaked him against the wall holding him there. "ACK! What the hell!?" The guard cuffed him and pushed him to the ground. The guard gave him a sly grin.

"Allen may not have captured the terrorist leader but I seemed to have captured one of his underlings." Martin was shocked. The gaurd picked him up and started laughing.

"I didn't do anything!" Martin protested. All the guard did was keep laughing and shoved him towards the courthouse. Martin's trial was speedy. He was sent to prison on crimes he didn't commit. He left the courthouse seeing the guard who arrested him talking to his buddy about a premotion from the captain. He arrived at the prison quickly and was stripped of his possessions. He was shoved into a cell with an old man who was yammering about injustices of the city. He sat on his bunk and began to cry.

[~God

DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMN]

The old man, who was actually Viktor van Errenheit, yelled as the guard brought in another prisoner. He'd seen many prisoners come and go, but he was always there. "Got another innocent, eh?" he asked contemptuously. The guard just ignored him; the prison watch were used to Viktor's ramblings. "Bet yer just doin' it for the sweet raise, eh?" He shook his head, muttering to himself. "daisies military's all up in Mekanos' craw, strippin' away every last ounce of freedom we had." He continued his angry mutters until he heard the sounds of the new prisoner crying. He stopped speaking and turned to face him, getting up and limping over, grabbing the iron bars for support. "Hey, kid. What's the matter? Ain't been in prison before?" he asked, but sympathetically rather than mockingly.

Allen walked by the paved outer edge of the eastern wing of the prison, waiting for a pair of voices. He felt terrible for getting that stranger into trouble. He took up his 'post' near the window, and, according to plan, the torches went out, there was a single lane of torches extinguished. Clear on the other side, on the west wing. That would draw the other guards like, well, like moths to a flame.

"No not at all." Martin calmed down a bit. "I arrested because I was at the scene where a terrorist escaped. They said I worked with him and pegged me with several different crimes." Martin groaned. "I was just in the city to help decipher a book. But curiosity tort the best of me and I ended up here." He looked at the old man. "What are you here for?" He asked.

Viktor nodded his head sideways a little. "Got stuck in here because I refused to keep spittin' out weaponry for the corrupt military here." he said, leaning closer. "And I'll bet ya anything that 'terrorist' is my son Zephiur. They've been trying to peg him ever since that incident with the rifle malfunction." he closed his eyes and shook his head. "daisies, I miss that boy. It's been nearly ten years since I last saw him. You got a family, kid?" he asked, looking at his new prison-mate.

"The only family I have is my grandparents, my parents died in a housefire when I was four." Martin sighed. "I nearly died myself but I fell unconscious and woke up in a hospital. I don't know how I survived." Martin began thinking, "Zephiur huh? I met him yesterday, he seems nice." Martin shrugged "Anyway the names Martin. What's yours?"

They were good, Eris really did have to give the staff credit. In the ten feet from the door he'd had an arrow embedded in his left arm, what felt like a weight strike his back, and he'd almost been tripped up by a bola. But he'd reached the door, and that meant game over.

He shoved them open wide to the sun, the busy street, and the legion of military right outside with spears leveled. He dashed towards them without a second thought and they parted for him before filling the gap as soon as he'd passed. Eris whirled around and pulled out the leather book from his pocket, handing it over to a more ornately-dressed soldier. "Here's the evidence you wanted. This place is the focal point for a terrorist group dedicated to wiping out nobility."

The man flipped through the first few pages, taking in the symbol, motto, and detailed accounts of the Delacroix family. He snapped it shut and turned to his men. "It checks out. From what I'm seeing, this group may be responsible for the slaughter of the Delacroix household." He drew his sword and leveled it at the door as they burst open with casino staff halting in their tracks at the sight of the military presence.

Without an enemy to focus on, the soldiers had been ready but not alert. With targets in sight, their emotions sprang to combat readiness. All Eris needed to do was give one big push to Bloodthirst.

"Men!" said the leader to his soldiers, "Wipe them out, casino staff only. No one escapes!"

The soldiers surged forward as one trained unit. Despite their individual skill, the casino staff had not been trained to work as a group. They fell in seconds and soon soldiers streamed into the establishment with the intent to kill.

Eris remained to watch. He'd already learned from the spymaster that there were no hidden exits from the place. If the casino owner wanted to take down Eris, he'd have to come out himself. And Eris had no doubt he would. Among other things, the spymaster had included several rumors about the owner that had allowed him to amass such a fortune. If those rumors were correct, then Eris would need to take him out personally. He could hardly wait.

Soldiers had streamed through the doors in a huge wave, crashing through the crowd of patrons and cutting down the workers in the establishment. Galiena's eyes went wide as she watched from behind Jade, since he had stepped in front of her when the man in PANK had run by. The customers panicked and the entire building erupted into a cacophony of commotion. Galiena could hardly hear herself think over the din.
"...come on," she snarled, grabbing Jade's arm and leading him out of the building. "When someone runs out of a place only to have soldiers storm /in/, you know something's up." She discarded the casino vest she'd been wearing over her regular clothes and looked around outside. Most of the area was empty of soldiers, after they had all rushed in the doors.
She could see the man in PANK standing not too far away. "/There/ he is."
Without missing a beat she let go of Jade's wrist, tossed her braid, and approached the man with an angry scowl on her face. Her eyes were flinty. "What the HELL is going on?" she demanded. "You've got something to do with this--you ran out of there like a bat out of hell right before those soldiers rushed in. Explain yourself!"

One positive thing could be said about the barbarian civilization. They had made it exceedingly easy to kill them.

Unlike the old days when individual tribes had been scattered and nomadic, living in small groups, modern barbarians lived in huge, crowded hovels. Even better, each city was linked by massive roads, making travel between each den of filth very quick. Halfway down one such road, Maloch encountered an interesting sight.

There was a little fire not far from the edge of the road, and a filthy looking man sat beside it. Despite his poor living conditions, he seemed relatively content. Maloch drew closer.

"Hello, stranger," The dirty barbarian said. "You look mighty odd."

Maloch supposed the wretched man was referring to his clothes. They were the peak of Hilcover fashion; something this worm would never understand. Maloch flexed his fingers and the mans small fire expanded into an inferno, destroying the mans few possession and ultimately the man himself. Maloch stood among the fire, not feeling the burning grip, and focused. The fire spread ever onward, finding purchase where normal flame would never hold, and crawled along the ground, igniting grass and trees in its path.

The fire reached the road. Those unlucky enough to be traversing it in their strange vehicles were caught in a sudden inferno. Travel ground to a halt as mounds of burning vehicles and charred corpses started to pile up in the streets.

Maloch continued down the road, headed for the next town along the path.

Eris borrowed the book from the soldiers' leader, who charged in with his men. He opened it up and showed it to the girl who had just spoken to him. "This casino's owner is a member of a terrorist group intent on the destruction of nobility. Take note of their symbol, an open hand being cut in half, and their motto, 'Peace is an illusion.'"

"I received information about this group and decided to investigate on my own," he continued, enhancing his words with a sense of Calm. "However I was discovered shortly after acquiring this book, and had to flee for my life to the protection of the soldiers outside. You may not have seen it, but many employees inside were hired personnel skilled in combat. Hardly the normal sort of people one hires."

He closed the book and put it in his pocket, hitting the leader with Indifference to keeping it as he stormed inside. "That's the truth, whether you believe it or not."

[Sorry for taking so long to post! I couldn't really... find the thread.]

Wriar had been trying to focus all day, but it was difficult due to the growing commotion down the street, at the Casino. The first time he looked out the window, he saw a strange man with one prosthetic arm rocketing away on what looked to be rocket boots, with a soldier chasing him. The second time, he saw a line of soldiers outside of the Casino, probably preparing to unjustly imprison or murder people as usual. He closed his window after seeing that.
That final little while of peace and quiet was just what he needed to finish crafting his new flintlock pistol. He sighed. Although he loved being an archivist, and his small hobby of building things took up his otherwise free time (of which he had little), he was getting bored of his life. He needed action! Adventure! ...Romance? Probably not the third thing. That's just not his style. He figured that would probably never happen to him, recorded his new pistol in his journal and went downstairs to continue reading his Steampunk novels.

"Destruction of nobility?" Galiena raised an eyebrow, staring at the symbol on the page skeptically. "Can't say I'd be opposed to that--not if it meant my father would be taken down a few pegs," she muttered sourly. Her eyes narrowed. "Just because some of the imbeciles working there were in cahoots with your terrorist group, doesn't give you the excuse to order everyone cut down. How many innocents do you suppose have just died, by your word? You tell me."