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[ixis]

There's a distinct smell of ozone gathering several feet in the air over the Nexus forum. When a low rumbling starts, that smell grows sharper, more electric. Something grinding, tearing, burning...

A sudden, massive white flash appears, along with it an unnerving and immediate lack of sound. Where one would normally expect something a little more thunderous- a bang, a pop, possibly a crack -there is just white noise that leaves anyone for several yards around with ringing ears. (Assuming they are in possession of ears, of course.) And as immediate as it had been there, the flash it gone, snapping shut like a hastily done-up zipper.

Left suspended in the air by this event is a bizarre, bearded gargoyle-like figure who is now left to gravity's devices. He plummets, clearly startled, but gathers his wits quick enough to avoid an undignified landing. There is a cold swirl of wind, his cape snaps outward into the distinct shape of bat wings, and allows him to settle gently onto his feet.

The man (person? creature?) jerkily looks about, taking brief stock of his surroundings; upon finding them unfamiliar, he wastes no time pointing his gem-tipped staff menacingly at any general gathering nearby, sharp teeth gritted.

"Who is the master of this realm? Speak, fools!" He looks around again, increasingly agitated, adjusting his grip on his staff, before shaking it again and additionally snapping, "Where is the Doctor? The Quickster!? Why did he contain all of YOU to this realm as well as me?! SPEAK!!"

Ixis Naugus has arrived and he demands to speak to a manager.

Comments

[brave_heart_verity]

Verity fixes an incredulous look on the... whatever-it-is. To say she's unimpressed would be an understatement.

"Good luck with that."

[ixis]

"I demanded answers, not cheek, Overlander!" He bristles visibly and clacks the butt of his staff loudly onto the floor.

"Surely this zone has a creator? A custodian? A king?! I order you to direct me to him immediately so that we may have words!"

Bossy, bossy, bossy.

[brave_heart_verity]

There's really only one possible answer to this display: "No."

It could be in answer to so many things.

[ixis]

Bristling becomes hissing. Actual, audible hissing, like an angered cat.

"HHHHHSSSS!"

It takes Naugus a few moments to just come down from this literal hissy fit and he can talk like a normal person again. Mostly.

"No, there is no custodian or master, or no, you'll not direct me to have audience with him?!"

[brave_heart_verity]

She watches the hissy fit like she doesn't care, mostly because she really doesn't care.

And then she smiles. "Why do you assume a leader has to be male? That's a very antiquated notion."

[ixis]

This catches Naugus briefly off-guard, the fury and pomp deflating from him, even if just for the time being.

"...I suppose it is. An unconscious gendering on my part. So, should that to be the case, would you kindly direct me to her majesty?"

At least he's not yelling or hissing anymore.

[brave_heart_verity]

That's better. He'll get a proper answer now.

"As far as I can tell, there isn't one. But there are some brochures over there that explain, sort of."

[ixis]

"Wh-..."

He looks to where the brochures are being indicated, then back to her. Narrows his eyes.

"So the creator is long gone? Forgotten?" There has to be someone responsible for this place. "Or was this all the work of the Doctor and he...somehow caught up a great mess of Overlanders in the process?"

He hasn't moved to go get one of these brochures yet, where all his answers COULD be.

[brave_heart_verity]

"They're either gone or anonymous. If there was a creator or creators. This might have all happened spontaneously. What doctor?"

[u_can_have_it_4_a_song]

The batlike man's arrival is observed by another being with a cane--this one a slender, well-dressed, human-looking man. He gives a quiet "tsk" at the bellicose introduction, shaking his head slightly in reproach as he answers with a question of his own. "What do you offer, O noisy interloper, in exchange for the answers you seek? We are none of us your servants here."

[ixis]

All these humanoids are setting the ugly mage right off; why are there so many and why is he stuck with them!? Naugus answers through clenched teeth.

"Clemency from my wrath, should I determine I am to be exiled here in a zone not of MY design!"

He jabs an accusing crab-like claw at the man, as that's the appendage he curiously possesses in place of a left hand. "If this is the machinations of an Overlander scheme, every last one of you will pay!" Nothing's making a lot of sense right now, but after the ordeal that he went through and ended up in this place as the end result? And it's full of people like this man? That's what little sense he's able to make of this situation thus far, so he's just gonna follow that lead.

[u_can_have_it_4_a_song]

"Clemency?" The man laughs. "By all means, spend your wrath, if that's the only coin you carry. For all it will buy you."

The crablike claw gets a look of mild interest, but the man in the suit is an old hand at games like these; he's not giving any hints away for free.

[ixis]

"You desperately underestimate the scope of what my anger can do."

The air immediately around Naugus suddenly goes hot and dry, flames gathering around that extended claw and leaping for the sharp-dressed man. For all the heat and rage of those flames, however, imagine Naugus' confusion when they fail to do any harm whatsoever.

[u_can_have_it_4_a_song]

For his part, Schön manages an expression of haughty ennui. He doesn't quite yawn, but the implication is there in his hooded eyes that he neglects to do so only because such a display is beneath even that expression of disdain. When the fire subsides, he drawls a simple, "do I?"

[ixis]

"And perhaps I underestimate the physics of this zone...?" Because there's no way someone's powerful enough to so effortlessly deflect his magic, right? Right? He will not accept that being a reality. Because he's just that amazing.

He looks at his own claw, puzzled, as if the answer to why that attack was fruitless lies there.

[u_can_have_it_4_a_song]

"Anything is possible, I suppose," the thin man drawls. "The matter at hand is what you're willing to exchange for knowledge."

[ixis]

"Are you insinuating I must barter with you to gain information?" He sounds disgusted and annoyed at the prospect, but the wizard eventually sighs, his broad shoulders slumping. The sigh sounds more like a hiss, though, the noise coming through closed teeth.

"Hhhhhhhh...fine. Seeing that I have arrived with very little upon my person, however, we may find our exchange short-lived. Unless you have alternative ideas for currency." The second the man suggests anything sounding remotely like servitude or favours, Naugus is going to flip out.

((ohai!))

[heart_of_a_witch]

"Whoa! Turn it down a notch, big guy." Oh, look, another humanoid! This one looks young, real young. She also looks unintimidated, but smart enough not to get too close. And she's carrying a couple heavy-looking books in her spindly arms.

Courtney has a dubious history with batlike beings. She's immediately thinking of Mr. Nog and wishing she had a carpet-bag for the purposes of self defense here. In the absence of a weapon, though, she's capable of making nice simply to satisfy her own curiosity. (Holy crap this place is weird, but entertaining.)

"I don't think I can answer any of that, but it'd help me to be sure if you can offer some background. Doctor? Quickster?"

((HOORAY))

[ixis]

He sighs, a loud and rasping sound, making clear (and perhaps exaggerating) his annoyance at everyone's ignorance. Nevermind that his boisterous original demands were made on the exact same grounds.

"All right, it is clear to me that this zone is all but fully sealed from the prime zone, so knowledge of prime's inhabitants is moot. But the fact remains I would like to know what caused this backwater little pocket to form, if not who. While I still wildly suspect the Doctor's hand in this, I would still like to know if he formed it, or I have been simply banished to another realm."

A pause.

"...Again."

<3

[heart_of_a_witch]

"Uh...okay, but why does it have to have been someone setting it up deliberately? I mean, these things do sometimes just...exist, whether you want to believe they're from magic gone wrong or quantum-mechanical hiccups."

Aaand have a raised eyebrow now, buddy. "You get banished a lot, huh? Are you trouble? Should I be yelling 'stranger danger'?"

Re: <3

[ixis]

"Not a lot. There was simply a time I had been unfairly trapped when I was out exploring other realms. Even if the place suited me fine, being unable to come and go as I pleased wore thin quickly.

"And nothing just happens, silly girl. Even if we do not see them, there are always machinations dictating how the wheels of events and matter turns. The discovery of these answers goes a long way, is all. And this place clearly seems...groomed." He gives a meaningful look at a nearby coffee bar. Untamed and spontaneous places rarely have naturally-occurring coffee bars.

[heart_of_a_witch]

Well, okay, she has to concede that coffee bars don't just happen. Except, possibly, in Yuppie districts, where 'Starbucks' and 'Cruisin Coffee' storefronts spring up overnight like mushrooms after a heavy rain. She's not fully convinced there's nothing supernatural at work there.

"All kinds of things happen without an intelligence dictating them, though. Like a cave. Wind and weather shape the rock, and then living things move in. That's all I'm saying. Obviously someone put up the sign, though, and the furniture."

[ixis]

"...Fair. Though I would prefer a child not lecture me on matters of wind and stone, thank you kindly." Naugus says this with a particular keen note of annoyance, a fair amount of metaphorical toe clearly stepped upon.

"I simply continue to suspect this place to have intentional machinations on the grounds I was sent here by someone with designs on my removal." At least that's what he THINKS that white flash was. It was all kind of strange and sudden. He saw it approach and grow, coming from the flying fortress of his enemy and then...nothing. Then this place.

[heart_of_a_witch]

"Maybe I'm not a child. Maybe I'm an ancient divine being wearing the guise of a child to lure in the unwary." Courtney deadpans, because she can't resist the opportunity to be an obnoxious little brat.

"Well, for what it's worth, I'm sorry your day got ruined. I actually came here on purpose. Sort of." The trip was on purpose. The destination was not planned well. "You're not injured or anything, right?"

She probably should have asked sooner, but he struck her as more threatening than injured.

[ixis]

He opens his mouth to counter, but then squints at Courtney. Then leans in close, still squinting, scrutinizing.

"...No you're not." Can he tell? Or is he just being obtuse about refuting childish pranks. "Don't lie to your elders, girl.

"And I'm fine. Perfectly fine." Even if he WAS injured, there's no way he'd admit it. He's like a cat; he'll do everything to hide an illness or pain because they're fussy, independent little butts.