The Overlady: A Changed World {Currently Closed}

[Lady Elrienne]

The Overlady
and the Overtwins

Zenon walked wordlessly past everyone else to leave the throne room, looking a bit shell shocked. However, (s)he paused at the large doors and looked back at Zemos for a moment. After what looked like a moment of deep though, (s)he shook his/her head and left to go change as planned. What had that been about? It had suddenly occurred to Zenon just what it might be like for Zemos to be married to Jezebel, considering what Zenon now knew about Jezebel's normal emotional state. The prince(ss) decided that it was a good thing that Zemos could regenerate.

Meanwhile, Jezebel had stared down at herself with disapproval once she determined that she had no idea what Scarlet was moaning about. "Fighting with these things will be such a pain," she muttered. It was clear that she didn't see the appeal of being well endowed. One might also notice that she said 'when' and not 'if.' In her mind, battle was inevitable at some point. With whom was irrelevant.

The Overlady, since Zenon seemed to have calmed down for the moment, sat back down on her throne and waited to see if Zemos would manage to avoid inappropriate thoughts. She had been informed that they would cause him pain if they got out of hand. Honestly though, she was a little impressed that he hadn't apparently crossed that line with the revelation of Jezebel's actual bust size, considering what she knew about him.

(Most of) The Adventuring Party

Millarca, Jerit and Maverick followed Miles into what was left of the building with an appropriate amount of caution. Once they were inside and reasonably sure nothing nasty was going to jump them, assuming that nothing overly exciting happened, they each proceeded to find a spot to wait. After they were settled, Maverick pulled a small object out of his things and tossed it to Jerit, saying, "Catch." After Jerit caught it and gave him a quizzical look, Maverick said, "It's what you think it is. Not particularly useful to me, but good for you."

Frowning, Jerit asked, "Where did you get it?"

Shrugging casually, Maverick replied, "It's something that was laying around in one of the various stockpiles of artifacts from my ancestor's empire. No one even noticed that I'd stolen it, since it doesn't do anything for anyone not of your race and your ancestors invariably fought on the other side of the war from mine. Don't worry, I charged it for you. In fact, letting it charge is exactly why I didn't give it to you before now."

Jerit looked like he really wanted to find a way for the gesture to be suspicious. However, after a moment, he hesitantly held the small object to his wrist and watched as it turned into a bracelet-like thing and attached itself. A small jewel on it shimmered slightly, but did not appear to actually glow. Almost as though it pained him, Jerit finally looked at Maverick and said, "Thank you."

"You're quite welcome," Maverick amiably replied. "And don't worry too much about my generosity. You're the healer, after all - it's just common sense to want you to stay standing as long as possible."

"Of course," Jerit replied, looking a little less hostile than before.

"I'm still a horrible person, if that makes you feel better," Maverick offered.

Jerit rolled his eyes and said nothing, but actually appeared almost amused by the comment if you looked carefully.

Millarca raised one eyebrow. "What is it?" she asked.

"It's a power amplifier specifically designed for members of my race," Jerit replied. "It will allow me to use my abilities more freely without needing to worry about expending too much energy."

"That's definitely useful," she said. "It looks like Ancient technology," she commented, getting a slightly confused look on her face.

"It does, doesn't it?" Maverick laughed, earning a (slightly less) dirty (than usual) look from Jerit for some reason.

((Nipsen is away this weekend. While she will be getting home tomorrow, she'll probably be tired. It's impossible to know if she'll be able to concentrate on posting until she's rested up, so we'll assume that No Name followed Miles into the ruins of the shop as well if you manage to post before she does.))

Allen

As for the resident vampire of the party, he carefully made his way toward the castle. While the skills he'd gained before being turned into a vampire were more geared toward wilderness, a ruined city with dangerous creatures in it was similar enough. At least similar enough to the particular wilderness he'd been familiar with. Truth be told, he probably never would have been caught by the vampire who'd turned him if it had ever occurred to him that a vampire might actually show up. Generally, intelligent undead had avoided his homeland because the sparse and spread-out population made it a less than ideal feeding ground. However, it was just Allen's luck that the one vampire in the world who had sufficient mad scientist tendencies to seek the area out for some unusual magical plant life happened to come upon him and decide to make him part of a grand experiment.

That aside though, he quickly discovered that the revenants did indeed not feel inclined to hunt him down, although he was careful to give any he came across a wide berth just the same. There was no need to tempt fate, after all. If he were going to the castle on his own, it probably wouldn't have taken him particularly long (considering the size of the city) to get there. However, finding the optimal route for the rest of the party would take a bit more time, since he scouted around for a better route every time he came relatively near too many revenants. He'd get there eventually though, and would have the route already figured out when he did. Then he'd be able to make sure nothing unmanageable had wandered onto the planned path on his way back.

Victor the EVIL Entity

While he had been silent for some time, he eventually decided to start tormenting Opal some more. To do this, he chose to start singing over her in the same tune with much more sensical if decidedly wrong words. Rather unpleasant words, actually. As if that weren't bad enough, the fiend had the audacity to have a lovely singing voice, which made the disturbing things coming out of his mouth seem even more incongruous with the tune.

[XavierLight]

Miles O'Rourke

Miles wasn't paying attention to the chatter, instead keeping an eye on the area outside for any signs of Allen or Revenant activity. He overheard a few things, mostly talk of Ancients, although he didn't really understand what was going on. Grandia had little to no knowledge of the Ancients, since there were very few signs of them reaching that far out.

The Undead of Istraken

Allen would notice several different undead roaming the city; the first looked like the more commonly known 'zombie' but less decomposed and with talons for hands, like the bones had grown out of the fingers and sharpened into claws. The second looked similar to the first, only their skin was a sickly purple colour. The third and rarer of the three was easily recognisable as a skeleton, another common undead, although the ones in Istraken were clad in what was once imposing heavy armour.

[Nipsen]

Opal's Mind

She shoved her imaginary fingers into her ears and began shouting the song very badly. How dare he try and make the memory of her mother unpleasant, never mind the fact that she had no memory of her mother to begin with. Though considering that this was all in her head, so to speak, she could not quite drown out the entity, so she began screaming out a different song her father would sing. Which meant it made even less sense then the last one even though she did remember all the words to this one, "The brave yellow donkey with mooses on it's head jumped over the mountain to see the bottle of purple gooses!!!!" She shouted at the top of her lungs. "Then oh what a noise as the world went mute! Oh what a sight as the rowboat fell off the goose!!!"
Who would have thought it was louder to be in her head then out of it. Then again it usually is.

No Name
& Very Noisy Friends that can't be heard

No Name glanced over at the object described as "looking like ancient technology" Seeing as he was created by ancient technology it didn't look that out of the ordinary to him. It gave off the usual blindingly shiny shimmery reddish to blueish colors no one else seemed to notice. He then said mostly to himself "Ancient technology is rare?"
He then flinched as the pleasantly quiet (till now) voice in his head yelled, "Of COURSE it IS!!! What? Am I common all of a sudden!?"
He held his hands over his ears in pain before remembering it wouldn't do any good, "Is something bothering you?" He wined quietly to himself hoping the others wouldn't hear his second comment.
He then got an earful about the injustice polluting the air of this place, and how the voice in his head just wanted to POUND EVIL TO A GOOEY PULP! already. No Name regretted asking. Although no one else heard this voice he had an expression of deep suffering till the other voice in his head said, "Hush you." and all was pleasantly quiet in his head again. It was about then he looked around the group wondering if anyone noticed his... moment.

[Lady Elrienne]

The Adventuring Party

Millarca missed most of No Name's issues because she was focused on double-checking that all of her most important gear was as at-the-ready as it was supposed to be. She heard him muttering, but ignored it because she'd already figured out there were voices only he could hear. One might think that would concern her, except that she'd actually known people who heard voices that no one else could hear which turned out to have very real and ultimately benevolent sources. Ergo, she wasn't going to make any snap judgments about his sanity beyond those she'd already formed when she met him.

As for the resident healer, if Jerit noticed, he willfully ignored it. Of course, the fact that he had some sort of concept of what No Name actually was probably helped him ignore any strangeness on the duwanilian's part. Although there was always a chance that he simply couldn't be bothered to care. It's hard to tell with grouchy types like him.

Maverick, on the other hand, paid attention while pretending not to. If he had any doubt about the sorts of items No Name carried with him before, Maverick knew for a fact now. This caused him to renew his determination not to do anything that might cause the Shadow Warrior to forget the Neywalin told him not to kill Maverick unless the curse mage betrayed the mission.

Aside from that, not much happened just yet as they waited for Allen.

Allen

As he carefully searched for a route with as few undead around as possible, Allen began identifying the various undead types he saw for future reference. Of course, he'd never been particularly creative with names and hadn't the faintest idea of whether or not any of them had official names. Thus he identified them as Talon Zombies, Purple Talon Zombies, and Armored Skeletons. He spared a moment of thought to ponder how a mere skeletal structure could possibly avoid being damaged by wearing such heavy armor, particularly at the stress points when they moved. However, he quickly dismissed the entire line of reasoning by reminding himself that the fact they could be animate and move around at all with nothing but the skeletal structure already defied normal anatomical laws. Sometimes it amazed him how he, as a vampire, could possibly get caught up in how most types of undead pretty much defy reality by their very existences.

After pushing those thoughts aside, he continued making his way toward the castle. He hoped it wouldn't take too long to find a reasonably good route for the others. After all, the longer he took the more like it was that he would have to start all over again because the undead in the city naturally weren't being helpful enough to just stand around without moving.

Victor the EVIL Entity

The bizarre song actually caused Victor to go silent. He would stay silent with a vaguely quizzical look on his evil face until Opal finally went silent too. Then he would say, "You may have noticed that I am quite familiar with the effects on insanity on mortals. However, I do believe I have yet to encounter anyone whose thought processes were so completely befuddling as your father's." He would then pause for a moment before suddenly smiling evilly and commenting, "It's a shame I never got to meet him. I could have had such fun with a mortal who was as demented as that while still technically sane."

[XavierLight]

Miles O'Rourke

On watch

"We have company..." Miles words were followed by a deep, almost bestial growl as several of the clawed Revenants lumbered into the open ground in front of the ruined store. Shortly after they were joined by a pair of the purple skinned undead and began roaming around, as if looking for the party. "Nobody move unless we need to. We cannot afford to attract their attention in numbers."

The undead of Istraken

Every now and again Allen would catch the attention of a few of the roaming creatures as he moved about, those who saw him breaking off from their lazy and staggered patrols and shuffling back the way he had came; ultimately heading for the hiding party.

[Nipsen]

No Name

He seemed aware of the things approaching before Miles said anything and became so still, that unless one looked right at him he seemed to fade into the scenery like a stone. He was an expert at standing still, and the very nature of his being made him easy to mistake for an odd shadow on a rock. Never the less his long pointed ears remained alert as they listened to the shuffles and footsteps of the creatures close by.

Opal's Mind

She frowned at Victor. "Daddy was a kind soul, you wouldn't have gotten along one bit!" She then looked at the screen that showed what her body was doing and said, "Where in the world am I?"

The Possessed Maiden

Opal's body was fallowing a familiar scent, like a bloodhound down on all fours. She was in a land she had never seen before and was unfamiliar with. Unbeknownst to her keen senses she was being carefully watched by a pair of green eyes she didn't know, yet knew her and what was possessing her well.

[That_Guy_III]

To many, the city of Shadowhaven, and the entire world around it for that matter, seemed steeped in an endless stagnation. Perhaps this was the effect of the Devourer's powers, or perhaps the fickle beings that played with the lives of the characters within this realm had lost interest in this world. One such fickle being, a dashing, smart, funny and entirely humble individual got behind his keyboard. It was time to see if the others were still paying attention.

Jason 'Jay' Illyedavich Kel'vered, High Lich of Istraken

The High Lich of Istraken waited, for what felt like two and a half years, before finally deciding to do what he was going to do in the first place. He walked to the city square of Shadowhaven, overlooked by the sprawling palace of the Overlady, and tapped his foot on the ground. "Ahem." The lich didn't actually have a throat to clear, but old habits die hard. "Testing, testing, one two...." The jaded crowd of the imperial capitol who would have otherwise ignored this skeletal man were now starting to turn their heads, at least the ones who noticed him. Strands of magic were now visibly coalescing around him. Something big was about to happen.

"TESTING, TEST-"

The ear-splitting voice could be heard from miles around. The embarrassed lich quickly waved his hands, reducing some of the magical strands surrounding him, and tried again. "-SHOULD DO IT..." The voice, while still quite loud, was a bit more manageable now. "BEHOLD, YE DOOMED MASSES! THE DEVOURER HAS LAIN CLAIM TO THIS WORLD! ALL LIFE ON THIS PLANET SHALL BE PURGED! THIS IS UNAVOIDABLE! BUT PERHAPS A SMALL GRANULE OF PRIDE CAN BE GLEAMED FROM YOU INSIGNIFICANT SPECKS! BEFORE THIS WORLD FALLS, I, JASON ILLYEDAVICH KEL'VERED, HIGH LICH OF ISTRAKEN, CHALLENGE ANY BRAVE ENOUGH TO ACCEPT TO..."

The lich raised his hands again, and made a motion similar to pulling the heavens apart. At his beck and call, numerous kitchens began materializing around the town square. There were racks upon racks of perfectly perserved foods of all kinds, pulled from whatever dimension Jason willed the kitchen materials from. He had been well prepared for this moment.

"A STEEL CHEF COMPETITION!"

[EpiXfailure]

Sir Salten Pepperton AKA The Cuisine Knight:

Upon the slight rumble, a being took interest in Shadowhaven. With it awakened a hero that none had heard of before. A knight who could not fight but could only cook. Yet he followed the road of Cookery. He held his famed Chef's Blade and Shield Wok, he cooked his way for good! It was said that he cooked a meal so delicious that the Princess Eating Dragon ignored all princesses in the world to eat the Cuisine Knight's food. He was a knight clad in armor but he wore a golden apron that read the words 'Kiss the Knight' and a Chef's hat

"You sir bring great shame for cooking! Cooking is a means for bringing life, not of death! Your name is rather long for me to say so I shall call you Dark Chef! Dark Chef, I Sir Salten Pepperton the Cuisine Knight shall accept your challenge." The knight said in a gallant voice. The knight, being a chef had brought his own tools.

[That_Guy_III]

Jason 'Jay' Illyedavich Kel'vered, High Lich of Istraken

The lich turned to the culinary knight, he would try to dethrone the high lich from his lofty perch as Steel Chef. "AHA, WE HAVE A LIVE ONE! IF MY NAME TAXES YOUR ABILITY TO THINK, THEN YOU MAY CALL ME 'JAY'. A SINGLE CONCESSION I WILL GRANT YOU BEFORE I BRING THE SPATULA OF PAIN UPON YOUR IMPERTINENT PRIDE!" Jay the Lich then made his way to one of the kitchen sets he had summoned, and prepared himself. "THE RULES OF THIS CONTEST ARE SIMPLE! YOU WILL CREATE A THREE COURSE MEAL FOR EVERY INDIVIDUAL IN ATTENDANCE. THE MEALS MUST BE IDENTICAL FOR EVERY PERSON. THE VICTOR WILL BE DECIDED BY BALLOT, TO MAINTAIN AN OBJECTIVE METRIC AND DECIDE THE SUPERIOR CHEF! DO YOU AGREE TO THESE TERMS, SIR SALTEN PEPPERTON?"

[That_Guy_III]

Lacrimosa

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?" The dominant personality of the robot trio exclaimed, as he waded through the swamp. Something had taken great pains to dump him there after erasing his micronation and leaving him homeless. "THE YEARS OF PLANNING AND SCHEMING AND PREPARATION, ALL FOR NOTHING?" He had been wading through that swamp for what must have been exactly three years, three months, and three days, mired in the muck and irradiated by some kind of magical fallout that deprived him of his most useful escape stuff.

"Like I said for the 29385th time, it must have been one of those extra-dimensional arbiters that manipulate narrative causality." Beta said, his monotone voice displaying some annoyance at his conjoined program.

"But who would want to kill books?" Delta wondered aloud.

"Causality, not casualty, Delta." It had been a long three years for Beta.

"ENOUGH PRATTLE! I FINALLY SEE THE END OF THIS ACCURSED SWAMP!"

"And now what?"

"IT WOULD SEEM AS THOUGH THE ARBITERS HAVE ABANDONED THEIR STORY! THE PLAN IS SIMPLE! I JUST NEED TO BE THE FIRST POST ON PAGE 200, AND I'LL 'GET', MEANING OUR OWN ENTITY WILL WIN!"

"Win what? This is all very confusing..."

"WIN THE 'GET' OF COURSE!"

"Why do I even bother..."