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[Chevaleresse]

Tsubasa

"Is there a problem?" She watches the woman for signs of deceit. Small twitches of discomfort, furtive glances, any number of small quirks and cues to indicate that someone wasn't being honest. Her vision isn't as keen a detector as the enhanced hearing or smell the occasional Slayer boasted, but it is one that people rarely expect, and a less keen sword is still a weapon to be feared.

[AzyWng]

Ehto

Mallowi whirls around. Beneath the mask he wears (a mask that also has sections that glow blue) Ehto can almost hear his teeth grinding together. "The thing we hunt is a very affront to Hesh itself, and any risks I take are more than worth the boon destroying it will bring. Lumin is a gift given to us from the deep, and is not to be mixed with Spark from the filthy Bog! But those heretics thought they could steal mechs and... combine the two fuels! Childish logic that assumes that Spark is somehow Lumin's equal. It is not."

With that, Mallowi turns back around and continues deeper and deeper into the cave. As Ehto follows him, she passes the wreckage of many destroyed robots - most of them painted blue and white, but a have Spark Baron colors and markings. It's not long before Mallowi's walking past dead bodies in addition to the destroyed robots. These ones wear robes similar to Llullably's, but Mallowi just steps past or over them without comment.

Then the tunnels open up to a large cavern.

One that glows lumin blue and spark orange as dozens of robots sit within.

At the center...

Is a humanoid robot. It looks... vaguely similar to robots seen around Grout Bog, but the head appears to have been replaced with something else entirely.

Spoiler: Robot (click to show/hide)

At Mallowi's approach, it steps forward, holding a sword like the Grout Bog robots carry.

In an overly cheerful voice, it asks: "Welcome back! Are you and your friend here for the party?"

Mallowi snarls. "No, wretched thing. We finish things here, one way or another."

Tsubasa

The trader shakes her head, doing her best to conceal a nervous smile. "Not at all, I've just heard... well, with all the recent Rise attacks... not to mention internal conflicts... Hard to be sure of the quality of the goods, right? But despite everything, the Barons are still the best source for this kind of gear."

In between the deftness with which the trader handles the gear, and the surprise at Tsubasa's question, it's obvious this woman is hiding several things.

[StormLord]

Friedhold & Nessa

Friedhold raises an eyebrow at the "Mutant Freak" comment and leans in with a feigned whisper.

"One should be careful with such words, my companion is very sensitive about his condition and prone to violent outbursts.  Thin skin you could call it."

He gives Rory a wide grin and once the arguing is finished puts the bandit back with the others so the two of them could discuss what to do next.

"I feel killing them may be too cruel and I do no trust the Barons.  However in light of new information we cannot simply let them go to join a frontal attack."

He looks at the group of bandits, then around the warehouse, and back to Rory with an idea.

"We tie them each to different posts, disarmed, and take their shoes.  It will take them hours to escape, the Barons do not check this place, and they will not be able to travel fast barefoot."  He pauses, glancing down to the one who'd made threatening remarks to his comrade, "We could also break their toes if you think they will make ground even barefoot."

[kj1225]

Rory

The faunus had half a mind to slap the witless mook for his "mutant" comment, but held himself back after realizing that it was probably levied at Friedhold and not himself. Friedhold's "encouragement" did make him reconsider for a moment, but he was soon distracted by the group's argument. With their information privately recorded on his scroll Rory thought for a moment before nodding. "Could tie two of them across from each other and put a knife between them so they have a uh... Inmate's problem I think they call it?"

[Sutoratosu Akira]

Ehto

Ehto tried not to linger too long on the free protein they passed by, but as she beholds the bizarre assembly in the final room, suddenly she's not so preoccupied with food. She glances back and forth between the priest and machine with a raised brow.

"What do you mean by Party, Golem? This cave looks and smells more like a week-old battlefield than anything else."

[Chevaleresse]

"Mhm." Tsubasa steps closer, the pattern of her breathing shifting ever so slightly. "What about the rest of the story?"

[AzyWng]

Ehto
"Now that's not the right attitude to have. Any place can be a place to party if you know how. And believe you me, we know how to party. See these robots? Full of party! And I'm no Golem!" The robot shouts, a cheery expression on its screen. "I'm Steven, Party Machine! What's your name?"

Mallowi approaches, scythe raised and ready to start slicing. "Enough! I was sent by Hesh to destroy this thing, not chat with it!"

"Oh, you're as forward as you were when we first met! I hope your dance moves have gotten better since last time." The robot's expression remains cheery even as it raises its great blade in response.

Tsubasa

"Excuse me? I-I don't know what you mean. Look, let's just get going, okay? We've wasted enough time!" The merchant rushes off to the pack snail and refuses to say any more. Shel moves to Tsubasa's side and asks, "What was that all about?"

Rory and Friedhold and Nessa

"No no no, t-that won't be necessary!" One of the bandits begs. "J-just let us go! We won't be there when the attack happens, o-okay? So there's no need to kill us!"

[Chevaleresse]

"She's lying about something," Tsubasa says. "I want to know what." She walks after the merchant, one hand resting casually on her sword, maintaining distance so she and Shel could confer.

[Sutoratosu Akira]

Ehto

Ehto pointedly ignores the holy man's protests as she steps forward between them. "Steven, why are you doing all of this? I was sent to bring you back intact if I could, but that's going to be difficult if I don't know what's wrong with you."

She glances at Mallowi, knowing there's a decent chance he'll start swinging now. It's not as if she hadn't had to kill overzealous fools pushing their luck before...

[StormLord]

Friedhold & Nessa

"I'm bored.  Can we just leave if you aren't going to make them into Angels?"

Friedhold let out a long sigh, he had to admit deciding all this was starting to tire him as well.

"Fine.  If I see any of you again know I will send your mind to a place worse than death and then see what useful bits I can scavenge off your bodies."

With the last threat made clear, one by one he hoisted up the bound bandits, burned away their foot/leg binds(but left the wrist ones), and presented them the door to make a run for it.  He was confidant they would find a way to break the rest of their bonds on their own, but it would keep them from thinking about turning on them or going for a weapon here.


Once they had all left he turned back to Rory.

"Back to camp?"

"Release" the Bandits and head back to the Baron's camp.

[kj1225]

Rory

The faunus smacks the snail on its shell to get it going before nodding to Friedhold.

Return to camp

[AzyWng]

Ehto
"Wrong with- Sister, you must not know how to party either! Especially not if you think I should be brought in. The Heshians are the ones with the problem - and that problem is they don't know how to party! Everyone's wearing the same thing, and none of them can match pace with me when we dance!"

"Enough! I will not listen to this misbegotten thing make a mockery of my brothers' and sisters' deaths!"

"Oh, would you like to dance with me?"

Mallowi roars a warcry as he charges Steven. The robots begin to form a circle around the three people...

Tsubasa

"O-okay... I'll be on guard, then..." Shel twirls her blade - and to her credit, manages to not slice a finger.

The merchant finishes packing up the weapons, and the trip to the front gate goes smoothly.

Until the actual exchange of money, that is.

As the gate guard, Hrikit, approaches with the money, the merchant's expression grows... smug. "Look at all these weapons," She says. Hrikit glances at Tsubasa and Shel, and seems to understand what's going on.

"I'm sure your workers put a lot of blood, sweat, and t-" Hrikit smacks her in the back with her club.

"That's enough. You're-" The Baron has to dive for cover behind the giant snail as bolts sail in her direction.

A bunch of bandits step out from behind underbrush and trees.

Rory, Friedhold & Nessa

The bandits run off into the Bog and disappear from view. The three manage to bring the pack snail back to the HQ without any further problems. Imiko is waiting for them when they arrive.

"You're back... why do you have an oshnu with you?"

[Chevaleresse]

Tsubasa gives a small sigh before stepping into the middle of the clearing. "I just ate, so I would rather not fight. I am much faster and stronger than all of you and will probably wound or kill several, if not all of you before you bring me down. I won't do that if you leave."

[Sutoratosu Akira]

Ehto
Ehto snarls in frustration as tendrils of night begin to writhe around her form and her body loses definition. In the blink of an eye she shifts from humanoid to a towering canid made of living shadow, its silver fangs bared like a gleaming palisade of short swords. Her violet eyes flicker from one machine to another as she sizes up the crowd.

"Fine, Steven. I'll eat your friends first, then I'll tear off your arms and legs and bring you back as just a torso. Won't be the first time for me."

[kj1225]

Rory

The Faunus shrugs. "Because the thieves had it. Speaking of them, there's going to be an all out assault on the bog tonight."