The next day, Corvayne woke alone in bed. He got up and looked through the doorway between the 'living room' where her bed was to her 'bedroom' where her office was to find Wick hunched over her computer, furiously typing and scrolling through things. Her eyes looked dark rimmed and bloodshot, and when he cleared his throat she just waved a hand and grunted. He was tempted to pick her up then and drag her away from work, since she had been working on something when he came back from a very long day of building traps.
He knew better, so instead he went the other direction, cutting through her thin and shockingly clean kitchen to her bathroom, which had towels and clothes all over the place as it was also where her washing machine and drier were. He cleaned himself off then got dressed in casual clothes that Wick had bought for him. Most of his other shirts and pairs of pants needed mending from being impaled by the monk or getting singed by the dog. The jeans she bought were worn enough that they didn't restrict his legs, though she bought shirts that felt a little tight and would probably rip as soon as he got into a real fight.
She had also bought him a brown faux leather jacket, which would help keep him warm as summer moved to fall in June. Same with the socks she got, ones with little black pine trees on them that she said reminded her of his spear. The gestures like this helped him weather it better when she was being anti-social. All and all a little space now and then was small price to pay for nights where she was cackling and telling him yarns about secret underground bases as they spooned.
While Corvayne made his way down the stairs he looked out of a windows cut into the hill of the ship-turned-apartment where he could see Mister I leading exercises in the green space in the community center. He saw old folks, and a few kids following along as he did stretches and poses. His destination was the warehouse what Dawn had spent the money on learning.
He kept his eyes and ears open as he walked down the street. It looked weird and it took Corvanye a moment to realize he hadn't really seen the street bright and sunny since he fell asleep when day came. He buzzed to be let into the rock warehouse and Grunt greeted him at the door with a wave. He saw the other two guards after climbing the stairs, a woman with piercings and the eye patch guy sitting on the catwalk, having coffee and watching him and Grunt stroll over to the manager's suite. He gave them a nod and a wave, and they nodded back.
Stepping into the break room he could see the young woman with the yellow raincoat was sitting at a chair. She kept her hood up even indoors, and her bow was next to her. She wore all green and as she looked at him, he could see she was wearing contact lenses that gave her lizard eyes.
Or maybe she was a lizard person, given she had scales on her neck. Wick had brought them up a few times. She made them sound like bad guys, so maybe they were criminals like Dawn? Which all seemed odd to him, because Wick had made a big deal about goblins and meeting another intelligent life-form. Sometimes what his girlfriend believed got hard to sort out from what reality presented to him.
The girl stood and bowed in a well practiced motion, then spoke with a precise tone. “Nepthia, at your service. I am going to be assisting you with your time monk problem, including information on his equipment, methods, habits, and suggestions from Goule's think tank on how to fight him.”
Corvayne had not forgotten that Goule was likely someone trying to kill Wick. “Isn't the monk and the information both related to the Baron something? Lideru?”
“Le Tideru. It usually comes out as 'lay tit deru' if you haven't practiced saying it.” Nepthia eased herself back into a chair, looking at Grunt, then back at Corvayne. The woman had a complex expression on her face.
Corvayne joined her at the table. Grunt started making tea for everyone as Nepthia continued staring at Corvayne. “Excuse me greatly for staring. You look like someone I know.”
“Sorry, I've never seen, uh, someone with...”
Nepthia nodded. “It is alright to be a little offput. Body modification is sort of an odd-ball's habit. Are you from...” She leaned in a little as she spoke. “...Far off?”
Corvayne thought about it, nodded, and he could see her settle into her chair a little bit. Grunt made finger walking motions and wiped his brow then took two fingers and rubbed them together, then put those pinched fingers next to his eyes and adjusted them up and down a little, like reading glasses: Since we don't want you to have come all the way out here for nothing, shall we take a look at that report?
Nepthia nodded. “Very well. It's well known that Argyle is an enforcer with Baron L'Tideru. This would have cost you just a few searches on an engine assuming you know that he looks like a monk. He works under Havortti who directly takes orders from the Baron. Argyle is a citizen of Tripic, but spends most of his time on Cascadia. It's suspected he is watching something, as we were able to get his last few reports from this year.”
She dropped a stapled paper with neat typed lines.
It looked like he reported once a week. He flipped through, most entries being one line repeated over and over.
2/5 – No activity. No intruders.
2/12 – No activity. No intruders.
2/13 – No activity. 1526 Breach. 5 adults Males outer threshold. Trespassers prospectors per load out. Caused weathering in rocks and rock slide crushing group. No cleanup needed. Made sure camp is visible. Standard operating methods in desert to not bother with bodies.
2/19 – No activity. Prospecting team of 5 breached on 2/13 had no follow up
2/26 – No activity. No intruders
3/5 – No activity. Airspace Breach 1 helicopter. Landed at previous incursion camp, given pass due to low chance of further intrusion. Confirmed prospectors perished and retrieved some prospecting equipment.
3/12 – No activity. No intruders
3/19 – No activity. No intruders.
3/26 – No activity. No intruders.
Corvayne flipped back a few additional pages but it followed the same pattern: Once every few months, someone would stumble into his territory and he'd decide if they lived or died, then would kill them and make it look natural or 'age out' the evidence. The last few pages was what Corvayne found interesting.
4/2 – Small amount of static in coms. No intruders. No signs of exterior jamming.
4/9 –
4/10 –
4/12 -
4/13 -
1525 Found 3 entrances to same subworld in Cascadiaj National Forest. Estimated 30 people missing based on cars, including a logging camp. Major containment breech. May downgrade, subworld seems very hostile. Goblin infestation, major surge spilled half regular and half berserk bigfoot into local woods. Trying to lock off site.
4/14
- 1200 noble and 2 others have entered a subworld. Going to go arrest them.
- 1230 They are not in Cascadia National Forest. There's a third subworld. Moving to capture. It would be nice to have another agent, there's only so many of me to go around.
1333 Spotted 'White Flower' associated with gold nugget. What the FUCK is going on here?
1414 Trying to trace group. Construct died in subspace due to overwhelming enemy. Attached relevant descriptions. Able to totally ignore time stopping and was attacking during stopped time. CODE GOLD TARGET HAS NUGGET visual conf. Code Raven because 'little bastard' said 'Raven' has forces on planet. Request background into 'little bastard' as to how he knows about GOLD NUGGET, probably related to 'White flower'
- 1422 Target 'fake trainer' has gold nugget. In pursuit.
- 1615 Target 'fake trainer' escaped. Trashed a construct. Advancement at least 20. Has multiple advanced powers. Possibly shadow mage, but also extreme physical strength and agility. Note: Compromised Cascadia PD assistance possibly due to collateral damage, going with cover story that it's target's powers. Need military intervention. Locked down spaceport w 2 clones, have 2 clones at ports watching for group to try to board boat, watching portals with spare. Going to need more helicopters to eat. Lost 2. Got an idea, maybe don't kneecap me when I COULD HAVE FUCKING HAD THEM COME TO ME.
4/15
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4/15 - 1545 HEY. HEY HAVORTTI? KRY? EITHER BRINES BROTHER? GOSHAN? BIG L-T? PICK UP YOUR PHONE.
4/17 - 1755 this is impossible. This time giant fucking fire dog destroyed part of a city, 5 blocks ablaze, 100s of witnesses. Destroyed by unknown force using what looks like a ship rail cannon. Media suppression? Please respond FFS.
4/18 925 – per srg Tapper: Media breech imminent. Do I need to go kill an entire news station? You have about 3 hours to respond.
4/18 1200 nevermind! They are interviewing people coming out of portals. Hope nobody is watching!
4/18 Someone leaked photos of a black chopper killing a few random people. Police not helping. Why are you only giving me short 'confirmed' messages?
4/18 I can't send updates with the damn names! Read the messages! Might be from abusing Stabby for years? We don't know what he/she/it can do. I'm on the tail of 'White Flower'. Suspect 'gold nugget' has lost it's luster. You know I'm just going to kill her and most of her friends when I find her, so maybe get some backup if you want to try a 'ritual' otherwise she's probably worth a few advancements. I'll send the Core by the same postage you sent it to make sure it gets into the wrong hands again.
4/19 – 0014 Listen you hopped up three musketeer, I don't give two shits about you being my boss OR what Goule has been up to with the current emperor. Even if he takes the throne it's just a damn formality. You don't actually care, I don't care. I've barely slept in the last six days. I've been killing people at an insane rate, partially because stupid cops are attacking me now. I'm going to kill everyone in this 'fake trainer's group then I'm going on a several month, outside time, vacation into a portal here. I MIGHT come back.
4/19 – 0025 Sorry Havortti. I always thought your hat looked good. I am very stressed and need that vacation. Not happy with Goshan blowing me off for ten days. Would appreciate your informant helping with the search. Going to try to wrap up killing them in the next week and blow off some steam. Not dealing with anything else on Cascadia for a while.
Corvayne looked up. “Why didn't you say anything? He sounds like he's about to come rolling right into town!”
Nepthia shook her head. “You have time. He's barking up the wrong tree, he assumed that given your connection with Seru, you are located somewhere near one of her apartments, Dolphin Isle or on the mainland. But yes, sooner or later he'll catch wind of a guy with a spear. Possibly here, after he goes everywhere else. We will warn your group, but in a few days, he's going to roll into town.”
She flipped a few pages and set down the first document. “Let me give the assessment of fighting him the Goule group had laying around... In real fights in the past between him and Goule's enforcers he is mostly a melee fighter. His tricks are time based. I see you nodding Corvayne, I assume you figured this out fighting him? Interesting. Next time you come to Dawn's place I'd like a few moments of your time, but I know you are busy... as I was saying...”
The young woman produced another set of papers, held them in front of her and read.
“Recommendation is to fight with approximately five people in an area with limited avenues of escape, isolated from his clones. Alleyway with reinforced walls is an example. Two people in close range with high agility and durability, one person supporting them, two people with 'catches' on the exits, staying around 250 feet away from where the fight happens. His main power is a time stop, but it cancels on hostile actions, duration is probably 5-6 seconds. He can sprint pretty far on his first few uses but it prevents him from properly setting up to attack. If he is impeded before he moves, the ability has a low range.”
Corvayne nodded. So possibly hit him with a net? Or his shadow patches might help.
“In fights where he lost and had to escape, the main factor is that he cannot deal with multiple ranged ambushers in superior positions covering each other, or pairs of skilled melee fighters with a healer undoing his physical attacks. High powered standard arms can break his skin but his durability factor is closer to metal then flesh. Unusual strength overall, do not rely on brick or thin sheets of steel to slow him down much. Limited throwing threat. High tech weapons not viable up close, see powers. Limited ranged threat outside of vehicle. Has a vehicle form, always a black helicopter that does not show up on standard vehicle detection. Considered a form due to object permanence, seems to never be 'parked' if he's not inside. Form has high speed and the ability to engage with large scale 'plant spikes'. Much more limited if he cannot use his vehicle form, still can create barriers to help him escape or trap people. Only fight he was at serious risk and could have been killed involved an attack on a Goule facility where they wore down his endurance and had far superior forces chasing him. He does not seem to have a limit on the number of times he can use time stop, applying it constantly for hours, but he couldn't move as far being chased. He killed 1 agent, his two partners on the raid died due to an enforcer nearly immune to physical combat...”
Nepthia tapped the table. “The details of his escape are more relevant to Tripic. So, he can summon a helicopter. There's likely some material and labor cost with repairing it, as he can do it given an hour out of sight, but not 5 minutes. The helicopter has an enhanced gun he can fire bamboo seeds with the same penetration as a standard bullet. Seeds rapidly mature with intense penetration available from the plants produced. The effect ends up being like a rocket launcher but the shrapnel is left behind. Can use fruit as well, mostly coconuts, when they are available. Isn't as effective as bamboo aside from the initial impact.”
Corvayne winced. “I got the seed spears treatment first hand.”
Nepthia gave him a cold stare across the table before she cleared her throat and continued the report. “Temporal powers and plants can be used to provide cover and alter a battlefield, but seems to be attention intensive to summon a 'moss' forest. Growth rate of seeds, spores, or other plants is not dangerous outside of very fast growing plants that have high velocity impact to properly take root, otherwise they slip off what they are trying to hit. Argyle is limited when firing seeds with his fingers, as lethal as it can be, because the penetration drops off rapidly if he's not close by due to air resistance. Without the gun, estimated range for lethal seed flicking is approx 50 feet, longer for 0 advancement targets, as in normal people.”
Grunt snapped his fingers, then made a few hand gestures that looked like putting things atop one another: What level is he?
“Oh, forty was their guess. Can you save questions and comments for later? Lets see, can destroy complex objects via aging, especial high tech objects. Has a connection to objects he used time magic on, giving him the ability to recall them or sense where they are. Might not work with spores but works with bamboo seeds.”
Corvayne thought that would have been great information to know before he had nearly been killed trying to fight the monk.
“Has the ability to craft constructs of himself, store them, and release them. Estimates place him at a maximum of 7 copies. They are not as strong as the prime. Usually they have a prime crafted helicopter to help compensate for lessened strength and speed on the clones. Process for making them seems labor intensive... the person doing the report noted this is assumed because particular objects which includes meat, cloth, and something to simulate magic items he duplicated.” She took a moment to stop and drink.
Corvayne picked up his own cup, having sort of forgotten to enjoy it. Since Nepthia was taking a short break while holding her tea, he didn't feel she'd mind a question. “When I defeated a clone, he had a string of beer cans... I guess he tries to make sure to copy the beads so he's harder to target?”
“Indeed. The other items are his robes, suspected to be standard very damage resistant clothing armor, and a staff probably made of some magical metal. It can bat away spells, and he seems to be able to recall it after throwing it. When not mounted in his helicopter form, he uses it as a throwing spear, and can punch through stone easily with it within 100 yards. Advice is that anyone under 50 advancement shouldn't engage in close quarters combat because he is extremely lethal up close.”
The young woman reading took a sip of her tea. Grunt was leaning against the wall, arms folded. Nepthia looked at him, and Grunt nodded.
“Their assessment is that he's probably near 40th advancement, with a very strong specialized class. The Baron has a staple of odd operatives that do not use common soldier, warrior, healer, caster, support templates. Argyle has some sort of non-religious monk variant, as he does not seem to have any known divine powers. He is used in operations where the target is something high tech that his ability to destroy objects applies. He sometimes did assassination work on Tripic because he has effective escape tactics and can kill most advancement 40 and under assets in a single surprise attack. Has a high rate of collateral damage when using his helicopter powers, due to the plants forming 15 to 20 foot wide bombs of spikes. The report assumed that after he nearly died, as well as doing a lot of damage on Tripic during a raid two years back, his boss pulled him back to occasional wet work and act as a guard for a location, something his clones do extremely well. He reports to Havortti, who is a fencing fanatic who pretends to be a 'dashing gentleman' while acting as Baron L'Tideru's right hand man. The Baron is one of the major players in the Collective's power struggle despite spending most of his time away from Tripic in his fortified manor, Chateau Le Tideru, on the planet Candau III, better known as 'Splinters' as a joke. Havortti is in charge of directing the Brines Brothers, so in a sense we are standing in enemy territory. Grunt, please don't report us to your bosses, bosses, bosses, boss.”
Grunt pretended to think about it, then used a 50/50 chance gesture while smirking. Smartass.
Nepthia smiled at him, then returned to glancing at her paper. “He has an operational weakness of getting upset and single minded to the point that he's specifically paired with flexible people who can keep him in line when he's frustrated. Very few qualms about killing, but doesn't like hurting kids or mothers with kids, pregnant women. Might have to do with being an orphan... mom died when he was five? Right now he's 87, but appears to be in his fifties or early sixties and is probably going to stabilize in his 40s if he keeps advancing.”
“Huh, he's aging backwards?” Corvayne asked, considering how many books he had read about people going mad with power to live forever.
“There are theories that some of the people around the Collective are on their sixth generation of pretending to be one of their descendants. That's part of why the Brines Brothers are tied to the Baron, they want in on those Subspace expeditions and to start getting advancements. It was nearly impossible before this week to find a Subspace entrance, and those that were found were jealously guarded as they are the only place where you can get advancements if you are not killing hundreds of mundane people.”
Corvayne sat back as she took another sip of tea. Subspace was the term for Tower they used, advancement was probably the term for levels. “How much of this did Dawn know? It might have helped us a little to know, well, the value of what we found in the woods.”
“Dawn knows a lot of things from the other direction, so to speak. It's not up to me to blabber about her deal, nor will I poke my nose into your affairs rather then let you come to me. Do not look so concerned, the conversation would be platonic.” A slight smirk gave Corvayne the impression that Nepthia was either pleased he looked concerned or was considering him like a snake that was just handed a mouse. His danger sense faintly went off until she placed the paper down on the other report.
“That's pretty much it, though I think the final piece of the puzzle with his behavior is the 'chaotic' events happening in the power structure of the Collective, which is why he seemed to have been getting non-commital answers and why he's alone out here, but it could also be that it takes 2 weeks to ship out reinforcements, less if the faction is able to commit to 'cheating' with something out of a subspace rift. I'm prone to think the former, that something happened about two weeks ago that shifted everything. Some examples of chaos here are disappearances spiking at a bunch of parks, loggers quitting like crazy, a workers revolution at the mines, Ko-Ban growing a cult overnight then exploding. Our information source in the Goule faction did not see any movement to Cascadia.”
She looked very pointedly between Grunt, who was whistling and rubbing a foot in the ground, and Corvayne who put his arms behind his head and leaned back in his chair, smiling.
“The police running around every other part of Cascadia stems from Argyle responding to your actions. It's chaos everywhere. News is leaking on other planets through the net. You have governors being overthrown in every state, an entire city sinking into the ocean then bobbing right back up as if nothing happened, a flock of giant birds running rampant on a thread on Tripic, on Mud there's a bunch of ruins rising from the ocean. All my off world contacts are trying to figure out why it seemed like everyone decided April 9th was the date to go absolutely fucking crazy.”
Corvayne winced. “That was the day I arrived on Cascadia.”
Nepthia nodded. “My theory is that we are experiencing the start of an integration event, where a mostly idle system starts rapidly inducing people into it.”
Grunt raised an eyebrow and held up a book with a very standard bulky man armed with a blade, and three women that looked like they were clawing to hold onto him. In bold letters he saw the title: 'Chronicles of the Apocalypse's number 1 Sword Harem: How I became king of my high school.'. He pointed to himself, then gave Nepthia a questioning look: Maybe... it's my chance to shine?
Nepthia groaned. “You read too much garbage, but I suppose in this case it's sort of correct. Some of the local chaos is Seru's fault, to be honest. Most of it. She did a little too good of a job figuring out where a bunch of portals were, and now I'm sure there's going to be a whole bunch of-”
She was interrupted as someone knocked on the door, and James Brines burst into the room, wearing hockey gear and carrying a fire axe. “Grunt! Grunt! Join my party!”
Nepthia finished. “A whole bunch of fools going into the subspace dungeons.”