Players: David, Mike, and Alaric (emitted by Robyn)
Special Guest - Alaric Blackmoore
Summary: David and Alaric discuss what brought the residents of Xavier Institute to this dimension and how to get home and how to free those changed. David kills Mike to free him.
Date: November 2, 2010
Log Title: Smashing Clocks
Rating: R
Tegu-Haaz - The Slaughtered Lamb
/Outside the wooden sign displaying a Wolf's Head on a pike along with the name 'The Slaughtered Lamb' swings in the breeze of the run down old pub. Inside the wooden floors creak as extra weight is applied and the smells of lingering alcohol and tabacco smoke permeate the air. Oil lanterns are hung on the walls circling the pub to provide light the patrons while the walls are marked with old tally marks from games long ago played. Behind the bar are old barrels of wine and ale, an hearth for cooking up meals and a layer of dust is caked onto the dishes. Long tables that can sit at least ten people each are still sturdy but some are turned over while the chairs are scattered across the place. A second hearth with ash from long ago still sitting in it is built against one of the sidewalls for light, heat and additional cooking. If one were to search the pub they might find food that is mysteriously still edible..//
Alaric Blackmoore was found and brought back to the Slaughtered Lamb. His features are sunken and he's been recovering by eating food and resting. He hasn't been coherent enough to answer any questions. Now he's awake and sitting at one of the tables with a bowl of vegetable soupy stew with a glass of water, looking around the room nervously. He's quite scruffy looking and there's that nervous twitch about him.
Entering the Slaughtered Lamb, wearing a combination of period appropriate clothes draped in a black smithy trenchcoat, but also wearing his usual (not usual) in this realm, wearing his cyberglasses. David is carrying a sharpened spear and a skinned rabbit. He kicks the door open and then stares at Alaric, "Mr. Blackmoore. Good to see that you are up and about." He makes his way towards a large caldron and drops the rabbit carcass into it.
Alaric looks up at David and it's a mix of fear, anger and guilt in his eyes. "Who are you." He states as he stops eating knowing he's about to answer a list of questions. It was just a matter of time before someone was to ask.
Using his spear to poke as some charcoal under the caldron to get some fire to cook up the rabbit. Standing and looking at Alaric, David stares at the man and studies him. He clicks a little button on the side of the cyberglasses. They had been off the entire time he was here and knowing they worked he listened to Emma and kept them off to conserve the power source. But meeting Alaric Blackmoore and remembering the name of the man from Kisha. David takes a seat next to the man and looks him over. The cyberglasses scan Alaric and also record the man. David asks, "I am David Alleyne. I am security for Xavier Institute. You were present at the institute when suddenly it was attacked and a number of its residents were brought here. Where are we?"
"I didn't mean to drag you all here." Alaric explains as he was trying to get help. "I needed help, I summoned him but something went wrong. I couldn't control him and I'm sorry, I brought you all here. You're in another dimension, his dimension. He brought us here to Tegu-Haaz so he could become more powerful."
Tick Click. The door opens and the clockwork man enters, carrying emptied and rinsed chamberpots; earlier in the day he brought in additional water for washing, and has apparently returned from the lower midden towards The Moors where the community of ghosts apparently buried its common wastes.
He looks at Alaric again, click ping click "Hello. Alaric. Blackmoore."
After he sets the cleaned chamberpots on the floor by the door, he goes to stand in the corner furthest from the fire, and swigs down a flask of lamp oil.
"Hello. <David>." Again <David> is in the man's own voice transcribed to a tiny wax cylinder, rather than Clockwork Mike's vaguely English victrola-voice
Waving his hand without looking at Mike, David continues with Alaric, "Look at what bringing us here has done. A number of students have been transformed and affected by this place." Still holding the spear and taking a moment to touch the sharp end and then place between him and Alaric, "Another dimension, Tegu-Haaz? Who is he? And how do we leave here?"
"He is the one who controls this world, Tegu-Haaz, he is the master of this dimension." Alaric says. "I say his name, he'll know we're talking about him." He looks at Mike and there is a flick of interest in his eyes. "I see, so he's been busy. I will warn you the longer you stay here the more of a chance your stay will become permanent. Not death but a permanent fixture here. Now let me ask you a question. How many of you are afraid here?"
The clockwork man seems to take interest in the discussion. Until the gremlin attack he doesn't remember being afraid of anything. Since then, he's been afraid of fire. And a little of water. It's not a panicky feeling, no heart racing, but he does not like it, and wants to get away from it. He knows that it hurts him, although how that can be is not really clear… he's metal. But he's been welded, and perhaps he felt that. He decides to answer.
"Fire. Afraid. Of. Fire. Fire. Hurts."
"Afraid?" David blinks a moment and is not really sure how to respond, "I supposed everyone is a little afraid. We have been here about a month. Some of the students and a staff member were affected by her. One has even just disappeared completely. I can sense you are a magic user. I am able to mimic your spell-casting skills, maybe even better….Is it simply a matter of casting a spell to return or must we defeat this realm's master?" Hearing Mike go on, David attempts to speak in a soothing, but determined voice, "No need to be afraid of fire, Mike…or Franklin." He returns to Alaric, "We are mutants, but there have been changes. Mike was originally a…" He think, "the closest description would be a robotic mutant, now he was transformed into this clockwork Frankenstein. Everyone was physically cut or touched was transformed. If we leave here do these transformations end?" He leans back, "I know it is alot of questions and I have many more, but I would like to get everyone, including you, home."
"There is an exit we must fine, through the silver waters and we'll be free." Alaric says as he looks at the two. "Fear, it's what keeps him going, it's the fuel of the land. The source of his powers." He says giving a small smile that's also a bit creepy. "Oh you can fix your friends, you just have to use what would kill them. Their weakness."
"Fire. Bad." Mike-clock insists, but quietly. No use arguing with <David>. He's nice but he does not listen to what people say. The clockwork checks its fuel and spring, all is good, and it sees that there is a bracelet in its tool pouch, and takes it out and starts counting the metal "beads". Click. Ping. Click. Click. Click.
Of course for the wind-up man, what would kill him isn't necessarily fire. It's not being wound, and not being given lamp oil to run the machinery of the amazing Clockwork Differencing Eluctor. And, perhaps, being taken apart after that.
"Silver waters? Fear? what would kill them?" He looks to Mike and wonders a second as he looks at the fire and his spear. He then looks back to Alaric, "Alright, where are the silver waters and what is the asylum? Everything here is a warped version of our own world. So is there no specific layout to this dimension? Also, one of our group disappeared. She was eaten by a pumpkin and there has been nothing. there were no remains…nothing."
Looking over at Mike, Alaric gives a small smile. "Frankenstien's creation." Is all he says before looking at David. "The silver waters, that's what will bring you home. The asylum is the asylum, I don't know this dimension kid. I don't live here, I was brought here like you, but unlike you I was trapped in that room from the beginning. Though I do thank you for rescuing me."
The name "Frankenstein" causes an increase in the clicking sounds coming from inside the clockwork man, though on the outside, all that's obvious is that it continues to count the beads a bit faster. It doesn't know about silver waters, but perhaps that's because Mike didn't really explore thoroughly. It looks up from the beads.
"I. Am. Glad. You. Are. Out. Of. That. Room."
Picking up his spear and heading towards the fire to check on the rabbit, "You're welcome. Though it was the students who freed you from the oubliette." He looks to Mike as he uses the spear to poke at the fire under the cauldron, "Mike here, was one of the ones who saved you. Mike is a good student and a good friend." The type of the spear is ablaze, "It would be a damn shame if what you said isn't true, Mr. Blackmoore. I have taken personal responsibility over these students since arriving here. Seeing them afraid and some in their present conditions…" He looks over Mike almost studying him with a saddened, regretful, and guilty look. He sighs, "Well, it's bad and I feel sorry for Kisha and Robyn, and Troy, and…Mike…." He hurls the blazened spear at Mike's clockwork attempting to smash it. "Alaric, if he dies, then you are next." David states flatly.
"I did not want to bring you here, I wanted to ask for help to stop him before it got to this point, I'm sorry that you all got involved." Alaric says but he's not exactly a good guy but he's not the ones trying to harm them though. "I have no reason to keep you here, and as for your friend who disappeared, I have no idea what her fate was."
The flaming spear hits Mike and Mike would be able to feel a warmth wash over him from the fire but he's not actually ignited. Instead it's a weight lifted off of him as he starts to change back into himself. The clockwork gears changing back to his original form and his mind returning to him.
Glass smashes. Oil spills inside. Fire fire fire… And then Franklin Stane is gone. Mike is only slightly sad for him. He hated his half-life, the poor guy. He reforms as himself, holding the spear, a small nick in his chest paint.
"Woah. That… was pretty horrible. David, thank you, Alaric, thank you." He's still holding the nuts-and-bolts rosary in his other hand, the one he made before he changed. He hands the spear back to David, then takes the cross, and crosses himself as well.
"OK, what do we need to free the others?"
Saying a quick silent prayer, David smiles when he see Mike is returning to normal. Rushing towards him the is handed the spear, "Mike? Mike? are you ok?" He looks over to Alaric partially angry and partially thankful. "I wouldn't get too grateful. We still need to 'kill' the others, which will be hard with Star and Robyn, but this is the first positive thing that I've seen happen here. So, Alaric, what more can you tell us about Tegu-Haaz? I have a feeling finding the silver waters won't be enough and there will most likely be a confrontation. Any information, you can give us, would be vital. Why did you originally summon him?"
"Why wouldn't you want a demon under your control?" Alaric asks David with a very dry, unamused voice. "Just use your friend's weakness against them. You are all smart kids, I'm sure you can figure that out." He says with a shrug. "And I've told you what I know. We're in his dimension and once he gets strong enough we'll all become a part of this world. I don't think we have much more time or we'll be stuck here forever. Welcome to your new home."
Alaric's response gets him an expressionless metal gaze from the once-again thoroughly modern machine man.
"I wouldn't want a demon under my control because I don't like slavery, and because it's stupidly dangerous to mess with them. If you screw up, bad things happen."
"Salt. Magical zombies were released from the curse by feeding them salt," Mike continues, as he starts to archive everything that happened to him… before it fades from memory. "It's in the old movies, before Night of the Living Dead. It might work. At least it's better than killing her."
He doesn't know much about Robyn - how do you kill a ghost, without a spirit trap and a positron gun? Is there even a way to call Ghostbusters here?
"I've seen people fail at controlling demons. Such as you did." He grins when Mike offers why he wouldn't want a demon, "Well, Alaric, are there any specific spells or anything that might be helpful while we are here." When he hears Mike suggest salt. he rushes towards behind the bar and grins, "Looks like we got some."
Standing up, Alaric just shakes his head at Mike. "Well you are young." He doesn't feel the need to vocalize his reasonings. "Well I think I'm going to go see if I can get some more sleep so I can be ready to help you at a later point. If I think of anything, I will let you know. Now, good night and I'm glad I was able to help you help your friend." And with that Alaric goes to wander off for a nap.
As Alaric goes off and Mike adjusts to returning to normal, David plots on how to return the existing students who were transformed. "Darkforce might work on Troy. So Kenta will have to work on that….Robyn, Connor, James, and Jinx….what to do about you?" He makes himself some of the rabbit stew he was preparing earlier as he leans back and thinks of ways to save the students.
