It was actually a close call between piss and peace. Piss won by 1 vote.
I wish for you to be turned to stone. Let the park dogs piss on you.
You better not piss on my plate, you son of a bitch!
byeeee
insta-cracking comes as a free bonus I suppose
Mandy. Kalash wouldn't want...
Don't you dare tell me what my father wouldn't want! Not even *I* know that. I am sorry, I... no. No, I am NOT sorry. My father is dead.
I... want to go home now.
boohoo
Fade to black.
Another overview of the office.
Not sure why, but so it goes.
Here we go again for another round of data mining. Let's go down.
Bandana storms out of Eli's basement and then into the conference room.
And Codexia can't even pick up any of the shit in the room now that Bandana is not watching
Going down.
Sup.
Eli gazes down at the knife; his brow furrowed with concentration.
I'm just... scanning the knife again.
Got a loicense fer 'em knoif scans?
Didn't you scan the knife already?
Sure. But the scan was incomplete. It takes time for the spell to work fully. But it's been a few days. It might have more data for us. Should only take a few minutes. I'll let you know what I find at the meeting.
Are you all right?
Me? I'm fine. I'm working. So yeah. I'm all right.
I've seen enough cops burn out to know that bottling up feelings is never a good idea.
Heh, burn out. Good one.
*Sigh* You really wanna know how I feel? I want to burn the North Woods to the ground. Then I want to melt that stone dryad into lava. I can do it too. It just takes time... and will. ... Did... I ever tell you about Aldin? My great-grandfather?
you know there could have just been a script check here to change this line into "You remember what I told you about Aldin?"
great options, it's not like he talked Codexia's ear off about it
He was some kind of evil fire mage, right?
Evil is... one word for it. He was a terrible force of nature.
He starts pacing around the room.
I always wondered. What made him that way? What made him decide that turning villages of people into ash was a good idea? He lived a long, long time. Long even for a mage. But he was still human. Maybe he suffered one loss too many? Will that be me one day? I don't know.
Aldin finally snapped when he wanted to play The Bard's Tale 4 and it turned out to be bugged to hell and popamole.
Plenty of people suffer. They don't turn evil because of it.
They don't because they CAN'T. They don't have a mage's power. I do. I've lost a lot of people in my life. I thought I'd come to terms with it, but it never gets easier. Jesus. I'm making this all about me, aren't I? Poor Mandana. Let's... talk about something else.
I, um, just saw Mandana walk out of your room...
Oh, um, you saw that, huh? Well, no point in denying it.
... is visiting other people's rooms in this building haram? Is everyone gossiping about Codexia datamining everywhere?
So. You and Mandana are...
What? Oh no, it's nothing like that. Er, well, maybe it IS kind of like that. It's complicated. Well, maybe not that complicated. Just... leave it, okay?
aaaaawkwaaaaaaaaaaaard
Thanks, Eli. See you at the meeting?
Uh huh. Sure.
Going back up.
I detect conspiracy!
She just needs time. Seems easy enough to give it to her.
Yeah, well, I feel for her, I really do. But the whole operation was dumb from the start.
Vicki might be the most normie here, but she also happens to be the smartest
That's hardly fair. I mean, I didn't know Kalash well, but he seemed to know what was what.
He was cocky. He should have brought us along. We could have helped.
She first wisely observes that it was an obvious trap, now wisely observes that Kalash was dumb. I vote Vicki as new kaptin.
How? She couldn't be killed. Not in the normal way.
What is done is done. We still have a job to do.
Learning from failed ops IS part of the job. I'm just saying. Numbers. We could have made a difference.
Maybe. But wondering "what if" is like growing an orchard in the desert.
Israelis disagree.
... you mean fruitless?
Uh, yeah. My old sponsor used to say that.
Jesus. Remind me never to quit drinking.
Anyway, what now? We having a briefing or what?
There's still a demon to find.
Damn right there is.
We'll be here. Just call us when it's time.
Only Mandana left to check up on.
Sup.
Hey, now that Kalash is gone maybe we can finally escape this madhouse.
Mandana stares into the fire. Her expression unreadable.
Father did not speak much. And yet this room feels so silent without him.
Do you want to be left alone?
No, I shed enough tears last night. I will not indulge in more self-pity, not yet. We have a demon to find. Doing otherwise would... dishonor father's sacrifice.
I wish I got to know Kalash better.
Getting to know my father would not have been easy, even if he lived. A jinn's mind is... a maze. Twisted and complex. Father was no different. Even I had... difficulty understanding his thoughts. I suppose I am too human.
I, um, saw you come out of Eli's room.
Ah. I... cannot deny it. What you saw is true.
So you and Eli are...
Yes, although not in the way you imagine. Eli and I are... Oh, it is so DIFFICULT to describe feelings when one is forced to speak the truth.
Feelings are so... messy. And complicated. Once in a while, we crave simplicity. Eli and I give that to each other. Once in a while. And last night, I... needed simplicity. Please, let us speak no more of this.
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawkwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaard
So what now?
The oncoming darkness still approaches, regardless of my personal tragedy. If the Unavowed has need of me, I will be here. It is literally the least I can do.
Inb4 it was all a plot by Mandana to seize control.
Should we start a meeting?
Yes. It is... time.
You doing all right?
As... well as can be expected. Thank you. I have not lost sight of our goal. The demon still eludes us.
But we got a name now, right? What'd you say it was? Mel something?
Melkhiresa.
Great. That's something. So what's our play?
So... who's in charge now?
I do not know. Father never did write any rules of succession. There was... never a need.
Seriously?
So nobody is in charge?
Does it matter? I mean... I know I haven't been here long, but we're a team, right? We each bring something different to the group. None of us are better than the rest. It's worked fine so far. Why change that?
It's worked fine indeed
Truly spoken. And I agree. A leader will surface if and when we need one. Until then we have work to do.
Power to the people
The name Melkhiresa. Has anyone heard of it?
It is not a name I have heard of before.
I did some scrying last night. From the bits I've been able to pick up, the name "Melkhiresa" is associated with... knowledge.
Knowledge? What does that mean?
I'm as lost as you are. The scry is still ongoing. Hopefully it can tell us more.
Did you finish your scan on that knife, Eli?
I was hoping you'd ask that. We got lucky last time. The demon's energy signature had degraded so badly it was hard to pinpoint where it had been. But this time? I had its name. That made the scan ten times more precise.
So you found more locations?
Better. I pinpointed the point of most activity. The demon went all over the city, but there's one place it kept returning to again and again. I was even able to get an exact address.
And that place is?
300 Henderson Ave. On Staten Island.
Vicki and Codexia reel back in terror!
You've gotta be fucking kidding me.
Does... that address mean something to you?
That's the Eternox Nightclub!
Really? The place where you got possessed?
And where I got frigging shot.
Why would Melkhiresa go back THERE?
Indeed. It does seem... remarkably risky.
Look, I might not know a lot about demons, but the whole "returning to the scene of the crime" thing? It's bullshit. It never actually happens. So what the hell is going on?
We should get over to the Eternox club and find out what's going on.
Sure. Ready when you are. But if you get possessed again, this time I'm shooting you first.
Indeed. It is time we take the fight to the enemy.
That worked great just last night too
We are ready to depart when you are.
Let's not waste any more time.
Lead the way.
Indeed.
Autobots, roll out!
Taking the high road.
So Logan. Is KayKay standing still? Or is she moving with the subway?
What do you mean?
She's not actually STANDING on the floor, right? So what's keeping her here? I mean, magic or not, that's just basic physics.
I... don't know. I guess physics don't really apply to dead people? What do you think KayKay?
Heh.
What? What did she say?
Oh, she burped. Loudly.
Huh.
Next time we'll be heading back to where it all started. But whom shall we take there? Options are obviously Mandana, Eli, Vicki and Logan, but keep in mind we can't go full normie: we always have to go with at least one oldfag, i.e. Mandana or Eli. So while we can for example take both oldfags, we can't take both Logan and Vicki.