BZPRPG: Ko-Wahi

OOC: Gah, must move on...IC: Draeverian JoskiirDraeverian waited patiently for Matoro to welcome him into Nuju's home, his head collecting a light pile of snow as he did. Humming a tune did nothing to cure the boredom, however, and so Draeverian attacked the door with his fist. This is how he discovered the paper nailed to the front. "Oh," Draeverian muttered perturbed, "At least they could have made it readable to a blind toa." Shaking his head, Draeverian moved on, rushing back down the steps of Nuju's hut. If the turaga was busy, then Draeverian was going to go do what he planned anyways: train. Grabbing a handful of snow, he threw it down the road, listening as the snow compacted into slush on the ground. Satisfied, he continued his trip out of the limits of the city of ice. Passing through the gate, Draeverian entered the wild snowbound wilderness of ko-wahi.

[iC: Rannin]"So what now friend?"

IC (Voi, Ko-Wahi):Voi too entered the Drifts, careful to keep close to Tehlin.IC (Voima, Ko-Kini):Voima thought about the carvings for a long time. Then he got an idea.He placed his hand on one of the carvings and put his Mask of Psychometry to work. He recalled the history of the carving. Like the other clues, it had been made by Lohkare long ago. Voima also found out what Lohkare had intended the carvings to be for. Whoever wanted to pass would have to carve replicas of the carvings to the rock below.So it was never about the prophecies, Voima thought. Just carving.This, however, was a problem as well. Voi was not a good carver. And neither is Voi. Lohkare sure did everything he could to make sure the end of the staff would never fall into our hands.Voima thought about using gravity to shatter the stone door, but thought better of it. Lohkare had most likely left traps specifically designed to crush a Toa of Gravity if he used his powers on it. Or air, for that matter.Maybe Matakite or Tuanuku could carve, Voima thought. If not, I will just have to find someone who can carve for me.With that, Voima started towards the exit.

IC: [stronin]"It's at times like these when I want to break into song."

IC (Voi, Ko-Wahi):"Song?"

IC: [stronin]"Yep."

IC (Voi, Ko-Wahi):"How come?"

IC: MatakiteFate had brought events to a result that was convenient for Tuanuku and Matakite. They would be able to aid Voi in his quest. In addition, they would still be able to remain near to the Sanctum in case they got the opportunity to speak with Turaga Nuju.Once the group had departed, the two began to trace their steps back towards the Sanctum. "With luck, Nuju will by now no longer be occupied. We may be able to speak with him immediately, then concern ourselves with our new task."

IC: When the duo returned to the sanctum, however, they found that Nuju was still in conference with another group of beings. The doors were tight shut and four members of the Sanctum Guard blocked their way. Tuanuku sat down on a block of ice to wait for either the Turaga, Voi or Voima to return. He had no idea how he and Matakite could possibly apprehend the toa of gravity if he reappeared. After all, Matakite was much smaller than Voi or Voima, and he himself was in no condition to fight. "So, do you know what is so desirable about this staff?" he asked Matakite. "It seems a strange thing to fight over."

IC: [stronin]"Because we're a group of people travelling through the snow."

IC (Voi, Ko-Wahi):"Right", Voi said. "Perfectly logical..."

IC: [stronin]"Sometimes, logic ends up getting thrown out the window."

IC (Voi, Ko-Wahi):Voi chuckled. "I guess that's your motto, eh? If not, let me have it."

IC: [stronin]"You can have it. I don't really need a motto."

IC (Voi, Ko-Wahi):"Thanks", Voi said. After a moment of silence, he asked quietly: "Um, Stronin... when we two first met and I was drunk... how did I act? I mean, I don't remember much and I was wondering if I said anything funny or did anything unusual or... evil?"

IC: [stronin]"No. You didn't do anything funny or unusual except for end up in a bar fight and get arrested."He had left out the part with 'being possessed by time-travellers', seeing that it would have sounded ridiculous.

IC (Voi, Ko-Wahi):"Arrested?! For the bar fight?" Voi said. "So I did lose control..."

IC: [stronin]"It was a somewhat short tenure in prison. Nothing really major. Wait, losing control?"

IC (Voi, Ko-Wahi):"Nothing. Nothing at all. And since I got out pretty quick, I must've been real nice to the guards."

IC: [stronin]"We didn't do much damage, so of course we got out early."He also didn't mention that they'd broken out.

IC (Voi, Ko-Wahi):"WE got out? You were in the prison too?"

IC: [stronin]"I was involved in the bar fight as well."

IC: Tehlin"Yo, Guard member here. Just FYI," the Toa of Plantlife said looking back at the two.

IC: [stronin]"Don't worry, I do community service."

IC: Tehlin"Ok, cool, bro."By now, the group had almost reached the Ko-Kini, just few hundred bio away.

IC (Voi, Ko-Koro):"I was just drunk", Voi said sheepishly. "I will never consume alcohol again. It really messed me up. By the way, are we close to the temple yet?"

IC: Tehlin"Yeah, its right up ahead," the Toa of Plantlife said, turning back around.

IC: [stronin]"Well that's good."

IC (Voima, Ko-Kini):IC (Voi, Ko-Kini):Just as Voima was about to exit the temple, he saw Voi and his friends advancing.Voi saw his rival immediately and yelled: "There he is!""Rahi bones!" Voima cursed and withdrew back into the shadows of the temple through the entrance he had opened earlier. Voi broke into a run towards the entrance.

IC: [stronin]"So we chase after him?" asked Stronin as he followed. "Wait, disregard that."

IC (Voi, Ko-Kini):Voi wasn't listeníng. Instead, he charged straight in. A moment later, a reshounding crash could be heard.

IC: [stronin]"Such recklessness," Stronin muttered as he began to follow.

IC (Voima, Ko-Kini):IC (Voi, Ko-Kini):Voi panted heavily as he got up. He had just barely avoided the falling rock. Nearby, Voima stood, Voi's staff clutched in his hand."You shouldn't have come here, old friend", Voima said, with a surprising amount of compassion in his voice. "And I see you still haven't learned the meaning of empathy. You have already dragged a whole bunch of poor, unsuspecting souls into this. You know as well as I that they will crumble if they follow you."Voima used his powers and pinned Voi to the ground. "That's why I didn't want to bring my new friends here, Voi. This is our business, not theirs. What are you going to do, use your 'allies' to get what you want and then leave them to die?""I... no... longer... serve... the Makuta!" Voi managed to say."Neither do I", Voima said. "And when I find the other end of this staff, Voi, I will be able to make sure no one does."

IC: [stronin]A lance of steel shot towards Voima, along with a massive barrage of iron spikes."Hello there. My name is Stronin Empato Nobies. Please return the gravity levels around my friend back to normal. If you wish to complain, please direct all messages to my employer."

IC (Voima, Ko-Kini):IC (Voi, Ko-Kini):Voima's eyes narrowed as the sharp, surely lethal iron objects flew at him. Too late to dodge by will, he increased his own gravity so dramatically that he practically crashed on the floor and the spikes flew over him and hit the back wall. Then, quickly, he normalized his own gravity and stood up."You have no idea what you're walking into, Toa of Iron", Voima said. "I would gladly release my grip on him, but then he would try to take this back."He swung Voi's staff."I can't have that."With that, Voima increased Voi's gravity so much that the floor cracked beneath him. Voi fell unconscious, after which he started floating next to Stronin. His gravity had been negated."Take him and leave and this will not have to end in combat", Voima said.

IC: [stronin]"Sounds like a perfectly fine agreement, except I want an explanation for what in the name of Mata Nui is going on."

IC (Voima and Voi, Ko-Kini):"It's none of your business", Voima snapped. "This is between Voi, myself and Lohkare and should not concern anyone else."

IC: [stronin]"Lohkare?"

IC (Voi and Voima, Ko-Kini):"A Toa of Stone we once knew."Suddenly, Voima grew quiet and stared at Stronin."Hold a sec... can you carve?"

IC: [stronin]Stronin ignored the other being, the small flashes of memories he possessed from some minor temporal leakage returning to his mind. Snapshots of random unconnected scenes slowly joined together, and he frowned."Lohkare ... I remember Henkka mentioning that name once. Something about a Po-Matoran. I also remember talking to a Matoran named Lohkare. He was ..."The Iron Toa shook his head. There was nothing else he could remember. Only the fact that the name Lohkare had been mentioned by Henkka, which meant ..."Oh bugger."

IC (Voi and Voima, Ko-Kini):Voima frowned. The Toa of Iron was clearly crazy."You wouldn't know Lohkare", Voima said. "He died long ago, long before you were even born. Now take Voi with you and leave. It's time I learned how to carve..."Voima picked up one of the iron spikes Stronin had launched at him. "By the way, thanks for the carving tool."