BZPRPG: Ko-Wahi

IC Brontes

"Well, my name is Brontes. Her name is Kimala, the De-Toa with the crab is called Kellin. I didn't catch the titan's name."

"There are a few others, I don't know the name of the ko-toa with the sword and Iden, I know another ko-toa is still in Ko-Koro, his name is (or was? I banish the thought that I had left him to die...) Dahkapa."

I can see the cable car station on the horizon, it is marked by a moderately sized stone building, the walls looming out of the constant blizzard. Right now it wasn't anything but a dark smudge in the distance. I point to it, "you ever been on one of the cable cars?"

OOC: I am not 100% sure if I have heard all those names IC. But sometimes it is difficult to know whether or not people know names IC, as most people will say, "I walk towards Wraith," rather than; "I walk towards the ko-toa with the Iden."

OOC: Anyone interacting with Scholar, his name is Kouyran for the time being, due to our temporary drop of code names.

IC: Scholar Kouyran (Obsidian Outpost)

"Tents? Tents? Come on, Veteran Draygon, we've got the whole outpost full of empty rooms! The refugees'd be better protected and warmer if we put them inside insyead of in the courtyard."

IC: (Rekhyt)

The fa-toa teleported over to where Veteran and Veneras were standing.

"Need any help with the refugees Veter- "  Veteran gave him a look and he continued: "Draygon, Draygon...need any help?"

IC: Veteran/Draygon.

"Good point, Kouyran," Draygon conceded. While most of The Outsider's lodgings were in the underground sections of the base, there was a small amount of free space inside the tower. "Set up some beds in 'ere for the wounded. Everyone else will have to stay in the tents out there."

He turned to Rekhyt. "You help Kouyran."

IC: Kouyran (Obsidian Outpost)

"No problem! Rekhyt, I'm pulling rank and I'm going to tell you to grab some bed-y stuff from the storeroom- it's the fourth one on the right, on the first floor in the basement. Got it? As for you, Ayar, go and check through the refugees, see if any are hurt. If they are, bring them through here and start work on them. Good with that?"

IC: Veteran

Pulling rank?! This kid had a bigger mouth on him than some other skakdi that Veteran knew. He was practically shouting to everyone that he was a merc. "You don't have a rank, mate," Veteran said meaningfully. "But yes, you two do what he said."

IC: The Champion (Obsidian Outpost)

It took us an entire day to walk back. When we arrived, the sun had already set behind the horizon, some of its orange light reflecting from the feathery clouds above. I was tired. Not much physically, but mentally. This had been quite a day, but it wasn't over yet. I still haven't checked out the taverns in Ta-Koro, and I could certainly do with a drink.

I put down the box of medical supplies I had been carrying all day. Then I look behind me. Others are coming, refugees with them. I turn back: looks like Veteran and some strangers are setting up tents and beds in the courtyard. Why? Aren't the refugees going straight to Ta-koro? I walk up to the old Skakdi, ask him "Who are these people?" and gesture towards the three unfamiliar faces(Scholar, Ayar and Rekhyt). They might be recruits, but they might as well not be. Better be sure. "And why the **** are you setting up a refugee camp here?"

IC: Kouyran (Obsidian Outpost)

"I do have a rank! At least, relative to them... Oh, wait, I see what you're getting at! Yep, that's true. I totally don't have a rank. At all." Seeing a Vortixx walk up to Veteran, Kouyran said to him "Oh, are you another stranger that isn't so strange?"

IC: (Rekhyt)

Just his luck: he had just become part of a merc organisation* for the first time in years, and his duty was putting out bedding for some refugees. Great.

He took the opportunity to explore some of the outpost - it seemed like a decent place** and he hauled the stuff into the courtyard with a preoccupied look...

* he wasn't completely sure if he was officially part of it yet...

**especially the armoury.

IC: Veteran.

"They're just some guys who work with me running the cable car. We're the private security force, so to speak," Veteran explained calmly to Champion, "and who are you, exactly?". Hopefully Champ would catch on.

If Forger's lot acted as if they didn't know Veteran, maybe no one would catch on that they all actually lived here.

IC Avsa (Tracer)

Tracer had walked back with the others, having helped to evacuate refugees and then looking for (and failing to find) food. Chewing on a cloth, she walked slowly behind Champion. She would need to feed the-

"Bark, bark!!! Grraagh!! Snarl..."

... Dogs.

IC Veneras, Obsidian Outpost

The toa of ice faded out of view while the cablemen talked amongst themselves. He felt like there was more going on here than a simple toll-booth, but Draygon did not seem to believe that Veneras was worth sharing these secrets with. He knew it polite not to pry so he silenced his curiosities and his longing to be welcomed in "Is there anything I can do to be of service?" he chimed in

IC: Kimala

She looked up at her name being mentioned. She hadn't told any of the defenders her name... But it wasn't like she was totally unknown in Ko-Koro, so maybe they'd picked it up somewhere. 

IC: The Champion (Obsidian Outpost)

I look Veteran in the eyes, with an expression that basically asks the question "What the karz?". He winks with his one eye, although I wasn't sure if he was just blinking at first. Soon, I nod quietly, and answer his question. "I am called the Champion. We are coming from Ko-Koro with a large group of refugees, some of them hospital patients. Would you mind if we stay here for tonight?" Seems like he's planning an intricate act to cover up the fact that this is our base. I need to notify Forger and the rest about this. He answers my question, saying that it will be fine if we do. "Recruits?" I ask with a whisper, and he nods. I turn away and walk to a Ko-Toa, (Kouyran) one of the recruits. "Keep it quiet. You and this place have nothing to do with the Outsiders, alright?" I quietly say to him. After a moment, he nods a few times. Uncertainty is gleaming in his eyes. Novice.

I walk to Forger. who is sitting comfortably on a chair, make sure that no one can hear us, and ask him if he knows about Veteran's plan.

OOC: Yeah, I thought it was worth a shot.

IC: Zekev

He's so injured he'll probably die from his wounds unless he gets help. Won't be a threat no more.

I strolled into the Koro, waiting to loot.

IC Ira

Ira stared at Icha, waiting for him to speak.

Well, he stared as best as he could. Considering he had just tanked like half a dozen crossbow bolts, two of them to center mass...

IC: Veteran. 

Hopefully Champion had gotten the gist of the plan, and would pass it on to the others. Veteran shook his head. This had all gone to karz way too quickly. He knew the idea had been to help evacuate the city, but this was kind of ridiculous. Veteran was pretty certain the plan hadn't been to lead the refugees up to the doorstep of their base and let them settle in for the night.

"Is there anything I can do to be of service?"

Veteran thought it over. He recognised something in the distraught Ko-Toa. Potential. But now wasn't the time to see if that potential could be tapped into. For now... "See if anyone needs hand setting up shelters," he suggested. For now, he would wait, and think things over. 

IC Veneras

the philosopher bowed and went to aid the refugees. So much had changed; so much was lost. He thought about his life of zeal, the prices he had to pay. He devoted his life to Maya Nuisance and for what? The homeless widower thought about what he had said earlier and waited to hear back from these kind hosts. He thought about the family that he envied, all the while repeating what he had said

The Virtues are Broken

OOC Veneras is open for interaction

(Leave for one day and you get swamped by pages, I am not used to this  )

IC: Xitec

Unaware of the impeding knife, Xitec was still stuck, trying to unhook his claw. no matter how he shifted, the thing wouldn't move. Underneath him the stairs grew closer, but his claw was still hooked onto the wall tightly. Suddenly, an idea hit him, using the reverse of the motion he used to throw the shot, he pulled back, planting his feet on the wall for stability. He pulled, and the claw let go, causing him to fall off backwards onto the stairs just in time, with the knife just clipping his foot nastily. He slowly slid to the bottom of the staircase, and then painfully got up, standing to face his opponent again.

OoC: Norik, don't forget to deal with Dahkapa

IC: The Deceiver (Sanctum)

Xitec still didn't see her anywhere. Suddenly, the crystal stairs started to twist and move, and began to envelop him inside. Then, the Deceiver deactivated her mask, and appeared in front of Xitec. She immediately drove the weapon towards Xitec's chest with a powerful thrust.

Edit: Woo, 200th post!! 

IC: (Rekhyt)

The fa-toa made his way to Veteran and in quiet tones, said:

"How exactly do we think that letting all these guys stay at this supposed secret base for a few nights will benefit us?"

IC: Veteran.

"I didn't bring them here, Forger did." Veteran explained in hushed tones. "That's Forger," Veteran pointed him out to Rekhyt, "he's second in command around here, so I respect his decisions, even if they do seem to be stupid ones. As for your actual question, I imagine when the sun comes up tomorrow we'll start ferrying these refugees across to Ta-Wahi. The sooner they're gone, the better."

He stepped closer, lowering his voice even more. "If anyone asks, we're just the private security hired on by the cable car operators. We've never met those Outsiders before today, and they have no connection to this place. Got it?"

IC: (Rekhyt)

"Right..."

IC: Veteran.

"You wanna be part of our organisation, right?" Veteran whispered coldly, "if anyone catches wind that this right 'ere is our base, there aint gonna be an organisation. You understand now?"

IC Veneras

To say that Veneras awoke would imply that he had slept at all.

He sat up from his bed, impaired by the swarming emotions that seemed to be drilling their way into his head from both sides.
He rubbed his temples to alleviate the pain and left the room. He assumed most of the matoran would be sleeping, but when the day came and the matoran were scheduled to migrate he wanted to be ready to help.

He decided to make his way up to the top of the tower to get some cold air and to think

IC: Veteran.

Having dealt with Rekhyt, Veteran did his best to make himself scarce and avoid having to talk to anyone. That was, until he spotted the Ko-Toa from before - Veneras, wasn't it? - emerge on top of the tower.

Veteran hadn't forgotten his earlier observations of the lost Toa, and decided now would be a good time to talk to him again. Since mostly everyone seemed to be asleep, there was little chance of anyone interupting or overhearing the conversation. He slunk quietly up the stairs and joined Veneras on the tower roof.

"You alright, mate?"

IC Veneras

Veneras pursed his lips. He was not alright, but he did not want to burden the host who had been so kind and welcoming. He looked out at the night before them. The eastern sky gave off a dim blue glow to herald the impending dawn. 

"Whoever said "the night is darkest before the dawn" clearly has never pulled an all-nighter." he commented on the waking sky "Coldest? Absolutely. Darkest? not so much." To one who wasn't paying close attention, they would think that Veneras was ignoring the question. To be sure, this was his answer; or at least an allegorical version of it.

IC: Veteran

"I've pulled my fair share of all nighters, mate," Veteran divulged, "and what I've found is that people tend to be asleep before dawn. What're you doin' up at a time like this?"

IC Veneras 

Veneras shifted to release the blood flow as his knees began to lock up, all the while looking down at the floor to think about the question "rest is for those who earned it."

IC: Veteran.

"Ah, this may sound stupid mate, but didn't you get driven out of your home today? I think you've bloody well earned your rest," he paused. Moment of truth. "But, while you're up and about, there's somethin' I think I need to say... I, ah, well... I aint been entirely honest with ya..."

IC: Kouyran and Haarnak (Obsidian Outpost)

The pre-dawn glow of the sky cut through Kouyran's tiny window above the Break, sending a shaft of weak, white light in, mingling with the orange glow of the lava that churned and bubbled metres down in the gorge. As it fell on his mask, he woke, the light reflecting into his eyes. Hearing two beings- Veteran and another- talking on the roof, Kouyran got out of bed, fixing his dagger and axe firmly to his armour, before heading down the corridor to check on the refugees. Ayar was collapsed in one of the rooms, utterly drained from healing all of those that needed to be, and otherwise all of the injured slept peacefully inside the outpost. He moved out into the courtyard to survey the main refugee camp, and he found that they were all fine, none awake. As he went back inside, having scrawled a message on the courtyard wall in ice, telling the refugees to find him if they needed anything, he heard the noise of a being attempting to extricate himself from some very tightly-knotted ropes. Running to the room in question, Kouyran found the Ta-Toa who had crashed in the courtyard the previous day awake, grinning, and being completely incompetent with his dagger. Kouyran ran over to him, kicked the dagger out of his hand, and said in a whisper, 

"What do you think you're doing? Now, if you want to spend the rest of the day alive, I would suggest that you shut up and stop trying to escape."

The Toa nodded in response. 

Kouyran then proceeded to walk him out, give him his bow and dagger back, and say, "Now get out of here. Ta-Koro's that way; you should be fine there. Well, off you go now!" Nodding in silent thanks, the Toa began hovering upwards, before arcing out over the Break and into Ta-Wahi.

OOC: Haarnak to Ta-Wahi.

IC: Verulas continued walking to where Kimala had seemed to set herself up, placing the Matoran he was carrying nearby before trying to strike up some friendly conversation. He figured that one of the mercs would come by to collect him at some point, probably while everyone else was still sleeping to maintain the secrecy of the meeting he had arranged.

Hopefully that happened sometime before the trigger-happy Vortixx showed up. While he was waiting, however, he had some time to kill.

"So... Kimala, is it? Figured you'd want these two back since we arrived and all," he said, assuming that Brontes had followed behind him to off-load the sled of medical supplies that the Fe-Toa merc had stuck him with. "Quite the view, huh?"

IC Veneras

Veneras rubbed his forehead to try to wake up the muscles. His body was weary but his heart was restless. If I had been able to save my home he thought to himself then I would be deserving of rest. He blamed himself. It was his fault his home had fallen, just as it had been his fault when he failed to save the one he loved.

He looked the south, the village of Ta Koro. Jala, the most skilled military leader on the island ruled there... 

Why did Jala not come to our aid? suddenly he realized what he hand't before We needed him! Ko Koro had been alone.

The war-scarred skakdi interrupted his blame "I aint been entirely honest with ya..." 

"What is on your mind, my friend?" the toa asked

IC: Kimala

She took the two Matoran with a tired smile and handed them to some of the definitely overworked doctors, then joined his looking. "Yes, it is... And I don't want to leave it." She shivered. "Ko-Koro was all I had." She slurred her S a little... "And it's... gone..." her vision blurred, and the ground rushed up to meet her, then everything went black.

IC (Dastan): After sprinting a few miles, completely exhausted, Dastan staggered upon the shattered building of a once great village.

"It's too late. We've already lost..." he thought as he gazed at the ruins and dead corpses.

OOC: I'm sooo open for interaction.

IC: Oh Karz...

Verulas caught the Crystal-Toa passing out in the corner of his eye, his body shifting to catch her and prevent her from falling on her face. The weight of the extra body he was supporting sent pain radiating throughout all of his wounds at once, forcing him to his knees as curses escaped from his gritted teeth. He felt the wounds on his shoulder and side reopen themselves, blood soaking through the bandages wrapped around them as he threw the closest of her two arms around his neck and forced himself back to his feet.

Well, at least she decided to take her nap when they weren't being attacked...

"Sparky...! A little help would be most appreciated...," he growled as he began dragging her over to an empty cot. "And go grab a medic just in case!"

OOC: OH GOD FIRST POST EVER. Please alert me if I screw up. On a related note: Hello!

IC Girah (Obsidian Outpost): Trudging over a nearby ridge to the north of Obsidian Outpost is a rather odd looking Matoran. Wearing a mask more suited for a Rahi than a villager and carrying a backpack that seemed a bit too big for him, this Fa-Matoran was on a personal mission. A chrome Burnak, whose mangey corrosion indicated it had seen better days, schlepped closely behind. He saw the camp being set up outside of the Outpost, and decided to talk to whoever was in charge.

OOC Welcome to the BZPRPG

IC Avsa (Tracer)

The Kavinika were getting nippy and needed to stretch their legs. After a brief struggle, Tracer finally managed to get the leashes on them and started walking, with Guanhumi close behind. She spotted a Matoran approaching the Outpost. "... Hello," she spoke quietly. "Here with... The refugees?"

IC Brontes

"When are we gonna catch a break?" I help Verulas move the unconscious toa to a cot, before moving towards the matoran doctors. I know they're probably tired and overworked, but she did just help save them, so I figure they won't be too disgruntled.

IC Forger

I nod, Champion has explained Veteran's plan. Act the part of outsider until the refugees are gone, after that we can return to business as usual. "It seems reasonable. We'll just have to wait them out, most of the patients and doctors are very tired from the trip. I doubt they'll be ready until tomorrow afternoon."

I stand, I had let myself rest for too long. My muscles and joints ached. It was funny, even a couple small fights could be very painful if you weren't ready for them. I am not in the melancholy and reflective mood of earlier, but my brief conversation with Veneras has left me turning things over in my mind.

"Champion," I use his codename, we are alone and unlikely to be overheard. "Do you think the world is black and white?"