BZPRPG: Onu-Wahi

IC:​ Leli

Leli cracked a smile. "I guess that's about as good as we're going to get on that. Well, there's only one way to really find out, huh?"

IC: Uyism

Uyism made the equivalent of what one would describe as a nod due to differing cultural outlooks.

IC:

"Yeah, we'll find out when we get there."

IC: Sajis

Sajis stood at the gate to Onu-koro, guarding it.

Because she was a guard. Member of the Ussalry and all.

That was her job, you see.

OOC: Open for interaction.

IC: Rungui

 

"Oh my god."

 

Rungui pinched the bridge of his nose.

 

"What did you think he was?!"

IC:

"The dude with the supplies! Quartermasters work on ships!"

IC: Akiri Nuparu (Nuparu's Office)

 

"You're excused, Sentinel. Thank you for the information" Nuparu replied simply.

IC:

Rynekk nodded.

"Godspeed, sir," he said, and then, with a gust of wind, he was gone.

-Void

IC: Rungui

"Please tell me you at least know his name."

IC:

"Regardless," Tarnok added a moment later, slowing down in front of a building nearby. He walked over to the door and rapped his knuckles against it, hoping to get the attention of the owner. "We're here later than I thought, Ferron might not be in."

IC: Ferron (Ferron's Forge)

When the door slid up, the Turaga holding it open was revealed in the middle of stifling a gaping yawn.

Ferron blinked a couple of times, bringing his customers into focus, and any indignant questions he had prepared about what they were bothering an old man with at this hour were quickly and seamlessly shelved away.

"Ah, Tarnok. Nice to see you come around again. What brings you here at this hour?" Ferron asked, bringing his voice and stature more into force as he spoke.

IC:

"..."

-Void

IC: Dahrak Nade - Onu-Koro (Golden Pickaxe Inn - Wiremu's Room)

"And where did this Mekhanta formerly reside?"

IC Flabbergaster

He raised his eyebrows.

Too incredibly convenient, this all was. "How recent is this missing information?"

IC:

"I'm sorry to disturb you. I would have waited until morning under other circumstances." Tarnok gave a slight, apologetic smile and gestured to his companions in turn. "Ferron, this is Major Leli and Uyism. Leli, Uyism, this is Ferron. I know I haven't given you much time, but I need to collect my equipment. Whatever condition it's in will have to do."

"I would wait to be more prepared, but something tells me time is of the essence." The Onu-Matoran paused, glancing briefly about the street. He didn't quite feel comfortable explaining more, not outside. "May we come in? I'll elaborate, but I would rather do it inside."

IC:

 

"..."

 

-Void

IC: Rungui

"Dal. His name."

OOC: Mekana arriving from Ta-Wahi

IC: Mekana - Onu-Koro -

When Mekana arrived at the underground city she was tired. She'd been on the move for hours through the dark tunnels, she couldn't exactly use her mask to teleport around when she could barely see a few feet in front of her so she had resorted to old fashioned walking for most of the way. 

So naturally the first thing Mekana looked for was an Inn. She'd get in contact with her suppler of iStones after a good night's rest. 

"Golden Pickaxe Inn..." Mekana looked up at the sign of said Inn, it had been the first one she came across. "As far as names go...meh." She went inside regardless of what she felt about the name, heading to the receptionist or whoever was in charge. "I'd like a room for the night." 

OOC: Open for interaction, not picky with who really, probably somebody already at the Golden Pickaxe Inn I'd think. 

IC: Dahrak Nade - Onu-Koro (Golden Pickaxe Inn - Wiremu's Room)

 

"And where did this Mekhanta formerly reside?"

IC Flabbergaster

 

Too incredibly convenient, this all was. "How recent is this missing information?"

IC: Wiremu

"Mekhanta... he, urm, he lived in three blocks away from here, actually, but his home's been cleared out and someone else is using it"

At this point, the Ussalry Guardswoman stepped in and raised her arm to draw attention to herself.

"Some of the more sensitive belongings of deceased Ussalry Employees are usually filed away since they're seen as too sensitive to just sell or throw away. If you think that'll give you a lead to follow up on, we can set you up with an inspection of Mekantha's belongings, under supervision of course"

OOC: Since we seem to be a little bit halted here, I'm giving you tunnel chasers a little bump as well. Lontra Canadensis has already given me his consent in borrowing Cotan for a moment or two here

IC: Tunnel Chasers (Tunnels)

The three hunters strode over the shattered remains of the metal sheet they had forced aside, with the Le-Toa in the lead. They were met with nothing but an empty tunnel, deadening silence and darkness. Their quarry had left no sign of where he had absconded to after covering his retreat.

No visible sign, anyway.

Cotan could already feel something was amiss, down here in the deep of the tunnels, the air wafted around his body... as if there was a draft, but that couldn't be the case.

Cotan shuffled closer to the tunnel wall, and poured his concentration into his elemental powers, quickly becoming immensely aware of the air streams flowing around him and his companions. On his newfound plane of awareness, Cotan's steps felt incredibly light, and his touch was but fleeting, all that drew him forward was the flow of air ebbing and drifting around him and ahead of him. Now he could see, the thin streamers of air that weren't supposed to be there.

"This way!" he declared, with an absent-minded voice, and walked ahead of his companions, with light, floaty strides.

Around the bend, and down a short side-tunnel that seemed to run into a dead end, Cotan knew.

Without words, he put his hand on the wall, and dug his fingers into the soil. The sound of air currents pushing through quickly grew louder, and wind-strength gales blew to life inside the tunnel. Streamers of soil, rock and gravel were pushed and dragged out of the wall Cotan's hand was on, revealing the hidden passageway behind it.

Cotan released his grip on the wall, and its remains crumbled into a heap in front of them.

The way forward was free.

IC Flabbergaster

He gave a slight bow to the Guardswoman showing his agreement and consent on the matter. "Our apologies if any of the interview seemed too pressing, sir." He said to Wiremu. "We'll see that justice is done with the information gained."

IC: Dahrak Nade - Onu-Koro (Golden Pickaxe Inn - Wiremu's Room)

Dahrak simply nodded, only to suddenly remember one distinctly lacking piece of information.

"Directions to Koritan's place would also be greatly appreciated," he added. "Still have to cover both leads."

IC: Rungui

 

"Dal. His name."

IC:

"It's ... it's Dal, isn't it?" he said. "Or ... no, God, wait. It's Rungui, isn't it? It's one of our names, and you're never gonna let me live down the fact that I didn't know someone who has one of our names."

-Void

IC:

 

"I'm sorry to disturb you. I would have waited until morning under other circumstances." Tarnok gave a slight, apologetic smile and gestured to his companions in turn. "Ferron, this is Major Leli and Uyism. Leli, Uyism, this is Ferron. I know I haven't given you much time, but I need to collect my equipment. Whatever condition it's in will have to do."

 

"I would wait to be more prepared, but something tells me time is of the essence." The Onu-Matoran paused, glancing briefly about the street. He didn't quite feel comfortable explaining more, not outside. "May we come in? I'll elaborate, but I would rather do it inside."

IC: Ferron (Ferron's Forge)

"Of course, of course," Ferron urged hurriedly and stepped aside to let them in, "if there's an emergency or something I definitely don't want to be in the way"

"Ferron, this is Major Leli and Uyism. Leli, Uyism, this is Ferron."

"Pleasure" the Turaga responded with a polite nod and a wave of his hand as he passed them by.

"Alright, Tarnok," the Turaga spoke over his shoulder as he reached into a storage behind his counter, "your armor's in good shape, it just doesn't look all that great, your early arrival just didn't give me time to finish polishing and shining it"

Ferron place a crate containing Tarnok's gear on the counter, giving him a bemused look.

"It'll keep you in one piece, however, that much I can say."

IC:

"Better than I hoped." 

Tarnok took a few moments to give his armor a once-over, examining the spots he knew there used to be damage, and nodded in satisfaction. The Turaga wasn't wrong, it wasn't pretty; there were still traces of soot here and there, some of the patches didn't quite match the patina of the rest if you knew where to look. But it didn't need to be pretty, it just needed to work and it was in better shape than it had been for a while.

"Not much, but it's what I have right now." He set his coin purse on the counter, the muffled clink of widgets audible within. "If that doesn't cover it, tell me when I get back. I'll owe you."

The Ussalmatoran started attaching his gear to his body again without missing a beat, looking at Ferron while he did. 

"An unusual Matoran stopped by to talk to Leli and I. Knew some things he shouldn't have, and told us we were needed somewhere near Kini-Nui. Called it the Keeping Place. Might just be a crazy, but better to be prepared. That's the other reason I'm here. Want someone to know where we went if no one hears from us."

IC: Ferron (Ferron's Forge)

"I see," Ferron replied with a dark, sullen tone of voice, "sounds to me like dark forces are at work again."

As he watched Tarnok put on his armor, getting ready for whatever might await him at Kini-Nui, Ferron felt a slight pang of guilt rip through his heart. He restrained himself from gripping his chest, but his fists clenched. He quickly folded them, tightly together, and let his gaze drift a bit while he let his thoughts run free for a moment.

Maybe... maybe it had been a mistake to stop being a Toa. He could have finished the armor just fine if he'd still had his full power.... and maybe he could've helped out directly, too.

"No, no. Stop that you miserable old coot. It's done, they forgave you, you forgave yourself. Don't act like someone's still owed something from you"

"I'll be sure to remember where you're going, Tarnok. May the Great Spirit be with you"

IC: Rodyr

"Huh, well, that's handy." Rodyr briefly crossed his arms as he observed Cotan's work. Before remembering they had a thief to catch.

"Anyway, let's go!" he uncrossed his arms, nodding to the others, gripping his sword tightly as he took off ahead.

IC: Wasuka

"Uuh, looks like. Let's go." she nodded, approaching.

"Hey, Kanonu! We're, uh...we're back."

IC: Thodir

^{Location: Tunnels}

Thodir nodded and followed along with his compatriots.

IC: Kanonu

"Huh?" Kanonu stopped mid-step. She turned left and saw Wasuka and Ranir approaching her.

"Great to see you again." Kanonu said, relieved to reunite with her group.

IC: (Ranir)

"I guess Azureus is still off doing god knows what. Where to now?"

IC: Kanonu

Kanonu shrugged. "I've done everything I had to do. Do you want to search for Azi?"

IC: (Ranir)

She looked to Wasuka and sort of winced.
"Not...really..."

IC: Kanonu

"Then it's up to you where we go. Back to Ga-Koro? Or exploring Mata-Nui?"

IC: Wasuka

"Uh...depends. If you want to go home, then we can go there. I have no idea what else is on this island, though." she shrugged, glancing at Ranir.

IC: Kanonu

"Decision's all yours."

IC:

"That'd be a nice change of pace." Tarnok commented, a shade more bitterly than normal. "I don't think they ever stopped working against us, Ferron. I don't think they ever do. If they did, I'd be out of a job."

"Odds are there's nothing to it, but it could be a trap. Thought it best someone knew where we went."

IC: Dahrak Nade - Onu-Koro (Golden Pickaxe Inn - Wiremu's Room)

 

Dahrak simply nodded, only to suddenly remember one distinctly lacking piece of information.

"Directions to Koritan's place would also be greatly appreciated," he added. "Still have to cover both leads."

IC: Ussalry Guardswoman and Wiremu (Golden Pickaxe Inn)

"Yes, of course. No problem, I hope" Wiremu replied meekly, and looked away, apparently deeply lost in thought.

The Guardswoman who'd been watching the entire discussion, shushed the two out of the room, and left them in the care of the other two guards, after giving them instructions for reaching both Korritan's place and to the Ussalry for viewing Mekhanta's belongings. The door was closed carefully, and the guards offered them the way back down.

IC: Rodyr

"Huh, well, that's handy." Rodyr briefly crossed his arms as he observed Cotan's work. Before remembering they had a thief to catch.

"Anyway, let's go!" he uncrossed his arms, nodding to the others, gripping his sword tightly as he took off ahead.

 

IC: Wasuka

"Uuh, looks like. Let's go." she nodded, approaching.

"Hey, Kanonu! We're, uh...we're back."

IC: Thodir

^{Location: Tunnels}

Thodir nodded and followed along with his compatriots.

IC: (Secret Tunnel)

The three adventurers found a winding, narrow tunnel that didn't have any lighting at all, except for a dim light coming from the end of the tunnel, round just the first bend.

When they passed this arbitrarily defined border, they found themselves face to face with a bolted metal door. Some flecks of rust were already staining the front panels, but the door didn't look the tiniest bit willing to budge despite that. 

The door had a small terminal next to it, with an intercom, but no other distinguishing features, aside from its remote location...

IC: (Ranir)

"I think we should explore the island further. Wasuka and I still need to familiarize ourselves."

IC: Kanonu

"As you wish.'

IC: Dahrak Nade - Onu-Koro (Golden Pickaxe Inn - Lobby)

Sparing a momentary glance at the directions before stuffing them, along with the bounty notice, back into his trenchcoat, Dahrak simply proceeded to make his way down the stairs, assuming that the Tiokaha was still following behind him. He didn't know whether the other being had actually managed to see them or not, but at this point, it didn't really matter. True, the two of them could theoretically cover more ground if they decided to split up, but seeing as to how they each probably trusted the other as far as they could throw them, it was much more likely that one would only attempt to leave the other high and dry in the event that they actually discovered something. So in other words, this effectively meant that whatever course of action one of them decided to take, they were both now more or less in the same boat.

Before them sat two potential paths to follow, each with their own unique advantages and disadvantages. The safer one obviously consisted of heading back to the Ussalry first and requesting access to Mekhanta's belongings, which either way, would likely occupy enough of their day to allow Koritan to return home from his job by the time they finally got around to questioning him. Unfortunately, as far as he was aware, however, neither of them had a Rhode in their possession, and that plan would almost soley rely on questioning the current Chief Researcher if that particular lead didn't go anywhere. And seeing as to how neither of them were actually with the Ussalry, the chances of them getting him to admit to any potential wrongdoing on his part were already slim to none. Needless to say, Dahrak wasn't exactly thrilled with this.

On the other hand, though, the second option was way riskier by comparison, and he liked this one even less. If they paid his house a visit first, while he was still occupied at work, then they could possibly determine whether or not he had any part in the theft without even having to speak with him at all. The locks probably wouldn't pose that much of a problem for his Matatu, and if they were quick, quiet, and didn't happen to unnecessarily disturb anything, nobody would have any reason to believe they were there to begin with. Not being part of the Ussalry meant not having to wait around for things like warrants, and he sincerely doubted that they'd discount anything they happened to find in there, especially if it just so happened to anonymously find its way on top of somebody's desk. Of course, if they were caught in the act, chances were that they were more than likely going to be charged and locked up, which meant that they could pretty much kiss all that reward money goodbye anyway. And on top of all that, the Tiokaha was kind of hard not to notice...

Cursing silently, the Po-Toa figured that, as of right now, the best course of action would be to wait and see which location his "partner" wanted to visit first before finally making up his mind. Either way, both leads had about a fifty-fifty shot of turning up nothing, and both still needed to be investigated further, so in the end, it probably wouldn't even end up mattering that much in the long run.

IC Flabbergaster

The heavy steps of the Tiokaha were perhaps an unwelcome reminder to Dahrak Nade that his compatriot in suspicious doings was still trodding along in comedic fashion. He was on a somewhat different thought process: What if the people who had taken off into the tunnels managed to come back with the thief and/or papers first?

None of them looked particularly sharp, so introducing them to the ground was probably not going to be a problem. The matter was doing it in a manner that it wouldn't be noticed... But that's for the future. Right now, he carefully, under the watchful eye of the Skakdi from before, put his two large daggers back into their proper spots.

"Where should we head next?" He said with simple conversation, as not to excite anyone inside. However, and with his face turned away from the Skakdi, his expression made it obvious that they needed to set an illusion, no matter what they chose.

IC: Dahrak Nade - Onu-Koro (Golden Pickaxe Inn - Lobby)

...

...

...

Screw it. Fortune favors the bold.

"Searching through Mekhanta's belongings will kill time while we're waiting for Koritan to get home from work. Probably best to start there."

In reality, they were going to be making a small little "detour" to the Chief Researcher's residence first, mostly just to scope the place out. If they could get in without anybody noticing, great. And if someone was around to inquire as to why they were there, then they could always simply fall back on the excuse of poor timing and leave.

Either way, the Ussalry had kept the dead man's stuff around for this long; he didn't exactly expect that to change within the next ten or twenty minutes.

IC Flabbergaster

Cracking a knowing grin, Flabbergaster was secretly unsure exactly what Dahrak was going to attempt, but whatever it was it was better that trying to find the one guy with half his arm missing.

He followed him out the door right at his heels, bumbling along as much as he could bumble, before smoothing out into a normal walk with normal spacing as soon as they were out of sight of the doorframe. "Lead the way."

I wonder if this Koritan has anything to eat at his house...

IC: Dahrak Nade - Onu-Koro (Streets - Outside Koritan's House)

It had taken some time to weave their way back through the bustling city streets, and there were more than a few vendors that weren't exactly dulling his migraine by loudly and obnoxiously advertising their wares, but despite the Po-Toa's sudden urge to start punching them all in the face, the duo eventually found themselves facing the residence of the village's current Chief Researcher without incident.

Taking in the sight with a relatively blank stare, he began scanning the area for any relevant points of interest, such as alternate means of entry and whether or not there happened to be any guards posted outside.

IC: (Ranir)

She straightened out her back and put her hands on her hips.
"Since you know the island better than us you'll have to guide us to our next location, Kanonu, so..." she pretended to scratch her chin to appear quizzical, "...where can we go next? Or rather: what villages are on this island that we have not yet visited?"