The City at Large & Mission Alpha

[baedalites.livejournal.com]

Who: OPEN to all residents.
What: The ant-situation is changing!
Where: Throughout the city.
When: NOW. This thread will likely cover a few days.
Warnings: To be updated.

Dear Mission Alpha,

It is your undeniable privilege to bring back as many of the so-called 'crow pearls' as possible to the Temple. Any temple. No one important cares how you do it, just get it done. Try to be substantial about it, let's say more than 50, hmm? The actual task here is to deprive our deranged ant-friends of as many pearls as possible, but no one is going to be rewarded for stories like 'oh we absolutely threw two tons of pearls down the whirlpool, we swear on our broodmother's grave', okay? Okay. Peachy. Bring me the pearls, chop chop.

Your totally sweet gods have decided to lend you some ...boons I guess, however that goes, to aid you in your quest. Useful objects. For you, my gifted pilferers and negotiators:

A Skeleton Key - it will open any unwarded lock. It will not open warded locks. That means magical locks. No magical locks will be opened with this key. Unless the magic is broken first. Good luck with that.

Get-Out-of-Jail-Free Card - I realize no one has bothered to build proper jail cells in Our City yet so it's more of a Fend-off-The-Local-Authorities-Free Card but that's not as catchy. Think of it as An Official Voucher From the Gods that says you're on Official Twelve Point Business and can't be arrested right now. Keep it for the Sheriffs as it might not have the desired effect the Militia.

Privacy Ward or App For Your CiD - Well you don't want to get caught leaking signals and communication everywhere, do you.

It is a week and some change after the ants first noticeably began their labour and it seems they have finished rebuilding their houses. It's hard to see exactly what is going on from the ground, but the brave few who have ventured into and up the hives or climbed neighbouring buildings get a good enough view. The rooftops are now crowned with organic spires, much like malformed and undernourished termite nests reaching for the heavens. They are not the best constructs, some of them have broken off or imploded, but the majority of the spires stand.

Then one morning, individual ants are seen climbing to the very top of their towers. They then sit still, mandibles locked and antennae arched. It's hours before any change becomes noticeable, and by then it's too late. The ants have sprouted strange fleshy fungal tentacles, all filled to the bursting with spores.

Soon there after, reports come in from all across the city about people acting out of character; some have become catatonic or violent after brief a period of sickness. Individuals have been seen entering the ant-occupied buildings to help defend the ants against intruders, others have attempted to climb high points in the city or thrown themselves in the rivers.

Once again the City is under siege, but this time the enemy is invisible.

Comments

[im_apimp]

"Sorry," he said as his eyes wandered up to the source of the magic, looking to see if they were still there. "But I'm sure there are plenty of pearls around here for the taking."

[ironshodboots]

"Very comforting." She looks up too - magic makes her tense. "Please don't tell me you meant to be seen." She'd known men like that, who enjoyed a chase more than job done smartly.

[im_apimp]

"Psh. Absolutely not," he sighed. He waited for the blasts of magic to fade, before turning and starting to move on to the next house. "I'm still adjusting to the whole magical security system thing. Magic isn't exactly big where I'm from."

[ironshodboots]

She relaxed, very slightly, as it became clear it was a thing and not a person shooting magic.

"Sloppy," she points out, still slightly out of temper. "An alarm is an alarm, magic or not."

[im_apimp]

"Hey."

He straightened and turned to face her, before holding up a finger as he gave her a bit of a look. "I am not sloppy. My world is all science and sensors, and things that I can beat. I'm learning. There's a difference."

And then he flashed her a smile, and held up the pouch he grabbed from the room. "But I still got the pearls. Where I'm from, that counts for something."

[ironshodboots]

She lifts her hands, palms out, with a bit of an indulgent smile. "Gods forfend I should criticize." She starts moving away from the alarm. "Maybe thievery is different in your world as well."

[im_apimp]

Moving away from the alarm is a very good idea, and Alec is joining her in that. He shrugs at the statement. He can take a little criticism, but he's trying that whole standing up for himself thing.

It's new. He's still testing it out.

"I think thievery is different in every world. Every world has different trap doors to get around."

[ironshodboots]

"And every thief needs to adapt." She's smiling still, a little - now that they're away from the magical trap, she's more in a mood to poke at him.

[im_apimp]

His mouth opens a little, as though he's looking to defend himself again, but then he shakes his head and sighs. "Alright. I kinda deserved that one, but I also think that learning what you're up against is still adapting. Even if you do it in a somewhat clumsy way."

[ironshodboots]

"Fair. We all work within our gifts." After all, it's not as if Nazca has done much work herself, recently; she leaves that to the rank and file. "Have you been having much success?"

[im_apimp]

"I haven't been doing too bad," he said with a nod. "For all the fuss about these pearls, people aren't really hiding them that well."

[ironshodboots]

"Well, maybe they were hiding them better before they worried about getting sick. Or maybe they're scared off 'em, who knows?" While it was more pleasing to attribute success to skill, he was right - it hadn't been all that hard.

[im_apimp]

"Maybe. Who knows?" he shrugged. "All I know is we gotta track them down."

[ironshodboots]

"You're good at taking instruction, then?"

[im_apimp]

He shrugged. "I like to think a sign of a good operative is someone who can listen and learn, as well as make their own decisions. It doesn't hurt to listen to someone who has experience you don't."

[ironshodboots]

Nazca looks mildly delighted. "Very wise of you." Wiser than setting off the booby trap, at least.

[im_apimp]

He grins. "I try to be."

[ironshodboots]

"You're not Dean Winchester," she declared, after a moment, as if he needed to be informed. "I thought you were playing with me at first, but you're actually someone else."

[im_apimp]

It was bound to happen eventually. Alec was starting to hope that they ran in different circles, but eventually the dude who shared his face was going to be brought up. He sighed, heavily before nodding.

"Yeah. Sorry to disappoint." He turned to her and extended a hand. "Alec."

[ironshodboots]

It's more a clasp than a handshake, but she doesn't leave him hanging. "Nazca. I didn't think you were, but I wasn't certain."

[im_apimp]

He shrugged, before gesturing to his face. "It was an easy mistake to make. And ... a little weird to be quite honest."

[ironshodboots]

"I can only imagine. No relation at all, then?" That seemed unlikely, but considering their position, she wasn't in a position to claim anything was impossible.

[im_apimp]

"Nope. Far as I know, not even the same universe. Though if we do, that would be a really weird coincidence."

[ironshodboots]

"I suppose it would." Though having the same face as someone else is, in Nazca's opinion, coincidence enough. "I wonder if there's a finite number of universes, or if everything exists somewhere." She starts walking again, though - she still has work to do, as does he, presumably.

[im_apimp]

"Universe is ever expanding." Big giant brain that won't quit? Yeah, that would be Alec. "There an infinite number of options and choices. Who's to say there isn't one of everything?"

There's a beat as he considers that before smirking. "Hell, there's even a theory that alternate universes are created based on the idea of choice -- how if a person makes one choice in one universe, there's another universe alongside it where they make the opposite choice."