Scene #7364: The Sky is Falling

Owner	Pose
Kale Hearthward	The Windswept Continent pops into existence, pulled into being here by whatever forces continuously bind the shifting multiverse together. Warpgates pop into existence at convenient points throughout major cities, people start speaking english (or rather, start always have spoken english), there's some confusion about suddenly seeing different stars in the sky, and there's whatever else happens at the moment of unification. With a brand new world, there's virtually nothing known going into this situation. There's no 'as you may be aware' info download of which country conquered what or who scandalized whom or where the borders are drawn or even what exactly is going on right now. What info can be gathered at minute zero is, essentially, 'what can you see with your eyes by looking around from where the warpgate spits you out'. This seems to be the northernmost city on the continent, a capital city with a port on the north side and a line of mountains on the south side. It's built up, with a relatively impressive level of verticality (20-story skyscrapers) in a style that's either early industrial or about to edge over the line from late-pre-industrial (likely when some bright bastard comes up with the idea of an assembly line). There's also a magical element, though - some buildings laid out in ways that suggest aesthetics and mundane function are both taking a backseat to some architectural purpose more mystical and arcane. The populace, at least as can be seen out in the streets this late in the evening, are animal people - not unusual in the multiverse, but unlike, say, Mammalopolis, these are all fairly similar in height. This city seems to be predominantly mice. They give multiversal newcomers a curious glance, but their attention is at the moment elsewhere. Upwards. Looking upwards, it's easy to see why. There's a zeppelin - a large oversized one, with a disproportionately oversized cabin that, with a cursory knowledge of physics, seems too big for the zeppelin's envelope to support. It's being supported anyway, the amount of space within suggesting 'mobile hq' instead of merely 'troop transport'. It's big, in other words, with what looks like a rear hangar for smaller aircraft to land in, even. (The hangar door is open, incidentally.) The zeppelin is big, it's impressive, it's ornate, it's the sort of thing that hanging stationary over a city like this, it sends a statement. However impressive it is, though, it is also on fire. Flames lick at the envelope - fortunately apparently not filled with any sort of flammable gas, so there's no huge explosion, but a giant zeppelin ablaze directly over a populated city is a bad thing by anyone's measures. However you got here, whyever you got here when you did - random warpgate channel hopping, maybe - you're here at the moment when everything starts going wrong.
Lory Thumper	A flaming zeppelin is certainly one of the last things one expects when coming through a warp gate. Of course, zeppelins are unusual to see in general. Radio chatter drew her here, but as soon as she arrives and sees the trouble, the bunny cop is quick to hop into action. But, what action can she take from down on the ground? She immedately sets about trying to get to a higher place, and she takes the most direct route. She uses her grapple to start scaling a building rapidly. She'll have to marvel at the fact that there is another animal person world later. As she climbs, she radios on all channels, "This is Officer Lory Thumper, MPD and Paladin! I don't know what is going on, but I'll assist in any way I can!"
Sierra Kereson	With a newly unified region comes a whole host of adjustinng issues that need a delicated hand and gentle nudging to make sure everything's on the right track. Siera doesn't care for that out of any high-minded reasons, of course, but for practical purposes, providing Windswept Continent with one of their early introductions to things might help her get a shiny bonus just in time for all her year's end fees looming on the horizon. It just happens to be her luck that said horizon is largely ignored of favor of the zeppelin coming down from above. She takes a moment to push back the tip of her oversized witch's hat so she can see the thing more clearly (and make sure it hasn't caught on fire), then takes a deep breath before cupping her hands in front of her face. "Remain calm, everyone! Move steadily out of the landing zone, but don't push! We'll get this taken care of in no time, so just stand clear and enjoy the show!" She shouts in the most upbeat and artificially high-pitched tone she can muster before yanking a small bottle full of an ominous purple liquid out of her pouch. It takes her a few reps to chug it all down, but chug she does, and anyone standing next to her would notice that the witch is invading their personal space rather steadily. She's getting bigger. Taller, wider, and everything in between as Sierra grows to the size of one of the smaller skyscrapers. Grinning confidently, the witch raises her hands to the sky as she watches the zeppelin falling ever closer, waiting to catch it and stop its deadly fall! As it comes down, it slowly starts to dawn on Sierra that it is still very much on fire. She starts going through possible alternatives in her head, but none of them quite work out. Switch to magic? Not enough time to get enough wind or water flowing. Back off? Not after boasting like before. Drink a heat resistance potion? Not strong enough for fire. She'll just have to hope something else happens before it sets her on fire, too, or has her screaming bloody murder.
Rubi-Kan Vagrants	"What?" This isn't the warpgate exit the Green Knight had meant to take. He pauses, sat astride his hoverbike, engines idly whining. He makes to pull a u-turn and retrace his steps, until by chance, he sees it, flaming and falling to the earth. That stops him mid-turn. "Hmmm..." Time is absolutely of the essence here--but the man on that armored hoverbike is not one for whom the word 'urgent' typically carries much weight. As he observes the falling zeppelin, Bercilak considers his options, taking longer than is ideal to do so. Ordinarily, he would attempt to stop the descent of the vehicle with his mastery over plant life. All the plants that he can think to create are either too firm to safely stop the zeppelin, or too flammable to hold for long once they do. If he were to apply that same talent to the defense of the city below, covering it in some manner of thick canopy, it would almost certainly damage the zeppelin and injure those inside. That zeppelin grows closer to the ground the longer he ponders. Terrorizing the denizens to force flight from the city... is an option, but if a flaming wreck hasn't emptied it, there likely isn't much he could do. His bike is tough, but not fast enough to ferry all the passengers out in time. That just leaves... "A-ha!" The knight guns the accelerator, blasting a cloud of dust as the bike's thrusters flare. He's lost some time for his dalliance, so much so that someone else appears to have had the same idea--using brute strength to simply catch the zeppelin. He grins, yet to have armored up. That's good--with someone holding it and keeping it from crashing, he can implement one of his earlier ideas. Still speeding towards the zeppelin, he darts around Sierra and leaps off of the bike. His axe appears between his hands, lifted over his head, consturcted atom by atom in a matter of seconds, just in time for him to drive the blade into the earth. Rising up alongside her, all the way up to where he anticipates the vehicle's cabin will be, there is a thick, green vine, easily wide enough to accomodate two or three people side-by-side. Broad, waxy leaves sprout up along its length to safely slow the descent of evacuees making use of his verdant escape slide.
Kale Hearthward	Lory gets up high. As she climbs, she radios - and doesn't manage to raise anyone, aside from a few curious inquiries from worlds elsewhere in the Great Ocean. It seems like this is a pre-radio world? She climbs up onto the building that's most likely to afford her some agency. At the very top, on the roof... it becomes clear, this building would be one of the buildings on the path that the zeppelin would take if allowed to fall on its current course. (Which is to say, it'd crash into it.) There's also a pair of young mice (person-sized, not tiny) on the edge of the roof of the building, watching all of this happen. They don't seem to realize the danger they're in. "Landing zone?" says one of those nearby to Sierra. "That's... is that going to fall or-" She cuts off and quickly leaves when it becomes clear Sierra is growing. There's the probably-anticipated astonishment, though not disbelief- just before Sierra grows out of hearing range, she overhears one of the civilians say "Probably breath armor". They also very rapidly give her lots of space when it becomes clear that she's going to attempt to catch the falling zeppelin. They then give more room when Bercilak shows up and starts growing his vine. The zeppelin falls, as the envelope deteriorates from the fire and the air starts escaping... tilting forward and accelerating towards the ground... ... until it slams into Sierra's awaiting arms, the giant witch halting its arrest, along with Bercilak's floral support. A handful of evacuees make a quick exit down Bercilak's pathway, none of them stopping to so much as question its sudden appearance. Only a few. Probably not as many as should be staffing a zeppelin-base of this size. Oh, and it's still on fire.
Sierra Kereson	Sierra regrets many things. Not taking the week off, taking a growth potion while wearing a dress, eating that entire bag of nachos for lunch, catching a flaming zeppelin with nothing more to protect her than some stylish gloves... She's mostly regretting that last one right now as she realizes just how hot that flaming zeppeling is, especially considering that there isn't really anything separating her from the flames. She manages to keep her cool for a couple of seconds, at least, psyching herself up as Bercilak moves into position with his vines to start letting people out. After those seconds, though, the screeching starts. It might even be somewhat impressive, depending on if the locals have ever heard a human making these kinds of noises before, but screech Sierra does, and she's already fumbling under the weight (but mostly fire) of the zeppelin. She spares what appears to be a few seconds to decide on where to set the zeppelin down, picking a spot that's clear of people while also putting it down just right that the zeppelin doesn't smash (too hard) against any nearby buildings.
Rubi-Kan Vagrants	"Throue thy grenades. I shalt assist thee," says Bercilak over the radio. This world might be pre-radio, but his fellow visitors--namely, the voice who mentioned foam grenades--are not. When Sierra is forced to put the zeppelin down, Bercilak tries something he hasn't yet attempted--using plants to fight fire. As the last of the zeppelin's crew slides down the vine, there is again that risk that the Green Knight's... let's call it 'patience' allows matters to worsen, as he waits until the very last is clear before altering the vine. The alteration in question is dramatic in its appearance. It swells as if inflamed, sagging under its own weight. The vine creeps over the flaming, grounded vehicle, until its shadow stretches over the flames almost completely. There, it begins to coil around itself, tying knots and strangling itself. The vine squeezes until its fibrous exterior splits beneath the pressure. Watery, sticky sap begins to weep from the self-inflicted wound, splattering down upon the burning airship with each squeeze of the gnarled mass.
Lory Thumper	Lory is confused as she doesn't get a response. Zeppelins but no radios? One would think the technology required to make one would make the other one pretty easy, but she'll figure that out later. She springs up from the side of the building and lands on the roof in a crouch, then blinks in surprise. "Hey, you two! Get out of here! That zeppelin could crash into this building! Get out as fast as you can, and if this building has a fire alarm pull it on the way down!" she says. She hears Bercilak's radio response and nods. "Okay, here we go!" she radios back to the others, then starts throwing grenades. Yellow discs about the size of a poker chip start flying through the air like ninja stars, and wherever they hit they explode in an eruption of foam. It should be enough to smother any of the fire they manage to hit, and she will keep throwing until she runs out, but...she sure hopes this Bercilak fellow has something good up his sleeve. She also peppers the front of Sierra's arms and hands, hoping to protect her from burns as well. When she sees his part of the solution, her eyes widen. "Well...that might do it."
Kale Hearthward	That sure is a flaming zeppelin in Sierra's hands. It's getting hotter and hotter - it's like clutching onto a hot tray that's just come out of the oven, only it's still in the oven and the oven's still on. It's getting a little bit heavier, too, as the last remnants of its envelope's contents escape the burning casing. But, at last, between the riot grenades and Bercilak's smothering vines, enough of the fire is put out that it's no longer an immediate threat. Still stupidly hot, but it's not going to catch the whole city ablaze all at once now, and is probably safe to put down. And simultaneously, someone - or something - zips up Bercilak's vine bridge and entry-methods their way into the cabin, moving at high speeds.
Sierra Kereson	Sierra doesn't waste a moment once it looks like there's enough clearance and fire suppression courtesy of Bercilak's sap water and Lory's foam grenades that she can finally release the thing entirely, having only suffered superficial burns thanks to the latter's foam grenades. Thankfully, the screeching also stops around that same time, and she slumps against a nearby building while dousing her arms with water magic. Nonchalantly, of course, and as though she could possibly hide leaning against a building while still giant-sized and dripping water everywhere from those foamed up arm coverings in the process. It's not until someone zips right up Bercilak's vine bridge and into the somewhat still-on-fire zeppelin that she finally gets her bearings straight again (largely thanks to slowing down her perception of time long enough to give herself an extra minute to just calm herself down). "Did someone just...?" Sounding far less screechy than before, if a little less artifically chipper than she started, Sierra peers into the cabin with a wary eye. "Hey. You know it's still dangerous in there, right?" She waits a moment, glancing towards Bercilak and Lory briefly. "Are you still alive in there?"
Rubi-Kan Vagrants	Swoosh. Something moves past the Green Knight quickly enough that its passing blows his mohawk about. Taking a hand off his axe to sweep it back into place, he peers curiously at the cabin of the zeppelin. "Hmph. What is thire horie?" He'd have asked 'where's the fire,' but it hardly seems appropriate. Someone or something is definitely in a rush, though. He shoulders the axe, deciding that whoever's rushed into there knows full well what they're getting into, and is thus not his responsibility. When Sierra looks to him for some sort of 'go-ahead' or otherwise acknowledgment of what's happened, she gets only the sight of him stroking his bushy green beard. The biker's footfalls are heavy as he approaches her, head held high. He stands, doing nothing--but the burns on her arms begin to mend themselves seemingly by virtue of his presence.
Lory Thumper	"...I think so." Lory says as she starts down the building again. "Which makes me wonder if someone set it on fire so they could get to something inside." When she makes it down, she heads on inside. If there is fire on the outside of the zeppelin, there is probably fire inside as well. "Did any of you see any sort of firefighting equipment or personnel?" she asks as she heads into the cabin as well, dousing fires as she goes as much as she can while chasing the intruder.
Kale Hearthward	The cabin is big. Base-sized, with multiple rooms. Sierra can only see into part of it from this angle - the most forward-sitting part, the bridge, which also looks to have been temporarily converted into a dining/function room, with a large formal dining table in the center of the bridge, affording its occupants an astounding view of the city and the horizon... ... if they weren't all sitting in their dining chairs, slumped over and motionless. The motions of the zeppelin falling, suddenly decelerating due to being caught, and then being put down all result in the chairs and occupants being slid around somewhat, but the relative layout suggests that they were all around the table. The details are hard to make out from the exterior like this, but the room's occupants haven't left their seats during all of this... or, really, moved much at all. And continue to be motionless and silent with Sierra gazing in. Meanwhile, Lory finds the person who ran in fairly quickly - they're in a hallway, trying to force open a locked door. "Damnit, damnit..." It's a hummingbird, a colorful tropical one, carrying a spear. "Grand Lift on fire, strange weapon-users showing up, everything going on and I get stuck at a locked door-" She spins around, finally noticing Lory's presence. "You!" The spear is drawn and brandished. "You're - you're responsible for this, aren't you?"
Sierra Kereson	With the immediate threat stabilized, Sierra lets out a loud sigh of relief before reaching into her pouch, fishing around with most of her arm wedged in there within a couple of seconds. As she does that, she looks over as Bercilak approaches and gives him a quick thumbs up before pulling her arm back out with yet another vial! She doesn't drink it right away. "You need to get big too, big guy?" She offers the vial to him, looking away after a moment to resume squinting into what she can see in that cabin, taking note of the strange arrangement of chairs and occupants. "Didn't see any nearby, but I'm sure there's some on the way." She replies to Lory, not noticing the rabbit cop's encounter with the hummingbird just yet. "Hold on that, though, because we've got some... I think they're dead in there. In this..." There's no way she's going to try getting in there whole body or with her arm, and she's not confident that the zeppelin's cooled off enough to do that even if she wanted to. "Dining area? Like they were stuck there somehow when all this went down... Hey!" Of course she's going to try shouting at the motionless people. "You awake in there? Holler if you're still alive!"
Lory Thumper	Lory has a pistol in hand as soon as that spear is pointed her way while her other hand is held up in the universal sign for 'hold on'. "I don't know what you're talking about. I just got here, saw a blimp on fire, and tried to help out. If you ask me, it is much more likely that YOU are involved in this or at least have some idea of what is going on, considering you rushed in here and got stopped by a locked door." She motions to her badge after that. "I'm Officer Lory Thumper, MPD. And part of the Paladins. Just put the weapon down and we can get this all sorted out before we both possibly burn to death in here."
Rubi-Kan Vagrants	"Nay," says Bercilak, in response to Lory's question--he didn't spot any firefighting equipment, but then, he wasn't looking, either. He remains nearby Sierra until it appears as though her burns have healed completely, then turns his back on her. From that point, he's silent, and nearly motionless. What to do, now? He strokes his beard. Still, the man seems to behave as if he has plenty of time, answering Sierra only after a moment of absent pondering. "Hm?" Bercilak looks over his shoulder. He spots the vial. "Nay, yet gramercy al the same." He's already seven and a half feet tall and tends towards breaking things around him as is! No good can come of that. He smiles, and returns to pondering. "'Twas considerat of thee to axe." There is at least some interest in seeing what's inside the cabin. While he feels no need to rescue someone who willingly darted in, he's never been in a zeppelin before. It's a noticeable delay after Sierra shouts at the motionless passengers. "But thy aide todai is deserven of reward, lanhure. If thou desire, I shalt conveie withinne, as thou art over-spacious to fit thine own self." He assumes that she does, if she's going to the trouble of peeking in. And so, adjusting the axe upon his shoulder, he simply barges through the cabin. Bursting through the side of the cabin to look around the dining room, he lifts one of the motionless passengers by the collar with one arm, shaking them gently. "Is ani-wight here alif?" he calls, repeating her inquiry. If any of them are merely unconscious, his nanite swarm will seek them out and attempt to repair any injuries or expel any toxins which might have led to their loss of consciousness. If they're dead, though... no such luck.
Kale Hearthward	There's a pronounced lack of any sort of response at all from the motionless people on the bridge when Sierra calls out. With the immediate danger passed, the miscellaneous citizenry feels the urge to emerge from hiding and rubberneck some more, and there's a wave of muttering from around Sierra's position. "That's the Grand Lift," says one. "It's... kinda looking burnt out." "The Gale Emperor's personal craft, crashed into the city..." "Serves the warmongering bastard right, his ship going down, but could have hit something important." "Yeah, what was he doing with his ship up there, if it's gonna just burn and fall like that. Is someone dead inside?" The hummingbird's eyes narrow at Lory. "Don't care who you are or what you're a part of - you're going to put down the accelerator and any other weapons you've got and sit still until I can figure this out." "I'm Anne Zephyr, West Wind Regalia, and you're on a Gale Empire ship. Submit. Now." She brings her spear up, holding the blunt next to her beak - almost as if it were a musical instrument she was preparing to blow into. From her expression it's clearly intended to be intimidating, but really it just looks kinda goofy. Up at the front of the ship, Bercilak busts his way in - and can confirm that the occupants are very much dead. If the blood on the floor didn't give it away, they're all bearing matching accessories. Those accessories being knives.
Lory Thumper	Lory blinks in surprise at the bird. "...you don't have radios but you know what an accelerator pistol is?" she asks, then her ears twitch as her super hearing catches some of the things being said. She considers a moment, then shakes her head. "I'm not lowering anything until I know what's going on here. So, what's the Gale Empire, and what is the West Wind Regalia?" she asks, then pauses a moment. "...I suppose it is only fair to mention that the MPD is the Mammalopolis Police Department, and the Paladins are a group of peacekeepers who work together to ensure the safety and prosperity of...well...everyone we can." Lory pauses a moment more. "So...if there is an emperor behind that door, you should get it open. I have explosives if you don't have a way to get in. Whether you are here to kill him or rescue him, I'll deal with that at the appropriate moment. If something else is going on, well...you should explain."
Sierra Kereson	Settling into a more comfortable squat by the zeppelin, Sierra hesitates for a moment as she reaches for it to try and keep it steady to get a closer look. She pauses, however, noticing that her arms aren't as terrible feeling as before, although she doesn't quite make the connection between the healing and Bercilak just yet despite looking considerably less anxious than before. "Maybe if some crazy giant monster comes out of here." She chuckles lightly while re-pouching the vial, leaning away from the cabin's entrance as Bercilak announces his intent to head inside. She even holds the zeppelin steady for him as he barges through! And then she waits. She listens. She hears some more voices, but can't quite make out what's going on. With the citizenry coming back out of hiding, though, she finds her new task: Keeping everyone calm and reassured! "Nothing to worry about, good people. We've got this whole situation under control, so rest assured that nothing else is going to fall out of the sky today!" She proclaims with a confident grin and flick of the top of her witch's hat, shifting around just a bit to sit on her legs rather than squat in front of so many people. "Once we find out what happened in there, we'll give you a more formal welcome, and... Yeah! So." She glances at the zeppelin she's still holding steady, then back at the crowd. "What's this about the Gale Emperor and his warmongering?"
Kale Hearthward	"Pistol? Paladins? MPD?" The hummingbird shakes her head. "Still don't know what you're talking about - and I don't care and I don't have time to care. If you won't surrender..." She blows into the blunt end of her spear, and the sharp end starts anti-glowing with a brightly dark light. It's as if you took a flashlight, flipped the batteries around, and instead of producing light it eliminated it - which isn't how light works, at all, of course. But it's working here, with the spear emitting a darkness that overshadows the corridor, hiding both Anne and the far end of the corridor. "Then I'll make it easier on you. If you're sincere about wanting peace and wanting to get this door open, drop your weapons, sit down, and then kick your explosives and your accelerator over to me. I'll use them. You sit quietly and give me a reason to trust you."
Rubi-Kan Vagrants	The bridge-turned-dining-room has a number of people in it, but all are motionless. After about the second or third attempt to rouse them, and seeing no effect from his nanite cloud, Bercilak reports his conclusion. "Al art aded withinne yon souping-place." The most recent person he's lifted up is placed gently back into the seat he found them in. Given Sierra's present stature, it's not difficult to overhear her half of the conversation going on outside. There is a brief moment wherein Bercilak looks over those deceased dinner guests--do any of them have an air of 'Emperor' about them, or are these just a selection of lesser dignitaries, socialites and hangers-on? If he should spot anyone Emperor-ish, he'll be sure to say so, but otherwise, his attention is focused on how, exactly, this happened. He is, generally speaking, more suited to displays of prowess and brute strength in battle than most anything else, but when he says he'll help, he means it. Without his armor on, he's viewing the world absent any electronic filters, just as these people would have in their final moments. For them to have died in such a way, seemingly all still seated at the table, with no apparent effort to escape... Perhaps it was gas or some manner of viral agent? He searches, inexperienced in such matters, for any obvious signs of a silent killer--any broken containers or suspiciously placed vents in here?
Lory Thumper	Lory's eyes narrow as the darkness closes in around Zephyr. "...I see. We just call them pistols." she says. She considers a moment, then holsters her pistol. "I'm not going to give you my weapon, but I'll give you the breaching charge." the bunny cop says. Her ears twitch, trying to use her hearing to keep track of the hummingbird even though she can't see. Lory takes a curved plate about the size of a saucer off her belt, then sets it down before sliding it into the darkness. "It's a shaped charge. Place it against the lock, curve toward the lock. Make sure it sticks. Then, hit the button on the back and get to a safe distance."
Kale Hearthward	To clarify the situation on the bridge, the knives they're sporting are stabbed into them. Nearly all from the back, a few in their sides, stabbed in deeply to hit vital spots. They're long-bladed knives, a good foot of sharp steel on each, with no guards on their hilts. Each has a tiny little slot, no bigger than half a dime, on their grips. There's a pair that are giving off Big Emperor Energy, as the kids say - or they would be, if they weren't dead. The one at the head of the table, an eagle, has all the hallmarks one would expect - jewelry, scepter, and the biggest chair. The one immediately to his left, a mouse, has a crown on but has vestments that are significantly more subdued. All of the rest of those at the table are either eagles or mice - and look vaguely similar, in a way that suggests that they could be related to their respective presumed-authorities. Aside from that there's... not actually much disturbed here. There's the obvious effects of the ship going down, but aside from those exceptions... no. There's no signs of struggle, not everyone seems to have died immediately, but there's no signs of going up against some assassin or other intruder. There are vents, though - not large ones, but enough that a small person or an agile one could fit through and go elsewhere in the ship. "The Gale Empire came in and conquered here about a month ago," says the mouse who had previous said it served him right. "Just flew right in with that ship and the armada, bombed the air defenses, demanded we surrender." "We hadn't even done anything, he just wanted our country, that greedy bastard," the mouse adds. "Trotted King Summershine out and made him bend the knee with accelerators and swords pointed at him."
Kale Hearthward	There's a long pause, and then the spear is tapped twice against the wall - and the darkness ceases. "Stay there," says Anne, cautiously reaching down and picking up the charge. "If this is some trick, you're going to pay for it..." She puts the charge next to the lock (glancing at Lory again every few seconds to make sure she hasn't moved) and then taps the button and retreats. The lock gets blown out, and the hummingbird returns to kick it open. "... Fine, okay, wasn't a trick. Still don't trust you."
Lory Thumper	Lory doesn't move until the door is open and Anne is heading in. When Anne speaks up, Lory can't help but chuckle a bit and smirk lightly. "That's alright. I don't trust you either. Now, let's get in there and see who might need help." she says, then starts foward carefully so she doesn't spook the bird. "So...are you here to help whoever is in here, arrest whoever is in here...or assassinate whoever is in here?" the bunny asks as nonchallantly as she can while they move.
Sierra Kereson	"That's pretty recent. Huh. But if this is the ship they used, and this is the ship that just came down..." Sierra looks over at the zeppelin slowly, peering at it for several moments before furrowing her brow. This could get complicated rather quickly. "So do any of their higher ups know about all this happening? Or would they all have been in here?" She gives the side of the zeppelin a light slap for emphasis before standing back up and brushing off the back of her skirt. A moment later, she leans over to shout into the Bercilak-wide cabin opening. "Everything okay in there? You two... Three get stuck inside there?" As she calls out to the knight and the cop, Sierra pops open a third vial and downs it, shaking her head quickly. Over the next minute, she starts to shrink back to her regular size. She waits to get an answer from the citizens first before making any attempts to head inside, though, just in case she hears anything particularly juicy or gets a good reason not to do some digging around herself.
Rubi-Kan Vagrants	"Ah," says Bercilak. That's right. There's something here that would have been obvious to literally anyone else. Looking at it before, he hadn't thought much of it. "I had foryetten that ifolke usualli die when thei art gored thrugh the back with daggeres," he says over the radio. That solves that! Of course... "Who-sum-ever did the quelling was sureli fast, crafti, or unk bothe, for them that art ded seme as thei were unaware." The vents are given one last look, because Bercilak absolutely watches the kind of movies where such things are utilized for sneaky ends. He, however, is nowhere near small enough to fit into such a space. Attempting to force it would be like a boar forcing its way through a rainspout. The unarmored knight scoops up the two most Emperor-Looking bodies in one arm, easily able to carry them--if there's nothing holding those crowns to their head, though, they'll probably fall and be left behind. With his axe in the other hand, he exits through the hole he made barging in. "Al is wel," says Bercilak to Sierra. "Illeoqs," he says, laying the bodies out flat on the ground before her, and the crowd of civilians that's gathered to gawk. "Two cadavers didst I ifind, riched in grete mesure compared to the others. You there," says the green, bearded, red-eyed towering mass of mohawked muscle, pointing out one specific person in the crowd. "Who art thei?"
Kale Hearthward	"Um, higher ups, there's the Emperor - presumably he'd be on board? Then there's his generals, his ministers, the four Regalia..." There's more and more of a sizable crowd forming, trying to see what's going on. In addition, it looks like some more are arriving via the air - flying in via various means, including smaller zeppelins. "Depends on who's doing what, potentially all three," says Anne. She keeps her spear out and at the ready, but at least it's not pointed Lory-ward anymore. "King Summershine's here - wouldn't put it past him to try something treacherous..." "Hey, giant lady, can you vouch for-" Anne calls back, and cuts off. She's just made it onto the bridge, and seen the scene. The spear gets dropped, and both hands go to her beak. "... That's... Emperor Gale and King Summershine," says the mouse who'd been talking earlier, on seeing the bodies that Bercilak is laying out. "That's... are they... dead?" A hush falls over the crowd, followed by a steadily increasing wave of murmuring.
Lory Thumper	Lory also slows to a stop as they come upon the scene. "...sweet peas and carrots..." she murmurs softly as she looks around. She removes her helmet out of respect and scans the scene slowly. She circles the table once, then looks over at Anne. "...I'm sorry." is all she says, then looks to Sierra. "Yeah, I'm alright." she says solemnly. As she looks over the scene, Lory finds herself curious. "...you guys didn't mess with the scene, did you?" she asks Sierra and Bercilak. "Because...this is very strange. How are they all dead with a knife in their back? Even if none of these people were fighters, usually when one person gets stabbed the others start scattering. How are they all dead and still in their chairs? Either they were posed after death, or something really unusual happened here."
Sierra Kereson	"If they were all on board, then... Uh." Recalling the appearances of those very dead-looking people at that dining table, Sierra's expressions darkens a bit as she starts putting things together in her head right about when more people start crowding around the cabin. Between that and Sierra's size retunrning to normal, she certainly doesn't do a particular good job of hiding what she had alraedy suspected. "I was afraid of that... Looks like I'll have to call this in. Do we have any co..." She trails off, the idea of calling any kind of local police quickly becoming a bad idea in her head considering the Gale Empire's swift-sounding conquest of the region. "... roners around here?" Things are quickly getting a little too screwed up for Sierra's comfort. Rubbing her forehead, she remains in position by the cabin entrance, trying to look as large and intimidating as possible at her regular size to discourage stop would-be paparazzi from charging in. She glances back at Lory, shaking her head lightly at her question. "This is the closest I've been since catching the it earlier. Could've been any number of things, but without... I don't know. Blood samples or something, your guess is as good as mine.
Rubi-Kan Vagrants	"Verily," says Bercilak to the mouse with a solemn nod. Although he overlooked the cause thereof, he's been certain since entering the bridge that they're all dead. "My clerkly crafts didst not awake theim; forthy do I awene hit so." If they weren't dead, they would likely have responded to his nanites, no matter the reason they died. "I am Bercilak of the High Wasteland, cleped als the Green Knight." He doesn't look much like a knight right now. More like some kind of far-future apocalyptic biker. There is that enormous, hi-tech axe he's carrying, though, its concave edge glowing faintly green, sharp as a razor. "I knoue not hou cleped the geauntesse," he says, with a nod towards Sierra. "Ne the rabet." When Lory asks if the scene was tampered with, Bercilak answers truthfully. First, by pointing at the hole in the cabin he made for want of a door. Then, by pointing at the bodies he moved. A professional investigator, he is not. "What thou espy here is the amountance of my hondiwork."
Kale Hearthward	There's another wave of muttering from the crowd. "That's... the emperor, and the king, yeah..." says Anne. "And that's..." She forces herself to look over the scene. "... Their families - I was just talking to some of them this morning..." The crowd is experiencing some general unrest, of the sort one might expect when two heads of state are suddenly revealed to have died. Fortunately, it's mostly 'shock' and 'disbelief' instead of 'anger'. When Sierra calls out, a rat (not a mouse) steps out of the crowd. "I'm a coroner," he calls. Then, quietly to Sierra, "Can we get them inside for this, though?" Inside, Anne's shaking her head - not at anything in specific, just in general. "They're all trained in self defense, there'd be at least some struggle - this is just some bad dream..." She's not in a good spot to focus on this right now. "Death by stab wounds, I'm pretty sure," says the coroner, who has clinical detachment to seeing all of this. "Might vary between organ failure and blood loss for cause of death between all of these, but the root cause is stab wounds. And the how..." With gloves on, he reaches over and carefully pulls out one of the knives. "The wounds don't bear the typical stress marks of blade entry, almost like they simply appeared there, too. If I had to guess..." He holds up the weapon to his face, then pauses and moves to a corner of the room. "I'd advise everyone to stand back for this, just in case..." Hisnd then he gently blows into the little vent on the hilt, and the knife disappears. "Yes. Some sort of phasing breath weapon. It'll pop back in at some point in the future, right at the spot where it disappeared."
Lory Thumper	Lory nods to Sierra and Bercilak as they explain what if any influence they've had on the scene, then watches the coroner's demonstration and nods in agreement. "Yeah, it was either that or some kind of gas knocked them out before someone came in and stabbed them all. But, if there's no stress marks, then I'd have to agree that it was teleporting knives." She doesn't have the same detachment that the coroner does judging by her tone and expression, but she still approaches the scene in a clinical way. She makes her way back over to Anne and slowly places a hand on the bird's shoulder. There's questions she needs to ask, but they can wait. Whether that hand on the shoulder is allowed or not, Lory heads toward Bercilak's exit after a few moments. "We should cordon off the area and get the crowd moving. And I'll scan it with my camera. Whoever did this might still be in the area, making sure the deed is finished." She also makes sure to take a video shot of the coroner. He could be a suspect considering he knew how the weapon worked.
Sierra Kereson	Introductions! Right. Clearing her throat, Sierra dips into a light curtsey briefly, then raises her hand to her face and makes a V-shape by her face while winking. "Paladin Sierra Kereson, at your ser-vice!" She chimes in with that youthful tone once again, even tacking on a brief giggle at the end before turning back to the coroner. "Right, let's... Inside, yeah.". Once the coroner gueses at the somewhat obvious cause of death, Sierra takes note of the current time, then listens intently to the oddities surrounding what appears to be a mass stabbing incident. Namely, the fact that the weapons were just in there somehow. Stepping back for that moment, she watches the coroner blankly as he blows on the weapon's vent, causing it to disappear. It takes her several moments to comprehend what she had just seen, approaching afterwards to take a closer look at the other knives. "Are these all like this? Some kind of local tech, magic, other?" It's taking every fiber of her being to resist blowing on one of those knives herself. "You don't happen to have a method for dusting for prints here, do you? Or... Er. Breath IDing? Otherwise, all we've really got to go on are these and guesses. Poison, hexes, breath... Sleep syringes"
Kale Hearthward	"Well, fortunately, this isn't the first case involving breath weapons, and there's a little trick when it comes to-" The knife reappears, right where it phased out, and then it shatters into pieces as it falls to the floor. "... That. As you know, when a breath weapon is used by someone who it wasn't built for-" "I don't think they know, doc," says Anne, who's finally clueing into the fact that these strange people might be from... somewhere else. "Might want to start from the top. Like, the very basics." "Hmm? Really? Alright. So..." He carefully extracts another knife. "This is a breath weapon. They're not all literal weapons, but the majority of them are, with the rest being things like tools, pieces of armor, or other things. I think someone built a sailing ship into one, but I'm getting off track. This," he points to the little hole in the hilt of the knife. "Is a Sylphian Drive, which powers it, essentially. Don't ask me to explain how. And to activate the Sylphian Drive, you breathe into it - not much, just a little breath, like you're blowing out a candle. I'm not going to demonstrate again, I'll end up breaking it..." "... Because each breath weapon has to be custom-built for a single person. Anyone else, it'll activate, and then it'll break. So that's sort of the fingerprint - whoever can use these knives without breaking them is the assassin." Not counting the one that the coroner just broke, there's nine knives in total.
Rubi-Kan Vagrants	Bercilak follows, taking up the rear of the procession back into the airship. He stands at the entrance to the cabin--that is, the entrance he made himself--mainly to prevent the coroner from being crowded by onlookers as he works. The axe rests with the head against the ground, his hands resting likewise on the weapon's haft. It isn't quite completely vertical--rather, it's held so that he can make a nonlethal thrust with the blunt 'eye' of the weapon, if need be. He doesn't expect to need to, however, as the crowd seems more shocked than 'ready to turn.' With that 'polite bouncer' energy, he's entirely prepared to just remain, until the business here is concluded. Until, that is, he hears mention of those breath weapons. It's evidently something that's common enough to have its own name, setting it apart from just 'weapons.' "'Tis not much," he admits, agreeing with Sierra. "But it is som-thing." He isn't moving, nor is he attempting to get the on-lookers away, just keeping them from the cabin. "Eighte-sum chaunces hath thee to cacche the queller. I wish thee god fortune in thy ihuntinge. Want of wrathnesse withinne thither threnge," he says, nodding towards the crowd, "Tells me that per happes, swich quelling was a long time cominge." They don't seem necessarily angry that two heads of state were killed. Certainly, no one seems angry on the Emperor's behalf. "Per happes I shalt assist thee, shouldst I deme vertuous, theim that quelled were." It doesn't seem likely that they were virtuous, however, based on what was said by people within the crowd, earlier. At least, not well liked. "Elles that, thou shalt espy me again." He does definitely want to find out more--it's just that he may not necessarily take it from the same angle Lory and Sierra will. "Take what-sum-ever time thou need, thou serchers. Whanne thou hath completen thy work here, thanne shalt I ileve." Again, he keeps to his word. Keeping the scene free of further tampering is fitting payment for virtuous behavior as he's seen displayed by the Paladins and their coroner volunteer. He only leaves once the bodies have been hauled away.
Sierra Kereson	"So you breathe into the vent to make your personalized tool, and we've got..." Sierra counts up the other visible knives, frowning after a few moments. "Nine shots. There aren't enough to have everyone try without wasting too much evidence, so this'll need some careful investigation and deduction. Mm..." Sierra narrows her eyes as she takes a slow lap around the mass of bodies, peering at each one for a few moments. She looks back up as Bercilak as he makes his own stance a bit more obvious, and there's a long pause as she visibly weighs how to approach this whole situation. "FAir, fair. Thanks for the hand, Brave Sir Bercilak! I hope to see you again." She adds a playful wink to the end of that, tapping two fingers to her forehead before stopping by Lory and giving her a quick thumbs up motion. "And on that note... I won't get in the way of your investigation, officer." And with that, she yanks a broom by the handle out of her fist-sized pouch while heading out of the fallen zeppelin. She gives the citizens a quick wave, poses for any cameras that might be around, then takes off into the sky.
Lory Thumper	Lory nods lightly in agreement with Anne, then listens intently to the explanation. "So, if what you say is true I guess that clears you of suspicion, Mr...?" she says to the rat. Then she nods to Bercilak. "Thank you...Bercilak, isn't it?" She also nods to Sierra. "Thank you too, Sierra. Hopefully we can figure out who it was quickly. She then turns to Anne and takes a deep breath before letting it out. "I'm sorry, Anne. But...as the only member of this delegation that wasn't killed...you are the first most likely suspect. Would you...?" She motions to one of the knives. She then turns to the coroner. "So, when you said in the same spot...is that relative to where the person is standing, such as if it was activated in here while the airship was moving would it appear in the same spot in the airship, or would someone have to deploy them in the air in front of the ship beforehand?"
Kale Hearthward	"Nine chances..." says Anne, and sighs. "... This is such a mess - sounds like such an understatement, but that's all I can think to say right now..." She looks at Lory, blankly, and takes one of the knives (the coroner has already extracted) and activates it by blowing into the little vent. It disappears... ... and then reappears and shatters. "There," she says. "It seems relative to where the person was standing - I imagine there's tests we can run to confirm that," says the coroner. And with that, the investigation continues, and cleanup begins - the grounded zeppelin in the middle of the city is a task all to itself, but the bigger problems with the Gale Emperor and the mouse king both being dead, and their killers unknown, is a situation that makes the wreck of the Grand Lift pale by comparison. All of this, in the background of the sudden unification into the multiverse, and the unique problems that can bring... --- TO BE CONTINUED