Hal Henderics

"Hmm, There's a bunch of ways to go flying between worlds, about as many as there are to throw a rock down a bottomless pit. The trick that gets me is how it figures out where to go." "And yeah, I can see that!" Laver flicks his finger at something she can't see, and the memory of that story pings again, unbidden. "Hmm. Not quite thick enough for travel, but it looks happy and healthy, and that's all that matters!" "Eh, Let's meet the others then. I'm always happy to meet some new faces!"

(1d20+6 Verses 1d20+0 = 17 Verses 15) Jade Manages to keep their balance, even as the Mech leaps up to pass the gap in the rails. (1d20+2 Verses 1d20+0) Gary uses clever application of Ender Pearls, using it's mobility enhancing effect to avoid the turbulence. Enma floats into the air, falling behind the rest of the group, due to intense speed. She is able to keep up, but won't be reacting all that quickly. Kino follows, also falling behind the rest of the group. (1d20+5 Verses 1d20+0 = 17 Verses 1) Ritsu easily keeps her balance, this is nothing. (1d20+12 Verses 1d20+0 = 14 Verses 1) Mitsu fumbles, about as much as a nigh omni-graceful goddess can, but the mech jumping isn't that bumpy anyway. The group speeds ahead into the castle, where various creatures crawl out of the walls, they look like Honeycombs with wings, and are also full of a toxic black sludge... A station is coming up ahead, and the loud mech will no doubt attract unwanted guests. STAY / CONTINUE ? Combat Screen --Alexandria-- Throwing a rock, along with solving the problem, also gouges a 20 meter long mini-canyon in the ground, where only smudges remain. Hours later, Alexandria would find that this sudden and drastic change in terrain has caused a rumbling to occur. Something Metal is rising up from the ground, it is sharp and triangular, with a faded paint job. PREPARE SELF / PREPARE ENVIRONMENT ? Portal Health: 1000/1000.

"Oh that is so cool! So I'm going to get to work with you?!" "Trans-dimentional Monsters is kinda my shtick too!" "A Heartskipper is a ship that rides the Heartstrings between worlds, do you know any stories that really resonated with you? a book you loved as a child, or a play that you remember fondly as an adult? I can use a Heartskipper to go there!~" He sweatdrops. "Of course, with mine out of commission... It's going to be really hard to get around. This place looks like it might not have many good things for Heartskippers." "I need a vehicle that has a lot of emotion in it, from a lot of people, a sled that a lot of kids have used, a train that everyone in town has used to get home, or something like that. It has to have strong emotions tied to it for me to ride it along the heartstrings." He crosses his arms, pensive for a teenager.

"My Heartskipper got torn off course, Dunnow why." He shrugs, pretty uncaring about losing his... Heartskipper... Whatever that is. "But enough about me, What's happening here?"

--Mar-- A small blip is silhouetted against the sun, followed by a loud series of pops, the shape becomes visible as the Orc, Mar, crashes into the fine sands of the ground below the castle, having leaped off of the roof, insane orc that he is, skidding around at high speeds into the distance, a Roar of Exhilaration can be heard, whooping even, as the Orc Colored Blur crests several dunes on a black shield, some inexplicable machination attached to his back emitting frequent pops, as each landing sends a spray of golden sand into the air. With another whoop, Another object blurs from his person, a boomerang, it skims the ground, dragging a whirling dervish of sand which Mar proceeds to Leap into, before being shot into the air by the swirling sand, boomerang in hand, A loud Crack is heard as the air is split into something approaching a lack of space given definition, which Mar grinds down, putting his previous surfing in sharp contrast with his now skateboard like grinding, the cracked air re-seals as the sonic boom fades, replaced by another boom as a plume of smoke and shrapenel is emitted from the strange shell like-construct strapped to his back, bringing him gently across to where the others are. As he comes to a stop, he steps off the black rounded shield, it's obsidian surface reflecting bright and perfect light from the sun across the ground, one sees now that the soot covered object that he seems to have mistaken for a backback is in fact, another shield, one much more complicated, as he unstraps it from his back, and straps it to his arm, the straps continue around, distributing weight evenly as the various knots are tied, The shield's Rough and Crude Tan Color and Honeycomb Shape in contrition with the sleek black with purple luster of the other shield in his other hand. He straps the boomerang, an ivory object covered in Runes, and set with a glowing gem, into another strap on his belt. "Surf is up." --Laver-- The kid holds his hands up, suddenly threatened with a rather large weapon. "Whoa! Don't shoot Mam! I'm friendly, I swear!"

"Currently, the areas I know of are the Central room, that has the power source of this place, the Blacksmith's station, which also contains the barracks, The servant and Noble Rooms, a Ballroom, and a Kitchen." "There are likely more, but I have only seen those, and I primarily use the Smithy for my purposes." "If you require something to be done or made, simply seek me out in the smithy. I will be willing to aid in most endeavors." Mar takes the Barrel back to the Smithy, setting it on it's shelf with the rest. He then takes some unknown thick carapaces and scales, bending and infusing them with some kind of energy as he occasionally taps them with a knuckle, sitting on the floor of the smithy.

"It does not grow limbs back, be careful." Mar stands against a wall, watching with a barrel in hand. A small satchel is taken from his belt, and as it glows with energy, two stone cups appear in his hand.

Mar returns from the brewery, passing the group by with two massive barrels made from grey stone, smelling of honey and some sort of smoked flavor, like jerky. As he passes by, he nods at the newcomers. Going into the smithy, he dumps them on a shelf made of the same material.

((I'll assume Mitsu is biting the bullet to equip it.)) Everyone but Alexandria boards the Skeletal Spider Tank, and it begins scuttling slowly across the landscape, until it reaches the precipice that was spoken of by Mitsu previously. The tank, under her control, clambers onto one of the rails, and then, plopping down, clamps onto the long rail, and it ignites with blue energy, moving them along at incredible speed. The Temple Swiftly approaches, however, the Rails themselves hold threats. Treating this with the same seriousness that they treat combat will be needed to survive this ordeal. Combat Screen --Alexandria-- Alexandria on the other hand, is faced with her own challenges ahead. Fighting off the rabble has become second nature by now. The interesting part arises when she finds that bolts of energy are coming from far away, behind several rocks. She is able to block the first volley, but the risk presented is clear. Something is shooting at her, and it is shooting at the encampment. Portal Health: 1000/1000.

Despite his Mild annoyance increasing, Andre and the others would hear a loud crashing outside, and those who actually bothered to check would see the flaming wreckage of a subway tram with a helicopter welded to it's caboose. From the worthless wreckage, a teenager, who looks like he could be no older than 14 at best, craws from the rubble, a red robe cloaking him, and a golden crown askew on his spiky haired head. His face is smudged with ash, but he looks to be unharmed. A faint red line can be seen glowing in the air above the mangled wreck, but it flickers and disappears, gone from perceivable reality. After looking around confused, the kid picks himself up, brushes himself off, and looking at the intimidating structure he has crashed before, walks up to and into it through the "front door".

Mar returns, having finished his buisness. "I've devised a much better Brewing Room, and set up shelves in the Forge for storing items whose fates you do not care about. A communal inventory, to put it simply." "I plan to begin brewing a non-Orc friendly brew, I believe I now understand more about the weaker palates of those on the ship." Mar noticed that more than 3/4ths of the things he would consider basic foods or even delicacies were nowhere to be found in this world, or indeed, in the one before, in the context of people eating them. He began to feel embarrassment then, but now he feels much more confidant with the materials he has at hand. "If you see the lady from before, please inform her of such." Nodding to himself, Mar wanders off to a room which he paints a golden stone sign on. "bRew", the sign says. Walking into the room filled with Blackrock barrels, black smoke floating around them, he ignores those for now, and goes to the actual brewing setup. Hmm. How to do this this time? Mar Noted that none of the humans were eating Metals or Minerals in anything but a limited powdered capacity, so that would be the first alteration. In fact, most of it was thin plants, juicy plants, sweets, and meat. Ok, he has it now. Mar starts by tossing one Aptonoth Steak into the masher, turning it into a meaty pulp, he mixes in honey as well, and steeps them in water for a few hours, until they are adequately saturated and prepared. Next, he heats them in the kiln, drying out the materials over a few more hours. The finished Dried Honey and Meat Mixture is Mashed into a fine paste, and then mixed into a vat of hot water, from there, to speed up the various processses, Galvinium Mana and Galvinium>Silicon Mana (Makes things react with less energy, and turns into energy that fuels things that are already happening.) is constantly infused into the liquid to enhance the chemical processes going on in it. This is then Flash Boiled, and Flash Frozen into a murky pale chunk of ice. Mar infuses this with ( Thaum>Chocolate: (5, 4) It seems this mana type inhibits things with a warm heat, intoxicating them slightly. Thaum>Jet: (6, 1) This Mana type Heals and Speeds up People and Objects made of Carbon or Calcium Containing Materials.) Mana, Then cracks it into a fine powder. This frozen powder is then mixed with liquid blood mana from the Preserved Aptonoth Heart. Finally, the powdery substance is allowed to melt in a vat, where it is infused with more mana to speed up fermentation, Galvinium, Galvinium>Silicon, and Death Mana. Mar Sprinkles in a crushed up Iron Ingot from the forge, thus finishing up the recipe. Final Tally:

"O-oh, Absolutely." She pulls out a piece of lines paper and an ink pen, handing it to Mitsu. She then uncomfortably takes the metal skulls from Kino. "Ok, I'm counting on you then, Miss Alexandria." "And yes, those should work nicely, let me get my welder." Using a device that looks something like a thick pen full of yellow ink, Lua Da Welds the Skulls and Bone together into Something that looks like a spider with a giant bone arm jutting from it's back, the arm is carrying a large bone platform, with skulls adorning it. Inside one of the skulls, a paper tag is surrounded with wires, circling but not touching the magic paper, drawing energy from it. "With this, you should be able to easily make your way into and around the Temple's Innards. Just try to go through it, according to my research, the Rails all lead to the center, so getting lost should not be a problem." The creatures in the surrounding area are hesitant to cause trouble. Combat Screen

Mar Uncinches several chains, resulting in the chains hanging about 15% more loosely when at rest and not pulled taut. He nods at the Heartless, a creature ruled by it's gut instincts is simple enough to appease, if not to be respected for that innocence. Mar uses Galvinium Mana and Deep Blue Spinel Mana to make a Spiked ball of darkness, allowing the Little Sneak to absorb it. Rewards are needed, and positive reinforcement is a powerful tool. In addition to that, Little Sneak is given reign to take control of it's stone doll as well, granting it more autonomy.

"Make More and Dominate for you or other?" "Fish-man? Strong? Scary? Well-known?" "Good Talk. Restraint longer, fewer, or looser?" Mar finishes his questioning, getting a much deeper understanding of his conscripted assistant.

"Other Needs, Wants?" "Goals? Thinking of Goals?" "Less Restraint is Danger for me" "Less Danger for me is Less Restraint." "Machine from before, People made it work?" "Talk is less Danger for me, any talk, no worries." "Not much time to talk." To his credit, it has been less than a month since he drank the swig of cloud brew, and hearing discordant and corrupt voices is still fresh in his mind. He adapts quickly and talks efficiantly.

Mar Shrugs. "I only know that Evil is it's own race." "Dragons, Humans, Monsters. Those names lose meaning when they are more deserving of the title 'Evil'." "Evil is too easy to breed, and hard to stamp out." "It can even appear in places where it does not really exist, like in the world of prejudice." Mar walks off as he ends, going into the forge room and begins undoing the mountings for the Brewery. He uses his Boomerang's Strange ability to speak to the Heartless he has cowed into submission. "How are you?" he asks it, starting the conversation simply. "I have questions I would ask."

"A furnace that powers our castle, I believe. It uses magic to create power."

Mar guides him to Andre's Impromptu workout room. "Even with my age, I am no leader of warriors, even as an elder of my peoples' hunters, so leadership and order would be useful."

Jade Picks up the gems, and examines the almost electric pattern in the yellow oval gems. Ritsu manages to gather a Jar of Winged Snake Venom. Winged Snake Venom: A jar of Toxins gained from a local snake, with feathery wings. It's venom appears to be designed to deal with lightweight fast prey, and as such, is rather weak and thin. Attaching this jar to a hollow weapon grants it the Poison Element, and may grant it the ability to poison targets, with the right catalysts added. Mitsu returns, sharing her info. "Oh that's fantastic, I was sure we would have much more trouble finding it, and you said it was only connected by rail?" He hums and huffs. "Well I suppose I have no choice but to either prepare for a longer search, or for additional tinkering." "As I understand it, those of you who cannot fly have the option of either providing me the materials to make a device to ride the rails on there, to devise a means of your own, or travel all the way down to the bottom of the Cliff and then back up the entire way to the Precursor Temple at the top." "I can make a platform able to handle the group, or individual tools for traversing rails if any of you have enough athletic ability to utilize them manually." "Lastly, the Monsters have been repelled for now, but it would be completely foolish to leave the portal unattended, therefore, I will be remaining Behind, since I have knowledge of it's workings, I hope you can come up with a workable solution among yourselves as to how to protect the portal while you explore the temple for the Slab." She rambles off some numbers. She will need either 3 Power Items and 3 Structural Items for a Platform that can carry the whole party, or 1 Power Item and 1 Structural item to make a single person device, which will require that it's user be Dexterous or otherwise athletic to use. In both cases, she will make the device to your specifications and preferences. It will be capable of traversing rails at high speed, and powered rails even faster. Combat Screen

Mar leans in, looking from side to side. "Nobody here is either competent enough or willing to lead, I've seen." Mar whispers, then leans back like nothing happened. "We seem to have adopted the mercenary style, our ship travels, we drop off small squads of our group, and return to pick them up after the problems are solved." "The only information on the point of this seems to be that we must become stronger."

"The monsters we fight are not only lethal, but apparently, widespread. A Plague of nightmares." "Wait a moment, what was the landscape around the ruin you were previously exploring? If nothing else, that information will help us if we ever encounter it."

"There is... One other way, I cannot speak as to it's likelihood, but it DID happen to me and everyone on my team." "Nobody who is here or is a part of our cause came in any normal way. We were transported to another world, for the purpose of saving lives through fighting monsters."

"Yes, as far as I understand goes, our Castle possesses an engine that can push it between the folds of reality, and into the horror between worlds." "It strikes me that we should hurry to find them soon, for many reasons." "Let us check the engine room." Mar guides him to the gummi engine, searching for anything out of place, though he is unlikely to notice, it is worth a try.

Gary Teleports to the nearest monster, cleaving it in twain for (2d6+9=2+3+9=14) 14 Damage, he takes 4 Damage from the recoil of landing. Jade shoots bullets at the enemy, dealing (((Basic*(1d6+2))/3)=7*(10/3)=21) 21 Damage to the Monsters in the area, he could swear there was a 7th bullet in there somewhere, as the monsters fall, leaving 8 Skull gems. He decides to ignore that. Enma and Kino Attack various monsters with their respective attacks, dealing (9+2d4+5=9+4+5=18) 18 Damage collectively, dropping 2 More Monsters, which each leave Metal Skulls, which naturally resonate with animalistic and fearful deaths. Ritsu, traveling after Mitsu, Attacks one wayward monster behind a rock with her chainsaw, killing it instantly for (1d4+9=4+9=13) 13 Damage, Metal Shavings are obtained as a direct result of the gruesome killing. Mitsu discovers a massive Cliff, a Drop down into a circular basin, in the middle, a large metal structure looms in the distance, made of a coppery metal, several metal tubes go to and from it, connecting to the cliff walls and the tops of it as well on her side. (Roll Made Irrelevant) some Animal Bites Ritsu, Ritsu, finding it's silly dripping teeth hilarious, grabs it by the neck, It looks like a snake, but with small wings, it's fangs drip useless venom. Combat Screen

"There are neither your friends nor their remains anywhere here. We should check outside and near the castle next." "Do you have any ideas?" Mar questions the man, maybe he has something to add to this conundrum.