Fenris and the Manipulator - RPLOG

Participants

• Fenris
• Kalt

Date

16/4/478

Log

The hills of the canyon are as treacherous as ever, heavy snowfall forcing many away and to the main path... But to those that know what secrets these mountains may hold, their determination may hold them further into the peaks. One such example slowly crests before a determined traveler, the ash filled, and charred ruins of an old tower. burnt a heavy time ago, all that remains about the ground are misshapen bones, and bits of metal and stone that lay about. to the casual observer, it speaks of a shadow attack... But to those whom had entered before, the vial experiments carried out by Olg'ish dedicant so speak a different tune of it's destruction.

Fenris hikes carefully up the hills toward the canyon and the ruined tower, steeling himself for what he is about to do. Others of the Old Ones might have been easier to contact, but the Manipulator seemed somehow less vile than the others. And more intriguing. The tiger still wears his sleeveless coat, but does not seem too bothered by the cold wind. He pushes determinedly on to the ruins and slips inside the hollow shell of the base, to get just a little shelter and a wall to set his back to. He stands with his hands jammed in his pockets, looks around and sighs. "Olg'ish!" he calls, "Master Manipulator, Web Weaver! I call on you. I offer a favor for a favor. Will you speak to me?"

For a moment, nothing seems to happen... Until a Satyr like creature steps from behind a broken wall. His creator torso and face handsome as one could be, but perhaps this is what exaggerates the third eye placed upon his forehead. The almost oppressive aura of the corrupt court reeking from him. Though, given how he just wandered out, and wasn't even taller than fenris... Was this really a spirit? "A favor of a spirit, in exchange for a favor from a mortal? Interesting begining, but let us sweeten the deal, shall we Fenris?"

Fenris gives a respectful nod to the Spirit. He does not take his eyes from the strange creature, but he respects the power these beings wield. "I come as a supplicant, Olg'Ish," he says, using the Spirit's name freely, "I can only beg. What did you have in mind?"

The spirit walks slowly as his third eye almost bores through Fenris' being it seems, the spirit chuckling gently. "You come as a supplicant? To beg? How will your patron feel about that now Fenris? Coming for a cheat to an answer? The secret you've been missing this entire time or... Oh now... You come for -that- do you?" The spirit seems to cock his hips as he ponders, a cloven hoof kicking at the rubble. "So many things I do want... But what I want, let us not tarry on. Why don't you verbalized what you want to me? I find it helps you mortals relax."

Fenris nods, uncomfortable as he realizes that this Spirit is rifling through his thoughts, his inner sanctum! "The Craige," he says, "I understand that we cannot fight them alone. Even with the help of the Life Court, the Elemental Court and the Machine Court. Even if the Outsiders choose to get involved, it will not be enought to drive them back. We need help from you and yours." The tiger swallows, knowing that the Spirit is offering him much more than he has come to ask for, but also knowing that everything has a price. "I have come to you first," he says, "Because I think you can convince the others better than ever I could."

"Me? Convince them to follow suit on this? You mortals are as always, adorable. I'm afraid that you come to the wrong one. Of I could have reigned Akross, I would have done so years ago... But no, just as you would not have used unnatural means to guide those you grew with, or used them to bring her to you... I will not do so to my "Family". If they join, it must be of their own volition." The spirit seems to pause for a moment as he turns his back to fenris, looking out to the sky. "Fo you think your commander would flog you for talking to one of my kind? We do have our histories intertwined..."

"I did not mean-" he frowns at some of the Spirit's comments, but moves on, not allowing himself to be distracted, "I only meant that you seemed the best choice to reason with. Will you help us?" He smiles wryly at the comment about Sally. "Oh she would. That and more," he admits, "But like you said, we are intertwined. You helped once to push the Craige back. Will you help again?"

The spirit slowly taps his chin, before offering a gentle shrug. "Oh I will. Don't you worry about that... But only if you gather the others. I won't waste my energy needlessly after all, and in honesty, all that is risked is your kind. As interesting as you all may be, something will eventually replace you should you perish." The spirit turning back to Fenris with a wide grin as he begins to walk around the tiger. "So yes, have my 'family' agree, and I will aid you. No charge of a favor."

Fenris is startled, but relaxes. "Really?" he asks, "As simple as that? I- I confess I expected more resistance. Or a higher price. Not that I am complaining." The tiger examines the Spirit's unusual form even as he is being examined. "I will do my best to gain the aid of the others," he says, feeling rather like a seal in a shark cage.

"Really. That simple... Some of my dedicants may have moved in strange directions, but I'm not nearly that bad of a being." The spirit offering a smile that damnably genuine... Maybe it was just his callers? "I am certain you will fenris... I do not doubt that for a moment, though you will need the aid of your friends for what some may ask for." The spirit nodding as he then leans against the wall, motioning to a large brick near him. "Come now, sit. You've traveled quite a bit to talk after all..."

Fenris is not convinced. Not really. He has been a spy himself often enough. But he DID come up here to talk. The tiger walks over and sits on the proffered stone. "Your callers are a strange bunch," he says, "Each with their own agenda. I confess, it is a part of why I thought to come to you first. You seem less. . . malevolent than your cousins." He shifts a bit on the seat. "I confess," he says, "I don't really know what to say. I did not think you would be so. . . amiable."

He chuckles gently as he crosses his arms infront of his chest. "Really now? Everyone has their own agenda Fenris. They each sought after something... Like you seek to experience so much, one wanted to convince and lead others to join him here in finding a way to surpass their formal Another wanted to merely have the power to spite those that hurt him... Another, merely wanted to convince others to wage a war for their individual freedoms." The spirit rolling his head slightly to pop his neck before that third eye focuses on Fenris. "Malevolent... It is an interesting thought for us. Are we malevolent? We are locked in a war with the life court, after being locked away for millennia... Oh what they did so long ago to our followers... Do we want you all to perish? No. Contrary to popular belief, we do not want you to all perish. You are merely pawns upon a chess board."

"So I have noticed," Fenris says, then thinks for a bit. "Why did they lock you away?" he asks, "What is this war about?" These are not really the questions that the tiger wants to ask. He wants to ask what the spirits are. He wants to know what it is that they know that makes them so different from ordinary beings. Where they come from, what they want. He wants to know what HE wants and where to find it. He also sort of wants that strange eye to stop looking at him. What does it see?

"For treason, against those that broke our laws.. And because in the end, our first conflict is why your people found this world empty. Besides, do you think kendrac can understand anything except absolutes?" The spirit smirking as he looks to the tiger. "But, the scholar will tell you all of that... After you and your friends do something for him. But I will explain one thing to you fenris... Why my brother and sister have killed so many of your kind. It is surprisingly simple actually, for you must think... If a normal man was told a goddess was evil, because she was in charge of death, and that the thing telling her is good because it is life, and can make his crops grow

"For treason, against those that broke our laws.. And because in the end, our first conflict is why your people found this world empty. Besides, do you think kendrac can understand anything except absolutes?" The spirit smirking as he looks to the tiger. "But, the scholar will tell you all of that... After you and your friends do something for him. But I will explain one thing to you fenris... Why my brother and sister have killed so many of your kind. It is surprisingly simple actually, for you must think... If a normal man was told a goddess was evil, because she was in charge of death, and that the thing telling her is good because it is life, and can make his crops grow, which do you believe that man will follow? Death, who can offer him little, or life?" The spirit nodding gently before that smirk returns once more. "And for one dedicated to the master of puzzles, you have missed you biggest clue for that secret you strive after..."

Fenris looks confused, a stark, purple ? appearing on his cheek. "Secret?" he asks, "I'm not sure I know what you mean?" But he nods at the explanation about the disparity between the spirits. "I think," he says, hesitating for a moment, then continuing, "I think that the Corrupt Court and the Life Court used to be the same." He looks up to the sky, watching his breath puff in clouds in the frigid mountain air. "There is nothing evil in death," he says, "Only mysteries. I expect I will learn those someday, will I or no. What is it that YOU want, Olg'ish?"

"We were, as strange as it seems to some. But that is not a secret, if you ask us, only a secret to the ones that cast us out. No fenris, what I refere to, is proven just south of us..." He falls silent for a moment, before waving his hand. "To have your body taken over, and the soul either forced out or destroyed... they may very well exsist, but in such a manor it is... Unlikely, that they proceeded on.a Even more so given that my sister's once holy duty she abandons in her wrath from betrayal, and being cast as the villain." His lips curling slightly then as fenris asked what he wanted. "I am a man of simple wants Fenris... All I want, is to have a temple of myself erected in a capital once more... And I am willing to wait more lifetimes for it still."

Fenris frowns. "You are talking about Mossy Stone, and the Manor Descrato" he says, "I will have to go there next, I suppose." Another ? appears on the tiger's face, this one a deep green on a white brow. "But what questio-" he stops, the question marks vanishing from his visage, "There is more. You are telling me that there really is more." The tiger bites his lip, thinking of his Emily and the Aunts and Uncles and the others. His own family. "What-" he starts, but then realizes he has no idea what to say, so he sits quietly, trying to center himself.

"What could you do to see them? How could you verify that their soul carried on?" The spirit filling in the words as Fenris falls silent. "Well, the only way for that, is to talk to my sister... Though, such a subject may be commonly asked of her by her dedicants, so such a question may put you at... odds with some of your more strict thinking friends. Perhaps even, your own patron. But, until the courts have settled our faults, such things as lost souls from the shadows, will not be attended to by her I fear. Such is the price of conflict we do face." The spirit leaning forward some as that eye peers at Fenris once more. "It is a hard choice many mortals make. But, so long as you keep your stone, you should move forward without a problem after all."

Fenris takes a deep breath and lets it out in a sigh. "I can wait," he says, "I have waited over forty years. I can hold out on faith and hope for as long as I must." He opens his eyes and finds himself looking into that strange, third eye. "You speak in more puzzles than my own patron," he says, "I feel like you are trying to get something out of me, but I do not know what." He reaches into his coat and produces a paper package, unwrapping it to reveal some crackers and slices of cheese. "Do Spirits eat?" he asks, offering to share, "I find that I think better on a full stomach."

"Tempting, but no. I do not need to eat as you do." The spirit smirking gently as he nods. "A little, I will not lie. You would make an excellent dedicant to myself, but I am well aware that you will shun such an offer? After all, both of those whom lead you would most likely attempt to lynch you out of caution... Although, it is not illegal for your people, amusingly enough. As far as speaking in puzzles, you wound me. Though, perhaps I do slightly? when you have as many strings in this world as I do, you tend to try and get the smaller players to move on their own." A large grin crossing his features as he looks to a wall with his emblem upon it. "You think I'd appear from the clouds as a giant, forcing my will upon you with my powers? I -could- fill you with suggestions that are not your own, but I am certain you know how such a thing would play out."

:munches thoughtfully on his snack. "It's no fun that way," he says without thinking, "Forcing anyone to do what you want is dull and miserable." The tiger is well aware the kind of fit that Olg'Ish would be for him, but he did not want that power. "It is always better for everyone if you can convince someone that everything was their own idea from the beginning." He looks askance at the strange satyr. "I don't think you use your powers all that often," he says, "It would be lazy, honestly, and I find myself thinking you are too good at what you do to need them. Of course," he says around a mouthful of cheese, "All of this might be a trick. I know that I hardly even rank as a pawn to the powers that be. I would not take much to trick me into doing what you want. After all, I came to you looking for help. No easier target than that."

Kalt grins slowly as he draws a web in the air with his finger, dark lights forming it's body. "Who says you were a target before you even came here Fenris? I am a being of patience... I have waited eternity before, and will do so again. Every bump, every jostle, aids me closer to the end... So do I use my powers much? No, you are correct. The best way to get what you need done, is to have another do it for you... Now, as pleasant a chat as this has been, I bid you farewell." the spirit standing up straight and clasping his hands behind his back as he looks to fenris.

"You know," Fenris says, "I didn't come looking for you first because I thought you were safer than the others. I think you are by far the most dangerous being I have ever met." He stands, brushing away the crumbs of his snack before giving a bow to the satyr. "Thank you," he says, "You were kind to talk to me. I hope that I can count on your support in our fight for this world."

"You flatter me. See to my sister the Scholar next, she will perhaps have your easiest tasks to perform for her agreement Fenris. As for myself, I do stand by my word! gather the spirits and I will be present." The spirit dipping his head as he walks into a sudden bank of fog, vanishing from view.