S M Conference Call against Corruption

Malloki Tuwile

The Mad
Level 3
Joined
Sep 18, 2019
Messages
57
Essence
€9,384
Coin
₡1,500
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30
World
Erde Nona
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Not long after Suilaebhan’s entry into the five-head group was secured, Quinn had issued the first directive. Each member had twenty-four hours to prepare. Packing, tying up loose ends, goodbyes, anything they needed to do had to be completed within the time frame, as Quinn could promise no more time than that, seeing as he already had plans to move the crew to Craw, where adventurers were much needed.

Suilaebhan stayed behind. He had already tied up all his loose ends, except the job-for-a-day. The half-elf had returned to his position at the bar to serve up drinks for the next three hours. It was an enjoyable and casual job, being he needed only flex a muscle group here or there to have the female patrons - and a few of the males - fawning all over him. A few would purchase a beverage before the previous was finished.

The tips were rolling in and everyone was having a good time… until they weren’t.

The first wave came as a tremor across Suilaebhan’s flesh; black chitan springing in splotches across his firm forearms and biceps. His chest illuminated in familiar locations. Normally he would not have questioned the changes, he would have embraced them. The difference is that he did not summon that which forced its way into this plane.

It was not a complete transformation, it was only enough for Suilaebhan to feel that expansion of his mind and that odd presence that helped fill out the new allotment.

The patrons standing around the half-elf watched in a mixture of horror and fascination as their hunky bartender seemed to shift between two forms amidst a standing comatose state. His crystalline gaze flickered a myriad of luminescent colors, as did many locations upon his flesh and spontaneously appearing and disappearing armor.

Within that vastness of mind, the Summoner momentarily felt a connection with something far larger than himself, far grander than his Eidolon companion.

”HEY. So you want to be a hero? Well I’ve got the thing for you! Get yo ass in here!” The command was heard by only one, and it would be the last thing Suilaebhan heard before his body crumpled to the floor.

Within his mindscape, he saw the armored version of himself standing to one side, and the four silhouettes of his new allies. They were gray projections moving about without leaving their allotted space. The only one that Suilaebhan did not recognize had to be the man of glimmering armor and chocolate skin.

”Alright, now that I have your attention, we’re going to go ahead and grab that Crew! KAPAW!”




It was a strange feeling. Maeve knew she was well blended into the shadows of a tall building and she knew she was being unnaturally quiet… So why did she feel like someone was watching her?

The luminescent eyes encroached by darkness turn this way and that, each second growing more frantic at the unnerving sensation. It had been all of two hours since Bossman Quinn had suggested they tie up loose ends and she had hoped to nick a wallet or two for a bit of travel money. With nothing nicked yet, she could not imagine who she would have pissed off this early in the afternoon.

Finally, she found the nerve to speak up. “W-who’s there?” Her voice stumbled.

”Surprise!” The voice radiated from within her head. She tried to turn around, as if she could see who had managed to sneak up on her, but she only succeeded in spiralling to the ground in a heap of darkness shrouded fetchling.

When her eyes fluttered open, she was standing in a circle around a luminescent figure of glimmering armor… She could see Suilaebhan looking quite lively, but everyone else was gray and distant. They moved, but it was like they were somewhere else entirely.

Then there was the dark armored figure in the lineup. It was slightly ethereal, and it appeared to imitate the half-elf. The fetchling parted her lips to speak, but the regal man turned to her with a bright grin. “Why am I here?” He asked, stealing the words from Maeve’s throat. “Good question, but we’ll wait till we have the whole gang.”

“Oh, hold up!”
The man’s eyes went wide as one of the grayed figures began disrobing. Poor Griselda looked to be readying for a shower. “No peeping!”




What loose ends were left to tie up? Griselda saw the twenty-four hour reprieve as a means to enjoy civilization to its best before being thrust into whatever awaits as an adventurer. Namely, a hot meal cooked on a real stovetop, a hot shower with good water pressure, and a soft bed.

With her whole turkey prepared and in the oven, she had all the time in the world to rack up the water bill. As the bathroom filled with steam, the goliath rested her hands upon the sink counter to stare into the mirror. It was always soothing, watching the reflection vanish behind a wall of white.

After all details became but blurs, her eyes narrowed as something shifted. The yellow tint did not look like steam waves, and a glance behind her revealed nothing. Curiosity had her by the hand, demanding she wipe a path across the mirror.

“WHAT THE F--”

”Hiya neighbor,” spoke a regal looking man from within her mirror. ”Just looking for a cup of sugar. You’ll do just fine though!” And with a pantamimed reach, Griselda could almost feel the grasp on her shoulder, tugging her in through the misty surface.

While her body crumpled to the floor, she found herself trembling within a void of white. While the others were quick to recognize allies nearby, she only saw the lacking of escape routes. ”Hold up, m’lady, hoollld up!” The man’s pale mocha palms were raised in a calming gesture. ”Just two more and we’ll get this settled out.”




Quinn and Cain were the only two of the new group who had remained together. Quinn had long since prepared for departure, and Cain simply had nothing tying him down in the first place. The two were held up in a library, crowded around a flat screen covered in finger prints. Quinn had been quick to clean the device before making use of it.

“Craw has a lot of postings dating some months back. Chances are some have been completed, but never updated. We could attempt the older hunts, but chances would be greater with the newest postings. Thoughts?” Quinn was more thinking out loud, but with Cain present, he did not hesitate to use the man as his personal backboard for bouncing these thoughts off of.

Before we begin true, I have been considering something, Cain signed. Maybe we should consider undertaking a trial quest. We may mesh well in a tavern, but… His hands fell still.

Quinn’s brow furrowed and a sigh escaped. “Someone is attempting to tamper with my mind. Did you feel it?” Cain nodded slowly. “I believe I managed to lock out the intruder, but--”

”POWER!” The word pummeled the mentally strong minds into putty. There was the sensation of a mighty warrior standing next to the duo, hands placed on the back of their heads. With a quick flex of rippling, imaginary biceps, Quinn and Cain were brought together for a head-splitting headbutt.

Except none of that happened… Instead, their bodies simply collapsed after the exclamation. Their mental projections instead thumped against one another for a sensation. It felt like pain, without being actually painful.

”Nice try, kid, but ya ain’t got nothin’ on ol’ Terry!” stated the man in paladin-esque armor.


For a few, the name clicked. Quinn and Cain lowered to a knee. Suilaebhan had fallen quiet, and though he did not bow, his posture was respectful. Maeve and Griselda seemed to be the only two who did not respond positively. Griselda’s jaw tensed with boiling rage, and Maeve was slackjawed at the pretty armor.

Well, she would be. Her previous and repeated attempts to talk had her mouth sealed shut with several Terry-faced stickers of impressive stickiness.

”Hellooooo! Welcome to the Telivised-Terry-Time-Teamup! Brought to you by your Arbiter in part by--” The sound that came out of the Arbiter’s mouth was not human. It was not even monstrous. It was just foreign, simply alien. Only two of the figures present recognized it.

Suilaebhan and the armored entity turn in a mirrored move and share a quick high-five.

”Now, I could have called you guys individually, but I like that little heart warming spiel you had going on. Listen up, don’t go to Kraw. Erda Nona’s where it’s at. Not to toot my own horn, but TOOT TOOT!” Each toot came with a flex of a pectoral and the squeak of bending metal as the plate armor shifted to accommodate the rippling muscle. “But she’s gonna need some help.”

Arbiter Terry’s eyes fell solely onto Quinn.”Now, you’re the ringleader here, so let’s cut to the chase, alright? You want a job, I have a planet in trouble. You want to make a utopian city, I want my world nice and safe. So how about you help a brotha out?”

Quinn eyed Maeve for a moment. He assumed since he had been asked a question, he could speak without fear of the silly stickers. “A bit early in our career to think about saving the world. I believe most of us are novices, do you think we have what it takes?”

”Pfft, do you know who you’re talking to? Emperor Terry! I’m the guy who knows all guys! And gals,” he added, pointing to Maeve and Griselda in an all-inclusive gesture. ”If I didn’t think you could play a part, I wouldn’t have pulled ol’--” the foreign name rang out once again, ”here so I could tap all of y’all at once.”

“Alright, so you have faith. Silly, for an arbiter in need to have faith in the peasants.” At this point, Quinn did receive a sticker. Instead of a Terry face on his mouth, it was a gold sticker upon his brow.

”Bingo! Faith is right, and a bit of silly to fight off the bad ain’t so bad! Fire with fire’s just another way of saying ‘If your house burns down, make sure you burn the car too,’ and that’s just dumb.” The man placed his hands upon his hips, almost subconsciously flexing his pectorals with the pose. That magical plate was apparently godlike in its ability to contain them. ”This drama needs some action-comedy to it, and I see a star lineup here.

One by one, he began regarding each of the crew, starting with Sullivan.

”The overpowered Face-Tank, who basically went Leatherface with his best friend. He’s gonna be a hoot!” Despite having no clue what that reference meant, Suilaebhan offered two thumbs up to the Arbiter. Clearly, he was happy with being a face-tank… whatever that combo actually entailed.

”Then we have the defiant little girl in the body of an adult, proving daddy wrong by cutting her own path filled with innumerable purses.” Maeve’s responses were nulled by the stickers upon her mouth, but the huff was easily expressed.

Griselda received a few finger-gun shots before her words of praising analysis. ”And the love child of Hulk and Thor over here… man, you made a lot of people sad when you quit. Crowd favorite for a reason.” The rage within the goliath was quickly squashed. Suddenly she had difficulty meeting the man’s eyes.

”Cain Cain Went Away, Proved his age another way!” The sing-song adaptation to an old rain chant was given far more energy by the ebony and gold maker-of-the-world. ”Only a teen in comparison, and yet so wise. I might have to hire ya in another century or two.”

Cain offered a kind smile and a bow of his head. “I doubt you could afford me by then.” The empty white void of the world seemed to crash to a halt.

“WAIT! You can {BEEP]ing TALK?” Suilaebhan practically screeched. He then realized an error in his phrase. “What the {BEEP}?”

“We’re mental projections. I’m only physically mute,” Cain replied. Arbiter Terry held out a hand as if just praising that train of thought. “Also, I’ve censored your words. Something I wish I could do in reality.”

”See what I mean? Someone over here still can’t figure out how to peel off imaginary stickers.” Maeve, who was busy trying to lick the adhesive off of her mouth-prison, turned her luminescent eyes up from their crossed view of her nose. ”She wasn’t hired for her brains, but she’ll surprise ya later.”

Once again, his eyes fall back onto Quinn. ”And you… the biggest dreamer of them all. A little human in a mid-life crisis, struggling to begin what he should be finishing up by this time. Dedication, intuition, control, knowledgable. You got big D.I.C.K. energy if I ever saw it.”

That earned chuckles and laughs all around. Maeve was especially keeling over at the acronym. “Alright,” Quinn was the only who did not join in on the laughter. “So you have an educated guess. I can follow that better than faith.” He paused to wait for his allies to regain their senses. Terry complied as well, cocking a brow at poor Maeve who had devolved to a giggling puddle of Fetchling.

The literal brackish gray puddle of mind-shape on the ground was radiating giggles. It would seem Quinn being described with Big Dick Energy had broken her for a moment.

“I hate to interrupt, sir,” Cain held up a hand for a polite interjection. “But is it safe to assume that heroism will not go unrewarded? I dare not to assume coin, but infamy is a likely outcome. All the better to acquire the high-paying jobs.” This was more to coerce his ally than to request anything of the arbiter.

The wise sage knew Quinn well in their brief hours together. “Fair point.”

”There ya go! Got that dynamic leadership thing down already!”

The change of mood was drastic and immediate. The arbiter stood straighter. Maeve was reconstituted with but a wave of his hand. He seemed to hold the gaze of everyone present at once. ”The world is being corrupted. One world has fallen, another is heavily tainted… and I fear the corruption is spreading to Nona. I can’t let this happen.

“There is another Arbiter by the name of Darkseid, who seeks to unmake the worlds and reshape them into his perfect ideology. Trust me, you don’t want this.”
The borders of the world begin to encroach in darkness as Arbiter Terry speaks. ”If left unchecked, there will be nothing left for humanity, for the mer, for the giant-kin or for the aliens - naturalized or work visas alike.”

“I take it we are not the only ones you’ve contacted?” Cain inquires thoughtfully. “You are a warrior at heart. I imagine you’ve already called forth an army’s worth of denizens, can we assume it won’t be just us versus this Darkseid?”

“You know it! The power’s in the common man and woman’s hands. Either they corrupt, or they purify. And you ain’t gotta be a paladin to do the purifying.” Terry was nodding along, excited to see everyone was on the same pace.

And yet again, the arbiter’s eyes fall upon the leader. ”Speaking of Power. Man of the hour, whatcha think?”

“I think we should get to work.”

”Ahhah! Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about! -- Oh boy. You fella’s should head back, someone’s about to be carted off!” With a thunderous clap of his hands and a ripple of flexing biceps, the corruption-laced world of white began to crack. ”POWER!”

The five-and-one-Eidolon minds were released back to their bodies (or lack thereof.) As it turned out, Maeve was the one being carted off. A poor petite gal unconscious in a dark alley? Easy pickings.

Arbiter's Call quest
Word Count: 2657 words
 
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