Log:The Lorekeeper's Terms

The Madness of David Flyte 2020/02/20 	 Dialydd Grimm

33

The metal grating is down over the front of 'Copper Skeins' as Grimm arrives. Probably because a tall figure in black robes and face concealing hat and veils is scrubbing down the soild metal grating with a wire brush and some sort of solvent. The reason why? Someone has drawn some really rude graffiti on the grating; whoever drew it is a fair cariacturist as you can make out Dialydd, nude, being, well, let us say that a bald eagle should not be that well endowed.

You can see a few passersby and other shop owners standing about and shaking their heads at the grafitti. They seem upset but not at the tall figure.

Nona stands near the corner of the shop near the alleyway holding a hose with a spray attachment on it. It seems to be keeping an eye (well five of them) on everyone.

Grimm slows her approach along the sidewalk as she takes in the art. "Wow, that's very...specific," she mentions.

The robed figure murmurs in a somewhat hoarse tone, "It is..." His familiar voice trails off then Dialydd states, "They keep coming back. And each time it's, cha, more vile."

He steps back and says, "Go ahead, Nona."

The pentapus sprays down the area he just scrubbed. The force of the water seems like it should lift the little creature off the ground but it doesn;t budge as it works the stream back and forth.

Grimm slides her hands in her pockets and grinds one foot into the sidewalk. "Is this someone who knows you?" she asks as she watches little Nona handle the hose.

"I have no notion, sera Grimm," says Dialydd in a deflated voice. "They are good at, cha, disrupting security. Every week, a new threat, a new image, both." You see him take a deep breath. "But, I shall prevail. I will endure."

"I know a pretty sharp detective who may be able to help, but this may not be enough of an emergency to get the case assigned to him, since there's no meta involvement or deaths." Grimm rolls her shoulder and looks around for any clues, both with her criminal justice training and her special senses. "What threats and other images have you gotten? Is it usually around the same time of the week?" she asks. She grins faintly. "I could try and help you deal with them. I could scare them straight pretty fast, I bet."

An elderly Hispanic man pipes up from the small crowd. "They ain't locals, that's for sure. Every time this happens to Dee, Mr Teemur, that is, all of us get affected. Cameras go dark for a time then pow new trash. It's those ACE scum I bet." He spits. "This neighborhood depends on tourists. They're just trying to scare off D, Mr Teemur cause he's young."

Dialydd murmurs, "Thank you, Javier. But, as I said, I'll endure." He glances over at them. "And thank you for the, cha, chemicals, they are working 'real good' like you said they would." His voice holds a strong note of gratitude. His features are all but a shadow behind the heavy veiling.

As you look around, you get the sense that it may not be ACE, but if not, definitely supporters. The allwayway on the side of Dee's shop is covered in overlapping ACE and RACE tags. Seems to be a competition between them who can tag the most almost.

The RACE paint is low quality stuff but the ACE paint is high end, the sort of paint you've seen on hot rods, both hover and wheeled.

As for the darkening of the cameras? Sounds less like tech and more like some sort of metahuman ability. Not magickal or XD though. There are mental traces though...some sort of photokinesis?

It all stinks of youthful arrogance and xenophobia. Not like ACE or RACE themselves; probably teens attracted to their propaganda.

"Based on the type of pain and the attempted gang tags, I'd say it's probably more like a bunch of dumb teens who think they can feel big by picking on a target," Grimm opines. "Though I'm sensing one of them has some metahuman talent at least," she adds as her senses pick up something about the cameras. "I could try and deter them. Starting by cleaning up these tags."

"Go for it, lady!" states one of the few aliens standing around. "It's free krezca, well for a week, at my shop if you help out ti'Emer. He helped me, you help him, I feed you. We all win!"

Dialydd looks over at the speaker and bows in his manner to him. His attention then returns to you as he gestures to Nona to stop spraying, or so you might guess, given it does. "I appreciate the offer, Ms Grimm. It would save me time." He then adds in a soft voice that carries only to you, probably, "But it will not, cha, endanger you, will it?"

Gabrielle can't resist a deal. She's pretty poor from all the apology and thank you gifts she's owed lately. "Well, here's hoping," Grimm says. "Be right back." She walks towards the alley with the tags, pacing slowly down it as she drags her hand along the wall. Black energy ripples from her hand into the wall and spreads, evaporating the tags as she goes. It takes a little time, but after one pass, the tags are gone for the moment. She dusts off her hands. "Hmmm. I wonder if I could enchant this wall to attack anyone who tries tagging it," she ponders on the way back to Dialydd. "A couple of kids? I don't think it'll be a problem," Grimm smiles.

There is a round of applause from the crowd which then slowly dispereses as the 'excitement' seems to be over.

As the crowd leave, Dialydd murmurs with a hint of humor in his voice,"I meant using your powers, sera Grimm." The alien youth then adds, "And, if you can find them, cha, I can deal with them. These, cha, hooligans seem, cha, misguided and ignorant rather than violent. I am used to, cha, correcting children." This being said by the alien who looks barely out of adolescence himself.

"What's Kresca, I wonder?" Grimm murmurs, then looks back to Dialydd. "Oh, well...this was something simple. I don't think there's any harm as long as I don't over extend. You know, major reality altering stuff. I'm only going to scare them to teach them a lesson." She smiles a bit sadly. "No luck or good news after meeting the master of that creature that came to your shop the other day." She then recalls to scan the area with her senses for Charity. Hopefully she's averted her own death.

And there, up on the roof across the way, is Charity. Leaning back against a chimney at ease, her sword over her shoulder, just watching. Well, and using magick to enhance her sight and hearing and mystical senses. Giving them an extra boost for range and clarity.

"Let's go inside and talk," Gabrielle mentions to Dialydd innocently enough. "Kresca is a fried, cha, dough with savory meat and nuts inside, sera Grimm," murmurs Dialydd. "Porthos' is a very good, cha, baker. His shop is few doors down from mine."

He then adds, "And fear does not teach, sera Grimm. And ignorace can only be overcome with knowledge...not that I do not think, cha, discipling them is a bad idea but I am angry after all."

He then finishes with, "And if I could speak with you more deeply on that at some time, it would be agreeable to me, sers Grimm. About the master of the creature."

"As you wish, sera Grimm," Dialydd murmurs as he easily hoists up the grating with one hand. He holds it up as he gestures with the other hand to the open door to the shop revealed. "I shall follow, sera." He then says something in that liquid sounding langauge of his to NOna who heads back down the alleyway towing the hose.

Grimm steps inside without looking in Charity's direction, waiting for the shop door to close behind Dialydd. "Someone was watching us. Someone who may be responsible for my death in the future. And the master of that thing was even worse than his creation. And not exactly helpful in any way we could use." The alien youth removes his hat and veils as he listens to you, placing them on the counter at the back of the shop in the end. "Cha, and you left this, cha, possible, no, potential enemy behind you?"

"There's not really a 'behind' with me. I can sense all around me," Grimm assures. "I left her watching on the roof." She might confront her after talking with Dialydd.

Nona comes in from the back room, somehow pulling open the bottom half of the Dutch door. It makes a series of meeps and trills as some glyphs flash over its skin. Dialydd nods as it 'talks' then murmurs, "Thank you, Nona. Sera Grimm told me of the watcher."

The pentapus jiggles a little then a series of glyphs flashes across it's skin.

"No, imagine she'll use her powers but thank you for offering the kitchen knives, Nona."

The pentapus turns and heads back under the half door into the back room.

Dialydd turns back to you after this exchange and asks, "So, speaking to the master of the abomination was of no help at all? Cha, I wish I could say otherwise but I hoped gaisnt hope someone more knowledgeable than I, even if corrupted by the Destroyers, might be of some aid."

"Well," Grimm sighs. "He seemed to know a lot. He just wasn't telling us what we hoped to hear. All his solutions involved sacrificing others. Brave, innocent, pure, or all of the above. It wasn't worth the cost." She thinks a moment and adds reluctantly, "Though...he did offer a way to ensure if anyone was trapped in the prison dimension while trying to close it and lure away N'zrathol, he could offer a way to retrieve them. Radical cut things off there and we never found out more about it. Though he did say N'zrathol would be attracted or distracted by your presence."

"Cha, truly?" Dialydd looks down at the bracer on his arm then back to you. "I imagine this mage, I, cha, assume he is a mage?, well, no matter, I imagine my bracer would attract/repel N'zrathol. It is cosmic in power. The, hmm, polar opposite of the Qliphothic, in many ways as it represents all the layers of this Reality."

Grimm nods, glancing at the bracer briefly as well. "A very dark mage. Not really even human anymore. He said he was waiting for me. Talked about destiny. If we deal with N'zrathol, I'm guessing I'll have to deal with Lereau next." And he was armed (tentacled?) to the teeth! She rubs her chin. "Cosmic energy can repel the Qliphotic?" she asks with sudden hope.

"Cha, attract or repel...They are not quite true opposites...It is complicated, but, general speaking, yes...usually," states Dialydd. "Baji-naji, some Qliphothic are more susceptible than others."

The alien Adonis runs his fingers over the bracer for a moment then asks, "The Qliphothic is more than just another dimensin after all; it is another Reality. A, cha, how did that book phrase it..."

He closes his eyes for a moment then when he opesn them murmurs, "Lying behind or to the side of the Four Worlds is a fifth, the Qliphothic World, a realm of ancient and horrifying dimensions whose energies have decayed into forms inimical to normal life and existence as we know it. The... beings... which reside in the Qliphothic dimensions are largely unknowable, and always dangerous, to humans." This is from a book I found, briefly, in the CBSU archives. It was only there once. It was called 'The Four Worlds.' The book tried to, cha, classify the levels of Reality."

Grimm tries to remain focused on the mission rather than get distracted by Dialydd's transcendent good looks. The talk of the Qliphothic world helps get her back on track. "And that book hasn't been seen since? Maybe I can get ahold of it. Somehow. Or Radical knows where to acquire a copy. Still...aside from your bracer, what other things have cosmic energy? When you repelled that servant creature, I felt something, too."

Dialydd shakes his head. "I could find no trace of it in the library again, sera Grimm. As for the other things with cosmic energy? Cha, I know of none of Earth but I have not looked for any either." The Regalia of the Progenitors on Bas-Tyra have 2, well, now 1 item that feel of the cosmic, but the Scepter is far from here."

He murmurs, "There are entities that have cosmic power as well, but they are, cha, like gods in their own ways. Taking their power would be...ill advised."

"And, cha, you felf when I used the bracer, sera Grimm, due to your, cha, connection to the Destroyers I fear."

"I figured," Grimm says of her connection. "I don't think I felt it as strongly as the Zombie Chimp did, at least."

She shakes her head and smiles. "I'm not crazy enough to try and steal something form a god-like being. Not yet, anyway."

Dialydd nods. "And the only being I know who can reach Bas-Tyra is the Torus. And I have not seen sera'a in some time."

He smiles gently. "You are more...potent than the Zombie Chimp, sera Grimm." He runs his fingers over the bracer again for a long moment then says, "I am filled with shame for suggesting this, but, the ability to escape the Qliphothic realm? That is a rare...Gift. With that sort of guarantee, cha..."

Dialydd looks at you fully for the first time, his expression serious but not grave. "I would serve as bait to free you from N'zrathol's influence, sera Grimm. It is what I am trained to do after all: fight the Qliphotic."

"The Torus? Some bull guy? Never heard of him," Grimm comments, folding her arms over her chest as she thinks.

"I...suppose I could try to go back to Lereau. Ask for this thing, if it doesn't have a cost in lives," Gabrielle suggests. "Radical isn't going to be happy." Which may mean she'll have to secure it on her own.

She looks to the attractive alien. "Are you absolutely certain about this? You hardly know me."

"I would prefer to be a distraction with others, but, yes, I am certain, sera Grimm." The youth makes a clicking sound. "Do not misunderstand: I am very scared by the prospect of facing a powerful Qliphotic being. But, my training as a Lorekeeper is to protect others and the world at large from the Qliphotic. Admittedly, this has in the past for Lorekeepers meant educating others about the continuing threat of the Destroyers, but I cannot stand aside and let N'zrathol use you to enter this world. The danger past N'zrathol that you may pose? Cha, that is a problem for another day, yes?"

Grimm nods and offers a supportive, encouraging smile. "You wouldn't be alone. I'd go if I could, but I think I'd be the gate on this side. Or...something trapped in between." Her smile falters a bit. "I'll try and contact Lereau again and find out about this guarantee to get through once the cage is shut again. If you have doubts about this, then...you can always change your mind."

"Once I know more, I shall make the final decision, sera Grimm. I think more would be better, yes, in your defense? More targets means more chances to distract, yes?"

"It's more...in the defense of Radical so he can close the gate in time. N'zrathol has been watching him and sees him as a threat," Grimm explains.

"Ah, well, then that is what shall be done then," Dialydd says.

Next: Log:Securing a Guarantee with Lereau