iki intro

01[20:00] <@SpaceThor> The station is cramped and full of human misery. The lack of lighting keeps the Guild unaware of its presence, but only contributes to the sense of desperation, and the fact that you had to spend the night here didn't help. It's also hotter than hell, Fujian in the Summer will do that, and the crowded body heat of those fleeing the Boxer Rebellion only adds to this particular misery. The good news, though, is that the train you're set to get on is unloading cargo. Men in loose-fitting pants and no shirts moving huge crates, and anxious passengers waiting for the go ahead.
01[20:02] <@SpaceThor> While that happens, men with swords or clubs on their hips read from a parchment, each in a different language and drowning out the others. "Remember, once you arrive in Malifaux, proceed to your designated area and await further instruction. Those of you with locations in the Little Kingdom of Malifaux City will be instructed where to depart once you arrive. Guards will ensure that you arrive at your assigned place."
01[20:02] <@SpaceThor> Half an hour later, when your feet are about to fall asleep, they begin to allow boarding.
06[20:04] * Cuong_Thi_Hao is a very tall girl, well over six feet, in a formerly white Ao dai, now dull and yellow in places. Her long black hair flows down her back as she watches the area with nervousness. Despite her athletic figure, she moves with a slightly jerky that has stuck with her since a sickness as a child. She boards the train, looking about...
01[20:07] <@SpaceThor> Nobody really makes eye contact, most looking down and staring at their tickets, burning the place they are to go into their minds.
06[20:09] * Cuong_Thi_Hao looks at her own ticket. She has a Guandao in one of her hands, trying to keep it from poking anyone. Not easy when both of them are very long.
01[20:09] <@SpaceThor> The ticket reads "Little Kingdom, Malifaux City, Swan-Ox Pavilion #54
01[20:10] <@SpaceThor> Best you can guess, that's the room you're going to be living in.
01[20:10] <@SpaceThor> You get moved inside, crammed into a tight seat along the walls, and once they're full people start sitting on the floor.
06[20:12] * Cuong_Thi_Hao curls up as best as possible to let others sit near her. Despite her best efforts, her size and slightly off movements makes her look a bit intimidating to those about her.
01[20:13] <@SpaceThor> Soon, a man outside raises his hand. The car is at capacity. Those still outside slink quietly away, to wait for the next train. Whenever that is.
01[20:13] <@SpaceThor> The doors close.
06[20:14] * Cuong_Thi_Hao shivers, biting her lip. This is nerve wracking.
01[20:15] <@SpaceThor> Nobody else seems in a particularly good mood either, but not much you can do now. The train starts moving.
02[20:18] * Cuong_Thi_Hao ([email protected]) Quit (Ping timeout)
03[20:20] * Cuong_Thi_Hao ([email protected]) has joined #intoquarantineic
06[20:21] * Cuong_Thi_Hao shivers, biting her lip. This is nerve wracking.
01[20:21] <@SpaceThor> It picks up speed, faster and faster, and doesn't seem to stop accelerating. The windowless, cramped cars only leave your imagination to what is outside.
01[20:22] <@SpaceThor> Then suddenly, like a boulder, it hits you. A wave of something that you've never felt before hits you in the chest, leaving you disoriented. The strange lights and colors bouncing and playing the inside of the car not helping any.
06[20:23] * Cuong_Thi_Hao coughs, clutching her chest.
01[20:23] <@SpaceThor> You look over, and a man sticks out to you. Not just because of the slight glow that seems to surround him, but because there's a second version of him standing over the first.
01[20:24] <@SpaceThor> The second version starts moving, slowly, towards you, not taking an eye off the woman and child next to his original.
06[20:24] * Cuong_Thi_Hao watches it, confused...
01[20:25] <@SpaceThor> He turns to you, and looks at you briefly, before he contacts you and disappears.
01[20:26] <@SpaceThor> You feel a rush of...something you've never felt before. Something that makes you feel like you could climb any mountain, run faster than any man, lift this train with your bare hands. The rush subsides, but the feeling remains, though less intense. The lights go back to normal.
01[20:26] <@SpaceThor> And the train starts slowing down.
06[20:27] * Cuong_Thi_Hao shivers, biting her lip. Amazed but very confused...
01[20:27] <@SpaceThor> The train finally comes to a halt, and the doors open. The others nearby stand and start to file out once the ramp lowers.
06[20:28] * Cuong_Thi_Hao sits there for a moment longer, wondering what just happened...
01[20:28] <@SpaceThor> You notice that the man does not stand. His wife, presumably, shakes him briefly, trying to wake him up.
01[20:28] <@SpaceThor> And then she starts to wail.
01[20:30] <@SpaceThor> You're jostled by the guy next to you, who would like to get past you.
06[20:30] * Cuong_Thi_Hao tries to move aside to let him through, staring at the man who won't wake up...
01[20:30] <@SpaceThor> He doesn't move, despite his wife and child's jostling. He's gone.
01[20:31] <@SpaceThor> A voice, inches from your head. "So YOU'RE the one, then."
06[20:32] * Cuong_Thi_Hao looks about for the source of the voice, near to panic by this point.
01[20:32] <@SpaceThor> There is nobody there."
01[20:32] <@SpaceThor> The others try to squeeze past you, to varying success.
06[20:33] * Cuong_Thi_Hao flees from the body and the train. At least outside the train, she'll be able to not see the corpse...
01[20:33] <@SpaceThor> Outside, the fresh air does wonders for your panic. It's a chilly day here, judging by what you can see, you're on or near the mountains.
06[20:35] * Cuong_Thi_Hao closes her eyes, taking deep breaths to try and calm down. Focus on breathing, not the world. Let it in, just like mother taught you...
01[20:35] <@SpaceThor> It does help. People filing past you slow down to a trickle, and then stop.
01[20:35] <@SpaceThor> And men with heavy crates take their place.
06[20:36] * Cuong_Thi_Hao keeps focusing on her breathing for a while longer but eventually opens her eyes to look about. She's still freaked out but she's in control of herself at least...
01[20:37] <@SpaceThor> The men loading crates here are bundled up. You feel a bit of a draft in the clothes you brought. There seem to be lines forming up a few hundred yards away, with signs you can't make out at this distance.
06[20:39] * Cuong_Thi_Hao shivers, taking her bag and heading for the signs...
01[20:40] <@SpaceThor> You see someone near a building on the way, wearing a heavy hood and beckoning you over with a gnarled finger.
06[20:40] * Cuong_Thi_Hao heads towards the strange figure...
01[20:41] <@SpaceThor> The voice from earlier speaks as you approach. "Do not worry, they will wait for you."
[20:41] <Cuong_Thi_Hao> "W-Who are you?" She stammers.
01[20:42] <@SpaceThor> "Unimportant. What is important is what you did back there. Quite the feeling, to feed on another's soul, is it not?" He cackles, with his grating voice.
01[20:42] <@SpaceThor> "Forgive me, but tormenting the young is the only pleasure I have these days."
06[20:43] * Cuong_Thi_Hao stands stock still, staring. "S-soul? So that was..." She clearly has no clue what's going on.
01[20:44] <@SpaceThor> "Yes, that man died, and you were strengthened by it. There is much you do not know, but you will learn. You will learn or you will die, that is the way of this land."
[20:44] <Cuong_Thi_Hao> "Did...did I kill him?"
01[20:45] <@SpaceThor> "Are you not the type?" He smiles, visible even in the darkness of his hood. "Many die on the passage over, their bodies unable to take the strain. So feeble, flesh."
[20:46] <Cuong_Thi_Hao> "I mean...I've killed before." She shakes her head. "Just not like that." She gestures to her weapon. "Mother made sure I knew how to fight...and it was about the only talent I had for sale."
01[20:47] <@SpaceThor> He turns, then looks back. "I am needed elsewhere. We are done here."
01[20:47] <@SpaceThor> He turns and starts to walk away.
06[20:48] * Cuong_Thi_Hao starts after him for a moment...then decides that this might not be a good idea. She's not very well educated but she's smart enough to not go chasing after old, mystical men who have clear power.
01[20:49] <@SpaceThor> "Remember, learn or die. We will be in touch, Cuong Thi Hao." He pauses. "And try to outdo your grandfather, will you?"
01[20:50] <@SpaceThor> He turns the corner, out of sight.
[20:50] <Cuong_Thi_Hao> "My gran..." She stands, stunned at the idea he knew her grandfather and he knows her and...this is all so very confusing.
01[20:50] <@SpaceThor> You'd probably better meet up with whoever is taking you to Malifaux City.
06[20:51] * Cuong_Thi_Hao turns, looking for the signs again. She needs to hurry...
01[20:52] <@SpaceThor> It seems your group is being led by a Caucasian man in suit jacket and bowler hat. "Right, that there's the last one." He says in English. "Follow me, and stick close. I ain't coming back if you get lost on the straight line to our next stop."
06[20:53] * Cuong_Thi_Hao nods quietly, still trying to work out what just happened.
01[20:54] <@SpaceThor> You get led with the others. Honestly, everyone here has the air of a warrior, or at least a scrapper, on them. A few have pistols or other weapons carried openly, like her.
01[20:56] <@SpaceThor> And soon you're on a carriage to Ridley, with only your thoughts.
06[20:57] * Cuong_Thi_Hao sits there, shivering and running over what the man said. Eating souls? She'd...thought that was just a story they made up about some mages. She's not a mage. Is she?
01[20:59] <@SpaceThor> A long trip later gives you plenty of time for thoughts. You stop in a mining city named Ridley, before getting on another train (much nicer accommodations here, you get real seats and they bring food), that runs you down to Malifaux city. Thirty-six hours after you started this trek, you're standing at the arched entrance to the Little Kingdom.
06[21:00] * Cuong_Thi_Hao looks over her carefully clutched ticket...
01[21:01] <@SpaceThor> "Right, here we are. Gonna give you the short tour, I got places to be, but this is gonna be your new home. We got runners gonna come by and make sure you got what you need to settle in. They put a premium on warriors and killers, y'know."
06[21:03] * Cuong_Thi_Hao nods, only half listening.
01[21:03] <@SpaceThor> He starts leading you around, showing off a few of the notable sights. Soon, you come on a dumpling stand. He walks behind the counter, to the proprietor, and speaks in badly-accented chinese. "Hey old man, these folks are gonna be keeping things safe around here, making sure nothing's out of place. Why don't you show your appreciation, eh?"
01[21:04] <@SpaceThor> The proprietor goes pale, pulling out a small metal box and taking a pile of scrip out, distributing it between you all.
01[21:04] <@SpaceThor> "That's a good lad, c'mon, we got other places to see quick-like."
01[21:05] <@SpaceThor> He repeats this a few more times, netting you a decent fistful of scrip. "And here's the residences. Keys'll be in the locks, and don't spend the scratch in one place eh?" He winks, and walks away.
01[21:07] <@SpaceThor> You can see the Ox-Crane Pavilion from here, a six-story tenement decorated to match the Three-Kingdoms aesthetic of this slum.
06[21:10] * Cuong_Thi_Hao frowns...and goes to returns most of the scrip she was given. She knows a shakedown when she sees one...