"Where in the stars did you find an actual
lead?" you ask. You hadn't
given up on the hunt for Torisal, of course, but you'd be a liar if you said you'd expected to find anything. It was a fairy tale, and after the first hundred rumors went nowhere it was only natural to put it on the back-burner.
But this is Eira, and you've known them long enough to know they wouldn't be bringing you something groundless.
"Trade secret," they answered with a smirk, and you sigh. "But provenance doesn't matter all that much, here." They produce a small box out of their pocket, silver and blue, and you blink with surprise.
"I haven't see a Tamil Memory-Box in centuries," you admit. "I thought you couldn't
get any, after the Antimatter Legion happened to them."
Eira shrugs. "This one's from before then. Though..." they grin. "You can still find fresh ones if you know where to look."
Huh.
You take it from their offered hand, turning it over carefully. While your nature as an Emanator of the Trailblaze prevents you from mastering any other Path, you are quite familiar with the early steps along Remembrance. Once you have enough life piled up behind you, enough triumphs and regrets, you feel it's hard
not to develop a certain familiarity with it. So you can feel the telltale thrumming chill of a Memory-Box, and with a deeper touch you can confirm that the anti-tamper fractal is intact.
"What's in it?"
"A memory, sensor readouts and nav-coordinates. I'm not sure it's the real thing, obviously, but if it's not it's still something
really weird."
You whistle, then nod and pocket it. "Thanks. I appreciate it. What do I owe you?"
They grin. "See, this is why I like working with you. I need something picked up."
"What, does
IPCS not want to deliver to this shithole?"
"Well, no, but that's not it either. More that I need something... extracted."
"Extracted or 'extracted?'"
They shrug. "A little of column A, little of column B. What I need is in the Delfus system."
You frown. "Never heard of it."
"The capital of the Pteramidian Alliance."
Pteramidian... Pteramidian... why does that ring a bell? You've never been there, so it must have been the news or a rumor mill, but...
Oh.
"So what you mean is you need me to sneak through a front with the Antimatter Legion, pick up something valuable, and get out?"
"Correct."
You sigh. It's not that you can't, but it would take some effort. Could involve some actual risk, too.
"Alright, I guess that's fair. Provided you haven't shared this with anyone else?" You tap the pocket with the memory-box.
"What do you take me for? Would I do that?"
"Yes."
"Good instincts." They grin again. "But no, I haven't. I know it's not a small favor."
"I'm still going to have words with you if this puts me in conflict with a
Lord Ravager ."
"I'll owe you one in return if that happens," they admit readily.
"Long as that's clear." You hold out a hand, and they deposit a memory-crystal into it.
"Great. Now, if we're lucky you'll have time to get back to your ship before anything goes too badly awry."
"...Eira. Why would things be going awry?" you ask, suspicion curling in your gut.
"Well, I told you there was an incident that made me late, and--"
There is a resounding crash as something hits the bar's door, launching it clear off its hinges.
In the doorway stands a tall, four-armed, purple-skinned alien, with two enormous swords on his back.
"Eira Sharpshot," he says with a deep rumble. "You owe Gred Teppin six men." He steps inside, and a half-dozen others start to file in. The bartender curses, grabs the cash register, and ducks into the back.
"Well, now you see," Eira says to you, before standing and turning fully towards the evident leader, hands on their hips. "Fin Sextus. What a surprise. I see they never taught you how doors work," they drawl casually.
"You can pay up, or we can take it out of your hide," they say, ignoring the jab.
You sigh. Yeah, this was what working with Eira was usually like. You're not exactly unarmed, even without letting your power loose, but also this really isn't your mess.
You've held onto many a powerful relic in your life, and a few you liked enough to keep. One of them helps you in a fight. It is...
[ ] [Relic] Battle's End
The rather presumptuously-named sword is something of a mystery even to you. You found it on a dead world, driven into the center of an obvious throne room. The specialists you brought it to were only able to tell you that it was forged from a shard of event horizon, and appears to be indestructible. You've found that it cuts nearly anything, even things that shouldn't be cuttable at all, and the things it kills are sucked inside it. You had to have a sheath custom-made for the thing so it wouldn't cut through force fields and artificial gravity, and wasn't that a pain in the ass.
[ ] [Relic] Yesterday's Paradise
This spear belonged to a Memokeeper friend of yours. A century or so ago, it simply appeared next to you, along with a note stating that it had been passed on as per his last will and testament. Despite your questions, the Garden refused to elaborate on his death, but the spear answers to you like it once did to him. As a memetic construct, it both exists and does not exist in whatever form is convenient to you, allowing it to ignore most physical obstacles and be completely hidden from sight. It cannot bypass Path energies, however, clashing with them as an ordinary, if superb, blade. Its true ability is to pull a battle into a mental construct of your choosing, with different rules than base reality.
[ ] [Relic] The Aegis of Shattered Dreams
Once wielded by a hero who sought to defend her world from beings of crystallized nightmares. While technically a shield, the Aegis is a programmable energy construct attached to a bracelet, and can take on the form of most melee armaments. It becomes more 'real' the more abstract or conceptual its opponents are. This applies, to a lesser extent, to an opponent's motivations as well, proving more effective against those motivated by abstract notions of justice or hatred and least effective against creatures that are simply hungry.
[ ] [Relic] Third Act
A bow gifted to you by a Mourning Actor, Third Act exists to bring matters to an end. It draws power directly from narrative principles somehow, guiding its wielder towards the 'end' of a story. It is difficult to control without a strong sense of narrative logic to convince it with, and it loves tragedy most of all.
[ ] [Relic] Something else? Write in, requires approval. Above can be used as examples.
[ ] [Brawl] Eira will be fine, and this is their mess. Wish them well and leave.
[ ] [Brawl] Wade in. Eira may be annoying sometimes, but they
are a friend of sorts.
[ ] [Brawl] Something else? Write in.
