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[makehistoria]

WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, <MOIRAE>. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 44.78.67.42

• Stocke uses <swordpacts> and <moirae> interchangeably; the former especially for Devil's Nest business. Any of his friends/fellow Nest employees probably have his number.   • He's careful to use randomized names on the network the rest of the time; watch out for that if you want your character to contact him about something he said! (Basically just come up with an excuse for them to recognize his writing and all is good.)

Comments

<magickaito> b/c Kaito's paranoia is amazing

[whiteofcrime]

968.14.510.12 is my number.

in fairness he has 2 identities to hide

[makehistoria]

understood

if you need to contact me in person seek out the devil's nest in vandare
someone will know how to find me if i'm not there
[...]
kidnappings to shrinking streets aside
[Dry.]

<avaricious>

[nestingdevil]

[Stocke isn't the first he's shot a message to. After the announcement on the radio, there's plenty of questions and while Vandare is full of possible answers, the rumors all but fall flat.]

lookkks like somthing came up got som businness for ya

see wht kindoff information your frinnds in town can dig upp onthis hmn ?

<swordpacts> 1/3

[makehistoria]

i'll look into it

<swordpacts> 2/3

[makehistoria]

[It will take him... rather longer than he'd like to get a lead (and maybe he joined Ed in frustrated scribbling over napkins in the bar somewhere in the middle there, while he waited to hear back) but once he decides all the 'v' words at the end sound more like a set code than a riddle, he manages to dig out a ragged copy of something like this page for Greed. ...is one of Stocke's human contacts an enthusiast of history or something?]

something at the docks at 2pm
vandare at 11 25am
bavan at midnight
vandare again at 3pm

[Not the rest of the book, unfortunately. So what's happening, and more detail, he doesn't have - assuming it's even the same code. He'd guess it was, just to avoid over-complicating it, but...]

<swordpacts> 3/3

[makehistoria]

[...and then, some time later, he'll show Greed this. Assuming <unicornrider>'s not mistaken, here are the missing details.]

<mordio>

[anti_nonsense]

The missing chemicals are as follows: [and she lists them here.]

There are a lot of hallucinogens among them, so the thief might be planning to use them for recreational drugs.

[makehistoria]

[...and none of those names he knows, except maybe a few heard in passing. At least he can memorize them and find out.]

how long ago were they stolen

<blockhead> MISFIRE

[gakuseibou]

FUCK HOW DO I GET IT BACK

[That's it. That's all you're getting, Stocke. He's panicked, okay?]

<moirae> i'm so glad

[makehistoria]

get what back

[who are you]

[did you lose your caps block button after clicking it once is that what you need to get back]

<magickaito> backdated to Feb 7

[whiteofcrime]

HELP
ARE YOU IN BAVAN??
THIS GUY IS DRAGGING ME OUT FOR DRINKS BECAUSE I KISSED A GIRL
SAVE ME

<Amelia> shortly after Mana's post

[fistsofjustice]

Please don't do anything weird when you meet Miss Mana.

[Mana seems well meaning, but she outright admitted she's still shaky on the whole wish granting thing, and Stocke's track record isn't great either.]

[1/2]

[makehistoria]

<tsukibakari> early evening April 30

[whiteofcrime]

Mark this: three years before a boy like me becomes a man. Anything could happen in the days between now and then.

Tell your friends to be careful who they cross paths with.

[ This is Kid's bullshit way of encoding the message "17 18 19 20, warn your friends and take care" - by making sound like a threat. Stocke might have to ask someone Japanese what he means by the first part though. ]

<giratina>

[dawning]

stocke!!!
are you busy? do you have time?
i'm sorry but i have a favor to ask!

<swordpacts>

[makehistoria]

i'm here
[You know, not... physically. Because he's in Bavan or he'd be fighting like 95% of the Nest. But he definitely has the time!]
what's wrong

<avaricious> | PRIVATE

[nestingdevil]

wnna tell me who it is?

[Because better a 'doc he knows than one he doesn't.]

<swordpacts>

[makehistoria]

surgeon's name is sinclair
i don't know him
but i trust the labs well enough

[Also, he is running out of other options.]

< Kira_Yoshikage >

[quietpeacefullife]

Greetings to you.

My name is Kira Yoshikage and I was directed to you by my acquaintance, Mitsuhide. He informed me that you might have a possible job opportunity for me. I do have some inquiries about the position and so on. He simply stated that it was a bar setting. I don't believe I'll refuse regardless of the requirements but it feels right to ask all the same.

Please respond at your earliest convenience.

-- Kira Yoshikage

<swordpacts>

[makehistoria]

boss has a few things
[Translation, Stocke literally hasn't seen Greed turn down another monster yet.]

depends on what you can do
bartending ?
security ?
procurement ?
[But that doesn't mean he can't see where they'd likely be putting Kira to work first.]

<avaricious>

[nestingdevil]

dont supose youvefonn d anything yet

<swordpacts>

[makehistoria]

working on it

[...]

i killed kimbley
he wasn't the one

[No excuses.]

[He did tell Kimbley he was going to tell the truth, when it came to Greed.]

<salamander> after his network post goes up

[atjourneysend]

wish youd have sasid something

[It's nothing new that Stocke takes everything on himself without saying, but... Raynie doesn't like to learn about it by running into a public post where he puts a huge target on his back. That's - that's like yelling it in the town's square, or something.]

how can i help

<moirae> [1/2]

[makehistoria]

[He'd like to say "by staying safe and away from all this," but...]

[That wouldn't be fair, would it?]

<Gaea>

[expectional]

((Hope this is okay! He was going to ask for Stocke's private channel on his network post but I figured it would be faster to just handwave a thread that would only be one comment. I can tag that post if you'd prefer I do that though, no prob.))

I'm a neutral party, so I don't have a name. But I do have a description of a Fourth follower I believe responsible for the park.
It's a girl, a red gargoyle with shoulder-length pink hair and harp-like wings.
She's definitely a follower and she seemed to know a lot about the situation when I spoke with her.
Unfortunately, I am unable to enter the Fourth's zones, so I couldn't kill her when I encountered her at the park.
But if you've killed several of his followers already, perhaps you will have better luck than I.
I've told rival00 and someone going by sakuratree about her as well, if you know either of them and if you're the type who believes in strength in numbers.

You have my thanks, by the way. Especially if you're the one responsible for freeing the lake.

<moirae>

[makehistoria]

[[Totally fine with me! (ovo)b]]

[A gargoyle, huh.]

i appreciate the information
i'll see what i can do

[...]

no reason to thank me
i can't say if any of the ones i've killed have held control over any of the corrupted areas
it might very well have been someone else
nor can i say i'm not doing this for selfish reasons

<ShootsFirst>

[patricided]

He's awake.

<SHARKATTACK>

[showyouthesight]

hey i've been looking to talk to you for a while. i want to ask you about your infiltration a while back

<moirae>

[makehistoria]

infiltration
[Which inflitr - okay no there's probably only one this could be referring to. Or two. Stocke's never been sure how many people connected the two events.]

[...]
who are you
what is it you want to know

<belialclaw>

[courage_and_claws]

> hey buddy
> theres a guy over the network thats working on creating a safe place for neutrals to meet up
> but he needs a vial of shade blood
> for one of those mana quest things
> i said i might know a guy
> didn't name any names
> but you think its worth checking into?

<moirae>

[makehistoria]

[...]

i'll take a look

[ACTION, right after the slapfight with AM]

[foolishwren]

<sub>[Burning.]

[God, does she hate being burned.]

[Not that anybody likes it, but if there's something more powerful than hate, that's what she experiences at even the thought of intense heat and blistering flesh.]

[The dark shape that is Mason the Flying Sootball glides down into a small cemetery on a streetcorner-- while the descent is graceful, the landing is anything but. Her attempt to NOT stretch out with her scorched feet to touch down is overridden by instinct, and she lets out a pained caw and immediately tumbles, disappearing behind a row of headstones.]

[Hauling herself into a sitting position with a small flurry of leaves, she hisses several cursewords and painfully bends her knees to try and check out the damage.]</sub>

[makehistoria]

[Stocke, for once, is not sneaking up on someone! Amazing. Since he's in shadow form, it's requiring a deliberate effort - but once he settles some meters away, he starts using telekinesis to crumple the leaves under his feet. Or where they would be if he were walking.]

[He feels Mason would rather that than no sound.]

[The shade doesn't say anything at first when he catches up, peering over Heather's shoulder in concern. Then, abruptly -] Cold water. [He turns toward the cemetery's office - gotta be a bathroom or something in there, right?]

< blackhand >

[themasterthief]

[Eventually Garrett made his way to Vandare. Where he found a burned down Devil's Nest. And found himself at a loss. That establishment had been there forever. Or, well, at least as long as Garrett had known Ryslig to exist. It was there before his first arrival, it was there when he had come back later, and now. Now it wasn't. And Garrett didn't like what was left in its place.

It was a while after all that before Garrett regained his bearings and headed back out of sight. He made his way to his last hideout. The clocktower was dusty--again--and would need to be completely redone--again--but that was all a story for another time.

But it was there, in relative safety, that Garrett got out his recently acquired device and made his first attempt to contact the one person he could rely on in this forsaken place. He was relieved to find that entering Stocke's address got him a connection.

He would be even more so once he got a reply.]


Been a while.

Where are you?

<moirae> wheezes it only took me forever to tag

[makehistoria]

[Stocke's reaction to seeing someone he'd missed back for a second time - well, unsurprisingly, it doesn't spill out onto the network. That's just not the way Stocke's used to using it; it'd be writing shouting into a letter. You're writing. Doesn't matter if it's a private channel or not.]

[That doesn't mean he doesn't have one.]

[Maybe that's why it takes him a minute or so to respond. If rsDOS supported being able to see whether the other person was typing, Garrett would've been able to see the shade write something, pause, erase it, then write again.]

complicated
how far are you from bavan ?

[ 14.2 ]

[atjourneysend]

[Stocke will find a small package on his bed. Inside are a box of herbal tea (the nymph who made it promised it's "super soothing") and ghost shaped candies, made of dark chocolate with white chocolate drops for eyes. There's a handwritten note attached:]

Happy Valentine's Day. Nice tradition, isn't it?

Raynie

PS: I have another gift for you tonight. Page 54.

[Under the tea and chocolate he'll find one of Ryslig's most popular shade romance novels. Several paragraphs in page 54 have been highlighted, and the margins are filled with handwritten comments, further ideas and a note telling him to go to page 81 next.]

[makehistoria]

[Stocke has his own plans to set in motion tonight, but it seems Raynie's beat him to the punch. The ghost candies startle a smile out of him, but it's the novel that has him pause, face flushing slightly darker.]

[And glance at the window, half expecting Raynie to pop up over the edge to tease him about it.]

[...after a few moments, he flips the page over to 81.]

<avaricious> | PRIVATE

[nestingdevil]

i knnow youann dhim arn't exctly gooo d frinnds so call tthis a favor

M. Anyythin gto do with linnden's off limits. mak e sur ethe rest know wulld you ? not rllly intrested in th etroubl e

<swordpacts>

[makehistoria]

don't need to call in a favour for me to listen to you , boss

[...but -]

thought linden was already off limits thanks to your deal

[He is maybe misunderstanding that as 'Linden's not to be touched' rather than 'don't bring up Linden to M,' especially since he doesn't know the deal Mello's struck with the Fog.]

[6/28] time for some snake wrangling!

[courage_and_claws]

[A couple of boistrous mers are about to ruin a snakedude's day convince a standoffish Stocke to join them for some fun in the sun!]

[Rosch enters the bar and scans the dimly lit area, looking for any sign of Stocke. It shouldn't be that hard to spot a giant snake tail with bright red scales, right?]

Yo, buddy! Where you at?

[If he's not downstairs, then maybe he's holed up in his room? Or wrapped around the furnace? Either way, they're gonna find him and drag him to the beach... whether he likes it or not!]

[adandyinspace]

[Dandy's approach to this is exactly how you'd expect it to be.

Really stupid.

He can't say he knows much about Stocke, just whatever Rosch was willing to share with him, but he does know one thing. He really hates snakedudes. Well...two snakedudes piss him off a whole lot. ...And honestly, one of them isn't even around here anymore. So when you get right down to it, he really shouldn't have as much as a beef with this guy as he's pretending he does.

Either way, he's wearing sunglasses and holding a crowbar for unknown, Dandy reasons. Sticking close to Rosch, all he can do is really follow his lead, not as Stocke savvy to have any idea where the naga might be hiding.]

Man, you're not gonna make him come crawling out like that. You need to entice 'em, baby.

[Being an ace alien hunter, Dandy can't help but act like he's totally got this.]

YO!! I GOT A CROWBAR!!

[He also might just want everyone to know he has a crowbar.]