Paridon: The Dark Metropolis (Ravenloft)

[InVinoVeritas]

Ru an Perrin stealthily climb the stairs.

The stairs coil toward their destination.
​

At the top, lies an open gate. Through the gate, the policemen can view gears upon gears within gears. The staccato call of the clock tower passes palpably through the investigators as they approach the giant, active mechanism. Each gear is large enough to stand on, each weight and pendulum large enough to swing from, and the teeth themselves could crush a person.

At the center of this ever-moving contraption, their quarry, Pigglemorth, crouches over a control box. He stays at his position, and without standing, simply states, "You're right on time, officers."

[sblock=credits]
Photo by sgoralnick.
[/sblock]

 

[jkason]

Ru Brike, barbaric human monk

As he sees the man he feels is responsible for all the blood and death, Ru feels heat rising in his head. He pushes down on the hatred, instead drawing his bow and taking careful aim at his quarry.

"I'm afraid I'm going to need you to step away from that box, Pigglemorth. Now." the officer says, his voice cold for all that his temper continues to burn.

 

[Le Noir Faineant]

Calahan stays in the back, his dagger drawn, but hidden.
He'll also put one hand on one of the powder bombs.

 

[Rhun]

Perrin too takes careful aim with his pistol, not liking Pigglemorth's comments about being on time. That implied that the man had something in store for them, and with all that had happened, the constable was unwilling to take any chances.

"Do as he says, Pigglemorth," calls Perrin. "Put your hands up and step away from the console."

 

[InVinoVeritas]

Pigglemorth stands, hands raised. He takes one step back, and another...

...as a pendulum swings by.
​

Effortlessly, he steps onto the pendulum with perfect temporal precision, and it carries him to a new perch well ensconced behind a suddenly rotating cog.

"That is how perfect your timing is, gentlemen..." Pigglemorth calls out for all in the clocktower--even the base--to hear. "Perhaps we should discuss why you are actually here."

[sblock=credits]
Photo by sylvar.
[/sblock]

 

[Rhun]

"Good sir," calls Perrin loudly, his voice stern. "Fleeing a lawful representative of the City of Paridon is a misdemeanor offense. Failure to cooperate in a felony investigate is, in itself, a felony offense. Putting the lives of law enforcement offers at risk can also be construed as a felony offense. I strongly urge you to accompany us back down to the street, or I am afraid we will have to detain you with force."

 

[jkason]

Ru Brike, barbaric human monk

Ru suppresses a growl as he re-stows his bow, regretting the moment's hesitation in firing that let Pigglemorth reach his hiding place. He guages the moving ground and air between them, legs tensing as he waits for the gnome to reply to Perrin. He wonders if all the gears are interrelated such that blocking one of them might stop the whole, but he hasn't any experience with this type of thing.

[sblock=OOC]Since it may matter: how high up are these guys if, say, a jump should go awry and send one downward? [/sblock]

 

[InVinoVeritas]

(Music: "Betrayal" from Silent Hill 2)

"There was a time," Pigglemorth calls back, "that your statements would have been enough. We have a system for a reason. The laws and regulations are the rules of society, and they are to be followed in order to keep the entirety of civilization in functioning harmony. Yet when you watch those flaunt those very rules, break them to the detriment of society, yet still manage to escape notice, you wonder at the true mechanisms of the system.

All you have said is true. It is also a felony offense to enslave your fellow citizen. It is felony offense to poison, delude, or ensorcell your fellow to devious ends. It is a felony offense to aid in another commitment of a felony offense. Yet all this I have witnessed. I am sure you understand just how loathsome the Combledorn family is. They may treat others with terrible, disgusting, flagrant disrespect, yet even their playthings receive more respect than they have for law.

But does the system end with the law? We watch the passing of time on the face of a clock, but there is a whole world behind the face. When my daughter, my own flesh and blood, became romantically inclined to one of that infernal clan, what can be done? Give her a blessing for a legal ceremony? Watch as the name Pigglemorth is legally eaten by the name Combledorn? Smile as the love and joy of my existence is legally folded into nefarious schemes?

No... there is a limit to the law. It is not the whole system. I tried, pleaded with her, to stop seeing him. She would not listen. She had been an obedient, helpful child her entire life, and this, THIS is how she chose to stand up to me. I could not let her fall into such clutches.

I did not. And now, the system will punish me for the rest of my life in ways your law can never touch me. Leave me. The system is so much greater than the law."

[sblock=Darian]
And so much more rewarding.
[/sblock]

Ru checks his footing. It is secure where he stands, outside of the reach of the mechanism, but further in, with a slip he may fall on a cog, or land between two gears' teeth, or drop out of the mechanism altogether.

A fall from here would be considerable.
​

[sblock=credits]
Photo by innusa.
[/sblock]

 

[Rhun]

"Enough!" calls Perrin, turning his attention to his companions. The ranger speaks loud enough to ensure Pigglemorth hears him. "Calahan, you have the powder bombs. How do you feel about blowing up the clock tower?"

 

[jkason]

Ru Brike, barbaric human monk

"Enough!" calls Perrin, turning his attention to his companions. The ranger speaks loud enough to ensure Pigglemorth hears him. "Calahan, you have the powder bombs. How do you feel about blowing up the clock tower?"

Ru's assessment of the terrain stops short, and he looks at Perrin with shock. "You want to let him loose with explosives?" he whispers.

Louder he says, "But we need your help, Pigglemorth. We've seen your new Ada, but after what happened with your other creation, there's no way the city's going to suffer her to live unless we have her creator to explain how she can be controlled and maintained."