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Post by Elorie on Dec 6, 2016 0:42:56 GMT
Steel-clad heels clacked loudly against the pavement as an ornately clad figure stomped through the village, moonlight glinting off the silver filigree upon her clothes. Stopping next to a bulletin board, the figure produced a flyer from within her garments and fastened it to the board. They remained there for a moment, before whirling around and marching away.
The flyer had a picture of a noblewoman with black hair and eyes like flint, garbed in black and silver and hefting a metallic scepter as fireworks exploded in the background. At the top, in bold print, were the words "Elorie's Camp of Wonders! The finest show in all Europa!" at the bottom, in far smaller words, was printed, "seeking new acts. Thespians, comedians, and bards are all encouraged to join! Other acts are welcome."
At the edge of town, a large circle of tents and wagons had been set up, with campfires and a stage also present. Despite its size, the camp seemed deserted. It was to this camp that the figure trudged, her boots leaving scuff marks upon the stones beneath them with every step.
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Post by vrooman on Dec 6, 2016 1:31:43 GMT
A dark figure shambled into the moonlight, flinching under its white glare. In his shadow, a ghost followed. They edged towards the flyer newly posted on the board; "Seeking new acts are they? Well we're certainly new aren't we Shadow?" the figure muttered. Shadow did not reply.
Together the pair headed towards the deserted camp at the edge of town, leaving no trace on the stones; they waited outside the perimeter and listened.
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Sìì
New Member
Semi-willing assistant to Elorie
"I'm not a Dog, I'm a Jackal you ass!"
Posts: 8
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Post by Sìì on Dec 6, 2016 3:00:36 GMT
Sitting in one of the wagons, Sii would be just waiting. To be honest, if he wanted to he would just run off. But this was the best pay he had known of...but even then he thinks he doesn't get paid enough for this circus shit. Sighing, he would get up and walk out of the wagon, heading towards Elorie and putting a hand on her shoulder. "Alright, whatta' you want me to do? Or better yet, what's the pay this time?"
Cackling to himself he would stand there, waiting for a response.
Sorry for the short post, didn't see much to work with.
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Post by thorinschmidt on Dec 6, 2016 18:49:25 GMT
#-- Error - left lower actuator --#
The rusted form of an outdated battle clank made its careful way down the street. It walked with an obvious limp, yet it made good speed nevertheless. It was originally from the army of the long-deceased Doctor Vaingloria, but years of self-repair and -modification made that hard to tell.
#-- Error - left lower actuator --#
77-Q7 irritably, or at least it imagined it was irritably, shut off the diagnostics again. He turned his head, and apparently addressed a remark to his left shoulder.
+-- We need parts soon. My left leg is almost critical. --+
#-- ALERT, new notification posted --# #-- Notification threshold passed --# #-- possibility of important information 75% --#
77-Q7 paused to read the flyer on the bulletin board. He then spoke to his shoulder once more.
+-- This may be an opportunity. --+ +-- Not only parts, but possibly.. --+ +-- a purpose. Query - should I apply? --+
On his shoulder, a small, round clank, reminiscent of a large pocket watch opened its single, central eye, glanced at the notice, and seemed to consider for a moment. It then gave a thumbs-up to 77-Q7, who did his best to fully straighten.
+-- It is decided. Let us go. --+
With new purpose in his quickened step, the old clank strode towards the group of tents.
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Post by Elorie on Dec 6, 2016 21:42:24 GMT
Elorie chuckled, her teeth gleaming in the low light shed by a nearby campfire. The woman's teeth weren't just clean, they were polished, the same way the steel sewn into her boots was polished. "The pay will be the same as always, Síí." she told the jackal. "As for what I want you to do, just try not to scare our potential employees off. We're... a bit understaffed, and I'm trying to fix that. After all, a proper circus is quite profitable." She glanced towards the village, and her eyes brightened as she saw two figures, one standing just outside the camp and one on its way towards them. "Welcome!" she called, striding towards them with a wide grin on her face. "I am Madame Elorie! How may I help you?" she inquired, her deep, melodious voice carrying through the crisp night air to the approaching clanks.
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Post by Sturzkampf on Dec 7, 2016 18:14:02 GMT
Mr Fecinec’s whiskers twitched with concentration as he spelled out the longer words on the poster. He had always been a bit of a rat, sneaking around in the shadows, taking what didn’t belong to him. After all, why be like all those other idiots and waste his life working for a living when he could simply steal the results of their hard work from them for free?
Then one day he had been caught sneaking into the Secret Lair of the feared Spark Lady Anja. Bored with all that messy surgery, Anja had developed her amusing Fusion Engine to create merged human animal constructs at the touch of a button. After some promising preliminary experiments with flies, when providence provided her with a new experimental human subject, she’d decided to try a rat. So now, Mr Fecinec really was a rat. At least parts of him were. His torso and arms were still more or less human., but he had the legs, the head and – most embarrassingly of all – the tail of a rat. At least the rat parts were scaled up to match his human body, not that it had been all that large to start with.
And it wasn’t all bad news. Mr Fecinec found that his ratty parts meant he could run very fast and was good at dodging, sneaking and hiding. On the downside, he did now have an insatiable desire for cheese, but he could give it up any time he wanted. The claws on his hands and feet meant he was an excellent climber and they also served as serviceable weapons. Not that Mr Fecinec was ever aggressive. He hated violence, principally because he was generally on the receiving end. Getting a bad beating during an attempted mugging had been the final straw, especially after the little girl had taken back her sweets and told on him to her mother.
Finally, he’d managed to escape the horrors of the Secret Lair, or rather, Lady Anja had forgotten about her experiment and he’d been able to wander out of the door. Of course, this did mean that now he had nowhere to go and no source of food. Never a popular human, Mr Fecinec’s new body made it even more difficult to find a place to stay. But a Circus! Now that was an idea. This ‘act’ thing sounded a bit too much like hard work, but didn’t they have freak shows? ‘Come and see the Savage Rat Man! The Terrifying Abomination of Science!’ All he’d have to do would be to sit in a cage and snarl at all the girls and make them scream. Yes, he could do that. And all those gulls would have tons of stuff that he could nick. He walked towards the camp. If he was lucky, perhaps they’d give him some cheese.
Edit: I believe that the name of this character is quite rude in Yullian, so I'll change it if if contravenes site policy.
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Post by vrooman on Dec 7, 2016 19:44:40 GMT
"Yes we're certainly new - new acts; new surgery," Shadow growled softly back, "and don't forget that while you do the talking amongst humans, I do the thinking for both of us. There's something I recollect about these scuff marks on the stones, and you know my wolf instincts are always right. Now let us go greet Madame Elorie; arriving at the same time as the noisy clank may actually be to our advantage..."
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Sìì
New Member
Semi-willing assistant to Elorie
"I'm not a Dog, I'm a Jackal you ass!"
Posts: 8
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Post by Sìì on Dec 8, 2016 3:11:37 GMT
Sii was quite disappointed to hear that he wasn't getting anything like a raise. He honestly didn't have a use for money, it just made him feel...in a position of power. But after he learned of his job, he heard many noises behind him as Elorie greeted some newcomers. Turning to them, the Jackal would snarl a bit. "Eh? What do you want? If you're not looking for a position or giving us money then you can all get out."It was obvious that Sii wasn't as welcoming as Elorie, even when out of these new comers he saw someone that seemed similar to him. That one seemed to be an animal that's a little human like him...yeah, Sii wasn't going to show him mercy either. Continue his little talk, he would focus on everyone who had just came. "Listen, if you are indeed here because of positions, we don't just take anyone alright? We need a real attention grabber."
"So if you think you have something special about you, don't, you aren't special in anyway."
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Post by thorinschmidt on Dec 8, 2016 3:31:36 GMT
#-- ALERT! possible threats detected --#
#-- Scanning --#
#-- Scanning --#
#-- Probability of danger, subject 0 - 75% --#
#-- Probability of danger, subject 1 - 55% --#
#-- Probability subject 0 is possible Employer 95% --#
#-- Probability subject 1 is possible Employer 20% --#
#-- SELF-PRESERVATION SUBROUTINE ENGAGED --#
#-- *** COMBAT MODE DISABLED *** --#
77-Q7 watched the approaching figure with interest. His combat routines hadn’t come so close to engaging for quite some time, and he still wasn’t quite sure why. NOr was he sure why his indexers placed the female human so much higher than the obviously adversarial animorph construct. Still, it would bear remembering. And Observing. 77-Q7 turned to squarely face the female, pointedly addressing his remarks to her alone. Analysis of the Construct’s reaction to this slight would be valuable.
+-- Greetings, Madame. I am 77-Q7, and this…--+
77-Q7 gestured to the little clank on his shoulder
+-- is my counterpart, who doesn’t seem to have a designation… --+
The little clank waved a cheery ‘Hello’ to Elorie.
+-- We are seeking employment in exchange for parts and a place of periodic short-term self-storage. I am by design a combat clank, yet I have found ways to alter my programming to engage in a variety of alternate functions. --+
77-Q7 pulled several balls out of a bag slung on his back.
+-- For example. My Close-Order Drill subroutine has been adapted to enable me to do this… --+
77-Q7 began juggling the balls. As he did, the little clank rummaged in the bag, and began adding other items, while removing the originals, until 77-Q7 was juggling, in sequence, some cubes, clocks, small clubs, then finally knives.
+-- I am also always willing to create new subroutines, and adapt old ones to perform whatever functions may be required. Thank you. --+
77-Q7 put away the knives, and waited, motionlessly, for Elorie’s reply.
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Post by Elorie on Dec 8, 2016 3:50:17 GMT
Elorie smiled, her teeth once again gleaming. "Welcome, Welcome! A combat clank, eh? And a juggler! wonderful!" she cried, clapping her gloved hands together as she rambled. "Yes, you will do very nicely, and your little companion is quite fascinating..." she said, her voice trailing off slightly as she peered at the little clank before she shook her head. "Your terms are more than acceptable, Monsieur. Parts will be provided, and you may stay in any of the wagons you wish." she informed the mechanical wanderer. As she turned to wait for the other approaching figures to introduce themselves, she leaned towards Sii and whispered to him, "Didn't I just tell you to try not to scare them off?" she growled, then shook her head slightly. "I'm just going to assume that was a mistake. Do try harder, though, Sii. I'd hate to think you couldn't follow orders; I couldn't abide by paying someone such as that!" despite the softness of her voice, her words were unmistakably sharp, a barely-veiled threat. She liked having the jackal around, but if he was bad for business, she would abandon him without a second thought.
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Post by Sturzkampf on Dec 8, 2016 19:54:31 GMT
Mr Fecinec's little pink nose snuffled as he advanced warily into the camp. As a rat, he had an excellent sense of smell and keen hearing. He caught a distant scent of dog and wondered if this was such a good idea. Just as his mind was made up to flee, he caught the waft of toasted cheese from the caravans and his resolve stiffened. In the centre of the compound stood three characters, a woman in some kind of fancy black and silver, an old clank resembling a pile of discarded tin cans and some kind of construct dressed in a black uniform, who he assumed was the chauffeur. "Oh great", thought Mr Fecinec, "Blunt from 'Freefall' and Lieutenant Kruger from 'Carry On'". At least there weren't any clowns about. He approached the group, making sure his escape route was clear and he kept far enough from the group for a head start in case he needed to run for it. He addressed the Lady. Even without reading the poster, it was obvious who was in charge. "Good evenin', fair lady," he whined, making a cringing bow. "Me name is Mr Fecinec and I wondered if there might be a place for me in your wonderful circus. You see, I am a poor construct, abandoned by me Spark Master, wi' nowhere to go and no place to shelter. I ain't got an act, like, but I could be in your freak show, you know, with your chauffeur. I wouldn't want payin' or nuiffin'. Just food and a roof over my 'ead is all I need." He glanced to left and right, ready to flee. He could still smell dog.
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Post by vrooman on Dec 8, 2016 22:22:48 GMT
Sauntering into the campfires’ light at a distinct tangent from Mister Fecinec and the dextrous combat clank, a cloaked figure intoned in a mellifluous voice, as he removed his fox-furred fedora with aplomb, “My apologies for this interruption Mister Fecinec, but I simply couldn't wait to join this happy throng any longer. I am honoured to make your acquaintance my Lady Elorie, please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Thesp; I’m a twice retired commedia dell'arte actor looking to tread the boards once more. My speciality is Pulcinella, or Punchinello as they say in England. My modesty almost forbids my saying that my Punch was once greatly lauded in Mechanicsburg.
In addition my wolf here is a bit of a ham too – she can howl extracts from Portentius Reichenbach's opera The Storm King, and her rendition of The Transylvania Polygnostic University Fight Song has been known to bring tears to the eyes. She would be a prime candidate for the freak show that Mister Fecinec alluded to.”
Shadow, a larger than average wolf with for those with a keen eye more than a sprinkling of Sparkhound ancestry, bared her teeth and nipped playfully, but pointedly, at Thesp’s ankle. With a slightly less sweet-toned voice he concluded hurriedly, “I read your eloquent flyer in the village, my Lady Elorie, and was drawn here by your invitation.” He glanced quickly down at the wolf for approval, before looking back up at with professional adoration in his eyes at Elorie.
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Sìì
New Member
Semi-willing assistant to Elorie
"I'm not a Dog, I'm a Jackal you ass!"
Posts: 8
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Post by Sìì on Dec 11, 2016 1:29:40 GMT
Sii had a big smirk on his face until Elorie opened her mouth. When he was tolled about not being paid for his behavior, he whimpered. There honestly wasn't anything that he could do.
Welp, sorry for the world's shortest post in history.
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Post by thorinschmidt on Dec 13, 2016 14:14:56 GMT
The clank made his way carefully through the wagons. He could no #-- ALERT! Left lower actuator failure --# longer shut off the alarms from his left leg. If he didn’t find #-- ALERT! Left lower actuator failure --# some resources soon, he might begin doing #-- ALERT! Left lower actuator failure --# some irreparable dama #-- ALERT! Left lower actuator failure --# ge to #-- ALERT! Left lower actuator failure --# other sys #-- ALERT! Left lower actuator failure --# tems…
77-Q7 collapsed into a sitting position just outside a rather forlorn wagon that said simply “Old Props”. The old clank contemplated for a second.
#-- Semantic analysis-> “Old Props” --# #-- Chance that contents are unused - 85% --# #-- Chance that contents can be used for repairs - 25% --#
77-Q7 turned to his companion.
+-- What is YOUR analysis? Do you think you can find replacements for my leg in there? --+
The little clank’s eye narrowed in thought, then it abruptly leaped onto the wagon’s rear wheel and into a small open vent in the side. Sounds of crashing, ripping, pounding and dragging could be heard for several minutes. Then the door opened and a cascade of assorted junk began flying out.
Recognizing the signs, 77-Q7 called out his (by now) standard reminder.
+-- Please remember, I only need a REPLACEMENT. The structural integrity on the new leg needs to match the existing good right leg! --+ #-- Probability of reminder's success - 15% --#
Oh well, he thought, at least the reminder works sometimes… He looked on with interest as his little friend began his repairs...
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Post by Sturzkampf on Dec 18, 2016 9:55:50 GMT
Mr Fecinec cringed with fear. The strange lady in leather still hadn't spoken. Why hadn't she spoken? Surely his hide in shadow skills were not so good that she hadn't noticed him. On either side of he could smell figures in the darkness and at least one of them was a dog - and more than a dog. This had to be an elaborate trap! But the smell of cheese! The toasted cheese! Despite the rising panic, his craving was too strong to let him run.
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