Sten's Palace

[knight_in_sinful_armor]

Sten Scarborough. Foundry. Bunker.

And the world dissolves, the territory hemmoraging into nothingness as it's replaced by its own map: the map according to one very specific demon overlord.


- - -


Darkness. Humidity. A copper tang in the air. The taste of blood on the stagnant wind.



All at once, the world has become grey. The ground beneath is rent into deep crevices, corrugated iron sheets and broken-down planks forming haphazard walls to keep the desaturated earth from caving in on itself. Bag after bag of rough burlap stacks high up above the surface, forming a barrier impassible when combined with the lengths of blood-soaked barbed wire above it. Everywhere is fog, a thick, unearthly haze of grey that casts its shadow over the trenches, making sight beyond simple meters utterly impenetrable to the naked eye.



The only light that pierces through is a flash of orange, solemnly blinking in the distance... and the heights of the sky above, illuminated by a baleful, heavenly glare that carves daggers into any that dares gaze straight upwards where the depths of fog have the straightest angle, like an all-observing field of judgement ready to sear all life from everything that falls beneath it.



The unearthly silence seems to permeate everything... but the sounds of distant gunfire, the subtle boom of explosions, and the steadily-increasing siren that seems to erupt from the environment itself breaks it up intermittently.



Welcome to Sten's palace.

Comments

A First Visit

[knight_in_sinful_armor]

[herewardbound]

The first step into a Palace was always a daunting prospect. It was the dark depths of the soul, laid bare for all to see. It was rarely pretty, and when it was, that beauty often hid something truly toxic.

Sten's was no different.

[butterflyaffect]

"A bunker is a place of safety. A last bastion against the tides of war. That's... what this is about," Viper said, softly.

"The whole of the world is arrayed against him..." Except it wasn't safe. You didn't put up that many traps if you thought you were safe. You didn't distribute suicide pills to your subordinates if you thought you were safe. "And he's not even safe within his mind. All of it could fall at any moment."

[sleepybitchvibes]

Peet walks into the new realm, sticking a pair of contenders in Corsair's pack while slinging rope dart onto their torso like a sash.

"Alright, so. Uh. Is Sten actually expecting any of you? Because I could probably just walk in but like, I think I'm the only one."

Take Your Time

[knight_in_sinful_armor]

[andnowyouregone]

Nautlus learned what they could about Sten from the first visit. Saw some gruesome imagery, made a gross contribution and, for Cal and Molly, got to see what a Palace can be like. Unfortunately, they couldn't make much progress this time around, but the Sinner mentioned having an idea he wished to share with the others.

He just wasn't thrilled about it.

They were out, masks off, and could speak freely. The moth messed up his hair. "Okay, so...I have an idea on how to get us through. There's no easy way to suggest it, so I'm just gonna throw it out there:


...I need to make a Deal with Sten."

[systemofadowny]

"What? No!" Via protested. "Cal, we are not okaying that! Do you know what that will mean? What that will do to you?"

"Trust me, I know extremely well what this means."

[polymolly]

"Absolutely not!"

Molly shook her head. "There is no way I'm going to live with you selling your soul into eternal enslavement because my intel gathering went a little bit tits up. There has to be another way."

The Huskening: Part I

[knight_in_sinful_armor]

Like a Moth to a Flame

[knight_in_sinful_armor]

[andnowyouregone]

Cal hated this. Cal hated this so very much. There was, perhaps, one benefit to the moth's trepidation: such was to be expected of someone willing to sell their Soul to another. A sense of ease or calm might warrant suspicion and Sten was already suspicious enough of everyone. The process was simple: take one of the flyers and bring it to one of his recruitment places. Super old fashioned, but that was to be expected of him. Cal lost track of how many times he tried to stop and catch his breath, not freak out too much about the prospect.

Nautilus needed this. He had to do this.

An anxious Sinner stepped through the doors, carrying one of the many flyers Sten had put up around the city. If nothing else, Cal could respect his willingness to go out there and do things himself. It wasn't much. He approached the front desk and placed the printed paper down. "Excuse me. I'm interested in making a Deal with Sten."

[therizinosaurus]

Behind that counter was Thalia, if Cal had actually met her in all her towering presence before - she was reviewing something, some sort of note, that she had in hand.

"I'll be with you in a moment," the severe-sounding Sinner answered, though her gaze locked onto Cal and she took him in a long, scrutinizing look. Seemed meek, more inclined towards any hidden self defense. Moth, so there's a possibility of poisonous or psychedelic dust, if anything. That could be handled.

For now she'll let him sweat it out a few minutes, finishing reviewing the communications she'd gotten from Derringer from another office, discussing in code some of the more minor business detail. It didn't really need to be in code, truthfully, but keeping in code for everything meant they were ready to use code in a pinch.

Taking her time would give her a chance to see how well or how poorly this Sinner handled a prolonged wait.

[andnowyouregone]

Ohh, this was awkward. Cal was here at the front of the line, waiting to be serviced as if he were still in the middle, except the only thing between him and Thalia was the desk. It was bad enough that being here in the first place stressed him out, but being made to wait even longer just plain sucked.

And that's before considering knowing that she's one of Sten's lieutenants and a lethal force entirely on her own.

What was Cal to do in the meantime? Awkwardly look around for a period, really. Look at the random bits of busywork he wouldn't be able to make much sense of from here. He glanced at his phone from time to time, checking messages and the time, a few brief distractions between fits of waiting for her to be ready. One might think a suicide cult would want to get things over with rather than draw out the agony, but maybe that's reserved for the group's upper echelons. How many of them go through the meat grinder, compared to everyone else?

His thoughts were loud and a bit frustrated, but the moth remained silent. There wasn't much to say that would make it any less uncomfortable or somehow move things along. He was effectively at Thalia's, and by extension Sten's, mercy. Perhaps she knew that; anyone wanting a Deal walked in knowing they would be at a disadvantage. It was uncomfortable, enough that it made Cal queasy, but he wore a look of begrudging acceptance.

You have to do this. It'll be worth it in the long run.

Flowers for Papillon

[knight_in_sinful_armor]

[poppypapillon]

Alright. So. It's a clear day in Pride, close to the end of what would be a pay period, her unemployment would be close to dry... today's a good day. Cal has been with Sten for a while now, settled in or settling in.

Poppy, with her resume tucked in a slightly used manilla folder from her old job, entered an office and waited for the front desk to clear. Once no customers or clients were talking shop, she came to the desk and set the folder down, opening it up. Inside is a double-sided resume - her credentials from schooling on the front, but also her capabilities as a hellhound on the back. That was just the common practice for hellhounds, especially smaller ones... include your bite strength measurement, include your weight lifting capabilities, include your bill of health from your recent check-up. Since most people would look at that side of a resume when hiring a hellhound anyway...

"Hello. I'm looking for work - here's my resume, when can I expect this to be reviewed?"

[it_just_works]

Waiting at the front desk is a raptor Sinner, sorting various papers and meeting guests directly. Something of a fast-talker who occasionally brought out the charm, depending on the situation. Almost all of the clientele were Sinners, leaving Poppy as a notable standout while waiting to be serviced. Garrick quirked a brow at this, and greeted her with a smile. Sten eagerly gave Hellborn preferential treatment over Sinners; the latter could wait for all of eternity, if they had to.

"Hello there, Ms! Normally, the process can take several weeks as we review applicants in the order we receive them. However, you're in luck."

He leaned forward slightly. "Sten just so happens to be here today, and if you have the time, he would happily walk you through the screening process himself. You can walk out of here today with a final answer. How does that sound?"

[poppypapillon]

"Oh-- well, that is definitely lucky! Thank you, that would be nice," Poppy nodded, wagging her tail a bit. She hadn't even expected to pick the one Sten was around in - just good luck on that end, then.

"I'm ready for that right now, absolutely."

Take Your Time 2: The Reconvening

[knight_in_sinful_armor]

[andnowyouregone]

Whoof. It was a Hell of a time for Cal, but he did it. It'd been enough time since the Deal was made and he felt confident in his work with the overlord so far. The moth had time to process all of that, at least, and is in a better state of mind now than when he sent out the group text a while back.

He was grateful for Poppy agreeing to go with him. It helped keep him grounded and not worry as much as he would have without her. They may not have interacted much, especially since Sten had him working with the Fizzbots most of the time, but there was enough,

"Bonjour." Cal greeted. "It's been a while, but things are going well. I think Sten trusts me and Poppy enough that we'll be able to make some progress now."

[poppypapillon]

Poppy is, naturally, one of the first to hurry to the meetup. She didn't have the time or 'excuse' to check on Cal in particular during their work, especially to not create any opsec issues, so right now?

The very first thing she brings is a nice, big salty caramel hot chocolate, offering it to Cal immediately.

"How are you feeling? Are you okay?"

[andnowyouregone]

Oh, that hot chocolate smelled delicious. Cal accepted it with a grateful nod. Both for the cocoa and asking about him. The Sinner didn't need to keep the mask on around the others, a relief in itself.

"I'm...getting by. It takes some getting used to, the emptiness of missing your soul. And the chain. No one tells you that you always feel the chain."

He shook his head. "But I've been benefiting from it, too. I've been learning about my abilities as a Sinner, thanks to them. Sten's gifted me with power, too. Been cautious about it since the rush it gave me that day was...good. But I'm keeping myself together. Trying to stay on Sten's good side since he can and has made me answer truthfully before, but nothing about Nautilus has come from it. Promise."

The Second Visit

[knight_in_sinful_armor]

The group reconvenes within the grounds of the palace, finding their way to the massive bunker entryway far easier this time, back within the palace proper and away from the eerie ambiance of the trenches outside.

The scene they enter on is almost identical to the one before: chairs set in lines, filled to the brim with sinners waiting for their number to be called, tickets in hand or equivalent appendage.

Above it all, upon that tall desk of his, and flanked by the 'staff only' iris door and the other door that sinners steadily enter through, sits the black and white, static-laden mole sinner Derringer, as robotic as the rest, and an individual that Cal and Poppy have now had an actual conversations with, beneath the constant presence of that Nixie counter, slightly above where it was before.

[poppypapillon]

Swallowtail is ready. The entrance... it has the same appearance, the same traumas, and the same level of security - which is affirming to know, since that meant that both Cal and Poppy successfully didn't trip any particular suspicion with their attempts to get an 'in' as employees.

Alright. Showtime.

"So I think we're going in with 'our' lead as employees. I think we'll probably have to improvise exactly why we're escorting extra people in... or maybe we should go in on our own and search for a way to let you all in by opening a door for you?"

[andnowyouregone]

"I think we might have an easier time cooking up a story." Glitch shrugged. "Fortunately, I think Sten's willing to listen to reason. We've got our own credibility with him now, not to mention an additional familiar face."

Glitch gestures towards the fluffy bat being carried by Corsair. "We could suggest it's a visit themed around the Fizzbot project. Status report, meeting with the boss, the works."

[sleepybitchvibes]

"Yes, that could be a plan that we could decide to go with."

Yeah, the little bat buddy's not taking any chances here. These two are currently powder kegs ready to blow up any plan they come up with as far as they're concerned.

There might be a little touch of hurt feelings when it comes to Cal in particular.

"Please do bring us in." They note, starting to hop into...

...

A Peet kigarumi.

They bought and commissioned a brand-new kigarumi. Of themself. If it weren't a matter of following a plan, this would be the kind of self-worship that Peet had asked at some point to follow up with a bullet to the head.

But this was a part of the plan. Peet didn't look fake enough. This was... Definitely a way to make them look more... Manufactured?