Mad Science and Cookies

[rassafraggin]

Butler leads the guests to the trapdoor which lead down the mossy steps into well lit Laboratory. He asks their preference in treats, but does not follow in. Staff is off limits here. Soon their refreshments will be lowered in by lift.
While they might have been in this cavernous basement laboratory before, it looks vastly different today. Before it was mostly hidden in shadows, desks that go around the room walls and half finished creations lingering by massive foundation pillars covered by linen and thick sheet of dust. Today, all of the lights are bright - and for the first time one may see the room in full glory. All the unnecessary stuff is shoved away in one corner, all the desks, from the drawing board to the micro work desk have actual work on them: unidentifiable parts in various options and models of clay, the living area by the huge fireplace is filled with books of various origins and overlapping designes. And the kitchnette is filled with cookie creation stages. Raph is currently mixing dough by the fire, while reading. Messy.

Quinlan steps carefully, staff in hand but hooded - there's plenty of light, after all. The models and parts get peered at but not touched, definitely no touching. "...No wonder I haven't seen much of you lately," he says.

Raphaela looks up, runs fingers through her hair (yes, doughed up fingers= horrible hair) and drops all with a grin "Ah, you're here...good good." she jumps to her bunny slippered feet. She's as usual at home, in loose wide black pants and black shirt with some creepy print or another. Clowns today.

Merrisol just happens to be in the city when the messenger tracks him down and delivers the summons, and comes a minute after Quinlan. He hesitates at the top step, restlessly considering the steep stairwell and massaging the nape of his neck in a self-counseling manner. Ugh, then he just goes already, walking down into the bright basement.. much brighter than his recall. He squints, frowning at the cozy homey conveniences existing alongside the deranged scribbings and stolen library books. "So this is where it all happens." By it, he of course means cookie creation.

Quinlan smiles. "Well, yeah," he says. "I do answer calls whenever I can. Is there something you need?"

Raphaela chuckles "It helps me think..." to Merrisol. And to Quin she turns as she washes hands over the basin "You gave me a challenge, didn't you, a while back."

He should've known better, really.

"Hullo again so soon, Quinlan." Merrisol nods to the mage, pauses oddly, then closes his mouth and walks over to greet Raphaela. "Good day, Raphaela. He challenged you, did he?" he muses. "Is that why I'm here.. to carry one of you to the hospital after.."

Quinlan blinks. "You mean...this is for that? For the Hunter?" he asks, curious and - delighted? "How is it going?" Know better? Quinlan? With shiny challenges of Knowledge? Never. He gives Merrisol an odd look. "Why would I give Raph a challenge that would end in a hospital stay?"

Raphaela grins "Oh no no. I just thought of you suddenly..." she ummms "I can't build this here. SO it's not time for test yet." she lifts a finger "BUT!" oh yes. traces of coffeeoveruse. "

And possibly Madness.

Raphaela bounces to merri and grins waaay to widely up at him "I found you something AWESOME! to wear!"

Merrisol shakes his head all durrr-like while gesturing nebulously between the other two. "I don't know. Because you're both mischief-makers and both prone to injury.." He's serious. No seriously, he's serious! He must be here to cushion the zany. Case in point: "Simmer down, Raphaela.." he leans back from her point-blank enthusiasm, brows up. "Really? Not more awesome than this though, right?" He thumbs out the lapels of his nice red coat.

Quinlan huhs. "Well. That's not really surprising," he muses. "My boat isn't large. But I can commission a larger craft for a one shot cargo trip. Or ask a few people if they're willing to be a fleet for the trip. Where do you need to go?" He frowns at Merrisol. "Yeah. I have my tricks and sometimes people get hurt. But there's a huge difference between people getting hurt because we're doing something that's dangerous but necessary, and people getting hurt because getting people hurt was the point. I don't do the second kind of thing. I thought you knew that."

Raphaela grins insanely as she leans in through the space he backed up from. Srsly, how can a scrawny girl freak out big cool dude like him so easily? "Way way waaaay more awesome." she looks at Quin "I'll need to collect items and parts I need. And I'll ask one friend or another to find me a shadow I can manufacture them in when time is right. But I need your measures now."

Merrisol stops leaning after a point, willing to acquiesce the point that there exists many more fabulous items than a red velvet waistcoat, and focuses on Quinlan with thoughtful concern. "I apologize, my remarks come too close on the heels of our experience with the second kind of then, Quinlan. I don't think of you that way at all. When I anticipate disaster, it's a warding technique against it, given how many times I am mistaken. Now, peace?" He supports Raphaela while he takes a step back so as not to catch her off balance. "Uh.. measurements. Fine. It's been a few months since I was fitted for anything, but they should still be more or less the same."

Quinlan smiles a bit. "No offense taken, so yeah. Peace. I'm related to jerks on both sides, sad to say." He nods toward Raphaela. "Ah, scavenger hunt. Okay, got the list handy?"

Raphaela grins, takes Merri's hand, pads by QUin, takes his too and leads them to sitting area (couch and pillows on floor - if you move piles of books and papers). She nods "Most important 1) Your fighting styles 2) strengths and weaknesses 3) special combat skills and finally weapon of choice." she in the meantime pulls their tea/coffee refreshments out of small elevator and serves them. "And then I'll measure measure you."

They might realise things are a bit off when they notice drawings of robots all around.

Merrisol realizes things are a bit -more- off when Raphaela asks for a fighting style. "Why..? Raphaela, your assumptions are flattering, but I'm no match for the Hunter." His eyes track over the dryboard and the blueprints. "Or... what are you talking about?" He half-sits on the arm rest of a couch, staring at one blue print. "Raphaela.." Go on, say it. He can see it, but he needs to hear it. Say... Giant Robot.

Quinlan grins. "Um. I don't have any combat training per se, so I usually focus on not getting hit long enough to use magic. If you mean a melee weapon, well," he hefts his staff. "This is all I tend to use. I can use other weapons, but staves are kind of traditional." He nods toward Merri. "You want him to be the pilot?"

Raphaela makes a bing sound at Merri and points a finger at Quin "Partially correct." she grins.

Merrisol didn't say Giant Robot.. he's not allowed to, for contractual reasons. So Raphaela's BING in response to him speaking her name is probably a little more unnerving than it is meant to be. He studies her in silence, before his attention draws Quinlan's way, considering his answer, and blinking at his guess. "Partially.. how can one 'partially' operate a..." he stops to let her fill in the blank.

Raphaela is in your head Fuffy.

Quinlan blinks. "You do realize magic and tech don't often mix well right?" he asks Raph. "But we might get Moxon involved..."

Raphaela says "If you treat magic as 'parts' you actually can do very well in shadows that can support both. But it's not what I meant." she looks at Merri "He is one of our pilots. He's used to using technology and is a fighter." she looks at Quin "I said your answer was partially correct for another reason. It's just cheaper to make a few instead of one." Raphaela ahs and adds quickly to Fuffy "If he wants to, that is." Raphaela remembered! AW!

(OOC) Quinlan says, "actually, just because they support both doesn't mean both will work well, native to that shadow."
(OOC) Quinlan says, "UM-Esoterica/4."
(OOC) Quinlan says, "Societies that are highly advanced in magic tend not to have advanced technology, and societies that are highly advanced in technology tend not to have advanced magic. Even long-lived races that might be able to commit the time to master both rarely do so. Moreover, the properties of a shadow tend to favor one or the other; the magical and physical laws of a place usually make either technology or magic easier to work with than the other, and the other thing is much more likely to be unpredictable and therefore more dangerous."

She remembered... aw. Wait, remembered what? Merrisol undoes the front clasps of his waistcoat as he sits his weight more fully on the couch. Rolled prints go shuffling off the backrest as he displaces them. He scratches his browline in bemusement. "Have you seen my harpoon? Made by Meijanri of Frozen Seas. It's weighted on a brass chain, and effective close and at range."

Quinlan hms. "Might be a bit small in the hands of a giant mech though," he muses. "And normal weapons seem to ting right off the Hunter's armor."

Raphaela tilts her head "...I don't think so. But We can use that design, certainly. Mecha's are tricky to pilot so least I can do is to make weapons we're all comfortable using already. We'll still need to train to get out the bugs." she plops on the floor before them crosslegged and leans back to find the designes. "Basically, these would be prototypes, so I want to begin by testing which attack combination works best - guns, cold weapons, arm to arm combat. All natural skills should not be buffered but buffed up."

Raphaela looks at Quin "We'll get much more strength in the attacks. So that'll be first thing to test if it works. I already designed a staff for your mecha. Well. By now I might as well call it a spear...sort of." she looks at Quin "It might not work on hunter, but they can all be used elsewhere." Designes in her hands can't be seen yet, but colors are visible. Silver, green-blue and guess what, there's a red one too.

Merrisol is still getting his head wrapped around the whole idea, and it's only been a few minutes since he clued in, so. But, as the talk and the thoughts pile up, he has to take a few leaps along the curve, and winds up... interested. "My formal training was by way of Rebman Navy. I've found my forte to be underwater, then, which explains gravitating towards the tined weapon as opposed to sword. But really, open space, varied altitude, figuring angles, that's how I like it." He looks at Raph's concealed designs, and smirks a little at the hint of a red shade in there.

Quinlan nods slowly. "So...back to things you need?" he prompts, curious.

Raphaela says "Well. I want to build up systems as I get chance to test it. Which means I'll take things gradually from what works in Amber, to very high tech and then merge it and level it up so that basic skeleton and operations mainly rely on clockwork and pneumatics which work in most areas and can serve in emergencies. And then we upgrade weapons and mobility units." she says. "Main issue - reliable powersource."

Merrisol gets up, goes around Raphaela to take a look at some equations and drawings on the brainstormin' blackboard over there.

Quinlan nods slowly. "That may be where I can come in best. Wind, or steam, I could produce that continually."

Raphaela contemplates and nods. "I'm not a bit fan of steam, and I'd perfer not to rely on a person for powersource of mechas. If you're taken out, all of us are, it's not best strategical choice. But it's good to keep in mind." she offers, not worried least that Fuffy might mess something up. "There are shadows that use crystals as powersources, and then there is even more powerful but...dangerous technologies out there. I haven't decided on it yet and I want to see it before I choose."

Quinlan nods. "When you've decided what you want to use, that will probably narrow down our choice of Shadow to test this."

Raphaela shakes her head "It's the other way around. I want to choose shadow where Hunter has least advantage as possible and then choose accordingly."

Raphaela says "We have to use whatever tactical advantage we can no matter how tiny. Choosing our location is biggest part of it. Ratio between not allowing Hunter to be at advantage, bringing maximum of our own weapons and minimalizing casualties."

Quinlan purses his lips. "We can't divert the Hunter too much," he muses. "But if we get Cyndre on this then we can lure him *anywhere*."

Raphaela tilts her head "Are you sure he just doesn't have a crush on her?"
Raphaela is dead serious. totally.

Quinlan grins. "No. No, she kinda buried him under a cliff and stuck a Seal on him. It's *personal*."

Raphaela grins "It might still be a crush. Strong people tend to fall for people who crush them."

Quinlan looks wry. "Guess Oberon didn't find him his type then."

Raphaela nips a cookie "maybe instead of mecha fight we should be organising candlelit dinner." she grins "I am so dead if this ever reaches Cyn."

Quinlan raises one hand, grinning. "Scout's honor."

Raphaela grins "Better be or I'll have to temper with selfdestruct button in your mecha."

Quinlan shakes his head quickly. "No really. I think Cyndre really wants a crack at this guy. Again. She made a special blade and everything."

Raphaela chuckles. "Then maybe we should just devise a strategy to pin him down for her."

Quinlan nods. "How soon do you think this thing will be ready to test?" he asks, gesturing around at the models and blueprints.

Raphaela grins "Depends. How quickly we can contract a shadow to build them in."

Quinlan shrugs. "Money's not a problem. One of the benefits of being of the Family. Just need the technical details of the Shadow you want, and off we go."

Raphaela grins "Very well. I'll make specs within week ready."

Quinlan grins back, rubbing his hands together. "Is it wrong to really be looking forward to this? It feels almost Dirkish."

Raphaela chuckles "Well. I can't say I look forward to hunting a Hunter. But...testing will be fun."

Quinlan smiles. "Well. It's actually easy to hunt the hunter, if you stand in the role of prey. Just stand still, and he comes to you. It's surviving what happens next that we're working on."

Merrisol strolls back over, stacks a stack of books on another stack of books, and sits. "Ever tried testing the Hunter's ability to see through illusion?" he wonders.

Raphaela grins "Actually, the easiest moment to strike a hunter...is when it strikes the prey." she looks at Fuffy then back at quin.

Quinlan shrugs at Merrisol. "My illusions aren't hard to see through, Merri. Even for people that're nowhere near elder gods."

Merrisol nods to Raphaela's point. "I wonder, though. Have you ever been to one of those Carnival features, with the glass and mirrors all at different angles. You're doing pretty good for a while, seeing what's glass, what's open air, and then you turn a corner and -smacko-." He socks a fist into an open palm for the same sound effect.

Quinlan blinks. "I haven't seen one of those," he says. "I really need to make a point of going to find one."

Raphaela grins widely and points at Merri "FUFFY! You've been to my mirror tent!" she laughs. She can recognize personal experience when she sees one.
Soon, Raph is summoned away by butler. But later she measures them. Probably making them embaressed in process. Because, hey. You should savor it.

"I'm.. not speaking from experience or anything." Merrisol eyes Raphaela, trying not to smile. He relents. "..Turns out I can be near mirrors after all. As long as I'm wearing a full masque." He clears his throat. "At any rate.. that kind of stunt might not be something a Hunter would appreciate.. or anticipate. Imagine plowing through a whole bunch of illusory mechanicals, and then suddenly, the next one in line throws a punch that actually connects."

Raphaela nods "Gods don't do cheap tricks. We should prepare traps and go full out. Smoke screen is so lame nobody expects it. It's most effective thing out there."