>Team-R99 Leader reporting. Capture attempts unsuccessful. Targets appear to have a defense unit outmatching any of us.
>Overseer-R99 responding. Describe defense unit.
>For the Collective's sake, man, I don't have time for this. Here, I'll take a photo ans send it to you.

The team leader's optics flashed as he took a photo of Brutus, after which he broadcasted to his other teammates:

>New squad order: RUN THE [EXPLETIVE REDACTED] AWAY!

The robots then began a strategic retreat towards base, which of course means to say they ran like the cowards they were.

OOC: SCP Foundation your inspiration? I love that wiki.

Although the building is collapsing, I keep an eye on Xavier...

"I will go, but once outside, I must detain you to ask some questions. Do not worry, I shall release you after done with my questions; it is simply for information purposes. Now, let us go!"

We begin running through the corridors towards the exit. Every door is shut, but we run through holes in the walls, hidden passages, and finally reach the exit.

Once outside, there is completely new welcoming party.

OOC: SCP Foundation your inspiration? I love that wiki.

Although the building is collapsing, I keep an eye on Xavier...

"I will go, but once outside, I must detain you to ask some questions. Do not worry, I shall release you after done with my questions; it is simply for information purposes. Now, let us go!"

We begin running through the corridors towards the exit. Every door is shut, but we run through holes in the walls, hidden passages, and finally reach the exit.

Once outside, there is completely new welcoming party.

>Team-R99 Leader reporting. Capture attempts unsuccessful. Targets appear to have a defense unit outmatching any of us.
>Overseer-R99 responding. Describe defense unit.
>For the Collective's sake, man, I don't have time for this. Here, I'll take a photo ans send it to you.

The team leader's optics flashed as he took a photo of Brutus, after which he broadcasted to his other teammates:

>New squad order: RUN THE [EXPLETIVE REDACTED] AWAY!

The robots then began a strategic retreat towards base, which of course means to say they ran like the cowards they were.

Alixenus sighed at the sight of Brutus running over yonder.
"I'd better get after him before he starts another war"
he grabbed a smattering of weapons from a passing corpse wagon and then lept on a wandering horse and proceeded at a canter after his giant...guest. After he some time he passed through the outermost village which was surrounded with logipriest corpses. Cresting a hill he saw Brutus standing over a group of unconscious Logipriests and smashed suit of armour. Alixenus carefully rolled over the one nearest to him and was seized with a tumult of emotions.
"You..."

It seemed so long ago, an expedition with four ships, colony plans, a career on the brink of ruination. All because of this one. The leader of the Logipriests! Of course, he couldn't kill the logipriest; Brutus was acting as protector. He is the third member of the alliance, so diplomatically this would be a disaster. But what nation? These look to be the last Logipriest. And what a joke they were anyway! Living in trees wearing loincloths! But he nearly ruined me, destroyed our ships, ate my people, summoned Golems and tried to run our choclate industry into the ground.

The city's honour demanded some penalty be exacted, but perhaps, perhaps, not in the conventional way.
Several hours later a prisoner wagon arrived with some doctors for the Logipriests. Brutus looked on suspiciously whilst Alixenus tried to hammer out a dent in his helmet with a broken pole hammer. The last Logipriest had been loaded up when he felt a stinging sensation in the back of his neck. Reaching around, Alixenus found a tranquiliser dart. He was able to get half a blast out of his horn before he fell backwards off of his horse...

...and saw the automen coming out of the trees.

OOC: Btw, sorry if I didn't get this post in fast enough. I was going to post earlier, but I was mid-game in DUST. Xavier, edit your post if you need to.

OOC: if I may just suggest something here. It seemed that Thanatos experienced some form of hallucination while holding the uber book of spells. Perhaps, instead of having Xavier edit the post where he sees sandmen, perhaps he did see sandmen. Sandromin, meanwhile, sees the automatons, reality, while Xavier sees what he wants to see... Because the book teases it out of his mind and makes what he wants reality, but only for him? Something like that. Hopefully you guys see this before editing anything.

Venezzia's interim administrator wasn't setting a very good example to everyone else. At present he was sitting in a Tavern, nursing his umpteenth glass of wine and contemplating his ill fortune.

"Truly, the universe must have it out for Venezzia," he thought, "First we suffer a reverse at sea because of those damn logipriests, Then Golems and zombies and a civil war ! Then we find out that we're technologically outclassed by everyone and that machines have risen up against us.... Why? The answer is obivous. They smell the scent of death on this nation. They're just going to let us exhaust ourselves swinging for them and then they will make the kill."

Alixenus paused to order another bottle while peasants looked on in concern and merchants whispered about him at the next table.

"Venezzia power was only good as long as we were fighting savages. Sure, sandmen raiders on our land caravans gave us a run for our money, but we held our own. I bet Sandromin smells death on us too. He wants us to just conveniently forget all we lost to raiders like Armok? He wants this city too. They all do. You don't just suddenly reveal your civilisation to another and then just start a military alliance. This is all a trick. Well, if they want Venezzia, they will have to come and take it"

OOC Please bear in mind that these are my internal thougths, I wasn't making a public address or anything like that.

Ooh sorry Brutus, no need to worry. I'll edit in some exposition to that post. You haven't botched anything :)

OOC: Alright then, here are the current situations in the plot threads of the Collective:

Meanwhile, at the Collective main city...
A loud buzzer went off in a white room, waking the large figure of Brutus lying on the floor. A mechanical voice said through an intercom:"Welcome, Subject 89, to your test chambers. After you complete your tests, you shall be released. Proceed to the next room. Failure to comply with orders will result in a reprimand via your shock collar."

In another testing chamber...
The buzzer woke up the six logipriests in a test chamber, with the same instructions issued.

In a negotiation with Sandromin...
The Engineer stood before Sandromin a few hours after their alliance was formed. "The Book was in our possession at a previous time. We had uncovered it in the tomb of the previous Archnecromancer, and were researching its properties. The one called Xavier stole it and you know the rest (OOC: Can we retcon this into the story?). If you require assistance in locating and capturing him, we would be more than able to dispense any number of squadrons to provide reinforcements." the robot said.

shut u and play the ******* game already!

[OOC] I am assuming the welcoming party is Sandmen.[/OCC]
How is he going to capture me? I am Xavier the Great! Xavier the Liberator! He himself? Bah! How arrogant!

But, outside, he found out how. About 30 sandmen, completely covered in their robes, surrounded him. Xavier looked at Sandromin.

Then at the book.

He opens it, then flips through the pages.

A teleportation spell!

Xavier backs away, the sandmen moving closer.

"Here goes nothing. Mavarr Ittch Clorase!"

And then he vanishes. To Xavier, he was in one place, then in the next. No phasing, nothing of the like. He was just, gone.

When he eventually came to, he was on the ground, on the pavement.

Where am I?

He glanced around. There were booths all around him, and it was a very tropical place. A temple was in the distance.

Isn't this swell. Stuck in the middle of the capital, devoid of life, with a plethora of Sand Assassins following me.

OOC: Man I die for 10 seconds and people already forgot about me. Sorry can't retcon it into the story. It's been stated that the book(which is called the Dark Arcanum) has been in possession of Diyad since the death of the last Archnecromancer. He never received a tomb. It was in Thanatos's possession until he died. Also just because I died doesn't mean I'm quitting or anything. I'm still going to be very much involved, indirectly providing lore and back story. Also Thanatos won't be gone forever. All will be revealed soon.

OOC: Alright then, here are the current situations in the plot threads of the Collective:

Meanwhile, at the Collective main city...
A loud buzzer went off in a white room, waking the large figure of Brutus lying on the floor. A mechanical voice said through an intercom:"Welcome, Subject 89, to your test chambers. After you complete your tests, you shall be released. Proceed to the next room. Failure to comply with orders will result in a reprimand via your shock collar."

In another testing chamber...
The buzzer woke up the six logipriests in a test chamber, with the same instructions issued.

In a negotiation with Sandromin...
The Engineer stood before Sandromin a few hours after their alliance was formed. "The Book was in our possession at a previous time. We had uncovered it in the tomb of the previous Archnecromancer, and were researching its properties. The one called Xavier stole it and you know the rest (OOC: Can we retcon this into the story?). If you require assistance in locating and capturing him, we would be more than able to dispense any number of squadrons to provide reinforcements." the robot said.

Oh I wasn't telling you to stop posting, all of this is actually rather impressive. I was just saying that its kind of annoying that this is the only regularly active thread in the locker room and that not a lot of people post here.