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[Spider's Hideout]
Spider sat alone on his oversized throne, a faint ether mist perspired from his breathalyzer. Outside, there was the usual buzz of monitors and click of Jaws from the dregs as they marched and guarded his base.
Everything outside was tightly guarded and surveilled, but Spider's room was entirely abandoned, he'd dismissed his quarter masters and lieutenants, and now Spider was entirely alone.
His eyes drifted from one edge of the room to the other, as if he was afraid of getting spotted. A few minutes passed, but once he was sure he was alone, Spider heaved a sigh of relief.
He then gently rummaged through his pockets, and pulled out a small leather bound book. It looked old, practically ancient. Spider took a breath, the ripple in his voice betrayed his joy.
As his fat fingers delicately held its weathered pages open, he caressed the golden text inside, like it was some sort of tressure.
Then he squinted at the words, mouthed them softly.
"To be…" he muttered, then paused, chuckling low in his throat. "...or not to—heh heh…" He didn't finish. He just leaned back, eyes twinkling as he flipped the page again.
"Brevity.....soul of wit." Spider chuckled again.
But then, from the shadows, a voice slipped through. "Is that Shakespeare?"
Spider jumped so hard he nearly dropped the book. He jerked and clutched it to his chest then whipped his head toward the voice.
Viper stood behind him, barely hiding his amusement.
"GAH! You fool, ever heard of privacy?" Spider hissed, and discretely put the book back in its pouch as he fanned himself dramatically.
Viper shrugged. "Should've locked your doors."
"I did." Spider grumbled, defensively.
Viper's eyes narrowed, "Still, to think you'd be reading Shakespeare. Didn't think you had such an odd hobby."
Spider composed himself, "It's more of a surprise you know of your own texts. As far as I'm concerned, humans are often...ignorant."
"That so," Void replied dryly, as he walked around to the holotable, "As much as I regret interrupting your little book club, we have more...pressing matters."
He pushed the splicer tech scans onto the projector, and chucked the piece he'd stolen over to Spider, "Know what this is?"
Spider carefully rubbed the metallic plate Void had given him, his eyes changed a few shades as he grumbled. Then, Spider eyed the holographic designs, a frown settled on his forehead.
"Where did you get this?" He held up the plate to the ether lamp, and grabbed a telescopic monocle to examine it closely. Spider grabbed a thin scalpel like blade and deftly scratched the plate's surface, "This quality..."
"Seen it before?" Viper interrupted.
"No...no, I haven't seen this piece. But the technique they use is, unique." Spider contemplated, his thoughts seem to race, "It's a forging technique. Famous among the Eliskni, though I never thought it'd be used on, human metal."
"Why's that?" Viper pressed on, "What's so special about the technique?"
Spider shook his head, "It's not the technique that's special, it's the people who know it."
He rubbed the piece of plate with his thumb, as if reminiscing, "Only one Fallen House has ever had the technology and knowledge to craft something of this caliber."
Viper fell silent, rubbing his chin as he jogged his memory. Having played through the game for thousands of hours, he was sure he knew a lot. But Fallen Houses were difficult. Not much was known about them as a whole, and only a few ever held the spotlight.
There could be many Fallen Houses that would choose to aid the House of Devils, but Viper thought to connect the dots, he recalled the Fallen Houses connected to the Cosmodrome.
But judging Spider's reaction, Viper had somewhat pinpointed who it could be.
"The House of Kings." Viper whispered.
Spider seemed startled, his eyes seemed to widen just a little, betraying the shock he tried to suppress, "You....are well informed."
Viper nodded, then asked "From what I know, the House of Kings wasn't interested in actively participating in the war. What changed their minds?"
"That...is a mystery." Spider drummed his fingers on the armrest, "We cannot be sure. But as far as I know, if they've chosen to act, its not something simple."
"You got any leads?" Viper replied.
"Aah..." Spider leaned back in his chair as gears turned in his head, "I have something. But it'll cost you, one favor."
Viper nodded in response, "As long as I don't have to listen to you gargle Shakespeare, I'll do it."
"Tsk. Unfortunate, you've got no taste for the finer things." Spider shook his head.
"Regardless. What you're looking for is a scavenger merchant named Nulsis of the House of Winter. He's hard to catch. But there are whispers that he smuggles many things between Houses. If the Kings and Devils are working together, he is definitely involved."
"What of his location? I'll need more than rumors." Viper crossed his arms and raised a brow.
But Spider shook his head, "He is a cunning creature. Fast, and quick to hide. To track him down completely is impossible, but I'll send you a few spots he frequent." He rubbed his chin.
"Don't forget, you'll owe me one." Spider raised a finger.
Viper smirked. "I'll pay you back."
Spider leaned smugly on his throne. "In glimmer?"
"In business," Viper answered.
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[Workshop, Thieves Landing]
As six jumpships warped above the workshop, their engines flared and they hovered above the landing pads.
Pahanin, who'd been lounging on his chair heard the engines, "They actually came..."
He sighed, wiped his hands on his coat, and shuffled towards the workshops entrance, on the way there he made sure to grab a few suitcases of the weapons they'd prepared.
Pahanin heaved a long breath as he composed himself, he wasn't a big fan of meeting new people, and judging from their first interaction, the new lights might act timid with him. He wasn't sure how to approach them.
But as the doors creaked open, the six players shamelessly rushed in.
"Yo! He's clean," BearSpray whispered.
"Bro, look at that armor. That's drip," added Waffles, circling Pahanin like he was some sort of zoo parrot.
Pahanin blinked.
TheOneWhoKnocks walked forwards, rapidly crouching as he looked towards Pahanin.
"Man those neon highlights are popping." IEatPaint drooled as he also examined Pahanin's armor.
"Dude, where can I get a sword." Gandalf scuttled ahead and began jittering around the room.
Undecided laughed, "He's got the vibes I won't lie, bit of the quiet type."
As the players mused, Pahanin was deathly silent, what would he even say?
He watched as these new lights seemingly terrorized his calm workshop space, running around, jumping everywhere, not to mention this weird crouch dancing they were all doing in sync, was this some sort of intimidation ritual?
He'd completely forgotten what to say next.
Pahanin cleared his throat once, and thought it seemed to command their attention, only a few of the new lights bothered to turn towards him.
He groaned, but quietly continued, "I know you've come here to join Venom. You already know the rules. With that said, are you ready?"
Just as he said that, the new lights seemed to freeze, and suddenly they all faced him.
'So they do know how to listen' Pahanin was internally relieved.
As for the players, what they saw and heard was entirely different. A window had popped up in front of them. Though Pahanin hadn't said much, the window itself explained the basic rules, reiterating what they'd already heard from Viper.
[Faction: VENOM]
Join RequestAccept | Decline
All six hit Accept immediately.
Pahanin's wrist buzzed as the new lights seemed to send him a confirmation.
"Since you've joined," he continued, dragging the crates forward, "these are yours. Starter weapons. Try not to drool on them."
The moment the latches clicked open, the players gasped. Of course, they weren't examining the weapons themselves, but the faction information that had popped out.
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[Faction: VENOM]
Tier: 0/10 (Do quests and unlock Higher Tiers for more rewards)
Quests: Good Publicity
Rewards: 1x Starter Weapon (Pick A Weapon)
[Boomslang]
[Mamba MK1]
[Gaboon MK1]
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Waffles chuckled, "So they're offering starter weapons? This is f*cking goated."
"Damn, thought we had to grind for those. But, if they're free are they any good?" Gandalf chimed in.
"Dude, look at the stats" BearSpray added, having already picked the hand-cannon.
"What the f*ck," TheOneWhoKnocks examined the pulse rifle, "Bro isn't this crazy dps?"
"My guy, check out the shotgun," IEatPaint chuckled as he saw its passive, "This is perfect for my build."
Undecided fell somberly silent, looking at the weapons choices, he was as still as a statue, mumbling to himself before he made a choice.
Gandalf had also began doing calculations as he examined the pulse rifle, "Hmm, so if we use this on a boss..."
Seeing that all the new lights were entirely engrossed in the weapons, Pahanin felt a bit of pride.
'They're all just discussing the weapon stats, guess somethings don't change.' Pahanin chuckled to himself. He could see the new lights were a bit...special, but they held the same spark.
"Well," Waffles said, looking at her new pulse rifle, "I'm in love."
"Wait, check the quests though, might as well pick it up." BearSpray added.
They all pulled up the VENOM quest tab.
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[Quest]: Good Publicity
Complete activities with VENOM weapons equipped
* Applicable to Bounties, Events, Strikes and Missions
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"Dude, this is basically free loot," said Undecided.
"No grindy quests…Wait, can't we just pair this with any quest then?" TheOneWhoKnocks suggested.
"True, it's like a background quest. So we're just marketing for them? I like it." IEatPaint laughed.
Before Pahanin could even say another word, the six new lights looked at each other—and bolted for orbit.
"Well, I guess they're passionate." Pahanin shrugged, watching the Jumpships warp and shoot towards earth. He tapped his wrist a few times, sending Void an update on the situation.
Pahanin looked back at the workshop and the work that awaited him, he lazily stretched, "I really need to get more hands around here."
But as he walked back to the forge, his eyes fell on the Juggernaut scraps Void had brought. Then he spotted an old rusted droid frame the Fallen had left behind, and the gears began spinning in his head.
"More hands huh.." Pahanin's eyes narrowed.
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