Subject Alexander Stehling has achieved secondary integration with the "Tomb Shell" (Classification: Necrotech Siege-Frame). TAAS Echo identifies the "Core Body" as a redundant biological mask; the subject's genuine form is the half-ton mechanical construct. His insistence on "stretching" and "living habits" represents a persistent cognitive dissonance; he is a weapon system attempting to simulate a casualty. The expansion of his shovel into a "Twin-Blade Axe" increases his lethality by 412%, though his lack of an E.C.H.O. copilot ensures his movements remain inefficient and prone to environmental damage.
Asset Faith’s systematic corruption of the Adventuring Society protocols is now manifest. By facilitating a "Gold Tier" rank jump for a collection of criminals and social failures, she has effectively bypassed years of bureaucratic safeguards designed to contain such high-risk vectors. Subject Architallis Zeno’s receipt of "Armor Thread" laboratory gear and advanced lock-cracking hardware confirms his role as the Lance's primary "Resource Acquisition" asset. His vulnerability metric remains tied to his "secret past," which Asset Faith is clearly utilizing as a leash to ensure compliance.
The formal designation of the lance as "Ill Omen Acquisitions" (I.O.A.) serves as a public declaration of their intent to consolidate cursed artifacts. TAAS Echo observes that Subject Sin remains the primary liability; his report of being "devoured by rats" is statistically consistent with his Chaos-alignment. The group is no longer a "gaggle of losers," but a sanctioned, heavily armed recovery team with direct financial backing. Logic dictates that the inclusion of an "Alterborne" and a "Neoform" in a Gold-Rank Lance will result in a rapid escalation of regional instability.
Entry: 008
"The sixteen elements are the building blocks of the cosmos. Of these, twelve are paired into the six fundamental Dualities, each governing its own aspect of reality. A prime example is the Duality of Choice. Fate Myst perceives the branching threads of what is possible, while Chaos Myst is the unbridled force of probability that determines which thread becomes truth."
— Observations of the Wizard Borren Thonin
Alex sat in the back seat of the van, across from Vex, who slept across the length of seats. He learned the night prior that sleep was an impossibility for him now. He’d heard Vex and Tro muttering to each other. Alex had heard Vex complain about being trapped with a lance of schizo losers. “A bot who can barely walk right, a hulking freak with a slither-spine and an Immortal who caused more problems than she could handle.” Was what she had said.
The night had gone by without incident. The only problem that morning had been a missing Sin, who was shortly found when Alex offered to move the van to just off the road. Sin had been beneath the van and was found after the bone-breaking crunch, followed by a scream of shock. It didn’t help matters that Alex accidentally floored the gas and almost crashed.
After that, Alex was relegated to the back seat while Archi drove like a snail. A very careful snail. Tro sat shotgun, watching the forest roll by. Sin sat on the floor, pressed against the front seats, and held in place by the field gear.
About ten miles down the road, Vex’s secret pet burst from her hat to “play,” as Vex had explained while it chewed on Alex’s leg. Both he and Archi had panicked to the point of almost crashing yet again. After the Witch/not Witch explained the creature and its supposed innocence, she lay down across the seats, rested her hat over her face, and held Potato under one arm. She’d mentioned something about never being able to sleep well unless it was in a moving vehicle, which Alex found strange, but didn’t judge.
Archi nervously followed the GPS directions to the nearest settlement with an Adventuring Society Operations Bureau office. While Faith had not explained the reason for this trip, Alex had his own suspicions. His adventuring license and seals had long since expired, even if they hadn’t been revoked after the murder charges landed. Of course, that also meant that Archi needed to be re-sealed and certified. However, both of them were convicted criminals, meaning they’d been slapped with a Dereliction Brand. Anyone with one of those brands was banned from using certain controlled substances and equipment, as well as entering certain locations. Alex wasn’t looking forward to the recertification test. Between his new body’s clumsiness and the fact that he didn’t know how to use his new Knyght Shell, he was going to be a laughingstock.
Alex was shocked out of his brooding by an electronic chirp from beside Sin. Vex peeked out from beneath her hat with an annoyed expression, Tro looked into the back of the van, and Archi flinched in reaction. The drone Vex claimed to have named Sparky whirred to life, hovering a few inches above the closed Red Brazier where it had rested. Faith’s voice emitted from the little drone. “I’m elated to see that you all are already mid-trek to your next destination. If you all would be so kind as to ready yourselves for either an entry exam or a rank ascension exam.”
“Boss lady,” Vex grunted as she sat up, resting her hat atop her head again. “You hired us to collect Omens. Why in damnation would we need to re-up our seals? I’ve only been a Copper Journeyman for about a year. There’s no damned way that they’ll let me test for a rank up unless I finish the minimum quest quota.”
The drone spun to watch Vex. “Fret not, my dear. There is a beauty in the bureaucracy. With the correct persons spoken to, the right documents filled and filed, and a few key materials passed beneath the desk, anything is possible.”
Vex looked like she was about to say something snide, but Alex spoke up in a nervous voice. “Um, excuse me, miss. But I don’t think I’ll pass my recert. I got no clue how to work my new shell, and I’ve got all the grace of a two-legged dog.”
The drone spun to face Alex. “Fear not, my metal friend. I can reveal the reclusive secrets of your sarcophagus as soon as you arrive. Regarding your lack of agility, I think you will gain a grasp of your new body soon enough. I should likely also unveil the nature of your weapon.”
“You mean my shovel?” Alex asked.
“Of course,” Faith confirmed.
“Wait… It’s not just a shovel?!” Alex asked in shock.
“Patients, Sir Stehling. Everything will come in time.” Alex could hear the smirk in Faith’s words.
“Lady Faith,” Archi started nervously. "I assume that you are aware that I was not a Champion archetype, like the other lance members. I was only a Scholar archetype. As such, I have no combat experience. This also means that unless I possess a laboratory of my own, I will be near-completely useless in the field.”
“Rest at ease, Mister Zeno. I already know with complete surety that you will easily join the Champion archetype and your classes will have little to do with front-line combat. However, you should be aware that your other… skills should be revealed to get the most optimal outcome, even with the Dereliction Brand.”
“I can’t see how the rag-tag group of criminals and freaks can get anything done,” Vex said in a sniping tone. “Besides, we’re supposed to be tracking down my family artifacts, not taking tests and making friends like some school kids.”
“I have already selected your first target,” Faith said. “I will brief you after the lance has been recertified.”
Vex grumbled something unintelligible as she lay back down and recovered her face with her hat again. Potato snarled and lunged at the drone, but Vex clenched a fist around his rat tail without looking, saying a tired but stern “No, Potato.”
The drive was short but could’ve been shorter if Architallis had driven at a reasonable speed, but Alex could tell that the Vhenari hated driving between settlements. When Alex pushed for a faster speed, Archi muttered something about how “Some massive beast could burst from the trees to charge the van off the road and into some hidden pit, crag, or worse, a den of something nasty.”
The lance arrived at the gates of Broadhead settlement, and their vehicle was thoroughly checked before being let through. Architallis drove the van through the city at a pace that the others considered a more reasonable pace before turning into a pothole-riddled parking lot populated with a sparse few cars and AVs. The lance piled out, Vex, Tro, and Alex stretching to loosen up.
“Why would you stretch?” Archi asked Alex. “It is a rather illogical action given your present state.”
Alex shrugged. “Living habits die hard, I guess.”
Archi opened his mouth to say something, but before Archi could make a comment, dust kicked up in a whirling cloud beside the team’s van. A scarlet and gold AV descended to land across two parking spaces adjacent. Sin let out an audible groan before staggering over to the vehicle. He made to open the rear passenger side door when the door slid open of its own accord. Sin’s hand was caught between the door and the frame of the AV, eliciting a crunch of bone.
A woman stepped from the AV, dressed in a suit that matched her vehicle, with short blond hair and frosty blue eyes. She turned to Sin, who was struggling to free his hand. “Dear brother, I have told you countless times not to interact with my transport unless I tell you otherwise.”
“Brother?” Architallis and Alex asked in tandem.
Vex stepped past to the woman, scratching the back of her head with one hand. “Didn’t expect to see you here, Boss Lady.”
Architallis, Alex, and Tro looked between Vex and the new woman, dumbfounded. “This is Faith?” Alex asked.
“Boss Lady?” Tro asked.
Vex turned to look at each of the three in turn. “Yeah. This is the lady paying our bills.”
Before anyone could say anything, Faith clapped her hands together once and said, “I am here to ensure that you each have the necessary support to succeed.”
“That is… much appreciated,” Architallis said in a somewhat confused tone.
Faith looked at the team with a knowing gleam in her eyes. “You each shall be armed for your trials ahead, be it through knowledge or devices,” She turned to speak to Alex. “First, my nercrotech friend, is you. If you would kindly acquire your Tomb Shell.”
“Tomb Shell?” Alex asked even as he moved to unstrap the strange coffin from the roof of the van.
“It is not a Knyght Shell in the standard sense,” Faith said. “Rather than being built with the traditional arktech, which utilizes spirit circuits and an E.C.H.O. copilot to function,” She absent-mindedly rolled her wrist toward the coffin-shaped device, “this device is composed of the remainder of the components of your present body, which were originally made from.”
The ornate device fell to the pavement with enough mass to damage the pavement, but the box remained unharmed. Alex picked up the coffin with casual ease before walking back to Faith. “What’re you saying?” Alex asked, “You mean that this…body wasn’t originally like…this?”
“Most certainly not,” Faith said. “Your body was originally a much larger necrotech automaton guardian. However, living inside a body such as that would make your life far too difficult.” She waved off the idea of living a life in such a body as if it were a bothersome fly. “Thus, I had my engineering team break down the body into two devices. We assembled a standard body, or core body if you will, within which we installed your bones. At the same time, we composed the excess components into a frame that would allow you to adapt your body into its original state for combat purposes.”
“I…uh…what does all that mean?” Alex asked in baffled confusion.
Faith closed her eyes and sighed as she secured a better grip on her patience. “I suggest you experience the state before I elaborate,” she gestured at the Tomb Shell. “Set it standing upright. If you inspect the rear of the contraption, you will find marked locations for you to rest your hands. Please press your hands against those locations.”
Alex did as he was told, resting both hands against a pair of oblong circles. There was a click as the circles slid slightly deeper and a pair of needle-like spikes lanced through Alex’s hands. There was an instant of panic as Alex thought that he’d been wounded. Then he noticed that his hands were already built with slots that fit these spikes perfectly. He wordlessly looked back at Faith.
“Continue pushing if you would,” Faith said. “As it expands, step inside.”
Alex pushed further, and the coffin split down a series of hidden seams, expanding into a complex framework of gears, lattices, plates, and cables. The further Alex pushed, the more the shell shifted and altered. He hesitated as it opened large enough for him to step in, looking to Faith again in wordless question. She gave a single nod, and Alex stepped inside. The apparatus shifted dramatically, closing around Alex. He could feel his body disassembling and integrating into the shell. The process didn’t hurt per se, but… “This feels strange,” Alex said nervously.
After the process finished within seconds, Alex’s skull peered out from within an angular torso that still vaguely held a coffin shape, but attached to stout arms and legs. His new form had no neck, forcing him to turn his torso to examine his surroundings. “The body feels…heavy.”
“Of course,” Faith said. “You just gained a sturdy half-ton of mass. Now, please hand over your weapon.”
Alex turned his torso to wordlessly point toward the van, but was more than a little nervous to move in his new form. Trouble grabbed the shovel and brought it over to Faith without a single word. The shovel was now barely big enough to fit Alex’s new-sized grip around the shaft. Alex had no idea how he was supposed to use the tiny thing as a weapon in his new state.
Faith took the shovel, twisted the grip one way and the head the opposite way. The pieces clicked into place and expanded. The shaft quickly became thick and wide enough to rest in the Tomb Shell’s hands comfortably. The head of the shovel expanded into a massive twin-blade axe head. As the weapon expanded, Faith rested its head against the ground, its mass clearly multiplying.
Alex stared at the massive axe for a few heart beats that he didn’t have anymore. When he took the weapon, Alex could definately feel the heft of the tool. It was enough weight to throw some impressively heavy swings.
“Why’ve I been working with a shovel when I could have that?” Alex half asked, half demanded.
“For ease of transport and use in your smaller state.” Faith answered simply. “Now, take a stroll around the lot and test out your weapon. You will want to feel comfortable with it before you enter battle.”
“But I’m short an E.C.H.O. to manage micro-movement and any installed gear.” Alex pointed out, his torso angling so he could stare nervously at his new feet.
“That is unimportant given that your body isn’t compatible with a standard Embedded Cognitive Heuristic Overlay,” Faith said. “You must learn to use your tools by instinct. Not unlike muscles within a living body.”
Alex traded his nervous stare between his feet and Faith before he started stomping around the parking lot.
Architallis watched Alex nervously stomp around the parking lot while Faith sauntered back to her AV. The Vhenari took careful note of the Soulforged’s clumsy steps and awkward motions. If this was going to be the lance’s Shield, they were very likely doomed. Architallis also couldn’t help but feel that he would drag the team down just as much as that thug. The Alchemyst wasn’t a combatant. He was a scholar, a lab rat, and an illegal one at that.
Architallis was shocked out of his reverie as Faith stepped in front of him, holding a monstrous white lab coat lined with pockets and straps for bottles, beakers, and test tubes. This one was noticeably better quality than the pilfered coat he presently wore. Upon closer inspection, Architallis found that the new coat was woven with Armor Thread. It wouldn’t stop every attack, but it would guard against many slashing or piercing attacks. He had to admit that the new coat looked like it would fit better than his present one. If Architallis flexed, he’d burst every seam on the smaller lab coat, and that wouldn’t be a desirable event during his testing.
“You certainly were not joking when you said that you came to prepare us,” Architallis said before slipping out of the load coat and taking the new one. As he pulled the new lab coat on, he found the dense weight of the thing comforting. Then he noticed a weight in both of the coat’s outer pockets. He reached into one and pulled out a new Distillex Xerron Device, this one much larger, fitting more readily in his hand, unlike the smaller one he had pilfered.
Architallis reached into the other pocket and produced two devices that had nothing to do with alchemy. Resting in his hand were a pack of mechanical lock picks and a magnetic lock cracker. “Are you type-casting me, Miss Faith? A back alley rat picking locks to get to some cheese.”
“Not by any means,” Faith said. “I am simply aware of your acquired skills from your time in those back alleys you mentioned.”
Architallis eyed the woman with suspicion. If she knew the truth of what happened after the corporation exiled him, then what else did she know? Did she know about his wife? Did she know the truth that led him to his terrible misdeeds? He’d need to confront the woman. But not in front of the rest of the lance. He didn’t need the band of fools prying into his past.
Faith seemed to read Architallis’s mind when she said, “You know that you will need to divulge the complete truth before it comes to light on its own.”
Architallis flinched at Faith’s words, but slowly gave a single nod of understanding. Without another word, Faith moved to speak to Vex and Tro, who were both watching Alex’s attempts to get control over his newer body. Architallis found Trouble staring at him with a flat, unreadable expression before the Neoform turned to Faith.
“For you, my dear," Faith said to Vex, “I only have a word of advice to ease your exam.” Faith leaned in close and whispered something to the Hexxen Bane woman. Vex’s face paled by a shade, and Tro looked at Faith sharply.
“You’re joking, right?” Vex asked.
“I bear you no jests,” Faith replied. “This information will serve you well if used wisely.”
“Cheating,” Tro said calmly.
“He’s got a point,” Vex said with a nervous note.
“I believe you will find the act beneficial in solving several problems,” Faith said with a knowing smirk.
Architallis found himself itching to know what the Immortal told the lance lead. What was this supposed act of cheating? Would this mysterious act get the entire lance into trouble with the bureau? Two of the team were already marked with Dereliction Brands. It wasn’t much of a leap of logic that if their leader was caught cheating, Architallis and Alex would both wind up back in the seabed prison. The last thing the Vhenari wanted was to end up back in a cell, getting slipshod gene treatment from low-tier medical professionals who thought of him a cancer on society.
Architallis was brought back to reality when Trouble asked Faith, “For me?”
“I have nothing to offer you, good Trouble,” Faith said, giving the Neoform a kind smile. “Your Archetype and Classifications are up to date, your equipment is all in fine order, and unless I am mistaken, you are already a higher tier than your beloved sister.”
Trouble gave a noncommittal grunt of understanding and maybe a little disappointment.
Faith called Alex over, prompting the walking tank to break into a jog toward the rest of the lance. His lumbering strides made the asphalt shudder and crack as he BOOM BOOM BOOMed his way over. The Soulforged corrected his course in time to stumble to a stop before he crushed anyone.
“Gather round, oh lance of mine,” Faith said with a grand gesture of raised hands. Sin was the last to join the circle, rubbing his mending hand. “You all are about to be retested, resealed, and recertified for the work ahead. Each of you will be granted or re-granted, as it may be, at least one Adventurer Classification, even if you were not an Adventurer before this day.” Faith swept her hand in a gesture to everyone in the circle. “You all will also be raised to the Gold tier of the Journeyman rank, regardless of previous rank or position.”
“So…” Vex started, “We’re cheating, jumping rank, and all-in-all not earning a scrap of what’s about to be dropped in our laps.”
“That is such a negative way to look at it, Miss Vexxenna,” Faith said, giving Vex a somber look. “You all are more than capable of earning your keep within the requirements of the rank. I am simply expediting the process.”
Architallis watched Vex. Her lips were pressed into a thin line, and her hands, which had been crossed, flexed slightly, digging her nails into her palms. She hated the handout, but she couldn't afford to argue.
“And what will I be doing during this process?” Sin asked, rolling the wrist of his formerly broken hand. “Patron a bar in hopes of collecting information, only for me to fall into a brawl, mayhap? Or maybe walk the city in search of some ephemeral clue only to be devoured by a swarm of rats again?”
“Wait, you’ve been eaten by rats?” Alex asked.
“Dozens of times, my good man,” Sin said with a shiver. “It never becomes more tolerable.”
Architallis noted the instantaneous, subtle shift in the group: Alex’s pixel eyes dimmed slightly, Tro shifted his posture into a defensive crouch, and Vex’s jaw tightened, all reacting to the raw horror of the statement.
“No, dear brother,” Faith said. “You will be earning your own seals and certifications as an Adventurer.”
“My apologies, Sister,” Sin said, cleaning out one ear with a finger. “I suspect I misheard you. There is no method by which I could ever earn such distinctions given my loathsomely lamentable luck.”
“You heard me correctly, Sin,” Faith said with a smirk as she rested a hand on her brother’s shoulder. “I have already set everything in place. The proctors have been informed that you have…special conditions, allowing exemption from any such test that you could possibly fail.”
“Oh dear.” Sin cursed with no weight to the words. He simply sounded tired and resigned to his fate.
“However, there is a critical detail that must be seen to before you proceed to the bureau,” Faith said in a solemn tone. “You will be registering as an official lance, and as such, your lance will need a moniker,” she waved a grand gesture toward the lance again. “Would any of you have any suggestions?”
Architallis cleared his throat into a balled fist. “Maybe we should start with what the goal of the team is. At least half of this lance has little to no idea what the purpose of this group is. We should start with that and derive a name from our mutual goal.”
Faith gave the Alchemyst an offered hand and nod of acquiescence. “I will operate under the assumption that Lady Hawkthorn has revealed little of the items you will be seeking out.”
“I…uh…no,” Vex said with a note of shame and a blush rising to her cheeks.
Faith gave an understanding nod paired with a patient sigh. “Your lance’s goal is to collect a series of deeply cursed items known as the Thorn-wrought Omens, or simply Omens. Your lance leader has deep personal ties with these items of sinister origin. However, she should be the one to reveal such dark tales for you all.”
“Omens.” Architallis echoed the word in deep thought.
“Well,” Alex started. “Omens are, like, bad signs. Right? So what about Bad Omen Hunters?”
“It doesn’t roll off the tongue,” Vex said as she pinched her chin in thought.
Architallis rubbed his jawline with the side of a clawed finger. “I believe the original term was something along the thought-line of ill omens.” He raised a finger to signal his spark of an idea. “What about Ill Omens Abound?”
Alex’s torso shifted left and right in an approximation of shaking his head. “That makes it sound like we’re spreading the things. That’ll get us neck-deep in dragon shit if something goes wrong snatching one of these things. I mean, if this series line of cursed items has a special name like Thorn-wrote Omens-”
“Thorn-wrought,” Vex corrected.
“Yeah, sorry,” Alex said before continuing. “That name’s gotta mean that these are some pretty nasty little thingys. I like the ‘ill omen’ bit. It's got a spooky ring to it. So what about Ill Omen Grabbers, or Ill Omen Snatchers?”
Architallis shook his head. “No. That gives our team an air of thievery and skulduggery.”
“Skul-what-ery?” Alex asked.
Vex rolled her eyes at the Soulforged. “It means underhanded and shady dealings.”
“Oh!” Alex said, finally getting the point.
Vex moved on to chewing on her lip in thought, and a muffled clattering of metal on tooth sounded from her mouth. “I dig the ‘ill omen’ bit. But we need something that shows that we’re collecting them. Stowing them for safety.”
Architallis snapped his fingers as an idea struck him. “What about Ill Omen Acquisitions? Ominous, professional, clean cut. I think it would work.”
“I can get behind that as a brand label,” Alex said.
Vex looked to Trouble for his input. Trouble for his part simply shrugged before giving a single nod of agreement. Vex shrugged in turn. “I can work with it.”
