Tinkerer (open)

[Riddler]

Characters Appearing: Riddler/(open)
Location (s): Shopping District
Previous Thread Name.: Dust Covered Pages
Plot Summary.: With the engineer in him itching to create some new minions to protect and maintain his new home in the Arcane Library, Edward heads off to the market to find some building materials and encounters a fascinating stranger.

[Riddler]

Edward would be lying if he said he wasn't impressed. Clutching the strap of his satchel he looked up at the large sprawling city before him. He almost likened the city to Metropolis in its cleanliness and sunny beauty. According to what he had read, this was the cultural and technological hub in this world, and by the look of it, this city was everything the books had promised, and more. He walked briskly through the streets. It was so much more populated than his secluded desert home. As he walked through the city streets he realized just how diverse the locals were, that is if they were locals at all. It seemed as though all manner of refugees were sprawled about the city. Everything from alien-looking creatures to creatures that seemed almost too human.

Ah ha! The shopping district! If there was a place to find the materials to build a few Riddlerbots, this place was it. His new desert home was nice, sure. But he felt it lacked security. Not to mention that the large everchanging library was nearly impossible to maintain between himself and his new housemate alone. I'm sure she wouldn't object to the extra help. It was a unique experience, living with another person. He had lived alone for so long he had forgotten what it felt like to not be alone.

Coming to stop in front of one of the many kiosks in the market he grinned as he eyed some of the merchandise. Gears, wires, and metals bits galore! Placing his hand under his chin he quietly muddled over what he needed, so deeply in though the world around him seemed to become a second thought.

[Deleted]

It had been maybe a day or two since the young female had arrived to this strange world. Like many there, she had been dragged away from her home by happenstance. One moment, she was patrolling part of Avalon with her beloved, having separated to check one sector while Gabriel had scouted the opposite side and the next…She was no longer on Avalon.

Initially, the female gargoyle had expected some trickery resulting from those who opposed Oberon, like the Weird Sisters, a trick that had sent her to a human settlement instead. But, she had quickly discovered this was no the case when she had arrived to Median City. She had seen enough humans to know something was off with this place. There were creatures or individuals she had never seen before, and others who looked like the Fae. Some of the individuals made her look…normal in fact. And another thing Ophelia realized was that it was day time out, a time she should be stuck in stone sleep. But, her internal clock was still stuck on the strange time the island of Avalon ran on, making for a rare opportunity where she could operate in the day. More so without concern of others being scared of her seeming as she was hardly the strangest creature roaming the city streets.

After a day of observing the city, Ophelia finally climbed her way down the building she had been perched on, carefully hopping down into the nearby alleyway as she clasped her wings over her shoulders to form a cape of sorts draping from her back. With a soft breath, the female warrior slowly stepped into the light, savoring the warmth that touched her stony skin. She rarely got to feel the warmth of the sun, if ever. It was nice while she still had time, until her internal clocked was able to adjust itself to the strange world she found herself in. What was even nicer was the fact very few shot her any looks of fear or shock. So, she held her head high and began to stroll through the streets of the market place, taking in everything with her sight, scent, and hearing, listening for snippets of information here and there as she peered at the booths, shops, and kiosks, until she found her eyes focusing on one in particular.

As a blacksmith, Ophelia was hardly one to resist the chance of looking at metal wares. Who knows, maybe she could find such a place until she could figure out how to get home. Interest piqued, the female gargoyle nudged her way through the crowded street until she came to the same kiosk where Edward stood, seeming lost in his own thoughts. Not that she paid much kind herself at first.

With a trained eye, Ophelia began eyeing the metal trinkets and objects, her mind already racing to how she could make use of them, her tail swaying in thought behind her. “I haven’t seen this much variety of metal work in a long time.” She remarked out loud, carefully picking up a small brass gear to examine out of curiosity.

[Riddler]

A voice snapped Edward out of his thought, glancing to the side he noticed a peculiar-looking woman gazing at the various metals at the kiosk. The owner of said kiosk rose a tentacled arm as he rattled off in a language Edward couldn't quite understand. His gaze wandered back to the woman. There seemed to be a strangely gothic look about her. Something about the chiseled look of her face almost reminded him of the gargoyles that decorated Gotham. Given the unique population of this world, it was difficult to gauge whether or not this woman was a local or snatched from her original world as he was.

"Neither have I. I must say, given the state of this world it is rather technologically advanced." He chimed in as he took a gander at some wires that would be perfect for the creation of a few Riddlerbots. Grabbing the copper wires he inspected them closely. They appeared to be in good enough condition. "Are you from around here?" He asked as he picked up a few pieces of metal rods. Perfect for limbs and the like. If only I had something to make a power core out of. Pressing his lips into a thin line. Not to mention I need to find a way to make an ample power source.

"I'd go with the cast iron gears if I were you." He advised as he eyed the brass gear in her hand. "It's much tougher than brass. Makes for a good foundation if you're dealing with robotics or clockwork." Reaching for a few of the cast iron gears himself. He smiled as he eyed the items. It almost felt as if he were transported back in time to being a young teenager again, fiddling away in the scrapyards and junkyards of Gotham. Somehow managing to make something out of nothing.

"Seeing as how you gravitated here same as I, I take it you're a bit of a tinkerer too?" He asked as his hand traced over some of the sharper bits of metal. If he wanted to protect his new home, arming his Riddlerbots with blades wouldn't hurt. He had always been fond of the concept of daggers for limbs. Quietly he grabbed some.

"How much is this?" He asked the owner of the kiosk. He fully didn't intend to pay, he couldn't. He hardly knew the language let alone the currency. The tentacle-armed humanoid rattled off once again. Leaning close to the woman he whispered.

"I suggest grabbing what you want and running." He warned as he reached into his satchel. It was much, but he had had just enough materials to make one perfectly crafted smoke bomb. Nodding along to the owner's incomprehensible words he smiled as he pulled the pin and dropped the canister. The can hissed as a thick grey smoke consumed the surrounding area. Turning on his heel he made a mad dash for the crowd, no doubt with that tentacled imbecile in pursuit. It was almost like being back in the early days of his villainy, running around Gotham setting up puzzles and death traps here or there. On one hand, he hated being reduced to this once again. On the other, there was something about the chase that made him feel oddly. . . alive.

[Deleted]

When the man spoke to her, Ophelia was drawn from her thoughts as she placed the gear back where it had been. “More advanced than I am use to.” The female gargoyle agreed. And to be honest, it certainly was more like New York City as Goliath, Eliza, and her friend Angela described, if not more so. It was a large, sprawling wonder for someone like Ophelia, someone who was use to the more primitive means of living and being among magic. “But no, I just arrived here through a strange portal. This place is…different than what I have know .” She admitted as she gave the man a side eyed look, letting her eyes then shift to the iron gears.

She merely shook her head, “And I’m just looking really, not exactly building anything.” Besides, she didn’t understand a single word of what the shop keeper was saying. His words sounded like a garbled mess, making her avoid eye contact as to not make things awkward. The likeliest reaction he would get is a blank stare or forced nod and grin, because it sounded like gibberish to her. So she was more than satisfied to browse, paying little mind to what the human next to her plucked from the booth for the time being.

Until he inquired further about her, “I suppose it depends on your definition of tinkering.” Ophelia answered, briefly picking up small steel blades, examining them closely as she would any of her metalworks. “I was a blacksmith where I came from, more of a crafter of tools, weapons, certain necessary items. Contraptions to a lesser extent.” But it was certainly something she spoke of with great passion and enthusiasm. Though it had not been something she originally took to, with time she found the art of working with metal and shaping things with her own hand to be quite therapeutic and helped her focus. It allowed her to show a more creative side as well as ensure she contributed to her clan in some way other than being it’s second-in-command. Not that she thought of herself any less as a co-leader, but it gave her a great deal of satisfaction knowing she was helping the fae as well as her fellow gargoyles.

What Ophelia wasn’t expecting was to be dragged into an unexpected robbery and chase. Edward whispered to her regarding taking what she could, causing her confusion as she looked his way…just in time to see the canister he dropped. Not knowing what the man was up to, Ophelia quickly moved back into the crowd, not intent on necessarily taking anything at that time, but her vision becoming covered by a thick gray smoke that spread through much of the area. All she could hear was panic and the angered rattling voice of the ship keeper. “Can’t see a thing.” She coughed from the smoke she inhaled, launching herself towards the nearest metal wall and pulling herself upwards to get above the smoke, blinking a few times to readjust her sight. Well, not necessarily what she had in mind when exploring the city. Now where had the man gone off to…?

From her vantage point, Ophelia could make out much of her surroundings above the slightly panicked crowd, squinting her eyes until she spotted a familiar figure dashing away. “Hard to run when you got eyes from above.” She muttered, pushing off the side of the building as she unfurled her wings and soaring above to follow Edward to see exactly where he was headed off to.