Glayp'neir (Arc 1)

He is being moved into the middle of the group, the comforting doesn't seem to have any impact though. He feels surrounded, no way to break away if shit hits the fan anymore. He still is very unsure about how to approach this, with everyone being in such a tense mood. They enter the dining room and Jian takes a look around. It's huge, indeed, but the size reminds him of the huge residence that was found in his hometown. They had a big garden, and the rooms of the residence were similar sized to these. The room design is quite flashy though, it's western, something he hasn't seen before. His hand still holds the amulet in his pocket, he didn't let go of it. He can't put his finger on where it belongs to, but it seems familiar. Somewhere else he must've seen it before. His other hand still is gripping the blade, his face still hiding under the hood. He remains silent regardless of what is being said to him.

The group enters the dining hall, big and open like in proper castles of the old times. Two rows of 8 servants total line each side of the entrance, bowing politely as the group enters one by one. As the last person makes it in one they split off bit by bit and move into the positions they were priorly instructed to stand so that they may better serve. The last two servants close the big door behind them and join the others standing all around the table. The huge dining table has various foods ranging from simple chicken and pig to exotic meats yet undiscovered in this place. Across the table on the right side are four people: An old man, his hair white and barely there and his visage disinterested and distracted in thought as he stares across the table. A stern looking man who seems to be in his early fourties with combed back platinum blond hair and strong features, the kind of person you would entrust a position of leadership to. A woman whose head is covered in a hood and her soft white hair is mostly draped over her eyes. Through the curtain of hair one can see a lone intense eye analyzing everything it views. And lastly a man in simpler clothes than the rest and a silver collar on. His features greatly differ from the rest, he looks angry and desperate but calm at the same time. His hair is a dark red and his unusual purple eyes sparkle with suppressed protraction. Marcus does not seem to be present at the dinner table.

The group is directed to chairs one by one . There dining table is huge and it is immediately clear that not all chairs can be filled and so it is that the group is seated with sufficient space in between each other, lining the left side of the table. One of the maids, dressed in simple yet elegant clothing stands to the side and speaks out loudly:
"The master of the house will be with you shortly. Please feel free to enjoy your meals as you wait. Your personal servants will assist you in any matter you wish." she says and bows before making her way over to Sharpe and standing with enough distance near him to serve at command. The other seven servants each make their way to another one of the guests to follow her example.

A short and faint rumble barely shakes the place. Like a small, contained, explosion or something the likes but nobody outside of the group seems to notice, or at least care. The strange figures begin to direct the servants with hand gestures, showing them what foods to serve and how much of it. None of them speak, though whether uncapable or unwanting is a mystery to this point. As this goes down the maid leans down to sharpe and asks him politely:
"Will the fourth person be arriving soon?"

Sharpe looks down at her confusingly. Why is she bowing to him specifically? Is it because they've been expecting him specifically? No, that can't be, he's just a ronin, what importance does he hold? Is it because he looks to be the leader of the group? Even though yes, he may be the one giving organization, he feels he is by no means leader and simply offers suggestions as to what they should do.

"Uh..." He staggers in speech.

"Who do you mean by fourth exactly? Like a hooded woman or something? If that's the case, she had to attend to something quickly, she didn't elaborate, just said she needed some air you could say, some space. If not however..." he explains, rubbing his stubble "... Then I do not know who you mean by a fourth, if you are not referring to her."

He crosses his arms and leans back a little in posture, his eyes narrowing just a tad.

"May you, miss, tell me who the eponymous "Master" of this estate may be?" He uncrosses his arms and puts them behind his back. In both hands, he gestures with his index fingers for Doc and Jian to move forward a bit.

The maid smiles kindly and replies; "The master has not yet decided on a name so we simply refer to her as our master, which is proper to begin with. Its a long and complicated story so I will simply leave it at that." She stands up properly then and continues. "As for your friend, I hope they will return soon, dinner may be cold by the time they return to us."

She reaches forward to sharpe's plate. "What would you like to start with, sir?" she asks politely, ready to serve him his meal. The other, less talktive, servants mimic her and offer to serve food to Jian and Atrium.

Dr. Atrium looks at the girl and smiles up at her. What could he ask her to see if Marcus is here?

"I would like a tall glass of Luna Umbra, if you would be so kind."

He takes his jacket off and puts it into his bag and for the first time that the group has seen, he takes his hat off and puts it away as well. He may hate the person he is going to see, but that is no reason not act polite. You take your coat and hat off at the table, you great everyone as equals, you look the people in the eye, you listen to what others have to say. He keeps running the list through his head so he doesn't let his anger show. He sits in his seat and puts a purple napkin on his lap. He looks at Sharp and then at Jian.

"Sharpe, take your coat and hat off, put all your chairs legs on the floor. We aren't in some barn, we need to act like gentleman." He looks over at Jain. "You need to take your coat off as well, and take your hood off too."

He looks over at the maid again.

"How does your "master" treat you and the other maids and servants? Is he nice and keep you feed?"

The maid smiles and motions to one of the servants who then makes his way over to a tray standing on the far side of the table. He brings over a wine glass, nothing like what Atrium was asking for, and presents it to him. The maid meanwhile answers his question. "Our Master is very fair, if short tempered. There is a reason for everything whether that be reward or punishment." She shakes her head then and continues. "I myself am well fed, yes. Though even if that might not be the case I am more than happy to serve our Master. The others however... don't require sustinance." She says with a mild and polite smile. "Is the wine to your liking? I'm afraid we don't have the specifics you are asking for. It is forbidden in this household."

Jian silently takes off his hood, following the so far unclear conversation these two seem to have. He takes off his sweat-jacket and a white shirt is seen underneath. It's actually very neat-looking. No stains, cuts, rips or such are to be seen. He then proceeds to sit back down at the table. He quickly takes the amulet and stuffs it into the pocket of his pants before he sets the sweat-jacket aside. Once again, he makes sure that nobody raises any suspicions. He then rests his hands on the table, patiently waiting for something to happen. He carefully checks the environment and the people, just to make sure nothing unexpected will happen. He never has been so careful before, so this is quite exhausting after a while. Even then, he decides to try and look calm, just to not make it more complicated than it all seems to be. He doesn't like that Airgetlam disappeared, this all just gets more fishy as it goes it's way.

As jian looks around the dining hall he can clearly make out it was build to impress. A huge fireplace is inlaid into the wall across from the door the group came in from. It is sculpted out of a dark stone and resembles a beasts mouth. Ontop of it is a portrait with a golden frame, however the portrait has been forcefully removed and claw marks have left their imprint on it. There are four doors total, the one the group came in from, and two wooden doors to the left of the huge room, possibly leading to the kitchen or storage. The fourth door, jian notices is hidden away behind a purple banner draped from the ceiling. There are many banners like it scattered through the whole room but that one struck Jian as particularly odd. The door is fairly well hidden and only given away by a slight bump in the banner. As he looked down underneeth it he could barely see the metal frame and door. Or at least he thought it to be a door.

The servants are all calm and unresponsive. Most of the men and women carry expressionless faces.
The only odd one out is the maid Sharpe is talking to. Her skin is is tanned and she has a very out-going feel about her, whereas the other servants are motionless and pale.

The four figures sitting across the table from the group don't seem to be paying much heed to the group as they begin their evening dinner. To Jian it is easy to tell that they are clearly all part of the same family. Perhaps the very people that own this structure and the servants in it. Perhaps not. The only exception is the red haired man who to jian looks like he is meaning to stare a hole into the ground with his intense gaze.

Sharpe narrows his eyes, stand-alone behind the others as they sit at the table. A small frown appears on his face. Trust no one, he thinks to himself. He snaps out of it when Doc tells him to remove his coat and hat - unknowing that he had a hat on that entire time, which was strange, he could have sword he had it stowed. He balls his fists a little, clenching then opening, clenching then opening. His pulse is starting to get higher, but to keep his cool, he breathes in deeply.

"Fine." he remarks in a gravel tone, and removes the hat, then hesitates, but removes his coat anyway. He keeps his sword attached to his belt however, and adjusts his loose shirt. He really doesn't have much ornamentation at all, and he frankly doesn't need it. He slowly walks over, keeping the coat near to him, and tucking it under his spot at the table. Before he puts it completely under the table however, he slides his pistol from the shoulder strap there and tucks it into his pants and under his shirt, with the safety on of course. He is very careful not to let it be seen.

He sits, not putting his arms on the table, as that would be rude, and spreads a napkin over his legs. He looks down and breathes in again - it's hitting him hard to remove his coat, or even be in here, really getting on his nerves.

"A bottle of Sacra. If not that, then Amasec. If not even that, then just water. I place my trust in you. Don't break it. My blade stays with me."

He looks down at the food, but even though it looks tantalizing, he refuses to eat it. He's simply to hyper to enjoy a good meal, and he doesn't know if it's laced or not. Even though he said they have his trust, they still don't.

Another interesting note to him is that their "Master" is female, and the people at the table look like Vampires to him. The classic kind. The kind he admired for capability.

Air, you better find that girl.

Dr. Atrium smiles and lets out a little chuckle. Of course what he asked for would be forbidden, but she just confirmed that it is Marcus is the master of this castle. He takes the wine and bows his head as he thanks her. He takes the smiling coin out of is pocket and rubs the wine on it, when he sees that the face doesn't change he takes a sip. The wine is very good, the breed of the wine is very unique. He sets his glass down.

"You said that you yourself is well fed...what about the others and what are the cases that you aren't proud of? If you want, I can try and get you-"

He gets cut off by the quake. He looks up at the maid with a confused look on his face. He sees that the other people on the other end of the table and the maids don't bad an eye at what happened. He looks over at the maid that is quite different from the others, then he looks at the maid that is serving him.

"What was that? Where did that came from?"

The maid looks at atrium puzzled, but then her curious expression turns back into a smile.
"It was probably nothing. We aren't concerned about security breaches." She directs the groups attention to the food "Please, enjoy your meal. I shall return shortly. Our servants will meanwhile continue to do as you wish." She bows politely and makes her way through one of the two doors on the side. The servants meanwhile begin to pile up various foods and samples with an expressionless gaze."

Jian inspects the banner closely. Or rather, the part of the door he sees behind it. His eyes can't lose contact to it. There's just way too much which makes that door suspicious. He looks around to see if anybody catches on to him looking at it obsessively. He shortly loses interest to listen to the talks between the Doc and the maid. He then takes a look at Sharpe clearly not being satisfied.

He grips the amulet in his pocket a tick tighter. Something seems wrong, he still doesn't exactly know where to put his finger regarding that. He knows the owner, even if just barely, but he can't remember quite yet. His confusion also remains due to the fact of the servants fully ignoring him. What is this? He takes a look at the four people sitting at the other end of the table, minding thier own business. They seem to be from the same family. Then there's that one man. Red hair, intensive stare. He stares into the ground, but why? This all is just crazy.

Being left without food or drink whatsoever, he risks to take a look at the maid. She looks quite nice, and her personatily is compatible with him. Thinking of the odds though, he might not take the chance to try anything and end up endangering himself under that cirucumstance. But... regardless of that, she looks cute.

That door only remains unnoticed for a short while though, his look just keeps jumping back to it. He wants to check what lies behind it, but he is certain that the servants won't let him. He needs to come up with a plan.

Suddenly, the ground is shaking. It doesn't last long but he clearly got rattled up fairly well by that. The time-span doesn't give him the oppurtunity to sneak out through the door, so he doesn't take the chance. After the shake, the Doc is asking the maid about what that was. Her response is simply just brushing the question off, telling them to focus on the food. Jian though, had no food, so there is nothing to pay attention to on his end. But even then, he's not sure if he's happy or mad about that fact, there are other things to pay attention to.

As the whole castle shakes with a tremor, Sharpe disregards the shockwave, a clearly bored look upon his face and his arms crossed over his chest. He leans back in the chair and looks at the food. He's not especially hungry, but it does indeed look appetizing. Perhaps maybe he will have a few bites.

He looks about again. He hopes that those quakes are not the results of Airgetlam causing mischief. She's too quiet for that. Something else must be rampaging throughout, or they are having technically difficulties. He watches the maid simply hand-wave doc's question, and how they should just get to eating. How hypocritical that she wouldn't answer his question but yet ask them to feast. He sees Jian repeatedly look over at a banner on the other side of the room, but he has no idea why. He starts to eye the maid afterward. Whatever, you find it where you find it, just don't think she's normal if she's in an ethereal place such as this.

He takes a forkful of salmon, then some broccoli. It's delicious, but he's cautious about how he chews it.

Before him lie the four, who seem to be just as bored as he is. Hopefully they'll be able to keep them entertained and stalled.

"May I ask you four, who you are exactly? Nobles? Lords? Friends of the Master?"

The first three of the four adjacent show no reaction to sharpe's question. However sharpe is met by the red-haired man's intense gaze. His eyes hint his surprise but his gaze is still intense. He shakes his head lightly and then directs his gaze to the three others. After a short while of staring he returns his gaze back at the ground. The other three meanwhile are feasting to their hearts content, consuming meal after meal and showing no signs of socialization. Some of the servants begin moving various foods onto Jian and Atrium's plates.

Dr. Atrium starts eating the food that has been served in front of him. The food was very good, just shy from amazing. As he eats, he sees that Sharpe is leaning back in his chair again. He looks over at him and frowns.

"Just because we are in front of what is most likely our enemies doesn't give you the right to not act civilized. So put all four of your chairs legs on the ground."

He then looks at the maids calls one over to him. Maybe one of them have seen the little girl they lost entering into this place. When she walk over to him, she pulls the old picture of her out of his coat and shows her.

"I am sorry to bother you, but have you seen this girl by any chance? I found her on our journy and I would like to find her again. I am also missing a white cat."

Jian inspects the food. Everybody else is eating it, so he might do so aswell. He starts taking a few bites of it and has to admit that it is actually quite well made. As an addition he sprinkles some of the herbs ontop of it. Testing that, he realises that the food seems to taste a tick better with that. He nods in agreement with that and continues eating.

He can't leave his eyes off of anyone though, this amount of people surrounding him is quite... terrifying. And that sudden shake in the ground, well, that makes him even uneasier. Regardless of that, he tries to keep it down, thinking about how to proceed in this situation.

As the doc scolds Sharpe, he has to smirk a bit. Seems like these two don't seem to get into too good terms at some point. He then realises how useful it sometimes is to just remain silent, as it wouldn't bring any good to get inolved into that.

The servant briefly and without interest stares at the picture, then shakes her head and ignores the question.

Moments later the door the maid had initially disapeared through swings open once more and she returns into the room, holding the door open as another, new maid-servant stands on the other side and bows, directing a young girl into the room.

Clarent, in all her fine clothes walks through the door. Her steps elegant as she makes her way to one of the seats that is on each side of the large dining table. In older times it was common practice that the head of the house were to sit at the top of the table's end. She stands by her chair, as the maid from earlier pulls it aside carefully. Clarent sits down and adjusts the seat herself as the maid begins to put small amounts of various dishes onto her plate. Clarent eyes down all the people at the table. Mainly the group that had been invited to stay inside of her castle.

"I welcome you," She starts with a stern but inviting tone, "To my castle."
She holds a water glass aside and the maid fills it, being careful to not to spill anything.
"Indeed, I am the master of this place and it's a pleasure to meet a colourful group such as yourself", she says before taking a sip of her water. "I've been expecting your arrive for a short while now, however..." she glances over at the empty seats. "...I'm curious to why you seek out this place. Surely you must know the... potential dangers... one would face inside a place such as this?"

Clarent holds the glass aside as she crosses her legs and rests her head in her palm, the arm of which is again rested on the arms of her chair.

Sharpe sits up a little, but his chair has been on all four legs all along. He has a good deal of respect for people, a deal of civility, but he does not pay it to people who he believes have not earned it yet. He looks to Jian and notes his tension level. He must be quite nervous, but he shoots him a nod and reassuring glance.

As he sips his - nothing was brought out. His face elongates southward and he takes up a glass of water. As he sips this, he finds that a young woman - no, a girl - is speaking. He puts down the glass and is utterly shocked by who it is sitting there. It is that girl he saw, days ago at the tournament... the girl they've been trying to find. His heart skips a beat, and he smiles a little, looking her up and down. She certainly is more regal than she led on at the town. He looks at the bare part, just under her chin but above her currently non-existent cleavage, and notes the absence of that amulet....

The Soul Trap.

He frowns and looks up, and his heart feels as though it will plummet like a mass of iron. Her eyes... they're the same color as before... but... They're not hers. There's something not right. His gut tingles. It's not a matter of magic. It's a matter or knowing a person's soul. The eyes being the window to the soul. He saw a completely different person at the tournament.. and this is someone else.. someone who's not supposed to be amongst them.

He puts his elbows on the table and folds his hands underneath his chin.

"Who are you." He asks. He doesn't need punctuation. This was not a question; it's a demand.

Clarent puts the water glass down and smiles. Less at the question than the nerve of ignoring her very own. But she should have figured, at least she thought.

"Well, I'm the lady of this castle, the master of everything within this castle, living or otherwise."
She casually waves at the maid behind her and the maid nods in agreement before making her way out of the room, taking the other maid-servant with her on the way out.

Clarent's sharp eyes glint with slight excitement as she examines the group.

Dr. Atrium looks at the girl. There is no way that she is the master of this castle, Marcus is...he has to be. The clues that he has found points to him being the master. Who is this woman? He thinks to himself. He looks over at Sharpe and sees him staring at her...why is he staring so hard at her. Has he met her before? This doesn't concern him though, His only concern is with Marcus and finding his cat and the little girl. He slides his chair back and looks at her dead in the eyes so that she knows that he means business.

"Who are you? Where is Marcus? I was under the impression that he was the master of this castle, not you. I need to speak to him."

"Marcus!" She exclaims merrily. "Marcus... is merely my subject. He was cast out from our home as a child." She smiles at the doc and picks up her glass of water- yet the water is now a light red and nobody seemed to change the liquid inside. "I have allowed him back within the castle walls as part of an offer on his part. Though he has currently out on an errand of mine." She takes a sip from her glass and puts it back down, lifting her head off her hand and leaning back as she flicks a loose piece of hair to the side with one swift motion of her head.

"Though tell me, what manners do those show who ask questions without introduction." Clarent says with a soft yet intense look on her face. "Just because I knew you were coming does not mean why. Would you... care to elaborate on that behalf?"

Jian risks a look at the girl. It seems to be the girl he met at the market square. The one he left the fruit for. His confusion is relatively big as he sees her sitting there in her very elegant attire and quite... high-mannered look.

He grips the amulet tighter, it seems to come back, now that he's seeing her. But even then, he can't fully confirm if it is the case or not. Instead, he's continueing to eat silently to avoid any questioning or situation at some sorts.

"Oh, how impressively rude of me." Sharpe sarcastically scoffs.

"I am Sharpe, a wandering swordsman in this land - a Ronin. This is Doctor Atrium, whose medical prowess knows no bounds, and further down, Jian, our resident tradesman and herbal specialist. We knew there would be a danger trying to find this place, but we thought we'd find it upon a Cliffside, rather than a nether. We were fully prepared for the risks. And you be the master of this place, but yet you're so young, or so it may seem. Tell us your name, or any name associated with you. I say it's only fair, as we have introduced ourselves in kinda, and are terribly sorry for the intrusion. At least grace us with the requested information, m'lady."

Clarent puts the glass of now once again clear transparent water back on the table and folds her hands on her lap.

"Very well" she says, her smile fading slightly, but the excitement in her eyes still burning bright.
"My current name is Clarent, though you may refer to me as Lady Dahaka." she says in a proud tone.
"As for marcus... well, he will return tomorrow at noon. You are free to spend the night at the castle meanwhile. My servants shall serve you as if you were my own and Janette will direct you to your quarters once you've finished your dinner."

Clarent then pushes her chair back and stands up, nodding a very slight bow.
"Excuse me, then. And please enjoy your visit here at the castle."
That said she turns on a dime and leaves through the main door the group came in from prior. No servants follow her as she exits alone. As she steps past the door her shadow nimbly reaches out from the ground and pulls the doors closed behind her.

Janette, the maid, nods at some of the servants and gives a slight hand gesture as they make their way around the table and direct the other four away from the dining hall, leaving Janette and two servants alone with the group.

"If your heart desires anything, I may be of service to you." She says and bows deeply before standing upright again.

Dr. Atrium watches is, Lady Dahaka leave the room. He notices that it was her shadow that shut the door behind her. So this girl can use magic as well...I should of known that, look where we are. He says to himself. He looks over at the servant and waves her over. When she walks over to him, he shows her the picture of the girl.

"I am looking for this girl, she is very important to me. I have also lost a white cat. They both entered this place at the same time but it was before I entered. I looked for them but I had no luck find them any where. Is there a chance that you know where they are? I was also wondering if you could let me know when Marcus returns. We went to the same guild and I would like to talk to him and see how he is doing"