Glayp'neir (Arc 1)

In Atriums room, the servant stares at him with a dumbfounded expressionless face. Upon closer inspection she looks extremely tired and not particularly healthy. Her eyes are partially closed and she has dark bags under her eyes. Her hair and skin seem particularly dry as if dehydrated, but to a doctor it is clear that this is not the case. The servant just stands there staring at Atrium and waits for his command.

A few doors down, next to sharpe's room, a curious man is sitting at a desk, daydreaming about flying machines of various designs and sizes and inner workings. The man's mind is hard at work as he invisions pieces made of various metals, pressed into different shapes and forms to build structure. He could only imagine the freedom one would feel by piloting such contraptions.

Jack(guy day dreaming about flying contraptions) takes out a mysterious single shot ceremonial military pistol. Beautifully crafted, its silver plating gave off an elegant shine as if it was freshly made by whoever made it. He stares at it for a couple moments. "Why the hell would she invite me here? How did she know this damn thing was a weaving protraction? Why oh fricken why did my own brother have a weaving protraction? Dammit. Too many questions, too little answers. Pointless to think about it now. I guess I'll just meet the other guests" He walks up to Dr. Atriums room

Dr. Atrium looks at the servant and sighs.

"Please go lay on the bed, as a doctor I can't let you walk out of here the way you are."

He leads her to the bed and waits for her to lay down before he pulls out his amulet. His hands glow the dark red as he points his hand at the door. He puts a ward on it so that if someone other then Sharpe or Jian touches the door, they will be knocked away from the door and knocked to the wall on the other side. It only has one charge to it. He walks over to the servant and starts the scan, his hands turn from the dark red to the white glow. While he is scanning her, he gasps as he trys to understand what he is reading. To begin with, the servant is overly dry and her body structure wont seem very solid. As if her whole body was weak somehow, like it is older then it looks. When he is done he realizes something else that he doesn't think is possible, the servant  does not have a pulse! How is that possible?! Sure he has beaten death's touch but his heart is still beating. Further more, the servant doesn't have any sign of magic on or in her.

"What have you been through? How do you have no heart beat?!"

He looks over at the girl, he smiles when he sees that she is stuffing her face with the food. He looks back at the servant.

"Well, I'm not sure how you are still alive, but I need to rehydrate your body."

He goes through his bag and pulls out a rune and puts it in a bottle of water. he gives the water to the servant.

"You have to drink this, this will rehydrate you very quickly. you aren't to get out of the bed until you are done."

He pulls over a chair so he is sitting next to the bed, watching her drink. How is she alive without a beating heart?

Jack barely grasps the door knob before being violently thrown against the wall like a rag doll.
"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL ..."
*thud*
"damn door, damn magic"
*sigh*
"This place is getting stranger and stranger by the second. I need to find out whats going on, but it seems that who or whatever is behind that door probably isn't interested in visitors. I guess I'll just have to see who's in this room"
*walks over to Sharpe's door*

Sharpe hears a rapping at his chamber door. Who could it be? Seems rather convenient after he found the jewelry.

He takes up his sword and draws it, looking out the peephole. It's a man he's never seen before in a light blue tunic.

He opens the door and stabs out his sword almost to the man's neck.

"Who the feth are you? We're the only ones here."

Jack instantly leaps back in surprise
"p-please s-sir...I don't want any trouble"
Jack does his best to appear as pathetic and harmless as possible while strategically positioning his hand to grab his knife and strike in one fatal swoop if necessary.

"Well this confirms the nagging suspicion that everything here wants me dead. Perfect, just perfect." he thought, "huh, that coat, those boots...either he's one hell of a military enthusiast or more likely ex military? What does she want with a soldier and a clockmaker? Trying to find out whats going on is only leading to more questions. damn. Well it seems that im not gonna get any of them answered if i don't ask a few of my own."

"W-what do you mean 'only ones here'? I was invited by whoever owns this place"

Sharpe relaxes himself, but not his sword.

"There's two other people here besides me, we are investigating a kidnapping from Recudor to the South. A teenage girl, she had an amulet around her neck, and as it turns out, she seems to be the master of this place. I am unsure of if it is really her or not."

He leaves out Airgetlam's name, as he'd rather not compromise her situation, just in case. He doesn't entirely know who this man is, he could simply be another manifestation.

"Now then, Who are you? I was looking for someone to come along with us, but we had no luck in doing so. Did you follow us, or did you come here on your own?"

His eyes narrow as he holds the blade steady.

"My name is Sam Jackson and no, I didn't follow you"

His voice returned to normal and slightly agitated by the blade inches from his neck

"He said a teenage girl. She doesn't look anything like a young girl. That's not right at all... but it has to be her, it has to be! Think Jack, think. She could sense that the gun was a protraction weave. Obviously she has some sort of magical powers. Perhaps, she can shape shift. I must find her. This man has made it quite obvious that he doesn't take kindly to strangers. Asking to see her immediately will only draw suspicion and get me killed possibly. I must gain his trust"

"I'm a clockmaker and I'm guessing the girl is the one who invited me. Her letter said that she was intrigued by my craftsmanship and wanted to meet me to discuss some sort of project. After nearly killing me, I do believe you owe me the courtesy telling me your name and whats behind that door over there"
*points to Dr. Atrium's door*

Sharpe gives Sam a small chuckle.

"I didn't nearly kill you, just was ready to if need be."

The man is amusing, he'll say that. He slowly lowers his sword and sheathes it, and extends his hand for a shake.

"They call me Sharpe. As for who's down the hall there, that would be Doctor Atrium. He's very kind, but not the kind of guy to piss off. He does our magic and healing work. Did you try knocking though? Most people'll open up, or at least check."

he thinks to himself "hmph, a doctor? magic? I'd expect someone with such a title to be resourceful enough to practice medicine without the need of magic. Where did he even get his degree? Wait...Sharpe said he had two friends with him. If this Atrium fellow is one of them, who's the other. Oh never mind, the doctor is obviously hiding something behind that door and maybe, just maybe I can get past it now that Sharpe is with me."

"I tried introducing myself to Dr. Atrium, but he put some sort charm on the door that flung me against the wall. I assume he's busy and doesn't want to be disturbed but I would appreciate it if you could say something to him so that I may just pop in and introduce myself"

Sharpe raises an eyebrow, crossing his arms and leaning against the door frame in doing so.

"Why do you want to see the Doc so bad? Got beef or something or just curious?"

He shifts his stance and braces one arm perpendicular to the frame, palm open.

"If he put a trap on the door, he obviously doesn't want visitors, same if I put a sign up that said 'Do Not Disturb'. But I guess, if you want to talk to him, I can ask. But no funny business, kay? I catch a whiff that you're up to shady shit and I paint the wall."

He walks him down the way and knocks on Doc's door, nothing magical transpiring.

"Yo Doc, we got a visitor who wants to speak with you. I got him under guard, so we shouldn't have to worry too much." He scratches his stubble and looks back at Sam.

"It's your funeral, man."

Jack walk's in to the room to see a man in a pitch black fedora looking down at a girl laying on the bed.

"That must be Dr. Atrium, but isn't that the servant that brought me to my room? What is she doing here...wait that amulet...the girls Sharpe was talking about had an amulet, yes of course it's her! I'll need to get her alone to question her, but at least I've located her for now"

"Ah, you must be Dr. Atrium, Sharpe has told me a bit about you..."

*he glances at the girl for a moment, leans towards Dr. Atrium and whispers*

"My name is Sam Jackson and I am a clockmaker. She apparently invited me here so that I may help her with some sort of project. However, after Sharpe told me about your investigation, I've gathered that something far more mysterious is going on, and I would like you to know that I would be happy to assist you in your investigation in any way I can"

With the servant in such a weakened and relaxed state, there's no possible way she could have heard him, right?

While Dr. Atrium is pondering what to do to help the maid, the ward on the door lets him now that it was sprung. He glares at the door for a bit, waiting to see if anyone will try to get into his room. After about five minutes he puts another charge on ward and turns back to the girl.

"What is your name miss? My name is Atrium, but my friends call me Doc. I need you to tell me everything that has happened to you. I need to know if you want me to make you feel better."

He hears the door knock and looks up, he hears Sharpe's voice. He gets up to open the door but stops when he sees Sharpe and a new man walk throw the door. He looks over at the little girl, he needs to think of a name for her so he can stop calling her "little girl" but that is for a later date. He opens his bag and takes out the charmed necklaces that puts the wearer to sleep and puts it on the servant. He watches he fall asleep as the man walk over to him and whispers into his ear. Dr. Atrium gently pushes the man back so they can talk face to face.

"Hello, there Mr. Jackson. I know that you know my name, but I like to introduce myself. My name is Doctor Atrium." He gestures to the the little girl. "Don't worry about her, she will not bother you as long as you don't make any sudden movements."

He walks over to the girls bed and sits next to her, he rubs her back for a moment then looks up at Sam.

"So, Sam the Clockmaker, How may Sharpe and I help you?"

"Our goals are similar, and they can be great assets, but their first impressions obviously show they're not the trusting bunch, throwing me against the wall with magic and swords. I guess I should tell the the whole truth, or atleast most of it"

*Jack pulls out his gun, gently grasping it by the barrel so that Sharpe wouldn't assume he was going to try something stupid*

"First off, my name ins't actually Sam. It's Jack Sampson. I have to use the alias because I'm targeted by the pagans. This gun belonged to my brother. He was a soldier, lot like you, Sharpe, even had that same attitude...heh...He was killed by the pagans. I've kept this as a memento. A week ago, I ran into a mysterious woman. The gun fell out of my pocket. At first I thought she was going to steal it, but instead, she asks to buy it from me. I say it belonged to my brother and she starts sounding strange, saying it was his gift to me meant for my protection and that it held great power and then she vanishes. A couple days later I found out it was a protraction weave. A couple days after that, I'm invited here. I have no doubt she was the one who invited me and so I must find out whats the connection between her and that girl."

Sharpe squints. It seems he's not entirely alone in keeping identities a secret either. He doesn't have a lot of beef with the Pagan Resistance, he never really fought them, but he was in a skirmish once or twice, nothing too big, not like an attrition war. But still, how did "Jack" know he was a soldier? Perhaps he was assuming so.

"Why you figure I'm a soldier? Maybe I'm just a wandering psychopath."

He scratches his stubble.

"We were never technically invited here, we found our way on our own. A if I may see that firearm of yours as well? It looks old, differently styled from what I'm packing."

He pulls out his heavy pistol for a brief moment to highlight the differences in the two guns.

"yes yes, this is, or atleast, looks like a ceremonial piece. single shot. medium caliber. recently discovered to be a protraction weave. Your obviously a soldier based on your attire and that your far too orderly to be 'just a wandering psychopath'. Now back to the girl."

There was an eager tone to his voice. The quick deduction of Sharpe's employment would have fueled Jack's ever inflating ego in another scenario, but that mysterious lady knew something about his brother that he did not, and he was not going to allow himself to get distracted when he's this close to finding out what it was.

"My current theory is that this servant and the lady in question are one and the same. Doctor, as one with experience with magic, is there any sort of spell that could allow one to shape shift, and if so, is there any way of telling if someone is using that spell."

Dr. Atrium rubs his chin thinking.

"Yes, there are a number of spells one could use to alter the way one looks. But there is something bugging me. You."

He gets up from the small bed and walks over to the other bed and looks at the servant for a moment, then looks back at Jack.

"The moment you came into my room, you have been trying to get up to help you with your unknown goal you have. Me and my rag tag are all here for different reasons. How do I know you aren't going to just get in our good graces to spy on us and stop what we are trying to do here? I am not very trusting of the people here. I am not going to be stopped by anyone."

He turns and glares at Jack.

"I do apologize for being so aggressive, normally I am very nice and calm. Under normal circumstances I would offer you a drink and ask to know about you. But because I am here and I am on a mission, I am not going to be stopped by a clockmaker. Now let me ask you and you better not lie to me..."

He glares at the him, his hands start to glow dark red.

"Why are you here and what do you want with us?"

Jian's eyes open again... Looking at the pattern he saw before he fell asleep. He's getting a feel of relief not being dead or anything of such sort, he just doesn't know what to expect from this place.

He goes back into a sitting position, the nap was quite decent. He then gets up and streches a bit and then makes his way to the door to check the corridor. He carefully opens the door and steps outside, looking left and right, nothing of interest strikes him. The only thing is, that he can hear people talk a bit away, which he really can't bother checking out. How much has happened in the time he was gone? He can't bother finding out about that either, he wants to get to fully wake up first. To do so, he walks back into his room, firmly shutting his door, continued by making slow movements in a Tai-chi fashion. His body moves like fluid as he tries to make it all happen in a slow and calm fashion.

After finishing up his little wake-up session, he grabs his backpack to drink some water, he has been very thirsty since he came here, maybe the magic influencing him? He can't answer that question due to his lack of knowledge about these things, so he'll have to find out sooner or later with the help of others...

Most importantly, he needs to find the owner of the amulet, which he still has in his pocket...

Small Note, please uncollapse:

Jack couldn't tell what was more terrifying, the doctor's soul piercing eyes or his rapier wit. Either way, Jack was determined to appear as clam as possible.

*sigh*
The problem here is that none of what you said so far is wrong. I tell you an alias only to reveal my true name, I greedily spend the majority of the first moments we've met with nothing but questions, and now I'm accusing who appears to be your patient of being a shape shifter. heh, I wouldn't even trust myself right now. My intentions here are quite simple. Whether there is or is not a connection between the lady and this servant, I know she is somehow involved in all of this and knows something about my brother, something I must find out. You can choose to believe me or not. That is your choice as I don't have any evidence. But let's say I am a spy. Right now, your merely throwing an accusation without anything to support it. The only way to see if I have been lying this entire time would be to help me find the lady I've been talking about this entire time to prove whether my story is true or not."

*Jack stood tall and approaches Dr. Atrium in a bold attempt to create a facade of confidence.*

"To make a long story short, you must help me regardless of whether you trust me."

"Somewhere in the his mind must be doubt that I am lying, and a doctor would never kill an innocent man, right?"

In Jian's room, a small very faint beep can be heard as he is practicing his exercises. At first it doesn't catch Jian's attention but then a few moments later as he sets down his drink the beep happens again, this time making its presence known to Jian. Though the general location of the regulated beeping is unknown to him. He is quick to dismiss it but then another beep sounds, followed by a chime of some sorts.

Meanwhile in Doc's room, a similar beeping has gone unnoticed for a short while but has now made its presence known to the people inside, though once again its whereabouts are unknown.

Sharpe slides his pistol back into it's holster and backs up a little. He really doesn't want this to go hot, as he honestly did wish for more manpower anyway.

"Hey uh, Doc? If I may interject, and play devil's advocate... I don't honestly think he's a spy. Thing is, this is HER realm. She controls what happens in it, minus what we do, almost like a simulated reality. It's possible she's probably been listening in on us ever since we arrived, and very likely so. How did they know we were coming? How - and Why - did they think we have four people in our party? I say he is no spy. Those servants would likely have served in a better capacity than someone who can backstab. Another point, if he was a spy, he might backstab us, then perhaps backstab her as well, looking to gain wealth from both of our demises. Besides, I did honestly want more than just us three to take this job on. Looks like we finally got it-"

Just as he finishes speaking, his ears pick up on a faint, but definitely present beeping sound in the background. He squints his face into a puzzled look.

"Anybody else hear a beeping sound? Tell me I'm not the only one who hears that. I hope it's not Midgets or Contortionists in the air vents... or worse..."

Dr. Atrium looks at Sharpe as he talks and frowns when he is done, knows that what he is saying is could be true. When Sharpe is done talking, he look back at Jack remembering what he said. " you must help me." The last time he heard someone tell him this was when the army was talking to him, that didn't end well. He has learned that there is always a choice and when someone says that a person "must help" is when they are trying to act tough. He holds up his hand up to Jack, as he does this the shadow under the bed crawls out and rises and turns into a giant claw. He then used the claw to grab Jack and slams him agents the wall and rises him off the ground a bit. While he holds him there, he walks up to him.

"I am here to kill the man the butchered my family and my home. I don't need you to do that. I MIGHT need you to get out, but you are in no spot to be demanding us to do anything. If you need our help, you ask and we will consider it. You are not going to get in my way in serving justice to the man that massacred what family I had left!"

By the end of his speech he is yelling. When he is done he stares into Jacks eyes for a bit then releases the spell witch makes the claw disappear. He watches the man drop to the floor, gilt fills him now. He thought he had better control of his anger then this. He turns from the man and walks to the little bed with the girl.

"I am sorry about that...I'm not sure what is going on with me. This place is messing with me and making me act in ways I normally wouldn't....I would be willing to help you after we finish what we have come here to do..."

His voice is calm, low and filled with sorrow. He kneels down in front of the girl and gives her a hug. He knows she doesn't need it, but he does. Wants someone to no be upset with the way he has been acting. He doesn't think she will hug him back but if she does, it would be welcomed.

Jack stood reclaiming the oxygen lost from the crushing grasp of the shadowy claw
Being the cynic he is, Jack would've lashed back or yelled or done something rash, but instead, he walked back towards Dr. Atrium and gently put his hand on his shoulder. The doctor was in pain, and that pain was being twisted into something dark by a mysterious force.

"I'm the one who should be sorry. I didn't know. Family is the most painful thing to lose."

Jack finely stood up back to his original height, but lost the aura of confidence

"It seems we're all here just looking for something. Answers"
*looks at Sharpe*
"Justice"
*looks at the doctor*
"Closure"
*he looked down at the floor, almost as if he was pointing to himself*

"Heh, maybe we'll find atleast one of those things if we find where that damn beeping is from"

Jack tried lightening the mood with a joking tone, but the glass smile is easy to see through

As for the decision to follow the beeping noise, Jack now knew that the girl is responsible for everything happening. This could be a trap, or maybe, she wants Jack to think its a trap and stay. It could be reverse psychology or reverse reverse psychology. Jack ultimately made the choice at random.

Jian looks around as the beeping snaps him out of his train of thought. Where does that sound come from? He checks under the bed, under the windowsil, opens up the window and looks outside. Every nook and cranny doesn't show what it might be. He peeks into the corridor, nothing. The beeping ends, and he settles a bit. Before he fully calms though, the beeping happens again. It shortly turns into a chime thereafter, irritating him even more. He pulls out the amulet, is it that? He looks at it, it shimmers a bit, but is that what it is? He can't really tell. He peeks into the corridor again, a bit further down there's a corner which goes to the right. Should he go there? A few minutes that make him consider it very carefully. He decides to do so, he wants to find the source. He carefully proceeds, the beeping not getting louder or quieter. His steps get shorter and slower as he reaches the corner. He's unaware of waits around it, so he's very hesitant. There he stands, not sure what to do now. Get the others? What if they don't hear it? They'll call him crazy that's for sure...

Momentarily the beeping stops as jian stands in the hallway bewildered, trying to find the source of it all. After a few moments the beeping continues and Jian is finally able to find it as he notices a small slim vent in the floor. These vents have been scattered all across the castle for air to go through but this one seemed wrong somehow. Upon closer inspection Jian notices that three of the four screws holding the small vent in place are missing and the other only barely screwed in as to prevent the facade from falling over. He gets down to peak into it and gets startled by yet another beep, followed by a faint blue glow inside the vent.

Carefully Jian looks around. Nobody in sight. He curiously unscrews the last screw with his hand-- it's not very tight-- and removes the vent to reach inside. As he pulls out what is inside he finds a small golden frame running in a half circle, with an emerald on one end and a slim blue crystal on the other. The crystal is faintly pulsating. He takes another look inside the vent and finds a small device of sorts. It's a silver frame with fancy ornaments and symbols, and a sort of screen laced with a golden border. Faintly through the glass screen he can see golden clockworks rotating around some crystals to keep the device powered. Jian notices two blinking green dots and what seems to be a blue skull on a grid standing side by side, and another blue dot a little ways from them. Further from that he notices two red dots blinking more agressively as they move towards the lone blue dot.