Glayp'neir (Arc 1)

Jian covers his face to kill off the smell a bit. What the hell even happened just now? He drops the device and backs off a bit. He is very sure that this wasn't supposed to happen. He then hits the wall from backing off so far. His eyes squint and he feels very uneasy.

"W-what the hell? What is this?! Urgh!", the stench gets more intense, "This is madness! We should get out of here for now... The smell's killing me!"

He walks up to the doc and drags him a bit. "We can discuss everything in my room or something, but let's go for now, this doesn't look like anything anyone can help with right now!"
Not sure how to feel about all this after the last days, he tries to drag the doc out of the room.

"Don't forget Hitomi though before we go!", he says and picks up the device before heading for the room's exit. He drops the device in Sharpe's hands. "Take that, I don't seem to need it anyway right now. We wanted to check out the blue-ish skull, but I guess that has to wait"

He coughes several times, he barely can nail how that... something on the bed smells like. It's horrendous. He opens the door and makes a gesture which shows for them to get out of there.

Jack was frozen. He was somewhat aware that the patient was a walking corpse and something like this was possible given the circumstances, but the sight of it was entirely revolting none the less. After a slight delay, he shook it off as best he could and tried thinking of anything else to distract himself from what he just witnessed as he follows the other towards Jians room

"He gave the device to Sharpe. I can understand how little he trusts me, but I still feel somewhat offended *Sigh*. I gotta find the new guest soon. There seems to be less and less evidence supporting the notion that we were all invited here by coincedence"

The group arrives in Jians room. Luckily for them, it seems Jian's room has more chairs present than Atrium's. Hitomi wanders into the room and begins to curiously investigate the room. The stence is barely noticeable from here, merely a slight annoyance than an unbareable stinging rott. Everyone seems quite perplexed at what happened and takes a moment to breathe and reflect upon the situation.

The device vibrates lightly in sharpe's hand. He doesn't get startled though it takes him by surprise and upon further inspection he sees that the two green dots and the blue dots seem to all be in the same location. The blue skull is blinking and fading more and more the further he looks at it, and further up north from them seems to be a collection of red dots moving in to one of the rooms up ahead. Atrium's room perhaps? The dots hastily move about the rough square that resembles the room and just from corner to corner and then suddenly stop in place. A door can be heard from around the corner and two more red dots show up underneeth the coloured ones, slowly beginning to make their way up what sharpe believes to be the hallway. As they come closer to doc's room, the other dots graduately begin to blink and then fade off the display.

Sharpe looks at the door to jians room, trying to decide whether to take a peek outside or not, but as he looks back at the display, all the red dots seem to have dissapeared. Muffled footsteps make their way down the hall and back around the corner. A door opens, then closes. Locks can be heard. Then, nothing.

As Sharpe stares at the radar and sees the dots move back and forth, he starts getting curious. Who is the skull? It's obvious the group represents them, but how?


"I need to test something quickly, I'll be right back."


He gets up and walks into the hallway, and looks down it. There doesn't seem to be any trace of whoever was represented by the red dots. He takes out the jewels he had and looks at them all before looking back at the device. Two green jewels, one cracked blue one. There seems to be another blue one inside the room. He notes that the skull is a blue color, and shoves the green pieces into his coat pocket, left with the cracked blue one. He looks down at the device and carefully tosses the cracked jewel. The Skull and Crossbones moves off of him a few feet away. He looks up to the jewel and walks over, picking it up.


"So that's what that was... Now if only I knew what you purpose is!" he pockets the jewel and walks back into the room.


The party is still trying to recover from the pestilence in Doc's room, but they seem much more relaxed than before.


"I figured out what the skull and bones was." he says, and holds out the cracked blue gem.


"Now we just gotta figure out what it does, and who seems to have any other pieces, if they exist."

Dr. Atrium watches Hitomi walk around the new room still wrapped in his coat. He listens to Sharpe and when is done, he walks over and takes the blue jewel and looks at it.

"Very interesting. They use jewels to see and mark people within the castle. Well I am going to hold on to this. We don't want Jian to hold it, no offense but you can't fight. I don't want you holding it Sharpe, we know you can fight but you are our only muscle so we can't have you getting hurt or hunted." He looks over at Jack. "I don't know you nor what you can to so I would rather not endanger you by having you hold on to this."

He puts the blue jewel into his pants pocket and sits in a chair.

"I have lost parents before but never like this...I hope to find the monster who did this to her and the other servants." He looks up at Sharpe a blaze in his eye. "Sharpe we need to try and free the people of this place." He turns to Jack. "You wouldn't happen to know where the servants are been kept do you? I need to talk with the healthy ones and get them to leave."

"Don't just wander around like that!", Jian interrupts, "Didn't you see that woman earlier that came here as a new guest? She's the one that's been sent on a manhunt to take me out! If she remembers one of you or saw one of you back there, we'll have some serious problems!"

He is hesitant about roaming around, but even then, there is not much he can do, so he'll just stick to either the doc or Sharpe to be a bit more safe, given they won't come up with a bulletproof plan.

"hmph"

Jack pulls out his knife. It seems like a basic combat knife with the exception of red and blue lines that ran across the blade symbolizing that it was a gift in honor of the various military projects he's worked on. He begins twirling it as if it were levitating above his hand in order to boast his dexterity.

"Oh great, it seems the doctor has joined in on Jian's facade of appearing harmless and clumsy. Honestly, why would there be something as severe as a manhunt for a klutz."

"As the son of a gypsy, I would dishonor my family if I couldn't hold my liquor, play the fiddle better than the local bard, and whats important to the current situation, use a knife. Combine that with full knowledge of basic soldier close quarter combat. Then, combine that with combat experience from fighting against a religious cult out for my head. I fully understand if you don't want me to hold the device because you don't trust me but I can assure you, my safety is not something you need to worry too much about. As for the servants, I couldn't agree more. Sharpe and I were talking to a maid named Ayame. We should probably find her first. Sharpe, you should probably come with us just in case. And Jian, dont worry about your stalker. We'll avoid here. Just take car of the fairy or something. ONWARDS!"

Sharpe chuckles a little.

"Come on, I trained the guy up to fight, least you could say is 'guard her' instead of just 'take care of her'! Anyway, I guess it's fine, but keep in mind, you're also the only medic. Our group is all specific archetypes that fill out specific roles. Typically we'd have two muscles but we don't, now do we? I'm just worried about our resident stealther."

He turns fully toward Doc.

"As far as the maids go, Ayame is currently off-duty, so I've no idea if she's actually still in her room or not." He shifts his perspective to Jian to give him his say.

"As for you, Jian, I think that if she sees any of us, she'll get suspicious, but as long as she doesn't see you, we'd be fine. We'll say we parted ways if that makes you feel better. As well, she could prove very useful, she could find info for us, become our informant."

Dr. Atrium listens to what everyone has to say before he decides what to do. He doesn't like the idea of leavening Jian alone, sure Sharpe trained him a bit but he doesn't want anyone to be alone in here.

"What I think we should do is say in pairs. There is no need for three of us to talk to one person. Wouldn't you agree? Now as of who should go, I think that it should be me and Sharpe here. I can tell Ms. Ayame about what happened the the maid in my room and show her if she doesn't believe me."

He looks over at Jack.

"I want you and Jian to guard Hitomi. This will be a good chance for you to patch things up with him Jack. Also...be kind to Hitomi, just because she is different doesn't mean she is a monster. Just remember she can understand you so don't get angry."

He motions Sharpe to fallow him and they head out to talk to this Ayame, hopefully he can save her so she doesn't end up like the one in his room.

He reaches out his arm towards the doc who's leaving. "Wh-.. You can't really be doing that!", he finishes after they're out already. He turns his view to Jack. What a weird situation to be in. His eyes sliently scan the man. His appearance fits to him in the opinion of Jian. He looks as straightfoward and direct as he is. Kind of just ready to burst into anything that'll suit him. He then looks at Hitomi, walking up to her and kneeling. He streches out his arm towards her, his palm facing up, to see how she'll react. He will most likely just try to not engage much talk with Jack, all should be fine then.

Sharpe follows the Doctor out of the room and takes up a stride.

"You know you're not exactly the best candidate for holding them either, you're the only person here who uses magic. Nevertheless, I guess it works out. As for Ayame, I don't know if she'll split with us immediately, or if we can even convince her. She mentioned it wasn't safe for us to be in contact anymore. I would say that if we keep pressing her, she'll be kidnapped and turned into one of those... thralls I guess."

Dr. Atrium let's Sharpe lead the way to the room. Before he knows one the door he looks over at Sharpe.

"Yeah, about that. When the sun rises tomorrow, I will be as as good at magic as you are. This place has drained all my charms that lets me use magic during the day. As for Ms. Ayame, I just want to warn her about what we saw, she doesn't have to join us."

He knocks on the door I front of him.

"Ayame knows there's suspicious. She probably would've left on her own if there wasn't something threatening her into staying by the looks of it. I hope Sharpe and the doctor know what they're doing. Oh, I feel a little guilty just sitting here, but maybe the doctor's right. Anything could happen at a moments notice. I wouldn't expect you to attack us at this very moment, but I guess I wouldn't be that suprised"

Jacked watched Hitomi dressed in the coat that was big enough to swallow her whole. It warmed his heart to see such an innocent child as it reminded him of his brother who always wanted to be a father. He looked towards Jian and felt a great urge to kill the silence between them.

"This is merely an attempt to drum up some conversation, but would you mind telling me how you met the doctor and Sharpe. You seem slightly out of place compared to those two, no offense"

He sighs, but he doesn't seem to have a choice to make it not as awkward as it would be with being silent. He turns around and gets up.

"Well... It's a bit of a weird story. I was a pretty unknown merchant, not much cash, not much to sell. Proficient with herbs and cooking. Sharpe bought something from my stand and I was injured during a marketbrawl afterwards. The doc took care of me and then Sharpe was looking for me because he saw somebody that is looking for me, claming that the person looking for me adressed me as a "threat" for thier country. To elaborate that, I am a fugitive, kind of. The country I am from was involved in a war, and my clan got rid out and killed. Me being alive is unacceptable for them. I am looking for the woman who saved me not too long ago, which is why I left and managed to survive."

He looks down. It brings up quite a lot of flashbacks. He tries to brush it off and looks back at Jack, expecting some answer of sorts.

Sharpe and Doctor Atrium arrive infront of Ayame's room once again. Atrium knocks but there is no response. After a brief while he decides to knock again when suddenly the echo of a distant crash makes its way into the hallway. Sharpe and Atrium could barely hear it and it sounds like it came from somewhere near the main hall. The device sharpe has vibrates and several red dots appear and move inhumanly fast towards the door to the dining hall and then dissapear off-screen. It seems like the range on this is rather limited, but well enough to see little less than one fift of the castle at all times. Sharpe notices the blue skull representing the blue jewel that Doc is carrying with him, as it seems to be fading more and more every new time he looks at the device.

In Jians room, the commotion is nearly impossible to make out and easily to miss through the door and hallways, however hitomi jumps up from whatever she is doing and runs over to the door, growling at it as her eyes change colour. Something doesn't sit right with her at first, but after a brief moment she merely sits down infront of the door and calms down.

Disclaimer:

Sharpe, waits and listens, and keeps his eye on the device.

"The Feth was that? Sounds like they had some trouble in the main hall! I think we should go check it out, Ayame could have been involved if she's not in her room."

Sharpe draws his pistol but keeps the safety on and runs off down the hall, the pistol up by his head and both hands on the grip. He rushes out down the stairs into the great hall with a such a brisk pace he skids a bit on the tiled flooring and almost topples on the rug. He corrects himself and runs to the main hall to what would seem to be south, if his head-compass counts for something in this realm.

Dr. Atrium fallows Sharpe as he goes charging down into the main hall. He has never liked going head first into fights, one could lose there head that way. When Sharpe stops, he grabs his shoulder so he doesn't start going again.

"We need to think this through and not rush in blindly. We should hurry to make sure no one is hurt from what ever happened but we also need to be carful. When we come up too the main hall, look around before you go in, I have your back incase anything tries to jump us."

He lets him go and fallows him as they head to the main hall.

Jack let out a calming sigh after the shock from the noise

"Well, uh, judging by the direction of that noise, it should be nowhere near Sharpe and the doctor. Considering there's noway to investigate it without endangering ourselves or Hitomi, let's try to ignore that and continue our conversation.

Jack took a slight pause to gather his thoughts

"Your story sounds quite tragic. As coincidence might have it, I too have suffered the loss of my clan and been hunted by mad men. As I mentioned before, I was adopted by gypsies. Entire clan was wiped out by plague. Mama, Papa, even ol' uncle Guy (pronounced Gee). The man thought he'd live forever, heh... My brother and I were left to watch as our loved one vomited until there organs came out of their mouths. To this very day, I wonder why the plague spared the two of us... After that, my brother served as my parental guardian. *sigh* That was until he was drafted and killed by the pagans... All alone, I had to live in an orphanage for a couple of years until I was old enough to live on my own. Then things began to seem like they were going to turn for the better. I became famous as a prodigy engineer, even worked on a military project or two. Ah, but fame brings notoriety, and notoriety brought the pagans back into my life. There was attempted attack after attack made on my life. I had to go into hiding under the name Sam. The most heartbreaking thing was that I had to decline an invitation to work on a project trying to create a flying vehicle. I always felt like the pagans took that away from me. Heh, this letter was the first time in two years that anyone addressed me by the name Jack...

oh dear, its seems I've been rambling quite a bit"

Jian, looking at Hitomi is a bit confused. She soon returns to sitting normally, which is a bit concerning and cute to watch. His view tilts back to Jack, hearing him out.

The similarity is a bit intriguing. Even though he has no idea what "Pagans" are. Not sure if Jack's clan was as big as his, considering that it was in posession of a big part of the country. The vast difference is, that his clan was mostly torn down and slaughtered, rather than being struck down by a disease. He personally never was interested in much machinery, but more into having his own ranged weapon of sorts, so he can't really feel for the situation of not being part of working on a flying vehicle of sorts.

Hitomi's reaction earlier still kind of bothers him though, what was it all about? Maybe it's because of her missing the doc? He only can speculate.

"Well then. It is pretty similar to mine, indeed. I got to leave the place I live at with seeing my granddad decapitated in his room, grabbing for a weapon. I nearly died aswell, getting away with a slit open chest."

He pulls up his shirt, showing the long scar that pulls itself from the top left down to the center of the chest.

"I have nobody left, only the woman who saved me. She's somewhere. Her informant didn't know anything once he brought me to safety. So I'll have to try and find her. Other than that, I am mostly on my own. Nobody that might send me any letters or such, or at least I think."

Sharpe and Atrium arrive at the stairs leading to the hallway. Sharpe carefully makes his way down, keeping a sharp eye on the look for any potential hostiles. As he comes down to the steps, a male and a female servant rush past the two with unthinkable speed, almost as if flying they rush to the dining hall. The big double door to the dining hall was open and a smokey stench remeniscent of an explosion could be smelt from their position.

The two servants nimbly slide through the open crack in the door and coming from behind it sharpe can make out the sounds of metal clashing. Doesn't seem like the two servants noticed him so he takes a quick look at the radar. Six red dots are rapidly moving about in the dining room infront of them, moving in on something that isn't displayed on the radar, then quickly moving away again after a couple of metal 'twang' sounds.

With such unparalleled speed, the only thing Sharpe can think of off the top of his head that can match that power would be Iron Men, things of supposed myth, or the workings of magic-craft. He flips the safety off and runs toward the door.

When he gets to the door, the turns to Doc.

"I don't go blindly into situations, I think of stuff on the way there. And you know Doc, sometimes you gotta hustle it. You don't want to get to your destination and find the party was over before you even knew it started.

He listens against the door for a moment but hears no more twangs. He checks the radar and finds the red dots have mostly backed away from the center of the dining room.

He pushes the door open slowly.

The door creaks slightly as sharpe opens it. Nobody seems to notice despite how still the room has become.

Peering inside Sharpe notices smoke coming from the corner of the room, remembering the hidden door that he had inquired about earlier, now blown open and charred. In the middle of the room, Sharpe recognizes the woman from town. Or wait- She's different somehow? She fits the description he remembers, Long clean black hair tied in a ponytail, a dark purple tanktop and linen pants. But didn't she have dreadlocks before? Sharpe waves off the thought as he finally notices her surroundings. Hard to miss at first, there are five servants, male and female alike gathered around the woman with kitchen knives drawn. One of them is missing an arm yet is not bleeding. Neither of them seem to carry much expression though they seem combat ready. The woman is standing on the table with a dagger in one hand and a short sword in the other, holding the short sword backwards behind her back while keeping her dagger in a ready stance. Her gaze darts between the servants, back and forth.

Sharpe nudges the door slightly, causing it to creak again. This draws her attention and she jerks herself around staring at the door. Within seconds the servants leap forward and begin to attack her. With quick reflexes she manges to jump over one of them, turning to just barely manage to deflect two of their blows with her dagger before one of the others manages to get a hit on her arm. She gasps in surprise and pain and drops her dagger, swinging her sword around to deflect three more blows and cut the chest of one of the servants, who merely leans forward and bites her in the shoulder, causing her to yell out in pain. She quickly begins to lose conciousness as she sags down to her knees and eventually falls over, being released from the servants grip.

The servants circle around her staring at her unconcious body and then begin to sink into the ground, one after another. Dissapearing off the radar. Sharpe looks at Atrium with a bewildered expression.

Dr. Atrium chuckles at what Sharpe said.

"As a trained assassin, I don't like to hassle at all. Sometimes it's good to get there when the party is over. You can't get hurt if that party is over. But I do understand what you are saying."

When Sharpe opens the door, he watches the scuffle, his hands glowing getting ready to give the girl some help but it was all over before he could work the shadows. He pushes past Sharpe and goes to the girls side. He gets on his knees and pulls the woman up so he can look at the bite she got. It doesn't look very bad but it is defiantly the bite the knocked her out. His hands glow white and he heals the bite as well as the cuts she got. He can feel his grasp on his magic source start to slip witch means this moon is falling and the sun is rising. He stands up and picks up the woman.

"Hey Sharpe, you mind giving me a hand with her? I want to bring her back to Jian's room and lay her on the bed. I would say my room but I am sure it still reeks of decomp."

Sharpe aims his pistol at the woman.

"No. Doc, we can't bring this woman to Jian's room. Total no-go. You see, this woman appears to be one of the people sent to hunt down Jian. He's a fugitive, remember?"

He knows Doc's not going to change his mind. He's too good and Sharpe's not the kind to just leave others out to die either.

"Bring her to my room. I'll keep her there and you can see to her wounds. If need be, ask Jian to tell you how to treat wounds, maybe with herbs. Don't let the two meet, he'll get pissed off, maybe attempt to kill her. I don't want to lose someone who could be of potential use, either as an informant or as a diversion."

He waits a moment, and lowers his pistol but no less intensely.

"Got it? Sorry if I'm being rude or curt, but this is a serious matter, Doc."

Sharpe and Atrium pick up her body and begin hauling her to Sharpe's room. To everyones surprise, nobody is present in the hallways or the stairs. It's almost as if the whole castle was empty, but they knew otherwise.

They arrive at sharpe's room and put the woman on the big bed. There sharpe notices a breeze. The window is open and the curtains are blowing and it seems he must have forgotten to close the drawer of his desk when he took the jewels. That reminds him and he takes a peek at the screen. Nothing unusual. No sounds, no vibrations. Everything seems fine.