Glayp'neir (Arc 1)

Sharpe nods to the two of them, and lets the blade slide out, but he lets it then clatter to the floor as he catches Janette's limp body. He turns her around and wipes away the tears on her now flushed face, and wipes the blood from her mouth as well. He takes the body off to a corner and sets her down flat, taking her legs and straightening them, fixing her dress a little, and the rest of her attire in general, then crosses her arms over her chest, with one hand over the other. He brushes a lock of her hair and gets up, retrieving his sword.

He manages to catch up through a bit of a power-stride and he sheathes the sword to clean later.

"Least we didn't waste much in the way of ammunition. God knows that stuff's expensive." Sharpe starts to slow a bit, his mind starting to catch up with his body. He feels fatigue starting to come over him. He becomes aware of his breathing and he starts to slow that as well.

"Let's just go get some food. I'm hoping all of those folks are alright."

Airgetlam makes her way to the dining hall, more quiet than when they left it. She walks over to the kitchen door and lightly pushes the door open.

"Ayame? Jian? You here? We've taken care of the issue..." She asks about, but nothing returns. Only the chilling tongue of silence.

She feels feels a slight twitch down her spine, and she turns around back into the hall.

They're probably just in the rooms eating, she tells herself.

She comes back to the boys.

"They're not in the kitchen, so they're likely in the rooms." She says to them and proceeds to relocate herself to the rooms.

The three of them make their way to the rooms. It's not far from their previous location so they arrive there within a few minutes. A few survivors are scattered outside, but mostly everyone is inside the rooms. They a fair bit of chatter is happening, making the place quite loud. The first thing Airgetlam notices is the woman from town standing infront of an open room with her sword drawn. Her other hand holding Hitomi back as if they've seen a ghost. She goes inside the room where Ayame and Jian had previously been and the maids tell her that the two of them had dissapeared before their very eyes, dragged into the shadows. Hitomi sees the three and runs into the room, dissapearing underneeth the bed.

Sharpe moves ahead of the group and unsheathes his sword again. He looks to the two maids and poses a question.

"Well then, they must have gone somewhere, they can't have just stopped existing. They're not exactly the most credible threats here. We saw Doc disappear along with Dahaka, maybe she has something to do with it."

Frowning, Airgetlam sits on the bed and looks down at the floor.

"Well, honestly, there's nothing we can do right now. I think we should just wait it out and hope for the best. None of us know magic, and though Jack knows protraction, i don't think he knows how to get a portal open for us. that might be a bit much to ask. So I propose that we just kinda sit here and eat, since we haven't had something to eat since this morning. Sound good?"

She tries to make the mood seem ok, but she can't shake the feeling they ought to be more worried. Realistically however, she doesn't know how to get Jian and Ayame and Doc back, so waiting is the best they can do. She sets her cloak and module off to the side to see the extent of the damage later.

"Is there any food left, may I ask?"

"Sharpe, don't worry about the help. All servants and maiden that were a threat died along with Janette and her necromancy spells."

"At least Hitomi and the lady are safe for now"

"Oh how glad I am the two of you are ok. Y-your brother has disappeared, but he will show up soon. I promise.  He will be completely fine... uuuuhhhhh... I'm assuming you made an attempt to teach the girl some english or any human language for that matter. hehe"

Any attempt to mask the worry resulted in total failure

"Guh heh... you still never told me your name."

The woman raises an eyebrow at Jack suggesting she taught the fairy how to speak. She presents a paper to him, as the quill writes on it. "I am a mute." she frowns a little, not so much shocked as confused as to how he could have missed that. She then writes, "The name is Sam." and walks off to sit in a nearby chair. No sense in worrying if she doesn't even begin to know where the three have disappeared to and where to go to find them. She points over to the tray of foods left in the room. Various eastern foods are stacked on the thing, though not all too much is left over. One meal for everyone at most.

One of the maids approaches Airgetlam. "Aren't you going to save them?" she says, a worried expression settling on her face. Surely the people who saved all of them would save their own friends.
"You will, right?" she asks to confirm.

Sharpe walks and sits in a chair, taking a bowl of food and reveals a washcloth that he proceeds to wipe the blade of his sword with. As he cleans off Janette's blood, he can't help but feel a heaviness to his heart, almost seeing her reflection looking back at him from death in the red gloss. He stops for a moment, gazing at the blade.

"There must have been another way..." he says in a low, rather hushed tone. And he scratches his stubble. He takes the bowl and begins eating. The meal is not very easy to manipulate with the fork and he looks up.

"We should probably start searching the grounds in case they turn up." he says between mouthfuls. He looks to one of the maids.

"Did Jian give you these wooden sticks as utensils by any chance? I'd rather use those."

Airgetlam frowns at the maid and shakes her head. She sits on the bed and looks back to that maid.

"Honestly sweetie, I don't know. I don't know where they could have gone, nor where they could be now. Maybe whatever suck them up spat them out somewhere else in the castle. Sharpe has the right idea that we should lock it down here. After we eat that is." she says as she takes a bowl. She looks back again the maid.

"Look, I try to help who I can whenever I can but... I'm no hero. I'm not a soldier fantastic mage. I'm just me. But I know I can do what I can. So we'll look. As well, the patient hunter gets the prey; you shouldn't rush things. Oftentimes they work themselves out. Though, you do need to intervene sometimes. Right now, I'm recognizing that I can't exactly do much, but what I can and will do. If you need a hug, come get one, I dole them out freely."

she takes bites and finds the food and texture to be utterly delicious.

"Also, glad to know you have a name, Sam."

Jack blushed slightly

"Her name is Sam?! As in the same name as my alias?! well ain't that just bloody adorable"

"Well, I already knew that darling. I was there when your brother gave you that quill. Of the other things you probably forgot about me, I promised you a drink after all of this madness is over, which it will be once this madness is over, as soon as your brother returns"

"He will return, I just know it."

The maid gives Airgetlam a disgruntled look. She is about to open her mouth as suddenly the whole castle shakes. Earth-quake like rumbling bellowing through the castle and upsetting everyone's balance. The maids in the room gasp and duck down to the ground, trying to hold on to the nearest surfaces as they lose their footing. The shaking of the castle loosens dust, rocks and small pieces of the room. The earthquake seems to calm when suddenly an enormous crash sends a sting of fear down the spines of the survivors and the group. From outside the window they can see the towers have begun to collapse. Their roofs gone and walls caved in on themselves. Out in the hall the gasps and screams of terror and surprise fill the guest wing as the survivors lose their cool, though the rumbling has stopped- for now.

---

FP Chatlog:

Sharpe looks up and sits in his chair, not really faced. His eyes dart to everyone in the room, then to outside, then back to everyone.

"Shiiit, you know that means? This place is coming apart! We need to get everyone the feth out of here!" he says and frantically gathers up the few things he had brought in. He runs out of the room and gathers his backpack and what he set in that room and returns.

"Guys, start telling the survivors to get ready and orderly and not to panic! I've been in these before and they really get on my nerves!"

Airgetlam quickly but with finesse places the bowl of food somewhere and she stands up.

"Welp, we're probably going to find them on the way out. If you'll excuse me, I must pack up." She says, running out after Sharpe, going to gather her stuff. She eventually returns with her stuff.

"Jack, you might want to get going as well." She says to him. She then looks at the maids, feeling the same sense of urgency as Sharpe.

"Be calm, don't panic! We have time. Do we know how many people we have?" she asks, feeling her mind a bit jumbled.

"Oh god, I'm definitely gonna need that drink after this. NO! I'm going after Jian and the doctor. If anything happens to me, Sharpe, Air, Sam... please take care of Hitomi...and one of you, somebody teach that girl some bloody English already!!

Jack ran off before anyone could say anything. He sprouted his wing once more, bending it backwards to shield him from the rubble raining from above. After the meal, Jack had regained most of his stamina, but would it be enough?

The survivors start pouring out of the rooms. Given the earthquake they are in a state of panic, running about the hallway trying to figure out what to do. As Jack leaves the room, Hitomi suddenly jumps up, growling, but not the deep agressive kind. More of a lighthearted, relieved grow. She hops off the bed- seemingly her favorite play-time place so far, and runs out of the room. As she comes around the corner, she sees a menacing looking fur covered creature stand in the hallway. It's yellow eyes fixated on the group of survivors infront of it. It roars loudly, scaring the survivors even more as they try to push back into the rooms to clear the hallway- get away from the monster.

---

FP Chatlog:

"That guy's gonna get himself killed one day running off like that..." Sharpe sighs. Suddenly Hitomi rushes out and Sharpe runs after her.

"Sweetie, no! We have to stay together!" He says, but pauses, still as a statue. He slowly rears his head down the hall and feasts his eyes upon a large creature with yellow eyes. Sharpe takes out his sword and motions for Hitomi to get close to him.

He settles into a front stance and looks upon the beast sternly.

The thing definitely looks like a demon, but for some reason he gets the feeling of familiarity with it.

"If you're Dahaka, it's too late, your palace is coming apart. If you're not... I don't want to fight, we're just trying to escape." He proclaims with steadfast certainty.

Airgetlam facepalms as Jack runs out the doorway.

She walks up to Sam and looks at her with a concerned face.

"Are you fit to move rapidly if we need you to? I don't want to have to carry you honestly."

She looks back as she hears the unmistakable sound of Sharpe taking out his sword.

"What's the issue? Servants still around and about?" She stops though, as he looks intensely focused on something. She preps her crossbow and stands aiming at the doorway, but not directly at Sharpe, just in case something jump-scares her and she pulls the trigger by accident. Don't want her braining Sharpe by mistake.

Jack followed the sounds of chaos to find a massive crowd being frightened by a ferocious beast. He turned his head to find a smaller creature also terrorizing the masses.

"Oh bloody bucket of bullocks, this is not something I want to deal with now...wait a sec. Two creature of the same species, whatever it is, ones an adult and the others an infant. Oh it all makes sense, the adult must be upset for losing its child lost in this crowd. Reuniting the two seems like it would be easier and faster than killing them."

Jack moves at breakneck pace, leaping across the room. He grabs and lifts the smaller creature with a single swoop and places it in front of the larger creature.

"there there, boy...or uh...girl, here's your child safe and sound, completely unharmed."

Atrium watches as the crowd of people start to back from him. He sees the little girl he was looking for. As he is about to walk to her, a man jumps out of the crowd and grabs her and brings her right in front of him. He sees the mans mouth moving but all he hears is noise in odd pitches. He looks down at the little girl and smiles.

"I...remember you...but everything else...is blur..."

Atrium tells the girl. He then sees another person jump out of the crowd. This person starts pulling on strings in his mind. He then sees the man pull something sharp out from his hip. Atrium tilts his head looking at what the man holds. A sword. He knows that. He also knows that it can harm or kill him or the girl. Atrium bares his teeth and lets out a low growl. He sees the mans mouth move and tones similar to the other man comes out of his mouth. The man in of him then points the sword at him and he pounces and claws at the man as fast as he can. The man barley dodges but he did hit the sword with his claw and almost knocked it out of his hands. Atrium jumps back again and makes sure the little girl is behind him. He has to keep her safe.

Info about brown text:

Hitomi loosely holds one of the claws of the enraged furry creature. Leaning against it and feeling its warmth. She doesn't reply at first, and merely leans against atrium in seek of comfort. Meanwhile the masses have mostly fled back into their rooms, shutting the doors. Hitomi then looks up at the doc and begins to answer in their own odd language.
"Why are you fighting your kind?" she asks curiously, but is then thrown on her back as the castle shakes anew. The quaking is stronger than the last, making it hard to even see. With a massive crash, one of the towers falls onto the attic, crushing it and the stairs in the guest hall and revealing the mist-shrouded sky above. Some of the survivors on the left side of the wing barely make it out of their rooms again as a couple of the rooms collapse and fall into the abyss below taking a handful of survivors with them... Time is running out.

---

FP Chatlog:

Sharpe jumps back and almost loses his prized katana, but is able to keep it with him. His vision darts between Hitomi and the creature, almost as if the thing is... family? Thus far the only one that she's ever behaved like that around is Doc, and he thinks she's unlikely to trust anyone else. If that's the case, this might be Doc. If it is... He doesn't know what kind of magic the guy pulled, or even what the hell transpired in the null-void or whatever... 

He keeps the sword steady, but withdraws it a bit and holds his hand out to Jack, palm towards his chest.

"Jack," he starts in a lower volume, "This might seem a bit far-fetched, but I'm kind of wondering if this is Doc maybe... if it isn't, fighting this isn't our priority, and it's likely the parent of Hitomi. Right now, we need to get these people out of here. Worst comes to worst, I'll stay back and keep it busy. You, Air and Sam should get everyone out of her."

He looks over at Airgetlam, who appears to have asked him something.

"You need to get out of here. We've got a little issue here, but it's nothing I can't handle. Please, go." He says to her calmly.

He looks back at the creature. He slides his sword back into the scabbard but keeps his hand on the grip, so he can pull it out at a moment's notice.

Airgetlam nods and turns around swiftly. She looks at Sam and nods.

"Pack your things, we need to get moving." she takes her pack and runs into the doorway of each room and yells.

"If everyone could please stay calm and follow me, we're going to get you guys to safety!"

She repeats this with every room with people in them. As soon as she has the group out and with her, she looks back at Sharpe.

"Ready to go, Sir!" she yells.

Atrium watches the man puts his sword away. He then lowers his arms a bit. He looks over at Hitomi and listens to what she says.

"My...Kind?"

He tilts his head trying to think. Was he one of them? While he is thinking the castle starts shaking again and watches as some of it crumble. If the girl is right then he must know this man. He grabs the little girl and puts her on his back.

"Hold tight...We...leaving..."

He then quickly charges at the man in front of him and grabs him with one arm. He holds him tightly so the man cant get loose and he can still run. He then starts charging back to the main hall so they can try and leave this place.

Spoiler:

Having little time for conversation, the few words Jack spoke fled from his mouth at the rate of bullets.

"Well Sharpe, I have absolutely no idea what your talking about, but no time to ask questions. I guess the doctor and Hitomi are some how werewolves if that's the case, but let's stop standing around. I must find Jian! You make sure everyone else gets out safely!"

Jack had witnessed so many bizarre things in this castle that he would not show the least amount of surprise when realizing who the beasts were. All that mattered was making sure the group escaped unharmed. He jolted off at breakneck pace.

"and put your sword away, your startling werewolf doctor with it"