Glayp'neir (Arc 1)

"Well I guess I'll just see if Jian can his way through this. If it doesn't work, I could still try that bit about pretending to be her lawyer. If he asked about my clothes, I'd say I was mugged; if he asked me about the books, I'd say they're for a separate case

Jack glances at the radar for a brief moment

"Damn, I wish had my tool kit. I'd be able to crack this open and see how it works"

The man stares Jian down with authority and then looks at his closed hand, containing the gold coin. He looks back at Jian. "What? Well... Mh. I see..." He holds his other hand up, to signal them to wait. "Just a moment." he says and turns to walk up to some of the other guards.

The guards talk for a moment, though to Clarent it seems like that moment took an hour, or even longer. She is aware that only maybe a few minutes have passed but is glad regardless when she sees the man turn and walk towards them, staring at the ground absently. "Yes well..." He continues as he returns. "As far as I'm concerned I've never even met you. But nobody is allowed into the central district without passes. Passes which I can't afford to give out. Not even for... favors." He puts the coin in one of his pockets and leads them up to the gate. One of the other guards eyes him down strangely as they arrive and he simply nods.

The group together with a couple of the guards arrive at the bridge. A makeshift booth has been set up and a fenced barricade has been set up to prevent crossing from the bridge. On the other side is also another barricade but this one less fortified and with no guards. Clarent figures they thought whatever was going on wasn't serious enough to have a double shift. At least at night.

"As for your friend," The man says as he pulls the little gate on the side of the fence open to let them pass. "I don't know anything about that, and I have no idea why they would take anyone to central with what's been going on." He pauses for a moment and adjusts his cap. The symbol of an officer of the watch. Clarent notices the wash of regret cast over him as he puts his hand in his pocket, feeling for the coin given to him. For a moment she thinks he is about to return it and send them home, or worse, take them into custody, but then the man nods at them. "I should warn you, they say some strange people have been sighted over there. The entire district has been closed off and the people are in Inns and Hotels outside of Central. We weren't entirely filled in ourselves, but I figure I should give you a heads up." He then lets them pass one by one, Jian and Doc leading the way, with the rest in tow.

As they pass, Clarent nods at him with a smile. She isn't really sure that saying anything could make the man feel any better. Afterall, it probably isn't his choice to accept the money. Everyone has a family to feed. "Well... Maybe not everyone..." she thinks to herself and wanders off to follow the group.



After crossing the bridge, the group finds itself in a rather abandoned looking city. The contrast compared to the busy streets of southern recudor is surprising. There the people are up and about, celebrating and drinking and singing to lights and dance and music. And here the streets are deserted with papers and garbage littering the ground, as if left at a moments notice. Then again, that is likely what has happened. "But are 'strange people' really enough of an issue to close off an entire district?" she ponders and jumps a bit as she hears the tinkle of a bell. Clarent looks off to a nearby roof where the sound has come from and notices the vague shape of a white cat on it.

"A cat? Now that's nothing like a 'strange person'. Aren't we in for a spooky surprise." she says mockingly, smiling at her own mockery to mask her nervousness.

---

FP Chatlog:

As Jian shoves him out of the way, and he notices the bribe to the officer, Sharpe can't help but sneer a bit. Corruption disgusts him, no matter what. Whether it is acceptable given a situation is, however, different.

"I don't exactly take too kindly to that, I've seen way too much of it in my day, and with worse consequences. But since we needed a way in, I'll let this slide." He says quietly to Jian and Doc.

As they move into the Zone, he looks about, and keeps a hand rested on. The handle of his sword.

"Reminds me of some towns we'd find, they were completely devoid of life. Ghost towns, more dilapidated than this though usually. Still, we'd find some of the worse things imaginable, though there was probably even more horrid. Every town has it's secrets, and this zone is telling of the whispers this city locks away."

He walks over and picks up one of the papers, trying to read what it says, but this particular sheet is very dirty and smudged, and he can make anything out.

"Stay on your toes, stay together, unless I say otherwise."

Airgetlam finds the quarantined district to be rather unnerving, given how despondent it looks compared to the rest of the city. She draws her crossbow and starts tuning the scope on it, then cycles in two normal bolts, and a sleep bolt, and she swivels the weapon from side to side, panning for targets. She looks to her side and remarks the cat on the rooftop that Clarent is talking about, and this gives her an idea.

"Sharpe, is it fine if I take the rooftop for this? I can get a better angle on what might be happening in the immediate area and what else might be in the distance" she asks of him.

Jian looks around nervously entering. He didn't suspect it to work, but he managed to make it happen for the sake of them making progress. He sighs again in a bit of relief and disbelief. Things turn quite complicated once again, this little scouting mission turns into them walking into prohibited territory. Instead of Sharpe being happy about this progress he just seems to be annoyed with the approach he did. No thank you, no sign of appreciated, just a sign of disgust, which surely doesn't make Jian feel happy about it at all. And to top it all off, Sharpe just goes back to bossing everyone around. Jian will start to think twice at this rate, why try to help in a way if Sharpe ends up rather disgusted without a sign of appreciation. Jian sighs again and just keep looking at him with a bad perspective. He has other things to worry about anyway.

Dr. Atrium puts his hand on Jian's shoulder.

"Risky move back there, I was worried it wouldn't work. I am glad it did. It's rather sad that people can be bought but it is a useful tool. I am glad it worked though, good work. Don't worry about Sharpe, He will get over it."

He hears Clarent mutter something about a cat and looks up where she is looking and gasps happily.

"Mitsuki!!"

He calls out for her. He is very happy to see that she is safe. He waits for her to climb down from the roof and runs over to him. He picks her up and hugs her to his chest.

"I am so happy to see that you are ok."

He turns to the others and shows them Mitsuki.

"Oh my gods, its a cat! I wanna pet it I wanna pet it I wanna pet it I wanna pet it....wait...the doctor's still mad it me. He'd probably kill me if I laid a finger on it. damn"

"So, after we find Ayame, would anyone care to join me as I visit my old house. It's only a couple of blocks from here. I was planning on visiting it tomorrow morning and bringing the furniture there to our house since it's so empty. I'd really like to grab my spare tool kit from there considering my old one was destroyed along with that castle."

Clarent walks over to Doc who is happily presenting the cat. So Mitsuki was her name. What a nice name for a pretty cat like that. She goes to pet the cat but as she scratches it gently behind the ears, the cat stares her down. Clarent can't shake the feeling like the cat is trying to tell her it doesn't think fond of her, so her smile awkwardly fades as she graduately slows her petting and eventually withdraws her hand. She turns to make sure that she is close by, as was instructed and positions herself somewhere near Sharpe, that doctor and this Sam fellow.

"Sure." she says, stretching a little as she recovers from her rather long nap. "I'll help if I can, I'll need a bit of a walk to make up for my mental absence." She then turns and notices that Jian is giving Sharpe a rather disgruntled stare. Clearly there is some blood between the two. Or at least it is a one sided thing. The stare of someone who has been bossed around a lot, and told what to do, and when to do it. And a stare of someone who doesn't enjoy being bossed around like that. Luckily for Clarent, she doesn't mind it one bit. The people who lead generally know what they are doing, otherwise they would not lead. She waves the thought off, time to think of more important things afterall, and looks about the buildings. She notices a fence in an alley way, and behind it a little hut with a convenient ladder propped against it.

"What about there?" She asks, directed towards the only other physical woman in the group, and points towards the fence. "It looks like you could get around from there, and onto that three storied building just ahead of us."

Sharpe directs his attention to the alleyway that Clarent indicated, with the fence and ladder.

"That would do excellently, Air, go ahead." He says to her, and nods to Clarent for her observational skills.

"Sharp eyes, Sharp mind, kid."

He walks further along, checking each pathway that lead off to the side, until he comes to an intersection, and he looks all three alternate directions. He stops and waits until Airgetlam gets in position before deciding a further course of action.

"Alright, see you guys on the far side then." She says, and she puts away her crossbow, and runs off into the alleyway. She grabs the fifth rung on the ladder and starts climbing up the ladder. She stands on the top rung and makes sure the ladder is stable before jumping up and latching onto the second-story ledge. She runs across the roof of that building and stops before proceeding to get a running start on the other building. She jumps across the gap and lands on her feet on the tiling, but almost loses her balance, but then regains it. She runs to the other side of the roof and looks about the central district, watching for anything strange.

It hits Jian like a brick down his neck when he hears the Sharp eyes, Sharp mind thing. He cringes internally with hearing something that would be close to a horrid pun. It sounds like Sharpe's trying hard to show off Air in this case. He simply sighs. Suddenly something strikes him odd. Something about this place really feels way off... Exactly, it's how far they've gotten without any person inquiring. That must be it. What exactly is this about? Sure, they kinda got permission, but nobody else is really suspicious about their presence at this point? Jian can't help but finding it strange...

He didn't pay much attention to the cat either, as his mind is a bit somewhere else, focused on what might lie ahead. The only thing that keeps irking him is Sharpe with his recent attitude, and it's the only thing that throws him a bit off aswell.

Dr. Atrium pets Mitsuki a few more times, gives her a hug then puts her on the ground. He knows that she will fallow him like she did before. He can't help but wounder how she made it out of that relm. He watched her run in with Hitomi but he never found her and they had to leave before he could find her. There is something very strange about this cat. He looks down at her and smiles bright. Doc hasn't been listening to what has been going around him. He sees Airgetlam head to a ladder and climb up onto a house. Looks like she is going to keep an eye out from up high. Good plan. He sees that Jian has a worried look on his face again. He looks around the very empty place. He has always loved places like this. Quite, no one around and it's very peaceful. He breaths in and lets out a happy sigh. He knows that they will find Ayame. He hopes that she will be ok when they do find her.

"So Clarent, I should mention that you don't need to worry about Ayame when we find her. She knows your no longer possessed, or atleast I think so...hmmm. Uh, doctor, if your in the mood to talk to me now, would mind telling me how you killed that Lady Dahaka, unless that was after you turned into a amnesia filled werewolf."

"Ahm. Yes... Good to know." Clarent says as she sticks her hands into the pockets of her hoodie and wanders off a little, examining the roads and alleyways curiously. "Kid" she thinks to herself, having fond memories of the man who helped her survive for the past many years. "Kid, you'll have to be aware and focused if you're to survive instead of becoming cattle." she mockingly repeats in her head. "People aren't really free unless they choose to be and fight for it..."

Meanwhile Airgetlam makes her way onto the roof and begins to scout the area. She can only get a bit of a view but enough to make out the immediate area. It seems like most buildings on this side of central are smaller, limiting to two and three story buildings. Though further along Air can make out various taller buildings, but still nothing to large. From what she can see, which isn't much given how dark it is at this time, there if some sort of checkpoint further ahead. Surprisingly many buildings still have lights burning in them, though given the utility protraction can provide, it doesn't come as much of as surprise. At the checkpoint there seem to be people on a roof, as well as a small barricade built hastily around a building. She can't make out more than a few vague shapes wandering around.

Airgetlam continues to survey the area. The checkpoint is straight up north, but there seem to be various other ones throughout the district, which in itself is quite large. Fortunately, she notices, not all of Central is blocked off, or at least some people are still within the quarantined zone, as half of what seems to be the central district is still lit up brightly. A faint sound of something metallic falling over on a low surface catches Airgetlams attention as she sees a dark figure dart across the nearby road, just around the corner to the group, but far enough that none of the others would have noticed. Shortly after two other figures cross the street hastily, followed by another, and then a straggler. They move from one alley into the next, causing a bit of noise as they push past garbage bags and throw over bins.  Airgetlam then notices a feeling tugging at her, as if she were being watched. At first she doesn't think anything by it but as she turns back to face the checkpoint up north a person is standing a few roofs away on a five storied building, seemingly looking her way. Though she can't make out any of the features of the person, they wave her off and kick something, which then rolls off the side of the roof and falls to the ground below. Air looks after the thing that fell and then directs her attention back at the person, who is now missing.

Nothing else seems to catch her immediate attention.

Sharpe looks ahead, blankly, and turns introspectively toward his thought-speech. Something about it seemed off, as if his brain had a random strand of bizarre syntax, but he waves the thought away and instead looks about. The city is dark now, and nightfall has enveloped them. He looks about, checking the ways, but doesn't see much besides what looks like a glow in other parts of the district, but that could always be ambiance from the rest of the city's districts. He doesn't exactly have much trouble seeing in the dark, but he does not have the advantage of broad daylight, which makes fighting in the dark, or moving about demanding of caution. He looks up toward Airgetlam and shouts up to her, waving.

"Find anything?!"

Airgetlam shutters a bit and her flesh arm tingles and fidgets a little, as if to shake off the feeling. She looks curiously toward where the man on the roof was. She can't help but feel a tad more unnerved by the city in general. It reminds her of the stories she's heard of abandoned, haunted cities, and the stories of adventurers who would meet their end, or at least almost not get out alive. She hears Sharpe's call and walks to the edge, look down.

""There looks to be a group down the street, I count 5 total. I don't know anything besides making noise, maybe scrounging, probably scavengers or something. To the North I saw what looks like a checkpoint with a barricade around a tall building, and there seems to be someone taking refuge, maybe more. It looks like there are definitely people still wandering around, it's just the area's been evacuated. I think a part of the district is operational, so that could just be the edge of the quarantine zone or a people who refused to leave."

She looks back towards the checkpoint, which has not seen any new activity, and then to the group of five down the way, checking on their position.

Dr. Atrium sighs when he hears Jack's question. He gets a sadden look on his face and he turns to talk to Jack.

"She isn't technically dead...She is with me."

He looks at Clarent, then pulls the Soultrap from under his shirt.

"Lady Dahaka is inside of Clarent's Soultrap. I am sorry I didn't tell your right away Clairent. I was worried that if you knew Dahaka was in here, you would try and destroy it. I was wondering if I could by this off of you. I know they are hard to make and I can pay you a lot for it. It's just that...Lady Dahaka wasn't evil...She was just trapped. She was stuck in that relm for over 500 years. She just wanted to be free and being trapped kinda made her lose focus about what was right and wrong. If I wear the Soultrap, she can see the world through my eyes and hear what I hear. I feel bad because all I did was free her from one prison and put her in another one...She can also talk me be if she ever wants to..."

Doc turns back to Jack.

"So she isn't dead and she is with us....with me."

He holds the Soultrap in his hand and trys to talk to her again.

"Lady Dahaka...If you can hear me, please say somthing or do something so I know.

Jack takes a look at the soul trap.

"Quite fascinating. Well, Lady Dahaka, I hope I can make your acquaintance even though I did yell at you quite a bit the last time we met. Another interesting thing is that group Air just mentioned. Let's pay them a visit and see if they are friend or foe."

Clarent eyes her amulet, unsure how to feel about it. She clasps her hand around the spot where her necklace would be feeling only the emptiness left by its absence. She takes a moment to think and draws a conclusion. "I don't think I could part from it. It was a parting gift from my parents. It's been acting as a charm for me ever singe I was little."

She bites her lip in thought. She would perfer to ask for it back, out of comfort, and since it belongs to her. But she would feel bad to do so. "Uhm..." she starts, shuffling a bit. "I don't really feel comforterable with it being in the hands of someone else. I don't know anything about this Dahaka person but if I could hold on to her... I'd really perfer that. You can talk to her anytime, just as long as it stays my property."
Clarent blushes a bit, caught off-guard by the sudden development.

Sharpe looks up the path north and spots the checkpoint, if not as clearly. He looks in the direction Airgetlam was saying regarding the other group.

"If at all possible, I'd like to avoid other groups. If we avoid them, we can avoid potential trouble. while having allies is nice, I just want to proceed with caution here."

He looks to Clarent, a concerned expression worn upon his face at the prospect of Clarent regaining her amulet.

"I don't know if you want to do that just yet, at least not in an uncontrollable environment. That 'Dahaka' was actually an ancient demon who merged with the soul of some girl whose family was slaughtered to the last. She struck a deal with the demon and they became one, and then abducted you and used your body as a vessel. You were a meat puppet for a few days. So while I completely understand how things can mean a lot to people like that, I advise that we wait until we're in someplace safe to try something. While yes, it doesn't seem to be affecting Doc besides the fact that he's sort of sharing his body, we don't know what'll happen to you if you wear your soul trap again."

Airgetlam looks down at the party and scratches her head. She can't make out what they're saying at all, so she's being kept out of the loop. She looks back again, checking, then yells back down.

"So what's our plan of action?! Just tell me where to go and I'll recon it!"

The long day so far has taken a toll on Jian's condition a lot. Not only the day itself, but the whole time they were sucked into the other realm. He takes a few more steps causally, until his leg suddenly pulls away all strength he would've needed for the step, he trips, simply falling without making any noise, with agony written all over his face, while he lays there with his head smashed into the floor first. His leg starts bleeding through the bandages, the running seemed to have caused the wound to rip open. Having this happen in front of everyone probably was an embarrasing sight to witness, but even then he can't help it simply laying there in pure silence, his teeth grinding against each other. He tries to pull himself up with his leg giving in right in the instant of him pressuring it.

Dr. Atrium thinks about what to say to Clarent when he hears Airgetlam calling out to them. He turns to her and yells out to her.

"We are avoiding people at all cost, do you see a way that is clear!?"

He then turns to Clarent and sighs.

"I am sorry, but I am afraid to give you the Soultrap at the moment. As you know, it is leaking her soul out because the Soultrap is broken. I don't want to risk the chance of her being able to you. After we save our friend and get home, I promise to give it back then. I hope you understand and don't hate me for it..."

Doc then sees Jian fall and sees his leg bleeding. He rushes over to him and lays him down.

"How long has your leg been this injured? Why didn't you tell me? I could of saved you all this pain..."

Doc sighs and brings his glowing hands to Jian's leg.

"Do to the fact we are in a hurry, this isn't going to feel very comfortable I am afraid..."

His hands glow turns dark and he casts the spell. To Jian, It feels like someone just ripped the wound right out of his leg. it hurts a lot but only for a few seconds. When Jians pain goes away, it is gone for good. Doc then falls to his knees quickly much like Jian did. He rolls up his pant leg to look at the injury. It becomes clear that Doc didn't heal Jian, he took the injury and gave it to himself. Doc then looks at Jian.

"Not going to lie, this hurts like hell...How were you able to walk on this? I am shocked really."

He then puts his glowing hands on the injury and starts to heal it. After a few painful moments. he gets up.

"O-ok....I am good and ready."

"If they were friendly, we'd make a new ally; if they weren't we'd beat them and find out why there's this damn quarantine. Why does everyone always hate my plans...eh?!"

Jack watches Jian trip and bleed heavily. Seeing Jian's facial expressions of embarrassment as the doctor instantly heals the wound, Jack tries to divert a bit of the attention.

"I do believe that Sharpe left out the part that Lady Dahaka was a vampire, but anyways, I don't see a reason you shouldn't have your amulet back. Honestly, why would they call it a soul trap if the soul was able to escape. Actually darling, I find it gracefully poetic. First, Lady Dahaka takes over your body, living through you, seeing the world through your eyes. Now, the doctor has trapped her in this amulet and yet she's still living through you, seeing the world through your eyes."

As Jian seemingly flops over and injures himself, or perhaps re-injures himself, Clarent can't help but feel concerned for the man. He seems rather beaten up and given the circumstances, Clarent is surprised they didnt take more of a rest before heading into a quarantined zone with god knows what inside. Clarent approaches Jian and Atrium and kneels down next to Jian. "Hey, are you alright sir?" she asks, trying to be friendly. She then looks over to the doctor who has by this point mostly healed everything. She doesn't really understand anything about Magic herself, but she feels he must be gifted to be able to heal so quickly. From the stories she heard, healers would often only be able to speed up the healing process by a few days, but this man was very talented in that regard. "If there is an immediate danger... I suppose I could bring myself cope with it." She thinks to herself, going over some of the fantasies in her head. "Myself being possessed isn't exactly how I'd want to spend the rest of my life. So I guess he makes a point. Though by that logic, he would have the same issue..."

"Alright," Clarent says, after a moment of thought. "No, he does make a good point, it's fine by me. But... I'll get it back eventually, promised?" She doesn't wait for an answer and gets up, extending her hand towards Jian. Her hoodie is a little oversized for her, so her soft fingers barely stick out of the ends of her sleeves, she waves her hand a little to beckon him up. As she does so, she looks over at Sharpe, who she figures by now to be the token leader figure of this little group. "I think it's best we avoid people, too. We're not exactly permitted here, so having a run in with people would not be the best thing to be aiming for. But if we are to be looking for a prison or other place that they would be holding up, then we probably don't have much of a choice than to check out what there is to see. Maybe we can try to stay out of sight until we find some guards or run into a patrol of sorts that we can follow?"