Glayp'neir (Arc 1)

Dr. Atrium ignores the bodies for the moment and rushes up to Jack and slaps the back of his head.

"Your a bloody fool, you know! I told you we were going to help in the morning! There was no need for you to go on this damn suicide mission! I couldn't give a shit if your a bloody angle sent from god himself, being as self righteous as you are will get you killed!"

With an angry huff, Doc turns around an noticed the dead for the first time. He lets out a sigh. He walks over to the closest body and gasps.

"The survivors...they were vampires."

He stands up and starts to think.

"That scientist back at Vikuur did say they were doing experiments with the vampirism virus. I didn't think they had infected everyone within its walls with the virus."

Doc then pulls out one of his syringes and puts it in the arm of the dead man, drawing some of the blood. He then reaches into the mouth and carefully removes the fangs. He then puts the fangs and syringe in his coat pocket and looks at Jack.

"I think it is time I started looking in to Vampirism but that will be later. Since you are wanting to die out here, I guess we can look around for a bit."

Jack sits down, curled up next to the vampire that was sliced in half

"This one wasn't one of the survivors. Probably just infected and became one. She was a waitress at this cafe where I would meet my friend. Ya see, I didn't always live here in Recudor's central district, but before then, I would still visit my colleague, Tom. We kept in touch years after working on top secret military projects but that's another story for another time. He had a beautiful wife and the wonderful daughter. I'd say about 6% sweeter than Hitomi, hmph, but nowhere near as sassy... I was sitting at the cafe this girl worked at when waiting for him to show up, only to read in the papers that he and his family were killed by the pagans. Apparently, there was nothing left at the crime scene other than the daughters pinkie...My entire family, my first love, my only friend, one might think it get used to the people you care about dying as it comes at such a constant rate, but it only hurts more each time it happens, and that's the whole reason I ran off I guess. I'll never stop death. I'll never stop death from taking the people I care about at such a constant, precise rate, but I at least don't want people to die all because I didn't act. Maybe your right about this being a suicide mission... it just that...I just...well no one would be at my funeral anyways..."

Jack wiped a lone tear from his cheek facing away from the doctor.

...

...

"t-Thanks for implying you'd give a damn if I croaked. It m-might sound hypocritical, b-but...please don't die..."

After a few moment, Jack's heroic facade of confidence returned, masking his pale face with one radiating with life.

"Alright then, at least we know what we're dealing with here. Doctor, is there any way we could make a cure. By the gods, we ought to find which ever scientists used the code of ethics as toilet paper once this is over."

"Well, I guess we'll go home then. Might as well see if we can figure out some dinner in some way. We'll catch you later." he says to Jian. Sharpe turns about, putting his hand on Clarent's shoulder.

"You, young lady, need your rest." he remarks to her, and walks, staying within arm's reach of her.

Airgetlam just watches the four of them, still retaining her role of being the observer of the group. Thus far, Ayame and Jian will likely head off on their own, however she is conflicted, as it might not still be safe for them. She resolves to go with Sharpe's idea to meet them at the house however. She walks up to Sharpe and taps his shoulder.

"Is it ok if I go and buy food? You said you wanted to figure out what to do for dinner." She asks. She looks about and then pulls out her notepad, which had the names of the vendors, then replaces it after refreshing her memory of the stands. She looks back at him.

"Yeah, why don't you go take Clarent home, and I - and the cat, I guess - will go get food." She lowers Mitsuki to the ground and pets her head.

Jian waves after the others as they walk off, having a faint smile on his face. He looks up for a moment, quite an interesting night, indeed. He then looks back to Ayame.

"On to your home we go, it's about time that you arrive there.", he then says with a smile, nudging her a little, then taking her hand, leading the way with a rather slow pace.

"I feel it would've been better if I would've insisted on bringing you home in the first place, but I guess it worked out like this aswell. More importantly, nothing has happened to you and Jack while you two were held in custody... I still wonder what he's up to right now, same goes to the Doc, which left a nasty remark earlier, I hope they'll be alright."

He kind of explains how they managed to find her in the first place, bringing up the girl that told him about the quarantine and that Ayame was held hostage there. His grip onto her hand is rather light though, due to the pain in his arm. Gripping much more would result in more pain at this point. But even then, Jian does not bring it up once, he hopes to just hide away the pain until he arrives back at their own place.

Dr. Atrium sighs and shakes his head.

"There is no cure. Even though we call it one, Vampirism isn't a virus. It is more of a magic curse. One bit, the victims DNA will forever change...Kinda like what seems to of happened to me. I wish Lady Dahaka would talk to me though. She could answer some of the questions we have about vampires, but I feel as though she wont ever talk to me."

He walks over to Jack and puts his hand on his shoulder.

"Death isn't something that can be stopped...The sad truth is, what lives must die. It is the circle of life. Though I am sure Thanatos or Death was very kind to theirs souls and are in a better place. And one more thing, I would be at your funeral."

When he is done, he moves up the ally and looks around. He is hoping he can notice some kind of clue to tell them where the assassin went.

*Sniff* "hehe, Don't forget your finest suit whenever that is."

Jack couldn't make eye contact. His plastic smile made it far too obvious that he was trying to act as though he didn't have an outburst.

"Do ya think that assassin fellow has anything to do with this. He killed all of these and just said 'Have the girl, there are others'. The girl he's referring to is Ayame which connects him to the castle which connects him to this outbreak. Wanka, not explaining anything he's doin and tells me not to get in his bloody way. He's obviously up to something, but what?"

Jack examines the bodies one last time.

"There doesn't seem to be any clues. Crafty bastard left without a trace. We should probably go looking for others and make sure they don't get infected. That's why I'm here after all."

Ayame and Jian make their way through the slums. The two of them talk and share stories. Jian explains how they ended up here, and Ayame tells him of her abduction as they walk through the narrow alleys of the slums. "Yes and... when I was nearly home, this man stopped me and told me that I couldn't return home. It was odd because he didn't at all look like the kind of person who would be part of the guard, but he mentioned he was a police detective of sorts. He had to take me in for questioning. So him and his two friends brought me to the other district. On the way there I saw a lot of people exiting the district, and some of them looked rather sickly, so the guard sent them back behind the barricades."

The two of them stop before her house. The city is a lot quieter now as people are starting to go home and sleep. Ayame turns to Jian and takes his hands, smiling widely in relief. "Thank you Jian, I guess-"

She gets cut off by the door creaking and swinging open swoly. Her father emerges, propped against the doorframe, with a window beside it, and gives Jian the stare of death. Immediately after he smiles warmly at Ayame and opens his arms. She lets go of Jian and runs over to give her dad a hug, after which she rubs his back and holds her hand out to Jian. "Father! This is Jian." she introduces.

"Yes, yes, we have met prior." the old man says and nods at him in approval, though his smile is not as warm as it was moments ago. "Thank you for finding my daughter and bringing her back."
He then turns to Ayame and motions inside.  "Come inside please, we have much to discuss. I'm glad you are back home." And with that  he disappears inside leaving Ayame at the door. She turns to Jian again and smiles at him once more, with a blush settling on her face. "Thank you Jian, come visit me sometime again, okay?"

"Ayame! Come inside, dear." her father yells from inside and she shuts the door. The lights in the room next to the door come to life and shadows of people move back and forth behind the frosted glass. Ayame has arrived at home safely.

---

• Quest Finished: Maid En Voyage
  - Find Ayame in the Southern District, Recudor.
  - Enter Central District, Recudor.
  - Find Information about Ayame's whereabouts.
  - Find a Key or Alternate Route.
  - Evacuate Ayame and bring her home safely.
  
• Ayame has left the Group.
  
• Jian has left the Group.
  
• Airgetlam and Mitsuki have split from the Group.
  
• Clarent and Sharpe have split from the Group.
  

Sharpe nodded, though he wishes Jian would get home a bit sooner, he's pretty good with cooking. Sharpe only knows basic stuff and what amounts to "Field Ops Special", but of course nobody wants that, even the buzzards. He chuckles a bit to himself, and he walks along, eyeing Clarent the whole way. When they reach the house, he opens the door and steps back, raising his arm to let Clarent in.

"Ladies first." he says, smiling. He thinks about what to cook and- oh, that's right, he should have asked Air what she had in mind to cook. Oh well, he'll just have to make due with what she gets when she comes back. He looks back at Clarent and nods toward the inside.

Airgetlam nods back to him, with closed eyes and a happy outlook, and turns around, looking up the vendors she had written down. She considers what they should have, and thinks maybe some fish will do. Yes, some grilled tuna or salmon, glazed along with vegetables and some fruit. She looks up the fisherman in her book and finds it tied to Tira Ucesiq, and she looks up through the market towards where her stall is situated. She looks down at Mitsuki and she bends over, rubbing her ears.

"Would you like some Tuna, Kitty? I bet you would. C'mon, let's go see what they have in stock." She says to the cat, and walks on.

Jian has quite a shiver running down his spine as he receives the death stare, but at the same time he's happy to see her dad being excited to see see her daughter again. As Ayame goes inside he waves after her with a wide smile, nodding to her asking him to come over sometime, then being left outside.

He turns around, sighing very deeply once, shivering a little.

"Geez, that man... I think he doesn't like me too much yet...", he simply then says quietly, having the stare burnt in for a second. His hands then sliding into the pockets of his pants. He looks back at the building, seeing the activity inside, which leaves him smiling again.

"Even if I have a chance or not... At least I tried.", he says calmly, then slowly walking back to their own current place to live. He could use some sleep aswell, and to top that off, he gets something new to wear tomorrow, so it's something he can look forward to.

Dr. Atrium looks about for any clues to where the assassin could of gone but he finds nothing. His heart beat calms after being mad at Jack and about seeing all the death around him and he lets out a big yawn.

"Jack, I think we should make our way home. I am beat man. I know you want to look for who ever did this, but it has been close to 20 hours since I lest slept and a bit more for you."

He walks over to Jack and pats his shoulder.

"We will return here first thing tomorrow, you have my word. Now please fallow me back. I don't want to drag you out with my claw."

Doc says the last part in a mocked tone and giggles after. He leaves the ally and starts to make his way back.

Jack had an above average level of stubbornness but it felt like he had no choice. Before following, he looked at Beth's lifeless still corpse one last time.

"Things are different now...Things will be different from now on...The people who care for me will no longer die while I'm helpless to do anything. I'll protect them. I'll give my life for them...At least I'll die before they die."

He shuts Beth's eyes close before catching up to the doctor.

"So doctor, I uh guess this is a slightly random topic for making conversation on the trip home, but I never told you why I was sent here. To be honest I don't know the full story. Apparently a dark energy cut off my memory of past lives. My brother's voice has been telling me what I'm supposed to do. He said that my purpose is to guide a group of heroes to seal away a horrible monster. The embodiment of the sins of the old world. Being one of the few people who actually knows about the old, I can't help but wonder what such a creature would look like, hhmmm."

Clarent nods at Sharpe with an extremely tired expression settling on her face. "Thanks." She says in a surprisingly happy tone for how tired she is. On her way to the stairs she feels weak. Waves of nausea and a splitting headache washing over her. Just a few moments ago she felt so alive and well, she can't help but wonder why she is suddenly so exausted. She figures she has either become sick or not fully recovered. Likely the latter since she remembers the doctors healing touch help her rest a bit easier. Rest sounds good, she decides and stumbles her way up the stairs to search for the bed she had previously slept in. She figures no one will mind and lets herself fall into it. Exhausted, and tired, with an uneasy hot sweat building up she falls asleep once more.



Airgetlam and the cat Mitsuki find their way to the central markets. Compared to how they had left the district, this place now seemed a lot more empty. A lot of the vendors had already packed their stuff, and some were well on their way off the markets. Airgetlam spots Tira's stand, with her still standing beside it, loading various boxes onto a small carrying cart. It seems like she has closed shop already, and as Airgetlam and Mitsuki move closer, they catch the womans attention who sighs obviously and whipes her forehead. "Ah, no no. I'm sorry. I've long closed for today, and I am in need of my rest." She says and points to the side of the markets, with some fast food stands still open. "You'll have to try your luck on one of those, lest they close early." she says and returns her attention back to her cart, waging how many boxes she can realistically fit without making the load to heavy for herself.

Airgetlam looks over to where the woman has pointed, seeing various noodles and rice stands alongside some already closed and deserted shops. Jian is seen walking by the stands on his way to the High-Class District as he moves about with his hands in his pocket and a light slouch complimenting his tattered attire. Not many moments after, the Doctor and Jack catch up to Jian, calling out for his attention. The guard at the barricade had let them out, with the same cold disregard as he had shown the rest of othe group, to avoid getting involved in anything and by the time Jian made his way back they had long caught up with him.

---

• Dr. Atrium and Jack have left the Central District.
  
• Dr. Atrium, Jack and Jian joined the Group.
  
• The Fishers Stand is Closed.
  

Sharpe walks in after Clarent, but he pauses, watching her walk up the staircase to her de facto room with a concerned look. She doesn't look well at all, but hopefully some sleep will help her. If that doesn't work, he can try making some food that he knows would keep a person well on long hauls, even if it isn't the most tasty of things.

He wonders where Hitomi is, since Doc mentioned he left her in the house. He takes his coat off and folds it over a random chair, then looks about the house lower floor, then makes his way up to the upper floor. He opens Clarent's door a smidge and looks inside, finding her completely out of it on her bed, she didn't even take off her hoodie which would certainly make it harder to sleep, at least to him. The last time she was in bed, she was suffering from a fever. He decides against going in and trying to take off her hoodie, since he doesn't want to appear perverted, nor does he even know if she's wearing anything under it. For all he knows, that's all she has to cover her torso. In any case, he walks in a bit further and hoists up his stuff that he left there and moves it into the hallway. He opens the door to the next room down and places his gear near the bed in there. At least they provide beds as default furnishment. He walks back down to the ground floor and sits in a chair, waiting for the others to come back whenever they do. He figures he doesn't exactly feel to tired yet, so he decides he'll expend the last of his energy training. He walks into the small empty room in back, removing his shirt and boots, then begins practicing again.

"Hmm, well, looks like we're going to have to eat cheap tonight, huh?" Airgetlam remarks to the cat. She walks over to Jian and the others, waving.

"Hey guys, can we go and stop to eat, and take some stuff back? All the merchants in the bazaar are closed practically." She proposes to the group, pointing towards the fast food stands.

Jian is surprised to see both Jack and the Doc as they catch up to him.

"Oh! You're both okay! Both of you kind of just pulled the fast one there, just vanishing without any chance of hindering... I was rather concerned..."

He is happy to see both of them though, even with recent happenings and issues making some situations a bit more harder and unpredictable. Jian stops for a moment handing Jack all the weapons and items he has given to him back before he ran off, to get that out of the way.

"Here, I kept it safe for the time being, nothing should be mi-", he's cut off by Air calling them over to help her with the bring food back after eating, then walking over to her.

"Hmm... so you're not home yet either, from what I am seeing... The stands of course are closed at night, so I am not that surprised. I know a few stands that are good, if you name me what you'd like to eat. I'll go and pick out the best depending on your choice"

He is hungry too, indeed, so the idea of having something to eat is of course welcome.

When Jack talks about how he is here to be in a group to stop some evil, he can't help but stop. He turns to Jack.

"Would you be able to carry on your mission if I was the evil you spoke of? Yes I have been open to you and the other, but there are things in the past that haunt me to this very day. If I was the monster you spoke of, would you be able to seal me away? I want you to think about that."

With that being said, Doc and Jack make it out and he is happy to see Airgetlam and Mitsuki. Knowing Air, she is probably looking for some food to being back. He then spots Jian and is happy to see that he is still in good shape. He hears them talk about food and then he realizes something quite odd. He isn't hungry. He hasn't eaten since the Castle escape and yet he is showing no sign of hunger. Doc begins to wounder if it has something to do with the fairy virus in him now. He then turns to the group.

"You guys enjoy your meal, I am going to go back to the house and sleep. I am very tired."

He bows in front of them.

"Have a good night."

Doc then turns and makes his way back to the house. When he walks in, he hears noises and makes his way to the source and sees Sharpe training.

"Maybe sometime you can show me some moves. I know nothing when it comes to fighting without my weapons."

He chuckles to himself.

"Sorry to bug you. I just wanted to pop in and say I made it back. I am also going to bed. Have a good night."

Doc then bows to Sharpe and walks up to the room that Clarent was in to see if she is there again. He slowly opens the door and is happy to see that she is in the bed sleeping. He walks over to his back and pulls out a sleeping bag and lays down to sleep.

"I definitely wouldn't be able to, but it doesn't matter at all. There's no way he fits the description of the beast."

Heading home, he remembered getting drunk earlier. Instead of looking pale and miserable with shame, he broke out laughing.

"Back at the castle, I told all of you that I would dishonor my father if I couldn't hold my liquor, play the fiddle better than the local bard, or use a knife. You'd think I dishonored him this afternoon when I had too much to drink *heheheheh*, but I already dishonored him 6 months ago. I was at a tavern not too far from here, when I heard this boy playing his heart out. I had nothing better to do, so I challenged him. He wouldn't let me touch his fiddle, said 'if ya wanna challenge me, come back tomorra and bring yer own', so I did. I came back the next day played my heart out and it was no where near as good as him. I was no match for him. For a second, I thought he played music for the king. That's when I was told..."

Jack cracks up with laughter

"That's when I found out the bloke was deaf the entire time. The only reason he knew what I was saying was because he was reading my lips. Rumor was that his fiddle was enchanted and was the only thing he could hear. Oh, so that's the story of how I dishonored my father."

He stood, relaxed for a moment or two.

"Hahaha, I think I'm just telling stories to distract myself from how hungry I am."

Jack was doing everything to forget his emotional outbreak in front of the doctor, and that included forgetting he ever left the group.

Sharpe stops his pressure-point flow and looks over at Doc, relaxing his musculature.

"Hmm, would be nice to have a sparring partner for once," He says, and bows back, hands to his sides and bending to almost a ninety-degree angle.

"Have a good rest, I think I'll hit the hay as well in a bit, though I could do for some food."

He resumes his exercises, moving on from the pressure-point flow to various disarming techniques.

Airgetlam blinks for a moment, then looks at Jian.

"I'm kind of okay with whatever, but I was thinking maybe fish, specifically tuna or salmon maybe? What do you think Do-" she begins, but Doc is already on his way back.

"Oh uhm, ok I guess, We'll just use our better judgement then. Jian, would you lead?" She asks of him, smiling.

Jian simply nods to Air as he was told to lead the way, walking down the passages of food stands that lie ahead.

"Now fish you say... Let's see... There was a stand not too far from here, which was actually focusing on fish-based meals. Now the question... Do the others like that? We can't just go judge by what we like and get something for the others without taking into consideration if they would like it..."

Jian wonders for a moment. What would they all like? He can't really tell to be honest. He might be a good cook, and good with people, but he surely can't look into their taste-buds.

"Mhh, we'll figure it out once we ate, I guess...", he then says tiredly, still walking along the stands, "We should arrive at the stand rather soon, it's just a bit up ahead."

Jack's stomach rumbled

"Honestly Jian, I'm not too picky at this point, and considering how long it's been since we've eaten, I highly doubt the others will make a too big a fuss over where ever you choose to go. All this talk of fish reminds me of a childhood story of when I first learned to fish. As a boy, my family kept moving constantly, obviously that's what gypsies do. Whenever we were near water, my father was too busy to teach me. Deep down, I knew he regretted it, even though he was the type who wasn't that open about emotions and what not... Uh, so anyways, when I was sent to the orphanage, I was a laughing stalk, not knowing how to fish. The head master had to teach me. He wasn't much of a kind fellow, but I sorta looked up to him. One day, I decided to go out to the pond to practice fishing on my own when I saw Lucas. Lucas was one of the boys who pretended to like me but always talked behind my back. I desperately wanted revenge. He was sitting there fishing with a pile of the fish he caught to his right..no no, it was his left. I thought It would be funny to use my fishing rod to hook and steal his. I cast my fishing rod, but instead of snagging his fish, the hook latched onto his britches. One wedgie later, I was whipped and grounded, but it was oh so worth it, hehehe."

Jack momentarily lost his train of thought.

"Uh...Oh, so Jian, lead the way to the stand."

Moments after they set out on their search for food, the group arrives at a stand. It's an oriental style place, with a small bar and stools behind just enough cloth hanging from the ceiling to give the visitors some privacy and to keep the smells inside. The woman inside gets up from a chair on the inside of the little bar area and pulls up a menu with a smile. "Good evening!" She greets, pushing aside the arm of a drunk man who has fallen asleep on the far side of the bar as she puts the menu down. "Due to the festival, we have specials with cheap prices." she says in a generic accent, making it clear that she has only moved here recently.

"Our specials are on this page," she continues, opening the menu and presenting some of the dishes, neatly drawn out along the hand written selection. "Penang Hokkien Char, Kung Pao Shrimp, Steamed Fish Balls, Walnut Prawn, Szechuan Beef and Moo Goo Gai Pan. And if you order a meal over 50 silver you get three servings of Char Siu Bao aswell for free."
Shortly after finishing she turns to the wall behind her, where an opening lets her and the people at the bar see into the kitchen. A man is standing on the other side, cleaning a long flat stove with some metalware. She bangs on the counter twice to get his attention and then says something in a foreign language.

"We have more guests. No time to close up quite yet, turn the stove back on."
She then turns her attention back at her new customers waiting for a reply as they scan the list of foods to order. Upon the list there are various meals, some chicken and pork, but most various seafoods with many forms of sauces seasonings and side dishes.

---

Notes:
Penang Hokkien Char - Fried shrimp and noodles with vegetables and mushrooms.
Kung Pao Shrimp - Steamed shrimp and vegetables glazed in sweet sauce.
Steamed Fish Balls - Dim Sum of Fish inside of Dough with a side of light pasta.
Walnut Prawn - Steamed Shrimp and walnuts glazed in honey sauce.
Szechuan Beef - Fried beef and steamed vegetables arranged in a stir fry with heavy sauce.
Moo Goo Gai Pan - Steamed chicken, Mushrooms, Peas and Carrots.
Char Siu Bao - Sweet Porkbuns (3 per serving)

Sharpe brings his training to a close as he feels it is enough for tonight. In all honesty though, he feels more tired and hungry than fatigued. He talks out and into the living room. Doc and Clarent are asleep, Hitomi probably is asleep somewhere as well or something regarding her own devices but he's pretty confident she's ok. He figures he might as well go out and find the group and eat with them, considering he's more hungry than tired, and has only realized it now. The tension and focus he felt in the quarantined area no longer holds his energy, and now he's just a man of the city. Since it's probably in the middle of the night, about O-three-hundred or so, he figures it'd be ok for him to go shirt and shoeless. Nobody's going to honestly be out, and who is probably wouldn't care.

He walks out the door, looking down at himself. He's quite lean still, mostly muscle with very little fat. He likes that, having no flab. He walks through the market, now mostly closed down due to it being night, and he traverses the streets barefoot, having not been able to let his feet air out from being in boots for the past few days. He come upon a cozy little whole-in-the wall with a cloth curtain draped over the front, and he notes a bar on the inside. He opens the curtain to find everyone's actually there, and his eyes widen a bit.

"Oh, hey, so this is where you guys got off to." he says rubbing his eyes. He walks over to the bar and sits down in the next available seat.

"May I see the menu?" He asks.