[center][h3]The Lady in White[/h3] Location: Government Hub [@Lazo][/center] Inside the restaurant called Moscow Caliber was an interior in pristine condition. With a moody, dark, foreign atmosphere and walls adorned by all sorts of Russian knickknacks and collectibles, it seemed to embrace as best its designers could the culture of the country of the city from which its name was derived. Each formidable wood table appeared laden with empty dishes and cups, utensils, napkins, and so forth, as though for a great crowd soon to arrive. To the intruder, to whom magic served as second nature, a slight but strange aura wafted through the place, quite unlike anything she encountered before. A few steps after Pithy cleared the doorway, the door closed behind her. It moved in a gentle, quiet fashion, but entirely without any kind of visible impetus, and after the soft click of the latch its deadbolt slid in as well. If subjected to physical examination, it would prove quite impervious to movement, be it fiddling or forcing. A few seconds later a bass male voice echoed through the facility, familiar yet unplaceable both in identity and in position due to its reverberation. It could not in any sense, however, be attributed to Nero LeMure. “Welcome, Pithy,” it greeted. “As I thought, Oren's new 'friend' shows her face again. Or should I say 'Nero'? We learned a lot today, through the secret cameras implanted in his tower. It's been an exceptionally interesting afternoon, but please don't think of me as his friend or avenger. Whatever went between you two doesn't matter. Just allow me to reassure you that his charade is done.” The voice filled the place, resonating from every surface and object. It, and the unknown aura she felt before, surrounded Pithy completely, bombarding her sense of security. “I must admit I do not have all the facts, but despite his bravado he is neither strong nor clever. I smelt a rat from the moment he appeared wanting to join the College, telling lies with a smile on his face. I humored him, observing the whole time, though it was only recently that he started throwing around magic so freely. Fascinating, really, but now that he has helped us achieve great things under the impression he was fooling us all, he is no longer useful to us.” The voice took on a sharper tone. “You must be wondering about me, so let me give you a hint. There's one thing you should understand about me, Pithy, and it's that I pride myself on being a man of learning. With that in mind, I have a sort of test for you. If you can retrieve your foolish friend from where I'm holding him in this building and bring him to the front door, I will let you go. From there, feel free to do whatever you please with him—if you were to kill him, as I am sure you're longing to do after what he did to you, I would not begrudge it. I am positive that trying to escape or fight me has crossed your mind, but I assure you it is quite impossible. Just try to survive, and accomplish this task. You see, I would be happy to relieve you of your phylactery, but I am even more interested in seeing what my new understudy, Kno One, can do. Let's start with something simple.” From the two nearest tables, eight plates each levitated a foot upward, began to spin, then shot toward Pithy like discuses in volleys of two. [center][h3]The Fungal Knight[/h3] Location: Government Hub [@Gardevoiran][/center] “Huh. 'Kay.” Screed abruptly holstered his revolver, no more convincing needed. Either he believed Bonesword with absolute sincerity, or he simply did not care enough to keep up the standoff and felt confident enough in his quick-draw to be able to put down any threat the skeleton presented. Putting his hands halfway inside his pockets, the mummified gunslinger examined the new arrival through rheumy eyes, then followed his pointed sword to the gaudy UFO spinning off into the sky. “Yep, Ah seen it before. Clotho told us after 'er last scoutin' trip there were giant tent ships flyin' 'round. Also told us 'bout the tournament. Ol' Frolic here 'ad t'revive 'er too.” He gave a wry chuckle—a raspy, unpleasant noise. “Looks like Air Rave ain't doin' so hot.” As her comrade spoke, Verrine had continued to be wary of Bonesword, but she did not interrupt. The manner in which she seemed to be trying to conduct herself suggested that Screed held a position as her superior of some sort, but the cowboy's rather laidback manner made any sort of chain of command difficult to discern. When Screed finished, she clasped her hands and addressed Bonesword directly. [color=E52B50]”If Mr. Screed trusts you...I suppose I will too. If that's the case, maybe you can help us out. Can you tell us anything about this city? It looks like human civilization, but I haven't seen any, and it's pretty strange compared to what we're used to.”[/color] Another chuckle issued from Screed. “Huhuh! Not a minute back from the dead and yer down to business, huh, Verrine? Ah wager it'd be best if we 'ightailed it back to base. Yer sisters're worried sick, and Carreau would be mighty pleased t'know yer safe.” If the slime woman's face could have turned more rosy-pink, it did in the following moments. She clutched at her hair, stammering, [color=E52B50]”Y-you think? H-has he been, uh, b-been waiting for me?”[/color] Letting out a few more guttural chortles, Screed removed a ring from his pocket and presented it to Verrine, who took it without hesitation. As he did, the matching ring on Screed's own finger could be glimpsed for an instant: a signet ring with the insignia of feathered wings arranged to form a whirlwind. The forest sprite floated nearer, prompting Screed to nod before he turned toward Bonesword. “Well pardner, it's been a quick but fine encounter. If ya 'ave anythin' t'say, Mister Sin-clair, spit it out 'fore we disappear.” [center][h3]The Cereal Killer[/h3] Location: Flooded Historical District [@Propro][/center] A faint, derisive laugh could be heard from the first floor through the stairwell. “Mind your own business, pirate! Even if I was in the mood to spill the beans, you're strong enough, and you probably wouldn't have the potential to begin with!” The sound of rushed footsteps went quiet, allowing a brief moment of clarity through the building. Then Davian's voice came again. “By the way, asking me for help was a bad idea.” Then came the sound of the first floor door slamming, and the young man was gone. Runch was not, however, alone. The Boys of Summer summoned to protect Davian had disappeared along with him, but now more shadow-people were appearing around the captain. They climbed in through the windows, opening doors that to Runch seemed to open themselves, and en masse they surrounded the cereal-attuned corsair. Davian's voice came again, but this time it sounded as though it were being whispered by twenty voices all at once. [i]”We didn't get much time to test this afternoon, but even so, we learned a few things. Boys of Summer has no offensive ability, but these 'stands' as you call them have a few constants. They can't be touched or hurt by non-stands, but they can interact with real things, like fictional poltergeists. And obviously, they can be used to communicate, like psychic projections. Since I'm not a scumbag, I won't try to make them attack you, but they will remain with you as long as I'm separated from my sister in order to prevent you attacking her. Convince her to retreat, and Crue to let her, and we can forget this whole thing ever happened.”[/i] [center][h3]Inari[/h3] Location: What Lies Beneath [@Kapuchu][/center] Still wary of the mushroom forest, with as many unknowns as it had hiding spots, the trio of fox, shark, and dog skirted around its edge through the dark. The detour took some time, and though the forest thinned as it mingled with the slope ramping up into the cavern wall, the footing became trickier. All the same, Lily and her cohorts made their trek north toward the ancient city. Bereft of any sort of road, their path took them across or around small pools of water, clusters of stone fallen from the ceiling, pillars knocked down by the great crow, and unnatural stone formations that could only have been erected or chiseled out by intelligent beings. As Lily got closer, it became apparent that a wall surrounded the city, but the twenty-foot barrier did not present a problem comparable to the gargantuan black bird crouched down on the cave floor, close to the city as it could get. Except for the flicker of its dark eyes, the crow remained still, yet movement could still be glimpsed across its back. Difficult-to-discern figures scurried about on the citadel's bridges and behind its windows, and the purple light that flooded the city silhouetted a small number of winged figures on the move. Hidden by the shadows, Lily's party continued its slow advance. “Evening.” The unremarkable voice came from a stone pillar to the group's right. In one of its alcoves, a figure easily mistaken for a carved relief -thanks to his dark gray longcoat- leaned against the rock with arms crossed. There came a clicking noise, and a lantern attached to the strangers' sash belt lit up. It revealed little about [url=https://orig00.deviantart.net/0dac/f/2015/195/b/b/raziel__angel_of_mysteries_by_petemohrbacher-d919sdx.jpg]him[/url], for his face was hidden by a crested visor-helmet combination, but the man kept his posture nonthreatening as he crouched down and took a casual seated position. “Sorry for surprising you. I come...in peace.” He glanced off to the side, the lenses of his visor narrowing as he scratched the back of his head. “Agh, was that too cheesy? It's tough to figure out what to say. Do I try and be genuine? Mysterious to match my getup? Now I bet I sound like a lunatic, so I'll move on.” Reaching up with both hands, he removed the helmet to reveal the face of an [url=https://nature.mdc.mo.gov/sites/default/files/styles/centered_full/public/media/images/2013/11/great_horned_owl_closeup_11-19-13.jpg?itok=l7bFkuWB]owl[/url]. “If you were wondering how I found you, that's why. That plus the zoom lens in my visor.” He smiled—a bizarre and unsettling expression, given that he had a beak, because he smiled not with the beak but with a hidden, disturbingly human mouth just beneath it. “Your fight with that monster was pretty amazing! I wouldn't want to tangle with any of you. Especially someone as cool as a mech shark. 'Brucie', right? Like the big guy from Finding Nemo.” His golden eyes landed on Mouse. “Aww.” he gushed. “What a cute little guy. Dangerous taking him to a place like this, though.” Sensing that his jabbering might be overwhelming, he adopted a concerned expression, clasping his hands. “Er, I don't mean to monologue. Maybe I oughta start over. Hello! My name is Emile.”