[COLOR=GRAY][INDENT][INDENT][center][sup][h2]O[i][sub][sup]nce was a man who lived a life so mundane, it could only be true. [color=2c2c2e]_[/color] [color=2c2c2e]_[/color] [color=2c2c2e]_[/color] [color=2c2c2e]_[/color] [color=2c2c2e]_[/color] Practically invisible to the world around him, life carries on while he felt perpetually stuck treading water just to keep his head [color=2c2c2e]_[/color] [color=2c2c2e]_[/color] afloat. Fortunately for the man, fate had different ideas and intervened with a heavy hand. Pushed into a corner, the man [color=2c2c2e]_[/color] [color=2c2c2e]_[/color] was driven to hide amongst dusty shelves and heavy tomes. In the silence, he could hear his name being whispered, [color=2c2c2e]_[/color] [color=2c2c2e]_[/color] over and over again, until his hand touched one particular opus. A worn book, bound in leather and tarnished steel. Though [color=2c2c2e]_[/color] [color=2c2c2e]_[/color] sealed, it opened for a price, and upon spreading its pages, the man's life was changed forever. [color=2c2c2e]_[/color] [color=2c2c2e]_[/color] [color=2c2c2e]_[/color] [color=2c2c2e]_[/color] [color=2c2c2e]_[/color] [color=2c2c2e]_[/color] Now, he is the Warlock they call...[/sup][/sub][/i][/h2][/sup][/center][/INDENT][/INDENT][sub][hr][/sub][sup][hr][/sup][CENTER][url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5661999][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/019e83f9-259f-75fb-95e3-57387106ed18.webp[/img][/url][/CENTER][sub][hr][/sub][sup][hr][/sup][SUB][SUP][table][row][cell][INDENT][h2][b][COLOR=SILVER]L[SUP][SUB]OCATION:[/SUB][/SUP][/COLOR][/b] [i][SUP][SUB]GALLOWAY'S EMPORIUM OF ANTIQUITIES - MILK STREET[/SUB][/SUP][/i][/h2][/INDENT][/cell][cell][INDENT][RIGHT][h2][b][COLOR=SILVER]U[SUP][SUB]RBAN [/SUB][/SUP]G[SUP][SUB]OTHIC[/SUB][/SUP] #1.05[SUP][SUB]:[/SUB][/SUP][/COLOR][/b] [i][SUP][SUB]HUNGOVER IN HANDCUFFS[/SUB][/SUP][/i][/h2][/RIGHT][/INDENT][/cell][/row][/table][/SUP][/SUB][hr][SUP][SUP][table][row][cell][INDENT][sup][h1][b][COLOR=SILVER]I[SUP][SUB]NTERACTIONS:[/SUB][/SUP][/COLOR][/b] [i][SUP][SUB]NONE[/SUB][/SUP][/i][/h1][/sup][/INDENT][/cell][cell][INDENT][RIGHT][sup][h1][b][COLOR=SILVER]P[SUP][SUB]REVIOUSLY:[/SUB][/SUP][/COLOR][/b] [i][SUP][SUB][URL=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5663952]HURT[/URL][/SUB][/SUP][/i][/h1][/sup][/RIGHT][/INDENT][/cell][/row][/table][/SUP][/SUP][INDENT][INDENT]Everything felt so loud. The cold wooden floor beneath him offered little to no comfort as Archie's nose was bombarded with the foul smell of something burnt and rotten. He still felt like he could throw up. Disoriented and unsure of either where he was, let alone when it was, he started to stand only to be immediately blinded by a beam of piercing light. He lifted a hand to shield his eyes, only to be tackled roughly onto his knees. Before Archie could even register what was happening, his arms were wrestled behind his back and clasped into two rings of metal that dug against his wrists. A thick, waxy ointment dripped from the cuffs onto his skin, numbing his hands and forearms. Somehow, even amidst the acrid smell of burnt flesh, the potent odour of the ointment cut through. It was a relatively new tactic for the Calder City Police Department; topical Griseosporine wasn't yet widely available. But special weapons development had fast-tracked it for deployment in Calder City as a sort of beta test. Beyond the numbing, it should have no ill effect on Archie, at least as far as he knew. He only had limited exposure thanks to shop talk with a few associates from the District Attorney's Office, whom he still met up with for his monthly sessions of 'Gargoyles and Graves'. [COLOR=White]"If you attempt to use your powers again, we will be forced to respond accordingly."[/COLOR] The officer snarled, his hand feeling like it was going to snap Archie's arm in two. [COLOR=C0C0C0][i]Wait! You're arresting [b]me[/b]?[/i][/COLOR] Archie cried out internally as the handcuffs were placed on him and he was hauled upright. He looked from the uniform on his left to the one on his right. The two large officers dwarfed the scrawny, lithe man held firmly between them. Several body bags lay on the floor while another had been loaded onto a gurney and wheeled into the back of the ambulance sitting outside. [COLOR=C0C0C0][i]Hey! I have rights! I didn't do this! Where are my Miranda Rights? C'mon, officer, procedure doesn't just go out the window because you're a xenophobic prick![/i][/COLOR] [COLOR=WHITE]"Alright, bub, let's make this easy. Just tell us what your powers are."[/COLOR] The other office stated. Archie wanted to roll his eyes. Were both of them seriously going to ignore procedure? [COLOR=C0C0C0]"Powers?"[/COLOR] Archied replied in a confused tone, finally finding a voice that wouldn't get him further battered and bruised in the back of a cruiser. [COLOR=C0C0C0]"I'm not Gray, I don't have any powers."[/color] He continued, his tone insistent as the officers scoffed at the response. [COLOR=WHITE]"More like 'not a Gray right now', eh? Had a little too much fun at the club, then? Maybe we scored ourselves a designer cocktail and had a little trip?"[/COLOR] The officer asked, locking Archie's arms into a painful position. [COLOR=WHITE]"Let me guess, it's just a phase, you're just figuring things out."[/color] The second officer deadpanned. The first nodded along, before interjecting again. [COLOR=WHITE]"If there's anything I hate more than a Gray, it's a wannabe Gray."[/COLOR] Archie found himself unable to look away at the body bags. Who was inside? What killed them? He winced as fragmented memories suddenly came back to him. The mysterious book that called his name, the cut on his hand. His fingertips brushed against his palm, causing a grimace as they touched against the wide cut. He remembered the Grim coming alongside him, the black dog attacking the Dragons while fire rained from the pages of the book. Words that Archie didn't understand had come out of his mouth, and a power, a power unlike anything he had ever felt, flowed through his body. [COLOR=C0C0C0][I]The book![/I][/COLOR] He adjusted his thigh awkwardly, attempting to hide his excitement at the recollection of the book's gift. [COLOR=C0C0C0][I]Where was the book?[/I][/COLOR] His eyes darted back and forth frantically, searching for the massive grimoire as the officers continued to parade him towards the cruiser. From the corner of his eye, underneath a nearby armoire, Archie caught a glimpse of the tattered page edges encased between hard covers bound in worn leather and edged in tarnished steel. A faint glow called to him before he hauled through the front door alongside the shattered bay window and loaded into the back of the awaiting police cruiser. Archie resigned himself to silence, listening to the roar of the engine as the officers, disinterested in doing their job properly, piloted the vehicle away from the antiques store and towards the connection that would take them out of Milk Street and into the Sound, or central Pointe Bordeaux. Any eye warily watched Archie through the rear view mirror before the hand shifted to the dial for the radio, turning it up as Archie let out a deep exhale and sank further into his seat, his hands still cuffed behind him. [COLOR=LIGHTGRAY][i]"I hope that dial stays locked in on WKNT as our 'Days of Remembrance' special tribute week continues. This morning, we're taking a deep look into the 'Where Are They Now?' category. Today, listeners, I have a very special guest and a sort of local historian. You know her by the 'Snapshot' handle '@TheCapesCrusader', but typically she goes by Becca. So, Becca, I have to ask, since you know your Calder Capes pretty well, do you remember the Piper?"[/i][/COLOR] The Days of Remembrance? When would they end? Archie rolled his eyes, stifling a scoff of his own. Growing up, he had always wanted to be a Gray. Now in adulthood, he had come to terms that it was never going to happen. Last night was likely a one-off, and he wouldn't ever see the strange tome ever again. It was hard living a life so mundane, so ordinary that you slipped through the cracks even amongst normal people. It was almost bizarre that Archie had found himself in handcuffs and not in the back of the ambulance in one of the body bags he had watched the paramedics carry out. [COLOR=LIGHTGRAY][i]"I've got to be honest, with how his career ended, Paulie, I don't think anyone is forgetting the Piper. Ignoring the garish outfit and the terrible name, his horrifying abilities certainly kept him in the headlines. As I recall, the Piper used technology to augment his Gray abilities to implant subliminal messaging into the minds of his foes."[/i][/COLOR] A feeling of discomfort crossed Archie's face. The way they were talking about 'The Piper' felt almost reminiscent of the strange voice he had heard last night. It had permeated every ounce of his skull to the point of being overwhelming, all while knowing his name. Perhaps, it was actually a good thing he'd never see that Grimoire again. [COLOR=LIGHTGRAY][i]"Right, yeah,"[/i][/COLOR] Paulie replied to Becca before she continued to speak. [COLOR=LIGHTGRAY][i]"And despite being the marketing exec from hell, still held the record for the least amount of collateral damage right before he broke bad."[/i][/COLOR] The guest speaker noted. [COLOR=LIGHTGRAY][i]"Always a shame when they do that. So where is he now?"[/i][/COLOR] [COLOR=LIGHTGRAY][i]"Dead, killed in a shootout with the Pointe District Police in the middle of Swashbuckler's Splashdown."[/i][/COLOR] Becca informed both Paulie and the listeners. Archie remembered that day. It was several years ago now, if he recalled correctly, nearly eight. He had been in high school when it had happened. Their senior trip to the 'Splashdown' had to be cancelled because of the shooting. [COLOR=LIGHTGRAY][i]"Oof, that is rough, buddy. Anyways, folks here's local artist and current Calder City favourite, DJ R3TCH!D Rat with 'I'm not Gray (& I Luv It)."[/i][/COLOR] [COLOR=WHITE]"Ugh, not this crap again,"[/color] The officer driving griped as the other chuckled before taking a drink of the coffee he had kept stashed in the car. [COLOR=WHITE]"You are listening to the University station."[/color] Even in the back of the police cruiser, Archie couldn't help but feel the catchy beat again. The vehicle came to a stop as the officers reached their destination and pulled it in front of the Pointe Bordeaux Precinct. Archie watched the passenger side officer exit the vehicle, while Archie found himself unable to stop his head from continuing to keep time with the rhythm of the music. Just as the officer opened the rear door to the cruiser, Archie felt the beat drop before looking up at the officer as he was pulled from the vehicle, opening his mouth only for the now viral lyrics to come out. [COLOR=C0C0C0]"I'm not Gray!"[/COLOR][/INDENT][/INDENT][/COLOR]