[IC] Legacy of Harena

[Rune_Alchemist]

A...harem of women? Now that was the single, most horrible, ridiculous idea Charlotte had ever heard. Dealing with one person in a relationship was annoying enough, but more? She could hardly handle her previous ahem, partner before...well, no matter. Charlotte simple gave Katherine a rather deadpan expression as she commented on Marise' beauty. Himeko and her shared similar thoughts it seemed.

"Beauty doesn't mean anything." Charlotte harrumphed. Still, at least Marise's room was less extravagant than she had been expecting. "And I have said 'no' to more attractive." The alchemist cast a glance over to Himeko, once again weighing her options. Well, it be easy enough to ask for a place to find research materials on the library. Not to mention she wouldn't have to mention that either. It'd be easy enough to pass herself off as a scholar interested in history. "As for what we're looking for...historical records, mostly. We're scholars interested in an ancient civilization by the name of 'Harena'."

[Pyromania99]

"Harena?" Katherine asked, looking slightly confused.

Himeko nodded, "Yes. Someone with a sigil related to said civilization stole something from my people. I am to seek them and dispense justice on them." The Tengu never really added more to that, though that just left Katherine wondering quite what she meant.

Of course, this girl was rather secretive. So it would be best to avoid that. Instead she had a sad truth. "I hate to tell you, but I know next to nothing to the history outside the city's." The Puppeteer said as a few of her dolls entered the room. "Now, I'm no expert. I do know some people that might know. Well, our family does. How much is it worth it to you though?" Two of the dolls jumped up and sat next to Charlotte in a non-menacing way. It seemed a bit more like they were just taking a seat.

[Rune_Alchemist]

"Haven't heard of it, huh..." Charlotte commented idly, picking up one of the dolls and giving it a sour look. How exactly where they moving? They didn't seem to be machinery, but they seemed similar to the mechanical automatons back in Astril. She wanted to study one in detail, but that seemed like an overall bad idea at the moment. Instead she settled on poking its forehead a few times before looking over to Katherine.

"How much is it worth?" Charlotte harrumphed. I can find out more on my own than from someone who likely knows as much as I already do, so your help is worth little." The young alchemist replied. She didn't have time to waist on help from someone who likely didn't know much. They could easily find a library and find it on their own. It might take a few more days, but she didn't like being in debt to people or having to do favors for them just to get something she could easily get on her own.

"Now Katherine, I hope you're not trying to extort something from our guests in return for something they want." Marise said, walking into the room. She gave Charlotte and Himeko a friendly smile. "Has my little sister been gracious as a host? Apologies for the disappearance. I had to speak with our mother about something."

[Pyromania99]

"These two are no fun. I couldn't extort them if I wanted, dear sister. Besides, I was going to just ask them a favor, tit for tat and all that." Of course, she really didn't even have anything planned. She was curious how much they'd be willing to trade.

Meanwhile, the doll looked like it was struggling to keep Charlotte's finger from it's head. Katherine liked to play pretend like that. "We just want information on an old civilization known as Harena. It's the only reason we really came here." The Tengu said, crossing her arms and hoping this older sister was more knowledgable on the subject that her sister was.

"Not to enjoy the sights and be harrassed by the guards?"

Himeko gave the puppeteer a bit of a dirty look, "No."

Katherine gave a slight giggle before heading towards the door, leaving her dolls in the room. "Well, I've done my part for now. I'm going to go bother Livia. I wonder how she'll react with... Well, I don't need her to know yet. See you two later." The she turned to Marise specifically, "See you soon, love." She added before blowing a kiss the girl's way and quickly escaping to Livia's location.

Himeko watched Katherine's display and then looked at Marise in a silent pity.

[Rune_Alchemist]

"Aha...try not to harass Livia too much, dear." Marise replied as Katherine left. She looked to Himeko and Charlotte, offering them a small sheepish smile. "I do apologize for her, too. She thinks that philanderer attitude of hers makes her cute...I can't say it doesn't, but it's certainly not for everyone." Marise walked over to a desk where Nynette had left the tea, picking up a teacup and taking a drink of it herself. Nynette always made the best.

"Ahem, that aside, I heard mention of something about 'Harena'?" Marise replied questioningly. "I recall Livia mentioned something about that one time during one of her usual study sessions. I have trouble pulling her from the library sometimes." She chuckled. Charlotte simply gave her a small frown, tossing the doll aside as she looked at Marise. Well, it seemed as though they might have a lead as long as this Marise girl was friendly enough. "She probably knows more...history and esoteric subjects are her and my sisters forte. I'm just a healer and a politician."

"Hmm...so we should talk to her, then?" Charlotte mused. "I'd rather you point us in the direction of the library. We can research on our own."

"Weeelll..." Marise sighed, shaking her head in mild displeasure. "It's not as simple as that. The guard have a tight control over such books and information. They dislike it when such information is available easily to the public. A method of control and whatnot." Oh wonderful. That reminded her a bit too much of home.

---

Livia was in her room, Nynette waiting outside the door as usual. The maid was busy not doing much at all, aside from waiting for orders or to bring dinner or attend to Livia in whatever other way she needed. She didn't expect to be needed any time soon, but such was the duties of a maid.

"Ah...Katherine." Nynette greeted with a smile. "Here to visit Livia? She looked quite irritable when she walked in earlier." She gave the younger girl an impish smirk. "Perhaps her dear sister could cheer her up a bit?" Before Katherine could respond though, the door to Livia's room opened, the dark haired girl giving Nynette a small glare.

"The only cheering up Katherine could do is if she told me she's finally thinking about something other than undressing the maids with her eyes." She harrumphed, looking over to Katherine. "What do you need? I was...ahem, studying." Translation: She was eavesdropping on their conversation.

[Pyromania99]

Katherine giggled. "You want me to stop undressing the maids with my eyes? Perhaps you want me to stop that, but start undressing you instead?" She moved close to her sister and wrapped her arms around her in a sibling sort of hug. She of course, went uncomfortably close to Livia's face and stuck her cheek against the grumpy one's. "Or something like this?"

---

"How annoying. How I wish I could just break in, but that's not simple to do." Himeko said with a slight sigh. She considered her options but came to think about it. "Perhaps we could just talk to your sister Livia? Katherine said she doesn't know anything." She wasn't very sure either way. Livia may not even talk to them... It was worth a try. "I wonder if that'd be possible?" She asked Marise. She didn't give a horrible look to Marise. Rather, it was one with hope filling her eyes. Something that girl hadn't seen yet. At least she wasn't insufferable, much like Charlotte.

[Rune_Alchemist]

"Tsk," Livia couldn't help but to blush lightly at Katherine's closeness, but for the most part didn't see too bothered by it. "I'd rather we both keep our clothes on and you take your studies seriously." She pulled away from her sister, walking back into her room. Compared to Marise's rather plain, though clean and elegant room her's had a more dark atmosphere. Purples, blacks, with a dark curtain hanging over the windows to minimize sunlight. Several bookshelves lined the walls, and her bed was situated against the left wall. A table with two chairs were situated near the window.

"Is there something you want, Katherine? I have better things to do than get involved in idle chatter."

---

"Mhm...if I know Livia she's probably eavesdropping on this conversation. She has some rather unpleasant qualities like that, but her nosiness has saved us quite a bit of trouble in the past." She chuckled softly. "Unfortunate she doesn't put her talents to good use, but ah, that is neither here nor there." Marise mused, thinking for a few seconds as she considered their options. She could give them a recommendation, but even then the guards would put them under high scrutiny. Especially after what happened in the streets earlier. She herself, was far too busy with other things. Katherine wouldn't even know where to begin. Livia was their best bet, but...

"I unfortunately do not think after your encounter earlier she would be willing to share information. She...dislikes it when people lie or otherwise behave in a dishonest manner."

"That's...stupid." Charlotte grumbled. "She expected us to just open up and be friendly when we didn't even know her? For all we knew she could have been some floozy or something trying to cheat us out of our money."

"Aha," Marise laughed. "I agree, but she's a little naive like that. She thinks honesty is always the best way to go about things...even on delicate subjects. I would recommend at least trying to speak with her, but she might want you to do something for her in exchange for the information. If not...well, I'll see what I can do but my ability to help would be limited."

[Pyromania99]

Katherine followed her sister into the dark and somewhat elegant room. "Please, Livia dear... We both know I've the basics of magic down more than you. I also have a higher capacity for mana. Natural talent and all. I study a lot more than you give me credit for. I could be here bothering you... I could also be studying the intricacies of the relations between the physical body and the soul that guides it while bothering you But who knows. I'm here physically here with you now." The Puppeteer said, skirting close to Livia again, grabbing her arm like some clingy girlfriend. "So, now, why don't you help those girls out? I thought you'd love the chance to prove you're smarter than them. Plus, they might be able to do a favor or something for you."

---

"I wonder if she understands that I might already understand that one shouldn't admit they're a non-human in a human city. Non that it should matter in the end. This city is quite backwards." She didn't even really seem to care she said that to a resident. Nor should she really talk considering the Tengu typically do not allow humans in their territory. "Regardless, if things should be so difficult to find information, perhaps we should find another town... Perhaps one not so human. Dwarves are considered wise are they not? Elves?" She'd love to find everything they needed to know here, but in case they don't it didn't hurt to have a backup.

[Rune_Alchemist]

"Talent means nothing compared to hard work and practice, sister." Livia said, giving Katherine a playful poke on her forehead. "Which I like to think I have far more of than you, and please. I've been doing this since I was old enough to read. I think I have far beyond mastered the basics." She harrumphed grumpily. Despite her sour tone of voice, she didn't mean anything particularly by it. Katherine of course, definitely had great talent and skill for the arcane arts.

Still...she was interested in what those girls were up to. 'Harena' was it? An ancient civilization based entirely on alchemy. Even if it wasn't in her normal purview of studies, the ancient library they had...such knowledge could be a great boon to her.

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested." She said to Katherine, not entirely minding her sisters closeness. "But those two irritate me. It's not difficult to be honest. Perhaps I could have gone about it in a more delicate manner, but wasting time with such trivialities only consumes time better spent doing something else. I don't want to waste time helping those two do whatever it is they normally would blunder about doing."

---

"A few hours ago I would have said you're crazy for suggesting Elves and Dwarves even exist." Charlotte muttered to herself as Himeko made the suggestion. Still, if there was a possibility, then it perhaps might be something to look into. She wouldn't have any idea where to begin, though.

"Elves...? Well, I suppose they are an option." Marise replied. "But as far as I know, there are none around here. Again, though, Livia might be your best source of information if you wanted to find them. Perhaps you should speak with her, hmm?" Marise gave Charlotte and Himeko a pleasant smile, though the Alchemist couldn't help but to feel oddly unsettled by it. "I'm sure she'd like to help anyways."

"...right, well. She did try to help us at least." Charlotte said, folding her arms across her chest and glancing over to Himeko. "And I doubt we could find elves or dwarves so easily. It would likely be the easiest way to get information."

[Pyromania99]

"So you don't believe them? You think one or both are non-human?" Katherine questioned. Well, that's how Livia was. "Well, if they're being dishonest about that I wouldn't be surprised. I mean, if you went to a... Let's say, Elf town. Would you not try to hide being a human to avoid attention? You wouldn't want to give that away, especially after someone mentions the guards are on watch for said people." If nothing else, Katherine was pretty wise. "Not that I especially care if they find this 'Harena' they speak of, but aren't you sort of interested?

---

"Fine then. Let us go speak to your sister. Perhaps she'll decide to help us out of boredom." Himeko said, not seeming all too expectant of help from the young girl. Livia seemed difficult to handle in an annoying way so far. Maybe Marise would say something on their behalf.. But still. "Would you lead the way, Marise?"

[Rune_Alchemist]

"Of course. Her room is on the other end of the manor." Marise said, opening the door to her room for them, allowing them to exit. She followed shortly after, taking the lead as she bought the two to her sisters room. For the most part, the rest of the manor was quiet aside from the few maids moving about. When they arrived on the other side of the manor, they were greeted by Nynette. Charlotte, for the most part followed silently.

"Ah...hello, Marise." She greeted. "Here to visit Livia?"

"Well, these two are." Marise replied. "I have a few more things to take care of."

"Very well, then." Nynette knocked on the door. "Young miss, Marise and the guests wish to speak with you."

---

"Yes, but you know as well as I do the inquisitors have their ways of finding non-humans. If they had simply run into one of them by chance, they would have both been hauled off to the gallows...or worse." Livia replied in her usual overly serious manner. "And besides, I asked them that before I told them about the guards." The mage frowned, weighing her options. She was interested, no doubt about it. It was an opportunity of a lifetime to find such a legendary place.

"Ugh, I really don't want to deal with them though." Livia grumbled.

"Young miss, Marise and the guests wish to speak with you." Nynette opened the door, letting Charlotte and Himeko into the room. Livia glanced over, frowning.

"Be nice, Livia." Marise said from the doorway, giving a friendly wave before walking away. "I have some other business to take care of." Charlotte walked into the room, frowning a bit from the darker decor compared to Marise's room. Well, it certainly was a change of decor. She couldn't say she was a fan of it, though she did appreciate the books on the shelves.

"Your sister said you may know something about 'Harena'?" She asked.

"I know of it. Why?"

[Pyromania99]

"We need to go there." Himeko stated. "I've an... Artifact that needs to be recovered. Charlotte has her own... Scholastic reasons." She stated, looking to her current partner. "We'd be grateful for the help." The Tengu said, sincerely. "I can't tell you exactly what it is I seek, but what I will say is that it's direly important for humans... Elves, dwarves, and all the other races out there."

"Direly important? Life and death stuff?" Katherine said, almost amused at this wild story. "Rather unbelievable. Truthfully." She added, looking somewhat unconvinced. "I mean, it could be true. But it could be untrue." She snickered and looked at her sister. "What say you, almighty truthseeker of a sister? Do you deem her a liar and a heretic?" She couldn't help but giggle to herself a bit before continuing. "Or... Heh... Or i-is she telling the truth?"

[Rune_Alchemist]

Livia frowned. An artifact of some sort? Dangerous, if true. She wasn't entirely certain if she believed this Himeko quite so readily, but it would likely be a good idea to perform some sort of investigation regardless. More importantly though, Katherine was being a little twit. Livia grabbed Katherine's ear, pulling on it somewhat roughly playful manner, causing her sister to bend at a slightly awkward angle though not enough to hurt.

"How about I deem you a demonic entity of lust?" Livia looked over to Himeko and Charlotte, not letting go of Katherine's ear. "And while I don't entirely believe her, rumors and legends always have some historical base in truth. I will help, though only if they assist me with something first." Finally letting go of Katherine's ear, she walked over to the table, which currently on it had a map of the area opening upon it. "There's an old forest near here with an ancient, overgrown cemetery. I frequently go there to converse with the spirits."

"Spirits...? Like some sort of medium?" Charlotte questioned. Speaking with ghosts was something out of a story, let alone convinced that they even existed. "Forgive me if I don't entirely believe you."

"If that is the term you prefer, yes." Livia replied seriously. "And I don't blame you. You don't have the talent for such a thing. Normally the place is quite abundant with lost spirits eager for a chance at one last conversation before moving on or eager to linger for some reason. Over the past week though..." She frowned. "Things have gone...quiet. Unnaturally quiet. Not even the birds or forest animals can be heard."

[Pyromania99]

"Owie, Livia, don't be so rough. We're not in that sort of relationship!" Katherine joked as she tried to give any amount of relief to her ear. When Livia finally released her ear, Katherine rubbed it a bit. It wasn't that hard, she just liked to give Livia a hard time. She soon followed over to the map. "Bah, Graveyards. They always give me the creeps. You still go there?" It wasn't a completely serious question since she of course knew. That was Livia's method after all.

"Spirits are troublesome." Himeko had few encounters with ghosts and spirits. She was glad of that. They could get tricky to handle with if they decided to make pests of themselves. "Very well, you want us to assist in your spirit problems then? So be it. In my home, unruly spirits that do not settle are disposed of in the most easy way possible."

She unsheathed her blade slightly, showing it off. "The things that cannot be cut by my blade, forged by Tengu, are next to none." She shoved the hilt quickly against the sheath, making a small clicking noise as the metal blade disappeared. "I imagine that in the worst case, even overly hostile spirits would be no threat be they ghosts, spirits, phantoms or those somewhere in between." She cleared her throat. "But only in the worst case mind you."

Katherine had no real reply to that, she just looked to Livia. This was her favor after all. And if this girl could take care of it, then there was no need for her to go to that creepy place.

[Rune_Alchemist]

"Of course I go there. It's the only place I can get some peace from your incessant flirting." Livia complained, though said nothing more on the subject. Instead she turned back to their guests, nodding in mild approval. "As long as you understand your blade shall be the last resort, then we shall not have any problems. So many people here don't understand spirits are peaceful by nature and only lash out when threatened or some other outside influence." She replied sternly. Tengu, though? Now that was an interesting thought. Some sort of wind spirit or something? She couldn't recall where exactly she read that, but no matter.

Charlotte gave a thoughtful look towards the map, holding a hand to her chin and thinking for a few moments. She had no knowledge on the subjects of spirits and other less than mundane topics, aside from Alchemy - which was a science, not magic or supernatural.

"Ugh, this sounds troublesome." She finally replied with a sigh. "I'm not sure how helpful I'll be. I'm a scholar, not a fighter or some sort of demon hunter, but I suppose I don't have much of a choice if we want that information." Still, she supposed if something was happening it'd be better to deal with it now than potentially let it endanger people. She wasn't sure if her potions would affect something like a ghost, but she could at least offer medical assistance in some capacity if something happened.

"No, you really don't." Livia replied curtly. "If there's nothing else, then I suggest we get moving. Twilight is when the veil between this one and others intersect, allowing things to slip through."

[Pyromania99]

"I'm from a long lived society. I understand how spirits are." Himeko said. She didn't find the need to mention how close to a magical being she was. Rather, she might have said too much with the Tengu comment earlier, but there was little chance for someone this far out to know what a Tengu was. Very little chance.

"Yes, well... Enjoy yourselves." Katherine said, making sure she was out of Livia's reach. The Graveyard was definitely a place she did NOT want to visit. They scared her as a child and it was just a fuzzy, unhappy feeling she got in the pit of her stomach. "I'll be here, not hanging around graveyards. It's unnecessary for me after all."

"Lead us on before the time has passed us. I'd like to have this finished soon." Himeko said, ready to follow Livia.

[Rune_Alchemist]

"No fun, Katherine." Livia smirked. "What's the matter? You work with the dead so don't be such a baby." The sister chided playfully before heading for the door. "Come then, It will be a bit of a walk. I'd rather not involve the guards lest they do something exceedingly foolish." Livia ushered Himeko and Charlotte out the door, only stopped momentarily by Marise as she gave Charlotte and Himeko a family seal so all they'd have to do is show it and they'd be able to freely move about the city.

The evening sun hung high in the air, starting its slow descent across the sky. They left the city without incident, Charlotte for the most part silently observing the rest of the citizens and people. It was interesting, seeing so many different people outside of Astril. Let alone something like a...tengu or by the stars, magic! How sheltered Astril was. For all its wonderful technological and scientific marvels, it was so ignorant of things. But that was expected, really. It was run by a bunch of close-minded fools.

Thankfully the forest in question was not too far from the city. Across the river to the west, and past a few farms. The forest itself had an eerie peace to it. Something that could be felt just from standing on its edge. Large, thick trees loomed over head and the single path that lead into it was obviously aged and was in disrepair.

Charlotte stood at the end of the path, frowning lightly, a small shiver running up her spine. Eugh, this had bad times written all over it. Livia didn't wait for input and simply started walking, Charlotte standing for a few seconds before realizing she was being left behind and quickly catching up.

"So...these spirits of yours..." Charlotte questioned uncertainly as they walked. "...Aren't the kind to, I dunno, possess people and kill people?"

"Not usually."

"Urf," Not usually? Not usually? Well, she did say they only behaved that way if influenced by outside sources but she was getting a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. She nervously ran a hand across the inside of her cloak, feeling each of the glass vials inside. Well, she'd be fine. She'd been chased by giant snow wolves, ice wyrms, and giant snow hawks in Astirl whilst gathering ingredients before. She could handle a few ghosts.

Probably. If Himeko looked over to Charlotte she'd see the young alchemist questioning her decision making skills and regretting agreeing to come along.

"Hurry up." Livia replied dismissively. "The graveyard is further in. Stay close and you won't get lost."

[Pyromania99]

Himeko looked around. It was a place for the dead alright, though completely different from her home's post-death techniques. The Tengu would cremate their dead and spread their ashes to the wind, letting the Divine carry them to where it willed. She then looked over to Charlotte. "Be at ease Charlotte. You've nothing to worry with me around. I do not fear spirits. And as she said, they are mostly harmless. Just don't make them mad." She giggled a bit at her partner. It was nothing to fear. Spirits were interesting, though her experience they were mostly hostile... Though she had mostly experienced poltergeists so that was something. She just had to believe this Human Livia for now. "So then, Livia, lead on."

[Rune_Alchemist]

"Ease? I'm walking into a haunted graveyard. I'm not a fighter, I'm an alchemist." She grumbled. Still, perhaps there would be a rare ingredient or something here she could use? That was one of the main reasons she left, after all. To discover and document all the flora and fauna she could find, and document their alchemical properties. Astril had many rare, and ultimately near extinct specimens from what she knew, but they paled in comparison to the numbers outside of the Tower. "I'm not exactly good in these sorts of situations unless you want me to, I dunno, throw a healing poultice at something or another."

"...An Alchemist, huh?" Livia commented absentmindedly, leading them calmly through the forest. And looking for Harena too. Well, she could take a guess as to what she was looking for then. A thought for later, though. "Either way, don't worry too much. If they are restless and violent, I can more than protect us."

"Oh wonderful...let me just leave my life in the hands of a swords woman and a girl I just met."

"Humor under duress." Livia chuckled. "Either way, here we are."

Ancient Grave

The place looked almost exactly what one might have expected. The thick, large trees shaded a good bit of the light and prevented it from reaching the ground. An old iron fence marked the entrance to the old graveyard, but it had long since fallen into disrepair and disuse. A slight, cold chill hung in the air as the eerie feeling of being watched washed over the trio. Charlotte grimaced, while Livia walked into the grounds in a completely nonchalant manner.

"First things first, we should look for a resident of this place." Livia commented. "A spirit by the name of Odette. She's friendly, but extremely shy. Normally she hangs around the large grave towards the center of the place, but recently..." Livia frowned, a mild hint of concern in her voice but she quickly moved on. "I trust you can handle yourselves. I'm going to see if I can find any more stray spirits."

[Pyromania99]

Himeko just glanced around. There was a large... What was it? Mausoleum? That's what she thought it was called. She got close to it. "So, Odette was it? Hmm." As Livia walked away, Himeko looked back to Charlotte. "We should stick together, Charlotte. Let's just search the opposite way from Livia." The Tengu said, starting to walk elsewhere in the Graveyard. She had little care about the creepiness of the place. "Odette?" She called out. Might as well try. She'd be able to fight off other spirits if they decided to attack her. "Are you there, Odette?"