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August 21st, 11:25am
Oswald Krate
Oswald had a pleasant night, and woke up refreshed. Breakfast was basic, but he was thankfull all the same to the hotel's host.
The next place to visit was the shanty town, though what he could expect to find in a place like that is most likely to be of little value. One can find a diamond in the rough however. But first, he'd take another stroll through the markets.
Nothing new really stood out or interested him, until a voice called out his name. "Oswald Krate! Grandson of Alexander Krate!" the voice was that of a womans. He couldn't locate its origin at first, but then the presumed woman waved to him further down the path. She called out again, "Oswald Krate! Grandson of Alexander Krate!", it was indeed her.
He finally got through the crowd to the woman. She was old and ragged, a gypsy woman perhaps.
"I'm sorry, and I don't wish to offend, but you seem to know me, but yet I don't know you." said Oswald.
The woman giggled, "I know many things. And that of you and your grandfather." she said staring at him with a friendly, yet uncomforting grin.
"And how is that?" he asked stepping closer with caution.
The woman then turned to pick up a small but long wooden box, "You have seen one of these, yes?" she asked opening the box towards Oswald. He took a moment as he observed the golden arrow that laid within. "Yes. My grandfather brought one home from his travels, and it now hangs above his fireplace. I assume this means you were the one who gave it to him?" said Oswald crouching down to get a better look at the object.
She ignored his question, "The arrows are exceptionally rare...and dangerous. It is said that they can unlock a person's hidden potential." she closed the box and placed it back where she stored it.
Oswald began to stand up again, but suddenly the old woman grabbed his left hand and then examined it, noticing a scar across its back. "Ahh..." she said, "It seems it may have chosen you already." she continued to inspect it before letting it go.
"What do you mean?" he asked taking a step back.
"The arrow your grandfather brought with him, it pierced your flesh, and you became ill. Did this not happen?" she asked in turn.
Oswald paused in thought for a moment, "Yes. When I was merely 11 years old, I helped my grandmother move a piece of furniture, and somehow the arrow had been dislodged from its holding on the wall. It then cut the back of my hand as it fell, and shortly after, I suffered one of the worst illnesses I had ever endured.".
The woman giggled again, "The arrow chooses who it pierces. And you have gained a great power from it." she leans in towards him looking at and around him. Oswald raised a brow as she did, it was as though she was looking for someone behind him.
He pondered for a moment, and then brought out his spirit from within.
The woman smiled as it appeared, revealing yellowed teeth. "Ah yes, I see it now.", she rests back, "This is the physical manifestation of your fighting spirit. It is you, and you are it. It is called a "Stand", for it will always stand by you." she said feeling satisfied in passing on this information.
"I do remember that I had first encountered it a few years back. It saved my life in fact." Oswald replied looking at it, he then pulled it back in. "There are only a few types of people who can see stands. Vampires, ghosts, and of course other stand users." the womans informs.
It takes him a moment, "Vampires? Ghosts? Really?" he raised a brow after hearing the words. He then watched the crowds around as he spoke. "Then again, knowing the existence of Stands, as you call them, it is not too far fetched of an idea to believe that the undead are real. And a ghost could be a spirit that had lost its body. It is no more unusual in comparison I admit." he said thinking out loud, accepting something that would normally sound ridiculous to him.
"So since you can apparently see my stand, what does that make you?" he asked turning back to her. His eyes then widened with shock and confusion, as the woman and all her possessions were gone. He tried to look where she could have gone to, he even asks one of the nearby stall-keepers if they saw where the woman went, but to no avail.
He paused for a few moments to gather himself, and then made his way out of the market.
Could I have imagined that? Was everything that woman said true? I cannot say for sure, but I will have to keep an eye out from now on he thought to himself.
August 21st, 12:30pm
Oswald made his way towards the shanty town, though he struggled to navigate the many narrow streets. And after searching for another 10 minutes, he took a moment to rest and figure out where he was.
"I should have gone down the main road north of the market." he said shaking his head.
"Everything alright feller?" said a reasonably well dressed man resting against a wall in the shade.
Oswald observed him for a moment, he then chuckled to himself slightly. "I am afraid to say that I am a little lost. I'm trying to get to the shanty town, for I am writing a book about this town and its history.
I was informed that it would be a good location to go to for information." he said coming to join the man in the shade.
"Hmm...well this is the wrong street. You'd may as well head to the centre of town, and try going north east. Past the mayors office." the man said chewing on his pipe.
"I see. Thank you sir." Oswald replied tipping his hat in respect.
The man spoke again, "Names Jacob." he said nodding to Oswald. "Ah, a pleasure sir, i'm Oswald." he said offering a handshake. Jacob didn't pay attention, "We don't get many of you Brits around here. Its always good to see some new faces." he said with a friendly smile whilst watching the passers-by.
Oswald withdrew his hand, "Well I have met a few rather eccentric types here already myself." said Oswald partly joking.
"Yea, we got lots of 'em. Vampires, witches and the like. Its an interestin' bunch." the man said very casually followed by a relaxed sigh.
Oswald simply nodded, still not fully sold on the facts. He felt a brief chill out of nowhere, which surprised him, considering how hot the day was.
"Anyway, i'd best be off." Jacob said looking at a broken pocket-watch he pulled out of his waistcoat pocket. "See ya around." he gave Oswald a friendly wink before turning to leave. Oswald watched the him leave, and realised something odd, the man had several bloody patches on his back, and soon enough, as Jacob walked into the sun bathed street, he slowly faded away.
Oswald was dumbfounded, mouth agape and eyes widened in shock.
A young boy standing behind Oswald asked, "Hey mister, who were ya talkin' to?", Oswald slowly pulled himself came back from the shock, and replied "I..uh..A man, that man just dissappeared. Did you not see him?" he asked the boy hoping for validation on what he saw.
"What man mister?" the boy clearly unaware on what Oswald spoke of.
August 21st, 6:17pm
Later in the day...
Oswald sat heavily onto his bed, exhausted from his day out.
It turned out that the shanty town had little to offer afterall. But the one thing he couldn't let go of, was the image of the man dissappearing in the sunlight.
There must be more to this. The man said that there were witches and vampires. Perhaps i'm going mad, but at this point I don't know what to think. Oswald thought to himself, head in hands.
He tries to get some rest, but couldn't, knowing what he saw was not just his imagination. It couldn't of been, it was all too vivid.
August 21st, 10:11pm
After some more attempts at sleeping, Oswald gave up and got out of bed.
I have no leads other than the shanty town, and apparently supernatural beings. This is ridiculous. he let out a big sigh shaking his head in his frustration. I'll have to go there again, just to get it out of my system. Perhaps the night will offer more than the day. Oswald stood up and looked out the window. The street seemed pretty quiet, excluding the occasional drunkard, or night worker passing by.
He then re-dressed and gathered his things before heading back out into the town. The hotel manager appeared to be still awake, oblivious to Oswalds presence, lost in a book. Though he had a glazed expression most of the time anyway.
The night air was slightly chilly, and the streets reasonably as quiet as he expected. Oswald kept to himself as he made his way back to the shanty town, ignoring the occasional person watching him as he passed. His discomfort from the eyes that tracked him ever present, especially from those in the shadows. This is a bad idea. It seems the night may harbour more trouble than I would like. he thought.
After 15 minutes had passed, and as he made his way around a corner, he noticed a pair of unsavory characters coming from down the road he was going to and decided to hide behind a wall, waiting for them to pass.
And as the two passed by, Oswald heard a sound behind him, and quickly turned to face whoever was there, only to be surprised by a familiar face, it was Jacob. "Evenin'. Out for a stroll are we?" said the man still chewing his pipe from earlier.
"Oh, you startled me sir.", Oswald quickly regathered his composure, "Yes, I just had this little nagging thought I wished to be rid of, so I decided to get some air."
The man as relaxed as ever simply nodded.
"Fair en-" before Jacob could finish his sentence, he recoiled in pain, before being dragged throught the air, and to Oswald's amazement, through a wall as though it weren't there. Oswald didn't let his shock stop him this time, and proceeded to follow the alley way and back passages to find where the man went to. And eventually he turned a corner to see that he was at the edge of the shanty town. And in the middle of some space between shacks, was a woman in a ragged robe, chanting and glowing with a sickly green aura.
This woman was dragging people in with some strange power, and somehow absorbing them into herself.
Oswald noticed these, he presumed spirits, had unusual clothes, none of which you would see in these modern times. Its no more bizzarre than everything else he'd seen so far he thought.
From behind, he could hear the cry of a young boy, and turned to see such coming through a wall as though it were not there, just like Jacob. He reached out a hand to help catch the boy, but it made no contact, it simply went through as though he trying to catch air. He then brought out his stand as a last resort, and remarkably caught the boys hand.
"Hold on lad!" he ordered.
It seems my stand can interact with spirits. That makes sense I suppose. Oswald thought to himself as he held the boy back from the what he assumed was some sort of witch.
The boy still crying, "Please, don't let me go!" he said slightly losing grip as the intensity of the womans power increased. Oswald then noticed a familiar spirit fly into the woman, "Jacob!" Oswald called out in panic.
The womans head darted up at Oswalds outcry, and tilted her head as she noticed him holding a spirit back. She then stopped chanting and began laughing. It was nothing short of a manical cackle.
A strong gust of wind was cast from her being and knocked Oswald back, him and the boy losing their grip. The boy too was then absorbed still crying as it happened.
"Don't get in my way fool!" warned the woman, trying to focus on her task.
"You Bitch!" yelled out Oswald getting up from his knees.
"What?!" she said surprised and unaware she heard him right.
Oswald stood up holding his hat which was now scratched and covered in dirt. "I said; "You Bitch!" " he reiterated. His face etched in pure anger, he then stood up and began to walk towards the woman.
The witch laughed as she saw him approach, "Ha, what a joke. Why don't you be the first to experience my new power." she then outstreched an arm toward Oswald, spawning two spirits, their visage warped and wreathed in a dark fog.
They came toward him, arms reaching out to grab him.
Oswald's pace increased ever slightly, he then simply punched the two phantoms out of his way via his stand. The spirits exploded, causing a sudden small shockwave that battered the shacks, awaking those within, and surprising those already watching as the situation unfolded.
The witch raised a brow, and summoned more and more phantoms, all the while Oswald smacked them aside as he got closer and closer.
"What is this!" she exclaimed, confused and beginning to show signs of concern.
"You ruined my hat you irritating hag!" he yelled at her as he punched his way through the seemingly unending tide of phantoms.
"Why won't you die?!" she said beginning to panic.
Suddenly she felt a hard impact in her gut, coughing up blood as she did. The witch then looked up to see what happened, and Oswald stood before her, with a strange being beside him. She could see the violent intent written across the mans face. "Do you know the meaning of Our Truth?" he asked, rhetorically and disturbingly calmly.
She raised a hand as she was about to reply, but suddenly, GODADADADADA-..both Oswald and his stand started riddling her body with punch after punch. Her bones buckling under the mass of impacts.
"-DADADA..and Goodbye!" And with a final strike into the chest, the witch was sent flying into a nearby shack wall with a loud crash.
After a minute had passed, Oswald watched as green orbs began to raise out of her broken body and then land on the ground. The lights expanded and were revealed to be the spirits that she absorbed. They were dazed and confused, but otherwise relieved to be back.
And with a nod of satisfaction, Oswald turned and left the shanty town, unaware he had trod upon a dropped wanted poster, which happened to have had the witch's likeness on it.