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//O7 - Outskirts of Oratorio
“Religious sort, huh? Guess there's still those types coming in.”

There was no condemnation in the corpse collector’s tone as he looked at the gathering of gravediggers. For Lethe and his followers, perhaps this was a duty that must be fulfilled, a task that was meaningful, but for the two who drew a wagon through the worst parts of Oratorio? It was just work. There was no need to justify it, especially when there were far worse jobs out in this city. The wheels continued to churn against the earth.

“Maybe you’ll find some sorts in the Adventurer’s District, aye. Little space for proper graves though.” The sprawl of the Outer Layer, how it seemed to expand outwards like a stain, made it clear that Oratorio was, whether by circumstance or design, a place where there was always a limited amount of space for the affluent and the capable. “Folks that aren’t sent back to their hometown are burned to ash instead. Saves more space, and the price of a casket would get you a pricier-looking vessel too.”

The younger of the corpse-collectors spoke up. “Plenty of opportunities though. Just not for a digger.”
@Thayr

//O3 - The Underpass
Hollow eyes, sunken cheeks. A grief that is still raw, reflected in eyes still stained with naivety. He was a man, an average man with sunburnt skin and limp, dark brown hair. His clothes had not yet gradated to rags. He had not been like this for long.

Yet, incapable of perceiving anything of his except for his form, all Elys could understand instead was that he was missing a leg. That the smell of old blood and burnt flesh clung to him. That the calluses on his hand, the hand which he used to grab her wrist and pull off his shoulder, had yet to fade.

“Don’t preach to me,” he spoke, voice shaking, voice hoarse. Was it pride that kept him like this, able to lament but unable to beg? “I lost everything, and now I can’t even turn back!”

Around them, they were but an obstruction, the flow of people passing around them, no one interested in sparing more than a half-second in recognizing that the two existed. Perhaps a few kinder souls would have silently approved of Elys’s action, the risk she took by simply interacting with a denizen of the Underpass, but that was all.
@Estylwen

//A7 - Ordo Benevolence
“A small giant? So a big human?”

Despite Laina’s joke, the red-haired acolyte remained somewhat amazed at the statement. Even the smallest giants were still bigger than the largest orc, a veritable hulk that, while not immune to sharpened steel, could still flatten a man with a swing of the fist. And that discounted those giants that used actual weaponry, swinging trees like clubs, tossing boulders as if they were pellets from a slingshot. Perhaps there was a sense that she saw Cantor in a new light, even if most of it was accomplished through a lie of omission.

“There’s no sin in thought and emotion,” she replied. “So long one doesn’t act on baser intents. And so long as those baser intents aren’t what’s informing this invitation, I’ll be happy to show you around, Brother Cantor.”
@Shovel

//A5 - Market Plaza
The foxboy’s face brightened up at Sebi’s smile. He hadn’t actually expected them to accept; it was more of a shoot-his-shot kinda moment.

“Oh, no, we’re all pretty new at this ourselves, so you’d fit right in!”

It didn’t even register to him that perhaps wasn’t a reassuring thing to say, but on the other hand, it looked like his party was wholly willing to make some concessions in order to integrate two foxgirl mages into the party. Introductions went and passed quickly as they travelled up the wall that ensconced the Abyss. The foxboy, Allen, had travelled to Oratorio with the troll, Gam, in order to seek their fortune within the ruins of the Perishing Star’s devastation. Millie was the porter-slash-guide they hired with what money they had left after the trip, having signed a week-long contract to figure things out properly. A day had passed since then, and between Gam’s axe and Allen’s sword, it was apparent that they’d need some form of ranged attack.

It was apparent too then, that Sebi and Sumiye would have been interchangeable with anyone who had a bow or even a slingshot.

Regardless, in an amount of time both lengthy and instant, the newly-formed party descended down into the Abyss, its First Layer opening up to provide both prosperity and danger in abundance, the scenery of a mountain’s plateau within the depths of the earth. Trails of blood traced towards the wall, evidence of adventurers forced to evacuate due to their injuries, while in the distance, the howling of monstrous beasts sounded in defiance to nature’s guidance.

The party of adventurers tightened their grip of their weapons and their gear, before Allen let out a small nod.

“Ok, here we go!”
@Asuras

//O4 - Underpass Marketplace
“I-I-,” the woman stammered, clearly in shock from the sheer display of brutal, efficient violence that had been delivered at the hands of the royal bodyguard. She looked between the two of them, two elves who treated the taking of mortal life like it was nothing more than a visit to the grocers, and could only shake her head in response. If she knew, perhaps she wouldn’t have made that mistake to begin with, wouldn’t have been in a position to lose a limb, to lose her ability to make her livelihood.

She swallowed. Even if it was clear to anyone that these elves weren’t heroic by any means, she still was saved, and gratitude had to be put into action, lest it be misconstrued as a sign of disrespect. Standing up with support from her fallen wagon, the herb-collector bowed once, before offering up a few bundles of dried medicinal herbs that had not yet fallen out the cart.

“Th-thank you. Please t-”

“You stupid! Knife-eare! Brutes!”
An older merchant, pot-bellied, screeched at them, even as he hurried packed up his own stall of roasting meats. His face couldn’t seem to figure out if it ought to go pale from terror or red from rage, but his voice was hysterical enough to be understood as both. “The Blackhand Butchers’ll make an example out of all of us for this! We had a goddamn understanding with these!” He shook the hanging ornament. “Why did you fucking ruin it?!”
@Click This
@Nanaya@Sifr@Estylwen@Psyker Landshark@AThousandCurses
Took liberties with costuming. Was hoping to actually get something like this done during Christmas, but alas, why art when I can watch Youtube videos instead.

Is it possible to join this RP?

I am not sure I can find the time, but I am willing to put a few of my other commitments on hiatus (nothing I am GMing, though) to play this. Is that okay?



Yes. 😁

Also, come on over to Discord if you have one. Most of the OOC and musing takes place there. Just ask @BrokenPromise for an invite link.

@SifrEy, just letting you know that the picture you used for Hildegunde is dead now.
Yote.


Just to confirm, but is Elys expecting a response from this individual, or is she saying this and then moving on, kinda like, doing this 'I see you' thing to everyone?


Honestly, it was a pretty good ending for all involved. Spades somehow managed to get friendly with Angel, all the Weretigers were taken care of, the casino will probably be closed for the forseeable future, the human-trafficking victims were all safely secured, and now, the ace of the GEMINI branch in Pax Septimus was back in action.

Which was kinda weird, because while Estelle certainly wasn't a pessimist, she hadn't really expected Binky to just be...alright. What was the point of kidnapping and holding her there, if they didn't have a single underground guard? Were they just really lucky, having come in at a time when the casinos were lightly staffed? Why was the grimoire just lying in that locker there, rather than having been tossed somewhere like, oh she didn't know, the bottom of the ocean? Why was Binky even alive, if she was so scary to begin with?

"Huh."

Then, the biggest oddpoint stuck out, as she turned to her fellow operators.

"Tony's still at large, isn't he? Wonder where'd be more important than like, guarding Binky."
And there.

Also, probably a fusion of the worst aspects of Otis and Hildegunde in here keke.


“Show me wonders of this world.”

...

When the students of Classroom 104 returned from their own ventures inside Ascendia, they would snap back to reality to find a door standing eerily beside the window. The door’s knob rattled, turned, and then swung open, briefly revealing a space of swirling stars and invented curiousities before three individuals emerged from it. One was the paladin, the raw power of the divine still leaking off her form. The other was the Strigidae, that cold-eyed arbiter who had stood upon the stage just yesterday, who decided their fates. And the third?

Hauled behind Otis Tan Arillo was a buffoon wrapped in chains, shivering in what could only be described as abject terror from the mental torments that the Paladin and Strigidae no doubt put him through. But clearly, there was nothing wrong enough about this for the professor to intervene, and instead, it was Otis who spoke up first, his voice ringing clearly.

“This person here was found while tracing the leyline that you all consumed in order to reach Ascendia. Did any of you see or sense his presence in there?”

Just a simple, clear question, and one that, once answered, prompted no further reaction from Otis as he continued to drag Davil out of the classroom. There was no sign, indeed, that the chains he caught his roommate in were going to be dispelled. No sign, even, that he would bring Davil over to the clinic.

Rather, he re-entered Classroom 103, significantly more empty now. Rio was gone, and Chloe too. Wasn’t a surprise that Ciara was gone, and as such, Hildegunde being gone wasn’t unquestionable either.

“I found him.” Otis gestured towards Davil. There was no sense of smugness in the way the amber-eyed savant did this, but there was a sense of demand, a scientific curiosity aflame. “Instructor Alto, this is interesting to me. Who can you refer me to in order to investigate this further? You must have learned how to perform the Leyline Overcharge from someone else, yes? Who was it?”

//Day 3 | Location: Nameless Forest - Lakeside
@Vertigo@baraquiel@AThousandCurses@Nakushita@Yankee
In the end, nothing came out of that night’s discussions. That was the thing with stubborn self-belief, after all, the thing that came when head-strong individuals who were literally superhuman butted heads. No one was going to physically restrain Asahi, and no one could stop Duncan from coming with the pink-haired youth either. Masato remained quiet and unbending, his countenance clouded as the madwoman, Ayana, once again challenged his leadership. Shun, finding no true solace, followed in Rin’s example, and disappeared once more.

Closer by this time, due to the life-debt she owed Oros, but still positioning herself as an outsider to this strange community instead.

Nothing was resolved, only some things were decided. There would be work in the morning still, things to make. People ate, night watches were decided by lot, and gradually, the exhausted students made their way into a shelter that was looking just a bit more comfy than it was the night before. Upon springy boughs they slept, cuddled up or splayed, their snores sounding loudly in the silence of the forest around them.

Perhaps Shun’s violence had granted them this moment of peace.

Perhaps tomorrow, they would be faced with greater tribulations still.


Some did not sleep.

Kumi had stayed up the entire night, processing all the meat by herself. She was just boiling it, of course, but cooked meat lasted longer than raw meat, and the broth only became more flavorful the more time she spent on it. It was a labour of love for the daughter of a ramen shop owner, and there was no escaping her when she saw Asahi and Duncan crawl out of wherever they thought to sleep.

“Here,” she said, brusquely, wiping at the soot that clung to her nose. “Don’t think its enough, but its better than nothing. And go drink up a couple bowls of these too. Who knows if there's a river out there?” She handed over three bento boxes full of just boiled meat and fish, then ladled another two boxes worth of soup for the two soon-to-be explorers to drink. There was a sense that she didn’t approve of what either of them were doing, but she wasn’t going to sabotage their best chances of returning either.

Others woke up early by nature.

Against the morning mist, Sasuke was up once more. Only injury could keep him from performing his morning exercises, after all, as his limbs flexed and bent, seeming to manipulate the very fog that swirled around him. The Bansen school of aikido focused on the sensing of energy, in both humans and in nature, and for an instant, Asahi felt as if he were transported back to reality, back to Kuroshio, watching the serene martial artist go through his routine as always.

But that routine stopped, and Sasuke turned to face him. Sometimes, one was simply called to act, no matter what the thoughts of others surrounding them were. He recognized that resolve, that inevitability in Asahi then and there, knew that there were no words to be exchanged. Instead, there was only the smallest nod, a silent message. Sasuke was confident that the two would return.

Then there were those who woke up out of necessity.

As Duncan tried to figure out how he’d store Kumi’s bounty without a backpack, Haruko crawled out from the shelter as well, bleary-eyed and bedheaded. Through the haze of half-sleep, she looked up at her boyfriend.

She was neither generally apathetic like Kumi, nor was she resigned to faith like Sasuke.

So, of course, Haruko had to ask, her words muffled as she bumped her head against Duncan’s chest.

“Do you have to go?”
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