Jump to content

I think I am here.

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    4560

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    9

 Content Type 

Everything posted by I think I am here.

  1. I think I am here.
    Green. Calmly Aoryen picked up four cards from the deck in the centre of where they were playing. All number cards. As he picked them up he could hear the urchins snickering, looking down at their own cards. Hearing a sniff he turned his head, saw little tears in Ana’s face. Better end this game quickly. Placing down a green six the urchin after him excitedly placed down a colour-change card. These urchins had far too many special cards than normal. Aoryen didn’t make a reaction. “I keep it as green. Colour Card!” The urchin called, announced he only had one more card left. If he placed it down, he would have zero cards, and then it would all be over. The house would be lost, and Ophelia — quickly he looked over to the girl, a blank, focused expression on his face.
  2. I think I am here.
  3. I think I am here.
    “Very true. People are predictable,” I say, adjusting my hat to unveil my eyes a little more, try to get a better view of Raphael. Burning tin only makes me notice the little perfections in his movements more, the precision in the way he orders more whiskey for me, the soft laugh and almost perfect pitch of his words. A man slams the bar door open, introduces himself to he room as king and I look to the side, stare at him for a moment. “For the most part.” My whiskey arrives and I nod to the bartender, swirl it around for the time being. “It would depend,” I answer to his question of class. “I’m whatever my customer needs. I don’t exclude anyone from my clientele. Not beggars, not politicians.” Straightening my coat I look at Raphael again. “Where you come from seems like a fun place, if money equals class. No rich criminals in your streets? Or do you still have criminals, they just live in high-rise apartments instead?” I already know the answer but the question is more than the sum of its words.
  4. I think I am here.
    “Wita,” Marcel said, leaned forward in his seat and put a hand on her shoulder. “Relax. Deep breaths.” Demonstrating he deeply inhaled, held the breath for a while then did a loud exhale. He related the motion gestured for her to mimic him. He felt bad, that this was the only way he could help her, whatever she was feeling right now. “Security will be an issue. We can distract them, I’m sure. Doors will be locked and the such, but I’m sure we’ll find a way. Now the issue is just - how to get there? There would be no buses at this time, and Big Ben isn’t really close by by any means.”
  5. I think I am here.
    “Argh, colours-cursed cards,” Aoryen mumbled as he begrudgingly picked up two cards. With a grin he realised one of them was a special blue card and he placed it down, skipping the urchin after him, directly going to Ophelia. The boy he skipped cursed some words at him, and Aoryen watched as another urchin subtly slipped him a card — exchanging cards was cheating. But Aoryen said nothing. @Ookla the Dreamer
  6. I think I am here.
    “Probably not,” Marcels said, nodded as more and more of what she said made sense. “They seemed like hired hands. They would mention us to their boss, but I doubt they would care. Or think we would be as deductive as we are. Or stubborn.” He smiled warily. A web had been discovered, a massive, overarching web discovered from a single thread. A single dead body. “Christopher was planning to stop this group, with whatever they were doing at the portal,” Marcel repeated, looked at the newspapers, stacked neatly. “A group despicable enough to hire men to murder Christopher and that destroyed several houses a while ago.” He paused. “Oui, we are going. My mother once told me — evil is not only doing bad, but allowing bad to be done. Looking back now, she must have been an expert in the matter, but the logic is there. We will go to Big Ben.” Marcel looked at the postcard. “And we will stop them.”
  7. I think I am here.
    “It might be Tracey,” he said, stating a common classmate they both had. “She smiles at me in this odd way, and always acts extra nice to me.” It was weird. Super weird.
  8. I think I am here.
    Marcel leaned forward, tried to read the newspaper headlines. Unexplained accidents, houses crumbling burning, or more murders. “And why would Christopher collect snippets of these accidents, unless they somehow meant something?” Idly he looked up at the cellar roof, wondered how Kira was going. “You’re right,” he said. “But lets go through those cryptic messages again, just in case.” Looking at the newspapers and then at his watch, Marcel began. It was almost midnight. “The Big Ben. With the blueprints, you circled a place on Big Ben, the clock. ‘When the sun kisses the horizon, the portal will open’. That was the message Lewis found in the newspaper. Along with the Big Ben postcards, those anonymous cheques... what is this?” Scratching more and more marks into the bloodseal, Marcel contemplated. “He obviously has a care for this ‘portal’. That fabric patch I found with the blueprints kind of looked like a portal, you could say. Well, it was just a swirl of colours. He writes the date, so the ‘sun kissing the horizon’...” realisation hit Marcel as he looked up. “He means this morning. This morning, the portal will open. A portal in Big Ben’s upper clock section, if the blueprints are correct. But why does he want to get to it? And why was he killed? Perhaps he wanted to leave? But no... why would he write that he misses his sister of that was the case? Hm.”
  9. I think I am here.
    “It’s annoying,” Rob agreed. “Even in the prom. Where it was supposed to just be a good time,” he remembered Ashlyn. Then he remembered Ben and Shana with a knife to their throats, remembered the lightning soaring through the air, remembered those police officers when they swayed, their actions growing corrupted. Gently, and briefly, Rob felt the dark sphere in his pocket pulse. “They somehow knew we would be at the prom. Of course they would, every high-schooler goes to prom. But, how would they know when? Do you think,” he quickly shifted his gaze from the seat in front of him to Shana. “Do you think they have spies in school?”
  10. I think I am here.
    Free. Casually I look at Raphael’s posture. Take in his braid and the way he poses, highlighting his features. Even in a pub like this, in the dead of night he’s got poses practised out. He almost seems in his element, with all this subterfuge and intelligent discussion. I just find information, I think to myself as I listen to him speak. Free. I’m hardly the right man for subtlety. Free time. One thing’s for sure, though, Raphael isn’t an ordinary doctor. No one’s ordinary in this world. And just like everyone else, he’s got his little dark secrets. Just like the politicians, or the bigwigs wanting to build a city, or even me. I have secrets. But you’d have to be a loon to think I’ll just be doling them out. “‘Free time’ is getting less and less these days,” I say casually. Wouldn’t want to give off the impression I have nothing to do. Though currently - that would be the case. I’m new in town, still have to make connections before business starts flowing. And the cases I have got since I came here have been easier than cake. “But I’m sure something can be negotiated,” I say and down the rest of my whiskey in one go, place it on the wooden bar top and meet his calculating gaze. How will he read that, I wonder? “Where I come from, ‘class’ doesn’t matter until you have the money in your pocket. Of course, I’m sure the rules are... different here.”
  11. I think I am here.
    Something I just sketched when I got bored
  12. I think I am here.
    “Our Ideals are built from hardship,” Rob said. Another fact of their Radiancy. It only affected the Broken. Being Broken was what attracted the spren, what made the gaps in your soul large enough that Investiture could fill in the gap, could turn a person into a Radiant. Ideals were the pillars of strength they depended on, the code. “You can do it. I know you can. I can even have Cup tell you the same, if you want,” he joked in his flat tone. “I’ve heard she’s better at encouraging people than me.”
  13. I think I am here.
    “Oh, seigneur,” Marcel said quietly when she hugged him, extended one arm around her, the incomplete bloodseal dripping onto the cellar floor from his other hand. Patting her on the back gently he looked to how she organised the newspapers, by their dates. Unexplained fires. It could be anything, though the nagging that Investiture was involved poked at his head. Maybe a Dustbringer. They were somewhat known for their infernal destructive capabilities. “I like music too,” he replied and smiled. “I remember back in France, when I was a kid, I used to have all the popular songs as cassettes. And when I came here, imagine my joy at seeing all of the songs just played freely, at discos and parties.” He smiled at the memory.
  14. I think I am here.
    Aoryen sat, ignoring the looks of protest from the two girls. They of all would know this was the only way. Even if it looked like there was a risk to Ophelia. But either way, Aoryen had a plan. That old sailor’s wit, he called it. A positively bad idea, or maybe a good one, you could never tell. But what was bad, was his cards. All numbers. As the game begun Aoryen placed down his card straight before an urchin placed down a card, that instructed for Ophelia to pick up four cards. The urchin snickered.
  15. I think I am here.
    “Good, good,” Sinclair said. Walking to his desk he slipped on his gloves, flexed his fingers and watched blue lines glow along the surface. “What do you say we go on a field mission, see what these agents are up to?”
  16. I think I am here.
    Marcel accepted the newspaper, stared at the image then read the accompanying text. A story of a massive fire, plenty dead, firefighters losing themselves in the flames and one rescued child. Briefly Marcel wondered what it had to do with Christopher, how it related to the other things he kept, when realisation hit him and he looked up to Wita. “The child was you,” he said, sorrow in his words. He couldn’t imagine, to lose everything like that at such a young age, so quickly, to be in those conditions. Now he knew, why she disliked fire, the flashing stamp, now he knew what trauma she tried storing away in that metal bracelet of hers. Glancing back he looked to when the story had been written, a small date in the corner. “You were just a child,” he said, rested the newspaper on his lap and looked at her. An unknown cause. That was odd, considering how large the fire had been, but then again, perhaps all witnesses had perished in the flames. “I’m sorry. It is terrible,” Marcel said. Concerned he looked to Wita. “Did you ever see a councillor?”
  17. I think I am here.
    “Do neutral parties even exist?” Wes asked. “Because, honestly,” he said, voice quietening. “It sort of seems everyone here has an agenda. A side, you know? Maybe it’s just me,” looking around quickly he stayed where he was, near Adren and the Righthand. They were safe, he knew that. But everyone else, they seemed fine, but there was no denying there was a tension in the room. Or perhaps that was just paranoia. Wes just wished things could be simpler, that everyone would get along and wouldn’t split apart when new powerful things were discovered. “A charity,” he suddenly said, looked to Adren and the Righthand for approval. “We could give it to a charity, right? They help the city, probably could do a lot more good stuff with it than any guild, right?” He paled. “Sorry. Am I allowed to say that?” He knew about a few charities. One about helping war veterans. Some new one about homelessness. They could do with some atium, right? @Ookla the Dreamer @ElephantEarwax
  18. I think I am here.
    Rob quietened, followed her look to her hands. There was no answer. Because all of it was true. Another reason Rob disliked the moniker ‘magic’ to describe what they had. Magic was for fantasy. And in fantasy, things were simple. Good and bad. A dark lord to defeat. Things weren’t... messy, filled with conflicts of moral. This was real life. He placed a hand on Shana’s shoulder. “It will never feel right. But we’re only human.”
  19. I think I am here.
    “I’ll meet whoever asks,” I reply, watch all of the little expressions, small precise movements Raphael makes. The way he draws out the words slightly, the small smile and the whole demeanour he’s been giving off since I stepped into this pub. He’s got a skill in his movements, I’ll give him that. Almost annoyingly perfect in the little actions. But, he’s a clean freak. I store the fact in my head for later. In a world like this, the line between friend and foe is as thin as a garrotte wire. I take another sip. “And whoever has the money. I’m a Private Investigator.” I nod my head and sit back a little bit, try to judge his reaction. If he already knew now would be the time to hire my services. Of he didn’t — well, no harm in getting the word around. And besides, he told me his job, it’s only curtesy to tell mine. As information. And as warning. Should the right customer pay — I can find information on anyone. For a price. Sometimes it’s money. Sometimes it’s a Breath.
  20. I think I am here.
    “We’re from a charity not-for-profit,” Alask added, stepping from behind Lena. He smiled politely at the woman, didn’t say more. Too much could annoy her and then they really wouldn’t have any leads.
  21. I think I am here.
    “It is,” Rob assured her, taking another look at the marble - and whatever swirled beneath its glassy surface - before stuffing it back in his pocket. Following Shana he stepped inside the car, looked out of the window at their large house. Doc must have been a rich man to afford it. “I remember the police officers. But with that violet stone gone, they returned to normal, right? I wonder if there’s something like that for each Voidbringer. Their own violet stone that will return them to normal.” He shrugged. “But for now... we do what we have to. Remember, they don’t just harm themselves, they harm others too. Not only is it mercy, it’s preventing innocent lives being lost.”
  22. I think I am here.
    “Well, as long as it’s the offical way,” I say, though the idea for a city to be built still irks me. So much would change in this town, entire ecosystems of criminals and bystanders, the delicate balance of crime against the law, ethics against chaos would be undermined, removed, all for a few higher walls. Everything hangs in balance, like a perfect pendulum. There’s no need to knock it down now. “I can easily see such a project becoming a target for others with malicious intent.” Holding the whiskey in my hand I take a careful sip, meeting Raphael’s eyes. “Though, I suppose, as a doctor, it wouldn’t be too bad. The more people injured, the more money for you, isn’t it?”
  23. I think I am here.
    “We could destroy the crystals, right?” Wes asked. “That could leave whatever atium’s here to remain, but would make sure no more gets produced?”
  24. I think I am here.
    Taking the cigarette out I exhale a circle of smoke, watching it haze through the air like a bad rumour on a dark Friday night. Watching I put it away, look towards the drink he’s pushed towards me. The last time someone bought me a drink I ended up passed out on the floor of some slaughterhouse, but that was before I Returned. Now, the Instincts are still there though they have no reason to be. “It’s alright,” I say, wonder about the doctor’s offer to buy another drink, just in case I don’t like this one. So casual, I don’t know if he’s doing it on purpose or if he can’t tell. From my experience in the dark streets of my Alley there’s a few types of rich. There’s lottery-rich, those gangsters with the flash of gold and partying til the spark runs out and they end up in serious debt to the wrong guys in no time flat. There’s the paranoid rich — that’s all your cutthroat businessmen, politicians, most mob leadership and anyone else who’s got to be careful with their coins. And then you have the old rich. The powerful rich. The rich that asks about buying you another drink like it’s nothing. They’re rare to find, but when you find one, you know it. The old rich is like radiation, it just invisibly seeps in every movement, from the way he poses to the way he holds his glass, showing off his body. Bringing the whiskey to my lips I take a large sip and leave it half empty against the bar top. I think I’ve figured out Raphael. A riddle of a man, he is. Even if I know he isn’t a gangster I’ll be following him anyway. He’s easily the most interesting figure I’ve met since my time in Sanctuary. “I don’t see the need for a city,” I say. “As far as I’ve heard, the universe has functioned perfect without any such stronghold of power, no? It seems like wasted resources to try and construct one, then. But then, I’ve only been here a short while. What do I know of politics? I usually leave that to the politicians.”
  25. I think I am here.
    Are you trying to connect the CBST and Alleyverse universes? Because I think that might need community approval.
×
×
  • Create New...