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I think I am here.

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  1. I think I am here.
    “I love powdered sugar,” Alask said, taking one pancake. As he ate he tried not to get any of it stuck in his disguise. It would be a pain to clean up after. Following Lena he sighed in relief as the plan began to fall into his head. “We’ll need to ask what time they close to visitors,” he said. “It’ll be easier with no random people wandering around, and with all of the schoolchildren and presumably staff asleep.” They would need something to get over the fences, maybe Zyn with some sort of lockpick? Or they could pickpocket a guard now. After they would be in, it would be a straight dash to the vault. “Do we have an exit strategy?” He asked, the thought suddenly occurring to him. “In case we’re chased out.”
  2. I think I am here.
    Rob dreamt of his father. And flames. Burning, the smell of burnt flesh and smoke suffocating him, and his father looking overhead. “Men don’t cry, Robert,” he said, kneeling down. “A real man keeps it inside. He toughs it out. Are you a real man?” Rob nodded shakily, the flames distracting him. Behind his father was something new - a shadow? That hadn’t been here in all of his previous dreams. Watching he saw the shadow creep up behind his father until all was a blur and Rob awoke, all memories of the shadow in his dream fading away into obscurity. ~~~ Rob awoke at the same time he always did, just as the sun was rising. Calmly he stood up and made his way downstairs. “Hey, everyone,” he said, walking down the stairs. It was a big day today. His debate.
  3. I think I am here.
  4. I think I am here.
    Aoryen eyed Ophelia. The stakes had just gotten higher. Turning around he looked to the two girls. “What do y’ say? Aye or nay? On one hand, we’d be betting little missy here,” he gestured to Ophelia. “And on the other hand, I rather like our odds of winning this, not to be braggin’ or the like. These misfits can’t even hide their colours-cursed expressi9ns for the life of them, easier to read than a book!” He looked to Ophelia. “But I won’t be the one making the choice for you. Sailor’s honour.”
  5. I think I am here.
    After walking with the room in sight, Price turned back. “Sagitta?” He asked, and when he saw her face he sunk. Quickly he moved back a bit, towards her. “Sagitta,” he said quietly. “It’s okay. You don’t have to be sad, Gati can change your memories, you can be happy again,” but remembering what hadn’t happened before Price strayed away from that topic. “Or not. But you’ll have to face them eventually. And I know it’s hard to cope now, but after the tests. Then we can see what we can do. For now, I’ve got a very limited window of time to test all of you before others start poking their noses in, and I’d like to get as much as I can done.” He looked to her. “Does that work? Maybe I can get you something to eat other than bread.”
  6. I think I am here.
    “You’ll see. Watch closely,” Marcel said, accepting the seal and holding the scalpel in his other hand. Leaning forward he tilted the seal towards her as he worked, so she could see what he was doing. Carefully he held the scalpel to the edge of the circular seal. “Though not every seal needs a conditional, I’ll start with one. We’ll say...” Marcel bit his lip in thought. “We’ll way that the condition is you walking past this seal. Or in other words...” He made some precise markings on the seal’s outer rim. “That if the seal can detect its own blood passing by in front of it.” Looking to Wita he smiled. “That’s what distinguishes Bloodsealing from other symbol-magics. You don’t have to physically link things for the seal to work. Like in AonDor, you have to link all of the symbols together, making an Aon Chain. Same with Forgery, except you have to connect everything on the same seal. But with bloodsealing, it’s kind of like this pager.” Digging in his pocket, Marcel brought out his work pager. “The pager doesn’t really need any wire right? It just connects with other pagers, somehow. It’s similar with the bloodseal. That’s how my bloodseal over there,” he gestured to the first seal he’d made, the one for Kira. How was she doing, by the way? “Can connect to Kira somehow, can detect changes in her blood because it’s sealed with her blood too. There’s some Spiritual connection, that somehow transcends needing something physical.” He looked back at his seal. He was rambling. “It’s pretty ‘neat’, as I’ve heard some teenagers say nowadays.”
  7. I think I am here.
    The gangster asks for the cup to be cleaned. It’s a valid request — I can see the spots on it out of my periphery — but it’s hardly something anyone would care about. Whoever this guy is, he’s high up on the dog-eat-dog world of the underground, probably. To care about some spots on a wine glass, to dress like that. Back in the Alley you’d find run-of-the-mill thugs a penny a piece. Case in point, the large man threatening the bartender for horn-eater white. But finding one like this, all dressed nice, all out in the open? Carefully I tilt my head to the side, try to observe where he’s placed his guards. Hidden among the crowd, probably. Just as these types like it. “I greet you sir,” he addresses me. I return to look at my cup, incline my head in his direction. He knows I was watching him. Maybe he’s a tineye himself. Maybe one of his lackeys hidden in the crowd is. Maybe I’m just getting rusty with my subtlety. Maybe it’s all of the above. I won’t know. “Would you care for another drink?” Not until I answer this question. I consider telling him my name, but if he’s really a high-up gangster addressing, he probably already knows my full name, address, occupation and Investiture. You never find one of these rich ones unprepared. Being prepared is how they get so high up on the criminal ladder. So why would he address me? Easy. He wants a job done. Why else would he address a private Investigator? He probably had this whole meeting set up. I looked up, meet my eyes with the man. He’s smiling. He knows I’ve fallen for his trap. Oh, well. Now that I’m in the game, I might as well play it for what it’s worth. Give him what he expects. “Another drink would be very welcome,” I say, look up at the smiling man. “A conversation isn’t really a conversation without a drink or two involved.” @Sorana
  8. I think I am here.
    “Put a little bit of your blood on this seal,” he said, and took out a blank bone. He would carve on it later. “And those could be viable, but remember, they have to be thick and good enough to Ben able to make detailed carvings in them, without changing over time or splintering,” he said. “And it has to be cost-effective, otherwise we would constantly be broke from all of our stamping,” he smiled at the thought. It was funny.
  9. I think I am here.
    “Good, good,” Aoryen said, hoping he’d meet this sailor friend of hers. Another man to gamble against. “Then I’ll be sure you’d know how to play Colour Cards, wouldn’t y’?” He looked to Ophelia for a moment, wondered what she could do. “You can play as well.” Still stomping on the ground he heard a yell as three ragtag youths came out. “So, these would be the kids,” Aoryen said under his breath, smiling. “Perfect. Three o’ us against three o’ you. Colour Card, whoever loses leaves this young lady’s property for good, does that work or ne’?” He asked. The three boys blinked. “What?” Sighing he looked to Ana. “Mind translatin’?”
  10. I think I am here.
    Wes stood up shakily, raised his fists.
  11. I think I am here.
    “It doesn’t even have to be a working fabrial,” Alask said. “If it breaks during the heist - it’s fine, we can always replace the stormlight later.” Stormlight was one thing they could afford. And it served the double purpose of lighting on dark nights, not even dangerous like fire was, especially in a community of ram-shackle tents. “But she’s right, following one of the teachers is a good idea,” he looked back at Zyn. “You seemed to do a fine job of entering the Forge without us noticing, do you think you’d be able to tail one of the teachers we find?”
  12. I think I am here.
    Wes nodded, jogged a little bit forward to make up the pace. Walking beside the Righthand he spared a look towards Wes - the other Wes. “She looks shes the only other one having a normal reaction,” Wes said, looking to the Righthand. “Nobody else seems to care.” Quietly he looked down, at his Kalea when he realised he was being too loose with his speech again. Even if he had the ability, he shouldn’t have been talking so freely. There was a hierarchy. An order to things. And yet, he was right. No one seemed to care about Myriad, just like how no one had batted an eye for the guards. Where’s Allri? He wondered. She’ll understand, understand the severity of Myriad being dead.
  13. I think I am here.
    I can feel a foreign gaze linger on me like a bad smell as I look down at the bar top, feel the aura of everyone in the room. There’s a couple people here with Breaths - real Breaths, nothing like the fraud of a divine Breath I have - situated here. Most of them only have a couple. One or two have enough to Awaken. Using my Life Sense I return my thoughts to the pair of eyes I can feel watching me. Slowly, I can feel one pair of eyes move closer, reaching the bar top. Asks if they sell drinks. I keep my head down, but a flare of tin and I can see him clear as crystal in my periphery vision. He leans against the bar, a little smile. He gets people watching him too, but it’s different from the stares I get. Already I begin to dislike him. Who’d he kill to get clothing as nice as that? Probably works for some up and high crime lord, the way he carries himself with that smile. A buttercup boy right hand man. And if there’s a local mafioso in town, then it means there’ll be more. These rusting rodents never go anywhere without bringing their whole pack with them. When you do an infestation, you never stop at just one cockroach. Of course. How could I have any hope for ‘Sanctuary’? It’s as dirty and dark as the alley I come from, as any other place, teeming with criminals, lowlifes and the like. The only difference is out here it’s a much larger hunting ground. But I stay silent, keep the man in my view. With any luck, I can follow him back to wherever him and his buddies dwell. These types usually don’t have the a worry in the world, with the cops paid off and the politicians paid off. The only people they got anything to worry from are the guys like me - the private eyes - the ones who won’t atop digging til they find the whole rusting nest. The game’s on.
  14. I think I am here.
    “Because it was once alive,” Marcel replied, taking the scalpel back once he watched her cut herself. “It helps the magic take form best. And it is easy to carve into. All of this makes bones the best, human bones, better.” Looking at her press her cut finger against her palm Marcel tilted his head to the side, had an idea. “If you want, you can always see an example done on yourself. A simple bloodseal.”
  15. I think I am here.
    I wish to join the yay
  16. I think I am here.
    Wes yelped and jumped back, falling to the floor. “Ow,” he groaned. Itiah thought it made the most sense for Wes to be too overwhelmed to make an attack this turn so he settled for writing this little meta-description, because a solid paragraph of Wes writhing on the floor would be boring to read, though Itiah was sure that the readers would full well understand the kind of pain Wes was going through right now .
  17. I think I am here.
    “Just wait until I’m dead,” Lusk said with an old grin, looking to the side. “Then it’ll be you with the responsibility to teach whatever rag-tag kid with atium Feruchemy you find. Hopefully it doesn’t take as long as it took me.” He paused, looked back at her. “And yes, you are an exception. Every other child I’ve seen in ten years has just been scared of me. Rightfully so, I should say. Serves them right for being insufferable little rustheads.”
  18. I think I am here.
    “E-eos?” Wes asked. “The epic with the lasers? She’s over there,” he said, pointing to the woman next to Corette, that animal of hers there as well. Quickly he pried his eyes away as Myraid’s body was covered and laid to rest. Myriad... one of their group. Yes, Wes knew of the others that had died, guards who the worm had eaten without a second thought, but this was different. “You think she murdered Myraid?” He asked quietly.
  19. I think I am here.
    “Ah. Don’t you be worryin’ now, lass,” Aoryen said, quickly turned to Ophelia and ifnkred whateve excuse she had said for being late. “Now, girl, you’d have to realise I don’t think you’d be the best at a little combat. Cutlass-to-cutlass. So I think we’d be doin’ this a different way today. Say, Ophelia...” Aoryen said, grinning and stepping further into the alley, stomping his feet with each march so their attention. “How would you rate yourself at a wee bit of gambling?”
  20. I think I am here.
    A moment passes where I’m alone, only graced by the company of my own cigarette, blowing gentle circles in the air, when I hear a drink slide towards me. Without looking up I flick a boxing towards the serving girl, stare down the glass gullet of the shot she’s provided me with. The whiskey stares back at me, unblinking. I stare back. It’s been a while since I’ve reunited with my old friend of the liquor species, but that doesn’t mean I won’t welcome its embrace whenever I get the chance. Dipping a hand in my front pocket I take out a small pouch. Carefully I unzip the top and pour thin flakes inside the whiskey, giving it a little swirl. A few people cast me looks, but they know I’d have bought two glasses if I was trying anything funny. No, siree. I’ve got better things on my mind. The whiskey’s sharp on my tongue, the presence of tin in my system somewhat justifying downing the glass in one go. It lays in my stomach like a coiled snake, waiting to be burnt. I oblige. Immediately the world becomes clearer, becomes more. The smell of a nearby person’s alcoholic breath reeks of white wine, the sharp shadows of black and white pop out of the corners of the bar, the stitches of my coat feel rough against my skin. Turning back to my drink I can overhear a couple talking about going upstairs, and simultaneously a small argument across the room that could progress into a bar fight if that man over there doesn’t stop it. The world remains in its state of clarity as I stare down my glass again, contemplate another drink. No. One is more than enough, and it wouldn’t be like the drink would affect me anyway. Unfortunately, being a Returned takes away most of the fun of alcoholism. Now, I just drink for the aesthetic. And so I can have a better way of ingesting tin than carrying around those rusting vials.
  21. I think I am here.
    “No. Thank you for staying.” Price looked up, saw Sagitta and saw Gati and the rest behind her. “Now come, the testing the important. It’ll help me, us, the whole nation, understand what these gods are capable of.” And then what? As Price stepped ahead, closer to the testing room he realised that, if it wasn’t against the war on Cahaya, then what would all of his research, his tools and his tests be used for? It had been so simple before, before he met Sagitta and Zura. Weapons were developed to harm Cahaya. Research was developed to make weapons. It was fine, he chided himself for worrying so far in the future. He would find a purpose. For now, information was information, and any information about the rogue entities of the gods was bound to be something worth using in one scenario or the other.
  22. I think I am here.
    Agreed, either way this needs a bump up. The Roasting must continue @John203
  23. I think I am here.
    “We, we can go back to earlier,” Price said. One last plea. “With the memory erased. But, but,” he stood up straighter, forced himself to look directly in her eyes. “You said you wanted the truth, and I won’t deny you that.” He inhaled, tried to find the best way to say it. “The gods don’t care about us,” he said, looked down. “Sensation doesn’t care about Ta’e’ilo, he shrugged it off. They’re just like us, normal beings, except with great powers. But up here,” he pointed to his head. “They’re the same as us. Worse even. When they found out Zura, you and I had gotten along, they erased your memories. Zura’s completely. Yours partially. Mine - I don’t know whether it worked on me or not. Something with their power ‘fluctuating’.” “But the main thing is that they don’t care. They’re evil, playing us against each other like that, like puppet masters. And when you found out the first time, it was too much, I could see the Hope die. And I didn’t want that again. Even now, I don’t want that again, Sagitta.” Glaring at the ground he blinked back any tears that were beginning to form. All of this was too much. Far too much.
  24. I think I am here.
    “I, a rotation works very well too, I’d be very grateful for an opportunity like that,” Wes said quickly, didn’t want to discredit the Righthand’s idea. He still had no idea why she was doing this all for him. Allowing him to ask questions, saying she had an assignment for him, offering him a way to learn more about Investiture. This was to Wes, only one step above underling thanks to the promotion, from the Righthand herself. “Thank you,” he said. “I n—” He turned the corner and his eyes widened at the mirror cave. Myriad, pinned to the wall, blood in a pool all around her, a message written, above her. Myriad... so lifeless, dead. He’d known her. She’d been part of their group, which the Righthand wanted to bring back alive. So much for that plan... Subconsciously he moved closer to Althea and held his Kalea close to his chest, hands shaking. A message, written in blood. Myriad pinned to the wall. This was far more than a simple animal. There was something intelligent here. And it had the advantage of having the home ground.
  25. I think I am here.
    “You too,” Alask said, turning away from the guide and back to the group. So, they had a school here. Idly Alask wondered whether any of the children had chosen to be here, certainly a guild centred around one central religion wouldn’t be the most unbiased places to grow up in... but that was an inquiry of thought for another’s say. For now, it was about the heist. The fabrials, The motivators and the heist. “We want to check out the science teachers?” Alask asked, stepping in front and walking to where the man had pointed. “If there’s anything here, it’s there.”
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