3603/Eridine

Eridine
Date of Scene:	03 January 2016
Location:	A Quiet World
Synopsis:	An initial exploration of the nearest city in Omelas.
Cast of Characters:	Arthur Lowell, Priscilla, 183, 253, 255, Theo Morrison, Riva Banari, 570, 626, 847
Tinyplot:	The Book of Unification

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Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Henceforth, let it be known that your passage through the book's portal and The Collapse is to be an assumed event. Each time you wish to access Omelas, you will enter the Collapse and exchange your greetings with The Masked Woman and Emily. The former of these will then open the sole set of double-doors in the area to deliver you to a region of the world that is near to your intended destination. It seems that these doors can indeed be 'programmed' to place you in any zone of the realm that has already been accessed, meaning that travel in most cases should be fairly expedient. The Masked Woman would clarify as much before opening the doors to the promised location, leaving both open as long as it takes for the whole of the group to filter through.

    That said, we will let no more time be wasted on these sorts of logistic explanations. The narrative awaits.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    The world that the group emerges into is one simultaneously familiar and entirely discordant with every sense, and its appraisal is most easily compared to returning to an old home that has been abandoned for several decades. Though the group emerges on the top of a hill overlooking the front gate of Eridine, it would not feel as though they were outside at all. No winds blow which, considering the time of day, might be something of a mercy -- things are already crisp enough in their absence, trending easily toward the forties or fifties in Fahrenheit. Still, it is chilled enough that this would still be the first thing another person might notice, and it may well remind those who have attended funerals of how the foreheads of corpses feel. It is as though the entire world is a mausoleum under several layers of ground.

    Otherwise, this realm is still extremely true to its definition of 'a place where time has ceased'. If one looks to the sky, they will see the sun half-fallen over the horizon, but the colors of the sky never shift. Likewise, the clouds still visible against those blended amber-purple hues of dusk do not move, and seem to have been tinted somehow by a sickly, monochromatic aura. It's something like looking through the world out of a camera whose lens is stuck on sepia - or something with deliberately lowered saturation failing that - and so it may take some time of acclimation before everyone present can be sure that they are in a 'real world' rather than a painting. This is all made even more bizarre by the fact that the yellowing blades of grass that populate the nearby area seem to have simply stopped in the middle of being teased by a wind, making them all look unrealistically rigid, something like plastic elements of a diorama.

    Thankfully, physics aren't quite so broken that they do not crunch beneath the feet of the interlopers as they arrive closer to the front gate, and in time the group has its entire expanse lain out for them. The gate is held open and manned by two guards, each of them with their eyes hidden behind the steel slats of helmets and with spears held off to their sides. Beyond them is a finely built cathedral toward the center of town astride a small park, and what would appear to be a collection of shops, each one looking more weathered than the last. One of them is so weathered that its roof has caved in and the larger part of its Western wall has fallen away, and it is clear by the dust that seems to have collected on the debris that it has been this way for some time.

    As one approaches, they may also happen to glimpse a stable beside the front entrance. The animals inside are rather disturbing to behold: their features have been glazed over by a misty gray, making their eyes empty and their faces so blank otherwise as to make them look like statues. Still, there are two people beside this arrangement: a man in the unmistakable vestments of a cleric and a little girl in a plain, cream-colored dress paired with aged brown boots tied by leather lace. They each look surprisingly homely, but they don't seem to notice the group yet; the girl seems rather interested in a certain frozen horse, and her older partner by extension.

    As for Kyra and some others who may be interested in snooping rather than talking, Mizuki gestures her head to the left bend of the city's wall. Once she and others have gathered there, she says, "We may stand to learn much by investigating the cathedral. If you wish to explore more restricted areas, you are free to do so, but it may be easier to look upon the public interior of the cathedral first. We may learn a bit about the local religion, and by extension, the prevailing culture by doing so. Still, this is your mission, so its parameters ultimately fall to you."

Setsuko Kaminagi (255) has posed:
    More than anything, Setsuko decides, it's the animals that bother her. The plants are eerie, the twilight coloration of the world an oddity, but it's that strange grey blankness that has overtaken those stabled creatures which gets to Setsuko the most. Whatever happened here, it's unnatural. She doesn't need divinity to sense that; her own two eyes are enough. After seeing that, she's a little more brisk in her movements, a little more eager to get on with things.

    When they come to a stop and begin their deliberation, Setsuko frowns faintly, glancing back at the stable. It's rare for her to be so bothered by something. "I think I'd prefer to go into the cathedral. I'll have to stick to the public areas, my natural presence would make me too easy to find if I went sneaking. On the other hand, I also serve as an effective distraction. I could stay there and look through the public areas while other people check the restricted wings."

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Mizuki gives Setsuko a small nod. "That is your prerogative. And, true: I am sure many people in a religious city such as this would have a keen enough magical sense to identify you. It may bear some experimentation, but nothing that might get you into trouble whilst you're still wondering." After a short pause, she finishes, "Anyway, yes. Anything you can learn about the virtues, or the other tenets of their faith, or anything they seem disturbed by that we can learn to avoid in future interactions. Any such things would be helpful bits of information."

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    For the purpose of sneaking, Kyra has at least switched to a black hoodie instead of a white one. She has also replaced her boots, which jingle conspicuously as she walks, with much more silent and smaller leather ones. She may be no Thief but she has had plenty of time spent around her classmate Soan, who certainly is a thief. There are plenty of little tricks she's picked up from watching him work. While traps were pretty difficult for her to disarm like Soan does, she does know a thing or two about lockpicking and has secreted a kit in one of the pouches at her waist.

    The green-eyed girl is very excited by the time she eets up with Mizuki, all ready to conduct mischief against a possibly oppressive religious presence. She also has her newest wearable camera on her-which is tucked behind her right ear like a tiny pen, presented as far less conspicious than her previous model, which died when it was fried by Ramuh's lightning.

    "Oh, I'm all about scooping up the most sacred of knowledge for our consumption." Kyra grins mischeviously, steepling her fingers together. "And I love getting into /restricted areas/. But I have to agree. A good sweep of the place first to determine what they feed the public...then a more deeper dive to see what they're keeping locked up! It might give us some clues about what happened here. Or at least what they think happened here. So! How are we going to get in discretely?"

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Mizuki narrows her eyes faintly at Kyra, smiling. "What they 'feed the public', is it." Mizuki closes her eyes a moment as if in some sort of appreciation. "Something about the connotation of the word 'feed' gives me a slightly deeper and much more entertaining understanding of your character, Miss Hyral. However, I'm afraid I don't know how you would accomplish such a thing, exactly. One of you could distract any guards that might be present while another of you picks a lock, or perhaps you could try to find a cellar and sneak in through there. Really, though, I'm afraid I'm as unused to this environment as the rest of you." She makes a shrugging gesture to accentuate her purported haplessness. "I do wish you such good luck, though."

Riva Banari has posed:
Riva has been SO LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS.

It's a new world! Sure, they're all in trouble and everything is horrible but if you dwell on things like that and not on what's important you just get all serious bear and depressive.

This is why Riva arrives in the world, chafing her arms a bit to augment the warmth of the jacket she's wearing. It's a little chilly. ;_;

Either way, she's engrossed staring up at the unchanging sky for several moments, pondering it... and then slumping a little bit, a subtle change in her stance, Maybe she's running in Low-Power Mode. "Wow, this is a place." She says. "I wonder how people deal with it always being dusk."

She purses her lips. "Huh. That's a thing." She shrugs, however, and she walks in the front gate, waving and smiling brightly to the guards. "Hiiiiii~" She exclaims, and then looks around, pondering once more. This place has seen better days. However, something else gets her attention: The stable. She looks over, immediately drawn towards the scene before her as she approaches the pair. "Hi there!" She greets them. "How's the horse?" She asks.

Well, it's an icebreaker. Of sorts.

Kimiko Shinobu (570) has posed:
    There is something like an uncanny valley effect. Kimiko has seen many 'real' worlds, and many, obviously 'fake' worlds. The effect here is eerily in-between, and has her tensely on-edge as she crunches grass beneath her feet, the properties of motion and gravity oddly working. It's just another point in which the world seems real as she touches it, yet fake as she looks upon it. Strange. So very strange.

    She is transformed ahead of time, though for a particular purpose apart from combat. There is a single, thin sword at her side, basket-hilted to nearly match her not-quite-historical garb, the blade itself covered in a polished steel-and-leather scabbard. Her intent is to appear as a knight, if not of this area then of /some/ area--somewhere little known, by preference, as she is making no attempt to hide herself in any respect. She walks straight between the guards, pausing only to look toward the two by the stable as Riva calls out to them.

Arthur Lowell has posed:
    Arthur is here! As usual, of course. Notably, though, he's not floating. He seems disoriented by that fact, briefly, disconcertingly. What is that weird sensation? He seems troubled by it... But then he seems to decide that it's not worth making a big, stressful show of things. That is to say: His magic's gone. He won't be using it. Good thing he came in his MUNDANE JERK outfit. Kyra is a familiar person, one who owes him things and one who he owes things to, so he sticks near her, and that means he's near Setsuko.

    "HAH! SHIT YEAH, get all up in the CHURCH BIZ, that's WAY fitting for YOU." His grin shifts around his face like it's trying to do a weird dance. "I'm HELLA SUSPICIOUS and SUPER ATTENTION-DRAWING, I'll just WALK ON IN and SEE WHAT THEY HAVE T'SAY and you'll be FINE!" He says, eager to help. And that's what he'll do! When it's time, and it's possible, his next plan is to head for the cathedral with Kyra and the others following her, and simultaneously, wander up to thinks and mash his internal INTERACT button on them to examine or talk. It's his usual confident, energetic swagger, but a little more humble and human now that his magic is gone. Riva Banari, though, she's noticed briefly, particularly. Low-power Riva... Rare to see! Arthur decides he'll chatter with her on the radio a bit.

Setsuko Kaminagi (255) has posed:
    Setsuko looks at Mizuki, then Kyra, then Arthur, before giving a light nod. "Probably best if we both stick together. Everyone in the building will probably feel me, and the both of us together should be fairly effective at keeping eyes on us." That way, none will be on Kyra, and she can move a lot more freely.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Psyber, who more likely than not arrived with Theo Morrison, doesn't actually have a whole lot on his plate to accomplish today. He's a tagalong at best, which means he's under no expectations to fix problems or address anything unless explicitly told to. That is a relaxing sort of rare mission for him, one which he takes to swimmingly as he hangs around near the outskirts of the group eating a burger which contains no less than four all-beef patties, and three different cheeses (Pepper jack, Swiss, and Sharp Cheddar), plus grilled mushrooms and bacon.

    He has his phone out and is scowling at it heavily as he watches the football scores shift and change, looking immensely annoyed at something.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Both guards turn to Riva in unison, their hands clasping visibly to grip at their polearms. Only once they both realize that the bright 'Hi' is a greeting rather than a battle cry does the nearer of them give her a nod whilst the further holds a closed palm to their chest. "Hail," Says the first, though they offer no other words whatsoever. Still, many archetypal guards might not have said anything at all! So it's something.

    By the stable, the pair of the pastor and the young girl both turn to face Riva in surprise, the latter of them immediately drawing her hand back from the nose of the horse and rushing behind the pastor in a frenzy. She scowls at Riva from her place behind the man's leg, encouraging the pastor to lay a hand on her shoulder for comfort. "It's alright, Chloe," He says. His voice is soft as velvet; not the effete, manipulative tone she might've expected from a member of the clergy here at all.

    He, like the guards, lays a flattened palm at his chest and gradually, gently inclines his body forward in a bow. "Lord's blessings," He says. On the subject of the horse, though, he frowns. "And... not well, I'm afraid. Everywhere you go, it's the same: none of them move. It's quite a tragedy, and especially so for young Chloe here. As I understand she was quite close to animals before the pause." At the mention of her name, the girl vanishes behind the man's leg again. With a sigh, he says, "You'll forgive her, please. She's really rather shy."

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Kimiko is allowed to walk through the gate unhindered by either of the guards. As with Riva, they each offer her a bow, but they see no need to greet a fellow bladesman with words. Still, the one to the right of the gate occasionally looks back at her as she makes her way into the town proper, as if to be certain she has no ill-intention in her visit. This haphazard observations abates as time rolls on.

Konoe Kanno (847) has posed:
     Emerging into the world on the hill overlooking Eridine, Konoe took a deep breath. "So we're here..." She didn't bother to dress any differently than usual, wearing her typical red and white miko robes. It might stick out if this city was primarily european in structure, which seemed very likely. But Konoe wasn't worried about it.

     A glance upwards informs her of the oddity of the unchanging sky. The phenomenon earns an arch of a brow from her. But otherwise, she pressed on with the others, approaching the gates and the guard manning them. The cathedral ahead of them, beyond the gates earns a curious look from the youkai, and she recalls the words said earlier by others. That must be a very important place.

     Having very likely arrived with Theo as well, Konoe casually munched upon a burger made to her specifications earlier in the day. Mmmn. Rare. "I...think I will go to the cathedral. I'm curious about the people who run that sort of place." Munch munch. "If that's okay." She tilted her head a bit, ears twitching momentarily. "...Well, time to go then." Finishing off the last of that burger, she strode onwards towards the gate, aiming to pass.

     Hopefully these people were used to 'monsters'.

Theo Morrison has posed:
Theo provided a burger picnic of sorts on the way in. He brought enough for their somewhat-mysterious guides-slash-denizens, too. Psyber, Konoe and Staren were conscripted to help him move it, though Staren's waiting outside while they investigate this particular bit of the world.

He did not bring them through the Aether this time. Psyber seemed like he got enough of that the last time Theo took a shortcut and Konoe might go into freaked-out-cat mode and never recover.

Theo is dressed appropriately for the occasion, being in the Ravnica-acquired clothes he saved for adventures. He brought an extra cloak like he joked he would, too. Kickotron is with him, the robot bird wearing a plumed helmet that miraculously fits it. Must be the doing of science-cat. Theo just thinks it's funny to give him undersized hats.

"I kinda wanna know what the Bishop's like," Theo muses, "but the chance to poke around..." He trails off. His curiosity is /killing/ him. If he doesn't have the opportunity later to do this kind of thing he'd feel like he missed out.

Riva Banari has posed:
Oh right, not everyone is used to her crashing in with all the grace of a meteor. Her expression creased a little with unusual fatigue, she nevertheless continues to smile, turning it down a bit as she bows, duplicating the greeting. "Sorry, sorry. I didn't mean to surprise you both." She straightens, then nods to the both. "The pause has been pretty stressful for everyone." She agrees. "I'm sorry for your situation." She looks around a bit, and then back to the pair. "I just arrived in town. I travel a lot, so I was curious to know how things are going here. It's my first visit, and well..." She smiles a bit again. "I feel like this place has a lot of stories in it."

She looks over to Chloe then, nodding. "I'm sorry for startling you, Chloe. I love animals too, so I understand how you feel." She looks over to the statuesque horse. "They must have been amazing."

She sees the others head for the cathedral. Maybe she'll poke her nose in there later.

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    Kyra's smile widens at Mizuki's character comment. "Oho, you'll see, then. You'll see!...Ah! Well, it seemed worth asking since you did show up before the rest of us." Kyra nods to Mizuki. Part of her considers trying to find a cellar to sneak through since she did like that idea, however...

    Riva, Setsuko, AND Arthur take up the mantel of being super suspicious and attention drawing. She smiles, giving them thumbs up from behind, before quickly slipping by, taking advantage of the guard distractions as soon as possible. Once inside the city, she motions to anyone who happens to be investigating with her-such as Theo if he's fast enough to catch up, and slips into an alleyway.

    "According to my friend Soan..." she whispers, "You have to take a circuitous route to your destination to confuse people that see you!" Kyra whispers as she leads everyone following on a roundabout way to the cathedral.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    The doors to the cathedral are already wide open as Arthur, Setsuko, Kyra, and Mizuki approach the cathedral, no doubt as some symbolic gesture of welcome. There are several people praying now, their bunched knees gathered on wooden extensions that extend from the front of each pew. There are seven stained glass windows of modest size at the sides of the chapel, though the final of them, positioned above the altar, seems larger than the rest. The glass depicts a carousel of different parts of the body - an eye, a hand, an opened mouth, and so on - that seem to represent different human senses. Sight, touch, taste, et cetera. In the center of these is a globe that looks much like planet Earth. Above it all is a heavenly cloud, golden lines fashioned above it to represent beams of light.

    CASCUCINE is written at the base of the glass. The letters may blur one's vision a moment, as though they were meant to appear differently, in some long-dead and illegible script.

    Much to Arthur's chagrin, this edifice seems quite enamored of silence. The only sounds made in its entire expanse are the footsteps of those entering and the occasional beat of wood as a person puts a book back on to a pew, or rises from a prayer stance. All those with opened eyes look to him, Setsuko, and Kyra with varying degrees of suspicion. Some seem far more disdainful than others.

    There are doors to either side of the altar. They are ornately designed, and a similarly twisting, bizarre script eventually resolves to read as 'Private'.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    As Konoe approaches the gate, both guards lock their eyes on to her. Their visors ominously follow until she is just about to pass, then both their lances lock together in a single, fluid motion to form a slender 'X'. "Halt," Each of them say in unison. "By order of Archbishop Lennox, monsters are not to be permitted entry into any city that wishes to stay in the good grace of the Lord. This is your only warning. Go back to whatever dark recesses from whence you've come, or we will be forced to remove you by force."

    Their visors stay trained on her. Their lances do not budge.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Mizuki turns to Theo a moment before fading out of the realm of visibility. "Do as you like," She repeats, "though you might consider asking that clergyman by the stable as to the bishop's whereabouts. I've not seen any other priests since we arrived. You might find more in the cathedral, but so many of us are already heading there that you might be of more use elsewhere."

Riva Banari has posed:
The front gate is right by the stables! Riva hears the commotion and turns her head before the others reply. "One moment!" She says, brightly, as she rushes over.

"Hey fellas! Relax!" Riva calls to them. She's OBVIOUSLY HUMAN, right? "She's not a monster!" Except she technically totally is by some definitions. "She's not going to hurt anyone. She's with me, let her in!"

Konoe Kanno (847) has posed:
     Oh.

     So that was a thing. Konoe stopped short, letting out a somewhat surprised yelp at the sudden crossing of lances in her path. "...W-What?" She uttered in surprise, looking between the two guards. "But I just..." Hmn...well, no, this wasn't a surprise actually. Maybe she'd gotten a bit too comfortable with how the Multiverse had treated her so far, but it wasn't always like that.

     This was a prime example. "Um..." Nervously, the youkai's red and golden gaze swept between the two guards, trying to think of something to say. Her ears flattened forward against her hair, making her feelings clear as day. "Who is Archibishop Lennox?" She asked, carefually raising an arm to point towards the cathredal in the distance. "Is he in there?"

     She lowered her arm after that, trying not to do anything that could be construed as immediately dangerous. "...And why can't I go inside? I haven't done anything. I just want to see the big building over there..."

     She considered trying to fly, but...somehow, she couldn't actually do it. She thought and thought, and tried to separate herself from gravity as usual, but her body wouldn't lift off. ...Strange. It was probably better that way though. She didn't want to cause an 'Incident'.

     Riva's timely intervention is welcomed, however, and Konoe didn't do anything else, awaiting the results of ....well, this.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    The priest arcs his brow at Riva. "Yes," He says in reference to the challenge of the pause, "I suppose that it has." He clearly finds something amiss with her tone -- something about her usage of the euphemism 'Pause' suggests that she doesn't quite know where to use it in conversation, or how. He opens his mouth a moment as if he were about to comment on this, but ultimately closes it again some moments later.

    So instead he resurrects his earlier smile. "It does. I've lived in Eridine for the better half of my life. Its people are honest and fair, tempered though they be by their circumstances, and I every day feel privileged of their company."

    Chloe peeks her head out again at Riva with the mention of her name. Her scowl never shifts, but she does work up the courage to step out from behind the priest, folding her arms tightly against her back. She breaks eye contact with Riva at every possible moment, never uttering a single word.

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    Sneaking into the cathedral seems...unnecessary. The door is wide open. It's filled with people that give them the stinkeye for showing up. All in all...yeah, this smacks of a regular church experience to her. Only difference is the iconography that Kyra observes in the stained glass, which she is careful to record, lingering on each pane so her camera picks up the details and parts of the body featured on each. She sees the word there..."Cascucine?" she murmurs it in case the word renders in the weird script on her recording. A moment later she also adds the spelling she sees. Her gaze falls to the doors clearly written with 'private' and a smile creeps across her face.

    She quietly requests some distraction from Setsuko and Arthur again, knowing at least Arthur will definitely deliver because, well, he's /Arthur/, the rocket-powered jerk. She slips a hand into her pouch of lockpicking tools as she moves to one of the doors. Of course, she'll simply try a doorhandle first before attempting to work the little hooks and needles.

Setsuko Kaminagi (255) has posed:
    Setsuko's steps are measured and careful as she enters the cathedral; she even looks around for a moment or two just in case it's the custom here to remove one's shoes. But then Kyra asks her and Arthur to be distracting. She manages to keep the smile off her face, but only just.

    Her bootfalls suddenly become a bit heavier. It's subtle, but definitely there. She stands a bit straighter, squares her shoulders. Her walk becomes something not too far off from 'swagger'. Her natural aura of otherness would draw attention anyway, but now hevery manner practically demands it. She's looking for a priest of some sort, now; someone whom she can press with questions about the faith. No doubt Arthur will be able to get the attention of one fairly easily.

Theo Morrison has posed:
"That's a good idea," Theo muses. Mizuki seems like a good kind of person to trust when it comes to what to do in a place like this. He breaks away, jerking his head a little. The myr with him hops to, following along, pack on its back. Kickotron looks a bit like a metallic packmule. Birdmule? Packbird? Robopackbirdmule...?

You get the idea.

He approaches the stables and the priest at a walk, raising a hand on his way over, once he's in earshot that isn't yelling. "Hail, father!" There's a beat, and he goes, "Well, that was probably kind of overblown, sorry about that. I was wondering if I could have a quick word?"

Kickotron eyes the girl with him in the way that he eyes everything: with steady, unblinking, expressionless stares.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    "It is only natural that you would not know his name," One of the guards grouses to Konoe. "Archbishop Lennox is the one, true vassal of the Lord. He is the paragon of the virtues and the one who will free us from the darkness that so envelops our world. And he is the one who warns us against the evils inherent to the existence of such miserable creatures as yourself. If you weren't so blithely ignorant you would surely know that he does not reside here." And when she says that she hasn't 'done anything'? The opposite guard shakes his head. "You speak as if killing your mother wasn't enough, and as if your existence weren't the evil of the world incarnate." He visibly tightens the grip on his lance. "Your existence is a blight on the world, and your presence a wound upon my eyes. Begone, pestilence."

    Then, Riva. "If you've come in the company of a monster," One goes on, "Then you are banished from this place as well. Leave."

Arthur Lowell has posed:
    Honestly, normally Arthur might actually quiet himself down. But, as it stands, part of what he needs to do is to, well, Be Arthur. "S'UP BITCHES. What's with the EYEBALL MUSEUM? Never seen a DUDE affected by GRAVITY?" He demonstrates the noise his footfalls make by bouncing on the soles of his feet, then gives a friendly, just-short-of-obnoxious wink. "C'mon, givin' me the STINK EYE and I've not even had the chance to be an AWFUL JERK yet! Hey, I'm not from AROUND HERE, looking to see WHAT'S UP."

    "I'm hear to get my LISTEN ON all about VIRTUES and shit, yo. Aren't you guys supposed to be HELLA REVERENT of that? Shit dog, get HELLA EVANGELIZING up in my WORLDVIEW, I wanna hear some RAD VERSE and some HARDCORE THEOLOGY." Who is he talking to? Uh... Kinda nobody in particular. It's a bit silly how he's just sort of rambling as he swaggers loudly through the cathedral.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    At the utterance of the syllables in the word 'leave', another figure appears beside Riva, laying a hand on her shoulder. It's the priest from before. "You'll pardon me for not saying so sooner," He speaks to the guards, "but these people are my friends." He gives Riva a small shake and a smile to accentuate the point, looking her in the eyes just long enough to make her certain that he is doing what she thinks he is doing. "And she speaks truly. Her compatriot is not a monster, but merely a human in unusual garb. She is a traveling performer dressed that way, you see? So please, allow her passage."

    Both the guards fall silent at that, their eyes flitting back and forth between the priest and Konoe. Eventually, mercifully, their lances uncross, and they stake them into the ground by their greaves. "Very well," Says one. "You may be allowed entry so long as you remain under the supervision of Bishop Mansfield." They tear their eyes away from both people again, facing perfectly forward. "Good day."

    At that, the priest bows faintly to the guards, walking casually in-between them and gesturing for Riva and Konoe to follow. "Please," He says, "Follow me."

    Chloe stays constantly at his heels, taking every opportunity she can get to avoid eye contact.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    The pastor looks back at Theo, likely as Konoe and Riva begin to pass him. "And you as well, friend," He says, keeping his smile warm and wide at all times. "We may speak once we're comfortably within the city's walls. It does much to combat the cold, being in the vicinity of so many other people, so I should prefer to talk to you there instead." He gives a small, meaningful glance to the guards before continuing inside.

Konoe Kanno (847) has posed:
     "Huh...?"

     And this just got confusing. She understood what was said about the Archbishop, but...what in the world was all that other stuff? Darkness that envelops the world? "I don't understand- What is this about killing my mother? I don't have a mother!" Konoe raised both of her hands in a panicked, defensive manner "I never did such a thing...."

     The insults hurled at her only serve to help erode away from her patience and confidence. "......" She didn't understand. There was a lot she didn't understand, but this was something else. Her gaze lowered to the ground, bangs hiding her expression. Even inside a book, she couldn't understand humans, huh?

     Konoe was about ready to turn around and leave, when a voice cut through the air. "....?" She looked up to find a priest. ......" So now she's a traveling performer. Great. Fantastic. Feeling even more embarrassed than ever now, the youkai gave the guards a respectful bow, and then carefully walked past, sticking close to Riva and the priest who'd bailed them out.

     "Um.....thank you." She mumbled, to both Riva, and their apparent savior. Chloe gets a brief glance, but she couldn't make eye contact. Was she avoiding doing so? Oh well...

Priscilla has posed:
    Out of quite a few fantastical landscapes inside of Mizuki's books, to Priscilla at least, this one may actually be the most inoffensive. In that weird way that seems to be a common thread for these worlds surrounding the Author, a significant element of the eerie and unusual is something the crossbreed has long grown used to under equally odd circumstances. By now it require no explaining as to why an infinite twilight, unnatural stillness and disjointed, diorama-esque sense of time should be almost homey to her, with that backstory so thoroughly explored.

    Instead what seems to be more immediately relevant is the fact that the guards are blocking people with such 'monstrous' features as cat ears, which more directly relates to Priscilla. She is under less undesirable circumstances than Konoe herself, possessing only really one magical ability to be hampered here, which happens to not be the one that lets her turn invisible and ideally just sneak on by as she is wont to do. She lingers as long as seems will be useful, but after that bit of cryptic venom, it doesn't seem like she'll get much more out of the guards without directly questioning them, which would obviously be counterproductive. Not entirely wanting to stick to just the gate or the cathedral yet until one develops into a situation that needs intervention, she decides to hover somewhere inbetween so she can go to either gathering quickly enough, gravitating towards the sight of the broken down shops. Specifically, the one that has caved in interests her. During a 'great pause' where not even so much as the wind blows, it seems odd that a structure would have been eroded so thoroughly.

Riva Banari has posed:
Oh. Well that's inconvenient. She briefly considers something, but she sags a bit, sighing. "Look, she..." Before she can continue to argue the point, the priest comes to the rescue. Riva straightens, nodding to confirm what the priest says. "Yes, what the Father said." She smiles, and waves, gesturing to Konoe to follow quickly as they head back and follow the priest.

Once they're out of earshot, Riva smiles. "Thanks for the bailout, Bishop. Nice to meet you. Name's Riva Banari." She offers a hand, and then looks down to the small child. "Everything's going to be fine, okay?" She tells her in a reassuring voice... Though someone who has undoubtedly been a child for years probably finds that sentiment quite hollow.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    If he's still idle, Psyber would likely hear a series of footsteps approaching him, deliberately crunching across tufts of grass wherever they appear to make the owner's presence evident. He gives Psyber a nod if and when he should make eye contact with him, holding his palms flat to show that they are empty. Afterward he simply takes his place beside Psyber, watching the bishop walk through the gate alongside Konoe, Riva, and Theo, letting his hands rest neutral at his sides.

    He's a plain-looking individual with creamy brown hair to match a long cloak draped around his shoulders. Something about his manner makes him seem rather sullen.

    "You're with them," He says, "but you've been waiting here. As someone in a similar predicament I can't help but ask: why?" He looks over to Psyber more directly now, expression even, eyes swirling with a strange energy. "That is, if you don't mind the company."

Theo Morrison has posed:
Theo nods. "Sounds like a good idea. Lead on, and I will follow."

He falls into step with them. Kickotron follows, helmet covering his beaklike head, functioning kind of as a sort of squire. Theo is garbed in a sort of adventurer kind of way, and carrying a short sword, so maybe he's some sort of knight-errant? It might be a good cover, especially if Mizuki is gonna saddle him with the honorific, but it depends on what Riva and Konoe say.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    The burger in Psyber's hand is fair indication that he can't really draw a weapon or take aggressive action. The half-angel shifts in his footing a bit as he munches on the burger in his hands and sighs a bit, "Mm. Interesting question. I'd say that the answer is in Habakkuk Chapter 2, Verse 3. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay."

    "When you work as a detective long enough, you come to realize that the most proactive action you can take is to do nothing at all and simply wait for the world to move forward a cycle," He muses, looking over at the man, "So who're you?"

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Setsuko enters the cathedral with heavy footsteps, and several people turn their heads.

    Arthur enters in a bluster of loud words and inquiries that, given their disruption of the environment, makes several more people turn. To leave.

    Four or five people rise from the pews to filter out of the cathedral, each and every one of them giving Arthur a look of powerful disdain as they shuffle along. In the end only two people remain, one of them an older woman in a shawl likely too deafened by age to hear anything wrong, and the other a young woman with white hair and a red cape pouring over her shoulders. The latter of these rises from her pew as well, but she doesn't leave -- she goes right up to Arthur, arms folded, her countenance one of express disapproval.

    "You know," She says, "I'm very sure that someone here would be glad to teach you all that you wish to know, but they would be -vastly- more likely to do so if you did not enter their sanctuary /shouting at the top of your bloody lungs/." She shakes her head at him with a powerful, powerful sigh. "Though I think I know why you did," She says, giving a short glance back at Kyra, "so I'll not lecture you further." Narrowing her eyes a bit, she quietly adds, "Though there are some people who might take offense to what you're doing here, you know? And who knows, perhaps people -have- taken offense." Copping a bit of a smile, she says, "You see, there's this dress I saw at the embroidery house. It's really quite nice. Nice enough that it might make me forget ever having seen anything, were I to get my hands on it."

    As for Kyra, she'll find that the door is in fact locked. It's a weak lock, though, and it comes 'round fairly easily if she attempts to pick it. Assuming that she does, the door would slide open with a click, revealing a staircase leading upwards.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    'Bishop Mansfield' leads the group of Theo, Konoe, and Riva through the gate, and to a corner between the aforementioned collapsed house and Eridine's wall. That's to say, they're all comfortable out of sight, though they're still in open enough territory that they would not feel like the bishop were luring them into some sort of ambush. So once they have arrived, and the pastor has had his good time to give several glances around their immediate area, he exhales and gives them all a far deeper, clearly more sincere bow of greating. He keeps his palm glued to his chest all the while.

    "You really must forgive them," He says, rising, "They're only so cruel because we have experienced so many attacks of late. So many caravans, killed nearly to the last man by marauders and monsters. Really, it's enough to put anyone on edge... but that doesn't excuse how you have been treated," He says, looking to Konoe. "You have my absolute and sincerest apologies for your ordeal. Please do not thank me -- it was the least I could do, and I should have intervened earlier."

    Then his gaze shifts to Riva, to whom he offers something of a gentle smile. "Hestia Mansfield," He says. "I am something of a leader to these people, though they're much better to me than I am to them." Her repeated efforts to get at Chloe, though, are continually denied. Chloe's sneer seems never to go away, and all she does when Riva says that 'everything is going to be okay' is firmly, defiantly snatch Hestia's hand and look away, studying some stone on the side of the wall.

    Hestia squeezes her hand before looking to Theo. "And you," He says. "I'm sorry to have been so occupied at first, but if there is anything you wish to ask of me, I would be happy to help you now. Just, something gives me the distinct impression that you lot aren't here to stay at the inn or eat at the Peckish Crow," He stops on that last syllable to give them all a meaningful look, "and so I didn't want to talk with you where there would be so many prying eyes. You'll forgive me my presumption, won't you?"

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    Kyra, in fact, has no idea that the white-haired woman has actually spotted her. She is delightfully unawares! Though she has taken the 'precaution' of ducking down to do her work, hopefully partially hidden by any altars or pulpits that may be up in the room.

    Fortunately for the novice lockpicker, the lock is an easy one. She quietly and slowly slides the door open, squeezes through the smallest possible width, then slips it shut behind her. Grinning, she slips the tools into the leather pouch at her hip and sneaks up the staircase.

Arthur Lowell has posed:
    "It's really more EMPHASIS than SHOUTING, y'know. EASY MISTAKE TO MAKE! My LETTERS are EXTRA TALL, yo, shit be STRAIGHT FUCKIN' TURBOVERTICAL." Arthur says. There's plenty he could argue about tone and practical initial impressions but right now he has to /maintain his flow/. "One'a those sorts of AMNESIA OUTFITS, huh? Shit be so MAD STYLIN' it gets your BRAINS BLOWN OUT YOUR EYES." His grin flashes to his face again and he leans on something -- a pew, maybe -- so that he can cross his arms cooly. "Well HEY, you don't PULL ANY PUNCHES with the FRESH-ASS NEWBIE VISITORS do ya? I can DIG THAT." Arthur knows how fetch quests and trade quests work; he is, after all, still an RPG protagonist! And he knows that, while it'll be a huge hassle to get the cash or resources together to purchase it, he can.

    Setsuko gets a glance. "You'll do the buying, by the way, NO WAY am I gettin' all up in YOU-KNOW-WHO'S eyeshot buyin' a DRESS." There's a brief "pfff" noise he makes and then he's turning back to the red-caped woman, adjusting his hair and getting back to crossing his arms. "So, what, NOW? You COMING WITH? Or do I just QUEUE UP THAT SHIT for LATER, and you give me the LOWDOWN on the OTHER STUFF while I'm HERE?" Because, you know, he'll go ahead and wander off to the next quest stage if it's necessary.

Konoe Kanno (847) has posed:
     Konoe took a careful look at their surroundings during the walk, taking in the city as much as she could. The man, Bishop Mansfield, didn't strike her as a bad person, so she relaxed her guard a bit. But only a bit, and followed his lead into space between the collapsed house and the wall.

     After everything is said and done, Konoe manages to give him a small smile, and a light bow. "Even still, Mansfield-san, I appreciate that you went out of your way." Her ears picked back up by now, twitching occasionally at any faint sounds picked up.

     A moment of silence set in, and then the miko decided to ask something. "Um...do you know what those guards were saying? They spoke about me as if I had actually done something very specific. I was...very confused." A pause, and then she added another question on top of that. "And you said that monsters have been attacking caravans? Do they....look like me?" She pointed to herself to accentuate the question. "And um...what is the overall situation here? I'm not really clear on what's happening..."

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    "In the words of the first archbishop:" Responds the man beside Psyber, "'The Value of Casucine lie not only in the glossy eyes of the child nor in the quickness of their feet in exploration, but in the persistence of that curiosity over time. It is the duty of Casucine to seek Insolicine, then for what is gleaned to be given o'er to Heliocine that it might be used for the betterment of man. The value, then, can lie in searching or in waiting, for even if one's feet are still, a honed heart can find newness in even a parable they have read a hundred times. Sometimes, then, Casucine can exist even in the elder.'" He smiles before his expression eases back into a neutral position. "You aren't from here," He says, quietly. "Your scripture is nothing I have ever heard before."

    He dwells on those words for not even a second before he speaks again in answer to Psyber's question. "Juno," He says, "of the family Forscythe. Time may prove otherwise, but I believe it is good that we've met."

Setsuko Kaminagi (255) has posed:
    Arthur's boisterousness is nothing new to Setsuko. What /is/ new is someone rallying and responding. The swordswoman looks between Arthur and the woman with no small degree of surprise, and finds herself /very glad/ Arthur is more prepared for his bluster to incur counterattack than she is. Especially given what is quite plainly blackmail being involved.

    Wait. What?

    "I'm-?" Now that, Setsuko /definitely/ wasn't expecting. She blinks a couple times, looking completely bewildered. Her, buy a dress? That's only slightly less strange than Arthur doing it, even if it comes with fewer social complications. "Er... I... suppose if she's just picking the dress herself, then..." Hang on, there's a more pressing and basic issue here. "Wait... no, we can't. We don't have any money. We've only just arrived. Is there no other compromise we can come to?"

Riva Banari has posed:
Riva regrets the words almost as soon as she says them. How could she know how it's been for these pe-...

And then she pauses, a concenred expression causing her face to scrunch up a little, before she nods to the Bishop. "So you're the head of these people? Makes sense. Don't worry, I'm happy to talk where we won't have people around who will misunderstand."

Riva bounces on the balls of her feet a bit. "We're travellers, kind of on a quest of sorts. We're trying to find out what's going on with the Pause, and find a way to put an end to it." She gestures to the sky a bit. "So you'll have to forgive us. We're not from, um... around here." THANK YOU CAPTAIN OBVIOUS.

Riva then shrugs. "Anyway, I wanted to learn more about this place, the surrounding lands, and the people here, maybe find out if there's anything specifically unusual going on around here that might provide some ideas."

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    As Kyra climbs the steps and rounds a corner at the peak, she would see an ornate desk flanked at all sides by errant papers and well-worn books. A single candle in what would appear to be a genuine silver holster rests beside an opened journal with several empty letter parcels thrown on top of it. There are papers everywhere, each of them ripe for the reading and every one more tantalizingly mysterious than the last. It seems that, between this desk and the pair of bookshelves toward the other end of the room, Kyra has stumbled upon an informational goldmine.

    Or it would seem that way until she would hear something on the radio from Mizuki. "There is a guard patrolling the second floor," She says. "She is watching Arthur and Miss Kaminagi from the second level right now, but she may at any moment break away and come to check this room. I will attempt to warn you before she does so."

    So she has an opening now, but she shouldn't loiter. She only has so much time to search around, so she should try to take things that aren't too large and conspicuous. Wouldn't want the guard hearing her messing around or realizing that something is missing when she comes back in, so outright plucking the journal from the table is probably out...

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Polishing off the burger, Psyber keeps a relaxed stance as he listens to the other man, his face keeping a pretty even look to it, "None of those really sound like me, honestly. I'm here to watch over my friends and make sure I'm nearby if they need me. I'll leave the curiosity and exploration to other people for the day," He talks to the man, taking out his pack of cigarettes and lighting one.

    "Juno Forscythe. You're right that I'm not from here. Name's Psyber," He looks sideways a bit, "Good or bad, we'll have to see. It'll depend how this whole affair plays out and what we both believe, now won't it?"

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Never has someone's expression screamed 'What the fuck' quite so loudly as the one on the white-haired girl's face at this moment. Her arms are folded, but her eyes are unbelievably wide that one might think Arthur was speaking an entirely different language. She cants her head gradually more with each passing moment, the arch of her eyebrows slowly shifting from suspicion to something like... pity, or concern. It seems like she genuinely can't decide what emotion to feel, and by the time Arthur finishes talking she closes her eyes, pinches the bridge of her nose, and uses the other free hand to hold up a flat palm. This is a fairly universal 'Stop' gesture.

    "Okay," She says, still pinching her nose, "you're making my head ache something miserable. I could swear upon my name that you're speaking in some foreign dialect half the time, if you aren't imitating some monster's bellowing." After another moment and a pronounced sigh, she finally releases her nose and looks Arthur in the eye. "I don't know if you actually were able to grasp my insinuation or not, but if you could, forget it. I don't care any longer. Please, just stop talking. Silence from you would be ample compensation for my own discretion." And as to the question of whether she's 'coming with'? She lets her head fall slightly forward as if in shock. "I will go nowhere with you," She says. "I'm afraid that my ears would implode upon themselves within the hour were we to continue this conversation. Although... well. If you can think of any -specific questions-, I will answer them. You are clearly an unfortunate wayfarer from another world with no good sense, so I could not in good conscience leave you entirely to yourself. Please, though, try to conduct your inquiries -coherently-."

    She seems only to notice Setsuko now, and her relief at seeing another 'normal person' is evident immediately. "No money," She echoes. "So I was right, was I? You -are- beings from the stars." She scoffs, rolling her eyes. "But really, truly, the only compensation I need is for you to cover this blowhard's mouth when you think he might be ready to start screaming again. Indulge me that far and I'll ask no more from you."

Setsuko Kaminagi (255) has posed:
    Well. She might have repelled the first assault, but it turns out this lady wasn't prepared for Arthur to lay verbal siege. So Setsuko won't have to go buy a dress. That's something of a relief. But even more importantly than that?

    'From another world.' This woman knows they're /really/ not from around here. That makes things easier.

    "...if you know we're from another world," Setsuko replies, finding her verbal footing at last, "Then would you tell us about the religion here? An overview, at least."

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    As Kyra comes upon the small room, a smile of joy spreads across her face. There was just so much /material/ to work with, how could she find all the time? Straight up taking stuff is definitely a thing but Kyra comes in with the advantage of some technology from her world. She's recorded stuff via her phone before-and she'll definitely take many, many pictures of documents in this room. She's quick to get to work, employing this same strategy that she used on the recipe book in the Forbidden Section of the library at Alexander Academy.

    (This, incidentally, had lead to Nero.)

    She starts on the desk, targeting all the papers, picking them up and holding them in front of her camera so the lense can focus on them before she puts them back down just carefully. She doesn't take any of them. As she goes through the papers, she hears the warning from Mizuki and changes tack: she has to find a hiding place just in case, if there are any in this room.

Theo Morrison has posed:
Theo is wary of some kind of impending ambush the whole time, but he keeps it mostly off his face. Without access to the mana he requires to do his thing, his ability to fight back against something like that is incredibly limited. There's a reason 'surprised' is often another word for 'dead' at this kind tech level.

When he bows and starts to speak, the tension starts to bleed out of Theo. He isn't surprised at the stuff he's telling them, but /is/ a little at that meaningful look and little pause. 'Peckish Crow'... clever. He'll have to remember that.

"Of course. I don't hold any ill will against you for it." Theo falls into a slightly different speech pattern. He's read too many fantasy novels. "What my companion says is true. Our quest is to seek the source of this 'Pause' and do what we can to right the state of things in the world. We've come far, so any help you'd be willing to give would be welcome."

"...but," he adds, "I'll understand if your duties take you elsewhere." Like to some kind of crow or something.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Juno gives Psyber a bit of a shrug. "I mean only to say that I understand," He says. "Though yes, I'm waiting for a friend of mine as well. A few of them, actually. We had intended to go on something of a trip after today, but something seems to have held him up. Something to do with one of your friends being mistaken for a monster, curiously enough." He folds his arms at that, copping another smile. "Not that I mind. A spot of extra time to loiter and muse is fine for me. I'm sure you feel the same."

    Juno is silent for a few moments after that, giving his cigarette something of a curious look. "Psyber," He says, eyes still trained on it. "I see. But 'this whole affair'? Whatever could you mean? You speak almost as if you were reading some kind of story." At that, he look forward, back at the guards from earlier. "Though I suppose we have that in common," He says. "Our friends, I mean. I worry about mine as well. They're more important than anything to me. Were it only that I could make the world a little better for them."

Psyber (253) has posed:
    The half-angel nods his head faintly, "Interesting that my reason to be here would be the cause of your own delay. But that does seem to be the way the universe works, the give and take of it all," Psyber muses aloud, smoking his cigarette and milling over the situation as he gives a very slight smile in return to the one Juno gives him.

    "Hardly something so irreverent as to believe this merely a story," He replies, sighing a bit, "Though in a way, any life or set of interactions is a story to itself. So perhaps it is something of a story, in its own way, couldn't it?" He asks as he grins, "But I can relate to wishing you could make the world better."

Arthur Lowell has posed:
    "I'm speaking in FLOW so FRESH you gotta IMPORT IT on INDIAN TRADE ROUTES, yo, shit be MAD FOREIGN." Arthur says, with much eagerness. "I got HELLA GRASP on your EXPLOITATION INSINUATION! I was gonna GO ALONG! C'mon, I can't be THAT bad, not even worth the RACKET? Awww." For a moment, he actually looks kinda sad about that! He does a ":<" face, but does seem to go silent and let Setsuko do the talking here. He has, it seems, turned the situation around effectively. At least, uh, mostly. One can tell that he's coming up with all sorts of weird responses to the things she's saying to them, and is visibly holding back from dropping them all at once.

    That is to say, he's stopped pretending that any of this is natural and cool for him and so he's just sitting back and eagerly listening for a response to the question, as silent as was requested.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Hestia looks back at Konoe. "Oh, I did no such thing! I had intended to come into town before leaving anyway -- I needed to get a last look before setting out. I'm going on something of a journey myself, you know? Ah, but were it only there were some magic I could use to preserve an image of the cathedral looming of the square, something that I could take with me as I travel... but alas. Perhaps one day we will invent such a thing. Something that can save a moment in time, keep it alive forever." He smiles. "And something that can do so in a way more benign than the pause, yes? Or at least I should certainly hope so."

    Ah, but yes. The guards. Hestia's expression falls again. "They thought you were a monster," He says. "And if you don't know that much, then I see we've quite a lot more to talk about than just that. Quite a lot more that we will talk about, in time, but I suppose we'll have to see how much we're willing to share with one another. I could always use more help on my journeys, after all," He smiles, "and I get the feeling that you lot may be walking many of the same paths as I will. But ahh, there I'm off again, getting ahead of myself." He takes a deep breath, letting that serve as a pause before he continues. "They said that you killed your mother because monsters are born to human parents that almost invariably die once they are born. The monsters do not necessarily look anything like you, but you must understand that people will oft assume that any slight differences in physiology," He gestures to Konoe's ears and nails, "will usually suggest to the layman that you are a monster. If you intend to return here at any point, you should be mindful of that. In all likelihood that suspicion will not change."

    The question on the 'overall situation' gets a bit of a look from Hestia. "I'm afraid that question is too broad for me to be able to grasp your meaning. By 'general situation', do you mean what's happening in Eridine? Why I'm going off to travel? Or..." Hestia stops himself a moment. "... no. No, you mean... the state of the world, don't you?" He gives Konoe, Riva, and Theo each a long look before swallowing any commentary and going on, "... very well. Monsters have been born whenever a woman has given birth since The Pause, that being an event roughly ten years ago when time abruptly stopped. No one knows the cause, but most have assumed that God did this as punishment for the sum of all human evil. Any more than that... well. You simply must be more specific."

    Riva's added conversation seems something of a natural follow-up, so Hestia looks to her next. At this point, his smile has mostly faded into something much... harder to read. "Curious," He says. "That is the subject of my upcoming journey as well. Perhaps this is fate. Perhaps we will end up traveling together after all, or at the least, have intersections on our journeys. I believe I would be glad of that," He says, trying to bring back a grin, "especially if it brought all of us closer to that goal." As for anything 'especially unusual'? Hestia closes his eyes.

    "What I tell you now," He says, "is the sort of thing I would not want being heard by errant ears. I make that quite clear." He lips his lips after saying so before continuing, "Miss Chloe and I have a friend. His name is Juno. We have deduced the location of a ruin that may hold a clue as to how we can seek an audience with the Essence of Casucine. Should be capable of meeting with them, they would likely be able to tell us more than anyone - or anything - else as to what has happened, and why The Pause has occurred. If your goal is truly what you say it is, then you should follow along with us. You should come with us to meet Casucine. It could be quite dangerous, and it may take some time before we may actually seek our audience, but for those precise reasons your help would be more than welcome."

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Hestia trusts he has answered Theo well enough with his reply to Riva, but he looks to him after he has finished anyway. First he shakes his head, muttering a 'No'. "On the contrary, this -is- my duty. It is the only cause worthy enough to make me leave my responsibilities here. The higher Bishops are simply too busy with the management of their cities to go on similar quests, and so the task falls to me and mine. 'Me and mine' are somewhat motley, albeit," He gives something of a pause, "which is a large part of why I so gladly anticipate any of your future help."

Riva Banari has posed:
Riva smiles as he wishes for a way to preserve the area. She lets someone else suggest the obvious, but she does offer, "Do you have no one who is capable of drawing a sketch of it or making a picture? Depending on how much time you have, I could possibly provide." She nods to Hestia and Chloe, her expression sad as he explains the monster situation, but says nothing.

After that, there is nodding. "It's nice to see there's others who are working on the same things we are. It's a great coincidence we met up." She gestures. "So... Who or what is the Essence of Casucine? Either way, I'd be happy to go along with you. There's all kinds of things we're going to need to find out, and if you're going that direction, it seems like it makes sense that we go too."

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    The girl in the cape gives Setsuko a long, long look. "T'was nothing but a joke," She says, her words light and almost breathless in whatever approximation of surprise she still has access to. "When I said you people were 'from the stars', it was a jest. An -idiom-, if you're a woman of more specific words. Do you mean to tell me that you are in earnest? I... I suppose I might believe you, but you must know that it's somewhat hard to believe. Even with all the nonsense flowing out of this fool's mouth," She says, tilting her neck in gesture to Arthur.

    She bats her eyes again when Setsuko asks for her to tell her about her religion. "To speak truly-true," She goes on, "it gets easier and easier to believe you with each noise out of your mouth. Were anyone to ask that sort of question in public, or at least in the way you did, they'd be strung up and bound. 'Your religion', you ask, as it isn't yours? You'd best not make those sort of comments too loudly, if you know what's good for you." So folds her arms up, glancing aside at one of the stained glass panes for another moment.

    "But if you are serious, and if we're to say I believe you, then I'll say this much more: ours is the faith of the seven virtues. We have seven tenets of our faith: Forticine, Levacine, Casucine, Insolicine, Heliocine, Metacine, and Sonucine. When everyone is young, they're supposed to decide which they most identify with, and then they read books by the Observer attached to that virtue. That's supposed to consecrate the link between them and God, and the truly devout eventually awaken to their own magical power." In demonstration she snaps her finger, summoning a bolt of static that might make her hair stand up. And the story goes that the only one with enough mastery of all seven virtues to speak with God directly is the Archbishop. I don't know if I really believe in all that crap, but that's what people say, and if you contradict that in public you'll either have to pay a fine or do some time."

    She uses the moment after finishing as a natural pause, looking to Arthur a moment. Her own expression falls somewhat when she sees his frown, and a hand goes to rub the back of her neck. "Hey, guy," She starts, "if you're really from some other world, I guess I can't blame you, but. You know, people -pray- here. Some people are here wishing for the safety of their families, or trying to commune with their dead son, or whatever. It kinda spoils the mood if you get all loud and whatever, okay? So just... don't. In the future. Alright?" Now -SHE- looks a little guilty, too! Damnable reciprocal human communication.

    "Anyway," She says, scrolling back over to Setsuko, "I think those are the basics. Some people are more loyal to actual scripture than others, but anyone in their right -mind- has a virtue they identify with by your age. Don't advertise that you don't or people may start thinkin' you're a bunch of rebels from Watchtower territory."

Konoe Kanno (847) has posed:
     At Hestia's explanation, Konoe looked a bit saddened, but nodded in understanding all the same. "...So monsters are born from humans, who die in the process." That was...sad. But that didn't answer the question of why monsters existed. ut then, based on what he said, she doubted he had any hard facts on the matter. With a shake of the head, Konoe smiled a tad and glanced at Riva and Theo. "Can't we take a picture and give it to him?"

     She didn't keep a phone. She kept breaking them one way or another. But she knew what pictures were. The digital kind anyway. But that aside...the whole situation that this world was in gives the miko pause. "...I see. So this...'Pause' is responsible for what's happening?" At the mention of her ears and nails, she blinked, one hand going up to touch them. "...Um..." And then there was her tail. Bushy and overlong as it was. There was literally no way to hide that.

     Maybe she should pretend to be a traveling performer. As loathe as she was to accept the role. "...It's okay. What you've told me is enough. I don't need anything more specific for now." A small bow of the head in thanks followed, then she straightened up. "If you think that we can be of help, then I would be glad to assist you, Mansfield-san." Konoe nodded, only speaking for herself for now. She wasn't here to make decisions for anyone else.

     "I'm...curious about this 'Pause'." She was also curious about other 'monsters' now. But she wouldn't voice that out loud. She was already walking on eggshells here.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Investigating the ruined building, Priscilla would find something quite strange indeed. In the immediate vicinity of the collapsed home, some grasses move in disjointed, stuttering, twitching motions. It's a far cry from natural motion, but it seems that time is able to 'progress' here, or at least repeat itself, in a visible way. If she goes to study the ground near other buildings, she would find that the same is true. The only thing that all these buildings would have in common is the fact that they were all rendered unnaturally, and by human hands. It may very well be that places frequented by humans, or failing that, locales and-or objects closely connected to them, are given a similar freedom to move as humans themselves are.

    If Priscilla moves to inspect the inside of the collapsed building - or at the least, whatever is left of it - she would find no shortage of distorted furnishings buried underneath the rubble. For the most part, though, there's nothing else of particular interest there.

Setsuko Kaminagi (255) has posed:
    Setsuko blinks. She stares. There's a few moments of quiet silence as it sinks in.

    The lady was joking. She didn't actually expect them to be from another world.

    Oops.

    Is it Arthur's imagination, or is there a little more color in the demigod's cheeks than usual? She doesn't seem to be acting particularly flustered about the whole thing, at least. Indeed, she's forcing herself onward, focusing on what the woman tells her. "Authoritarian, then," she murmurs, as much to herself as anything. A religion willing to string up heretics. So things could be difficult if they say the wrong thing in earshot of the wrong person.

    For the most part, though, she remains silent, listening, considering. She can't help but frown a touch when it's pointed out they're in a church; most of the people here are just trying to get by the only way they know how. It leaves her feeling a tad guilty as well. "I suppose if I had any other question, it would be who, or what, the Observers are. I carry my own source of power with me, but... well, the Virtues seem important here. It would be sensible for me to know." They also might be important to what's happening here. It's hard to know for sure.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    All of a sudden, Kyra would hear footsteps.

    "He's coming your way," Comes Mizuki's complementary phrase from the radio.

    By the time she has turned to leave, though, -another- patrolman can be heard coming -up- the stairs she had come from. Where had he been before that? How had Mizuki not seen him? She can't know the answers to these things, but she certainly needs to think of something. There aren't many good places in this room to actually hide, and there are no other exits on the second floor aside from the one the original guard will soon be emerging from.

    Mizuki realizes the urgency of the situation a bit too late, herself catching a glimpse of the guard heading for the steps through an opened door. Her eyes go wide - though it's not as if anyone would know - and she leans into her radio again.

Arthur Lowell has posed:
    Arthur looks really, really encouraged when the girl they're speaking to says that they're getting easier to believe. He is clearly very lightly smug about the idea that he is, at the end of the day, making a small amount of /actual sense/. But he expresses this wordlessly. He also carefully notes what's acceptable and what's not acceptable. They need to know the Virtues, identify with one, they need to understand the relative isolation of the world, not poke too much at the theology...

    Then, with a wide grin, he nods. "Hey, sure thing. You know what that was all about. But I understand." And then... he considers the static. His head tilts. "Hey." He says, and scratches his head. "I've got a question, myself." There's a glance to Kaminagi, but only a glance. Its meaning seems limited to the vague, undefined implication that maybe what comes next is another faux pas, or something that should be considered unspoken in most circumstances. "Well, you've already answered the hypothetical outsider questions. So, a hypothetical insider question." He tilts his head. "Let's say, for example, someone had magical powers before, and then /lost/ them. What would you say would be responsible for that, what kinda stuff would need doing to resolve that?"

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Juno gives Psyber a long, long look, giving something of a light, breathy laugh in response. "You've grown rather philosophical in your old age," He says. "But I'm sure you'll have no shortage opportunity to improve the state of things, if you're planning to stay here for any length of time." Looking back at the stable, he muses, "I feel like we'll be seeing quite a lot of eachother in the near future, on that note. And I'm glad of the premonition. You're an interesting man, you know -- you bleed an energy of experience. You feel implicitly like someone who has seen much and done even more." Juno nods to himself, as if in confirmation of his own words. "I respect that in a person."

    He's quiet for another moment before adding, "You feel different. Sometimes, with this world being like it is, one feels a bit of deja vu. You know? Like people are saying the same things, like all the color has drained out of existence. But you," He says. "You and those people. You feel different. You feel new." Pause.

    "I want that to be a good thing. Don't you?"

Theo Morrison has posed:
Theo listens intently, his expression grim. The situation is bad in the large scale, but seems worse in the small. He assumed that the problems were coming from the Pause -- that is, the environment suffering, and people turning to barbarism as a result of shortages and things. He didn't think there were also literally monsters being born.

Then again... it /would/ sort of fit his general feeling of what's happening here. It couldn't possibly have /just/ been a problem with food shortages and people fighting over what's left, or Staren would have thrown nanotechnology at the problem until it fixed itself.

Theo lets Riva handle the phone thing; he thinks she plays with hers more than he does his Ecto, and breaking out technology /that/ advanced right now might be kind of problematic, whereas phone-addicts can be awfully subtle when they want to be. Instead, he takes a half-step forward and says, "Then we're of a like purpose. My name is Theo, and I'm a Planeswalker. I have the ability to travel between worlds, and I use it to do good wherever I can. Here, in yours, with this..." He gestures at the sky.

"My magic is beyond my reach at present, but if I can do anything to help you..." Theo lets his hand drop. "Then consider it done."

Kickotron stands unmoved by this gross display of cross-planar heroism. He's clearly the anti-hero of this tale.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    "Mmm." Hestia gives Riva another small, contented smile. "A professional artist, are you? ... regardless, yes, I would rather like that. It would be nice to have a 'chronicler' along with us. Scripture tells us that forgetfulness invokes the wrath of Heliocine -- to make us repeat our mistakes. If that is so, then your help would be truly invaluable." He gestures ahead of himself, perhaps at the cathedral. "Please, by all means. I would offer compensation, but I get the distinct impression you're the sort who would refuse it. So I will hope that my fervent, earnest thanks will be enough if I am indeed correct." When she says that their meeting is a 'great coincidence', though, Hestia shakes his head. "Scripture also says that there is no such thing as coincidence. I am sure that there is a reason for our meeting, and that there is much we have to give one another. I look forward to realizing what those things are, in time."

    Hestia looks to Konoe, giving another solemn nod. "Yes. A curse of our own making, the punishment of God, or something else? We do not know, but the Pause is responsible for the present state of things. Though I don't believe it's as simple as time 'stopping', myself; every day it gets just slightly colder. Every day the grass seems just faintly more sparse, or more yellow. I feel that whatever has happened is rotting the earth, or even worse, that something is sapping the life from God himself. I don't believe that he would have simply abandoned us, not when he has guided us so faithfully for millennia. And I will continue to believe this until the very instant I am proven wrong." At her final commentary about being 'curious' about the pause, Hestia can only nod again, smiling somewhat. "Yes, it is a vexing thing... a mystery to even the most learned of us. Were it only that the Archbishop were still accepting audiences we might stand to learn so much more from him, but... but I am sure he has his reasons for hiding himself away. Perhaps that, too, is the will of God. Perhaps we are to solve this puzzle on our own. It is our responsibility... to be curious about it, I feel."

    Then, Theo. "I am sure you will find your own way of helping in due time," He says. "I see such an ardent light around you. Such a strength of will. It follows all of you, truly. I look forward to seeing what it portends."

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    Kyra stiffens as she hears the footsteps and subsequent warning from Mizuki. How /did/ the stairway guard sneak in there without Mizuki noticing?! With nowhere to hide, a confrontation seemed inevitable unless Invisible Individuals could knock out the guards beforehand.

    Kyra is not unprepared herself, though. She slips to the head of the stairs, quietly removing her needlegun and a pair of darts from the bandoliers beneath her black hoodie. A powerful sleep-inducing tranqulizer is loaded into the gun and readied.

    If she had to go through a guard and get spotted in the process...well, she was prepared. Inwardly the thought of becoming a criminal to the church was a little /thrilling/, though she doesn't voice this to the others on this expedition since she knows what kind of exasperated reaction it would get.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    "Tends to happen the longer you're alive and the more you see, I guess. I'm not a philosopher, though. More of a problem solver, which I guess is why I'm here. World has a lot of problems, I'm here to try to fix it for the sake of my friends and the people who really care about it," He doesn't specify whether that definition includes himself in the people who care or not. It may be inferred, however.

    "Most people want change to be good," Psyber agrees with the man, keeping his hands in his pockets as he muses, "Hopefully it will be. And hopefully you'll be certain it's a good thing if we ever run across eachother again."

Riva Banari has posed:
Riva happily gives a thumbs up. "Yeah, don't worry about money. You've been doing us favors already, I'm happy to repay them. I'll get started in a little bit!"

She does fold her arms. "I don't know if it's coincidence or not, but I'll take it." She says, chuckling. "We're probably going to be traveling a lot..."

And her expression falls a little bit. "Whatever it is, I don't think God did it. I agree with you, something bad is going on and it needs to be stopped hard..." There's a pause. "Wait, the Archbishop stopped accepting audiences? Hmmm." Riva ponders aloud, even tapping her foot. "Interesting. Why would they hide away, when you'd think this would be the time when people would need him most..."

Suddenly, she looks up, smiling like nothing's wrong. "Oh well. We'll figure it out soon enough!"

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    The white-haired girl puts a hand on the side of a pew, leaning slightly in its direction. Whilst in that pose, she looks to Setsuko. "Oh, Observers? They aren't the most important facet of things, but you'll hear about them a lot when people quote scriptures. They're philosophers from all across time who have dedicated themselves to studying one, specific Virtue. They just spent their entire lives learning absolutely everything they could about it, and some genius up in the church's hierarchy decided to add their findings to the Holy Scrolls. Take Observer Mathias for example. Mathias was the man of Metacine. He wrote books and books on Metacine, and a lot of what he wrote made way into scripture. So you'll have a section of the Holy Scrolls named 'Mathias', and all thirty-five chapters of Mathias just talk about Metacine in a cornucopia of different situations. Honestly, it gets a mite boring reading that much about one Virtue, but you didn't hear me say that."

    So basically, they're like The Disciples from Christianity.

    Arthur's question gets a serious look from the girl, though, and she briefly rests a hand in her cheek at the notion he puts forward. "I think I've heard of things like that happening from time to time," She says, "But the only time you actually hear about it is when it happens to criminals. You, uh. See what I'm saying, here? It's just really not a good thing to advertise." After that, she stops to think for another moment. "Though if I had to /guessssss/," She says, "I would say it could happen if something... blocks your ability to communicate with God. Oh! Like, if you went through a life crisis and started doubting your virtue. There are also things like curses - some ruins are rigged with stuff like that - that block your mind's ability to do that. Obviously the solutions are different based on what happens, but if it were a life crisis you would just have to get your confidence back. Like if you were a peddler whose virtue was Metacine, you would just have to have some big success with some new business venture, and it might come back. And with curses, well... depends on the curse. Ask a member of the clergy for help, probably."

Konoe Kanno (847) has posed:
     Konoe nodded along with Riva, folding her arms behind her back casually and teetering on her geta. "Yes. We'll be....wandering. For all intents and purposes. If you need help, and we happen to be around, don't hesitate to ask."

     She looked aside at Riva as she got all thoughtful for all of a second, and then threw it all away. ".....Riva-san." Konoe sighed, slumping a little in exasperation. "...But I guess taking this one step at a time is all we can do for now."

     It's not like they could just fly off to the final boss' demonic castle and punch him in the face to fix all of this.

Setsuko Kaminagi (255) has posed:
    It's all good information, even if it's not /critical/. Setsuko files it away mentally. She'll be able to study up more on it later, and that's enough info to get by for now. Not to mention, it provides a lead for Arthur. There's just one other crucial piece of info she can think of.

    "Thank you, for being willing to speak with us," the soldier says, bowing her head politely. "I only have one question left. If I /was/ from this world, what would be the most believable hometown to give people?" Her cover story will be kind of important, it seems, so best to get it straight now. "Arthur as well, for that matter."

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Juno keeps his eyes trained on Psyber as he talks, then toward the end of the archangel's reply 'Sir Forscythe' seems to be distracted by something. Psyber would likely notice a mysterious individual in a brightly colored robe lingering near the stables from so many hours ago. The odd quirk of this figure's character is that, in spite of their ostentatious garb, they nevertheless seem to sink in seamlessly with the world around them. Perhaps it has something to do with the mask they're wearing -- the bronze facade of a smile seems familiar, and just familiar enough to make them seem entirely natural. This person waits motionless, eyes constantly fixed on Juno until, with a sigh, he gives in.

    "I'm afraid I'm going to have to leave you now," He says, "But I enjoyed talking with you. Really. You're a comforting presence, in a way; one might not assume as much just by looking, but I would venture a guess that there are many people somewhere who rely on you. Who care for you, and whom you care for in turn. In fact, have you ever considered adopting a child? You might make a rather incredible father." He waves a hand dismissively. "Ah, never mind me. I shouldn't intrude so into the life of a man I've only just been acquainted with."

    "Glad tidings," He finishes. "Until we meet again." With that, he quietly walk off in the direction of the masked person, eventually disappearing with them behind another bend in Eridine's wall.

    Psyber might get the feeling that this man is simultaneously going to be an incredible help and a nuisance at once.

Priscilla has posed:
    That kind of temporal 'jittering' is something Priscilla had hoped not to see for a much longer period of time than just a few months. Even if she knows it's due to a completely unrelated cause (or so she hopes at least), the presence of the 'linearly unsettled' grass is an unpleasant reminder of previous things. This time however, nothing particularly assails her senses, mundane or otherwise, aside from the mildly nauseating motions of the local vegetation, and so it doesn't take long to exhaust all possible leads that ostensibly ordinary broken down buildings can offer. It doesn't particularly take a genius to guess how it happened, though it does start to put the scope of this world's death into perspective. Perhaps she'd been expecting something a little more sudden than this, by the way Mizuki had described it, but this 'pause' seems to have lasted far too long in these people's memories.

    The gate must be fine then, because the Author herself urges her over the radio that her presence is required at the Cathedral, having to do with Kyra, of all people, breaking, entering and spying; a choice of action that seems more than a little out of character for the girl from Priscilla's perspective, not being privy to her previous issues with the church of Cosmo. 'Incapacitating' isn't exactly her specialty, in fact being extremely difficult for her, and so what Kyra gets is the errant guard suddenly being seized by a force physically much stronger than him, pulled from the ankle, arm and throat simultaneously to trip, disarm, and try and at least choke him out long enough for Kyra to put a tranq dart in him before he calls for help. She doesn't really trust herself to try and knock him out with blunt force anymore.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Hestia nods deeply to Riva. "Indeed." He keeps eye contact with her a moment, his shoulders sinking as he gives a soft exhalation. "I feel so relieved, meeting you all. Honestly, something about you just makes me feel... safer. Like everything will be okay. I somehow doubt my intuition will lead me astray on that score." His voice tinged by the same ethereal softness as ever, he concludes, "We will find our answers. We will meet the archbishop one day, and perhaps even make way to convene with God himself. And then... then this nightmare will be over. The world will begin breathing again." He closes his eyes, gingerly. "I eagerly await that day, and with you here, it feels just so near. Near enough to reach..."

    Looking to Konoe, his eyes almost seem to glisten a moment. "... do you perhaps hail from a world where humans and monsters get on well? My, what a world that must be if it's true. Perhaps that's why you have such an aura about you." His smile seems to turn a little sad. "Oh, if there's... anything I can ever do for you, anything at all to repay you your charity of coming to this place, you need only say the word. I'm not exactly a man of means, but I will do everything within my power to make you comfortable here. It is my sincerest hope that today's episode... need happen as infrequently as possible in the future, if it must happen at all."

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    Kyra crouches at the top of the stairs, making herself as small as possible as she watches the incoming guard. He's still moving...still moving...then suddenly moving BACKWARDS. Jittery as she was at the moment by being snuck up on by two guards, she's quick to fire her loaded ammunition at the assaulted guard.

    A pair of the sleep-inducing tranquilizer darts fire off into the guard. If the hit, he will be in a deep sleep as soon as he hits the floor. The sleep will last for at least three hours too, no doubt causing confusion to anyone that finds him. Of course, if he's attacked again by another person, he would wake up, the Sleep status countered by the violent action.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Mizuki reaches the first of the guards, and they fall to the ground, harmlessly asleep.

    Priscilla rushes the second of them, immediately forcing his sword to the ground with a rather loud clang.

    Then Kyra follows-up after Priscilla, unloading a volley of tranquilizer darts into the man. After a few moments of struggling, he, too, falls to the ground, unconscious.

    Mizuki fades back into the realm of visibility with a quiet sigh, dusting her hands together as she looks at both of the men on the ground. "Well," She says, however quietly, "That went rather smoothly, wouldn't you say?" She gives a smile to Kyra, and a small wave of thanks to the general area where she believes Priscilla might be found. "Thank you again for your help, Priscilla." She looks to Kyra next, adding, "Though I think you've been made to wait long enough in the claiming of your prize. Let's take a look at some of these papers, shall we?" Mizuki gestures a flattened palm to the journal and other elements on the desk. "You may do the honors, of course, Miss Hyral."

Riva Banari has posed:
Riva shakes her head. "At the moment, you've done a lot for us, Bishop. I'm not going to go trying to levy debts on a man of the cloth." She chuckles. "Anyway, I'll go get drawing. The architecture here is amazing. I'll have a couple copies done in a while. When you're ready to go, we'll meet again, I'm sure of it."

Theo Morrison has posed:
Theo has lapsed into silence. There's a lot to take in here, and a lot of little things to seperate from the Bishop's fervent wishes and a mix between hopeful and grim sorts of musings. He's running it all through his head, over and over again. It feels like he's trying to assemble an enormous puzzle without any edge pieces.

"Rotting the earth," he repeats under his breath, "sapping the life from God..." It sounds far too familiar a theory to him. He dearly hopes it isn't anything like what he's thinking. His nightmarish pet theories should stay theories.

Theo abruptly looks up. "What's the Archbishop's name," he asks, "and where can I find him?"

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    "Forren Lennox the Fourth," Says Hestia in answer to Theo. "He resides in The Holy Varsal." After a pause, he tacks on, "--ah. Though it occurs to me you may not know that the term 'Holy Varsal' describes both the collective ruling body of the church as well as the capital city. When I say 'the Holy Varsal', then, I am referring to the Grand Cathedral in the heart of the most populated city in all of Omelas. I suppose I need not tell you that the security there is... grandiose, in excess of anything else in our world. And no one is allowed within a half mile of the Grand Cathedral of late." He bows his head faintly. "I am truly sorry. Getting to him will take some planning, and time."

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    The white-haired woman takes her hand up from the pew, folding her arms in consideration of Setsuko's final query of the evening. "If I had to choose just one," She says, "then I would say Serres. It's a little town between the province we're in right now and the Holy Varsal. It's a major stop for traders, and it's probably the biggest city other than the capital itself. I don't think you can really go wrong with that one."

Konoe Kanno (847) has posed:
     Konoe smiled and shook her head. "Humans and Monsters getting on well? ...Kind of, but...not exactly. It's complicated, but...it's nice, I think." That was her opinion anyway. She made some...friends, in Gensokyo. Some human, some not human. And then there was the outside world. ...It was strange, but pleasant, she supposed.

     "Thank you, Mansfield-san. I hope...that today doesn't need to happen often either." It wasn't pleasant. Even if it was unsurprising. Theo's question about the Archbishop gets him a look from the miko. "Oh- The guards said it earlier-" She tilted her head a tad, letting Hestia say it. He was more knowledgable about this after all. She nodded after, recognizing 'Lennox'.

     It sounded like it wasn't going to be as easy as asking to see this man and walking in. "Mmn...Well, maybe we don't need to see him so soon. There are more immediate matters around us to worry about, I think." That said, Konoe stepped back a bit, and then turned around. "...I think I want to go now." She half turned and waved a bit. "Thank you again. I hope we meet soon." And with a smile, she turned and walked off.

     And once she was ample distance away, Konoe let out a deep sigh, and her smile evaporated.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    "But hey," Adds the white-haired woman, "I'm Irene Fille. I get the feeling that we'll meet again, and I don't want to be strangers when we do. Can I ask your names, too?" She glances between her and Arthur.

    Then the sound of a sword falling against the ground echoes throughout the whole church.

    She looks back a moment before rolling her eyes, giving both of them a bit of a look.

Setsuko Kaminagi (255) has posed:
    "...Setsuko," the demigod replies, glancing briefly in the direction of the sound. "Setsuko Kaminagi. And I think that's our cue to be going."

Theo Morrison has posed:
Theo eyes Hestia with an odd look on his face. It looks like Hestia just said something that Theo finds incredibly funny, and he's trying his best not to actually laugh due to the seriousness of the situation. Given how good his poker face is, there's only hints of it showing. Still, there's nothing in his words that could have been taken as amusing, unless Theo's sense of humor is totally different. He's admitted he's from another world, though, so... maybe?

Theo pulls something out of a hard leather case at his belt, nodding a little at Konoe. The case itself is labled at the top with stenciled letters that read 'ANTERIOR CAUSALITY.' Theo shuffles the blue-sleeved cards between his hands deftly, turning it into an almost idle motion while the gears turn in his head. It helps to be doing something with his hands.

"Time and planning," Theo says, smiling at Hestia, "just so happen to be my specialties."

One step at a time, though. First, recover access to local mana. /Then/...

Kyra Hyral (626) has posed:
    Kyra motions for Priscilla and Mizuki to join her as she haughtily takes her seat at the desk. With a mocking sort of businesslike movement, she gathers up the papers strewn upon it and fans them out before them, inviting the two to read along with her, "Yes! I agree, let's see what we've got here, hmmm?"

Arthur Lowell has posed:
    "Sounds good that nobody's advertising something like that, sure. I see what you mean." Arthur gives a... Wink? Yeah, another wink. "No problem with that, and thanks! Just wanted to make sure. So... Reconnect with the virtue. Huhhhhh. Makes sense. Alright, thanks for answering all our hypotheticals! I think this just about gets us all we're after. Thanks a ton, Irene. Name's ARTHUR LOWELL. Rocket-powered jerk, big-letter shouty guy. Nice meeting you, sorry about the circumstances. Been a big help!"

    A flashy grin says, "Promise, here on out, we won't be much more trouble. Hell, still owe you, what was it, a dress? Yeah, we'll figure somethin' out, it'll be fine." He shrugs casually, and offers a handshake, which he promptly turns into an elaborate series of daps, pounds, high-fives, slippery motions, and otherwise fancy Secret Handshake Gestures, at least a dozen done in one second, if she takes it.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Unfortunately, most of the documents that Kyra manages to find are invoices relating to produce and other trade goods. As she shifts through the letters, though, she would begin to find a series of unmarked letters. Glancing them over, she would quickly realize that they've all been addressed to Hestia, notably calling him by his first name, and have arrived from someone named 'Juno'. Most of the rattle on about relatively innocuous details regarding some form of trip - whether he had finished packing his supplies, whether he had found someone to stand in for him in the interim, and strangely enough about Chloe's emotional state. In all, though, they seem fairly inconsequential, and seem to suggest an extremely warm familiarity between the Juno character and Hestia. That is, until she finds a final letter, conveniently tucked underneath the journal in the center of the table. It reads:

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Hestia,

    I've found it. It took some doing, but I was able to decipher the map you found in the cathedral. The place is several miles West of here, in the glade. It's underground, but it was built that way to begin with, so it should still be accessible. There will be something like a plateau where the number of trees thins out unnaturally. Underneath that is a cave whose ground should eventually turn into stone. Bring a light -- we can't exactly be sure that your magic won't turn on you if we do this. I'll come to get you a week from now, so be ready. I've gotten in touch with Irene already and she can stand in for you at Eridine until The Varsal finds someone else, too. Don't worry so much.

    Also, you know my feelings on Chloe. Even if bringing here to these places is going to be dangerous, she's safer with us. She's sick, Hestia. She needs the company, and if you tried to leave her back at Eridine she would just follow you anyway. And you know what would happen if she got out of Eridine without the fairy following her, don't you? It would be even worse. It would invalidate everything that we're trying to do here because she wouldn't listen. You know her as well as I do, and I'm not going to debate this with you anymore. She's coming with us. That's final.

    As for me, don't worry. My people will be just fine in my absence. If there are any power struggles while I'm gone, I'll deal with it when I get back. I'm the voice they listen to anyway, so even if some brazen fool tried to usurp power, people wouldn't respond to them. The moment I return, they'll be deposed. And I will keep telling you as many times as I need to: if we aren't the ones to handle this, and if someone else gets to God first, it's over. It has to be us, Hestia, and time's wearing thin. I know you've seen it, too. The world's dying. Sitting where we are and trying to preserve the status quo is going to take everything from us in the long run.

    No more waiting, Hestia. There are Seven Essences, and we only have nine months, if that. If God wants our answer, then we'll give him one. All of humankind will give him one. And if he responds unfavorably, then we'll take this world for ourselves. We deserve that much.

    I know you feel the same, Hestia. Stop pretending otherwise.

    -- E. J. Forscythe