Scene #8376: Escape from Sarafan Keep part 2

Owner	Pose
Raziel	Those who are just coming into this world, through a message sent out by Raziel, would enter through the time streaming device in the central chamber of the Time Streamer. The door that leads out is rusted open, leading into a hallway. From here it would be easy to figure out where to go from the unconscious people leading towards the Cathedral. However, if you chose, you could go the other direction to the Antechambers. Sitting in the center of the Antechambers is a monument. The stone statues of five Saraphan ripping out the heart of a monstrous vampire lying on a stone table. Missing from this picture, however, is the stone heart. In the Cathedral, Raziel's attention was taken away by a stained glass mural of what appeared to be a monstrous vampire. Depicted as a monster terrorizing a village, then in the next image a Sarafan warrior tearing out his black heart, and the next is another Sarafan holding a glowing staff. Below all of this is a stone heart, colored black. It does not glisten, but it does a good job of sucking up the light around it. It sits on a pedestal beneath the image of the monster's heart being torn out. "So this is the legendary Janos Audren. He was rumored to be the most ancient and diabolical vampire that ever existed. According to folklore, he lived high on the cliffs of Nosgoth's northern mountains. And prayed mercilessly on the defenseless villagers below. His reign of terror ended when the Sarafan hunted him down and tore out his heart from his still-living body." "This relic came to be known as the 'Heart of Darkness', and was supposedly embued with the power to restore vampiric unlife. The Sarafan, therefore, guarded it carefully, lest the heart fall into the hands of their enemies." Raziel pauses, looking at the scene. "Though I wonder..." he says with a thoughtful pause, "Could Janos Audren be as monstrous as depicted here? Or is this merely the artistic license of the Sarafan, who sought to lionize themselves by demonizing their darkest enemy? Mmm..." Looking down at the stone object, he pauses. "An odd thing to be laid out before us, but this is not the actual relic, I am sure...this is clearly stone," he says, running his hand across it. "Yes, right here. Imperfections. This was clearly carved by human hands." "It looks like the path ends here, so we should head back the other way."
Timespace Riders	Sougo is here, by himself. He sticks close to Raziel, for the most part, looking up at the stained glass windows with his hands in his pockets. His clothes hang off of him awkwardly as opposed to endearingly, and it probably has a lot to do with the evident fatigue written on his face and body language. Though his usual smile is present, it's subdued; effortful. "Probably not. People are rarely ever just one thing," he says to Raziel, following his gaze towards the statue of Audren. "I'm sure that in the middle of a fight, he's scary. And maybe when he's protecting the people important to him. But like you said, this is a statue of him we found in the stronghold of his worst enemies." His brown eyes sweep downwards, focusing on the indicated stone heart. Sougo attempts to lift it, or otherwise discern if there's some sort of pressure plate on the pedestal. "Maybe we have to find the real one and put it here?" he wonders out loud, briefly glancing over his shoulder at Raziel. "Putting things in their 'proper places...'" Sougo frowns. "It seems like a theme with the Serafan." Either way, he's happy to follow Raziel back the other way.
Hamada Haru	An unfamiliar figure emerges through the time streaming device. Though passing a keen resemblance to any Kamen Rider, Dynamic Era possesses the color scheme of locust, in varying shades of brown. The suit looks more militarized, with strategic padding and armoring on positions of vulnerability that bulks up the most around the chest and shoulders, which bear and emblem resembling a locust's unfurled wings in yellow. He's carrying a gunblade, presently leaned up against a shoulder-- though as he approaches, he lowers and stows it at his hip, the blade shimmering and dispersing into particulate so that only the gun portion remains. He's definitely looking at Sougo in particular when he enters, but does take a few moments to examine the surroundings, the art, the absences. "People are rarely the worst thing they ever did," he offers, sweeping his gaze back up the indicated 'other way'.
Hellwarming Trio	The trio of yokai aren't complete newcomers to Raziel's world, but they're certainly not locals or old hats at traipsing about in Nosgoth. Vacationers atb best, but just knowledgeable enough that they're already poking around the Cathedral, looking at all manner of things and decorations inside. Utsuho is hard at work eyeing those murals, floating in place nearby to get a closer look at each one of them. Part of it is to just admire the artistry, but she remembers things being kind of complicated with the last few closed rooms like this one. Getting a better look at these might give her some ideas on what the group needs to get through to the next area. And if not, she can at least mull over things with Raziel. "Sounds like he'd be a problem for those guys, yeah. Even if he was weak, if they were even weaker..." Utsuho strokes her chin lightly at his questions, then shrugs after several moments. "Maybe. Uh. Yeah, what Sougo said. Lots of small people like making up stuff about how cool the thing they beat was so they end up looking cooler." Satori and Rin, meanwhile, are in the middle of some kind of minor quabble next to that stone heart, with Satori looking utterly exhausted and Rin looking weirdly stubborn about something. "No, Rin." "Wha? Come on, Master! I didn't say anything." "You were thinking it." "Yeah, but...! B-better that one of us gets it than Raziel or Moebius or some other jerk, right?" "Rin. Dear? It's a rock." Rin approaches the stone heart with a skeptical look on her face, staring at it for several moments even after Raziel says it's not even the relic. She looks from him to the stone, then to Satori, then back at the stone, then back at Raziel. "... You sure it's not the real thing?" Satori lets out one of those quietly exasperated sighs, and Utsuho just snickers while nodding at Raziel. "Yeah, let's go. Maybe there's somewhere to shove that thingy."
Trudy Grimm	Trudy Grimm is still quite present here, having threatened a wizard (twice) and dissolved a door as part of this adventure. She strolls through this antechamber with her arms folded, the Grimoire hanging off her arm by its strap, "Those who believe themselves righteous have no compuntions with bending the truth to render those they disapprove of as irredeemable monsters." One green eye opens, glancing at Raziel's back, "A matter that I am all too familiar with, as a monster myself. And I have no doubt you're familiar as well. I've no doubt the real deal is no more or less human in appearance than you are now-- perhaps with a different complexion, at most." The other eye opens when the vampire draws attention to the display under glass, approaching it, "The whole place is a monument, that's not surprising." She lifts her eyes to the stained glass with a frown, "Kain's immortal, I suppose he can wait at his pillars while we mess about here." Lowering her head, she glances aside at Raziel again, "Least of all we can make sure nothing strange happened with you that's lingering from whatever that wizard tried to do." "How are you feeling, Raziel?"
Angela	The Information Team... has stuck around and is still taking readings even if none of them are particularly sure that this is an improvement over standard life in Lobotomy Corp. Sal gives a nod to Sougo. The Information Team has spent the time sending video feeds and photographs back to Lobotomy Corp as well as other more obscure scans. M.O.M notices Trudy and laughs heartily, "Haha! So you had a brief chat with our Angela earlier! What'd you think, Madam Witch? Haha!" Chewie is getting hungry and asks Raziel straight up, "Do you only eat, like, souls and people here?" His stomach is grumbling (really everyone in the Info Team is starting to feel a bit peckish. "Would be nice to get outta here soon."
Hamada Haru	Dynamic Era twitches a finger towards Chewie. A part of his wing bursts apart into thousands of nanomachines that construct a plastic cup of cartoon bear-shaped mini-cookies with chocolate dip for him in about two seconds. It floats in the air on a few remaining nanomachines as the rest re-join with the wing segment of Era's suit. "Here. Don't travel off-world without familiar snacks," He says.
Raziel	Raziel agrees with Sougo, but before he reaches for the stone heart, he places a clawed hand on his shoulder. He doesn't say anything, but it was more to show his solidarity. Perhaps, an attempt at telling the lad that he does not have to hide behind a smile. As if to say, perhaps, that he too misses the presence of Woz, though perhaps not as keenly as he does. Releasing him, he turns towards Rin. Rolling his eyes, though not without a small smile on his face at the very predictable cat, he shakes his head. "Well for one, hearts are not made out of stone, despite what the old saying is about the callous. I can probably identify its creation, give or take some years." Hamada gets Raziel's attention, turning to face the other rider...though he denies such an accusation. "I am glad to have you, whatever your motives for being here are Dynamic Era." When Sougo lifts the stone heart off the pedestal, the pedestal rises slightly. Obviously, a pressure plate and the feeling of something moving somewhere else happens. Though nothing happens in the immediate area. 'The Pedestal activated once the false heart was picked up...perhaps it was a key to another passageway or some sort of clue. Regardless, our choice of paths were few and far between.' When Trudy asks about his well-being, he holds his hand out, the one containing the Reaver. "Right now, just fine. While we appear to be competing for control over this vessel, I appear to be able to win...and it seems like it can only exert control rarely and with great effort to itself. I do feel though if it were to overfeed it could become overly aroused...but for now, we will have to avoid doing that." Raziel shakes his head to Chewie, "No, I do not have to eat as you do...and yes my substance is the souls of the recently dead. We might come across some food here in the keep, but once we are outside there is likely something we can hunt or gather...should we not find a nearby town or village." Moving back down the hallway, the other door leads into an antechamber of sorts. In the center of this room is a chalice-like pedestal in the center, and the room is adorned with other items. However, nothing that doesn't seem out of place compared to other rooms they had seen so far. More than that, the door to the next room is open. "Mm. Perhaps that is what that pedestal in the chapel opened. Regardless, we can push forward now," Raziel says, happy to do so. This leads to a larger, more open room. A courtyard of sorts, with various archways and pillars lining the center room, which is brightened by sunlight. In the center, a statue stands as a monument to the slayers of Janos Audren. He is laid on a table of sorts, while several Sarafans stand around him, all covered in armor. One, making the motion of tearing something out of an open chest of Janos, two holding either arm, and another holding his torso down. A fifth holds a staff, seemingly using it on the vampire. "Hm. I see...they used Moebius's staff to disable the ancient," Raziel says, with no small look of surprise. Of course, they'd choose to memorialize this. Why lay this all out for them? Or perhaps Moebius is trying to poison the well? But why..? The door out of this location beyond the one you came into is locked, with iron bars having been shut down around it. If there is a way forward, it is likely somewhere in this room.
Hamada Haru	Dynamic Era makes a noise of acknowledgment towards Raziel. He doesn't seem altogether at ease with the exchange, or with being here, but exactly why that is, is unclear. Even so, it's not enough for him to ignore direct acknowledgment. His gaze flicks from the vampire-wraith to the pedestal in the center of the room. That seems important, but he suspects Sougo will get to it quickly enough, since he's carrying the morbid trophy that might go in there. "I'd rather leave this place intact, but if you need the door disassembled, I can do that," he offers an alternative in the event that conventional puzzle-solving fails, and then goes to examine the statue that Raziel is talking about. Specifically, the one with the staff. "What is the significance of that?" He asks, nodding at the staff.
Angela	Chewie's eyes light up slightly. "If only I could taste that... What does it taste like, Raziel? I must know..." "Backstreet Chefs," Sal mutters with mild derision. She is a relatively professional person who wants to get through this without going insane or dying and so her team is really getting on her nerves. Someone creates a nanomachine cup filled with nanomachine cookies. Chewie marvels at this because it is like watching true magic at work. "Are you," he asks weeping. "A master chef??" He tries biting into one of the cookies. He chews thoughtfully to memorize the taste. Then he tries biting into the cup. If it's made out of the same stuff, it should also be edible right? M.O.M says, "Haha, incredible, incredible! The art! How much time it must've taken to craft such a sculpture! I have to salute this construct. Should we try to smash this one too??"
Hamada Haru	"No. I'm a guy with a pocket dimension full of raw materials and a tendency to travel far afield. The snacks at 1980s rural grocery stores were only sometimes okay," Dynamic Era explains to Chewie. The cup is a paper cup. There's dipping chocolate in it. This gives Era a little pause. "That's just the container. You dip the cookies in the chocolate."
Trudy Grimm	Trudy pauses, glancing over her shoulder towards M.O.M. when she's addressed, "Oh, the machine girl?" Eyes closing, she bobs her head from side to side in thought, "I feel like I wasn't really able to offer her anything she found satisfying, or perhaps I was only distracting from the conversation overall." She shifts her attention to Raziel when he holds out his arm, lifting a hand to tap a finger to her lips in thought, "Fighting for control doesn't sound particularly appealing when it's something attached to you." Glancing down, she tucks that hand into her sleeve, procuring an assortment of green-tinted crystals very similar to the one she was threatening Moebius with earlier. Picking through them, she selects one and holds it up to examine in the light, "Let me know if things get dire, I can probably~ remove whatever curse it is." She calls it a curse, but this is an altogether different sort of preparation. Dynamic Era mentions dismantling a door and she shoots him a look. The smile she puts on however is aimed at Raziel as the witch crosses the space to stand beside the armored individual, "Well, I've made a new friend with a similar method of resolving doors. That old wizard can fix a door or two, I think. It's honestly not even half the punishment he deseves." To Era directly, she introduces herself, "Trudy Grimm, a humble witch."
Hellwarming Trio	"If he didn't look like this... Yeah, what Trudy said. Maybe he was even hotter back then, too." "Rin, that's... Yes, why not." Satori looks so done already. She just gives the kasha a pat on the head while moving onwards, partially to keep her distracted and partially to make sure she doesn't run off to try and cram that stone heart into her mouth before it's used for something. Utsuho is still behaving, at least, even if she's doing a lot of gawking at everthing. Dynamic Era's food creation wing catches her attention rather quickly, and she follows those bits over to watch them at work. She glances at her control rod and tries to make it do the same thing, but fails spectacularly as would be expected. It doesn't weigh on her too much, though, as she instead looks over at Chewie. "So does that stuff taste like food?" She totally wants a piece. Unfortunately for Rin, the stone heart still looks like it might have a use, as the pedestal it was on moves without it, and there's also the second pedestal along with whatever else they might find. Satori looks thankful, at least, as they're soon able to focus on the antechamber and the courtyard past it. "Whoa. They really hated that Janos guy, huh? And of course Moebius' hands are somewhere in all this... Stupid jerk." "Hey, doesn't this look like something out of a book?" "Wrong kind of book, Rin. I don't think the Sarafans' relationship with Janos would be nearly so..." Satori doesn't finish that sentence, instead moving to check out the door instead. Nodding towards Dynamic Era, she gestures at Utsuho (who's still busy gawking at the monument and snickering immaturely with Rin). "Disassembly, melting, we have plenty of options if we don't care about leaving this all intact. That said-" She gestures at the pedestal next, then all those other items scattered about the room. "It couldn't hurt to start throwing everything we find in here into that, starting with the stone heart." She suggests with a light nod towards Sougo as he puts the heart in first. "Something is bound to work."
Timespace Riders	Sougo lifts his own and and gives Raziel's a gentle squeeze. "Thanks, Raziel," he says. His eyes say a little more--it's been hard, and exhausting, but he's not ready to give up. He withdraws, after a moment, noticing the arrival of Dynamic Era. <J-IC-Scene> Sougo Tokiwa says, "Oh, another Rider? Hi! Are you here for Nosgoth, or... are you here to stop me? It's fine if you are, I'd just like to know." It might as well be the case--and it must surely say a lot about Sougo's personal life if he half expects to be attacked by strange new arrivals from his world. <J-IC-Scene> Dynamic Era says, "Not a Rider. I'm Dynamic Era. I was asked to keep an eye on you. Nothing about stopping you, though, so you don't need to be tensed for that. Then again, somebody who intended to try to 'stop' you that way would probably say so, as well." Sougo frowns thoughtfully, but his little smile returns not long after, as if chasing it off. <J-IC-Scene> Sougo Tokiwa says, "Hmm... I think I understand. Thanks for telling me, Era--and for keeping an eye on me." <J-IC-Scene> Dynamic Era says, "Yeah." A tired, but sunny smile is given to Sal, and a word of comfort given to Chewie. "We'll be out of here before long, Chewie," he says with a little nod. "I have a good feeling about this." Sougo tests the heft of the stone heart in his hand. It's deposited neatly into a stylish little Concord carrying case, retrieved from and promptly slipped back into his pocket. It remains there, until they come to the courtyard. Sougo's expression darkens for a second time as he retrieves he stone heart. Giving it a long look, he glances back up at the gruesome scene, "Raziel... how much do you remember of your time as a saint?" he asks, uncomfortably. "This is supposed to be a monument to some triumph over a monster. But it looks more like a monument to ugliness. Not a victory, but... a reminder. Something that people can use to whip themselves up into keeping ugliness alive." With a turn of his head towards Utsuho, he adds, evidently thinking of earlier: "I was afraid it'd be something like this, with the statue earlier. But it's less about Audren, or how 'cool' he was, or even about the Sarafan. It's more about... canonizing this moment. Letting it be the first page in a really violent, ugly story." He places the heart into the grasping hand of the Serafan making the ripping motion. "Of Moebius' staff? I'd kind of like to know that too," says Sougo in response to Era. "We know that Moebius is a prophet--he can see into timelines. And we also know that he's has an active hand in manipulating this timeline. It's possible he knew about this a long time before anyone else saw it coming," concludes the would-be king, turning away from the depiction of Audren's demise. He notably doesn't speak up, when M.O.M. mentions smashing the sculpture.
Hamada Haru	"Dynamic Era. I don't know what I am right now. I'll tell you when I figure it out. I suppose, overall, I'm something in the ballpark of a fireman for monster incidents. Fireman, not cop," Dynamic Era replies to Trudy. He doesn't elaborate further, apart from insisting that he's not law enforcement. He's not around to protect people's property, in the end. But he's not entirely certain why he's withholding his actual name. He never did it before, and nobody asked him to. The explanation by Sougo earns a firm nod, and some of the tension bleeds out of his posture as he listens to it. Work is good. Work is easy. Work only has to be thought about in specific ways. "A prophet, involved in the murdering of what sounds like a 'vampire hero', however indirectly. I don't know the figures well enough to speculate too deeply, but that's suspicious to me on contact."
Raziel	Moebius's staff. "I do not remember my time as a human, it was so long ago...and apparently you lose parts of yourself as you remain dead in the underworld. From what we have pieced together, the only thing I know is that I was once human, that I was some sort of priest and a famous one at that. Enough to be memorialized..." he pauses. So were his brothers...all five of them. Raziel shakes the thought from his head. "No, it is not likely the case, at least I do not think so. As for Janos, he was a creature well before my or Kain's time. What we do know about Janos is that he was the father of the Vampire Vorador." "Though the staff...it means he was without it. Or at least leaned it out to others in the order. It means that the reason for the Sarafan's successful crusade was in no small part because of Moebius himself, giving away his biggest advantage. More than that, we know he's in league with the Old One." Activation. Once the heart is in the hands of the central figure, the door to the next area opens up. It seems that this was in fact a back door key to get farther in the place. Strange that all of these were laid out before them... Reaver. "Thank you Trudy, if something were to happen like that, I trust you know what best could be done to stop it," he says, and takes a look at the glowing arm. That other reaver was laid out, Moebius put himself into great risk... and now all these statues. What game was the Time Streamer playing at? Food. Raziel stares at Chewie, "Bitter, but refreshing. Not something I recommend doing yourself, and something I would like to not do one day," he responds tersely. Statue Destruction. Well, the door does open... Raziel shrugs, "Gruesome or not, it is part of our history. I would rather you did not. Especially as we do not have to," he says, giving Trudy a side-eye. "Also we do not know what destroying here could do to the future."
Raziel	Going Forward. This is a corridor, here are where various rooms to personal quarters are, though most of them are not in use. This was a bunkhouse to the Sarafan of the past, but the current mercenaries do not use it. Perhaps they let it be sealed as a way to prevent entry through ways they could not secure yet? It's hard to say... The passage T-bones into another hallway, one way leads to another door, and the other leads to another open room. Along the way are various monuments. Various artifacts are laid about, in a memorandum of the people who once used them. Most of the sets are full sets, armor, weapons, various rings, trinkets, and books. Three stand out. A single sword, a single helmet, and a single piece of armor. Odd. Continuing from here is another chamber, It's an enclosed courtyard, and various rooms exist and come off of here, but all lead to various dead ends. Each one has rooms, more abandoned bunkhouses. However, along the walls are the names of Raziel's kin. Melchiah. Zephon. Rahab. Dumah. Turel. Each one has a memorial of them painted on the walls. Each one is a shrine to the fighter that once lived. However, the grandest of all stands in the back. Raziel. Here a statue of his human self stands. Though the statue seems to be missing something. It looks like they should be holding something in one hand, another item being held in his arms, and is missing body armor. However... Raziel seems momentarily struck by the sight. 'Strange, how my history came full circle. This chapel, I realized, was a former memorial to my sarafan brethren...' 'And myself..' he stops in front of the statue, taken aback by it. A chance to see what he once was again, staring up at something he had lost. 'All of us martyred here. Then so rudely profaned by Kain when he imposed his 'gift' on our noble corpses.' 'For the first time, I beheld the image of my sarafan self. Memorialized here among my former comrades. It tortured me to see how noble and pure I had been, and the vile phantasm I had become. A profound sense of injury, loss, and betrayal welled up in me. So overwhelming I could barely contain it. All I wanted at this moment was to find Kain and destroy him.'
Hamada Haru	With a flick of his wrist, Dynamic Era's nanites unfurl again. They form into a... perfect duplicate of him, which diverts along the path going forward and collects Key Items that are loose on the ground. It doesn't actually do anything with them, just making them handy for the group. The sword, the helmet, the piece of armor. When the completion status of the statue is brought into question, the Era Copy walks over to the Raziel Statue and holds out the pieces for other people to sort out and place. The real Dynamic Era leans against the wall and surveys the real Raziel with some distant interest as M.O.M talks at him. The suited man shakes his head. "Wouldn't call him vile. Seems decent. Haven't known him for long, though. But I get the impression that that one wouldn't associate with him if he was really 'vile'." He's talking about Sougo, but doesn't actually clearly indicate the man. The copy of Era begins attempting to replace the pieces missing on the Raziel statue in the wrong order. It's unclear if the copy is stupid or making some kind of joke.
Angela	"Don't hog the cookies Chewie. Save some for the rest of us." M.OM complains, stealing one from Chewie. "OK but the cup is mine." Chewie insists, baring his teeth. M.O.M doesn't argue. He looks back over to Trudy. "Haha, were you trying to satisfy her? Can you even satisfy a machine?" "Oh don't be like that, M.O.M," Sal groans. "Don't tell me you're the type to care about the Head's word here." "Hahaha no way, but I can't help but be curious, there's gotta be something different right?" M.O.M looks back to Trudy, "Don't worry about it, probably just not sure what to make of a witch ha ha ha!" Chewie is reassured by Sougo and he gives a small nod to the fellow Concord agent, though he is focusing on the taaaste. It's a bit too sweet, but it doesn't taste quite like anything he had so far especially if he mixes the cup in with the chocolate. "Don't mind Chewie," Sal says. "He actually swore off human meat." "Only because I was picking up too many pounds..." Chewie mumbles. "And it lost its flavor..." "We're not breaking anything unless we need to," Sal adds. "Now stop being disruptive and come along." They take some pictures as they enter the new area, particularly of the statue of Raziel-- "Ehh? Did they not finish this statue? Haha!" M.O.M asks, giving a comradely pat to RAziel's back. "We should file a complaint to the artisan!"
Timespace Riders	"She isn't the kind of machine that doesn't have feelings," Sougo chimes in, when M.O.M. responds to Trudy. "So it's good to think of her feelings, when you're talking to her." He tries to ignore the comment about Chewie and human meat. Sougo nods at Raziel, still wearing a frown. It's hard for him not to, with the jarring clash of brutality etched in stone, surrounded by the implicit veneration conferred by its presence in a courtyard. he looks as if he has something to say, about whether it should go or stay, that statue--but ultimately follows through the opened door. Passing through the hallway, slowing up every so often in order to peer curiously at the artifacts. Coming to a stop before the statue of Raziel, Sougo contemplates the floor, feeling a knot forming in his chest. He can no longer look away, when he notices how quiet Raziel himself is. Swalling nervously he looks back up. "...Raziel? Are you okay?" "I could try and look," he says uneasily. "At your past. And tell you, if you wanted. If you think it would help. But I'd have to warn you that the past is rarely the same thing as stories about the past. That's what this is," he says, pointing at the memorial. "A story. This whole keep is telling one, and not all stories are... rote retellings. Someone built this stronghold, which means thought went into what doors would be unlocked by what keys. About where someone wanting to get from one point to another would go. And about what they'd pass by, as they did. Do you understand?" He pauses, his brown eyes flicking down. "Vorador, from earlier, made to look like an uncontrollable monster. Audren, his father, portrayed as someone evil defeated by humans--and then those same humans sanctified, later on. It's intentional," he says, "That anyone wanting to get through that door would have to complete the image of you as a saint to do it." He accepts Era's help and supplies the statue with its missing effects as needed, but his eyes stay fixed on Raziel.
Trudy Grimm	Eyes closed, Trudy shrugs at M.O.M., "I don't think anything can truly satisfy a computer's desire to know things. I don't know much about them, or about Angela, but I do know someone of a similar persuasion and he's really quite insatiable when it comes to learning new things." Era summons a duplicate of himself. Not one to be outdone, she extends a hand. Her shadow swells outward and, from within it, an armored limb reaches out. The Black Knight emerges, his armor cracked in places, a faint green glow coming from the visor of his helmet, crystals protruding through holes and gaps-- Rising to his full height, the Knight towers over Trudy, lifting his zweihander onto his shoulder and approaching the armored memorials. "Vile recognizes vile," she comments towards Dynamic Era as she watches the Knight, "I can tell you Mister Tokiwa means well in his ambitions." Her head tilts towards him, "He's nothing like my family, who revel in their evils, nor myself-- running from my own cursed blood. That's a man doing his best to learn everything he can to fulfill his goal." Glancing back towards her own hand, the witch frowns. No chance Tokiwa or Woz could... She flexes her fingers a bit, then lowers her hand and lifts her gaze to the Knight trying to coach Era's duplicate into properly dressing a statue. ...Be this rotten.
Hamada Haru	"A monument to Shocker would depict Kamen Riders like those monsters," Dynamic Era comments towards Sougo, remaining firmly in place. His eyes track the Black Knight for a few moments, before slipping out of focus and leave him staring blankly into nothing in particular. Not that this can be discerned, the field-of-view on those grasshopper eye lenses has to be large. The duplicate of Era assists as directed or simply provides the requested item. It does sheem to be watching more intently than would be expected of something that is totally dumb, but it might not really be very well-developed if left to its devices. After a moment or two, he adds, "I'm not really personally concerned with what he's up to. Just fulfilling a reasonable request. I haven't had much to do in a while, anyway."
Hellwarming Trio	'I was afraid it'd be something like this, with the statue earlier. But it's less about Audren, or how 'cool' he was, or even about the Sarafan. It's more about... canonizing this moment. Letting it be the first page in a really violent, ugly story.' "... People are really weird, huh? If I had to do something gross that wasn't even cool, the last thing I'd want is for anyone to remember it." Utsuho replies to Sougo with a slight frown on her face, shrugging after a few more moments. 'From what we have pieced together, the only thing I know is that I was once human, that I was some sort of priest and a famous one at that. Enough to be memorialized...' It doesn't take a lot for any of the yokai to start putting some dots together, but Satori has to stop the other two from saying anything. "If it's true, let him get there." She murmurs to the animal yokai, thankful for not having to explain further as the next door opens. Predictably, both Rin and Utsuho look just a bit disappointed at not getting to melt the iron bars. Satori looks relieved, at least, and she nudges them both onwards along with promising to let them melt something else later. As they progress through the corridor, the next hallway, and the monuments after that, though, more information comes forth regarding Raziel's past. They notice the similarity in names with the person right next to them, and they listen closely to Sougo when he pieces together the portrayals of Vorador and Audren for them. "Sounds way too complicated. Who would even make so many doors like this?" "Someone with way too much time on their hands. Moebius, I bet." "But why'd he want us to think like that? Didn't Raziel wanna kick his ass before just like... Er. Most of us?" "Right! But who else could've done all this before we got here?" "Kain, maybe, but that still raises even more questions about the depiction of Raziel considering their history together."
Raziel	"The artisan that created this is likely long since dead...if this is the era I am thinking it is," Raziel says, though still staring at the face of the statue. He can't help but let those feelings bubble up inside him. Though when Dynamic Era speaks up, Raziel shakes his head. "It doesn't change what I am, rather or not my actions are not what you would call that.." he is a vampire, a ghost...that much hasn't changed. "No," Raziel says curtly to Satori, "Kain is many things...but this isn't his style. Kain respects directness and forthrightness...this isn't either of those..." he says, nodding once to Sougo. "You are right, he's leading us through here...but why? Perhaps there is something in the future he sees and does not like. Or trying to blind me..." he says, thinking. To the offer of seeing his past he pauses...he's genuinely not sure. Perhaps it is /that/ that Moebius is attempting to provoke? "No, perhaps later when we are not in such a place, but here? Now? This seems too clever of an opportunity for a Time Streamer to do something. Let him think that his trick worked, and go on to meet Kain at the pillars. If anything..." "I am far more suspicious now than I was...and while this sight still injures me..." he says with a pause, "And while I am still angry at my betrayal and being profaned..." "There is more at stake than that...and we should look for what the Time Streamer's game is. Perhaps Kain would have the answers we seek in that regard..." he pauses, "It can not be by chance he waits for us there." He pauses, "Though it is not set in stone... it does tell us what and who Janos' murderers were..." he says, staring at the style of the helmet and armor. "It was me." The door opens, once the armor is properly arranged on the statue. This door leads to a balcony. What you see, however... The land is beautiful. It is such a stark contrast from the wasteland you all had to travel in the future to get here. The land is overflowing with life, and abundant with vitality. There are birds, insects in the wind, and fish that jump in the large pond below. Trees that stretch to the sky hang all around the keep, and below them is a large lake. It appears that the Keep is centered on a large lake, with a gate that separates each side of the lake from the other. Likely to help balance the water levels. A perfect place for a vampire-killing stronghold to be, given the weakness of the vampires of Nosgoth. Raziel points down, around the bottom was a path that would lead up. "We'll have to jump from here. If we can hit the water the fall isn't high enough to hurt us. Do you all know how to swim?"
Hamada Haru	"And an orphenoch is an orphenoch. I discriminate against nazis, not kaijin," Dynamic Era replies to Raziel, coolly. It's obvious that he's not the kind of person whose mind can be changed by insisting. He follows after at an even pace, out onto the balcony-- and the first thing he does is check below. If you walk out into a balcony in an action game, you check to see if it's possible to fall off that son of a bitch and how fatal it would be if you could. The answer is pretty fatal, actually. "Doesn't matter for me, but yeah. Here--" Dynamic Era pulls his transteam gun, which does NOT turn back into a gunblade, and fires a bank of fog that sweeps down below them in an arc, beginning just above the balcony railing (if there is any) and descending in a steady but safe slope. As the fog clears, it becomes obvious that he made a slide. The locust-swarm even makes support structures for it. It's even got vaguely gothic styled posts with "weathered" gargoyles so that isn't jarringly out of place, even for the little while that it will actually exist.
Timespace Riders	"Mm," Sougo agrees with Era. "You see exactly what I was getting at, then." "People are basically good," says Sougo to Utsuho. "I believe that, even here. The thing is that... in moments where they feel scared, or alone, or angry, and especially all three, it's easy for something like what me and Era are talking about to take hold." He crosses his arms, as if huddling for warmth, but for the fact that he remains standing straight up. "Places like this are built to keep that feeling from being pulled out, like it should be. And to bring new people into it." "And when that feeling takes hold of people, it's hard for them to see past it. That's why groups like the one Era is talking about can take off--because if the wrong person is in charge, they snowball, and get very good at seeking vulnerable people out even if they're also really good at convincing themselves that's... not what they're doing." He nods at Raziel, and there's a small measure of relief written on his face. Is it relief that Raziel doesn't want to see his past, or relief that he's admitted to some suspicion? Maybe a little of both. Whatever else he was about to say is lost, blown away by the sheer natural beauty in front of him as they step out onto the balcony. He quickly rushes to the railing, as if worried it might suddenly flee him. His brow is raised, eyes wide with plainly evident wonder. Does he know how to swim? "Eh?" The question tears him from his reverie, and the would-be king wheels around, scratching the back of his head. "I mean, sure... OH! Wow, that's really cool, actually. Thanks, Era!" Sougo jumps onto the gothic fog-slide and descends at a steady pace. In the event it leads to the water, another Sougo from a few days in the future will arrive with a change of clothes and a towel.
Trudy Grimm	The witch folds her arms when the Knight finally gets Dynamic Era's clone to place the items properly. He sinks into his own shadow a moment later, though seems to object to it-- shooting at look in her direction as he drops out of sight. "Honestly-- he's a wizard," Trudy comments as Raziel shares his suspicious reasoning, "If you aren't suspicious of everything he says to you, he's already ensnared you in his scheme." Lifting her hands, she wiggles her fingers downward in an exaggerated way, "You could say the same for me, but I'm a witch, not a wizard, and thus ~totally~ trustworthy." Hands shifting-- one lowers, the other lifts with a single finger upraised, "Until I am crossed!" "Anyway~," She folds her arms behind her back as she walks, "Not trusting wizards is only a good thing. Even wizards you know well, always be incredulous as to their motives." Stepping out onto the balcony, she pauses to look out over the gorgeous forestland. Closing her eyes, she takes in a deep breath, "Oh, this is simply lovely. What a nice change from that old castle." Raziel brings up swimming, prompting her to glance over the railing. A plan is already formulating when Dynamic Era enacts his own instead. The witch presses her hands together, "Oh, how fun! Very clever, Mister Dynamic Era, thank you." Trudy waits her turn, constructing something out of solid white materials in the back of the group. Only when she's up does she reveal it by tossing a-- boney boogie-board onto the slide, then hopping onto it to surf her way down in a shower of sparks.
Hellwarming Trio	'It doesn't change what I am, rather or not my actions are not what you would call that..' 'And an orphenoch is an orphenoch. I discriminate against nazis, not kaijin,' "Yeah, what Dynamic Era said. We're not human either, but we still got to become Junior Detectives because of the stuff we were doing way back when." Utsuho strikes a pose for emphasis with one arm crossed past her face, not unlike something she's probably seen in some older documentaries on Kamne Riders. "And then we became Paladins because we were doing really good at it! Come on, bro. You think anyone that matters cares about stuff like being a vampire?" Rin mimics the pose from the other direction, grinning widely at Raziel as though that might be reassuring. "And since then, we've since been promoted to Junior Asskickers." Satori states matter-of-factly, resisting the expecting stares of her pets for a moment before sighing and joining in, using her arms to form a box around her head. They've definitely practiced this kind of posing before. With the far better looking landscape coming to view in front of them, the yokai have to squint at first just to get their eyes accustomed to things not looking so awful. They float about to get a better look at things first, although Utsuho slows down a bit as she considers what Sougo's telling her about the nature of people, their emotions, and groups that could prey on them. "Huh... So something that's gotten too big would make it real easy to do all of that, wouldn't it?" She furrows her brow, groaning audibly at the effort to put her thoughts together. "Making people that wanna leave end up staying because they think they'll be alone and stuff? Or... Yeah, that thing about vulnerable people. Because... There's too many of them to not think they'd be the weird ones if they didn't join?" Utsuho keeps making weird thinking noises while heading for Dynamic Era's gothic slide and tugging Rin and Satori along. She'll be at it for a while, but not so engrossed in thinking that she doesn't force the two of them to join her in sliding down that thing (to Rin's delight and Satori's moderate terror).
Angela	The Information Team has no idea of what the Timelord's game is. Frankly, they may have entered this scenario a bit underprepared. But that almost doesn't matter. Why doesn't it matter? Because that door opens up and they see the land. They hear the birds and insects, a fish startles Sal when it jumps into the air from a pond of all things, a POND. The three of them step out into the balcony. And they stare, and marvel. The rest of the multiverse fades away as they just admire the scenery for a moment, they remember they're living beings not just workers whose job it is to work and die and then work again. M.O.M and Sal shed tears, Sal in particular, taking a moment to wipe at her eyes and laughing in embarrassment of it all. "They eventually jump for the water, but only eventually. They likely end up taking the rear once the euphoria wears off.
Raziel	'And an orphenoch is an orphenoch.' Raziel pauses, closing his eyes for a moment. In the multiverse, from other elites, it isn't unexpected to get this response. Respect for what one is instead of hatred or fear. 'You think anyone that matters cares about stuff like being a vampire?' "Yes, but not in the way you are envisioning, I imagine. But...thank you, thank you both," he says to both Utsuho and Dynamic Era said. Trudy comments on the nature of Wizards and their trustworthiness, and this elects a laugh out of him. "Do not worry, lady Grimm, I have been aware of the trustworthiness of witches for a long time." To Sougo, he nods. "You're not wrong. These things can easily become manipulated by those with agendas too. Soon it becomes them versus us...which seems to be a thing in Nosgoth's history, I am starting to see." Raziel looks at the slide a bit uneasily for a moment, but nevertheless sits on it and slides down to the bottom of the lake and shore. On dry land, he stands up and is thankfully glad he's no longer on the slide. "I haven't seen Nosgoth like this before...at least, not as far back as I can remember..." he pauses, "There, I can sense the pillars to the north of here. We can take this path to the main road, more than likely...and I am sure we can find our way there." He pauses, only to look towards the pair from the information team. "Is everything alright? I thought such sights were common out in the Multiverse, and Nosgoth being like this is the norm, not the exception...unlike its future."
Hamada Haru	Dynamic Era is thanked, but doesn't reply to that, returning his transteam gun to his hip. He descends the slide towards the end of the pack, though not dead last, and banishes the slide from existence as soon as everyone is off of it. It's broken down into its components and drawn back into his pocket space for future construction projects. Rather than letting himself hit the water his wings hum to life and he coasts over the surface to the shore. Actually hitting water is just for fun, and he's not feeling like 'fun' just now. "War is usually manipulated by the few," he comments, dully. On the subject of the Information Team, though, he offers, "One of them mentioned giving up human meat earlier. I assume that they are from an unusual situation, also."
Trudy Grimm	Near the bottom of the slide, Trudy crouches on her boneyboard and jumps it, bracing the board with her leading hand and grinding on the slide's edge for the last ten feet or so. Upon reaching the end, she hops off entirely. The board, interwoven as it is, spins under her feet and -- vanishes into her shadow. A heartbeat later, the witch lands on solid ground, her shadow now an ordinary shadow. "Ah, that gots the blood moving again!" Her hands clap together, rubbing a few times, the Grimoire bouncing about as she does so, "Now then. Northward to the Pillars, is it?" Raziel recommends a nearby road and this is the direction Trudy sets out in. Casually, she removes a crow from her sleeve-- clearly bones covered in taxidermy-- and breathes some life into it through the Death Rune, Eiwaz. While the animal is starting to move, she speaks up to M.O.M. again. "This is a bit of a shock for you folks, isn't it?" Her head cants towards the LoboCorp team, "Something tells me forestland isn't terribly common where you come from. That sounds positively dreadful."
Hellwarming Trio	"This sure looks different from the part of Nosgoth we were in earlier." "Who'd've thought this was all part of the same place?" "Even the contrast between our home and the surface wasn't so stark." After getting their bearings straight following that slide ride, the yokai start floating again while Utsuho generates plenty of passive heat around herself to aid in drying anyone that doesn't particularly enjoy being drenched. Satori looks particularly irritated in particular, but that fades about as quickly as the soaking does. "Might as well stick to the road, yeah? Unless there's any cool stuff hidden around you've heard of around here off that path...?" Rin hints with a hopeful look at Raziel. "I mean, you've been around for a while, right? There's gotta be more stuff we could use around here to get a leg up on Kain or Moebius or whoever we're gonna end up beating up." "Not if they've all been claimed already. And Mister Raziel has had his memories tampered with, so..." Satori trails off at first, but a thoughtful look crosses her face a few moments later. "You wouldn't happen to have heard of anything after becoming a vampire, would you?"
Angela	Sal glances over to Raziel, "Oh, ah, well--this is actually our first time out. Rook told us about places like this but--well, there's a forest in District D I heard but travel between disricts is a bit... It requires permits and it's dangerous..." M.O.M says, "And if you're in the Backstreets, well, you're lucky if you'll ever make it out! Never seen a pond with fish in it for sure." Chewie, thoughtfully, "It ... feels weird." He glances to Haru and adds, "Well, it's actually a bit of--lots of aspiring chefs are looking to make the ultimate meal. I used to be like that, but ... it felt so pointless..." He sighs, depressed thinking about it. He's less reformed cannibal and more depressed cannibal. Even compared to the other agents, he's an odd duck even if his ways aren't exactly secret, even to a Nestling like Sal. M.O.M glances back to TRudy and admits, "Well--yeah, maybe it is! But that's the home we came from, y'know? You can get why our teams are basically fighting each other to get jobs like this. Otherwise we'd just be locked up in L Corp the whole time, Haha! I wonder if the City could even handle folks like you all, Haha! Or maybe..." He trails off there, taking in the moment.