Interactions with @Elevation, @13Org, @SonofJet, @HokumPocus, @Jerkchicken

---

Gin smiled as one by one the group he gathered asked questions and stated whether or not they wished to be wrapped up in whatever Gin was planning. Chres still remained silent. Taking in everything Gin said. Bit by bit.

"Aaaaaaahhh. So many questions," Gin began happily. With a snap of his fingers a large hourglass appeared in his hand. The sands already running low. "and yet so little time." The last sands, pouring from the top of the hour glass emptied to the bottom of the hour glass as Gin finish his sentence. Gin lazily tossed the hourglass behind him, causing it to hit the back wall and shatter. Snapping his fingers again, the soon to be mess of an hourglass vanished before even hitting the ground.

The smile vanished from Gin's face and once again his face turned serious. "I'll answer as much as I can with the time I think I have left. The problem with two opposing forces capable of seeing glimpses of potential future events is the future quickly becomes blurry." Gin grimaced as he said the words.

"But first," Gin said turning his attention to the white haired Currier. "Karlie, my dear. I don't expect any of you to trust me. I, like everybody else, have an agenda. And before you ask, no, I don't plan to indulge you in what that agenda may entail. Doing so risks it falling into enemy hands. At the very least, I hope you appreciate my gift to you, Karlie." Gin placed a very minor emphasis on the woman's name and said nothing further on the topic of trust.

There was a minor moment of silence as Gin smiled politely at the woman he named Karlie. Chres glanced causally in the woman's direction. Gift? What gift? Nothing material as far as Chres could tell. Her identity. That was the gift. Chres noted to himself. Maybe a criminal. Maybe a spy. Maybe famous. Maybe two or all of the above. White hair. Probably cold related magic. Strict demeanor... Huh... I wonder... Chres was careful to keep his expression smooth. Slowly, he turned his gaze to the royal bodyguard. This could become problematic rather quickly. Chres thought as Gin began to speak again.

"But I digress. The seed that which is not a seed. That seems to be where your focus lies. You're correct. The seed does require minor preparation before taking root. However, the length of time tends to vary. I'm afraid as the Cult's influence grows it will become far easier for them get a seed to take root. There are two ingredients required for it's planting. One of the Sightless with a strong connection to the land, and a pile of fresh-ish human corpses. The more corpses they have, the stronger the seed will be as it takes root.

"The seed itself itself looks like a thing of nightmares. It is quite, literally, a man turned inside-out. It's the body of the Sightless who planted the seed to be exact. You see Sightless are all potential seeds. Ones who fit the right requirements, plant themselves into the ground to form a Seed of Insight. Once a seed, they devour the courses surrounding them, incorporating the remains into their new body.

"You'll find the seed in a cellar or basement with a wide open space. To kill it you'll first have to rip out all the hearts attached to it's outer appendages along with it's core's three hearts. Destroying the hearts will kill it, but will not make the Distortion go away. To do that, you'll need to hack off the core's stem, and salt the remaining stump to kill it's roots. Only then will the Distortion vanish. And that will be your chance to escape.

"They can always plant another seed. However, if someone who opposes the cult is put in charge of the town," Gin paused for a second to give a knowing glance at the white haired woman. "then such an occurrence might be preventable." Chres raised an eyebrow at the comment and the glance Gin paid the white haired woman, who Chres now suspected to be the famed Karina Frost, the Ice Flower. Was Gin inviting the Nation of Touch to come in and take charge, during the aftermath? Chres pulled out his flask of flavored water and took a sip as he pondered the impact their actions might have.

"It seems my time is at an end friends. I have to leave now. This is your final chance to take my offer to live another day."

Swishing the flavored water around his mouth, Chres listened as some of the group Gin gathered rejected his offer and as others accepted. Chres swallowed the water and listened to them one by one. All the while he thought. He thought about the load of information thrown at him. He thought about the magic Gin had shown and pondered how it might work. And then he thought about what it would mean working with these people he only just met.

This man Gin had revealed things about Chres's past. They now knew his wife was dead along with the child she held. They didn't know how she died, but the way Gin had left things... it hinted at the truth. Chres felt numb inside. Numb at the thought of having to work with people who might now suspect him to be for the scum he truly is. Numb at the thought that if Gin was right, and Chres refused, then his pathetic life would not come to an end. He felt numb. Numb and empty

He had no right. Chres thought somberly. He had no right to tell them. It was Chres's past. It was his to tell. It wasn't Gin's.

Chres put his flask down on the table as the memories flooded his mind. He left her. He left her cold body without even bothering to bury it. How long had she been there before someone finally discovered the body?

Chres took a deep breath and closed his eyes, doing his best to regain composure. When he closed his eyes, he saw her dead corpse staring at him. He betrayed her. He gave his life to her, and in the end, he betrayed her.

"I'm in..." Chres said barely above a whisper. Then, clearing his voice, he again said it more loudly "I'm in."

"Good to have you on board, Chres." Gin replied smiling. "And with that, I'll take my leave. I wish you all the best of luck on your quest."

And as quickly as Gin appeared, he vanished. Life returned to the room. Chres felt a sudden rushing feeling as if time was struggling to regain it's control on reality. When the feeling vanished, Chres realized everyone was exactly in the same location they were in before the mystery man Gin appeared.

Chres took a sip from his flask. Paid a small knowing glance at the people who had agreed to accept Gin's help. And without saying a word, Chres paid for a room for himself and asked the innkeeper for three Jade Crystal candles. Sil had reappeared and was asking Chres a million different questions. Chres didn't answer. He didn't even really hear what she was saying. He grabbed the candles and began to make his way up to his room.

Post for @Elevation character: Hark

@13Org, @SonofJet, @HokumPocus, @Jerkchicken

---

After having agreed to play along with whatever this man Gin had planned, Gin vanished and life returned to the inn. Hark shared a glance at the man named Chres. He stood up, paid for a room and some Crystal Jade Candles, and then left. Octavio was next, asking for a few candles himself. The Innkeeper handed the man his candles, seeming somewhat surprised by being asked by two people in a row. Hark then payed for his own room and candles.

"Don't you have your own place to stay here? And why does everyone want Crystal Jade candles all the sudden?"

Hark merely shrugged, but then said "It's been a long night. Also, there's a rumor that sleeping in their light will protect you from the Cult's magic." The innkeeper looked at Hark strangely. This was Hark's hometown and he knew the Innkeep. He hoped he would listen.

Hark turned in time to catch Chres walk upstairs without saying a word to the rest of the group. Hark frowned and made his way to the rest of the group who had accepted Gin's help. "Perhaps someone should keep an eye on that one." He said motioning over in Chres's direction.

---

Nation of Sight
City of Irissia

The Crowned King of the Nation of Sight, Y’lleant, stood proudly, hands clasped behind his back, as he stared out the large window of his private chambers. A single candle flickered in the room. The remainder of the room was in shadow. During the day, the view looked breathtaking. At this very moment, though, it looked peaceful. Calming.

The moon hung low in the sky, wealth of stars twinkled distantly, and beneath all that, the City of Irissia. The orange flickering of candles could be seen scattered through the various buildings within the city. The buildings themselves were coated by the nightly luminescent glow coming off the Crystal Jade Palace. In the streets, a few constables roamed the streets, their presence made known by the lanterns they held. And at the palace’s perimeter, Y’lleant could make out his palace guards doing their nightly patrols.

The view looked as if it were taken straight from a painting. Y’lleant took it all in bit by bit. This was what he was fighting for. His people. His country. His home. And... and...

King Y’lleant frowned. There was something else, wasn’t there? Something else he was fighting for, right? After a moment or two, his eyes went wide with realization. His family! Of course, his family. How could he have ever forgotten about that?

An itch crawled up the back of Y'lleant's neck. Y’lleant’s frown deepened at the feel of the itch. He quickly covered the spot with his right hand. Those irritating itches were becoming more common lately. Where was Vetius when he needed him?

Y’lleant closed his eyes in the darkness and concentrated. The insight felt so close, as if it were beginning to entwine itself around his soul. It felt almost as if he could reach out and touch it. Just a little bit clos-

A glimpse of a vision flashed through his mind and then vanished. Y’lleant gasped. His eyes shot opened. That had never happened before without Vetius’s help. Perhaps he could… Y’lleant again closed his eyes in deep concentration. After a few seconds, the vision slowly reappeared.

Y’lleant saw his daughter, El’lysael, draped in a dark cloak taking off in a boat. She took one last look behind her. Her home growing smaller in the distance. Heading south. From her cloak, she removed something… The vision faded white. Must have been a light source. Y’lleant had begun to notice the visions tended to do that when a light source appeared. He couldn’t make out light for some reason.

The itch on his neck faded somewhat. That was the recent past. His daughter had run away. Why? Y’lleant explained to her why they needed the cult’s help. He thought she finally understood. He was hoping she could help soothe her mother’s contempt over Y’lleant’s decision. Y’lleant concentrated harder. His head starting to throb…

It was some time in the near future. His daughter was with a group of people, talking. Talking about-

Y’lleant gasped, collapsing against the window. His head pounding. The itch had faded. Breathing heavily, a smile crept onto his face. Perhaps, Y’lleant wouldn’t be needing the Cult’s help much longer. He could now see the Insight without their help. With a little more practice, he could master it. Maybe even wield it against them!

This Insight was quickly becoming a convenient solution to many of the problems his country was facing. After that first batch a few weeks back, King Y'lleant quickly realized that these visions were the key to winning this war. He had convinced most of his consul and generals of it too. That day Vetius graciously shared with them his insight. Together they were able to concoct a plan to win this war.

Already they had won a battle using it, for a fishing town, south of Shimmer town. It wasn’t a great victory, the ground the Nation of Touch had taken, made it difficult to defend the area, but it allowed for supplies to be sent to the north without using a boat. It was also a morale booster and had prevented the Nation of Touch from using the town’s boats to perform raids by sea.

Additionally the wealth of wood in the area could have been used to make boats. If they had left the town alone, it would have given the Nation of Touch a chance to build warships. That was the last thing Y’lleant needed. An attack by sea. For Now, Y’lleant’s generals had positioned a fleet of ships around the area and was beginning to secure a perimeter on the ground.

A knock. Came at the door followed by Vetius’s dry voice. “Your majesty. I have news about your daughter.”

“Come in.” Y’lleant said as he quickly composed himself.

Vetius stepped inside and closed the door behind him. “What news do you have of my eldest child?”

“We believe she left by boat, but where she went, we do not know. No matter how much we dig into the Insight, there is shroud of white surrounding her. The enemy must have gotten to her and turned her against you. That would explian the Insight being so lacking. Decoy ships were sent out as well, whether it was her decision or someone else’s, I do not know.”


“The enemy?” Y’lleant asked questioningly. Vetius merely smiled, yet said nothing for a moment.

"Your daughter had been rallying up the citizens and speaking out against our sermons to the people. She was never a fan of the Clan."

“No she wasn't.” Y'lleant said grimacing. “She was starting riots in the streets. It was why I had confined her to the palace. Perhaps that was not the best idea..."

"Your wife helped her escape." Vetius said. Y’lleant shook his head. His family was turning against him. His wife, his daughter…

“Speaking of which, there are other pressing matters I wish to discuss with you, your majesty.” Vetius said. “Matters in regards to your wife.”

King Y'lleant frowned. "My wife?" He asked questioningly. Vetius merely smiled. "What's wrong?"

There was a moment of silence before Vetius replied. "Let me show you."



The Nation of Sight's Crowned Queen, Tyssella, stood alone quietly in the Regal chambers as she read and memorized the contents on the message she held in her hands. She had been in contact with her brother, the Emperor of Touch, hoping to nogiatate a way to settle things peacefully.

She hated the man for the things he did to her. She still had nightmeres about it all and about him taking her again. One day, she would pay him back for the things he did with the man's own life. In order for that day to come, however, she needed to make sure her brother didn't wipe her new home off the map.

Burning the message with a nearby candle Tyssella gave a sigh of relief. Her brother had agreed to meet with her. Progress. Finally.

Tyssella tossed the burning message into the fireplace. She could not let her husband know about this. He had been acting different lately. Not listening to reason. As if on queue, she heard the door to the Regal Chambers open behind her.

"You helped El'lyseal run away? Why?" Her husband asked behind her.

"Why?" Tyssella asked turning "Because you were treating her as a prisoner, of course. Stripping away her freedoms one by one. Your own daughter, Y'lleant!"

"I see..." Y'lleant said pausing. "The thing is, she isn't really my daughter is she, Tyssella?"

Tyssella froze. How long had he known? How did he find out? "I don't know what your talking about, Y'lleant. Of course she is yours! Who else would be her father?"

Y'lleant stode over to the fireplace, grabbing a nearby fire poker stick. He examined it for a time before poking at the crumbling bit of burning paper Tyssella had tossed into the fire. The remains of the paper crumbled into ash.

"If I didn't know any better, I would say... your brother. The Emporer of Touch. " Y'lleant made a disgusted look. A pain of hurt and anger welled up in Tyssella. How dare he?! How dare he act like that! He knew what her brother did to her! How he treated her not as one should treat a sister. He knew that was a sensitive topic for her. Plus none of this was anything new! How dare he give her that look?

"How long have you been in contact with him?" Y'lleant asked. "When were you going to tell me about the meeting you secrectly scheduled with him?"

Tyssella's heart stopped. She had been caught twofold. She was well aware of how he lately had been handling those he deemed traitorous. Not her though. He wouldn't dare harm her, though.

Carefully, she gathered her wits. She wanted to slap him for the way he had just acted about her past. She didn't though. Perhaps later. Definitely later. For now she needed to handle this carefully.

"I was merely working from an angle of deplomacy." She said trying the anger out of her voice the best she could. "I'm his sister. He may listen to me. He loves me in his own sick way."

"Loves you indeed." Y'lleant said, putting away the fire poker. "Perhaps you love him as well. Is that why you gave birth to his child and passed it off as mine?"

This time Tyssella did slap Y'lleant. Everything she had went into the slap. It knocked him back against the wall.

"HOW DARE YOU!" She yelled at him, unable to keep the tears from her eyes. "How dare you!" She said again, taking a few steps back and taking a seat on the bed. "He raped me, Y'lleant. My own brother! Do you know what that's like?"

A flash of guilt flashed across Y'lleant's face for a second. His expression still remain cold however. He composed himself, but said nothing.

Tyssella continued. "No, of course you don't. How could a man whose had everything handed to him in life understand? For years, I blamed myself, I blamed myself for his shameful acts! I wanted to kill myself, Y'lleant. Every night I relived it. Do you know what that's like?"

The was a moment of silence. The only sound being Tyssella's sobs. "He did it the day before I left to become your bride. Said he wanted to give me a goodbye gift." Tyssella made a disgusted face at the thought. "Yes, Y'lleant. El'lysael is not your daughter. Yes, I passed her off as your own. So what? Does that make the love you had for her any less real? Does that make her any less your daughter? You rasied her, Y'lleant. You and I raised her. Together."

For a while Y'lleant said nothing. He simply stared out the window. Finally, he said, "What of our son?"

Tyssella's sobs had begun to subside. "He's ours." Their son was a blind sight adept. She had never known such a thing was possible until she gave birth to him.

Again a silence. "I'm sorry, my love..." Y'lleant said. Tyssella breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps the man she had grown to love was still in there. The cult hadn't taken him from her yet. She still could stop this change in character they had started.

"I'm sorry, my love." He said again. "I love you. I really do. However... you must die. It's the only way."

"What?" She said, barely above a whisper.

"Vetius, can you-" Y'lleant began not even looking at her.

"It would be my pleasure, your Majesty." Replied a dry voice behind Tyssella.

Tyssella felt a sharp pain from her chest. Looking down, she saw a human hand, with black tree like bark for skin, sticking out of a hole in her chest. Her blood begin to pour from the wound.

Feeling the life drain from her, she collapsed onto the bed. Vetius was several feet behind her. HIs arm elongated, begining to retract in on itself. 'Why' she wanted to say, but she no longer had the strength. It came out as a gasp instead. Her mind was getting foggy. It was hard to think.

"I'm sorry." She vaguely heard Y'lleant say. His hand against the window. A tear falling down his check. "I'm sorry." His voice sounded distant. "It's the only way. i'm sorry"

The world faded black.



Y'lleant stood quietly, staring out the window. His dead wife's body had been removed from the chambers. He had declared her a traitor and would prepare a royal statement tomorrow.

Was he still fighting for family? Y'lleant was no longer sure if that was the case. One by one they betrayed him. All he had left now was his son. He would need to be imprisoned though. The news of his mother's death would not be taken well.

Y'lleant had ordered his wife's head cut off and put into a bag. A messager was instructed to deliver it directly to the Emperor of Touch where he had planned to meet with Tyssella. This would send him into a mad frenzy, allowing Y'lleant the chance to spring his trap. The giant metal fireworks, Kannuns as the engineers were calling them, were coming along nicely. He would win this war.

"I'm sorry, your Majesty." Vetius's dry voice said behind him. "I know that was hard."

"It is what it is." Y'lleant said trying to keep the emotion from his voice. He turned away from the window and stared Vetius in the face. "Tell me again about the Root of Insight you spoke of."

"Our lord?" Vetius said with a cock of the head. A smile crept on his face. "I can't tell you, but... I can show you."

Y'lleant simply nodded. "Show me." He said.

---

Karina Frost

The strange man who called himself Gin vanished in the same sudden and mysterious way he appeared. Leaving no traces of his presence there other than Karina and the other's own memories of what happened. As soon as he disappeared, things went back to normal. Whoever that Gin man was, he was undeniably powerful. To do something as freeze time itself wasn't something that Karina thought it was even possible...

The nobleman and the royal guardsmen were the first ones to talk with the innkeeper, who was completely oblivious to what had just happened, asking for jade candles and a room.

Karina still had many things on her mind. A lot of things to think about such as the situation itself, how to fight against the cult or even how to contact the forward camp to tell them the information she gathered until now, but as much as she wanted to be by herself and just meditate about all that, she couldn't ignore Hark's words. Someone indeed should keep an eye on Chres... Just as Gin said previously, he was 'touched' by the cult's so called 'insight'... Whatever it was...

Sighing deeply, Karina turned to the Innkeeper with an awkward smile.

"You probably know already what I'm going to ask for." She said.

"Just a room and jade candles. I'm afraid that it will be hard to sleep this night." Karina said, with a troubled expression. Many different things were troubling her mind. She couldn't afford to just be her careless self. She wasn't home, she was in enemy territory, and to make things worse, the cult was quickly proving to be much worse than the Nation of Sight...

Looking towards the others who also 'present' and heard what Gin said with a serious, analyzing stare, she finally said:

"We have much better chances of getting out of this alive if we work together. Any questions, any suggestions or ideas you might have, I would be grateful to be informed about." Karina said, looking to them.

"As much as I dislike this... I have no choice but to trust both Gin and you all... No offense, of course." Karina completed.
"That said... Even though not just I... But we all are in a complicated situation, if anyone tries anything funny, I won't think twice to deal with them myself." Karina said, looking to Chres as he went up the stairs with an icy cold stare and a neutral, but firm tone. Her stare and her tone made it clear that she was being serious. Even though she said that specifically referring to Chres, it was also a warning to the other ones as well. The feeling that small, delicate girl passed was nothing like her image.

Once more, the way Karina acted at that moment was nothing like a courier would act. It was almost a dead giveaway. But seeing the situation she was in, maintaining her disguise wasn't the first priority anymore. She had to be sure she would be able to get to the forward camp to tell her superiors of everything she saw and heard. The plan to infiltrate herself in enemy territory for a reconnaissance mission was ruined, or if you looked at it by a different angle, succeeded the second Gin appeared and after everything happened. In fact, the second she entered that town and started hearing about the cult more and more from many different people, made her stop dismissing such unlikely and absurd rumors as just fabricated stories. The events on that last hour though confirmed what she was thinking previously. All those absurd rumors about how powerful the cult really are were not fabricated lies. The real threat wasn't the nation of sight. It never was. The real threat was the cult.

---

Chres trudged up the stairs lost in thought, barely paying any heed to the conversation the others were having. The woman he suspected to be the famed Ice Flower seemed to be taking charge. Made sense. If she was the Ice Flower, then she would have the know-how to lead. So long as it wasn’t Chres.

He heard the words ‘suggestions’ and ‘ideas’ tossed about. “We’ll need to find the seed first,” Chres said half mindedly behind him, “Rumors of missing people might be key. Identify where the seed’s ‘ingredients’ went off to, and we’ll probably find what we are looking for.”

Chres continued up the steps. “If we know where it is, the chaos tomorrow could give us proper cover.” It would also give Chres a better chance to get himself killed, but he didn’t say that part of course.

Chres surrendering to his thoughts as he finished his trek up the steps.

---

A growing look of concern crossed the Innkeeper’s face. His patrons were slowly making their drunken way out of his Inn for the night. For the most part, all who remained were the group of people who suddenly decided to pay for a room and ask for a bundle of Crystal Jade Candles. Were they all avid readers or something?

The Innkeeper shook his head. He actively cleaned a dirtied mug as he listened to what the man said. Talk of missing people. What was that about chaos tomorrow? What did they mean seed? The world had gone crazy lately.

The Innkeeper vigorously cleaned the mug with his cloth growing more concerned. “Rumors about missing people? You aren’t talking about the rumors of people not returning from Lord O’Kal’s manor, are you? Whatever you all are plotting, I want no part of it.”

The Innkeeper finish cleaning the mug and put it down on the counter. He then moved on to the next one. “Best you leave Lord O’Kal alone.” He said nodding to himself. “Nothing but dark talk about that one these days.”

One by one, people were leaving the Inn. Two of his children had begun cleaning the common room, pushing in chairs, sweeping the floors and wiping down tables. “I’ll be closing up shop for the night. If you need anything. The Miss and I have a room off to the side down that way.” He said pointing to the corner. “I’ll be locking the doors to the inn. One can’t be too cautious these days.”

The Innkeeper said nothing more. He finished cleaning the second mug and moved on to the next. Silently going about his work.

---

Chres opened the door to the room he would be staying the night in. It was the first room on the right after going up the stairs. The room was small, dark and musky with a lone window on the back wall. There was a small cot as well. It looked comfy enough, but Chres didn’t plan on sleeping in it.

The uneven floorboards, hidden behind the bed, was where he would be sleeping tonight. If he were to help with this mission of theirs, then he would at least need to last through the night. That meant a night hidden on the floor and a bed stuffed with his pack and a pillow. He could plot a way to get himself killed while in the middle of the mission.

Chres pulled out one of the Crystal Jade Candles from the bundle the Innkeeper provided him. The room lit up from the eerily, yet soothing, Crystal Jade glow. Closing the door behind him and locking it, Chres began strategically placing the three candles about the room in such a way that it would maximize the coverage of light shining upon the welcoming looking floorboard upon which Chres would sleep.

Once satisfied, he made his way back to the room’s door and began compressing the body heat he stored away in his shirt. Chres felt the warmth of the heat seep out of his shirt, down his arm and into his fist forming an unstable compressed Heat Construct. It was in the shape of a ball and had a dull red glow. Chres carefully stuck the ball of Tempraision where the door met the wall. An effective trap and alarm should any unwelcome guests stop by. It was common Tempraision self-defense trick.

Chres then made his way to the room’s window and did the same thing. The downside to this trick was that each time he did it, it depleted an hour’s worth of stored energy. Fortunately, though, he could recover the lost energy as he slept. Chres, immediately began storing away his body for later use.

Turning to his bed, he then got to work setting up the decoy Chres under the covers of his cot. He noticed his shadow jump towards the light as he worked. The night sky turned a shade of purple. The world lingered in that state for a few seconds before returning to normal. Chres frowned. It lasted longer this time.

Sil sat on Chres’s head in her ferret form, as he worked. She had seemed to have gotten the message that something big and important was happening. Now was not the time for her silliness.

Chres picked up his pack that he carried around with him and opened it. Inside he rummaged through his belongings. He paused as he came across the cord of rope he had started carrying two months ago. Since then, every night before he went to sleep, he stared at the rope for a good moment, imagining how the rope would feel around his neck.

A half smile crossed his face as he imaged the look on Gin’s face were Chres to hang himself this night. Whatever he was, Gin claimed that Chres wouldn’t die tonight. All it would take to prove him wrong would be a simple noose around the neck. Chres stood there staring at it. He was seriously considering following through with the act. Before coming to any decision, he was interrupted by Sil, who had fluttered down, back in her fairy form. Her finger to her mouth. Head tilted to the side.

“You’re not well Chres…” She said at last, a concerned look in her eyes. It wasn’t often that Sil would get like this. Chres had found that she often acted in such a manner during times he was at his worst. Times such as this very moment. The memories had come to him in droves during the last few hours. They hung over him like a dark cloud, smothering him. His heart heavy. His spirit low. Tonight would not be a good night for sleeping.

“Something’s wrong with you, Chres. I can… feel it… I think?” Sil tilted her head to the other side of her body. Her brow furrowed. Deep in thought. She finally frowned, turning her attention to the rope. She fluttered down to it, examining it with interest.

“Is it this rope?” She asked looking back up in Chres’s direction. “I could tell it off for you.” She said smiling, hands clasped behind her back. “I’ll tell it to go away, leave you alone and never come back. It won’t ever bother you again. Promise.” Sil said happily.

Chres smiled weakly at her attempt to cheer him up. “I appreciate it Sil, but I doubt it will help... It’s her again.”

“Her?” Sil ask quizzically as she furrowed her brow doing her best to understand. “You mean your special friend who you said looks like me? Is she here?” Sil asked, fluttering above Chres’s head and examining the room. She frowned upon she realizing no one else was in the room.

“Hmmmmmmm...” He heard her say. “I don’t see her.” She fluttered down to the bed and took a seat. “One day, Chres, I’ll find her for you, wrap her in a bow and hand her over as a gift. I’ll have to draw a mustache on her though.”

Chres smiled. Closing his pack, he took a seat on the bed next to her staring at the Crystal Jade Candle in front of them. “A mustache?” He asked frowning.

“A mustache.” She said nodding, staring ahead at the Crystal Jade Candle as well.

“Why a mustache?”

Sil looked and him and cocked an eyebrow. “Because, silly, you’ll need it to tell us apart.”

Chres shook his head, and couldn’t help but release a small chuckle. Apparently Sil thought ‘his special friend’ looked literally like Sil rather than just resemble Sil.

Sil smiled, happy to hear Chres chuckle. She began kicking her feet. Humming softly. In that moment, Sil reminded Chres very much of her.

“I’m afraid that’s impossible, Sil." Chres said sadly. "She’s gone...”

“I’ll find her.” Sil said nodding. “I’ll find her.”

Chres stared ahead at nothing. He spoke not a word. His heart stuck in his throat. He nodded sadly. The memories washing over him. He had planned to put Sil’s Metal Glass pendent away for the night. It was why he had opened his pack. He had been looking for the bag he placed over the pendent as he went to sleep in a well-lit place. Over the course of their conversation, however, he decided against it.

Chres got up from the bed and finished placing his pack and a pillow under the covers of the cot. He then took his spot on the floor for the night. He relaxed as best he could.

“Watch over me as I sleep tonight, Sil. Aside from the sky changing colors and shadows acting weirdly, wake me if anything goes amiss.” A moment later he added, “Amiss means wrong, Sil. Wake me if anything goes wrong.”

He heard an extended ‘ah’ from Sil. Chres sighed, shaking his head slightly. Looks like he caught that one.

He lay there, staring at the ceiling. Dreading the sleep and nightmares which were sure to follow. Sleep would be light tonight. It always was on a bad day. He sighed again. Closing his eyes, he drifted off into a restless sleep.

---

Troubling. Was the only thought running through Álmos' head as the mysterious Gin took his leave. Of course, his verbal consent hadn't been needed for him to retain the experience - as with his name, he hadn't needed to offer it up to Gin in order for him to possess it, so there had seemed little point in doing so with much else.

Álmos, too, spoke with the innkeeper about securing a place to stay the night, and some Jade Candles. Deciding to keep himself busy for a while, he decided to turn back to continue speaking with the innkeeper.

"Pardon me, sir. I feel that I must offer something in return for the accommodations you have provided. Are there any tasks that you need help with?"

If I keep an eye out for a few hours longer, perhaps fortune will favor me, and I might catch a glimpse of some of these cultist workings.

Interactions with @SonOfJet

---

The Innkeeper arched an eyebrow at the blonde haired man. "I offer the same accommodations to all my customers. And I do believe you did offer me something for them. It's called money... However, if you insist..."

The Innkeeper handed the Blonde haired man a cleaning rag and motioned to the dirtied plates and mugs he was cleaning. "There's a bucket of water on my side of the counter. I'm not hiring, nor able to pay for your help. It is appreciated, however." The innkeeper said. He then went back to cleaning.

"Ok then." Was all he said as he listened to Gin. It seemed like it was going to be one of those things that is easier said than done. First they'd have to find such a space. But at least by the grotesque description of the inverted man and dozens of corpses would make confirming such a place easy. So small mercy there. Seemed tomorrow would be like a bloody day full of fighting and killing horrific things.

He would wait for the conference to end to get his rooms and these lights. It was such a shame that darkness would be his enemy. He was more than content and able to travel in the dark and do things in the dark. In fact if it wasn't for the certainty of getting easily caught and being swarmed, he'd be up for doing a night time assault on the seed. Shame about that seeing all shadows bit the cult had. "Sure thing." He said rather dismissively to the woman.

He slammed the money on the table and snagged the candles. Now came the tricky bit. He'd spend some time fiddling with the positions of the candles to get it just right. Eventually he had the positions set, and then he waited to sleep on the ground. In the meantime, he spent time looking at the various knife carvings etched onto the table in the room and other locations. He had to admit though, the green light gave the room an oddly pleasing look.

The morning would come up as quickly as he felt himself only drifting into sleep for just the barest of time. He'd look out the window and saw the morning sky completely warped by the distortion. "It begins..." He thought to himself. He was already up and it probably would be a bad idea to go to sleep again. He quickly picked up all the candles with one hand and grabbed his stick to go downstairs. He took a chair in the fairly empty eatery area and waited for the others.

---

Sleep was probably the worst part of living, in Chres's mind. Once sleep for Chres was soothing period of the day, which allowed his body to rejuvenate, and his mind to escape into fantasies unknown. Ever since the incident, however, sleep became either one of two things: A fantasy life Chres could no longer have, or a restless fit of nightmare infested dreams. More often than not, it was the latter. This night was no different.

Although Chres had blacked out and could not remember how his wife's death exactly went down, that didn't stop his mind from taking liberties with how it happened. Often, how she died in these nightmares fell into three different categories. He either beat her to death, stabbed her to death or strangled her to death. To be honest Chres wasn't sure which was worse.

In the nightmares where he beat her to death. Her death would come slowly. With each punch he would see her become less aware, less active, until finally she remained still and silent. Her blood dried on his fists

The nightmares where he stabbed her to death were no better. Although her death came much swifter in these dreams, her blood would splash all over his face with each stab, the blood slowly making its way down his arms and onto his knuckles where it would then crust up. Even when her life had fully fled, the stabbing would continue until nothing recognizable was left. Chres would wake up from these dreams horrified. Unable to get the image out of his head.

The third form, was where he strangling his wife. In these dreams he was forced to watch the life slowly leave her eyes. Her face turning blue from lack of air. Her eyes glazing over. This was the form his nightmares took tonight.

Tonight was a little more special than usual. Tonight he was dimly aware he was asleep and slightly more in control of his dream self. Unfortunately that didn't make things any better. As much as he struggled to release his grip from around his wife's throat, he found that his grip was that of iron. Solid. Unbreakable.

Chres struggled, he cried, he begged and... she died. She coughed up blood as the life left her. The blood somehow getting on his knuckles, drying instantly. Only then did his grip around her throat release.

"No..." He cried, cradling her dead body. He was vaguely aware that he was talking in his sleep. "No... Please... No... Stop... Please stop... please... come back to me... please... not agian... not again... please, no... please..."

"Chres..." He heard his wife's voice say. It sounded muffled, distance.

"Please please please please please... I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm sorry... please... forgive me... please forgive me... please..."

"Chres..." A little less distant. A little less muffled. "Chres, please wake up."

"I can't... I won't... I won't leave you again... just come back to me... I won't ever hurt you ever again... Please come back to me..."

"I-I don't understand... Just wake up Chres, please... You've always been good to me... Please Chres, wake up..."


Chres woke from the dream, "I'm sorry, Sil... Please forgive me... Please..." He heard himself say, his mind not fully having registered that he was no longer dreaming. He saw Sil's fairy form fluttering over him. A concerned look in her eye. His fit must have triggered the more serious and less mischievous side of her.

"I don't understand, Chres... It's okay, though... I think... You're awake. I forgive you. Promise." Sil said giving him a concerned smile.

At this point Chres had become fully aware he had just awaken from a dream. "I'm sorry, Sil." Chres said again. This time directed at Sil, his familiar, and not Sil, his deceased wife.

"It's okay, silly. I forgave you, remember? I don't understand, but I forgive you."

Chres smiled sadly. She's just a familiar, Chres. Chres thought to himself. No matter who she looks like or who she sounds like, remember that Chres. She is not her. Sil was just a familiar. An obviously customized familiar. A customized familiar of his dead wife, Sil.

For not the first time in his life, the question of 'Why' crossed Chres's mind. His wife had cheated on him, with Mercaido, more than once. If she no longer loved him, then why? A customized Familiar, such as Sil, costs a fortune. Why get Chres such an expensive gift if she no longer loved him? And why buy the second metal glass pendent? Chres still had the thing in his pack. It was a blank slate, Chres had it checked. He could only assume she had wanted to make a familiar for herself using Chres's image. But why?

Chres sat up, rubbing his back which was stiff from sleeping on the floor. Sil hovered beside him waiting silently. He felt the itch lingering at the back of his neck. So many questions about his wife. Questions he no longer could get the answers to.

***Important part of the post starts here**** @Elevation, @13Org, @SonofJet, @HokumPocus, @Jerkchicken

Chres stood up and stretched. He caught a glimpse outside the window. The sky was black as midnight. In the distance he could make out a green sun rising from the distant mountains to the north. Despite the dark sky, it was still light out strangely. A dark light. The kind one would see were heavy storm clouds blocking out the sun. The Distortion had taken effect fully it seemed.

In the streets people ran about banging against the doors of their neighbors, smashing windows, strangling people in the street. Shouting, crying, laughing, screaming, the sounds of a town slowly getting lost in madness. It all reached Chres's ears. He suspected it would only get worse as more people woke from their nightly sleep.

None of that was what caught Chres's attention, however. What caught his attention were the docks, or rather the lack there of them. The whole of the docks was engulfed in black flames, black from the Distortion. The flame had swallowed the boats as well. Chres could only guess this was done to block anyone trying to escaping by boat.

The Docks weren't the only things on fire, however. One by one, the buildings surrounding the inn were being broken into by a mob of people. The mob would drag out the building's inhabitants, interrogate them, beat them and occasionally kill them. The Mob would then set the buildings they had broken into on fire. Overseeing all this was a lone Sightless.

That can't be good. Was all that crossed Chres's mind. He then heard a crash of a window shattering downstairs, and the pounding of feet, hands and bodies, against wood.

"Was this the sort of 'wrong' you wanted me to wake you for?" Sil asked as she peered out the window with a finger to her lips.

Chres heard the ruckus on the floor below grow and the sound of people climbing the steps. "Yes, Sil." Chres said grabbing his pack from beneath the covers of the bed. "Yes, it was."

For good measure, Chres grabbed the Crystal Jade Candles put them in his pack before strapping it to his back. He felt bad for taking the candles, but their nightly glow seemed far too valuable to leave behind. Someone then began kicking the door to his room.

After a few kicks, the door burst open, triggering Chres's Tempraision trap. The person caught from the blast was slammed against the wall behind him. Chres ducked behind the bed, taking cover from the splinters of wood being shot in his direction from the blast. He rose from his cover afterwards, dagger drawn, ready for a fight.

Karina Frost

Illuminated only by the eerie light the jade candles provided, Karina had a hard time sleeping that night. With so many things passing through her mind, she could only sleep after a long while she spent thinking about all that. Things were really getting out of hand really fast. But it would the day that would come would prove to be much worse than Karina had thought.

Waking up to a dark sky and a weird, green sun and heavy storm clouds, the atmosphere had changed drastically in just a few hours. The Distortion began...

Discreetly looking outside, being careful for her silhouette to not be seen on the window. Screams, laughter, crying, people strangling and killing each other on the street like savage animals. Madness was everywhere. The entire town was already in shambles. Chaos everywhere. Other than the blood and madness, there was another thing worth noting. The docks were engulfed with strange, black flames. Probably another effect of the Distortion. The cult didn't want anyone leaving.

Karina was speechless as how bad things were. It was way worse than what she had previously thought. Much, much worse.
But she wouldn't have much longer to think about what to do. Loud thumps coming from another door and then an explosion alerted Karina. It was coming from another door near hers. There was no time to think. Unsheathing her rapier and quickly strapping on her waist, she hurriedly, but silently got the small courier bag, putting it on her back as she silently opened the door just a tiny bit, just enough to see if there were anyone outside or if they still were too busy in the other room, where the explosion happened. Luckily enough, it appeared to be just the case. But they wouldn't be busy for much longer...

Karina was by no means incompetent. She was a real threat in a fight with her agile movements, her rapier and her powerful magic, but she wasn't dumb. She knew it would be very unlikely to get out of there by herself. Her only option, once again, was to trust the other people she met the other day. Those who heard that Gin said.

"Damn..." She silently cursed when she realized that the explosion probably came from one of the rooms where one of said 'companions' were.

Opening the door just a bit more to avoid making any noise, she got out of the room with agile and dexterous movements, running towards where the explosion happened with her rapier on her hand. Thanks to her natural resistance to cold, that meant she could use her magic with a bit more freedom than others. Little did she know, but that very same trait would prove to be invaluable on for what she would have to face...

---

Lynx pounced on Octavio in one swift motion and stared down at the sleeping man with impatience. The familiar had gotten used to being placed in ridiculously dangerous situations by his partner and was gazing at the distorting reality around him in an inappropriately irritated manner. Octavio´s questionable shenanigans had molded him into a light sleeper, so he woke up quickly and silently. Well, that, and he knew that the familiar wouldn´t hesitate to use his teeth in case he decided on an extra five minutes.

Octavio was spared an explanation for what was happening out of it being very obvious. The room they were staying in had no windows and it was hard to understand what was happening outside, though they could certainly hear it. A variety of manmade noises happening outside of the building, none of them good, and plenty of banging noises on the inside as well.

“Well, there´s only one thing to do in this case.” said Octavio quietly. Nobody else would hear him even if he shouted out his words, but the man insisted on going all the way now that they were officially in a hostile situation. He put on the more extravagant pieces of clothing he had taken off prior to sleeping and began stretching in preparation of the absolute madness that was happening outside of his room´s walls.

Both of them were observing the distortions around them, until a loud and sudden explosion went off near them. Someone in another room.

“An assassination? Was that what just happened?” remarked Octavio casually.

Lynx stopped licking his paw and held it in the air for a moment to respond with an equal amount of nonchalance. “Could it be the seed that Gin mentioned? Someone deciding they want to get rid of us before we even get a chance to stop them.” He resumed grooming himself.

“Well my dear companion,” said Octavio, hand to his chin in contemplation, “we´ll just have to bide our time until the outside calms down. And then we´ll maybe, probably, start looting!”

Chres Sansus

Major interaction @JerkChicken
Minor obscure mention of @13org

---

"What the h-" Chres heard a voice say from out side his room. He the heard the sound of someone shushing him urgently. The sound came from the left of his room. Down the stairs. Chres arched an eyebrow, pursing his lips into half a frown. A little too late for stealth.

Chres tossed his dagger over to his left hand as he made his way to the door. On his way, He grabbed the other compressed heat construct he used to trap the window, carefully removing it. It felt slightly warm in his hands. A warmth he was unable to retrieve. Halfway to the door, a man carefully peered into his room. Stupid.

Chres threw his dagger at the man aiming for his eye socket. The man didn't notice, however, because as soon as he positioned his head to look into Chres's room, something else caught his attention down the hall causing him to turn is head.

The dagger ended up taking the man on the right side of his head. Wounding him but not fully piercing the skull. The man cryed out in pain dropping to the floor as did Chres's dagger.

Chres cursed under his breath as he quickened his pace, kicked the man in the head, and then tossed the compressed heat construct he grabbed down the stairs. The heat construct hit the stairwell ceiling and released its compressed energy causing an explosion of force. Chres heard the satisfying sound of the wooden ceiling collapsing on his unsuspecting foes. "Tempraisionist!" He heard someone shout from the bottom of the steps in-between fits of coughing.

Chres didn't spare a second. He swooped down to the floor, picking up his fallen dagger with his left, while thrusting his right hand towards the throat of the man he kicked. Before his hand reached the man's throat, Chres Shaped a blade-form heat construct into his hand. The heat construct easily slid into the man's throat. Chres ended the thrust with a slash of his hand effectively slitting the man's throat. As soon as the blade exited the man, the blade vanished. The energy, which had not already been dispersed into the air, being retrieved by Chres and stored away for future use.

"Sil," Chres began quietly, "Can you give me a count of how many are downstairs?"

"Count?" Sil asked head tilted. She looked deep in thought. He finger to her lips and eyes looking upwards. "Hmmm..... Do I know how to count?"

Chres opened his mouth to speak, but before he could respond, Sil's eyes lit up. "That's right! I remember now!". And without another word she zipped off down the steps.

"Wait, remembered what?" Chres asked calling after her.

"That I don't know how to count!" she answered back, halfway down the steps.

Chres groaned placing his thumb and fore finger to his forehead. Seven times he had taught her to count. Perhaps it was just a hopeless cause. Chres released a sigh and took a quick peak out of his room down the steps.

Two people were collapsed on the ground as far as Chres could see. A female on the steps. A male flat on the floor at the bottom of the steps. Chres figured the he had been knocked backwards from the blast. He was being pulled away by his friends and was groaning in pain. The female on the steps was silent. It looked like she took a plank of wood to the head. Probably not dead. More likely unconscious. That accounted for all the nearby foes except...

The man who had triggered Chres's trap on the door had gotten back on his feet. Splinters from the door, all across his face. With a short sword in hand he lunged it straight towards Chres's chest...



Sil flew down the steps on a super important mission. She needed to count. Sounded easy, but was it? Absolutely not! Counting required delicacy, smarts and an attention span that lasted longer than five seconds! It was an art that only someone like Sil, the graceful, could accomplish! It was a shame, though, she didn't know how to count.

Sil zipped into the common room of the inn. To her right was the old chubby man who had graciously allowed her master to sleep in his home for a few pieces of metal. Silly humans. Why hand people pieces of metal when you could simply throw it at their heads? Giving people things is so much easier that way.

Sil shook her head at the thought. Humans truly were silly. The old man, his wife, and some kids, were being dragged out by the people who had barged into his home. Sil wondered if it was some sort of game they were playing and if she could play too....

No, Sil. Bad. She thought. You've got a mission to accomplish! The world is counting on you. Hmmmmmmm... does the world know how to count, I wonder? Will it answer if I ask it? No, Sil. Focus. Use that amazing attention span of yours! Sil set her jaw. She was committed to the mission. She would save the world by helping Chres count.

Some of the mean people were pointing at her. The pointing was followed by a swatting of hands. Sil flew out of their reach and into the kitchen, counting as she did so.

"5... 8... 16..." Numbers were hard. But if anyone could do it, Sil could. "1... 24... 5..." Sil's counting was interrupted as she bumped into the nice man who offered to play a game with her yesterday.

The man sat there at the table all alone rather listlessly. His stillness contrasting his inner restlessness. He was feeling the heat of the urgency start to smolder on the back of his neck. These people needed to hurry up and get ready already. “Ey old man, how about some breakfast involving some bread, butter, and fish?” He said as he dropped some coin onto the bar. He stood there as he then decided to take an early drink while he waited for either the breakfast or the others to arrive. Either would be good right now since any moment everything was going to be bad. It was like watching the prelude to someone about to trip and make a mess, but you’re too late to properly intervene. Time continued to trickle as he stood there waiting, standing on a hair’s breadth away from the inevitable violence approaching. His head swiveled as he glanced at the stairwell for any activity. Nothing. His gaze returned to the kitchen area.

The sound of a window being smashed.

From both the window and the backdoor these maddened cultists were swarming the area. A sense of relief washed over him. It was now time to act to act! He grabbed his stick and vaulted over the bar and went into area. he thrust his staff with great force into a cultist’s diaphragm which followed with a great sweep. The cultists were already dragging out the owner’s wife and kids. He kicked up a table propping it vertically as some cultists tried and charge at him with weapons drawn. Despite the closed nature of the area, he still was able to use the stick effectively as instead he used thrusts and little swipes to control their movement and attack. He clobbered his way towards the cultists with the kids and wife of which there were three. He then tripped and dropped his weapon.

They laughed at him, the wife and children merely looked on in horror and some minor exasperation, that this is how they'd violently die. "End this meddlesome fool's life now!" One barked towards the other. The other one acquiesced as he marched confidently towards the man. With a surprising amount of speed and force the man rose up delivering a mighty punch sending the cultist backwards stumbling to the ground. Meanwhile he moved forwards so fast and gracefully as too look like he was gliding towards them as a hand hooked into a "C" shape grabbed onto an arm twisting it violently as to create cracking noises before using the momentum to slam the cultist the ground while the other arm delivered a smashing elbow blow to the face cracking and dislocating the jaw of the final cultist. With a little motion, the stick entered into his hands.

Just then he noticed a little fairy flying around lost. "One sec." The man said to the family. It was that man's pet/familiar and given the chaos of what's happening around them, he hazarded a guess that she was sent down to do something. Although, what that something would remain a mystery as she seemed not that great as complex things. "Hey there, what did your owner sent you down here for? Can't you see bad things are happening around us?" He said as though talking to a small child. He then patiently listened to her try and explain things and would respond as simply to her as possible.

"Old man, I don't know what to do right now. Leaving you guys alone seems like a death sentence, but on the other hand it seems I might be needed to head upstairs and take care of these damn cultists." Truthfully he didn't want to go upstairs as he figured the others should be up and taking care of things. He'd rather wait and protect this family and then fight his way into the seed. Sure it'd be a long fight to go through, but seeing them do only reignited this antipathy towards them into a purer hate. These fiends needed to be stopped and he'd be helping.

---

Luckily for her, it seemed like the explosion had concentrated the attention of the attackers on the other room as there was no one near her door. They were obviously in numeric disadvantage as it was clear just due to the amount of people Karina saw outside. It was maybe only a matter of time for the rest to go there when they see something wrong happened. If they came, they would do the same that they did to the other buildings and citizens. Destroy and kill.

But much for Karina's dismay, as soon as she got out of her room, another explosion shook the entire building, proving that the time for stealth was long gone. She had to be fast, the other explosion came roughly from the same location as the last one. Immediately drawing her rapier and running towards where the explosion came, she arrived just in time to see Chres and probably the one responsible for the explosion engaging in a fight.

The man, with wood splinters all over his face, transforming it in a bloody mess had just got up from the explosion. Behind him, bodies of his allies were on the stairs, probably dead or unconscious and a few ones, growling in pain while they were pulled by others. The man lunged towards Chres with a short sword in hand. Luckily for Chres, he was able to dodge his lunge, albeit it did graze him. It would hardly be dangerous, much less fatal, but that proved that Chres could not be able to dodge the next one.

With an elegant and agile lunge, almost sliding through the wooden floor, Karina stabbed the attacker on the neck from behind. Her rapier's dark red blade completely piercing his neck, making the attacker drop his sword, scratching his throat futilely trying to breathe as he emitted gruesome, gurgling noises as blood came out, hitting Chres in the face.

"Disgusting..." Karina said with a cold expression as suddenly her rapier's blade became incredibly cold, freezing the attacker's blood on the other end where the tip was coming out, impeding it from further soaking Chres on the man's blood. It was a cruel and gruesome scene, but before pulling out her rapier from the dead man's corpse, if Chres paid enough attention, he would see that the blood coming out of the other man's neck froze in a beautiful way, resembling a red flower made of frozen blood. It was a quick sight though, as it was shattered when Karina pulled out her rapier in a swift movement. leaving nothing but a big hole where her rapier was, much bigger than the size of her blade as the area around the sword froze as well.

"There is no time for stealth anymore. We're on a dangerous situation. It doesn't matter how well trained any of us are, we can't do anything against those numbers." Karina said, cold air visibly coming out from her mouth as she exhaled, cleaning her rapier from what remained from that man's blood with a flick of her wrist. The woman standing on front of him right now had an entirely different aura from the courier from the other day. Even if she was already acting rather suspiciously before, it was much more apparent now. Graceful, agile but cold and deadly. There was no doubts about who she was.

---

Chres raised his eyebrows impressed with her efficiency. Pulling out a handkerchief from one of his pockets he wiped the blood from his brow and frowned at his now stained handkerchief. He let it drop to the floor. He'll get another later.

Taking out his flask, Chres took a sip of his flavored water, he listened to her speak. Nodding as he agreed with everything she said. "Things definitely aren't looking good out there. I saw at least one Sightless outside." Chres said to her as he put away his flask. "Sounded like they recognized that there is at least one Tempraisionist up here as well. They're probably getting the numbing oil now."

Chres sheathed his dagger, knelt down on the floor, and began rummaging through the corpse of the man who just attacked him. "You froze his blood." Chres commented as he grabbed a few knives from the corpse. "I've had my suspicions for a while about you. This pretty much confirms it."

Chres stripped the corpse of the short sword and it's sheath. He strapped the sheath around his waist and placed the short sword inside. Chres then began rummaging through the corpse he killed earlier. "Karina Frost, the Ice Flower. I've heard great things about your prowess. They say you dance across the battlefield." Chres found nothing but a hand ax on this corpse. Good enough. He took the ax and put it through a loop on one of his belts.

"So what are the chances of your allies coming to rescue us?" Chres asked, getting back to his feet. He took out his flask again and took another sip of water. He then offered it to Karina. "It's water." Chres said looking her in the eyes. He then gave a half frown. "Flavored water actually." He corrected.

---

Karina watched silently as Chres started rummaging through the recently killed bodies. Numbing Oil... An incredibly annoying substance to Tempraisionists... and to her as well. Very problematic. Sheathing her rapier, she crossed her arms, waiting for Chres to finish what he was doing. At that point, she wouldn't be surprised if he figured out that she wasn't a courier. After all, disguise, stealth... all her plan literally went through the window after Gin's appearance. But she didn't expect Chres would know even her name.

Sure... There aren't many white haired girls who happened to be very important and influential officers on the military of touch and had ice magic... But even though, she couldn't help but be rather surprised when she heard Chres' next words.

"Am I really that famous?" She asked, raising her eyebrow in an inquisitive expression. She knew she was seen almost as the 'mascot' of the military of the nation of touch due to her cute and delicate appearance but she never even considered that someone would recognize her here.

"Fencing is more than just a for killing. It's art." Karina said, drawing her rapier again in a swift motion, doing a single, flourished swing with a flick of her wrist before sheathing it again.

"And my body just happens to be perfect for this style of fighting." Karina concluded.

"I... suppose there is no reason to hide things anymore. I was in an infiltration mission in order to investigate the possible threat about the Cult. I suppose it will take some time for them to realize something went terribly wrong." Karina said, with a troubled expression.

"Honestly, since we're completely cut off from the rest of the world while we're inside this city, I can't say for certain how much time it'll take." Karina said, looking to Chres, analyzing him, considering how much it would be 'safe' to reveal for him.

"At least for now, we'll have to take care of ourselves." Karina said, waiting for his answer.

---

Chres nodded. He wasn't expecting much, but it didn't hurt to ask. He put away his flask, it didn't seem she was interested. A growl came from his stomach. He hadn't eaten yet. That would have to wait.

"I don't know about famous, but famous enough for me to have heard of you. When someone earns a name like the Ice Flower and is the daughter of a general, word tends to spread among those who find interest in such things." Chres began rubbing his unshaven chin with his thumb and forefinger, thinking.

"Escaping through the streets may be dangerous. I don't mind, but I figure you all may care more for your lives than I do mine... I could Weave some heat constructs to get us to the roof, but then I may need to weave our way from building to building. Plus they will probably still be looking for us..." Chres paused thinking.

"Where do you stand on burning the building down to help cover our tracks?" Chres asked as he looked at her expectantly. He could hear fighting taking place downstairs and orders being shouted. They probably didn't have much time.

Plot Point

---

Sightless Syella Stood on the northern side of Shimmertown, hands clasped behind her back, the lids to the holes that were her eyes closed. Taking in a deep breath, she held it for three seconds and then slowly exhaled. The streets smell of smoke and blood. The heat from the nearby burning buildings warmed her rough, black, tree bark looking skin. Her ears picked up the cries of children, the begging of a mother, the screaming of the distraught, and the laughter of the maddened.

Syella, like most of her fellow Sightless and clan members, had only lived long enough to experience what her lord's influence isolated to one region. Occasionally, small groups of people would visit the cult's home, on the Broken Isles, and be influenced by the Insight. The result of this would always be a small act of violence, but nothing like this. Nothing so grand. Nothing so majestic. Nothing so... so... so wonderful!

The ordered chaos, brought on by her lord what glorious. With one fell swoop he brought madness to a peaceful town. People were rioting in the streets. Murdering and overthrowing influential officials. From just a single night's worth of Insight, the town's entire structure was collapsing in on itself. Make way for the one true order which the Clan of Insight would enforce.

A hint of smile crossing Syella's rough, black, lips. This was a glorious day to be sure. The only potential problem was the disturbance from last night. The Being of Many Names had visited the town last night. That could only mean trouble for the Clan. Her mission now was to find the ones who he had spoken to and deal with them appropriately.

"Sightless Syella!" Cried out one of Syella's Clan members. De'laire. That was her name. "Sightless Syella," De'laire said again, "We've encountered opposition in this building. We heard shouts of a Tempraisionist, before the ones shouting it was silenced. Magic deterrents are at the ready."

Syella, opened her eyelids and turn her 'stare' towards De'laire's direction. It was a pointless gesture. However, the gesture showed De'laire she had Syella's attention.

Syella frowned, motioning her head in such a way it appeared as if she were looking De'laire up and down. Sizing her up. Of course, this was all unnecessary. Syella could 'see' De'laire without looking at her using the Insight. Well, it was more like Syella could make out a hazy visual of De'laire, due to the daylight. In fact, where it not for the Distortion, Syella wouldn't have been able to make out De'laire's form at all while the lady stood in the light.

At last Syella smiled. "Surround the building and make sure that no one leaves." Syella said with the characteristically dry voice of a Sightless. "Have the magic users and magic deterrent wielders on standby." Syella turned her eyeless gaze in the direction of the building. "I will speak to the ones inside first."

A smile crossed Syella's face. An ordered resistance when there should be chaos? Syella took it to mean only one thing. She had found the ones The Being of Many Names had spoken to.

---

Sil, The Magnificent

Sil giggled in delight as she watched her filthy looking friend mop the floor with mean looking people. Numbers are easier when thing you're counting is fast asleep. This would definitely be helpful with the mission! And what was the mission again? It was something super important, wasn't it?

Sil frowned. Head cocked. Finger to her lips. Hmmmmmmmm. Sil thought trying to recall what her mission was.

Feeling bored, she began rotating her form clockwise in mid-air, contemplating her thoughts. By the time she reached the upright position again, she was thinking about puddles and how humans sometimes make puddles when they think nobody is looking. She idly wondered if that was how the big puddle from yesterday came be. Perhaps the big puddle didn't eat it's mommy puddle and... How did she get to this train of thought again? Something important that she was trying to remember, right?

Sil Shrugged. Oh well. She thought. Must not have been that important.

Just then, her dirtied friend, came up to her asking about why Chres sent her down here. "Hmmmm... something to do with saving the world and puddles, I think. He's a silly human, you know?" Sil explained smiling happily.

Her friend didn't pay her comment much attention it seemed, for he moved on to the fat old man who lived here and started talking to him.

"I don't understand." The old man said, with his eye so wide that Sil thought they would pop out of his face. She giggled at the thought of it. "I humored Hark. I slept in the light of the Crystal Jade Candles. That was supposed to protect us from the damned cultist, right? Why are they raiding my place of establishment? Why are they attacking my family? What do they want from us? What did we ever do? Why are people going crazy in the streets? I don't understand."

"I don't understand either." Sil said absentmindedly. "Why do humans eat puddles? It's a mystery." Sil nodded. A serious look in her eye. The old man stared at her blankly. Sil returned his blanks stare with a friendly smile. She opened her mouth to say more, when a voice from outside interrupted.

"Hello my friends. My name is Sightless Syella. My fellow Clansmen and I have come in search for the ones who formed the Unspoken Pact with the abnormality the night before. Perhaps you know what I'm speaking of..." Sil fluttered over to the window to take a look outside.

The man stood there attentively as he kept watch over the family, while also listening to Sil. It was just as he presumed, which was good of him. He kept wondering what to do now. He was still tied between going upstairs to get people downstairs ASAP, or to stay down here. He then smiled, the choice was simple. But the endeavor afterwards would be tricky. He was going to stay here and fight what comes in. The presence of the owner, his family, and himself no doubt would be attention grabbing to these cultists and their plan for mayhem.

Suddenly a voice. It was feminine, but very odd. He followed Sil a little bit to the window. "Now it starts..." He thought to himself as he saw this particular cultist out the corners of his eyes. This was totally one of the cult's head honchos coming after them. His hands began collecting some objects that he placed to the side. There was a grin of mischief as he executed his plans.

"Sil come here. I'm going to need you to a task for me and then we can play a game together. Go find your master and tell him to get down here, there's a mean lady. Now if you do this fast enough we can do this game. See that mean lady over there? For this game I'm going to want you to do things to make her distracted and annoyed, like getting her to fall, throwing things, you know fun stuff. Now hurry up and find him and bring him here, so we can have some fun!"

As Sil flew back he could only hope the promise of the reward would motivate her to hurry up and go find that guy and hopefully the others. His intuition told him this would be a tough fight to do alone and help would definitely be appreciated. He really didn't care if she ended up getting overwhelmed by the urge to play, because she would be of some use howe3ver dubious it would be. Plus her owner should be alerted at her delay to go back. "Whatever, it's not my problem he carries such a ditsy summon with him" He said to himself.

After fiddling with the bottles some more he then popped up to "greet" the Sightless woman. The sound of a glass breaking filled the tense air. Shards of broken of glass and a shiny liquid coated both the cultist and the now destroyed window. The man just stink eyed her and waited for her incoming attack to dodge.

Karina raised an eyebrow when she heard Chres saying that he had already heard about her. His claims weren't false, seen as how not only did he knew her nickname as the Ice Flower, but also about the fact that she wasn't just any high ranking officer, but she was really the daughter of the general.

While what he said about being dangerous go out on the streets be true, they still had only a few options, but when he mentioned making heat constructs to go from building to building, Karina let out a small smirk. It would be incredibly flashy, but it could work... Especially if they burned the whole building down to cover their tracks just as Chres said.

"The town is already plunged in chaos. Escaping this living hell is our only priority. " Karina said, looking to Chres. The smirk on her face, albeit a bit dark, was a rather refreshing change from the cold and calculating expression from before. Even though she didn't completely trust Chres, that smirk was a signal that she approved his way of thinking at that moment.

Hearing the fighting sounds down the stairs, Karina held her rapier once more, looking to Chres.
"Their numbers are a serious threat..." Karina said as she slowly walked towards the stairs, stopping just in front of it as she waited for Chres, looking down as she carefully heard the sounds of fighting coming from below them.

But before she could say anything more or even Chres could answer her, a strange, female voice came from outside.
"Hello my friends. My name is Sightless Syella. My fellow Clansmen and I have come in search for the ones who formed the Unspoken Pact with the abnormality the night before. Perhaps you know what I'm speaking of..." The strange woman said. While it would be interesting to at least try to see the extent of her abilities, as she was the first 'sightless' Karina saw, they didn't have time to spare. The cultists heavily outnumbered them and every second they spent trying to fight a couple of them, more would come and now with the sightless, their chances to get away were disappearing every second that passed.

"We're out of time, Chres. We need to do something right now. Start working on our way out. I can help you once we get out with my ice. Be it defending you while you complete your heat constructs or making our own path." Karina said, with a hard and cold expression as she walked down the stairs.

When she got downstairs, the first things she saw were the lowlife, whom if she wasn't mistaken, was called Dirty Bastard, or DB for short, a family he was trying to protect and Sil, flying around.

"Don't try to fight them. Their sheer numeric superiority is enough to crush us no matter how skilled we are." Karina said in a serious, cold voice, looking to DB and the family.

"We are probably already surrounded. Staying here isn't an option. Going outside is equally dangerous. Using the rooftops is our only choice." Karina completed. There was no doubts on her voice or her eyes. By the way she talked and looked to DB and the family, it was almost like she was giving them no choice but to follow her orders.

"GO! NOW!" she shouted to the family as she held her rapier, pointing forward to where the cultists were as the humidity in the air started solidifying into three blades hovering over her shoulders and her head, pointing forward on the same direction her rapier was pointing.

"I can just hope the guys at the forward camp realize that something went wrong and send a small team to rescue us..." Karina thought to herself, sighing, with the cold air going out of her mouth visible.

Chres Sansus

Interactions with @Elevation, @13Org, @SonofJet, @HokumPocus, @Jerkchicken

---

Chres breathed a sigh of relief as Karina went downstairs and began shouting orders. It was a good thing she was taking charge. Chres had no plans to survive the entirety of the mission. Maybe just long enough to help see the death of the seed only to die to a lone cultist as they tried to escape the town.

Chres nodded his head at the thought. Yes... that would be a good way to die. Pathetic. Unimportant. Not glorified. Never to be remembered again.

Chres closed his eyes and took a slow deep breath, releasing it after a second or two. Opening his eyes on the exhale, he proceeded down the hall and began knocking on the doors to the rooms.

"Everybody up!" Chres said loudly. He wasn't sure how everyone was still resting with all the commotion, but so far he had only seen Karina up. Chres quickly ran through the names he had memorized the night prior, when the one calling himself Gin appeared before them. "Octavio, Álmos, Hark, DB. The cultists have us surrounded. We need to leave now."



Sil gasped in delight at her filthy looking friend's proposal. "Can I?" She asked her eyes alight with glee. "Can I really?" Sil turned to face the mean lady outside with the weird looking skin. Placing a finger to the right side of her lower lip, she grinned mischievously.

Sil loved games. She was really, really good at them too! Sil was only like the bestest game playing non-human flying thingamajig that she had ever met! She was also the only game playing non-human flying thingamajig that she had ever met, but that, according to Sil's calculations, only made her all the more special!

Sil had played games that involved throwing things at people before, but Chres always gave her that annoyed 'I don't know the meaning of fun' look whenever she played such games in the past. Rocks, mud, puddles, bits of shiny metal, the strange soft brown stuff dogs like to leave outside... It didn't matter what she threw. If she threw it at someone, Chres would get mad and say something like what she did was wrong or... or something... mean, maybe? Honestly, most of the stuff Chres said was really just lots and lots of words...

Sil's new friend, on the other hand, told her it was okay to throw things at people. All this time she knew it to be true, deep down inside. How could something so fun be so wrong? Ha! It just showed how much Chres knew!

"That mean old lady over?" Sil asked pointing at the weird looking woman. Sil nodded to herself as she assessed her target. "Hmmmmmm... I think I know just what to throw." She said with a smile.

Just then, the lady from the night before came down the steps and said some unimportant stuff. Sil spent that time twirling in circles, in order to prepare for her new mission.

"GO! NOW!" The lady shouted.

Sil snapped her attention to the lady at her words. "Go? Now?" Sil repeated as she looked back at the mean lady outside. It must be time for the mission! Without a second thought, Sil zipped out the window. "On it! You can count on me!" She called out behind her.

Chres, Sil thought, sending the words through her mental link with Chres. My new friend sent me on a super important mission to throw stuff at the mean lady outside. If I don't make it back alive, tell my new friend that... that he could really use a good bath... with extra puddles!

What? She heard Chres respond through their link. Wait Sil! Come back!

No time! Sil replied as she picked up some fresh brown stuff she saw a dog leave behind earlier. I need to beat the game! Sil turned towards the mean lady and threw the brown stuff with all her might.



Syella waited patiently for a response but got nothing. She closed her eyelids and reached out to the insight to see if she could get a visual of the inside. She began to speak again as she did so.

"We do not wish you harm. The Unspoken Pact has made you far more valuable to us alive than dead. I simply wish to speak with you."

Syella began to visualize the inside, searching out faces covered in shadow which she could use to identify the occupants.

"We can do this one of two ways. The easy way. Or the h-" Syella ended her words in a fit of coughing, a nasty taste in her mouth and a horrible smell traveling up her nasal canal.

Something awful had flown into Syella's mouth. It smelled like... poop? Syella spat and gagged in a horrible fit. Some of her fellow concerned clansmen began gathering around her trying to assist in whatever way they could.

"Get off of me!" She yelled angrily in-between fits of coughing, spitting and gagging. A wave a rage bubbling over her. Who dared...

Syella heard a giggle off to her left. Instinctively, Syella changed the focus of her Insight in the giggle's general direction, where she saw... nothing. A blank white form floating in mid-air. She nearly missed it. Things shrouded in light were easy to miss using the Insight. As she focused on it, she could see it had the form of a small person with wings on it's back. It could only be one thing. A light construct. Or more specifically, a familiar.

If there was one useful thing about viewing light constructs with Insight, it gave one the ability to trace their sources. All light constructs gave off a faint thread of light leading to whatever piece of glass their existence was connected to. This one was no different. It's source came from within the building. They obviously didn't want to hear what she had to say. Fine. The hard way it is then.

Syella spat out more of the poop from her mouth as she motioned her clansmen to fetch her a shadow metal glove, a glove coated in shadow metal paint. Useful for dealing with Sight based magics.

The clansmen complied and handed her a spare glove which she placed on her hand. The glove appeared to suck in the light around it making the surrounding air a dark misty look. The familiar had picked up more poop and was about to throw it. No. Not this time.

Syella held her gloved hand outstretched, palm facing the familiar. Suddenly, without warning, her arm extended beyond it's normal length towards the familiar's direction. It looked almost as if the arm was going through a sudden growth spurt as her open palm shot towards the familiar's direction.

The little thing looked surprised, and barely managed to zip over to the right in time to dodge Syella's hand. Syella smirked. The familiar would need to be able to dodge more than just that.

Syella's arm continued to grow, but instead of growing past the Familiar and maintaining it's direction, Syella's wrist curved backwards, as if made of rubber. It then continued extending from the wrist, back towards the direction of the Familiar she just missed.

Syella's gloved hand hit the Familiar in the back. The familiar vanished instantly. The poop held in the Familiar's hand fell to the ground. Syella smirked as she allowed her arm to retract in on itself, returning to it's normal state.

"I wanted to give you all the choice to cooperate of your own feel will, but instead you offend me. I guess then we'll just have to smoke all of you out." Syella turned her head to her clansmen. "Torch the building." She commanded coldly.