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To say that there was a sincere and unbiased belief in the psychic powers of Gene Benaszewski within Reginald would be an act of folly. More specifically, as much as he wasn't going to allow himself to buy into it, there had been much that had happened in a very short time that might make him listen to, if not exactly unquestionably heed the words of, the argumentative lady suggesting that the all flee. Well, all flee except for the two of them, now. Briefly, his brain pondered over the implications. First, move or everyone dies. Now, move or everyone dies, but you should stay, Reggie. It arched an eyebrow in the old man, certainly. Even elicited a quiet chuckle. Well, he was still game. Stiff upper lip and whatnot, pip pip; valley of death, and so forth.

It was then that he noticed the glowing of their presently chiefmost intellectual, having claimed the title in the interim from Lady Munn by virtue of her presence and the fact that her fine brain has been monumentally helpful as of late. But yes, glowing. Unperturbed by the whole thing (yet remarkably curious), Reginald shared his observation that, "Glass half full, it should make seeing the stonework a shave easier, quite."

Perturbed or not, there was some serious supernatural stuff going on down here in the haze and uncertain light of their situation. Reginald himself was becoming drawn into it. Though his gaze remained steely and his hands prepared to engage in combat by blade, bullet, or fisticuffs, the memories of his dreams kept forcing themselves forward in his thoughts. The screamed message in local Arabic, the udjat ring, and more recently, the images of armies of inhuman creatures swarming and bounding toward each other in a cacophony of snarls and cries; the slamming of weapon upon weapon and weapon upon bodies, rendered intert by the actions of their fellows. And of course, the tall, jackal-headed creature who removed his heart from afar. The Lord Major could even see all of this in the haze around him; the Udjat, his own, fleshy heart floating as a dandelion fluff upon a slow wind toward who he supposed the mastermind of all of this carnage was. He recalled discussing it, though the name of the fellow almost escaped him. One might hear him whisper, "...a nudist, here? How very improbable..." He might have gotten the name wrong. It'd come back to him.

Then Mahendra said something that broke him away from his descent into hazy dreamland. Something about orders. Reginald was ever the eternal soldier, be he a bit rounder and more silvered of crown. His sense were still sharp, as were his faculties (for the most part). And while he had no official authority over the younger geologist, he also did not wish anyone else to get hurt. "Mr. Zalil, if you would please, have everyone who does not need to be here retreat a distance back up the corridor and make ready to move quickly. Miss Kingston, if you would please, do everything you require to open this great stone portcullis except for the very last movement. Then please, please join the others. We cannot bear to lose you and upon my honor, I cannot abandon our guide unless options are exhausted." He was still glancing into the haze around him, and occasionally back to Nora's hand. "If everything is perfectly safe and canny, I shall let you know. If it is not, I've a notion everyone shall know anyhow."

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The small talk of things both silvered and screened allowed Reddish to maintain his woefully cheery disposition while continuing to be active in the observation of the scene around him with meticulous care. He smiled and nodded at Vera's aid in finding the stairs, unnecessary though it was, making a big enough deal out of her pointing her finger in the appropriate direction as to make one think he might have been kicked in the head by a shod-hoofed beast of burden and sold to circus folk with a tenuous grasp on public speaking. That is to say, he was gracious, overly masticating his words as they exited his face, and was being extremely, massively, ponderously British about the whole thing.

Considering the nature of the Corporal's presence with the group, nothing else is really happening to and/or with him directly. Apart from a vague but (he insisted) pressing feeling that he belonged here, in this place and with these people, Reddish had never been party to the dreams, nor the branding, nor the handling of artifacts that would have impacted their mission in any significant way. He sees the haze, and apart from the mundane difficulties with distance vision because of it, has no further complaints.

But the movie discussion, of course. Cover aside, it was a thing which fascinated him. "Why Miss Clarke! If you would allow me to speak in a manner most grim? Do please pardon, but ah... I handled that paperwork and know quite what was on it; further I've been in the service of the Lord Major for a bit of time in Cairo, and know many of the people with whom he shows favor. If memory serves, he asked you to sign those in an effort to preserve the life of Miss Tarek, a longtime friend of the Lord Major." He gave a slightly embarrassed shrug, "She is, ah... now deceased. No fault of anyone's; God rest her soul, of course, and I mean no disrespect to the lady nor to the Lord Major, understand me. But I've no idea why he would uphold the contract any longer. I might even speak with him about it were I you, Miss Clarke." He smiled gently, looking over Josephine's choice in clothing today. The thought passed his mind that, were he her (as he mentioned just before) then he would have full access to all of her choice wardrobe. Ah, one of many of life's Grails, but no. Not now. There was a job to do.

But not before adding, "Oh and yes, you simply must play yourself. It just wouldn't be appropriate otherwise. Nary a spoken line of it."

The Corporal was about to comment more, when he too heard the big thump from just above. He risked jogging the last few steps up to inspect their surroundings before Vera and Josephine got there, ensuring safety and whatnot, only to see the ship's doctor yet again horizontal and without his ability to remain alert. Reddish jumped upon the circumstance with a few well-chosen words to smooth things over. "Splendid news here, ladies. Just splendid - I've gone and found the Doctor! Poor blighter's chronically incapable of remaining upright, I'm afraid, but by God can that man forcibly occupy a floor. Marvelous sir, bloody marvelous! He began clapping lightly and nodding, then looked back down at Josephine with a rather taken aback expression rapidly shifting to something more knowing and accepting. "Ah, Miss Clarke? Bit of something on your hand, there..."

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*Roll requests can be made in chat or can be left at the bottom of your post for results in the next update. You can get a roll during your post and add another in the update at the bottom of your post! Ever in doubt of what to post, just drop me a message and we can talk.

Special Note: That Haze will remain until further notice, so make sure to keep to it. ^_^

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Boat (Sun Deck): Poor Mosi isn't finding anything that lends to why the hell any of this is happening. Well save why the doctor fainted and that is pretty obvious. The man just can't handle the shock of watching someone heal suddenly in front of him. Who knows, maybe his lack of medical skills is making him feel impotent.

Vera looked towards Josephine and quirked a brow. Just what in the world was going on. Reaching out slightly she stopped herself as she noticed that the pendant she was wearing was beginning to glow as well. Turning it over she quirked a brow. "What hocus pokus is this?" she asked confused as she ran her fingers over it. Her head snapped as she heard the noise and started to move slowly, stepping onto the Sun Deck and spotting what was happening. "This cannot be good," she said but it wasn't about the doctor. She was looking out over the water. Over the sands. The sands were falling away and the land was starting to push up reeds and grass. How the Nile would have looked thousands of years ago.

Athribis (Underground): Nora is easily able to manipulate the statue so that it falls into place correctly. Turning the head in one direction, the collar in another, and so forth. As it lines up, those around won't understand but it follows the angle's points to where other cats of the same design seen in the underground would line up. Head to head, collar to collar. It's all in the patterns. In the larger picture it is actually rather basic but putting it together was something else. The wall shifts and starts to open. The smell is more intense as the door opens but still nothing to see on the other side. It seems clear and dark.

Gene, oh Gene. Know that little download that happens from time to time with people like Gene? Yeah, focusing she is getting this has happened before. Or maybe it will happen in the future. Or maybe it is actually happening right now? Or all three at once. With others, in a time and a place where it looks like things are dying around them. Like it is fading away and life is being drained from a summer to a winter. Where as things around you all? Why is the underground starting to look less worn? Why is the flakes of paint remaining from centuries ago starting to fall back into place? Why is this dig site starting to look like it is being newly renovated?

Now, Richard is pretty damn sure they are in danger but here is the kicker - Everyone heading back the way they came. When that wall opened, you are stopped in your tracks. The way back is no longer available. It seemed as while one door opened another closed further back. There is no way to go but forward. Yes, my darlings, run run run to the danger!!!

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"..." Mosi was at a loss for words. She couldn't really see any reason for the doctor to be knocked out cold. That fact taken under account, there was but two distinct possibilities left. One was that a magic or something struck him which was extremely unlikely. Priscilla sighed, it didn't matter how much she wanted to avoid the reality. The truth was hitting her in the face right now, the man passed out because of shock. Specifically the shock caused by her healing so rapidly in front of him. Probably was too much for him to handle, given his attitude towards the occult. Mosi could only feel sorry for the man right now. He seemed to be missing on the fun right now, it wasn't every day that one got to see a magical recovery speed like this." Ohhh well." She mumbled as she started to stand up.

"Huh...!?" Mosi suddenly made a sound of surprise as something BIG was happening outside the boat. Sand was... falling? Flying?Shifting? It was hard to precisely describe in words, but underneath it was appearing reeds and grass. She almost couldn't believe what she was seeing right about now. She recalled the thing she remembered about a spell to bring back the dead. Was this part of it too? Grass and Reeds weren't supposed to appear just like that! This wasn't the Nile they had seen!

"Is this... time of the past?" She asked herself in confusion as she walked closer to the railing." What the hell is actually happening here!?" She exclaimed in surprise and maybe a little bit of a worry now. This was way beyond anything she could think off the top of her head. What she recalled earlier was possibly about the haze, the world of the dead overlapping with their own because of someone trying to move people from it to the world of the living, but she didn't recall it affecting the worldscape. She tried to remember more, see if anything she had heard or read of might fit even remotely towards this huge occult puzzle that was happening before her very eyes.

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Nora went about her work, manipulating the statue and such in order to correctly maneuver it into place - she didn't stop right before the final step as the Lord Major had asked, as she had already set about her work. She covered her nose and mouth with her non-branded hand as the smell struck her, hoping to not breathe in too much of whatever was now in the process of outgassing. She had to guess that this passageway had not been opened in ages, accounting for the smell and poor conditions. On the other side, there was no creature that she could see - no shadow monster as Gene had warned. The haze was still there, but it seemed to be ever present down in this site. "There's no creature," Nora said quietly.

Meanwhile, Gene got a slight headache as information rapidly rushed to her senses. It was the main reason why she didn't start berating people for being idiotic, but if they chose to go on this adventure then so be it. She had done her duty, warning them to escape with their lives. She just hoped that moving the carving like that hadn't trapped them down there. They'd be easy pickings for that creature. Sure, Gene was much stronger than the rest of these people here - she was on another level, so to speak - but these things had killed one of her own before. "Bloody hell..." she muttered, getting glimpses of different times. In one of the visions, she saw things started to wither and decay - beginning to die. But here though, things were doing the opposite - they were becoming stronger and younger, rather than fading away and becoming older.

"This has happened before - and it's going to happen again," Gene informed her companions. "But it's in reverse - see how everything around us is starting to look new?" Gene pointed out, a bit like an older student mentoring the new kid in the class on some complicated topic. "But see, in another place, it's doing the opposite - everything is going old." Her eyes flickered towards the Lord Major with that comment, briefly recalling his own insistences on the plights of being old - if only he knew how old Gene really was, he'd probably feel incredibly young by comparison. Of course, she was astounded and had an innate sense of wonder about her at the moment - yes, the odds of them all dying were astronomical but at the same time... this was new. She hadn't seen something quite like this before.

"But since you all have no sense of self preservation, let's get going onwards then," Gene commented. "And by the by, Belladonna is probably fine. She's a witch, after all." There was no sense in keeping too many secrets from these people, as it would only cause them to worry more. She'd rather they be confused than stressed. Witch was a term for what Belladonna was that they could understand - though the truth was far more complex and paradoxical.

"Might the light be brought towards the front of the party?" Nora inquired. She didn't want to just wade off into the pitch darkness, but Belladonna should be close. She didn't doubt her skills in navigating these ruins, though they hardly seemed like ruins anymore. She wasn't sure what to make of what Gene said, but her gut was telling her that maybe, just like Neema, Gene had some truth to her words. She decided for the moment to uneasily listen to the girl. And if there was something paranormal about Belladonna, maybe she could have survived that fall... She really hoped that the woman had lived. There was too much death surrounding them.

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"Don't thank me yet, Doll. We're still rats scurrying the sewers. Come on, let's get out of here." Richard said back to Faye after she thanked him, giving her a serious look of managable concern. They weren't safe yet, not before they'd gotten out of those dark ruins and out into fresh, open air. Having ignored Faye's mention of her missing sisters and her own connections with the supernatural, Richard began to move down the tunnel they'd come from. And thankfully they weren't alone in their desire to leave, with the lady called Ridgeway also voicing her desire to exit the vacate the premises so to speak. "Then let's get out of here already!"

Mahendra wasn't about to flee in fright like so many comrades of his colonial regiment had during the Great War, climbing out of the sand-filled trenches and shot for cowardice. No, Mahendra would retreat their position once ordered by the Lord Major, the only one he'd be ready to follow the orders out of respect and honour. Not out of politeness. So it was with a sigh of relief that he was soon given the order, after what Mahendra though were the Lord Major whispering something about…inappropriate people. Mahendra restrained his desire to salute the Lord Major, but did give him a firm nod. "Very well, Lord Major sir. Lauren, Mister and Misses…nevermind that, let us leave with haste!" Mahendra stated to the remainders of the Fellowship, ready to leave as soon as possible!

Richard hadn't gotten far at all before he was stopped in his tracks. All of them were, and it was not a good sight to see. "What the…" Right in front of them, the tunnel had been sealed off somehow, blocking their exit. This was bad. Really bad. "Oh this is just fucking great, isn't it? It's a flop, turn around!" Richard shouted out in anger at the sight, eyes going all over the place in hopes of finding another way out. Nothing. They were stuck.

"Wha…what? Oh my, the smell…" Mahendra questioned the clumsy American, before finding the need to cover his face when the stank hit his nostrils. The smell was bad, but not as bad as what Mahendra was starting to see around him. "The tunnel's been blocked off, no way in Hell we're getting out that way now…wait, what…"

Both the Bengali geologist and New York detective were having difficulty seeing what Gene was pointing out to them; the tunnel they were trapped in, it was starting to look new. Gene told them this had happened at another time and place, and was going to happen again? And to top it all of, she blurted out that Belladonna was a witch?

Both of them began to really grind their gears as hard as they could.

Mahendra was doing this as the expert, the academic who tried to figure out how this was possible. Be it divine or something bound in science, Mahendra could believe that this was really happening, however fantastical it all seemed. His mind raced through all he had learned in England, all he had experienced out in the field and down in excavations such as this, desperatly trying to tie the clues together! All for nothing. "This I have never experienced before…never in my life, no natural and mortal phenomenon can explain this!" Mahendra stated to the group, perhaps more so to himself in order to calm him down. But if it wasn't anything natural, it must be divine.

Richard on the other hand was having an entirely different crisis of reality. He had seen some shit through his life and careers in the police and private investigating. But nothing, nothing came close to the Houdini-shit he was seeing right then. Was he finally going mad? After all the shit he'd been put through, heartbreak and pain, was this the moment he finally got thrown into the looney bin? Still clutching the torch and making his way back to the group, he was doing one hell of a reality check on himself, coming to a conclusion; "I'm not going nuts, this is too real…Am I? Faye? This is some top-notch giggle-juice hangover…I'm not the only one seeing this shit, am I?" Richard asked the group and Faye directly, the only person he knew and trusted down in the tunnels, now trapped.

"No, Mr…Barker, was it? No, you're not the only one. This is something larger than all of us, something us mere mortal barely can begin to comprehend." Mahendra answered Richard, before turning to Nora as some light was requested up front and joining her. They were commited now. Best get it over with and find a way out of here. While Mahendra went up front to Nora, Richard stayed a little further back with Faye as he pulled out his club. "Stick close to me, this can get ugly. I might be stating the obvious, but we're in danger. Knee-deep in it, whatever it is. You're right, I wish I had my gun now. And Miss
Benaszewski? What was that about your lady friend being a witch? And those glowing marks on you two? Not some fancy tattoos I guess."

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At least Lauren wasn't the only one who thought about leaving was a good idea, as she started to continue the way that they had just came down from. But only to stop when the only way they had came in from was now completely blocked, as she started to wonder why or if someone knew that they were down here and decided to trap them all down here. "Well this is just lovely.." Lauren said muttering to herself, looking over at Richard before turning around and started to make her way back to the others just down the hallway again, as she listened to the others before saying. "The way we came in is closed somehow." Lauren said as she paused again as she noticed the hallway starting to change which was confusing.

Things were looking like they were newly made slowly as she tried to think what the hell was actually going on Lauren didn't have the slightest clue at all either. "What the hell is going on?" Lauren asked, branded marks, strange dreams, the haze going on around them and some of them who had been branded were all now glowing. Lauren looked towards the others and then over towards Gene wondering what she was going on about, everything was just super confusing right now as well and she didn't know how to explain it.

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The supernatural oddities playing about with their environment aside, Reginald was just then giving serious consideration to the possibility that he was suffering through the more colorful parts of senility, or the senseless slaughter to which he was party for the vast majority of his life that was tinted by colorful wrappings of glory and honor had finally caught up with him in the form of a mindbending brain cramp. The only thing that he was able to distinguish for certain from his feelings on the extremely malleable reality in whic he stood was that he was, oddly, ever so slightly disappointed that there wasn't a big scary monster lurking there, ready to devour them. If fact, the initial contribution he gave to the new and exciting setting was a lightly exasperated, "Really?" followed by a heavy, aristocratic sigh and a follow up of, "Quite." On the other hand, this was turning out to be quite the chaotic piece of events.

The explanation that Gene began to give them all did, despite the wonder of the environment refurbishing around them, cause the Lord Major to turn his head with his mouth slightly agape. Truly, he was taking in the flow and nuance of words coming from her mouth, each phrase more incredible than the last as offered explanation. It was capped off by the abrupt drop of assertion that their guide, Bella, was actually a witch. He leaned in a little closer, and in an avuncular, concerned voice, inquired, "Ah, Miss Benaszewki? I'd not arrive at this point of discussion without import assigned thusly, but: Do your dear parents know you're smoking that?"

Yes, very strange things were afoot. The explanations were running even in terms of strangeness with the events, and Reginald was not amused. He looked back at the group, "Perhaps we've all been tending to our vices a bit much lately. I have seen and experienced too much in our past few days, you see. Too many people have died without purpose or meaning, seemingly for the entertainment of some childish celestial entity that looks to us as ants to be dispatched by magnifying glass. I tire of it. All of it, and quite rightly so. Let us continue on the only path that is set before us, for whatever good or ill it shall bestow." He looked to Nora, "At your direction, Miss Kingston." He remained as ready as he could be for whatever trouble was to assail them next, sticking close to the front of the group. Maybe if he was lucky, this would all have been on account of bad booze. He held little hope for this.

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In truth, Haring did feel a little left out, not being part of the grand high preternatural aspect of this journey thusfar. And also in truth, he still wasn't, any more than anyone else on the boat. First Josephine, then Vera, exhibiting these glowy bits on them, be they scars or jewelry passing off light that they ought not be. Fully on the Sun Deck, the idea of holding to the cover story they were using as an excuse to traipse around the ship fell away right then. A lot seemed to fall away from the Corporal. Sharp eyes scanned the Nile's edge, witnessing the change occurring across the land. He might not have understood that this was what Egypt looked like long, long ago, but he did have the presence of mind to realize that something powerful and unnatural was occurring. As it turned out though, it wasn't happening to the ship, directly. This was good. Well, it was satisfactory, considering.

He spoke up in a slightly more subdued, cultured voice, expressing his earlier thought. "Whatever this is, Lady Munn, Miss Clarke; the riverboat appears largely unaffected. Likewise, we are supplied and provisioned in redundancy for an expedition." Though he said nothing in the meantime about it, Reddish's biggest worry at that time was the well-being of the people ashore. Vera and Josephine were safe on board. Apparently, so was the lady in their group that insisted on going into the flower garden by herself instead of track down one of their leads. But if asked, Reddish would stick to the story provided. If asked. In the absence of further direct order from the Lord Major, his duty lay in seeing to the safety and convenience of the members of the Fellowship, who accepted his presence. "Oh, let us not show the Doctor what's about just yet," mentioned Reddish, his ordinary sense of jocularity returning to his voice. "Fellow might have himself a conniption, hmm?"

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Jo was still looking at her glowing brand as the sands shifted and moved around them. She looked up at Vera’s question and noticed that all around them seemed to change. If she didn’t know any better, it was like they moved back in time, though the riverboat itself appeared fine. Granted, she had a glowing finger to logic was booted right out the door. ”Well, I imagine this can be explained to some extent. After all, I have a glowing brand upon my finger and a wound that healed like magic. The reason why the good doctor fainted in the first place with us. I imagine this is a similar situation. One would think a doctor would keep a level-head though.” Still, she walked over to check if the man was all right.

The other woman was there too. And questioning along with them. ”Lots of information to tell you, darling, but I will stick to the script, as it were. We came upon this boat to get treated and my cut on my face healed with no aid. We then found Vera in her room, along with my grandfather’s watch that was stolen. Further, whoever stole from me is most likely who stole from her and her journal pages were taken. We also seem to be experiencing something fantastical as my finger is glowing and we seem to have journeyed to the past. I believe that sums it up nicely.”

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Faye walked with the others until they came to a stop. The way they had come had been blocked off and there was no way to go except further into the caves. If she was one to swear, she would have let out a string of expletives that would make Richard blush. ”There is no way for us to go forward, which means we must turn around and venture inside. If that is the case, then I suggest everyone arm themselves. We will surely meet whatever creature is tormenting this place. If we hope to find your guide, then we must go quickly.” Faye may have seemed brave, but she was worried too. She knew firsthand that things of the dark did not take kindly to mortals in their domain.

She went back, allowing the others to move forward. She kept close to Richard. Even though she wished he had his gun, he at least had something to defend himself. She felt weirdly protective of him. ”She’s a witch? Then hopefully she has some way of keeping herself safe until we find her.” She would not question it. It would do no one any good to stand around and wonder about all of this, as some in their group had begun to do.

”I suggest we keep moving and save all questions for the end. There’s little to be done to explain further and we stand to be in further danger if we pause.”

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*Roll requests can be made in chat or can be left at the bottom of your post for results in the next update. You can get a roll during your post and add another in the update at the bottom of your post! Ever in doubt of what to post, just drop me a message and we can talk.

Special Note: That Haze will remain until further notice, so make sure to keep to it. ^_^

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Boat (Sun Deck): Vera looked around and her jaw went slightly slack as she stood there. Witnessing the world age in reverse was something to behold even for those that believed in myths and legends. For one that put everything within the realm of logic and reason, it was more than unsettling. Her hands reaching out to the rails of the Sun Deck and bracing herself as she stepped over to them. "What is that smell?" she asked as she took a deep breath in. It smelled of brimstone but there was no sight of anything burning. Off in the distance there was a flash of bright white, like a city where there was not one. A cast of moving shadows seemed to be coming from it.

"Zerzura?" Vera questioned under her breath as she beheld the white city. "It cannot be." While the word Zerzura will ring no bell with those near Vera, the scene itself will seem familiar in a sense to Mosi. Back in the cult legends of Greece was mention of the legendary city of City of Dionysus, lost to the sands of time. A white gleaming city protected by black figures to keep any from entering or leaving. The Eleusinian Cult worshiped Demeter and Persephone. Not much was known, as the cult was just whispers over the centuries.

Athribis (Underground): Nora will be able to navigate the group forward. As she does she will notice in the walls that there are lengths of cut out stone filled with liquid. The low light and darkness seems to flicker as the world is shifting and suddenly from down the hallway, a flame can be seen racing along the side of the wall. The oil has been lit somewhere down the line and is bringing light to our confused adventurers. Mahendra is doing very well helping with navigation. Richard is having issues staying on the straight and narrow as it were and is having to lean against the wall to keep from tripping over debris or his own two feet right now. Reginald is is alert enough but the smell of brimstone is filling his nose. It smells so much like war and death, so familiar.

Gene will not notice it as she will swear she hears some voices. "That should help us for a bit." "I believe we may have something here." "I do have a pack of matches on me we could use as well." Only she hears the voices, faint, so faint, and whether or not they are true, miles away carried through echo, or in her mind, she cannot tell but she feels a pull to continue forward.

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Mosi's was frankly amazed at the sights of the time rewinding itself before her very eyes. It was unnatural, going against the very order of things. Rather it was going against their order of perception? In any case, the scenes before them shouldn't have been possible, at least not for mere mortals that was for sure. The memories of that ritual that brought the dead back to the living came to mind. Sure enough... but she didn't actually recall it also rewinding the past into the present. The haze she was mostly certain was the veil if her memories served right. Where did time come into it though?

Suddenly she turned to the side as the starlet woman started to explain in a rather rapid way what had transpired to them until now. She also threw a glance at the soldier guy." Yeah... experienced that myself. Got attacked by a swarm of bees in the gardens... looked like a monster, but as this happened it all healed before the eyes of the good doctor..." Mosi explained and pointed at the doctor and then at the brand glowing on her stomach." Basically he saw that and he went out cold." She nodded and narrowed her eyes at the mentioning of the stolen things plus torn pages out of a diary." Lady Mun, could I ask if you can tell us about what was in those torn pa...g...es..." Suddenly her attention was brought off the ship at the moving sands as a city of light started to appear in the sands. Then there were also the shadows.

" Can't be, the City of Dionysus?" She said, but heard that Vera spoke out a name unfamiliar to her instead. Her eyes darted off to the woman." Lady Mun, what did you call it? Zerzura? I'm sorry, but that's a term unfamiliar to me. However this harbors rather distinct similarities with the myth of the City of Dionysus and the Eleusinian Cult. Does that sound familiar to the thing you referenced just now?" She asked, looking at the woman for another few moments before she returned her attention to the swirling sands outside the ship. Suddenly a thought occured to her, as she recalled the doctor that was out cold.

"Hey, any of you met any of the ship's crew while coming here?" She suddenly asked as she couldn't tear her eyes away from the sands, the light and the shadows. She steeled all her focus to it.

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The Honourable Lord Major was quite right indeed in what he stated as they began their descent into the unknown darkness below; Too many of their fellow companions had befallen their deaths in the most gruesome sorts of ways. And for all his fears of seeing the signs that would announce his very own demise, Mahendra was not ready to stand down like a coward. Onwards was the way, towards their destiny like Mahendra had stormed the Turkish positions many years ago. With their retreat cut off, this was their last stand. Not one step back! Though he would have liked to follow Faye's advice in regards to being armed. "Yes, quite so, Miss Masterson. Alas I am afraid I am armed with neither rifle nor sabre. Be careful, everyone."

Richard was not liking this one bit, not as they began their route down Shady Avenue number 1 and he was trouble walking straight. Perhaps his mind was too torn apart in various directions, like a stream of cars all entering and exiting the intersection outside his office window. Keep Faye safe, hit whatever would come flying at him like a bat out of Hell, and keep moving further. In silence he cursed the lack of any good sources of light, not to mention what the Lord Major had said earlier. Too many had died already? Just how far down the rabbit hole did this group of wackos go? A detective would have asked a whole lot about this group at this point, but Richard Barker wasn't just a detective. He was a good one, save from his earlier gaffe involving their introduction. No, he learned from his mistakes and took to heart Faye's suggestion of keeping their mouths shut. Richard gave Faye an approving nod, leaning against the wall as…lights came into view?

"Extraordinary…" the Fellowship's geologist whispered under his breath upon witnessing the show of light fly past them alongside the wall. It was an impressive sight to see, especially for Mahendra and his interest of archeology. Several questions buzzed through his mind about the source of light, and the structure as a whole. How was this possible? How could the oil suddenly be lit, and after so many years? It must surely be an effect of the whole tunnel turning new and fresh!

The New York detective was still having his doubts of whether or not he'd gone bonkers under the Egyptian sun or something, seeing the whole world change around him like that, though he clung onto his sanity the best he could. Richard was a man of logical explainations to the wildest of cases, and his detective mind was sure to attempt a similar process down there. But for that he needed a bit more elbow room to look over all the clues and such, not an ancient tunnel changing before his very eyes. Struggling to keep himself straight, he'd resort to keep up his efforts to keep an eye out and keep Faye safe. If anything, perhaps she could come up with one of her mystified theories in order to explain all of this in a way that would make sense to Richard?

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"I already told you that pretty much - this is beyond your simple understanding," Gene scoffed at Mahendra. It was one thing for people to be stubborn - it was another thing entirely for them to be obstinate in their denials of what she said and then say that there was no rational explanation, as if no one had clued them into that possibility before. The glowing hands, the haze, and the smell all should have been enough to clue these people into the fact that they were in the realm of the paranormal. They were lucky they weren't in a direct encounter with the Destruere at the moment or they all would have been killed before they could finish one of their ridiculous long winded sentences. The only one she really liked here was the blonde woman. "As I said, Belladonna is a witch. She can take care of herself," she answered Richard.

The Lord Major leaned in and spoke quietly to her. It was the last straw. Her eye twitched slightly. She briefly considered using her more extreme ability on him, just to make a point, but she had better self control than that. There was a pull for her to continue forward and she could hear familiar voices - one of them threw her mind for a loop. The others she wasn't really surprised to hear. Her patience with these people had already started to rapidly wear out and in the height of maturity, Gene collected a large pool of saliva in her mouth. "I am not some common addict."

Nora meanwhile had been staying out of this petty drama largely. Her goal was to find Belladonna and she continued in her navigation. The walls appeared to have some places of stone carved out, in order to contain liquid. She paused for a moment, instinctively squinting her eyes as things began to flicker and change. A moment later, there was a flame at the end of the passageway. It was coming closer and closer, and she then realized that the liquid was actually oil - how long had the oil been there for? And who could have set the flame alight? She hoped that it was Belladonna, as she really did not want to run into any other strangers down here in these unknown tunnels.

"Belladonna?" Nora called out, wondering if it was the missing member of their group that had set fire to the oil. Perhaps she had had some matches or a lighter with her and had realized the liquid was oil, using the light to guide her back to the surface? "Are you there?" she then asked, her voice louder than it usually was. Nora was a quiet and reserved person by nature, but whispering Belladonna's name wasn't going to help in this scenario. She should be somewhere near - she was certain of it. And with what Gene had said... perhaps there was reason to believe that she was alive. The flame was the strongest indication in her mind.

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Lauren continued to follow along with the others as she looked down the strange hallway right now she pretty much just gave up on figuring out what the hell was actually going on around here. Lauren sighed as she rubbed the bridge of her nose as she just wanted to go home now, and try and start a normal life now. As Lauren walked with the others she stared between both Reginald and Gene, it looked like he was pushing her buttons right now as Lauren didn't really want to get involved with the two of them. She sighed mostly to herself as she started to walk over and catching up to Nora they were right now acting more like kids.

Hearing her friend calling out for Belladonna she wasn't sure if the woman was still alive or not, as Lauren stopped seeing there was now light coming down towards them. She wasn't sure how it even caused it to happen things were getting weirder and weirder by the minute now as they continued down the long hallway. "Well, that's probably a good sign right?" Lauren asked Nora looking over towards her friend and smiled slightly towards her. Lauren looked over her shoulder mostly between Reginald and Gene wondering who would end up starting the fight first as well.

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Having completed the monologue of a tired, battle-tossed soldier, Reginald looked forward to the area in front of them, now representing the only recourse of travel open to the group. Things seemed increasingly tense, which made perfect sense considering that this cheerful little side quest of their happy, adventurous boatride up the Nile had probably just damned them, even after it might have just claimed the life of their guide. Reginald did not like the explanation given for any of these phenomena, though at present was willing to go along with things as the were because of a continued lack of anything other pertinent to do.

That was when the smell finally came to him, or rather, back to him after the big change to their surroundings. A thing well known to him from his decades and decades fighting for the Crown an on behalf of the Empire. It was the price for the glory of battle, such as glory could be pulled from a battle in most instances; recently become more prevalent because of the use of poison gasses bearing certain chemical compounds derived from or containing it. It and the sickly pallor of the ill and soon to expire. It was the odor of war and old death, of burning sulphur dioxide in a rich stew of other irritants and sickly concoctions. "Brimstone..." he mused aloud. There were other people to worry about down here, rather than just himself. "We must get a move on, and quickly." Perhaps an understatement. Definitely on everyone's mind. Still needed to be vocalized.

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Again, only marginally satisfied that the boat remained untampered with while the entire world around them was changing, Reddish's mind went back to his primary training as a soldier. It was a default, granted; a sort of security blanket for when things began to get unpredictable and dangerous. That wasn't necessarily a bad thing, granted, as there were very few security blankets that trained one in close quarters combat and the use of repeating rifles, let alone gave him experiences that had fractured and re-mended bits of his sanity enough that horrifying, sweeping changes to his environment and/or the wanton desecration of the human body (by bullet, blade, artillery, explosion, or the ravages of scavengers and decomposition) so that when terror-inspiring things did occur around him, his psyche had become desensitized enough to have formed a callous against it all. The nightmares and occasional bits of social anxiety were (albeit arguably) worth it, as he was less fazed than those with whom he kept company.

But to point, the last time all hell was breaking loose around him, he had options. None of them were very good options, but you did what you had to do. Here, there were actually fewer options available than when he was in the Great War. He took in a deep breath, blew it out, and spoke. "Ladies, if I may?" he began sweetly, beaming a little smile that looked just a little bit like he was holding back a torrent of some unpredictable emotional state, "Let us review. Hmm... Whilst off doing our part to continue the archaeological pursuit and follow up of what's been about with our collective missing goods, things start a'glowing on your bodies, yes? Yes. Now, just as soon a that happens everything changes, like it's years gone by, one direction or another, and a lost bloody city up and magics itself out of the desert." He shrugs, giving a goofy little smile and a head bob, like he was a puppet trying to entertain an easily amused toddler. "Bear with now, please - and shadows are coming out from it, regardless of where the sun is in the bloody sky NOW I can't be the only one who's thinking we ought to prepare for the worst, before whatever is there comes here."

"Though so long as we're asking what that smell is, I'd say it's someone ripping profound arse..." He'd gotten a little caught up in the moment, and just realized that he'd made a rather lowbrow reference to someone expelling post-digestive gasses without an ounce of shame. He quickly tried to recover, "Hoooo. Um, a, ah... arse-enal! Yes, a profound arsenal of sulphur, I'd wager." Yes, smashing. Quick, to change the subject: "And no, I've no recollection of any of the staff of this fine, fine vessel on our way back. P'raps it's just the soldier in me talking, but I say we get to personal stores and our provisioning in Cargo and equip ourselves for every conceivable eventuality. It could just be the four of us left, and we must look out for one another, wot bloody wot."

That last part probably went too far. Further, Reddish knew full well that he being more assertive than his social status should politely allow in the circumstances, for the people he was with. "I sincerely apologize for speaking out of turn, and among my betters, but I shan't have opportunity to apologize and flog myself for my transgressions if we're all done in by forces unnatural."

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Josephine liked to think she had a clear head on her shoulders. Though she may have often acted as a ditzy blonde to get what she wanted, she knew better than most gave her credit for. So seeing the world around her shift, on top of a glowing brand on her finger (one she had burned on her before), plus shadows lurching despite the sun shining on them, well it was a lot to take in. But, clear-headedness won out. ”This all seems to be connected, I agree. It is perhaps why we were all put together. Why some of us were branded. We were meant to be here to witness this.”

Jo decided to ignore Reddish’s crass way of referencing the smell. Though she did agree with his sentiment. It seemed other forces were at work here. Forces that had been watching them from before they even got on this ship. She was sure of that. She checked and felt the gun she had on her for comfort. Though she doubted that if this was an other-worldly force, guns would not do much. ”I am armed and will use it if necessary, but I doubt whatever this is would be stopped with a bullet. We may need to arm ourselves with more. And we should find the others. They were still in town and could be in even more danger than us.”

And then she responded to Mosi, who posed a rather interesting question. ”Other than the good doctor, we haven’t seen a soul.”

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Faye took out the knife she had on her and showed it to Richard in a vain attempt to show she was not without her own merits. She figured he was trying to ensure her safety, but she had more pressing matters in mind. That being how they got out of there without being killed by whatever beast was stalking the corridors. The others seemed to want to find this Belladonna and if Gene was correct (and Faye had every reason to believe her) then Bella was a witch and would be more adequately prepared to handle herself more than they were.

”I must insist we keep a move on then. We will search for her and try to find her, but if what she says is true, Belladonna is probably handling herself better than we are currently.” Faye followed along with the others, and she heard voices. She hadn’t recognized any of them, but perhaps it was their friend.

Though maybe it was more than that. ”I understand you wish to find your friend, but if we are dealing with things outside of normalcy, than you should understand they like to trick. You could be hearing your friend or you could be hearing your demise trying to lead you astray. I would recommend caution proceeding forward, in case it is the latter.” Faye tried to wrack her brain to determine what they were facing.

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*Roll requests can be made in chat or can be left at the bottom of your post for results in the next update. You can get a roll during your post and add another in the update at the bottom of your post! Ever in doubt of what to post, just drop me a message and we can talk.

Special Note: That Haze will remain until further notice, so make sure to keep to it. ^_^

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Boat (Sun Deck): Vera couldn't believe what she was seeing, was it truly there or was she hallucinating? Could it be a dream? Was she still out cold somewhere? Maybe she had hit her head? It wouldn't be the first time. Standing there she started to answer what Mosi was asking and her lips were moving but to the others it would seem as nothing was coming from her lips. They were moving but there was no sound. Mosi would be able to notice that Vera seemed to be fading. To Vera and the others she looked normal but to Mosi it seemed as if the tips of her fingers and the curls of her hair were started to fade away, like a vignette around a photograph to blur out the edges.

Vera's head seemed to turn slightly and her eyes widened as a sound came through, a voice, from somewhere in the distance. "Vera?!?" the voice called out. It was one that several of them there would know. Josephine had been introduced to the man who had that voice not long ago. And the Corporal knew it as one his own Lord Major was related to. The thing was, this voice was supposed to be dead. Burned, brought back from a fire. "I won't hurt you, I promise!" Another voice? Another familiar voice. Vera's head turned and she called out but no sound came from her lips as she mouthed Peter and then George. She didn't seem to notice there was no sound coming from her lips. Could they just not hear her or was she truly speechless?

Athribis (Underground): Mahendra and Richard are doing well. Mahendra will be able to stay on his feet and assist Nora as she needs it currently. Richard has his guard up and is ready to strike if something jumps out at them but the thing is. Nothing is. Save for some voices coming out of no where. This time others would hear as well. "Vera?!?" "I won't hurt you, I promise!"

Nora is still leading the group but comes to a point where she isn't sure which direction they should go. It will take a bit more trying to figure out the path right then. It is kind of hard to see but then the oil lights along the walls and all it lit. Just what in the hell is going on? Well one thing is for sure, as Gene tries to spit, she fumbles it. (2) And ends up drooling down her own chin instead. Oh that just isn't pleasant to look at. And Reginald observes it roll down to her chin and drop to the ground. Just eww lol. He will also of course know the voice of Peter. Maybe he is hearing things? No, that was his nephews voice. He is sure of it. As sure as he is as he looks up and swears that the ceiling is fading away. (It only appears that way to him right then.)

During all this Faye has a bit of an epiphany. The voices, the walls looking newer, the lights coming to life. Is this what they mean in the occult world of a time spell? A way to retrieve from the past what was lost? No, it is too much. It is as if a coven had cast different spells at the same time and they were merging.

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As if they were not already preoccupied in their task to locate and retrieve the missing Belladonna, in what Gene was clearly warning them was a only growing dangerous situation filled with the supernatural, Gene was growing increasingly hostile to some members of the Fellowship. Mahendra included, high on the list alongside the Lord Major he presumed. Mahendra did not feel the time to respond to Gene's outburst, but he was still feeling less inclinded to liking the honourable Miss Benaszewski. Was he not allowed to state he was a fool to the cosmos, to the supernatural and whatnot? Alternatively he could have apologized for his ignorance from earlier on, but with Gene's behaviour acting out the way it did, he'd rather do such later. Focusing forwards with Nora instead of the commotion behind him, Mahendra was about to call out for their lost companion as well…until someone else raised their voices…
"By the Gods…."

Richard took a little more interest in the non-marital spat that was taking place in the rear, but only because he was so used to it that it only reminded him of himself and his ex-wife Beatrice when their arguments got heated. He quickly pushed the nostalgia away and looked instead at the Faye as she brandished a knife. Well it was something in the very least, better than nothing he supposed. Richard let out a sigh, nodding to Faye as they kept on going. Witches and brimstone, to Richard this was sounding more and more like a trial at Salem. All he could agree on was that they should find this Bella-doll as soon as possible, and get their bums out of dodge. Richard surpressed the urge to ask Faye, and everyone else in general, who "They" would be, if someone was trying to pull a ventriloquist-act on them.

Then the voices kicked in. Mahendra raised his head and perked his ears at the sound of voices, recognizing the words rather than the voices. "Vera, Lady Munn?" Mahendra asked no one in particular, giving his fellow companions a look of confusion upon hearing this. This was beyond explaination, like everything else that was happening around them. Did this mean they were getting closer to Belladonna? Mahendra looked over to Nora as the very fabric of a world bound by laws of physics or Divine order seemingly broke down around them for every step they took, then looking ahead. They had to keep going, just keep going deeper. But where? Mahendra couldn't make heads and tails of their directions, his mind too preoccupied with staying level-headed. "We must keep moving forward, less we desire to fall into more trouble."

"Okay…Just great, now we've got Frank Byron and The Great Lester stuck down here with us. " Richard commented on the situation, now starting to feel less comfortable with the fact that nothing was throwing itself at them. This wasn't just something dangerous surrounding them. It felt as if whatever was going on, it was either enveloping them slowly and/or simply observing them, mocking them. "Faye, just what the hell is going on? Something, anything." Richard asked Faye, not turning to look at her but still looking around, ready for the attack that seemingly never came. Just what kind of moonshine-incuded hellscape were they going through?

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Mosi's attention was suddenly brought to the soldier British man as he started speaking advice and suggestions about their situation and what might be the most prudent way to act from now on. At least he didn't try to deny the supernatural before his very eyes, which was a plus in Mosi's eyes. Her eyes darted over to Josephine as well as the woman confirmed she was armed, the fact she was aware that it might not be effective actually spoke volumes, this was not a stupid woman, a fact that pleased her to no end right now.

“I'm of the same opinion... if those things are completely shadows, no amount of guns or weapons will cause any damage to it. Can't damage what's not really there, can't you?” Mosi mentioned as she glanced at the shadows.” That is if they are only shadows though, who knows, maybe there's something underneath that can be affected. We will have to wait and see... possibly without getting harmed ourselves. Hopefully even if bullets cannot stop them, if we are lucky, maybe they can slow them. As for getting equipped and supplied, that's not a bad idea...” She agreed.

“Well, I'm unsure where the others would be and what transpired to them. After all, what happened to the city we were at? Were we the ones moved or was the surroundings moved?” She asked, questions that had no real answer as of now. Then she diverted her eyes to Vera. Something was happening with the woman. She wasn't speaking, not even a reply to her question. This was concerning, Mosi was worried the woman wasn't feeling well, but after a little bit of observation she was startled.

“What the. Lady Mun?” Mosi asked in actually concerned voice after she did confirm her that her assumption had some merits.” Are you alright!?” Mosi asked as she got closer and looked at the actress and the soldier.” Something's happening with her! I think... she's fading away! Like literally! Pretty sure her hair and fingers are already fading away!” Mosi informed them. Starting to wrack her brains out, trying to figure out in whatever occult knowledge she had, if there was something that might be of importance.

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Lauren continued to follow along with the others she wasn't sure what else she could do to help out with everyone else, and everything else that is going on was really weird. Lauren had never really been to any kind of movie so she wasn't sure what else to compare all of this to right now. Lauren turned to look at Gene for a moment who seemed to know what could be going on or maybe have some kind of answer or some theory as well anything could help at this point. "Is there any kind of explanation that is going on right now other than some kind of supernatural force, like anything specific?" Lauren asked.

She looked back the way that they had came from wondering if they would actually get the hell out of here, Lauren didn't like being down here and she right now wished she didn't decide to come on the train ride over to these ruins. Lauren started to wonder if she would even be able to make it out of here and out alive as well. She had her daughter back home as well and she really hoped that she was okay at home as well. Lauren also felt really uncomfortable being down here it really did give her the weird feeling and vibes down here as well and they hadn't bumped into the monster that Gene seemed to be afraid of yet.

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Senility is a horrible thing, especially in one who had lived a life as momentous as the Lord Major Reginald I. Keystone. Indeed, the wondrous and varied things that the man had experienced in both his long career as a frontline officer, and later a Knight of the Skies in the service of King and Country; not to mention the wealth of education stored underneath his cap and the nobility bred into him as a member of the Aristocracy. Throughout his time serving in the African Campaigns of the last century and start of this one, he was exposed to the wisdoms of the native peoples there. One such pearl he'd heard oft quoted but never fully appreciated the meaning thereof until this very second was "When an old man dies, a library burns to the ground." It seemed to Reginald that, instead of his library burning down, the books might have been checked out in huge stacks and simply never returned, leaving him with an embittered old soul inside who kept constantly telling visitors to "shush!", despite their best efforts to help.

To wit, after a brief exchange with their more increasingly combative Gene resulting in a bit of a saliva-based faux pas, Reginald reached for his pocket handkerchief. He was a gentleman after all, more important a concept in the face of adversity than in times of ease. Before his hand fully clasped the item in question within his pocket, Reginald started to hear voices. He'd heard of people with this difficulty. I was more common in the Service than many were led to believe, some instances horrifyingly bad and others completely benign. Even helpful. But the good Lord Major was pretty sure that any voice featuring his late nephew, now apparently dead twice (and burnt to a crisp to boot), was not a symptom of decent mental stability.

Reginald forced his mind to make recollections of things from the past, long ago and much more recently, to ensure that his brain was still functioning as it should. He even ran a couple of mathematical equations common to engineering with random numbers that popped into his head. Memory was fine, reasoning was fine, he seemed to have a grasp on reality. The problem was, reality didn't quite have the same firm hold upon him. The Lord Major perked an eyebrow up, twitching his vision toward the ceiling. "I say," he said in quiet voice, regarding the gradual fading away of the stone and earth above them, "...it might be coming time for me to retire..." Such a thing was a anathema to the Lord Major. Retirement was for those who had give up the possibility of dying in glorious service. Or those who had become more a danger to his troop than he had a right to be.

The attempt at gathering the kerchief was halted, instead his hand found the flask in his pocket. With practiced motions, he one-handed the cap from it and took a pull, then put it deftly away. In a voice that was far more calm that it had a right to be, Reginald inquired of the group, "Quaint curiosity, mind you; but does anyone else detect the ceiling evaporating away before their very eyes?" He gave a determined nod, "I believe that time may be a factor."

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Corporal Reddish's face began to contort with something that resembled exaggerated confusion as Mosi spoke. It was the oddest sort of conversation from her end, both argumentative and agreeing with him in the same span of breath. But not just a "Yay" or "Nay" to one side, the other, then both; but actual reasoning behind either possible side of the equation with no small amount of supposition added in for good measure, while out there in the distance, whatever it was was still moving. Reddish began to wonder about the implications of continuing the conversation with her. Not to get him wrong, he was ever the fan of lively debate on a subject, if he felt passionate enough to study into it but detached enough not to take the challenge personally, but he'd seen more than plenty so far that reminded him of the uncertainties of war. Chief among this was that, if one wishes to continue breathing and does not have safe spot to jump into, one keeps moving.

Then came the voices. Of course they did. First the Lord Captain, then Mr. Benaszewski. Having processed a lot of this paperwork himself, Reddish was fairly certain that at least one of them was dead. It was also possible that one might see a tiny twitching of his eyelid as his brain struggled to process things.

Briefly, ever so briefly, Reddish's memory flashed back to a time long in his history. He had blackened his face with burnt cork and had just crept into an earthwork defense set up by the Teutonic peoples of Europe, with whom he shared a bloodline. It had been four days since he had eaten anything, and things were looking pretty desperate. There was this fuzzy orange tomcat that helped keep the rats at bay in his trench that they had set up as a sort of mascot. The hour he had considered roasting and eating the little bastich to relieve the pain in his stomach, it was time. That time happened to coincide with a smell of searing meat wafting in from across the battlefield. Later that night, he returned to his trench with a ham under his arm and covered in the blood of seventeen different men, none of whom he bore any personal animosity. You did what you had to do to survive. Period.

Reddish blinked it away just in time to hear Mosi's assessment of Vera fraying at the edges. He didn't see a bit of it, though he felt a bit frayed around the edges himself. Even if something was happening, there wasn't thing he could do about it. Reddish took a cursory step toward the stairs, saying, "One bullet might not. Twenty might, I'd bloody wager. I'm after supplies, who's with me?" Truth being that he would be an unprincipled cad to leave these women without defense, sans Josephine's pistol. Either way, he would be guilty of breaking some form of code of gentlemanly behavior, so he did rather wish they joined him. Sadly, he was still blissfully unaware of Vera's status at the moment, though gave her some regard for the moment's hesitation to check for himself again.