Will O' the Piper

Charles stepped back for a moment, suddenly subdued. A bit of mental feedback played through the connection, seeming to be Sigmund's words in Charles' voice. The second you were at risk. Pulled out. High and mighty. You were at risk. Interlaced in the sound was what sounded like white noise but eventually cleared into a string of words. Selfish, Cold, Uncaring, Empty, Unloved All at once the connection broke, and Charles spoke in a soft voice. "Do what you want." and threw open his telepathic link to every child he saw. He reached deep, trying to break as many trances as he could before he himself fell into it. Go home he broadcasted to the ones he broke from their trances, before he let himself succumb to the spell. I hope I can break out of this later he thought to himself.

Rendezvous Crash

Vologhn led the way through the alleys of Calacany. Bishop had recovered enough to follow along, but she was alarmingly quiet and responded only when necessary. Her injury also bothered him. It would be best to finish the mission as fast as possible.

"Hang on, Bishop. It would make things very difficult if you are unconscious," Vologhn said. It came out much harsher than he had meant to be.

Ahead a small gathering of people could be seen. There was no way to avoid them save going out into the main road again. It seemed like they had to get through one way or another. However, the ruffians did not seem to be in an agreeable mood.

“You better run away now, freaks," one of the men shouted. Uncivilized, Vologhn thought in disgust. The insult meant nothing to him, whom did not even identify himself as a human, but their behaviour and ignorance grated upon his senses. Vologhn clenched his fist, his expression frigid. There were twenty odd people here. As non-holders they didn't stand a chance in a fair fight.

"If we don't?" Vologhn said while casually walking nearer to the crowd. His fingers were busy weaving a Spectral Web, but none of them knew that. Vologhn was prepared for an attack- and if provoked would swiftly counter with a right hook into the man's solar plexus. He had never been a creature of violence… but patience had its limits.

Rendezvous Crash

Andre clicked his tongue to Vologhn. It wasn't important how many civilians he was willing to kill, accidental or not, it was more important that it seemed that they don't care about it. Although it didn't matter as the crowd called his bluff. He followed the short Oriental man into the alleys. Their progress stopped by yet another crowd, one that didn't bother with subtlety this time and openly try to scare them out.

“You better run away now, freaks," one of them shouted. Alright, the town was one of the Mafia territory, what's the chance that there's one of their affiliated holders being in the city right at this moment? Not a bad one, although it's possible that there're none and these mobs were bluffing their way.

He glanced towards the silent Bishop. The report said her relation to Alexander, could they use it to make it seems as if they're his replacement? No, could they risk further provocation if the mole in the Library leaked that his daughter was part of the team that caught him?

Andre kept quiet as Vologhn replied to the mob's leader challenge. Well, their job was to dig how deep this goes, what can he do than to proclaim that she's Alexander's daughter? His eye fell to the symbol on her hat, which was similar to the symbol of the Aegis corporation. He then snatched Bishop's hat before tossing it to the lead mobster.

"Catch, you muppet," he said. "See anything familiar?"

---

Free Billy

Arlette put Quartz down on the ground just as the spirit requested her to. Almost immediately, a hand then took a hold of her outstretched hands, causing the girl to gasp and stiffen in surprise, letting the owner of the hand pulled her around and off the crowd.

"This is no place for girls like you.” She said, a stern looking woman in her thirties that reminder Arlette of Mrs. Lysander. “You shouldn't be this close when it begins.”

"It?" Arlette nervously asked, and noticed that Mime was also being dragged along and asked the same question but with different tone. The spirit then added, "Is something going to happen to those people upstage?"

Unfortunately for Eowyn, her shout was drowned by the rest of the crowd and their own conversation. Mime did, however, form a telepathy link between herself, Quartz, Sleipnir and Lancelot.

Hey, hey, don't tell the Public people, but it looks like these protester is planning something inteereeeesssting~ the spirit mentally relayed as she waited for the woman's answer..

---

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

His spirit let out an elated roar that made Vignar wince. It was clear that he welcomed the fight. The roar gave him another bout of headache but it did clear his focus from any other thought than the fight. Looking at Sean and Emily's warning, Vignar took a deep breath and breathed three words. His Warrior Call would then take effects to the other three team members.

Will 'o the Piper

To Charles' eyes, everything went white. The darkness of the night drowned out of his eyes, the cold vanished and only the mysterious song remained. He would not even feel his own body moving, or taste the air he breathed. There was just the music; one that slowly but surely would become more recognisable. A soft hum slowly rose to a singing voice, the voice of people he had loved, soft and comforting. The music was almost tangible; as every note washed off one of Charles' negative emotion like a soft stream of water. First his anger, then his sadness, even his loneliness as it was as if the song itself embraced him. His body felt comfortably warm, a breeze played with his hair and the air tasted of his mother's cooking, while pleasant memories played out before his eyes.

Meanwhile to Sigmund's eyes, Charles' call had managed to strip more children from their trance. Bewildered they looked around, although few small ones still attempted to reach for the source of the music; just like Charles. Eidren, in spite of his earlier disagreement with Charles, promised Sigmund he would follow the telepath while Sigmund would do his best to save the children. However, Kurotori, who had come outside, would take over this task from Sigmund, explaining that because he spoke the language of the children, Kurotori could mobilise them more efficiently.

As such, Eidren and Sigmund would follow Charles out of the village, approaching the river. Charles guided by music, and Sigmund by Eidren. In the distant, they found a small creature, as tall as the children it had attempted to kidnap, that played a small flute. Yet it was clearly inhuman; it's skin was slimy and green, it's beak was akin a duck's and it wore a lilypad on it's head. It walked backwards, and the closer it got to the river, the more transparent the image of the creature became. As did Charles' body, as he got closer to the creature and it's flute. It was as if they were crossing into some other plane...

Rendezvous Crash

"Poor, lost, soul..."
"Where am I?"
"Don't you recognize this place my dear?... Why, it's your own mind."
"I don't... See anything."
"Of course you don't. You don't have the flare or imagination for it, scientist... Hah! There is no curiosity in you, no wish to pursue knowledge, yet you self-label yourself a scientist."
"Jester... I don't have time for this. I'm on--"
"A mission? Yes, I know, one where you were knocked unconscious by a bottle. Thrown by some... Low life miscreant who ultimately means nothing."
"..."
"Ah. So you recognize your own weakness. I could... Give you another chance. Wake you up, but, you have to be the one that chooses to move forward. I could, of course, also leave you unconscious, leave you to die... Isn't that what you want?"
"No... I want to live..."
"Then at least try to live this time, my dear... You're so much more entertaining that way."

Bishop snaps to her senses, taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly. For the entirety of the mission she had been running on autopilot, not thinking, not able to escape the drudgery of her own emotions, the swirling whirlwind of pain and sorrow. Whether this strength would last or not was debatable. She looks around, seeing the dark alleyway she was in before wincing in pain and reaching to her head. Was that silk?... A bandage? She looks to Vologhn, and manages a slight smile. The wound was certainly not a lethal one, yet he had treated it anyway. How kind. "I won't." She whispers resolutely upon being told not to fall unconscious. Jester floated nearby Andre. "He took your hat." Her eyes followed her hat flying through the air until it landed in the hands of the... Muppets, was it? Strange slang.

The plan for this situation was simple. One look at the loud mouthed member of the 'muppets' was all that it took this time to have Jester zip away from Andre and dive headfirst into the wretched little man. "I have had a very bad day... Why don't you just walk away, and we'll forget this even happened." Assuming it worked, Jester would play the weakling, look at the hat and immediately act terrified and try to convince the others to flee. If not, well... It's not like they had a chance against them, though she wished to avoid bloodshed as she pulled the combat knife out of her boot, just in case.

Either way, she had a mission to do, and allies to keep safe.

Rendezvous Crash

To some degree, Andre's plan worked. Whereas Jester by easily possessing his target taught the librarians that the man was no holder. The man in front was brought to tears by Jester as he played a terrified, brazen fool (even if he had managed not to get punched by Vologhn.) A contrast that at the very least confused the on-lookers.

“What's wrong with this bloke?” One of them wondered, but once he too got a sight of the hat he understood. “Pardon us, we'll make right away ma'am, sirs.” He stuttered hastily, as the man possessed by Jester would be pulled into the crowd. “We had no idea.” The crook offered apologetically.

“We'll take care of him too, make him pay for insulting you.” The man added, and Jester would be able to see that around his host body knives would be drawn. “You've been expected, we'll make it up to you, we'll lead you. Follow me.”

In spite of their aggression, the men were quite nervous now. Was there something in this town they were more afraid of than librarians?

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Supported by Vignar's shout, Emily's arrow was too fast for Sean (or rather; Valor) to avoid. However even with support, the armour was too strong to pierce so easily. Even though Valor hadn't suffered damage, however, Sean biting his lip betrayed that the arrow had enough impact to at least hurt the man inside the armour. Emily would have little time to aim her second arrow, however, as suddenly chains shot up near all holders (except Diane) their feet; attempting to bind their limbs. The sand beneath Diane's feet on the other hand, began to soften...

Free Billy

Nathair (&Quartz)

Quartz was hoping for someone to suggest something else, anything at all, because personally he didn’t like the notion of losing his nice, warm perch. Sadly, it was Arlette who decided to grant his request and placed him down. His thin body placed upon the gound while he gave a little sigh, clearly disliked to having to be away from the young girl. She was, second to Nathair of course, one of his favorite Holders and it wasn’t hard to see why Mime was so protective of her.

Once down, the spirit shifted slightly uncomfortably when he touched down. His belly was use to the soft forest ground and tough tree bark not the gritty, beach sand at least until he got use to it. His mind didn’t wandered too long on it before suddenly Arlette’s hand was taken and both her and Mime were being lead a way from the scene! Even Quartz knew that wasn’t good as they still had work to do, his eyes shifted over to the woman who led the two out of the crowd. The crowd might’ve settled down after Remia had parted the crowd yet he doubted it would stay that way for long. Eowyn’s words, something he didn’t catch over the crowd’s noises, about Arlette. That’s when Mine’s mental words rippled through Quartz’s mind causing the reptile to stall bit in surprise.

He only experienced the Telepathy a few time, not having the skill himself, and it was an interesting to have discover Mime knew this trait. It also meant he couldn’t speak to the others over the crowd, his words likely drowned out by the crowd’s words and protests. After Mime’s words he had a nasty feeling neither him nor the other were going to like what might happen. His eyes looked for Nathair and spotted him immediately as being slightly midway in the crowd, he tried to help Remia with less effectiveness then the Knight had and now paid for it. He found Nathair’s attempts to overcome his short comings rather humorous in a light hearted way.

Sadly with a Holder in the crowd, his mind remembered the Holder Eowyn mentioned in the crowd, and decided to take matters into his own scales sort of speak. However, he couldn’t open a channel to Eowyn or anyone really which meant, so he hope this was a public line or Mime would deliver his message for him.

Alright, Telepathy is all new to me and since I lack the said skill, I hope this is a public line between most of us. If not, I hope Mime delivers this to all. Remia and Eowyn, you two might want to focus on the crowd and Holder within it. I, as well as Nathair, can get Arlette and Mime back. Not very hard as a few little nips here and there might be a little persuasive enough. However, I don’t think we can make back through this crowd without pulling Remia from where she’s most needed.

He took a breath, and then continued. So, instead we’ll head towards the group of men and seek out the holder there. It might allow me to deal with them better without attracting the crowd’s attention.

Slowly, and through many feet, Quartz had made his way to Nathair. He realized first off, the man was edgy and unsettled. His path blocked all the way around as it caged the holder in. Nathair wanted to bear his teeth but stopped it, he tried to avoid touching the others as much as possible among the crowd and hopefully prevent any baser reaction which could undo what Remia’s efforts had accomplished. A man growling at someone might receive a less kind response in return. Naturally, once Quartz came near Nathair, he noticed the spirit crawl up his pant leg. He tensed then smiled, inwardly knew who it was instantly. Out of instinct and pure knowledge about his spirit’s habits, the man’s eyes flickered to where the expected set of black eyes peered out from his shirt collar.

The Holder then spoke. “I figured you would’ve been with Arlette rather than here.”

“She put me down and we got separated.” Quartz said, his tone slightly depressed by it. A short lived one which he then added. “We’ve got a task, Nathair. I think we should consider retrieving Arlette and Mime, and then head out towards where that small group of men is. Eowyn and Remia can handle the rest here.”

Nathair’s eyebrow raised in question at Quartz’s idea, the snake’s feathers quivered in displeasure while he took on a more commanding voice. “Don’t give me that questionable look. Despite the fact you were adopted, I still took care of you and currently am your father. At least closest thing you will ever have to one. So I don’t need to explain to you, merely just ask that you trust me and do what you’re told!”

“Fine.” Nathair reluctantly answer. “I hope you’re right and they don’t need our help, but I have a nasty feeling about this whole situation.”

They started to make their way to Arlette and Mime, Nathair attempted to push his way through the crowd best he could. Unseen and unknown, Quartz had help a bit by using his own muscle. Using Nathair as a stand, bring him up to the same height of the protesters, he pushed against those who were more stubborn. Nathair had to brace himself from being shoved away each time the spirit mentally told him to. The task would likely be painstakingly slow because Nathair would have to brace while Quartz had to ensure he didn’t use too much strength. Too much would’ve sent Nathair onto his ass and totally counterproductive, yet too little won't budge the humans at all.

Will 'o the Piper

“What in hell's...” Sigmund uttered as he witnessed Charles' completely unexpected change of heart. He actually jumped straight into the fire on this one, “Seems I misjudged mister Night.” The rook mumbled to himself, baring a genuine grin. For this act Sigmund made a mental note to buy Charles a drink.

After agreeing with Kurotori to leave the rescue-plan to him, Sigmund rushed after Charles as by Eidren's guidance. Nearing the river; Sigmund noticed his colleague and the kidnapper both began to vanish. “Cursed tricks...” Sigmund sighed, as he, not knowing what else to do, chased Charles into the light and tried to grab his wrist. Who knew what was going on, though!

The Clayman's Finale

Was it a cowardly thing to do, running back? She would not back out of a fight. She never had, and never would... as long as it was only about herself. But the moment other people's lives were in danger, she hesitated. She did not know whether she should have pressed on, but she knew one thing. The lives of those men were important and if her moving back, her retreating was good for their safety, then she should have to be satisfied. No matter who thought badly of her. No matter if Sonneillon may look at her as if she was the dumbest person in the world, no matter if others may think she was disobeying orders.

Of course, inside her head, she was not escaping but merely moving back to meet with the reinforcements. Advancing together was better for everyone. Safety in numbers, as it was often said. Of course, this would not always be the case but in this situation, Salia was convinced the more people they had, they would have more chances to make it ahead. And then all of a sudden, that berserk warrior Noelle snapped at them, her huge axe appearing into her hand. "I'm not putting these people's lives in danger!" Salia responded, clearly confident, as she herself materialised her own sword. Salia felt the assistants clinging behind herself with Noelle raising her axe menacingly.

Adeline was calmer now and asked Noelle to take the assistants off the golem... it may have been a good idea. In fact, Salia wasn't keen on taking them in the first place but... why were they coming, anyway? Lux agreed with Adeline about taking the assistants... it was frustrating to see her original idea of not taking them had not been convincing and yet now... but Salia shook her head. It was not time to think of that, but rather to proceed with their mission and do so in the quickest possible way. Soon, Lux himself was offering a shoulder for her to lean on.

"Heh, you certainly look much better than you did back when I helped you. I hope I'm not looking too bad although I suppose it's only fair you get a chance to play a bit of role reversal" she teased the man who was helping her. She accepted his help and walked with him. A bit of resting and taking it easy and she could, perhaps, be of help if they were to fight later on. "Thank you, Lux. I appreciate both your help and your comming as our back up unit. It is embarrassing to admit, but we were in complete disarray, now".

"Salia Kyrie. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Maria" she smiled politely. This person, Maria, seemed like someone they could trust. She still gave Salia a very professional, almost detached feel, but that was probably just her first impression. Still, apparently this person meant business, and Salia liked perople like that. "We ran into several traps, like a rolling boulder... which is what left me in this state". She decided not to get into many details about how she had tried to stop it, although truth be told, many others would have been crushed instead of "just" being damaged.

Free Billy

So far, so good. People at least listened to her and she was able to open a good, safe space, just as she had intended to. For the time being, people were sufficiently surprised to see a rook out in the open to back off. Of course, this did not mean it would last long. But at least for now, things were stable. "Hey!!" Remia replied to Simon's words. And she planned to go on longer before Lancelot quickly talked her out of it. It was not wise to do so... and even less so in that moment. Sighing, the girl went on with Eowyn, protecting Simon's space.

Remia listened to the information about the other holders mixed inside the crowd. A gray-haired woman and someone in a group of men... with darker skin than the rest of the people in the zone. It was good for them to know, since they at least knew who they had to be wary of. But without more time to think of that, she heard Eowyn's voice and as they looked at each other, the girl noticed her companion's eyes. She nodded and quickly moved towards Arlette. "Make way, make way!!" she was being more assertive than before since she felt this was far more important.

She slowly caught up to Arlette, although with so many people to move away from her path, it was like a slow-motion chase that was happening at the beach. It would have been rather amusing to watch but of course, not to take part in since she feared any moment now she could lose the people she was following. It was during that time that Lancelot relayed the message from Mime to Remia. "What? Damn it, what the hell is going on here?!" Obviously, things had started moving faster than she had guessed. The rook was somehow expecting a frontal attack towards Simon himself and not things to start happening around him and not directed to him. They probably knew he'd be protected... or maybe he wasn't the true objective?

"Remia is already heading towards Arlette!" Lancelot informed back to Mime. "It will be hard for anybody else to follow her through the crowd. She needs to be the one going there!" he claimed, confidently. This was a case of a 'master' sort of defending his student's skills. However, he felt it was true that Remia was probably able to move faster through the crowd and therefore could have better chances of getting Arlette back. And of course, he could feel that Remia really wanted to help Eowyn with how they had become closer. And so the girl wanted to do what Eowyn was hoping she would do.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Diane was almost like a spectator to the whole situation and she realised she was being of no aid to the whole situation. All she could do was remain alert and ready for anything that was to happen... if anything happened at all. However, despite the fact that she knew she would do well in remaining alert, she relaxed once Fran seemed to take command of the situation. She knew some not very well-known things about this Sean, she had gathered, and he seemed to hesitate. Perhaps he would join them... however, the armour had different plans and by the time Diane realised, they were being attacked!

Emily warned them all to be aware of anything that could come out from inside the sand and try to avoid anything hurting the Drakes. "Right!" Diane nodded and looked around. Her moment may come soon, but she would need to know exactly how to proceed. She cleared her throat and took a deep breath. "Relax, relax..." The fight was on and Emily's arrow quickly whistled through the air towards the armour. Having a good ear, she heard chains moving around when they shot up near everyone... and instinctively tried to dodge the chains... before realising there were no chains trying to bind her.

And just as she was feeling relief on that count, she felt the sand soften and quickly tried to move away from the spot, hoping it would not be what she thought it could be... quicksand. There was only one reasonable thing she could do at that point, and that was to sing her most typical song. Starting with the Vanilla Scherzo. The woman starts glowing in a yellow-like light as she starts feeling lighter... faster. Would that be enough for her to break free of the quicksand, in the event it was truly one? Not that she needed to know if it was or not, before deciding to sing. If she had thought about it for too long, it may have been too late for her to break free.

Diane focused the energy of her song towards herself... and towards Emily. She had been improving her skills lately and with the amount of Spiritual energy she had, she could deal with sending the effects of her song to an extra ally. Surely, Emily would feel the surge in her agility thanks to the spell... and hopefully, this would help give them the edge on the battle.

The Clayman's Finale

Maria's eyes lit up like a child who just learned his parents owned a candy shop. "A boulder? I've never tried to stop a boulder before, do you think there's gonna be another one?" Her childlike, albeit strangely placed glee made her look as young as she was for a moment, before she cleared her throat and tried to look serious again. "Uh, I mean, I'm glad you're all relatively alright. Honestly I don't know much about what we're doing here, since I was just chosen to come in on a whim. If it's alright, I'd like to hear everything you know." She absently grabbed the end of her braid with her free hand, twisting it around her fingers. It was a nervous habit she had developed under the Queen's command, whenever she got reprimanded for breaking protocol.

A Clayman's Finale

“That just means our medics did a good job,” Lux smirked, “It's only fair I return a favour.” He supported Salia, though he even considered carrying her if they'd have to run. Lux remembered how he'd had to piggyback Ramza back in the sewer, and somewhat shuddered at putting the woman in the same position. It hadn't been exactly graceful...

“I don't think you have to worry about a rolling boulder with me here.” Lux added to the conversation. “I can slow it down to a snail's pace. So leave any of those to me.” He reassured his team, though he added to Maria's concern; “All I know is that the headquarters are in as much disarray as you guys say you are. They wouldn't have sent the diva and her guard otherwise. They wouldn't tell me much; but from the sights of it this place is literally going up in the air. We're supposed to catch a guy named Valenci before that happens.”

The Clayman's Finale

"I'm sorry, but we don't have time to loiter around chatting," Adeline snapped, feeling impatient. The mission was obviously an emergency. Dr. Valenci had to be subdued with haste. If her teammates were going to stand around talking, she might as well do this alone.

Let's go, Sonneillon. You can go ahead to disable the traps. It's not like you'll die.
'That's cruel, Lin.' it replied. The spirit lumbered forward towards the core of the golem. With the shifting of the internal structure of the labyrinth, there was no way to tell if they were on the right path. They could only hope to reach Dr. Valenci before it was too late.

"Why don't we split up? Salia, you take Lux. Maria will come with me."

Will O' the Piper
Happy memories flooded Charles' mind, and somewhere in the dark recesses that the spell couldn't quite reach, he was surprised at how many there were. His mother reading him a bedtime story, his sister returning home after one of her trips, his father teaching him one of the life lessons he was so fond of. One memory in particular stood out from the rest, becoming as clear as the day it was made.

Charles walked next to his dad, his tiny hand engulfed in the man's strong grip. "Well Chuck," he said, looking down. "It's not every day you turn ten, so I have a surprise for you." The sign on the building they entered said 'Library Recruitment Center'. "This is where I work son." His father continued, "I help find very special people and give them a job where they can help others." Charles looked up at him and asked "Are you special too?" His father chuckled, squeezing his hand. "I am, but not as much as the people I find." He lifted his son up to sit on the desk next to him. "Maybe I should explain better. Usually, the people we find fall into four categories, called Rooks, Bishops, Knights, and Pawns. Rooks Bishops and Knights all have a partner spirit who helps them do their jobs, but Pawns have a hard time even seeing their spirits. I'm one of those, and not even a good one. I'm only a little better than any normal person." He looked at his son's blank expression and laughed. "Is it a bit too much to take in?" Charles shook his head quickly, almost falling off the desk. "No, I got it I think." He said. His father grinned, patting his head. "I knew you would, you're a smart kid. Well, today I'm gonna let you stay here and watch me work. How about that?" Charles' eyes lit up and he nodded almost as hard as he had shook his head.

The memory comforted Charles, making him feel secure, until a harsh voice from the very deepest part of his mind spoke up. That's the day you killed him. Images flashed through his mind like black lightning, striking against the glow of the spell. An explosion, the roof falling on him, someone shoving him roughly out of the way, his father looking up bewildered at the little green haired boy, his spirit, holding the falling debris off him. The spirit fading out, unable to hold his shape, and his father disappearing under the rubble.

The spell weakened for an instant under the dark memories, and Charles felt someone grab his wrist. Then the enchantment reasserted control, and he was lost again.

Free Billy

Nathair &Quartz

Nathair had managed to make their way through the crowd, quickly as he could. He was rather tensed and aggravated to have so many people pushed into him. Uncomfortable memories started to creep into his head but Quartz’s voice help shut them, namely before Nathair did something unnecessary. They were making lead way and almost half the way to Arlette, the Holder forced his way past the shifting sea of bodies. Quartz had only bitten one so far, a stubborn man who refused to moved and quickly learned otherwise. It was an experience which allowed Nathair to move slightly easier while others avoided the pair thankfully.

However before they met up with Arlette, Remia had already started to make her way to them as well. Quartz was instantly confused. His head turned to Nathair as if seeking an answer or determining that the boy and him were in sync with each other’s thoughts: That Mime didn’t deliver the message. They witnessed the Rook shifted easily towards their target, far faster then the pair had accomplished, while the crowds seemed unable to bother her. Nathair felt a slight pang of envied at the sight. He always admired the Rooks and even Bishops for their unique talents to use their Spirit’s stronger trait as if they were their own. Unlike him, an average man, they could easily be counted on when it came to stealth or their own strength which was a bitter reality for him. Quartz was his only defense and despite the serpent’s reassurances, Nathair had a hard time swallowing he was something other than a burden.

Immediately upon seeing Remia catch up to Arlette, Nathair and Quartz had ceased their push against the crowd. It was pointless because the Rook had the girl, now able to escort her and Mime back to the stage. Sadly, it seemed Mime didn’t want that. His mental voice leapt into Quartz’s mind with a very serious message which could cause trouble for the Rook, namely since Arlette would be completely oblivious to what the spirit intended to do.

~Oooh, we're famous, Mime chuckled to the mental link connecting the 4 spirits, unheard by their holders. But, we're probably the safest right now, sooo, I'd like to keep it that way. Get it? I'd fake knowing you if I have to~

“Mime, what good do you think will be completed over there? We do have a job and what do you think might happen to Arlette if it doesn’t get done?” Quartz might’ve sounded mean but in truth, it was mere reasoning on his part. What was the point to have Holders around if they didn’t complete their task after all? Finally he added on as an afterthought. “And I would appreciate it if you would just deliver my message then we can likely keep both Nathair and Arlette safe. Or at least have a greater chance to do that!”

Quartz then turned to Nathair to make a note for the future. “Remind me to get Telepathy so we never need to fall into this situation again, please?”

“Agreed. “ Nathair said as he felt himself shoved, the crowd started to close into his space again forcing him towards the back.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Emily

Emily was surprised to see her arrow hasten so quickly from her bow as if it was spurred on by some unseen force. This couldn’t be her own strength, the woman knew her own limits since after the Mother of the Dunes mission, her eyes had caught Vignar wince then lips suddenly move. She couldn’t make out the words but Emily knew something was said before she let her arrow fly. During her attempt to notch another arrow, her feet planted, she shifted a brief glance at him with a questioning eyebrow to see if he was the one responsible for the boost. There wasn’t much time to receive an answer when sand scattered near her feet causing her to recoil back and cease her arrow’s forming.

Her bow forgotten, Emily stumbled and fell when a chain nearly wrapped about her ankle. Immediately her body scrambled back, the chain missing entangling her by seconds. Sand scratched and ripped at her flesh, making it sting slightly, while she rushed to get away from. Her head darted to Vignar, Fran, and then Diane to see if the others were having similar difficulty. Vignar’s and Fran’s situation seemed to just like herself but Diane’s was slightly different. Instead of chains, the sand seemed to soften at the woman’s feet! Emily’s first thoughts came to two options. It could’ve been a rouge sand drake or quicksand, neither one good for the Holder and both just as dangerous in their own right.

“Vignar, can you help out Diane?” Emily shouted to the man, a vain hope he would be able to get to Diane quicker than when herself. After all, picking oneself up wasn’t easy or quick.

When she finally got to her feet, Emily felt the surge of energy rush through her body just when Diane began singing. The chain swept at her legs and she jumped back, barely to manage to keep herself from falling down again. She readied another arrow then fired it. This time aimed a little higher towards the shoulder, still clear of the head. However after the arrow was unnotched, she failed to see the chain edged towards her unguarded shin.

Free Billy

Mmm, safe and sound? Mime replied to Quartz hissing. Her holder looked at Mime as they're being dragged away. Beside, they're taking me out, I don't think they'll expect to be hit from behind if they're starting trouble. But, alright... do you want me to tell Remia to head to you?

---

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Vignar gave Emily a nod when she shot a questioning glance at him. He didn't get the chance to tell her how long it might last as he heard chains rattling before they shot up from the sand. Vignar jumped back a bit late and a chain wrapped his leg, causing him to stumble on his jump and landed on his back. He sat up and tried to unbind the chain when he heard Emily's voice.

“Vignar, can you help out Diane?” she shouted. The request caused Vignar to turn his head towards Diane's direction and saw the woman was sinking into the sand while singing.

HAH, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR THEN?! GO SAVE YOUR MINSTREL COMPANION! his spirit shouted in mirth for some reason.

Deciding that her situation was worse than him, Vignar prepared to call another ally. His Shout reverberate beyond the world, calling upon the spirit of dead holder to come and assist. The only downside, he had no idea who would come, and unless he tried to summon several holders or stronger holders that died, the holders that listened to him were usually those of his equal and only passing through one at a time.

"Go pull her out!" Vignar shouted at whomever ghost came through while pointing at Diane.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

From Vignar's spell, a familiar face to both Emily and their opponents came to be; Octal Chaser, the third member of Sean's party who had previously been killed by the mother dragon. Bound to Vignar's commands, the ghost summoned a twin spirit which rushed towards Diane and assisted her in her escape from the quicksand; fragments before Steve jumped from it and attempted to swallow Diane whole, something it would've done weren't it for her and Vignar's quick reaction!

Fran, like Emily and Vignar, was entangled by the chains. It wasn't looking good, she sumrised in a daze. After all she wasn't used to battle like her mercenary colleagues. She left a small shriek fly, but came to her senses shortly enough to pull through... Now that Steve was above ground. Fran closed her eyes and cast a spell; green lines of light weaved underneath her feet and formed a cage around the battlefield; locking the librarians and their opponents away from the near drakes and werecats. She had created an isolated space to fight... And between Vignar's shout and Diane's song, Emily was by far the most powerful holder in said cage...

The cage rose above ground; dumping the sand back into the desert and giving the holders stability. Valor's chains became visible, and Steve had nowhere left to dig. Instead, the ragworm decided to lunge towards Vignar, who was still entangled in chains...

In an attempt to unbalance her, Valor's chains jerked at Emily's ankles. The arrow hit once again, but with slightly more power thanks to Vignar's support. It actually pierced into the armour, causing Sean to roar in pain. However, perhaps more notably, a part of the armour began to loosen. Scales dropped from the shoulder-pad like snowflakes from a tree it had bumped into. What did that mean?

Will 'o the Piper

Upon touching Charles, Sigmund, and even Eidren, felt their bodies being pulled from their world. Suddenly it was not the small creature and Charles growing transparent, but the world around them! They were being sucked into place that existed parallel to where they had just stood. The blades of grass that had previously existed underneath their feet passed through their bodies like ghosts and instead, the floor was like a pale glass. The stars in the sky shone far brighter than their counter-parts and illuminated the area. The river in this spirit world had even gained dozens of colours, as it was a mixture of green and blue lights. Yet amidst all this they saw something something even more amazing; Sophia, Medusa and Alyssa were given form! They no longer existed merely to their respective holders; but could be seen by all!

In the spirit world, more of the slimy green creatures their kin existed. As Charles had suspected, some of the previously kidnapped children were also present. Some played with the kappa, whereas others were sleeping in cages. However, there were far less children at the spot than multiple kidnappings would suggest.

The creature with the flute stopped playing, which would snap Charles from his dreams, to converse with it's kin. They seemed confused, but also panicking, but none of their spoken language would make any sense to Sigmund or Charles' ears. Yet it was clear the creatures were in disarray. Was it that humans entered their world on their own accord? Or perhaps something else...

A Clayman's Finale

Although clearly displeased with being reduced to a flying taxi, Noelle grabbed the researchers by their clutches and prepared to race them outside without even granting as much as a second glance at her colleagues. With one of Valenci's pawns in each hand, she rushed down the corridor, already spreading her wings; barely making it through the closing forcefield. It would only be shortly after until the leftover librarians would get a telepathic message from Ladon;

“Noelle says she managed to save... In her words, “Their sorry asses.” and will be back in as soon as she finds a passage. Please move on with the mission.”

And so they would. Soneillon would clear the traps in front of them as ordered by it's holder, soaking up multiple poisonous darts before Adeline and Maria entered the tombs Adeline had been before. It was a poorly lit, wide-open space, clearly robbed off it's treasures. There were smaller, simpler tombs spread around but clearly marks there had been larger ones... Such as the one that had been in the museum back in Calacany.

The room was deadly silent. Yet, according to the intel they had received from Nuka's Tsenahale before, there were voices coming from behind the walls. Now it seemed no such sounds existed anymore, but it was likely worth investigating as one of said voices had been doctor Valenci's... However, in the middle of the darkness of the room, something seemed to be moving...

Lux and Salia meanwhile, followed another path to an overgrown garden. It was in the open air, but filled with brightly coloured flowers... Although if they had read the reports of the Library's first mission in these ruins, they would know that a man named Ramza had reported the flowers to spread poisonous pollen at the slightest touch. In accordance, the movement of the entire ruins had shifted and shook the foundation of the garden, and the plaza seemed to be torn and twisted in multiple places. Paths varied from horizontal, to vertical to even upside-down! There were already pollen afloat and worse; there was a golem 'sleeping' in the corner...

Rendezvous Crash

Bishop hesitates a moment before noticing an icy glare towards her from the one Jester possessed. She knew that look. It would be unwise to try and save him... Jester chuckles as the crowd surrounds him. After momentary confusion, they dismiss it, and all move in. Jester makes no attempt to stop them as he is repeatedly stabbed, a single wheeze leaves the man as Bishop flinches a couple times. She moves through the crowd, rubbing her arms and shuddering. This was one of those few moments that Jester couldn't say anything or even show that he existed; a moment where he had to recover from the ordeal of death.

Temporary respite though it was, it was welcome.

She kneels down and picks up her hat, there was a few droplets of blood on it now, but nothing too significant. It could be cleaned out, certainly. With a single soft sigh she returns back to her compatriots, then looks to the man who told her that he would lead the way. "Good. I'm glad someone around here has some manners." If it weren't for her already typically cold tone, she would be easy to see through. Then again, there wasn't much to see through at the current time. She briefly looks at her allies one more time, and shows a hint of uncertainty in her eyes. Leading was not something she excelled at. Investigative work, sure. Logic, reason, these realms were well within her grasp, but actual leadership?...

The Clayman's Finale
Maria's eye's instinctively scanned the room, vaguely noticing the markings that would be missing tombs before fixing on whatever was moving in the darkness. With a shimmer, her second shield appeared on her empty arm and she stepped in front of Adeline. "I don't like the look of that Ma'am." She said, wondering if she should bring out her armor. She decided to wait until whatever it was proved a direct threat. There would be no point in provoking something that might just let them pass. Still, she felt uneasy not knowing what it was she was up against.

Rendezvous Crash

Andre didn't quite understand what had just happened. Upon seeing the hat, the leader suddenly acted all terrified, although a few glances from Bishop seemed to indicate that it was her doing, however, then the mob turned on the leader and stabbed him to death, which seemed to be deliberate on their part to appease the Librarians, or Bishop, to be more exact before offering to lead them to the meeting place. While overall it lowered his suspicion on just how deep the whole conspiracy go, it still remain to be seen on what it meant with them being expected.

The Rook caught sight of Bishop's uncertain glance. Andre replied with a wary glance towards the people around and a small shake of his head, as if saying that they shouldn't do anything suspicious around the people yet. If they're being led under the assumption that they're there to meet whoever Alexander's supposed to meet, then it's best if they went along. Less hassle and they can ask some things freely.

Free Billy

“Nothing much will happen to them, but they will see something alright!” The woman spoke ominously to Mime, “I'll take you and your sister out of here, a lot of people will be rough and those librarians sure can push back.” The woman also noticed Remia getting closer, mostly due to to crowd's inability to stop her progress.

“Quick, go.” The woman pressed Arlette away, “I think those Librarians are onto something. You'd best get out while you can.” The woman said, trying to make way for Arlette and Mime also. Although of course, she'd fare far poorer than Remia at maneuvering through the vast body of people...

Meanwhile at Mari's, it seemed one of the bull-horned dogs had noticed something. Unfortunately, it was her. It stood up and glared at her, warning the men of Mari's presence. They did not make a move yet, but clearly their attention was drawn and they watched her closely from her rooftop. The men spoke, but not loud enough for Mari to understand. What was noticeable however, was how they had to do their best to calm some of the bull-dogs and make them lay down again. After all, the standing creatures revealed there was much less dog about it than it did lying down. Large, bat-like wings were attached to it's fore-legs, and it stood a lot lower than a normal dog... Also, two men separated from the group, along with one of the monster-dogs and disappeared between the buildings, at first sight moving away from the beach.

On the other hand, Mari would also notice something far in the distance moving towards the beach. It was very large, a platform on wheels of sort, with at least four horses in front of it. She wasn't quite able to make out what it was, even with her binocular, but might if she remained standing on her rooftop... In which case she might be able to see the horses were transporting a large aquarium and inside of it was some type of fish... And the disturbance in the sea she'd noticed earlier was following it's route.

Eowyn and Nathair found each other back near the stage, where fortunately not much had happened yet. “Where the heck are the others?” One of Simon's less friendly colleagues whispered, “The people here are getting noisy, I suggest you-” Eowyn and Nathair wouldn't need to hear the rest of his sentence. Suddenly from the crowd, two people began attempting to climb the stage. They were headed for Simon's spot, and would grasp his spot if they got the chance...