[IC] Scattered Shades: Arcadia Chronicles

[RyuShura]

Pincy soon feel himself being shoved into a tight room as he left the carriage. It was dark, as it always was, but he could feel the many figures quickly take shape around him. With how much tension there was, it felt he was trapped in a thick bubble than this musky room. Why did they want him? The masked-man stared at the faces surrounding him inquisitively, his head never one unhinging from the eerie tilt. He may not exactly know where they are, but he could feel their eyes boring into his skin.

He tried making casual conversation with his captors, but each word and attempted sentence fell flat as though they had been thrown against a wall. It looked like the CMAS were really not into the business of entertaining their guests today, though he didn't really have much else context. This was the first time he has been caught by their agents. Well, that's not exactly true, rather, this is the first time he has been taken into custody. What he did wasn't exactly legal, but it wasn't exactly illegal either, and it really was just a string of bad circumstances whenever they decide to poke their heads in and happen upon him doing something deemed 'wrong'. Slipping away was a relatively simple task since he was an expert at misdirecting attention and laying harmless traps. Now, if only he was better at keeping himself from entering these bad situations in the first place.

The dreadful silence was eventually pricked and oozed, relieving him, when a figure entered the room. He turned his eyes towards the sound of the opening door, but he didn't know the gender until they spoke.

"Umm... why sure, Ma'am." he nodded, speaking with a cheery tone, "However, I just want you to know, I might have a hard time keeping my mouth shut or on topic, for that matter..." shrugging, "Ahaha, I have quite the tendency of droning on and one when I'm under a lot of stress. My physician tells me it has something to do with my blindness, see, it makes me feel vulnerable when there is a lot of empty space around me and so I try to fill it with--"

Sighing suddenly, "And I'm doing it, aren't I?"

[LokiLeo789]

---

Divers Paradise, Eastern Entrance

---

A playful light danced in Len's eyes as he watched the relief flooded the young men's face. It was quite satisfying to see the boys calm and seat themselves before him. Despite being children in his eyes, their activities made them adults, despite thier real age. But he couldn't side with them in thier endeavors, not fully. It betrayed his principals, and he couldn't let such things go on for too long. All life was precious unless justified when taken, Divers Paradise did no such thing. He held no loyalties, only natures laws justified his workings.

"Things heal with time, you should all understand this. Just as you heal from a wound, this pillar shall heal from its wound, and return to its natural order." he mused, his voice held a certain sense of foreboding

"Allow me to ask you a question." A test, a single of his judgement. "Why do you kill," he murmured, gesturing towards the mans CMAS uniform. "your fellow human brethren? Do you consider them to be, 'evil'?"

@Jensoman@tex

[Rune_Alchemist]

~Lila Vyner~
Divers Paradise

@Empath@tex

---

"Charmin' words? Pfft, don't try and flatter me Mira." Was the only comment she made to her friend as she gave Yvette a small glare. So little miss uniform was CMAS. Or at least, Ex-CMAS. That put her pretty low on the totem pole of people Lila cared about. Not that there were many people high on it of course. Even if she was Ex-CMAS, Lila was definitely not about to get friendly with her. Granted, she had no real reason to dislike the CMAS except for the fact she just did. She didn't particularly enjoy authority in general, and the CMAS was just a good target for her contempt. What Yvette said next though, pretty much confirmed her suspicions that this place would probably be done for. Sydney Duvell, huh? She knew the name well enough to know not to mess with him more than a little.

"Lila." She replied sharply when Yvette asked for their names. "Goin' to visit old Lukey boy, are ya?" Lila seemed to consider tagging along for a few brief seconds before grunting in dismissal. She was curious, but Yvette had told her everything she needed. The Divers Paradise had gotten on Sydney Duvell's bad side. That was bad. The CMAS had tried to launch an assault here. That was also bad. The chances that if she stuck around here she'd get offed? Really, really, bad. "Tell him that if he has a brain, he'd think about not pissin' off the CMAS." With that, Lila was done speaking to Yvette. She didn't have anything else to say so she turned back to Mira.

"So, aside from the terrible management and idiots runnin' this place, anything else happen while I was gone?" She asked. "And if ya know of a place I can get a drink, that didn't get blown to smithereens, that'd be great. Lost my alcohol barely a week out. Don't ask."

[Rekaigan]

Oswyn Ainsworth
Diver's Paradise, Western Entrance

@tex

The Alchemist couldn't help but smirk at everyone's expressions of amazement. Such reactions are great to see. The woman's questions just raised more questions than answers in Oswyn's head. "Knowing this concoction, yes he should be. Unless his circuits were completely torn out, in which case he'd just be dead as a door nail. Like his friend." He began, continuing his very nonchalant tone. "However, it may be worth knowing the nature of the attack. What happened to them?" He inquired.

Surely it couldn't be anything too bizarre. He wasn't too versed in the Arcane.. or Ki for that matter, but he was sure that ripping someone's soul out wasn't exactly an 'on-the-fly' thing... Did people even have souls? The concepts of Ki weren't too baffling and it made sense in it's own way, but he didn't learn very much about it since he didn't know any Ki practitioners. Oswyn sighed internally. 'I need to find new colleagues.'

"Also, who's this 'Luke' guy? I hear his name every so often, I don't actually know who that is." He added with a shrug. He actually didn't care very much, but if it's someone that's going to meddle with his work, then it may be worth knowing who it might be.

[Empath]

Mira

Diver’s Paradise

@Rune_Alchemist@tex

As the woman in front of them explained her situation as well as the reason for the current situation in the Paradise Mira couldn’t help but keep worrying. She always hated it when she was reminded of her past - and even more so when someone else might be related to it. This feeling only intensified as Mira noticed the other woman’s gaze drifting over her before she asked of their names.
It felt like time stood still for Mira.

Has she guessed anything…? she wondered for a brief second, no, of course not. You’re just being paranoid - after all, I’ve never met her before! She told herself before forcing her mind back at the current topic, just in time for her to hear Lila speak her own name.

Mira cleared her throat before answering. “Mira” she replied simply, didn’t feel like answering anymore than that - and luckily for her it seemed as if Lila had had enough as well.

"So, aside from the terrible management and idiots runnin' this place, anything else happen while I was gone?" Lila spoke to Mira before continuing without waiting for an answer. "And if ya know of a place I can get a drink, that didn't get blown to smithereens, that'd be great. Lost my alcohol barely a week out. Don't ask."

“Oh you are in for a tale,” Mira replied with a rare note of teasing in her voice. “You’ve missed so much in your prolonged absence! It’s really been quite a time here in ‘our’ little Paradise - you should ‘sooo’ have been here!”

With each word she spoke the tone of teasing became thicker and thicker in Mira’s voice. “Oh you’ve lost your impressive amount of liquor? That must have been quite a devastating blow for you - thinking about it: I don’t think I’ve ever seen you more than a few feet away from a bottle of alcohol… Are you sure you’re going to be a-okay?” Mira winked at her before turning dead serious and adding in a worrying tone as she shifted her gaze beyond Lila.

“Mmm… Any place that serves liquor and survived the horrible attack? That’s gonna be unlikely…” she said thoughtfully before suddenly snapping her attention back towards Lila. “Ah! I doubt the devastation of the battle reached the lower regions, so ‘The White Horse’ might have survived with its liquor intact, if you’re lucky”

“Although you know you have to order” Mira added, she really hated both excessive drinking and ordering - though she despised the latter much more as it required actual interaction with people.

[Hatman1801]

Illuna Forest

_{Entering the forest}

Sulfrax was both tired and energized as he made his way into the Illuna Forets with Rem. He didn't look the sort to be comfortable walking long distances, but he'd have traveled to three different nations in nearly as many days. He'd had quite a bit racing through his mind since leaving Hyznia, not all of it relevant to his upcoming task. Still, enough of it was focused on the upcoming ordeal: confronting Dictator Yvin. Illon's leader couldn't refuse his proposal to ally with Hyznia against CMAS, but asking for the assistance of his Seven Sins...

His thoughts were interrupted by Rem. A question about his condition. He let out a somewhat exasperated sigh; he tried to give off the impression that he didn't like talking about it. Considering the scope of the tasks at hand though, and how he was specifically ordered by Sydney to not tell anyone, it was as good of an excuse as any to defy his old co-worker. "You might already know. Or maybe not? Sometimes I think others assume the truth, but have difficulty accepting it based on scale and probability." Sulfrax paused, pulling back his sleeve to reveal the leather wraps. Running a finger along their length made the runes grow vaguely before he unwrapped a few, revealing the flesh for a closer look.

The flesh was dead. Withered with a loss of muscle mass, and flesh burned so badly it looked like coal. It didn't make sense that he could even move the limb, and it probably would have been healthier to have the limb amputated... but with a motion of his fingers, which seemed unnatural considering the condition, cracks became visible in the flesh. Raw arcane energy flowed beneath, like magma within stone, glowing a faint white-blue and pulsing with energy. "The first arcane node project was a failure and a success. A failure because it wasn't moved to a stable, appropriate vessel suitable for Sydney's use. A success, because of what it did to me; I passively draw in and generate my own source of arcane energy. I am, effectively, a living arcane node."

Sulfrax wrapped his arm again once Rem had gotten a good look, and let the limb fall back to his side as he began moving again, without missing a beat in his speech. "When my original attempt began to destabilize, it was going to explode. There would have been a crater in the middle of the capital with my name on it. Instead, I made an attempt to stabilize it. An effort to suppress the node before all of its generated power exploded outwards. I succeeded. The damage was contained to the lab itself and my body. My arms and legs didn't make it; the raw intake of power was both drawn in and expelled first through my limbs, and the living tissue didn't fare well. My organs became nearly fully integrated with my arcane network. I move myself around with magic like a puppet, I hardly need to eat or sleep, and I've barely aged a day in the last ten years."

Sulfrax's mouth turned, looking up as the tree cover became thicker, perhaps confirming to himself that they were still moving in the right direction. "I have ranted out a worthy explanation of what I am for you now, yes? You should do the same for me at some point. And I would prefer it if you didn't go repeating what I told you. My story is classified information among the heads of CMAS and King Thrallmor's circle. Even Yvin isn't prone to the full details. Wouldn't want a slip of the tongue getting you in trouble in Illon. That is...if something else doesn't kill us first?" Sulfrax paused, looking off to the side suddenly, tilting his head a bit. Smoke in the distance. The beginning of a forest fire? Or were they to be attacked again?

---

@Necrophage@Greenguy

[tex]

Diver's Paradise, Lower Cavern

@Rune_Alchemist@Empath

---

Yvette blinked at Lila's nickname for Luke with a blank expression. 'Lukey boy' was it? She had a hard time holding back her amusement, but shook her head discouragingly. "Luke had nothing to do with this attack, but he's never been one to back down from conflict. I too, hope this does not elevate, but what cannot be helped, cannot be helped," Yvette sighed, looking to the ground. As the two girls began to exchange words, Yvette cleared her throat and turned away from then. "I'll be off, then," She stated promptly, making her way towards the Diver's HQ. Lila's words stung Yvette more than anything she'd heard in a while, though. Luke was certainly an easy guy to work up. Truthfully, there wasn't a whole lot that could provoke the care-free Diver, but attacking his home? Killing the people he sought to protect? Threatening the safety of his family? Luke wasn't going to take this lying down. No doubt, Sydney had just painted a giant target on the back of his gaudy robes, and Luke might've been stupid enough to take aim.

Diver's Paradise, Western Entrance

@Rekaigan

---

"Robed men," The woman started, looking back to her decrepit friend, "they caught us on the road that leads south of Zentai mountains. At the edge of the crags, we were assaulted without warning. Two men, Ki users no doubt, jumped down on us and restrained Geo, the other man. They placed some kind of... Orb against his skin, and did the same with my friend here. We were able to drive the two of them off afterwards, but they escaped, and didn't try to follow us. A few minutes later, the two that they attacked began to lose control of their bodies, and well," The woman paused and stood up, "This happened."

"I'm surprised you don't know about Luke," another man approached Oswyn from behind, with his arms crossed. He was a foreboding Diver, standing almost as tall as Luke with a slightly lighter frame. Kevin Laro, one of the slightly more popular Divers that frequented the Paradise. He had a similar reputation to Quicksilver Zay, but rarely left the cavern's hold to do much in the outside world. "Luke Juuno, you know, the founder of this entire paradise?" Kevin asked with an aggressive tone. A few of the other divers carried the man that Oswyn treated away from the crowd, which began to disperse shortly afterward, but Kevin didn't seem like he was eager to be going anywhere any time soon.

Diver's Paradise, Eastern Entrance

@LokiLeo789@Jensoman

---

Brian looked to Jenso, and then back to Len, before pointing towards himself in confusion. "Me?" He croaked, "I've never killed anyone, nor had I any intention of doing so, not even with Survey group Alpha. My entire purpose was recon..." Brian spoke calmly, and did not lie. The man had never thought about killing another human before, or even a creature of No man's land. His only form of self defense was his small, jeweled dagger wrapped around his waist, and a standard Issue CMAS Arcane Pistol wrapped around the opposite hip. His magical capabilities were exclusively for recon, as he said, giving him the ability to feel the physical and energetic presence of the area around him. The Tormal family was well known for their sensory magic in Arcadia, but out here in Diver's paradise? It was unlikely that anyone had ever heard of them. "The only reason I agreed to joining the survey initiative in the first place was for the money. I don't think anyone's inherently evil." Brian's eyes shifted uncomfortably as he thought back to why he'd joined Group Alpha in the first place. How was his daughter fairing back home without him? Her condition was surely worsening, but there wasn't really a way for him to return home so easily. This entire day has been a disaster, for everyone.

---

Hyznia, CMAS HQ

@RyuShura

---

One of the CMAS guards approached Pincy with his rifle raised, but the woman rose her hand, gesturing for him to stop. "Miss Eridal," he started, but a quick glance from the woman shut him up very fast. She looked back to Pincy and smiled for a split second, with a kind tilt of her head.

"They did not tell me that you were blind," She said quietly, linking her fingers together and resting both elbows on the table. It was clear that she wasn't going to be acknowledging his shenanigans, especially after she disregarded everything he'd just said. "Do you know of Sulfrax Lauchlin, previous head Arch mage of Project S-S?" she asked, her smile disappearing in an instant. "If so, would you consider him to be... A kind man?" The woman carried a power about her speech, matching the demeanor of a highly ranked CMAS official, as expected. But it was uncommon to come across a woman of such high ranking with such power in her voice. Well, perhaps it wasn't that much of a surprise.

This was Sarah Eridal, after all.

[Jensoman]

@tex @LokiLeo789

Diver's Paradise, Eastern Entrance

Jenso continued eating his sandwich, still giving Len a confused look. 'Heal in time..? Is he joking...or..' He thought. Jenso felt that his powers had completely returned to him as he finished his meal. He turned to Len. "Um, dude, that's not how it works...you know that rocks don't heal by themselves like humans do...right?" Jenso responded. He couldn't believe that he had to explain this to Len, but Len seemed very certain that the rock would heal by itself. Was the man insane, or did he truly have some way to heal the rock after all? He had seen plenty of Divers with many different powers, so it was certainly possible. He decided to wait as Len had suggested for now. If Len was truly able to fix the pillar, Jenso believed that he would surely find out soon.

He turned to Brian and frowned at him. "Why did you venture into No-Man's Land besides the mission you'd received from Arcadia, then? Did you want to feel the thrill of adventure, like me?" Jenso asked, with a wide grin on his face. "I won't lie, I've killed people...but I can't say I enjoyed it. I only did so because I didn't have any other choice. It was them, or me.." He added with a sad tone as his smile had vanished. He always tried to avoid killing, but this was still No-Man's-Land. Sometimes you had to kill in order to survive, something that Divers knew all too well. Jenso was still concerned about Brian's safety. He did not seem like a fighter, and being unable to do so within No-Man's-Land was dangerous.

[Greenguy]

Heedy Haw Haw, Drunk of the Lord
Illuna Forest

Stumbling about the woods in near perfect step, Heedy Haw Haw could smell the worst fart in history. Like, burning tree levels of worst. Fucking hell. He pulls out one of his flask bottles, taking a test swig. Turned out to be a bit of Brandy. Fuckin' nice. He takes a deeper swig as he continues his walk, drinking down to the last drop and just tossing the cheap metal container where ever. It's not like he can't make more. Just a bit of scrap, a bit of booze, and boom. Magic

His senses began to clear up though, nothing like a good dose of booze after a random nap from a hostile tree. Fuckin' trees. Always stealing your foot. Heedy Haw Haw begins mulling through how many terrible, b-rated illusiongrams there was of how some random pretty broad always got caught on a tree branch. Heedy Haw Haw grumbles, then proceeds to catch his foot on said tree root and goes down hard. Slamming into the ground, the S.O.D. on his back presses down heavily into his back and he begins letting out a flurry of curses.

He gets up, whipping out the S.O.D. and aims behind him before looking about wildly and seeing if some random B-rated horror illusion was gonna get him. They're gonna get hyperfire to the damn face that's what. Heedy Haw Haw begins to randomly grin and digs out another flask, still keeping S.O.D. extremely steady even with how drunk he was with a single arm holding it.

[RyuShura]

"Yep. Been blind like a bat since I was a wee babe." nodding to himself, "Shame too. I can't see your eyes. I'm sure they're lovely. I can practically feel their warm embrace from over here!" turning to one of the figures surrounding their table, "Say, what color are they?"

Pincy then copied her position on the table identically, however taking a more casual approach, resting his chin in both his hands like he was staring at close friend, contrasting to the coldness she presented forth. He either knew of Sarah Eridal and pretended not to, or he simply didn't show much interest in her prestigious position in CMAS. It was unclear which he was leaning more on without seeing his actual face, and his empty, unblinking eyes didn't reveal much of anything.

"As a respectable mage and intellectual regarding all things Arcane, of course I've heard of Sulfrax! The man is quite the legend, both for undertaking and abandoning one of the greatest projects known to recent history. I'm quite disappointed, really. For someone so established and well-regarded, I would expect more dignity to finish what he started. And here, I've been spending all my life scurrying in dirt and blood to fund my personal projects..." he cocked his head to the side as he spoke again, a light waver to his voice, "But what I find interesting-- amusing actually, is your question. My opinion of Sulfrax's... 'kindness'? Of all the things I imagined you'd ask me, I surely didn't expect this! Nyeheh--!" putting a hand to the mouth of the white mask to silence the sudden burst of laughter, "Ahem, excuse me, I just couldn't help myself. You are so direct, yet you used such an indirect method." shaking away the shivered giggles, "I find these little unexplained intricacies much too funny..."

Spinning in his chair, looking again at the others in the room, "I can't be the only one, right...?"

...

[Rune_Alchemist]

~Lila Vyner~
Divers Paradise

@Empath@tex

"Try to talk some sense into him, then. We don't need the entire CMAS breathing down our necks!" Lila shouted after Yvette as she left. She sighed, taking a long look over to Mira, wearing an unimpressed expression. "And the only reason I drink is because of chucklefucks like you and miss uniform over there won't leave me alone." Lila grunted, not sounding too amused by Mira's teasing. She wasn't really too put off by it though, in fact it was fairly amusing to exchange words in such a way. She set off down the street towards the bar Mira mentioned. It was one she had been too once or twice on occasion, though she usually made sure to only come in when it wasn't crowded. She could handle large crowds that well.

"So tell me about this amazing tale," Lila continued as she turned, walking towards the bar in question. "And just how much uniform and that sorry excuse for a leader fucked up this time." Might as well get started on the walk there. Not much else to talk about.

[tex]

---

Hyznia, CMAS HQ

@RyuShura

---

"Do not turn away from me," Sarah hissed, slamming both of her palms on the table. Suddenly, Pincy's chair spun back towards Sarah and shook, held in place by the CMAS official's magic. The mages behind Pincy glanced at him, looking awfully confused as they thought on what he'd just said. Sure, he was a mad-man, but why was Sarah using such a peculiar format to interrogate him? Sarah narrowed her eyes and returned to her relaxed posture, resting her chin comfortably on backs of her hands. "I've little patience for games, but you've made it clear that you won't be played so easily. Fine," Sarah fell back into her chair and crossed her arms, "I will state it clearly, and skip this pointless back and fourth. My sources tell me that you may be capable of Magics that fall in line with what the CMAS would classify as spiritual. I want to know if you can use your abilities to track Sir Sulfrax, assuming that I grant you any resources you may need, along with an estimate for his current location. I want you to kill him," Sarah asked calmly, examining Pincy's details to the best of her abilities. She wasn't informed on anything that this crazed fool could do, but if he were not capable, she wouldn't care. There were plenty of other prospects outside of CMAS' ranks. Still, with the Tormal family occupied elsewhere, and Brian missing, there weren't many options for tracking that dastardly mages, despite his extremely blatant energy source, if he didn't want to be tracked. It might have been easy for Pincy to lie his way through this little interrogation, assuming he couldn't help Miss Eridal with her little request, assuming he wanted to help her at all, or get out this situation without getting silenced.

---

Illon, Yvin's Quarters

@13org

---

Dictator Yvin looked over his counsel in discontent. The city was in peril, stricken with a recent string of murders at the hands of an unknown culprit. It had started a month ago, with people going missing in the higher class districts, or higher class citizens appearing in the morning without a head in the city's slums. It was starting to pick at Yvin's usual resolution to turn a blind eye to such matters, but after one of his counsel men, Carlos Ho, was found in his fortress's common area in literal pieces, he decided that something had to be done.

Yvin called Kasumi Kuromoto and Jaymee Lilthella to his room in the late morning, urging the head of the Seven sins and his second in command that news he'd mustered for them was more important than the tasks they'd been given a month prior. The other five sins were on a mission to the south, to consolidate a secret union between Illon and Mortuum, and according to Jihal, the Sin of Envy, and the squad's telepathic messenger, things were proceeding nicely. He had only called Kasumi and Jaymee back, confident that their combined efforts would be more than enough to pull this recent issue out from the darkness that the sins held reign over.

"We arrive," Jaymee rasped from beneath her black cloak, "Pride, present." Jaymee, or rather, pride, turned to Kasumi and awaited her greeting, as did Yvin, before he intended to speak.

[LokiLeo789]

---

Divers Paradise, Eastern Entrance

---

Len nodded approvingly at the two boys, music to his ears and a soothing wave that washed over his skin. "His reasons for venturing into No-Mans Land is his alone." he sighed smiling politely at Brian, Len didn't want to hear his story, so he turned to the other boy, the blonde one, and leaned forward. "I must agree with you, this place makes you do things. But those who just attacked us, those uniformed men, do you not hate them?" Len's piercing brown eyes locked with the boys, waiting for his answer.

Wait. That's what he had told them to do, to wait, and watch. At this moment, the pillar that kept Diver Paradise from collapsing, was held by a single pebble of his creation. The moment that was removed, was the same moment when Diver Paradise was eradicated. Len's plan wasn't to kill hundreds for no reason, but to find a truth in the hearts of the Divers. Did they truly kill out of hate or self defense? That was his mission today.

@Jensoman@tex

[13org]

Illon, Yvin's Quarters

Kasumi

"Lust... Hmm... I always wondered who came up with these names." the girl said, calmly walking forward and stopping near Pride.

Lust was the perfect name for her, the girl was the embodiment of desire.
Freedom, knowledge, violence, pleasure... She longed and craved for all of them, but unlike greed, she didn't wanted money or material possessions. Being a free spirit, she always did what her heart desired.

"I have many names, dictator. Fox... Lust... and some others that are not worth mentioning right now." the girl said, with a fox like smile and a slight bow.

"So, I don't think you called us just to drink tea or coffee." she said, waiting for him to speak.

Kasumi... She was certainly someone difficult to deal with. Young, with an imprevisible behavior, she was prone to ignore orders. Maintaining her under control was a very... challenging task, but it was worth the effort. Deadly and skilled, she was brutally efficient in every mission given to her.

Although young, the girl had a... very unique presence. Sharp eyes saw right through whoever she stared at. It seemed like nothing could escape her glare. Her walk and posture were graceful, almost like she was dancing in the air, moving without any effort. Beautiful, yet mischievous and dangerous. Her seductive walk was natural to her, attracting many stares. But few were the ones brave enough to try their luck hitting on her.

@tex

[RyuShura]

Pincy turned his head in thought at the proposition, already thinking of all the possibilities presented by this, his fingers tapping excitedly against his mask, "To be granted the profound resources of the CMAS, in exchange for the head one of the most prominent figures in our history... hmm, a very tempting offer indeed." nodding as he giggled, "Yes, yes, I will be able to conduct my research into the dream without fear and without anymore dilemma!"

But his joy quickly faded as a solemn truth filled his pale eyes. As great an offer as it sounded, there was one problem with what they are asking him. The task itself was simple enough. He was no stranger of following magic nodes in the darkness of the 'Cosmic Dream' when he is searching for greater beings to contact. A small calibration to peer into lower depths would allow him to find those still living. Since they already have a general idea of his location, this scrying would be made even easier. But despite what anyone may think of him, Pincy is not an assassin, nor a murderer. At least towards respectable others in his class. He may dabble with the dead and taboo here and there, but he would not dare end the life of a mage so powerful as Sulfrax. The sudden vanquish of such a potent soul will leave a gaping whole in the veil of the Dream. The results could be catastrophic for those living in this plane, possibly shifting a whole quadrant entirely and killing countless cosmic denizens.

The greater beings will take this as an offense after so graciously granting him these privileges, for tampering with their beloved home and surrogate family. Those who inflict the rage of these entities are haunted relentlessly by horrors in the chaotic dimension.

Judging by how they kept him now, there was no way they would allow him to reject their wishes. Disobeying the CMAS is one quick way of getting his arcane network silenced. Or worse.

He lowered his head, shaking it, "Ah, but I have one problem... Alas, I'm not a cold-hearted murderer. I have a sense of morality and justice, believe it or not! As you may already know, I am famous for doing odd jobs, really anything no one else would be inclined to do. So long as my clients present me with something interesting, I am already compelled... though a little compensation doesn't hurt either." laughing at that last part, "But I have a solution to this moral conflict! I can do this for you, tracking down this Sulfrax, so long as I do not deal the killing blow. In short, I will need an 'Assistant'. Or a few..."

Looking at Sarah, "That won't be a problem, yes?"
...

[Rekaigan]

Oswyn Ainsworth
Diver's Paradise, Western Entrance

@tex

"Ki users, hmm?" Oswyn thought aloud, his hand holding his chin in a 'thinker' fashion. He wasn't sure of the CMAS would have Ki users on their side, then again, the CMAS did all sorts of things that people didn't know about, and the alchemist didn't care about most of it. There was one thing that piqued Oswyn's interest. The Orbs. Assuming they were tangible, he'd like to grind them into dust and test what kind of concoction he could create with it.. Maybe he could make people lose control of themselves like this too.. 'That'd be interesting to watch.'

His thoughts were interrupted as another voice spoke up from behind him. The man wasn't that much taller than him, so all intimidation factor was thrown out the window. He couldn't quite pin the name on this guy, but he was somewhat sure it started with a 'K'. "Hmm.. The name rings a bell.." Oswyn responded in a casual manner as if he could care less. The man's aggressive tone not really phasing the young doctor in the slightest.

"You wouldn't happen to have more details on the Ki users? I really want to know what those 'orbs' were." He inquired, completely forgetting about Luke for the moment.

[Necrophage]

Illuna Forest

"I see this is close to you... - and dangerous." Rem mulled it over. Sulfrax was even more of a marvel than people could give him credit and with a secret like that they never would. "To think that you are still alive after such an overload. Perhaps we could find a way to heal your limbs, living node or not." He offered the hopeful thought knowing that Sulfrax had likely pondered the same.

Resolving his choice was simple. This secret was important like the many he kept. "I will keep your secret unless you say otherwise. I promise. In exchange for that honest truth you have told me I'll reciprocate. Would you like to know about Haedrig or.. -" Senna growled, it was faint but Rem noticed it immediately. Master Lauchlin already understood there was someone nearby.

Rem knelt next to Senna, giving one stroke of comfort along the spiny needles down her back. "What is it?" He whispered. Rem closed his eyes and channeled magically fueled focus and understanding. Pure instinct rushed his senses as an understanding of Senna's senses came. She smelled an inn? No that was impossible, Rem had been out here before, and recently at that. There were no inns or taverns nearby. Yet she smelled it nonetheless and her senses were rarely wrong.

"Senna-" Rem announced, "Senna smells an inn nearby, along with the smoke." He looked Sulfrax in the eyes, as serious as possible. "It's moving. We'll have to continue our trade later. Something weird is afoot." Considering he just discovered he'd been travelling with a living arcane node that was an interesting claim.

[Jensoman]

@tex @LokiLeo789

Divers Paradise, Eastern Entrance

Jenso turned to Len and frowned. Staring at the pillar began to feel quite boring, but at least he had Len and Brian to talk too. If it wasn't for them, he surely would have moved away to try to help out elsewhere. He listened intently to what Len had to say. He gave the man a calm look. "...No. Despite the terrible things they do, they're just following orders. Just like the Divers who are loyal to Luke. Sydney Duvell is the one to blame for all this, the one in command. Even so, I don't want him to die. But if nobody stops this war between the CMAS and the Divers, there'll be a lot of deaths. I can't stop this entire conflict alone." Jenso responded to Len.

He tried to hide his displeasure about the fact that they'd been staring at a pillar for quite a while now. The conversation in itself was interesting, but he felt that there were better things that he could do right now. What Jenso said was true. If he wanted to have a shot at reaching Sydney, he would need all the help he could get. Luke would surely try to attack Sydney at some point, and many would die. He hoped he could interfere before that would happen.

[tex]

---

Hyznia, CMAS HQ

@RyuShura

---

Sarah narrowed her eyes. An assistant? There was no way she was going to allow any of the CMAS officials to accompany him. Fortunately, he was not the first she'd contacted to take this odd job, and sure enough, he wasn't going to be the last. Sending one rogue diver after Sulfrax was inefficient, and foolish, anyways. Although Sarah had no estimate for his abilities, she was sure that somebody like Pincy might have had no chance at killing him, even if it was with a unique type of magic.

"I have several whom you can choose from, though, none of them are of CMAS affiliation, and if you'd like to keep your head in place, I'd suggest you refrain from affiliating yourself with us either, regardless of what we ask of you," Sarah announced, after a short silence, "If you are willing and able, I can pair you with a man or woman of your choice from our current roster of... Volunteer Divers. You will be, of course, compensated if you are to succeed. Generously." Sarah looked to one of her officials and nodded to him. The man nodded back and exited the room to fetch the other Divers there were within the confines of Hyznia's CMAS HQ.

"Shall we?" Sarah beckoned, standing from her chair. Pincy felt a hand grasp his shoulder from behind. One of the CMAS officials were urging him to stand and follow.

---

Illon, Yvin's Quarters

@13org

---

Yvin glanced at Kasumi, as irritable as ever. Pride turned to her, her own expression blank with disappointment. Or was it pride for Kasumi's habit of speaking out of turn? Nobody could really tell with her. Yvin shook his head and cleared his throat, prompting their attention.

"The recent murders have worsened. Reginald is dead," Yvin grunted. Curt and to the point, as always. the man wasted no time with formalities or small talk. "I've called you two back to investigate. None of our soldiers have had any success in tracking down the killer, despite the copious amount of bodies they've left in their wake. This is turning into an epidemic, one death every night." Yvin paused and looked to Pride. "The only lead we've found it that some crime scenes were rather... Clean. Devoid of blood. In fact, the body of Reginald himself was practically bone dry, drained of his fluids like a raisin. We suspect a Warlock is at play, or worse, some kind of monster that we've never cataloged before."

Illon was known for cataloging more monsters within No-Man's-Land than any other Nation, despite their size and location in the center of the swampland. Reginald especially, a councilman within Yvin's court who was responsible for managing the city's defenses, was adept at recording the traits of larger, titan-class monsters. As a government official, and a CMAS mage, he was one of the more powerful, and well respected members of Illon's influential group of people, and he sat within the coziest portion of the Nation's walls.

"Reginald was killed last night, within the confines of his own bedroom. Now, well into the afternoon, we've not found a single indication that his room was broken into, but there was something that, with his dying breaths, Reginald was able to offer us." Yvin reached into one of his trenchcoat's pockets and pulled out a clump of white hair that refracted light like steel. "This is the killers hair. It is unnaturally pale, and I highly doubt an elderly person was responsible for Reginald's murder, even if they were also an Archmage." Yvin sighed and dropped the hair to the ground.

"To reiterate, you two are here to track, and kill whomever was responsible for this."

---

Diver's Paradise, Eastern Entrance

@Jensoman@LokiLeo789

---

"You're a bigger man than I am, Jenso," Brian cut in, chuckling nervously, "I hate them very much for what they've done, every last one of those drones. CMAS officials that have been taken by the system are at fault for their own wrongdoings, regardless of who executed the order. I should know, I've seen it. Men and women, institutionalized by the CMAS, unable to think for themselves any longer. If you ask me, that's no different from the beasts in No-Man's-Land." Brian sounded rather confident, for once in his life, with what he'd just said. It was passionate, fueled by his regrets and desires to make a difference. "I don't... I don't know. Following orders without questioning the morality of it all... They may not have had evil intentions, but after changing so violently to appease the CMAS? It just, it seems pretty evil, to me. If any of my colleagues were ordered to kill my daughter without rhyme or reason, I don't doubt that they would follow through with it. And although I don't wish to kill anyone, I'm almost certain, that if I was met with something that evil, I would drive my dagger through their skull without a second thought."

While the three Divers spoke, a familiar figure strode down the eastern entrance ramp with a limp. It was Luke, sporting his iconic Olive green tank top, and ragged patched pants. His darker complexion was riddled with sweat, like he'd just run a marathon, but he didn't seem too worried despite his condition. The man walked to the edge of the eastern platform and looked down at his paradise with a frown, immediately reliving the events that had happened earlier that morning. The afternoon wasn't kind to anyone, apparently.

---

Diver's Paradise, Western Entrance

@Rekaigan

---

Kevin grit his teeth angrily, but shook the thought of beating Oswyn to a bloody pulp from his mind. Just like Luke, Kevin was rash, but not so rash as to make terribly unproductive decisions whenever his temper flared up. Not usually, anyways. "I aint got a clue about those orbs. Could be manifested Ki, could be artifacts, hell if I'm an expert on something like that. Sounds like they were sucked dry of their Ki, or arcane energy, or both," Kevin guessed, not really understanding the situation himself. "Those robed guys sound familiar though. There have been other incidents, similar to this one, across No-Man's-Land according to a few rumors." Kevin walked closer to Oswyn and gave him another once over. "Why'd you help that kid, anyways? Most Divers 'round here 'aint about to go forgetting about Luke. Seems suspicious if you ask me." Kevin avoided asking for the man's name just yet, and didn't feel the need to share his own. Although his reputation was somewhat reliable, there were a few who didn't know who he was, but mister Laro never really cared to acknowledge formalities. He thought himself just as famous as Luke, even if that was nonsensical.

[RyuShura]

Pincy nodded many times at her warning to stay quiet, his head bobbing like a little spring toy. He has heard this speech a great many of times, more than he'd like to admit. Not many high-brow organizations would like to associate themselves with him. Not that he can blame them. Or cared for that matter. He dabbled in things people didn't like to discuss or know about. The less people knew about his dealings, the better, if he had to anything to say.

"That's quite all-right, ma'am. I'd get quite the bad reputation where I'm from if the skittering rabble found out I'm part-time for the CMAS now. Not that many of them like me much as it is, any-who..." glancing to the side, feeling all the dark humanoid figures surrounding him. He can't tell faces apart, but he can definitely feel their cold, wary eyes. Just like any others. "Though I wouldn't mind to have a bunch of underlings following me around. I guess one is as good a start as any..." Pincy piped up happily when she confided his idea, bringing both his hands together in a resounding clap. "Oooh! Volunteers, you say? In other words, these individuals are 'expendable', as far as you are concerned? I'm a bit picky with my assistants, though I don't really mind their gender one bit. So long as they are... Well, I'm sure there will be someone who can be of use."

When they ushered him to move, the lanky man bounced up from the chair, narrowly hitting his pointy head on the ceiling and pushed it neatly back underneath the table. Patting his tapered coat with a flick of his wrist, he looked at his new employers expectantly, "I'm ready as can be!"