Location: Ville au Camp - Outside the Gate Skills: N/A
Hearing that Giouse more or less had no idea what to expect as they walked away from Ville au Camp and the loop closed wasn't doing much to help Andromeda's nerves. She had a slight temptation to ask him why his abilities were only able to impact space, when at least in her time, space and time were inherently linked concepts. But she knew better than to argue with an Emendator over that, at the very least - they had bigger things to worry about and to occupy their minds with than the finer points of physics and astronomy. Gilbert at the very least was proposing a plan of action - going to scavenge through the 'remains' of the loop once it was safe to reenter.
At James' slight softening, Andromeda nodded slightly. "I know - I was just teasing you back," she clarified. She then nodded again as he asked again about the superhero teams. "Yeah, actual teams. Did you guys have that huge thing in New York?" she prefaced. "After that, they kinda started popping up all around... Of course the government tried to keep people from knowing about the real spooky stuff, like demons and ghosts and vampires and all, but they had a harder time after Altsoba to really keep that up.... That's when the devil tried to end the world, ended up just killing a small town's population in Washington... My uh... my half-brother was the one who summoned him."
"But on the team subject - the Avengers are a pretty big deal. O.M.E.N. kinda leaves them alone, but honestly I think it's just because of the money the team has backing them..."
Location: Outside Camp Au Ville Skills: The Watch Act I: Time Portals
"Just because you can speak does not mean that you should comment on every change you see." Gio spoke, in his head, he was speaking specifically to Bartholomew asking the obvious question of whether the otherworldly shimmering was normal, but when spoken aloud he left it without a direct "address". Of course it wasn't normal. Could he not see? Gods.
Wait.
See. Shimmer. Why did these things seem to connect together in his head? Ah yes. Drem did mention that one time. Gio suddenly stopped in his tracks.
"Sir Gilbert. Do you perchance recall a conversation with Drem we had some 135 years ago? I could give you the precise date, but I doubt that would help you much. The conversation was unrelated to the event at hand for the most part, but he happened to mention something about shimmering when he saw things. I could hypothesize one hundred explanations for what this shimmering is, but I believe that it might allow us to see reality for what it truly is. Perhaps it really is how they say: one door closes and another one opens. There's only one real way to check if this hypothesis is correct. Find those who hide from mortal sight. If you catch my drift." Gio pulled out the Watch and opened up a time portal back to that fateful time and place where Peter met his end for the second time.
"Everyone, come along, we could use as much help as possible. And it will be good experience for you all. I can answer any questions you may have on the other side, but time is short and it is unseemly to hang around this time and location any longer. Forgive me Peter for dragging you back. Under no ordinary circumstances would I subject you to this. I understand if you wish to avoid returning while we investigate this hunch of mine."
Sophia looked towards Gilbert when he answered her question and nodded slightly towards him, she didn't have any issue with that as she took another look at the strange shimmering. She was pretty sure that it wasn't a good thing at all, she listened to James as he spoke more a bit about comic book heroes and movies. She looked at Andromeda and shook her head slightly towards her, they didn't have anything like that in their time. Before the outbreak life was pretty much normal and nothing interesting happened until that happened, super heroes and stuff like that were all in comic books.
She looked at Gio when he addressed Bart and then mentioning something about the shimmering that the former Emendator Drem had said, though she wasn't sure how they would actually be able to fight something that they couldn't see at all. Gio then started to open up a time portal, which she wasn't sure if it was a good idea or not but there wasn't much she could say and had a feeling she could trust Gio that they would make it safely to the other end. "Where are we going exactly though?" She asked him, knowing that he had the time and location where they would be going in the timelines.
Location: Outside Camp Au Ville -> Through the portal Skills:N/A
Bart frowned at Giosue rebuffing him, not expecting that kind of reaction from a comment. It was understandable though, this was a stressful situation to say the least, and tempers were likely to be short for everybody involved. He was interested though, as Gio seemed to potentially get some kind of idea behind what was going on. He seemed to be keeping details to himself for now, but he was used to that by now. If he had wanted them not to understand what was going on, he'd have addressed The Hat in one of the many languages they both knew than none of them did. Certainly though, he wasn't going to question for further clarification now, and he even shot Sophia a look, annoyed that she wouldn't just go through the portal instead of asking.
He himself took no such issue. He knew that Gio wouldn't be sending them somewhere that he either wasn't (relatively) safe, or otherwise unnecessary. Looking upon the portal, he steeled himself for what ever might lay behind it. He was a little worried about leaving the plantation behind, without scavenging, but he assumed they'd be back later for that. That was the magic of time travel, of course, they could go somewhere, spend as much time as they wanted there, and be back whenever they wanted. Assuming, of course, that things still worked the way they did before. Shrugging, he stepped through the now opened portal.
Location: Ville au Camp (Outside Gate) Skills: The Hat, History
Gilbert quirked an eyebrow at Giosue, specifically because of his choice of title for him. Naturally, he remembered the conversation with Drem. It was almost a curse, knowledge. Like the other Emendators, he was cursed to know and remember everyhing in human history, but be unable to directly access unless he concentrated on a specific point. Being that this was a thing that happened to him personally, it was an easy recovery. Such was life for an Emendator. Instead of bringing up the obvious, The Hat instead made comment about the name used to describe him. "Now Gio, I have not been a 'Sir' in a very long time. 15th Century France; Sir Guilbert du Casque. His helmet still resides in that plantation house," he informed, motioning his head in the direction of the main house on the grounds of the former Loop. "...along with other things of great antiquity. Likewise, many items of practical use, such as money, clothing, weapons, and the like. Things we will require. The biggest cache of the things we need, regardless of the nature of the upcoming troubles."
But where were his manners? As a sudden break to the point he was making, he spoke to the recently resurrected Paradox. "Peter, I do hope that the cane is satisfactory to your needs. Tell me if you have use for anything else, please."
That being cleared, he returned to his point. "Provided that we are successful in locating one of these ...hidden creatures... the means to defend ourselves in a physical sense is vastly decreased, but not altogether lacking." He motioned to the lever action rifle still in a sheath on his back. He had put the other one away hours ago, but retained the other and had honestly gotten so used to its presence that he slap forgot about it. That and a pocketknife. "Provided that this is jaunt is only to test your theory and that we return here thereafter, I accept."
Gilbert stepped toward the portal and gave a small chuckle as Bart walked through. The guy had some trust, he had to admit. Without giving much away in terms of where and when, Gil answered Sophia's question in a rather cryptic manner, "We go to a place that claimed the life of a Paradox, Sophia. One who now miraculously stands among us. Step discreetly." Gil tipped his hat to the rest of the people around him and, with a mischievous smile, stepped sideways into Gio's shimmering doorway to the Sands.
Character current location: Outside Gate Characters attempted actions: Looking Around, area past portal Any and all skills being used: Observation Why each skill is being called: To take in the sights, paranormal or otherwise Desired location of the character: Other side of Portal
James Grady
Location: Ville au Camp (Outside Gate) Skills: N/A
James's eyes got a little wider and a little wider the more that Andromeda spoke. Yes, they had heroes. Super ones, at that. They had enough to form into teams. Not only that, but epic, world-altering events that came with it. Organizations and counter-organizations, fed through the application of money and politics. Then something about the Devil. And an entire town dying. Suddenly, James felt like a little man in a much, much larger multiverse. "Miss Andy? We get us some breathin' room, you gonna have to tell me some more 'bout where you're from, aight? I still owe you a story 'bout me, too. Somehow, I'm thinkin' yours're a lot more interesting, though." One task at a time. Stories later. Portal to the unknown presently.
The wheels and gears operating inside the stubborn grey matter located within James's skull shifted in unison, one cog pressing against another cog as details from previous conversations pieced together. The dead British Paradox that he officially met for the first time a little bit ago, the circumstances of his initial, quite deceased nature being apparent. Moreover, the cautionary tale that his story became, with the moral being, "You must NEVER go back." James remembered where "back" was for this man. It was a place and time that still wasn't so good for his people, though for slightly different reasons. He wasn't dressed for it, either. Or was he? A different era, perhaps, but overalls and his style of headwear had been timeless for over a century. He could easily be mistaken for a railroad worker. And if the rest of the group hadn't figured it out yet, James spelled it out for them.
"Cairo, muthafuckas, or nearabouts. Egypt. Nineteen and Twenty-Somethin'. Any y'all speak Arabic? I ain't got shit." Issues of language barriers aside, Gilbert brought up an interesting point about being able to defend themselves. James possessed two items that might be useful in that regard; a Bowie knife claimed during training that he ordinarily kept in a tool pocket along his leg, and a hybrid seax (that he won from Gil after slapping him) that he wore openly like a trophy. He had gotten pretty damn good with a short blade, though if they were looking for what he thought they were looking for, they wouldn't be of any use to him at all.
"Miss Andy, we get where we goin', you remember the offer of that hat, ok? My people done evolved to deal with the sun there, and it'll still rip the hide offa me." If he was correct, she'd need more than just that hat, but it was a start. He had another back in his room in the Main House, but concerns for safety kept them from immediately going for it. Why then were they on a monster hunt? The logic there was horribly flawed, he thought. But who was he to question? Shaking it off, James was the next to step through the portal after The Hat. "We better be comin' back for what's ours," he mentioned, just before arriving ...wherever the portal actually led.
Character current location: Outside Gate Characters attempted actions: Looking Around, area past portal Any and all skills being used: Observation Why each skill is being called: To take in the sights, paranormal or otherwise Desired location of the character: Other side of Portal
While the haze or shimmering was disturbing there was nothing that could be done about by just standing around. People had to move forward and quickly. If Siduri hadn't already made that clear, nothing would other than, oh I don't know, people starting to drop dead and the sky falling but hey, Chicken Little isn't around right now. he's still caged. Ben shook his head slightly and sighed. "Let's just keep moving," he said as he put the truck in gear. Slowly pulling forward and away from the gate. Driving down the road as the rest of the Carnivale was following behind him and Faith. There was a little worry that maybe he shouldn't have driven off but Siduri did not say to stop nor come out, so keep going until she said otherwise or they needed to stop for the day.
One hand on the wheel Ben pulled out a cigarette and lit it up. Setting the back between him and Faith on the seat. "Go ahead and have one if ya want," he said as he rested an elbow out the window of the truck and slowly puffed on it. This drive was going to take a while. Louisiana to New York was a long drive even in modern times. Right now it was the 1940's. The world was at war. Things were tight. Roads weren't exactly something that were maintained. The Carnivale didn't exactly have the newest model vehicles coming off the few lines that were active for civilian manufacturing. Billboards lined the highways saying things like Support the Troops, Buy Bonds, and so forth.
Figuring they were going to be at this for a few days Ben tried to relax some behind the wheel. "So, ever met Babylon before?" he asked Faith. He didn't know the girl but he had to give her this. She had guts to be going to do this with everything happened, with a group of people she didn't know, without the people she did know. Strong woman, which was a good thing in his mind. Considering what was going on, strength of mind and determination might be the tipping factor, if there was one.
Peter looked over towards Gilbert and nodded. "Quite well, thank you," he said before turning and looking towards Gio. So it was back to Egypt was it? That was what had gotten him into trouble in the first place. "Say nothing of it, should we be able to test the theory it will prove valuable information in fighting these creatures in the future." Peter did have a thought though as he stepped through. Perhaps it wasn't such a bad location to start after all. There was the Royal base there his uncle was in command of. Should they need to arm themselves, blend in, perhaps, oh yes, perhaps a plane, it was a good place to start. Even if he did have to creatively acquire such things.
Babylon Fortress, Cairo, Egypt: October 6th, 1924
As people started to step through the portal, they would find themselves in an ancient fortress built by the Romans that was still standing in Cairo. A good place for the portal to take them. It wasn't traveled right now. Closed off to the public and few guards at the very outskirts to keep out the riff raff. A place they could lay low and not just be put into such a predicament as locals seeing those not outfitted for the era. Nothing odd seemed to be in play - that was what was odd. There was no haze - At first.
Peter quirked a brow. Was this because they were outside of where the loop was? If there was no haze, then being there was pointless. "Well that is odd," Peter commented to those that had already stepped through. Gilbert and James would note it as well. Nothing seemed to be off or observable other than observing the normal. (Which at this point could betaken as good or bad.) Yet, it only lasted a few moments. Then it set in like it had back in Louisiana. "And that is even more strange," Peter added as he moved away from the portal so the others could come through.
Looking at his clothing Peter then looked at the others. "I say, I do believe I am the only one that fits the local and more than that era of clothing. Perhaps I should see what I can do about fetching something more, appropriate for the rest?" he suggested. Maybe The Hat could pull something out of it but if they could tend to things without having to do such, especially on such a minor detail, wouldn't that be best?
Location: Ville au Camp - Outside the Gate -> Babylon Fortress, Cairo, Egypt Skills: N/A
At Giouse's little putdown, Andromeda's head swiveled in his direction for a moment. She had half a mind to say the same exact thing back at him, next time he and Gilbert were out of their depth. After all, Giouse had been the one to suggest that they all get a good night's rest before going to deal with the impending apocalypse. Had they followed his advice, they all would have been dead - and Andromeda really did not want to die again for violating the laws of spacetime. Gilbert gave a bit more of an idea as to where exactly they were going - where Peter died. At least they had Bart with them, as Andromeda recalled he had some sort of healing ability.
She hesitated slightly as James asked her to fill him in later on where exactly she was from. Belladonna had told her that her ties to her past life, if she couldn't move on from it, could bring danger to everyone around her. "Alright," she then said, smiling a bit at him. "But I think we will need a lot of booze for that - and I am very interested in learning about where you're from." It wasn't that all of her memories of her time were bad - just enough of them were that having some alcohol would definitely help to take the edge off. Of course, she had to wonder if they would both be alive by the time they got some breathing room.
In terms of self defense... Andromeda's thoughts flickered towards her hands and the plague inducing touch they were capable of. She also could summon a bolt of lightning like Thor, she supposed, but she didn't have anything on her in the way of physical weapons. The entire thing with the Egyptian sun and heat was presenting a more concerning problem for her, though, due to her pale complexion. "Maybe it'll be late in the day when we arrive, so the sun is low," she said hopefully, before going through the portal with the others.
She found herself in an old fortress structure of sorts - thankfully indoors. The problem with the sun wasn't there for the moment. Her vision had cleared when she arrived, as the odd haze was gone... And then it was back again. Was it following them? Was it somehow... connected? "If you're on an attire run... I would very much appreciate something that keeps the sun off of my skin," she told Peter.
Character current location: Babylon Fortress, Cairo, Egypt Characters attempted actions: Andromeda is thinking on the weird haze, trying to figure out if it is connected to them or something Any and all skills being used: Alertness, Occult History Why each skill is being called: Alertness for observation, Occult History for anything she can think of that happened before that could be similar Desired location of the character: Babylon Fortress, Cairo, Egypt
Faith took another glance at the sparkly lights before she returned her attention to inside the cab again. It was most likely not a good thing, but they were in the process of fixing it. She settled into her seat before Ben offered her a cigarette. Though she was confident the thing wouldnât affect her, given her new status, she had never wanted to try. Smoking might have been considered cool in the past, but now it was a disease-ridden hobby that people tried to break. âNo, thank you.â
She had considered her past interaction with Babylon and it worried her, but surely the upcoming end of all they knew would allow for bygones to be bygones. And it was a situation she was new to and thrusted in without cause. Things have changed. She changed. âYeah, I met her before. This will be the second time.â She left it at that. Ben didnât deserve to know what happened.
She didnât consider herself brave. She was doing what she had to because she was chosen for a reason. If she had a choice, she would have just preferred to remain dead. No heaven or hell scenario. Just her body in the dirt and that was that. But this was not the case now. She had a calling now and people who relied on her to get it done. She would see it to the end.
Location: Ville au Camp, Main Gate -> Babylon Fortress, Cairo, Egypt Skills: N/A
Sophia looked over towards Bart for a moment seeing him shooting a look at her, she just wanted to just know where they would be going that way she could be prepared to go, and hopefully blend in with the locals. She learned during her first lesson with Nancy to not go in blindly when they all had their personal training sessions with the other Emendators, and that's also what ended up getting her killed in the first place. Remembering that day pretty clearly, she had just been discharged from the Newnan Infirmary, and the night there was some explosions. Which was what ended up causing her to die when she tried to run and help shutdown the gas leak.
She then turned her head when Gilbert answered her question and gave him a friendly smile and nodded towards him, remembering that Peter had died again back in Cairo Egypt. Now that she knew Sophia quickly walked through the portal and landed with the others on the other end, as she looked around and took a step to the side so that those who were coming through would. She took in the sights a bit more and then James asking if anyone knew how to speak the language. "I know Late Egyptian." Sophia said towards James, since that was one of the languages that she had learned over the year long training sessions. When Peter did point out that some of them weren't really well dressed for the time period she looked down at her dress and nodded slightly, her clothes wouldn't really come out for another twenty or so years as well.
Location: Outside Camp Au Ville->Babylon Fortress, Cairo, Egypt Skills: The Watch Act I: Time Portals
Gio was the last one to step through the portal to Cairo, and by the time he had, the haze had already set in. Not one second later, the portal closed behind him and he looked to the Paradoxes and Gilbert with him.
"I believe you're owed an explanation for what's going on with this particular excursion," he said, primarily addressing the young Paradoxes, but also to Gil and Peter to a lesser extent. It never hurt to make sure everyone was one the same page. "I do not recall if you have ever been told this explicitly, but in the past we had a fifth Emendator. He was The Glasses, and he had what you might call True Sight. He was the only one of us who could see the Destruere. He never told us much about what he saw. However, thanks to Young Bartholomew, I was reminded of one thing he did mention: a haze of sorts when he utilized his abilities."
"If my hunch is correct and the glimmer that currently plagues us is the same effect as utilizing The Glasses, then that's a major boon moving forward towards this End of Days. We lack the time to properly study this phenomena so the best I could think of is taking us to the last known location of Destruere. Assuming they haven't left the area, which is probably not the case, we can locate them and confirm whether or not this is the case. Any questions?"
As Bart walked into the scorching heat of Cairo, he was briefly reminded of his inaugural mission, in which he was also accompanied by the Watch. Even though that was only a year and a half ago, it felt like a life time to him; as if he was a different person than when he had first came to this city of sand. For the love of God, he hadn't even been able to heal at the start of that mission, though that was among the most superficial of differences. It seemed this new visit would be the staging ground for what could possibly be another major paradigm shift in his life. If Giosue was correct, then they had one of the most useful weapons they could possibly ask for in this war with the Destruere; their removal from the shadows, and into the cold light of day.
Bart felt like he did actually have several important clarifying questions to ask, given the potential danger of the situation. "If we see it, are we to engage? If not, and it starts attacking, do we flee or strike back?" He asked, looking over to Gio, but even more so at their resident combat master. These felt like good things to have firm answers on, to make sure they wouldn't need to come to a joint decision in the heat of danger. The last thing they needed right now was any kind of disarray to pile on top of the already existent clusterfuck they'd found themselves in. His eyes floated back over to Sophia, and he figured her ability might be of particular use. "Maybe we should have Sophia see if she can sense anything that might be a Destruere?"
It was true, the use of The Hat's abilities would be better spent in the event of an emergency or at a time when replacement had no other alternative. The overuse of an ability like that, even to a man who had been using that ability for the past few thousands of years or so, might have negative consequences. Along a similar note, providing in a more mundane fashion secured the idea of the Paradoxes' reliance in self, which in turn made them stronger overall. Even in an unplanned field operation. I mean, if not now, then when?
Gilbert's own clothing was not too unlike that being work in this era, though the manner in which he wore it and the state of informality might turn heads in a way that would give unneeded attention to their presence. And he was a pretty big, fairly handsome guy. Gil was already going to turn heads and be noticed, unless he utilized his other Emendator ability and changed his form. Perhaps that would work for him overall, if only used for himself; pulling out a wardrobe for everyone from his Hat at once would be a much more taxing affair. Ah, if only they had more time to prepare.
There was one area that he could help with of more immediate, less "special powers" sort of way. Seeing as someone brought up language, which was an area of expertise for him. "Perhaps we should risk my presence among the locals. I know the languages of this region. All of them. The older ones, too. I spent quite a lot of time in this area, many times over the course of its history." Once upon a time, he was even famous here. Or, infamous. Somewhere, if they looked hard enough, they might find hieroglyphics describing him specifically as a demon. Not the best mark to leave upon history, granted. But it was always good to be remembered.
Andromeda's mention of alcohol made James look down to the bottle of Alicia's tequila in his hand. "Luck has it there, Miss Andy, I got the hookup on booze." It was funny, he'd been carrying it all this time and just hadn't found reason nor opportunity to put it down anywhere. And now he really couldn't - it was, in this place at this time, an anachronism. A temporal paradox, if you will, very much like himself and everyone else there except for Peter. This was very much his time.
But perhaps there was a way that he could join the search for clothes and gear for the group. A small plan formulated within his head, which he vocalized as the details began to come together "Ya know, Mr. Peter, sir? Overalls've been around since a long time. All y'all need do is fit me with a bigass sack of somethin' to carry, an' I'll walk all hunchbacked an' the like, sayin' all kinds of "era appropriate" shit like, 'Oh, yessir, Mr. Pete sir! Is'm be happier'n a pig in shit, carry this here sack o' y'alls unmentionables down to th' river fo a good washin', Mr. Pete sir! ...aight, nevermind. I think I'd rather keep what dignity I got, just for today." Yeah. Just no. Nope. He wasn't really into that right then. Bad idea.
"Aight, look. I don't know what to do, but Peter done died here once. Twice, if'n you think on it. He ought not go by himself. If the rest the group thinks I ought stay here, I'm good. Wouldn't mind tellin' a story nohow. But I think my man here needs some backup, and just some company, y'get me?"
Ben nodded as he drove. He wasn't going to push her, the girl seemed to have a lot going on and he couldn't blame her for not just opening up like a book. He was very much the same way. Saying the bare minimal that was needed without much more. At least until he really got to know someone but even then he could be rather closed off. It was just who he was and it was added to by the fact of what he had already been through in his life since he joined the Carnivale. Not that the Carnivale was to blame. With or without them, he would have gone through much of what he had. Without them, he most likely would not have made it this far.
It was going to be a slow trek to New York but all things considered, Siduri had decided they would take the mortal route. The Haze was still there. Each day they would drive from early morning until the sun started to set. Setting up for over night and letting people eat and sleep. Ben let Faith have the cab of the truck and he would crawl under the truck and lay on the ground to sleep. It was odd for someone that wasn't used to it but it seemed that many of the Carnivale folk did this, it was quick, kept them out of the elements, and they were used to no or minimal mattresses. By the end of the third day they were at least up in Kentucky, over halfway there and closing in on New York. They could be there as early as tomorrow, but most likely it would be two more days.
"Holding up alright?" Ben asked as he turned off the truck and rubbed the back of his neck. "Hey, you want drive some tomorrow? I mean, if you know how to drive," he said. He wasn't poking fun or anything at the woman. An older truck with a stick shift was something very different than even modern stick transmissions.
Babylon Fortress, Cairo, Egypt: October 6th, 1924
Once everyone was through the portal did close. It wouldn't be maintained as a constant portal. This was different. Usually Gio was able to set a portal and close it when he was ready. Did this mean that the rest of the Enumerators powers were more limited? A temporary thing instead of a constant one? Either way, it did at least mean that they might not want to depend on their powers as much and not risk as much as one might normally would. At least until they really needed it. The sun was still in the sky. It was probably early afternoon, or mid morning. It was hard to tell and watches were not set. Hopefully Gio could determine. The Emendators would be able to feel the pull of one of theirs. She wasn't exactly close but she was in this time and within the country at least. It was a start. Andromeda, trying to figure things out, is going to remember an old tale from lore, one she can't remember which story but something about the resurrection of the dead, pulling souls from the midway and altering their courses. There are many tales like that in history and it is never a good thing. The number 12 coming into play a lot as she thinks on it but not sure why that number is important right now.
Peter looked over towards Sophia at the suggestion that she use her powers to determine if she could hear anything. It was a good idea. He nodded towards it. "Right smashing idea, if anything, no news might be good news," he said before glancing over towards James. The man wasn't wrong. His clothing would be close enough for now. At least for a servant, even if he didn't like the idea of playing the indentured servants or slaves master but they really didn't have many options and Peter did need to see what he could do about finding attire that wouldn't attract attention to the others so they could move freely among the locals.
"Yes, let us go, quickly. I know there were strange things happening here before I died. A small group was being branded by some force and they were going to be going north to a dig site. I wonder if they are connected. Anything is possible at this time," he said before motioning towards James. "We will be as quick as possible. If you must leave, do leave word, anything happens, let this be where we meet back up," he said before starting to walk off. The cane was doing the job allowing him to move quicker. Peter wasn't helpless but he wasn't up to full game. He hadn't been since the first time he died.
Location: Babylon Fortress, Cairo, Egypt Skills: Alertness, Occult History
As much as Giouse's logic was sound, Andromeda was a bit wary about actively looking for the Destruere. They were new Paradoxes relatively speaking and they hadn't fought those creatures before. If Giouse was wrong, and they couldn't see them, then the Destruere would still have that advantage - and perhaps even be able to easily wipe out all that was left of Ville au Camp in one go. Bart had a good question - Giouse and Gilbert had yet to say what the goal was, beyond seeing if they could see the Destruere. But what if the Destruere were gone? Would that just give them a false negative that the haze didn't allow them to see? There were more questions buzzing around in Andromeda's mind and this entire test was seeming less and less logical the more she thought about it.
She started thinking more and more on this entire odd situation, before recalling an obscure tale - she couldn't pinpoint when or where exactly it had come from, but it seemed fitting at the moment. It involved the resurrection of the dead, pulling souls and altering their course, their path. And there was the number twelve - she had no idea why it was important but it just seemed to keep on coming up as she thought on it. Of course, since she herself didn't understand the line of reasoning, she wasn't sure if it was worth wasting the Emendators and other Paradoxes' time. She was debating asking Peter, but then he went off with James to get them the change of clothing. Her thought could wait until she had really developed it more.
Faith was used to traveling distances so the trip itself did not bother her. She slept in many an uncomfortable place before. She was grateful Ben allowed her the cab to sleep in. Gave her some room. And she knew it would be long, even if they werenât traveling by normal means. It gave her time to think. After all, she was about to see Babylon who was probably no happier to see her than she was. She liked to think she matured during her other time away in training, but she had a feeling she would be doing a lot of ass-kissing to make up for it.
Once they were both settled in the front, Ben asked if she ever wanted to drive and it struck her that Faith never drove much. She knew how, for the most part, but the apocalypse hit and driving was less important than surviving. And cars were few and far between, either left to the side due to wear or tear or no gas or, for those that did run, were usually scavenged or picked up and driven. She hadnât remembered the last time she sat behind the wheel.
And to top it off, it was stick shift. âUmm Iâm afraid I donât know how to drive stick. And I donât remember the last time I drove at all. Would hate to crash your car before we even get to New York.â
Location: Babylon Fortress, Cairo, Egypt Skills: Sense Acuity, Tracking
Sophia looked towards Giouse as he started to mention why they were all brought here in the first place, it was the last location of Destruere, which was kind of troubling since none of them except for the Emendators knew how to fight them. She looked towards Bart mentioning her Sense Acuity ability, which had come in handy in the past as well. Though the ability didn't have any use when it came to sight. "I can try, though the ability doesn't enhance my eyesight." Sophia said, as she listened to James saying that he should accompany Peter in search for a new set of clothing and nodded towards him. "Just be safe you two." Sophia said as she looked towards the others seeing that it was around midday or so.
She then looked over towards Gio for a moment if he knew any kind of sounds the Destruere made. "Aside from the haze, that you mentioned is there any kind of sound they make, or smell even?" Sophia asked as she decided to try it anyway, and see if there was anything that didn't sound natural to her. Though it would probably a lot harder as well since they weren't in the grounds anymore where there wasn't as much ambient noise around and some animals that were in the grounds before they left, unlike large amount of people and vehicles around within the city.
Character current location: Babylon Fortress, Cairo, Egypt Characters attempted actions: Attempting to track down anything that would sound like a Destruere, and any answers that Giouse or Gilbert give Skills Used: Sense Acuity, Tracking Why each skill is being called: Sense Acuity, any kind of sound or smell that the Destruere could make. Tracking, if there are any kind of track marks that they could make. Desired location of the character: Babylon Fortress, Cairo, Egypt
It looked like plans were going on without Gilbert's input, which might actually be a good thing. He didn't disagree with the intended business at hand, though a good chunk of him wished that he could take a more active role in the endeavor. He had wanted to supply back at the Plantation before they had gone on this excursion, but the necessity of the moment saw him joining the rest of the group here in Egypt. These points and a couple unspoken concerns had Gil wishing he had something to occupy his mind, or at least his hands, for the time being. Linguistic skills aside, Peter was best equipped to deal with the here and now, or more accurately, this particular here and now, seeing as he was native to it. At this point, Gil figured that he'd be in England or the United States pursuing a teaching career to pass the lifetimes, under the name Hawkins. (He did like reading R. L. Stevenson.)
If he was not going to be of more proactive use outside of this place, perhaps he could be of some precautionary use inside of it. This place used to be a fortress a very, very long time ago. About around the time that he was kicking around in these parts, point of fact. The centuries did start to run together after a while. Maybe he needed to eat more fish. Brain food, right? Eh, well between is history and his proficiency as a warrior, perhaps he could throw together a decent enough game plan in case things got too hot here. Escape route, battle plan, fortification plan, or just good, old fashioned tactics, just in case. As for Sophia's question, Gil felt that the more steady and pragmatic of the Emendators remaining should field that one, stating flatly, "Gio, I shall leave that to you."
Character current location: Babylon Fortress, Cairo, Egypt Characters attempted actions: Figuring stuff out Skills Used: History, Military Tactics, Observation Why each skill is being called: History - Anything that he can get about the Babylon Fortress that would be of use. Military Tactics - Form a workable plan based upon their surroundings and present resources in case of an attack. Observation - To try to notice anything useful or out of place. Desired location of the character: N/A
James Grady
Location: Babylon Fortress, Cairo, Egypt -> Following Peter Skills: N/A
James was kidding about heaving a sack of laundry and acting like an extra in a theatrical presentation of "Song of the South", but it looked like fate had stepped in the moment that he opened his big mouth in an attempt to be funny. Well, big sack of crap to lug about (or not) aside, if they were to make it with their little ruse, James was going to have to play the role of the subordinate. Considering his personality was ordinarily a little larger than life, he might even be up for an Academy Award for the bullshit he was prepared to endure for his fellows, be they Emendators or Paradoxes. Then, there was the nagging thought that there was probably still a Big Nasty out there somewhere that apparently had a bent for offing people like him. If they somehow knew that the guy they ripped to shreds was right back in the same place, like a paradox of a Paradox, how badly would they be licking their chops this time? Somehow, the pair of knives he had on his person just didn't seem to be very useful.
Prior to exiting the fortress, James held out the bottle of tequila he still had with him to Andromeda, who had mentioned a drink before, saying, "Yuh huh, we try and be quick. I ain't partial to this field trip anyhow." He then turned to follow Peter, wherever he might wish to take him. James was careful to make sure that he didn't walk exactly next to him, trailing a little back. At least a half step, if Peter wished to speak with him, but sometimes more. It would not do extremely well for him to be viewed as an equal. Even in North Africa, that might raise questions that they didn't have time to address.
As Peter told his summary involving a group of people being spontaneously branded on a trip to a dig site, the only thing he could really think to add was, "That's funny. While back, that woulda sounded strange, too." He shrugged, "Weird how shit works out sometimes, huh?"
Character current location: Babylon Fortress, Cairo, Egypt Characters attempted actions: Keeping an eye out Skills Used: Observation Why each skill is being called: To keep tabs on surroundings and try to spot anything off Desired location of the character: Following Peter
Gio didn't expect the portal to seal shut as quickly as it did, but with a second thought, he came to the conclusion that he should have. After all, he couldn't do much more but delay the collapse of the time loop; why wouldn't his other Watch related abilities be weakened as well? It was something of a small miracle that it worked in the first place. Perhaps it went even farther than that however. Maybe all "supernatural" abilities were in a state of flux and liable to fail. But that was a level of contemplation not necessary at that moment. He just resolved to be more judicious than usual moving forward.
Gio wasn't too concerned about his clothes not fitting in. He wore a normal suit, and the styling for a men's three piece hadn't really changed all that much in the 19 years between the current era and that of the Camp. Any differences from style likely wouldn't be noticed unless his outfit was studied more thoroughly than possible with a passing glance or he happened to run into some unexpected fashionista, and even then they could be written off rather easily. Truly, the major issue with his outfit was how hot it was likely to get. It might have been October, but he knew from experience that even then it could still get far toastier than he'd prefer and his suits dark coloration did not help things in the slightest.
"It would be best to avoid engaging any Destruere you may happen to come across, Young Bartholomew. Each and every one of you is too valuable to us. They are dangerous foes and we are under-equipped to lock horns, so to speak. Although I am not saying to not defend yourself if attacked, generally it is better to flee if possible in this hypothetical situation. And ah yes, excellent thinking, Mr. Grady. Do take care on your trip. Stay out of trouble." At Sophia's question his mind suddenly blanked. At any other moment he would have been able to answer the question with ease, but now it was as if the answer never was there to begin with and his face showed it.
"My apologies, Miss Harris. As foolish as it sounds, I can't remember right now. It's as if my keys aren't where I thought they were and now they don't seem to be anywhere in the house." It only occurred to him after he said it that speaking in a metaphor opened the door to others running with it too far and then confusing the less abstractly minded in the conversation. Oh well, too late now.
Ben nodded. "Fair enough, maybe once we get there if there's time I can teach ya," he offered to her. It was probably a good idea. The roads were not the best in this day and age and it was easy to get stuck even if you knew exactly what you were doing. Narrow tires got stuck in the dirt if it was too worn, there was no power steering so even keeping a truck on the road could be a work out on the arms if you weren't used to it. Not that Ben didn't think Faith could handle it but any new thing caused even the most fit to fatigue just from not being used to the movement. Plus he figured she had enough on her mind and needed to be well rested, not even more stressed when they got there.
Two more days passed and they finally were able to see the skyline for New York. The main part of the Carnivale found a place down by the river to set up by evening. Once night time came Siduri finally came out of her trailer. "Let us go find Miss Babylon," she said as she came over to the truck and looked at Ben and Faith.
"Take it you know where she is," Ben said as he climbed out of the truck and over to the passenger door to open it for her.
"One of two places, we will check her establishment firs but before we do, it would perhaps be best if Miss Masters were to change. How would you feel about putting on a nice dress fitting for today?" she asked Faith as she held out her hand to her. "After five days I would think you would be ready for a change and perhaps the chance to really get cleaned up first."
Babylon Fortress, Cairo, Egypt: October 6th, 1924
Over in Egypt and back in time, things were panning out a bit for Sophia. Trying to sense things was hard but Peter had a certain smell to him now, something burnt. It was like a blood hound tracking a scent with her sense acuity. Closing her eyes she would be able to follow the scent to its origin, the fire where his body was burned. It was like a map of scent, though in colors in her mind. It was hard to weed out the over all smell of the city with so much going on but after a little while she would be pretty sure that if she followed it she could lead them to where Peter was attacked before George had brought him back to the plantation.
Gilbert isn't doing too bad either. He knows this fortress, it would have been where he first met Miss Babylon many centuries ago. He would know this fort, its strengths and weaknesses, and even where a few places were that were hidden from the modern world. Ways to get under the city perhaps if certain tunnels were still intact. Cities like Egypt didn't destroy what used to be, the sands filled in the cracks and they built on top of it, so there was a good chance that perhaps if they were to find a tunnel intact they could use it to traverse the city without being in the middle of crowds.
Peter agreed. "There was a time when I found many things in this world strange, now the normal seems out of place and the strange seems comforting." Moving as quickly as he could, they made their way away from the Fort itself and into Cairo proper. James had a good eye but nothing seemed really out of place for the place or the time they were in. "The bazaar will be the best place," he said as he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his wallet. Thankfully it was still intact and there was local currency in it. If they had to steal they would but it would make things simpler if he could just pay for what they needed. Granted, weapons, that would take theft most likely and he knew just where to rob. He just hoped his uncle would forgive him.
Bartholomew listened to the orders that Gio decided to give him. He was a bit surprised that Gil hadn't taken charge on giving such orders, but he was of course going to listen to either of them. This did however, set the tone of the overall mission; reconnaissance through and through. To him, this was the sort of mission he was best suited for. Neither of his powers were particularly suited for direct combat, and even if he was skilled enough at this point to defend himself, that didn't make him feel safe around the things they were supposed to fight. However, just looking around and blending in was much more his speed. In fact, as he considered this, an idea came to him for how he might be able to blend in.
"I stick out pretty badly as well." Bartholomew started to say, as he took a chance to pitch an idea, "I could grab a body that fits in better, might make getting around a bit easier." He knew there were inherent risks in using powers, especially like his ability to possess, so the risk analysis was something he wanted on the table. This wasn't the time or place for him to make a snap decision like that without discussion, assuming they had time to entertain the idea. He figured this was a "no stupid ideas" kind of situation, so he'd throw out whatever ideas he come up with.
