[IC] Mystery World // Misery World~ (Overlord RP) [High casual/Low advanced]

[rivaan]

When Silva heard Mercuria speaking, the angel felt a slight feeling of solidarity. Just as her master, Mercria’s master was not present, so she could imagine what she was feeling right now. Silva hoped that everyone will soon get each their new obligations. That way all of them will feel useful for there was nothing worse than the feeling like you had no purpose.

The angel quickly returned her eyes on Nostromo when he posed his arguments against DD. Once again a shiver ran down her spine as DD’s rage erupted. It caught her unprepared and it was… scary actually. It wasn’t uncommon for the supreme ones to argue, but in this moment that act felt so incredibly terrifying at the unimaginable prospect of the supreme ones dividing. Still Silva kept quiet, party for she was scared of saying anything right this moment and partly she hoped that the guild master will calm them down… he had that authority right?

Silva then noticed the aura Wolfgang was emitting. That hostility towards Mercuria and frankly she was shocked at that. Why did he have to act this way… especially in front of the supreme ones!” Wolfgang-san, surely there will be more appropriate time for talks about assigning bodyguards than right now…” Silva said calmly and gave the butler a look telling him to calm down. While she had not the right to judge the supreme ones, in this case it was only the butler who was directing unneeded aggression towards Mercuria. The angel felt that was not right and was planning to stand her ground on this, especially since all Mercuria asked was to be of use.
“Yes, I was created with the abilities needed to conceal the Ragnavault if the need arises. It will take me some time to finish layering the illusions, but I should be able to do it in an hour or so at most.” Silva stated when LadyP brought her name and the fact that she would be useful even in the field as well.

When Toasty interfered in the discussion, Silva felt relieved. The other supreme ones listened to him, it truly was the work of the guild master who kept them together. When Toasty gave them their tasks, Silva only smiled and bowed, prepared to go start placing the illusions the moment the meeting ends. In that moment it was when Shammura appeared and stated she had done her job… by collapsing part of the mines. Silva’s eyes went wide and she felt like she wanted to shout at the guild master’s aid. Seriously she had no idea how this was continuing. The angel threw a quick look at Revenmar. The knight clearly felt a very special thing when saw Shammura. While being an angel herself, Silva didn’t exactly harbor any ill will towards the demons ,but that said, she wanted to lock Shammura in a room and have her undergo a complete education about not to destroy the guild!

When DD requested some illusions to be done on him to appear human, Silva quickly nodded and walked next to the supreme one.” I will cast the illusions, DD-sama.” She stated with a bow and quickly concentrated on the spells.” Greater Mask presence! Greater Human image! Greater Illusion anchor!” She changed the 3 spells. The first one to mask his inhuman presence, second to alter his looks and the third to have the illusions stay a lot longer and be a lot harder to dispel. Afterward she bowed again and returned to her place behind her creator’s seat.

[urukhai]

Annwn smiled quietly at the proceedings, everyone seemed to have various ideas, some eloquently said, others shouted at almost as loud as they could be. Still the meeting proceeded in an almost peaceful way, save for the occasional barbed comment between DD and Nostromo. Soon it became obvious that the talking was winding down, the key clue being the dividing of jobs and scouting missions. LP and the (now former?) NPC Silva were going to be sent down to the nearby town to do some scouting and intelligence gathering. DD meanwhile seemed content with being a hunter/gatherer for now, leaving Annwn and a couple other NPC's without assignment. Taking just a moment to think, Annwn waited for a short break in the conversation before interjecting with his own thought, a break that had to be put off by Shammura's entrance. But came again soon enough. "If it would help I could venture out and into the wilderness around or now transplanted keep. Keep my eye out for any roads, caravans, small settlements, or the like that the previous patrols might have missed. Just so that way we are prepared for any eventuality, I could even bring Revenmar with me, as it seems we are getting the same itch to see the sun."

Annwn paused for a moment to gauge the reaction to his suggestion, his eyes jumping to each guild member, and even the NPC's. His feet fidgeted slightly as his mind raced, and he slowly amended his statement "That is, unless you have another job you want me to do, or need my service and skills here. At which point I am at your disposal" With this last sentence the doppelganger's eyes settled to dart between Toasty and Nostromo for a shot while, before they settled somewhere between them, silently waiting for their judgement.

[Stella]

Mercuria's spirit faltered slightly upon Wolfgang's stern response to her request, but the human face that served as her mask betrayed no sign of her inner emotions, and her shoulders did not lower.

She was not disappointed from her fellow servant's denial to her proposal to protect the other Supreme Beings, but rather the strong connection she saw between his creator and himself. The loyalty he showed to his creator was like that of a dog to its master, or rather, a wolf to its master, in Wolfgang's case. It was absolutely admirable, it was incredibly beautiful, but it served as yet another painful reminder of her creator's absence. If her own creator, Lady Circa, had remained in this world along with the other Supreme Ones, she would still have some purpose to exist. After all, that was what Mercuria and the other servants of the Supreme Ones were created for. A creation without a purpose had no reason to exist.

If Mercuria was as human as her appearance suggested, these heavyhearted thoughts of loneliness would have brought tears to her eyes. As a Slime in human form, tears and other physical emotional responses were something she controlled at will. However, the dense metal core beneath her human shell crushed upon itself as she looked into the empty seat where her Creator would have sat if she still existed in this world. Perhaps this crushing sensation that Mercuria felt within herself was an emotional response.

Meanwhile, the leader of the Supreme Beings, Lord Toasty, had begun the process of wrapping up the meeting. Mercuria was somewhat displeased that the Supreme Beings didn't seem to be too concerned about the existence of any forces powerful enough to threaten them. As powerful and mighty the Supreme Ones may be, a large number of them had mysteriously vanished along with her own Creator. Therefore, the importance of preserving the well-being of the remaining Supreme Ones should be absolutely paramount. However, Mercuria trusted in the wisdom of the Supreme Ones and chose not to voice this disagreement.

Mercuria continued to listen quietly, but Lord Toasty was soon interrupted when the entrance to the Copper Hall opened up unexpectedly. As a Slime, it was not necessary for Mercuria to turn the gaze of her eyes to see who had entered. It was the personal creation of the leader of the Supreme Ones, Shammura, who had announced the completion of her task.

Mercuria allowed herself the opportunity to lightly smile at the demon's announcement. For a servant to proudly announce the completion of one's assigned task to their creator was clear proof of one's own usefulness. For that, Mercuria felt true happiness for Shammura. Mercuria didn't quite understand why the demon frequently attempted to endanger her master's life. Given this knowledge, Mercuria further wondered why she didn't feel the instinct to simply destroy this demon that dared to attack a Supreme Being. Perhaps the Shammura's murderous tendencies was part of her design by her creator, that would explain why a normally traitorous act would seem so unusually normal.

The next event of interest was Lord DD, or rather, the fearsome voice that he spoke with. To Mercuria's ears, the powerful berserker voice was absolutely beautiful, and she even felt slightly saddened when he soon returned his voice to its normal state.

Then, the servant angel, Silva, that radiated an aura of goodness admonished Wolfgang for his earlier comments to Mercuria's own suggestions. Mercuria appreciated the thought of having another fellow servant come to her aid, but she couldn't help but feel it wasn't completely unnecessary. She understood the pride that each servant had - the pride of existing to serve and protect the one who created them. To have another servant act in their place was to say that the Creator's own creation had failed their purpose.

Mercuria was still inwardly happy that such a kindhearted servant existed. However, she couldn't notice that the seat that Silva stood next to was empty. Was her own Creator also missing from this world?

Realizing that her mind was on the verge of wandering to more somber thoughts, Mercuria returned her attention once more to the continuing discussions as she stood quietly by her Creator's empty seat.

[Dead Cruiser]

It seemed that DD still didn't get it. He was becoming terribly overwrought about the idea of the Ragnavault being attacked, for which there was no evidence that held cause for concern thus far. It was clear to Nostromo in that whatever DD had become, it was could be clouding his judgement. It was possible that he was not merely speaking out as a purely combat-specced player, but as a creature that thrived solely on violence. Nostromo would have to keep a close eye on him.

Toasty issued his decrees, one of which confining Nostromo to the Ragnavault. He was partially upset, and partially disappointed by this. His role was that of an explorer after all; he hadn't asked to be appointed as his direct advisor. Though he could understand the decision; he very likely didn't want to be left alone with Shammura. While that was a genuine concern, Nostromo still had his own mission to accomplish. The Syndicate derived power through contracts, information, and law. If they couldn't read or write, they were essentially robbed of their power. Nostromo was determined to restore the guild's strength in this regard, but it seemed that he was alone in this.

Wolfgang, meanwhile, seemed to be trying to goad one of the other NPCs into a fight. "You as well needn't concern yourself, Silva. It should be known that only I-"

Nostromo chose to stop him while he was ahead. "Wolfgang, silence." The werewolf butler shut up immediately, choosing to instead clear his throat and adjust his ascot. Nostromo returned his attention to the guildmaster. "This puts me in a bit of an odd position, Toasty. I quite sincerely feel that I would be of better use in the field, on my current project. Perhaps we can compromise? I need to secure the materials for the translation project, but the rest of the work can be conducted in the base. Wolfgang does not have the requisite skills and knowledge to acquire the necessary materials, and Mary..." He looked to Mary, who had apparently become bored during the meeting. To entertain herself, she had popped a few of the stitches in her abdomen and was playing cat's cradle with her own intestines. "...In any case, I can take Shammura with me on the venture, if you still feel insecure in her presence."

[Owlriel]

LadyP looked a little upset to be leaving her pet behind. But, she understood that he would indeed draw too much attention. "Very well lord Toasty I will leave Slitherton here, with you to look after. Seeing as I want to have someone incredibly responsible to look after him. Plus he'll make an excellent guard dog against, you know who." The small blue baby dragon looked up curiously at the guild master with it's soft green eyes the pupils widening a bit. Slitherton then curled up, and fell asleep as LP began petting him. Just after that he was startled awake by DD shouting the dragon flew into the air, and hugged his masters face tight squeaking, and growling in terror. "Woah easy there little guy. No smothering your mama to death" Slitherton was pulled off, and held close to LadyPasty's chest as she looked at DD irritated. Jeeze what is DD's issue? I mean he's usually the calm cool guy that I love hanging out with. But, this? This is not the DD I know. Could it be his job class as berserker making him act this way? Oh jeeze, if that's true than what will happen to me? Will I become nothing more than the fool? Will my rational mind go too?

This puts me in a bit of an odd position, Toasty. I quite sincerely feel that I would be of better use in the field, on my current project. Perhaps we can compromise? I need to secure the materials for the translation project, but the rest of the work can be conducted in the base. Wolfgang does not have the requisite skills and knowledge to acquire the necessary materials.

"Lord Nostromo! As I said earlier, I'm going to the town with Silva after she casts her illusion over Ragnavault. Plus anyone willing to tag along with us as to help gather information easier, and garner less attention to ourselves. If you make a list of anything you desire from the town. Namely books for your translation project, I'd be more than happy to collect them for you. Seeing as I have the requisite skills, and knowledge to acquire them. As I used to work as a librarian's aid. I know what dictionaries look like even if they're in a language I don't understand. However, once again, that depends on the education level of the town. They may not even have any sort of library to speak of. Plus I can go out into the sunlight while you'll just burn to a cipity crisp. Which lets face it none of us want to see. Would probably make me ralph..." Then she saw Mary playing with her intestines like mere string. She clearly began making gagging sounds as she tried to hold back puking from the awful mind scarring scene before her. "MARY, PLEASE PUT YOUR GUTS BACK IN! I swear to god, I thought I was fine with her being here. But, not anymore I'm not she needs to leave. Frankly that's just disgusting behavior." She'd always made it quite clear zombies freaked her out, and gave her awful nightmares. Multiple times she'd logged out after finishing a quest pertaining to them. So she could take a cold shower, and tell herself they weren't real. She could stand just about anything, werewolves, blobs, evil dolls, devil monkeys with chainsaws for hands. However, zombies were her kryptonite. Especially now that they were an actual thing that could touch her, and hurt her. She was starting to tremble a little just knowing Mary was in the same room as her.
Thankfully just then Shammura walked in covered in soot. It was a welcome distraction, but not really all that great either.

"I've done as you asked, milord! I dug as deep a hole as I could using all my MP! Unfortunately it seems as though I don't possess any earth-moving spells, so to fill the hole back up I had to collapse that section of the mine."

What in the world is wrong with our guildmaster's NPC's? Mary here won't stop being disgusting, than again I can't really blame her. Seeing as I flat out despise all zombies. while Shammura here just... Wow... I'm surprised no one has killed her yet. Especially Toasty after how many times he's been almost killed by her. You'd think his sense of self preservation would've kicked in by now.

[rivaan]

Silva had already narrowed her eyes at the butler, ready to reply in kind to any 'sound' argument he can muster, but it seems his master had other idea of the situation and stopped his servant before things can get out of hand. Frankly a battle between Wolfgang and Silva was going to turn out... lengthy and probably while with her losing, it was going to be very... destructive. Silva's was never optimized for combat, she was created for additional support for her master. In combination with another was when she really shined.

While the angel would love to stay and listen to the chaos some more, she had a job to do. “ Please excuse me, guild master, supreme ones... I will now get on with my task. I will submit a report as soon as the illusions have been placed.” Silva said with a bow to the guild master and the other supreme beings. Then quickly made her way away towards the outside of the Ragnavault. First she made her way through her master's old room though. It was among the smallest rooms for a Supreme ones, but it was what her master liked back then. Silva had to stop by there, because she needed to take a few potions from there. Even though she had the ability to use wide area illusions and the crown she wore reduced the cost of illusion magic, she still had to put a lot of magic around the guild so even with magic scanning the area, they will not be able to find it.

Finally outside the guild, she quickly used her racial ability of flying to get higher view point of the entire mountain and the guild lodged into it.” Maximize Magic: Wide area illusion!” She began by putting the first layer and quickly proceeded with using a maximized illusion anchor to boost the illusion spell even more. From there she slowly put more and more layers until the point that even if someone was to get right in front of the front door, he was not going to see it, or even feel it. For the entrances, she used a illusion spell that twists senses additionally. If someone was to get near an entrance, he was going to never really walk up to it, instead always to the walls on the two sides.

By the time the time an hour passed, Silva was finally back on the ground and she felt somewhat tired from it. Using the strongest illusion spells she can in such great number over and over again, really drained her mana a few times. Good thing she took those potions, it was a thing her master prepared in advance, she liked to be always prepared in case the need arose. Now Silva took after her, she was going to put aside a few potions in case the need arose again.

With everything done, she quickly walked back into the Ragnavault. While walking, she quickly prepared a message to send to Toasty. She had a report to make after all.” Guild master, I've finished laying the illusions around The Ragnavault. I request permission to join, LadyP-sama now.”

[Turboshitter]

"Absolutely not!" Toasty said, his unexpected outburst silencing even the most fringe conversations.

"... Is that true, milord?" Shammura said, downtrodden. "Do you not feel comfortable around me? Do I make you feel... insecure?"

She looked up at him from below this time, her expression pleading like a scolded puppy. Toasty glared at Nostromo as if to say "now look what you've done". He put an armored hand on Shammura's shoulder.

"No, Shammura," he said. "That's not what he meant."

"Then what did he mean, milord?" she asked.

"I, uh..." Toasty said, stuttering. Shammura started sniffing, her eyes moist with barely restrained tears.

"All I w-wanted was to serve you so you'd l-love me, milord," she sniffled. "What did I do wrong? Did I d-disappoint you somehow? Please, tell me! If I've truly l-let you down, then let me make it up to you by killing myself after taking your life!"

A knife flashed brightly like the light reflecting off of Shammura's teary face, but when he was in his armor, all it did was bounce harmlessly off of Toasty's chestplate. He hadn't created Shammura with physical strength in mind, so a knife alone could not penetrate his armor. Still, Shammura stabbed and swung, futilely trying to kill Toasty with what may as well have been a blunt spork.

Crying, she tried even harder to complete the task that had been given to her. Finally, after a certain number of tries, Toasty just caught her knife hand by the wrist, holding it gently.

"Shammura," he said. "I am not disappointed in you. You are my creation. Any fault in you lies with me, and I could not be prouder of your loyalty and dedication, or more flattered by your love. Our circumstances may have changed, and it's true that this world is upsetting and unsettling, for all of us, but do not think that that is your fault. You have done exactly as you were told to. Understood?"

Shammura sniffed, wiped the tears from her eyes, and smiled. "You mean I may continue to try and kill you in the future, Toasty-sama?"

"Y-Yeah..." Toasty said, regretting his decision to word it like that. "Just... don't try to do it too much when we are traveling together. It may draw attention to us, and detract from vital guild business."

Shammura's wide eyes glimmered. "You mean-!"

"I told you, didn't I? A Ragnavault without either of you is just as lost as a man missing both his right and left hands. As your guildmaster, I refuse to make that sacrifice. If you must make this a personal errand Nostromo, then I'm coming with you, as is Shammura. Our friends and remaining NPCs can keep order in the fortress for a few hours a day in my absence. I trust them all with that much, don't you?"

Not like I really do all that much anyway...

To Lady Pastry, he said, "Sorry, Lady Pastry, but I think the reason Nostromo wants to go is so he can hypnotize a local scholar, and learn the language directly. I've spent enough time around him to guess how his mind works. I hate to divert such valuable time and resources away from the Ragnavault, but he's right. This will become important later, and Nostromo is the best and most effective candidate for the job. Additionally, this trip may give us an opportunity to establish trade relations with the locals. As the guild's primary financial supervisor, it would be foolish for me not to go."

He turned to address the other guild members. "Everyone! While Nostromo, Shammura and I gather information on the indigenous people, you all are to see to your previously agreed upon tasks. If you did not volunteer or were not given a job to do, I expect you to find something productive to do for the betterment of the Ragnavault. However," he said, his voice taking on a serious tone. "If you decide to take any action that you feel may put the Ragnavault at risk or reveal our existences, you are to inform me immediately, preferably before doing anything stupid in the heat of the moment. That includes you, Donut-san. We don't know yet what other effects our arrival here may have had on our minds as well as our bodies, so I expect you to keep your anger under control. Understood?"

Before Nostromo could voice any objections, Toasty added, in a much quieter voice, "If you're worried about those people realizing we're not actually human like they are, Shammura has a wide variety of mind and memory alteration spells to divert attention away from us. Additionally, the three of us look close enough to human to pass for it. As long as I don't remove my voice modulator and armor, they'll never know. I specially created Shammura to be a tailless demon, so you two just need to hide your fangs. If we do that, we shouldn't arouse too much suspicion."

Lastly, he silently cast Message, and sent a text message to Nostromo.

i'll explain later.

[RedDusk]

It didn’t take long for his requests to be answered, but it was rather sudden. DD was rigid as the curtains of magic washed over him, changing his appearance to that of a human male with unremarkable amber eyes and dark brown hair. The sting of magic made his hand twitchy, so he decided to fiddle with the leather wrappings on the scabbard of his sword instead, feigning disinterest. However, the tight set of his jaw betrayed him. His temper was turning out to be quite a bother. He blamed the lack of coffee and pretzels for breakfast.

“Ah, just what I need. Thank you, Silva.”- He nodded to the angel, grinning with his now blunt human teeth.-“And Donut or DD is fine, no need to get all formal.”

Fortunately, most didn’t pay much attention to his outburst. Or even if they did, they were polite enough to not dwell on the matter. Except LP’s little pet dragon of course, which was quite vocal on the matter. He turned to LP and her dragon, mouthing a silent apologize just as she was voicing her intend of going out to the town to collect some information. Hopefully she wouldn’t hold it a grudge against him later. Maybe after a bribe or two, he still had plenty of candy corn hidden away.

The meeting proceeded nicely, with most voicing their own concerns for the guild safety and finding their own way to contribute. He found himself watching the NPCs intendedly, still amazed by their newly gained sentience. It both fascinated and scared him. Just like Furiko, they basically worshipped him and his fellow guildmates. While it was rather flattering, he still couldn’t banish the nagging fear at the back of his mind. What if eventually, they found him unworthy of that reverence? They had thoughts and feelings now, and those were easily changed. He didn’t like the thought of shattering the illusion of grandeur these NPCs (people, now?) had for them.

(shut up. what do you care? you don’t care)

As soon as Toasty made the final announcement, and dealt with his little drama as well, DD took it as a dismissal and stood up. He gave Toasty a hard stare, but then relented with a sigh and said:

“Alright then. It’s your call, after all. Take care, Breakfast, don’t worry about me. And you too, Nostromo.” –With that said, he glanced over to Shammura, his gaze sharpened. But since DD wasn’t one for empty threats, he simply grunted.-“Behave.”

Just as he stood up to leave, DD noticed Furiko right beside his seat. He paused for a moment, simply stared at her like an idiot, before speaking up.

“So, you wanna come with?”

Furiko looked to her lord. She hadn't reacted to any of the loud noises he made. In fact, his anger filled like berserker tone didn't phase her at all. This was because she was rather used to it, and she never really had a problem with it. Her role, as it was, was pretty simple, support, and deal with anything he needed help over. The mere thought of anything else didn't really come to her mind. Though, watching the npc's their reactions to the others. It drove her to ponder more on the subject itself, even Shammura with her own ways of showing love was...different to say the least. They all showed this truthfully amazing loyalty, with both emotion and passion to their leader. But was she like them? Did she fall into the same group as they were? She often pondered would she have really felt any different with her lord gone? It wasn't right to think of this...probably, but she couldn't help but think over how it would have felt to not have her lord here..with the way she feels now, would it really be anything? Was there something wrong with her?

Her black and gold eyes looked back to him once more, after looking over the others who had spoken. Just as he stared back at her. Asking her a question she didn't really need to ponder on. “ Of course milord. I will go with you wherever you need of me.” She stated without any form of hesitation. She was more than certain he wouldn't enjoy the type of love Shammura showed. But maybe he would have rather a more emotional response? To say the least, she knew she wasn't that emotional...even in this response alone, it came off rather mono-toned, with disinterest. But maybe she need to make efforts to take a better stance? Hmm....then again did this all matter? So long as she did her job, was it not better this way? The questions crept into her mind one after the other. But she still had to process what she could while keeping her gaze fixed on both her lord, and those around him. It was always easier that way. To watch in silence, from shadows or far away.

“Lovely.”- He said, pausing slightly as he searched for words.-“Uh. Thanks.”

While most his guildmates had established personalities for their NPCs, DD didn’t, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about that. He was just thankful that he didn’t write anything silly, like Toasty did. But he understood the guildmaster’s sentiment. The NPCs were indeed their creations and he certainly felt an obligation of sort to them. And he wasn’t going to treat them like servants.

“You guys can all come along if you want to.”- He glanced over at the remaining people in the room, grinning, before walking out with Furiko. –“Could use the help.”

However, just as soon as he was out of the Copper Throne, his confident stride faltered. He was no better than any of them when it came to knowledge to this new world. In fact, all he knew came from what he could gather through his crows. Which was not very much, as they couldn’t really fly very far from him. He did notice a forest not far from here, so it might be a good starting point. With luck, he might manage to find something and return by lunchtime.

[Lord Zee]

He felt pity for Lord Toasty as he watched him talk to Shammura. What compelled him to create such a thing and only have it want to kill him but at the same time love him? He just couldn't grasp the situation between them, perhaps it had something to do with Shammura being his personal creation? Yes, that had to be it he thought to himself but she was obviously a threat, so why not just lock her away, or kill her for that matter? It was beyond Revenmar for the time, he only cared about an assignment, which he wasn't really given much to his disappointment. He was the Supreme One's servant after all and if they did not specifically tell him to do something, then he would be left with his own imagination which he did not care for.

It seemed that the discussion was driving to an end and Revenmar was presented with two possibilities. He could go with either Lord DD or Lord Annwn, and as both were most likely going outside he was at a stalemate with himself. Why did it have to be so hard? The only thing he could think of was just leaving the room without saying anything and then going outside and see what happens. He opted for the latter and he got up from where he was kneeling, gave a deep bow to everyone in the room and left.

He picked up his pace and managed to walk faster then Lord DD to the front gate, where the soldiers on guard nodded before opening the barrier. He walked outside into the sunlight, and it was glorious, everything was so green and alive that it sent shivers down his body. Though it might now have been much to look at from others, Revenmar was only human and it was such a basic pleasure to see green things. He walked away from the Ragnavault, stepping through the crisp grass. He turned around, Silva's illusion really did the trick, as he had to look very hard to find what looked like the entrance.

Upon walking even further, he came upon a small pasture of wildflowers and his heart leaped, he absolutely loved flowers. It was one of those things that Lord Daggartopoli had adored in real life and had imprinted into Revenmar's likes, along with many other things. He suddenly lost all interest in doing anything, and opted to just lay there, looking up at the blue sky, among the wonderful fragrances.

To any passerby, they would see a large figure wearing a full suit of black armor, laying in the grass enjoying himself. What an odd sight to see.