Cottonmouth

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

"Things are often better when they are make bespoke to you, aren't they?" Nemo commented, sitting back up in the couch inspecting the sword from his seat. "I suppose you might be interested in some of the things in my possession then. My favorite type of weapons to collect are the ones considered to be cursed. I can sort of relate to them in ways. For me they are the closest thing to a companion I could get." Nemo explained. "And without a doubt, this is one of the finest pieces I possess." Nemo said, waving his middle and index fingers in front of him, causing a distortion in the air and spawning a black katana. It floated there for a moment before Nemo extended his right hand out to catch it as it fell.

The first thing to note was that the blade seemed to have it's own magical presence in addition to Nemo's own. It was certainly ominous and dark, matching the color scheme on the sword, which seemed to compliment Nemo's own in a yin yang black and white sort of way. It had a dark iron pommel, black silk wrappings on a rayskin handle with a iron oni caricature ornament, a circular iron tsuba designed to look like a person's head, iron spacers, and a black lacquered saya with a black saego cord.

Nemo gently placed it down on the same table Raiya's sword was on. Compared to Raiya's katana, Nemo's was a shorter standard size. "This is a Sengo Muramasa blade. I won it in a duel long ago, ever since it's been one of my favorites. It's been a match for me, seeing as all of it's 'downsides', uncontrollable blood-lust, and the need to kill after unsheathing the blade have no effect on a anti-magic user such as myself. Regardless, I don't want to disrespect it, every time I do draw it, it's to kill." Nemo finished.

Nemo didn't show the actual blade on the weapon, but anyone who has knowledge on Muramasa's blades would know that it probably has a mirror image hamon, with a shallow valley midereba pattern between a cluster of gunome shapes. And a fish belly tanagobara shaped nakago.

Tsuba style

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

Nemo let out a giggle in response to Raiya's statement. "Now that's what I like to hear. Your determination inspires me, Raiya. Plus it's quite cute when you get all huffy." Nemo cheered, slumping over lazily onto his side on the couch after he was done.

"Your sword, it's quite nice. I started off as a sword duelist myself. Rapiers and sabers were my specialty, later I picked up larger European swords as well. Blades will always hold a special place in my heart, despite the fact that I don't use them as frequently as I used to. The details are exquisite, the extended blade length is nice, and don't think I missed that kogatana pigsticker you have in that saya pocket either. Along with it's kozuka handle it's a nice added touch." Nemo remarked, still laying on his side like he was about to fall asleep. "Overall you have an impressive and versatile piece, how did you happen to come across it?" He asked.

"I have multiple pieces from Japan myself too. My other moniker isn't "The Collector" for nothing. Though I must admit one in particular is my favorite." Nemo added.

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

"Shame, I thought the no magic idea could make things interesting. Maybe another day." Nemo noted. "We'll match then, after all this mission really is an opportunity to let our partnered strength shine. It'll be almost like I'm part of your Crux gang, I'll look like your bodyguard now. Not exactly the most appropriate attire for a boat, but inappropriateness is the heart of punk fashion anyways." Nemo began to reassemble his firearm, finished with it's maintenance. Afterwards he placed it down on the table.

"I know what we're up against now, while it is indeed more dangerous than my 'recon mission' ended up being, it's not as dangerous as that could of been. I know a fair bit about Rutger and Johhny, and more about Seidon and his crew. I've even had dealings with Seidon's smuggling operation in the past before I was imprisoned. Unless God himself is waiting to personally smite us behind that storm, it wont be that bad." Nemo explained. "Seidon is strong, the top people in his crew aren't pushovers either, but in the end they are just smugglers. Rutger and his protege will by far be the biggest obstacle to overcome. Given that we are the muscle of this party, it's probably going to end up being our job to handle them."

"From hereon out I'll make sure you tag along on all my little midnight runs. I am Nemo Smiley after all, I have a reputation to uphold. If we get ambushed, if things look bleak, I'll just have to slaughter them all." Nemo stated, with a tone much more serious and deadpan than usual.

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

Nemo leaned back in the sofa, using a small rod with a soft brush at the end to clean and polish the cylinder's chambers. "Yes, the ambush-ee has become the ambush-er now. Knowing the opposition, I'm confident I can keep you relatively out of harms way... You didn't miss out on much, there wasn't anybody really worth while where I went. What can I do to make it up to you, hm?" Nemo asked, picking up on her tone.

"You and me, we'll be like Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid now... except without dying. Some people say they made it out." Nemo added, switching to cleaning the barrel of the revolver now. "What should we wear? Should we do matching outfits now? I could probably fix something up for that motorcycle gang look. I'll wear whatever, I'll do this whole next mission in this bath robe if you want. Oh, how about that? You can handicap me. Straight-jacket? No magic? Fork only? I think blindfold would be a little much though." Nemo suggested.

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

Nemo ran a hand through his hair and nodded. "Very well Travis, we have time anyways." He replied. "I trust felix will be able to hook us up with transportation, if not this is going to be a bit harder than I first thought. We just need to get somewhere near the Boston Harbor." Nemo said, turning to Felix.

"In the meantime, I'll be preparing in my room." Nemo added, giving a small salute to the team and rising from his seat and walking up the stairs to his quarters. He started by snapping his fingers, using a small spell to drop the needle on the record player and turn it on. Afterwards he undressed and jumped into the shower. According to some of the members, he smelled like death. Nemo would never be the culprit of using up all the hot water, as he always showered with cold water.

Once finished, Nemo dressed himself and sat down on a sofa in the room. He now wore his usual jewelry, black glove, a white tank top, black silk boxers with white polkadots, and a hot pink velour bathrobe. He retrieved his revolver and began to disassemble and clean it on a small coffee table after his last usage while listening to the classical music playing.

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

"Simple, Seidon is a freighter and a smuggler. He's scheduled to pick up a couple of cargo crates before leaving. We sneak into the compound and hide in one of the shipping containers before it's loaded onto the ship. With my magic I can disguise our presence from any of the wards. Seidon loads all kinds of foreign magical items all the time, so it wouldn't raise any suspicions when we pass through." Nemo replied.

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

Nemo sat back down on the couch by Raiya before replying. "I have no idea where the locket is, my best guess is that either Rutger or John have it, but I also do not know where they are either. Finding them before they board the ship later today and intercepting them would be near impossible." Nemo explained. "Nobody has ever returned from the area of Samwell's wreck, but sailors have said that the closer you get to it the harsher the sea becomes. The only reason the Church-goes even need Captain Seidon is because he and his advanced ship are indispensable to making it through the waters. I'm not worried about our way back, the only way Samwell could have generated a curse that powerful is by using the paragon as a catalyst, once we get our hands on it I can deactivate it myself. If we need a way back then I'm sure Felix could help us at that point." Nemo finished.

"Ah yes, if we get caught in a confined area, we'll fight them. Which is exactly what I want to have happen."

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

"Well, that wasn't nearly as enjoyable as I thought it would be." Nemo commented after a few seconds of pondering. "I'm not talking about why I'm here, that's an easy one. I'm here because I was asked to do a job. What I'm talking about is... what do I want in the grand scheme of things? My aspirations, desires? Overlooking that would be a waste, when you find out what drives a person, you can use it for many purposes. On one end of the spectrum, you could give them what they want, possibly creating a useful ally. On the other end, you could use it against them, shooting out their engine from under them. Without it they will cease to function." Nemo explained with a more hushed tone now that most of the group had assembled.

After everyone had made it to the living room, Nemo raised from his seat and walked to an open point of the room by his holographic display. "Ladies and gentleman, thank you for coming. You've been called here to hear about our next mission." Nemo started, pressing down on the dial of his watch. "A mission to find the Paragon of Fantasia." As he spoke the word Fantasia suddenly generated out of thin air in a dramatic movie trailer fashion. Accompanied by a comical holographic party popper effect.

"Towards the end of the sixteenth century there was once a formidable pirate named Samwell Crofty-"Gallows". Known for hanging just about every living thing he could find from his bowsprit. One day while looting a captured ship, Samwell found a very peculiar crystal trinket teeming with mana on board. As a mage himself, he became obsessed with it. Many people thought he had gone insane, but what Samwell had pilfered before that ship sunk was what would later be known as the Paragon of Fantasia. His interest eventually paid off, as legend has it Samwell found a way to utilize the Paragon's power to dominate the seas." While Nemo explained his story clearly hand drawn comic style strips began to display from the projector of everything he said.

"Samwell's reign was long, but even with the Paragon supposedly at his disposal, it wasn't infinite. Nothing could save him from a night-raid done by nearly twenty English military vessels. Vastly outnumbered and unprepared, Samwell, his ship, and his crew sunk out in the Atlantic sea, and along with him, the Paragon of Fantasia. Before being hanged, the few survivors of his crew said that as he drowned, Samwell used the Paragon's power to curse the area. Condemning all who entered it to be destroyed. It was his way of ensuring his prized trinket stayed with him forever."

"But with most curses, there is always a way around it. In Samwell's case it was in the form of a key which while in someone's possession would allow them to enter the cursed field. The key is a golden locket given to Samwell's favorite maiden, Tabitha Jones Barga." Nemo paused for a moment.

The display switched from drawn pictures to real life photos now. "While following a lead, last night I raided a operations base for a underground kingpin and broker Ulysses Fahl. Ulysses' establishment was recently visited by two high ranking Arcanocracy members. Father Rutger Stockton, and Father John Galvadon." Up popped a picture of the men in question. The man on the left was Rutger, he had medium length white hair, was well into his sixties, wore a wide brim black hat, a black leather duster style coat, various silver church jewelry, and formal clothes underneath. The second man was "Johhny" Galvadon, Rutger's much younger protege. He had long golden blonde hair, high rank white church robes that cut off shorter than normal above his knees, and most strikingly he lugged around a large and heavy looking all gold morningstar style mace. The mace had floral engravings and multiple jewel inlays in the handle.

"I learned the two had contacted Ulysses to enlist the help of one of his associates, Captain Paul Seidon." The display now showed a picture of a middle aged gruff man with combed back grey hair and beard. He wore a ship captain's cap, a long naval pea coat, and a black wool turtleneck underneath. "To the common man Paul and his crew are reliable cargo freighters, but he is actual a powerful sea mage who smuggles magic artifacts and rare materials among cargo for Ulysses. Rutger and John want to use his ship and knowledge to sail through the very rough cursed waters to obtain the paragon within. And judging by what I heard they must already have Mrs Barga's locket, as they leave later today at 4 PM sharp."

"You might be wondering, 'Nemo what is the plan?' Well, that's simple. We hide in one of Captain Seidon's cargo boxes before he loads it onto his ship in the Boston harbor, piggyback our way to the Paragon, and then defeat Rutger, John, Paul, and his crew to take it for ourselves." During Nemo's explanation humorous cartoon caricatures of the group and their foes acted out the scene from the hologram.

Afterwards the display dissipated, ending his presentation. "Any questions? ...Oh yeah, I call dibs on Galvadon's mace." Nemo finished.

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

"Tomato Tomato, call it what you want Raiya, it all sounds the same to me." Nemo replied

"Portable hologram emitter, works similar to the ones on a manadial. I prepared a small presentation last night before I returned." Nemo explained as he slumped onto the couch until the rest of the group arrived.

Nemo thought for a moment before asking another question. "How about a bit of a reversal? What do you think I want? What do you think my goals are? I always loved getting profiled in the past."

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

"I guess I'll have to improvise for movie night." Nemo replied. "They don't teach much art at the Vatican do they? Shame, they have a lot of great pieces in their possession too." Nemo commented. "That's one of the things I've always disliked about the Arcanocracy, among other organizations. When they take in young talents they don't raise them like a mother would a child, they're trying to raise them into weapons. No room for socializing, no time for recreation. But it's to be expected, it's not about charity, in the end it's just an arms race." Nemo explained as he continued to stroll along. "In a way what they're trying to do is artificially create a person like me by isolating their subjects from everything that doesn't involve the two key ingredients to an soldier; obedience and strength. They've achieved a modicum of success, some of my most memorable duels have been with Catholic Talents. But it's still a wash, I best their members all the while watching cheesy monster movies anyways. Passion for battle cannot just be produced."

Nemo seemed intrigued by Raiya's question, it was the first to him that couldn't be easily linked to gathering information against him. "There's no other place I'd rather be than right here." Nemo replied pointing with both hands once towards the floor, his grin indicating that he knew just how corny it was. "But there certainly are places I like to be. It's hard for me pinpoint just one, I'm a bit of a wanderer."

"There's my home, that's an easy one. It's where I keep all my knick-knacks I've collected. I have gardens and vineyards as well. It's a place where I can relax by myself. Same with nature, I suppose you could call me a pretty seasoned outdoors-man by now... One of my favorite things to do is to take a boat and just get lost out at sea. Not a speck of land in sight. I've done some of my best thinking out there at night with just the moonlight shining down on the water."

"But all that isolation isn't good forever, I spend a lot of time visiting restaurants. Fancy ones are always nice, but I've always enjoyed more humble establishments. There was one in particular I liked before it closed down. It had great tea and a superb overlook of the nearly docks." Nemo finished just as they had reached the living room.

Nemo procured a small manacrystal sitting atop a silver stand and placed it down near the fireplace. He pulled up his manadial and inputted a few commands, ending with the earlier manacrystal lighting up for a brief moment, signalling they had synced. "You said your goal was to get revenge on the person who slew your parents, but what do you plan to do afterwards? Revenge can consume a person, sometimes they become so invested in it that once it's done they have nothing left to do. They might have destroyed the person who they thought wronged them, but in turn they also destroyed themselves to achieve it. Revenge was all they had as person, it's what gave them purpose. The things they during their warpath and the eventual loss of that purpose is sometimes even worse than the original wrong itself." Nemo explained. "I worry that might happen to you. So... I hope you've got something to keep you going once your task is done." Nemo seemed to have a slight sense of genuine concern and sincerity in his voice as he spoke.