What city is this set in?
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Walking Church
Noah Anderson
Noah found herself incredibly thankful for the stamina her esper form granted her, as it was more than likely the only thing guaranteeing that she wouldn’t be horribly late. Instead, just mildly late. Not enough to get marked absent from a class, but certainly enough to be docked points. She could only hope that it wouldn’t go like college.
She’d been too wrapped up in her own head. Ever since she saw the job and read its description, it’d been just stuck in her mind like a bug in a glue trap. She’d seen the man who’d put up the request mentioned a few times on the Esper app, whether it was in passing or a suggestion to seek him out. But she always avoided looking too deep into him, or looking for him.
Why, though? Whatever reason would someone who’s esper form, their transformation that was said to represent their hearts desires, was a modified nun outfit, have to actively avoid others of her own religion? Well… Noah didn’t really feel like getting into it.
But she’s getting sidetracked. Just being conflicted on the person sending out the job wouldn’t be enough for her to think so hard about a job that she was going to be late. If this had been her first job, she would have absolutely been on time because she’d have nothing hammering a nail through her perspective.
The whole problem she’s having came down to the fact that this was her second job, and her first job involved Oliver. Even if she’d done her best to not let it show at the theater, the boy (Man? She wasn’t sure of his age.) had gotten her unsure of the perspective she’d walked in with. In regards to monsters, she means.
He was strange. Her thoughts of monsters equating to demons did still make some sense to her, but only distantly. It was a bit difficult to hold that perspective and look at the ghost she and Marrie had gone to investigate when seeing him act like he had. After the job, Noah had been trying to get what she knew in order to see how Oliver fit into what she already knew, and, well…
He did, is the thing. He fit rather solidly inside the box of a hellspawn. And it was hardly unheard of the devil and his minions to take on a sympathizable form to trick you. But it was more like… It just didn’t feel correct to Noah. She couldn’t help but feel like she was missing something the more she thought about it, but she couldn’t figure out what it was that she was missing.
And then this job comes along. Well, one of three. There was one from the government, one from that terrorist group, and then the one she took, from a third party. Together, they painted a pretty clear picture. Two monster trains were on a direct course for the city, normal people only saw them as hurricanes, and everyone wanted to stop them in their own way. GEMENI wished to destroy one of the trains, the terrorists wished to save one of the trains… and Raphiel wanted to destroy one and save the other.
Why save the other? Apparently, one of the trains was an angel.
That was the sentence that threw Noah for a complete loop. How did he know that- what did he even mean by that? Where was the distinction? Clearly her idea of monsters being demons had some amount of validity if someone working directly for the Vatican voiced the same thoughts, but if one of the trains was an angel, however that worked…
Noah couldn’t wrap her head around it. It just didn’t make sense, with what she knew about monsters. And that was what had gotten her to take this job over the government’s request. She knew she was missing something, and this was a prime opportunity to figure out what that missing thing was. (Also, she needed money for rent.)
… And that was all well and good, but Noah was still late. Not terribly late as she’d already said, only a couple minutes, but still late. No matter the reason, she couldn’t help but feel embarrassed about it as she finally saw the church that she was told to meet the other espers at.
St Bianchi Church stuck out rather clearly between the rest of the surrounding city, and its uniqueness was only made more obvious with the cast of characters standing at its entrance. One of which appeared to have only just arrived.
Noah felt a little ashamed at the relief she felt when she realized she wasn’t the only one late.
Slowing her run to a jog, and then a walk, Noah made absolutely sure she wasn’t harshly glowing before properly approaching the other espers. She’d learnt a little from that first job.
Coming in just behind the man who looked like he’d gone to a Halloween store and bought everything off the shelves, Noah followed his example. “Ah- I'm sorry as well. I was caught up on the way.” The choir said. Noah checked behind her. “Are we the last ones?”
xaltwind your hider broke
right click on the image and open it in a new tab, then copy paste the link to the image inbetween the IMAGE HERE text on the CS
Are any types of magic outright not allowed for the characters we make? I'm considering Key Magic but it's kinda busted so I figured I should ask.
Also, are dual attributes banned from use?
Also, are dual attributes banned from use?
Ananta Aroa
//O8 - The Underpass
Many had waxed poetic of the sunrise seen from the inside of Oratorio’s wall, claiming all manner of things. A horrible thing, she’d heard it called, affirming that the city was something of a prison in their minds. The walls boxing everything in, paired with the opulence residing atop them, brought understandably unpleasant memories for some adventurers. Many who’d come from a city could sympathize with the sentiment and understand where it came from.
However, that sentiment was rare… Well, rare in Kamal, that is. Ananta couldn’t speak for other cities and towns, but considering much of Kamal’s population holds retired adventurers who were successful in their journey, there is another idea of that sunrise that is far more common. One that is something of an inverse of that last mentioned feeling.
That of invigoration. Of assurance. Another day, another delve to the depths. That single constant that always guaranteed a job. Unlike just about everywhere else, being an Adventurer in Oratorio meant that you always had a route to gain some kind of coin. That route being, of course, the Abyss. Outside, it was always something of a gamble. Unless you and whoever you worked with were good enough to get hired out of being an adventurer by a kingdom or something similar, a secure path towards a constant income was just out of the question.
The Abyss wasn’t completely that, if only because of its danger and the oversaturation of adventurers on the early floors, but it was close enough. It was the kind of thing that those who took the adventurer path for either what it represented or what it could bring loved. That was why they saw that sunrise in such a way.
But that was also why Ananta couldn’t share either perspective. Perhaps if she’d become an adventurer for those reasons, or perhaps if she’d spent more of her time focused on the past, she might’ve seen something similar to those who’d told such tales. Yet, she didn’t.
To her, it was just the start of the next day, and nothing else. Another sign of the unending passing of time. A sign that nothing would stop that slow ticking in her heart. A sign that a mother’s life was soon to be extinguished. She could hardly afford a moment of stalling.
Bright and early, much like many of the eager adventurers who walked the streets, Ananta’s feet met the road once again. As she walked, she took a moment to reflect on her last delve, and her sales thereafter. Against some surprising odds, Ananta herself had come out uninjured, if exhausted. Her first two encounters with monsters had gone well in her favor, certainly. Much of that ease could be attributed to the crossbow she’d been gifted, it was certainly carrying its weight.…
But past that, the third ambush could’ve very well been the end of her. If she hadn’t run into that party, Ananta knew she would’ve needed some strong luck to escape with her life. They’d done rather well, for what was, as she’d later learned, a mostly green party. They’d been forced to pull themselves into a fighting retreat, and it was far more effective than if she’d just been alone. She ended up sticking close by after that scare, unwilling to risk such a mob swarming her for a second time on her own. There were some couple more monsters to slay afterwards, but they never experienced a repeat of such proportions.
On that party, however… there was one that Ananta had felt a sense of familiarity towards. Perhaps that is the wrong word, but the moment Ananta laid eyes on the Kitsune, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she’d recognized something about her. It was not a feeling she’d experienced in regards to anyone else in the party or throughout the city, and Ananta knew with absolute certainty that she’d never met anyone that looked quite like the blonde Kitsune before.
She let that thought sit once again in her mind, pondering that feeling further as she walked. She couldn’t quite place it from her earlier adventures either, nor any time that she’d seen an old face for the first time in months. Her terribly infrequent visits to her family didn’t allow her to recall anything of the sort either… If not the sight of an old face, what could that feeling have been?
… Ananta shook the thought off for the time being. Exhausted as she was after returning from the abyss, she’d rather quickly bid farewell to sell her share as soon as she could. She’d neglected to ask after any inns or stable hay bales or… wherever the party had planned to stay. So attempts to find that Kitsune again would rely quite a bit on luck and time both. Neither of which she seemed to have much of, recently. How ironic.
Regardless, Ananta had made her sales of her spoils the previous day, and with her remaining supplies would need to pull together some extra coin to prepare herself for the delve to the Second Layer… there’s no way she’ll get close to the amount she really needs for a proper delve, Ananta knows, but anything that can get her down without outright death will have to be enough. The supplies for the delve, bolts and delving equipment, will likely be the majority of what she brings. Perhaps also some form of blade. Water, of course, is essential as well, as is food… but Ananta can bear to go hungry. Not entirely of course, she needs to be in some state to fight, but it’s an overall familiar pain she has dealt with in the past, and she can conquer it again.
As long as she has what she needs to reach the banshee, and put it down… all that would be left is to get out. Well- and verify if the treasure is real, but that’s more of a secondary concern in the grand scheme of things. So long as her aim is steady, and her bolts are prepared to deal with ghostly opponents such as a banshee… it should be doable. Maybe with some luck.
That said, it’s equally possible she’s underestimating the threat of a banshee, even with what little she knew. Perhaps she should ask around, so she knows what to pick up tomorrow? … Yes, that would be for the best, Ananta thought. There was no reason to not be absolutely sure she had at the very least the minimum required to take out the monster.
Alongside making sure she knew what to get, that is, if anyone knew at all… she was reconsidering her stance on going it alone in the Abyss, given the scare from the day before. If there was a party going down today to the Abyss’s First Floor, looking for some kind of ranger, and they had a fair split of the spoils… she’d likely go for it. Even if they were a green party, as long as they could use their weapons, Ananta would gladly take the extra help.
But if she didn’t find anyone, then… then she’d go it alone, for the second time.
Perhaps if she had some kind of shop or business, but Ananta had never been skilled in much of anything besides staying alive and getting granted glory that wasn’t her own.
But spiraling thoughts such as those were pointless. She knew her mark, the requisite tasks, and the rough danger…
For now, she could only focus on what was directly in front of her.
Ananta Aroa
//A7 - On the Streets
Upon reflection, Ananta supposed it made sense. It did not make her want to curse any less, but she could see why the First Layer would give such a low profit. With the sheer concentration of adventurers that make the city home, it only makes sense that the most accessible layer also produced the least value. There was likely an overabundance of spoils from that Layer, which did what supply and demand usually does…
Oratorio was called the City of Opportunity as a result of the Abyss. For any adventurer, the idea of an area that seemingly endlessly spat out monsters and treasures of each and every kind was both utterly terrifying and incredibly appealing. However, the reality of any true opportunity was the fact of risk. In a market so saturated as this, without putting your life and resources in peril… the odds of turning any sort of profit were so small you may as well have never come in the first place.
Back on the road, before she’d arrived in Oratorio, she’d distantly realized this reality. Until Ananta was able to reach below the First Layer, she wouldn’t be getting anything particularly splendorous when it came to rewards. She hadn’t known it would be quite so bad that the best result on the First Layer would be, more often than not, breaking even… but she would survive.
It certainly threw a wrench in her plans, though. She’d expected the average First Layer delve would at least net a small profit, and Ananta had told Valentine she would make the delve with that thought in mind. It wasn’t enough to change her mind on accepting the request in the slightest, but the time limit was going to make this all the harder.
Five days was… not as much time as Ananta would like. Even just one more day would have allowed this to go so much smoother, but that would not be in the cards. Including today, she had two days to turn something of a profit, and obtain some manner of supplies to delve to the Second Layer. And, more than that, given what she’d learned from the adventurer’s she’d spoken to… the blades she’d brought weren't going to cut it.
The crossbow Valentine had granted her was an incredible boon, and was likely going to be essential in the days that would come, but it would not be enough for the Second Layer. Alongside the supplies she was going to need to purchase, she would need new steel… And she should probably ask around for what specifically would be useful against a Banshee later.
But, again, that was for later. Right now, Ananta had far more pressing concerns to ponder as she walked. She needed funding, and she needed it quickly. Perhaps if she’d had a connection or two to reach out to for assistance… But she was not in Kamal, nor any city she’d visited before, and had no such friends. In Oratorio, for the moment, she was alone.
Similarly, any thoughts of trying to pick up odd jobs were dashed. From what she’d been told, market saturation was in full effect, and thus the pay for such things was below nothing. So, she’d need to think about alternate methods. Intrusive thoughts of returning to her roots came to the forefront of her mind. Ananta banished them as quickly as they had come.
And thus, not seeing an alternative, her thoughts turned back to the Abyss and its siren call.
Ideally, she would join a party, however… with the crossbow she’d been given, it was likely that a number of assumptions would be laid upon her. Ones that she knew full well that she wouldn’t be able to fit. Sure, she could work a crossbow just fine, ease of use was practically the selling point of them. She was good enough to aim, shoot, and kill reliably… but she was no deadeye. She wasn’t going to start hitting hundred plus meter shots one after another, and with the good quality she held, the possibility of a party taking her lack of impressive ability as deception was… Well, it was not a chance she would like to take.
Perhaps she might function as a porter, it wasn’t as though she hadn’t done such things in the past, but she could see the competition in that market. With the statues that she would be forced to compete against, it just wasn’t worth wasting the time, in her mind.
And thus, her legs had brought her here. To the edge of the First Layer of the Abyss.
Ananta would need to be as conservative as possible with her gear, and simultaneously secure as many kills as she could. As many spoils as she could.
Her heart ticked faster and faster, yearning to take the next step.
She would need to keep an eye out for the bodies of the dead. The surroundings would need to be checked, to be sure she wouldn’t be ambushed if she went to take, but unless it was too dangerous to risk, anything that their bodies might hold could be another item that could keep her alive… or that she could sell.
She was losing daylight.
She had everything she figured she might need. At this point, difficult as it was, she would need to have faith in herself.
And so, alone, Ananta began her plunge.
Ananta Aroa
//O7 - The Shanty Between Buildings
Ananta observed the child's - Sasha's - mother and their home without judgment. The home, though many would likely hesitate to call it as such, was something made out of pure necessity... Though, given the state of Sasha's mother, Ananta assumed that she'd made it either a long time ago, before her body had undergone such deterioration, or appropriated it for her own use. Such was the way of things.
But these idle musings did nothing to help either of them, so Ananta banished them from her mind. There were far more pressing concerns, in her mind. Such as that strange mark that she'd gotten a glimpse of.
But before she would inquire further, it seems some clarifications were in order. Ananta spoke gently, "I said I would see if I could help, I would not dare speak of a guarantee. I know not of what afflicts your mother." And past that, introductions. "I am Ananta, ma'am." She said, inclining her head. "I cannot say for certain if I can provide a solution for what might ail you, but if you are willing, I would see if there is naught I can do." She held some experience when it came to illness, but if she were to make an assumption off of what she saw, Ananta could guess that this wouldn't be quite as simple as that.
The woman coughed.
"Would it be too much to ask you to...take my daughter out from Oratorio, to a village or town far from here?"
"Ma!"
"This isn't an illness that can be fixed with medicine, and this stupid girl won't stay at the orphanage."
... Ananta knew that such a thing was within her power. Indeed, though she could certainly feel something writhe inside of herself at the thought of leaving now, she knew that she would return by the time she'd found a safe home for Sasha. Kamal may not be as far away as the mother might like, but it would likely be the best Ananta could do. Even if she could endure the burning coals inside of her for that long, the amount of families she knew that might be willing to take in a child, or just a good orphanage, were primarily concentrated in Kamal. It would not make much sense to go further, when it would likely only serve to harm Sasha.
However, even though she had the ability to do so... Such a thing was an option she would much rather save as a last resort, in a scenario like this. Even if her mother wished for her daughter to leave, and even if it would more than likely grant her daughter a better life if Ananta brought her to Kamal or elsewhere... The fact remained that Sasha very clearly wished to stay with her mother, and was desperately searching for something, or someone, to help. But, more than that, it was Sasha who had reached out to her, and it was Sasha who brought her here. So, at the end of the day, the one who had petitioned for her help was the child, and Ananta would do her best to ensure she completed the child's request.
That said, she would not lie. "... I could do that, yes." She would not do so until it was clear that she could not help, but she would admit it was possible. "The town I call home, Kamal, is likely not quite as far as you would like, but yes, I could." But would not settle to end it there, so she pressed further, "However, ma'am, it was your daughter who brought me to assist you. Even if medicine cannot banish this illness, I would see if there is aught I can do to assist in another way, if you would allow me."
"Kamal..."
A flicker of recognition.
"So you came from there."
It was not quite what Ananta had hoped she would focus on, but so be it. "Yes, ma'am." She confirmed. "I would not call it my birthplace, but it has been my home for nine odd summers." She had started young, incredibly young. So much so that when she had started out adventuring, more often than not, she was laughed out of many a party and job. In the end, she'd made something of herself, but only out of luck.
"You are familiar with it?" Ananta said, attempting to gently broach the subject.
"I've passed by, on my way here."
She shifted her position, as if setting aside that memory.
"Sasha brought you, but why did you come? If you stop for every misfortunate child on your path, you'll never make it to the Abyss." There was suspicion, but it was cursory at best, easily understandable whenever one unaccustomed to charity receives it without reason.
It was a fair question. One that Ananta herself would inquire, had she been in the mother's shoes.
The answer was twofold. One that she could provide with resolve.
"I stopped to hear what she wished to say, and as it was something I might be able to provide, I saw no reason to refuse."
And the other with a modicum of embarrassment.
"And, as you can likely tell from my pack, I may have... overpacked, somewhat."
The hero of Kamal, everyone. Truly, an inspiration.
"A weird sort, aren't you?"
A brief look of surprise graced Ananta's otherwise serene expression, before being overcome by a small smile and a chuckle. "Ah, well, I suppose I cannot deny that, can I?" Internally, Ananta would have claimed fraud, but weird suited her quite well, too.
She shook off her amusement at the comment after a moment, and returned to the task at hand. "But, I believe we are straying, ma'am." Ananta said, referring to her daughter's request.
The woman looked at Sasha as well. Then she held her daughter close while placing a hand over the child's eyes. The blanket shifted off afterwards, revealing a body emaciated, a dark, pulsating tattoo having consumed more than half her body.
"Do you know what this is?"
Ananta took a moment to properly analyze what she was looking at. If she had to label the kinds or markings the horrible tattoo appeared to have distributed across the woman, she would label them as flames. Black flames that had crawled their way over much of the woman's body, that were very clearly harming her in some way. She could see full well why the woman said medicine would not help. If Ananta were to assume, she would point to this being some form of curse. It fit the bill of curses she'd seen in the past. A particularly horrible one, at that. If she were to guess further, Ananta would say that the pulsating of the mark was playing a part in the harm.
And so, she spoke her suspicions aloud. "... A curse, I would say." She said. "One done out of cruelty."
The woman nodded.
"A Banshee resides on the Second Layer, and I reckon I've got five more days in me." She closed her eyes, leaning back. "It takes two to reach the Second Layer."
"Can you do it?"
A Banshee... Well, this would certainly be a first for her, wouldn't it? An undead fiend, loud ones, at that. She'd heard a few tales from the elderly and retired adventurers. Unable to leave that which they are bound to, but they hold the ability of flight. A tricky foe, and one that she'd heard many a tale of loss over.
But could Ananta pull off something like this?
The Second Layer was deeper than she had intended to delve for some days. Ananta had planned to get her bearings with some more contained delving on the first floor... But the woman before her did not have such time to spare.
It seemed, then, that she would have to adjust her timeline.
After some moments of contemplation, Ananta resolved herself, and with her hand on her heart, nodded to the woman. "I will make the delve. Again, I shall not offer a guarantee of success, but I will do everything in my power to put the fiend down." It would be a disservice to everything she was, and everything she represented, to do anything less. She would succeed or she would die in the attempt.
"Do you recall it's location in the Layer? Bound as they are, with that information it would become much less of a task to track it down." If the woman did not, then that would be fine as well. Hunting down beasts and fiends with only an incredibly unspecific guide to their hunt such as "In the forest somewhere" was something of an adventurer specialty, even if she would rather that she got to the fiend as quickly as she could.
"No." She shook her head. "The Second Layer...you'll understand when you see it. And rather than doing everything in your power to kill it...make sure you survive." Because if time ran out, someone needed to know that Sasha still lived.
The location was not...? ... Very well. At one point or another, the woman had clearly braved the Abyss up to the Second Layer, and by virtue of that, she was more experienced than Ananta in that area by a good amount. She chose to simply nod at her words. If the woman believed that all Ananta would need was to see the Layer for herself, then she would trust in that.
The woman pulled out a crossbow and offered it to Ananta. It was a well-maintained thing, made of good wood and thick cord, its bolts tipped with iron.
"This will help, I trust."
Ananta accepted the crossbow without fuss, and inspected it's quality for no longer than a moment before realizing that it was of quality make. She nodded again. "It will."
Before she would depart, however, Ananta had one final question. "Ah, may I have your name, ma'am?" She asked, "It's occurred to me that I failed to ask earlier, my apologies for that."
"Valentine."
Ananta nodded. "Well met, Valentine." A good name, she thought. "I will take my leave. With luck, I will return with success." Ananta said, and turned to leave. She met Sasha's eyes as she did, and Ananta gave the girl the most confident nod she could manage. It seemed to lift her spirits somewhat, as her eyes regained some small amount of hope, so Ananta would call it a success.
About to exit, Valentine called out once more, reiterating her earlier words. "Even should you fail, see to it that you live."
Ananta paused her steps for a moment, and replied, "As you say."
"Good."
And that was that.
In a few moments, Ananta found herself back on the streets of Oratorio. Her hood up once again, her form obscured by her worn dark blue cloak. The streets of this district were much the same as the one she'd arrived to. But she would not spent overlong on those thoughts, not for a second time. With renewed determination, Ananta's feet brought her back to the Underpass.
Once again keeping a close eye on her things, she contemplated her next steps. This development would propel her much deeper than she had intended for, she knew. The supplies she'd brought along had been at the advice of a long retired tavern goer. Supposedly, it'd be what she needed to spend time hunting for a day or two on the First Layer of the Abyss... and she hadn't planned to delve beyond that for some a good while yet. Ananta had hoped to build at least some amount of familiarity with the trials that would be thrown at her, before going to where many claimed the "true" challenge began.
But sometimes, that was just the way of things. It wasn't reasonable to expect everything to stick to a single plan. So, she needed to adapt...
Five days was a heavy limit to be chained by. Ananta wasn't certain as to exactly how long it would take to reach the second floor... but it was likely for the best that she obtained what she needed quickly. Preferably in a day or two. The quicker she managed to delve, the better.
She would need additional supplies, for certain, and she would need them quickly. Ananta couldn't say she was entirely sure as to how she would go about it, but the simplest in theory, if likely somewhat challenging in practice, was to simply acquire more funds. But, then, how to go about such a thing?
... When she reached the Adventurers District, she would need to ask around. There would likely be at least some who were willing to answer the questions of a newcomer to the Abyss.
She would ask around, first, for how much one could make off of a day or two in the First Layer. Despite all the tales she'd heard back in Kamal, few had gone into the exact specifics of what they'd managed to gain, outside of vague exaggerations. For the most part, it was a result of them being muscleheads, but some of them simply could no longer remember. So she would need to confirm that first.
If it turned out to be viable for her needs... then she would consider delving.
The second, then, would be information on what she should expect. It would be good to hear more details on both the First and Second Layers, so she had a clearer picture of what she was getting into. The more she knew, the better prepared she could be to brave the depths.
And, lastly, for other methods of making coin. Though she imagined that it would be difficult to find someone willing to cough up the kind of coin she imagined she would need for her purposes from just a single job... Ananta knew how to be efficient. While a single request would likely not grant her what she needed, multiple very well could.
Information would be her very best friend, for the trials that lay ahead.
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