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Unheroic: The Backwards Castle

Violet would look in the distance and see the group Jasper had pointed out. Violet never liked big fights. She was always trained to get in, kill her target, and get out without leaving any room for fighting. She knew she didn't have what it took to be an assassin on her own, Xendrik did most of the heavy lifting for her. She was essentially a spy with permission to kill. As such, she'd have to find a way to make herself useful in the upcoming brawl. She'd assess the situation and think for a second before saying I'll protect Isabella and cover you guys from a distance. I can only throw this thing about 15 feet max. Beyond that, I can't do much.
Violet would go over to Isabella and the man she'd rescue. I'm going to need you on the front lines with Walker. Let me protect her and you protect Walker. Sound fair? Violet wasn't too concerned with his answer but she'd at least run the plan by him. Walker would need backup and wanted to be prepared should Kite and Jasper wouldn't be enough. She had no concern for their well-being, Kite's proven capable, and if Jasper teams up with Kaath, then he should be fine too. The problem is if they both have their own group to deal with leaving Walker with no one to watch his back.
Violet would get closer to Isabella and try to assess her abilities. The best way to do so was to directly ask her. She appears to be capable of blessings of sorts but if this extends to healing or just warding off curses was best left to her to explain. Hey... Isabella right? What can you do in a fight? I can see you're blind so I'll be your backup. I try to make it a point to determine my partner's capabilities before getting into a fight with them. Can you give me a brief summary of what you can do? For me, I'm acrobatic and can control a medium range with my ball. What about you?

Unheroic: The Backwards Castle

This new person's response only confirmed that the two of them knew each other Maybe she could meet Xendrik here in due time. Wouldn't that be something? But now isn't a time to be daydreaming. She needed to remain focused on this man. With that said... looking at the situation, it looks like Walker can handle this from now on. Violet tried to get information out of this disabled man and he threw more insults at her. As far as she was concerned, she couldn't care less about this man's fate. Instead, she'd move her attention to Kite and Jasper. Kite seemed fixated on something on the ground, making comments about it (that she couldn't understand) but Jasper seemed to agree with it.

She'd try to see where Jasper was focused towards then Jasper began walking towards the bridge aggressively. Jasper, is something wrong? Jasper would stop and would look to his left. For a moment, Kite and Violet would lock eyes and look back to Jasper. Violet was confused as to what was happening. She felt a bit on edge but didn't know why. Violet would tune back into the man's conversation only to find out Kaath didn't exactly do this. There was a fight but it seems it wasn't Kaath against these men, just caught in the crossfire. He'd add that Kaath cursed him so that he could be a messenger and not run away. Deep down, Violet felt pretty good knowing that but now wasn't the time to be petty. Something felt like it was coming.

The new woman appeared to offer a prayer to this man. She's some kind of priest or something. She'd wonder if her powers were real or if they're more meant for comfort. She'd have to think about it later... until she heard the woman used some of her blood as a sacrifice. That made it feel a bit more legitimate but still nothing to guarantee that she had true magical cleric powers. She'd only read about them but didn't know about them in practice. Ah, so you're a cleric? That's really good to hear. We're happy to have you. And I'm glad you two could be reunited. Now look alive, something... feels like it's coming. She'd move her focus back to where Jasper was focused.

Unheroic: The Backwards Castle

It's easy to blame Kaath for this Walker, but I don't want to jump to conclusions. Obviously, this looks like something Kaath could do, and given her attitude and what the group has seen and heard of her, sounds like something she would do. Violet wasn't sure why she didn't want to blame Kaath immediately but she wanted more proof. Looking back down to the man his eyes were filled with fear. That fear turned to panic, then to anger. Violet started to move back a bit as the man started to scream and shout.

Just calm down, I only wanted to he- Then the man began shouting again and drew his weapon. Ooookay this has escalated rather quickly. There has to be a way to calm everyo- Then a woman popped out of nowhere with a cane. She appeared to be blind; the mask over the eyes, the cane, it'd make sense. And Walker appears to know this person? I've never seen him talk nicely to anyone. Always so guarded, mysterious, sometimes even rude. That sounded... almost kind. As she was thinking about it, the deformed man got angry at this. This man appeared to be very protective of her as a new resolve appeared in his eyes. Quickly gathering decent control over his new body he manages an attack, albeit a bit sloppy, but an attack towards Walker. It appeared to be some type of light magic but it was just a myth in her world she had no idea how it would work here. She thought about tripping him on his way to Walker but Walker's stance looked like he was ready. It was better this way, while Walker dealt with this man, Violet could think over this scenario. There's too much that isn't adding up.

I can understand being upset at the idea of a mercy killing, but why call me a witch? I don't even know magic, I can just move... a... ball... But I haven't done that yet. How would he even know about that? And he made too many assumptions based on a group of people he's never met. From what Jasper said, he's just a guide and they should have had plenty of interactions with him. Kite would fit the bill as a dangerous entity and could even be called a witch, but then why attack Walker? Maybe he believes Walker holds the string... that's a big jump to make Violet tried to make sense of everything that's been going on. But Walker chastised her for her offering of mercy. In my line of work, some would consider it preferable. I'll do better to remember not everyone has the same mentality.

A lot isn't adding up though. Sir, if you don't mind me asking, who do you think we are? A direct question would be best here. It's a bit of a jump to think we're a gang of murderers who just kill whatever moves. Why would you think that about us? Are you confusing us with someone else? Also, what witch do you refer to? No one here can use magic. Sure it could just be a rude term to call someone in this world... but it'd still be nice to know that moving forward. Admittedly, Violet knew she was making assumptions in her thinking but she still needed answers and this was the only person she could talk to get any of them answered.

Unheroic: The Backwards Castle

If they were supposed to be here waiting for us to lead us back to Ispar, as you call it, then it sounds like as long as we play nice, then we'll be safe. It put her a bit at ease to hear that. Jasper sounds like they've done this a few times before so if he says they'll lead us then that should be good enough. Still, best to stay on guard, every group can have its radicals. If Kedvin is the type to not like us, there can be people in his group who think we shouldn't even get the chance to try. As she looked around she spotted... something. She couldn't tell what it was but it was big, to say the least. Then, without warning, it let out this bellowing roar, smoke coming out from it. The smoke could mean it's not an animal or beast but instead a construct of sorts. Is that a war horn? Are we about to be attacked? She'd continue to watch as that thing made its way back into the woods. It might be going to get the people that signal was meant for. This could be bad...

Jasper would continue and describe what she'd just saw. Apparently, that sound was 'good' so that's... 'good' to hear? But if Jasper's next words were to be taken at face value, Kaath sounds like she's in an uncontrollable state. If she wanted Violet's newly formed team to be dead, sounds like no one would be able to stop her. Kite's only stopped her attacks but he didn't try to attack her. In addition, Kite's been rather docile since leaving the cave. Kite seemed rather exhausted since the last time he... revived I guess. Hopefully, that doesn't have any lingering effects on him. He's our only 'ace' so to speak. Without him we're dead but with him... I can only hope he can, at the very least, hold her off. Slowly they got closer to the end of the bridge and Violet could make some things out. There appeared to be a fight of some kind. Blood and slash marks everywhere, there appeared to be some struggle but no sign of a winner or loser. Getting closer she saw... more...

What... the... hell happened here??? It looked like a tornado blew through here... a very violent and angry tornado. The state of the camp, however, was the least of her concerns. There was a... person. Sadly that statement was more apt than she wanted it to be. There WAS a person. What was before her now was.. something broken. Violet realized she couldn't have been more wrong, whatever happened here wasn't a battle, this was just fun for one person. Whoever did this, had time to make this one person's life miserable and not even kill them after. Violet was beyond horrified to see this scene. She could barely look but she'd promised she'd be better for her team, so she had to face this head-on. This person weakly called out for, what she could assume were his friends, but upon realizing they weren't who he was looking for, long any will they may have had left. She? Was this... Kaath's doing? Why? Is this what she does when she'd in a bad mood? Take it out on people who can't defend themselves from her? For what purpose? To feel better? To vent? What could possibly justify this???

She approached the defeated man and knelt down to him. I wish I could promise I could fix you but I can't do such a thing. I've never even seen this before. If you so choose, I can offer you a swift death should you find that to be a better alternative. Before you make your decision, I have only a few questions if you want to answer. If you want to skip them I'd completely understand. If you will answer, however, then what happened here, and where did she go? The promise of a mercy killing might be good for this person. Violet had no idea if whatever did this to him was permanent or not. If it was, then there was nothing left for him past this. Basic things became undoable from what Kaath had done. She'd have to take initiative to gather information and determine if this is Kaath's doing or someone else. It's easy to assume Kaath but she has no proof yet if she's even capable of this.

Unheroic: The Backwards Castle

Violet would listen as Walker would try to make his inclusion based on her opinion. As she heard him talk, she remembered a term used in comics from her world, A "tsundere". Walker seemed like he was playing hard to get. It probably wasn't accurate but it was a fun idea to play around with. Violet would playfully lean towards Walker, Awwww Walker, is that your way of saying you want to join us? She'd let out a chuckle and continue. If you'll leave it up to me then I'd be happy to have you with us. She'd give a curtsy as a way to welcome her already accepted teammate. He's rough around the edges at times but he's still got plenty of worth to him. She'd raise her head to look at Walker, Your realism helps keep me grounded so to speak. As long as you can put up with my 'outbursts' then I think we can be a great pair!
She'd look over as Jasper spoke up. I did notice you seemed a bit distracted. We're you expecting them to lead us to town? Sure they could take the glory, no matter how undeserved it is, but a little extra security wouldn't hurt. She tried to think about how Jasper felt about this. Given how distracted he was, she couldn't tell if it was impatience or fear. Both seemed rather unlikely, given Jasper's character, but still, something that needed to be considered. So should we be ready for a fight when these people show up or will things go smoothly for the most part? Violet wasn't ready to fight now and if the enemy's size is to be taken at face value, they could easily end up surrounded. The better question would be what to do should they get captured. True she could 'say' that she and Walker give up on their quest should they force the topic, but what if they say to 'kill the rabbit and let go of the string'? Her hands would be tied then. The best she can hope for is to follow those two across the bridge and hope for the best.
Violet then had a thought. Hey these people we're waiting for, you don't think Kaath went after them, do you? From what you said, it sounds like she doesn't like them very much, and when she left the cave, she seemed to be in a pretty sour mood. You don't think she's... dealing with them, do you? She'd been thinking about everything since they left the cave. She'd let her guard down since they were in new scenery and felt like, without the presence of Keepa, she didn't have too much to be afraid of. Wondering about how much she missed or didn't think about, she quickly remembered something she let go of. That guy who ran off when your hand fell on him, was he one of Kedvan's... boys? If so, they could already know we're here and could set up an ambush. She'd look to the bridge but it looked sturdy enough to not give way under anything minor. Everyone, stay sharp, they could be lying in wait anywhere.

Unheroic: The Backwards Castle

There'd be an air of silence after Jasper's cold words. There was an honest truth behind his words however. Violet would respond in a monotone voice. Thanks for the words of wisdom Walker. A pragmatic and rational thinker as always, it is very welcomed given the situation we're in. Forgive me if my tone comes off as cold or sarcastic, I genuinely mean this. I realized that already though. She'd lift her ball and start cycling it through different colors. When you have powers like mine, emotions can be... dangerous. You learn to take in every chance you can get to 'feel' something. But when the time comes, you seal them away as they'll do nothing but get you in trouble. I let my emotions get the better of me when we fought Keepa, but I won't let that happen again, you have my word. Violet said that as a way to remind herself of her own failures. If she was to be a leader, she needed to be a calm thinker. Walker's already shown to be competent himself so she had quite a bit of catching up to do. Still, it stings a part of me to know there wasn't much of a connection. Not sure what I was expecting, he found me covered in bugs in a jail cell unconscious. At least I still hope it was 'covered'... Not exactly a 'fated meeting' but it doesn't change what's happened. Kite's given his all to protect me, that much is true and cannot be changed. Violet would sigh and regain her usual cheerful disposition. Even if I was the best of a bad situation, he's here with me now, and that's all that matters. She'd crouch down to Kite's level If you just need me to believe in you and some fairy magic brings you back... Violet would briefly touch her finger to Kite's nose, then I'll do just that whenever you need me to. She'd chuckle as she'd finish and stand back up.

She'd have a resolved look in her eyes as she'd turn to Jasper. To answer your proposal Jasper, I don't intend to give up. I won't speak for anyone else, but if I'm to die, I'll die fighting. Hell in my mind, I've already gotten eaten by Keepa, and I've died in my own world. Who knows, maybe my third death will come with a prize? She'd chuckle softly to herself. If an army is out of the question then Walker's plan will have to suffice. An army would be too loud, noticeable, and bring too many variables to this. A few people could sneak in and complete this better than an army trying to brute force their way through. However, you did say something interesting, Jasper. You said people would be honored to take his place. Does that mean we can find a few more people to add to our muscle? We seem to be lacking in that at the present moment. Currently, their only fighters are Walker and Kite, not much help if they're outnumbered.

Violet would place her ball under herself and take a seat. She'd sigh out a bit and give a guilty smile. Sorry if I made you worry Kite. Sometimes I can get pretty emotional, bottling it up can end up giving you a lot of extreme emotions. Consider it a bit of an outburst. She'd look back at Jasper. Mulling over Jasper's words, there was a lot said that was useful for the most part. Despite how cold it may have been, a lot of new information has been put on the table. You say that Kedvin's group is either people who gave up or born from people who gave up correct? How antagonistic will that make them towards us? It doesn't sound like they would get in our way, in fact, it sounds like they'd just let us go thinking us to be fools. Will they get in our way? If so, what do they stand to gain in doing so? Is it just a game to them? Violet would take her cold monotone voice again, If so, we can cull their ranks and take a few prisoners. They may not be useful for soldiers, but you don't need much loyalty to be a meat shield.

Unheroic: The Backwards Castle

Violet was at first pretty excited she was about to get an answer to what 'holding the string' meant. This quickly faded she started to get a long lesson on how 'leyline' magic worked. As informative as it was it didn't do much other than confuse her. She's known people who were able to cast magic but it wasn't real magic, just something that acted similar to magic. Real mages were but a long-lost fairy tale in her world; one she'd seen with her own eyes but still a thousand-year-old story. Jasper would apologize for their tangent which made Violet feel a bit at ease to know she didn't need to memorize all of that. While that was reassuring, what followed was not. She'd hear talk about this 'Spire' again and how it's consuming this world. It sounds like we need to stop this and Kite is the one who can but... Kite is 'sharing my time?' What does that even mean? And what is this 'pact of want'? And this pact can end up hurting me in the long run? Does that mean Kite is using my life to bring himself back? He wouldn't do that... right? He's been protecting me this entire time. He's been making sure that I've been making it out of places alive while putting so much on himself. He's risked his life too many times for this to be true. But if he knew he'd come back, does it count as a sacrifice? It would make sense to keep that which makes you immortal alive. Violet would look to Kite and remember the nightmare Keepa showed her.

She'd grab her head, shaking it and shutting her eyes. It wasn't something she wanted to remember and something she wanted to put behind her. Violet takes a deep breath to try and calm herself. She wouldn't get anything from dreading about this now. Violet would come back at the end on Jasper's aside talking about Cart-Dragger and Cart-Pusher. Jasper would continue to directly answer her question. They'd say that Violet was just the first person that Kite found. This didn't make her feel any better knowing she could easily be replaced. Not only that but several people have already been called to this place, only to have already died. Jasper would conclude their thought with something that filled Violet with a bit of dread; we were simply next. Her group was no different than the people who came before her. She could meet the same fate as everyone else who came before her, and with her skillset, was very likely. Violet started to see that asking these questions could give her answers she didn't want to know. Even if that was the case, this was something she needed to do. Being informed was important to be prepared. The more she knew, the more she could remove and unknown factors from this already mysterious situation she'd in.

Well if what Jasper was implying about Violet being a 'leader' was to be believed, then it was time she started acting like one. Caring about her role and purpose aren't qualities of a leader. She should be thinking ahead and towards achieving victory, whatever that meant. Violet, after a long pause, would speak up. So how do we stop this Spire? If there are poachers here, are they in the same situation as us? Couldn't we amass an army to fight... whatever we're fighting? Violet tried to keep her questions as objective as possible, removing any personal questions from her mind. Before Jasper could answer, however, Violet would look to Kite, her voice shaky as she began to speak. Do you need me in particular or would anyone have done? And are you only keeping me alive so you don't die? You don't have to answer if you don't want to. Violet regretted asking that but she couldn't help herself. It was something she needed to ask. She'd take a more monotone voice as she continued. No matter how you answer, I know it doesn't change what I need to do. I just ask that you be a bit more forthcoming with me. If you are how we can escape from this place, then I will do everything I can to assist you.

Unheroic: The Backwards Castle

'Holding the string.' I keep hearing that. And Kite thought he could 'rely on me'? It was a lot parse through, maybe not in content but it did open up a lot of doors. Maybe now she could finally get an answer as to what holding the string meant. Given how much it came up, it had to be important. Jasper continues to say how 'Jasper' is their master's name. Violet almost feels a bit foolish since she's the only one who led with her real name. She'd think about switching to one of her pseudonyms but it may be weird to her party members. Eh, they'll get it. Especially Walker, He's all about that mystery and vagueness and that... dark... brooding... stoic hero type of stuff. She was trying to rationalize it in her mind a way to do it casually to not make her stand out.

Jasper would continue on about Kaath but it was more things Violet could already pick up on. She'd take a look around and enjoy the scenery while Jasper would talk. After being in the dungeon-like cave for so long, it was nice to be out in the open, the fresh air, the sunshine, the trees, it was refreshing. But now she could see what Walker was getting at. Ignoring Keepa's presence, that cave was safer. Not too many places they could be ambushed from. Now, however, an attack could come from anywhere. She'd have to keep her guard up at least a little bit. Remembering how someone almost snuck up on them, maybe a bit more. Violet would catch herself off in her own mind to listen back in on Jasper talking about protecting their name. Although, it seems Jasper knows Walker's hiding his name, at least with how they concluded their thought. Walker would respond, but as usual, he talks in really weird phrases and idioms that sound extremely strange but, for the most part, makes sense.

Jasper would continue to bring up the person who was listening in on them. apparently he belonged to a group of poachers. Despite their ridiculous name, they could still pose a problem. Violet still wasn't suited for a full on battle. Looks like Jasper is a bit fragile for a battle too. The team isn't much better off and with Kaath gone, their main muscle, that they never even got to utilize, is gone. If they get ambushed, they are in serious trouble. Violet would tense up a bit and keep her eyes and ears open for anything to be out of the ordinary. Walker's strict approach might actually be of use here. This situation did bring up a question Violet didn't think she'd get an answer to, but something she did want to ask.

They'd reach their tentative destination. Looks like there was still a bit more to go but at least they saw the goal so to speak. There was a lot on Violet's mind so she needed to say something. Walker would start to comment on the scenery but Violet would speak up right after.

Hey Jasper... I'm not sure if you'll be able to answer these but I really want to ask them. First question is what does it mean to 'hold the string'? I've heard this so many times and I know it has something to do with Kite. I... can piece together it might have something to do with his apparent immortality. It's a guess but if that's the case I don't want to lose him. I need to know so I don't ever let go I guess. My second question I'm not expecting much for but I suppose it's wishful thinking that I'll get an answer from this. Why us? Only one of us is a fighter, I'm sure there's plenty of people in the multiverse who would be much more capable in a fight than I would. So what's so special about us that made us the destined heroes to save this world?"

Unheroic: The Backwards Castle

Lady Liaison? Me? Is that supposed to be my role? Am I supposed to just be a translator for Kite or something? What does that even mean? Violet racked her brain a bit with several questions. There's a lot this... Jasper is saying that isn't making a lot of sense. But if anything made sense from what they're saying, she intends speak the truth to us as best as they can. And this mention of a 'true' name, Walker would be fine with his name since Jericho would be his 'true' name. But if it's to be assumed that true names are to be avoided, then it's best to avoid that as best as possible. Even so, this is an opportunity to ask all these questions and get an honest answer!

But now Kite and Jasper are just staring at each other. Maybe he's trying to communicate with them? Japser says something and then Kite looks to have gotten hurt again, but this time seems different. Violet rushes over to kite to check on them. She'd recognize this from when he first tried to access her mind. Did Kite's power get thrown back at him? There's so much happening that only raises more questions. Jasper starts talking to Kite saying he tried to access their core. Seems like she was right but Jasper mentioned a 'Valket'. This is the second time she's heard that, the first being from Kaath. Maybe that's the race Kite belongs to. While that answers THAT question, perhaps she should organize her thoughts to not overwhelm this Jasper with a million questions.

So Jasper, you say you'll try to uphold a representation of truth to us. If you don't mind, I have a couple questions. I'll try to not ramble to the best of my abilities. What do you mean when you call me 'Lady Liaison'? Also does the person you serve go by the name of 'Kaath'? If so, do you both share a hostility or at least a passive aggressiveness with Kite's race? Also, why should we avoid 'true' names? I suppose I'll start with those to not ask you too much. Violet tried to keep it as brief as possible. There were so many more questions she wanted to ask but these were the most pressing ones. She wanted to ask about Kaath, why she's here, how she blocked Kite, but this was everything she could think of which was important. She'd take a cloth out and begin cleaning up the blood on Kite as best as she could.

Unheroic: The Backwards Castle

Violet would do as the voice said and followed to where this 'core frame' was. She'd set the feet down as close to the lower part of it as possible. Will this be sufficient? she asked curiously looking on to see what would happen next. She'd see the pieces or porcelain begin to flick about. Don't worry, I'll remain calm. Truth be told you're, so far, one of the more pleasant people I've met since I came here. If you find you need any assistance, please feel free to ask, I'd be happy to help. She knew this thing would probably decline her offer but it only seemed right to offer. After all, something, clearly bad, happened to it and yet it keeps it's chipper attitude and tone. She'd look at the main body and realize it's a lot more broken then missing a pair of feet. I wonder where the res-

That's when she heard the man panicking. She'd look up to see, Walker armed to the teeth and ready to fight, and a man trying to get away from a rampaging porcelain hand coming back to the main body. Violet wasn't sure what she was watching but it was... interesting to say the least. The man vanished back into the woods and once he did, Violet thought she probably should have questioned him as to why he was there, but it's too late for that now. She'd look back to the temporary contemporary to see an arm reforming itself piece by piece. She'd hear a voice getting closer and look to see... a hand dragging a head. She wasn't sure what she was expecting but this still wasn't it. At least this thing doesn't seem to be in pain, which is only more worrying. How many times has this thing reassembled itself to the point where this doesn't even register as anything to worry about. Maybe it's some kind of porcelain robot and doesn't feel pain or emotion. That would explain it but it'd still be kind of sad in it's own way

She'd look over to Walker and he seemed a bit on edge. Sure he said he'd watch for anyone else who'd storm in but this still seemed a bit much. She'd like to tell him to relax but after everything they've been through, even SHE couldn't fully relax. It was nice to meet someone friendly who didn't try to harm them but she couldn't completely let her guard down. Even so, she'd at least have to try something. She walked over to Walker and place her hand on his shoulder. Hey, you can relax a little bit. We're all here protecting each other. You don't have to be at 100% all the time. Feel free to dial it back a little bit. She knew that might not mean much to him but she wanted give him even an iota of piece of mind. Come to think of it, she hadn't seen much of Kite since they left. She'd look around for him to see what he was up to.