World Traveler

Romancing the Artifact

Devin was left at the bar as Brandy stomped out into the early afternoon sun. The heat would be sweltering shortly so Devin saw himself already preparing to go out and join her. An awkward look from the bartender made him feel the need to explain. "She is new to the world we live in." The line was stale mostly due to Devin's slightly tired tone. He had just spent the better part of a half hour on high alert and tense. The line might have fallen flat as far as delivery, but the understanding nod he got from the man behind the bar showed just how true the words were.

The world Devin lived in was not one where people spoke highly of your achievements. It was a world were your achievements got you killed if the wrong person found out. One where information wasn't just expensive, but worth your life. Devin loved it and cursed it all in one word. "$h*t." He said as he figured he had lost Brandy as an ally. He wasn't sure why it hit him so hard, but he had a feeling it had to do with his horrible luck in women.

Devin's acceptance over Brandy leaving was short lived as he remembered what Codex had said. The tickets weren't under his name. If he wanted to meet The Librarian he would need to convince Brandy to at least get him through the front door of the party. Rushing out of the bar and looking around he saw that she hadn't made it more than a few paces. He grabbed the phone in hopes he had stopped her from calling a taxi. "Look I need you Brandy. Codex said the tickets are under your name. All I need is for you to get me past the front gate. Then you can use the open bar and walk away."

As far as persuasive arguments went Devin was sure it was one of his worst, but the only other thing he had to offer was a nice night out. "Look I know you got hit with the reality hammer. Happens to everyone. But I can't have you back out now. You don't need me I know that, but as far as owing people goes I will owe you big." Devin pulled the watches out he had stolen earlier. "I went to the ATM and got some money for us to get dolled up. If I can squeeze into the cage called a suit can I get you into a dress? My treat."

Portwood Institute for Talented Youths (PITY) - Super-School Interest Check

@Tyler

If it helps at all we can just change the power to control over a small amount of dark matter energy. Really the only reason I used a dark/shadow based name for it is because I felt it the best single word description. In another summery the energy that causes Devin to be blind is in fact controllable; so with practice he can no longer be blind and apply the energy in another way such as having it explode from his hands or attach itself to another person (Causing them to go blind.) It is also important to note that this isn't a energy he can create a large amount of. He couldn't create a whole sword as this is energy that is "bottled" around his eyes. I have an idea that he can at the cost of his energy and health create a large amount, but I don't like having "O crap" buttons with powers.

Would that clear up the issue of it being labeled as a form of Umbrakinesis?

Portwood Institute for Talented Youths (PITY) - Super-School Interest Check

Alright I think I have thought through what sort of power I am looking to use in this role play. It requires a bit of explaining at first; however, bare with me and see it through.

Short Version - Umbrakinesis

Long Version - My character will have the ability to manipulate a small amount of darkness. Specifically the darkness that causes him to be blind. At first it was believed that Devin (my characters name most likely) was simply born blind, but during a few dangerous moments Devin suddenly began to see and a unknown 'dark energy' sprung from his body and saved him. The way I see this being used is that at will *After much practice* Devin can focus on the dark energy covering his eyes and use them either to shoot concussive blasts of dark matter or transmit the energy into a physical object like a weapon. For short periods of time he can even 'infect' his darn energy on others making them blind. Important to note that this power does not give him the ability to teleport or control shadows.

If this is acceptable I would like to know as soon as possible so I can continue to build around this power. If not happy to stick around and figure something else out.

Romancing the Artifact

Having been holding his breath silently during the two women duel with words Devin was happy to see the conversation moving on. Every time he had to deal with Codex in the past he had always been burned and while this bar had seen a lot of love in the past its new shiny feel was obviously thanks to Codex's patronage. Another file in the long list of reasons women have often been trouble for him. The reason he had ended up in that prison hospital was because he had been arrested for doing a job with some of Codex's men. At the time he thought he was liberating a few pieces of Nazi artworks from a horrible private collection. Turns out he was stealing from a prison warden and the whole job went south real fast.

"You owe me a sit down with The Librarian." Devin said in a stern voice. "The only thing I am missing is original text of Marco Polo's journey. The only person in the world who might know where Rustichello da Pisa original notes and writings are is The Librarian. I know he doesn't deal with people like me, but I thought you might have an invitation." Devin was careful about his word choice when discussing the favor.

While some call him a myth those in the know are always aware of the mysterious collector known as 'The Librarian' He was the mysterious bidder who bought first additions well above their value. He also seemed to have a near unlimited supply of money to purchase these books or pay for the cost in recovering them. What put Devin on edge was almost no one knew who he was. Devin looked back over at Brandy and then over to Codex "Can you help me or not?"

Codex was unreadable while Devin asked for the favor. She then clicked her fingers and the big man in a suit walked over. She whispered in his ear and he pulled a phone out. "One moment dears." She sand and then pulled the phone to her ear after punching in a phone number. During the ringing Devin leaned over to Brandy.

"This is going well." He said and then flashed a smile at her.

Codex began talking to someone on the other side of the line. "Yes I need to speak with him." There was a slight pause. "I have a..." At this point Codex looked at Devin and then Brandy whom she gave a warm smile. "I have a friend who may be in need of your services and archive. No need for an acquisition I believe he just needs a few copies." Devin couldn't make out the other voice or its reply before Codex clicked the phone dead and handed it back to the suit who promptly took it back.

"You will be approached this evening at the ambassadors party being held at the German Consulate. I will get you on the list. You can take my place. I usually find them a complete bore." Codex stood up and looked over at Devin. "Dress appropriately. I am not having you sully my name like you did at the winery." Codex then looked over at Brandy. "I am leaving you in charge. The tickets will be under Brandy Parks. Also make sure you return him in workable condition." Codex's face then turned stern almost threatening. "I don't mind people borrowing my toys, but I don't allow them to be returned broken." With those final words Codex left with the man in the suit following close behind.

"This went a lot better than I thought it would." Devin said after a respectable silence. "Looks like we have some time to prepare before the meeting." Devin went over to the bar and started to pay for the drinks.

"Madam has already paid for you sir." The bartender said as he motioned to the door that Codex left.

Romancing the Artifact

As the two reached the market Devin found a few choice ATM's walking around. When he and Brandy split up he bumped into a few wealthy expensive watch wearing aristocrat types and relinquished them of their wrists burden. Shortly after that he found a few stalls that would take the watches as credit and before long he was wearing some well-fitting jeans and a plain white shirt with a trim, but effective, coat for the evening. The other watches he planned on using as either a bribe or possibly to get some more ammunition for his 9mm. One clip was hardly enough to rely on if he found himself in a situation where he needed it.

After rejoining with Brandy the question of where to go hung in the air. He wasn't sure if it was Andrews’s threat or his own hesitation that had him wondering if he should bring Brandy along. This struggle was noticed by Brandy who made a face best akin to 'Don't fucking try.' With the silent conversation done Devin began talking. "There is a bar down this road. Bit of a dive, but the place is cleaner than most of the people inside. There is an old...." Devin paused as he debated how to describe the person. "Acquaintance who might be able to help."

The two started to make their way down the road that quickly went from busy local foot traffic to slow somewhat sketchy surroundings. A small light could be seen pointed at a sign that read "The Library" in Arabic and English. The place had long ago been a classic gentleman's restaurant with big dance nights and plenty of liquor and money. Those days were decades past now as the place was mostly run down. Still the bar had a charm that Devin had come to expect from most places he did business.

The two made their way to the bar and after Devin ordered a rusty nail and an old fashion and then looked to Brandy to order her drink. "The other is for our guest." he said as she eyed the two drinks. The two then took their drink and made their way to the back area where there was a large dance floor and then booths where people could expect a level of privacy. They sat there and began to wait. "If anything starts looking off I want you to just follow my lead. Namely duck." Devin said as he sipped his rusty nail.

Shortly after that the booth they were at was met with a large set man who seemed a little over dressed for the place. Perhaps in the past when the dance floor was used he would have fit in, but now he just looked like a wannabe security guard for a politician. He motioned for Devin to get up. Devin didn't see the point and instead just showed his hand. Reaching behind his back he pulled the 9mm out and put it on the table. "No need to show me yours guerrilla." Devin then turned to look around. "Where's Codex?"

"Right here pudding." A woman's voice said. "Seems this little meeting is a double date." The woman speaking stood at about 5'10 feet tall and while she wasn't wearing heels her body seemed to carry itself with a much taller grandeur. "I was surprised to hear from you Devin. Since the last time we met I figured we had a bridge, at best on, fire. Did you get the flowers I sent you? I thought it was the least I could do."

Grabbing his gun and putting it back behind his waist Devin had a sarcastic smile on his face as he shook his head. "The flowers were nice. The prison hospital had a lack of color." Looking over at the woman he saw it best to get down to business. "Codex I want to call in my favor." He held his voice steady and didn't break eye contact.

"Excuse me?" Codex's voice showed some amount of confusion and humor. "As far as favors go I never owe them." You must have me mistaken for some other chump." She then looked over at Brandy and smiled. "I like the new model. Much better than the red head. Though considering how hot she burned I am surprised she didn't turn you off women all together." Codex seemed to flash an all too cocky smile at the two and then started to light a smoke.

"When you get someone shot you owe them. That is how it is in my book and that is how it is in your book." Devin wasn't getting angry, but he was getting restless. The longer they weren't on the same page the better chances this whole meeting had of going south. Normally he would be fine letting Codex play her little games, but considering Egypt was not a place he wanted to be in for long and this bar was likely full of eyes and ears not hospitable he was eager to get moving.

(feel free to control any character. Just realized we are using the OOC for this lol)

The One That Drives You Crazy

Still interested in doing a Spider-Man / Black Cat role play if anyone else is interested.

Portwood Institute for Talented Youths (PITY) - Super-School Interest Check

I will be doing a character who is blind, and has a seeing eye dog. Not sure what power I will give him as of yet, but I am planning on basing the character around Daredevils abilities.

Romancing the Artifact

The flight was mostly uneventful with Brandy sleeping and Devin laboring over the objects in his hand and the journal in his lap. Over and over he seemed to run through every bit of parchment he had copied and every note he had jotted down. Still the answer hadn’t come to him. He had hit plenty of road blocks in past projects, but nothing like the one he was up against now.

In the past road blocks had been usually man made ones. An unsafe country where treasure hunters were less than likely to make it out with all their extremities, or competing groups making more obstacles. This time Devin was against a wall built with the worst sort of blockage. Lack of information and clues. It was hard to imagine where the next clue could be or even begin to understand how daunting the task could be without learning just a little bit more.

Finally the flight was reaching its end and Devin packed everything back up. There was determination in his face, but some amount of defeat in his hands. The small group emptied out of the plane after it had taxied to a hanger. Each said their goodbye with Devin’s earning a threat of death should anything happen to Devin’s new field partner. “Something tells me she can take care of herself…” Devin muttered to himself after shaking Andrews’s hand.

During the few moments he allowed himself a free thought Devin continually returned to musing about Brandy. Her ability to just jump along for the ride was staggering and something he had never encountered before. Put that personality and add the brain she clearly had and he couldn’t map anything out as far as her background or current status other than she was some sort of archeologist.

He had considered asking Andrew about her, but since the moment he had met him the guy seemed interested in throwing dangerous looks Devin’s way making him decide against it. Brandy returned to his side and thought aloud about where their next place would be. She also returned her hair to the pony tail which rallied a boost of moral inside Devin. “Honestly I have no idea.” Devin said. “But I have a long shot that might help point us in the right direction.”

Devin had come to the conclusion that he was finally reaching the end of his own expertise and needed some outside help. Brandy was helpful, but what they needed help with was found only in the dark side of archeology. They needed to talk black market goods and above that black market information. The person Devin wanted to find wasn’t on any invitation lists outside of several prisons around the world.

“Let’s head into town and find a place to call home.” Devin walked with Brandy through the small airport. They went through a short customs check, short enough that they didn’t find Devin’s gun, and on the other side found a taxi to take them into town. Since the political unrest Egypt had seen its tourism plummet to near dire numbers meaning those that did travel to the ancient world were met with rock bottom prices.

With a little cash and some light flirting Devin was able to get two rooms at a middle of the road hotel near the water. The local market square being the main view from their rooms. Devin said a few cryptic things about making a phone call and then a shower. “We also might need some more clothes so let’s meet back in a half hour to do some real shopping.” Looking down at his shirt he noticed the smudge marks were still visible.

After those phone calls and a shower Devin felt like he was back on the right track. He may have had the same clothes on he did when he exited the plane, but his body language and even tone of voice had a bit more a upbeat step. The connections he used to get them a meeting had been available to help and seemed happy to do so. Normally a cause for concern, but he learned that business was slow even in the black market so they were eager to see a customer just like the regular tourist markets.

Romancing the Artifact

Devin smiled as Brandy seemed apologetic over the state of his shirt. Looking down he saw a smudge here and there from the rush of the Bazaar and resulting scuffles that occurred. It was a classic Istanbul tourist shirt that had the Blue Mosque at the center with the countries flag in the background. He shook off the whole thing and smiled up at Brandy. "The shirt is the least of my worries darling."

Devin committed himself to relaxing as the plane took off. As it started to level off he thought about grabbing a nap, but decided against it. Instead he figured the time could be best spent reviewing the information he had gathered during his time in Istanbul. Pulling out his journal and opening it to the book marked page he began reading the Italian that was written on the paper.

"L'onere ho messo sulle spalle è più pesante di qualsiasi impero. Dei velocità mio fratello , e mantenere la chiave di sicurezza..."

Continually rereading the last portion of the paragraph sent Devin into a sort of hypnotic state where he stayed for several moments. A small amount of turbulence jolted him back to the present. Seeing little headway being made in the way of the letter he shifted his focus to something else in his bag. The compass he had used on Polo's map and then another artifact. This one was a unique collection of prayer beads known as a red rosary beads called this due to their red tint.

The beads were all different shaped and seemed carefully made so. Normally they would be small spheres of similar size; however, in this case they each had a side added with the first one having four sides and the last having somewhere in the realm of 25. The age of these beads was up for debate; however, their last owner was a good starting point. In the small corner of the four sided bead the initials R. de P.

"I think it is about time I took advantage of the bathroom." Devin said as he got up. He set the beads and journal back into his bag and set it in his seat as he made his way to the back of the plane where there was a small but comfortable restroom. While in the bathroom he looked at himself in the mirror and started to get a handle on everything that had happened in the past two days. While the last several hours had been crazy it was the last 48 hours that had actually been the full story that lead to him being 35,000 feet in the air heading to Egypt. He returned shortly after a few collected breaths.

Romancing the Artifact

Devin smiled and made small talk while his recent companion excused herself. His eyes were supposed to remain on the tour group, but he found it easier to glance back at Brandy. Her body language was easy and enjoyable to read Devin found himself looking at her hair and thinking of other ways she might wear it. He concluded that he liked the ponytail best.

When Brandy returned to the group her entire demeanor had changed. Instead of her friendly smile a straight face damming the tears was present. Without thinking of the act or knowing about it Devin reflexively moved next to her. Before anyone else he asked what had happened. Worried that whoever she had been in touch with was suddenly struck down or had already been caught up in his little adventure. Hearing that her brother was in a car accident was jolting.

Holding her closer than he had before he was nearly thrown off the street when she, without missing a beat, turned back to her usual self. She mentioned something about losing time and that they could make it up by reaching the small airport in fifteen minutes. This goal was reached in record time as the two crossed the old highway now littered with small highway market stalls.

A jet engines roar told the two that they had arrived at their destination. The wind started to pick up and Devin pulled his shirt closer to his chest as they walked towards one of the nearby hangers. Soon enough they reached their destination as Brandy seemed overjoyed to reunite with the man who met them there. Her energy made Devin smile while a twinge of subconscious jealousy tickled the back of his thoughts.

The treasure hunter walked towards the two and held out a hand for the man named Andrew to shake. He did so with a bear like grip. Doing his best to respond in kind Devin was happy as the two broke away and Brandy called Devin over so they could get going. Andrew seemed to have already completed the pre-flight check and seconds later they were in the plane heading towards the north end of the tarmac.

"It would seem your promotion wasn't completely needed for you to see the world." Devin said looking around and somewhat amazed at how quickly she was able to rally the flight out of seemingly thin air, or a single phone call. Which was the same thing to Devin. Brandy was as remorseful as they came and that interested Devin greatly. The plane was stopped and each person was asked to present their passports. As Devin handed his over the customs agent asked to see his bag.

After they went through the leather messenger bag they gave the plane the approval to leave and the agents existed the plane. Thankful they didn't get an idea to do a pat down Devin let out a sigh of relief. While personal gun ownership wasn't entirely illegal in Turkey it was frowned upon if you didn't have a lot of paperwork. Non of which Devin had with him.