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Post by Kuro on Oct 27, 2013 14:50:17 GMT -5
"Woah! Starting off early today! What is it, what is it, what's the hurry?" Dofun jumped out of bed at the guild master's sudden shout, dressed only in some plain-looking slacks. His blonde hair that was usually braided looked like a giant mess of unkempt straw, all with a little sleeping cap on it, and yet he still wore his mask under it. He grabbed his hammer and ran out into the hallway, turning this way and that to see if there was anything happening nearby.
"Eh? Eh? So, what is it this time? Ghosts, monsters, bea -"
And theeeeeeen Jupiter came out in his boxers and let out a huge shout. When he slammed the door behind him, Dofun cocked his head to one side.
"...Just cranky sleepyheads, then?"
To make it all even more confusing, Elrond came up with some cake and hot cocoa and rushed off in a hurry, all while spouting off some sort of gibberish. If he had heard what he thought he heard though...
"Ohhhh boy." With a sigh, he walked downstairs and to the curious looking coffin that people were huddled around. When he got closer to take a look, he stared at Qi inside for several moments before scratching at his chin in thought. "Hm...Hm. A hm. Hm hm. Hmmmmmmmmmm...Well, that's weird." He tapped at the coffin a couple of times like a kid would to a fish tank. "That's reallllllllly weird. I suppose we'll have to talk to those three audience members from yesterday, eh? Maybe the sand was expired or something! Or it malfunctioned. Or whatever."
He sat on top of the coffin, looking down at Qi inside. "Hmmmm...Yeah, talking to those weirdoes from yesterday seems fun, right? OOH! MAYBE WE CAN SUE THEM! Yes! A courtroom drama, the perfect way to liven up a day! The suspense! The tension! THE - Oh, no, wait, Harvest Festival. Oh, I do hope she doesn't miss our little show..."
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Post by CJ on Oct 28, 2013 12:38:24 GMT -5
"Oh would you shut up already, she isn't dead."
Rooster, of all people, started to speak in response to Atre's diagnosis. She was still floating on her side, as though laying on some invisible bed in the corner of the main hall. She looked like a blue spirit, as the other spirits before, but something was obviously different with her. She seemed to be a bit more solid.
Facing away from them, she kept talking.
"Well, she isn't dead yet anyway but would you all shut up? Stop rambling about audience members and courtrooms. We don't have idiotic stuff like that in our realm!"
Waving her hand at the others, she scrunched up like she was tugging a blanket around her form.
"Did... did that spirit hear what we said?" Cinder asked, clutching at the sleeves of her pajamas.
Underneath Dofun, Qi's unblinking eyes dilated. Her grasp around her summoning keys became tighter. It looked like she could break her own fingers, twisted and caught between the rings and molds of the keys. Her terrified expression only served as a vague reminder of what she could have been experiencing in her locked slumber, which held the answers Renascence needed to survive.
"I'm trying to get some sleep!" Rooster shouted again.
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Post by Shark a' Pult on Oct 28, 2013 16:54:02 GMT -5
"It's morning now, Alden. Now, let's go downstairs and see what's all the yelling about..."
"There's no let's, I'm not holding your hand everywhere. I don't know why you're even in this tower to begin with."
Sitting up simply out of being bugged enough, Alden grumbled as he got dressed, ready to head downstairs. It would be hard for him to further dislike the current accommodations with Asmoday in the place as well, but he was getting there. If she kept pestering him, or kept trying to trick him with illusions, he'd find a way to start locking the door.
---
"Not dead? Well that's a start."
Coming down the spiral staircase to the main hall, Alden was as of yet completely unaware of the situation. He merely heard some of what Rooster had said, and could guess towards the rest. More or less, the situation was bad, the glass coffin alone confirmed this.
"Why is this whole place sealed up?"
As he joined the others, he thought he'd get out of the way, the first thing he noticed while coming downstairs.
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Post by Hitotsumami on Oct 29, 2013 11:44:19 GMT -5
After some time, Alden and Asmoday were downstairs, and Elrond had convinced Jupiter to show up. Not only that, but Dofun and Atre were there as well, along with Cinder.
"Finally, everyone is here," said Elrond, as he motioned for everyone to gather around Qi within her glass coffin. "This is why I've called everyone here. Qi has been... well... I'm not totally sure what has happened, but she has a skull painted on her face, just like how that sand did to our merchant guild member."
Elrond looked at the doors and windows. "I've locked the place shut, so the only way anyone is getting out of here is through the toilet. Whoever did this, if they're still here, isn't getting out now. And that's why we're all here. We need to find who the attacker is!"
Elrond grabbed a piece of paper from the floor, the one with the big A written on it. "First things first, we need to gather clues. I've already found one! It says, A, so perhaps its the name of someone within this very Guild who did the crime. Perhaps Qi was struggling to write the name just before she fell into her coma... Who all here has a name that starts with A?"
Elrond counted with his fingers. "Alden, Asmoday, and Atre, I think..." He looked at the three mages. "But... you guys couldn't have possibly did this. Just what is going on here!?"
Asmoday shrugged. "It wasn't me or Alden," she confirmed. "I've been up in his room all night. I think we need to focus on another clue, and that's the spirits floating around. I've been watching one muttering to itself all night long, and look, there's one here now." She was referring to Rooster. "And that one seems to be able to communicate with us."
Asmoday approached Qi's coffin and looked down at her straining face. "I can only guess this has something to do with the Spirit World, but I am not sure. We need to talk to these ghosts. Make them tell us whatever they can. I have a bad feeling about all of this."
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Post by Mise™ on Oct 29, 2013 14:32:56 GMT -5
"It makes no difference if she is alive for now, or not. She will die soon either way. We all will. No matter how much one struggles death is inevitable to everyone. What a horrible world we live in." Atre responded to Rooster, when she told him that his diagnosis had been wrong. "Oh look... It's cock." Jupiter said, while pointing at Rooster. This was followed with some very tired sounding laughter. "Hehehehehehehe... Cock." "Oh my... My name does start with an a, doesn't it... Why would my parents curse me with such a horrible name? I doubt you believe me, but I did not hurt the girl. I was at home, until two minutes ago, but I felt like something bad was going to happen to me and could not sleep so I came here, only to be greeted with this horrible sight. We truly live in dark times." The expression on Atre's face changed more and more depressed as he spoke. He was clearly a very troubled man. "Oh c'mon guys. Listen to me, dammit!" Jupiter was getting frustrated that no one had listened to his advice, so he had to do it himself. and despite feeling very tired he took Qi's notebook and first flipped through the other pages too see if they had anything interesting on them. After that Jupiter tried looking at the 'A' through a mirror and finally heated the page up by bringing a candle close to it, trying to find a hidden message of some sort. "I heard someone speak last night. I think it was one of those damn spirits or whatever. Can't really remember what it said though. Something about master and Alden doing something stupid... or something like that..."
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Post by CJ on Oct 29, 2013 16:35:00 GMT -5
Sitting up quickly, still suspended in the air, Rooster seemed to realize Atre responded to her.
"What the hell are you spouting?" she asked Jupiter. As soon as the words came out of her mouth, she regained her usual fiery color and fell to the ground, making a loud thump as she shouted out.
Groaning, she stood and looked tiredly at the others. She wore a long thick pajama gown that flared out like flames.
With wide eyes, she stumbled forward, glancing at each of the guild members. She didn't seem so confident now that she didn't have a handle on the situation.
"How am I here? Who brought me here? I thought someone said there were ghosts around here talking about Alden? I know Snake was... but... I don't know much about these things but I think maybe Qi summoned me in her sleep. Is that even possible? Why me of us four?"
"She summoned you because she knows who tried to kill her," Cinder griped.
Tears streamed down her face. She clenched her fists and stepped toward her friend and Asmoday.
"Get away from her! Glass-Make: Midnight Sword!"
Taking a fencing stance, she pointed the newly formed blade directly at Asmoday's neck. The point was mere feet away. A quick thrust might spell trouble for the illusion mage.
"I know who did this. It was Asmoday and this Alden person. She told me Asmoday tried to kill her, opposed the guild when you fought Atrum! I bet you two are working together and providing alibis for each other! Xing Qi could not write both of your names so she only wrote the first letter!"
But Qi's notes seemed to hold another story. In them was an obnoxious amount of information about a slew of subjects. Artifacts and mages of old were detailed in clean script.
There was one section of a page with a bolded letters: ACHLYS'S SAND, in the same style as the A on the front page. Underneath were a few notes.
No mention of sand in encyclopedia. Narthan lied? Or is it really unknown? REMINDER: ask Mercury about counter method in case Alden spills it or enemy has it. Rooster = Waker. She taught Snake wake up spell, probably knows more about morning/waking than she lets on. No self-esteem. Poor thing.
That was all the information Jupiter would get on the subject.
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Post by Hitotsumami on Oct 30, 2013 11:28:35 GMT -5
Asmoday nodded at Jupiter.
"So you saw a spirit as well? The one I saw kept talking about red and black... and how it was 'his' fault. He also mentioned he was with Qi now."
Asmoday turned her attention back to Qi. She was starting to put the pieces together, but there was still so many mysteries.
Then, suddenly, Rooster fully materialized and began telling everyone her story of things.
"You must know somet--" began Asmoday, but she was suddenly cut off by Cinder pointing a glass sword at her neck. Asmoday calmly listened to Cinder's argument, and stayed completely still. When she was done, Asmoday continued.
"We don't know for sure what the A stands for. It was just Elrond's speculation that it stood for a first name. It could very well stand for the substance that gives such a coma-like effect: Achlys's Sand. I think if we want answers, we need to speak with the spirits who have been the closest to her. Doesn't that make more sense?"
Asmoday give a little smile. "And who's to say that it isn't you who put Qi to sleep? You were the last one seen with her. You appear out of the blue and fight with her spirits. That certainly sounds suspicious."
Elrond clapped his hands, nodding. "Y-yeah! Let's not jump to violence just yet! Asmoday just joined the guild, and I don't want to see another one of my mages leave us! Let's just focus on waking Qi up first, then we can find out what really happened."
He looked over at Rooster. "Well, you're one of her spirits, right? You have to know something more than you're just letting on. Tell us everything you heard about Alden, since his name seems to be popping up a lot."
He looked to Dofun as well. "And did you hear any strange spirits talking? We need all the info we can get before its too late!"
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Post by Shark a' Pult on Nov 1, 2013 12:46:55 GMT -5
Thankfully Asmoday seemed capable enough to handle herself, or at least well enough before Alden got a chance to react. Probably for the best, as he didn't threaten people with weapons like Cinder did, he just used them. Instead to occupy his thoughts with more than standing up for someone he didn't even like that much to begin with, he heard his name being thrown around a lot. That was disconcerting, but there was something that didn't sit well with him when he took the chance to look at the situation as a whole.
"Hold on... how do you know they're still here? Who would be stupid enough to do this, in such an obvious way, and stick around? Either they killed her... or wait, she's not dead yet, but they did it and they left like any sane person would..."
He didn't want to risk getting pierced by a glass sword so he didn't move any closer, but he did lean up on his tiptoes to try and get a better look at the summoner.
"...or it's just someone trying make one of us look guilty. Either way, if whoever did this is already gone, we should probably head to town to ask if anyone saw anything or... or the culprit is still here, in which case I'm not sure I want to be locked in a building with them."
At this he... well he didn't draw his sword, but he certainly gripped it.
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Post by Mise™ on Nov 1, 2013 15:14:08 GMT -5
Looking very depressed, as usual, Atre began to wander around the guild house, trying to ease his troubled mind. At first he just took some distance from the others, but soon afterwards he was simply gone. Atre had disappeared, but that was nothing new; it happens quite often with him. "Nah... I didn't see one of those damn spirit-things. I only heard it speak. I'm pretty sure it was one of them anyway..." Jupiter told Asmoday, though did not sound that convinced about it. He couldn't tell who it was that had spoken outside his room last night, all that their voice didn't sound very familiar to him. Looking at the pages of Qi's notebook through a mirror did not really help in solving this mystery, nor did heating up the pages bring up anything new, but looking through the other pages did yield some results as there were things written on them. The most interesting of them was the one that talked about the Achlys' sand. Something that might be very helpful. "Guys... It says here that snakes can wake her up. So there ain't no need to worry." Jupiter had read the text, but he clearly did not understand it correctly. Maybe it was because he was tired or maybe he just wasn't too bright. Either way it would be best if someone else would take a look at the notes. "There's this rock nearby and for some reason snakes tend to gather around it. Remove those damn barricades, boss, and I'll go catch us a snake. Then we can wake Qi up and ask her what the hell is going on in here."
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Post by CJ on Nov 2, 2013 11:18:31 GMT -5
Cinder pulled her sword back, but kept it ready to strike. She heeded Elrond's request, but it didn't seem like she was going to hold off completely. Her blond curls and pretty features once suggested a kind and dainty woman, but now the guild could see that Cinder was much more dangerous than she appeared to be.
"That is preposterous!" she snapped at Asmoday. "Ridiculous! I would never do such a thing to my dear Xing Qi!"
Rooster hugged her bright wings about her. She was as tall as Qi, so it almost seemed like the small summoner was back among them.
"I was... um... preoccupied, not bored at all, and I didn't listen to the other spirits talking. I'm not sure how you guys could have but I also remember hearing Snake in particular said she saw Alden do it... or something like that. I was tired and didn't think I'd be able to help so I went to sleep."
She walked closer to her summoner. In a rare moment, she seemed concerned for Qi.
"If the attacker is here, and still among us, they'd be exceedingly cruel, not only for trying to put the blame on someone else, but because Qi is still awake. I... er... heard a little bit from Snake about the magical properties of consciousness. That's probably what Qi's notes were talking about, Jerk- I mean, Jupiter. A literal snake can't wake her up but something similar to Snake's magic can."
Skirting around the topic, trying not to place the information she was saying to her credit, Rooster came to a conclusion.
"Snake would be able to tell you that Qi's petrified, but that doesn't mean she can't tell what's going on right now. This spell isn't a sleeping spell, it's a waking nightmare."
Peering down at Qi's face, the spirit traced her finger on the glass in the pattern of the red skull marking.
"Red... Monkey was muttering about red and black. It's so clear why now. You asshats knocked me out before so I couldn't see when those merchants demonstrated Alden's sand, but I think... no, I know there's something different going on here."
Rooster reached her talon like hand out to Alden. Her cold black eyes looked animal-like, hard to be able to trust.
"Alden, give me your jar of Achlys's Sand. Don't hesitate. If my suspicions are right, you may be out in the clear."
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Post by Hitotsumami on Nov 2, 2013 14:02:42 GMT -5
Asmoday frowned at Cinder's snapping, but she kept calm and let stepped back, allowing the others to do their investigation.
Elrond eagerly listened to Rooster. When she finished, he said, "Well, why don't we summon Snake? I have some summoner blood in me. My great great great aunt's sister's father's niece was a summoner! .... I think."
Elrond looked inside the glass coffin, but couldn't see her keys. But, it appeared Rooster had a different idea.
"The sand? That's.. dangerous! Isn't that what got us into this situation?"
At Alden's suggestion that the criminal had already left, Elrond thought it over and decided that if Rooster's plan didn't work, he'd lower the walls. But until then, he wanted to see what would happen, and if Rooster could reveal if the criminal was still amongst them.
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Post by Shark a' Pult on Nov 5, 2013 16:22:07 GMT -5
"Alden, give me your jar of Achlys's Sand. Don't hesitate. If my suspicions are right, you may be out in the clear."
"...sure."
There were plenty of things that rushed through his mind, but he wasn't about to try and hold a conversation or otherwise argue with a spirit bird at a time like this. Hesitating for only a moment, he was gone, off up the stairs to the tower. It took some time after all, to get up there, same coming back down.
---
Trudging down the stairs some time later, one of his feet slipped a little and he almost dropped the jar (clearly visible in his arms), but caught himself on the railing.
"Heh, that was a close one. Anyway, here's the thing, doesn't look like it's been disturbed anytime recent."
By the time he finished talking, he rejoined the others and set the jar at the end of the table where the coffin was, for Rooster or anyone else to take for that matter. He wasn't sure what the plan was yet, or if there even was a plan, but at least they had the item used in the "murder" before them now.
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Post by Mise™ on Nov 6, 2013 2:08:38 GMT -5
Jupiter was very disappointed that he was not allowed to go for snake hunting. He was already mentally prepared for this, but then the Rooster explained that they were looking for someone named Snake, one of Qi's summons, instead of actual snakes. Maybe it was for the best that Jupiter did not get to go outside in his underwear. He would have probably gotten arrested pretty quick. As Alden brought down the jar with the sand of Achlys, Jupiter stared at it intensely trying to figure something out, but he really couldn't tell much about it like that so all he said was: "Yup. It's sand."
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Post by CJ on Nov 6, 2013 10:53:19 GMT -5
Rooster blushed when Elrond suggested summoning Snake.
"N-no! Don't do that! She wouldn't be of any help. She's a liar so don't trust anything she says about me. Besides, Qi's holding onto her keys right now. With her petrified, it'd be impossible to get them out of her hands."
The spirit seemed relieved that Alden was so willing to cooperate. His actions aided her suspicion that he had nothing to do with it in the first place. Actually nodding and respecting Jupiter, for once, Rooster agreed.
"It is sand and that's all it ever was."
Pacing about in a small circle, the summon began to lecture.
"The real magic is contained within the jar itself. It's what makes the sand a certain color and causes it to regenerate. The jar works somewhat like a magnet. In order to balance itself, it contains two different kinds of magic. The first is contained in the inner lining of the jar, what you all know as the power behind Achlys's Sand. The second is the outside, to balance and contain the magic within.
"It's the same that I... I mean, Snake uses. It's a subset of the magic that is devoted to the four stages of consciousness. It's part of the Waking stage.
"In other words, if this was the jar used to petrify Qi, all one would need to do is place the jar onto her face, like so."
Lifting up the glass coffin, Rooster placed the bottom of the jar gently on Qi's face. Nothing changed about the mage.
"Hmmm. I thought so. I bet..."
Opening up the jar, Rooster took a small amount of sand and flicked it at the summoner's face. The sand actually repelled away from Qi, darting back into the bottle.
"Yeah, that makes sense. The skull is the wrong color anyway. It would be black if this jar was used, not red."
After closing the coffin, the summon closed the jar.
"So, in other words, Alden likely didn't do this, but someone else with a red jar of Achyls's Sand. But... who would that be? Why would they want to set Alden up? If you guys want to save Qi, you're going to have to find that other jar."
"Really?" Cinder asked, wiping the tears out of her eyes with a handkerchief. "You think those merchants from before had anything to do with it?"
Rooster shrugged and handed the jar back to Alden.
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Post by Hitotsumami on Nov 7, 2013 10:38:36 GMT -5
Elrond was amazed at Rooster's deducting skills. It would have taken him a million years. In the end, though, it seemed the goal was clear.
"So we just have to find the red jar! Perfect! I actually..." Elond sulked. "I have no idea where a black jar would be..."
Elrond rubbed his chin. "But if we think about it, WHEN did this happen to Qi? It must have happened late at night, and in this exact room. She was here last I checked on her, in this same spot, more or less. The question we need to ask is... WHO was in contact with her after I last saw her? And how the "A" connects all of this."
Elrond was obviously struggling with trying to put the pieces together. "If it wasn't Alden or Asmdoay, and Atre is only a minor NPC character..." He looked to Jupiter, "And Jupiter found in Qi's papers that Snake was the only one who could wake her up... and it's not one of Snake's usual sleeping spells... then...."
Elrond slammed his fist into his open palm. "It must have been Snake! She has the jar!"
But then Elrond realized there was no way of contacting Snake. "But Qi has the keys, and we can't get them out of her hand..." He then brightened up again. "But wait! She summoned you, Rooster!" he yelled, pointing at Rooster. "Even in her sleep, she could summon you! That means.."
Elrond leaned over the glass coffin, looking down at Qi. He took a deep breath and then spoke as clearly as he could, hoping something would get through to Qi in her cold sleep. "Please, Qi, listen. This is Elrond. I'm here with you! Everyone else is too. Your friend Cinder is here. So is Jupiter and Alden and Dofun. Asmoday and Atre too! We're here, right beside you, and we want to help you. But you have to help us, first. You're holding your keys in your hands as we speak. All you have to do is summon Snake. That's all. We'll save you then. We'll save you."
A tear welled up in Elrond's eye. "Please, just hear us, Qi. We're all here!"
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