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Post by CJ on Apr 9, 2013 13:59:01 GMT -5
With a loud roar, Pato craned his neck and forced Light behind him. The rockets hit him and apparently shielded her from the blast. With another cry, the apatosaurus shifted and cranked back into his mobile home state. The home was in horrible condition, smoking in what appeared to be its destruction.
There was silence until a figure climbed onto the smoking wreckage of the mobile house. Light's newly fringed hair surrounded her head like a pointed star. She dropped to the floor of the roof and trained her pistol on Asuza.
She fired six times, trying to hit him, though he might have been able to dodge by rule of cool. She went to reload another magazine but struggled in her panic.
---
Meanwhile, Henri was far from the situation, trying to make his way off the evergreen island and seek safety.
"Light, I'm so sorry," he panted as he made his way down the dirt path. "I can't wait for your death or his. I have to..."
Henri looked behind him when Pato was hit by the rockets. He cringed and smiled in a strange fit of conflicting emotion.
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Post by Shark a' Pult on Apr 9, 2013 14:58:31 GMT -5
"That should make things simpler."
When the dinosaur took the hits and reverted back to the house form, Asuza looked at the smoky mess, glad at least to have that beast out of the way. Now only, the question was, what about Light. He looked around, to see if perhaps she had darted away in the explosions against the dinosaur, but he didn't think to look through the smoking result itself. By the time she emerged and he finally noticed her, she had her sights on him.
"Oh, not-"
Through the barrage of bullets, Asuza couldn't just dodge. Because one does not simply dodge bullets into Mordor. Standing behind the box, he was hit three times; once in the torso, once in the shoulder, and one that clipped his head. He stumbled back from the shots fired, and his head craned dangerously to the side from the impact, but he didn't just drop. Truth be told it was nothing to scoff at, and he had just been shot, but then Light wasn't using a particularly fearsome gun. He wouldn't be able to just take bullets like this much more, and certainly not any directly to the head if her aim was that good, but it wasn't a one shot one kill deal either.
"-dead."
Stepping back to his original stance and bringing his head forward, he finished what he was saying, before winding back his leg and kicking the box. Now less heavy because it was not full of explosives, it was not any different in size or shape, and he aimed to kick it right at her. She was pretty far away to be sure, but his intent was not to simply take her out with a flying box. Like the stomach sludge, he only wanted to draw her attention away so he could make it to the one remaining he had. When he brought the two of them he certainly hadn't intended them to be used this way, but it was better than nothing. Better even than his conventional pole rockets.
Taking the chance, he dashed as best he could to the other box, which in his state was more or less a lurching gait. This time he didn't try and hide or take cover though. He quickly lit the fuse, and merely lifted the whole box onto his shoulder with his good arm. It was quite awkward to hold like that due to its size, and he had to lean his head on the opposite shoulder to roughly fit it, but he managed well enough given the state he was in.
A couple more seconds, and the torrent of rockets would set upon where the box was pointed. It was not just on the ground this time though, the benefit of which was that Asuza intended to steer or aim the firing path if his target tried to move. That said though, in the time it took to reach this point even if she had been clocked directly in the head by the kicked box, Light would probably have more than enough of a chance to load her gun once more and fire. As well she might notice that in his injured condition, holding the big heavy array up like he was, Asuza was pretty precarious in the stance he was in. Top heavy to a fault, because of the box.
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Post by CJ on Apr 17, 2013 11:56:37 GMT -5
Light was taken out by the flying box.
It hit her in the head, knocking her out anticlimactically, though it wasn't likely Asuza had seen it in the confusion. In response, the mobile home transformed yet again into its Half state. The apatosaurus was looking much worse for the wear. Bloodied and sore, it roared as it faced even more rockets.
Taking a hard stance, it took on the rockets and its legs collapsed. Still alive, but incredibly hurt, the beast glared at Asuza. It kept still but reared its head toward Light on its back.
It was up to the King whether or not he would try and kill Light now.
---
"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit," Henri panicked, trying to get the sails of his ship down. Given how often he crashed the thing, it wasn't a surprise that he would have a hard time starting it. He smashed his hand angrily against the cabin wall in frustration.
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Post by Shark a' Pult on Apr 17, 2013 22:46:01 GMT -5
Seeing the effect of his attacks upon Light and the dinosaur, the King remained standing as he had for awhile after. Shaking from the effort, he seemed almost in shock after all that had just happened. The fight had taken its toll on him, and eventually he just let the empty rocket box just fall to the ground as he slumped to his knees. With most of his bandages missing now, he was exposed to the air, to the environment. Closing his eyes, he let out a long groan.
"This... is it. Can finally... rest now."
The blood continued to seep from Asuza's wounds and began to pool about him, soaking into his pants. He didn't seem to notice however; the sun was shining too bright, the wind was blowing too hard, the sound of the waves on the coast were too loud and Henri and his little boat were too far away. Leaning over, he fell onto his side and felt the grass against his face. There was a large weight on his shoulders, and it felt easier this way.
Easier to sleep, this way.
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Post by Shark a' Pult on Apr 18, 2013 0:42:56 GMT -5
It was very dark out, the sky being so dreadfully overcast. The high winds and ferocity of the storm made it awfully hard to see very far, and even move about in some cases. It was so bad in fact, that one couldn't simply just dock a ship here, and to reach the docks Henri would have had to take a high tensity cable car from an anchored platform offshore. The docks themselves were sold stone formations actually cut out of the cliffs, as anything else would have been ripped apart by nature.
"Ah, Mr. Alain! This way!"
He might have been knocked over a few times by high winds, heavy rains, or even the occasional massive tidal wave washing up against the cliffs. Here though everyone wore harnesses and there were metal railings everywhere, so even if Henri was not washed away, many other people would be. They were of course tethered safely by their harnesses however, so it was a simple matter to just get back up and continue on with work. It might take some getting used to, but the metal bar lifelines ran above and alongside anywhere someone might walk in this place, so simply following them with one's harness might be a bit like navigating a maze but they ensured ones safety against the elements. Even against the sky itself, with the frequent lightning flashes that struck grounding towers all over the cliff side. The taught metal cables running all overhead were like a massive web, and every strike illuminated the array as arcs of electricity danced across the metal web and lighting up along the way.
"What brings you to Galthia? Here to take in the nice weather are you?"
The fellow to receive Henri was waiting a ways up the docks, waiting by a watchtower. With the help of a searchlight and a loudspeaker he could locate and guide the newcomer in the right direction. Like everyone else here, the other workers and such, he was dressed in full rainwear with light reflective patches and what could be closest described as a miner's helmet. Just like anyone who came to this place, he too was tethered to the array of metal bars for safety purposes though as he moved about, it was clear to see he was used to the system as he didn't need to stop and see or think about where he moved in order to lead the tether in the right direction.
Yes, Galthia. A small sovereign state located on the edge of the Red Line amidst the cliffs and mountains bordering the sea, far to the south of Reverse Mountain. Because of the pervading currents along the mountain range, Galthia was often wracked by terrible storms and weather, and as such the people had adapted to live in such a hostile environment. Few people if any had ever heard of Galthia though for good reason, let alone be aware of its existence, thusly few people ever came to this place willingly and none of them without a reason. Why though, had Henri Alain come to this bleak, isolated place?
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Post by CJ on Apr 18, 2013 23:26:46 GMT -5
Henri was looking fabulous.
Well, that's how he seemed to feel anyway. With every splash that hit his face, his smile grew wider and wider. He couldn't have been happier on the sunniest day. He purposefully kept his hood down, eager to feel the elements against his skin. His metal hands creaked, but even they seemed to be full of life and vigor.
"The weather's fantastic!" Henri confirmed to his guide. "Better than ever! But no, I'm here to see someone very important. I'm in a bit of a pickle. Not a literal pickle. No, I'd never be able to fit into something like that. I'm in trouble is what I mean."
His grin seemed painted onto his skin.
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Post by Shark a' Pult on Apr 20, 2013 0:43:02 GMT -5
"Trouble? Well let's see if we can't get you out of trouble then, eh?"
Walking down the steps of the watchtower to meet Henri, the tether followed after him along the rails as he went. He aimed to shake the fellow's hand before leading him by the shoulder away from the docks to a more habitable location in town. Whatever he was here about, he wouldn't find it on the docks in the face of the storm. Plus, outsiders tended not to fare well here, something about the altitude and lack of sunlight.
---
"You know when they said we'd be having a stranger showing up, I figured you'd be in an entourage. I can't remember anyone ever coming here by themselves, must be pretty important, to travel all the way out here for..."
The dockworker had led Henri to a waystation cut directly into the cliff wall running along the winding road which lead from the docks to the town. They weren't in town yet, just the border of the docks really, but it was far enough inland that they no longer needed to wear the safety harnesses. The place was small and nothing more than just a stopping point for people headed between the town and the docks, but it was out of the rain and a big fire in the back kept it warm. Effectively the place was a walk-in standing bar, and the dockworker got a big mug of hot cider for him and Henri.
"So who are you looking for anyway, if they're here in Galthia then chances are I probably know them!"
"That's enough Brunnel! You were only supposed to meet him, don't you have work to do?!"
Before Henri got a chance to respond, a new arrival practically cut the fellow off, shouting at him about his actions. Grumbling he knocked his mug against Henri's before downing his own and heading out, looking behind with an annoyed look at the new person. Like anyone Henri would have seen thus far, she was also dressed in rainwear though she lacked the typical mining helmet or harness. Clearly, whatever it was that she did here, was not down at the docks. She returned the annoyed look to Brunnel as he left, before turning her attention to Henri. Standing in the doorway she bowed.
"Mr. Alain, sorry about that. He was only supposed to bring you into town, so when neither of you showed up, I came looking fearing the worst. You might have already guessed, but the worst tends to happen here quite a lot."
Though her intent was to remain respectful and polite towards Henri, she did not enter the waystation and merely remained standing in the rain, speaking up so that she could be heard. Simply put, she did not want to end up spending time in a place like this when not only was there better accommodations in town, but Henri actually had business to take care of here.
"My name is Lienfen, it's a pleasure to meet you. I apologize if he asked anything about your business here, the people tend to be curious of outsiders as they are not often seen around these parts. Might I inquire about your trip though, how do you fare? This place can take some getting used to..."
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Post by CJ on Apr 21, 2013 20:18:40 GMT -5
As the dockworker led Henri to the waystation, his smile faded away. He glared at the blaze of flame, creating heat for the workers. He shook his head and leaned on the counter of the bar.
He frowned in surprise when the woman dismissed Brunnel. He shook his head and shrugged.
"Don't worry about it," Henri waved his hand. "I really liked the docks. This place is awesome! Every week... maybe every day could bring a new casualty! Oh the possibilities..."
He blinked out of his daydream and smiled sheepishly at Lienfen. Stepping forward, the rain hit his bare head. He purposefully opted not to wear his hood, plastering his blond hair against his head. Though drenched in water, his hair did not turn dark, as it likely should have.
"I'm doing alright, Ms. Lienfen. Seriously, don't worry about me. I guarantee you, in a place like Galthia, you're the one who's going to have to used to me. Not in a bad way, though. For you."
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Post by Shark a' Pult on Apr 22, 2013 0:29:28 GMT -5
"Actually Mr. Alain, we try to keep the casualties as low and infrequent as possible. Something we have gotten very good at after some time."
She wasn't sure what Henri was on about, but she wanted to make sure that he understood the reason for all the safety measures in place here. Already so few people happened by this... well, really it was nothing more than an outpost. They couldn't afford to be losing anyone any time soon, when it was almost impossible to replace them. Accidents happened of course, but the the port authority prided itself on safety. As long as you were in Galthia, they'd make sure you stayed alive, but the moment you were beyond the docks you were at nature's mercy. More than anything else, they lost people this way, on their approach or departure from this land. Of course, at that point it really couldn't be said that "they" lost people, as none of their own ever went out in the first place.
She was not of port authority herself though. In a place this insular, she just knew them fairly well.
"I'm doing alright, Ms. Lienfen. Seriously, don't worry about me. I guarantee you, in a place like Galthia, you're the one who's going to have to used to me. Not in a bad way, though. For you."
"Lienfen is my first name, call me Fen if you'd like. Let's out of this weather, so we don't have to keep shouting."
Whether Henri followed or not, she led the way. The waystation might have been better than outside, but it still wasn't to her liking. The town farther up the road, up the cliffs would be better for their topic of business.
---
The town hall was largely empty at this time of day, the records department even emptier. Simply put, anyone who was able, worked. Anyone who was not able, would not be in the town hall. There was a person at the front desk, but beyond that the place was devoid of life, and hardly used regardless. Perfect to discuss the matter at hand.
"I must apologize again for the welcoming you received... because of the nature of our work, our establishment, we try to limit our involvement with the town as much as possible. Thus, it's hard to coordinate information when nobody really knows what's going on."
Entering the closet, she held a lantern as she searched for specific records. As the town hall was more or less just cut into the cliff side like the other buildings here, the ambient light was already low. Combined with the fact that it was almost always stormy at this place, and that this particular department was cut deep into the mountain, it was nearly pitch black. Just a small desk lamp, and some traces of light trickling down the lift to the main floors. There was also a utilitarian chandelier, but she didn't bother to light it.
The place itself was painfully small. Nothing more than a service room at the bottom of an elevator shaft, that had been cheaply furnished with little actual care or concern, such that it was only barely habitable. There was a fancy old desk and chair which were worth more than everything else in the room combined. There was a dusty, torn rug, a dying or dead potted plant, a couch full of holes and missing cushions and a filing cabinet minus all but one drawer. Beyond that, there was nothing much else. Behind the desk, there was also a small electrical closet with single bleak red service light on the ceiling, making the place look not unlike a photograph darkroom. The back wall was covered in electrical equipment, gauges and breaker arrays. The other two walls had a bookshelf each, that looked like they had been taken from a library with numbered sections.
All in all it was a cramped, hot, poorly lit and noisy place with all the equipment humming.
"It's a bit of a novelty, you see, very few people even here in town know about the prison. I can count on one hand the number of people from outside Galthia who know about it, and I've never met any of them..."
Leaving the option for Henri to sit at the lone desk while she perused over the pair of shelves, she scurried her hands over the small collection of ledgers in the closet under the combined light of the dim red glow and her lantern. If Henri cared to look he would be able to see that despite the weathered, decaying state everything was in, the two small shelves and their contents were so immaculately cared for that they appeared new even under this light. As well, they were not stacked full, but where there were books they were neatly ordered.
"...so when I heard that someone new was coming here for that reason, well, you can understand my curiosity. I have to ask then, what sort problem are you having trouble with, that you would need to come here for? The warden and the other administrators are willing to let you visit, but none of us are really all that sure what you hope to find in the prison..."
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Post by CJ on Apr 22, 2013 23:02:10 GMT -5
"Alright, Ms. Fen," Henri bowed slightly. He followed behind her, always keeping his face high in the rain.
---
"I'm telling you. I didn't mind the welcome. I'm not like the rest of you after all."
Henri kicked his feet up on the desk and watched Lienfen as she browsed the ledgers. Before, he had shown great interest in laying on the rotten couch but kept away from it. He placed his metal hands on his chest and sighed deeply. He didn't seem all too interested in Lienfen or Galthia, just what he could find inside.
"Solaine Winterfield."
His pale green eyes glared at Lienfen. There was a sort of desperation in them. The admiration for the island and the whole adventure was still there, but he seemed worried, frightened even.
"I know she's here. I talked to one of those people, you say, who knows about the prison. I can see her, right? It's pretty important."
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Post by Shark a' Pult on Apr 24, 2013 21:38:54 GMT -5
"Solaine Winterfield."
"...Prisoner 5J7A, if you don't mind."
At the mention, Lienfen stammered and dropped her lantern to the floor in a shatter. All there was now, was the desk lamp and the red service light, neither of which provided adequate lighting in the closet to find anything. Despite this, still not having moved from that spot, she reached without looking for a lower spot on the shelf in the dark to find exactly what she knew was there.
"I know she's here. I talked to one of those people, you say, who knows about the prison. I can see her, right? It's pretty important."
"If you know she's here, then we're not doing a very good job at the prison. It's not up to me if you get to see her, but certainly the administrators will want to hear your reasons."
Exiting the closet, she closed the door behind her and moved around to the front of the desk Henri had taken the liberty to prop himself up on. Choosing a not-foot occupied spot near the desk lamp, she opened the ledger she had taken from the closet, and poured through the pages till she found what they needed. Setting it open to that point, she pressed her finger against the page for him to see.
"For that, we take a walk."
Her finger was next to a red marked entry, with only the coded identification which Lienfen had used in place of the prisoner's name.
---
The trek from the records "department" was as perilous as any other here, and Lienfen led the way up to the edge of town. Traversing the narrow cliff pathways against the face of the storm and the roaring sea far below, they went higher still. Perhaps all the more dangerous, as no one came this way on a regular basis. There was not an option to tether oneself to safety, and only the rusted hand rails driven into the wall of the cliff along the path offered some semblance of safety, however small it may be. It was wet, it was cold, and it was windy, not to mention the difference in altitude and the pressures brought with such a change. Lienfen often made this trek, but it was never any easier for her.
When finally they did reach the end of the road, or at least the supposed one, they were met with a promontory carved out of the cliffs. Like a receiving courtyard or just a flat expanse out the front, this cutaway led to the front of a very tall walled building which went right into the cliff. There was some dim light trickling out from the various windows and the doorways far above, though the main door would need to be opened first... that took time. Taking a step back to look, one might be able to tell from a second glance that the cutaway into the cliff was actually in the shape of a giant rounded doorway. What appeared to be two giant walls were actually the doors themselves, through which guards could be seen moving every now and then.
"Part of the problem of having a prison as infamous as Impel Down, is that everyone in the world knows about it. That's why they built this place, because you'd be hard pressed to find two people that could find Galthia on a map, and because there's people who live here that don't even know about this place. That's our greatest strength here, not that we have some underwater multi-tiered fortress, but that people don't remember us."
After having had to wait who knows how long for the massive doors to swing open, it was actually a surprisingly short trip to the wardens office. Walking through the place, if Henri couldn't tell they were operating on a skeleton crew, it would become clear upon entering the office. All the furniture was wrapped up in sheets and everything was stored away or wrapped up, as though the place had not been used in quite some time. The warden himself seemed to not have been expecting them, and was busy traipsing about the room and taking the sheets off the furniture or taking things out of storage. Making the place more habitable. It could be correctly guessed, that he himself had only arrived to this place only a short while before Lienfen and Henri.
"If they send you here, it's because they want people to forget about you. Days go by, months, years. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but eventually people just stop caring. Stop trying to find out what happened, stop trying to remember. If you've ever heard of someone just up and disappearing without a trace, chances are they've come through here... or still are here."
He appeared fairly average, at least in attire. Really, he hardly looked at all different from anyone else here whom had a labor-oriented job. He was dressed in rainwear work attire, and it looked like he had just gotten off his shift of unloading cargo down at the depot. As it just so happened, that was the truth. Virtually no one here worked or stayed exclusively in the prison, and most had normal lives and jobs back in town, simply keeping this part of their lives secret. Otherwise, the prison was normally just abandoned save for the occasional visits to make sure it had not fallen into the sea, and those kept within.
When it was made clear that they would be having a visitor in the form of Henri, everyone needed to finish early with their normal jobs that day, to head up and get the prison in presentable condition.
"All that aside though, we didn't bother bringing the administrators up here. Partly because I expect this to be quick, but mostly because they didn't really want to make the trip up here in the first place. I'll be representing them at least, Mr. Alain, so you'll have to settle for me in their stead."
When Lienfen led Henri to the office, the warden in an attempt to pass the time had been giving what was clearly a speech he had given many times before, about the prison. Just something in a hope to keep the attention of the visitor while he continued cleaning up his office. Eventually he'd gotten the desk and some chairs set up in no particular order, and offered the new arrivals a chance to sit down.
"From what I hear, you're intent on seeing one of our inmates here?"
"5J7A. I brought the appropriate ledger too, Wesset."
"Oh, her. Well Fen can probably tell you as good as anyone else here about her. Piece of work she is, but then who here isn't? Still, she's to be kept isolated at all times, so visits are totally out of the question."
Taking the book from Henri's guide, Wesset looked for the entry Henri was interested in, running over the pages with his finger with the help of a lantern on the desk. He wasn't really paying much attention to what he was saying when he did, it was more or less rehearsed protocol by now, something he just said while he looked for the desired entry. When he eventually found it though, he grunted to himself in affirmation, reading aloud some of details as he came across them.
"Nasty, as if attempted murder of a world noble wasn't enough. Placed here... by special request of a... Samuel L. Winterfield, her father looks like? Hmmm... ah right, not to be released without explicit consent of the War family, to be kept in solitary isolation until such a specified time."
Pushing the book away with disinterest, Wesset looked through some of the drawers of the desk, pulling out a few bottles and expressing annoyance when they turned out to be empty. Clearly, his concerns were elsewhere.
"So what do you want with her Mr. Alain? We can probably work something out, if you can come up with some reason we should just ignore the book... I mean any reason really, I don't much care one way or the other. I'd like it if we could just have this whole business sorted out so I can close this place back down again."
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Post by CJ on Apr 25, 2013 13:04:58 GMT -5
Henri was enjoying himself yet again. The more dangerous the path got, the more he liked it. His metal hand scraped across the rusty handrail as he kept his face directly in the path of the wind and rain.
He whistled well the rock wall revealed itself to be a set of two very large doors. He frowned for the first time in a while when the warden mentioned it was a "strength" that people didn't remember them.
"I suppose I can see why not being remembered would be a good thing for your nation. It's a good thing I don't live here. I couldn't stand being forgotten."
Smirking grimly at the warden's explanation of the fate of prisoners, he looked about the warden's office, curious as to the state of the stored objects.
Soon enough, Henri made himself comfortable in one of the chairs provided for them. His mood didn't change when he was made aware of no visits. He had been expecting something like it.
"Yes, I got the news from Sammy that Solaine Winterfield was here."
Henri's eyes kept fixated on the empty bottles. He seemed to be trying to read the labels. He quickly shook his head and focused again on the situation.
"Well, all I want is a couple of words from her. I'm a huge fan. You wouldn't turn me down after I came all this way, would you?"
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Post by Shark a' Pult on Apr 28, 2013 0:39:13 GMT -5
"You mean to say we had to get all this together, got everyone up here, because you're a fan and wanted to talk to her? Are you serious?"
Shooting an angry look at Lienfen, the warden merely facepalmed at Henri's request.
"I... I had no idea, honestly! All I heard was that he was surveying the place!"
Leaning forward to get out of his chair, Wesset picked up the book and made his way around the desk. Roughly he shoved the ledger against Lienfen's chest with enough force that she almost fell over, expecting her to take it. She did so quietly, and paced back a bit as Wesset turned his attention to Henri as he stood by the door.
"Since we have everything underway already Mr. Alain, I can permit you a short visit with the prisoner, but after that I want you gone and I don't want to see you back unless you have a documented and legitimate release form. I don't know what they told you about this place, but we can't afford to allow activity based on whimsy. Not only do we not have the funds or resources to maintain this place on an ongoing basis, but it's hard to keep it a secret when it's staffed full of people."
Opening the door, he called out down the hallway for a bit, his voice echoing through the seemingly empty structure. Eventually some secretary stumbled into the hallway farther down, to which Wesset yelled out some orders for the fellow to see to. Preparations in order to get things in motion.
"Before we enter the pit Mr. Alain, you'll need to be searched. I'd like it if we continued to not have a problem with things being smuggled into this place. And Fen, I want you with us when we go down."
"Wait, but 5J7A's specifications say that-"
"I know what the protocol is for her, but your presence calms her down, she... trusts you. She'll be more agreeable that way."
Although she had been quiet before, Lienfen spoke up hesitantly in response to Wesset's request of her. It was strange because normally he was a stickler for rules, he had to be in this place. Her problem, was that she was almost certain he had not fully read nor understood 5J7A's profile, though she couldn't rightly bring that up. Wesset was good at maintaining this place, and he was a good warden; no one had ever escaped in the time that he had been in charge. It was just that, like most of the other people involved with the establishment, he had another life. He followed the rules as best he could, but he wasn't really invested all that much with the prison, and he would clearly rather be back living his typical lifestyle. For someone like him and the others it made sense, but even when the prison was closed, Lienfen was one of the few people who's job it was to still check up every now and then to make sure the place hadn't just collapsed.
She understood the potential dangers Wesset created in his approach, but it was not her position to be questioning him.
---
The trip down the chain driven elevator was rickety, unstable from so much time going unused, but it held up. Even with Henri, Lienfen and the Warden, and the collection of guards. Essentially they had gone through the prison till they came to a long bridge spanning a vast round cavern. Strangely enough, though to enter the prison they had gone into the mountain and were underground, looking up Henri would be able to see the sky and dim light of the overcast sky a very long way above. In truth, the prison here had been build into an extinct, hollowed out volcano, specifically the central shaft of the conduit. Basically it was like being halfway down into a giant well; the inside of the mountain surrounded them all around, looking up was the sky far above, and looking down was just darkness far below. It seemed appropriate that the layout of a prison designed to hide people from the world till they were forgotten, was nothing more than just a giant pit.
At that moment, since it was raining outside, rain was also pouring down into the pit from above, though without the wind outside it was not as fierce a rain. Just falling.
"Look alive 5J7A, you have a visitor."
Once they had reached near to the bottom, the guards fanned out, and began to illuminate the place as well as looking for prisoners wandering about. Not that it was necessary on both accounts; the hole to the sky above provided some dim light, enough to see even down here, though despite this there were no prisoners to be found. The place was huge, so they could be anywhere, though Wesset had been in situations before he was warden when prisoners had tried to ambush the bottom stop of the elevator and attempt to use it to escape. Thus, they were always cautious when coming down. Once at the bottom though and having secured the only means of reaching the top again, finding 5J7A was easy. She was one of the only (of the already few) prisoners here of whom it was required that she be chained up.
"Wh... wh-whaa?"
Either she was very weak, or she had just been asleep, but her response was strained and meek. One couldn't really make out what she looked like beneath that mess of overgrown brown hair, and though she attempted to raise her head to look up at the new arrivals, it didn't help. Beyond that she couldn't move on account of being chained up. Fastened into the walls by huge plates, drawn forth and wrapped around her were massive chains that looked like they should have been used for the anchors or mooring of giant ships, but instead were holding her secure on her knees with her arms pulled so they were outstretched. It was hard to make out her appearance well under that mass of constricting metal, but while it could be seen that she was wearing the typical striped prison outfit (grey and white for Galthia, although soaked because of the exposure to the rain from above), she was in a terrible condition. Severely underweight, malnourished, it was understandable why she could barely move even what was not confined, her head.
Of course, all this seemed rather unnecessary and cruel for a girl who could not be older than sixteen.
"Fen, see to her. She's no good to Mr. Alain if she's incoherent."
Jumping to attention, she handed the ledger to Wesset who opened it up and started scanning through it again while he waited. Lienfen made her way over to 5J7A and knelt beside her with an umbrella, stroking her hair and speaking quietly to the chained up girl. As well she had a pail of water and a tray of food, which she began to feed to the prisoner. This at least, seemed to bring her more to attention.
"Who... who are you?"
"There you are Mr. Alain, you have your visit. Talk with her, ask her what you will. If she doesn't answer, or can't answer, have Fen try."
Holding the ledger in his hands, Wesset stood beneath his umbrella looking over the ledger, wholly uninterested in what Henri was here to do and hoping that he would soon be done so they could all return to their normal lives and leave this desolate place.
Fen meanwhile, continued to see to 5J7A, checking to see how the prisoner had fared since her last trip down here.
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Post by CJ on Apr 30, 2013 21:44:58 GMT -5
Henri didn't seem to get what the problem was. Could people really not visit these people on a whim? He supposed not but it was a little more important than just being a fan of hers. He did not feel like explaining himself. Lienfen and the warden were a little too distressed. If they knew his true purposes, they might have become a little harder to deal with.
"Search me," he agreed. "Though please keep in mind, the hands... they don't come off."
His wiggled his fingers as they clanked together with a grin.
---
Henri was the happiest he had ever been.
His pale green eyes were practically sparkling, taking in Solaine's form as though she a shining beacon of radiance. Starving and looking so bad, what would Henri have thought had Solaine been at her peak condition? He seemed to be holding himself back from crying or something. His face was twitching terribly.
"Solaine. Wow, I can't believe you're right here. Right in front of me! You know, my human name, Henri Alain... I named myself after you. Solaine, Alain. Is that weird? No, it's cool. Right?"
He appeared really embarrassed for how much he revealed about himself. But even in his embarrassment, he didn't give enough time for Solaine to speak properly.
"Oh, but who am I kidding? You don't want to hear that. You want to hear what I have to offer. You see, I need a favor from you. I'll let you out of here if you kill a certain man. What do you say? If I break you out of here and you still don't want to kill the guy. Whatever. It's your decision. I just want to help out my hero."
Henri spoke as though Lienfen and the warden were never there. He did not really seem to be all too concerned about them or any action they might take now.
"I'm so sorry if I'm bothering you. You probably don't have any time for fans."
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Post by Shark a' Pult on Apr 30, 2013 23:29:58 GMT -5
"Solaine. Wow, I can't believe you're right here. Right in front of me! You know, my human name, Henri Alain... I named myself after you. Solaine, Alain. Is that weird? No, it's cool. Right?"
"Solaine... wh-who is that?"
Although she seemed to be regaining some level of clarity as time went on, the prisoner just looked at Henri with a blank stare. It was questionable whether he would be able to tell however, given the grimy, tangled mess of hair about her head which hung in front of much of her face. Lienfen looked to Henri and shook her head as if trying to say something, but Wesset just laughed in the background.
"5J7A. The prisoner has no other name, Mr. Alain... or whatever we should call you."
"Oh, but who am I kidding? You don't want to hear that. You want to hear what I have to offer. You see, I need a favor from you. I'll let you out of here if you kill a certain man. What do you say? If I break you out of here and you still don't want to kill the guy. Whatever. It's your decision. I just want to help out my hero."
Unfortunately enough, very little of what he said actually registered with the prisoner. It seemed that being locked away down here for as long as she had been, all of this was just too much for her to take in so suddenly. He was talking about favors and killing and outside, while she was trying to figure out where he had come from. To her knowledge, the other people always came out of the darkness around her, though she had never seen this person before. While he spoke however, Lienfen slowly stopped feeding the prisoner, setting the tray down and reaching into her coat for something. Wesset meanwhile, had picked up somewhere into the conversation, and made clear his presence even if Henri had forgotten it.
"I'm so sorry if I'm bothering you. You probably don't have any time for fans."
"Alright guy, this just took a dark turn. We open this place up for you, we receive you and bring you down here, and you're talking about breaking her out? You've had your bit, let's go."
With his hands full, Wesset merely nodded towards Henri, and the other guards complied. They didn't run at him with swords or anything, but they began to approach with the intent on escorting him along with everyone else to the elevator, by force if necessary.
The prisoner meanwhile, only looked around in a daze before settling on Henri.
"Hero... you come from out of here? You would... take me there?"
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