Tales of the World: The Radiant Game (Main RP)

[Ruin]

~The Eggbear's Lament~
After finishing his drink, Malik looked over to Pascal, who was almost passed out. Malik wasn't surprised. A long day of searching and a few drinks would do that to almost anyone. He gave a short sigh and hoisted Pascal on to his back. "Thanks again for covering our drinks." He told Francesca. "I'll be sure to pay you back next time we meet." He gave short wave and started to make his way to the door. Before they could leave, though, Pascal nudged Malik to turn around. "BYYYYYYYYYYYYYYE, FRAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNY~!" Pascal shouted before passing out completely. Malik chuckled a little as he exited.
"Now, where to find an-Ah, there's one." Malik said as he walked toward an inn. The inn didn't look like much, but places like this were usually cheap. Malik entered the inn and found that it looked much better on the inside. All the furniture had to be at least 70 years old. Beautifully hand-carved and in near-mint condition. Malik walked over to the reception desk, also in the same condition as the other furnishings. "I'd like a room for the night, for two." Malik said, putting a small bag of Gald on the counter. The receptionist noticed Pascal on Malik's back, it was really hard not to. "Had a few too many, did she?" The receptionist asked. "Yeah, she always gets something too heavy or drinks too much. It would be a pain if I wasn't a drinker myself." Malik said. Pascal had started to feel a little heavier than normal. "So I assuming you two are traveling?" The receptionist asked while rifling through a drawer full of various keys. "Yes, we're looking for someo-" before Malik could finish his sentence, Pascal awoke with a loud "We're looking for Harold!"....falling back asleep mere seconds after saying it. "We're looking for Harold Berselius, she's an aquaintance of mine and a friend of the girl I'm carrying." Malik said. Pascal had started to feel even heavier, but it wasn't a problem for Malik. "Oh, I'm afraid I can't really help you." the receptionist said, giving Malik a room key. "It's quite alright." Malik said, taking the key. "Have a pleasant night!" the receptionist said to Malik, who was already making his way to their room.
The room was decorated similarly to the lobby. Two beds, a bath, a small fireplace and other such things. Malik laid Pascal on the closer bed and sat on the unoccupied one. He contemplated their situation for a moment before laying his head back and drifting off into a peaceful sleep.
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Set by Slider

[Sapphie]

Saleh still was not entirely used to the darkness of Nacht Island. He didn't mind the gloom at all, but his eyes were still having a hard time adjusting to it. The child he had slung over his shoulders was nothing but a burden too. As he slung the kid down onto a torture table, he thought evil thoughts and a wicked smile began to creep onto his angular face. He chained the child's arms down to the table, then his feet and slowly and silently began to unsheathe his rapier...

He was cut short though when an all too familiar wave of dread crept over him. It was her...

Quickly, he sheathed his blade and stood to attention, his back to the prisoner and all thoughts of having some fun with the hapless child replaced with full concentration on pleasing the Mistress as best he could. Though he knew, as a human, that he would have a hard time not incurring her wrath. The best solution, he summarized, would be to feign obedience like he always did.

---~~~---~~~---

"Hey, hey now!" Loni protested, trying to calm the child down. "It was an honest mistake!" He glared at her, still a little incensed at having been called "Mister" once again. "And my name isn't Mister! It's Loni! Loni Dunamis!" Even as he finished his little tirade at her, he realized his error and took a step back before making a quick, but apologetic bow. "I'm sorry," He said with considerable remorse. "I overstepped the mark. Anyway, what's your name and what brings you here?"

~~~---~~~---~~~

"You need food and a map, Emil?" Fran asked softly, even as she continued to drink. "I can lend you one of my maps, that's not a problem." She reached around her back to one of the small pouches suspended from her belt and rustled around in it for a second before pulling out a tiny booklet. After opening it up to check she had the right thing, she smiled and handed the book to the young man. "Here you go."

This just left Emil's other issue. Food. Fran knew that the Eggbear's Lament didn't serve food on weekdays and it was getting late. Looking at his relatively slight frame and the way he had come across as being very timid, she didn't feel comfortable sending him back out into the city on his own, even if he knew his way around. The city was a dangerous place at the best of times and at night, Emil would be a prime target for bandits and other undesirables.

"I tell you what, Emil," She began, "I'm not entirely comfortable sending you back onto the streets on your own now it's dark out." She looked him in the eyes. "I've lived here a long time and I know just how dangerous it is out there. Just today, I saw an innocent man die before my very eyes..." Her mood soured slightly as she recalled the nameless young man who had died almost literally in her arms early in the afternoon. "So, why don't you come with me and stay at my place? I'll cook you a decent meal too." Just then, she was cut off by Brian who had just returned from dropping the corpse off with the city watch.

"My my, Fran, he's a bit young for you, isn't he?" Brian said jokingly. Fran blushed a little, not having seen her offer to Emil in that light at all. But stoic as she was, she shrugged it off with ease.

"How did it go, Brian?" She asked, about the man who had been shot earlier. "I assume he won't be missed?"

"Indeed, he was wanted for arson, murder, robbery... You name it..." Brian sighed. "You manage okay while I was gone?"

"Yeah, thanks. You missed some pretty colorful characters coming in, I have to say." She grinned, thinking of Malik and Pascal. "They were quite the entertaining pair, it has to be said."

"Well, thank you again, Fran," Brian replied. "I dunno how we'd manage without you." With that he walked back behind the bar and stooped down once more. "Since you've made some serious headway on that bottle..." He rustled around, as if looking for something, the clinking of glass evident as he looked through his stock, "And because I owe you once again," He stood with an exceptionally large bottle of liquor in his hands. "Here, this is for all the times I've owed you." With that, he handed the bottle to Francesca.

"This is..." Fran was agape as she read the label, "Old Kharlan Brand Whiskey!" Her eyes lit up and a smile crept across her face. "Gods, Brian, this must be worth ten thousand Gald!"

"Only the best for my favorite customer," he replied, returning the smile. "You've spent far more than that since you started coming in here all those years ago, anyway." Fran grinned, since it was true.

"I'll savor every last drop. Thank you, old friend, thank you so much!" She finally turned back to Emil, who seemed to have been smiling nervously the whole time. "Anyway, how about my offer, Emil. If we're gonna go, we should go now." She looked him over once more and for the first time, noticed he had a sword sheathed at his back. So, he might not be totally helpless then, She thought. Still, I want to look after him, so I'll make sure he doesn't need to draw that sword while under my wing.

[Akashic]

<Emil Castagnier ~ Nibarats: The Eggbear’s Lament>

Tilting his head slightly, he watched the other two customers—Malik and Pascal leave the bar—and then turned his gaze back when he was addressed to by Francesca. Nodding, he watched her take out a small booklet and handed it over to him. “O-Oh, thank you.” He said while taking hold of the booklet and quickly flipped through the pages to skim through its contents. It was indeed a map and a small smile of relief shown across his face.

“I tell you what, Emil,” the woman began and once again his gaze shifted upward until his lime-green eyes met with blue orbs. “I'm not entirely comfortable sending you back onto the streets on your own now it's dark out. I've lived here a long time and I know just how dangerous it is out there. Just today, I saw an innocent man die before my very eyes...” Emil gulped and then thought back at the bloodied man he had seen earlier, though, he imagined the one Francesca encountered must have been much worse. “So, why don't you come with me and stay at my place? I'll cook you a decent meal too.”

Emil opened his mouth, about to answer about his slight discomfort, but he was soon cut off by the male bartender as he approached Francesca. After hearing what the older man said, Emil’s face also turned bright red and he lowered his gaze immediately and nervously. He wasn’t as quick to recover like the woman in front of him did, but as she and her friend had finished their friendly exchange, Emil finally gathered himself to answer the offer.

“Ah, all right.” He accepted the offer and hopped off the stool, placing the booklet in the satchel by his waist. “I… I can help cook too, since I usually had to help out in the kitchen back at home sometimes.” He grinned a bit, feeling proud of his one ‘good’ talent. “I don’t want to pose as a burden to you…” He sheepishly made his way over to Francesca and then noticed her watching him. He blinked curiously and looked over his shoulders, unaware that the woman glancing at the sword behind his waist. “Huh? Is… Is there something wrong? Do I have something on me?”
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[Sapphie]

The attack from the black haired young man came as no surprise to Nerezza, who was already acutely aware of not only his current power, but also his potential. As the magic formed to attack at his feet, he snorted and with one firm stamp of his right foot, the attack dissipated into nothing. He noted that the lycanthrope had been forced to transform also and in a rare act of what could almost be mistaken for mercy, he summoned a spear of dark energy and hurled it towards the swords assaulting the golden eyed wolf man.

It wasn't mercy however, it was merely Nerezza entertaining himself by interfering with the dark haired man's attacks and no sooner had he launched his own attack, than he let out a vicious laugh.

"Is that the best you can do?" He sneered, knowing full well that the spellbreaker was capable of much more. Yet, even at his full potential, he would be severely outmatched by even the weakest of Erants. Even that reject, Stralend, could take these two on, He thought, as he whipped around and leaped at the lycanthrope with the intent of catching him by surprise. Still, they're more entertaining than an entire town full of civilians, I'll grant them that.

Nerezza then realized that time was dragging on and he had other matters to attend to. But I should be off soon, I expect Noira is aware of the guest I've brought back and she will not be happy until she has seen how my blade hungers for that child's soul. He switched his attention back to the fight in which he was presently involved. Finishing such good entertainment off now would be a waste. I shall leave them both with a parting gift, however, heheheh...

---~~~---~~~---

"Oh I just noticed that you are armed at least." She replied. "Not that you have to worry. So long as you're with me, you'll be okay." Francesca strode to the door and retrieved her scythe, a huge and daunting weapon as tall as she was. As she weighed up her trusty weapon in her hands, she once more turned to Emil. "Come on, we should hurry," She urged him, even as she tried to stuff the large bottle of whiskey Brian had just given her into her pack. "The later it gets, the riskier it gets."

She walked to the door and opened it, holding it for Emil. Had she been a man, one would unquestionably refer to her conduct as gentlemanly. As a woman though, such behavior was often met with very quizzical looks, especially from the more old fashioned types she often found herself encountering. Still, her training had instilled a code of conduct in her, something she followed very closely, if not to the letter. True, it didn't say anything about being a heavy drinker, but she figured that like Brian had said, it and her keen interest in men didn't get in her way when it came to her duties, so it was fine.

But she was going off at a tangent and she realized this. Snapping back to reality, she met with Emil's eyes once more and smiled. "After you, Emil."

~~~---~~~---~~~

As Claire and Harold walked along the tree lined road towards the town of Cintilar proper, they made idle chit chat about each other. Harold had insisted they leave in a hurry and she hadn't bothered to change, other than ditching her lab coat, so now she looked incredibly casual, wearing a baggy bright pink tee shirt, teal pants and purple slip on shoes with no socks. To say she looked odd would be an understatement.

Claire too, was looking unusual. She did not look much like a mayor's daughter right now, her outfit more suited for a battle than a costume party. She felt lighter, too, since Harold had woven an enchantment upon Veigue's sword for her, making it feel like it weighed almost nothing. Harold had also promised to teach her a little swordplay, but she wondered just how much a scientist who spent all her time cooped up in a lab could possibly know about swordsmanship.

As they passed from the outskirts of town, past the distillery and into the town proper, it was soon evident that the cataclysmic event Claire had spoken of had taken its toll on the town. Everywhere Harold looked, there were razor sharp shards of ice protruding from buildings, the ground and even a few unfortunate and very much dead people.

"The town's been like this a week?" Harold asked. "So all of the ice that was created is unmeltable by normal means, yes?"

"Right," Claire responded. "And if anyone other than me touches the ice..." She pointed to the frozen figure of a man in his late thirties, "Well, see for yourself. Thats why we've not been able to move the bodies on the outskirts..."

Harold nodded, taking all of this on board. If direct contact with the ice was out of the question, perhaps her immense and unprecedented magical power would be useful. Her thoughts were halted though, as they came to what seemed to be the epicenter of the disaster. It was a thicket of thorns, adorned with roses and made entirely of the same unmelting ice they had been seeing all this time. Harold peered into the thicket, but it was so deep that all she could make out was pure ice.

"Only I can get any further," Claire said, addressing Harold's curiosity. But Harold's attention had shifted. Instead, she was now eying the flower sewn onto Claire's outfit.

"Tell me, Claire..." She began. "Does that flower on you have the same potency as the rest of the ice?"

Claire looked at her with a serious expression on her face. "Yes, it does. Any attempt to remove it from me would freeze a person solid."

"I see..." Harold replied, sounding somewhat disappointed. "Well, onto the main issue at hand then?"

"The main issue," An older male voice said from behind them, "Is that my daughter disobeyed rules and left the house without my permission!"

Claire wheeled around in surprise. "Father!?"

"I think I'm starting to build up a good picture of what's going on here," Harold mused to herself.
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[Augla]

Endern - Docks

Chat was surprised when the man yelled back at her. Apparently she had hit his Berserk Button unintentionally as well. Chat chuckled sheepishly for a second before apologizing. "No, I'm sorry..." She said in response to the silver haired man who had introduced himself as Loni Dunamis. "I didn't know your name, Si..." Chat caught herself before she called the man by another impersonal pronoun. "I mean, Loni..." Loni smiled a little as he spoke up.

"Anyway, what's your name and what brings you here?" The dark skinned man said, apparently feeling a little better now. Chat couldn't help but smile back at him as she gave the answer to his inquiry.

"My name is Chat." She said. "Just Chat, no last name. I'm the captain of the Van Eltia..." Upon mentioning the ship, Chat pointed back at the multicolored vessel waiting nearby. After looking at the ship for a minute, she refocused her attention on Loni. "...And I'm looking for my hat, as I mentioned before. It's about yay big..." Chat held her hands out in front of her a fair distance to represent the size of her hat. "It's black, and it's got a lot of light blue feathers on the top of it. It's really big and noticeable. You'll know it when and if you see it."

Little did Chat realize that the hat was pretty much right behind her, being held in Caius Qualls' left hand as he tried finding its owner to no avail among the sizable crowd of people. He had made no headway on finding out anything else about the owner of the hat, as the most he knew was still the fact that its owner was also the owner of the large multicolored ship.

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Nacht Island

The woman followed the mana of the two humans present within her establishment all the way to one of the torture rooms. Silently, she watched as the purple haired human, Saleh, unsheathed his rapier, but just as quickly resheathed it as a chill went down his spine. It was fairly hard to see, but Noira could sense that there was another unidentified individual's mana coming from within the room - the mana of a human child. Indeed, as Noira took a few heavy steps towards Saleh, she finally saw him - a battered male human child in green and gray clothes, barely alive, and safely secured onto the table by his hands and feet. Noira sighed.

"Tell me, Saleh..." She said. "Who in the name of Ewignacht gave you the right to bring a worthless human child back with you?!?" But Noira didn't even need to ask - she knew that it was probably Nerezza's doing. Therefore, she sent a message to Nerezza via telepathy.

Nerezza, there's a half-dead human child chained down onto a torture table here inside my fortress, and I want to know why the hell he's not dead - get back here ASAP, or I'll kill the boy... Indeed, Noira was more than willing to kill the helpless child even as he silently slept just because he was human. However, she did want to hear what Nerezza had to say about why he had spared this human first.

Then again, keeping the boy alive didn't mean she couldn't have a little bit of fun with him. Noira's right hand started glowing a dark purple color for a few seconds before she placed her hand on the boy's forehead, keeping her hand on his temples for a few seconds, until the poor child started involuntarily shaking in his sleep and his face scrunched in discomfort. Noira smiled - the child would now be suffering from a nightmare until she deemed that he had suffered from it long enough and removed the curse.

However, Noira was in no mood to lift the curse she had just placed on him for a while. Watching the boy shake and thrash about in his sleep, unable to break free of his binds, was entertainment enough for her. Noira smiled sadistically, enjoying every moment of the boy's suffering and temporarily forgetting that she was still waiting for Nerezza to return.

[Gabriel Helsing]

Ithurl~The Orphan Village

Gabriel merely glanced at Nerreza as the obsidian-armored knight dispersed his attack with merely a stamp of his foot. He continued to watch as the knight threw a spear of dark energy at the phantom swords that were summoned earlier. The swords immediately disengaged and dodged the spear, then dispersed immediately. There was no point in trying to attack, the knight is obviously stronger. Therefore, the Spellbreaker focused on a more important task: staying alive.

However, Gabriel was curious to know what race did Nerreza belong to. Since the black knight wore a full-suit armor that covered from head to toe, it is impossible to tell. As of now the man in white made no movements... yet, so Gabriel focused on Nerreza. When the black knight sneered at him asking if that was all he could do, Gabriel merely shrugged.

"At the current time, yes unfortunately. But before you kill me I have a few questions to ask, What is the name of this world and what race do you belong to?"

Gabriel didn't want to die yet, but the current circumstances point out that it is inevitable... unless the obsidian knight decided to spare him for whatever reason. Whether he is going to die or not, the Spellbreaker isn't willing to just die without knowing where the hell he had been sent.
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At the birth of the world, Man was given a soul and with it, Clarity.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Light and Darkness... the road to both Dawn and Twilight...

[Akashic]

<Luchino Fiore ~ Ithurl’s Orphan Village>

As his eyes trained back and forth between the other two men, he observed the black knight first as he sneered at the younger man before him, thinking he was planning on continuing his assault on the youth. When his golden gaze shifted briefly to the knight’s opponent, he was wondering if the youth would snap back at the taunt, but he merely shrugged with a response, which he was going to leave the black knight to answer. Move, the voice of the Wolf suddenly whispered to him and his eyes barely caught sight of the black blur lunging at him; his hands already just inches from his face. Curling his lips up and exposing his fangs, he leaned to the side as he holstered both his revolvers at the same time to barely evade whatever strike that was aimed at his upper body. However, his legs and feet remained firm over the ground where he stood until Nerezza was close by—possibly just centimeters from his side.

Twisting up as he was still bent over, he brought his arms up and clamped his gloved hands over Nerezza’s armored shoulder plates and followed through with the rest of his body as he flipped over the dark knight, while his hands remained in place. “Sh*t, almost got me there…!” he growled a coarse sounding sneer as his legs straightened above him—belts from his calves draping down over his legs—as he did a brief handstand over Nerezza’s shoulder. He pushed off with enough force (obviously not enough to down the knight) and gained a bit of distance away from the evil man. “You guys are pretty fun… if you’re interested, my name’s Luchino Fiore—A former… ‘Alpha’ of the Cintilar Lycanth Pack.”

He knew he didn't officially have the title of Alpha, but he had enough strength and tendency to become one if he so wanted. His eyes flashed gold briefly again and then he lowered on all fours, even though he still appeared mostly in his human-form. He discarded his black gloves and dug his white, clawed fingers over the blood-soaked ground and ran his tongue over the long canines at the side of his mouth. His Wolf was growing thirsty for blood and he was focused on the most dominant individual out of the two knights—which he sensed was Nerezza. Luchino’s human self was still there in the back of his conscious, but he merely remained there and waited, ready to support, while he let the Wolf deal with whatever fighting was left now. He observed Nerezza closely as he began to circle outer parameters of the two knights, searching for an opportunity to strike.

~~~~~~

<Emil Castagnier ~ Nibarats>

“O-Oh, this?” Emil muttered and stole a quick glance at the sword at his back. “I actually haven’t been using it much lately, at least since I was traveling with a pilgrim to the city. I’m not that good at wielding it…” he sighed and hung his head. He knew he wasn’t that experience fighting with swords, but finally outside the shelter of his homeland, a weapon was required for self-defense, especially against the monster raids out in the fields. Once he noticed Francesca pressing on to leave, he quickly gazed back up at the woman and followed her with haste.

“Ah, thank you…” Nodding his head as he quickly walked out the Eggbear’s Lament when Francesca held the door open for him, he then inwardly sighed. I should be the one holding the door to her… He thought and briskly looked down the darkened streets. His mind was suddenly growing paranoid as he began to feel his nervousness creeping up his spine again as he recalled the dangers Francesca had described at night. Biting his bottom lip, he took a few steps toward Francesca and glanced down the street. “O-Okay, let’s get going then. Where do you live?”
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[Sapphie]

"My lady, I assure you that whatever Nerezza has in mind for this one it is not an act of compassion." Saleh sneered as he tried to tarnish his superior's name. "Though had it been up to me, I would have killed the worthless brat on the spot."

---~~~---~~~---

Meanwhile, Nerezza suddenly heard the familiar and harsh voice of his old companion, Noira, echoing in his mind. Immediately he realized it had been a mistake to send Saleh directly back to the base. This distraction gave the golden eyed man just enough time to evade him by flipping over him. But Nerezza wasn't distracted for long, as he wheeled about, facing the man as he took a moment to introduce himself, right in the middle of their fight. Luchino Fiore... Nerezza repeated in his mind as the golden eyed gunner revealed his name.

"Very interesting. You're one I'd enjoy fighting again, for sure," He stared at Luchino through his full plate helm as he addressed the gunman. "Though that leaves the third party." He turned to the black haired man and sneered. "As much as I'd like to know your name before I kill you, I've neither the time for that, nor the inclination to answer pointless questions." He growled at Gabriel, while maintaining an eye on Luchino. "I think I'll leave you both with a parting gift, however..."

Before either man could respond, Nerezza moved. Like a flash, he tore from the spot he was standing on faster than either man could hope to keep up with. Raising his sword, he was in front of the black haired man's face in a fraction of a second and with a lightning fast flex of his arms, his demonic blade slashed across the spellbreaker violently. Not stopping to admire his handiwork, he wheeled about and in an equally small amount of time, bore down on the lycanthrope, unleashing a similar attack before even the wolflike instincts of his opponent could force him to react.

Having given his gift to both men, Nerezza pulled back and put some distance between him and both his opponents, even as they were still recoiling from his sudden attack. "And that, gentlemen, is all I have time for. One day, I shall return for you. Luchino, especially, I look forward to fighting another who revels in the thrill of the chase as I do." His voice then turned from complimentary to down right nasty. "But both of you better survive until then." He sneered. "Because I will end you both in person..."

Once he had said his piece, Nerezza waved his hand, making the sign of Ewignacht as he did so. But before he disappeared, he stooped down, noticing the corpse of a young man at his feet. "A Player?" He mused for a second, until an utterly brilliant and entirely evil idea struck him. "Yes, that would be ideal..." His voice dripped with malice even as he grabbed the limp form of the boy by his arm. Once more, he made the sign of Ewignacht with his free hand and this time, upon completing the symbol, vanished, along with the dead youth he had just grabbed hold of.

In an instant, he was back at Nacht Island. Stepping off from the arrival glyph, he concentrated for a second as he determined the location of Noira, Saleh and the living child. In an instant, he knew where to go and so, he swiftly made his way to the torture chamber, dragging the bleeding corpse of the young player behind him. On his arrival, he noted that Noira had wasted no time in adding to their captive's suffering. This was good, Nerezza said to himself, suffering was exactly what he had in mind for the child.

Dumping the corpse by the door, he strode up to Noira and put a hand on her shoulder, before silently putting his arm around her. It was a cold, clinical embrace and he soon released her from his grasp and spoke. "No need for words, Noira." He said, without even a hint of emotion. "Look into my mind and you'll see why this one still lives, as well as why there is another dead one by the door." He smiled an evil smile, totally concealed by his obsidian plated helm, though he knew Noira was entirely aware of the sadistic glee he was experiencing from imagining fantastic ways of torturing their captive...

~~~---~~~---~~~

"You mean like the one that boy's carrying?" Loni pointed to Caius, who he had immediately spotted as Chat described her hat. "That looks a lot like what you just described..." He wondered why the boy had the hat, especially since he seemed to be running about frantically.

---~~~---~~~---

"Just a couple of blocks over from here," Fran replied as she tightly gripped her scythe. For some reason, she had a bad feeling about the five minute walk she and Emil were about to set out on. And her bad feelings were rarely without merit. "Come on, Emil," She said hurriedly, trying not to show that in reality, she was just as nervous as he was, "I'll lead the way."

Quickly, she headed off in the direction of her apartment, Emil following right behind her. The air was very close and Fran could sense that she and Emil would not be safe until they got to her home. She glanced warily about as she reached a crossroads, making sure to stay as close to the street lights as possible, dull and murky though the light they provided was. She quickly looked behind her, to make sure Emil was still there, before turning left and ascending a flight of stairs.

"We made it." She said, breathing a huge sigh of relief as she reached into her pocket and produced a small key with which she unlocked the door to her home. Motioning to Emil, she held the door for him once again, though her other hand was still tightly gripped around the haft of her scythe, just in case something unexpected happened. "Come on, the sooner you're in, the sooner we're both safe."

~~~---~~~---~~~

"How dare you disobey my orders, Claire!?" Her father bellowed, his face flustered and red with fury. "You were told to stay in the house!"

"I knew, even before you told me to do that, Father," Claire replied unflinchingly in the face of his tirade. "How do you expect me to sit around when something like this has happened? All the people that have died or been frozen. And... My Veigue..."

"None the less, you should be obedient!" He continued, ignoring her reasoning. "Is it too much to expect obedience from my own child?"

"When the child in question is an adult in her own right?" Harold interjected. She was getting tired of the Mayor's tantrum, to the point where she had to resort to her limited amount of common sense to get him to concede, even if for a moment. "Tell me, Mayor. In one day, Claire has enlisted the help of the greatest genius in all of Zonthera." She puffed out as she referred to herself with absolute reverence. "In one week, what have you done which compares to that?"

The mayor took a step back, speechless at Harold's cutting intervention. He tried to make up a concise and relevant response, but all he managed was to stammer a few words as he made excuses for why the town was still in such a state.

"I thought so..." Harold replied, maintaining her composure. "Seems you all panicked and had no idea what to do." She gave a quick smile to Claire and added, "You're lucky your daughter has more sense than you do..."
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