Close Please ~ Died

[Fortune86]

"In that general area yes. Once I leave the Temple I will no longer be able to sense the orb's presence. This may make it difficult to locate."

 

Vayne scowled at the 'school'. Even with narrowing down the location of the orb, it could take some time to find. It could be hidden inside a piece of rock or tangled up in the roots of a tree. They would only be able to search for it by hand.

 

He turned to look at Zatch, one thing confusing him.

 

"What is a school?"

[DragonlordJT]

"A school is where children learn things about the world from adults who take the role of a teacher or instructor..." Zatch responded with a slight notion to confusion. Clearly this guy didn't get out much. Edited January 26, 2012 by DragonlordJT

[Kestra15]

ON:

 

Somehow, the route out of the dig was markedly shorter than the way in, and despite there having been no turn-offs in the admittedly-twisted tunnel Faye managed to end up appearing in a different chamber to the one that she had set off from. When she had set off for the temple nearly an hour earlier she had found the entrance almost by chance, little more than a crack in the wall that led to a meandering tunnel. Leaving Delucin the route had been nearly a straight line and depositing her neatly but one chamber from the man entrance to the dig. Chalking up the oddity to some unmentioned power at Delucin’s command Faye limped out of the tunnels and into the open air.

 

Dusk was approaching; tomorrow morning Faye was due to deliver three hours of lectures at the college and then had the day off. She wasn’t sure what kind of timeframe Delucin was working on however; did she have hours, or months? Was battle imminent and she had to gain allies instantly, or did she have time to search for those who were worthy? And just how was she supposed to ascertain who the worthy were? Delucin may have had some special power, some ability that had divined that she was as pure of heart as the young-old boy had claimed, but what about her? Faye didn’t believe she was a bad judge of character but she was still human, still fallible.

 

Hobbling over to her car – a dark blue Fiat Punto – Faye couldn’t help the panic that gripped at her heart, an icy fist that for a moment closed tightly in her chest. How was she to know? What if she chose wrong? What if she was too slow, or too weak? What would happen to her patron, in his prison of stones? Reaching the car she fished her keys out of her backpack with shaking hands, only just managing to coordinate her fingers so that the remote could unlock the door. Chucking her pack and the cane on the passenger seat Faye sat down heavily, closing the door and taking a deep, controlling breath.

 

Delucin was still there. She could feel his presence, another layer of warmth that soothed her thoughts, and with another deep breath the shaking stopped – although the self-doubt was still there. This was something that went beyond Faye, had started long before she was even thought of and would most likely continue well after her name was forgotten to the mists of time. She was a player – albeit a key player at this point – in a game that would continue ad infinitum if recent history was any indication, and she wasn’t even sure of the rules.

 

She couldn’t just push this out of her mind. Putting the key in the ignition of her adaptive car she pulled out of the dig car park slowly and headed towards the park in town. It was popular with children and adults alike, and Faye had quickly come to appreciate its simplicity and community. It was but a few minutes’ drive from here, and it would give Faye somewhere she could sort her thoughts.

 

No more than ten minutes later Faye was limping into the park with just her metal cane in hand, heading towards one of the many wooden benches that lined the edge of the park. It was still light enough to see, although the first stars had come out now, and it seemed like a peaceful Sunday evening – the perfect counterpart to Faye’s raging emotions. With a sigh she dropped onto the bench, resting the cane across her knees as she looked at the trees on the opposite side of the park and let her mind drift.

 

OFF

 

- Post by Faye

[Fortune86]

"All of them together? I see. The adults teach the young the necessary skills to survive, yes? Like how to fight and hunt? It must save a lot of time and effort to teach them in groups rather than one by one, given the size of your village."

 

Vayne turned to look out over Wallace.

 

"Your village must be very prosperous to have grown to such a size. What of your enemies? Are their villages as large as this? Or are you the dominating power in these lands?"

[Evangeline]

Natalya rode her bike down the path when a boy ran into her path causing her to swerve. She and her bike fell landing awkwardly on the rocky ground. Natalya looked up, surprise covered her face as she turned to see the running boy disappear down the trail. No sorry, not even a glance or a "are you ok". She stood up and ignored her throbbing knee.

 

A shriek rang out into the night.

"Stop! Thief!!" Natalya picked up her bike and walked toward the commotion. A couple people were helping a older lady get up. She was saying something about a boy taking her purse. Natalya sent a text to her mom asking if she could just ride her bike back home. As soon as she got a "yes" back she pocketed her phone.

 

Without a second thought she turned the bike around and rode after the boy. When she spotted him he was walking slowly with the purse in his right hand. She doubled her speed and was quickly beside him. He looked over at her with surprise but before he could start running again she jumped off her bike and tackled him. He swung his fist at her and she dodged countering with her foot to his chest causing him to drop his stolen prize.

"What's your problem you crazy..." before he could complete the sentence she elbowed him in the jaw. He decided that this was more then he bargained for and ran off without the purse. Natalya laughed softly and picked up the bag. She got back on her bike and rode toward where the woman was.

 

"Excuse me?" she said gently.

"Yes?" the woman said looking rather frazzled.

"I don't suppose this is yours?" the woman's face brightened when Natalya held the purse up. She handed it to the woman with a smile.

"Yes yes! How did you get it?"

"Ooh, some boy knocked into me and dropped it. He ran off without it and I heard the commotion and thought it might be yours."

"Thank you my dear! Here." she reached in and took a couple 5 dollar bills.

Natalya shook her head.

"Thank you but keep it. I only did what any honest person would have done." she nodded politely to the lady and walked away before the woman could protest or any of the others ask her anymore questions.

 

She walked to a nearby bathroom and set her bike against the wall. Natalya limped in and examined her scraped knees. With a sigh she ran water over a towel and started to use it to clean the dirt and grim away.

[Kestra15]

ON:

 

There was a tap-tap from behind Natalya, a rhythmic noise that got louder and echoed through the bathroom. In the mirror before her she could see the source of the noise; a woman who looked far too young to be using the metal walking cane in her hand, a faintly-worried expression on her face as she looked straight at Natalya. She simply stood there for the longest of times, staring at the teenager.

 

Faye recognised Natalya from school; the elder teen was now working part-time as a teaching assistant in general, and had ended up helping Faye with one or two of her own classes – although since Faye generally kept to the post-sixteen group she more often met Natalya in the staff offices working alongside her colleagues with the younger year groups. She was in general a ‘good kid,’ if ‘kid’ was the right way to address a girl barely five years Faye’s junior. Decent, hard-working, and always as pleasant as can be for a girl who was teaching to friends at school and working the library at weekends. Faye wondered idly if the girl ever had time to herself.

 

Was she right for the task ahead? Would she want it? And most of all, would it be fair to foist such responsibility on the girl? Faye had not begun to understand full what was ahead, what was required of her, and already she was looking to share that burden it seemed.

 

“That was a good thing you did, Natalya,” she started softly, taking a few steps further into the public restroom. “Are you okay?”

 

OFF

 

- Post by Faye

 

[Evangeline]

Natalya's heart jumped when she heard someone call her name behind her. She quickly turned around, flinching slightly as she put too much weight on her right leg.

She recognized the brown haired woman before her as a part-time teacher she had helped before at the school. What was her name again...?

"Miss Faye?" she said momentarily stunned.

"Uh, it was nothing. Not every day a thief crashes into you." Natalya said jokingly as she threw away the towel. She got a new one and washed her other knee off.

"I will be fine. Scrapes heal." she smiled standing up. She limped past the woman and walked out to stand next to her bike.

"What brings you here?"

~

 

Adriana had gotten into a pool game with the man. She put on a fake smile and started buying the man drinks. She could tell he was getting drunk because he had already started to ramble on about blackmailing some guy. It also helped that she had slipped some truth serum into his drink. Soon she found the location of where he was hiding the pictures...in some locker at the train station. No one knew about it because he had payed cash for it and never gave his name. She found his key to it and pocketed it.

 

She smiled sweetly at him and ordered another drink. This time she added a small quantity of poison, it wouldn't kill him right away.

If someone investigated into it, they would find no trace of the truth serum or poison, it would simple look like the man overdosed on drugs while drinking.

Soon she left him to his drinking and headed out of the bar.

Edited January 27, 2012 by evangeline5432

[Laura-Lana]

((I really need to add a colour for Delucin. I am not used to have black posts that aren't about NPC's. I think i'll use green.

Delucin: Why are all my future warriors limping when I meet them? I am beginning to think this is going to become a tradition.))

 

He had been prepared to accept that the world was changed, but Delucin had had no idea how much until Faye walked out of the temple and he was able to see it through her eyes.

He had a lot of trouble comprehending what he saw, so he almost missed the incident with the thief that Faye had watched.

He knew she was debating if she should recruit the young woman who had stopped the thief. Delucin couldn't offer her much help. This far away from the temple he couldn't judge if a heart was drawn to the light or not.

 

'Trust your instincts.' he told her. He knew they were sound. It was one of the reasons he had chosen her.

 

'And don't worry that much about being fair. Unfair would be forcing her to live in a world of endless sorrow and despair because she has been kept from making a difference.'

Edited January 27, 2012 by Laura-Lana

[Evangeline]

((I just realized that, rofl. It's temporary. It will go away by the time she meets Delucin. o3o))

 

When Adriana arived back at the mall she headed straight to her car. Moments later she was racing down the road in the direction of the station.

 

Soon Adriana was parking the car. The woman pulled a baseball cap onto her head then entered the station. After some searching she found the locker and had opened it to see some envelopes inside. She checked to make sure they were what she was looking for. Seeing they were indeed the pictures, negatives and everything, she slipped them inside her jacket and left.

 

She wouldn't be meeting her contact for awhile so she had some time to burn. Adriana climbed back into her car and pulled back onto the highway.

[Laura-Lana]

((Well Delucin is going to heal her scrapes anyway. Gives him something to do))

[Fortune86]

((*Sighs*

 

My warriors are never online when I am T-T))

[Kestra15]

ON:

 

Delucin’s voice in her head was a shock, and she nearly gasped out loud as his words made themselves known in her mind – a most unusual experience as they bypassed the ears completely, a distinct and solid thought more than aural interpretation. But she nodded once softly as Natalya passed by her; she would have to trust herself, and trust that Delucin would know what to do if her instincts were wrong.

 

“I need your help,” Faye replied, wondering just how to broach the subject without sounding like a crazy person. “Up at the dig site; I found something there, and I was hoping to get some perspective on it. You come across as a well-grounded person, intelligent too, and I was hoping you would be willing to help a colleague. Think of it as an advanced field trip,” she smiled slightly, hoping her nerves didn’t show.

 

OFF

 

-Post by Faye

 

[Laura-Lana]

Delucin's soft laughter halled through her mind. "Neat trick.", he congratulated her. "If you get her to the inner sanctum I can explain everything to her. Of course you could always try it with the truth and demonstrate it with a fireball if she isn't cooperating."

[Evangeline]

Natalya raised an eyebrow and looked at Faye with suspicion and some curiosity. Natalya had never asked how Faye had been injuried but she had heard stories from the other kids. She could be trusted, she knew that...didn't she?

"You found something at the dig and you want my help? I took some classes in archaeology for a year but i'm no expert. Why me?"

[Kestra15]

ON:

 

Faye met Natalya's stare without flinching. "You're trustworthy," she replied simply. "What I've found is...sensitive in nature, and I need someone who shows themselves to be reliable and decent at heart. I've heard what people have said at work, and what you did just now...more than proves that. And I need to get this sorted tonight and can't wait for the director to turn up on Tuesday, and none of the other research assistants are in town until mid-morning tomorrow."

 

OFF

 

- Post by Faye

[Evangeline]

Natalya seemed slightly stunned. She bit her lip as she considered what the teacher said.

"I only returned a purse, that proves nothing..." Finally she looked at Faye and nodded slowly.

"If you still want my help, I will do so. Not sure what good I can do but I will come." she said.

"I do have one question, what do I do with my bike?"

[Kestra15]

ON:

 

"You can chain it up at mine; my flat is just around the corner, and I can drive you out there. Much quicker than walking, especially with me," Faye chuckled, nodding to her once-mangled ankle. "Are you fine with that?"

 

OFF

 

-Post by Faye

[Evangeline]

((If you wish. After they get Faye's place, have Natalya get into the car. Condense this thing into one post. ))

 

Natalya nodded, slightly reassured.

"Let's hurry then, I need to be back home before midnight." she said then started walking her bike away from the public restroom. She stop and looked back Faye.

"I don't know where you live. Lead the way?" she asked meekly.

Edited January 28, 2012 by evangeline5432

[DragonlordJT]

Zatch stopped himself from laughing aloud.

 

Yes, taught SOME life skills... fighting? I don't think so. Also it depends on what you mean by "survival skills" I don't think they teach anyone how to live in the woods for a month anymore.

[shric debar]

((heya sorry been at work all day and will be tomorrow))

 

Estainuta understood what vayne was sayin, or at least he thought he did.

 

"yes people are taught nessecary skills for life in there. but not in the way you are thinking. They get taught reading, writing, sports etc. unfortunateley hunting and fighting does not get taught much anymore."

 

Est turned to look at Zatch

 

"you want to get in there without leaving any evidence? i would be glad to give you a hand" he extended his hand

 

"truce? please accept my apologies for my earlier rudeness, been a long week."

[monkeyboy225]

((I will post for my characters when it reaches the next day.))

[DragonlordJT]

"Sure why not?" Zatch's grin was enough to typically scare of normal people, he usually didn't act like this around others, but something in him was changing rapidly. He liked it. "Taking candy from a baby... shouldn't be too difficult."

[Kestra15]

ON:

 

It didn't take too long for the pair to reach Faye's house, even with her limp. It was going to take more than a click of fingers - or lay on hands, in Delucin's case - to get Faye to walk again. But her body did remember how it was done, and although there was the odd throb of pain as muscle and bone worked in ways it hadn't for years complained about the situation.

 

Reaching Faye's flat they chained Natalya's bike up in the hallway under the stairs - "Everyone else does after all," - before climbing into Faye's car and heading for the dig site Faye had been assigned to.

 

"How much do you know about the digs?" Faye asked Natalya as they drove through the encroaching dusk.

 

OFF

 

-Post by Faye

[Evangeline]

After they chained up her bike she climbed into Faye's car. She felt nervous but excited at the same time. Her hand rested on a small pocket knife she carried around in her pocket, it wasn't much but it gave her comfort.

It was in the pocket opposite to where Faye sat behind the wheel so she doubted the woman would notice.

"It was accidentally found, wasn't it? People are impressed at how big and vast they are. As I said earlier, i'm no expert. Does anyone know what they use to be yet?" she asked.

 

((I has a question, what side of the road do the people of Wallace drive on? Right or wrong left? ))

[Kestra15]

((Left-hand driving was the original; we're not wrong, you just got it mixed up. Since it's ambiguous as to which county this is set in, I'll at least say for now that Faye's car is British and as such she is on the right-hand side of the car. -KM))

 

ON:

 

"We're not so sure," Faye answered honestly; after all, while she knew they were a prison for Delucin and Vayne, she couldn't be certain if that was the original reason they were built. "However, there is some speculation that they were religious in nature; evidence thus far is that they may be sites of worship. We're still not even sure what the material is made of though, so educated guesses are the best we have right now."

 

Concentrating long enough to take a right turn that put them on the main ring-road around the edge of Wallace and off towards their destination, Faye added, "How are you on the subject of religion and philosophy? Some of the discoveries have...interesting consequences in those fields."

 

OFF

 

-Post by Faye