>I made a version sans shark-sign as well, but meh

“You mortals are quite foolish. You smoke those vile things despite knowing what they do?”

“Can lung cancer kill me at this point?”

“Hmm… Likely not.”

“Then I fail to see the problem here.” You take a long drag to get your point across.

Back inside the 72 hemi ‘cuda, rolling down the windows the rest of the way to fight the ‘bama heat, your head rests on the slightly cracked leather seat. The stick clicks as you play between gears.

“So where do we go now?” You ponder though the haze of smoke.

“This Professor proved less than entirely helpful.” Kiara sighs.

“Nah, he’s a cool dude and I learned a lot.”

“Like where my soul could perhaps reside?”

“Well…”

“We’ve learned little, mortal.”

“Chill baby, we’ve got all the time in the world, haven’t we?” You smirk.

“…I’ve told you before to not refer to me as such things.”

The witchy lady has a point, however. While McGruff certainly offered a lot of insight into the church and the Order of the Bleeding Sword…

You still don’t have too much of a clue as to where it is you should go. Not too many signs with “Witch Soul 34mi exit 156b”, unfortunately.

“Well should we head back to the Keys, or…”

“I should think not, we should stay mobile if anything. Now that we know they can track my magic, I’d rather avoid any places we’ve had prior confrontations. Worse yet, we still have no idea as to the range of their tracking.”

“Point. So oh “Harbinger of Eternal Darkness, Slayer of Puppies”, where do you think we should go? You haven’t exactly come up with anything, either.”

“I grow weary of these taunts, mortal.”

You can tell she’s getting annoyed, which was your intention.

*Grrrooowwllllll…*

“Guess that settles it.” You shrug and fire up the big 426, feeling the rumble through your entire body.

“Thinking with your stomach? How pathetic.”

“Yeah well, until we come up with something better, I’m getting some real food.”

After a quick lunch at a small mom&pop diner, you lean back in the seat and let out a satisfied groan. Quite a bit better then gas station food.

Now you just have to figure out what to do next…

>What do you do? Where do you go? Call the conspiracy nut? Back on the internets?

>>18370276
Conspiracy Nut. He should have something to go on, even if its not that sane of an option.

Figuring its at least worth a shot, you whip out the cheap disposable cell you'd picked up at the internet cafe.

Punching in the number, you put the phone to your head and lean back in the seat. You know by now what to expect.

Yet again, the line is picked up after but a single ring.

"Holy hell man, is your line encrypted yet?!?!"

"Yeah, picked up some aligned crystals and a quadruple band scrambler." You rest your head on the steering wheel and fight back the urge to bang against it repeatedly.

"Excellent man, excellent. I've got my end encrypted so we should be good. Heavy chem-trail activity overnight so we can't be too careful man."

"Yeah..."

"So man, like, good timing! I was actually about to give you a call man!"

This perks your interest.

"So you found something?"

"Something? Nah man, someone. Well, many someones in fact but most of them I'm pretty sure are reptilian mind pawns so I factored them out."

"...So what did you find?" You fight the urge to sigh.

"People, man, people. One dude who admits to being a part of a FEMA plot to abduct people in the night, another who said she was abducted, an old soviet scientist but I think he's crazy... And another guy who swears he is a reptilian who wants to come to our side, man."

>question/action?

>>18370350
Ok, we've got back up. We should at least say that the old soviet scientist is worth getting involved with this. He could know something or have some connections we could use.

what about that scientist

"A Soviet scientist? What does he know?"

You hear something being shuffled around in the background.

"Sorry man, just prepping my bugout bag. I'm not sure about him, man, pretty sure he's nuts. Dude said he worked on a lot of shit man, weird shit. Said someone was after him so he hid, said they wanted to kill him."

"Kill him?"

"Yeah man, said that they were after him. Dudes on his deathbed now so he's started talking on these sites man, deep sites."

"Any of this mean anything to you?" You mentally ask Kiara.

"The ramblings of a likely senile old man? Little as of yet." She retorts.

"Anyway man, like I said I'm pretty sure the old bastard is nuts. Doesn't know a damn thing about witches, all he wants to talk about are blown out reactors and shit that the Soviets had him build inside of them."

"Build inside of them? Like a platinum lining maybe?"

"Nah man, strange shit but nothing like that."

>question/action?

>>18370422
What sort of wierd shit?

>>18370350

Ask the conspiracy nut about the soviet scientist specifically considering that a nuclear reactor theoretically could hold a witch soul. About the scientist ask where he is, what he did and most specifically how conspiracy nut found him

Also ask about the abducted girl so we can have a face to face person to talk to. Ask where she is, why she was captured and again how conspiracy nut found her

Also, finally, ask kiara-in-my-head (kinda a little deathly tiara?) to keep a lookout, what she thinks of the potential sources (girl, scientist and fema guy) ask her if SHE has any questions and if there are things which help a witches strength (ie opposite of platinum?)

find out how to contact the scientist senile is better than nothing

rolled 14 = 14

I'd join in, but I'm really not feeling like it today. Dunno why. probably just tired. oh well, have fun people.

also, let's try going for a nat 1 for the sake of some HUEHUE, shall we?

"Well what kind of strange shit?"

"I dunno man, dude hardly spoke English. Kept ranting about rays of some kind, and pumps."

"Rays and... Pumps?"

"Yeah pumps, told me he didn't know the right word to describe them."

Well now you're more or less at a loss. You don't really know what rays and pumps would have to do with a witch soul, if they even do.

"But he didn't mention anything about a witch soul, did he? Maybe if one was housed somewhere he worked on?"

"Nah but it sounded like he didn't really know what he was working on. He's in a hospital in Detroit if you want to talk to him, though. Like I said, not sure he's got what you're looking for, thought I was the one who was crazy for talking about witches."

As the conspiracy nut talks you hear what sounds like a hefty bag being rifled through, as well as the metallic clink of what you would guess to be magazines.

"How about the girl that was abducted?"

"Well she doesn't know a damn thing about witches, but four guys in masks carried her off one night. She said they were armed with shiny swords, which is pretty bizarre. All I have other then that is her email..." The nut gives you the email over the phone, which you quickly write down. "Found her asking questions about who might have abducted her on one of my sites."

>question/action?

go to the scientist after emailing the girl

>>18370422
We should definetely check the female abductee and the scientist out. He might know something and she might have been mistaken for a witch.

>>18370569
Is there any chance he can somehow hook us up with some fake papers or such?

"Alright I'll check into these leads, got anything else for me?"

"Not a thing man, but let me know what you find or if you need anything. Remember, trust no one man. Reptilians are everywhere."

"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind..."

You hang up and finally bang your head against the wheel. Repeatedly.

At least he had some info with his madness this time.

"So now what?" Kiara asks, clearly bored.

"Well first things first I want to email this girl. I figure the computers here should be anonymous enough, I didn't see any cameras."

Heading back inside to a different section of the library, you find an open computer and plop down.

After making an address that shouldn't be tracable back to you, you enter in the girl's address and start typing up a few questions.

Namely, how she escaped, any info on her abductors, etc... Now you'll just have to hope she responds by the next time you check a computer.

"That should do it." You nod and hit send.

"So now what?"

"Now we should get in contact with this old codger, find out what he's going on about."

>how do you want to contact the scientist?

What about the fema abduction guy?

>FEMA must be connected to the witch-hunters, somehow. Paranoia to 11.

We need to find a bleeding sword base or member to interogate instead of crushing with a rock.

Call him.

>Paranoia level 0.

visit, we are russian so we can act as a relative or something to get in

>>18370696
You can call the nut back at any time if you want to inquire about him

>>18370757
You can try baiting one out with some magic and try to apprehend him

>>18370757

When diplomacy fails, blunt force trauma prevails.

>>18370687
Internet. Safer if we don't meet face to face.

visit - 1

call - 1

internet - 1

Seems I picked a slow day perhaps? Or maybe I waited too long in between threads...

Internet

ill change from visit to call then possibly visit.
i think the quest just needs to pick up some steam its still young

>>18370859
Big sport/party weekend, plus i'm off to work. Don't get us any more dead than we are

call or email and if there is anything useful then visit for more info

>>18370859
Europe is getting to sleep and as far I know, US is having somekind of party going on.

Was going to sleep, but funk witch gets my attention.

+1 for visiting.

Figuring the internet is probably the safest bet, you give the nut a call back and ask for the necessary info to get a hold of the guy.

Dmitri486120 as his IM name.

Yeah, you get the feeling this guy is a dinosaur.

Firing up the IM client and again making a throw away username, you send a quick inquiry.

>I heard from a friend that you worked for the Soviets on some stuff at nuclear plants?

You hit send and wait for a reply.

"Can we hurry this up? I'm hungry again, mortal."

"Yeah well we're going to have to talk about that, seeing as to how I'm pretty sure that's how they found us the first time." You comment before hearing the chime.

>Dmitri486120: What do you want to know?

>response?

>>18370920
St. Patricks was yesterday

Heh, maybe there are a lot of people still toasted from last night. I was pretty burned out this morning myself.

>>18370922
>I was wondering if there was anything really strange that stands out to you.
>Like someone interfering with designs, suggesting strange structures, odd metals? Anything like that?

> What did they put inside there?

>>18370922
How did the stuff he made differ from a regular nuclear reactor? Was is the materials or the assembly? What sort of pumps was he talking about and why was everything so covert?

>Thanks for responding, I heard you were in the hospital. What kind of scientist were you that strange stuff was standing out? What kind of strange stuff? Designs, materials?

You hit send and sit back in the quite uncomfortable seat.

"Are you sure we can trust any of these people?" Kiara asks.

"Can't you tell if we can?"

"From over the phone? This internet? No."

>Dmitri486120: A physicist, of sorts. Everything about the operation was strange, all of it. Though perhaps not the materials.

>Dmitri486120: I was tasked with creating some sort of ray generator, one that ran off of the reactors in Prypiat. I was young at the time, so I was kept in the dark concerning most things.

>Dmitri486120: This ray generator was quite bizarre, unlike anything I'd ever heard of. All it did was funnel massive energy from the reactor, but as to where I do not know.

>So you don't know what it was for? What about the pumps I heard of?

>Dmitri486120: The pumps were something else entirely, massive ones. They wanted something strong enough to contain a small atomic weapon. I assumed it was for nuclear testing.

>>18370922
What were you building. Officially, I mean.

>>18371018
I think we just found her soul.

You perk up in the chair.

>So this wasn't just your run of the mill reactor?

>Dmitri486120: I never worked on the reactors, just other parts of the structure and things pertaining to the reactors.

>Do you know if they perhaps housed something inside the reactor? Or the building itself? What were you building, officially and not secretly?

There is a long lull until the next reply.

>Dmitri486120: I've never heard of anything inside of it. I believe it was just testing for some kind of irradiation machine, my group had dealt with such things before. There was no officially, we were kept sealed off from the other workers.

More questions?

>>18371018
Were there any signs of radioactive leaks, like, dying plants around the compound? Did they use the ray with the pumps, or did they work seperately?

yeah i'd say that we should get the exact location of the place

>>18371018
>zombie&witch-VI, Journey To The Exclusion Zone.

Also, joyful OP image, Papa-N.
Anyhow..

>>18371018
So he is willing to talk about this stuff, at least a little. And was not apparantly privy to all the details at the time. Dr. Dimitri might be forthcoming with information if we suggest that we have information about the purpose of what he built.

Suggest that we are tracking down some experiment done in that facility, something we will tell him about after we know more ourselves? Solve a mystery before his deathbed perhaps.

>>18371018

So you where at Chernobyl?

How much more time do you think you have, I'd like to talk in person.

>Were there any radiation leaks? Before the incident, I mean?

>Dmitri486120: Small ones, but nothing beyond what other Soviet reactors went through at the time. Building was shoddy much of the time, you know.

>So back to the pumps and the rays, were they connected?

"You seem interested." Kiara says, sounding bemused.

"You aren't?"

"I never said that..."

>Dmitri486120: You seem to know a lot, have you talked to another scientist? Yes the ray generators were irradiating whatever it was inside the tubes that the pumps connected to. We had a theory that perhaps they were experimenting with irradiated liquid as some kind of weapon.

>I think there is more to it then that.

You hit send and wait.

>Dmitri486120: Reactor 4

After that, nothing. You wait in the library, a few minutes pass until you notice that the old man seems to have logged off.

"Well that's bizarre." You scratch your head and wait, hoping he will log back on.

>Action?

Find info about reactor 4. Call the nut if he knows anybody who knows anything.

Check out stuff about reactor 4 you oblivious zombie.

>>18371160
Well, right now we might need to lay low, so getting out of the library and out somewhere secluded where we can talk to Kiara might be a good idea. We also need to wait for the girl to answer her email.

>>18371160
hmm..

thinking of 3 options.

He was cut off by a third party because they caught up with the topic.

He disconnected because he is sworn to secrecy/is scared of some of the details he knows or thinks he knows.

He was disconnected due to a Sword hit squad reaching his home.

No matter what, it is time to get out of the library.
Options one and two, we might get further details by visiting directly, so we should find a way to reach Dr. Dimitri directly.

Option three is a concern, so we need to lean on Kiara's ability to reach out for minds + a huger amount of paranoia when we get there.

Were heading to pripyat?

Excellent.

"I don't think he's coming back..." You almost light up a cig before realizing where you are.

Well shit.

You dial up the conspiracy nut again.

"Hey man, you follow some of those leads?"

"Yeah but I think your scientist might have fallen asleep or something. He said something about reactor four, and I'm pretty sure he meant Chernobyl."

"Reactor four man? That's interesting, that's the same one that exploded isn't it?"

"Probably? I don't know much about it to be honest. You have any info alluding to it?"

"Nah man, nothing. I'll see if I can dredge some up but its going to be a while. Gotta switch out of my current place man, gotta stay on the move, ya know?"

"Right. Well let me know as soon as you find anything out will you?"

"Will do man, stay safe." The nut says before hanging up.

One last check of the email reveals no response as of yet, so you decide sticking around the library isn't going to help anything. Its a pretty short trek back out to your car, which you slide back into.

"So what now? Are we heading to Detroit? Your memories don't seem to have much love for the city."

"I'm not sure what to do next, and the city is just a husk of its former self." You light up a cig and grip the wheel.

>Action? Drive to Detroit? Fly there? Something else?

>>18371290
I suppose we can add C-Conciousness to kiara list of titles then.
Assuming we've played S.T.A.L.K.E.R. of course

>>18371290
Drive, we can stay off the grid that way.

>>18371290
Get to Detroit, possibly fly to Europe from there and go east.
Kiara also mentioned she was hungry.

>>18371290
Roadtrip to detroit.

The church is capturing souls if witches and funneling three energy off to create their own God. Kiara isn't in Russia, that's a different soul, but they were testing how to do it in her

we need to call dad again.

our old passport, if we have one would most likely be monitored, and we need to go to Prypiat.

>>18371340
>>18371338
>>18371311
Going to be a heck of a trip.

Before we leave town we ought find somewhere, away from any surveielance, where Kiara can suck the life out of some grass and whatnot. Make sure we get that taken care of Before getting on an interstate (the better to disguise movement, as Sword will be all over the magical event)

There is already one missing agent in the south. Once could be bad luck, or an accident. It will get trickier from here.

"Welp, guess we're headed to Michigan I guess..." You fire up the engine and start to back out.

"Mortal."

"What?"

"I'm hungry..."

Oh, right, THAT.

"Yeah well the last time I let you "eat", we wound up as a blip on their radar didn't we?"

"I'm not arguing that, but if I don't obtain some power I won't be able to maintain you all the way north. This does take some magic, you know." Kiara huffs, and you can tell that despite acting annoyed, she's worried herself.

"So what do we do?" You ask, idling in the parking lot. "I mean, we don't even know the range or capabilities of their tracking systems, do we?"

"No, I suppose we don't." Kiara sighs.

"Guess we'll just have to chance it." You shrug and start driving.

You don't know anything about the town you are in, but it doesn't take too long to end up in the countryside of Alabama. Pretty soon you find a nicely wooded area down a long road. You'll have good visibility from here, and should be gone before any of the Order show up.

You hope.

Don't get dad any more involved, we don't want him having to deal with the church. Find the kidnapped girl before making the long drive to Detroit

>>18371429
Just remind her to fill up. A biting comment about "leaving her messes all over the country like a roadmap" should make the point (or get us brainspiked again)

Ya know, that kidnap thing.. that still seems important.
What is the good in being a superhero (sorta?) if we can't save a girl? Find another computer, keep checking.

>>18371429
We do have a name..would it kill her to be a little bit more polite?

"Alright." You tell her, as you plop down on the forest floor, "Bon appetite, I suppose."

As soon as you even sat down, the ferns and plants around you began to brown. Leaves even shriveling and falling from trees.

"This is more then last time..." You notice.

"I'm trying to make it so I won't have to do this again anytime soon, so hush."

You shut your mouth and sit in silence as the forest, once green and vibrant, becomes dead and wilted around you. This isn't something you are sure you'll ever get used to.

"You won't have to. Once I have my soul back, I won't require it as often, nor will I need to sap the life around me entirely."

"Just hurry up, I want to get away from here as fast as possible." You say through your cigarette.

A few more minutes go by, and by the time you push yourself back up...

You can't see a living plant from where you stand.

"We'd best leave quickly, mortal. This will likely attract some attention. And..."

"And?"

"Nothing."

"Heh, would it kill you to thank a guy?" You smirk. At least she came close.

>>18371492
no, but it will probably kill us to ask...

>>18371505

resume road trip. continue driving as long as we can. from now on we rest or sleep in areas we have trapped or scouted out

We still haven't forgiven her about making us kill a guy. I assume at least.

The big hemi engine roars fiercely as you push it hard down the country road, heading back to the highway. The radar detector on your dash should alert you to any police presence, so you get up to a hundred and twenty for a stretch before backing off.

"Having fun?" Kiara asks, clearly aggravated because yes indeed you are.

You hop on the highway quickly, wanting to put some good distance between you and the massive swath of dead forest that Kiara just "ate".

The trip is going to be a lot longer then the drive up to 'bama from the Keys was, so you settle in and let the radio play.

~Today is the greatest day I've ever known~

Thankfully; whether its the nicotine, the Pumpkins, or the sunlight, you are feeling less shitty. Good enough to nearly forget you killed a man just a short while back.

"Are you sure you know where you're going? It doesn't appear you've driven there before. Perhaps we should..."

"If you say "stop and ask for directions" I swear I will ram us into that semi."

"Point taken, just don't get us lost."

>Question/talk with Kiara?

>>18371602
General chatting.

>>18371602
So we talked a lot about the soul of a witch what happened to the body?

>>18371602

SO when did you first learn you were eternal/immortal.

and did anyone teach you what it ment to be that

>>18371613
>"so, what's it like sitting on the bottom of the ocean for hundreds of years?"
>...
>"yeah.. guess you are right.. pretty boring."

at the least we want her opinion on the kidnapping. If we could at least find out where the girl was from/had been, could Kiara recognize witchy residue?

Oh! One more thing.. does she know about any secret cave full of roman gold?

figure if we end up in europe anyhow..

>>18371602
Well, we could try to find some shared interests somehow, maybe she's got some aspects of society today that interests her?

Ask about what she did to entertain herself or pass the time from her birth, to Rome, to when the church finally caught up with her... That's a long time to just exist

"So what happens after we find your soul? I assume we go after your body?"

"Yes I'd like my body back. This quasi-existence is growing tiring." She says, and you can almost picture her resting her chin and watching out the window.

"Won't it just be some bones? Maybe some dust?"

"I'm not sure, though I doubt it. If I had to guess I believe the residual magic in my body will have preserved it quite intact."

"Sleeping beauty eh? Need a kiss from a prince to wake back up?"

"Depends on how badly you want your mind ripped asunder, I suppose."

Point taken.

"So how did you learn you were immortal? Someone teach you back then?"

"Learn? I didn't learn it, I pursued it. I was around seventeen at the time, though I don't know the exact age as time was of little concern to me. I wanted to live forever, so I found out how."

The song changes but you pay it little mind.

"Any ideas about this kidnapping? Think it was a witch?"

"Possibly, I only know what you do. I'd be interested as to how she escaped, the Order was fond of platinum bindings which more or less severed a witch's ties to magic."

>>18371716
Is there a maximum distance over which you can keep me alive? When you get your body back am I still tied to you?

And who's to say she used magic to escape? The member who got us seemed unprepared for the gun I pulled.

>>18371716
"If we came across another witch.. if this girl is one, for example.. you wouldn't have to.. i dunno.. battle or something, would you?'

>>18371764
THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE

You grunt in response before flipping through a few songs until you settle on a groovy beat.

"Well if we end up in Europe, I assume you know some good stuff in your backyard eh? Some Roman gold perhaps?"

"Hmm? Hungry for money are you? Well, some relics and treasures perhaps remain where they were when I left Rome. I suppose we could find you a cursed sword or something, if it weren't such a frivolous waste of my time."

"Cursed swords?"

Kiara doesn't respond, you get the feeling its not her area of interest perhaps. That or she just doesn't want you fixated on relic hunting rather then pursuing her hidden pieces.

"So what do you do for fun, oh "Raven of Darkness"? I assume thousands of years gets boring without some interests or hobbies."

"I grow weary of these titles, mortal. The ages are boring, but I have no yearning for them to cease. I passed my time doing whatever I wished. Ending plagues, starting them... Teaching younger magic users so they could help their people, killing off others..." She sighs, "Its not like I ever did the same thing for very long. Well, not with my sense of time, at least."

"Starting plagues?"

"If someone deserved it." She says simply.

"Well with your power, will we have to stay close once you get everything back? There some kind of range to this whole deal?"

"I'm not sure, I've never done it before and never wanted to do it, ever. I do know that you are bound to me for whatever eternity you so desire, and I will always have to maintain you with my power, if you wish to remain in your current semi-alive state."

>>18371716
Such a cute tsundere witch, can't wait till we actually wake sleeping beauty!

Ask why and how she saught out immortality, maybe throw in a comment about how the years made her into such an awesome tsundere

>>18371787
Does she have knowledge of any caches of information, like hidden libraries? Any old witch rumours might come in handy somehow.

>>18371787
Well aren't you just adorable.

Also you may as well get used to funny titles, She who Walks Shrouded in Kittens. You aren't going to find a better helper than me, what with my connections, already being here, accepting your story and having a vested interest in helping you.

You may as well get used to it. Also when I get you back no starting plagues, I frown on them.

"So if we find this other witch, what then? Will you have to fight her? Steal her powers by lopping off her head?"

"Lopping off her head??? Hah. I would tell her to hide herself better, and to avoid me. I've little use for a novice and even less time to deal with one." Kiara huffs, and you can tell she saw the Highlander reference in your memories.

"I dunno, if she couldn't use magic to escape then she might be resourceful. Maybe used a gun like I did, seems like the Order didn't expect that."

"I don't want to have a beginner yapping at my heels like an excited dog, and they are ALL like that."

"Well that sounds annoying, if you put it like that..." You shrug and pass a beaten up DSM. The driver looks you over like he wants to race, but you ignore him, not wanting any unnecessary attention.

"How about any info in Rome maybe? Something we can use?"

"We'll see about any of that in the future, perhaps within the tomes of Alexandria, if I can still find it."

"Wasn't it destroyed?" You ask, though your knowledge of ancient history is fairly pitiful.

"Hmm? Was it?" Kiara asks, and you get the feeling she doesn't seem to think so.

>>18371900
I'm pretty sure Alexandria was burned, by Julius Caesar, if you know he didn't burn it and the burning was a fabrication and there is a fully intact Library, which is unlikely after 2000 years, let me know. Seriously the knowledge contained in that is worth more that you seem to have any fucking idea.

>>18371787
Hey, do we still have super-punching strength?
Because that would be great.

Crushing-guy's-face-with-rock powers are.. less great.

>>18371900
And we could score a point by just Thinking about that comment about "beginners". After all, Kiara was one herself at once point..

"Hold the fuck up, the library still exists? Wasn't it burned?"

"Hmm? Burned by Caesar? I wonder..."

"Quit wondering, I'm sure you know!"

"All I can tell you is this. Unless it was destroyed since I was imprisoned, it is still very much around. I did my best to conceal it, however. The knowledge contained within that library... There are things better left unknown, mortal." Kiara says darkly, as though brooding over something.

"Not going to say what they are?"

"You wouldn't understand them even if I did. Even if I wanted you to know, which I don't."

"Well miss "Slayer of Cute Bunnies", you can have your secrets, but I won't have you starting any plagues once we do get you back together."

"Hah, as though you would be able to stop me... Rest assured I have no intention to wreck havoc upon an ignorant populace. My only concern is to destroy the Order, past that I've thought little, mortal."

You light up another cig and frown.

"Hey, weren't you a beginner once? You seem to trash on them pretty hard."

"A beginner? I could raze villages by the time I could walk. I was never a beginner."

>more questions? Timeskip to Detroit?

>>18371900
Would she get a 'tsundere' reference if she can understand the highlander one?

>>18372035
Skip to Detroit, where large patches of death and devastation go unnoticed.

>>18372035
Did someone she was teaching turn on her or get hurt through inexperience, making her blame everyone who's not an instant expert like her?

>>18372035
Are there any oaths that can actually bind you to something, gaesa or something that ilk? You have to agree given the whole starting plagues thing that some people might have had damn good reason to be pissed off. Also can anyone learn some amount of magic or do you have to be naturally talented to know any? Oh great reaper of turnips.

>>18372035
Wait, so as a toddler you burned down villages?

>>18372088
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVc3JdCh7x8

"Well you might not have been a beginner, but you are certainly tsundere I think."

"That's assuming I have some kind of deep seeded love for you, mortal." You suddenly feel as though there is a great weight hovering inches above your brain, "Would you care to test that theory?"

"I'll pass." You surrender.

"But did someone teach you? Seems like there is more to this inexperienced magic user thing with you. You burned down villages?"

"No one taught me, there was no one to teach me. It was a different time, mortal. A different place. A child incinerates villages, torches fields of crops... How do you think such things were received? I was born with this gift, as you have to be to bear it's weight. When people fear you, it becomes hard to find allies, so I had to rely on myself. I sought out immortality so that I could find somewhere fresh, which I did."

"Seems like the locals maybe had a few good reasons to dislike you, plagues and whatnot."

"Perhaps, but I was not seeking friends."

"Well "Oh Great Reaper of Turnips", what were you seeking?"

"I've never answered that question myself." Kiara sighs.

>More questions or timeskip?

"You ever have a boyfriend or anything?"

>>18372202
Timeskip, we need to move forwards now.

>>18372202
Make sure she knows that we're aware that she is bluffing when it comes to ending us. You are smart and self-serving enough to know you won't find anything better or with as much reason to help you.

Sure you might threaten and posture but you aren't going to end us for mocking you, giving you silly names and imagining you in outfits you don't like.

Also are there any ways we can ensure you don't do something, any oaths that's binding goes beyond you choosing to follow it?

Can we learn magic or can only natural born witches/wizards do it? Also what is the mechanism behind being able to do magic, is there any way to tell from DNA or what?

Also, she'll fall for us in time, maybe.

>>18372287
This

rolled 13 = 13

>>18372250
well, it's been fun.
Hopefully she picks up a nice EMT after zapping our brain and crashing the car. ZombieEMT&Witch Quest.

>Ancient and modern sources identify four possible occasions for the partial or complete destruction of the Library of Alexandria: Julius Caesar's fire in the Alexandrian War, in 48 BC; the attack of Aurelian in 270 - 275 AD; the decree of Coptic Pope Theophilus in AD 391; and the Muslim conquest in 642 AD or thereafter.

"Ever had a boyfriend? Or maybe a husband?"

"Love is a chemical reaction inside the brains of mortal beings with the singular intent to allow mating. Such things are beneath me. Putting up with you is hastle enough, I dislike dealing with mortals, I shudder to think what a relationship would be. Judging by what I can see in your memories, it seems I've done well to avoid such things."

"Its aggravating that you can just ferret around in there..." You sigh, remember what a bitch your last girlfriend was, and light up another smoke.

"Well how about magic. Can I learn it, oh "Great Deep Fryer"?"

"These names annoy me, mortal..."

"Yeah well you need me enough to put up with them, right?"

"For now... You would do well to not press your luck. No, you've no innate magic, only that which I've provided you."

"Like the punch thing?"

"The strength, yes. Now hush, mortal, I'm going to rest for a while." Kiara yawns, which makes you yawn.

"Stop that." You gripe, to which she doesn't respond.

The rest of the ride is fairly quiet, other then the radio. Its a tiring drive, this cross-country stuff. You try your hand at small talk, but Kiara doesn't respond.

>>18372452
Time to sing. Something loud and embarrassing.

State by state, you make your way north. Thankfully caffeine and nicotine do a decent job of keeping you awake, though its the wee hours of the morning by the time you enter Michigan. Your a bit surprised that Kiara doesn't even pipe up to make witty comments about your (lack of) singing skills as you belt out Ozzy lines.

When you finally enter the limits of Detroit, the city is mostly asleep.

You know enough about it to stay out of the more Somalia-esque areas, not really wanting to get into a running gun battle between gangs. Well, you assume that's what happens in the worse areas of Detroit, at least.

Instead, you make your way to the Detroit Mercy hospital, where you know the old Soviet scientist is.

Well, you still hope he's there. Preferably asleep and not in a bodybag.

"Hey, can you figure out if he's in there?"

No response.

"Uh... Kiara?"

Still nothing. Maybe she's asleep?

While you ponder if she CAN even sleep in her current state, you also think about your next move. Its certainly far past normal visiting hours by this point.

>action?

>>18372527
Find a hotel and rest until morning.

Put a pistol in our belt, go in carefully

>>18372527
We can wait until Kiara wakes up, going inside to figure out where the doctor is kept, then climb a fire escape to keep watch over him. Just in case.

>>18372527
Go in an ask at the desk.
While the orderly will likely tell you that it is far too late to visit your "uncle", they might also be able to tell you that he died suddenly (fell down an elevator shaft onto some bullets) or was discharged and driven away by a lot of scary men, things like that.

And if the orderly seems approachable, and there are no warming signs, bribe them. We Have The Cash to do that kinda thing.

If all else fails, Then find a middling-rate hotel.

Find some place to sleep till morning.

time skip to destination already

>>18372527
Rest till we can roust Kiara. We may need all of the help we can get. Her insights may be helpful in dealing with the old man.

"Damn unreliable immortals..." You sigh and nearly start driving off to find a hotel.

"Shut up, will you?! Something isn't right here..." Kiara finally berates you, and you can hear the strain in her voice.

"So is he still in there or..."

"I said be quiet!"

You sit, white knuckled as you grip the steering wheel.

"Is it the order?" You finally ask after a solid few minutes.

"No, not the order. A magic user, it might be the old man himself."

"...The scientist is a wizard?"

"I believe so."

"Oh well cool..." You sigh and park the car before hauling yourself out of it. Letting out a long groan, you stretch your legs out.

"So is it safe to go in?"

"Safe enough I think, though it appears that you think the hospital is closed to visitors at the moment?"


>Sneak in? Wait until morning and regular visiting hours? Act like a relative?

we're russian and so is he so
[x] act like a relative

>>18372691
Something is fucked here. We need to see the old man right away to clear him off the list.

>>18372691
Play the role of "Desperate young relative who wants to see his beloved Uncle Dimitri and just happens to have a hundred dollar bill sticking out of his hand"

>>18372691
Act like a relative, we can speak Russian and if there is any funny business we want to know about it soon. Stay armed, tell the nightstaff that we're here to see our uncle as we heard he wasn't doing well and we are worried about him.

>>18372691

No sneaking, just walk with a purpose and if questioned tell them that you are visiting family. Tell them that with collage and work this is the only time you get. Works every time.

Act like a relative, and make sure to take a gun just in case.

>>18372691
Act like a relative.

This is a Detroit hospital. They have a lot of more important shit to deal with than hassling some bum visiting his kooky uncle.

Your curiosity gets the better of you. There's no way you can just wait and leave this for morning. Especially considering that the order may be after him, if he really is a magic user.

The automatic doors slide open and you stroll on through, putting on your best "concerned relative" act even in how quick you walk.

The nigh receptionist, a large and middle aged black woman, gives you a very harsh look.

"Can I help you sir?"

"Da. My poor old Uncle Dmitri, he is sick my family say. I wish see him as I hear he is bad shape." You blather off in your best Rungrish.

The lady raises an eyebrow, and both of you stay like that for several agonizingly long seconds.

"Its far past visiting hours, sir. I'm sure you can wait for morning."

"No wait does not work. I must catch plane back to Moscow in morning, does not work. Please I need see him now, I am only family that can visit, rest is very poor in Russia." You do your best to play it up.

The receptionist sighs.

"He's in room 303. If I hear anything back about this I'm telling my supervisor that you snuck in, got it?"

"Da, da! Many thanks!" You smile and hurry past her.

"My my, aren't you quite the performer..." Kiara teases.

"How can you be like that right now?!"

"Because its funny." She laughs.

>>18372827
Call her something funny in Russian, something like Great Mother of Vodka.

>>18372827
>"must return to Moscow to hunt moos' and skwirrel"

"So glad I can amuse you. Now make sure I'm not walking into some kind of trap!"

"Fine! So on edge..." Kiara huffs.

Ignoring her for now, you pass the elevator and take the stairs instead. You can run up them quite fast, despite your shot lungs.

"They aren't shot."

"Huh?"

"I fixed them, a crippled servant isn't of as much use."

"Uh, thanks I guess?"

You stop at the third floor and push through the metal doors. A few nurses and a doctor give you a startled look.

"Uncle very sick, see him before he die." You tell them as you walk quickly by.

Despite some concerned looks from security guards, they prove too lazy to bother with you, leaving you open to find the room. Which you do rather quickly.

Upon entering the dark and quiet room, you take a minute to catch your breath.

"So, come for me at last, have you?" Asks a ragged looking old man, deep crags in his weathered face, beady eyes watching your every move.

...Makarov trained on your chest, even from his position on the bed.

>action?

>>18372886
I'm not here to finish you, I'm just here to ask some questions about a reactor.

>>18372827
Nice to know she's at least got some humour. Maybe is how we make witch inside face, how you say, make with feeling not big distance from human person being, yes?

>>18372886
Raise hands so that they are visible.
"I'm not from the order"

"Kiara, is he a mage? Anything you can do to help?"

>>18372886
Hands up, nice and peaceful.
"Doc, hey, hey, take it easy. It's me, -messengername-. I didn't drive cross country to do anything but ask you questions"

>>18372886
Put our hands up.

I'm not here to fucking kill you. I'm the guy who IM'd with you earlier. I'm trying to find a reactor. I know what you are and honestly couldn't give a shit. Did you mean Chernobyl by Reactor 4 and what, or who exactly was being kept there?

Quickly tell him we aren't part of the order and tell him the username we used to communicate over the IM earlier

>>18372886
I'm not with anybody, i'm the dude you talked some time ago. Let's all be chill.

Try and remember our handle name and remind him of it and explain we're still just here for info.

"Whoa, easy! Its me, GrooveCuda9!" You quickly put up your hands and hope he doesn't drop you.

"Ah! So sorry lad, I had to put away computer, did not want nurse to see!" The old man grins before stashing the handgun back under his pillow.

"Hey thanks for the fucking warning!" You mentally scold Kiara.

"I have other things on my mind right now." She replies.

"Like how this guy is a wizard?"

"No, like how he ISN'T the magic user."

Oh.

"You make good time here, did not expect you to show up." The old Soviet's smile fades, "Why you show up?"

"I wanted to continue our conversation from earlier." You finally put your hands back down.

"Ah, oh yes we talked. Grab me that water and we will talk."

You snag the cup of water off a small metal table and hand it to him. The old man tosses it back before grinning again.

"I lie, it is vodka."

>questions?

>>18372983
So About that Reactor 4

>>18372983
Tell me about reactor 4

You think someone is coming after you? Is it because of the work you did? Who else were involved in the project?

>>18372983
Kiara, pinpoint where the hell the wizard is.

Laugh at his joke, it is very Russian. Confirm that reactor 4 is Chernobyl, ask who he thinks is coming after him. See if he knows any more about what was being kept, if he doesn't know any more name drop "The Order" or "The Bleeding Sword" and see if it gets us anywhere.

Also plan 4 different escape routes from this hospital, including ones that don't involve us having to go out this room's door.

You smile and chuckle along with him as he sets the cup down on the table closer to him.

"So reactor four, its the last thing you mentioned to me. What's so special about it? Are you referring to the one in Chernobyl?"

The old man frowns at your question, before reaching back under the pillow. You tense up until you notice he pulls out a small bottle of what you assume is vodka.

"Da, Prypiat. Reactor four is where I worked. The other reactors were the ones used to power the cities, but not reactor four."

"You mean it didn't produce power?"

"No no, it produce much power. That power did not leave, though. All the power reactor four made was used by our ray device, you see."

"That's a whole lot of power just to do that, isn't it?"

"Da, it is." The old man nods, before gesturing. You help him sit up a bit, putting a few pillows behind his back.

"So is that why people are after you? Because you know that?"

"Is possible, but many scientists disappear in Soviet Union, you know." The old man shrugs as he kicks back another shot.

"Any idea who it is that's chasing you?"

The old man shrugs, which you take as a no.

"Any luck pinpointing that source of magic here?" You ask inside your mind.

"Nothing yet, but stay alert. We may have to leave in a hurry." She replies.

>questions? Action?

See if he has the schematics door what he did with the reactor, get em on a jump drive we magically carry on our keys (we better have a USB on our keys dammit) then find that other witch to add to our party

>>18373091
Do you have any more ideas about what the Ray exactly was or was meant to? Do you know what happened to reactor 4 after the incident? Was platinum used? Do you have any idea where I could get blueprints or something of the like?

>>18373091
Ask him more about the design of the pumps and ray. Ask if platinum was involved in any way.

>>18373091
Ask the questions people have been asking but find a good hiding spot so when someone busts in the door we can pistol whip them on the back of the head.

>>18372983
>GrooveCuda9

goddammit

Who else worked with him?

"So these pumps and pipes, could they have contained something corrosive maybe?"

The old man nods at your question.

"Da da, very possible. Very heavy built, we made sure."

"Were they by any chance... Lined with platinum?"

The old scientist frowns, sitting back in his bed and giving you a very hard stare.

"Now how did you know that?" He asks, and you notice his hand inching back toward his pillow.

"Lets just call it a hunch, but I'm not here to kill you old man. Just a guy looking for something is all."

The old man hesitates for a moment, before folding his hands together in his lap.

"Any idea what the ray you constructed did? How it was used?"

"Well to irradiate something, I think. The ray could have funneled power directly from the reactor, much, much power." The scientist holds his hands up in a sign for large.

"How about after the incident, do you know what happened to any of this stuff?"

The old man frowns, and slowly shakes his head.

"I left Soviet Union before incident, to stay hidden. I did not want to be found."

"And the others from your team?"

"Dead. All dead." The old man says sadly, pouring himself more vodka and making a small toast to them before downing it.

>more questions? or is it time to get going?

>>18373216
We've got our lead. Best not to overstay our welcome here.

Maybe have her scan for anything salient he might be withholding but it is time to boogie out.

>>18373216
Warn him that we noticed someone else in the building who may be looking for him before heading off ourselves, thank him for the information.

>>18373216
Thank him for his time and start going. We should look for the magic user, hopefuly we can get to them before the Burning Sword dudes do.

>>18373216
Tell him to be careful about being tracked online and head off to find the magic user.

"Keep that old piece handy, you never know when someone might really try to find you and kill you." You tell the old man as you reach out and shake his hand.

"Da, but I am old and ready to die." He smiles sadly, pointing to the plethora of tubes and wires connected to him.

"Just make sure its on your terms." You fish out a pack of cigarettes and hand them to him. The old man's face lights up at the sight, and you help him light one before you turn to leave.

"Glean anything other than what he told us?" You ask Kiara.

"Just some sad old memories of a dying man, nothing important. What he remembered about the layout might help, though." Kiara says quietly. You wonder if she had perhaps expected to find more.

"Alright well, how about that magic user? Keeping a tab on it?"

"No, well I mean I was, but its strange... It seems to be cutting in and out, I've never encountered anything like it before."

"Yeah well, all the more reason for us to get the fuck out of here." You say even as you start quickly making your way toward the stairs.

Which are now blocked by two very large looking security guards. You hope its just a coincidence, but your instinct tells you otherwise.

Thankfully they left the elevator unattended, so you hop in and push the ground floor. With any luck you can just stroll out and get back to your car.

Tough for you, luck doesn't seem to be on your side.

A very strange man is blocking the doors when they again open. His mustache is curled at the sides, contrasting harshly against his shaggy goatee. It doesn't match his black suit at all.

"Good job tracking him down." He coos as he pets a small metallic box in his left hand.

"RUN!" Kiara shouts suddenly.

>action?

>>18373340
Hmm. Are they using another witch who was taken apart to track us? Is that's what that box is? Regardless, I imagine we should run. Smack him in the face and try to grab the box in his hand if we can I suppose.

>>18373340
Make a quick snatch for the box, run like the dickens. If the pursuit is too much drop some rounds behind us.

>>18373340
RUN back to the old man.

Best thing to have in a fight is a friend and an armed friend is even better.

Fuckers have at least part of a magic user in a platinum box and are using it like a fucking active sonar on us.

Scream fire as loud as you can

Run in the confusion

>>18373340
Get to the car. Get the AK. Blow the shit out of these motherfuckers, and grab the box.

>>18373366
>>18373363

I would not touch that box if I were us.

It is probably platinum and therefore will fuck us up on contact.

>>18373387
No, scream rape, then pull the fire alarm.

Apparently it dropped my name...

>>18373391
That's why we shoot it.

>>18373368
>>18373387
I like these two ideas.

>>18373368
Oh no shit we ground floor now.

Go full Detroit crazy on him and get past.

DO NOT go for the car. If they ID our ride we have to ditch it and we cannot do that.

>>18373411
Correction, apparently it refuesed to post.

Shoot the box, put the mage out of its misery.
Tackle the guy and get outside.

Fuck, Witches being used as hunting dogs.

Just punch him in the crest with your powers and run.

>>18373431
Protip: You do not want to start shooting in a hospital.

This goes doubly for one in Detroit.

Straight for the face during the first 2 seconds. Dad was ex-kgb. Reactive rush for the head and senses, turn for the box and use full body to grab it away from him as he is crying for his lost eyesight and balance.

>>18373472
Do not touch the box

"Fire!" You shout even as you leap forth from the elevator. Your fist collides with his face, which sends him flying backwards.

Snatching down even as you punch, you attempt to grab the box. As your fingers touch it, however, you hear Kiara scream in pain. Your vision become blurred and the world seems to slow, but that doesn't stop you from running. You have to get out of here!

There is a loud *thwap!* as a crossbow bolt imbeds itself into a wall of pamphlets behind you. You draw your sig and whirl around, noticing the strange man lowering the crossbow and raising a long barreled 1911 instead. Even with an obviously shattered nose, he appears like he is quite unfazed.

Too bad for him, you've got the drop.

You fire first, nailing the box just like you had intended.

The world around you turns to flames.

Its as though fire is spewing from the hole in the box, torching whatever it touches as it jets out in a massive torrent. The man seems to have dropped the box, which is now spinning in circles as it erupts everywhere. You aren't close enough to be burned, but this place is going to light up like a pyre pretty soon if it keeps up.

The strange man fires, the round zipping past your head. Too close. Way too close.

>Run? Fight? Something else?

>>18373493
Get Outside

>>18373493
Rescue the old man.

RUN

>>18373493
RUN

shoot at the guy too I guess but really we need to get up outta this piece.

>>18373493
Runnnnnnnnn

>>18373516
>I am ready to die

>WE MUST SAVE HIM

nah bro

>>18373493
Running sounds fine to me. Maybe we can find a window to jump out of and escape.

>>18373493
Fight, this isn't some defenseless man you've already disabled, this is a man who's actively looking to take your life, has seen you and has been using an imprisoned magic user to chase you.

Fight him, kill him and use his jacket to wrap the box up and take it with you if at all possible.

Run away and check on the witch.

>>18373535
we ground floor now

we can use a door

>>18373493
Fight for a tiny bit, if we can drop him within seconds swell, if not then we run and leave him to deal with the spinning flaming box. Run while shooting behind us to urge them behind cover.

"FIRE!"

Shoot the bastard. Why do they all have to defile the 'stache! Also, can't have a guy coming after us with a gun.

You decide against getting into a straight up gun battle inside a Detroit hospital. If your face isn't already going to be on every channel, if you stand and fight it sure will be.

That doesn't seem to concern the man currently firing at you, however.

More rounds crack past you as you sprint toward the exit. You fire over your shoulder to at least try to keep his head down, which doesn't prove too effective, but at least it seems to throw his aim off.

What helps even more is that the flame starts materializing into a shape. A human shape.

"BURN!!!" It howls as its arms flail, setting alight all that they touch. The voice shrieks once more, shattering all the glass nearby and you think probably bursting your eardrums. The large room suddenly skyrockets in temperature, you feel as though you are standing far too close to a raging fire.

Wait, you are doing just that...

The man hesitates, looking between you and the fire-thing. You can tell he's debating which to clean up first.

"Get out of here! Quickly!" Kiara shouts.

You could listen to her, or you could turn around to re-engage. Or you could do something else entirely.

>wat do?

>>18373615
Listen to her. For once.

We do not want to stick around.

>>18373615
Get out of there. Quickly.

Save the other witch soul! We already have one voice, why not add another!

>>18373615
Its time to run. Let's grab the old man and GO!

>>18373615
Take aim, shoot the man, and run. It should take no more than three seconds.

Get out of here, stalker!

>>18373656
old man is upstairs and on his deathbed

>>18373660
He could do the same to us in less time.

Run

>>18373687
He might be on his deathbed, but no one deserves to die in a fire with no chance of escape.

>>18373615
You heard the lady. Time to run like hell. Pull a fire alarm before we leave.

>>18373546
I suggested windows because I presumed that there would be guards at the exits

>>18373700
He has a gun to escape with

>>18373720
You're a heartless bastard.

For once, you decide to just listen to her.

The strange man gives you one last glance before turning back to face the fire thingy. He must have thought it more important to deal with, which hopefully means they haven't caught on to what exactly rests inside your mind.

"That is a witch soul, I believe." Kiara comments, "But she's dying..." Her voice sounds sad.

You don't reply, too busy scrambling out of the exit, which is easy with all of the glass gone.

As luck would have it, there isn't any other threat waiting in the parking lot, so you sprint for the 'cuda.

The big engine fires up the first time, thankfully, and you throw it into gear and gas her hard.

Even in your rear-view, you can see the fire continuing to grow. You hope it doesn't reach the old man in his bed.

Which quickly becomes no concern, as the flame all at once vanishes.

"She ran out of magic..." Kiara pipes up softly, with perhaps even a bit of empathy present.

You slow down as you hit the streets, doing your best to blend into traffic. Which isn't easy, not too many muscle cars around here at this hour.

"Who. The. Fuck. Was. THAT!?" You bite out the words as you do your best to get to the highway.

"That was a member of the Order, I believe. I don't have any other explanations, and the aura seemed correct."

"Well why the fuck didn't you notice that BEFORE he got the drop on us?!"

"Something about the way that soul was being used, think of it like some kind of jamming. I never expected them to have something like that!" Kiara retorts angrily.

>question/action?

>>18373730
Seriously the dude is old and dying and shit. He told us he is cool with it and we gave him some smokes.

There is no good reason to go back.

>>18373745
Did they use it to find us?

Is there a way you can hide from them in the future?

>>18373745
You are a lot less useful than the oldest most powerful witch was supposed to be. I though having the fucking Morrigan in my head was going to have some benefits other than being the target of a crazy religious order.

Also they can fit a witch soul in that small a container, was it a weak witch, a weakened strong witch or what? Well at least we have a lead, so we have to go to fucking Prypiat, well I was dying to have a vacation there and you wonderfully gave me a chance. Thanks.

>>18373786
Say this.

ask if she can pump our head full of info on magic so we don't accidentally shoot something explosively magical again.

>>18373841
Nah that worked pretty well and we kinda figured what it was anyway.

>>18373745
call pops, tell him we need to get to Ukraine

>>18373745
Lets get out of town right away. Lay low somewhere quiet, like Clevland. See if we can get on a plane there that connects to somewhere in Ukraine. Also call conspiracy theory dude.

We really should try to secure our connection sometime.

"So did he use that soul in a fucking box to find us or what?!"

"I don't know! Probably!" Kiara yells back.

"Well that's going to get old real fucking fast! Can't you use your better-than-everyone magical powers to, oh I don't know, maybe FUCKING HIDE?!?!"

"I don't know!" She screams.

"Well you sure as shit need to find out fast sweetheart! You seem to be pretty god damn worthless when I need you! All your powers have gotten us this far is into deeper and deeper levels of complete shit!"

"How would I know what to expect?! I've been trapped under the ocean for hundreds of years while these guys just kept learning! You know as much about the modern order as I do, so quit acting like I should have all of the answers!" Kiara is yelling so loudly it hurts the insides of your head, and the stress in her voice is completely apparent.

You open your mouth and quickly clamp it shut.

"I'm weak like this, weaker than I've let on maybe. I told you the soul is where the magic is, and what you just witnessed was a weak one. Mine will be much stronger..."

"Are you... Crying?"

"I'm NOT crying! How would I even cry?! I'm just as shocked by what just happened as you are!" She belts back.

"Well we need to quit being shocked and start getting smart. If they can track you that well, we're fucked if we don't find some way to hide it."

"I know, I know..."

>questions?
>where do you go now? Somewhere to lay low? As far away as possible?

>>18373902
Well I would have appreciated a bit more honesty but moving on. We need to keep moving, pay in cash, honestly switching to a less conspicuous car no matter how painful it is would probably help. Stay in motels, pay cash, don't be suspiciously quiet but don't make a scene.

Ask for a cliff notes version on how magic works as it seems sort of useful.

She's having almost as bad a day as us, let's not call her silly names for a bit.

>>18373902
We need to lay low for a while. Any safe houses nearby, or friends we can hide out with before we can get out of the country and to Reactor 4

>>18373902
Chill out on the questions for a while.

Get out of Detroit, find a place to check our email and call the tinfoil wonder. Start making preliminary arrangements for Ukrainian field trip, but let's not be too hasty to jump into the hornets' nest.

I'm tired of this crap, lets go back, run down that order guy with our car and interogate him for his church base location and fuck it up

You just drive and try to think of your next move. Laying low, at least for tonight, seems like a sound plan. By now, that lone guy probably has swarms of backup on the way, if they aren't already there.

Exhausted, mentally and physically, you need a break.

And it seems like Kiara does as well...

"I just need some time to think of how to counter this thing, I'm not sure I have enough magic to do it without my soul..."

"Well work on it as best you can, I don't want to keep getting tracked."

"I'll try."

Flipping through your options in your head, you try to figure out which will work best.

Your dad surely knows someone with a good safehouse, one that you can make the drive to in a few hours. He has people everywhere.

You could also find a low-key motel and just pay in cash with a little on the side for extra privacy, somewhere out of Michigan, probably.

That conspiracy nut might have an idea of some place to hide out as well.

Though you might be able to think of an alternative to any of these...

>your choice

>>18373995
Dad, we can also tell him that we might end up having to go to Chernobyl in the near future. He'll assume that since we need a safe-house and to go to Russia we're starting to take apart the Russian mob here and replace them but telling him the whole truth seems like a bad plan and he probably won't believe any lie we come up with other than that one.

Check your email and call kenji

>>18373995
find a low-key motel out in the middle of fuckall nowhere then touch base with conspiracybro. Best not to compromise daddy now as we'll probably need his help to follow up on chernobyl

>>18373995
Call conspiracy theory dude and ask him to look into info on reactors 4.

I say we head for Cleveland for now and lay low in a motel there, if we aren't too tired to make the drive.

Shady motel no one will do anything if the door gets knocked in. Go to Chicago, high end hotel means the Howell won't let someone harass toy, from terre we can book or flights

gdi typing on a phone with a fucked up auto correct sucks

Figuring its best not to get your father involved in this, you hop on the highway and head for Chicago. Its close enough that it won't take too long to get there.

Which is good, because you are coming down HARD off of the combat high.

"Chicago? Doesn't that seem too busy?"

"I'm hoping we can hide in plain sight, or at least in the crowd. Though I guess it didn't work earlier."

"I am trying to get my magic presence under some kind of shield, its not as though I like being found."

"Well hopefully whatever it is you are trying works, otherwise..."

"Yes I know!" Kiara snaps, cutting you off.

You sigh and fiddle with the music, flipping again and again, unable to find a song you want to listen to. You're blowing through cigarettes like candy but even they aren't helping.

"Fuck," You yawn, "I'm tired as shit."

"Well don't fall asleep, I have no desire to crash."

The sun is already risen by the time you finally make it into Chicago. You notice you have some very prevalent bags under your eyes, you haven't gotten a real night's sleep since all of this shit started.

"We both need rest." Kiara agrees.

>High rise upscale hotel? Cheap lowkey motel? Sleep in car again?

>>18374091
yeah I ducking hate that

>>18374146
High rise upscale.

Hide in plain sight, they will not be expecting it.

>>18374155
Yoshika? What are you doing running a quest on 4chan?

Also, I'd say something Mid-range. High enough that the front desk will give a damn about their guests, but not high enough that we'll stand out. I'd suggest stopping by a auto-parts store to buy a car-cover for the Cuda, though.

Like my dad always said if you want to do something, do it right. We wanna sleep, we're gonna do it upscale. We deserve some kind of luxury after the shit we been through.

>>18374163
Why not. Let's splurge a little.

>>18374146
The most average motel possible, fucking Holiday Inn, it's not seedy, it's not expensive, your face isn't remembered for more than 5 minutes.

>>18374146
Nothing extravagant but not some seedy shithole.

Place with good beds and minimum human interaction.

>>18374146
Upscale works for me.

Maybe we should buy a laptop to look for information on the Internet for ourselves.

>>18374179

>Yoshika

Buddy, if she was running this, there'd be tits in every post.

Not that I wouldn't mind.

Okay, got little sidetracked with groove playing nonstop on the background.

Here's what I got so far from Tekas pic...

You pass through the outskirts of the city, eying up places. There are a lot of little motels around, none of which look like they would make for a comfortable night.

So when you see the big Hilton sign, you head toward it like a moth toward a light bulb.

Pretty upscale, for sure comfy beds, and hey, free wi-fi!

Oh fuck, you don't have a laptop...

Still, you walk in and try to look inconspicuous.

Which doesn't work too well, what in your Hawaiian shirt and tan all the way up here...

Thankfully the receptionist doesn't say anything about it, and after a bit of haggling (you plopping down a solid grand out of sight from anyone else), she agrees to allowing you to stay without a credit card, and without showing your ID.

Another four hundred nets you use of one of the employee laptop and a guarantee that you were never here. They don't even register the room as booked.

You take the elevator up, open the door with the key, and bolt it shut with everything it has. Taking the AK out of the duffel, you lay it down on the bed. You aren't about to take any chances, even with all of your precautions.

"Holy fuck am I tired..." You groan.

"You also stink, take a bath." Kiara scoffs.

That can wait, right now you need to...

>Call the conspiracy nut? Something else?

>>18374230
Its so colorful!

Its so groovy!

This is beyond excellent!

Can I make it the OP pic tomorrow?

>>18374248
Check our email, and how the hell can you smell me, you're in my head, do you even have functioning senses or do you just piggyback off mine for the most part. Except for the magic sensing.

>>18374248
No calls, those can wait until we're on the road.
No point in taking risks, turn off phone, remove battery and sim card until we need it.

>>18374248
Check our email. See if we can reach the nut online rather than by phone. There probably is something to his tracking paranoia at this point.

Then yeah, stop smelling so bad.

>>18374256
Be my guest. I'll probably continue working with it a bit.

Or not, depends on whether groove can give me more inspiration.

>>18374248
she just wants to see us naked

do not think that outloud

If she stays in our head while we bath we are totally taking a SENSUAL AS FUCK shower.

>>18374248
Call conspiracynut. See what he knows about reactor 4 and if he has found anything new.

>>18374305


This.

Smooth the living hell out of our bunched up nerves.

You bust out the laptop and get busy booting it up. You really want to see if the girl emailed you back.

"Also how the fuck can you smell me?"

"The same way I can see things, I use your senses."

"Oh. Well... Wait! You just want to s-stare at my naked body, don't you, you perv?!"

"If I didn't think it would set off any tracking, I would give you a good brain sizzle!"

Ah well, worth it.

The ancient HP finally boots and you breeze through the shit to get to your email. Sure enough, one new one.

>So your the one he told me about huh? ;-P Yeah some guys took me away in the night, cuffed me in really shiny stuff and locked me into the trunk. Dad's a locksmith so they didn't expect me to bust out of there with just a few wires and whatnot. I bet they hate to loose! What do you need to know? Also here's my phone number if that will be easier. XXX-XXX-XXXX. They seemed to think I was dangerous, didn't mess around, had guns out and everything. What else do you want to know? - Sexypandagurll843xoxo

You re-read the email and sigh, its pretty obvious you aren't dealing with someone your own age here.

Busting out your phone, you give the nutcase a try.

Unlike past calls, it rings until it goes to voicemail. You hang up at the notification that his in-box is full. Figures. He did mention something about switching locations, you hope he didn't wind up in some trouble.

>write this girl back? Call her? Row row fight tha showah?

>>18374381
Row Row fight the showah, we can call her right after, get her location and make sure she is lying low and taking proper security procedures. Once we have her location she is our next destination.

>>18374381
Write her back, find out where she is, give her a vague warning, and tell her to lay low.

Then showah

I do not trust the phones.

We need to figure out a plan of action for the next time we run into one of these hunters. How we're going to attack, what to do if we encounter a witch, ect.

They said magic users don't use guns because they don't have to.. just how strong ARE we? Are we fast too?

(Patrick Star:
Why don't we take the new witch,
And but her in the car?)

Sleep first, don't do anything that could potentially leaf them to us in our sleep, especially after dropping 1500 here we need beauty rest. Take a "long" shower admiring itself just for Kiara, then sleep. Email in morning, calls on the road

>>18374381
Row row take a showa.

>>18374406
This man is wise. No more phone use until we are on the road. Remove battery and SIM for extra caution

>>18374381
Write back. Did you notice any telling characteristics? Symbols, certain clothes, gun type?

>Hit the shower
>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_XP0EXsT_4&feature=related

>>18374381
Shower.
Then sleep. Make sure a dozen alarms are set, get up before check-out time and just leave. Out the back dooor, leave the laptop (leave it functional?) in the room, toss the room key in the trash at the first gas station you stop at. We are already a mystery, no need to leave information like "time checked out".

Hit up a library or the like early on, send out the email reply.

>>18374446
Seconding.

The way I figure, if these guys have good connections, it is not impossible that they can access a database of all the phones connected to a given tower at a given time.

If they see that our phone was both in Detroit during the hospital incident and around the area one of their agents vanished yesterday hundreds of miles away, they gonna get suspicious.

Time for new phone. I'd say pick up a cheap prepaid at every gas station we pass til we have a dozen of them. One call each. Or start using payphones.

Hope conspiracypal actually has some kind of legitimate thing going to protect himself too.

>inb4 nightmares of killing the guy

>>18374446
Thirding.

You rip the phone and sim card out of the battery, your paranoia kicking to 11, you put them well apart from each other. The room has three alarms, one on the clock, one on the coffeepot, and one on the microwave. You set them all for 10pm. Going to be one hell of a wake up, but you like being a night owl.

"So how strong am I, with this magic that you gave me? Do I get super speed or anything?" You ask.

"Hah, no. With what little power I can even wield like this, I gave you all that I could. Just those bursts of strength, for now. Once I have my soul back... We can see about turning you into a wrecking ball."

"I LIKE the way you say wrecking ball, say it again."

"No."

"Bah!"

Checking around the room, you notice it is wired up pretty well with a nice sound system. Which proves too tantalizing for your "mortal" self.

Fever 105? Seems downright funky.

~Hey, baby Would you meet me on the roof tonight I got a surprise for you~

It IS downright funky!

"Oh yeah, this is what I've been needing." You sigh pleasurably.

>troll Kiara
>DON'T troll Kiara

>>18374495
>inb4 kaira is far more capable of manipulating/influencing our dreams than she has let on

>>18374512
>You rip the phone and sim card out of the battery

HAHA oh wow

You rip the battery and sim card out of the phone

>>18374512
This is even a question
Troll Kiara

>>18374438
This and then a shower.

>>18374512
Mild trolling, not severe HUE HUE HUE trolling but some low key stuff.

>>18374512
Don't troll. Just get clean

>>18374512
>troll softly

>>18374512

>DON'T troll Kiara

The hospital was hard on both of us. Let her have some space. It's not the time. Just take a shower and sleep.

>>18374512
DON'T troll Kiara, shes expecting us to do so, if we do not we can confuse her and catch her out later
>>18374523
The government is cunning ,they hide phones inside batteries so they can keep tabs on you.

[x] HUEHUEHUEHUEHUE Kiara

>>18374512
hue the fuck outta her! no other option is acceptable!

>>18374512
>troll
the hue. it calls to me

>>18374552
>>18374554
>>18374556

Noe

>>18374546
Goddamn reptiles man!

>>18374512
Don't troll kiara

We're funkier than that.

>>18374568
It's why they claim you should never dispose of batteries in a fire!
When you throw them away, they collect them and remove the phones/bugs from within!

>>18374512

Troll hard in the paint!

If we wanted to, can we let Kiki take over as pilot for a little while? Just so she can feel a bit normal again.

>>18374512
BOTH WRONG.

Disregard the witch inside your mind.
Sing and dance in shower.

>>18374588
I like this option

>>18374588
>Disregard Witch
>AdviceZombie.jpg
>Acquire Funk

>DON'T troll Kiara

>>18374588
Fuck the other options
do this

>>18374588
Oh fuck yes. We need to relax for once.

>>18374588


You motherfucker, you made me go watch this again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLNDZxoNTVI

Oddly appropriate considering we are chainsmoking like a motherfucker.

>>18374619


My sides when thinking about her reaction to this entire thing.

>>18374588
Voting this. If we act as if she is not their, perhaps she will relax a bit as well.
The stick up her metaphysical ass has to loosen at some point.

A wicked idea comes to mind. An evil grin spreads across your lips.

"Don't you even dare..." Kiara whispers darkly.

Too late!

"Oh yeah baby, I know you like what you're seeing..." You tease as you start stripping off in front of the large mirror on the wall. Bobbing and weaving to the music, you do your best male stripper impersonation, throwing in a few old moves from your favorite comedian from his SNL career.

"What are you...?! Make it stop!"

You have no intention of stopping. Sending the shirt flying after spinning it around on your finger, you try to hold in the laughter but it just won't stop.

You can't slow down now, this is funky country. You slingshot your boxers across the room like you would into a crowd of middle aged women.

Then you collapse on the ground, holding your sides as you laugh harder then you have in a long damn while. Maybe you're losing your shit, you don't know, all you know is you can't stop laughing.

And it isn't just you laughing.

"Hah, I knew you had a sense of humor."

"I guess an idiot can make me laugh after all." Kiara says through muffled giggles.

"Well if you liked that..." You climb into the shower and start singing along, waiting for a high note....

You hit the shower, the cold water blasting you harshly, but you still fail to hit the high note.

"C'mon, sing along! You know you want to!"

"I am NOT singing along!" Kiara says, before laughing again.

>>18374595

WE'VE GOT THA FUNK! *clap*

WE'VE GOT THA FUNK! *clap*

>>18374619
oh god, what did I just watch

>>18374647
Everything turned out better than expected.

>>18374667


Something magical.

And hilarious.

>>18374647
well, my night is made

>>18374647
I am divided between http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_rmblX-xF0&feature=related "Ladies Night"

And

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NChc__dH3jA&feature=related "Fresh"
Both by Kool and the Gang, for music to listen to while reading this particular part of the quest...

>>18374619
I have no idea what I just watched.
Other than that I now have an urge to listen to fortuna

>>18374647
glorious.

>>18374700
Gonna have to go with Fresh but really either one is solid gold.

>>18374647
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnBexLcMkq4
We gotta have that funk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8i46N2ZFPb0

I know i ALWAYS pick this song.
but i love it so much

FRESH AND CLEAN- OUTKAST

HARMONIZE WITH ME WOMAN

>>18374647
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLA3cdUt5to

"Well tough for you, because I'm not stepping out of here until you at least sing a line or two."

"Its not going to happen, you can wither away in the water before I'll sing."

Whatever, you aren't going to let her drag down your mood.

The shower even has a control pad for the radio, and you mess with it until you find another good station.

"Oh yes it's ladies night And the feeling's right Oh yes it's ladies night Oh what a night...!"

"Not happening..."

You sing the rest of the song, Kiara adamently refusing to join in.

~You know this boogie is for real~

"OH come on you HAVE to do this for me!"

"NO!"

"I will no joke call up the pope himself and hand myself over unless you sing."

You keep at it until...

"Got canned heat in my heals tonight baby...." Kiara finally relents, and despite all the front, you can tell she's not entirely opposed to a little fun. Or so it seems. She even has a rather sweet voice.

"HAH!"

"Oh shut up, and finish up, I'm tired."

>>18374769
Welp, goal achieved.

I don't think there is anything else, so sleep.

>>18374769
We can drop dead now

>>18374769
Time for some serious sleep

Its a funny thing about towels.

Shitty towels feel awful, like trying to dry yourself off with some noodilized concrete slab.

Now nice towels, on the other hand, can make a man feel RIGHT.

"Towels? You are this excited over towels?"

"These towels? Yeah. I've been using a beach towel for the last two years. The SAME beach towel, laundry is expensive."

"That is... Disgusting."

"Tell me about it." You can't even be dragged down by her chiding as you dry out your hair.

Flopping down on the bed, you are too tired to even crawl under the sheets. Its been a long damn set of days.

"You aren't going to haunt my dreams, are you?" You ask, falling asleep before you even get a response.

Marble ground, marble rows of seats in a circle.

Old men in white togas milling around.

This is NOT your old man's place.

>>18374824
Called it, she can mess with our dreams.

>>18374824
WE ROMAN NOW.
BETTER JOIN THE GLORIOUS LEGION

>>18374824
>and across the circle 3 men were in eager conversation. The two outlandish fellows repeating a simple matra of deep importance.
>Three words carry to your ears..
>Dust..
>Wind..
>Dude..

>>18374835
Uh oh Todo. I don't think we're in Illinois anymore.

Observe our surroundings. Try yo look inconspicuous.

>>18374835
Call me psychic, but i don't think this is intetional.

>>18374824
FUCK. It's the Senate!

Okay, okay, keep cool, we've got this...just don't mention Marius and they won't kill us.

>>18374887
Wait for them to gather around Caesar and then countergank Brutus and stab both of them.

>>18374881
The thought did cross my mind as well.
We'll find out if we find her I suppose.
Failing that, we can probably find something fun to do.

Its got to be ancient Rome, you aren't a history buff but it seems likely. Or Greece, you aren't sure if there even is a difference just from what you can see.

The men around you are speaking in hushed whispers, and they must not be able to see you, dressed in a towel, because they don't say anything.

You doubt your yellow Hilton special blends in, so that must mean its a dream. Weird dream for you, though.

Doors open, a man walks in. Not tall, not overly athletic, but you can tell just by the way he carries himself that he's important.

You try to pick up on conversation, but you don't speak their language and you can't understand a damn word.

Doors close.

More talking, some of the men approach the man who had entered just now. They seem to be discussing something, until the man who entered is grabbed suddenly.

"Ista quidem vis est!" He shouts.

A knife misses by a mere inch.

"Adelphe, boethei!" One of the men in togas shouts.

Pandemonium. Daggers flash, lashing out. Blood comes in spurts as the man tries to fend them off to no avail. The crowd is surrounding him now, thrusting again and again despite his cries.

Then you see her, as though an angel in white with golden jewelry adorning her pale figure.

>>18374901
called that shit

>>18374911
This is looking a lot more like history class.

I would almost suggest laying back down and feigning sleep, if not for Kiara. Better to watch her then the man being slaughtered at least.

>>18374911
Watch, consider if Kiara had them off Caesar because she didn't like him. Where is she, walking in, floating in through a window, do her feet touch the ground?

"Kiara?" You ask in a hushed tone.

She makes no effort to respond, or even acknowledge you are there.

Instead, she walks slowly and deliberately toward the crowd, toward the senators. Their eyes glowing a faint red, they step back to allow her through.

Caesar, you know its Caesar now, coughs blood as he watches her approach.

And its a dazzling approach. She looks haughty, superior, as though this was all her plan. Maybe it was all her plan...

You don't speak Latin, hell you don't even know if you know any Latin words. Now, though, you can pick up on exactly what they are saying.

"Y-you?" Caesar gasps, blood oozing from his mouth. Frothy, pink lung blood.

"Me." Kiara smirks, before picking him up by his hair and dropping his head back onto the cold marble beneath.

You notice now that her purple eyes, subdued when you first saw them, are visibly glowing now, and brightly so.

She looks...

"Evil?" Comes a quiet voice from behind you. Turning around, you see Kiara sitting on one of the marble rows, watching. Perhaps not sadly, but certainly without jubilation, as though crestfallen. She has her knees tucked up to her chest, her arms around them. You aren't sure how your subconscious put her into jeans, but that isn't too important.

>Response? Action?

>>18374978
>>18374995

Agreed. I have a feeling we all know how it ends for mr big.

>>18375005
"Maybe a little, though from what you've told me I can hardly blame you"
Go and sit next to her.

>>18375005
Shrug. "Caesar was a dick. A magnificent one no doubt, but a dick none the less."

Sit down next to her. "I'm going to assume that you didn't want me to visit one of your own memories when I went to sleep?"

>>18375005

ask her about the scene. ask why she looks crestfallen.

also how attractive is she from 1 to "she will hilariously catch me daydreaming bout her"

"Yes, but I'm willing to hear why it was justified"

Another one, a bit different with sunglasses.

Still rather cluttered and sketchy,but I won't be continuing this one anymore today. Decided to drop it here if you're interested.

>>18375005
>Response? Action?

Honesty.
We were probably thinking at least a Little evil.
Soften it up somewhat without making it a lie.. She looked Scary.

self-conscious towel adjustment, then go sit with her.

>>18375036
the latter

>>18375005
Sit by the second Kiara in jeans, I'm guessing that's the current her and she's replaying stuff for our education and maybe other reasons.

I have to admit you don't exactly look like the joy fairy. You've treated me more or less alright all things considered. I would probably enjoy being with you quite a lot more if not for current circumstance of people trying to kill me. Did he deserve it?

>>18375005
Well you certainly don't seem to be overly distraught by this turn of events. Not that I can really blame you though, with all he put you through.

>>18375041
Interested? Man I'm downright thrilled and impressed.

I really dig the sunglasses, too.

And the colors, oh the colors, duke, the colors...

Cluttered and sketchy? Nah, that's straight FUNKY style and I dig the hell out of it.

>>18375041
Straight up FUNK!
I like it!

>>18375039
ayup

>>18375005

Kiara's Rome destruction project, huh?

Looks like she isn't too proud of it now. Just let her stew for a bit, then ask her how it started.

"Evil? Maybe a bit, I was going to go with scary." You say quietly as you walk over to her and sit down beside her.

"I can't really blame you for it, he deserved it, didn't he?" You double check the towel, making sure your bits are still covered.

"I like to think he did." Kiara says softly, watching the scene.

The dream-Kiara has busied herself picking up the head of the dying Caesar, which she has encased in some kind of faint green fire, and slamming it into the marble beneath. The man is screaming now, screaming and begging, pleading for her to show him some small mercy and just end it.

"Wow. Yikes."

"I was... Emotional." She says, pushing her face into her knees, her eyes fixated in front of her.

"This wasn't something I was supposed to see, was it?"

"No. Somehow you wound up inside my dream. A byproduct of our intertwining, I suppose."

Dream-Kiara is laughing now, which fills the room, as she holds Caesar by his face above the ground. The flame has intensified, and his screams... They make you shudder.

"So why do you look so down, this is what you wanted, wasn't it?"

"What I wanted? No, what I was drawn into doing through the events leading up to it. I'd have rather stayed in the north had I known... What lead to all of this..." She sighs and closes her eyes as Caesar's teeth are knocked out by her dream-self's glowing orange fist.

>say/do?

>>18375199
"im sure theres an story why he deserved this?"

>>18375199
Give her a quick reassuring hug.

>>18375199
What led to this?

give her a pat on the back and keep watching

>>18375199
Hug her, we both have unpleasant pasts that involve nasty circumstance and actions we're not particularly proud of. If you want to talk about it feel free, if not I won't pry.

Neither of us are particularly happy about our current situation but I swear I will stay with you until the end, I may give you silly names and force you to sing, but I will not stop searching until you are whole.

Hug and watch. She'll say more if she wants to.

>>18375272
seconding this

>>18375272
Yup, gets my vote.

>>18375199
"yeah, things have a way of leading you to places you would never expect."

pause for emphasis.

"Hey, don't you have any better places to dream about? I mean, all this marble? total bore."
Annoy her out of the epic-level funk that seems to be going on here.

Romans, huh? Let's make this interesting.

>>18375082
>>18375041

>>18375374
I would buy an old car just to play that tape

He seduced her didn't he?

[x] Hug

Unsure of what to do to try to comfort an immortal witch re-watching her murder of a prominent historical figure...

You reach around her back and give her a reassuring squeeze of her shoulder.

Kiara flinches, but doesn't react beyond that.

Her dream-self, appearing to have grown bored of continuing to beat the corpse (you assume he's dead, the screams have subsided), tosses it aside with a furious scream of frustration.

She stands there, looking almost as though she's basking in the scene. Even covered in blood and looking downright terrifying, there is still a pronounced beauty to her. Her hair seems to float, as though caught in a wind, despite there not being one. Once again, her laughter fills this place, echoing off the stone walls.

"I would have rather you not seen all of this." She says quietly.

"Why?"

Kiara sighs and stands up, before turning her back and starting up the stone steps.

"Lets walk somewhere else." Her voice sounds a bit off, but you can't place it.

Following her, you step outside into the fresh air beyond...

...And into a very arid environment, covered in sand and brown, no green as far as you can see.

A black haired little girl sits on a dune, and you follow her blank stare until you spot the burning small town of mud and thatch.

"Keep walking!" Kiara almost commands without looking back or pausing, picking up her pace more and more until you are running after her.

or even

>>18375374
I don't have a picture worthy enough to show how much dosh I am flinging at my screen.

>>18375400
Time for a trip down memory lane.

>>18375400
So she doesn't want us to see her as a little kid, I can understand that. We didn't really want to share our childhood overly much.

>>18375400
>burning small town of mud and thatch
Her home town perhaps?
Maybe she caused it? Accidentally or otherwise

Well, she DID destroy an empire.

That doesn't mean that she killed the leader and left it to die. It means she destroyed it's infrastructure, ruined its governing body, wrecked it every way.

She is not a nice person. She said so herself.

>>18375424
I find this one works well.

>>18375432
She was well over a thousand years old at this point, hardly a little kid.

>>18375470
No the second one what with the mudhuts and all

>>18375400
I think something is fair. We saw her at her worst, a thing she definitely didn't want us to see. If she feels this bad about it, we should take her to our worst memory. Putting down the traitor.

It probably doesn't compare to what she has done in her past, but it's an equal exchange.

>>18375470
Her as a little girl with the village burning, I'm not talking about Rome, I'm pretty sure the one she told us to keep walking is her at a young age.

>>18375400
.....
.....
I wonder what would happen if we went to the lil memorygirl Kiara and tried careful application of one-arm-hug-while-sitting-nearby.

>>18375400
Lets keep following her. No sense in sticking our noses into parts of her past that she doesn't want to see.

>>18375444
Yep, but perhaps chilling out on the ocean floor for a few centuries has mellowed her out?

>>18375486
Good things. Bad things. Maybe one, maybe the other. Maybe both.

Who can say unless we do it?

>>18375510
That is an ironclad recommendation if i have ever heard one.

She sprints harder and harder, you struggle to keep up. The world seems to be streaming by in a blurred wave.

"Wait up!" You call after her, before almost barreling her over as she stops.

The area is a heavily wooded place, tall pines, brown leaves and needles underfoot. Back to you, Kiara is breathing heavily.

Which is quickly drowned out by the thundering of hooves as a horde of rag-tag fighters fly past you. With a guttural scream of battle, they almost reach the Roman lines. Their battle axes raised, they look ready to unleash a terrible assault.

Until a wave of fire erupts in front of them. Their horses falter, many bucking off their riders. The flame is coming fast, too fast for them to escape. Men and animal alike scream as they burn, the fire leaving none untouched. Many try to flee, or to extinguish the flame, neither to any avail.

You can see dream-Kiara, clad in maroon robes, sitting atop a large and imposing chariot, her eyes flickering as she controls the flame.

Caesar, perched atop a horse, watches with a satisfied smile.

Jean-clad Kiara is on her knees now, clutching her head.

"Wake up." She pleads.

"Please wake up."

>mud village, burning
>Kiara killed her family and everyone she knew when she was a baby

Of course she's going to be horrified at it.

>>18375536
Take her to the traitor. Take her there now.

>>18375536
Try and wake up, if that doesn't work, hug her and just hold her.

>>18375536

>>18375536
Give waking up a shot, if that doesn't work bury her head into our chest and hug her. Hold her as tight as we can, so she can't see things and can only hear the beating of our heart.

>>18375536
>please wake up

Victims of serious abuse will often enter a catatonic state where it is theorized that they live an illusory life in their minds.

Anyways: Click our heels three times and say "there's no place like being awake!" Also, try to wake up. Focus really hard on twitching a finger or eye. I find that works really well. When I realize I'm dreaming.

>>18375536
>a proper waking up would have the Roman army, eager in victory, slamming their shields against the ground.

>Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang.

>And somewhere right in the middle it turns out to be the horrible croaking warble of the alarm function of the bedside clock, and we wake up.

>>18375536
Yeah, bastard more than deserved it, may his soul be eaten in the place of brutus

>>18375578
or, you know, she's begging last to wake up

>>18375578

*BEEP BEEP BEEP!*

You nearly leap off the bed at the sound of the alarms going off, and on instinct you grab the AK and roll off of the bed, shouldering the rifle.

It takes several long seconds of you sweeping the room before you realize it was just the alarms.

10pm, just how you set them.

"Holy fuck..." You exclaim, setting the rifle back down and trying to slow your heart rate before the damn thing bursts out of your chest and heads off to run a marathon.

Clamoring back up, you violently shut off all the alarms before plopping down in one of the plush chairs. The coffeemaker chimes to let you know its done, you make no moves to grab a mug.

You don't need it, you aren't awake, you are AWAKE.

Kiara is noticeably quiet, unlike just a few seconds ago.

>Do you say anything?

>>18375634
Say nothing, continue with the plan to dissapear from the hotel.

Wait until she wants to talk.

Going inside someones head strikes me as more personal than having relations with someone, if we're here by accident, unwanted and can't really leave she probably feels a little violated.

I say we give her space. Last doesn't strike me as the touchy-feely type anyway considering his past.

Offer her a smoke, she'll talk when she's ready.

>>18375634
"Are you alright?"

If no response, don't press it. Let's get our shit together and get the fuck out of there.

>>18375670
This 'un

>>18375634
Sooo... want to talk about it? Or anything else?

>>18375634
I wish I could give you a hug right now, you look like you need one. Try to imagine giving her a comforting hug and a cigarette.

Get our stuff together, stretch and move out. Put our phone back together, as risky as it is we need a line of communication to the girl to find her location and make sure she's reasonably under the radar.

Not a word. We don't need to say anything.

>>18375634

Lets just pretend that didn't happen. Okay

>>18375634
a minute or two of slouching in the chair and mumbling all the russian epithets you remember while grinding at our eyes with our hands.

"That was wonderfully.. err.. restful. I don't think i need to sleep another wink.. mmphmmh.. for a good long while"

Hit the bathroom, wash our face, then go for the coffee. Lots of coffee. And lots of smoking. Then operation "fuckin' outta here man"

>>18375634
Drink the coffee anyway.

Tell Kiara that if she ever feels like talking, she knows where to find us.

>>18375698
Gotta laptop for that

>>18375634
Check if she is alright and proceed to leave the hotel covertly.

Go buy a cheap laptop (we were only borrowing that one, right) and a car charger and then call conspiracy theory dude. We should also buy another disposable phone as a backup.

+1 for "are you all right?"

Don't try to make light of it, no jokes, no nothing. Just ask if she's OK and then get to business.

This isn't something we should dig up. Maybe if we were her best friend ever or something, but right now we're a puppet. This isn't for us.

"You alright?"

"Yes."

You decide against saying anything more, for right now. There may be a time and place to talk about... What... That you just saw, but now isn't it.

Somehow you get the feeling she's glad you aren't berating her with questions or trying to cheer her up, she probably doesn't need that right now.

Instead, after a long couple minutes of rubbing at your eyes, you force yourself up and hit the coffee. Caffeine, but something seems off...

You shove a cigarette in your mouth, not giving a fuck that this isn't a non-smoking room.

Necessary chemicals back in your bloodstream, you set about getting ready to leave quietly. Packing the AK back up, piecing your phone back together, getting dressed and making a note to pick up a new set of digs.

You check the laptop, see no new emails, and wipe it of any trace you may have left behind.

Washing your face off, you notice it doesn't appear that last night was too restful. Bags still under your eyes, zombie-like expression, yeah you aren't looking too fly.

Gathering up everything, you head out of the room and downstairs. The lobby is quiet, and no one bids you any mind as you make your leave.

Heading back out to your car, you ponder what to do next.

>action?

>>18375847
Get another prepaid burner phone, hell grab a few and say it's for a group of kids so they can always call the police and each other and so on.

Once we have the burner phone call up the girl we emailed with, she is our latest target for figuring out what is going on and I'd like to save her from the order if at all possible.

>>18375847
Gas station, new phone. Call tinpal

I want to point something out; that girl contact.

Listen, she can't be legit. If she really was showing signs of magic, and lockpicked her way out of that situation, they would have caught her by now. Think about it; us with the soul of the most powerful witch are having trouble keeping the Order away, why would she have an easier time?

Or, maybe, she wasn't even kidnapped because she was a witch; hers was just a random incident not really related to what were going through.

Or third, and this is the most important, she may be a trap to bait other, young up and coming witches and warlocks. The Bleeding Swords would not be ignorant of technology in this day and age, and it would make all too perfect sense to make the same online post; sound like they are a sympathetic teen in the same situation, and lure them into a meetup and off them.