Chronicles of The Omniverse Archived Windcrest

Tiko

Tiko

Draconic Administrator/Mentor
Administrator
Mentor
Nexus GM
as written by Tiko and Script

Shelby rapped loudly against the oaken door of the Windcrest jailhouse. It wasn't a particularly large building, and mostly served as a place to toss local drunkards to sleep it off, but it was perhaps the last place Oriel expected to be taken this morning.

Oriel had already been filled in on his assignment, and of his and Arrow's side-trip in taking a young boy to locate his father in Lutetia, but no one had made mention that the nine-year old child would be locked up in a jailhouse of all places.

After a minute the door opened, and a gruff looking man stepped aside to let them in.

"Been expecting you guys. He's down the hall there," he said as he pointed them in the right direction.

The boy in question was sitting on the floor of one of the jail cells with his arms folded over his chest sulking. The other cells all sat empty except for one with an overweight mountain of a man snoring loudly, and in comparison the dirty boy dressed in worn out rags and leathers looked remarkably out of place.

____

"Wait," Oriel said as Shelby rapped on the door. "He's in jail?" he asked, blinking in surprise. The blonde-haired gunslinger had been expecting to be on his way to the orphanage, not the jailhouse. "What trouble has he gotten into that's landed him in here at his age?"

After the gruff looking man let them in, he cast a glance down the corridor at his soon-to-be charge. He looked much as Oriel had expected - albeit perhaps a little more dirty and ragged. The orphans in Windcrest were by no means kept in luxury, but most of them at least had one set of intact clothing.

"I... think maybe a trip to a clothes store and a shower are in order before we set off." he remarked to Shelby with an amused raised eyebrow, before adding in a quieter voice "What do you know about him?"

____

"He was picked up by the militia, stealing again. The orphanage matron says he's been terrorizing the other children, and there was nowhere else to put him up for the night," the man at their backs explained.

"Can you let him out?" Shelby asked?

"Yeah sure. He's hasn't tried to hurt anyone, just needed somewhere to cool his heals for the night," the man replied as he moved past them to unlock the cell door.

"Eirik, do you remember me?" she asked.

The boy was still sulking but he looked at her a moment. "Yeah."

"This is Oriel. He and his friend are going to be taking you on a trip."

"Where?" he asked.

"To Lutetia."

"Where's that?"

Shelby shook her head. "That doesn't matter right now. I need you to take Oriel back to the orphanage to get your things, alright?"

"I don't want to go."

____

Oriel smiled to Eirik, crouching down to his height. "Hey there!" he exclaimed cheerfully, "It's nice to meet you, Eirik. We're going to be going to find your dad! It's gonna be fun, like an adventure!"

Inwardly, he was grimacing. Terrorizing the other children? 'I don't want to go'? He had a feeling this wasn't going to be as simple a task as he'd expected.

"Gotta be better than this smelly old jail cell, right?" he added, before glancing at the jailor, "Er, no offense."

____

"I don't have a dad, and I don't want to go," Eirik replied bluntly.

The boy didn't seem remotely impressed with Oriel's efforts to make it sound exciting. He had plenty of excitement and adventure right here in Windcrest.

Shelby gave Oriel a comforting pat on his shoulder.

"I'll leave you two to get acquainted. I need to get back."

____

"Well, that's the thing. We think you do - that's why we're taking you to Lutetia. That's where we think he is." Oriel said, maintaining his smile despite the urge to scowl at the kid's rebuttal. "I -"

He glanced up when Shelby patted him on the sholder, giving her a slightly sour look. "Right, uh. Thanks." he said, running a hand through his hair.

Oh boy.

"C'mon, Eirik." he said, turning back. "Aren't you even a little curious about finding your dad?"

____

"Fine," Eirik relented as he stood up and followed after Oriel.

"Heh, good luck with that one," the warden said as he showed the pair out. "Oh wait, I almost forgot..."

He headed back inside for a minute before returning with a sheathed hunting knife that looked about as big as Eirik's forearm. "He had this on him."

____

Oriel looked at the knife, and then back at Eirik. Then back at the knife. Ohhh boy.

"I think ... we can just leave that here." he said, more than slightly taken aback. "Uh, let's not with the knives from now on, 'kay Eirik? You're not going to need them while you've got me and Arrow around."

Shaking his head, he made to lead the boy out into the street.

____

Eirik said nothing in response, and seemed suspiciously cooperative all of a sudden. Though it would seem likely that Oriel would need the aforementioned luck, because they scarcely made it halfway down the street before the unusual sound of aircrafts overhead provided the kid with a momentary distraction. He swiftly, and likely unexpectedly, knocked a stack of crates down in front of Oriel and took off at a run. Eirik it would seem had very different ideas about going anywhere with Oriel.

____

"What the- Dammit!" Oriel exclaimed, yelping as the crates fell across his path before starting after Eirik. "Eirik! Get back here!" he yelled after the kid, "Don't make this difficult!"

His cloak flowed out behind him as he ran. It was likely quite the spectacle, seeing a respected Knight of Le'thorian chasing after a street urchin. Oriel knew that he needed to catch Eirik before he got into the winding back-alleys of the city. He had the advantage of leg-length in a straight dash, but the kid's smaller size and better knowledge of the streets would make that a moot point if he got off the main roads. To that end, he sprinted for all he was worth to try and grab hold of his charge as quickly as possible.

____

Oriel had longer strides than Eirik, but the boy hadn't intended to outrun Oriel. Not in the strictest sense of the word anyways. If there was one thing Eirik knew, it was Windcrest. He knew every niche and cranny, every rock and foothold... both on the ground, and above.

It was the walls he ran for, hooking his foot into a drainage pipe before trying to leap from it to an overhanging lip of a nearby building where he could pull himself up out of Oriel's reach to make for the rooftop.

One would almost wonder if the boy was part monkey.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
as written by barney_fife, Script, and Tiko

As the kid took off down the street, everything seemed to time itself just right as an Aschen soldier stepped out from a nearby shop. It was amazing what a few golden Aurii could buy in this town, and it took a split second to notice what seemed to be a kid running from what the man knew was someone from the Patronus.

The Soldier quickly dropped his bag and took two quick steps towards the wall as the kid started to scramble up a drainage pipe. Quick reflexes and a somewhat tall statue afforded the man as he reached out and snatched the kid by the back of the shirt, moving to pull him off the pipe and back to the ground.

"Where do you think you're going?" The soldier asked, reaching to grab the kid by his wrist and restrain him until Oriel could catch up.

____

Oriel came to a halt by the soldier mere moments later - late enough that Eirik would have scrambled out of his reach already. Oriel, unlike the soldier, was quite short. "Ah, thank you, sir. That bid for freedom caught me by surprise." he said, smiling to the soldier before looking to the boy. "Eirik, you need to cooperate with me here. We have your best interests in mind." he said, shaking his head. "I can take him from here," he directed to the soldier, reaching to take hold of the boy's wrist from the soldier. "I'll keep a closer eye on him from now on. Thanks again."

It couldn't have been a geeky kid that always had his nose in a book, could it? That would have been too easy.

____

The kid let out a wordless shout as he struggled to get free of the soldier's grip, even to the point of trying to slip out of the shirt that the Aschen man had a hold of.

"Let me go!" Eirik kicked and yelled. He even tried to bite the soldier's arm as the man grabbed his wrist to stop him from getting free of his shirt.

Once Oriel had ahold of Eirik's other wrist he received much of the same treatment, as Eirik kicked him in the shin and tried to bite his hand.

____

The Soldier let out a barely audible grunt as the kid bit down on his arm. While Oriel took the other wrist, the Soldier backhanded the kid across the face.

"Don't you bite people it's rude, now go with your caretaker." He said flatly, reaching down to pick up his bag.

"Frakkin' Urchins." He said as he nodded to Oriel. "Just doin my civic duty." He said, nodding before he turned to head back to his station.

"Oh, and keep an eye out for the Admiral, rumor has it she's gone missin'"

____

"Ah..." Oriel winced as the soldier slapped Eirik across the face. He shook his head as the soldier walked off, before turning his attention back to Eirik. He kept a firm grip on the boy's shoulder as he crouched down to speak. "Listen, Eirik. I know you don't want to go, but the decision has been made. You need care that the orphanage can't provide. This'll be a lot less unpleasant for both of us if you just cooperate."

He rose to his feet, "Now, come on. Arrow will be wondering where we are." he said, starting back off towards the orphanage, dragging Eirik along with him if necessary.
 
as written by Lialore

The mountains towered up above her, stunning in the remnants of sunrise. Her head, kept cosy by a fur band, was tilted into the lightly falling snow as she gazed up at them, enjoying the feel of the flakes on her skin. It had been a while since she’d seen such a snowy landscape. It reminded her of home.

She stood before a fence with her hands buried in the pockets of an extremely expensive, tan trench coat that concealed her gear, looking across a small frozen lake to the land beyond. To her back was the city. Freja didn’t like it much, the scent of it wasn’t pleasant at all. This seemed to be some kind of park, though there was no one enjoying it. She knew from experience that winter was hard to appreciate when it seemed intent on making your life difficult for most of the year. It must be busy when the ice subsided, she thought, but for now it seemed just to be used for its paths that helped people get to where they needed to be.

Lars. Most people with that name where she was from were nicknamed Lasse, but she was sure those terms were never going to be reached. She'd like him just as much as she liked everyone else - very little.

Freja waited in silence, contemplating tiredly.
 
as written by Saarai

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Lars asked, approaching Freja from behind. He was a young man, possibly in his late-20s. His black hair combed neatly and the telltale signs of stubble adding some maturity to his face. He wore a parka, trying to keep warm despite the chilling climate.

"I don't get to see things like this much anymore. Always busy working. Work all day. Work all night. Miss Kale needs hard workers, loyal workers, like myself." The man continued as he came to stand beside Freja.

"Like you, perhaps?" He asked, "Don't worry. This isn't a test of loyalty, that comes later if I think it's necessary. For now, you and I are going to wait. Get to know the locals, drink, eat. Fuck, if you want to fuck. But, when the others get here it's work."

"Always gonna be work."
 
as written by Ronin

A wind gusted across the park and died on the same breath, whispering through the frozen lake and the skeletons of great pines. Flurry-gusts of snow danced in the air before settling on new grounds. Aside from Freja and Lars, the only life was the occasional passerby; miners laden with heavy sacks, cutting through the park to their next work site - northman bundled in furs and coats on their way home, or to the local tavern.
 
as written by Lialore

Freja didn’t turn to the voice until the figure had stopped beside her. She ran her fingertips through the bed of coins in her pocket with a slight jingle before allowing herself to stare. And she examined without heed, drinking in every detail. He seemed very normal, she liked the look of him.

When Lars finished speaking, she turned her gaze back to the lake with a soft snort. It all seemed very grey to her.

“This is interesting. I don’t tend to do company. And you must know, I only drink blackcurrant wine, eat whole foods, and fuck on a full moon” she said, her expression not betraying a hint of a joke; though in her tone, a hint of sarcasm.

Pleading was not her style, but she had been led on for a while now without any sense of her true purpose. There was no race, no challenge when her own personal goal had not been set to threaten to defeat her.

She turned back to Lars after a pause, lest the wind steal her words.

“I am a hard worker. And a loyal worker. But I’m better at it when I know what is happening.”
 
as written by barney_fife

It wasn't just miners on their way too and from the local tavern. Windcrest was also littered with crates bearing the seal of the imperial Aschen navy. It wasn't just crates though, soldiers moved in and about from the local inns and taverns, many of them walking about distributing supplies to the locals, or showing some of the miners how to use Aschen tools to make mining more efficient.

A contractor in a white parka and a clipboard was negotiating an adamantium shipment with some of the local leaders, while another group of Aschen were huddled around a radio listening to the comm chatter from the fight Down in Westeria.
 
as written by Saarai

"I suppose there's no point in making you wait." Lars told Freja, "As we speak, I hope, missiles carrying kinetic rods are going to be fired up into the atmosphere above Volary where they'll find their way down into the city." He explained.

"Your leader, Fatin Alfarsi, is taking the blame for it along with the Terran National Government. Collusion on their parts to strike their enemies without having to deal with the consequences. They didn't expect to get caught. But, they will." He continued, "Miss Kale is going to emerge as a new, more capable, leader."

Lars turned to Freja, "One that can't be bought or manipulated by governments to do their dirty work." He said, "She has standards and would never commit mass murder."

He maintained a straight face as he spoke, though he was likely enjoying the opportunity to use sarcasm so heavily.

"This new Invictus will move back to philanthropy, to making money and to staying out of the politics that clearly lead Fatin and her inner circle to join forces with a corrupt government officials."
 
as written by Script

A small sparrow flitted into view from one of the nearby trees, an odd sight at this time of year. The little bird, swooped around in an arc as footsteps could be heard coming down the pathway. A boy ran into view, slight of frame and not far past his mid-teens by the look of him. Brown hair blew out behind him in the wind as he ran.

Kye stopped not far from where Lars and Freja spoke, looking up at the sky. "Oi! Flick! Enough messing around up there, we have places to be!"

The sparrow whistled in response, altering its course to swoop down towards him, landing daintily on his shoulder and hopping to poke at his ear. He laughed, shaking his head. "Ms. Whitford'll be wondering where we are, you little bastard. Making me late."

It was only then that he seemed to notice the two figures talking at the edge of the park only a few metres away, and he offered them a slightly awkward smile. "Ah, morning, sir and ma'am," he offered, hoping his loud conversation with his bird hadn't interrupted them.
 
as written by Ronin

As the sparrow descended, the branch of the tree it'd been resting on rustled lightly.
 
as written by Lialore

She watched the snowflakes as she listened.

It dawned on her how big this really was. Freja was a selfish person, too wrapped up in herself. She hadn’t been paying enough attention to the game she was really playing.

Once she’d finished digesting, she gave an odd sort of delayed giggle at his comment about Ariadne. It ended as suddenly as it came.

“I like the word philanthropy” was all she said, aware of their new companion. The strange boy was chasing a bird, she’d looked over her shoulder casually, and thought about offering to stop it flying away for him. But that wouldn’t be a good way to start her stay.

“So. What are we doing here, Lars? Documenting the whole thing through ice sculpture? Snowmen make really bad bod-“ Freja cut off as the stranger greeted them.

Her head turned and she stared, noticing even more how tiny he was now that he was closer. And the bird was quite cute, it made her feel queasy. She made no attempt to return a smile.

“I didn’t think youths were awake at this time.”
 
as written by Saarai

"We're here to truly cement our future." Lars answered, his mouth opened him to say more but the arrival of the kid prompted him to keep quiet. He was within earshot now, and Lars didn't know if this stupid kid was just a stupid kid.

"We don't have any money. Sorry." Lars said to the kid, "Okay, shoo now. Bye."
 
as written by Script

"I rise early, ma'am," Kye replied with a grin, "No food to be earned laying about all morning. And I'm not begging, just being er, respectable and polite, right?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "I can see you're busy, so, I'll be off. Good luck with cementing your future, and that."

With that, he sidled off. It wasn't entirely clear how much of the conversation he'd overheard, but he didn't look as though he had cause for concern.
 
as written by Lialore

“Hm” Freja said absently as she watched the boy leave with narrowed eyes. “I don’t like kids.”

She sighed, then turned back to her scenery, arms folded.

“Getting to know the locals. Check. Job well done. We make a great team.” Her voice was saturated in sarcasm.

So, she was here to be fed more information and plans, she assumed. She was snapping up any scraps she could. More talking. This was the part that agitated her. But the excitement was already bubbling.

“So, who are you, Lars? What do you do? I feel like I don’t need to introduce myself. You seem to have had a stalk already.”
 
as written by Saarai

Lars shrugged his shoulders, turning to watch the kid as he departed. Who could he tell if he heard anything? He and Freja were nobodies. Especially Lars, he was a ghost. He preferred it that way.

"I work for Miss Kale. That's about there is to it." He told Freja. "I do what she asks and I try to do it well."

He contemplated what to say next, "She saved me from a worse fate. I had no parents, just a sister and a need to make things better for us." Lars told Freja, deciding to open up a bit.

"I made things better for us. After this, I can retire with her. That's what was promised."
 
as written by Lialore

Freja knew she should have offered some words of encouragement or mild comfort. But quite honestly, she didn’t care.

Retiring so seemingly young?
“Sounds boring” she said flatly.

Well, if they were going to be waiting for a while, she knew how she wanted to waste some time.

“I’m going shopping” she announced, taking her hands from her pockets with a jingle and starting off at a sultry saunter, ponytail swinging.

“And if you have any weird tricks up your sleeve that you think would be fun to surprise me with, I’ll riddle you like Swiss cheese.”

You never knew with these people.
 
as written by Saarai

"Boring? Maybe. But, it's not for me." Lars told Freja, turning to watch her walk away. "Buy yourself something nice." He called out to her, turning back to the lake.

"And, don't worry. I'm not here for games. I'm here to work." He added.

Lars was a serious man when it came to his work. As much as he might have wanted to goof around with anyone, he had an important job to do that he couldn't mess up. Ensuring that Ariadne got what she wanted was his main priority.

Second, at least.
 
as written by Ronin

Some time after Freja went out into town, Lars would hear a voice.

"Lars... Lars, my most trusted, my most loyal soldier..." the voice was feminine, authoritative - the voice of Ariadne Kale. It came from behind him.
 
as written by Saarai

The young man glanced over his shoulder for a moment, then back out at the lake just as quickly as he turned. He rolled his eyes.

"Please." He said, "Reveal yourself. I know Miss Kale like the back of my hand."
 
as written by Ronin

A figure stepped out from the nearby trees - a women, dressed in all black, her face almost glowing white in the chill morning air. It looked like Ariadne Kale.

"Where's Kale." It spoke. The voice sounded like the woman it was pretending to be in tone and sound, but held none of the warmth or subtle inflections that made it human. While its last statement had been a flawless replica of Ariadne's voice, this one was deliberately steely, cold, almost metallic in sound.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top