OPEN SIGNUPS A Cruise Ship Experiment ( IC thread)

Jeremy had coughed like everyone else, his eyes darting until he saw the passageway open. He was on her tail a few seconds after his brain absorbed the fact that a new path was open, not even thinking as he followed her into the tunnel. It felt right, like he was doing something. Screw staying here- he had to get to Peter any way he knew how. With that, he paused, taking his own lantern before running to catch up with Darren and Lena. He ran after them, catching up with the trio. He was gung-ho about going after Peter but he had to be prepared so he could be ready to save the man if needed. The necromancer had a fragility about him even with the power that he wielded, and frankly, a small part of him liked that Peter needed him. Even so, he wasn't exactly in his right mind as it was.



Astrid didn't say much, choosing to stay where she was. Like she was stupid enough to go in a weird tunnel. "I know it's a trap, and I'm sure something is waiting for us down there, but also be prepared to move. There might be consequences for us not following whomever is orchestrating this's instructions, unknowing or not. If they're smart enough to trap us here, then they're smart enough to punish us for the perceived crimes we committed. We're all here for someone's reason." Well, it didn't hurt to shift the blame to this mystery person who had hijacked the experiment. "Either way though, that puzzle was bullshit and whomever put it there knew that."


Astrid was right- whomever did this was an asshole. All Ari could do was cough at what seemed like unnecessary nonsense theatrics, especially when it took a little while for her lungs to go back to normal again. Then, the doors opened and closed, leaving a single passage open. Ari thought about it, and thought about it again as Darren, Lena and Jeremy rushed off. Should she stay, should she go with them? The weird fog made her feel funny- maybe because it was magic or maybe because it irritated her, but that didn't help matters much. She took a deep breath, looked to Fiona for a moment as if to say 'you coming?' cursed quietly to herself, and took her own lantern before disappearing down the tunnel. Astrid's words had convinced her to just go with the three who had disappeared into the tunnel.
 
Lehna gasped when Darren spoke. Being the first down the narrow passage she'd been going rather slow and careful so as not to trip or be ambushed by someone, only to have someone sneak up behind her and about scare the life out of her. That seemed to be her lot in life though, always in the wrong place at the wrong time for the wrong reason.

She glance over her shoulder at Darren, "I couldn't breathe up there...if you want to sue me contact my agent. he'll tell you I have nothing to give you." She huffed a bit and continued on, "I think I heard something this way...but it's hard to tell. Sound echoes." She held the lantern to the left illuminating another long narrow path.
 
Constance watched as more people followed. That fog was definitely NOT an option but oh she hated this whole game someone was playing. She looked once more at the fog and then crossed the lounge and slipped behind the bar, "I'm not sure how you plan to fight fog Dan but have at it...send that same signal our way if you succeed." And she stepped into the tunnel to follow the others. She didn't take the last lantern because she could see the others just ahead. If someone decided to follow later, they'd have light.

She was not a big fan of enclosed spaces it seemed as she felt like the space got smaller and smaller as she moved through it. She caught up to the others, likely more out of panicked steps than intent. Lantern light seemed to ease those feelings of being surrounded. "Have you seen anything? Or anyone yet?"
 
Fiona nodded to Ari, "At this point I am hoping the puzzle player is helping us, because that fog...feels like a death trap." She ran behind Ari and into the deeper heart of the ship. As she moved she felt an off pain and then a flash of memory but it was so fleeting she didn't quite catch it. Her neck felt really strange though but then it passed as quickly as it had come so she shrugged it off.

They caught up to the others, "Most of the gang's here...where to now?" She didn't exactly like that the FBI man hadn't come with them...maybe he'd follow now that most of them had chosen this path. Somehow she didn't feel as safe without his presence. "Why didn't I think to grab a knife from the bar?" she wondered aloud realizing that none of them were armed except with lanterns. "Maybe whatever we have to face next will be afraid of fire...that would be a nice turn of events for once..." A little of her mother's sarcastic humor was wiggling its way into her mind the longer this dragged on and though she knew it was far from helpful, she couldn't quite contain her inner angst.
 
Dan waved, "It seems to be happy to stay in the hall for now...you kids have fun now." He grabbed up the bottle of whiskey from behind the bar and poured it straight into his glass and tossed it back. "Complain of being sheep and then act like one...bright idea there." There were still a few left here, though he had no idea what any of them were thinking about the situation.

Michael probably SHOULD have gone with the little experiments to see how long or well they'd do without Peter right there with them, since miss professor seemed to have abandoned her duties of watching and learning. he was sure a few of them were going to remember his face sooner or later. The little red head, the Captain, the sweet singer and even that cowboy. Poor suckers had all arrived for a vacation and wound up dead. He'd had a good time toying with them each and then striking, though the little singer had been fun afterward too. He sat and watched, figuring the people who'd hired him were making a bigger play, or there was another player on board and if that was the case, they'd all better watch their backs.
 
Darren sighed, "true but still...you should have waited for us to talk it through not taken off on your own." He said as he started a short ways down that path. "I don't hear anything..." He returned and went the other way and was still then, "Nothing over here either."

The others soon arrived and he looked at them all. "Lehna says she thinks she heard something that way," he pointed to the left, "Should we go there or split up?"
 
"Not if it is a romance movie that I am in," Chrissie retorted back to him.

She looked over at the symbol on his hand, but decided to not answer that on, wondering how she gotten involved in this mess when all she wanted to do was visit her brother and see him. She did notice that some people were looking worse for wear.

"How do youI do know if the necromancer is even here? We haven't come across who has been actually dead before now. I can't believe that reviving the dead is so black and white. Sure necromancers are more likely to create terrors, but I refuse to believe that they are all evil. Hell, I bet you that there is a good necromancer on this ship.... at least I think so."

"And you're so invested in the idea of this 'good' necromancer....Because why? I wasn't aware that of the two of us you made a study of these things. Please, tell me more on what theories you concluded that whatever is bringing back the dead and harvesting corpses from the people on this ship is in any way 'good.'". His expression hardened as he spoke.

"There is nothing more of a perversion of life than the dead coming back to life. Cheating the system is one thing, but unless you're anything less than the big J himself? All you're doing is bringing back souls that should have long since passed on, degrading them the longer you'd keep them and turning them into something else. Ghouls, ghosts, all the horror stories you might have heard are the results of the restless dead. They don't belong here anymore and when that's fought...Things like the Ghuls of Persia happen."

He looked at the fog and hummed thoughtfully.

And then attempted to analyze it as one mage to another's working.
 
Chrissie Fletcher ( Fargothia)

Chrissie took a moment to consider what he might be saying and she finally found the way. " Well, I am so invested in the idea of a good necromancer as we don't know anything about him or her, and if there is even a connection to harvesting the corpses. What if the necromancer doesn't realize that he's reviving the dead? You seem so quick to damn him."

" It's interesting that you see it as a perversion of life, but yet, you summoned a giant monster that nearly killed us. I would say that is also a perversion to life as well. I also feel that there is more than one religion that supports the dead being able to be brought back to life. Does the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice ring true to that? I don't think every ghost or person brought back from the dead is destined to become corrupted. They may as well be like people, there's always a chance that something will go wrong. It's life."

Four facts could be discerned from analyzing the fog. 1) The caster was on the ship. 2) It was deadly to all who entered it. 3) It would consume once everyone left the lounge area, even if it was just a brief step into the passageway. 4) It was creeping in under the door. It would be less than four minutes before it got into the lounge.

Zale Lawerence, Christopher Fletcher,, Michael Ross and Joe the Ghost

Perhaps it was the atmosphere on the ship, but the words to calm down and take a deep breath that Lehna proposed had fallen on deaf ears, as it seemed that the group was too invested in figuring out what was going on in the ship that they couldn't have heard it. It would be true that things had gotten so bad that nobody wanted to listen to reason. It seemed that the group would need someone to take charge. It was thankful for the group that Christopher had finally snapped out of his haze of death to speak with the rest of the group. Otherwise, who could tell what might have happened with the group?

Christopher himself wasn't sure where the logic and reason had come from, but he was thankful that he was able to find some. The last thing he wanted was for the passengers to panic and lose themselves to madness. Whatever they had planned originally, everything had seemed to go off the rails and he wasn't sure when that had happened.

He noticed that the swimmer had felt better, looking and sounding a lot more chipper than he had before. It was beautiful to hear the melody that he was playing, but then the mist had creeped in and Christopher panicked. Where had that come from and why was it so dangerous to everyone in the room? He wondered what was in the mist himself and why it felt so deadly. He didn't like the feeling of not knowing things.

He noticed that he door behind the bar had opened and he had to wonder how many secret passageways existed on the ship that he didn't know about. He agreed with Lehna, but he wasn't about to rush into the passageway, as he wasn't certain what was awaiting him on the other side. He waited to see what the others would do first.

-------

Joe had posed the question and was met with the silence that the ghost expected. Nobody had seemed too eager to head into the passageway at first, but Joe wasn't about to give up on seeing who wanted to go into the passage. The last thing the ghost wanted to do was to head into a trap alone, preferring to stay with the group, no matter how dynsfuctional they were at times.

There was something weird to the ghost that the piano playing was both right and running. It had certainly helped to make a way out of the room, but at the same time, if Zale hadn't stopped playing, it very well may have killed her. How was it possible that two things could so directly duel with each other that it made no sense? Was this new player trying to kill them or lead them astray? It was unnerving that Joe wasn't certain which answer was the correct one either.

She looked at the Captain, "Does anyone else feel like a sheep being herded along?" She frowned though when Lehna just took off with a lantern. "Oh for the love of ..." She closed her eyes and counted to ten, "We probably shouldn't let her go off alone.."

Joe looked over at Constance and wonder what the captain's answer would be. " Clearly, it seemes that way. Whoever is playing these games is leading us down a set path. I don't disagree with you, we should go in after her before something bad happens."

Joe looked over at the others and had to wonder if there was any connection to the disappearances and appearances of new members of the party. Peter and Zale hadn't been allowed to be together for long, but it was also very clear that any time any of them could be taken away. So far this game had taken seven of them and sent them to an early grave. Angelo, Daniella, Grace, the two little girls, Amanrath and more recently Sapphire. But just as quickly as they were taken, new players had emerged. Lehna, Darren, Astrid, Ari, Chrissie, the captain, Zale. It felt like somebody was playing one very long game and the ghost wasn't sure how that made them feel.

Joe looked over at her. " I will be the first to admit that felt too convenient for my liking? If I have noticed two things about this ship, it's this. We're not allowed to be alone for long and when we all wind up together, we have new faces and new people and wind up trapped in a room and lose or gain a member. It's what happened with the Captain, here in the dinning hall, in the bedrooms. Whoever is playing this new game wants us to be close together. They don't want us to seperate for too long, it seemes we are all in this together, for better or worse though," he replied.

Joe hadn't considered the fact that they could choose to not follow the woman. It was a very real thing that she hadn't considered. It seemed that it didn't matter if no humans had gone in the passageway, all the animals( minus the cat) that Peter had on him had headed into passageway with him. Joe looked over at her. " Is it depressing to think that following the animals seems to be our best course of action?"

The cat had remained behind, observing the rest of the humans. knowing the squirrel, the rat, puppy, rabbit, dragon and the cricket would be able to find their master, even if the humans were stubbornly debating if it was a good idea. It didn't look like they were going to have much time to decide, as the fog was definitely creeping its way under the door way, giving them less time to internally debate amognst themselves. God, why were humans so stupid?

The cat just let loose a low meow, before hopping up on the counter and walking across the counter, knocking down any other beer that the bad man planned on drinking. As much as she liked to see his corpse, the necromancer who revived the cat didn't like to see people die around him. God, it hurt knowing that there was one human she liked enough to do this for was probably in danger. It was noticeable that as the cat knocked over the bottles that the tag was finally shown to reveal that the cat's name was Alarm. Alarm seened to be a fit name as it had been the one who had noticed something had gone wrong in the cargo hold and helped to save Chrisie and Charlie.

Joe looked over at him. " You know, I am starting to suspect the cat is trying to tell us something," Joe commented as more bottles would tumble onto the ground, making a loud thudding noise as they broke onto the floor as well. It always seem to take a while for the group to decide things.


The ghost realized that it might be a good idea to follow them, mostly seeing as the only thing that had was a bunch of animals. Joe let loose a sigh, following suit, following the lantern light, though in the dark passageway, the otherwordly glow also was enough to light the way, even if it was slightly dimmer as she straddled the line between life and death.

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Qurrily happily climbed onto Jeremy's shoulder once he got into the passageway, enjoying the ride, as it was a lot beter than running to catch up with the rest of the group, knowing that most humans were faster than a squirrel, even one that had been brought with him. It seemed that the other animals had no problems catching up, but he was never the fastest and unlike the rest of the pets, he was not a baby that Peter had revived. He was a much older and grateful squirrel that was relieved that his master had found a special friend,even if they didn't remember each other, they seem to know enough about each other to calm the other down and he knew that Peter being alone was never a good thing, as he would talk with the one who wasn't there. He knew that his master was broken.

Zale had been quiet, sitting at the piano, wondering how it was possible that he was the only one who knew the piano here, but it was worse than that. He felt like he had been used, like he had been a pawn in a game that he didn't understand, and he didn't like that one bit. Whoever was doing this was messed up and this was coming from the man who had been thrown to the bottom of a cold ocean to die and did. Or did he? He wsn't certain to be honest, but whoever was to blame, it didn't seem to matter. He did notice that the fog was trying to creep its way under the door, but it seemed that it was going to have to get through the other smaller passageway before it could emerge on the other side.

The mage who seemed to hate the undead was observing the fog should be able to warn them if it creeped in, or so he hoped. He took a slow walk over to the bar and he would gently walk over to follow Ari. He didn't want to die here and he didn't want to be the last one out. He had a feeling that being saved wasn't something he would have happen to him. He took a deep breath, looking back and wondered if this was a weird decision to make, or if it was a wise one. It seemed that his question was answer when the Captain would follow suit with him and offering some support to the swimmer who still hadn't fully healed from his time unground. It was hard to find the words to thank him, but he smiled, taking a deep breath and hoping that it was enough to let him know that he was grateful.

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Joe had followed quietly and looked over at the two and had to wonder how they felt. It seemed that Lehna was already scared, so she didn't want to startle both of them more by telling her that she was also there. It was better to take some time for everything that was about to happen. It felt weird to think that everything was coming to the area as well. It felt good. The dragon had flew onto her shoulder as the puppy would be held by it, joining her as well.

The ghost coughed and looked over at her. " I think you are right, I feel like that there is some sound coming from that way and it makes me feel better to know that I am not crazy. It does seem one thing, Peter was definitely this way. There's some scuff marks on the floor, like someone had been dragged across the floor against their will.
______________________---
Christopher had to wonder that himself, as it seemed the fog wasn't something that could be fought, but he didn't dare to speak it a loud, knowing that it was a bad idea to make the others angry about what had happened. He hoped that the lounge was secure enough that the fog couldn't creep in, but he felt that wasn't the case as the swimmer seemed to want to get out of there. He would adjust him and would walk slowly as he himself was still a little injured from what had happened before. Thankfully, it was just a phantom pain now.

Chris wouldn't admit it, but he didn't enjoy the dark and enclosed space he was in, but he would make his way to the rest of the group, following the lantern light. He also noticed that the mouse and cricket had taken up some room, using them as a lift, seeing as they were smaller. It was good to know the pets weren't lost.
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Zale had to wonder how most of them had wound up with an animal, but he didn't dare to ask the question a loud, afraid that it would anger someone that he was so curious. He took a deep breath, as a memory of his past would pass by him and he took a moment to look at the ground, knowing that it was a dangerous thing to remember how he died. It wondered if the mage was right.


The swimmer looked over at him. " I think we need to wait a moment for the rest of the group, I noticed the the fog was trying to find its way in when we were trying to decide if we are going to follow this route and I realized that we aren't going to make muc of a chance, so I think the rest of the group and the cat that stayed with them behind are going to have to catch up here. I do wish I had thought to grab a knife from the bar, but whatever was happening, we might have to do it together. From what the semi-ghost said earlier, somebody is playing a game with us and I don't think they are quite done with us." He would take a deep breath and took a moment to cpmpose himself.

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Michael had stayed behind, knowing that something bad was about to happen. He could just feel it in his gut. Almost as if cue, once everyone had been gone for a few moments, Alarm would meow loudly. The fog had found its way to creep into the room. He was right, they weren't getting a choice on if they were going into the secret passageway or not. " Listen.... I like to not die," Chrissie replied, grabbing Charlie forcefully and pulling him away from the fog and taking the cat on her shoulder, heading into the passageway, catching up with the group as well.

He took a deep breath and looked at both Astrid and Dan, turning coat and grabbing both of them by the collar and dragging them into the passag way, using a lot more strength than either of them expected him to have, grabbing the lattern and a napkin wrapping a bundle of knives with him, placing both in his pockets. " Normally, I would give you a choice, but the fog doesn't seem like something you can fight right now, so I think we are going to have to be sheep." He was also wheeling Peter's suitcase with the pet food that had been left behind as the fog would start to consume and just as it reach the back of the bar, Michael barely got them into the passageway, as it closed behind them as the mist consumed the lounge. Waiting for the trio was the bunny who hopped on the suitcase. " The only way out is through. Looks like it was never a choice."

The voice would gain in steam, echoing through the passageway and it was instantly recognizable to almost everyone on the ship. It belong to Peter and it was indeed come from the left path. There did seem to be a second voice, but it was less than recgonizable to anyone..... expect Jeremy.

" Seeing as splitting up never seems to work, it might be better to go forward," Michael replied, catching up with the group, dragging Peter's suitcase with the bunny and holding a napkin with wrapped knives. " Also, we just lost the lounge.... so it looks the only way forward is together, whoever is playing this game wants us together."

@Ringmaster @PoetLore @slifer
 
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Chrissie Fletcher ( Fargothia)

Chrissie took a moment to consider what he might be saying and she finally found the way. " Well, I am so invested in the idea of a good necromancer as we don't know anything about him or her, and if there is even a connection to harvesting the corpses. What if the necromancer doesn't realize that he's reviving the dead? You seem so quick to damn him."

" It's interesting that you see it as a perversion of life, but yet, you summoned a giant monster that nearly killed us. I would say that is also a perversion to life as well. I also feel that there is more than one religion that supports the dead being able to be brought back to life. Does the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice ring true to that? I don't think every ghost or person brought back from the dead is destined to become corrupted. They may as well be like people, there's always a chance that something will go wrong. It's life."

Four facts could be discerned from analyzing the fog. 1) The caster was on the ship. 2) It was deadly to all who entered it. 3) It would consume once everyone left the lounge area, even if it was just a brief step into the passageway. 4) It was creeping in under the door. It would be less than four minutes before it got into the lounge.

"Yes, I did. But its not part of life. And the only price I'll ever pay for it is me."

A studious magi by nature, he turned and began a lecture as he opened his case, working to put up a line of silver mercury and salt as he spoke briskly. "Now pay attention, it may be important and I'm only going to say this once. Magi are defined by their Spheres-meaning the things they specialize in, using the rules of the World. For example, someone who can cast spells of fire aren't actually doing anything strange. They're just igniting the molecules in a directed stream, using their energy and themselves as the conduit. In a similar vein, someone could create ice by extracting heat from an area-but there are still rules."

He held up his hand and raised a finger for each point-

Michael had stayed behind, knowing that something bad was about to happen. He could just feel it in his gut. Almost as if cue, once everyone had been gone for a few moments, Alarm would meow loudly. The fog had found its way to creep into the room. He was right, they weren't getting a choice on if they were going into the secret passageway or not. " Listen.... I like to not die," Chrissie replied, grabbing Charlie forcefully and pulling him away from the fog and taking the cat on her shoulder, heading into the passageway, catching up with the group as well.

He took a deep breath and looked at both Astrid and Dan, turning coat and grabbing both of them by the collar and dragging them into the passag way, using a lot more strength than either of them expected him to have, grabbing the lattern and a napkin wrapping a bundle of knives with him, placing both in his pockets. " Normally, I would give you a choice, but the fog doesn't seem like something you can fight right now, so I think we are going to have to be sheep." He was also wheeling Peter's suitcase with the pet food that had been left behind as the fog would start to consume and just as it reach the back of the bar, Michael barely got them into the passageway, as it closed behind them as the mist consumed the lounge. Waiting for the trio was the bunny who hopped on the suitcase. " The only way out is through. Looks like it was never a choice."

The voice would gain in steam, echoing through the passageway and it was instantly recognizable to almost everyone on the ship. It belong to Peter and it was indeed come from the left path. There did seem to be a second voice, but it was less than recgonizable to anyone..... expect Jeremy.

" Seeing as splitting up never seems to work, it might be better to go forward," Michael replied, catching up with the group, dragging Peter's suitcase with the bunny and holding a napkin with wrapped knives. " Also, we just lost the lounge.... so it looks the only way forward is together, whoever is playing this game wants us together."

"JESUS CHRIST WOMAN, RUSH A MIRACLE WORKER, YOU GET LOUSY MIRACLES!"

Charlie scowled, turning to the fog that followed before he spoke, opening his case and kneeling to paint on the floor one handed, moving to cut off the eventual flow. "Back to the lecture! One, these are things ANYONE can do with the right equipment. A lighter could make fire, someone could stick water in a freezer, that sort of thing. And even if you do it with magic? Fire still burns and won't magically avoid the innocent if you fling it away in a stream and dispelling the effect to create the ice, still leaves you with a chunk of ice. Its following the Rules as written, if you get what I mean."

He grinned at this point as he spoke. "Which is where it gets tricky. What can be classified as true magic, are just that-Spheres that require a patron or pervert the rules in order to bring about cause and effect. Someone hardening air molecules for example could walk on them and produce what we'd consider a miracle, or true magic. Now suppose someone tried to snuff out the sun-THAT would not only be a perversion but also incredibly stupid. For one, there's far too much energy involved to the point it'd kill the person trying. Second, because the Sun is so integral to the System, the safeguards would strike it."

He tapped his foot, trying to come up with an example before he finally spoke. "In other words, the World is one massive hunk of software and Magi are people who learned to work within the code. Now a Necromancer and someone like me, to the ignorant layman there's no real difference. However-behold!" He flicked out a penknife, slit his thumb and dropped some blood on the circle as he began to chant.

"Cahf ah nafl mglw'nafh hh' ahor syha'h ah'legeth, ng llll or'azath syha'hnahh n'ghftephai n'gha ahornah ah'mglw'nafh!"


There was no visible pulse. No sense of any kind of energy being exuded, but his barrier produced would act to repel, bouncing off the magic empowering the mist should it come, making it billow as he spoke. "See? In all of that, the only resource I drew upon and will ever draw upon is me. And the things from Outside the System that doesn't obey its laws. The Dead are part of our world and drawing them back, from judgement or punishment tends to draw attention...And even then, they don't come back right most of the time. So maybe they just wanted to see Aunty one last time, or someone wanted to bring back their spouse, a kid..."

He turned to look at her now, somber as he spoke. "But that's no comfort to the spirit nor the acute pain knowing your selfishness is keeping them in torment, like a living doll. Abiding by their control in a gross parody of life, until they rot away entirely and its only worms and bones that embrace you. To say nothing of what comes back...Why do you think Eurydice couldn't stay with him, for all his music was sweet? As far as I'm concerned, Necromancy is an incredibly selfish Sphere and it brings nothing but pain and harm." He gestured to the mist as an example as he continued hotly. "So unless your name is Jesus Christ and you come with the biggest cheat sheet in existence, its better off dumping. Now then."

He scowled as he looked at the mist before he spoke darkly. "Give me a bit of room and lets see how well my Mysteries hold up."

He was done being herded and he turned to the wall, creating a circle about half his height, starting from his waist on up as he spoke.

"No one disturb the circle, no one comes NEAR. This goes wrong, what I whistled up earlier is going to seem like a Corgi compared to this!"
 
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IT took him a second to remember the voice, but when he did, his insides ran cold with fear at the memory of who that voice belonged to. "Shitshitshit... MOVE. Peter's in danger!" Jeremy almost snarled out, one hand shooting out to secure Quirrely, the other shoving the others in front of him out of the way. When he got through, he started to run, following the sound of...his voice. How did he get here? Was he behind all of this? No matter. He had had to go to Peter!

"I'll distract him. The rest of you take your time coming in. I don't need a knife." Jeremy called to them over his shoulder before zooming off, racing towards the exit, not caring how dark it was or what could be on the other side. If it was a trap, he would deal with it. Eventually he would find the exit and he would burst through, the hand not holding Quirrley open and ready to slide out the hidden shiv in the arm of the sleeve of his sweater in case he needed to attack. NO matter if Mr. Death was here, he would stab the piece of shit if he had done anything to Peter.

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Astrid resisted the idiot's handling at first, rage spilling out at her mistreatment. When Michael let them go, she sprang away from him, taking a knife and holding it towards Micheal in an extremely threatening manner. "You try that again I will kill you. No questions asked. Or maybe even leave you alive but a drooling vegetable. Doesn't matter to me. You could have said something, you waste of air. I don't give a rat's ass if I have to work with you, I will still come and kill you and then throw your rancid ass overboard. I will break you like a Kit Kat bar. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?" Sure, she had refused to leave in the beginning, but when the gas had started to fill half of the room she would have already bolted down the tunnel. She wouldn't have needed his bullshit way of helping.
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Ari looked uncertainly as she walked down the tunnel. Eventually the others did catch up, but they didn't exactly make her feel better, as it was the three who seemed extremely shady. Sure, Fiona liked the agent but then again, why the hell was an agent on this boat anyway. He did seem way too close to Dan the psychopath and Astrid seemed cold to her, kind of in the same way that Dan presented himself to be. Though why the hell were there so many pets on board? It only made this more suspicious- and that there were two groups who were keeping them on board. She wasn't stupid- Constance's words had alluded to one group, but even she had looked nervous, meaning there were more than one group of people manipulating them.
 
Dan frowned as the fog entered the room. He stood grabbing the bottle he'd been nursing and entered the tunnel with everyone else. He didn't like it but he did it. What the hell was going on? Why were all the directives changing suddenly? There HAD to be another player in the mix now, and though that was dangerous he was interested to know who it was and how he could exploit this new situation for a possible increase in pay. Yep, he had the loyalty of a cobra and he didn't care who knew it. If you had the money, you had Dan the Man at your service.

He wasn't in a big hurry as he made his way through the cramped space and he was mildly amused by Jeremy's theatrics over the necromancer. He wasn't sure how someone killed a person who could raise the dead, which was why he hadn't attempted it. Of course he hadn't been PAID to kill him either, so that was something in peter's favor at the moment.

"Guess we are going this way then??"
 
Lehna blinked at Jeremy's sudden panic and running headlong down the corridor. Now she knew why Darren had come after her as he had. that seemed horribly unsafe, seeing someone else do it. "Hmm...it would appear we are..." She said looking at Darren, "Sorry....I can see now how that would have been alarming..."

Darren grinned, "It's ok...fear does crazy things to people..we better follow before he does something rash..." He said leading them down the way Jeremy had gone. He could hear voices now, but they were still muffled. he wondered how Jeremy recognized the voice. "Seems like calm voices...not an argument...What's going on??"
 
Fiona knew that Jeremy and Peter had some kind of connection, probably some kind of past history. So when Jeremy freaked out she was instantly alarmed too. If they were dead and something happened to Peter...what would happen to them? Did you die then? The things her mind was considering were crazy. The further they went down that hall though the stronger she felt. "Peter must be close," she said with a nod, "My stomach doesn't hurt as much...how are all of you?"

She looked around the group for signs of improvement to see if her theory was right. Close to Peter you felt good, separated from peter you started to feel pain and nausea.
 
Constance heard the threats to Michael and lifted a brow. "You work together?" she asked glancing from one to the other and then over at Dan as he approached. "I really wasn't in the loop was I?" She shook her head, "What was my part in this then? Why am I even here?" Oh she was confused and angry and afraid but she needed answers and the only way to get them was to forge ahead, but she left that group and moved quickly up with the others hoping to be of some help to them now. Hell with what she'd been hired to do, this was way past the scope of what she'd signed up for in the first place.

She looked at Fiona, "You should feel better closer to Peter in theory...but there is nothing documented about anything like this, so I can only speculate...but that seems to be logical doesn't it?"

For her part though, the further they traveled the colder she felt and the more apprehensive she became, "Something is very wrong here...does anyone else feel it??"
 
Chrissie Fletcher (Fargothia )

Chrissie wasn't sure what to say to that. She wondered what he meant, but figured he would eventually explain.

Though she was busy making sure he wouldn't die, she made sure to watch him as he would open his case and lie the silver mercury and salt on the ground. She had to wonder how he managed to get those on a cruise ship without the crew questioning it. She turned her attention away from her thoughts when she listened to him explain the rules of magi and decided to be quiet about her queries, the last thing she wanted to do was annoy Charlie at the moment, even if she had interrupted him not a few minutes. She seemed to be understanding that magic was a sort of science, something that wasn't as grounded as fantasy as she once thought.

She watched him raise his finger and then nervously exclaim her point from earlier about not dying.

"A lousy miracle is infinitely better than being dead on a cruise ship I snuck onto though."

Chrissie ignored his scowl and looked at the cat and had to wonder how the creature wasn't scared of dying, especially when the fog was creeping so closely to them.; she was slightly freaking out and was starting to wonder how helpful this lecture was going to be in the long run. There seemed to be an implication that anyone could do magic, but then she started to understand why those who performed magic were so good at it. They understood the rules as they were give to them and knew how to make proper use of them. He was making this long speech and she hoped it wouldn't go on for too long. The fog was creeping closer to them.

Chrissie had to wonder where things got messy though. It was tricky to stay calm and listen as he continued to talk as the fog continued to creep closer, leaving little room for them to move back. The cat was still calm though, so she assumed that it was safe to continue on her path to listen to him. It would make sense that magic had rules where it prevented peopled from abusing and destroying all life on Earth. There was something she was starting to remember the more she let Charlie speak. A story that her mother told her and she had to wonder if magic was real that if the story was also real and was happening right now.

She waited for him to do something and bit her tongue. The cat would continue to look over between them and had to try rolling it eyes. For all the wisdom the magi seemed to understand, he didn't seem to know what he was talking about. While magic worked in ways similar to how he described, there was notable distinction that set it apart and the cat wondered if the stowaway knew what it was though.

Chrissie would look over as he casted the spell and noticed the fog was getting much close to her comfort, but then spell hit.

She watched as the barrier that he had put up repelled the fog to the point where it seemed to be slowly disappearing. Whatever had been making it work had been stopped by the barrier for now. It was hard to tell if it was gone for good as there were still small traces of it, almost as if the fog itself was waiting for the magi to lower his guard and engulf the two of them. She listened to him talk about how the dead are part of the world and she took a deep breath because she knew what she was about to relay was going to make him mad at her or call her an idiot for believing such foolish things, but there had to be a reason that she remembered it now.

Chrissie took a deep breath.
" I'm about to say something incredibly stupid, but you wouldn't be surprised by that now. When I was younger, my mother used to tell me a strange bedtime story. She told me that Fate had two sons. One son was all about giving life a second chance, giving back the destiny to the people or things that died before their time. The other son was not a necromancer. While he couldn't gift life to the people like the first son, he could take the life of anything much before its time. Neither of the two brothers could undo the work of the others via their powers, . If someone was revived by the second chance son, they couldn't be killed by the death son's powers nd vice versa. We have been viewing the necormancy as black and white, but what if the story has a grain of truth? Everyone on the cruise ship that was in the cargo hold, they were young. The young woman, the children, the couple. Even the cat that led us out looks to be small, perhaps a kitten. What if our necromancer is a granter of second chance, a son of Fate who is trying to help people or at least was before the Cruise."

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Peter Destin and Mr.Death

Mr. Death stared at Peter for s second, knowing that eventually they would be led by the path by the sound of the voices echos. "I do have to wonder who will come first. If I was a betting man, I do think your precious boyfriend and squirrel will be here. Oh.... but you don't remember that. It's so fascinating to watch you have no memories of the before. Everyone on the cruise ship has lost so much time. What even is today? How long have you been here for? Oh so many questions with no answer."

Peter just stared at him and looked at the doorway and then back at the door as Jeremy would come into the room. The room was empty expect for Peter. How strange. " Thank god you found me, he was here just a minute ago. I don't know where he went. But …. he was …… strangely helpful. I don't like that he was. He told me things that I didn't know before. Apparently, we have been on the cruise ship for a lot longer than I realized.... and..... we shouldn't trust the FBI agent. He said that he wasn't what he seemed..... but I am not sure if I can trust..." Peter stared off into the distant as he realized one thing. He was the Child of Fate. He was the necromancer..... but he was also him.

Zale Lawerence, Christopher Fletcher,, Michael Ross and Joe the Ghost

Michael wasn't actually worried as much about his ally dying as he was about the necromancer making them their little playthings if they died. He didn't miss a beat as he turned back to her. "
Oh dear sweet Astrid, if you kill me, you won't get answers to questions that you have. And just because you think you know what I am, you haven't actually seen the real me. There's a whole different side to me and you don't want to see him. He doesn't take too lightly to threats and wouldn't be above of telling the others that you don't play well. Now if you would like to take the time to reconsider your words, I'll be here the whole time. Besides, it looks like we might have more answers to our own questions and we certainly wouldn't find them if we stayed behind, drunk on the alcohol. "

Joe was starting to wonder if there was a piece of puzzle that was missing. Between the people disappearing and staying dead, the magi who didn't like the idea of the necromancer and the agents strange behavior, the ghost had to wonder what was stopping this from being a lot of their final resting place. The left path was the one that made the most sense to go down as it was where they had the voices, but something seemed to bug her. Why couldn't they look down the right path? " I don't trust that left path, it may have Peter at the end of it or someone who sounds like him. Nothing on this ship has been what it had seemed. Hell, we are the only passengers left. Maybe some of us should join Jeremy down the Left Path and some of us should see where this right path goes."

Michael was really starting to hate the young ghost. Every time they would make a decision that would lead them back to understanding, the ghost would point out the unknown. The right path was certainly going to lead to a place that he didn't want to go. It was going to lead to the base and all the security cameras. He was the only one who knew that, but he wasn't about to suggest going away from it. People already didn't trust him and he needed less of that in in his life. He waited to see if the captain or the undead swimmer would take the ghost child on the suggestion.

" As much as I would also like to explore the first path, I think our first priority is making sure we find Peter is safe and that he hasn't been harmed in any way. Once we have recovered him, then we can go down the right path as it feels like the path where Peter is ends at him. So, once we are done with that, we can backtrack here and find the answers. How does that sound, Joe?" For once, the captain wasn't useless.

Joe would take a moment to hesitate before the ghost would nod in agreement. It didn't seem likely the captain would be compromised as well. She watched as Lehna and Darren would go down the passageway and decide it was best to follow them. It seemed better than trying to win an argument that she had lost already.

" It actually sounds like the voice was explaining something to Peter and it also sounds like Jeremy got there and Peter is telling him something. I can't make out what it is, but I imagine that we can ask him once we get there. You know, I don't like the fact that two of our friends were trying to ignore the possibility of something being down the other path."

Zale was quiet for a momenth, trying to figure out what was going on. It was something that confused him. How had the other man recognized the voice at the end of the hallway and why did he have this sense that he knew it? He couldn't place it though. He wondered why he hadn't felt bad since the pulse had happened. The swimmer would turn towards Fiona and wait a beat before he would answer. " I feel a lot better now that we are in the passage, even if it is a bit creepy though."

One noticeable sign of improvement was that Zale wasn't shivering and seemed a lot more alive than he had in the lounge. There had been an air of inbetweeness there and now in the passage, he felt more vibrant, more alive.

Michael didn't pause a beat and looked over at her. " Thee is a lot to the situation that you don't know. I am starting to suspect that I have a lot more of the picture, but there is still a piece of the puzzle that isn't quite in place. There might be some answers once we find Peter," he replied back to her. He would follow down the passageway and stop short, feeling the same cold that Constance did and he moved out of the way. Fuck, he thought the bosses had been kidding at him. Michael could believe in a necromancer.... but a death harbinger had seemed too unreal for him to believe in... but here he was.

Standing in the way of Dan, Constance, Ari, Fiona, Michael, Chris and Zale was a man who looked like Peter but carried a much colder aura. It didn't affect the undead, just Constance and Michael and Dan and Astrid.

" Oh, this is like Christmas for me. I was hoping to be able to kill something today and there are four bad people here, all liars. But where are my manners? I haven't introduced myself. I'm Mr. Death. And you see, anything my brother hasn't touched....." A small rat scurried across and was grabbed by him. It died on contact. ".... dies on contact."

@PoetLore @slifer @Ringmaster
 
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Astrid stilled, looking coldly at Mr. Death. Well, she was a piece of shit, and if she died to this man....then she could accept it for what she had done. Dan was equally as evil as she was, and the FBI agent wasn't exactly innocent either. Now Constance...she wasn't quite so sure about the woman. Though...why would Mr. Death reveal that to them? Now they could do something about it. But what? IF they were to die here...would she leave anything worthwhile behind? Probably not. Either way, he wouldn't give her a second chance anyway, so what would be the point of begging for her life. Not that she deserved it, but no one had offered her one, and no one would ever offer her a second chance.
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Immediately, Jeremy came to Peter's side, reaching out to grasp the necromancer's hand in his own. "We'll fix this. You know we will. I'm your rock, remember?" Now he was calmer, as Peter was fine, and he was by the other man's side again. "We should probably get back to the others. I'm sure that's where he is. The FBI agent seemed shady. I agree, we should avoid him." The mess that was Jeremy seemed to dissipate, leaving the sharper, normal him. "Though I'm not sure why you and Mr. Death wouldn't be one person with two powers? Either way, come on. I'll lead the way. I think you have to be there to make sure Mr. Death doesn't start murdering others." He stopped for a moment, turning to Peter. "I got my memories back. You may not have yours for a while, but I guess they couldn't take my memories and have it stick when you've been with me this whole time. We'll get out of this for sure. IT's a lot to take in, but we've gotten through it before. WE do have each other. We've gotten through worse." He turned again, gave Peter's hand a comforting squeeze, knowing there wasn't enough time for an embrace or anything more comforting. "I don't want us to get lost, so keep ahold of my hand. I'll take the lead. You watch our backs." Jeremy made sure Peter was free before starting to walk briskly, keeping a firm hold of Peter's hand. Mr. Death wouldn't kill him- he knew that Peter had their link. MR. Death wasn't stupid, and wouldn't jeopardize Peter's health like that. Hopefully. He wasn't too sure about Mr. Death. The man was handsome, but he wasn't the Peter he cared for, and his memories weren't too clear about the man- the man was bad, but he wasn't sure why.
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Ari looked around, not sure who the four evil people were. Well, she knew Dan was probably one of the evil ones....and maybe Constance would count because she knew about what was going on, and maybe Astrid, but...either way, she was along for the ride. This...Peter-like figure couldn't kill her, because Peter had brought her back to life. "So how do we leave the ship? I know you want to "kill the liars" but after that, what do we do? We're stuck here, and even though they may not be "good" we may need them to help us escape this ship. If you're like Peter, then you're trapped here as well, same as us." She was near Fiona, using the other girl presence as a support. Her knees were wobbly, but this confrontation had to happen.
 
Mr.Death was used to the cold glances made at him. He had lived with them his whole entire life. When one of the many things that humans took for granted, the ability to touch and feel another without fear of harming their loved ones, was ultimately one of the things that also made him so feared by everyone he met. When all you could do was produce death, what sort of life was that? Mr. Death would tell you that it wasn't one at all. Sure, he was feared, but fear didn't bring the same joy that love did. It could never be quite the same. Hell, Mr. Death wasn't even his real name, it was just a moinker. This power had taken everything from him- but yet, he reveled in it. It was certainly one of the stranger things about him.

Mr. Death would look over at the other girl and make a note that he couldn't kill her. His brother had made sure that there was no way she could die. Well, that wasn't exactly true. She could be killed by mortal means again or by demons or if Peter himself died. He took a deep breath, looking over at her. "Ahh, the eternal question. How do you get off of this doomed vessel? Well, we would have to find the controller, the game master, the one who has made this all possible. So perhaps killing the liars won't help in the long run. I may be trapped, but I at least have my memories of how I got onto the ship. Can the same be said for the rest of you?" He glanced over at Charlie. " That one needs to die though. All he has done is bring eldritch terrors here."

Peter Destin

Peter looked back at him, happy to see a familiar face grasping his own hand. All of this felt so familiar. But he couldn't quite place why. "Even if I don't remember, I feel like hearing that makes me feel ten better. But yeah, we should get back to the others. I feel like a lot of our group has this kind of shady aura, but I feel like we just attract them sometimes," he replied back to him. He paused for a beat about the point that he made. " I think at some point in time, we were one person with two powers, one to give and one to take life. But I think something happened. It's all kind of blurry, like much of the past that we have encountered. I know that things should be clearer, but I feel like things won't make sense until we all have our memories back. Well, all of us who survive at least. I feel like that with each passing moment, we lost more and more people to this ship and I don't know if that's part of their plan to break me or just an accident. Whatever it takes, we have each other and even if it does take a while, I don't think they can change that. " God, it felt so good to feel Jeremy's hand in his own. Like a distant memory or a thing they did often. He felt like that for once, things were getting back to normal. Though, he had to wonder, what was his normal and how had it gotten so far off task as well? He would follow him closely and hope that everything would be okay. There were some things in the world that Peter couldn't bear and one of them would be losing Jeremy. But perhaps, when he got his memory back, he would know why. Well, other than obvious fact that he was really fucking attracted to him. He wished he knew how deep their connection went. But maybe it would eventually.

@slifer @PoetLore
 
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Astrid slipped up behind Charlie, placing a smooth hand on the back of his neck. Before anyone could react, her eyes glazed over. It only took ten seconds for her to reach out and rip the "wires" in his brain out. It was easy to go overboard, and that she did. She wasn't going to kill Charlie, but at this point she might as well have, for all the use the asinine man was. Summoning creatures like an absolute fool. In a moment, Charlie went from a thinking, breathing person to a vegetable. The moment Astrid let him go, Charlie slid to the floor. He had been only a few moments ago a thinking person, and now he laid on the floor, a vegetable. Her eyes cleared over as she came to herself, gasping audibly as Charlie fell back, pretending that she didn't know why the man had fallen over. She crouched next to him, checking for a pulse she knew was there. "He's alive."
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Jeremy looked to Peter, squeezing the other man's hand comfortably. "We have to find the group again. No matter how much I want to just stay here with you, we have to join up with the others to escape. It took a while, but eventually Jeremy led Peter to the group. They stepped into view as Charlie crumpled to the ground. On instinct, Jeremy stepped in front of Peter, the need to protect the necromancer almost overwhelming.
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Ari looked to Mr. Death, the only person who probably knew what was going on. "We're stuck here in the tunnels, and we were forced to come here, probably to head to you. Tell us how you got here, so we can work together to get off the ship. I can't speak for everyone, but I don't have my memories. Also why is Jeremy so obsessed with Peter? They had a relationship of some kind before this." God, he was mentioning "killing the liars" and his looks were getting in the way of rational thought. God, she must be going mental to think he looked as hot as he was crazy- which meant he was extremely hot. Somehow, she was the one asking all of the questions, as the new face of the group.
 
Chrissie (Fargothia) Fletcher, Dan, Michael Ross, Christopher Fletcher, Zale Lawerewnce and Mr.Death

Chrissie was waiting for Charlie to come up with some sort of witty remark that she nearly missed the other woman slide up between them and touch him. She watched with equal fascination and horror as the man seemed to go from having life to being lifeless. Well, there went the future brother in-law she had wanted. And she had planned their big gay wedding in her head already. Fuck, prioritize Chrissie. That hardly seemed important in the wake of seeing someone literally mess with someone's mind. Why was she like this sometimes? Okay, no need to panic. The woman hadn't gone after her. That being said, she also wasn't exactly a fan of the man who could literally kill them. It took her a moment to realize this, but now the story that she had turned Charlie didn't seem so far fetched. " Does it really matter who the pretenders are if we are all trapped in the cruise ship? "

Dan paused for a beat, listening to what the girl had said. She had a fair point. Despite being the one to kill the captain and knowing all the tech, the ship still acted in ways that didn't make sense. And each time, the people in the known would add new members. It was almost as if he wasn't the one who played a game, but the one who was being played. " The girl makes a far point. It doesn't matter who among us are pretending. The rules are changing for everyone."

Michael looked over at Dan, then at Astrid and then at Mr. Death. " Well,, if it makes tall dark and deadly, happier, and less likely to kill us, I'm not a FBI agent, I work for the CIA." A partial truth seemed necessary in this moment. Either way, he was still a government agent.

"I can' be pretending if I have no memory of what happened." Chris would look at the ground, wondering if there was anyone way around this entire mess.

Zale would look at him. " Are we really the one who are pretending or are you?"

Mr.Death would look over at them, processing all of their questions. None of them seemed to be making sense to him, aside from the girl. " I wish I knew the answer to your question, but I am just as much as a pawn as you." Before he could form another sentence, Zale would tackle him, allowing the others a moment to pass.

Peter Destin, Joe the Ghost and Darren

Peter would watch as everyone would go to hell and he knew that things weren't going to get better unless.... " Stop Zale, get off of him." Zale would seemingly move away from Mr. Death, but he seemed to be doing it against his will. He hated doing that, but he knew that in-fighting wasn't going to do anything. There had to be a way off of this ship and all of what was hapepning now seems small compared to get off of them.

Joe watched quietly, watching Mr.Death, looking to see what he would do. He didn't get up.

"Here take my hand, mate," Darren replied, offering his hand which Mr.Death took. Darren didn't die on contact and Mr.Death was resumed to his feet.

The fog creeped into the passage from behind.

@slifer
 
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"You're all not making sense. We can't be fighting among ourselves now. We can do that when we make it off of this ship! No more attacking each other! If we turn against each other, we've lost! " Ari said, her first aid training kicking in. The moment Mr. Death was brought back to his feet, she ran to him, standing in front of him to check him out. "Does anything hurt? Did your head hit the floor? My bag has a small first aid kit that I carry with me." She touched his arm, and waited for death, and when it didn't come, she sighed in relief before cautiously touching his hair, feeling for any bumps the fall could have caused. She cast a critical gaze over him, assessing for damage. Though she did notice how....nice he looked. She wasn't doing this for him, but no one was else was hurt, and she also couldn't help them. Charlie was a lost cause, and he was basically in a coma. He was a three on the Glasgow Coma scale, and she hadn't heard of anyone who came back from that little life left within them. When the group started to move, she moved along with them, making sure that Mr. Death was coming along with her.
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Astrid saw the fog creep in, at the same that Jeremy did. "The fog is coming! Everyone run! No time for nonsense!" She started to push people, trying to get them moving. Charlie was going to be left there, but she didn't care all about that much about his continued existence. Fiona and Constance would have to find her own way, but she did her best to herd everyone who was willing on the path, to safety. IF anything, the conversation proved that almost all of them were liars. Except for Jeremy, he had been Peter's rock for too long, and it had changed him for the nuttier. Man, she wished she had a relationship like those two had with each other, but that was a secret wish she could never hope for. She took up the rear, making sure everyone who would move would leave with them. She managed to get everyone moving as best as she could, forcibly bringing Lena with her when the other girl was unmoving for a little. This cruiseship was a horror-filled boat. She never should have agreed to be here, as she and Dan weren't in control anymore.

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The moment Jeremy heard that information from Astrid, he turned, pulling Peter behind him. The fog wasn't a joke, and he was hyperaware of all of what was going on, because he had to be, for Peter. "Let's go. I'm sorry for pulling on you, but we have to go." Jeremy led the way, being the group's navigator, walking in front, and willing to take the brunt of what was behind him. It didn't matter that Peter could command the dead. Peter was perfect to him, and that's what mattered. IT wasn't that he didn't see the man's flaws, it was that they weren't dealbreakers for him.