Requiem for a Changing World

[RedArmyShogun]

​

"It is an interesting conversation you two have had, but you need not worry, your son would not fall so easily. They kidnapped him when they could have...well that is obvious."

Yadira says, returning with a teapot and a few saucers with cups on a serving tray, from the looks of it she had the presence of mind to not grab the most important looking of the sets, getting undecorated cups that likely had seen use before.

"The Important thing is to remain calm right now and to get answers. I cannot say I understand your anguish all that well, my own parents passed away when I was very young and I spent a lot of time studying the daily lives of others, more than one likely should..

But I can say that if you panic and stress and search for answers where there are none it may harm what chance we have of finding your son."

One way or the other..

She thought but did not want to add aloud. Three Day's was a long time and who knew how many more there would be.. At the very least he could be avenged... "Have some tea to calm your nerves while you think back to his activities. If he had a workroom some clues may be there as well, though some...questioning Gold fellow is in order." With a hint of awkwardness on the questioning bit of her remark not too mention her creepily fixed smile, it didn't take an airship engineer to figure what she was getting at..

Looking at the Mercenary and hearing the commit on the other branches she sighs a bit while pouring the Tea, it would likely be her next job to pass that along, with what happened here.

"Mayhap a story would be in order, but I take it Miss Quincy that you are more of a business sort. So I shall not trouble you with trivial tales.. Just know that the will to survive can be one hell of a thing. Eheh.." Pouring a cup for herself and the Mercenary, Yadira eyes around the office before turning to the pair.

"Oh don't mind me, continue with your interview. Though if your son did have a room here or records I could make myself more useful than serving tea. But I would understand you not wanting a stranger such as I looking through his things. This Gold man and the meeting might be our only lead, though.." Trailing off with her thoughts the Journeyman Protector seemed lost in thought considering the options as she mumbles to herself.

 

[ERode]

"Oh? Handed the child back?" Jagred grinned, slapping the red-headed mage on the back, "That's a funny way of saying that you threw the boy at her face, firecracker."

Despite his jests, however, the Boar Man nodded at the others. A job was a job, and another child separated from their parents was definitely a task noble enough to take on. Regardless of whether or not Faora agreed to, the Lidaran savage nodded, before heading off in the direction of the Quincey Residence. There was no need to get everyone's approval, nor a need to wait on the others, after all. As far as Jagred was concerned, he'd do the job alone if the others got lost trying to find the place.

A couple minutes later, the savage and his entourage of less-savage but still fairly criminal people were at the doorstep of the building. Bringing his fist back, he punched the door a couple of times.

Knock knock.

 

[Yzmael]

As Yadira produced the tea in the kitchen of the place, Myara heard Prudence's words with intense attention. Upon mention of tedious work, she couldn't help but shake her head and leaned back on her seat. Work was work, it didn't matter how tedious it was. Besides, in her current situation, the swordswoman imagined it best to keep herself on tedious works. After all, she had seen enough action to make her regret liking it. "I hear you possess branches across the entirety of Luhain, however, and that in itself is already a good reason to work with you." Myara said with a small smile.

Truth be told, it was comfortable for her, considering how much she planned to travel. She had spent her last two years searching Gualtierrez from top to bottom, and found little to nothing she was seeking. Now, only two other continents remained, and if she couldn't find anything on them, she'd have to resort to higher powers of some kind.

As Prudence began thinking on how to respond her question, Myara merely nodded quickly and then turned herself to see the Journeyman's work on the kitchen. When she heard a name, her eyes glanced towards Prudence, and a thoughtful expression appeared on the Mercenary's face. "Well, it's not much, but it's something. I hope you have leads other than that, Miss Quincey, or otherwise this is going to be difficult." Even better than that, Prudence even gave them a location and a meeting time, something more than worth looking into. If this man was indeed tied to the kidnappers, however, Myara wondered if he was even going to show up.

With a sigh, the swordswoman noticed the green-haired lady's return, only to hear her words on how a questioning was in order. Surely, Myara didn't interject. If anything, she agreed with her. Depending on this man's attitude, a certain degree of forcefulness would have to be employed regardless.

Being dragged from that thought back to the room by Prudence's voice, Myara once more turned to face her as she spoke. She was seemingly curious about the swordswoman's background, even though Myara was sure there was enough on the letter of recommendation. Closing her eyes as if to think on how she could say this without revealing much, she wondered about what kind of answers she should give. She should at least be aware of what she worked with, if she was going to employ her. A certain level of honor was present in that. "I worked for two years as a hunter in a small crew of the Golden Blades. Although I say hunter, I believe the better term would be enforcer. Most of the times we would work with hunting beasts and other harmful creatures, not exactly an easy job, but we managed to never fail." Pulling the blade from her side and letting it rest on her lap, she smiled. "The only other thing I believe I can say is that I used to hunt Fiends as well, although that was a long time ago." Leaving it at that, she once more set the sword to her side and leaned back at the seat after picking up her tea cup. Taking a brief sip, she once more spoke. "Is there any particular thing you'd like to ask me?" She questioned, her head tilting slightly as she smiled to Prudence.

 

[Remmy Rose]

Lawrence turned his head to see what his two other companions would say. It seemed Anais was committed to go, something Lawrence was pleased to see. Even if the other two ended up declining he would still head out and hopefully with the fiery-haired lass in tow. He had a new problem now. The Solistian stared sadly down at his fish. He wouldn't have the proper time to cook these, so it looked like he was going to have to carve them on the go. It was a good thing Reefbacks could be eaten raw. While Lawrence watched as Jagred thumped Anais in the back, he began to do just that. Taking out a knife, the Solistian careful began to cute along the spine and belly, slowly removing the scales and fins of which he tossed to the way side for some stray cats.

"I say the sooner we get there the better," He replies, agreeing with Jagred. "Good idea though, while I have a pretty good sense of direction nice houses all kinda look the same to me." Lawrence added sheepishly, "Asking for directions shouldn't hurt."

When it appeared that his group had come to a decision, Lawrence followed, pleased to be on their way. The flyer had mentioned the son had been missing, a son from a well of family. That bit of information was a bit worry some but at the same time perhaps a good sign. If whoever kidnapped the son was looking for a ransom than it was safe to assume that no harm (at least of the deadly kind) would befall him. It meant that they would have a chance of rescuing the lad before anything else could befall him.

As Lawrence mused in though, he slipped pieces of his fish into his mouth, happily chewing on the delicious morsels. He glanced up a few times to listen to the conversations and maybe add a bit into the mix. He even offered some fish out after he finished the first off, already moving to carve the next one. By the time they arrived he had happily finished both with a satisfied sigh, cleaning off his knife before slipping it back into his belt.

The Solistian glance up at the house, "So this is it huh?" He followed Jagred to the door, curiously studying the architecture.
​

 

[Fox of Hearts]

​

Locating the Quincey Residence: Estefania, Liberty, Vivi .... Bryte?

"Promenade?" Vi tried shouting over the din. Her voice was lost over the endless stream of questions although she floated barely a meter away from the guard. She stretched out a quivering hand to tap his pudgy shoulder but drew back at the last moment. "Aue," she sighed, feeling bad that she had failed to get more detailed directions to the Quincey residence. She had a sinking feeling that she shouldn't have volunteered for the task. Liber would have made a much better choice. Maybe even that human-magical person!

Leaving the guard to fend off the ghoulishly curious and the other more vexing personalities gathered there, Vi helped herself to the topmost flyer of the dwindling stack and used it as a makeshift shield as she forced her way through the crowd. The huge paper sheet took quite a battering, ending up crumpled from the edges inwards. Thankfully, the words were legible enough due to the large lettering. Corrin's picture, though, escaped largely unscathed.

The half-fish floated over to where the group was gathered, looking a little less than hopeful. She wondered if anyone else tried approaching the soldier too and more importantly if they were successful. Offering the flyer to the first person she reached, she hovered close by to get a better look at the blown up picture printed on the thin paper. She tilted her head to the side as her ears twitched.

"Is he a child?" she asked curiously. Humans, she knew, called their young "children". The boys they called "son" and the girls "daughter". She also knew that "children" tend to appear much smaller and their faces a lot rounder. Corrin's appearance matched none of her expectations of children. He looked like a young adult, one old enough to leave the home without being considered missing. "His mother is worried ..." she added, sounding more puzzled than ever. There was a frustrated edge to her voice, as she fished around for the correct words to voice her thoughts. "He looks ... grown up?"

"I want to help but ..." Vi added soon after not wishing for her companions to assume she wanted to back out. "We were looking for a child...?"

Missing from her limited knowledge of the world was the concept that humans called their progeny "child" and "son" even after they turned into adults. Her race stopped referring to their young as "keiki" or child the moment they hit their final growth spurt around 95. During that period, the community would refer to these young adults as "u'i". This is what they would be called till around 126 when they were officially referred to as adults or "wahi" for the males and "kane" for the females.

These musings occupied her fluffy head while they made their way towards the Merchants' Residential District. Whether they took several wrong turns or took the longest way possible, all that didn't matter to her. She was happy enough about not needing to travel alone for the time being. The many months she had been journeying alone left her craving for enduring companionship in any form. It wasn't like she didn't meet kindred travelers along the way but those bonds were fleeting at best. Barely half a day or an evening at most. After that, she could scarcely remember their names nor their faces. All she could remember was the directions they gave her.

She continued floating closer to Estefania but kept a respectful gap between them. Occasionally, she would drift back for a bit to check on Liberty and reassure the woman she wasn't forgotten. They reached the promenade in a respectable amount of time. A helpful passer-by, a pretty woman dressed in a blooming rose-red satin dress and bedecked with diamonds sparkling like dew drops, pointed out the Quincey residence to them less than five minutes after that. Not that the place was that hard to find on hindsight. It was easily the biggest house in the area with a bright pink place card.

Vi drifted in front of the place card, staring at the fancy lettering. "Are we there?" the merbunny asked not quite sure what the sign said. Letters and words might as well be ancient runes to her. She knew next to nothing about them. "The Quincey residence, I mean."

 

[Warden]

The hour following the announcement was a tense one. Prudence didn't know if anybody worth her time was going to answer the summons, and even if they were... What she knew of the situation was frighteningly slim. Corrin had taken to his duties in the Lucieri with excessive zeal, and having that Lidaran pen pal of his no doubt inflamed the impressionable boy's idealism. The Lucieri branch in Lida was all sorts of issues crammed into one basket, except the basket had angry mobs persecuting Magicals and hostile Magicals torching isolated settlements in retaliation. Nowhere near the lesser, more idyllic concerns in Luzvimin.

So she waited, exchanging small conversation with the swordswoman and the field agent.

And hardly within the first thirty minutes, her workers notified her that a batch of individuals had arrived. They must have had no trouble finding this place, as Prudence's residence was one of the larger buildings in the district. Solid brick and mortar, built to last an earthquake, or several ones. Visitors often judged her from the size instead of the make of the house, and they were wrong if they thought she was swimming in gold. It would become easily apparent to anyone who walked past the closed front entrance and around the complex--directed by plain wooden signs nailed to the wall--that the entirety of the sprawling first floor had been converted to a warehouse. Dry goods--mostly textiles and rolled-up carpets--peeked out from boxes methodically stacked in rows, while able-bodied laborers traversed the floor moving one box to another location or some equally vital but tedious task. The faint sour odor of tanning leather was in the air, mixed with a curious hint of herbs and yellowed paper, and the cool floor had a thin film of sawdust.

Later on, more people were filed in, ushered up the staircase by the very same individual who had escorted Myara. With a grunt, the man left the door open on what was hopefully his last round up--the building's second floor was the "residential quarters," and Prudence's half-office, half-living room approach wasn't ideal for a group of people numbering around fifteen.

A loud cough cleared the room of the subdued hum of disgruntled individuals forced to squeeze together on an ancient sofa, bringing the strangers' attention to a jolly, middle-aged woman, who was short and round like a cask of wine, entering from a secluded room in the back with a thick envelope under her arm. Her dark hair was graying at the roots, and she was fumbling with a cane as she hobbled towards the group, but her eyes were sharp, unnaturally so, and belied the missing teeth in her mouth. Speaking of, she had bared her visitors a greeting smile-grimace. "Well, good folks. I assume you've gotten your message loud and clear, else I just wasted my gold pieces. My son is missing, and I want him found." Prudence once again eased herself in the chair, taking a deep breath before she launched into the same account she had told Myara and Yadira earlier.

Son knew red plague was coming, tried to prevent it. His last appearance was three days ago, around the break of dawn, when he visited home. He hasn't returned since.

Oh, and they were members of the Lucieri, though that probably didn't matter.

"Ask your questions," the old woman ventured with a louder sigh as she stared into her visitors' eyes, taking note some had left while she was talking. All the better to save her money.

 

[Fox of Spades]

​

Shortly after they'd arrived, they were escorted upstairs. The Quincey Residence was spacious, larger than expected but a lot less luxurious than Anais thought it would be. Still, the sheer size of the warehouse-like structure was impressive - the Quincey's probably weren't swimming in gold, but they were important, or at least held some form of rank or power. As the pyromancer sat on the sofa beside Faora, Lawrence, and Jagred, her eyes couldn't help but wander from Prudence to the other faces in the room.

They weren't the only ones who'd answered the call. There were several other people... and - a dorky grin wormed its way onto the girl's face - there was a magical right there too! The small, child-like features, the twitchy rabbit ears, it was frigging adorable. Once her eyes had locked onto the Carbuncle, she found herself staring - rudely and openly starring. "I've never seen a magical like that before," the words spilled out of her mouth as she gave Faora a soft nudge with her elbow.

Had Prudence not spoken, Anais would have continued to gape.

Right, they were here to make some serious gold - save a missing boy. She listened to Prudence's words, and once the woman had finished, looked up with a surprisingly serious gaze. "So he was trying to cure those sick people? Do you think one of them might have gotten to him?" If he went missing the day things went to hell, it wouldn't be hard to believe he'd gotten into a fight with one of them. "You said this was a plague?" The word left a bad taste in her mouth. If it was truly a plague, was it contagious? Were things about to get even worse? "What caused this Red Plague? Do you think whoever did this might have had a bone to pick with your son? I mean, people turning into weird rabid monsters screams magic... I've never heard of sicknesses like this." Magic having adverse effects on humans wasn't new, but what had happened in the Bazaar was a whole new level of strange.

 

[Fox of Hearts]

​

At the Quincey Residence: Dock Group + Merc Group + Bazaar Group ... Everyone Assemble!

Light danced across the shimmering blue and green scales. Each flick of the fishtail scattered the light in a new, mesmerizing pattern. Vivi was unaware of how distracting she was as she shifted around trying to get comfortable on the threadbare armrest. While some of her discomfort came from her chosen seat, most of it stemmed from being packed into the same room with so many humans. It was like being in the bazaar again but with half the noise and twice the smell.

Her nose twitched irritably thanks to the constant assault. The shock dulled gradually and soon she was able to pick out different scents from the malodor. A pleasant, floral aroma beckoned from either Liber or Estefania while a musky pungency flowed in thick waves from that giant of a man near the center of the sofa. Barely overpowered by the manly odour was a weird burnt smell. Not wood but something she couldn't identify correctly because of the interfering heavy nodes from the manly odour. Now that she had a chance to look at Jagred properly, she couldn't stop staring. Her blue, doe eyes popped with childlike wonder as she took in his hulking appearance. Could humans even reach that height? Was he an Otherfolk like her?

"He is big .... no, tall," she whispered in awe. "Miss," she tugged at the sleeve of her earlier companion to get their attention over the bubbling voices. "Is he human? He is ... that man Magical early. Are they the same?" She was referring to Bryte as best as she could, because she wasn't quite sure what to called that horned human. After all, the only other species she knew fairly well were humans. The humans on Florencia Island, at least. Those living on the mainland or in Luzvimin were as mysterious as the Otherfolks she observed since she left home.

She flinched and paused without releasing the sleeve. Somewhere in this very room someone was staring at her. Vi couldn't help shuddering. Her sense of self-preservation kicking into overdrive. She squared her shoulders before glancing around furtively. As her gaze returned to Jagred, she spotted wispy, red strands floating like seaweed in water coming from the man's other side. A loud, whispery-yet-not-so-discreet voice spoke up shortly after.

"I've never seen a magical like that before."

Vi's upright ears curled down, as she winced at how shrill Anais was. Still, that excitement emanating from the girl's voice was enough to piqued the curiosity of the usually skittish bunny. Vi slid discreetly off the armrest and floated over to the fire mage. Peeking from behind the sofa, the tiny merthing found herself looking at two human females. A fidgety, redhead and a brunette. They seemed to be deep in conversation, so the little momma considered slipping away unnoticed. Unknown to her, as she dropped down from her perch, one of her fluffy ears brushed against the brunette's ear.

The merbunny quietly returned to her original seat closer to Liberty and Estefania in the nick of time. A loud cough silenced the room and a stout woman hobbled into view. Her cane tapping rhythmically against the floorboards. Vi listened to Prudence's story and Anais' questions attentively. Her ears now totally straight. She did her best to hang onto every word but the term "red plague" went over her head. She didn't know what the word "plague" meant. Red, though, was not always the safest of colours. The Elders said that red snakes could kill with a single bite and red tides out at sea meant that many would surely die.

Here too, apparently. Miss Quincey's son went missing because he messed with something "red". The mere thought of getting close and personal with potential danger sent a chill down the Magical's spine. Her animal instincts warned her to not get involved but her maternal instincts held firm. She squashed her misgivings as best as she could and reflected on everything she heard.

Yes, she was aware that Corrin was expecting the carriage. Yes, she heard about the chaos at the marketplace and the Grand Circle. Yet, she couldn't stop thinking about how big the market place was. Their short walk over to the Quincey Residence showed that it was possible to come from different directions. Meaning, he could have headed to the marketplace from any possible number of routes. She suspected that Miss Prudence would have sent people down all the different paths but she doubted it would hurt to ask. Shyly, she raised her hand and decided to ask a question of her own. "Miss, you said he came before sun up. He left after talking to you. Did you see which way he went?"

Worried that her question was a little off topic compared to those the red seaweed-head raised, Vi pulled on her right ear as she kept her eyes focused on Prudence. "Um I saw um your place ... we can come many ways from the market. Have you checked them? All of them, I mean."

 

[Akashi]

It was decided. The red heads around her were all up for it. To investigate the poster, and to find the quest giver. Enthusiastic like Anais, she had no reason to not go. Coming from a pirate, she wanted to know and help someone find their son. Her starving stomach could wait a little bit more. The more hungrier she was, the tastier the food would be. Following a group of two now turned into one of four, they eventually made it to their respective destination. The Quincey Residence.

Once they were all inside, she took a seat next to the fiery mage. Apparently, other than herself, boarman, Lawrence and Anais, there were other strangers in the house as well. But, her eyes couldn't help but notice the unique magical in the same room as her. Staring, she was brought back to the reality that was from a nudge by Anais.

"Yes, I meet a Nymph earlier too. Those green plant creatures." She leaned against her ears, whispering. "I guess being a pirate, there's still a lot I need to see." The brunette couldn't help but consider this Magical cute. Once she got off of the perch, her fluffy ear brushed off against Faora.

Surprised and curious, the pirate woman touched her ear, and couldn't help but be in awe. The touch, even for a mere second was soft and comforting?. She wanted to know more about this creature.

Now to the task at hand. Questions came pouring in from Anais and the others. Faora wanted to ask as well, but her newly acquired friend asked the most important questions so far. All she did was to silently listen in. Keep her green orbs glued to Prudence and the others in the vicinity.

 

[Remmy Rose]

Lawrence had followed his merry gang into the house, marveling at the beautiful woodwork. It was plain and relatively simple but for a man who hails from a desert island, wood was often a rare building resource and expensive. Most woods were usually imported from the mainland but some sparse trees grew on Solistia, most within small oasis and those were cherished for their fruit and shade. Solistians only cut down trees if they could afford it. The redhead couldn't help but draw his hand along the wall as they climbed entered the room, enjoying the smooth surface. It even smelled different too, but Lawrence was getting distracted. He wasn't here to admire wood.

Taking a seat next to Anais and his other companions Lawrence fixed his curious, golden stare on the old woman at the front of the room, giving her his full attention when she finally spoke. The Solistian blinked, opting to listen to the others' questions first. His interested peaked at Anais' inquiry, feeling his palm clench over the worn material of his trousers. The sick ones..., did this old woman have a connection with the incident? Through her son? Did he know what the disease was?

The way those people were treated still horrified Lawrence as well as the disease's origins. From the way, Anais worded her question it almost sounded as if she suspected another person created it. The idea sent a rush of icy shivers down his veins. It never occurred to Lawrence that the disease might be man-made. The only illnesses he had come across were natural occurrences brought about by nature, however, despite his country bumpkin education the Solistian recalled learning about biological diseases that were engineered by man. At the time Lawrence had just thought of them as fish tales, who would ever want to make an uncontrollable illness?

The implication that it could be something real was utterly horrifying. "Ma'am, how did your son know about the Red Plague?" Lawrence asked, raising his hand halfway, politely waiting for others to finish speaking so as not to bombard the woman with too many questions. "Do you know of any other people he may have been working with?"

 

[Unbound]

They had finally arrived, stood by the Quincy residence as she listened absent-mindedly to what the woman was saying. Sure, the prospect of paid work sounded nice, a small adventure to get some coin so that she could continue her mission, her search. However, she couldn't seem to focus, barely picking up the words that were spoken. She couldn't leave yet, she had come so far, to get so close to her next hint, a clue that could tell her what she needed. Liberty knew it was somewhere in the city, somewhere close, and all she had to do was go and search for it. The missing person could wait, she was after her own missing, or dead, person after all, and she had travelled all this way for herself, not for this small job. Her gaze turned, scanning the streets behind her as she thought, taking in the faces of the passing people. She didn't expect to see anything of importance, but Liberty found herself surprised as her eyes came across a face she recognised.

"Hey, bunny, I got something to do. I'll meet back up with you guys in a bit." She spoke simply, turning away from the group in a hurry, brushing her way into the crowd as she went after the familiar face, an old colleague of her father's who she used to remember coming around to the house; before everything went to crap.

 

[Astros]

"Sure."

Was the stout reply by Bryte as the group of ladies left him in line for the guardsmen to his right. Collecting his things scattered across the ground and regaining his place among the file of people. Several minutes passed before he began to fidget in boredom. Looking around at the unexplored areas still yet left to him in the city and then back at the line which seemed to grow longer than shorter. It wasn't long until Bryte abandoned his post in search of more interesting sights.

Wandering the streets and taking in the city, he rounded a corner to be greeted by a waterfront. Strolling down the promenade, he soon found a bench with which to rest at. With his thoughts lingering on the announcement he absentmindedly found himself looking around for an indication of the street. Looking in all general directions, the end of a street sign caught his eye in what seemed to be the end of "Lehan". Thinking to pay the place a visit to see what sort of crowd it gathered, his feet soon followed before he was standing before its gates.

Being among the last to enter the building and taking his time to look the place over before ascending the steps. Unlike the rest who took a seat, he remained standing and shambled around the room. Looking to the walls, furniture, the view of the outside, and just about everything but the people within it. His attention was taken away from the elderly woman and her request, just as the talking began to stir. Curious as to the Red Plague spoken about, but not yet sure of whether he was needed in finding the woman's missing son giving the turn out. He wagered a question in a moment of silence as the first two rounds of questioning were cleared and answered.

"Did he have breakfast?"

 

[Warden]

The audience listened to the elder Quincey's story, rapt, their attention snared by their own curiosity or the allure of a paycheck. Maybe even both, or perhaps because of an inane reason best kept to oneself. What mattered to Prudence was that her plan worked, and now she—presumably— had a greater chance of recovering her wayward son before he went and injured himself too badly. Of course, the group had questions; it was to be expected. The weary woman reached for the glass of water by her desk and took a gulp, before beckoning for the first inquiry to be revealed. Prudence, however, wasn't expecting the wording chosen by the fiery-haired, waifish girl—she choked on her drink.

"Cure!? Corrin!? BAH!" The merchant exclaimed with a wide, sweeping gesture after she had recovered from her initial reaction. In doing so, she nearly knocked over a stack of documents at the edge of the nearby table. "I know my son. He wouldn't plan so far as that. He's too idealistic for his own good, he is, rushing off towards a fool's dream of honor and glory without thinking of provisions for the road ahead. I bet my warehouse he thought jumping into this kind of mess would get him accolades and the like, the idiot," Prudence scoffed, adding, "in fact, he was excited about this whole mess, jumping around everywhere like a rabbit touched in the hindlegs! "Oooh mum I'm going to be a hero and save Aesyth!" He couldn't even last a week on his own in the wilderness! I should know, I had to kill a giant lizard on my fourteenth birthday. Living out of Lida spoils you, I swear. The absolute moron…" She sounded both annoyed and resigned. With another wave, weaker this time, the stocky mother eased into her seat with some difficulty—and remained silent for some time, until another inquiry jolted her from her thoughts.

It was from a Magical, and one far… softer than any she had seen in all her years in Lida. She doubted the… tiny mermaid could help, but who was she to doubt things (or sentient beings) who came in small sizes? The result would be proof enough of the Otherkin's success, anyway.

"Well, unfortunately, no. I was minding my wares then, we had a bad spill on the main floor the last night and some of the products had been affected…" Prudence replied with a sigh, her eyes lingering on the Magical with a hint of wariness before moving on to yet another redhead. Was this one related to the first girl? Upon hearing his question, however, the tired merchant leaned forward, her face scrunching up in concentration. After yet another pause, she finally thought of something to say. "Right, I remember the first time he talked about this drivel… Hmm, it was a few months back… Around three to four? I'm horrible with dates," Prudence winced, continuing, "anyway, I didn't mind him much—he had always been prone to the most impractical fantasies, but this time… Well… He was exchanging correspondence with another Lucieri member from Lida."

She leaned back against her chair and stared off into the distance, clearly trying to recall as best as she could. "Now, I don't pry, but whatever that fellow—or lady, always used this ridiculously fragrant letter paper—wrote, but it just inflamed Corrin's ideas. "Mum there's a plague!!! It's coming here!!!" One day, then "I bet we can solve it, the Lucieri solves things, right!" the next. Bah!" Prudence made another gesture, though it was a bit incomprehensible, hidden as her other arm was behind another pile of papers. "Now, I mentioned Corrin was supposed to meet What's-Their-Name Gold-Something in Eastmire, but I don't know if that's the person he was talking about… Or someone else, related to this… thing, whatever it was. It's worth a look, I suppose… But for now I'm more interested in finding in my fool son." Of course, it went without saying that Corrin, no matter how … airheaded his mother might have presented him, knew far more about this 'Red Plague' than Prudence did. Any further clues would have to come from him.

Estefania, who had been watching the carbuncle from the corner of her eye as she virtually drifted from one place to the next, stood up straighter from her position beside the worn sofa. Her little group had arrived too late to claim any seat in the merchant's sparsely-decorated, acrid—she wrinkled her nose, once again reminded of the dense smell of packed, unwashed people—office, though she supposed it was a blessing. The noblewoman spared a glance at the quartet that had somehow tortured themselves into fitting onto the creaky old thing, and shuddered.

To her, the matter was becoming clear. The son's idiocy was aggravated or purposely led on by a Lidaran Lucero—Estefania had sighed when she found out that the merchant was a member of that organization. In Gualtierrez… Well, whatever happens in her travels should stay unspoken, though she wanted this matter done and over with. Associating with "rebels" and "insurgents" would not be good for her image as a Condesa. To that end, she opened her mouth to ask—

"Did he have breakfast?"

It seemed that not only the petite fencer was surprised by that interjection, but also Prudence herself. With a quick glance, Estefania realized it came from that very same person they had met in line to the Circle. Hm. The aristocrat gestured at Vivi to catch her attention, then leaned in ever-so-slightly and whispered, "Speaking of the devil… Perhaps you could ask it instead?"


Whatever answer the weathered lady could have said was cut off by a particularly loud thump on the roof, quickly followed by a couple of tiles sliding off and shattering on the main floor, to the terror and consternation of several unlucky workers. The ceiling rattled louder every passing second, almost as if a giant rat was traipsing throughout the overhead piping, prompting Prudence to get up from her seat and inspect the beams with narrowed eyes as a thin shower of sawdust and dirt rained down on the unwary group. Everything looked fine, even to the trained eye—far more than fine. The warehouse was decorated with the deplorable sense of style a rotting badger would possess, and it was more like a place of nonstop business than a home, but it was sturdy. What could be causing…?

"HOY! Get off the roof, crazy!"

A chorus of yells rang out from the main floor, from the laborers who had recovered from the initial shock and gathered in a half-circle, staring above the second floor. Old Prudence held a hand up at the small crowd gathered in front of her, signaling them to wait, but not overtly commanding them to stay put. She painstakingly heaved her way to the door, curious about the commotion—and half-possessed of a mind to tell her servicemen to tone down.

 

[Fox of Spades]

So her son Corrin had known for at least three to four months now... puzzling, if this disease had been spreading for that long, how had it not become common knowledge yet? News as frightening as that had a tendency to spread like wildfire. This puzzling thought was just a teensy bit distressing. Had someone out there been purposely trying to keep it a secret?

Anais listened quietly - for once - as the woman spoke of her son's exploits and his dreams of heroism and greatness.

Something about contacts, the Lucieri, Eastmire. "You want us to go to Eastmire?"

Before the burning of the Bazaar, she'd been a little more than runaway Pyromancer with a small bounty on her head, a failure of an alchemist who parroted her nonexistent greatness. Yet here she was today, roaming the streets with a new pirate friend and potentially getting hired to find some merchant's son. Life certainly came with its surprises. The twist of events amused her so much that she didn't quite notice one of the people leaving or the man who'd asked the breakfast question.

Count me in, lady! Anais would have yelled out fervently, had it not been for the strange noises coming from the rooftop.

Tiles smashed onto the ground below as people broke into yells.

Hoh boy, today sure was an adventure. Entranced by the latest events, Anais missed Prudence's stay-put-please signal and jolted to her feet. Unaffected by the other people around her, she marched towards the nearest window and flung it open to stare at the people below. They were all gaping as they tilted their heads back to stare at something - er, someone she couldn't see. A baffled look crossed her features. Was... was someone contemplating suicide?

That was the first thought that ran through the flighty pyromancer's head. Before anyone could say otherwise or prove her wrong, she'd committed fully to the idea. "The heck?" The words started spilling out of her mouth, jumbled and rushed.

"Um, whoever's up there, are you... uh, are you thinking about jumping? You probably shouldn't. I'm sure there's someone out there who cares about you!"

 

[RedArmyShogun]

​

This Lucieri branch was quite hopeless wasn't it? How in the world did... No maybe she joined the wrong side.. If stability was what she wanted to bring to the world then wouldn't it be far better to take up..... Stopping herself mid though, she remembered her Master's warnings in regards to his last pupil... Turning her attention back to the manner at hand, this woman seemed.. odd, which was rich coming from Yadira.

"Miss Quincey, If you do not mind be being so informal, these things proved to be quite real and they did a bit of damage on your city. Make no mistakes, this was a test run, and they'll be back soon and in greater number. For me stopping that is far more important. than finding him, thankfully it's not an exclusive search. If it were possibly I suggest we split in teams to track down the three possible leads we have, and even though I'm.... to be frank, disappointed at the state of a branch office who fell this far. What he found if more dangerous to us than to him, It's not so simple to find them quickly and with no orders. We might need to go to the source of all of this for your son. It's also in our interests that this is stopped, and fast.."

IF one thing was for sure. This branch far from inspiring.... That much would be factoring into her reports on this situation. Though just maybe her antics would have worked something out, she thought it best for now to keep the conversations low key, see if any of these other sorts had plans of there own in mind.

Either way the Fiddler on the roof caught her attention much more so. "Ha, so poorly trained." Ignoring the others, she joined the commotion outside, if only hoping to see what sort of train wreck it would be. With her Parasol in hand, the Green haired woman smiles, keeping her ears to those around her given the general lack of a plan that yet seemed to be here.

 

[ERode]

The warehouse of Prudence spoke to Jagred on an instinctual level. No pointless decorations, no wasted space. Just good old Lidaran frugality, something that was becoming rarer and rarer in this age of excess. Various jars and supplies grabbed the noble savage's attention, but it was the mission here that was the most important. A son, an adolescent, was missing, and the mother wanted him back.

Simple. Cut and dry. And with a couple familiar faces that caught his attention as well. The minstrel who had been curious about the Red Plague, was it? Jagred nodded at the umbrella-wielding figure once, a glimmer of curiousity in his eyes before he paid further attention to the questions and answers that darted from one to the other. There was nothing in particular that the man wanted to know, but as he listened in, he did note that one of the Others within the room, a curious water-themed creature, was looking at him. A child-like Other, was it? The Lidaran smiled at her warmly, like an adult to a curious child, before wondering why someone like that would be interested in taking on such a job. After all, a job to find a missing person rarely ended up on a good note. More often than not, being missing simply meant they were dead in a ditch.

Such dark thoughts and malignant theories were to be left for another day, though, as the crumbling of the roof above, as well as shouts out from the streets and Anais's quick flight reminded Jagred that the present was the most important time frame. Brushing past Prudence, the barrel-chested man loomed over the firecracker mage, intent on seeing if this was a suicidal fool escaping from crippling debt, a leech of society that finally decided to off themselves for the greater good, or just an acrobat trying to make a scene at the worst possible time.

"Watch your head," he remarked towards Anais, "Don't want them landing on you."

 

[Yzmael]

Myara watched from her seat as a large group of people rose from the door, and thus did Prudence repeat the same explanation she had given to her and the Journeyman, with a rather damaged enthusiasm, to say the least. While the explanation and the back and forth between her and the group occurred, the swordswoman eyed every person that remained. The group slowly dwindled and, in the end, only a fraction of those who entered remained. A few young women, to which Myara could only assume were either adventurers of some kind. A particular Other who seemed different from anything Myara had seen thus far. Finally, two young red-haired men, one robust and strong-looking, and another slim, lean. Of course that was as far as Myara's observations could go. Anything else was, to her sights, rather pointless. To a soldier, few things mattered.

Among one of them, a person caught her eye, the man she had sold the antlers to before, now wearing them exquisitely. 'Twas an interesting coincidence, but that's all she truthfully thought of it. Their questions seemed similar to Myara's own doubts, so she was glad that people were voicing their interest in the mission. Thanks to them, new information rose, and they got to know more about Prudence's son, Corrin, and his intentions. It seemed like his idealistic views had gotten him in quite the pinch now. They now had two people of interest they could go on about, although one of them was a complete mystery. Whoever the person sending him the letters was, she was certainly not relevant to this case at the moment.

As the conversation started reaching places, a new question rose from the group that left Myara with an expression befitting her lack of belief that anyone would even raise such a pointless inquiry: "Did he have breakfast?"

Sighing, the swordswoman couldn't help but place her palm on her face and shake her head, failing to hear the excited chirps another lady regarding the Eastmire lead and finally someone she recognized spoke, it was the Journeyman.

Although Myara was intent on seeing Prudence's son alive, she had to admit that the chances were low. In the end, although she hoped for the best, she had to agree with the Journeyman's remark. It was far more important to see the security of the citizenry and making sure such events didn't occur so soon than it was to save this lady's son.

That was when another sound caught her attention, moving her hands towards the sword sitting beside her, Myara stood from her seat and eyed the ceiling. Taking notice of the commotion outside, she stood in rapt attention, eyeing the door with a severe scowl.

 

[Remmy Rose]

"Ah, much better~" Purred a white-haired man, striding through the town with a kicked to his step. "Sitting in a stuffy room was getting boring," He continued on to himself, carelessly hopping from one lovely rooftop to the next, undisturbed by the drop and the precarious footing. Ignoring the growing group of onlookers below, the mysterious male continued on his merry way. A kind of pressurized power rolled off him in waves, crackling like electricity. Even his eyes seemed to embody some of that power, turning them a most unnatural shade of pink. They complemented the cold smirk that split his face, gleaming almost predatory-like as he approached his target. The house had been easy enough to find, the foolish old hag and left tons of fliers just lying around with her address, not to mention the announcement from earlier. It just made his job easier. If the guy wasn't gonna talk then the mysterious man knew exactly what to do. People always became loose-lipped when you had the right kind of persuasion. Or in this case, a human punching bag.

Nothing personal old hag, He thought, approaching the house. Pausing, the male brandished his fists, feeling the fortified metal of his gauntlets flex along the joints. The energy in the air increased and suddenly the man lunged forward, heels smashing into the tiles of the house with the force of something much larger than he really was. The whole building shook, kicking up a cloud of dust and a chorus of lovely yelps from below. The symphony brought a sneer of pleasure to the male's face as he rose up from the cloud, gauntlets having torn massive holes into the roof. As satisfying as it was, he itched to do more, holding back had never really been his style. Leveling the house would be all too easy, like knocking over a tower of cards, but he needed the hag alive. Pity.

His arrival must have been noticed judging by the angry voice from within, but it seemed to attract a few others as well. The male paused at the edge, glancing down curiously at the faces from the window. One such face seemed rather concerned for his safety, a little fiery redheaded girl. Her words brought about a fit of laughter from the white-haired male, his eyes darkening.

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure," He chuckled, winking an eye closed. "Bet I'd make a lot of people happy if I jumped." It would certainly make the authorities' job easier, how many times had they tried to catch him? He knew he was wanted back in Lida for murder and property damage. Lots of and lots of property damage. The Lidaran responsible for the murder of a Senator candidate and for stealing top-secret armored prototypes from a Steel Enclave factory. Not to mention going on rampages of destruction with the newly engineered battle gauntlets, properly earning him the name Havoc by most. Which suited him just fine, his own name had been cast aside in the fire that burned down his home. No need to keep it.

"Anyway, I'm here for the hag," He smirked, "I got someone she might wanna see."

Without warning, the male rose, casually tossing a disc of pink magic onto the rooftop. The resulting magic circle that formed pulsed upon the ruined tiles, steadily increasing before a burst of magic energy exploded, going off like a bomb. Moving his gauntlets away from his face, the male stepped forward, dropping into the hole that formed in the roof. He landed in the middle of the room, right in front of Old Miss Quincey, giving her a devilishly cruel smirk and a mocking bow. "Sorry for dropping in, but I've got a schedule to keep." Ignoring the others in the room, Havoc reached for Prudence.​

​

 

[Remmy Rose]

Lucieri. The name was only vaguely familiar to Lawrence. Having grown on Solistia, Lawrence wasn't too in touch with foreign politics but he does recall hearing the name a few times in the marketplace. It was some kind of Lida fraction that opposed some of Lida's development. Beyond that Lawrence was clueless but it was a start. Clearly, Corrin had some connections to Lida through this group. What continued to eat at Lawrence, however, was Corrin's knowledge of the disease. Three to four months ago. Did Corrin know about the Red Plague for that long? Has the Plague been around for longer? And connections to Lida... Lawrence recalls certain bioweapons being made there, could it be a coincidence?

Ugh, he didn't know enough to be trying to make connections yet, that would only muddy the waters more. Glancing around, the Solistian checked to see what other questions the group was asking. One woman with green hair spoke up next, drawing his attention. From the way she talked and was dressed Lawrence got the impression she was of higher authority than the rest. Her tone of voice and articulation were pristine too, something the Solistian wasn't used to hearing. Definitely an official or at least from a noble family. Either way, her suggest interested Lawrence, it seemed he wasn't the only one who wondered just where and how this Plague came to be. He was torn, however, between searching for Miss Prudence's son and seeking the source of the plague itself. While Lawrence was by no means a hand of the law, he still felt inclined to protect people and after witnessing the chaos that shook the marketplace, he was determined not to let it happen again. That and he was a curious soul to heart.

The Solistian had a gut feeling he was getting into something big, at least until the ceiling shook. Startled, his gold eyes flashed up, listening to the rattling the took place just beyond.

"What in Solis—"

Lawrence glanced over to Anais, confused as she began shouting. A person contemplating suicide? Lawrence stood up, sharing Anais's concern as he made a move to join the redhead and Jagred at the window when he felt the shock of a blast from above, diving forward to the ground. His arms wrapped protectively around the back of his neck, Lawrence huddled under the barrage of debris, eyes tightly closed to prevent dust and wooden splinters from damaging them. His ears rung and the Solistian could barely make out the sound of someone talking. Coughing, the Solistian reached blindly for his pistol, struggling to feet.

 

[Fox of Hearts]

Estefania's whisper sounded louder than the human intended, causing the bunny to flinch ever so slightly. She merely bobbed her head to show she understood although she was very tempted to scoot away. A human's whisper no matter how soft was still too loud for the carbuncle's sensitive ears. The request struck Vi as rather odd. How was Corrin having breakfast or not important? Her best guess was that it hinted at his state of mind that very morning. Someone in such a hurry wouldn't have stayed long enough to enjoy even the simplest of breakfast. It was great!

Vi's bunny eyes twinkled with admiration as she heaped silent praises on Bryte and Estefania. She was so taken in by their cleverness that she lost her chance to repeat the question as instructed. A curious sound came from above. A loud, crunching sound quite different from cascading rocks. It was isolated and weighted. Almost like a footstep or footsteps in this case.

The sea rabbit's eyes flicked to the ceiling. Her nose twitched nervously while her eyes remained fixed on the very spot she believed the sound was last heard. Her ears stood at attention. Adrenaline started streaming into her bloodstream, giving her the appearance of a cornered animal. She must have screamed when the dust and plaster rained down on them but she couldn't remember hearing herself scream over the massive boom above and their group below. Her eardrums became so overloaded that everything turned to white noise. An annoying buzz that told her absolutely nothing.

"HOY! Get off the roof, crazy!"

Vi acted like how any scared critter would. She sat totally still and kept her eyes fixed on the ceiling. Her other three senses worked overtime to provide her additional information despite her immobile state. This allowed her to notice Prudence walking towards the door from the periphery of her vision. The realization made her yank her gaze down and directed it at the woman instead. Wasn't Miss Quincey worried about the noise from earlier? It sounded like thunder or worst. It wasn't something anyone should take lightly.

Panic hit full gear and the concerned bunny leaped down from her seat. Her fogged up mind couldn't quite process exactly what was happening but she couldn't help feeling awfully concerned about their elderly quest giver. She was a few feet from the woman when the mysterious man on the roof spoke. He addressed Anais but Vi's ears hadn't had time to recover fully so she couldn't make out anything the he said. All she remembered much later was the second boom knocking out her hearing for another indefinite period.

Her heart almost leaped out her throat as the startled Magical huddled on the floor. More paint chips and dust rained down upon them joined by chunks of the roof. The showers subsided to reveal a hole bigger than a gulper eel's mouth over where Prudence stood. Vi was in the process of pulling herself up when the man swooped down from above.

She watched in horror as the intruder reached out for Prudence. Even without hearing what he said earlier, she doubted his intentions were good based the cruel look on his face and the way he made the roof collapse. Her thoughts danced around crazily in her head but one thing was clear. She didn't want him to grab Miss Quincey! Someone had to do something fast. Distract him!

On any normal day, Vi would have hesitated confronting anyone. Her current adrenaline high managed to disable her usual sensibilities allowing her emotions to take charge. Reaching into her satchel, the merbunny grabbed several of the water beads in her sling bag. She drew them out and tightened her hand into fist. A soft green light peeked through the cracks between her fingers. Then, without warning, she hurled a stream of water in his direction.

"Run!" she yelled as the blue jet rushed forward.