Expanse: The City Reboot (Dark Fantasy Epic) Main Thread (Open, Started)

[FinalDream]

Scarlett Verneer - The Warfleet Ship ?Electra? - The Ocean North of Tinsdal

She had been locked in the cell for so long, chained to the floor, that time no longer held a meaning. Scarlett laid defeated feeling abandoned, on the soaking wooden floor, aware of the ship lurching in the ocean beneath her. If she had had the effort or the food in her stomach Scarlett might have been sick. She retreated into her mind, remembering the past and Scarlett could hear her laughter, as a child, images of Sera smiling, the two of them exploring the world together. Some of the best memories of her life. Scarlett began to cry, her tears streaking through the dirt on her face.

?Sera?? Scarlett whimpered.

She reached out and touched the cuts on her body, it stung but she bit back the pain, wondering how much longer she could hold out...

 

[CrazyBlaze]

Telnor - Tinsdal Prison

"Thanks buddy. No worries. I'm sure you and the group had a lot of time to explore The North all free and stuff."

Telnor looked around the large warehouse of prisoner's goods. He saw some interesting items like grappling hooks and some very dangerous looking bows but passed those overs. After frantically searching he finally found his clothes and sword. Quickly he threw off his prisoner outfit and redressed in his own clothes. Grabbing his sword he drew it out to inspect it. The sheath could use some oiling and the blade needed a clean but beyond that it was far better than what he had taken from the guard.

Telnor listened as he heard guards yelling as they surrounded the building. There wouldn't be time to escape through the way they came in. Telnor started to look through the goods to find anything that could help them out of this predicament when he came across a box of black powder and an another box beside it holding a few homemade bombs with a set of fuses and a piece of flint.

This will make it too easy. Its almost like someone is giving us right what we need. Or the gods are making it easy for us. Heh. That sounds like what Vessel would say.

Grabbing the bombs he set a couple up right up the front door before running to the back with the rest of them and the black powder. Sticking a fuse in the black powder he sparked the the fuse and ran to the front door again. Tying those fuses together he set them off. Turning back towards the back wall he saw the explosion and saw the wall get blown out. He ran through the back wall and out into the street when the bombs at the front door went off.

Telnor jumped through the hole and into the streets just as the building behind them started to collapse. Standing up he turned to Virgil, "Pretty convenient that the warehouse was right next to the wall eh? So do we have anywhere to go from here?"

 

[Evrant-Knight]

Tinsdal Prison - Tinsdal

"Well someone knows how to make an entrance." Vessel said as she rushed over, dusting off the ashes from the explosion. Upon closer inspection, there was ash all over him and it would take a while to clean off. Vergil gave a smile to the Vessel, silently thanking her for doing this.

"Tell that to the bomber man here." He remarked, looking at Telnor with a slightly annoyed expression.

"It was his idea to use explosives. As you know Vessel, I was trying for a stealthier approach; but when something happened, the tactics changed at the drop of a hat, and we also had to make our rather hastily escape." Vergil said, speaking much more calmly now than before.

"Telnor..? I think I was wrong." Vessel said, looking almost sad in a way.

"Right, whilst I am all for reconciliation amongst friends, now might not be the best time. Since with a explosion its bound to attract rather unwanted attention, and given recent events; that is something we cannot afford to have on our heads. May I suggest this discussion take place in a more secure location?" Vergil asked the pair of them, but made it so Katelyn could hear as well.

 

[CrazyBlaze]

Telnor- Tinsdal

"Telnor..? I think I was wrong." That caught Telnor off guard. Ever since he had defeated Glen he had been thinking about his argument with Vessel and the more he thought about it the more he realized his approach had been too heavy handed.

"I was also in the wrong Vessel. But Virgil is right. We need to find a better place than this to talk. I'm sure those guards aren't too happy about a prisoner escaping and blowing up their buildings."

 

[FinalDream]

Katelyn Verneer - Prison - Tinsdal

?What the hell??

Katelyn jumped at the sound of the booming explosion, the look that crossed her face was mixed with confusion, surprise and a little annoyance. She knew that this could only be trouble. With a hurried pace she followed the Vessel and found Vergil and Telnor covered in the fine dust of what had once been the wall. She held back her tongue and listened to the conversation.

?So. Another idiot.? She mused, aloud, dryly. ?Great.? She looked around and found the street crowding with people, and guards. ?We should move now! Follow me back to the base and we will lay low for a while, until things calm down.?

She led them back to the overwatch base, once again standing before the giant wooden statue of the goddess.

 

[CrazyBlaze]

Telnor- ???- Tinsdal

"So. Another idiot.""Hey! I kind of resent that. I'm not just another idiot. I'm THE idoit! Wait. That makes me sound worse. Um continue on strange woman," Telnor looked around the base, focusing mostly on the giant wooden statue.

"So. I take some major things have happened during well I was doing hard time. I also can't help but notice a severe lack of Scarlet. I thought for sure she would have missed my charming personality," Telnor shifted from foot to foot as he looked at the awkward glaces of the rest of the group. "Something happened didn't it. Tell me."

 

[Evrant-Knight]

The Library of the Wind - Tinsdal

"So. I take some major things have happened during well I was doing hard time. I also can't help but notice a severe lack of Scarlet. I thought for sure she would have missed my charming personality." Telnor remarked as he shifted from foot to foot, receiving awkward glances from the other members of the group. "Something happened didn't it. Tell me."

"Indeed, many things have happened since your incarceration Telnor. Scarlett has been kidnapped for one thing; during an investigation into some potential threat involving some sort of plague. We had to hunt down several chests which contained information that would lead us to a cure; in no small part did we run into the Champions of the Tempest, and some strange man who carried a weapon similar to one I currently possess." Vergil remarked, showing the black powder firearm to Telnor.

"Thanks to the Vessel's medical knowledge, a cure was able to have been created; and we proceeded towards a structure called the Tower of Man, accompanying myself, the Vessel, Julie and Katelyn, was the leader of the Champions, called the Oncoming Storm. The Tower was an old weapon, designed to spread the plague; but it was old and defective, and we were tricked into using it for healing.

Sadly though, the Oncoming Storm sacrificed himself to save the Vessel from a fatal wound by the mysterious stranger who lead us here." He said in a rather sad tone, briefly looking at the Vessel, both of them knowing what had really happened there; this way, he protected her.

"After climbing the Tower, whilst the Vessel was working on the final stages of the cure, I was battling the mysterious stranger; but also rescued Julie's daughter Emile. Despite her best intentions, when the Vessel deployed the cure, she had received an overload of negative and harmful energy; enough that she went into a state of pure anger and rage, creating havoc nearby. Fortunately, I was able to calm her down, bring her back to her senses. You could say we both benefited from that." Vergil remarked with a brief smile at the Vessel.

 

[FinalDream]

Katelyn Verneer - The Temple of the Wind - Tinsdal

The echo of approaching lone footsteps silenced the group and all of a sudden the noise seemed to create a cold and eerie atmosphere in the scented wooden chamber. As if it held the weight of dread and impending bad news. Katelyn shivered. Emerging from the shadow of the central statue Daniel De?Silver arrived before the gathered individuals and he seemed pale in the low light of the candles, with falling shadows outlining the hard features of his face. His charismatic attitude had vanished. Katelyn had never seen him like this before, and that scared her.

?Daniel?? Katelyn remarked in a serious tone. ?What?s wrong??

As he searched for the words to speak he avoided looking at Katelyn. ?It?s Scarlett. She is in the hands of the Warfleet.?

Katelyn felt her heart sink. ?Where??

?We?? He paused. ?Don?t know.?

?What!? Katelyn let her anger flourish. ?I thought??

?Silence girl.? The voice emerged from behind the statue of Isabella. ?This is no time for misplaced anger.? Isabella waited for a protest from Katelyn but none came, she knew better than to challenge her mother. ?She had been moved long before we found the location, there was nothing you, or anyone else, could have done.?

Katelyn was angry, but she was restrained. Though it did not show in her face.

?There is a warehouse near the river. Daniel will take you. You can begin your search for Scarlett from there.?

She said nothing more and turned to leave.

 

[Korten12]

? Temple of the Wind ? Tinsdal.

They had followed them to the Temple of the Wind. The three of them stayed silent while everyone discussed, apparently they would be headed to a warehouse near a river. He didn't complain, he said he would help.

 

[ServebotFrank]

Kain Whitestroke-Aurora Hideout-Tinsdal

Kain returned to the Aurora Hideout and saw Marne waiting as he walked through the door. "Kain, apparently there was a break in at the Tinsdal Prison." Kain raised his eyebrow intrigued, "So who was busted out?" He asked. "Telnor Ghests." Was the reply. Kain reached for his coat that he had just removed, "Damn, guess I better get back out there." With those words, Kain exited the Hideout once more and began his walk to the prison to investigate.

????-The Infinite Storm-Eastern Expanse.

"Jacopo! Time for your shift! Keep that damn storm going!" The Captain shouted over the noise of the wind and thunder. All around were dark storm clouds circling around The Infinite Storm, it was a constant artificial hurricane and the ship rode right in the eye. The ship was almost too industrial for the time. An ancient ship; it has been roaming the Eastern Expanse for centuries.

Down below the deck of the ship, in the center of the massive ship, was a grand room. Very Militaristic and Luxurious at the same time. Scattered across the room were either historical documents or dossiers. In the midst of this mess you would occasionally see books on military tactics and so forth. The Commander of the ship lay on his bed however he didn't looked relaxed. He seemed to be in a state of thought and alert. In the dim light, one would be able to see his remarkable age and height. His nose was crooked, the sign of a veteran warrior. Across his face were numerous small scars and he slept with his hand on his sword. Always ready for the unexpected.

Vieri Benenati-Home-Estoff-6219 C.D.

"Mama. Mama!" Vieri squealed as his mother forced a torn shirt over his head. "Mama!" He screamed once more, "Where are we goin'?" His mother picked him up in her arms and answered, "You and Don are getting to be such big boys now so we're going to visit your father at work so you can see how important it is." Vieri groaned, "But I know Mama! He hunts those bad mages!" His mother laughed, "I know sweetie, but we want you to see one go to the big prison. We know how vile they are but don't want to see them up close? As poor as we are?" Vieri ate up the Propaganda like he and his brother always did. They loved hearing stories about the bad mages and how their dad hunted them.

Most of the families in the neighborhood enjoyed this. Seeing their children reject the mages as they did. Some of the families were recent haters of the mages; others have hated them since their childhood as did their parents. It wasn't entirely uncommon for kids to participate in the discrimination of the mages, warranted or otherwise and many of the kids had fathers who worked in Eren Douab or out on the field. The Benenati's in particular were well respected. Captain Benenati has been a Mage Hunter for years and now is a security officer at Eren Douab.

The Benenati's exited the door to their decrepit house and boarded a humble carriage for the ride to Ferela.

 

[FinalDream]

Daniel De?Silver - The Sern Bake-Warehouse - Tinsdal

Kate. I love you.

Daniel stood alone at the side of the river, hands buried in his pockets, gazing at his reflection in the water. He watched it break apart and reform as the water gently lapped against the stone of the dock. He let a long sigh escape his lips, briefly turning his attention to the warm vapour from his mouth as it rose and vanished into the cold air. Inside his head the words seemed so easy, so simple, so clear, and yet he struggled to speak his feelings to her. He laughed a little inside, mocking himself. It seemed ironic that the man known for talking too much now had nothing to say.

He had brought the group to the old baking warehouse, one of many warehouses that lined the banks of the river before the bridges of trust, as it had been the last place his informant had seen Scarlett. He turned around and observed the three story building, it looked ready to be condemned. It seemed ready to collapse but nature had begun to reclaim the site and plants grew from the cracks in the ground, climbing up along the walls as a kind of natural support. His instinct had been right. He had found the remains of cut rope at the waters edge, a boat had been moored here not too long ago and departed.

He saw the group walk inside and jogged to catch them up, upon entering he found the second floor had collapsed and the remains of several metal machines rusting along the walls. Birds fluttered overhead as he walked to large pool of dried blood in the centre of the ruins, along side the open hatch leading straight underground.

Oh, I hope that's not hers...

 

[CrazyBlaze]

Telnor- Tinsdal

Telnor followed along as they made their to the warehouse Telnor whistled a little cheerfully, after all it felt good to be out of prison and rid of his imaginary mind demons. As they entered the warehouse Telnor looked around at its ruined state. The most obvious thing of course was the giant puddle of blood and the hatch that was next to it.

"Well it would make sense that there wouldn't be any footprints if whoever was here took the hatch," Telnor replied to Vessel, "So the next step is of course to jump down feet first without looking." Telnor walked over to the hatch and ignoring the fact that there was most likely a ladder next the hatch, jumped into the darkness.

 

[Evrant-Knight]

The Sern Bake-Warehouse - Tinsdal

Vergil had kept up with the others on route to wherever it was they were going. He could see that there was a crowd of people heading towards the smoke that rose from the prison, no doubt that they still hadn't put the fire out that came from the explosion. He felt a mixture of annoyance and joy; joy at being able to liberate Telnor from the confines of prison, yet also annoyance towards the same person for creating the mess in the first place. But, that wasn't the focus of their attention now; Scarlett was.

They soon arrived at the warehouse for an abandoned bakery; whilst it might of been years since anything edible was stored here, Vergil could still find a brief odour of what was once here. Vergil soon saw the dried pool of blood that the Vessel began to investigate. He walked over and knelt down, then began to survey the scene, hoping his skills would help in discovering what happened here.

"I've not got anything definite yet but I'm getting a few ideas. From the looks of the pool the blood was released over a long time, if it was a single blow or dramatic trauma you'd expect a sort of splatter pattern. This could imply whatever bleed here wasn't instantly killed, I'm not sure they'd still be alive but I'd at least say they could have moved a little.

Now of course what's interesting is that there aren't any bloody footprints, now that's a little strange, especially since the passage is open. So anyone bleeding in here must have found another way out." The Vessel remarked as she made some early observations. Telnor meanwhile had decided to jump into the unknown again.

"What if Vessel, the person that was bleeding here was being carried out on some kind of blanket, or at least something similar. That might explain why there aren't any blood stained footprints. You said something about the blood being released over a long period of time, what kind of tool could be used to make it that way? My guess is that it'd have to be something that would create a small wound."

 

[Evrant-Knight]

The Sern Bake-Warehouse - Tinsdal

"Well what ever carried them should still have needed to step in the blood. As for weapon yes, a small deep wound would make the most sense. A dagger maybe, or an arrow or..." Vessel said, stopping just before the end of a sentence, quite possibly trying to forget that thought, but failing.

"Unless of course Vessel, they side stepped around the blood. Then again, it was just a theory to begin with." Vergil remarked as he looked around the area, seeing if there were any further clues before deciding what to do next. He then saw the Vessel, she looked uneasy to say the least.

"You feeling alright? Take it the sight of this blood, and who it could possibly belong to, is making you feel uneasy. If it makes you feel any better, I'm scared as well, I mean; it could be hers, which means the situation is possibly worse than we first thought. Look, if you want to take a breather, to try and calm yourself for a few moments, I'm sure the rest of us can manage."

 

[Korten12]

? The Sern Bake ? Warehouse ? Tinsdal.

?What about the chance they came back and washed the footsteps? Granted it would beg the question as to why they left the other blood but maybe it was to throw us off,? Lorel questioned as he also studied the blood and area.

 

[Evrant-Knight]

The Sern Bake - Warehouse - Tinsdal

"Could be who's?" The Vessel asked.

"You know who I'm talking about, Scarlett; this could be her blood here." Vergil responded with, slightly surprised that the Vessel didn't figure it out. Lorel then threw in his two cents on the matter.

"What about the chance they came back and washed the footsteps? Granted it would beg the question as to why they left the other blood but maybe it was to throw us off."

"Perhaps Lorel, but that would've meant that they knew someone was coming. And if they had washed some of the blood off, don't you think we would've seen traces of either soap and water near here? Given the currently cold climate we're in, it would have proven difficult to scrub it away effectively."