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The Slaughterhouse (Closed)

Started by Eckhart_Von_Musel, March 30, 2017, 05:09:15 AM

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Eckhart_Von_Musel

A muffled yelp and a sickening crunch escaped into the air as the head of Griselda's target was crushed against the pavement. The Yoreiqi woman had cornered the drug lord in a back ally in Arca, and it would seem fate hadn't been on his side that night. Wiping her boot on the now deceased man's jacket, Griselda exhaled and rubbed the bridge of her nose. The man had been selling an opioid that had never been seen on the market before, and it was supposedly so potent that even a minuscule dose could cause an addiction. The amount of revenue this drug had produced caused this particular drug lord to become incredibly wealthy in the span of a a few weeks, so naturally Griselda's boss wanted to know where the source of this drug was so she herself could profit off of it. Unfortunately, Griselda's inability to ask questions had caused the man to take the secret of the drug's production to his grave- so it would appear that she would need to do some detective work so she didn't return empty handed.

Kneeling down, Griselda began to rummage through small satchel the man had been carrying with him. Unsurprisingly, it was full of clutter. A knife, an imported gun, a half eaten sandwich, and a pack of smokes were all tossed aside. Finally, she pulled out a small leather pouch and opened it to see a few dozen bright yellow pills. Figuring that her boss could likely reverse-engineer them, Griselda pocketed them. Dumping out the rest of the bag onto the ground and seeing nothing of interest, she moved onto checking the man's pockets. He had a wallet, but there was only a few loose coins inside. That was odd, as the man had reportedly been making a fortune off of these pills- and the colorful clothing he was wearing suggested that he had been throwing money around as if it was nothing. The shoes alone must have cost him at least 1000 gold...

Griselda smiled as the realization struck her. Taking the man's shoes off, she reached inside and found that there was a hollow compartment in each. The first one had the man's real wallet inside, practically bulging from the amount of money inside. The second one had something infinitely more valuable however- a key. Upon looking at it closer, Griselda could see that numbers had been engraved onto it. What numbers they were, Griselda didn't know- she had never learned how to read as a child, and to her numbers were little more than squiggly lines. However, she did know that the more circles the number had at the end, the more things you could get with it. This number had three circles, so this key was bound to open something good.

Standing up, Griselda pocketed both the wallet and the key. She figured the best place to begin looking for a number that matched the one on the key was in "The Slaughterhouse"- a nickname residents of Arca had given to the most drug ridden area of the city. It was only a few blocks in size, but there was more death and pain there than in the rest of the city combined. Stepping out of the ally and into the street, Griselda began to walk in the direction of the worst slum in Arca, wondering how it would compare to her hometown...

WallyD

Julien groaned, thumping his head against the wall over and over. This new contract paid quite alot, over 200 a day, but Julien didn't know how BORED he would be. For about a week, Julien was hired to guard a room. Just a room, he didn't know what was behind it, he wasn't paid to know.

"Riding with the wind, Always on the run, No matter where I go, There will be a Rose." Julien sang, just doing something so he doesn't die of boredom.

"Shut up!" Said a guard from the neighboring room. Julien looked over at him, both men froze. Then Julien turned back around and took a deep breath.

"THEY WILL BE, THE PRETTIEST THING I'LL SEE, WANDERING AND ON THE RUN!" Julien sang louder. The other man flipped Julien off and went back to his post as Julien continued, his eyes closed.

Blink

April Fools... I didn't really post ^.^


P.S: I will work on getting all my posts caught up by the end of the day.

Blink

Cyn had sent Nashya to Arca to get a 'close' look at the capital. Even if Golden Gear resided in Jadenshine for the time being and that was where most of their efforts were being focused, it never hurt to look further. With the abilities Nashya was cursed with she was able to see and hear much more in one single day than an entire team could in a week.

The sun was high in the sky that day, a blessing and a curse to Nashya's abilities. The direct sun eliminating some shadows in more open places, while the buildings and smaller streets had shadows cast beyond normal. Nashya had managed to tuck herself away on a side street, leaned against a wall sheltered by the shadows cast by the everchanging sun. To any passersbye she would appear to be any other girl in common clothes relaxing against a random wall with eyes closed. However, within the confines of her mind so much more was happening....

From all over the capital Nashya was filtering through conversations, whispers, altercations...everything. Of course with her abilities she could be off intimidating and attacking rivals, but her magic was better suited for this kind of work... at least part of her thought. The darker side of her personality had a different idea on how the world worked. She wanted to destroy and create pure terror among all those within her reach. "In due time..." Nashya whispered to herself as she felt her other half planning.

"A few streets down a large woman has just killed a man in flashy clothing..." Her darker self went quiet as the images began filtering through, Nashya focusing on them alone now. "She is digging for something...." Only another shadow magic user would be able to sense the eyes now cast upon the woman as she went on about her business. "... clever girl..." the voice giggled as Nashya watched the large woman find something in the man's shoe in her mind.

"Did you see those pills." Nashya asked as if someone were standing there right beside her. "I've seen those before..." she continued on, as if piecing things together. "I think we need to see what that key leads to just as much as that woman." It was funny when Nashya spoke to herself, always acting is if her other self was standing right beside her. Even if she couldn't physically see it, she could feel her other half nodding in agreement.

"Follow her"

Eckhart_Von_Musel

As she reached the outskirts of the Slaughterhouse, Griselda began to understand why it had the reputation it did. While not quite as bad as the nastier parts of Zantaric, this place gave off a completely different vibe. Zantaric, while certainly a hellhole, had a sense of freedom to it- it merely collected the worst of society thanks to the city's lack of lawmakers. This place, however, created the worst of society. There was an oppressive feeling in the air here.

Broken glass and oddly colored stains covered the ground, and many of the buildings had been boarded up. Griselda walked with a stoic expression on her face, scanning her surroundings for symbols that matched the ones on the key. "Hey love!" a prickly man on the opposite side of street called out to her. "Fancy a bit of fenshade root? Might help you relax a little." An older man next to him whistled his approval, causing both to laugh hysterically. Griselda ignored them. It seemed that wherever she looked, there was something depressing. There was a group of elderly women nearby, squabbling over a needle filled with an unknown substance. In an alleyway that was almost tucked out of view, Griselda could see two members of the town guard beating a crying woman. Her clothes were ripped, and she appeared to be pleading with them. Impoverished people were everywhere, nearly all of them with a half-dead look in their eyes. Many of them tried to get her attention, asking for money or shaking cups filled with copper coins. Griselda pressed on, unfazed.

Finally, Griselda found something- as the sun came out from behind a cloud, the glare caused something to briefly light up in the middle of the road. Suspicious, Griselda walked to where it had been and saw a small metal panel with numbers on it embedded into the road. It looked like it could be lifted out of the ground to reveal some sort of passageway, but as it was only the size of a dinner plate Griselda doubted she would be able to to squeeze herself inside. The numbers were different than the ones on the key, but they followed the same pattern- three numbers, two numbers, three circles. Now knowing what she was looking for, Griselda continued walking.

Blink

So far Nashya had been keeping her distance from the large woman, always having an alleyway or block separating them. With her shadow feeding abilities she could still watch the woman, so long as she didn't step into the full sunlight. And then as if on cue the woman did just that, forcing Nashya to step out of the safety of darkness.

The woman had just paused at a metal panel embedded in the road, only staring at it for a moment before continuing on into the now fully lit street. "Looks like we can't hide anymore" the voice in her mind beckoned. "I am aware" she responded, rolling her eyes in annoyance.

At first Nashya still tried to walk along the side of the buildings, only for the sun to rise higher in the sky taking away her solitude. Now forced to walk in the full sunlight she pulled her cloak over her shoulders, taking the hood to cast a shadow over her own eyes. By no means was Nashya as vulnerable to the sun as some fae, but always being in the darkness had made her not used to it in a sense.

She would follow the woman for as long as it took, hoping it would lead to something useful.

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Griselda had seen two more of the panels, but neither matched the symbols on the key. She figured if she just kept walking straight, she'd eventually find the one that did. After about fifteen minutes, Griselda realized that somebody was following her. This was odd, as her appearance usually deterred others from picking a fight from her. She had only seen her stalker a few times out of the corner of her eye, but they appeared to be wearing a cloak that served to conceal their face. Griselda rolled her eyes. Thieves, assassins, and other sneaky types always wore cloaks like that, and Griselda often wondered if they realized just how conspicuous it made them look.

Stopping as if to look at something, Griselda stayed in place for maybe a minute. The cloaked figure did not pass her in the street. Griselda blinked slowly and rubbed the bridge of her nose, exasperated. This person was definitely following her. Abruptly turning around, Griselda began walking in the direction the figure was standing, eyes scanning her surroundings as if she was still looking for something. As she passed her stalker, Griselda allowed herself a brief glance. It was a woman, maybe a head shorter than Griselda was. The cloak obscured her eyes, but it was easy to tell from her complexion that she was a native born Serenian. When the woman was a few yards behind her, Griselda stopped again and turned around. When the Serenian turned to follow her, she would be greeted with an impatient glare. If this woman wanted a fight, Griselda would prefer to get it over with.

Blink

Following the woman for some time Nashya noted how she kept looking at the tiles on the ground, pausing at each one before moving along. "...interesting...." the ever present voice in her mind added, mirroring her own thoughts. But then the woman turned around and was now walking right at her, so just as any respectable person she averted her eyes as the woman passed.

"Now what" she whispered to herself, half expecting some imaginary version of herself to respond while it walked beside her. Perhaps that was something she would work on with the illusionary aspects of her abilities, creating a shadow self to make things less confusing. She was more than capable of creating a fake skin on Demagogue, it couldn't be that much harder to create a full shadow copy. But then again, that would require allowing her other self to have more power over its form, therefore giving her more power to push through if she desired. "...bad idea..." she whispered to herself once more, scratching the thought from her mind.

"... good idea..."

After a few moments Nashya herself would turn around to keep following the woman, allowing what she thought was enough time for her to get a bit of distance away again. But to her surprise when she turned she did not see the back of the woman off in the distance, but instead found herself facing her head on.

Speechless she stood now staring at the woman with the same glare that was being placed on her. "... smart girl indeed...." the voice echoed within the confines of her own mind. She wasn't entirely wrong, this was a smart move. Most people would probably begin speaking some form of excuse as to why this had happened, but not Nashya. She wasn't a 'proud' individual exactly, but neither was she a coward to any opponent standing before her. So instead she continued to stand there staring at the woman.

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Griselda smirked. Now that she had a good look at her, she understood why this woman had been following Griselda instead of confronting her directly- the girl was clearly not the fighting type. Her posture suggested that she wasn't used to physical combat, and it was easy enough to tell from her body language that the girl was already distracted by something else. Griselda couldn't rule out the possibility of the woman being a magic user however, so she stayed on her guard.

Their eyes locked for a few seconds, as if they were both daring the other to make the first move. Finally, Griselda exhaled impatiently. Raising an eyebrow, she pointed at the woman.

Blink

What a day this was turning out to be. There standing in the street staring at one another appeared to be two women in a silent stand off. It was refreshing to say the least, as Nashya never really was the talkative type. Of course, she would interact when the situation called for it, but most of the time most of her talking was down in her own mind.

Even now with the woman pointing at her and clearly frustrated Nashya wasn't quite sure what to say. She had been caught, and now was expected to explain herself. Finally, Nashya took in a deep breath of her own, pulling down the hood of her cloak as she did so. "I'm simply observing." She pointed at one of the tiles on the street. "I want to know what it unlocked as much as you do." Her statement revealing that not only did she know the large woman held a key, but that Nashya knew it belonged to someone more influential than most.

"I mean no harm and have no intention of taking whatever is inside. You can have all of it, whatever it is. I just need to know what he locked away." In truth, Nashya could have just turned around and left with information she had already gathered. But the ever pressing voice in her mind was just as curious as she was.

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Griselda blinked. The girl clearly thought she was an idiot- nobody just wanted to watch a crime being committed without an ulterior motive. It was more likely that the girl was hired to kill the drug lord herself, and was now trying to make up for her failure by stealing whatever he had locked away. Chances were pretty high that she'd try to shank Griselda once they found the lock the key belonged to. Griselda smirked. The girl was free to try of course, but Griselda had been doing this kind of thing for thirteen years. An obvious amateur like this wouldn't be able to stop her, so why not use her as a second pair of eyes?

Nodding at the girl slowly, Griselda pulled the key out of her bag and showed it to her. She then pointed to the panel on the ground behind her, and to the button with her name on it. She gave the girl a quizzical look, waiting for her to respond.

Blink

At first Nashya thought the woman was being silent because she was still sizing her up. However, when she held out the key and then pointed to a button on her chest an idea clicked in her mind. "She doesn't talk"

Slowly Nashya took a step towards her, trying to seem as non threatening as possible. She had no desire to fight this woman, only to see what was hidden away in whatever this key unlocked. It was her job to gather information... not draw attention to herself.

Reading the button with squinted eyes Nashya perked up a bit, happy to put a name to a face. "Griselda is it?" her eyes then locked with Griselda's as she tried to confirm her identity. "My name is Nashya..." She didn't care much at revealing her real name as it was not what she went by in Golden Gear, in fact she was known as something else entirely through them.

Nashya then leaned in a bit more and reached out for the key in Griselda's hand, touching it with her fingertips as she tried to decipher the numbers etched onto it. "925-000" she stated after taking a step back.

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Griselda smiled upon hearing the numbers out loud. Having this Nashya girl around could certainly make things easier, seeing as she was actually able to read. Reconnaissance had never been Griselda's strong suit, nor was being subtle about things. So long as she remembered to snap Nashya's neck after they found what they were looking for, Griselda saw no reason to not to take advantage of her.

Griselda walked over to the panel she had been looking at, motioning for Nashya to follow her. Upon reaching it, Griselda looked at the hooded girl and pointed to the key, then to the panel.

Blink

It didn't take much time for Nashya to piece together what Griselda was wanting her to do. Walking up beside her she looked down at the panel and read the numbers to herself. "I think your onto something, but these don't match. They are remarkably close though, so maybe it could be one of the next panels."

Nashya then looked at Griselda and watched for her next move. She was getting an essence of hostility from her, one that she was hiding remarkably well. As Nashya's abilities were solely focused on pulling from others feelings it wasn't that hard to read strangers such as this one. Even if the sun was high in the sky obstructing any shadows on the pavement, the sun could never hide the shadows of someones heart.

She would keep this information to herself though, not wanting to further the woman's hostile intentions towards her. "Maybe we should keep looking?"

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