15strangers | (no subject)

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*round 6

(no subject)

W̡͜E̶EK ̵̕2̕͠

[The blight would not stop.

The world's leading experts have been trying to find a cure, to no avail. Th blight keeps changing, keeps foiling all attempts at being fully understood. It's almost sentient, or at least more sentient than any disease that's been encountered before. People fear the disease jumping from what's left of the grapes into other plants, into animals, or even humans.

You can only watch as entire economies and ecosystems collapse. You can only bury your head in your hands as your own business comes to its end. The destruction of the clusters of grapes has not simply destroyed the wine industry, either-other businesses are being destroyed by the plague. Food, transport, retail, nothing is untouched.

You look on your own vineyard, its yield almost entirely blackened and dead.

This can't keep going on.

-

A week has passed since everyone's arrival. No one has died, yet. But surely no one is holding their breath to see if they would survive this unscathed. They are veterans of the game, and they must know that whoever it is that is in charge demands their pound of flesh. The question is when it will happen.

It is the second week, after all-and when the second week of the game comes, death is not far behind. Not even when you wake up, feeling something different in your mind as you remember the truths you originally woke up with, deep in your mind. You feel...lighter, somehow, when you realize there is a change.

Even so, there are 15 strangers left in this place.]

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[Caleb has had a rough morning, so he's sticking close to home after lunch.]

[Well, relatively. He's dragged a chair outside and is sitting in it, reading a book that definitely isn't from the library. A number of other items (minus the stone, hat, and smaller scarf) lay scattered around him, and the dog at his feet is munching on some of the bacon. Frumpkin sits curled around his shoulders, and occasionally he lifts a hand from the pages to scritch the cat's head.]

Edited 2020-02-07 01:54 (UTC)

[ Why so many vending animals...

Not that he's complaining rather than kneeling down to greet the new dog, only to notice the pin a few seconds later. ]

Ah... That, too, huh?

Ah, that thing. It's yours? You can have it back.

[Doggo nuzzles into Akira's hand. Yes pets thank you.]

Though it's a bit strange-looking...

[ WHO'S A GOOD DOGGO... YOU'RE A GOOD DOGGO, YES YOU ARE!!!!

... yeah, no, he's seriously grinning and being very happy to love on new friend for a moment. ]

Thanks. It's... kind of useless at this point, but it was something I got while I was with Karma. So basically just nostalgic value, I guess?

[ He smiles faintly as he slides it into his pocket. ]

Basically things shaped like this are called Pins, and each comes with different patterns on it. Different Pins give different abilities.

[It's good to see the young man smiling. He's glad.]

I can understand that. What did that one do, if I may ask?

[ It's refreshing to have a reason to, to say the least. ]

It opened and closed the barriers in the Mall game.

[ Well... thinking on it, there is some curiosity now. He's glancing to the side, falling quiet. While he seriously doubts it would work on these, he can't help wondering. ]

Unfortunately most items seem to lose their power... but it's worth a try.

Yeah... That's fair. I'll talk to Kurama and Karma about it and see if they want to try it with me later.

They would be a better bet than I would, unfortunately.

Unfortunately the chunk of Hours hasn't shown up in the machine. I don't think it'd do anything here, either.

[Vita is on her way back from talking with King and has a book she's carrying under her arm. She sees Caleb and the items nearby. Though she's fine with an excuse to talk to someone who is much more pleasant company. Grianos also joined her after she came out of the restaurant so she's perched on her shoulder.

She sees the familiar coin though and picks it up to look closer at it and see if it's actually genuine or just a joke.]

Never did hear of a vending machine giving out mira. Usually the ones I see are looking to take it.

[She'll put the coin back down. It's a small amount and it could belong to her, McBurn or Estelle.

Ah, it is from your world? I was wondering. The money has no real value here, so I assumed it would be from someone's world and they might want it for... homesickness reasons or something.

It is, but I'm also originally from the same world as Estelle and McBurn. Can't really see McBurn being the type to get homesick, though.

No, other than missing his abilities. I do not really know Estelle. ... Or much about McBurn, but I do not think most people can get a lot out of him.

I know Estelle more by reputation than anything else. In my time she's famous for things that haven't happened yet for her. You're right about most people being unable to get a lot out of McBurn. He's not one to talk much about himself.

[She knows the reasons why, but that isn't her secret to reveal. She only knows what she does because knowing personal motivations can also help her to identify what she can rely on him for.]

He seems decent enough, if incredibly lazy. Does he have some kind of sleeping condition?

... Well. If he hasn't told me himself then I suppose it's not my business to ask after someone else's health problems.

I admit, I truly can't answer that because he's unique even for my world. I doubt he's even capable of getting sick or having any sort of health problem. I think it's a way to keep a distance from the rest of us because he's not like us because if something interests him, the laziness vanishes instantly.

That makes... some amount of sense.

... That fight that he had... with the - Hiyori, ja? What do you make of what we're up against?

There is nothing and no one in my world that I am aware of that could defeat McBurn if he went all out and had his powers. Even without his powers, there are few who could defeat him. The people I can think of who can are masters of their chosen weapons.

Hiyori is a normal human, not even trained in combat as of when the events on the plane ended. We fought Eddie, Link started that, but I don't recall Hiyori joining us.

What we're up against is a sort of control that can make the victim more powerful. I've seen one person with a mastery of that level and it's terrifying. It's definitely not a type I've seen, but it does have traits in common with some of what I've seen. However, the person McBurn and I know who could do that is quite dead and his salty remains buried in Lake Valleria.

... That sounds like some kind of possession for certain. I am not sure if I am equipped to deal with that. Or something else... ah, it's frustrating.

It's not something we can deal with on our own, I think. We're going to have to pull together where we can.

Possession would involve a spirit or other being taking over, such things usually don't have access to the memories of the host.

If I tell you a bit of a story, will you promise not to repeat it to the others? It involves one here and she's from a time before this happened. She also isn't aware that I belonged to the same society as the one who did this.

Of course.

[He nods seriously, scooting over so she has room to sit down if she wants.]

I will not tell.

So it starts off with a young boy who lost most of his family and from the horrors he saw he had completely broken. His caretaker tried everything to help him, but he just wouldn't respond. The caretaker was very desperate and then he met a wizard. He didn't know the wizard was a terrible man, but he was desperate so he agreed to the wizard's offer to help the boy in exchange for aiding the wizard.

The wizard used something on the boy, it is called the Sacred Mark. It is a truly hideous technique that takes away all free will from the victim and makes him stronger. The boy was very young at the time, just over 10. He as turned into a deadly assassin that could feel no fear and could kill without remorse.

He was sent on a mission to kill a very powerful man. This was the first time he was defeated in battle. The man felt sorry for the boy and took him in as his own child to be raised alongside his daughter who was about his age.

The boy grew fond of the girl and eventually they grew up and started working for themselves. During this work, they ended up foiling the plans of the wizard. The wizard didn't care though, he had gotten what he needed and he made sure the boy remembered just what he was. He left the girl after that.

Eventually he came to fight the wizard, but the wizard was definitely not going to allow himself to be defeated. He took advantage of what he did to the boy previously and took over his will. He tried to make the boy kill the girl he'd grown up with and loved more than anyone else. Luckily for the girl, the boy expected the wizard would do this and had prepared something to allow him to break the control. The wizard was defeated and the control broken for good.

Sadly, I cannot say I know the technique used to break the control, that is a secret of the Church's. What it does say is that no control, no matter how powerful, is perfect. It has a weakness and we have to find it and get Hiyori and Link back to their real selves. We also shouldn't agree to their offer because the wizard got the boy under his control by convincing the boy to accept of his own free will by making it sound like something desirable. There is a lot that mirrors our situation even if it isn't exactly the same so I feel it is worth someone knowing about.

[He listens and remains silent for a long few moments, both trying to take in the information and also keep down the bile that rises in his throat.]

... I've seen mind control like that, though not with the same methods. I have no intention of agreeing to any of their bargains. There's nothing they have that I need, and though I know my group at home would not judge me if someone were in danger, they're not going to deliver anyway.

I'll have to think about whether I see any weaknesses. I dislike talking to them, though. They... ah... creep me out. And remind me of some people I once knew.

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