[RP] Enter the Cursed City

[Hollow nyan-chan]

After a couple of minutes of walking Eric felt a presence of something dangerous, but it wasn't close. He tried to sense if he could point the presence which way it came from, so he would know where not to go to avoid danger. He was so in thought if pin pointing the way of the presence that he noticed the screams of something too late.
He looked up to see someone falling from the sky in his direction. Eric moved by instinct a step or two away from his previous location and prepared the catch the person. "What the hell?" Eric said and caught the person. He was thrown down on the ground by the impact of catching the person in his arms. He gasped for air as he thought "Bloody hell is happening today?". He took a look at the person he had caught. A girl, it was a girl he had caught that had fallen from the sky in some way. It didn't surprise him too much, it's hell after all.
As Eric stood up, he asked the girl: "Who are you and why in heavens name did you come falling from the sky?".

[tigershark13]

((I believe I shall))

Stefan had been wandering the city aimlessly for what had felt like a good half-hour now. He'd already smoked 3 cigarettes out of complete boredom and perhaps just a little bit of worry that was creeping in at the sound of the shield-heads in the distance, usually Stefan did not have too much trouble with such creatures as he had the good sense to hide or run rather than fight, or to let some other poor fool dot he fighting.

Stefan had been in the process of lighting his fourth cigarette when he saw what appeared to be an Asian man and a...living...doll... Stefan's eyebrow raised quite noticeably and the cigarette hung from his lips unlit for a few moments before he managed to recover, flicking his thumb down the flint to spark the fire and taking in a deep drag to give him the time to size the pair up. As he drew the smoke into his lungs he noted their wary stance, he saw the doll's hand move to her weapon... They seemed more wary than threatening... Stefan shook his head as he ran through the scenarios and murmured to himself "Why deny Norton his fun." before approaching the others, taking his cigarette from his lips and blowing a cloud of smoke into the air before saying loudly enough to be audible in an English accent "I don't suppose you two have any idea where the bar is... I swear, the bloody thing moves every time I am dragged here."

[Krozam]

"Xuzy" merely shook his head to indicate that he didn't know the man. He soon relaxed, understanding that the newcomer was just as surprised to see them as they were to see him. It wasn't exactly rare to see other people in this realm, but Xu Bai had never seen two others on the same visit.

There was another thing that bothered him about this man: he apparently possessed two souls. The other one was weak, suppressed, hardly worth a reaper's time, but the other one was pretty strong. The body was very much alive, so it wasn't the kind of oddity that would trigger Bai's reaper powers, but he could sense them. Probably because Ember was there. Even if he denied the transformation, he was still sensitive to souls in this stage.

I wonder if this man is possessed by some kind of a demon. Best be wary. Bai chuckled at the thought. Barely ten minutes in this realm, and he was already in the company of two potentially dangerous individuals.

"The bar? What bar? I have no idea what you're talking about." He had been here several times, but he had no recollection seeing any bar. What was more interesting, the man did not appear to be a denizen of this realm - so perhaps not a demon, after all? - but a frequent visitor, like Bai...

[Shion]

So the games have begun again. Vel'Nortin smirked as he sensed the portals open, transporting his players onto the board. He could see it on the map of the city, little figurines moving along. Five so far, and two getting chased by the shield headed demons! How delightful! He stood from the crimson armchair, and brushed his white suit. He then removed his white fedora, rolling it down his arm to his hand. As the hat tumbled, it changed, turning into a dark bowler.

With a flourish, Norton placed the hat upon his head, the suit transforming into his bartender's outfit. His face changed ever so slightly, becoming less angular and calculating, and becoming rounder and more mischievous. "Time to go to work," he giggled, striding through a door that led to the bar. Eventually his pawns would be drawn to the place, no matter where they were dropped on the map.


Meanwhile, Mina continued running across the rooftops. Eventually, she came to the end of the block and paused to breathe, removing the hood from her head in an effort to keep cool. A crust of gems lined her right cheekbone and both eyebrows, giving her a serious, alien appearance. Light glimmered off her eyelids when she blinked, revealing tiny crystals even there.

She frowned and forced the growth over her right hand, forming claws at the ends of her fingertips. "Time to use the express elevator," she decided, swinging herself over the edge, and digging the claws into the concrete. Or whatever the devil's equivalent to concrete is. Deep furrows were left behind her as she slid down with the scrape of stone against stone. Dropping to the ground with a soft thud, she tucked her hands into her pockets, keeping the claws hidden. She had learned pretty early never to waste a potential weapon here when anyone might attack at any moment.

[Ember232]

Ember stares at the man for a while, before relaxing her hand. She didn't have senses like Xuzys, but she could probably handle this man with her martial skills. " A bar hm? maybe we can get a map. " She chuckled softly, her long raven colored hair swaying as she leaned to her left a little, crossing her arms. " Smoking kills, you know. " She teased, chuckling briefly to herself.

Sen blinked up into the odd red and cloudy sky. it was brighter here than where she had been previously, but also.. darker in a strange way. there were still those massive buildings, that weird smell.. and something.. more. The girl realized she was being held, and flinched, scrambling out of the mans hands and standing, stepping back defensively, giving a small snarl. She was confused. overwhelmed. and an overwhelmed Fury was very likely to become angry very quickly if set of.. which was bad. " Who are you!/ Whats going on!? "

[InfinityStream]

((I'd like to point out that the bartender in this post is in fact, NOT, Norton. That is, unless Shion wants him to be :|))

Before you enter a proper bar, your ears tingle by light background music coming from the inside. Next, your sense of touch is activated as you place your hand around the doorknob and turn your wrist. Third, it's your sight; the dimming of the light is a stark contrast to the bright outdoors. Fourth is your sense of smell; a heavy smoke hangs in the air and smells of cigarettes and cigars.

You have to approach the bar itself to activate your final sense.

Mr.Hanes did just that. He took an empty seat at the bar and smiled to the bartender. "Two shots of Russian Standard please."

The bartender nodded; with a skilled hand, he reached behind him, pulled two glasses and bottle; a quick pour and a push: Mr. Hanes had his drink in front of him.

He nodded acknowledgment and slid the man 7$.

Other attenders at the bar had given the man little notice; that is, until he began to sip the vodka. The others stared in disbelief; the bartender was surprised but said, and showed, nothing.

Mr.Hanes ignored them. He liked the cool burn that slid down his throat, the excited tingle and burn that dropped like a stone on his body. He savored the drink more than others, others that would swallow a cup whole and depreciate the taste.

Many, after taking their shot, would slam the glass down. Not Mr. Hanes. Mr. Hanes places the glass down gently; no need to take out the burn on a poor little glass.

"I see your a connoisseur of the fine, good sir."

Mr. Hanes looked at the man; it was the bartender.

"Thank you," he told the man. He picked up the glass to his lips and-

"Why don't you try this one?" the bartender said. "I recently had it imported from the Netherlands; Lucas Bols."

Mr. Hanes gently grabbed the glass from the man and swirled it around in the cup. "Sounds interesting."

He sipped it slowly; the burn was light compared to the other but the drink itself had a bit more taste; a mix of berries, he thought.

"It is very fine; more taste and less burn than the Russian Standard," he said. "I think I'll have another glass."

"Of course sir," the bar tender replied. "I'm glad I made the correct choice on a new import."

"How much will it be?" Mr. Hanes asked.

"First cup's on the house."

Mr. Hanes smiled. "I'll enjoy myself here for a bit," he told the bartender. "Just keep the cops out."

"Why would I do that?" the bartender asked, perplexed.

"I killed the cities top Rio today and stole his money. I'll be going to a rather dark city to spend it later once the sun goes down."

[tigershark13]

Stefan couldn't help but raise his eyebrow slightly at Ember and take another long drag, the cherry of the cigarette burning red for a few moments before he released the smoke from his lungs and blew it above him, silently using the moment to deliberate upon how much he should reveal. "I have little reason to think about such matters my dear." he said in an amused tone as he looked between the pair and then inclined his head a little "My name is Stefan, by the way, lovely to meet you both." before he turned around, not really waiting to acknowledge their responses as he attempted to get his bearings, his eyes darting around the buildings before he sighed and closed his eyes, muttering a number of curses before deciding upon a direction and motioning to his left "Now I don't know about you two. But I am thirsty and could do with a nice glass of scotch. And I have a feeling that the bar is this way... Feelings seem to tend to lead you in the right direction in this place... Well, that or they lead you into the arms of some sort of horrible monstrosity." his voice had a strangely cheery tone as he finished, as though such a prospect were as normal as a quick trip to the chippie. He took a step forward and then turned to the pair and said with a slight smirk "coming?"

[Krozam]

Xu Bai glanced at Ember questioningly, then shrugged as if to say: "oh, why not?" He followed the man, but kept about as much distance as Ember was keeping from him. Just the usual caution.

"Sure, let's see if we can find this bar of yours. I'm Bai," he introduced himself only by the first name, as the other man had, "and the lady is called Ember."

After a while of walking, he asked Stefan a question that he was curious about for multiple reasons: "So, Stefan... Let's say we bump into some 'horrible monstrosity'... can you handle yourself?"

[Hollow nyan-chan]

Eric was not prepared for the reaction the girl had so he took quick step backwards to be safe if she would attack or not.
"Clam down a bit" Eric said to the girl as she was clearly frightened by something. "It seems it's her first time down here, asking about a bar is out of the question then" he thought for himself.

"My name is Eric and this is a place called the Dark City, now tell me, who are you and why did you come falling from the sky?" Eric asked the girl.

[Ember232]

Ember adjusted her corset a little as the man spoke. He seemed about as odd as anyone would expect to find in a place like this. Hell, Xu Bai was one of the more sane being she has come across in her travels, but she had long ago learned never to take anything at face value. She gave Bai a soft glare and huffed in mock annoyance. " I introduce myself you know.. Prat. " She smirked and turned around as they started walking, counting Bais steps as he moved away and began walking backwards once he was far enough away for his comfort zone. She kept a keen, unblinking vigil out behind them, using the sounds of their steps to keep a fairly stable pace. This was one o the many tricks she learned from.. oh who was it? those monks in Hungary? or was it the Samurai? Oh, she didn't know anymore, she had officially lost track of all of the martial experts she had come across throughout her 'lifetime'.

The girl panted with gritted teeth, fingers tightened into fists. she stared at the man for a while, eyes darting over him and around the area. She seemed to calm  down a little as she realized she was not being actively attacked. " S-sen.. My name.. My name is Sen. " she stammered out through jagged breaths that chilled her chest uncomfortably. She relaxed her defensive posture, but her hands remained in front of her, tense and ready should something happen-just as her mother always taught her. " I have no clue why I came plummeting from the sky.. I-.. I just woke up in some strange wooded land with stone paths and odd pillars with lights on them.. I followed the path, and reached an even larger, black path.. like a stone road, but not made out of bricks or cobblestone.. and then I was pulled backwards into some swirling black vortex.. " she looked down at the ground a little, then re-focused. " then I woke up in your arms.. so.. Who are you? " She asked, looking surprisingly.. dangerous for a short, pale girl. Her bright blue eyes gleamed with a strange inner power, but nothing one could understand just form looking into them.

[Hollow nyan-chan]

Eric looked at the girl, and her name apparently is Sen. He sighed when he figured this will get troublesome.
"Strange wooded land with stone paths, pillars with light on them? What age are you from young lady?" Eric asked.

He thought a bit for himself right after he asked: "road that's not made of cobblestone or bricks? it sounds like she would come from the medieval ages, and poles with light on them? Is she referring to the streetlights? I'll have to ask her later when she has calmed down a bit more, she doesn't seem too dangerous, but making her see me as an enemy isn't the right choice here."

"You can take down your hands, i wont harm you. And my name is Eric." He said while waving his hands in a downward motion to make her calm down a bit more.

[Ember232]

The girl hesitated for a short while, before nodding once and lowering her hands. she stayed tense, but she no longer seemed as if she were about to lash out at the man. " Greetings, Eric. " She stated simply, looking around slowly, surveying the area. she was still quite on edge, especially considering this place looked very much like the other place she had glimpsed from the oddly spread out forest with the path, but.. more sinister.

" I am from the Village of my people. It does not truly have a name, as we have never needed one for it-most simply call it home. It is.. North and to the far west of Delski, and, if you are acquainted with the forest walkers, North of the city of Trelok. " She stated as if these places were well known towns, or even cities, clearly expecting the man to know them as points of reference. She shivered softly, either cold or.. unsettled and looked at the ground. Her face grew.. sad? " Though.. the village is gone, I fear.. destroyed by some malicious force. "

She looked back up at Eric, her stern face returning. " Where are we now then? and where are you from? "

[InfinityStream]

Mr. Hanes loves knives. Present tense. He absolutely adores them.

So much deadly force in such a small size. So much deadly force in a simple and elegant shape.

Now, when he heard that this city of demons (Still couldn't get over that) had a shop exclusively for anything with a sharp edge, he was thrilled! He had immediately gone out of his way to take down one of his sponsors competitors and taken a rather large chunk of change with him as he entered the city. He walked around like a little boy about to go into his favorite candy shop for a treat.

The demons of the city got out of his way. They preferred not to be the one to stop him from entering his 'candy store.'

He found it quickly thanks to the help of his underworld benefactor. He waltzed in and, almost immediately, he was overwhelmed by the beauty surrounding him.

'Today is a joyous day!' he mentally yelled. He perused the glass cases; simple cutlery was in this first case. Even that was beauty to him.

He finally reached an area that he thought was the 'combat knife' area. Specially designed knives with specially designed sheaths greeted his color-blind eyes. He could care less about the colors these knives had; all that mattered was the gleam of the edge. That idea was promptly thrown out of his head as he laid eyes on the single, most magnificent knife he had ever laid his eyes upon.

Well, knife wasn't the right word for it. It was actually a Cold Steel Kuhkri Machete. The oblong shape was interesting; the pitch black color of the metal was even more interesting.

He could be like a ninja! No more opponents that would see his blade thanks to some stupid shine in the middle of the night!

He quickly looked up for a store associate; there was one about five feet away.

"Excuse me sir," he asked. "How much for this lovely beauty?"

"$100," the man replied quickly.

Cheap! He reached into his pocket and handed the man his money. The man opened the case and gave him the knife in return. "Wouldn't you rather look at the knife before paying for it?" the associate asked.

"I can tell this one was perfect the moment I saw it," Mr. Hanes quickly replied. "Thank you!"

He walked out of the store and quickly made his way to the nearest bar. It was time to celebrate.