The Lost Cradle

[Achkaerin]

Approx 3km South of Meridian Island

It was a fair day up north, the Star Chaser was anchored off a small island known to the Achkaerinese as Alha, it wasn't big or imposing or anything but it was unique in that on it sat a sacred shrine, a shrine to the Goddess Kisara and her beasts. What was unusual was that this shrine had the complete collection, most only honoured the Goddess this didn't, this had the beasts, the guardians of the world. Standing at the shrine was Melanie Bell and her best friend Natasha Raines. They were reading a piece of paper from one of Melanie's fathers journals something known as the Cradle Riddle:

The Cradle lies where the eyes of mortals cannot see
where night and day, united with the earth, observe begins the path to enlightenment
the path that infinity and eternity carved in their struggle eons ago,
follow their gaze and take your first steps.

Do not stray to the Sun lest the earth swallow you whole and soul.
Instead let the faithful guide you through the valley of the virtuous chosen at rest,
and if the Goddess finds you worthy the way will be revealed to you.

Answer the challenges of Fire and Ice but remember life's rhythm if you wish to proceed and learn the truth that attaining the Cradles wealth permits.
But leave your burdens behind or you will succumb to the weight of the world and one must be as free as the birds to attain that which you seek.
Prove your worth, prove your virtue and you will see with clarity.

"So what exactly are we doing here?" Natasha asked
"Well for centuries people have been looking in the wrong place." Melanie said "Because the Dragonstone, the artifact this riddle is etched on was sitting in Vafleon but everyone forgets that the Dragonstone's original home is in Artaxia. So everything we're supposed to look for in the way of signposts and the like we should be looking for around here. Where night and day, united with the earth, observe begins the path to enlightenment."
"Of course Kisara's beasts of the sky." Natasha said

"Ninfeyn the lunar dragon and his brother Rekmiin the solar dragon, night and day" Melanie said pointing to statues of the two dragons looking out over the coast "And with them the great eagle Kriflon, the guardian of the land, otherwise known in basic elemental terms as earth. All three of them looking in a south east direction."
"Your Dad was bang on then, it is in Tokulel."
"Looks like." Melanie said, she wasn't dismissing it being somewhere else but there definitely appeared to be substance to back the theory up.
"Are you really going alone?" Natasha asked
"I have to." Melanie said "I'm following this to the end wherever it leads and I can't put you or the rest of the gang in jeopardy."
"You'd better find it." Natasha said
"I'll call in once a day." Melanie said
"You'd better or we come looking for you." Natasha said "Good luck."

Tokulel Two Weeks Later

Two weeks after that conversation with Natasha, Melanie driving her off road expedition spec jeep had crossed the northern border into Tokulel, it had been fairly simple crossing the border, going through customs and all the rest of it. She could have done without the thunderstorm opening up overhead, she'd driven about four hours from the border and had parked up at the side of the road, there was a pub or tavern or whatever the locals called it there. She picked up her shoulder bag and wandered inside, she was getting hungry and while she had packed some rations, she'd rather not use them unless she had no choice. She settled down at a table and put her order in with a waiter, then while she waited for her food she made her daily phone call to let Natasha know she was ok.


OOC- Ok so basic premise is a treasure hunt be whoever you like, a Tokulel local, a freelancer, someone else trying to solve the riddle perhaps even someone who doesn't want the riddle solved for fear of what it could potentially mean. People should think of the Cradle as something mysterious, no one knows what it is so there's a lot of wild theories around it - feel free to work with that.

[Weremark]

Approx 3km South of Meridian Island | 10/09/2017

A storm steadily approached as Harald Jensen ascended the path to the shrine. Silently examining the old thing, he pulled out his own journal - in it was a physical photo of the riddle, last placed there as a safeguard; he did have all his info on the cloud, but he couldn't risk losing it in a freak accident. His eyes drifted from the south-eastwardly direction of the dragon's stares to the own disturbed ground at the foot of the shrine. Old footsteps, but not too old, by the look of them. Modern shoe shape. Someone'd been here, did they know? He glanced at the dragons again. But it couldn't be in Weremark. Little cultural link to the myth there. Aurora? It was possible. Tokulel? It certainly was far enough, and in the right direction. He shut the journal briefly, gazing at the shrine.

This ordeal was a race now. Anyone remotely smart enough to come checking up here instead of Vafleon would know what this meant, and unless they'd been lead off to somewhere else, he had to get to Tokulel soon, if he wanted to keep the head start he'd thought he had. Swiftly he turned, heading to the plane he'd moored just off of the coast - the Wayfar.

Approaching Tokulel | 12/09/2017

He'd gotten an early start, only stopping briefly in Jylhaven for a recess with his father before continuing on his way. Now aboard the Wayfar was a whole pack full of varied clothing, a map with a GPS beacon to alert his father if anything went awry, and a solar charger for all of his electronics. Also included was a custom P08 Luger he'd 'borrowed' from Duke Magnus of Altberg along with two additional magazines. Owing to potentially skyrocketing rental car costs, and terrain, he'd also carted along his Zero FX bike.

This wasn't even his first disappearance in the week, but he knew this time, his father'd understand. He was at the cusp of something big, and he couldn't let anything jeopardize it now. The Wayfar had departed from Eldgammel Airfield in southern Weremark to the closest civilian airfield to the north Tokulel border. His phone buzzed a familiar orchestral ringtone, and he let it go to his headset.

"And what's up with you?"

His sister's voice was undeniably recognizable. "Ah, you got my message, great," he started, watching the GPS in his glass cockpit as his aircraft slowly but surely approached Tokulel. "I figured out the riddle, at least part of it. Remember the "night and day, united with the earth" part?" he asked, a response curtly droning back. "Uh-huh." Something was making her keep her voice down.

"I figured it out, it was on Alha. Small island near Meridian. It pointed me somewhere south-east, other shit's making me think it's in Tokulel. I still don't know what the rest of the riddle means, but-"

"Father told me, dipshit." the gasp of a smile forming had been audible enough even through the static. "Don't you dare get killed finding this thing, that'd fuck my whole future plans up. Especially considering..."

"I know, Evie." said Harald. "You stay safe in Ahkabnil. It can get pretty raunchy there." The voice on the other end attempted to say something but the response came out too muffled with static - likely owing to the thunderstorm in his wake. He sighed, "Shit," as he began the landing approach, waiting for his own confirmation.

[Major Jaws]

Gustav Leffie is an amateur archeologist from Quintelia. He has discovered a few skeletons of ancient Quintelians along with the bullet that killed Arthur Merrit. Now, he has read in a reputable archeological forum about the Holy radle Riddle. Some say it's the Covenant, others say gold is being carried. Gustav believes the Cradle carries his chance to be famous.

As he arrived in the airport of Tokulel, there were a few fellow archaeologists in the terminal; along with people trying to stop them. Gustav raced towards the exit and stayed in a hotel for a day. Thanks to local informants, the possible position of the Cradle was narrowed. The next day, he left.

[The Young Pope]

A damp, wet weather marked the arrival in Tokulel's rainforrests for renowned Catholic Colonel, Archaeologist, Historian, Linguist and College Professor Dr. Emmanuel Fava, his family being known as among the richest, and at least a dussin men, courtesy by Pope Peter II, serving as his body guards and aides, drawn from the Blessed Arditi and Guardians of Saint Paul special forces, the International Corps of the Blessed Faith Militant as well as the Blessed Office of the Sacred Inquisition intelligence service, which means that these guys don't take failure for an answer and are cold-blooded killers in theory and practicality.

"Men!" Fava told his followers, "The holy father picked you for this prestigious and dangerous mission to serve and protect me from any harm. To repeat, the reason why all of us are here is to locate the tomb of heretic Ardian Emperor Siegbert IV, who is buried somewhere here in a temple...in this awfully grotesque djungle where malaria and beasts can easily wipe us out, well if it weren't of course for our medical shots and high powered guns to ward them off hahaha...". Fava was good in rhetorics, so he let in a brief pace of humor to even out the tense mission. "Once we find the tomb, we're supposed to extract the supposed treasure that contain the forged and blasphemous claim that the Merovingian dynasty are descendants of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene, to be taken back to the Vatican Archives...as a valid and acclaimed historian in many institutions, I can definitely guarantee you that this is pure Dan Brown fiction, which I absolutely detest and hate for WHAT IT STANDS FOR!". He took a deep breath once more before continuing, at least he was taken seriously by the followers. "The holy father also told me that you're here to end the lives of those who dare compromise our mission, we all know that the Sionists promised to also search for it and try to convince simple-minded people to join their mentally deranged cause.
 Bah, we're also to destroy this so-called treasure for plan B...I know and you know that artefacts are to never be destroyed for the preservation for mankind's knowledge, but forgeries and endless lies such as this one is totally acceptable, we're going to be regarded as heroes by the rest of the world and our God, saving mankind from damming itself to everlasting suffering in hell! ARE YOU WILLING TO FOLLOW ME AND LEAD OUR CHURCH?" The followers answered "YES!".

"INSIEME PER LA VICTORIA, DEUS VULT!" Fava exclaimed which was soon followed by the followers, over and over again. He showed a bitter sweet smile, at least he had the fully loyalty and support from the followers. "Now...let's see where you are...Siegbert!" he said before finally venturing in the deep djungle, prepared for any surprises whatsoever...as well as any guided spiritual assistance, obviously.

[yasha]

For an aimless wanderer, Saeko Ashikaga spent quite a lot of time in Tokulel, the scorched nation in eastern Cotf Aranye was the closest thing she had to a home after fleeing Himeyama; in fact, she knew more about the country than some of the locals, still looked like just another tourist though.

Parking at a little roadside stop, she scrolled through her phone trying to find who texted her on the road; instead the name Yua came up, reminding her that the last time she even spoke to her sister was the day before she was sent to prison. She tried her best to ignore it as she locked her phone and stepped out of her Land Rover, kicking up a bit of dust as she did.

Stepping inside the restaurant, she took a table next to a pair of backpackers, taking some time to examine them before they turned their heads back to look around. "Guess I'm not the only one who's gonna stand out here." she thought to herself before seeing what was cheap on the menu.

[Major Jaws]

Gustav started to trek the jungle the next day, carrying with him all the gadgets necessary for an archeologist to function. Before this, he meet up with a local informant in one of the nearby towns.

"So this is where Cradle is supposed to be?" Gustsv asks the informant and probably himself while pointing at the map.

"Yeah, I mean, a group of treasure hunters have already arrived." The informant replied. "I think they're from ES"

"Damn, thanks. Here's the payment." Gustav handed a few bills and left.

While going through the jungle, a trap sets of near him. Smoke arose from a corner of the tree, and Gustav immediately ran. Five men came out of the tree line, and judging by their clothes, they are locals. The men started firing at the startled explorer. The good news is, the guns are locked onto the ground, rendering them stationary. The bad news is, a thin man abandoned his position and started chasing Gustav. Luckily, his head start is enough to lose the man. From the distance, he could here a general shouting to his men. He reviewed his map and marked the area where the trap was set off.

"This is not what I expected." He told himself.

[The Young Pope]

Spoiler: show

SWOOSH, SWOOSH, SWOOSH...The sound of machetes and other sharp objects cutting through the branches and the vines of the forrest was fueled by men with such religious fervor to extract this secret treasure that frankly no one else knew what it was. Even the brilliant Dr. Fava had to be prepared in case it wasn't the tomb of the heretic Emperor Siegbert IV, whose dynasty had forged centuries of claims through documents and objects that would somehow legitimize their ancestral blood to Jesus and Mary Magdalene, to facilitate their claimanship to the entirety of Mundus by spurring up the old arch-enemy Priory of Sion. While traversing through the forrest, which made all kinds of noices from mystical beasts and the raindrops smattering on the leaves and grass, he was thinking of his beloved daughter https://independentorder.net/index.php?topic=114.msg418#msg418, who was currently back at home in Celestis, ES, apparently enjoying the works of a strange composer not native to the nation itself. Sophia may be studying to become an abled journalist, but at least it pleased him the father that she was highly interested in the subjects such as himself.

"As long as nothing bad will happen to her and she's having fun...Perhaps I should improve being a better father and spend some time with her before it's all too late...Now let's hope we won't stumble upon any crazed natives, sionists or any sort of creature. Lord, you better protect us all". he was thinking for himself. Fava beforehand researched extensively and intensively about this place, through gaining access to the Vatican "Secret" Archives and other sources directly linked, as well as about the Sionist legendary myth about the tomb of Siegbert IV and its importance for their insane goals. Of course theory and practicality doesn't always sometimes go well together, but for now the situation seemed to be ok.

After traversing for a few hours, he signalled the men accompanying him to take rest and lay down a camp in a somewhat secluded area, in which they found it in a spring surrounded by the vines and branches. "Test that water before you decide to gulp it down your throats, who knows if that's already tainted or poisoned...". Everyone in the expedition knew that everything was at stake and thus couldn't easily take any chances at all. Decoster decided that they would only rest for a little while before continuing this perilous journey towards the unknown, able rested men are much more effective than tired and grumpy ones.

[Weremark]

Tokulel

As soon as he'd made sure with the airport control that all had been in order, Rikard landed the Wayfar, idling over to an empty sheet metal hangar and turning the engines off; from here, he'd been thinking of grabbing a bite to eat and maybe asking some locals about any legends; after all, if the lead didn't quite point to Tokulel, this trip would have been a waste of aeronautics fuel. He placed the Luger into the tight inner pocket of his coat, and stored the rest of his essentials in an olive courier bag perhaps obviously decorated in Kyneshast woodland camouflage. He had no doubts he could pass for a nobody, though he wished he hadn't asked for that haircut a week prior; professionally styled hair tended to stick out in places like this.

After locking his plane,Jensen embarked on his bike and headed down the road; the thunderstorm was nearly upon him, and he could already see it lighting up the hills in the distance. Though he'd intended a visit to the town center first, he elected instead to stop early and wait out the first stormfront at what he could only describe as a pub or restaurant of similar nature to ones he'd seen farther south than here. Walking in with hints of raindrops on his head and shoulders, he quickly found himself sitting at a corner table, alone.

[Achkaerin]

Having finished her phone call to Natasha, Melanie put her sat phone away and looked around her at the rest of the establishment, she hadn't been chasing stuff like the cradle for as long as some other archaeologists had been in their jobs the likes of Donna Steele and Marcus Merriman. But even so she could spot people who stood out like a sore thumb, the man sat in the corner looked a little too well kept and then there was the redhead at the table directly across from her...the redhead who she was trying not to look at...and who seemed to be having a little trouble finding the money to pay but that said she seemed more at home here than any other 'outsider' but she also looked a little down on her luck but then again she also had an air of confidence about her. Melanie grabbed her shoulder bag and walked over to the redhead's table just as the girl managed to pay what she'd been asked to.

"May I?" Melanie asked, the girl shrugged which Melanie took to mean fine so she sat down, after a slight glance towards the corner and the well kept man she'd have to risk it "I don't suppose you know where I can find a guide to the country? I'm Melanie by the way."

[yasha]

"Saeko." she snappily but quietly replied back. "Though, while we're here, let's pretend we don't have names." A quick scan around the room made a few heads nervously turn back to their tables. "Seeing foreigners around here tends to spook the locals, acting like a nobody seems to help that a little bit." She turned to face Melanie again. "Anyways, most professional guides like to hang out by the airports, or where all the tourists are; this place is a while away from either though."

She leaned back into her chair to scan the room again, this time spotting someone she hadn't noticed before. "Huh, can't imagine what anyone who isn't Tokulese would be doing here, unless they landed in this hellhole by accident that is." she said to nobody in particular. "Right, where were we? Nearest city is about 130 kilometers from here, go south from here and take the eighth left; that'll carry you east all the way to city limits. From there, all you have to do is wait for someone to approach you, everyone wants to make a bit of money off of tourists this time of year. Sad part is, I could probably tell you more about Tokulel than most of that lot."

Having said a mouthful, Saeko took a moment to actually examine Melanie. "Could've sworn there were two of you..." she thought to herself. Melanie definitely didn't come off as the average tourist, in fact, she'd wager that the girl didn't end up in this place by accident, most college kids she met in Tokulel just flew in and didn't dare wander into the countryside, whatever the reason was, Saeko had an odd feeling they weren't about to part ways.

[The Young Pope]

Spoiler: show

While the ES expeditionary group was resting for a short while, Dr. Fava took the opportunity look over and write down notes in his travel book, which also contained many sketches and drawings of previous adventures, while taking shelter under a large tropical tree, as to not destroy all years of dedicated hard work which acted also as a memory vessel, he was thinking of giving this to Sophia one day, although he was unsure if he would ever retire from this profession. It just seemed so much fun and thrill one could get out of excavations and travelling to different countries, to explore the peoples and cultures Mundus possessed. Although he knew that he would need to dedicate much time at home, not forgetting his duty as a Professor to eager college students as he was once upon a time, but also spending time with his daughter who was unlike any other girl he encountered, that he was sure of truly.

"...Prove your worth, prove your virtue and you will see with clarity...*Sigh* I still have my doubts about whether this is actually the tomb of Siegbert or not, there's something about this riddle that doesn't still fit the narrative, guess it's up to us here to find out and eliminate an issue of the holy father...". Dr. Fava was repeating riddle too, and still trying to grasp the clues, although he had encountered trickier riddles beforehand which almost cost his life, this one however seemed "out of place" per say. "We could actually perhaps make use of a local guide, although I doubt any of them would be friendly and who dared to simply approach us carrying heavy arms around?"

Soon their resting time was going to end and thus had to continue their journey into the unknown, the question is would anything exciting happen shortly?

[Weremark]

Though his head had earlier scanned along the room and failed to notice the glances coming out of one curious patron, Harald found himself rubbing his eye to satisfy a false itch once the that patron gravitated to another, this one a redhead, and started talking to each other. He unfortunately didn't catch their names, but what he caught instead was much more curious, and thrown in his direction. A comment about 'landing here', and in a language he could understand. How quaint. And how alarming, for if anyone had been observing him since his landing, it meant that there was a sliver of possibility that they either knew his identity and wanted him for ransom or some other bogus political reason, or worse still...they too were after the cradle, and onto him.

And though he knew it didn't neccisarily need to be a competition, the one other bull-race like this he'd gone through suggested to him that it tended to devolve into one eventually. The issue of gold always existed, of course, but more pertinent to him was the issue of fame. He had no use for gold; his father's charisma had set his whole family for life.

He looked them over. The redhead was young enough to be his sister. The other seemed a bit older, perhaps closer to his age. They didn't appear to have been together before just now, and he debated speaking up. Ah, fuck it.

"Talking to me?" he asked pointedly in their direction. If he truly needed to, he could pass this off as an error of miscommunication, and be on his way.

[Achkaerin]

Way to go Mel you got the attention of the guy you were trying to avoid getting the attention of Melanie thought to herself, this wasn't good that man stood out like a sore thumb and going off what Saeko had said if foreigners were uncommon then there had to be a reason for one being here and that included someone else looking for the cradle which meant other people had pieced together that much of the riddle just like her father had. Melanie could only hope that other parts of the riddle came more naturally to her than to her competition, she turned her gaze back to Saeko this redhead was pretty difficult to read she put out this tough as nails exterior but that look in her eyes...what was that? No doubt though that Melanie would have plenty of time to figure that out though.

"Get your stuff." Melanie said "You're hired. My jeep's outside, I've got a call to make and then I'll tell you where we're going." she knew that she was risking being overheard but it was a chance she had no choice but to take. Figuring out it was Tokulel had been the easy part, her father had worked that out and he'd been a brilliant man, figuring out the rest was going to be a challenge.

[yasha]

As surprising it was that Melanie would take up her offer to serve as a guide to Tokulel, Saeko hardly had any objections to it; gave her a sense of purpose, if only fleeting. Purpose. Saeko craved it, she was desperate to feel a sense of purpose now that the world would not give her any. She had spent her youth protecting her brothers, keeping them from falling into a life of crime, keeping them from succumbing to Ofumitsu's rotten curse; that was the only ambition she had for herself. However, she couldn't protect herself from it.

Quietly stepping out the back door, Saeko quickly got into her old Land Rover and began stripping it of what little valuables she had in it and tossed them into her bag. The thing was basically given to her when she worked as a courier in Agria Latina, and definitely wasn't in the best shape. Still, she took the time to park it over in the abandoned lot across the road. Stepping out with everything worth keeping inside in a bag over her shoulder, she headed back towards the restaurant.

[Weremark]

Harald watched. No reaction from them, the two at the table, no, but instead a wave of tension had hit both of them. He didn't believe he looked threatening, why be on edge? He listened some more, hoping to hear some further inkling of their conversation. Strange indeed; his ears perked up at an interesting tidbit coming from the table. 'I'll tell you where we're going', huh. He brushed the thought once more from his mind; the chances of someone sharing in his objective were very slim. Yet the shrine on Alha had been disturbed. And they'd tensed up. And they were in the closest restaurant to the northernmost airfield in Tokulel.

A definite possibility, then, that was what he'd decided. What should he do? Press them? They were getting ready to leave. Follow them. he thought. But not yet. So he watched, taking his time to order some food when the waitress came around before struggling to complement it. His sister could probably speak their tongue. He tried harder to be discreet; but this is where his dropping out of the military helped him none. So he turned away, just as the redhead came back inside. She'd moved her car. Why? he thought to himself. Perhaps it could be of some use to him, or...

He shouldn't have been this confused, but he couldn't help it; he hadn't been given enough information to work with, and if he was wrong, he'd get a bullet to the face because of it soon. Hopefully, he wasn't wrong. He glanced again at their table. Ugh. Sit and wait. Just...sit and wait. And eat.

[Achkaerin]

Melanie glanced up as Saeko returned, she'd been on the phone in the redhead's absence first to check something with Natasha but then she'd gotten an incoming call and it had confirmed her suspicions there were indeed others looking for the Cradle.
"Come on." Melanie said, she got up, grabbed her stuff and led Saeko out of the building across to where she'd parked, she handed Saeko a map with a red circle drawn on it around a settlement marked 'Yit'radex' "That's where we're going."

Melanie was worried, she'd hoped to have the advantage but if what that call had let her know was accurate there was at least one person in this game with a much greater potential advantage than any she had. It was time for the hunt to begin in earnest. Getting into Tokulel had been fine now for the next part of the riddle, the carved path.

[yasha]

"Yit'radex..." Saeko repeated the name over and over as she tossed her bag into the back of Melanie's Jeep. "Ah, right. That's a bit of a tricky route, but this thing should be able to handle it." she said, peering out at the wheels and suspension of the Jeep; the thing looked ready to traverse everything short of a skyscraper. "So, uh, we'll be taking this main road a bit further down." To put it bluntly, Saeko's intimate knowledge of Tokulel's back roads and offroad routes came from smuggling herself in and out of the country so much; still didn't hurt to save on gas money instead of going around the whole country for a settlement nobody's heard of.

"Now, this is gonna sound crazy, but now comes the part where you turn off the road." Saeko said as they drove towards the hills. She pointed towards faint dirt tracks in the grass that went around the first hill before tucking away between them. Thanks to some awful infrastructure planning, the actual road would take you all the way around Tokulel's mountains before looping back and then going straight out of the borders. "We'd be driving for hours without this shortcut if we're lucky, something's always being fixed on that highway." she explained, the tone of her voice made it apparent she was speaking from experience.

The Jeep pulled off the cracked and bumpy pavement and carefully manoeuvred into the long grass, one would miss the path Saeko mentioned unless they were actively looking for it, and had they left even an hour later, you'd never find it at all with the lack of lighting. With the Jeep now cruising through the Tokulese bush, Saeko felt like she could stop focusing on the road for a bit. "Did you know that guy back there?" she asked, stretching her arms a bit. "Awfully strange for someone to try getting our attention like that."

[Achkaerin]

"No idea who he was." Melanie said keeping her eyes on the road, she sighed "I'm just hoping he's not what I fear." a quick glance at the rear view mirror she steered the jeep around a bend and then glanced sideways at Saeko "You have a right to know that there's a very good chance this is all some wild goose chase, but my Dad had this theory that something called the Cradle is somewhere in Tokulel, if he's right then there's a chance that there are others looking for it and because no one knows precisely what the Cradle is there's no telling what people will do to get hold of it. This was so dangerous I forbade my closest friends from coming along for the ride. I'm telling you this because I owe you the truth, you deserve to know what you've gotten into and you decide how far you go on this - me I've got no choice I'm going all the way, I've got to know whether my Dad was right or not. But you, you're what two years older than me? You're still young you've still got a life ahead of you Saeko."

She turned another corner and the headlights came down on what looked like a settlement that'll be the place she thought.
"I'm going to park just down the river bank from there, should be a good place to camp." Melanie said

[Weremark]

Harald had to fight with himself to not stand up when the two women did. Damn it. he stood up seconds later and headed out the front door, witnessing a Jeep speed away into the rain. Noting its direction, he turned around to his motorbike - immediately spotting another man next to its parking spot at the side of the building. With a hand in his coat he strolled over to him, attempting to pay him no mind as he secured his helmet and placed it on his head. They were partially masked from the road here, but not from anyone wishing to park for the restaurant. His peripheral guest had decided to wear an appropriate bush jacket, but he didn't recognize his dark-haired, gaunt features. As he looked for the keys he'd left in the tightly sealed side bag, he realized quickly that they weren't there. A voice in the dark: "Do you own this bike?"

He should have taken his keys into the restaurant. Was this man with the two women from earlier? He turned slowly towards the voice, idly slipping his hand into his coat again as he felt the textured grip of his pistol. His other hand moved the visor on his helmet upwards. "Yes." he answered slowly. The man smirked, replying in Werman, and prompting a near-physical anxiety in Harald: "And what is Johannes Jensen's son doing this far south? Another one of your hunts?" he removed a badge from his pocket. "Heinrich Adler. First Echelon, Royal Intelligence. I've been following you for quite some time."

"Mh, so you found me, then?" asked Harald. "Did my father send for me?"

The man shook his head slowly. "No, this is an independent assignment. The king knows not of it." he explained. Harald raised his eyebrows. "Is that so? What about me could possibly be so important that not even the king has been informed of it? Is that not treason? What shall I tell the man next time I attend a social function?" Of course, he knew precisely why the RI had sent this goon after him. His grip tightened in his coat.

"Perhaps start with the truth, my young Lord." Adler said. "I know what you did. And what you're doing." Lightning flashed; the center of the storm had arrived.

"Do you, now?" asked Jensen, shooting the goon immediately afterwards and sending a loud echoed bang through the rain, masked by thunderclap. Shaking off the loud noise and subsequent tinnitus it'd caused in his ears, he very quickly glanced around - nobody outside in this downpour, which gave him just enough time. But he couldn't dispose of the body now, and the man was a spy, a Werman spy. His father would know what he'd been doing this for, the King would know, even... Shit, he thought frustrated as his heartbeat slowly began to calm down. Kill #3 and his hands were still shaking. Evie will know. an intrusive thought pondered accusingly.

He put his visor down - a little blood had gotten onto it, only to immediately wash away with rainwater, leaving a pink streak down the laminated glass. Reaching down to search the corpse, he found the man's own handgun - a snub-nosed silenced 1895 revolver - and his own bike keys. Pocketing the man's gun, he quickly patted him down for anything else, finding some soggy, now bloodied documents, and his badge. He quickly shoved the two into the side-bag on his bike, and removed a vacuum flask from the same bag. A shameful waste of such old booze. He poured a bit of the liquor he'd packed onto the man's face before lighting a flare - now someone had to have seen him - and throwing it on his face, starting a little flame and bathing the parking area in a red glow.

In a rush, then, as the locals came out to see what was wrong, he sped away down the same direction the jeep had gone, having no idea, of course, where they were. But they were a secondary objective. He was too out of it, alone here. He needed help, and he knew just who to call.

[The Young Pope]

Emmanuel and his party had been travelling all day in the thick forrests of Tokulel, still searching for that unknown treasure that this land was hiding from anyone in plain sight. He was constantly looking at his notes trying to decipher some of the clues he encountered on the way but to no avail, even a brilliant, mastermind would find it difficult, this mystery was like no other he ever encountered before. The Fava entourage reached what seemed to be some sort of settlement, not a huge one but still quite sizable and compact, seemed to be thriving and lively for its size and where it was located.

They made contact with the locals, purchasing extra proviant for the upcoming days of neverending journeys and tried to gather key intel about the surrounding forrest further, and see if the locals knew where and what this treasure or mystey could be and as expected they couldn't gather much...However there was one detail which caught the interest of Emmanuel, which was when he was approached by some old lady who had apparently something secret she wanted to show and tell, what she believed this forrest was housing, and thus invited Fava to her home. After offering snacks and hot cocoa sprinkled with some hot peppers, she proceeded to tell him...She described something vividly while showing an ancient manuscript dating back thousands of years, something called the Chappa'ai or Star Gate, a portal in which the traveller could travel throughout space and time and end up somewhere...a different dimension, worlds...by simply using a sort of dialing device through different codes. To Emmanuel it surely sounded like bollocks at first but couldn't still resist the tempting idea...Was this a gateway directly to Heaven without the need of the Lord calling upon one's soul? That idea truly sounded heretical and he didn't want to end up any worse than the people of Babel's tower for showing arrogance and greed. Fava asked the old Lady why she wanted to tell this "secret", and she simply replied that she had a dream in which he and "a few others" would discover this mystery once and for all.

After Emmanuel thanked the Lady for being kind to him and the men, she simply wished him luck; she also gave a tip as to where they could camp for a while, a river bank just on the outskirts of the settlement. Emmanuel thanked the woman and gave her an Ecclesiastical token before settling down by the river bank. Suddenly as he was about to take a nap, he and his men heard a vehicle approaching. Quickly realizing that it could be anyone, they quickly gathered their weapons and laid in an ambush type of stance. Once the vehicle stopped and parked, as the two individuals they could see in the park were about to leave, Emmanuel and his men leaped out from all sides pointing their guns and demanding them to step outside, asking them who they were and their business. "We're not going to harm you in anyway, just tell us what your business is here...", he told his men to lower the guns when he realized that it wasn't a good impressive move. "Sorry about that...I'm Dr. Emmanuel Fava from ES, a pleasure to meet you...Misses?"

[Achkaerin]

This was what Melanie had been worried about more than anything, and it wasn't like her own identity was a mystery though maybe the fact it was dark was helping her a little. The man in front of them was famous though maybe not as prominent these days as the likes of Donna Steele or Marcus Merriman , but that said he was probably on the same level as her father had been though her father had of course been a slightly controversial figure. Decision time to bluff or not to bluff? Normally she'd have bluffed without thinking but with Saeko standing next to her Melanie didn't just have herself to think about. What was the way out of this?

"Melanie Bell." Melanie said "And let's dispense with the whole 'what are you doing here?' question Mr. Decoster I think we're both intelligent enough to know precisely what we're each doing here. So your campfire or mine?"

[The Young Pope]

OOC: It's now Fava, not Decoster, meaning his family is quite rich, just a head's up^

"Ah Ms. Bell of course I know very well who you are, it's just that it's a bit dark so forgive me once again, but at the same time I actually find that question quite relevant considering the enemies of mine, the church, might be tracking us down. I was actually considering to eliminate you, forgive me hehe, but now that your identity is certain and trusting by my gut feeling, I think we can very well work together; my men will provide us with good protection in terms of firepower and similar things. We already set up a fire so no need to my dear ladies, we have as well quite a few supplies we bought from that jungle village over there, of course you may as well venture there yourselves with or without protection, considering I get the impression that you can handle yourselves quite well...".

Emmanuel at this point realized that he needed more help in deciphering this mystery, perhaps these ladies knew a thing or two after all? He led them to their camp fire which was set up quite near the spot where the ladies' car was parked. After getting them comfortable by handing them snacks, drinks and even private tents (courtesy of his family's businesses), he proceeded to show them the sketches he made as well as talking about the Chappa'ai/Star Gate that native old woman back in the village gave info about. "As you can see, all the while I was just so focused on this Siegbert tomb but now with new perspectives to look from, it's more than certain everyone's got no exact clue but I trust the woman's words...what if it a possible Gateway to the different dimensions? So, what have you others come up with so far?"

[Major Jaws]

OOC: Name change to Esteban Anaidni for cultural continuity.

Esteban was ready to sleep, after finding company with the Ecclesiastical people. He didn't do much in the local settlement aside from stealing a few jars, that's how desperate he is. As his weary eyes closed, headlights of a vehicle shone over his tent. "Fucking what now?" he thought to himself as he fell asleep. He was woken up the next morning by Emmanuel Fava.

[Achkaerin]

OOC - trying to sort the continuity out

Melanie eyed the man in front of her even more cautiously now, she had to tread carefully as she got the impression that she likely knew more about the Cradle than he did. She didn't know what it was, no one did, but there were plenty of theories some of them like the one Emmanuel described were probably more far fetched than others but still there was no way of knowing until they actually got that far. Melanie's concern was that there was one distinct albeit long shot possibility that the Cradle could be something of immense significance, there were enough things in various religions that could fall under right? And if it were then the last thing she wanted was it falling into 'the wrong hands' and she was getting the impression that the man opposite her could very well fit that description.

Melanie did have one advantage, she had her father's journal in her backpack - all his notes about the cradle, all his theories about the riddle were in there including what had led them to the riverbank they were on. So she had to be careful with what she said.
"There's a settlement just up the river from here called Yit'radex" Melanie said "When translated into the common tongue from the native it becomes Eternity. Across the riverbank and further down stream there are the ruins of another settlement Ujald'r when translated it becomes Infinity. It's niche history but the two settlements ages ago fought each other. That's as far as I've got so far. Now if you don't mind I think us girls would like to get some sleep, come the morning we need to get up to a vantage point where we can see both settlements from."

A few moments later Melanie and Saeko were bedding down for the night, all the while Melanie's mind was running through everything she hadn't divulged, she didn't understand half of it yet but she didn't dare tell Emmanuel, she didn't trust the man yet. For now it was best to pursue a guarded partnership while she tried to figure the rest of this out. She didn't want to endanger anyone least of all Saeko so for now it was going to be a case of strange bedfellows.

[Weremark]

Harald Jensen parked his bike on an outcropping just off of the highway as darkness came in totality, pulling out an emergency satellite phone as he disembarked. +84 990 249 1102; a Wahland-based number. He dialed, waiting patiently. He knew, of course, of the exact whereabouts and predicament of the person he was dialing, but that shouldn't be an obstacle now, not that his own situation had changed dramatically with the death of that crony back at the truck stop.

Indeed, a whole torrent of emotions had now welled-up inside him, politically motivated confusion which he had never relished-in; a moral quandary. She could fix this. And, he needed to focus on the task at hand, at the thing he was good at; the Cradle, whatever it was. A voice answered.

"Jensen's number? And at this time of day?" responded the rather even-toned male voice on the other end, through static. It must have been past midnight in Wahland, Harald reckoned. He answered. "Need to talk, not to you, J. Is Thorn there?"

A sigh from the other side, modulated strangely through the static. "Yes, somewhere. One second." A light click indicated that the phone had been put down, and after some uncomfortable silence watching police vehicles barrel down the expressway in the distance, Harald finally heard the voice he'd wanted to. "Harry?" asked the voice. "Vi, good, you're still awake. I need to cash in that favor, and now, I'm afraid."

"What? It's two in the morning!" said the annoyed female voice in response. "Remember that goose chase I mentioned I was going on? Well, I'm afraid we need to resolve it quickly; I just blew Heinrich Adler's jaw off, and within twenty-four hours my father will undoubtedly know."

"Heinrich who?" asked Vi sleepily. "Where even are you? I thought you wanted to go see Evie off to Chanal? Is something wrong down there?" Harald scoffed a bit, staring off in the distance and watching as a flash of lightning revealed a river in the distance. With a smirk of realization, he replied. "Tokulel, only about two hours behind you. Nothing relating to Evie. Get to the northern-most airport as soon as you can, just follow the beacon I left in the Wayfar, I'll turn it on now. It's bound to attract someone from the crown, too, but I'm afraid that I'm not going back there. No more double-life shit. Bring guns."

"Gods, makes me wonder sometimes why I talk to you." she said with a chuckle; Harald responded in kind. "You know why." he joked. "Gotta go, though. Catch you...early tomorrow? Are you lugging the Mi-8? Maybe follow my GPS once you get close?"

"Mhm, yeah, I need to sleep." she retorted. "Right. Bye. Be here, I think I'm not the only one looking for what I'm looking." he hung up.

[yasha]

Saeko had spent much of the evening in uncomfortable silence while Melanie talked her way through a bunch of guys with guns. Running the words Melanie shared with her over and over again through her mind, Saeko let herself get lost wondering what could possibly have brought those people here; and more importantly how she got dragged into it so fast; maybe this was a chance to prove her worth, prove that she wasn't going to be a lowlife forever. It would all depend on how far she would make it here, at the side of this girl she just met. Dropping her head onto her pillow, she wondered where Yua and Juri were, if she'd ever be able to reunite with them after all that's happened. "How do you even live like this?" she asked herself over and over, a life that you've devoted to running away from your past.

Cold water splashed up everywhere as Saeko sprinted through the grey hallways of Ofumitsu Academy, whenever it her legs she wanted to scream, or even to cry; every little drop pierced like a knife, chilling her from the inside out. She glanced at the windows of each classroom as she passed, hoping someone could help her get a grip over herself; but they were all empty. Desks lined the floor neatly, papers blew out the windows into the void beyond the walls; but Saeko was alone, nothing but her and the cold water grinding away at her heart through her feet. "Someone! Help, please! Where am I!?" she screamed, barreling through the ghostly corridor as fast as her legs could take her. Her heart ready to break through her chest it was beating so fast, Saeko neared the end of the hallway; she slid across the shallow water for a moment in an attempt to slow down to a stop, but in the process she lost her balance and landed in the freezing water.

"Gaaaah... fuck..." she groaned between heavy panting, frantically scanning her surroundings as she got back on her feet, pulling herself up with a door handle. Peeking inside the classroom through the window, a warm sense of hope and relief filled her. Two girls, one with impossibly light blonde hair and the other with a tall, proud stature stood in the middle of the room, backs turned towards her. "Juri? Yua? It's me! Saeko!" she shouted through the door, trying to force the locked handle open. "Hey guys, come on, open the door!" she panted, quickly becoming more desperate to get their attention. She sighed with relief as both girls slowly turned to face the door, but the feeling of relief soon turned to unimaginable dread, the kind that makes a person feel sick. She caught a glimpse of their faces, both flat featureless surfaces, no eyes, no mouths, no nothing. "AAAAAAAAAAGHHHHH!" Saeko screamed, the only thing she could manage to do through the mix of panic, dread and disgust that drove through her spirit like a spear through a heart while she dropped to her knees.


"AAAAAGH!" she continued to scream, but the faceless figures were gone, all of it was gone; just a dark room and the crickets chirping now. No more cold water, no more Ofumitsu Academy. She sat up on her bedroll and looked around, Melanie was still fast asleep, the nearby village sat in darkness, just the stars in the sky amongst the blackness of night. "Goddammit, not again." she whimpered as she quietly rose to her feet and reached for her backpack, unzipping it and taking a bottle of pills and some water; hastily swallowing one before stuffing the half-empty bottle of medication near the bottom of her bag and stepping outside. "All this going on, you'd think I could at least get a proper sleep..." she muttered to herself, carefully making her way over to the river. Hopefully the sound of running water could help her clear her mind for the day ahead.

[Achkaerin]

When morning came Melanie stretched out, Saeko was apparently the early bird, Fava and his men were having breakfast. Melanie made her way to where Saeko sat alone on the riverbank and sat beside her, glancing over her shoulder to make sure they were alone.

"I don't trust Fava as far as I can throw him." Melanie whispered "So at some point we're going to have to get away from him, but we need to know where we're going before we do that. What we do know is that the path we have to take steps down is this river right here. The next job is figuring out how far down this river we need to go. So when was the last time you built a raft?"

[Weremark]

Morning saw the rain replaced by a thick white haze, courtesy of the lingering humidity. Harald had woken early enough to witness the sunrise, and, with a rather halted knot of paranoia in his chest, owing to the lingering thought of his family having discovered his actions, he rode out slowly to the closest clearing the map indicated; in this case, it was a rather circular clearing situated on a small hill overlooking the now rapidly flowing river down below, which he had earlier only caught a glimpse of from the highway.

An hour passed; and still no signs of anything, or anyone.  The knot in his stomach welled up again; They know. They know.  An unfamiliar feeling for years; he'd kept his extra-familial involvements so far removed from the actualities in his life, that, for almost a decade, he had no clue who they were, and they had no clue who he was. Now he knew, and the fact unsettled him, more than it should have, ideally. He'd gotten some of the best moments of his life out of the revelation, but also some of the greatest anxiety. The fate of his quest for the cradle would determine that particular final outcome, and for that reason, he began to feel a more personal pull towards finishing it. He could exit nicely if it came to it.

He finally heard it, as he was sure that a considerable portion of the valley had; the familiar and ubiquitous whine of the Klimov engines mounted atop the typical Mi-8. A Rodinan design, and one that around  half of world nations used. Surely, the dump yard in Weremark wouldn't have noticed one absent scrap piece? They hadn't, and as the whine approached closer, he reached into his bag and pulled out a red smoke signal. Setting it off in the middle of the clearing, he saw the helicopter list in his direction. He recognized that livery anywhere. Painted over the typical Werman aircraft gray; roundels gone. Now, painted in a dull brown, and Re-registered in Wahland, and disarmed. Sometimes, the utter lack of regulation in that place worked in their favor.

A plume of dust hit his face as the helicopter hovered above the clearing and slowly began it's descent, the round and well-used wheels touching down just in front of him. He waved it down some of the way, waiting for the dust to settle and the whine to stop. When it did, he clambered over, waiting for the back ramp to open and the pilot to exit. Out she came, a notably short woman dressed in fairly casual clothes, but with a large HGU-56 pilot helmet, and a utility vest loaded with six twenty-round magazines. Violet Waldeburg grinned readily at Harald, and not a moment later the two found themselves embroiled in a rather passionate kiss. When they broke it they both smirked wordlessly. Harald looked past his short lover's head to see the full stock of the helicopter; two Quadbikes, six assault rifles, and a whole box of canned food, should they need it, as well as full change of clothes. Harald turned the GPS tracker on his plane off; if anyone looking for them at the airport had garnered a signal, they'd lost it now.

The tarp over the helicopter was thrown and camp established - yet they both couldn't help but think that their rendezvous may have been less than discreet.

[Achkaerin]

OOC- ok this has languished for over a month so moving this on massively now.

There may have been plenty of suspicion and distrust among the group but they all understood the same thing, whether they liked it or not they were bound together on the journey until motives were known and people made their moves. Building a raft had been easy, well it always was when there were plenty of people to help out. And now they were sailing down the river, Melanie was lying down on the wood at the back of the raft her eyes closed and baseball cap over her eyes, she was without question asleep, there wasn't much else she'd been able to do for the close to a week they'd been sailing except eat, sleep and research.

Melanie was used to dreams like this, she had them quite frequently, memories of conversations with her late father Jonathon Bell. So here she was her thirteen year old self sat in his study doing some homework for High School while he regaled her with the stories of his trips abroad, in this case his very first trip.

"I got into archaeology when I went travelling in my youth, I went all over the place much like Paul the Explorer of East Moreland. I wanted to learn as much as I could about the world because if you understand something then chances are it's far less scary, such is the way of diplomacy and tolerance. And there's some weird stuff out there let me tell you."
"There's always weird stuff Dad just look at this algebra" Melanie said "Letters in maths?"
"Ok I'll grant you that's weird." Jonathon said with half a smile "Anyway there are plenty of weird beliefs and cultures out there. Nya Aland and their warrior Gods, broadly similar to the Himeyaman's, then of course there's the Cult of Helus which you know back to front. Christianity is standard and probably the best known but oddly it was in Mountjoy that I picked up a rather strange book a few years ago."
"Really?" Melanie asked
"Interesting one at that." Jonathan said "Talked about these legendary creatures, one of them being if you can believe it a giant sand worm."

On the raft Melanie's eyes snapped open Oh Dad you didn't... she thought before scrambling for the map of the country they were in she looked at it.
"So that's it." Melanie said "In about a day we're going to hit a fork in the river we need to take the one that heads north. Best not to stray to the Sun by straying too far east isn't it?" Her eyes looked over the map again if this was right then their path would take them into the mountains...well that made sense didn't it? Where else could the eyes of Mortals not see except in the mountains?