RPG Brotherhood of the Wolf [M-LV]

[Vicky]

[CENTER][SIZE=4][font=Lucida Sans Unicode]Brotherhood of the Wolf


[M-LV][/FONT][/SIZE]





[SIZE=1][I]It will come crawling in the dark, hidden
In shadows as it moves silently, forbidden
Watch and listen as it creeps up from behind
And sinks its claws into your skin
Tearing you, breaking you,
She?s coming, she?s close
Listen carefully as children weep
And through their gowns, blood will seep.[/I][/SIZE][/CENTER]

---

[center][B][U]Players[/U][/B]

[SIZE=1]Brotherhood of the Wolf[/SIZE]
[list]
[*][B]StarrStruck[/B] - Brother Enslin
[*][B]Sin[/B] - Brother Savage
[*][B]Darren[/B] - Brother Haruki Shimozato
[*][B]Random[/B] - Brother (Samuel) Flory [Pending]
[*][B]Vicky[/B] - Brother Tala-Taima
[/list]

[SIZE=1]Society of Blood[/SIZE]
[list]
[*][B]Nefertimon[/B] - Sarundanka
[*][B]Ozymandius Jones[/B] - Miasnik Vhalamna
[*][B]OrangeJuiles[/B] - Frauka Benedikt
[/list]

[SIZE=1]The Hunters[/SIZE]
[list]
[*][B]Monkatraz[/B] - Julien de Saint-Marc
[*][B]DeathKnight[/B] - Arkadie Doroshenko
[B]Gavin[/B] - Niall Ryan
[/list][/CENTER]

---

[SIZE=4][CENTER][FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode]Prologue[/FONT][/SIZE][/CENTER]

---

[SIZE=1][I]England,
Liverpool Airport
01:04am[/I]

Taima folded his arms on his lap, he felt quite uncomfortable in the airport though he wasn?t about to let it show. It wasn?t very crowded at all, it was jus the occasional person walking by would make Taima feel uncomfortable. He nodded at a few of them politely, but they were too busy going about their business with a half awake attitude to notice him. Taima just let it pass. He wasn?t here to make friends and say hello to new people, no, that recruitment stage was over. Now it was too meet up with the entire Brotherhood, or those who still called themselves part of the Brotherhood .

He was currently waiting for an old friend, Brother Sterne, a very old member who was bringing his son into the Brotherhood after years of teaching. Taima was glad he would get to meet a new generation of Brotherhood members, technically Taima was a new generation himself. He had a lot to achieve after the great leadership Dyami had given.

Taima noticed a number of people walking down the corridor and he immediately sat up. He stood on his toes to get a better view over the people?s heads and smiled when noticing there were a few men only carrying one bag each. They weren?t holidays makers. Taima walked slowly past the other people to get to his friend, careful not to have to apologise for bumping into anyone.

They stopped in the middle of the corridor, an inconvenience for the other people, and smiled at each other. Brother Sterne?s wrinkled face twisted into a grey smile, and he opened his arms to embrace Taima. Taima hugged the old man and slapped him on the back with a smile.

[B]?Tala! How are you??[/B] asked Sterne.

Taima bowed a little. [B]?I?m well, thank you. It?s good to see you again. I hope you will be staying in England for sometime.?[/B]

[B]?Nah, not me Taima. I?m going back to Greece straight away, but I?ll leave these two little guys with you. You know Robert, don?t you? Fourth Sterne to be a Brother.?[/B] Sterne patted the boy to his right, a lad in his mid twenties with deep green eyes, short blonde hair and a smile on his face. [B]?He brought his buddy, he knows about the Brothers, too. This is Daniel Proust.?[/B]

Taima looked to the boy on the left. He was older than Robert with black hair tied back in a ponytail, an unshaven face and quite a calm look in his eyes. Taima smiled at them both and trusted Sterne?s judgement.

[B]?I did all the tests myself on them, you know? The trails I went through? But you can do it again, wasn?t my place really.?[/B] Sterne chuckled. Taima shook his head.

[B]?From now on you will both be Brothers.?[/B] Taima placed his hands on the boy?s shoulders and shook them lightly. [B]?You will be Brother Sterne the Fourth, and you will be Brother Proust.?[/B] He smiled at them both, and in turn they smiled back nervously.

Sterne gave a small nod to Taima and shrugged his shoulders, not knowing what else to say.

[B]?Well, you needed these boys and I brought them too you. I?m sorry to hear about what happened to Dyami, though. And I?m sorry I can?t come back to the Brotherhood and help you with that? thing. I?m too old. Sorry, Taima.?[/B] Sterne said with a sigh. Taima closed his eyes and nodded, understandably.

[B]?It?s fine, my friend.?[/B]

There was a long pause, an uncomfortable silence. People walked past them and didn?t look at either of them, not knowing they were part of one of the biggest hidden secrets in history, with the Society and the Hunters coming next. The beast wasn?t causing much panic, many didn?t believe what they had heard.

[B]?I better be going.?[/B] Sterne said, turning half around. [B]?Take care of them, won?t you Taima??[/B] he said with a smile.

Taima merely nodded and held a hand up to say good bye. He stood there until his friend was out of sight, disappearing through the crowd and around the corner, before guiding the boys in the opposite direction. He kept quite for some time, aware that they both were probably feeling very strange about the Brotherhood leader.

[B]?So, I hope you guys are hungry.?[/B] Taima said with a light smile.

Both recruits smiled.

[CENTER]***[/CENTER]

Taima and his two new recruits had spent an awful long time eating, due to the fact that Taima insisted they get to know each other. It worked like a charm. Though it was unfortunate Taima had to leave them. He couldn?t accompany them to the Underground due to the fact he had to meet someone else. Though he was leaving the boys in value hands, so it didn?t really matter.

They stood out in the rain waiting for a car when the oldest boy, Proust, took out a cigarette. He lit it and began to smoke it, though he didn?t get that far. Taima took his cigarette away, through it in the rain and stamped on it.

[B]?Shouldn?t smoke. Bad for your health.?[/B] Taima said warmly.

Proust bowed his head and muttered and apology, in which Taima simply laughed light heartedly. He placed his hands behind his back and looked up at the sky before stepping out into the rain to see if their transport was here yet. He looked left, right and straight ahead, seemingly not bothered by the harsh rain lashing down on him. The two boys exchanged worried glances again.

Taima stepped back all of a sudden and two lights beamed across the floor. A vehicle followed the lights, stopping in front of them and rolling down a window. A girl peered out and shielded her eyes from the water, noticing Taima.

[B]?The things I do for you!?[/B] shouted the girl over the car engine.

Taima just laughed, opening the back door for the boys. They rushed in so they didn?t get lashed by the rain and Taima closed the door behind them, the boys looking mildly shocked as to why Taima wouldn?t be joining them.

[B]?I?m sorry, boys, business call for me to be somewhere else. I?ll be with you in a day or two at the Underground for a big meeting. Don?t worry, she?ll take care of you.?[/B] Taima said, winking. Both boys nodded and said their good byes as the car sped off, water splashing out at Taima.

He smiled and put his hands in his pockets and began to walk in the opposite direction. He kept his head bowed at the floor, thinking and wondering how long it would take for all the Brotherhood to actually get to the Underground. He knew that it was unfortunatue that the Brotherhood?s greatest enemy would rise in his rule, and he also knew that if he failed now he would not only let the Brotherhood down, but his family and, especially, Dyami.


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[I]OOC: If anyone wants to meet Taima anywhere, then just put him in your post. He?s free to roam around England and pick up Brotherhood members. All other characters can do as they please, in my next post the Prologue will be over.[/I][/SIZE]

[Darren]

[SIZE=1][I]Kyoto, Japan
The Shimozato House
5:32 pm[/I]

Haruki had been home for two weeks and three days. Despite everything that had happened, he couldn't imagine leaving his father's house. It seemed a bit empty at times, but Haruki ignored that by leaving dirty clothes piled on the floor and dishes left on the table and counter. To him, it was so dirty that it looked like Haruki had a room mate.

In the two weeks that Haruki had been home, he dedicated himself to the brotherhood. He searched the internet and local library for any details on this beast. It seemed that every ancient culture he read about had one. Haruki began to think that they were all the same creature. Japan called it a demon soaked with the blood of the earth... The wierdest part was that it didn't have a name in any culture, except that it was a demon, beast, etc.

Haruki had also been looking in the current news across the world. He had discovered many stories of accidents... And what could be called terrorist actions, but no one saw how it happened. He surmised that anyone who was close enough to see the beast, probably died before they had a chance to tell anyone. He was trying to follow its movements, but they were so erratic that it was impossible to tell for sure which ones were caused by the beast and which ones by something else. The different patterns gave Haruki three possible destinations that the beast was traveling: Towards the U.K., Down central Asia into India. Or east across northern Russia, possibly headed to Alaska. He didn't know weather or not the beast could travel across water, but he didn't deny it since every culture had some claim of it's existence.

It seemed like every time Haruki would come close to completing his study of the beast that a new accident would pop up or he would find new information about the beast. In a span of two, barely-rested weeks, Haruki thought it was time to give the brotherhood a rest and do a bit of living. Unfortunately for him, he recieved an e-mail later that day:[/SIZE]

[SIZE=2][B][FONT=Courier New] Brother Shimozato,
My name is Tala-Taima. I'm sure you know who I am. I was very pleased to hear of your induction into the brotherhood. I have heard nothing but good remarks from Brother Effrom. I am sorry about your father and while I've never met him personally, my father talked of working with him in America on several occasions. The brotherhood is having a meeting for all new and old members at our underground HQ, and I would like for you to be there. If you wold like, Brother Effrom or myself could meet you at the airport in England. You would need to leave either today or tomorrow.
I look forward to seeing you there,
Brother Taima[/FONT][/B][/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Haruki sighed... Maybe he shouldn't have spent so much time eating noodles in front of his laptop. It was finally time to join the real ranks of the brotherhood. At least he would be able to size up the other members and see where he ranks.

He searched the internet for tickets to London, but none were available for 4 days. However, there were a couple seats left leaving the airport in 5 hours that went to Berlin, Germany. From there, Haruki could get a later flight to London. Without even glancing for any quicker options, he booked the flight from Kyoto to Berlin at 10:00 pm, and Berlin to London at 5:00 pm the following day. Haruki figured that it would give him enough time to investigate the supposed attack just 20 minutes outside Berlin and he would be able to tell if it was truly the beast or not.

Haruki sent a reply to Brother Taima and proceeded to get ready for the trip. He wasn't sure how long it would take so he packed enough to last him a week or two. Then, Haruki took his fully charged laptop and called a cab. He would use some of the small fortune his father left him to pay for the taxi and the plane.

With that, Haruki grabbed his weapons and loaded them into their specially designed cases, and headed out the door to wait for his taxi. A few hours later, he was boarding the plane for Berlin, praying that the beast hadn't struck there. If that were the case, then he guessed that it was heading directly for the Brotherhood headquarters; Something that would end terribly for everyone.[/SIZE]

[Imp]

OOC: Since there are not very many Society members anyway, I'll just go ahead and put Saruna's siblings in this RPG as well...
IC:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[size=1][color=indigo][i]A small island off the southern tip of Norway
Temporary lodging spot
2:27 AM[/i]

The day before, Saruna and her family spent the day on this remote island in the North Sea. Once they had arrived, Saruna was the first to fall asleep--she was normally not used to staying awake in the middle of the day. Now, it was about time for the family to leave the island and dock in their meeting place in Germany. There they would meet their fellow Society members Miasnik and Frauka, as well as a few others that would decide to show up.

At this particular time, a thin layer of fog rested on the coast, highlighted by the moon which smiled from above. Saruna's parents were squinting a bit to read a letter by moonlight:
"Mr. and Mrs. Surenich, Sarundanka, Hasaitsuavleun, Chibutakamo--
A request for a meeting in our German headquarters is in the making. After long moments of separation, it is time we get back together to plan for our later success. For the Hunters and the Brotherhood are still at large, and so we must keep our shields up and our swords drawn. We shall expect you three hours after sunrise.

The battle rages on,
Miasnik, Frauka"

While Mrs. Surenich (Saruna's mother) was reading this letter, Mr. Surenich went back into the little cave the family had stayed in, and from it he fetched their weapons. For the father, a sort of javelin with the point as thin as wire yet able to pierce the skin with the slightest touch. For the mother, a short spear with a sharp, jagged head, kind of like a sword blade. Mr. Surenich started sharpening his wife's "sword" on a nearby rock while his children started gathering their belongings. Or at least Hasaitsu and Saruna were doing that--Chibu was fast asleep. She didn't like the night all that much, being the rather odd one in the Society of Blood. Hasaitsu was the most awake of the three having just woken up a couple of hours ago, but Saruna had been awake since just before sunset. She was always as nocturnal as possible.

Soon the three siblings emerged with their belongings. Chibu had a blanket and a sack full of pastries she stole from a bakery one day--her parents carried them out. Hasaitsu had the lightest load: a small knife and a fishing net. Saruna's load was the heaviest: a sort of briefcase, from which the familiar clinking of glass could be heard. They brought their weapons out a well: Chibu with her quill-enhanced whip, Hasaitsu with his spike-tipped spear, and Saruna with her interchangeable weapon. The parents were in charge of handling the boat they were to set out on, so after everyone brought their belongings aboard, they were off.

The parents were at the back of the boat with all the other stuff, making sure order was kept. In front of them, Chibu was still asleep. Hasaitsu, having the most muscle of the bunch, was in charge of piloting the boat across the water. Saruna had the best night vision, so she kept an eye out for danger or land. Overall, the journey was pleasant: the weather was slightly cool, and the only winds present were occasional breezes of the lightest touch. At some times, the same fog from before glowed on the waters before them, enhancing the already ethereal atmosphere of the scene. There was even an eerie yet wonderful silence about the waters, one where the voices of the spiritual realm could be heard clearly, one only softly disturbed by the ripple of oars against the relatively calm waters. There could not be a more beautifully ominous night than that experienced by the Surenich sub-family. (In reality, the entire Society of Blood was one family.)

This trip across the North Sea would last well over two hours, and by the time land is visible, the faint glimmer of he distant sun could be seen in the south-eastern horizon, and Hasaitsu's arms would be sore from all the rowing. But more importantly, discussions of a new beginning for the Society would be under way.[/size][/color]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
OOC: If Germany isn't a convenient meeting spot, I can always edit my post to change it to a different place...

[Monkatraz]

OOC: Since the Hunters are so drastically outnumbered I added a character who could be sort of a represent the rest of the Hunters.

[size=1][color=blue]Julien de Saint-Marc stumbled into his penthouse apartment, high above the streets of night-time Paris after a night of drinking. He had no obligations for the rest of the week and he very mutch liked it that way; after his exhausting series of jobs for the Hunters, Julien was intent on getting at least a week of R&R.

Julien had been born and raised in the city of Paris and had come to have a certain love of the City of Lights. He spent most of his free time wandering the streets and partaking in the many activities the city offered and romancing the different women who travelled there. He loved the leisure, and the lack of responsibility (and of course, his ability to offord it) but joined the Hunters claiming he wanted to uphold his family's tradition (they were one of the oldest families in the Hunters, being among the original founders). Despite his training in fencing and unarmed combat, he felt safer with a Glock at his side though he had yet no need and in times of leisure like he had now he didn't even bother to carry it.

Julien finished his glass and decided to hit the sack for the day when he became acutely aware of the door to his apartment opening and someone stepping inside. He sighed heavily when he heard a familiar voice.

[b]"Staying sharp I trust, Julien?"[/b] Said the man who had entered, an elder member of the Hunters and former friend of Julien's father. He was older and grizzled, though he still seemed physically fit. Among the elders Julien was held with a degree of disrespect, but Claude seemed to almost tolerate him.

[b]"Damn, Claude. What do you want?"

"Nice to see you too."

"You know this is my time off... Just looking at your sorry ass is making me sober."

"As a member of the Hunters it is your job to be ready to be called into action at any time. You are needed."

"Get someone else."

"The beast has returned. You of all people should know about that."

"But I'm not working this week."

"If you feel happier outside of our organization-"

"Fine, I'll do it, just don't give me any of that shit."

"Nothing too painful yet, just a meeting."

"Oh, good, I get to spend time with some of the elders. You know how much I love hanging out with them."

"Your sarcasm is noted, Julien. We're leaving immediately, though you may want to grab a mug of coffee... You wreak of booze."[/b][/size][/color]

[Ozymandius Jones]

[COLOR=DarkRed]It had been a church, at one point. It was still a church on the outside - a Gothic affair, all metal spires and towers that rose above the dense pine trees of this German forest. At one time, perhaps, the church had been a lovely place; at one point, maybe, the grounds had been held back, under control. Now, the paint was peeling, shingles falling off; stained glass windows dusty and covered with grime...

The forest was attempting to reclaim the grounds the church had been built on - trees and vines encroaching to poke their branches and tendrils through the fences; to loom like sentinels or guardians over the path that was being returned to underbrush. There had once been a flowerbed - very few plants remained, the thick evergreens blocked most of the sunlight, and what did filter through was green-tinged and weak. The whole area had the surreal feeling of a fairy-tale castle waiting for a prince to slay the dragon and awaken the sleepers within.

Inside - past fallen beams and rotted floorboards barely- covered by carpet long faded and dry rot eaten - there was still a sanctuary, a lofty room designed to draw the eyes higher, towards the crucifix and the towering windows, towards the light...

The grime now blocked the light; the crucifix was now gone. The only thing that remained of the once-beautiful sanctuary ornaments was the organ, and even that was decrepit, rust and tarnish attacking the pipes, a thick layer of dust covering the keys.

It was a bleak room, dank and dark and dingy, with an unshakeable air of unnamed horror lurking near the edges. The natives of the nearest village - some twenty kilometers off - never ventured near the place anymore, although the occasional group of adventurous teenagers would invade and promptly leave - suddenly less enamored with the lofty ideas of exploration - before they even reached the stairs to the balcony.

There was a running bet regarding those stairs - if anyone could reach the stairs without bolting, they'd be awarded honor for years and some item, whatever the fad was that year. No one had done it yet - and there hadn't been an attempt in years.

It was somewhat strange, that. The stairs were a mere twenty feet from the front door, wide, easily-climbed stairs that looped around out of view - but still, no one dared far enough inside the church to touch them...much less climb them.

So it would have been considered even more odd, then, that there was a set of footprints in the dust, leading up the stairs. Footprints that clearly belonged to a tall man, as they skipped three or four steps with every print.

Miasnik Vhalamna, owner of the footprints in question, lounged in the balcony on one of the pews, pressed between the pew and the wall - one foot flung carelessly over the railing, the other over the back of the pew as he read the book in his hand upside down.

The original users of the church would have winced at the book - the cover was of a women wielding a huge gun yet wearing next to no clothes. The text on the back proclaimed proudly in huge, red letters "The most violent thriller of 2006!", blatantly ignoring that the year wasn't yet over in its claim.

Miasnik's thin lips moved ever so slightly as he forced himself to read the words - English words, of course, he hadn't been able to find such books in his native tongue. While his speaking English was more-than-passable, reading still gave him a slight challenge. Fortunately, while the words were difficult, the meaning behind the words was almost as simplistic as they came.

The books never catered to his whims. The 'good guys' always won, generally on the brink of their inevitable doom. Miasnik had written different endings for each book in his collection; he kept them carefully sorted in a box in his quarters, each a practice of what the authors of the original book would have most likely labeled 'depravity' in red ink. Frauka had laughed at h -

Better not to think of [i]her[/i].

He brushed his hair out of his face and continued, red eyes scanning the page almost eagerly, fingers beating out an irregular tattoo on the back of the pew. The ?noble spy? (he laughed mentally at the concept, even as it usually fascinated him) was being led into a carefully planned trap ? Miasnik was registering information for later use; if nothing else these ?American trash novels? were useful in their ingenuity for traps ? and the ?heroine? likewise, far from the hero? his candle flickered.

Miasnik heaved a sigh and sat up to glare at the balcony door.

?Vhat is it?? The man outside the doorway spoke calmly, accent noticeably fainter than Miasnik?s.

?The Beast is returned. You are required downstairs.? Miasnik rose from his awkward position gracefully, pulling his hair back and fastening it, hot glee licking at the edges of his mind.

?Lead, I follow.?

The man was a higher up; higher than Miasnik could ever hope to be, both by age, and right-of-birth. That being said, he didn?t have the?unique talents that Miasnik held. And Miasnik used that knowledge to his advantage ? the lower one with the more valued abilities would be far more important in the long run than a high one with less skilled methods. Miasnik began braiding his hair almost absentmindedly as he followed him down the stairs, book shoved into an inner pocket.

The stairs to the basement were further into the church, towards the middle, far from windows and doors and other portals to the outside world ? the gaping black holes to the cellars and lower loomed ? an unthreatening sight, however, to any of those privileged to control ? and, at the same time (in Miasnik?s mind) serve ? the Beast.

The stairs reeked, the smell of sour blood wafting up from below. Miasnik didn?t flinch as he sure-footedly navigated the dark stairs ? darkness was a second light to him and his kind. Once at the foot of the stairs the paths branched off ? both into further darkness. Miasnik didn?t hesitate, turning down the opposite hallway from the one who?d brought him down.

There was no farewell ? none was needed.

He made his way down the hall, past doors and holes in the walls, all the way to where the hallway ended in a steel grill. The smell was stronger here ? rank animal, fresh-and-old blood, and the mustiness of old hay. He sat down next to the bars, pressed his fingers to the bars, and purred, almost whispering in his native tongue.

[i]And how is she today?[/i]

The only answer was a low snarl. He laughed, and leaned back against the wall, content in the presence of the Beast.[/COLOR]

[4815162342]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkRed]Mihret?s game wasn?t at her best for some reason. Lately she?d had this wary edge to everything she did, and she had no clue as to why it was there. Nothing seemed to take it away, either, and it wasn?t from lack of sleep ?she knew that for a fact. And now?well, now, during her brief moment of introspective searching she?d let the other team score.

?Fudge!? She muttered quietly; she?d never been one to swear and that was considered by her friends on the team as pretty harsh words to pass her lips. Mihret squared her shoulders and yet again wondered what the coaches had been thinking, having her take this position in such a vital game. She frowned up at the clock, squinting to read it in the pouring rain ? there was?[i]one[/i] minute left in the game?! How?!

?Mihret, look back!? At her teammates call she did ? just in time to see the ball and jump, arms stretched upwards to block it. She sighed in relief as another teammate captured the ball and headed off towards the other goal with it. But ? at the end of the game ? her save didn?t matter and the other team one.

Slowly Mihret walked off the field with the others, waving farewell to them as they headed for their dorms and she headed for the apartment she rented from her grandparents. She bounced on the balls and heels of her feet, unable to ? even after losing and though the wary edge was still gnawing at her ? remain anything less than cheerful.

She turned and headed up the street her apartment was on and then the one?[i]thing,[/i] she thought with uncharacteristic foul temper, who could ruin a perfectly good mood showed up - Jackie.

The tall, blonde haired man came walking up behind her, smiling that smug smile that never seemed to leave his face as he slid an arm around Mihret?s waist and pulled her close.

?Evenin? mon cherie.? Mihret simply glared up at him and prayed someone would come walking by. Her prayers were answered as a figure showed up in the rain ahead. She and Jackie, however, kept at their same slow pace as he continued yammering at her about how much he thought they should get back together.

Finally, as they were walking almost alongside the man, about to pass him, Mihret pulled away from Jackie and threw her arms around the rain-soaked man whose black hair was plastered against his face.

?Hey! Long time no see, where have you [b]been[/b]?? She cheerily sang out and the man, to his credit, didn?t seem alarmed and played along with her.

?Oh, here and there?didn?t you promise me dinner last we met?? Mihret nodded and slide her arm around his waist, leaning her head against his chest.

?Yep! I know just the place, too.? The two crossed the road, laughing together and leaving behind a stunned looking Jackie who didn?t stand there long but rather spun angrily on his heel and left them with a snarled insult at the other man?s back.

Mihret laughed and shook her head, holding her free hand out towards the man who took it in his own and shook it. Before she could introduce herself, he was telling her who [i]he[/i] was.

?I?m Tala-Taima, it wasn?t anything to help you out back there.? Mahita smiled a wide smile at Taima and steered him down another street.

?I?m Mihret Enslin, Tala, and I still have to thank you. You helped me get rid of that brainless, heartless leech.? She continued on towards the restaurant she was actually going to take Taima to. For some reason she was no longer quite so wary and she wanted to see if he, perhaps, was the reason why. [/COLOR][/SIZE]

[DeathKnight]

[color=crimson]The evening was crisp and lively with activity. Dresden's evening atmosphere was warm and social, groups of people roaming here and there. The brilliant jewel of the Semper Opera House shimmered. Nomadic as always, Arkadie had arrived in town just a few days ago biding his time.. and looking for a bit of entertainment. Having parked his truck elsewhere, he made his way into the opera house dressed a little slicker than usual.

Making his way through the crowds within he entered the interior audience chamber and moved towards his seat. It was plush enough that he felt he was getting his money's worth but damn was it ever crowded. He had heard of the near constant sell outs that the performances at the opera had but didn't fathom exactly what that meant until venturing into the building. He considered striking up a conversation with some people nearby for a moment before grinning to himself- no need, no need. Conversation wasn't what he was here for. Minutes passed slowly, people filling in at a steady pace and getting to their seats.

Right on schedule the Opera began, the dramatic music filling the chamber wondrously..

-~-

A rare feeling of contentment had seized Arkadie following the Opera. It had been a fantastic performance by all accounts. A break from his 'work' was rare enough but, at the moment, everything was still in the campaign against the Beast. A calm had fallen, one that was probably a brief break before the tempest reared it's ugly head once more. The chaos would return in earnest, chaos he had signed up for only a half a year prior. A new war, a new fight.. something without the reeking touch of corrupt politicians, the touch that killed more men than the Mujahideen had. Those times in Afghanistan were behind him but his training as a soldier remained, as did a creeping desire for a good battle. His contentment had dimmed after remembering those older times and a soft sigh escaped his lips- what a night.

As he approached his truck his cell phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and glanced at who was calling. A small grin crept over his mouth as he flipped the phone open, pushed the talk button and brought it to his ear.

"Yes?" He asked, well knowing what words would follow.

"I have news from the front."[/color]

[OrangeJulies]

[COLOR=DarkOliveGreen]Frauka read by lamplight.

This was done strictly with an oil lamp whenever possible, but even in the confines of the Society's many underground locales, musty and ancient in their own catacomb manner, such things were difficult to locate. So it was that the blonde-haired angel of their dark ministry sought haven in her room in England, in her antique chair next to her antique desk, antique lamp nearby and with an antique book in her hands.

As ever, her same contented smile perched on her lips, like a hawk waiting to swoop at its next victim. While her cousin Miasnik sprawled around his own living quarters reading his trifling spy novels - and how ridiculous they were! - she was perusing [i]Dracula[/i] for the fourth time. [i]Real[/i] literature.

There was an electric light fixture in the middle of the ceiling, with a cloud of dust blooming in the center of the hanging glass globe. Not even in this corner of her world did the modernity of the outside fail to penetrate. So it was that she heard the envelope skid under her door, set her book down, and stood to retrieve it.

Her smile widened, toothy and malevolent, as it did when she felt something exciting on the horizon. She was being dispatched again at last, to the mainland. The letter was abnormally short and devoid of details, promising more instructions to follow.

"So," she mumbled with a faint chuckle, "things may finally be in motion."

Frauka adjusted her glasses with academic severity, sat down at her desk, and reached for a quill pen. Licking the nib before giving it a quick dip in the inkpot, she reached for a rough sheet of parchment paper and prepared to make the necessary arrangements for while she would be abroad.[/COLOR]

[Vicky]

---

[SIZE=4][CENTER][FONT=Lucida Sans Unicode]Part I[/FONT][/SIZE][/CENTER]

---

[SIZE=1]It was getting quite late, Taima wasn?t sure if the Brothers were already at the Underground. Well, it was fine, Taima had until tomorrow night to actually get back to the Underground. He could meet Shimozato later, who had sent a reply about the awkward times for the airports, and get the meeting over with possibly enough time to sleep. He was having quite an interesting evening, though. Mihret seemed more than grateful that Taima had gotten her out of a bad situation, and Taima knew that the name Enslin was familiar. He wasn?t sure, maybe he just heard it mentioned somewhere.

[B]?I was expecting to spend the whole night walking around England, but it has actually taken a quite interesting turn,?[/B] Taima laughed.

[B]?Why would you spend your night walking around England??[/B] Mihret asked. Taima smiled at her and looked down at his fork, shoving little bits of lettuce around the plate before leaving it alone and chuckling slightly. [B]?What??[/B]

[B]?Oh, sorry, nothing.?[/B] Taima kept his head down as he apologised. [B]?I have to go around England and find some of the members for the Brotherhood. Not many of them are native to England, one of them even came from Japan. It?s vital they actually know where they?re going.?[/B]

Normally, Taima would be secretive about the Brotherhood, he wouldn?t mention it to anyone he wasn?t sure of. Mihret did seem like a nice enough person, honest was probably the word, not to mention her last name was stuck in the back of his head somewhere. Maybe he was being stupid, though he had a hard time shaking the feeling that he knew the name from somewhere important.

[B]?Brotherhood? What?s that??[/B] Mihret asked, clearly curious.

[B]?It?s??[/B] Taima paused, shook his head. [B]?It?s nothing.?[/B] He lied. It felt like a lie, too. The Brotherhood was his life. Mihret leaned in closer and smiled.

[B]?No, go on, do tell.?[/B] She said.

Taima found himself shaking his head and chuckling. He wasn?t shaking his head in disprovable, it was more like not knowing what to say, maybe even embarrassment. He thought for a moment about what he could do, an idea popping into his head. He looked out of the window at the ran and gave an expression that told Mihret he had made his mind up about something. He turned to her and leaned in as if it were some big secret (which, really, it was).

[B]?Why don?t I show you, instead? I think that could do more explaining. Besides, I have a whole speech to give to the members, new and old. Come with me, see if you?re interested.?[/B]

To be honest Taima felt like he was being a bit unfair. The Brotherhood, even though it was for a good cause and was indeed a brilliant place, a community, but it was still dangerous. Incredibly dangerous now that the beast had appeared. Taima didn?t know why he was asking Mihret to join, or see if she wanted to, he just thought maybe it would be interesting.

[B]?Alright, then. Show me what the ?Brotherhood? is.?[/B]

A smile crept on Taima?s face. He grabbed Mihret?s arm and pulled her out of the chair, quickly placing a few notes on the table for the food and drinks. Mihret gave him a confused look.

[B]?I thought I was paying? You [I]did[/I] save me from that heartless creep.?[/B] She said. Taima just shook his head.

[B]?I make an awful lot of money off my martial arts lessons, I only spend half of that each month for myself and save the rest. And now that the Brotherhood is back in full swing, money isn?t an issue. The Brotherhood always seemed to keep a wad of cash stored away.?[/B] He explained, standing on the edge of the pavement and waiting for the cars to pass.

[B]?You just keep making it seem more interesting??[/B]

Taima wasn?t sure about the comment, so he just smiled.

[B]?I hope you don?t mind, but I need to make a stop first. We can walk to the airport? although??[/B] He looked up at the rain, and winced. He took his jacket off and gave it to Mihret, good manners. [B]?I won?t mind the rain.?[/B] He said, reassuringly.



[CENTER]***[/CENTER]




Taima was disappointed to see that it was really, really getting late. He knew it must have been past midnight, he also felt rather bad for bringing someone into the situation. Though, he wasn?t exactly going to [I]leave[/I] Mihret in one wave and a nod. He had assured her that the Brotherhood?s personal taxi, Brother Nicolas, a fiery tempered but cooperative young woman, would take Mihret home whenever she wanted.

He was waiting outside, under shelter obviously. He didn?t want to wait too long, it wasn?t necessary and it was cold. Though waiting inside wasn?t the deal. An anonymous man who had been apparently dealing with the Brotherhood for centuries (Taima didn?t know how that was possible) was very, very picky about what he delivered, how it was delivered, and where. Taima didn?t see how convenient the airport was.

[B]?Why are we stood here again??[/B] asked Mihret, but not bitterly.

Taima took his time to answer. He looked back and forth for a sign of who he was looking for. He saw in the distance a man, dressed in all black and not trying to look suspicious (in which he failed), coming out of the airport. The man looked side to side briefly, and proceeded towards Taima.

[B]?Hello, Mr. Anonymous.?[/B] Taima joked but failed to bring a smile to the creepy old man?s face.

[B]?Here. An iMate JasJar. Not exactly top of the range, but it?s rigged. It?ll get the job done.?[/B] The old man whispered. Taima just raised an eyebrow, and the old man handed him a small box. Taima bowed and thanked him.

As quickly as he came, Mr. Anonymous, as he had been dubbed in the Brotherhood, disappeared back into the airport without so much as a glance behind. Taima smiled sarcastically, rather annoyed that he didn?t get even the tiniest bit of conversation. That was a somewhat challenge in the Brotherhood? whoever got Mr. Anonymous to talk for the longest won. The name of the current champion slipped Taima?s tongue.

[B]?Oh? Who was that??[/B] Mihret asked, somewhat joking.

[B]?That, my friend, was Mr. Anonymous. The supplies literally everything for the Brotherhood. We?d be in the dark ages if it weren?t for him.?[/B] He took out a small PDA out of the box, complete with a turning screen. [B]?And this is the iMate JasJar. Mobile internet, built in mobile phone, start menu, it?s basically a hand held computer. Look! It even has solitaire!?[/B]

Mihret laughed as Taima showed her his new piece of technology and Taima couldn?t help just join in as she laughed. He poked at the touch screen for a moment, before his attention was drawn to the black car waiting across the street, headlights on full and an angry looking woman smoking in the driver?s seat. Well, that was quick.

Taima led Mihret to the car and got in the back seat with her. When inside he leaned over and talked to the driver, muttering something about a location. The driver, a little louder than she probably intended, shouted at Taima, whom backed off immediately and sat back straightening his shirt. The driver, still mumbling sped off.

Taima talked with Mihret the whole way there. She seemed to be one of the happiest people Taima knew, maybe it was because everyone else had some crazy background that just made their life a misery. Taima himself wasn?t cheery, not compared to Mihret, although he did try to be polite and well mannered to most. Lights reflected onto the cars shiny coating as it past through the city, they swished past over Taima?s face, but he ignored the light and instead took his time to explain a few things to Mihret. Though, really, he wanted to wait until the meeting. The lights soon faded off the car?s paint job and instead the top of the car was lit up by the bright light from the moon.

They arrived in a very, very silent area, distant from the towns and buzzing of the cities. Only a few trees filled the field, it seemed to be on a slope, not really a mountain until you walked further up. The moonlight gave it a certain mysterious despite it bareness, though Taima was eager to get to the actual Underground instead of wasting his time looking at an old, familiar scenery.

[B]?I?m going to stay here and have a fag, you guys go ahead. I?d rather kill myself with fuckin? cigs than get mauled by the beast. Or Taima?s speech.?[/B] The driver said.

Taima gave her a disapproving look as she lit the cigarette and decided to ignore her. He pointed out the entrance to the Underground to Mihret and led her too it.

The entrance was something special. It was like a stone archway with a back to it, the grey stones were corroded and chipped from centuries of usage. There was a small wall either side of the entrance, coming round in a full circle and stopping at a set of steps that led into the Underground. They, too, were corroded and broken with a few vines and leaves twisted around them. Inside there was a small light, flickering now and then, casting shadows on the wall that Taima could see. Members had already arrived.

Taima walked inside, but stopped for a moment to see Mihret was stood still.

[B]?Come on,?[/B] he said, trying to sound as trusting as he could, which was indeed trusting. He held out his hand and nodded for her to take it, then he proceeded.

The ground was dusty, covered with dead leaves on solid, hard rock. The entrance was a long corridor with a few lights at the side of it, and the corridor led into a large, large room. The walls were dark even though the candles were lightning them up, it was laced with old wooden shelves for no odd reason and chains for decoration, perhaps. Taima wasn?t sure. In the room there were four stairways leading further down to various rooms with various purposes, all had the same corroded, old design.

[B]?Taima!?[/B] a group in the room chanted in unison, raising their glasses to him.

Taima just nodded at them, noticing two of them were the young boys he had picked up before, drinking Red Wine. They had stolen cases upon cases of it from the Hunters quite a few years ago, and it still served the Brotherhood well.

Taima let go of Mihret?s hand for a second and walked past the small group into the very middle of the room where a large platform was. It wasn?t high, rather just long and wide. Along the bottom on the table were symbols, words, pictures, all languages long forgotten. They were names of all the leaders along the bottom, the languages changing with time until it became English. Taima?s name wasn?t there yet. On top of the platform were other names, all in other languages, names of members who deserved an honourable mention. Members who died in battle.

[B]?I like what you?ve done with the place. You [I]must[/I] tell me where you got these decorations from.?[/B]

Taima smiled at Mihret?s comment. He took his hand from the platform and sat on it slowly, nodding at Mihret but not saying anything. But she just stared at him, obviously waiting for something. She titled her head and Taima sighed.

[B]?Now, we wait.[/B]

---

[I]England,
The Brotherhood of the Wolf HQ
11:59[/I]

The Underground?s main room buzzed with voices, not too loud but all people Taima knew, or was going to. The occasional laugh would join in with the talking as they sipped on their red wine, careful not to drink too much. Taima was in another one of the rooms, he took his shirt off and squared his shoulders, looking at the tattoos in an old mirror. No face paint tonight, just the show of ancient life from his upper body. He looked down at his digital watch, seeing he only had one minute left to start the meeting. He took it off and placed it on his shirt, exhaling.

He ran up the steps and appeared back in the room, smiling to himself when it quickly grew silent. Mihret was stood on the doorframe right beside him, whom he gave a bigger smile to and a nod. Taking another breathe, he surveyed the room. Luckily the room wasn?t too crowded.

Taima jumped up on the platform and spoke.

[B]?Welcome, one and all, to the Brotherhood of the Wolf. And I say this to the old members, as well; welcome back. This century brings us together once again, but not for social gatherings and red wine. An enemy, long since forgotten, has returned. The Beast has struck twice and the third time we?ll be there. Since the first attack the Brotherhood has started recruiting again and, my, what a team we?ve gathered.

?Let me remind you exactly what the Brotherhood is. Thousands of years ago, long before the Hunters assembled and possibly a few years after the ancient Society a group from the Americas came to England. People from all over Europe, somehow, joined and learnt one thing from this group. It was about wolves. Now as time past the original group died and so did their origins, but their mission statement didn?t.

?Their quiet, they do only what they need to do and only when necessary. Silent hunters who look tranquil until the moment they leap up and attack without fail. They hunt in packs, work together. Even though they do hunt in packs and wolf is perceived as a dangerous, mysterious creature on its own. He can do as much alone as in a group.

?Granted, the idea of a wolf has changed over the years. But that doesn?t mean we should. Why wolves are so important will always remain a mystery, especially to the newer members, but as time goes by you?ll soon realise why. Even I don?t understand why they?re so important. The Brotherhood of the Wolf will work together and perform at the same level of efficiency on their own. They will respect each other and all around them who deserve respect and they won?t kill unless absolutely necessary. But, the rule above all rules, is that no member of the Brotherhood shall ever harm a wolf.

?The Beast may be a wolf. Our duty is to capture the beast and we will not kill it. The Hunters will, once again, be called to hunt the creature. They?ll end up killing many wolves and possibly the beast. They can?t do that. This time we have two enemies. Even then, I don?t want to bail members out of prison for murder. Nor do I want to see all of you crowded around the scene. We research, and research discretely. Any vital information comes directly to me, and if it?s vital enough, we meet here.

?A map will be placed on this platform. A red pin indicates where the beast has attacked. A blue pin will indicate Society HQs. The green pin indicates Hunter HQs. Now, all we do is --?[/B]



The sound of footsteps could be heard, frantic footsteps. Everyone?s attention turned to the entrance, where a girl burst in, pushing through the crowds and stopping awkwardly at the platform. He panted and tried to catch her breathe, Taima came down to her height to try and make her speak.

[B]?The beast? Paris? there?s been another killing in Paris!?[/B] She said. There was a gasp in the room and a few voices began to murmur, Taima raised his hand and tried to silence them. The girl, trying to convince them more, took out her phone and shown them the news report on the mobile web.



[CENTER][I]?Reports are coming in live from all over Paris where a mass murder has taken place outside Paris? most famous art gallery. Five people were murdered, two injured. Two men are suspected to have been the original victims from the marks and cuts on their bodies whilst the other three seemed to have been in the way.

The news of these murders only became apparent when the alarms sounded with someone breaking into the gallery. When police arrived they discovered no trace of the murderer and that the Mona Lisa, the world?s most famous piece of art, had been ripped to shreds?[/I][/CENTER]



Taima groaned.


-----
[I]OOC: Alrights. If anyone doesn't like where I put their characters, punch me and I'll change it. Hope you don't mind what I did, StarrStruck ^_^;;

From here on, all players can make their way to Paris. You can all go alone or with other players in the RPG. You can post there straight away or post that your on the way, anything is fine. Make a mystery about the murder up if you want, I don?t mind trying to make an explanation for it XD good luck [strike]losers[/strike] mates ^_~


[B]EDIT:[/B] I deleted Shimozato from my post since Random mentioned him, heh. But you guys still could've been at the meeting, providing Random's post was an hour or so beforehand. I hope you don't mind, Darren or Random, heh.[/SIZE][/I]

[Random]

[COLOR=DarkRed][SIZE=1][i]OOC: I'm doing what you suggested, vicky. I'll put up my snippet right after this. Sorry for taking so long...~.^[/i]

[i]England,
Sushi Bar near airport
10:45 pm[/i]

Samuel Flory sat in the dim sushi bar, carefully watching everything that was happening. He was supposed to meet someone here, and they where over an hour late.

"Damn it, why did they have to pick someone so young?" he wispered to himself. Obviously, the person at the table beside him thought he was talking to her.

"Excuse me?" she said, turning towards him. "You talking to me?"

"No, I wasn't," he replied cheerfully. "Sorry to have bothered you."

"Hmph," was all he heard as she turned away.

[i]Stupid. This is so stupid.[/i]

After the thoughts ran through his head, he saw what he thought he was looking for. A young woman. He stood up and walked her way, but as soon as she saw him she ran out the door.

"Shit!" he exclaimed as he bolted after her. "Can't let this one get away. She's too important."

Upon walking onto the street, Samuel looked in every direction. "Shit." The girl had all but dissappeared. He decided to walk along the street until he saw her. Judging by his contacts, she should have gone to the outter fringes of town, where all the "interesting" people lived.

[i]Interesting,[/i] Sam mused to himself. [i]Interesting is right. They're the ones that get me paid, one way or another. Hopefully this job goes through well, though...if only I can find the little bitch.[/i]

*Bang*

Sam dropped to the floor upon hearing the sound. "He's over there! Get 'em!"

"Shit!" Sam got up to his feet, running in any direction. It didn't matter. All that mattered was that the Lords' men didn't catch him. He ran down allyways, between shops, all the while the echos of his feet on the cobblestones rang in his ears.

Finally, out of breath, he stopped. [i]Finally lost them.[/i] He was catching his breath, leaning against the wall, when he saw a figure approaching him. Just as a safety precaution, Sam always had a small pistol on him. He got that ready.

He stood up, and started to walk towards, and away, from the stranger. [i]Trying to look inconspicuous was hard enough without having a gun in one's hand,[/i] he thought to himself as he and the stranger passed.

"Excuse me, sir, can I have a word with you?" asked the man.

Sam just continued walking. [i]Fat chance.[/i]

"My name is Shimozato."

Sam stopped in his tracks, and turned to stare wide-eyed.

"Heh," laughed the man. "Knew that would interest you."

[i]OOC: everything will be explained in my snippet, viky. Sorry for "making" you take Shimozato out of your post...wasn't my intention. Anyways, I included a time, etc, so my character was at the meeting...~.^[/i][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Darren]

[I]England,
The Brotherhood of the Wolf HQ
12:10 am[/I]

The quiet chattering of the brotherhood members started quiet and progressed into an uproar. It was so loud, that Haruki was sure the fowl tempered taxi driver, who he had passed on the way to HQ, could hear it. He ran over all of his possible attack points and then he quietly said,

[B]"Makes Sense."[/B]

All went quiet, but the anger and tension didn't leave the room. Despite that Haruki had said it to himslef, it seemed as though the entire brotherhood had heard him. They began asking what the hell he was talking about. They were cursing at him, enraged by his ignorance. Haruki was overwhelmed and just as they heard his quiet statement before, they refused to listen to his defense no matter how loud he made it. They were accusing him of being a spy, a traitor, a murderer and Haruki didn't know what to do.

[B]"Quiet!"[/B] Taima yelled. The Brotherhood stopped what they were doing, looked at brother Taima and saw the ferocity in his eyes and they knew they had over-done it. [B]"Brother Shimozato is the only one who's been to the site of the second attack. He obviously knows more about the situation than we do. I think we owe it to our brother to come up here and explain."[/B] Taima said this calmy, looking into each member's eyes. And then he looked at Haruki and signaled for him to come up to the front.

Haruki still soaked from the rain, dropped his backpack to the floor next to his suitcases, not having time to drop them off at Brother Effrom's house. He walked up to the front, awkwardly because he wasn't very good at public speaking. However, he realized that this was something that had to be done.

[B]"Hello,"[/B] he said feeble-voiced and he could tell that many of the members hadn't heard him. He didn't want to continue, but a pat on the back from Taima gave him reassurance.

[B]"My name is Haruki Shimozato,"[/B] He said much louder, all eyes on him. [B]"I am from Japan, and on my way here, I stopped in Berlin Germany to investigate a possible attack by the beast. I have been researching possible movements for quite some time and I had it pinned down to three attack points. One was here at HQ, but now I see that it's too early to track where the beast is headed for. As you know, it didn't even come close to England and simply walked right passed us towards France.
"At the attack site, just outside Berlin, a small farm house had been decimated. The entire family living within had been killed. The closest resident lived about 5 miles away and said that other than the fire from the barn, and the screaming of the family, she didn't see or hear anything. By the time she had gotten to the site, the family was dead and the farm was burned to nothing."[/B]

Haruki paused to look around, everyone seemed interested in what he was saying, but confused at the same time. He continued, rushing to make his point. [B]"It makes sense now that the beast attacked that farm. The same reason why he attacked the Louvre. It's after objects... Which ones I can't say, but while I was talking to the police they said a safe that was inside the house had been broken into and something was missing. The neighbor said that it was a small golden pocket watch. She said the family had been boasting about some priceless watch for years and how it had been handed down from generation to generation for ages. The only thing I can say for sure is that we now know that the beast has a pattern. It's after certain artifacts... And I think this only complicates matters because we can never tell if the object is known throughout the world, such as the Mona Lisa, or if it's only known by a few, such as the pocket watch in Berlin."[/B]

The murmering continued again, and Brother Taima calmed them with his words. The meeting must have lasted a couple of hours and afterwards, brother Effrom took Haruki to his house in London where he fell asleep on the couch instantly.

[CENTER]~~~~~~~~~~[/CENTER]

OOC: Edited that... And I hope it's fine now.

[Vicky]

[SIZE=1][I]OOC: Short post, this one. I wanted to make it short to give everyone else a chance to post, not to mention this took ages because my hands are burnt? well, never mind XD So, anyone hitching a ride with Taima to France?[/I]

-------

[B]?Damn.?[/B] Taima breathed heavily, taking his shirt up off the desk quickly. He paced the stone room silently, thinking to himself, looking quite worried and scared. That wasn?t normal for him. He took up his silk shirt and put it too his nose, muffling his mumbling and giving him a chance to calm down whilst almost suffocating himself.

He sighed and tried to regain much of his composure. Taking his shirt, he put it back on but didn?t bother to button it up. Calmer now and somewhat confident, he strode back into the main room. Many of the Brothers had left already, Taima had promised that he would give them their orders sooner or later. He didn?t know what he was going to do, to be honest.

There were only a few people left in the actual Underground, Mihret being one of them and Brother Flory, or Sam, whom Taima knew indirectly. Shimozato had left only a few minutes before, Taima was grateful for the information he had received off him.

[B]?So? what do we do now??[/B] Sam asked.

[B]?I?m going to get some tickets to France, or I?ll be arranging for transport across the Channel. I don?t want everyone going.?[/B] Taima replied, a little less tranquil than usual. He looked over at Mihret. [B]?If you want to come along, that?s fine.?[/B]

He walked past a few of the members and picked up the wine glasses left on the platform. He wasn?t a fan of disgracing honour.

[B]?Can you take these down to the cellar for me? I have a feeling we won?t be back here in a long time.?[/B] Taima asked one of the members. She took the glasses with a regretful nod and headed off down one of the dimly lit corridors, the walls barely visible even though the sun was starting to rise outside.

[B]?We?re going to need to keep a record of everything, so one of you will have to stay here and put the markers on the map when we call you,?[/B] Taima nodded at one of the Brothers, who nodded back as if to say yes. [B]?There?s no way we?re going to be able to stop this creature if we don?t know where it?s headed. We can?t skip across Europe and hope to find it.?[/B]

[B]?Unless it finds us??[/B] Sam muttered. Taima looked at him for a moment and agreed silently.

[B]?Look out for the Society, as well, don?t forget that.?[/B] He told them after awhile of silence. To be honest, Taima was at a loss. He wasn?t entirely sure what to do. But he did know he was going to get some tickets sooner or later and fly to France, with whoever wants them.

[B]?So? who?s coming to France??[/B] he asked, a small, warm smile spreading over his face.[/SIZE]

[Ozymandius Jones]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkRed]The Beast slumbered peacefully in a cage of steel and wood so old and hardened by time it might as well have [i]been[/i] steel. Blood still stained its teeth and claws a sickly crimson color, drying to tacky brown on the fur around its mouth. Deep rumbling breaths - the creature's version of snoring - could be heard three rooms away.

The beast practically radiated an air of satisfaction, even in sleep. It had worked that day, and it was happy. Or what passed for happy in the mind of a Beast, at any rate.

Miasnik sat on the floor outside the door, reading the same book he'd been reading in the church just a few days ago. In his haste to pack he'd only grabbed a few items, but the book had been one of them. He was almost done with it, but that didn't worry him - there had to be a bookstore somewhere in the area he could lift a handful of new ones from.

He was still sulking over the fact that he hadn't been let in on the Mona Lisa attacks. The Beast had fed - it was obvious from the state of the fur, and how deeply it was sleeping now - but according to the ones who had escourted the Beast there had been two survivors. And that was where his problem lay. [i]He[/i] wouldn't have left them alive.

Something told him there had to be a reason, but - truth be told - he didn't really care. He sighed deeply, trying to focus back on the book. There'd be time enough for bloodshed later. He stood, sliding the book into his pocket and setting off down the hall towards Frauka's quarters. Perhaps it was time for a conversation with his cousin...[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[Darren]

[SIZE=1][B]"Wake up,"[/B] Allen demanded. [B]"Haruki, get up!"[/B]

Haruki awoke with a jolt to find Brother Allen Effrom staring down at him. He was setting on the coffee table, looking at Haruki with a twisted cruious kind of look.

[B]"Jesus, where did you come from?"[/B] Haruki was still dazed, and waking up in unfamiliar places didn't help with his surprise.

[B]"I live here,"[/B] came the reply, [B]"I've been up since dawn. I made you some breakfast, picked up the paper and took care of some brotherhood business. And yet, you were still sleeping. I couldn't allow you to sleep the beautiful day away. Besides, you've been called."[/B] Effrom finished with a suddenly more serious look creeping onto his face.

[B]"What do you mean I've been called? Called for what? Did they leave a message?"[/B]

Allen smiled, [B]"No. You haven't been called on the phone. You've been called by Taima to report to Paris."[/B]

[B]"Oh,"[/B] Haruki stated, a little embarrassed. Then, [B]"When do we leave?"[/B]

[B]"Well brother Taima and the others have already left."[/B] When Allen saw the angy stare Haruki was giving him he snapped, [B]"Don't give me that look. I tried to wake you up but you wouldn't budge."[/B]

[B]"Well, you didn't seem to have a problem waking me up just now, did you?"[/B] Haruki retorted.

[B]"I only did that because you were making noises like you were in pain... I thought maybe you were having a nightmare."[/B] Effrom said earnestly. [B]"Here. Put these on,"[/B] he said as he handed Haruki his glasses, [B]"There's a clean towel in the bathroom. you should shower up, then come down for breakfast. I've taken the liberty of buying you a bus ticket to Dover. From there, you're on your own."[/B]

[B]"Gee, thanks."[/B] Haruki said sarcastically, as he entered the bathroom and closed the door.

During the time he spent in the shower, Haruki couldn't stop thinking about what had happened the night before. The meeting with that strange man who called himself Brother Flory, and their conversation. And then, at the meeting, why would the brotherhood turn on him so quickly. His father had alwyas been a trusted member of the brotherhood, or at least that's what Haruki had been led to believe. [I][B]'Ah well, I got out of it didn't I?'[/B][/I] he thought as he turned off the water.

After breakfast, Haruki changed and packed once again. This was the second time that he would have to leave brohter Effrom's house under such unfair conditions, but considering the times, it was to be expected.

[B]"Haruki?"[/B] Allen called, as Haruki was lugging his suitcase out the door to load it into the cab. [B]"If you don't mind my asking, what were you dreaming about?"[/B]

[B]"Losing."[/B] Was the only reply he could give.

[B]"Losing what?"[/B] Effrom continued to pry.

[B]"Everything."[/B] He said, and walked out of the door.

The ride to the bus station was nice. The Bus ride to Dover: Not so nice. Haruki discovered the problems with sea sickness. The huge bus rocked back and forth so much, he got sick. Luckily, there was a bathroom in the back. Once Haruki had arrived in Dover, the beautiful white cliffs helped calm his stomach. This was the first time that he was alone in a place he didn't know.

From Dover, he had the choice to take the scenic route on a small boat across the channel, or take a cab through the underground tunnel to Calais. Haruki thought that the underground tunnel would be better considering his last encounter with a shakey ride. By the end of the night, Brother Shimozato was put up in a hotel just outisde Paris, awaiting a phone call from Taima.

At exactly 1:30 am Haruki's phone rung on the nightstand beside his head. He jumped up and answered it, eagerly awaiting his next command. But the voice that came through didn't sound much like Brother Taima's. In fact, it didn't sound much like any of the brotherhood members that Haruki had spoken to. But he listened to the raspy, quiet voice,[/SIZE]

[B][FONT=Century Gothic]"Come to the Louvre."[/FONT][/B] [SIZE=1]Was all it said before the connection was ended.

Haruki wasn't sure who it was, but he gave the strange person the benifit of the doubt. No one but Brother Taima had his Cell number, so it must have been someone from the brotherhood. Reluctantly, Haruki packed his weapons in their special cases, to avoid suspicion, and headed out the door.

~~~~
OOC: I hope that's alright. I was waiting for someone else to post, but since no one did for a while, I just decided to move the story along. I hope no one minds that I've moved the characters out of London already and into Paris... ^_^[/SIZE]

[Imp]

OOC: Ok then... I guess the members of each side are NOT supposed to meet up... Either that or someone in particular doesn't like me.
IC:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[color=indigo][size=1]The sky was a beautiful dark cerulean blue when the boat finally docked. The atmosphere of this new place was just as pleasant as it had been before, when they first set out on the journey. In fact, almost everything was the same: Chibu was still asleep, and her parents were chatting in the back as usual. Hasaitsu's arms were a bit tired from all the rowing on the way here, but not too badly--he could still do any sort of training or combat that came to him, even if it involved using his rather heavy spear. And as for Saruna, she was just looking forward to the morning ahead, and whatever meeting was to be held in this peculiar location.

The eerie yet welcoming sight of a beach grew closer and closer as the family walked off the dock and across the sand. Ten they were about to weave through the trees in near total darkness when Saruna stopped.
"This doesn't look right," Saruna said to the rest of the family.
"How can... that be?" Mr. Surenich replied. He grunted mid-sentence because he had almost lost his grip on carrying the still sleeping Chibu.
"These kinds of trees don't even grow in Germany. What about this tree? What's it doing here?" Saruna pointed to a peculiar-looking tree that looked slightly similar to an oak.
"Uh..." Hasaitsu wondered. "It could be a..."
Hasaitsu was silenced by a howl that echoed through the trees. After the howl, there followed a long, cold silence.
"A... wolf?" Chibu had apparently woken up at the sound. Then her father put her back down on the floor, a little thankful to have done so.
"Now don't you worry," Mrs. Surenich comforted, "the wolves are our friends, remember?"
"Yeah," Saruna joked, "and you sound like a member of the Brotherhood."
"Maybe we're supposed to be on the same side," Chibu suggested. "That way we'd unite against the..."
"Of course we're not on the same side!" Saruna exclaimed. "The Brotherhood is a group of friendly little buddies who are sworn to protect the wolves. The [i]wolves[/i], mind you, not the Beast! The Beast itself is who we are aligned with. And this Beast is not necessarily a wolf. If you ask me, the Brotherhood were wrong all along about their..."

"Would you stop your bickering?" said a man's voice that was too deep to belong to Hasaitsu, and not emotional enough to belong to Mr. Surenich. Knowing this, the family spun around to face another man, someone they only faintly knew...
"Bard," chorused the family.
"Why don't you come down here before the sun rises any higher?" Bard offered. His voice sounded rather cold and cruel, but his intentions seemed to contrast that. So therefore, the Society official named Bard led the family down to a space in between a fairy ring of trees. In the exact center of the ring was a flat white mushroom. When Bard stepped on this, the ground gave way to reveal a small door under one of the trees. When Bard approached this door, he took out a knife and touched it lightly with the tip of his finger.
"All of you," he instructed. Chibu began to panic.
"No..." Chibu backed away from the group.
"Chibu, your whip!" Saruna commanded.
"No!" Chibu screamed. Her mother then rushed over to her and clasped a hand over her daughter's mouth. However, her fingertip was bleeding a little, and it had unfortunately found its way into Chibu's mouth, so when that peculiar taste came, Chibu struggled even more and broke free of her mother's grip. But as soon as she did, she lost her balance and fell on the bag she was carrying. She had put out her hand to break the fall, but it had unfortunately landed on her whip, causing Chibu to spring back up and stare at her bleeding hand in horror.
"Come on Chibu," Saruna taunted, a smirk on her face. Chibu's hemophobia had always amused her for some reason. But right now, Saruna held out her left index finger, which had a drop of her blood on it. The other family members (and eventually Chibu, after much hesitation) had done this too, so with those fingers they all touched the knocker on the door, a silver ornament in the shape of some creature's face--it was hard to tell which kind of animal it was. But that was beside the point. After this happened, the creature's eyes glowed with a faint red glimmer, and the door slowly creaked open.

Bard led the way down the steps in the dark hall, followed by Mr. and Mrs. Surenich, then Saruna, then Chibu, and Hasaitsu was the one to close the door behind them. The steps spiraled down, and within a few seconds an amber glow began to materialize below the descending group. Not too long after that, the stairs ended, and before them was a smal, cozy-looking room, consisting of a table, a couple of sofas, a bookshelf, and a fireplace--with a fire in it. Exactly six people could have room to sit here--and there were exactly six people in the group if you counted Bard. The three children sat on one of the sofas, and Bard and the parents took the other one. It was then that the group really recognized Bard: he was a tall, thin man, wearing a black tuxedo, a black cape, and a top hat. He could have very much looked like an illusionist if he had a wand, but he held a knife instead.

"I am sure you are surprised to find me here instead of you expected companions, Miasnik and Frauka," Bard announced.
"Aren't they coming?" Mrs. Surenich asked. "I would have very much liked to appreciate the company."
"No," Bard answered. "They are supposed to be in our base in Germany."
"Aren't we in Germany?" Saruna questioned.
"Of course not," Bard replied. "Why, welcome to France."
"I thought you knew the way...?" Mr. Surenich clarified, gazing suspiciously at Saruna.
"Perhaps it was an odd stroke of Fate," Hasaitsu guessed. "For some reason, we were brought not to Germany but here, to France. For some reason we were fated to stay separate in Society."
"Ah, but it makes perfect sense," Bard suggested. "You see, I got word of a peculiar situation in Paris--somewhere in the vincinity of the Louvre, to be exact. Some rumors suggested a gathering of Brothers, some mentioned an appearance of the Beast itself... but whatever it is, I think we should go investigate."
"But the sun is rising," Saruna pointed out. "It'd be best to do this at night."
"Then I'd say we hurry up," Hasaitsu suggested. "The sun isn't actually up; the sky's just getting a little lighter. If we head to Paris now, it might still be dark enough for us to remain undetected.
"It will take us at least a few hours to go there by foot..." Bard contemplated out loud. "But, if we manage to find the Seine, we can just follow it there."
"How are we going to find..." Mr. Surenich started.
"Don't you worry," Bard cut him off. "Why don't you all follow me."
"What about a plan?" Saruna suggested.
"We'll come up with one while we're drifting on the river," Hasaitsu answered. "We don't have much time, you know."
"Just the bright one there, aren't you?" Bard chuckled as the group got up.

Bard led the group to another door which, when opened, led to a cave.
"Now," Bard muttered, rummaging around in his pockets, "let me see if I can find..."
"A lantern will just blind us," Saruna interrupted. "If you close that door and give me a minute, I might be able to see."
It was Mrs. Surenich who closed the door they just walked through, leaving the group in total darkness.
"Let's hold hands," Chibu suggested.
"I think that's a good idea," Mr. Surenich answered. Soon after, everybody grabbed a hand until the whole group was connected in a line. Saruna first, then Bard, then Hasaitsu, then Chibu, then Mr. Surenich, then Mrs. Surenich bringing up the rear. The group just stood still for a while, until Saruna could make out the outline of a cavern ahead.
"Let's go," Saruna commanded. The group walked on.

Luckily, there were not very meany creatures in the cave; just a couple of bats and/or mice that occasionally wandered about. Nobody tripped on anything all the way. Anyways, as for the path, after the first dimly lit cavern was another dark tunnel, then another dimly lit cavern. This pattern continued for another six times, until the sound of flowing water could be heard. The dark tunnel the group was in curved to the right, and after that the sight of the last cavern finally met their eyes. This one was the brightest of them all; a little bit of moonlight filtered in from openings above. In front of the group, a mighty river flowed, which Bard immediately recognized as the right one. So it was then that the group climbed down the rocky slope that led down to the rapidly flowing river, where a boat was tied to a post stuck in the ground.
"I always keep one there, just incase," Bard explained as the group went in the boat. Again, Hasaitsu was in charge of the oars, though he would only need them to steer away from the river's edges, as the river would be rapidly flowing all the way to Paris.
"Hang on tight, everybody," Mr. Surenich instructed. Next to him, Bard was untying the rope that held the boat in place. Soon, it had become lose, and Bard was holding on to the pole.
"All right, I'm letting go..." Bard announced, "...now!"

As Bard let go of the pole, the boat rushed out into the main current of the river, drifting downstream and out of the cave. Above them, the sky was nearly the exact same dark blue colour as it had been before they entered the base, so it was as dark as usual. And the river would drown out any conversation among the group, so eavesdropping was nigh impossible. The group would therefore have time to plan as they faced this (sort of) relaxing trip down the Seine.[/color][/size]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
OOC: I don't really know if that river flows north or south, so I had to do a little guessing there... Ah well, this is just a story anyway...

[u]Interesting little factoid:[/u] The family's last name, Surenich, is pronounced "SOO-reh-neech"; the last syllable is not pronounced "nick".

[Gavin]

[SIZE=1][B]Ireland,
Dublin Airport
1300 Hours[/B]

The Hunters had dozens of contacts across the world, mostly these were made up of the extended families of other hunters, who could be relied upon to aid them in the hunt, in his own case, Niall had called upon this aid to smuggle his weapons passed airport security, his rifle lay hidden in his luggage already moving onto the plane, and the SIG SAUER pistol he carried with him at all times had successfully been moved through the scanners. The Hunters needed these allies more than anyone, centuries ago, one wouldn't be stopped for carrying a pistol or a sword, now you'd face a few decades in prison for being a terrorist.

His flight to Paris left in twenty minutes, like many of the older families, Niall flew first class wherever he went, it was a better disguise than sitting among two hundred people with at least a dozen screaming infants to destroy any chance he might have to concentrate. Within a few minutes he'd be on the plane, two and a half hours later, God willing, he'd be in Paris and rendezvous with his French brothers in the hunt, it was still only setting in that the beast had returned, at first it hadn't seemed possible, then the fear had set in, it was possible, and it had happened. Now there was only stark determination, they would either kill the beast, and everyone one of the beasts foul worshippers, or they would be killed themselves and any hope for it's destruction would be lost.

"[b]Your boarding pass please sir.[/b]"

"[b]Here.[/b]"

"[b]Thank you sir.[/b]"

The plane was smaller than he expected, but smaller was better, it meant there'd be less potential things to go wrong, or to interrupt him. The three-quarter length brown leather jacket he wore had proven considerably useful over the years he'd owned it, several concealed pockets allowed him to store required items for his travels, and the toughness of the leather itself would hopefully prove some defence. As Niall had hoped, his seat was singular, he didn't need someone looking into his phone as he sent off the half dozen messages he needed to before take off. He had contact numbers and details for nearly every hunter in the world on his phone, Ireland had only three families still members, the Ryans, the McCormacks and the Griffins, the rest had died out over the generations since the Elder Council had disbanded, one of the worse decisions the Hunters had made as a group.

Quickly he selected the details of the French Hunters he would meet up with in the airport, his travel arrangements had already been forwarded, but he still felt better confirming everything had went according to plan. His fingers breezed over the keys, relaying the departing time and estimated arrival, as well as orders for his accommodation while he stayed in Paris. Hunters never stayed together as a group, it would make them an easier target for their enemies that way, they gathered only for important meetings, instead the operated in cells of no more than four hunters together, Niall wasn?t sure yet who we?d be stayed with, but it didn?t really matter.

After a thankfully uneventful flight, Niall?s plane touched down in Charles De Gaulle airport, fifteen minutes earlier than scheduled due to optimal flying conditions. He'd collected his bags and gone through airport security by the time he'd met up with his Paris escorts. One was definitely Parisian, the other was probably from Bordeaux, both dressed in casual gear like Niall was, it was the obvious way to avoid attracting attention. The Parisian was the first to speak.

"[b]Good to finally meet you Niall. I wish it were under better circumstances.[/b]"

"[b]Yeah, I know how you feel.[/b]"

"[b]If you don't mind we'll bring you right to the gathering. The Council has been reformed.[/b]"

"[b]I expected as much. Let's get going then.[/b]"

The car ride from the airport to the Hunters main base took less than thirty minutes, impressive enough given Parisian afternoon traffic. Disguised as one of a hundred different office blocks in the city of light, the Hunters headquarters allowed them to gather in high numbers without causing a stir. The building would also be used to store hunter weapons, and if the case was grievous enough, for a large contingent of hunters to mobilise quickly for the hunt. The main foyer was typically French, but with hints as to the groups international member base. In one corner he noted that the original board of directors was made up of the names of the previous council, his father included. Which meant from the French government's point of view, this firm was only fourteen years old.

"[b]Niall, long time no see.[/b]"

Niall turned to see a familiar face.[/SIZE]

[OrangeJulies]

[COLOR=DarkSlateGray]Frauka did not pack light. This was the unfortunate lesson learned by the family members who had volunteered to help her prepare for her journey, and had spent the last hour of their afternoon fighting to get her luggage up the staircase.

Inside her quarters, Frauka had waited until her makeshift stewards had left the room before retreiving her last travel accessory. It involved removing her several-volume set of Gibbon from a bookshelf and blowing the loosened plaster off a long, wide leatherbound case wedged up against the wall.

She removed her gun from its box and, making sure it was clean and ready to fire - it always was, seeing as she cleaned it even when not in use - placed it nonchalantly in the depths of her coat. She never left the underground kingdom of the Society without it. In fact, she rarely left her room without it.

After a last inspection of her room, Frauka gave herself a nod of approval and went out.

Miasnik was blocking the door.

"Cousin," she hissed, fighting down a glare, "how good of you to stop by."[/COLOR]

[Vicky]

[SIZE=1][I]OOC: ?Kays guys, wanna get the ball rollin? again? This?ll be, unfortunately, a short post. Since I left a huge gap between the RPG, this could be somewhat like a second introduction for those who are lost. All that matters now is that your character is in Paris from all groups. Let?s hope I don?t cause any confusion myself, heh.

Watch out shortly for those still taking part, something interesting will happen soon ^_~[/I]


----


Taima brushed a strand of his long, black hair out of his face and reached for the tea in front of him, taking a sip. It was refreshing and made him felt warm on such a cold, cold morning (he was lucky to find a place that was open, and lucky the waitress understood his butchered French). He set down his tea and ruffled a newspaper in front of him, reading over the first page and concentration on the photograph taken of footprints and other strange marks around an empty spot in the gallery, where the Mona Lisa was.

Taima scanned the page of his newspaper, writing down a few notes occasionally and trying to translate the paper. He rubbed his eyes for a moment. Lack of sleep wasn?t doing him any good. He really needed to get this over with soon and put his head down for once. Well, he mentally told himself that there was no point in complaining, and decided to look back at his paper.

[B]Five deaths, two injured.
Entrance unknown.
Two of the dead suspected to be the original victims.
Mona Lisa destroyed after the murder.[/B]

Sighing, Taima folded up his newspaper and took another sip of his tea. He was sure that there was a lot more information hanging around out there for him and his Brotherhood to find, before it was destroyed. No doubt the Society were present. No doubt the Hunters were lurking, as well. Dangerous.

Maybe if they didn?t know he was a Brother then [I]neither[/I] sides would decrease Taima?s chances of solving the mystery with the Brotherhood. And he had figured out a way to get more information.

He always wanted to be a reporter? well, not really, but now it seemed somewhat interesting. He decided to call up the rest of the Brotherhood, who were currently residing in a Hotel just across the street (well, a little further). Taima had left them sleeping whilst he went about his own business, mostly reading newspapers. The meeting in their HQ and now the sudden flight to Paris probably wasn?t doing his friends any good, either.

He took out his phone, the one which the Brotherhood?s provider had given him, and dialled the number for the Hotel.

[B]?Hello, this is Tala Taima, I believed I reserved several rooms for my friends?? Yes, that?s right. Taima. Would it be possible for a message to be passed on to the? Everyone of them, that?s right. Could you please tell them to meet me at Louvre entrance in five hours? Yes, that [I]would[/I] be Midday. Thank you.?[/B]

To be polite, Taima waited for the person to hang up first. He gave himself a satisfactory nod and went back to his newspaper, hoping his fellows would indeed meet him at the appointed time before the Society got their hands on the evidence.[/SIZE]

[Ozymandius Jones]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=DarkRed]He ignored the greeting, if it could even be called that, brushing past his cousin.

"They didn't let me help."

Miasnik was in a fine pout. He'd taken over Frauka's bed, kicking off a suitcase in the process. The glare he'd recieved in return would have froze most men's blood - 36 years had made him immune to it. "Vork for 'em all my life and vhat do I get? Left behind at some cheap hotel!"

"There's a reason for that, you fool. They [i]wanted[/i] people left [i]alive[/i]. You just don't get tactics..."

"Tactics are for the veak."

"Whatever."

Apparently, Frauka didn't feel like arguing. Miasnik glared at her.

"'Vhatever? Is that all you have to say? 'Vhatever'? I've heard better retorts from children!" Frauka didn't raise to the bait. Miasnik crossed his arms.

"They vant us to go get the evidence. Ve are to take that...Saruna child vith us, provided they've found their vay here..." He wasnt too sure on that point. Bard wasn't known for his timely boat trips. He waited for his cousin's reaction to that.[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[Imp]

OOC: All right, now that I know exactly where the other two Society members are...
IC:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[color=indigo][size=1]After about an hour or so, the sun was still far from visible, and the sky was still a dark shade of blue. And, fortunately, the boat the group had been riding in was now approaching Paris. Also fortunately, there were no boats out on the river, nor any people sitting on its banks. Apparently the middle of the night wasn't a safe enough time to do so for most people. It was the perfect setting; things were going well so far.

"And here we are," Bard announced he gestured to a tunnel near one of the concrete banks of the river. It was barely visible, especially to someone standing on the bank. Even the people aboard the boat could barely see it; only Saruna and Bard could see it clearly, and Hasaitsu could just barely see it. Therefore, Hasaitsu, who was in charge of the oars, started to steer the boat into the tunnel. This he had a rather difficult time with, as his arms were sore from rowing another boat to the shore of the North Sea. So therefore, Mr. Surenich had to help him out a little, and Saruna helped direct them into the tunnel. Mrs. Surenich kept looking around to make sure no one could see them, and Chibu had fallen asleep again on the boat trip and was snoozing on Saruna's lap. Saruna didn't like this all too much, but she didn't want to wake her little sister up, as she might complain about stuff. And besides, Chibu looked really cute lying there--well, she looked cute no matter what she did. This combined with her rather innocent nature made her rather popular with the Brothers she sometimes used to visit.

Finally the boat entered the tunnel. Inside, it was dark, and any voices that sounded would echo spookily, so before entering Bard advised the group to remain quiet. And at this point the water was fairly still, so the two other men had to start rowing again. Hasaitsu actually had to slow his rowing pace for his father (the two took separate oars), who wasn't as strong as he was, so the boat kept wobbling back and forth for a while. Not too long after the two straightened things out, the end of the tunnel came. A woman was standing on the dock nearby, and she walked up to the group as Bard tied the boat to the dock.
"Ah, the Sureniches are finally here," the woman whispered. From the way she dressed, she looked like a maid in some cheap hotel.
"I see you are the attendant for our friends' room," Bard replied as he tied the final knot on the boat.

Meanwhile, the rest of the group started unboarding the boat. Mrs. Surenich came out first, then Bard. Hasaitsu and Mr. Surenich put away the oars before walking out, and they also handed everyone their supply bags--including Saruna's heavy breifcase. Saruna was stuck on the boat with Chibu.
"Come on Chibu, wake up, we're here," Saruna whispered to Chibu as loudly as possible, nudging her sharply yet gently. Soon enough, Chibu yawned and slowly opened her eyes, finally aware that the boat had stopped moving.
"Are we there yet?" Chibu muttered as she started to get up. She didn't need to be answered though; a glance at the dock did it for her.

After everyone got out of the boat, the maid led the sixsome up another tunnel, which ended in a closet. This opened up into a hall (some people had to squint because of the brighter light in the corridors) which looked like the inside of a hotel.
"This way." The maid led the group to the right, left down another hall, up a flight of stairs, outside, along another hall, and finally stopped at a door numbered 247.
"This is the room. I better be on my way." With that, the maid continued down the hall. When she disappeared behind a corner, Bard knocked on the door.[/color][/size]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
OOC: That hotel room is the one Miasnik and Frauka are in, if you haven't figured that out already.