New Avalon

[yamikuronue]

See!

"Sure. Why not." T sighs, folding her knife shut and jamming it into her pocket. "Later."

[CalamityJade]

"Be safe, young one. IF all goes well, I can imagine we'll speak again." Mordrianna gave a bit of a smile.

~So...what, I'm supposed to help you fight ghosts? I thought that was just something else I could do.~

[yamikuronue]

I guess so. I guess we're supposed to clean up the city. More importantly, where's the center of everything? she muses, as she slips out of the room.

[CalamityJade]

She hears a little bit of comotion behind here as she rounds the corner. Looks like the police know Mordrianna's awake. ~I dunno...maybe the place with the most Pulse?~

[CalamityJade]

Where, indeed. It was a pretty large city and there were plenty of places that people would say was the 'center' After all, if you asked for directions to 'The Center of the City' she'd be directed to a somewhat middle-range bar that was close to the GRD headquarters in the Silverlight district of the city. It was a pretty nice place and a lot of the officers would stop in to grab a drink, a smoke, and a little relaxation before heading home. It was also a pretty good place to think if you looked like someone vagely police-ish. The patrons knew that if someone looked like they were hard in thought, it was likely something important and to give them their space. So with Rob no longer having many leads to follow, that would be the perfect place to try and think over the case as a whole and possibly find another way to go about it.

[Hammer Sister]

Rob had headed straight to the bar after leaving the ruins; unsure of what his next step should be, he wanted to be somewhere where he knew he could be left alone to his thoughts. Normally, he'd head home to reanalyse collected evidence, but something persuaded him to head to the 'Center of the City' instead. What it was, he couldn't explain; all he knew was he couldn't ignore it.

Sipping on a whiskey and soda, Rob pours over all his notes, trying to spot something he missed before. Why was the Fatespinner targetted? Why does the name 'Roidmet' keep coming up? Who are the Architect Priests? And why is the organisation that went after Mordriana using their symbol, albeit slightly altered?

Rob could also not shake the existence of the warning note from his mind. While he did not consider it a serious threat, the fact that it was sent at all is a hint that there's something going on beyond a mere kidnapping. While he's not one to speculate on such matters, the thought does occur that there's a deeper reason behind everything that's happened.

The obvious thing to do would be to ask the Fatespinner herself. But since it's hard to interview someone in a coma, that path is currently closed off to Rob. Another option is to attempt to trace the author of the warning note, but Rob doubts that the GRD would tolerate him wasting time on something seemingly so insignificant.

Reaching for his drink, his mind suddenly switches to Erika; with her unexpected insights into the workings of the museum's Pulse engine exhibit, and the attempt to cut her wrists in the café after the Harrisberg interview, Rob can't help but wonder about the true terms of the deal she made with Harrox. Was that somehow connected to his case? After all, Erika was there at the Bazaar, and she works for Gregory Roidmet. Plus there's the uneasiness she showed around the Keystone exhibit. And she does seem to take the stories of how the city apparently defends itself rather seriously.

Three options, none of which seems to have much promise. The next obvious person to question is in a coma, the note is little more than words scrawled on paper, and the Harrox business seems like nothing more than a distraction.

With a sigh, Rob closes his notebook; returning everything to his pocket, he takes up his drink and adopts a pose that makes him look like he's deep in thought, when in reality he's letting his subconscious tackle the difficult issue of how to proceed.

[yamikuronue]

Up at the bar, a familiar-looking youth slides onto a stool, looking suspiciously inconspicuous. She slouches her shoulders, trusting her short haircut and her loose blouse to hide her femininity, or at least downplay it; in a gruff voice, she orders whiskey and pop, and gets a hard look and a plain pop in response. Scowling, she hands over a coin. She can pretend it's spiked, she supposes. It's not like she could afford good stuff anyway.

"Nice place you got here," she says, trying to keep the bartender's attention. His reply is pretty noncommittal, so she pushes on. "Seems real central. I bet you hear all kinds of crazy stories." When that doesn't elicit any information, she adds, "Maybe about ghosts? Or pulse?"

[Hammer Sister]

Rob watches the youth as she enters the bar. Didn't expect to see her again so soon. Or ever. Wonder why she's here... Luckily, Rob is close enough to be able to eavesdrop on her conversation without raising suspicion. When the youth mentions 'ghosts' and 'Pulse', Rob's intrigue is piqued. What stories has she heard? And are they anything like Erika's?

[yamikuronue]

The bartender sighs. "Look, I got other customers."

T scowls, leaning over the bar. "Don't play me. I know you're involved somehow, and I intend to get to the bottom of it."

The bartender merely rolls his eyes, wandering away to see to another customer.

[Hammer Sister]

As the bartender walks away, Rob slides onto the stool next to the youth. "Seems I'm not the only one trying to get to the bottom of something."

[yamikuronue]

T shoots him a look out of the corner of her eye. "Oh. You."

[Hammer Sister]

"You need to work on your interrogation technique; less aggression gets better results," Rob continues, unfazed by T's bluntness. "What sort of crazy stories have you heard?"

[yamikuronue]

She hesitates. "You know how nobody ever leaves the city?" she relents, after a moment.

[Hammer Sister]

"That is something I have heard, yes."

[yamikuronue]

"Apparently not even dying gets you out of that." She takes a sip of her drink, watching Rob.