guestservices | CYOA week 5: sieghart, aikawa

[Aikawa comes to. He's lying on ground that feels like compressed dirt and leaves, dressed in clothing that might be a little strange to him. Dawn appears to be on its way, though the air is heavy with the feeling of an oncoming rain. Barring the light of a halved moon overhead, it's a thin darkness that feels like it could be broken at any moment.

There's a knapsack next to where he'd been lying, which looks to be a little clearing tucked away in a thicket of bushes and bramble. In almost all directions, a dark forest sprawls outward, seemingly endless. It's silent and still, save for the chirp of insects and the occasional croak of a frog.

The only thing visible in the area he's sitting is a large, wooden building set with its back toward another slope of trees, which appear to lead in the direction of a mountain that looms just barely visible in the distance. It doesn't seem like anyone is around. From where he is, he likely won't be able to pick out many details.

What first, lad?]

[Sieghart comes to. He's lying on ground that feels rocky, wearing clothing that is likely unfamiliar to him. In the distance, he'll be able to hear the sound of water lapping against a shore. The half-moon overhead provides some amount of light, and if he looks, he'll find that he's not very far away from the bank of a sprawling river. This river isn't in the middle of the wilderness, though; it cuts through the heart of a city, with its slopes carefully maintained by rock and leading all the way up to neat rows of buildings.

Of course, since it's still nightfall, there doesn't seem to be much activity. The footbridge stretching over the river nearby seems empty of any people, and not even a lone drunk is passed out on the banks. In the distance, there appear to be two small, flickering lights wavering through the air. But much closer is a bit of a strange structure. Some sort of tall, pike-like contraption, lined with what appear to be several roundish, melon-sized shapes. In the dark, it's a bit too difficult to make it out clearly.

As Sieghart moves, he'll also realize that he had been lying on a very small bundle.

What first, lad?]

[The thing that Aikawa sees is a figure that's standing on a rock in the river getting slapped upside the head by a fish and bodied into the water as a child chases him down!

The thing that Sieghart sees is a boat heading their way with a little lantern on the end of it, just barely illuminating some bleeding dude and a weirdo in a smiling grandpa mask! There's a corpse there, too.

Congrats on the reunion, lads, what's up. The child's still busy with Sieghart, but the boatman's squinting up ahead at all of this. HELLO.]

[The medic tent is fairly empty for the time being! It's a pretty sparse set-up, but still better than just a few kits in a cabin in the woods. There are four cots, one of which is currently inhabited by a soldier who seems out cold. A table off to the side has several containers of medical equipment on it, along with jars and glasses of various sizes and shapes, holding everything from liquids to creams to powders. There's a small area with chairs for seating, but outside of that, there doesn't appear to be anything else in here.

Dio will attempt to help Sieghart over to a cot but if his punkass is going to be stubborn, he'll just basically shove him onto one. Binch. There are two guards nearby, and Dio shoos them off on some busywork errand to clear the place before heading over to the table.]

Give me the list from the start. No skipping on detail - this is going to be your last chance to get anything good before you hit Tama.

[Lucretia leads the way into the door! It opens into a small room which serves as a small but relatively cozy office-space. A pile of paperwork rests on the single desk. A window lets in some natural lighting, with a sprawling, vine-y plant spilling its foliage from a pot that's sunning on the sill.

Aikawa might not have much time to look around though, because the moment the door closes behind them, Lucretia immediately fckin anime chops both of the soldiers in quick succession at the back of the neck, sending them sprawling unconscious to the floor. She then turns to face Aikawa, her brow drawn downward in concern.]

Well, that isn't good. [HELP.] Those two were supposed to be ours but most assuredly aren't, which means we might have some caught comrades on our hands. Or worse yet... an information leak.

[There's a headless body standing in the center of this enclosure now! Wowee. It's just standing there like a normal, living person would, save for the fact that it's missing its head. Actually, it appears to be looking for something? As if it still has its head, its neck turns to and fro like it's surveying the area.

Outside of that initial scream, though, it seems like anyone in eyesight has been shocked truly speechless out of terror. Immobilized, even! There's a strange stillness in the air, like it's holding everyone captive.]

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