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[DarkArtemisFowl]

Beep, boop! Reminder that I am going to post the next turn soon, so please do post if you can.
Thank you and have a wonderful day,
Artemis

[Harry Baldman]

Warren Drake

Warren has a good think at these very good questions.

"Oh yeah. You've got monsters around here too," he says after a moment and sighs. "You know, I almost genuinely forgot."

"Well, the random monsters are talking about are kind of like the ones you've seen. Slimy and nasty, but also real sharp, toothy and much more like regular animals. Iguanas in that case. Had glowy eyes. Your average 'corrupted animals' schtick. The main difference from your case was that the ones I met were directed by some smug spirit that was pretending to be my evil twin or something like that. It was some confusing business for sure."

"As for my island blowing up, it was some kind of bombardment. Fire from the skies, soldiers coming in to take over the place. Nasty stuff. Don't know who they were or why exactly they'd bomb us, but I don't expect the reason would have been a very good one regardless."

Explain!

Eh Ah

"As I said, ma'am, nobody around the woman, very little activity aside from scavenging locals and imperial troops that I could detect. Admittedly, I wasn't looking very hard at that moment, partly for fear that they may not prove very understanding of my presence."

"That does bring up a few things I could use, however, ma'am, but I assume I can get them myself. Right now it is more important that the aberrations in the order of things be addressed. Should I return to my investigations, or is there more Your Majesty wishes to impart upon me?"

Continue reporting. Check if my home's been bombed and/or looted if there's nothing else I need to urgently do.

[DarkArtemisFowl]

TURN FIFTY-FIVE: CONCERNS OF THE PRESENT AND FUTURE

I return to the Kito complex, return the leftover kita, and go to my room to rest and sleep until nightfall, my new blade sheathed but at hand.

Lirian
That exchange worked out better than you expected. You managed to buy a reasonably well-made blade for a surprisingly low cost (at least, for her prices). It feels well-balanced in your hands. You feel like you'll be using it for a long time - at least, until you decide that you want to specialize a bit more and have some more money. Artemis might be able to help you with your ventures, seeing as you two are on the same wavelength when it comes to dealing with those creatures of the night. For now, however, you are content with what you have. 

You make your way back to the Kito complex in short time.There's still plenty of daylight left. Instead of searching around, however, you decide that it might be better for you to get some rest before the night. If you encounter those monsters again, you'll need all of the energy you can get to subdue the Shadows. Even if the Shadows fail to appear, the cover of night will help you far better in your operations. Dr. Kito opens the front door for you and greets you. He tells you that Cromwell is currently chatting with Erin, discussing mundane topics. 

The guest room is about the same way that you left it. Nothing has changed, save for the slightly-ruffled sheets on the other bed, simply telling you that Cromwell might have taken a nap earlier. You leave your sword on the endtable, just in arm's reach in the event of attack. With that settled, you close the curtains and lie down on the bed, letting your mind wander for about twenty minutes before  you plunge into the world of the unconscious.  

 * * *

A few hours later, you wake up, feeling a little refreshed. Once you shake off the grogginess, you find yourself a bit disappointed. In a way, you were hoping that you would be able to get to the Medium and talk to Danielle about what has happened; that remains out of your reach for now, however. Still, your primary objective consisted of only sleep; at least that was accomplished. You jump out of the bed, taking note of the time: about a minute past seven in the evening. Cromwell is currently in the living room, writing something down in a notebook. As far as you can tell from looking out the windows, nothing out of the ordinary has occurred yet. When you ask Cromwell about it, he says that he hasn't seen or heard anything up to this point. 

It is still early in the night; you keep your wits about you, knowing that things could change at any moment. 

Rune sighs. The one time he tried to be nice... 

My golems should still be waiting by the cave entrance as I never brought them down. I will move them back from the entrance and peer out, in case the source of the voices is just passing my cave. If it is an army coming to kill me, prepare my golems for war. Have my protector golem stand by and.... protect me.

Rune
Well, whatever the cause of this incident, you were bound to encounter adversaries at some point. You're not even sure if it was that girl or her friends who reported you to the authorities. Regardless, you now have a situation on your hands. You have the advantage of preparation and forethought. Accordingly, you move with hast to conceal your position until you can determine whether or not these newcomers are seek to disturb your operations.  

Knowing that your golems are still waiting near the entrance, you send a command to all of them to draw back down the tunnel. You still want them at the ready, but it would be preferable if you could keep the element of surprise on your side. You, on the other hand, draw a little closer, using the Protector golem as a guardian and meatshield (or, rather, a clayshield) in the event of an attack.  You continue to wait in relative silence, listening to the thump-thump-thump of footsteps above you. Voices continue to bounce around the walls above you, though with no particular message in them yet. As the people above draw closer, you can definitely tell that they are military of some kind. Orders and respones are being thrown back and forth. They seem to have a foreign accent - perhaps these are the invaders of the island. You sit motionless, peering at the light coming from the entrance. 

Eventually, you hear one of the troops shout that he's found a tunnel. Just as you predicted, several soldiers begin to peer around the corners of the entrance, pointing their guns down the halls. They don't notice you and your golems due to the darkness and distance; eventually, however, they are going to venture downward and spot you. If you wish to engage them, you'll have a short but sweet defender's advantage. You have no idea how your clay soldiers will fare against bullets and potential explosions, however. 

Warren Drake 

Warren has a good think at these very good questions.  "Oh yeah. You've got monsters around here too," he says after a moment and sighs. "You know, I almost genuinely forgot." 

"Well, the random monsters are talking about are kind of like the ones you've seen. Slimy and nasty, but also real sharp, toothy and much more like regular animals. Iguanas in that case. Had glowy eyes. Your average 'corrupted animals' schtick. The main difference from your case was that the ones I met were directed by some smug spirit that was pretending to be my evil twin or something like that. It was some confusing business for sure." 

"As for my island blowing up, it was some kind of bombardment. Fire from the skies, soldiers coming in to take over the place. Nasty stuff. Don't know who they were or why exactly they'd bomb us, but I don't expect the reason would have been a very good one regardless." 

Explain!

Warren Drake
She listens to you with curiosity in her eyes. You go over the strange events that have occurred in recent memory and, after you finish, await her response. 

"I'm so sorry for what happened to your island. I can't imagine why someone would want to do that." She looks down at her hands, fidgeting with her thumbs as she does so. "I've never personally experienced anything like that. It's always been quite peaceful her. Well, usually. I never really travel outside of this area too often, but sometimes the animals get territorial with each other. Humans, too - they sometimes have fights in the town nearby. But nothing big really happens - nothing on that level." 

"Your description of the animals sounds really close to what I've seen lately. No glowing eyes, but they are aggressive and sometimes are slimy. I've never seen humans like that - much less an evil twin." She mulls something over in her head and responds after about ten seconds. "When did you encounter these humans and the animals? Was it yesterday, or a week ago, or.. just when? There's something very similar about what you and I have seen. Maybe there's a way that we can help those animals and humans." She sees that you're finished with most of your food. "Oh, can I get you anything else? Are you still hungry?" 

Eh Ah  "As I said, ma'am, nobody around the woman, very little activity aside from scavenging locals and imperial troops that I could detect. Admittedly, I wasn't looking very hard at that moment, partly for fear that they may not prove very understanding of my presence."  "That does bring up a few things I could use, however, ma'am, but I assume I can get them myself. Right now it is more important that the aberrations in the order of things be addressed. Should I return to my investigations, or is there more Your Majesty wishes to impart upon me?"  Continue reporting. Check if my home's been bombed and/or looted if there's nothing else I need to urgently do.

Eh Ah
You respond to the questions of the Empress as you can. After you finish responding, the Empress states, "Well, thank you for your work so far. Unless you've missed something, there's nothing more that could be found without finding first what this woman might know. That is all for now. I will have one of my assistants contact you if I require more help from you." With that, she turns to the officer once again. 'Go ahead and take her to the headquarters medical staff. Have them examine her to determine if she has some sort of condition or injury. If they can't determine anything... She pauses before continuing. "Well, just have them report back to me and I will determine from there. The officer bows, giving a simple "yes, Your Highness" before exiting the room.

The Empress waves you away as she returns to the desk. You give the same acknowledgement that the officer did before you exit in the same fashion. Having received no particular order from the Empress this time, you decide that now would be a good time to check on your home. Since the beginning of the invasion, you haven't had the opportunity to check on your house, having been whisked all across the island by various circumstances. Serving as an ambassador, researcher, and courier for the Empress of an empire spanning half of the globe? All in a week's work for a market worker. Now that things have settled down, perhaps you can get a look at your house and its condition. Who knows, maybe it survived the invasion and the ensuing chaos.

Your house is a single-story abode, simple and utilitarian in build, located on the outskirts of Aecrocia to the south. It doesn't take you too long to get there; the city is more wide than it is long. Setting your sights on your home, it appears to be better than you would have expected. You're especially surprised considering that a shell actually landed just down the street and around the corner. The house itself, however, is in as good of a condition as it could be. You still have to worry about whether or not it's been robbed or not.

Your fears take a hard turn for the worse when you step inside the house. The first thing that worries you is the fact that the door has been unlocked. Looking inside, you find most things to be in the same place, such as the couch, some of the paintings, and the flower pots. As you explore your home, however, you find that some of your more valuable possessions have been taken. Your fridge is almost entirely empty, along with most of the cupboards and cabinets; your medicine cabinet has been completely cleaned out, save for a few things like your dental or hygiene items; and your money and other valuables have disappeared. Only a few odd things here or there remain in terms of your valuables - perhaps a few era here or there.

You wonder why someone would have need to loot your house, especially considering it's nowhere near the center of the city. Additionally, there was a large volume taken; either this was done over the course of a few days or multiple people came through and took what they wanted. Most of the bigger items like furniture and machinery are still left alone, but many smaller items were taken. You suppose that this was to be expected, considering that most citizens were moved temporarily to Summer Hall in search of shelter, serving as a prime opportunity for looters to be on the prowl.

You sigh, taking in your surroundings. On the bright side, at least the house is still standing and has enough left in it to remain sustainable in the short-term.

Author's Note: I wrote this update on a phone and portable keyboard, so if there are any mistakes in grammar, formatting, or spelling, please let me know so that I may correct them. I don't have access to a proper computer right now and my phone refuses to indicate any spelling errors for me. Additionally, somewhere in the copy and pasting of everything, my paragraph breaks were lost, so I had to redo those. Again, apologies if something doesn't look right.

Thanks and have a wonderful evening/day,
Artemis

[Coolrune206]

Have my golems remain where they are, all of them. Have them look like statues. Maybe this won't need to come to blows. Walk out, and shout loudly, waving my arms so that they are not alarmed when a man suddenly appears out of the darkness.

"Greetings there, fellows. Lovely day for a walk in my cave, isn't it? Have you come to admire my old statue garden? Yes, indeed, it's lovely. They say that those who hug the statues are blessed with luck for days."

((If they do fall for the "Go hug the giant statues of doom" plot, then my ambush (if I make one) will be a hundred times more effective.))

[Tiruin]

Beep, boop! Reminder that I am going to post the next turn soon, so please do post if you can.
Thank you and have a wonderful day,
Artemis

Boop beep ._.
Thanks for not proceeding with the turn. (Actually, very sorry that I couldn't get a post in for that said turn to occur which means this happened.)

Also I am a fish and this edited.

Eleri was quite a bit calm upon hearing Flynn's voice--quite a bit being a very exact term, as minutes ago she had a slew of panicky thoughts and worries passing by, until just recently where a tranquil stillness intervened: She didn't feel those worries when she saw Flynn, and she felt. . . steady. Her thoughts were clear, her heart wasn't racing (though she expected to feel that), and she felt a keenness of sense around her.

Eleri bit her lower lip for a tiny moment--she knew what this feeling was! But then forgot it to the passage of time and memory of the academy she grew up in. Not wanting to lose another opportunity, Eleri approaches Flynn, checking the area around.

"You never told me about your dad. I've never told you about my past. You...um, don't need to tell things you may be uncomfortable with, unless its really OK with you,  is what I've to say," Eleri said, believing it best to set the idea. "But-um, continue. This is mighty far from where we stopped--did you know this place beforehand?"

Eleri was a curious fellow. She wanted to know if this is something Flynn has kept from her due to fear in general: Fear of being mistrusted, fear of probable disaster...fear of anything negative.

But she only had one way of finding out: Letting him answer for himself.

[Lenglon]

EDIT: -No need for this anymore-

[Lenglon]

Lirian
I head out to the town and look for good vantage points to see what's happening around the town. I then look for somewhere that can watch those vantage points, and keep an eye out for anyone that might be attempting to monitor the town.

[Tiruin]

Um...
I don't know how to tell you this but...

o_o
You could do it in a PM so I can blush rather embarrasedly privately instead of publicly now. XD
^{Ooooooooooooooh goodness.}
Because I'm basing my knowledge on the rathersilly PMing I've been doing with DAF ._.
...Uh.
I think I messed up too, in PMs ._____.

Haaaah. SearchEngine is best confirmation device. .-.

[DarkArtemisFowl]

An unofficial turn, because why not?

Have my golems remain where they are, all of them. Have them look like statues. Maybe this won't need to come to blows. Walk out, and shout loudly, waving my arms so that they are not alarmed when a man suddenly appears out of the darkness.

"Greetings there, fellows. Lovely day for a walk in my cave, isn't it? Have you come to admire my old statue garden? Yes, indeed, it's lovely. They say that those who hug the statues are blessed with luck for days."

((If they do fall for the "Go hug the giant statues of doom" plot, then my ambush (if I make one) will be a hundred times more effective.))

Rune
Instead of going head-first into combat, you decide that the diplomatic approach might win you the best outcome. Even if it doesn't, these soldiers probably don't know much about your powers; you doubt that they would believe some kids about a magical dwarf who can animate stone and clay. You'll still have the advantage in the end, provided that you play your cards right. Carrying forward with this, you leave your golems in their deactivated states and begin to walk to the entrance of the tunnel. Your theatrics will have to be your saving grace here.

The soldiers see you coming from the tunnel. One of them begins to point their gun at you, but another soldier motions to him to lower his rifle. Seeing that you've avoided being killed immediately, you waste no time in pitching your act. You explain to them that you have a statue garden here and that they would be blessed if they were to hug the statues. Quite an unorthodox strategy, but it might just work.

One of the soldiers comes forth and stands in the open, talking to you from a distance. He has a clear, deeply-toned voice. Judging from the way he acted when he entered, you assume that he is the superior of the four soldiers. Like the others, he wears dark fatigues, body armor, and a helmet that all appear more modern than what you've seen from the local military and police. "Thank you for the offer, but that's not what we're here for," he states bluntly. It would seem that he is unfazed by your proposition. "We received a report of 'alarming activity' in the east forest region - that a man was wandering in a tunnel system with.. golems." He waits before he continues, sizing you up. The other soldiers continue to keep security, watching down the tunnel and out of the entrance. "May I ask, what are you doing down here?"

Thanks for not proceeding with the turn. (Actually, very sorry that I couldn't get a post in for that said turn to occur which means this happened.)

No problem. If you ever need me to autoaction you for whatever reason, just let me know and I'll continue to do that if it's necessary.
I'm at least glad that things seem to be turning for the better - at least, from what I read in the linked thread.
Take care, hope things are always improving.

Eleri was quite a bit calm upon hearing Flynn's voice--quite a bit being a very exact term, as minutes ago she had a slew of panicky thoughts and worries passing by, until just recently where a tranquil stillness intervened: She didn't feel those worries when she saw Flynn, and she felt. . . steady. Her thoughts were clear, her heart wasn't racing (though she expected to feel that), and she felt a keenness of sense around her.

Eleri bit her lower lip for a tiny moment--she knew what this feeling was! But then forgot it to the passage of time and memory of the academy she grew up in. Not wanting to lose another opportunity, Theri approaches Flynn, checking the area around.

"You never told me about your dad. I've never told you about my past. You...um, don't need to tell things you may be uncomfortable with, unless its really OK with you,  is what I've to say," Theri said, believing it best to set the idea. "But-um, continue. This is mighty far from where we stopped--did you know this place beforehand?"

Eleri was a curious fellow. She wanted to know if this is something Flynn has kept from her due to fear in general: Fear of being mistrusted, fear of probable disaster...fear of anything negative.

But she only had one way of finding out: Letting him answer for himself.

Eleri
You certainly feel better knowing that Flynn is at least safe. You do wonder about how he came upon this spot and why he came here, but maybe that's something that he can explain for himself. If he felt the need to come out here and state something about his father, perhaps he has more weighing on his mind than he would've liked to say in the past.
While you approach him, you look around, observing the area. Like stated before, this is not too far from the cabin which provided shelter to you earlier. You'd estimate that it's only about three hundred meters away. Now that you think about it, actually, it seems like a large distance for someone like Flynn, with his difficult eyesight and injuries, to cross and climb without difficulties. The rocky set juts out from the hillside in the direction of the rising sun to your east. The rest of the hillside curves down to the east, meeting with the rest of the land and continuing to stretch down to the forests that you traveled through earlier.

After Flynn greets you, you give your own response and sit down on the grass near where he is resting. He currently is supporting his body by resting his arms on some of the rocks in front of him. It puts him in an awkward sitting position, but he doesn't seem to be complaining. "No, I didn't come here knowing where it was before." He continues to stare out to the horizon, his eyes tracing the undulating blue expanse of the ocean. "I was looking for a place higher up, where I could feel the sun and the breeze. Down in the forest, there's a lack of lots of sun, and I didn't want to go all too far away. I wanted to get some air, and then I started.. I started thinking." He puts his right hand on his left arm and feels the rough, patchwork surface of his recovering wounds. "I felt uncomfortable, y'know.. having been under your care and all, but being slightly secretive about why I can't go anywhere public." His tone is weak but purposeful, as if he is not struggling physically but mentally. "And I figure that it's not something that would really put you in too much danger after all. I mean, if bad goes to worse, I wouldn't put anyone in harm's way."

He sighs wistfully. Turning around, he takes his arms off of the stones and uses the rocks to sit himself up. After a few moments, he begins to speak once again: "My dad was a great man. He was a really good person.. with a big heart. Probably sounds stupid, but it's true. He was always looking out for me and mom. We used to live on the mainland in Esiture County, but my dad.. he was involved in important research. He moved us to this island a few years back. Here, he could get involved with work in the University while also giving us quiet lives. And that worked out well for a while." He remains quiet for some time before speaking again, this time with a softer voice. "My dad died about a week ago. He committed suicide."

Once again, he falls silent for a few moments. His eyes become watery. Before long, he wipes his eyes and continues talking in the same tone as before. "Well, yeah. He.. he was an important figure. I didn't understand why he wanted to live quietly, but I understand now that.." He pauses, trying to form the words in his head, before continuing: "Well, aside from his normal research in electronics, he also was involved in another project that was... pursued by multiple governments. My dad discovered something that was amazing, but scary at the same time. I'm sorry, but that's the only thing I can't tell you more about. Governments from both sides of the global war wanted to use my dad's team and their knowledge for military developments. My dad fought hard. He said it was unethical, that it was dangerous and above everyone's heads. Other people participated in the project, but only he knew about the discovery, which he made only a couple of days before he died. He trusted me with that information. He passed the torch to me. I know where to find the remnants of the project that he buried. And.. that's why I ran away. Agents were already approaching the university, saying that they needed to talk to me.

"They know.. that I'm the last key to that information."

Lirian
I head out to the town and look for good vantage points to see what's happening around the town. I then look for somewhere that can watch those vantage points, and keep an eye out for anyone that might be attempting to monitor the town.

Lirian
You already have a pretty good layout of the town and the surrounding locations due to your exploration early, so it doesn't take you long to figure out the best vantage points for the town. In the forest to the north, there is a steep rise in the hill that allows for a perfect sight line into the town. To the east, one could make use of the forest line and easily watch the entrance to the town without being spotted by bystanders. To the west, the river banks and the peculiar layout of the valley don't allow for much room to hide or watch. The south offers a not-so-steep incline that may be used for scouting out the region, but the open nature of the hillside means that one would be easily spotted up there. If it is the intent of the scout to remain hidden, the south and the west would both be poor choices.

Luckily for you, you know better. First, you don't expect that anybody providing surveillance over the town would expect a third party (you) to enter and watch for scouts. Second, you are small enough of a potential target that you could use the bushes and dips in the terrain to hide yourself from prying eyes. It's not the best solution in the entire world, but it's the only one that you could see working in this situation.

After about ten minutes of searching on the hillside, you find a cluster of bushes that work for you. They are thick enough to conceal your position but low enough to allow you to peer over them and  sit with relative comfort. Additionally, you still have great sight over the north and the east. With the coming cover of darkness, you won't have much trouble remaining hidden and being able to spot movement in the forest lines.

The sun has set beyond the horizon and purple drapes are slowly covering the sky, drawing out the stars and the moons. The wind is at a light breeze: just enough to chill you, but not enough to be even close to a concern. The town still has some citizens walking about, but most are now returning to their homes and shutting off the lights. You don't see anything yet, but you still have plenty of time.

[Coolrune206]

"Ahh, I'd better drop the act. You see, I am not some mere simple statue gardener. Rather, I am the great adventurer Gerald! I had heard of riches beyond measure down in these caves, but had also heard of the massive golem armies. Curious, I decided to come down here. However, I have yet to discover the riches, and the only sign of a 'Golem army' has been these pecuilar statues. My theory currently is that a bunch of kids found and explored this ancient, abandoned cave. They would be on edge due to it being dark and unknown territory, and probably hallucinated that these statues were moving. Because let's be real: There's no such thing as moving statues... However, there is such a thing as being rich beyond measure, so I continue to explore these caves in hope of finding the great loot. However, I suppose now that the army of.... wherever you come from, is here, there will be less riches for me. Which is unfortunate, but acceptable."

Continue with my plans of deceit.

[Lenglon]

Discipline...
Stay in position. Wait. Watch. acclimate my ears to my environment so I'll know if I hear anything odd - or stop hearing something normal (which is the more likely giveaway of someone skilled approaching, especially animals going silent) Right now, my task is to observe.

[Salsacookies]

(Alright, I'd like to pick this up again. If it's okay, I'd like to fast forward to where'd I'd be if I posted regularly.)

I begin rambling on about various things, not noticing that she left. When I learned of her absence, I see that quite an amount of time has passed, and unfortunately, I'm going to have to sleep now, otherwise I'll black out.

[DarkArtemisFowl]

Beep, boop! For those who have not posted, I will be making the turn and posting it in the next couple of days (I am a bit bogged down due to a coding project I am working on). Thank you for your patience and I hope to have the turn out soon.

Thanks,
Artemis

[Harry Baldman]

Warren Drake

"Honestly? I've lost track of time. Maybe yesterday? Not very long ago, probably, at least in absolute terms. I think the world might be ending, personally, but no more evidence for that idea than what I've already told you."

"Anyway, don't really need anything right now. Maybe a safe spot to sleep in, though I think I might just climb a tree and sleep there. Should be safe from random monsters there, right? They don't seem fond of looking up."

See if I can set up a sleeping spot in the branches of a nearby tree. Or maybe the girl's got something for me instead?

Eh Ah

Eh Ah looks carefully around his home with concern. An understandable thing, looting. For all they knew he could have been dead the entire time. Nevertheless, highly inconvenient.

Lock the door again, make sure all the windows are shut. Then pack it in for today. Got a lot of things done, with yet more to do tomorrow.

[DarkArtemisFowl]

TURN FIFTY-SIX: BLUR OF NIGHTMARES AND ILLUSIONS
A tad bit later than I would have liked, but then again, I did say that I was busy with some coding stuff.

Anyway, here's the official next turn for you. This will be a little on the short side, but I do plan on having a follow-up with either dialogue or even an unofficial turn. Who knows?

"Ahh, I'd better drop the act. You see, I am not some mere simple statue gardener. Rather, I am the great adventurer Gerald! I had heard of riches beyond measure down in these caves, but had also heard of the massive golem armies. Curious, I decided to come down here. However, I have yet to discover the riches, and the only sign of a 'Golem army' has been these pecuilar statues. My theory currently is that a bunch of kids found and explored this ancient, abandoned cave. They would be on edge due to it being dark and unknown territory, and probably hallucinated that these statues were moving. Because let's be real: There's no such thing as moving statues... However, there is such a thing as being rich beyond measure, so I continue to explore these caves in hope of finding the great loot. However, I suppose now that the army of.... wherever you come from, is here, there will be less riches for me. Which is unfortunate, but acceptable."

Continue with my plans of deceit.

Rune
One must praise you for continuing to play the persistent actor under such threat. You're not sure how these soldiers will react to you, but you're hoping to at least get them to let their guard down long enough to put the situation in your favor. It matters not whether they think you are crazy or not; the illusion alone will allow you those precious moments you need to act in whatever way you please.

You continue accordingly, smoothly tying in your web of fibs to set the trap for the soldiers. After you explain that you are an adventurer here under his own volition who finds the idea of animated golems preposterous, at the very least.

The senior soldier stares at you for several seconds, contemplating your answer. "Well, 'Gerald,'" he begins, "regardless of your reasons for being down here, this tunnel system is under the jurisdiction of the Theyin Empire. Seeing as you are trespassing on unauthorized ground, I request that you come with us." He makes no move toward you, instead beckoning you forward with one hand while holding his other over his rifle.

Discipline...
Stay in position. Wait. Watch. acclimate my ears to my environment so I'll know if I hear anything odd - or stop hearing something normal (which is the more likely giveaway of someone skilled approaching, especially animals going silent) Right now, my task is to observe.

Lirian
Now is the time for quiet observation. Aside from direct combat, this is one of the areas where you should be able to have the upper hand over anyone who wishes to sneak up on you. Of course, Artemis could have all sorts of surprises up his sleeves; you're going to have to remain with the utmost vigilance. You're not going to let him have an easy time prowling around if he's still here, however.

One hour passes, then two, then three. Throughout the entire time, you keep yourself as alert as possible, aided by your recent nap. Still, nothing out of the ordinary. The treeline has nobody moving through it. The field and forest behind you holds only the occasional nocturnal animal. The town has some inhabitants occasionally strolling around, but nobody who seems like they would be in the retinue of Artemis or another notable figure. As far as you can tell, everything is completely clear. This strikes you as odd, but maybe Artemis didn't care to stick around like you thought he would.

It unnerves you a bit that things are so calm. Nothing is particularly out of the ordinary, but it feels as if you should have been expecting something to happen. Over the course of a few hours, however, all you've been doing is staring down at the town and the forests on the other side of the valley. You look behind you, to your left, and to your right; aside from the waving of the trees in the breeze and the occasional animal, you've not seen anything that would suggest danger. Still, you can't shake an odd feeling that continues to hover over you.

(Alright, I'd like to pick this up again. If it's okay, I'd like to fast forward to where'd I'd be if I posted regularly.)

I begin rambling on about various things, not noticing that she left. When I learned of her absence, I see that quite an amount of time has passed, and unfortunately, I'm going to have to sleep now, otherwise I'll black out.

((Good to have you.))
Cat Schrodinger
Time seems to have slipped away while you were nearly lecturing over the technology of the Grid and how you think it could be brought to the rest of the world very soon. Reyna attempted multiple times to excuse herself to no avail. Finally, she decided simply to just leave with an apology, and you continued your near-rant for a very long while. So long, in fact, that it seems that the sun is starting to set outside. And to think that you still have to deliver a letter! You still have time to do so, you think. Might as well get it out of the way before you hit the hay.

You make your way over to the university - which, truthfully, is just a street down - and start navigating the halls of the multiple buildings to get to the copy center on the east side. There, you find the mail box of the woman that the letter was addressed to and leave the letter there. You still have a little curiosity over the subject of the letter, but that is not for you to know at this time.  At any rate, your fatigue is starting to set in.

You leave the university and make your way to your small home - really, more like an apartment - and step inside. You proceed to take a shower, change into your night clothes, and get to bed. It takes you about half an hour,  but you finally manage to drift into the sweet peace of slumber.

It appears as if you won't be so lucky as to have a peaceful night, however. Your dreams start out regularly, but soon take a turn for the worse. You start having nightmares of different scenarios: Someone crying out for help as they bleed out in the middle of a street, gunshots ringing in the background; a lone kid sprinting through alleyways and around corners, trying to avoid the sources of howling and screaming that reverberate off the walls; a boy and a girl helping each other run as they attempt to escape vile, murky creatures following them through a heavily-wooded area. All of these scenes whirl around your vision, and seem just as visceral and gruesome as your imagination allows them to be. You try to reach out and help these people., but you are prevented from doing so by some sort of invisible wall. They cannot hear your shouts or your attempts to break through the wall. You are helpless as you watch people desperately try to escape the inevitable.

You wake up in a sweat. For some reason, that nightmare was even worse than the one you had last night. What on earth is causing you to have nightmares of such vile fiends hounding down innocent people in the night?  You suppose that you shouldn't take much stock in nightmares, but you keep it in the back of your mind still.

Ten minutes later, you rise from the bed. Since this is a day off at the university, you have freedom to explore the town or check up on things that you've recently done.

((Time dilation can take effect here if you want it. Since you have wide freedom, you can choose to even skip the day if you want.))

Warren Drake

"Honestly? I've lost track of time. Maybe yesterday? Not very long ago, probably, at least in absolute terms. I think the world might be ending, personally, but no more evidence for that idea than what I've already told you."

"Anyway, don't really need anything right now. Maybe a safe spot to sleep in, though I think I might just climb a tree and sleep there. Should be safe from random monsters there, right? They don't seem fond of looking up."

See if I can set up a sleeping spot in the branches of a nearby tree. Or maybe the girl's got something for me instead?

Warren Drake
"Ah, a safe spot..." She thinks it over in her head. "Oh, yeah! You could sleep inside of the den, and I'll just sleep outside." You give her a sideways look, questioning how exactly she plans to sleep outside when you just mentioned the monsters abound. She laughs, saying, "Oh no, don't worry! I have this, uh, hammock-thingy that I can set up outside. I've been here long enough that I know how to protect myself, so you also don't need to worry about that. You can help yourself to the food inside the den, or some of my books or something. Make yourself at home!" You thank her for her hospitality and prepare for the night.

...And by prepare for the night, I simply mean wait until night, because you have no real possessions of significance to make ready for the night. Right now, you're pretty much just a wandering vagabond to anyone who lives here. Only the people who came with you to the coast have a vague idea of who you really are. Even then, you didn't really make yourself noticeable outside of your own village. There was no real need to; you preferred to keep things relatively simple back in Atis, and the border hostilities usually prevented you and other tribesmen from wandering too far out of the forest or coasts. On one hand, this may be a blessing. Nobody can really mount bias against you based on character, because nobody here has met you before. On the other hand, you are separated entirely from your past life. Additionally, you've fallen down a rabbit hole of strange monsters and talking reptiles.

It's all too much to think about right now. With the liquor still sloshing around in your skull, it's best to sleep off the events of the past few days and let your ailing mind recover itself through the magic powers of alcohol.

((I'll let you determine if there's anything special you want to do before W.D. slumbers away and hopefully doesn't get assaulted by murderous shadow-squirrels in the middle of the night. If you just want to continue without a second thought, I will do a follow-up post. Think of it like a half-turn.))

Eh Ah

Eh Ah looks carefully around his home with concern. An understandable thing, looting. For all they knew he could have been dead the entire time. Nevertheless, highly inconvenient.

Lock the door again, make sure all the windows are shut. Then pack it in for today. Got a lot of things done, with yet more to do tomorrow.

Eh Ah
There is at least something of a silver lining to this predicament. You still have the house intact for the most part, with the furniture still in place. You're definitely going to miss on the valuables and necessities that were taken from the various rooms, but you'll still be able to live. If you need aid in getting food, the Aecrocian government (or what's left of it) is still distributing supplies for recovery while reconstruction is still going on.

You can focus on attaining necessary supplies later. For now, fatigue is starting to take over from your various trips all over the island today. You take one more walk around your house, realizing in part the gravity of the situation now. Any stability that you might have had in the past week has fled far away. The island won't be the same after this war, though you don't really find it rational to believe that any area touched by war remains the same.

Now that you've had time to think, you move around the house, locking the doors and windows; there's no point in inviting more looters to invade your house while you're living in it now. With the rest of the house quiet and dark, you shuffle over to your bedroom. You take one final look around the room before throwing yourself into the covers of the creaky bed and letting your worries slip away for the night.

***

One eye opens, and then the other. A smoothly-painted blue wall faces you. You turn your head to the right side, finding the shutters for the windows deployed. Oh, that's right, you did that yesterday. You groan and sit up. Surprisingly, this seems to be a rather quiet morning. Nothing has been disturbed, nobody came to murder you in the night, and you weren't haunted by ghosts. Considering your most recent track record, you'd consider this a new high.

You're more than a bit peckish right now, having put off the desire to eat to complete your investigations yesterday. You probably have a couple of canned products or small snacks in your cupboards now, so you'll have to do one of three things: make your existing food last, receive help from relief shelters, or buy food from any markets still standing. Whatever you've been carrying this whole time still remains with you. You don't really have anything for personal defense other than blunt objects, but you don't think that the rate of looting and thievery will be so high that you'll really need personal defense, considering the overwatch of the Theyins. Medicines can wait for now. After you get your necessities in order, you'll have plenty of time to keep looking around the island or report back to Seira Theyin and see what she found about the mysterious woman.

Author's Notes: Not really much to say here. Wrote most of this on a phone, so again, if there are any mistakes, please let me know. I may do an intermission soon to explain some more things. What are those things, you may ask? Well, I don't know at this point. But I'm working on it.
Hope everyone has a wonderful day,
Artemis.