The metal tip of his staff clicked against the hard packed dirt and gravel of the south side of Orchidia. Seika's mind began to run rampantly over the details that had been presented to him by the grieving families of the missing children. From what he had been told and was able to gather, the Cultists were of a pretty vague group, no two ever claimed to be part of the same organization, yet from their descriptions they clearly were at least distantly related. In each case the Cultists would arrive in the slums with a single intention, to gather children for sacrifices. Now what those sacrifices were for no one knew. The Cultists seemed to be pretty good about being vague with their intentions, instead doing their level best to promise a return to riches or a new life of comfort should the people part ways with their children. All usual and very understandable promises for those who were downtrodden with no hope of upward momentum in society. What was one child to finally achieving a place in society and all of the creature comforts that came with that?

Face scrunched up in thought, he would stop and turn his head in the direction he assumed Hitomi had left to go eradicate the rats, his mind going over the scenario fully to see if he could get some sort of picture going so that he could finally pinpoint a location. From what he understood, the rat menace had been relatively regular and benign in the past but had recently ramped up in not only intensity but lethality, with the rats becoming almost self aware in their movements and objectives. This also coincided with the arrival of the Cultists and their ever increasing demands for children from the slums and sometimes the city proper. It seemed they only wanted children however, never anyone over the age of fourteen. And with the Rats beginning to show signs of corruption with a dark power that could only mean that someone was casting rather strong dark magic upon them to imbue them with such power. On top of that was the magic draining plants that had been planted recently all throughout the city which had been draining denizens of their energy. He and Sho had taken care of that menace but they also seemed vaguely connected in a way.

All of this seemed so close to being figured out by Seika but he could tell he was just missing some crucial piece, some part of the puzzle that would let him finally put a pin in the whole ordeal and finally track down these cultists. There wasn't much more information the people of the Slums could give him and thus he was left to his own devices, returning back to the city center by the Cathedral dedicated to that false prophet Illumin. He would rest atop one of the benches in the plaza and 'stare' forward into the geyser pools that were spread out around and wait patiently, he knew Hitomi would arrive shortly.

514/1500 (-40% from Captain-Commander and Explorers Belt)

With one of her objectives done she was happy to be able to obtain just a bit of knowledge that could be of use to her and Seika. The rats were being controlled to some extent or at least they seemed to have a different base of operations outside of that mound she found most of them in. Rats weren't smart enough to just leave to a specific location, they were more likely to scatter around. Those few rats she couldn't kill led her right to the cultist. What she was more surprised about was the village they were living in. How did such a menace to Orchidia manage to build a village and stay in it without being detected? Unless they took over that village for themselves. She really didn't know but she did know that they could use this info to infiltrate and find out what the hell they were doing and get to the bottom of it. Hopefully, this was just a one-group thing and she found the source but somehow she didn't think that was the case. Strolling into town splattered in rat blood she happen to spot Seika. It seemed his job was done as well. Strolling over to him she smiled before speaking. "Let's go back to my place to discuss our findings.. I need a bath after being waist-deep in eldritch rats."

236/2500

He could hear the playing in the fountains cheerfully. It left a rather warm smile on his face to hear such happiness and worry free cheering going on around him. Especially in such a relatively dark City. It was something that he worked hard to maintain. So when he smelled such a string coppery smell mixed with something rather pungent, and he heard the gasps of shock and terror, he actually tilted his head in the direction of the smell to see if he could pinpoint the source. Heat began to rise around him as he began to gather his magic just in case it was a threat. Luckily for Hitomi, she spoke up before he could speak an incantation or make a gesture causing him to release the pull on his magic. Rising to his feet, he'd step into stride alongside his once superior and now colleague. Head facing forward, the soft click of the metal of his staff stabbing into the tiles of the courtyard accompanied them as he agreed with her request to head back to her apartment to debrief. He really wanted to ask about the stench that coated her but widely kept his mouth closed as it would have only lead to him being hit most likely.

717/2500

She ignored the faces, the gasps, the obvious lack of comfort the people around her felt. She was doing this to keep them safe, her rune knight badge the only thing not caked in blood should have told them she wasn't the bad guy here. As the two approached the building she set up for some room service to be sent to her before following Seika to the elevator. Once inside her suite, she stripped her clothes off in front of Seika, his blindness making her bold in her actions. " Follow me. I'll be in the bath but we can still speak. My room is as big as the living room, make yourself comfortable. " Grabbing Seika's hand she guided him into her room and led her to the couch inside of it. She figured he would need a helping hand as this was the only part of the place he had not been in. " I called for room service. They'll let themselves in so don't be alarmed. " Moving from Seika she went into her bathroom, started the water, and placed her dirty clothes in a hamper. " You find anything out from your investigation? " Her voice rang clear from the bathroom over the filling bathtub.

445/2500

Seika also ignored the gasps and whispers of alarm. If Hitomi hadn't made a big fuss of it yet then he wouldn't. Walking alongside her, he used the quiet between them to gather his thoughts, mentally checking off fact that they had completed two of the tasks that they had set for themselves. It was still quite difficult to put all of the pieces together to form the whole picture that was this case. There were still too many missing variables that could crack this thing wide open.

Entering the apartment, he'd stand by the countertop as a soft rustling hit his ears before his hand was grabbed and he was lead into what he assumed was Hitomi's personal room. It was indeed the only room in the suite he has not ventured into yet since he had no reason too. Listening to get reasoning, he agreed that it would be faster to debrief while she showered though if he were honest they could've probably done that afterwards. Rolling along with it all though, he would take the offered seat before beginning to recant his part of the mission.

"According to the people in the Southside of Orchidia there's have been several groups of cultists who have claimed to be of different groups approaching them to offer them a deal of comfort and opulence in exchange for one or multiple of their children. Now I say claimed as the description the folks gave leads me to believe that they're all part of the organization and are just claiming to be part of different groups so no one can group them up. This also leads me to believe that they have a relatively large operation of at the very least fifty members to reliably approach and coerce a good portion of the population in that part of the city. Add on the kidnappings and random murders and the situation looks rather bleak. We may have to call in back up in the near future if the size and scope of this organization is anywhere near the size I'm thinking it may be. All of this information however, and I'm still missing the big picture. Why? Why do any of this?"

1025/2500

Thinking for a moment she changed the water from bathwater to shower. She couldn't soak in water being covered in blood, she had to scrub herself first, or else she would just be sitting in blood water. Draining her bath she switches the water from running for a bath to running to a shower. With that going on she listened to what Seika had to say while strolling out of the room and into the kitchen to grab a bottle of wine. She had grown to enjoy the way wine made her feel and how it tasted, she had at least three bottles a week, mostly during her bathing times. Opening the bottle and strolling back into the shower she poured herself some in a cup and downed it before getting into the hot water.

" If I knew why I wouldn't care. We have a job to do and no matter the reason they have to be stopped. It's interesting that you mentioned there being multiple groups, while I was out clearing the buildup of rats near the village some of the rats led me to a different village. It looked like it was overtaken by some cultists that we are looking for. " Speaking over the running water as she scrubbed her skin of dried blood and rat guts, Hitomi figured if they were gonna start capturing some of those cultists they should start there. To have so many of them in one place like that was like hitting a jackpot and she had to wonder if there were any of the kidnapped children being held there. Stopping for a moment she wondered why she didn't think of that sooner. She could have possibly saved any child that was there if there were any. What a stupid mistake on her part and now she felt terrible but what would Seika have to say to this new bit of information?

768/2500

Hearing the shuffling of his cohort, he finished up his report of what he had encountered with a rather calm and neutral look on his face. He figured that Hitomi would be a bit less restless after such a mission but it seemed the woman was eager to do everything in her power to achieve the few creature comforts that she had amassed during their stint in Orchidia. It wasn't something he opposed, but it was rather distracting to think about.

Sitting there silently after his report, he awaited as Hitomi mulled her thoughts before she brazenly remarked that she didn't care for their reasonings. Almost offended, he waited for her to explain her thoughts in more detail before actually jumping into a defensive tirade about understanding motive and cause. Now with more understanding of her ideals and how they should handle this whole issue, Seika thought more upon the actions of the cultists to realize that Hitomi was right in a way. Motive didn't matter so much as action did, but it was still paramount they discovered the reason behind all of this quickly.

He would speak up after she finished explaining her own findings, detailing the hidden compound of shifty individuals that was occupied to the south. He'd ponder this information for just a moment before responding, "It's possible that it's one of many hideouts? Remember you only discovered it on accident. If the cultists are actually operating under a much larger organization, then having many spread out hideouts would make it easier to avoid detection rather than one large compound. Though that would also mean that there's a chance that they have spread out the captives as well..."

[Exit]