Persona: Sea of Djinn

[25K Now!]

NPC: Police Investigators

 

It was a bus ticket.

 

Dated 29/08/2015.

[Snelly]

IC: Clara

 

"Bus ticket...this must have something to do with that mystery bus he was investigating." It could be nothing, but Clara decided to keep the ticket as evidence. It was dated the day he'd been found dead.

 

"Why did you die...did you discover something that you weren't meant to find out?" 

 

Clara stared at the weird painting as she thought it over. 

[25K Now!]

NPC: Police Investigation

 

It was a weird painting.

[Constructelf]

IC: Yasmin

"His taste in art was odd."

 

Yasmin began pulling books off of the bookshelf, checking to see if the former resident of this house had hid something.

[25K Now!]

NPC: Police Investigation

 

Which books did she pull off the bookshelf?

[Constructelf]

IC: Yasmin

All of them.

[25K Now!]

NPC: Police Investigation

 

There were six rows of books on the bookshelf. While the first shelf contained thirteen books, the five below varied in number.

 

Shelf 2:

• The Three Apples
• The Perfumed Garden of Sensual Delight - Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Nafzawi
• Poetics - Aristotle
• Othello - William Shakespeare
• The Daughter of Time - Josephine Tey
• Theogony - Hesiod
• And Then There Were None - Agatha Christie
• The Famous Five - Enid Blyton
• The False Inspector Dew - Peter Lovesey
• From Russia, With Love - Ian Fleming
• Cop Hater - Ed McBain
• Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy - John le Carré
• The Lady in the Lake - Raymond Chandler
• The Maltese Falcon - Dashiell Hammett
• Romance of the Three Kingdoms - Luo Guangzhong

Shelf 3:

• Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
• The Third Man - Graham Greene
• To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
• The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien
• Phantom - Jo Nesbo
• The Black Ice - Michael Connelly
• The Hunt for Red October - Tom Clancy
• Devil in a Blue Dress - Walter Mosley
• Dracula - Bram Stoker
• The Incoherence of the Philosophers - Al-Ghazali
• Dialogue with the Atheist Friend - Mustafa Mahmoud
• Children of the Alley - Naguib Mahfouz
• Sunset Oasis - Bahara Tahir

Shelf 4:

• The Doorbell Rang - Rex Stout
• A Time to Kill - John Grisham
• A Demon in My View - Ruth Rendell
• A Judgment in Stone - Ruth Rendell
• Tales of Mystery & Imagination - Edgar Allan Poe
• Death Comes at the End - Agatha Christie
• The Riddle of the Sands - Erskine Childers

Shelf 5:

• The Moving Toyshop - Edmund Crispin
• Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
• The Shadow Out of Time - H.P. Lovecraft
• Theologus Autodidactus - Ibn al-Nafis
• At a Loss in the Levantine Gardens - Salim al-Bustani
• The Happy Ending - Zaynab Fawwaz
• Home Sweet Homicide - Craig Rice
• Twilight - Stephenie Meyer
• The Forest of Truth - Francis Marrash
• Leg Upon Leg - Ahmad Faris Shidyaq
• Titus Andronicus - William Shakespeare
• Mahabharata - Vyasa
• The Fleeing Mamluk - Jurji Zaydan
• Saladin - Jurji Zaydan
• Charles Martel and Abd al-Rahman - Jurji Zaydan
• Virgin of Quraish - Jurji Zaydan

Shelf 6:

• Murder Must Advertise - Dorothy L. Sayers
• Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
• Charlotte's Web - E.B. White
• Watership Down - Richard Adams
• The Children of Húrin - J.R.R. Tolkien
• Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
• The Day of the Jackal - Frederick Forsyth
• Fath al-Andalus - Jurji Zaydan
• History of Islamic Civilisation - Jurji Zaydan
• The Murder of Roger Ackroyd - Agatha Christie
• The Murder at the Vicarage - Agatha Christie
• Man and his Symbols - Carl Jung
• The Bible
• The Time Machine - H.G. Wells
• As Never Was - P. Schuyler Miller
• Reaper Man - Terry Pratchett

Edited April 6, 2015 by Umi Tryon

[AuRon the champion]

Ic:

 

Jack thought that this was the stupidest idea ever, and didn't know why on earth he agreed to do this.

[Constructelf]

IC: Yasmin

Yasmin began shaking all of the books, checking to see if anything was hidden in between the pages.

 

EDIT: due to the sheer number of books she had to flip through, Yasmin went through them very rapidly.

 

Regardless of whether she found anything or not, she then began checking the bookshelf itself for any hidden... Surprises.

 

EDIT: Stroking the wood, feeling the corners, looking for any spots of discoloration

Edited April 6, 2015 by One-Eyed Construct

[25K Now!]

NPC: Police Investigation

 

By the time Yasmin had shaken all the seventy-one books and volumes she had taken off the bookshelf, it was evident that there was absolutely nothing hidden in them except for a small note between the cover and first page of Pratchett's Reaper Man. Of course, she had also damaged the 15th century copy of Theologus Autodidactus in the process, the old tome losing a page thanks to the carelessness of a police officer.

 

The bookshelf was old. There was nothing on it.

[Constructelf]

IC: Yasmin

Yasmin checked the note that had fallen out of Reaper Man

[25K Now!]

NPC: Police Investigation

 

Monsieur Kassab,

 

Être capable de vous écrire est un plaisir. J'ai vraiment apprécié notre temps en Liban, donc j'ai choisi acheter un livre pour votre cadeau de Noël. Je sais que vous êtes un musulman, mais l'esprit de Noël est pour tout le monde! Et vous m'avez aidé avant, donc vous avez besoin de récompense. J'ai entendu que vous aimez les œuvres de Pratchett ... et voilà! C'est un très bon livre. Et retenez que ma femme vous veut visiter l'année prochaine quand vous avez le temps.

 

Francis.

Edited April 6, 2015 by Umi Tryon

[Constructelf]

IC: Yasmin

Yasmin typed the message into Google Translate, read the translation, and then put all of the books back.

[Snelly]

IC: Clara

 

While Yasmin was busy ruining all the books, Clara decided to take the painting off of the wall. She doubted there was anything hidden behind it or on the wall but you never know. 

[25K Now!]

NPC: Police Investigation

 

There was nothing behind the painting.

[sonyaxe]

IC: Jake

 

"Well... escape may be our best option, based on our opposition. None of us are really able to handle this, and bringing down a wall would endanger civilians. I vote escape." Jake said.

Edited April 8, 2015 by sonyaxe

[Mel]

IC: [Channah, Inner City]

 

Channah had forgotten to get her afternoon coffee.

 

It had happened before, several times in fact.  She would become absorbed in sketching a particular roof support and when she finished she was a mile or two away from the nearest train station with a caffeine headache creeping up behind her eyes.  Since this January, though, she had avoided it, constantly keeping herself from drifting off.  Even though it was not yet half-past two, the streets no longer seemed as warm and comforting.  

 

She checked her watch.  She still needed to go shopping for the weekend; if she didn’t find a cafe in five minutes she would have to resign herself to a pounding headache until she got some of the swill that passed for coffee at the train stations.

 

The smell stopped her in her tracks.  It was the rich odor of good, strong Egyptian style coffee that any Maklouf worth their salt would be able to pick out.  Unfortunately, the smell lead her to a narrow street, where the walls on either side shaded the brick underfoot.  It wouldn’t have been foreboding a few months ago, but now it made Channah hesitate.

 

Her left sinus throbbed.

 

As she stepped into the alley, she reached into her bag, her fingers closing over her phone and a hair pin she kept along with it.  For emergencies.  As alert as she was, she was keenly aware of the coolness of the alley compared to the beating sun.  As she turned around a corner, her breathing speed up automatically, but the shadows stayed put, and she found herself looking at a very blue store front.

 

There was no sign, it was impossible to see inside the place.  The windows were covered with velvet curtains in the same blue.  She would have thought it closed, except for the slivers of light that snuck out between the curtains and the strong smell of brewing coffee.  She tried the door handle.  It was unlocked.

 

Something about the place made the hair on her arms stand on end, but she was no longer sure if it was in fear or excitement.  She really should get back, but the coffee smelled so good.  Her head gave another throb, as if encouraging her.

Taking a deep breath, she opened the door.

[25K Now!]

NPC: Velvet Room

 

Blue. The coffeehouse basked in the cool, velvet blue of its drapes. Music flowed from the small stage to the back, an opera singer entertaining guests with the accompaniment of a blind player on a black grand piano. A hat-wearing gentleman gently placed a tray of scones before an imam resting on an Ottoman. Two blue-clad twins hummed lightly to themselves as they brewed delicious-smelling coffee.

 

"Welcome ... to the Velvet Room."

 

The impish yet somewhat distinguished voice was the first to notice Channah upon her entrance into the café. Sitting on a leather sofa in a small corner to the left of her was the source of the voice: a strange, hunchbacked man with bloodshot eyes, a large, pointed nose and an eerie grin. He was smartly dressed, enclothed in a neat black suit that contrasted with his startlingly white hair. On further examination, one would realise that his ears were of a more elfish persuasion, and coupled with highly irregular, black eyebrows, the man (if one could call him such) seemed to be quite ... inhuman, and possibly even ... demonic.

 

He was anything but.

 

"You are a quite an intriguing guest," he spoke, steepling his fingers before his strange, ever-present smile. "But only the first of many ..."

 

There was a strange atmosphere about him, albeit one that was surprisingly ... comforting. Despite his sinister appearance and disturbing tone of voice, the man did not feel threatening at all, exuding only a sense of welcoming and what could be described as grandness. He looked so very monstrous, yet there was something bigger about him, something that was actually rather humanlike and difficult to comprehend.

 

"Ah, I apologise for failing to introduce myself," continued the being, words still retaining clear despite the din of the music. "my name is Igor. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

[Snelly]

IC: Clara

 

Clara put the painting back, seeing as there was nothing of interest there. She decided to check out the Nintendo 64. She wasn't expecting to find anything on an old video game console, but since they were dealing with supernatural forces she wanted to be extremely thorough. She decided to check what game cartage was currently inserted. 

Edited April 12, 2015 by Lara Croft

[25K Now!]

NPC: Police Investigation

 

The N64 port of SimCity 2000 was inserted into the console.

[Constructelf]

IC: Yasmin

As Clara investigated the game console, Yasmin went to look behind the TV itself, looking for anything between all the wires (?) that didn't belong there.

Edited April 12, 2015 by One-Eyed Construct

[25K Now!]

NPC: Police Investigation

 

There was nothing behind the TV.

[Snelly]

IC: Clara

 

Clara turned to console on, then the TV. She wanted to see if there was anything on the game that wasn't supposed to be. 

[25K Now!]

NPC: Police Investigation

 

SimCity 2000 loaded up.

 

Yet there was less dust on the N64 controller than on the television.

[Snelly]

IC: Clara

 

So far so good, everything looked normal, Clara decided to check the save files. 

[25K Now!]

NPC: Police Investigation

 

The most recent city, which Kassab had named after al-Bareha, was in the midst of mass riots, a meteor strike and a meltdown at the nuclear power plant.

[Snelly]

IC: Clara

 

"Wonderful..." She decided to check the next file.

[Constructelf]

IC: Yasmin

"Um. Wow." Yasmin stared at the TV with the (very messed-up) game on it before going to check to see if anything was hidden underneath the couch cushions.

[25K Now!]

NPC: Police Investigation

 

The next save file was of a new city. It was named 'Kassabtown'.

 

There was nothing but a ballpoint pen hidden under the cushions.

[-Golden Knight-]

IC: The moped screeched to a halt as Nanashi applied the brakes and brought it to a stop in front of an antique shop. He dismounted his vehicle and looked ahead at the rows of embassies not too far from their parking spot. He pocketed the keys and hung his helmet on a handlebar.

 

"The man said Val Verde, didn't he? That's either near the other Central American ones or the South American ones. Let's make this quick."

[AuRon the champion]

Ic:

 

"So what, we're just going to hop over the wall, find the keys, and drive it away?" Jack asked, a little incredulous.

[Mel]

IC: [Channah, Velvet Room]

 

“I-um...” Channah found herself floundering for words.  It was all so much to take in, and the coffee smelled heavenly, but she should not ignore the gentleman who had just spoken, no matter how strange his appearance.  It would be rude, and Channah had been raised with manners.

 

“I--you have just opened up, effen--Sir Igor?” she curtsied, it felt necessary.  “I am honored to be your first guest.  My name is Channah.”

 

Somewhere in the back of her mind she wondered who the imam was then, if she was the first guest.  Perhaps the owner of the establishment, or an investor?

 

“You coffee smells delicious, if I may say so.  May I take a seat?”

[-Golden Knight-]

IC: "Stealing the keys will take too long. I could probably hotwire it and maybe drive it straight through the front gates. Or we could take a stealthier approach and impersonate valets like I mentioned earlier. There's also the option of straight-up asking the ambassador if we could borrow it. But I'm absolutely certain that it wouldn't work." Nanashi continued to walk towards the row of embassies, glancing up at each sign.

 

"How big do you think this embassy is?"

[AuRon the champion]

IC:

 

"I can pass as a valet... I've... Worked in a few places like this before, I just need a uniform," Jack said, his brow furrowing.

 

"And how much money do you think these guys have? Have you even heard of Val Verde?"

[Snelly]

IC: Clara

 

So far they seemed like rather normal save files, she decided to look over the rest of the save files, if there were any more. 

Edited April 14, 2015 by Lara Croft

[-Golden Knight-]

IC: "First time I've ever heard of them. But if they can rebuild the Furai then it's safe to say that they're pretty loaded. For uniforms, we can probably knock out one of their workers when they leave the embassy premises. If we're lucky we can catch them on a smoke break."

 

Nanashi cracked his knuckles and sighed. There was no way it'd be that easy and he was pretty confident that something supernatural would occur.

[AuRon the champion]

Ic:

 

"Try not to kill anyone. They might be important. Just steal their uniform, remove the name of the previous person who wore it, and lock the body in someplace innocuous."

[25K Now!]

NPC: Velvet Room

 

"You are free to do so," replied Igor with a strange and eerie chuckle. "And I shall certainly pass your compliments on to Theodore."

 

His enigmatic smile had yet to leave his face. In fact, it seemed to have grown in intensity, as if the implike hunchback had deemed Channah to be an interesting specimen that warranted greater notice. Bemusement was evident in his bloodshot eyes; what the young woman had said was a source of light amusement to him, though for what reason, she likely would not know.

 

"However, you have misunderstood me," he continued, face looming slightly forward. "Your honourable presence may not be the first of all the Velvet Room's guests, but ..."

 

A gloved hand waved over the table before them.

 

A tarot.

 

Temperance.

 

"... you are the first of those who can call upon a mask to serve them."

 

NPC: Police Investigation

 

A corrupt save file.

 

No more other saves.

Edited April 15, 2015 by Umi Tryon

[Not Quite Dead]

IC: Jake

 

"Well... escape may be our best option, based on our opposition. None of us are really able to handle this, and bringing down a wall would endanger civilians. I vote escape." Jake said.

 

IC

She almost asked, "what civilians?" Given that they seemed to be in some type of parallel dark world, the presence of other people was low.

 

This in itself was a worrying thought, even if they escaped from here, what would they find above or beyond this alleyway?

 

"Alright, we're going to make as escape, Lauren, can you cover us with an illusion of some type? The escape ladder is a good three meters," she pointed it out, it was about half a meter off the ground and led up towards the far off sky. A little old and rickety, as much of this town was, but likely sturdy enough and high enough that a couple acid attacks wouldn't bring it down before they could scale it. "That a way, I figure you'll go up first so Jake and I can maintain both down here and on you as you climb."

Edited April 15, 2015 by Tiragath

[-Golden Knight-]

IC: "Got it. Find a place to hide and give me a signal when a mark appears." He tugged on the ends of his gloves and walked ahead slightly. As soon as he caught sight of Val Verde's sign on the gates of its embassy he stopped in his tracks and leaned up against the iron fence. Nanashi motioned for his reluctant ally to cross the street with his head. The amnesiac hated the thought of depending on someone - he was certain that he could get this done by himself. Still, it wasn't as if he had much of a choice in the matter.