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Polluted Waters [Quest: Hatsuharu]

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#1Akira Shimada 

Polluted Waters [Quest: Hatsuharu] Empty Mon Nov 26, 2018 7:58 am

Akira Shimada
Letters, more letters... It was Akira who received it this time, from the same page that they'd met earlier upon reaching Baska. She surprised herself by thanking him for his prompt work. It wasn't like her to show kindness this way, indifference was the best one could usually expect. She took a moment to reflect and hash out what caused this. It would seem it was because he reminded her of Tsuru and she recalled that she'd been quite a pain for him to deal with, when they were just starting out, perhaps this became her way of reversing all those unjustified instances of sourness.

Tsuru and she both had turned out all right, if the Knights had to change, it was imperative that the Pages were trained and recognised appropriately, it was time she did her own little part, especially as a newly-minted Lieutenant. Realising that she may have just wasted their time, she swiftly opened the letter and pored over it. Luckily for them, Gerard requested to meet them later tonight, so they still had the day to themselves. She checked and double-checked the sign on the letter, because the request was an odd one, especially coming from the doctor. Nonetheless, she relayed the information to Tsuru on their way to get some lunch. Since she was usually the nocturnal sort, she found herself looking forward to the nightly stroll and opted to take the lead on this matter.

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#2Hatsuharu 

Polluted Waters [Quest: Hatsuharu] Empty Mon Nov 26, 2018 8:21 am

Hatsuharu
Haru found it extremely weird that the doctor not just sent another letter instead of corresponding with them directly, but also asked them to meet him late at night in a shady back alley. He wasn’t sure if this was the doctor at all or if someone had caught wind that the Rune Knights were poking their nose into the matter and setting up a trap. He couldn’t believe between the two of them, he was the one who had gotten so sceptical. Nevertheless, he conveyed the concern to his partner. “You sure this is the doctor? I have feeling we are going to be ambushed,” he said, as they walked to the cafeteria for their lunch.

Irrespective, he wasn’t planning on ignoring the letter. If it was the doctor, then they could do something about stopping the plague; if not, then here was their opportunity to find the people behind this horrific crime.

Once they were done with their lunch, Haru promptly went for a late-afternoon nap so that he doesn’t become a sleepy burden to Akira at night, in case they end up walking into an ambush. Once the sun set, he woke up fresh, and got ready to make his way cautiously to the location mentioned in the letter, along with his partner.

216/1800



#3Akira Shimada 

Polluted Waters [Quest: Hatsuharu] Empty Mon Nov 26, 2018 8:21 am

Akira Shimada
She'd expected to have that the two of them would have some quiet over the food and the hours that followed, so that she could share the information she'd promised to share on the way. Talking while sprinting consistently and resting only in the form of extensively fast paced jogs and with little sleep to harvest any real energy, had been an impossibility. So he'd killed his own chances of gleaning any details from her partner, with his urgent and incessant encouragement.

But now that they had dealt with the boars and hopefully offered the doctor what he needed, they'd earned themselves the much needed break. Of course, the letter was testament to the fact that things weren't going to remain quiet for too long. But they still had the meal and the afternoon. She was debating on how to broach the topic about the Phantom Lord girl's she'd run into while he thought it was prudent to discuss the merits of this new request, specifically the method by which it was sent and the demands that the letter made.

'Erm... I did check the sign and compared it to the previous letter...' she started, taking a moment to dig into her brioche, before adding. 'But that could mean someone has him... I wonder if someone is trying to tamper with his work... It'd raise some serious implications.' They discussed their hypothesis some more, while she assumed the conversation would continue longer, Tsuru decided it was a great time for catching a wink.

493/1800



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#4Hatsuharu 

Polluted Waters [Quest: Hatsuharu] Empty Mon Nov 26, 2018 8:21 am

Hatsuharu
Oblivious to his partner’s expectations, Haru ended up taking his nap and woke up only just in time to get ready and go to the designated rendezvous point. The sun had already set by the time they left the Baska Rune Knight quarters. When they reached the busy street, it was impossible to spot the doctor right away. Haru looked for any sign of the typical white cloak he wore, but couldn’t find him at all. After a long minute of searching, he finally spotted him near the entrance of a smaller alley, dressed as a civilian. He immediately called out to Akira and pointed towards the doctor’s direction.

“There he is,” he said, as he began walking briskly towards the man. Once they were close enough, the doctor noticed them too and beckoned them deeper into the deserted side alley. "At least this wasn’t an ambush," the healer said. Nevertheless, he remained alert. While he had never seen anyone use impersonation magic, it was still a possibility. When they were a good few meters away from the noisy crowd, the doctor spoke.

“Sorry to bring you two here at this time. But I think I know who is causing the plague,” he admitted, still looking around to ensure no one was eavesdropping on them. “Who?” Haru asked, glad that they now have some lead on the criminals.

444/1800



#5Akira Shimada 

Polluted Waters [Quest: Hatsuharu] Empty Mon Nov 26, 2018 8:22 am

Akira Shimada
Akira spent the morning reading a book she'd borrowed from the poorly stocked Rune Knight library. She finished the novella rather swiftly and moved onto make some journal entries in her diary. She'd been rather irregular and undisciplined about keeping track of their journey and it showed in the vast gaps and empty pages left. Relying on her usually sharp memory, she attempted filling in the missing details, realising that despite priding herself on her abilities to recollect, so much had happened that the details and encounters were a blur now. Besides all that, there were somethings she didn't really want to dwell on, let alone document in writing, not that she expected Tsuru to snoop through her things.

Finally, when it was time, she followed her partner into the streets. When he said that he was relieved this wasn't an ambush after all Aki's scepticism took over. 'We don't know that yet...' she muttered. Ironically, the thought that someone may have used magic to conceal or rather, slip into the skin of the doctor was not the first thought that crossed her mind. For Akira, it seemed less plausible than the doctor simply having found a reason to work against them. In a way she was always wary of healers and doctors, they knew more about a person's body than the person knew themselves. She warily heard the man out, narrowing her eyes when he claimed that he suspected the plague to be a deliberate act.

740/1800



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#6Hatsuharu 

Polluted Waters [Quest: Hatsuharu] Empty Mon Nov 26, 2018 8:22 am

Hatsuharu
Gerard seemed extremely scared as he spoke in hushed whispers. It was as though the doctor was afraid walls had ears, which was entirely possible now that Haru thought about it. So, he played along and replied in whispers too, like they were dealing illegally. “A local gang? What do they get out of this?” he asked, as the doctor mentioned the Cold Colliers. Typically, gangs don’t try to kill the inhabitants of the town, but only attempt to control the markets and other businesses so that they could fleece the profits out of them. So, the healer couldn’t understand what this idiotic gang was going to achieve by trying to spread a plague.

Hearing his question, the doctor went on to explain how the gang leader had a vendetta against the townspeople over a mining accident. Haru didn’t need to hear anything more. He wasn’t the same naïve kid he was a year ago to not understand that nothing justifies punishing an entire town, innocent and guilty alike. This was clearly an extremist move and had to be stopped.

The doctor mentioned that he identified the source of the plague to be water-borne and suspected the gang members to be meddling with the main water supply of the town. He requested the two Knights to go to the cave where a large well was dug for the entire town and investigate if someone was poisoning it. Haru nodded and asked which direction the cave was. As the doctor pointed towards the mountainous outskirts of the town, he began walking towards it.

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#7Akira Shimada 

Polluted Waters [Quest: Hatsuharu] Empty Mon Nov 26, 2018 8:22 am

Akira Shimada
As per their usual, mutual and unspoken understanding, Tsuru took the lead in this conversation and Aki merely paid heed to the words being exchanged while drawing her own silent conclusions. At least her suspicious attitude had rubbed off on her partner enough for him to not jump into action right away and pause to investigate instead. She too wondered that it was unlike a gang to attempt hampering their own trades by killing an entire town.

The doctor went on to share his own perceived opinions on the matter. She bit her tongue and held off on any retorts. She wondered if the gang was simply in the doctor's way about some other matter... But her doubt faded just a little bit when he urged them to investigate instead of eliminate the threat straight up. He'd convinced Tsuru pretty readily and she had no choice but to follow anyways. But as they walked, she let slip her own thoughts and assumptions. 'We don't know if this plague actually kills, I mean it could just be that the gang plans to make people sick and has the antidote that they plan to make profit off.' she said softly as they swiftly made their way to the well.

It was possible that the doctor didn't think so because he hadn't worked on a cure yet and probably didn't believe anyone else had it. 'Besides, we also don't know how bad this alleged accident was, what if this is... in some small way justified, doesn't this gang deserve some justice too?' this was hypothetical and she hoped Tsuru realised that she was merely playing devil's advocate and bouncing theories.

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#8Hatsuharu 

Polluted Waters [Quest: Hatsuharu] Empty Mon Nov 26, 2018 8:22 am

Hatsuharu
As they walked towards the direction of the cave where the town’s well was, Akira raised some interesting points. “When we were here all those months ago, the doctor was struggling with patients who had the same symptoms as the plague victims now. If the gang had a cure and wanted to market it for profit, they wouldn’t have waited so long,” he said. Besides, even if he was wrong, and this gang was waiting for an opportune moment to sell the cure, then all the more reason the two of them snatch that cure and put that gang in prison for plotting such a heinous scheme.

Upon hearing her concern regarding whether the act could be justified somehow, the healer stopped abruptly, turned to his partner and shook his head in disbelief. “They are poisoning the water Aki. Infants and toddlers are being affected by it. Even if every single grown citizen of this town is a murderer, it doesn’t justify harming these innocent young souls,” he said, turning around and walking briskly towards the cave.

The entrance to the cave with the well was marked by several signboards and it wasn’t that difficult to find their way in. When Haru walked in through the large wooden frame, which served as a makeshift entrance to the dark and damp cave, he heard absolutely nothing but the gushing of water. Even if someone was inside, there was no way the two of them could hear or see without enhanced capabilities. Not wishing to alert the culprits if they were inside, Haru did not brandish his weapon and left the scanning to his partner, who was a lot more effective and discreet at that.

989/1800



#9Akira Shimada 

Polluted Waters [Quest: Hatsuharu] Empty Mon Nov 26, 2018 8:23 am

Akira Shimada
She nodded, recalling the symptoms, but they probably were not as wide spread to gain the gang any profit. She didn't argue that point. Her conniving overthinking sometimes granted her the insight to think from the perspective of the villains. Speaking in their favour was likely to make anyone reconsider her own allegiance towards the good. Inherently, as a person Akira was definitely not morally grey, she did want to do good in the world, she just hadn't settled on any absolute method. As expected, her second comment did make Tsuru stop in his track and she was glad she didn't talk in the gang's tongue anymore.

'Of course, you're right.' she said defensively, hoping that it'd be enough and he'd have no doubts. Her partner had proven himself to be quite resilient to her strange ways, so far and off late she'd been trying hard not to change that too much. In that attempt, she'd kept things from him, parts of herself, parts of her past tucked away safely in her mind. When they reached their destination, given the nature of their investigation, it was time for silence. She used her darkness magic to aid her in seeing through the veil of pitch darkness. She reached for Tsuru's hand, to guide them deeper in. The two of them slipped behind one of the large rocks that were strewn around the well.. and they waited... and waited.

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#10Hatsuharu 

Polluted Waters [Quest: Hatsuharu] Empty Mon Nov 26, 2018 8:23 am

Hatsuharu
All that focus and determination to catch the culprits faded for just a moment as Akira held onto his hand to guide him through the darkness. They had done this every time the two had to enter dark areas and didn’t have the luxury to use his lightsabre as a light source. And every time it tugged at his inner self just a tad bit. It calmed him and made him forget about everything else around him, including bringing justice. That realization scared him like nothing else. In that fear, he swiftly took his hand away the moment the two reached the safety of the rock and stopped.

Akira could have found his sudden snatching of the hand as awkward or maybe even rude. Unfortunately, the healer had no way of knowing as he couldn’t see her face and nor were they in a position to talk. Seeing how idiotic he was being, he smacked his head emphatically, but softly so that he didn’t make any noise. Only after he made that dramatic gesture did he remember that while he couldn’t see her, she could see him very well. Controlling his horrified expression after that was quite impossible.

To cover up, he turned the other way and acted as though he was looking for any sign of the gang members. Yet another stupid move, considering he couldn’t see or hear them even if they were right in front of him.

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#11Akira Shimada 

Polluted Waters [Quest: Hatsuharu] Empty Mon Nov 26, 2018 8:23 am

Akira Shimada
Given the last time she let herself get carried away with these strange fluttery feelings, she attempted to remain quite professional. Her fingers closed around his hand firmly enough, not too tight so it seemed like she was scared of letting go, but not one that didn't serve its purpose at all. She didn't have the luxury to get lost in an attempt to define her feelings yet again, however, despite her best efforts they did enter her mind yet again.

She recalled how Tsuru had not denied involvement with her, to that mercenary girl... But he hadn't confirmed it either, the sceptic inside reminded her. And just in that moment, Tsuru snatched his hand away, like she'd taken it from him unwillingly. She frowned, glaring daggers at his sudden retrieval, and realised her aghast was missed upon him, which was definitely for the best. For the most part, she didn't want him knowing that she felt bad about the gesture, that would just make things even weirder.

But then saw him smacking his head and avoid setting his eyes in her general location, stealing away the unfair access she had to his reactions while getting to mask her own. She rolled her eyes and instinctively looked the other way too, shuffling a foot or so away from him, betraying that she was prickled about his odd behaviour. Just then, she heard footsteps echo from the path that they'd just taken.

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#12Hatsuharu 

Polluted Waters [Quest: Hatsuharu] Empty Mon Nov 26, 2018 8:24 am

Hatsuharu
After the mishap that he had caused, the wait was tortuous. He sat there cooking up a multitude of reasons that he could give for his behaviour but knew that it would never be brought up. So, there was no saving the moment anymore; just fixing it in a different one. For several minutes the duo stood there crouching behind the rock. Haru began to doubt the doctor’s theory. He wondered if the plague was natural and they were wasting time trying to pin it on someone instead of looking for a cure, which was the bigger priority anyway.

The healer was closer to the pipes through which the water ran. So, he never heard the footsteps that his partner did. However, the gang members’ presence became clear when they cast an orb that moved ahead of them to light their path. There were two of them. They still hadn’t done anything suspicious. For all they knew, they could be maintenance workers of the town. So, Haru didn’t move a muscle, but watched keenly.

It was when one of the gang members pulled out a bottle and emptied it into the well that the swordsman lost it. He swiftly got up and scurried around the rock, towards the two who were poisoning the water. However, before he was even half way to where they were, they cancelled the orb and he could no longer see them. Swiftly, he put his hands together and cast his Density-Mapping spell, throwing the purple orb to the location where he last spotted them. However, he couldn’t sense them anymore. “Where are they?” he called out to his partner, hoping she had better luck at spotting them.

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#13Akira Shimada 

Polluted Waters [Quest: Hatsuharu] Empty Mon Nov 26, 2018 8:24 am

Akira Shimada
She was trying to get over the odd little encounter between them and the noise proved to be sufficiently distracting. The bright light bothered her, as it pierced into her eyes, especially since she was training her eyes to see in pitch darkness with the aid of her magic. She stifled a groan to not give up their location, but it didn't really matter. Tsuru had already jumped into action. Much like any guilty party, the two men who had cast the orb quickly cancelled it. The only problem was, their mere presence wasn't enough to assume guilt, even with the supplementation of their freaked-out behaviour.

Their job was to see them tamper with the water. The healer had just given up the duo's location and now they were out of Aki's range as much as they were out of Tsuru's. With padded feet she retraced the path they'd taken into the cave. What they hadn't noticed was that there was another turn that led to the main water supply. The lunar mage only noticed it now, since she saw the men turn towards it. She refrained from reaching for Tsuru's hand this time, given his reaction the last time and instead, silently followed after them, refusing to respond to his words, so as to not give up anything.

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#14Hatsuharu 

Polluted Waters [Quest: Hatsuharu] Empty Mon Nov 26, 2018 8:24 am

Hatsuharu
When Akira didn’t respond to him, the healer was worried that the two gang members had gotten to her and swiftly pulled out his sword. The blue glow of his lightsabre’s mana blade helped him see his immediate vicinity, but nothing beyond. His mapping spell could only cover a certain radius and he sensed nothing there. Hoping that they will make the mistake of entering that region, he sustained the spell. However, it seemed they had completely vanished. Since it was already dark, there was no light coming through the entrance either. So, there was absolutely no way to know if they had already escaped.

“Akira! Where are you?” he called out again. He hoped she would respond this time and dissuade his fear. If she was fine, there wouldn’t be any problem spotting him even without her dark vision spell. He was holding his sabre like a beacon. The healer was afraid this would make him an easy target if the gang members chose to attack him. However, he was standing right on top of his mapping spell and if anyone or anything entered it, he would immediately be alerted.

There was no attack or a chase. The poisoners simply vanished and Haru had no idea where they went. If Akira responded, he would ask her if she spotted them. And if she didn’t see them either, then there was no point wasting any more time in that dark cave. They first needed to inform the doctor that his suspicions were right and then find a way to catch these culprits with tangible evidence. Haru walked out of the cave and into the town, towards the clinic. After telling the doctor of the incident, he stormed off to the local Rune Knight base to see what they had on file regarding the Cold Colliers gang. These maniacs had taken things too far and it was time to shut them down.

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-Exit-



#15Akira Shimada 

Polluted Waters [Quest: Hatsuharu] Empty Mon Nov 26, 2018 8:24 am

Akira Shimada
It'd seem in that moment when she was blinded by their orb of light, the deed had been done. She'd find this out only later of course. It seemed the two men were intimately familiar with the ins and outs of this cave. As they shuffled on, she realised that they found a sneaky path to exit. She huffed softly before retracing her steps yet again to find Tsuru. A quick conversation between them was enough for her to realise what happened. Though the healer didn't show any signs of holding her responsible for the two men getting away, it was very apparent that he wasn't happy.

So began their icily silent walk back to the doctor. Tsuru had made the assumption that the men were from the gang and that whatever had been added to the water was indeed responsible for the plague. In all fairness, they had no reason to doubt the doctor, but their moment in the cave only proved that someone was tampering with the water supply. It didn't imply that this was related to the plague, nor did they have any way to know that the men were from the gang the doctor mentioned. She didn't bring all this up and allowed Tsuru to lead them for the time being. If the gang wasn't responsible, eliminating them as suspects would help either way.

1958/1800
~Exit~



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