The Glitch V: Taste of Fear (Episode 1)

[rhoenix]

Giving the white-haired man a why smile in return, Seth nodded. "Indeed."

Turning to LizBet, he gave her a slightly more friendly smile. "Some White Magic, some Black Magic. Nothing fancy, just the basics of both for right now."

[Charon]

Matt finished clipping on the armor, which looked like it was something out of Star Wars. Giving everything a shrug to make certain it was in place he nodded to himself and grabbed what looked like a flattened shovel with a very sharp edge on it and a hook on one side.

With a practiced ease, Matt hooked a bag that was hanging on the wall on the shovel and then put the shovel on his shoulder.

"I'm ready when you are."

[B4UTRUST]

James led the pair to Jude's. After turning down the alley towards the entrance, he once more avoided the numerous pitfalls of walking back here. Knowing what those pitfalls were did not ease the mind, so it was best not to think on it too hard.
"Welcome to Jude's Bar," Poe stated blandly, playing tour guide. "Where the patrons are depressing, the bar snacks are distressing and the liquor practically undrinkable. And it happens to be the favorite watering hole of one Elvin Bucci who's sole redeeming quality is that he is very well informed on a lot of people. Mind your valuables..."

Poe opened the door and stepped in, immediately feeling the temperature dropping several degrees as once more the light failed to enter the open door and pierce the gloom of the bar's interior. Because sometimes intangible mindless unguided energy has better sense and taste...


James looked around, letting his eyes adjust for a minute to the darkness until he spotted his favorite snitch. He motioned for the others to follow and made his way over to Elvin. As they had entered the collective eyes of the bar had mostly turned to them. And there was something to be said about having a Death Knight in your entourage. It seemed that having a rather tall, dark, imposing and disturbingly armor-clad individual at your back made people want to mind their own business even more than usual.

He slapped his hand onto Elvin's shoulder.
"Hello, Elvin. We need to talk."
"Ah Christ, Poe. Again?"
"You know how it is, business is always moving."
"Jeez, what do you want this time? I told you I don't know nothin' else about the Cannibal."
"Well, that's good, since that's not what I'm here about. Need some information about someone. Need to know where he hangs out at."
"Yeah, and what do I get out of it?"
"I know the deal. I can pay."
"Good. Now if you'd be so kind, the color of your coin, Poe?"

James reached into his trench coat's pocket and a credit chit that he laid on the table, sliding it over. Elvin smiled and made the chit disappear.
"Good, now that the unpleasant formalities are over with..."
"Elvin, if you were any more pleased, you would have needed to buy me dinner first..."
"Ha! So who is it this time?"
"An alchemist. THE Alchemist to be exact. Jack the Alchemist."

Elvin's eyebrows lifted.
"And why do you want to know about him?"
"That's for me to know, Elvin, and you to try to buy off of me later."
"Fine, Poe. Whatever you say. What do you want to know about the esteemed hero of the war?"
"Where is he? Where does he drown his sorrows anymore?"
"Well, that depends on your definition of where."
"What did I tell you about philosophical answers..."
"Right, right. Where he hangs his hat, so to speak, I can find out. As for where he is right this second? Don't know that either, but I hear some people saw him hanging around the residential area on the east side with some tasty young little thing and some others. Sounds like he's getting himself together a nice little party and some entertainment for laters..."
"Any idea on why they're there?"
"Not a clue, though there's some rumors about someone trying to pick up some heroes for a job."

James paused and sighed.
"You don't say..."
"Well, got nothing concrete but it's what I heard."
"Interesting. Anything else?"
"Well he's been spotted a few times at Mick's Tavern."
"That's something. Alright, gives me a few places to start."

James turned to look at the other two who were with him.
"You guys got any questions?"

[frigidmagi]

Jeremy quietly stepped on Malkamar as a sign to keep quiet. He wasn't about to have a Q and A right here in front of all the... patrons.

"Nope." He said.

[SirNitram]

"Well, if we weren't in a hurry, I'd ask for one of the drinks." Mal smirked. "But we're on a time limit. C'mon, boys. Anyway, it wouldn't have the kick of a Silithid Headtwister." The warrior nodded.

[General Havoc]

Way over his head didn't even begin...

Gregory was not a detective or an investigator. His talents, such as they were, centered around grand strategy and military tactics, not forensics or crime scene investigation. Still, he reminded himself, the same was true of everyone else here. This "Shadow Don" had not gone out and recruited a bunch of police. He had recruited a bunch of renowned heroes, and some ascended.

What exactly was he expecting them to run into?

He had so far managed to fend off detailed questions about his own capabilities, which was fine by him for right now. Explaining exactly how catatonia was a useful power was not terribly easy, and made no easier by the presence of two acknowledged war heroes here. What they would make of his Battlefield Clairvoyance was a question he was prepared to defer.

Still, at this point he was summing up the facts known and coming up with blanks.

"Um, Mister?" he said, sounding for a moment like he was going to make some frightened admittance that he was unarmed or unprepared for whatever might necessitate a trained warrior to wear armor and bear exotic-looking polearms. Both of those things were true, but that didn't bother him. He was used to going about unarmed amidst large numbers of heavily armed people. What bothered him was not knowing the lay of the land.

"Why would this Shadow Don want us?"

The others had half-suggested this question before, but he was asking it in perfect earnest. And despite the fact that he was an underaged cripple, he wasn't talking about himself.

"None of us are investigators," he said. "Most of us aren't even from around here. He pointed at Seth, and then at the other two adults. "He's a wizard, you two are war heroes, I'm an ascended commander, and she's a..." he lost his train of thought instantly when he got to Lizbet, and stammered before coming up with an answer. "A... an adventurer." It sounded reasonable enough.

"Even if the last person on our list is an investigator, why would he want the rest of us? Why not police, or C-sec, or Blades, or other investigators?"

The rest of them might have been perfectly willing to traipse off into this "quest" without knowing the answers to all this, but Gregory wasn't from an RPG setting. In Strategy games, you knew what you were fighting.

"What are we all doing here?"

[B4UTRUST]

James looked at Malkamar, one eyebrow cocked up. He had not one clue about what the drink was, what it tasted like. And he had a very sudden belief that he was much better off not knowing these things for himself.
"Rrriiiight," he stated.

"One more question. How bad is he now-a-days?"
Elvin smirked, looking at Poe.
"He spends time in bars, drinking, talking with people who are like him. A lot of people who use to be someone. Lots of vets, reliving their primes in liquor-embellished story times. He was a dangerous man. My money would be that he is still very capable. And throwing one's life down a glass doesn't make one any less desperate..."

Poe stared at Elvin.
"Hmmm. You're awfully introspective about these things."

Elvin raised his glass of rot-gut in a mock salute to James. Poe realized how tired he looked and wondered. Questions for another day, another place.
"Alright, lets leave Mr. Bucci to his drink."

Once outside Poe turned and looked at the pair.
"Bars or East side? More answers or do we go after him now?"

[Charon]

Matt looked at the boy and paused. He stared at him for several long seconds and the old looking man smiled and turned to face him. "You're too caught up in titles, kid. It doesn't matter that Jack's a war hero and an alchemist, or that you're a commander, or that I'm a warrior, or that Seth is a Wizard. Those are simple titles placed by simple people so they can try to label us and think they understand us." He laughed. "That isn't what we are though. You're not an Ascended Commander, that's your special power, that's not who you are, right?"

Matt knelt down some, not to belittle Gregory, but to be able to look him in the eyes better. "We're here because this is what we need to do. It doesn't matter that it isn't what we were built for. I mean, Christ, you called me a war hero. You know what I did before I became a "war hero"? I sold books. I owned my own little shop, I sold all types of books, and I ate sandwiches and ramen. You think I ever woke up one day and said "I wanna be the hero"? "I wanna go out into the world and slay monsters and set wrongs right"? God no. The first few weeks Jack and the rest practically had to drag my ass into this."

That was a part of the history books that was never talked about. That the Heroes of the war could be anything other than that seemed preposterous to some.

"But I got my head in the game and I did what I needed to do, because it was the right thing to do. That's what we're doing here. We're doing the right thing."

[frigidmagi]

"Bars or East side? More answers or do we go after him now?"

"I say we find him now, best not to lose the trail. Then we can figure out what to do." Jeremy said.

[SirNitram]

"Go now. If things go south, we should be okay." Malkamar nodded.

[Agent Fisher]

Jack nodded. "I was a college student. The others can tell you what boring background we, war heroes, came from." He smiled. "Any of the great soldiers you've commanded started out as simple people. Raynor was just a small town cop, look at him now."

[LadyTevar]

LizBet looked from Jack, to Matt, and back to Jack. She then shrugged. "Don't look at me, I just happened to be born Ascended."
Nope, no false modesty there. Honest truth.

"So, are we going to get moving or not?" she asked the older men. "And is Uncle Jack still in charge, or is Matt now in charge, since it was by the oldest and wisest..." the last was a non-too-veiled dig at what Jack had said earlier about who should be in charge.

[rhoenix]

Standing unobtrusively nearby the others, Seth was still getting to know all the ones gathered. It seemed that some of them had a past, and that even one or two of them had been around the last time this world shook, well before the time Seth arrived.

It seemed now that everyone was ready, with people gathering their tools, weapons, and wits. Facing the others, he snapped his fingers once as a faint yellowish glow appeared around all of the gathered party, before fading away as if it had never been. "Well then," he said with a small smile. "Are we ready to go?"

[B4UTRUST]

James nodded to the pair.
"Alright then, we'll head over to the east side and see if we can pick up the trail there. Lets grab the car and head out. Bit long for a walk and I can at least try to show you some of the area while we're going."

[General Havoc]

What could he say to that? What could anyone say to that? How could he express the fact that the very frame of reference that this man was operating under was so far from Gregory's own as to make it difficult to even imagine.

Gregory knew lots of heroes. Some of them self-proclaimed, most not. Some of them were like this man, ordinary people whose inner skills and resolve had been brought forth in the ultimate hour of exigency by the demands of the moment. Raynor was one such person, as were a number of others.

The problem? Gregory was not. Not only had he woken up one day and said "I want to be the hero", he had done so every single day since before he had ascended. It wasn't a matter of wealth and power, it was simply a question of who he was and who he wanted to be, respect and self-respect rolled into one package. The Berserker was right. Gregory wasn't an Ascended Commander, he was simply Gregory, who had the powers of one. What this man apparently didn't understand was how badly that ate at him. 'Gregory' was an orphan from Earth, crippled, awkward, and decidedly mundane. An Ascended Commander on the other hand, was something wholly unique, the arbiter of millions, the savior of kingdoms and galaxies alike. Given the choice, there was no choice.

But how could he say it?

Once in a while, one encountered someone whose world-view was simply alien to one's own. The Berserker had not wished to be a hero, and had become one anyway. There was nothing wrong with that, certainly, but it was not who Gregory was. And it never would be.

"Those things do matter," he said simply, softly, his voice non-confrontational, but utterly resolved. "Titles, symbols, what we call ourselves. They matter a lot. They matter to me."

He didn't add anything else. But as he turned away to follow the others, he could hear the tapping of his metal leg brace against the floor, advertising his infirmity to the world.

For a moment, in his head, it was as loud as artillery fire, and weighted down like a ball and chain.

[Charon]

Matt frowned, sighed, and shrugged. Standing back up, Matt spoke. "But they only matter because you think they do kid."

Then apparently Matt felt the need to spread the talking to because he pointed directly at Seth. "And you. By God kid where were you raised? Barnyard animals have better manners! Just walking around in my house casting spells without the decency to ask? What would you do if there were anti-magic wards in my house hmm? Get shot is what! Way I learned it you asked before you started casting magic on people and by God that's what's gonna happen. Do I make myself clear?" Matt had been stalking towards Seth as he continued to speak. Not letting the man get in a word edge-wise.

Then suddenly he turned to Liz, pointing at her. "And you!" He paused, as though trying to think of something. "Your dad lets you out in that outfit? Put some pants on! We don't want attention, and that get-up is gonna drag every teenage eye that passes by, and some of the creepier adults!"

He glanced at Jack, offering him a quick conspiratorial smirk before speaking again. "So what's the plan "Uncle Jack"?"

[rhoenix]

Smiling slightly as Matt ranted at him, and then LizBet, Seth nodded once. "You're quite right - my apologies," he said with a small smile as he snapped his fingers again.

[LadyTevar]

LizBet looked down at her outfit, the knee-length school-girl plaid skirt, emeraldine oxford shirt partially unbuttoned to show the form-fitting mint-shaded tank-top underneath. She looked back up at Matt. "Actually, Mom bought them for me. She says Dad has no fashion sense. But, if you want I can change," she added, unbuttoning the oxford and sliding it off her shoulders, revealing the tank's spaghetti straps. It seemed that bras were a fantasy not included in video games.

[Charon]

Matt groaned and rolled his eyes. "Child, the only person you're impressing is Greg. Which is more pressing, than impressing, for him."

He looked over at Jack. "She's going to make a habit of this, isn't she?"

[Agent Fisher]

Jack sighed, shaking his head. "Keep your clothes on, LizBet." He said. The man looked at Matt. "Welcome to my life for the past few years." He said with a rueful grin.

"Anyway, the plan?" He asked, activating his omni-tool and swiping his fingers over the display to switch pages. "Well, we can do what the puppet master wants us too and go see this P.I. and find out what he knows, or hell, we can cut the strings and do something totally different. I'm open to votes."

[Charon]

Matt shook his head. "Not yet. The Shadow Don knows something that we don't. The best way to learn what that is is to follow his tune for a little while longer. I don't trust him any, but if he wanted us dead there are a thousand ways that are easier and more efficient."

[B4UTRUST]

James lead them back a few blocks to where the car was parked. It was a fairly unobtrusive thing, a tan colored four door that was one of those models that could have been the current year's edition or the one from any time in the last decade. It appeared to be fairly well maintained and generally free from clutter on the inside, though it seemed to have a lingering smell of fast food, one of the tell-tale signs of many nights spent in it with the lights off, watching people.

Poe unlocked it with the press of button on the key fob. The lights blinked a couple times then went out once more. James walked to the driver's side and opened the door and began to get in when he paused and looked over the roof at Malkamar then back at his car.
"Hmm, a thought occurs.."

Poe tried to eyeball the space requirements that Malkamar would require to fit.
"I think you might want to ride in back. Otherwise you may not have uhh room in the front. Unless you can get your armor off quick enough to put it in the trunk?"

[SirNitram]

"It's heavy plate. It does not have a 'quick' option." Malkamar smiled, pulling open the door and sliding into the back. "I've ridden in Steam Tanks with back seats, though. Just tell me no one shells these things."

[Agent Fisher]

Jack nodded. "Then we keep dancing to the tune." With that the alchemist shut down his omnitool.

"Ok, everyone, back to the 'hog, time to head out and keep questing." He said.

[B4UTRUST]

"Only when I've done my job correctly and pissed off all the right people," James replied cheerfully. He winced inwardly as the rear half of the car sank a several inches as soon as Malkamar got in.
'My poor suspension,' he thought to himself as he got in.

Once everyone was in he cranked the engine, put it in drive and pulled out onto the street. As the drove along towards the east side James pointed out some of the bigger and better known locations; stores, clubs, bars and the usual haunts of some of the more 'useful' people that came in handy in his line of work. It was Old Town, it had stopped being a cultural center a long time ago. You weren't going to find museums of art, sprawling libraries of esoteric and ancient lore or the uptown strip like Crystal City could get you. Which wasn't to say that Old Town lacked things. They were just better hidden, less obvious and more discrete when they were there. You had to want to find them. But a lot of Old Town was like that.

As they got near the area they had been after James slowed their speed as they crept along streets.
"Alright, keep your eyes peeled and see if we can spot this guy. Or at least someone who looks like they have a clue."