Seeking the Truth [Solo/Job]

Garret was a man who believed heavily in leadership, personal strength and teamwork.

Leaders were a guiding light to those they lead. They needed knowledge, and a skill to delegate tasks to those who could handle those tasks appropriately. Garret's role as Spymaster in Reim was that of a leadership role, yet there were things he was unaware of. Things that he could not explain. He was making decisions blind, as there were important factors out there that he knew nothing of. Lagi and Altair both had a strange power that could very well shake the foundations of a country. What kind of strength was that, and where did it come from? Making decisions, as a leader, without knowing the answers to these questions could become fatal.

A man with personal strength could live a strong, vibrant life while sticking to his ideals. The strength to accept events as they happen, and to continue moving on. This strength is critical, especially when tied into the role of a leader. Without the personal strength to hold to his idealism, how else would he move forward and bring those he lead to the front? It seemed fate had shown him that even through his rapid ascent of power, both martial and magical, there were still those out there that far outstripped him. Would his personal strength be enough to stand against these forces? He needed to know, if he were to make a wise decision.

Yet there was one more thing Garret valued, and never underestimated. That was the strength of teamwork. With the use of many individuals working in concert, it is possible to take on tasks that would normally seem impossible. Things that could boggle the mind of one could quickly be solved when working in concert with others. This was proved with the successes his engineering team had come across. Yet even with his vast network of operatives, Garret could not find the truths that eluded him.

Was this the extent of his capabilities? Did he not have the aptitude to lead? The skill to contribute meaningfully to their operations? Garret's own mind brought about the memory of obtaining the funding for their HQ, but he snorted at the naivete of the thought. Funds were the easiest of things to contribute. Garret paced in his office in the Villa HQ while Lieutenant Acius sat at the table going over various documents. The man realized Garret was barely paying attention, and stopped talking. Propping his head on his hand while his elbow rested on the table, Acius spoke up. "You've got something on your mind. What is it?"

Garret paused and looked to the Lieutenant. He mulled over the words, considering how much he wanted to tell the man. At last, having decided, Garret spoke up. "There is information that I want. Information that our network hasn't caught a whiff of, and cannot lock down. It's frustrating me." Garret did not divulge the information he was looking for specifically, but simply voiced his issue. That alone relieved some of the stress.

Acius considered Garret's words for a moment before speaking, offering up a strange piece of information reluctantly. "There is... A way. Or so I heard, three years back. There is a man who is not well known. Those who do know him, know him as 'The Fortuneteller'. He is a secluded hermit, but he is said to know everything." Acius looked at Garret, his face dead serious. It was the only thing that had kept Garret from scoffing at the man's words.

Nobody could possibly know everything. Though these were Garret's thoughts, he continued to listen to Acius.

"We had an agent, three years back, who found the man and was told of his knowledge. The agent was told to kill a man, but ended up being overpowered by the man in question and slain. We watched the coming and going of people from this hermit for some time, and learned two things; the hermit sends those looking for answers to kill random people who are strong, and the hermit uses the life force of these people to fuel his fortune telling. We never attempted to use him again, as the danger to do so was far too great and we could not risk making our presence here known..." Acius trailed off as he saw the look of determination on Garret's face. He knew that Garret's strength outstripped that of the agent that had died, all those years ago, but still half-regretted telling the man of this resource that was out there. They could not afford to lose the man, as he added far too much to their operations for somebody else to simply fill that vacuum.

Garret moved to the drawers by his desk, collecting his things. "Acius, short notice, but I'm taking the week off."

The Lieutenant sighed, but worked out the details and left Garret to his devices...

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Garret had finished getting his stuff together, and had made the trip to this secluded hermit. The place he found the man in was a forest clearing, south of Remano. A log cabin type building with smoke coming from the chimney was the sole man-made thing that Garret had crossed in this forest. The smoke confirmed to the Magician that somebody was within at this very moment, or has been in at some recent time. Garret approached the door, passing a tree stump that had an axe placed neatly into it. He noted the firewood that was stacked up as he approached the door. When he got to the doorstep, his sense of smell picked up a strange scent that was heavy; it stuck to building itself. The Spymaster brought his hand up to the door, but hesitated. Steeling himself, he went to knock on the door.

Just before he did, a muffled voice called out to him from within. "Enter, Iatsu." The sound of the voice was that of an old man, though the strength of the voice did not make it seem like the man was feeble. What truly sent a chill down Garret's back, however, was not so much that the man knew that he was there but that the man knew who he was.

Garret hesitated once more, recalling Acius' warning. No. This is information that must be known. I cannot hesitate, and I cannot stop early. Garret opened the door and was immediately assaulted by a variety of scents. He coughed, choking on the fumes, if just slightly. Narrowing his eyes, he entered the room and closed the door behind him. He felt slightly dizzy, but other than that there didn't seem to be any other effects. The interior of the room was difficult to see, at first. It seemed as if a blanket of darkness covered the entirety of it. He had slowly grown accustomed to the smoke, and was able to breath in a semi-normal manner. Edging forward, Garret found that his sight of the room had been blocked by black sheets. He moved them from his way, making his way into the cabin.

Once he had passed the sheets, a fire to his right lit half of the room up. An old man sat lotus directly across the fire to Garret's left, sitting within the confines of what looked to be a shrine. This shrine was littered with various scented sticks that were burning, and various candles that lit the man's features up. Garret looked at the man, who stared back at him. At first, the man looked similar to Hasan, so much so that he had to look a second time. When he did, the appearance of the old man before him was much different than before. So much so that he could only wonder why he thought that the old man looked like Hasan in the first place. This old man had a long white beard, a sturdy body, and simple cloth clothing. "Man of the Takegawa household, please, sit."

Again, the man revealed that he knew information that he should not have known. Garret frowned, sitting down before this strange old man. He spoke. "Fortuneteller..?" Garret attempted to confirm that this was, indeed, who he was to speak to. The old man nodded to him, but had a strange look upon his face, as if he were humoring a child who thought they had come up with a novel idea. Garret continued. "I have come seeking answers to questions. I've... Heard you can help me."

The old man nodded again, closing his eyes. "I knew you would be coming, and I know the answers of that which you seek. But answers are not given so easily. So freely. Come closer, and look at my face. Tell me, what do you see?" The old man beckoned Garret to look closer upon his visage.

Garret approached, slowly, looking upon the man. He frowned. He was about to speak, to say he saw nothing but an old man's face before him. It was at this point, however, that Garret nearly fell backwards in fright. A third eye, 5 cm wide and 10 cm tall, appeared on the man's forehead. The grotesque thing immediately reminded Garret of the creature that was created when Zhi had his magicians cast an immeasurably strong spell. The eye moved erratically, just like that eye had, before focusing on Garret. "I can see everything. I can see you, I can see your thoughts. Your past. Your country. Your future. But it does not end there, I see far more than that. The flow of the Rukh, the fluctuation between the types of Rukh. Fate, the reversal of fate and the meeting points of all times."

There was a very heavy atmosphere in the air. Garret's body let off heat and broke out into a sweat. The incredible pressure that this old man exhumed was a level that Garret had never faced before. The words were backed by a forceful strength that Garret felt was futile to resist. He did his best to fight back, however, resisting the man's pressure. His breathing was heavy, but it was only the beginning. The old man opened his other two eyes. At that time, his face changed into that of an Oni, an eastern demon of his land, while retaining the third eye on the forehead. Garret's breath immediately became ragged and it took every fiber of his being to refrain from running out of the building. A moment passed, and the old man/oni smiled a devilish grin. "Nothing in this world comes for free, young child of Kou. Certain knowledge, while I retain it, cannot be shared unless specific circumstances are met. You must slay a man who believes in Fate. Using a ritual involving the blood of such a man is able to temporarily unlock the restriction that keeps me from sharing this knowledge. But you are in luck. You see, Sir Keldefont is on his way to this place at this very moment. He has heard of me, and believes my offer is very wicked. This righteous man intents to cleans this forest of my presence, and believes well in the strength of fate."

Garret frowned. The terror of the creature before him was no longer so overpowering as to smother Garret in its intent, but Garret did not let up on his guard. It certainly was luck that the individual that Garret needed to slay was coming right to them. "If the man were not coming to slay you... What would you have charged me for this information you will provide?" Garret could only wonder, but he felt that he needed to know.

A harsh laughter echoed from the creature's mouth before it spoke again. "I knew you would ask that question, just as I knew that this moment would occur. It is fate that guides us all. I would not have charged you, because it was simply meant to be. Now leave. He will be here shortly, and it would be best to meet him in the open..."

Garret stood and backed his way out slowly, never turning his back to the old man/oni before him. Once he reached the door, he walked outside. An immediate dizziness assaulted him, and he paused when the door closed behind him. He squinted his eyes at the bright light cast by the sun at noon, and looked about the forest. Everything seemed so... Surreal. The forest seemed to be moving, and Garret frowned again, trying to obtain his footing and sense of location. Looking over to the stump he was surprised to see it have eyes and teeth, leering at him menacingly. Garret took several deep breaths in, and slowly things came back into perspective. "Drugs..."

It was at this point that Garret realized that the old man was using drugs. Those scent burners were, in truth, potent hallucinogens that changed his perceptions. Garret briefly considered that the man was running a scam of some sort, but the idea left as quickly as it came. This old man knew his name and knew where he came from. Likely, he knew more. Did he know everything? Garret would reserve his judgement for when the questions he had were answered.

His mind was cleared by the time the knight approached the cabin. The knight had a cart of what looked to be oils. Garret could only assume that he intended to set the entire place on fire. He would risk burning this entire forest down, just to kill that... Man? Garret shook his head and entered a fighting stance. The armored man before him understood Garret's intent and drew his long sword. This knight approached Garret and, when he came within range, began swinging his blade with great speed, intent on chopping Garret to pieces.

Garret did not hesitate. His hands moved just as fast as the blade, moving with the practiced precision of a trained martial artist. Using River Styx Style: Redirecting Blows, Garret redirected the trajectory of the next attack that Sir Keldefont used. The knight was skilled, however, and an attack got through which bounced off of Garret's Borg. This caused a slight pause in the Knight's attacks, which allowed Garret time to observe the movements of the next attack. He soon became used to the Knight's pacing and redirected the next three attacks as well.

Knowing that he could not stay on the defensive throughout the entire battle and still achieve the goal, Garret switched to the offensive. He began with a River Styx Style: Crescent Whirlpool, however that was met by an attack by the Knight's Long sword. The blow diverted some of the power behind Garret's kick which then bounced uselessly off of the armor that the man wore. Garret did not have time to curse beneath his breath, as the Knight continued his relentless assault. Garret met the next two blows from the man's attacks with River Styx Style: Raging Current, sending a punch to the joint of the man's inner part of his arm on the opposite side of his elbow, his antecubital fossa. This limited the range of movement that he was able to swing his blade, successfully clashing against the swing and negating it. The knight chose to go with an over head swing next, but Garret sent his knee up to intercept the man's elbow as the blade was swinging down. This knocked the man's sword arm back up into the air, giving Garret the opportunity he was looking for.

Magoi wrapped about his right arm, concentrating about it and reinforcing the muscles and bone structure of the arm with a superior strength. His hand shot forward and pierced the man's armor like a hot knife slicing through butter. Garret had used River Styx Style: Ikken Hissatsu: Deep Sea Harpoon. The hand pierced the man's heart, instantly slaying him on the spot, and Garret removed his hand from the Knight's chest. He let out a sigh of relief. This opponent had been somewhat difficult to face, but in the end Garret's strength outclassed that of his opponent. He took the body and dragged it back into the building, bracing himself for the hallucinogens that would assault him as he entered.

Garret passed through the curtains of sheets and dropped the dead body before the old man. The face of the oni was gone, but the third eye remained. "Heh. Before you ask, know that the drugs in this cabin are here to take you closer to the spiritual realm. In order to truly see, you must open your mind. Are you ready to see and hear the answers to your questions? Yes, yes, I know your questions. Bring the ceremonial bowl from besides the fireplace. The old man interrupted Garret each time he was about to speak.

Garret shrugged, and moved over to the fireplace. A bowl that he had somehow managed to overlook was sitting there; the bowl was large enough to lay a man inside. Garret rolled this giant sized bowl over to the old man, who instructed him to place the knight within it. When Garret was done the old man, for the first time, stood up within his shrine with the assistance of a staff that was hidden on the floor. Intoning a strange spell of life and water, Garret watched as the old man gathered the Rukh about the place and sent it to the bowl. The armor on the man that Garret had killed slowly disintegrated, some high form of rust and bacteria working in concert to remove it. Another spell was cast, backed by a large amount of magoi, also of both life and water varieties. The man began to bleed. And he did not stop bleeding, either. He bled, and bled, and bled. An impossible amount of blood soon built up within the bowl, more than what the man could have conceivable had within him. Garret wondered if that was the narcotics in place. The dead body was floating on the top in the bowl, and the old man spoke several more spells as wind and strength magic chopped the man up into pieces, and heat magic boiled the concoction. "Now. Ask your questions, Spymaster."

Garret swallowed. He was not a queasy man, but the strangeness of this situation unsettled him. He was resolved, however, to finish what he started. "What is the power I saw Altair using, and helped train him to control? And where can I find such power?" Garret saw the blood move about in the bowl. A strange being appeared. Another old man, master of blades, was fighting against a group of individuals. Altair was one of them. Garret watched closely. The fight was soon over, and this old man seemed to float before the people there for a short period of time. Suddenly, Altair moved towards a sword and the old man was... Absorbed..? Into the sword? The detail that the images had were so well defined that it was almost as if he were there. If Garret had to describe it, it was as if he were watching the memories of the world. An image appeared after that was wiped away; it was a map of the world. A particular part of that map raised up higher than the rest of the land.

It was at this time that the Fortuneteller spoke. "That is a Djinn, master of the towers brought forth by the Magi. They dwell within a vessel by those who have conquered their trials and they find worthy, lending them incredibly power within our realm. There are three stages of strength a Djinn owner may tap into; the weapon equip, which transforms the weapon to fit the theme that the Djinn controls. The full body equip, which coats the user in the power of the djinn and changes their appearance. Lastly, the Extreme Magics stage which provides a user access to an incredible power that cannot be easily matched by any man, whose scale of strength is worth that of an army. A portion of this power can be shared with trusted allies, which are called 'household members.' And that last part? The country where the next tower will appear." The old man finished his explanation, covering the topic of what the power was and what it entailed and imparting this knowledge upon Garret.

The information blew Garret's mind away, and the man stared at the scene before him in shock. "Who all has this power?" Several images appeared from the blood, though only three of which he recognized; Altair, Lagi and Asisiak. Garret committed the images to memory.

Before he had an opportunity to ask more questions, the old man sighed and the blood stopped boiling. "It looks like our time is up. You won't be able to ask me who is targeting your life, unfortunately. But the information you've received... It's invaluable, yes? This is a great secret in this world, guarded jealously by those who know it. And you have even learned some things that only the nomadic tribes you disguise yourself as know of." The old man cackled, approving of the choice Garret made. "Before you ask, you are unable to make this trade again. The limit, fate has decreed, is once per person. Now go back to your people, with this knowledge in hand.

Garret stared silently at the man before leaving and making his return to the Villa. Stopping by the jars of oil, Garret noted there was a pouch lying on the cart. Opening it up, he saw the pouch contained gold. He won't be needing this anymore... Garret pocketed the pouch and, with one final glance at the cabin, he got on his horse and rode off. His parting thought? Just who is that man, and where does his power come from?




OOC:

170/300 Magoi/Stamina
3500+/1500 Word Count.

Abilities Used:

The old man looked over the bowl of blood, laughing. "Your journey has only begun, child. This world is old, and the truths it holds can be shocking and grand. Yet this continuum shift will never end. I suppose it's time to get ready for the next visitor... Isn't that right, Sir Keldefont? The wheel of fate is turning." The old man waved his staff above the bowl of blood, which began to soak into the dead man. The wound on the body disappeared, and the armor began to reform. The beating of the previously dead man's heart began once again, and the body became animated. "Now, to erase your memories and administer the drugs... We must keep you believing that your town exists, and that you're a hero who trusts in his Fate..." The old man cackled, waving his wand once more and causing the Knight and his Cart to disappear. A new bag of gold was created, dropping right where Garret had taken the previous one.

Once more, the old man laughed. "The one thing I do not know... The one thing I still get pleasure from... What will the next person see in me, and what will their reaction be? A beast? A woman? A man? Terror, lust, hope..." The old man shifted shapes and became nothing more than a dark shadow that rested inside the shrine, where narcotics forever burned and warped the senses of those who entered....