[Nexus] Sencardia

[Time for Never]

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[The Spiral Staircase]

Reinholdt's only mildly psychotic. It's... lovable?
Probably not for the artist.

He had figured as much with the gun too, which is why he went the awkward dual wielding route. Though admittedly, Rein's gun shifts when he first sees Deveric. And indeed, sort of lingers on Deveric too. He couldn't really see who won the fight and now a guy dressed in both outfits shows up. It's disconcerting. If the soldier was smarter and had the ability to imitate voices...

Hmm, best just to keep the artist positioned between them for now, slowly returning the gun to the artist.
"What sort of artist comes here? A blood artist perhaps? Specializing in the art of undead creation?"

"Wh-what? Undead!?" Kaleano's eyes grow wide as he stammeringly repeats the accusation. And his eyes go even wider as an armoured man walks down and starts pointing his scythe at him.

"Oh gods. Oh gods oh gods. I-I'm not a blood artist I swear! I don't even like blood!" protests the shaking artist, all colour gone from his skin. "I j-just came here to sketch th-the ruins!"

Oh sweet gods he was going to die. He was surrounded by crazed axe-murderers and they were going to kill him and eat his skin and wear his skull as a hat.
...
Kaleano has a very active imagination.

[Third Floor]

Deveric grows silent and still once Kaleano finishes whimpering. He approaches the man painfully slowly until he's a couple of feet away from him. Grabbing the artist's shoulder, the scythe-wielding armored man brings his face to within a few inches from Kaleano's own. A minute that seems to last an eternity of silence ensues.

Deveric abruptly laughs. The reverberating noise that emits is a metallic sounding one due to the helmet.

"A blood artist! Hahahahaha, oh, oh that's good! You really are a ludicrous one, Reinholdt!"

The chronomancer playfully pats Kaleano's head.

"So you're here to sketch the ruins? In the middle of Venreth? What, did you fall onto your head too many times as an infant? You're either the most dedicated artist to have ever lived or you're mentally deficient."

[Reinholdt]

[Third Floor]

Reinholdt frowns. Blood artists are srs bsns.

Reinholdt takes a few steps back as Deveric approaches, just to give himself room and releasing the pointy pressure on Kaleano's back. He doesn't put away the weapons just yet though, for who knows how many other things they alerted with the fight earlier?

"I want to see your sketchbook." Reinholdt says being all grim and serious.

It's almost adorable.

[Mr. Moon]

Probably somewhere between the two, Deveric.

The poor artist stands there, trapped between crazed axe murderers. As Deveric stalks closer and closer, Kaleano seems to shrink. His eyes are wide and unblinking beneath his mask's eyescreen, watching the armoured man's every move. Oh gods oh gods he was going to rip off Kaleano's arms and make him watch as he roasts them and eats them and then he'll make Kaleano eat some of his own arm-meat oh gods what if I'm delicious???
...
Are those tears in Kaleano's eyes? Oh gods he's actually crying.

He gives a great start when Deveric bursts out laughing, nearly impaling himself on Reinholdt's knife as he leaps back. "PLEASE DON'T EAT ME!" he screams, squeezing his eyes shut.

...
And then... No blow falls?

Kaleano slowly opens one eye, just in time to flinch back as Deveric ruffles his hat.

"Um well I had a bodyguard with me when I left," he protests, before - finally! - a distraction! "Y-yes! My sketchbook! C-certainly!" He reaches into his satchel - unless either one of his captors makes it clear that this is a bad idea - and retrieves from it a large, battered book. He thrusts it towards Reinholdt with shaking hands. "H-here!"

[Time for Never]

Spoiler

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[Third Floor]

Reinholdt frowns. Blood artists are srs bsns.

Reinholdt takes a few steps back as Deveric approaches, just to give himself room and releasing the pointy pressure on Kaleano's back. He doesn't put away the weapons just yet though, for who knows how many other things they alerted with the fight earlier?

"I want to see your sketchbook." Reinholdt says being all grim and serious.

It's almost adorable.

Probably somewhere between the two, Deveric.

The poor artist stands there, trapped between crazed axe murderers. As Deveric stalks closer and closer, Kaleano seems to shrink. His eyes are wide and unblinking beneath his mask's eyescreen, watching the armoured man's every move. Oh gods oh gods he was going to rip off Kaleano's arms and make him watch as he roasts them and eats them and then he'll make Kaleano eat some of his own arm-meat oh gods what if I'm delicious???
...
Are those tears in Kaleano's eyes? Oh gods he's actually crying.

He gives a great start when Deveric bursts out laughing, nearly impaling himself on Reinholdt's knife as he leaps back. "PLEASE DON'T EAT ME!" he screams, squeezing his eyes shut.

...
And then... No blow falls?

Kaleano slowly opens one eye, just in time to flinch back as Deveric ruffles his hat.

"Um well I had a bodyguard with me when I left," he protests, before - finally! - a distraction! "Y-yes! My sketchbook! C-certainly!" He reaches into his satchel - unless either one of his captors makes it clear that this is a bad idea - and retrieves from it a large, battered book. He thrusts it towards Reinholdt with shaking hands. "H-here!"

Deveric gives an interested glance at Kaleano's sketchbook as he pulls it out.

"I'm assuming this sell-sword of yours got himself killed then? I've always thought they were overpriced myself. Either way it's lucky for you that you ran into us as opposed to some of the less friendly company that inhabit this place."

While Reinholdt looks at the book, Deveric starts to walk around the room and examines its contents. He had already skipped several floors so it probably wouldn't hurt to give it a quick look over.

"What's your name, artist? While you're at it, tell me where you're from. Sencardia I assume?"

[Reinholdt]

Reinholdt doesn't shoot the artist for pulling out the sketchbook he told him to pull out in the first place! This is an encouraging sign.

He will take the book and go to flip through it, one eye always on Kaleano. Basically just checking Kaleano's story and seeing if there's any actual sketches.

[Mr. Moon]

"Y-yes, very lucky," agrees Kaleano, without much enthusiasm. Even though neither Reinholdt or Deveric pose any immediate threat to him the artist still stands with his hands shakily at chest level, eyes darting from one warrior to the other. Maybe they weren't horrible axe murderers, but Kaleano wasn't quite ready to rule out the cannibal aspect just yet.

Blinking rapidly, Kaleano takes a few slow and careful steps away from Reinholdt. "Um. Kaleano Indres. F-from Sencardia, yes. I'm from the University." Deveric might recognize the name Indres, but there's an equally good chance he won't. A rising cloth merchant family favored by many of the nevoux royale. "A-and you would be?"

Kaleano's sketchbook certainly seems to match his story. From the University of Sencardia crest on the inside front cover to the many, many sketches filling up the first half of the book. Most are indeed of ruins and landscapes, many of which Reinholdt and Deveric may have passed on their own travels, as well as a several portraits near the begining of a burly man in full armour. Probably the bodyguard Kaleano mentioned.

[Time for Never]

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Reinholdt doesn't shoot the artist for pulling out the sketchbook he told him to pull out in the first place! This is an encouraging sign.

He will take the book and go to flip through it, one eye always on Kaleano. Basically just checking Kaleano's story and seeing if there's any actual sketches.

"Y-yes, very lucky," agrees Kaleano, without much enthusiasm. Even though neither Reinholdt or Deveric pose any immediate threat to him the artist still stands with his hands shakily at chest level, eyes darting from one warrior to the other. Maybe they weren't horrible axe murderers, but Kaleano wasn't quite ready to rule out the cannibal aspect just yet.

Blinking rapidly, Kaleano takes a few slow and careful steps away from Reinholdt. "Um. Kaleano Indres. F-from Sencardia, yes. I'm from the University." Deveric might recognize the name Indres, but there's an equally good chance he won't. A rising cloth merchant family favored by many of the nevoux royale. "A-and you would be?"

Kaleano's sketchbook certainly seems to match his story. From the University of Sencardia crest on the inside front cover to the many, many sketches filling up the first half of the book. Most are indeed of ruins and landscapes, many of which Reinholdt and Deveric may have passed on their own travels, as well as a several portraits near the beginning of a burly man in full armour. Probably the bodyguard Kaleano mentioned.

Deveric's been alive for quite some time and has learned the names of many influential people and families. He hasn't kept up with the economic world as much lately though and so the name of Indres escapes his knowledge.

"Ah yes, the University of Sencardia. A much respected establishment amongst scholar circles in every discipline. It is difficult to do much better than being admitted there. Although if art is your passion I must say that you would have been much better off at attending Far Cloud Academy. They have a most superb artistry program there. In any case, it's delightful to meet you, Kaleano Indres."

The chronomancer starts his investigation of several nearby desks, looking for anything of importance. He mostly finds blank paper, quills, worthless coins, and dust. Loose armor that has long been rusted lay on the ground in a few places with weapon racks set up against the wall indicating this to be the guard tower's armory. Most of the weapons are either gone or long passed being usable. A single skeleton lay hunched over in a chair by one of the desks.

Deveric goes over to one of the windows nearby to take a look outside. The same bleak sky radiates the same dim sunlight. It looks to be about 3 in the afternoon at the moment. He then remembers that he had been asked a question.

"Right, my name. You may refer to me as Deveric."

[Reinholdt]

"I'm Reinholdt, Eater of Skins." He says, offering the artist's book back, and getting rather close. And visibly licking his lips. "But only if they're seasoned. Do we have any garlic or rosemary Deveric?"

Regardless of the answer, he drops the issue and moves over to the stairs to keep an eye on them, should anymore visitors be arriving.

[Mr. Moon]

"Deveric and," gulp, "Reinholdt. Y-yes. Charmed." Poor Kaleano doesn't sound all that charmed. He takes several steps back from Reinholdt, attempting to be inconspicuous but failing in that when he bumps into a dusty old chair with a yelp.

Nope. Still not ruling out the cannibal aspect.

"So, um, if I may ask," Kaleano speaks up, quietly rubbing his sketchbook off on his sleeve once Reinholdt's back is turned, "what, exactly, brings the pair of you out here?" Please don't say hunting, please don't say hunting, please don't say hunting.

[Time for Never]

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"I'm Reinholdt, Eater of Skins." He says, offering the artist's book back, and getting rather close. And visibly licking his lips. "But only if they're seasoned. Do we have any garlic or rosemary Deveric?"

Regardless of the answer, he drops the issue and moves over to the stairs to keep an eye on them, should anymore visitors be arriving.

"Deveric and," gulp, "Reinholdt. Y-yes. Charmed." Poor Kaleano doesn't sound all that charmed. He takes several steps back from Reinholdt, attempting to be inconspicuous but failing in that when he bumps into a dusty old chair with a yelp.

Nope. Still not ruling out the cannibal aspect.

"So, um, if I may ask," Kaleano speaks up, quietly rubbing his sketchbook off on his sleeve once Reinholdt's back is turned, "what, exactly, brings the pair of you out here?" Please don't say hunting, please don't say hunting, please don't say hunting.

"No, unfortunately I do not happen to keep seasonings on my person. Speaking of cannibalism though, I have heard that cats will eat dead people if trapped somewhere without access to any other food sources."

Deveric turns to Kaleano and gives a disinterested shrug.

"Not that it'll come to that I'm sure."

After finishing his inspection of the third floor, he will move back on over to the staircase and motions for Kaleano to join them.

"As for what we are doing: we are currently hunting."

Deveric looks up at the Netherial's corpse. Reinholdt and Kaleano might notice something weird happening. The body is rapidly decaying and purple lights shine through its eyes and other various parts of the body.

"To be specific, we are hunting for treasure at the moment. Reinholdt here and I met in a tavern to where I offhandedly mentioned the abundance of jewels and such located in Venreth. He wanted to retrieve some of it and so here we are."

He had no need to mention Delano at the moment and so he'll withhold that information for the time being. If it comes to it, he can always tell them later.

[Reinholdt]

"It's not cannibalism when you eat another species." Reinholdt points out.

"Ah, right. Not Eater of Skins, Treasure Hunter Extraordinaire. I forget sometimes. Yes, we're here for loot for the most part." Reinholdt says, following Deveric.

"Though Deveric here wanted to sidetrack to this place for an errand. Also, what's that?" He asks, motioning at the Netherial.

[Mr. Moon]

"C-cats?" repeated Kaleano, looking between Deveric and Reinholdt with terrified confusion. What did cats have to do with anything? Wait, hang on, what did the skin-eater just say!? "Other... species?" (After all, Kaleano has yet to see Reinholdt in his cat form.)

Oh good heavens Kaleano. What in all the world and stars have you gotten yourself into? Trapped in a tower with a pair of skin-eating psychopaths and one of them thinks he's not human. Probably thinks he's the Avatar of Death manifest, here to-

Oh, treasure. They're hunting treasure. Not people. Okay. Great. Good. Kaleano relaxes slightly, but this rapidly reverses when Deveric and Reinholdt draw his attention to the rapidly decomposing corpse on the stairs.

Certainly Kaleano has seen more than his share of cadavers, carted naked into anatomy classrooms so he and his peers could study how the parts of a human came together. But those had all been cold, clinical, black bands tied around their eyes to strip them of identity. This. This was a real body. With blood and wounds and "oh my gods what is wrong with his eyes???"

[Time for Never]

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"It's not cannibalism when you eat another species." Reinholdt points out.

"Ah, right. Not Eater of Skins, Treasure Hunter Extraordinaire. I forget sometimes. Yes, we're here for loot for the most part." Reinholdt says, following Deveric.

"Though Deveric here wanted to sidetrack to this place for an errand. Also, what's that?" He asks, motioning at the Netherial.

"C-cats?" repeated Kaleano, looking between Deveric and Reinholdt with terrified confusion. What did cats have to do with anything? Wait, hang on, what did the skin-eater just say!? "Other... species?" (After all, Kaleano has yet to see Reinholdt in his cat form.)

Oh good heavens Kaleano. What in all the world and stars have you gotten yourself into? Trapped in a tower with a pair of skin-eating psychopaths and one of them thinks he's not human. Probably thinks he's the Avatar of Death manifest, here to-

Oh, treasure. They're hunting treasure. Not people. Okay. Great. Good. Kaleano relaxes slightly, but this rapidly reverses when Deveric and Reinholdt draw his attention to the rapidly decomposing corpse on the stairs.

Certainly Kaleano has seen more than his share of cadavers, carted naked into anatomy classrooms so he and his peers could study how the parts of a human came together. But those had all been cold, clinical, black bands tied around their eyes to strip them of identity. This. This was a real body. With blood and wounds and "oh my gods what is wrong with his eyes???"

"It's husk is decomposing rapidly. When a Netherial uses a creature's body and then dies while controlling it, the corpse will break down in a matter of minutes. The purple light that you can see there is the Netherial's true appearance. They themselves are beings composed of concentrated energy whose looks can range from dark shades of blue to varying degrees of purple. In their true form they take the shape of a humanoid being but lack the eyes, skin, hair, and anything else that a traditional human makes use of. Just pure cosmic and arcane energy. Quite the beings they are."

Imagine this minus the bandages and armor.

"The Netherials need to use other species as... guises for a couple of reasons. For one, they like to avoid getting attacked by everything that would see them dead. They have made many enemies and because of this have drawn the animosity of many races. Secondly, they can make use of their host's capabilities to their advantage. Still, they are more dangerous in their natural state," Deveric explains.

Deveric then starts to walk up the stairs past the body of the former enemy.

"This particular host appears to have been a person of the Yarmaran faction. Nasty people they are."

He rounds the bend in the stairs.

[Reinholdt]

Walk walk.

Reinholdt ignores Kaleano's trembling for the time being, considering the proper time to hop on his shoulder as a cat to scare the life out of him. Not now, obviously.

"Who are the Yarmarans and how does one become a Netherial host?" Reinholdt's mostly wondering if it's a willing or unwilling process.

[Mr. Moon]

"Um," says Kaleano, forever the paragon of articulate language. He watches, mildly horrified, as Deveric impassively walks past the horrible glowing dead body thing. It was going to reach out and grab him and tear him apart, and then it would attack Kaleano and he would try to run but the Netherial Yamaran thing would be faster and it would grab him and eat him whole feet first and-
"Urk." Outwardly. Kaleano blanches a little lighter.

"Um, it is dead, right?"

[Time for Never]

Spoiler

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Walk walk.

Reinholdt ignores Kaleano's trembling for the time being, considering the proper time to hop on his shoulder as a cat to scare the life out of him. Not now, obviously.

"Who are the Yarmarans and how does one become a Netherial host?" Reinholdt's mostly wondering if it's a willing or unwilling process.

"Um," says Kaleano, forever the paragon of articulate language. He watches, mildly horrified, as Deveric impassively walks past the horrible glowing dead body thing. It was going to reach out and grab him and tear him apart, and then it would attack Kaleano and he would try to run but the Netherial Yamaran thing would be faster and it would grab him and eat him whole feet first and-
"Urk." Outwardly. Kaleano blanches a little lighter.

"Um, it is dead, right?"

"The Yarmaran are a group of humans who made Venreth their home after the collapse of the old empire. They have somehow developed a natural immunity to the plague much like the rats you asked me about earlier. As you can see, their skin has turned into an almost pale-grey color due to the lack of substantial sunlight. Their pupils have also enlarged overtime because of the long periods of darkness that this places sees. Their looks are only matched by their merciless and barbaric behaviors that their environment has instilled into them. If you cross one, you're best bet would be to attack first and ask questions later. But don't fret artist, it is most certainly dead. And to answer your question simply Reinholdt, you get unlucky."

Deveric keeps on walking up past the fourth floor and makes a stop at the fifth one. He exits the stairwell and enters the room. The bookshelves show that this floor used to be the library. Unlike the missing armor and weapons below, their appears to be dozens of books still on the shelves. Deveric moves over to one of them and appears to search for a specific tome.

[Reinholdt]

Reinholdt frowns a bit. Didn't really answer his question.
He heads to a window to look out of if there are any on this level, or a bookcase if there isn't.

"You told me we were here scouting a path into town to the Cathedral. Why are you looking for a book?"

Reinholdt peeeeers at Deveric suspiciously. There was something not being told here and he didn't like it.

[Mr. Moon]

"Oookay." Right, so, scary barbarian race. Got it. Kaleano wondered if any of the ruins he had passed had been from their civilizations. How tragic would that be? Noble savages living by a strict warrior code, scrabbling to hold onto life amidst ruined reminders of their long-lost glory! This discovery could change Kaleano's life! He could write a book chronicling their fall from glory, complete with illustrations. The artist vowed to press Deveric for more information about this - later. First!

Reaching into his satchel, Kaleano retrieves his sketchbook and a stick of charcoal. Squatting in front of the Yamaran, he begins to sketch the fallen warrior.

[Time for Never]

Spoiler

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Reinholdt frowns a bit. Didn't really answer his question.
He heads to a window to look out of if there are any on this level, or a bookcase if there isn't.

"You told me we were here scouting a path into town to the Cathedral. Why are you looking for a book?"

Reinholdt peeeeers at Deveric suspiciously. There was something not being told here and he didn't like it.

"Oookay." Right, so, scary barbarian race. Got it. Kaleano wondered if any of the ruins he had passed had been from their civilizations. How tragic would that be? Noble savages living by a strict warrior code, scrabbling to hold onto life amidst ruined reminders of their long-lost glory! This discovery could change Kaleano's life! He could write a book chronicling their fall from glory, complete with illustrations. The artist vowed to press Deveric for more information about this - later. First!

Reaching into his satchel, Kaleano retrieves his sketchbook and a stick of charcoal. Squatting in front of the Yamaran, he begins to sketch the fallen warrior.

((Welcome back, Moon! I hope you're feeling better at least, if not completely back to 100 percent. ))

[Fifth Floor - Library]

There is indeed a window nearby, as the same with every floor in the tower. Also, Kaleano should try to draw the corpse as quickly as possible as it is actually starting to... decay. The "shell" is rapidly turning into ash and then simply disappears into nothingness. What's left underneath is the Netherial itself.

Deveric continues to rummage through the books, tossing aside any that he has no interest in. He appears to be irked when he can't seem to find what he's looking for. Then he snaps back to reality.

"Hmmm? Ah, yes, the scouting! That is indeed why we are here. From the top floor we should be able to see a large portion of the city. I just needed to take a quick detour is all. There was a book I was hoping I might find in the library, once I saw it on the way up. It's not here though, so there's no point in delaying further."

Deveric looks around the room and sees no sign of Kaleano.

"....Where did the artist go off to?"

[Reinholdt]

[Fifth Floor - Library]

Reinholdt peers a bit longer. Having spent much of his life practicing, he can tell when someone is telling the truth in a very specific way so as to not tell someone something. Usually something important.

Well whatever. Nothing to do about it. Reinholdt shrugs and nods at the staircase. "Never came up. Probably terrified to be in the same room." Or busy sketching. A completely legitimate reason for an artist to do something.

[Mr. Moon]

Below

((Oh blast, Mum's iPad ate my post.
Anyway, it's good to be back. Sorry again for the hold up! ))

Reinholdt is probably right on both accounts.

Fortunately, Kaleano's preservationist instincts kick in even as his subject crumbles before him. Certainly it was unusual, but Kaleano had sketched his share of moving subjects. The only difference was that this moving subject was being fueled by some horrible ghost-thing he hadn't caught the name of that took its hosts' body with them.
Okay, it was a little terrifying. But he is, after all, an artist foremost. The rushed decomposition prevents him from doing the full body study he would have liked, and so Kaleano is forced to content himself with a rushed sketch of the Yamarian's facial structure.

[Time for Never]

Spoiler

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[Fifth Floor - Library]

Reinholdt peers a bit longer. Having spent much of his life practicing, he can tell when someone is telling the truth in a very specific way so as to not tell someone something. Usually something important.

Well whatever. Nothing to do about it. Reinholdt shrugs and nods at the staircase. "Never came up. Probably terrified to be in the same room." Or busy sketching. A completely legitimate reason for an artist to do something.

Below

((Oh blast, Mum's iPad ate my post.
Anyway, it's good to be back. Sorry again for the hold up! ))

Reinholdt is probably right on both accounts.

Fortunately, Kaleano's preservationist instincts kick in even as his subject crumbles before him. Certainly it was unusual, but Kaleano had sketched his share of moving subjects. The only difference was that this moving subject was being fueled by some horrible ghost-thing he hadn't caught the name of that took its hosts' body with them.
Okay, it was a little terrifying. But he is, after all, an artist foremost. The rushed decomposition prevents him from doing the full body study he would have liked, and so Kaleano is forced to content himself with a rushed sketch of the Yamarian's facial structure.

[Fifth Floor Library]

"Get him then, and meet me on the seventh floor once you do. Let's not waste any more time in this place than we have to."

Giving the shelves one more look over, Deveric goes back to the stairwell and continues climbing up to the top.

[Seventh Floor - Overseer's Room]

Deveric's lost in thought when he nearly steps on a fallen portrait. Bending over, Deveric picks up the artwork and looks at it. Upon closer inspection he sees that its a painting of rotten fruit. A peeled lemon sits in the center of a small table with partially-eaten apples on the sides.

I haven't seen this art style since the collapse. Brings back memories, the chronomancer thinks to himself. He then places the picture on the oak desk by the large window overseeing the landscape.

[Reinholdt]

[Below]

"What? Why do I have to baby-sit h-hey!" Don't just walk away. Bah! The artist can do whatever he wishes, what difference did it make?

All the same, Reinholdt goes to fetch Kaleano. "Hey." Rein says to catch Kaleano's attention, but otherwise doesn't impose in the midst of sketching.

[Mr. Moon]

Below

"Hi," Kaleano replies absently, not looking up from his sketchbook. By now the Yamarian is little more than so much dust on the stairs, so Kaleano's working from memory. After several moments, he frowns, makes a final few marks, and lowers his hand from the sketchbook.
"That'll have to do. Oh, hello!" He blinks up in surprise at Reinholdt, as if seeing him for the first time. "I didn't see you there."

He glances down at the stairs, and the dusty remains of his subject. "Ew..."

[Reinholdt]

[Below]

"Yeah that line's going to work when the monsters start attacking. Tell you what though, when you get yourself killed in this desolate wasteland, I'll return your sketchbook to that art school." The Artistic Adventurer does have a nice ring to it though, so Kaleano will have to try to stay alive a little longer.

"Come on. Top of the stairs. Chrono wants you." Reinholdt turns to head upstairs.

[Mr. Moon]

Below

"... Killed?" repeats Kaleano, as if that possibility had never occurred to him. Gee, he sure is pale. Must not get much sun.

Assuming Reinholdt doesn't needle the artist adventurer further - even Kaleano's starting to pick up on the patern of unanswered questions - Kaleano will return his charcoal to it's case, blow the excess charcoal dust off the sketchbook page, and return both to his satchel. "Who's Chrono?" he asks with an air of cautious reluctance. Oh gods was there another one of them? Kaleano didn't know if he could stand a third cannibal axe-murderer.

[Reinholdt]

Below -> Seventh Floor - Overseer's Room

Reinholdt indeed, doesn't elaborate on the first point. It seems the artist gets the idea as it is, even if it'd probably need to be pounded into his head over time how dangerous things were.

"Deveric Chrono Trigger. That's his full name. You just met him." Reinholdt explains.

[Mr. Moon]

Going up!

Oh.
...
"That is a very odd name," comments Kaleano. He'll rise to his feet, and - giving the dust on the staircase a wide berth - makes his way up the stairs. He's more than a little relieved that Chrono isn't a completely new character. Two crazed cannibal axe murderers are more than enough for him.

[Time for Never]

[Seventh Floor]

When the duo makes their way into the overseer's room they will see Deveric standing in front of a very large window staring out into the distance with his hands clasped behind his back. Through the glass, one can see dozens upon dozens of buildings, several hundred yards away with a sizable stone wall encompassing the city. A gate to said city is visible slightly west of their position from the tower. At this point they are high enough to see over this barrier and into the settlement. Swarms of skeletons and zombies shamble about in the streets, seemingly without direction.

After Reinholdt and Kaleano enter the area Deveric will turn around to face them after a short period of silence. He picks up the artwork and looks at it once more before holding it up to them.

"Do you know what type of painting this is?" the chronomancer flatly asks Kaleano and Reinholdt.

[Reinholdt]

Seventh Heaven

Reinholdt glances out the window at the teeming masses of undead. So much for getting to the Cathedral. He shifts his attention to the painting.

"Modern Deppressing?" When it comes to art, Rein has no clue, even if he's stolen a few pictures in his lifetimes.