Master of Orbs

[Prpl_Mage]

“Sir, what is going on here!?” She cried out at him but Marduki put two pieces together and formed what seemed possible.

"I must be getting home…I fear I’ve fallen asleep somewhere I shouldn’t have and now my family is worried..."

"I thought I saw some bodies back in the woods..."

"Everyone died in that fire except her and I… But she was executed for treason and buried in the woods up by the river.”

Marduki stood completely silent as he gazed upon the woman again. This time it was not as a lost wanderer or perhaps a japaneese with mixed blood; it was as the very spirits he honoured and lived to serve.

He quickly fell to his knees in front of her and lowered his head against the cobbled stones below.

-"My apologizes..." He began and was about to say 'miss' but remembered her real status. A spirit who actually had entered the world again in a mortal apprehencion? This was truly a day to remember, the gods where finally making a step for the people's sake.

-"I know not what the gods have planned with your ressurection or throughpassing but I am willing to help such a - person as yourself mylady as it would be the greatest of pleasure in the world." He said, almost too entusiastic.
It was quite bold to ask this of the spirit but the gods had given him an oppertunity that he wouldn't miss for the world.

-"My boy, if you are correct... Where is this forest? I've heard about bodies but I must see them on my own... I can't stand being left here oblivious to the truth." He said and looked up to the sky; celebration would begin in about an hour.

-"It was just up the river..." The boy said and Marduki remembered that he was a relative when things came around.

-"Then we will go, will you join us great spirit?" He said as he looked back on the female.

-"This mortal's name is Marduki, it matters not to you sprits but..." He understood his misstake and prayed again for the gods not to smite him. Not even town guards cared for his name.

-"I'll go, com'on kid. We will enter the forest and find out what is going on... You'll get coins for it." He said, with spirit or not; he would still find out what caused this holy night to be so special.

[Moosetroop11]

Corgan took a sip of the strong tea that Mrs. Fujiwara had brought him. It was calming. He thought for a second, weighing up his options. Then he decided to test the waters a little. He needed answers and this seemed the likeliest place to get them... However amusing that thought sounded to Corgan as it entered his head. He was useless at this detective work.

"Right" stated Corgan, drawing the couple's attention, although there was no need: Fujiwara had been staring at him intently for the last few minutes. "There was a man we found recently who wouldn't die. He was carrying an orb... I can't shake the feeling that the orb was connected to what's going on. I felt as though the orb was waiting for something."

Fujiawara smiled slightly. "Now it is my opportunity to doubt your tale. I've never encountered an object that could wait. Let alone a man who could understand it."

Corgan started to speak but the old man interrupted him. "I think
I know what you can do. I confided in you because, biologically, you are more in tune with the world's mysteries than anyone else. I believe that you may be a key factor in preventing the calamity which now presents itself to us."

Corgan leaned forward. "Before, at the station... you said that we're all in danger."

 The man nodded.

"I've never heard anything that'd make me believe that time travel is possible," continued Corgan, "but if you think there's a genuine threat here, and I've seen enough to believe something's going on, then tell me all the theory you've got so far."

[Zerlina]

Yuki stepped back as the man fell to his knees and spouted words of adoration. She looked to her left and right, as if trying to assert her innocence to the people who had stopped to watch.

“Stand up! Stand up!” she cried “Are you insane!?”

“Indeed he is!” someone cried from the crowd “Marduki the crazy caregiver of the dead!”

“Mr. Superstitious!”

If he heard them, Marduki did not acknowledge them. Without a word, he rose to his feet, but kept his head lowered “Come, let us away!”

The cemetery was not far, though Yuki felt as if each step closer made her heart sink. Not to mention the fact that the further they went from town, the harder it was to see.

“Miss, are you scared?” asked the boy “You are trembling.”

He held onto her hand with his smaller one, as if he were her senior.

Before she could answer, Marduki interrupted, unaware of the boy’s pending question “What shall I call you, spirit?” he asked.

“…I am no spirit. Or at least I hope not…my name is the same as the boy’s cousin- though it is a coincidence…a coincidence and nothing more.” She swallowed hard “Call me Yuki. Please.”

“Very well then, Miss Yuki.”

“Marduki-sir, how are you able to see in the dark?”

“I can’t. But I’ve walked this path so many times, I could never become lost.”

“Yes,” said Yuki as they entered the cemetery “Perhaps you could never be lost, but what if you tripped over some- ah!”

Before she could finish speaking, Yuki found herself on the ground…or well… close to the ground. For a moment she thought she had tripped over a corpse. At first, she shrunk back in fear, but when she found the body to be warm- and, whatsmore- responsive, she relaxed a little (though not completely).

“I-I-I’m sorry, miss-”

“Dimitri.” Answered a foreign-sounding voice.

“I’m sorry, Dimitri…sir...”

“Your apology would have better effect, were you not on top of me.”

 Marduki turned back to see what was going on, but his lantern had long gone out and there was no way to see.

“Ah!” he cried “Have you fallen!? Who is there!? Speak!”

The cemetery was dark and gray, surrounded by jagged walls which had long gone untended. Grass grew up amidst the gravestones, and all smelled of dirt. Whatever light had been given by the moon was stolen by the heavy haze which clung stubbournly to the air.

Dimitri sighed, using a piece of tinder to light the lantern which he had kept at his side. Yuki flinched as the glow lit up the man’s face. She hadn’t expected to see a foreigner.

“There. A light. Now kindly remove yourself from my person.” He muttered.

Yuki pulled herself to her feet, but before she could speak, Marduki interrupted.

“Sir- you are sleeping in the cemetery? Do you think yourself one of the dead!?”

*

Fujiwara stared at Corgan “You ask for my story.” He laughed “My story is much too long, and much too complicated. Besides, I am not certain of all the facts.”

“Oblige me,” said Corgan “And I will take what you say objectively.”

“Objectivity has no place in my story. Nor does logic.”

“It sounds like a wonderful story, sir.”

“…The night that I found Yuki…”

Mrs. Fujiwara flinched, but did not object to her husband’s honesty.

“The night I found her…” he continued “I had a dream where a man dressed in black split the sky into two parts with a knife. When I looked through the hole he had made, I saw the past…old houses like in the movies. Standing by a pool of water was a young girl.

‘She is your ancestor.’ Said the man in black ‘Older than your great-grandmother’s grandmother- and the key to your existence. Soon the time will come when you can thank her for your life- or else reject it completely.”

The man in black was you, sir. I remember your face as the one I saw in my dream. You were the one to tear open the sky and the fold that keeps past and present separate. My dream was already right once- I did take My Yuki in. I believe it will be right again.

There is a reason why strange occurrences seem to follow you, Corgan-sir. You are the one who holds the key to the past. ”

[ZeroKirbyX]

"One of the dead? No, of course not, I am very much amongst the living as you or this clumsy girl who fell on me." Yuki, the color of embarrassment taking to her cheeks, "Yes, yes. I'm very sorry for that. I-"  Dimitri turned to face her, a gentle smile forming in his stern features.

"Please, please, don't worry. I needn't be sleeping here anyhow. Disrespectful to the dead if I'm not mistaken, encroaching upon their resting ground is not the most polite way to meet someone. " He turned his head back to Marduki with a look of sarcasm to his raised brow, "Am I not mistaken Mr... Caregiver? I'm sorry, but that seems to be the best I can attach to you with the information I have now.

Marduki's eyelids lowered halfway over his eyes, like the waning of the moon. "I am Marduki, and you are correct. One must respect the new home of those who no longer have the one which they once possessed."

Dimitri stood to his feet, patting the dirt off the right side of his robes, he simply couldn't sleep any other way. Pulling back the edges of his garments, he hung the lit lantern on the hook on his belt, dimming the light to a faint orange glow. Pulling his spectacles from a pocket within, he lightly set them on the bridge of his strong nose, wiggling it until they sat comfortably for him.

"So, if I may be so inclined to ask, where might you be heading? Now that I've nowhere else to go, and unless you happen to be too busy, I figure it wouldn't hurt to tag along, if you will."

"We are-" Yuki began, but was gently quieted by Marduki. "We are heading to the forest. There is urgent business there that must be attended to."

Dimitri turned his shoulder to Marduki, "Well, when you put it that way, I guess I won't come along after all." He began to stare at the headstone which he had been resting at. "And if you're still wondering, I don't find myself as one of the dead..." Rotating his head to face Marduki, he spoke with a grin, "I just find their conversations more interesting than the living."

[Moosetroop11]

Corgan's tea froze, and the fine cup cracked a little. He cursed. "You're insane."

Fujiwara simply sat, nodding slowly. I have no way of proving it, but your face was certainly in my dream before I ever saw you in person, sir.

Corgan's speech quickened. He stood up, placing the broken cup down. "I can believe that someone's been sending you dreams. We've proved it can be done. But there's no way I have a part in all this. I've just followed orders all my life, I can't actually do anything without someone nearby who can do it better... You've pinned your crazy hopes on the wrong horse. I suggest you phone the police about this and they'll direct you to our office. They'll want to know what you know about the girl."

Fujiwara just nodded. He had said his piece for today. Maybe fate would carry on from where he had left off. In fact, he was sure of it.

Corgan turned and walked out, too shocked by the words the old man had spoken to even thank the couple for their hospitality. He left the front door and made his way towards where he knew his colleague Freia, the ice magic specialist, was waiting in her car with a new lead or mission. She would be a welcome face after Fujiwara.

Sure enough, the ivory white convertible had pulled up nearby. Corgan climbed in without a word.

"I had a job finding you" Freya stated, raising her silver eyebrows. She was much younger than Corgan and did not always see eye to eye to him. "Had to use the other method... What's wrong?" She'd noticed his expression.

"I think I told you about that dream I had months ago..." Corgan started.

She thought back. "The one with you and the sky cutting knife, right? You were spooked for days."

Corgan put his head in his hands and leant forward inthe leather passenger seat. "I think it just came back to haunt me."

[Prpl_Mage]

-"Miss spirit Yuki, please show us where you saw your body!" Marduki said impatient as he wandered back and forth.

-"We must mend your corpse and make sure that no harm is to reach it!" He continued, clearly convinced that he was right about her condition.

-"Caregiver? Why don't you give it a rest? I could feel this girl as she bumped into me." Dimitri said and looked over at him.

-"Foreigner..." Marduki mumbled, they and their realistic vision of life- But then he had a better idea. He could help out since he looked more knowledgeable than himself or the other people in the party.

-"You where Dimitri, no? You look like a scholar... Then you shall aid us when we find the body." Marduki said excited as he grabbed a torch from the ground and raised it in front of him.
It li' up with some effort and shone like a beacon in the dark.

-"Let's go. We shall find the truth now." He said and made his way into the woods with confident stepps as Yuki ran behind trying to convince him that he was wrong or mad.

-"Are you in his posse?" Dimitri asked the kid as he passed to follow.

----------

The woods where dark, just as expected during these hours. But he noticed something along the ground as he passed a couple of trees.
Something shone up a bit as he easilly skipped across a boundle of roots and into a glade.

-"The star shines brightly..." He muttred and swung the torch around in hopes that whatever it was, would reflect the light once again.

Then it happened, there was something, something shiny that seemed to be stuck in an object behind a treetrunk.
-"I think I found it!" He shouted, just to make sure that everyone was aware and then hurried around the trunk in excitement.

But that excitement wasn't met with joy as the happy gestures on his face suddenly inverted; wich everyone else noticed and closed in to see what ever it could be.

-"I'm astonished..." Marduki said quietly as he looked down at his own corpse through the shadows, a bit older and without the scarf and robe, but he was more or less sure that it was him.

The legs didn't seem to hold his weight anymore and he fell backwards wich caused the torch to fall to the grassy glade.

-"The sprits are playing us tricks!" He said as he got back to his feet shakily and tried to see the face again. But the more he looked in the damp light; the more he was convinced that it actually where him. Older. But still him.

[Zerlina]

 ((I’ve got exams right around the corner, so if I don’t post right away, go ahead and keep going without me, and I’ll post in as soon as I can))


“…posse?” the young boy replied, confused by his foreign words “I suppose…though, for the most part, I am with her.”

The boy’s eyes were sunken and dark, the bones of his cheeks protruding slightly from his young skin. He stared up at Dimitri “Though yes, I am with him too.” And he moved ahead, without an explanation. “When autumn comes,” he began to sing quietly, though his voice echoed amidst the rustling trees “And leaves are red. When the moon is dark, then walks the dead, then walks the dead.”

Dimitri adjusted the sleeves of his robes, walking with the others in silence, his lantern shining bright like a funeral flame.

Yuki walked quietly, saying and thinking nothing. She stared at ever corner and ripple of bark that was illuminated, feeling the cold air in her skin like icy hands. The situation, she had decided, was best to be put off. What she thought, exactly, could not be decided until they arrived at their destination.

“I think I found it!” shouted Marduki, as he ran up ahead.

A flock of frightened birds rose up into the sky, passing in front of the moon and disappearing into the sky. Yuki took the hand of Yuuto, the young boy, before following after Marduki.

Dimitri was the last to arrive at the scene. He stared at the corpse, silently, unsure of what to say.

Yuki turned, facing away from the sight. As far as she knew, the corpse belonged to Marduki’s brother.

“Look! Look at this!” cried Yuuto, pulling up a glistening object. He held it in his dirty hands. It shone in Dimitri’s lantern.

Yuki still would not look, so she did not see the orb which so resembled the one she had found at Narita station.

Marduki looked up for a moment, though he would not leave his own corpse. Dimitri, instead, tried to take hold of it.

The object burned his hand.

He dropped it and it fell to the ground with much more weight than anticipated. It was still for a moment, but then –as if by magic- it began to roll by its own accord, stopping only when it touched Marduki’s shoe.

“What sorcery is this!?” cried Marduki “Spirit Yuki! Tell me what it is?”

“It is a man, murdered.” She answered, her eyes locked on the darkness; unable to look “And gruesomely at that.”

Without warning, Yuuto took hold of Dimitri’s lantern. He raised it up.

“Look, look! There are more!” he cried.

Half concealed by leaves lay the vessels of souls. This one, charred and burned, another with reddened marks around its neck.

Yuki let out some kind of noise, and covered her mouth “What is this place!? Where are we!?”

“It is the thieves’ hollow.” Yuuto answered “Where the bodies of criminals are left. Yet, it is missing its usual smell.”

He ambled along in the darkness, seemingly undisturbed by the carnage around him. He arrived at the burned body, and with confident fingers, tore at the best piece of fabric he could find. The silk was burned, and all but charred to a crisp, but for what he could rescue, a slight pattern could be made out. He placed it against Yuki’s sleeve. They matched up.

She stared at the fabric and then with Yuuto went slowly to the blackened corpse. She stared at it, and then stole the lantern away, turning to Marduki who had already pocketed the orb.

“What are you trying to do!?” she cried, holding up the lantern as if it were a sword “Tell me what is going on here!”

*

Freya watched Corgan and sighed, “Why don’t we have some coffee?” she asked “It’ll wake you up and help you think.”

Corgan nodded.

They began to drive down the old gravel road, their headlights shining like ghostly lamps. As they drove over an old re-enforced bridge, Freya let out a sigh.

“We’ve been going a while.” She said “I thought the road would’ve taken us back to the city by now. Maybe I missed a turn- let’s go back.”

She backed up slowly, but as she did so, a blue Subaru came up behind. It stopped and honked.

“Maybe we can make a U-turn up ahead.” Suggested Corgan.

Freya drove on further, and soon their car came to a wooded area. There were no lights on the road, save for from their own car.

“I don’t remember this place. Let’s ask the car behind us for directions.” Said Freya.

Corgan was about to argue, but when he turned to look back, he saw that the car was gone “It’s been a one way road for a while now…” he spoke out loud “There haven’t been any turns since that bridge.”

Freya yawned and nodded “Maybe there was a driveway that we didn’t see.”

“You look tired. Let me drive.”

The two switched places in the car, Corgan this time leading the vehicle. He looked over at Freya once, but she was asleep.

The road began to turn into a mountainous area, a type of place so common on the island. To the left lay the base of eroded mountain cliffs, to the right, an old river. His headlights shone off a yellow sign that warned of falling rocks. Corgan sighed- at least the road was major enough to put signs on. Yet still, it stretched on into what seemed forever.

It was after an hour or so, that he sped up, his desire to get out suddenly strong. There was a beep from his watch.

3:00.
 
He was fading, tired, and drained.

From the trees across the water, there was the flicker of lanterns.

He turned to look.

His eyes came back to the road in time to see large rocks sliding down the side of the cliff. The ground shook, and he turned out of impulse.

The car went into the river.

[Moosetroop11]

Dimitri gazed lazily around the corpses for a treasure he might be able to touch, making a mental note to get hold of the orb somehow later. Then he saw something and raised his eyebrows. "That one looks fresh."

Yuki twisted round. Marduki was lying by his older body, grateful for the interruption. The spirit was asking questions he could not answer.

Dimitri wandered over to the undamaged body, adorned with strange clothes. It was a man, with greying hair and a grim expression on his face.

Dimitri bent down to search his pockets. The man didn't look like he was from any country he'd visited, and he was interested to find out what possessions the corpse might still be carrying. Yuuto walked up.

"You disturb the dead" he stated. "Are you not afraid of them?"

Dimitri turned and smiled wryly. "I would think" he answered with his hand on his chin, "that the dead were the last type of people I should fear."

Corgan opened his eyes.

[Prpl_Mage]

Marduki grinned. Everything seemed odd and yet something lifted his feelings.
He saw himself, perhaps months, perhaps years older than himself and he was sitting there, kneeled down before his very own corspe.

He made a quick decision, the item he picked up seemed to affect his actions, everything seemed so obvious and nothíng seemed like a lack of knowledge. Like if he was a diety...

-"Snap out of it." He thought to himself as he grabbed his future-body's robe and went through his pockets. His hand bumped into something and he grabbed it.
It looked like a pin, a pin with the symbol of ying and yang; good and evil, light and darkness, life and death. He took it and pinned it onto his scarf. It wasn't as if he would miss it right? He would have two of them later on in the future but time paradoxes was for another day's thinking.
-"What am I even thinking?" He thought to himself as soemthing wasn't right. Something was affectign his entire body and it was like he carried a great burden and couldn't get back on his feet.

-"I wouldn't knowwhat exactly is goign on... Why don't you tell me, spirit? Or perhaps... You would like what is mine?" He said and held his own hand isnide the robe to grab his small jutta.  He would fight for it but he knew that he lacked everything it took to fight a spirit. And yet, something inside him made him think that nothign could stand in his way...

[ZeroKirbyX]

Dimitri once ran his hand, blissfully gliding across the recently deceased. The man had nothing aside from trivial knick-knacks and garbage. Staring intently at the corpse underneath him, he spoke to Yuuto without averting his eyes. "Tell me boy, does anything about this man seem familiar to you? Is it possible he is from the south of this land? I know that in mother Russia, travelling across can sometimes seem like leaving to another world."

"No, this man looks like no one I've seen before." Suddenly, the corpses eyes burst open. Dimitri quickly tried to stand on the balls of his feet, toppling over in sheer surprise. Yuuto dashed backward, screaming in gibberish at the sight of the recently awoken.

Attempting his best to maintain composure, Dimitri stood to his feet, inadvertently locking eyes with the man before him. Once he reached his full stature, moving only his arm, he waved over to Marduki, still involuntarily gazing into the eyes which were staring upward. "Mr. Caretaker, I understand that you may be preoccupied at the moment, but... Might I beg you to journey this way? There seems to be something here..."

He once again kneeled next to the man, his hand shaking as he reached over to the mans chest, to check for a heartbeat. And there is was. "This country... is more interesting every day..."

[Moosetroop11]

When one first wakes in the morning, their mind is not aware of the world around them; for a few brief seconds the brain must function entirely on what sight and sound are telling it. An alarm is distressing and confusing if it wakes you, before the memories of what an alarm is come rushing back to you and you, for the most part, forget what it feels like, the moment every morning of discovering everything anew like a newborn child.

Corgan felt that way now. One of the two figures had come towards him, and knelt down; and Corgan viewed it with vague interest, his unadjusted eyes oblivious to the gender or appearance of the figure. And then reality began flooding back to him and he realised that he was on cold ground, painful, littered with twigs and thorns. His mouth was dry- he needed water.

And the figures were a man and a boy.

Around the time Dimitri mused the words "This country... is more interesting every day..." Corgan's roving memory caught on the image of Freya, and then he remembered the accident. He sat up suddenly, promting Dimitri to jump back slightly. The others had now taken an interest.

"Where am I? Where's the car?"

[Zerlina]

Dimitri and Yuuto stared down at Corgan who called out in confusion. Marduki, in his delusion sought to fight Yuki, who –in her own daze- meant to honour the challenge. Just what was going on, could not be said- but one thing was for sure...every person there was completely in the dark.

“Car?” mused Marduki, scanning his mind for another language which might use the word.

Yuki, for a moment, lowered her guard. Distracted by the risen dead, she turned to look, though she held the lantern fast in her hands.

“Sir!” she called out to Corgan “I have no idea what is going on, but I can assure you that but six hours ago I was in the same position you are now.”

Corgan looked up at the face in the lantern- the girl in the photo; Fujiwara’s daughter. Indeed, she had been in the same situation. Was he in some sort of afterlife? Some place between? Or was it as the old man had said- the fold in time.

Confusion swam in his mind, but did not dominate. For the question he blurted out was not- where am I, or where is this place.

“Where is Freya?”

[Prpl_Mage]

Marduki's head fell back to his ordinary thinking as he noticed another spirit rise from this forest as welll.

-"The spirits are angry this evening..." Marduki said as he watched the dead come back to life with his own eyes...

The foreigner asked for his presence but he was astonished as it was already. He had been in the company of a spirit, found his own future dead body, found an ancient relic and seen the spirits arise from the dead.

-"Something there huh?" He said and raised an eyebrown and smiled.
-"Spirits! Why do you seek us today? Is it because of our celebrations? Did we do something to anger you? How can we repay for our foolish actions?" He shouted at the two spirits, of a young woman named Yuki and this new odd man.

He wasn't sure what those words like "Station" and "Car" meant but it might just be something about genocide as far as he knew.

But perhaps... This orb could be used to banish the spirits where they came from? It seemed like a really powerfull object and it was laying here in the first place... Maybe... Just maybe ut was the cause of the spirits even returning...

-"Foreigner... Do you have anything sharp or something... I need to try out a teory..." He said slowly as he looked down on the orb.
If it indeed was an object of a solid soul then he would notice the spirits reactions if he damaged it...

[ZeroKirbyX]

"Sharp?" Dimitri asked, wryly raising his right eyebrow. "Yes, as I said, there is something that I wish to try." Marduki reiterated, showing slight frustration at being forced to repeat himself.

"Well then," and at that, as if it were one fluid motion, his arm shot beneath his robe, grasped at the handle of his knife, unsheathed it and flipped it over, the tip of the worn edge hanging loosely between his thumb and forefinger, handle jutting towards Marduki.

Upon seeing this act of dexterity, Yuuto's eyes grew wide. "Wow, how'd you do that?" Dimitri ignored the child, this was not a time to feed the fantasy ideas that floated around within the mind of a child. Matters of importance had been placed before all of them.

"I hope this will work. The blade is not as sharp as I would like to keep it, but it has enough of an edge to split a hair." Marduki reached out and grabbed the handle of the knife. "Yes this will do nicely."

 

-----

"I'm sorry but I don't know who you're talking about." Yuki quitely spoke to Corgan as he lay on the ground. With effort he lifted himself up onto his elbow, then pulled up the rest of his back so that he may be be upright, a prolonged groan escaping his lungs. Yuki crouched down so that she may see him level, her thoughts lingering on his questions. Running his hand through his speckled hair, he turned so that he may face her.

"You are Ms. Fujiwara Yuki correct?" Yuki was shocked, not only was there another in the same situation as herself, but he knew her name. "H-How do you know that?"

"You said it yourself dear, we're in the same position. Now tell me, did you find anyone else? Her name is Freya and she was traveling with me, in the car coming back from your home. We were coming around the corner then...!" His eyes grew large "The rocks! The rocks came down on our car. Yes, yes."

He attempted to stand, his legs shuddering under the weight of his body. Yuki quickly grabbed onto him to prevent him from toppling to the ground. Leading him over to a nearby tree, she leaned him up against it, his breathing heavy. "She would be dead after something like that, as should I..." He took a deep breath. "That must account for the nausea I suppose."

Regaining his complexion, Corgan teetered over to Dimitri, Yuki behind him. "Excuse me, but where am I?" As Marduki removed the knife from his grip Dimitri turned his attention to Corgan. "I'd hate to lie, so I'll just say that I have no idea. Nature of a wanderer I suppose. Although that is quite a good question. Where are we caretaker?"

At this, Marduki, growing more frustrated with Dimitri for his interruption, diverted his attention to Yuki and the now standing Corgan. "Tell me foreigner, why must you mess in the matters of the spirits. It is not for the living to-"

Corgan, still attempting to center his natural compass north, gazed over the surrounding area, landing on the orb in Marduki's hand. "Excuse, but... Where did you get that orb? I have a similar one myself-" Reaching into his pocket, he rummaged around inside, his hand coming out empty. He craned his neck intensely, vainly trying to peer down into the expanse of darkness within.

The lantern, still glowing from Dimitri's hip, was aiding him in no way. "Or rather..." Yuki looked over and saw it as well, "I have one as well..." She removed it from within the folds of her garment, holding it out in front of the others.

[Moosetroop11]

Corgan's expression turned serious. He steadied himself. "What do you know about the orbs?"

Come to think about it, Corgan shouldn't have had an orb. He had left it with the scientists back at headquarters... Why had he blurted out that bit about having one? Still, he couldn't shake the fact that he did, in fact, possess one. And how had he survived that accident? It had been shown that the orbs had the power to prevent death.

"Freya... must've worked out the orb's connection to the mysteries and taken it with her in the car... Could she still be alive as well?" He addressed no-one in particular but Yuki heard and looked at him, her pretty features not quite disguised by the now fully gathered darnkess.

She shrugged. "I suppose it's possible. I found this orb on the train tracks just before..."

"I know all about that" Corgan assured her, leaning on the tree and resting his head back, closing his eyes. "That makes sense, yes. The world's in danger, huh."

Marduki had a slightly mad look in his eyes. "Look here, spirits! Tell me now why you are here or I will scratch this orb and break your spell!"

Corgan's had was clearing. He noticed the young man with the knife and the orb for the first time; he drew his revolver and shakily straightened to his full height. "This spirit says put down the knife."

Dimitri was suddenly paying attention, ready to intervene at a moment's notice. A chill wind blew through the wood.