Welcome To Baron

Welcome To Baron
Date of Scene:	18 October 2012
Location:	Baron
Synopsis:	Mercade and Will go exploring and end up in Baron. While there, a chance encounter with Riku as them talking about more current events.
Cast of Characters:	Will Sherman, Riku, Mercade Alexander

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Mercade Alexander has posed:
Welcome to Baron!

They like order.

Mercade and company are on another exploration attempt since Mercade's attempts to use the directions from Sammy Colt diiiiiiiiiidn't quite go quite the way he planned. So he's a little lost.

But that's okay with Mercade, they needed to map this area anyway. So it is that he's walking through the streets of Baron, holding the scanning/mapping device that Xanatos gave them and making notes about the area. He's taking pictures, too, with a digital camera he keeps in his coat. He's prety fast on the draw. "Nice place. I didn't think they would be able to pack so much army in one castle town though."

Will Sherman has posed:
Mercade leads, Will follows, hands behind his head as they stroll into Baron.

Will sniffs once...and makes a face like he just smelled something awful.

"Such disgusting order." he says, after a moment... "I don't like it...and I think I see static abit." he comments. "But the city seems...peaceful enough." he comments after a few moments.

"I don't want to stay here long."

Riku has posed:
Riku looks at the sky and around the pristine and orderly streets. No sign of Diablo. That was another.. pleasant surprise about a wild gate transfer. He did not know where he was, but neither did Diablo know where HE was either. At least for a little while. Riku draws the cloak closer around him and steps out onto the street-- only to be feet away from Mercade and his clicking digital camera.

He startles at wandering into the Twilight Agency out here-- wherever here was-- but then sees Will and figures that is just par for the course. Strange things always happen around him. Riku straightens his shoulders, leaning against a nearby wall. "You guys are at least taking advantage of being lost. This doesn't exactly look like a resort town."

Mercade Alexander has posed:
"We'll need to stay long enough to figure out what the place is about, at least." Mercade replies to Will. "I know it's a drag, but don't worry. There's got to be something interesting around here... And the more we look now, the better information we'll have for later."

Click! Smile Riku, you're on Mercade Camera!

Mercade blinks as he sees the cloaked figure, but relaxes as soon as he realizes who it is. He chuckles. "Certainly not, but unfortunately, exploring isn't all fun and games. What's up, Riku?" Mercade is still wearing his usual, which seems to be pretty universal so far. Will is probably unchanged and unchangable, for hobos are eternal. "Sometimes, I guess people just want to have a nice secure area. Who knows if this is the case though. Lots of military here to keep the peace."

Will Sherman has posed:
Will is fairly unchanged by all of this...

"The sign says Baron...isn't that where Sarafina is from?" Will asks, as he nods towards Riku. His gaze falls on him for a few uncomfortable minutes, looking a bit perplexed by what he sees...but it is a change, better or not is...hard to say. Will has a unconcious...connection with the power of Darkness, somehow, but he eschews it.

Unless he punches Heartless so hard they implode.

He turns his gaze around again, shaking his head. "Well, if you say so...I guess it'll be fun if they chase us out of town for whatever reason happens because you're so happless.."

Riku has posed:
Riku meets that stare impassively, no emotion of discomfort or anger or surprise on his face as he continues to watch Will until those long minutes have passed. Only then does he seem to reanimate, life coming back into his eyes as he turns to Mercade.

"Well, I'm sure there is a better place for this than out in the street. Maybe there is an Inn nearby we can talk?" he looks around, glancing at the sky briefly as he looks around. "Besides. I don't think we want to make those guards suspicious. They sort somewhat on edge already."

Mercade Alexander has posed:
"Hey, you're right. I wonder if her family is here..." Mercade replies. "But... We don't know what they look like." He frowns. "She's not being convenient about this." He gestures to the nearby inn. "That's a good suggestion. This doesn't seem like the kind of place people stand around in the street, just waiting for somoene to talk to them. Come on, let's go."

Mercade leads the way into the inn, and sits down at the bar area, ordering some ale. Medival places haven't invented soda generally. "IF this place has been hit by the Heartless like MAnhattan has, it would explain things."

Will Sherman has posed:
Will follows Mercade...Riku's...shift there is worrysome...but he doesn't say anything about it.

He doesn't even know why he's worried...but he dismisses it, and sits down.

"I'm hungry." he says, and looks back up at the two. "Yeah, she's not been real helpful about this stuff. But uh...I don't think they'd be here, I mean, it'd be silly for them to be here and they be missing." he says, shrugging. "Maybe I should talk to her again and see if I can get a trace on those strings.." he comments, before looking towards Riku again.

"So what's been going on with you? We haven't talked sense that heartless attack in the sand town. That was c...well, and something else I think you should know. You know that girl with the writing?"

Riku has posed:
"Not all that much information to go on. She's being inconvienient that way, I'm guessing." Riku agrees as he sits down and orders something to eat. Some bread and stew sound good right now. "..and I think everybody reacts differently. Manhattan wants to forget, from what you told me. Maybe this place has a much longer memory-- and maybe even a grudge." he looks over to Will. "I'm not sure i know what you mean. Girl with what writing?"

Mercade Alexander has posed:
"Unless she's lost and doesn't know how to get back here." Mercade points out. "It's worth checking around anyway. Your talents might help where my research can't."

Mercade drinks some ale. He's over 21, deal with it. "Our army in our world wasn't anywhere near Manhattan so they probably got engulfed by the Darkness. Here, though, they probably have personal forces since city to city combat is probably more common." Mercade seems to have a need to logic out everything.

He listens to the other conversation though, not commenting on it.

Will Sherman has posed:
"Well, remember that Xanatos enterprises did work for the Military, and had some pretty impressive stuff around." Will chips in. "But yeah, the USA's miltary force was kinda scary in our world, luckily they were all about freedom and stuff." he shrugs, "The girl with the wings and the strange things...writes the paper out of Traverse Town? Merlain? Merling?" Will didn't know her too well..

"Well, uh...remember when she like casted all that really powerful magic? There was a thread in her fate strings...only something I can see as a doom thread...and it got stronger the more of that magic she threw around...like much stronger." he says.

"I'm concerned about it."

Riku has posed:
"Maybe. We'll have to see how that goes." Riku answers Mercade, leaning against the bar. He listens to Will speak with only a slight tilt to his head. "Oh. Her." he nods in acknowledgement as Will continues.

"Well, do you think you can do anything about it? From the little I know of magic, that great of a power has a very steep cost. Or maybe she didn't bargain for it. Maybe it can't be taken back and that's just who she is now. " his stew arrives and he takes this opportunity to stop talking, picking through the stew impassively, eyes half lidded as he moves the stew around in the bowl.

"It's curious." he continues after a few bites. "Why did only Manhattan survive, if your impressive military was about freedom? I figure that is somewhat like Balamb Garden, or even here. Everybody fights for something."

Will Sherman has posed:
Will shrugs...

"I don't know." he says, to Riku's questions. Will eats his soul for a moment, before...

"I don't know...I was thinking of asking her about it directly." he comments, "I just know that whatever I see...it's eating her." he comments after a time.

"As for the other stuff...I don't know, Riku. I just don't know what happened. I was sleeping...when I woke up, everything was cut off. We were in our own little...bubble? The heartless became a thing a few days before that...I think, and I am going to go out on a limb here..."

"I think this has to do with our World Shard. You know how we opened up New Orleans? I think something messeed with the world's shards and formed up what we live in now. I don't know where ours is, and if there is anything..." he pauses...

"Oh crap."

Mercade Alexander has posed:
"There's a lot of legends about great power that comes with a cost." Mercade says. "Sometimes people rise above and find a way to live with it. Others fall to their doom. Merilan seems to be a good person though. I'll look out for her when I see her."

Mercade takes more drink. He's had harder. He's a detective, and that comes with alcohol tolerance. Part of the class features. "'Freedom' means different things to different people. Even if they mean well, nothing is ever purely good or evil." Mercade hasn't met Malficent yet. "It takes more than guns and bombs and missiles to defeat the Heartless. My guns couldn't even scratch the first Heartless I saw."

Mercade glances over at Will. "What are you talking about, Will? You and Deidra are the supernatural-types, explain this to me."

Riku has posed:
"The heartless are evil. I don't think there's anything more to it, and the ones who control them are monsters." Riku takes another bite of his stew, rubbing his eyes with one hand. "--And I haven't heard about this one, Will. I knew there were shards, at least from Reize's explaination of his cards, but how did you stumble on the whole idea?" he raises an eyebrow at the 'oh crap' waiting for Will to continue.

Will Sherman has posed:
"Okay. So you know about Sh-...wait Reize? He knows about them too?" he grunts...more people that know about this...means that a unknown knows about it...and suddenly Will is serious. It's...different, that carefree attitude is replaced by the wisdom of someone with hundreds of years behind it.

"The Ice Cream caper, the recipe Scrooge had was a shard. The heartless were after it, and when we got the thing back from them, Sora was able to...unlock it, and suddenly we could go to a new place. Shard just...seems to be the right thing to call them."

"Anyway, the crap thing has me thinking. If worlds have a shard...then ours does too. I wonder if that's what the heartless are after, and we might need to find out where it is...and obviously protect it."

Mercade Alexander has posed:
"Well, Reize did form a group called the 'Shard Seekers'. Maybe they're working on some of the same problems we are. But... I don't know if he's really cut out from it." He frowns. "He seems a bit, uh..." He waves his hand, letting other people fill in the blanks.

"How would we even find something like that? Besides, if it was easy to find or access, wouldn't the Heartless have found it already?" Mercade shrugs. "But you might be right. We'll need to find it sometime soon."

He pauses, and then looks over to Will. "Oh right. We're going to need to go to Costa Del Sol. That casino woman seems to have set up shop there again and we need to rematch her. I /am/ going to get my hat back, dammit."

Riku has posed:
"Yeah." is not the one to fill in the blanks, but he does point at them and snicker. "--I don't think Reize is anybody to worry about. He's got his own problems." Riku takes another bite of the stew. He takes out the journal, scrawling down some notes as he listens to Will talk.

"As long as you don't take any other sightseeing tours." he teases Mercade. "Which is alright, since I seem to be doing the same thing myself all too often. Portals don't seem to like me very much."

Will Sherman has posed:
Will points at his eyes...

"After that first adventure with the ice cream...I am sure I can find shards by getting close enough to them." Will explains, "Which...probably shouldn't get out much. Uh...lest the guys who play with the heartless think it's a good idea to recruit me." he shrugs, "Not that I'd do so willingly, but you know...I do hate drama." he says, with a shrug.

Mercade knows that's not true, as Will often takes time to go to Broadway whenever he can.

"Not cut out for it huh? Well, Sora doesn't look like much either, but well...he held himself against Magica just fine. Better than you did."

Riku has posed:
Riku raises an eybrow, saying quietly. " Well, don't strain yourself Will. Nobody knows very much about these shards. Maybe some things should stay lost. A little more information might be needed before you chase after them." he rubs one hand over another, slapping a fist with his hand in a gesture of mild irritation.

After noticing that he is doing it however, Riku puts his hands down and goes back to his stew. "I haven't found much in the way of finding anything about keyblades. If there is anything about there in Manhattan, it's been lost or hidden away long ago. I'll keep looking, but for now it looks like Sora has the only genuine article."

Mercade Alexander has posed:
"Liar." Mercade replies to Will as he mentions his dislike of drama.

Mercade's eyes flick over at the gesture. He doesn't say anything, he's draining his glass. He sets it down and sighs, ordering up some bread and stew as well. "It's going to definately be complicated if we do look. Since they have the same problem right now, I want to use the time to find a way to stop them. I think we have time right now, anyway. We'll see how it works." Mercade plays a lot of things by ear. Good thing his instincts are usually pretty good.

Or are they?

He grunts as Sora is mentioned. "I hate depending on him to save us. He doesn't have any motivation to do so, it seems, and we can't wait for him to decide he wants to."

He frowns. "It's one thing to be able to fight. It's something entirely different to know where your strength is needed."

Will Sherman has posed:
Will shrugs...

"I dunno..." Will says after sometime. "He's a kid...so is Riku. But well...lets be honest here, Riku acts older than you look sometimes." he says to Mercade.

"Sora, I think, is how he looks...not that it's bad, but..." he shrugs.

"I don't remember being his age, but I know plenty of people who are. I don't expect them to be heros."

Riku has posed:
Riku smirks, looking down at the counter and at his stew. "He'll try to be one, sooner or later. He's got a one track mind for certain and with that.. with his keyblade in hand, he'll all but have to. I know him at least that much. Hopefully, he doesn't get himself hurt in the process." he pauses for a minute, his body language going completely still as he stares at his food.

He reanimates, rolling his shoulders once and writing something into his journal. He flips the pages, then back after to put down a few more notes before leaning back against the counter. "He'll be fine if he just keeps his wits about him." The comment is grimly hopeful, and he changes the subject quickly. "So tell me about New Orleans. It's.. part of your world, right? I don't think I've visited there yet." the name sounds faintly familiar, but he's not quite sure why.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
"Are you trying to call me old again?" Mercade snaps jokingly, but then he shrugs, eating some stew. He makes a lot of use of the bread to sop up the gravy. "Are the worlds going to wait for him to grow up? I met him recently, Will. I asked him for his help, and he turned me down. He said he needed to go chase after his friend."

There is a pause, and then Mercade asks, "How many people are going to be eaten by the Heartless while he waits?" He sighs. "I really hope things work out. If he helps, great, but I don't know if I can depend on him. Everyone needs to work together to get through this. I believe in him, but that doesn't mean I'm going to sit here and wait for someone else to save people."

He seems kind of adamant about that. "New Orleans is a great place. Lots of culture. It was settled by a group called the Creole, and they have a very distinctive culture and style of cooking. Very spicy. There's also a lot of legends about the swamps and the practicioners of 'voodoo' who live in the area. Legend has it that they can raise zombies and put curses on people, or even hurt them by making a doll that looks like them and stabbing it."

For not being up on the supernatural, Mercade sure knows a lot of trivia about it.

Will Sherman has posed:
"Swampy." Will adds in, but Mercade is pretty much right about everything in this.

Will is distracted by something else he sees...he raises an eyebrow, but puts his head down and eats more of his soup...

Hm. Nah, he'd be a jerk to say that so openly...maybe the next time they get a chance to talk alone.

He frowns a bit and pulls his head up. "Hawaii is too, as you seen. So I guess our world got shattered maybe? This sucks."

Riku has posed:
Riku swallows hard, coughing as a piece of meat from the stew goes down the wrong way. He leans against the counter, coughing into one hand with eyes closed and face turned away from Mercade. His voice sounds cold and very harsh as he regains the breath in his lungs. "Maybe you think it should be you, Mercade? Maybe--" and he cuts himself off there. He sighs, shaking his head. His voice sounds tired and rueful as he continues.

"I'm sorry. I just-- I have to have hope in his abilities. Whatever he's doing. Maybe the worlds can wait-- maybe they can't, but like you said. There's no use sitting here and waiting. If there is something we can do, we have to do it. Even-- even if it seems impossible, sometimes."

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade Alexander jerks slightly, as if stung. His expression softens a bit at that. "I... No.. You're right, Riku. I shouldn't be talking about him like that. I..." He trails off. "I'm sorry. I guess I have my own flaws to struggle with."

He looks over to Riku, then. "Together we'll save these worlds. All of us. Everyone has a part to play. I have to remember that."

Will Sherman has posed:
Will looks up from his soup.

He, finishing the bowl, takes his hat off, puts it on Mercade's head, and puts the bowl on his own head.

"I have made an improvement to this situation." he declares, without seeming any context.

"Anyway, guys...come on. Nobody met anything by it..."

"So yeah...maybe I'll look into this shard thing starting with Manhattan? It's something to start with, ya know? I don't know why the Heartless haven't found it, or if they can even find it...or what happens IF they find it...but well, I think being able to be protected is important."

Riku has posed:
"Don't we all." Riku says in regards to Mercade, his anger easing as he finishes his stew. He looks surprised, packing away his journal as he readies to leave. "I.. thought you were going with Mercade? After all, hasn't all of this been a bit too serious?" he grins. "A resort town doesn't seem all that terribly bad right now. Especially if the lauded hat is gained from the adventure. "

Mercade Alexander has posed:
"Sure, look how you like, but when I got to Costa Del Sol to find the Mistress of Games, you're coming with me. I'm going to need your talents to deal with her." Mercade shrugs. "We've got some time. I'm going to head there soon, but maybe not immediately. We'll see how the timing goes, there's a lot going on and I can't just abandon everything for my hat."

He grimaces. "God, I would look like such an ass." He does a falsetto at that point. "Oh no, Mercade! We were all overrun by horrible monsters! Where were you and that handsom devil Will?" He pauses, and then says in ULTRA SERIOUS GRUFF TONE, "Sorry, Ma'am. I was looking for my hat."

Will Sherman has posed:
Will looks infintely more amused by all of this...

He pulls his hat back on his head, and sticks the bowl on Mercade's.

With that, he grins, and sits back...

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade looks up at the bowl on his head, and he pulls the bowl off the head and places it back on the bar. "You're a silly man, William Tecumseh Sherman." He says. "Anyway, let's get going. Worlds don't explore themselves.