Inheritance Part 2

Inheritance Part 2
Date of Scene:	28 March 2013
Location:	Mullonde - Countryside
Synopsis:	Mercade and Emi follow up on an investigation of the mysterious sister Felicia - and get more than they bargained for.
Thanks to:	Divine Rose as Felicia's parents/Skeleton Warrior
Cast of Characters:	Mercade Alexander, Divine Rose, Emi Dennou

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Divine Rose has posed:
Mullonde is the capital city of the glabados church. Given that Sister Felicia is apparently a member of the church, it should not come as a surprise that her parents might be found here, afterall it was one of the few remaining remnants of their hometown.

The in-depth research that the Twilight detective agency no doubt did on the background of Felicia's family would have led them to a tiny cottage in the outskirts of Mullonde, nestling snugly in some gently rolling green hills, away from the bustle of the city proper.

Soft curls of smoke puff lazily from the rooftop of the cottage, and it seems that someone is indeed occupying the place at this time. However, judging from the fresh impressions on the slightly crushed glass, it seems that they are not the first nor only visitors to this quiet little cottage today..

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade has work to do.

The mystery of Sister Felicia is becoming an issue and is coming to the point that it is spreading to dangerous levels. Attempted murder is just not kosher, man. Therefore, Mercade and The Dennous are on the case, trying to track down information on the enigmatic and mysterious woman.

Unfortunately, it looks like someone else has the same plan. Mercade walks towards the cottage, shooting a look over at his assistant, while he pulls his gun. "Hey." He calls to the cottage. "Everything all right in there? Anyone home?"

Emi Dennou has posed:
Emi is coming BY HERSELF this time since really an army of Dennous if Mercade is also coming along would really only attract attention and likely make this more difficult. Sometimes having a squad isn't the best choice for a mission. OF course, by choosing Emi, Mercade has nonetheless contributed to her being a higher level than the rest of the Dennous and this could be a problem later on when the Dennous are underleveled for some mission or another.

Emi for the moment is letting Mercade take the lead, focusing on keeping her eyes open and her mind on their surroundings, lest a german ninja jump them and call them hyped up, which would be a fate worse than death.

Divine Rose has posed:
When Mercade calls out, there is no response..Not initially, at any rate. However, the nearer they get to the house, the more obvious it is that something's wrong here. The door is unlocked and gives way easily should someone attempt to push it.

And while no one answers Mercade's question, a sudden, ear-piercing scream echoes through the main living room within, followed by the sounds of some sort of scuffle occurring within.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
That's no way to greet a guest!

Mercade, however, pulls his gun as soon as he hears the scream, kicking in the door and rushing into the house to track down the sound of the commotion. He's taking the direct way. Emi, being smaller and more agile, may be able to set up some kind of clever flanking maneuver if the opportunity presents itself.

Or maybe she'll just pop out of a hole in the wall and ninja-lightning someone. That happens sometimes. He'll save the clever commentary for when he sees what's going on.

Emi Dennou has posed:
Barely ten seconds in and there's already a scream! Emi is feeling more and more like a true detective every day.

She gives Mercade a small nod. She doesn't have a gun, but does seem intent on following an alternate route. She'll go through a window--she'll break it if she has to but she'd rather just open it, she has like three methods she could go about it, but she'll first try opening it without any fancy tricks and move to electromagnetism as a secondary option. Either way, she'll climb in once she's got to. Why another route? Well, she's concerned someone might be trying to make a mistake--or that a trap may be lying in wait for them. After all, they barely got here before someone unleashed a scream? SUSPICIOUS!

She doesn't do any shouting or anything, letting Mercade be the shouty one for the moment too.

Divine Rose has posed:
"AAAAIIIIieeeee! Leave him alone, you fiend!" Calls out the frightenned, elderly woman, as she stands with her back against the wall, apparently held in place by some sticky goopy stuff that the invader had used to keep her temporarily incapacitated. Tears stream down her eyes as she struggles helplessly against the restraints, but to no avail.

The elderly man, her wife presumably, is hardly fit for combat. He must be about seventy years of age at least. And yet, he bravely stands up against the skeletal creature that confronts him, sword held shakily before him, his opposite shoulder wounded and bleeding, as is a large gash across his forehead, making it hard for him to focus.

The skeleton, clearly some undead creature conjured up from the grave, continues to approach him, swinging its sword at him with several, powerful strokes.

The woman glances over at the two detectives as they make their entrance. "Please, help my husband!" she pleads.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade doesn't stop running. He's going loud in case this is a trap, that way Emi can possibly blindside them. Detectives help each other.

The appearance of the skeleton might have caused Mercade to pause before. It's horrible and frightening, clearly the work of dark magics the likes of which the Detective can't even comprehend.

But it's material. He can touch it. And that means he has options. He gives a loud yell as he leaps forward, dropkicking the Skeleton on his way in. "Quickly, Ser Knight, take your wife and fall back to a defensive position! We will assist against this creature!" Hopefully, the man's pride can accept a tactical reorganization of 'get the hell back so we can tank the horrific creature of darkness'. You'd be amazed at how stubborn some people are about these things.

Emi Dennou has posed:
Oh it wasn't a murder. BUT IT MAY STILL BE A CRIME. Nevertheless, this is certainly something that's worth dealing with as a Detective. One's duty is to help those who can't get help from anywhere else! And that turn of phrase can get pretty broad when someone has an evil skeleton (with sword) coming after them. Where did they get the sword? It's unknown.

But it's in theory made out of metal. Emi lashes out with a hand and sends an electrical shock for the skeleton--but primarily his blade, intending to pin it to the ground! "Of course we will. We're here to help."

Wait--weren't they here to investigate something else entirely? ... ... Well it still works...?

Divine Rose has posed:
The skeleton warrior snarls at Mercade as he attempts to drop kick it, bringing up its sword to deflect the attack. The distraction is enough however, for the wounded elderly knight to wisely take Mercade's advice and back away. These two people, whoever they are, seem to be here to help and he immediately trusts them.

Let them deal with that..Whatever it is, while he slashes at the sticky goop that binds his wife to the nearby wall..This may take a while..

Meanwhile Emi distracts the skeleton with an electric pulse which only does minor damage, but its' enough to turn its fury towards the two detectives..Still, it seems its primary objective is the elderly couple, and so it slashes at the two with its sword - which seems to spew poisonous gas - trying to cut through them in an attempt to reach the couple.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
"Gas!" Mercade calls out. Immediately, he leaps back from the miasma, the blade barely nicking him as he gets a bit of distance from the knight. He does, however, keep himself in front of the elderly pair, making sure that the creature will have to get through him to get to them. He douses a cloth in some water and holding it over his mouth and nose as an impromptu filter. He's had to deal with a lot of this laterly. With his free hand. Hopefully it will be enough. He pulls his gun, and prepares for a real attack.

Emi Dennou has posed:
Emi moves to try and interpose her body between that and the elderly couple. Of course, gas is pretty hard to block with one's body--so she retaliates by trying to burn away the gas with electricity! She zaps into it, but stillgets hit with it herself--shuddering and gagging-- but she steels her resolve and follows through with a second burst, intending to blast through to the skeleton!--and still intent on weighing down that blade!

Questions as to why a skeleton is armed with a sword and attacking people will have to wait!

Divine Rose has posed:
The elderly knight continues to hack away at the woman's constraints as the battle continues to rage on nearby. The Skeleton seems to have its hands full by the brave detectives who stubbornly block its path towards its true goal.

Burning red eyes glare at them as it continues to slash at them with its sword, stepping back only briefly as Emi attacks it again with bolts of electricity, which seem to have decent effect on it.

Still, it advances, its sword taking on a shadowy appearance as it attacks with dark magics and poisons wrapped around its blade.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
One of the problems with defending the weak is that you take the hits instead. Mercade grimaces as the blade slices into him, imparting some of that dreadful evil poison into him. It begins sapping his strength immediately, inducing infoluntary, painful spasms in his arm. "Tch!" He hisses in pain, as he levels the pearl-handled revolver, and fires repeatedly, trying to use the powerful gun to knock the creature into the air. A moment later, he leaps up, trying to drive it right back into the ground with more gunfire!

Emi Dennou has posed:
That sure is a problem. Normally! Emi unleashes another blast, trying to keep the soldier back. She glances over her shoulder briefly as the skeleton goes in for a swing but lashes out with her hands, catching the blade between her two palms, burning away any poison before it can seep through her skin. She channels the electricity through the blade and into the skeleton, intending to electromagnetically propel the monster away from her!

"Mercade, is this thing destructable? It just keeps coming..."

She still sounds as calm as ever but, then again, there's only so long she can avoid a determined opponent.

Divine Rose has posed:
The skeleton certainly does seem strong. Is there no way to defeat it? The skeleton staggers back a bit as Mercade attacks it with gunfire, although it cannot bleed as its already dead and has no flesh. Can it even feel?

Then Emi attacks with more electricity through her blade which further stuns and slows it down. If it could breathe, it might breath now. Its movements are certainly slower than before, but is it enough?

"Allow me to help you!" exclaims the elderly knight, having finally freed his wife. This is his house afterall, and he was once the finest knight in Ivalice..In his youth. Seems he's pretty stubborn too. But at least his wife has managed to tend to some of his more severe wounds.

He charges into battle with a battle cry, slashing his sword at the skeleton, although he's still quite slow and nearly falls off balance. Still he's quite spry for his age.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
The poison is still teating at him, creating painful sensations through is body as he pushed forward. "Press the attack! Drive him back. Do we have anything holy around here?"

Slow cut to Mullonde, then back to the fight. "If nothing else, bones will break!"

the knight moves to assist. Mercade can't deny it, but... "Be cautious, Ser! You and your wife are the target!" He pays special attention to the man. He need to keep the undead off balance. Shift the battle in their favor.

He has an idea.

He drives in closer, getting in the undead's face as he unleashes another barrage of gunfire. He has to keep the attention focused.

Emi Dennou has posed:
Emi nods slowly. She thinks it over.

And then she slides backward a bit, drawing out a small zenny coin into her hands. At this point, Mercade knows what--wait, no! She's not quite doing that, it seems. Because she's actually drawing out a fair fistful of coinage into her hand.

She flicks them all up into the air like trickle down economics and then swings her hand forward--pressing her palm against the coin's tips--unleashing a powerful electromagnetic pulse that sends the coins bursting through different parts of the skeleton, intending to punch right on through the bones! It's not quite the railgun due to the dispersed force, but that'sj ust as well. She doesn't want to break the house or anything!

Divine Rose has posed:
The old man nods to Mercade as he gives wise advice. His wife is already trying to pull him back out of harm's way. "You are too old for this, dear. Please, let the professionals handle this!" The pair continue to watch the detectives curiously, still uncertain who they are, where they came from or what they're doing here.

But of course the skeleton's the first priority. It seems to be able to take quite a beating, and still hold its ground. Mercade unleashes gunfire, although it only seems to do minimal damage.

Then Emi assaults it with a shower of electricity and coins that zaps through it in multiple points, stunning, electrocuting it and eventually frying it so badly that that it just falls down into a pile of bones. And doesnt move again.

Eww, that's gonna leave a stain on the carpet..

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade watches as Emi finishes off the skeleton. This is one of many reasons why he brings the Dennous. That railgun thing is awesome. He turns away from the crackling, destroyed bones, and waves a hand in the air as if that's going to clean it. "Sorry for the interruption." Mercade says to the pair. "Are you both all right?"

Emi Dennou has posed:
Emi of course would say that was more a lower tier adaptation of--well okay that's not very important. She looks down at the bones, as if expecting them to rise. When they don't, she lets herself have a smile and then breathes out a sigh of relief. She coughs a few times in her fist before ducking down to check out the bones in greater detail, looking for any runes or other sign of where it came from, who made it, or at least the sorts of magics used in its construction. If the sword is still in one piece, she'll check that out too.

Divine Rose has posed:
The elderly woman doesn't seem as convinced as the others that the bones wont simply rise again. She hurries to the fireplace, retrieving what appears to be a jar of holy water, and starts sprinkling the bones with it, murmuring an Ajoran prayer as she does so.

"There, that should prevent it from rising again." Her husband sighs and flops down tiredly in a nearby sofa, before glancing up at the two of them. "I thank you kind ser, dame, for saving our lives. But who are you, and why are you here? Did you know we would be attacked?"

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade observes the ritual, considering the simple, pure faith of these people.

He sighs faintly to himself. Perhaps they are better people than he.

He looks to the pair, and tips his hat as he smiles. "I am Mercade Alexander, and this is Emi Dennou of the Twilight Detective Agency. I had suspicions that you would be assaulted, as the person we are attempting to find has been rather... thorough... about attempting to clean up their trail."

He pauses. "You see, we are looking for a Sister Felicia. She has been implicated in a number of attempts to control the undead and use them to kill people. We had come here to ask you what you knew about her, but it seems someone was attempting to prevent this."

Emi Dennou has posed:
If it's that easy, Emi wonders, to lay skeleton warriors to rest why do people rely on skeleton warriors? And in fact, how do they find the bodies? She supposes that means it's likely that whomever sent this skeleton warrior likely killed someone and then turned them into a skeleton warrior since generally speaking, if a blessing could stop such things--then again this is a more fantasy style area which means, she supposes, they don't have factories to produce holy water and priests would have more difficulty getting to battlefields.

"We apparently arrived just in time." Emi says. "It is good we did not stop at the burger shack first." Otherwise they would have been TOO LATE.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
"This is why we never stop at the burger shack on the way to a case." Mercade replies. "Only after."

Emi Dennou has posed:
"We will remember this lesson." Emi jots it down in a notepad that is already filled with random detective lessons.

Divine Rose has posed:
The man nods. "Tis an honor to meet you. And thank you again for saving our lives. Sister Felicia is our adopted daughter, but we have not heard from her in a long time.." he frowns deeply at the implications and sighs, seeming deeply troubled. "Dear, why don't you make us some tea?"

The lady frowns as well and nods wordlessly, heading for the kitchen. Only when she's gone does the man speak again.

"We have been quite worried about our daughter. Ever since she lost her beloved to a freak accident about five years ago, she has been obssessed with trying to find a way to revive him. We had been a little worried about her fascination with such dark arts..But we never imagined she'd resort to this.."

He sighs, staring down at his weathered hands in his lap. "Even so, to hear she has been implicated in such evil arts? ARe you suggesting she might have summoned that skeleton to kill us as well? Our own daughter?"

Mercade Alexander has posed:
"Her beloved..." Mercade thinks, and pulls out his notepad and begins writing it down. "This appears to be a rather straightforward, if terrible pattern." He taps his chin with the pencil, however, looking up at the ceiling. "I don't have enough information to say she is definately responsible. All I can say for sure is that a dark force is working with, through, or around her to accomplish these things. There are a lot of possibilities and while your fears are one of them, it is not the only one." He steps forward, and puts a hand on the man's shoulder. "Be strong, ser knight. Hopefully, your faith will be rewarded in the end. I am doing everything I can to find her and determine the truth. If she is innocent, I will save her. If she is guilty..." He pauses. "Well, I will ensure that it is put to an end."

Emi Dennou has posed:
Emi listens. She is quiet until after Mercade provides his own spiel which is really more diplomatic than Emi could probably manage. She nods to him once and adds, bluntly, "Do you know anything of her biological parents? That is to say, the original parents? The Network clarifies just in case."

She scribbles down on her notebook again. o.o

Divine Rose has posed:
The man's hands clench to fists, although he seems pretty good at keeping his expression as controlled as possible. He is a disciplined knight afterall. "You may be right. But I hope you are not..There was always a darkness about her. When we first found her, she was just a baby, abandonned and laying in a garbage can, nearly froze to death before we took her in. We later discovered that her parents were the Redsdottirs, and she was the elder sister of Kityana Redsdottir. But.."

He sighs tiredly. "Her mother at the time did not want her. We later discovered she was an illegitimate child. And so we raised her as our own. When she grew older and learned the truth, she grew jealous and hateful towards Kityana. Furthermore, she felt that she was the rightful heir to their family's treasure, the 'Fireheart..' Ahh yes, she has always had some darkness within her, and her lust for power, and her hatred for her sister has only fueled that dark flame over the years.."

The old lady returns with a tray of hot cammomile tea, and assorted shortbread cookies. "Please help yourself." She smiles but there is a sadness in her eyes. It seems she didnt catch what Mercade says about her possibly being guilty, but she reaches for her husband's hands, who squeezes them gently in reassurance. Clearly, they are both deeply worried by all of this.

Emi Dennou has posed:
Emi nods and listens to the man. "In such circumstances, one could say it had been fostered, but..."

She is writing down something on her notepad. Right now she is writing on her notepad.

It is just the phrase 'fucking nobles' over and over again.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade is writing a lot as the knight clarifies the situation and gives essential background information. "The Redsdottirs..." He says. "That's an interesting family..." He pauses. "Kityana? Do you think she is..." He looks over to Emi, and frowns. "Well, it makes sense on why They'd try to kill her..."

He shakes his head. "But this is too pat."

He sits down, and takes some tea and shortbread. "Thank you very much." He says. "I see how this is coming together, but the picture being painted is pretty grim." He gestures. "You mentioned that one of the catalysts was the death of her beloved? How did that happen? What was their name?"

Divine Rose has posed:
The Kobes exchanged a saddenned look, pausing a long moment to sip their tea and take all of this in. "Why? Why did she attack us? Why?" moans the mother, her hands trembling, tears streaming down her once young and beautiful eyes.

"I...Don't know." frowns her husband in response, "But it it truly is her, then we can no longer turn a blind eye." He looks back to the other two.

"This is why we put her in Obourne Monastery, and later had her join the church as a priestess. We hoped it would teach her the values of virtue, but she only seemed hungry for power, and fueled by her bitterness. When she was about 18 years of age, she met a fellow Templar knight, Ser Abjan Lorace, a handsome, noble fellow. They were embroiled in a battle with heretics and...He was murdered by them."

"Something else happened there, but we are uncertain of what. We were given very little information. She returned home further changed and wanted to learn everything about magic and the afterlife. She was determined to bring him back. She also studied all manner of magical artifacts, as if she thought obtaining ultimate power would give her power over life and death as well..Then there was the fireheart.."

Emi Dennou has posed:
"As Mercade said, we do not know if it was her for certain." Emi sys after a moment. "There is still much to this case that we do not know. And even so, perhaps she will learn the error of her ways. This one admits the full story remains elusive."

She sighs lightly and then closes up the notepad. "But this one understands what it is like to be seen unworthy by those that created you, in a sense. Or perhaps to have a purpose beyond what is personally desired."

"What is Fireheart?" She asks.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade makes more notes. Obourne Monostart. Ser Abjan Lorace. This one gets mutiple marks under it. "So you don't actually know what happened in the battle." Mercade grimaces. "I think that would be a turning point in the mystery. And it's been so long... The truth has a way of being obscured with time."

Mercade nods to Emi. "As Emi has said, keep up hope. We will do everything we can to bring this to the best conclusion we can." He then continues. "The Fireheart was the family treasure, as mentioned... I am guessing that it possessed some important power, which made it very desirable."

Divine Rose has posed:
The man nods slowly. "We...Dont have may enemies. We were always well - liked in the community. I cannot think of anyone who would hav ea grudge against us, and Felicia always loved us, but.."

"But like we said, she's grown colder over time.." As for the fireheart, the woman frowns. "The fireheart was a powerful sword that was passed down through her family's generation. When Felicia was abandonned, the sword was given to Kityana instead.."

"It's a magical sword imbued with the powers of fire, allowing the user to shape and mould flames to their will, using the power of their mind and strength of will. In the hands of a strong willed person like Felicia, it would be immensely powerful."

Mercade Alexander has posed:
"At this stage, to proclaim guilt or innocence would be premature." Mercade replies. "If Felicia got her hands on that, perhaps..." Mercade considers. "I'm not sure it will end well." He looks back to Emi. "We should look for more information about some of these points and get in contact with Katyna." He looks to the pair. "In the meantime, I would recommend that you look for associates or find ways to protect yourselves in the near future. I cannot guarantee that if this happens again that we will be nearby."

Emi Dennou has posed:
Emi taps her chin lightly. The fireheart lets them use fire attacks?! WEll ... okay that seems totally legit. A family heirloom, abandoned by her parents. Yes, plenty of reason to be upset. But why kill her real parents? Perhaps because they were keeping her from her original family? Hmm. But that seems a pretty silly reason to her. But then, she's not a psychopath, so how can she be sure of these things?

Besides this is all old world stuff isn't it?

"Just a magical fire sword, The Network wondersi f there is more to it than that."

Divine Rose has posed:
"We don't really know much more than that. She has a lot of secrets. The older she got, the more she kept to herself." The man replies and the woman tiredly yawns. "Please excuse us. It's been a long, hard day. We must rest now. If there are no further questions..." The man glances towards the pile of bones. "Will you be needing that as..Err..Evidence? Or can we clean up the mess?" It's kind of creepy to have a pile o' bones in the middle of the living room afterall...

Emi Dennou has posed:
"we should take it back, perhaps Isaac can tell us more." Emi suggests horrifically.

Mercade Alexander has posed:
Mercade peers at Emi... And then shakes his head. "Nah. I think we can find better subjects for Isaac to look at." Like Katyna. "Let's let this creature get buried." He stands. "Thank you all for your help. I look forward to giving you all some closure soon." He looks to Emi. "Let's go." He tips his hat, and then heads out.

Emi Dennou has posed:
Emi nods. "Understood." She looks towards the body again but well skeletal warrior, she doesn't seem especially empathic to it. She bobs her head once and departs after Mercade.