Narhari was not one for prophecy, especially within a game. Immediately, Oracle was suspect; was this some way of Ymaggion Corp. toying with them? Was this all just a cruel, terrible game? Oracle's words seemed nothing more than a bread crumb trail, laid by those with ill intent. He ground his teeth together.

Still, he flipped through the message. There was little information here, that he hadn't already gotten from his guild, the Seekers. It was good to know that others had a similar idea, though. From all accounts, the Relics seemed exist outside of the rules of the game. The trapped players themselves were an anomaly. It was a simple conclusion to reach, that the Relics might be a key to freedom. One he'd come to before accepting Oracle's invitation.

He hadn't been in the game long. Only a few weeks before the release of Project Epsilon, in order to acquaint himself with the system. But he had experience with other gaming products such as this, and when one was trapped for every moment in a game, and did not require sleep, one's skill improved rapidly.

Narhari was still just a minor member of the Seekers, the lowest rank of Finder. They sought out "myths", and what would be considered cryptids, within the game. The relics were the pinnacle of that. Joining the Seekers had not been difficult. They were not picky; many of their members served only as an extra pair of eyes, and indeed many were members of other guilds simultaneously.

"What do you think of this prophecy?" Narhari said to the three near him, loud enough to hear over the din that had broken out anew.

Syn wasn't sure what to make of the man and his spiel. She felt like it was supposed to have been a briefing. But it certainly didn't get the impression from what he'd said.

"That's it?" She batted awkwardly at the message box that appeared to her. She seriously had to get a different layout for this game-thing.

For her partner's part, Lace giggled. "Big man's got a big mouth, eyeah? Not much like a proper briefing. But it'll do. Find the toys, combine the toys, get them out." She expertly grabbed her friend's hand, guiding Syn's fingers up to the correct button, resting her head on Syn's shoulder.

Curiously, the wary woman didn't seem to even register the fact that someone was leaning on her. Or guiding her hand. Or rather, her specific friend was allowed.

Lace giggled again, "Still haven't set up your bio, Syn."



Edited by Ajax on December 23, 2013 at 5:54:00

Well, huh. Marcus tapped at the air, making quick notes in shorthand on his screen's diary entry. Could this be a way to get out of the game? To finally escape this weird world and get back home? This was a beautiful realm, to be sure, but it wasn't home. His family came to check up on him every now and again, but none of them could ever be called 'gamers.' Some Casuals (that was what Marcus called them) had told him that they envied his situation; they'd love nothing more than an excuse to 'play' all day long.

He frowned. He would switch spots with them in a heartbeat if he could; let them be trapped in this virtual world if they so desired. If these Arcanum Relics really could free him from this hell, he would do anything to find them. And if this turned out to just be a wild goose chase... well, at least he found something to keep him busy for a bit. He was going stir-crazy from just derping around all the time.

The Healer stood, stretching. Traveling alone was boring and inefficient; he should find a group or something to tag along with. He bit his lip and walked up to the first person he saw, tapping them on the shoulder. "Excuse me," he said, "are you going after the Relics?" He grinned a little awkwardly and shrugged self-consciously. "Need a Healer?"

Terrel opened the file, and the program began to read it to her ears at once while she flipped through the pictures, frowning at them. Some of them looked like weapons, while others looked entirely different. With the noise and the bustle quickly increasing all around her, though, it was hard to focus, so she shut the recording off. She'd have to listen to it later, when things were calmer.

"I've heard of these relics before, but never in detail. You think there's something here?" she asked, wondering if this guy's beta experience might benefit her.

---

Madrigal opened the message as soon as he received it, skimming through it as quick as he could. The moment he heard the prophesy, though, his heart sank. He'd had a number of theories as to what Oracle might've been up to, but this one was the most disconcerting of all of them. Looking around, the reality of the situation began to weigh on him, and he knew his course would not do. He suppressed a grimace and pulled himself together.

"Something's come up for me, I'm afraid," he said, his voice tighter than he'd expected it to come out as. He collected himself. There was no way to say if these people expected to buddy up instantly with each other, but all around the room that seemed to be the case. "I don't think this venture is something I can be a part of," he continued, his voice much more in control now.

For a quick moment he thought about leaving, taking the nearest exit and relocating at once. He felt a twinge of guilt for his almost-companions, though, and he pulled something out of his coat. It was a circular piece of silver with a lion on it, small enough to fit in your palm, and he offered it to Syn. Maybe it was because he'd spoken to her first or maybe it was because she seemed like she'd need it the most, but either way he held the thing out to her, though he addressed all three of them. "Take this with you. If you ever... If you ever really, really need something, then use it, all right?"

---

Someone bumped into Sark, and he turned to face him quickly. "A healer?" he exclaimed in surprise, and a grin split his face. "Splendid!"

Sark clapped his hands together, tapping one of his own companions he'd met only that night, "Oh boys! We've got a healer here--that puts us at an even six!" Several of them cheered, and Sark turned toward the lad he'd only just met, "You got a name, friend?"

"Marcus," the boy replied, looking down at his shoes. A group of six? He didn't like crowds, not even in a game, but more people meant more success, right? "What's yours?"

---

"Lies!" A large man robed all in white stood on a table, shaking a fist at the Oracle. "Lies and deceit! There is no way out- why would something here break rules programmed in the very heart of Ymaggion?"

He looked around at his fellow players and raised an arm, looking compassionately out at them all. "Friends, listen to me. There is no way out- this is only a feeble hope that will only end in death. Pursuing these Relics can lead only to destruction, and for what? For you to realize that, after losing family and friends alike to this foolish quest, the Relics are nothing more than glorified items? No! We can have lives here- real lives, not pale imitations of the world outside.

"There is something, I think, that hasn't been truly addressed yet. Maybe it's good that we can't leave. The world from which we came is a wicked and vile place. The very programming of that world is set against us, but here? Here, the odds are different. We are made to succeed, to thrive, here. And how? How is it that such a beautiful place can exist, one created better than God's own green earth?

"Man cannot make something so beautiful as this. I think the real truth of this world is that Ymaggion isn't a game at all- it's a portal, a window into the glorious gardens of God Himself! Do not despair that you have been priviliged with permanent access to His lands; rejoice!"

His expression turned angry again, and he pointed a finger at the Oracle. "This one wishes for you to lose sight of that! He dangles false hopes and petty delusions before your faces, promising glory, but I can tell you that nothing lies down this road but death! Stay, live, love! Why throw your lives away? Join me, and we will delight in the glories of this land together!"

Narhari raised an eyebrow at Madrigal's sudden change. He'd shown himself to be a friendly man, during their brief interaction. Though, friendly wasn't exactly the correct word. He was too.... approachable, if by design. His personality had completely reversed; it felt almost as if he were trying desperately to run, now, though Narhari knew not what from. Perhaps it had to do with the relics. Narhari noted to himself that Madrigal would require some watching. He had the man's name, and that would be enough to track him down, if he were persistent enough.

He was about to pursue Madrigal's strange behavior, before he was rudely interrupted by what could be nothing more than a buffoon. "Pardon me for a moment." he bowed slightly to the small group of three, before walking towards the a nearby table and jumping upon it.

"You have clearly not given this much thought. Our very presence is in violation of whatever 'rules' govern this place. Do not rule out the possibility of other exploits existing.

"As for the quaintness of this place, remember; it is all a lie. This world is, and always will be, an imitation of the real world, not the other way around."

"Finally, this place is far crueler than you give it credit. Here, you will never experience the love of holding your child in your arms. Here, your death will have no more significance than a breath in the wind. The world will move on, as it did in Ymaggion's past." Narhari was clearly agitated. The man's words had struck home for him. Memories of his wife, belly swollen and beautiful, flashed in his eyes.

Syn looked to the silver band, then nodded her head and took it, pocketing the item with care. Already the hair on the back of her neck was standing on end. This world was entirely unknown to her, barring the few short weeks she'd spent in it. She'd most definitely take the help, especially something like what he seemed to be offering
.
"Madrigal." She said simply by way of farewell.

Already the emotional scenery was changing, something had swept the room, not all of it was the hope that Oracle had most likely been meaning to instill. Despite her friend's apparent carefree demeanor, Syn could feel Lace's body, tense under the clothing and smiles. Her friend's hidden body-language mirrored Syn's own open wariness. Something was wrong.

Seconds later the shouting man burst into the limelight, spouting what Syn could only take to be crazy of the un-fun variety. Her hand immediately slipped to her hip out of habit. But no weapon to be found. The next best option . . ."We need to leave, Lace. Exit sixteen meters away." She murmured tensely.

Still clinging to her friend, Lace rolled her eyes. "Well, this is gonna be interesting. There was this little girl though, not leaving without her. I'm a sucker for kids, and if this turns ugly . . "

The Red-head started to scan the crowd, most of them paying attention to the loud speaker and Oracle. Some of them probably wanted a fight. And with how the rules were changing . . .a fight might just happen.

Oracle waited for Ajax to finish speaking, nodding in approval at the man. As he spoke, though, the man named Oracle found the white robed man on his list. Everyone was a risk--he did not regret inviting this man. But he would deal with it now. Without a word, the trouble-maker was uninvited to this gathering. As Ajax finished speaking, Oracle held up his hand and, for the second time that night, banished those not on his list from the room.

---

Madrigal nodded at Syn, deciding to take the quickly rising drama as a diversion of sorts. Without another word, he slipped away from the scene.

He remembered these, all right--in-game legends of seven unique items that were superior in just about every way to any other piece of equipment in the game--weapons with bonus skills, armor with layered protections, the works--and they were all unified by one, single detail:

Nobody had a goddamn clue where to find them.

Lots of people sought them out during the beta, even though everyone knew that they wouldn't meet the requirements to equip them or utilize them, not before the beta test would come to an end.

"I... don't know," Rua admitted to Terrel, looking up from the message. "I'm not sure how Oracle thinks that they could help our situation, they're just massive benefits to a player--"

The irate shout of "Lies!" brought his words to a halt. He looked up, over Terrel's shoulder, at the man who spoke. It was only for a few more moments of preaching from the man underneath the player indicator before he realized what was going on.

"Oh, here we go," Rua muttered irritably. He'd heard of this guy before. A player who had completely lost it in the month since being trapped in the game and thought that this world was the real one. "Let's get out of here before this becomes a mess," he said as he moved past the other player.

Donovin, for that was the white-robed man's name, faded from the room as the Oracle banned him. Before his outline had completely dematerialized, though, a pendant around his neck began to glow. His existence in the room re-affirmed, Donovin's form became solid again.

"You cannot silence the words of truth," he cried, pointing an accusing finger at the Oracle. "You have corrupted the innocent," he said, indicating the other speaker, "spouting your lies and fals promises! You are the Deceiver," he said, his voice rising to a climax, "looking to poison us all and lead us to our deaths!" A ball of silver energy crackled into being in his palm, and he glared at the Oracle with narrowed eyes. The opinion of the room was split- there were some whom Donovin knew to already have realized the truth of the useless and fatal nature of this crusade, and others who's minds had been so corrupted by the Oracle that they'd lost sight of what was really important.

"I will not allow you to spread your lies anymore, Deceiver!" With that, Donovin threw the orb at the Oracle.

Oracle's eyes widened at the man's attack, not having expected him to be so violent. Silver energy lit up the room as the attack hurtled through the air, and the dark-skinned man realized there was no hope in avoiding it. In desperation he threw his arms up to defend himself. The energy collided with his body a moment later, sending pain through his whole system and hurtling him several feet into a nearby wall where he released a cry of anguish.

Immediately, though, upon impact, the attack had a second effect. These cities were not safe in the sense that violence was prohibited, but the Angels of Ymaggion kept a close eye on them, especially members of Project Theta. Warning bells, all throughout the building, went off at once, as if someone had tripped the fire alarm.

Grimacing through the pain, Oracle shouted at his adversary, "Strike me again, Donovin, and these angels will tear you to pieces. They will be here in but moments; will you name them your enemy as well?"

---

Terrel looked toward Rua at his words and nodded. Things looked like they might get real ugly real quick. "Good bloody idea," she muttered, fully onboard with the concept of leaving. Just then, though, one of the men attacked, and the bells went off in the room, piercing her ears painfully.

"Really good idea. Come on!" She bellowed, hoping, for some reason, that he might follow; she bolted for an exit.

Rua nodded and followed after the dark-skinned woman, keeping pace until they ran out the exit to the chamber. A few hallways later, and he pushed open the entryway and left the building with Terrel.

He glanced back and shook his head with a sigh. "Only a month and Donovin went nuts," he said. "Only a month."

Narhari shook his head as the clearly insane man continued to rant. There was no need to refute his words; his own insanity did that already, and his following actions served only to worsen that. This was tantamount to attempted murder, if Oracle was a "lost one" like the rest of them. He had indicted himself, without Narhari having to speak another word.

Oracle was, thankfully, still alive, and apparently capable of handling the situation. The rest of the room, despite Oracle's relatively calm reaction, had been thrown into chaos. Narhari had seen disorder of this magnitude only once before, and that had been the moment that Project Theta's failure had come to light. Any time even a small danger presented itself to players, they panicked. These "brave" ones of the bunch proved no different.

Save for some. There was a minority in the room that remained calm. Narhari was glad to see that the two women were among them. Madrigal had already disappeared; perhaps he'd known that the lunatic would turn violent? Jumping down from the table, he cut his way through the now jostling throng, returning to Syn and her friend after a bit of labor.


Edited by WillowtheWhisp on December 25, 2013 at 9:22:18

"Find this kid quick then." Syn rolled her eyes, her posture wary as she surveyed the room, looking to the fight brewing in the rough center. Seconds later noting Ajax's return. A quick scan of his person and she had the urge to advise him to the nearest exit in a calm voice. Though she clamped down on it as Lace pulled away from her.

For the red-head's part, she moved in a curious pattern, as though orienting herself off of Syn. Moving out in a grid-like pattern, all sharp angles and sweeping gazes, checking for the young girl she'd seen earlier.

Syn tapped her foot steadily against the floor, eying the crowd with icy distaste. Alien world or not, this place had the look of a powder keg that someone had just lit the fuse to. "What's the response time on these Angels, then?" She asked, glancing to Ajax for a split-second, her eyes snapping to follow Lace again, tracking her friend's progress before sliding back to lock on Ajax.

Edited by Ajax on December 26, 2013 at 5:51:29

Narhari shook his head from side to side. "I wish I could tell you, but I've never seen them before, save for the first day that all this started." he motioned around him. "Hell, I couldn't even tell you if they are NPCs or actual administrators. The only thing I've managed to discover about them is that they have a city somewhere, and even the existence of that is suspect." Narhari kept looking up expectantly, waiting for said Angels to burst through the ceiling, or however it was they would appear.

"I don't know about you, but I plan on waiting this out. Interesting, that the angels might intervene now, for those of us that are here. I do not recall ever hearing rumor of angels appearing, to save the occasional idiot that finds themselves in over their head. It must be within their power, so why wouldn't Ymaggion Corp. use them to prevent the deaths of any of us?" Narhari raised an eyebrow as he vocalized his question. Indeed, why hadn't Ymaggion Corp. simply locked all of the "lost players" in a safe zone?

Terrel looked up at the sky, white streaks already heading in their direction at speeds no player could move. She'd never really dealt with the angels besides when they'd first told her she was some brittle piece of bloody china. It'd been a no brainer when she'd heard Oracle's message about actually doing something. She hated the idea of just sitting on her hands while those guys in white tried to sort everything out.

"It'd probably be a good idea to get out of here before they lock this whole place down, yeah?" She'd worry about what Donavin going nuts meant later.

"We're already out of the building, so we're fine," Rua said idly, brushing a lock of hair over an ear. He turned from the building and walked away from it at a regular pace. He continued speaking. "Besides, if the Angels were going to lock down the whole city, we'd never get out in time, even if we'd maxed out our sprint parameters."

She looked at him appraisingly at that, following his lead. "If you say so," she muttered, eyeing the incoming angels warily. She'd been in the wrong place at the wrong time before, a witness to a crime, and it ended up with her answering questions for over two hours. Not her idea of a good time.

"So. Are you going to go after these 'Arcanum Relics' then?"

"Are you?" he shot back, though he didn't sound like he really wanted an answer from her.

He gestured with his hand as he headed down Minervum's streets--his hand circled in the air as he spoke. "You tell me, Terrel, why should the best pieces of equipment in the game help us actually log out?" he asked of her. "One or two of us might be able to acquire them and that'll certainly help our survivability... maybe."

Rua sounded doubtful of the idea that it'd even help them survive in this deceptively-lethal world.

"Well, why the hell not?" she retorted, not terribly happy with his cynicism. Maybe it was just because she'd wanted a beta tester's approval in the matter; the idea of being able to do something had excited her to say the least. Even still, she wouldn't go down without a fight.

"If some geek was going to fix this by changing some line of code, it'd probably be down now, I figure. Besides, why do you think it didn't happen on the first day? Why'd it take a week for us to all get stuck? I mean, I'm no expert, but if you ask me this smells like something intentional, maybe from the inside."

She paused, glancing back at the building as the angels swarmed it. "Oracle may sound like he's nuts about most things, but the administrators working from inside the game? Trying to solve it internally? He's not the first I've heard that one from. So I dunno; maybe there is something we can do. Better than just cowering in the bloody city and turning into Donavin, isn't it?"

Rua sighed, looking up at the sky, and shrugged. "Well, yeah, you're right about that. It's something to do," he agreed. He looked back at her, studying her face and expression. "Hmm. Well, there's more you should know then. Come on."

He gestured to her with his left hand to keep following him as he turned down another street, and with his other hand he opened up the game menu again, this time going through options until he opened up the mini-map.

"The nice thing about being in Minervum is that it's got one of the best item codices available," Rua told her. "We gotta get there quick, though--place is going to be swarming pretty soon."

The woman nodded grimly at that. Oracle had kept things relatively 'behind-closed-doors' this night, but that didn't mean anything. Sooner or later, every yahoo that played this game was going to find out what they'd just heard and go looking. While Oracle hadn't given them any explicitly prestigious information, what he had done was make a rumor something bigger. That'd be enough.

Terrel he known Minervum had some great wealth of knowledge, but prior to this night it hadn't exactly meant anything to her. Even now, the idea of going to visit some library was far from appealing, for very practical reasons, but at least she had Rua now.

"All right, let's go quick then," she agreed. "If you can find and read what we need, I'll make sure you get it and nobody bloody bothers you. Deal?"

"Bother me?" Rua sounded like that was absurd. "The codex won't list anything on where we can find them. Trust me, if we didn't know where they were, then fat chance there'll be any information on where to find them."

He sighed as he decided to fill her in on the situation to her. "There's not much benefit to being a beta tester like most people think," he explained. "We don't get stat bonuses or superior starting equipment or anything like that. We got two things out of it."

He lifted up his left hand again, and extended one finger, listing those two things. "We got to keep our appearance preset from when we played the beta. For all the good that did if we got trapped," he said with a grimace. He extended the second one. "The other thing was information."

She tried to cut in when he batted down her previous statement, but the boy just kept going, forcing her to roll her eyes in annoyance. When he finally finished, she spoke her own mind, "Look, kid, I didn't decide to follow you out of that building because I thought you had some untold riches leftover in your inventory. I did it because 90% of those guys in there are running around with their heads cut off. Half of them can't even decide if they've got the bloody courage to step outside the boundaries of a city, and after what happened with Oracle, I bet you they're even more scared.

"As for the codices, that's not what I meant. I've seen that place after Y-Corp announces some new quest or faction or some mysterious location. It becomes a damn petting zoo in there. You're right, I doubt we find some nice coordinates as to where these things are located, but that's not going to stop the place from getting flooded. Even if we go quick, I bet you it's not long before every private room is checked out and every tome, scroll, book, and bloody comic strip is on reserve if it even mentions the Arcanum Relics."

"Christ, lady, we're only checking the item codex," was Rua's reply. He shook his head in irritation. Figures he'd get the impatient one trailing after him. "Looking at the in-game lore won't help us one bit to find the Relics. Not yet, anyway."

Ah, there was the Library up ahead. He picked up the pace, if only to settle Terrel's mind about their situation. "Like I tried to tell you before--beta testers got information out of the beta. We knew where all the good quests were, were the best item farming spots were. Hell, that's probably why everyone thinks we got better gear when we loaded up," he said, trailing off for a moment. People would come to that conclusion anyway, wouldn't they? "And we learned some nice tricks along the way.

"You want to find these things? Then listen to what I have to say and follow me so I can show you want you do need to know," he continued, steamrolling over any possible response. "We knew of the Arcanum Relics back in the beta. We knew they existed. But we never could find them. That's the whole point. We need a different method of searching. You can be damn sure once the other trapped beta testers learn of this crazy idea, they'll be thinking along the same lines as me."

She narrowed her eyes at him, not much appreciating being man-handled. Part of her just wanted to stomp off in the other direction in annoyance, but she reigned it in all the same. "And which lines are those?" she asked, skepticism apparent in her voice. Clearly he had something in mind. It would've been nice if he'd just come out and say it, though, instead of forcing her to ask.

Bah. This game was frustrating to say the least.

Before Rua could reply, they arrived at the Library--luckily it didn't seem to be any busier than usual. Surprisingly, given its close proximity to Oracle's designated meeting house. The swordsman refrained from answering, instead he went up the steps to the entryway and opened the door for them both.

Soon they were in the Library proper, and he guided Terrel over to one of the terminal devices--some bizarre attempt at a "mage's computer," people described them. A large, spherical construct of light and water mounted on a dias, a number of holographic screens not unlike Rua's menu configuration surrounding them.

"Not every item we wanted had regional information listed about them," he finally started to explain as he accessed the terminal. His hand waved the screens about, scrolling down menus as he used its search function and went through the results. "We had few options back then, until we figured this out. The item codex doesn't just show us what an item looks like, but it lists its stats as well. Kinda like a well-maintained game wiki, you know?

"It also lists any of the proficiency requirements to even use the item. Well, the Arcanum Relics are in here," he said, finally stopping on one item in the list. The readout for one of the Relics--the runesword, "Lumiya." As Rua had said, there wasn't any regional listing for it, nor any indication of it being a monster drop.

"And as you can see... none of us are in any real position to use one if we do somehow find it." Rua pointed a finger at some of its requirements, including a high STR parameter and not one, but two nearly maxed out sword proficiencies. "But that's the key to finding such an item. When we couldn't find one, we looked at their stats. And once we knew their stats, we just started cross-referencing them to monster data in different game regions until we found a match."

Marcus shrugged. Donovin had high-tailed it after giving the Oracle one last glare, and the room was clearing out really quickly at the mention of the Angels. Marcus' group seemed ready to leave too, and he looked to its still-nameless leader for direction.

"Where to, then?"

Syn's tapping foot abruptly stopped, her eyes locking on something in the distance. There was a "crunch" of breaking glass, a muttered curse and then her partner came back, holding the hand of a young teenage girl.

Her brown eyes danced back to Ajax, "Anything with a name like Angel is sort of on my dislike list automatically, not exactly bummed they're not watching our backs." She said simply. "And their response time is crap." She nodded towards the rapidly cooling powder keg of a room. "Still though, I'd feel a hell of a lot better if I had a . . ." She trailed off. Was she allowed to say gun? Would it cause some sort of large code-monster to leap out of the ground and gobble her up for uttering a tech-word? This . . entire game was confusing.

"Weapon." She finally settled on. The mad prophet had apparently decided better of tussling with the gods of the game, and had made like a rabbit for the nearest exit. This lapse in immediate threat gave Syn time to look to the teenager holding her partner's hand. The girl was youthful, freckled, not more than fourteen or fifteen with brown-ish hair and big grey eyes, biting her lip. And yet . . her clothing seemed actually quite sturdy, sensible and most definitely seemed "nerdy", or whatever it was called of someone who knew what the game was about. Maybe Lace had found someone worth saving.

Syn sort of doubted that though, her companion had a bad habit of collecting broken things.

The girl seemed unwilling to talk, or unable at the moment. And Syn didn't feel the urge to press, so she glanced over to Ajax again. "Out of . . .curiosity. Does this city have weapons, we could buy?"

Her red-haired friend chortled, in a good mood despite, or perhaps because of the tension that had flooded the room. "Syn feels naked without a pulse pistol."



Edited by Ajax on December 28, 2013 at 3:41:13

Terrel frowned at the device before her, trying not to think of her most immediate outburst. She really needed to stop trying to take control over situations like this, especially when she was clearly outmatched in her knowledge of it. Even still, she made do with just squaring her shoulders and crossing her arms, watching the kid work.

He mentioned stuff on the screen, but it wasn't anything that she could make real sense of, so she just nodded as if she understood it, trying to think of something not entirely stupid to say by the end of it. When he finished, the best she could come up with was a small remark.

"Seems kind of arcane, to me, but if it works, then fine. Does it... help us, in this case?"

---

Sark glanced at his own map, noting the positions that his party members had fled to once things had gotten ugly. A ridiculous intrusion, really, but not much more. "Good question! Oh, and to answer your question, the name's Sark." Without any more delay, he fired a party invite in Marcus' direction.

"Seems half the folks of our group are gathering at a pub a few blocks down. If you're interested, of course. Might be a good idea to leave sooner rather than later, though." The room was rapidly emptying, in fact, and he felt a bit of a fool for still being around.