Encounterlogs
Joels Odd Encounter Sr Syl 241010
In a meticulously kept room within White Oak Hall, Joel witnesses a solemn, rain-drenched encounter that seems more intriguing than his homework. A mysterious man, drenched by the weeping sky, engages in a low-voiced phone conversation that Joel eavesdrops on from his dorm window. The man, identified by his rain-slicked coat and a distinctive ring with a fractured sapphire, discusses a secretive meeting concerning a ritual with cataclysmic intentions led by The Sapphire Martyrs. Joel, initially hesitant, decides to follow the man, grasping the gravity of the conversation which hints at a destructive plan that could threaten worlds beyond their own. Despite his suspicion and emerging concern, Joel struggles with the decision to directly confront the situation, opting instead to call campus security with hopes of intervention, while battling self-reproach and a feeling of being overwhelmed by the enormity of the unfolding events.
Meanwhile, William, an unofficial visitor of the campus, inadvertently crosses paths with the ominous man. Oblivious to the tense exchange Joel had witnessed, he too encounters the man discussing the destructive plan on his phone. Unlike Joel, William does not immediately grasp the gravity of the situation due to his unplanned engagement with his surroundings and a preoccupied demeanor spurred by a personal message. However, as he overhears snippets of the conversation about destroying a node to save multiple worlds, his curiosity is piqued. Unbeknownst to him, the authorities, already alerted by Joel’s call, are quietly mobilizing in the background, preparing to confront a danger that William has only just begun to realize exists. Torn between the perceived urgency of his personal affairs and the unfolding mystery, William finds himself amidst a potentially vital confrontation, his actions unknowingly pivotal in either aiding or averting a crisis engineered by the desperate members of The Sapphire Martyrs.
(Joel's odd encounter(SRSyl):SRSyl)
[Wed Oct 9 2024]
In Room One
This room is rather meticulous in how neat and tidy it is. The flooring here is a hardwood laminate and the walls here are colored a sapphire blue, and there are gold borders that align the top and bottom. For the most part, the room is undecorated, but there's a mirror on the southern wall, the frame of it shaded a rich gold. The frame of the window to the north is also shaded that same gold, matching the curtains that conceal or reveal the greenery outside.
It is afternoon, about 58F(14C) degrees, and the sky is covered by dark grey stormclouds. It's raining outside.
(Your target and their allies stumble upon a secret meeting of The Sapphire Martyrs. They overhear a discussion about a destructive ritual the group is planning to perform that will cause a significant devastation, a step towards their eventual goal of world destruction. The group must decide whether to interrupt the meeting immediately or gather more information before making a move. This encounter could involve a tense stealth mission, a full-blown confrontation, or a desperate race to stop the Martyrs from completing their ritual.)
The grounds outside White Oak were drizzling like the world itself was crying. Tear streaked windows. Sorrow. It wasn't just the weather either. There was a person passing below Joel's window.
The campus grounds outside White Oak Hall shimmered with the sheen of fresh rain, the brick paths crisscrossing the courtyard slick and dark beneath the dim streetlights. Most of the students had scattered indoors, leaving the usually vibrant quad empty and silent. Only one figure moved below, his pace unhurried as he crossed from one path to the next, his shoulders drawn in against the rains persistent patter.
He paused just below Joels window, a tall man with a rain-slicked coat hanging heavily on his frame. He glanced up, not at the building but at something far away, his gaze distant and empty. His chest rose and fell with a deep sigh that Joel could almost hear, then he shook his head slowly. Water beaded along the brim of his hat, streaming down his face and dripping onto the front of his coat, yet he didnt bother to wipe it away.
The man stood there a moment longer, hands stuffed deep into his pockets.
A ringtone cut through the rains steady drumminga soft, familiar melody that seemed out of place. The man reached into his coat, pulled out a phone, and answered in a low voice.
Its me.
A pause, and then the man nodded, even though there was no one there to see it.
Yeah, Im at White Oak. No, its secure. No ones around.
Another silence. When he spoke again, his voice was heavier, almost resigned.
I can come, yeah. We're really going to be doing this so soon?
A sharp intake of breath from the other end, and the mans tone dropped further, each word thick with some unspoken weight.
I know the risks. We all do. But if we dont do it all those connections, all those worlds theyll burn with us.
There was a brief, almost desperate murmur from the phone. The mans hand tightened around the device, knuckles white.
Smething was Happening outside Joel's window. Something potentially more interesting and important than homework.
Joel stares at the books spread over his table. It's been a good half hour since he was able to actualy pay attention to what he's reading. And so bit by bit the conversation from outside is filtering in. It takes a few seconds for the meaning to fully register in his brain. With a deep frown, Joel walks to the window, staring down at the man in the coat. Oh yes, nothing the least bit suspicious there. A hand fiddles with the phone on his pocket as he tries to keep out of view while still catching a glimpse of where the man might be headed.
The rain continued to fall like teardrops from a sad sky upon the man. More visible now, there were things about him more easily seen. Most notably he wore a ring. Some might recognize that ring. It had the fractured, tear-shaped blue sapphire of the Sapphire Martyrs upon it. Holding his cell phone and not looking toward the window so much as around at the dorms, the man had a confused air to him. "Man, I'm a bit confused here. I can come, yeah. But I told you. I'm here. I'm at White Oak. I don't really get what you mean. Why you are acting like I'm backing out?"
"Yeah, I'm here," the man muttered, his voice low and frustrated. "No, I'm at White Oak. What do you mean, 'where'? I'm looking right at it. I'm at one of them right now. It it a different sorority or something? You're not making sense.
There was a long pause. Joel caught the faint crackle of the other person's voice on the phone, though he couldn't make out the words. Whatever was being said, it clearly wasn't sitting well with the man. He glanced around, agitated, his free hand gesturing as if to prove a point.
"Of course I'm sure. It's the old building, right? I'm standing here. You said"
More crackling, sharper now, as if the person on the other end was raising their voice. The man flinched and then looked up at White Oak Hall again, squinting as though seeing it for the first time.
What? What dorm? The man's tone shifted from confusion to irritation, his fingers flexing around the phone. "The forest? No, that place is condemned! Why the hell would we go there?"
The voice on the other end spoke sharply, cutting through the man's protest. He grimaced, his shoulders hunching defensively as he listened.
"Fine, fine. The old dorm claimed by the forest. I get it now." He sounded exasperated, like someone forced to admit a mistake they didn't want to own up to. "You should've been clearer. I'm standing around here like an idiot while everyone else is"
The voice interrupted again, and this time the man didn't try to argue. His shoulders sagged, and he nodded slowly, staring down at his shoes as if they'd somehow betrayed him.
"Yeah I know what's at stake," he murmured, quieter now. "I'll head over there.""
Joel frowns further by the moment, trying to make out details of the man beneath his window and not getting very far. With a quiet muttered curse, he pulls his hoodie's hood over his face and starts to head out of his dorm, trying to get downstairs before the man is gone. As he walks he has his phone out, trying to find the number for campus security--because of course he never thought to get that ready beforehand.
Rain fell steadily over White Oak Campus, each drop a cold pinprick against the skin. The pathways gleamed under the dim glow of lampposts, their reflections stretching across puddles that had formed. The air was crisp, filled with the scent of wet earth and the distant aroma of pine from the bordering forest. The campus was quiet, the usual bustle of students replaced by the steady rhythm of the rain.
The man, true to his word, had not been idle. Coming out of the dorm he was no longer by the window, though he still held his phone to him as he walked. He was moving with a slow, deliberate pace, his steps echoing softly against the wet walkway. His coat was soaked through, clinging to his frame like a shroud, and his hair was plastered to his forehead. Easier now, to get some of his features. Tall in that he was six foot. Gray coat. Dark hair. Pale skin. A ring on his finger. The ring had a fractured, tear-shaped blue sapphire upon it.
The solitary figure was ambling away from the dorm. Ambled along the winding walkways. A man moving with a slow, deliberate pace. His coat was soaked through and dripping at the edges. His shoulders were hunched, not so much against the rain but as if bearing an invisible weight. Unfazed by the downpour, he made no attempt to shield himself, allowing the rain to plaster his unkempt hair against his forehead. As if hearing something he turned to look back, just a glance toward Joel. His features became even more discernible. His face was gaunt, with hollow cheeks and a pallor that suggested sleepless nights. Dark circles rimmed his eyes, which stared ahead with a vacant, distant look. There was a deep sadness etched into the lines of his face, a weariness that seemed to seep from his very being.
Desires wafted off him, to prevent the end of the world, but more then that, to die himself. He was not a happy man.
The glance, apparently, wasn't enough to cause the man any concern. He looked away. Continued walking. "Everything is ..." the man said. "The ritual ... will ... destroy ... yes." The pitter patter of rain and the lead he had on Joel made the words harder to hear. He was walking toward the reception of White Oak. Moving to leave the campus.
The White Oak website naturally listed its security numbers in a place not so hard to find. Joel would find the numbers easily enough once he had searched for it and could put in a call. Maybe it would be possible to intercept the man before he ever made it off campus to the abandoned dorm in the forest.
Joel stares after the man, finding himself shivering faintly at the desperation he subconsciously picks up from the man. He exhales deeply, stepping back into the hallway of the fraternity for a moment. He hesitates, biting his lip in thought. "Why is absolutely everything around here about saving or destryoing the world" he mutters quietly. But ultimately, he knows he's in over his head here, and he quickly dials the number, sneaking a glance back outside as he waits for the call to connect.
Forming puddles splashed water underfoot with each step.
"Yeah I can do that," the man ahead said. "No, no. I mean, its on the way right? I just Grab them."
What could he thinking to grab. What horror was planned to help aid in whatever destruction the Sapphire Marty had in store once he arrived at that old ruin he was going to go to. The desire for food tinged upwward. "I mean, I'm keeping all of you from eating so it just makes sense. Really, I don't mind."
Apparently, even cultists aiming to cut off the world from another have desires beyond being cultists. Food. Not everything is about the end of the world.
He waited, absently kicking at a loose pebble on the path.
Meanwhile, the phone line connected, a brief crackle preceding the answer. A firm but courteous voice came through clearly, despite the muffled background noises.
"Campus Security, How may I assist you?"
Joel frowns, still casing the occasional glance outside. 'oh he just wants to eat' is not always a reassuring thought around here. "Uh, yeah" he says quietly into the phone. "There's a stranger in a coat just outside Purity House. He was talking some strange stuff about... some ritual to be done at the old dorm in the forest. Uh, something about preserving the world. And he's wearing a ring with a blue stone..." The one nice thing about White Oak is that you can make calls like these to security.
It was a dreary campus. Rain falling. Not many students eager to stand out in the open beneath the fall of it. A man who looked gaunt and tired and sad trudged along the path away from Purity House. Away from Joel, who was taking a phone call there.
"A blue ring with a tear shaped sapphire?" The security office has concern in thier voice as they ask the clarifying question.
The man appeared tall and gaunt, his frame draped in a long, rain-soaked black coat that hung heavily on his shoulders. His dark hair, slicked back and plastered against his head, added to the sharpness of his hollow cheeks and pallid complexion. Beneath the coat, he wore scuffed dress shoes that splashed softly through the shallow puddles.
He moved slowly, ambling along the pathway with an almost languid gait, his shoulders hunched and head down, as if weighed down by more than just the rain. A sapphire ring gleamed faintly on his hand when it caught the light, the blue stone fractured and reflecting the streetlamp glow like a broken tear.
The man walked north, heading toward the plaza that connected several main paths of the campus. His direction suggested he might be making his way to the White Oak reception area, which stood to the east of the dorms and beyond the wide, open space of the plaza. He would be leaving Joel behind if Joel stayed inside. Maybe that would be fine. Maybe Joel could trust campus security to take care of the rest if he just passed along enough information for them to find the man.
Joel stares out in hesitation, watching the man head out into the rain. He fully realizes the narrative conventions here hare not to leave this in other hands. But he has been in Haven just long enough to learn how little he is actually prepared for some of the things going on here. Are the authorities he is communicating with the right choice to deal with these matters? He doesn't know, but right now, the heroic spirit fails to manifest in him and he takes a further step back into the fraternity, not without a twing of self-reproach in his eyes. "Yeah... could well be a sapphire." He relates waht info he can about what he saw, answering security's questions, before hesitantly making his way back to his room.
Without any clue of whatever had happened up until that point, or having even seen Joel or the mysterious man, William comes out of the Spender Arts and Wellness Center, his visit to the campus of White Oak born out of a fit to inquire some teacher about some doubts from the previous lesson.
He wasn't really a student at the academy, but he spent enough time around for people to confuse him for one. Now on the street, or well, the pathways of the institution's campus, he sighs at the still present rain, even groaning to himself, he would have thought it would have been over by the time he got out.
Coming from the United Kingdom, he was kind of used to the frequent downpours, but it was still annoying for them to last all day long, he was used to just pass the time inside while they happened. So with a turn of his body, he heads towards the intersection, the plaza, blissfully unaware, aiming to head towards the reception and head back outside, not even noticing Joel's pressence or dilemma
Luckily for William, the walkway outside of the Spencer Arts and Wellness Center is covered. Not just by anything either, but by something quite unique to the school.
Just outside the Scenter white stone bricks contrast with the sleek black material that composes the skeleton of the covered walkway and spiderwebs overhead. Light is permitted to filter in from the open sides and through the semitransparent membrane that shelters the interlocking cubes beneath. They seem to entwine like vines or tentacles, but still form a perfectly flat surface, not unlike if the upper surface of a more rounded construct had been shaved down to a cross section. A series of veined tubes slosh and slurp murky fluid throughout the campus overhead.
Now, with the rain slicing down, they drop fluid to the sides as well as runoff from the rainfall patters more insisently on the side of the walkway.
He can't see the man yet. He can't hear him either. Yet the two are potentially on a collision course depending on the choices that William makes. Will he head toward the North, potentially spotting the suspicious man bearing the symbol of the Sapphire Martyrs or will he do something else, unknowninlgy leaving fate in the hands of a campus secuirty team whose competence may not be great enough to esnure that the planned ritual is not succcessfully cast.
Joel has passed along the information to campus security. He's left it in their hands. Now he enjoys the relative peace and safety of Purity House and the comfort of the potentially dull boredom of studying once more.
William lets out a bit of a breath as he starts walking towards the plaza, his questions not answered, the professor wasn't around no matter where he had looked. Then his gaze shifts down to his trousers, to the pocket in them, there was a vibration. With a hand he fishes his phone out of it, and pauses his walk in order to read the message.
His face seems to almost light up as he reads it, looking around the place almost as if to check there was no one looking around, hesitating to just straight up run outside of the bounds of White Oak, whatever he had read, it had him excited, yet he doesn't run, he manages to keep it inside and just resume his walk with a smile on his face.
His steps a bit faster now, eager to reach the crossroads and head towards the east, where the exit awaited, almost bouncing in his stride, spirits clearly lifted by a single string of words in his phone
The spideweb membrane of a cover above with its strange veins pumping fluid continues to shelter William as he steps across the dry ground. The nearby Fountain of the Faceless Mermaid draws nearer as William walks over the white stone bricks of the walkway. The rain continues to fall, but the shelter of the walkway keeps it from touching him. The sound of the rain is muffled by the membrane above, but the sound of the water in the fountain is not. It sounds as loud as ever, perhaps even louder. The trickling as the mermaid issues forth her stream grows from soft to merely faint. The coutyard is ahead.
William would see the signs explaining the ways to go. West to chapel, dorms, and biodome. North to the clinic. East to the student union. South to head back to the classrooms and gyms.
The walk to the east has beauty to it. The phone isn't only nice thing around. Sprawling cobblestone pathways weave through meticulously landscaped gardens and inviting seating areas. Usually, the towering, centuries-old oak trees cast dappled shadows on the weathered stone benches and the bustling clusters of students engaged in animated discussions and academic pursuits, creating a serene yet lively ambiance. The distant echoes of laughter and the subtle aroma of freshly brewed coffee from the nearby cafe intermingle with the rustling of leaves. There isn't that laughter now. People aren't sitting under the tree while water falls from the sky. Actually, there is a stillness to the campus. Like its holding its breath. Like the weeping of the sky is a funeral dirge. Like something is about to happen. And somethng is happening. William can hear it behind him. The soft slap of wet shoes. Someone is there behind him.
Gaunt faced. Phone held to his ear. A ring on his finger proclaiming his allegiance to the Sapphire Martys and their quest to end the world so as to prevent the end of many worlds. His bearing is not that of confidence and power. He is a beaten down man with black hair and tired eyes. Hopelessness seems to cling to him. It takes a certain kind of person to think the world is so lost that it would be better that it was destroyed. He is that kind of person. And he is behind William. And he is talking.
"We'll destroy it. Don't be so down," he says, voice muffled by the rain. "If any place is the place to hit, its places near here. This is where the connection is strongest. Its a hub. If we can just cut off this place, then the Doom isn't going to be able to spread to everwhere else. Don't give up. I told you, I'm coming! I just misunderstood. I thought you meant on the White Oak dorms, not the old one that was off campus in the forest. I'm really on my way. Really."
William perks his eyebrow upon overhearing the conversation. He doesn't react much in the way he's walking, maybe his pace slows down a bit as if to listen to whatever that was, but nothing too blatant. He reaches for his phone once again, trying to send a quick reply to the previous text, but it fails, there is a lack of connection for some reason.
He curses to himself, letting out an annoyed groan, he didn't know if it was something about White Oak, or if it was due to the storm, but it was slightly souring the mood that message had gotten him in. No matter, he could just walk outside and try again, just needed to head for the entrance.
But he was also nosy enough to put an ear into the conversation of the man, it didn't seem something pleasant, and while he knew he probably could not do much to stop anything, nothing would prevent him from informing some people about it the moment his phone was up and running once more
William's pace slowed almost imperceptibly, the soft thud of his shoes on the cobblestones easing into a quieter rhythm. The man behind him did not slow. His voice, his footsteps, the heavy weight of his presence all grew louder and more bold as he closed the distance between himself and William. just have to take out the node. That'll break the link sever it clean. There was an unsettling calmness in the way he spoke, like someone resigned to a grim duty. Yes, I know. It's the only way to save them. I'm trying to get there.
Failed to deliver. The signal indicator flickered with a hollow emptiness, not even a single bar of reception.
The covered walkway was gone now. The rain continued its relentless assault, running in rivulets down from tree branches and drizzling in streams. More tiny streams of water pooled at the base of the benches and splashed against the garden beds, the soft splattering sounds merging into a quiet, almost soothing background noise.
In the distance ahead though, there were students, there were people, and there was the reception. The Union in the closing distance served as the gateway to the rest of the campus and facilities therein. Less a building and more the seamless fusion of the two adjacent structures, The plaza provides space for administrative offices and important communal areas such as the lunch room, bookstore, and library. It's also home to the Haven Sheriff's Department, the deputies of which assist with school security and community outreach when their other duties permit.
That department had gotten a call earlier and a man and woman bearing the badge of office of the department were among those in the mill of people using the building to escape the rain. They had a coiled way to them, ready for danger, eyes roving, searching. They looked toward William. They looked toward the man walking now, beside rather than behind William. Two people, not college students, seemingly walking together, neither looking to be in the best of moods.
"I think we've got a problem," the man on the phone said. "Got some people looking at me like they Know. I'm going to have to go. I'll call you back." The man hung up the cellphone then. Meanwhile the police ahead reached for their radio, lingering back. With the distance it wasn't possible to make out what was being said, especially not with the rain covering noise as it was.
Meanwhile, William, an unofficial visitor of the campus, inadvertently crosses paths with the ominous man. Oblivious to the tense exchange Joel had witnessed, he too encounters the man discussing the destructive plan on his phone. Unlike Joel, William does not immediately grasp the gravity of the situation due to his unplanned engagement with his surroundings and a preoccupied demeanor spurred by a personal message. However, as he overhears snippets of the conversation about destroying a node to save multiple worlds, his curiosity is piqued. Unbeknownst to him, the authorities, already alerted by Joel’s call, are quietly mobilizing in the background, preparing to confront a danger that William has only just begun to realize exists. Torn between the perceived urgency of his personal affairs and the unfolding mystery, William finds himself amidst a potentially vital confrontation, his actions unknowingly pivotal in either aiding or averting a crisis engineered by the desperate members of The Sapphire Martyrs.
(Joel's odd encounter(SRSyl):SRSyl)
[Wed Oct 9 2024]
In Room One
This room is rather meticulous in how neat and tidy it is. The flooring here is a hardwood laminate and the walls here are colored a sapphire blue, and there are gold borders that align the top and bottom. For the most part, the room is undecorated, but there's a mirror on the southern wall, the frame of it shaded a rich gold. The frame of the window to the north is also shaded that same gold, matching the curtains that conceal or reveal the greenery outside.
It is afternoon, about 58F(14C) degrees, and the sky is covered by dark grey stormclouds. It's raining outside.
(Your target and their allies stumble upon a secret meeting of The Sapphire Martyrs. They overhear a discussion about a destructive ritual the group is planning to perform that will cause a significant devastation, a step towards their eventual goal of world destruction. The group must decide whether to interrupt the meeting immediately or gather more information before making a move. This encounter could involve a tense stealth mission, a full-blown confrontation, or a desperate race to stop the Martyrs from completing their ritual.)
The grounds outside White Oak were drizzling like the world itself was crying. Tear streaked windows. Sorrow. It wasn't just the weather either. There was a person passing below Joel's window.
The campus grounds outside White Oak Hall shimmered with the sheen of fresh rain, the brick paths crisscrossing the courtyard slick and dark beneath the dim streetlights. Most of the students had scattered indoors, leaving the usually vibrant quad empty and silent. Only one figure moved below, his pace unhurried as he crossed from one path to the next, his shoulders drawn in against the rains persistent patter.
He paused just below Joels window, a tall man with a rain-slicked coat hanging heavily on his frame. He glanced up, not at the building but at something far away, his gaze distant and empty. His chest rose and fell with a deep sigh that Joel could almost hear, then he shook his head slowly. Water beaded along the brim of his hat, streaming down his face and dripping onto the front of his coat, yet he didnt bother to wipe it away.
The man stood there a moment longer, hands stuffed deep into his pockets.
A ringtone cut through the rains steady drumminga soft, familiar melody that seemed out of place. The man reached into his coat, pulled out a phone, and answered in a low voice.
Its me.
A pause, and then the man nodded, even though there was no one there to see it.
Yeah, Im at White Oak. No, its secure. No ones around.
Another silence. When he spoke again, his voice was heavier, almost resigned.
I can come, yeah. We're really going to be doing this so soon?
A sharp intake of breath from the other end, and the mans tone dropped further, each word thick with some unspoken weight.
I know the risks. We all do. But if we dont do it all those connections, all those worlds theyll burn with us.
There was a brief, almost desperate murmur from the phone. The mans hand tightened around the device, knuckles white.
Smething was Happening outside Joel's window. Something potentially more interesting and important than homework.
Joel stares at the books spread over his table. It's been a good half hour since he was able to actualy pay attention to what he's reading. And so bit by bit the conversation from outside is filtering in. It takes a few seconds for the meaning to fully register in his brain. With a deep frown, Joel walks to the window, staring down at the man in the coat. Oh yes, nothing the least bit suspicious there. A hand fiddles with the phone on his pocket as he tries to keep out of view while still catching a glimpse of where the man might be headed.
The rain continued to fall like teardrops from a sad sky upon the man. More visible now, there were things about him more easily seen. Most notably he wore a ring. Some might recognize that ring. It had the fractured, tear-shaped blue sapphire of the Sapphire Martyrs upon it. Holding his cell phone and not looking toward the window so much as around at the dorms, the man had a confused air to him. "Man, I'm a bit confused here. I can come, yeah. But I told you. I'm here. I'm at White Oak. I don't really get what you mean. Why you are acting like I'm backing out?"
"Yeah, I'm here," the man muttered, his voice low and frustrated. "No, I'm at White Oak. What do you mean, 'where'? I'm looking right at it. I'm at one of them right now. It it a different sorority or something? You're not making sense.
There was a long pause. Joel caught the faint crackle of the other person's voice on the phone, though he couldn't make out the words. Whatever was being said, it clearly wasn't sitting well with the man. He glanced around, agitated, his free hand gesturing as if to prove a point.
"Of course I'm sure. It's the old building, right? I'm standing here. You said"
More crackling, sharper now, as if the person on the other end was raising their voice. The man flinched and then looked up at White Oak Hall again, squinting as though seeing it for the first time.
What? What dorm? The man's tone shifted from confusion to irritation, his fingers flexing around the phone. "The forest? No, that place is condemned! Why the hell would we go there?"
The voice on the other end spoke sharply, cutting through the man's protest. He grimaced, his shoulders hunching defensively as he listened.
"Fine, fine. The old dorm claimed by the forest. I get it now." He sounded exasperated, like someone forced to admit a mistake they didn't want to own up to. "You should've been clearer. I'm standing around here like an idiot while everyone else is"
The voice interrupted again, and this time the man didn't try to argue. His shoulders sagged, and he nodded slowly, staring down at his shoes as if they'd somehow betrayed him.
"Yeah I know what's at stake," he murmured, quieter now. "I'll head over there.""
Joel frowns further by the moment, trying to make out details of the man beneath his window and not getting very far. With a quiet muttered curse, he pulls his hoodie's hood over his face and starts to head out of his dorm, trying to get downstairs before the man is gone. As he walks he has his phone out, trying to find the number for campus security--because of course he never thought to get that ready beforehand.
Rain fell steadily over White Oak Campus, each drop a cold pinprick against the skin. The pathways gleamed under the dim glow of lampposts, their reflections stretching across puddles that had formed. The air was crisp, filled with the scent of wet earth and the distant aroma of pine from the bordering forest. The campus was quiet, the usual bustle of students replaced by the steady rhythm of the rain.
The man, true to his word, had not been idle. Coming out of the dorm he was no longer by the window, though he still held his phone to him as he walked. He was moving with a slow, deliberate pace, his steps echoing softly against the wet walkway. His coat was soaked through, clinging to his frame like a shroud, and his hair was plastered to his forehead. Easier now, to get some of his features. Tall in that he was six foot. Gray coat. Dark hair. Pale skin. A ring on his finger. The ring had a fractured, tear-shaped blue sapphire upon it.
The solitary figure was ambling away from the dorm. Ambled along the winding walkways. A man moving with a slow, deliberate pace. His coat was soaked through and dripping at the edges. His shoulders were hunched, not so much against the rain but as if bearing an invisible weight. Unfazed by the downpour, he made no attempt to shield himself, allowing the rain to plaster his unkempt hair against his forehead. As if hearing something he turned to look back, just a glance toward Joel. His features became even more discernible. His face was gaunt, with hollow cheeks and a pallor that suggested sleepless nights. Dark circles rimmed his eyes, which stared ahead with a vacant, distant look. There was a deep sadness etched into the lines of his face, a weariness that seemed to seep from his very being.
Desires wafted off him, to prevent the end of the world, but more then that, to die himself. He was not a happy man.
The glance, apparently, wasn't enough to cause the man any concern. He looked away. Continued walking. "Everything is ..." the man said. "The ritual ... will ... destroy ... yes." The pitter patter of rain and the lead he had on Joel made the words harder to hear. He was walking toward the reception of White Oak. Moving to leave the campus.
The White Oak website naturally listed its security numbers in a place not so hard to find. Joel would find the numbers easily enough once he had searched for it and could put in a call. Maybe it would be possible to intercept the man before he ever made it off campus to the abandoned dorm in the forest.
Joel stares after the man, finding himself shivering faintly at the desperation he subconsciously picks up from the man. He exhales deeply, stepping back into the hallway of the fraternity for a moment. He hesitates, biting his lip in thought. "Why is absolutely everything around here about saving or destryoing the world" he mutters quietly. But ultimately, he knows he's in over his head here, and he quickly dials the number, sneaking a glance back outside as he waits for the call to connect.
Forming puddles splashed water underfoot with each step.
"Yeah I can do that," the man ahead said. "No, no. I mean, its on the way right? I just Grab them."
What could he thinking to grab. What horror was planned to help aid in whatever destruction the Sapphire Marty had in store once he arrived at that old ruin he was going to go to. The desire for food tinged upwward. "I mean, I'm keeping all of you from eating so it just makes sense. Really, I don't mind."
Apparently, even cultists aiming to cut off the world from another have desires beyond being cultists. Food. Not everything is about the end of the world.
He waited, absently kicking at a loose pebble on the path.
Meanwhile, the phone line connected, a brief crackle preceding the answer. A firm but courteous voice came through clearly, despite the muffled background noises.
"Campus Security, How may I assist you?"
Joel frowns, still casing the occasional glance outside. 'oh he just wants to eat' is not always a reassuring thought around here. "Uh, yeah" he says quietly into the phone. "There's a stranger in a coat just outside Purity House. He was talking some strange stuff about... some ritual to be done at the old dorm in the forest. Uh, something about preserving the world. And he's wearing a ring with a blue stone..." The one nice thing about White Oak is that you can make calls like these to security.
It was a dreary campus. Rain falling. Not many students eager to stand out in the open beneath the fall of it. A man who looked gaunt and tired and sad trudged along the path away from Purity House. Away from Joel, who was taking a phone call there.
"A blue ring with a tear shaped sapphire?" The security office has concern in thier voice as they ask the clarifying question.
The man appeared tall and gaunt, his frame draped in a long, rain-soaked black coat that hung heavily on his shoulders. His dark hair, slicked back and plastered against his head, added to the sharpness of his hollow cheeks and pallid complexion. Beneath the coat, he wore scuffed dress shoes that splashed softly through the shallow puddles.
He moved slowly, ambling along the pathway with an almost languid gait, his shoulders hunched and head down, as if weighed down by more than just the rain. A sapphire ring gleamed faintly on his hand when it caught the light, the blue stone fractured and reflecting the streetlamp glow like a broken tear.
The man walked north, heading toward the plaza that connected several main paths of the campus. His direction suggested he might be making his way to the White Oak reception area, which stood to the east of the dorms and beyond the wide, open space of the plaza. He would be leaving Joel behind if Joel stayed inside. Maybe that would be fine. Maybe Joel could trust campus security to take care of the rest if he just passed along enough information for them to find the man.
Joel stares out in hesitation, watching the man head out into the rain. He fully realizes the narrative conventions here hare not to leave this in other hands. But he has been in Haven just long enough to learn how little he is actually prepared for some of the things going on here. Are the authorities he is communicating with the right choice to deal with these matters? He doesn't know, but right now, the heroic spirit fails to manifest in him and he takes a further step back into the fraternity, not without a twing of self-reproach in his eyes. "Yeah... could well be a sapphire." He relates waht info he can about what he saw, answering security's questions, before hesitantly making his way back to his room.
Without any clue of whatever had happened up until that point, or having even seen Joel or the mysterious man, William comes out of the Spender Arts and Wellness Center, his visit to the campus of White Oak born out of a fit to inquire some teacher about some doubts from the previous lesson.
He wasn't really a student at the academy, but he spent enough time around for people to confuse him for one. Now on the street, or well, the pathways of the institution's campus, he sighs at the still present rain, even groaning to himself, he would have thought it would have been over by the time he got out.
Coming from the United Kingdom, he was kind of used to the frequent downpours, but it was still annoying for them to last all day long, he was used to just pass the time inside while they happened. So with a turn of his body, he heads towards the intersection, the plaza, blissfully unaware, aiming to head towards the reception and head back outside, not even noticing Joel's pressence or dilemma
Luckily for William, the walkway outside of the Spencer Arts and Wellness Center is covered. Not just by anything either, but by something quite unique to the school.
Just outside the Scenter white stone bricks contrast with the sleek black material that composes the skeleton of the covered walkway and spiderwebs overhead. Light is permitted to filter in from the open sides and through the semitransparent membrane that shelters the interlocking cubes beneath. They seem to entwine like vines or tentacles, but still form a perfectly flat surface, not unlike if the upper surface of a more rounded construct had been shaved down to a cross section. A series of veined tubes slosh and slurp murky fluid throughout the campus overhead.
Now, with the rain slicing down, they drop fluid to the sides as well as runoff from the rainfall patters more insisently on the side of the walkway.
He can't see the man yet. He can't hear him either. Yet the two are potentially on a collision course depending on the choices that William makes. Will he head toward the North, potentially spotting the suspicious man bearing the symbol of the Sapphire Martyrs or will he do something else, unknowninlgy leaving fate in the hands of a campus secuirty team whose competence may not be great enough to esnure that the planned ritual is not succcessfully cast.
Joel has passed along the information to campus security. He's left it in their hands. Now he enjoys the relative peace and safety of Purity House and the comfort of the potentially dull boredom of studying once more.
William lets out a bit of a breath as he starts walking towards the plaza, his questions not answered, the professor wasn't around no matter where he had looked. Then his gaze shifts down to his trousers, to the pocket in them, there was a vibration. With a hand he fishes his phone out of it, and pauses his walk in order to read the message.
His face seems to almost light up as he reads it, looking around the place almost as if to check there was no one looking around, hesitating to just straight up run outside of the bounds of White Oak, whatever he had read, it had him excited, yet he doesn't run, he manages to keep it inside and just resume his walk with a smile on his face.
His steps a bit faster now, eager to reach the crossroads and head towards the east, where the exit awaited, almost bouncing in his stride, spirits clearly lifted by a single string of words in his phone
The spideweb membrane of a cover above with its strange veins pumping fluid continues to shelter William as he steps across the dry ground. The nearby Fountain of the Faceless Mermaid draws nearer as William walks over the white stone bricks of the walkway. The rain continues to fall, but the shelter of the walkway keeps it from touching him. The sound of the rain is muffled by the membrane above, but the sound of the water in the fountain is not. It sounds as loud as ever, perhaps even louder. The trickling as the mermaid issues forth her stream grows from soft to merely faint. The coutyard is ahead.
William would see the signs explaining the ways to go. West to chapel, dorms, and biodome. North to the clinic. East to the student union. South to head back to the classrooms and gyms.
The walk to the east has beauty to it. The phone isn't only nice thing around. Sprawling cobblestone pathways weave through meticulously landscaped gardens and inviting seating areas. Usually, the towering, centuries-old oak trees cast dappled shadows on the weathered stone benches and the bustling clusters of students engaged in animated discussions and academic pursuits, creating a serene yet lively ambiance. The distant echoes of laughter and the subtle aroma of freshly brewed coffee from the nearby cafe intermingle with the rustling of leaves. There isn't that laughter now. People aren't sitting under the tree while water falls from the sky. Actually, there is a stillness to the campus. Like its holding its breath. Like the weeping of the sky is a funeral dirge. Like something is about to happen. And somethng is happening. William can hear it behind him. The soft slap of wet shoes. Someone is there behind him.
Gaunt faced. Phone held to his ear. A ring on his finger proclaiming his allegiance to the Sapphire Martys and their quest to end the world so as to prevent the end of many worlds. His bearing is not that of confidence and power. He is a beaten down man with black hair and tired eyes. Hopelessness seems to cling to him. It takes a certain kind of person to think the world is so lost that it would be better that it was destroyed. He is that kind of person. And he is behind William. And he is talking.
"We'll destroy it. Don't be so down," he says, voice muffled by the rain. "If any place is the place to hit, its places near here. This is where the connection is strongest. Its a hub. If we can just cut off this place, then the Doom isn't going to be able to spread to everwhere else. Don't give up. I told you, I'm coming! I just misunderstood. I thought you meant on the White Oak dorms, not the old one that was off campus in the forest. I'm really on my way. Really."
William perks his eyebrow upon overhearing the conversation. He doesn't react much in the way he's walking, maybe his pace slows down a bit as if to listen to whatever that was, but nothing too blatant. He reaches for his phone once again, trying to send a quick reply to the previous text, but it fails, there is a lack of connection for some reason.
He curses to himself, letting out an annoyed groan, he didn't know if it was something about White Oak, or if it was due to the storm, but it was slightly souring the mood that message had gotten him in. No matter, he could just walk outside and try again, just needed to head for the entrance.
But he was also nosy enough to put an ear into the conversation of the man, it didn't seem something pleasant, and while he knew he probably could not do much to stop anything, nothing would prevent him from informing some people about it the moment his phone was up and running once more
William's pace slowed almost imperceptibly, the soft thud of his shoes on the cobblestones easing into a quieter rhythm. The man behind him did not slow. His voice, his footsteps, the heavy weight of his presence all grew louder and more bold as he closed the distance between himself and William. just have to take out the node. That'll break the link sever it clean. There was an unsettling calmness in the way he spoke, like someone resigned to a grim duty. Yes, I know. It's the only way to save them. I'm trying to get there.
Failed to deliver. The signal indicator flickered with a hollow emptiness, not even a single bar of reception.
The covered walkway was gone now. The rain continued its relentless assault, running in rivulets down from tree branches and drizzling in streams. More tiny streams of water pooled at the base of the benches and splashed against the garden beds, the soft splattering sounds merging into a quiet, almost soothing background noise.
In the distance ahead though, there were students, there were people, and there was the reception. The Union in the closing distance served as the gateway to the rest of the campus and facilities therein. Less a building and more the seamless fusion of the two adjacent structures, The plaza provides space for administrative offices and important communal areas such as the lunch room, bookstore, and library. It's also home to the Haven Sheriff's Department, the deputies of which assist with school security and community outreach when their other duties permit.
That department had gotten a call earlier and a man and woman bearing the badge of office of the department were among those in the mill of people using the building to escape the rain. They had a coiled way to them, ready for danger, eyes roving, searching. They looked toward William. They looked toward the man walking now, beside rather than behind William. Two people, not college students, seemingly walking together, neither looking to be in the best of moods.
"I think we've got a problem," the man on the phone said. "Got some people looking at me like they Know. I'm going to have to go. I'll call you back." The man hung up the cellphone then. Meanwhile the police ahead reached for their radio, lingering back. With the distance it wasn't possible to make out what was being said, especially not with the rain covering noise as it was.