church

>>128588
>>fall to the floor and just try to sleep

>>128588
Church, bigger chance finding purpose there than in a bar.

>>128588
Inb4 this is "the plague" by camus

James heads to the church, in hopes to find a "purpose", or at the very place a shelter where he can be given sanctuary.

Upon entering, James feel an unusual sensation. It is not one entirely of malice, nor is it one of salvation. It is as if there lies an uncertainty, and James feels discomfort. The church is suspiciously empty,save for a priest and a small girl. The priest, a middle aged man, sees James from a distance, and turns to face the child. Even from the far distance between James and the priest, surprisingly to James himself due to his below average eyesight, he can make out the priest mouthing to the girl the words, “Go to your room”.

The priest then walks swiftly to James, and in a rather stern tone, asks, “Greetings, what brings you here today, young man?”

>”I have committed a sin and wish to confess.”
>”I came in search of ‘purpose.’”
>”I need a place to stay.”

>>128726
very least* a place

>>128726
I came, in search of purpose

“Father, I need to say this, so I’ll put it bluntly. I’ve spent the past few months wandering aimlessly, with no goal in sight, and just managing to survive. I came here, as I’ve tried and failed to do so before in other places, in search of ‘purpose’. I cannot continue living without 'purpose!'”

Understanding his intention, the father closes his eyes for a moment, thinking.
“I see. Young man, you and I share a similar goal. In the past, I too, sought a purpose in this world. I lived a life of poverty, and had nowhere to go. However, I one day found my purpose in ‘Salvation’, seeking to aid others to prevent them from facing the misfortunes I faced in my youth. You have come to the right place. Come, I shall show-”

But before the father can continue, a small child, though not the same one from before, runs into the church, crying, shocking both James and him.

“Sylvia? What are you doing here so late? Where is your father?”

Still holding back tears, the child responds, “I don’t know where my papa is! He was supposed to be home this morning, but he’s still not back!”

The priest, with a look of concern in his eyes, turns to James and says, “Please, make yourself at home, while I speak with Sylvia. Behind the church, there is a small room for you to stay in for the night, if you wish.”

>Stay in the church, you want to help too.
>Walk back out into the street, this doesn't concern you.
>Rest in the room in the back, and wait to talk to the priest the next morning.

>>128853
Sleep

(I was hoping for at least three for the sake of variety in choices, but beggars can't be choosers, so I'll just be grateful anyone is even reading this.)

James decides it’s best for him to get rest, as he isn’t feeling too well. He thanks the father for his kindness, and exits the church. While the girl, Sylvia, still appears to be crying and scared, James feels enough confidence in the priest that he will resolve the situation. Going around the church, James notices that there are in fact two small buildings behind the actual church. One is an ordinary building, and while there exist signs of age, it appears to be sturdy overall. The other, a pathetic excuse for a building, appears to barely stand on its own foundation, and there seems to be a faint, but audible noise. James is both curious and nervous.

>Investigate the poor building
>Investigate the ordinary building
>Return to the church, it’s not worth getting eaten by some animal

>>129024
>Return to the church, it’s not worth getting eaten by some animal

James cowers away, afraid of whatever was in the poorly furnished building. He returns to the church, where the priest and the girl are still talking. You stand by the entrance for a while, before the priest sees you from the corner of his eye, his attention naturally directed towards the child. Turning to face you, he says. “Oh, you changed your mind? It seems you’ve decided to help the girl,”. It seems the priest has mistaken James’ intent, and James feels some level of shame that prevents him from admitting the truth. Eventually, after a moment of awkward silence, James attempts to speak, but is interrupted by the priest, who states, “Sylvia’s father works in delivering and receiving special packages, especially those of particular value. He was away on a trip, delivering an item as usual, but has not returned.” Walking closer to James, the priest whispers “Or, perhaps, he did return, but was ‘stopped by an outsider’, so to speak. In his line of work, it should come as no surprise that such a thing would occur.”

>”What can I do to help?”
>”You seem like you know the guy.”
>“What’s this got to do with me?”

>>129269
>>”What can I do to help?”

>>129269
What can I do to help

(Sorry for the delays, stuff is going on)
James, taking note of the situation, promptly asks, “What can I do to help?”

The priest looks at him with the same seriousness as their previous conversation, and tells him, “I am a man who believes fate can be altered, and that ‘salvation’ is the result of the alteration of fate. You said you came here looking for ‘purpose’, and Sylvia walked in not long after. Being a man who holds unquestioning faith in God, I am inclined to believe that this is no coincidence. Perhaps the ‘purpose’ you were looking for arrived not long after you did. Yes, I am talking about the girl.”

James mildly confused, asks “You think my ‘purpose’ here is to help that girl who walked into a church because her father went missing? Why’d she come here, and not contact the authorities?”

“Her father is a... personal friend of mine. That’s why Sylvia and Elena have grown to become close friends, as well as why she sought me. It’s safe for me to assume that you saw Elena, yes? Anyway, my point is that your ‘purpose’ would be to help that girl. If you could investigate the town, and find any links to her father's disappearance, your 'purpose' will be fulfilled, and surely ‘salvation’ would await you. If you were to be held up by the wings of an angel, and see the town from heaven above, you would note that it is in the shape of a shield, of sorts, with this church being the northwest corner. ”

>”Where should I start?”
>”I’m not sure I’m up to this.”(Doubt)
>”Can I speak to the girl?”

>>129559
>>”Where should I start?”

>>129821
writing
will return after a while, got some work to do

James, with a confident look in his eyes, asks, “Where should I start?”

The Priest, with a more relieved and relaxed expression on his face, states: “You can begin by giving me your name. You may call me Ian.”

In response, James states, “My name is James.”

Father Ian, acknowledging James’ alliance, then proceeds to go to the back room. James stares at the girl, who seems to be calming down, though still retains a worried expression. James notes her details. Judging by her size and body proportion, she couldn’t be any older than 12, and her arm had a large gash, which, based on its current condition, must’ve been acquired at least an hour prior to her entrance in the church, presumably caused by something jagged, like a tree branch, as opposed to something sharp such as a knife, due to the roughened appearance of the wound. The careful notice of the particular details causes James, someone who by no means is an expert in analyzing details, to think to himself, “Wait, how do I know all of this? What the hell is up with me?”

Ability acquired: Scan (level 1) - Scans the details of a person.

Father Ian returns from the back room, telling James, “This is a journal of sorts where you may record your findings. Unfortunately, I do not have a map for you to access, as I do not leave this church very often, but I have a piece of paper which you may use to map the area. I suggest that you begin your journey in the residential area located south from here. May God be with you.”

>SCAN Father Ian, then leave
>Say thanks and leave
>Talk to Sylvia, then leave

>>132340
Talk to Sylvia

>>132340
>Talk to Sylvia, then leave

>>132340
>Talk to Sylvia, then leave

(Sorry for the long delay.)

James, before deciding to investigate, decides that the best course of action would be to get information from Sylvia. Proceeding to walk towards her, she finally becomes aware of his presence, seemingly unaware of him prior to this moment, perhaps due to the shock.

James, in a friendly manner, beings to speak: “Hi, I’m James. I’ve heard your name is Sylvia, right? That’s a nice name.”

Sylvia smiles faintly, and mumbles “Thank you.”


James then continues, “I know you don’t know me, but I’m a friend of Father Ian, and he’s asked me to help you out, so that’s what I’m here to do. But in order to do that, I’m going to need you to focus and tell me a few things. Let’s start with where you got that cut from. Did you trip on something on your way here?”

Sylvia, in response to the mention of the cut, begins to tremble.

“I was…. Running away from something.”

James, puzzled, asks,
“Something? I’m sorry Sylvia, but if I’m going to be able to help you find your papa, I’m going to need you to be a little more specific with me. Please try to be more specific.”

Sylvia, still trembling, responds, “It was a demon! It was black, it had horns and claws, and it was really big! It was running after me, and I wanted Father Ian to help me. My papa always told me demons couldn’t enter the church, and to go to Father Ian if I was ever in danger, so I ran. I got cut on a tree on the way, but I was too scared to notice it earlier.”

James, attempting to comfort Sylvia, puts his hand on her shoulder.

“You’re going to be fine now, alright? Just stay with Father Ian, and that demon won’t come to get you. And I’ll make sure it won’t cause anyone else some harm.”

James, despite these words of comfort, is actually terrified by the idea of a demon terrorizing the town, and thinks to himself: “A demon? Maybe she’s being overactive with her imagination, or it’s an animal. Still, it could be worth investigating, just in case. But at the same time, I... I don't want to die!"

>Head for the forest
>Head for the residential area

>>136505
>Head for the residential area

>>136505
>Head for the residential area

>>136505
>>Head for the residential area

>>136505
Better head to the demon invested forest, seems like a great idea

James attempts to rationalize his fear of encountering a demon in the forest with the justification that he would be more likely to gain information from the residents of town, and, despite the reign of the moon still ongoing, decides to brave the streets and head for the residential area of the town, in the dead of night.

Immediately after, however, he begins to regret his decision, as he is once more painfully reminded that he hasn’t had a decent meal, and had forgotten to ask for a meal from Father Ian. In an attempt to comfort and distract himself, he begins to whistle a small tune off-key. He notes that the town carries a strange air about it, though not quite the same atmosphere present in the church. The town, on the contrary, had a definite atmosphere of “fear”, though James himself was unable to ascertain as to whether this was the town’s fear of something residing within its borders, or if it was perhaps James’ own fears manifesting themselves around his immediate area, a justifiable possibility, given that he is a stranger to this town, and the town is a stranger to him. Perhaps it is a mutual animosity between the town and James, as they don’t understand each other.

James interrupts this train of thought, not wanting to humor the town as a sentient object akin to a human being. It was an absurd thought, to be sure, though James conceded it would make for an interesting topic to get his mind off his problems.
However, just as James was about to decide to distract himself with his thoughts again, he found his path blocked by a lone figure off in the distance. James, being a sort of coward as per his nature, hesitated for a moment, but stood his ground. This figure was but an obstacle on his path to “purpose”, and to submit to his cowardice would be the same as forsaking his “purpose”.

With a tone of defiance, James shouts at the figure, “Who are you!? What the hell do you want!?”

In response, the figure began to approach him, steadily increasing his pace. In doing so, the figure revealed himself as a man with bloodshot eyes and worn, ragged skin. James was able to “analyze” the man’s details even in the darkness and the still rather far distance between him and the man. The man was slightly taller than James, though appeared more slender than he was, indicating some degree of malnutrition. The bloodshot eyes were presumably the result of some combination of addiction to substance, as well as possible sleep deprivation. His overall physical structure would suggest he was a man in his 30’s, though, perhaps due to his substance abuse, looked no younger than 50.

The man began to speak, though the words were slurred and occasionally veered off into incoherence.

“IIIIIIII’m...myyyy name is UUUUlrichh Kanuuhh. Whooo the *hiccup* are yoooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuu!?””

James, still retaining a defiant tone, responds, “What the hell do you need to know for? Piss off!”

>>136785
(post was too long)
However, the feeling of fear began to creep back and James began to lose his confidence as the man got closer.

The man, seemingly offended by James, decides to swing at him. James dodges, but realizes that this man won’t leave him alone without a fight.

>Attack
>Special (Scan level 1)
>Special (Taunt)
>Defend
>Items(None)

>>136794
Scan the man
Also great story telling skills

>>136794
>>Special (Scan level 1)

James begins to feel a “weight” on his eye, as though he was wearing a lens. However, this weight doesn’t necessarily feel detrimental to him, and in fact, to continue the analogy to a lens, enhances James’ “vision”, much to his surprise. Everything appears clearer to him, and even the man in front of him appears illuminated, as though a bright light was shining upon him. James, now focusing on the man, notices a pattern in his movements. The man, though seemingly under the influence, and perhaps even unaware of, has a “rhythm”. He sways slightly from side to side, though when swaying to the right, he sways slightly more. Every 2 breaths he takes, upon inhaling, he recoils ever so slightly. Though he has his arms in front of him to fend off an attack, he has a major vulnerable spot near his left ribcage. At the same time, based on the assumption of the man’s substance abuse, James infers that the man is unlikely to react to a swing to the head fast enough.
>Attack (ribcage)
>Attack (head)
>Special (Taunt)
>Defend
>Items(None)

>>137057
>Attack (ribcage)

Now realizing his opponent’s weak spot, James puts his all into one decisive blow to the man’s left rib cage. All at once, the force of James’ punch comes as a shock to both him and his target, as James feels that the punch was stronger than anything he’d ever done before, and almost as though it was driven by “purpose”, while the man’s face contorts due to the sheer force of the punch, despite being punched on his side.
The outcome is decisively James’ victory,as the man collapses to the ground.

Stats changed:
Speed: C->B

James begins to walk away, but feels uneasy. At that moment, the man somehow gets up again, and attempts to attack him from behind. However, just as James begins to turn in realization, a large object, from seemingly nowhere, appears and knocks the man over the head.
A voice shortly after follows, “Do you mind!? Some people actually sleep around here!”
The man is now unquestionably unconscious, and James, just now realizing how bizarre everything that just transpired is, begins to laugh.

“Ha… hahaha, holy crap, hahaha. Oh man! HAHAHAhaha...ha..haha...ha….”
James, with his exhaustion having finally caught up with him, collapses to the ground.

>>137278
Taunt

>>137410
(Battle's over.)

The next morning, James awakens refreshed, but still nagged at by his stomach. Gathering his senses and looking around, he realizes the man from last night is missing. In that moment, James thinks to himself, “Did all of that really happen? Did I even go to that church?” However, his moment of doubt ends when he pulls out the journal from the church. He then stands up and looks around, noting that there isn’t much in sight, aside from a few buildings, including the bar he decided not to visit the previous night, and the road on ahead leading to the residential area, where he was originally intending to go, and…

A large tent. A blemish compared to the surrounding areas, the tent was very conspicuous. James thought to himself, “How did I not see this thing while I was walking here? Maybe it was too dark?” But before James could continue to question why a large tent was located where it was, a figure came out of it.

The figure, a medium sized, (though slightly shorter than James) bundle of coats, both confused James and reminded him that he was actually rather cold. The other feature that caught James’ attention was the pair of green eyes the figure had. The figure spoke, albeit with a muffled voice before he could:

“Were you the one that started that fight last night?”

>”So what if I was?”
>”Nah, he started it.”

>>137456
>”Kinda"
We could have avoided it with little effort
Also ask about father of that girl

So how long will it take us to become exorcist anyway?

>>137602
(I wouldn't call it "Exorcist").

James concedes, “Well, in all honesty, the guy was sort of just standing there when I saw him, and I thought he was menacing. I’m not sure what exactly came over me, but I ended up pissing him off. It was a situation I could’ve easily avoided, but it ended up happening anyway.”

The figure, staring at James with their two green eyes (strangely their only visible feature that wasn’t covered), noted “Yeah, well, you may have gotten into that fight, and you may have stopped me from sleeping because of the noise, but it ended up working out. Turns out this drunk loser is a lead in my investigation.”

James, surprised at this revelation, asks, “Investigation?”

The figure, staring directly at James, begins to speak: “I’m here on behalf of my ‘boss’ regarding an investigation regarding the disappearance of one Roger Guld. As luck would have it, this ‘Ulrich Kane’ guy happened to be a suspect. I ended up… interrogating the guy, and while he ended up revealing to me that he wasn’t the guy responsible for Roger’s disappearance, he did tell me that he was part of a gang involved in illegal activities. And since you happened to be around here, I felt inclined to wait for you to wake up so I could ask you a few questions, starting with, ‘Do you know about the Black Stones?’”

James responds ,“I wouldn’t know anything about that gang. In fact, I’m pretty new around here myself. Although, did this Roger guy have any family?”

The figure replies, “Yes, as a matter of fact, he has a daughter, named-”

“Sylvia.”

James, staring at the figure, asks, “Do you know anything about why a gang would target Sylvia’s father?”

The figure, seemingly surprised, states, “Hold it. I’m supposed to be the one asking the questions here. How do you know about his family if you’re supposedly new around here?”

James answers,“I met her in the church. I was just coming back from there, being that it was the first place I came to when I got to this town.”

The figure then states, “The church? Come with me, we’re going there.”

>”I’ll pass, I have to go to the residential area.”
>”It couldn’t hurt to go back.”

>>137920
>”I’ll pass, I have to go to the residential area.”

James, not wishing to go with robed strangers, politely declines, stating, “I have business elsewhere, which is actually important to my investigation.”

The robed figure approaches James, pressing him with their figure, stating, “I don’t remember asking you if you wanted to go. You’re coming with me, and that’s that. What if you were the guy I was looking for all along, and you were just playing me for a fool? I’d never be able to forgive myself if I ever let someone else slip from my grasp.”

James, now increasingly suspicious, backs away from the robed figure, and attempts to run in the opposite direction. However, he suddenly finds himself… wrapped, in something, which he’s panicking too much to identify. After about 4 seconds, he calms down just enough to assess his situation:
He’s now been wrapped in the robes previously worn by the person he was just speaking to. And in front of him stood a green eyed woman, of the same overall physical structure as the person who he had just walked away from, which led him to the conclusion that this was indeed the very same person that he had just walked away from. This woman, however, without her robes, somehow appeared to have an entire other set of clothes on her, consisting of a red jacket, a striped red and white t shirt, and black pants. Her hair was also a bright red, and her eyes, as ever, were green.

She spoke, no longer muffled by her robes:
“Are you going to cooperate now?”

>SCAN the woman
>”Yeah, sure, I’ll listen.”
>”What the hell did you do to me?”

>>138347
>>SCAN the woman

>>138347
SCAN the woman

James, without much else to do, decides to SCAN the woman. Once more, just like before, he feels something on his eyes, as if he was wearing a lens. He notes exactly the details he wants to know. The answer is 36C.

Morale +8!
SCAN level 2 unlocked.

However, what he DOESN’T note is that the woman took notice of what was happening.
“Wait, what’s that on your face. Hey, wait a second.. are… are you looking at my chest? You piece of shit, I should kill you for that!”
The robes binding James come off, and return to the woman, who goes back to her default robed appearance, and lands a severe uppercut onto James, sending him flying and staggering backwards.
James, still recoiling from the attack on the ground, asks, “What… the hell was that?”
The woman, approaching him once more, responds, “That was my ‘armor’. Personally, I gave it a nickname. Would you like to know what it is? Too bad, I’m not giving you a choice! I call it ‘Stranglehold’. And do you want to know why? It’s because I use it to hold people in place for 10 seconds, and yes, I could’ve strangled you in the armor back there and ended it quickly, but that would be too dignified for you… But while I’d personally like you to keep writhing on the floor, crying like you are, I need to know. That ‘visor’, ‘lens-thing’ on your face. What was that? Was that your ‘armor’? How do you even have an ‘armor’?”

>”What the fuck are you talking about”
>”How did you get that power?”
>continue crying

>>138674
>”How did you get that power?

(This is going to be a chain of questions)
James, still in pain from the blow just recently delivered to him, isn’t completely able to process what just happened. “Where…. Where did you get that power from? That’s not human!”

The woman, still seemingly angered, presses James in response: “I should be the one asking you that. Visors don’t just appear on people from seemingly nowhere. That thing on your face was almost certainly an ‘armor’, so don’t play dumb with me. Where did you get it from?”

James, completely dumbfounded, simply asks “What the hell is an ‘armor’?

Noting the expression on James’ partially bleeding face, the woman responds:
“So you really don’t know.” speaking in a matter-of-fact tone rather than that of a question.

“I’ll explain it to you, on the condition that you follow me back to the church. In other words, you don’t really have much of a choice, since you’re at my mercy.”

James, realizing his position, complies, and begins to follow the woman.

She asks, “What do you want to know?”

>”Who sent you here?”
>”What’s an ‘armor’?
>”What’s your name?”
>”Why are you bothering to tell me anything?”

>>140849
oh, I have a new ID now, since I'm posting from a new location.
Hm. I guess I'll use a trip code to show that it's me, although I'm not entirely sure how I'd be able to prove it.

>>140849
>What's an armor?
(a stand)

>>140954
James thinks for a moment, and decides the biggest question on his mind is “You keep saying it’s called an ‘armor’? What is that?”

The woman turns to him, and calmly says, “‘Armors’ are basically just that. They’re like suits of armor, in the sense that they appear to defend you, albeit from seemingly nowhere, and are meant to defend you. In addition, certain ‘armors’ have their own specific function. For example, mine is able to hold people in place by coming off of me and wrapping itself around its target for about ten seconds. It used to be five, but I guess I got better at it. Oh, and everyone can see your ‘armor’. It’s just like you spontaneously putting on a costume, so if you get a goofy looking ‘armor’, you’re going to look like a clown suddenly putting on like a suit of latex or something. Like you saw, mine is a bunch of robes. It’s actually convenient for me, since I get to use it to disguise myself, even if it looks pretty weird. What else… Right, you can use your ‘armor’ as standard clothing too, I guess, but I wouldn’t recommend it, especially if you’ve got one that functions like mine. But I bet, based on what you were doing earlier, that you wouldn’t mind seeing that. And finally, anyone who has an ‘armor’ is empowered in some way. For me, it makes me physically stronger. I think I might have forgotten a few details, but that's about the basics of an 'armor'.”

(For a real life comparison, yes, think the halfway point between a Kamen Rider/Super Sentai henshin and a Stand)
>”Who sent you here?”
>”What’s your name?”
>”Why are you bothering to tell me anything?”

>>140997
>Who sent you here?

>>141052
“Alright, you mentioned you were sent here on behalf of your boss? Who exactly is this boss of yours?”

“I’ll be straightforward with you. Pay close attention, people miss this. I work for a guy who goes by the name of ‘Casey’. He’s a friendly enough guy to be around, even if he’s kinda crazy. I work for him because he sort of saved my ass when I was young. To be honest, I really have to emphasize that the guy is weird. Really weird. But I definitely know that all he wants is for people to be safe. He cares about people, and he’s a real softie for helping out kids. He even manages an orphanage. The guy’s so nice, it’s surreal. And that’s why I trust him so much, and I’ve vowed not to betray his trust.”

James, surprised by the apparent honesty of the response, replies, “I wasn’t expecting you to tell me everything about the guy. For some reason, I was almost expecting you to be, well, cryptic about the details. Say, this ‘Casey’ guy, does he have an ‘armor’ too?”

The woman, continuing in a nonchalant manner of speaking says, “Oh, you wanted cryptic? I’ll give you cryptic. The reason I’m being so open and honest to you about my boss, is that even if you were to go after him… Well, yeah, he has an ‘armor’, and anyone that’s on his bad side and tries to find him usually tends to, in a manner of speaking, dies. Was that cryptic enough for you?”

James, realizing that if what the woman was saying was true, he would certainly not want this “Casey” as an enemy.

>Inquire further about “Casey”
>”What’s your name?”
>”Why are you bothering to tell me anything?”

>>141107
>>”What’s your name?”

>>141124
James, having asked such questions that raised his curiosity further, decided to veer away from questions that led to more questions, and asked, “Huh. I never got your name. Mind telling me it?”

The woman’s eyes brightened up slightly, but noticeably. She then proceeded to state, “It’s about time you asked me my name. It’s a bit rude not to introduce each other. Now that I think about it, I don’t actually remember getting your name either. My name’s Elliot. I… don’t exactly have a surname, sorry.”

James, now sensing a feeling of comfort and trust, responds, “I’m James. James Dylan.”
Elliot, upon hearing this, began to burst into laughter. “Wait a second, you have TWO first names? That’s hilarious!”

James, taken aback, responds, “That’s not that uncommon, is it? I don’t think it’s that funny.”

Elliot, easing from her sudden response, states, “Yeah, it’s actually pretty funny to me. James Dylan. What was your dad’s name, ‘Alan Dylan?’’Abraham Dylan?’ It must’ve been some stupid name.”

James, in a rather sullen tone, responds, “It was ‘John’.”

Elliot, noticing a shift in James’ mood, responds, “‘John’. Well that’s not quite as stupid. Sorry, I was trying to get friendly with you, it makes it easier for us to communicate.”

>”Why are you bothering to tell me anything?”
>Inquire further about “Casey”

>>141180
>Inquire further about "Casey".

>>141180
>>”Why are you bothering to tell me anything?”

>>141212
>>141267
(Sorry for the delay)

James, not wanting to distress Elliot through his gloomy attitude, decides to change the subject, and asks, “Could you tell me more about ‘Casey’?”

Elliot then gains a wistful look in her eyes.
“Let me tell you about the first time I met ‘Casey’. It was about six years ago now, so that would have made me eleven years old. I had a pretty normal life, you know, me, my parents, a cat I named ‘May’, in a small town. There was absolutely nothing special about us. One day, I found a guy, whose pants got stuck to a railroad. He couldn’t pull it off, for whatever reason. Because he saw me passing by, he asked me, 'Hey, little girl. Could you hand me that piece of metal over there?', pointing at an old saw. I wasn’t exactly sure what he was going to do with it, but I had a voice telling me in the back of the head telling me that this was a bad idea. But, like the naive idiot that I was, I got the saw for him. And he took the saw, and he…. He…”

Elliot, pausing for a bit, with a horrified expression in her bright green eyes, then continued:
“He cut his foot off right in front of me. The saw wasn’t sharp, and the saw cut through his flesh. I could hear him struggling with the bone. It was unreal. The man didn’t look like he was in pain either, it was bizarre. But still, from my position, you could just imagine….”

Elliot laughs a feeble laugh.
“It seems weird that we just met and here I am providing my background to you, doesn’t it? There’s a point to all this, just wait for it.”

>>143423
Elliot attempts to recompose herself.
“Well, anyway, the man, still bleeding fresh from his self inflicted wound, hobbled over to me and said, ‘Thanks little girl. You mind showing me where your family is? I don’t think I’m going to last long if I don’t get help.’ That’s the part where any rational person would say, ‘No way, creep, get away from me!’, right? Well, I’m a pretty stupid kid, like I said earlier. I trusted him. I wanted to help the man, even in spite of this obvious warning sign. And I don’t know why. I just…. I did. And so I brought him to my home. My parents were shocked for a bit, but my father, being the town’s doctor, was able to patch him up. I know, what luck, right? But then again, maybe it wasn’t luck. My father insisted he should stay the night, but I felt uncomfortable. I went to bed that night, but I couldn’t sleep. Not when that guy was around. Something didn’t feel right, and I hadn’t told my parents how the man got that wound. Maybe it was because I was too shocked? No, I can’t justify that. Well, what happened next… I think it was my mother first. I started shaking in my bed when I heard her. She was screaming. My mother was such a soft spoken woman, I’d never heard her scream in my life, and yet here I was, listening to her scream for what felt like an eternity. Then, my father. I wish I could say I forgot what happened to him when I got up to see him, but… It was like several blades were stabbed into him, like several small holes in his body. But he was dead. And that’s when I saw the man again. He walked up to me, and I thought I was going to die. But he didn’t do anything to me. Instead, he said, ‘You’re going to help me clean this mess. If you try to scream, run, or do anything besides what I say, I’ll kill you too, got it?’ And so, I spent the rest of the night cleaning the evidence. I had spoken to them just a few hours before, but now they were gone.”

At this point, Elliot’s ‘armor’ disappears, revealing her in her regular clothing, but she doesn’t seem to notice, apparently too caught up in her story.

>Continue listening
>Speak

>>143434
>Continue listening

>>144508

“....And just like that, we cleaned the bloodstains, and he took a large bag and shoved my parents in there. He said, ‘If you ever try to rat me out, I’ll kill you, got that?’, and with that, he left. I was too scared to do anything from then on, and I sat where my parents were for what must’ve been days. The worst part was that no one stopped by to ask me if I was alright. I was alone. Then, from out of nowhere, this strange looking man with long, straight red hair, and a scarily serious face, came up to me. I was getting scared again, but the guy seemed to notice this, and made a goofy face. Now, don’t get me wrong, that’s the kind of stuff only little kids laugh at, but it was more his attempt to make me laugh that ended up making me laugh. This made the guy smile, and he started doing this weird dance. It’s like he was doing some weird monkey thing. You had to be there.”
She laughs, and she begins to look cheerful again.
“Anyway, so he started talking to me, He could tell something happened to me, and was doing his best not to make me sad again. Unlike the other guy, he didn’t make me worry. He made me feel at ease, almost happy. So when he asked me to come with him, I trusted him. But this time there was no voice warning me against it. It was like I just knew he was a good person. And that’s when I found out his name was ‘Casey’, and he ran an orphanage for kids like me. He admitted that I was older than the others, but that I shouldn’t worry because I would fit in. And I believed him. That’s how I met ‘Casey’.”
Elliot pauses for a moment, breathes in, and says:
“And this is why I told you about this: It’s because, well, I can sense the same thing in you that I sensed in ‘Casey’. You care about people. I may not know much about you, given that we’ve only just met, but I want to believe that you’re a good person. And that’s saying a lot, because ever since that incident, I don’t trust that many people.”

>”So why did you end up here?”
>”Are you seriously going to trust me just based on a feeling?”
>????(write in)

>>144883
>”So why did you end up here?”

>>144883
>>”So why did you end up here?”

James, wishing to know more, asks, “So how did you get from there to here?”


Elliot, appreciating James’ investment in her story, speaks once more:
“Well, even though I did manage to fit in at the orphanage - I even sort of ended up being looked up to as some sort of big sister figure, though I never really thought of myself as suited for that kind of role - but I felt as though something was missing. I felt as though I needed to more. Like I needed…”

“...’Purpose’. Like you needed ‘purpose’.” James interjects with a determined look.

Elliot, surprised by James, continues, “Exactly. I needed a ‘purpose’ to keep myself going. Deep down, I knew that if I didn’t do anything to keep myself moving, I’d just shut down. So one day, I spoke to ‘Casey’. I remember telling him something like, ‘I can’t sit around here anymore, I need to be able to go out, and find meaning in my life’. It was interesting, because I didn’t know what to expect as a response, especially not from someone as strange as he was. He stood silent for a while, his usual cheerful self seemingly replaced by that same scarily serious face he had when I met him for the first time. All he said was, ‘If you really think you can go out and find the meaning to your life on your own, then by all means, walk out the door. But if you ever need me to help you in finding that meaning, you can come to me whenever you think it’s necessary. I’m here to help, and that’s all I’ve ever been here to do’. When he spoke those words, I felt sad, guilty even. And thinking back on it, I was guilty. I was turning my back on the one person who had given me a home after I lost everything. But, in spite of that, I ended up turning away from him, reaching for the door, staring at the floor, and walking out… But the strangest thing happened. Instead of walking outside of the building, I found myself walking into his arms, crying. I apologized for walking away from him, and not long after, he spoke to me, saying, ‘I want to show you something.’ He led me to a room I never even knew existed in the orphanage, and people I had never seen in my time there were looking at us. He spoke out in a goofy manner, saying something like ‘Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy everyboooooooooooooooooooooodyy! This here’s Ellie, and today, she’s going to become our new member!’”

Elliot pauses, and points out to James: “We’re here. Wow, that was a long bit of exposition, wasn’t it? And I know, I’m not done with the story yet, but I promise you after I’m done doing my thing at the church, I’ll finish the story, on one condition.”

James, curious, inquires, “What would that condition be?”

“Remember how I said earlier that I wanted to trust you? Well, I need to be honest with you. The more direct reason I’m telling you my story is because I want you to trust me too. So I have to ask: Do you trust me?”
>TRUST
>DO NOT TRUST

>>146493
>TRUST

>>146593
James, feeling at ease, tells Elliot, “What you said before about trusting me, about sensing something you could trust in me. I was a little suspicious at first, but after hearing what you had to say, I think I can trust you. After all, there’s also a ‘purpose’ that I’m looking for. But… Do you mind if we stop to eat something somewhere first? I’m starving. Literally.”

Elliot, now with a look of concern, exclaims, “Right! Of course! I was going to give you this. It’s a sandwich I was eating earlier before I started talking to you, but I sort of completely forgot about it while I was speaking.”

-Item obtained: Ham Sandwich (No tomatoes)
-James uses Ham Sandwich
-James feels much better

Elliot, staring in disbelief at the sheer speed demonstrated by James’ consumption of a half eaten sandwich, attempts to gather her wits, and says, “Now that we’ve established a trust, I think I can let you go on your own. If you want, of course, or you could join me in my investigation. Naturally, it’s up to you since you’ve already been here.”

>Join Elliot in a party
>Go off alone

>>146884
>>Go off alone

>>154109
“...Sorry Elliot, but I think it would be kind of a waste of time for me to go back to the Father. By all means, you go on ahead, but there’s something I want to check out on my own.”

Elliot, nodding, answers, “Sure thing.” However, as she turns around and walks away, James can hear her mumble something, though he can’t hear it.
However, dismissing this, he ultimately decides to go where he had previously decided to cower from: The house that had been making noise. Now daytime, the ominous atmosphere has lifted, and there even seems to be a sense of peace. James begins to make his way towards the beaten building, and notices it wasn’t making noise as it had the night before. He takes a few steps, then more, then more, and then, before he knows it, the building stands right in front of him. In spite of the daytime, James feels a different feeling than the relative peace he had experienced before. In its stead, a feeling of dread is felt, a feeling that draws James in despite his fears telling him otherwise. His rationality screams at him to back away, but the screams fall on deaf ears., and he enters.
However, contradicting what he suspected would be the demon mentioned by Sylvia the night before, he instead finds a small child. It’s the same girl whom Father Ian spoke to the night before. Elena was her name, as James begins to recall, though she appears to be asleep. The strange feeling of fear and curiosity James felt before is still present, though diminished, now that James has not found a demon.
>Wake Elena
>Walk away

>>156584
>>Wake Elena

>>156895
Out of pure curiosity, James attempts to wake Elena, but is surprised to find that the girl simply opens her eyes and tells him, “I’m already awake. You’re that man who was here last night, right?”
Mildly startled, James answers, “Yeah, but I don’t think we’ve met before. My name is James, it’s nice to meet you.”

She replies, “My name’s Elena. I’m 11 years old. I think.”

James, still uneasy, attempts to hide his nerves by asking, “So… What are you doing back here? This is a pretty beat up building, why don’t you go to the other, nicer building?”

Elena, appearing hesitant to answer, urges James and says, “Come closer. Come on.”

James complies and comes up closer. Elena goes up to his ear, and whispers:
“This is my room. Father Ian tells me to stay here at night. Don’t tell him I told you this. He keeps guests in the nice room, but there aren’t that many, and he doesn’t like it when people ask about me, so he makes me stay here.”

James, shocked by this revelation, staggers backwards, only to see a saddened expression on Elena’s face. However, in a poor attempt to mask her obvious distress, she says:

“Okay, now it’s your turn to tell me a secret! Since people don’t come that often to my room, I like playing games with them. People passing by have told me all kinds of crazy stuff, like this one weird looking guy who says he lost his son, another who said he found this kid with white eyes - they were all white! And then there was...”

James, however, is lost in thought at this point. Whatever he is thinking, no one but him knows. However, his thoughts begin to shift to a question. For what reason would Father Ian leave a child in such a poor excuse for a home, when there was a far better alternative not much farther from this location? Furthermore, what reason would the father have to hide the child in the first place? Was he hiding something, and if so, what? How would that be related to Elena?

Before James could think any further, he was interrupted by Elena, who asked, “You can’t come up with anything? Ok, how about you answer my question?”

James, humoring Elena, responds, “Alright, what’s your question?”

“Who’s your friend standing next to you?”

James suddenly feels an unbelievable sense of fear, as he turns next to him to find absolutely nothing.

“You’re just messing around with me, right?”

Elena, appearing confused, responds, “What do you mean? Your friend. She hasn’t spoken, so I thought she was shy.”

James’ fears are not calmed by this.
“No… Elena. There’s no one standing next to me.”

“Well sure there is! And there’s also your other weird friend standing a bit further outside. Well, I don’t know if he’s weird, he’s just dressed weird.”

James, thinking that Elena is now referring to Elliot, turns to face the outside of the room, where he sees a metallic brown figure facing his direction.

>Go outside
>Hide inside