<b>Kevin:</b> Berma stared at the two in disbelief as she began to rub the bridge of her nose. &quot;After I specifically said not to make any trouble you decide to pick up a stray. Right after I paid a mercenary to bring two people across the border. I assume you have the finances to pay for your plus one? Also, tell me Tam. You say she can pull her weight. Are you telling me she can fight a full fledged Magi without assistance then? You are aware of where we're going aren't you Tam?&quot; she was clearly annoyed at this point as she asked Tam those questions and yet, even though the questions seemed to be directed to Tam she was looking directly at Kevin the entire time she spoke. <b>Kai &amp; Raiden:</b> The magician had asked what the relationship was between his group and the mercenaries. At the very least that meant this person was new to the whole thing though this brought up the question of why he wasn't fully informed though in the end it could be something as simple as common sense between the two. The one armed japanese woman was the first to speak. &quot;It's simply a relationship of interest. They are mercenaries and so we pay them for their services. They gather the&quot; she coughed to cleared her throat before continuing &quot;cargo, and we pay them for it while supplying them with some beneficial information. Everyone wins.&quot; She said with a shrug of her shoulders and a smile That really did sum up their relationship for the most part. If there were any more questions to be asked they should be asked now before arriving back at the camp. <b>Mariko:</b> Since Mariko decided to leave the strange tents alone she wouldn't find much more difficulty in finding the tent with their leader in it. There didn't seem to be anyone there to bar entry. Whether that was complacency or if he put that much faith into his skills was a whole other matter. Inside was the leader of these mercenaries. Will she go in now to speak with him or leave for another time.

It's been nearly a week since Raiden has arrived at the base in a location he wasn't very familiar with. He had seen the other members of Black Hound leave for days on end for their own missions and returned tired and rugged. Nothing much changed for him personally and the other members of the unit weren't very welcoming excluding Kana Hanakawa, and Vera Bertalt whom seemed to warm up to him quickly. Despite this they seemed loathe to talk about themselves much or how they ended up here. Today was a little different than usual however. The reason for it was because for the first time since arriving he had been called into the briefing room by the unit leader who everyone referred to simply as Boss. The room seemed almost like a small university classroom with rows of seats, each row raised up by a level and a large screen in front that had information on it. The only ones in the room were Raiden, Kana, Krill, and the unit leader herself who stood at the in front of the screen on the lowest level. &quot;The mission is simple. We will be picking up cargo at the camp of one of our contacts. You will leave by jet in 0800 hours and arrive in 0300 hours. You will meet the contact, confirm the contents of the cargo, pay the contact and return with the cargo. The target location will be in the northern region of south america along the onicido river near the edge of the Amazon Rain-forest. Are there any questions?&quot; the general asked as the information she said as well as the location all appeared on the screen behind her as she said it.

You have been at this hotel for a week now with this current day marking the end of the week in which it's services were payed for by Floraine. You haven't been contacted by her since and things have been pretty peaceful as a result. You received the other half of the payment resulting in you be three hundred thousand dollars richer in any one currency of your choosing. Lucius has found himself exploring the city more often than not during these days and even at times wandering to the library but as luck would have it he was mostly illiterate, being forced to drop out of school to take care of his mother in his youth. News of the Summit happening soon has arrived at every corner of Ark as representatives from the other reality marbles have all recently arrived. The bustling in the streets has increased drastically compared to before with Magi from around the world arriving, hoping to make good connections with one of the members of the Summit and as a result a mini festival has begun where vendors want to take advantage of the sudden flux of people to make more sales. As for the group. They can decide to do as they please for now. Whether that is to remain at the hotel, walk around the streets for gossip, go to a bar, or enjoy the little festivities.

Kevin spent nearly a week of walking. Following behind this maid that wouldn't say anything to him beyond follow. She introduced herself as Berma, the personal maid to Lana Gardner of the Gardner family. Beyond her initial introduction she hadn't said much else. Simply leading him through the forest and not helping with much else. When her gaze fell upon him it was filled with indifference, as if she couldn't care less about him and upon nightfall she would leave him behind at camp. As a whole she didn't seem to have any interest in him beyond having him follow her around. Maybe if it wasn't for Tam vouching for her identity he wouldn't have followed her for so long. This night was a little different however. This night she continued to walk as Kevin followed. A wisp of flame floating next to her to light the path as she moved forward. The forest was dark, wet, and cold. The frigid air nipping at his skin as the shadows of all manner of creatures flitted around as if ready to pounce at any second. They didn't though, instead watching as if they were unable to get closer. Even Kevin would realize they were avoiding the maid. They walked in silence. Whether Kevin wished to continue that silence or to speak was up to him.

It has been 13 hours since the group was able to pass by the border and arrive in Texas of the United States. They were able to get some transportation that took them a little farther to the east as per Ai's instructions. Now they were walking through the streets of San Antonio. Ai's condition was noticeably worse with bags under her eyes. It was obvious that she wasn't getting much sleep. The nightmares were a big part of it as it seemed as though she had gotten to the point where she tried to avoid sleep all together. Whether she, as a magi, could really do that was a different story. Beyond the bags under her eyes she didn't show any other signs of weakness. &quot;The city has changed a lot in the past 20 years.&quot; she said to the others as she continued to navigate through the alleys. As you walked, if you payed any attention to your surroundings you would notice that the groups of people seemed to be separated between those who wore black bands around their wrist and those that didn't. The black bands has letters on them usually with a C or D on them. It was as if the two groups were just trying to avoid the other. The groups with black bands were far fewer but the look of fear or disdain was clear in the eyes of some that did not wear the black band. As they were walking by a television screen in the front window of one of the shops they would see the news channel up. &quot;War. Tensions are rising between the leaders of the United Nations with the U.S representative accusing the Syrian Government of human experimentation that goes against the human rights act. Because of this Syria is threatening to place an embargo on local trade with the U.S and the U.S seems prepared to send troops into the Syrian territory in an attempt to stop the experiments. The Syrian government has threatened to leave the United Nations if pushed even further.&quot; Ai would listen to the broadcast and simply sigh. &quot;It doesn't seem as though things have changed that much in the grand scheme of things.&quot; she said as she continued walking and eventually walked into an alleyway. &quot;We should be at the entrance point to Brunehild soon.&quot;

It has been a week since you and your comrades have arrived to the Magic Capital Ark. You spent the first day there being healed and 2 days after with regular check ups. Afterwards you were allowed to stay in a private suite in a hotel for free and questioned about the incident by Floraine for another two days without any questions of your own being answered. It is now a full week since your arrival and you have finally been summoned to the main castle, being escorted by by two men in suits. It doesn't take more than 20 minutes to arrive at your destination. The castle as they so aptly call it reminds you of a large modern building with glass pans on the outside. There were gold embroidery on parts of the building as well as 13 statues outside of whom you have now come to know were the 13 disciples who helped make the Magi Society what it is now. Inside the building seemed like a regular reception area where you were guided to a room in the left wing. In the room Floraine was once again waiting for you and gestured for you to sit. Afterwards she would sit across from your group. &quot;I apologize on all the delays. Things have been busy with making preparations for the summit. If you have anything you wish to ask me then I will do my best to answer.&quot; she says with a professional demeanor that didn't match her young appearance.

The heat from the sun was beating down on all those below. The constant buzzing of insects echoed in the area as the only relief you gained was from the shade the numerous trees from this rain forest provided. You were in the Amazon rain forest in south america, the home of 30% of the worlds medical resources. Up ahead you could see a village in a clearing. The village seemed to be of average size with maybe a little more than 300 residents. You could see some children walking back to the village holding a jar of water on their head as they ran without a car in the world. From where you stood you could see what looked like a market place with a dirt road going through it as well as a few cars and carriages. This village would be the next destination in your travels and possibly where your fate would begin to take a drastic change.

Apocrypha is a chain of RP's for a story I'm writing. Currently on 1.5 but it will end soon and I'll need more people to join down the line starting with the next one which will be Part 3. Please join by using the discord invite link below. I will put up an area in discord with a summary of whats happened so far later but please read the info and ask questions if you have any. Thank you for your cooperation. https://discord.gg/DwwRm4

<span class="underline">Thus when a king is just he brings about change yet it is this change that breeds discontent</span> As you walk around most of the shops that have televisions or the large display on buildings were mostly tuned to the recent news. &quot;It has been four weeks since the first outbreak of the phenomena that caused over 400 people to simultaneously lose conscience in Tokyo Japan and has now spread to other places resulting in over one million victims. Experts have come to call this phenomena the 'Tokyo Doll Syndrome'. We have here a guest who has been studying this phenomena.&quot; The woman on the screen gestured to another man who sat next to her as he wiped his forehead with a handkerchief. &quot;Since the Tokyo Doll Syndrome has started we've had over 40 cases in different countries. Totaling 13.5 million victims. Though none have been in critical condition and most have woken up but there are still some who have remained in a coma like state currently counting to 43 thousand. The ones who wake up don't remember why they were unconscious and the few who do say something about a black rat. Even stranger is the ones who remain in a coma like state all keep muttering the same thing.&quot; he said while looking into the camera and continued &quot;Where is the Mother of Death?&quot; You notice some of the unease in the air as people around you watch this broadcast. Some try to laugh it off while others seem to ignore it but the same grim atmosphere permeates the surroundings none the less.

OOC: This will be my first RP and depending on how it goes I hope to make it a series. At the very least its the first part of a pretty long series so i hope you enjoy <i>The crescent moon hung in the sky as the remnants of winter still clung to the city. It was another normal night. Late night clubs were open. Couples were walking in and out of hotels. Only a few noticed the anomaly that had already begun. The numerous black wings of crows flapping through the cold night sky screeching at all living things. Not something some would think twice about. But it was the winter time. On top of that the number was obviously. It didn't take long for the first scream of the night to echo over the voices of the numerous passerby. The crowd didn't move as they began to flow to one direction to see the cause. </i>