I'll take a look with my chi sight at her and that sphere she is holding.

"Well since you saw me come in there is no point in lying. Although you probably wont believe me.
I'm a type of being called a Worldwalker or Verser. You saw me entering into this universe. Unfortunately in order to move between world I need to die. Hopefully that doesn't happen any time soon. I've already detected the block on high powered magic. But it feel like some things can get around it. Demonic beings apparently being one of them. Anyway something is Seriously wrong with the geomancy of the city. Black Mana is way stronger here than anywhere I have felt before. Which suggests something about this city is very corrupted.
Since I scared off the one you where questioning. I will help you with your investigation. My name is Magnus. It is a pleasure to met you."

She turns around and starts walking away, pulling a gun with a hook on the tip out from under her cloak. "Don't worry about the investigation, Magnus. I will take care of that."

She stops, thinking. "Actually, there IS something you might be able to help me with."

Turning around just as quickly as she had started to walk off, just walks back. "I am Carmilla. Like your own name, it is probably an alias. I was actually encouraged to be here, because my informant told me I would meet someone who would help me with a recent problem. Perhaps you are who he had in mind, not the other guy, and I am needing someone of direct force to help me with tomorrow night's problem. Will you lend a hand?"

"I'm not that good at investigation. But I'm much better at direct force. What do you need help with?"

I do catch that she named herself after a vampire. I'm curious as to why though.

Do I sense any other versers?

I assume that my chi sense didn't return anything unusual about her and her sphere.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:06, Fri 05 Feb 2016.

You detect no other versers. As for her chi, she's...alive and dead at the same time, like she is between both states. Not quite undead, either. Just borderline dead, although she looks fine barring superficial injuries. Her ball is just a standard pepper bomb.

At this point, your sword goes out and seems to be plain, you stop glowing, and you sense all the latent magic surrounding you from the prior world dissipating away. You also realize it is nighttime, and very cold here.

"Incidentally, brute force might be what I need. I'm looking for someone really nasty. I was trying to catch him before tomorrow night. Tomorrow is Christmas, and the Deliverance Army is doing a massive soup kitchen charity run in the Bricks tomorrow." She props an arm on her side. "...aaand you are not from here, and don't have a clue where that is, or why that matters."

She rolls her eyes, and sounds irritated. "I'll just show you where I'm talking about." She shifts to a more questioning tone. "How are you at navigating rooftops? I move really fast, and I'd like to know if you think you can keep up, before I just jump up."

"One learns to pick up on context when travelling the multiverse. Christmas was a holiday in my home world. I'm guessing that it is similar here. A Soup Kitchen is where they feed the poor with soup. Also something we had in my home world. The Deliverance Army is a charitable organization. We had a parallel in my home world. And I'm Guessing the Bricks are low income housing. Although I have no clue Where the Bricks are... Or why it's important to that guy you are talking about.
So yeah, You are right. I have no clue where that is or why it is important.

As for Navigating rooftops as you put it, I haven't done it before.
I can probably keep up using magic. But my magic has side effects.
I'll have to figure out the differences in magic here.
I could probably learn how to do it normally though.

There is something unusual about you though. Something I haven't seen before. It's like you are between Life and Death. But not undead."

She looks at you for a few seconds. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, given that you can see the flow of geomancy in this city. I am shinigami, an agent of the forces of death. I died, and then I got better. And you are right, Rime City has been going to hell for quite some time. And if it is literally doing that, no one who lives here would be surprised."

"And please don't use your magic for that. I haven't seen the use of magic go well. Either I don't notice they are using it, or it always somehow makes things worse. So, if you must use it, be very reserved. In fact..."

She aims her grappling gun straight up. "I need to introduce you to Mr. Chang. He's Tennin, works for the Celestial Courts. Different from me. Seems to pretty much know everything. Somehow, anyways, considering I never see him leave the shack or that junkyard of his."

She seems to be just looking at you now, holding the gun straight up.

"Huh. A Death God and a Heaven Person. Yes, I'll need to talk to Mr. Chang. I'll Need to learn some abilities that you take for granted. Like Running across rooftops. So how are we getting to Mr. Chang's? I would rather not use magic if I can help it. So are we walking or will you give me a lift to the roofs?"

She gives you an annoyed look, and her sarcastic tone reflects her eyes. "No, I am just doing an impersonation of the Statue of Liberty because I'm eager to welcome you to our country."

"And...don't get any ideas. I'm just helping you because you are clearly clueless. When we get up there, I'll show you how we will be getting there without you having to jump from rooftop to rooftop."

I chuckle a bit at her sarcasm.

"Sorry. I'm a bit of a dumbass when it comes to these things. I didn't want to take liberties with your generosity. And Thank you for your help. I really am rather clueless."

I'll walk next to her and try to decide how to best hold on to her. I rather awkward about this for obvious reasons. I've never done this before.

After a bit, I decide that an arm over her shoulder is probably best.

"Well, if you think that's secure. Hold on, this is thousand pound tested line. Let's hope the building holds up."

The roof gives a bit, causing both to stop halfway up. "Ugh, you are heavy. One moment." Her thumb fiddles with the gun, and then you continue going up the roof.

She climbs up the rest of the way, after suddenly shifting you in a controlled, non-painful throw. "Rime City is falling apart. Urban decay doesn't begin to cover it. The rope is thousand pound tested. I knew it could handle the two of us. One moment, and I'll show you my trick for rooftop navigation."

She pulls out a iPhone, and her voice becomes noticeably more cheerful. "Heeeeeey, Jeeves! I've gotten myself into a bit of a bind, in a lousy part of town. I don't even know how I got here, and I'm soooo lost..." There is apparently a voice replying, and judging from the fact that she is holding it a little away from her head means it is loud. "I'm old enough to drink a little, okay! I'm old enough to drink a lot, actually! The point is, I'm in real trouble this time. Send the chopper."

She holds the phone away from her head again before replying. "I don't care what the tabloids are going to say! In fact, just wait until they hear I'm bringing a guest with me for a private helicopter ride! Someone I picked up in the slums during my drunken bender I'm having."

This one you can hear, from a very concerned upper class British man. "YOU ARE BRINGING WHAT?!"

"Yup! He's coming home with me tonight and..." She holds the phone away. It's not clear, but the context seems clear, especially when she responds. "Well, I guess you'll just be leaving me here, aaaaaaall alone in a dangerous part of town. And I have no one else to lean on for support except this nice, brave, young strapping man..."

This time angrish comes through the line, then it seems to become something coherent. "Thanks, Jeeves! You are the absolute best!"

She hangs up, and returns to her cold voice. "We will be getting extraction shortly."

She takes the cowl off, and is wearing a black skirt with a white blouse covered in plastic. She takes the plastic cover off, and then folds it into a bag to put her cowl into. She looks like she just attended some kind of party, and is carrying dark clothing in a plastic bag. "I was at a get-together for rich kids with nothing better to do than be rich and spend their parent's money. Love these ivory towers in this city; easy to forget what it's built on."

I'll roll out of the throw with my sword to the side so I don't get cut up.

"Sorry about being so heavy."

I'll let her make the call.

"Wow. I feel sorry for Jeeves. And I have a feeling he isn't going to like me very much.
So Carmilla. How are we going to explain why I have two Zweihanders?
Oh. The Name of Magnus wont do when you introduce me to Jeeves. Just call me Eli Bumbalough."

She breathes a sigh of relief, and her voice no longer has that controlled quality to it. "I was just going to call you Ted. That helps a lot actually."

She adopts a thinking pose. "I'm thinking...you are a...weapons collector! No...a cosplayer of some kind? No...prepared for downtown? True though that may be, no..."

She looks at you with a look of frustration, wringing her hands together. "I don't know! Just make something up and stick with it. I'll play along. Jeeves is...well..."

Her eye contact drifts at this point. "He works for me, technically, but he's also the one who raised me when my parents were killed...and he's kind of my...daaaad?"

She seems uncertain how to phrase these things, and then she gets that clipped voice back all of a sudden. "He's my legal guardian. So, he's rather protective of me, even though I am no longer his ward. Ten years of habits continued five years later to this day."

You hear the sounds of a helicopter, and her voice falls between controlled and casual. "Remember, any injuries I have are from the car crash you pulled me from. I crashed a white Lamborghini earlier tonight into a telephone pole." She looks to you defensively. "You try fighting crime coming straight from a soiree, and tell me how sober you are."

A rope ladder is dropped from the helicopter, as the heli patiently hovers above you. She takes one step on it, looks down at her skirt, and then steps off. She gestures invitingly to you. "After you."

OOC: If you accept, I'm skipping to the landing at her residence.

"...I'll come up with something. Thank You for the ride."

I'll go ahead and climb up even with the extra difficulty of having a zweihander out. I really need to get a sheath for it.

I caught the reason why she is letting me go up first.

Once she calms the pilot down about an armed man climbing aboard the heli, you are on the way just outside of the city itself. You see the mansion and the forest surrounding it well before you land in the well lit landing zone. When it lands, you are met by a grey haired man with a pencil thin mustache. He is clearly quite annoyed with the both of you. He does a quick glance at the both of you, and you feel like this man can tell everything about you at a glance.

In exchange, you've noticed a few things too. For one, there are other people filling up the chopper, and you can tell that all of them seem to have a chi flow that indicates they understand basic hand-to-hand. The grey haired man's flow indicates that he is more proficient in fighting than the others, and has a very distinctive black and blue aura, although he is nowhere near Carmilla's degree of proficiency and power. Her aura, for the record, is also black and blue, just not as focused as his.

"Miss Laura Karnstein." Jeeves, at least you assume it is him, begins speaking sternly. "Are you sure you are old enough to not require parental supervision?"

"Relax, Jeeves, every-" She gets cut off by a combination of a razor sharp glare and a whip quick interruption. His voice was pure ice.

"I heard you stole Mister Troy's vehicle without an explanation, and that it was found near the Bricks wrapped around a telephone pole with multiple gunshots put into it, and stripped of several of its parts. You were found on a rooftop about an hour after I had called up several hospitals asking if they had any recent admissions that had been in a car accident, apparently just fine barring light injuries and with a complete stranger who is apparently armed with a pair of swords, an important detail you omitted."

"I will be requesting a more detailed account of tonight when we get indoors." He turned around quickly, pivoting on his heel. His voice softens for a moment. "For now, let's just get you inside."

It goes away as quickly as it came. "Your guest may come with, if he would like. I prepared cocoa for the both of you."

"Thanks, Jeeves. You are-" He glares back at her, and she changes her tune. "Thank you."

She turns to you, and is whispering. "Let's go inside. I do owe him an explanation, even if it is a false one."

Jeeves isn't lying, in her rather spacious dining room, there are two cups of hot cocoa prepared on a long table. Jeeves prepared them rather strong and sweet. Lots of quality chocolate. One is at the head of the table, which she goes for. The other is next to that. Jeeves is already seated opposite of where you will be sitting.

"So," Jeeves looks right at you, no personal feelings showing behind his faded blue eyes, although his voice is as cold as it has been. "Let's hear the story of how Miss Laura and yourself met."

Laura, as you've now learned she is called, begins talking. "Well-" He raises a hand in a stopping gesture to her, and she goes quiet. His eyes never leave you for a moment.

Well, It's a good thing I had an entire helicopter ride to think of a story. Too bad this guy can see right though lies. Still I remain calm and spin a tale.

"Thank you for the hot chocolate sir. Allow me to Introduce myself. I'm Eli Bumbalough. I teach Martial arts for a living. While I was walking home from training a student with my zweihanders I noticed Ms. Karnstein in a situation with some thugs. I ended up scaring them off and then Ms. Karnstein decided to call her helicopter."

Jeeves raises an eyebrow. "Thugs? Laura mentioned nothing about thugs." He shoots a look at her, and she gets noticeably uncomfortable. His voice retains the exact same tone. "So, you have a dojo that trains students in Scottish weaponry close to that part of town? One might have thought I would have heard of something this close to my home and so novel showing up in Rime City."

He doesn't seem surprised by anything you've said, but he is not an easy man to read.

"Actually. Zweihanders are German weapons. A Claymore is the Scotish two-handed sword. And I've just started out here. so... I don't actually have a dojo yet."

He is loosening his stance a bit, although his gaze is unchanged. His face momentarily cracks a smirk at his error. "So, let me get your story so far. You are new to town, fresh off of the boat, and you were training a sole student despite not possessing a dojo in the arts of wielding German anti-cavalry swords, when you happened to come across Miss Karstein being accosted by hoodlums, they were rightfully terrified of a man wielding such weapons, and..."

He stops a moment. "What were the two of you doing on the rooftop of a condemned building? Just waiting for the chopper to arrive, I suppose? Getting into the building would have been quite the effort, and going up the stairs would have been dangerous. Explain."

"That was my idea!" Laura interrupts at this point. He gives her his look, but she seems to be shrugging it off. "I wasn't quite thinking, and I figured those guys might have more friends, so I broke into the building and started going up in a panic after he ran them off. He followed after me, and nearly got us both killed going up. He's a bit heavier than me, and it nearly stopped our climb."

Jeeves just arcs an eyebrow at you, almost challenging you to back her statement.

In a bit of a deadpan I continue

"Yeah, I'm quite a bit heavier than I look. I ended up breaking quite a few boards on my way up. Collapsing a stairway isn't fun"

"I'm sure you did." He stood up, and just gave Laura a gentle look. "Don't scare me like that again, okay? I won't always be there for you, and you need to learn how to stand for yourself better."

His look goes back to that cold gaze when it falls on you. You realize, whether you already realized it or not, where she got the ability to switch personas so fast from. "Thank you for saving my adopted daughter. I'm certain at least one night of rest here is a start when it comes to acceptable thanks. Perhaps tomorrow we can help you with your dojo problem."

"For now, it is late. Two in the morning is not a time I like dealing with problems. Good night, Laura. Five in the morning is sooner than I would like." He gives a slight bow, and heads out of the room.

"Jeeves, you don-" She waits about ten seconds after he closes the double doors to the main hall behind him. "Odd. He's not waiting outside the doors. I figured he'd at least want to keep an ear on us."

She relaxes in her chair, almost slouching. "Whew! That was close. I've got to be more careful about this sort of thing in the future. I really should have just continued my investigation, but..."

She tips her head to the left when looking at you. "You are a different sort of problem. We'll visit Mister Chang tomorrow. At the very least, he'll be able to help us both out. And explain to me why I needed your help. He told me I'd find an unlikely ally in tomorrow's business, and I'd like to know how he knew about you. Among other questions."

She looks around, noting just how quiet it is. "Sooooo...you have any questions or things to say? I'm all ears."

After Jeeves leaves and she asks me that question.

I run my fingers though my shaggy hair. I need to get a haircut soon.

"I Don't have much to ask. Jeeves knows that I am lying though. Man I'm not good at that sort of thing.Anyway, Is there any particular time we are going to visit Mr. Chang?"

"Early. The sooner the better. The old coot starts work early in, and I'd like to get him before he gets going too much and decides it is time for meditation." She smiles. "And don't worry about Jeeves. He gives everyone that impression, but he really is quite clueless when it comes to me. Still...I am taking him for granted, and maybe I did go a little too far tonight. I'll have to give him tomorrow off. Maybe the rest of the month. He deserves that much."

She stands up. "I'm going to take a nap. The guest room is out the doors Jeeves went through, up to the second floor of the grand stairs, and three doors left. Right, and that takes you to Jeeves and myself. Don't go that way. Jeeves would blow a gasket, and I might hurl a stiletto at you out of reflex."

She thinks a second time. "Actually, I'll just help you to your room. Besides, I'd like to know where you are from. Tell me about it while we walk."

"If you say so about Jeeves. But would you believe that story if you where in his position?
Yeah. That stiletto would hurt."

I walk with her.

"Where I am from? Well I'm Originally from Tennessee in The United states of America. Guessing from  the Fact that this place has a Statue of Liberty, There is probably a parallel to Tennessee here. Although I haven't heard of a Rime City before.... Anyway, The Area of Tennessee I'm from is somewhat mountainous and full of deciduous forests. With Oaks, Maples, Hickories, and a few Birch trees. There are a few towns and cities around. But They are really small compared to Rime City. What else do you want to know?"

You are ascending the stairs when she replies. "It doesn't really matter what I would believe, it matters what he believes. Again, don't worry about him too much."

...past the doors on the left side. "And that explains your accent. This is New Jersey, on the Raritan River's north side, by the ocean. There is a Tennessee here in the United States, obviously, I just...really, don't hear anything about that place. Rime City rather makes it hard to see outside of its boundaries, you know?"

"So, you're a long ways from home, in more ways than one." She stops outside a door. "Well, this is your room. Feel free to let us know if you need anything. I'll...uh...see you later on. Good night."

She quickly walks away to her own room. The amount of gothic architecture in this house suddenly dawns on you as she leaves. While the house is black mana dominant, there are other types swirling throughout the house, and its while a bit unnerving and challenging, it isn't oppressive and outright hostile like Rime City is. It's also more organized, like it was designed to channel the energies of death and entropy to positive ends.

OOC: If you opt for sleep, you will have no unpleasant dreams. The house's geomancy kills nightmares, among other nasty things.

I'll stop her before she goes away.

"Hold on... I don't want to stink up your guest room. I've been though a few battles and worlds with out a chance to clean up. May I use a shower please?"

I assume she lets me and tell's me where one is.

I'll take a shower and note durring it that I don't have any clean cloths to change into. How do I always lose my things? I need to develop some sort of extradimensional  storage space like a bag of holding or something. Because this gets annoying. I look like a homeless person ... which technically I am... at least a homeless person would have a coat for winter in the northeast.  Man I hate the cold.but thw hot water feels nice.

I return to the guest room and go to bed. I need to get my sleep cycle attuned to this world.