Asar replies to the first mate, "We intend to sail this vessel into the same port as the Mauretania. There, despite possible legal salvage rights, we will remand it to the French authorities who will make sure that the vessel is remanded to it's previous owners. We have not gone through the ships records, if they survived, but we will before we make port. In fact, I would appreciate it if you would help us with that before we put you back aboard the Mauretania, just to make sure everything is in order."

Now that the emergency is over, Asar had been trying to get to know the others better. Once the First Mate is moved back to the Mauretania he engages the others in demonstrating and practicing their powers. There were some close calls previously, including one he caused, that a bit more practice or attention to detail might have overted. He also congratulates those that did inventive things like the illusions of Roach and the answers to the riddles.

So much had happened in such a little time. They had all met in the United States and been formed into an expeditionary force. They had defeated, without incident, some alien beast that could cause intense emotions...some kind of emotional vampire almost. There was a mystery on the boat that might have been solved as soon as he could talk to Pheonix. A demon infested boat which held a mystery from his own past just happened to sail towards the ship that was taking them towards their Siberian destination. They had made contact with a major subsea power and perhaps gained them as allies. It seemed that they had been sent back-up, without even being told they might have any.

He smiles, a big grin, as he has in short ordered regained two of the three abilities he was most known for in the distance past. There were still several more abilities that he desired and the last of the core was a possibility....again when he talked to Phoenix. This he heads off to go and do.

-->Goes to find Phoenix.

Not exactly pleased with having to move to the damaged ship, at least they have their choice of cabins, the ones left empty by people who had been corrupted by the power if the statue, for the rest of the voyage.  He is fairly certain the others may be happy with that, considering where they had been berthed before.
The first-class stateroom James had taken was actually more modest than the one the agency had provided for him on the Mauretania, having bunk beds, a couch in a sitting are, and a wall cabinet with a fold-up wash basin.  The belongings of the previous occupants had been gathered and taken by a crewman to the purser's office, after he had explained that some kind of pack of wild animals had somehow gotten aboard the ship and killed, and eaten, many of the crew and passengers, creatures they had killed using firearms, hand weapons, and a man-portable incendiary device used for controlled burning in agriculture.  He had stopped when he saw Hiram/Roach, and asked him to follow him to the stateroom provided.  If he joins him, the soldier sits on the couch, offering the otherwise homeless man to sit down as well.
I realize you weren't yerself, buddy, he says, letting his New York accent come out.  Now I know what not ta do when he comes out.  How're you feelin'?  Inside still feeling crispy?  I'm sorry abouddat.  I lost control, too.
I got two questions for ya.  One how's about we both try to avoid losin' control until absolutely necessary?  Two, d'ya want the top, or the bottom bunk?
This message was last edited by the player at 21:44, Mon 16 Nov 2020.

"I... I Will get better I always do." Hiram answered, a trace of bitter es in his voice at the observation. He had feared what would Come of the man asking him to follow, but his worst fears had been unfounded. He was relieved that Phoenix seemed remarkably calm about what had happened. He'd been attack ed like that and not only did he seem open to forgiveness, he Even apologised for his own completely reasonable counter attack. It was a relief, but at the same time it made Hiram feel Even worse for hurting such a kind soul.
And if anything, I should be thanking you, rather than getting Any sort of apology. I cannot apologise enough for what I did to you, but I must confess it calms me immensely to know that you have both the means and the Will to stop me if necessary. what happens during My... episodes is so frighteningly clear Even after, but it is as if only instinct remains. instinct and bloodlust."

Hiram glanced uncertainly at Phoenix, not quite ready to meget his eye yet. The shadow of a smile did appear on his face however. "I shall do everything in My power to keep control. or at least be far from those Who cannot stop me if it happens again... And I believe I would be most comfortable in the bottom bunk. I am used to sleeping on or near the grund, and not at All used to sleeping on a ship. Rocky motions and All that."

There is a knock on the chamber door. It is somewhat resounding, but not overly forceful. From the other side, "Excuse me, it is Asar, mind if I come in?"

Asar stands outside, waiting for some kind of response, not knowing who is inside.

Nic woke at one point, restless and feeling strange. He paced in his quarters for a short time, but then went walking. He didn't know why, but it felt like the movement, any movement, was helpful in clearing his mind. And currently it was filled to the brim with so much different and strange things.

So much had happened on the other boat. So many things had been revealed, and so many questions had gone unanswered. His dreams and nightmares would be haunted by both the good and bad things he'd seen and experienced there for years to come, maybe the rest of his life.

The sliver in his head twitched slightly, causing him to stumble for just a moment. He grimaced, one hand on the wall to steady himself, the other to his head. "you just have to make life harder, don't you?"

He let out a sigh and walked up on deck for some fresh air for a bit.

In reply to Roach (msg # 230):

James smiles  wanly at the puckered flesh of his cauterized stump, then looks back at Hiram.  Believe me, forgiveness ain't easy, buddy.  But, I'm a soldier, and we just fought together.  Sometimes bad or stupid shit happens, and all ya ken do is suck it up and drive on.
He looks back at Hiram, much of the Bronx disappearing from his voice.  This is not the first time I've been in combat.  Not the first time I've been hurt.  He waves his one hand between them to indicate both of them, followed by another, circular gesture to indicate everyone.  That makes us bonded as Brothers and Sisters.  And, since we are Siblings now, we are going to fight each other sometimes.  He shrugs.  It's what siblings do.
He holds up his stump.  By the way, I'm going to tease you about this from time-to-time.  And, you can take it personal if you want.  But, I will joke about it, because that's the healthiest way to deal with it.  Two, it will be me calling you out if I think you are getting out of hand.  That's another thing siblings do.  Call each other out if they think their Brother or Sister is about to be stupid.  Siblings also, eventually forgive, because family, whether your born into it, or create it from nothing, is what matters most.
At the knock, he falls silent, leaving Hiram to digest what he had just said.  Asar.  Yeah.  Come on in.  It's not locked.

Nathaniel felt much better after some food and some water. He tried to engage these other beings in conversation about who they were and how it is they happened to show up here like this, but they all seemed to have things to do and sort of scattered once the crisis was over.

He stowed his new little friend in the pocket of his jacket, after giving it another piece of hardtack. He didn't think it posed any real danger, but certainly it merited further investigation.

He took a moment and cast a spell that increased his body's healing abilities. It tended to make him extremely hungry and thirsty, so he made sure to fill up on water and rations first.

As he walked toward the statue, he felt his body heal itself. By the time he reached the room of the man he'd been following, he was mostly himself again.

He tried the door. If it didn't work he cast another spell and used the tendrils of Darkforce to open it by reaching through the crack and opening the lock from the inside.

Once inside, he searched the room, paying particular attention to the deeds he could see on the table.

OOC: 57 on a Reason FEAT. Green Result.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 13:05, Tue 17 Nov 2020.

He leans up against the door causally.

"Hello Roach and our new friend Phoenix. Your exploits above were impressive, both of you. However, I see that things might have gotten out of.....control shall we say. Is there anything that can be done about that Roach? Should I just grab you telekinetically and hold you away from everybody else till you calm down? Phoenix, I was wondering as to the nature of your powers and if you can create fire or just manipulate it?"

In reply to Nathaniel Roivas (msg # 234):

 You find the room to be a complete mess. The front of the doorway is completely destroyed. A result of the cursed assault no doubt. Claw marks surrounding the broken doorway though revealed that the creatures had been trying to get into the room for some time. Grant August was in fact a mercenary for hire, he'd have probably held out for quite some time. His employer whom you hadn't been able to identify yet, was quite good at keeping the operation compartmentalized. Stealing and selling a priceless statue such as this would require that. That was why you were interested in the first place.

 The deeds to the statue showed the statue selling for a modest price in actuality, only $500 dollars. You're own research on the statue up until now had put it in the range of a million. While you hadn't known of it's treasures in particular, it's archaeological and occult value however was enough for you. As you rifle though the few undisturbed papers in the room, you come across a piece of scrap paper with a Parisian address, a warehouse seemingly. Mostly likely this was to be the place where the statue was to be delivered for the sale.

 Now that you know what was inside the statue, it has made you all the more interested in this deal, especially in regards to the need for such secrecy.

"That could work." Hiram said after a moments hesitation. Sure, it wouldn't be comfortable or very dignified, but those were really far down the list of concerns in such a situation. "The other times I've gone out of control, it has usually taken about a minute or two after Any conflict is over before I came to naturally..."

While by no means a comfortable topic, Hiram was glad that it seemed more than one companion were ready and able to stop him. Perhaps joining had not been a complete mistake after All.
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:49, Thu 19 Nov 2020.

In reply to Arbiter (msg # 236):

If there was one thing, above all, that motivated Nathaniel, it was a mysterious location. An address was the best thing he could have found (and also, perhaps, the worst). He took what papers he could and went off to the find the others.

Now he had some backup.

He'd never had backup before.

Looking up at Asar from his spit on the sofa, he gives a bit of a grin.  I am wholly self-contained, he says.  No outside spark or fuel needed.  I can even use my heat and flame to propel myself trough the air like a rocket.  It even provides a protective sheath of flame around me.  Though that leaves my clothing choices a little stiff.
He turns back to Hiram.  I think we can work out a way to calm you down.

Asar looks thoughtful for a few moments before saying, "I am interested in this spontaneous combustion process which you seem to so easily control. Does it change the inside of you, seeing as it is self-contained, as you say?"

Being able to fly would be marvelous. Flying across a night sky as a shiny object not so much if stealth were a requirement. However, Asar was much more interested in it as a means to produce his signature flaming sword.

He gives a shrug.  I've been poked and prodded by doctors and biologists at The Bureau.  They took skin samples, samples of body fluids.  They don't react any differently than normal.  Nobody can figure it out.
Standing up, he pulls back the sleeve from his stump, the skin puckered and blistered where he cauterized it.  He then steps to the bed to grab his fedora and put it on.
 When I want to... I guess... "flame on", I just will it.  My body temperature sky rockets, like I have some kind of super fever.  Then, I burst into flame, but I don't burn.
Suddenly, the temperature around him goes up drastically as he does exactly that.  He looks at his stump a moment, fascinated by the fact that there is a flame shaped like a hand extending from the puckered flesh.  As he stares at it, it moves, finger-like flames opening, spreading, and closing into a fist like the real thing.  Hunh.  Interesting.

"Well it would seem that your hand is very much taking after your call sign. Indeed a remarkable power to be sure. Could you control it enough to light somebody else's cigarette?"

Asar doesn't have a cigarette, but he found a pack of cigars and offers one to be lit.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:41, Mon 23 Nov 2020.

He watches as the hand of fire slowly fades away.  I did not know it would do that.  Interesting.
He stands, moving towards Asar,  and picks up the cutter from next to the cigar box.  Reaching up, he cuts the sealed end off of it.  Makes it easier to light, and it burns better.
He snaps his fingers, Flickum biccus, he says as a flame appears  at the tip of his thumb, which he brings up to the end of the cigar.  Not a habit I ever took up.  I smoke in a different way.  He gives a small gin.

Asar puffs on the cigar till it gets truly lit and gives Phoenix a smile.

"Still as impressive as the first time."

Somewhat odd, Asar doesn't know that one isn't suppose to inhale cigars. He is treating it like a giant cigarette.

"I was wondering, if you wanted to experiment with how powerful your flame thrower power actually is?"

If Phoenix is interested, then Asar will accompany him up on deck and conduct the experiment.

You puff on it, not inhale, Phoenix directs with a chuckle.   It's not a big cigarette.
He shakes his head.  Someone has been following the Mauretania.  They are probably following us now.  I want to go scout them out, but I have to do when the sun is up.

"Not a bad idea that, approaching from the sun so they can't get a good look at you and whatnot. Tipping them off that we know they are out there would probably be a bad thing though."

Asar seems to concentrate on the smoke from the cigar or something that is not there.

Well, unless you or Hiram have a better idea, he shrugs, and unless someone else can fly or swim, I'm the best bet for finding out anything.  My asbestos clothing protects other from my fire and will hide my burning glow a bit, so I should be difficult to see during the day, even if It's cloudy.

 The Mauretania was still in sight distance about a kilometre back, and they were just passing the Rock of Gibraltar to the North and heading into the Mediterranean Sea. There were a few other ships dotting the distance however and that would make it slightly more difficult, but Ms.S points the way when asked which way the ship was that had been following them.

 Phoenix makes ready for a his flight, the light was seeping over the horizon in a flood of warm light. The clouds were sparse today and the air felt dryer than the other night when they'd come across the Neustria.

He comes out to the deck in his suit, hat, and longcoat, ready to find a place where he can take off without much likelihood of being seen.  As one of the saviors of the remaining ship's crew and passengers, he is given access to the roof where the stacks protrude from the ship with little question.  He knows he should not do this alone, but one of the first things he had taught himself to do with his fire powers was to create a form of flare, particularly a fireball that would explode at the terminus of its range like a form of fireworks, as well as streaks of flame that would just fizzle out.  He also knows how to send them up in morse code.
He launches himself from a side of the stacks obscured from the view of the target vessel hoping to appear initially as just an ember thrown clear.  He then attempts to hide himself in the light of the rising sun as he streaks towards their chaser.

 As he casts out over the waves and heading for greater altitude to take advantage of the sun, he swings around to come from the east and lines up with sun at his best guess...

OOC: Phoenix we'll cast back to your thread for the next portion.

Asar goes over and stands where Phoenix was when he took off. His eyesight is very good, but not good enough to keep track of him once he is to far out. Meanwhile, he looks around the deck and area they are on.

"Good Luck and return soon my new friend."

Soon the small bay of Marseilles comes into view and Ace and the gang begin to steer into port...