The Secret Vale Archives [Closed]

Vega drew his sword and pointed it at Steven. "I appreciate the concern but I can handle my own battles." Vega appeared unfazed by Rose's actions but deep inside he was calculating the odds of whether or not to attack. After careful thought Vega smiled. "I believe you are right Ms. Real. I'll be sure to keep that in mind but the fact of the matter is you still need our help and we seem to still be willing to offer it. How about we all pretend this incident didn't happen. This is work to be done and it is best to get it done in a timely manner." Vega sat waiting for Rose's reaction, his face may have seemed calm but he wasn't entirely sure his words would diffuse the situation.

Vixen Madder's eyes became wide with fury upon hearing Solomon's words but Vega had apologized. She smiled.

"Best not mess with a tempest," she said. "No single man can survive such a storm. But I will forgive you, young man."

She then went back to her seat and laughed. It was a small laugh, but it grew louder. And louder. The soft voice echoed on the walls and the house seemed to shake. The jars shook and the trinkets rang and clanged against the hooks. Vixen Madder looked at Solomon with her eyes. First black and hollow. Then yellow. Then blue. Then green. The red.

Her mouth started to open to reveal sharp fangs and she slowly began to reach over to his neck. She stopped as she saw Vega and smiled.

"If you're wondering," she said as she retreated to her seat. "Vampires don't exist. But monsters do. In faunus and humans alike. I won't tell you which I am. Alright, sir, we'll get back to business. But be patient and wait for our last guest. Anyways, does anyone care for a snack? I have some nice fruits here."

She stood up to leave and went to a shelf with a basket. The fruits there were a reddish-purple. Like her chiton. And they were plump. One could be sure they were pomegranates but they weren't. They smelled like baked pastries and cakes and cooked sugar.

She handed them one each.

"Dassn't eat them," she said. "Dassn't even put thy finger that hath touched the juice to thy mouth. But they are yours to keep."

Shiroe receives the odd looking pastry but refrains from eating it. "This is quite an interesting...snack you have here" he said, still trying to figure out what it was.
"Where exactly is this "mission" taking place? I want to know what we're facing, and what we're looking for." he said, sounding a bit less formal than he usually did. He placed the odd fruit on the table in suspicion to what it might contain and looked straight at Vixen.

Thorn walked down the empty & boring section of Vale wondering what the hell she was doing. She looked at her watch to see what time it was. She looked around seeing nothing but some barren shops and other places she would never visit in her life. Man, too bad Kyri is busy....I'm so bored, why am I talking to myself again...I gotta stop this...ok that's far enough Thorn, I'm going to stop you there. SCREW ME!"Thorn yelled into the empty streets as she blushed and noticed she just yelled and felt awkward. She came upon a small shop that looked to be a shop for herbs and 'trinkets'. She stopped and read a poser next to the door. "Hey! I'm eager! I'm young! I like quests and I'm also a student! LETS GO!"She blushed again as she noticed she was talking to herself again and she also yelled into nowhere at no one..... She opened the door and upon walking in she introduced herself. "Thorn Stradaise! Combat medic and student! What is your job!?"She salutes and them realizes she went way overboard and simply shrinks and says. "Hi...."

Upon hearing Shiroe's question, the woman smiled and moved over to him, tousling his fair, silvery white locks. She also nodded to Solomon in forgiveness. She then lifted up a hand and closed one finger one by one.

"Five..." she said. "Four...three...two..."

"Thorn Stradaise! Combat medic and student! What is your job!?"

A girl had come through the door, as the woman expected and she let go of Shiroe's hair. She extended both arms as if to hug the maroon-haired student.

"Welcome!" she said. "Our precious last key to the door! Come and sit and I will get straight to the point!"

She sat down again and waited for the girl like an undertaker in the deep black night.

Slowly, she took another bottle from her cloak and began pouring it onto the counter. Something that looked like purple Dust, but in the amber light, one could not be so sure. The Dust poured continuously until it began to lift from the table and into the air...into the five people's nostrils...waiting for them to go to sleep.

Vega could barely hold on to his consciousness as he saw Solomon fall. He himself started to fall but caught himself with his sword, his arms trembling barely able to hold his weight up. "Should have seen this comi.." Vega could not finish his sentence, his strength left his body and he collapsed his sword to his side.

What in blazes is going on here? I shouldn't have sent Dunham away.
Shiroe started coughing and slowly felt his strength being sapped away. His knees buckled in as he tried to stay standing but he realized it was futile. Shiroe felt his consciousness fading away, the lights seemed dim and his knees were giving in. He fell to the ground, barely able to support his own weight anymore. The emblem on his right hand started flickering brightly and slowly getting dimmer as the seconds passed. He could barely see Vixen's mad smile as they fell one by one, she had the utmost joy in her expression.

Stay awake... Stay awake...

"Hey! What... are...you..." but before he could even finish he lost his ability to talk and think properly. He tried supporting himself with his right arm, the tattoo barely flickering, but his strength gave in and the next thing he knew, he was on the floor. The last thing he saw was the emblem on his right hand lose it's light as his world got engulfed by darkness.

Thorn walks over to the table and sits down looking at the mysterious stuff on the table. "whats.....this stuff.....looks like du-"Thorn's head falls on the table as she falls into a weird sleep state.

As everyone fell into the darkness, a laugh could be heard.

It was sane. It was mad. It was happy. It was sad.

The laugh was followed by the soft alluring voice that had sounded so welcoming...but was actually a dangerous threat if one wasn't careful.

Patience, my dear, dear friends... she said. You'll see for yourself what you have to do.

The five quest-seekers would groan and question in their sleep.

And when you do, she said. I'll repay...



Repay.



Slowly, the bodies seemed to drift in the motion of water. Rocking back and forth as something sang softly. The sound of crickets could be heard and so could the sound of the sloshing waves against a frail boat structure. If one focused hard enough, they could see a faint amber light against the sea, lighting a path that appeared to have no return.

In the background, a voice was singing. It belonged to a woman with a rose madder chiton. Her body was slender and her skin was creamy white. Her hair shone gold in a plait against the moonlight. Her back had wounds that were infested and infected.

The voice sang.

I'm really Rosie. And I'm Rosie Real...better believe me...

I'm a great big deal.


When the five adventurers would wake up, they'd find themselves in a marble hall with a grand staircase. At the top of this hall were two large black doors with silver nobs. In one of their hands, they each held a piece of paper. In the other, they had the fruit that looked like a pomegranate, but definitely wasn't.

Vega awoke sweat pouring on his face. "Never trust a women who sends fear straight into your bones." He goes to push his glasses up but finds a piece of paper and the fruit. He glances around and see's the others are still asleep. He stands up and stretches for a bit. "I believe this is the start of the mission. Everyone wake up we have work to do."

Once the five wake up, they will find the papers have messages for them. Each message has a number sloppily painted in red, in order of whence they entered the shop. On the other side was the instructions. In the middle of everyone was one paper with a note straight from the vixen.

Follow the numbers and the instructions...you'll be guided accordingly. Play well.

Shiroe groans as he gets up, his body ached because he slept in an unnatural position on a hard, cold, floor. He sees the piece of paper in one of his hands and the weird fruit in the other. He looks at the floor and stomps on it once.

Definitely not a plush, king-sized, bed.

"Where are we?" he says as he sees the large marble hall and the staircase. He also spotted the huge black doors at the top of the hallway.

Looks a bit like home

The thought made him chuckle a bit, but of course this was not his home. He took a look at the paper and saw the message written on it.

Follow the numbers and the instructions...you'll be guided accordingly. Play well.

Shiroe felt a shiver up his spine, the woman was definitely nothing short of a loon but he knew that he should uphold his honor by finishing his quest and protecting his temporary allies. He spots a few of them getting up and approaches the nearest one to him, a girl, and offers his hand to help her up.

"If I may?" he says, as he extends his hand

Vega stood in the middle of the room ignoring Mar for a bit as he focused his semblance after clearing the room he turns back to Marc. "This rooms empty except for our party. My name is Vega Anansi a third year. I don't want to report your death so don't die."

Thorn wakes up feeling extremely groggy and with a slight headache. She stands up rubbing her head and asks. "Where? Where am...I?"She looks around the room and notices marble and stuff. She looks around at the people and then looks down noticing the paper clutched tightly in her hands. "So if we're doing introductions, Im Thorn Stradaise, first year, pleased to meet you all."

The five people were in a circular room. A ballroom, perhaps? That'd be strange since this was supposed to be a large library complex. Either way, a large chandelier light lit the room white and the marble had gold swirls mixed with its creamy color. Pillars stood at all sides and in between were five statues of angels and below...five statues of Grimm creatures: An ox, a snake, a raven, a wolf and the last was actually just an abstract sculpture with a Grimm's mask on what should have been its head.

The stairs laid north of them and the large black doors were like the exit of this mouth of a room. The door handles shone as if they had been perfectly polished. They invited the adventurers to open them.

A voice seemed to echo in the room. It was soft and husky. The vixen woman.

Read your letters...

Vega listens to the voice and obliges not seeing another way out. He decides to read it aloud to save time from telling the others. "Up ahead are two doors that will lead you to the first area of the Vale Archives. A maze of shelves with a bounty of knowledge. Find the path. Hint. There's a reason the books are colored. Hmmhmm..." With his message read Vega pockets the note and begins to think of the hint.

Vega looked over to Solomon. "I take it that's why you tried to stop Vixen back in her shop." Vega extends his hand toward Soloman. "I don't like people fighting my battles but I would mind working with someone with such quick instincts." Vega thinks for a moment conceding to the thought he had and sighs. "Thank you for the help back there. I look forward to working with you."

Shiroe stared at the doors for a while. They seemed inviting and tempting to open. He approached them but decided against opening them right away, he took his piece of paper and read the contents over again. The hint and a red number must mean something once they pass the doors, but at the moment they need to regain composure and at least plan it a bit through.

"My name is Shiroe Pendragon, but I prefer to save formalities for later until we assess the situation." he said

"I noticed that the papers have hints and numbers. I also noticed since we each have different numbers it must be obvious that we also have different clues or hints. I suggest we each read the papers so in case after we open those doors and we encounter something difficult we may be able to dispatch it right away." Shiroe said as he walked back towards the group. He clenched his fist a bit then continued.


"My paper says Number four, and it also says To pass the women guards, do what they can't do. This must be in reference to what we're going to encounter later on. The numbers must be of significance as well otherwise they wouldn't be put there." he  said to the others. "I suggest we share whatever information we have or will acquire as we proceed. So, what do your slips say?"

Vega looks over to Shiroe and the doors. "Considering my paper talks about the first area and its number one the numbers likely show the order in which the hints will occur." Vega walks over to the door and considers opening them. "We are heading into a maze of shelves lined with books everyone keep an eye out for the color of the books and for each other we don't need anyone getting lost. If anyone has a reason we shouldn't enter yet speak now."