“What happened here?”, asks Will as Paul and Illiana crouch in a makeshift cover made of violet strings of mana with San holding an automatic rifle in a ready position. From the cover, muffled a little by the dome, “I was just asking if-”, says Paul but get cut short by San, shouting, “Shut your trap, perkele! He went on and on about having no empathy or what not and just started asking about my relationship with you, Will”. Chaffing his eyes and letting out a large sigh, “Alice, what happened here, really?”, asks Will.
As Alice report what had happened in the prior 10 minutes, Yuki and Alex are playing behind the bar-stand. Sighing out a large, again, “So, you are saying, our ace, Paul, tried to seduce my San? The damned hell does that supposed to mean? Well, I guess some misunderstanding has to be what caused it… Yuki, anything to add?”, says Will. Still playing with Alex, “Yeah, no, Paul was asked how his brainwashing worked and he said “I can show you” and then he asked about you and San just started blasting. That is all I can say”, says Yuki. Aligned as Absolute Good, Paul Lipinski does not know how to be a normal person. All of his work must equate to a net positive and more.
“Where did you find a girl who carries 4 firearms, mate?”, asks Paul. “Berlin… Oh, right, you do not know yet. Ah-. Paul, that girl is Cassandra Trie Johannes, the one whom I gave the ember of my miracles to. If you see really closely, you can see a faint left stream down-blaze”, says Will.
The eastern part of the continent has never been in peace. Since the 12th century, the Hungarians, Swedes, Turks, Russians and other Slavs have invaded the polish plains time and time again. Yet, their ethnicity, now that their homeland no longer exists, still live on in other countries as clusters of community. Their country, the latter Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, was dissected by the Germans, Swedes and Russians in the early 18th century, split between the 3 three and their ethnicity scattered among those countries.
The redeeming factor of their survival is their ability to prolong and preserve their ethnic identity through folklore and fairytales and further spread the word of their ancestors. One such tale told by almost every Pole is the tale of the Hill Dragon. Originating in the 13th century around then-Krakov, the tale entails how there was an immortal dragon who promised every good for a hundred generations and how he died because of his unreasonable dream. He was dubbed the Dragon of the Hills after where he usually hid during visits. On his death, his flesh was burned, his bones crushed and scattered all across the country to ensure he did not rise again. They say his death was of spectacle and misery; he breathed a fray of fire in his second, engulfing the east side of the city in blaze and, his scream he let out as his last, sounded throughout the central Polish plains. Some say it was stilled in every Krakovski as those from there weep in sounds of a harmonica.
From the death of the Hill dragon – from his wish to ensure the people all the good, the Potomkowie smoka were born. Having the abilities of their ancestor, they live out as the apostles of good faith and luck, making sure every Pole live their life as fully as possible. Although it is not proven that they exist or how they exist, it is said that they have an unusually cyan hair and iris matching, a mark resembling an up-blaze and an inability to feel remorse.
Sitting in a cubicle, “So, these are my friends from Hanover, Johann von Alstrom, Li San Hue and Cassandra Trie Johannes. Johann is the one I wrote to you about the most and you should know almost everything by now. Li is Johann’s young apprentice, the supposed heir to the throne of China and the terrorist who blew up the Hanover consulate building, Li the Pyromancer. Cassandra is… well… my wife. She is my reason for leaving Berlin in the first place and the person who I would give up my life to, literally”, says Will, introducing the bunch to Paul and Illiana. “Likewise, these are my past associates, Paul Lipinski and Illiana Lavorovana. Paul is the group’s headmaster, also known as AMMO for his ability to perceive everything. Illiana is the group’s medical personnel, also known as TEA for her ability to get information out of people”, he adds.
“If you will, I recruited Will because he was captured at a place called Gipfel for a month or so, after the explosion of ’62. And, by chance, we raided that place to save its residents from the government’s grasp. I did not recruit him, per se; he chose us and stayed. He was as resilient as you, back then, too, San”, says Paul as San pouts and turns her head away. “There are two more person from the group but I fear they will not be arriving here soon. Well then, our work here is done so… we will take our leave then. I will give them your regards, Ghost”, says Illiana, standing up and pulling her hood over. Turning to the cubicle from the doorway, “Ey, Leo, are you coming?”, asks Paul. “No, I think I will stay here for a bit. They are crashing at my place, too, so I have to escort any drunkards from here”, answers Leo… “Take care on your way back!”, sounds Alice as the two dissipates in the heavy rain.
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“Well then, they just left. What now?”, asks Li, holding the map. Walking to the bar, “I will just have to ask them tomorrow. Not like they are going anywhere”, says Will. “Leo, how long does your anesthetic work?”, asks Johann. Right as he asks so, the two start to wake up. Marionetting the two to the bar-stand, Yuki sits on the counter top with Alex…
Groaning, the officers wake up. Seeing the glass in his hand, “How much did I drink?”, asks Otto. Standing behind the bar-stand, “About 3 liters. You have been out for an hour now. What is the last thing you remember, inspectors?”, says Alex, in her usual cheery tone. “Ah- Scheiße… An hour, you say?”, asks Arnold, also waking up with a glass in hand. Seemingly hungover, “We were here to… drink after a long day… Where is this place, again?”, says Otto. “It seems you have forgotten, officers. You were here asking for the Ghost, remember?”, asks Alex. Confused, “The Ghost? Didn’t he get killed back in ’70? We saw the corpse, I was there. Why would we be asking for a dead man, ma’am?”, says Arnold. “Could we have some… water, please?”, asks Otto, standing up and stretching… “Well then, we will take our leave. Here, 15 marks, keep the change”, says Otto, throwing on his outer coat. Patting his inner pocket, “Where did I…”, startles Arnold. “Looking for these?”, asks Alex, holding the two jeiha-Hito Model 21. “How did you-”, starts Otto. Charading how she disarmed the two on the way to the entrance, “If you were not the quick-tempered dupes you were, I would not have confiscated your guns… Well then, I think you are sober enough to bear arms. Here you go!”, says Alex, handing them the two handguns and opening the doors for them…
“Those guns… those are JH Model 21s. I saw one schematic in Moscow… Just how much did they steal from me?”, says San, disassembling her automatic rifle. Cat walking, “So, do you want to get them back, don’t you? You want to retrieve what is taken from you… just like Will”, says Yuki. Sitting in front of her, with his bead bracelet in hand, “Defeated means taken but one cannot take what is not. As such, the foreign anomaly, the Ghost of Berlin cannot be defeated, or be taken – he will always win and he will always take back. Believe in him, pray for him and be with him in every moment of his remaining life, San”, says Leo, almost like a coronation.
As the rainy evening of Berlin go by and the silent night falls upon the city, the district where no sane person would go blooms with lively glee. Sitting atop the building, veiled in a seamless black robe, “Flower of Ipomoea alba, the Moonflower. Do you know why it is named that, Mr. Will?”, asks Li. “Because it only blooms in the dark. There is a story, fairytale to many, To you, my dear, a thousand years later. The German transliteration has him called “Brother Moon”, made Zero, Nil, if you will, a great force that is prominent everywhere. But he is still him – he who cannot be reunited with his beloved. Why do you know that name, Li?”, says Will, sitting beside the black pyromancer. “My grandma was a botanist and she always said it was a shame that such a beautiful name was used for this terrible tragedy. But I see why the Germans named it that, now. It is beautiful. If only I could see this everyday…”, answers Li.
Suddenly, a lightning strikes Will and Li. Falling limp to the balcony below, Will is unconscious. While he was also struck down by tens of millions of joules, Li is just fine, as he had his cloak on. Down in the bar, “That one sounded quite close, don’t you think?”, says San as Yuki hides under a chair. Recollecting herself, Yuki quickly bounces over to the stairs and up to the attic. Seeing Li sitting beside an unconscious Will, “When and how? Answer!”, says Yuki. Shooting 3 streams of string into Will as to determine his situation, sighing in relief, “Spine is fine, heart and internals are fine but, his head is a bit iffy”, says Yuki. “How is Mr. Will this resilient?”, asks Li, pulling off his robe. Hammocking him in the top room of the bar using her strings, “He is not resilient, per se. He is hollow inside; he has a hole in him which could be filled with all sorts of stuff. My personal opt for filling it is a lot of tomato soup”, says Yuki, smiling.