To Ponkapoag!

[Malum]

Part I - That Ad.
One day while rummaging through some old documents he retrieved an old photograph and suddenly Dr Asa could remember back to his ‘fresher’ years of medicine. The photo was of him standing with a stout jovial man, poorly dressed and hairline suspect. Professor Krohmsten. He was filled with a zest and spunk that wasn’t much like the other smock driven men of his academy. It was probably due to this fact that none of the students took the poor man seriously. “Field work. Field work my dear students is the forefront of all proper discovery, for no man can craft what nature has spent her entire life perfecting.” He would say to them.

But of course, the student’s weren’t amused. They didn’t become healers for the sake of exploration. That’s what explorers were for! See Dr Matterhorns Tales of the North and Beastiary Bundles. No, no, no of course not. These were the minds of laboratories and hospital where –real- progress happened.

Not Asa.

There was something about the man’s sunny disposition that allowed him to ignore his socially retarded incongruence’s, like how he referred to his class as ‘dear students’. Aloft on this memory, Dr Asa reached for a paper on his desk. He rifled through a few pages skimming over the political and criminal distress across Terrenus. Faustus this, Tullin that, etc etc. Eureka! Aeron thought to himself. In a small column near the back end, reporters wrote about Ponkapoag Lake; a fascinating place with serene landscape and a peculiar history.

“Enigma, eh. Strange vibes, eh. Hmm” Asa thought aloud, “Why not.”

Mysterious readings have been recording from locals in the area from off the lake. Fishermen swear a curse is afoot in the depths of the murky deep. All of it was absolutely fascinating, despite its inane references. It was perhaps off a hunch, but the good doctor had his fill with the mundane routine workings of the office. It was time to go exploring.

“Assistant needed!

Strapping yound lad, or lass, willing to assist doctor in forest expedition including, but not limited to: trekking, hiking, climbing, swimming, swimming, singing, scaling, clawing, fighting, camping, floating, flying, fishing, sampling and sleeping.”

Perfect, he thought, and posted it on the Casper town bulletin with a submission in the local paper classified’s.

[Val]

Casper, a wonderful name for a ghost town, though what it was doing being given to a sea-port Mira'd never know. The red head spent most of the day looking for jobs, since room and board didn't pay for itself and not having a brother with coffers big enough to maintain a small nation for a couple decades had its' downsides. The demon sat at a bar near the center of town, she'd heard earlier that day that there once was a paladin statue in the middle of the place, though what a paladin was or how it moved escaped her. A news paper was in front of her, and a mug of what appeared to be liquor, though one couldn't tell if she'd drunk it or if she'd just bought it to stay there.

She glanced over the classifieds from a paper she'd managed to buy with her dwindling money, and pulled out a pencil from her back pocket and started circling. The usual jobs were always being looked for; a barista, hostess, things of that nature. Though being the only sea port one doesn't find much in the way of sailing positions, they all being taken by those salty sea dogs the majority of the time. So far the woman's only been able to land some part time work, and that wasn't panning out the way she'd hoped.

Though one new article caught her eye.

“Assistant needed!

Strapping young lad, or lass, willing to assist doctor in forest expedition including, but not limited to: trekking, hiking, climbing, swimming, swimming, singing, scaling, clawing, fighting, camping, floating, flying, fishing, sampling and sleeping.”

That might be fun. Probably not much pay, but at least she'd get to travel. And him being a doctor would be nice; Full of knowledge and if there's one thing the water demon craves for more than water is knowledge.

Well that might have been an overstatement, but the point still stands.

I'll check there first. She thought to herself as she stuck the pencil back in her pocket. The demoness stood, drained the beer in a few gulps, put the money she owed the bartender and headed out, checking the little article again for the address, and ending up having to go back inside for directions. While she's pretty good at reading maps, she's still new to town and the layout of the rather large city still confused her.

Another couple of minutes later saw her heading up and around the fountain in the middle of the city, through the back streets, and across other roads until she managed to find the office of a Dr. Asa. A rather interesting name, but she's heard weirder in her close to 700 years of life. (You wouldn't believe what length some parents would go to to make sure that their precious little snowflake was unique.) Mira went up to the door, knocked three times, as was customary, or at least habit, stepped back and nodded to the Dr. when he opened the door.

"Hello, I'm Mirabella. I've come in response to your Help Wanted add in the classifieds, you're looking for an assistant." She smiled up to him, and folded her hands behind her back, and patiently waited for his answer. After all, one who's lived as long as she has learns quick that patience is one of the best things a person can have when they have nothing else.

[Malum]

“Mirabella?” He looked blankly at the girl. Assistant? He thought to himself. “Assistant...Assistant...” He mouthed quietly as his eyes trailed off in thought.

“Ah yes!” His excitement renewed, he smiled at the stranger, “please, come in come in!”

Aeron shuffled over to the waiting area that was a mess with files that he hadn’t gotten around to filing. It was obvious business was slow as of late, no serious illnesses the good doctor couldn’t merely prescribe away. Perhaps it was a good sign, but it lead to such a boring mind. Excited to know more of the girl, he cluttered the files into his bosom and threw them behind his desk in a pile of chaos.

“Sit, sit, I implore you sit. I’m glad you’ve come. Please, tell me a little about yourself.”

He sat in one of the waiting room chairs and signalled for her to sit diagonal from him. He would wait patiently for her response before springing the most important question, eyes wide and lip bit.

“What do you know of Ponkapoag?”

[Val]

Mira nodded and stepped inside after him, looking around the room at all the unfiled files and the papers and other things with information on them; She'd definitely like to prob his brain later on.. Though her line of sight to them was interrupted when the doctor gathered them up and threw them off into obscurity. The sight of it made her heart break slightly; So much knowledge and information and it was being discarded and tossed around like it was nothing...

The doctor motioned her to sit, she managed to noticed the movement out of the corner of her eyes and she joined him at the newly cleared table. "Ponkapoag, that's where I first got here. I know that there's all these civilizations down there, I saw them once, and I'd like to go back to get a closer look. I also felt something about that lake, like something was off. I couldn't tell if it was bad, just different from other bodies of water." The demoness folded her arms over her front and went back to looking around. "I don't get how people think they can learn from books alone.." She muttered, thinking back to the papers.

"I mean one learns from books up to a point but after that one needs to just go out and do the practical things with it." Mira shook her head and moved her gaze back to the doctor on her other side. "Oh, I'm sorry, I have a tendency to ramble when I'm not thinking about what I'm saying."

[The Dark Knight]

"Time to go, 001."

The speaker was swathed in shadows. His companion stood in a pool of sunlight, but not a single patch of skin was visible. He was covered from head to toe in fabric, and the only feature discernible on him was his eyes. They were bright red, like the color of freshly spilled blood. Despite the layers of clothing that veiled his figure, it was obvious that he was a man of impressive build and incredible physical attributes. But when the speaker emerged from the darkness, he bowed low and seemed to shrink, retreating to the circle's edge.

The man that stepped into view was tall and thin. He seemed frail, as though a wayward breeze would sweep him off his feet. But the predatory ferocity of his eyes told another story entirely. They were bright with a keen intelligence, and dark with a wicked malevolence. A long white coat, which seemed oddly reminiscent of a scientist's lab jacket, ran down the length of his figure, with rounded edges that seemed to soften the harsh angles of his figure. It made his otherwise unpleasant face much easier on the eyes.

"The others will be close by."

Without so much as a glance at 001, Nicholas strolled into town. 001 fell into step behind his leader, mirroring his motions as though a shadow. The pair's gait was brisk, but unhurried. It was the pace of people who had places to go, and things to do. Never once did Nicholas pause, for once he was on his way, he seemed set to reach his destination.

When they arrived at Dr. Asa's doorsteps, it was Nicholas who knocked. His companion ducked into the shadows politely, as though to acknowledge the status of the two men involved. But nevertheless, he made himself visible, so that if Dr. Asa glanced in his direction, he would see a pair of dim, red eyes hovering in the darkness. The insinuating sensation of danger was gone, and the two of them seemed amiable, but businesslike.

[Malum]

“Fantastic!” Asa replied.

This was absolutely perfect, Asa thought. Not only had the girl shared the same love for knowledge as he did, but she had experience with Ponkapoag. This was indeed turning out to be a most propitious expedition.

And then the door crashed the train carrying Asa’s thoughts. Pity, Asa liked the ride.

“Excuse me.” He said to Mirabella as he upped and shuffled to the door.

Upon opening the door he found himaelf face to face with someone resembling those dreadful med school students he had long since tried to forget. Oh lord, Asa thought to himself. He could practically smell the pungeant effort of prestige seeping from the lab coat, though you’d hardly tell from Asa’s face. His smile only faded for a moment as he eyed down the newcomer before he snapped back into his humble demeanour.

“Welcome, welcome..How may I help you?” He said. Then his eyes wandered to the side to see a most peculiar dressed man accompanying this doctoresque fellow.

[Val]

The demoness nodded to the doctor, leaving him to get up to answer the door. The person at the entrance didn't interest her in the least. What did, however was the dishevelment behind the good doctors' desk.

She wanted badly to fix it, at least make it neater looking, organizing could be saved for later, but still... The mess was driving her nuts with its' dishevelment. She glanced over to the two men talking and such, noting that this new person didn't seem mortal, made sure that they were busy enough for her to pick up the mess, and then scooted over behind his desk to shuffle the papers back into alignment and place them on his table.

There, much better. Mira thought, looking over the now clean floor behind aforementioned desk and sat back down at her chair, looking around the room and its' little quirkiness. The demoness loved rooms like this, they showed off a person's personality so well, and she could tell that he was rather energetic, due to the mess, a lover of knowledge, why else would he be a doctor and have files upon files of unfiled paper?

Now bored with looking around, she chose to look at the people she'd refrained from looking at so far; The man in the doorway and his strange guest. Both seemed rather off, though that was to be expected of people whom she didn't know. Idly Mira wondered why the doctor didn't just invite them in, but then she realized that since he hasn't he probably doesn't know whether or not that it's okay to. But in the back of her mind she remembered hearing that all doctors took this oath thing that made them take any health case presented to them when they got their license... But the woman doubted that's the way things were done here.

[The Dark Knight]

"Pleasure to meet you, Dr. Asa, I'm Nicholas. I saw in the local paper that you were looking for someone to assist you in your expedition. I'm here to apply."

The aura of tension that usually rolled off of Nicholas in staggering waves was gone. In its place was a young, jubilant energy befitting a man at such a dynamic point of his life. His smart white coat had a negligible blemish on the sleeve, but it was one that couldn't possibly be missed by a doctor of Dr. Asa's standing. It hinted at a tendency for exploration and experimentation, a love for hands-on work and adventure, and a willingness to get down and dirty if necessary. It seemed to contradict Nicholas's businesslike demeanor and slick attire, but both could easily be dismissed as nervousness (for who wouldn't be nervous in the presence of such an esteemed doctor?) and respect for the occasion.

"This is my body guard. I believe that he can bring to the table what I might not."

001 emerged from the darkness and saluted smartly to the esteemed doctor. His eyes were a dimmer shade of red, like the gentle glow of a fire in a household hearth. He was the exact opposite of his master, whose forte was obviously in the realms of intellectual pursuit, for he stood as a pillar of absolute physical might.

[Malum]

“Ah right, right, the expedition.” The doctor spoke as he fought to ignore the obsessive compulsive running rampant in his office.

“Oh my.” Asa said as his face froze. The man who stepped out into clear view was quite the form to take in. What sort of expedition were these two anticipating? Thought Asa. Surely this was no butterfly catching weekend out, but hired muscle? “That is quite the fellow, does he have a name?”

Asa would wait for a response before motioning the two to come into the office, upon which they’d surely see the water demon accompanying him. He wandered behind his desk to find the chaos he had left melded into the proper order of crystalline organization. Asa scratched his head, looking to Mira in the process. What an odd girl, he didn’t know what to make of her, so he did what he always did; smiled.

The doctor rummaged through the stacks and grabbed some forms. He then grabbed two pins and a vial and walked over to the seats once more. “So, what interests you, all of you, in this expedition? And Nicholas, what can you tell me of Ponkapoag?”

Asa handed them all the forms, he would hope they had become acquainted in the meantime.

[Val]

Mira nodded to the two people who'd come in, thinking that this seemed a tad much for an expedition to a lake. There wouldn't be much need for hired muscle like that. Especially not when they got closer to her element. Once there she'd easily be the most powerful being at least within their own group.

The woman took one of the forms Asa'd given the both of them and looked over; Standard questionnaire: Name, Age, Date of Birth, Birth Place (Under which she wrote: Other Plane of existance) Educational experiance, Species, Race (if applicable), Allergies (if any), etc. She quickly filled out, reading what needed reading, signing that she understands that this might end up being a fairly dangerous expedition, that the good Doctor wouldn't be held responsible by injuries, etc.

Again, fairly standard.

"I'm interested because waters' my element." Mira said, sliding the form back over to Asa. "Also it has some sentimental value, I did say that that's how I got here." She leaned back in her chair, folding one leg over the other. "And maybe we can figure out what was off about it. It might be as simple as something as its' elemental not being happy, or something greater. I've seen before where water dragons have taken roost in a lake like Ponkapoag. If so, it'll need to be dealt with, at least to see if it's any harm." The demonesses head tilted slightly as the idea of the dragon spread in her mind. "And if it is a dragon we need to make sure that the elemental is okay with sharing its' home.."

"But, I'm rambling again." The woman raised her hand as her mind snapped back to reality. Too many thoughts of water dragons and Pab would come back. That old dragon always got her missing her home back on Earth.

[The Dark Knight]

"His name's 001. Don't let his appearance fool you, Dr. Asa. Although his primary skill is combat, he is a competent hand in the field of exploration and survival. Whenever I was wounded on a expedition, 001 bandaged my wounds and nursed me back into impeccable health."

The pair entered the office at the good doctor's beckoning, and found a seat near Mira. They were polite and courteous, for they sat a comfortable distance that gave the lady ample personal space, but not too much, else it'd evoke a sense of isolation. Whenever Mira happened to turn his way, Nicholas nodded and tentatively extended a smile that he hoped would plant the seed to the beginning of a friendship.

"I've always had a fascination with the inexplicable, Dr. Asa. I'm currently at a crossroads. I either settle into the mediocrity of a scientist who locks himself up in his lab all day, hoping that he'd discover something of worth for his fellows, or go out and interact with the world with my human antennae." His eyes were glued to the floor, as though it embarrassed him to reveal himself thus. "I will not, dear friends, burden you with the weight of my trials. I am too prideful for that. I can say, however, that I refuse to let my youth go to waste by following in others' footsteps, when I can go out into the field and seek out answers for myself."

His companion lifted a bandaged hand and patted Nicholas empathetically on the shoulder. Suddenly, it became clear that the pair's bond was not as simple as employee and employer; they were friends, almost brothers.

"After a bit of research, I learned about the history of the lake, and the mystery that surrounds it. Recently, there were a number of strange occurrences, many of which were attributed to the mystical, associated with the lake. After interviewing the people involved, I visited the lake myself, and though I can't quite explain the root of it, I feel as though something odd is going on. Something inexplicable..."

Nicholas's voice trailed off as he filled in the forms. It wasn't difficult, but it was tedious. Standard precautions like a contract for unexpected injuries, and information that would boost the doctor's knowledge of them. His monologue had provided the others a fleeting glimpse into his persona; behind the cold, solemn front was a young man terrified about what the future had in store for him.

[Malum]

His guests spoke so comfortably in his presence, Aeron enjoyed that. It set his mind at ease knowing they could feel comfortable around him and that he too could shed off some tension knowing he was in the company of confident travellers. Asa looked to the top of Nicholas’ head when he spoke of antennae as if it were in the literal sense. What a fantastic specimen he could have been, Asa thought to himself, nearly wishing the man did, in fact, have antennae.

“I must say that is most wonderful to hear” Asa said to Nicholas, “And welcome, er, zero-zero-one.”

He wondered if there was a Mrs 001.

Meanwhile Mira had gone off on a fantastical tangent of dragons. The very thought of such creatures both terrified and thrilled the doctor. Never had he ever seen a live one in person, though what a great learning experience it would be for him. Indeed he was filled with intrigue regarding these creatures. He merely smiled at Mira and nodded as she finished speaking. What a lovely girl, he thought.

“Well, my friends, if I may be so bold as to call you so. “ he said as he passed the vial with the pin needles in them, “I require a special sort of signature for this sort of venture. It is obvious we are heading into the unknown and so the background you provide for me, as well as liability, consent and claim of responsibility must be held strong by your very word. I find, however, that words can be so fallible in the midst of danger and so a simple signature in blood will do fine” The doctor said as he waves to and fro in his jovial disposition.

“Of course, don’t think me something of a kook, now! These just happen to be the most reliable forms of documents around. This also means that you will be granted exclusive rights to claims of discovery as associates of Dr Aeron Asa’s expedition crew.” The name was dreadful, an unfortunate fact that escaped the oblivious doctor. “Once you’re done, just place them back in the vial and insert it into the compartment beside the patient seating. Then, if you would, head out around to the back of the clinic. I’ll meet you there in a moment.”

And with that the doctor scurried into the back room and locked the door while the three of them completed his request.

Spoiler:

Liability - If you get hurt, you can't sue/blame Asa
Consent - That your char is formally willing to partake
Claim of responsibility - By signing, your char see's this through 'till the end!

Fun will start soon, I promise =)

[Val]

The demoness watched the good doctor leave, slightly shaking her head as he closed the door behind him; A muffled click told her that he'd locked it as well. "I wonder what he has there that needs the door to be locked..." She muttered, turning back to the document in front of her.

So he wanted them to cut themselves and sign their name? What an odd way of doing things... Though given what she knew so far of this world was that even the least technical person had access to more technology then the American government did on a daily basis. So blood seems to be the best way, since one single drop has enough DNA to put a match up to hers. The demoness then pricked her finger, gathered blood on her pin, and scribbled her signature down onto the document, not bothering to close the small wound, as it would be no time at all until it closes on its own.

Mira rolled up the document and placed it on the doctors' desk, summoned water from the air, enough to cup in her hand and made it hot enough to steam slightly. She let the pin soak in there for a bit before letting the water drain back into her system and placing her pin in the vial. "I'll see you 'round back then?" She said to the other man, nodding to the one in the lab coat and the rather large one behind him, and leaving to go around back as he'd told them to do.

Once behind Mira looked around briefly before hopping up on one of the walls to sit and wait for the other two men, noting with some amusement that men never changed even in different worlds; They're always keeping a woman waiting.

[The Dark Knight]

There are many sides to Nicholas. But an emotionally insecure, despairing young man is not one of them. He saw with satisfaction as his new 'friends' soaked in his emotionally riveting story. But to say that he had spun a fantastical tale out of thin air would be erroneous to say the least. He told the truth as much as it benefited him, then layered the rest with vague, emotionally drenched words that sparked the others' sympathy. Their imagination did the rest.

A true magician does not need to perform awe-inspiring stunts to wow a crowd; he merely leads them on, pulling them along like puppets by their heartstrings.

Uncorking the vial absent-mindedly, Nicholas procured the pin and pricked himself with it. Dragging his bleeding finger across the document, he signed his name on it in neat, sweeping strokes. Satisfied with his handiwork, he replaced the pin and dropped the rolled up document into the designated compartment.

Taking a last look around, Nicholas exchanged glances with 001. The former smiled a fanged smile whose malevolence could turn a man's blood cold, then stepped out after Mira.

[Malum]

The compartment closed around the documents and vial after they were done with them. Once the two had left the room, the items were sucked through some tubing into the wall and through a series of passages until they arrived in front of Aeron in the back room as he waited patiently in his laboratory/operating room. He worried that the whole process would have put his new friends on edge, but it was necessary for him to do so. After he looked at the papers he realized that 001 had refrained from signing a document. This both worried and confused the doctor.

He took the pins over to his beloved Ethereolis and placed them into a vice that held them firm as they were drawn into the machine. A plethora of sounds and noises began to ring throughout the inside of the machine, most of which cancelled out by the noise buffering exterior of the contraption. Dr Asa kept a keen eye on the dials as they responded to the samples. He learned much from this; their blood type, their blood content, their percentage of blood cell types, their antibody characteristics and so forth. Together the information was compiled and printed out in an obscure diagram that the doctor eyed from top to bottom, his lips bitten and brow flexed in concentration.

He inserted the print out back into the machine and typed out a few commands on the center console. He waited for a minute while he thought out his plans for the expedition.

“If either of them is to be injured, it’s important I have their information on hand so I can be put to good use in quick time. There’s no use in hired help if they’re dead, after all.” Asa spoke quietly to himself, “Heaven forbid either of them turn on me for any reason, either. If so, this information will still be of great use to me. But of course I couldn’t imagine it coming to that.”

The Ethereolis spat out a vial filled with a glowing gelatinous energy. He took it, tucked it away into his robes and walked outside.

“Alright, guys. This is it” He pointed to a carriage, drawn by two semi-impressive steeds. “I think this is enough to get us there, I have food packed away inside and supplies tied to the roof. There may be some trekking once we get there but I’m sure it’s nothing we can’t handle. Unless you guys need to pick up anything yourselves, I believe we can leave immediately! What do you think?”