Avagant

What used to be the Observer seems to show aggression towards Daybreak, but does not act on it. The mannequin on the other hand, begins to wildly zip around the room in blurry colors, seemingly looking over everyone now here.

Sky, Life, and Shade all tried looking at the mannequin as it zipped around the room, "T-that's very distracting." Sky commented "I'm not sure what to make of that one...they don't...er...didn't seem particularly hostile but rather just...confusing..." Life replied, "Don't let it out of your sight." Shade added on. Daybreak stood up straight and moved a hand up to his chin and looked as if he was contemplating something as he continued to look at the observer, curiously he took a step closer, getting a better look at him. Desire grabbed at him in an attempt to pull him back but he shook off Desire's hand, glancing back at her for a moment before turning back to the observer, continuing to analyze it. "Are you attempting to threaten me? Are you bearing your fangs to scare me off?" He tilted his head the other way now "Because if that's the case, sorry to tell you but, it's not working." He put his hands on his hips and smirked a little, "Uhhh...what is it you think you are you doing?" Syrix asked Daybreak, who glanced over his shoulder at Syrix and Kyuubi. He turned back to the observer "Surely you don't plan on taking us all on in a fight do you? Heh, No, surely you must know that's suicide..." He waves his hand in the general direction of where the mannequin flickered into for a moment before it zipped off to another part of the room "Even if that thing, is a friend of yours, you don't really think you could take us all do you?" He put a hand back up to his chin, now leaning forward a bit towards the observer "You have a mouth don't you? Do you have enough brains to use it for something besides eating? perhaps you'd rather just speak instead? Or is something like that beyond your comprehension?". Desire looks nervously at Tide who looks back at her looking confused and concerned before turning to keep an eye on the mannequin as best as he can.

What used to be the Observer violently reacts to Daybreak but still does not act. The mannequin sputters to a halt, gripping its head as its head wildly spins around. The broken monitors flicker as the broken sound of a horn sputters through. The corrupted entities react to this as the mannequin melts into a puddle of glitchy colors and fades away. The corrupted Observer howls like a beast though no sound is made before it reaches up to the sky and grabs hold of nothing before disappearing into nothingness. The room is silent and dark once more. Nothing yet remains of the Observer nor the Bane of Paradoxes save for the hat the Observer used to wear and the staff he used to wield.

The group stands quietly looking around the room after what had just happened. Daybreak looked surprised for a moment but his expression quickly changed to one of disappointment as he crossed his arms again. "What...?" Kyuubi still held his swords out in a readied stance and looked around the room. "...huh...guess we didnt have to worry after all." Tide put his hands behind his head "But I guess with all the fighting we've been doing up to this point..." he scratched the side of his head "well I suppose I was just expecting more." he shrugged. Daybreak sighed "I don't really know whats going on here, and I haven't had much luck with getting explainations either..." he rubbed his forehead with his hand "So I'm not sure I want to even bother asking 'what just happened' at this point." he looked over at Life, Tide and Shade. Life picked up the hat and dusted it off a little, looking at it a little sad, to which Tide looked over at him "you’re not still beating yourself up about what happened are you?" Tide threw an arm around Life, who glared at him for a moment. Life sighed "im just confused and concerned is all...with everything we've seen here and what we’ve been told...well...can you blame me?" he replied. Shade picked up the staff and looked it over "wonder what happened to them." he said as he also picked up the journal that had been tossed over at him earlier. Kyuubi moved over to the monitors, as did the Hollow, and he began looking at all of them, "you called him...an 'observer' right?" He said without turning. The Hollow looked up at him and nodded "'Observer' is what they said." it looked up at the screens "Observer saw many things with these...we saw many things too...bad things...good things...things happening and things that happened." it tilted it's head a little, "Observer...'liked' Kyuubi. Wanted to talk to Kyuubi too..." it turned to look at Kyuubi again. Kyuubi looked away from the Hollow "Observer said, 'Kyuubi is important' and 'Kyuubi must be protected'..." it shifted closer to him, resting a head against him, "...Kyuubi already inportant to Hollow...but Observer said so too..." it closed its eyes. Kyuubi looked back at the monitors, "...h-how long do you think...he was...ya know...watching us?" Syrix whispered, "for all I know...he probably could have watched...well...everything..." Kyuubi replied quietly. Syrix got very quiet as he too now stared at the monitors, Kyuubi sighed and glanced over his shoulder at the others who were either looking around the room, or at him wit curious expressions.

The room now seemed devoid of purpose. The Observer is gone, save for his hat and staff. Without the monitors working, they too served no purpose. The books from the shelves have been ransacked and thrown about and the other equipment and apparatuses in the area had potentially strange uses once. The room was more like a colorless, dim void now. Quite and glum, only broken by the actions of the group members. What was the Observer trying to convey? What had he become? How was the Bane of Paradoxes able to split into several living pieces? How were the two sages able to meld together? Did the Observer just confirm the existence of Primordials? These thoughts might be thoughts being thought of in the moment, but the thoughts were disrupted as the howling scream of the beast broke the silence. Nothing followed this sudden, painful noise. Maybe in some weird way, back when that creature roared with no noise... Maybe in a weird way, it was a small bit of time travel?

Kyuubi sighed as he turned away from the screens and glanced over each group member, "Did...Tanalitu not follow us in?" He said looking around, to which Desire also quickly looked around. She shrugged "I guess he must have stayed outside." She said, "Well he wasn't exactly very fast, so he's probably still trying to catch up." Syrix chuckled nervously before sighing and looking away. Kyuubi turned to look at where they had come in from and started walking back to the veil. "I guess...we're done here then?" Sky asked, looking over at Life and Tide, "Not much left for us here it seems..." Life replied. Kyuubi paused before the veil and sighed before putting his swords away and climbing back through to the other side.

Tanalitu had in fact not followed the group in. He was actually not far from the veil, taking cautious steps around the room. He was counting out loud, listening intently, taking deep sniffs, and licking the air every so often. When Kyuubi had emerged from the veil, Tanalitu had stopped his weird motions. "Where did you go? I lost track of you and couldn't sense you in any regard."

Kyuubi hesitated for a moment "We were just right..." He paused glancing behind him before turning back to Tanalitu, "uh...S-sorry, we didn't mean to leave you behind like that." He rubbed his arm a little as more of his friends climbed out of the veil behind him. "We're all alright though, there's no need to worry..." He reassured him, "yeah, we're alright...objectively speaking..." Life commented as he looked away.

Tanalitu thinks for a moment. "You've all been on your feet quite a lot today. How about a nice warm meal at my house when we get back? I can invite some of my friends along if you'd like. We can make it a bit of a celebration."

Kyuubi looked back at his companions for a moment "what about your errands? didn't you have more you needed to get done?" he asked, turning back to Tanalitu, "Yeah...we didn't exactly expect to end up running all the way...well...here..." Sky gestured to the room around them. Daybreak looked down at the back of his hand disapprovingly as if he had seen something on it that bothered him and began scratching his wrist with his other hand, "I dunno, a feast sounds rather pleasant right about now." Tide laughed. Desire crossed her arms, "I'll be honest, I would be delighted to meet some of your friends. You've been such a pleasant host to us despite...what just happened..." She turned to look at the veil behind them "Yeah! If your friends are anything like you I'm sure they'd be wonderful company!" Syrix said with a grin "What kind of food will there be I wonder? Do you think there'll be new things we've...never...eaten...before..." Syrix slowed down as he turned his head towards Kyuubi who looked away from the group, lost deep in thought and looking very focused.

"I'll just ask my friends to pick those things up before they arrive. Besides, the fish isn't going to happen so not all the rest of the errands can be run. I'll pay them back when they get to my house. I'll need to send for a messenger to get the news to them, btu there is one here in Transyl I can cash in a favor for." Tanalitu turns to leave but stops real quick. "Frank, you've got a leak in the sink upstairs. I can hear it dripping." Then he leaves.

The group looks between themselves with various different expressions. Tide looks over at the stuffed animal "Well, it's been enjoyable to say the least but we probably should get going." he said with a smile before turning towards the door and taking his leave. Daybreak, for a quick second, looked up and around at the two who lived here before shaking his head and muttering something to himself and following behind Tide. One by one the group members exited the house, some saying goodbye and other apologizing as they left. Syrix poked Kyuubi's cheek with his tail "Hey...buddy, the gang's on the move again." he whispered, and Kyuubi shook his head "huh? oh, yeah. Let's go then." he said following the group out the door.

Tanalitu passed by the tree in the center and waved to the thing underneath it. The thing watched him pass, but also looked to the Hollow. Tanalitu walked up to the closed door of a house right by the entrance and knocked on the door. A small panel opened up and the group could see some sinister eyes look through and down at Tanalitu. "Who would be so bold or foolish to knock upon the door to the land of secrets ruled by ice?" The voice was angry and kind of scary.

Tide let out a laugh which caught the attention of some of the members of the group. Tide crossed his arms "The 'land of secrets ruled by ice' eh?" he said with a smirk "I wasn't expecting my castle to be here." he laughed again, after which Daybreak chuckled a little too "I guess that is a pretty accurate summation isn't it." he shook his head slowly. "Maybe I should greet visitors like this guy when I get back to it. I think it'd make me sound more mysterious and cryptic. What do you think?" he turned to Daybreak, who looked up at him "I think you're an idiot." he replied, bluntly, witch caught Tide a little off guard. Tide blinked in surprise which made Daybreak burst out in laughter, as Desire turned to look, her expression one of concern, "...you...you guys should probably quiet down." she said nervously while looking down at Daybreak, who grinned smugly back at Tide who seemed rather amused now.

"Woe is I who quivers not for the chilled touch of frost, but woe upon me for knowing its secret." The door opened. Standing to the side of the door was a devil, tall and strong. He wore a maid's uniform and his skin was a light blue from the frost that coats his body. He bowed to Tanalitu as the group entered. The building was a bit crowded. A bar is on one side of the room, and a stage is on the other. A minotaur works the bar diligently to the hardy guests. The stage is populated by two individuals who seem to be spending the time talking instead of playing anything. Seems like the show isn't going on as of yet. The patrons of this establishment range from the weird to the weirder: a cloaked figure from the bar with a series of small blue eyes under his hood, a pair of skeletons in a heated debate, and a man with a beard that is simultaneously on fire, frozen, and sparking. These are just a few examples.

Kyuubi looked around the establishment, observing the patrons and their activities, and he chuckled a little as he looked. Sky, who stood adjacent to Kyuubi, turned to him "Something funny cross your mind?" he asked, to which Kyuubi looked over at him, "hm? Oh. Yeah I suppose you could say that." He replied, taking a step into the building, "This place just...reminded me of somewhere I'd been before..." he chuckled again. Syrix looked up at Kyuubi for a moment, smiling sweetly, "feeling nostalgic are we?" he laughed, "yeah...I suppose I am. It's been a while since we've been in a tavern hasn't it?" Kyuubi said, looking down at his serpentine companion, "yeah. Say, I wonder how they’re doing back there..." Syrix said looking around, pulling his tail up to his chin and tapping it as though it were a hand. Sky tilted his head a little and smiled as he looked at the two of them, "You two visit places like this a lot?" he asked. Kyuubi and Syrix looked at him "a lot? No, not really. Bars, taverns, places like this, we don't normally hang out in...but they are surprisingly good places to gather information which makes them worth visiting..." Kyuubi said, glancing over at the bar where the cloaked figure sat, "believe it or not. We probably wouldn’t be here if we didn’t visit that tavern." Syrix chimed in, hesitating a bit afterwords "A-and by that I mean not here here. Not, like, we'd be dead not here." Syrix said, smiling nervously, to which Kyuubi laughed, and Sky chuckled a little. The others began looking around at this place as well as they followed Tanalitu, taking in the sights and sounds of all the different people and things, "it's so...lively in here." Life Said, there was a sort of wonder in his voice as he looked between people.

Tanalitu only waved at a few people before working his way to a door in the back of the establishment. Someone bumps past Kyuubi apologizing. It wouldn't be so bizarre were it not for a scrap of paper that had been slipped into Syrix's mouth. Tanalitu reaches the door and pushes it open as a gust of icy wind escapes the door.

the first thing Kyuubi does after being bumped into is briefly check his person to see if anything was taken. It didn't take him very long to notice the paper that was now in Syrix's possession, and as Syrix looked up at him, he looked very confused as he was trying to process what was in his mouth, why and when that happened. Kyuubi grabbed the slip of paper from Syrix, who began spitting "Uuagh. Gahk. What the heck man! What was their problem?" he wiped his mouth with his tail. Kyuubi glanced back at the person who had passed him earlier to see if he could still see them, before turning his attention to the paper, inspecting it "gah, I hope that wasn't supposed to be a free sample of the food they sell here. " Syrix continued.

The person seemed to be gone, either blending back into the crowd, or leaving all together. The paper had only a small note written on it in ink: "Minnows are drawn to my hook, but the bait is for a whale." A riddle to be sure.

Kyuubi turned the note over a couple times checking the backside just to be sure and taking another glance around the establishment, while Syrix finished making his sounds of discomfort. Syrix looked up at Kyuubi "I just-...wait, I know that look. What did that weirdo stick in my mouth thats making you make that look?" he tilted his head a bit as Kyuubi turned to look down at him. Desire and Daybreak paused and turned to look at what Kyuubi was doing, "is something wrong?" Desire asked stepping over to him. Kyuubi glanced up at Desire for a moment, "It's...a riddle." He held up the paper "or at least it appears to be..." he looked intently at the paper before Syrix raised his head up inbetween Kyuubi's face and the note to read it. "what do you mean 'it appears to be' a riddle?" Daybreak crossed his arms, looking intrigued. Kyuubi grabbed Syrix's neck and pulled his head out of the way "Well...it's not exactly 'normal' to pass on a riddle to someone in the middle of a tavern like the way they did. And most would just shrug this off and move on but..." he turned around again "they gave it to me...er...sort of..." he said, glancing down at his serpentine friend, who looked rather unamused "which could mean one of many things." He began slowly walking away from the group to which Desire stepped forward "Hey! Where are you going?" she called out. Kyuubi glanced over his shoulder "They gave me a riddle. Where I come from, activity like this is usually a sign for something. Usually someone wants to talk...let's call it 'business' and usually they want to do it alone." He waved his hand over his shoulder "you guys go on. I'm just gonna do a quick scan of the place. I'll catch up with you guys later..." he pauses for a second and turns to look at Desire, "and keep an eye out for any fishermen will you?" He chuckled before turning back around and continuing he's walk. Desire looked at him as he left, a little concerned but continued to follow Tanalitu.

The back door leads into a hallway. The temperature here was colder than in the tavern's main area. He continued forward, eventually stopping at a door coated in ice. The air around this door twinkled with snowflakes. He seemed perhaps even a little nervous about opening it. Kyuubi's scan was proving difficult. There were a lot of cloaked patrons, likely due to the cold.