[network] @ADMIN; Arrival

[snowblindmods]

Welcome to Norfinbury. The time is E̛̬̞͖͖̫R҉͖̯̬R̼̻͉̰͎̳̙O̩͓͔̫͇͈̯R and the date is E̛̬̞͖͖̫R҉͖̯̬R̼̻͉̰͎̳̙O̩͓͔̫͇͈̯R. This network has been provided for your use. Please interact politely with everyone else on this network.

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@haurchefant; voice

[silverfuller]

It is you! Gods be good!

[Haurchefant feels his chest tighten. He can't deny it's nice to hear a familiar voice but Norfinbury is not a place he'd wish on anyone.]

Much has transpired since last we spoke but I fear this network is a poor place for such talk.

Where are you? Do you see aught of note? Any landmarks?

[haillenarte]

I... I don't know. I have not left the...

[what does this mean? what does this mean? that all this time he thought haurchefant dead, his friend (his best friend, his first and last and best and only) was actually here, in norfinbury? was he ever truly dead? or suppose norfinbury is one of the seven hells, and francel is dead?]

A man... A man named Zell helped me determine my location this morning. Um...

[francel's spent enough time sitting around in house 71 with only his bag and his tablet for company to sort of get the gist of how that file transfer trick works, so he sends the same image that zell sent him earlier in the day.]

By his calculations I am in one of those houses, though I... have not confirmed which one. I was... occupied, I...

[silverfuller]

Relax, my friend. 'Tis a bit much to take in, I know.

[The soft shuffling of armor.]

I am marching towards the newly unearthed tunnels. Find the eastern wall if you can and go south, mayhap our paths will intersect. Gods willing they shall....

[haillenarte]

To the eastern wall and then south...?

[how many times has francel heard that sound before? thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, and even though it has been months since francel last heard haurchefant shift in his armor, something about it is different this time, lighter, in a way that has nothing to do with the crisp sound from the tablet — and for some reason, francel finds himself bristling.]

You ask me to believe a man I thought beyond reach alive? That I never wept by his enshrouded corse? That I offered flowers to empty stone!

[silverfuller]

'Tis a mystery, is it not?

[Haurchefant is quiet a moment.]

I am alive again here, though mayhap not in the same precise body you once knew. I believe the powers that run this place can capture the very spirit.

[This is still something that haunts him. How can they capture a soul? Or was he surrendered to them by Halone herself? Had she judged him and found him wanting?]

But I am Haurchefant, my friend!

[haillenarte]

I don't —

[there's a soft clacking sound that is in all likelihood francel simply setting his tablet down on some surface.]

I don't... I can't believe that! I want to — I want to believe you, but — these things don't happen, Haurchefant, I don't — I never —

[silverfuller]

No, they do not happen in any sane world. The world we are presently in is not a sane one, I fear.

The madness at times seems without end.

[haillenarte]

[he takes a shaky breath, recomposing himself — if not completely, then at least enough that his voice stops breaking on his words.]

...Have I gone mad at last? Is that what all this is?

[another bitter laugh, half-sighed and defeated.] I suppose I always did think that might happen. That I could see you again, if I but lost my mind.

voice >> video

[silverfuller]

Nay, Joacin.

'Tis this place that has lost its senses, not you.

A moment, pray.

[There's audible fumbling for several seconds as Haurchefant searches for the camera, then a click.

When the video switches on, it clearly shows his face. He looks a bit haggard and worn out but his blue eyes are still smiling.]

Your eyes do not deceive, you my friend. Nor do I.

[haillenarte]

[silence.

francel is silent for a long time. and for a moment perhaps it seems as though he has disappeared from their conversation entirely, that he has no intention of replying, that he has decided haurchefant is a figment of his imagination and nothing more.

but then — the sound of a breath being taken, roughly, over dry lips. it trembles on the exhale. francel's voice quivers, interrupted only by the unmistakable whine of a hiccup, punctuated by shuddering breaths. crying. he's crying again, a grown man brought to tears over something so simple as seeing his best friend alive, even through a screen (still clearer, still crisper than any painting). he shouldn't be doing this, it's weak, and yet...]

It's —

It's really you?

[silverfuller]

Aye!

[He flashes a warm smile.]

And Halone willing I shall stand before you in the flesh erelong.

[And if she doesn't will it he will defy her. It's a blasphemous thought but he cannot bear to let Francel suffer alone in silence and doubt. Nobody should be alone here.]

[haillenarte]

[more sniffling awaits haurchefant at the end of his words. when at last francel speaks again, his voice sounds a little muffled, as though perhaps he is holding a hand near his mouth.]

...I thought I would have so much to say to you, and yet...

[another hiccup.]

...Words fail me. I suppose I was never very good with them in the first place.

...I'll head east... [because what does he have to lose? even if this is all some sort of elaborate trap, or a hallucination, what could anyone do to francel that he wouldn't already do to himself?] If that is what you wish...

[silverfuller]

Go east to the wall and south. You should at least find someone. I will do my utmost to look for you.

[Haurchefant touches his free hand to his chest.]

'Tis safer to travel with a friend...

[He trails off, then]

You read about the monsters, yes?

[haillenarte]

[francel's response to that amounts to a doubtful hum, but the ensuing question catches his attention.]

I did, but — I will not attempt to engage them, if that is what you are concerned about...

[silverfuller]

Good.

The creatures seem impervious to harm. We've found no true means of defeating them thus far. I hate to admit it but confronted with such an adversary a swift egress is our only option.

At least until we locate a weapon that can truly find its mark.

[The first time Haurchefant saw an anomaly he threw things at it but do as he says, Francel, not as he does.]

[haillenarte]

Haurchefant —

[a thousand thousand questions seem on the tip of francel's tongue, whys and hows and cruelties better left unsaid — but he cannot settle on any one of them. instead, francel lapses into strangled silence, and then in the end simply asks:]

I... I will see you again, won't I?

[silverfuller]

Aye.

[A warm smile.]

This I vow, my friend! All of the snows of Ishgard and Norfinbury could not keep me from you.