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Text | UN: Anonymous

[Hijikata was just having the time of his life on the Island of Dreams, playing with a whole bunch of cute mayonnaise mascots, when a little bird (literally or not... who knows) told him that back in Camelot his ghost subordinates are being hunted and trapped by dark web denizens. Shit!! Why does this happen the one time his burner phone is out of commission?!

After a quick panicked brainstorming session he decides to take to AOL, totally anonymous this time, just in case. He'll keep it short and sweet.]

How do you find ghosts that have been sealed in containers and hidden?

[If only there were something like a more specialised Wayfinder spell for this exact situation! Wait, didn't the traders sell a pendulum that can detect items? Ugh, why didn't he buy it?! But really, who could know that something like this would happen? Now he can only hope that Avalon's netizens have some good ideas for him.]

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[Hijikata doesn't recognise the username as Emet-Selch's, so he feels less embarrassed admitting how stumped he feels at his advice than he otherwise would.]

How do I recognise the traces? I have death magic, but I never paid attention to anything like that.

[That last part is a little comforting, though... and wait, doesn't it hold an implication?]

Have you been looking for the jars as well?

Symbols seem to be rather common ways of sealing the jars. I was seeking out spirits with another but I am beginning to suspect that the quest-giver has been grossly misunderstanding the actions of these wayward souls. So, I have turned my attentions to breaking them out instead.

Thank you for that! I arrived at the same conclusion.

[Not like he actually needed to conclude anything anymore once he was presented with the dark web quest, but details! He'd like to ask this helpful person to speak with the ghosts directly in order to gauge how many of them are still unaccounted for, but seeing how they must also be a death mage chances are they've already been doing that, and such a question might give away Hijikata's affiliation with the ghosts to less well-meaning readers of this thread.]

Will you need back-up? I plan to join the search ASAP. Or are you still with your quest partner?

We have parted ways for now. Some help would not go amiss.

Where will I be able to find you?

[He should consider a disguise, probably... but then again the ghost trappers can imagine that he'll be searching for his subordinates, so its main use would be to shield anyone helping him from getting on the dark web's radar an his ally.]

I will head back to the main square. Look for a man with a streak of white in brown hair.

Will do. Until soon, and be wary.

[Some dark web jackass better not beat him to it! A brunet with a white streak though, huh... that immediately brings Emet-Selch to Hijikata's mind. Still, he probably isn't the only person on Avalon who fits that description.

One Hijikata arrives at the appointment scene, though, face shaded by the hood of his coat, he immediately spots the other man, and it takes a weight of his chest. This is too fortunate! He approaches him, raising a hand in greeting, and keeps his voice low as he addresses him, eyes glinting around to ensure that nobody is observing them from their immediate surroundings at least.]

Emet-Selch! We just spoke on the network. I'm glad it's you.

[ He turns at the sound of that familiar voice, visible surprise flashing briefly across his face. That the anonymous poster should turn out to be Hijikata himself is a pleasant surprise. ]

Ah... So there is more to this situation than meets the eye.

[ He keeps his voice at a similarly low volume. ]

What is truly going on here?

[ Since they last spoke, his hair has been growing noticeably longer, approaching his shoulders. Having been expecting a stranger, his hood had been down, but now he draws it back up to shadow his face. He doesn't seem terribly bothered by the cold despite wearing only the one coat. ]

Edited 2022-01-01 15:37 (UTC)

[Hijikata is a bit surprised to see that Emet-Selch has been letting his hair grow out, but why not? It's not like he's a soldier (and even then back in Edo the men are allowed to keep their hair long if they tie it up in ponytails or ~~manbuns~~ chonmage). At the question his expression turns grim under his hood.]

They're after my subordinates. Looks like we've been getting under the criminal rabble's skin, so of course I want to get my men and women back and double down.

Your subordinates... The spirits themselves?

[ That would explain the deliberate manner of their patrol around the streets. He had thought they looked unusually focused but the ones whom he had surprised and forced into jars did not have much time to explain themselves. ]

I must apologise then. I set upon quite a few of them with my former companion, thinking them hostile.

[He nods in confirmation of the initial question, and as Emet-Selch confirms once more that he fell for the false "light web" quest he sighs. He really can't hold it against the man, aggravating as it is that the quest poster managed to mislead multiple well-meaning people.]

You couldn't have known better if you don't visit the dark web's QuestBoard. I assume you let the ones you'd captured go already? How many were that, and how many others did you find?

[He wants to get a rough gauge of how many of his 20 subordinates are accounted for. As he speaks he starts walking, automatically steering his steps towards his usual meeting point with the ghosts where they start and end their night patrol. The sooner the two of them leave here the less of a chance anyone else has of spotting and tailing them.]

[ He follows, brow furrowed in thought. ]

I only trapped three. I thought that would be enough of an effort to satisfy the quest conditions.

[ Trust Emet-Selch to do the bare minimum. One COULD say he was trying to be magnanimous and leave ghosts for others to trap. ]

When I went to release them, I only found one in its spot. The other two may have been freed by someone else already.

[ And maybe trapped again elsewhere. ]

[Hijikata nods, glad to have the numbers, but still frowns at the fact that some of the trapped ghosts disappeared.]

Were the jars still there?

[If so they may either conclude that the sealing spell wasn't very good, or he can be proud of his subordinates for managing to overcome it. But as to where they are now... well, who knows. In the best case they may just have hidden from the daylight, but in the worst case... he abruptly changes course towards of one the less savoury parts of town.]

They'll probably gather at the assembly point at nightfall, then we can meet up with them and hopefully find out more. For now let's see if we can track down some more of those trap jars. I sent two of my men to gather information at a pub; let's check out the area. If you pick up any of those traces you mentioned online let me know.

They were. One unsealed, the other shattered.

[ It would miff him to learn that his sealing spell had been inadequate to keep the spirits captured. He has always prided himself on doing thorough work.

As he follows Hijikata to the assembly point - keeping his senses alert for any trapped spirits in the process - he shoots the man a sidelong look. ]

...You've come a long way from fearing spirits. I still remember you quaking at the sight of one. Now you have them following your orders like a veritable army.

[Given that this is the first time time the Yuureisengumi has to contend with this kind of threat it caught them unprepared, and Hijikata doubts that many of the ghosts are experienced enough to "crack" such seals - but if some other ghost hunter had taken the ones Emet-Selch captured, would they not have stolen the jars as a whole? Well, they can figure that out later. He can't help a smile from creeping onto his face at the praise. He really wouldn't have imagined things to end up like this in a million years.]

I have you to thank for that - you and a couple of other teachers.

[Sure, Emet-Selch was exasperated with Hijikata's hapless antics in the poltergeist's presence, but can he blame him? He isn't exactly a paragon of patience himself.]

After the autumn equinox threw everything into disarray so many ghosts ended up stranded here, I couldn't just watch them float around like wet sheets. So I put them to use.

[Callous as it sounds, it's easier for him to say that than admit that their plight got to him and roused him into action. He passes by the relatively public assembly point, steering towards one of the areas more likely to have jars hidden in nooks and crannies of warehouses, bars, or dingy little businesses.]

Why not send them on? Why keep them here?

[ There are many cliche answers to this that Emet-Selch is braced to receive. He may not agree with them but he had learnt long ago the hard way that it was impossible to care about every single bit of behaviour he disagreed with. Far easier to turn a blind eye.

He drifts over to peer at a shadowy spot. Garbage or sealed ghost...? ]

[Hijikata follows, but instead of defending what Emet-Selch assumes to be his decision to keep the ghosts around he perks up at the question.]

Send them on how? I mean, that's the whole problem - they couldn't go back.

[Hijikata didn't prod "his" ghosts about it too much in the weeks immediately after the disaster, given the stress they went through, but many of those who had made the trek from their underworld through Avalon and to the world they once lived in multiple times before, guided by the fairy coins that are able to pass through the veils between worlds, felt at a loss when everything went wrong. After the stone giant absorbed all the fairy coins no one was able to visit their living loves ones this year, nor return to the lands of the dead - unless other ghosts figured out another way, one without guidance. If Emet-Selch knows more, then..!]

...Could they not?

[ He straightens, frowning over his shoulder at the other man. ]

Are death mages here unable to send spirits on to the other realm? Or is something required to open the passage there?

[ In all honesty, Emet-Selch doesn't bother keeping abreast of current events. He helps out when he feels like it and rarely bothers looking any deeper into a situation unless it captures his interest or may possibly cause trouble later. ]

Well, my understanding is that it's those fairy coins - you know, those little floating rock things from Lestari. Since the stone giant devoured all the ones we had collected, even from the distance, I'm sure it had already sucked up the ones left in Lestari beforehand.

[Still, dead souls must be able to pass on to the afterlife on all days of the year, including outside the fairy coin season - so even if there was no guidance onwards to the lands of the living (which the ghosts would have found frozen in time anyway), should they not have been able to find the way back on their own?]

...

It may just be a psychological thing. They were put through the wringer, getting pulled into that damn thing and exorcised back out, then witnessing all the destruction here, unable to go attend the festivals of the dead in the other worlds or here like every other year... for the ones who died that night it was especially bad. Maybe they just can't accept it. Perhaps they want to wait until things are set right. I can imagine that some of them are afraid to never be able to see their living loved ones again, so they don't want to go back to the underworlds now, in case Avalon also meets the fate of the other worlds.

[It's rare that he speaks his feelings so frankly. Sure, he's talking about his subordinates' emotions, not his own, but he still feels like it makes him vulnerable. But perhaps he just feels guilty for not having done his due diligence for them as a death mage and as their leader.]

Regardless, I'll look into it. If I can guide them back, then I'll do so.

I see... I exorcised some spirits before. I had thought that meant they were able to cross into the aetherial sea-- or whatever it is that constitutes the afterlife here.

[ Maybe that's simply how his own magic has expressed itself? Not every mage necessarily has the same talents as he well knows. Hijikata may specialise more in communing with them. (Emet-Selch is well aware he is not a 'people person'. ]

In any case, we aren't here to exorcise your subordinates. I do hope my own helpers have not been caught up in this indiscriminate hunt.

[ Come out, come out, spirits...! ]

[He shakes his head.]

Anyone who helped trap them based on the same quest as you meant well. I'm sure they'll be able to forgive them, provided no one was needlessly cruel to them.

[The conversation makes him realise once more how little he understands his own death magic. So far he only exorcised ghosts from possessed objects (in the broadest sense) - the mirror, the stone giant -, and he felt like it simply forced them back into the open, but indeed, his understanding of a classic exorcism is a spirit being expelled from the land of the living.]

Honestly, the different kinds of exorcisms still elude me... I'll have to look into it more deeply.

[By now Emet-Selch may pick up traces of death mage activity, and they lead inside an open, unattended warehouse. All the way up under the roof, where a number of old ladders lead across several levels, two jars have been hidden under old linen sacks.]

[ He follows the trail to this warehouse as they speak. It is almost like tracking an aetherial signature across the land, but far more limiting than he is used to. Before, he could simply focus and pick out their soul from the myriad around them... ]

Perhaps I can show you later. Hark, though - I believe we have found some trapped spirits.

[ He points upwards. Whether the jars contain Hijikata's ghostly compatriots or simply a stray soul caught in the crossfire is another matter however. ]

[In following Emet-Selch Hijikata finally also picks up the traces that guide him. So this is what these are!! He's seen them once or twice before, but couldn't quite place them. Ultimately the other man is still a mentor to him, whether he realises it or not. Hijikata is grateful, too, for the offer of help with his exorcism research - but as soon as Emet-Selch points out the jars' hiding place it becomes his sole focus.

He climbs ahead speedily, reinvigorated by the prospect of having found at least a couple of his subordinates, manages to pick the death magic trail back up on the top level, and follows it to the actual hiding place. He crouches down, recovers and inspects the jars.]

This is Karim!! He's with me. This other one I don't know.

[Of course he still takes both, putting them in his bag rather than opening them.]

I'll let them out once it gets dark. Some of them are really sensitive to daylight.

[ His eyebrows lift in surprise. ]

You can distinguish them without opening the jars?

[ He feels a bit of petulance at the thought. Why couldn't he have preserved that ability here? ]

Let's search the other warehouses. And mayhap these businesses as well. I would not put it past some opportunistic individual to sell the spirits in their jars.

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