[Good question, Dion! What is the point in this death? The heart does appear to be missing, this time accompanied by the neater and tidier set of wounds. When he touches Shoma's body, he'll also suffer from the phantom emotions that Shoma felt shortly before his death: anger, despair, fear. The feeling only lasts as long as he's in contact with the body, at least.
With solidly decent rolls of 13 and 15, you fucks make it down the creaky stairs without any mishaps! Yay! With Diluc's one lit lamp, you can see about eight feet in front of you fairly well - which ultimately doesn't do a whole lot of good here, considering the stairs lead down into what appears to be a large, open space.
On first glance, there are several things they could do. They're in a rather large space, but if they wander a bit, they'll find a path branching to the left and one branching to the right. There's also another set of stairs leading to a different door directly across from where they first entered. If they get close enough, they'll be able to hear what sounds like faint screaming from the other side. What next?]
And again, he can feel that pain linger in his own chest, a confusing sensation as he lingers with the reality that this is all that's left of Shoma. There are no more endless days for him or Joshua. They'll disappear in his past as time continues marching on.
Strange.
Getting up, he'll go back the way he came, this time heading in the direction of the Castle and the Institute. ]
[ imagine if our first injury of the cyoa was falling down a fucking flight of stairs in the dark. how pathetic would that be.
anyway, diluc would personally take the stairs to the different door. there's no knowing how much more light they have in this place, so an exit is probably the best course of action for now. he murmurs to scien, if he hasn't split off elsewhere, ]
...Sounds like trouble.
[ he's cautious, but he can't really ignore this, either. someone could be in trouble. (personally, he wants to avoid trouble... but... his innate sense of Justice is leaping out.) ]
[scien isn't a bleeding heart, really. but there is something unacceptable to him about preventable loss of life. when diluc says that, scien will just incline his head toward the door before opening it wide for diluc to step forward]
[Off Dion goes! He can parkour back the same way he got here, leaving Shoma's sad little corpse to slowly chill in the night air.
Following along the narrow ledge will take him deeper into Cerneveaul and lead him to the heart of it, where the Institute and the Castle both reside. Unlike the usual bright blue lights that the Institute is normally lit by, he'll find the entire building bathed in an eerie red glow, instead. The front gate appears to be absent of guards for once; in fact, not a single soul seems to be in sight. On the other hand, he'll catch sight of two Royal Guards carrying a stretcher with what appears to be another corpse off around the side of the Institute, over toward the Castle.
Diluc and Scien both choose to go up the staircase. The door at the top is heavy and metal, but strangely enough, it's been left completely unlocked. They can push it open with relative ease, the only difficulty being in that it's a bigass, heavyass metal door. The noises behind it grow much louder at that point. It's a veritable cacophony of miserable wailing, angry shouting, and some panic and confusion because a certain something is happening in the Institute at this exact moment that's whipped the people here into a bit of a frenzy.
That is to say: welcome to the dungeons! Maybe they've been here before, maybe they haven't, but they almost certainly haven't come through this back entrance before. They're currently in a side room that leads out into the main chamber, where cell after cell of the place is packed full of-- criminals? Surely, right? Well. They're free to look around and find out for themselves! As for the room they're currently in, its walls are adorned in instruments of torture, most bloody and unkempt.]
[ Well, that's ominous. There seems to a lot happening on this innocuous night where he had peacefully planned to share a cream horn with his father. Normal grown man activities.
He'll head over to the guards. ]
Good evening. Has there been an incident at the Institute?
[ ...well, diluc is immediately arming himself with whatever he can find from the array of torture instruments. he's not taking any chances when the vibes are rancid. ]
What happened here...?
[ this is a far cry from the banquet they'd just attended. he'll observe the many bodies being kept in cells here with a frown—do they actually look like criminals? do they possibly look like friends instead...?
also, is there anything here that may seem connected to the lycoris he'd just read about? ]
[can't be surprised if you're already assuming the worst of humanity at every turn. scien walks forward, his steel-plated shoes his primary source of self-defense and he's not about to grab anything else.
he'll look out for other ways of escape, or how to get out. is there any indicator of how recently this dungeon door was used or if anyone else walked by recently. also what are they all screaming....]
[The guards seem instantly on their guard (haha) when Dion approaches. One ignores him entirely like a rude asshole, but the other at least glances over toward the Institute. The Castle and Institute are close enough together that they share the same compound, so even here, they're all bathed in the eerie red lights of it.]
No idea. What happens at the Institute isn't our jurisdiction.
[Damn, Royal Guards are useless.
Back in the dungeon, Diluc will have his choice of weapons! There are a lot of tools here that seem genuinely suited only to causing pain, like flays and whips, but there are a few hefty-sized blades, too. Maybe that's even less reassuring. Walking through the cells, he'll find a whole variety of faces here! This is a pretty large dungeon, after all. Some eye Diluc up as he passes like they'd kill him if they got the chance, others are cowering in corners. One lounges on his back on the floor like it's a hammock, a single hand behind his head. It might stir some memories in Diluc, perhaps.
Scien won't be able to tell exactly when the dungeon door was last opened, but unlike the library, it seems pretty well-used. No dust here! There appears to be one other door on the far opposite side of the big room, but there's some sort of scanner on the wall beside it. The angry screaming is partially incoherent, but he'll be able to pick a few phrases from it. Things like: I'm tellin' ya, it wasn't me! It was that piece of shit Royal! and Bring him back, you bring him back right now—!! I know no one ever comes back when they go through that door!! That's probably fine.]
[ he's going for a hefty boy of a blade, which yeah, is not reassuring at all!
he then freezes when he sees kaeya, a sudden jolt of recognition lancing through him. probably not an ideal reunion when he's holding a torture implement in one hand, but for a moment his memories are too scrambled for him to pay any mind.
he steps towards his cell with a deep-set frown, and a growing pressure somewhere inside his skull. ]
...What're you doing here...?
[ (he doesn't belong here. he's not from arpechele. neither of them...) ]
[The Royal Guards, who are in fact notorious for being assholes and also not useful at all, are at least so useless that they don't know when to keep their mouths shut either.]
What? No. This is one of those victims from the recent slayings.
[At this point, the other Guard hisses a succinct shut it before giving Dion a frigid stare.]
I suggest you mind your business and leave these matters to us.
[You know, since they do their jobs so well and all. With little more than that, they'll turn and start heading closer to the Castle again. They're stupid, so it's possible to tail them, if Dion wants. He can also turn around and head back to the spooky glowing Institute, or he can do a different third thing, like parkour up to the tallest turret of the tallest tower for some reason.
Back with the boys, Kaeya glances up from where he's lying on the floor. Unlike Diluc, who has a few flickering images of the life he should be leading, there doesn't appear to be any recognition in his eyes. He smiles, and that doesn't reach his eyes, either.]
What, are you asking me what I'm in for?
[Scien, for his efforts, gets only a small zap. Binch. The door does not seem programmed to respond to him.]
[ there's another jarring sense of something wrong here. diluc pauses, wondering if he should even bother pursuing conversation.
he glances around the rest of the place first, carefully studying the room. what else is there to find around here? just the door that's zapping scien?
he'll eventually turn back to and question kaeya, ]
Nevermind. Do you know who they're referring to?
[ nodding to one of the inmates who'd been screaming about one of the royals. ]
is there any other way to open the door? if he tries to open it as is, is it possible to get it open? any obvious locks that can just be smashed with diluc's giant honking sword?
scien listens to diluc's conversation, eavesdropping, but mostly he would like to know the answer to these secrets]
Anyway he parkours right on up with surprising ease. Is this the untapped power of a white man off the string? On his way up, he'll find several small holes that cannons can be pointed through. Near the top, there's a single stone arch that leads into the tower. Should he look out over the property from this vantage point, he'll just barely make out the shape of the guards and their stretcher heading into a different part of the Castle through-- what appears to be a wall? Hm. The tower room that he's in is surprisingly dusty, like no one has been here for a while. From far below, he might pick up on the echoing sound of footsteps coming up the winding stone staircase.
Diluc's glance about the place will reveal that it's mostly barren. There's the aforementioned door Scien is being zapped by, the room of torture instruments and the door they came through, and rows of jail cells lining every wall. In the center of the room, there's a grate on the floor; presumably a drain.
Kaeya deigns to sit upright for this conversation, and in the dim lighting of the cell, Diluc may be able to catch the soft cyan glow of his pupils.]
The Royal? I do. [He sounds so confident! However, with a little half-smile:] Information isn't free here, you know.
[Scien will find the door locked if he tries to just open it, and on top of being locked, the handle also delivers another, stronger jolt of electricity up the whole of his arm that will leave it numb and a little weak for a bit. That said, while he's looking for other ways to open it, he'll notice that the metal of this door seems weaker and that the handle itself is a bit loose.
There's also a quiet voice that pipes up from one of the cells nearest him:]
[ You can't give me a joke option and not expect me to take it. Who do you think you're dealing with?
Anyway, interesting. He probably should've gone to the Institute instead of straight up breaking into the castle, but oh well.
He's not too concerned about the footsteps, for some reason, even though he definitely shouldn't be here, so he'll keep his gaze on the guards, trying to ascertain where they're taking the body and if there's some kind of trick to the wall they're approaching. ]
[ he shouldn't trust kaeya, but unfortunately, old habits die hard. ]
Name your price.
[ he has a guess, and glances at the lock on the jail cell. (if scien needs help brute-forcing the other handle, diluc can maybe give it a shot after he deals with kaeya...) ]
scien curses briefly under his breath as he tries to shake out his now weakened arm... he turns to go find the source of the quiet voice, raising one eyebrow]
[You are so right be free lil jester. It's hard to see from this far away and through the cloak of night, but he'll be able to tell that there seems to be some sort of hidden entrance in the wall. There's also apparently some kind of trick to the stairs, considering those footsteps that sounded so far away just moments ago suddenly sound much closer! A voice calls out; one that might sound strangely familiar, even if Dion can't quite place his finger on it yet.]
Is someone up there?
[Old habits die hard! As Diluc had anticipated, Kaeya also looks toward the lock on his cell. It's a straightforward lock, easy enough to smash to bits if Diluc doesn't want to take the time to find the keys.]
The one thing you can get me that I can't get for myself.
[Freedom, of course!
Scien will find, in the meantime, a slip of a girl in the jail cell that he turns to like a demanding butthead. Despite her generally contained energy and demeanor, there's something steely about her, like she'd reach out and pull him in to trade places with her in a heartbeat. He might also feel some old memories stir when he lays eyes on her.]
[ INTERESTING... Well, he will definitely tuck that knowledge away in his noggin for later. For now, it seems like he has company.
And he should probably (definitely) not be up here, and he does briefly contemplate jumping out the way he came, but it's definitely darker now, and jumping out a window seems a lot harder than jumping up into one.
So he is going to look around for anything he can use as a weapon. ]
I mean no harm.
[ Unless they mean harm. Then he will definitely smack them with whatever he finds. ]
[ for better or worse, diluc smashes the lock on the cell open, because he's convinced he can outpower kaeya if he tries anything stupid. and, he isn't really about wasting time when there's clearly something afoot. ]
scien is normally smarter than this. but that's the problem with having such limited favoritism, the whisper of memory that drives his actions is exactly what will make him grant miracles without question to those chosen few. it compels him to look at the lock, already making it obvious enough that he'll set her free.]
I will. [he'll grant her the best chance at life, far away from here]
[Please i think it would have been so funny to just kill dion immediately from a fall from the highest tower on a Castle. But he chooses to face the demons instead! As he's looking around, he'll find some sconces that he could perhaps rip from the wall, along with a pile of dusty cannonballs and a cannon. It's bludgeoning time?
Or maybe not, as yet another familiar face clears the corner. This man is dressed in the uniform of a Royal Guard and has his hand at the ready, resting on the hilt of his blade, but his overall demeanor isn't hostile. That's backed further by the fact that he doesn't immediately call for this bozo's arrest - and maybe there is a tiny spark of familiarity in his gaze?]
State your name and your purpose, sir.
[SIR??
Back in bozo town 2, both of these bozos have decided to unlock the doors to their respective lil lads and lasses. Kaeya, despite his lounging, is quick to his feet and out the door of his cell so quickly that it'd probably shock anyone but Diluc. With a wink:]
I owe you. [And he'll immediately repay that debt with some information! Yay, give and take!] Lately, more people have been coming in claiming to be innocent. Not exactly unusual down here, but they all have the same story. Some Royal coming to personally arrest them on false charges for this or that. A personal collection of prisoners just for the Royals makes you wonder what they're up to in these halls, doesn't it?
[Scien's god favoritism guides him to check the lock, and he'll find that much like Kaeya's, it's flimsy enough that it appears it could be broken with a heavy enough weapon if Scien doesn't feel like going on a key hunt. Yuri moves closer to the door, nodding and responding in turn with a simple:]
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With solidly decent rolls of 13 and 15, you fucks make it down the creaky stairs without any mishaps! Yay! With Diluc's one lit lamp, you can see about eight feet in front of you fairly well - which ultimately doesn't do a whole lot of good here, considering the stairs lead down into what appears to be a large, open space.
On first glance, there are several things they could do. They're in a rather large space, but if they wander a bit, they'll find a path branching to the left and one branching to the right. There's also another set of stairs leading to a different door directly across from where they first entered. If they get close enough, they'll be able to hear what sounds like faint screaming from the other side. What next?]
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And again, he can feel that pain linger in his own chest, a confusing sensation as he lingers with the reality that this is all that's left of Shoma. There are no more endless days for him or Joshua. They'll disappear in his past as time continues marching on.
Strange.
Getting up, he'll go back the way he came, this time heading in the direction of the Castle and the Institute. ]
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anyway, diluc would personally take the stairs to the different door. there's no knowing how much more light they have in this place, so an exit is probably the best course of action for now. he murmurs to scien, if he hasn't split off elsewhere, ]
...Sounds like trouble.
[ he's cautious, but he can't really ignore this, either. someone could be in trouble. (personally, he wants to avoid trouble... but... his innate sense of Justice is leaping out.) ]
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Then move.
[he'll follow behind]
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Following along the narrow ledge will take him deeper into Cerneveaul and lead him to the heart of it, where the Institute and the Castle both reside. Unlike the usual bright blue lights that the Institute is normally lit by, he'll find the entire building bathed in an eerie red glow, instead. The front gate appears to be absent of guards for once; in fact, not a single soul seems to be in sight. On the other hand, he'll catch sight of two Royal Guards carrying a stretcher with what appears to be another corpse off around the side of the Institute, over toward the Castle.
Diluc and Scien both choose to go up the staircase. The door at the top is heavy and metal, but strangely enough, it's been left completely unlocked. They can push it open with relative ease, the only difficulty being in that it's a bigass, heavyass metal door. The noises behind it grow much louder at that point. It's a veritable cacophony of miserable wailing, angry shouting, and some panic and confusion because a certain something is happening in the Institute at this exact moment that's whipped the people here into a bit of a frenzy.
That is to say: welcome to the dungeons! Maybe they've been here before, maybe they haven't, but they almost certainly haven't come through this back entrance before. They're currently in a side room that leads out into the main chamber, where cell after cell of the place is packed full of-- criminals? Surely, right? Well. They're free to look around and find out for themselves! As for the room they're currently in, its walls are adorned in instruments of torture, most bloody and unkempt.]
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He'll head over to the guards. ]
Good evening. Has there been an incident at the Institute?
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What happened here...?
[ this is a far cry from the banquet they'd just attended. he'll observe the many bodies being kept in cells here with a frown—do they actually look like criminals? do they possibly look like friends instead...?
also, is there anything here that may seem connected to the lycoris he'd just read about? ]
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[can't be surprised if you're already assuming the worst of humanity at every turn. scien walks forward, his steel-plated shoes his primary source of self-defense and he's not about to grab anything else.
he'll look out for other ways of escape, or how to get out. is there any indicator of how recently this dungeon door was used or if anyone else walked by recently. also what are they all screaming....]
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No idea. What happens at the Institute isn't our jurisdiction.
[Damn, Royal Guards are useless.
Back in the dungeon, Diluc will have his choice of weapons! There are a lot of tools here that seem genuinely suited only to causing pain, like flays and whips, but there are a few hefty-sized blades, too. Maybe that's even less reassuring. Walking through the cells, he'll find a whole variety of faces here! This is a pretty large dungeon, after all. Some eye Diluc up as he passes like they'd kill him if they got the chance, others are cowering in corners. One lounges on his back on the floor like it's a hammock, a single hand behind his head. It might stir some memories in Diluc, perhaps.
Scien won't be able to tell exactly when the dungeon door was last opened, but unlike the library, it seems pretty well-used. No dust here! There appears to be one other door on the far opposite side of the big room, but there's some sort of scanner on the wall beside it. The angry screaming is partially incoherent, but he'll be able to pick a few phrases from it. Things like: I'm tellin' ya, it wasn't me! It was that piece of shit Royal! and Bring him back, you bring him back right now—!! I know no one ever comes back when they go through that door!! That's probably fine.]
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Well, Dion will gesture to the stretcher. ]
Is this body not being taken from the Institute?
[ Which implies an incident! ]
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he then freezes when he sees kaeya, a sudden jolt of recognition lancing through him. probably not an ideal reunion when he's holding a torture implement in one hand, but for a moment his memories are too scrambled for him to pay any mind.
he steps towards his cell with a deep-set frown, and a growing pressure somewhere inside his skull. ]
...What're you doing here...?
[ (he doesn't belong here. he's not from arpechele. neither of them...) ]
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What? No. This is one of those victims from the recent slayings.
[At this point, the other Guard hisses a succinct shut it before giving Dion a frigid stare.]
I suggest you mind your business and leave these matters to us.
[You know, since they do their jobs so well and all. With little more than that, they'll turn and start heading closer to the Castle again. They're stupid, so it's possible to tail them, if Dion wants. He can also turn around and head back to the spooky glowing Institute, or he can do a different third thing, like parkour up to the tallest turret of the tallest tower for some reason.
Back with the boys, Kaeya glances up from where he's lying on the floor. Unlike Diluc, who has a few flickering images of the life he should be leading, there doesn't appear to be any recognition in his eyes. He smiles, and that doesn't reach his eyes, either.]
What, are you asking me what I'm in for?
[Scien, for his efforts, gets only a small zap. Binch. The door does not seem programmed to respond to him.]
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Well, he glances back toward the Institute, which is looking pretty spooky, and then...
I have no idea what tower you are referring to, but sure, let's opt to scurry up it for some reason. ]
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he glances around the rest of the place first, carefully studying the room. what else is there to find around here? just the door that's zapping scien?
he'll eventually turn back to and question kaeya, ]
Nevermind. Do you know who they're referring to?
[ nodding to one of the inmates who'd been screaming about one of the royals. ]
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is there any other way to open the door? if he tries to open it as is, is it possible to get it open? any obvious locks that can just be smashed with diluc's giant honking sword?
scien listens to diluc's conversation, eavesdropping, but mostly he would like to know the answer to these secrets]
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Anyway he parkours right on up with surprising ease. Is this the untapped power of a white man off the string? On his way up, he'll find several small holes that cannons can be pointed through. Near the top, there's a single stone arch that leads into the tower. Should he look out over the property from this vantage point, he'll just barely make out the shape of the guards and their stretcher heading into a different part of the Castle through-- what appears to be a wall? Hm. The tower room that he's in is surprisingly dusty, like no one has been here for a while. From far below, he might pick up on the echoing sound of footsteps coming up the winding stone staircase.
Diluc's glance about the place will reveal that it's mostly barren. There's the aforementioned door Scien is being zapped by, the room of torture instruments and the door they came through, and rows of jail cells lining every wall. In the center of the room, there's a grate on the floor; presumably a drain.
Kaeya deigns to sit upright for this conversation, and in the dim lighting of the cell, Diluc may be able to catch the soft cyan glow of his pupils.]
The Royal? I do. [He sounds so confident! However, with a little half-smile:] Information isn't free here, you know.
[Scien will find the door locked if he tries to just open it, and on top of being locked, the handle also delivers another, stronger jolt of electricity up the whole of his arm that will leave it numb and a little weak for a bit. That said, while he's looking for other ways to open it, he'll notice that the metal of this door seems weaker and that the handle itself is a bit loose.
There's also a quiet voice that pipes up from one of the cells nearest him:]
...Are you trying to leave?
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Anyway, interesting. He probably should've gone to the Institute instead of straight up breaking into the castle, but oh well.
He's not too concerned about the footsteps, for some reason, even though he definitely shouldn't be here, so he'll keep his gaze on the guards, trying to ascertain where they're taking the body and if there's some kind of trick to the wall they're approaching. ]
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Name your price.
[ he has a guess, and glances at the lock on the jail cell. (if scien needs help brute-forcing the other handle, diluc can maybe give it a shot after he deals with kaeya...) ]
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scien curses briefly under his breath as he tries to shake out his now weakened arm... he turns to go find the source of the quiet voice, raising one eyebrow]
Yes. Tell me what you know.
[ok demanding]
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Is someone up there?
[Old habits die hard! As Diluc had anticipated, Kaeya also looks toward the lock on his cell. It's a straightforward lock, easy enough to smash to bits if Diluc doesn't want to take the time to find the keys.]
The one thing you can get me that I can't get for myself.
[Freedom, of course!
Scien will find, in the meantime, a slip of a girl in the jail cell that he turns to like a demanding butthead. Despite her generally contained energy and demeanor, there's something steely about her, like she'd reach out and pull him in to trade places with her in a heartbeat. He might also feel some old memories stir when he lays eyes on her.]
Can you... let me out, first?
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And he should probably (definitely) not be up here, and he does briefly contemplate jumping out the way he came, but it's definitely darker now, and jumping out a window seems a lot harder than jumping up into one.
So he is going to look around for anything he can use as a weapon. ]
I mean no harm.
[ Unless they mean harm. Then he will definitely smack them with whatever he finds. ]
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Speak.
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scien is normally smarter than this. but that's the problem with having such limited favoritism, the whisper of memory that drives his actions is exactly what will make him grant miracles without question to those chosen few. it compels him to look at the lock, already making it obvious enough that he'll set her free.]
I will. [he'll grant her the best chance at life, far away from here]
Tell me what you know while I get this open.
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Or maybe not, as yet another familiar face clears the corner. This man is dressed in the uniform of a Royal Guard and has his hand at the ready, resting on the hilt of his blade, but his overall demeanor isn't hostile. That's backed further by the fact that he doesn't immediately call for this bozo's arrest - and maybe there is a tiny spark of familiarity in his gaze?]
State your name and your purpose, sir.
[SIR??
Back in bozo town 2, both of these bozos have decided to unlock the doors to their respective lil lads and lasses. Kaeya, despite his lounging, is quick to his feet and out the door of his cell so quickly that it'd probably shock anyone but Diluc. With a wink:]
I owe you. [And he'll immediately repay that debt with some information! Yay, give and take!] Lately, more people have been coming in claiming to be innocent. Not exactly unusual down here, but they all have the same story. Some Royal coming to personally arrest them on false charges for this or that. A personal collection of prisoners just for the Royals makes you wonder what they're up to in these halls, doesn't it?
[Scien's god favoritism guides him to check the lock, and he'll find that much like Kaeya's, it's flimsy enough that it appears it could be broken with a heavy enough weapon if Scien doesn't feel like going on a key hunt. Yuri moves closer to the door, nodding and responding in turn with a simple:]
I will.
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now in the right place
also moves
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just kidding hehe?
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