The Machine [Open/Accepting]

[Eternal_PrinceOfFire]

Damien sat in a chair near the bed. "Yeah. I know. They really know how to treat their guests well. I feel bad for the Grand Priestess getting ill from that incense. Personally, the stuff made me want to sneeze.. Maybe I should send her a military grade respirator as a gift" he said.  

[lil_lollypop1]

"Perhaps. That actually sounds like a pretty nice gift if we could find out what specific plant she's allergic to." he told him.  

[Eternal_PrinceOfFire]

Damien shrugged and nodded. He sat back and then thought of something. He should speak to his kids and make sure they were somewhere safe. He turned on his phone and checked it, but incoming storm seemed to be messing with the connection. He turned to Jian. "How good is your phone?" he asked.  

[lil_lollypop1]

Jian pulled out his phone again and turned it on. Once it had booted up, he let out a small sigh. "I got nothing."  

[Eternal_PrinceOfFire]

"Hmm. I just want to make sure the kids are alright. I'm hoping there's a phone around here and that connection hasn't already been knocked out. I may give Monica a call as well, but tell her not to inform the others. I want to see whether our top brass will worry about us, or hope that we met our end in a storm so that they can take power" Damien said.  

[lil_lollypop1]

"Interesting proposition. I wonder how they would react if we were gone." Jian muttered in thought. There was a sudden knock on the door. Jian looked at Damien before looking at the door. "Who is it?"

"It's me, Lianne. Is Damien in there? We need to talk." Lianne began with a serious tone.  

[Eternal_PrinceOfFire]

"Damn. I'm not in full uniform" Damien said, looking down. Oh well. He'd make do. He buttoned up his cuffs and tucked in his shirt before opening up the door. "Yes, Grand Priestess. What would you like?" he asked.  

[lil_lollypop1]

The grand priestess stood outside the door with a veil over her face, so she could not see Damien anyway, and a guard stood behind her. "I've talked to the girl. She is who you claim. However this is a place where criminals are forgiven and lives started anew." Lianne told him sweetly, as if saying she had no intention of handing Shadow over to him.  

[Eternal_PrinceOfFire]

"I see. You don't worry that some organisation is after her? What if they start attacking your people while going after her? I think she'd be safer in our custody" Damien replied. He figured that Lianne wouldn't just hand Shadow over, so he wanted to see if he could convince her.  

[lil_lollypop1]

"I believe the 'genesis' ran away from you for a reason." She replied, as if hinting she knew something Damien didn't. "Are you willing to take that same risk? To risk the lives of your soldiers for her sake? From the way you talk, it seems as if you already lost many soldiers trying to keep her alive, and you're likely to loose many more. Is it worth it to you?"  

[Eternal_PrinceOfFire]

Damien raised an eyebrow. She said 'genesis'. Shadow must have spilled everything. "I see. You're right. They'll go after whoever she's with. Well, if you're willing to risk the safety of your people, you can have her. Obviously I can't convince you otherwise" he said. Of course, he wouldn't give up. Once the storm was over and he returned he would send undercover people in to try and kidnap her. He knew it wouldn't be easy to do. However, if they were successful, that mysterious organisation would become a nice scapegoat.  

[lil_lollypop1]

"Really? I'm so glad we've reached an understanding." She smiled. "Oh, and by the way, it's estimated that the earliest that the storm will calm and pass is in two days. I just felt you should know since you just heard about it."  

[Eternal_PrinceOfFire]

"Well, at least we have a couple of nice rooms. I may get a little bored, but that's probably the worst of things. By the way, do you have a public phone around here? I need to make a couple of calls, if there is time. I wouldn't want to chance it too much" Damien asked.  

[lil_lollypop1]

"Phones? Yes. We have some emergency land lines; however, can we connect them with Diethelm?" Lianne asked. "I'm not sure if they travel far enough, but I suppose we can try."  

[Eternal_PrinceOfFire]

"Ah, good. I just wanted to let those back in Strumenburg know that the Chief General and I are safe here and not caught up in the storm" Damien said.