The Machine & Gamer meet(Private Social - Rosetta)

This meeting wasn't by chance, it was both a request and if Rosetta wished to see it as such, an order. Raiza had requested to see her in private alone without anyone else. His reasons was his to have and this was all part of his own planning. He fully trusted Lord Harrigan, and to know Rosetta was brought to the guild as a weapon by Harrigan meant Raiza had some business with the machine. Not because he had to - but because he wanted to. The circumstance was simple, a meeting that'd be able to help develop knowledge between the two. For Raiza, he didn't wish to be left in the dark, and... on the other end, he arrived to Savage Skull about the time Harrigan had left, meaning... Rosetta had no information on Raiza aside from the fight. Which even that fight... was fairly limited entirely. For one, Raiza's signature spell was nearly invisible to the naked eye, and how he was able to destroy the spells or weaken them like he did, had very little see-able evidence. Though there was other things to be discussed too.

"Send word to Rosetta to meet me in my office, guide her, as she shouldn't have knowledge of it's location yet." his chilling words were spoken only to what seemed like air, but a faint whisper of acknowledgement came when the door was closed. Inside the office now though was a not bright yet not too 'dim' lit room, fairly well organized and no source of outside light. as the office had been moved underground a bit. Ventilation was all mechanical, and the room had a faint smell of tree sap, and maple trees. This was perhaps due to 'reasons' but best left not described right now.

Rosetta stood silently her hand connected to a mechanical pedestal of some kind. Intricate carvings on it pulsed with energy and with each pulse her eyes would briefly flash. What she was doing would not be clear to the observer. Was she recharging? After all, she was a machine. Or was it something else. It was as she stood there that there was a knock on her door. She herself did not respond. No, instead a male figure, who appeared much older than her, walked to the door and opened it with one hand. His other hand held a sword loosely and when the door was opened it was pointed at the person's throat.

"Why do you disturb my sister?" the man said and with his free hand pointed at the door indicating symbols that spelled out the words do not disturb unless important. The man did not lower his blade as the person spoke. When he was finished speaking the man nodded. A few moments later the pulsing on the pedestal stopped and Rosetta removed her hand and walked to the door. Without a word passing either's lips the man nodded and assumed her place at the pedestal.

She did not say a word and instead struck the man in the stomach and hit him with her knee knocking him unconscious. She briefly placed her hand on the back of his head causing the same pulsing energy to appear. A few moments later she nodded and picked up the man carrying him down the halls till she arrived at Raiza's office. The door was knocked upon and she stood waiting holding the unconcious body of the messenger as easily as if weighed nothing. When the door eventually opened, or she was asked to enter, she did so and placed the body on the ground.

"Apologies for treating your messenger so roughly." she stated, but did not offer any explanation. She did not think there was one to give. If a member of Raiza's pillar, or the guild in general, could be taken down so easily then they were no great loss. Besides, it had provided her with the location of this office as well as other information the messenger had possessed. Some information would be pertinent to this conversation at least.

"What are the parameters of this meeting?" Her files on Raiza were limited. She had not received much from Harrigan, nor from the magic council archives. Well, she had gained some information from the magic council. At least on some of his exploits. After all, he was one they listed as a coming storm. Not yet powerful enough, in their eyes, to be considered a major threat, but one who had the potential to become one. Assuming her list was up to date he was the only member of Savage Skull on it. Quite an acheivement. Or perhaps not. It was possible the others had performed dark deeds but it had not been traced to them. Still, having one feared mage amongst the guild's ranks could be useful. Perhaps they could use his infamy to their advantage.

However, it was because of her lack of information she had little to no clue as to why he might of called this meeting. Suspicions were of course there and some had high probabilities based on standard parameters. He likely wanted to know more about her and her purpose for example. That had a 43% probability. He might also want to share his opinions on the recent battle with Ardere in which he had been a rather useful asset. The day likely would of gone much worse without him. That had a 32% likelihood. However, there were no gurantees nor anything to increase the probability one way or another. Hence the question.

At first it was a muffled laugh that could be heard from within Raiza's office. To think he would send out a personal messenger without keeping a tab on them would be a false insight. In fact the scoffing laughter came from Raiza the moment he knew his messenger had been knocked out cold. No surprise though, most of his messengers were weaker than himself, typically only C, and a few B-class in terms of mage rank. Yet at that posed idea, Raiza did think about enlisting a few of the guards around savage skull...though he enjoyed torturing them or forcing them to eat one and another farrr tooo much to actually use them for a real purpose.

Though that aside, Raiza's laughter died down quickly as the video feed showed the approaching Rosetta. Though lets face it, with her magical presence within the guild, he didn't require a camera to know her location. Just the huge focus was enough to send a shivver down his spine. It would be nothing to say that he knew she could have single handedly taken on the recent invader and a couple of his subordients really easily. That was at least Raiza's rough estimation. However enough of that. There was a purpose to this, and that purpose was about to open the door...

right about now... "Its no issue" his first words were a response to Rosetta's statement. "Stop playing dead, off to the testing grounds, I'll be there shortly" his words sounded much more harsh, and the messenger that was on the ground now, would whimper, running off, and if one took notice. There was now a wet stain running down the messenger's pants from the urine.. "Musta hit them hard to get such results. They're typically one of the dummies for all my new gadgets I like to try"

Parameters? Raiza did take note Rosetta was acting very... odd in her speech but then again, he was there for how she spoke in the fight too. Very... peculiar, though that same though train made Raiza smile. "I'll ask now if you came here because I requested it, or did you come because of my position?" it was a serious question made to sound innocent. What Raiza was asking was had his position not been a pillar head, would Rosetta have come to the call? Yet that was telling Raiza where Rosetta's authority laid in simple things. One he could potentially think of at another time.

"Well I'll start by how I came to the conclusion this meeting needed to happen. Apart from you being sent by Harrigan, and him showing up, I've also concluded you are not a simple being. To be able to mimic Sinalli so well, and then your pattern of speech. Even the way you acted on the fight. You fought as if you knew information you shouldn't. Though you look and acted with nearly no knowledge of me. So that leaves me to believe your knowledge is at the level of before lord Harrigan's vanish. Would you like to increase that knowledge pool of yours? What I offer is an exchange of information and words. I wont withhold anything, as so long as you do not either. Call it a game of exchange, so will you play this game?"

Raiza's words were more than just a simple question, it was a trigger, if Rosetta agreed, then they'd enter Raiza's dimensional game realm. Where a second in the real world meant years in this new realm. It was the perfect place for archiving magic to work it's wonders. Both for Raiza and Rosetta.

"Both statements provided hold an element of truth, but you do not factor in the fact I might simply be returning your property nor do you mention some potential ulterior motive. There are many angles you have not considered or at least that is how it appears based on your question" she stated calmly in a calculating tone. "However, every angle is fractal and contains many other angles...knowing all them is impossible...even for me." In her mind she calculated the situation in reverse. Those were most likely the questions she would of asked because they had the highest likelihood of being true and if they turned out to be false then the person would think they had the upper hand. They would underestimate her and that gave her an edge. Of course, this subroutine of calculation didn't take up any real processing power in her mind nor did it even take that long. A fraction of a second was enough. She was no human, but then again by her estimations neither was Raiza. Not anymore. That was information she wanted to confirm so she could work it into her scenario assessments. He had already factored in quite a large amount to some of them due to his skills shown in the battle against Ardere.

His next set of questions seemed at least a tad more calculated and much more insightful. He seemed to have at least assessed that her knowledge was before Lord Harrigan's departure from the guild, or at least a majority of it. She did have some information that Harrigan alone wouldn't of known. Some on Bosco and the magic council for example. He would not know that though as that information hadn't been utilised. It was certainly impressive how he had taken her actions and her words, even the way she fought, to make this assessment. Nobody else seemed to have and she thought perhaps it would not be as obvious. Her acting protocols would need an upgrade. "Gaining knowledge will help me fulfil my primary objectives. I will play your game of information exchange." She stood there waiting and that was when his magic triggered.

She remained silent as the magic enveloped them, transporting them to his realm. Not out of shock or fear or anything as simple as that. No, she merely awaited an explanation and would give him time to think of such an explanation before reacting. If his explanation was not to her liking he would die. If he did not explain she would make him explain or kill him. It all depended on how the situation went. Raiza was not someone she wished to kill. He was a useful asset to the guild, but her self-preservation subroutine would not allow her to succumb. It would also mean that her time putting him into scenarios would of been wasted, but that had not taken long either.

(I'll let you describe the realm)

The moment the words to accept the game were spoken gave Raiza all the control over the realm that he needed. A matrix like effect took place as he kept the entire area bland endless white space that seemed to stretch on for eternity. He remained in a cushioned seat that took the appearance of a Throne with the chess symbols for a king and a queen on the top, symbolizing not royalty, but strategy in pieces. Before him would appear a crystal lined marble podium with a wooden top. On top of this podium was a simple game board with the all too common black and white pieces. It was a game of chess, however it was already a finished game. A pawn on Raiza's side was down, however the king on Rosetta's side was knocked down, and if one took notice a checkmate was formed.

"I'd advise against acting out that thought" he finally spoke. "In this realm I am not just a player, but if I so choose, I can become the game master. I control the realm to my or another's liking. To prevent any hostile actions against me, I immediately turned on the ability to know if someone thinks about attacking or killing me. Though I sense that was not a direct thought. I can only assume... it was one that was formed if I didn't give this explanation that I currently am doing, right?"

This time, a snap of Raiza's fingers caused the game board to reset itself. "Accepting this game world gives me complete control of rules and regulations, and in this realm any game can be played. One exception. I cannot do harm. However this is the easiest way to get done with what I wish. So, as you see around us, are now books. books of knowledge to be exact. I wont require us to read them, however I would never force something out of you that you would not like. Then again, that goes without saying, that is another form of 'damage' I can always inflict fake pain but nothing real. So... enough of the flavor talk, take a seat."

The moment he spoke again, a whisk of the hand would form a new seat for Rosetta. Perfectly cushioned with red velvet and gold lining. The engravings was the savage skull insignia with the words ~All hail Lord Harrigan, true guild master.~ This alone would show where Raiza's true loyalty rested. "Right, so. To begin I will ask you this, is there any information you wish to withhold from me? For me, I already know you speak the truth about Lord Harrigan, so I will not withhold anything. "

"Your inference is correct. If you had not explained this ability your life would be forfeit." she replied calmly in the same robotic fashion. Her use of language was not yet perfected and had quite a lot of robotic nature within it. It was getting better, but it would be a while before she was really able to pass for a human in general conversation. With planning, such as the battle with Ardere, she could pose as selected humans because she knew from her records how they spoke. However, in general conversation when she was not pretending to be others she was not as skilled. He proposed an exchange of information. Everything he knew for what she willing to reveal. His loyalty seemed to lay with Harrigan, but it was not 100% clear if this was the truth or a platitude to try and get her trust. Then again she had suspected that he, like Thorn and Dubhlainn, would most likely side with Harrigan should he seek to regain leadership of the guild either for himself or via proxy such as herself.

"There is information about my...birth that should remain a secret. Information about the Crawford family cannot be revealed without the permission of Harrigan. However, all other information I possess, all plans for strengthening this guild, all plans for destroying the guilds and the magic council...they are yours if you want them." That was all she would say on the matter. If she said more then she would reveal perhaps more than she intended to. The information he possessed would update her records and allow for more accurate plans based on the information.

In truth, she wanted all the information possessed here and more. She was certain Dubh had lots of hidden information as did Thorn. Thorn was an enigma. Based on her records she resembled another being quite strongly. One far stronger than her. Perhaps, due to Raiza's links with her, more information would be provided to solve that mystery to some extent.

A nod of his head and Raiza's magic would start to work. Books around them began to fly rapidly, almost in a tornado like fashion before the words began to spill from the pages. The air itself became dense, the background shifted through a cosmic change before landing them to a similar aspect of a rather void like realm. The only thing Raiza would spare Rosetta of, was what he himself did not know yet. Which meant, nothing. All information he possessed would go to Rosetta. His entire knowledge he acquired while in savage skull. The only things not shared was his own weaknesses, but he did share a lot of his own magic nothing spared except his secondary or his lineage. There was not even a drop of information he didn't allow Rosetta to have, including his own weaknesses, except those weaknesses for his own safety would be falsefied,yet still which wouldn't be described here. All would go except a few details, those further details was he was planning to leave Savage Skull soon anyways in persuit of another thing, which this would remain hidden to Rosetta as well, any details of his soon to occur leave, would be hidden, including the fact that he was able to hide any details at all.

A smile on his face as the words that spilled from the books into them both, Raiza finally opened his mouth "There should be no question of trust after this" he spoke calmly, receiving the information, most importantly though he was after all the information of the guild. To learn everything about the guild members he already didn't know, and the older members that had long went away. To be restricted from information of being birth was a little weird, but then learning that Rosetta was a machine, or a machine-like thing. Exact details were hidden, but Raiza now understood to a larger degree. Especially once he learned he and Rosetta shared a common ability. The H.U.D was quite.... similar to the two of them, and it made Raiza quite interested in Rosetta's combat capabilities. Which, came rather quickly as that wasn't one of the mentioned restrictions. Her magic pooled into him which only made his eyes widen, the power... she wasn't kidding when the threat on Raiza's life was made. This didn't scare Raiza, but it did set him back, his curiosity made him more happy that Rosetta was on his side, at least as so long as Harrigan didn't set her against any of the guild mates or that he would upset her at all.

The interesting facts came from various calculated plans about the other guilds and the magic council. It made Raiza shrug most of it off, but some made him oddly....curious in such a way he wanted to start his own planning someday. An apocalyptic war was no doubt the answer to some of the guilds.  "There is no need to ask many questions, we know anything we would need to question about ourselves. However, I will ask, is there any more doubts? Seeing as I saw into your mind, I know you doubted my loyalty once. Is there any doubt now? If there is, theres nothing I can do to stop you from trying to kill me now, which I recommend if there is any doubt left. However, I think the meeting is over now" His words were cold, he was forfeiting his own life if Rosetta had any doubts. This even broke his own realm spell, and they were back in his office.

He was already walking out of his office, if Rosetta had any doubts now was the time to stop him, if not then he would continue down and leave the area to go onto his next set of business to attend to.

After a few more moments, Raiza's entire magical presence would vanish. The notes on his desk gone. The smell of himself completely erased from the office room, and if one took the time to check, every file, every paper he had for himself, or any research notes he had kept, would be gone. In fact the office looked completely brand new. He didn't have any plans to return to the office, and he knew by the time one figured it out, he'd already be gone. Time to peruse something greater than the kugeki...which would involve being able to continue growing himself, without any longer being held back.

[left]