who would like to request that everyone else not put too many words in her character's mouth, thank you very much, and also who's post will be up soon. . . very soon. . .

Ahh sorry I'm a bit late

~Lola~

We walk along the alleyway, searching for a herbal remedies store. I've always been fascinating with natural remedies. If I wasn't broke, maybe I'd stop for a few minutes and shop. Suddenly, Jack points out a shop.

"Look, Miss Arla's Herbal Remedies."

The lettering on the sign is worn and faded, and ivy grows along the side of the building. Gabria slowly pushes the door open, and one by one we shuffle inside.  

"Hello, my dears! Big group you have. What can I help you with?" Her accent is British, and she's grinning from ear to ear.

"Yes, we're here to see Miss Arla?" Laura explains.

"My dear, I am Miss Arla!" Her smile grows wider. "Now, what is it that you require?"

Gabria speaks up. "Will you help us pass the test?"

Her smile vanishes. "Of course. Your next clue is this: The sign of three will lead thee to confess your sins before Mother Mary."

What does that mean? I furrow my brow, looking around to see if the others understand.

"That's it?" Riya says, "Are we chasing our tails with riddles?"

"Oh, I want to help!" Miss Arla whispers, "Look, don't trust anyone who has the insignia of the-"

A sudden burst occurs from behind her, and she flops onto the table.

Christopher declares her dead.

While the others discuss the meaning of the riddle, I wonder about the insignia. What could it be? Who could be wearing it? What if there is a different group with a different insignia that we can trust?

I decide we would be better off completely avoiding anyone with an insignia.  

"All right everyone, I guess we're going to Trinity Catholic Church!" Jack exclaims.

I smile.

They figured out the riddle.  

I'm sorry; I can't do this and I'm dropping out. I know now that I can't do roleplays at the current state I'm in. I'm so sorry, I feel so awful for quitting on you guys but I just can't do it. Feel free to continue including Riya in your writing, or have her die, or have her just poof out of existence. Feel free to be mad at me. I just made a thread about this and when it shows up, maybe you'll understand why I'm quitting. I'm really sorry.

*Raises hand weakly* Um, by any chance, would it be possible if I joined? I've been reading this from the start, but never had enough time to post anything... I'm totally fine with a "no" though. I'll still be reading! Thanks.

(who has a debate tournament tomorrow but promises a post by Sunday)

Christopher~

There's a tinkle of glass, and the woman flops facedown on her desk. I spring forward, shouting for the others to move. I check her pulse, but there's nothing. Not a twitch. She was dead before she finished falling. 

"She's dead." I announce bluntly, without ceasing my examination. What killed her? There wasn't a gunshot.

"She wasn't allowed to spill any more information," muses the girl who was interested in my violin. Katya's her name. I half-listen to the others as I check her airway and eyes. It must have been a projectile that killed her. I vaugly hear something about the trinity, a landmark, and stained glass in Jack's distinctive voice, but disregard it as I move Arla's hair to look at her neck. 

"Christopher?" someone asks. I look up. They're all standing by the door, waiting.

"What?" 

"Aren't you coming? We've got to go to this church to find the next clue, remember?"

"Wait- we're just going to leave her?" That doesn't seem quite right to me. We can't just abandon this poor woman in her office. 

"What else can we do? We're going to look suspicious whatever we do, and as here nobody has identification papers from the 40s we should probably stay under the radar as much as possible," explains Laura. She has a point, as much as I don't like it.

"Ok... but don't you want to know what killed her?" I can almost feel the attention in the room sharpen on me. I make my voice sure and my posture confident as I hold up my finding: An inch long tapered white needle with a wickedly sharp tip. "This was buried in her neck, right up to the end. It's hollow and there must have been some type of neurotoxin inside, judging by the stiffness of her joints. But nothing I've ever seen or heard of before could have acted so quickly. It was barely in for an instant before she died. Obviously, if there's nothing like this in our time there couldn't possibly be anything this advanced in the 1940s." 

Lola voices the question on everyone's mind: "So, how did it get here?"

"I don't know," says Jack, "I guess we'll just have to be careful and- wait. Wait. We came here from the future, right? What if this assassin and the man with the blue coat came from the future, too?"

"Just farther ahead than us," Laura agrees, "So they'd have access to more advanced technology. Like time travel."

"And who knows what else," adds Gabria. "We need to get to the next clue fast."

Gabria~

We step inside the dimly lit church, the smell of incense strong. Are they in the middle of a service? I look closer down the huge aisle, and realise that the choir is just singing a quiet hymn, possibly Miserere mei Deus. It’s an open service. 

The others look towards me, and I motion for them to wait there. We don’t want to cause any suspicions with such a large group. 

I start walking down the aisle, adjusting my veil. I’m not in robes, but this should be enough. 

I get my way to the aisle, quickly doing the sign of the cross before going to the altar and kneeling down. 

“Hello Sister,” I hear the priest in front of me say. “From where have you journeyed?”

I clear my throat. “Um-Europe. Will you help us pass the test?”

I can tell he stiffens before he places a paper in my hand. 

“Bless you.”

I smile, stand, do the sign of the cross again and walk back. No suspicions, no deaths. 

We walk out of the church, and I quickly open the paper as others peer over me. 

“‘The Irish pub is where they have fun, and drink the cups of rum. Seek the keeper, but do not journey deeper.’”

“This is such a stupid game!” Christopher exclaims. 

“It’s the only thing we have to go off of,” Laura snaps back. “Shall we do nothing?”

“There must be another way to find out how to get back though,” Christopher replies. “Why don’t we hunt the man.”

“But these people are working for him,” I say. “Or at least they’ve been told to help him. In the end we probably will find out who it is. But we need to be careful. We don’t want any more innocent deaths.”

“Irish pub,” Laura whispers. “Must be somewhere around the alleyway.”

“Oi, I heard Irish pub in your conversation!” a man yells. He laughs with his friends. “The Red Gauger’s the best place mate!”

I nod and give a fake smile before facing the others. “At this point, assume that everyone we interact with is working for the man. Remember. Trust no one.”

——

The Man in the Blue Coat~

“She’s tellin’ ‘em sir,” Jonson’s voice chatters over the radio. 

I purse my lips. “Terminate.”

Walking away, I hear the swish of the needle leaving the gun before Jonson switches off. 

That old fool of a woman. I knew she couldn’t keep her trap shut for long. 

“Next destination is the church...I shall hate to have to kill a man in such a holy place,” I say aloud to myself. “But things happen. If they make it past, then the pub will be a place that a little needle can make its way into. Then the airport, then....”

I stop and realise that I’m walking to no where. Where was I going? Ah, yes.

“Teleport to Mill’s Ending,” I say aloud, and within seconds, find myself on top of an old farm mill. 

“Time to set another detonation. Let’s make this one...first delivery of Lady Liberty herself.”

I carefully look at the screen and move the explosive with my finger to the French delivery port. Hopefully that’ll detonate as soon as it arrives to America. 

But the more casualties the better, I suppose. Oh, this is just so fun! 

Tanks Kyoto! 

Name: Floyd Martin