Now it was time to engage in the time honored tradition of bardic information gathering worldwide: bar-hopping. A technique refined and perfected by minstrels; it was in essence the true calling to their profession. Need information? Hit the tavern. Lost the trail? Barkeep knows something to put you back on track? Looking for loot? Bar has a guy who knows a guy who knows where there's treasure to be had. It's never failed you once, why would it fail you now?
Alright; you recall hearing from Shirou that he worked at the Copenhagen Bar, it's a start. And hey, could give you a different perspective on the kid. And chances are the bartender will know where the other bars and taverns will be at. Then you can party
all night long!
Er, you mean
gather information. Yes, gather information all night long...from a tall mug of ale and some
sweet ass!
Whooooooooooooo!!!!
Yup, you definitely got your priorities straight here. Only problem; looks like you're still a tad too early for boozing it up. Which means you need something to do for the hour or so you're waiting to get hammered.
Well...you could use a new lute; and you're probably sure that you're going to need to change your gold coins to the local currency. Might as well do both.
Ok, first off; guitars are fucking
amazing, both acoustic and electric. So was rock music. You are fucking
loving this plane. Second, apparently you're gold is worth a shitton here; cashing in a mere thousand gold netted you...over five hundred million yen. Which was apparently a lot; you were now as rich as an king here. Man, this place just keeps getting better and better!
So, using your newfound wealth; you bought the best guitars money can buy to replace your shitty ass lute, along with all the amazing music of this plane that you can comfortably fit in your Bag of Holding. You also bought a 'motorcycle' because someone said it was totally awesome. You're not sure
what it's supposed to be; but hey, if it's awesome and from this world it's
gotta be cool.
...Was there something else you were supposed to be doing right now? You stop walking around town for a moment and try to think of what you were suppose to do-oh right! Information gathering; right, right. Well, since it's nighttime; let's see what the scrying sheet has for us today.
First off; sexually confused spearman. Alrighty...lesse; well, you see him talking with Kotomine, which means you
so fucking called that. So Lancer starts bitching about the eye, and how he can't fight, and blah blah blah. Dude needs some serious pussy; except he doesn't swing that way. Huh.
Anyways, Kotomine seems to be quite and then says, "Lancer, by order of this Command Seal; I give you free reign to do what you will for the entirety of the Holy Grail War. You are to do as you please and ignore me as a Master, I am merely an anchor for you to stay in the world". Woah, didn't see that coming. Oh well; guess your mindfuckery worked. You'd be kinda intimidated about Lancer being allowed to do fuck all, except you have Hat of Disguise and Magic Aura spell to keep him off your back. Can't track down what you can't find and all that.
Alright, next up; little miss twintails. And the mirror shows...her patrolling. That's it, nothing else; no talking, nothing. Just...walking around, stopping at vantage points and looking around.
Boring~
Ooh; let's see what your
favorite demigod is doing. You look into the mirror and-
OH DEAR LORD! What even is those things?! Oh god, you can feel your sanity slipping the longer you look at them; and there are
millions of them. All surrounding Herakles, and all dying in droves. But hey, they look strong and evil as all hell; and it looks like the bronze fucker can't move unless he wants his Master to be fed to the unholy spawn of a beholder, a tar monster, and a giant squid. Yeah, for the sake of your sanity you're going to stop looking now. And hey; he might actually
die from those things, you
doubt it, but it can happen...
Alright, you did enough work and intelligence gathering for one day; it's party time!
First stop; Copenhagen. You find the place easily enough; using Shirou's description and directions to get here, and walk right on in. Hmm, it's nice; classy. Not the sort of place for a more rambunctious night out, but perfect for a introspective drink and talking up the barkeep for info.
Unfortunately, you were here for the former more than the latter, but you can at least get another perspective on the kid as well as where to head to next. You waltz right to the bar and tell the bartender, "I'll have the strongest stuff you got."
"House special coming right up," the bartender says, preparing a glass and several different spirits to mix together. Woman, brown hair, black shirt, pants, hell; black
everything. You recall what Shirou told you about the owner and figure that it's her. Which means it's time to begin prodding...
She comes back with your drink, and you guzzle it down. It's strong, but you've drunken stronger; though most that were stronger were magic drinks. Place keeps getting better and better.
After you finish, you ask her, "Hey, you probably hear quite a bit behind the bar; right? Mind helping a foreigner out?"
"Yeah, I hear a little; though for a foreigner you speak the language well," bartender never fails to deliver, either in booze or info, "what'cha need?"
"Name's Tandem. I'm looking for a man, Kiritsugu Emiya; I owe him a lot, and finally managed to find out this town was where he was last at. Would've come sooner, but when a man like him doesn't wanna be found; well, then it's like he was never there at all."
"Sorry, but he died years ago; probably because of the fire ten years ago. Why, what do owe him?"
"My life for starers, and a helluva lot more; but damn. Hey, did he have any kids? Family around here?
Someone I can at least pay my debt to? Least I can do for a good man." A simple story, one that's gets you what you want without giving the mark anything to latch onto for suspicion. From what you heard from Shirou as you talked during practice; Kerry was a man who kept to himself and had a past shrouded in mystery. In other words, the perfect alibi for you.
"There's his kid; Shirou Emiya, but you might as well give up if that's the case. Kid won't accept that sort of thing, he'd tell you not to bother with owing him anything. Too nice for his own good; he is. Works here you know? Had to practically beat the rest of the staff to stop using him to cover their shifts when they were too lazy to come in. Kid'll do anything to help another person out, doesn't ask for a reward or anything either; just helps out if he can. I have to force him to take breaks and not work overtime here." Alright, a workaholic; only not. More like pure altruism, just helping out without regards to his own needs. Real noble and good; a solid foundation for a budding hero-to-be.
But hero-ing isn't everything, "Any friends? Hobbies? I should at least do something for him, even if it's just buying him a gift for whatever he does in his free time. Wouldn't feel right just to leave a debt like that hanging, ya know?"
"Yeah, I hear ya; but as for hobbies? I got nothin, he doesn't really talk about what he does in his free time; and his only friend is some kid named Shinji Matou. Typical popular kid, smooth with the ladies but an arrogant jackass at his core. Actually, Shirou did use to be in the Archery Club in his scholl, if I'm remembering things right, but he quit for some reason; can't remember." No real friends, no hobbies; though you note to see how good he is with a bow later. This...this sounded off, just a little bit. Then again, if you think about your life; you never had any real friends either. Not ones you really stuck with; no, in the end your only true companions were Heroism and Adventure. You simply weren't the kind to be tethered down to a single place as home, never the sort to
really put the blade up for good.
You guess that Shirou was simply just the same; only he was born in a different land, in a different time. One that wasn't suited for a man like him...
Well, enough pondering; time to get plastered, "So, not that I don't like it here; but I'm wondering if there another bar that's a bit more...
wild, if you get my drift. I'm more of a night person, and I need to unwind."
She laughs at that, "Heh, yeah; you do seem like that sorta guy. Two blocks down and you should find it, can't miss it with all the lights and music. Now then, anything else you need?" You decide that while you're here you were going to just buy as much alcohol as humanly possible, and make it out with several different casks of drinks and a very happy bartender.
...Yeah, you
definitely couldn't miss this place. Multicolored lights and damn loud music; people on this plane
really know how to party. Making it in was easy; when the guard blocked you you just pulled out a wad of cash and a winning smile. Money solves
a lot of problems.
Once inside you just began to drink everything and woo
all the ladies. With your charms, it was a cakewalk. Women were flocking towards you with honeyed words and suave looks. Ahh...surrounded by buxom women, cash, and alcohol;
this was what you missed in the Throne of Heroes.
Then,
she walked in. Blue hair that evoked images of the sea; reaching down to her rear and flowing with each step like the waves. Eyes as cold as ice, alluring in how sharp yet beautiful they were. In a dress that only highlighted her divine figure, but not in such a way that it made her look like a whore; like many other women here did. What they blatantly revealed and paraded, she hinted at and hid; making her allure that much greater.
Her movements were elegant, almost unearthly; like water given form was walking among you. For some reason, you couldn't help but compare it to the Fae. All the other ladies in the club were simply outclassed by her in every way; looks, poise, even her presence dwarfed them like a grown women dwarfs a child.
You
had to have her; to use that charm of yours and win her over. This wasn't like getting a woman for a simply lay; this was more than that, it was reaching for
perfection. And obtaining it, even for a moment.
You stride right on over to the bar, right next to where she was, "Hey beautiful, name's Tandem; might I have the name of the divine wonder that stands before me?"
She giggles for a bit; then finally says, "You're funny," funny is good, women like funny, "I'm Cirno."
"Well Cirno, you come here alone? Or with friends?" Keep it slow, you need to build up momentum before moving onto the fun parts.
"With friends, the should be here right about...now." You look to the door, and see what you presume to be her friends.
First one that enters is a person with
long, green hair in a rather humble ensemble. Androgenyous, but your instincts tell you that it's definitely not a girl. He seems to be like some of those hardcore druids are though, with plant accessories like flower necklaces and vine bracelets; because he had a wreath of different flowers around his neck like a necklace and a circlet of amaranth on his brow. Hmm...if you recall from the few druids you talked to; amaranth had a meaning of sorts, immortal love you think it was.
Regardless, if Cirno was water and the ocean; this man was earth and nature, solid yet peaceful. He wasn't moving to the beat as wildly as others were, if at all; but was simply moving as calmly and gently through the place as he could.
But whatever thought you had on him were immediately outclassed by who came in right after.
Blonde, nay golden hair and red eyes; with a commanding presence that
screamed 'I am above you; your king and master'. The heavens and sky to Cirno's water and the other's earth. An unyielding presence and force that was above all; someone who was greatness personified and who knew it. Plastered onto his face was a smug grin, his eyes alight with arrogance and pride; but you can tell it was pride justly earned and deserved. Once inside, he closed his eyes, raised his hand and snapped his fingers...
...And like that women flocked to him in
droves. What took you smooth words and years of practice, he accomplished by sheer force of presence and authority. It was not so much he ordered them as it was telling them, 'bask in my presence, for it is what you desire'. It was the sort of thing you
dreamed of doing...
You hear Cirno sigh, "Again? Doesn't he
ever get tired of that? I mean, sure it's fun to do the first couple of times; but after a while it just gets boring having them flock to you like sheep. Though I suppose it is simply the nature of the weak to be drawn to the strong, the poor to the rich, and the mundane to the magnificent," she turns to you, "Although...you seem pretty smooth from what I saw when I got in here, you think you can top that?" A challenge? Of
charisma?
You were a
bard, going into parties and wooing women was what you
do. And
this motherfucker just waltzes right on in and basically calls you out by showing off like this?
It. Is. ON...
You can overhear the words he was whispering to the crowd of women before him; piercing into their innermost being and revealing their inner nature, while using what he sees to maximum effect: complimenting and flattering who they were at their very core. And while you were good at reading people and laying down the charm; you...weren't
that good. You couldn't look into the eyes and right to the soul like this bastard could.
So you wouldn't even try; trying to fight him on his own turf was stupid. You're a
bard, it's time to show off what you were best at: performing music.
You take center stage, hypnotize the people running the music; and begin to play...
[X] What do you play? (Choose a song)
Notes: Sorry this is getting so goddamn long; you're almost done and are going to hit the next day tomorrow.