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[PP-F10] Meeting those he knew, starting with Mari


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Ryo rolled the thought in his mind. "So, what you're telling me is that Lowenthal had this estate, this mansion." He said, rotating his arms outward to show off the size of the place. "Under secret construction as a guild hall for the velvet room, and he just left it to me?" He asked, touching his torso. The butler looked at Ryo, confused as if he was gathering words before speaking. "Well, Master Ryo. Master Lowenthal was my previous master, and he was the only one with the key to this place. How you came upon the key was either by his design or simply by luck. Either way, the place is now yours and I am yours to command."  The butler said, turning away. "Now if you'll excuse me Master Ryo. I'll go prepare tonight's dinner whilst I suggest that you get acquainted with the estate." Pennyworth said before leaving. Ryo ran a hand through his hair and threw himself onto the chair nearest him. This was insanity. There was no way that he would stumble upon a merchant that had a key to Lowenthal's old house. Well, a guild hall that was under construction. He sat up in the chair, looking over the desk in front of him, leaning his elbows on its smooth surface. Ryo spoke to himself. "Well, guess I better started." He said, standing up from his desk. "Pennyworth!" Ryo called out, coming down the stairs. "I'm heading out, prepare dinner for one extra." He said, exiting through the door. Pennyworth stood alone in the hall, apron tied neatly around his waist. "As you wish Master Ryo." The butler said to himself in the now empty house.

Ryo grabbed his gear from his inventory, a present from the previous owner of the estate and headed over to the entrance to floor ten. First on his list of people to meet was Mari. He went over his notes in his head. Pink hair, older woman then himself that was, lived on floor 10. Was a front liner before retiring after the floor ten boss fight. That was about the time when Zelrius and the rest of the Azure Brigade took the reigns. There was, little information from the first ten floors, but enough to go on. Mari had an alchemist shop on the tenth floor, but Ryo would find it.

Now on the tenth floor, the darkness was almost unbearable. He could barely see a few feet in front of him, let alone where he was going. How does someone move on this floor, let alone live on it. His sigh betraying him, Ryo used his other senses. He pulled out his weapon and used it as a sight cane. Tapping it against the ground as he moved along. He knew that there was a bridge somewhere, and he would be damned if he was going to fall tonight. After hours of tapping and walking, his eyes finally gained some manner of sight, and Ryo was more comfortable with walking without the handicap. Sheathing his curved blade, he stepped along. Every now and again he took deep breathes through his nose, filling that sense with a wide array of smells when finally, he picked up on a smell that wasn't mildewed or damp rock. "There you are." He whispered to himself, now following the scent. He wasn't that far away from the tent, but when it was in sight the smell got stronger. The tent smelled of incenses and other alchemical concoctions. "Well, this has got to be it," Ryo said to himself, approaching the tent.

@Mari

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SMASH

 

CRASH

Another vial went flying across the tent, shattering into glittering blue hexagonal data.

Useless. It was all useless now. System updates? Who the hell implements updates to a damn prison like Aincrad, furthermore to limit her and her creations! No doubt that two-bit copycat ran amok, and it became a domino effect. Who knows how many alchemists started copying Mari's creations, making second rate potions with less than stellar effects. During her absence, there was no control over the market, it became a problem. Now... it was useless. Completely and utterly useless. She threw another vial against the wall and it shattered.

 

It felt good. It felt good to destroy it all. To destroy everything she built up and had created. Her shop and her potions....they were the only things she really had left and now Aincrad had taken them away from her too. What was left?

What more could the world possibly do to her?


As though Aincrad was answering her call, a red head of messy hair popped his head through her tent. "Hello? Is this where-" He had to duck as a wayward vial smashed against the tent wall behind him. Real world physics would suggest a tent wall wouldn't possibly smash something like that, but this wasn't the real world.

Mari felt she'd never see it again.

"What? What do you want?" She snapped at the figure as he carefully stepped into the tent. Mari rose her arms up in the air, showing her now virtually empty shelves. "Can't you see I've been forced outta business?"

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Ryo's head rocked back, then to the side as a potion vial flew beside him. The bottle crashed against the cloth interior of the tent, the bottle somehow shattering. If it were any other world, Ryo would be pulling glass and whatever in the vial, but in this virtual world, it only dissipated into blue crystals beside his head. Ryo smiled at the pink haired woman. "Yes, I can see that." He said plainly, pulling himself inside the tent further. "Forgive me for intruding, but I've come a long way to get here, Mari." He said using her name. "And I'm not here for your mind-altering potions either. I'm actually here for you." Ryo said, adjusting his clothing. Something about the woman in front of him made him uneasy. He couldn't place what though. "I'm actually an old friend of Lowenthal. I'm sure you know of him?" He asked. "Seeing as he frequently talked about you," Ryo said, looking for a reaction. Ryo held up his hands. "You look upset, was it something I said?" he asked coyly. 

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"Lowenthal?" Mari hissed.

 

"LOWENTHAL?" The name dripped like acid from her lips and it left a sour taste in her mouth. Her stomach churned at the mention of the name. Lowenthal. Everyone loved him and his so called happy go lucky attitude. It was partly why Mari was willing to let him apprentice her, she thought it'd do her some good to have someone so positive around her.

Boy was she wrong.

"Oh I know of that little [censored]." Mari spat, turning her back on the redhead. "Honeyed words 'bout how he respected me, wanted to learn from me." Her tone went up a few octaves as she spoke in a mock voice, "Oh Mari! Let me be your apprentice! Let's be friends." The pink haired woman shook her head, turning her gaze to a glassy reflection that mirrored just how tired of it all she had become. Even amidst the dust and grime of neglect. She could tell that this world weighed far too heavily on her shoulders. Mari sighed and slouched her shoulders.

"Look kid, whatever yer looking for. It ain't here. Lowenthal was just some fucker after a few uniques. He was nothing more than a manipulative c****. He pretended to be nice, pretended he wanted friendship, when all he wanted was to kill me so he could take the few unique items I held. When fact of the matter is, all he had to do was ask and he coulda borrowed them, but no. He clearly just wanted the glory and the items, no intention of returnin' them."

Mari wiped a layer of the dust away, and motes danced about her face, flickering in the pale light of her tent. "So, are you here as his protege? To finish off what he started?"

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Light fades from Ryos face, replacing his smile with a frown of concern. What she was saying, it couldn't have been true. Lowenthal was, not that. He wasn't, he couldn't be. His teeth grit, as his arms fell to his sides. But, the way she was speaking. She believed herself. She believed every word she spat at him. Ryos fingers twitched to his blade, eager to silence her lies, eager to preserve his memory. But a thought crossed his mind. What if she was right. There was a lot of discrepancies about Lowenthal's death. Ryo raised a clenched hand to his mouth, coughing into it. "I take it by your silence that you've spoken your take then?" He asked, sarcastic. "Good. My turn." Ryo said.

"I am not his protege, not his student. I met him long ago, before he had joined Azure." Ryo looked around for a chair, unable to find one he continued standing. "I am not him, not have any intention of trying to harm you in anyway unless you force my hand."

"I walked here from the floors above, seeking you. I want to see what Lowenthal found you so special as to call you friend." Ryo raised his hands before the pink haired woman could retort. "And, yes. You don't have to correct me on that. And if it brings you any pleasure, he has died." Ryo said, giving Mari a somber smile. "My goals are, apparently different from Lowenthal's. I'm trying to find out what he did, and how he thought. Which is hard to do when someone is dead." Ryo said. "I've already spoken to several others about him, and you're the only one who's claimed this," Ryos hands motioned, as if trying to find reasoning in the air. "This act of violence in him. As much as I want to, I can't dismiss it. You are a person after all." Ryo said, his hand motioning at her. "You are a person, yeah?" Ryo joked.

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He didn't believe her.

Mari could tell. It was the small nuances, the way his yellowed eyes creased with concern, the lines his brows formed when they furrowed, the clench of his jaw. The redhead struggled to fathom her words. It was not surprising. Lowenthal gave the impression that he was a good person. Hell, he had even tricked Mari. Her blue eyes darted to his fingers as they twitched. He wanted to attack her.

Just one of many.

Mari closed her eyes and lowered her hand to rest gently at her side. He shoulders rose and fell as the woman steadied her breathing. Getting angry at him would not help. The woman didn't bother to look up at the man as he coughed and spoke, tone dripping with sarcasm. He wasn't here to kill her, sure, but he wasn't here on friendly terms either. Mari was tired... so tired of all of this. Couldn't people just leave her well enough alone. He gave her a thinly veiled threat, as though he were talking big. Mari opened her eyes and they narrowed on his form. "Unless I force your hand? What are you? Some two -bit animated hero? Get over yourself."

Mari stepped away from the glass cabinet, and away from her warbled reflection. "You came here to my shop. Demanding information. Not even having the decency to tell me your name and yet.. you have the audacity to threaten me? Claiming that I may just force your hand? No matter how you paint this situation, you are the intruder and you are the antagonist."

It was then, that Ryo mentioned Lowenthal had died. A part of Mari was thankful she had her back to the man for she was unsure of her facial expression. It... bothered her to know that yet another person she had known had passed on. "I see." Mari stepped toward her counter. He thought she'd find some sort of happiness in the death of another? Had her reputation soured that far?

Yeh...

It had. Things were better this way.

He joked about her humanity and Mari turned her glance over her shoulder at him.

"No. I'm not." Came her final reply as she rounded the low set table that served as he counter and nestled herself into the pile of pillows. She folded her legs beneath her and with a deep breath sat her hands neatly on the table.

"You don't believe me, and I can tell you do not like me. Do us both a favour, and leave."

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Ryos eyes squinted at the woman. He no longer felt anger, but he had understood what Lowenthal said by that she was, a tough nut. "I apologize. I did not mean to offend you so greatly. We have never met before, you have several names claimed on the Monument, and I was merely being cautious." He looked at her, and couldn't decide on an emotion. He didn't hate her, nor dislike her. But he wasn't all hea over heels for her either. The hell did Lowenthal even see in this woman. "Let me start again."

Ryo walked up to the table and sat down across from the pink haired woman. "My name is Ryo. And I am investigating the murder of Lowenthal." He pulled up a menu, which held many notes about many different things. "Another front liner calling herself Ariel - The Crowned Lion murdered Lowenthal some months back. She came back, claiming it to be self defense wearing the demonic he got from the previous floor boss." He said, showing a picture of Ariel with the cloak of Leonidas around her waist. "You say that Lowenthal wanted to kill you. That he merely used your trust to lower your guard and take what was yours. When did your relationship with him begin?" Ryo asked her, hoping that she'd at least answer some questions.

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He was stubborn, she gave him that. And Mari had to admit that he saw his fault and corrected himself. "Those names are why I am here; and not out there. Ryo." Mari stated. She didn't need a reminder of all that she had done, she had lived it. Over and over. Each and every day.

"Investigating his murder..." Mari glanced down at her hands. She interlocked her fingers. At least Ryo was calling it what it was. Murder. Killing. There was no kind way to paint it. Her eyes flicked back up to the screens that surrounded them. Faces of people, some she recognized and others she didn't. He had listed names, faces, and relationships to Lowenthal. The kid was meticulous, perhaps insane. He either had a boner for the deceased man, or was suffering a major case of fanatical delusion. He flipped through the images till he landed on one of Ariel.

"Self defence." Mari scoffed. "Ariel? Please. I have no doubt she murdered him in cold blood and took his item just as he had tried to do for me." Mari opened up her own HUD and let the two uniques she owned drop onto the table. "These stupid things make people go mad. Power hungry. Your so-called friend wanted to murder me, and for what? A cape that keeps you warm and a grotesque looking blade?" With a quick gesture they disappeared once again back into her inventory.

Ryo asked her about her relationship with Lowenthal, Mari sighed as she shifted back. Conversations were not her forte.  "When did i meet him? I don't remember. Probably when he made me a suit tailored for finding materials easily." Mari paused before continuing, to save them both the time. "Long story short- your little friend asked to be my apprentice. I reluctantly accepted after constant speeches and pushing from him. I actually..." She paused.

"I actually... began to trust him, but he turned on me. Told me that we would have to fight, that no matter what - one of us would walk away dead. He thought it was selfish of me to hold onto Unique classed items, yet wasn't at the frontlines. Thing is... I understood his sentiment. Those items - I couldn't give two shits about their abilities. They hold sentimental value to me. If he had asked. I would have let him." Her words were spoken softly, and low.

Mari would never admit it, but it hurt to recall the memory. The moment in time where she had vowed that she wouldn't bother with anyone else ever again. The moment she realized that even the most carefree and kind of spirits were crushed within this world. This was not a game. It was a prison, and it was cruel.  Even Esther had been lost to its madness. With a flutter of her eyes she rose her gaze to Ryo.

"You say you are investigating his murder- but you already claim to know who killed him. What more is there to know?"

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Ryo placed his elbows upon the table, resting his hands in front of his mouth as he listened closely. Mari spoke about a time that happened long ago.  Lowenthal was still a fledgling tailor at that time. But one detail made his mind stick. His menu opened, and a notepad was produced. His fingers wrapped around a pen and notes were being taken. He jotted down everything that could be deemed important. Mostly just words. A Lucky suit, cape, gnarled dagger, and other words that meant something else. His eyes peered up from his notebook. After Mari had finished speaking, she asked her question.

It was a decent question. Everyone already knew that Ariel had killed Lowenthal. Ryo let out a sigh, before returning his notebook to his inventory. "I know who the culprit is. It's a matter of why. I can't convict Ariel of a crime if she claims it was self-defense. No one else was there for it, and if I can prove that Ariel had planned the duel or if she had initiated it or if there was something else involved. Anything to discredit her, anything to find her guilty." Ryo said, confidently. Ryo ran a hand through his hair. "Or I'm wrong about this whole thing and Lowenthal was a changed man. He went mad with power and influence, and got into a fight he couldn't finish." He said, giving Mari his thoughts. "Either way I owe Lowenthal my life. Doing this is the least I can do." Ryo said to the pink player.

"What I've got so far is this. Let me know if I'm on the right track here." Ryo said, leaning back again. "You met Lowenthal by chance, and briefly at times. You exchanged items, words, amongst other things. You eventually opened up to him. He was strong, charismatic, and unlike everyone else he understood you. The two of you weren't friends per say, but not enemies. Lowenthal came to you, seeking some sort of guidance, an apprentice of sorts. You at first denied it, thinking it too soon to open up your feelings to someone else, especially a man like him. But eventually, you gave in. And he lured you somewhere, somewhere he was more comfortable." Ryo's body grew uncomfortable at this part of the story. "He lured to where he thought he would be safe. He would know the surroundings, the lay of the land. There he knew he had a chance. He pressured you about your demonics, the front lines, his plights and when he saw it fit he challenged you. But something happened. Either you said something or the man he was before did something in his mind. But he didn't go through with it." Ryo said, watching Mari.

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"Regardless of what she says, she committed murder. Murder that she profited from. Give a f**k what others think. She killed someone. That isn't something that should be absolved. It isn't something that should be excused. Regardless of her reasoning. Self defence. PLEASE." Mari waved Ryo's explanation off. He was trying to find justification in persecuting Ariel.

"I get what you're doing, kid. You're trying to justify what happened. But that's f**king stupid. There is no justification. She straight up killed him. She had the strength to run, to flee, or even to subdue him. She could have done any number of things to leave and if its a duel - then why the [censored] would she accept it if it was one of those..." Mari circled her hand in the air trying to recall the lingo for it. "One of those full hp duels. If she accepted it, that's not self defence. That's careful assessing and planning."

Mari inched away as Ryo leaned against the table, she didn't like how relaxed he was becoming in what was essentially her home. She for the most part, ignored Ryo's further questions and words. She didn't need some shitty ass detective wannabe prying into her personal affairs.

"She could have done what I did. Stood her ground and walked away. Look at me, despite Lowenthals 'ultimatum'  we both walked away alive. Because I didn't give in to some childish rant, because I didn't accept his duel and because I simply walked away."

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Ryo ran a hand through his hair. "Dammit Mari, you're not seeing it." He said, rubbing his temple. "If I didn't care about how she did it, or why I wouldn't be here trying to connect the dots like a lunatic." He said. "If I wanted frontier justice, I would've just ground out mobs for the next couple of weeks, months even, then confront her about it. Become orange if I had to. But I have a bit of morality issue there when it comes to murdering people dammit." Ryo said. He couldn't understand Mari in the slightest. She talked about how a murder was a murder but kept repeating the same thing over and over again. Ari was a murderer, he knew that already. What he needed was the last month and a half of investigative work to actually mean something. He was about to ask her why she was being so difficult about the situation, but that would just lead to the whole 'he tried to kill me' argument again. Ryo leaned back off of the table, almost defeated. "I'm sorry to have taken up so much of your time. I'll leave you to your assured self-destruction, and never-ending loneliness." Ryo said, standing up from his position. And without a word, Ryo left the tent.

Ryo stood in the darkness, unable to see where he was at. He could just use a teleportation crystal, but he didn't feel like it for some reason. He felt around for a rock and sat down upon it. He needed to think. Mari was a dead end, repeating the same thing. He needed to get what he needed somehow else. "God, how did Lowe have the patience for this?" He grumbled aloud.

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Mari blinked. "Well. No. I'm not - it's why I asked." She thought it obvious that she didn't understand him nor his reasoning behind all of this. Instead of answering her question Ryo just grew flustered.He said he had morals when it came to murdering people. "Yeh, and Ariel doesn't." Mari chided.

The pink haired woman knew she wasn't exactly one to talk, she had killed too, no doubt far more heinous in numbers and action than Ariel, but unlike Ariel Mari wasn't sugarcoating it. Mari wasn't trying to be accepted in a society that had so rightly shunned her.Mari was simply existing in her own world. She was never a very good conversationalist and it showed. Ryo didn't answer her, instead he pinned the blame on her for not getting whatever 'it' was.

He said his goodbyes, but they were not without barbed words. He stormed out of her tent. "And that is why I didn't want to deal with people." Mari said to herself. She stood and followed suit, but instead of leaving she 'locked' her shop. Ensuring that Ryo, and any other who wanted to pry could not enter. The woman was tired, and it had been a long day. 

She had tried to explain herself to him the best she could, but her time away from the world, and its people just degraded her already less than stellar ability to communicate. Or perhaps. Ryo just refused to see what was right in front of him. Either way. He wouldn't bother her anymore. That much she knew.

 

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Ryo buried his face into his hand. He missed him. He would know what to do now. Just as he did before. He always had a trick, an ace up his sleeve. So why did everything hurt? He clenched his sides, fighting the urge, and suppressing his tears. He swallowed his pain and ran a hand through his hair. "Christ Ryo. Heroes don't cry." He stood up from his position, and took a step forward, but stopped. Something in his mind kept tugging at him. He looked back at the tent behind him. She probably locked it off. But still, he didn't want to leave with this sour taste in his mouth. He swallowed whatever he had in his mouth, and walked back to the tent. "Mari. It's Ryo again. I don't want to leave on bad terms like this. That's not what he would've-" He cut himself short. "It's not what I should do. I've been at this for so long that I've forgotten how to be myself. I offer no excuses for my behavior, and I apologize for becoming angry." Ryo said, apologizing through the tent fabric. "I'm hoping that you can forgive me. At least long enough for me to admit that-" Ryo stopped himself short.

Wait just a second. Mari had said something inside. 'She could have done any number of things to leave and if its a duel - then why the [censored] would she accept it' Her sentence echoed in her mind. "Long enough for me to admit that I am such an idiot." He said to himself. Damn himself, how could he not have seen that before. He chalked it up to a thing of pride or being backed into a corner. But if what Mari said was true, and Lowenthal challenged her and she left, unscathed then Ariel could've done the same thing. "Mari, you're right. The self-defense clause doesn't work with the full loss duel!" He said, excited. "If you were able to walk away from Lowe, then Ariel is no exception." Ryo said, thinking his thoughts aloud.

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She heard muffled ramblings from the man outside but could not pin the words that were being said. There was a proverbial wall between them after all.  From how he left, Mari could only assume that they were less than pleasant. He could have been demanding her to unlock the shop so he could prattle on about something else. She had enough of his insults.

"Tch."

She turned on her heel and ignored it and before long, it stopped. Ryo had no doubt left. "Good riddance." She muttered.

Now she could focus on the new matter at hand.
What the hell was she supposed to do with her shop now? The game had bought so many updates, no more mind altering substances, including alcohol, no pain, no nothing. They were all reasonable things but things that she had relied in on the past to cuck her enemies. "Well then..." She mused, taping a finger to her lips. "This dingy place really only serves me as a safe place to sleep. God forbid I'd ever get a house."

And to think, some people go all out and get mansions in this place. How absolutely ridiculous.

Mari shook her head as she decided to turn in for the night. Tomorrow....

Tomorrow she would find out what to do with the remnants of her shop.

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The following morning had arrived, and everything had been prepared as Master Ryo had asked. Breakfast was made, and sitting on the table awaiting for him to arrive and eat. The butler Pennyworth rolled up his sleeves, and washed his hands. He had one more chore for the morning and that was to go visit the tenth floor. Pennyworth equipped a rapier, the weapon of a gentleman, and his coat and hat. Heade his way down to the coordnates that his master had provided for him. When he arrived a tent was there. "A tent? How quaint." The butler said adjusting his coat. He stepped up to the tent, and knocked as best he could on the fabric. "Ah, hello. Miss Mari?" Pennyworth called out, hoping to reach the supposed woman within. "I'm Pennyworth, Master Ryos butler and I'm here on an errand." He said. "Master Ryo has extend an invitation to his Manor on the floor above. I believe he said something about finding a conclusion." And with that, Pennyworth bowed and left.

 Morning came faster than he had hoped, and Ryo regrettably rolled out of bed. He rubbed his tired eyes, and redressed himself in his leather jacket and other clothing. He went down stairs and could smell breakfast already made. Pennyworth was nowhere to be seen, he must've still been out on that last errand. Despite the constant construction to the manor, Pennyworth kept the place inexplicably clean. The wood was free of dust and other grime as Ryo took a seat in his dining room. He finished breakfast quickly, and moved to the kitchen to wash his plates as Pennyworth returned. "Ah Pennyworth. Message delivered?" 

"As best as I could sir." He said, placing his rapier in the umbrella holder, and his hat into his jacket.

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  • 4 months later...

Tomorrow came and the woman was still at a loss on what to do. Sleep rarely came to her and when it did, it did not bring pleasant tidings. Mari endured a night of tossing and turning as nightmares tore into the forefront of her mind, wrapping around her body with spindly darkened fingers and reminding her of the hell she had not only wrought but was still in. Telling her that inevitably, this will be the place she died. And that not a single soul would bat an eye. For anyone she had grown close to had died, either by her own hand or another.

What had rattled her from her sleep were not the endless nightmares, nor the ever absent rays of sun peering through non existent windows. instead, it was a light rap at the door. With a groan Mari  sat up and ran a hair through cotton candied locks. She heard the voice. The semi-robotic tones of a tell tale NPC. It apparently belonged to Ryo. The kid who stormed up to her the day prior.

"Mmmm..."

He had an invitation for her and the woman begrudgingly sat up and kicked away the pillows that littered the carpeted floor of her shop tent. The woman unlocked the 'door' although it was much more accurately described as a 'flap' and opened it to nothing. Nothing but an open ended invite that was fruitless. "Dumb ass didn't even give me coordinates." The only location she had to go buy was 'Manor on the floor above' and the woman wasn't about to go off exploring and searching for a decadent idiot. 

Even if she had the coordinates Mari was not the type to flitter off on a whim. To go 'make amends' to a man who in all fairness was the instigator. He didn't want to hear the truth that was his problem. Why should she go out of her way to 'fix' things?

She was better off alone.

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