Almaz hadn't turned out like he'd expected.  First Jaxen Marveet recognizing him, then him disappearing, and then the monsters in the fight with the mark.  How was he supposed to kidnap a guy who can kill monsters?

There had to be an angle.  Ashton decided that it was best to hit Kallisti next.  At least that was more his speed.  He could compete with selling sex.  

The lines were a little longer than he expected.  But it had been worth the wait once he got inside the opulent show room.  The bars were fully stocked, the servers and bartenders more than enough eye candy.  The stage was full of beautiful performances.  The one on now was a faux strip tease.  The performer was behind a screen pulling of alluring outfits with various lighting and dance moves.  The music was etherial and it was a beautiful seduction.

But it was the guy standing against the wall that drew his attention.  His mark stood stoic.  He had seen Ashton at the Almaz.  Seen Jaxen disappear.  He didn't seem to eye him anymore than anyone else but he saw the look that said he was going to watch him.  Which was good.  If he was watching him, it meant he'd be able to see his reactions to those he interacted with.  There had to be an angle to this guy, some way in, something Ashton could use against him.

And it didn't take long to find that thing -- or rather that someone.

Ashton sat down at the bar.  The bartenders came and went and when one finally stopped he saw the man on the wall tense up.  It was the barest hint of movement.  But Ashton knew how to read a person.  Whoever this bartender was.  He was something to his mark.

Hope everyone has a great holiday.

The showers brought some things into perspective.  The horde raged in his body.  Their instinct pushing at every facet of his being.  He fought against them.  He knew he had no out -- not tonight.  The fight had rolled him hard.  Ori was not a toy or a game, she was a friend.  And his boss.

Doubt crept in.  But Ori was a fickle beast, if she was there.  He didn't expect her to be but he didn't want to keep her waiting either.  They had made arrangements for the night.  He still couldn't believe that he'd done what he'd done or who with it went against his rules.  He didn't have many, but he had a few.

Nox slipped back into the chain mail shirt and leather pants with a quick cleaning with the power.  They'd be at least clean if not perfect.  The make up from before was gone, though he did apply some eyeliner, that made up for the lack of the rest after the shower.  Ori could live with his lack of show now.  She might say something -- she might not.

The horde roared in his ears with each heart beat.  It wasn't done with him.  A girl usually waited for him.  It had expectations.  Ori wasn't waiting around for him, but he did find her at the bar sipping at a drink in her typical state.  A crocket smile slipped on his lips as he leaned against the bar next to her. "I half expected you to be gone."

He leaned close. "Some place safe?  You thought about it?"

Oriena rolled her eyes and said nothing.  She wasn't going to play his games.  He chuckled and rolled his eyes in return. "Fine then."  He took Oriena softly by the elbow.  He couldn't take her to Kallisti and he wasn't about to take her a safe place if she wasn't going to play ball either.  But there were places he could go.  He used to stay in them regularly, it was where he had hooked up with Elyse the first time.  And there was a kitchen.  His stomach rumbled.

There was a town car waiting outside.  Normally he'd walk, but Ori wasn't a walker, not in her state, nor in heels -- that wasn't fair. 

Nox opened the door for Oriena and helped her inside. He slid in next to her, his hand on her thigh while he made a few texts so he could have food waiting when they got where they were going.  He tucked the wallet into the safe pocket he had in the mail shirt.  And put the rest of his attention on her.  It wasn't romance he offered.  It wasn't even because he felt sorry for himself.  He let the horde have what they wanted and whatever Ori would let him take in the backseat of a car.  His attention was only on her, his mind only on pleasing and taking.  Things would be different once they got where they were going.

Sleeping inside was a novelty.  Staying in a hotel was usually left for the rare times Jacob hunted in a city.  Usually he slept in his car, or on the ground someplace warm and dry.  There weren't a lot of those places in Moscow, and it was far safer and easier to just find a safe house for the Atharim.  There were several throughout the city and easily found -- if you knew what to look for.  And one was close by Kallisti, he could keep an eye on Nox and stay out of his hair.  

Though he had found that it wasn't quite so easy to go around unnoticed since he had contacted The Wicked Truth.  Little had he known when Nox gave him the contact that he'd let the hacker into his phone, and his life and every now and then he'd get a discrete message.

Play nice.  Or I'll tell Nox. 

It didn't matter if Jacob was just following a lead or taking down an obvious monster.  There were so many hiding with in plain sight this city was crawling with humanoid monsters and monstrous ones alike.  It was like something was attracting them all here.

The Wicked Truth kept him informed of when he crossed into Nox's territory, was just about anytime he left the safe house, or tried to get back to it after hunting.  This hacker was dedicated to the boy.  It said alot about loyalty, even if the hacker wasn't law abiding, he was loyal.   Much like most Atharim he knew.  Including Nox.  

He watched the club too.  And the Almaz.  Jacob knew without a doubt that this hacker kept Nox off the radar or most authorities and even the Atharim.  But how could one person watch so many things?  A lot of it had to be automated.  Jacob tested the theroy and started tracking the Nox manually -- there were ways -- Atharim ways that he knew that Nox would know. The shadows were deep in the Red light district.  You only had to know how to speak the language.  Jacob set out to make some new friends around the neighborhood.

[[ooc: any Atharim or red light district denizen is welcome to pop in.  ]]

Zephyr was grateful that the hacker was able to do what was needed.  And she was assured that he'd stay on the job.  She wasn't sure where Jaxen would take the information.  Go for the fortune or allow his brother to be pinned for his antics.

But she also knew that Jaxen wasn't about to give up his freedoms.  The night she'd told Jaxen she'd be back, she donned the little slinky red dress with nothing underneath and a brown trench coat. She went to Jaxen's apartment building and coaxed the door man to let her up.  It hadn't taken much to convince him.  It had helped it was the same man that had been on duty the night she went up with him.  And sex was all her game right now.  

And it wouldn't have been hard to just break in with some other lie.  But this was more fun.

And she knew Jaxen wasn't home as she unlocked the door with a quick twist of her lockpick set and was inside.  There was one thing she had to do before he got home to alleviate her problem and give Jaxen that false security he'd not be giving her a child.  The best of both worlds -- hopefully.

Ezvin waited in the lobby of the stylish Radiance Hotel. Tonight, it was the epicenter of the city's artistic scene, hosting the launch party for a new album by one of the CCD’s up and coming – a project that Ezvin had poured his heart into as a producer.

Dressed in a sharp ensemble that struck the perfect balance between elegant and artistic flair, Ezvin's attention occasionally swept over the entrance. He was waiting for Jensen, feeling a mix of excitement and a slight nervous anticipation. The party, set in one of the hotel’s event spaces, promised to be a vibrant affair, teeming with artists, musicians, and various creatives from the industry. For Ezvin, such events were familiar territory, but tonight felt different with the anticipation of such an intriguing date.

The lobby around him buzzed with activity. Guests arrived in groups, laughter and conversation flowing freely. Others filed into the Radiance’s lounge bar, teeming with life already.

Ezvin checked his Wallet casually, ensuring he hadn’t missed a message from Jensen.

Days passed and Jensen didn’t see Kaleb at all. When he finally worked the nerve to inquire why, he was informed that the Agent had been reassigned. They wouldn’t tell Jensen where nor how long he would be gone, and no amount of internet searching revealed anything of Kaleb’s fate. The guilt tore him up.

A great deal of time had lapsed since Jensen last took to his knees. Not since those last prayers with the Carpenters, and while he was sincere in his desire for Cayli’s safety, hope was never quite restored and he felt like a fraud. Yet despite the trepidation, Jensen went through the motions one night. Not for himself, but for Kaleb, and asked that the agent be spared hardship and eventually find the peace he deserved. That was all, though, and Jensen was quite numb afterward.

He was introduced to a new agent, and Jensen intended to behave according to the rules this time, but he was informed there were no missions that night nor for the next several after that.

Jensen was also allowed to go home, but as he locked the door to Doulou’s loft, he could practically feel Custody eyes watching him. A sigh was the extent of action they would witness, and Jensen spent the night alone... Again.

The next morning he realized he was out of coffee, and while an order could be delivered relatively easy, he looked around the empty loft and saw nothing but solitude. He briefly wondered if Doulou was well since the man hadn’t sent a message in a long time, and with a furrow of his brow, Jensen opted to go out instead. Surely nobody cared if he went to a coffee shop.

Several years in Moscow and he was still not quite accustomed to their winters, and the leaves indicated it was only autumn even if the wind said it was promising a deep freeze. He wore a denim jacket over a sweater as a result. A scarf was wrapped around his neck and gloves wrapped his hands though they were plunged deep into his pockets. He wore slacks and nice shoes also, but the wind tousled his attempts to style his hair as soon as he stepped outside. There was a shop nearby that he used to visit, though that hadn’t visited since before he went to America with Jay and Natalie.

He didn’t recognize any of the workers, and a quick scan of the patrons was just as unrecognizable. He ordered his drink black with cream in a mug along with a muffin, and sat near one of the windows to watch people walk. The room was comfortable, though not full to the brim, and yet, he still felt alone.

So I need to update the Operating system, the version of PHP we run on, WordPress, and the forums.

I won't be doing it until December, but it needs to be done.  

We haven't done it yet because I have been unable to get the forums to work on later versions of PHP.   Having said that, in December I will put a new server together and install the forums and the extensions and see how what we need to do to make them work on the latest versions.

I have started the process and have the most important one installed and working: Account Switcher.

I haven't found a fresh copy of My Alerts yet, which may or may not be needed for the notification of PMs I know we all rely on.  I haven't tested it yet to see if it's need or not.

@Mentions has been disabled for a while now it seems.  It breaks the site, but there are other ones we can try or when I get back to testing see if we can get it to work at all.

The only other two plugins that ya'll might care about are the Table Generator and the Spoiler bbcode.  (Does anyone use them?)

Discord and the Cookie Law will be used as well should they both work fine on the new code base.  (shouldn't be any issues don't think they gave me any problems in the past)

We won't lose any data, pictures or anything in the upgrade, but we might be done for a little while while I do the upgrade.  Chat will likely need to be reinstalled as well and if you use a third party app you should still be able to chat, but if you use the Lounge on our site, then it will go down.  Discord is also always available.

[[Continued from Almaz; this scene isn't in the world of dreams, but this was the best option.]]


The room with the far was brighter than he remembered.

The walls were white? They should be stone. Wood beams. A sophisticated bar.

He glanced over his shoulder to see if Ashton saw what he saw, only, there was no Ashton. Instead, a curtain of light shimmered floor to ceiling like a portal.

“Uhh—“ he licked his lips, but when he reached out to swipe the curtain, it disappeared.

He turned in a circle. Almaz had transformed into an impossibly smooth tunnel. The world around him was awash with a brightness that seemed to have no source; the light simply was, as if the air itself exuded a soft glow. Everything curved and spiraled into itself—the ceiling, the floor, even the air seemed to twist in a gentle helix above him.

Now this should normally be a little distressing. Jumping from Almaz’s underground club to some sort of sci-fi looking world, but given that Jaxen lived through two similar experiences, he was more annoyed than disturbed.

He began to walk, stepping lightly to avoid drawing attention to himself until he better understood what was happening.

The architecture was a marvel, he admitted, an endless enigma of snakelike structures that defied the laws of physics as he knew them. The walls bowed outward, ceilings arched into impossible heights before curling back into themselves, and the doorways were rounded, as if carved by the spinning of a giant potter’s wheel. Jaxen walked through one of these doorways, entering a chamber that seemed to lead into another, and then another, each one a perfect circle, each one leading back to the last.

At first, there was a calm curiosity in his stride. He admired the fluidity of the design, the way the circular windows refracted the light into rainbows that danced across the curved walls. He might have thought it an elaborate illusion until he ran his hand along a banister, feeling the smoothness of its twist, impressed by the craftsmanship and appreciating how real it truly was. But as he walked, a realization began to dawn on him: no matter how far he walked, he was getting nowhere. Each turn, each spiral staircase, brought him back to a place eerily similar to the last.

Panic fluttered in his chest, and with a frown, Jaxen picked up his pace. The rounded hallways seemed to stretch and grow with his expanding alarm. He started to run, the sound of his footsteps echoing against the undulating surfaces, a maddening cacophony in the brightness. Doors that once seemed inviting now mocked him, leading him in looping paths that had no end, no escape.

His breaths came in ragged gasps as he pushed himself to run faster, the world blurring into a whirl of light and color. But no matter how desperately he sprinted, the realm kept him ensnared within its serpentine grasp, an endless maze designed not to confine the body, but almost as if meant to entrap the mind. Jaxen was beginning to realize that this alien world of curves and spirals might be more than just a labyrinth—it might be a trap from which there was no escape.

At the end of a final spiral, he clenched his fists and summoned the Ancient Power to his grasp. One way or another, he was getting out of there. A sly lick of the lips and he prepared to hurl a knot toward the wall.

That was when he heard a voice, not unlike the speech of the naga, but more sinister.

“We’ve been waiting for you,” it said.

Anyone got any other ideas for places Spectra can cameo?    I promise she will be good!