Darkness. Nothingness... To many, the feeling is unsettling, yet familiar to all who are dead. A place not many visit in their dreams, yet something in the air tells the Forest Princess that this place is not like the past forms of nightmares that plagued her ever since the defeat of the deepest darkness.
"Whither am I?" She mumbled to herself, seeing nothing but black all around her. She tried extending a hand to feel for any walls.
But there were none.
Was it a never ending hall without a single wall to fill it in, regardless of its color? It was hard to determine. She was standing on what she assumed is the floor, so there has to be walls somewhere.
It was worrying her. This couldn't have been a dream, because then she would not be in this situation. Who knows if it's even considered a nightmare...
"Someone! Anyone, please heareth mine voice!" She screamed into the abyss-like world. The echoing of her voice didn't help ease her calm down one bit...
But nobody came.
Hibiki was loosing hope of finding out what was going on. This feeling was reminding her of a place she wished she hadn't come to... Something only she remembered being a child, someone kidnapping her from a land she does not vaguely remember, seeing the stormy clouds once gather around a particular region. It was starting to remind her of the castle she had desperately came to hate...
Silence. It was a sound most comfortable to the Princess, yet also the sound of fear itself. Anything at any moment could strike fear in her heart... The thought is just too much to bear, as the Forest Princess clutched her arms and closed her eyes, wanting this to be over with.
She was struggling to keep herself from crying. Ever since she was locked up in a castle, all she ever did was clean, and eat. If one tiny thing was wrong, or something wasn't done in time, she got punished for it with several strikes of a whip. There was no way this could be the castle...
It was her worst nightmare.
"...un... ki..." A mysterious voice spoke up after what felt like an eternity. The girl looked up and looked everywhere for the source of the voice that spoke.
"W-Who's thither?!" She exclaimed, demanding an answer from the voice. "R... Hi..." The voice responded, dodging the question she asked of it. Though it feels as if the voice wasn't speaking with malice...
"Run... He's coming..." The voice spoke louder than before, almost as if whatever it was afraid of was around the corner.
Faster than Hibiki could inquire the voice a question, an explosion knocks her to the side, quickly getting up to find the source of the attack.
She gasps upon seeing a Hexer, garbed in dark blue robes. The robes were moving around, as if they had a mind of an animal. Simply seeing the smirk on the Hexer's face brought fear in her heart.
"I can see... You didn't miss me..." The Hexer spoke up, letting himself be carried by the robes he wore as he approached Hibiki. "D-Don't approach me any further, fiend!" She warned the approaching man, simply ignoring her words as his robes prepared to attack.
She dodges the attack from the robe, sprinting away from the Hexer. The Hexer lost his smirk, taking out a Grimoire and started launching some attacks from afar. Some of them miss, and some of them hit her, yet despite being knocked further away, she still had enough time to get up and continue running before the Hexer could grab her, despite the bruises she now bared...
"The land from which you came bears no truth to you, anymore. Best to forget about that place, and live in the abyss..." The mysterious Hexer spoke up, as Hibiki tried her best to ignore his words. Her heart told her to keep running, to not let herself be captured by the mysterious man.
The attacks became less frequent the further she was away from him, finally seeing a door at long last. She had to hide, even if it was only temporary. Hibiki opened the door and locked it behind her, resting her head against the brick wall, looking around as she took a few deep breaths.
It was... familiar. She recalled having used the bay of the castle to escape, as everyone else was rather unaware of her escape. She wasn't sure what was even happening anymore.
"Hibiki, come on!" A male's voice spoke to the Forest Girl, turning her head to the voice that spoke out to her. Her eyes shrunk in surprise, upon seeing who was speaking to her. A male Troubadour and a Dark Hunter... They couldn't be...
"Get on, Hibiki! Don't let him catch you!" The Dark Hunter urged, extending a hand. Deciding not to risk staying there, Hibiki attempts to run to the Dark Hunter.
"Don't think so." A voice called out, causing an explosion right in front of Hibiki, causing some propulsion to cause the boat the two boys were on to move, causing the Dark Hunter to fall on his rear in surprise.
"No! Please, return to me!" She yelled, trying to reach out for the boat that was moving on its own.
"We'll meet up in High Lagaard!" The Troubadour exclaimed, hoping his voice reached the Forest Princess. "Stay strong, Hibiki!" The Dark Hunter added, the distance between them getting further and further.
The boys were familiar to her. There was no mistaking it. But it felt like she wasn't getting anywhere just trying to reach out for them...
Her thinking was cut short by the robes of the Hexer she ran from wrapped itself around her neck, catching her off guard, as the Hexer approached to the side of her vision. Hibiki desperately struggled to break free from the robe's grasp on her. The robe lifted her off of the ground, causing her to struggle even more.
"You can't stop what has begun, Forest Girl..." The hexer grinned, before he busts into a maniacal laughter, laughing at Hibiki's miserable attempt of breaking free. Every movement of her body was getting her nowhere closer to being free...
"...iki..." A voice called to her, while the Hexer still laughed at her efforts. Her struggles only continued from there, before feeling the robes tighten around her neck, gritting her eyes in pain.
"...biki! ...ke up!" The voice called out again, coming to her louder than before. The mix of the two voices before her was getting too confusing for her. "Aaaaaaagh!"
Hibiki opened her eyes as she jolted from her sleep, feeling a pair of hands wrap around her in an attempt to comfort her. "Hibiki, are you alright?!" Korey's voice reached her ears much more clearer, turning to see the worry in the Highlander's face.
Hibiki started feeling tears drop from her eyes, resting her head on his chest. "Another nightmare cameth to plague me from mine slumber..." She replied, trying to wipe the tears away from her eyes.
"I'm sorry you had to have these streaks of nightmares, Hibiki..." Korey uttered, rubbing her shoulder in reassurance of his comfort. "If I may be bold to ask, will talking about it get it out of your system? You were adamant about not telling me the past four nightmares..." He queried, noting the past times she didn't want him to worry about her about speaking her nightmares.
"W-Well," Hibiki started, sitting upwards so he can hear her better. "I was told to run by someone, ere a Hexer hath appeared out of nowhere and started attacking me, forcing me to run for mine life. Then, I saw two men on a boat, calling to me to get on it..."
Korey gazed to the sheets, seeming to think about the events she told him thus far. "One of those folk wast a Dark Hunter, and the other was a Troubadour... those gents both wast urging me to get on, ere that foul Hexer intervened, and... And..." Hibiki continued, wiping a few more tears trying to emerge from her eyes.
"I was losing air due to the Hexer's robes. I hath felt like mine life wast ending ere my eyes..." Korey's arms continued to rub Hibiki's arm, reassuring her that it was all just a nightmare.
Though he wasn't sure how to respond, he needed to calm her down somehow. Without wasting any time, he began humming a song. The Forest Princess stared up at him in confusion, though recognizing the song she heard him hum.
"What art thou doing?" She inquired, stopping the Highlander in his tracks. "Doing something that helped my little sister when we were exploring Yggdrasil. If she wasn't able to sleep, we would hum a song and it'd wear her down to the point of being tired." He explained, scratching the back of his head with his free hand.
"I apologize if its awkward, it's just the only thing I could do to calm you down..." Korey sighed, before feeling Hibiki nudge against his chest. "No, please, keepeth going... that song thou art humming is reminding me of a song that Troubadour hath used to playeth..."
Korey let out a sigh of relief, as he proceeds to continue to hum the song from where he left off. The girl in his arms soon grew a smile, starting to hum along to him. Hibiki then started to recall the song being sung by the Troubadour she had seen in her nightmare.
She recalled hearing his voice for the first time as he started playing the violin in the castle she was in, beyond the walls of her confinement. He only got to hear his name once after he had introduce himself to her, despite the two of them not being able to meet in person. Almost every night on, he snuck down and sang her some songs he knew, doing so for a couple of months before things changed around the castle...
It was her only salvation... her light of hope to see the world outside her confinement. "Just because there are people with evil hearts, doesn't mean all of humanity is like that." Hibiki recalled the Troubadour's voice from long ago.
"There will be a time where you'll be cared for by people who legitimately care for you. People who will set you free from this wretched ensemble." The voice in her head replayed, seeming to bring her great comfort. Her eyes slowly started to close, feeling tuckered out from humming the all-too-familiar song.
Korey continues for a little longer, seeing the girl in his arms slowly smiling as she drifts back to sleep. He gently lays her down on the bed and pulls the sheet over her, rubbing his hand on her head for a few seconds as he stops humming the song, satisfied with his result.
"Never fails to work..." He hummed to himself, peaking at the window and seeing the sun come through the curtains. The Highlander gets up and closes the curtains so that Hibiki doesn't get blinded by the morning light, soon standing beside a table in the room, placing a finger on his chin as he was left to ponder what to do next.
"How many nightmares will Hibiki go through before it gets too much for her? If her past was really that rough, surely there must be some way for her to forget such a past..." Korey mumbled to himself, gazing back at the sleeping Forest Princess, who turns to face the wall in her sleep.
He can't just remain idly by any longer. If he was able to calm his sister through song, there must be a way to keep nightmares away from Hibiki... The thought of having too many nightmares occur one after another can potentially lead her into madness. Or hell, even worse...
"Perhaps a visit to the library will get me somewhere. Maybe get Simon and Lynus to help me out..." The brown haired Harbinger uttered to himself, grabbing his stuff with him and slowly closed the door behind him.
Thankfully, hardly anyone else was awake yet, allowing him to go through the lobby in peace. Exiting the inn, he asked a nearby explorer where the library would be. The explorer gave the Highlander some directions, as he thanks them before wishing them a good day.
The library he entered wasn't that huge as Simon proclaimed the Midgard Library was, but seeing books everywhere reminded him of a guild house with a huge library... He took his time strolling through the isles, skimming through titles and picking some books that held interesting titles that stood out to his eyes.
He soon found a book with a rather interesting title. "Healing Properties of Gemstones, huh?" Korey read, raising an eyebrow as he took the book off the shelf.
He had to think on that title for a while as he sat down at a nearby table. Other than to look pretty, do gemstones really have those types of properties? Was it even possible?
There was no point in arguing with himself about the potential answer. He wasn't going to get anywhere with that mindset. "I suppose I should make notes of what I found. Simon and Lynus are probably busy, so I hope I can ask them for advice when I get the opportunity."
With his goal set in stone, Korey takes out a few pieces of paper, and a bottle of ink, along with a feather, placing them beside the sheets of paper. He begins flipping through the books, taking his time to look at the information contained with each book, writing notes on things he finds interesting, or ones that will most likely help. Lapis, Hematite, basically anything he can find relating to nightmares.
He had to make sure to look back in previous books about the effects of the gemstones he written, but ended up with either vague answers, or other written details about their appearance and worth in Ental.
"Man, some of these are really good, but not all of them might be available in Lagaard, Yggdrasil, or Ginnungagap..." Korey grumbled, trying to recall if any of the stones he written could be available in the places he specified. "It's a good thing Lynus and the others are willing to help out if needed. Hibiki's safety is becoming a top priority on my list of things to do."
Korey closes the book he was on, wasting a few more minutes reading up on the gemstones and making sure he's written everything he needed to know before concluding his research in the library. He placed the notes he written in an easy to reach area of his bag, and placed each of the books he picked up back on the shelves he found them in, before leaving the library.
As he made his way back over to the inn, Korey came to a halt as he turned to see an orange-haired medic trying to tend to some unconscious explorers. A Dark Hunter and... a Troubadour. Where those the two people Hibiki spoke about earlier?
He had to make sure. Cause even if those two were the classes Hibiki mentioned, the names of the explorers were important to know. The Highlander approached Lynus, doing his best not to startle the Medic.
"Lynus, what's going on here?" He asked, as the Medic quickly turned to face the Highlander kneeling beside the dark hunter. "I found these guys floating on the water near here when I was on my way back from the hospital. They seemed so wounded, so I'm trying to keep them stable for the moment."
The Highlander looked over the injuries that Lynus had healed, picking up a rather wet violin that likely belonged to the troubadour, checking to make sure it was still playable before placing it right beside the troubadour.
"I don't think any river from Yggdrasil might have carried them here. Especially not on the higher stratums." Korey mumbled to himself, getting up after glancing over the two boys.
"Oi, what are you bloody idiots doing?!" A voice called out, getting Lynus and Korey's attention to see a blue-haired Landsknecht wielding a sword approaching them. Korey turned to face him, not liking where this might be going.
"Hands off my prey, you snobby medic!" The landsknecht yelled, causing Lynus to flinch from the way he yelled at him. "Hey, jerkwad!" Korey called out, diverting the landsknecht's eyes towards the Highlander. "Nobody calls the Miracle Medic a snob and gets away with it!"
The landsknecht simply scoffed at Korey, clearly not seeing him that worthy enough of an opponent. "Pheh, and just who the hell are you supposed to be, some kind of Protector? You don't even fit that role to a T!"
Oh can he fit a protector's role, alright. He just doesn't need a shield to do the protecting.
"I am Korey, part of the Highlander tribe! If you think you're such talk, why don't you just beat it before I strike you down?" Korey challenged, causing the landsknecht to growl in annoyance.
"Such arrogance from such a child. Hiyaaah!" The Landsknecht charges at Lynus, stopping short due to a quick stab of the Highlander's spear at his leg, causing him to come to a halt as Korey quickly steps in front of Lynus.
Just gotta keep this punk busy til Axel arrives...
"Outta my way, you punk!" The man growled, poised to strike with his sword at any moment. Korey trades his spear for the Ragnarok sword, alongside a Grimoire Stone made by Fafnir.
"Taste Flame Sabre!" He yelled, slashing at the landsknecht and causing him to flinch back, due to the hot metal the sword had been enchanted with from the Grimoire Stone. That did a bit of damage on the landsknecht's armor.
"The hell is this nonsense? A spear and a sword simultaneously?! That's downright cheap!" The landsknecht ranted.
"Says the man whose class allows him to switch between a Sword and an Axe to use different skills. At least I have the excuse of using a sword because of a Grimoire!" Korey argued, making his way towards the opposing landsknecht.
"Grimoire or no, that's still considered cheating!" The blue-haired landsknecht yelled, as they clash swords once again. Their weapons kept clashing against the other as they fought for a while.
Lynus, meanwhile, tended to the wounds of the two boys before him. It was the least he had to do, for the moment. He was sure that things would be better for the situation they're in, as long as Korey didn't fall to the opposing landsknecht.
Korey grunts, wiping some blood off of his cheek, staring the landsknecht down as the blue-haired man gets up, using his sword as a crutch. "Ugh, why are you so damn stubborn?! Are you his boyfriend or something?!"
"No, that'd be me you're referring to!"
A swift punch to the landsknecht's face was made, causing him to fall to the ground, as both Korey and Lynus easily recognize Axel's red hair. Axel picked up the landsknecht by the throat, raising him up from the ground. "I'm giving you to the count of ten to get the hell out of my sight."
He lets go of the landsknecht, as the blue-haired Landsknecht grabs his weapon and starts making his way away from the red haired landsknecht, before turning to them when he was a good distance away. "This isn't over yet, you damn fools. We will find you, and we will make you pay for this!"
With that threat in mind, he rushes off, finally out of Axel's sight. He walked over to the two boys, scratching his head in confusion. "What the hell was that guy's problem?" He queried, wondering what got that landsknecht in a hussy fit.
The Highlander shrugged as he placed his weapon away. "He just seemed very angry that Lynus was tending to these guys here. Hell, now that I think about it, he didn't even give me a name to go off of..." Korey explained.
"Regardless, the good news is that I'm safe, and not injured." Lynus chimed in, hearing Axel sigh a breath of relief. "I've managed to stop their wounds, but I'd still like to take these guys back to the hospital so they can recover a bit better without that landsknecht undoing all of my work." He continued, picking up the male troubadour's violin.
"There may be the possibility that landsknecht will come back here with more people with him if we stay out here too long. Korey, I'll take the dark hunter, you take the troubadour." Axel discussed, as the Highlander nods and picks up the boy he was expected to carry.
For some reason, he felt extremely light. Did the troubadour not get much to eat, or something? Axel picked up the dark hunter, holding tight to it in case the unconscious boy wakes up as they were on their way to the hospital.
Lynus grabbed his bag, then proceeded to guide Axel and Korey to the hospital. It took a couple of minutes, but they were lucky the lansknecht from earlier didn't come back during the time they picked up the bodies. The crowd of explorers should provide some cover as entered the clinic, placing the two boys on two separate beds before sitting out in the lobby of the clinic.
Having to wait was a pain, but it was understandable why they needed to do so. Waiting for Lynus to make sure they were properly breathing was the least he can do, and that may take some time due to whatever injuries the two boys he and Axel dragged in suffered from. He also needed to know the names of those boys to see if they were the people HIbiki mentioned in her nightmare.
Speaking of Hibiki, he took out the notes he had and started to read the information he had written about the gemstones he had written about earlier. Axel took a glance at the notes, the Highlander totally unaware of him. "Are those notes about gemstones?"
Korey blinked, his eyes gazing at Axel for a couple of seconds before nodding as he turned back to face the notes he written. "I recently visited the library in search of gemstones that can help quell nightmares, or at least minimize it. I came across a few names, though the books shared minor details of the gemstone's property." He discussed, flipping the pages between some interesting gemstones he came across in his research.
"Having nightmares suck, as they can cause more worry than needed..." Axel groaned, not liking the sound of where this conversation might be going. "Especially for Hibiki. For her to have nightmares for almost for an entire week worries me to no end."
Korey sighed, feeling like he might have done this research for naught... A touch of Axel's hand reassured the Highlander that he and Lynus were there to help him out. "Maybe once Lynus is done, we'll ask him about the gemstone you wish to find." Axel suggested, giving the Highlander a reassuring smile.
The Highlander's face grew a smirk. "Thanks, Axel." He thanked, feeling the red haired landsknecht pat his back in response.
"Heh, don't mention it. The least I can do for you after I punched that damn Landsknecht in the face." Axel chuckled. He knew he was too good that his punches can simply end a fight on its own.
Though Korey might just miss Axel when he prepares to head to the next Yggdrasil...
...
It had been almost two hours since Hibiki had gotten some sleep, yet here she is, standing outside the inn. She wore the handmade cloak Hamza made for her, which she held onto tightly to make sure the wind didn't blow it away. It had been some time since she felt this at peace ever since the deepest darkness, Ur-Devil, was slayed by the Gungnir Guild, with the co-operation of the Guardians.
Ever since, she has joined their ranks as a guild member, and has slowly, but surely, told them about her past, as Lynus recommended that to be her course of action. If she spoke too much about it at once, she would break down in tears. Though her mind was focused on the nightmare that plagued her this morning.
That Hexer was no ordinary Hexer. His pressense would make anyone shiver in fear. The robes of his weren't natural ether. Though that may have been due to the fact that it was a nightmare, it wouldn't have made sense it'd react that same way in reality.
She placed her hand where her heart is, as she thought back to the two boys within her dream. They were familiar, cause she at least saw one of them, and heard the voice of another, along with his name. Hibiki felt like she had a connection to them. If only she could protect them from whatever that nightmare was trying to tell her...
The brown skin of that Dark Hunter... The white hair of that Troubadour, his wonderful singing voice, and his name... They were the only key to being reunited with them, as they told to her in her nightmare.
"Nice day today, isn't it? The weather's just perfect for another day of exploring." Flavio's voice surprised her, sharply turning to face the Survivalist, placing his hands on the railing, before regaining her composure and faced back the way she originally faced.
"Forsooth tis, man." She responded, getting an eyebrow raised from Flavio. "I have no idea what that means, but I assume it's something nice."
Hibiki could only sigh. The Highlander was more akin to hearing her kind's language, but clearly Flavio still had a bit of trouble understanding her. "Of course it's something nice. Thou just needeth to hark harder to my words, man."
"Alright, alright, no need to get worked up about it." Flavio exclaimed, not wanting to try to provoke her early in the morning. The two stand around for a little bit, taking in the busy streets of High Lagaard, before Hibiki soon placed her hands on the railing.
"I pray that thither must be some way to rid myself of these terrible nightmares..." She sighed, resting her chin on her hand to continue seeing the people walk by her and Flavio. The survivalist turned and patted her back in assurance.
"I'm sure there must be something, Hibiki. You can bet that we'll help you find it." He chirped, placing his hand back on the railing he previously had it rest on.
The hooded girl couldn't help but continue to think about the nightmare she had. It wasn't something she wanted to think back upon, but given the fact she had nearly an entire week with nothing but nightmares, she feels as if there might be a bigger meaning than having it merely be a coincidence of her past memories coming back to haunt her.
"Thither must be some meaning to these nightmares I hast." Hibiki began, feeling Flavio's eyes gaze at her. "Hm? How so?"
Hibiki raised her head to face the Survivalist. "The first nightmare hadst me in a castle of sorts, running from the guards thither. Then, the second wast of the accursed abuse I suffered through." She discussed, starting to feel rather confident in explaining her nightmares to Flavio.
"The third wast seeing two boys taking mine lodging in the abuse, getting slapped or whipped. Fourth time wast all filled with nothing but a mysterious voice speaking to me. Then, the fifth time, a Hexer and two boys from mine third nightmare wast trying to flee..." Hibiki continued, as Flavio nodded in understanding.
"I'm not sure whether this must be a valorous or lacking valor sign of things to come. What doth thee bethink?" Flavio placed a hand on his chin, trying to think of what the common signs were in her nightmares.
The only remotely similar matching portion is the two boys Hibiki mentions, but even then, if what she said about them trying to think is true, it just adds to the whole confusion factor. "I'm not sure what to think of it." Flavio sighed. "Hard to really tell the upcoming events from dreams."
"Dreams art most mysterious, aren't they?" Hibiki sighed, shrugging her shoulders as she went back to observing the people nearby. "They sure are, Hibiki." Flavio responded, before hearing something bark at them, turning to see a blue wolf coming right at them.
"Whoa, that wolf's coming in fast! Hit the deck!" Flavio yelped, jumping over the railing and landing on the other side.
"Hm?" Hibiki turned to the sound of approaching footsteps, seeing the blue wolf Flavio spoke of. It slowly comes to a halt, panting as it stares at Hibiki, tilting its head.
Was... a beast just randomly running up to Hibiki for no reason? She knelt down to see the collar it wore. "Thou name is Tyro, eh?" Hibiki inquired upon seeing the name tag.
Tyro barks before sniffing her arm a couple of times, before licking it, startling Hibiki for a moment. Flavio looks over and sighs, as a smile forms on his face from seeing the wolf lick Hibiki's arm.
"I guess this Tyro seems to like you, Hibiki." Flavio hummed, walking his way back up to the inn's front porch. Hibiki was rather confused at the event happening before her. "But I don't recall owning a blue wolf-"
Tyro barked, interrupting Hibiki as it sat down, wagging its tail. Hibiki notices a envelope lodged between Tyro's fur and its collar, taking the envelope out from between the gap, opening it as she stood up. "Most peculiar..." She hummed, taking the paper out of the envelope.
"Or I guess it can be delivering something to you. Either works, I guess." Flavio shrugged, scratching the back of his head as leaned against the wall.
The paper held in her hand was a rather basic sketch of what Hibiki looked like. Was it from someone she knew? Nobody else knew about a Forest Folk in High Lagaard, so that wasn't possible...
She noticed something out of the corner of her eye... Writing. It was a lot tinier compared to the sketch, but she went through the effort to try and read it anyways.
"To whomever it may concern," Hibiki began to read the writing, as Flavio to her in curiosity, walking over to her and started to see if he can see the tiny writing that was printed on the paper. "Me and my brother are looking for this woman who is likely around High Lagaard. As of the delivery of this message, we have escaped from a castle near High Lagaard, and are awaiting news of seeing our sister. Hell, we might be able to see her if we're lucky."
Hibiki's eyes soon caught of the writer of the message, gasping in surprise. "It can't be..." Flavio looked at her, a little lost on trying to read the tiny message. "If what this writing sayeth is true, then I might see those two after all!" Hibiki pondered, placing the paper in her pocket as she turned to Tyro and knelt to its height, placing a hand on its head.
"Does thou knoweth whither those gents might be in High Lagaard, Tyro? I asketh that thou must taketh me to those men!" Hibiki declared, removing her hand from the wolf's head as it begins to sniff around, catching on to their scent rather quick. Tyro barks, and begins to make its way towards its destination, as Hibiki soon follows the blue wolf.
Flavio gasps in surprise, rather astonished to see the Forest Folk blindly follow the wolf. "Where are you going? Hibiki!" Despite Flavio trying to call out to her, Hibiki ignored the survivalists' call to her, letting out a sigh as he scratched his head.
"Ugh... Well, so much for wanting to get to know her a bit better. I suppose it's better to follow along, just to be sure she stays safe." Flavio mumbled to himself, thankful he brought his bow and arrows to be on the safe side. He soon begins to follow Hibiki and Tyro, unsure where they might be going in High Lagaard.
But he's sure they'll be fine. After all, if they happen to run into Korey, all the better... Maybe even running into the man who made the letter, if they're lucky enough.