Belluisi

The Key Points to Belluisi:

--East Hi'Dan, Parya Sorn
Eastern Hi'Dan is a town that was once known as just "Hi'Dan," but another town was discovered in another country that had the same name.  History revealed that the two towns shared a traveling founder that was perhaps too lazy or too vain to name the towns by anything other than his last name.  As such, the two towns compromised and changed both of their names while keeping the founder's name within them.  The town is smaller than most, but houses many refinery workers and Force Users that only train within reservations.  They are very friendly and welcoming of tourists and travelers alike.

Parya Sorn is a town that is a mystery of its own, both in origin and in its odd name.  In fact, this town existed long before the country of Belluisi was ever established.  During country claiming and negotiation was underway, Parya Sorn was discovered as an abandoned town, empty save odd and small agricultural and architectural remains.  When Belluisi bought the land where the town stood, many moved in--those that were brave enough to enter the "ghost town."  It has ever since been the home of many Force Users and fishers, and is not as small as its Eastern neighboring town.

--Reservations/Refineries
The Reservations and Refineries of Belluisi are efficient, strictly run, and organized.  In fact, the country somewhat almost has more security in these locations than they do in their towns.  However, the security does not rival that of the the cities of Belluisi at all.

--Lots of villages/Land
Belluisi has much land--more so than most countries.  As such, many people have spread out about the land, creating many villages that are small, but homely.  However, the villages here are much less welcoming than the towns of Belluisi, as the smaller communities are not accustomed to travelers, relying heavily upon their own small farms and the people that they know so well for comfort and trust.

**Nick DeRamsey enters Belluisi from City: Ilkairteon.**

[Attn: Closed]

A knock at his door startled Nick awake. He scrambled to his feet, and pulled the cabin's shutter door open. A young woman wearing the grey/blue uniform of the railroad smiled at him.

"Whut esh chit?" He eloquently inquired as the smell of coffee drifted into the room.

"Hello sir! I'm so sorry to disturb you. But would you like anything to eat?" She motioned to a large metal cart parked in the hallway beside her. Its cabinets stocked with foodstuffs and beverages.

"uuuurrr  MmMmm" Nick rubbed his eyes and surveyed the contents of the cart before grabbing a sandwich, a muffin, and a large thermos of coffee. He handed the young woman enough coin to cover the listed price of the items, and a respectable tip. She widened her smile to lengths Nick had thought impossible.

"Thank you very much sir! Please enjoy the remainder of your trip, and let us know if we can be of any assistance." She gave him a polite curtsy and continued pushing the cart down the car.

"Mmhhhmm" Nick grunted as he furiously tore open the packaging around the muffin. He paused as a thought struck him, and he pushed his head out into the hallway.

"Um, miss?" She stopped and turned to him with a questioning look. "How long until we get to the Grenula Reservation stop?"

She pondered this for a moment, before smiling and replying, "The station which would be the nearest stop on our route should still be a few hours away. Was there anything else sir?"

"Uh, no... Thanks" She turned back to her cart and knocked at the next cabin down.

Nick slid the door closed, and proceeded to eat. Once the caffeine had worked its wonderful magic and cleared the last remains of sleep from his head he pulled one of the broken Ether sensors from where he had stashed his luggage in the cabin's overhead. Unrolling a small pocket toolkit, he began the repair work.


It was just past dusk when the train pulled along side a long wooden platform, and the conductor called out the stop. Nick gathered up his belongings and disembarked. Steam spilled from the train and  swept across the ground in an almost eerie vista as the locomotive strained to coerce its load into motion. Its shrieks and moans transitioned into a steady beat as it gained traction, and the train quickly chugged off into the night, leaving Nick standing alone. The station, little more than a loading deck with a small building that stood in for an office, was quiet and dark, lit only by a single streetlight. Farmland surrounded the location on all sides, only broken by a narrow dirt road which meandered between fields before sauntering by the station. The cloud of steam dissipated, and Nick began to feel the chill of the night air.

"Well, here we are," Nick muttered as he pulled his long leather coat tight around him.

Where was his ride? He had phoned ahead to inform them of the schedule change, they should've known to meet him. The train's departure had swathed the land in silence, its bluster quieting the local wildlife. However, its noise now gone, the sounds of the country rose up around Nick. Insects, night birds, and all manner of beast added their cries to the night. Reports and images of fierce creatures, twisted by generations of exposure to Ether, sprung to Nick's mind. He regretted not purchasing a replacement for his rifle.

Shouldering his pack, and grabbing the handle of his trunk, he lugged his gear down the steps from the platform. He quickly turned to face every new sound he heard, waiting for some nightmare fueled predator to lunge from the darkness. He edged his way to the small ring of light below the streetlamp, wondering if it would simply make him an easier target. Where the devil was that ride?

Something rustled below the platform, and a figure sprang from the dark towards Nick. He tried to scream, but his breath had left him. All he managed was to throw his arms up to protect his face from the claws and fangs. Something soft and warm slithered around his ankles, emanating a quiet rumble. He tried to leap away, but between his panic and his injuries he fell, and quickly skittered on his back into the light cast by the lamp. His attacker pursued him into the light. It walked up beside him, sat down, and licked it's grey and brown paw.

"Miaow?"

"Oh good heavens!"

Nick's head fell to the ground and his body relaxed as it absorbed the shock and adrenaline. He lay there breathing heavily for a few moments, before rolling over and extending his hand to the cat. It cautiously sniffed at his fingers for a moment, before it casually sunk its teeth into his knuckle. Nick yanked his hand back, as the feline fled back into the bushes.

Angry, cold, and sore, Nick pulled himself to his feet while rubbing his hand and muttering. "Well same to you! Next time I'll bring a dog..."

Glaring after the cat, he noticed a pickup truck sitting in the small lot that serviced the station, previously obscured by the building. Riding the adrenaline, he stalked straight up to the vehicle, and rapped on the window. Inside something stirred, and after a moment the window began rolling down. A boy on the tail end of adolescence rubbed his eyes, clearly having just been roused from sleep.

"Yeh?" Murmured the boy.

"Hello. Waiting on someone?" Sarcasm and irritation dripped from Nick's voice.

"Oh, uh, right!" The young man scrambled around in the cab for a moment, before finally retrieving a small poster with the words 'Dr. DeRamsey' scrawled upon it.

"Ummm..." He held it up as if a question, a matching grin carrying awkward uncertainty on his face. Nick hiked an eyebrow at him then turned and pointedly looked around the empty station.

"Do you see anyone else?" Nick sighed, pulled off his glasses and cleaned them on a handkerchief.

"Oh, um... Right sir! Sorry, it's just that there are quite a few trains that run from Ilkairteon and Eastern Hi'Dan. Most of 'em stop for a bit. Not many people get off. So I was just err... restin' my eyes for a bit. Here let me get your luggage!" The boy eagerly hopped out of the truck.

"No no, that's alright. I've only just got the trunk and pack." Nick hefted the pack into the bed of the pickup, but pain shot through his side as he struggled to lift the trunk.

"Hey! Don't hurt yourself man! My Dad told me you said on the phone you'd been hurt." He pulled the trunk out of Nick's hands and set it in the truck. In the motion the arm of his coat had been brushed back to reveal a metallic bracelet on the boy's wrist. A small green light blinked to indicate the device's status.

Eyeing the Ether meter, Nick sighed and massaged his side. "Thank you."

"Aw it's no problem. Come on, get in. We still got a couple hours drive to the reservation."

"Alright then." Nick climbed into the passenger's seat of the truck and nodded to the young man. The kid grinned at him, started the truck, and pulled out onto the dirt road.

**Sakura enters Belluisi from City: Ilkairteon.**

Open

Sakura had ridden for what felt like hours on the train. She had searched the train for Nick, but apparently he was either on the train before him or after him. The police hadn’t said anything about whether or not if he had been released. She takes her seat on the train and closes her eyes. She doesn’t sleep but listens to her surroundings.

When the train stops Sakura looks up. She had finally fallen asleep sometime during the trip. She gets up as they call her stop out. She gets her bag and steps off the train onto the wooden platform. She looks around and instantly eyes are on her. She looks around and walks over to the window to ask a few questions.

“So, do you know this person?” she asked holding out picture of the force user from the other day.

“No, never seen him before in my life. Why you askin for?” the man at the window asked.

”No reason, just lookin for him. If you see him or know him, let me know. I’ll be back this way.” Sakura said as he tacked up a picture of the man with information to contact the police of Ilkairteon. She then walks back to the man and asks him if he knew Carl Fairfax, the man that had died in the city. He nodded his head.

“Yea he has been in and out of here for a few years now. Goes from the reservation that’s a few miles out to Ilkairateon every now and again.” He said.

”Thanks, that’s all I need to know.” Sakura said as she left the train station. Unless she could get a ride out to the reservation, she would have to walk. She sighed as she thought about that. That could take another day if she did that. At least if she got a ride out there she could get there tonight. The faster she could get around and start asking questions the better. If she couldn’t do it in time they would take the case from her and the city and that could be bad. She begins to look for a ride. As she does she begins to ask about Carl and his daughter. The first few people doesn’t give her any information other than the fact that a bus would be going out there in an hour or two that she could purchase a ticket. She does so and continues to look and ask questions.

Sakura talks with a few people who inform her that Carl only had one daughter and had not recently went missing, but had indeed been missing for years. She found this rather odd and began to try to ask more questions. No one would answer her questions though about the girl though. Seems she would have to ask more questions down at the reservation. Maybe they could or would tell her more. Two hours later, she was on the bus going to the reservation.