



Swagnus woke in a sweat. The beads dripped down his face to his nose, where they jumped off onto his bed sheets. Why was he so afraid? What had caused him to wake with such freight? He tasted the air, it was stale. "Why must it always be like this," he asked himself. Twice before had this happened. The atmosphere grew dense around him and he lay awake looking at the ceiling. What could be about to happen? He wasn't sure. * The Ketamine Express pulled into the station, the platform read New Valkyria Station. It was an old establishment, many knew of the city. Many avoided it or anything to do with it, but the rail made its way through here and Swagnus had no other option than to stop by. Besides, he was meeting a few old friends of his. The bell rang when he opened the door to the diner. Small. So small. He thought this place had enough room to store the ambitions of an orphaned child. That was beyond the point. Behind the counter stood a tall lanky man with short black hair, he spoke out to Swagnus. "What the hell are you doing here." he questioned. "Hello there old friend," Swagnus replied. SyotosGreen was the man. Him and Swagnus went back many years. They had a few run-ins every now and then but none since Syotos quit the workforce to open up a small restaurant. "I hear they promoted you from Sergeant to detective," Syotos said. "Yea, I moved around and worked my way up," Swagnus replied. "Some call you The Great Diorite Detective." "Well I'm good at what I do but I hate that name with a passion. I don't see why I'm defined by that one case that got me this job." It was six years ago, Syotos had just left for New Valkyria when Swagnus took up a job working for a man named AtomicSquid. It was rather a simple job, someone had broken into and stolen all of his diorite. That might not seem much to deal with, except a whole mountain of diorite disappeared overnight. Swagnus had gained so much renown when he found the thief, a man who went by the name of JJ. Since that day Swagnus took up any case he could get. He was the most clever detective in the continent, crowds would cheer when he came to help solve their mysteries, and he would flash them a large welcoming smile. "So what brings you to New Valk?" "I was on the train on my way to Ketamine and I figured I'd get off the train here and see you." "There's a lot of work I hear in Ketamine, but I don't know if I could leave my restaurant behind to open one there. I have too much invested here." "Why don't you come join me again. We can work together again just like the good ol' days." Syotos stared at him. This was an offer he could refuse, but it was good enough to accept. He looked Swagnus up and down. What a funny little Norwegian, he thought. "Give me one minute," he said before disappearing to the back. When Syotos re-emerged from the back he had new clothes on and a suitcase in one hand. "Well don't just stand there. Lets go," Syotos smiled with those last words. * Back at the train station people were waiting to board, and many new faces were surrounding Swagnus and Syotos. People from all walks of life still seemed to show up at New Valkyria. Many groups seemed to be waiting to jump onto the Unity Express with Swagnus and Syotos. However, they weren't looking forward to the diverse interactions they knew would take place aboard.