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Post by Razgat on Dec 18, 2011 22:42:37 GMT -5
A flicker of light came from the corner of Deyanira's left eye. Instinct seemed to kick in the instant she knew she was in trouble. Though she was oblivious and air headed, she had moments where she had all the control. All she needed was a little blood....
She could still feel the blood dripping from her nose. She raised her hand to cover her nostril, contemplating on drawing it out. She glanced around at the large group of soldiers surrounding her. As far as she knew, they has no actual proof that she was a blood mage or necromancer. In fact, she was pretty sure they only thought she was the latter. The small bit of blood she had wasn't worth exposing herself. If she had more, she could knock the soldiers down and harvest them in a flash, but with her nosebleed, it would only be enough for a whip, and it would take energy. She would have to recover afterwards.
She decided it wasn't worth it.
"Alrighty, mister. Since you look so curious to me, I think I'll just have to tag along until I know who you are!" She pointed right Nathanial. In her oblivious stupor, she may have missed the part where they were arresting her.
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Post by Mizagium on Dec 18, 2011 23:03:31 GMT -5
Valendis hadn't thought anyone would notice him leaving, but then he saw the unconscious Wallace and the shattered diamond ("SHINY!" Raefe shouted and bounded after them) he revised his thinking.
"Yes, Lenore?"
~~~~~
The Specter shrugged. "Yeah, getting arrested isn't my style." Then sort of just walked away and vanished.
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Post by Monika on Dec 18, 2011 23:20:45 GMT -5
"You will pardon me if I assume too much, please," Lenore began, determined to retain as many group members as possible. "But I believe it would be in your best interest to stay with the rest of us." Not wanting to sound arrogant by any means, she hastily added "Both of our best interests, actually. If you plan on going on a lengthy journey to search for a book that may or may not exist, you should take all of the support you can find. And who knows? If this tome does exist, it may be of use to me as well. We summoners should stick together, right?"
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Post by Myrdraxxis on Dec 18, 2011 23:20:58 GMT -5
"Alright...I guess you're under arrest too then." Faust said, scratching his chin in confusion. Technically everyone here was...He sighed and shook his head. They had wasted too much time as it was. "Everyone on the ship now!" he barked.
The troopers guided their new prisoners onto the ship, Kasser eyeing the necromancer's dog warily as he went. Faust was the last to board. He paused to glance back at the Nostian castle one last time, sweeping his gaze across the snow-covered Keep before stepping into the airship.
The second he'd left the ground behind the ship touched off, rising up through the heavy falling snow.
Nathaniel stepped onto the bridge, ignoring most of the crew as they guided the vessel through the air. "Captain." he said.
Captain Dariel Corvinus was a man that had seen his share of fighting in his day. He was middle-aged, though the lines on his face and the scars that crossed it gave him an older and worn look. Nathaniel had known the man for years now, and trusted his life with the man. "Mi'lord." Captain Corvinus nodded, his attention more focused out of viewport of ship watching the weather. "Good hunting I take it?" he asked, his voice a gravelly bass that gave off gruff persona.
"Very good. Our mission is complete....and we picked up a few prisoners to take home."
"Oh goody, souvenirs." Dariel's mouth twisted into a grin. Nathaniel smirked.
"How soon can we be back to Helgras?" he asked. Corvinas hummed thoughtfully.
"The snow has picked up since we arrived, and rising above the cloudline will expend more fuel...I'd say about a day or two at most."
Nathaniel nodded, considering it. "Very well. I'll be in my quarters if you need me."
"Very good sir." With that Nathaniel turned and returned to his quarters, which rested near the front of the ship. His room wasn't spartan, but it wasn't as luxurious as some of the other Hunters' that Nathaniel had seen. He believed in efficiency over flair. Maps and read-outs decorated the walls, his personal belongings were stored in the footlocker by his cot.
Nathaniel sank into the small chair at his desk and sighed as he set his sidearm down on the desk. Truth be told, he was getting a bit tired. He'd conducted so many assignments recently that he was starting to live in this cabin more than his quarters back in the capital. Not that he minded overly much.
For the first time since landing he had time to just sit and think. He ran the mission events over in his mind again. There were things about this operation that puzzled him. The Necromancers had been fairly organized, which meant they were used to working with one another which in and of itself was odd. Their leader....he was what cause Nathaniel the most trouble.
Apophis
The name froze in Nathaniel's mind. Something about it...there was something wrong with that man.
"I sense much in you. Even the blood of the Ancestors"
Nathaniel tried to make sense of it. The Ancestors? Who were they? Nathaniel reluctantly let the subject drop. He would consult with the historians when they reached Helgras.
His mind turned to the prisoners in the brig. One was obviously a necromancer, the skeletal hound at his feet was proof enough. But the other one...the girl. He was more concerned about her than he'd let on. The fact that she was right; the two looked damn near identical. Nathaniel had never had any siblings growing up in Helgras, but his family had immigrated from Ossen. Perhaps...
Nathaniel snorted and shook his head. It was a stupid thought.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Veraask caught up to Valendis with surprising speed, given his long robes and shuffling gait. "Wait!" he squawked. "I...well, I have much I need to discuss with you. Yes, much to discuss. Might I accompany you?" he asked a bit forcefully, making sure his tone left no room for disagreement.
He wasn't a rude person by any means, but Veraask needed all the help he could get. There was trouble on the horizon and he couldn't afford to be delayed. "I can offer help with whatever you seek in Kyros. I myself and heading to the city, yes." he nodded rapidly, his hood falling down over his eyes. "I am a very accomplished Sorcerer." he said proudly. "Led many to madness and death with my spells." well, it was true.
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Post by Mizagium on Dec 18, 2011 23:44:36 GMT -5
Inwardly sighing, Valendis had no choice. "Ok, I would...love to have help in finding this lost tome of summoning. Lenore, you're right, there are too few of us left in the world." He gave Veraask a look like he was going to say something, closed his mouth, nodded and beckoned them as he walked away.
~~~~~
Specter materialized onboard the airship, ourside the brig where the prisoners were held.
"How's it going?" he asked a little too casually.
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Post by Damien on Dec 19, 2011 13:15:34 GMT -5
Sorin calmed himself back to his whimsical state and trotted after the group.
Izaak, knowing full well that he couldn't just leave Sorin alone with these people, said, "I'll go with you as well. I'd love to be able to hone my skills, and a venture such as this is just what I need to do that." He got closer to Valendis and whispered, "Also, my conscience would never let me leave that psychopath with you all since he's my burden to bear anyway."
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Post by Razgat on Dec 19, 2011 14:51:45 GMT -5
After being lured into the brig with the random boy she had encountered, and his dog, Deyanira had propped herself up against one of the walls with her arms crossed. She wondered what her parents would think when she didn't come home. It might seem ridiculous that she was in her 20's and still lived at home, but in these lands, it really made more sense to stay then to leave. Most people lived in tribes, or at least with more than three people, and others were old enough to know how to survive on their own. Deyanira was no where near skilled enough to try and survive on her own. She'd have to do all the hunting and gathering and trying not to get killed. The latter could be coming sooner than she thought.
Her hand drifted to the knife she kept strapped on her leg. If she really wanted to, she could cut her arm and try to use the blood to knock down the door, but she was small, and she doubted they skimped out on making sure the door could hold powerful Necromancers and Blood Mages. She was sure bigger people than her, ones with peons to draw from, couldn't get out, or perhaps they were restrained. She didn't have enough blood in her anyway.
She perked up at the sound of Specter's voice. "Oh, it's you! I'm just kind of, you know, leaning around, but I'd really like to get out and wander around, if you could help!"
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Post by Mizagium on Dec 19, 2011 15:08:40 GMT -5
"No problem, little Missy, The Specter is here for your rescue." He made a show of bowing. "Lockpicking happens to be something of a specialty of the Specter, so let me just..."
His lockpick fumbled around inside the keyhole for a few minutes, but just couldn't seem to get the tumblers up. "Obviously, there's some magic at work here, so how about..."
He began calling on a few incantations, summoning glyphs and runes to help him, but to no avail.
"Not to worry, now," he assured the captives. "Vaerian Magic Seals are tricky business." Then he had a thought. "Stand clear please."
He backed up, and tucked away his lockpick and banished the magic. After sizing up the distance, he ran and drop kicked the door. Full-horizontal.
It held. The Specter crashed to floor in a heap as the wind was knocked from his lungs. "Had to try..." he wheezed. When he finally collected himself, he managed to get back on his feet, dust himself off, and act like nothing had happened.
"I'll be right back." He vanished from the room. From within the brig, the captives heard the guard "And just who the hell are you?" before "HYAH!" and then the unmistakeable thud of a man hitting the floor. A few seconds later, the door swung open and The Specter reappeared, dragging the unconscious guard with him.
"I took his key," he explained as he opened the cell door. "Not smart of them to give guards the keys to the cells they guard. what if someone like me appears? Honestly."
After a few minutes, the two prisoners were free and the guard was now tied up and gagged and imprisoned.
"Well, then, shall we explore?"
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Post by Razgat on Dec 19, 2011 15:22:36 GMT -5
Deyanira wandered out of the cell, her eyes glazing over the hallway they were in. "You know, there's someone in here I'd like to visit. So if you don't mind, I think I'll go find him."
She gave a cheerful smile and wave before wandering off, having no idea where she was going. She figured she'd find that boy eventually.
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Post by Monika on Dec 19, 2011 15:28:25 GMT -5
"Hey, wait for me!" Kazan came running after the group, only tripping half a dozen times before catching up.
Paying him no mind, Lenore called Ixion up to her and whispered something into one of its heads. Nodding, the massive dragon disappeared in a bright flash of light, leaving nothing but sand where it once stood.
"I hope you don't mind if I banish Ixion," she told the group, not that they had much of a choice anyway. "If Wallace's appearance is any indication, we've attracted enough attention already. It might just be safer to journey by foot for the time being."
"Awwwwwwww..." Kazan muttered. "I hate walking."
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Post by Mizagium on Dec 19, 2011 15:32:02 GMT -5
You're telling me. I was hopping to get in and out without attracting ANY attention...
Valendis surveyed the group. "Um, ok, everyone, follow me to the library."
"You really know how to have a good time," Raefe snarked. Jorsin hushed her and she turned her nose up and them both.
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Post by Myrdraxxis on Dec 19, 2011 16:42:32 GMT -5
"I know where the library is!" Veraask said happily. "Been there, yes. I was actually there before coming here actually." He had been hoping to hunt down some information on his hidden enemies, but to no avail. Time and war had erased almost all knowledge of the old times. The only places left that Veraask could think of that would have it were the old Morah Academy in Altinor or in one of the old Hidden Cities of his own people.
Neither option looked very promising. Altinor had been closed off for years, and getting information from a fellow sorcerer was highly unlikely. Arkarris magi guarded their secrets furiously and asking for aid from others was considered a sign of weakness. It wasn't a good idea.
Veraask shook his head. "The Library is in the Upper District." He pointed to the, quite literally, Upper District, which hovered like a ceiling of platforms and bridges above lower Kyros. "There's a shuttle station nearby. I'll show you." Veraask took the lead, walking down the street into a crowded marketplace. He took a couple for turns and found a large platform with an airship docked, people getting on and off the shuttle.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A knock at Nathaniel's door snapped him back into awareness. "Enter." he said, sitting upright in his chair. The door opened and Faust stepped inside, followed by Nathaniel's silent Xiolinese guardian Xing. Both looked rather embarrassed. Nathanial raised an eyebrow.
"Er, sir.." Faust began. "The ah..the prisoners seemed to have escaped." he said. Nathanial's brow furrowed as he leaned forward.
"...what?"
"The guard was found locked in the cell, says he was knocked out by some stranger. Didn't get a good look at him though."
Nathaniel sighed, shaking his head. "Well go look for them. They can't get far, we're in an airship in the middle of the air. They can't escape."
"Yes sir." Faust said stiffly, saluting. He and Xing left, eager to hunt down the escapees. Nathaniel leaned back in his chair, groaning softly. He didn't know what the necromancer planned to accomplish by this, but the girl....no, surely not...
Nathaniel walked over to the door and snapped to lock shut. Just in case.
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Post by Razgat on Dec 19, 2011 17:05:45 GMT -5
Deyanira slowly walked through the corridors, ducking into random rooms to see what was inside. Most of them were closets or storage as far as she could tell, or empty quarters. Their owners were probably out. "Hmmmm...I wonder where my boy is? I'm sure he's somewhere around here...."
Deyanira ducked into a closet as she heard voices. They sounded like they were coming from around the corner.
"...They can't escape."
The boy's voice! He must be around there. Deyanira came out of the closet and let part of her head slip around the corner to look. She saw two of the guards she recognized before come out of a room. It shut behind them and was followed by a locking noise. "Rats!" She whispered to herself. She didn't want the guards to hear her.
She waited until she saw that they were far enough away and slinked on up to the door. "Hm..." she thought to herself, "I've never picked a lock before, and I can't knock it down. That would be too much noise. Maybe I could just knock?"
Deyanira cleared her throat and knocked on the door. She lowered her voice in an attempt to make it sound like a man's. *cough* "Sir, urgent news, sir."
Really, her voice just sounded silly, but maybe it would at least get him to open the door. She could at least push herself in after that.
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Post by Myrdraxxis on Dec 19, 2011 22:10:37 GMT -5
Nathaniel stared at the door, at the person on the other side. He could honestly say that was the second worst voice disguise he'd ever heard. Nathaniel had trained for years to be alert and pay attention to detail, and as such he could memorize dozens of personal features with only a brief encounter with someone. Like, say, the sound of their voice.
He slowly undid the lock, frowning. Well, he could let her continue to run around the ship, distracting the crew from their tasks, or end this now. He returned to his seat, his right hand resting on the pistol on his desk. He didn't pick it up. Not yet.
"Enter."
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Post by Razgat on Dec 19, 2011 22:22:04 GMT -5
A giant smile spread across Deyanira's face as she heard him let her in. "It worked!" She cheered to herself.
She pushed the door open and stepped inside, shutting the door behind her. "There you are! I wasn't finished talking to you yet! Did you really think you could just arrest me in the middle of our conversation? How rude."
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Post by Mizagium on Dec 19, 2011 23:02:06 GMT -5
Valendis followed the enigmatic bird man onto the shuttle. "Well, Mister...bird man, you say you've been the Kyros Library before. Have you ever come across a tome of summoning magic?"
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Post by Sariel of Tevet on Dec 20, 2011 0:58:18 GMT -5
"Umm...well...", Roluo wanted to answer the Specter, but paused to think of a way to put a bit of distance between them. Specter did scare the shit out of him after all.
"I was kind of hoping to find a chronomancer here. If they hate Necromancers so much maybe they have other types of mages held captive here as well or wherever they are taking us. So, I thought I would go explore on my own."
Roluo stared at the Specter for a moment, and the man gave him no response. He just sort of, stared back without emotion. Roluo wasn't sure if it was because the Specter just could care less about what he did, or if the man was trying to intimidate him with the stalwart and unshakable stare. Either way, Roluo trembled a bit and was tempted to grab his dog and run, but instead he stood his ground to look tough and secretly checked to see if he had accidentally peed himself a little out of fear. He then knelt down and patted Liulfr on the head affectionately.
"Well boy, I need to be a little sneaky for now. You and I both know you aggro the fuck out of everything, or do I need to remind you about the time you almost had that platypus bear murder me when you were still alive? You're lucky that Ádhamh's father wrestled bears in his school days or else you wouldn't have had an owner anymore."
Liulfr bowed his head and whimpered, he knew exactly what Roluo was thinking because of the link between them from the summon.
"It's ok I made it out alright. We've had a lot worse happen, but for now I'm just gonna call you back. After all I need to be as alert as I can and you have been out a while now, it's starting to drain me a little. I'll see you in a bit. NUTU MAGISTRI SE RESOLVERE!!!"
Liulfr's canine form turned into a bright light and soon faded into the bones from which he was summoned. Roluo calmly gathered them up and placed them back into his satchel. He then ran off, into a random direction and hoped the Specter didn't follow him. I still cant believe he couldn't kick that door down. I bet he wasn't even trying..
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So I hear they are just gonna leave that poor old bastard alone now. They say it's too much bad publicity for Vaer's higher ups to see him go to an asylum."
Two guards were seated at a table in the maintenance room trying to sneak in a quick smoke break during their patrol.
"That's such a shame to hear though still, so what actually DID happen Brian?"
Brian laughed and almost let the lit cigarette fall out of his mouth. "You really don't get out much do you Dennis? That wife of yours must be a real dictator, either that or you have a damn good reason to keep couped up at that house of yours when you're off duty."
"Hey! Watch it man. Just tell me what I missed."
"Alright, alright fine I'm just busting your balls a little. I don't even know the man's name at all or what his rank used to be. The government won't allow his name to come out for fear of what the people may do. Especially the older ones. Guy used to be a big shot back in the day, some kind of war hero I think. Hell I don't know. What I do know though is that the news has started calling him 'Father Time'. Can you believe that shit? Father Time. They couldn't get more creative than that? It's as if the jerkoff who came up with that was trying to write a news story and watch tv at the same time. Those pricks really don't take their jobs seriously. Just sit up in their rooms all day and write stories and get paid. While we are out here day after day working our asses off and doing all the..."
"Uh...Brian. Not this again. Just get on with the god damn story alright?"
"Sorry...I get sidetracked. Anyway, Father Time over there used to be some big shot before we were even born. He's been retired for decades now, probably almost in his nineties. One day a couple of years ago though he just kind of went off the grid. They went searching for him a few weeks ago because they wanted to give him some "Mage Hunting" award and heard no reply. When they found him a week ago he was held up in some farm about ten miles from the capital. They didn't even believe it was him until they found his ID card. I heard a rumor he was pacing in circles and rambling in some ancient language. No one could understand what he was saying. There were writings in chalk all over the walls and floors, and a giant circle on the ground drawn out in sand with scribbles all in it. There were plants and animals all over the place. The animals were all dead but the plants...they...well they say the plants had all been potted at the same time, but some were older than others. It just doesn't make sense. That's why they call him Father Time. One of the greatest military heros of the century just woke up one day spouting nonsense and disappeared into a whole in the wall shack and is playing with plants and circles? They say he might be a..."
"Chronomancer....", Roluo whispered from the shadows across the hall. I need to stay on this ship. Father Time, what kind of lazy asshole comes up with a nickname like that.
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Post by Monika on Dec 20, 2011 1:03:57 GMT -5
Lenore and Kazan quickly boarded the airship after Valendis and Veraask, Kazan making no effort to act interested.
"Bah, summoning tomes!" he yawned, stretching ridiculously. "Why are we going through all this trouble just for a book? Don't we already have a book we could be learning from?" Kazan motioned toward Lenore, who was holding the cult's Book at her side.
"Silence, Kazan! It's something you wouldn't understand..." Lenore replied, not even bothering with an explanation. Kind of like an inside joke known only to summoners, she reasoned.
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Post by Damien on Dec 20, 2011 8:15:55 GMT -5
"The same reason I would, Kazan," said Izaak. "Any tome we find within that library has a chance to hold an incantation or spell that we could use to increase our abilities. You might even find one that will increase yours."
"I needn't even look for one," said Sorin. "I've already mastered all there is to know of shadow magic save for the esoterica known only to the shades. That, my friends, would require me to travel to the Darkened Isles and tearing the knowledge from them, but I'd much rather stay with this group! It's good to have friends!"
"Dear gods," groaned Izaak, "please, strike him down now and rid us of this affliction!"
With no response, he decided one of three things had happened: no gods existed, they loved Sorin too much to kill him, or they had a very sick and twisted sense of humor...
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Post by Myrdraxxis on Dec 21, 2011 0:09:32 GMT -5
Nathaniel stared at the girl, Deyanira he believed she had said her name was, trying to wrap his mind around how quickly this situation had gotten ridiculous. "I....what?" he managed. The Mage Hunter shook his head.
"Look, I have no idea who you are. In fact, I'm not sure why you're even on board this ship as I distinctly remember arresting the boy necromancer but I'll get back to that. The real fact I should be bringing up here is that you are currently an escaped prisoner." now he picked up his pistol.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I have not seen any tomes on Summoning magic, I'm afraid." Veraaskk said, settling down into a seat as the shuttle airship hummed to life and lifted off. From the windows Veraask could see the lower city of Kyros disappear below them as they rose up through the air. "Though I was not looking very hard for such things, as my own magic has little to do with such things outside of daemonology." he said. "Though I imagine there must be one somewhere. Kyros has the best library in the world." he nodded assuredly. Then he cocked his avian head to the side curiously.
"Or so I'm told."
Veraask felt the ship slow to a stop, finished with it's ascent. The doors opened and the passengers began to file out into Kyros' upper district. Veraask followed, motioning for hte others to follow. He stepped out onto the shuttle platform and squinted at the suddenly blinding sun.
The Upper District of Kyros was home to some of Arcia's wealthiest families and most prestigious figures; Magi, politicians, scholars and the like. The Upper city reflected that with its opulent design, high soaring arches and towers, large white-stoned manses and lush parks, large blue and gold-painted pyramids that housed colleges and institutes, and the Senate House that rose above the rest as a tall grand monolith that presided over the entire district. All of this rested on tiers of hovering platforms and terraces connected by wide bridges and catwalks, providing passage from one of the vast platforms to the next. The City seemed to glow as the sun reflected off of the city's white-stoned architecture, which contributed to the city's namesake as the City of Light.
Veraask paused to take it all in. It was truly an astounding place. His race had built its share of grand cities, some even larger than Kyros, but none that really gave the same feeling as the human-built city. Arkarris cities were dark places full of secrets and forgotten darkness. To see something so completely opposite filled Veraask with wonder.
His eyes drifted to the large pyramid (larger than the others) that rose up in the distance. "The Grand Library is this way." He pointed. "Two tiers east of here." the arkarris said and set out, ignoring the Arcian citizens that gawked at him as he passed.
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