Tikobe
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| Joined: 12 Aug 2011 |
| Total Posts: 6366 |
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| 01 Jan 2015 06:55 PM |
The Ring... It's not a bad place. With the fame and fortunes of the Eir'Edal Collective, however, one would've thought that the place would be a little more beautiful as the district of the most influential, albeit far from powerful, magic guild in the kingdom. But Lezern's Ring was a place made of dull grey stone bricks with dirt roads and horribly made wooden houses. The only thing in decent condition was the training grounds, where a big mansion for the archmage was built upon, where he, out of a "good will" that usually involved gold, allowed apprentices to practice combat magics for mages to bolster the king's army.
Political ambiguity aside, it wasn't a bad place. Certainly not the studious academies that were typical of a magic guild, but one learns all the same from here.
That being said, just hours before a ceremony allowing you to come out of your apprenticeship, you find yourself hearing a knocking outside the door of your special, "free" Eir'Edal home in the Ring. |
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MrStilts
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| Joined: 07 Nov 2012 |
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| 02 Jan 2015 02:07 AM |
Today, things were looking up for Ranad Dymoda. The ceremony that would conclude his apprentice training and initiate him as the fully fledged professor the guild deserved (and maybe get him some better living conditions), was just a few short hours away. Just as he was getting ready, the knocking on the door draws his attention. Any harder and that shoddy piece of "craftsmanship" might just fall off it's hinges, Ranad thought to himself.
He finishes putting on his best robes and answers the door. |
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Tikobe
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| Joined: 12 Aug 2011 |
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| 02 Jan 2015 12:34 PM |
Ass you open the door you see a man named Incus. He's a simple man, small, plump with a monk's hairstyle complimented by many grays, but he's to be respected as he is the assistant of the archmage himself.
He nods to you, and says, "The Archmage Urantes desires your immediate presence in his office in the central mansion of the Ring, where the training grounds are. I am not suppose to tell you anything as he requested. Oh dear, I'm repeating what he told me now... Pardon that last phrase, please, sir." |
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MrStilts
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| Joined: 07 Nov 2012 |
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| 02 Jan 2015 06:25 PM |
"Aye, it's alright. I won't tell the Archmage on ya. Although, I'd be lyin' if I said I weren't curious as to why he'd be summonin' me over." And on his graduation day, of all days. Maybe it's not so bad, could be the rich blighter is just calling to congratulate him in person, Ranad thought.
"Alright, I'll go see him in his quarters," he tells Incus, before making his way to the Archmage's mansion. |
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Tikobe
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| Joined: 12 Aug 2011 |
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| 02 Jan 2015 07:59 PM |
As you get to the mansion, you see a lot of discouraged people around it. Something bad must've happened. The entirety of the Ring shouldn't be like this.
That being said, Incus usually isn't that much of an oaf...
You enter the lobby of the mansion. It's a room lit by a dim, ethereal blue coming from the Globe. The Globe is a massive orb that shows dots of intense magical power. It was instrumental in the hunt for the dragonmen over fifty years ago, and was specifically designed for that purpose. On it you can see all of the continents, the kingdoms, and multiple green dots. Albeit, none of these dots are dragonmen but dragons. You heard stories from the Archmage when he was only in his 20's how there were yellow dots all over, those yellow being the dragonmen. There is no artifact in the possession of the Eir'Edal greater than the Globe, and they made sure to drill that into your head.
From the light of the Globe, you can see the entrance training yard across from you, and two staircases leading up to the second floor. On a terrace above the training yard's door you see the door to the archmage's office. You can either climb up the stairs and go there, or talk to someone about the problem. |
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MrStilts
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| Joined: 07 Nov 2012 |
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| 02 Jan 2015 09:00 PM |
Something is obviously not right. There were always the occasional apprentice coming in to complain about the housing quality, but never was there an entire district of them with such distraught expressions.
But there's no time to be going around asking questions, and no doubt that whatever the archmage has to say must have something to do with all of this.
Ranad climbs the stairs to the archmage's office. |
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Tikobe
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| Joined: 12 Aug 2011 |
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| 02 Jan 2015 09:33 PM |
As you open the doors, you see a room with no windows, lit only by candles. You had often heard that the archmage Urantes, 2nd archmage of the Eir'Edal Collective and the bringer of it's golden age and founder of the Ring, always enjoyed dark places, but this was creepy. There was an illusion that the room's tall marble pillars seemed to reach up into into a void, when in all actuality the room wasn't all that tall. The cover of the books were hard to read, and the shadows seemed as if they were alive.
At the other end of the room layed an elaborate desk made of the finest wood you've ever seen. There were two chairs placed in front of it, and a massive one just a cut of being under a throne on the other side. This was the archmage's seat.
The archmage was younger then most would have expected. Only being sixty eight years of age, there were many greys in his hairs, and his wrinkly round frame made him look to be in his 80's. He wore no hat, and preferred to have his hair short with and unshaven face, complimenting the grey robes he wore. On his left arm her bore a full set of metallic plates. Many remember him as the infamous Harbinger for it, as it belonged to his old suit of armor when the king wanted to combine martial arts and magics to combat the dragonmen, albeit that experiment failed.
He waves to one of the seats, and says, "Sit." |
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MrStilts
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| Joined: 07 Nov 2012 |
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| 02 Jan 2015 10:03 PM |
Ranad takes to the chair and sits down.
"Archmage Urantes, apologies for me abruptness, but why have you summoned me here?" |
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Tikobe
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| Joined: 12 Aug 2011 |
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| 02 Jan 2015 10:26 PM |
| Urantes smiles, and replies, "All in due time, Ranad. For now, tell me what you know of Witchcraft..." |
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MrStilts
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| Joined: 07 Nov 2012 |
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| 02 Jan 2015 10:43 PM |
| "Nothing that everyone doesn't already know, Archmage," Ranad replies. "I know that it is a sub-school of Dark magic, deals with curses, highly dangerous and forbidden from practice." |
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Tikobe
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| Joined: 12 Aug 2011 |
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| 02 Jan 2015 11:07 PM |
| He smiles, "I see. Your education about such matters is quite base then. Fortunately for you, however, the Dark magics are an optional lesson... Onto the point," he coughs, before continuing, "we've recently been experiencing a crusade of weird events. Magics and spells that like of which we've never seen have left marks all over the Ring, we've found worn out training blades, even signs of magic circles for twenty people spells that had seemed to be hidden from us. We had ignored it. The Eir'Edal Collective supports research, the creation of new spells. But this morning, we found the corpse of an apprentice. She was covered in a horde of spiders, which had seemed to have killed her last night. There is only one way that is possible: A spell called Spiders Hex. From the name and the fate of the apprentice, I'm sure I don't need to tell you it's school." |
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MrStilts
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| Joined: 07 Nov 2012 |
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| 02 Jan 2015 11:48 PM |
"Yer sayin' that someone... hexed, an apprentice to death?"
"I suppose that would explain the distressed crowd outside. What's the Collective goin' to be doin' about it?" |
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Tikobe
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| Joined: 12 Aug 2011 |
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| 03 Jan 2015 08:58 AM |
"As the current archmage of the Eir'Edal Collective, I'm going to be leading the investigation. Which brings me to why you're here. Here's a shocking revelation. We pulled the corpse behind the house in front of yours, you probably were asleep when we found it and moved it so I wouldn't blame you for not noticing. However, do forgive me, but the law leaves me no other option."
He brings out a scroll, "Ranad, due to the corpse of a miss Trya Duvardi being found to be close to your home, you are now a suspect in the investigation. If evidence that shows the abuse of the Dark magics ever comes up in your possession, you will be hung without a trial, as the law dictates. You will remain a suspect until evidence comes up that proves no involvement with the deceased Trya Duvardi and no involvement with the Dark magics, particularly with the spell Spiders Hex. As long as you remain a suspect, you will not be able to leave your apprenticeship. That is all." |
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MrStilts
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| Joined: 07 Nov 2012 |
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| 04 Jan 2015 01:40 AM |
".... wait just a minute, ya can't be serious." This is bad. This is much worse than what he originally thought was going to happen, and it ain't gonna get any prettier.
"I didn't do nothin' to nobody, ya can't just hold off on me ceremony! I did not kill an apprentice, I don't even know anythin' about Dark magic spells, ya can't possibly just let me out to dry!"
Ranad takes a moment to compose himself.
"... apologies for me outburst, Archmage. I meant no disrespect." |
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Tikobe
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| Joined: 12 Aug 2011 |
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| 04 Jan 2015 11:09 AM |
| "I understand," he says, writing things down on a scroll, possibly your academic record. "Now, if you would please leave the room." |
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MrStilts
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| Joined: 07 Nov 2012 |
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| 05 Jan 2015 05:03 AM |
"Ay- err... yes, Archmage," Ranad says. He gets up from the chair and leaves the office.
After exiting the office, and out of earshot of the Archmage, Urantes, Ranad utters a few more words under his breath as he descends the stairs, "This is bloody absurd. Not only am I being accused of murder, and with an illegal spell no less, but now I'm being denied me guild professorship that I worked so hard for."
"Bloody hell. There has to be somethin' I can do about this," he says, this time being out loud. |
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Tikobe
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| Joined: 12 Aug 2011 |
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| 05 Jan 2015 04:35 PM |
"Perhaps there is," you hear from a voice down the stairs. You look to see a rather athletic looking man in brown hair with a brown robe and blonde hair leaning against the stairs. He's your neighbor Yrmo, the one who lives right across the street from you, in front of the crime scene you recall from Urantes' words. In front of him are two of your other members.
"So, you're being accused too, huh? Wanna go find some answers and be a professor, huh?" Yrmo states, in a heavy foreign accent. You hear he's a shaman from Ethigi training here on diplomatic relations between the Jarldom there and the kingdom of Airidorn, so it makes some sense. Still, shamans only know support magic, nothing about offensive spells. The Collective must be going crazy if they're accusing him of Dark magic. |
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MrStilts
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| Joined: 07 Nov 2012 |
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| 06 Jan 2015 04:46 AM |
| "Aye, that I am. So long as they think that I'm the one responsible, I won't be havin' me promotion anytime soon. So, if ya got any clue on where to start lookin' for the murderer, I'm willin' to hear it." |
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Tikobe
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| Joined: 12 Aug 2011 |
| Total Posts: 6366 |
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| 06 Jan 2015 06:49 PM |
| "Urantes has given us the clues, now all we gotta do is form a team and act on them. We're not gonna let this go by, not while it blocks us from becoming professors. I was gonna go home after I became one, and so I can't let this block my path. What do you say. Well you help us get rid of this plight?" |
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MrStilts
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| Joined: 07 Nov 2012 |
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| 07 Jan 2015 07:00 AM |
| "Well, seein' as I don't have much other option, it seems that you three are me best chance of gettin' me ceremony back on track. In other words, you can count me in." |
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Tikobe
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| Joined: 12 Aug 2011 |
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| 07 Jan 2015 08:41 PM |
"Good... We got four competent men, I believe we can start," Yrmo states. "Ranad, you're the most most competent out of us four, I believe you should be the one to follow on our biggest lead. Professor Denrage leads the Dark magics lessons in the Ring. Spiders Hex is Witchcraft, and so it may be our biggest opening. Evelynne and Rikard, Urantes said signs of strange magic popped up everywhere, did he not? I can trust you two not to have any complications. I'll handle the least the dangerous task of investigating Trya. She'd have to do something bad for somebody to kill her with a hex."
He faces you all, "Any questions?" |
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MrStilts
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| Joined: 07 Nov 2012 |
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| 08 Jan 2015 07:50 AM |
It's strange, for the one seemingly calling the shots around this ragtag party of the accused, to be taking on the least punishable lead. But Ranad is not about to question Yrmo on this, not while he's got a killer to find.
"Aye, just one: where do ye plan on us meetin' again when we're done with our tasks?" |
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Tikobe
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| Joined: 12 Aug 2011 |
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| 08 Jan 2015 05:24 PM |
Albeit, it does make some sense if you consider that Yrmo is explicitly forbidden by his people to fight, kill or defend himself on his honor as an Ethigi shaman.
"When we're done, we'll meet in one of our houses. I guess I'll use my house, the crime did happen behind it after all." |
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MrStilts
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| 09 Jan 2015 01:40 AM |
| "In that case, I'll see you mates when I find somethin'," Ranad says, then starts splitting away from the group to go on his investigation. |
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Tikobe
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| Joined: 12 Aug 2011 |
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| 09 Jan 2015 07:09 PM |
| The Dark Magics classroom was a strange building. Surprisingly well built, it was ornate, beautiful, and so very different from the architecture of the Ring, let alone the entirety of Lezern. It was blocky, with brown beams lining it. It stood tall like a tower, but you knew it was only one room with a teacher's office. There were no classes at this time, but you can see the shadow of the professor in the window. Perfect. |
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