Rise of the Archmages (1x1 Private)

Status
Not open for further replies.
OCTOBER 15, 2016
PARIS, FRANCE

The last eight days had been an exercise in patience and mental acrobatics, or so it seemed to Sam. While Raven and Jeanne made preparations to relocate to London and arranged a false paper trail for Natalia's identity as Raven's cousin, "Sarah Tallwood," he had been making rounds throughout the city trying to piece together the name of whomever set the Order of Autolycus on them.

Something was off about the whole attack. It was precise, planned, and yet the Hound had divulged critical information relatively easily. Sam didn't like it. The Order survived because of its professionalism and skills. Resisting interrogation would have been a matter of course for them. With that nagging feeling at the back of his mind, he approached his investigations with caution. If he were a betting man, he would his good right hand that the Hound was feeding them bait.

But bait for what? he found himself wondering. What's the angle?

The first day of his investigations had revealed that a janitor had stolen the cellphone off the body of Elias Arborman and - after tracking the janitor to his apartment and subjecting him to a little sample of his interrogation methods - learned that the cellphone had been traded out to a black market dealer. Said dealer apparently had gotten a request from a regular client. Getting information from the dealer had been a little more challenging, as Sam was forced to break into the man's hideout and fight his way through a few hired thugs and bodyguards. Eventually, the dealer had, under threat of bodily pain, divulged his client's identity.

Thomas Aegil. The current Archmage of the Ivory Tower.

Sam met the man twice in the past. Once, when he was twenty-four, he had accepted a mission to assassinate a renegade mage at Aegil's behest. A year later, one of Aegil's political rivals hired him to kill Aegil's colleague as a warning. Both times, the old mage had proven inscrutable. He seemed like a man constantly thinking about something, constantly planning ahead of everyone else around him. A dangerous man.

So Sam spent the remainder of the week preparing. He went through his usual information contacts as well as doing his own legwork, digging up every scrap of information he could on Aegil. Natalia, Raven, and Jeanne would need it in the coming days.

And so it was that, over breakfast at the flat, he passed an iPad across the table to his two lovers. "That's the best I got in the time I had," he explained. He briefed them on the gist of what he had discovered.

"Thomas Aegil, age sixty-five. Trained by Oliver Lord from 1959 to 1969. In 1972, he was one of the youngest to graduate as a full mage. In 1975, he released his first independent research paper on Biblical thaumaturgical practices. He followed up in 1979 with an article concerning the theory of resurrection. He had a dozen other major works throughout the 80s and into the mid-90s until he retired from active research in 1998, where he was elected to the office of Archmage. At the age of forty-nine, he was the youngest ever raised to that position.

"He is considered by his peers and students alike as a capable, calculating, and disciplined researcher, instructor, and pioneer in mystical fields. It was during his tenure as Archmage that his other skillset became evident, as he proved to be an extremely savvy politician and leader in the magical community. In 2001, he diffused a potential schism among mages concerning their involvement in the War on Terror. In 2005, he spearheaded a secret relief mission for those hit by Hurricane Katrina. More recently, he has been involved in organizing magical research into the Ebola outbreaks in Africa."

Jeanne returned the iPad to him. "He sounds quite accomplished. What's the catch?"

"That's just it," Sam replied, "I haven't been able to find one. He seems to be on the up and up."

"Makes sense with what I heard about him," Raven agreed. "He's kind of like the stern father you don't want to disappoint. I've never met him, unlike you, but I certainly heard all about him during my training. I'm actually surprised to hear about all the stuff he's done. I only knew maybe half of that."

Sam shrugged. His ability to compile information was what kept him alive in a very dangerous business.

"Be careful while you're at the Tower," he said quietly. "And be doubly so around Aegil. After all, the brighter the picture, the darker the negative."
 
Jeanne sat still for a moment, then turned the iPad over to face her again.

"Wait a minute. Did you say he published a paper on resurrection?" she asked. She looked at her lovers. "Natalia. A stretch given how long ago it was, but it would be some coincidence, wouldn't it?"

Raven frowned. "Do you think you can find a copy of that paper?"

She looked at the iPad again before returning it to Sam. Aegil's wise-looking face faded to black on the tablet.

"I'll be careful, love," she said. "I've got to go. I need to pick up Natalia."
 
  • Like
Reactions: Razilin
"Say hello to Natalia for me," Sam said and Raven got up. "I'll see what I can do about getting you a copy of Aegil's research. But you'll likely be able to dig up faster yourself once your at the Tower."

"And what'll you be up to?" Jeanne asked.

"Aegil's trying to play us," he said grimly. "The Hound told us what he did because it was part of a bigger gambit, I'm certain of it. I'm going to find out what game the Archmage is playing. Unless we know the rules of the game, we can't beat him at it."

"Well, I'm reassured," Raven quipped, turning a palm upward in the air dismissively. "You out-played a four thousand year old sorceress. How hard can a guy in his sixties be in comparison?"

Sam's tone became oddly pensive. "That was similar logic to how Emily Sternit viewed me. And look where it got her. I'm taking no chances here, Raven, and neither should you." He stood and grasped Jeanne and Raven's hands in his own. "Good luck out there. I love you both."

After that, the two women gathered their bags and left the flat.

Sam turned to the laptop by the table. He had work to do.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
October 15, 2016
Ivory Tower
London, England

Sadly trying not to draw attention to herself meant once again taking a plane to get across the Atlantic. Natalia couldn't imagine how people got around without teleporting. It was so slow! And she was so tired!

The only thing that kept her from nodding off in the middle of the Tower's foyer was the importance of paying attention to what was going on around her.

It was a fine, old building. The light stone's color was very much like ivory, and the ceiling raised up high over her head. She felt like she was in the world of Harry Potter. In fact, her first question upon seeing this place was, "Is Rowling a mage?"

Her "cousin" Raven led the way through the antique halls, Jeanne bringing up the rear. Despite the old feel of the castle, there were many modern amenities; plumbing, lights, heating. There was even a computer lab.

"You'll really enjoy yourself here," Raven said to her. In a whisper she added, "I wish things were different. This really would be a great place for you."

She looked down at her. She had to, since Natalia had made herself about two inches shorter. It succeeded in also making her look younger. Short, black hair. She was sure that would make an disguise.

Raven and Jeanne showed her around until they got to her dorm. As they unpacked Natalia's stuff they heard footsteps. A young woman came in with almond brown hair, smiling at Natalia as she saw her new roomy.

"So you're my roommate, huh? The one who enrolled late?" she asked. "I'm Jill. I'd like to apologize in the beginning before it gets awkward. I'm a bit affectionate. Side effect of my abilities."

"What can you do?" Natalia asked.

"I gain things from other people by touch," she said. "Information, languages. Sometimes I temporarily get abilities from other mages. And it's hard for me to resist giving a hug."

She seemed anxious for one right then and there actually.

"You don't want to borrow my power," Natalia said without thinking.

"Why? What can you do?"

She hesitated, glancing at Raven and Jeanne. Time to go for the false ability they'd decided on.

"...I control crystal. Glass, ice - maybe even diamond," she said. She pulled one of the glass shards she'd made last week and levitated it in front of her roommate. "It can get kind of dangerous."

"Oh, but that's so cool!" she said. "There's lots of people here that can levitate things!"

She frowned then, putting her arm around Natalia's shoulders and pulling her away from Raven and Jeanne. She whispered, "Don't mess with ice around the elemental clique, though."

Jill suddenly shivered and let go. She looked at Natalia somewhat troubled, but it quickly passed.


"By the way, I didn't get your name," she said.

"Sarah Tallwood. My older cousin went to school here," Natalia told her.

"Nice to meet you. And don't worry about your power being dangerous. They teach you how to control that stuff here," Jill said. She took a step closer to Natalia. "Do you guys want to go to lunch? The teachers will be in the mess hall with everyone else, so you can meet them, too."
 
  • Like
Reactions: Razilin
"Why don't you kids head on down without us?" Raven suggested. "I remember what its like, moving out on my own the first time I was here." She gave Jeanne a smirk. "Well, not entirely on my own. You'll hate having me hovering around, 'cousin.' Besides, Jeanne and I need to look into a few things. Research, you know. Call us when you need us to help you unpack."

The alchemist leaned in and gave the now-shorter sorceress a kindly kiss on the head before linking her arm around Jeanne's and departing down the hallway.

"Think she'll be okay?" the blonde swordswoman inquired quietly. "This would be her first time out unsupervised. Are you sure - "

"Oh hush, mother hen," Raven admonished lightly. "You sound like Karin when you, me, and Sam went off to university. Don't worry - she's a smart girl. She'll be fine!"

Jeanne frowned, unconvinced. "As I recall, you dragged the three of us into a sorority party and most of the girls there thought Sam was a hired dancer."

Her lover waved her hand dismissively. "He should have been flattered! He looked real good back then!"

"...The cops thought he was male prostitute and nearly arrested him."

"Practice for when he broke out of the MCPD two years ago!"

"...you're impossible."

Raven hugged Jeanne's arm. "You love me anyway." Suddenly, her levity vanished. "More seriously, though, we'll need to be careful here. I think Natalia will be safe for now, with her disguise. But you and I are known faces here, even if not everyone knows that Sam is the Skullman. Aegil has home court advantage on us, if he suspects we're looking into him."

"Game plan?" Jeanne asked, eyes as hard as steel.

"First, let's dig up Aegil's research. Maybe it'll turn up a motive for why he's interested in Natalia. I hope Sam's line of inquiry turns up more."

---

OCTOBER 15, 2016
PARIS, FRANCE

Trying to dig up information about the dead Hound was damn near impossible. The man had been a complete ghostly, or nearly so. The operative word being nearly.

Before disposing of the body, Sam had done a thorough search on it, finding miniscule, precise scars around the face suggesting that at least part of the man's anonymity had been surgical. In addition, there were well-hidden surgical scars around his thighs and forearms. He lifted prints and a blood sample as well, sneaking into the local police department to make use of their laboratory under the disguise of a lab technician. Afterward, he had to wipe the data clean from the electronic record after making a paper copy. All in all, he had spent close to eight hours on the case, but his effort had proven fruitful.

The man's prints had been surgically obliterated, as had any medical records pertaining to plastic surgery. However, the man did how on the INTERPOL databanks via bloodwork.

Sam leaned back in his office chair back at the flat, steepling his fingers as he read the man's dossier.

Marcel Babineau, age thirty-seven, 182 cm, 90.7 kg. Interesting, since the corpse is twenty centimeters shorter and about five kilograms lighter. Likely from surgical removal of his leg and arm bones.

Birthplace, Bourges. Education, École des Beaux Arts.

Entered the armée de terre at the age of twenty-three. Dishonorably discharged in 2006 at the age of twenty-seven for drug trafficking. Went off the grid two months later.

Reappeared in Bombay in 2008 as a sniper, then again in Madrid in 2009 for the same. Both targets were mid-profile CEOs for tech companies, assumed to have been hired as part of corporate espionage. Disappeared off the grid again in 2010 and not seen since.


Looking into the man's movements in 2010 brought up something interesting. At the time, under an assumed name, the man had been living in London.

Was he working for the Archmage at the time? he wondered. The only way to find out would be to look into Babineau's last known residence in the area and find out what his movements were. He had a theory, that in 2010 Babineau had joined the Order of Autolycus.

Sam got up and began packing a duffel. He had a flight to London to catch.
 
October 16, 2016
Ivory Tower
London, England

It seemed roommates at the Tower were assigned the same schedules, so Jill stuck to Natalia like glue as she went to her classes.

First was alchemy. She had to suppress a laugh as their teacher said transformation magic was one of the hardest things to master. In their later years at the school, she was told, more than half of the students would give up on altering matter entirely. And no wonder why! The mage way involved rewriting each individual atom! Natalia knew with INNI that all one had to do was alter the energy of an object and the particles would follow suit. She couldn't help saying to Jill as they left that class, "Did you get the feeling the teacher didn't have a clue what he was talking about?"

Jill certainly was surprised to hear that, but her defense was fairly reasonable.

"These are masters at their craft, Sarah," she said. "But alchemy is a tough thing to learn. You need years and years to get it right. But it would be so cool to change anything like Asylum."

Natalia paused. This girl knew about her alter ego?
"Asylum?"

"Yeah," she said. "You never heard of her? She's from the states. When we have common hour I'll show you in the computer lab."

She nodded, reflecting that she may end up doing a little research on herself before the day was out. History of Western Magic Traditions wasn't too bad, though it again centered around mages, particularly the tribal traditions of the Celts and Germans. At least, until a curious student raised their hand.

"Excuse me. What about Veiko Magi?" Natalia asked.

"Where did you hear of Veiko Magi?" the teacher asked, peering over her globe, which had very real clouds floating over the vegetative land and churning mini seas. "That's not a very common legend."

She was prepared for this question at least.
"My cousin Raven travels a lot and she heard the story."

"Ah. Raven," the professor reminisced. "I remember her. Good student, but a bit wild sometimes."

"Wild" wasn't quite the word Natalia would use, but she supposed time had changed that.

"Veiko Magi is, I'm afraid, simply a legend," she said. "It was said to be a tribe consisting entirely of mages, advanced beyond measure. But the ruins cannot be found, and it's becoming a more and more common belief among the mage community that it never existed in the first place."

Natalia scowled at her. Then Jill raised her hand and added, "But doesn't the legend say that's where sorcerers come from?"

"Well...yes," the teacher admitted. "But no one knows much about sorcerers, and they're all but extinct anyway. Only one remains."

Two, she corrected mentally, thinking of Emily. So the city she was first born in was consigned to legend. Fools.

She all but ignored demonology, and resolved to drop it the first chance she got. What was the point? As far as demons were concerned you either destroy them or avoid them. Easy!

Next came lunch and common hour, and as Jill was quite eager to show Natalia...herself, they decided to bring their food with them and eat in the computer lab.

"Okay, this is what I wanted to show you," she said. A website appeared: theasylum.com. The first thing Natalia saw was footage from the Battle of Boston. "This is the first seriously big sighting of her. There was another video taken the night before this, but it was dark and the picture quality's not that great."

"And you're a fan of hers?" she asked. This was pushing surreal territory.

"A fan? This is my website!" she said. "Asylum's the last sorceress. They're nothing like us mages. I've heard they have no limits to their power. Just imagine it! Being able to do...anything!"

Natalia watched and asked, as subtly as possible,
"Is anyone else here interested in her? I mean, that kind of power..."

She nodded. "Yeah. There's a ton of students who watch the videos and try to replicate her powers."

A hidden smile. Best of luck with that.
"And what about the faculty?"

"I heard the Archmage himself has studied sorcerers," Jill told her. "You want to learn more about them, I recommend talking to him. But he's fairly private. He does a lot in the magical community so he's pretty busy."

Hm...busy doing what?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Razilin
OCTOBER 16, 2016
THE IVORY TOWER
LONDON, ENGLAND

The words had started to blur as night began to fall upon the city of London. Fluorescent lighting was all that Raven had to read by as she tiredly pushed a thick leather-bound tome away from her aching eyes. She absently felt around with one hand for her tea while her other hand rubbed the fatigue from her face.

Then deceptively strong, yet slender, fingers worked their way into her shoulders, kneading and squeezing out her exhaustion. Raven leaned into Jeanne's touch gratefully.

"You're going to end up getting glasses at this rate," the blonde swordswoman predicted.

"As if I need another reminder of my age," the alchemist groused. She pulled out the seat next to her so Jeanne could sit beside her. "How'd your stack go?"

"Dead end, all of them." Jeanne sighed in mild frustration. For the last two days, the pair of them had been pouring over various research articles and grimoires. The Tower library was one of the most complete in the modern world. Many graduates made a decent living hunting down ancient tomes to sell to the prestigious collection. So far, their efforts had met with more walls than roads.

Thomas Aegil had made a name for himself putting out close to sixty articles on the ancient practice of thaumaturgy - "wonder making." Creating impossible phenomena. In other words, the art of casting miracles. He had started his work on Judaism and Roman Catholicism, searching through their scriptures - both the official, apocryphal, and the heretical - for examples of miracles. Over the decades, he had branched out into other faiths and cultures: Islam, Zoastrianism, Shinto, animism, shamanism, the Greeks and Romans, the Akkadians and Mesopotamians, the Germanics, the Celts, the Picts and Scots, and others. In each one, he had delved into the miracles spoken on in myth, legend, and religion.

However, in decades of research, Thomas Aegil never succeeded in replicating thaumaturgy or discovering its mechanics.

"Aegil hasn't even written a paper on thaumaturgy in, oh, sixteen years," Jeanne went on. "Not since he became the Archmage."

Something about that number made Raven tilt her head. The glimmer of a theory had popped in her head, but faded quickly. "Damn it, lost my train of thought."

"I'm sure you'll remember it in time," Jeanne said. "If it was important, it will."

"It had something to do with the Archmage's appointment in 1998," Raven elaborated. "I'll mull over it for a while. At any rate, its getting late. Where's Natalia?"

"With Jill. Did you want to invite them to dinner?"

Raven shook her head. "Let her have her fun." A mischievous smirk split her face. "Girl's got to grow up, you know. Be free from us adults for a while."

Her lover frowned. "We're supposed to be watching over her, Raven."

"And we will be!" There was a glint in her eye. When Raven Tallwood got that glint, it either meant Jeanne and Sam were in for a very kinky night or that the alchemist was plotting something that the victim wouldn't like.

"What did you do?" Jeanne asked with a cringe, suddenly fearful for their young charge's honor, life, and virtue.

Raven merely chuckled. The swordswoman persisted, "Raven - what did you do?"

"Nothing! I just put a little something in her cell phone, that's all."

"You...." Jeanne sputtered at the implication. "You bugged her. I can't believe you bugged her! Where did you even get one?" She mentally retracted the question as soon as she asked it. Given that they lived with the Skullman, it was woefully evident where Raven managed to abscond with a tracking device. "She's going to be mad when she finds it."

Raven simply waved her hand dismissively. "It'll be fine! Its not like its a danger to her - so EISU won't trigger. Besides, it means that we can keep track of her...and leaves the rest of the night to just you and me," she concluded in a sultry tone.

Jeanne merely palmed her face, completely flabbergasted at Raven's audacity. "I will laugh so hard when this blows up in your face."

---

From the second story of the library, a husky, suited figure leaned over a balcony railing to observe the two women below. Despite the distance, he could hear their conversation as if they were speaking next to him. Geometric lines traced around his ears and eyes, filled with the soft glow of magic. His hearing and vision took in that surge of mana and used it to perceive farther than any human ever could.

He pulled out a cell phone and dialed a number. "Thomas, its Norman. Ebayan's team hasn't made any firm connections to you yet. Its all just conjecture. Just to be safe, I recommend moving your experiment off campus grounds. Yes, I know it'll draw eyes, but maybe we can disguise it as moving equipment to another academy. It'll be more dangerous if they stumble upon your little test subject. Oh, and by the way, it seems Natalia Elmore is somewhere on the campus - in disguise, most likely. It seems her custodians put a tracking device on her. If Ebayan still follows Karin Krauser's methods, I should be able to decode the signal and follow it myself. I'll get in touch with you soon."
 
October 16, 2016
Ivory Tower
London, England

Watching herself on Jill's fan site was a jarring experience. While she pretended to watch herself perform feats of strong magic, the bulk of her attention was on the comments. "This little girl's like a goddess or something;" "that's just scary;" "LOCK HER UP THIS BITCH IS CRAZY." Those were her least favorite, and varying posts like that were evidently all over YouTube. Most of the posts on Jill's site were more complimentary, but it seemed like the bulk of the general public either hated her or were afraid of her.

A troubled Natalia moved along with Jill to the next class. It was healing magic, something she could do, but didn't have much talent in. Ever since she had freed Jeanne of the Magister's control she'd had the power of TRES, or life, but hadn't learned much in it. But here was a chance to learn to better help people. This class, at least, wasn't a waste.

But the next class wasn't one she found valuable, and one Jill was apparently dreading.

"I don't like the next teacher," she said with a slight shiver. "Enhancement Magics is a practical class I guess, but he just scares me."

"Maybe it's because you can't do anything without giving someone a grope," a passing student said. A trio beside him laughed and Natalia put her arm around her.

"That's the elemental crew," she said. "Some of the most powerful students here."

"Hmph." Yeah. Right.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Razilin
Professor Norman Bayane had a reputation at the Ivory Tower. He was widely considered a harsh taskmaster, expecting nothing but the greatest effort from his students. He cut them no slack, offered no extra credit. Assignments were to be done on time, every time. He was disciplined as well as a disciplinarian. The fact that he was built like a small truck only added to the intimidation factor. Few students knew about his social life, only that he had once trained an apprentice several years ago. Rumor had it that he had been romantically involved with said student, while others maintained that the mentorship fell apart after a professional disagreement. All agreed that Bayane had never taken on another apprentice thereafter, instead merely teaching a larger class on Enhancement Magics.

That particular field had few dedicated practitioners. Most mages could reinforce basic items, making them stronger or more durable for a brief period. Better spellcasters could even use the principle on their own bodies for bursts of speed or power. But rarely did a mage actually specialize in Enhancement. It wasn't terribly flashy and was generally rendered useless when compared to telekinesis or the other traditional spells, all of which could replicate Enhancement's end effect with less hassle.

Not that anyone in Enhancement class felt overly eager to point this out to Professor Bayane. Especially since there was a rumor going around that the man's bulky build was due, in part, to consistent use of Enhancement on himself. It was a funny thing; the young mages in his class could manipulate magic to create anything from levitation to fireballs, yet they still felt small around a man who outweighed them twice over.

"All right class," he began from his podium. From where Natalia sat, she noted that the professor had the same brown skin tone and Asian features as Sam. She guessed they were of the same ethnicity. That had been another thing about Bayane that most of the students had heard about. He was one of the few mages from his part of the world. Outside of China and Japan, there were a notoriously rare number of Asians who practiced a magical tradition represented at the Ivory Tower.

The bulky professor continued, "We will begin with a review of Enhancement principles. As you know, mana exists both in the ambient environment and in living beings like plants, animals, and humans. Mana within living things tends to be at a higher concentration than what can be found in the environment. That is where the most basic principle of Enhancement begins - taking advantage of one's own inherent mana and using it to make its target better. Being able to do that is the second principle - control. To use mana in such a minute and precise fashion requires the utmost attention to detail in order to control the smallest particle of mana in a useful manner. Thus, mastering Enhancement teaches you to master control, which you can then apply to controlling other spells."

He picked up a glass on the podium. He showed it to the class. "Enhancement is not simply pumping as much mana as you can into an object. If it were that simple, Enhancement would not be the building block of mastering other disciplines." He concentrated and then slammed the glass against the podium. There was a thunk, but the glass failed to shatter. "You must put in only what is required to meet your needs, and even then you must be aware of the limits of your receptacle."

He concentrated again, laying the glass on the podium. To the trained eye of a mage, one could see a surge of mana flowing into the glass, more and more, a river unleashed as a tidal wave.

The glass exploded into a dozen fragments.

"Imagine doing that to your own body. The results tend to be rather gruesome. And permanent." He eyed the class. "Magic is a powerful tool, but one that requires discipline and control. Learn and master these two things, and you will go far in your careers. Fail to do so, and you will shatter."
 
Natalia sat and listened to the behemoth of a man as he explained the principles of Enhancement. This, she had to admit, was not a talent she had tried before, and she wasn't even sure it was in her arsenal.

The demonstration interesting to say the least. It made her look again at the big man in front of her. If she had to fight him, she worried how effective her normal attacks would be.

"Are you going to make us try?" she asked. She thought of what she could do adding that to her abilities.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Razilin
Natalia suddenly found herself under Bayane's dark-eyed gaze. There was a flintiness to it that seemed familiar, or perhaps just uncomfortably chill.

"Miss...Tallwood, isn't it?" the professor said. "Yes, I am." He gestured to a door near the podium at the front of the classroom. "The lab is down this way. If you will all come with me, please."

He led the class to a large room of shelves, beakers, reference texts, and many rows of long lab tables neatly arranged. The class arranged themselves by pairs and found stacks of glasswares, plastic utensils, and paper or Styrofoam plates at each station.

Bayane took the head table at the front of the room, a similar stack at his hand. He began demonstrating the flow of mana from his body to the objects, instructing the whole time and going through the process step by step.

"Now, each of you try it."

About half the class made the first few glasses explode before some finally started getting the hang of it.

Jill leaned and said to her roommate while beads of sweat formed on her forehead, "Y'know, its funny. The hardest part...ugh...isn't putting mana in these things." Her brows furrowed in concentration as a plastic spoon detonated like a small firecracker in her hand. "Its...ngh...getting the flow to stop."
 
Natalia handled her own array of props curiously. She picked up the spoon, concentrated on it with the flow of energy she used all the time. This first one was a gauge for her: she intentionally blew it up.

"Yeah..." That was a problem. She would have to find a cut off. She took a deep breath, feeling the flow of outward manager enter her lungs and settle along her muscles. Hm.

"Try going by breaths,"
she suggested, holding up the Styrofoam cup. "Channel the energy you get from a deep breath into the cup..." She breathed in and directed the flow down her arm and into the Styrofoam. She could feel it harden in her hand. "And by the time you breathe out again there's nothing to pump in."

She slammed the cup down and it met the table with a strong thud.

"Sarah, that's amazing!" Jill exclaimed. "Let me try..."

She too took a deep breath and inhaled the energy into the cup. Then she slammed it down and it too remained sturdy. "Wow. How'd you know?"

"Uh..." She tried to think of something beyond magical insight. "My cousin. She says a lot can be solved with a deep breath."
 
  • Like
Reactions: Razilin
Bayane arched a dark eyebrow from where he oversaw his class. The majority of the class progressing at about the rate he expected, with multiple failures eventually turning into modest successes. This early on in the year, he did not expect anyone to actually gain any true control, but he expected that each student would at least be able to prevent detonating an object by the end of the day. Thus, it caught his attention when one of the late-enrollment students, Sarah Tallwood, managed to do it on the second try.

Impressive. A quick learner. But that's to be expected, since she's a Tallwood, he thought. That particular family had a long line of specialists in alchemy, a field that required a great deal of discipline in order to concoct the various potions, baubles, and other transformative substances that the tradition was known for. One did not change brick into gold without knowing every detail of what they were doing.

He went through the class as he always did, though he did take note of Sarah's progress for future reference. If she proved apt, he may recommend her to one of his colleagues for an apprenticeship.

By the end of the hour, the class was exhausted from nearly constant use of mana. As the students filed out, leaving him alone in the classroom, the burly professor took out his cellphone and opened up a very specific app. It was one he made himself some years ago, though the algorithm he used predated Smartphones. He simply had to convert his old notes into an electronic medium, but the technique remained the same.

It was a decoding algorithm for common signal encryptions. He had given it out to only one other since he developed it thirty years ago. Absently, he wondered what his old apprentice was up to.

Probably retired by now. She would be almost fifty. Too old to keep playing in the game.

He fired up the app. It was time to find Natalia Elmore.
 
As they walked out of class, Natalia noticed her new friend was panting and tired. Natalia had simply drawn in energy from outside sources to revive herself. She supposed Jill didn't have that luxury.

"Here," she said, putting her arm briefly around her shoulders. "Take some of my mana."

Jill took a deep breath and suddenly she felt rejuvenated, while Natalia felt briefly drained. She soon drew in more energy for herself.

"Thanks," Jill said. "You were really something back there, you know? I mean, nobody got it that fast!"

Natalia was a bit worried by that. Had she overplayed herself, drawn unwanted attention? She didn't want the ruse to be ruined just because she couldn't help showing off.

"I actually think Bayane likes you," she added. That was a bit of a relief. If a man as intimidating as him started to favor her, she could use that to her advantage. "And, well...thanks for helping me back there. Normally I'm terrible at the labs."

She smiled.
"No problem."

By the time the last classes ended both she and Jill were exhausted. Living at the school meant they could cram more classes in a day, and Natalia plopped on her bed with a weary sigh. Then she remembered she should probably report to Raven and Jeanne. But...she didn't really have anything to report, which was frustrating. She sighed, turning her phone over in her hands.

"Jill, I'm going to step out for a bit," she said. "I agreed to tell my cousin how my first day went."

"Okay."

She stepped out to find a private spot in the halls. As soon as she found a secure spot under the stairwell she called Raven.

"Hey kiddo. What have you found out?"

"Well apparently my roommate operates a fan site for me," she replied.

She was met immediately with raucous laughter. "That's hilarious! Think you'll give her an autograph?"

"Stop teasing. There is one important thing I learned. The Archmage is the foremost researcher when it comes to sorcerers. Jill says he's the authority on the matter."

The mirth went out of Raven's voice. "Well that's a red flag."

"Yeah, but not a big red 'X'," she said. "And I don't see how I'm supposed to find out more. I'd have to talk to him or sneak into his study...sneaking in I suppose I could do, but I don't know where in this castle it is."
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Razilin
"Well, its - and yes, I know this sounds really stereotypical - its at the top of the tallest tower in the castle," Raven said.

In her mind, the alchemist was already comparing notes. In all of her and Jeanne's investigation, they found absolutely zero articles by the Archmage concerning sorcerers, Veiko Magi, or sorcery in general. However, if the man had been researching thaumaturgy all his career, then sorcery was the next closest thing. She made a mental note to look into any recent articles about sorcery by other authors. Perhaps the Archmage funded that research by proxy rather than directly conducting it himself.

"Do you want us to come with you? I know most mages don't hold a candle to what you can do, but the Archmage is the first among equals, the best we have. He didn't earn that position by being a lightweight."

---

It was late in the evening when Bayane's cellphone finished decoding the signal. He sat in his office, finishing up some paperwork for the school, when the device made a dinging sound. He flipped it open and noted that Raven Tallwood's tracking device was emitting from within one of the dorms. It didn't take long to cross-reference the dorm room to a name from the student enrollment list and, after a certain demonstration today, he was only mildly surprised at the name that came up.

"Sarah Tallwood, age nineteen, a late-enrollment and a cousin of Raven Tallwood." He shook his head, a little annoyed that he had stood right in front of the girl and didn't realize what she really was. "She must be using magic to disguise herself; she looks nothing like her normal self."

A shadow behind him stirred at his words. A plain-looking man melted away from the darkness. "Shall I take her, then?"

"Alive if you can, dead if you must," Bayane conceded. "She will be far more useful alive, but Thomas can make use of her body for his research well enough. He's already gotten his hands on three other male samples. A female subject will only complete the research he's begun."

"When shall I strike, sir?"

"Two days, minimum. Observe her, learn her patterns and movements. We don't want to bugle another attack."

"It shall be done." There was hesitance from the Hound. "Sir...my Brothers have updated me with something we thought you should know. The Skullman moves against us. We suspect he is in London."

Bayane's expression hardened briefly, then he emitted a soft chuckle. "He moves quick. I suppose if anyone could track your kind, it would be him. Where is he now?"

"The Third Brother's former landlord noticed him snooping around the old apartment earlier today. His current whereabouts are unknown. The Second Brother is planning on killing him."

Bayane frowned at that, a minuscule - yet telling - change in his countenance. Then his lips firmed into a flat line. "Do what you have to. I only need his body. Its condition is...." He faltered for a brief instant, then collected himself. "...Its condition is immaterial."

With that, the plain man nodded and slipped back into obscurity.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • Like
Reactions: Quiet One
OCTOBER 16, 2016
LONDON, ENGLAND

Sam hadn't been back in London since he, Jeanne, and Raven had moved back to Paris. Not much had changed in the intervening time, something he was grateful for. He had always enjoyed London, the bustle and the crowd, and that unmistakable rhythm that pulsed throughout the city. Raven loved it as well, though Jeanne always preferred the countryside - whether that was in England or France. Given that the swordswoman had grown up a peasant on a farm, Sam simply took Jeanne's more agrarian tastes as a matter of upbringing.

Maybe I should take them to the mountains again, he thought absently. It had been awhile since they had a vacation. He set the errant thought aside for later, focusing on the task at hand. Night had fallen and he stood before a pub that looked like every other one in this corner of London. The rougher, rowdier corner.

He did not look like a native Londoner and that always set the local hooligans a bit on edge when a tourist stepped on their turf. The mercenary was nonplussed, however. The day a common thug managed to outfight him, he'd retire. Indeed, he wanted to be seen. Tracking Babineau to his old flat had proven somewhat fruitful. The flat had long since been rented out to another family, but the landlord's records were thorough and extended back far enough for Sam to get an idea of Babineau's movements. The landlord himself was also a font of information, recalling that Babineau used to frequent this particular watering hole.

The trail was six years old by now - Babineau having moved out of the flat back in 2010 - but Sam was undeterred. This pub was rank with the stench of the criminal element and as he went inside and ordered a scotch, he took stock of his surroundings, noting little things that corroborated his guess. The unusual shadow under the bar, suggesting a hidden firearm. The way the bouncers moved a little too comfortably, suggesting professional training as fighters, perhaps as former soldiers or mercenaries. A few tattoos on the clientele matching those of local gangs.

Sam decided to make the first move, taking a drink and then motioning the bartender over. "I'm looking for an old friend of mine. Marcel Babineau. I was told he used to come here."

About a half-dozen heads, including the bartender, snapped in his direction. Five patrons got up out of their seat and slowly surrounded him at the bar. The bartender fingered the hidden firearm under the bar. That was all the answer Sam needed.

"I'm just looking for him, got some questions I want answered," the mercenary said calmly, making no sudden moves. "We can do this very diplomatically."

"We don't sell out one of our own, mate," one of the bigger patrons growled in a thick accent. "And Marcel wouldn't know anyone like you."

Sam sighed. "Well, I'm going to get my answers one way or another." Then he calmly downed the remainder of the scotch and suddenly smashed it into the big patron's face, drawing blood from a dozen small cuts. A follow-up cross dropped him flat on his back. The pub exploded into chaos.

For all his injuries and old scars, Sam still moved like lightning. But it wasn't the raw speed of his youth. It was the illusory speed born of knowing exactly where his enemies would be before they did. By the time they started moving, he was already there, attacking with a barrage of fists, feet, knees, and elbows. The bartender's gun was ripped from his hand, breaking a finger in the process, before a strike sent him crashing into the wall of bottles behind him. Two more men dropped from successive combinations, seemingly unable to land a hit on the blurring figure of the mercenary. The last two attackers tried to escape, but Sam tripped one into the other, and then picked up a chair and smashed it against their collective heads.

The fight was over in less than ten seconds. By now, the other patrons had fled the room, clearly terrified of being in Sam's deadly presence. He sighed at the carnage. "Now I have to wait for one of them to wake up."

---

The bartender woke up screaming.

Sam had dragged all hundred and thirteen kilograms of the man to the top of the pub to do this, holding him by the collar of his shirt, the man's feet barely on the rooftop edge, and leaning him over the street below. It was not a far fall, easily survivable, but it would hurt like hell. And most people did not do well with heights. The hefty bartender was no exception.

"Where did Babineau go after he left here? Who was he working for?"

He doubted this man would know much. He doubted the man would know of any direct connection between the Hounds and the Archmage. However, he was banking that thieves and cutthroats still distrusted one another enough to keep tabs on each other. He was reasonably certain the bartender would at least know where the Hounds were located.

He was not disappointed.

"H-he joined up with this guy, don't know his name. It was six years ago. H-he was plain-looking, d-dunno much about him. They w-were heading to a p-place called th-the Arena. S-said they wanted him to work for them there, said th-they could teach him things!"

Shit.

In the vernacular, the Arena meant an underground fighting community, a modern day gladiatorial game. In magical parlance, it was just that - only with mages involved. No normal human had ever been invited to fight, nor had any normal human ever seen it. It was a known secret, but one that normal humans did not realize was a magical one. Every thug and would-be fighter on the streets wanted to participate, but it was only those with the gift of magic who ever got a chance to see it.

There had been rumors in the magical community that the Arena doubled as a training camp for the Ivory Tower's more violently-oriented graduates, those mages who focused on combat spells or monster hunting. It was not out of the realm of possibility that the Arena was also a training camp for assassins and spies.

Sam slugged the man unconscious and dropped him on the roof.

He had never been to the Arena and he had no idea of how many Hounds were actually in the Order of Autolycus. Going in half-cocked was a death wish. Still, if he wanted to keep the Order off Natalia's tail, he would have to eventually strike at their headquarters. But he was going to need help, first.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • Like
Reactions: Quiet One
October 16, 2016
The Ivory Tower
London, England

Natalia rolled her eyes when she heard where the Archmage's study was. Tallest tower. Seriously? She wondered if the mages realized this was a tired cliché or if they just thought it was "traditional."

In a fight, she didn't need any help. She could make an attacker explode where they stood if she wanted. But finding what they were looking for amongst untold volumes was a tough task to do alone.

She paused. There was a nagging sense from EISU. She stood up straight and ducked her head out from behind the stairs. She saw nothing, and the desire to discount it as such was strong. But she remembered the last time she felt that way.

"Meet me there," she said.

Natalia hung up and in a blink she was gone. The study she arrived in was very neat, very typical, and thankfully seemed to be empty. Just to make sure she put a bubble around herself and slowly transported all the air out of the room. An asphyxiated body didn't suddenly plop into view so she returned the air and started searching.

She didn't get far before Jeanne and Raven arrived.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Razilin
The two women entered the study by a highly atypical method. Jeanne had her sword in hand, while Raven's legs glowed with magic energy channeled through the "Lightning Rods" she alchemically grafted into her limbs. They had simply leaped and ran up the side of the tower until they broke in through the window. Jeanne's breathing was even; her power came naturally. In contrast, Raven panted tiredly, having been pumping mana into her body using an alchemy version of Enhancement the entire trek.

"Hey there, fleur," Jeanne greeted, sword in hand and clad in the black armor she had gained under her forced tenure of service to the Magister. The blood vessels that had once crawled across the dark steel had long since vanished, though. Now, she was more of a knight-errant than a Blood Knight, free of any master save her own will. Her blue eyes scanned the room. "Seems secure."

"Of Hounds, at least," Raven added, catching her breath and walking over to the various bookshelves and the wooden desk dominating the room. She took out a small glass lens, resting it on the desk. The alchemical device turned on with a bright flash that extended throughout the room, a hazy red line outlining everything. The alchemist gave it all a once-over.

"There are traps on most things here, context-sensitive, too. Very thorough. Good thing we won't need to actually trip them." She pulled out a second lens, this one a dull gray color. "This will let us look through objects," she explained, handing the object to Natalia, while pulling another one for herself. "Jeanne, keep a lookout."

She gave the room another look. There was certainly a lot of ground to cover, given the number of books on the shelves alone. "We'll be here a while."
 
As they came in Natalia noted the sword. "You can put that away. I already checked."

Checked for Hounds, but not for anything else. So she watched as Raven swept the place with a magic glass. She took the offered glass and looked through the books, frowning as something seemed very off about what they were doing. She couldn't escape the feeling they were missing something obvious as they scanned book after book and turned up with nothing.

Wait...she kept her spell book safe at all times. She certainly never displayed it on a shelf.

"We're looking in the wrong place," she said. "It won't be on a shelf. Check the desk."

It didn't surprise her in the slightest that it was locked. She peeked through with her magic glass and found a stack of papers. He might have put spells on the drawers too. But not on the desk itself. Coming in from the side, Natalia made the wood ripple like water and stuck her hand through. She pulled out a cargo manifest of some kind.

She tossed it to Raven.
"Here. This seems like an odd thing to have. Anything in it?"
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Razilin
Raven took the sheaf of papers from the sorceress and flipped through them. "Its a cargo manifest. What would the Archmage be doing with one of these? He has secretaries to handle this."

Jeanne peered over her shoulder. "Medical beds, IV lines, nutrition bags...I don't remember the Tower's infirmary requiring bulk amounts of these things. And three medical beds? I thought we only had basic cots and wireframe beds."

"This must be part of his research or something," Raven reasoned, pointing out the date on the manifest. "These were just moved out today, heading to one of the smaller academies in Lancaster by freighter." She began taking photos of each page on her cellphone. Sam could do something with this information, she was certain of that.

"We'd better get out of here, before anyone stops by," Jeanne said, nodding to Natalia, who replaced the original papers back in the desk by the same means she obtained them. Suddenly, the swordswoman grinned. "Then you can tell us about your first day at school, fleur."
 
  • Like
Reactions: Quiet One
Status
Not open for further replies.