Thunder in the Distance (thetwo)

[Tassadar]

Re: Thunder in the Distance (thetwo)

Spoiler

Ashleys Status: HP = 35/45, P = 55, EP = 28/40, Lesser Buff: +11 Speed

The wooden stairs creak as she ascends to the second floor. As she turns the bend, she climbs another short set of stairs, and reaches a narrow hallway with strange crystals hanging from the ceiling that bathe the area in dim white light. It branches in both directions, the right hallway having six doors, three on each side, but dead-ending in a set of shelves with what look like blankets on them. To her left, there are two doors on the side opposite the stairs and one on the side with the stairs, and the hallway turns left shortly after the lone door on that side of the hallway.

 

[thetwo]

Re: Thunder in the Distance (thetwo)

While walking up the stairs, Ashley considers whether to call out more or try to sneak.

If the people here are friendly, I don't want to scare them. If the people here aren't nice... I want to find out and get the hell out as fast as I can, preferably without them noticing. Damn.

In the end, the fact that she felt she was running low on magic made her decide a little bit of haste was the preferred course of action, and she called out again, "Hello? Anybody home?"

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Thunder in the Distance (thetwo)

Spoiler

Ashleys Status: HP = 35/45, P = 55, EP = 27/40, Lesser Buff: +11 Speed

Perception: Failure.
Perception: Success.

Ashleys voice receives no response from who or what might be living in the strange house, and she didn't hear anything that would indicate where the sounds she'd heard earlier might have come from. She did remember, however, that the sounds had seemed to come from the left when she had been downstairs.

 

[thetwo]

Re: Thunder in the Distance (thetwo)

Ashley moved in the direction she thought the earlier sounds had come from. She left her pistol holstered, but also made sure she could draw it quickly if need be.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Thunder in the Distance (thetwo)

Spoiler

Ashleys Status: HP = 35/45, P = 55, EP = 26/40, Lesser Buff: +11 Speed

Perception: Success.

Her boots clunk against the floorboards as she walks down the hallway, one of them occasionally giving a loud creak as she steps on it. Trying to listen for the voice so that she can be sure that she knows where it is, Ashley moves slowly, her hand on the handle of her gun. After one particularly loud creak ends, she hears the voice again, definitely a man this time, and probably a somewhat old man from the wizened sound of it. It comes from around the corner up ahead, and seems to be coming closer.

Turning the corner, Ashley stops short, as she is presented with a very odd, but very welcome sight. A short ways down the hall, with a door partially closed behind him, is the very image of the stereotypical wizard. He stands tall and thin, garbed in a dark blue robe. A pair of square spectacles hang form his ears, slid a good ways down down his nose, suggesting that they were only for reading. He is balding, with a long main of white hair going down to the small of his back and a with a thick white beard going halfway down his chest. He pauses as he spots Ashley, a scowl darkening his visage, and then, he speaks; "Well, since you got past the wards, at least you're not a demon. That makes you a thief, however, and I don't take very kindly to thieves barging into my home. It's too bad, I do so hate having to clean charred innards off my walls, and the stink will never leave the drapes...."

 

[thetwo]

Re: Thunder in the Distance (thetwo)

"I'm not a thief! I just felt your wards and got curious. I don't think I've seen anything like them before..."

Ashley, reasoning that the old man might have left an exception in his wards for his own spells, shifts on her feet. At the first sign of danger, she'll be ready to run if necessary.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Thunder in the Distance (thetwo)

Spoiler

Ashleys Status: HP = 35/45, P = 55, EP = 25/40, Lesser Buff: +11 Speed

The mans demeanor changes as Ashley speaks, becoming curious, and he replies; "Oh? You recognized what they were, did you? Wat, are you some novice wizard, come to plunder the remains of Artmirst? And you didn't stop to think that perhaps it might be best to leave whatever was guard alone, did you?"

 

[thetwo]

Re: Thunder in the Distance (thetwo)

Ashley felt a little more at ease now that he isn't talking about scraping her charred remains off the wall, but decides to play her history close to her chest until she knows a little more.

"Well you're part right. I've had some training in the use of magic, but it was mainly just to stop me accidentally burning down another town. But I already told you that I'm not a thief. I was passing through the area when I heard about the rift, and I figured I might learn something and perhaps even help out a bit.

And so when I felt the odd effect of your wards, naturally I had to see what they were all about. Is the partial suppression of magic a side effect, or something seperate?"

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Thunder in the Distance (thetwo)

Spoiler

Ashleys Status: HP = 35/45, P = 55, EP = 24/40, Lesser Buff: +11 Speed

The man pauses at Ashleys words, digesting them for a moment before a smile spreads across his lips. His demeanor now much more friendly, he replies; "An intended side effect. The runes are designed to deflect magical effects, but require a great deal of energy to remain active, especially with so many of them, and so draw a lot of power out of their surroundings, and therefore make magic more costly to use in a short area around them."

 

[thetwo]

Re: Thunder in the Distance (thetwo)

Which tells me perhaps more then you wanted me to know. Almost certainly no exception for your own magic.

Ashley smiled and let her buff drop. It didn't seem like the old man was being threatening any more, and it also seemed likely that she was better able to defend herself in a low-magic environment then he was. Old, traditional wizards wouldn't bother with martial arts or weapons.

She thought back to Mathias, and his search for particularly deadly demons. "So why are you still here? Just your stuff? I mean, your wards are surely sufficient for most any of the demons I've personally seen, but I've heard the ones behind the invasion might be a bit more powerful. I wouldn't think they would ignore this house forever..."

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Thunder in the Distance (thetwo)

Spoiler

Ashleys Status: HP = 35/45, P = 55, EP = 24/40

The old wizards smile remains, the man apparently glad to have found someone to talk to, and Ashley wonders how long he's been alone. "Ah, but that's the genius of the wards in my entrance hallway. Any demon, or even a being corrupted by them, will have their own dark magics turn on them, destroying them from within. The more powerful the monster, the more its magic will hurt it. As for why I am here, this is the only place where I can study demons in their true bodies, rather than just examining summoned ones that evaporate when they die. I also have... other concerns that keep me from leaving the city." He says, and he seems uncomfortable, suggesting that his "other concerns" were a sensitive secret.

 

[thetwo]

Re: Thunder in the Distance (thetwo)

Ashley considers how a magic-wielding demon might attack the ward itself, or how non-demonic intruders could just walk in, but decides to leave it alone, at least for now.

"Hrm... well I haven't any of these 'other' concerns tying me down, but I would be interested in learning more about the physiology of the demons. I don't suppose you'd appreciate any help collecting samples of some sort?"

(Also: just how powerful is Ashley, compared to a well-studied mage? Not necessarily this guy in particular, but in general... I'm not exactly sure how much more (or less) powerful then herself she should expect the guy to be.)

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Thunder in the Distance (thetwo)

Spoiler

Ashleys Status: HP = 45, P = 55, EP = 40

(Ashley, as far as RP concerns go, is on par with any mages apprentice, if not a little bit higher. She isn't on the same level as a full fledged, experienced wizard like this guy, but she isn't a novice either, and her natural talent helps quite a bit. In terms of stats, I haven't actually drawn up a sheet for him yet, but she stacks up well against the main line magic-wilder enemies that I've made.)

The wizard pauses to consider her offer, and then replies; "Why, yes actually. I could use some help in acquiring specimens. The ones that try to come through the doors are too badly damaged for me to study, and I prefer not to have to retrieve them myself. In particular, I was hoping to get the corpse of one of the stalker mages. I could provide you with a way in that would allow you to bypass the wards, and I could pay you in coin, if you could go out and find me one."

 

[thetwo]

Re: Thunder in the Distance (thetwo)

"Stalkers... the big camouflaged ones? I ran into one of those last evening, I think. How exactly would I get these to you... I suppose the ward wouldn't work on a dead one, but lugging bodies about the city isn't easy."

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Thunder in the Distance (thetwo)

Spoiler

Ashleys Status: HP = 45, P = 55, EP = 40

"Yes. I could give you a devise that you could attach to the body that would let me teleport it to my lab. It wouldn't work out very well with a living body, but it would do just fine for a corpse."

 

[thetwo]

Re: Thunder in the Distance (thetwo)

"Well that's convenient. Well, before I go looking for one of these things, is there anything you already know that might be helpful? I know they have some pretty good camouflage, but not much else. Did you say they were mages?

My name is Ashley, by the way."

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Thunder in the Distance (thetwo)

Spoiler

Ashleys Status: HP = 45, P = 55, EP = 40

"Yes, there are mages among them. None that I've seen are particularly powerful, but a good number seemed schooled in Light magic. A favorite tactic of theirs seems to be using a flash to blind their prey at the onset of an ambush. There are likely more powerful ones out there, but I haven't seen any of them yet. If you could send me the corpse of either kind, I would be very grateful. Other than that, most of them attack directly with their claws. My name is Cornelius, it's a pleasure to meet you Ashley."

 

[thetwo]

Re: Thunder in the Distance (thetwo)

"Well, that's good to know. Oh... you said these devices wouldn't work on a living demon. Is that because of the ward, or would using one on myself be a terminally stupid idea? And how large are they?"

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Thunder in the Distance (thetwo)

Spoiler

Ashleys Status: HP = 45, P = 55, EP = 40

"More terminally stupid. The device breaks the subject down and then reconstructs it back here. A corpse wouldn't care, but I don't think it would be very pleasant for a living thing. More than one rat can attest to that fact. And they're fairly small, about the size of a pen. I have three of them that I was going to give to you, actually, in case you found something else of interest."

 

[thetwo]

Re: Thunder in the Distance (thetwo)

"Okay, one last question about the devices. You say they'll kill something I use them on? I don't suppose there's any chance that I could, say, use one on a still-living demon in order to kill it?"