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Post by Tout-Perd on Jan 22, 2007 15:30:42 GMT -5
"Like old times, isn't it, Helen?" Abatis stood still, looking down from the rail of the Olivine lighthouse. His blue-grey hair blew back in the wind, ruffled like the wings of a bird. Helen, dressed in a much more modest dress than her usual, this one a muted shade of lavender, sipped slowly from the glass in her hand.
"I don't think things can ever be the way they once were, you know?" Helen said, and looked down at the ocean below.
"Something weighs heavily on your soul, no?" Abatis looked at Helen, concern in his eyes. Helen looked up at his familiar assymetrical gaze, the red and grey of comfort to her. She shrugged.
"It's nothing... Really."
"It is. Ever since I took you as my apprentice, I've always known when something troubled you."
"Abatis?"
"Yes?"
"Whenever I cast a spell, I destroy something. Not just disintegrate it... I remove it from existence entirely. Nothing left except for the magic. And that returns to the normal streams of manna or such eventually..."
"And?"
"Well, this method of casting might be powerful and all, but it does destroy matter permanently... I was thinking that if I keep abusing it, I'll eventually make something bad happen."
"So, you wish to learn another school of magic than the 'Spells of the Unbound Chain'?" Abatis asked, running his hand across the cold metal of the rail.
"Yes. You know I have a natural talent for learning magic."
"I know, Helen. You're the best student I ever had."
"Do you have any other possible schools of magic for me to learn?"
"No, I'm afraid not. I know you. Black and white magic are too bland for you... You prefer something that works outside the natural order of magic, something totally obscure and exotic... Right?"
"As always." Helen said with a slight smile and a toast of her glass.
"I don't have any new innovations... But I do know of something else. There is a school of magic being created by some of my contemporaries... Something really innovative."
"Yes?"
"Of course, with mages being the way they are..."
"I'm going to have to infiltrate and slash or destroy whatever building they use for this research, right?"
"And steal their notes on the new school. It's called the 'Rebellious Orator' school of magic. As far as I can tell, it exploits an ambient magic that has yet to be tapped into. This naturally makes it something that is somewhat risky, but it shouldn't be too much more difficult than anything you've tried before."
"Gotcha." Helen downed the last of her drink. -------- Helen Mercury swirled her finger in the air, a ball of light she had conjured orbitting around her fingertip. She sat at a table in the alley behind a popular café in Olivine, focusing her magic ambience and trying to radiate as much magic energy as she could. Hopefully, anybody who could sense magic would pick up on her as that of a powerful magician. This sort of thing always worked for luring in the magicky types, or at least those with superhuman capabilities.
OOC: Feel free to jump in with anybody. Helen's not a militant Summoner, so she'll happily side with almost anybody.
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Post by Beelzebibble on Jan 22, 2007 19:54:07 GMT -5
OOC: Be gentle, it's my first time (basically). I don't need Pokemon, do I? It is Olivine... When the world is free of thunder, and the skies are peaceful above, Once again we'll know the wonder of the magic power of love, Oh, the magic of love.There's a crock for you. Terrian sunk a little lower in his seat. Had to get it out of his head. Stupid song anyway. Channery'd loved it. He hated the whole genre. Had to get it out. Think of anything else. Think of a Miles song. Think of the blasted pope on a pogo stick. Just don't think of that one. He reached for his drink. It was empty. Jesus. Just don't... When the world is free of thunder, and the skies are peaceful above, Once again we'll know the wonder of the girl a few tables over was twirling a ball of light around her fingertip. Terrian blinked. He squinted. No, she was still doing it. He went over the past couple of hours in his mind. He didn't suppose he'd ingested anything that might cause him to start seeing random orbs of light spinning around the fingers of beautiful women. Stopped. Thought about that one. She was pretty good, he had to admit. Something a little proud in the face, but he liked a girl with an ego. Well, why not. It'd pass a few minutes at least. "Waiter? I'll have another one." He thought for a moment. "Two, actually." * * * Therefore two dashing, attractive, completely identical young men approached Helen's table at the same time. Each of them was carrying a glass of red wine. One of them pulled out a chair. The second one sat down. The first one sat down, too. There was now one dashing, attractive young man sitting across from Helen and holding a glass of red wine in each hand. "Care for a drink?"
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Post by Tout-Perd on Jan 22, 2007 20:30:52 GMT -5
OOC: Pokemon are never requisite (even in PRP.), though use of them is permitted in all Pokeschool forums.
And indeed, this week is THE GREATEST WEEK IN TEH HISTARY OF TEH EXODUS. Al, Red, DL, and BB all return, Photu begins RPing, Mafia begins, Loogs posts In A Moment, etcetera, etcetera. This is just plain awesome.
BIC: Helen smiled. "I think I've been drinking enough, considering that I'm seeing double on occasion." She tipped back her hat, and grinned slightly. "Really, I think that would be rather nice." She accepted the drink with obvious gratitude. "Thanks, fella." She took a sip.
"Good stuff." Helen snapped her fingers with her free hand, the ball deciding to orbit the crown of her hat instead. She drummed her fingers on the table, looking over her shoulder momentarilly before turning back towards him. "So, what brings you around these parts?"
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Post by Beelzebibble on Jan 22, 2007 21:00:28 GMT -5
The first word that popped into his mind was "Recuperation". He wouldn't say that, of course. Couldn't mention Channery. The whole on-the-rebound approach was not, he knew quite well, the way to make a strong impression.
He decided, instead, to give her both his best charming-mysterious smile and a smaller truth. Fortunately for him, there was still a superb elephant sitting in this particular metaphorical living room. "Around Olivine? Boring story. Around to your table? Well, you tell me." He gestured at the ball of light still revolving lazily around her hat. "Nice trick. Tell me how it's done? Or are you a performer?"
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Post by Tout-Perd on Jan 22, 2007 23:56:30 GMT -5
"Well, I guess you could say... Both. I'm a magician, both stage and real. I can cast pretty much any basic spell, but they've always bored me, so I try to find some challenging and unique methods for doing things." She smiled, and shrugged. "I'm waiting for people to show up that I have a feeling will be coming. I've got a little bit of an errand to run, and their help could come in handy." Helen took a liberal sip of her drink. "It's a nice day out, don't you think?"
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Post by Beelzebibble on Jan 23, 2007 6:56:10 GMT -5
Terrian wouldn't be deterred. "What kind of people? What errand? I only ask because I think I can help you. I don't know if it's some kind of magic or just a special power, but..."
He stood up again. He did this seven more times. There were now eight dashing, attractive, completely identical young men standing around the one dashing, attractive young man who still sat at Helen's table.
"...I could be persuaded to lend a few hands to your venture. Name's Terrian Brogue, by the way."
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Post by prime on Jan 23, 2007 12:57:27 GMT -5
Prime teleported in behind Helen, and raised an eyebrow at the 8 men across the table from him. "That's a neat trick." He said, honestly wishing he could do that. "Sadly, if I tried, everything around me would probably blow up." He stretched, then looked at Helen, and at the ring of light above her head. "You called? Normally I wouldn't respond to such a summon, but Aurora is missing, and I'm rather bored."
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Post by Tout-Perd on Jan 23, 2007 15:16:21 GMT -5
"Impressive indeed." Helen agreed. "My name's Helen Mercury, pleased to make your acquaintance. All of you." She offered a hand in greeting, standing up and stepping towards the seated Terrian.
"My task that lies ahead of me is rather difficult, I suppose. I need to procure a tome on a school of magic from a magical research center, and since they were unwilling to give me any more information than that it was something new, and 'If you're so interested in a new school of magic, make yer own damn forbidden arts.' to quote, I believe that I may need to acquire it by force."
"I'd rather not kill anybody, or even really hurt them. You know. In and out, grab the book and run. They may be magicians, but I think they'd have the courtesy not to curse my soul out of existance if I return the book once I finish learning from it." Helen said with a disturbing lightness in her tone. "Besides, they're mainly just scholars, not combat casters, so I don't think they'll try anything TOO lethal."
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Post by Beelzebibble on Jan 23, 2007 16:01:27 GMT -5
Terrian stood up. "You've got my attention, Miss Mercury. Covert infiltrations are just my style. I find they go much smoother when you can break into six floors at the same time." His duplicates nodded mischeviously, then stepped back to merge into Terrian. "But do you foresee any possible... side benefits for someone who isn't really the spellbook type?"
He turned to the new arrival. Presumably one of the people Mercury had been waiting for, considering the way he'd addressed her. "Nice to meet you, too. I'm Terrian Brogue. I take it you two know each other?"
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Post by prime on Jan 23, 2007 16:07:17 GMT -5
Prime laughed, the ground around him rippling with his ambient energy. His eye's glowed briefly as he lost control of his power for a moment, then he brought it back under control. "Never underestimate a scholor Helen." He said, avoiding her hand with practiced ease. He gave her an apologetic look. "Sorry, hazard of overwhelming power. I wouldn't want to make your hand dissapear off to some alternate reality." Prime said. "Now, as for the scholars. People like that generally have guards, and lots of them, not including a great deal of nasty magical traps that will mostly likely be entirely unknown to either of you." He said, holding out his hand. "I, however, bend reality itself to my will. So most likely any kind of magical trap cast at me will be ineffective. My current form is composed of energy, they'd need a great deal to disrupt it. So I suggest, for the moment at least, that you allow me to be your tank. Its unlikely anything that have will prove effective against me. Unless death herself is working for him of corse." He grinned. "So when do we leave?"
He turned to look at Terrian. "Sadly no, I don't really know this woman. I'm just board, and when you meet so many new people, you learn to deal with things. Especially when you have my abilities." He looked at Terrians aura, at his soul, and grinned. "Your a promising prospect, I hope to see more of you in the future. Full to the brim with hope and confidence." He said, holding back his tongue. Prime didn't have the heart to tell him what the world was truely like, when you crossed over to the other side.
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Post by Tout-Perd on Jan 23, 2007 16:26:46 GMT -5
"Well, I have no idea on that one. I was told that they research magical gear, attempting to reverse engineer lost magicks and other such things. They might have something juicy, though I'm also betting they've got a lot of cursed stuff you'd rather not touch. Pants of mystic castration and that sort of deal."
"Actually, Prime and I go back quite a bit. We tend to run into eachother during earthshaking cataclysms and the like. Don't get much of a chance to talk... For some reason. So I guess that'd explain his failure to recognize me." Helen said with a note of mock curiosity. She reached into her pocket, and produced a sheet of green paper. One side was a flier for a local library, but the other had apparently had notes scribbled on it.
"The Parmigianino Institute is located in the swamps of Lousiana. They believe in taking a scientific approach towards magic and mysticism, analyzing it to see what makes it tick. Their ideal goal is a world that accepts magic as just another fact, a sort of law of physics that counteracts the other laws one could say. They have several large brick buildings, not too odd to look at at first, until you realize that they're magically suspended over the swamps. Otherwise, from my examination of the buildings, and the data they've released, I can't tell much more. I wanted to ask my... Tutor? Sensei? Teacher? Whatever. Abatis about them, but he said that it would be best for me if I started learning for myself."
"I guess that unless we have any more questions, we're about ready to head out." Helen snapped her fingers, her clothes instantly exploding into another outfit. She now was in her stage outfit, enormous pink tophat resting atop her purple locks. She wore purple dress that barely reached the tops of her thighs, and bright pink tights that seemed almost to glow with their luminosity. A pair of small, businesslike slippers completed the ensemble. "I think I'm about ready."
OOC: Magic is a great equalizer, ladies and gents. And I think that I've got plans to make sure we're all pretty even contributors here.
And I'm not sure if Helen ever really met Prime... I think that she's been a background character in a few topics with him, though they never met. If it involves Miko, Helen is usually mentioned somewhere subtle.
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Post by prime on Jan 23, 2007 16:46:02 GMT -5
OOC: They probably became aquinted at first in Divine Dragon topic, and I think they have bumped into eachother now and again, but nothing substantial.
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Post by Beelzebibble on Jan 23, 2007 20:05:24 GMT -5
"I'm good to go when you guys are. How are we getting to Louisiana? Teleportation?" That last word was spoken in a tone halfway between genuine curiousity and incredulity. Terrian was learning a lot of new things, these past few minutes, and the part that bothered him was that he actually sort of believed them.
Well, there was also the part where it seemed he was the only one learning new things. That bothered him too. Still. There had to be a stupid one in every group.
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Post by prime on Jan 23, 2007 20:20:16 GMT -5
Prime grinned. "No, I believe I can effect a manner of transport more comfortable to you." He said, turning his gaze towards the street. He raised his hand, and reality began to twist before him. The features beyond him ran and twisted, no longer certain, and then Prime reached out and brought another point of space to himself. A vertical slash opened in reality, showing a marsh through the other side, edges of ragged energy flapping wildly. "Make sure you don't touch the edges of the portal." Prime said, "You could end up loosing an arm if your not careful."
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Post by Beelzebibble on Jan 23, 2007 20:26:56 GMT -5
Terrian looked at the gash. He then looked at Helen. He then smiled again, this time as innocently as he could muster. "Ladies first."
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Post by Tout-Perd on Jan 24, 2007 15:55:31 GMT -5
Helen tapped on the brim of her hat a few times, and straightened it. She inhaled deeply. "Here we go, guys. Don't attack until we have to." She stepped through the portal, energy crackling around her momentarily. She landed on the roof of one of the buildings, a small service shed. All of the buildings had no windows or doors, apparently relying on the mystic abilities of those present to make an entry.
There was the sound of a passing gust of wind, and a small, fragile man appeared. "So, what is this we have here?" The scholar asked, his delicate robes making him an obvious mage. "Sometimes it pays to scry around."
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Post by Damien on Jan 24, 2007 16:54:28 GMT -5
A loud cry was heard as a figure dressed in black was thrown from the portal, landing face down on the building. Moaning in pain the man picked himself up and rubbed his cheek.
"With Ninja-like subtlety our hero makes his way on to the rooftop...." Damien said self-mockingly to nobody in particular "..Ouch." Just then he looked down and noticed that his toes were sticking out through the end of his boots. "Ugh, reality defying portals suck." He said wiggling his toes.
As he looked up, and saw Helen, his face turned a vibrant shade of red, perhaps he should have stayed at home.
"I followed the umm magicallyness. I'm not retarded, I swear, I came to help out.....I guess."
OOC: Yeah....random....sweet.
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Post by Beelzebibble on Jan 24, 2007 20:16:19 GMT -5
Terrian stepped through the portal and immediately fell several feet onto the rooftop. His reflexes had already responded to create several duplicates by the time he hit the surface. They rubbed their bruises and grumbled as they merged back into Terrian.
"Off to a good start," he said, grinning wryly. "No windows, no doors... How am I supposed to infiltrate this? And do the--"
He was about to finish that sentence with "--researchers get any sunlight at all?", but he trailed off as he noticed their new companion. So he was about to introduce himself and ask the fellow's name, but then he noticed the small, fragile man, and he decided that perhaps he might just want to shut up at that particular moment.
OOC: Was that right? Is the small, fragile man a new character? The way you wrote it, Lee, I wasn't sure whether that was the case or whether Helen had magically disguised herself. If the latter is true, pretend that Terrian is just surprised at Helen's transformation... I guess.
No, I'm not terribly good at this.
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Post by ch00beh on Jan 24, 2007 20:30:14 GMT -5
Unlike the previous incursion, another figure casually sauntered through the gash.
"I'm not 100% why I decided to check out this portal. Probably bored or something," Rie muttered to no one in particular.
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Post by prime on Jan 24, 2007 20:30:27 GMT -5
OOC: Actually, your doing well. Your not suppost to write from Lee's perspective, but from your characters own perspective. If your charrie thinks that Helen is now a fragile man, then thats what you SHOULD write. It adds depth to your post, and gives us something more interesting to process. As well as a way to, possible, have more fun with you ^^.
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Post by Damien on Jan 25, 2007 16:28:48 GMT -5
OOC: All the same I believe that the old man is an NPC character if you like. He's our first challenge before entering the building. =P
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Post by Tout-Perd on Jan 25, 2007 23:52:55 GMT -5
OOC: Yup, NPC of sorts. Though I'm not above adopting NPCs who worked well enough and had unique flavor (Tsubota, Monaco, Pablo).
BIC: The man glared at the group, his palms glowing with arcane energy. "I am not the type for violent behavior. I personally prefer more reserved, peaceful methods of conflict resolution. I know that the woman with you, Helen Mercury, is trying to obtain an experimental school of magic. However, instead of applying for the right to join this organization, she has chosen to try to obtain it in some other manner."
"I'm going to ask you all once. Are you here to bargain, or here to fight?" The man glared at the people, his gaze piercing and full of wisdom.
"Well, I think that depends on the kind of bargain you want to strike." Helen said, cracking her knuckles. "How about we don't fight if you just let me borrow the tome?"
"Inacceptable. And with that threat, you give me authorization to begin triggering our defenses. Descent to hell!" The man's voice rose, clapping his hands for emphasis. The building that they were on dropped sharply, hitting the swamp below. It began to sink below the surface.
"I'd advise you all to relocate swiftly. These swamps can turn one into mindless undead if they aren't warded appropriately." The man gloated from his spot in the sky, focusing more energy in the palms of his hands. Helen removed her hat, producing a rose. She threw it into the air.
"Blossom so slight, Pray now, give me flight!"
The rose dissolved in a cloud of sparks, Helen immediately rising into the air. She realized that in her rush, she had forgotten to protect her allies. Turning her back on the mage, she began rummaging through her hat for important components for another flight spell.
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Post by Beelzebibble on Jan 26, 2007 7:14:24 GMT -5
A few seconds later Terrian was next to her.
He wasn't standing on air, though. There were several duplicates underneath him, each of them standing on the shoulders of the one below. They all gave Helen a serious look.
"You might consider helping me out--" said the original Terrian.
"--I'm not the type of guy you want becoming an undead--" warned the first duplicate.
"--zombie army in a matter of minutes--" elaborated the second.
"--could get ugly, is all I mean to say," advised the third.
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Post by prime on Jan 26, 2007 10:27:19 GMT -5
Prime stepped through the portal, and fell suddenly several feet to the top of the building. "What the hell?" He said, landing with a thud. His leg's were numb now, he hadn't been expecting them. "Hmmmmm." He voiced, "Judging from the current rate of sink, I believe one of those traps I was talking about went off?" He asked, just a little irritated. White tendrils of energy flowed out from his feet, slowly engulfing the building. He lifted it back up to its proper position, and then turned his eye's to the arcane scholar in the sky. "I assume you had some kind of self justifying speech before this started." Prime said mildly, "Care to repeat it?"
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Post by ch00beh on Jan 29, 2007 0:26:10 GMT -5
Rie quickly jumped into the air. Her body suddenly mutated and morphed around itself, reshaping itself from the previous humanoid form into a more practical eagle form. The unnaturally white eagle flapped its wings to stay in the air then flew towards Helen. Rie simply circled above the mage, waiting, unable to communcate or do anything else while in animal form.
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Post by Tout-Perd on Jan 31, 2007 0:42:49 GMT -5
"Accursed beings! The man began working himself into a fervor, mumbling under his breath. He had to somehow stifle the energy-being, limit him. He was far too powerful to let him roam free. "I will repeat something, but I believe you already know what manner of repetition it is that I pursue."
The man produced a pouch of dust, and threw the bag into the murky waters. Moments later, Prime's reflection began to move independently, refusing to follow him. It soon sneered maliciously, bursting free from the water with energy lancing all about. The scholar snickered. "He may be only a temporary clone, but I assure you, his time will be trying for all of you."
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