Revaliir

Author: CodeNat, Posted: Thu Mar 3, 2016 11:33 PM, Post Subject: The Grand Inquisition [Open]

For someone that Natsumi felt needed to be committed to the nearest mental clinic, Silanus was uncannily able to locate and push her buttons. She was hoping, for the life of her, that he would freak out at the thought of being blackmailed: that he would cause enough chaos for her to get away and leave him as a scapegoat. But he didn't. Instead, he grew excited, and put on a swagger.

Natsumi could only watch as that soldier offered up his services on a silver platter. Mathias's grin at this development didn't escape her notice, but she knew from experience that she shouldn't dare reveal her hand so early. She had dealt with enough people in power to recognize the telltale signs of a dangerous individual, and Mathias possessed those characteristics. He was dangerous: the kind of person that pretended to be your friend before they stabbed you in the back. One word out of turn from either of his pawns could end very badly for those people, so Natsumi kept her mouth shut while the superior and subordinate discussed Silanus' proposal.

"Patience, Sergeant," the lieutenant responded to his underling's objection. He held up his hand to command silence, and Michayel did as he was told. In the mean time, the sly fox in human skin turned his attention back to the eager warrior. "The request for men is denied. Shao knows the guard intimately, and will sniff you out immediately if you have guardsmen following you around; not to mention I don't trust you ordering MY men around. No, we'll be watching from a distance, and you two will just stay in the city. If I know Shao like I think I do, he'll treat your presence like a fish does a worm on a hook. With that in mind, Sergeant Michayel will see you out. All we ask is that you don't leave town for a while and that you try to stir up the hornet's nest during your stay."

Michayel was as stiff as stone when he heard his superior's final word. Natsumi's empathic nature gave her some insight on the anger he was feeling, even if it was invisible to the others. She noted how he buried his emotions, making internal remarks on how unhealthy such a practice was as the sergeant motioned for her and Silanus to follow.

"Come on you two," he said before guiding them out onto the street, past all the guards from before. He did not follow them beyond the threshold of his barracks, though. Rather than expose himself to prying eyes, he slammed the door behind the delinquent pair. Silanus and Natsumi were left to walk alone, once more: a fact the latter exploited in order to apprise her ally of circumstance in which they now lay.

"They have no intention of letting us get away," the fox girl whispered to the towering warrior while drawing away from the office. "I've been around enough people like Mathias to realize how many of them are weasels. He'll wait till we track down Shao then dispose of us so he can claim all the glory. Mark my words, tomorrow morning's story will be 'ambitious lieutenant apprehends two criminals and brings down an entire mob during an underworld spat.'"

Author: Silanus, Posted: Sun Feb 21, 2016 5:14 PM, Post Subject: The Grand Inquisition [Open]

Oh, this is great! The officer is willing to give a job to them so they don´t get arrested! What could be better? Many would be angry for this… But not Silanus, not him. This is a good opportunity, also, killing some crime lords? That is even better! Crime lords, corrupted people and bandits… They are the fault for the Fratis´, the clan where Silanus is in, misery! Perhaps murdering some of them can be be a good way of using his anger. Silanus gave the officer an arrogant look and said: "Hah! You know what you´re doing, my dear officer. Giving the job to us means this criminal will suffer!" Silanus stopped talking and licked his lips. A confident smirk appeared on his face.

Without asking his companion Natsumi, he made a demand to the officer: "2 men… The kiiiiind guard that brought us here and whoever you please… We ask you only for 2 men to help us on this… We never know, perhaps this Shao man has some thugs helping him, someone guarding our backs would be just fine!" Silanus turned his back and looked at Michayel, the sergeant was glaring at him, he was not very happy listening to this… Michayel said: "Sir, do you really think it´s a good idea to give those murderers backup? It´s a dead sentence, if I may say… Why don´t we just leave this to agents that will know what they´re doing and behead those thugs?"

Silanus gazed at Natsumi, she seemed to be a little anxious by the simple fact they were being blackmailed… Well, perhaps Silanus was enjoying this little game, but she wasn´t… Or atleast she didn´t seem to.

Author: CodeNat, Posted: Fri Feb 5, 2016 7:47 PM, Post Subject: The Grand Inquisition [Open]

A mental sigh of relief came to Natsumi when Silanus played along with her guise, no doubt exaggerated by the release of tension in her shoulders. For once, things seemed to be going back on track, and the guardsman before her small party returned to his unassuming nature. He motioned for the pair to move forward, and they followed him through the snowy streets of the floating city as he led them to the nearest barracks. Eventually, they arrived at a fortified structure on the corner of a busy street, at which point the escort spoke up.

"Wait here," he said before ducking into the garrison. Two other guardsmen remained in the man's absence, watching the armored soldier and fox girl as if they were already criminals. It gave Natsumi a sour feeling in her gut, one she couldn't shake even after the sergeant returned. "The lieutenant will see you now."

Following this remark, Natsumi finally passed through the door and emerged into a dimly lit room filled with cells. Sergeant Michayel, the name of the man who had been guiding her thus far, led the way through this maze of male pheromones, only leaving his charge when both Silanus and Natsumi were inside a much tinier office.

"So, you two know about Adelano" asked a man from behind a desk in front of the unlikely pair? He sat on an uncomfortable-looking stool, faced away from his guests while he fiddled with a large map on the wall. His confidence was overpowering, but not as much as the incense he was burning. The smell made Natsumi nauseous, enough to where she had to fight the desire to pass out while answering the question given her.

"In a manner of speaking," she said while trying to find a place to sit down. "He tried to kill us while we were walking near his house, but we don't know him intimately."

And so began the return to chaos. Once Natsumi admitted to knowing Adelano – even if only by proximity – Lieutenant Mathias turned around to face her with a less than amused expression. He forcefully opened a drawer in his desk, and then took out an item that looked much like a scrying bowl. Regrettably, that wasn't its only feature. It was also a recorder that had seen the entirety of her interaction with Adelano. Both Silanus and she had been caught red-handed, as the currently running playback revealed.

"Then I suppose this was self-defense," Mathias asked as the Black Queen became visibly uncomfortable. "You can drop the act. You two interrupted a sting operation, and you're lucky I don't have you both arrested right now." He paused, but not as an act of intimidation. Rather than staring down his suspects like he normally did to get a confession, the young lieutenant let out an audible sigh of frustration. "Unfortunately, I need the help of scum like you. The man Adelano killed – the black market one? His name was Lexil Gracie: a small time representative of Shao, one of the local crime lords. Normally, he only works in drugs, but our investigations reveal something big just came into his possession. The incident with Adelano - a virtual hermit of a mage that has given us no trouble until today - tells us that." Yet another pause played out, followed by the man getting up from his seat to pace back and forth along the far wall. "We were trying to find out what the item was, watching from afar without overplaying our hand; and then you two showed up. Now, it seems Shao is blaming you for botching his deal, and he's coming after you."

'Crap,' was all the fox-girl could think of to say when she heard this part of the interrogation gone plea-bargain. She knew where this officer was headed, and she didn't like it one bit. Nothing good came from pissing off the powerful unless you could ensure they didn't come after you out of revenge. Natsumi knew this first hand, and yet that's exactly what this stereotypical detective was trying to get her to do. Unfortunately, saying no to law enforcement while in their home turf was also a horrible idea, so the druid along with Silanus was stuck in a catch-22.

"I'll let you two off the hook without any strings attached: provided that you help us salvage our plan to bring down Shao. Your killing of Adelano can easily be considered self-defense, and the decapitation mercy. I'd be willing to forget it ever happened and just file a different report with my supervisors given the proper incentive. All I want is Shao."

"Can't see we have much choice," the Black Queen responded in as neutral a tone as she could muster once she realized she was being blackmailed. Sadly, Mathias, in his cloak of self-righteousness, was not amused by this answer in the slightest, and he made that clear when sitting back down at his desk.

"No, you don't."

Author: Silanus, Posted: Thu Jan 28, 2016 5:53 PM, Post Subject: The Grand Inquisition [Open]

Silanus sighted, worried about the future. There are many, but no, really, MANY cases of a group of "psychos" armored with an ancient kelonian-style armor kidnapping and killing mages in many cities of Parvpora. In some cases, mages were found crucified, with letters who warned that if they don't "stop acting against the Divines" more travellers and "heretic" mages would be murdered…

Know, a little riddle… Who is a psycho, wears ancient styled armor, and of course, hates mages..? Easy, Silanus… However, only two corpses were found on Tarishitar, the place with most victims is Wyllmochvar, since Silanus and his… His "friends" have a camp there. So, there are many chances the guards of this city now few things…

Silanus' plan had failed miserabily, he was almost condemed to death, but Natsumi's lie saved his life… The soldier said many offensive things to her, and in some cases he even menaced her… Why didn't she just say that he is a random creep and let them execute him? Now, the armored man was really in debt with a ma… A MAGE!

Of course, Natsumi's ears disturbed Silanus at the beggining… That is clearly something new for him! But, at this moment, that did not matter… Natsumi came with a new plan; Silanus looked at his sheated sword… He could easily stab the guard with it, or atleast hit him with his shield… Oh wait, he left it at home! The soldier knew violence would be a really bad idea, so he decided to follow his ally's plan… Honestly, it is hard for Silanus to not talk in third person, but he thought it would not be a problem if he did, since his name was not on the wanted criminals list. He said : "Silanus does not know how this little girl is the daughter of my brother eh… My brother Carl. She is so odd, with those animal ears! Oh well, don't waste Silanus' time and lead the way, officer!"

Author: CodeNat, Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2016 11:35 PM, Post Subject: The Grand Inquisition [Open]

[OOC: Sweet new avatar, Silanus. :O]

Belief and reality are two separate realms, as any person with common sense would tell you. Just because someone believes something about themselves, for example, does not mean that their belief is reality. Their faith may foster growth – as most strongly held ideologies do – but it will never be a replacement for true skill.

Unfortunately, Silanus, based on his reaction to the guard's sudden appearance, clearly did not understand – or just hadn't fully grasped – this fundamental rule. When Natsumi was accosted by the uniformed official, she could only agonize over her ally's inevitable, verbal response. She listened to his attempted bluff, cringing at all the loopholes it contained. Of all roles he could have chosen to play, he had picked one that required the most knowledge: knowledge he couldn't have possibly possessed unless he were intimately involved in foreign affairs. Not to mention he was slandering Natsumi's name to do so, and in one of the few cities she wasn't already a wanted criminal. It was a plan doomed to failure from the start; one that could only end with both Silanus and Natsumi being placed under arrest.

"Ah, good sir," the guardsman said with a smug expression as he proceeded to spell out exactly what was wrong with the warrior's story. "The military governor of Adeluna is a woman; and, even if she weren't, Tarishtar is sovereign nation with its own extradition treaties. You need proper documentation to prove that you are a foreign diplomat here to arrest a criminal, regardless of rank. Since you seem to be lacking that and you're not even wearing the mandatory identification harness, however, you should be aware that the penalty for perjury in matters of foreign affairs is death. "

Thoughts were racing through Natsumi's head as the guard was speaking, her brain desperately trying to pin down an escape from the hole Silanus had dug for them. One non-violent solution came to mind before the order to arrest was given, and, although it was possible the mad warrior wouldn't like it, the druid knew she had no choice but to proceed.

"Please, forgive my uncle," she hastily said while moving between the irritated sergeant and Silanus. "He may look young, but he's already becoming senile. He believes himself part of an ancient order of warriors in which he was the right hand man of A military governor but not THE military governor."

Suspicious of Natsumi's sudden defense of the man she had seemed perfectly willing to part with up until a short while ago, the imposing officer continued his impromptu interrogation.

"Why did he call you a criminal, then? And why do you let him roam around in public with weapons on if he's really that far gone?"

"He's superstitious and believes that I'm automatically a thief because of my ears." Pausing, Natsumi removed her hood to show the man her fox ears. This validated her story in his eyes, but did cause his eyebrows to arc. "As for the weapons, it's not that we want him to have them so much as no one is brave enough to try disarming him. His mind may be going, but his sword arm is still very strong. I brought him here as both a bodyguard and also to make sure he gets some fresh air away from the pell."

This was a blatant lie, but a more believable one than the warrior had told. Few would deny that Silanus had mental instability just by looking at him, and senility was hard to argue against. The guardsman understood this and decided to drop his charges rather than face an unnecessary headache in his immediate future.

"Fine then," he said with that in mind, keeping an extremely watchful eye on Silanus as he continued. "Both of you still need to come see the lieutenant, but I expect your uncle to behave himself from now on." With that, tensions gradually subsided, but only so long as Silanus kept his mouth shut. Natsumi gave him a death glare as her way of warning him to do so, but she knew, based on the warrior's earlier performances, that her desire was likely to have little effect on his actions. Silanus had not proven himself to be the most reliable of people, thus far, and a second chance wasn't magically going to change that.

Author: Silanus, Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2016 12:07 AM, Post Subject: The Grand Inquisition [Open]

Now, Natsumi really surprised Silanus this time. Instead of acting like a soft, weak person, she asked for respect, making it clear for Silanus that she is not a woman that deserves being crushed by others, instead, that she knows her place, and knows that she deserves much better. Perhaps she even gained the soldier's respect! Now, the most respected member of his clan trusting a… A mage? That is clearly something new…

How unfair, how unjust! Just when Tacitus Silanus was going to answer Natsumi, a mister no one cane and INTERRUPTED them. Now, if they were in the wilds and not inside a city, a good punch in the nose would be the reward for this insolent wretch, however, punching a guard is plainly stupid, so Silanus found out another way of sending this canned fool away…

Silanus hid his anger and, with a calmed voice tone he said: "Are you brave or brainless, you disrespectful fool? Don't you sede Silan… Ehem, I am arresting this criminal scum? I am the right hand of the Imperial military governor himself, this little girl has broken so many laws in the land of Adeluna that they had to sent such an important man like myself to get her!" Of course! This plan had to work! The old fashioned armor Silanus was wearing was based on the kelonian armor, and the kelonian armor had some similarities with the armor the officers of the Empire of Adeluna use, so, hopefully, the lieutenant would believe Silanus' story.

The guard stared at Silanus, was his story true? Saying such things to a guard is risky if they were not true. So, who would have the courage to take such a risk? The guard stood in silence, if the stranger's story was actually real, a wrong word would cause trouble… Adeluna is a powerful nation, so angering the militare supreme commander would be a really, really stupid moce… Silanus continued talking: " Oh, so you are still here? Damn it, where are my bodyguards? If I was in your place, I would bow before me and ask for pietas! Now, begone, fool! I am taking this fugitive girl to the lands of Canelux, so she can take her trial!"

Author: CodeNat, Posted: Sat Jan 23, 2016 1:20 PM, Post Subject: The Grand Inquisition [Open]

It had been building for quite some time now: an inner rage that told Natsumi to smack Silanus upside the head. She had suppressed her growing irritation toward the soldier through sheer willpower alone; attempting to maintain what she thought was a necessary alliance. Yet the man was quickly becoming insufferable, and his latest tantrum sent her over the edge. When he began berating her over a simple act of generosity, the last straw had finally fallen.

"Had I any notion that you were a mercenary, I would have paid you for silence long ago!" the druid suddenly shouted to interrupt the long-winded threats of her acquaintance. She swiftly retracted her money from his grasp, and allowed the anger she had been hiding up until now to finally emerge. "Contrary to your assumption – and considering your constant insults up until now – I think of you as a headache that should stop giving me ideas on how to take out my irritation."

Natsumi moved away from Silanus at that point, noticing the chuckling onlookers as she went. She wasn't even interested in what her "ally" had to say in response right now, especially since one more insult from him was likely to cause her call off the entire alliance. He needed to realize that he had benefited from this "filthy mage," or he would be out of luck for anymore assistance. In the meantime, the Black Queen would simply remain outside the shop, waiting till Silanus had the guts to return and ask her about the "plan."

"The plan? The plan is to track down Adelano's superiors, provided you treat me with more respect than you have thus far." She was gruff, still waiting on an apology she could hear from the mad soldier. Unfortunately, she probably wouldn't get the chance to receive what she desired. Her words were overheard by a nearby guard: a battle mage donning the regalia of the Tarishtar guard along with a fantastic beard.

"Adelano, you say," the uniformed man asked? "Young miss, I don't know how you know that name, but you'll have to come with me. The lieutenant will want to see you." Being wanted for multiple, criminal offenses across the surface of Revaliir, Natsumi was more than a little apprehensive toward this officer's approach. She suspected the worst outcome of his involvement, but tried to play along rather than make herself wanted in yet another city for all the wrong reasons.

"Am I under arrest," she asked innocently?

"Not precisely. You haven't broken the law, but Lieutenant Mathias is working a case that involves the name you mentioned. I can't say more in public, other than he is looking for anyone who has information that might assist his investigation." The guard motioned for the young woman to come along, eying Silanus while he did so. She suspected that he might simply be trying to get her away from a dangerous individual, but it wasn't like she had much say in the matter in the first place. If she tried anything out of the ordinary, another unwelcome incident was likely to occur. As such, she could only follow for now, moving away from her spot next to Silanus to do so.

"Very well. Lead the way."

Author: Silanus, Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2016 8:20 PM, Post Subject: The Grand Inquisition [Open]

Silanus got teleported to the city of Tarishitar; of course it was not very usual for him to dissapear and then re-appear infront of a store… Teleporting was not his favorite method of transport… Tacitus saw many people in the city, since it was a cold place, most of them were wearing thick winter coats, other were just using magician garbs, surely they were mages… Only mages dress that stupid, or atleast that´s what Silanus thinks.

Silanus saw how Natsumi, with a neutral mood, offered him the money to buy something to wear, with that quantity he could get a cloak or a coat, most people would kindly accept that offer, but Silanus is not most people… Instead of accepting the money, the offer galled him, and he refused to accept it. Silanus removed his galea helmet, his short hair was moist, possibly because the heat of battle made him sweat, or just some snow melted in his head, but that did not matter now; Silanus answered to Natsumi: "Ohhh, Silanus understands what you are trying to do… You, YOU! Oh you, wizards always want to gain someone´s trust to then DESTROY them, ohhh don´t you do that face, what do you think Silanus is, uh? A mercenary? YOU think good little Silanus is a foul mercenary?" It was obvious what would occur now, once again, the paranoic man would get angry…

Silanus continued talking: "Or maybe you just don´t want to earn Silanus´trust, eh? Helping him to murder stupid Adelano would be enough, don´t you think? Perhaps YOU think Silanus does not have any money, UH?! WHAT!? Just because he uses this rusty, antique armor and sword, he is poor, right? RIGHT? NO! You disgust me, like every other mage, you ARE a miserable wretch" Silanus CAN buy his own cloak, or what? You think he is poor? Uh? Maybe if SILANUS pierces your skull with his dear spear and throws it to the sea he could prove he is wealthy, no? OF COURSE NOT! Silanus is not a barbaric person, did you REALLY think Silanus would do something like that? Silanus would simply CRUCIFY you! Too bad he does not have any wood… What if you stop talking and let me buy a cloak in peace, uh? Keep your money, I don´t want to know what foul methods you used to earn it…"

As Silanus talked, many people looked at them, some got worried, other laughed, other just tried to ignore it. A group of guards kept an eye on him to see if he would do something… But he simply entered to the store, bought a thick coat and returned to Natsumi. He acted as nothing had happened and said: "Uff, that place smells good. Silanus likes good smells, who doesn´t? So, what´s the next plan, eh?"

Author: CodeNat, Posted: Fri Jan 8, 2016 8:37 PM, Post Subject: The Grand Inquisition [Open]

[OOC: Gmode permission was given for the portal.]

Nothing about the visit with Adelano had gone according to plan; but, then again, rarely did anything go according to plan in the druid's life. Natsumi's hope, from the beginning, had been to use the elf to get to his superiors, perhaps even to play him against the insane warrior who had become her ally of circumstance, the very same one who was, unfortunately, still alive. The cryomancer's own madness, though, made both of these options impossible. A combination between explosion and avalanche ruined any evidence the woman might have found, and the mage's wounds made him useless as an informant. Even if neither of the fighters present had dealt the finishing blow, he would have bled out in less than an hour. Silanus' grim beheading was, therefore, merciful in some small way.

Mercy did little to quench Natsumi's disappointment about the whole affair, though. Flecks of blood hit her face as she backed away from the headless corpse, pondering on her next move while dismissing all the battle implements she had used mere moments ago. All the while, the madman nearby began shouting once more, complaining about the chill in the air and his poor taste in proper attire. He was quite the nuisance, but a useful one who knew how to taunt.

"I'll buy you a coat," the woman said after using a piece of snow to wipe the blood from her tanned facade. "I don't have any clothes that would fit you, and I get the feeling you'd prefer something made in a more mundane fashion anyway." Without even a moment's notice, Natsumi opened a gate that transported both her and her tagalong up to the proper city of Tarishitar. By sheer luck, the pair ended up in front of a clothing store named The Commoner's Garb, and, once there, Natsumi took out exactly 25 silver crescents from her coin pouch. She begrudgingly offered every single one of them to Silanus, and then finally continued to speak. "That should be enough for an overcoat or a thick cloak. Try not to cause trouble."

Although outward appearances might have depicted otherwise – considering how calm the cloaked woman was in giving away her hard-earned money – the mad soldier was damn lucky that Natsumi was being generous enough to help him at all. She realized that the price of an overcoat was a paltry sum to pay for reduced tensions, however, and also wasn't sure that she could get away without more aid from her guest. Irritatingly enough, the two were stuck together, at least until Natsumi found a more capable person.

Author: Silanus, Posted: Wed Jan 6, 2016 4:55 PM, Post Subject: The Grand Inquisition [Open]

Silanus was some meters behind Natsumi, watching how she finished Adelano. It was very satisfying for Silanus to see the fearsome frost golem turn into a little elf. The blizzard he caused dissapeared, just like his fog. Adelano´s "great" plan just quickened his defeat; the elf had no mana left to cast anything, now all he could do was wait for his death, nothing more, nothing less… At least Adelano tried to face his death with a little courage, or was it? Maybe his energy got drained so much during his golem form that he could not even beg for mercy, but it did not matter for Silanus, right now, the most important thing for the warrior was to end this elf´s miserable life, he sheated his sword and walked towards him, threw the newly made stone shield to the ground and held his sword with both hands, ready to do the long-waited final slash…

Silanus was not laughing, nor mocking, and of course, not smiling. Killing his enemies was something he did quietly, because even if he hated his enemy with all his soul, he deserved a rather honourable last minute. Silanus looked at Natsumi and said: "Oh, how kind of you to let Silanus do the final blow!" After that, with a quick movement, his short sword slashed Adelano´s neck, beheading him. Now that the battle was finally over, Silanus could sheat his bloody sword and rest. No more ice flying everywhere, no more fog, and no more huge frost golems attacking him… Just this god damn snow. Tacitus found a big piece of ice that fell from Adelano when his shard was removed and sat in it, after that he said to Natsumi: "Have you seen Silanus´spear? It should be here somewhere, oh, poor Silanus he loved that spear! It was a family heirloom! Oh, there it is! Covered with snow and pointy pieces of ice, but there it is!" The "soldier" smiled as he grabbed his spear and put it in his back. The place was each time more silent, the only thing that could be heard was the wind… The strong wind… This wind made Tacitus Silanus tremble, it was just too cold for him and his armor did not even have sleeves, and let´s not forget his skirt was not very long…

Silanus decided to break that long silence and said: "Silanus is freezing alive damn it! Damn Tarishitar, place´s so cold almost nobody comes there! Ugh!" When he finished complaining he looked at Natsumi, and with a little hatred said: "Damn it, this is ugh, this will probably turn out to be the worst question Silanus has ever asked, but since you are a mage, can you summon poor little Silanus a coat? A warm coat? Please… If you do Silanus promises not to kill you like the filthy mage you are, deal?"

Author: CodeNat, Posted: Tue Jan 5, 2016 11:10 PM, Post Subject: The Grand Inquisition [Open]

Power corrupts and blinds until only ego remains. This proverbial saying had often held true in Natsumi's experience, as a great majority of the villains she had encountered had allowed their power to blind them to hers at one point or another. It made them easy targets, especially when they stopped thinking of her as a credible threat. Adelano was no different.

He thought himself clever, no doubt, cutting down his size so he could hide in the fog. His new defense, though, was far from perfect. Less volume made him harder to hit, but it also made it harder for him to hide his power source. It was easy enough to see now, embedded in his torso, and Natsumi could effortlessly pinpoint it through the spectral shroud with her visor still on. She was already cocking an arrow once she spotted it in spite of the blizzard, and waiting for the inevitable gloat.

"You can't hit what you can't see! This battle is-" Crash! Before Adelano could finish his sentence, a flaming arrow smashed through his ice spike shield and into his chest. A purple shard flew from the resultant debris, marking the end of the cryomancer's grasp on power. His blizzard died down, and his form reverted to that of an elf with bloodied eyes and an arrow in his sternum. "No… my shard," the newly weakened mortal croaked whilst reaching toward the artifact fragment's aura. His hand was too far away to reach it, and, even if it weren't, Natsumi was already positioning herself between the two entities to prevent a revival.

"Pride goeth before a fall, Adelano," she said while watching the dying man. She had half a mind to end him now with another arrow through his skull, but decided to offer the kill to Silanus instead. That had been his purpose in Parvpora anyway. "Do you want the honors, Silanus?"

In truth, Natsumi had lost sight of the warrior up till this point. The blizzard had been too thick, and her attention had been focused on the levitating nuisance as opposed to shielded companions. Who could say if the soldier was still in one piece after so many randomized attacks?

Author: Silanus, Posted: Tue Jan 5, 2016 1:37 AM, Post Subject: The Grand Inquisition [Open]

Silanus was too busy and could not see Natsumi doing rather impressive tricks to avoid the avalanche and saving herself from a secure death. When the avalanche was finally over, Adelano's body got completely buried beneath the snow and Silanus' spear got lost…

It was incredible how resistant this golem was, well, after all this is his perfect enviroment… When Natsumi finally rose up from the snow and told him about the disgust she felt from the cold, Silanus answered: "This horrible cold is killing poor Silanus!" After that, a powerful, cold breeze hit both of the warriors, then an ice cold blizzard stormed the place… Adelano was apparently growing stronger… It was a good thing that Natsumi was there willing to help; The well-made stone shield she crafted for him would probably give him a big advantage due to the protection it offered, plus, it was not too thick so it would surely be light.

Tacitus Silanus did not understeand why Natsumi did not want some vigilants of the province to come. If they were brave enough they would help them against Adelamo; usually the patrols of those areas were three archers and two battlemages. Despite Silanus' hatred towards magic users, he had respect for battlemages. They wore armor, were trained with melee weapons and most times summoned their own weapons… But patrols were nowhere to be seen…

Suddenly, a new Adelano appeared. He was way smaller, had no legs, short arms, no hands and his face was in his torso. Not to mention the fact that the new golem was levitating… It was easy to understand why Adelano transformed, melee combat and brute force were not working… He created many short ice spikes and spinned them in the air around him, then created a strong, spectral fog… It was nearly impossible to see anything.

Author: Silanus, Posted: Tue Jan 5, 2016 1:37 AM, Post Subject: The Grand Inquisition [Open]

Author: CodeNat, Posted: Fri Jan 1, 2016 12:51 PM, Post Subject: The Grand Inquisition [Open]

When Natsumi worked her arrow to blind Adelano, she had expected a rampage, not an avalanche. The amount of snowfall on the surrounding, elevated ledges had seemed minute at best; certainly smaller than would be required for a proper, white deluge. That observation of hers was clearly in error.

A torrent of snow followed the ice golem's thrashing, strong enough to topple him and sweep the woman away. In any other situation, she would have easily recalled away before the worst of the avalanche arrived. However, seeing as Adelano needed to be killed before the authorities arrived, she did her best to weather the storm while maintaining her position.

Just as the white powder was about to cover her head, she teleported to a new altitude. This process repeated for a while, continuing so long as the snow pile grew in size; and each jump was measured carefully so as to avoid heavy recurrence of fixed mana costs. Eventually, the pile-on stopped, even if Natsumi's head still ended up buried just beneath the surface at the end of her methodical adjustments.

The world grew quiet at that finale, giving off the aura of the reaper. Adelano certainly wasn't dead, but he was, at the very least, stunned, for the moment. Only the ravings of Silanus broke the silence, enough, at least, to move Natsumi to emerge from her snow tomb. Her hand burst from the field at the call of her name, and her head was soon to follow.

"Not yet," the druid said as she pulled the rest of her body from the snow. A portion of stone wall erupted from the valley below to aid in this excavation, just the right dimensions to serve as a crude shield. Having remembered the "inquisitor's" request before hand, she used earth weaving to fashion such a shield for him from the portion of wall left above the powder; but only once she was completely free of her icy prison. Then, as she handed the implement to the man who had, conveniently, ended up next to her now, she gave him a deathly stare paired with annoyed rhetoric. "Did I ever mention how much I hate the cold?"

Adelano's rumbling grew louder before a response to this rhetorical question could be had: a testament to his nearing return. He would soon burst from the snow, but not before Natsumi told Silanus his ill-kept secret.

"We need to hurry this up, or the Tarishtar authorities will do it for us. Find whatever shard this bastard has in him and break it or tear it out. His power is a lot more fragile than he would like us to think, and doing what I just described will transform him back into a 'puny' mage. After that, we need to get out of here."

Author: Silanus, Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2015 3:57 PM, Post Subject: The Grand Inquisition [Open]

(OOC: Ehm I wrote beck in the other area, I wanted to write neck, sorry.)

When Adelano was blinded, the golem went berserk, creating and throwing ice spikes everywhere, moving and stamping in many places trying to both crush Natsumi or to make Silanus fall from his body. As Adelano stamped the ground with fury, the ground started to shake. At the beggining, it looked like the least important thing for Silanus, but then, when he saw that the constant earth shaking caused some avalanches, he knew that things were going worse than expected, even if they were not in an area with many mountains, the cliffs could become a real danger…

A powerful and huge avalanche crashed against the golem´s lower body area, at the beggining Adelano handled it pretty well, however then more and more snow began to hit him, not even his mighty streght could save him from this, so he fell to the ground, making the ground shake even more that before. But, what happened to Silanus? Did he survive? When Silanus saw that it the fall of Adelano would be inminent, he jumped off him. The now incredibly big amount of snow made the warrior´s fall softer…

Silanus stood up and took a look at the area; the pieces of wood that remained from Adelano´s cabin dissapeared in the snow, some trees and rocks were also completely covered by it. And what happened to Adelano? The mighty golem was obviously alive, but after that great fall, he was deep under the snow, somehow trapped… Silanus wondered what happened to Natsumi, did she use her filthy magic to survive somehow? Silanus said in a high voice tone, to make sure that if the druid was alive, she would hear him: "Ehm… Natsumi? Could you cast poor Silanus a shield or something? It would be useful right now. Where are you? Ugh, do not tell Silanus you are dead! Figures, now who will shoot pathetic yet powerful things at Adelano? Why does Silanus ALWAYS remains alone in deserted places, ugh!" As Silanus was whining, the earth started to shake again, Adelano was rising, and now angrier that before.

Author: CodeNat, Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2015 2:17 PM, Post Subject: The Grand Inquisition [Open]

As anticipated, the expected distraction came from the madman atop a ledge. Whilst Natsumi remained in the safety of her barrier, waiting for a chance to strike, she listened to the sounds of the battlefield. Only when she heard Adelano roar from getting his shoulder pierced by a spear did she know her companion was still alive and attacking their mutual opponent. Then, and only then, did she finally act.

"Combat systems initiating," Kino said aloud as the chance to strike arose. Natsumi's entire ensemble began changing at the artifact's behest. Her visor appeared on her face and her cloak exchanged for a winter coat before the status check continued. "Visor online. Targeting system, activated. Fire Bow, summoning." The aforementioned visor lit up and displayed targeting reticules over the creature's eyes for Natsumi to see. Her fire bow would soon appear in her hand, along with several arrows contained within a side-bound quiver; all before Kino finally finished her speech with, "Good afternoon, Natsumi. Do you require a map?"

"No, not now, but perhaps later." Silanus took the opportunity to insult the young druid at this point, but his words had barely finished leaving his mouth before she peeked over her "stinky barrier" and let loose two arrows in quick succession. Both were dead on the mark, igniting just before plunging into Adelano's eyes and blinding him. This was just before he was about to try grabbing Silanus off his back and throwing him to the ground. In other words, the warrior had received his own, more than welcome distraction; one his attitude was less than worthy of.

"Remind me, again," Natsumi shouted with an acerbic sneer while watching the effects of this development, "who forgot his shield and didn't bring the means to generate one on the fly while facing a cryomancer? That's 'fighting mages' basic class." She didn't wait for a response, instead choosing to duck behind her barrier once more. Because of her visor, she didn't need direct eye contact to look at Adelano. She was exploiting this fact in that moment, secretly observing him while looking for the source of his power. He had mentioned a shard during his earlier bragging. Destroying it – or, at the very least, removing it from the frost hybrid's possession – would be the key to winning this battle. All Natsumi or Silanus needed to do was find it and then pound it into oblivion.

Author: Silanus, Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2015 11:25 PM, Post Subject: The Grand Inquisition [Open]

Adelano was not what Silanus expected; he expected a small, novice elf cryomanger… Not… Not this. Not a giant frost golem. He was obviously not prepared for this situation, a spear and a sword are not a potential threat for an ice monster. Before Adelano unleashed his attack, the madman said: "Oh, what a pity! A long shield would be handy at this moment, oh, but no! Silanus did not bring his'!"

When Adelano created his ice spikes and one of them hit the "soldier"'s helmet. Silanus knew it was time to protect himself, but how? Hiding behind the hill would not be a bad idea, but… There is no honor in hiding unless it's for planning an ambush. And there is no glory in not doing honorable things…

So it was decided. Silanus knew what would be his next move… He threw his spear to Adelano, hitting his shoulder, then Silanus unsheated his sword and jumped to his enemy's shoulder, grabbed the spear that was digged inside the golem and then he climbed him. Once he was in top of Adelano, Silanus slashed the monster's Beck area. While swinging his sword, he said: "Oh, stupid Natsumi! Hiding behind her stinky barrier while Silanus does the tough job!"

Author: CodeNat, Posted: Fri Dec 25, 2015 1:38 PM, Post Subject: The Grand Inquisition [Open]

[OOC: I decided not to move the battle beyond the dialogue and the first enemy attack just yet.]

Tempers flared following the explosion, as expected. Natsumi saw the resultant spear coming, and had fully anticipated its throw from Silanus. She had not actually lied to him, but many people saw withholding the truth as the same thing. In a way, Adelano's appearance saved the druid from having to use a recall spell in order to thwart the volley that never came, but that didn't make her any more thankful for the situation she was in. Silanus's incredulous shouts reached her ears as the icy monstrosity loomed; and they were not welcome.

"That creature IS Adelano – transformed in an experiment gone awry, no doubt," she responded with indifference. Perhaps she was becoming too much like the Handler after all. She had behaved friendly to the armored man when she could easily use him. Now that he was a potential threat, though, she cared little for his welfare as a person, especially since he was foolish enough to insult his only ally in the arctic landscape.

"He said it was a powerful artifact," enunciated Adelano's shadow regardless of Natsumi's inner conflict. Apparently he didn't take kindly to being called a mere creature. "That I needed to deal in secrecy to achieve greatness by its glory. But who needs the whole item when one shard can bestow so much power?! You call me a creature, when rightly I am a fantastical marvel!"

"In other words," Natsumi retorted with a sneer as she looked up at the pensive, distorted face, "the Department of Magical Artifacts is after an illicit item that is supposed to be locked away for good reason, and you got corrupted by a piece of that artifact when your curiosity grew too large for your own good. Typical."

"SILENCE! Neither you nor this imbecilic maddie will get out of here alive!" A loud screech pierced the sky immediately following Silanus's own taunt from higher ground. At last, the golem was on the attack, summoning a conglomeration of ice crystals around its body. Natsumi wasted no time in expanding the stone wall she had used to protect her ally of circumstance during this build-up, and hid behind it just as the barrage of ice was unleashed.

Frozen spikes flew off in all directions, seemingly aimed at random. Several managed to hit and pierce Natsumi's barrier, but the friction of the stone stopped the projectiles from going beyond. As such, the druid remained relatively safe, only receiving scratches on her arms from flying debris. Silanus' condition remained unknown in that icy blast, true, but that was the least of the woman's concerns at the moment. Her armored companion was right about one thing: higher ground gave him an advantage. On the hill, Natsumi was the one most in danger, and the one who most needed to pay attention. The positions of warrior and mage had been switched for the initial portion of the battle, and that was unlikely to change until Adelano's focus drew elsewhere.

Author: Silanus, Posted: Thu Dec 24, 2015 4:08 PM, Post Subject: The Grand Inquisition [Open]

"Impressive"… That was all Silanus could think when he saw the cart randomly exploded and the strong smells of alcohol and magic spread everywhere. However, even if a cart simply exploded infront of him, that was not the most important thing for Silanus was that her friend was a mage ALL this time! She was a liar… A LIAR! Silanus thought: "How could Natsumi trick me into helping her SO easily?" Silanus prepared his spear and was just about to throw it to her, but he didn´t. He needed her to fight Adelano, it would be easier…

Silanus was just starting to think it would be simple to murder Adelano, however, when a colossal ice monster spoke, it was obvious Adelano is not what he expected… Was it an ice golem? Or a flesh atronach? Or was he both? An hybrid? It did not matter, it was gross and obviously would not be a good friend… Friendly creatures do not attemp on someone´s life… Silanus looked at Natsumi, she is all the help he could have at this moment, even if she´s a mage… He asked to her: "What is that thing? Why it appeared out of nowhere? Is it Adelano´s protector or something? Silanus ORDERS you to kill it, you filthy mage!"

Silanus quickly ran to another cliff, a bigger one; he started to climb it without paying attention what was the golem doing, however, when he finally finished climbing it, he happily yelled: "Wooho! It´s over golem! Silanus has the high ground! Silanus will easily win this, hahah!"

Author: CodeNat, Posted: Thu Dec 24, 2015 3:08 PM, Post Subject: The Grand Inquisition [Open]

[OOC: Permission granted to retcon Silanus' position.]

It was a welcome relief to Natsumi when Silanus finally shut up upon reaching Adelano's sanctuary. The amount of talking and manner of speech – not to mention the content – really grated on her after a while. Thankfully, there was some comedic relief at the end when the madman proved just how inept he was. He attempted to sneak – badly – from the hill down into the cottage, all before asking Natsumi for her name as well as some plans of action.

"Natsumi," she responded while trying to remain as quiet as possible so any pesky mages wouldn't hear her. She was about to say more, but the smell of alcohol, flame and magic reached her nose before her mouth could open. Instincts flared, supported by Kino's subliminal information, and Natsumi, against her better judgment, immediately summoned a stone wall in front of Silanus to block his way. "Get down!"

On cue, the merchant's cart that still sat at the front entrance to Adelano's cabin exploded in a massive plume of fire. The force chipped off pieces from the barrier that Natsumi had summoned in front of her mad companion to protect him, and would have sent them both flying had they been any closer. As it was, the druid's hood was still forced down by the gale force winds, revealing her less than human nature. Her disguise was shattered in that instant, revealing that she too was a mage.

Even so, this new turn of events did not alter her goal. Adelano was still a person of interest, provided he had managed to live through such an explosion. As the smoke began to clear, it became certain that the entire cabin had been leveled. It would be an ill omen for everyone if the owner had somehow managed to survive, but Natsumi tried not to think of that as she coughed out an explanation to Silanus whom she hoped – ancestors help her – was still there.

"Looks like Adelano has been an even worse boy than I thought. Dealing with Black Market representatives can have explosive results." It was then that the unthinkable happened. As the last of the smoke cleared, a massive structure rose from the ashes.

"Filthy thieves: attempting to steal my precious, and then refusing to die quietly," it bellowed in a voice that once could have been human. The source was a sort of amalgamation between ice golem and flesh: a monster created through a type of chimera magic the druid had never witnessed before that point. And while the features were distorted, enough of the face remained to determine one thing: this was what remained of Adelano – a 20 foot monstrosity of madness and rage.

"I don't think we're going to have much time to plan, in this case…"

Author: Silanus, Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2015 7:45 PM, Post Subject: The Grand Inquisition [Open]

Silanus could not simply stop talking to Nastumi on the looong travel they were doing; he seldom speaks with someone, and when he does, most times people walk away from him… Since he has a very annoying voice, he always talks in 3rd person and let´s not forget that most times he begins his sentences yelling "Oh!" Which is well… Awful… However, now that he could freely speak as he wished, Silanus spoke most of his life. He talked about the mages he had killed, the giant crabs he had fought, the squid faced monsters he ate… He was not trying to show her that he was a skilled warrior or had many adventures, but he just wanted to finally… talk to someone other than his pet rat he bought months ago… It was all he could talk about, since Tacitus simply avoided talking about what he called "The Days of Before" That were the days before his town were raided. It´s rough to talk about your dead family, isn´t it?

When both of them finally arrived at Adelano´s shack and Natsumi showed him the frozen body, Silanus carefully walked in, looking at both places before entering to the main door; he was doing all he could to sneak, but his plate armor made it a real challenge… He looked at the druid and said: "Silanus has no ideas on how to kill the ugly elf… He usually just charges in, but well, even poor Tacitus Silanus knows that rushing is a terrible idea… Maybe YOU can help, got any idea ehm… What´s your name…?"

Author: CodeNat, Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2015 5:08 PM, Post Subject: The Grand Inquisition [Open]

[OOC: I'll refrain from calling Silanus maddie. He might take it as an insult or try to continuously correct Natsumi. x)]

Her offer, while hastily thought up, proved enough to placate the madman. A pointed spear retracted, and jubilance replaced suspicion as water washes away flame. The plan, it seemed, was a success, and so Natsumi continued on her merry way without another word.

Unfortunately, Silanus proved incessant in his talking after the fact. The druid had responded to his initial apology with a simple, "That's alright," trying to ignore the ramblings that came afterward. Valkyries were rare beasts, and corrupted valkyries even rarer. It just seemed so insane, and Natsumi wasn't sure what to assume as fact. Not only that, but there was something else distracting her during the journey, enough to where she didn't respond to much of what Silanus said.

No one around could observe it, but Natsumi was becoming paranoid the longer the journey went on. She got the feeling someone was watching her – someone familiar. Only when the blood red words appeared upon the blackened backdrop of her mind did she realize that this presence was her dreaded handler.

'You become more like me by the day,' the voiceless message read. 'I both wonder how deep you will go and how much self-loathing you will endure after your self-imposed journey ends. Will you regret as I have, or will you remain cold?'

The mere thought of being like the creature that had enslaved her soul sickened the druid. She tried to shrug it off, but her instincts took over despite her common sense to not antagonize such an entity.

"I am nothing like you, Chess-Eccentric," she hissed aloud, forgetting that Silanus was nearby. Perhaps he would think that she too was mad, but, unlike the voices in his head, this messenger in Natsumi's was very much alive. It even bothered to respond before disappearing in a mist of disease.

'You are in more ways than you seem to imagine, my Black Queen. After all, t'is not I that is using Silanus as a pawn. The fault of that lies solely with you.' Thus, The Handler's presence vanished. By that time, both Natsumi and Silanus were in front of Adelano's cabin, or rather over the hill closest to its front entrance.

"Here we are," the now shaken woman said as soon as the sight met her eyes. Next to a frozen river, the ramshackle edifice stood. It smelled of harsh chemicals and arcane magic, the kind of scents one would expect of a proper wizard's laboratory rather than living quarters. All seemed quiet around that building; too quiet, in fact. The only thing out of the ordinary, however, was the suspicious traveler from earlier on the road, or, rather, his cart, that had been conveniently placed next to the open door leading inside.

To others, this might not seem too unusual a site to see in the countryside. Rural individuals often did not assume there was an excessive need to always lock the door, because sneak thieves were more common in the city. As such, it was not out of the ordinary to see an open door out in the country during the day – even during Glaciem, sometimes. Even so, something felt wrong about the whole scene.

"Something is foul," the druid said before approaching the home any closer than she had, her mind now sensing danger. It was then that she saw it. Although mostly hidden from view, the body of the traveler from before lay strewn about in the entrance of Adelano's hideout. He had been frozen solid, his black boots just barely visible from the distant hill that Natsumi stood on. "Looks like Adelano had a violent disagreement with a merchant at his door."

Author: Silanus, Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2015 11:30 AM, Post Subject: The Grand Inquisition [Open]

Silanus listened carefully at Natsumi… Could it be possible that Natsumi was speaking nothing but the truth? She knew Adelano's superiors? Powerful mages, waiting there to be assassinated by Silanus…! Amazing news, indeed! And Natsumi was willing to show him the path! Finally someone wanted to help Silanus… Wonderful!

Silanus wrapped his spear in his back with a small rope and clapped with joy, while clapping he said: "Oh, how lucky Silanus is! He is really lucky! Good little Silanus has made an amazing new friend to help him in the mighty hunt for wizards! Oh, just when he was starting to think he would never find stinky Adelano! Oh, wonderful, graceful!" If Silanus wasn't wearing his heavy steel armor he would jump or dance. The maddie quickly walked towards Natsumi and said once again: "Silanus is sorry for yelling, Silanus is scared, SPOOKED! Valkyries are chasing him, TWO VALKYRIES! Corrupted valkyries want to kill poor little Silanus! So while ugly valkies search for Silanus, he kills mages! It's a way to have fun, and nobody gets hurt!"

Silanus kept talking and talking and talking… Each time he saw snow with dirt he grabbed it and threw the dirty snow far away… Why? To see if the snow catches a flying ice golem..

(OOC yeah, I created a word, a good way of saying madman/woman <w<)

Author: CodeNat, Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2015 3:24 PM, Post Subject: The Grand Inquisition [Open]

'Hatred of magic in Parvpora?' Natsumi was baffled when the armored soul mentioned his controversial views toward magic in the same breath he accused her of reading his mind. It just seemed so incredibly ridiculous to her that the continent, whose rich people and culture whole-heartedly supported the advancement of magic, could play host to such a visitor; let alone that said visitor hadn't yet been killed off for his violent demeanor. The preposterous nature of Silanus's entire existence was actually enough to elicit a giggle from the traveling druid.

"Frightened people may clam up when confronted by the person they are afraid of," she said while reigning in her ridicule as best she could, "But they certainly gossip between themselves when out of earshot. It's not hard to hear about your intentions when you've been asking so many people, even if they didn't speak back to you. You don't need mind-reading magic to find out about the armored warrior asking about Adelano at this point."

The lie that followed the end of Silanus' initial threat marked the faded conclusion of Natsumi's giggle, however. She was quickly beginning to realize just how insane her host was, seeing as he tried to go the deceitful route mere moments before chastising himself about it. He even became violent, pointing his weapon at her while demanding what she knew – typical bravado from a warrior that didn't care to know the strength of his opponent.

"A point, you say?" she asked rhetorically while putting some space between herself and the spear's tip. "Very well, Mr. Inquisitor. I know where Adelano is, and I will not stop you from doing away with him. I will even guide you to his house. However, if you're going after him, perhaps you should also go after his superiors. Mr. Adelano has been a bad man, and is working with some less than savory mages. What they did is of no consequence, but I would like to guide you to them on your quest of judgment as well so that they might also know the error of their ways."

She was playing a part: the part of a willing hostage. It was true that Natsumi wielded magic and could just as easily become her friend's next target. However, since she had plans for the make-believe inquisitor, she would not reveal her methods so hastily as to give him a reason to betray her. While the druid could just as easily go about assassinating Roderick's inner circle herself, she preferred to not have murder charges tied to her after the deed done. Any legal excuse she could get was extra padding toward her end goal, and Silanus was the perfect instrument to execute that legal cushion – provided, of course, he could be kept in line.

Time was of the essence if that was Natsumi's wish, so she did not wait for an answer from the armored warrior. Instead, she turned on her heel and immediately led the way to Adelano's sanctuary. It was a few miles to the east on the border of Tarishtar's domain, in a place where few people frequented. The trip would be of moderate length in the snow: long enough for Silanus to respond to what he had heard without losing patience; hopefully, at least.

Author: Silanus, Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2015 4:38 PM, Post Subject: The Grand Inquisition [Open]

Tacitus Silanus was surprised when someone FINALLY spoke to him, instead of just walking away; he looked at the point of his spear instead carefully… Oh, spears… One of Silanus´favorite weapons, you can hit enemies at a long distance, or just throw it at someone. With a quick movement, Silanus buried his spear in the snow and ground so he could have his hands free while talking, it´s not very comfortable to talk with a long spear in your hands, is it…? The madman´s serious face turned into a smile, suddenly he began to clap with joy, for no apparent reason… Silanus said: "Ohh, finally, finally! Someone at last decides to speak to poor Silanus! Oh, you don´t know how many failures Silanus had to find Adelano! YES! How did you know Silanus´intentions? Can you read minds…? If so, I could easily stab my dear spear in your heart and then kill Adelano! Silanus HATES magic!!!"

Silanus joyful smile turned into a suspicious leer; he looked at her carefully, trying to assume her intentions. What if she was just a random nobody who had curiosity to know about his reason to be here? Or if she was some sort of bandit, who was marauding there and wanted to mug him!? Or what if Adelano hired her to assassinate him? Or if she was a demon who wanted to steal his soul!?!? OR IF SHE WAS A VALKYRIE? Hopefully, she was not a valkyrie, nor a demon… She did not look like one, after all Natsumi had no wings, or it seemed to… Silanus spoke once again, trying to seem like his intentions were not bad after all and was an innocent, good, friendly person: "Oh, good little Silanus is indeed searching for Adelano, the damned elf is a veeery good friend of him. In fact, Silanus wants Adelano to make a potion, well, without uhm that potion Silanus is zwodder! An ehm a wraith threw a curse on him, in fact, without the potion stupid Adelano will make Silanus is a little clumsy…"

After Silanus finished speaking, he began to scream in rage… Why? Silanus HATES liars, and becoming one… Well no… He grabbed his spear and pointed at Natsumi with it, then he told her: "Adelano is NOT Silanus´friend, he wants to MURDER the cryomage! MURDER HIM!!! Silanus does not care what your intentions are, but YOU are going to tell him WHERE exactly damn elf is! Do NOT try to persuade Silanus, or to distract him… Be like my spear, and have a point… If not, Silanus will turn you inside out… NEVER discuss with a madman with a spear… Understood…?"

Author: CodeNat, Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2015 2:26 PM, Post Subject: The Grand Inquisition [Open]

Her recent experiences in Ataiyo, Koschei and Wyllmochvar withstanding, there was little wonder in why it was rare to see Natsumi in Parvpora at all. Roderick, the new head of Aaron White's department at Wyllmochvar University, seemed to have made it his lifelong mission to exile the last of the Professor's students from the entirety of the continent, and the druid had met with more than her share of malice because of his actions. Being the person she was, though, she had elected, thus far, to let sleeping dogs lie. Parvpora had too many bad memories for Natsumi to be worth fighting to live in again, after all.

Like most things in life do at one point or another, however, the situation had changed in recent months. With a newly adopted daughter to be cared for, Natsumi was no longer fending for herself alone. Her greatest desire had become giving the best she could to Saya, rather than simply surviving away from everyone that might hurt her. She believed she needed to return home for that to wish to reach fruition, especially since Canelux was too mired in tradition and deity worship for the druid's taste.

Such a move would not be easy. Roderick, along with his ilk, would need to be removed first. It was due to this requirement that Natsumi had also been hunting down the scholar known as Adelano in the province of Tarshitar. He had some sort of connection with the director. That much the young woman had been able to figure out by observing the messengers going to and from his cabin. What the extent of that relationship was, however, remained a mystery. Natsumi was weak against ice magic: the one negative adaptation she had experienced from her curse thus far. It would be foolhardy for her to engage a cryomancer alone, especially when she did not know the skill of her opponent.

Luckily for her, local travelers making their way across the farmlands 'neath the main city spoke of an armored soldier venturing in search of Adelano as well. He had been asking questions of whoever passed him, and had already garnered a reputation for being mad. The local populace was quite unnerved, but that didn't stop the green cloaked and hooded Natsumi from eventually approaching the source of their nervousness on the road.

"I assume you are the armored man who seeks Adelano?" She said while eying this well armed human in the light of high noon. Another traveler was passing by at the moment – a tantalizing distraction from the mysterious beauty that the druid possessed. The passerby was surprisingly shifty eyed compared to his predecessors, but Natsumi ignored him in favor of the one who actually had a spear in his hand. "Your garb and weaponry are certainly foreign enough to say you're not from around here. I do wonder what your intention is for visiting such a recluse in a place far away from home."

This was a gamble, if ever there was one. Natsumi had no way of knowing what the armored man's intentions were, and yet she had partially revealed her intentions to find his target. He could have been an ally to Adelano, after all, but she had judged, based on his appearance, that he wasn't seeking the man out for tea and crumpets. Time and bouts of sanity willing, he would reveal what violence he had planned for the unfortunate scholar. Insanity willing, on the other hand, he would invite her to come along.

Author: Silanus, Posted: Mon Dec 14, 2015 1:05 AM, Post Subject: The Grand Inquisition [Open]

Silanus was far away from his home in Canelux, his long voyage were not simple vacations, nor searching for a friend. It was quite the opposite, in fact. Tacitus Silanus was chasing a scholar, student of the frost magic. Nothing would stop him from finding and slaying him. The mage was not evil, however, he wasn't an innocent peace lover. As many other mages, this one cared mostly about his studies; the reason Silanus wanted to murder him was quite easy to understand… Another student meant another future wizard!

This scholar's name was Adelano, and was a young elf. He lived near a frozen, little river, were he could study alone and in peace. Silanus was walking on a road, searching for Adelano's, cabin; since he was going to fight a novice cryomage Silanus did not need his shield, so he went with his sword and spear. The warrior had his sword sheated and his spear on his right hand. Silanus often asked some travelers if they knew were Ancano lives, but they just passed by and ignored him. Silanus sat on a rock that was near the road and drinked some water he had on his bottle. He was tired, so he decided to rest a while…

Hint: Hover over a field name if you want to know what it's for.

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