Fandom [Mission] Escorts and Farewells

[Lady Warlock]

| Roleplay Directory |​

This Just In…

Prisoner Attempts Escape from Ilan Vair Prison; Is CaughtBy: Mira Etzel

Just this morning, a black vortex surrounded the magic prison Ilan Vair, just off the coast of Hargeon in Fiore. Investigators reported live from the scene and they noted that the vortex was almost perfectly circular and seemed to glow with an amber aura that was entrancing in a sense. Beyond that, reporters were able to learn that this phenomenon was caused by none other than Ilan Vair prisoner, Royce Obertuck.

Many will recall the man’s name from his founding of the magical guild known as Raven Tail although his own guild turned him into the Magic Council for experimenting in black magic before he could really give the guild two legs to stand on.

No guards are commenting yet on how he managed to perform magic while locked inside his prison cell but the warden of the prison - Edgar Mahall - is assuring everyone that no one managed to escape the prison during the phenomenon and that Royce Obertuck was sedated before his spell could do any damage to the future of the prison that floats on the sea. Edgar Mahall went on to further state that he is heading a full investigation within his employees to determine where the source of error was and how it can be prevented in the future.

The one comment from the magic council has indicated that, after a brief hearing, the decision has been made to transfer Royce Obertuck to a higher security prison. In fact, rumor indicates that he’s being sent to Black Vox, the prison belonging to the Magic Council itself. No confirmation yet on this information or news as to when a transfer might be occurring.

People in Hargeon seem hesitant after the incident and tourism statistics for the seaside town are predicted to drop considerably due to the fear the event is bringing.

Updates to follow on this hot off the press story…

A Summons From the Council
“Yes, Sir. I will see that it is done.” Walking out of the council chamber was the newest member of the Magic Council and the son of a Sabertooth Mage - Maekin Seaen. Long dark hair cascaded in a ponytail across his left shoulder as he activated archive while he was walking. Typing in the name, a plethora of information popped up on Royce Obertuck and he began sorting through it at web speeds.

Raven Tail.

Dark Portal Magic.

Former Fairy Tail.

Three attempted escapes.

All the pieces came together to paint the full picture for him and he gradually began to piece together what would be needed in a team of mages to escort him as well. Taking a seat along a bench on the side of the hall, Maekin started typing out all that he would need into the summons he would send.

To the Mages of Fiore, Near and Far,

I’m writing because the magic council has a job that needs to be done. Royce Obertuck, a recent attempted escapee of Ilan Vair, is being transferred to Black Vox and it will require that we transport him on foot in order to ensure it is best kept secret from those who might free him.

We are requesting a team of six mages - no more, no less - to aid in this job. There will, of course, be a fee associated with the job that will be paid directly to your guild.

Please be warned, Royce Obertuck is an S-Class criminal and his magic is nothing to be scoffed at. Only take this mission if you have faith in your own skill.

To those accepting this request, please report directly to Ilan Vair Prison off the coast of Hargeon in two days time. Also, this mission summons has not been sent to mages of Raven Tail. Please ensure that it stays that way.

Yours truly,

Maekin Seaen
Magic Council Representative

When it was all typed, he generated a copy for each guild hall and had them sent off just like that. With archive, it was easy. Then he set about heading to Ilan Vair himself. He would be there, waiting for the mages who chose to accept the request.

A Granddaughter’s Plight
The healthy blue hue of the afternoon sky was highlighted by an orange butterfly fluttering aimlessly through the ocean of air. It made people smile, but most payed no more attention to it than that; which is what Maki Obertuck loved about flying. Being the granddaughter of a controversial Guild Master -- or rather, former Guild Master -- was quite stressful. Especially since she was an attractive and skilled wizard herself, who just so happened to be the honorary mascot of the very guild her grandfather had started. Wherever she went, reporters swarmed like a horde of avaricious insects; constantly bugging her for the next quote, photoshoot, or tale of her adventures. She could barely go outside, let alone into the city. That’s why she’d made a habit of taking little flying excursions at least once a day. It was a good chance to get some fresh air, kept her in shape, and was a constructive way to practice her magic. On occasion she’d find herself being pestered by a reporter that had found a way to fly, but that wasn’t often enough to be a real bother. In fact, she found it quite amusing at times, as she would simply send them on a chase around various structures until she lost them.

The afternoon had been rather peaceful, though. She’d noticed things had been settling down recently. People were beginning to forget about the stain on her family’s name and she was beginning to fade into obscurity. Of course, she’d never change the fact that she was an attractive mage, but people were starting to recognize her as any of the other popular magicians. That was a popularity she could manage.

For the past few minutes, Maki had been utilizing her glider to soar over the area surrounding the Raven Tail guild hall. Taking one last deep breath, she tilted the glider and began her descent; aiming for the guild hall’s front lawn. As she spiraled down, she failed to notice the crowd of people gathering below her.

She had barely touched down and folded her glider into the staff before a clutter of voices erupted behind her. Maki’s eyes shot open as the dread crawled up her spine. Her hand clenched the staff as she peeked over her shoulder and inched around to face the crowd. A bead of sweat tickled her temple as she glanced at the various reporters in the crowd. She had been unprepared for this onslaught, yet here it was.

Due to the shock, Maki found herself stricken with anger. She was about to lash out at the crowd before disappearing into the guild hall, where reporters usually wouldn’t venture without permission. However, something caught her attention before she acted. Babblings of her grandfather were cycling through the crowd. Had something happened?

Before she could piece anything together, a reporter pushed to the front of the group and shoved a microphone lacrima in her face, asking, “Maki, Maki! Is it true that you were involved in your grandfather’s escape attempt?!”

Maki stumbled back from the microphone slightly, shaking her head, “Wh-what?! Again?! No! Why would I… What escape attempt?!”

“You mean you haven’t heard? I thought all the guilds had been informed. This morning, Royce Obertuck attempted another escape from Ilan Vair prison, prompting the magic council to call for his transfer to Black Vox. They’ve sent out requests to all the guilds asking for the help of skilled mages to ensure a safe transfer. Aren’t you going to help? Or would you rather see your grandfather freed?

Maki blushed at the accusation. It was true, part of her wanted to see her grandfather free. He was the only family she had, and if people just gave him a chance, she was sure he had good intentions. Despite these feelings, she was afraid that sharing such things would land her in custody with him. Thus she had remained as neutral as possible on the subject. However, the transfer to Black Vox was concerning. It wasn’t likely he’d ever get a chance to be free from there. Very few had ever made it out of there, and one of them hadn’t even been a criminal; he had simply been locked up because the magic council was afraid of his potential (this was Aedon Strom). Her dreams of returning to a normal life would be shattered.

The crowd had grown silent to hear Maki’s reply, but when she didn’t answer, the voices chimed in again, ”No comment?...”

“Are you planning something then?...”

“Should the public be concerned?”

“Tell us your measurements!”

“Do you support dark magic?”

“Does the Raven Tail guild still practice dark magic?”

At the last question, Maki flared up and barked at the crowd, ”NO!!!! Raven Tail does NOT practice dark magic! I DO NOT support it!! And I will be one of the escorts to ensure that he makes it to Black Vox!”

With that last outburst, Maki turned her back to the crowd and stormed into the guild hall. Without breaking stride, she continued on toward her room at the back of the hall. Tears streamed down her eyes, resulting in an eerie effect from her makeup as it began to smear. Maki tried rubbing her eyes, only making it worse as she pushed past any guild members that got in her way. She didn’t care anymore. The reporters had backed her into a corner and caused her to say something she regretted. She didn’t want to ensure her grandfather made it to Black Vox, but it seemed that was her only choice now. Slipping into her room and slamming the door behind her, she sunk into her bed and curled up with her stuffed animal collection; gritting her teeth to prevent from crying and letting the guild members hear her.

Your first posts should be arriving at Ilan Vair - a prison on a massive ship just off the coast of Hargeon. You may interact with each other as you wish until Maekin comes to brief you on your mission.

Stormborn Targaryen Solarknight AtlannianSpy Sugary_Paragraphs Refaulted CelticHero37

 

[AtlannianSpy]

Viridian Lannerly - Sabretooth A rank mage

- Embarkation -
​

Just off the coast of the charming seaside town of Hargeon, a small, metallic boat chugged steadily towards its goal: The much larger, much more intimidating prison ship of Ilan Vair, a floating monolith of steel that towered over the little craft. nevertheless the small boat carried on, its pilot apparently undeterred. At least one would assume this was the pilot for the slight figure clad in practical, blue work clothes was also the boat's only occupant, however the figure was making no visible effort to steer the boat and seemed more preoccupied with their meal.

"1700 jewels for a sandwich and some coffee,outrageous," muttered Viridian, to the sea apparently, before taking a final bite. "They're the ones that should be locked up, that's daylight robbery, tourist towns really are untenable," Admittedly the sandwiches and especially the coffee had been delicious, rich and black just the way she liked it. But Viridian could have gotten the exact same meal at half the price the next village over. Unfortunately taking time out out of her journey to stop and eat earlier would have simply been a waste of time. Right now Viridian was steering the boat she'd created with her magic and eating at the same time which was more efficient.

It wasn't that she was running late, the mission request hadn't even specified a time which Viridian found odd and rather vexing. But if you were going to do anything at all you should try and do it efficiently, it left time to do other things and there were always things to be done. If Viridian had to suffer the indignity of overpriced sandwiches to be efficient then so be it.

With her meal complete Viridian placed her thermos back in her pack and retrieved in its stead the paper she'd picked up on her way through town. The main story was understandably related to her mission, Royce Obertuck's escape attempt and subsequent transferal to maximum security. An interesting and divisive figure, Obertuck, Viridian had to admit that part of her decision to accept this job was curiosity about the man. How would history remember him? As a mad, power hungry villain? Or as a reckless but well meaning genius born into too conservative an era? Obviously that wasn't for Viridian to decide, she was merely here to help transport him quickly and efficiently to his new prison.

Viridian's craft pulled up right next to the Ilan Vair, eliciting some excitement from the guards posted on deck, which Viridian supposed was reassuring. As they looked down on her Viridian started casting. One by one precisely shaped pieces of metal appeared and then combined to form a small platform with an extremely powerful spring supporting it. It was a fairly simple device but then its purpose was also fairly simple. It made things go up. Viridian had no intention of waiting around while the crew got their act together and found some kind of ladder for her, so she simply scooped up her pack, stepped onto the platform and was suddenly catapulted up into the air.

Just as she had calculated, Viridian reached the peak of her arc just above the Ilan Vair's deck and she was able to step onto it effortlessly.

"Viridian Lannerly, I'm with Sabretooth," she said, displaying her guild tattoo to mollify the nearby guards and looking around curiously. "Am I the first one here?"

 

[CelticHero37]

Maki Obertuck
The Raven of Raven Tail
​

The time had come for Maki to keep the promise she'd been bullied into making. She would have preferred to stay locked up in her room while the whole ordeal transpired, but doing that would undoubtedly raise suspicions. Raven Tail was already under scrutiny, and they didn't deserve any more. That's why Maki had forced herself to get out of bed and get cleaned up. In an attempt to go unnoticed by her grandfather, Maki had exchanged her normal orange jumpsuit for darker clothes and a purple cloak. Of course, she was too preoccupied to realize she looked like the stereotypical teenage witch with that getup.

Wrapping herself up tight, she snuck out of the Raven Tail guild hall. The crowd of reporters had stuck around, anticipating her departure. A few had even broken out lunch boxes and were having picnics on the lawn. As much as Maki wanted to, she couldn't sneak past them. They were the ones that needed to know she was keeping her word. Even if she had wanted to, she had to go up to one of them and ask for directions, as she didn't know where she needed to show up for this job. Thankfully, she was able to get this information and take to the skies before too much of a crowd had gathered. The first goal of the journey had been accomplished, but things would only get harder from here.

That was, except for the getting to the ship part. That couldn't have been easier. Most would have had to find a way across the water, but since she was flying, she could just continue on until she reached the prison ship. Circling around the ship once to find a good landing spot, she descended with her cloak open like a cape onto the deck. Her plan was to walk up to one of the soldiers and report in. Other than that, she had no clue what to expect.

 

[Refaulted]

The hustle and bustle of the port city of Hargeon was no joke. The people were out and enjoying the beautiful weather, and the workers were going about their daily business. The seagulls soared above, calling out to each other to pick up whatever scraps they could find along the docks of the shipyard. Even in the distance their distinct cries could be heard. The sound of boats gliding through the water rang out as well, and the crashing of the water along with edge of the edge of the town that faced the ocean gave off a beautiful sound. This was all absorbed by the single individual who was walking along a dock, receiving strange stares from the dockhands and sailors who took notice of him. The man wore a gray hoodie that covered much of his face, with a maroon T-shirt underneath, and jeans with black dress shoes. His sleeves were pulled up to about halfway up his forearms, and on his left wrist was an assortment of bracelets, and he wore a ring with a blue gem on his middle finger. A scabbard holding a fencing sword hung at his hip. He paused for a moment and looked behind him, and if you were standing close enough, you could hear the sigh of relief that escaped his lips. With one swift movement, he pulled the hood off of his head, and white hair nearly shined in the sun overhead. As he opened his eyes, the red color added to the mysterious beauty of the individual, and he stretched his arms above his head, grinning.

Jacob Arkonius Foles
​

"Finally! I lost them. Though I feel bad. All they wanted was a picture or two...unfortunately, though..." Reaching into his pocket, the Blue Pegasus mage pulled out a silver pocket watch with a chain that attached to one of the belt loops of his pants. He placed his free hand on his hip as he looked around, searching for his destination. "I really am in a hurry. If I see them again, I will have to make it up to them." Putting the pocket watch back where it had come from, he continued down the docks, whistling contently as he watched the workers. This was one of the few kinds of places the mage felt he didn't have to deal with teenage girls who were devote readers of Sorcerer Weekly. Still, he was surprised that he had been recognized, as he hadn't appeared in any of their issues except through small quotes he had given within the last year.

As he walked past a group of seagulls pulling apart a helpless fish one had caught, his gaze turned to the grand citadel that sat on the water. The Ilan Vair Prison. That was his destination, as designated by the message sent by Maekin Seaen. Jacob had been enjoying some time off after his last mission by going to a small resort not too far away from Hargeon when he had received word of the mission that was issued out by the Magic Council. He had been hesitant to accept it, but realized that if the infamous Royce Obertuck had made another, this time almost successful, attempt of escape, then he may be needed. So he was heeding the call and had hurried over as quickly as he could.

As he reached the end of the dock, he stood next to an old fisherman, gazing at the prison from afar. The man looked up at Jacob, then over at the prison, before letting out a tired sigh. "You mus' be one of them Guild boys, right? The stunt that freak pulled scared away half o' the fish around here. Makes it rough to feed ourselves. My opinion? Just kill 'im. He won't stop until then, ya' know?"

Jacob looked down at the man and shrugged his shoulders. "I think that will only make mages look worse in the eyes of the public, sir. All people will think of us as will be murderers. While he deserves no mercy for what he has done, killing him would only fuel the fire. You, who I presume has little faith in us mages, would just keep finding ways to despise us for what we were gifted. But we will make sure this never happens again." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a bag of Jewels and placed it next to the man. "I know it isn't much, but because of this incident ruining your source of income, I feel awful, and I think I should make up for it. Not because I pity you, but because I think magic can truly be terrible as well, and that maybe this world would be fine if it never existed at all."

The man picked up the bag and gave a quizzical look to Jacob, who reached to the holster on the back of his jeans and pulled out the Staff of Lumo. Spinning it quickly in his hand, he pointed it down to the edge of the dock. "Transport Cloud." As the words left his mouth, fog fell out of the hole in the top of the magical item, creating a thick cloud. Jacob held the staff to his side as he stepped confidently onto it, and began to float gently upwards. He turned and bowed to the man. "Au revoir, mon ami." He then turned and willed the cloud to fly at a fast pace to the prison in the distance. As he reached the deck of the prison ship, he floated above it for a few moments before floating closer to the floor, and hopped off, the cloud disappearing as his feet touched the ground. Spinning the Staff once more, he placed it back in it's holster and began walking aimlessly around, whistling a quiet tune as he went.

(I hope this was okay.)

 

[Sugary_Paragraphs]

Bill Erefu
"U-Uh...Si-Sir?"

In the seat of one of Fiore's many train systems lied Bill Kajolica Erefu, one of the A-ranked mages of Fairy tail...at least, to people who actually knew him. To the train attendant staring at him, he was a short boy with gray hair at the age of sixteen with dead eyes and a sort of big grey sweater with shorts and sneakers. And the way he was laid across the seat made him look more dead than alive. And the attendant would've assumed so if his eyes weren't open and he wasn't breathing. Blinking, Bill rolled in his seat and sat up, rubbing his eyes and yawning. "Dang. Must've been asleep with my eyes open again." Bill said, not noticing the weirded out attendant that was slowly backing away. His eyes were dry, but they were getting better the more he blinked. Once his vision grew less hazy, he looked out the window and gasped. "Hey! We're finally here!" Bill said, quickly grabbing his bag and the giant key next to it and running past the Attendant, who was still standing there.

"...They don't pay me enough for this."

-

Ah, Hargeon. The little port town not too far from Magnolia. It had business, it had charm, and it even had its own prison that housed psychopathic dark magic users intent on killing everyone! Bill shook his head with a snort. He wasn't a newspaper kinda guy, but even he knew of the infamous article that told of the former Fairy tail, and now former Raven Tail, Guildmaster Royce. It looked like the guy got caught trying to escape from jail, and today was the day he was being escorted to Black Vox...freaking Black Vox! And believe or not, he was one of the people who was going to take him there 'That dude must have a screw loose if he's gotta get babysat by the magic council themselves.' Bill thought with a small chuckle. He was almost surprised when he saw this mission on the board, and in fact WAS surprised when no one took it. But he should've expected so. 'With how much Raven Tail hates us, they'd go ballistic if they saw a fairy tail member haul away their guildmaster.' He thought. He may have been a 'bit' off the walls, but that didn't mean he was dumb.

Stopping at the decks, he stared at the large ship in the distance. Hm...he could always call up Ava for a lift...but he didn't wanna waste the energy. Shrugging, he got help from a nearby boatmen who agreed to take him there. The ride was a bit long, but they had finally made it, one of the guards noticing another boat coming from the sides. Bill smirked at the rope ladder being thrown down and payed the man some Jewl before climbing up onto the boat. The guard raised an eyebrow at him, confused at seeing a kid with a 5 foot key on his back, and was even more confused when the youngster whipped out his tongue. Ah...he was from fairy tail...figures.

(It sucks, I know, but I'm struggling with a bit of a block)

 

[Solarknight]

Sylvia Koomen
Well, it seemed that Sylvia was traveling to Ilan Vair alone. Viridian had already left and Malacai was… well, nowhere to be found as of yet. She knew that she would be with her guildmates on this mission; that was one of the reasons why she’d chosen this mission in particular, but she hadn’t been prepared for traveling alone. Traveling alone was… well, lonely.

That, of course, only gave her more motivation to actually get to Ilan Vair, though. Presumably at least one - if not both - of her guildmates would already be there and then she would once again have the company she was craving. Heading into Hargeon, Sylvia had the mission in the forefront of her mind and she wasn’t about to let it fall out of her mind. Her feet carried her rather quickly into the harbor and she found herself walking along, looking for anyone who seemed to have a ship on their hands and nothing to do at the moment. Any ship would be able to get her there, really; Sylvia just needed to ask.

“Excuse me, sir!” she called out to a man by a dinghy boat. “Would I be able to purchase fare to Ilan Vair?” Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a couple jewel to put on display. She didn’t want him to think that she couldn’t pay.

The man’s head turned and he looked her up and down for a moment. “You goin’ for a visit or for somethin’ more important?”

“It's a mission. You see I am part the Sabertooth guild and I need to get there to answer a summons for a job.”

“You’re a wizard then, eh? Don’t think I’ve ever ‘ad a wizard on my boat before. I suppose money’s money, though. Come aboard, miss. I can get ya there.” He swung his arm in gesture and she walked aboard. The ship left fairly quickly after that. The whole while, Sylvia was trying to make conversation with the man and he didn’t seem to be interested in it at all. He just waved her off again and again and in the end, Sylvia was just as annoyed with him as he was with her.

“Are you sure you don’t wanna hear another awesome Sabertooth story?” Sylvia was asking him as the approached the massive ship that was Ilan Vair prison.

“Yeah girl, I’m sure. Here we are. I’ll take the money and you can be on your way now.” It actually took a fair amount of encouragement on his part to get her to actually leave his ship and in the end, he resorted to saying, “Didn’t you say there were more wizards waiting for you on board? You sure you wanna keep them waiting any longer?”

A that, Sylvia seemed to leap to her senses. “You’re right! Thanks for the ride!” And she climbed up the ladder onto the ship where she was gently herded towards a group of three other people on board.

“Hey Viridian!” she exclaimed when she saw her guildmate. “I was hoping to find you here!” The smile on Sylvia’s face was the same kind of face that anyone from Sabertooth would be all too familiar with.

Offering that smile quickly, she turned to the other two that she could see and added, “I’m Sylvia Koomen! I’m from Sabertooth, like Viridian here. How is everyone?” It wasn’t a very unique conversation starter, but Sylvia cared more about what would actually lead to a successful conversation than she did about being unique about the way that it started.

AtlannianSpy Refaulted Sugary_Paragraphs

 

[Stormborn Targaryen]

Malakai Grave
Although he was the last person to show up, Malakai wasn’t late by any means. On the contrary, he had gotten there as quickly as he could; he had just been one of the last to pull the mission request off the bulletin board and he wasn’t about to run. Nothing about the mission seemed that urgent. Once he was moving, though, his pace had been brisk enough. A simple fishing boat had been willing to take him on board and get him to where he needed to be, and in exchange, he took a few minutes to repair some minor indentations in the vessel they were on. It wasn’t a difficult thing to do at all - well within his capabilities, in fact. Thus, Malakai had been able to get to Ilan Vair without being charged any real fare for the journey at all.

Once the fishing boat had pulled up to the side of the prison ship, Malakai had quickly wished the family a safe journey. Then he climbed onto the deck of the ship where he turned to see that he was indeed the last to arrive, at least as far as he had been aware. There were four other mages he could note on the ship, two of which were his guildmates, Sylvia and Viridian. “I apologize for taking some time to get here. My name is Malakai. I am an S-Class mage of Sabertooth. I assume I am the last one you were all waiting on? Or is there someone else expected yet?”

Meanwhile, around them, the workers on the deck of the ship seemed to continue on with their jobs without taking much notice of the gathered mages at all. There were some who were constantly scurrying about, scrubbing the deck, or tying knots to keep everything ship-shape, and there were others going over directions, landmarks, weather readings and the like. He wondered if the quickness of their movements was simply a daily thing, or if they were all on edge due to what had recently occurred. One interesting observation to be made about them was that they all wore the exact same outfit - a navy-blue, almost denim colored top with matching pants. It made everyone look like a mechanic in a way.

There didn’t seem to be any obvious guards, and that was probably the odd part considering what the ship actually was. However, a closer inspection would reveal that there were two larger men - both wearing the same outfits as the crew seemed to be - who were not doing anything at all besides standing where they were. And behind them was a set of rather large doors. ‘Curious. You’d think that with a very critical prisoner having recently made an escape attempt, and with this transfer, there’d be a lot higher security around. Malakai tried to hide his distaste for their lack of security, or maybe they just didn’t care. A prisoner with as much power and prestige as the former Raven Tail guildmaster should be kept under high watch at all times from his perspective. ‘It is a good thing he’s getting sent to Black Vox. The council will be sure to keep him under tight wraps.’

Sugary_Paragraphs AtlannianSpy CelticHero37 Solarknight Refaulted

 

[AllHailDago]

Adellon P. Thrace​

-Location-

Hargeon Town​

--Mood--

A mite bit impatient​

Adellon sat upon the edge of a high Hargeon building overlooking Ilan Vair from a safe distance. Next to him sat a pair of magic binoculars and several empty cereal bar wrappers. When word of Royce Obertuck's most recent escape attempt initially reached him he had rolled his eyes in annoyance at the man's foolishness. Shortly after that however one of Adellon's contacts got in touch with him about a mission to escort him to Black Vox. A mission Raven Tail's were being blatantly exempted from due to some misguided thought process that they'd actually want to HELP him escape. Adellon scoffed severely at the mere thought! The Raven Tail guild was the one to turn him in at all, and atop that those who were displeased departed the guild not long after. To think any current members would try was an over the top insult!

Adellon had initially been furious, and admittedly still harbored severe annoyance for the Magic Council's decision. The man had marred the guild's name when they already dealt with a poor reputation for being miscreants and criminals, lied to those he swore to protect and care for, and overall pissed off Adellon in the process. He wasn't going to sit back and allow others to take care of this problem without Raven Tail support. So he had set off to Hargeon to size up those who gathered to help, and to then lend his assistance once they left the presence of the Magic Council. He needed no monetary reward or credit for his participation. As long as Royce made it to Black Vox and was properly secured Adellon would be pleased. He scratched lightly at his beard before picking up his magic binoculars, Sight Beyond. Terrible name, but he didn't pick it.

He looked through them, the lenses automatically focusing upon that which he was trying to look and enhancing it for him. The arriving mages were each clear enough he could very well be standing directly in front of him, which was perfect. He recognized Maki Obertuck and Jacob Foles immediately on sight. The former was one of his own fellow Guild Mates and atop that Royce's granddaughter. He couldn't even conceive why it was she thought they'd consider her trustworthy for this, but he wouldn't do anything to uproot her attempts. He had no misgivings that she'd ever actually spring him after all. As for Jacob, well Adellon was actually pleased to see the man. They had worked together before, and Jacob insisted on trying to recruit Adellon in to switching to Blue Pegasus for years much to Adellon's amusement. He enjoyed his company and found him a reliable sort. One of the few fellow S classes Adellon had ever personally worked with, he would openly admit his content with him being on this mission.

As for the other four Adellon did not recognize three of them offhand. Though fellow S class Malakai Grave was a face he knew from his following the names of fellow S classes. Though he did not remember what his magic was at the current moment, having only heard of it and not having read about it. Adellon committed the faces to memory and pulled out the second magic item in his possession, one he always adored getting the chance to use. Clicking open the brief case lying next to him Adellon pulled out a book inscribed with varying runes he hadn't yet been able to identify. He was only really sure that they were foreign in nature, which tracked seeing as he took it from a Dark Guild member who had emigrated from Desierto. The book magically updated itself to have current information on every legal Guild Member. It would supply a picture, their magics and relevant equipment, rank, and a few tiny cliff notes. It had been endlessly useful and he was glad to have taken it from someone who would have assuredly used it for evil.

He started to flip through to where Sabertooth would be but found one of the other faces along the way. A young grey haired mage named Bill Erfuu he recognized as the short, scruffy kid on the ship stared back at him from the Fairy Tail section. Adellon bit his lip in contemplation. He had expected that Fairy Tail, with their incessant distaste for the Raven Tail guild, would likely send a member on this mission. Likely he'll have negative things to say about not one but two Ravens joining them on this mission. Oh well, it wasn't as if Adellon wasn't up for a challenge anyway. He read on noting the 16 year old's cliff notes with a frown. Persuasive, enjoys sour candies, not fond of Raven Tail. A short list that left a sour taste in Adellon's mouth, but he moved on to his magic. Celestial spirit magic, two zodiac keys five common keys. How he'd come across two of the twelve at his age was a wonder to Adellon who had read of their rarity. A rank mage. Adellon wouldn't admit it out loud but he was slightly impressed.

He did not come across any of the other faces as he flipped back to Sabertooth to read on Malakai's magic. Which meant all 3 were in Sabertooth as the book sorted it by guild and guild by alphabetical order. That was fine by him, he didn't particularly have issue with Sabertooth. The first name he came across was Malakai Grave, the S emblazoned next to his name obvious to Adellon. His cliff notes were... interesting. He noted he had a dislike for women and graveyards. Which was almost laughably odd to read and left Adellon wondering the story behind that. It also noted his hobby was athletics, which was less interesting. His magic however greatly interested Adellon. Not his Adoptive Muscle Memory Magic, though that was admittedly really quite interesting, but his Carbon Manipulation magic. Such a magic would lend itself greatly to working in concert with Adellon who's ink had high carbon content. They would make a powerful pair, though the thought of Malakai as a dangerous enemy instead stuck in the back of Adellon's mind.

Next up was, Adellon's eyes scanned the page swiftly, Sylvia Koomen, B rank Sabertooth member. Matching the black haired, purple eyed picture in the book to the girl on the ship he was sure of it. The cliff notes said she has an intense fear of being alone, which he found rather understandable. He was rarely fond of working alone himself though need called for it here and there. She was also completely lacking in shyness and interrupts people frequently. The latter of which may prove extensively trying over time. Her magic peaked his interest as Liquid Metal Body Magic seemed to inherently have abilities Adellon had to train hard to obtain with Ink Manipulation. He wondered if she could store things within herself, remain seemingly entirely solid whilst actually liquid, or how far she could spread herself and retain conscious control. Adellon could do so and spread himself remarkably thin, but he had extensive training and was an S class to show for it. He pondered if her magic inherently had such applications. A curious thought for later.

Lastly was the green haired girl aboard the ship, who Adellon identified as A class Sabertooth mage Viridian Lannerly. An A, B, and S class from Sabertooth huh? Adellon noted that they had arrived at different times, so had they really all accepted independently of each other? He scooted the thought aside and skimmed the cliff notes for the last mage gathered. She was an intellectual, had high standards of morality, but an issue with authority figures. The first two initially gave Adellon a good impression and he assumed he'd enjoy her company, but the latter... Well he just hoped he wouldn't come off as that sort to her. He didn't particularly plan on trying to boss around the group regardless. If someone was to give her commands there anyways it would be Malakai, her guilds S class. Her Tinker Magic and Iron Make magic seemed like they'd have excellent synergy, not unlike Adellon's own.

Closing the book with an air of satisfaction, Adellon replaced it in his suit case and pulled out a regular book. The gathered mages seemed to be a quality group for such an endeavor. Though there could be issues here and there, his concern mostly regarding Bill Erufu's dislike for Raven's, he was mostly confident things would work out well. Idly flicking through pages of the newly retrieved book he began pulling the ink from the pages with his magic. He held if aloft between his fingers via a string of ink connected to each one, the overall ink of the book creating a slowly growing amorphous sphere above his hand. It shifted through several shapes as his thoughts progressed on the subject of this mission. If formed a question mark temporarily as Adellon tried divining who they might do battle with whilst transporting him.

Lady Warlock CelticHero37 AtlannianSpy Stormborn Targaryen Refaulted Solarknight Sugary_Paragraphs

 

[Lady Warlock]

Maekin Seaen
One of the workers on the deck had been assigned a single extra task and it had been a relatively simple one. He was to report to Maekin when five mages had showed up for the mission to escort Royce Obertuck to the pickup spot so that he could be locked up in Black Vox. That prison was more secure and would be better equipped to hold a man like him. Everyone involved knew it. However, the man in charge of counting mages was a bit surprised when he counted… not five. There were six of them. Yes, one of them seemed to keep to themselves and hadn’t approached the others at all, but they definitely didn’t belong there which had to mean they were a mage.

A look of distress decorated his face as he moved to report to Maekin. The Magic Council member was in one of the offices of the large ship and he had archive pulled up when the worker walked in on him. He was watching something… something that the man couldn’t quite make out before it vanished. “Sir,” he spoke. “Everyone yer waitin’ for seems to be here. There’s… well, there’s an extra, actually.”

“Yes, I know,” the archive mage replied quickly. “It’ll be an interesting situation, but I can handle it. Please return to your work. I will go meet them now.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, the worker returned to his job. Ilan Vair was a mage prison, after all. They couldn’t afford to hold on to workers who slacked. And with his little office space empty, Maekin pulled up archive one more time to glance over an image of exactly what he would be walking out to once he went to greet the mages. His eyes narrowed on a hooded figure and archive readily identified the individual for him. It was enough to make him cringe at how fate was already turning this into a very interesting situation. Nonetheless, he picked up a couple different papers as he closed archive and then he headed out to the main deck of the ship, quickly finding the group of individuals who looked sorely out of place.

“Good afternoon,” Maekin called out to them as he approached them. “I apologize for interrupting any introductions you all might have been making, but as I’m sure you can imagine, the council has a way of keeping me very busy so I was hoping we could get started right away.” He was fairly polite with everything he said, but his expression also made it clear that he wasn’t about to tolerate nonsense.

After a swing of his arm, gesturing for the mages to follow, Maekin continued. “I hope you don’t mind if I brief you while we walk. Despite appearances, this prison is quite massive underneath and it will ensure that our journey to our prisoner’s cell is not completely silent” He didn’t really give anyone a chance to argue, either.

“First of all, thank you to the five of you for accepting the mission. I have a packet here with information on the man who you’ll be escorting. Most of it, I imagine, you’ll already be familiar with, but I figured it was better to offer it to you than to not.”While still walking, Maekin reached back and offered a manilla folder to the first mage to take it. “And while you’re looking through that, there’s one thing I’d like to answer right away because I’d be shocked if someone didn’t ask it. Why don’t we just use magic transportation - or hire a teleportation mage - to get him there? We can’t. It plays right into his magic and there’s too much potential that Royce would escape that way. His magical abilities are detailed more in the pamphlet.”

He continued to speak as they walked. On the course of the journey, the group would pass through three pairs of massive double doors and at each of them, Maekin had to show paperwork in order for everyone to be allowed through the doors. Throughout the whole process, Maekin seemed to pay no attention at all ot the mage who hadn’t been invited to join them. For now, she was made to seem like a true member of the party at least on his part. He couldn’t stop any of the mages from noticing her, though, or questioning her, and if they did, he wouldn't say anything.

Instead of telling them about their charge - since they could read about it in the file he was passing around - he told them about their destination. It was actually more of a desert land than a defined destination, and it lied halfway between Hargeon and Crocus - Fiore’s capital city. A group of Black Vox prison guards would be patrolling the area in search of them, and when they met up in one spot, Royce would be transferred to the capable hands of Black Vox’s warden. That was how Maekin explained it, anyway.

It was also added that Maekin did not recommend that the mages take Royce through any towns or cities, Hargeon included. The trouble of people watching wouldn’t be a good thing for them. He neglected to explain why, though.

“His name’s Josiah Uurley and he’s a big bear of a man. You’ll know him when you see him.”

And within the time it took him to explain all that, their little party had made it into the prison space of Ilan Vair. There were cells upon cells all beneath the water. Each prisoner had their own cell about the size of a walk-in pantry although there was no food involved here. Each prisoner was chained down, hands behind their back, and on their knees. There was very little room for any of them to move at all aside from to look around. And the further down below the deck they went, the more chains there were involved in restraining the prisoners.

“None of these prisoners are water mages or metal mages, obviously,” Maekin tossed out an errant thought in regards to the situations they were walking through. “Keeping those mages here is not wise.”

Finally, they reached the deepest cell and within it’s confines there was a man whose appearance matched the image in the file the mages were supposed to be passing around. “Why hello there,” Royce greeted them, his voice oddly pleasant. “Not often I get visitors. What brings so many of you today?” The grin on his face was proof that he already knew, though.

Completely ignoring Royce’s comment, Maekin turned to face the mages and his arms crossed in front of them. “Now, before I release him to your custody, there’s another problem to address. Maki Obertuck, you can stop trying to hide now. You are not supposed to be here and I have half a mind to lock you up in your grandfather’s cell once we’ve unchained him.” Maekin’s voice didn’t honestly sound threatening, though, even as he issued the threat. He simply wanted to see how she - and everyone else would react.

Spoiler: Random Snippets from the Pamphlet

Spoiler: I’m Sorry

So… originally, I was going to be an awesome GM and actually code a pamphlet of information for you guys. I… well… I got lazy. I can tell you some important pieces of information it would have, though. If you have any questions about Royce, feel free to ask in the OOC and I’ll answer.

Magic: Black Portal Magic: This is a magic that makes the user capable of teleportation, not only of themselves, but of another large number of things. When they create a black portal, it serves as weaker version of a black hole and literally sucks in everything. Living things can resist. He can control and manipulate the strength of the portal’s pull, though, making it excessively difficult to resist for too long. Royce is an expert in this magic. He can manipulate small portals even while engaging in rapid hand to hand combat.

Skills: He is an expert in hand to hand combat and martial arts. Royce is also highly aware of the world around him and he uses that to his advantage. He’s very worldly as far as knowledge is concerned.

Sentence: 3 lifetimes

Crime: Black Magic Experimentation

Observed Personality: Quiet… dangerously quiet

Psych Evaluation: Diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder

Refaulted CelticHero37 Stormborn Targaryen Solarknight AtlannianSpy AllHailDago Sugary_Paragraphs

 

[Sugary_Paragraphs]

[Collab between Sugary_Paragraphs & AtlannianSpy ]

Bill Erefu and Viridian Lannerly
Bill snickered as he walked past the guards and looked around the ship, do another little whistle. Wow. He'd never been on such a big ship before. He would've almost mistaken this place for some kind of weird cruise ship were it weren't for the fact there were probably several murderers below the deck as they spoke...or, well, stood. 'Speaking of people standing around doing nothing,' The celestial wizard thought, looking at one of the two people on this boat who weren't wearing a sailor get-up. To be honest, she actually looked more like she could fix the boat here with that little mechanic outfit. Sp, that either meant two things: One, she was an actual mechanic. Or two, she was one of the people who had taken up on the mission. He hummed as he saw the guild tattoo. Sabertooth, huh? He never really had worked with someone from the Sabertooth guild before...at least, he thought he didn't. He wasn't exactly that famous for remembering faces. Before he could dwell on the thought, he felt a small gust of wind from beside him, causing him to raise an eyebrow. He was PRETTY sure it was supposed to be 85 degrees today...he turned and saw some guy walk toward them. Where did he come from?! And man, were his clothes fancy! He pouted a bit and looked down at his slightly raggedy sweater. "Man. I gotta get a new wardrobe." He muttered aloud. In his defense, the clothes in magnolia were expensive. And considering he needed his jewels for things such as Rent, Food, Keys, and Hot water, he didn't exactly have the luxury of skipping through shop after shop everyday...plus, this was his favorite sweater.

Bill soon perked up, however, when he saw the guards swing down another ladder, eye twitching when he saw her outfit. Get over it, Erefu. Get over it. Shaking his head, he merely put his hands in his pockets to play it off cool while listening to her speak. Huh...another Sabertooth member. And this one knew that one. His eyes momentarily wandered over to the fancy guy again, concluding that he must've been from another guild based on how she didn't seem to greet him like she did with that Viridian girl. "Hm. I mean, I AM standing on top of a floating prison...so, I'd give today a 'meh' for now." He answered after her question, giving her a small (what he hoped to be charming) smile. His eyes soon caught another person climbing on the boat. Who knew this mission would get so many volunteers? And wouldn't ya know it, this Malackai guy was from Sabertooth too. Man. It was like they knew he'd be the only fairy tail member here! "Unless ya got more members that'd pop up outta nowhere, I think we're good...Hm?" Wandering eyes once again caught something interesting. Someone else seemed to be on the boat. She was wearing some orange jumper and had purple hair...purple...puuurple...Bill shook his head. Nah. Couldn't be. He was just being more weird than usual.

"This is all the mages we sent," said Viridian to the Fairy Tale mage, her voice probably more serious than the kind of tone he had intended to elicit. Viridian didn't recognize the boy except to not that he seemed around her age. Also his overall demeanor and appearance were a bit concerning. Who put their guild tattoo on their tongue? And Fairy Tail had a whole thing with Raven Tail, could he be relied on to be objective and calm? Viridian was bit relieved to not that Sabretooth had made up the majority of the contingent. Her guildmates were known quantities Viridian was confident she could plan around and take into account. After all there were already unknown quantities in play here. Viridian wanted to know who the woman in the dark cloak was but before she could ask the council representative they had been waiting for arrived and lead them down into the ship. Mr. Sean seemed agreeably business like and Viridian was content to observe the information he offered, quietly flipping though the offered pamphlet while the group walked.

Unlike many mages Viridian did not use gale force reading glasses and so it took her a little longer then it mght have. Viridian had experimented with the glasses but found them problematic, it was harder to meaningfully engage with the information in the text. In particular inacurrate or misleading writing could slip by your critical facilities and you might recall it later as something more credible then its original context. One should be mindful of the quality as well as the quantity of one's reading material or so Viridian felt.

The pamphlet made for interesting reading though. Obertuck's black portal magic sounded fascianting and almost tailor made for breaking out of prisons. In fact despite its impressive facilities the Ilan Vair seemed ill equipped to handle Obertuck. Viridian wondered if the council shouldn't have sent him to Black Vox In the first place, or at least moved him much sooner. The man was obviously dangerous, they would have to be cautious while moving him.

“Now, before I release him to your custody, there’s another problem to address. Maki Obertuck, you can stop trying to hide now. You are not supposed to be here and I have half a mind to lock you up in your grandfather’s cell once we’ve unchained him.”

Viridian looked up sharply from her pamphlet and over to the woman in question. It didn't take a genuis to connect two people with the same last name, this was the granddaughter of the prisoner they were supposed to be transporting and she had just followed them in like it was the most natural thing in the world.

"This is what happens when the council tries to make a public spectacle of things like this." Viridian said, her brow furrowing. "You should have have brought us in to move him before a statement was released to the press."

Bill hummed at Viridian's response. She's gonna be like that for the whole thing, wasn't she? He had no problem with the people who get all frowns and stiff-talk for missions, but from the way she was lookin' at him, he had a feeling she was gonna be nagging the entire trip. Bill pursed his lips at the thought, but soon decided to focus on the guy coming onto the ship. He looked like he was in charge of the place, or at least was at some kind of high position to seem like it. At the greeting, Bill simply waved with a smile, shrugging when the dude got straight into. The Magic Council sure had a way to make you bend over backwards, huh? Before they followed him, Bill took one last look at the person in the cloak. Eh. They probably weren't important.

-A Minute Later-

'Yep.' Bill thought, side-eyeing the person following them. 'This is deeefinetly not creepy.' Bill thought sarcastically. Seriously, was no one gonna mention them? He momentarily took his attention away to accept the pamphlet, looking it over for a bit. Yadda Yadda Yadda Black Portals Yadda Yadda Yadda Martial arts Yadda Ya-Anti-Social? "No wonder he's in prison." Bill muttered with a snicker. Further down into the prison they went, and Bill found himself looking at the various prisoners they passed by on their way to Royce. Some paid him no mind, but to the guys who glared at him, he did a two fingered salute and stuck out his tongue. They sure had these guys chained up tight. The further down they went only confirmed Bill's thoughts.

However, when they finally arrived to Royce's cell, Bill squinted his eyes. He thought the guy was supposed to be quiet and Anti-Social? Granted, he was literally looking at the people who'd take him to a BIGGER prison, but still...meh. Then, the guy FINALLY addressed the elephant in the room, but with a name that sounded...familiar. Obertuck...He look at the pamphlet. Then at Maki. Then at the pamphlet. With a raised eyebrow, he slowly lifted the pamphlet up and compared it, finally gasping in shock! Whoa! These two were related! Freaking-He knew it! People in cloaks always had something going on! And that meant she was a Raven Tail member too! He twitched at that.

"To be honest, I bet Ms. Stowaway here would've still followed us even if that happened." He responded to Viridian, shrugging before he smirked and leaned a bit to whisper loudly. "Besides. I don't think she's noticed this, but there's one of her and..." He mock counted their crew. "Five of us...plus that guy." He pointed to the Archive Mage. "I don't think she's gonna do anything..." Nonetheless, his hand slowly went for Ol' Silver just in case.

"If the information wasn't given to the press then the only leaks would have been from the magic council or one of our guilds." replied Viridian, adjusting her glasses slightly, somehow the simple gesture betrayed a certain amount of irritation. "Obviously that wouldn't totally eliminate the risk but it would minimize simply by taking a basic precaution." This was the sort of thing that really got under Viridian's skin, people refusing to account for obvious potential problems and then acting surprised when all their efforts collapsed around them.

"In any case," Viridian continued. "The question now is what do we do with her? Obviously she can't come with us. Even if she doesn't try anything herself she might relay information to someone else" Viridian didn't necessarily think it was likely that the Raven Tail mage was here to break out her Grandfather, but she didn't think it was impossible either. After all she didn't know anything about Maki Obertuck and some people would go a long way for their family.

"Detaining her here would be obviously be the most straightforward solution but ethically dubious. You can't even really say she's guilty of trespassing since you practically let her in."

Lady Warlock CelticHero37 Refaulted Solarknight Stormborn Targaryen @AllHailDago(So ya don't miss the drama)

 

[Refaulted]

Jacob Arkonius Foles
​

Jacob silently took in the group of mages gathering for the mission. It seemed that it was mostly taken up by Sabertooth mages, as he knew of Malakai Grave, and he seemed to know the two female mages as well, so he assumed they all were a part of the same Guild. The other boy had the Fairy Tail mark on his tongue, though Jacob wasn't sure if he knew him or not. What he was worried about was the bias of the mage, as Fairy Tail and Raven Tail were not on the best of terms. Thus, he questioned if the boy would act recklessly and jeopardize the mission in some way. However, he was sure that with two S-Class mages present, they could handle any situation that presented itself. Hopefully.

Another worry was the mysterious cloaked figure. Well, he said mysterious, but he had a good feeling on who it was. He had visited the Raven Tail Guild Hall many times on orders of his previous Guild Master. Before Master Julius became the Guild Master, Jacob was tasked with attempting to recruit the mage Adellon Thrace, but he had never been successful. Once Julius had stepped up, though, Jacob began to frequent the establishment less and less, though he still had the rare chance to work with Adellon due to the two of them being capable mages.

Due to all his visits, he remembered the individual standing by them, but the situation felt too interesting for him to speak up about it. His hand laid gently against the handle of his rapier, just in case anything happened. While he would not do anything about their guest now, he would not hesitate to spring into action should they make a move to free their 'luggage'.

As the Magic Council member Maekin appeared before the group, Jacob listened intently to his words in order to fully understand the mission they were given. He knew that the man known as Royce Obertuck was dangerous, so when he was handed the pamphlet, he made sure to memorize their prisoner's magic and skills. With portal magic, he could make an easy escape if they were not cautious, and in hand-to-hand combat, Jacob himself was lacking. He was more skilled with his weapons and magic, and if he was unable to use The Staff or The Sword, he may be useless. Thus, he deduced that keeping his distance from the man, while also keeping him from moving much, was the best course of action. He closed the pamphlet and handed it off to the next mage, and looked around the inside of the prison as they made their way to the destination, wondering how long the sentences of these mages were, and what they had done to end up here. He shivered at the thought of being chained like an animal.

When they reached the deepest part of the prison, Jacob eyed Ex-Master Royce. He spoke pleasantly, but Jacob was not fooled by it. Jacob rubbed his thumb against his rapier, imagining what kind of atrocities this man has done in the past, and could have done had he not been turned in. He frowned, and bent down to get a closer look at the man, and spoke in a hushed whisper. "A pity a man such as yourself was gifted such power only for you to use it for nefarious purposes. Your beauty has been squandered as such."

Standing back up, he sighed, turning back to Maekin as he pointed out Maki Obertuck to the rest of the group. He watched as the Fairy Tail mage and one of the Sabertooth mages responded in what seemed like anger and disgust. However, Jacob had a different idea. He walked between her and the rest of the group, holding up his hand. "Let's wait one moment. I don't see a reason for us to leave her here. She came here to presumably assist us in bringing her own blood relative somewhere that will be able to restrain him more reliably. If she were here to try and break him out, she would have brought more allies, and to my knowledge, the only one that would pose a serious threat to the group gathered here would be Adellon Thrace, but even then I believe Mr. Grave would be able to handle him well enough due to the advantage with his magic. So even if she attempts to send information to her allies, I believe we would only experience some minor setbacks. If her intentions are pure, and she is willing to assist with the mission, then we can should her that chance. But if she tries to betray us..." Jacob grabbed the handle of his sword, turning to look at Maki. "We can restrain her as well, and turn her into the authorities so they may decide what the best choice of action is. Thus, any dangers or casualties we experience on our mission involving a betrayal by Raven Tail, I will take responsibility for." Turning back to the group, he motioned towards Maekin. "Mr. Seaen, do you have any problems with this? Or do any of you?" He pointed to the mages gathered.

AtlannianSpy CelticHero37 Sugary_Paragraphs Solarknight Stormborn Targaryen AllHailDago Lady Warlock

(Ugh, I know it sucks. Sorry.)

 

[CelticHero37]

Maki Obertuck
The raven-haired girl was surprised when she descended to Ilan Vair. No one seemed to be bothered by her presence, or even to notice her. She figured it was because they would be expecting multiple mages to arrive and thus weren’t phased by hers. She was still going to be careful, though; as she hoped she might be able to get through this relatively unnoticed. After all, she didn’t really want to be here. She had just been backed into a corner and now she had to keep her word. Who knew where the public would be watching, and if they found out that she hadn’t lived up to what she had said, they’d never let her forget it.

She noticed some of the other mages that had arrived beginning to socialize, but she tried to stay near the back. It wasn’t until a man emerged from belowdecks that they were addressed properly. The man offered the group pamphlets with important details on her grandfather. Well, he gave them to everyone except for Maki. That was a little strange, but Maki figured it was just because they hadn’t printed enough. It wasn’t that big of a deal, anyway. Out of everyone there, Maki probably knew the most about Royce Obertuck, being his granddaughter and all.

Sticking to the back of the group as they began their journey belowdecks, Maki pulled the cloak a little tighter around her. The atmosphere inside the ship was a little colder than Maki would have liked. She tried not to look at the other prisoners, as doing so made her feel sort of bad for them being in such confined spaces with no dignity. What could they possibly have done to deserve this? The further they descended, the worse it got. Maki was beginning to wonder what horrors awaited her grandfather at Black Vox if that was supposed to be even worse than this.

As she contemplated this, the man that was leading them continued to talk. It wasn’t until she heard her grandfather’s voice that she was brought back to attention. Looking up with her eyes wide, Maki looked upon her grandfather for the first time in years. Looking at him in such a state hit harder than she had expected. Tears threatened to escape her eyes, but she forced them back. Her legs trembled slightly as she fought the urge to run up to him. She was regretting this decision even more, now. If only she could get a chance alone with him. Then she could ask him why he had done what he had and figure out the good intentions behind them. She was sure she’d be able to save him.

Her thoughts were interrupted yet again when Maekin said her name. Blinking in surprise, she looked over and said, ”Hmm? What?” When she had registered what was said, her hidden face contorted in anger as she spat back, ”Not supposed to be here?! It was your media cronies that bombarded me with all the questions of whether I was gonna help or not! What do you expect to happen?! Huh?! I came here to help! Quit trying to make an enemy of a situation that could just as easily be an ally!”

Raising an eyebrow, Maekin knew what he wanted to say to her. He wanted to tell her that she was a silly girl for blaming him for things that were beyond his control and he wanted to tell her that the Magic Council had no influence over the media because truly they did not. Any blame there would lie on the Fioran Government… not the Magic Council. He held that thought back, though, because he imagined it would only make things worse. The archive mage was strong enough to know to bite his tongue in a situation like this and with a thought like that.

Before Maekin could address her directly, though, some of the other mages had started interjecting their own comments and the first few didn’t seem too happy that she was there in the first place; they also didn’t seem opposed to her presence, though. One thing was for sure: Viridian was right in that they needed to figure out what to do with her. However, then Jacob jumped in and Maekin had to listen to that one given that he was one of the strongest, and probably someone who would be leading the group. His eyes widened in surprise and Maekin had one thought on his mind. None of them were taking into account that if they were distracted containing Maki, it would be all too easy for Royce to find an opening. His magic wasn’t to be underestimated, and Maekin knew that.

“You seriously think you could contain both her and him,” he gestured back towards Royce, “without losing control of the situation? We asked for five mages for Royce alone because he is that much of a threat.” He wanted to make the point of the threat clear.

Maki had a rough time glancing back and forth at all the commenters. Things were happening too quickly for her to process and respond properly. It was getting rather agitating. They were talking about her like she was just some other obstacle to get around. She was having a hard enough time coping with the situation before all this. Now she felt like she was about to break down. Turning to Maekin, she threw her arms down, clenching her fists as she seethed, “Quit treating me like an animal! I’m a person, just like the rest of you, and I’m here because I don’t want to see anyone else hurt! Why can’t you understand that?!”

The magic council representative's eyes were flashing back and forth as he considered all the possibilities. However, what happened next was something he could not expect. “Maekin,” Royce was interrupting now. “If you let my granddaughter come with, I’ll let you bind me to my word and I’ll swear not to bring any harm to anyone here. Neither will I bring any harm to them.”

Maekin had a very unique brand of magic. He could bind people to their words and ensure that they weren’t broken. It was rare that someone willingly agreed to be bound, though, and there was no doubt Royce’s offer took him by surprise. “That’s not an offer even I can decline,” he muttered before turning to the rest of the mages to ensure they understood what this meant.

“There is a spell I can cast that holds him to that vow as he says it. You would have no trouble from him at all. The escort is still needed because my magic is timeframe bound, and there are others who would no doubt see him freed if they could. I do firmly believe though, that with the threat of Royce nulled, the mission would be easier on all of you… even with Maki in tow.”

When Maki heard her grandfather’s request, her eyes widened and her tension subsided a bit. Even now, it seemed her grandfather still cared about her. After all these years, he still remembered her and wanted to spend time with her. Maki had trouble holding back tears that threatened to fall. Finally, she wouldn't have to fight them anymore. Perhaps now, she’d get a chance to speak to her grandfather alone.

Well, Maekin had decided. All that remained to be seen was whether or not any of the mages would object. Meanwhile, though, Maekin called over the guards and set them to work unlocking Royce and then rebinding him in a manner more suitable for travel. However, before they could finish chaining his hands behind his back, Maekin stepped in and extended his hand towards the man. It was how the magic worked. Taking Royce’s hand, Maekin said, “Say the words.”

“I, Royce Obertuck, swear that I will cooperate with the mages behind you as they escort me to Black Vox. I will not fight them. The terms of this vow are broken if my granddaughter is harmed by any of them or if she is separated me for any length of time seeming permanent during the journey. Should I break these words, this vow may see my death.” As Royce was speaking, magic from Maekin wrapped around both of their hands. It required two to seal the bind and once it was complete, Maekin was satisfied.

Royce’s hands were bound the rest of the way - hands behind his back and shackles on his ankles - and then he faced the rest of the group, clearly ready to go. Maki was the first to her grandfather’s side to guide him and make sure he wouldn’t fall. This was more than she could have asked for.

 

[AtlannianSpy]

Viridian Lannerly - Sabretooth A rank mage

- A deal is struck -
​

"I suppose that's acceptable," said Viridian, although her tone betrayed some lingering doubts. "It's not that I don't trust you," she said to Maki "But I can't simply take you at your word either. Considering the situation it only makes sense if we take every possible precaution,"

I suppose with this contract in place there'll be less to worry about though. What a convenient type of magic, it eliminates a lot of variables. There's still the potential issue of her attacking us, if one of our party has to defend themselves and injures her then the contract will be cancelled. But at that point we'll simply be back at square one, we can subdue her and then take Royce the rest of the way relying on the restraints. It actually feels a little too convenient but I can't see any way for him to exploit this situation. At least not yet.

"Well if nobody else has any objections then there isn't much sense waiting around," Viridian said, turning back to the other mages. "Though we should give some consideration to the formation we want to use, somebody skilled at close range should stick with Obertuck in case something unexpected happens, the same thing goes for The younger Obertuck as well. It's probably worth having one or two people scout ahead for ambushes, that only leaves one or two people in reserve though. Then there's the route to consider, as well as provisions,"

Increasingly it was becoming apparent that Viridian was talking more to herself then anybody else, her arms folded and her chin resting on one hand. It wasn't that she was trying to take control of the situation, although if nobody else wanted to do it then she wouldn't hesitate to do so. Viridian simply couldn't resist the impulse to deal with the problem as efficiently and logically as possible, regardless of what the people around her felt about the situation. For this reason Viridian normally preferred to work alone. She found persuading people to follow her advice difficult and time consuming and ignoring potential problems because she was following someone else's plan.

Solo missions weren't usually as lucrative as group ones however. Anything that could be handled by a single mage tended not to be worth a lot of money. Although it was true there were S ranked or higher mages who could reliably do the work of many less skilled mages alone anyone below S rank tended not to have a very high profile. Employers wouldn't know to ask for any mages at that level by name and different guilds had different ideas of what constituted an A rank or a B rank mage. On top of that most mages had different skill sets or were better in some situations then others. Overall if you had a job that was important but not difficult enough to justify an S rank mage then you usually had to hire a group in order to improve the likelihood that some or a t least one had the right skills.

It was an interesting problem and Viridian found herself considering various solutions. Some kind of database of mages would be a start, but it would be a potential risk if dark mages could find out the strengths and weaknesses of legal mages and any database would have to be public to reach the majority of people who posted missions. If the guilds had more discretion in how many mages to send then they could potentially match parties to jobs better. But they'd need to know the ins and outs of the job beforehand, possibly necessitating some kind of consultation phase and fee. Even then most guilds would prefer to err on the safe side or even completely overcharge by sending more people then necessary.

Viridian blinked. She was getting distracted, this was an interesting thought experiment but one she should probably return to on her own time. Viridian fished out a notepad and pen from her and and scribbled some quick notes on the subject, before looking up expectantly at the rest of the group.

 

[Solarknight]

Sylvia KoomenAs they were walking down into the prison, the presence of Sylvia Koomen was bound to draw a few pairs of eyes along the way. Actually, she drew more than a few stares from prisoners - not because she had any connection to them, but because of the way she was moving through the prison itself. Not many people would be skipping completely cheerfully in the doom and gloom environment that Ilan Vair gave off, after all. She had zero cares for any of that at all. It was something that undoubtedly would draw the attention of anyone who didn’t know her. Her guildmates, on the other hand, were likely used to it.

She hadn’t yet looked at the pamphlet by the time they reached Royce’s cell and she really wasn’t bothered by knowing nothing about him. As he greeted them with a grin, Sylvia bounced forward, threw out both of her hands in excited waves, and replied, “Hello, Sir!” The sabertooth mage was paying almost no attention at all to the situation revolving around Maki. It wasn’t out of ignorance that she didn’t pay attention, though. Sylvia instead simply trusted her guildmates to be able to figure it out. With Viridian and Malakai there, she didn’t imagine they would consent to anything bad unfolding quite so soon on the adventure.

Instead of watching that argument unfold - because arguments weren’t pleasant things - most of Sylvia’s attention remained on Royce, wondering why he wasn’t responding and then realizing that he was paying attention to the unraveling situation within the group. Sylvia jumped back into the grand scheme of things when she heard Royce mention a granddaughter because it was a unique relationship that she couldn’t remember knowing. Furthermore, it seemed like he was trying to help them, overall, which was a hard thing to ignore. Still, Sylvia remained on the sidelines through that discussion. Sure, she wanted to say something - Sylvia was dying to talk to anyone at all - but it was hard given she’d been momentarily distracted in the beginning.

As it seemed that their group was ready to move along, Sylvia brought herself right alongside Royce and Maki because they seemed like two of the most talkative people around. “I hope you two don’t mind if I walk with you. It’s always fun to get to know new people and you’re both new people to me. Well, except for you, Maki. I’ve read about you a little bit in your interviews. What’s it like to fly? Is it awesome!?” The only reason why her questions didn’t continue beyond that point was because she heard Viridian’s voice.

Turning to face her guildmate, Sylvia raised her hand ever so slightly. “I can stay with these two here. I’m more of a close range fighter anyway.”

Without missing a breath at all, her attention shifted back to the Obertucks. “How high up can you fly, Maki? Does it get cold up there? They always say it gets cold in the sky but it seems like it should be the other way around sometimes, I think. I could be wrong though.” Her questions truly could go on and on.

CelticHero37 AtlannianSpy Lady Warlock

 

[Sugary_Paragraphs]

Bill Erefu
Bill nodded to Viridian's complaints. Bill wasn't one to question what the Magic council did, because it wasn't point in trying to understand those guys. He didn't have a problem with them, but even someone like him wasn't crazy enough to try and figure out their mysterious quotes or secret lives or whatever. Long story short, Bill didn't really think the green-haired tactician shouldn't really be worried about why the press got a sneak peak. What they SHOULD care about was the unauthorized Raven tail member staring right before them. Honestly, it kinda hurt knowing that he literally saw her. I mean, the clues were all there! Whatever. "Mhm. Mhm. True, True." Bill said in response to Viridian's hanging question. "I have an idea. Might I suggest the good ol' fashioned way...? Ya know, a little of..." He trailed off and put his hands on the handle of his key before he slowly began to slide it from the straps of his back with a grin...only to stop at the sight of Mr. Fancyclothes stepping in front of her, causing him to frown. And as the guy talked more and more, Bill's frown deepened and he grew an unimpressed look. Of course she wouldn't have sent allies at the ship! But that didn't mean she didn't have anyone waiting OUTSIDE the ship, waiting to attack the minute they got outside the town! He made a mental note of this Adellon guy, but other than that, he clearly wasn't on board with this whole Obertuck tag along Idea.

"Yeah, I'm gonna have to-" Bill began, holding a finger up, only to be stopped at a sudden thought...or, well, flashback.

'Remember to behave yourself, Mr. Erefu,' Cindy said, the celestial spirit making loud clopping noises as her lower horse body paced the floor of his room as Bill packed. 'Out of all the Missions on the board, this one seems to hold the highest payment. But it is all based on your performance.'

"I still don't see how the rent is late! That guy should've mailed us the bill earlier!" Said the Celestial Wizard as he stuffed a box of keys into one of the book bag pockets.

'Mr. Erefu, he DID send us the bill!" Cindy huffed, stomping a hoof onto the floor, watching Bill walk over to his pillow and grab a bundle of house keys before dumping them in his bag. 'However, do to your carelessness for orginization, you had left it outside and did not notice it for days!'

'For the last time, it was five in the morning!' Bill argued, putting his hand under his bed and pulling out an antique gold skeleton key and throwing that in the bag. 'Blame the mailing system for thinking it was a good idea-'

'WHATEVER THE CASE!' Cindy interjected, glaring down at the boy. 'Just know that if the council catches any wind of you causing trouble, they will deduct your pay! And I know the last thing you want is to for the shop to be taken away from you!" Her last sentence was met with silence as Bill stopped, looking down into his bag blankly. Cindy sighed, her glare softening. '...This is not only your home, but the blood, sweat, and tears of your parents. Do you understand?'

Bill sighed and grumbled. 'Yeah...I know...'

'...For the love of-WHY DOES YOUR TRAVELING BAG CONSIST OF KEYS AND NOT CLOTHES?!'

'THEY'LL GET LONELY IF I'M NOT HERE!'

'YOU'RE GOING TO A PRISON!'

"...totally agree with you." He said through his teeth, putting up a fake toothy smile. "Because it DEFINITELY won't get us killed!" He chirped, taking his hand off Ol' Silver. Right. He could behave! I mean, how hard could it be? As he watched the argument between Maki and Maekin, he is smile slowly got more strained, struggling to hold it up when Royce had chimed in. Oh, god, they were really buying this weren't they? 'Those are totally crocodile tears...but whatever. I don't care. Nope.' Bill thought. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes as they even casted a spell for this. Finally, they seemed to be ready to get moving, and he staid in the back as he watched Maki guide Royce. Yeah, he wasn't believing this. Just because he had to behave didn't mean he wasn't going to watch them. All it took was one wrong move. One. Wrong. Move. "...Ya know what, Green? Think I'll just watch our rear."

CelticHero37 AtlannianSpy Refaulted

 

[CelticHero37]

Maki Obertuck

Take Flight
As Sylvia joined Royce and Maki, the raven-haired girl cast a sneer and a sidelong glare at the approaching mage. She had expected the badgering to continue and was about to bark back a response about a decision being made when she realized Sylvia was simply trying to be friendly. Maki's expression softened and she straightened up to greet the girl.

Maki didn't mind having some company on the trip, although she noted that it might make her mission that much harder. For the moment, that wasn't a big problem, so Maki didn't worry about it. Instead, she was surprised to hear that Sylvia had heard of her. Of course Maki was always being bugged by reporters and the like, but she hadn't actually expected to meet another mage who had read about her. At first, Maki was a bit flattered. However, as the questions flooded in, she threw her hands up defensively and said, "Okay, you're startin' to get on my nerves. If you wanna talk, that's fine. Just slow down an' quit buzzin' like all those annoying reporters and fans. I get enough of that as it is. That's why I like flyin'. It gets me away from all the noise. You can just be free. You don' have to worry about people botherin' you constantly," Maki sighed before continuing, "It's just peaceful up there, in the sky. Sure it can get a bit cold up there -- especially when you're movin' fast -- but if you come prepared, it isn't really a problem." then, looking over to Sylvia, Maki added, "As for how high I can fly... ya know, that's a good question. I mean, I've gotten pretty high, but I've never had to push myself to the limit. Never seen a reason to. You just run out of oxygen after a while. Of course, I could carry a bubble of air with me if it was necessary, but still," Maki shrugged, "Not much goes that high anyway. How about you? What's your magic?"

Solarknight Lady Warlock Sugary_Paragraphs AtlannianSpy Refaulted

 

[Lady Warlock]

Malakai Grave and Maekin Seaen
Throughout the course of events, the S-Class Sabertooth mage was one to keep silent and to observe as things unfolded. He had noticed that a cloaked woman was coming with them and his magic ventured through the air around her, prepared to act if ever it was needed; however, she hadn’t done anything so far that warranted him taking any actions. The others would notice her eventually, he was sure, and he would leave it for a more civil situation if that was possible. That’s essentially what happened, too. As they arrived at Royce’s cell, Maekin pointed out the stranger and he addressed her as such. Action on Malakai’s part had never been needed.

He listened as everyone offered their opinions and he nodded to Jacob directly when Jacob spoke of his abilities with respect. It was nice to feel like his talents were appreciated and this was such a situation. However, Malakai also noticed the concern on Maekin’s expressions, though, and he felt that they were only just beginning to understand the ferocity of the criminal they would be escorting. In fact, had Royce not spoken next, Malakai would have.

Maekin’s magic was something Malakai had heard of vaguely. It consisted of spells that could bind men to their words and punish them if their word was broken. Although it wasn’t something Malakai considered to be powerful, per say, it definitely had its uses in political fields and in this situation as well. That spell alone was what made it possible for things to work out here. He watched as the webs of Maekin’s magic bound Royce to an oath and he considered all the loopholes that could’ve possibly been woven into it all. There were a few although none of them seemed extremely likely; it was why he hadn’t mentioned them.

There was nothing that could keep Malakai silent for long, though. “Viridian is right,” he agreed. “We should get moving. Sylvia is probably suited to stay close to our charge. Her magic is more close ranged anyway, and suited for such. Jacob might be more suited to be ahead because his magic can reach far away and he might be able to hide us as well. Viridian and I are probably helpful wherever we find ourselves. I cannot speak for the others, though.” Malakai’s knowledge of guild mages was rather limited to the S-Class ones. It wasn’t out of disrespect, though. He was simply a mage that didn’t have enough time to read up on everyone else because he preferred to be working.

“Agreed. The sooner he’s in Black Vox, the sooner we can reassure the country,” Maekin commented. Stepping ahead of the rest of the group, Maekin started leading everyone up the prison ramps. It would be a long walk to the surface, but that would give everyone time to think through their mission and how they would act from here on out. “If you need a boat to take you to the edges of Hargeon, I can arrange for it. There are always ships coming and going from Ilan Vair.”

The magic council’s representative remained silent for the remainder of their walk back to the deck, but that did not make their walk quiet. The jostling of chains accompanied them and would for their entire venture.

Then, as they returned to the surface, Malakai stepped ahead of something else, his senses acting rather unusual. He sensed something that he hadn’t felt in ages and it was leading him in the opposite direction of Hargeon and the shore. Terrifying as it was, he knew right away that he had to follow it. Turning to face the rest of the group, Malakai apologized. “I’m sorry. I know that I pledged to help with this mission, but I have something now that’s pulling me away. I will send word to the rest of the guilds seeking a mage to replace me and you have my sincerest apologies. There’s something else, though, that I have to follow.” The carbon mage didn’t stick around for long enough for anyone to object, either. He made his way over to a rowboat - more than enough for him to get moving - and he lowered it into the water before following the pull he knew he had to follow.

Sighing, Maekin was capable of understanding how fickle mages could be and how odd the world was when they roamed it so he couldn’t really object. Instead, he pulled up Archive and sent out the message to the guilds. Mages were en route to Black Vox and an extra escort was needed.

“Alas, we cannot delay the mission while we wait for another wizard to join your entourage. I’m sorry, but I must encourage you all to get moving. Do you need a boat?”

Sugary_Paragraphs CelticHero37 AtlannianSpy AllHailDago Refaulted Solarknight

 

[AtlannianSpy]

Viridian Lannerly - Sabretooth A rank mage

- Is this really going to be okay? -
​

Viridian watched Malakai leave mutely, her frustration betrayed only by a twitching eyebrow.

We haven't even gone anywhere and this is already falling apart! Viridian thought, trying not to let her frustration show on her face. She would never admit it but Malakai's presence had been rather reassuring. It wasn't that Viridian lacked faith in her own abilities but the sabertooth S rank mage had experience and authority that she simply had no way of matching yet, besides his magical capabilities. Viridian had actually been hoping Malakai would take the position Sylvia had volunteered for, where his quick reactions and aptitude for hand to hand would be capable of stopping anything Obertuck tried. Sylvia was a perfectly good mage in her own right just not up to the calibre of their guild's ace. There was also the matter of her casual attitude towards their prisoner and uninvited guest, which frankly Viridian found a little concerning. It was starting to feel like she and the fairy tail mage were the only ones taking this seriously.

Still, there wasn't much to gain by complaining about things. The point of planning wasn't to have everything go perfectly but to have less to worry about when the unexpected inevitably occurred. Well the unexpected had occurred so now it was time to deal with it, though Viridian made a mental note to chew Malakai out when she bumped into him again.

"Very welI, let's proceed. I think a boat is the best option," Viridian said after clearing her throat. "I'm sure some of us could provide magical means of transportation but it seems foolish to waste energy that might be needed in the case of an emergency." As she spoke she slowed down and found herself a position in the back of the group, next to Bill. It was irritating but her magic would be most effective if she wasn't on the front lines and had some time to prepare her magic. Of course this like Bill she also wanted to be able to keep an eye on their guests, not to mention Sylvia, in Malakai's absence Viridian saw herself as responsible for the other girl. After all if Sylvia had decided to make friends with anybody then at least one of them had to be responsible.

"It's Viridian by the way, not 'Green'" She said to Bill, by way of introduction as she found herself walking beside him. At the same time she shifted her pack around to rest in front of her and put her hands into it to begin casting magic. Intermittent flashes of light emerged from the pack as magic circles appeared around Viridian's hands, she was casting iron make magic to fill the bag up with parts. Though it would be something of a nuisance to carry around the parts having them on hand would cut the time before Viridian could use her magic offensively, in the case of an ambush or escape attempt those few seconds might be vital.

Lady Warlock Sugary_Paragraphs Solarknight CelticHero37 Refaulted

 

[Solarknight]

Sylvia Koomen

Collab With: Lady Warlock​

As Sylvia listened to Maki’s reply, there was one thing that Sylvia had to disagree with. Maki made it sound as though being a reporter was a bad thing, but as far as Sylvia recalled, everyone always got excited when sorcerer weekly reporters came into the guild halls. And getting people excited was a good thing. Sylvia would’ve loved to be a reason why everyone was excited and generally, it was an honor to be featured in the glorious magazine.

She considered the Raven’s other answers, though, and found herself to be enjoying most of the conversation. “I imagine the higher you go the more you can see, though. Does the world look any different from way up there?” As Sylvia spoke, it wasn’t quite clear whether it was a question directly for Maki or more like something she herself was wondering about. The truth probably existed somewhere in the middle.

“As for my magic, I’m a metal mage… well, kinda. Kinda literally, actually.”

Holding out her arm, Sylvia allowed her form to shift so that the skin on her arm no longer retained its color and so that it faded into something far more fluid. The liquid goo almost looked like it was going to melt into a puddle for a moment, but then Sylvia reformed it into a blade. An arm blade. “I can do that with almost any part of my body,” she explained.

“Just don’t go slicin’ me, girly,” a voice that had been quiet until then grumbled. Chains jangled a bit more than they had been as he moved to shift away from Sylvia’s sharp arm just a little bit and then turned to face his granddaughter instead. “Any chance we’re going to get time to talk at all?” he asked her, clearly desiring to speak alone with her rather than under constant supervision from the annoying girl who walked with them.

Unfortunately, it would quickly become obvious that if they were going to have time to talk alone, it was going to need to be a few minutes before that time could come. Maekin seemed determined to get them on their way and it seemed that that meant putting them all on a boat. In response to Viridian’s agreement about a boat, Maekin started leading them over to the side. There was a smaller boat that almost resembled a tugboat in some ways. “This is one of the boats that they use when they’re bringing prisoners to us,” Maekin explained to the group. “It should be equally effective in bringing a prisoner off the prison as well. There’s a single cell below deck although I don’t recommend unchaining him at all. You can use the cell or not use it.”

Looking over everyone in the group, Maekin got a sense that they were all as briefed as they would ever be and so he would allow them to get moving. “If I happen upon any extra helpers that you might make use of, I’ll send them your way.” And then he let them board the little tugboat.

There was a single man already on it and he waved at them. “I’ll be makin’ sure this boat gets to shore and bringing it back afterwards,” he explained. As soon as everyone was on board, their escort mission would officially begin.

Something about the whole situation got Sylvia into the mood to actually be serious for a few moments. She was the first to climb down the ladder and she shifted her body to create a claw of sorts, allowing her body to rise up and lift Royce off of Ilan Vair and onto the little tugboat. After all, climbing a ladder didn’t exactly seem feasible in shackles and chains. For now, she was content to be the one in charge of him.

“I’m ready,” Sylvia proclaimed as her body phased back to normal… well, all except for a part of her face. Her eye was drooping just a bit and it wasn’t quite something Sylvia was capable of noticing. Oh well…

Refaulted CelticHero37 AllHailDago Sugary_Paragraphs AtlannianSpy

 

[Refaulted]

Jacob Arkonius Foles​

​

Jacob watched as Maekin bound Royce to his words, crossing his arms over his chest. While what Maekin had said slightly annoyed him, the man was right, in a sense. Jacob's magic wasn't something that should be taken lightly, but he knew that if they slipped up once, Royce could easily make an escape, and if Maki did prove to be a problem, then Jacob would have to somehow split his attention to still keep an eye on Royce. Which would not work out, he was sure. Maki, being related to Royce, may have inherited a portion of his great magic power, and if that were the case, she could cause the whole group a major problem if not handled appropriately.

So, as Maekin activated his spell, Jacob felt some relief wash over him as the group began ascending back up to the deck of the ship. A few of the members of the group began talking among each other, while Jacob lagged behind the group a bit, drowning out the sound of rattling chains with his thoughts. He began running through the whole mission in his head, from leaving the ship to making it to their rendezvous point with the guards from Black Vox. Definitely the best thing to do would be to create a decent cover for them, which was Jacob's specialty. All he had to do was use his staff along with his magic and they would be fine. And if they were attacked, he would already have the advantage, as he was accustomed to fighting within the fog.

When they made it to the deck, Jacob raised one hand to his forehead to shield his eyes from the sunlight. He frowned, knowing that on such a beautiful day, instead of enjoying a little vacation, he was instead escorting one of the most currently notorious magical criminal in Fiore. Well, there were definitely worse ways to spend his time, he knew. If everything went smoothly, the mission would be a breeze, he would get paid, and he could go back to looking for nice little beach villas where he can getaway to, instead of staying at hotels all the time.

However, things already began going south as Malakai announced that he had something that he had to attend to, and promptly left the group. Now, Jacob was the only S-Class mage of the group, which meant that the expectations for him were even higher. He let out a slightly nervous sigh, and clung to the hope that their chance of success was still relatively high. Even without Malakai, they still had some formidable mages with them. Still, Malakai would have been a useful ally to have on the mission.

As Maekin brought them over to the tugboat, Jacob watched as one of the Sabertooth girls lifted Royce up and brought him onto the deck of the ship. Jacob brought out his staff and pointed it out, fog erupting out and forming a small makeshift staircase. He quickly descended it, stepping lightly onto the deck of the boat below. He looked over to Royce, then back to the rest of the group back on the deck of the huge prison ship. "I say that we put him in the cells below with the chains still on him, with two people keeping an eye on him. The rest stay on the deck of the ship in order to keep an eye out for anyone possibly approaching the ship to attack it."

Jacob paused and quickly turned back to look at the town of Hargeon, his eyes narrowing. He felt like he was being watched, though he didn't know how anyone could see so far out from the town without any special equipment. Which meant that they may already be in trouble. Squeezing his staff, it extended out to it's full length, and Jacob rested one end of it on the ground, holding it upright. "I'm sure everyone already knows this, but we should definitely be careful. Prepare for anything, yeah?" Jacob walked over to the edge of the boat and leaned on the railing, surveying the water around them, but still keeping his eyes on the town in the distance.

 

[CelticHero37]

Maki Obertuck

Dimensions
Sylvia's pondering received a shrug from Maki as she responded, "Not really. Ya just trade one dimension for another. If you have good eyesight, getting up higher can give you a better vantage point; allow ya to see farther, but the higher ya go, the more ya give away in clarity. You can take a step out of the three dimensional world, but then you'd only be lookin' at it in two. So no, ya don't see more, ya just see different."

Maki enjoyed seeing what other hard working mages could accomplish. She liked the diversity of it all. This would not have been known to anyone else, though, as her face remained held an indifferent expression. Although, she was about to note that Sylvia's talent seemed rather usefull, but she was interrupted by her grandfather. Sylvia had been distracting her rather effectively, but now she was forced to observe the situation again. She gave Sylvia a hopeful glance. She didn't want to seem like she was forcing the situation, but she hoped she wouldn't have to fight for a chance to be alone with her grandfather.

Descent
However, before Sylvia had a chance to respond, the group was ordered to move out. Maki barely had a chance to react to the situation before people were moving and suddenly her grandfather was scooped off Ilan Vair to the transport vessel. She quickly hopped after her grandfather, her cloack billowing out as she hovered down to the deck of the boat.

When Jacob spoke up, her expression went from one of worry to one of repressed anger. She glared at Jacob, but didn't say anything. The last thing she wanted was for her grandfather to be locked up again, but she felt this might provide an opportunity for her to talk to him alone. After all, she wasn't here to do anything wrong. She just needed to find out the truth before she would act on anything. Once she knew the truth, she was sure the others would understand.

Refaulted Solarknight AllHailDago Sugary_Paragraphs AtlannianSpy Lady Warlock

 

[AllHailDago]

Adellon P. Thrace​

-Location-

Hargeon Town​

--Mood--

Interest officially peaked​

Adellon was prepped to wait for a substantial period of time on that rooftop. However as he peaked through Sight Beyond to check the status of things after the mages went below deck he saw an interesting sight. It seemed a boat that he had waved off as unimportant was being prepared for departure. No one else was supposed to come or go from the prison today which meant this was how they were going to, at least initially, transport Royce. He needed to make sure he was on that boat now while it was still within reasonable distance from the port. He pressed the binoculars to his chest and absorbed them into his ink body for quick access. He extended a layer of ink over the entirety of the brief case in his hand over the course of a second or two.

Then, after a matter of three or four more seconds, his body and the briefcase both shimmered and disappeared from potential sight. Now truly invisible he stepped to the edge of the rooftop, glancing down the thirty to forty feet to the ground in preparation. Keeping his hand and shoulder solid but letting the remainder of his arm turn to ink, he grabbed the edge of the rooftop. He promptly jumped from it following that. As he fell the ink extended at a slower pace then one would expect, as he had thickened it's consistency. This allowed him to basically bungee to the ground using his own arm. When his feet touched the ground he let go of the roof's edge and retracted his arm, solidifying it when proper length had been reached.

He smirked in a bit of self serving smugness, as pleased as ever when he got to play with his powers in cool new ways. Unfortunate that he was invisible for that display, he'd have enjoyed the faces on some of those walking by. Speaking of his invisibility, he stepped out of the way of an irate looking man in a sloppy suit before he walked right into him. Ducking and weaving through the crowd and buildings towards the port and Illan Vair, Adellon mused about how to get on the boat. Perhaps he'd simply use the trick he just had in reverse, he'd done it before after all. Though maybe a new way was in order? He'd have to see if anything else was more or less plausible as he got there.

As he turned the corner of a warehouse directly bordering the docks of Hargeon. The ship and it's boat were actually a short ways off the coast itself, which might make this bit slightly more difficult. He eyed the distance and decided the usual trick he used would be far too implausible from this distance. He needed to get at least a bit closer. However a boat with an invisible driver, or any boat getting near the prison at all, would raise an alarm. Seemed he'd just have to swim out there. He inhaled deeply as he approached the end of the dock itself and looked into the waves moving in and out. This spell was going to cost him a good bit of his energy, maintaining it while submerged. However if he was wise about it's execution he could maintain it without too much expended effort for the required distance.

He removed the binoculars from his chest and returned them to his briefcase first. Then he reduced the ink body magic he'd been running passively to only the outermost layer of his skin and his briefcase. Still allowing for invisibility but offering no real protections otherwise. Creating a small circle around the hand that wasn't holding his brief case, he began creating a steady stream of ink that would replenish the ink surrounding him as the water washed it away. He slipped off the dock quietly and with almost no rippling thanks to the ocean's waves. He watched himself for a moment and saw that his cloak maintained itself, but noted the draw on his energy was annoying. He made haste as he swam straight for the boat aside Illan Vair.

After what seemed like a mild eternity of annoyance, but was in reality not long at all, Adellon resurfaced a scant twenty feet from the tug boat. He had to surface incredibly slowly as to not create any undue ripples which might have otherwise been noticed by Illan Vair's guards or the mages gathered. He took a deep breath of air and scanned the tug boat's deck. It appeared in the time he took to swim out this way the mages had finished their meeting and come topside to begin the mission in earnest. As he had expected they were using the tugboat. A prison employee, Royce, and Sylvia were aboard. Jacob however was scanning the water on the side he came up on. He slowed his breathing but congratulated his own paranoia. Had he not slowed his resurfacing so much a mage with Jacob's attention to detail would have noticed for sure.

Expelling the wet ink and replacing it with new ink allowed Adellon to return his upper body to full ink form. He solidified his hand as much as possible while remaining invisible and extended it to the edge of the deck. He grasped it firmly only when a particularly large wave rocked the boat, thus letting the creaking sounds be written off as normal. Slowly retracting his arm, his lower half came out of the water without a sound that could be heard over even basic conversation or airflow let alone the ocean. Hanging from the side, he replaced the ink on his lower body as well and returned to full ink form. Finally he pulled himself up and onto the deck in timing with another wave to mask the noise.

He looked to Jacob and pondered giving him a sign he was there, and less maturely considered messing with him, but decided against both options for now. He'd entertain such possibilities when they were out of the Magic Council's direct sight and control. For now he simply crouched low and made his way towards the front of the ship. For now he would listen and observe, moving silently and invisibly out of the way of those who made the unfortunate choice of walking towards him. When the proper opportunity presented itself, he would reveal himself to the group and give his reasons for silent observation and covert acts. He sighed inaudibly. His covert skill set was rather high tier in Fiore, but it always was so hard to explain away as good to others.

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[AtlannianSpy]

Viridian Lannerly - Sabretooth A rank mage

- Departure -
​

"Very well," Viridian said to Maekin smoothly as the rest of the party moved over to the smaller boat. "If you do end up sending us more help please provide them with some kind of documentation. It would be unfortunate if any enemies caught us off guard by pretending to be our reinforcements," With that she nodded curtly and left to catch up with the group, sliding down the ladder and stepping neatly onto the deck of the boat.

Once on board Viridian glanced around curiously. She wouldn't have expected the Ilan Vair to have a boat like this, designed for small groups escorting a single prisoner, it would be much more efficient to transport prisoners in a larger group, then again perhaps they had enough prisoners of Royce's caliber to warrant this approach.

"I think I'll stay above deck," Viridian said in response to Jacob's plan. "My magic is not ideal in cramped quarters, this might be helpful though," With that she put her hands together and began casting. Distinctly shaped pieces of iron appeared one after another and began assembling into an increasingly complex design. Eventually a dog sized, quadrupedal automaton with a mouth like a bear trap sat before her, looking around inquisitively and wagging a length of chain it had in place of a tail.

Viridian instructed the contraption to stick with Obertuck and attack if he attempted anything suspicious. The dog wasn't really powerful enough to give a mage like Obertuck more than fleeting trouble but it only had to distract him for a few seconds and alert the party, with Sylvia and another mage nearby it would hopefully be enough. The contraption clamped away to the cell on iron paws and Viridian frowned as the deck tilted slightly underneath her. On a vessel this size she'd have to be careful with her contraptions, the larger, more powerful ones could easily capsize them.

It was odd that the dog contraption by itself had produced such a change in the angle of the deck though. Viridian knew exactly how much all of her creations weighed and though she didn't have exact weight of the people on board she could make a pretty good estimate, being able to judge weights by eye and know how much her contraptions would need to support was an important part of her skill set.

"I'm going to take a quick look around," Viridian announced suddenly. "I want to know exactly what kind of parameters we're dealing with here, " With that she began walking unhurriedly around around the boat, studying the equipment, materials used in its construction and anything else that caught her eye, all the while her hand never strayed too far from the heavy wrench at her side. It was improbable but it seemed as though the boat had taken on a little extra weight somehow. Viridian wasn't sure but once she had a good idea of what was on the boat to begin with then she could be certain. Viridian always preferred certainty to probability.

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[Lady Warlock]

Starting an Escort

And so their little tugboat was ready to leave the big ship en route towards the shores where their mission would continue. It seemed that it was fairly agreeable that Royce was brought down to the little cell below the deck. Sylvia seemed content to bring him down and whether anyone else went with or not was their choice. She didn’t undo any of the chains holding him; she just gently nudged him into the cell.

Whatever happened, Maki was determined to stay with her grandfather. There was no telling how things would go. For some reason she couldn’t shake the feeling that this was going to end badly, that this would be her last chance to spend time with her grandfather. She was still determined to find the truth and help her grandfather bring it forth, but that didn’t stop her from worrying. She nearly clung to Royce as he was sent below. When they came to the cell, Maki hesitated for a moment. She made her decision as the cell was being closed and slipped in just in time for the cell to lock behind her. She didn’t care if she was locked in a cell, she just wanted to be with her grandfather.

Royce was more than a little surprised to discover that his granddaughter had followed him into the cell, but he was also glad that it worked out that way because she was the only one in his escort party who he actually wanted to spend any amount of time with at all. “Maki! I’m so so sorry that I haven’t been there for you all this time,” he began. He had the look on his face that suggested he wanted to give her a hug, but he couldn’t. There were chains in the way even if they were sharing a cell.

Maki stood for a moment at the entrance to the cell. She wanted to be strong and look like a grown up. She wanted her grandfather to see what she’d become. That she was an A-rank mage. That she was representing his guild well even if she wasn’t the guild master. That she was the talk of the town, and people were always trying to get an interview with her. She wanted him to see how she had tricked and outwitted so many reporters. She wanted him to see all that in her stance and confidence. However, when he called her name, when she heard his voice speaking to her, all of that fell away. Suddenly she found tears were welling up in her eyes that she couldn’t stop. Before she knew it, she had crossed the distance between them and was throwing her arms around him; burying her face into his shoulder in a feeble attempt to hide the tears, “Grandpa!!”

It was hard for a man in Royce’s situation not to feel desperate about what was happening. His granddaughter was in tears, he hadn’t seen her in years, and he couldn’t even give her a hug or comfort her in her sorrows. He had seen the strength although she probably hadn’t realized it. Royce saw the strength she had when he witnessed how she argued to stay in the mission despite everyone else’s concerns. He could tilt his head, kind of cradle her head upon his shoulder. It really wasn’t enough, but it was something. “I’m glad you’re here, Maki. I need your help with something. We’re going to have Raven Tail standing proud and tall again if all goes well. You don’t really believe that I would try to do any harm to the guild I love so much, do you dear?”

Maki sat back and wiped the tears away with the sleeve of her cloak. With a sniff, she shook her head, “N-no… I always knew there had to be a reason… that’s why I came. To find out the truth. If you just tell me, maybe I can convince them that this is all a mistake. You were trying to expose other dark magicians, weren’t you? Or was it something else?” Maki’s response became more bold as she went on. After what Royce had said, she had no doubts about what to do. She had to help him.

Briefly, he shook his head, but not in disappointment. Rather, as a simple response. “Not to expose anyone. I’m trying to unveil a magic, though, that could protect the world from every dark magician who could ever wander into your life, Maki. Or Raven Tail’s future. It seems silly that the world won’t let me work on creating something that could protect us all. Don’t you think that’s silly, Maki?”

Maki’s eyes widened as she realized his true purpose. She didn’t know something like that could be done, and if she didn’t, that probably most other people didn’t either. She began to get to her feet as she said, “That’s just because they don’t know, grandpa. They don’t understand. That’s why you need me, isn’t it? You musn’t have gotten an opportunity to explain yourself. Why didn’t they give you a proper trial?! You need me to let the magic council know. I’ll get going right away and demand an audience.” With this, she turned and started for the entrance to the cell.

“No! Don’t leave. I do need you, Maki. It's dangerous for you to go alone, though. It’s dangerous for me to be alone. They let us be together here and I don’t trust the ones in this escort, Maki. You’re the only person I can trust right now. And you need to keep their trust.” He needed her to stay. That much was obvious, at least. “Stay here for now. Help them with their mission. Keep their trust. Then you can talk to the council. It isn’t as though they’re leading me to my death.” He wasn’t afraid of Black Vox. It was just another prison, after all. “It gives me a chance to talk to you. I can pass on my mission to you so that if they don’t believe me… if they don’t free me… well, then the world will still have some hope in you, Maki.”

Maki stopped in her tracks when her grandfather said no. As she listened, she couldn’t help but be filled with a certain giddiness. It was true, her grandfather wasn’t a bad person at all. Not only that, he wanted to pass his mission on to her. He was giving her a purpose. Something important to fight for. He could have chosen anyone to pass on his knowledge to, but he chose to wait and share it with her. In her excitement, Maki dove into another hug. Although this time, she wasn’t crying. “I knew it! I knew it!” she exclaimed, “I just knew you weren’t a bad person.” With a sigh, she added, “Alright, I’ll stay. But they will free you, I’ll make sure of it. So don’t worry gramps! We’ll do this together and be back to Raven Tail before you know it!”


Meanwhile, on top of their little boat, the helmsman was getting it ready to start moving again, which really wasn’t a long process at all. Once everyone seemed to have gotten on board and they didn’t seem to be waiting for anyone else, he got the little boat moving.

He was a bit confused by the way that Viridian was scrutinizing the boat, though. “Is there something wrong, Miss?” The helmsman had thought that his little boat was in pretty good shape. It was moving well, too.

Looking to the mages who were still on top of the deck, he added, “It shouldn’t be more than a half an hour before we’re on shore. I was told that landing just south of Hargeon, outside of the city limits, should be suitable.” And if they wanted to go elsewhere, he was more than willing to accommodate them.

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[Refaulted]

Jacob Arkonius Foles
​

Jacob caught the glare he got from Maki, however he paid it no mind. He had no doubt that she preferred to believe her own blood was innocent, and that any form of mistreatment was to be avoided. However, that was exactly what Jacob was trying to ensure. He didn't want Royce to be harmed in any way in his current state, as that would definitely jeopardize the mission. Namely, he felt slightly distrustful of the other mages on the mission. Jacob could not forgive Royce for what he did, but that didn't mean Jacob would let his emotions dictate his actions.

Still, Jacob did seem to notice Maki being a little distraught over the situation. He looked out over the water as the tugboat cut through the waves. Gripping his staff tightly, he felt a small knot form in his stomach as Royce was brought down with below deck by Sylvia and Maki, but only Sylvia returned. His eyes narrowed at her, questioning her judgement to leave the two of them alone below deck. No doubt Maki was going through many emotions that may cloud her judgement, and as the sole S-Class on this mission, should Royce somehow break free, the responsibility of stopping him would fall on his shoulders, especially if Maki turned on them all as well.

Reaching over the side of the boat, he gently waved his hand from the back of the boat to the front. He poured some of his own magic energy into the water below, moving the waves around the boat to push them forward more to speed up their journey steadily. The faster the mission was done, then the less likely an accident could happen. Jacob didn't want to fail such an important mission if he could help it. He just wished that Malakai had not left them. His power would have definitely been useful.

Sighing, Jacob lowered his hand, having done his part of manipulating the water around them. With that, he turned away from the railing and walked to the center of the deck of the ship. He looked around, keeping his eyes peeled for anything coming from any side of the ship. He saw nothing in the sky, and from where he was, nothing from the sea, nor had he sensed anything nearby when sending his magic through the waves. He turned quickly and began to make his way to the front of the ship. When he was there, he paused midstep. He stood perfectly still, his face completely devoid of any emotion except confusion. Then, realization dawned on his face, but he quickly wiped it away, replacing it with a slight grin of amusement.

Turning around, he walked away, a look of contentment on his face as he approached Viridian, who was inspecting different parts of the ship. Jacob strode quietly up to her, his feet making almost no sound as he stood next to her. "You shouldn't have to worry about anything yet, Miss. I spread some of my magic into the sea under us, so if anything were to attack us, we would either see it coming, or I would sense it beneath the waves. Though I do admire your careful approach to this. I'm glad I'm not the only one." Looking around briefly, he continued talking. "I'd like to make the assumption you won't make this mission any more difficult than it already is? I know most mages feel a sense of anger towards the prisoner, and some may want to exact...hmmm, revenge?" His gaze slid back over to Viridian.

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