Homework 1 [On Campus]

Golentan

Junior Member
After your first week of class, Dominie Bhagwei calls you into his office. Sitting behind his desk, he steeples his fingers and motions you to sit down. Two chairs are free of the clutter of esoteric tomes and jars full of bizarre plants, one of which begins squirming against the glass as Esali walks near it.


"So. You two have found yourself in quite a mess it seems," he opens after several seconds. "I've already spoken with those injured by the demon on calibration, and I believe I understand what happened that night. You may be surprised to learn that you were caught in the crossfire between myself and... certain dark forces. Unfortunately, I have reason to believe your presence disrupted one of their plans, and that they are aware of this. I believe they may try to take vengeance, or simply attack me through you."


He pauses to collect his thoughts, a frown creasing his forehead.
 
"We are deeply honoured my Lord if we managed - even while unaware of it - to have helped you in impeding the efforts of the vile opposers of Creation's peace and stability, but what you speak of is serious indeed. I can only say that we acted out of pure dedication to the protection of Creation, as our families and mentors have taught us this far. Of course, we couldn't know that you were involved in those incidents, otherwise we'd probably take care to step out of the way for fear of disrupting or interfering with your own plans.


So, what really happened that night and what would you have us do to assist you in that situation?"
 
Mnemon Esali


Only the presence of the Domine himself and the fear of embarrassing Kenji keeps Esali from instinctively reaching out and examining many of the strange things in the room. With difficulty, she sits and and listens to the Domine's words. Kenji's response yields further embarrassment. Acted out of dedication and honor. Right, not pure blind curiosity at all. With a mental note to work more on impulse control she listens for Bhagwei's response, desperately hoping the answer didn't involve staying out of the way.
 
"Indeed. What concerns me is that you are in danger. As such, I've arranged for some impromptu self defense lessons. I've arranged for this weekend to be spent with a friend of mine who will give you some survival lessons. I can't compel you to take part, but I urge you in the strongest possible terms." Bhagwei says.
 
"Thank you for your offer and consideration sir. It would be great to improve our defensive capabilities against such unnatural creatures".
 
Mnemon Esali


The grin that lights up Esali's face makes her feelings clear. Training with a personal friend of the Domine? She may not enjoy combat practice, but she'd be a fool to pass this up. "Absolutely sir, you can count me in."
 
"Good. Meet her at the gate on sunday. Bring everything you think you might need. That is all." The Dominie turns back to the forms in front of him, and begins writing.
 
"We'll make sure we do sir. Thank you for your time."





Kenji thanks the Dominie, bows slightly and moves to exit the room, opening the door for Esali to exit before him. "Ladies first" he says in a polite manner, adhering to the dynastic social niceties and savoir vivre he's been taught by his family.
 
Mnemon Esali


Esali blinks a couple times at the abrupt meeting. {Okay. Must be a busy man.}


Taking Kenji's lead, Esali stands and bows shortly with a word of gratitude. Turning to leave, she lets out an embarrassed giggle at Kenji's chivalry. Strange as it is, this kind of simple kindness is a welcome change. Now why couldn't her family be this polite all the time? As she steps through the door she whispers a quiet, "Thank you", no longer sure how to respond now that she realizes he is sincere in his courtesies.
 
Come sunday, a woman in the outfit of an Immaculate Master is waiting at the gate for you. "Are you two the ones I'm supposed to teach?" she asks, smiling. "I'm Master Eral. I suppose it's too much to hope for that either of you have ever been involved with a Wyld Hunt?"
 
"It's an honour to meet you Master Eral. I am Ledaal Katala Kenji and i am here for the lesson as per Dominie Bhagwei's instructions. No, i haven't been involved in a Wyld Hunt before, but i have received some basic martial arts training for some years prior to my departure from my home. I must say though that i enjoy martial arts quite a lot and this is one more reason that i find myself grateful to be taught by an Immaculate master such as yourself".


There's genuine enthusiasm in Kenji's voice as he responds to Master Eral, coupled with respect for the Immaculate and anxiety for the lesson to follow. After all, the Cloister of Wisdom was considered by his family seriously as a secondary school for him and learning new martial arts techniques made Kenji's eyes lit up with joy.
 
Mnemon Esali


Esali shakes her head with some embarrassment. "The closest I ever came was being locked out of the main house when some monks came to ask Mnemon for some help." She grips her umbrella tightly at the memory, carefully omitting the fact that she watched the entry procession from the shadows anyway. It's amazing how easy it is to sneak around when the guards assume that because you're family, you have every right to be in the less sensitive areas.


Still, looking at Eral's smiling face and hearing Kenji's awe put her somewhat at ease. This might actually be fun.
 
"Oh, we won't be practicing martial arts. Next time, perhaps. The best way to survive a fight is not to have it. Today, I'm your enemy. I am a powerful exalt, with great command of the arts of stealth and tracking, and I am trying to kill you. Just like a wyld hunt." She laughs, and shifts her position, pulling out a knife and cleaning her cuticles with it.


"Of course, self defense lessons aren't much good if you're dead. So, we'll leave it at 'if I catch you' you lose. I'm going to give you a brief head start, and then I'm going to hunt you down. Afterwards, I'll give you pointers. Avoid me, find someone to defend you, I don't much care. I'll give you... oh, let's say a 60 second head start. 60... 59... 58..." she finishes, and examines her hand with a look of satisfaction.
 
Kenji gives Esali a reassuring look.


"Hold tight to me and don't let go. I'll try to make us move faster".


Then Kenji concentrates briefly, willing his anima banner to show and the grace of the element of Air to permeate his every motion and action. Looking once again to Esali, as gusts of wind begin to surround them, he leaps forth, covering a much greater distance, even for those trained in such kind of exercises. He continues to do so, while occasionally rising upwards to better observe the surroundings and discern any tactical advantage that would allow them to evade their "hunter" or hide effectivelly from her.


OOC


Spending 5m from personal pool to activate my anima banner power for a scene, as per MoEP: Dragonblooded pg.113
 
Mnemon Esali


Looks like this is going to be fun after all. Esali quickly produces her flute from a fold in her clothes, ready to get lost in the music, when Kenji prompts her to get closer. Remembering that she isn't alone in this, she puts her instrument away and holds tight to her friend, "Okay". As they move, she does her meager best to help propel them along while making sure to keep hold of her parasol and stopping Chitter from getting left behind.
 
Point of clarification, are you headed back onto campus or out towards some other feature of the Island?
 
((Hmmm....good point. Never thought of it actually, thinking we were already in some specifically designated area outside the campus, where the training is set to take place. I'd say towards the rest of the Island but i'd like Esali's opinion on that as well.))
 
((Heh. Well, we were explicitly told we could find someone to defend us, so if prompted, Esali would suggest getting lost in the main campus. Still, if she's along for the ride she'd defer to Kenji.))
 
(okay, assuming we're heading out into the forest towards the mountaintop until further notice)


"GOOD TEAMWORK! 52... 51..." Eral calls out as you bound away. As the yards fall below your feet, you hit the tree line and the terrain becomes rougher. A river joins your path, oddly flowing towards the mountain, and then suddenly drops into a deep cave.
 
Mnemon Esali


Esali looks at the cave with a mix of hope and curiosity. She's not the best navigator and the thought of all that space cramping their movements wasn't the most comforting, but as she pulls out and conspicuously plays with her Gem of Night Vision one thought overrides all those concerns, "Thinks she can see that well in the dark?"
 
"Well we can certainly try going inside that cave to evade her, even though i shudder at what may exist in there. Already things do not seem quite normal on this Island..."
 
Mnemon Esali


The ominous implications of Kenji's words go right over the focused girl's head. "You're right, maybe she'll run into something in there that'll slow her down even more.!" With her hearthstone clasped tightly in her right hand she offers her left to Kenji, "Here, take my hand and I'll make sure we don't run into anything."
 
Entering the cave, you find yourself walking down a slope along with the tumbling river. It grows darker and darker, and after about a hundred yards the cave widens tremendously, providing esali with a view of a large artificial building running along the far side.
 
Mnemon Esali


Esali halts abruptly and bites her lip at the sight of the building, "Weird. why is there a building underground . . ." She takes a sharp breath as her reasoning crystallizes in an instant, "Hey, there might be some kind of lighting in there and, worst case we might find a good room to hide in. Let's go."
 
"What you say is strange indeed Esali, but i think we are in one of the strangest places in the Blessed Isle, so it something to be expected. Since you're the one able to see in this dark place, lead the way. We might indeed manage to escape master Eral after all."
 

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