Fantasy Realms of Nymserine: Main Thread [[CLOSED]]

[Purize]

Verity nodded to him, smiling and quickly made her way over the poles, running around the monkey, but not near it. The troll they caught was dumb enough to be distracted and mesmerized by her focus magic, so catching it hadn't been very hard... but this monkey was a lot smarter and wasn't likely to fall for the same ruse. Luckily, Verity didn't plan to distract it.

She planted her feet as steady and evenly as she could and held up her palm. Light lighting a match, a ball of soft, smokey light flickered into existence. It danced there to the beat of Verity's heart waiting for a thought to command it. She concentrated on the humming energy, felt it shifting and rippling, flowing with her lifeforce and clapped her palms together. Slowly, she pulled her hands apart and the ball divided into several smaller balls.

Verity's forehead wrinkled in concentration as she worked to move each of them individually and simultaneously. It was harder than she thought, like juggling with her mind instead of her hands. Once she felt confident enough that she could maneuver them all at once, she splayed them out before her, sending them spinning around her in a slow, melodic circle.

She looked out across the field of poles towards Roland, watching the water froth up beneath him as if it called to him and waited for his signal.
BugDozer73

 

[BugDozer73]

Roland felt a building of energy as he began to murmur words of power, his voice overlaid as his own magic took shape through the instructions in his voice. The water began lapping, and the direction of the pool altered subtly and it began to pull towards the poll he was on. Ever since he had met his mother, and discovered who he was, his magic had begun to change, and evolve. His own blood began to pool and surge with his mana, sending his own power to limits he could not even grasp. Like a child in a body to strong for its own good, Rolands spell began and formed in a circle of glyphs over the center pole. Roland opened his eyes, now glowing the color of his mana, and he looked at Verity, nodding his head.

 

[Purize]

Roland nodded and with a tilt of Verity's head all of the little balls of mana shot forward, speeding like bullets towards the monkey. They surrounded it on all sides, poking and prodding at the ape and making it dash forward with a startled cry. The orbs of light moves and shifted, taking every ounce of Verity's will and concentration as she tried to manipulate them all at once and maneuver them towards Roland's trap.

Verity's hands trembled and her necklace glowed against the skin of her neck. "Get ready!" She called to Roland.

 

[Lekiel]

As the ogre reacted to Finwinne's aerial attack trying to swat the darting tikitooth away, the halfling skipped around its ankles. Deftly avoiding the trampling stomps, her hands weaved her enchantment as she magicked vines from the earth to slowly creep up the ogre's thic thick-as-trees legs. All of a sudden, she heard the ogre below (louder if at all it was possible) as it tottered over and finally collapsed in a sobbing pile of squashed veggies.

Fernwe darted out to a safe distance, wondering what had caused the ogre to suddenly escalate its distress. It was then that she saw the young human boy offering the moonchild a head of charred cabbage.

"Oh no... Hey! They eat meat-!" Fernwe cuped her hands and hoped on the spot, trying to warn the fiery haired human. Of course, she'd liked to have explained that ogres often plant themselves in dens where they could easily attack or ambush herds of grazing Prariesloths. And that they really only moved to follow the migration paths of their food, which included anything they could catch, chomp on and would spurt delicious iron rich liquids when squished. But it was too late. She saw the ogre reach out with its trunk like arms, no doubt about to pluck up the cabbage along with probably half the poor lad's torso.

"I can't look..." Fernwe squinted her eyes shut, quickly reaching over to cover Finwinne's eyes too.

She waited. And waited... An eyelid fluttered open. Lo and behold, Booger was sitting and guffowing as he chomped on the leafy treat.

"Wha... Oh well, I guess Booger's special."

It ended more quickly than Fernwe had thought; which was a shame as she had barely got started. Nevertheless she turned to look over at where Jastyr stood, and listened to his comments.

"Garden?!" Fernwe's gaze warily shifted around, her eyes widening in alarm at the sight. She deftly reached into her belt pouches, grabbed whatever she could find and tossed them to the ground with her hands behind her back. There was an audible POP, a startled yelp, and then an annoyed feline mew. Suddenly the halffairy disappeared as horse sized pumpkins and tomatoes almost as fat as she was tall burst from the earthen ground. "What garden?" A muffled voice spoke out.

A moment later, Fernwe stepped around a pumpkin and into view; wagging a finger in the air.

"Well... for starters... if I knew Booger here was a vegetarian..." Fernwe began her response to the question. She stood with arms akimbo and made a face at the ogre, who was now happily gorging on a huge pumpkingcos big pumpkins are pumpkings!

Effervescent Reis

 

[SilverFlight]

Tura raised an eyebrow at Azaria's lightning fast reaction with the knife but said nothing on it.
Pyrrhus grunted with the effort of sitting up. He could feel the numbness creeping through the muscles in his leg and was shocked to find he couldn't move it.
"But this is training right? It's not real venom...is it?"
Tura glanced down at the both of them, as if considering a tough decision.
"It is a magical replica, all the same, I suppose I should dispel it before it reaches your heart."
Pyrrhus was not reassured, but with a simple wave over the glyph the effect dissolved, allowing the centaur to flex his leg experimentally. She also knelt and brushed his shoulder gently. Pyrrhus recognized the touch of healing magic, but the spell was so intricate he almost couldn't track it. It seemed to take much less energy than the spells he had learned. In a moment Pyrrhus was standing again, the pain in his shoulder heaps better that it had been.
"You must teach me how to heal like that!"
Pyrrhus looked thoroughly impressed, so much so that Tura almost smiled.
"Of course. In time."
Zazz

They turned back to the final pair still testing. Now it seemed Roland and Verity were really getting somewhere. The creature was mezmerized at first by Verity's magic and remained where it was, allowing them to put the trap in place. By the time it began to move even Pyrrhus could see the creature would have precious few options left open to it. It was playing right into their hands.
"You can do it!" Pyrrhus shouted his encouragement, "mind that tail!"
BugDozer73 Purize

 

[Zazz]

The half-elf let out a breath as Pyrrhus took to his feet, good as new. Itching to move, Azaria took a glance around as it seemed they were still waiting on the final two to finish chasing a monkey. "They're probably going to be a while..." Those two were not always the brightest in the bunch, but they were most definitely the showiest.

Azaria strode a little ways away from the group and climbed the wall of the guild, swinging up onto the ledge just over the door they had come out of. She pulled out a few cranberries and watched the show, her booted feet dangling in front of the sturdy doors below.

 

[Reis]

Sol dramatically recoiled at the now pacified ogre. He didn't quite expect his plan to work at all, but...its tamed grin was quite upsetting as it stood in a pool of squashed tomatoes and crushed cabbages. He almost wanted to knock his peace offering straight out of the moonchild's stomach.

The demi-god was surprised once more when Fernwe plopped some seeds into the ground. He had never seen such huge pumpkins, and the sight was quite baffling. Combining her physical ability with her talent for plant manipulation, it was no wonder the short gal was accepted into the Circle. Sol felt excited at the thought of working with such powerful allies.

He looked over at the halfling. "Fernwe, right? I'm Soliel Regnus, but you can call me Sol." He scratched his head. "Maybe we should have strategized before charging at the ogre. I specialize in fire magic, so...I was worried about burning the garden." It was disappointing that they failed, but Sol had a feeling that learning from this training session was better than screwing up in real combat.

Sol's focus sharpened at a different section of the room. That power...he could sense a familiar force at the pool of water. It felt similar to the fire inside him, the blaze gifted to him by Aurora. What type of person held so much strength? Did it come from one of the higher-ups in the Circle, or one of the new recruits he's known for less than a day? And was he right to think that person would be a demi-god? Sol solemnly gazed in that direction, wondering how he would react to another demi-god of such a level.

SilverFlight Lekiel

 

[BugDozer73]

The monkey darted forward, hurriedly trying to escaping the pursuing balls of mana, which corralled it forward, until it unwittingly fell on the post Roland had imbued with magic. His own blood seemed to over charge the spell, and this time, instead of water rising like a geyser, Tendrils rocketed out of the surf and gripped onto the monkeys wrists and legs, slowly consuming more and more of him until everything but his neck and above was completely submerged in a swirling ball of water. The monkey screeched in fear and struggled against the surf, thrashing just like the troll, but Roland pushed his hands together in a crushing motion, sucking the monkey under that water. When he pulled his hands apart, the water split, sending the monkey flying away into the water and the gem, now torn from his paws, rocketing right into the palm of Rolands hand.

The wind died down and the water beneath him sent out a wave in all directions as Rolands magic energy relaxed. With a smirk to Verity and then Tura, Roland winged the gem at her.

"Game."

 

[SilverFlight]

Pyrrhus grinned widely as he watched their victory.
"Sorry Az, what were you saying?" He called out to her teasingly.

Tura's face remained unreadable as she caught the gem beside her face, eyes fixed on the circle members perched above her.
"Adequate." She said simply, "once you thought of working together."
Her eyes remained on Roland, narrowed, as if she was trying to read a weathered inscription.
"That will have to be enough testing!" She made her voice louder so Jastyr and his group could hear her. "We have a journey ahead of us and you need to pack. Report to the armoury and get equipped. I will be waiting for you at the gates when you have what you need."

With that she stepped away from the training grounds and resumed her gryphon form, launching into the air and soaring over the edge of the wall.
Pyrrhus shielded his eyes from the wind made by her massive wings before limping over to the satyr and the new collection of rather large pumpkins.
"Those look great Fernwe." He said cheerfully. Guessing they were her doing. "I'm Pyrrhus by the way," he greeted Sol with his usual brightness.
"Um...I don't mean to be a bother Jastyr but..where is the armoury exactly?"

Zazz Purize BugDozer73 Effervescent Reis Lekiel

 

[Purize]

Verity grinned at Roland as he trapped the monkey and retrieved the gem. She let the balls of magic dissipate into the air and exhaled in relief. When Tura took off, leaving a blast of wind in her wake, Verity almost toppled right off the pole into the water. Luckily, she caught herself and hastily made her way off the course lest she risk falling again.

She smiled at Pyrrhus and joined the group near Jastyr.

 

[Effervescent]

"Nothing exactly saying an ogre is or isn't a vegetarian," Jastyr said with a shrug as he meandered into the ring towards Fernwe and Sol. "Nor that they may like strange desserts? Who are we to judge and assume based on stereotypes?"

The glyph-conjured ogre shimmered and dispersed as the magic was deactivated with a wave of his hand through the air leaving only the garden grown by the satyr and half-fairy. Given the scenario, it was possible her conjuring would have appeased the likely disgruntled gardener at the sight of a prize-winning pumpkin. While the two had failed to work together, individually they revealed themselves to the newly appointed mentor.

He let them speak to each other without his interruption until Sol's attention waned. Jastyr followed his gaze to look upon the pair chasing after the monkey just as the creature was thwarted. Brushing a finger over his lips in thought, he turned his attention back to the pair before him. Tura and he would need to combine the group at some point whether it be in the Courtyard or on the field. "Working together would certainly help," he said to Fernwe and Sol. "Both of you had good approaches to the issue that could have been even better when you combine your keen intelligence. It's quite apparent you two are good thinkers."

"That will have to be enough testing!" Tura's voice echoed over to the fighting rings bringing a smirk to Jastyr's lips.

"Duty calls," he said to Fernwe and Sol. "You heard her. Quicktime!"

The limping centaur caught his attention, brow furrowing at the sight nearly missing Pyrrhus's inquiry into the location of the armory. "Ah!" he began thoughtfully, looking to the rest that began to gather as he pointed back towards the door leading inside. "Not a bother at all. You'll want to take that door and go to your right, then the first left. It'll be the second door on your left after that. I too will need to meet you at the gates. My equipment is elsewhere."

Purize SilverFlight BugDozer73 Reis Zazz Lekiel

 

[Zazz]

Azaria promptly hopped down from the ledge, landing gracefully on her feet. She approached Pyrrhus and handed off the last few berries in her hand to Verity. "Good luck, my friend," she said to the centaur, giving his shoulder a gentle pat, secretly testing it to make sure it was, in fact, healed. He was still limping, and she frowned at the small gash on his leg. But, he knew his body. Shaking off her concern, the assassin glanced over the others' faces and bid them a safe return. "I should find Maximus." She sighed at looked Pyrrhus in the eye. "Promise me you won't give this up for me."

 

[SilverFlight]

Pyrrhus returned Verity's smile as she and Roland descended to meet them.
"That. Was very impressive."

His face fell when he caught the satyr's brow-furrowed expression, and traced Jastyr's gaze to his own equine shoulder that he had been favouring.
"Oh! This is just..it's fine. Tura healed it."
Azaria approached and patted the injury making Pyrrhus wince.
"Ah! It's still healing." He lifted the foreleg with an embelished fuss and made a face at her. "It's tender."
He grew more serious at the mention of Maximus, and Azaria's looming investigation.
Pyrrhus glanced at the others, realizing they hadn't yet been told.
"Azaria is being asked to stay behind." His tone made it clear how he felt about the idea.

"I'll be careful if you will, but I won't be making any such promise." He answered his friend softly, then, with a half smile he added: "don't do anything I wouldn't do."
Pyrrhus looked in the direction Jastyr had pointed, going over the instructions again in his mind. He was still reluctant to leave however and opted to watch Azaria go first.

Purize BugDozer73 Zazz Effervescent
Mention: Lekiel Reis

 

[BugDozer73]

Roland stepped down with a smile, ignoring Tura's backhanded compliment, and smiled at the group. It had been harder than he had anticipated, but here they were, in the circle, meeting the bar. Mostly.

He nodded to them all as they discussed there plans to prepare for the upcoming mission. He knew that he could spend some of his own time, sharpening his swords, but in a moment he found out the Azaria wouldn't be coming with them. Although he had only known her for a few days now, he still worried for her being left alone in an area with people that didn't trust her.

"Here" he said, as he removed his belt with the vials, and handed it to her.

"It's my bag of tricks, but I don't think I will be needing it. My magic has gotten a lot stronger, so I think you could put these to better use."

He smiled at her, hoping she would accept.

 

[Purize]

Verity dipped her head graciously to Pyrrhus, making an exaggerated curtsy with a light giggle. "Why thank you, my friend. I wish I got to see what you guys did," she replied to him. When Az put the crans into Verity's hand, she blinked up at her in surprise. She's hardly said a word to the princess since the trials and she still and no idea what the others had experienced during them... She looked down at the little red berries cupped in her hand and thoughtfully picked one up, popping it into her mouth.

At the news of Azaria staying behind, the corners of her lips turning down into a frown. She has suspected that they wouldn't let her get too far away from the Circle Headquarters until the investigation was over, still she wished they didn't have to leave her behind... She bit her lip, giving her half-elf protecter a look of concern.

Roland seemed to share this concern, another surprise to Verity as the two always seemed silently bitter towards the other, and he handed her some sort of satchel of glass vials. Verity peered over curiously, a curtain of silver hair falling with the tilt of her head. Perhaps she would ask him about it later... In any case, it seemed like a nice parting gift, and she felt a little better about leaving her new friend alone here by herself.

"I suppose we should get to the armory..." Verity said airily. "I fear that if we keep Tura waiting for long she'll make our trip less than desirable." She winked at Roland, glad to be teamed up with him under the same mentor, albeit a moody one.
BugDozer73 SilverFlight Zazz Effervescent Lekiel Reis

 

[Zazz]

Azaria raised an eyebrow at Pyrrhus's reaction and crossed her arms over her chest. "Mhm." She shook her head at him. "I'm not the one we need to be worried about, clearly."

The half-elf was surprised by Roland's kind gesture, and hesitantly accepted the belt of fun things. One in particular lit up her face as she exclaimed, "Ooh! Basilisk venom. Pyrrhus and I just slayed a basilisk." She shot a grin the centaur's way before bringing her bright green gaze to Roland. "Thank you," she said more calmly. She pulled a neat, dull, black throwing knife from her belt and placed it in his palm in return. "Keep them safe."

 

[SilverFlight]

Pyrrhus rubbed his sore shoulder. "I'll be fine. At least monsters or bandits or whatever we're fighting are predictable. There's no telling what politically-ambitious people will do.."
Verity thanked him and he smiled down at her.
"It happened so fast I almost didn't see it." Pyrrhus admitted, running a hand through his spiky mane.

He watched the exchange of gifts happily, looking with a critical glare at the vial of basilisk venom. "It can apparently petrify something in seconds...even the fake one was terrible."

Eventually, as Verity pointed out, they would need to make their way forward, so Pyrrhus said his final goodbyes to his friend and headed in the direction Jastyr had sent them.

The quartermaster was a short, portly man with a decent sense of humour. He had to go into the rear storage room to find equipement for the centaur. As Pyrrhus waited he cast about the spacious room, crammed full with racks and crates, shelves and boxes.
He noticed it then, buried among a set of unstrung bows. The instrument looked something like a lute, but with a shorter neck and one additional string.
It took only a little pleading at the quartermaster to allow him to take it, and with his gear set, he made his way to the meeting point.

Pyrrhus was in no way used to wearing armour, but with the spelled bindings he had to admit the set fit him well. It was commisioned from the forest centaurs and the metal was thin as an autmn leaf but did not dent or even scratch when Pyrrhus was told to give it a hard kick. It glinted in the sunlight as he stepped out of the hall's immense shadow, shining the colour of polished copper. The plates were staggered down his equine back and covered his rump to the level of his belly. Each plate had been intricately etched with coiling vines and ribbed leaves, edged in dull silver. The chest plate and epaulets matched the rest, two laurel branches emblazoned on the front of the piece in filigreed silver. Leg guards had been added as well and covered him up to knees and ankles. Matching bracers hugged his forearms but the helmet he refused; it was much better to see around you when fighting from a height he had argued. His long, dark braids tipped with their copper rings clinked against the armour in a merry if asynchronous tune. His knives were strapped in their leather sheaths over the shoulder plates at his human hip.

Pyrrhus tugged self-consciously at the bracers as he waited, lifting first one foreleg and then the other, turning to try and examine his appearance.
"It feels strange." He said to no one in particular. This was the closest thing Pyrrhus had ever come to wearing actual clothes.
The instrument was set into a leather case strapped to his side well enough behind the blades that it wouldn't get in the way while fighting.

 

[Zazz]

The half-elf tucked her gift away and followed the group, trailing behind. She observed the halls and doors around her, memorizing her surroundings. The doors had a pattern to their spacing, and torches of blue mana lined the walls. Some walls had beautiful stone mosaics; the first floor was well decorated.

She stopped when she noticed a break in the pattern; there was a sliver of extra space between two doors. Approaching the wall, she glanced around to make sure no one was watching and felt the stone. Sure enough, she found a pair of vertical seams in the rock. With some fiddling, she found a hidden handle tucked under a stone and swung the false wall open. Azaria slipped into the narrow passageway and shut the door behind her.

All was quiet, save for the sound of her friends' distant footsteps. Azaria followed down the narrow path, thankful for her small size, and came to the end. A ladder, and an opening above. A bit of light came from above, and once her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she carefully climbed the metal rungs. One was missing, having fallen out with age. The metal was dusty and unused.

On the second floor, The tunnel was a crawl space in line with the benches that sat just beneath their windows. Here and there, she caught light glinting off of a vent. Sometimes they flickered when someone walked in front of them.

Azaria continued on up the metal rungs. She was crawling through a bumpy rock tunnel when she came to a vent. The air had grown stuffy and thin, and she was starting to grow tired of the small, dank space. Azaria peered through the vent at the room on the othee side. No one seemed to be inside. Carefully, Azaria pulled the metal grate free and set it aside. She quietly slipped through. The rogue was just putting the vent back into place when the door to the room opened, and she froze.

Purize

 

[Purize]

The group set off toward the armory and picked out different suits of protective gear that matched each person's fighting style. Most everyone had their own weapons, but the room was also filled to the brim with a wide selection of pointy objects, half of which Verity didn't even know the names of. She settled with a tough, light material. It would protect her from most major damage, but allowed her to move freely and quickly.

On the way to the front gates, she was still getting used to the feel of the material and chuckled sympathetically with Pyhhrus's comment. "It looks good on you though, Pyrrhus. At least we can go to battle in style now." She rolled her eyes playfully. A lot of the armor they had was of high-grade quality... and while not all of it was elaborately decorated, one could tell just by looking that the stuff was expensive and effective.

Verity rubbed her wrist where the circle's emblem had settled on her skin. She found herself tracing the cyclic pattern with her thumb as they walked along. It felt normal, like it had always been there, but she was still caught off-guard whenever she noticed it.

Eventually they exited the building and the weather outside looked promising. It was warm with a light breeze, much better than the torrential rain from a few days earlier. They approached the gate where the two mentors were to be and Verity suddenly felt the realization crashing down around her that they were really about to go out on their first mission. It was exciting, but also terrifying... it reminded her of the first time she'd ever done a quest job all those years ago. It had become natural eventually. Going in, picking a job from the bulletin board and getting it done as efficiently as possible to get the reward money. It was a simple way to live, but not always very safe. Sometimes the missions didn't pan out and things would go wrong.

A lump formed in her throat as she silently hoped to the gods that their first quest with the circle went smoothly....

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Maximus Powwel strode down the empty hallway, his thoughts filled with an unorderly checklist of things that he needed to get done that day. Most of the members were out doing jobs and running around trying to tame the sudden uprising of moon children in the southeast, so the building was relatively empty. He turned a corner into the residence wing and sighed, rubbing a hand over his forehead as he approached the door to his quarters. He had so much to do... Of course he knew what he was getting into when he took the position... but no one could have predicted this unseen darkness that crept over Nymserine like an ominous cloud, casting everything into shadow.

He closed his eyes briefly, his shoulders relaxing a little as he opened his door. But he paused. Something wasn't right. His eyes, as sharp as daggers, shot up and he pushed the door open slowly...

 

[Zazz]

Azaria glanced over her shoulder at the man standing in the doorway. Maximus Powwel. "Well, that's convenient." She replaced the metal grate and stood, dusting herself off. Glancing around the room, she took in the Circle leader's private life. "Did you know there was a secret passageway to your room?"

 

[BugDozer73]

Roland let his fingers close over the dull blade and he stored it in his small leather sack, thanking her and wondering what she had intended him to use the knife for.

Together, they made there way down to the armory, with Azaria disappearing on their trip down there. No one else seemed to notice her slipping away into the night, but Roland's head whipped around several times trying to find the pike or shield she was hiding behind. Maybe she had been pulled away by max? Roland, a little nervously, decided to let her disappearance go.

As the others plated up with male of various sorts, Roland got a sort of cold feet, and he shy'd away from the smith when he tried to fit him for some armor.

"What's the matter with ye?" he asked grumpily, clearly not enjoying the speed bump.

"Armor isn't really my style. Do you have anything lighter?"

The smith looked at him irritatedly, then huffed and disappeared into the back, causing a ruckus and cussing loudly for several minutes as he rummaged around for something. In the mean time, Roland inspected the gear he had now: His swords, his clothes, Azaria's dull throwing knife, some rope, a fishing hook and the vials which he did not have anymore... He sighed, hoping his gift to her would be of any use. He had spent so much time collecting everything it felt unnatural to not carry them with him, but with the maturing of his magic it did him no good. If anything it would help the irritating rogue cover a little extra ground.

The smith returned, carrying a dusty white tunic with blue and red trim, brass buttons and a draping hood to cover his face. The tunic came draped with a leather harness complete with loops for blades of different sorts. "This rag is all I got." He offered, looking at the wonderful piece with disgust. Roland grabbed it with excitement, feeling the piece between his fingers. "I'll take it!" He said, disappearing to throw the new garb on and strap on his harness. His arms and chest were covered in leather plating, and his chest strap had a silver skull with spikes, grinning out at the world. He looped his own gear into the straps, sheathing his swords, pulling a few daggers and knives and sheathing them as well, and he drooped the hood low over his face, leaving everything besides his mouth left in shadow. He looked at himself in the water basin near the furnace approvingly, before making one more slight adjustment. After a few minutes, he found what he was looking for: 4 animal fur water skins, which he strapped on to his person, completing his tiny arsenal. "Perfect" He said, feeling very much like a sea rogue once again. Greuwn had always told him that image was as much a conduit for fear as the blade was. No doubt his hood would become the face of his next chapter of fame.

Roland stood outside with the rest of them, smirking at Pyrrhus who obviously was not as used to gearing up: although Roland had completely turned down the armor, so he decided to bite back any funny comments he had on the subject.

"What do you think the mission will be?" Roland wondered, only half listening to himself as he felt himself getting drunk on the blue mana seeping into him from the current rounding the center ring or Aeredale. For some reason, the mark on his chest seemed to feel like the focus for a lot of the energy he was sitting in.

 

[Purize]

Maximus stared back at Azaria incredulously for a moment. Warily, he stepped further into the room and looked around. "A secret passageway? Am I to assume that's how you ended up in my bed chambers?" His face was blank and unreadable, but his tone had a hint of discomfort to it. No one else had been in his room aside from himself in a ling time.... to his knowledge at least.

Zazz

 

[Zazz]

Azaria smirked at his discomfort and turned away. "Indeed." She approached the dresser by his bed and tilted a frame to look at the painting. A younger Maximus, and beside him, a woman. "Who is the woman?" Setting the old frame down, she moved on to a shelf lined with trophies. She ran her finger along the inscription of one, wiping away layers of dust, and brushed off her hand. It was something in an old, old language.

Finally, she turned to him, letting her hair loose. "Are you busy, or shall we get on with this investigation?"

 

[Purize]

Maximus's expression steeled as he picked up the painting and didn't answer her inquiry about the woman. Instead, he watched her move on the the shelf of trinkets and memento of his past. He had very few personal items in his neat and sparse room, a conscious decision on his part. Dwelling on the past was only good for nostalgia, and he preferred to focus on the present.

"Are you busy, or shall we get on with this investigation?" She said, letting her dark, raven hair cascade down her shoulders. Maximus sighed again, internally, dismissing the mental checklist he'd compiled earlier. Among his many tasks, the investigation took precedence. "No, I'm ready. Since we're in the residence wing, we might as well start with Döthrangus's room."

He opened the door wider, gesturing for Azaria to exit the room first.
Zazz

 

[Zazz]

The half-elf rogue twirled a dull blade in her right hand as she led the way to the deceased elf's room. Of course she knew the way; she had killed him in it, after all. With Maximus at her side, she tucked the blade away and pushed open the door. Indeed, everything had been more or less left as is. The body, of course, had been removed, but some of his blood still stained the wood floor. Azaria inhaled the musty scent of books and dust. Döthrangus had been a scholar before the Circle, back in Shylanora. Azaria remembered little of him.

First, she swept her eyes over the dead man's bookshelf. The spines were covered in dust. Even the spaces where books were missing were laden with dust. Truly, nothing had been moved.

Under Maximus's gaze, she peered ad the mess on the desk, bending to see what she could without touching the papers. Carefully, she lifted an open book on the bottom of the pile with a dagger. Pulling it out, she tossed it on the bed for Maximus to see. It was open to a recipe for a slow-acting poison. Azaria continued looking.