Fantasy The Grand Coven: Ballroom

[Kobe Nathan Wade]

“I just... I don’t understand... it’s all so intense. What could be more powerful than a demon? What else is capable of something like that?” Said Brittany, shaking her head at Julia’s informative input. “But I guess we know what it isn’t and that’s a start.” Elizabeth seemed predisposed to dip into her negative attitude, until Aine began to speak. The woman actually giggled at his declarations of war, so to speak.

“See? cheer up Britt. We’ve got a plan at least. A course of action.” She stated confidently.

“Okay, fine. I get you. No need to wallow in it. I feel stupid now, you were the one who was kidnapped. We should go report what happened to the Council first. We can at least see if anything similar has happened.”

“Sounds great, how do we do that?” Chimed Liz.

“I, um, I don’t know.” Britt trailed off. Liz laughed out loud, and eventually her two friends joined in.

“Okay, well, I’m going back to our room. I’m sorry for being rude, but I’m feeling tired.” Said the third girl. Brittany and Elizabeth said their friendly goodbyes to her. Before she went to leave, she patted her pockets. “Wait, I think I forgot my key. Can I borrow one?” She said, looking back and forth between her friends.

“Of course, here.” Said Liz, handing her her key. With that the girl left. “Well, I’m going to go with Sora and Aine to find out what these surprises are. Er, if that’s okay?” She asked, looking at Sora in a bit of a panic. She had invited herself along without even thinking about it.

“Okay, I’ll see if we can’t figure out how to contact the Council. Funny, there’s not a return address on those red letters they send.” Said Brittany with a laugh.

Prodigious Mage Shagranoz

 

[Songbird500]

A well-planned hair flip was used to see the group of females the vendor spoke off. Perfectly executed without drawing too much attention. Upon arriving back in line with the vendors face the feline smile grew once again. A kidnapping. She tapped her purse some more as her eyes glinted between the reflections of the group and the vendor. A quick tip of the head to signal to copper to go make himself hidden. An extra pair of ears perhaps as one of the individuals looked to break off from the rest. Her attention fully back on the vendor, Karen began to open her purse.

“Perhaps some rumours hold more weight than others. Just like coin?” Karen hinted at, hoping the vendor would catch her drift.

Kobe Nathan Wade

 

[Kobe Nathan Wade]

A well-planned hair flip was used to see the group of females the vendor spoke off. Perfectly executed without drawing too much attention. Upon arriving back in line with the vendors face the feline smile grew once again. A kidnapping. She tapped her purse some more as her eyes glinted between the reflections of the group and the vendor. A quick tip of the head to signal to copper to go make himself hidden. An extra pair of ears perhaps as one of the individuals looked to break off from the rest. Her attention fully back on the vendor, Karen began to open her purse.

“Perhaps some rumours hold more weight than others. Just like coin?” Karen hinted at, hoping the vendor would catch her drift.

Kobe Nathan Wade

“Not interested in the deeds of others aye? I can respect that. Well how about just because my first one didn’t do you any good, I give you a three for one deal. You’d better make it worth it’s weight, if you know what’s good for you.” With the last words the petite man’s eyes flashed a strange topaz yellow, and he grinned a wide razor sharp smile at her. “For starters, the magic tournament on the hotel grounds isn’t officially sanctioned by the Council. She’s just a vendor, except nobody knows her name. And I mean NOBODY. Believe me, I checked. On top of that, it isn’t a bracket. The sign up sheet asks you who you would like to fight, and gives you a checklist with your options! Apparently the prize for winning is ‘One immortal soul,’ But really, who has that many to spare?” Said the man, speaking hurriedly and softly. He seemed to be excited to tell his stories, as he apparently didn’t give them out for free.

“OH!” He exclaimed before quieting down again, as if no one would notice his inane whispering. “There’s a rumor going around one of the vendors has a Gorgon’s Head. In case you need to kill anything immortal, get my drift? Only selling it out of his room though. I have his card. And let’s see, what’s a good third for a fair price... hm, I did hear a group of young mages talking about arranging a party. Perhaps it’s the more x-rated magic you’re here to find?” Said the man with a wink. And with that he held out his hand. “Now, I think one of those shiny fingernails you have is well worth my little tidbits. I worked hard for them, you know.”

Songbird500

 

[Prodigious Mage]

Sora offered a few half-hearted goodbyes of her own, and a small salute once they stalker off.

"...I really need to get out more, the last person I talked to at such length was the New York overseer when it came to my sister's batshit insanity," Sora sighed, biting down the wince that came with remembering her interactions with the Warlock known as Mikhail Byrne, the man was... A deeply disturbed existence, if a relatively nice person, "anyway, our first stop should be a vendor with good wardstone bases, so... Pretty much anyone selling lots of Obsidian."

Aine made a noise in the back of his throat, which made Sora sigh, cross her arms, and tack on, "And turquoise, and rose quartz, and Amazonite..." She trailed off, "Damn, I forgot how little I brought along with me..."

While most witch's went through precious stones like water, Sora liked to think she was at least a bit more conservative... And all she made for this trip was twenty or so full body binding ones...

Right, Royal and her batshit insanity.

That was actually probably a good choice back when creepy cults weren't involved.

 

[Kobe Nathan Wade]

Elizabeth laughed at Sora's comments in a strange response to such morbid topics. "Oddly enough, I relate to your situation. My family life was... tough... growing up. My parents are incredibly religious. Not like, a cult. Of course you could argue all religions are cults, but it's a family affair on their part. Not really involving anyone else except controlling their kids. They're druids, so everything they disagree with "Isn't the natural way." It's oddly Buddhist, if you can believe it. Really got my siblings one hundred percent. Anyways, that's how I have light magic talents. And you... do runes? That's what Aine said?" Said Elizabeth as she lead the duo towards the back left corner of the room.

There was a proper sixteenth century cottage made of stone and mud with a straw roof. Outside it's foundation was a grassy knoll, and a cobblestone path leading to the front door. A man in a tweed jacket and a newsboy's cap smoking a long white pipe sat in a rocking chair, staring ahead as if looking out at the coastline of Ireland rather than a sea of vendors and customers. When two of his own approached, his fuzzy thick eyebrows raised excitedly and he waived without getting up. "Hello again, dear! Back for another nice ring?" Asked the man to Elizabeth in a light cheery Irish dialect.

"No, Jameson, I loved the ring but my friend needs some obsidian. I saw some when I was in yesterday if I remember correctly. Jameson sold me a ring that detects kind spirits! He does runes too, actually, but also sells raw materials to artificers."

"Yes I do, yes I do, let's go on inside," Says the old Irishman gently, getting up and tapping out his pipe, tossing the ash on the ballroom floor before sticking it in his pocket.

Gundam Watcher 27

 

[Prodigious Mage]

Sora followed after quietly, her mouth twisted up into something resembling delight at seeing the cottage.

It looked cozy, out of place amongst the hustle and bustle of the rest of Ballroom...

"I grew up in a cabin like this," she mused softly, remembering her childhood, back when things were easy, when all she had to worry about was whether or not Luka was going to throw a fireball at her head during breakfast, or whether the oil from one of Royal's inventions had gotten into the coffee again, "Kisovoldsk, in Russia, actually, my caregiver liked the landscape, the mountains gave it character, he used to say..."

It was also freezing cold, and Luka refused to buy proper fucking clothing whenever someone pushes him about it, but nonetheless, her childhood had been better.

...sometimes, she wondered what Royal and Vali thought about it, did they ever miss her? Or was she just another contact they could depend on? Did they even consider her their sister like she considered them her siblings?

Sighing, Sora shook her head, and followed the man inside.
------------------------------------------------------
Kobe Nathan Wade

 

[Kobe Nathan Wade]

"Your caretaker? Are you an orphan, Sora?" Asked Elizabeth, curiously. The old man hobbled over to the iron stove and lit a match which was on a shelf near it. As he did so, the candles around the room also lit spontaneously. His match lit the wood in the stove as well, and a roaring flame was produced immediately which washed the room in warmth unnaturally quickly. He put a rustic teapot on the grate on top and took a seat on the stool at his desk. Around the room, many kinds of iron jewelry with gemstones and quartz set in them lined the tables and display cases inhabiting the one room cabin. There was also a work bench in on corner with a half finished golem from the looks of it, some iron scrap metal and a single tiny arm the size of a toddler's.

"Take your time dearies, the raw materials are behind you," He said, using his pipe as a pointer to motion between them. Behind was a locked display case of just about every magical stone there was, quartz, amethyst, turquoise, and of course obsidian in addition to many others. They ranged in sizes from that of golf balls to soft balls.

Prodigious Mage

 

[Shagranoz]

"Yes, the council damn well needs to know about this, and be put on full blast for it!" Julie snapped. "How are they supposed to be running this event when they can't even handle security? And once we're done, I've got a few friends who might know something, I'll put in some calls. Hope you don't mind me working with things from the Lower Reaches."

 

[Kobe Nathan Wade]

“I don’t know, but I feel the same way.” Said Brianne as the two walked towards the stage nearly a football field away due to the Ballroom’s enchantments. On it were many golems made of floating furniture and appliances formed into rough humanoid. They stood vigil, watching without proper eyes to do so over the city-size crowd of wizards doing business. “I’ve never heard of anything like this happening before. And... Lower Reaches?” Said Brittany, her eyes widening suddenly. “I thought I felt something strange when casting that memory into your mind. Are you a Demon?!” Said Brittany, looking the girl up and down. She had caught a glimpse of the mouth on Julia’s tum at one point but plenty of people had physical modifications without being from Hell itself.

“No offense, sorry, it’s just that... My only experiences with demons have been at seances gone wrong, if you catch my drift. And your mind seemed so... normal. Not chaotic or malicious in the slightest, just a sort of dark aura denoting extra power from somewhere, so I didn’t suspect... I’m sorry, that was rude of me, I guess I’m being racist,” said Britt, slightly embarrassed and avoiding eye contact as they approached the stage finally. She waited for Julia to either flip out on her for being ignorant, or reply in some sense before they addressed the Council’s golems.

Shagranoz

 

[Songbird500]

Karen had been delighted at the vendors sudden explosion of information. The kidnapping had been a juicy starter and she’d had copper take care of following it up. Any information he found out in his endeavours would later be reported back to her and offer more insight on both the individuals involved but also possible motives behind such a kidnapping. Many might think Copper would stick out being such an usual familiar but surprisingly, just like Karen, their eccentric nature was exactly what made them blend in. Being normal was the strange here. A magic tournament held by an unknown vendor which offered an immortal soul. It was all too mysterious not to be enticing and the power Karen could wield with an immortal soul. She would however, have to think carefully on how to proceed in this matter, it was a dangerous offer and potentially greedy territory. The gorgon head and party were also enthralling news and opportunities to get a step up without too much risk. The only problem came when the vendor asked for a fingernail. Karen’s smile disappeared then. She was never one to leave without paying but standards still had to be met.

“I barter in Gold.” She said coldly. “I hope this is good enough for you?”

Kobe Nathan Wade

 

[Kobe Nathan Wade]

"Ohhhhhhh I suppose that would do..." Said the man, chuckling at Karen's preference to coin rather than a trade. "But I warn you, with what the man is offering, I doubt you'd have enough to afford my services AND his product. I was only trying to help, but hey, it's your call. I did say gold would suffice initially." The cryptic acceptance of her payment over with, Karen was freed from her debt when the man held out his hand to accept the money.

Songbird500 (The man has taken a large portion of your gold, you'll have to make more somehow if you intend to buy the Gorgon head. The other three leads cost you no money to follow.)

 

[Prodigious Mage]

"Not exactly," Sora replied with a shrug, "my biological parents are still alive, I've talked to my mother once, mostly to get a follow-up on some rather... Alarming family medical history, but it's... Fine. I'm fine."

She wondered over to the display case, eyes focused on the tiny scrawled out prices as she went about some mental math.

After several moments, she nodded.

"I'm going to need six medium sized pieces of Obsidian, two soft ball sized pieces of rose quartz, a palm sized clear crystal..." She listed off several more stones, before she reached into her hoodie pockets to collect the needed cash.

 

[Kobe Nathan Wade]

As Polly came down into the ballroom, she would notice that the vibe of the shopping area was coming to a bit of a lull. The morning rush was over and many shop keep were out to lunch. That's when Jason appeared, soaking wet, in the exact clothes he left in. He seemed a bit anxious, and looked over both his shoulders as if for someone following him. When he spied Polly, he relaxed a bit, and nearly dropped the plastic gallon jug in his white-knuckled grip.

"Polly, have you finished your potion?!" He said rather urgently, taking a few long steps to be nearer to the witch by the entrance of the ballroom. He caught himself raising his voice, and looked immediately remorseful. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell. I've just been in a bit of a fight, but I have your water! Straight from the river of the underworld. Chiron says take your time, by the way. I told him you were a friend," Said James with a laugh. Suddenly the young man's knees seemed to give out, and he would collapse to his side if nothing was done.

Fred Colon (I apologize on the late reply,)

 

[Kobe Nathan Wade]

"Well I didn't ask if you were fine but that's okay, we can talk about that later," Said Elizabeth somewhat under her breath, as Sora walked ahead of her to the display case.

"Sure thing, young lady," Said the old man, who picked up a carved wooden wand of an almost black dark wood from the desk and flicked it towards the case. A light breeze rushed between the two women and opened the display case gently. "Go right ahead, take what you need" After Sora had retrieved what she required, the man added, "But I know you're not going to be making tea with those runes," To accentuate his point, the man waived the wand towards the tea kettle which had just begun to whistle.

The same breeze closed up the furnace's vents, lifted the teapot gracefully and filled two cups one after the other which were on a small table beside the fire. The kettle was returned twirling back to a counter top and the old man got up to walk towards it, "What do you need all that material for, an armament of enchanted weapons? Don't mind an old codger making conversation, I'm just curious. You can use my workbench, if you like, to carve,"

Prodigious Mage

 

[Fred Colon]

Polly watched Jason sway with a vague interest, and realized after a moment that she should probably catch him. But by then it was too late and he had plopped to the ground. She forgot, sometimes, that as a human she was expected to do things for other humans.

"Oops." Polly said, kneeling down next to him, the googly frog eyes on her witch's hat jiggling with the movement.

"Good vork. I'm not done yet, because I noticed something a smidge strange. Some sort of chimera teleporting onto the grounds. I figured I'd tell someone, on the chance it wasn't part of the festival. Also, I have never met Charon, and I vont until the sun explodes and vipes out all life on earth. Even then, I expect ve bill find a vay off this planet. I'm never going to die if I can help it, so he can stuff it." She snapped her fingers, and Jeremiah hopped up next to Jason. Polly hauled him up, and draped him on the frogs back.

"Not sure if you are conscious, but if you are, vhat happened? Also, if you are conscious, I would get up as fast as you are able, or Jeremiah's skin will give you all sorts of nasty rashes. If you are not..." She shrugged. "Ve vill take you vith us for now. It looked like you vere running from something. " And she began to walk, looking for some sort of authority, Jeremiah hopping behind, Jason on his back.

 

[Shagranoz]

"Well, it's kind of complicated. I'm a half-demon. Tiefling. Gluttonspawn. Buncha names. But I'm still human and mortal. I think." Julie gave her a smile. "But no matter what, I'm still just as sweet as sugar."

She sighed as she approached the Council's golems. "We would like to report an attack. This woman," Julie gestured to Britt, "was abducted and taken to another realm to be used for unknown purposes in a ritual. Fortunately, the ritual was interrupted, but the assailants got away. She is a psychic, so I will let her provide further details by projecting them into your mind, if you're willing."

 

[Kobe Nathan Wade]

"Health potion?" croaked the Chaos Mage with a cough. Jason weakly attempted to push himself off the amphibian which was kind enough to be carrying him, at Polly's advisement. His arms wobbled and he fell with a wet slap against the creatures moist skin. He gave up with a sigh, and accepted he'd be getting a rash on top of his drained strength. "Chimera aren't that strange, but if it's owner wasn't around it could be dangerous. Those things can be unstable mentally, all the different animal brains working at once," The mage seemed to get a glossy look in his eye for a moment, and then came back to, "There's no way in hell I could subdue a chimera, right now, though. Three men were waiting for me outside the entrance to the underworld. They were... out of place. I don't think they were human, but I don't know what they were either. Will you take me to see my friend, he's at the back corner of the room, in a little stone hut. His name is Jameson. I don't think I can walk... after that we'll go see if that Chimera is roaming the grounds,"

Fred Colon

 

[Kobe Nathan Wade]

"I um... I can't do that to a Golem," Said Brittany so that only Julia could hear, "My powers don't work on anything that doesn't have a brain," Britt seemed to have relaxed a bit after Julia explained herself nonchalantly. The Golem did not move, but spoke in a low rumbling voice which struck one in the center of the chest like a very loud base not.

"Your concern has been noted and sent to the Council. The current wait time is: Three Days, for an in person meeting, please take your card," And with that, out of thin air appeared a small punch card with "Tuesday, 1pm, room 316," Scrawled across it. It floated down into Brittany's hand. 316 was, in fact, her room number.

"Three days?! But there's been a kidnapping?!"

Shagranoz

 

[Fred Colon]

"Health potion?" Polly scoffed. "You realize how complicated the human body is? A potion that cures ruptured organs is very different than a potion that can heal flesh vounds, vhich is very different from a potion that cures a fever, vhich is very different than a potion that energizes you and gets you back on your feet! Once, vhen I vas young, some stupid farmer fed his internally bleeding son a 'health potion' that vas intended to restore damaged bones vhile I was concocting the correct brew! He died horribly with bone matter in his lungs." Polly shook her head. "I have a pick me up, if that's vhat you need. Something to energize you, make you forget your injuries, but it is NOT a 'health potion'."

She snapped her fingers, and began heading towards the stone hut Jason had mentioned. Polly had seen it, when she'd first been exploring the hall. Jeremiah and, by extension, Jason, followed in her wake.

"I vasn't expecting to need to have emergency potions on hand. A pick me up for vorking through the night? Yes. But not something to cure vounds! I suppose I'll need to brew some, if people are being attacked. Vhat happened to the men who jumped you?" Polly asked,

 

[Kobe Nathan Wade]

"Okay, okay, my bad," Said Jason with a lighthearted chuckle. He was appreciative of Polly's bluntness, as well as the passion for her craft. "I'm fine with a pick me up for now. I didn't take much damage physically, but I drained every drop of mana I had fending them off and escaping. Nothing I did seemed to take. At one point I thought I had killed two of them, but they just got up and left. It's a little fuzzy. When I set the last one on fire, all his clothes burned away but he was completely unharmed... and... blue? I think he was blue... We need a psychic. I think they did something to my brain to make me forget. I can remember their masks, though. They wore plague doctor's masks, so I knew they weren't any Greek spirit." Jason was still gripping the jug of water from the River Styx, and it drug across the floor as Jerimiah hopped along.

Finally the stone hut came into view over the other tents and makeshift counters. Polly seemed to understand that was the one, as she'd headed towards it without Jason having to explain. As they neared the door, they could hear the shop keep inside speaking to someone.

"Knock, please, Polly. Just in case he's discussing business," Jason seemed to have benefitted from his rest, as he had gotten up meekly and leaned against the door post, awaiting Polly to knock on the door despite being right beside it.

Fred Colon Prodigious Mage

 

[Fred Colon]

Polly groaned.

"Vell. The people vith the chimera had plague doctor masks as vell." She said, knocking on the door. "I suppose that rules out some sort of side show." While she was waiting she rummaged around in her bag and removed a stainless steel coffee thermos. She had discovered they had greatly improved on liquid storing technology in this day and age.
"Drink this. Keep it on you if you like. But only a little at a time. It vill spike your energy levels. I use it vhen I need to stay up for a few days straight. Again. It is not going to heal you. Quite the opposite. It strains the body if taken in too high dosages, but you won't notice until it wears off."

 

[Prodigious Mage]

Sora gave the man a rather small, soft, smile in thanks, "Thank you, really."

Aine hissed something to her vaguely, head poking just out of her hoodie, eyes blown wide, "How much money do we have left!?"

His voice was a bit frantic, worried.

Sora blows a stream of air down at him, causing him to flick his head in annoyed manner, and flutter out of her hoodie, "More than enough, Aine, if you're that worried about our financial situation, maybe you should start taking a larger interest in the store as a whole."

Shortly after that was said, she turned to man, "Mind pointing me in it's direction?"

Aine huffed and floated just behind her head when a rather loud knock sounded, curious, he floated towards the door.

 

[Kobe Nathan Wade]

Jameson waived towards a large workbench with a metal top and a small lathe. It had clamps, vice grips, plenty of small tools for jewelry making, as well as ones for larger creative works. He then perked his ears up at the knock,

“Well, aren’t I popular today. Do you ladies mind company?” Said Jameson, waving his wand to open the door for him as he manually poured a cup of tea. Aine would see out the window a short bog witch with a giant frog accompanying her, as well as a young man in a Jean jacket who looked to be having a rough day.

Prodigious Mage

 

[Fred Colon]

"Good day!" Polly said, sweeping her googly eyed witch's hat off of her he'd for a moment, before covering her short, flaxen blond hair once more.

"I'm towing a friend of yours who vas attacked, apparently." She glanced from person to person in the room. She wasn't sure who Jason's friend was. He'd said 'he' but she could always tell with these younger people. She'd made a few mistakes recently. To be safe she just made general, all encompassing movements.

"I'm Pollyanna Ziegler, by the by. This sorry sack of meat is Jeremiah." She said, hooking a thumb at her familiar. "I've not the faintest idea why ve are here, since there's apparently an immanent chimera attack, but Jason vas set on coming here and since he couldn't walk just a moment ago it fell to me to transport him."

Jeremiah let loose an indignant croak.

"Yes, yes, you helped too. Shh." Polly said, waving a gloved hand at the big bull frog.

 

[Kobe Nathan Wade]

"Jason?" Said Jameson, turning around after hearing an unfamiliar voice upon Polly's entrance. The irishman walked over to help Jason walk inside and sit down, meanwhile the chaos mage sipped the thermos Polly had gifted him. He was starting to perk up because of this, but still looked dazed and tired. "What happened?"

"I'm sorry, we don't mean to interrupt ladies," Said Jason apologetically, and weakly.

"Um, I guess it's alright, right Sora? We're done doing business, Sora is just going to carve some runes if you two don't mind as well," Said Elizabeth, a bit confused at the interruption, "Are you hurt?"

"No, just mana-fatigue mostly. I was attacked, but I can hold my own," Said Jason, putting a bit of bravado on now that he had an audience that wasn't Polly or Jeremiah. He then slumped in his chair, "Jameson, have you seen anyone around the convention wearing plague doctor masks?"

Upon hearing this, Elizabeth understandably threw a shocked look in Sora's direction. Jameson seemed to notice this reaction, but said nothing.

"Well, no, fella, sorry. Why? Is that who attacked you?"

"Yes, and they weren't human,"

Prodigious Mage Fred Colon