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Victi Aurora Silverfur wrote:
"I wanna get hunting again, and you need a new sword," Victi replies, "But first I had a thought after seeing some of our opposition earlier, though admittedly it doesn't explain you obviously. Whatever though, here's my thought: Artifacts of that type tend to gravitate to some kind of person. Usually unusual or exceptional in some way, someone who causes change, but frequently there's another pattern under it."

She starts packing up her enchanting gear while she thinks of how to phrase the second part of her thought, storing each slender wand and tool in its own sculpted foam slot in the case. That done, she latches it and puts it back into her Shriker's storage. Then she takes a breath before explaining, "This is the sort of thing where most big schemers in my position, say, a particularly driven lich, high priest of an evil god, or super long-lived would-be emperor, would take a thousand years or something to map out the pattern to influence events to bring all likely candidates together in a convenient way. I don't have that kind of time or patience, but, if we're very, very lucky, someone else has. Or at the very least there's probably legends, rumours, and history that we could make use of to colate data much more quickly. So, of course, the question there is how to find it. This is where my plan goes a bit weird. Odds on, any info like that is scattered. Or at least it might be. But, we can find out where that is. Large libraries might have lists of private collectors interested in, say, obscure religions, cults, and spiritual groups, as well as ideally the documents themselves. This isn't my first time artifact hunting, in case you haven't guessed."

She smiles smugly. There was something about explaining a slightly convoluted plan to someone that just felt so good, and this was one of the best kinds. Last step, of course, was making use of her guide.

"So: Where would be the place to find this kind of data? Don't answer yet, though," she asks before immediately cutting him off, "When we first met, I planned to murder you heavily to get a good map because it makes targeting a teleport way easier. Our next step is to get one. Like I said. Time for a test run. How do you feel about hitting merchants for weird reasons?"

Drake half answers before being cut off. "The University at-" He pauses and frowns. "Yeah, what do you want me to say to that? Thanks for not murdering me, I guess."

His ire dies a little and he pulls a smile. "Literally hitting merchants? I'll bite." He starts making his way toward the Shriker, ready to go.
Victi Aurora Silverfur (played by Avitrathephoenix) Topic Starter

"A university, huh?" Victi inquires as they mount up, "Sounds like a good start once we get the sword and map. For now I say we hurtle up a main-seeming road and just blasto whoever we run into first, take the things we need, and leave before they realize what's happened. Probably no killing, maybe a bit of maiming, and we get to make sure those enchantments are holding up right to actual use without serious danger, unless they have actual guards. Even then, though."

With that, she kicks the shriker into gear and heads away from their short-lived rest site.
Liliath….is a apparently a very sweet and hopelessly naïve girl.

Lisa's first instinct is to stay silent and still, only reflexively backing away when the Inquisitor threatens to search her with a wicked grin. Now would be a good time to have Raven, who can spout a perfectly convincing lie while Lisa wisely keeps her mouth shut. The chimera really can't lie. Her palms itch with sweat and her face goes pale. The fib will be as obvious as the nervous smile plastered over her lips. She struggles to find another clever way to play dumb, and then it hits her.

She bursts into a fit of absolutely mirthless laughter, the kind of laugh one can help but let loose in respond to the audacious, unbridled stupidity thrown at their feet.

"So let me see if I understand," she begins slowly, testing the water. "You're using a child to search for a sorceress. Not only that, but you've given her, or let her keep, some sort of artifact?"

"Tell me," she takes Liliath's hand and shows it, palm-up, to Thalia. "Is a 'shard' capable of this? Is this what you're encouraging the child to do?"

She hugs Liliath close, oozing ferocious maternal protectiveness, and starts to back up the library steps. "I knew you-" once she thinks she far enough away for the action to not be interpreted as assault, she jabs a finger toward the other woman. "-Inquisitors weren't the most moral of law keepers, but this is insane."
Liliath looked a bit in confusion not really understanding what Lisa was making a fuss about, it was about the shard she could tell. "Its only a shard, I only use it to protect myself with plus doing tricks. I killed some kind of strange little man with it who tried to kill me first." Liliath said clearly not undersranding what the problem was.

"What means moral?" Liliath asked
Misc other (played by Avitrathephoenix) Topic Starter

"Considering that my other legal option was to execute her for use and possession of a dangerous blood magic artifact, that she demanded monetary compensation and being returned to her friends, this option checked all of the boxes," Thalia replies with a small smirk, "Doing this allows me to eventually recover the object safely by giving her what she wants. I tried to convince her of the evils of blood magic, but she disagrees staunchly."

That part was the easy bit, and arguably the least convincing, she knew. But, well, the Inquisition wasn't about gentle debate and coddling feelings. Ultimatums were essentially how they ran their operations, and she had a perfect one lined up for this obnoxious animal. Just like her sister in law, fur and all. "Now, will you subvert my authority and risk harming the child to retrieve the object yourself if she does not comply with your self-perceived wisdom," she began, circling as if about to pounce as her growing irritation crept to the surface, "force me to re-examine my decision of which action I took in this matter, or correct yourself by understanding that I have, in fact, carefully weighed this decision."

She then paused for a moment before adding, "Lastly, you are regardless under arrest for attempting to abduct a child under the protection of the inquisition and for attempting to interfere with an officer of the Inquisition, which miss Liliath has been hired as. I'm willing to be reasonable if you comply."
"No no!" Liliath said well she started getting a little angry "She did not try to kidnap me! She was trying to help me finding my friends, I could stay with her until we find them. If I am an officer then I complain, I am against the arrest of her." She said with an angry face "She is my friend, just like you Thalia why would she even try to kidnap me? She only just figured out I have a shard. So she had no reason before of kidnapping me."
Lisa stumbles a little as she backs up to the next step. Arrested? No, no no no! She can't let that happen. She can't go to jail, go to trial, and then-

Alright, calm down. You may have dug the grave but if you step carefully, you won't have to lay in it.

"I..." She clears her throat and sets Liliath down as the child launches on a tirade, demanding that Lisa not be arrested; a gesture which she greatly appreciates but knows won't get them anywhere.

Between the child's arguments, all she manages to stutter, "Look, why don't we di...discuss this inside- you really can't- I haven't- she..." her shoulders slump and she hangs her head, squeezing her eyes shut to hide the spread of redness as the color drains for her irises, a sign of an incoming panic attack she can't let the High Inquisitor see. All of the cold vitriol and haughtiness she'd mustered seconds before has dissipated.

"I have n-nothing to hide," she says suddenly. "You can search me and we could go our separate ways. I promise I have no ill intentions within the walls of your city." Deep down, she suspects it's too late to backpedal as much, and even suggesting it might further raise the woman's ire, but the desperate words escape before she has the chance to fully think it through.
Misc other (played by Avitrathephoenix) Topic Starter

"You can't lie to me," Thalia responds sternly... before relaxing as she adds, "Literally. As High Inquisitor I have magic that senses false statements, and you aren't making any."

She adopts a (slightly) less threatening stance and looks past Lisa, to the door of the massive building. "All of that said," she continues, "I agree that we should discuss this further inside. I have business to attend to in the library, and it seems that you do as well. If you were also already implicated in this, we also have some things to talk about. If you weren't, you are now and you need to know what you are getting involved with as much as possible."

"And Liliath," she adds, "You really need to learn the meaning of discretion. There is a reason organizations such as mine need to exist."
Isabella, who was walking beside the dog at this point, walked on with an almost thoughtless expression on her face. As she proceeded, she glanced down to the mantis to check on the little guys status, she smiled. He had seemed to gain a desperate form of purchase on the back of Lucas and was staring up to her with what she was sure was a pleading expression.

help me, human

The smile grew as the thought crossed her mind, but lasted only a moment until the dog halted in his tracks. Her face grew solemn again, and as she turned towards him and stopped, his head whipped around to find Ren sneaking up on them. The husky began growling immediately, a low warning to whatever intruder this was. The childs eyes widened a bit as she saw the figure, staring unflinching for a moment uncertain of how to react right away. What was she doing creeping up behind her?

The thought was quickly cut short as a small ball of what seemed like magic came flying upon Isabella, she turned in the last instant as it flew upon her and quickly she backed up. A step, perhaps two was all she made it with a wary hollering of her voice before catching something on the ground. The girl tumbled backwards, instinctively flailing as she fell. The book hit the ground nearby the girl who landed on the flat of her back, and tossed the shard out nearby.

Simultaneously, the dog reacted to the incoming intrusion. He turned quickly towards the percieved threat and barked loudly only once as the girl tumbled, then he lunged aggressively towards Nadia in defense of the child, snapping their jaws at them in an attempt to take hold of what they saw as an attacker.

The girl, on the other hand, fell into panic, also thinking she was under attack for some reason. The book, however, was now disconnected from her, and she felt the maddening instinct to have it back. With small whimpers she scrambled on her hands and knees towards it, tearing the book back up to her and completely ignoring the fallen shard.

Her eyes saw only Ren when she looked up, off in the distance. A blurred image was the only form she could discern and in her panic she quickly stood up. With one hand held out, the book opened and floated just above it and looking into it, she held the other hand above it as the pages turned, searching for a spell that might still save her from whatever these attackers wanted.
Lisa tenses, assuming she's be taken for a liar. Her hand jolts, almost of its own accord, toward her sheathed dagger before she catches herself. When Thalia explains she meant her words very literally, Lisa lets her hands drop to her sides, and shaking, she manages a weak smile.

It seems that the High Inquisitor did discern that she knows a little more of the shards than she lets on, or at least that she might as well learn. Lisa starts to wonder how much the Inquisition already knows of the artifact and the alien sorceress hunting them, so for now she reluctantly agrees to talk to her with a timid nod, but figures she'll wait to reveal her involvement in it, if she can.

As they gravitate toward the library's door, Lisa musters the courage to ask. "Am...am I still under arrest?" The change in Thalia's demeanor threw her off; she still suspects she is nowhere near safe from the Inquisition's wrath, but the woman's air isn't quite as hostile anymore. That is...it's been a few minutes since she's alluded to Lisa's alleged beastliness.
Misc other (played by Avitrathephoenix) Topic Starter

It was a bit cruel to imply suspicion of guilt like that but, as the chimera had said, her organization was not particularly known for their morality.

"For the moment, yes, but I don't think I'll be needing to talk to any of the church's arbiters when we're done here. If the rumours are true, we all have a bigger problem," Thalia says quickly, "before we get in, please be aware that yes, the librarian is a dragon, but he's been here for longer than anyone else in the city, as far as I know. He's harmless as long as his rules are followed."

There was old, bad blood between the chimerae and dragons. She knew that much. Cornelius didn't have those prejudices as far as Thalia knew, but there was no telling how this beast felt. Not that she had any intention of getting between her and the librarian if things went poorly.
Ren (played by The)

Isabella Cross wrote:
Isabella, who was walking beside the dog at this point, walked on with an almost thoughtless expression on her face. As she proceeded, she glanced down to the mantis to check on the little guys status, she smiled. He had seemed to gain a desperate form of purchase on the back of Lucas and was staring up to her with what she was sure was a pleading expression.

help me, human

The smile grew as the thought crossed her mind, but lasted only a moment until the dog halted in his tracks. Her face grew solemn again, and as she turned towards him and stopped, his head whipped around to find Ren sneaking up on them. The husky began growling immediately, a low warning to whatever intruder this was. The childs eyes widened a bit as she saw the figure, staring unflinching for a moment uncertain of how to react right away. What was she doing creeping up behind her?

The thought was quickly cut short as a small ball of what seemed like magic came flying upon Isabella, she turned in the last instant as it flew upon her and quickly she backed up. A step, perhaps two was all she made it with a wary hollering of her voice before catching something on the ground. The girl tumbled backwards, instinctively flailing as she fell. The book hit the ground nearby the girl who landed on the flat of her back, and tossed the shard out nearby.

Simultaneously, the dog reacted to the incoming intrusion. He turned quickly towards the percieved threat and barked loudly only once as the girl tumbled, then he lunged aggressively towards Nadia in defense of the child, snapping their jaws at them in an attempt to take hold of what they saw as an attacker.

The girl, on the other hand, fell into panic, also thinking she was under attack for some reason. The book, however, was now disconnected from her, and she felt the maddening instinct to have it back. With small whimpers she scrambled on her hands and knees towards it, tearing the book back up to her and completely ignoring the fallen shard.

Her eyes saw only Ren when she looked up, off in the distance. A blurred image was the only form she could discern and in her panic she quickly stood up. With one hand held out, the book opened and floated just above it and looking into it, she held the other hand above it as the pages turned, searching for a spell that might still save her from whatever these attackers wanted.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Ren shouted at the girl, hands up. She didn’t realize Naida would greet them so... violently. She honestly didn’t know Naida could scare someone at all. “We didn’t mean to scare you, just relax!” Telepathically, Ren reached out to Naida, telling her to back off, but Naida was already panicking, thinking she was under attack. The entire situation seemed to be a misunderstanding.
“Relax, I’m Ren. This is Naida. She got a bit... overexcited to see another traveler.”
Ren noticed the shard on the ground. She approached slowly, in case the child actually had magic powerful enough to hurt her, and pointed to the shard. “You dropped that,” she said, finally lowering her hands. “We have one too. What do you know about these artifacts and their magic?”
Misc other wrote:
"You can't lie to me," Thalia responds sternly... before relaxing as she adds, "Literally. As High Inquisitor I have magic that senses false statements, and you aren't making any."

She adopts a (slightly) less threatening stance and looks past Lisa, to the door of the massive building. "All of that said," she continues, "I agree that we should discuss this further inside. I have business to attend to in the library, and it seems that you do as well. If you were also already implicated in this, we also have some things to talk about. If you weren't, you are now and you need to know what you are getting involved with as much as possible."

"And Liliath," she adds, "You really need to learn the meaning of discretion. There is a reason organizations such as mine need to exist."


Liliath shrugged "Still no reason to arrest people for dumb reason especially my friends."Liliath grabbed Lisa by the hand "So stop making dumb fights cause I don't like it as officer I forbid you 2 to continue fighting." Liliath giggeld "With all that fighting I will never get my castle. It takes already long enough."
Misc other (played by Avitrathephoenix) Topic Starter

"Please do remember that I am your superior, and am not subject to your orders," Thalia points out to Liliath, making a displeased click with her tongue, "and that you are subject to mine if you choose to present yourself as an Inquisitor of church law. While she is under arrest, I think having her come and talk with us is adequate detention, not that binding a chimera works, anyway."

"Speaking of, however," she adds after a moment, "I don't believe you've mentioned your name, chimera. I'd like to know it before my usual way of adressing potential evil-doers of your kind aggravates the Librarian."
"Forgot that part but I do can forbid her to make fights with you." Liliath explained "Yes I like to know your name to, you know my name aswell."
Naida (played by The)

Naida cried out as the dog lunged at her, jumping back and then immediately taking flight. She hovered in the air, just out of the dogs reach, panicking. “No! That’s a bad doggie!” she said with tears in her eyes. “I just said hi, so you need to say hi back! I just said hi...” The distraught fairy continued to repeat “I just said hi” through her tears, not sure of what she did wrong and unaware of the fact that the child now had her book and was in the process of attacking Ren.
With the immediate lunge missing, the dog landed on the ground and backed up to Isabella's back side, staring at Nadia and continuing to bark defensively, but otherwise not instigating an attack unless the fairy seemed to come at them again.

The child froze on Rens reaction, and stared a moment as she placed her hands in the air. The reaction was as startling as their arrival, and slowly the girls breathing came under a better control, and panic devolved into a simpler apprehensive fear.

Hearing they had a shard too sparked her curiosity, and in her innocence it didn't dawn on her immediately that they might be there to rob her of the shard.

As the woman finished, Isabella decided she probably wasn't under attack, and worked to recall whatever that fairy was shouting in her face earlier. Everything had happened so fast she couldn't remember it, and yet she decided it wouldnt hurt to give them a chance. If things went awry she still had Lucas as a distraction.

The book closed and Isabella took hold of it, bringing it closer to her and holding it against herself with one hand, while the other dropped to her side and palmed the back of the dog which was now pressed against her rear. Like flipping a switch, Lucas stopped barking and growling. His face fell flat again and he sat behind her, still pressing himself intensively against her backside.

She looked down at the shard now, and dashed over quickly to grab it and wandered off to the side in an effort to change the layout of where everyone was located. She didnt want to be flanked by them and worked to put them both on one side of her. Lucas, of course, followed along with her and mashed his body against hers with the mantis once on his back now missing.

"I dunno," she finally responded to Ren with a bit of a shy look and tone, "I just found it..." a stark silence befell her a moment as she stared at Ren, curiously wondering her own knowledge of the shard, but apprehensive of the stranger still. After a few moments of awkward staring, she finally managed the courage, "Do you know something about them?"
"Lisa," she says, happy to help Thalia avoid an aggravated dragon. Then she chuckles at Liliath, "You don't need to worry about that right now."

She hesitates by the door, arms crossed behind her back. It's funny that the High Inquisitor mentions binding as Lisa checks for a magic-blocking spell by growing her fingers into claws, and then back again when the strain of controlling it makes her head pound. She groans quietly and pinches the bridge of her nose, gritting her teeth as she steps inside.

Well, at least now she knows she can still shift, though hopefully she won't need to in here.

The Librarian in question lies curled up behind a long, curved desk set to the right of the main lobby. His spiky chin rests on top of the counter. His eyes, framed by a pair of glasses molded to fit over his broad snout, lay closed.

They fly open when the group draws near, awakened by the sound of footsteps, and Lisa freezes under his brilliant green gaze as he raises his head to greet them.

First, to Thalia, he huffs, shooting a cloud of cold mist through his nostrils. "Ah, the High Inquisitor, what serious business brings you here, with..." he looks past her at the human child and rather frazzled looking chimera. His eyes light up, "A chimera and a young lass, how delightful! Do tell me how I may help the three of you." He sits back on his haunches, forefeet up in the air, and offers the group a...well, a jagged toothy grin, but he clearly intends a polite smile.

Lisa very slowly takes Liliath by the hand pulls her along to hide behind the High Inquisitor. Her gaze never leaves the dragon. Her hostility toward dragons is usually mutual; one that's happy to meet her feels like a trap.
Misc other (played by Avitrathephoenix) Topic Starter

The Inquisitor either does not take notice of Lisa's shift-check or does not care, as she gives no reaction to it.

As they enter the library, she immediately walks toward the waiting wyrm, not showing any concern or reservation about either doing so or the fact that he is apparently asleep. When his eyes open, she stops before him

"Good day, Cornelius. The business today is searching the literature for information regarding a less-than-conventional sort of unholy relic," Thalia replies lowly, keeping a respectful, and cautious, volume, "A blood-magic artifact known as 'The Bloodied Vase.' From what little I know, it is divided into fragments, known as the Bloodied Shards. Each bears a unique magic powered by the lifeblood of its user, but that is all I know."

She sighs before continuing, keeping her speech clipped and precise, "I do not know how many there are, how potent they are, what they do if brought together, nor who may have them, so any search may be forced to be.... quite general. To be fully transparent, most of what I know comes second hand from one of my Inquisitors who learned it from a mildly hysterical.... street-walker, to use the polite term, who had awakened to find some form of magical message had been sent to her client, so I would not strictly call the information completely reliable. The rest comes from the young girl here, who was apparently gifted one of these objects by her 'friends' who also bore similar relics. Take that as you will. That said, if you have any insight either into the information yourself or what texts may contain that information, I would appreciate your assistance."
"I like your name." Liliath giggeld "My name is not young lass, but Liliath and she is Lisa." She said excited to meet someone new. "What's your name?" Liliath then heared the conversation about the shards. "Yup I got a shard and most of my friends have them to, do you have a shard sir?"

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