Be it a paper nailed to a post or sign in a town square, a paper advertisement delivered to your door, a posting on a utility pole, or one of countless forms of digital messaging, the following message catches your eye.... Someone has been very, very thorough in sending the message to any and all who might be interested:
Welcome to the first annual Blight Crystal Shelf outdoor convention and showcase for academic magical research. Atop the namesake crystal, only a ten minute tram ride from bustling downtown Baryona on the world of Irbal II, we invite you to join us in celebrating the wonders of the intellectual approach to magic.
While this event caters to academic magical practitioners, they are not the only ones we hope to see there! From non-magical individuals curious about the workings of sorcery, and perhaps looking for the chance to try out some assisted spellcasting tools, to practitioners of more intuitive, instinctive, or indirectly endowed traditions who wonder why we bother with all the books and mathematics, all are invited to come visit and learn from our guest speakers, vendors, and scholars from the local university eager to share what they know.
For academically inclined visitors, vendor and speaker positions are still OPEN for those who wish to share their wares and knowledge, and the university has provided a mobile library and temporary meeting areas for discussion of theory and different approaches to the rigorous styles of magic use we are here to share.
The event is outdoors, and starts at 18:00 local time. Presentations begin at 19:00 and end at 22:00 and, but all other activities will continue during that time. Speaker names and subject matter will be listed on a publicly accessible itinerary board on site. Weather is controlled and will be lightly overcast with a temperature of ~300 degrees Kelvin for the duration of the event, with rainfall lasting from 16:00 to 17:00 to clear the heat in the air before the event. Food is available for a nominal fee and appropriate to a wide range of dietary requirements with flexible payment options. Don't feel a need to exchange currencies! Mild inebriants are available to those with appropriate identification, subject to local laws and guidelines.
If you have any sensitivities to sunlight, the aforementioned temperature ranges, dander, any form of mana, or airborn particles derived from plant or animal matter prepared as food, or low density carbon-based smoke, please take appropriate precautions before coming, or consider alternate attendance options such as astral projection, a construct proxy, or appropriate spellform manifestations.
Planar co-ordinates are listed below, or a "shuttle" mage can retrieve you upon request. If you wish to attend, please sign or otherwise authenticate on the line below, and enter a time at which you would like to be retrieved, if desired.
Authentication: ________________________________________________________________ Retrieval time: ________________
Thank you to our attendees, speakers, vendors, and organizers, as well as our partners, the University of Baryona, Irbal System Ecosystem Management Authority, Sunspark Arcane Materials Technology, the Church of the Gilded Host, the Pentheic Armed Forces Civil Security Division, Myric's Event Catering, and the Eversight Magical Research Association, for making this event possible! Anything is possible if we all put our minds to it.
Yep, an open industry party and showcase for wizardry!
Let's go through some administrative, OOC details here:
-As the invitation says, and some of the writing implies, this even is very open setting-wise, from fantasy to sci-fi, from any time period, of any species, and with any amount of magical knowledge or ability. Any character willing to behave is welcome to attend for any reason! The convention itself is taking place in a sci-fi/fantasy hybrid setting, though the impact of that should be fairly minimal on the event grounds. There is a very high-tech city visible in the valleys below the Blight Crystal Shelf, though. One initial character or one small character group (master and familiar, couple, small family, pair of close friends, etc) per person, please.
-The writing style will be... let's call it medium form. A half dozen to a dozen sentences would be appreciated, and if a starter or particularly long-winded explanation of theory is chunkier than that, that's okay. Please, please, PLEASE no one-lining, and try to slow down if you notice that you and someone else are monopolizing the thread. I love geeky discussions about magical theory concepts (why do you think this was my event idea?
), but remember to let everyone else have a turn. I also have no complaints if a couple people want to move to their own DMs for a particularly involved convo and come back later.
-I'll take in up to six other people at first, and we'll see if I feel good about letting more in from there.
-Please provide a statement of intent in your starter. This is just something that tells me what your character is planning on doing. Are they there to discuss theory with their peers? Are they fascinated by magic and want to know how it works? Are they a skeptic who really enjoys a challenge? Are they a practitioner of a more intuitive or rote style of magic who's curious what goes on in the universities? Do they just want to go to a wild cook-out, see some cool stuff, and buy some souvenires? Let me, and your fellow players, know! If possible, integrate it into the starter and bold or italicize some key words that tell us what the plan for the evening is!
-If you have a wizardly character (as in someone who approaches magic from an academic, scientific, mathematical, or otherwise analytical standpoint) interested in being a speaker, seminar leader, or a vendor, let me know! This kind of role will inevitably be a bit of a people-managing role, so let everyone know how many people you're willing to handle at a time, keep in touch with me in DMs, and feel okay about shifting out of that role at any time! This kind of role is perfect if you have magical theory concepts or magic item ideas you've been itching to share, or if that's their job anyway. Vendors can also be from intuitive, rote, or other less academic magical styles or traditions.
-Given the kinds of personalities characters who might come to this may tend to have, please remember to be respectful and considerate, at least OOC. Probably IC, too, the dragon people in magic-damping power armor would not like to have to eject anyone for causing trouble
-Lastly, and most importantly, please, please, PLEASE feel free to ask me any questions about anything you're wondering about or unclear on with this, or just any other questions about the game.
Let's have fun out there, and remember, anything is possible if we all put our minds to it!
Welcome to the first annual Blight Crystal Shelf outdoor convention and showcase for academic magical research. Atop the namesake crystal, only a ten minute tram ride from bustling downtown Baryona on the world of Irbal II, we invite you to join us in celebrating the wonders of the intellectual approach to magic.
While this event caters to academic magical practitioners, they are not the only ones we hope to see there! From non-magical individuals curious about the workings of sorcery, and perhaps looking for the chance to try out some assisted spellcasting tools, to practitioners of more intuitive, instinctive, or indirectly endowed traditions who wonder why we bother with all the books and mathematics, all are invited to come visit and learn from our guest speakers, vendors, and scholars from the local university eager to share what they know.
For academically inclined visitors, vendor and speaker positions are still OPEN for those who wish to share their wares and knowledge, and the university has provided a mobile library and temporary meeting areas for discussion of theory and different approaches to the rigorous styles of magic use we are here to share.
The event is outdoors, and starts at 18:00 local time. Presentations begin at 19:00 and end at 22:00 and, but all other activities will continue during that time. Speaker names and subject matter will be listed on a publicly accessible itinerary board on site. Weather is controlled and will be lightly overcast with a temperature of ~300 degrees Kelvin for the duration of the event, with rainfall lasting from 16:00 to 17:00 to clear the heat in the air before the event. Food is available for a nominal fee and appropriate to a wide range of dietary requirements with flexible payment options. Don't feel a need to exchange currencies! Mild inebriants are available to those with appropriate identification, subject to local laws and guidelines.
If you have any sensitivities to sunlight, the aforementioned temperature ranges, dander, any form of mana, or airborn particles derived from plant or animal matter prepared as food, or low density carbon-based smoke, please take appropriate precautions before coming, or consider alternate attendance options such as astral projection, a construct proxy, or appropriate spellform manifestations.
Planar co-ordinates are listed below, or a "shuttle" mage can retrieve you upon request. If you wish to attend, please sign or otherwise authenticate on the line below, and enter a time at which you would like to be retrieved, if desired.
Authentication: ________________________________________________________________ Retrieval time: ________________
Thank you to our attendees, speakers, vendors, and organizers, as well as our partners, the University of Baryona, Irbal System Ecosystem Management Authority, Sunspark Arcane Materials Technology, the Church of the Gilded Host, the Pentheic Armed Forces Civil Security Division, Myric's Event Catering, and the Eversight Magical Research Association, for making this event possible! Anything is possible if we all put our minds to it.
* * *
Yep, an open industry party and showcase for wizardry!
Let's go through some administrative, OOC details here:
-As the invitation says, and some of the writing implies, this even is very open setting-wise, from fantasy to sci-fi, from any time period, of any species, and with any amount of magical knowledge or ability. Any character willing to behave is welcome to attend for any reason! The convention itself is taking place in a sci-fi/fantasy hybrid setting, though the impact of that should be fairly minimal on the event grounds. There is a very high-tech city visible in the valleys below the Blight Crystal Shelf, though. One initial character or one small character group (master and familiar, couple, small family, pair of close friends, etc) per person, please.
-The writing style will be... let's call it medium form. A half dozen to a dozen sentences would be appreciated, and if a starter or particularly long-winded explanation of theory is chunkier than that, that's okay. Please, please, PLEASE no one-lining, and try to slow down if you notice that you and someone else are monopolizing the thread. I love geeky discussions about magical theory concepts (why do you think this was my event idea?
), but remember to let everyone else have a turn. I also have no complaints if a couple people want to move to their own DMs for a particularly involved convo and come back later.-I'll take in up to six other people at first, and we'll see if I feel good about letting more in from there.
-Please provide a statement of intent in your starter. This is just something that tells me what your character is planning on doing. Are they there to discuss theory with their peers? Are they fascinated by magic and want to know how it works? Are they a skeptic who really enjoys a challenge? Are they a practitioner of a more intuitive or rote style of magic who's curious what goes on in the universities? Do they just want to go to a wild cook-out, see some cool stuff, and buy some souvenires? Let me, and your fellow players, know! If possible, integrate it into the starter and bold or italicize some key words that tell us what the plan for the evening is!
-If you have a wizardly character (as in someone who approaches magic from an academic, scientific, mathematical, or otherwise analytical standpoint) interested in being a speaker, seminar leader, or a vendor, let me know! This kind of role will inevitably be a bit of a people-managing role, so let everyone know how many people you're willing to handle at a time, keep in touch with me in DMs, and feel okay about shifting out of that role at any time! This kind of role is perfect if you have magical theory concepts or magic item ideas you've been itching to share, or if that's their job anyway. Vendors can also be from intuitive, rote, or other less academic magical styles or traditions.
-Given the kinds of personalities characters who might come to this may tend to have, please remember to be respectful and considerate, at least OOC. Probably IC, too, the dragon people in magic-damping power armor would not like to have to eject anyone for causing trouble
-Lastly, and most importantly, please, please, PLEASE feel free to ask me any questions about anything you're wondering about or unclear on with this, or just any other questions about the game.
Let's have fun out there, and remember, anything is possible if we all put our minds to it!
((Oh, additional note, please set up your starter as being before you arrive, either preparing for a planeshift or getting ready to do your own. I have a lot of moving parts to wiggle around pretty much right as people arrive, and who they are will change some of that wiggling. @v@))
It was a pleasant morning in the forest just before dawn. Laralute was out gathering some berries as a snack. Soon, the sun would rise and it would be time for bed.
As her tiny silver wings buzzed carrying her to the blackberry bushes, something shiny caught the little pixie's eyes. The first rays of the sun were peaking over the horizon and happened to reflect off of its surface.
Curious, she landed near the object and moved closer to it. It was a small rock with a beautiful shimmer. It had a surface that was smooth as glass. Laralute reached out to touch the strange stone.
OOC: My intention is for this rock to be magical in nature. When she touches it, both she and it will be transported to the event. Laralute's arrival is quite accidental. While she can cast a few spells and has innate magical abilities, her understanding of magic is limited and she is no wizard. She will have no idea how to use it to get home and may have to fake her way through the convention looking for help while clumsily posing as an attendee once she realizes where she is.
As her tiny silver wings buzzed carrying her to the blackberry bushes, something shiny caught the little pixie's eyes. The first rays of the sun were peaking over the horizon and happened to reflect off of its surface.
Curious, she landed near the object and moved closer to it. It was a small rock with a beautiful shimmer. It had a surface that was smooth as glass. Laralute reached out to touch the strange stone.
OOC: My intention is for this rock to be magical in nature. When she touches it, both she and it will be transported to the event. Laralute's arrival is quite accidental. While she can cast a few spells and has innate magical abilities, her understanding of magic is limited and she is no wizard. She will have no idea how to use it to get home and may have to fake her way through the convention looking for help while clumsily posing as an attendee once she realizes where she is.
((I have a couple thoughts on how specifically this could work given some behind-the-scenes things. Mind DMing me? I do like the idea. 
))
))
OOC: Sure thing! I have a few ideas as well. I think this definitely warrants a private discussion.
As the pixie's fingers brush the stone..... nothing happens. At about the time she gets a more solid contact with it, though, its surface lights up with a series of shifting runes and symbols as it gets yanked in a non-existent direction..... and Laralute with it. The transit only lasts for a few seconds of swirling, twisting darkness before her eyes are abruptly greeted by cloud-filtered sunlight and a broad, beige-scaled face.
She's arrived on a table, along with the stone, off on the edge of a busy, but so far not particularly noisy, event. The grounds are substantial, with a modest stage and podium off toward one end, along with several types of seating facing it, a large central pavilion from which waft delightful smells of food being prepared over wood-burning fire, and array of colourful booths carrying particularly exotic and esoteric magical goods from crystals to herbs to bits of useful viscera to exotic metals, not to mention wands, scrolls, incense burners, and countless miscellaneous apparatus of unclear purpose, all in different materials, aesthetics, styles, and shapes. Toward the edges of the place are divided off areas with tables, seating, and a large whiteboard each. Some have symbols, diagrams, or notes written on them. Most of those have either a creature standing and presenting the written material to other creatures around the table, or two or more individuals standing before it contemplating the contents.
In the pixie's case, the table she is on is surrounded by a tall, lanky individual with bespectacled frog like eyes and beige, scaly skin, the face that had first come into her view, as well as a stocky black-furred creature with a very flat face, brilliant silvery eyes, and their mouth on the underside of their chin, and a severe-faced elven woman with a very prominent jewel-laden headpiece and long earings in the same style. There's also a large golem or similar construct made of the same shiny, glassy material as the stone that had brought Laralute here, standing statue-like, deactivated, to one side. It seems to have been the subject of discussion until their new guest's sudden arrival.
The furred creature jumps back in surprise at the sight of the small creature accompanying the stone and trips over their long, flowing robe, the elven woman seems mildly offended at her sudden and unexpected presence, and the scaly, frog-eyed individual simply blinks a couple times and adjusts his glasses before saying in a deep, croaky, elderly sounding voice, "Well... hello there miss. My apologies, this is certainly not expected.... The recovery summoning shouldn't have been able to..... Oh dear, you must find this a mighty inconvenience, a mighty inconvenience, yes, yes.... Oh dear....."
As he mutters, he turns away and fits the stone into a socket in the large construct, drawing utterly shocked and bewildered expressions from his colleagues at his shear absent-minded professorliness. For at least a few seconds, nobody is paying Laralute much mind...
She's arrived on a table, along with the stone, off on the edge of a busy, but so far not particularly noisy, event. The grounds are substantial, with a modest stage and podium off toward one end, along with several types of seating facing it, a large central pavilion from which waft delightful smells of food being prepared over wood-burning fire, and array of colourful booths carrying particularly exotic and esoteric magical goods from crystals to herbs to bits of useful viscera to exotic metals, not to mention wands, scrolls, incense burners, and countless miscellaneous apparatus of unclear purpose, all in different materials, aesthetics, styles, and shapes. Toward the edges of the place are divided off areas with tables, seating, and a large whiteboard each. Some have symbols, diagrams, or notes written on them. Most of those have either a creature standing and presenting the written material to other creatures around the table, or two or more individuals standing before it contemplating the contents.
In the pixie's case, the table she is on is surrounded by a tall, lanky individual with bespectacled frog like eyes and beige, scaly skin, the face that had first come into her view, as well as a stocky black-furred creature with a very flat face, brilliant silvery eyes, and their mouth on the underside of their chin, and a severe-faced elven woman with a very prominent jewel-laden headpiece and long earings in the same style. There's also a large golem or similar construct made of the same shiny, glassy material as the stone that had brought Laralute here, standing statue-like, deactivated, to one side. It seems to have been the subject of discussion until their new guest's sudden arrival.
The furred creature jumps back in surprise at the sight of the small creature accompanying the stone and trips over their long, flowing robe, the elven woman seems mildly offended at her sudden and unexpected presence, and the scaly, frog-eyed individual simply blinks a couple times and adjusts his glasses before saying in a deep, croaky, elderly sounding voice, "Well... hello there miss. My apologies, this is certainly not expected.... The recovery summoning shouldn't have been able to..... Oh dear, you must find this a mighty inconvenience, a mighty inconvenience, yes, yes.... Oh dear....."
As he mutters, he turns away and fits the stone into a socket in the large construct, drawing utterly shocked and bewildered expressions from his colleagues at his shear absent-minded professorliness. For at least a few seconds, nobody is paying Laralute much mind...
Laralute reached out to touch the stone. She wasn't quite sure what happened next. Everything was a blur. The next thing she knew was she was in an unfamiliar place with a giant frog staring down at her. It took her a moment to realize this being could see her and to her horror she was visible! Her mind was racing for a moment. By the time she debated if she should turn invisible, it had already seen her.
"Please don't eat me, "she pleaded. She quickly sat up and look around noticing the others.
The furred creature jumps back in surprise at the sight of the small creature accompanying the stone and trips over their long, flowing robe, the elven woman seems mildly offended at her sudden and unexpected presence, and the scaly, frog-eyed individual simply blinks a couple times and adjusts his glasses before saying in a deep, croaky, elderly sounding voice, "Well... hello there miss. My apologies, this is certainly not expected.... The recovery summoning shouldn't have been able to..... Oh dear, you must find this a mighty inconvenience, a mighty inconvenience, yes, yes.... Oh dear....."
"Wait! Where am I? Who are you? How did I get here," Laralute asked quickly looking around fearfully.
As he mutters, he turns away and fits the stone into a socket in the large construct, drawing utterly shocked and bewildered expressions from his colleagues at his shear absent-minded professorliness. For at least a few seconds, nobody is paying Laralute much mind...
When he turns away, Laralute gets to her feet. She stands about two and a half feet tall and looked around. All of a sudden, she realized none of them are paying any attention to her.
"Um, excuse me," The pixie repeated, her fear suddenly evaporated. She now had a hint of annoyance in her voice. "Uh, where am I and what is going on here?"
"Please don't eat me, "she pleaded. She quickly sat up and look around noticing the others.
The furred creature jumps back in surprise at the sight of the small creature accompanying the stone and trips over their long, flowing robe, the elven woman seems mildly offended at her sudden and unexpected presence, and the scaly, frog-eyed individual simply blinks a couple times and adjusts his glasses before saying in a deep, croaky, elderly sounding voice, "Well... hello there miss. My apologies, this is certainly not expected.... The recovery summoning shouldn't have been able to..... Oh dear, you must find this a mighty inconvenience, a mighty inconvenience, yes, yes.... Oh dear....."
"Wait! Where am I? Who are you? How did I get here," Laralute asked quickly looking around fearfully.
As he mutters, he turns away and fits the stone into a socket in the large construct, drawing utterly shocked and bewildered expressions from his colleagues at his shear absent-minded professorliness. For at least a few seconds, nobody is paying Laralute much mind...
When he turns away, Laralute gets to her feet. She stands about two and a half feet tall and looked around. All of a sudden, she realized none of them are paying any attention to her.
"Um, excuse me," The pixie repeated, her fear suddenly evaporated. She now had a hint of annoyance in her voice. "Uh, where am I and what is going on here?"
Having received an anonymous poster for some sort of convention Kiran stared at the paper sitting before him on his office desk. It was certainly tempting and something he could learn a lot from. Outside of the realm meant that potentially he wouldn’t be too much at risk if he attended.
He decided, he was going to go, rereading the note so as to best prepare and know what to pack with him. Some money, scalpels (always) and teabags (a necessity). Forgoing the long sleeve top and opting for just his waistcoat and the rest his regular attire minus the wool coat. If he was right then it was open to practitioners of any school of magic.
A ‘shuttle mage’ was requested somehow in advance of him even receiving the poster which confused him to no end. Especially so when said mage was standing on his doorstep just as he was about to exit his office. “Ready sir?”
“I guess so…” still hesitant about the situation and wondering if he should be regretting this or not. With the portal opened he stepped through and stood in shock. It was like nothing he had ever seen before, standing at the bottom of a set of stairs leading to the convention centre.
He’d glance sideways to the stalls and vendors and practically vibrate on the spot, someone was going shopping at some point! Looking behind him the mage who provided the portal was already gone. Eyes back at the scene before him he just soaked it all in, it was amazing.
He decided, he was going to go, rereading the note so as to best prepare and know what to pack with him. Some money, scalpels (always) and teabags (a necessity). Forgoing the long sleeve top and opting for just his waistcoat and the rest his regular attire minus the wool coat. If he was right then it was open to practitioners of any school of magic.
A ‘shuttle mage’ was requested somehow in advance of him even receiving the poster which confused him to no end. Especially so when said mage was standing on his doorstep just as he was about to exit his office. “Ready sir?”
“I guess so…” still hesitant about the situation and wondering if he should be regretting this or not. With the portal opened he stepped through and stood in shock. It was like nothing he had ever seen before, standing at the bottom of a set of stairs leading to the convention centre.
He’d glance sideways to the stalls and vendors and practically vibrate on the spot, someone was going shopping at some point! Looking behind him the mage who provided the portal was already gone. Eyes back at the scene before him he just soaked it all in, it was amazing.
Kiran:
The wizard arrives the moment he has decided to attend enough to pack, requiring the signal of unambiguous consent transmitted through the paper before being called. They are tall, narrowly built, and entirely enshrouded in cobalt blue and wine-red robes, and sporting a tall hat with a long, heavy veil that extends over their face. Their cast gateway spell leads to the base of a stairway coming up from an tramway station, rising to reach a terrain of rough, worn, dark red crystal jutting out of the side of a mountain. The Blight Crystal Shelf is exactly as named: A colossal crystal shard with a mostly flat top, and just a touch unsettling and corrupt looking from a distance, though perfectly safe and stable both magically and structurally.
A pair of guards stand at the top of the stairs, so thoroughly armoured in sleek red composite and standing so impeccably still that it's impossible to tell if the dragon-like forms are living creatures or constructs. They seem not in the least concerned as the new arrival passes between them. Just past the entrance is a large wooden sign or placard with posters full of listings and information attached to it. They show times of presentations on various forms of magical theory starting about half an hour from then, judging by the time shown on the large clock suspended above the schedule board. The first being on the subject of a particular type of runic magic, with other fifteen minute slots, many filled, some labeled as "open" leading to the end of the even, where the subject is listed enigmatically as "UMT." The expansive menu of the food pavilion is right next to the schedule. A small disturbance seems to be taking place to one side of the event grounds, at a semi-divided area containing a rather impressive and shimmering golem-like construct, but for the most part everything seems to carry a peaceful but eager feeling of shared passion and camaraderie among the gathered wizards, as well as curiosity from the non-practitioners who have wound up in attendance.
Laralute:
The pixie's fearful begging and subsequent nervous, and then annoyed, questions get a progressively deeper scowl from the elf and a nervous series of , "erm, well, I would suspect that, perhaps, if I am not mistaken...." and other non-committal hesitations from the furred wizard. The lizard-frog looking artificer adjusts his glasses again as he turns back and croaks, "Oh, right, of course, of course. Well, you see, you seem to have wound up getting stuck on this silly little fragment from my experiment. A long story about how it shattered, but the results were exceptional. Now, could you help hold this in place for me please, fixing this kind of enchantment is really quite a--"
He's cut off by the elf who snaps in the exact snooty tone her appearance suggests, "While your reasearch is fascinating, sir, I now understand why you have so many editors on your papers. I shall be departing to find something more worthy of my attention." She takes a sharp breath of pure annoyance before addressing Laralute directly, and more calmly. "You are at the first annual Blight Crystal Shelf Convention and Showcase for Academic Magical Research. Given that they seem to let anyone in here I suppose I won't need to report you to security, which would be a dreadful waste of my time anyway. If you have any interest in the deeper workings of the arcane arts and seek further understanding of its operations, this is allegedly the place to be, though I begin to have my doubts. And don't be absurd, nobody would eat you when there is food, or what passes for it, available, pre-prepared and with less bones."
With that, the elf walks off, considering the explanation given despite having not bothered to introduce herself. The artificer chuckles and says, "Ah, there are always those types in these circles... Too busy and important to smell the flowers and be polite to new guests. I am grand artificer duke Proc-hrgak," the second part sounds like a rough throat-clearing, "and this fellow is... oh dear, I never have been good with names. You should feel in good company, neither of us are from here either! We simply got letters and I began holding a discussion group about distributed construct enchantment structures! It was going very well, and now I would say you are a much better third than.... I can't remember who, but whomever we had before."
The furred individual with the under-jaw mouth says, "Erm, my appologies, I am Doctor Borol. I, well, I admit that I don't get out of my work circle very often... I'm so very sorry you were brought so suddenly.... you... you aren't hurt, are you?"
The wizard arrives the moment he has decided to attend enough to pack, requiring the signal of unambiguous consent transmitted through the paper before being called. They are tall, narrowly built, and entirely enshrouded in cobalt blue and wine-red robes, and sporting a tall hat with a long, heavy veil that extends over their face. Their cast gateway spell leads to the base of a stairway coming up from an tramway station, rising to reach a terrain of rough, worn, dark red crystal jutting out of the side of a mountain. The Blight Crystal Shelf is exactly as named: A colossal crystal shard with a mostly flat top, and just a touch unsettling and corrupt looking from a distance, though perfectly safe and stable both magically and structurally.
A pair of guards stand at the top of the stairs, so thoroughly armoured in sleek red composite and standing so impeccably still that it's impossible to tell if the dragon-like forms are living creatures or constructs. They seem not in the least concerned as the new arrival passes between them. Just past the entrance is a large wooden sign or placard with posters full of listings and information attached to it. They show times of presentations on various forms of magical theory starting about half an hour from then, judging by the time shown on the large clock suspended above the schedule board. The first being on the subject of a particular type of runic magic, with other fifteen minute slots, many filled, some labeled as "open" leading to the end of the even, where the subject is listed enigmatically as "UMT." The expansive menu of the food pavilion is right next to the schedule. A small disturbance seems to be taking place to one side of the event grounds, at a semi-divided area containing a rather impressive and shimmering golem-like construct, but for the most part everything seems to carry a peaceful but eager feeling of shared passion and camaraderie among the gathered wizards, as well as curiosity from the non-practitioners who have wound up in attendance.
Laralute:
The pixie's fearful begging and subsequent nervous, and then annoyed, questions get a progressively deeper scowl from the elf and a nervous series of , "erm, well, I would suspect that, perhaps, if I am not mistaken...." and other non-committal hesitations from the furred wizard. The lizard-frog looking artificer adjusts his glasses again as he turns back and croaks, "Oh, right, of course, of course. Well, you see, you seem to have wound up getting stuck on this silly little fragment from my experiment. A long story about how it shattered, but the results were exceptional. Now, could you help hold this in place for me please, fixing this kind of enchantment is really quite a--"
He's cut off by the elf who snaps in the exact snooty tone her appearance suggests, "While your reasearch is fascinating, sir, I now understand why you have so many editors on your papers. I shall be departing to find something more worthy of my attention." She takes a sharp breath of pure annoyance before addressing Laralute directly, and more calmly. "You are at the first annual Blight Crystal Shelf Convention and Showcase for Academic Magical Research. Given that they seem to let anyone in here I suppose I won't need to report you to security, which would be a dreadful waste of my time anyway. If you have any interest in the deeper workings of the arcane arts and seek further understanding of its operations, this is allegedly the place to be, though I begin to have my doubts. And don't be absurd, nobody would eat you when there is food, or what passes for it, available, pre-prepared and with less bones."
With that, the elf walks off, considering the explanation given despite having not bothered to introduce herself. The artificer chuckles and says, "Ah, there are always those types in these circles... Too busy and important to smell the flowers and be polite to new guests. I am grand artificer duke Proc-hrgak," the second part sounds like a rough throat-clearing, "and this fellow is... oh dear, I never have been good with names. You should feel in good company, neither of us are from here either! We simply got letters and I began holding a discussion group about distributed construct enchantment structures! It was going very well, and now I would say you are a much better third than.... I can't remember who, but whomever we had before."
The furred individual with the under-jaw mouth says, "Erm, my appologies, I am Doctor Borol. I, well, I admit that I don't get out of my work circle very often... I'm so very sorry you were brought so suddenly.... you... you aren't hurt, are you?"
With that, the elf walks off, considering the explanation given despite having not bothered to introduce herself. The artificer chuckles and says, "Ah, there are always those types in these circles... Too busy and important to smell the flowers and be polite to new guests. I am grand artificer duke Proc-hrgak," the second part sounds like a rough throat-clearing, "and this fellow is... oh dear, I never have been good with names. You should feel in good company, neither of us are from here either! We simply got letters and I began holding a discussion group about distributed construct enchantment structures! It was going very well, and now I would say you are a much better third than.... I can't remember who, but whomever we had before."
A furry creature seems to be at a loss for words as the frog attempts to explain something about an experiment and asks Laralute to hold the fragment so he can attempt to repair it. Then, the arrogant elf explains to Laralute where she is and what is going on before informing her she is not worthy of being eaten and storming off. The little fairy stands there with her hands on her hips staring after the elf. "Well I never," she huffs. "RUDE!"
The furred individual with the under-jaw mouth says, "Erm, my appologies, I am Doctor Borol. I, well, I admit that I don't get out of my work circle very often... I'm so very sorry you were brought so suddenly.... you... you aren't hurt, are you?"
"Uh, no...," Laralute says looking herself over, and then takes flight buzzing around the furry one and the frog. She launches into a rant speaking so quickly her words run together without taking a breath... SOletmegetthisstraightwhoeveryouretheprettyrockthingyispartofsomeexperimentandsomehowexplodedanlandedinmyforestandIcouldhavediedtouchingitbecausethereisnowarningandnowIdon'tknowwhereIamandIamatsomekindofgatheringthingyforwizardswhichbythewayIhappentobebuthavenowaytogethomeand..."
She lands back on the table hands on her hips out of breath as her eyes cut back and forth between them. Laralute still had lots of questions but was too out of breath to say anything further. Hopefully, one of them would explain the situation a little further and have some way of making the shiny rock fragment thingy take her back to her woods.
A furry creature seems to be at a loss for words as the frog attempts to explain something about an experiment and asks Laralute to hold the fragment so he can attempt to repair it. Then, the arrogant elf explains to Laralute where she is and what is going on before informing her she is not worthy of being eaten and storming off. The little fairy stands there with her hands on her hips staring after the elf. "Well I never," she huffs. "RUDE!"
The furred individual with the under-jaw mouth says, "Erm, my appologies, I am Doctor Borol. I, well, I admit that I don't get out of my work circle very often... I'm so very sorry you were brought so suddenly.... you... you aren't hurt, are you?"
"Uh, no...," Laralute says looking herself over, and then takes flight buzzing around the furry one and the frog. She launches into a rant speaking so quickly her words run together without taking a breath... SOletmegetthisstraightwhoeveryouretheprettyrockthingyispartofsomeexperimentandsomehowexplodedanlandedinmyforestandIcouldhavediedtouchingitbecausethereisnowarningandnowIdon'tknowwhereIamandIamatsomekindofgatheringthingyforwizardswhichbythewayIhappentobebuthavenowaytogethomeand..."
She lands back on the table hands on her hips out of breath as her eyes cut back and forth between them. Laralute still had lots of questions but was too out of breath to say anything further. Hopefully, one of them would explain the situation a little further and have some way of making the shiny rock fragment thingy take her back to her woods.
Kiran felt like he was 10 years old again going to a carnival, he was so excited about everything going on around him. He’d stop briefly to admire the guards and their design before walking past to read the entrance sign. So far he hadn’t been pointed at or guards screaming to arrest him despite the very obvious display of heretical magic on his bare arms. This actually seemed like a place that accepted any and every school of magic.
Magic theory presentations, runic magic? sounded interesting. His eyes drifted to the food menu briefly though he wasn’t hungry yet. Far more interested in the vendors, if there were objects not found in his realm he could take back with him they might be worth a fair bit.
Gaze drifted to the disturbance off to the side but from this distance he couldn’t work out exactly what was happening. Turning on his heels the doctor headed straight for the shops.
Magic theory presentations, runic magic? sounded interesting. His eyes drifted to the food menu briefly though he wasn’t hungry yet. Far more interested in the vendors, if there were objects not found in his realm he could take back with him they might be worth a fair bit.
Gaze drifted to the disturbance off to the side but from this distance he couldn’t work out exactly what was happening. Turning on his heels the doctor headed straight for the shops.
A tall, deceptively youthful man with pale skin and white hair lifts a hand to guard his eyes from the sun rising over the ruins. Dressed in an outfit he considers fashionable- with bright blues and ostentatious frills -he descends a set of marble steps leading up to a massive pantheon-like building built into the side of a cliff, toward the back of which lies a huge door that no man of reasonable strength should be able to open. As he goes, he tucks a neatly folded paper into his shirt pocket. This paper allegedly invites him to an interplanetary wizard convention.
If any layman of his homeworld were to receive such a letter, he assumes they’d consider it a joke. Cornelius, however, with centuries of experience as a mage, could sense the magic gracing the parchment. He lacks the skill necessary to determine its precise makeup or purpose, but he recognizes an elaborate and very thorough enchantment when he sees one. He signed it out of curiosity, and now comes the time to discover whether or not the message holds any truth.
Should it be legitimate, it would prove the existence of multiple inhabited worlds, planes, and/or universes. And more importantly, he’d meet many similarly academically-minded mages, an opportunity which has grown quite rare for his kind in the recent decades.
If he has been deceived, on the other hand, he’ll deal with the consequences, which will most likely prove no more than the sensation of immense disappointment. In his eyes, the risk greatly outweighs the reward.
Cornelius reaches the end of the stairs, landing on an old, overgrown cobble path. There’s no going back now- he has already carried out the necessary preparations for his absence. He rearmed the library’s traps, informed his assistant on how to handle intruders, and modified the enchantments cast on his amulet, a tear-shaped green gem embroidered onto his shirt collar, to preserve his human form should he find himself unable to channel the spell at will. While an interplanetary wizard convention surely would have no problem tolerating those of Draconic descent, he suspects it would prove challenging to provide accommodations for someone of his literal stature.
And now, assured everything is cared for, he waits. For what? He doesn’t know for sure.
Time passes. The sun’s growing brightness and the heat that follows drives Cornelius to the shade of a large pillar, where he rests his back against the cool marble and retrieves the invitation from his shirt pocket. The Librarian gingerly unfolds the parchment, pushes his glasses up on his broad, somewhat hooked nose, and rereads it while he waits for his ride.
“Blight Crystal Shelf...the world of Irbal II…” his imagination runs wild with the possibilities of what these names may entail. He continues reading, muttering the words quietly to himself, and occasionally glances up to look out for the unexpected, which he expects will arrive shortly.
If any layman of his homeworld were to receive such a letter, he assumes they’d consider it a joke. Cornelius, however, with centuries of experience as a mage, could sense the magic gracing the parchment. He lacks the skill necessary to determine its precise makeup or purpose, but he recognizes an elaborate and very thorough enchantment when he sees one. He signed it out of curiosity, and now comes the time to discover whether or not the message holds any truth.
Should it be legitimate, it would prove the existence of multiple inhabited worlds, planes, and/or universes. And more importantly, he’d meet many similarly academically-minded mages, an opportunity which has grown quite rare for his kind in the recent decades.
If he has been deceived, on the other hand, he’ll deal with the consequences, which will most likely prove no more than the sensation of immense disappointment. In his eyes, the risk greatly outweighs the reward.
Cornelius reaches the end of the stairs, landing on an old, overgrown cobble path. There’s no going back now- he has already carried out the necessary preparations for his absence. He rearmed the library’s traps, informed his assistant on how to handle intruders, and modified the enchantments cast on his amulet, a tear-shaped green gem embroidered onto his shirt collar, to preserve his human form should he find himself unable to channel the spell at will. While an interplanetary wizard convention surely would have no problem tolerating those of Draconic descent, he suspects it would prove challenging to provide accommodations for someone of his literal stature.
And now, assured everything is cared for, he waits. For what? He doesn’t know for sure.
Time passes. The sun’s growing brightness and the heat that follows drives Cornelius to the shade of a large pillar, where he rests his back against the cool marble and retrieves the invitation from his shirt pocket. The Librarian gingerly unfolds the parchment, pushes his glasses up on his broad, somewhat hooked nose, and rereads it while he waits for his ride.
“Blight Crystal Shelf...the world of Irbal II…” his imagination runs wild with the possibilities of what these names may entail. He continues reading, muttering the words quietly to himself, and occasionally glances up to look out for the unexpected, which he expects will arrive shortly.
Cornelius:
At the designated time, someone simply appears a dozen meters away in front of the thoroughly disguised dragon. No gate or portal, no puff of smoke, no lights or sounds. In spite of the fast, subtle spell, she looks decidedly not wizardly. The white furred, fox like creature is tall, lean if not outright skinny, though visibly athletic and toned. Other than a large circular amulet of either silver or platinum inset with a blue hemispherical stone, she seems to have decided that wearing things is for people without fur. Her eyelids sit to give her eyes a sharp, harsh shape accentuated by the dual tone of her irises: green on the outside, and a unnervingly gem-like violet closer to the slit-shaped pupil. It looks more like an exotic medical condition than any kind of normal heterochromia. Nine fluffy tails flow from her broad hips down the length of her legs.
Her appearance has a lot more in common with a taught bowstring or a knife than with most spellcasters, but that wouldn't fool Cornelius. The two had met a couple times. She gives him a wicked, sharp-toothed grin as she walks the short distance toward him, stopping before him with one hand on a hip, the other hanging by her side. "Hey there, Wyrm," she says in an incredibly smug tone, "nice to see you again. You ready to get going, or do you need to check a few references first?"
At the designated time, someone simply appears a dozen meters away in front of the thoroughly disguised dragon. No gate or portal, no puff of smoke, no lights or sounds. In spite of the fast, subtle spell, she looks decidedly not wizardly. The white furred, fox like creature is tall, lean if not outright skinny, though visibly athletic and toned. Other than a large circular amulet of either silver or platinum inset with a blue hemispherical stone, she seems to have decided that wearing things is for people without fur. Her eyelids sit to give her eyes a sharp, harsh shape accentuated by the dual tone of her irises: green on the outside, and a unnervingly gem-like violet closer to the slit-shaped pupil. It looks more like an exotic medical condition than any kind of normal heterochromia. Nine fluffy tails flow from her broad hips down the length of her legs.
Her appearance has a lot more in common with a taught bowstring or a knife than with most spellcasters, but that wouldn't fool Cornelius. The two had met a couple times. She gives him a wicked, sharp-toothed grin as she walks the short distance toward him, stopping before him with one hand on a hip, the other hanging by her side. "Hey there, Wyrm," she says in an incredibly smug tone, "nice to see you again. You ready to get going, or do you need to check a few references first?"
Laralute:
The doctor again seems baffled and somewhat uncertain when the veritable torrent of words spills from the pixie's mouth. The artificing duke takes just a moment to process the rush of thoughts, apparently much better at understanding fast speech than at remembering anything. "Oh, no, no, I would be very surprised if you had died. Everything that happened was very safe, very safe indeed," he says in reassurance, "Well, other than the damage to the machine, I suppose, but the debris teleporting around is much safer than flying in all directions! Wouldn't you agree, erm... Borol, Doctor Borol, that was it."
"Erm, well, I wasn't there when it happened, we've only just met, but from what you described and the residual fragments I would be mostly inclined to agree, though admittedly with some skepticism..." He replies as he rubs the spot where a more human person's mouth would be.
"Hmm, hmm, yes, yes," the artificer continues, "Well, in any case you have wound up in good company as an academically inclined person of magic yourself! I would not worry about getting home either, if I were you."
Seeing just how badly that last statement could be interpreted, Borol quickly gathers himself and clarifies, "H-he means to say that not many of us can get home by ourselves, either, but that the event has hired a number of people able to cast long-distance travel spells to help get us here and home, so it should be easy enough to arrange transportation home at the end of this." In the process of saying this, he reaches into a pocket in his robe and pulls out a piece of paper, the event flyer. "Feel free to keep that for reference. I would say that this is a fascinating event, and there is a great deal to learn! Why, before I even got here the little fellow who came to pick me up engaged me in a thrilling discussion about the inter-relations of elemental magics and their related schools and how they may, in fact, be more similar in underlying function than we had thought! Any number of new ideas could be learned here, and new ways of thinking about magic itself as well!"
Noting her still being out of breath, he then asks, "Erm, would, um, would you like some water? I could pull some from the air for you."
The artificer, meanwhile, has gotten distracted again and is fitting the stone back into his golem.
Kiran:
A few people look at him with more curiosity than judgement, and one unpleasant an wealthy looking elven woman with an ostentatious headpiece seems to have her mood soured further as she passes him, but most people seem minimally concerned. It probably helps that there are a number of people with very complex tattoos and piercings that presumably either help their magic or are cultural markings. In general, the vibrant diversity of people, unified by shared interest, is quite staggering.
One of the first vendor's stalls he comes across is occupied by an reptilian enchanter with intricate ritual scarring and marking adorning the scales of her chest, stomach, shoulders, hips, and biceps, as well as having dark painted marks over her face. She wears a short leather top with a pair of tool-carrying straps or belts coming off the bottom of it and crossing over her middle, as well as a rough, durable hide skirt. The wares she has are carved wood with black metal inlay in elaborate patterns similar to those on her body. The precision of the shaping is at least machine-quality, and the finish on the dark wood is immaculately smooth and shiny. She makes a low, pulsing sound of approval when she sees his arms, assuming his marks to be like hers... or at least enough to be interesting. "Focusing charms for spells of all kinds. Wood and iron, but strong, and with inherent protection and healing enhancement, too. You won't find cleaner geometry anywhere else here," she declares with pride, loud enough to catch Kiran's attention. More quietly, and directed more specifically at him she adds, "At least not from anyone too fancy for their own good. And for you, lovely, half off if you're willing to swap stories about scars while we talk about what you're looking for."
In the next stall over, a masked tailor of magical clothing watches Kiran, sliding calipers in front of an eyepiece to pre-take some measurements from a distance should he choose to go there in the near future.
The doctor again seems baffled and somewhat uncertain when the veritable torrent of words spills from the pixie's mouth. The artificing duke takes just a moment to process the rush of thoughts, apparently much better at understanding fast speech than at remembering anything. "Oh, no, no, I would be very surprised if you had died. Everything that happened was very safe, very safe indeed," he says in reassurance, "Well, other than the damage to the machine, I suppose, but the debris teleporting around is much safer than flying in all directions! Wouldn't you agree, erm... Borol, Doctor Borol, that was it."
"Erm, well, I wasn't there when it happened, we've only just met, but from what you described and the residual fragments I would be mostly inclined to agree, though admittedly with some skepticism..." He replies as he rubs the spot where a more human person's mouth would be.
"Hmm, hmm, yes, yes," the artificer continues, "Well, in any case you have wound up in good company as an academically inclined person of magic yourself! I would not worry about getting home either, if I were you."
Seeing just how badly that last statement could be interpreted, Borol quickly gathers himself and clarifies, "H-he means to say that not many of us can get home by ourselves, either, but that the event has hired a number of people able to cast long-distance travel spells to help get us here and home, so it should be easy enough to arrange transportation home at the end of this." In the process of saying this, he reaches into a pocket in his robe and pulls out a piece of paper, the event flyer. "Feel free to keep that for reference. I would say that this is a fascinating event, and there is a great deal to learn! Why, before I even got here the little fellow who came to pick me up engaged me in a thrilling discussion about the inter-relations of elemental magics and their related schools and how they may, in fact, be more similar in underlying function than we had thought! Any number of new ideas could be learned here, and new ways of thinking about magic itself as well!"
Noting her still being out of breath, he then asks, "Erm, would, um, would you like some water? I could pull some from the air for you."
The artificer, meanwhile, has gotten distracted again and is fitting the stone back into his golem.
Kiran:
A few people look at him with more curiosity than judgement, and one unpleasant an wealthy looking elven woman with an ostentatious headpiece seems to have her mood soured further as she passes him, but most people seem minimally concerned. It probably helps that there are a number of people with very complex tattoos and piercings that presumably either help their magic or are cultural markings. In general, the vibrant diversity of people, unified by shared interest, is quite staggering.
One of the first vendor's stalls he comes across is occupied by an reptilian enchanter with intricate ritual scarring and marking adorning the scales of her chest, stomach, shoulders, hips, and biceps, as well as having dark painted marks over her face. She wears a short leather top with a pair of tool-carrying straps or belts coming off the bottom of it and crossing over her middle, as well as a rough, durable hide skirt. The wares she has are carved wood with black metal inlay in elaborate patterns similar to those on her body. The precision of the shaping is at least machine-quality, and the finish on the dark wood is immaculately smooth and shiny. She makes a low, pulsing sound of approval when she sees his arms, assuming his marks to be like hers... or at least enough to be interesting. "Focusing charms for spells of all kinds. Wood and iron, but strong, and with inherent protection and healing enhancement, too. You won't find cleaner geometry anywhere else here," she declares with pride, loud enough to catch Kiran's attention. More quietly, and directed more specifically at him she adds, "At least not from anyone too fancy for their own good. And for you, lovely, half off if you're willing to swap stories about scars while we talk about what you're looking for."
In the next stall over, a masked tailor of magical clothing watches Kiran, sliding calipers in front of an eyepiece to pre-take some measurements from a distance should he choose to go there in the near future.
The fact that this place felt so welcoming was like breathing in fresh air for the first time. For once the sour looks were the minority! Being able to walk around in public freely, he wouldn’t be surprised if this was some strange fever dream. He prayed it wasn’t
Stopping at the first stall he took in the sight of it all, the vendor included. Some sort of lizard kin or dragonborn? though this was a place far more advanced and varied than his own, he simply related it all to things back home. Focusing charms? an eyebrow raised and he stepped forward.
He smirked at her offer “In that case, sure, why not. I’m looking for things that I wouldn’t normally find back home.” he glanced casually over her wares for anything that stood out. Wood and iron he knew back home. “Any precious metals or stones?” asking as he eyed the numerous markings running along her body. “Do those aid in magic?” with reference to the aforementioned markings.
The stall next door was not ignored and definitely perked his interest. Enchanted clothing? definitely worth a look at in time. He hoped that 1. he’d be able to get everything home and 2. that he’d have enough time to check out the market in its fullest.
Stopping at the first stall he took in the sight of it all, the vendor included. Some sort of lizard kin or dragonborn? though this was a place far more advanced and varied than his own, he simply related it all to things back home. Focusing charms? an eyebrow raised and he stepped forward.
He smirked at her offer “In that case, sure, why not. I’m looking for things that I wouldn’t normally find back home.” he glanced casually over her wares for anything that stood out. Wood and iron he knew back home. “Any precious metals or stones?” asking as he eyed the numerous markings running along her body. “Do those aid in magic?” with reference to the aforementioned markings.
The stall next door was not ignored and definitely perked his interest. Enchanted clothing? definitely worth a look at in time. He hoped that 1. he’d be able to get everything home and 2. that he’d have enough time to check out the market in its fullest.
The doctor again seems baffled and somewhat uncertain when the veritable torrent of words spills from the pixie's mouth. The artificing duke takes just a moment to process the rush of thoughts, apparently much better at understanding fast speech than at remembering anything. "Oh, no, no, I would be very surprised if you had died. Everything that happened was very safe, very safe indeed," he says in reassurance, "Well, other than the damage to the machine, I suppose, but the debris teleporting around is much safer than flying in all directions! Wouldn't you agree, erm... Borol, Doctor Borol, that was it."
"Erm, well, I wasn't there when it happened, we've only just met, but from what you described and the residual fragments I would be mostly inclined to agree, though admittedly with some skepticism..." He replies as he rubs the spot where a more human person's mouth would be.
"Hmm, hmm, yes, yes," the artificer continues, "Well, in any case you have wound up in good company as an academically inclined person of magic yourself! I would not worry about getting home either, if I were you."
"So I'm not trapped here forever," The Pixie asks. There is a slightly suspicious tone in her melodic voice as she cocks an eyebrow towards him. "You mean to tell me that I can return whenever I wish? If that's the case then this seems really interesting and I may stick around for a bit but only if you can guarantee me safe passage home when I am ready to return."
Laralute looked around her. There were many fascinating sights and people wandering about. She may not get an opportunity like this again and a brief break from her forest might be nice. This would make a great story to tell her friends about all the wondrous things she'd seen and experienced on this unplanned vacation.
Seeing just how badly that last statement could be interpreted, Borol quickly gathers himself and clarifies, "H-he means to say that not many of us can get home by ourselves, either, but that the event has hired a number of people able to cast long-distance travel spells to help get us here and home, so it should be easy enough to arrange transportation home at the end of this." In the process of saying this, he reaches into a pocket in his robe and pulls out a piece of paper, the event flyer. "Feel free to keep that for reference. I would say that this is a fascinating event, and there is a great deal to learn! Why, before I even got here the little fellow who came to pick me up engaged me in a thrilling discussion about the inter-relations of elemental magics and their related schools and how they may, in fact, be more similar in underlying function than we had thought! Any number of new ideas could be learned here, and new ways of thinking about magic itself as well!"
Laralute took the flyer and looked it over. The parchment was as large as she was. It was at this point she hopped off the table and suddenly changed into an elf bearing the same features as her pixie form, minus her wings. She was dressed just the same. "That's better," She said to herself scanning over the flyer. "So, these hired folks can take me home when I'm ready then?" She was able to speak but still sounded a bit winded.
Noting her still being out of breath, he then asks, "Erm, would, um, would you like some water? I could pull some from the air for you."
"Uhhhhh," She began wondering if the water would be poisoned, but if these folks meant her harm, they could have easily made their move, not to mention the fact she had a resistance to many such toxins. "Okay, that would be lovely."
Now the same size as the others, she seemed to relax a little bit. While she waited for the water she looked around. "So what do you recommend that a fairy might enjoy," she inquired. She didn't want to admit she had limited arcane knowledge when it came to written spells and magical theory. Her limited powers were innate and didn't come from scrolls or spellbooks.
The artificer, meanwhile, has gotten distracted again and is fitting the stone back into his golem.
"Erm, well, I wasn't there when it happened, we've only just met, but from what you described and the residual fragments I would be mostly inclined to agree, though admittedly with some skepticism..." He replies as he rubs the spot where a more human person's mouth would be.
"Hmm, hmm, yes, yes," the artificer continues, "Well, in any case you have wound up in good company as an academically inclined person of magic yourself! I would not worry about getting home either, if I were you."
"So I'm not trapped here forever," The Pixie asks. There is a slightly suspicious tone in her melodic voice as she cocks an eyebrow towards him. "You mean to tell me that I can return whenever I wish? If that's the case then this seems really interesting and I may stick around for a bit but only if you can guarantee me safe passage home when I am ready to return."
Laralute looked around her. There were many fascinating sights and people wandering about. She may not get an opportunity like this again and a brief break from her forest might be nice. This would make a great story to tell her friends about all the wondrous things she'd seen and experienced on this unplanned vacation.
Seeing just how badly that last statement could be interpreted, Borol quickly gathers himself and clarifies, "H-he means to say that not many of us can get home by ourselves, either, but that the event has hired a number of people able to cast long-distance travel spells to help get us here and home, so it should be easy enough to arrange transportation home at the end of this." In the process of saying this, he reaches into a pocket in his robe and pulls out a piece of paper, the event flyer. "Feel free to keep that for reference. I would say that this is a fascinating event, and there is a great deal to learn! Why, before I even got here the little fellow who came to pick me up engaged me in a thrilling discussion about the inter-relations of elemental magics and their related schools and how they may, in fact, be more similar in underlying function than we had thought! Any number of new ideas could be learned here, and new ways of thinking about magic itself as well!"
Laralute took the flyer and looked it over. The parchment was as large as she was. It was at this point she hopped off the table and suddenly changed into an elf bearing the same features as her pixie form, minus her wings. She was dressed just the same. "That's better," She said to herself scanning over the flyer. "So, these hired folks can take me home when I'm ready then?" She was able to speak but still sounded a bit winded.
Noting her still being out of breath, he then asks, "Erm, would, um, would you like some water? I could pull some from the air for you."
"Uhhhhh," She began wondering if the water would be poisoned, but if these folks meant her harm, they could have easily made their move, not to mention the fact she had a resistance to many such toxins. "Okay, that would be lovely."
Now the same size as the others, she seemed to relax a little bit. While she waited for the water she looked around. "So what do you recommend that a fairy might enjoy," she inquired. She didn't want to admit she had limited arcane knowledge when it came to written spells and magical theory. Her limited powers were innate and didn't come from scrolls or spellbooks.
The artificer, meanwhile, has gotten distracted again and is fitting the stone back into his golem.
In defiance of her sudden arrival, eye-catching in the absence of any magical razzle dazzle, Cornelius doesn’t immediately react to her approach. His gaze continues to dance across the paper in his hands. He even glances up at least once and seems to miss her- whether this is a symptom of his social obliviousness or a purposeful slight on his end isn’t clear.
Only when she speaks does he pay her any mind. His low, droning musing on the contents of the invitation halts and gives way to the sounds of the surrounding wilderness and Victi’s casual greeting. The Librarian chuckles quietly at her sass, lifts his gaze from the paper and pushes himself off of the pillar. He returns the invitation to his pocket and greets his visitor in kind with a similarly jovial, if significantly less pointy, grin.
“Victi Aurora Silverfur,” he says, “What a pleasant surprise.”
Without waiting for a response, he reaches for the hand at her side to offer a firm, professional handshake. “I do believe I have everything in order. That is, unless…” he steps back, his eyes narrowing. His smile tightens while his voice adopts a bit of an edge. “...you’re here to cause trouble, in which case I’ll have to ask you to file the appropriate paperwork beforehand.”
The laughter that follows is deep and hearty, joyful and genuine. “I am ready to leave when you are, dear.”
Only when she speaks does he pay her any mind. His low, droning musing on the contents of the invitation halts and gives way to the sounds of the surrounding wilderness and Victi’s casual greeting. The Librarian chuckles quietly at her sass, lifts his gaze from the paper and pushes himself off of the pillar. He returns the invitation to his pocket and greets his visitor in kind with a similarly jovial, if significantly less pointy, grin.
“Victi Aurora Silverfur,” he says, “What a pleasant surprise.”
Without waiting for a response, he reaches for the hand at her side to offer a firm, professional handshake. “I do believe I have everything in order. That is, unless…” he steps back, his eyes narrowing. His smile tightens while his voice adopts a bit of an edge. “...you’re here to cause trouble, in which case I’ll have to ask you to file the appropriate paperwork beforehand.”
The laughter that follows is deep and hearty, joyful and genuine. “I am ready to leave when you are, dear.”
Kiran:
"Certainly no gems," the vendor replies, "Their geometry is too rigid! Sure, sure, useful if you want to do what they want to do, but when you don't they're worse than useless. Most of the precious metals are alright, but they're usually soft and deform too easy if you pump a lot of juice through 'em. Wood has thoughts, but is more flexible to about them, and iron's tough enough to hold up but workable enough to do by hand." She holds up one of the pieces to show the intricate carving in it, and points out a small geometric motif in the iron inlay, a heptagonal spiral which converges toward a corner rather than the center. "No gem would fit those nicely, but seven is good number for channeling defensive wards! But if what you're looking for is a unique showpiece....."
She begins rummaging around through a few boxes, and answers the question about her scars in the process. "Some of these beauties help, they help shape the magic with their patterns so they're don't take much thinking or work to cast, but not all of 'em. Some of these are from rites of passage, all the ones on the shoulders, for example, and others, well, it's kinda tricky to tattoo scales, so I found other ways of recording life events and such. I'd always been interested in the traditional markings, so I learned to understand their function and their meaning, and learned how to tell more stories with them.... Ah, here we go."
She pulls out a gorget of sorts, shaped to fit over the front of the base of the neck and top of the chest, with straps to keep it in place. While the material concept is similar to the others, this one has a very glassy or glazed over look to the wood, and the metal is something bright and shiny with unusual blue tones in the light. There are a few pinprick-sized holes patterned through it, though on closer inspection they're actually the result of only a few tiny gaps that line up on all four layers of carving worked through the wood.
"This was very, very tricky to make, but a treat: Petrified living-wood from the Havenweald, inlaid with meteoric cobalt. A bit on the heavy side, but the enchantments keep it very, very strong and hard on top of the same protection and minor healing as the rest," she explains, nearly giddy to get to talk about it, "and then, the actual goal of the patterns, the starfire veil. With the metal being from where it is, as in among the stars, and the wood being the way it is, spells cast through a body part wrap that part in this beautiful radiant fire, too, so it's fantastic for those spells that beef up a punch or a kick, it boosts up anything that lets you jump higher or run faster, and so on. It doesn't work if you just pump energy into the body, though, unless you're like me and put a spell there. Also, fantastic at parties as long as nobody gets too close. It does need to be charged in starlight, but it holds up pretty well after a full night."
"It's actually one of three," she admits, "This one, one I keep for myself, these are my masterworks after all, and one for the person who commissioned them in the first place. He gave me enough material for three in case I 'needed to do some test runs,' as if I wouldn't do it right the first time. If you're just looking for foreign curiosities this might not be for you, but if you want something nice and have some good stories about some of those pretty scars, I didn't have better plans for it than selling it to a stranger with taste. If you aren't interested, I'm sure Emi over there has finished measuring you up already. I'd get myself a magic lens like that, but I've got too much pride."
Laralute:
Doctor Borol scatches the back of his head and says, "well, I suppose we could go to where everyone has been arriving and ask one of the shuttling mages to make sure they take you home when you're ready... and the duke seems occupied enough, and likely enough to have more people to talk to with that big machine of his, that we should be able to excuse ourselves to do that."
He glances over and confirms that, yes, the elderly frog-lizard is in fact entirely oblivious to anything beyond the shiny stone construct at the moment. It's about then that the fairy grows to a more practical size, which startles the black furred professor as much as her initial arrival had. At least he manages to keep standing this time.
"Y-yes," he stammers in reply to the question, "They should be willing and able to bring you back just fine." He distracts himself from his nervousness by pulling out a simple hardwood wand and condensing a bubble of water, close to a liter of it, out of the air around the tip. He tugs the bubble off the wand and offers the liquid to her on his outstretched palm. "Here you are. I'll admit I don't know all of what is available to do here just, or what your type of fey folk might enjoy, so there might be some looking to do. It is a mostly academic conference, so I suppose a lot of people will be discussing ideas, though there are some here who are selling the fruits of their research and mastery, a-as I'm sure you've, erm, been able to see with the rows of vendors. And I do know there is a library.... we may have to ask someone about anything else, which... perhaps we can do at the entrance while making sure you can get home? As I've said, I haven't really been out like this in quite some time, so I'm not very used to it still."
((A small note to Laralute's player, if you could please either put the parts of your post quoted from other players into "reply" type quoting boxes, otherwise more clearly denote that they are not new information, or shift from quoting blocks of the post you're replying to, that would be appreciated. The current structure makes writing up replies for you take much longer than it should due to lack of clarity of what is you and what isn't. '^v^))
"Certainly no gems," the vendor replies, "Their geometry is too rigid! Sure, sure, useful if you want to do what they want to do, but when you don't they're worse than useless. Most of the precious metals are alright, but they're usually soft and deform too easy if you pump a lot of juice through 'em. Wood has thoughts, but is more flexible to about them, and iron's tough enough to hold up but workable enough to do by hand." She holds up one of the pieces to show the intricate carving in it, and points out a small geometric motif in the iron inlay, a heptagonal spiral which converges toward a corner rather than the center. "No gem would fit those nicely, but seven is good number for channeling defensive wards! But if what you're looking for is a unique showpiece....."
She begins rummaging around through a few boxes, and answers the question about her scars in the process. "Some of these beauties help, they help shape the magic with their patterns so they're don't take much thinking or work to cast, but not all of 'em. Some of these are from rites of passage, all the ones on the shoulders, for example, and others, well, it's kinda tricky to tattoo scales, so I found other ways of recording life events and such. I'd always been interested in the traditional markings, so I learned to understand their function and their meaning, and learned how to tell more stories with them.... Ah, here we go."
She pulls out a gorget of sorts, shaped to fit over the front of the base of the neck and top of the chest, with straps to keep it in place. While the material concept is similar to the others, this one has a very glassy or glazed over look to the wood, and the metal is something bright and shiny with unusual blue tones in the light. There are a few pinprick-sized holes patterned through it, though on closer inspection they're actually the result of only a few tiny gaps that line up on all four layers of carving worked through the wood.
"This was very, very tricky to make, but a treat: Petrified living-wood from the Havenweald, inlaid with meteoric cobalt. A bit on the heavy side, but the enchantments keep it very, very strong and hard on top of the same protection and minor healing as the rest," she explains, nearly giddy to get to talk about it, "and then, the actual goal of the patterns, the starfire veil. With the metal being from where it is, as in among the stars, and the wood being the way it is, spells cast through a body part wrap that part in this beautiful radiant fire, too, so it's fantastic for those spells that beef up a punch or a kick, it boosts up anything that lets you jump higher or run faster, and so on. It doesn't work if you just pump energy into the body, though, unless you're like me and put a spell there. Also, fantastic at parties as long as nobody gets too close. It does need to be charged in starlight, but it holds up pretty well after a full night."
"It's actually one of three," she admits, "This one, one I keep for myself, these are my masterworks after all, and one for the person who commissioned them in the first place. He gave me enough material for three in case I 'needed to do some test runs,' as if I wouldn't do it right the first time. If you're just looking for foreign curiosities this might not be for you, but if you want something nice and have some good stories about some of those pretty scars, I didn't have better plans for it than selling it to a stranger with taste. If you aren't interested, I'm sure Emi over there has finished measuring you up already. I'd get myself a magic lens like that, but I've got too much pride."
Laralute:
Doctor Borol scatches the back of his head and says, "well, I suppose we could go to where everyone has been arriving and ask one of the shuttling mages to make sure they take you home when you're ready... and the duke seems occupied enough, and likely enough to have more people to talk to with that big machine of his, that we should be able to excuse ourselves to do that."
He glances over and confirms that, yes, the elderly frog-lizard is in fact entirely oblivious to anything beyond the shiny stone construct at the moment. It's about then that the fairy grows to a more practical size, which startles the black furred professor as much as her initial arrival had. At least he manages to keep standing this time.
"Y-yes," he stammers in reply to the question, "They should be willing and able to bring you back just fine." He distracts himself from his nervousness by pulling out a simple hardwood wand and condensing a bubble of water, close to a liter of it, out of the air around the tip. He tugs the bubble off the wand and offers the liquid to her on his outstretched palm. "Here you are. I'll admit I don't know all of what is available to do here just, or what your type of fey folk might enjoy, so there might be some looking to do. It is a mostly academic conference, so I suppose a lot of people will be discussing ideas, though there are some here who are selling the fruits of their research and mastery, a-as I'm sure you've, erm, been able to see with the rows of vendors. And I do know there is a library.... we may have to ask someone about anything else, which... perhaps we can do at the entrance while making sure you can get home? As I've said, I haven't really been out like this in quite some time, so I'm not very used to it still."
((A small note to Laralute's player, if you could please either put the parts of your post quoted from other players into "reply" type quoting boxes, otherwise more clearly denote that they are not new information, or shift from quoting blocks of the post you're replying to, that would be appreciated. The current structure makes writing up replies for you take much longer than it should due to lack of clarity of what is you and what isn't. '^v^))
The temptation to set something up or do something tricky to check if the dragon had been paying attention was so, so strong, but she resisted. She had a job to do this evening, and there would be plenty of chances to use those tricks later when they would be more likely to work.
She lets him shake her hand after she catches his attention, though the gesture is still a bit strange to her. Logically it made sense, but she still wasn't used to it. After his inquiry, laughter, and confirmation of readiness she teasingly replies, "Well, normally we both know I'd be asking for those forms in triplicate just to make sure I got the point across before I got started, but I'm hoping I've already caused enough trouble to fill my quota today. Would you believe me if I told you I'm not supposed to be the one here right now? Because I'm not."
She gives a very 3-shaped smile before continuing. "Don't worry, nobody got hurt, I'm just quick. Anyway, perfect. In that case...."
She takes a step forward to sweep a tail around one of his legs. With a thought and an act of intent, they're no longer at the ruins.
"There!" Victi exclaims as the scene shifts. They stand at the foot of the short, broad stairs leading up to the massive jutting crystal the conference is being held on, and the scents of food, incense, and numerous different creatures fill the air. The low babble of conversing academics and eager vendors reaches the pair's keen ears, and the colours of garments from countless cultures, as well as the bright canopies of the vendors' stands and the pavilion grace their eyes.
"I'm saving the best stuff for my part of the speech toward at the end of the night," the white-furred vixen begins, taking exaggerated steps to stretch her legs as she circles Cornelius, "or at least the end of the speeches, buuuut I am thinking of grabbing one of those discussion tables and having a semi-open thing on the more technical aspects of modern Nine Paths and other traditions derived from the fancy stuff, and I did promise to share theory notes with last time I was in your area. That said, I'm also thinking of taking a look around to see if there's anything fun to buy at some point. You know how I am about learning new magical traditions and stuff. So pretty much, I'll be around if you feel like talking, but I'll be doin' whatever with or without company. You have a plan at all?"
She lets him shake her hand after she catches his attention, though the gesture is still a bit strange to her. Logically it made sense, but she still wasn't used to it. After his inquiry, laughter, and confirmation of readiness she teasingly replies, "Well, normally we both know I'd be asking for those forms in triplicate just to make sure I got the point across before I got started, but I'm hoping I've already caused enough trouble to fill my quota today. Would you believe me if I told you I'm not supposed to be the one here right now? Because I'm not."
She gives a very 3-shaped smile before continuing. "Don't worry, nobody got hurt, I'm just quick. Anyway, perfect. In that case...."
She takes a step forward to sweep a tail around one of his legs. With a thought and an act of intent, they're no longer at the ruins.
"There!" Victi exclaims as the scene shifts. They stand at the foot of the short, broad stairs leading up to the massive jutting crystal the conference is being held on, and the scents of food, incense, and numerous different creatures fill the air. The low babble of conversing academics and eager vendors reaches the pair's keen ears, and the colours of garments from countless cultures, as well as the bright canopies of the vendors' stands and the pavilion grace their eyes.
"I'm saving the best stuff for my part of the speech toward at the end of the night," the white-furred vixen begins, taking exaggerated steps to stretch her legs as she circles Cornelius, "or at least the end of the speeches, buuuut I am thinking of grabbing one of those discussion tables and having a semi-open thing on the more technical aspects of modern Nine Paths and other traditions derived from the fancy stuff, and I did promise to share theory notes with last time I was in your area. That said, I'm also thinking of taking a look around to see if there's anything fun to buy at some point. You know how I am about learning new magical traditions and stuff. So pretty much, I'll be around if you feel like talking, but I'll be doin' whatever with or without company. You have a plan at all?"
He’d lean in and examine the items on display and those shown to him and nod occasionally. He didn’t really understand much of how these things worked but could follow the conversation.
“So..do these cast spells or enhance what you can already cast?”
Asking as she was rummaging around for something.
As she explained about the assistance to spell casting some of her markings provided he understood much more “Ah! yes, similar to mine. I can cast more but it helps reduce the casting time and the effect if the rooted in their foundational substance…” trying to sound smart then rethinking how to best explain it. “Like drawing earth spells into the soil to make them work, blood magic written into the skin just works better.” he shrugs and leans in to look at the piece they seem so proud of.
The idea of having a body part wrapped in ‘radiant fire’ didn’t sound appealing. From his world radiant magic was the complete opposite to what he worked with and often it clashed with negative results. He kept this hesitation to himself for the time being.
Glancing sideways and down at his own arms then back up to the scaled vendor “Family tradition of practicing life magic” sounded fancier that way and less negative. “Back home it’s considered heretical and yet my family insisted on such an obvious manner of channeling said magic…” shrugging once again. “Each one is for a different spell.”
The mention of the tailor next door he looked over with interest. “I may come back later on if you're still here, always happy to talk about body art.” giving her a respectful nod before shifting over to see what Emi had to offer.
“So..do these cast spells or enhance what you can already cast?”
Asking as she was rummaging around for something.
As she explained about the assistance to spell casting some of her markings provided he understood much more “Ah! yes, similar to mine. I can cast more but it helps reduce the casting time and the effect if the rooted in their foundational substance…” trying to sound smart then rethinking how to best explain it. “Like drawing earth spells into the soil to make them work, blood magic written into the skin just works better.” he shrugs and leans in to look at the piece they seem so proud of.
The idea of having a body part wrapped in ‘radiant fire’ didn’t sound appealing. From his world radiant magic was the complete opposite to what he worked with and often it clashed with negative results. He kept this hesitation to himself for the time being.
Glancing sideways and down at his own arms then back up to the scaled vendor “Family tradition of practicing life magic” sounded fancier that way and less negative. “Back home it’s considered heretical and yet my family insisted on such an obvious manner of channeling said magic…” shrugging once again. “Each one is for a different spell.”
The mention of the tailor next door he looked over with interest. “I may come back later on if you're still here, always happy to talk about body art.” giving her a respectful nod before shifting over to see what Emi had to offer.
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