Tread the Path at Dusk

Riptide · **Posted:** January 8th, 2011, 4:23 pm

Jeez, I really do suck at explaining things. Anyways, I know I can manipulate buildings and such, but I mean metals, the ones used in weapons where two pure minerals have been fused, smelted or whatever to create a whole new metal. (Also, lengthy post ftw

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Znath · **Posted:** January 8th, 2011, 6:41 pm

"Well if that is all ya need it for." Adam said drawing out an iron bar from the bundle he had from Rurm. The bar is a little rusty untempered iron. "This might suit your needs better, actually. Most weapons are hardened metal, but these are just raw iron I found. Iron does have some special traits to it like how it holds a charge well.. It will speak to you and feel a different way than rocks or plants, but the method is the same."

Riptide · **Posted:** January 8th, 2011, 8:08 pm

BIC: Jarrett just about tripped and fell flat on his face when he heard Adam. He took the bar with a, "Thanks." and pondered what he had said. Jarrett was an ameteur green mage still, but the metal speaking to him? That was crazy talk. Communing with mother nature was nothing but a myth. Or is it? he thought. It seems crazy, but it could be possible.

OOC: Are we in Windrow yet?

Landerpurex · **Posted:** January 12th, 2011, 6:53 pm

Caston could only imagine how Paige felt about visiting the Institute. He hadn't any idea as to how she'd be treated, she was in league with Dusk, she could very well be arrested once her story was out. It spoke volumes that she agreed to accompany him.

The Headmaster and other authorities really had no choice but to let her lead the group to Dusk's lair. Caston wasn't even sure if telling anyone her story was a good idea.

He turned to the group one last time upon approaching the south gate.

"I believe it goes without saying that I'm going to the Institute. That is also where I'll be spending the night, most likely. This is our last stop before our confrontation with Dusk, if all goes according to plan. Whatever plan that is..." he paused, and smiled. "Have some drinks, find some women, or men; stay at the inn or in the Institute. I don't mind. Make triple sure you get anything and everything you may need for the battle ahead. If anyone has any innovative ideas, please act on them. We'll plan on meeting in the square near the memorial. I will be leaving the city by noon." He surveyed his travel partners, his friends. "If you do not show up, I could never hold that against you. I will not fail against Dusk, I refuse to. But any, or every; one of us could die within the next few days. That is a very real, very sobering possibility. I feel like facing him is the foolish thing to do, staying behind seems to be the smart thing. But that is not an option for me, and I can only hope with my entire heart that my friends will join me against him so I might stand a slight chance at vengeance, justice, at getting some answers." Caston smiled once again. "See you tomorrow." He said, with a wink.

Caston turned his back on his friends and strode into the city. He turned to Paige.

"Are you nervous about visiting the Institute? Do you want them to know who you are?"

Kikori · **Posted:** January 13th, 2011, 1:47 am

Paige glanced back at him and simply sighed. "I've endured one interrogation, another will be no different. The answers will be the same, after all." Paige shook her head in resolve and stood next to Caston again, merely staring at the Institute. "They can know who I am if it speeds this up... I am tired of this anxiety."

Landerpurex · **Posted:** January 16th, 2011, 1:16 am

Her answer wasn't anything that Caston didn't expect. He doubted that any harm or misfortune would come to Paige. Again, they hardly had any choice in the matter. He walked briskly and wordlessly towards the Institute.

Upon arrival and entry, the two were greeted by Slanor. He smirked, as usual.

"Well then, what are you doing here, my savior? Failed already?"

"Not quite. We need to see the Headmaster."

"Right. He's already been notified of your arrival in the city, and awaits you in his study. Follow me."

The two followed Slanor up the stairs and into the Headmaster's study. He nodded to Slanor, signaling him to leave. He did so with an air of annoyance. The Headmaster then eyed Caston and Paige in turn.

"Well?" Was all he said. Caston gave him a detailed report of everything that had happened to the group up until that point, and he told the Headmaster who Paige was and what she was doing. He was no doubt disturbed by the happenings with Tory. He remained silent for a time.

"This is indeed disturbing news. But the fact that you and your friends were able to subdue this man speaks to your own power, Caston; and the power of your group as a whole. You mustn't get discouraged by this. Believe me, Tory was a much more powerful wizard before he let his madness consume him. Once you lose sight of your humanity as a wizard, you are nothing."

"Headmaster, Thert Bastalor was a manipulator of more than one color...how is one able to do this? It has been suggested that I might have the ability to do so..."

"It goes without saying that such feats are nigh impossible...but it you having Thert's staff is certainly a helping factor. Also, it takes a multi-faceted magical personality. Which is usually very hard to obtain. Again, there have only been a handful of wizards over the years who have such ability. Sadly, there hasn't been anyone with that power in centuries. Which means I cannot help you, but there may be some literature in the library that could be useful if you have the time." He then turned to Paige.

"Have you anything to add? Questions, perhaps? As far as your identity is concerned, I know nothing other than you are a traveler and a member of Caston's party. I trust his judgment in the fullest. But if you betray him, keep in mind that you betray me and everyone here at the Institute. The implications of such an action I go without saying, I believe."

Kikori · **Posted:** January 16th, 2011, 2:33 am

Paige's eyes locked with the headmaster, her tone as cold as ice at the thought of betrayal when the facts stood as they were. "I am a servant of m'lord first and a potential member of this party second. So long as m'lord's mental health remains intact, I live to serve him, and will do so without question. However, through everything, he never has asked me to inflict harm to a being because he knows of my distaste for it; if he commands me to "betray" Caston, it will likely be in that I hinder or isolate." The images of what may happen should her potential hindrance succeed in foiling Caston's party, the image of Dusk's mentality finally slipping to the degree it was meant to be, caused Paige to shudder and look down. A little fear and remorse seeped into her voice. "Were I braver, or he less cowardly..."

Her eyes snapped open, having realized she uttered an insult to her lord (despite it being one he had stated first), and she straightened herself instantly. "I am done here for now." She abruptly turned around, exiting the building with eyes locked dead ahead of her, intending to ignore anything between her and the woods bordering the city. She felt she needed time to assess why she was feeling as much as she was, and even why she was feeling what she was to start with.

--------

Dusk sat cross legged on his bed, gazing at the familiar orb as if in a trance. His energy was almost fully recovered since his outburst in Rurm, a memory that brought a constant smile to flicker across his face before watching back over the party. A small part of Dusk twitched as he saw Tory mutilated within the toxins he created, and a kindle of fury came into his gut upon the needless interrogation, and a soft spot in his heart seemed to grow for the White mage as Paige's emotions finally began to show. It seemed, as Dusk watched, that time away from him seemed to be separating Paige from him as well... Was her steadfast loyalty to him inadvertently due to their time in such close proximity, somehow? Even Dusk knew not, since Magic was not yet fully explored. He could only watch as she called him a coward, feeling both a small pang of pain at her statement and a rush of relief at her remorse. "Paige... I saved you, but am I putting you in a position to need saving?"

Too many feelings. Too many thoughts. And to top it off, Dusk's stomach lurched with an enormous growl. Without Paige to cook for him, after all, he had to suffer the fruits of his poor culinary abilities. He held a hand to his head, eyes finally closing and cut off from the orb as he concentrated on sorting out what was buzzing within him.

Discrimin8 · **Posted:** January 16th, 2011, 2:49 am

"Headmaster," Delon spoke out of the back, "a moment of your time, if I may." Without waiting for acknowledgement from him, he continued speaking. "While I feel no... Connection to any schools of magic, nor am I too interested in learning anything about it, I was wondering if there was some sort of... Self-discipline I could practice to help myself against magicians." Delon smirked. "This would mean exposing a magicians weakness to me, of course. Know that I will plundering and looting and thieving and stealing as soon as this ordeal is over, and I have pilfered Dusk's base of operations. But you don't have much choice in this."

"I'm sure you know the ramifications of this, should our group fail, so I won't pester you with long explanations."

Kikori · **Posted:** January 16th, 2011, 11:46 am

Discrimin8 wrote:

and I have pilfered Dusk's base of operations.

OOC: I hope you realize this is physically impossible to do without either all elemental mages present, or Dusk's permission.

Tahu 1000 · **Posted:** January 16th, 2011, 1:28 pm

OOC: Ok, time to grab some weapons.
BIC: Tahu and Mabel followed Caston to the Institute, but instead of following Slanor to the Headmaster, proceeded directly to the armory. The head of the armory, an old man known only as Smith, greeted them with a curt nod. "So, what you be needin'? I hear you be goin' after that Dusk guy that tried to burn us all down while back."
"We're going to need the works and then some, I figure. Unfortunately, we've got until noon tomorrow. Priority is arblests and armor, and some all-purpose kits," Tahu answered, listing off things as he thought of them.
"Com-crystals, too, and condensed rations, camo-cloaks...oh, also, those neat little keys that work for any lock..." Mabel added more items.
"Ok, I be gettin' the gist of what you need," the armorer answered. "Let me go see what I've got in the back."
OOC: For the final equipment list, I'm probably going to go into my D&D book and start pulling out anything that looks useful. I presume that magic can create a bag that's bigger on the inside than on the outside?

Znath · **Posted:** January 16th, 2011, 2:09 pm

Adam decided against following Caston into the Headmaster's office. He instead opted to roam the facility a bit more. After a while he came to what looked like a museum. Eventually one of the displays was an area dedicated to minerals sorted by area and metal samples. They have some of our stuff too from back home. He picked up some of the bars from surrounding areas and tapped a few feeling for the content.

"Sir? Are you... Um what are you doing?" A professional looking woman approached.

"Checking the steel. I was seeing how other regions compared to our steel back home. This one has even been intentionally had tin added to it to cheapen it."

"How can you even tell and,.. may I see your armor. No it's more than that. This is a functional arm isn't it." She says gradually more excited looking over the arm. "If you could please explain, it would be so helpful for my research." She leads him over to an area in the study to sit and they both can discuss things.

Discrimin8 · **Posted:** January 16th, 2011, 2:33 pm

arsenicCatnip wrote:

Discrimin8 wrote:

and I have pilfered Dusk's base of operations.

OOC: I hope you realize this is physically impossible to do without either all elemental mages present, or Dusk's permission.

OOC: But Delon doesn't know that. l2roleplay

Landerpurex · **Posted:** January 16th, 2011, 11:11 pm

Discrimin8 wrote:

arsenicCatnip wrote:

Discrimin8 wrote:

and I have pilfered Dusk's base of operations.

OOC: I hope you realize this is physically impossible to do without either all elemental mages present, or Dusk's permission.

OOC: But Delon doesn't know that. l2roleplay

Tahu. If you can justify the bag or whatever with the rules and elements in place, then you're fine. There are items that can be enchanted with spells that is so many charges...think Elder Scrolls enchanted items. Other than that, we're talking spells in jars like I said. I can't think of how a bag with more space than it looks would work according to any color, but if you have any ideas, feel free.

BIC: Rather than stay and converse with the Headmaster further, he opted to follow Paige out and make sure she was alright. The Headmaster's comment was cold and inconsiderate, but then again; it was a very real possibility. Of course, without Paige at this point to help the group, the mission would surely fail. He caught up to her.

"Are you alright? That was awfully rude of him. He's usually not like that. He must be incredibly nervous, to say the very least." Caston paused. "I trust you to do the right thing, whatever that is in your mind. You live with your decisions and the consequences of them." Another pause. "I can't assume much about your life or your time with Dusk, but you're a person, not an object and not just a servant."

---

The Headmaster eyed Delon. He was in no real hurry to help the rogue, especially after he tried to steal from the Institute already. Then again, he had proven himself a valuable ally to Caston, and the Headmaster made it his personal mission to make sure that the young man succeeded.

"Magic can be best described as something that's easy to learn, and incredibly hard to master. But it isn't for everyone. Some people don't have the will or the wit to bend the elements. I suspect that is not the case with you. As far as colors that would best serve you, you can use air to speed up your motions...but something tells me black would serve you very well, especially since you are unaffiliated with the Institute. This would enable you to use many spells that are forbidden here for different reasons...at the end of the day, we need to ensure that Caston succeeds. Whatever the cost, whatever rules we have to bend or break. Then again, you have a fiery personality and red would suit you very well. What do you think on the matter? You haven't much time, but a few hours of intensive training could do you some good."

Discrimin8 · **Posted:** January 16th, 2011, 11:48 pm

"As a rogue, I have no desire to leave evidence of my existence, especially not a fiery trail blazing in my wake. And with age, I think air might lose its potency as my body grows frail... The control over other peoples minds and weaknesses, and general corruption of the land definitely seems my speed.." Delon looked down and placed his hands on the handles of his daggers. He looked back up with a frightening grin on his face. "So where do I sign up?"

Kikori · **Posted:** January 17th, 2011, 3:29 am

"Caston?" Surprised that she was followed, Paige turned around and sat at the base of her tree, trying to call a familiar orb of water to meditate with. It wouldn't come. Her mind was too far elsewhere. "I... wasn't offended. He was being honest, and so was I." Paige looked down at her hand, eying the few scars left over from her rare blunders while serving Dusk. "I feel... odd. Any day in the years before, I would be able to seriously disagree with you. M'lor... Dusk... has treated me as a person, but I've continually viewed myself as an object to him. I knew I was an individual, but something in me still felt... like I was his. I still feel it, some. But being away from him, it's almost like it's going away." Having finally spoken what was on her mind, Paige summoned a small orb of water within her hand, rotating it to form a tornado dancing within her palm.

"If you're worried about me, Caston, don't be. I will do what I must, though I know not what that is yet. Just... promise me you'll kill my lord." Her eyes locked with his at the final statement.

Discrimin8 · **Posted:** January 17th, 2011, 3:44 am

OOC: Geeeeeet it Castonnnnn

Riptide · **Posted:** January 18th, 2011, 4:18 pm

BIC: Jarrett followed Caston and the others into the Institute. They have a library here, but if only I can remember... he thought. He asked someone passing by, and as they quietly gave him directions, he dashed down a hall. "Ah hah!" he muttered. "One the world's greatest repositories of knowledge. I wonder if Dusk has something better if he can master all four colors..." He began picking through books, seeing none that interested him so far.

Landerpurex · **Posted:** January 22nd, 2011, 9:47 pm

Kill.

The word struck Caston like a blow. Kill Dusk? He hadn't given much thought to the idea. He had had a hand in killing Tory, but he hadn't done it alone. It was easy to disassociate himself from that because Tory had basically become a creature. A disgusted, twisted being.

He boldly locked eyes with Paige. She must have seen a shadow of a doubt for a moment, but Caston made his decision right there. It wasn't a hard one, he didn't much have a choice. If ever there were a time to believe in fate or destiny, it was now.

"I will kill him." Was all he said. He wondered if his trust in Paige was well-placed. He decided it didn't matter if it was. Whatever was going to happen was inevitable. "So...is there anything you'd like to know or find here? The Institute's facilities and resources are substantial."

---

The Headmaster responded to Delon.

"I'll send you into intensive training with Slanor, our head Black Wizard, as long as you can withstand it." He turned towards the door, assuming the eccentric man would be lurking around nearby. "Slanor, come in here, please." He called. The wizard appeared after a moment or two.

"Yes, Headmaster?" He said, with an air of apathy.

"You are to take this young man and try and teach him about the color Black. He has a sharp mind and a willing spirit, I think he ought to make a fast learner. Teach him as much as you can, and do not hold back on certain...questionable techniques, as Caston needs as much help as he can get."

For the first time in a long while, Slanor's cool, sarcastic demeanor gave way to joy. He grinned openly. Slanor knew the color Black, inside and out. He was not, however, ever allowed to practice any of the things he knew that would rob a man of his senses or twist his mind in any way. He was now given permission to do those things.

"Follow me. We're going to the basement. We haven't any time to waste." Slanor said to Delon, and he was off.

Discrimin8 · **Posted:** January 22nd, 2011, 10:07 pm

"Time is more valuable than gold..." Delon muttered to himself before following Slanor through the halls of the institute, his mind racing, imagining every possible situation that could come of this, though it was likely he had no idea what was to happen. He followed Slanor all the way to the basement, looked at his surroundings, and took a second to prepare himself for the no doubt intense training he was about to receive.

Tahu 1000 · **Posted:** January 23rd, 2011, 11:19 am

OOC: What color(s) would crossbow bolts capable of ripping through spells like paper be? I'm thinking either blue for razor wind, white for countering magic, black for decaying magic, or possibly red or destroying it. Right now, I'm thinking of a bunch of different types (green magic could sprout vines, making a grapnel).

Tread the Path at Dusk

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