A Lowly Wretch

The Pale Hand

When the light pierced the sky Rick watched, his mind stirring with possible explanations.

"I think it's time we get this show on the road, don't you?"

Rick silently nodded and they went. They traveled roughly a couple days, setting camp during the sunset. The ravine before them clearly was not present on any maps they held. As Edmondo remarked this dip into the land was manufactured. The questions remained: Why and how?

"So, tell me about yourself, Rick. How'd you end up getting sent all the way out here?" As he asked he produced a ration pack and tossed it over to him. Rick opened the pack, producing the entree and accompanying accoutrements.

"I was assigned this as my first independent mission. This is a test from higher up to see how I manage on my own." He answered, his tone as neutral as his stony expression. He never excelled in small talk, it was always something of a weak point of his. For the most part he always kept to himself, speaking strictly to the point whenever needed.

He took a calm bite from his entree. It was as expected for a meal designed to keep for long periods. His eyes were largely focused on the smoke rising from their little encampment. While he trusted in Edmondo's competence he found himself questioning the risk of detection should something from within the forest notice the smoke.

L'Mordryn Academy

Nettle

"That hwould place you at Virtuoso two then." She muttered, not reacting in the slightest to both her smile nor the mechanical bits behind her. In truth she didn't really pick up that the girl's summoning was an attempt at intimidation. Social cues were not her specialty. Summoning however was.

"Hhh... H-wouldn't you need to understand such method before hmoving up to mastery? Hhh... I hwould look into what makes one hh... Qualified for mastery again but it's of hlittle consequence." For someone claiming to be looking into moving up into the masters rank the woman before her certainly was fairly lacking in general knowledge. Perhaps she was highly specialized in her field. Nettle could only wonder.

"Hhh-anyhow the hcrypt keeper said I could borrow the body hso long as I return it intact before the evening hhours. Hh-It's not an hhh... Huncommon practice." She had to wonder if others in Machina were quite as secluded or if she really was just that much of a shut-in to never run afoul of their more necromantically inclined members.

All the while the head on The Green Knight's axe was subtly growing larger. Nettle might not of saw much threat in someone bringing out their summons in such a manner but the knight was more perceptive to such cues. It's stance was at attention but not hostile as of yet, simply standing tall with base of the handle to it's axe stood upon the floor like one might do with a halberd. The weapon was easily as tall as itself and might of looked unwieldy for the average person to wield.

The Green Knight was no average person. Or even a person.

L'Mordryn Academy

Nettle

This woman certainly seemed to mind Nettle's work. Towards the end of her questioning one particular question did draw Nettle's attention back over to her. She raised a single quizzical eyebrow upon her mention of mass production.

"Mass production?..." She looked back at the stern woman as though she were greatly confused, hanging on the end of her last word as she slowly canted her head just a bit to the right.

"Hhh-are you not familiar hwith the dream born?" She ponderously stroked her chin. Looking right at her she tried to puzzle out the specifics as to who was talking to her. The previous questions probed by her fell by the wayside, well out of mind as she judged her.

"Hhh... I'm hnot very good with h-explanations." Well now this was just awkward. Nettle was never very wise to the social dance humanity practiced but this predicament had put her a bit on the spot, a rarity for her. She was unsure of just how little this woman understood summoning which meant she'd want to be careful not to dumb her explanation down too far lest she accidentally insult her. It wouldn't be her intention to but she knew people were quite touchy about being talked down to.

"D... Do hyou mind if I ask how long you've studied?... Hhhere, h-at the academy I mean."

For a tall person she sure seemed inexperienced.

L'Mordryn Academy

Nettle

"Hhh... From the graveyard h-of course." She answered back plainly, her distant analytical gaze unfazed by the woman's disdain.

"Hthough the rate of hh... Hattrition for this hschool is quite low... Thus the hbodies are far hfrom fresh." Looking down at the flower her eyes peered not to the petals but the flesh directly beneath it. For a moment reality around the flower seemed to stretch, warping as though the onlookers were looking at it's reflection in a doorknob. Like rubber reality snapped back into place faster than the eye could perceive and in that instant the flower vanished. All that remained was the tiny hole left by it's roots. The puncture looked no larger than the wound left by a needle. A somewhat large needle mind you but still small given that a flower was growing from it just a moment ago.

From her pack Nettle produced a long sharp dagger. It looked fairly sturdy yet keenly sharp, clearly selected for it's function over it's form as it was quite plain with little more than a leather wrap fastened to it's handle for ease of grip. With measured and steady form she pierced the flesh of the back, cutting down along the spine. It was a shallow cut, just deep enough to open the flesh. She did not want to damage the results more than decomposition already had after all.

_
Not at all phased by the grizzly nature of the work she had brought with her to the herbology club she peeled open the wound with her bare hands, looking intently inside with her head slightly askew so the light could illuminate what laid within. All the while the knight had procured a bowl from her pack and set it by the body before filling it with water from a flask.

The disturbances of the flesh were minimal. This was good but it also meant very little since what symptoms could of arisen from such an intrusion were hidden by the natural decay of the body. The real results were shown in the state of the spinal column. It was barely disturbed at all, no broken discs or snapped spinal cords. The only thing that could be noted as different was that there were very subtle grooves along the bone where the finer roots wormed their way in. So far the most prominent symptom she could deduce was that one might find some slight stiffness in bending their back due to the plant's roots holding onto them. The whole time she paid little mind to those around her, her focus largely set on her calculations.

Taking in the results of her work she leaned back from the body, leaving it as it was. She pulled the cover back over the corpse and rinsed her hands in the bowl the knight had set for her. She cleaned off the blade of her dagger as well and dried both it and her hands with a bundle of a dry grass from her pack. She preferred this type of grass over a conventional cloth like most would use since on top of performed just as well for this purpose they could be easily disposed of. All she'd need to do is let them decompose into compost and grow some more. Far more sanitary than those things they called handkerchiefs.

L'Mordryn Academy

Nettle

She turned her deep nephrite green eyes to the woman asking after the gurney she had brought in. It was no surprise that someone asked, it was common whenever she brought about her more odoriferous works.

"Hhh... H-it's one of my hmore experimental hh... Projects." Looking directly at the lady she calmly peeled away the cover. She did not bother to look down as she unveiled the subject. Laying face down on the gurney was the dead body of an older man. He appeared to have been dead for some time given the decay. Sprouted from the spine right at the base of the next was a flower. This flower had deep crimson petals with light red spots scattered across it in a freckled pattern, the little specks most densely packed near the base of the petals. The flower did not have a stem but rather appeared to be rooted to the spine directly.

"Hhit's a part of my hh... Practice. H-I've conjured it hhfrom the dreaming." Finally turning her gaze from the fellow student she looked down to the flower. She gently brushed her thin pale fingertip along the length of a petal, stopping right at the tip of the petal.

"Hhh... Hh-it grows in the soil hh-of the flesh. Hthere is a lacking of hfresh bodies so I've hhh... Hmade do."

Her voice though lacking in distinct emotion did ring with an inkling of dissatisfaction. Working with sub-par flesh made it harder to get clear results. It didn't provide satisfactory answers to the questions she'd hoped it would solve.

Nonetheless she figured she'd bring it in to the Herbology club meet nonetheless. Kill two birds with one stone.

L'Mordryn Academy

Nettle

Down in the herbology club the door swung open as Nettle entered. She was wheeling a gurney covered in a white sheet obscuring a humanoid form in. Along with her strode her summon, The Green Knight. With one hand it rested it's axe upon it's shoulder and in the other it carried a small pot. Within the pot grew what appeared to be something that resembled a pale glass rose. It was only the slightest bit translucent and caught the light at the tips of it's petals with a radiant sparkle.

"Greetings." She announced her arrival, drawing the eyes of a fair few who were present. Accompanying her presence was the soft waft of sickly sweet death in the air. Whatever lied beneath the sheet on her gurney was evidently deceased. She spared little time, leaving the gurney in the middle of the club room and moving to retrieve her rose from her knight. Taking the delicate flora she sat it on the center table for others to observe. She already knew a fair bit about it despite having only discovered it recently.

While she attended the rose the knight stood by, standing at attention but in a fairly idle manner so that it did not come across as threatening. The gurney simply remained where it was, the body upon it still unmoving as it's decay continued to filter out from beneath the cover.

Mahou Shoujo no Hex Night: A Magical Girl Battle RP

Sophia will remain distant until events transpire worthy of spectating.

The Pale Hand

As soon as the light of the torch entered view Rick slumped flat under a bush, only a muffled rattle of his saber and the slight rustle of leaves produced from his motion. At this distance both would be impossible to hear without supernatural aid. In slow, deliberate motion he crawled up to the nearest tree and sat his back against it. Letting Edmondo take point in observing the men he listened as he translated the guard's dialogue for him. It was useful news regarding the captives they're here to extract.

"Do not alert them. We continue when we are out of sight."

He whispered back over the ear piece. He kept what needed to be said to a minimum. Explanations were something to be held once they were no longer at risk of compromising their position. Despite his curiosity as to what was happening behind the tree he was concealed behind Rick remained still, letting Edmondo survey the situation.

"Let me know when it's clear to move."

This might of been a test of how Rick was supposed to handle this situation himself but getting the captives out alive outweighed any desire to demonstrate his own capability. He'd use whatever skills his supervisor had at hand while he was here.

L'Mordryn Academy

Nettle

When at last they arrived at the library Nettle looked up at the massive collection of books. Her expression was one of a calm but relaxed neutral state. To her the sight of this place was one she was very, very familiar with. If she could have a choice in the matter she'd spend every session here. She'd just search through each and every publication, taking in the combined knowledge stored here to help her hammer down the steps leading up to her ultimate destination: The home of The Caregiver.

"If anyone has anything they need found, do tell Sio. She'll be more than happy to find you anything you need."

Nettle slowly turned her head to look back at Livia. It was less like she was looking at her and almost like she was looking through her.

"Hhh... I remember... Hhlast where I left the books hI was hh researching."

Turning back she continued on until she was approximately in the middle of the room. Standing there she focused her mind, her eyes closed as she channeled the magic through her to open the way. To the observer it would appear as though she were just standing there. To those with sight beyond the human ken three strange nature sprites manifested. Those familiar in such a field would recognize them as Thistle Sprites, mischievous little fae who can bring a fair amount of pain to the unwary. In legends they are known to creep into unwary adventurer's tents where they would gently and subtly devour their toes before scattering back into the wild leaving their victim to awake the next morning with this unpleasant surprise of theirs. There are rumors that this story was spread by someone who didn't know they had dragged their feet through poisonous brush resulting in their toes needing amputation but those who know Thistle Sprites know better.

_
<Hello again.> She greeted the three wild sprites who were already roaming about, tussling through books left about and firing off thin bolts of purple energy tinged with mottled green hues. Little thistle flowers were already growing out of some of the shelves, off the spines of books and other miscellaneous surfaces.

<Could you three find me these books?> She rattled off the titles of the books she was studying yesterday evening, the hyper little sprites staying still only long enough to hear her instructions out. They flitted away, moving about the library like silent invisible little bumble bees. While the sprites worked at the task she set them she found herself an open table to set herself up at. Sitting down she brought forth her bag and produced from it a series of vials as well as her mortar and pestle.

setting out before her a small stone bowl she produced a vial with a fine white powder contained within. She gently tipped the vial, tapping the bottom so that only small smatterings of the substance sprinkled into the bowl. Capping off the vial she reached in the bowl and took a thin pinch of the powder that laid within. She held it a small distance away from her nose initially, taking in it's scent by cautiously fanning the air over it to her. A standard precaution for one who has regular business working with lethal formulas.

The scent of the powder smelled proper. It had a fairly strong scent that while bland would catch in one's chest causing the one breathing it to inhale deeper than usual. To the untrained nose one might mistake it for powdery smelling salts. It was of course much more than that. She could already feel the tingling effects of the substance from this whiff alone already acting on her brain like a small parade of electric spiders crawling all across it.

Having confirmed it to smell as the substance she believes it to be she gently touches a small few granules against her tongue. It had that lovely taste akin to licking formaldehyde but with an added prickly sensation that rolled up to the base of the tongue. While this was not a taste to savor it did confirm that there was no cross-contamination with any other substances in the mix. This was important since the psychoactive properties of this compound she was brewing were very potent. A faulty reaction could have nasty consequences, even on the likes of her.

_
Taking out a couple more vials she repeated the process, adding a couple particular leaf oils into the mixture. Finally she took out something that looked like finely ground cinnamon. It was, of course, not that at all but something much more mystical. Rather than produce a pinch by hand she instead ran her index finger along the length of the clear glass. The portion of this strange dark brown powder closest to the side her finger was at seemed to slide up the side of the glass, following her finger as she traced it along the outside. Soon the powder escaped it's glass prison and hovered right before her finger tip, no closer. Taking her thumb she pinched the floating ingredient against her index finger. Upon her exerting pressure upon the floating substance the edges of her finger and thumb right around where the substance was held caught alight with a magical purple flame. Like holding the flame of a candle it was fairly hot so she spared little time.

She snapped her fingers, the force applied by her finger and thumb causing the substance to elicit a bright flash of this purple flame erupted. Just as quickly as it appeared the purple flame broke apart into gentle drifting motes of dissipating motes of such fire. As these motes dissipated the traces of the powder they carried aloft drifted into the bowl like tiny spores from a freshly bloomed flower. The powder still seemed to glower with residual magic as they landed upon the mixture she had created.

White smoke rose from the bowl. Initially she fanned a small sample of the smoke into her nose to make sure it wasn't faulty before she took a full dose of the stuff. The effect of this smoke, even in as small a sample as she had just tried, did far more than just tingle her brain and rush her lungs. She could feel all her senses and awareness widen as her mental processes unfolded and expanded all at once. Memories once distant and foggy were now clear and instant. Her thoughts ran as though time were slowed around her. She was aware of so much more around her, able to process and comprehend it all in ways uncanny to the normal mind.

As everything seemed to check out she leaned over the bowl, burying her face a slight bit into the white smoke and breathing in her wondrous mind enhancement formula. Her eyes were wide, pupils dilated and breathing deep. A smile tugged at the side of her lips as she began to internally brainstorm for her more esoteric speculations.

The sprites were fairly prompt in hauling in the books she desired despite the fact that they were almost as big as they were and easily a half times heavier too but to Nettle's expanded mind it seemed to draw out for an astonishingly long time as each second felt as though it contained an hour.

"So what are all of you here studying, anyways? I'm looking into some...legends around an old eastern empire."

"Hhh... I am currently hhstudying Yggdrasil. I also am hhhstudying the dreaming... Amongst other hhhthings." Even as Nettle spoke she wasted no time. She took the first book that was brought to her, opening it immediately to the page she left off at. As another book arrived she opened that one as well. She held both of the books simultaneously, rapidly reading through one and quickly glancing over to the other one, flipping through pages and reading through select passages before returning to her primary text. It seemed she was studying this tree of many realms and switching to a separate text to cross-reference certain details.

To what ends only she knew.

Mahou Shoujo no Hex Night: A Magical Girl Battle RP

Who watches the watcher indeed.

_
The next morning Sophia awoke in her own bed, having returned to her room for the night. When it came morning she was back at her task, busily searching the web on her phone for a new site of some promise for her to visit. She held no interest for the landmarks, the tourist traps and what-not. Her sights were set on finding a new place where she could surveil the city in relative peace.

A good few hours of searching passed but soon she had found it. A place that was relatively secure. There was an abandoned warehouse some distance away. Using the street-view function she ascertained that from most appearances the building was unoccupied. It was remote, dark inside and from all appearances empty. An ideal location to hide.

Slowly rolling out she bid her mother good day, her father currently out at another meeting for the time. After that she took the elevator down to the ground floor and rolled out the lobby into the city itself.

_
There she was. After several hours of travel she finally arrived at the old warehouse. It was even more dilapidated than it appeared in pictures. The travel was long by wheelchair but the buses there had no space nor means of access for handicapped folks like herself. That wasn't to say she couldn't stand but leaving her wheelchair behind was a big no.

After making her way past the old fence gate she found the path to the front door was uneven with debris and litter. Old stones, unkempt ground and lost pieces of miscellanea scattered about from the days of old all stood in her path, little obstacles to be overcome. Her path was unsteady and fraught with uncertainty but she pressed forth, determined to see her way through into the dark which laid ahead.

It was a little difficult navigating her wheelchair up the step that lead into the door. Giving the old rusty knob a twist she had to exert a firm effort in order to pry loose a door which had not seen use in quite some time. Inside the doorway the sunlight which backed her peaked a bit inside, illuminating the decayed interior which gave way to long deep shadows at the sides and corners away from where old broken windows stood. Through the narrow passage she negotiated her chair inside. Over old wood, loose stone and stray metal she went along until eventually she found the spot she sought. It was not in plain view of any of the windows or entrances, it was not a spot that one would come upon if they were simply traversing through room to room and best of all it was positively bathed in darkness.

Descending into the darkness she rolled her way into it. In inky black obscurity she shifted into her magical girl form. With her powers now active she merged her visage with the shadow, becoming unseen as light under this dismal relic of a structure was positively sparse. The ravens formed out from the darkness, the many manifestations fluttering out through all the various holes out into the world at large.

So began another day of surveillance for her.