Estylwen

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

Quick adjustment heads up: the scene at the Grandbank involving 'Asteria', Mene, and Duchess Agustria will sbe taking place a few days before the scene at Athius. :>

Recollections: Primal Sinister

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Quill St. Sebastien's Office
_{Mentions: Varnan (@Blizz) Interactions: Quill (@PatientBean)}

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"So Ms. Adel, you say you have a problem and it involves this Varnan Ingram? Why don't you tell me what's going on and what you need from me."

Quill

Lorenza graciously took a seat, ensuring the door was closed behind her. Her parasol remained firmly low over her, hiding her face from Quill. From the sound of her voice, though, she gave the picture of ease.

“I realize you're busy, Miss Sebastien, so I won't take up too much of your time.”

One knee crossed over the other as she settled in her seat. In the briefest of moments, wisps of Blue Lux wafted over Quill, hitting an invisible barrier before disappearing entirely. Lorenza appeared to nod to herself.

“Ah, good. So I can be frank with you, after all.”

She was, of course, referring to the Emotional-Field Quill possessed, indicating what Lorenza suspected - the Fixer indeed was an Adept.

A soft sigh.“I'll start from the beginning. I… own certain areas in town. Recently, some savages, monsters, if you will, have begun disrupting my work. I need to know exactly who, where they came from, and why they're in the city now, competing with me. And, I would need you to fix my problem… As in, getting them out of the city, one way or another.”

There was a slight twist in Lorenza's grip as she softly spun the parasol, glass beads swishing gently.

“I know of a man who… well, as far as my sources are aware, prides himself on being aware of threats in the city. That's Mr. Ingram. I believe he would be the best lead for you to get a start on fixing my problem.”

A pause, before Lorenza leaned forward ever so slightly. “I would request… after you've spoken with him, of course - that you would allow me to accompany you in your investigation. I have a strong desire to… well, understand why they're coming into the city. I would be lying if I said I didn't want to, perhaps… talk with them.”

A hand shuffled around in a purse, before she procured an envelope, offering it to Quill. If Quill were to look inside, she would find $10,000 in crisp bills. The sound of a smile was once again colouring Lorenza's voice.

“A small deposit, so you are aware of my earnestness. We can discuss the remainder of your service fee, as well as any questions you may have for me. As long as you can go along with my stipulation - accompanying you later in the investigation - then I would be very much pleased.

“Of course, I would humbly request that you consider taking on my case, Miss Sebastien. It would mean the world to me, you see…”

Recollections: Primal Sinister

@PatientBean Ahhh yes, it's true. Can always DM me here though. :)

Recollections: Primal Sinister

@PatientBean Hehehe, sorry Bean. You're welcome to chime in at any point, just passing ideas out. ;> I'm very excited to play out this scene with you; you're welcome to try reading her mind, if you wanna go that route.

Should have a post up tonight!

Recollections: Primal Sinister

@Blizz Eeexellent.

Recollections: Primal Sinister

@Blizz I see. As a guard though, it may be fair to have a word with him to get a lay of what threats are in the city? Just a word.

Recollections: Primal Sinister

@Blizz Okay boss, I was thinking, since Varnan tracks monsters, it's possible Lorenza is somewhat aware of this. Self-preservation and all. With the influx of vampires in the city, however, she is in need of answers. She is shy to approach Varnan directly, given her nature, and will use a third-party, Quill, to see what is causing the influx of vampires and if it's possible to get them to return to the mountains. It's competition for her, after all.

Recollections: Primal Sinister

@Blizz Heehee, it's nothing crazy. Would you like me to tell you or surprise you with the next post?

Magic in the Park

Experimenting with the magic system a bit, let me know how it looks!

Magic in the Park

Outside Yusei's Domain, The Labyrinth

_@Asuras

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It was almost poetic.

A globious orb passed by them. Or perhaps they passed by it. But in a fraction of a second, she saw her own reflection beside Cygni and Erina. While one dressed in regal blacks and reds, and while the other dressed in white with faded black, Reina's own ensemble struck the middle ground. Not entirely white, not entirely black. An outfit with a ruffled blouse and slacks with embroidered gold accents, and a cape trailing behind. And her classic fur shawl draped overtop.

One had to present themselves well in a space such as this. And she always dressed well.

The pronounced anxiety tore Reina's eyes away from the orb, and she observed the labyrinth in more detail. Something was surely and truly off. It caused the anxiety to churn into phantom urges to vomit. The winds tore at her cape, drawing her eyes to the shadows lurking across their path.

More than usual. Much more than usual. It either meant the labyrinth was truly disturbed today, or someone or something had brought all these monsters to their location the moment they entered, and let their heat and essence mix with that of the labyrinth.

Regardless, it meant the path forward to Lord Yusei was likely to be fraught with obstacles and all manner of entities.

Reina only allowed a moment's hesitation to appear in her step, a moment's deliberation, before she continued down the street towards the half-collapsed skyscrapers. A plan formed in her mind, and her vibrant eyes once again wandered over the forms of the shadows. One was singled out.

“Traho ad chordas animae;
Amicum ab hoste removere facultatem;
Et pone eam vociferantem, ut succidat umbram;
Cum agit, scit.

(I pull at the string of the soul,
Remove its ability to see friend from foe,
And set it screaming to cut shadow down,
Whilst its action, it doesn't know.)”

Reina traced black sigils in the air, her aura condensing with shimmering black, like the void of a black hole. Likewise, an aura appeared around the shadow she had singled out. If her spell was successful, and she had put enough energy into overwhelming its thought and logic processes, the shadow would begin attacking the other shadows. It would cause a large enough distraction that, hopefully, Reina, Cygni and Erina would be able to slip past unharmed and without breaking a sweat.

In her next step, Reina raised her hand, and a black bolt of light shot from her fingertips, arcing high into the air before it shattered like a firework.

Yes, a double-edged sword. This sign would alert any other entities to their location. However, it would also alert the entities under Yusei's command, and would hopefully cause them to come escort their group to the safety of the Spider Lily Halls, and to the safety of being under Lord Yusei's watchful eye.

Reina glanced to Cygni and Erina. ”Stay close to me. You can feel it too, yes? There's something… off. However, as long as we stay the course, we should reach our destination in about twenty minutes. If you have any craft to mask our presence, I would recommend using them now.”

If they had a masked presence, both new entities and Yusei's underlings would have trouble locating them as they moved on from the black bolt. However, it would only be a matter of revealing themselves to those they wished to.

Of course, as she spoke, and as they walked, she kept a weight in her aura around her, manifesting as black steam. Not enough to push down the doors that locked up Cygni and Erina's minds, but enough to feel the mountains and valleys of thought. Mountains being high-peak desires of bloodlust, of wanting to kill her. And valleys being the converse, of having suicidal thoughts, of wanting to kill themselves. It took some concentration and energy, but in her books, a wise move. She could at least keep this up until they reached the safe shores of Yusei's domain.

Smote infinity knew she couldn't trust Cygni. And she would at least get a heads up if Erina was in over her head.