Tesserach

Phi Mu Lambda: Friendly Wizarding Fraternity

Abisu

"Don't worry guys." It is, perhaps to everyone's surprise that Abisu is standing nearby. He's perfectly dry, still fully clothed, and holding his bag of drugs, his bong tucked under his arm as he looks around at the desert landscape standing just as he'd been braced up against the hot-tub. "This will all work itself out. Hold on though, maybe I can... glimpse a way out. One second..."

Lifting the bong to his lips, a long gurgling sound came from the glass tube followed by a trailing wisp of smoke that issued forth from his lips as he closed his eyes during the long exhale that followed. There's the sudden lingering realization as he does that Abisu's wand may - in fact - actually be his bong.

The moment passed, Abisu's eyes suddenly opened all at once as though he'd suddenly come to some alarming realization. "Oh shit!" He declared. "I think I left brownies baking in the oven. We gotta move - like now - otherwise that shit's gonna burn."

He was already starting along the path of the river as Harper suggested. "You guys coming or not?" He called over his shoulder.

Wild Beasts of the Earth (Gothic Horror)

Character Description

Name: Ciprian Rudeanu aka Rudy Rudeanu
Gender: Male
Age: 34
Nationality: Romanian-Hungarian
Appearance:

appearance

Average height, but an athletic, muscular build with dark curly hair and brown eyes - image to follow

Personal Effects: Suitcase and stage-trailer - Rudeanu possesses a number of personal items, including live pistols for acts, along with a number of other pieces of equipment common to a prominent magical stage performers of the era, including things like straight-jackets, restraints, small pyrotechnics, and specialized equipment for the performance of illusions.

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Background:

What is your job Stage Entertainer - escape artist, magician, illusionist, stunt performer
Backstory: Ciprian Rudeanu was born to a Hungarian tenant farmer and a mother of Romanian-Roma descent. The family was not wealthy, but nor were they as poor as some others in the part of the countryside they grew up in. Ciprian managed an education, learning English and German and developing an interest in the natural sciences after reading a book about stage magic.

At a young age he began honing his skills at simple performances, gradually transitioning into a travelling performance against the wishes of his parents before he'd turned 16, joining a road show where he learned from other performers, improving his magic acts and apprenticing with some of the acrobats and other physical performers during his time there. Ciprian proved to have a driving interest in performing his craft, constantly reading, corresponding with other leading magicians and devising some of his own innovative techniques and devices for his acts.

Ciprian and his group were beginning to gain some local acclaim, in large part because of Ciprian's magical performances, he and several other members of the troupe were drafted into the war, effectively ending their collaboration. Even early in the war the poor conditions for common enlisted men was notoriously well known, and Ciprian was fortunate an officer among the Hungarian pioneer units recognized his name, and advocated for Ciprian to be taken in among the pioneer corps. Through the rest of the war Ciprian served in engineering units as as an enlisted man, serving primarily on the eastern front before brief postings in France and Germany.

After the war Ciprian was determined to renew his career where he left off. Having seen more of Europe, he realized the need to relocate and tour larger cities, and generate his own publicity. Seeing more of Europe convinced Ciprian of the need to tour more widely, particularly among the larger cities where venues paid much better. During this time he began gaining some small fame for his grandstanding escapist tricks and stage illusions - drawing large crowds for his grand exhibitions, including being suspended in restraints from the Eifel tower and other prominent landmarks through his growing European and American tours.

During this time he became heavily involved in the magic community, exposing many fraudulent performers claiming actual supernatural powers or scamming unwitting victims out of their hard-earned money.

Recently several newspapers around Germany published high-profile stories made following Rudeanu's debunking of a psychic defrauding grieving parents and spouses of their money in which Rudeanu claimed that organizations like "Nachtewache" were almost certainly defrauding their financiers, and that ever case of 'alleged' monsters or claims of magic he'd investigated had turned out to be cases of rampant quackery, mental illness, or people genuinely confused as to what they truly saw.

Shortly thereafter while preparing to headline a performance at a Munich Caberet, he received a letter inviting him to a private get together after the show.

Wild Beasts of the Earth (Gothic Horror)

I believe I now have focussed in on a stage magician/skeptic who half convinced this whole 'supernatural' thing is just more new age, spiritualist clap-trap.

Wild Beasts of the Earth (Gothic Horror)

I will have to give some character consideration here.

Phi Mu Lambda: Friendly Wizarding Fraternity

Abisu

Abisiu muttered something under his breath that Ava might have overheard which sounded suspiciously like 'Chekov's button'

Pirates of the Calarian Main

Aghilas

"What I think? Huh..." Aghilas contemplated the plan a moment. "I think there'll be a good sized garrison in town. They'll have the sailors and marines from them galleons backing them too. Whoever does the 'distracting' best have their wits about them and a good exit plan. Then there's the galleon itself. We'll need calm seas to board a beast like that, and that'll mean them 32 pound lower gun decks may have something to say about the matter." Aghilas thumbed his beard, looking at the map he seemed to contemplated the situation gravely before nodding to himself. "It might be done though."

He smiled and chuckled then. "Then there's the small matter that the al-Marid is what you might call a 'known quantity'. Even on the Calarian Main, there's bound to be some fellers in that harbour we had run-ins with before. Not a lot of xebecs in the Calarian Main, and not many look like the al-Marid. Doubt there's many like the Vild Ørn neither."

Phi Mu Lambda: Friendly Wizarding Fraternity

Abisu

Abisu paused by the door, looking once again poised between thoughtfulness and being elsewhere. "I think everyone's really, secretly, a hot tub person. Just takes the right frame of mind." Bracing his still fuming bong under his arm, he began rummaging through the hefty brown paper bag he carried, his expression brightening when he found what he was looking for, proffering a hand towards Ava - in which rested two pills. "Red pill or blue pill?"

Phi Mu Lambda: Friendly Wizarding Fraternity

Abisu

Abisu stopped gazing intently into the ping pong ball, his half-lidded eyes looking in Harper and Helmut's direction. "I'll come too, hold on." With a start he headed out of the room, tossing the ping pong over his shoulder as he collected his still fuming bong and bag of other goodies from the coffee table by the couch. He didn't even notice when the ball landed directly in one of the empty cups left lying empty upon the ping pong table. "Last time I did the hot tub with Derek, let me tell you, we got into some crazy-ass shit. Fuck that was a good time."

Pirates of the Calarian Main

"Welcome aboard!" Coralie called to the others who were joining her in what had become a somewhat unplanned meeting. The calling set off her headache and the bright morning light didn't help either, "Would you all care to join me in my cabin?" she suggested, where at least it would be so bright.

The cabin was fairly small, with a cot in the corner and a table covered in charts, though there were enough chairs for everyone. Coralie sank into one gratefully, "Shall I get one of the men to bring some grog?" Momin suggested.

"Yes please, thank you," Coralie gave him a warm smile, before turning her attention to Stefano, "So reading this contract it looks like it's pretty standard. We take a ship. We are supposed to treat the crews like proper prisoners. We sail it back to a Doel Harbour and prove in court it was a legal capture then we get to keep it and the contents? Anything important I'm missing?"

She left time for Stefano to reply before declaring, "Well since there's a few of us. I think, working together, we can take a treasure galleon." It was a big ask. Definitely unrealistic. A Calarian galleon was far too big for a single vessel to contend with, and to make matters worse, they usually moved in convoys, often of upwards of 20 vessels. Coralie, however, looked confident, a little excited perhaps. Like she had a plan she was eager to share.

@Dyelli Beybi

Aghilas gave Cricket some distance, ignoring the girl as seemed her preference focusing on the conversation at hand.

"Pirate-lawyers and treasure galleons eh? Now I've seen it all." The large man laughed, contemplating perhaps that Calarian galleon hulls were nearly twice as thick as basically anything else afloat, to better withstand the 32 pound guns big warships carried; guns that could shred any of their little flotilla vessels like they were made of paper with a single broadside. He laughed again, louder this time. "Sure! Why not? We got the Vengeance, the al-Marid, an entire boatload of shield-maidens. Count me the hell in on whatever this plan involves."

It may occur to some present that Aghilas may, in fact, still be drunk.

Pirates of the Calarian Main

Aghilas

Momin gave a chuckle, patting Aghilas on the shoulder. He was... an impressive specimen of a man, "The Hamsat is a fine looking ship.
More guns than the Vengeance from what I can see," he grinned, motioning at the long barrelled chase gun in the Vengeange's bow, "If you had one of those, she might be a perfect ship!"

@Dyelli Beybi

From where Momin's arm rested on his shoulder, Aghilas' eyes followed Momin's gesture towards the long chase gun which he looked upon with longing. "Oh-ho! We've just got the little guys." He cast a glance back to the party of salty looking seamen accompanying him. "You see that lads? That there's a swivel gun!"

Coralie meanwhile laughed at the idea of putting hairs on her chest, "I certainly hope not!" she declared in mock horror, "My charm and sophistication are a weapon as sharp as any rapier! Hairs on my chest really wouldn't do at all!"

@Dyelli Beybi

Aghilas attention was back on Coralie. "Chest hair's plenty charming Captain D'Ambois." He grinned and oftered a wink. "You just gotta wear 'em right!" He laughed.

She paused before asking, "So, Captain, have you been privateering before? The legality of a captured prize does mean you tend to get a bit more money but contesting the prize in a court of law can be annoying. Thankfully I believe that someone hired a lawyer for our little flotilla. He isn't with you is he, by any chance?"

@Dyelli Beybi

Aghilas's laughter continued. "A lawyer? Ha! No. I hardly done a legal thing in my life. Certainly never legally pirated before!"