Character Mansion

A loud crack like a gunshot ripped through the air and the sandwich was vaporized. Whatever reaction Linza might have expected to elicit from Agustin, his expression remained impassive. Then, slowly, a smile crept its way up one side of his face. It wasn’t long before he started to chuckle. He had taken a calculated risk, and it had paid off. Sighing in satisfaction, he slowly shook his head.

Internally, he was rolling his eyes. Really? She thought that we were going to get along so well? After knowingly deceiving me, and doing so bad a job of it as to also be insulting to my intelligence? It was a bit of a shame. The conversation had been interesting while it lasted. He had even had plans to take it places. It was just unfortunate that Linza had to have come to them with the intentions that she had.

Dryly, Agustin said, “No. Actually, I think he’s the big scary dragon-” He pointed a finger at Xavier. “-and it seems I didn’t need to force you to do anything. Simply tricking you was easy enough. So, you and Friedrich are accomplices after all. Thank you for confirming that, a most opportune piece of information.” His expression had settled back into that look of reserved confidence he wore at most times, and he got up off his knee, pulling Linza’s chair out again so that she could move. He then brushed himself off and returned to his seat on the other side of the table.

“If I may say so,” he spoke as he walked, “that is quite a cavalier attitude coming from you. In your own words, it was only through my continued forbearance that you are even still alive- and against my better judgment I might add.” Agustin slid back into his chair, meeting Linza eye-to-eye once more. “But, now that you’ve told me, I see no need for that. Besides, lying on the ground with your neck slashed open and bleeding profusely over everything is most unladylike.” He returned to nonchalantly sipping his tea.

After setting the cup down with a light clatter, he continued. “I find it a point of honor to not kill those who don’t need to die. Not something I can say of all of my comrades-in-arms I’m sorry to say, but then again, war does tend to do strange things to people… But I digress. You’ve given me everything I wanted and, as you so aptly put it, no need to stain the carpet.” His smug grin returned. “Though, if you’re wondering, I do still fully intend on keeping to that promise I made concerning your partner Friedrich. If he were to cross my path again, I will not hesitate to kill him. It’s a matter of honor- I’m sure you understand.”

edited 7th Feb '13 6:30:28 PM by Gault

[Parlor]

Linza laughs, "Oh you're so cute, thinking you have the little murder mystery figured out. I mean seriously, connect the dots already. Who was just in this room, who would like you dead and who likes making you absolutely irate?"

She snaps her right hand and the purple aura congeals, forming what appears to be a force field around her.

"Friedrich, Linza, same name same game."

She smiles, "Just shave your mustache already, you're ruining my dream here."

In case you need any clarification she's not actually Friedrich

[Entry Hall]

"Ah, I see." Friedrich bites his lip, not sure how to proceed. "I was thinking of going to go check if there was a cellar maybe. Would you mind uh... going with me?" He wrings his hands.

edited 6th Feb '13 8:01:15 PM by Aqueos

[Dining Room]

Linna's head jerked up at the new arrival. "Ah. Well, I wasn't planning on that." She glanced at Mai. "Do his wings actually work for flying?"

Before Mai could answer Linna was out of her chair, in a fluid motion that suggested either practice or a great deal of natural grace. "NR?"

"Gunshot, maybe. Distant and single. No cause to stop eating, probably a TV." Nara waved it off. "Sir. And other sir."

Since nobody caught it yet, she's been staring at Adam.

[Parlor]

A small drone made its way into the room from one of the ceiling hatches, and dropped a pair of notes, one of each in front of Linza and Agustin.

They said, "please refrain from violence outside of the sparring room. Bloodstains and spell residue are very difficult and time-consuming to remove. Feel free to commit violence within the confines of the sparring room, however." Conveniently provided was a simple map of the house, with the sparring room highlighted in red, and arrows leading to it from the parlor.

edited 6th Feb '13 8:07:42 PM by KillerClowns

Parlor

"I...think I'll stick with the old fashioned way. My last experience with magic...wasn't a pleasant one," Anne replied, looking at one of her arms. "I appreciate the thought, though."

She then turned her attention to the other two people at the table, noticing what the woman was currently doing and Agustin's expression. She looked apprehensive for a few seconds, then turned back to Xavier.

"Do I want to know what they're doing?" she asked.

[Dining hall]

"Weeellllll..." Mai paused for a moment, picking her words. "Technically, yes, but only in conjunction with magic. He's got, like, a five-yard wingspan, but the weight-to-lift ratio is still too large or something. Been proved in about fifty different ways that Occidentals need supplemental magic to fly with their wings." She took another sip of water. "Work perfectly fine as a makeshift glider, though, assuming none of the fingers are shattered."

She smirked a little. "I don't need anything like that. Do it completely through magic. It seems like it's a lot easier, let me tell you. Still..." She glanced over her shoulder, straining to get a look at her back. "It's kind of interesting, imagining what it'd be like if I had wings. Gotta feel interesting, if nothing else."

[Parlor]

Xavier blinked and unconsciously scratched below his eyepatch. "Ah," he said. "Um... alright, sorry I bothered you with that. I didn't know, and..." He coughed. "Yeah."

He glanced at Agustin and Linza, then turned back to Anne, flaring his wings briefly. "Hell if I know. Probably not. I'd guess it's something to do with assassins, wars, fights, and all that. I don't know a lot about that kind of thing, although I get involved in it from time to time." He looked at the fire for a moment. "Which is still way too often for me," he said somewhat quietly. "If it was up to me, I'd never experience that."

Xavier blinked and shook his head a little. "Still, you can't always get what you want, so I guess I'll have to live with it. Kind of like... you." Kaln, I probably sound like a huge asshole, phrasing it that way.

edited 6th Feb '13 8:30:44 PM by TeraChimera

Agustin let his head fall into his palm and pinched the bridge of his nose. Looking up, he said, “Oh no. This isn’t a murder mystery. Not yet. Though, if it were to become one, I suppose we picked the right place for it, eh? Will it be Agustin, in the Parlor, with the Officer’s Saber?” A strange smile played across his lips. “Look, in case you haven't noticed, you’re not exactly very good at this.”

The drone, having apparently sensed Linza’s defensive magic, chose that moment to float down and dispensed its message before the two of them. Agustin gave a quick read of the card, then filed that piece of information away in his mind and tossed it aside.

He fixed Linza with an incredulous expression and continued. “I’m not an idiot, you know. You already mentioned you had an interest in keeping Friedrich alive. And before you tell me you referred to yourself in third person to throw me off, if you were trying to trick me into thinking you were someone else then why drop the act now? Nothing’s changed that would make you, that is to say, Friedrich, suddenly want to reveal yourself. The only thing that’s different from then is that I tricked you into revealing your relation to Friedrich.”

Agustin shook his head resolutely. “No. Much more likely, you’re simply trying desperately to protect your friend. Admirable, but misguided. If you want to keep that idiot alive, you’d do much better to simply tell him to stay out of my way. I said I’d kill him, but only if our paths crossed once more. It’s not like I’m going to go out of my way. Not for him, certainly.”

edited 7th Feb '13 6:33:18 PM by Gault

[Dining Hall]

"So, how do you order food here?" Franklin asked.

edited 6th Feb '13 8:50:51 PM by BiggerBen

[outside steps]

Leaning against the shoulder of his younger brother, Ryu still struggled to keep up.

The two Japanese-descended men were technically twins, identical ones at that, but the supposedly minutes-long age difference between them looked to be at least ten years greater than that. Sora, the younger, was spry, athletic, built like a swimmer, the only indication that he was pushing seventy years being the crow's feet near his light-colored, almond eyes and slightly graying, though still predominantly jet-black hair. Ryu was thin and frail, time and stress-beaten, with far more gray hair, exhausted far more quickly even though his meager bag of belongings and cat carrier had long since been passed on to Sora in hopes that his pace might speed up a bit. Alas, it did not by much.

Matthias, hooded and cloaked in charcoal-dyed cashmere, stayed ahead of them by a few meters, casting out his senses for threats after that narrow escape from the last assassination attempt. The young man's white metal staff held ready behind his left arm like a retracted claw, his knife and Porinteine pistol hanging tensely at his side, search after search had thankfully turned up empty. A large structure had caught his interest quite some time ago; it had been a slow, tedious walk guiding Ryu and Sora here for a rest. Setting foot on the stone stairs, he cast out his senses one last time just to make sure nothing was waiting to ambush them.

Just then, Alice.

His net of senses unfurling over his surroundings like how he had been doing thus far, her energy- or seeming lack thereof -burned and snagged and poked all at the same time, like an acidic, acrid needle-stab. He flinched a step backward, unknowingly betraying his presence as the door was still open, allowing he and his charge to be seen.

Alice can tell when someone has tried to magic-sense her, right?

edited 13th Jul '14 3:24:45 PM by CrystalGlacia

[Parlor]

Linza stands up and walks a step back from the table, her protective shield following her and expanding. "I'm the idiot who never lies? Remember?"

She claps and disappears in a flash of light. In her place a perfect copy of Friedrich stands, still surrounded by her field.

"My rate's the same for one night." The illusion sighs. "Killing someone, having sex, shaving terrible mustaches, serving tea it's all the same."

The copy is of Friedrich before the ritual, reasonably powerful magicians will be able to see through this. Also Linza is sitting on the roof again controlling this.

[Parlor]

Xavier flinched a little at the magic. He glared briefly at Linza, who was apparently now Friedrich, and turned back to Anne. Wasn't he/she done showing of-

Wait. That hadn't been transfiguration magic he had felt. On a whim, he extended his arcanoception towards the floor. It had gotten pretty sensitive ever since he had lost his eye, and although it took him a little while, he could eventually sense the slight pressures on the floorboards, if only barely. From the furniture, from the people, and not from "Friedrich".

"You need to hide your sera'en better," Xavier said. "The illusion's pretty good, but the space-warping stood out like a beacon. And..." He briefly flicked his tongue out and drew it back in to his Jacobson for confirmation. "Your smell's gone. So tell me, what's the rate for you to not be here?"

A smile came to Agustin’s lips, clearly amused by what he saw as evidence of Linza’s desperation. “I didn’t say you never lied. I merely strongly implied that you were very bad at it. This changes nothing.” Presently, he looked enormously smug. “And, by the way, I have to say that I’ve seen more impressive magic than that.”

He tisked. “You elves are always so bloody arrogant. No wonder you don’t mix well with Humans. Why your kind always thinks a snap of the fingers and a shower of sparks will be enough to send our race fleeing away in religious terror is beyond me.” Agustin shook his head, apparently at a loss. "Honestly..."

Agustin turned his head to Xavier as he spoke. His grin grew wider. Agustin folded his arms, regarding the illusion of Friedrich with a look of wintry triumph. “Well, I suppose that settles it then. Your move, Elf.”

edited 6th Feb '13 9:25:31 PM by Gault

[Parlor]

The illusion smiles, "The only type of truth and lies I tell are the type mixed in a cauldron. Much was true. Much was lies."

It walks forward through the table to right in front of Agustin. "Leave Friedrich alone or you will pay." The message that dropped in front of Linza floats up in front of Agustin and Friedrich fades.

Linza's voice comes forth. "I'm sure I'm not the only one who would come to his aid. Still though human, what makes you so worthy to kill? What makes you the judge in all matters great and powerful? For interrupting tea in a confused mess you threaten death. What makes you the judge jury and executioner?"

The paper begins to burn slowly. "He's just as guilty as you are, every bit as much. In fact I'm just as guilty. Ambassador? Pah. Surely you figured out my true identity. But I digress. I delayed your attempts and I have discovered you know of magic and that is enough."

The paper burns up completely.

"I am sure others I know of will have received invitation. They are here somewhere. Watching."

A pale green apparition of Linza appears, dressed in a hooded cloak.

"In any case, you might want to know that Friedrich has not spoken to me in years. I am neither ambassador nor of royal blood. I haven't the slightest idea what possessed you to make you think I would poison a plate of random goodies before eating some. Furthermore.... I'll leave you with a little something. Maybe you'll find it interesting."

The apparition explodes in a small puff of green and leaves a stone tablet behind on the tablet, painted to the accuracy of a photograph. On it is the inside of a textile factory, elven and human workers work together in miserable conditions in a cloud of cotton dust. On the now downside of the tablet lies the engraved words, "You know nothing of what you are dealing with."

[[Roof]]

Linza finishes the chalk ritual circle and satisfied returns to her realm for the time being. Returning will be a simple matter until it wears away.

edited 6th Feb '13 11:04:38 PM by Aqueos

[Art Gallery]

"Wetware is technically correct, but it isn't as simple as an AI running in wetware. The mind and wetware, the software and hardware run and blends together."

"I guess it best to just show you."

Oracle turns around and lifts the abdomen to show its underside. A hatch opens with a small grey cat with an remarkable big head curled up on its soft padding.

"This is what makes me, me."

edited 7th Feb '13 1:34:02 AM by m8e

[Entry Hall]

Alice smirked, and turned to face Ryu, Sora, and Matthias. "Sorry 'bout that," she lied, though she made no attempt to hide her amused expression. Then she said, "mages back home have a tendency to try and murderize me and my friends, so I've gotten pretty good at returning the favor. No offense meant, mind, especially since you three don't look to be in a very murderize-y mood."

She leaned against a wall, arms crossed, and said, "name's Alice. Alice Winters. I'm gonna make two guesses right now: you got little to no idea where we are, and you've never heard of Western Amalgamated Agricultural, right?" She pulled out three business cards, and holding them between her middle and index finger, fanned them out for Ryu, Sora, and Matthias to take if they wanted.

[Art Gallery]

Kokabiel blinked, the rare emotion of surprise managing to creep onto her face. "If I am reading you correctly... you're a cat," she said, utterly deadpan. "That is likely a a vast oversimplification, but it's still a rather unexpected method of processing." Then she tilted her head, studying. "Use of a living creature as wetware processor would normally imply a deep lack of scientific ethics or even basic morality, but the padding and lack of restraints implies sincere care." Non-standard ethics still possible, she thought, but as long as there aren't any human test subjects involved, I'll refrain from assuming anything negative. With a thoughtful frown, she added, "this all explains so much."

[Dining Room]

A drone floated over to Franklin, silently awaiting his order.

You don't have to wait on someone else to post a drone's actions, BTW. You can assume they'll do most simple logistical things like this.

edited 7th Feb '13 6:57:34 AM by KillerClowns

[Art Gallery]

"Yes, yes, yes, and we thought it would," Oracle answered and closed the hatch.

"Tora have lifted many restrictions in the software. I can open the hatch and disconnect almost whenever I want to. I hope this has proven that I'm not forced to do this and that we don't want to hide anything from you."

"Now could you tell us more about yourself and this remote manipulation? You said you where known as the Angel of Ambition?"

Parlor

Anne nodded, noting the similarities between Xavier's words and his eye patch. She was tempted to ask how he got it, but didn't. She wasn't willing to tell him (or anyone else thus far, for that matter) why half her flesh had rotted away, so it wasn't really fair to ask other people about similar subjects unless they wanted to bring it up.

She tilted her head to one side in confusion at his latter statement. "Kind of like me? What do you mean by that?"

At that point, the conversation between the woman and Agustin suddenly turned into what appeared to be a display of magic. It all happened so suddenly that Anne couldn't quite piece together what exactly was going on. All that she was able to gather was that illusions were involved, and that was because Xavier mentioned something about it.

She stood there, looking utterly confused for a few moments, before turning back to Xavier. "Stuff like that is why I don't really like it when someone brings it up, if that was indeed what they were talking about. Things get...heated."

[Dining Hall]

"Oh, this robot here must be the waiter. Robot, I would like to place an order, and listen carefully, because my order is very specific:

An entire deep-fried 7.5 kilo chicken dipped in buffalo sauce made partly from real buffalos, also covered with mashed potatoes, gravy, and wolly mammoth blood. Put all that between two 50 centimeter by 50 centimetere deep dish pizzas, one cheeseburger and one meat lover's. Both have their crusts stuffed with cheese, pizza sauce, hot sauce, and more wolly mammoth blood.

For a side dish, I would like 15 hot dogs, arranged in a pyramid shape. each with a spread of ketchup, mustard,and buffalo sauce, with various cups of sauce on the side for dipping. Also, line the plate with salt and vinegar chips and Doritos.

For a drink, I would like a 5 litre jug of lemon lime punch mixed with lemonade and orange soda, with cubes of lime popsicle floating in it and wedges from 7 different citrus fruits."

The robot paused briefly, and went into the kitchen.

"I'll tell you about dessert later!" Frank called to it as it left.

edited 7th Feb '13 2:24:36 PM by BiggerBen

[Parlor]

"Well," said Xavier, waving his hand up and down Anne's body, "you know, you've got problems, and I've got problems, and they're always there or keep coming back, and we have to live with them, and... well..." He swallowed. "Yeah." Seriously. Why do I always trail off like that? "...Maybe it's not as similar as I thought." He ruffled his wings nervously.

"And sorry to leave you hanging like that," he said. "It's... She-" He jerked a thumb over his shoulder, to where Linza had been. "-was really smug. It was annoying, to say the least, so I wanted to get something in, but..." He took in a deep breath through his nostrils. "That was really rude of me."

[Smoking Room]

"How horrifying..." Thomas said, "All of this and no source? That sounds like a living hell, seeing all these zombies and not knowing what caused them."

[Entry Hall]

Mary's eyes shifted back and forth. He just wants to talk. I'll meet up with Thomas later. I shouldn't be gone long.

"Sure." she said.

Smoking Room

Markus looked down, "Well, I know that something caused it. They did mention something about a fog sweeping over the entire island before it started happening. If it wasn't something in the air, the food or the water, then one could speculate that it was magic fog. I don't think it's a good idea to take chances with anything until I find out. In the meantime, I'll just have to do a lot of zombie killing."

He sighed, "It's tiring though. Even the corpses of those that have been dead for years manage to reanimate. The graveyard all around the island are littered with roaming undead, some of them having been around when the settlers first established the towns on the island. It's pretty frightening when you think about it."

[Dining Hall]

"It might cause difficulty in getting clothes on and off." Linna observed. "Or if you've ever slept on your back..." She winced, then looked thoughtful "Also getting any kind of body armor. Wouldn't necessarily keep you from my job, though..."

Linna was glad she was done by the time the newcomer ordered. Nara, on the other hand, looked somewhat peeved at him.

[Dining Hall]

Frank turned to the others and said "so, what should I get for dessert? I was thinking maybe some sort of combination of cake and pie. you know, like, the best parts of both desserts joining forces to create the best of both worlds or something like that.

Anyways, what've you been talking about? From the out-of-context parts I've heard, It seems interesting."

Dinner Party—I-I mean the Dining Hall

Despite not wearing his mask, Andrew turned towards Frank, who was sitting uncomfortably close by, and said, "Good God, how in the name of Jesus fucking Christ are you going eat that all?" Not even mages at that much. Andrew didn't think he ate that much food in the last year, and he technically is a mage!

Now facing the crowd, it was easy to tell Andrew's facial features. His eyes were somewhat bloodshot with red irises, and he was deathly pale, as if he had not gone out into the sun for years, his appearance marred by the signs of intense Corruption. However, he still was quite pretty and somewhat androgynous-looking. His mousy hair was cut in a very poor rendition of a messy pageboy haircut. It looked as if he cut his hair by himself with a dull razor blade and no mirror. He naturally had an intense expression that was utterly devoid of any emotion or empathy.

Second Floor Entry Hall

"I guess you're right, but I'm not sure if I'll have the time to practice more before I'll have to confront Stellark. Uh, Cain Stellark that is. He's basically the world's most powerful mage, which, despite the stupid title, means a lot. Especially since he's a dark sorceror with a penchant for necromancy. He was the one who ruined my legs," said Jonathan.

Library

Gabrielle smiled. She could sense the child's wonder. "We were invited to come here. Hey, why don't you sit down?" Gabrielle gestured to a small but comfortable and cushy chair. "So, where do you come from?"

[Dining Hall]

"I don't really know, but I eat this amount of food all the time so it's cool. You seem like an interesting fellow, what would your name be?

edited 7th Feb '13 7:03:09 PM by BiggerBen