Wild West Science versus Magic RP Main Thread

Castle Raleena, Courtyard

"No, countess; there will not be a problem." Ahreia said.

Everyone seemed to be going their separate ways. An alchemist, a sage, and a spellblade, huh? She thought about it for a few moments. It could very well be a formidable composition. But all novices. Ahreia grimaced. She hoped that they would be of more use than they seemed to be. I guess I'll just have to watch them later and see what they're really capable of.

edited 29th Jun '15 7:32:03 PM by DemKimochis

"For the most part you will be securing locations, not capturing people. Though that does remind me; it would be best if you all avoided killing any opposition, within reason of course. The last thing we need is a massacre for Countess Raleena to turn into a martyr event" Count Escom said to Dart, then looked to Mart and raised an eyebrow. "... Pardon?" the Count muttered, apparently confused.

"I believe he is speaking metaphorically sir. Referring that his actions not be traced back to us" Roger said in that ever cold tone.

"Ah, of course. That was just another reason for me to call upon Exlan aid rather than use my own forces, though I do not think it will be strictly necessary. As long as you can assist these gentlemen in securing the assets I direct you to, it does not particularly matter how you do it" Count Escom told Mart, referring to the other Exlans as 'these gentlemen'.

"Aside from the aforementioned aversion to killing" Roger reminded the Count.

"Yes, yes. Now, for the rest of today I invite you all to relax here and spend the night; we have a combat range out back where you should all be able to demonstrate your abilities if you feel so inclined. Tomorrow, we shall begin our campaign" Count Escom announced, picking up his wineglass. "The doctor recommended a toast, yes? A toast then, to science and industry" the Count suggested, pausing to let everyone else join if they wanted, then took a drink from his glass.

"You flatter me, but alas, this castle is still far from the wonders of the Dorothan University" Countess Raleena replied to both Anabella and Nathan, before elaborating individually, "I do not have any sage under my employ, trained or otherwise, or any certified alchemists. However, I do have a trained wizard on staff, graduated from the Dorothan University, and an amateur alchemist."

"Our chef, as a matter of fact" Orson added in. "Has it in his head that he could somehow combine his culinary arts with his dabbling in alchemy to create delicious foods that have the effects of common potions" he continued, then leaned towards Anabella to add a bit more quietly, "personally speaking, I think he does not do a very good job at it. His latest 'healing bread' worked fine for healing, but had the taste of an orc's armpit hair."

"Orson" Countess Raleena quipped, a bit scolding.

"I'm just being honest, Cindy dear" Orson said, standing back up straight and shrugging his shoulders. The Countess sighed and placed her right hand over her face for a moment, frowning. After lowering her hand, she turned back to the Dorothans, her expression relaxing somewhat.

"Well, you are all free to enjoy the hospitality of this castle as my guests; the servants will accommodate your needs within their ability. Tomorrow we will start towards our goal, so today I suggest you all prepare as necessary" Countess Raleena told them, then looked towards Nathan specifically. "You can find our wizard, Cahnson, in the tallest spire of the castle; any of the servants can point you the way if you can't find it from inside" she instructed him, then looked to Orson, "Orson, would you show our alchemist guest the way to the kitchens to meet the chef?"

"Of course dear" Orson replied, giving a short bow, then turning to face Anabella. "It would be right this way" he told the young witch, motioning his arms towards one of the side doors of the courtyard.

"A-Ah, no, I'm not that great, es." Refran shyly rubs the back of his head when Nathan commented on the warf outclassing the trainee sage, which probably wasn't true. He still accepted the handshake, though. "My name's Refran, es. I don't really have a last name, es."

After that little exchange, countess Raleena took the word again and informed the witch and Nathan of where they could find their respective 'Trainers', as it were. Speaking of training, Ref should probably do some exercise later in the day... But for now, a more important matter was at hand; Getting ready for tommorow. No doubt Ref's going to have to fight a few times, but it seems this'll get down to more or less which side is able to win over a crowd... A few ideas already popped up in his head, but nothing Refran could act on immediately.

Ref turned his head towards the Elf of the four. She hasn't said much of anything really, and the warf couldn't quite tell what she's supposed to be. Well, oviously one of his future companions, but nothing in terms of profession... Maybe he ought to talk to her. Yeah, seems like the best course of action. Refran put on a smile and walked over to Ahrea, opening his mouth with a small wave of his left hand. "Heeeey! Isn't it boring being separated from the rest of us, es? We're all friends here from now on, es. What's your name actually, es?"

Escom Manor, parlor

"The dead have no use after all." Mart sits down and begins to think. "Except as fertilizer. Bt alive they can be of more use. Do you have a map of the place, preferably with marked battles, hiding spots, ambushing spots, which places should not be visited, which places could be safe etc. I mean we are all relatively new here."

edited 30th Jun '15 6:36:42 AM by Blackie

Castle Raleena, Courtyard

With the four being dismissed, Ahreia made her way back to her horse. She saw no reason to follow any of them as of yet. But one certainly did. The warf's approach stopped her in her tracks.

Ahreia regarded Refran tentatively, thinking if she should respond. "Needleworker," she replied. "or Nid, for short."

She sighed with all the day's exhaustion. It was inevitable, afterall. Ahreia would have to know her allies if she was to cooperate with them without error.

She walked the few steps to her horse and started to relieve it of its burdens. Ahreia remained silent for a few moments, busily untying the bundles. "And you, wolf? What's yours?" she stopped for a heartbeat, looking at him then resumed her unloading.

edited 30th Jun '15 6:34:50 AM by DemKimochis

Courtyard of Raleena

"Well, pleasure to meet and work alongside you, Refran."

It was then that the Countess spoke up again. Well, it was no sage, but he could stand to relearn a few things he might have forgotten, just in case he needed the skill in the near future.

"Well, it'll do, Countess. Now, if you all will excuse me..."

He began making his way, searching through the estate for the wizard.

Well she was... Blunt. And Needleworker...? Must be some kind of alias, there's no way that's an actual Elven name... Ref knew that much about them, at the very least. "Ah, my name, es? Refran, pleasure to meet you, Nid! Although I'm a Warf, not a Wolf, es..." I mean, sure, they're not the most common race... But that's just belittling them!Ah, whatever, Ref threw his arms up behind his head, resting it on the palm of his hands. "That's a pretty horse you've got there, es. What's it's name?" Ref knows better than to approach someone else's animal without permission, so he kept enough distance while eyeing it. "It must be nice to have a companion in such a desert huh, es?"

"Securing locations..." Fredrick thought, rubbing his head lightly. The most bold and worthy place to secure would be the old king's throne directly, however such a bold move would surely ruffle some feathers... A more diplomatic approach would be to get the consent of the other counts. Still, it's too early for this kind of thought. Tonight we relax some, and maybe learn about our comrades in this endeavor.

"For our glorious Exla, may our natural industry purge the perverse Dorothean magic in this land." Fredrick added, raising his own glass as he swallowed his wine, took a look at his wine glass, and decided against shattering it. He was a doctor, he would keep everyone alive if he could.

And as for now, all he would have to do is sit back, relax some, and otherwise keep an ear out. Mart was right, a map would be most welcome. And Dart would probably go to the range to show off his skills and his pistols. And Mr. Kantos... we will see.

Castle Raleena, Courtyard

"Unfortunately, she doesn't have a name," Ahreia said as she stroked its mane. "She is by no means the closest of friends, we've only been with each other for... a few days."

Thinking about it now, Ahreia didn't have too many friends, mostly acquaintances never heard from again. I've probably spent too much time on this path... she thought ever so wistfully.

edited 30th Jun '15 9:17:51 AM by DemKimochis

"Well, for going through a desert, she was an excellent companion," Ahreia put the straps of her bags on her shoulder except for one which belonged to a long bundle wrapped in cloth which she carried with her hand. With her other hand, she reached for the reins.

"Im going to the stable. Let her rest a bit," she began, "Her is a very underprivileged name, isn't it? What would you name her?"

edited 30th Jun '15 3:55:46 PM by DemKimochis

Anabella giggled slightly at the "orc's armpit hair" comment before composing herself when the countess scolded her husband about it. Upon being asked to follow Orson into the castle, Anabella nodded and smiled. "Thank you, sir!" she told him. She looked down at her cat. "Come on, Merlin," she beckoned, as she followed Orson into the castle. Merlin meowed softly, then followed his master inside.

With her guests dispersing, the Countess turned her attention to one of the patches of exotic plants among the courtyard, waving her arms in the direction of the plants and casting some spells on them as part of caring for them. She was standing a bit away from Ahreia and Refran, so she probably couldn't hear them talking; even if she could, she made no indication of such.

As the Countess had said, if Nathan could not find the place on his own, he could ask any of the servants around for directions, so it was not long either way until he would be nearing the top room of the spire. On the way leading there, he see a few more rock golems wandering around; though presumably animated through the same magic as the ones outside on the ramparts, these were much smaller and likely served in assistance roles. Not all of them were humanoid... In fact most of the ones here weren't, more often being shaped similarly to bugs; one was even just a single uneven boulder reminiscent of the shape of a potato, simply rolling around for locomotion. Though a few of the golems stopped what they were doing to regard Nathan as he approached the room, none of them attempted to stop him.

Inside the round room at the top was what would seem almost like the lab of a scientist, but with magical alters and trinkets; it did however contain similar amounts of chalkboards and papers with all sorts of notes scrabbled on them. There was also another rock golem of course, though the fact that it was a rock golem may not have been immediately apparent as every rock that constructed it was completely covered in green moss. Also like some of the others, instead of having a humanoid shape, this one was shaped as a five foot tall praying mantis. It was staring at the other inhabitant of the room, a thin, pale, human man in neat, black robes and a black, pointed hat with wide trim. The wizard Cahnson was so focused on the table of runes in front of him that he did not notice Nathan enter the room.

"I think those damn pixies ripped me off, Larry" Cahnson said, presumably to... The golem? "This can't be real moon dust; there's no way it's real moon dust. Everyone knows that real moon dust is deathly poisonous. I bet I could swallow this imitation crap and I wouldn't even get an itch. In fact, I'll prove it!" With that proclamation, Cahnson scooped up a small pinch of a dusty substance from the table in front of him, and shoved it into his mouth as he leaned his head back slightly. There was a slight pause afterward.

"Nope, nevermind, it's real moon dust. I have made a critical error" Cahnson muttered, stepping over to another desk and nearly stumbling on the way there. He quickly grabbed one of many potions from it, and chugged half it before breaking for a breath and looking at the golem. "Larry, if I collapse this time, go find someone and get them to come help me. Do not just stand there and stare at me, waiting for me to wake up like last time" he instructed the golem sternly, then kept chugging the rest of the potion.

Orson led Anabella through the servant section of the castle, until finally coming to an expansive kitchen with lots of cupboards and preparing counters and a butchering table in the center and a whole row of fire pits with large racks or hanging cauldrons above them. Kitchenware of all sorts was damn near everywhere, on every surface and hanging from racks above. The air had a hint of flour still hanging about, seeming possibly ever present, while large puffs of steam wafted through the upper parts of the room, blasting the olfactory senses with the smell of chicken and dumplings.

"Bachul, I've got someone come to see you" Orson called out as he entered, taking a step to the side to let Anabella through.

"You what?!" a loud, gravely voice with a distinctive accent yelled out from the door to one of the side storerooms. If Anabella had ever met an orc before, she'd probably have realized Bachul's identity from the voice before he even stepped into view. Wearing a vaguely stained white butcher's apron over some plain brown clothes, Bachul was a mammoth of a figure, true to his racial heritage; even with a rather prominent gut, presumably a side effect of his occupation, it was clear from his large arms and legs that Bachul could probably still tear Anabella in half if he felt so inclined.

"Yes, miss Anabella here is a witch in training; an alchemist, you see" Orson said, with a motion of his head towards Anabella.

Bachul grinned joyfully, displaying his orcish fangs. "Really now? She's here to help me then?" Bachul asked, a hopeful glint in his eye.

"Not quite. She is a guest of the Countess, and as such she is here to be helped, by you" Orson explained.

"Oh" Bachul muttered, his grin disappearing. "Well, whatever I can do to help then, milady" he added with a more modest though still sincere smile.

"Very good" Orson said, turning away and stopping briefly as he faced Anabella. "Remember what I told you before" he added to her, giving a wink through the eye slits in his helmet. He then left the room entirely, leaving Anabella with the chef.

"I'll have some maps and historical books gathered for your viewing. The only dire thing you should be aware of is to always be wary of the open desert badlands. It can be easier than you'd expect to get lost if you do not stick to the roads, and if you do find yourself out where there are no roads, well... More often than not, there's a good reason that no roads would go there" Count Escom explained to Mart, deciding to leave it at that.

"But for now, why don't we do something a bit more engaging? The combat range is available and I am eager to see you gentlemen show what you can do" Count Escom suggested now that they had finished their toast.

edited 1st Jul '15 7:31:07 AM by FirockFinion

Nathan had to think quickly, going through his spell repertoire, wondering if any might help in this case, if only for a while.

Wait, Invigorate brings out someone's vitality. Maybe it'll help him hold on a bit longer?

He quickly pointed his staff at the wizard.

"Hold still for a moment, I'll help. Let vitality surge through you! Invigorate!"

He casts the Invigorate spell at the wizard, hoping it might stave the poison off a bit longer.

"Well, you'll be in for a treat if you don't mind me saying so Your Countness." Dart grinned, twirling his pistol on his finger.

"And I'm sure it would give me a chance to get to know these fine folks I'll be working with a bit better."

"Ah, so that's how it is, es." Well, not everybody had a permanent horse and Ref never even had one to begin with, so it isn't very unexpected for the animal to have no name as of yet. "Mind if I walk with you to the stables, es? I don't quite have anything to do." Refran didn't immediately have an answer to the question of what to name four-hoof over there, though. That was one to ponder about for a bit.

"W-What I'd name her, es? Well, uhm, es... Maybe something like... Minna, es?" Truthfully, he only said the first thing that came into his head because naming animals... Well, there's things the Warf's better at than that to say the least.

Fredrick smiled as the count offered to go to the range. A chance to see what everyone is planning, hmm... "Sounds like a wonderful idea" He stated, turning to the ever playful Dart. "So Mr Dart... Tell me about yourself. You seem to enjoy your pistol skills... They look well maintained." He added as they followed the count to the range.

"I thought you would never ask. Are there any hard stones on that ground?" Mart follows.

Anabella was intrigued by the smell. She had never eaten as 'plain' food as chicken and dumplings, though she always felt that it would be interesting to try them. As they entered the kitchen, her eyes widened as Bachul entered the room. An orc. She gulped, smiled sheepishly at him, then curtsied politely. "How do you do, uh... Mr. Bachul, sir?" she asked delicately. Merlin hissed and backed away from Bachul. Anabella turned and knelt beside her cat. "Shhh, Merlin, it's okay, he's friendly," she assured Merlin, partially assuring herself. She had heard nasty stories about orcs, how back in the old days they would raze entire villages to the ground. But that was a long time ago, and she had heard that they had settled down significantly by this point.

She then turned back around and stood up. "I'm sorry about my cat. Merlin has... never met an orc before. And to be honest neither have I." She composed herself. "But what Orson says is correct! I am Anabella Cynthia Medea Meriwether Valentine, of the house of Valentine, apprentice to the court alchemist of Dorothan!" she exclaimed with a bombastic pose. "And I am here to help the Countess! But first I need to brew some potions."

Castle Raleena, Courtyard

"Well, I guess it won't be a bother," Ahreia said, thinking about it.

She resumed walking towards... Well, she didn't really know where the stable was. Ahreia considered asking the Countess but thought that she shouldn't bother her with such trivial matters. Besides, she could always ask around and the castle wasn't that big, was it?

"Minna, huh?"

It was then that Ahreia noticed a verbal tic. All along she had been thinking Refran was saying 'yes' but actually when you pay close attention to it, he had been saying 'es'. And everytime he spoke, her mind subconsciously anticipated it. "Why do you keep saying 'es'? Is that a warf thing?" She asked, out of curiosity but with a hint of irritation.

edited 2nd Jul '15 2:09:45 AM by DemKimochis

A thought crossed Frederick's mind as Mart asked this question. "Mart, why do you need to know where hard stones are?" He asked, turning his gaze only slightly from Dart. (heh, Dart and Mart) as they continued the conversation.

"Oh, that, es?" Refran spurted out in response to Nid's question. "No, it's.. Not quite a Warf thing, es. It's not uncommon to find that a Warf who is born in a city develops some kind of tic, es. I think it has to do with our brain trying to adapt to the noise in the enviroment and mimicking it. Honestly, Half the time I don't even know I'm doing it, es..." That was basically how that bit worked, Ref still not having any control over that annoying tic of his.

"Errr.... By the way, es... You DO know where the stables are, right?" The wolfbreed asked to Needleworker, since they still haven't moved from this spot.

Castle Raleena, Courtyard

What Refran said was true. They haven't really moved from the courtyard except for a few insignificant steps... possibly in the wrong direction.

"No, I don't know exactly where it is," Nid started, "But if this castle is just like any other, we'll be able to find it without any problem." But as she said that, she was already beginning to doubt herself. This castle is probably not like the others.

"Well, at the very least, it will probably be the place that smells of horse," she said, "Horse feces, specifically."

edited 3rd Jul '15 1:57:17 AM by DemKimochis

Refran laughed a bit at Nid's comment, thinking it was a joke. "Let's ask the countess, then, es. I know a lot about wandering around aimlessly and from what I've found out you usually end up completely the opposite direction of where you're supposed to be going, es." Ref stretched his arms and then put his right hand to his hip, the other dangling down. "Although if you want to stroll around without any direction it's fine by me as well. I'm used to it, es." A surprisingly genuine smile cropped up on Refran's face when he proposed that. It wouldn't be bad to see all angles of the castle, aster all, it WAS a pretty place. He didn't feel the need to rush anything here... It's just calming.

edited 4th Jul '15 9:56:22 AM by Nickpws

Castle Raleena, Courtyard

Nid weighed her options while she looked at her horse. It might collapse from dehydration or exhaustion but as she observed it carefully, Minna looked quite fine. Wait, Minna...? She sighed and then smiled slightly. I guess that will be her name, after all.

But more importantly, she judged her own self if she wouldn't collapse right there. Surprisingly, with the little time she had spent in the courtyard, she had felt revitalized, relatively speaking. But she would still need to get a good rest later...

"I don't think this is a matter we should be bugging the Countess with," Nid voiced her opinion, " It would be a good chance to know the castle a bit better, too."

She looked at her horse again. Minna might look fine but after giving it a little bit more thought, she decided she didn't want to risk it. "On second thought, maybe we should ask the Countess?" she said. "There's always time afterwards," she added.

edited 3rd Jul '15 1:56:42 AM by DemKimochis

Cahnson's eyes opened as he was still chugging at the potion, clearly surprised as he had no idea that Nathan had entered the room. As the spell went off, the wizard choked up for a moment then started coughing after hastily lowering the potion bottle. "Barely even give a man some warning, huh?" Cahnson managed to ask, likely rhetorically, then coughed some more. "Not even sure of what's going on or what potion he's drinking and how that might react with your spell- just throwing magic at the wall and seeing what sticks, with no hesitation" he continued, finally turning to look at Nathan.

Despite how criticizing his previous comments may have seemed, Cahnson grinned. "I like your style" Cahnson said, pointing at Nathan a moment before letting out a couple of final coughs. "Also it's entirely possible you just saved my bacon there; though I think I might not have a heartbeat for the next minute" he paused, feeling at his wrist and then his chest, "... Yup, can't feel a thing."

Apparently not disturbed by this in the slightest, the wizard stepped closer to Nathan and extended a hand for a shake, still grinning. "The name's Jove Cahnson. What brings you to my workshop?"

The Countess still couldn't hear the conversation between Needleworker and Refran. Though neither of them currently knew, the stables were outside the castle, off to one side of the main gates. They could be surprisingly easy to miss if one didn't know they were there, but would seem blindingly obvious once they did know.

As Anabella introduced herself, Bachul's expression slowly got more blank, and he blinked a couple times before slowly scratching at his chin, looking perhaps a tad confused. "Well I've never met someone with as many names as that, miss, uh... Valentine" Bachul said, going with her last name since it was the most recently spoken one and thus the one he could most clearly remember. "You and your cat needn't worry about me being an orc. I'm a cook first; bloodthirsty warrior, I'd say that comes third" he added jokingly.

"Now, you're here to brew and I'm here to help, so says Sir Raleena. So what is it you need? A pot boiling first?" Bachul asked, lumbering over to one of the currently unused cooking pots and glancing back at Anabella.

"Hard stones..? I never really thought about that, but I guess so" Count Escom replied to Mart as he led the Exlans out back to the combat range. Not far from the back of the manor, the combat range looked almost like the frame of an unfinished building; just square supporting structures and large crossbars between them like a sort of giant, square angled ribcage sticking out of the ground, except for the end closest to the manor which at least had a built ceiling to provide shade. But far from just plain metal pillars and crossbars, these structures were woven with clockwork machinery, which just a cursory investigation could lead one to guess that they were connected underground to a large panel of levers and dials set up on one side of the shaded area.

"Now, who wants to go first?" Count Escom asked, moving to the controls and pulling a couple of levers. At the bar 10 meters from the edge of the shaded area, clockwork machinery came to life on the left pillar; simple mechanical arms unfolded from the upper part, reaching behind the pillar itself to grab a sheet of cardboard from a pile that was set there. It lifted the cardboard out so it was plainly visible, along with the circular target pattern painted on it; the arm holding it then started slowly moving across the top bar section, so that the target was slowly moving from left to right in the group's view.

edited 4th Jul '15 9:49:42 AM by FirockFinion