It had been a distinct call from Rhaine. For reasons that eluded him, she had tried to gain his attention and help. With her silence now ringing in his mind, he found himself at the portal which he stepped through, prepared to shift into mist at the first sign of danger on the other side, but none seemed apparent as he glanced around. There on the stone slab near the gates to the Temple of Asmodeus, there was a darkened spot where something had exploded, and nearby were scattered bones and small metal spheres. The gates and walls however were untainted by these remains. I was then greeted by a skeletal warrior, “Hail Stranger, What brings you here?”
He knew that the bones and the blackened spot were the price someone had paid for giving the wrong answer, and he glanced at the guard, “I have come to seek the answer to a question, and the guidance I might find here.”
The skeleton nodded, and behind him a vampire in black armor materialized, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. “State your name and question if you please.”
Gabriel had to stifle the instant urge to slay the vampire, it was his mission given to him from his Prince to exterminate these creatures to stop their spreading in this world. This was a powerful Vampyre as well, and Gabriel warred with himself to maintain a calm exterior he did not feel. “I have many names, but the one I offer you is Gabriel Daratrazanov. My question is for another unless you are the spiritual contact, which does not match my understanding of Asmodeus.”
The vampire assessed him a moment before nodding, “I am Adremalech, Officer of the Temple Guard. You may come in, however, I must know the name and the question. This is a security issue, and we do not take it lightly. Especially of late.” His eyes were a cold light blue, nearly white in this light as he then pointed to the black charred spot on the stone slab.
“Adremalech, I respect your security needs, but you are free to search me for prohibited items, you will find I come as a petitioner, but my question remains my own.” Gabriel met the pale gaze with its antithesis in his black and soulless eyes. “I seek audience with either the High Priestess, or her designee.”
“High Priestess is becoming popular among outsiders. With interesting and explosive consequences of this popularity.” The vampire walked toward Gabriel, and his left hand turned toward the Carpathian, his palm open. A feeling of cold stream of air touched him, and at length, Adremalech nodded, “I doubt it is a good idea to let you come in, but the order I received was clear enough.”
Gabriel had to viciously stomp down his desire to send this vampire to eternal rest. It would not serve him well right now as he allowed the creature to search him for forbidden weapons. He would find none. None were needed. “Have I come at a bad time?” He queried the vampire in an effort to engage him regarding whom might have come before he had.
A tall, black haired, crimson eyed man seemed to step out of no where, “I’m flattered that you’re disciplined enough to follow my recommendation.” He turned then toward Gabriel, “Gabriel, that is another name she mentioned. As well as Alais, Anne, Artemus, and Vitus.”
Gabriel turns black eyes on the new comer, “You have me at a disadvantage. You are?”
The man bowed slightly. His moves were smoothly dangerous, and military-style. "Call me Nae'Bris. I was assigned to be her bodyguard by my superiors. And yes, it is not the best time to come with questions to her. Not in the state she's in. Follow me, and please tolerate the scanning of temple wards."
Gabriel gave the vampire a last look before following Nae’Bris. The Temple scans would find naught as he passed through them, but they were less than pleasant to experience. “You are her body guard? Perhaps we can find a moment alone then?” He found himself in the worship hall of the Temple of Asmodeus. A place he doubted few would be allowed who were not followers.
A summoned visitor
Moderators: Raevyx_Araya, Vitus Rustovich, Rhaine
A summoned visitor
Gabriel Datrazanov
The crimson eyed one turned toward Gabriel, “Certainly, Adremalech is already in his study, and he wouldn't try to overhear. Did you have a question?"
“You said something that troubles me. You said, ‘in her condition’, will you tell me what you meant by that?” Gabriel took in his surroundings, and tried to read Nae’Bris for his openness to his question.
He looked at the flame-like columns, his eyes darkening in the faint light as emotions were nearly concealed but to the Carpathian, he could clearly see the turmoil in the man. “I do not know how good you are in magical stuff and how well do you know her. All I know is that she returned to the Temple a couple of days ago with her left shoulder blasted by plasma, charred almost to the bone. She created a very stable spell-like structure, dropped into it, and for me it now looks like a coma. At first there was something trying to rush out of the structure, something incorporeal, but now it's just... dead. The structure resists even mental penetration, not speaking about physical. Outside magic will not work in the temple either. Artemus tried to get to her, she whispered something about danger, and there was no more response."
They had kept walking, and now Nae’Bris paused, nodding toward the structure that was now about 4 yards away from them. Gabriel had weighed the man’s words carefully, there was no deception he could determine, “I heard Rhaine’s calling of my name telepathically, she had reached out for me, and so I have come Nae’ Bris. I had no idea what I would find, only that she would not have reached for me had she not believed I could help her in some way.”
Nae'Bris walked to the structure. "As far as I know, the structure is excessively stable, and we can't get her out. And even if we could... I do not know what would be next. Artemus is in her room, trying to find anything in the notes related to the mission which resulted in... this. The plasma blast was obviously not something simple. Possibly it was mixed with a spell targeted specifically against her kin. At least the spell structure keeps ..."
Nae'Bris looked at Gabriel, regarding the Carpathian carefully. "How much do you know about her kin?"
Gabriel was walking slowly around the construct, sending out his thoughts seeking Rhaine. His hand hovered just above the surface of the thing, not quite touching it. It was about 8 feet in diameter, pale cyan in color, octagonal in shape, and was streaming from an odd graph drawn in odd white and blue chalk on the black stone floor. The forcefield was transparent, like colored glass, and it trembled near Gabriel’s hand, as if sniffing him. Rhaine was in the center of the structure, seemingly lifeless, or lethargic body. Her left shoulder had a wound almost burned to the bone, and the black silk like shift was burnt and molten around her shoulder, the left sleeve was almost ripped apart.
Gabriel looked at Nae’Bris, “How much do I know about her kin? I know she was claimed by the Rustovich family through blood, I know she spent time on Mentar Station, and that she was rejected by her own family."
Nae’Bris weighed carefully every word, then spoke calmly, "They aren't just magically gifted, Gabriel. They are BOUND to magic. She took some time to explain this concept to me. She was rejected by her kin-and-colleagues for returning into the normal world from the places they use as habitat. Worse - she did not kill a young mage that somehow managed to remove from existence one of them. This has turned her into a renegade. I do not know if this was the reason of this situation, or the mission in another, world. You said you heard her telepathically... I did not. That means only one thing - you bear a marker of her magic unlike myself. Some spell she used on you that left a trace. I know this from what she told me about her kin. Same thing probably would be true about Artemus."
Gabriel continued to walk around the cyan field, looking at the comatose figure within. “"I have lived a very long time Nae'Bris, but the 'why' of my being called is still mysterious. Rhaine and I had an uneasy truce at best, though I respect her in many ways."
“You said something that troubles me. You said, ‘in her condition’, will you tell me what you meant by that?” Gabriel took in his surroundings, and tried to read Nae’Bris for his openness to his question.
He looked at the flame-like columns, his eyes darkening in the faint light as emotions were nearly concealed but to the Carpathian, he could clearly see the turmoil in the man. “I do not know how good you are in magical stuff and how well do you know her. All I know is that she returned to the Temple a couple of days ago with her left shoulder blasted by plasma, charred almost to the bone. She created a very stable spell-like structure, dropped into it, and for me it now looks like a coma. At first there was something trying to rush out of the structure, something incorporeal, but now it's just... dead. The structure resists even mental penetration, not speaking about physical. Outside magic will not work in the temple either. Artemus tried to get to her, she whispered something about danger, and there was no more response."
They had kept walking, and now Nae’Bris paused, nodding toward the structure that was now about 4 yards away from them. Gabriel had weighed the man’s words carefully, there was no deception he could determine, “I heard Rhaine’s calling of my name telepathically, she had reached out for me, and so I have come Nae’ Bris. I had no idea what I would find, only that she would not have reached for me had she not believed I could help her in some way.”
Nae'Bris walked to the structure. "As far as I know, the structure is excessively stable, and we can't get her out. And even if we could... I do not know what would be next. Artemus is in her room, trying to find anything in the notes related to the mission which resulted in... this. The plasma blast was obviously not something simple. Possibly it was mixed with a spell targeted specifically against her kin. At least the spell structure keeps ..."
Nae'Bris looked at Gabriel, regarding the Carpathian carefully. "How much do you know about her kin?"
Gabriel was walking slowly around the construct, sending out his thoughts seeking Rhaine. His hand hovered just above the surface of the thing, not quite touching it. It was about 8 feet in diameter, pale cyan in color, octagonal in shape, and was streaming from an odd graph drawn in odd white and blue chalk on the black stone floor. The forcefield was transparent, like colored glass, and it trembled near Gabriel’s hand, as if sniffing him. Rhaine was in the center of the structure, seemingly lifeless, or lethargic body. Her left shoulder had a wound almost burned to the bone, and the black silk like shift was burnt and molten around her shoulder, the left sleeve was almost ripped apart.
Gabriel looked at Nae’Bris, “How much do I know about her kin? I know she was claimed by the Rustovich family through blood, I know she spent time on Mentar Station, and that she was rejected by her own family."
Nae’Bris weighed carefully every word, then spoke calmly, "They aren't just magically gifted, Gabriel. They are BOUND to magic. She took some time to explain this concept to me. She was rejected by her kin-and-colleagues for returning into the normal world from the places they use as habitat. Worse - she did not kill a young mage that somehow managed to remove from existence one of them. This has turned her into a renegade. I do not know if this was the reason of this situation, or the mission in another, world. You said you heard her telepathically... I did not. That means only one thing - you bear a marker of her magic unlike myself. Some spell she used on you that left a trace. I know this from what she told me about her kin. Same thing probably would be true about Artemus."
Gabriel continued to walk around the cyan field, looking at the comatose figure within. “"I have lived a very long time Nae'Bris, but the 'why' of my being called is still mysterious. Rhaine and I had an uneasy truce at best, though I respect her in many ways."
Gabriel Datrazanov
The plasma wound shown clearly, and while it was a nasty thing, her abilities should have been able to heal it. He pondered the situation, should have, unless there had been more to the weapon than simply plasma. "Nae'Bris, who besides Artemus and I have tried to see the HIgh Priestess?" Was that burn mark outside indication of another visitor to see if the High Priestess were dead yet?
Nae’Bris frowned, “No one - lately. However our sensor spells detect scanners near two of our portals. And a rider moving towards the Temple. We can detect very little that far. He would be here in several hours."
It was Gabriel’s turn to frown, “whom else would you have reached out to Rhaine? Who?" He paused and glanced at Nae’Bris, “How long has she been like this?”
Gabriel reached experimentally for the barrier, it had reacted to him earlier, what would it do if he touched it?”
"Do not touch it," Nae'Bris warned. "Artemus already tried - it rejects physical and mental touch. Example of extreme stability. She's been here for a couple of days. If you want to know my observations - first twelve hours she was obviously fighting something. I have seen mist of magic filling that wound, and she tried to reach out to five people. Names? Alais. Anne. Vitus. Artemus. Gabriel. Vitus would have used a rift or a portal," he was thinking aloud.
>
Nae'Bris pondered Gabriel's words. An uneasy truce at best. So she called even to someone who had not been trusted enough... This could mean one thing. She was desperate. Desperately needing someone with markers left by her magic. But what for?
Gabriel paused, turning to look at Nae'Bris. "So it rejects touch both physical and mental, and yet, it almost seemed to want to investigate me when I reached for it before."
He was pondering aloud now, "Yes, it would seem she called to me not of loyalty, but of potential to reach her."
His hand hovered near the field again, watching it shift slightly where ever his hand moved. "Have you a dagger or knife on you?" He studied the cyan wall carefully. "And has anyone tried reaching her using blood?"
"Blood.... No... But that may be a solution...worth a try at least," Nae'Bris answered, his features reflecting a mix of doubt and faint shadow of hope. "But what do you think we can do if we get her out? I think there's a chance that the forcefield is keeping her magical compound in, not letting it spread out thin and dissolve. By the Lord, I wish I was truly a mage... I wish I didn't ignore the offers of magical training and didn't choose path of the blade instead..."
"If the field keeps her alive, I do not desire to open it, and yet, it would seem that to get to her and diagnose how best to help her, we need access to her, and I am not certain I desire entry into that space without knowing the consequences." Gabriel then asked him if there was a mage in house he would trust. Then he mused, “bound to the magic you said?”
"There is no one I would trust - and yet I have to trust someone," Nae'Bris sighed.
"Yes, they bind themselves to magical energy, differing in ... I'd call it magic color, as she explained to me that she can see magic as light and color.. but to you it may be something else. Hard to explain... magic becomes a part of them. Different senses, different manipulation... it becomes as natural for them, as hands and eyes. The more they use it, higher is the concentration of magic in them. When they're fully made up of magic, their personalities dissolve, they just become... pale mist. This can be done other ways. I think the magical forcefield prevented her dissolution for some time, but I fear that when it disappears, the dissolution would continue."
Nae’Bris frowned, “No one - lately. However our sensor spells detect scanners near two of our portals. And a rider moving towards the Temple. We can detect very little that far. He would be here in several hours."
It was Gabriel’s turn to frown, “whom else would you have reached out to Rhaine? Who?" He paused and glanced at Nae’Bris, “How long has she been like this?”
Gabriel reached experimentally for the barrier, it had reacted to him earlier, what would it do if he touched it?”
"Do not touch it," Nae'Bris warned. "Artemus already tried - it rejects physical and mental touch. Example of extreme stability. She's been here for a couple of days. If you want to know my observations - first twelve hours she was obviously fighting something. I have seen mist of magic filling that wound, and she tried to reach out to five people. Names? Alais. Anne. Vitus. Artemus. Gabriel. Vitus would have used a rift or a portal," he was thinking aloud.
>
Nae'Bris pondered Gabriel's words. An uneasy truce at best. So she called even to someone who had not been trusted enough... This could mean one thing. She was desperate. Desperately needing someone with markers left by her magic. But what for?
Gabriel paused, turning to look at Nae'Bris. "So it rejects touch both physical and mental, and yet, it almost seemed to want to investigate me when I reached for it before."
He was pondering aloud now, "Yes, it would seem she called to me not of loyalty, but of potential to reach her."
His hand hovered near the field again, watching it shift slightly where ever his hand moved. "Have you a dagger or knife on you?" He studied the cyan wall carefully. "And has anyone tried reaching her using blood?"
"Blood.... No... But that may be a solution...worth a try at least," Nae'Bris answered, his features reflecting a mix of doubt and faint shadow of hope. "But what do you think we can do if we get her out? I think there's a chance that the forcefield is keeping her magical compound in, not letting it spread out thin and dissolve. By the Lord, I wish I was truly a mage... I wish I didn't ignore the offers of magical training and didn't choose path of the blade instead..."
"If the field keeps her alive, I do not desire to open it, and yet, it would seem that to get to her and diagnose how best to help her, we need access to her, and I am not certain I desire entry into that space without knowing the consequences." Gabriel then asked him if there was a mage in house he would trust. Then he mused, “bound to the magic you said?”
"There is no one I would trust - and yet I have to trust someone," Nae'Bris sighed.
"Yes, they bind themselves to magical energy, differing in ... I'd call it magic color, as she explained to me that she can see magic as light and color.. but to you it may be something else. Hard to explain... magic becomes a part of them. Different senses, different manipulation... it becomes as natural for them, as hands and eyes. The more they use it, higher is the concentration of magic in them. When they're fully made up of magic, their personalities dissolve, they just become... pale mist. This can be done other ways. I think the magical forcefield prevented her dissolution for some time, but I fear that when it disappears, the dissolution would continue."
Gabriel Datrazanov
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