Castle Tule

[SeraphWarrior]

[glow=green,2,300]-A fairly large castle, set within the limits of a sprawling and extremely advanced metropolis. The scholars of Tule spend much of their time researching ways to combine science and magic, and have produced almost everything one could imagine to exist within the span if the kingdom's existance. The city spans a great length of the countryside, populated by literally millions of people, living from 10 floors beneath the ground, to hundreds of feet above in exotic looking towers. The castle itself is even more grand. The tallest of Castle Tule's towers are veiled behind the sky and clouds, ever chilled by the height at which they are. The bowels and dungeons of the castle extend to miles beneath the surface of the crust, smoking and glowing with red ambient light from the proximity to the planet core. Human guards patrol the streets of the city, armed with many a magical empliment. Constructs wander mindlessly through the castle halls, intune with the castle itself. In the throne room, the archives, and the royal chambers, entities of raw arcane energy roam free, unseen but ever watchful for any attempts on the life of the royalties or the destruction of Tule's studies.-[/glow]

:: An old man sits in the dim lights of the main castle archives. The head of the arcane scholars, the sage known as Sedelfus hunches over atop a stool, reading many an ancient scroll as he puffs on his enchanted, never-emptying smoke pipe. The dark room is even darker than it sould be, as much of the light is choke by the smoke, seeing as Sedelfus had been down in the archives since early the previous morning. One of the scholars' assistants walked into the study, bowing nervously. Not many of the men in the castle were permitted into the primary archives. Then, the young man spoke. "Master Sage, you've been down here almost two whole days. The sun has set twice since you have descended into your studies." The elderly man switches the side of his mouth with which the pipe hung, grabbing hold of his walking stick an dlooking up at the boy. "Ah yes, I lose track of time in my work." The man's voice was oddly spry for his age, not a hint of a quiver could be detected in his tone. "And the smoke is pretty dense, isn't it lad? Maybe I should leave the scrolls for a time and get some air, hm?" He smiles, removing the pipe from his mouth with his free hand, walking over to the assistant and prodding him with the mouth end of it. "And you are too young to be in such smoke. You want to look like me when you hit 40? Hahaha!" Sedelfus extinguishes the pipe, placing it in the bottomless pocket of his grey robes. "Come, boy, have a drink with an old man." Sedelfus, followed by the boy, exit the lower levels of the archives, heading slowly to the pub within the castle, 1st floor, east wing. Each take a seat at the bar, and Sedelfus places his staff lightly against the counter. He stares off into space, not yet catching the attention of the bartender.::

[randombarbarianguy]

*as the old man sits down, the door is quietly pushed open ,and in walks nekro, ducking to avoid hitting his head on the door frame. he walks to the bar, and sits next to sedelfus ( couldn't remember how to spell it )*
"so, you finally emerge, old man. what was this summons for then?"

[SeraphWarrior]

:: Sedelfus smiles, and turns his head to look at the hulking form of a man on the opposite side of him as his assistant. "Ah, you are punctual; unexpected for one of your. . .path. . ." Sedelfus waves his hand around, signaling to the young man behind him. "Thomas, this is a man who calls himself Nekro. He is not the kind of person to use his mind often, but he is a powerful warrior. Run, Thomas, fetch the bartender and bring us all a drink." He winks at Nekro. "My treat." ::

:: After the drinks return to them, the sage old man places his on the counter, and reaches into one of the pockets on his robes. After a time, he withdraws a small box, with no visible crease or opening, made out of a reflective black surface. "This, Nekro, is why I called you here. This is the container of a magical artifact that the scholars have been looking for for a long time. I, actually, had stumbled upon it in my travels years ago, but never thought to look at it then, and didn't remember it later. Now, after extensive study, I've do you know what I've found?" Here he places the almost gem-like box beside Nekro's drink. "Nothing. Neither my mind nor my magics can open this device. I believe that's the point. The man who can open the device is neither the man who wants to, nor can he use what is inside. I am led to believe it needs a more. . .abrupt touch." Sedelfus stands up, and with his staff in hand, takes a few steps backwards, giving the other man as much room as he needs to 'work.' ::

[randombarbarianguy]

"well, now, arubtness is my middle name... well, its really bjornstronginthearm, but you know what i mean...."
*nekro stands up and pulls his Lajatang up, and unleashes a flurry of blows upon the black box. after several moments of this savage attack, he stops, and pulls out his gourd o' drinks.*
" whew, lets see the damage here..."

[SeraphWarrior]

((sorry it took so long. . .))

::Sedelfus walks over to the the box, still mostly intact with a few scratches penetrating it's shell. He takes his staff, and taps the end of it against the artifact. A glow begins to seep from the open wounds on the black surface, but it dissipates quickly. "Guh. . .I'm too old for this. Thomas! Run and inform the others that we have opened it." The young man runs off, back to the archives, and the sage grasps the black box. It is now warm to the touch, and the sheen seemingly has been amplified. "Master Nekro, I would advise you to stand back. There's no telling what power could be within this container." He sets his staff down, and holds onto the box with both hands. As he pulls, a sound can be heard similar to that of a massive earthquake, and a wind picks up within the building. He sets the box down on the counter again, and stares at the contents; a thin, plain copper ring, and a blank piece of parchment. ::

[randombarbarianguy]

*as he stares incredulously at the contents, the unruly barbarian quips*
" whew, i'm glad all containers aren't like that, else id be out of a plunderin' business...."
*he sits down, utters a small word, and drinks from his gourd*
"ah, thats better....."

[SeraphWarrior]

:: He stares and the large man and mumbles something under his breath before raising his voice to a disturbing level of intensity. "I already told you that what would be inside would not be of value to you, but it is to us." He returns his voice to a normal level. "You need to look beyond looks, friend. To the magical community, seemingly mundane items can be extremely valuable. Look, these two items were contained in the same container for a reason. Allow me to show you the methods we use to test magical properties." The old man reaches to the box, making one quick symbol with his hand and muttering a quick word in an ancient tongue before picking up the ring. He slips it onto his right index finger, and takes a quill out of his infinitely deep pocket. With a swift motion, he flicks the scroll towards the parchment like a wand. He waits, but nothing happens. "Hmm. . .but it sometimes takes longer than you think it would." ::

[randombarbarianguy]

"HAHA! my friend, you make me laugh. now, as we wait for you to figure out this puzzle, is there anything to eat?"

[SeraphWarrior]

((i said scroll when i meant to say quill, and i noticed i did that a few times in this post before i corrected it. . .iunno why))

:: He laughs, and points around him. "We are in the ground level pub, of the castle of the largest and most advanced civilization in the known worlds. Of course there's something to eat, and since you are on official business with me, it is, of course, free of charge." He directs his attention again to the parchment. "Now, to figure this out. . ." He takes the parchment out of the box, placing it on the counter. Then he takes his pen, setting the a soft now dry point of it down atop the paper. As he removes his hand, the quill glows with a slight red hue, and stands on its own. "Hmph, still amuse you, do I?" Next, he takes his hand with the ring donned, and extends it as a fist towards the quill. The feather begins to scratch wildly about the parchment, making seemingly pointless etches in a deep crimson.::

[randombarbarianguy]

*as he walks back, the tall barbarian sees this, and, around a mouthful of food, says*
"wow, a freewriting quill..."

[SeraphWarrior]

:: "Not exactly. That's just the quill I keep for general scribing purposes." He gives a great, hearty laugh. "The ring is an auto-scriber for magical scrolls. But. . .I didn't set it. That must be where the parchment comes into play." The quill drops of its own, and Sedelfus picks up the paper, which now looks to be written upon in dried blood. "The scroll will have to be deciphered. Thank you for your help, friend." He extneds the hand with the parchment, face up, and the scroll vanishes in a puff of smoke. At a second look, it is seen that the sage no longer wears the copper ring. "Now, Nekro, is there anything I can do for you in return for your services here?" ::

[randombarbarianguy]

"yes, in fact there is. you can help me find someone to come with me and cleanse my home of the evil denziens there. just kindly direct them to the forum about drunk ramblings."