Maybe you should keep/expand the descriptor, to 'a burst of ball lightning," make it clear that it's a specific type of lightning rather then 'ball-shape vs. Palpatine bolts,' for those less aware of the actual possibility of varieties of lightning.
It's been years since I heard about ball lightning, and I didn't really learn the actual characteristics, as such, so this might not be too accurate a phrase, but something like that.
Originally Posted by Moczo
Well, the idea behind it was that it was not a spell, more like a forceful outburst of prana aligning with his elemental affinity, so it had no real shape, appearing to outsiders as ball lightning. I will operate more or less on the principles of maaagic lightning here, because it saves me having to recall knowledge I buried somewhere very deep so that I may never recall it again.
Btw, chapter two will be ready today, currently finishing it up and I'll get it beta'd later today.
[04:55] Lianru: i3uster is actuallly quite cute
Target #1: Watchmaker
“On the day of my breakthrough they came to me.
People I never knew congratulated me on experiments they had no idea about.
The only thing they knew is that people who can do what I can are limited in number.
They gave me ‘an award, the greatest honor the Association bestows upon its members’.
Once the chance came I ran. I ran and never looked back.
My name is Arnaud Cartier, and I am designated for sealing.”
“Bloody hell, no!” The long-haired man expressed his opinion in a rather furious manner, before calming down a second after, realizing what he had done. “…I mean, he doesn’t show any potential, and the Evoker’s Circle is pretty much overflowing with students. He is the worst kind of student, coming here at the worst time! By all due respect, assistant director…”
“Lord El-Melloi, frankly I don’t care about this man, and I had no agreements in any way, shape or form to properly educate or help him. It was just agreed upon that I would allow his enrollment under the year, and that I would choose the most fitting department for him. So, unless you have a suggestion for a department that is not the Evoker’s Circle, consider him enrolled. I do not wish to waste more than a minute of my time on such a useless triviality.”
Of course, it was his department in which the troubling student gets enrolled. Lorelei Barthomeloi made no efforts to keep her distaste for the lord a secret, his lack of royal lineage acting like a thorn in her side. On bad days like these he thought that his position was not out of his affiliations with the Archibald family, but more to act as a punching bag for the lady.
A stupid thought crossed the man’s mind. It was not in malice that he uttered these words, but in frustration at the situation at hand.
“Didn’t one of the Enforcers kick the bucket two days ago?”
The moment he said it, he wished he could take them back.
“...ahahaha, he wouldn’t be able to survive tha…”
“Approved. Introduce him to Cathal. Tell him that his survival is entirely optional. Mr. Savanovic must learn that his privileges as a Second Owner and valuable asset to this association are just that, privileges.” With a dismissive gesture she ordered the Lord to exit the room.
“You can’t be…”
“Leave. Spending more of my valuable time on this failure and that…cadaver…” a word she spoke with such incredible distaste that it almost made Waver’s neck hair stand up “…would be an insult to every other member of this institution.”
With quick steps he left the bureau of Lady Barthomeloi, slamming the door shut behind him, his thoughts being the same as every other visit he paid her.
‘What a cunt.’
-----
“So…where are we going?”
I couldn’t contain my excitement any longer. Being stuck in an elevator with Nikola and the man who introduced himself as Lord El-Melloi the 2nd didn’t help either. The man’s permanently annoyed facial expression still had not changed in the slightest since he told me his name, immediately mentioning thereafter that he was doing this in his free time. I could only guess that this was some sort of punishment for him, after all a Lord, the high-standing elite of London’s Clock Tower, normally wouldn’t guide the newcomers to their places.
Then again, I shouldn’t underestimate Ivan’s connections…
“Are you familiar with the term ‘Sealing Designation’?” he asked me this with a strange mix of boredom, annoyance and frustration.
“Uh, yeah. People who are valuable for the Association by achieving magecraft beyond the grasp of even the most talented Lords, either through research, strange affinities or abnormal bodies.”
The man raised an eyebrow. During that moment of silence I heard the elevator rattling more and more. Just how deep are we going? “Huh, seems like you got your stuff together for a newcomer.”
Why did he ask me this though? Could it be that I would work and study on sealed targets? It was an interesting field of study, allowing me to see to what limits magecraft could be pushed to without having to rely on what little knowledge I have…still, something just felt off.
“And what am I going to do exactly?” While asking this in a concerned tone I looked over my right shoulder to Nikola, who was visibly bored by the long elevator ride.
“Just go down the hallway, the first door to the right, he will tell you what you need to…”
A bell interrupted the conversation. As the door opened the subject of our exchange turned out to be irrelevant.
Before us stood a man, looking like he was in his mid-twenties. Sweaty, red hair, reaching to his blue eyes covered his head, sticking to his forehead. The curious thing about him however was the fact that he wore a chainmail shirt in a shining silver tone and plate gauntlets with strange inscriptions all over them, in a language that I didn’t recognize.
In addition to this, there was a roughly one-and-a-half meter long sword strapped to his back. His anachronistic look was broken up with what he wore on his lower body: jogging pants and worn sneakers.
“Oh, now this is something special! If that isn’t the princess of the clock tower…and two unknowns!” Despite trying to speak in British English, probably out of consideration for us, he was clearly unable to suppress his heavy Scottish accent, making him difficult to understand for me. His panting did not make it any easier.
“You don’t get to call me princess you skirt-wearing jimmy.” The Lord stared at the person with an expression that clearly gave away that he was not in the mood for joking around.
“Don’t take it so hard, Waver. Mind introducing me to those two? Are they here to get cut up or to cut someone up? Because honestly, we’re overstaffed in the cutting department…” On the other hand the strange man didn’t really seem to mind.
“Neither. They are here to get you something new to cut.”
Wait, what does he mean?
“Oh, so they are the replacement for Breughel? Did you see what they did to her by the way? Seriously, don’t underestimate those Invokers, the poor girl looked like someone put her in a blender…”
I wanted to speak up, but Lord El-Melloi interrupted me once again.
“I don’t think I would want to know…anyway this is Marko Brankovic and his apprentice, Nikola Savanovic. This is Lord Cathal mac Domhnall mac Uisdean, head of the Sealing department and all of its sub-departments, that is Sealing Administration, Sealed Research and Sealing Agency”
“Welcome to the underground, lads!” He gave us an acknowledging gesture with his head. Lords never touched the “common folk”, a fact that apparently did not change regardless of this man’s seemingly relaxed attitude.
“Let’s go to my office. I’ll take a look at you and take care of the paperwork…and then I’ll take a shower.”
Meanwhile Lord El-Melloi already entered the Elevator. “I’ll go then. Goodbye, Lord.”
He couldn’t escape one last jab at him as the door closed “Goodbye, princess.”
“So, where were we? Ah right, so you want to become an Enforcer, huh?”
I want to become a WHAT?
“Not…really. I came here to research magecraft. Look, there must be a mistake here…”
Maybe this was some kind of joke to haze me on the day of arrival?
“The assistant director makes no mistakes with such simple things.” He opened the door to our right. “Come in.”
“Listen, I don’t have any experience fighting mages, hell I can barely…” I almost start stuttering. There needs to be a way out of this. Becoming an Enforcer was pretty much a death sentence to me. They fight experienced magi, versed in magecraft that is as dangerous as it is valuable, something I cannot keep up with.
“Come. In.” Lord mac Domhnall apparently lost his patience, so I followed him.
As I took a few steps forward Nikola whispered in my ear:
“Maybe we should call dad…” I turned my head in his direction:
“...later. Let's hear him out first, I don't want to piss him off, he may end up as our boss later.”
“It's impolite to talk in a language I don't understand, lads. And it's impolite to keep me waiting...”
The man made audible tapping sounds with his foot, signaling us to hurry up.
“Sorry.” I walked over to the open door, entering the office of the man, the floor squeaking under every step I took. This whole area reminded me of some kind of extensive underground hospital, or more accurate, a giant morgue.
he interior of the room of the lord however gave off a completely different feel. It was a well-lit bureau with a solid wooden floor. In its center stood an imposing table, and on it were various scattered files with little photos attached to them.
Behind the table and the tall leather-covered chair there was a map with photos pinned to them. Several countries and areas around pinned photos were either completely colored or striped with a felt pen, probably indicating presumed locations of targets.
To the right side of the table stood a dress form on which the lord put his chainmail shirt, which, as I noticed only now due to proximity, had little inscriptions on every little link. To the left there was a bookshelf with various books in English and tomes in some strange script I couldn't decipher.
It was probably what prevented the room from smelling like disinfectant like the rest of this floor, as the air was filled with the smell of old books and solid wood, giving the whole room a very dignified feel despite lacking windows for obvious reasons.
Cathal took of his plate gauntlets and his sword putting them on his table, then taking a seat behind it. He offered me and Nikola the two seats in front of the table with a motion of his hand. After this he reached down, and a creaking sound informed me that he opened a drawer, to take out a notepad and a ball pen. Once he showed his head again he looked at us with a curious expression.
“So, tell me a bit about yourselves...”
-----------------
I bet in some timezones the "today" I promised would be considered correct.
[04:55] Lianru: i3uster is actuallly quite cute
Weirdly enough, I read this with the voice of The Director from red vs blue. Huh.“On the day of my breakthrough they came to me.
People I never knew congratulated me on experiments they had no idea about.
The only thing they knew is that people who can do what I can are limited in number.
They gave me ‘an award, the greatest honor the Association bestows upon its members’.
Once the chance came I ran. I ran and never looked back.
My name is Arnaud Cartier, and I am designated for sealing.”
Anyway, I love what you have going on. It actually feels like it's the way things would go in the clock tower. As in, things move along according to convenience, instead of the way people want them to go.
If that made sense.
Thanks, I really tried to go for an authentic feel there, so it's cool that I managed to pull it off in your eyes.
Btw, the reason for Cathal's more...un-lord-like behavior will be brought up in the next chapter. The dude's family is quite the heavyweight in the Clock Tower, but they aren't quite up there since the family has exclusive control over the Sealing Departments, and those aren't really treated with respect.
The family is still one of the eldest ones in the Clock Tower, so he's pretty much the only Enforcer who really enjoys a certain amount of respect.
To signify that his nickname is "The wolf among hounds".
[04:55] Lianru: i3uster is actuallly quite cute
Nice job on the tenses, as far as I can tell.
BUT MOAR I3USTER MOAR MOAR MOAR
Current Fanfics:
Spoiler:
It's uncanny beyond description that I also got The Director vibes from that part.
And I3uster, you already know my thoughts on the chapter, so USELESS POST GOOOOO.
“There is no sign of pursuit on their part anymore.
Apparently I am not important enough.
They seem to have no clue on my current location.
I need no test subjects for my studies, so it will probably stay this way.
The only thing I need right now is time…”
“As a vampire that’s unneeded….” Nikola mumbled the answer to the lord’s question while he lazily rested his chin on his hand.
It looked like he would fall asleep any second. The questions until now were pure formalities, names, age, relatives in the association, generations of magi in the family, and now we moved on to crest possession.
“Not exactly, but I can understand the logic behind you not possessing one…and you?”
Contrary to Nikola I still sit upright, maybe a bit tense after the obvious disappointment at my lack of lineage.
“My father started ours, it’s mostly combat focused and a few…”
The red-haired man looked at me with a piercing look on his face as he interrupted me.
“No details. Never get too detailed about your families’ magecraft as long as you are in this building. Not with colleagues, not with friends, just keep it to yourself…I can’t believe I even have to explain this to you…”
I tense up even more.
If he doesn’t want any details then why does he ask in the first place?
“You can do some combat magic too, bloodsucker?”
Nikola didn’t even look the man in the eyes as he answered.
“No, just healing, and stuff that should be expected from a mage, you know, the usual things, bounded field erection, hypnosis, a bit of formalcraft and a little alchemy.”
He sat up straight and then crossed his arms, now continuing to talk in a demanding tone.
“Also I am pretty sure that my father doesn’t like it if you call me bloodsucker.”
Oh god damn it Niko, don’t be a bitch.
“I want to excuse the behavior of my appr…”
“Listen, Mr. Savanovic. I respect your father, and thus his sons, but if you think the weight of your fathers’ words can in any way be used as a threat in the department that ensures the weight of his words in the first place, then let me tell you that you are gravely mistaken.”
The man continued to ramble on, the relaxed attitude we saw earlier now completely replaced by the lord-like behavior Ivan described me before my arrival.
“Mr. Savanovic is a wonderful asset to this organization, eliminating all scheming and power struggles for spiritual land in Eastern Europe through sheer power and networking, and controlling what is essentially a death zone for every Sealing Designated passing through it, contrary to other, much lazier Second Owners.
Despite this, the influence and privileges he gets are a generosity from the side of the lords.
Our side.
To make that even more explicit: my side, since I am in charge of the Sealing Departments. So, in the future, don’t even think about abusing them.”
But from one second to the other his attitude switched back to the relaxed one he had before.
“I guess I still shouldn’t call you bloodsucker…so how about just Nikola.”
With a frown the teenaged-looking vampire answered the man: “I like Mister Savanovic more.”
We answer in unison “Shut up Nikola.”
The tense atmosphere from before was now visibly relaxed, and Cathal proceeded to stand up.
“I am now going to measure your output and fine control, and then you’ll get to meet the few colleagues who are on standby right now.
The day after tomorrow you’ll get your first and only guided mission with a colleague who will explain you how our work is done.
Until then you’ll get access to our training facilities, which are also on this floor.”
The man closed his eyes and touched his temple with his left index and middle finger.
“Now it’s evaluation time.”
He opened his eyes again, but under his eyelids were no longer the light blue eyes from before.
Now he looked at us with strange green-glowing eyes. His irises looked completely unnatural, like hundreds of cubically shattered emeralds, arranged in strange ways, overlapping and forming various geometric forms.
“Use a spell of your liking, I’ll look at your circuit count and at your prana flow.”
This whole interview seemed pretty standard up until now, but this made me nervous.
Ivan always stressed the fact that I having circuits at all was something akin to a miracle, since my mother did not have any.
The result was that I didn’t inherit many of them, and they were apparently pretty poor in quality.
On the other hand this might be my ticket out of this department.
But first, Nikola demonstrated his far more impressive circuit count and the training he received since his birth.
“šivenje”
The fingertips of the now standing “teenager” started glowing in a green light, having no target for the simple wound healing spell he just used.
Just after a single glance Cathal replied.
“38 circuits, a high count, just as expected from the son of Ivan. You display a nice amount of control over your prana. To be honest I like what I see, coupled with your vampirism you might not die under my watch!”
How…enthusiastic.
“Now you, big boy.” The lord’s gaze disturbed me greatly. His look beforehand was already piercing, but now it felt like he looked through me, seeking for information a normal magus would never be able to obtain if it was not for extensive testing. Pulling myself together I looked at the dress form over which he put his chainmail beforehand and cast my spell.
“Negative”
He raised an eyebrow.
“On the positive side I can at least understand what you just said. 13 circuits, and your control is erratic. It’s like you are almost not using one of them while others seem overstressed for no reason. With a flow like that greater rituals should be impossible…” The lord shook his head in disappointment and closed his eyes. As he opened them again they returned to the blue color I was used to seeing.
As I predicted it, my circuit count seemed to be far below his expectations. And I should do my best to lower them further.
“Yes, greater rituals are impossible to me. Also I don’t have much luck with bounded fields either, and generally everything that’s ten-count already gives me troubles…”
Everything I said was the truth. There was a reason why I desired studying at the Clock Tower, I was not gifted like my father, I needed the training. But apparently my words didn’t have the outcome I desired.
“Oh my…you should probably look into good funeral attire by tomorrow, lad.”
The redhead walked over to the door of his underground bureau and opened it casually.
“Let me introduce you to your future colleagues.”
“Wait, aren’t you going to get me in another department? I am not fit as an Enforcer!”
I raised my voice against the man. Until now I was polite and reluctant to act, but the situation started looking worse every second.
“You might not be. But your apprentice could make for a nice one if I am allowed to form him into the right shape. Also, I will not lose anything if one of you dies on your first mission, and if you succeed then even better! I do not like using freelancers, so two newcomers taking care of the trash is not too bad…”
He opened us the door after casually talking about our lives as if we were cattle.
I had to hold myself back to not spit this arrogant bastard in the face.
His façade was that of a relaxed, laid back man, but the pragmatism and absolute disregard for life seen as “lower” than his that was expected of a lord was apparent.
“Now come on lads, I really need to take a shower…”
-----
“Listen up everyone, these two are your new colleagues. Do not get too attached to these two, they are here on ‘recommendation’ of our beloved lady Barthomeloi.”
I felt like I just walked into the wrong kind of bar.
Apparently there were five Enforcers on standby, as Cathal informed us it was an unusually high number, normally there were only one to three of them.
A platinum blonde kid, looking like it was only twelve years old was rocking on his chair, giving of a rather unnerving squeaking sound, but at least it filled the silence after Cathal announced our arrival.
He looked like a bunny before a snake, stressed just by our mere presence.
With his scrawny appearance, fair skin and his big eyes hidden behind his chin-length hair the kid looked more like a ghost than a human, and from his behavior and body language it seemed like he would prefer being an invisible specter at this moment.
On the same table, playing cards with the kid were a tanned woman whose bust didn’t go by unnoticed by me, even though she wore a suit that tried its best to conceal the assets of the wearer, and black, wavy hair going past her shoulders.
In general she gave me a pretty lively impression, playing with stacks of small chips in front of her.
The expression on her angular face changed from desperate to surprise as we entered the room, the anxious look she threw us with her big hazel eyes probably owing to the fact that she had a smaller amount of chips lying in front of her compared to the kid and the third player.
He was a burly looking man built like a mix out of a body builder and a cupboard, also wearing a suit which clashed with his rather unkempt beard and messy, short reddish-brown hair which started balding on the top of his head.
He seemed to be the stoic type, judging from his utter lack of emotion, and the sunglasses he wore were not helping either.
The cards he held looked almost cartoonish, being much smaller than his big, paw-like hands, which were almost as furry as his weathered and stern face.
A leather couch took up most of the space in the right corner of the room, filling it with a smell I was rather fond of, reminding me of Ivan’s luxurious home.
Two other Enforcers sat on it.
One of them was a tall, slightly Asian-looking woman with short, black chin-length hair wearing pince-nez. She read a book in some oriental language, or at least she used to until we came in and disrupted her reading, to which she responded by frowning. Her posture was absolutely straight, and with her rather delicate appearance she looked reminded me of a creepy, pissed-off china doll.
Still, scrawny was not what I’d use to describe her, it was obvious that she kept herself in good shape, as it was expected of a magus.
Next to her sat a man who seemed to be around thirty, just staring in our general direction.
His five-o-clock shadow formed a contrast to his well-groomed, blonde hair, which he kempt sideward, but contrary to the others he at least made the impression of a killer, probably because of the emotionless look on his face, but it might have been that he was just bored.
If it were not for the fact that his pupils had a greyish tone and that he was petting a German shepherd, which was not on a leash for some strange reason.
The most likely reason for this was that it was a familiar, but he still petted it like it was a real dog, and the presumed familiar responded with happy panting.
A blind guy, a giant, a little boy, a nerd and a…woman.
This sounds like the setup for a terrible joke.
“Now play nice and introduce yourself!”
He smashed the door on his way out, probably finally trying to get his well-deserved shower to rid himself of the sweaty smell that accompanied him the whole time.
“Hi, my name is Marko Brankovic, this is Nikola Savanovic, and I want to get the fuck out of here.”
-------------
You want to learn more about these strange guys? READ THE NEXT CHAPTER!
Might put up profiles for Marko and Niko up tomorrow, I'll post in the thread if I do.
Last edited by I3uster; May 4th, 2012 at 12:19 PM.
[04:55] Lianru: i3uster is actuallly quite cute
Nice intro, Marko. That'll definitely make you some friends.“Hi, my name is Marko Brankovic, this is Nikola Savanovic, and I want to get the fuck out of here.”
Anywho, it was a good chapter. I liked the bit close to the beginning where Nikola is proven to be... less than the smartest. I also like that Marko is trying to worm himself out of his position, and he's being completely honest about it. And I like his inner snark. Like the setup for a terrible joke, indeed.
Apart from that... Well, they're still at the introduction stage so I can't say much about the situation. I love the way it's happening, though.
All in all, I eagerly await the next chapter.
Probably 2 more chapters, then shit will go down.
I am honest here: the first target will be kinda meh, since this whole first story is for establishing characters and getting you to bond a bit with them (I hope I can pull that off).
But after that it should be a thrill ride. I have some crazy stuff in store.
[04:55] Lianru: i3uster is actuallly quite cute
Question: what's with your line breaks, is that a issue converting from your word processor or something? Because this:
Is kind of hard to read, IMO, most of the time you'd see more like this:Next to her sat a man who seemed to be around thirty, just staring in our general direction.
His five-o-clock shadow formed a contrast to his well-groomed, blonde hair, which he kempt sideward, but contrary to the others he at least made the impression of a killer, probably because of the emotionless look on his face, but it might have been that he was just bored.
If it were not for the fact that his pupils had a greyish tone and that he was petting a German shepherd, which was not on a leash for some strange reason.
The most likely reason for this was that it was a familiar, but he still petted it like it was a real dog, and the presumed familiar responded with happy panting.
Next to her sat a man who seemed to be around thirty, just staring in our general direction. His five-o-clock shadow formed a contrast to his well-groomed, blonde hair, which he kempt sideward, but contrary to the others he at least made the impression of a killer, probably because of the emotionless look on his face, but it might have been that he was just bored. If it were not for the fact that his pupils had a greyish tone and that he was petting a German shepherd, which was not on a leash for some strange reason. The most likely reason for this was that it was a familiar, but he still petted it like it was a real dog, and the presumed familiar responded with happy panting.
DAT SPACING MAN. DAT SPACING.
It'd look a lot neater if every space after a line was double spaced. It would be so much easier to read :/
Current Fanfics:
Spoiler:
Doing that either works, space less or space more, I think.
I am experimenting with the line breaks to see what works best.
This one obviously doesn't, lol.
I'll try to follows Leo's format for now...
Anyway, comments?
[04:55] Lianru: i3uster is actuallly quite cute
Best introduction.
I'm starting to get a feel for Marko and Niko's characters. Also, nice way to end a chapter.
Looking forward to more.
Updated the OP with no real info but a bit teasing, the spoilers will be filled once I have time. Chapter will come up today if Spin shows himself.
[04:55] Lianru: i3uster is actuallly quite cute
I like it. The line “IVAAAAN! IVAAAAAN! YOUR GORILLA DOESN’T LET ME IN!” made me chuckle.
Yay, a new reader (hopefully)
The whole thing still needs to gain a bit of momentum, I hope I can keep you interested for long enough
[04:55] Lianru: i3uster is actuallly quite cute
“It is simply impossible. I always try to achieve a flawless state, but it never works out.
Every time I try to move closer to my goal an exponentially rising number of imperfections show themselves.
I feel like the asymptote, slowly and steadily trying to reach the unreachable but never succeeding.
If I do not manage to achieve results in the next two days, I might have to move again. Someone is tapping the leyline.”
“Then get in the line bro, because you’re not the only one” The blonde man’s dog looked at me as he spoke in a much more American accent than most people I encountered here. He himself continued to stare at the wall. “You think this department survives by having enough volunteers? Once Cathal scouts someone strong enough he tries everything to get his dirty little hands on them.”
“Oh please, Mister Turner. I had enough of your self-pitying, generalization and disregard for the simple truth that you accepted the offer of Mister Mac Uisdean. Nobody forced you to become anything. And I would be careful with the way you choose to express yourself.” The china doll answered with contempt in her tone, but still not lowering her book.
“Yes, because the name of a Lord obviously has no influence in this Association. Keep dreaming, honey.” Now both he and the dog looked at her, the man crossing his arms and the dog growling.
“Mister Turner, I…” she closed her book, placing it on the couch next to her as her tone continued to become harsher. But the poker woman interrupted them before it could escalate.
“Just shut up, both of you! Whenever I get stuck in a room with you two all I hear is this endless quarreling. I am trying to win a free meal here.”
The ghastly-looking young boy tipped in on her hand, speaking to her in a completely unfazed and emotionless tone. “King and Ace.”
She looked at him in surprise. “What?”
“Your cards. You hold your cards too crooked.” Replied the boy, pointing at her hand which held her newly dealt cards.
She sighed. “…Angelo, why did you say that out loud.”
The boy continued talking in the same manner, his expression never changing from that anxious look he had since I walked in “Ole already knows it. That’s why you keep losing. You didn’t know it. That was wrong.”
What the hell is wrong with this kid?
“Ole you asshole!” She whacked the mountain of a man on the backside of his head with her flat hand. But even that did not provoke any physical reaction from the man, who just answered with a shrug and a short retort in his deep and booming voice. “… Not my fault.”
The kid finally stopped looking like some sort of robot and gave the woman a slightly angry look. I guess this was his way of expressing that he was fucking pissed.
Great emotional range you have there, kid.
“Stop shouting. It’s so loud. Don’t bang the table. That’s loud too. Sit down.” Said the kid in a tone that could almost be taken as angry.
“…sorry Angelo. We are kind of ignoring our newcomers here. Take a seat guys, just don’t try to cuddle with Lucienne though, she doesn’t appreciate that.” replied the woman in an apologetic tone, trying to switch the topic immediately by pointing at the free places on the couch.
I followed her advice and sat next to the blind guy, excusing myself before I sat down. Nikola took the place right next to me.
“What was the name of you guys again? I have trouble with those Slavic names.”
She continued on, but before I managed to reply the kid spoke again, reverting to his tone from before. “Marko Brankovic. And that was Nikola Savanovic”
No seriously, what’s wrong with him?
“Thanks Angelo, but I wanted to ask our newcomer here. You are Breughel’s replacement?”
Doesn’t she notice a thing? This is not how human beings normally behave, guys.
“Is this kid retarded?”
Everybody in the room except the kid threw me a gaze that could only be described as a death glare.
…fuck.
“It’s alright. He doesn’t know.” Apparently the kid was on my side.
I tried to cover up my faux pas with an honest excuse. “Uh…I am sorry?”
Nikola tried to defuse the awkwardness of the situation by continuing the conversation. “Yeah, we are probably replacing her.”
The brown-haired behemoth talked again: “Poor girl...”
“We all knew she was not going to last long.” Said Lucienne the doll, who resumed reading her book again, in a matter-of-fact tone.
Spoken like a true Magus.
“I liked her. Easygoing and fun, contrary to our dragon lady over here.” This Turner guy apparently took every opening he got to get on Lucienne’s nerves. And it worked.
“Turner, I swear I will choke you until you…” She demonstrated Turner’s less elegant way of reaching the root via applied pressure to the throat with the poor book she rolled into a tube, choking it with her teeth clenched.
“Knock it off, Lucienne. And you better stop too Richie.” The poker woman interrupted their quarreling once again.
“Alright mommy. So, how did you guys get in here?” Turner’s statement didn’t gain him any more favor points with the poker woman.
“You know what, just choke him.”
Oh boy, these people…
I tried to once again get the conversation back on track. “His father got me a scholarship, until some really bright fucker decided to put us in the department I wanted to be in the least, and then Cathal just proceeded to ignore my protests.” I turned to the poker woman. She gave me the most reasonable impression out of all these mental patients. “Is there a higher authority I can go too if I want to get out of here?”
But the reply came from Turner. “Higher than a Lord? Are you kidding me, bro? Do you even know how this place works? Your best bet is being all cuddly and endearing to Cathal, but that didn’t work out for poor Breughel.”
Just as I thought. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
How the hell do I get out of here?
“Hey, she started to like it here. She was getting all cocky before she went after ‘the Caller’.”, said the poker lady, now turning her chair with audible squeaking so that she faced in my direction.
“’The Caller?’”, apparently this caught Niko’s interest.
“A target, probably left Ireland by now. Presumed location is the US.” The kid responded like a machine, as if he learned this info by heart.
“Isn’t the US under association influence?” Niko continued to ask unfazed.
“Never been there. Yes.” Spoke the man-mountain, still having his back turned towards the couch.
“The specialist on that topic is Turner, he’s from there…” The poker woman gave Turner a nod. I didn’t think that he saw it, as his familiar was still busy staring at us two, but he gave us the info regardless.
“Parts of it, yeah. Some parts are completely without administration or Second Owners, and there are some shady organizations you really don’t want to mess with. I heard there had been some brawling between Freelancers and this one group. They’re apparently convincing enough for someone to flee and never show their ass to the association again.”
The poker woman gave us her opinion on the matter. “Hey, maybe he joined them.”
Turner shrugged as he replied. “They don’t sound like they just pick up random Freelancers though…”
“Uh, interesting… so, Cathal mentioned that we’ll be on a mission the day after tomorrow with someone from here, who would that be?” I once again tried to steer the conversation in the direction I wanted, a fruitless labor with these people it seemed.
“I would say that your most likely partner would be Miss Medina over here. She’s ‘One of Five’, the only one on standby right now, and Mister Mac Uisdean prefers newcomers being accompanied by seasoned veterans.”
Lucienne answered us, not lowering her book while talking.
“’One of Five’?” Niko once again derailed the conversation.
“Oh, that’s a silly thing…” “Miss Medina” almost seemed embarrassed at the mention of this topic, while Turner continued to explain. “Other departments have lots of titles to throw around to make their special students seem even more like super special sparkly geniuses. We don’t get something like that. We are just trash after all.” As he said this, Lucienne rolled her eyes “So to compensate for that, some really brilliant gentlemen of the Sealing Departments, apparently they were not Enforcers but butchers…”
“Butchers?” Niko needed to satisfy his curiosity. It seemed unusual of him to interview them like this, apparently he was genuinely interested in the workings of this department. Sadly I couldn't share his enthusiasm.
“Sealing Researchers.” Replied Lucienne, this time granting Niko a small look over her book.
“… Who made a list of the five best Enforcers at any given time, based on a few things. And in the current list our lovely little Ines ‘Cazadora del Desierto‘ Medina over here ranks fifth. The list is still made and actualized by the butchers.”
“… It’s nothing official!” I could have sworn she blushed for a moment there.
“Hey, it’s the only title one can get in this hellhole.” Turner once again showed his appreciation for the Enforcers with this remark.
“If this department is such a ‘hellhole’ for you Mister Turner, then it would not only be in my best interest if you would just leave.” And once again Lucienne took the bait.
“Nah, I’m not made for studying and all that stuff. I leave that to eggheads like you, Lucy.”
Oh, Ice Burn!
“Don’t argue.” The mountain man said, still focusing all of his concentration on the card game nobody but him seemed to be interested in anymore, letting his chips click as he dropped them onto each other one by one.
“This Cathal guy ranks first I guess?” Asked Niko as he leaned towards Ines, poking me a bit with his shoulder. Apparently the possibility of standing above others in a ranking, with his own fancy moniker made him actually pay attention for once.
“Just look over there, we always have the new list on the notice board.” said the Spanish woman, pointing at a board next to the door.
He stood up, moving over to the cork board, curiously checking out the names on the list. Meanwhile I resumed the conversation.
“So this Breughel woman… are deaths common in this department?”
The poker woman…Ines answered me. “Less than one would think. Breughel’s problem as a lack of talent and lineage, she was pretty much just a filler for Fraga’s slot.”
“…she never came back.” Ole the behemoth apparently noticed the futility of trying to play the card game and entered our conversation.
“So much for trusting an old friend of the Church I guess. Did they ever found out what happened to her?” Ines curiously turned towards Ole.
“…no investigation.” Apparently he was a man of few words.
“Really? Cathal normally gets unusually vindictive when one of his colleagues dies.” After Ines finished her sentence, Turner replied with another one of his provocative statements, regarding his boss this time. “Colleagues? You mean servants!”
But he wasn’t far off the mark here. I spoke up. “Cathal never made the impression of caring that much for my survival.”
Ines nodded as she continued. “He doesn’t. He just really hates Enforcer-killers. They give this department a bad reputation. Even if they’re not formal sealing targets, for example Church agents, they are hunted and killed when they get in our way.”
“I see. So…Ines was it, right? What should I do to get out of here?” I once again tried steering the conversation back on the track I needed it on.
“Oh, this is gonna be good…” apparently Turner didn’t expect her to give me any good info, putting his hands behind his head and leaning back.
“I’d say…gather some sympathy with Cathal and on the other hand get friendly with some department heads. You’ll wonder how often we get approached by them to give them some early access for research…” Ines’ little speech on how to get out of here was interrupted by Lucienne. “That is illegal and absolutely counterproductive to ‘gathering sympathy with Cathal’…”Almost as if Ines wanted to prove her innocence, she raised her hands.
“I never said I did it. It just might be a good way to get out of here. I never saw anyone really quitting being an Enforcer, I mean this is the only department in this association you really don’t want breathing down your neck.”
“… And then?” I pressed on. This sounded promising!
“And then you approach Cathal with the department head and ask for a switch.”
This sounds easier than I thought. That is if department heads are easy to sway.
“You think dad has enough pull to accomplish that on his own?” Niko asked. Apparently he wasn’t exactly confident in his ability to win people over. Or in mine. “I mean he managed to get us in here, I think he might get us out of here too?”
“I’d advise you to not provoke Cathal until he already knows you a bit better. Just go on that trial mission. Maybe you’ll even like it, who knows!” despite her apparent enthusiasm of taking us along for a mission the woman didn’t seem to be lying.
“I…don’t really want to to be honest. I am a total beginner at magecraft, I came here to learn and improve...” was my reply to her rather pushy attitude.
I am not a killer, and with my skills I will never be one.
“And I am here because it’s boring at home and dad said this could be challenging.” Niko on the other hand was blunt as ever with his reasons.
“I can help you improve and provide a challenge. We have some training facilities down here…” She almost sounded like she wanted to sell candy to little kids.
“’Facilities’? We have like one gym hall, the rest is all for the butchers.” Complained Turner, his dog looking at Ines.
“What, Richie, you want a spa or something?” A grin appeared on Ines’ face as she answered.
“I wouldn’t complain if we got a whirlpool….” It was reciprocated by Turner.
“I’d rather have a sauna.” Ole spoke up again, not turning around to face his conversational partner.
“Sauna? I thought you like this whole cave-dweller vibe…” Turners dog tilted his head as he looked at him.
Ole turned around.
He looked Turner in the eyes, preserving the silence of the moment, then proceeded to look Turner’s dog in the eyes.
There was still no sound in the room.
Then Ole finally looked at Lucienne.
“Choke him.”
For some reason the woman must have thought this statement was incredibly funny, as she started to giggle girlishly. Turner’s dog now faced her as Turner decided to give us a dramatic performance. “Is that…did she just…OH NO! THIS WAS NOT MADE FOR A DOG’S EYES TO SEE! SPARKY’S FACE IS MELTING! HELP HIM!”
Meanwhile Ines threw her cards on the table, stood up and straightened her suit jacket and tie. “The meal is on me guys, I’d rather like to see what our newcomers can and can’t do. I have to shape you two into working Enforcers by tomorrow.”
Niko didn’t seem to react well to this statement. “Uh, what do you mean by that?”
She just gave him a cheeky smile as she walked over to the door, opening it with a slight squeak. “Nikola, do you know pain?”
“Uh, I guess so?” He replied with slight confusion.
The woman just walked outside, and her voice echoed in the hallway as we both followed her.
“Haha. No.”
I need a cigarette.
-----
This weeks eye-cancer free spacing is brought to you by Spinach.
Last edited by I3uster; June 1st, 2012 at 04:48 PM.
[04:55] Lianru: i3uster is actuallly quite cute
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