<strong>Tagging:</strong>Group 1: Anahita, Alexander, Maya, Mei, Sparrow<br/><br/>The butler greets her guests as they come out of the shower fresh and dressed, “This way please. Master is waiting.”<br/><br/>She leads them up the stairs and down along a tall hallway following the old architecture, but with a dash of warmer shades in the woods and decor. After a few moments the party arrives, crossing at least hundred paces of the hallway in a blink of an eye as if some magic folded space. Looking back they see rows of doors behind them. The butler does not pay their surprise any attention as she pushes a set of heavy wooden doors open, announcing the party’s presence, “Master. I have brought you the new guests.”<br/><br/><div class="floatright">(https://pre00.deviantart.net/6f77/th/pre/f/2013/027/7/1/los_lobos_by_artmagix-d5syz8k.jpg)</div>Streaks of white on his hair and the gentle glow of arcane in his eyes betray the man to be well beyond the mortal span of a half elf. The man is tall and built wide. His lounging pose teeters at the edge of offensively lazy. Around him is the wizard’s inner sanctum. The ceiling is composed of transparent glass panels. Beyond them rages the astral storm that covers everything in a partially opaque veil of blue. Beyond that still however spreads a queer stomach lurching view of the Anus. The mansion stands sideways on the steep cliffs of the second layer. From where the party stands waterfalls flow sideways into the massive dark tunnel, dispersing into mist before reaching the bottom. Ethereal shadows of creatures swim through the air in unconventional angles, some hitting the roof panels and bouncing off with looks of confusion on their faces.<br/><br/>At the back of the room stands on a pedestal a wagon sized contraption of huge lenses and levers pointed right at the edge of the Green Rim. Towards the viewer’s seat points also a large cone like one the elderly use to amplify sound. Around it and the room itself the space is filled by potted plants and oddities that attempt to condense all seven layers of the Anus into a single greenhouse. The wizard lays a book he held down on a table and stands, assuming a showman’s smile.<br/><br/>“Welcome,” he says, arms spread, smile growing near genuine. “Be at ease adventurers...” He eyes them, gaze lingering quite long on the forms clad in the skimpiest or tightest fabrics. “Relax. You’re in the house of the Omigra Shalal, the Amazing Transmogrifier, scholar of the change, an avid student of the Anus, and a dabbler of the lewd arts. Ah, but don’t start bowing and postating yourselves yet, those are really just minor details. Anyone could get where I am with if they possessed a peerlessly brilliant mind and drive to dedicate themselves to a singular goal.” The wizard laughed, “Oh, nevermind. I joke. I’m nothing that great, just a harmless ol’ wizard.”<br/><br/>“But you.” An inquisitive curiosity takes over his gaze as he touches thumb and forefinger to form some sort of arcane monocle over one eye, peering each adventurer again in turn. “Most peculiar. Corruption of the Anus has yet to as much as touch them… Except...” He turns his eye away from Mei, mumbling a few words that disappear under his breath. A grin visits his lips, but quickly disappears. “Ah! You’ve come here straight from the wall have you not? My apologies dear guests,” he says, taking off the magic monocle. “You see, I’m not sure if you’re aware, but most mortals show signs of Gaia’s influence within the first layer already. The divine aura is simply too potent to resist. That you would have reached here without as much as a little peck is exceptional. It does bode well for your future here… Yes, much potential...” Nearly disappearing again into his own thoughts, the wizard blinks to snap himself out of it.<br/><br/>“Come! Step in, take a seat.” He snaps his fingers. Silvery outlines of a table and beautiful chairs appear into being. The magic quickly wraps around itself, forming a more solid surface until becoming solid wood. The wizard pulls one chair for himself at the very end of the oval table and says, “You must all be weary, after all it’s already...” He looks at a strange contraption of the wrist. “Just about ten thirty am. Hm, feels like afternoon already. Well, in that case. High time for brunch wouldn’t you say?”<br/><br/>“Dynja dear, would you prepare us something. Something… Exciting.”<br/><br/>“As you wish master,” the butler bows and disappears. A few moments pass before she returns, the multi layered scent of spicy half-elven cuisine interrupting the conversation. The butler takes the lid off of the silver platter and reveals bite sized arrangements of ingredients so elaborately worked that it’s nigh impossible to tell what they were. She lays it on the table, disappears, brings out another, and another, and another. “The brunch is served,” she announces, bowing.<br/><br/>“Thank you Dynja. Dear guests, please dig in. Now my apologies, but as a bit of a hermit I don’t often hear of the world above. How do you youngsters see the afflicted now days?" He lets the question hang with brows raised in honest wonder. "And what about yourselves? Do you see the 'blessed' as something less, something to fear? Something- Ah?" The wizard spots a small piece of paper poking from beneath one of the appetizers. Irritation quirks his brow as he picks it up and folds it open. He chuckles and throws the paper away. Blue flames disintegrate it the moment it leaves his hand. He has not noticed due to how the platters are served, but there is a small note hidden in each of them, partially concealed below tasty bits.<br/><br/><strong>Adventurers, you're treated to all manner of niceties in the wizard's enchanted mansion. However, it seems the wizard sounds like he might not be wholly untouched by the place around you. </strong>