The Eye of Undoing [Van the Mad & Valerian]
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		<h2 id="linktree">Play-By-Post: Bondage, D/s, S&amp;M =&gt; Bondage: Exotic Solos =&gt; Topic started by: vanTheMad on 01-04-2016, 19:15:22</h2>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>The Eye of Undoing [Van the Mad &amp; Valerian]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>vanTheMad</strong> on <strong>01-04-2016, 19:15:22</strong>
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				<div class="floatright">(http://i.imgur.com/BhovTQq.png)</div><span style="font-size: 18pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>The Eye of Undoing</strong></span><hr><br><div align="center"><em>Towering over the city of Ailderhon, the Sapphire Tower of the Gehnovan Mage's Guild casts a long shadow over the Grand Forum. The tall marble structure gleams in the late afternoon sun, its cerulean blue banners wave in the sea breeze. Near the top, on the highest balcony of the great spire, the stone figure of the Guild's founder stands in silent watch far above the teeming streets below. Unknown to the city, and even unknown to the great and powerful who reside within the tower's walls, a prophecy spoken of long ago, spoken by the same founder who stands immortalized in stone, begins to take shape, mortal players moving across the chessboard of fate. On the streets below, events begin to unfold, events which will guide even the lowliest of pawns through a great and unknown adventure, one which will shape the fates kings, queens, and gods alike.</em></div><br><hr><br>The high stone walls of the Mage's Guild coutyard rise up ahead of you, shading you from the heat of the midsummer afternoon. A gentle wind blows against your back, kicked up off the bay, bringing the pleasant smell of the street vendors peddling their wares to your nose. You wait to gain entry to the Sapphire Tower, where you have heard the High Archivist is seeking outside assistance- assistance which, so it goes, pays extremely well. As you wait in queue for the guards to finish inspecting a large caravan of wagons bearing the emblem of Omben, you catch sight of your companion, a slight tiefling urchin who goes by Lucky Luka, casually idling near a vendor peddling small pies; you can see the mischievous glint in his eyes as he engages the vendor in conversation on one side of the booth, while his crimson tail sneaks two pies away from the other. His distraction completed, he scurries up a short stone wall opposite the Guild's, holds up the spoils of his victory, and gives you a thumbs up.<br><br>The queue ahead of you moves slightly, only three wagons remaining to be checked by the guards, and only minutes until you're within the walls, on your way to a meeting with a potential new employer; however, any thoughts of the future are interrupted by the sound of a throat clearing behind you. A grinning halfling in shabby clothes, tailored to give the mocking impression of elegance, bows to you.<br><br>"Well, 'ullo miss," he begins, his voice as cheery as his grin. "Ya got buzzy business with the fussy fidgets in the Guild, eh?"
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Eye of Undoing [Van the Mad &amp; Valerian]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Valerian</strong> on <strong>03-04-2016, 19:34:18</strong>
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				At Luka's performance by the pie stand, Ilana showed no reaction, or at least no reaction anyone else would have noticed.&nbsp; Luka himself might have spotted slightest quirk at the corner of her mouth, but aside from this she seemed perfectly oblivious to any mischief.&nbsp; She had learned long ago that he meant no real harm, and trying to change him was a useless endeavor.&nbsp; Besides, she'd rather gotten used to him as he was, not that she would ever tell him as much.<br><br>While he stood out by simple virtue of his looks, Ilana was far easier to overlook, and that was how she preferred things, being of average height and build for a female human, brown-haired and light-skinned.&nbsp; She did seem perhaps more able to handle herself than most city folk, but then she also dressed and carried herself like a traveler, someone who had been a few places and seen a few things.&nbsp; But that was about all that anyone might notice about her.&nbsp; Some might detect a certain affinity with magic, but that would take more insight than most possessed.&nbsp; If Luka was to be believed, she also radiated the appearance of someone who had been born and raised in the middle of nowhere and was just asking to be taken advantage of in the city, but she knew that opinion was only meant to tease her.&nbsp; Well, mostly.<br><br>She turned at once when the halfling made his presence known, the gesture perhaps a bit smoother and quicker than he might have expected -- or perhaps not, for he seemed to take no notice of this.&nbsp; "Buzzy business," she echoed, her mouth again quirking into a faint smile.&nbsp; "Yes, I do.&nbsp; Perhaps you do as well?"&nbsp; He seemed to want to talk, so she might as well encourage him, she thought.&nbsp; Anything to make this tedious waiting in line pass by a bit more quickly, and perhaps he knew something more about the job.&nbsp; With all this competition, any extra information could be useful.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Eye of Undoing [Van the Mad &amp; Valerian]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>vanTheMad</strong> on <strong>05-04-2016, 06:59:58</strong>
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				The grinning halfling shook his head and shrugged.<br><br>"No miss, I 'ave not," he responded, still as cheery as ever. "But I keeps my ears an' eyes to the to the happenin's which happen therein. I used to be a student there, ya know- til the tizzy teachers got too intimidated by m'prowess, ya see. I'm a natural-born mage, an' they were worried about me takin' their jobs." As if to demonstrate his power, he deftly extracted a flat, polished stone from his sleeve and rolled it across his knuckles, then made a flourish as it reached his littlest finger, before showing his palm to demonstrate that it had disappeared. While a cute trick, it was obviously just sleight of hand, a fact that does not seem to have any meaning to him as he continues talking.<br><br>"The name's Wick the Wizard," he said with another exaggerated bow. "An' it's a pleasure to meet such a lover-ly lady as ya, miss." As he talks, you notice his eyes move, ever so quickly, away from you and to something just behind you, and then back to you. He pulls a brightly colored kerchief from his pocket and wipes his nose with it.<br><br>"I 'ate to be a buzzy bother, but 'ave you met with the Grand Duplicatorian? I think 'e might 'ave dropped this." He held out the kerchief this time, and with an exaggerated hand motion, tossed it up into the air, along with three others, nearly identical to it, and began juggling.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Eye of Undoing [Van the Mad &amp; Valerian]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Valerian</strong> on <strong>05-04-2016, 15:58:13</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				Resisting the urge to cast a quick cantrip and show the halfling how these things were really done, Ilana simply watched politely.&nbsp; It was nothing all that exciting, true, but it was better than simply waiting, and she had no objection to letting him practice his patter on her.&nbsp; Street performers didn't have an easy time of it, after all, and he was moderately entertaining.<br><br>Then she caught his eyes shifting very briefly to the side, slyly checking on something he obviously did not want her to notice, and she sighed inwardly.&nbsp; Perhaps Luka was right and she really did look as though she was fresh off the farm and ready to be fleeced.&nbsp; She'd been away from home for quite some time now, in fact, but perhaps hints of one's background never did entirely fade away, at least for those who had some skill in noticing such things.&nbsp; In any case, if she ever did manage to get herself robbed she'd never hear the end of it from Luka, so she'd best make sure that never happened -- or if it somehow did that he never learned of it.<br><br>"The Grand Duplicatorian?" she echoed, raising an eyebrow.&nbsp; "No, I'm afraid I haven't had the pleasure.&nbsp; Oh, my apologies, perhaps I'm blocking the view of your most amusing show," she added, before taking a quick step to the side and turning to see who might be behind her, and if said person was indeed plotting to get up to no good at her expense, as she suspected.&nbsp; "I certainly wouldn't wish to spoil the fun."
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Eye of Undoing [Van the Mad &amp; Valerian]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>vanTheMad</strong> on <strong>12-04-2016, 07:07:41</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				As you turned, you heard a small "eep," and found yourself face to face to face with a young human girl, or rather, chest to face. The girl's hand hovered, frozen at waist level, clearly intent on your coin purse, and her eyes were as wide as saucers. From behind you, you could hear Wick curse.<br><br>"Essie!" he shouted, his voice a combination of annoyed and panicked. "Run, ya daft girl!"<br><br>Wick's tiny legs beat a quick retreat, and the girl in front of you, now identified as Essie, finally snapped from her frozen fear and dashed across the square, headed for a throng of people opposite the Sapphire Tower's walls. Alerted by the sudden commotion, the one of the guards previously investigating the caravan rushed to your side, while two others ran off in pursuit of the would-be crooks.<br><br>"Did they get anything? the guard inquired, looking you over carefully. From his perch across the plaza, you can see Luka laughing hard enough that he began to cough, and nearly lost his balance atop the wall, obviously loving how accurate his notes on how crooks viewed you was.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Eye of Undoing [Van the Mad &amp; Valerian]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Valerian</strong> on <strong>13-04-2016, 15:36:50</strong>
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				Ilana barely stifled a giggle at the girl's reaction, then did laugh at the halfling's shout.&nbsp; She felt a twinge of conscience as they were then forced to flee from the guards, but that was their own fault, or rather the halfling's, letting his gaze slide like that.&nbsp; But a bit of thievery seemed refreshingly innocent compared to many of the things that happened in cities like these, and she found herself hoping that Essie and her partner were prepared with a good escape route and would be able to get away.<br><br>Catching sight of Luka's reaction, she made a face in his direction.&nbsp; Maybe he would fall off the wall and then he'd be less likely to laugh so hard in future, though unfortunately neither was a very strong possibility.&nbsp; Then the guard approached and she shook her head at his question, waving a hand dismissively.&nbsp; "No, no harm done," she assured him, reaching to pat her still present and intact coin purse.&nbsp; "I'm very careful of my possessions, especially when I'm in town," she added, unsure if she was relieved or not that Luka couldn't hear her making that statement.<br><br>"But I'm glad to see the guards here are so alert."&nbsp; Glad wasn't precisely the right word, but it had been useful to see how they responded, and how quickly.&nbsp; Those trained to follow the letter of the law, such as the average city guard, didn't generally understand those people like her who tried to do the right thing in unorthodox ways, so it was always best to know what one was up against when entering a new town.&nbsp; This incident had been a useful lesson for several people, it seemed.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Eye of Undoing [Van the Mad &amp; Valerian]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>vanTheMad</strong> on <strong>13-04-2016, 19:19:53</strong>
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				Nodding, the guard motioned for you to move with him in front of the remaining caravaneers.<br><br>"Glad to hear they didn't get anything," he began, dismissively waving his way past a surly-looking dragonborn caravan driver. "There's been a real problem with pickpockets around the Tower, ma'am. Ole' Wick and Essie are harmless enough, the only reason they still hang around here is on account of our leniency towards them in the past. They're not the type we're concerned with, and I'm assuming you'll be meeting their type soon enough." The guard turned as he reached the main gate to the Guild, and looked a little embarassed.<br><br>"Err, that is, I was assuming you're here for Master Cerenth's job offer, that is, ma'am."
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Eye of Undoing [Van the Mad &amp; Valerian]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Valerian</strong> on <strong>14-04-2016, 15:13:54</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				Being brought closer to the front of the line was an unexpected bonus, but Ilana wasn't about to miss this chance.&nbsp; She shot a quick look in Luka's direction, though she didn't doubt he'd be able to fend for himself and meet her inside the walls quickly enough.&nbsp; He'd never let her have the satisfaction of beating him to the city proper by <em>too</em> much, even if she was getting quite a lot of extra help in this case.&nbsp; With one hand resting lightly on her coin purse, just in case, she followed the guard's lead.<br><br>"Yes, I can imagine there must be far worse in the way of cutpurses and thieves," she remarked, in a studiously neutral tone.&nbsp; Most likely she herself was a good deal more dangerous than Essie and Wick, at least given the right circumstances.&nbsp; "And yes, I am," she added, noting his faint embarrassment.&nbsp; "I suppose there must be a good deal of interest in this job.&nbsp; It pays quite well, I understand."&nbsp; This conversation might also be a useful opportunity to size up the competition, which probably was considerable.&nbsp; There was never any shortage of adventurers, glory-seekers, and those who just hoped for some quick, easy coin, after all.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Eye of Undoing [Van the Mad &amp; Valerian]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>vanTheMad</strong> on <strong>17-04-2016, 05:20:07</strong>
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				"Yes, ma'am," the guard responded, better composed, and looking relieved that he hadn't jumped to too big of a conclusion. "Thieves are, well, part of the job you're meeting with Master Cerenth on. If you'll just follow me, I'll take you to the Grand Archivist, and he'll brief you on the rest of it once he arrives, he's currently at lectures." Through the gates and across the meticulously kept courtyard of the Mage's Guild, the guard marched with an almost excited step. As he neared the great gilded doors of the Sapphire Tower, they swung inwards soundlessly and without prompting, as if responding to your presence. In through the great doors, the guard continued, through the lavishly decorated halls, and up the stairs across from the doors, to a comparatively simple looking wooden door. Opening the door for you, the guard stopped, stepped to the side, and bowed in a dramatic manner. Inside was a comfortable-looking sitting room, with all manner of expensive and intricate magical trophies, several plush velvet chairs, and a warm and inviting hearth. Still bowing, the guard spoke.<br><br>"You may await the Grand Archivist here, ma'am," he said politely. "He shall be along shortly, as soon as his lectures are ended." With that, the guard stood and closed the door, leaving you to yourself in the room.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: The Eye of Undoing [Van the Mad &amp; Valerian]</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Valerian</strong> on <strong>18-04-2016, 16:22:13</strong>
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				"Yes, I'm quite used to dealing with all sorts of people," Ilana said, paying close attention as they walked.&nbsp; That was sheer instinct, all part of her training and the constant awareness of how easily things could go wrong, forcing one to beat a hasty retreat.&nbsp; As expected, there was more than a hint of magic in the air in this place, and she began to feel like quite an amateur.&nbsp; And it was true that the formal, organized study of magic was almost entirely unknown to her, it being inborn as far as she was concerned.&nbsp; The scholars here seemed like very different beings.<br><br>"Thank you," she said as they reached their destination, managing to sound as calm and neutral as though she experienced such plush surroundings every day and was no longer impressed by them.&nbsp; In fact she'd rarely seen anything like this and felt more out of place now than ever, as though at any moment someone else of much more importance than a mere guard would appear and throw her out, having determined that she was unfit even to speak to anyone there about this grand, important task.<br><br>But she had as much chance of getting the job as anyone, she reminded herself, and anyway Luka would never let her hear the end of it if he ever found out about her worries and doubts.&nbsp; With a polite nod to the guard as he left, she took a turn around the room, doing her best not to gape at anything and keeping her hands strictly to herself.&nbsp; No matter how tempting the items were, the sheer number of traps and other protections in this place had to be huge, and she wasn't about to start out her visit by risking losing a hand.
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