Steorra did not contain his wonder at what was happening. He had never seen one of the world seeds in actual action before, and their effects were simply spectacular! Their results would have taken normal mages years to execute. They were definitely artifact-level items for sure, and on a (relatively) blank slate like the new plane they were on their impact was even more significant than it would have been back home on the prime material plane.

Standing at the back, Malleus smiled softly to himself and watched the others start off into the valley. He stood on the threshold of the Elucidate for a time, admiring the view and scanning the horizon to understand where the shadows might lie, fallow and waiting

The group that had set out into the newly formed valley had been upbeat and carefree, those that returned were bleeding and grim. Two of them carried a blood stained wrap between the two of them which held the defiled remnants of one of the missing navigators. Some of the other mages who had gone to explore the valley, but hadn't experienced the violence first hand, had gathered and were trying to piece together the story.

"What the hells happened?" asked one.

A woman shook her head, "Monsters. I saw it myself, a whole swarm like locusts. They killed the navigator."

"Locusts don't pin a man to a stake," disagreed another mage, "I saw them pulling him down off a spike, it wasn't monsters that killed him, or at least not any locusts."

"Wait, Faldra is dead? So we're trapped here?" someone gasped in horror.

"No, not Faldra, one of the other ones, you know, one of the Lendalian separatists."

"But what about the other monsters at the ship, there's supposed to be hundreds, are they all coming too?"

The crowd was growing and words were starting to overlap one another as the babbling grew louder and more anxious. Others from the Elucidate had emerged as word was spreading not only of the valley, but of the disastrous encounter within it. From the base of the Elucidate a person could still spy the preternatural gloom that hung over the place where the fight had unfolded. From the tower reemerged the leader of the expedition. Eldereth had proudly watched as they valley had been created, it was the first great step towards their goal to terraform and colonize this world, but he'd returned to work when it was complete and hadn't been amongst those who had gone to explore it. Listening to the chatter now his face darkened.

"This expedition is full of hardship, monsters are just another trial for us to face," Eldereth said to the crowd, "And from what I'm hearing, we met that challenge admirably. When we activate the next World Shard we'll be better prepared for any hostile native lifeforms that may be drawn to the event."

"It doesn't sound like those are native creatures from what I heard," spoke up another mage. This fellow was younger than many of the gray haired compatriots on the expedition. He was well groomed, his hair combed and held a glossy sheen, his robes were of a more stylish cut and his beard was closely cut to his face rather than the long spindly things that many of the older men sported. "I can sense dimensional magic down there, at least I think it is, it's not the sort I've generally worked with, but it's the first trace I've gotten since we arrived here. I was starting to think there was no planar cosmology to this place at all." He shook his head at the notion, "Can you imagine? Just a single world? How claustrophobically dull."

"I'm glad this has given you a breakthrough," Eldereth replied, "Mapping the planar constellation of this new world will be important. We all know how impactful those other planes can be upon Aleteros, it seems that is no different here. I look forward to seeing the maps you create."

"Well hang on now," Taebor protested, "It sounds like cosmological mapping is hardly a safe undertaking, how about lending me a couple of bodies? I'm going to have to go down there where the disturbance came from, and apparently that disturbance brought along a horde of unpleasantness, I'd rather not encounter that on my lonesome."

Nodding in agreement, Eldereth regarded the assembled mages, "Would any of you care to volunteer to accompany Taebor?"

Potential Adventure: Cosmological Mapping - Accompany Taebor as he works to map out the planar forces detected in the valley below.

Arzin had no idea what "planar cos-whatever" was, but it was clear enough that Eredeth and the second mage whom the man-at-arms had not met seemed to be interested in it.

When he heard the second mage -- whose name was Taebor, apparently -- say something about his expedition possibly being dangerous, as well as requesting  "a couple of bodies" to accompany him, Arzin's ears perked up.

Although he had not been back to his quarters to clean up after the battle with the Dark Goblins, Arzin had otherwise recovered from the dust-up. He felt physically up to the trip, and suspected that he would be a good choice, given what he had just been hearing.

Raising his hand, Arzin responded to Eldereth's inquiry. "I will volunteer."

Walking over to where Taebor stood, he said "I am Arzin. As you can see from the blood on my armor, I am no stranger to the efforts of those  hereabouts that wish us ill. I volunteer to be one of those bodies whom you requested from Master Eldereth."

"Can you tell me how long you expect to be gone from the Elucidate? We should take care to take along sufficient provisions and other necessities, obviously."

Stepping forward beside Arzin, Malleus nodded to Taebor and the warrior, "Malleus Murk, I am intrigued to understand more regarding the equivalent of the shadow plane in this ... place. Shadow is ... was .. where my ... skill lay"

Whilst he had remained quiet while other recounted their troubles, this Noal intrigued him, and the place he had glimpsed through the torn veil

Steorra considered everything that happened and what was being said. However, when Eldereth began speaking about the Cosmological Mapping stuff, Steorra became extremely interested. Dimensional energies? Planar Spheres? This sort of stuff was exactly why Steorra was even here!

"I also will participate in the Cosmological Mapping efforts as well. This sort of thing greatly interests me and my area of study, and my time magic  may have some sort of potentially beneficial use here." Steorra said.

"Plus, I found a very strange coin-like thing in the aftermath of the Valley Battle, that attuned itself to me somehow. I need a bit to work on this connection, but I think I can use it to tace somewhere what may be involved with our unseen enemy. Or perhaps a third party even who has yet remained unknown to us. I will use the time I spend doing the Cosmological Mapping to try and meditate more on the connection." he said.

"Oh, and to all the Mages assembled...I want to let you all know about our scouting mission into the Violet Jungle. It turns out that purple haze on the horizon isn't light or some sort of radiance, but it's refraction caused by a purple-ish pollen that is released by these purple-violet colored trees. And it's located in what's basically a large jungle with all sorts of flora in it. The pollen seems quite harmless, and probably is good for the jungle's ecosystem too. We went further in, and found what can only be described as a Grown-Fortress. Yes, a Fortress that was grown using plant-based techniques, but it's sophisticated enough to have DANGERROUS defenses like these plant sentinel things, and hidden compartments. So I think it was worth us checking out." he continued.

"Oh, and we brought back a sample of the purple pollen for any biomancers and plant mages to look at, and there was also a large, hidden and obviously protected seed of some kind that I had to painfully fight a sentinel to get to. I brought it back with us, and hopefully some plant and bio mages can check it out as well. Maybe it's something we can use for our project team? Or some sort of mystical resource, or who knows! It was special enough to inspire new magic in me, that's for sure." he said.

OOC: I really want to do the Cosmological mapping adventure now, and afterward will probably ask if anyone wants to join me on the special adventure we "found" after the valley fight.

Aurland had made it out of the fight more or less intact, in no small part due to the contribution of Steorra, but his spirit was more than a little weary. The enemy they were faced with was more than simple monsters. It was an organization capable of giving a simple messenger a spatial enchantment and with enough command over the Ravenous to call a horde of them at a whim.

"I would also be willing to contribute to the mapping effort. However I would like to expnad on our defenses before our departure. I've recently come into some inspiration of my own when Arzin and I found ourselves beset by conjured warriors in the Corridor. Which someone really ought to calibrate before someone is seriously injured."

Because of his injured leg, Vallen had been slow to join the group, but had overheard most of the talk of working on the celestial map of the new realm they had found themselves in. While he was intrigued of what Taebor might find, his body ached in painful protest. Once Arzin volunteered however, that was enough to sway him to stay. And so with the decision made, he turned to leave and staggered back alone to the Elucidate towards the infirmary for some proper care for his injuries.

The number of eager volunteers to join them brought a smile to Taebor's face and the well groomed mage flashed his white teeth in a winning smile. "Wonderful! Allow me a few minutes to gather my instruments and we'll get this done! Now, it'll likely be a dull affair, a bit like star mapping, but one thing my travels across the planar realms has taught me is to always be overprepared." With that the man sauntered off to gather his materials. Eldereth seemed satisfied by the work that was being undertaken and, after giving a warm farewell, returned to the tower.

With a planar expert in tow, the mages prepared to return to the valley and pry loose what secrets had been dug up along with those monsters.

OOC: Getting the adventure whipped up!

In a few hours, Vallen was well enough to be back on his feet like he'd sustained no injuries at all. Whether it was from a magically increased recovery or from numbing painkillers that he was already able to stand, it was in large part due to their infirmary being fixed up after the Elucidate's initial crash. Vallen was grateful someone realized the immediate need for the medical bay and had set it in order in such a short time. Now Vallen's bandaged arm and leg lay hidden beneath clean garments, and while he was not completely healed, his appearance gave the illusion nothing had happened to him.

As he was feeling well enough, he went to see Eldereth in his quarters, as he had a few things he felt were prudent to discuss. He knocked on the elders door and waited to see if he was in and available to speak to him.

While the others returned to the valley, Vallen had other things on his mind. Taking the translocator to the upper floors where Eldereth's quarters were located, he rapped on the door. The voice of the Elucidate chimed up, "Eldereth has been notified of your presence. Please wait here, he will be with you shortly." It wasn't long before the door opened and Eldereth greeted the storm mage. Wearing his usual white and silver robes, he motioned Vallen to enter.

With the spatial magics of the Elucidate Eldereth had created a receiving room. With several comfortable chairs and couches it also had a large table at the center of the room above which floated a miniature version of the Elucidate and the rocky lands surrounding it, complete with the newly created valley that now abutted the tower. It provided an impressive view of the Spellspire and the local surroundings.

"You're looking much better, Vallen," the expedition leader said as he gave an approving look at the expertly wrapped bandages that now covered his wounds. "How may I be of assistance today?"

Vallen gave a nod of respect to the expedition's leader. " There is a matter concerning the events that just took place in the valley I need to speak to you about," Vallen said.

OOC: You mentioned you were newer to play-by-post Vallen, so a quick tip to help maximize the value of a post: Don't be afraid to go on a bit on a monologue, or ask several questions at once. In a live game answering question by question is very natural, but with one update per day here (And this is a fast game!) that can make the conversation move pretty slow. The NPC in question will answer the various questions, if there is something keeping them from addressing one then they'll touch on why and move onto the next.

"Of course Vallen, what was on your mind," Eldereth said as he motioned the storm mage to take one of the couches while he took another one. Producing a pipe from one of his robes sleeves, he ignited the tip with a snap of his fingers, then looked expectantly at Vallen.

(OOC: Oh sorry, some of my characters can be a bit particular with how I play them in certain scenarios. Vallen wanted to wait for a proper invite before stepping inside and speaking, but I'll try to ignore him next time and post something longer.)

Vallen took a seat across from Eldereth. He looked at him seriously. “ As you already have heard, we had an uninvited guest in the valley today. It's clear we're not alone on this plane, and more than that, unwelcomed by the locals.
What nobody probably told you is the man was willing to give us information, but because we wasted time bickering amongst ourselves, we lost that opportunity and only walked away with mainly the man's name.
But while we gained very little, our enemy gained more insight on us: That we are disorganized and are not a threat to be taken seriously. To organize ourselves with government and military would be ideal, but impractical with our numbers, but one thing is very clear, we need more order and clear authority amongst our ranks so this never happens again. We need a hierarchy of command.”

Vallen took a breath, before releasing it, his face growing reflective.
“ I also feel this whole ordeal has changed our goal in being here. I know you said we should focus on the Elucidate and improving our home front, but now that we know there's an enemy out there, to sit idly by would be an invite to our own destruction. We need to start investigating this threat. We need to find where they're coming from, who’s in charge of them, and just how powerful they are. Ultimately, that is your call, but this land already appears to be claimed, which means if we want it, we're going to have to fight for it.”

Leaning his chin on steepled fingers, Eldereth nodded along as Vallen spoke, his face solemn as the expedition leader quietly absorbed the storm mages concerns. "A clearer chain of command does sound like it is in order. You're wise to bring this matter to my attention," taking a thoughtful puff on his pipe, Eldereth slowly breathed out a fragrant white cloud of smoke and seemed to be gathering his thoughts. "Yes, you're quite right. The events of the last few weeks have made it very clear the hierarchy of command is too loose, especially for anything that happens outside the walls of the Elucidate. I believe I have a solution." Rising to his feet, Eldereth strode purposefully from the room, a few minutes later he returned, this time his footfalls were accompanied by a 'thump-thump-thump" of the butt of a staff. This long rod of wood was relatively simple save for a glass orb at the tip.

"This will solve the issue. This staff allows for communication. Allow me to demonstrate," Eldereth tapped the rod twice on the ground, then a projection emanated out from the tip of the staff to create a ghostly image of Eldereth himself. "There, now we can ensure that there is no confusion when important matters come up." Eldereth's voice echoed, coming from both him and his projection. With another tap of the staff his double disappeared. "Now any party going outside the tower is to take this staff, then if important issues arise I can be the one to decide the matter." Nodding in agreement with his own plan, Eldereth offered the staff over to Vallen. It seemed that the hierarchy of command could not be any more clear now, it would be carried with them wherever they went.

"As for the matter of the man you met, I would put it out of mind. We've discovered that others have arrived here before us, it's true, but a few mad survivors from prior exploration parties are not a reason to halt the entire. If he does turn up again you can notify the others that they are authorized to treat him as a threat and respond accordingly. We'll show him the foolishness of trying to interfere with the matters of the empire."

Vallen received the wand when it was offered to him, looking it over. Eldereth gave a predictable conclusion of his second concern. While Vallens mind was on the potential nightmarish futures leaving a threat unanalyzed could bring, it was clear the old mage was only focused on what the threat appeared to be today. Vallen decided to leave it be, even though such stubbornness could get them all killed.

Vallen motioned to the staff in his hands after Eldereth finished.

“ While this is a sufficient solution in some cases, the incident in the valley was a time sensitive matter. We needed a leader in that moment to navigate the collecting of information, and while Steorra tried to do so, nobody cooperated with him as he is still young, and simply has not earned the respect of the other mages yet. If we have time available to explain a situation to you, this wand will do just fine, but in all other scenarios it will fall short.”

Vallen paused, now looking at Eldereth seriously.

“ ...We need ranks established of who has command over whom. I believe this is the only solution that will resolve this problem fully.”

Eldereth listened to Vallen's appeal and stroked his chin, though his expression was incredulous. "There are only eighteen of us after our initial arrival, we're hardly more than a half filled classroom at this point, a single authority figure should be plenty, but why not tell me what you have in mind? Perhaps there is merit to the idea."

Returning to the Elucidate following Taebor's ritual, Malleus was thoughtful and distracted. He haunted the public chambers for a few hours, examining ordinary objects and snacking here and there on whatever snacks the tower provided. If engaged, he was vague in his responses, his mind elsewhere.

After a time, he sought Runesmith Zevesh in their workshop, not entering after being greeted but leaning upon the doorjamb. Exchanging some pleasantries, he moved decisively to the topic upon his mind, "I find myself at a loose end, Master Zevesh; I stumbled over a fragment of a possibility earlier, but I need certain materials to dig further, to experiment and .. probe... his connection. I wondered if I might be of service in th workshop, for a time, in exchange for some runic structures that might assist me in that endeavour?"

OOC: Broadly, Malleus has insufficient experience to pursue one of twoo personal projects right now, so he is looking for a means of supplementing that with materials.

Steorra arrived back at the tower along with Malleus, Arzin, Aurland, and Trebor. He had a LOT to think about now, after what happened and what he saw and had learned from the cosmology mapping. This dimension was similar to 3 planes overlapped onto one area, except not exactly. And now, he possessed a portal ritual that, while lengthy to utilize without augments, could work perfectly and automatically ina  way that mere navigation, teleportation, and similar magic could not. Traditional gate magic was weird and finicky like that, but Steorra had just witness the tip of a new iceburg. But even beyond that, there were issues with the project team, the local magic, prismatic slimes and other critters trying to eat them, and mysterious coins.

He was greatful for the reprieve they had now, since lately he had been way pushing past his limits with his magic and it was really straining his body to the point of injury. So he'd do what he could to try and avoid combat and such for a bit while he regained some of his vitality over time. But there was one thing he immediately wanted to do, that would not only provide him with potentially interesting insights but would help the project team out (sort of int he same spirit Aurland did with the infirmary upgrade. Steorra had been helping keep the mages together since the first day they arrived, and his project would surely be a needed repreive of a different sort welcome by all.

OOC: Steorra now has enough xp for another project. Probably because he keeps risking his life with deadly rolls lol, but what can I say a stitch in time saves nine!

Steorra went to his chambers and took a nap, ate, and bathed. Just refreshed himself, really. But then he gathered some notes, and then went to discuss a few things some of the various project team mages asking them about their experiences with the wild-magic effect that sometimes occurs in this new dimension, but especially for the time after they pass through the spellspire's magical stabilization field. After making his rounds, he took the notes of the experiences that he gleaned from interviewing the others along with his current insight and new ability about how to forcefully stabilize wild magic, and decided he had enough to work with to make a break through.

Steorra sent out an announcement through the Spellspire's control room that resounded throughout the tower.

Attention all Elucidate project mages, this is Steoprra Telluriam, the Magister of Time. I will be shortly performing maintenance and - hopefully - an upgrade improvement to the magical field matrix surrounding the Spellspire, so please for your safety please avoid crossing the matrix field threshhold. I repeat, refrain from crossing the field until I am done, lest you get shredded into pieces, or cursed by a wild surge, or something worse. This maintenance will only take me a few hours though I'm expecting, and there will be another announcement issued when maintenance is completed. Thank you and have a nice day.

And with that, he was off to work his magic! Literally and figuratively speaking!

OOC: Talon, I would like to spend 5 xp and initiate a project with you!

Project Goal: Upgrade the spellspire Matrix Field Network

Desired End Result: Currently, we have a "bane" or "debuff" of suffering from wild surges when we use magic for 1 week after we pass through the matrix field and leave the proximity of the tower. I would like to see if we can turn that into a buff or boon instead, or at least offset the bane and make it harmless to go back and forth. This is in the same spirit as Aurland upgrading the Infirmary. I want to "upgrade" the Matrix Field feature of the Spellspire into something that's more positive for us with a project.

Malleus:

Heading to the upper levels of the Elucidate, Malleus found the Lead Runesmith inside the workshop. Her biceps were bulging around the metal bangles fixed to her arms as she hammered at a piece of metal laid across an anvil. With a heavy leather apron draped across her front, a broad iron smithing hammer in hand and sweat beaded thickly across her brow, she looked as far from the traditional image of a mage as one could get. Wiping the back of her hand across her head she stood up straight and regarded Malleus. "Afraid everything here belongs to someone or is already ear marked for a task. You're welcome to use the facilities here to make whatever you like, or I can help, but I've got nothing I can give out." Setting down the hammer with a heavy whump, she straightened and stretched, "But a few weeks back the soldier type brought me a handful of bits, from what I heard that was only crumbs. Apparently there's a whole ship that can be scavenged not far from here."

Steorra:

Delivering a message to the members of the expedition, Steorra then set himself to the conundrum of the magical dome. Pacing the boundaries of the dome and assessing the sheer size of it, the time mage came to two conclusions quickly. Changing the entire polarity of the dome would require a huge amount of effort, but carving out a single point of safe access was very doable. So while removing the wild magic charge of the dome would require a devastating amount of resources, Steorra could designate a single point. It would also be a two stage process. The first step of the process would bring the magical charge to neutral, negating the wild magical charge. The second stage of the process would reverse the polarity to add some possible benefits.

Decision: Decide where you'd like this point of safe entry to be, baseline I'll assume it's at the gate of the fortifications that Aurland created unless I hear otherwise.

Project Reward
Arcane Soothing: Working with the magical fields, you make strides into the process for subduing other persistent arcane fields for a time. It's a highly sensitive task. Brute force has no bearing, it's all a matter of fine tinkering and manipulation.
New Spell: Arcane Cancellation - You temporarily cancel out a persistant magical effect (For example, permanent enchantments, objects, or people) This spell is reliant of Finesse. Too low of a score and nothing happens, within a certain range the effects are dampened. The longer the enchantment has been in place that you're working to subdue the harder it is

Arzin sat in a chair in front of Taelyn in the Elucidate's Healing Quarters, stripped down to his small-clothes.

"'Tis very strange," he muttered, holding up his hands.

"As you may have heard, holding the Crystal steady during Taebor's recent Ritual was quite a challenge for me -- very painful. Indeed, without the aid of Steorra's magicks, I . . . well, knowing very little of magicks myself, I am unsure what would have ultimately have happened. But I am almost certain that it would have been unpleasant in the extreme. I do feel guilty that he suffered hurts in my stead, but I do feel like I am in his debt."

Arzin cleared his throat, and continued. "As you can see, my hands still show the effects, charred and blackened as they are. But oddly -- at least it seems that way to me -- their appearance is quite different from what I am feeling."

"Based upon their appearance, I would have expected to be feeling quite a bit of pain and throbbing. But . . . the pain, while quite intense during the Ritual, is now completely gone."

"What is new after the Ritual is that I seem to have a heightened perception of things -- of colors, say, and of the breeze playing upon my skin . . . and an increased awareness . . . of things that I had not even been aware of, previously . .  at least, not consciously."

"I have had a somewhat similar experience at least once, whilst I was on campaign. It involved being downwind of a storehouse that had caught fire and which, unbeknownst to me, contained various herbs."

"My recollection, however, is that in that instance I felt fuzzy and lightheaded. Now, however, as I just now mentioned, I am feeling what I perceive as a heightened measure of perception and understanding."

"I cannot remember ever feeling anything quite like it before."

Arzin halted his recitation and gazed at Taelyn expectantly, as if he were expecting the Healer to pull a rabbit from a hat in the manner of a performer at a Midsummer fair . . . or, perchance, to announce the nature of his ailment with not-to-be-doubted certainty.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:45, Thu 16 May.

Thanking the Lead Runesmith for her time, Malleus returns to the communal chambers within the spellspire, to consider how he might spend his time. His body ached from the mapping exercise and the backlash he had suffered, which made him leary of venturing out to the wrecked vessel, but he had not dismissed the thought from his mind

Decision: Steorra will assign the "safe entry point" to where Aurland made our rampart/fortifications. The way I look at it, is that the project mages will know that is the only safe entry and anyone else trying to sneak in otherwise will get a nasty surprise as they get hit by wild magic for a week while our mages are safe!

Steorra had to make a decision about a safe entry point. He couldn't totally alter the field without destabilizing it, which he didn't want after all the work they put into getting the thing up in the first place. So instead, he decided to keep the wild magic field as a defensive measure, and assign a safe entry point only by the rampart/fortifications that Aurland had made with his conjuration. This way, anyone trying to sneak in from a side would get a nasty wild magic surprise while the project mages, being in "the know," would be fine.

But this ability to even further force the magic magic of a certain point of the field into full stability, and essentially do some arcane soothing on it, surprisingly ended up yielding extremely useful insights to him! He hadn't been the best with anti-magic and dispellation and those types of abjurations before, but now these insights helped him figure out how to use his Time magic to pull off what was basically a sub-set of dispellation or suppression magic! This would be useful if they were going into magical areas or fighting magical foes, but he suspected with an augent he could make it also work like a true counterspell of sorts!

ARG! So many things he wanted to do projects on, but not enough time, materials, and personal experiences to piece things together! But no matter! It meant he simply had to go out into this new dimension and learn more about it!

He then went atop the Spellspire and sent out another message.

Thank you all for your patience during the Matrix field maintenance! I am now lifting the restriction on travelling past its bounds as it's open for business again! And I have good news for all Elucidate Spellspire project members! If you pass through the rampart/fortifications that Aurland made, you will find this is a space entry and exit point in the field that will not infect you with a wild magic surge for a week, while the rest of the field is working as it always has. Think of this as an additional defense feature of the Spellspire; we can pass in and out safely, but our enemies won't know this and if they try to sneak around the fortifications, then they'll face the wild magic surge for a week! Ha! Well, carry on everyone!

There was a short pause.

Oh, and soldier Arzin? Please report to the main foyer of the Spellspire. It is time for that bodyguard assignment that we discussed. If any other mages are interested, I will be following up on that Coin I found after the Valley fight that attuned to me and I will be back-tracing it and doing research to learn more about this dimension and our potential enemies. As always, glory to the Empire and the Elucidate! Anyone interested in joining me, we will be departing in an hour from the tower Foyer. Toodles!

Arzin:

Visiting the infirmary felt like it was becoming routine. This time though the soldiers injuries were anything from mundane. While the burns looked bad, they didn't carry any sting anymore, but the mental effects of being at the center of the planar ritual were lingering. He found two other people in the infirmary, Taelyn the head healer of the Elucidate.  Wearing a veil to hide the scarring from her terrible encounter with the wild magic of this realm, she was tending to an older, though her administrations were entirely foreign involving colorful lights and strange hand motions. Arzin almost felt he could see the air swirling between the two of them.

"Ah, my most frequent guest," Taelyn commented softly behind her veil, her expression hidden but her voice wry. "It will be just another moment." Turning back to the old man she ceased whatever magical care she was giving. "Are your heart palpations better?" He nodded and she continued, "Good. Come back next week. You'll be fine so long as we keep your treatment consistent." Rising to his feet, the man, Arzin believed his name was Almanic, gave a nod as he left.

"Now, let us see the damage," Taelyn said as she gave Arzin her full attention. She ran white gloved hands delicately along his forearms and probed at the charred skin. None of it hurt. Then she turned her attention to his eyes. Arzin could just make out her features behind the gossamer veil. The poking and prodding went on for several minutes before she set aside her tools. "Have you had magical aptitude you've left undeveloped?" She finally asked. "Well, it seems you do now. It's not unheard of, in some their magic lies dormant until it can be awoken and nurtured, but that's uncommon in Aleteros. There are also occurrences where sometimes exposure to magic can infectious, causing the arcane to take root where none was previously. Some desperate souls without the spark have tried this in the past, but such magic is not a natural thing and the results are messy. It seems to be done now however. All we can do is manage these new symptoms. All that is to say; you're a wizard Arzin."

Adventure Beginning:

A pinhole of safety had been carved into the dome of clashing magics which surrounded the Elucidate. Now those coming and going through the main gate wouldn't have guaranteed side effects from their magic, only the regularly occurring variety.

And that made time for other matters. The innocuous coin Steorra had found on the ground after their strange encounter with Noal. Gathering any interested souls, Steorra put himself to the task of investigating the coin. In the foyer of the Elucidate he called upon his manipulations of time. The stone coin floated up and off his hand to gradually rotate above his palm. Then there was an after image of it floating, then a second or third, eventually it looked like a small stone orb hovering before it snapped back into a single image. Then one of those ghostly after images whisked off and out of sight, though the original remained firmly in Steorra's hand. It was an echo of where the coin had gone in the past. A trail for them to follow as it were. It seemed they were in for another hike.

OOC: Starting a new adventure!
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:44, Fri 17 May.

In reply to Talon (msg # 74):

Arzin waited patiently while Taelyn conducted her examination. None of it hurt, so he just closed his eyes and relaxed, answering in the negative when she asked if he had previously evidenced any magical aptitude.

Soon enough, however, he was staring at her, wide-eyed and disbelieving, when she announced her conclusion.

"Wait . . . wwwhat??!" he stammered.

"A wizard??? Me?? But that's impossible! I don't know anything about magicks, nor do I wish to!"

"We need to fix this! Put me back the way I was before that damned Ritual!"

Just about then however, Arzin heard Steorra's voice over the Spire's communication system, requesting that he report to the main foyer of the Elucidate.

Rising to his feet from the chair where he had been sitting, he turned to speak to Taelyn. "I am obligated to accompany Steorra, so I must leave."

"But please, whilest I am gone, find some way to reverse this . . . this, whatever it is. I have no interest in being a magicker -- nor any aptitude, either.

"Why, I don't even know how to go about casting magicks! Just . . . just fix it, please!"

With that, Arzin hurried out of the Healing Quarters, intent on gathering up his gear and meeting Sterra in the Spire's foyer . . .