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 Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2008 7:19 pm
It was time. Actually it was a hour earlier then time. Miccarreth had allowed his youthful impatcience to overwhelm him and as a result he had arrived early to meet Tal. He did not expect the mage to be present when he arrived. Still, micarreth wanted to bask in the glow of his almost success. All he had to do was manage the mage and then he would have something spectacular to report to Burryna. This would without a doubt assure him his position as her Patron in the future. Oh he had such plans for her! He only cursed his inexperience and youth. How was he ever going to manipulate himself into a stronger position with her? It was a riddle he struggled with only half heartedly. A small part of him warned that if he took on too big of conquests he might be crushed far too soon to carry out anything in his grand design.
He had to be patcient. He had to be cunning. His mind flickered warmly to the events from the past two days. Following parting with Tal, Micarreth had poured over the notes with a viscious determination. It was not so hard for him to determin how best to make off with the ring. Tal had been through in his notes and Micarreth had picked up a prime time for the theft. Once his plan had been formed, all that remained was to find a duplicate ring. Ah! Tal had provided him with a excellent duplicate ring to switch with the targets own. But Micarreth had plans of his own that ran countrary to Tals!
He only had a day left. the first had been spent in study, the rest had been spent in searching. So it was upon the second day when his only window of opportunity presented itself. The target mage indulged in a daily bath that verged on a ritualistic habit. Micarreth managed with only a moderate amount of difficulty to creep into his bathchambers while he soaked and washed. And something else too judging by the female sounds that were accompanied with some splashing. Guh. He had no desire to end up a voyar. Thankfully the mage undressed in a panaled privacy corner, and it was there that Micarreth made the switch. His ring for the target mages.
Then came the rush of preparing for the mages 'demonstration'. Even though Micarreth had stolen the ring successfully, he insisted with a bullies edge that Mas arrange for the Barrith carrige to be used on the morrow.
Had Micarreth failed to steal the ring, his means of assassination depended on his brother, mas D'aun. The Barrith Carrige was reminisence of a egyptian platform. Carried upon the shoulders of eight slaves, it was raised up fairly high over the crowd. With a top of silk, and four posts wrapped in more silk that provided privacy walls, Micarreth was able to very easily conceal himself alongside one of the posts. Three of the walls were drawn shut, while the fourth, facing the 'demonstrating mage' was left open. It was within the folds of the silk that Micarreth leaned and waited. His small blowgun in his lap. Even though it was not neccessary. Micarreth carried out the assassination as if he had not succeeded in his theft. The mage was bit by Mica's poisoned dart just as he finished waving on his death.
Mas D'aun proved to be a bother. Cringing openly as the blackened scorch crater where the mage had been revealed itself in the smoke that eventually faded. Mica, on the other hand, had never felt so excited! In both ways! Delivering a unsuspecting death had sent tingles all through out his flesh. He had been unable to dampen the grin upon his lips. It had been nearly impossible for him to return to the scene of such ultimate destruction later. Micarreth had wished to touch the spot. Rub his hands in the blackened remains and inhale the scent of death and magic. he had wanted to bask in the aura of oblivion he imagined clung to that spot.
But he had other plans to tend to. More pressing then his own indulgance. So it was that he hid the stolen ring in his chambers, and brought with him Tal's original ring. All he had to do was hand the ring over, and the stolen ring would be his to do with whatever he wished. He had played with the thought of giving it to Burryna...but he was uncertain he wanted to give such a powerful item to a female. Until he knew exactly what he was going to do with it, Micarreth intended to keep the ring locked up tight in his little hiding place. It wasn't like he could wear it himself after all! He was pretty positive Tal would notice it on his finger...
Tal... Tal Tal Tal... The ring would be useful against the mage if things went sour in the future. For now though he was positive he could manipulate the mage. It was so pathetic when a drow let such feelings as lust or desire cloud their sight. Though Micarreth was grateful for it. It would make it all the easier to control Tal and Burryna both over time...
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Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2008 11:56 am
Tal strode purposefully through the streets, his face a stoic mask, the only sign of emotion was his staff making a loud tap every time it struck the paving stones. Small sparks of arcane energy occasionally forming from teh impact, as cobble stones cracked from teh blows.
Tal should be happy, the auction was ruined and the mage was dead, though not as he had planned and he was now on his way to meet an attractive young rogue, scratch that, assassin. Taliesin had done his own studying in teh past few days, all it had really taken was a return trip to the bar teh following morning and a small amount of gold and he had picked up a few interesting bits and pieces about Mica, such as the fact he was an assassin by trade, and that was just the beginning.
It wasn't that deception that had him out of sorts, no while on the surface teh plan had gone off without a hitch there had been... an anomaly, one Mica had best be able to explain for his shake, assuming he was even here.
Arriving outside teh bar Tal paused for a moment and took several long slow breaths to focus himself. He told himself to remain clear headed, it was several days since that first meeting and whatever spell glamour had come over Tal that day had faded. Oh he still had a strong yearning to get the young man into bed, but Tal at least intended to keep such thoughts from his mind until he had his questions answered. Tal had to be sure he was doing things for the right reason, there might simply be a misunderstanding and Mica should be given a chance, at least that was the excuse Tal told himself for not just burning the bar to the ground with Mica inside.
The thought of random destruction always amused Taliesin and that helped put a smile on his lips as he walked in and saw Mica already waiting. Nodding to the young Drow, Tal walked by without saying anything, going straight to the bartender and paying for the use of a back room. Heading for the door, Tal paused and nodded for Mica to follow before heading for teh room.
Tal didn't speak until he arrived at the room and Mica was with him. "I'm so glad to see you alive and well, dear boy" Tal then waved his staff towards teh door and it slammed shut an eerie purple light glowed around the threshold for a moment as Taliesin bound it with magic. Another set of spells ensured no sound from within would go beyond this room. Tal wished he had, had the foresight to use such spells before but it mattered little now, he just wanted to ensure they weren't disturbed.
Tal turned to look at Mica again, flashing him a wolfish grin as he made his way to the bed. Sitting he patted the area beside him, indicating Mica should sit with him. "So Mica what do you have to report? I hear the demonstration for teh auction didn't go as everyone had thought it would?" Taliesin continued to smile as calmly as he could, there was no reason to let mica know how much Tal had already discovered, besides some of it was only guess work on his part, he'd base his next act on how Mica answered.
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Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2008 5:44 pm
Arriving early had been a mistake. As Micarreth had expected. It meant he sat there for a hour bouncing his leg and glanceing at the door out of the corner of his eye every time someone entered. He knew that at least half the room had to know he was waiting purposefully for someone. It also meant he had finished his drink and was forced to buy another one or leave. A hour was a long time to nurse one mug of mushroom ale. Micarreth felt slightly displeased over this small thing. In all his time visiting bar's and taverns...he had never drank more then one drink. As alcohol was his preffered weapon of advantage Micarreth practiced sobriety with about the same religous ferver as most priestess's of the higher circles.
Gazing into the mug, Micarreth replayed the events inhis mind as he percieved his lie to be. He found it made it easier if he imagined the false events as if they were his true memories. It made it far easier to weave a believeable scenario.
Thankfully Tal arrived before Mica had made it half way through his mug. He would have worried quite a bit if he had been forced to order a third mug!! Micarreth did not quite return the nod to Tal when it was aimed at him, but he was quite quick to rise and follow the mage to the room from before. He had to be quick...and sharp... If he did not manage the situation correctly then He'd probably have Tal slip through his fingers. What use did the mage have for him now that the job was completed? If he appealed to Tal's interest in him too much there would be something...urgh...expected from him. He wanted to avoid that -very- much.
Something seemed slightly off when Micarreth entered the room. It was not the manner in which the door was closed, or how Tal smiled at him. It was more along the sense that there was extra magic involved.... For a fleeting moment Micarreth had to wonder if perhaps he had been the one played? Now that he was back in the room, Tal could strike him down and remove the one person who could possibly tie him to the murder. That would have to be very inconvient. Micarreth should know, blackmail had been one of the things he had been considering for later on.
Dear boy... The term called to Micarreths notice just what sort of age difference there was between the two of them. Tal had many more years experiences to draw upon. If Micarreth honestly wanted to maipulate or control this older drow he was going to have to be absolutly perfectly cunning...or lucky... Micarreth let his eyes glance over the strange purple glow covering the door.
"Your concern is appreciated. The job proved to be rather difficult. It was good that we came up with the back up plan." Mica turned in time to see the wolfish grin on tal's face. There was a knot that gently tightened in his gut when he thought of the motivation behind the bed patting. Still Micarreth was exceptionally determined to be successful in his plans. So it was that he crossed to the bed and sat himself down upon the edge. He leaned forwards slightly so he could place his elbows upon his knee's in a lounging sort of sit.
Micarreth pinched his fingers into a twist of his red scarf, and pulled out the ring that Tal had originally given him. Holding it out towards the other drow he explained. "I did not manage to steal the ring. I found a good opening though. In the morning when he was bathing. I managed to sneak into his room, but the b*****d had company with him and I was at too much risk of being caught by either of them. So I ended up leaving and utilizing the back up plan...."
He paused to glance over the ring for a moment while he still held it. "I'm afraid I can't linger too long. There is someone expecting me soon that I do not dare make wait. I could not tell them I could not meet them at the time they wanted. They would have been...displeased... I've only time to return your ring and remind you that you now owe me a debt to be repaid later."
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Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 10:24 am
There was no emotion to Taliesin's face as he listened to Mica's version of events, though there was a slight twitch from an eyebrow when Mica handed him back his fake and openly declared it as such, Tal had expected Mica to try and pass the fake off as the original. Taking the ring from Mica, Taliesin starred at it in his palm while he spoke.
"Off so soon? and I had hoped we could spend a little more time together... Still I understand, you have commitments to meet and all that. Before you go though I have a funny story I want to share with you. You see I'm a very hands on individual, I don't like delegating, so off course I decided to go to teh demonstration myself to see what happened. I actually got a spot very close to teh front, where I had a clear line of sight of the man who arrived claiming to have a ring the resisted all magic. So I got a very good view of his spectacular demise. The funny thing? It wasn't teh mage... It was an apprentice.
"Now most of the people there were dignitaries from teh compeating houses and none of them had ever seen teh real mage and believed him dead. I and a few fellow spellcasters knew the mage in question personally and knew it wasn't him that died. Curious to what was going on we made our way from the demonstration as panic and confusion descended and went to his workshop. Just in time to meet the real mage trying to flee with as much as he could carry in a sack over his back.
"We quickly subdued him, a surprisingly easy task given he supposedly had a magic proof ring; and proceeded to put him to the question. Apparently the day before he had been enjoying a bath but upon getting out found his ring gone, a poor fake in it's place. This left him in a panic, he didn't have time to make a new one and if he called the demonstration off it would weaken his position and put a lie to his claims. So he forced an underling to go in his place, knowing full well it was a death sentence for the apprentice, but hoping everyone would believe him dead so he could make good his escape and start anew somewhere else.
"He just hadn't counted on anyone realising the substitution so quickly and getting caught so soon. Of course I and the other mages tore the place apart looking for the ring, satisfied he was telling the truth we killed him and reduced his workshop, his work and any notes he might have made to ash and rubble. It's unlikely anyone will be trying to duplicate his work after a message like that. However that brings us to teh question of what happened to teh original..."
Carefully Tal bent forward and place his fake on teh floor, sitting back up he mumbled a few words and flicked his wrist towards the ring. An orb of acid nearly 3 inches across spat from Taliesin's palm and struck teh ring, bubbling vigorously the moment it struck until it evaporated away leaving only a large stain on the floor in place of the ring. Taliesin then repeated the process but this time the dark green orb rose up from his palm to balance on a raised index finger.
"Did you really think a mage wouldn't be able to tell teh difference between a ring he enchanted himself and a common mundane trinket? I gave you a fake for a reason, it had been spelled such that he wouldn't discover the substitution until it was too late. You got greedy... I could say that it's only to be expected form a professional thief, but then you aren't really a thief are you?" Tal made a short snorting sound that might have been in amusement, but then turned to look at Mica with a glare that held cold hell fire. Holding up his hand so that the orb was right in Mica's eye line Tal spoke with a tone that poorly hid the cold anger he was feeling.
"This isn't enough to kill you, but it would ruin that pretty face of yours and that would be a pity. So lets do this teh pleasant way, shall we? Where is the ring Mica?" Taliesin had already checked for an aura, hoping Mica might have brought the ring with him, but with the fake gone there was nothing giving off an aura that might have been the real one. And right now that fact was keeping Mica alive, Taliesin was determined to see that accursed ring destroyed.
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Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 11:52 am
Well...he couldn't have hoped for a more despondant respone could he? Perhaps Tal had simply been in a amourus mood last time that allowed him to be swayed. In a way this made Mica feel rather pleased with himself. He had not pushed too much the first time. Nor had he 'promised' or led on too much either. Which left him more or less 'free' of any sort of hinted commitments.
It was about the time that Tal revealed that the mage that had died had not been the target that he realized something bad was coming his way. It wasn't too hard for him to connect that single piece of information along with the extra precautions of wards on the room to know Tal was planning something unpleasent for him. Damned to the Abyss! He really should have brought the ring after all...
He found it hard to keep his face unemotional. He was still pretty damn young after all, hardly experienced either. Living in a House that lacked any dominant and terrifying female presence...well...it wasn't like he had the typical male 'experience' of being decieving as a daily survivial technique. The fact of the matter was...Mica was uneasy. And yes, a little scared. His only encounters with mages thus far had been with his brother, and with his complet lack of respect for Mas he never took him seriously. Tal was a mage of a different sort, far FAR different from Mas!
He watched with a stiffness as Tal placed the ring on the floor and easily destroied it with a spell that was..well...pretty simple. Pretty quick too. Micarreth was uncertain if he could respond quickly enough if magic like that could be brought up so speedily. His amber eyes flicked towards the second ball of green acid. Too close....
If Mica had not been sitting right next to Tal he might have drawn his dagger. A poor weapon when compared to the green acid orb and a equally poor defensive weapon against magic. As Micarreth seriously disliked the thought of admitting he had made quite the mistake with the subsitution, he choose not to respond to Tal's angry rebuke. No, he had not thought of that, and it left a sour taste in his mouth when he had to realize that he had made a very stupid mistake.
Micarreth had panic attempting to fill his mind. He could already tell his heartbeat had quickened, and there was a slight coolness of sweat on his palms. A would be assassin could not let such emotions overwhelm him though, and Micarreth was determined to become a good assassin. Still, it was impossible for him to keep from leaning away from Tal on the bed. His body shifting of it's own accord...
Or....
Maybe that was what he needed to do....
Micarreth stopped fighting the emotions that he had been keeping a very hold tight on. Not that they weren't showing through in small hints anyways. His lips had thinned and trembled very very slightly in the corners before. But now he let them tremble just a bit more visably. His face pinched with the sour emotion of his embaressing mistake. Ugh...if Mas saw him like this he knew his brother would hold this over him for years...
Question was...who did he let the arrow point to? Burryna? It would be a very believeable scapegoat. The female that he was currently in service to...the one he had met with just a day ago...
Or Mas? It would center his brother as a target...maybe even drive the damn fairy away so he wouldn't have to deal with him...or...
"My...Mother has it.... She got suspicious after I made my brother go to the demonstration. I do not have the...most respectful relationship with him. So for me to do anything that included him made her wary."
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Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 2:20 pm
Taliesin watched Mica silently as he debated how likely the boy was stupid enough to try lying... Tal quickly decided Mica probably was lying, not that he actually was stupid, but he was brazen enough. For one the boy lied nearly as easily and naturally as Tal wove a spell, so surely he could have lied to his mother? The boy could even have told the truth and said he was there to assassinate someone and never mentioned the ring at all! Another factor was Mica's mother. While Tal hadn't dug up an awful lot about the young assassin, he had managed to learn Mica's family name. Even Tal was familiar with the... eccentricities of Matron Barrith, he doubted the half crazed old crone was that insightful to rat out a secret Mica really wanted to keep to himself.
"Mica... the only reason you aren't currently enduring an agonising death is that I want that ring destroyed and currently you are teh only one who knows where it is. And before you spout any more manure, I sincerely doubt your dear mother knows a damn about it." Tal spoke in calm measured tones, but his eyes still held that look of cold anger waiting for the chance to bubble to teh surface.
"I've been very understanding and accommodating thus far, with somebody else I might have taken an arm or a leg already... Tell me, have you ever been tortured by magic? There are some really creative things one can accomplish, pains and torments I doubt you've ever considered. In truth I've had little opportunity to practice such skills, so you might not last as long as you would with a professional. Hence I'd rather you volunteered the information, rather than force me to extract it and risk losing it to your death."
Watching what might have been genuine fear in Mica's eyes another thought occurred to Tal, after considering it for a moment, Tal leaned back and lowered his arm a little, though the globe of acid remained at hand. "You no doubt realise I have a certain... attraction for you. I've no illusions anymore that you might reciprocate, but still such feelings make me.. reluctant to harm you. you did after all fulfill our agreement, the auction was ruined, without teh ring the mage was easy prey and is dead as I wished and his public failure and death will warn away others who might foolishly try to follow his footsteps. I'm quite prepared to let you live and to hold up my side of the bargain, but the ring must be destroyed!"
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Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 3:00 pm
This would be a Abyss more easier if he knew just what Tal knew. Micarreth could easily weave lies with truth enough to make them believeable. But when the one you were speaking with might know a thing or two that you were unaware of...one detected element of a lie completely threw the whole illusion away.
Obviously Tal knew about his Matron then. If he knew about Barrith and her madness then he could possibly know a lot of other things. Mica had not been completely discreet up until now about his life. He had taken little precautions and now he saw the folly of his unpreparedness.
Micarreth was... stumped. When all you had to tell was the truth, it really should have been a simple choice. But a stubbon part of him rebelled. If he told the truth he'd end up dead. He honestly believed the moment Tal had the ring he would off Mica for his attempted deception. Or worse he'd carry out on those threats of pain. Mica did not..want to experience any of that.
Tal's threats carried a great deal of weight. Mica honestly was frightened by them. He felt...Vith! He felt like he was back in that room with the other four students! Shackled to the floor with death clawing and gnawing it's way slowly towards him..and he had the key to escape but not the skill to retrive it.
His entire ploy was ruined. Absolutly ruined. It felt horrible! He had been so...proud. he had felt accomplished, like he really had a talent for this. Yet it had all fallen apart. He supposed it worked out in a small manner. He did not have to worry about coming up with believeable excuses to keep Tal from kissing him or trying anything on him.
Mica shifted, wishing to get up off the bed and place at least a step or two distance between himself and Tal. Somehow the smallness of the room had become a exceptional agitation to him. he couldn't pace or anything...all he really had to go on was Tal's word that he wouldn;'t hurt him because he what... he liked him? Mica could not bring himself to believe even for an instant that Tal's words were sincere. Knowing that Mica had no attraction to him, he couldn't be feeling anything more then anger at being led on.
"I need it." The words felt hot on his tongue. "I have a job I have to do and its...it's impossible! A ring like that... it would make it easier and less likely I'll end up dead." Mica shook his head and gestured a bit widely with his hands. "Everything I could possibly want rests on me succeeding in this job. If I don't manage it I have nothing. Just a rotting old bat about to keel over with her next breath and a faerie of a brother who's more interested in putting on womens undergarmets then achiveing any sort of position or at least finding a female vapid enough to fill in when Mother is gone. I am not going to end up some Houseless vermin! I'm keeping the ring until I finish my job. You can have the damn thing after that."
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Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 12:27 pm
Taliesin tensed slightly when Mica rose suddenly, but relaxed when he realised Mica was just pacing and ranting. Tal on the other hand remained calm, seeing Mica like this ensured Tal that he had the upper hand, at least for now.
Several thoughts were running through his mind right now, mostly who would kill whom. Even if Tal forced Mica somehow to hand over the ring, once they left here, Mica could bolt and never be seen again. Then again Tal might wake tonight to find Mica driving a dagger into his heart. Tal had to assume Mica was having similar thoughts about how much he could trust Tal. As much as it disgusted him, Tal had to consider the unpleasant alternative of a compromise.
As he tried to think of what it was he had to bargain with a thought struck Tal... "So you want to use the ring to aid you in a job of some sort? Tell me when you stole the ring, did you bother to acquire the secret of it's use? The command required to activate it's powers?" It was a gamble on Tal's part, it was true that many magical items required specific commands to activate them, to avoid them being misused or accidentally going off. After all you wouldn't want a talisman that let you read minds activating while you were in a busy market, the user would be swamped by all the minds around her.
The gamble lay in teh fact that not all enchanted items were like this, it could well be that the ring only had to be put on and the effect came on instantly. Still, Tal knew this item had to be activated and had to bank on this ring needing a special command. Of course for all Tal knew Mica had already tried the ring, which would either back up his claim or show him as a lyer. Tal was betting on him being right or Mica not bothering to use teh ring yet.
"I'll make you a deal Mica. Bring me the ring and I'll instruct you in it's use, then let you keep it. However, I will make an adjustment to the ring. I'll add on another spell, this one will be set to activate whenever teh ring is used and will set off a timed delay, once the time expires a disintegration spell will activate and the ring will be destroyed. You get to use the ring for your one job, I see to it that thing is destroyed. Sound reasonable?"
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Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 4:19 pm
Micarreth felt hot. His face felt flushed and his head felt feverish. He knew it was due to his frustration. he simple had not mastered complete control of his emotions yet. He felt the surgeing rise of anger and ambition like a wave against a boat. It rocked him and at times threatened to overwhelm him and turn him out on his side. He blamed youth, he blamed his Matron. Hells, often times he blamed his brother for proving to be a worthless role modle. Mostly though...he simple embraced it in the privacy of his room and used it to drive him towards his goals.
That was all well and fine...in the privacy of his own room. When facing down a opponent Micarreth found it to be a liability. Though he was not too certain how much of a liability it was yet. It had kept him from getting acid orbed though...hadn't it? Gah! But it had also cost him in a way. He had revealed a...agitated and frustrated temperment. There were so many more levels to deception then he was aware of. It wa slike a game of Sava, only with more pieves and levels to the board then he was currently aware of. No wonder his Matron ended up going mad!
He should just kill him. If he took his dagger and slipped it between his ribs the magic would fade right? Or what if it did not? He'd die in here with a rotting corpse. Micarreth did not understand enough about the rules of magic. What each spell did and what it's limitations were. For all he knew that purple glow over the door would electrify him or something if he decided to test it. Now a whole new avenue of concerns had revealed itself to him. Like a doorway he had missed initially but now...Whoops! There it is and all sorts of ugly things are coming out of it!
Then another twist of the web he was trapped in occured. Secret of it's use? Micarreth lifted a hand and ran it through his hair, his fingers scratching at the back of his head as he swallowed the question and felt it's bitter pulp in his gut. "Command?" Mica shifted his feet so he could lean back against the wall. He had not thought of that. he hadn't even tried the ring on yet! He had been concerned for the most part about the magic item. He had feared there might be some sort of anti-theft magic to it. he had not wanted to try it until the mage who made it was dead. Just in case he could 'locate' it somehow. And of course he had intended on having a slave try it on first...just in case it like sliced the finger off or something. Traps were things Micarreth could think of in advance. But...a command word?
It was a trick. Micarreth knew that without any doubts. Tal was attempting to get him to bring him the ring so he could destroy it and kill him. He wanted to...to..growl...or something. To bare his teeth in a sneer. He wasn't that simple minded! He wouldn't just hand the ring over to Tal that easily! But then who could he take it to? Any other mage, once they learned the secret, would be eager at the least to kill Mica and take the ring themselves. Or just outright destroy it. Micarreth had to hold himself in check, lest he made yet another mistake in dealing with the mage.
He had to find out the command word. Elsewise the ring was absolutly useless to him. Mas was too inexperienced to help him right now. He needed the information sooner then it would take Mas to achieve the level of competence required to ferret out the rings secrets.
He had to accept the deal offered...however...he did not like the terms of it. Mica forced his shoulders to relax before he pushed off from the wall. He had to clear his mind, or at the very least subdue the emotions that filled him so he could let the path he wished lay itself out in his mind. He exhaled a slow breath and for the most part attempted to look like he was unhappily considering the mages offer. Which he was, of that there could be no doubt...however...
"No... The job may take longer then the limit you put on the ring" His hand lifted so he could point a slightly accusing finger at Tal. "Or you could put less of a time limit on it then you say so it will give out before I'm ready. I'll bring the ring to you...so you can tell me how it works...but use a different spell. Something that...I don't know..." Magic was just not his thing! "What of a gease that will have the person who uses it have to come to you after the initial task has been completed?"
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Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2008 11:41 am
Hearing mica's refusal caused the finger holding up teh acid orb to twitch and not just because Tal's arm was cramping from holding back the spell so long. Right now Taliesin would give anything to put this annoying unreasonable brat in his place. Looking at Mica, Tal realised that where he once saw youthful beauty and vigour, he now saw only childishness. And Tal wasn't going to be dictated to by a mere boy.
"Do you actually use that brain of yours much or is it just there so your head doesn't float away? If I had such spells I'd have already compelled you to bring me the ring!" Taliesin gritted his teeth, fighting to keep his feelings in check, last time he let his feelings of lust cloud his judgement and trusted the boy too far. He had no intention of compounding that mistake by letting his rage get teh better of him. Tal took a long slow calming breath and bottle his rage away. He had a second condition he had planned to impose on Mica anyway, he just hadn't thought he'd need to rely on it as a plan B.
"Fine. You don't trust me and the fact you're so untrusting leads me to believe you're plotting to betray me as well. I've no intention of wasting my time going round in circles. I've tried compromise, but if you refuse to listen to reason, then I'll have to force you to trust me..."
Rising slowly to his feet Tal gave Mica a solemn stare as he started to approach slowly, the sphere of toxic acid held before him threateningly. I've no intention of hurting you, but I'll need you to hold very very still. Any sudden movements and that pretty face of yours will be beyond teh help of any clerics healing..."
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Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2008 12:06 pm
Mica pressed his lips into a thin line at the insult that was made by Tal. It was...hard...not hissing at the other. Very hard. But Micarreth was quite aware of the fact he really could not do much to anger the mage. Actually.... Micarreth knew that it was his own fault that he was getting no where with the mage. If he had just agreed and tried to be...Abyss.... if he had just kept himself in check rather then letting his own brashness get the better of him he could have possibly managed the situation much better.
This was his first...situation though...the fact he wasn't writhing on the floor in agony was something of a victory. He just needed to calm himself down and keep himself from reacting in a way that would get himself killed.
"I'm not a bloody magic user." Maybe that was a bad choice of words? "I don't know the rules to spells or how they work anymore I'm sure then you know which lock pick does what when it comes to opening a chest. If I had any magical knowledge I'm pretty certain I wouldn't be stuck in this room right now and I think I would have at the very least known about the ring." He lifted a hand in a slightly frustrated gesture towards the door. Neh! He had no...idea...how to work with this. How was he supposed to manipulate a situation so compeletely out of his control?
He couldn't...perhaps that was why he did not seem to be getting anywhere? Perhaps he had to just... accept it and work with it...that really did not settle well with him though...
"Feh. I don't trust you because you hired me to kill a nuisance. I assume that since I tried to keep the ring for myself you have the intention to kill me now too. Despite what you say. Of course I can't trust you. It has nothing to do about betraying you, I need you anyways to tell me how the ring works and betraying you isn't exactly a workable option at this point."
Force him to trust him? Normally trust was not something that could be forced... Micarreth watched as Tal rose, and of course he shifted backwards a step. The glowing green orb was reason enough to make Micarreth break out in a worried sweat.
"What... What are you going to do,...." So help him if he did scar him...
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Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2008 12:41 pm
Tal supposed Mica made some good points, but it didn't matter, he had settles on a course of action and there wasn't much that could sway him now, in fact he almost felt eager to start. "I'm going to give you a very good reason not to turn on me"
Seeing the worry on Mica's face very nearly brought a smile to Tal's, but the mage fought it of and maintained the stoic expression as he closed on Mica. He reminded himself that this was business not pleasure, even if he was going to enjoy it a little bit. As he got ever closer to Mica, Tal locked his gaze on Mic's eyes, never letting his eyes waver, even for a moment. If he could keep the assassin focused on Tal he might freeze up and not think too much about what was happening and act.
That was the big risk, Tal had to get very close to Mica, close enough for teh assassin to plunge a dagger into him. The only consolation Tal had was that if something went wrong, he couldn't miss at this range, Tal might even live long enough to get off another spell or two. Taliesin was one of those individuals who would rest happy in teh next life knowing their killer went with them.
When Tal finally stopped he was uncomfortably close to the young man, their bodies nearly pressed together, Tal's eyes were still locked on Mica's, the acid orb dangerously close to Mica's cheek. "Remember don't move, not even a twitch. I think you're going to pull a dagger on me and I won't hesitate to 'dissolve' our little partnership."
Tal's free hand lightly touched Mica's chest slowly moving along it, following teh folds of the fabric as it made it's way down. Reaching teh waist, Tal's fingers lightly traced along the waist of Mica's pants, then suddenly with no warning slipped down down teh front. "Remember! Keep perfectly still"
Taking a hold of Mica Tal quickly muttered a spell, his brow furrowed in concentration as his eyes gazed off into space for a moment. There was a pulse of magic that would have swept from Mica's nether region and up through his body as Tal released his hold and quickly backed off. Smiling broadly Tal casually tossed teh orb of acid aside, not bothering to watch where it landed against the wall near teh door and bubbled viciously, leaving a permanent stain in teh stone.
"There all done! Remember our first encounter and a certain threat I made? Well I carried it out and shrunk your man- sorry, boyhood. To one sixteenth of it's original size actually." Turning his back on Mica Tal made his way back to teh bed and lay across it, making himself as comfortable as he could on the thin mattress a smug smile on his lips.
"Now then, care to open negotiations again? If you want me to undo the spell, bring me the ring, I'll add on my spell, with a mutually acceptable time limit and then undo my 'little' adjustment. Or if you don't trust I won't destroy teh ring the first chance I get, you can go off, try and figure out how the ring works yourself and then return once you're finished with it. I'll destroy it myself and then undo my spell. Does that sound reasonable? Or will I have to take any additional measures to ensure you behave?"
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Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2008 1:07 pm
He did not like it. He did not like having to just stand there like a damn...well... he had a hard time thinking of something right now. Micarreth was far -far- too worried about the ball of acid. It was too close to his face, and he did not believe that a ball of acid to the face would not kill him. If nothing else it would render him utterly useless if it hit his eyes and then what?
Micarreth did not move. As much as he thought it was a bad idea. His only alternative was to run around the room like a trapped rat until Tal hit him with something most likely painful and paralyzing. He could hit the mag ehimself. With either a dart or a blade. But that once more placed him in the uncomfortable position of waiting in hopes that the magic would fail and let him out of the room. Tal held the only keys out of here. Plus there was the matter of learning how to use the ring. Micarreth would go through dangerouse negotiations with any other accomplished mage so it made no sense to leave in the hopes of finding one that he could bater with more easily.
He did not like how close Tal had gotten to him. His own amber eyes flickered just once towards the ball of acid before fixing on the mage's gaze. For a frightened moment he started to doubt just what it was Tal intended to do. Why in the Abyss was he...? Micarreth honestly did try to hold still. A sight twitch of his chest was the result of Tal's fingertips touching him.
"Neh!?" Was it any doubt he choked on his surprise? Micarreths eyes...widened, to a great, unexpected and shocked size. His lips even lost the angry lines to them as the parted with his surprise. He was...really...having a insanely hard time holding still! It was over quickly enough..but the result...
There followed a moment of choked attempts of speaking. Micarreth had been, for lack of a better word, thrown utterly off kilter. He wans't hurt...he wasn't scarred or in agony... In all honesty...the spell used would do little damage to him... It could probably be removed by another mage in fact.
However.... Did Micarreth honestly want oneone else knowing what had just happened?
Vithin Hells NO!
"Fine! FINE!" He finally managed after so many attempts to speak. "I'll go get the vithin ring!
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Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2008 1:35 pm
Taliesin smiled contently when Mica finally gave in. "So glad I managed to persuade you to see things my way. Best hurry now, the sooner you bring back the ring the easier and less painful it will be for you when I remove the spell." that was a small lie on Tal's part, teh real reason he wanted mica to hurry was that he had no idea how long teh spell would really last. On an inanimate object it could last days even weeks, on a living one? Tal was fairly certain it would last a few days at least, so long as fear drove Mica, the boy would probably be back in a few hours.
"Oh don't look so glum, hurry back with the ring and once I've finished my modification, you can be off to teh nearest whore house or whatever and check everything's in working order. Quite frankly I had worse things running through my mind, this at least leaves no permanent scars. Oh and before you get any bright ideas, I took precautions, that shrink spell has a permanency to it, even after my death it'll continue on. More importantly it has a contingency blast spell should anyone else try tampering with it, it'd hurt whoever tried undoing my handy work, I shudder to think what it'd do to you though..."
Waving his hand in teh air, Tal's staff leaped to his palm, pointing it towards teh door, teh eerie aura faded and teh door opened on it's own accord. "I'll be waiting here for you return, don't keep me waiting, I might get bored, when I'm bored I devise new ways of tormenting people." Lying back onto the bed, Tal waved Mica out the door and settled down to await his return.
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Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2008 2:50 pm
Miccareth was unable to tell whether or not the mage was telling him the truth.He had openly admitted to being unknowledgeable in the magical arts. Something that he was wondering if he was going to greatly regret. He did not fully understand the permanancy effect or the contingency spells spoken of. He did not know that to cast so many spells would take a bit more time then had passed for the casting of the simple shrink spell.
Tal's 'concern' for Micarreth or anyone that might attempt to help him seemed like a scornful mocking.So the young drow was more then happy to flee from the room the moment the door was opened. His mind was consumed with concern over himself rather then the ring now. His...job...had lost priority when Micarreth had lost his male self esteem.
Reaching House Barrith was easy for the young velguk in full paniced run. Mica pushed past the gate guards, sending the black and red jesters stumbling in his wake as he tore through the halls towards his own rooms. As he ran, his brother paused at a corner, clutching a book to his chest as he watched his younger brother rush by.
"Mica are you all right? Are you cry---" His words cut off as Mica snarled.
"Mind your own vithing busniess you damn fairy!" He hissed and continued on his way. Mica had no time to deal with the wishy washy shame that was his 'elder brother'.
Upon entering his own room, Mica slammed the door closed and locked it, more from habit then anything else. The ring was currently stashed in a small box in a place he had felt as a child no one would ever discover.
He fell to his belly and crrawled under his bed. With shaking fingersMica pried a medium sized flagstone up and scraped it over the others to reveal a empty gap underneath. It was only as he wiped the sweat from his brow that he realized what his brother had been trying to ask him. Tears? Had he really become that frightened? Or that angry? Or was it frustrated? He was unsure, but whatever the case he was ashamed by them. Wipeing them away, Mica retrieved the ring from it's hidden spot, replaced the flagstone, and repeated his desperate run back to the tavern.
A hour? Ah no...with such a 'weighty' matter upon his shoulders, Micarreth would make the trip in a mere fourty five minutes. Panting and sweating as he was from the run, he would return, the ring clutched very tightly in one fist as he thrust the door open.
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