AMIA ARCHIVE • View topic - A Breath in the Silence: "Life" in Tarkuul

Stepping through the portal a black and green clan man breathes in the air of once familiar surroundings. "Ah, home again" he intones quietly to himself, "I wonder what changes have been happening since I left for my enforced sabbatical?".
Walking off towards The Castle he approaches the Shadow Mage in the foyer, smiling with familiarity he salutes him with a brief wave. "Shadowmage, Please inform The Voice that former Speaker and councilor, Cerestan Darkwood has returned. He seeks your forgiveness for his absence and asks that he may resume his duties with The Consulate once again" Nodding back, the Shadow Mage makes note of Cerestan's request.
Sighing with all the satisfaction of being home he makes his way towards the living quarters to prepare a meal and get some rest.

Belalad can be seen for sometime wondering in the library, often picking up a tome before sitting down to read it. For the most part keeping to himself, nodding politely if eye contact is given, even if the eye contact is unfriendly.

*Valkin would have been seen attending to various projects and work for the city, he would have also been seen speaking with all of the five elected members of the reformed consulate, and entering the crypts below the city for some time. Those who have conversed with him now know his past and intentions, as to ensure all those present that his intentions shall not conflict with their own*

After Emilie and Luca's return to the Castle Hall after an unexpected run-in with the Cordor Guard, a collective silence seemed to settle. Having lost her voice, Emilie has been spending her hours staring into the flames in the castle, or the waters of the broken temple.

The people of Tarkuul may perhaps reminded of her youth as she succumbs to sorrow, and Luca shrugs it off as a mere inconvenience.

With the last of the sand and sediment finally cleared from the Court of the Living, a low hum begins to emanate from the rest of the City...

In the Castle, the Shadow Mage who long tended the ley line node, almost as ever-present and unmoving as the very stone walls themselves, takes one brisk, assertive step. Then another. And another, soon flowing into an unhurried walk towards the front door. The ley line node which had proven an unchanging feature as far as many of the City's residents were concerned, suddenly dims and gradually dies out entirely, the wispy phantoms which continually seemed to rise from it simply dispersing. Only a faint red mist remains and any trying to bind a portal wand there is nothing left to bind to. Those members of the Offices of Tarkuul itself, would find that their portal wands still function exactly as normal however. The Shadow Mage stops his journey outside the gate of the City, next to the portal to the swamps... where a hanging red mist similar to the one in the Castle seems to have sprung up...

In the Tower of the Damned, a faint rumbling sound can be heard from the very tip of the tower's interior...

Throughout the City, torch brackets that previously sat unlit, suddenly flare to life in various eldritch colors; deep reds, royal purples, and dark greens...

As the last of these changes take place, the droning hum seems to fade into the background noise of the City, disappearing... or was it always there, underneath it all?

*-*-*-*-*

Recent efforts to clear the main section of the City of the remaining debris seem to have payed off and though some of the cobblestones still need to be replaced here and there, and the walls needing some attention, a general state of decay, the streets themselves are clear...

Grim returned to Tarkuul after his usual promenade in the cities of the land. Upon entering the city the notices something is odd and looks around. He looks over the floor and immediatly takes out his journal and notes the changes.

He leaves the building, it's raining and dark outside and the raindrops hammer his hood and armour like small pebbles. He takes out his lantern and lights it and walks out into the city. Effectively ignoring passing residents because to him, this is more important than social interraction. And so, he explores.

Belalad can once again be seen in the swamps by the entrance into the city, where he stands for a few hours waiting for someone to wonder out or someone speak to him. If the person appears to of come from tarkul he would nod politely inquiring if the speaker has return or not.

Perhaps notified by one of the unliving guards, or perhaps simply by coincidence, Luca would emerge from the portal to address the lingering man personally. Shadows cling under his cloak and cowl, though his features are still distinguishable as he speaks in a slow, measured Netherese accent.

"The Cordor Lieutenant, I presume? I was notified that you had a desire to speak with me. We''ll adjourn to my office where we can address your concerns properly, this swamp is ill-fitting for civility."

With that, he would slip a wand from inside his bracer...

((Hit me on MSN, PM me, catch me IG, throw a rock through my window, whatever, and we can continue there

))

*Valkin would be seen moving about the library first then he would take the under tunnels to the tower of the dammed, he would examine every part of the city that has changed, making new notes and adding them to his extensive research and history of the city, looking for any clues to his work, but also assessing what more the city might need or desire to further improve its condition*

*Valkin would make note of the change to the castle, with interest he inspects the now gone lay-line node, and begins to cast detect magic, read magic and try to trace its movement and locate its new position, seeming interested in the new change he dose not question as it has been an age since such was necessary to keep the city safe and its inhabited, although he dose seek out a member of the living guard or two as well as the Magistarium as to find out the details of this project as he was not aware of its undertaking*

Meanwhile in Darkhold..

Julius is only ever found in the Library, or at the Mythal Forge.
He spends long hours at both, making endless notes. He is courteous to anyone who passes, but pre-occupied with the work.

He leaves the City only twice in recent weeks - the first on a tour of several large city libraries, which seems to have been satisfactory, and the second time returning carrying a still-dripping giant spider leg in good condition. A guard comments on it, and Tarl mumbles that it's for a personal project.

steveb_uk wrote:

Julius is only ever found in the Library, or at the Mythal Forge.
He spends long hours at both, making endless notes. He is courteous to anyone who passes, but pre-occupied with the work.

He leaves the City only twice in recent weeks - the first on a tour of several large city libraries, which seems to have been satisfactory, and the second time returning carrying a still-dripping giant spider leg in good condition. A guard comments on it, and Tarl mumbles that it's for a personal project.

*He would run into valkin on occasion, who would ask for his assistance in his project for the mythal forge. He would give no details on the current focus but he would just continue as the project was originally proposed, trying to gain Julius incite into the energy transference problem*

"I believe it will require further fine tuning to ensure the energy transformation is as efficient as it can be, but i am of the understanding that the work hear is almost done."

*Valkin would continue to make notes, he would however seem "slightly" distressed in his voice, but through his normally emotionless vale its hard to tell*

"Even if we have the device transferring the crystallizes mythals back into weave energy the transference become the issue, it seems that even if we devise a way it will only be temporary at best. Anything that makes contact with the Mythallar would be utterly destroyed "

*He would continue to make notes and see what Julius thinks on the matter*

"The weave energy if not put into something will dissipate back into the weave, thus it must be transferred from the forge into the mythallar by physical contact, yet i know not what will work"

The two Corrupted Mages in the room would watch the scholars carefully; they wouldn't interfere in any way with simple investigation of the mythal forge, however any attempts to actually modify the device might be another story...

The Quartermaster can be seen frequently portaling in and out of the city, carrying large, heavy looking crate into the Trade Hall with him. Whatever is in the crates remains to be seen, but they appear to be in storage for the time being.

Glim wrote:

The two Corrupted Mages in the room would watch the scholars carefully; they wouldn't interfere in any way with simple investigation of the mythal forge, however any attempts to actually modify the device might be another story...

The experimentation did not include modifications as the speaker advises such was not necessary. However if investigation suggested that modification will be required valkin would speak with the mages present and advise them of how his projects will allow the city to support a larger population and increased trade, thus increasing the use of the forge. He would assure them that any modification would be done with care and ensure that only such modification that could be reversed would be performed at this time.

The morning shows the oddly domestic sight of Luca browsing a Cordor newspaper in the lounge, a steaming cup of coffee (black, obviously) close at hand. He seems puzzled, scratching his head.

"How much scotch did I have before leaving? I don't remember being so florid. I'll have to tell Emilie to keep me away from the liquid courage for these things...."

Mathan would appear to be spending more and more time locked away in his Laboratory, experimenting with various different concoctions and alchemical products, and less so in public and obvious sight.

//Busy with University stuff now, I'll log on when possible, or at request. Just shoot a PM if you ever need anything.

In one of his calorie-seeking breaks, the pale, thin archaeologist chances upon a discarded copy of the newspaper.

At some point through perusing it, a smile breaks out upon his face, unbidden and entirely uncontrolled. Noise burbling between his lips in staccato, muted bursts, he tries to hold it in, but eventually produces a genuine, wholesome laugh.

Still chuckling, huffing beneath his tunic, he flips the paper back down onto the counter and makes his way back to the Court.

The Quartermaster finds himself reading a Cordorian publication, nodding to himself and blurting out a resolute "Damn straight!"

Grim has noticed the general populus interest in the papers and aquired one himself. He reads it silently sitting in the lounge and then tosses the paper into the fire, getting up and walking away in silence into the library.

With the delivery of new materials and supplies, Havoc closes up his previous shop and begins moving his various tools and stock to his new location in the Court of the Undying. It's hard to tell by looking at his stoic self whether he's happy or not, but he does move with a rather hurried, perhaps excited pace. True to his form, he goes back to work as soon as his new forge is up and running.

*-*-*-*-*

The new portal node that has been slowly growing over the past tenday, finally seems to have come to full fruition, as the Greater Shadow Mage attending it takes a few steps back, once again allowing visitors to attune to the node.

*-*-*-*-*

In the Castle, a more permanent art gallery has begun to spring up.

With his return to the Living City, the Headmaster assumed his usual routine..

A tall, skinny man in black leather and a skull mask could be seen going about the library occasionally. He doesn't seem to be a mage however, if one looks closely enough.

Meanwhile in the tower.

That night in the Crypts of the Temple..

The Quartermaster seems to be found in the Living Quarters more often than not. He's taken to posting himself outside of a very specific room in the Living Quarters, silently watching for any signs of intrusion. He seems polite enough to anyone who enters conversation with him, but rather determined to prevent anyone from gaining entry into the room he's standing watch over.

One Lieutenant Vosst was carried unconscious from the office of the Guard, wrapped entirely in a cloak save for his head and face - which itself was covered in the usual mask. He was placed in one of the rooms within the Living Quarters, and has not emerged since his placement several hours ago. A careful and dilligent observer may have noticed, if listening through the door, a few subtle noises suggesting movement. No other signs of his presence are apparent.

After an eventful (and unspoken) evening, Emilie is seen throwing herself into any task put before. Her enthusiasm is almost frenzy-like as she dedicates her full attention to the situation at hand, avoiding small talk and the like.

Due to this, the up-and-coming garden around the castle is finally beginning to take root.

When she is not frantically busy... she is utterly silent, speaking to few, and looking into the eyes of none.

A short thin man in the cloak of the Living Guard is now and then to be found near the gate from the portal, practicing with a variety of crossbows and crossbow bolts on the targets that are set up there. Anyone oblivious or stupid enough to wander downrange would soon find themselves dodging everything from barbed bolts to explosive holy-water quarrels.

Of late Sicarius has become more of a reclusive figure within the City, often keeping to his own company or on extended trips outside the City. As usual he remains rather secretive about what he is doing and can sometimes can be spotted in the library when not hidden away or on duty.

The Quartermaster can be seen between trips to the Court of the Living clearing rubble either in human or Umberhulk form, and in the Library reading a book to himself that doesn't appear to be native to its shelves. It appears to be wrapped in a silk cover sleeve and labeled "Mania J. Mushrooms"

*Valkin would be seen in the library at most times attending to his research in various areas and projects, however he has taken to examining the arts that now hang permanently in the castle halls now, though if any pass him he would appear to be in deep though tho as to what remains unsaid*

Aside from the occasional trip to the commons for inescapable sustenance breaks, Mathus spends the vast majority of his time in the Court of the Living, working almost as tirelessly as the undead.

Having recovered from his misadventure days ago, Lieutenant Vosst resumed work fairly quickly. The first few days were spent in something like sullen silence... and then strangely the mood shifted. He attended his duties with what could be described as restless enthusiasm and unusual cheer; moving swiftly through the castle and throwing a number of almost-flamboyant greetings to those nearby. He is busy as always - days filled with meetings and all, which occasionally lower his mood. But shortly after each he recovers his high spirits.

Any who paid very, very close attention to his movement in and out of the city (likely no one at all!) might notice that he doesn't spend more than a few hours out of the city at once - it seems unlikely that he is resting at all (even if he was an elf, as many would assume)...

Those who frequent the City who became used to Emilie's near-constant presence would perhaps notice that she has been missing from the halls in the past few days. She comes in occasionally for a meeting, but then she vanishes immediately. Her normal demeanor has been reduced to low energy speech patterns and she seems lost in her own thoughts, yet quick to anger when facilitating business.

When she's in the City, she can often be found sitting on the floor, writing with dozens of crumpled papers surrounding her at any one time. Sometimes she is just seen with her head in her hands, utterly silent.

One of the many grimacing skull-faced residents of Tarkuul has not often been seen in the Living City for a couple of tendays. When Kemnon is present, the creature makes its way to the Court of the Living to assess the work of the other archaeologist, Mathus. Thereafter, it returns to the living quarters and enters a room that it does not emerge from; later, it always arrives by leyline.

A faint "light show" could be seen emanating from the Court of the Living, followed by a second soon after, each lasting for approximately one half hour.

A few minutes after the fading of the second such set of lights, the rain in Tarkuul slowly begins to petter out, eventually stopping altogether. Only a faint, comfortable breeze blows from across the sea, rather than the rather gusty ocean winds that the City had grown accustomed to.

Though the dank clouds above remain, dimming the worst of the sun's light... the weather in the Living City seems to have improved drastically.

Kaye has been seen less frequently in the City over the past few days, her presence seeming limited only to patrols of the area and brief periods of watching the main gate. During the times she is present in the City, she seems distant and vague (at least, more than usual). A keen observer may note that this change in demeanour seems to have occurred shortly after the improved weather set in. After each short return to the City, she leaves via the swamp portal, her destination unknown.

Beldor is seen strangely more active within the Living City, given that he usually only stays long enough to research arcana or conduct business. Whatever has him so lively is apparently keeping him quite busy as well. He briefly greets anyone he sees with a smile, a tingling handshake, and an inquiry about purchasing mythals.

Between making hurried(though artistically sound) sketches in a notebook, he mutters a multitude of strange things: something about the validation of a theory, scholarly vindication, and the sexual inferiority of Karsus.

Clad in obsidian armour, wearing a black tabard featuring a green trim, the one few might know as Jacho returns to the living city with some minor injuries to his side, quickly followed by a Drow woman and a human, whom are quickly teleported back outside the risen city upon the realization of where they have followed the man through. He waves them off dismissively and makes his way to the commons room, taking a drink from the bar he sits in front of the fire and stares into it long and hard for a good hour before going to rest in one of the rooms.

The Quartermaster can be seen with at the forge using the grindstone to carefully grind down four entire ingots of silver and gold each into dust. With a total of four ingots being ground down. It's long, frustrating work, but he keeps to the task and ends up spending all day on it.

Music has returned to the halls of the castle, and the only periods of unbroken silence occur when Emilie takes to the Living Quarters to write in front of the fire, looking quite excited.

Though sometimes in the dim blue glow of dawn she disappears entirely, and returns later in the day, looking more rejuvenated. At peace.

Jacho takes to keeping to himself, though the annoying music manages to drive him away and back into the Vaunted Temple hoping the self proclaimed 'musician' does not decide the 'liven up' the temple itself. Other than that, most of his day is spent planning, plotting, sharpening his Scimitar with a whetstone as he seems to be lost in his thoughts.

*Valkin has not left the library for any more than brief duration. His work keeping him well occupied, almost patrols the aisles assessing strange runic markings and warnings as well as consulting various tomes on abjurations. But that is not all that keep him busy, for from time to time his sits going over tomes pertaining to all manner of areas such as planar creations, negative energy manipulation and the negative energy plane. Though he performs much of his work in private, with all manner of spell cast about him to ensure his is not disrupted. One may noticed however that some of his original additions to the library have been edited or revised and re-titled, then placed back on the shelves*

As of late Lucius was rarely seen outside the library, if seen at all..

*Every morning Ðraco could be seen in the library, spending the majority of his day deep in study of a variety of different theories and practices of magic. Lately however his research appeared far more focused on specific practices. Those about would likely over hear him conversing with the librarian, searching for tomes regarding golems and certain metals. Grabbing whatever tomes he deemed most useful and taking them back to his usual spot. Hours passed as he stared down at the pages, scrawling notes into a book, going back and forth from the shelves to the desk.*

*Draco may notice has valkin did in passing that his selection of tomes are similar to his own, as such he asks draco if he might like to discuss possible assistance in a Magistarium Project that might interest him somewhat, he would not reaveal a great deal as he would advise that such ill require approval. However he would inquires as to Dracos sudden interest in Transmutation and crafting. He would suggest that such skills would greatly aid him in his "golem" project, but would say nothing more on the matter till the headmaster cleared his assistance*

*After dispensing with the pleasantries Draco would reply that he would be happy to lend Valkin a hand in his project. Asking a few basic questions as to the nature of the project but not pressing the matter if met with vague answers. Telling Valkin that as of late he's simply come to realize the usefulness of constructs, especially within Tarkuul and that he looks forward to hearing more of Valkin's "golem" project.*

The weather seems to continue to be unreasonably exceptional of late, and perhaps just a bit peculiar to those more familiar with the usual weather patterns at sea. Only a faint, calm, sea breeze reaches the "shores" of the City, despite any stormclouds in the distance and it only seems to rain for a few hours, every few days, a light pattering across the entirety of the City.

It would seem that the Living City has become more temperate over the last tenday, certainly more-so than one might expect from its location.

A Breath in the Silence: "Life" in Tarkuul

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