RP:A Pretty Poisonous Promotion

This is a Necromancer's Guild RP.

Summary: Bradyn gives Quintessa the test necessary to move up to the Thanadule rank. Her expertise in all things toxic earns the hex blade the Acerbitor position as well.

Dark Arena

The arena is filled with various killed and undead as well. Several Zombies seem to be carrying corpses out of the arena, returning them to the masters they served. Many bodies here look disfigured and ill, clearly abominations constructed by Necromancers to serve in the gladiator like battles held here. Several of the other bodies though are completely normal. A battle must have recently gone on here, as the crowds of people step out of the entrance of the area. To your south is the way out, to your north is a path leading to the back of the arena.

Bradyn may not be the most social of creatures, but he made a modicum of effort to be aware of how the training might be going for those lower in rank. They may not always be aware of it, but that is a detail that Bradyn does not care to change. That does not mean the Maharan is aware of every detail of their training, just generally if they are making progress or not. Quintessa receives a letter, giving her a date and a time, and an explanation that she'll be expected to complete her test for a promotion. Bradyn takes the very same no-nonsense approach that he took when administering Khitti's test a few days ago. In this case that means that Bradyn is standing in the center of the arena, making it easy for Quintessa to locate him. It should be noted that there is not a single weapon within sight, nor has Braydn seen fit to don any armor. If Quintessa was about to engage in some sort of battle, it did not appear that it would be for Bradyn. The Maharan has instructed a few items be set up within the arena, but the details of that will be expanded upon later. First, the Maharan speaks to Quintessa, "Hello. First and foremost, declare the basic areas of Necromancy that you have spent the most time studying."

A part of Quintessa expected to get the letter she found among her missive waiting for her once she finally arrived back in Vailkrin. Both of her duties with the Warrior's Guild and the Mage's Guild had distracted her for a time, but she was ready to return to her real passion; Necromancy. When asked to meet at the Dark Arena to test her skills Quintessa isn't sure what to expect. This trail would be to evaluate her mastery over the dark arts, not combat, so she should prepare for such. In the past when she met with Bradyn Mahara, the young hex blade had made a point to dress nicely, sewing pretty dresses to wear while showing off her advancements in the art but today would be different. Today Quintessa was prepared for battle. Wearing her inactive invisibly cloak over the catsuit she had constructed for the Titan's of Winter Tournament, the changeling comes equipped with her katana at her side and her alchemical concoctions on her utility belt. There were many tricks she had learned abroad and she was eager to show them off today. Heeled boots click softly on the arena floor as she enters, mismatched eyes falling upon Bradyn as she stoically closes the distance between. "Hello," she responds, resting her left hand upon the hilt of her sword as she speaks, coming to stop a comfortable two meters apart. "Poisons, potions, curses, arcane sigils. These are the things I am best at, though I consider myself adept enough at basic resurrection to count that among them, though my experience is lacking. I have completed dozens of experiments concerning controlling undead since being taught by Sce- erm, Thanadule Khitti." Quintessa shifts uncomfortably, unsure if she's been talking too long. "If I had narrow it down to a single art, however, it would have to be poisons. My book can attest to my ambitions to become an Acerbitor some day."

Bradyn nods. It was as he recalled, but interests can change upon a whim. With the details confirmed, Bradyn gives further explanation about the test. There is a table to one side of the area that seems to be full of a variety of items that Quintessa may or may not be able to concoct a poison with. The ingredients on the table are plentiful, some ingredients have already been refined and may be ready for immediate processing, others are still in their most raw form. This is intentional, Quintessa will have to navigate what ingredients to best combine and she will have to do so under pressure. "Your test is this. You will be given a period of time to create poisons that you will then use against opponents. What exactly you will be fighting will be a mystery until it is time. You may utilize any of the other skills you may have honed, so long as they are directly tied to necromancy." Bradyn is not interested in any tricks she might have learned in the Warrior's Guild, though he dose see how some of her Mage's Guild lessons may lend to cross-over. "The one item that you may not use is your Katana." Bradyn holds out an outstretched hand, palm up, with the very intention of collecting Quintessa's weapon. "I will give it back at the end of the fight. You may use any of the other concoctions that you have thought to bring with you, provided that you were the one who created it. Once you have handed over your weapon, you may begin creating." Bradyn does not specify how long she will have, whatever she might be fighting could be released upon a whim.

Quintessa hesitates for a moment before she slides the sheathed katana from her belt and places it into the outstretched and waiting palm. "Seems reasonable." Is all she says before she approaches the table and unbuckles the belt around her waist. She adds her favorite extracts to the options laid out for her, giving her an extra edge against vampires and lycans if they were to be put up against her. Certain blood, she had learned, was sometimes the best poison of all but that would only work against specific opponents. For non-lycan living things she'd need a more classic approach. Quintessa's mismatched eyes scan over what was available, nothing was labeled but the changeling recognized all of the raw ingredients, and that was a decent start. Without a proper laboratory this would be difficult, but not impossible. Some things like Nightshade and Hemlock were already deadly without needing to be processed much. All she would need to do is crush the berries without a mortar and pestle and she'd have a poison that could swiftly paralyze muscles if gotten into a wound. But would she be allowed to use her daggers? Pulling the stiletto dagger equipped on her thigh holster out she begins to crush the berries in a small pile, careful not to get much on her lithe fingers as she works. Her mind races as she works, not losing a moment of time to think ahead even as she focuses on the work she does with her hands. "...if only I could make some kind of..." she mumbles as she crushes, reaching out for a bottle of something more refined. "Oh?" Mismatched eyes squint as the substance inside and her lips curl up as she grins. "Refined curare? This is quite rare in the colder provinces... not many would recognize this... Alone the death would be slow and painful, but mixed with the nightshade poultice it'll make a potent paralytic useful against any living thing..." Quintessa continues to work, losing track of time as she uses her makeshift workspace to dangerously mix these substances.

Bradyn :: Quintessa would set about her work and Bradyn would vanish from the arena's field. Her Katana is left leaning against a wall of the area for her to collect later, Bradyn has no concern that she might go for the weapon mid-test. A respectable amount of time passes before Quintessa is introduced to her opponent(s), she is given ample time to flex her knowledge before she is expected to put it to use. How is it that Quintessa will come to learn what her opponent is? She'll hear what sounds like several low growls coming from behind her, but what she faces is not a lycan. What she faces is a dog, not just any mere dog. This dog, while living, is probably the result of a necromancer's experiments for it has three heads. Said dog is only slightly above average size, meaning it does not seem to be the most formidable of opponents..outside from the three heads. Except, Quintessa will not just be facing one mutt, she'll have to deal with three of them. That means she'll have to worry about nine-different heads trying to bite at her, with no sword to get all stabbity with them, and only her knowledge of the dark arts as means of attack and defense. Bradyn watches on from safety while Quintessa seeks to prove what she's learned during her time in the guild.

Quintessa was just finishing up she intended to use against her enemies, stuffing the last of the toxic, paralyzing mix into a make-shift impact-bomb when the growls of the three-headed dogs catch her attention. The hex blade's time was up. Adding the little bit of alchemical black powder she had brought with her with simple powdered sugar, she seals the glass sphere that contained it before swiping it and her utility belt from the table to meet the beasts. Quintessa makes no sudden movements, slowly inching away from the table to get a better position as the mini-Cerberuses circle around her. Three heads meant more teeth, which was bad, but they all shared a single circulatory system. The moment Quintessa is flanked the dogs would rush in, two behind her charging in as she locks eyes with the one in front. "Sodl! Cŵn i lawr!" The young spellcaster shouts, her incantation opening up a large pool of ichor behind her to intercept them, long, powerful tendrils reaching out to grapple them to protect the one that conjured them. Not a second after her spell is activated, an impact bomb is lobbed at the one before her, smashing on the ground as the three-headed dog leaps back to dodge, but avoiding the projectile wouldn't save it. Reacting to the force of the ground, the black power creates a tiny explosion, sending the powered sugar, and the poison that had bonded to it, into the air as a giant plume of smoke. As it engulfs the beast the changeling sprints out of their circle to get more distance one again, not knowing how long her black tentacles would keep the other two at bay. Assuming the three-headed dogs constitution was about the same as a fully grown human, that poison would render it immobilized in minuets- sooner maybe, given that three noses were inhaling the poison instead of only one. "Alright," Quintessa muses, pulling out the second vial she intended on using. "How shall I apply this one?" She pivots to face them, her knees bent slightly in anticipation of an attack.

Bradyn continued to watch from afar while Quintessa works to dispose the dogs. The Maharan is half wondering if he should have picked a more challenging creature given the way that Quintessa seems to be so easily able to entangle two within black tendrils and dispose of one via poison. Quintessa's assumption is correct, the dogs do have the constitution close to a home, if not perhaps a bit lesser. It truly does not take long for the first three-headed beast to be rendered immobilized. Feeling as though Quintessa perhaps has gained too much of an advantage in this test far more quickly than Bradyn would have cared for, the Maharan intercedes while also keeping his distance. One of the dogs trapped by the black tendrils disappears into shadows. It does not reappear instantly either, that would again likely make things too easy for Quintessa. No, Bradyn will not allow the beast to manifest again within the arena until Quintessa is preoccupied with disposing of dog number two. Once that point in the battle arrives, Quintessa will have to deal with the beast charging at her full speed from her right and then trying to leap upon her. Her neck looks like a very good chew toy.

Quintessa foolishly thinks her tendrils have dealt with one of the three-headed-dogs, her cruel smile becoming a grin as she approaches the canine still trapped in her spell. "Poor boy," she coos, her left hand waving, controlling the tentacles manually, commanding them to lift the dog up and restrain the threes heads individually. The black tendrils constrict hard, choking the flanking heads as the third snaps aggressively at her. "Oh, don't be like that, darling. It's time for your medicine..." Quintessa swiftly gripped the unrestrained throat, her sharp fingernails digging into its flesh as she forces the mouth open and pours the toxic contents right down the dog's throat. With the vial tossed behind her and smash on the arena floor, the changeling clamps his mouth shut like a muzzle, forcing it to swallow with grim satisfaction. It wasn't until she heard the soft pads of dog-feet rushing towards her did she realize her earlier mistake. Turning in time to see three heads lunging towards her, Quintessa offers her left arm to chew on as the canine knocks her to the ground, the young girl barely able to keep the dog from savaging her as she holds them back with her forearm. The changeling hisses partially in frustration and partially out of pain as the sharp teeth rip and tear through the unarmored flesh of her arm. "Wait... your... turn!" Quintessa wedges both feet between the torso of the dog and her own, giving a powerful kick to send the enemy tumbling away as she crawls backwards away from it, using the table to stand to her feet. The three headed dog, however, was already on pace to bite her again, two jaws clamping tightly around her ankles as she looks for something on the table to use. Perhaps it was cheating, but desperation drove her to grab the stiletto dagger she used to work with the poison, and the entire table toppled over when the mini-Cerberus dragged her away. "Let- Go!" Quintessa rolls to her back and aims a powerful kick at the mutant, her heeled boot stomping its nose hard enough for it to recoil. This is her opening! With the middle head still shaking from the blow, Quintessa throws the dagger at his torso, counting on the residue from the multitude of poisons used to still be potent enough to work- to do something- or else the dog would have another chance to inflict more damage, something she didn't wish to abide by.

Bradyn :: Was it cheating? In Bradyn's perception the use of the dagger was permissible, for the reason that katana was temporarily confiscated was because it was capable of doing lethal damage in it's own right -- no poison needed. The dagger was means of delivery, but if the poison was not strong enough then the blow from the dagger would not be enough to be lethal. Once all three mini-Cerberus' were rendered dead, unconscious, or paralyzed, Bradyn's voice can be heard from the seating area of the arena. It carries with volume enough that his message can be heard. "Congratulations are in order, I would think, for you have also obtained the rank of Thanadule. And now that you have achieved that rank? You have also achieved your ambition to obtain the title of Acerbitor." Bradyn makes no move to descend back into the arena, nor does he show any concern for any injuries that Quintessa may have sustained during this test. She seems mostly fine, was far as the Maharan is concerned. It's just a flesh wound. It's probably for the better, were Bradyn to more closely examine Quintessa...? He might come to realize that the new Lady Dragana is not -really- a vampire.

Quintessa brings herself to her feet once more, her hand clamped against the arm that dripped blood that was not vampiric at all. While the scent would be distinctly cursed and inhuman, closer inspection of it might reveal her secret, but would Bradyn have any reason to suspect her? A slow clench slows the bleeding, but she would need to tend to this soon. At least the pride and excitement she felt from passing the test made her forget about the dull pain that shot up her limb. "Thank you, Provectus Mahara," Quintessa does her best to contain her exuberance, but it is clearly bubbling over. This meant that the changeling would be finally allowed to study soul-bonding, something Larewen had promised her long ago and as unable to deliver. "As the new Acerbitor I look forward to passing on my knowledge to the lesser degree necromancers, provided they want to learn. I won't chase after them if they don't take poisons seriously. I'm sure you understand this position." Bradyn Mahara too, seemed to have a lack of patience for those unwilling to put forth the effort to advance the art. Why should she waste her time if they weren't going to listen anyway? "Now that I am Thanadule my real work has finally begun. Was there anything else I that you wished to speak to me about? If not I will be on my way."

Bradyn responds to Quintessa's assertion that she'll won't be chasing after people is met with a nod. The Maharan does indeed understand, Quintessa is correct in her assumptions on how much of an issue this will be with Bradyn. It is clearly none. When it comes to the question of if there was anything else that Bradyn wanted to speak about? The Maharan is not quick to answer either way. The way that silence lingers in the area could suggested much, it also meant that Quintessa stood in the middle of the arena bleeding in front of a vampire. "Our paths will cross again soon," The Maharan comments to Quintessa. After this comment is made, Bradyn is consumed by shadows, leaving Quintessa to leave the arena at her leisure.