RP:Always Check Before You Pull Things (unless you want to be a wizard)

Wishing Well

Corbin is there. Sort of. All that can be seen of him are his two little legs hanging over the side of the well. The rest of him? The rest of him is actually in the well. What the heck is that kid doing? He is so going to fall in. Maybe that would make his quest easier! A more cruel person passing by would only have to give him a little tap on the rump and fweeee! Down the boy would go. For now he should just dangle, though.

Svilfon had left Frostmaw this morning, the first time in days. Satoshi was there watching the trembling egg... it would hatch soon. Part of him wanted to be there, but wizards see things others do not; he knew who this egg would be bound to when hatched, and he didn't want the negativity of their past encounter to fill the room with tension. So he left the library and decided today would be for some fresh salt air. He missed being a wizard-pirate, though being a wizard-knight isn't so bad. Nevertheless, he appears beside the wishing well in a cloud of smoke and is more than a little surprised to see someone with their head suck in it. Well! If something interesting is down there, this person wasn't going to get it all themselves. Oh no. Without pause he moves to the side and leans himself straight in, so like Corbin nothing but his dangling legs would be seen from the outside. Only then would he speak; apparently unafraid of a situation that could be a little dangerous. "What're we looking for?"

Corbin is clinging to the inside of the well's walls with one hand while reaching desperately towards the water with the other (for those who love alliteration *winks*). Looking at the boy, or his rump as it would be, one might think he is just being naughty and trying to steal the coined wishes that people may have thrown down there. This is not true! He reaches for a different reason all together. "A guy on the pier said this well leads to dragons, but I need the bucket!" Sure enough, floating there in the water is the well's bucket.

SVilfon carefully clings to the well beside Corbin, calculating casually the value of the coins clutched in the water. (*wink wink*). But he doesn't reach out to grab them, value aside, nor does he aid in trying to reach the bucket... it was out of his reach too. "Dragons?! Why in the name of Sven's balls do you want..." He decides he doesn't want to know. Instead he reaches out, grabs hold of one of Corbin's arms, before tugging him off his pecarious perch upon the well's wall. He dangles him down lower, until his feet would almost be touching the water, while saying in a voice that shows no strain. "There... reach for it... but don't shake too much..." Svil can feel his own grip sliding, but he hopes he can hold on long enough for the young Corbin to grab his prize.

Corbin lets out a little yelp of surprise. This guy is totally trying to dump him into the well! Oh wait. No. No he is not. He is helping! What a great guy. The boy has been trying to get this bucket for at least an hour now and no one has offered him any kind of help. Well! Maybe all is not lost for the older generation after all! They're not just a bunch of old geezers. Holding on to the strange man's arms with both hands, he stretches out his foot as far as it can go. "Nhn...!" He is still too short. But only a little! Maybe. Corbin shifts so the wizard only has one of his hands, freeing the other to point at the water. He has to point, you know. A frown furrows his brow and the water forms a little plateau under the bucket. Only a small one that pushes the bucket just high enough so the boy can slip a foot into the handle. "Got it!"

Svilfon watches carefully as Corbin casts his small spell, causing the bucket to rise a touch. Hmm, that was interesting. So when Corbin makes his echoed proclamation that he has it, Svil doesn't immediately pull him back out. He dangles there, making sure to catch Corbin's gaze before he speaks in a jovial voice. "Now, you can explain to me about these dragons, or I'll..." He fakes slipping a little, "Run out of strength and have to drop you in the well. Then of course I'll have to seal it up so no one knows." He grins, then; flashing gaps and fangs at the young boy. It is a bright smile lacking any malice, but it also manages to say 'I am not kidding about dropping you in', and he wasn't.

Corbin grabs Svilfon's hands with both of his own once that bucket is hooked with both feet. "The dragons aahhh~!" The wizard slips and the mageling cries out. Wide eyes meet grin and fang (gang?) as the boy clutches tighter. "Don't! Please don't! I'll tell you, I swear! The bucket is magic! The man on the pier said the bucket is magic!" He looks down and then back up again. "Please don't lock me down there!" Would he do it? Would this strange man... vampire... person (with great fashion sense when it comes to hats) drop him in the well?

Svilfon ponders just briefly continuing to dangle here, but clearly the young mage is more afraid of his threat than he thought he'd be. There is within Svilfon a casual cruelty at times, but never without reason, and this mageling hasn't deserved any sort of punishment. So with a grunt he pulls himself out while still holding Corbin. He is careful to ensure the bucket isn't dislodged, and when standing again in the salty air of a nice Cenril day, he speaks while looking at the mage dangling by his grip. "Tell me, why would anyone leave a magic bucket in a well? And what in the name of Xalious do you want with dragons..? They'd use you for an entrée, you know." Svil surely knows, being married to a huge psychotic red dragon himself. "And who is this man on the pier? Get to explaining.. or.." He doesn't dangle him over the open well... he's not that mean! But he does flick his gaze to it.

Corbin has no reason to trust this man. He has no reason to even keep his word to tell him the truth about the dragons. Well. Except for the fact that he isn't fully out of the well yet and it would only take a quick flick of the wizard's wrist to drop the boy into that water. Gah! That is a long drop too. He'd probably hit the side and break something on the way down. "I'll tell you!" All thoughts of trickery are gone. "Just pull me out, okay? I promise to tell you everything. The truth too! I mean it." He glances down at the bucket still hooked in his feet. Oh man. His mom is gonna be so mad if he gets locked in a well.

Svilfon snickers for a moment as the thought of, 'I trust him about as far as I can throw him' goes through his mind... because he thinks he could probably throw him quite far. But he complies to the wishes of the mage-ling and soon enough he's on the ground again, safe for the moment, while the wizard moves to casually sit on the side of the well. He could well be pushed in, though he shows no fear of this, before he waves an arm at the boy. "Tell me." He doesn't bother with another threat, mostly because he is rather interested in this story. He wants to know about these dragons, especially if it means hunting some. Or stealing treasure. Or... no, he stops speculating and instead adopts an expression he learned while teaching at the Mage's Guild: Stern, yet seeming to care; a look that clearly expresses he will put up with no tomfoolery!

Corbin's name is Corbin, not Tom! So if there is foolery to be had, it would not be that of a tom. The boy is very careful not to spill any water out of the bucket once is safe on the outside of the well. Oh he could run or hide or tell a lie (see what I did there?), but he won't. He sits there on the ground by Svilfon's feet, cross-legged with that bucket of water in his lap. "The man on the pier said if I got this bucket out of the well and filled it and drank the entire thing, I would poof to a place where there's lots of dragons that live just like us with houses and families and things like that." He looks up at the wizard and if ever there was a lie to be told, this is not it. Maybe that man on the pier was teasing the boy, but this boy is going to see those dragons!

Svilfon is quiet for along time after Corbin tells his tale. He knows the young are impatient, but it's a virtue the wizard has acquired and the mageling is going to have to deal with it. He thinks through the various implications, before nodding to himself. "I believe you, though not your story." He grins, then, an ambiguous smile. "But nevertheless..." He reaches into his robes and pulls out a small piece of ivory. He whispers a word to it, causing the piece to vanish from sight. It did, in truth, merely vanish from the wizard's hand to the mageling's pocket - so the wizard could track him if indeed he did get transported to this dragon world. "Get to it then!" He motions to the bucket, rather interested to see the boy try and drink it all in one go. "Let's see if it works... I'll follow you if it does. I am Svilfon the wizard, you can trust me." He nods and tips his hat. He has no intention of drinking the water himself, but he is confident he could teleport after Corbin if indeed the fancifial story is truth.

Corbin doesn't notice the ivory in his pocket. He is too busy staring at the man in front of him with his mouth all agape like some sort of codfish. "You're a wizard?" The question is whispered in awe and disbelief and curiosity and all those other things little boys are. He forgets about the dragons for a minute. They aren't going anywhere. This wizard might though! So he sits up a little straighter and beams proudly. "I'm a mage!" he declares with the confidence of a certain werebear that goes around... werebearing and doing bearly were things. Oh right. The bucket. He picks it up and drinks as much as he can in one go. Which isn't really all that much at all.

Svilfon replies with a small smile twisting up the edges of his lips. "I am not a wizard. I am THE wizard!" He nods and briefly ponders going through his list of titles and such, but decides against it as the mageling begins to gulp back the water. He knew already this boy was a mage, but he is more interested at the moment in finding these dragons... though, a young enough mage... he could switch him from the paths of magedom to the roads of wizardry... but no, not yet. Let's see what transpires first. So as Corbin attempts to drink the bucket, Svil begins to encourage him with the classic, "Knock it back! Scull it! Arrr, you call that drinking, ye pox-faced bilge-rat!" Piratical, of course; he's in Cenril after all. "I've seen barmaids drink faster than that! What are you, man, mage or mouse?!" Encouraging the young to drink... at least it's just well water and not fire water!

Corbin lifts the bucket to his mouth once again, but doesn't manage to drink any water! He is too busy giggling at Svilfon's encouragement. "You're making me laugh." He attempts to drink again. Failure. "What is a skullit?" This time he does drink some more. Quite a bit more than he did the first time! How much water is in this bucket? A gallon. Who knows how much a gallon is anyway? Quick math. Maybe almost 4 liters. Little boys shouldn't be consuming that much at one time! Ah but what do I know? He takes a breather and looks into the bucket. He's down 3/4ths of the way!

Svilfon shakes his head, "Boy, you need to spend more time on a pirate ship. A necessasity for any young mageling." Without taking his gaze from the gallon guzzling glutton... you can be a water glutten!.. he pulls from the air itself his Xalious wood-wand and begins to idly spin it up and down his hands with a skill that betrays how dexterious those digits are. He had a plan of sorts in case this didn't work, but for now he's content to carry on his encouragements with a piratical drinking song, "Drink up, me 'earty, for it's the pirate life for me! Plundering for loot, not giving a hoot, sailing across the sea! Drink up, me 'earty, or you'll be sent to the gallows! But don't drink too much or you'll drown in the shallows!" Not the best pirate drinking song, but he winged it on the spot!

Corbin laughs at the song and joins in with one of his own. "Yo ho! Yo ho! A pirate's life for me! We might see a whale, so let's set sail! Over the great blue seaaaa!" Okay so maybe mageling pirate songs aren't that great when made up on the fly, but it does raise his spirits and that bucket to his lips. He drinks and drinks and finally the water is all gone! He slams the bucket down like burly men do with shot glasses. "Ha! Done." And then he's gone. Just... vanished from that spot. Did he go to the dragons? No. There are no dragons. Only a dark, damp cave with no light. Only the eerie sound of dripping water. Speaking of which, Corbin is standing up to his knees in water. The boy blinks, but it does no good in the darkness. "Svilfooon?" he whispers.

Svilfon decides then and there he likes Corbin. Anyone who sings pirate songs are alright by him! And he's just about to tell the boy such - you can't just threaten children, some encouragement goes a long way too - but steal his hat and call him a pigeon, the bloody thing worked. He blinks more than once, before casually throwing his wand where the boy was sitting... nope, not invisible. Without words the wand vanishes from its spot on the ground and returns to his hand and for a moment the wizard's brows furrow. Before with a shrug he says, "What's the worst that could happen?" Svilfon focuses on the small piece of ivory then, before enacting his teleportation spell. He vanishes in a cloud of smoke, only to reappear where he was. Quickly he moves forward, picks up the bucket, and throws it back in the well - don't want people following them - before he vanishes again, this time appearing beisde Corbin. Tongues of flame lick the air around him for just a moment, before the fade to languid tendrils of smoke, and only then does Svil speak. "I stand corrected, boy... now, where in the name of Sven's hairy chest are we?" He looks around at the dank cave. "I don't see any dragon houses." In truth, he can't see anything in the gloom. But he'd not cast a light. He'd see first what Corbin would do.

Corbin is doing his very best to stay brave! He can do this. He just has to walk... wade... towards the exit. Which way is the exit? Find a wall, kid. Then follow it. Walls have doors and doors have exits! Or certain doom. Either way, you're going to get out! A deep breath is taken and he tries the wizard again. And again. Third time seems to be the charm cause the cave is briefly lit up by those flames. Too bad Corbin is so startled that he doesn't have time to look around. "Dragon houses..." Yes boy. That is what you were drinking for. Though now the mageling thinks the man on the pier drank a bucket full of rum and imagined that dragon society. "I can't see anything at all."

SVilfon shakes his head in the darkness at the mageling. He is more than proficient at making fireballs do whatever he wants, or lightning for that matter... though casting lightning when you're knee deep in water is about as smart as telling Satoshi she is more fat than fluff. A painful lesson that one. But he had hoped the young mage could sort it out for them. Regardless, he whispers a word or two, causing a dull light to appear on the end of his wand. It casts threatening shadows around the pair which menacingly dance with each movement of Svilfon's hand, but the wizard himself doesn't even notice. Instead he kneels down and cups some of the water, before drinking it. Not salty. Interesting. He figures they've gone down deep, perhaps beneath the well, rather than to the coastal areas of Cenril, though whether this is the truth or not he doesn't know. Perhaps the water is just filtered by the stone. Either way, he points the wand at Corbin and speaks. "I've cast the last of my teleportation spells for the day," A lie, that is, "so either you lead us out of here, or we're going to rot away in this water." That said, Svil moves to stand beside Corbin. "Go on, boy. Let's see what you're made of."

Corbin rubs his eyes once that faint light hits them. He is thankful to be able to see a little, but oh gods, is there something moving over there? No. No just a trick of the light and your eyes and a shadow from the water's reflection and focus! The wizard just put all of this on his head. "But I'm only eleven!" That doesn't matter now, does it? At least you aren't alone and you can see a little. Stop looking at that corner. It is more afraid of you than you are of it. The boy nods, flopping that mess of brown hair over his eyes. "Right. I'll get us out!" That's the spirit! But how? How. He walks and walks and walks along the edge of the cave until something grabs his foot and takes him down! Okay so he tripped over a chain. You were totally scared for a minute though! "I found something." He tugs on that chain and there is a large POP noise and the sound of water draining. At the end of the chain is a huge tub stopper. The mageling blinks at it and then the wizard and then the water at their feet that slowly lowers.

Svilfon is ready for most things. I mean, he's married to a dragon, in a family of sorts with Kasyr and Dami, he's a wizard, he's been a pirate, a ninja, a knight... he's travelled the length of this world on the back of a couatl, and faced off against the most evil, twisted and demonic bastard to ever curse the world... Old Man McDonald. So little takes him by true surprise... yet when Corbin pulls on the chain Svil's yelling of, "Don't!" is drowned out by the 'pop' noises as the seal is broken and the water begins to drain out, he is shocked. A cave with a plug hole.. this was new. "You check before you pull things, idiot!" He shakes his head, "You're not an idiot... you're just... eleven... And in truth, had I found it, I'd have pulled it too... perhaps we're alike, though many do call wizards idiots..." He grins in the gloomy light before moving a little closer to the plughole. "You know there's only one way to see what's down there..." He motions with his hands, showing Corbin he means to grab him by the ankles and dangle him down... but whether the mageling would let him even try, that remians to be seen... and yes, he was worried for a minute there! Not that he'd ever admit it.

Corbin grins sheepishly as he tosses the stopper aside. "Maybe I should be a wizard instead." Being a mage is boring! Wizards are cool and smart and wear awesome hats. He nods to himself. Yes. Definitely going to be a wizard. If he gets out of here alive, that is. Oh. The boy looks down into the hole and then back at Svilfon. "I uh... I can go first!" He puffs out his chest with bravery. Yeah! He has survived a well and a magic bucket and a tub stopper! What could go wrong now? He gets down on his hands and knees and pokes most of his body into the hole. Hello darkness. "Lower me down more!" he calls out.

Svilfon nods sagely, wisely, "Perhaps you should... if you can survive setting yourself on fire." He is about to carry on when all of a sudden he stops for a moment as an odd sensation flows over him. He smiles to himself, to a fallen couatl, to a memory of the most magnificent bag of scales he ever did know. He speaks quickly, "wait a moment." before he pulls from his robes a small piece of paper, a floating inkwell and a pen. Leaving Corbin head first down the sink hole, he writes for a moment, cursing once when a drop of water lands upon the parchment, before he speaks a quiet word. The paper vanishes from sight, and only then does Svil speak again. "Things of importance." is the only explanation he'd give to Corbin's backside, before he returns the items to his pockets and grabs hold of Corbin's ankles. He lowers him down, quite far, before his grip begins to slip... damn water! And distracted wizards! Together they result in a quiet, "Oopsie!" as Corbin is dropped down the plug hole. Svil sticks his head and yells, "Are you okay...kay...kay" echoes. He'd wait there, though if no response came he'd dive straight in after the mageling.

Corbin tries to look over his shoulder at the wizard. "What?" And then he is dropped. "Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh~!" He falls and slides and tumbles and yells the whole way, twisting and turning like some sort of medieval waterpark tube ride. He yells for some time before realizing how much FUN this tumbling is. Laughter echoes back, drowning out that wizardly echo of concern. Sure it is dark, but for some reason, that doesn't matter! The magic ride lasts for just enough minutes to stay interesting before the boy is thrown into the air. Arms and legs wave comically as he is briefly suspended in the air before being dropped into a pool of water with a great splash. He stands up, waist deep this time, and wipes his face. "Svilfon!" He cups his hands around his mouth to help his voice carry. Who knows how long that ride took! "Svilfon come on!" And he gets out of the way so the wizard doesn't smash into him. Looking around, he seems to be in a sewer of some sort. LoL Maybe they flooded Larket.

Svilfon cannot here Corbin yelling at him from the bottom, but damnit, he heard that laughter. That excitement. He wasn't going to be outdone. So he scrambles across the slimy rocks for a moment, until he gets enough purchase to push himself down the hole head first! He falls much like the mageling did, though being a bit bigger he takes quite a few knocks. But who cares about bruises?! This is awesome! He sways one way then the next, whooshing up the side of smooth rock-faces, then skimming down the other, until he appears much like Corbin did. Arms flail wildly in an attempt to fly, which does nothing but send him further spinning until he lands in an undignified lump of hat, robe and wizard. He stands, his face flushed, and says, "Let's do it again!" Apparently he is as much a child as Corbin is. But he's not so excited to lose focus of his surroundings... they look familiar... except now there's been a huge wash a water through them... Kelovath isn't going to be happy... "If anyone asks... this was all your fault," is all he says after ringing out his robes and straightening up with a grin. That small smile says enough; Svil would protect Corbin from any comeuppance that comes from this. Even though they probably have flooded half of Larket and ALL of Ferminville!

Corbin grins when his new friend appears in the air. Good! He heard him and came along. By now the mageling has climbed up onto the somewhat dry edge of the sewer and has shaken out his boots and hair. Ew. Sewer water. Uh. I mean... Hey cool! Is that a rat over there? Yes. Rat. Ahem. Again! Doing that again would mean going back to Cenril and drinking from the bucket again. He's pretty sure the tunnel is too slick to climb back up and he doesn't see a roped up set of stairs anywhere. Hm. "My fault!?" He wrinkles his nose at the wizard then laughs. "Okay maybe, but we can't tell my mom, okay? I'm not supposed to flood stuff." Holding his hair out of his eyes, he looks up and around. There's a little light here from some sort of source. Ah lamps. That weren't put out by all that water cause... uh... you know. Magic! Pfft. Yes. Magic. "There's a ladder!"

Svilfon shakes his head at the young aspiring mage whose name he's not sure he's even asked! If he has, he's forgotten, so he goes back to calling him by his new name. "Boy, you want to be a wizard?! I told my mum I was going out to milk the cows four hundred and sixty eight years ago! We do not care what our mothers think." That whole little speech was a lie, but he says it anyway. His eyes follow the mageling's gaze as he spies the light shining down, and the ladder, before he shakes his head. "You know, boy, we just flooded half this damn place, plus the rat-folk city down there." He points back, showing he knows more about where they are than he'd earlier let on. "And you just want to climb back out dripping wet like nothing happened?!" He looks stern for a moment, before he laughs long and loud, the sound rich with genuine good humour. "Perhaps there's enough wizard in you after all. I'm game." With that, he wanders over takes hold of a rung. "But you're going up first." He grins.

Corbin doesn't have to listen to his mother if he is a wizard? Alriiiight! This is the best day ever! Uh oh. He made the wizard mad. Or maybe not. That laughter echoes through the sewers, making Corbin laugh a little himself. He steps up onto the ladder and hangs on by one hand and foot while the other two limbs hang off into the air. An imaginary hat is pulled off his head and waved. "Corbin the wizard! Yeah!" The invisible hat is plopped back on his head and he climbs up that ladder with the grace of a young boy who climbs trees on a regular basis. Once to the top, he pushes the manhole cover up with his head and takes a peek around. "I think it is safe." That cover is shoved to the side so the boy can climb out.

Svilfon shakes his head as the mageling climbs up the ladder, though he did of course tip his hat in response to the imaginary-hat-pulling-off of the boy. Damnit to Hell and back, he was busier than a Kelay whore at the moment, and now he has a new plaything to entertain him. Why did things come in such rushes in a wizard's life? He doesn't know. But he doesn't dwell upon it. Instead he climbs up after the mageling, blinks as his eyes adjust to the light in Larket, before pushing the cover back over the hole leading down into the sewers. He looks around in earnest, ensuring no one can see them, before he turns to speak to Corbin. "Right. When asked what we did today, you'll say we went caving in Cenril... The folk here are a little... touchy." That's an understatement, considering the rulers hate mages and wizards, "so let's pretend this whole thing wasn't our fault... and you know what? Come see me at the Mage's Guild some time. You might like it there." He grins, "Just stay away from the One Lesson Lady for a while, or you might turn into an icicle."

Corbin leans in close to the wizard with the seriousest of serious serious faces. Ooooh. Conspiring with his new friend. This really is the best day ever. He nods with wide eyes. How can anyone ever hate wizards and mages? They're the awesomest people ever. "I can do that." And an invitation to the mage's guild too?! Oh man. He should hang out of wells more often! "Who is the One Lesson Lady? Is she mean?" Ah it doesn't matter. He'll meet her eventually. He shakes his head with an impish grin. "Nevermind. I'll find you." With that, he takes off to see about dinner. Maybe he should invite his new friend! Maybe next time. He hasn't asked his mother, and he isn't a wizard... yet.

Svilfon lets out a long breath after the child scuttles off to find his mother for dinner. He had the right mindset, and nothing seemed to bother him... he was perfect for wizardry, if only he was strong enough... but with the thought that time would tell that better than Svilfon, he tips his hat to the boy's back before vanishing into a large cloud of smoke. He appears once more in Frostmaw, regretting instantly not drying his clothes properly as they promptly freeze him solid, before he goes through the long process of heating himself up enough to thaw, so he can go see the newest hatched children of the couatl Emiur.