RP:Guild Shenanigans - Part 2

This is a Mage's Guild RP.

Summary: Odhranos expresses interest in joining the Guild. After he shows his talents to Kovl, the Provost Esoterica tasks him to find and retrieve a book from Pilar, another prospective Guild member, unbeknownst to Odhranos, as a test. The map Kovl gives Odhranos has a rune at the corner of the page to allow the pixie to keep track of his location.

Mage Tower

Kovl lays sprawled upon the stone banister attached to the stairs which lead to the main entrance of the Guild's tower. He has been tasked to scout a prospective student to the Mage's Guild, and here he lay, allowing the rays of the sun to warm his skin and experiencing the complimenting breeze. An eye is kept half open for the rogue mage. It scans for the obvious signs of an 'I'm-new-here' head-scratch or neck-swivel.

Odhranos strode purposefully towards the great enchanted tower of the Mage's Guild. He had sent had sent a letter expressing interest in joining a number of weeks previous, and had received summons back to arrive on the current date for judging his worth. Stepping up to the base of the stairs, he paused and looked about. He had been informed that the Provost Esoteric Kovl would meet him, but at first glance, the mage did not spy anyone about. Odh narrowed his eyes, perhaps the test was already underway. Scanning about for magic signatures, he located a previously unseen individual relaxing upon the banister of the stairs, a pixie to be exact. "Pardon me sir, might you be the Provost?" He inquired respectfully.

Kovl 's face is crossed with a smile as he watches Odhrano's eyes passing over him on first glance. That moment of realization when he had been there all along carries a priceless expression, one at least worth a smile. The pixie grins and he moves to his feet. "Yes, and you must be Odhranos? I am Kovl." His wings take flight, buzzing just enough to hover himself before the prospective student. "Good to meet you." He offers his tiny hand for a shake. "Tell me a little about yourself. What school are you most interested in, Odhranos?"

Odhranos bowed respectfully and took the pixies small hand between his thumb and forefinger. A surprisingly firm handshake from such a small hand, the mage noted. Odh ran a hand through his brown hair; "I would like to study elemental magic, specifically terramancy. I have made good strides in developing my skill in the magic form on my own, but there is only so far that can take me before I start showing my weaknesses in the face of proper studies mages." Odh waved a hand at the staff strapped lengthways across his back. "I have rudimentary control over fire, but that was learned on the streets of my homeland from a firebreather, so it is ineffective at best other than use as distraction."

Kovl raises a brow. "Terramancy and pyromancy, huh? Then perhaps we should stay outside to see what you know first." The pixie winks before moving to an open area to the side of the tower, motioning for Odhranos to follow. Giving distance between the two, the pixie motions to the ground. "Show me something you've known for a while, and then show me something you've learned recently." A grin forms. A Baginis scampered into view from the south.

Odhranos nodded. Something he had known for a while... fire-magic then. Odh didn't exactly classify it as pyromancy, as it was nowhere near the caliber of a even a basic pyromancer, but it was flashy and could be useful in some situations. The head of his long flourite staff ignited into his signature grey flame, which he carried in memory of his master, the first to bear the grey flame. Reaching over his shoulder, he plucked the fireball off with his bare hand, manipulating the heat so it burned away from his flesh, not harming him. Reaching into his pocket, he handed Kovl a single gold coin. "Throw that as hard and as fast as you like, I will hit it." He stated plainly, not out of arrogance, but simple fact. Odh had learned this magic at the hands of a firebreather, a street entertainer, and pinpoint accuracy was always a strong skill in entertainment.

Kovl watches Odhranos curiously while the head of the old staff is first lit with the element of fire. The pixie is not well-trained on the element, but he got his start on fire magic perhaps a little less than two years ago when Svilfon gave him a taste of it to match an opponent in a duel. The ease of the summoning shows Odhranos' grasp on his old trick well: this is certainly not the prospective student's first time with fire. Although, comparably to what other pyromancers do, fireballs are year one material. As Kovl breaks from his thoughts as he dives to catch the coin midair before tossing it in a high arc as if he is throwing a frisbee. A keen eye is kept now on the fireball Odhranos holds.

Odhranos switches to his augmented magic sight. His eyes glazed over and turned a flat silver. Honing in on the coin, he flicked his wrist from his hip, not moving any other muscles. The fireball streaked through the air, giving off a squeaky roar as it flew. With a small splatter of flame, the fireball hit the coin dead centre and knocked it from the air. Odh turned to Kovl and couldn't help smiling a little. "What my flames lack in strength, they make up for speed and accuracy." He strode across to where the coin lay, polished it off and slipped it back into his pocket, returning to where the pixie was hovering.

Kovl gazes on at the fireball as it whizzes by. A grin crosses the pixie's face as the fireball hits the coin just as Odhranos predicted it would. "Very good job. Imagine now what you could do if your spell was stronger and accurate. I imagine you'd be able to roast yourself a bird before it falls out of the sky." The Provost chuckles. "Now, show me something new." The pixie scans the earth, fully expecting something to jut from the ground or erupt, but he certainly doesn't limit his expectations to that type of earth magic. Instead, the pixie keeps a keen eye, ear, and even nose on his surroundings. Terramancers can be tricky, especially when displaying a new ability.

Odhranos grinned openly. This was going to be fun. Spreading his hands out to either side, his eyes turned silver again and with a rasping groan, the ground beneath his feet. The grey robed mage saluted the pixie on his way down. "I'm going to try tag you, stop me." He crouched down and the earth closed over his head. The earth shuddered and jolted, unseen motions and machinations brewing under the ground. With a sudden roar of tearing ground, the earth split beneath Kovl and the grey robed figure erupted from the ground towards him.

Kovl blinks at the mage's sudden movement into the earth and immediately catches onto Odhranos' intentions. Unsure of his capabilities of spotting his target while underground, the pixie quickly zips from his original location, watching for new breaks in the earth. The pixie loves games. But he loves to win them even more. Kovl works quickly, chanting an incantation he learned in his childhood. The pillar of earth upon which Odhranos stands extends along its outer rim outwards, creating a larger disk beneath his feet. The edges now rise and surround Odhranos on all sides, threatening to encapsulate him with earth. All this new earth movement is a trick of the eye and does not stem from any earth bending ability. Shooting quickly to the side and farther into the air, the pixie grins. A prison upon a pillar threatens to hold captive the Guild's prospective student.

Odhranos grinned, it wasnt every day you got to out-illusion an illusionist. Odh silently rose from the earth in the shadow of the mage's tower, his grey robes now missing, instead they were draping the figure of a stone puppet, shaped like a humanoid, with the hood pulled up, it would take a good look to determine it was a fake. Plunging his hands and feet into the ground, the real Odhranos plated his fists and shoes with stone, which he then used to levitate off the ground, silently approaching the pixie from his blind spot. As he got closer, he focused on the stone puppet, which exploded into sand, enveloping everythingg and everyone in a sphere of swirling sand.

Kovl 's attention is drawn to his captive, though he finds it odd the figure makes no effort to move despite the pixie's attempts to frighten it. As his illusionary prison encapsulates his 'foe', Kovl waits for a moment. The Provost does not expect the earth bender to go down without a fight. In fact, it is the lack of of action the figure takes which hints Kovl to scan his surroundings after only a second. An illusionist is quick to assume a trap, and although he does not suspect Odhranos' puppet is a fake, the pixie is not aware of the terramancer's capabilities yet. Perhaps he shot back down through his ground pillar? Spotting Odhranos, Kovl quickly darts to the side, away from his opponent. "You're tricky. I like that. You said you just learned this?" The stone puppet's prison vanishes in a blink to reveal it atop the pillar just as it explodes into a swirl of dust and debris. The pixie reaches quickly to a pouch at his side and vanishes from sight, opting to fly higher as he zips through the clouded air rather than lower toward Odhranos' zone of control.

Odhranos nodded. "I've been tossing rocks about Sage and Xalious for the past half a year, the nosebleeds stopped about two months ago and I've been pushing myself since." He called out to the pixie, who vanished from sight. Odh's eyes phased into his magically augmented vision. If Kovl had managed to mask his magic signature completely, Odh would be stumped, but he knew illusionists, they usually tended to deal with primary senses. Roving the skies, he spied the glimmering corona of the pixie's magic. "Gotcha." He grinned, then pulsed his terramancy down, thrusting him into the sky.

Kovl chuckles and looks back, squinting through the sand only to see Odhranos' silhouette close after him. Ah, so he must see me. The pixie folds his wings and dives in a freefall toward the ground to juke Odhranos' ascension. "You're sticky. I don't want to hurt you though." Kovl chuckles at his teasing remark. As the dust clears, the pixie perches himself on a stone on the ground. "No need to show me more. You look as if you're serious about your magical ability. I do require to test you, however, for entry." The pixie smiles. "Unfortunately, because of the current state the Guild is in, this will not suffice as a test in itself. I need to know your dedication to the Guild before I admit you."

Odhranos landed somewhat heavily across from Kovl, his stone gauntlets swiftly decelerating his freefall. He bowed to the pixie, mildly out of breath, he was quite impressed by the little mage's skill in bith flying and illusionary magic. "That's perfectly reasonable, if you need to rebuild the guild, you want to be sure you have loyal members who are not in it just to steal your knowledge and leave; you want to be sure you are strengthening your numbers." He commented. Standing upright, hands behind his back, he stared levelly across at the pixie. "I am an open book, I can tell you anything you need to know and I am willing to partake in any test of loyalty, even if it requires bloodshed on my part. Although it would be preferable if that were unnecessary." He addded, a humorous quirk turning up the corner of his mouth.

Kovl raises his brow at Odhranos' suggestion of killing to join the Guild. "You would kill for the Guild, huh? That's some dedication already." A sly smile crosses the pixie's face. "I admire your eagerness, and I doubt you're a virgin to killing then." The pixie's mind races as a plan forms for the perfect test. "There is currently a book in the possession of a young girl who cycles between Xalious and Frostmaw. The book holds many of the Guild's secrets, and we cannot let her share this knowledge or use the knowledge against us. I need you to fetch that book. She carries it with her at all times. The girl's name is Pilar. If you retrieve the book while displaying your prowess for the arcane, you may join the Guild. Consider this your test." The pixie pulls from his bag a hand-drawn portrait of Pilar and the book. At the corner of the page is an interesting drawing, the makings of an active rune. "The rune on the corner of this page will track your progress." Kovl smiles. "I think you have the ability and willingness to learn that the Guild covets. Now let's see how loyal you are." The pixie pauses. "Don't kill her. Just retrieve the book." Another pause. "And no need to let her know who you represent." The paper is handed to Odhranos to inspect.

Odhranos blanched, the pixie had misunderstood his statement, he hadn't meant killing, he had meant shedding his own blood! "I... you mistake my meaning, I apologise, I should have been more clear. I will shed my blood for the guild, but I will not take someone's life unless it is the absolute last resort. I have taken one life and it weighs heavily upon me, I will surrender my life before taking another." He stated, eyeing the pixie warily. The poor mage's moral compass took another beating when the target of his test was revealed. "Ms Pilar?" He asked, trying to keep the startled tone from his voice. "I am familiar with her, I would consider her a friend." He petered off, clearly the guild wasn't holding back in it's testing. "I will retrieve this book, so long as my involvement is kept confidential. I can take steps to avoid being recognised, but I would prefer not tarnish my friendship." He stated, his earlier unsettledness well hidden. He was very wary though, suddenly there seemed a great hidden price to joining the guild, one the mage was alarmed to find.

Kovl's eyes widen as Odhranos reveals that Pilar is a friend of his. The Mage's Guild test is going to be more fitting than he originally planned. Will Odhranos choose to trick his friend, or will he risk failing the test to be admitted to the Mage's Guild. "As someone who is fiercely loyal to my friends and the Guild, I understand your predicament. However, the Guild values loyalty greatly, especially at this time." The pixie tilts his head toward the guards at the entrance to the tower. "We need to know you will keep and protect the Guild secrets at any cost. I, myself, have risked my life to keep our secrets safe, and I expect the same loyalty from you for the Guild. However you choose to obtain the book is your choice, but failure is not an option." Another smile forms on Kovl's face. "Do you accept? I will not inform anyone of your mission unless it is their business, namely, my superiors."

The mage crossed his arms behind his back. "I accept your mission. I will go to Frostmaw and retrieve the book. Pilar tends to spend a lot of time near the Silver's camp, it will be well guarded so I will try to recover the book under cover of darkness." The mage sighed. "It will take a day to acquire the necessary materials, I will report to you when I have the book." He bowed to the pixie mage and turned, examining the page he had been given. "I'm sorry." He murmured, tucking the page into his pocket as he walked.