Legacy Tester (Panna Cotta)

[Hadrian]

OOCUh oh. At first he stayed inside the Preserver because it was beeping merrily, so he assumed it was working. It did seem that it was taking rather a long time to scan him and the talon, or rather, GT145, but he didn't want to interrupt it and have to start all over again. He didn't know enough about golems in practice to know if this was normal or a sign of a malfunction, like Rela's stupid Communicator that Drainira had hijacked. He sighed, bored, and then his stomach started growling. "Great," he muttered, and scratched his head gently with the talon without thinking. His eyes tracked toward the door through which Tieh had made her exit, wondering if she were truly human, or perhaps a hybrid with a Symenestra to require blood. Or some new form of the undead, more alive than a Nuit, but requiring living blood for sustenance. That thought made him want to get out of the cage. After all, she had made him no Grand Oath to not harm him. But if she was a conscientious blood-drinker, perhaps she harvested it from the recently dead and kept it from coagulating with a bit of magic. No harm, no foul. He would have to ask her if blood could be maledicted as well as used to paint the glyph circle. That would be a good detail to know. If blood could be maledicted and then drunk, as the blood became part of the drinker's body, perhaps its influence would become permanent. Could maledicted Konti blood grant Avalis' gnosis? That would probably upset the goddess, though. "Hm." When the Preserver chirped at him and informed him that GT145 was indeed a success, Hadrian stepped out of the cage, a bit confused. "Gods, I'm hungry," he mumbled as his stomach growled again in earnest. He was also feeling a bit randy, but that urge didn't quite hit his brain. It did, however, make his underclothes a little cramped for space. He squinted at Tieh's exit again, head cocked, calculating. He didn't notice the tap of the talon against his lower lip, nor did he notice his thought process as he moved quickly to follow Tieh, hungry, horny, and not in the best of moods. What was she thinking, leaving him alone for so long without a snack?

[Panna Cotta]

But nobody was in the room above. The untidy room was untidy and Tieh was nowhere to be found. There were, however, roasted meat parts (Hadrian would not care what kind of meat) - a big pile of them - on a small bronze dish set on the floor... as if Tieh had been expecting the outcome of the experiment. However, Hadrian was in a daze, and figuring out plots was the least of his concern. He could eat, drink, and wreak havoc in the office while Tieh was gone. Or was she? He could sense her, and he could look around, attempt to pinpoint her, but he could not find her. The need to feed was stronger than any other urge. And so eat he will.

Then there was a tingly feeling in his feet. Like he needed to run. Run, in big fat strides. Outside, now. Or downstairs, there's also a lot of room there.

Once Hadrian left the room, whether to run around crazily downstairs or frolic outside, Tieh would move from her seat, which was hanging from a niche high above near the ceiling. She was taking down notes, observing Hadrian's movements, his language - which were pretty much nothing but a human's imitation of a squawk, his gait, his arm - wing, she corrected herself - movements. He was such a gullible test subject. As he disappeared, she suddenly realized, who else would be a better candidate? Yes, yes, it will be her style of a practical joke.

Hadrian would exhaust his energy, either by running around or by doing something only glassbeaktalons could do. And then due to fatigue and hunger, he would get dizzy and knock himself out immediately, wherever he may be. If - when! - he wakes up, he'll be very tired, a collapsed heap on the floor, hungry more than ever. And the Glassbeak Talon mysteriously gone.

Where was he? Where was Tieh? And, where the petch was the talon?

[Hadrian]

Hadrian ducked into the room suspiciously, stepping one foot over the other. His nostrils flared at the smell of food and his chlorine blue eyes shot to the prepared meal on the floor. Cautiously, he edged toward the food, eyes searching for signs of anyone who might attack him or steal his food. It was his food now, if only he could defend it long enough to eat it. He smelled her, but couldn't see her, so he was on alert as he crouched down and began to feed. There was little pretense of human etiquette as he picked meat up with his bare hand and tore it with his teeth, red juices streaming down his chin all unnoticed. Luckily it had been cooked, as he would have eaten it raw at this point, and probably picked up a stomach sickness. After eating his fill, he put his face into a basin of water and drank his fill too. Not too much; he didn't want to have to be sluggish and have to nap when he was unsure whether danger was around the corner. All he wanted to do now was find a lair and a mate, not necessarily in that order. Itching to run -- there didn't seem to be mates or lairs available here, Tieh's scent notwithstanding -- he stalked out another door, talon held at the ready. Nothing smelled right here. There should be grass smells, sun smells, dirt smells, but he smelled mostly corruption and age. He didn't like it. He had to get out. He began to run.

[Panna Cotta]

He needed to go elsewhere; he started with a sprint and then broke into a run. Sahova was cavernous and spacious enough for a human-sized glassbeak to run around in. But there was nowhere to go, and Hadrian did not have the same sense of direction he did as a human. So the apprentice ran and ran.

However, a human's body cannot withstand the running speed of a glassbeak, and is not exactly fit for traveling around in Sahova. He had enough wits in him to not go underground, where the lack of breathing air and the poisonous gases would instantly kill him.

Still, a body running around in Sahova, no matter what the reason, was a disturbance. And there were golems that specifically dealt with certain disturbances. Especially in important areas... And Hadrian had just entered a well-guarded area. Such a waste that he was not able to behold the golem that guards this particular office, but if he did, he would have been nothing but slices of meat and bones. Zooming straight past the blades and the wooden arms, Hadrian squawked and tried to run even faster.

But his body could not take the force and the speed of the strenuous running, and he collapsed just before he was able to reach the entrance (the only exit to the Citadel). He woke up, every bit of muscle and bone in his body aching...

No Tieh, no Glassbeak Talon.

[Hadrian]

When Hadrian came to, his whole body felt like it had been dragged behind a runaway horse for a few hours, or perhaps trampled by a stampede of horses, or... well, he didn't have time for hyperbolic similes at the moment. At the thrill of the unknown, of possible danger, he blinked his Vision into being almost automatically. Invoking it was no problem anymore, though he was still not an expert at reading what he did see. Still, he felt that more information was good, and he would only get better at reading what all he did see with practice. His memory seeped back into his conscious mind like little bubbles of revelation, each one popping and splashing a bit more color, a bit more detail into being. The glassbeak talon was gone, but the Preserver had been correct: it worked. Whether it worked as Tieh intended it... Tieh! He realized then that he still had a raging erection in his pants and when he remembered the primal urges that had gone through him not so very long ago with her as a likely target, he had the good grace to blush even though nobody was necessarily watching. Taking a meditative breath, he began a variation of the old Flux exercise he had worked on with Azilis all those years ago in Zeltiva, except this time he channeled excess djed away from his reproductive organs and sent it singing along his arteries and nerves to his muscles, figuring that more energy would mean more healing. That was the theory, anyway, and his devout wish. He felt like crap! Then he did a double take, remembering that the glassbeak talon was no longer on his person. He looked around frantically, not wanting to see what Tieh might do to him if he lost it. Finally, he took a chance on a golem that actually worked better than Rela's. "Hello," he called out, standing up. "Guest Hadrian Aelius requires assistance."

[Panna Cotta]

Tieh was sprinting behind him, chuckling, "You're not a guest in here dear. Careful what you call out to these golems, as they might bring you to some other wizard other than me. We don't want you falling into the arms of the undead, do we now..." She looked nearly dead now, in a span of days she seem to have thinned greatly. The woman talked to the golem and gave out orders in the Ancient Tongue, even if the words were lost on Hadrian.

"Even if it would be convenient for me if you'll be able to stay forever," Tieh scowled at Hadrian, "you've done your job well, and here's three days worth of salary. There's fifty right there, but only because I lost track of you last night." She handed him a small satchel of money, dropping it quickly in his hand as if she was afraid to touch him.

Hadrian was confused. Here he was not knowing what had just transpired, and Tieh was dismissing him already. Not. "Not to say you can't stay of course, you're still free to, if you want. Like I told you before, you can use my laboratory as if it was yours, and if you chronicle your research properly, you won't need to use the Preserver," she looked murderous now as if letting Hadrian stay was a bad idea, "I'll pay you 15 gm for each day you continue my research studies, I'll help you get books from the library, too. 20 gm for each new experiment you will contribute. How does that sound like?"

"So if you want some extra pain and money, I'll have things arranged." Something in her seem to have changed, she was eyeing him curiously, as if she was expecting him to die. Tieh was obviously keeping a good distance from Hadrian; the way she talked to him made it appear like she was hiding something.

The was one thing that was clear was the undeniable fact that Tieh used Hadrian for who knows what kind of experiment - it was never about getting an apprentice or a legacy tester. Tieh had plastered an angry scowl on her face, and it was a bit of a puzzle to Hadrian whether Tieh wanted her to stay or not, or if she was disappointed in finding him, and finding him alive.

"So what will it be baby, would ya like to stay longer with momma?"

[Hadrian]

"Research assistant, then," he corrected himself, though more for Tieh than the golems. His chlorine blue gaze was hooded, though not outwardly suspicious, when he turned it on her. "Or research subject, perhaps?" The Ancient Tongue was not unknown to him, and he recorded her specific words in his memory, just in case he needed to shut down a Sahovan golem on his own. As he watched her, possibilities ran through his mind. She looked on death's door and he wondered if perhaps she were grooming him to be a host if she were to become a Nuit, or perhaps she already was one -- some new strain of Nuit who could appear more alive and human than the rest. She called it Legacy as the old ones did, but it was also called Malediction -- to curse or, from the root, to speak badly. Was she a liar? Perhaps. Certainly she was not completely forthcoming and honest, but which wizards were? Even the professors at the University kept their secrets, built their mysteries and mystiques. One had to be formidable as well as powerful, so others would be scared to take that power. Did she have Symenestra blood? There were so many possibilities, and he doubted she would give him the truth even if he asked. "My ship doesn't leave until the 26th," he said slowly. "I might as well keep myself busy until then. When I leave, I would like any books that you don't need anymore. You might as well clear out the space in case you need to keep any bodies." Was that a challenge or was he merely negotiating? In any case, more time would give him more opportunity to take her for a ride if she let her guard down. He was learning many lessons in Sahova, the first and foremost of which seemed to be: Be dangerous.

[Panna Cotta]

"I'm sorry. I've gone temporarily deaf and I just missed your last few words." Tieh waved a hand dismissively, her eyes in sharp contradiction to her tone of voice. She seemed like she wanted to tell Hadrian something, but her nasty attitude was perfectly in check.

Her inexplicable mentor led him back to the laboratory. It looked somewhat tidier than the first time he saw it, and Tieh was thoughtful enough to arrange part of the office for Hadrian. On top of the wooden table was a stack of books and a small cabinet containing basic Malediction lessons written down in paper. He was getting access to the good stuff, and Tieh probably wanted to squeeze everything out of him. This meant he needed to work extra hard. It wasn't apprenticeship if you only put half a heart in it! Tieh told him quickly that his life was on the line, and he needed to think of something really innovating or else he wouldn't leave o the 26th, not ever. She was quite straightforward with the threats this time. In between being a tester for malediction and being a research assistant, something must have happened to Tieh. Finally showing her truer side perhaps?

She bid him goodbye and patted his shoulder lovingly, giving it a hard grip before she took a few steps back. The happier, friendlier Tieh that Hadrian met was still in there, hidden beneath the layers of prat and pomp.

A book was opened on top of his desk, and he may notice that there was a particular book mark on the 68th page. The short story was a romantic comedy about an older man who was lured into thinking that his student (who was the story's narrator) was his wife because of a maledicted item. There were obvious hints that the wife was killed, and that the student was male. There were implicit instructions on how to work talismans out of a human's body, the procedure greatly detailed that five pages later, the story sounded more of a Legate's book rather than someone's unpublished twisted fiction.

"Do not try until competent." Someone had scrawled at the top of the last page.

[Hadrian]

When she finally left him to his own devices again, Hadrian sat down heavily at the desk, head in his hands. He wasn't sure how long he had been sleeping after testing the glassbeak talon, and his stomach felt funny. After a few moments, though, his curiosity got the better of him and he began reading the texts Tieh had left for him. From book to book, he picked up the process of maledicting, and a couple of comments made him chuckle darkly after having experienced the effects of several high level fetishes. "No shyke," he muttered to the book advising caution. After a while, he paused to consider what he was learning and also what Tieh had said. Chances were he would be unable to maledict anything coming from a human or Konti or other sentient being, which left animals. Even a glassbeak would be too complex for a beginner such as himself. What did she want him to innovate? Well, he could probably think of something beyond his ability that she could maledict. He certainly designed magecrafted items that were still beyond his ken. He set the books aside and pulled out some parchment and ink, and began to sketch ideas. The drawings were doodles at first, his hand making manifest his thoughts without too much thinking to get in the way. The first was mostly spirals and what appeared to be a boat in the sea, a sea of spiral waves. It wasn't until he drew a fish jumping out of the waves that he caught upon an idea. "Fish," he mumbled, and then began detailing what he new of piscine anatomy, and sketches and schematics detailing what he hoped would be a charm that would allow a person to breathe underwater. He detailed glyphs for the preparation and execution based on what information he had garnered from the books and from his testing with Tieh. "Hmm..." He would continue to plot and plan until Tieh came to check on him.

[Panna Cotta]

Unfortunately, Tieh had no intention to come back to her apprentice anytime soon. She had been under strict orders from her Master - whose identity eluded her since she began as an apprentice - not to interfere with the boy. She didn't like the prospect of using Hadrian to further her research, but it was only under her suggestion that the young wizard was used. Better than having him die, but then again Tieh was somewhat disappointed that Hadrian survived the Glassbeak Talon.

She never had a child, her career interfered with her social life, her ambitions always in the way of giving motherhood an opportunity. Although she never had a man of her own, she was never out of romance. Magic was her one and only love, and her unknown benefactor in Sahova had offered her everything she wished for, at least until the Master started to impose projects and experiments on her. Of course, it came as no surprise to Hadrian that Tieh was under strict rules to study the Konti if she had to turn them inside out. Which she did, quite willingly - at least in the beginning. These, Hadrian would be able to learn if he read the book once more.

As if by sheer luck, he would come across Tieh's own research on the Konti, a race that lived partially on water and partially on land. Tieh was ahead of him, and have studied in great length, the ability of the Konti to stay underwater because of Laviku's gift. There were notes and procedures for creating a maledicted circle used to enchant various Konti body parts in order to allow one to breath underwater for a specific period of time. Tieh had been experimenting with various glyphs that were labeled as time, water, gills, transfer or was it transform?, salt, bubbles, air, and breath. She combine three or more of these into a maledicted circle, etching them onto preserved Konti nasal parts, gills, and so on. Like most of her research, a lot of the theories were not validated.

Hadrian may be able to use this particular knowledge, and his ideas could use a little input from Tieh's notes. No harm in trying.