[Tarsin's Boarding House] Three to Tango [Clyde, Ethan]

[Hadrian]

61st Summer, 511 A.V. Hadrian had spoken to Ethan at length many times on the trip up from Syliras about how best to keep him safe while in Ravok. Though he was the eyes in the sky while in the wilds, within the corrupt civilization of the city on the lake, Hadrian had to be the one to protect him. As such, it had been decided that he would play the slave, which would keep him safe if his Kelvic nature were discovered. As a slave in theory, he could escape becoming a slave in fact. He came with Hadrian to the boarding house to await Clyde, five hundred golden mizas kept carefully upon his person to hand over to Clyde to pay for everything that was going into this endeavor. The enchanter himself was dressed in his finery of unrelieved black, and he stood upon the public balcony overlooking the canals with Ethan standing behind and to the right of him like a proper slave. This was where they were supposed to meet Clyde, and the sooner they got to work on this, the sooner they could sell and begin an even more complicated and lucrative project. He estimated that Ethan would make a five hundred percent profit on this, richer than any slave, real or feigned, and Hadrian would be paid merely for his skill and knowledge, but would have the seed money for future endeavors. "Just keep quiet," he said to Ethan, his own tones hushed. "Watch and observe. You'll learn more that way and people won't pay attention to you because slaves aren't people in their eyes." At the same time, he let his aura reach out and interact with Ethan's own, nudging ever so slightly with a hypnotic impetus toward calm. The same spilled over into the auras of those around them, almost like a mild narcotic. If people were relaxed, they might be less likely to grow suspicious of them, not that they were giving any good reason to cause suspicion, but one could never be too careful, especially one as exacting as Hadrian.

[Clyde Sullins]

Getting out of bed, Clyde groggily got to his feet. He had been busy the day before, first meeting up with Hadrian, and then talking to several shop owners about the needed ingredients. Finally he had found a alchemist who could procure the needed items, for a reasonable price. Luckily with Ravok being so big, most of the stuff was already in the general location, and just had to be rounded up. He did not have a large room, this one was pretty tiny, with just a bed and a storage chest. But it was enough for what he needed, and he preferred a more spartan environment for his room. After going to the bathroom, and splashing some water in his face, he was officially awake and ready to start his day. Getting up he would walk down to the entrance of the boarding house, to find Hadrian and his investor. There were a few people walking around, the owner of the place, and a few customers. However they were not to threatening, and he was pretty sure only one of them was a pickpocket, and not to good of a one at that. "Ah, hello Andry, and i see you brought your... friend with you.... Well i do have some good news, i will be able to get the resources needed, though we still need a place to do the procedure, and the base item. Why don't we go up to my room and talk further?" Gesturing them on, he would lead them back to his room, where they would be alone. He would hop over and sit on the far side of his bed, and try to make himself small, leaving room for the others. This would leave some room for one to sit on the other end of the bed, and the other on the chest. Though it would be crowded, there would not be much chance of anyone listening, and they could continue on with there plans and plotting.

[Ethan]

Ever since they came to this disgusting city Ethan had a hard knot in his stomach. Like he was forgetting something and in constant fear at the same time. He had came here to be a faithful friend and student but he was starting to wonder If he had it in him to stay much longer. The stories from Lavia burned into his mind. Slavery, hoards of tormented wicked soldiers. He hated that stone fortress Syliras and its soldiers to a mild degree, but he certainly missed them now. It was a mystery this place still existed. How can such terrible evil go unchecked and to even form a city... And the way people talked about Rhysol. He had heard a little from Hadrian and from the chattering around the city. A god of pure evil, hatred and betrayal. Somewhere in this city... Ethan couldn't even bring himself to think the name let alone the creature. If he didn't think about him he wouldn't find him and his friends. At least that's what his superstitious mind could come up with to sooth his nerves. When Hadrian told him to keep quiet he had no problem with it. Surprisingly, it was easy for him to act like a slave. He already felt the rope around his neck the second he stepped foot here. Although his nerves did become a little calmer after his teacher had given him an objective. Stay calm and observe people. It was a nice feeling to have a purpose. Thankfully he didn't know it was the soft touch of Hadrian's mind that calmed him. Either wise he might of put up more of a fight. Ethan only gave a brief nod in acknowledgment. When the man came up to greet the two Ethan kept his head low in false respect. He hardly listened to the mans words. Nothing that came from his mans mouth could truly be trusted. When he and Hadrian were ready to leave, Ethan followed quickly behind and close to his “master”. Not really having the energy or even want to take note of anything along the way. He simply waited until something happened. Something he could actually fight instead of this insane stress constantly gripping onto his stomach.

[Hadrian]

In the relative safety of Clyde's room, Hadrian sat upon the bed, leaving Ethan to sit upon the chest or stand as he would. He didn't get too settled, but made himself comfortable enough and was quick to get to the point. Already he was eager to sort through the details and get to work, but such was his nature. He carefully eased off on the hypnotic suggestion once they were alone. Ethan would hopefully remain calm without the crowds, and Clyde seemed to react poorly to it; even if it wasn't focused directly upon him, Hadrian had no desire to see the younger mage turn on him. "Very well. I believe we could rent a room on the premises for our purposes. It needn't be larger than this. We can shove everything to the walls and glyph the enchanting circle in chalk upon the floor. That will be easier to clean up after we finish. As for our item, I would suggest a fine dagger that we infuse with reimantic energies. Any of the four elements are within the purview of our combined skills," he said, hazarding a guess based upon what he saw in Clyde's aura. "With a simple enchantment, we don't have the time or resources to make it great quality. With the same resources, we could make the dagger a great deal stronger, but to make it miraculously strong would require more complexity than we can handle just yet. At least, with regard to resources. But that is something we can look into with our secondary project. "Thoughts?" he asked, mostly of Clyde.

[Clyde Sullins]

Nodding, he thought over what he had said. A dagger seemed simple enough, and he himself could use fire and air reimancy. Though for the purpose of a weapon fire might be better. Also in regards to strengthening it, well that was always an obvious option. "Yes, renting a room here for a time should not be to troublesome, and im sure he has a room or two that are empty, he might even give a discount since we wont need furnishings. And i do happen to have a bit of chalk, almost a dozen pieces on me right now. I got then just in case of a situation like this were I needed to write out some glyphs." "A dagger would be good, we can infuse it with reimancy, i think fire might work the best for that, and i do have fire reimancy. Or we could improve its durability, always a good thing to do i agree. Though i think the reimancy would look more flashy, which might make it easier to sell. Telling someone something is stronger, well it is not as good as showing it glow with flames!!! So maybe that would be best."

[Hadrian]

"Indeed," he said in response to Clyde's estimation of the most attractive enchantment they could sell, as sale was their goal. While Hadrian would have preferred a weapon that could cut through the weapons of others, making up in some part for his lack of skill and strength, those who did not have the power of reimancy themselves might be quite pleased with a tool that could ape it for them. "An attractive looking dagger, and we can make it more. Shall we separate now? I can see about the room while you gather the supplies, and we can meet here again in a couple of hours to begin? I will sketch out the enchantment on paper while I wait, and then we can make it real." He nodded toward Ethan. "He can help with the gathering. He has money and he is another pair of hands."

[Clyde Sullins]

Getting up from his perch, Clyde nodded to him. "Thats sounds like a good plan. It should not be a problem to get the resources, as i said my source said it would have what we needed, i just need to go by with the money." Going out, he would be followed by Ethan, who still looked a combination of nervous and trying to be nonchalant. He obviously was suspicious still of Clyde, and was only grudgingly going along because Hadrian asked him. "Well Ethan, lets go. The shop is not to far from here, and we can get what we need." Going out, he would lead Ethan to the shop, were they could pick up his order, and get what they needed to start the procedure. -exit-

[Hadrian]

As soon as the others left, Hadrian sighed and looked around. After only a moment's consideration, he rubbed his face with his hands and ran the long, slender fingers back through his hair. In the wake of his hands, the skin tone went peaches and cream, hair shortening and turning red, eyes dulling into a less shocking green than his native blue. With further concentration, his features shifted, everything still normal, but not quite Hadrian. He grew slightly shorter, his shoulders broader, and he removed his black suede jerkin, unlacing the top of his silk doublet. Then he altered his aura, bringing it in, simplifying it so another talented mage would not recognize their brethren. With that disguise both physical and spiritual, he walked out the door. More time was spent in the preparation than actually renting the room, but soon he had a key. A note was left under Clyde's door with the place they would meet, and he went to prepare. When Clyde and Ethan finally opened the door, they would find him sitting with several sheets of paper laid out before him, sketching diagrams and writing notes. "Hello," he said calmly. "I should be ready in just a moment."

[Clyde Sullins]

Luckily for Clyde, the shop had been in the docks area to. Hauling back the stuff, had been a bit of a chore, but the two of them had managed it all the same. Bringing it up the stairs, Clyde saw the note, and the two went off to bring the items they had procured there. Going in they met up once more with Hadrian, and he nodded as he went over his schematics. Trying to be helpful, Clyde offered to help some with the preperations. "Well while you do that, would you like me to make a glyphing barrier circle for us to work in? It should help keep out any ambient djed. And then a smaller one to put the item in. I have some chalk, and i am pretty good at glyphing?" Waiting for Hadrians response, if he said yes, he would start on the glyphs, and painstakingly draw out the circles for there work.

[Hadrian]

"Please," he said to Clyde, "but leave the leave the focus glyph for me so I can pour Shield energy into it. Actual Shielding provides a better barrier against ambient djed, I've found, but, of course, the glyph circle is important for maintaining it for any amount of time while we do other things. Now, Ethan, if you'll carefully lay everything out on the table here and help me move all the furniture to the walls so we'll have the most amount of space..." He gathered up his papers, patting them into a neat sheaf and setting them in the middle of the table, he began manhandling things toward the walls to give Clyde more room to work. They didn't need all that much room, but one liked one's space so as not to feel cramped.