by Elias Caldera on June 23rd, 2014, 9:13 am
Amidst the devout and the conspiring, among poisoners and murderers, between slaves and soldiers... Elias felt himself precariously out of place. The summons had come as a slight surprise, one he had tasked his feverishly racing mind on deciphering the cause of the entire time he was given to prepare. He hadn't required long, a military sense of urgency sending his focus and body into an overdrive that had him ready and out the door almost as soon as the messenger had said his curt farewells. At first the young Ravokian had thought it a reward of recognition brought about by his profession. The reimancer had served the city with a fair amount of diligence in that regard if he did say so himself, and perhaps that truly was the reason. Then of course there was the work he had been doing along the shore and for the southern outpost as well. Admittedly, they could be construed as blatant attempts at gaining a small measure of prestige for himself, but acts that had originally and genuinely been born of a fervent desire to see his city bettered in any way conceivable. The possibility that perhaps Thadeus had recommended him for his selfless magecrafting briefly flashed by, but was quickly swatted away when Elias took the tick required to remember the man he was thinking of was the same blistering asshat of a paladin that despised Elias almost as much as Elias despised him. Maybe it was that official I sold the chaktawe too the fledgling hypnotist finally concluded. The Black Sun agent had seemed quite amiable during their bargaining, and considering how much of a petching robbery he had gotten away with when Elias had finally relented and handed the woman over for the pittance agreed upon, he had little right not to be. In hindsight, he did seem rather ecstatic about the whole concept of having the slaves he purchased and used being the ones to finally draw out the beast first. The Ravokian had naturally concluded their negotiations with a promise that should any more sufficiently capable slaves fall into his hands, he would immediately and happily send them to the acolyte to assist in the hunt. It could very well be possible the man remembered him for some reason or another.
In the end however, the ex apprentice had simply deemed that whatever the reason behind it, he was here now, smack dab in the middle of an opportunity to display his value and loyalty to those who truly mattered. It was a kind of test that left Elias brimming to capacity with equal parts excitement and dread. Mostly that had translated into a stoic, sterner master who had set about brooding and contemplating all manner of dark and ominous things while also taking the time to make it perfectly plain to his slave that should he find her even a hair out of line today, the punishment would be severe and brutally prompt. It wasn't that he didn't trust the kelvic to prove herself just as loyal and cunning as she always was, it was just that if he had said as much to himself, the person the words were truly intended for, it might have seemed a tad bit strange. In truth, Elias was more than confident that Redd's being here, at his side, would prove indispensable, especially now that he was surveying the small group that had been assembled. His eyes landed first and foremost upon the gleaming armor of their paladin escort. After the initial shock and awe of coming face to golden mask with the imposing man had worn off, an almost instantaneous layer of thick, palpable distaste settled over the young mage while he subtly scrutinized the warrior from the back of the shuffling procession. This wasn't the first servant of the ebonstryfe Elias had come across that clearly focused far too much time with how they were perceived above all else, and he doubted the golden paladin would be the last. Perhaps to a slack jawed, wide eyed petitioner the dark armor and duel headed weapon upon his back may have come off as impressive, but to Elias, it was shamelessly gaudy and tellingly pretentious. He knew right away he could expect either exceptionally little of worth from the man this day, or a great deal too much if the paladin was the kind to struggle with living up to the profound appearance he put on for the others around him. Needless to say, he kept such musing to adamantly to himself. No sense in pissing the heavily armed man off right out of the gates. In fact, he had bowed rather deeply and graciously to all the officials involved upon first arriving just to make that point.
It did dawn on him that he knew none of the other officials for that matter; not the Acolyte in charge, her two soldiers, nor the paladin. The only one he recognized was the undead wizard, Miro, and Elias was taking great pains to distance himself as much as he could from the magic wielding apprentice. It wasn't just because of the inherent respect and wariness mages were inclined to show one another if they expected to stay alive, but also because the steely faced nuit was more dangerous than most even understood, and that was even with the the horrific mask and dark aura that hung over his dessicated remains.
As for the others, Elias had been slightly startled and considerably dismayed to realize he knew them both quite well. There was Inoadar, the poison master, a despicably conniving man who seemed to embody all that made Ravok terrible and great with each plot or artfully deceptive syllable that slithered off his tongue. The two had run into one another on more than one occasion now, each time leaving Elias more and more wary of the venomous imposter who now owned the name of a man too important to the Caldera to simply ignore. Nolan seemed to recognize most everyone in the crowd as well, including Daegron. Elias and the morpher had met earlier in the summer, and their brief acquaintanceship had been an incredibly harrowing and dark one. He gave the zeltivan a curt nod of begrudging respect. The other man wasn't exactly a bad friend to have, nor a good one, he was just... dangerous, and worse yet, unpredictable. They were likely just that in the end though, friends that was, at least in some vague, morbid regards anyway. Elias may have made a point to separate himself from the stocky killer, but the two of them had shed blood together, earned scars together. That sort of the grisly work forged something between men, even strangers who didn't necessarily trust or like each other. The mage was compelled the shake the morpher's hand at first sight of him, a desperate ploy to show the everyone else he wasn't completely alone in this endeavor. Elias decided against it however, not entirely sure how to handle any of the odd and unnerving 'relationships' he shared with those now stalking down the plankways of the docks and unto the ferry. The young man would simply keep his head down for the time being, allowing the situation to dictate his reactions to both it and the people it involved, especially the ones in charge.
Elias was far from inexperienced when it came to being judged by those of great power and standing, he had done it for years without breaking a sweat for Rhysol's sake. Still, it had been a long time since he had ever found himself under the looking glass like he felt he was today. The trick, he'd found, was not letting them catch you screwing up or looking stupid. Almost as if on cue, an issue cropped up that threatened to demonstrate just those qualities. When time came to board the ferry that would transport the team to the shoreline, the reimancer hesitated. No one seemed all that concerned about getting unto the water at all, not even Redd, something which brought a flush of embarrassment upon her master. There was something beneath the placid waves of lake Ravok, that much was undeniable. It had rocked the city for the entire season now, and seemed no where close to ever calming down. But by Defiler, Elias swore he wasn't going to be the only one to show any inkling of fear for this damnable fish. Girding his loins, the young mage clambered aboard the vessel and took his seat with Redd placing herself dutifully next to him. She appeared to concentrate a great deal on the Parnell man, but Elias ignored her curiosity for the most part.
After a while of uncomfortable silence, Elias opted to -despite what he had only chimes ago determined not to do- ask a question. "Madam acolyte." He spoke, shifting the rucksack full of weapons he had brought along off his shoulder and down between his legs. "What are we to expect when we hit the shore?" Elias would have liked to better know the situation he was sailing head long into at the very least. Escaped kelvics was rather vague, and a bit troubling as well considering where they had come from. In all his time as an apprentice, not once had the Caldera, or any of his peers as far as he knew, ever been called to action out at the KRI. The guards and staff there were rather notorious for how strict and unwavering a leash they kept on their charges, turning the place into such a untouched mystery, it was more suited for horror stories and wives tales than an actual stop along a patrol's route. They had taken to calling it the zoo when the city's confounding affair with acronyms grew too tedious to bear.
Once he received an answer, or didn't, Elias would let the nervous quiet return for a while before he found it too much to bear again. Four hours of this was going to be excruciating. He leaned forward, eliciting Daegron's attention with a cocky smile on his face. "Five gold says I bag more kelvics than you, old man." He whispered, certain he was about to be five mizas richer by the end of the day.
Last edited by
Elias Caldera on June 26th, 2014, 3:11 am, edited 1 time in total.
in question as now standing beside the Acolyte. Not out of necessity, though – Evelyn did not mind the man’s company, having found him sharp-witted and logical the last time they met. She did not trust him, following what she had discovered about his identity, but the woman did not trust anyone. He must have been released from the Black Hole for a reason, and she would view his assistance today as a chance for redemption.
