[The Sunken Conundrum] Drowning the Will (Hadrian)

[Cheshire]

The boy was young and seemingly very open to suggestion. He took to Hadrian's words without too much trouble. The anger seemed to fade from his eyes slowly as Hadrian spoke to him. The boy wanted to be like the two men before him. They were older and he envied the way they spoke to one another. He had never been too good at making friends. Carrick spoke up with a grin. "See, he didn't mean anything by it. Hug and make up." The suggestion played on the boys desire to be like friends with the men. He looked at Hadrian almost as if he was trying to gauge the man's emotions. He followed through with Carrick's suggestion as he walked forward and wrapped his arms around the tall mage. He was too conflicted to say anything. There was too much conflict in his mind.  "Kid, go find me a book. It doesn't matter which one. It just has to be able animals." Carrick looked at the boy with a smooth smirk before the boy nodded and walked off. Once Carrick and Hadrian were alone once again he spoke up. "When he comes back with the book we are going to play a little game. It will seem strange but go along with it. Trust me." Hadrian could choose to completely disreguard the game but where was the fun in that? "Kids are always so easy to mess around with. They crave acceptance from people older than them and of course, they are obedient to a fault." He knew it was a bit sadistic to say but he knew he was in control of the situation. He motioned for Hadrian to sit with him at a table. It was time to learn a bit about this new student of his.  "So Hadrian. Tell me about yourself." Carrick's eyes seemed to lightly dig into Hadrian's mind. He tried to work his suggestive powers on the man. "You really ought to loosen up. This is the city of Ionu, the city of illusions. You seem intellegent. I'm sure you know how shy and introverted bore Ionu. At least that is what I've heard." His fingers drummed on the table as he looked at him. "So try it. Loosen up. Be extroverted. It won't kill you will it?" The request was a little bit of a far stretch considering the quiet demeanor of the Mage. How interesting would it be if it worked though?

[Hadrian]

Hadrian was confused and concerned, but he happily hugged the redhead back since it meant a cessation of the threat of violence. The contact caused such calm and well-being in the lad. He observed Carrick's aura as he commanded the boy to go search for a zoological book, trying to figure out some trick to making his own work more effective. All the same, he sat when Carrick motioned toward the table and tried to be on alert. As the man spoke, however, Hadrian found himself relaxing. Perhaps he wasn't so bad. He was nice and just had a sense of humor, clearly. "I don't really know Ionu," he confessed. "Many claim to. I would like to. But my guess is that most people, even Ionu's favored, only know part of the deity. I keep going to places seeking knowledge and not being prepared. Sahova. Alvadas. Watch me end up in Ravok like a prize fool... I grew up in Syliras. My father's a merchant. I was the black sheep, running off to Zeltiva to study at the University, only I kept letting my father pay for my education even after I stopped taking classes on economics and turned my attention to magic..." Magic. Something wasn't right. He glanced at Carrick, a familiar flare in his aura. "Are you...? Wait..."

[Cheshire]

Hadrian claimed not to know Ionu bit little did he know he had been playing with the diety since he entered the library. Ionu was watching and waiting. The trickster wanted to see how Hadrian worked, how he played with the illusion-like art of hypnotisim. There was a lot to learn from the practice. One could see how easily Hadrian went along with simple coaxing from what appeared to be a master of the art he was trying to learn. Hadrian was a student and students were trained to follow those who appeared to be in charge and hold the knowledge they sought. Still, there was a line where one is learning and one is taking advantage of skills. Ionu could have been anywhere. Maybe it was Carrick, or possibly the red haired boy who was searching for the book. Maybe Ionu had taken the form of the librarian, Hinrane Morcer. Ionu was watching from somewhere, it was just difficult to tell as to where. "Well, Alvadas is the best place to get to know the trickster." Carrick looked around him curiously as if he was trying to find the diety as well. "You never really know where Ionu is." The man was a bit curious as Hadrian talked. He spoke intellegently, that much as for sure. There had to be something below the intellgence though. There had to be personality other than the knowledge hungry scholar he was seeing. He smiled slyly. "Knowing this world, you will probably end up there. It is just how fate works it seems. Why leave a city unturned just because of where you are born?" Carrick was well aware of the rivalry between Ravok and Syliras but he kept strong to his words mostly for the thrill of seeing how Hadrian would reply. Carrick looked at Hadrian with a confused glance. "Am I what?" He was not sure what the mage was getting at. He looked at Hadrian genuinely confused. The mage sure did have a strange habit of cutting off his words. He would have pondered this idea further but the red haired boy was coming back with a book, the cover decoracted with a roaring tiger and a bucking horse. "Good job kid." The boy looked up at Carrick and then to Hadrian, offering him a small smile. Carrick thumbed through the pages until he came across a picture of a leopard laying in a tree. It was clear to see that the animal was a leopard. It bore the tradmark golden fur and black splotches along it's body. "Beautiful, I love tigers." He showed the book to Hadrian and pointed to the leopard. "You have to show this tiger to the kid. Talk to him about it Make him learn something." His eyes locked into Hadrian's in hopes that he would not forget what he said. "Go along with the plan." This was a test in persuasion. The picture clearly was of a cat but how much hypnosis would be needed to make the boy believe it was one of the stripped verity?

[Hadrian]

"I think Ionu might be fundamentally unknowable," he said thoughtfully in response to Carrick's glib statement. It seemed impossible to pin down a divine being who adamantly resisted being known. But, in any case, he nodded to Carrick's assessment of fate. Chances were he would eventually arrive in Ravok and he could only hope that he would not become a victim of the Ebonstryfe. He didn't clarify his question to Carrick. Was he hypnotizing Hadrian? Was he a scion of Ionu, working illusion on top of hypnotism? Hadrian felt out of his league and thought it best to find out if there were ways to combat hypnotism. He wanted his mind to be sacrosanct. But as he watched Carrick with the boy, he realized that minds weren't sacrosanct. Ionu's favored could beguile the mind. Nysel's favored could track down their innermost dreams if legend were to be believed. With a sigh, he took the book and stared at the leopard, letting his eyes unfocus even as he told himself over and over again that it was a tiger, willed himself to see stripes rather than spots, and at the same time he pushed that image, that belief, out into his aura, most especially where it entangled with the redhead's, but also tickling the fringes of Carrick's own. "This is a tiger," he said, his voice faintly resonating with something more than just his vocal folds. "A tiger like on the cover with the horse. Look at the tiger," he urged. "Look and read and learn..." He continued on in this vein, his words mere blandishments, but laced with hypnotic suggestion, the simplest of forms.

[Cheshire]

Carrick shrugged at Hadrian's statement. He did not feel the call to debate the divine with the mage. Maybe others might have jumped at the chance to gossip about deities and religion. Carrick was not that kind of man. He seemed to only mention Ionu for sake of attracting attention to the fact that he could. No one knew the deity's true form. He would play on that fact forever. If Hadrian didn't want to follow along then he felt no need to talk about Ionu. Where was the fun in talking about the divine if Hadrian was going to overanalyze things? When Hadrian spoke up about the animal that lived upon the pages of the book the red haired boy's attention snapped to him. His eyes scanned over the page nervously as he looked up at Hadrian. This animal clearly was not a tiger! He did have a faint feeling that he was wrong though. The boy looked down at the book nervously and flipped it to the cover when Hadrian mentioned it. His lips parted slightly to inform the the mage that he had his animals completely wrong. This wasn't a tiger! Even a child would know that! Both of the older men in front of him said it was a tiger though. Both of them couldn't be wrong. They seemed intelligent enough. The boy flipped through the next couple of pages after the picture of the leopard, reading idly. He truly had no interest in wild cats. He just wanted to go home. Something made him stay though. He felt the need to stay and read just like Hadrian had told him. Even the words seemed warped as he read. Carrick worked his influence even as the boy scanned over the pages, turning the word leopard into tiger. "These are very nice animals, thank you for sharing them with me." The boy mumbled quietly as he handed the book back to Hadrian. He still was not sure if he was convinced of the content but the rest of the visit to the library had been odd enough. This moment surely was not any different. "I like you kid. You are really…" Carrick tapped his chin as he thought about the word he was looking for. He looked over to Hadrian, snapping his fingers. "What am I trying to say here… open to learning. You don't see that in kids a lot these days." His eyes locked onto Hadrian with a sly glance. "I bet you were a studious lad though. You seem like you would rather cut off your own hand then take a moment away from studying." Carrick's gaze shifted to the boy. "What do you think kid? Doesn't Hadrian here look like he spends more time with his nose buried in a book than… chatting up women lets say." The boy simply shrugged, looking nervously between the two men before him. He did not want to upset either of them. "I…I don't know. I just want to go home. My mother is expecting me back." Carrick was not going to let this go. He wanted to keep seeing how far he could push the situation. "No…" Carrick's eyes watched the boy like a hungry predator. "We aren't done playing yet." The red haired boy looked at Hadrian with fear in his eyes. He didn't want to play anymore. He was scared. "Please, I don't want to upset my mother. I want want to be here anymore." The boy seemed like he was getting ready to cry. Carrick shook his head before standing up to face the boy. "Tell you what, lets play a game. If you win, you can run along home. If you don't, you have to stay here and let Hadrian and myself continue to practice our hypnotism on you." The boy shook his head back in forth, a few tears rolling down his cheeks. "I don't want to." Carrick chuckled slightly before looking at Hadrian. "Too bad. Hadrian will stop you if you try to leave and he won't, I will. Right Hadrian?" His words were lined with hypnotism, beckoning Hadrian to be his partner in this sick sadistic game. "The rules are simple…" Carrick looked at the boy, making a motion for him to give up his name. "Isaac…" Carrick nodded with a devilish grin. "Isaac, it is. The rules are simple Isaac. We'll see who can go the longest without these loaned gills. If you can last longer than either Hadrian or myself you can leave." The man looked at Hadrian, a dangerous aura seeming to cling to his body. "Do you know morphing Hadrian? If not, I'm sure covering your gills will work fine enough." To Isaac, Carrick's gills seemed to fold into his neck, leaving smooth skin. Hadrian would have not seen a difference though. "Ready? Go…"

[Hadrian]

Hadrian nodded at Carrick's suggestion, through all his nerves were tingling on high alert. This man was a hypnotist, and likely an illusionist to boot. The last illusionist he had dealt with had attempted to kill or enslave everyone upon the ship that brought him here. But he would play along for the time being. He wasn't sure how else to save himself or the boy. While Hadrian's ethics might not make sense to other people, he was not sadistic, to enjoy the suffering of others. Of course, he was not a frequent moralizer either. The book he set aside, chlorine blue eyes wide to take in everything. He even engaged his Auristic sense for all that it seemed to be stymied by the truly masterful illusions as much as his more mundane senses. For his part, he sent relaxing thoughts down his aura to where it interacted with Isaac's own. This wasn't a chess game between Carrick and Hadrian, but he would do what he could to ensure the boy's safety, and relaxation would help him think more clearly, and perhaps get himself out of this mess where Hadrian couldn't act straightforwardly. Within himself, he flushed djed down toward his hands, prepared to erupt with res to pull the water away from Isaac's face, leaving only breathable air if Carrick's little game threatened to prove lethal.

[Cheshire]

Isaac did as he was told but he was scared. Strangely, to anyone trying to view his aura it would be hard to see. It could have been due to Carrick and his games. The Gods only knew what he was doing now. To try and look at Isaac's aura it would almost hurt as if it was burning or straining the eyes. "Come on now kid, lets start. Put your hands over your neck." Isaac's hands came up slowly, almost as if he did not want them to. He looked expectantly up at Carrick, waiting for his deadly game to start. "Aaaaaaand…, go." Carrick stood proudly as he looked down at Isaac. The Gods had given him a power, one in particular, and he could use it against who ever he pleased. He could even turn on Hadrian if he wanted. He wouldn't though, as long as Hadrian did what he pleased. A chime had passed as the trio stood in the library, watching to see who would be the first to dare and take a breath. Isaac was young and it was clear when looking at the group who would be the victor. Hadrian was tall and seemingly full grown which put him at a clear advantage over Isaac. Carrick, although shorter than Hadrian, was still older than the child. Both could hold their breath longer, even if they were playing fair. Isaac's eyes were squeezed shut as he held his hands over the gills on his neck. "Please, I can't keep this up. Please let me stop. I don't want to die." The child let out the last of his oxygen in this plea. Carrick smiled as he looked from Isaac to Hadrian. "Hmmm, should we let him go?" It almost seemed as if he was debating it before he spoke again. "No…, it wouldn't be fair. A deal is a deal." Isaac's cheeks were turning a sickly purple as his body begged for oxygen. He seemed as though he wanted to cry but the water surrounding them did not allow tears to spill. Besides, in order to sob one needs to breathe in and the boy did not have that option. Falling to his knees, his hands dropped away from his neck, exposing his borrowed gills. He could breath again but now he had worse problems. Carrick was going to use his hypnotism on him again. He sounded as if he was sobbing and to Hadrian's side, Carrick wore a sick look of content. "Looks like you're ours kid." Isaac looked up at Hadrian, his eyes pleading. "Please help me Hadrian. Don't let him abuse his gift. Ionu's gift was not given to mortals for this. Ionu does not wish to torture people. You need to stop him."

[Hadrian]

Hadrian wasn't sure that hypnotism was Ionu's gift, but it was certainly related to illusion, and this whole business was starting to turn his stomach. There was a need in Carrick that could only be sated by Isaac's suffering, and perhaps his death. Hadrian knew now that this was no ally, no proper teacher at all. Oh, he might offer Hadrian grains of wisdom, but only so long as he thought the young enchanter was within his power. But he was no match for Carrick with hypnotism or illusion, so he tried the tack that had toppled another mad illusionist and sent that gathering or res hard into the man, pouring icy water into his lungs, which might not have foiled the morphed gills but for the fact that he was pulling all the heat out of it until the interior of his lungs began to ice over. It might not be enough to stop him, and Hadrian didn't want to kill him; he only wanted to survive. But his power was not illusion, and the inability to breathe would take priority over Carrick's ability to concentrate on bending the wills of others. "Swim!" He grabbed Isaac by the collar and began to swim himself, inexpertly but with great, frantic energy. With luck they could get out and run before Carrick recovered, or perhaps the attack had been enough to kill him even if Hadrian didn't stay to be sure the job was finished. Their need might help them get to safety. To the Sanity Center. To the Temple of Ionu. Isaac was a local, so perhaps his prayers would call the deity down to protect them.

[Cheshire]

The act of magic was not expected by Carrick. He thought he had won Hadrian over with shows of knowledge and power. What else could a budding mage want? Children needed to learn to fear those with power and those with enough courage to teach them the hard way were, by Carrick's opinion, entitled to do so. What would this world come to if people did not learn to fear. The world was not a safe place! Isaac would have learned sooner or later. Carrick was merely helping. Speeding up the process if you will. "He'll thank me for this someday" was the last thought on Carrick's mind before the ice filled his lungs. The man was losing control of the situation and this scared him. He liked to be in control. He craved it like a drug. Why else would one study under Ionu and learn hypnotism? He liked the game but more than that, he liked to be the winner. He was losing now and as much as he hated this, he had something worse to worry about. Dira was calling and sadly his magic nor his illusions could save him now. Isaac gasped lightly when Hadrian grabbed onto his collar. He was saved! "Thank you! Thank you so much! I was so scared!" His words were rushed and full of gratitude. The mage was going to protect him! He swam as fast as he could manage, lagging slightly behind Hadrian. Curse his short legs… Once outside of the Sunken Conundrum, Isaac tugged on Hadrian's wrist. "I'll take you to Ionu. Ionu always knows what to do!" The boy walked fast down the ever-changing streets of the city, seeming to know them a bit better than one should have. Every couple of seconds he would glance back at Hadrian, sometimes offering a short "Come on, were almost there!" He did not want to lose Hadrian in the streets, although he was sure he'd find him if he strayed. Once the pair reached the temple Isaac shot through the doors, seeming to be unable to wait to pray. "Hadrian, help me pray. My mother usually helps me but you are the only adult with me. How should we pray to Ionu?" He squeezed his eyes closed in nervousness. "I hope that guy didn't follow us here. Ionu will punish him for what he did, right?"

[Hadrian]

And it seemed that now Hadrian had an effective countermeasure for hypnotists. They never seemed to expect a sneaky elemental attack against their persons. Without looking back, he couldn't know what Carrick was doing, but since he hadn't caught up with them by the time they swam all the way to the door, he had a slightly better feeling about their chances. Once through the door, the morphed gills disappeared into smooth skin, and Isaac was pulling him away. "Don't mention it," he managed, and then followed the lad's lead. He moved through Alvadas like a native, which he was. Hadrian could only wonder at it, giving up control willingly to one he had not treated so well. Panting a bit from the exertion, he shook his head, the last person who should be able to instruct another in the manner of prayer. "Just speak with your soul. Ionu will hear. I don't see any sign of Carrick, and if you go to the Scholarly Abode, speak to Doddel Asperenus. Tell him what happened to us and he will protect you if Carrick proves... tenacious. But I imagine Ionu would not appreciating its gifts being misused. I hope..." He had never imagined Ionu to be truly evil, though perhaps the mischief of illusion could turn quickly to sadistic manipulation. Ionu was a trickster god, and tricksters could be cruel. All the same, he followed his own advice and spoke within the deafening silence of his mind: "Blessed Ionu, please guard this, your son Isaac. He is young and faithful to you." Perhaps Isaac would live to belong to Ionu and would put his power to better use. Hadrian himself only wanted to understand the nature of reality better, thinking that illusion and reality were not quite so diametrically opposed as most thought. But what did he know, really?