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<blockquote data-quote="Cafu" data-source="post: 6253240" data-attributes="member: 6692807"><p>As one can imagine, with all of these thoughts, my night’s rest was fitful at best but I managed to get up in the morning and learn all the spells from my arsenal. I still felt out of sorts after I had burned in the Temple and there was a feeling that somehow I had lost something, some power or ability but least now I knew why. I shook myself; life went on and it was always a learning process; and I had been given another chance.</p><p> </p><p>The next morning, we met in Longhelim’s room. Poor John was still suffering after his tussle with the Torch and our first order of business was to make him better. Thankfully, Felix had access to this magic and moments later the rogue was back to his old self.</p><p> </p><p>Then, just as we were about to start, there was a knock on the door. Irritated, Longhelim went to the door and spoke:</p><p> </p><p>“Who is it?”</p><p> </p><p>“Sargeant Thomas, sir. Professor Simeon has appointed me and three others to be your bodyguards.”</p><p> </p><p>We glanced at each other. Bodyguards? We had never had these before. Simeon must have been really spooked after the revelations about Katrina if he had designated bodyguards for us here in the Lyceum. I was very glad that he was taking the whole security aspect of the Lyceum so seriously.</p><p> </p><p>The paladin glanced at us and I could see that Victor had carefully already unsheathed his sword and Drudge had strung his bow; just because someone said something behind a closed a door…….so, just in case, I also readied some components. Longhelim, after checking that everyone was ready, unlocked the door and stepped back, drawing his own weapon. Then he called out:</p><p> </p><p>“Door’s open!”</p><p> </p><p>It opened and a soldier was present behind it. Three others were with him; one of them looked like a priest of some sort, albeit very young and there was also one of the wizard students. The last person was another soldier, again very young. The oldest person was Sargeant Thomas the spokesman. He was looking at us cautiously and held out a piece of paper to Longhelim.</p><p> </p><p>The paladin read it and motioned the foursome to come in. He turned to us and said:</p><p> </p><p>“Apparently, we all have our own team of bodyguards waiting for us in our rooms. If they had all come in here, they wouldn’t have been able to fit in. They will be looking after us while we are in the Lyceum.”</p><p> </p><p>He turned around again and said:</p><p> </p><p>“Come in, Sargeant, come in and close the door. We’re just about to perform some magic and discuss a few things; please make yourself comfortable.”</p><p> </p><p>The four entered but the sergeant immediately put them in strategic points in the room and then kept quiet. At least the man seemed professional even if the other three did look as if they had just come out of school.</p><p> </p><p>Longhelim continued:</p><p> </p><p>“Right, shall we carry on?”</p><p> </p><p>So, I began to cast my magic and delved into the mysteries of the various pieces which we had found or won. There were a lot of miscellaneous magical weapons which were useful but not as good as most of the weapons which we already possessed. The most exotic and valuable weapon by far was the double headed sword which had belonged to one of the drow women; not only was it magical, it also had an ability to cause wounds to bleed without stopping while making them very difficult to heal. It was a very unusual and highly specialized weapon. Victor swung it experimentally but then said rather regretfully that he just did not have the time to train with it.</p><p> </p><p>There were various other items which proved far more useful: Two pairs of gloves which increased the speed and general co-ordination of those who wore them; Felix and I wore those, mostly because everyone else was already wearing useful gloves of some sort. The elven mage had been wearing a precious headband which helped his spell casting; it was a very powerful piece and would now aid my spell casting. Surprisingly, Katrina’s beautiful red robe was highly magical. It was made of a strange satin like fabric which shimmered in the light and suddenly I had an idea. I put it on and turned to John:</p><p> </p><p>“John, I want to try something. I am going to try my spell dueling with this on. Please tell me how easily you can spot when I am about to release the spell. I am going to try it with the robe and without.”</p><p> </p><p>I tried to cast a spell using my spell dueling skills and just held off from releasing the spell. John asked me to do it several times and then said:</p><p> </p><p>“The robe definitely makes a difference. It makes it much harder to follow your movements. The colour, the shimmering material and the movement of it distracts and fools the eye. I would definitely suggest your wear it against the Inquisitors.”</p><p> </p><p>So, I ended up wearing Katrina’s red robe. Being magical, it had already adjusted to my size and I must say, looked very smart; presumably that was part of its magic.</p><p> </p><p>We also had two Inquisitor’s masks, one of which was particularly powerful but those were stored in a magical bag. Wearing them would have been very advantageous but it would also have had certain social implications which would have been detrimental to put it mildly.</p><p> </p><p>There was one last, very unpleasant incident.</p><p> </p><p>Still working with my magic, I took one of the scrolls which we had found in the inner shrine of the Temple of Echoed Souls and glanced at it……and was promptly violently ill on the floor. Everyone stared at me with concern and Felix gave me a few potions and a little medicine to recover.</p><p> </p><p>Then, he asked:</p><p> </p><p>“What on earth was all that about?”</p><p> </p><p>With my finger hand still shaking slightly, I pointed at the scroll on the floor:</p><p> </p><p>“That…that thing! It is the vilest, most horrible thing I have ever read! It is divine in nature but from just a glance, it is a set of instructions for an evil priest. It’s incredibly powerful……”</p><p> </p><p>As soon as I said this, Longhelim turned and concentrated on the rest of the scrolls:</p><p> </p><p>“I didn’t think to do this, but yes, you’re right; there is a sense of overwhelming evil coming from those scrolls; we’d better find a safe place for them until we find out how to dispose of them.”</p><p> </p><p>I shuddered:</p><p> </p><p>“They really are dark and vile!”</p><p> </p><p>I turned around quickly.</p><p> </p><p>“John, don’t even think about it. Honestly, I know you think that you are open minded about most things, but really, you’d be a candle in the wind!”</p><p> </p><p>The rogue made a face and stopped edging towards the scrolls.</p><p> </p><p>During a large part of the rest of the day, we arranged for the sale of many of the weapons and shields. Thankfully, the presence of two armies made the demand for these pieces particularly healthy and we had no trouble doing some brisk business; unfortunately, for the same reason, there was a dearth of piece to purchase in Seaquen. I was able to make one important purchase which was all the diamond dust available in the school. I still had a little money left though.</p><p> </p><p>I thought for a moment and then said:</p><p> </p><p>“Let’s go to Bresk. We should be able to find some good things there.”</p><p> </p><p>Sargeant Thomas spoke up at this point:</p><p> </p><p>“It is my duty to warn you that it is my considered opinion that Bresk would definitely be unsafe for you at this time and would strongly recommend against this course of action.”</p><p> </p><p>I was a little startled but also impressed. The Sargeant was taking his job very seriously and he was right of course. There was no doubt, thinking about it, that Leska would have agents scouring everywhere for us; as soon as we made a public appearance, plans would be put in place and I had no doubt that our descriptions would have been circulated everywhere by now. I also shuddered to think just what the bounty on our heads was right now.</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you Sargeant; I forgot myself and you’re quite right.”</p><p> </p><p>Turning to the others, I said:</p><p> </p><p>“We should just keep our money for the moment. We should get ready for the war council. No doubt a lot of them will have lots of questions. So, just to refresh everyone’s memories, this is how I remembered it in my journals………”</p><p> </p><p>I squinted at the page of magical formulae. It was a very difficult spell already and I was making it even more complicated. Of course, it was very powerful; that’s why it was so annoyingly complicated. Yet, I wanted to change it; as written, it was dangerous to anyone in its path; which wouldn’t really make it of any use if our allied warriors were in front of me. So, I had to think of a way to shape the spell around them; that was the true complication. Yet I was sure there was a way to accomplish this. I concentrated on the page once more. I had already copied most of the orthodox spell into my book; now I was just working with the formulae to see if I could adjust it to my purposes.</p><p> </p><p>I lost track of time; the Seaquen magical library had that effect on me. It was a quiet, relaxing place to work, especially after the busy morning I had had, what with identifying magical items, being introduced to new bodyguards and my participation in the eventual sale of the above pieces.</p><p> </p><p>People came and went but they were quiet and respectful. I was sitting at a table on my own; once or twice I saw some students glancing up at me but I really wasn’t paying attention.</p><p> </p><p>There, that was a key change I had to make; and if I made one there, that meant that I had to look at what the consequences were on this section…….</p><p> </p><p>Some time later, a person sat right next to me; I didn’t know quite how long he had been there; I was making real progress with the problem I was having with that spell.</p><p> </p><p>Then someone whispered in my ear:</p><p> </p><p>“What you doing, Faden?”</p><p> </p><p>A little irritated, I turned around and saw John sitting there, grinning. Looking around, I stood up, and motioned him to follow me. We went outside and had a quick chat in the corridor:</p><p> </p><p>“John, I’m almost there! I think if I study that spell for a little longer, I’ll be able to make it do what I want!”</p><p> </p><p>“What do you mean? Spells do what you want already. You cast them and they have effects; that’s the way magic works, isn’t it?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, yes, but this spell is different; for a start, it’s a huge cone; and it affects people within it as if they were suddenly exhausted. It sucks their vitality. Unfortunately, at the moment, if that cone hits our warriors, then it’ll affect them as well. I’m trying to find a way around that.”</p><p> </p><p>“Faden, you really think you can do that? My word, if you can then you’ll have to teach me how to do it. That would be……unbelievable.”</p><p> </p><p>“It is proving quite complicated; I have to factor in various new aspects into the spell. I need time. I have to put the spell into my book and then work on it as we’re travelling.”</p><p> </p><p>I stretched my arms:</p><p> </p><p>“Do you want to go for a hot drink? I need a little break. I have been working on this for……actually I don’t know. What’s the time?”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s lunchtime; when you did start?”</p><p> </p><p>“Just after we finished with the divination spells on the items early this morning; how long ago was that?”</p><p> </p><p>Just then, I noticed two soldiers had come to the corridor next to us and were watching. John turned to them and asked:</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, can we help you?”</p><p> </p><p>The elder man replied:</p><p> </p><p>“We’re Sir Faden’s bodyguard.”</p><p> </p><p>Suddenly it came back to me:</p><p> </p><p>“Oh Lord, I’d forgotten about them.”</p><p> </p><p>Turning to the soldier, I asked:</p><p> </p><p>“From what I was told, there should be another two of you. Where is the other pair?”</p><p> </p><p>“They’re inside the library, waiting for us and you, sir.”</p><p> </p><p>“Ummm, have you been watching over me all this time?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, sir. Me and the crowds.”</p><p> </p><p>“Sorry?”</p><p> </p><p>John interrupted at this point:</p><p> </p><p>“Faden, you’re so dense sometimes. You’re the mage that brought back the Torch; you’ve been doing things with magic that others only dream about. There’re students out there that are following your every move. I bet that there is a crowd around your spell books at the moment, trying to work out what you’ve done this morning; there’re others who are looking at every book you’ve used. It’s like that for all of us; Victor is in the garden at the moment, doing some funny exercises; or trying to at least. As soon as he began, others tried to follow him. That didn’t work so he’s now holding a class of basic fighting moves before they hurt themselves. Felix has disappeared to a Temple; I think the priests wanted to pick his brains. From what he told me, some of the stuff he’s been doing has been pretty much legend and myth to most of them; they’d really like to know how and what he can do. Longhelim is just sitting there, staring at the Torch; I think he’s talking to it!”</p><p> </p><p>John shuddered at this point:</p><p> </p><p>“Rather him than me. I’ve had quite enough of that bone. Anyway, Drudge is hiding somewhere. I think he’s gone into the city; or maybe he was stopped by his bodyguards and he’s hiding in the Lyceum somewhere; I don’t know. I’ve come to learn some magic as well so we’d better get back and don’t waste any more time.”</p><p> </p><p>I stared at him speechlessly. He was almost certainly right but I really hadn’t noticed anyone watching me or my work as I was concentrating.</p><p> </p><p>Frowning because I thought he may have been pulling my leg, I asked:</p><p> </p><p>“What about you then? How come you haven’t got a little group following you?”</p><p> </p><p>He grinned:</p><p> </p><p>“Basically, because I can give them the slip; amazing what some judiciously applied invisibility magic can do; also, remember, I don’t always look like me; and finally, remember that I choose to study many disciplines; which means I can do lots of things quite well but I do not aspire to mess around with the complicated magics the way Felix and you do.”</p><p> </p><p>I walked back with John and the bodyguards and was just in time to hear a hushed warning; as I entered, I just about spotted some fast movement away from my workspace; just like in school when we had been somewhere where we shouldn’t have been and the teacher had entered; except that this time I was the teacher.</p><p> </p><p>Wordlessly, I moved to my spell books and kept the one I had been working with; the others I took to the largest knots of students and put a volume in front of each:</p><p> </p><p>“Read them, use them, respect them; then return them!”</p><p> </p><p>They looked stunned and then eagerly began to leaf through the books. John grinned and pored over his own substantial books. After that I settled down to more research. I was going to solve that problem, no matter what!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Cafu, post: 6253240, member: 6692807"] As one can imagine, with all of these thoughts, my night’s rest was fitful at best but I managed to get up in the morning and learn all the spells from my arsenal. I still felt out of sorts after I had burned in the Temple and there was a feeling that somehow I had lost something, some power or ability but least now I knew why. I shook myself; life went on and it was always a learning process; and I had been given another chance. The next morning, we met in Longhelim’s room. Poor John was still suffering after his tussle with the Torch and our first order of business was to make him better. Thankfully, Felix had access to this magic and moments later the rogue was back to his old self. Then, just as we were about to start, there was a knock on the door. Irritated, Longhelim went to the door and spoke: “Who is it?” “Sargeant Thomas, sir. Professor Simeon has appointed me and three others to be your bodyguards.” We glanced at each other. Bodyguards? We had never had these before. Simeon must have been really spooked after the revelations about Katrina if he had designated bodyguards for us here in the Lyceum. I was very glad that he was taking the whole security aspect of the Lyceum so seriously. The paladin glanced at us and I could see that Victor had carefully already unsheathed his sword and Drudge had strung his bow; just because someone said something behind a closed a door…….so, just in case, I also readied some components. Longhelim, after checking that everyone was ready, unlocked the door and stepped back, drawing his own weapon. Then he called out: “Door’s open!” It opened and a soldier was present behind it. Three others were with him; one of them looked like a priest of some sort, albeit very young and there was also one of the wizard students. The last person was another soldier, again very young. The oldest person was Sargeant Thomas the spokesman. He was looking at us cautiously and held out a piece of paper to Longhelim. The paladin read it and motioned the foursome to come in. He turned to us and said: “Apparently, we all have our own team of bodyguards waiting for us in our rooms. If they had all come in here, they wouldn’t have been able to fit in. They will be looking after us while we are in the Lyceum.” He turned around again and said: “Come in, Sargeant, come in and close the door. We’re just about to perform some magic and discuss a few things; please make yourself comfortable.” The four entered but the sergeant immediately put them in strategic points in the room and then kept quiet. At least the man seemed professional even if the other three did look as if they had just come out of school. Longhelim continued: “Right, shall we carry on?” So, I began to cast my magic and delved into the mysteries of the various pieces which we had found or won. There were a lot of miscellaneous magical weapons which were useful but not as good as most of the weapons which we already possessed. The most exotic and valuable weapon by far was the double headed sword which had belonged to one of the drow women; not only was it magical, it also had an ability to cause wounds to bleed without stopping while making them very difficult to heal. It was a very unusual and highly specialized weapon. Victor swung it experimentally but then said rather regretfully that he just did not have the time to train with it. There were various other items which proved far more useful: Two pairs of gloves which increased the speed and general co-ordination of those who wore them; Felix and I wore those, mostly because everyone else was already wearing useful gloves of some sort. The elven mage had been wearing a precious headband which helped his spell casting; it was a very powerful piece and would now aid my spell casting. Surprisingly, Katrina’s beautiful red robe was highly magical. It was made of a strange satin like fabric which shimmered in the light and suddenly I had an idea. I put it on and turned to John: “John, I want to try something. I am going to try my spell dueling with this on. Please tell me how easily you can spot when I am about to release the spell. I am going to try it with the robe and without.” I tried to cast a spell using my spell dueling skills and just held off from releasing the spell. John asked me to do it several times and then said: “The robe definitely makes a difference. It makes it much harder to follow your movements. The colour, the shimmering material and the movement of it distracts and fools the eye. I would definitely suggest your wear it against the Inquisitors.” So, I ended up wearing Katrina’s red robe. Being magical, it had already adjusted to my size and I must say, looked very smart; presumably that was part of its magic. We also had two Inquisitor’s masks, one of which was particularly powerful but those were stored in a magical bag. Wearing them would have been very advantageous but it would also have had certain social implications which would have been detrimental to put it mildly. There was one last, very unpleasant incident. Still working with my magic, I took one of the scrolls which we had found in the inner shrine of the Temple of Echoed Souls and glanced at it……and was promptly violently ill on the floor. Everyone stared at me with concern and Felix gave me a few potions and a little medicine to recover. Then, he asked: “What on earth was all that about?” With my finger hand still shaking slightly, I pointed at the scroll on the floor: “That…that thing! It is the vilest, most horrible thing I have ever read! It is divine in nature but from just a glance, it is a set of instructions for an evil priest. It’s incredibly powerful……” As soon as I said this, Longhelim turned and concentrated on the rest of the scrolls: “I didn’t think to do this, but yes, you’re right; there is a sense of overwhelming evil coming from those scrolls; we’d better find a safe place for them until we find out how to dispose of them.” I shuddered: “They really are dark and vile!” I turned around quickly. “John, don’t even think about it. Honestly, I know you think that you are open minded about most things, but really, you’d be a candle in the wind!” The rogue made a face and stopped edging towards the scrolls. During a large part of the rest of the day, we arranged for the sale of many of the weapons and shields. Thankfully, the presence of two armies made the demand for these pieces particularly healthy and we had no trouble doing some brisk business; unfortunately, for the same reason, there was a dearth of piece to purchase in Seaquen. I was able to make one important purchase which was all the diamond dust available in the school. I still had a little money left though. I thought for a moment and then said: “Let’s go to Bresk. We should be able to find some good things there.” Sargeant Thomas spoke up at this point: “It is my duty to warn you that it is my considered opinion that Bresk would definitely be unsafe for you at this time and would strongly recommend against this course of action.” I was a little startled but also impressed. The Sargeant was taking his job very seriously and he was right of course. There was no doubt, thinking about it, that Leska would have agents scouring everywhere for us; as soon as we made a public appearance, plans would be put in place and I had no doubt that our descriptions would have been circulated everywhere by now. I also shuddered to think just what the bounty on our heads was right now. “Thank you Sargeant; I forgot myself and you’re quite right.” Turning to the others, I said: “We should just keep our money for the moment. We should get ready for the war council. No doubt a lot of them will have lots of questions. So, just to refresh everyone’s memories, this is how I remembered it in my journals………” I squinted at the page of magical formulae. It was a very difficult spell already and I was making it even more complicated. Of course, it was very powerful; that’s why it was so annoyingly complicated. Yet, I wanted to change it; as written, it was dangerous to anyone in its path; which wouldn’t really make it of any use if our allied warriors were in front of me. So, I had to think of a way to shape the spell around them; that was the true complication. Yet I was sure there was a way to accomplish this. I concentrated on the page once more. I had already copied most of the orthodox spell into my book; now I was just working with the formulae to see if I could adjust it to my purposes. I lost track of time; the Seaquen magical library had that effect on me. It was a quiet, relaxing place to work, especially after the busy morning I had had, what with identifying magical items, being introduced to new bodyguards and my participation in the eventual sale of the above pieces. People came and went but they were quiet and respectful. I was sitting at a table on my own; once or twice I saw some students glancing up at me but I really wasn’t paying attention. There, that was a key change I had to make; and if I made one there, that meant that I had to look at what the consequences were on this section……. Some time later, a person sat right next to me; I didn’t know quite how long he had been there; I was making real progress with the problem I was having with that spell. Then someone whispered in my ear: “What you doing, Faden?” A little irritated, I turned around and saw John sitting there, grinning. Looking around, I stood up, and motioned him to follow me. We went outside and had a quick chat in the corridor: “John, I’m almost there! I think if I study that spell for a little longer, I’ll be able to make it do what I want!” “What do you mean? Spells do what you want already. You cast them and they have effects; that’s the way magic works, isn’t it?” “Yes, yes, but this spell is different; for a start, it’s a huge cone; and it affects people within it as if they were suddenly exhausted. It sucks their vitality. Unfortunately, at the moment, if that cone hits our warriors, then it’ll affect them as well. I’m trying to find a way around that.” “Faden, you really think you can do that? My word, if you can then you’ll have to teach me how to do it. That would be……unbelievable.” “It is proving quite complicated; I have to factor in various new aspects into the spell. I need time. I have to put the spell into my book and then work on it as we’re travelling.” I stretched my arms: “Do you want to go for a hot drink? I need a little break. I have been working on this for……actually I don’t know. What’s the time?” “It’s lunchtime; when you did start?” “Just after we finished with the divination spells on the items early this morning; how long ago was that?” Just then, I noticed two soldiers had come to the corridor next to us and were watching. John turned to them and asked: “Yes, can we help you?” The elder man replied: “We’re Sir Faden’s bodyguard.” Suddenly it came back to me: “Oh Lord, I’d forgotten about them.” Turning to the soldier, I asked: “From what I was told, there should be another two of you. Where is the other pair?” “They’re inside the library, waiting for us and you, sir.” “Ummm, have you been watching over me all this time?” “Yes, sir. Me and the crowds.” “Sorry?” John interrupted at this point: “Faden, you’re so dense sometimes. You’re the mage that brought back the Torch; you’ve been doing things with magic that others only dream about. There’re students out there that are following your every move. I bet that there is a crowd around your spell books at the moment, trying to work out what you’ve done this morning; there’re others who are looking at every book you’ve used. It’s like that for all of us; Victor is in the garden at the moment, doing some funny exercises; or trying to at least. As soon as he began, others tried to follow him. That didn’t work so he’s now holding a class of basic fighting moves before they hurt themselves. Felix has disappeared to a Temple; I think the priests wanted to pick his brains. From what he told me, some of the stuff he’s been doing has been pretty much legend and myth to most of them; they’d really like to know how and what he can do. Longhelim is just sitting there, staring at the Torch; I think he’s talking to it!” John shuddered at this point: “Rather him than me. I’ve had quite enough of that bone. Anyway, Drudge is hiding somewhere. I think he’s gone into the city; or maybe he was stopped by his bodyguards and he’s hiding in the Lyceum somewhere; I don’t know. I’ve come to learn some magic as well so we’d better get back and don’t waste any more time.” I stared at him speechlessly. He was almost certainly right but I really hadn’t noticed anyone watching me or my work as I was concentrating. Frowning because I thought he may have been pulling my leg, I asked: “What about you then? How come you haven’t got a little group following you?” He grinned: “Basically, because I can give them the slip; amazing what some judiciously applied invisibility magic can do; also, remember, I don’t always look like me; and finally, remember that I choose to study many disciplines; which means I can do lots of things quite well but I do not aspire to mess around with the complicated magics the way Felix and you do.” I walked back with John and the bodyguards and was just in time to hear a hushed warning; as I entered, I just about spotted some fast movement away from my workspace; just like in school when we had been somewhere where we shouldn’t have been and the teacher had entered; except that this time I was the teacher. Wordlessly, I moved to my spell books and kept the one I had been working with; the others I took to the largest knots of students and put a volume in front of each: “Read them, use them, respect them; then return them!” They looked stunned and then eagerly began to leaf through the books. John grinned and pored over his own substantial books. After that I settled down to more research. I was going to solve that problem, no matter what! [/QUOTE]
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