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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Nonlethal Force" data-source="post: 3392531" data-attributes="member: 35788">Semeion turned to confront the wizard, but the wizard was already looking to the city guards.  “There.  You can see for yourself that the testing is legitimate.”  The guards did not look particularly convinced.The young mage broke in to address the wizard before the city guard could retort.  “You summoned some kind of demon to attack us?  Surely even you know that summoning any kind of evil presence from the heavens is a crime punishable by death, even if you were trying to test us!”The guards looked to Semeion for confirmation as they drew their weapons.  The wizard lifted the end of his staff up from the ground and waved it through the air as a distraction.  “It was simple illusion, that’s all.”  The smile on his face told the party that he was enjoying the exchange.Suddenly Semeion felt as though the bubble of awe had burst.  Before the combat he was in awe of the magical oppression of reality.  Having been affected by the magical force he now saw its darker side.  Magic could bring about great things such as the wizard’s college.  However, just as easily the magic could oppress itself upon others as the wizard had done.  Semeion shook his head.  “That was no illusion.”The wizard’s smile increased at Semeion’s accusation.  “It wouldn’t be much of an illusion if you were able to recognize it, now would it?  I know you have magical prowess, but do you think you can identify all the spells I am able to cast?  Do you really think I would summon something evil in the presence of the city guard?  If I summoned something evil, they would be obligated to try and arrest me.  Why would I subject myself to that?  Trust me, it was an illusion designed to make you believe it was real.  I’d say it worked.”Semeion narrowed his eyelids as he continued to distrust the words of the wizard.  His companions looked to him for confirmation, but they only saw the distrust in the young mage’s face.  Semeion wasn’t convinced and he made no effort to hide his doubt.The wizard turned to the guards and continued his rationalization.  “There, you have seen their testing begin.  You can report to your commander at the guard post of what you saw.  I realize that it was only an illusion, but their individual abilities had to be examined in addition to their approach to teamwork.  I hope that as I was evaluating them that you were also capable of evaluating their performance.  Please take that assessment as proof of my examination and report to your commander.”Shaira looked to Auxis and shrugged.  The man explaining away the summoning as an illusion was a member of the wizard college and there could be little reason to question the wizard’s ability to make an illusion so real that it could not be detected as an illusion.  Shaira nodded to the wizard and spoke in a flat tone.  “We thank you for allowing the first part of their examination to occur for our benefit.  You can have no doubt that I will give a full accounting of the examination to my superior.”The wizard turned back to Semeion once the guards turned their horses and began to head away from the wizard’s college.  The smile persisted upon his face.  He was enjoying the events with all the satisfaction of an adult who knew something about which nobody else had access.Charis looked to Semeion and then turned back to the wizard.  “That was no illusion, am I right?”Ophee looked with confusion to the party and focused on Semeion.  “Of course it was an illusion.  Convince them, master.”The wizard dismissed the conversation by giving no acknowledgement.  “Shall we head into the wizard’ college?  Where I am taking you we can only get to through magic.  Opheiluka, run along and bring someone to tend their horses, would you?”Ischarus shook his head violently and held out a hand to stop Ophee.  “We’re not going anywhere until you answer Charis’ question.  Semeion is convinced that the spell was no illusion.  Is he right?”The wizard chuckled out of enjoyment.  “Opheiluka, run along.  You know as well as I do that your journey was not in vain.  They’ll be joining us upstairs.  Go find someone to take the horses to the stables.  I’ll talk with them while you are accomplishing that minor task.”  Ophee nodded and once more headed into the front door of the wizard’s college.Once she was in the building, Ischarus again looked into the wizard’s eye.  “Tell us the truth, then.  Was it an illusion or did you summon an essence of pure evil?”The wizard extended his arms in an open stance as he spoke.  “Look at the college before you.  Magic runs thicker than air through this part of Eberdeen.  What would you have me say?  I already told you that it was an illusion and you chose not to believe me.  The only thing I can apparently say is what you want me to say.  And what is that?  Sure, it was a real incarnation of evil.  Now, will you go with me?”  His expression had changed into a deep smirk.  His tone followed that of the smirk as it took on the tenor of dark sarcasm.Rhema grimaced at the wizard’s words.  “And how can we trust you?  We can’t even trust what the truth is!”The smirk vanished off the face of the wizard and once more it was replaced by a smile of enjoyment.  “Don’t blame me for the fault of your own doubt!  I have said opposite statements.  The truth is one of them.  But the only reason I gave you opposite statements is because you have already predetermined to not believe me.  Do not blame that on me; blame that on your own dark suspicions.  You already decided that you knew what the truth was.  Your inability to see my illusion for what it truly was has forced your pride to assume that it was real!  Your pride and arrogance has left me with the option of saying only that which you expect to hear.”Charis sneered.  “Then why are we here?  So far our venture into Eberdeen has been nothing like I expected.  We came here to find your conception of the truth about what happened to the villa, but all we find are double-sided tales and convolutions.”The wizard extended a pointed finger to Charis and continued to smile.  “There, finally someone speaks the truth.  You doubt me and my Opheiluka.  But I would also argue that you did not come to me to find the truth, my dear.  You came to me to find the Ephistaemi.  Did you honestly expect that to be an easy task?  If I were as easy to read as any book, the Ephistaemi would have nothing to do with me.  They work with me because of my ability to fold the truth in upon itself and reveal it in unexpected terms.  I can play with the truth like the illusions that I manipulate.  But make no doubt about it.  You did not come here for me to tell you a truth that I do not know.  You came here to find the Ephistaemi after providing a service for me.  Truth was never part of the bargain.  I can get you to the Ephistaemi for a price.  We are bartering here, not expounding upon the value of truth.”Ischarus nodded, realizing that debating the ethics of the situation would get them nowhere.  “Speak your terms, then.  And test us accordingly.”The wizard chuckled as he spotted Ophee exit the building with an apprentice mage at her side.  He spoke softly to the party.  “Not here.  If you want the Ephistaemi, you need to teleport with me into the wizard’s college.  If you wish to go home, now is the time to speak.  And you can be assured that your examination continues even as we speak.”Before the party could respond, the wizard lifted his volume and spoke to Ophee and the apprentice mage walking beside her.  “Good timing, we were just about ready to need your services, weren’t we?”Rhema, Charis, and Semeion instinctively looked to Ischarus.  Ischarus looked only to Rhema and thought only of the villa and the necessary work therein.  “Indeed.  Of course, for the sake of the apprentice can you tell us when we’ll return for our horses?”The wizard nodded approvingly to Ischarus.  “You will need your horses in one hour’s time, no more.”[Sblock=Color-Free Speech Section]Semeion turned to confront the wizard, but the wizard was already looking to the city guards. “There. You can see for yourself that the testing is legitimate.” The guards did not look particularly convinced.The young mage broke in to address the wizard before the city guard could retort. “You summoned some kind of demon to attack us? Surely even you know that summoning any kind of evil presence from the heavens is a crime punishable by death, even if you were trying to test us!”The guards looked to Semeion for confirmation as they drew their weapons. The wizard lifted the end of his staff up from the ground and waved it through the air as a distraction. “It was simple illusion, that’s all.” The smile on his face told the party that he was enjoying the exchange.Suddenly Semeion felt as though the bubble of awe had burst. Before the combat he was in awe of the magical oppression of reality. Having been affected by the magical force he now saw its darker side. Magic could bring about great things such as the wizard’s college. However, just as easily the magic could oppress itself upon others as the wizard had done. Semeion shook his head. “That was no illusion.”The wizard’s smile increased at Semeion’s accusation. “It wouldn’t be much of an illusion if you were able to recognize it, now would it? I know you have magical prowess, but do you think you can identify all the spells I am able to cast? Do you really think I would summon something evil in the presence of the city guard? If I summoned something evil, they would be obligated to try and arrest me. Why would I subject myself to that? Trust me, it was an illusion designed to make you believe it was real. I’d say it worked.”Semeion narrowed his eyelids as he continued to distrust the words of the wizard. His companions looked to him for confirmation, but they only saw the distrust in the young mage’s face. Semeion wasn’t convinced and he made no effort to hide his doubt.The wizard turned to the guards and continued his rationalization. “There, you have seen their testing begin. You can report to your commander at the guard post of what you saw. I realize that it was only an illusion, but their individual abilities had to be examined in addition to their approach to teamwork. I hope that as I was evaluating them that you were also capable of evaluating their performance. Please take that assessment as proof of my examination and report to your commander.”Shaira looked to Auxis and shrugged. The man explaining away the summoning as an illusion was a member of the wizard college and there could be little reason to question the wizard’s ability to make an illusion so real that it could not be detected as an illusion. Shaira nodded to the wizard and spoke in a flat tone. “We thank you for allowing the first part of their examination to occur for our benefit. You can have no doubt that I will give a full accounting of the examination to my superior.”The wizard turned back to Semeion once the guards turned their horses and began to head away from the wizard’s college. The smile persisted upon his face. He was enjoying the events with all the satisfaction of an adult who knew something about which nobody else had access.Charis looked to Semeion and then turned back to the wizard. “That was no illusion, am I right?”Ophee looked with confusion to the party and focused on Semeion. “Of course it was an illusion. Convince them, master.”The wizard dismissed the conversation by giving no acknowledgement. “Shall we head into the wizard’ college? Where I am taking you we can only get to through magic. Opheiluka, run along and bring someone to tend their horses, would you?”Ischarus shook his head violently and held out a hand to stop Ophee. “We’re not going anywhere until you answer Charis’ question. Semeion is convinced that the spell was no illusion. Is he right?”The wizard chuckled out of enjoyment. “Opheiluka, run along. You know as well as I do that your journey was not in vain. They’ll be joining us upstairs. Go find someone to take the horses to the stables. I’ll talk with them while you are accomplishing that minor task.” Ophee nodded and once more headed into the front door of the wizard’s college.Once she was in the building, Ischarus again looked into the wizard’s eye. “Tell us the truth, then. Was it an illusion or did you summon an essence of pure evil?”The wizard extended his arms in an open stance as he spoke. “Look at the college before you. Magic runs thicker than air through this part of Eberdeen. What would you have me say? I already told you that it was an illusion and you chose not to believe me. The only thing I can apparently say is what you want me to say. And what is that? Sure, it was a real incarnation of evil. Now, will you go with me?” His expression had changed into a deep smirk. His tone followed that of the smirk as it took on the tenor of dark sarcasm.Rhema grimaced at the wizard’s words. “And how can we trust you? We can’t even trust what the truth is!”The smirk vanished off the face of the wizard and once more it was replaced by a smile of enjoyment. “Don’t blame me for the fault of your own doubt! I have said opposite statements. The truth is one of them. But the only reason I gave you opposite statements is because you have already predetermined to not believe me. Do not blame that on me; blame that on your own dark suspicions. You already decided that you knew what the truth was. Your inability to see my illusion for what it truly was has forced your pride to assume that it was real! Your pride and arrogance has left me with the option of saying only that which you expect to hear.”Charis sneered. “Then why are we here? So far our venture into Eberdeen has been nothing like I expected. We came here to find your conception of the truth about what happened to the villa, but all we find are double-sided tales and convolutions.”The wizard extended a pointed finger to Charis and continued to smile. “There, finally someone speaks the truth. You doubt me and my Opheiluka. But I would also argue that you did not come to me to find the truth, my dear. You came to me to find the Ephistaemi. Did you honestly expect that to be an easy task? If I were as easy to read as any book, the Ephistaemi would have nothing to do with me. They work with me because of my ability to fold the truth in upon itself and reveal it in unexpected terms. I can play with the truth like the illusions that I manipulate. But make no doubt about it. You did not come here for me to tell you a truth that I do not know. You came here to find the Ephistaemi after providing a service for me. Truth was never part of the bargain. I can get you to the Ephistaemi for a price. We are bartering here, not expounding upon the value of truth.”Ischarus nodded, realizing that debating the ethics of the situation would get them nowhere. “Speak your terms, then. And test us accordingly.”The wizard chuckled as he spotted Ophee exit the building with an apprentice mage at her side. He spoke softly to the party. “Not here. If you want the Ephistaemi, you need to teleport with me into the wizard’s college. If you wish to go home, now is the time to speak. And you can be assured that your examination continues even as we speak.”Before the party could respond, the wizard lifted his volume and spoke to Ophee and the apprentice mage walking beside her. “Good timing, we were just about ready to need your services, weren’t we?”Rhema, Charis, and Semeion instinctively looked to Ischarus. Ischarus looked only to Rhema and thought only of the villa and the necessary work therein. “Indeed. Of course, for the sake of the apprentice can you tell us when we’ll return for our horses?”The wizard nodded approvingly to Ischarus. “You will need your horses in one hour’s time, no more.”[/Sblock]</blockquote>

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