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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazlow" data-source="post: 2627666" data-attributes="member: 24242">"Oh bother," the withered old man muttered into his unruly beard, "he's taken it again."One bony hand pushed the cabinet door shut, and another carefully turned the key, locking the elaborately carved door.  A circle of mystical runes were etched into that door, inside which was set a single circular pane of glass.  Behind this sat a velvet cushion, made all the more conspicuous by the notable absence of whatever it was that sat upon it previously.The ancient creature plopped down unceremoniously into an overstuffed chair and let out a long sigh.  "I'm getting too old for this...  HA!  I've been too old for this for - well...  For a very, very long time now.  Who am I trying to kid?" he muttered.  He chuckled as he let his eye wander around the room, and momentarily his brow furrowed.  He pushed his skullcap back to reveal a few more inches of bare forehead and scratched it absently.  "Yes...  Who am I trying to kid?" he asked himself, looking around quizzically.  "Hello?  Hello?" he asked, standing up slowly, precariously balancing himself once again on his spindly legs.  "I'm afraid I've lost the punchline," he offered, walking around the table, "as well as yourself...  You'll have to forgi-"He stopped short as he came around the table to stand in front of the cabinet again.  Peering behind the glass, he spied the empty cushion."Oh bother," the withered old man muttered into his unruly beard, "he's taken it again."*   *   *   *   *Later that morning, the geriatric gentleman stood leaning on a stout oaken staff in one of his empty lecture rooms.  Assembled before him was a handful of students whom he himself had picked for the task he was about to entrust to them.  They sat in silence, reverently awaiting instruction from their beloved Master.  The old one thoughtfully traced a piece of the carved design on his staff with his finger, laying out those instructions in his mind before delivering them, as he had always done in so many lectures before.  Presently he looked up and was surprised to see, assembled before him, a handful of students, the very likes of whom he was just about to collect in an empty lecture room."Ah!  Oh, my dearie me, well this is most fortuitous...  Just the group I wanted to see.  Here, sit, sit, marvelous, yes..."  He stepped forward and took a seat next to one of the students in the front row.  Leaning in close, he whispered conspiratorially, "Who's on the lectern today, eh?  I hope to the heavens it's not Finnegan."  He abruptly let his head fall onto his shoulder and shut his eyes, feigning a loud snore.  He popped back up and winked at the befuddled student with a chuckle.  "Know what I mean, eh?  Heh heh heh..."  He settled himself down into the chair and waited patiently for someone to begin the lecture.A couple of nudges from the other students prompted the one sitting next to him to speak up.  "<ahem>  Uh, s-sir?  M-Master Algernon?"  The young apprentice turned to fully face the doddering elder.  "Um, sir, it was you who called us here this morning, sir.  You had a task for us, something you wished to discuss.""Ah, well, more's the better, m'lad, more's the better," he said, standing up and looking toward the door with disappointment.  "Looks like Finnegan's a no-show, at any rate.  Yes.  well, splendid, yes.  A task.  AH!  Yes, a task!"  A sudden light shone in his eyes, and he fixed them upon the students gathered before him.  "I need you to find something for me," he said with newfound vigor, "something that was taken from my own chambers, something that is very near and dear to me."Now, I can tell you straightaway who took it:  Without question it was that scoundrel Cruikshanks.  He's done it in the past, and no doubt he's done it this time.  He'll have taken it to his island home, which is around the cape in Boulder Bay.  You'll need to get in there quickly and quietly, and abscond with it before he realizes it's gone."Now, I know, I know...  You're thinking:  'How will we do all this?'  Well, to be sure I've picked you all because you are my very best students.  My very best students, best, yes," he repeated, smiling warmly and sincerely at them all.  "But I shan't send you in empty handed.  Oh no.  I've made arrangements with Fairbairn to allow some items from the Tower's own personal repository, as well as the use of one of the faculty crabs."  He stood up straight, adjusting the skullcap that had by now slid down over his eyebrows.  Moving the hat back he began to speak again, but he stopped short and frustratingly began to pat his robe down, evidently looking for something.  Presently he withdrew a short, slightly thick, plain-looking length of wood from the inner recesses of his well-worn but richly appointed garment and frowned at it.  "Hrmmm.  Curious.  Ah well, I suppose you can have this, too.  Wonderful, yes...  Moving right along now," he muttered as he handed the stick to one of the students in front.Looking his pupils over, he smiled at them gathered before him, beaming a look of the utmost confidence to each one in turn.  "Now...  Have you any questions before you set off...?  Eh?"The young acolytes looked at each other in bewilderment.  To be sure, this was an honor of the highest degree - personally chosen by their Master, the Archmage Algernon himself, and chosen because of the skill and knowledge they've worked so hard to earn these past years!  But..."M-Master?  We are indeed honored to undertake this task for you, but...  If you please, sir, the item you wish for us to retrieve...  Um...  What, er...  What is it?"The archaic archmage fixed the student with a keen eye.  "Aye, there's the rub," he replied matter-of-factly.  He leaned against the lectern and pushed his skullcap back, scratching his forehead again.  "You see...  I seem to have forgotten."*  *  *  *  *Master Algernon stands back up and starts to leave.  "Alright!  Well, if that's all the questions, then I'll leave you to it."  He steps down off the low platform and starts to weave his way through the rows of benches to the door in the back.  Halfway through the zig-zag weaving, he apparently becomes lost and manages to get right back to the front of the class, sitting down next to Keiran."So, who's on the lectern today, eh?  I hope to the heavens it's not Finnegan."  He apruptly lets his head fall onto his shoulder and shuts his eyes, feigning a loud snore, then pops back up and winks at the befuddled student.========OOC:  Whoa, deja vu...   <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" />Okay, quick bit o' posting guidelines:  Please put all talkage in quotes and a color (one that is easily seen in Stealth mode, please) for ease of finding.  Also, let's try to keep all OOC stuff in the OOC thread (formerly the recruitment thread).  Small OOC notes can be set off like I have here.  You can do your own rolling if you like, through <a href="http://invisiblecastle.com/index.php" target="_blank">Invisible Castle</a>, but you don't have to if you don't want to (in which case, please let me know).Let's have some fun!</blockquote>

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