The common room of the Angry Porcupine. Ada's there, as is Ethan (maybe). [I now pronounce you... MINISESSION and START.] ... so I said to him "That's not a sword! That's his leg!" * Ethan grins. * Ada doesn't look up from playing a series of runs on her mandolin. "Mmm hmm. And then what?" ... and then the guy beat the other guy with the leg. * Ada stops and eyes Ethan. ... wooden leg. Don't worry. ^_^ My people can be a bit nuts when it comes to fighting, but not THAT nuts. ... usually... Well, that's good to know. Wouldn't want to clean up the blood if it weren't. >_> <_< * Ada considers Ethan a bit more, then snickers and goes back to practicing. Hey, speaking of weapons... didn't you wanna talk to Nebrinel about hers? * Ada blinks. Well, I... actually, that's a pretty good idea. She did say there was more to it, didn't she? Yup. * Ada frowns slightly. "And that feeling... Thanks for remind me, Ethan." She hauls out the case and puts her instrument away. That magic stuff's over my head, so I'll stay here. Just lemme know if it's gonna accidentally fry me in battle or something. Sure. If I were you, though, I'd be more careful of your own weapon. They had it locked away for a reason, trust me. * Ethan grins. "Hey, I gotta be intelligent SOME of the time." *biggrin* * Ada closes the case and stands, slinging it over her shoulder. * Ada laughs. My glaive? Don't worry... I exercise too much for it to fatten me up. Once in a blue moon, I suppose. Do you know where Nebrinel is? ( Where is she? =P ) (Somewhere else!) (I would GUESS her room, personally. I doubt she's given Ethan her itinerary. ^_^;) * Ethan shrugs. "Saw her go upstairs. Her room, maybe?" (Third floor, room 36.) * Ada nods. "All right." She pats Ethan on the shoulder as she passes, heading for the stairs. "And it's not getting fat that I'd be worried about." * Ethan blinks, confused, then shrugs and goes back to eating. * Ada reaches Nebrinel's room. She pauses for a moment, then knocks. The stairs are where Ada left them. She knows where Nebrinel's room is, because it's across from her own, since you all decided to get rooms in the same part of the same floor. Honest, you did. (Ada hears some soft talking in the room, then a bit later, some footsteps.) * Ada waits somewhat patiently. * Nebrinel opens the door, her eyes angry. Her face is flushed, and her hair is the slightest bit disheveled. "Yes?" * Ada blinks in surprise. Is someone with you, Nebrinel? Because if so, I can come back at another time. * Nebrinel recognizes Ada, and lets her anger slip slightly. She pauses, and then shrugs. "It's no problem. C'mon in." * Ada nods slowly, not bothering to hide her curiosity. She steps in. * Fyril sits on the bed, leaning slightly forward, his face bright red. He says, embarassedly, "Um... hey, Ada." * Nebrinel lets Ada in, and closes the door behind her as she smooths her hair out. ( "We were... practicing unarmed grappling techniques! Yeah, that's the ticket!" ) * Ada looks from Fyril to Nebrinel and back. She smiles slightly. "This *can* wait for another time, you know." (No, close-range mind reading!) (*jots that down* Must remember for Shig.) * Nebrinel scowls. "I have always been one for the right mood, and right now I'm in the right mood to deal with you. So what did you want to talk about?" ( ^^; ) ( "You know palm readings? I was giving a tongue reading... yeah, that's it..." ) * Fyril turns and looks out the window, an almost wretched look on his face. * Ada sighs and leans against the wall, folding her arms. She forces her expression back to neutral. "Fine." I'll make this as short as I can. Ethan reminded me downstairs... there was something about your sword that you wanted to talk about? * Nebrinel glances at Fyril, and back to Ada, nodding. "Yes. Mainly, its apparent sentience." * Ada raises an eyebrow. "Sentience?" * Fyril turns back to look sidewise at the two, his face settling back to its normal shade. * Nebrinel nods, and pulls her sword up, sheathed, and sets it on a table. "Sentience. We didn't quite inform you of the whole situation around acquiring this hilt guard." * Ada nods. Go on. There was a reason Sergeant had not been heard of for a while. That reason was that the piece of the Plague Bringer we were going for had seemingly taken over his body and mind. * Ada frowns. "His body and mind, hmm?" * Nebrinel taps the hilt guard. "Yes. When we got there, he was nothing but a husk in a chair. Once the piece was removed from his body, he simply decayed." * Fyril turns around completely to watch the conversation, nodding. "It was pretty ugly." I... see. And when you tried to take the piece? Me and the part's mind had a little ...talk. I convinced it to go my way. For the time being. * Ada hrms and murmurs, "Every seven years." She blinks, then shakes her head. "Has it talked to you since?" * Nebrinel frowns, and nods once. "Yes. In which it revealed its goal to destroy the world and everything in it." * Ada starts at that. * Fyril perks his ears slightly, and looks curiously at Ada before turning a worried look back on Nebrinel. It *what*? Actually, more accurately, it wants the world to be 'devoid of that which lives'. * Ada frowns. "Plaguebringer. How appropriate." * Nebrinel smirks. "It seems to want its peace and quiet." ( So it must LOVE Ethan. ^_^ ) I'm sure. I take it you're not going to do the sensible thing and get rid of it, are you? (Ethan's the first to go. :P) Not quite, no. I still control it, and it's still a large source of power. * Nebrinel snorts. "But I don't feel like being killed just so this sword can sit around and be peaceful." Hope you can still control it when it's complete. * Fyril bites his lip, runs a hand through his hair, and leaves his gaze on Nebrinel. * Ada chuckles. "That's good to know." That's why I decided to inform you. This thing is dangerously close to being too powerful for our good. * Nebrinel frowns, and sideglances at Fyril, in almost a worried manner. "And I need to know that you're prepared, should anything happen." * Ada nods. "I think it will only get more insistent the closer it is to completion." She looks over at Fyril, then back. I understand. * Nebrinel nods. "I agree. But this represents a lot of my life's work. I'm not giving it up until I have at least a chance of getting another. And that's good." * Nebrinel smirks. "I'd expect no less from a Xivilai-trained mage." * Ada blinks, then pales. She looks like she wants nothing more than to back up, but she's already against the wall. * Fyril nods slightly, looking almost pleadingly at Ada. "That thing is uglier than that Sergeant guy was when we found him. If it ends up being enough to overwhelm one of us, I'm not sure I'd want to split up." He blinks. "Why're you doing that?" * Nebrinel frowns at Ada. * Ada closes her eyes and takes a few deep breaths, then curses softly under her breath. "How did you know?" * Nebrinel smirks. "What, about Xivilai? I severely doubt that Xivilai would take in someone and not train them." * Ada bows her head, putting her hand over her eyes. "And that, Nebrinel? How would you know about that?" * Nebrinel quirks an eyebrow. "The fact that you're marked? When we first met?" Means I work for her, yes. I wouldn't need to know magic for that. * Nebrinel laughs. Aah, that. * Ada snaps her head up and removes her hand from her face. "You know my Lady so well, do you?" I am not so acquainted, and am most likely better off for it. I am familiar with the methods, though. Nobody that powerful would be stupid. * Ada smiles thinly. "And I incriminated myself better than any study of her methods." * Nebrinel shrugs. "You gain an instinct about such things. It keeps you alive. You were too connected. You were searching for a Great Weapon. Small things. The prejudice that humans are too stupid to do such things was beaten out of me a long time ago." * Fyril watches intently, back and forth between the two as they talk. You're clever. Skilled, too. I knew there was something about you. * Nebrinel shrugs. "Me? I'm a simple magess with the drive for power. I'm sure they're a dime-a-dozen, these days." (substute 'copper' for 'dime', if you feel like it. ^_~) (It's the principle of the thing.) (Heh. My, a Hammett moment. In a surreal way.) ( Nono, that'd require a leggy blonde with a mysterious past. =P ) (But Nebrinel's a semi-leggy blonde with a mysterious past, you see.) (Usually, they aren't the same person in Hammett, the PI and the blonde, but we'll let it slide. ^^) ( It had been a slow night... until SHE walked in. Blonde hair, a big sword, and pointy ears that just screamed 'Hey, I'm an elf!'... I knew this wasn't gonna be any ordinary case. ) * Ada laughs and holds out one hand palm up, a small ball of flame appearing above it. "I haven't run across many with a piece of a great weapon. Or a lack of prejudice against humans, as you put it." She studies the fire for a moment, then waves her hand, dissipating it. * Nebrinel chuckles. "They lack a certain perspective." She frowns to herself, but doesn't follow the statement up. * Fyril looks wide-eyed at Ada, but doesn't look entirely shocked. I'm sure they do. * Ada looks over at Fyril, oddly looking more comfortable than she has in a long time. "You had better get used to it." * Fyril points to himself. "Get used to it? I'd already figured it out. It's just different, seeing it." He shrugs. "But it's only different once." * Ada raises an eyebrow at Fyril. "And how did *you* figure it out, exactly?" she asks, sounding almost amused. * Fyril smiles, his eyes sparkling. "It wasn't hard. Right when I first met you, I found out about Xivilai. You know that. The rest, I put together talking with Nebrinel while we were split up." He sits up a bit straighter. "Thieves have to be perceptive, you know." You mean Nebrinel told you. * Nebrinel chuckles. * Fyril blushes slightly. "Well... sort of. I got some of it myself, though. Really!" * Ada shakes her head. Sure you did. * Fyril continues doggedly. "I mean, you were looking through lots of weird magic books. And you know way more than any normal human I'd ever met." Of course I do. I work for Xivilai, remember? Yeah, but even so, why would she send someone who knew no magic to find something so very magical? * Ada shrugs as she stops leaning against the wall and starts pacing slightly. "My Lady is strange, that's for certain. Besides, I'm sure her janitor knows more about magic than you do." She frowns and falls into silence. * Fyril looks hurt. "Hey, I know about magic. I've been studying for a long time, now." You'd be surprised. * Fyril looks out the window, the hurt increasing. "You've seen me in action. I know what I'm doing." * Nebrinel huhms. Right, you rely on an item. It's not a bad tool, really, but you should break that habit. * Ada frowns and considers. "I trust you won't tell anyone of this?" ( *pops his head in* If it makes you feel better, all I know how to do is whack stuff with a stick! ) * Nebrinel shrugs. "I won't spread it around, certaintly. There's no need. Do you know if Ethan and Sei know?" * Fyril looks back and glares at Ada. "Nah, I won't tell. Who'd believe me, anyway?" * Ada chuckles. "They do. How do you think we really got rid of the bandits?" * Nebrinel shrugs. "I don't doubt Ethan's skill with that glaive. For all I know, a giant pancake dropped on their heads from above. Magic would have simplified the task, certaintly." * Ada nods. "Ethan couldn't have reached the... archers? in the trees, and while Sei has an attack spell, his aim needs work." * Nebrinel shakes her head. "It's amazing how much the Elven world has forgotten archers." * Fyril nods. "Maybe I start a comeback. Sounds like that'd be a very useful thing to have." Useful, sure. I could teach you if we got the time. It won't stand up to an aware mage, though. * Fyril grins. "If they're aware, I haven't done my job right." * Nebrinel chuckles, and turns to Ada. "One more quick question." * Ada nods. "Go ahead." Do you know anything about curse-breaking? * Ada frowns. "Curse breaking?" Curse breaking. Debilitative enchantments. Whatever you people in the Ivory Towers call them. * Ada laughs at that. "Ivory Tower. I wish." She calms herself and considers. Are you referring to your and Ethan's great weapons? * Nebrinel chuckles. "Of course not. Those, if you could call them cursed, should be well beyond either of our powers, if they are even touchable." * Ada nods. How nasty of a curse are we talking about, then? * Nebrinel shrugs. "Nothing too bad. Form locking." * Nebrinel pauses. "At least, so I assume. I cannot see myself to say for sure." * Fyril looks curiously at Nebrinel. * Ada blinks at that. * Nebrinel mutters under her breath. * Ada considers and walks up to Nebrinel, then walks around her, looking from all sides. "You're locked in another form?" * Fyril starts speaking slowly. "Now that you mention that... I've been wondering about that for a while. You said you'd been looking for hundreds of years, but you look like you're my age." * Nebrinel frowns and rolls her eyes, then looks over at Fyril. "I had said it outloud more than once. I'd figure someone would remember." I remembered. I just wasn't going to ask you about it any time soon. * Fyril shrugs. "It doesn't pay to forget things. You never know what might be important. And I lack the mirror to work on it myself. I'd assume there's a mirror nearby. Unless you don't have a reflection, either? No, you misunderstand. You need a special mirror to see magical reflections. * Ada nods. "I see." She considers. (Which Ada may well already know. ^_^;) (Eh, I'll assume she forgot. Unfortunately, I don't have everything about magic memorized, like Ada very well might. :P) Well, if you don't see anything, I suppose I'll just wait. It's been a couple hundred years, I can wait a couple more. There's... something there. Whoever put this on you was very good. * Fyril opens his mouth to say something, but stops himself and closes it again. Yeah. If there's anything I can say for the bastard, it's that he knew what he was doing. Even if he couldn't rhyme. * Ada nods and frowns. "I can give it a try. Mind, curses aren't my area of expertise, and if whoever put it on you is skilled enough, it doesn't matter who works on it. You'll need to get the wizard who put it on you to revoke it." * Nebrinel mutters, "Lovely..." Go for it. It cannot hurt much, right? It shouldn't. * Fyril works his hands into the sheet, and watches. * Ada studies Nebrinel carefully as she concentrates, bringing her hands up and beginning a series of complicated gestures. 2d6-3 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ada (2d6-3) and gets 7. * Ada frowns as she works. "I think I see it." * Nebrinel stands perfectly still, eyes flicking over to Fyril, and then to Ada. * Ada breaks out into a slight sweat. "It's a complicated one, all right. Could be your bond with Plaguebringer, or it could be the form lock." * Nebrinel frowns, saying softly, moving as little as possible, "Why would the Great Weapon be involved...?" * Fyril sits quietly, biting his lip, looking intently at Nebrinel and Ada, back and forth, again and again. I don't know if this is it, but it could be. I'm warning you; if I try to break your curse, I might break your bond instead, and your weapon can turn on you more than it already has. Ethan has something similar with Pantryfiller. * Nebrinel frowns some more. "I'll tame it again, if necessary." * Fyril looks even more worried, and stares at Nebrinel, but says nothing. * Ada nods. "Very well. I'll give it a try." * Nebrinel eyes Plaguebringer like an opponent, ready to react to it if it jumps. * Ada scowls as she works. This continues for a few minutes, then she curses and stops, grabbing the nearest chair and collapsing into it. * Nebrinel slumps her shoulders. "That good, eh?" * Ada wipes at her forehead. "Yeah. Whoever did this was good. What did you do to get him angry, anyway?" * Fyril lets his breath out, and lets his hands out of the sheets. * Nebrinel chuckles softly. "Decided that being taught magic from a book in a closed mansion was the worst way to do it. He wasn't exactly pleased." Probably insulted his dammned ego. He sure has one. * Ada shakes her head, still looking drained. "Old teacher? That would do it." * Fyril blinks and looks curiously at Nebrinel. "He did that?" Yep. Good old Adron. Bastard. * Ada blinks. Adron? He's written some of the worst plays I've ever laid eyes on. Good at magical theory, though. You had *him* for a teacher? Yeah. He's a fair hand at swordsmanship too. Though I don't think he could even last five seconds against me now. He thought you could find everything you needed about magic in a book. Bah to that, I say. * Ada nods. "I doubt he could. Then again, he wouldn't need to, if he could just throw another form lock on you." * Nebrinel shrugs. "He'll get no form locks on me if he's dead. But that's for another time." You'll want to save that until after you convince him to remove the curse, then, if you want to get rid of it. Otherwise, you're stuck that way. * Fyril grins. "Maybe I can help with the convincing. I'm good at that." His eyes sparkle. * Nebrinel chuckles at Fyril. "Thanks for the offer." She looks over at Ada. "And... " she pauses briefly, "thank you for trying." * Ada nods at Nebrinel. "You're welcome. It's the least I could do, for you not killing me." She smiles a bit as she stands shakily. I'm going to lie down, I think. That took a lot out of me. * Nebrinel chuckles, and walks over to open the door for Ada. "I've been trying to be nicer. Yanno, only maiming my enemies, and all." * Ada snickers as she makes her way out the door. "Yes, maiming the wrong person is generally a bad idea." * Fyril waves to Ada from the bed. "Bye! Get some rest. We're not going to manage much new today, anyway." * Ada waves at Fyril. "Afraid not. Sei has a date, after all." She leaves. [SESSION END] z.z