Private Tales The Thal'addas Theorem

[Kala]

Kala balanced herself expertly on top of the wall, her tail lazily flicking back and forth as she ensured that she would not fall onto the ground below. When Yrael came she gave him a curt nod, doing the same when Qieane joined as well.

For a brief moment she hesitated when she took the vial, frowning for a second.

Her eyes narrowed, and she was about to open her mouth to say she didn't drink things given to her by strangers. Yet before she did, a thought occurred to her. Qieane had taken the mark, meaning she could not betray her anyway.

Who was Kala to complain? "Ready."

She said with a nod, shifting her weight and pulling the vial between her fingers before she turned to Yrael and waited for his signal. Once he gave the word she would drop down and rush forward, doing moving without hesitation or second thought.

Waiting got you killed.

 

[Yrael]

Yrael was pleased to see how quickly Qieane had managed to climb the wall, and how Kala had shown no sign of discomfort or concern at being more or less flung several stories into the air. The gargoyle he had smashed appeared to be alone in the near area, Yrael thought he could see shapes moving along the wall in the distance. He swept the rubble over the outside with a swish of his hand, and then took the vial Qieane offered.

Like Kala, he had a moment's hesitation at drinking a mysterious liquid, but the rune that was tattooed on all of them alleviated his concerns. He made a note to commend Kala for the idea when they had more time, and to perhaps look into employing similar methods with future teams.

"There, at the base of the nearest wall between the two towers," he pointed, "The wall there is thin and should not trigger any alarms." This small section of wall, so he had been told, was a miniscule gap in the college's defenses. It was believed to have been put there on purpose by a wizard who enjoyed banned substances, and who had used it to smuggle in his libations and trinkets. That was ages ago, but as there was no mention of such a spot in any official records, it seemed unlikely that it had been discovered and sealed.

In any case, they would find out soon enough. "Go now."

Yrael upended the vial into his mouth, grimacing at the taste, and bounded off the wall, cushioning his landing with a small burst of counterforce before rushing across the grass. True to Qieane's word, nothing appeared to happen. Not yet at least.

 

[Qieane Andieln]

Qieane watched as they both dropped to the ground, her eyes nearly flashing in the moonlit darkness. It was unnatural, and though it was nearly a genetic mutation that affected her, there had been rumors back home. Demon-spawn, they’d called her. How dare a strange looking girl be better than they!

Descending the wall was easier than ascending it, and she almost seemed to be gliding down the inner side of the wall. Opening the vial, she swallowed its contents and with quick steps, followed closely behind the other two. Her tongue flicked over her lips as she seemed to whisk past them suddenly, crouching low and moving ahead of them.

Reaching the wall, she glanced back over at the two as they came nearer. A slight grin cracked across her lips.

“I don’t suppose either of you happen to have a way of finding this gap in the dark, do you?” she whispered, her tone lilting. As she spoke, she appeared at unease. A tightness curled her gut and left her nauseous. It was either her drink ready to come back up or her instincts warning her of what might lay ahead.

 

[Kala]

Kala shifted her weight, and then darted forward after the other two.

She had never been the most patient person in the world, a trait that most found terrible in a thief. Yet somehow she managed to make it work. Though whether that was through sheer luck or simple force of will she'd never quite been sure.

Either way, she practically slammed into the wall besides Qieane just a second after the other woman had taken off, her chest heaving slightly as she caught her breath and looked over towards where Yrael had already joined them.

Her fingers tightened a moment, and she drew one of the playing cards from her satchel. "I got this one."

With a quick flick of her wrist she placed the card against the wall.

There was a brief moment of nothing, the card simply sticking to the wall and not moving. Then there was an odd flash, and suddenly the card grew into an odd hole in the wall. The inside of the College appeared beyond, and Kala simply crawled through the gap she had created.

 

[Yrael]

Yrael had been fully prepared to just blast their way through the wall and hang the consequences, but he deferred when Kala took charge. It was unlike any magic he had seen before. Had the power come from the card itself or was it simply a vehicle for Kala's own magic? Had the stones vanished? Been displaced? Shrunken?

No time, he reminded himself, and hurried in after Kala.

The hall they entered was decided unremarkable. It was wide enough for the three of them to stand side to side, but just barely, and it was dimly lit with an orange torch glow. They appeared to have come in at a corner, for the passage stretched straight ahead of them and off to their right.

Yrael knew his goal lay deeper beneath the school, and so he moved forwards. While he couldn't see anything, he kept keenly aware of the surroundings. The college was never as it appeared, he was warned. Still, for a good minute or so nothing happened. The hall wound a few gentle turns and then opened a bit wider to reveal a corridor lined regularly on either side with doors. They were simple wooden doors, and small bronze plaques had been affixed to them. The nearest one read "165."

"We are on the first level of the catacombs," Yrael whispered, "We must descend two more to the third." Luckily there was the opening of a spiral staircase just across from vault 165. He was about to move forwards, eager to continue, when he froze midstep.

Along the floor of the hallway, just before vault 165 and the staircase, a wide red line had been painted. Heeding his warnings of the College's danger, he flicked his finger to magically toss a small pebble over the line.

It flashed bright as it reached the threshold, fizzled with a small pop, and vanished into smoke.

They had reached their first obstacle.


Qieane Andieln Kala

 

[Qieane Andieln]

Qieane watched the hole grow in the wall, her jaw slack. Damn magicians, the thief thought to herself. She'd seen plenty of card tricks in her life, but this was a new one. A whistle of approval left her lips as she watched Kala crawl through the gap, though whether it was the result of watching the woman's backside or the show of magic wasn't entirely clear.

Unlike Yrael, Qieane wasn't interested in the hows of the newly created opening. It wasn't there before, and it was there now. That's all she needed. She cast a quick glance over her shoulder to ensure they weren't being watched before following after him and Kala.

"Gods," Qieane murmured. At first glance, the College's underbelly seemed no different from the bowels of similar structures. Yet the hair on the nape of her neck bristled, and it was that unease that seemed to sober the thief. She remained otherwise quiet as they traversed the corridors.

When they reached the hall of doors and Yrael divulged their location, a pale brow shot upward in askance that was soon answered. If they were anywhere else, Qieane might not have found the red line on the floor suspect. She was a good listener though, even if her past lovers thought otherwise. Her suspicions proved true a moment later when Yrael tossed the pebble and it vacated this plane of existence the moment it hit the barrier.

"At least it's a quick death," she remarked dryly. A smirk nudged the corners of her mouth upward as she began to turn, surveying their surroundings thoughtfully. Her stare settled on the plaque of the door closest to them. "Three."

Qieane turned, facing Yrael. "That gap in the defenses you mentioned: I think it's intentional. We need to go back the way we came. I bet we'll encounter that same line no matter which way we enter this hall, unless it's from the direction it's meant to be entered from. You said we need the third level. One, six, and five is twelve. One and two is three. I bet there's a passage in Vault 3 that will take us to Vault 165."

She wasn't a hundred percent sure that she was right, especially since there was no proof that such a passage existed.

 

[Kala]

Mages and their puzzles.

She had always hated dealing with this sort of thing. There was a reason that she had become a thief and not an adventurer. Figuring out puzzles and working out a way to avoid a trap was...well two different things entirely.

Kala stole from Kings, treasuries, rich men. A place like the College was new for her. One time she had taken something from a Wizards Tower, but that was entirely different. Her lips thinned Qieane spoke, and then she shrugged her shoulders. "Makes sense to me."

The Tiefling frowned, then glanced around.

"Failing that..." She thought of another card in her satchel. "We just blast our way through."

She was fairly sure they could manage that.

 

[Yrael]

The College of Elbion and the Academy differed tremendously in their teachings of magic. At Elbion, magic was a wonder to be studied, understood, and explored. Every avenue of its use was celebrated, and new and creative projects and research were encouraged. Free thought was emphasized, and battles of wits were just as important, if not more important, that actual battles.

The Academy was singular in its purpose: forge weapons. It was the furnace within which Dreadlords were forged and the whetstone upon which they were sharpened. Magic was not wonderous, it was a tool, and the only practical use of that tool was war. There were countless mages in Vel Anir of tremendous skill that were relegated to fourth level dreadlords simply because their particular brand of magic could not maim or kill, or assist others in doing so. Healers were given a bit more status for their usefulness to “true” soldiers, but anything less than that was hardly noticed.

As such, Yrael was not equipped to deal with puzzles that demanded subtlety. He very much liked Kala’s suggestion of blasting their way in... but he restrained himself. They were deep in enemy territory, and would be at a terrible disadvantage if Elbion brought its full force down on them. Qieane’s plan was more subtle, and likely the safer option. There was just one problem.

”Vault 3 is likely far away, and could also be beyond one of these barriers. If it were truly impossible to enter from here, why have the hall at all?” There had to be a way to deactivate the barrier, but looking around, he could not see anything suggestive.

The red paint lay on the floor, almost mocking. So simple a ward to cause such problems. He made up his mind.

”Blow it,” he said to Kala. ”I will make sure we are not heard.” A sound-dampening bubble would be doable.

 

[Qieane Andieln]

Qieane pursed her lips into a thin line at Yrael's observation. She didn't trust magic, and she trusted mages even less. The thief was here for the job, and only the job. Her gaze turned back to the red line, staring at it as Yrael issued the command.

"Wait," she said, reaching for Kala. Her gaze settled on Yrael once more, the red hue of her eyes nearly as unnerving as the ward before them. When she spoke, it was to both of them. "You've made it clear to us that what we're doing is dangerous. It could cost us our lives. How do you know that, even if we're not heard, that the ward isn't being monitored?

"You ask why have a hall, if it's not meant to be entered, yet here we are, seeking something that the College deems important: there's no better way to kill would-be thieves than to create false entrances," she explained. The thief drew closer, careful not to touch the ward as she examined the bricks upon which it was painted.

"You," she called to Kala. Qieane was horrid with names, but she needed her attention. "See this?"

The thief's finger pointed to the mortar between the bricks. Then, she drew her hand back and stepped back a few paces. When she spoke, she still addressed her fellow thief.

"If you have a trick that can loosen them without destroying the ward entirely, I think it will serve us better," the thief suggested, then looked to Yrael. "I'm no mage, but if this is rune-based, will moving them, as opposed to destroying them, keep the spell intact?"

(OOC: My apologies. I thought I posted it.)

 

[Kala]

Kala considered for a moment, glancing back towards Yrael as Qieanna made her argument.

Her eyes narrowed for a moment and she chewed her lip, glancing between the two conspirators and considering what the next step should be. Blowing through the wall would have been easier, but she thought she could find a way to do what the other woman suggested.

"We can try for both, or rather..." She slipped two cards out from her satchel."Try one, prepare the other just in case."

Mages were...tricky.

She had learned more than one lesson of that in her time. Usually it was easier to try not to play into the trap, to instead force your own entrance rather than the one that the wizard intended for. She supposed both ways would allow for that.

"Take this, place it on the ground and then don't touch it." She said to Yrael, offering him the card before she stepped towards the rune.

She glanced towards the other Thief.

"This will shift the stone, but...disrupting the rune might set it off." Or it could do worse if they weren't careful.

 

[Yrael]

Yrael crossed his arms, thinking about Qieane’s question. He was not an expert in runes, but from what he recalled a ward like this should only work if the runes were left intact.

”If it is runic, and if the pattern is not disturbed... the ward should remain.”

It was a very interesting idea, moving the invisible barrier as if it were a door instead of smashing through. It was more cumbersome, but then again they were hoping for subtlety.

He took the card from Kala, turning it over in the flickering torchlight. It didn’t look like much to him, but he obeyed and set the card on the ground just outside the red line, and backed up.

As he did so, he suddenly heard the quiet approach of footsteps from the hall behind them. No one had rounded the corner yet, but they would soon. They had run out of time.

”Do it now.”

The ward, as Qieane had deduced, was in fact runic. A ward written on floor, ceiling, and each wall created an invisible barrier, the glyphs themselves concealed by their own magic. Should each stone of this frame be moved as one, the deadly force field would remain intact within. It the frame were disturbed, the spell would fail. Hopefully the force field would simply fizzle away in that case.

 

[Qieane Andieln]

“I don’t think we’ve got a choice,” Qieane said a hair’s breadth before Yrael spoke again. She tugged a dagger from its place at her hip as she looked back over her shoulder. She waited for Kala to employ her cantrip, and the moment the stone shifted out of place, Qieane reached toward the barrier with the blade. When nothing immediately happened and the approaching patrol’s footsteps were too audible for comfort, Qieane decided it was a risk worth taking and stepped forward. They did not have time to find a different way, and if someone ought to be the guinea pig, she was just as good for the job as they were.

Most might have felt fear the moment they stepped across the runic barrier, but Qieane’s incredible desensitization to her emotions seemed to extend far beyond what anyone considered normal. She twisted around, looking at the two with a bemused smirk that belied a cockiness that suited scoundrels more so than elven women.

Dipping at the waist, she reached for the disturbed rune while looking at the hall behind them. She could see someone’s shadow in the flickering torchlight. At this proximity and forgetting about the dampening spell that created the sound barrier, Qieane gestured instead at the two to hurry before setting the stone near its place. The moment her companions crossed, the thief nudged the rune back toward its place with the careful guidance of her big toe (through her boot, of course).