Post by Markas Virnala on Feb 10, 2020 10:18:55 GMT
It had taken longer than expected to reach the college. Markas had gotten himself turned around once or twice in the maze of streets that made up Zot Goran, even with the directions Raksus had given him. Walking into the college, he had waited patiently for a few moments before a slightly bemused student made the mistake of approaching him to see if he needed help and was subsequently enlisted as a guide.
Now, stood outside the office door, Markas looks at the name on the small sign confirming he is in the right place and knocks on the door of Deigon Crackspine.
"It's open," came a gruff voice from inside.
Opening the door to an academic's office can present with one of a few options, ranging from an overwhelming chaos of piles of paper and strange machines to a realm of absolute precision and a pristine cognitive palace. This was very much the latter, every scroll neatly aligned on shelves not cluttered by extraneous knick-knacks. Deigon himself appears a towering bulk of a minotaur, sitting behind a vast desk which threw out the sense of scale of the rest of the room. It gave the illusion that you were very small, something doubtless part of the design.
Deigon leans forward and cocks his head so that his straight towering horns nearly crack the shelf next to him. "And what, pray tell, might you be?" he asks, not aggressively, but with a wary curiosity.
Markas is quiet for a second being thrown by the spectacle. Raksus had described an elderly Minotaur and in his mind, Markas was expecting someone much smaller. “Um.... Hi! My name is Markas Virnala! As for what, I am an adventurer. I was part of a team sent over to the Plane of Air yesterday to look into the odd goings on with the winds over there and was among the teams who helped out during the war… Which is actually why I’m here. Raksus said you were leading the Research teams?”
The rumble from the huge scholar's throat could have been a growl or a low chuckle. "Research teams? The faculty of scholars and experts dedicated to understanding the momentous and unprecedented events of the last few months? Yes, that is me. You are one of those mercenaries from across the sea? What could you want with the Senior Scholar of the Burning Wheel, Deigon Crackspine?"
There is a slight shift in the monks posture as he seems to stand up straighter. "Well, there's two things I guess… I know you must be busy, spearheading this team of scholars and experts but I thought you might be the safest person to talk to. While we were in the Plane of Air, we found a glowing Glyph carved into a red stone. I…. Well, I broke it… and it released a seal like the one you're researching" While talking, Markas retrieves his journal and a large wooden mask from his pack. He flips the well worn book open to its latest entry and shows Deigon a few drawings from the journal depicting runes and the Glyph. "I tried to remember them as much as I can to show you but they might be wrong… we, erm… we had some trouble with Torven from the Errant guard too. He turned on us and had a letter on him, as well as this" he holds up the crimson mask with thick Gold lines painted across it. "It was pretty vague on details but he was working for 'The Vanguard' and was supposed to take out the seal and destroy all evidence."
Markas takes a deep breath, aware he has unloaded quite a lot of information in a short amount of time. He's not sure why but Deigon is a little intimidating.
Deigon leans forward over his desk, eyes narrowing as he inspects the mask and the drawings. "Well, well, quite the mystery indeed. A matching runic pattern you...activated? Freed? Unleashed? A foolish assassin carrying around evidence of some plot?
That part sounds too much like politics for me, but the Vanguard doesn't match any references that I can recall. The mask looks like a classic Tauran design - proper study could tell us more.
The stone you broke is the most important. If there is one, there is more. I'd bet my right horn on it. That they can be connected across planes is...incredible."
Markas relaxes a little, now he doesn't feel like he's being interrogated anymore. "We were thinking the same, if there was one in the plane of air, what are the chances there are more, maybe in the other planes too? Only, I'm not sure where you would start looking for the others.
I'm glad this was of interest to you, but the other thing I was hoping to ask was whether you could tell me a little more about the stone I broke. I don't want to make things worse and… well, if we come across another of these things, what do you think would be the best course of action?"
"Hmmm, well I wouldn't want to spout theories without enough data. But if I were to hazard a guess, I would say that if this stone was hidden away in a distant plane for so long, it was there for protection, so whoever put it there likely didn’t want it destroyed. You may well have done the right thing, Dawnlander. We will see if we can send someone to investigate any fragments of the stone if we can spare the resource. Otherwise, if you find another, find a way to bring it to me here at the institute is the safest course of action”
Deigon stood up now and walked around the desk, still tall but the optical illusion lessened. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I will add this to the list of mysteries my people will delve into. To that matter, would you leave the mask with me? We will look into its origins, check the wood and the paint, and so on."
"Oh", The monk hesitates for a second, looking intently at the mask before handing it over. "... sure. I hope it leads you to something that can help work all this out. Thank you for your time Deigon. I look forward to seeing you again" With that, he shakes the hand of the aged Minotaur, flashing his usual grin as he does before slipping back out into the hallway.
[Thanks Andy for the joint write-up, Markas' Journal entry to follow!]
Now, stood outside the office door, Markas looks at the name on the small sign confirming he is in the right place and knocks on the door of Deigon Crackspine.
"It's open," came a gruff voice from inside.
Opening the door to an academic's office can present with one of a few options, ranging from an overwhelming chaos of piles of paper and strange machines to a realm of absolute precision and a pristine cognitive palace. This was very much the latter, every scroll neatly aligned on shelves not cluttered by extraneous knick-knacks. Deigon himself appears a towering bulk of a minotaur, sitting behind a vast desk which threw out the sense of scale of the rest of the room. It gave the illusion that you were very small, something doubtless part of the design.
Deigon leans forward and cocks his head so that his straight towering horns nearly crack the shelf next to him. "And what, pray tell, might you be?" he asks, not aggressively, but with a wary curiosity.
Markas is quiet for a second being thrown by the spectacle. Raksus had described an elderly Minotaur and in his mind, Markas was expecting someone much smaller. “Um.... Hi! My name is Markas Virnala! As for what, I am an adventurer. I was part of a team sent over to the Plane of Air yesterday to look into the odd goings on with the winds over there and was among the teams who helped out during the war… Which is actually why I’m here. Raksus said you were leading the Research teams?”
The rumble from the huge scholar's throat could have been a growl or a low chuckle. "Research teams? The faculty of scholars and experts dedicated to understanding the momentous and unprecedented events of the last few months? Yes, that is me. You are one of those mercenaries from across the sea? What could you want with the Senior Scholar of the Burning Wheel, Deigon Crackspine?"
There is a slight shift in the monks posture as he seems to stand up straighter. "Well, there's two things I guess… I know you must be busy, spearheading this team of scholars and experts but I thought you might be the safest person to talk to. While we were in the Plane of Air, we found a glowing Glyph carved into a red stone. I…. Well, I broke it… and it released a seal like the one you're researching" While talking, Markas retrieves his journal and a large wooden mask from his pack. He flips the well worn book open to its latest entry and shows Deigon a few drawings from the journal depicting runes and the Glyph. "I tried to remember them as much as I can to show you but they might be wrong… we, erm… we had some trouble with Torven from the Errant guard too. He turned on us and had a letter on him, as well as this" he holds up the crimson mask with thick Gold lines painted across it. "It was pretty vague on details but he was working for 'The Vanguard' and was supposed to take out the seal and destroy all evidence."
Markas takes a deep breath, aware he has unloaded quite a lot of information in a short amount of time. He's not sure why but Deigon is a little intimidating.
Deigon leans forward over his desk, eyes narrowing as he inspects the mask and the drawings. "Well, well, quite the mystery indeed. A matching runic pattern you...activated? Freed? Unleashed? A foolish assassin carrying around evidence of some plot?
That part sounds too much like politics for me, but the Vanguard doesn't match any references that I can recall. The mask looks like a classic Tauran design - proper study could tell us more.
The stone you broke is the most important. If there is one, there is more. I'd bet my right horn on it. That they can be connected across planes is...incredible."
Markas relaxes a little, now he doesn't feel like he's being interrogated anymore. "We were thinking the same, if there was one in the plane of air, what are the chances there are more, maybe in the other planes too? Only, I'm not sure where you would start looking for the others.
I'm glad this was of interest to you, but the other thing I was hoping to ask was whether you could tell me a little more about the stone I broke. I don't want to make things worse and… well, if we come across another of these things, what do you think would be the best course of action?"
"Hmmm, well I wouldn't want to spout theories without enough data. But if I were to hazard a guess, I would say that if this stone was hidden away in a distant plane for so long, it was there for protection, so whoever put it there likely didn’t want it destroyed. You may well have done the right thing, Dawnlander. We will see if we can send someone to investigate any fragments of the stone if we can spare the resource. Otherwise, if you find another, find a way to bring it to me here at the institute is the safest course of action”
Deigon stood up now and walked around the desk, still tall but the optical illusion lessened. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I will add this to the list of mysteries my people will delve into. To that matter, would you leave the mask with me? We will look into its origins, check the wood and the paint, and so on."
"Oh", The monk hesitates for a second, looking intently at the mask before handing it over. "... sure. I hope it leads you to something that can help work all this out. Thank you for your time Deigon. I look forward to seeing you again" With that, he shakes the hand of the aged Minotaur, flashing his usual grin as he does before slipping back out into the hallway.
[Thanks Andy for the joint write-up, Markas' Journal entry to follow!]
