tushanshu_logs | The affairs of this wizard are not all that subtle sometimes...

Entry tags:

The affairs of this wizard are not all that subtle sometimes...

Characters: Tazendra, you
Date: 25 April
Location: Outside the Palace of Landed Sky
Situation: Contemplation of Stupid Ideas
Warnings/Rating: Will edit if necessary.

Tazendra had been brought up as a mostly-proper Dzurlord. Which meant that, while she was brought up in a violent caste that usually ended up dying young doing something glorious and foolish, she was also a member of the nobility and bound to law and honor her parent Empire, an Emprie where it was (nearly) impossible to hold and keep the symbol of authority without the blessing of the divine.

Of course, this wasn't her parent Empire. Really, she mostly had been obeying the law because jail time was inconvenient and the major laws were sensible enough. And, while black was a respectable color for any interested in sorcery, the pointy bits were a sure challenge.

Which is why Tazendra's daily routine involved her studying the Palace of Landed Sky, and it's protections. And occasionally testing them. So far, she's not killed herself or caused too many damage, but it was only a matter of time...

... especially with that look on her face.

"... and if I concentrate the force of the spell on the stones beneath..."

Interrupt? Join in? Use her as an obvious distraction?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Skulduggery himself was just as interested in testing the barrier that seemed to spring up around the Palace of Landed Sky, albeit in a very different fashion. He'd tried flying to the castle as soon as it became clear said castle was in enemy hands, and stopped abruptly when his manipulation of the air currents told him that there was some sort of invisible wall stopping him from getting any closer.

Not quite invisible, he saw upon closer inspection. More... translucent. It would probably have shimmered if it wasn't such an evil nuisance.

He followed the barrier around in a horizontal direction for a good ten minutes, flying slowly, before he heard a voice. And, when he landed back on the stone, even saw the woman it belonged to. It didn't take Skulduggery too long to realise what it was she was trying to do.

"Not a good idea," he warned her as he walked up. "The barrier extends all the way up into a dome. Somehow, I doubt they wouldn't have thought to extend it down through the ground as well."

Tazendra was used to the undead, having worked for one for several centuries. Still, Sethra could pass for human, unlike the approaching stranger. She turned to regard the man with interest.

"Yes, I believe I had encountered it before. It was quite alarming. I may even have been a bit overcome for just a moment, and my wand hand is quite peculiar." She removed a glove from her left hand, which was now a quite shocking yellow.

Never let it be said Tazendra was not stubborn. Or easily discouraged, given she still sounded quite pleased with the injuries.

A bright yellow hand. That wasn't something you saw every day.

"You tried to touch it, I presume." Skulduggery stopped next to her and put one hand out himself, feeling out the air between himself and the barrier. "What do you mean, your 'wand' hand?"

Even with the black spikes coming off the castle less than a kilometre away from them, it never hurt to find out more about the various other universes from which people were taken. It might even have been possible to work out the exact technology for doing so, simply from the exact universes that were used. But, Skulduggery privately acknowledged, that was probably a problem for another day.

"I did indeed! And, you see, I am a sorceress. And one occasionally needs a focus for the most complex spells. I cannot use my sword hand, so I must use the other."

Truthfully, her connection to the turtle was a bit safer than drawing on the Sea of Chaos directly, so she didn't need it as often. But the barrier was a challenge, and Tazendra was not that stupid to work without precautions when someone wanted to kill her. Just because she seemed to be recklessly gung-ho didn't mean she actually had a death wish.

A focus... such as a wand. It was very, very different from what sorcerers were like in Skulduggery's world - for one thing, female sorcerers didn't differentiate themselves - and yet, he was fairly sure he'd met at least one who insisted on waving about a long thin stick while using magic. It was bizarre.

"And as a sorceress, what can you do about this barrier on your own?" It wasn't an accusation; more of a polite and honest inquiry. Skulduggery clicked his fingers to summon a flame, speaking without waiting for a response. "What happened when you tried touching it? Did you try putting your hand all the way through, or did the barrier act like a solid wall?"

He grew the flame into a small fireball and sent it flying towards the barrier. It hit and scattered, just as he expected it would. What Skulduggery didn't expect was for the flames to scatter back out, towards him, and about twice as strong as they were before.

As an undead skeleton, he didn't even feel the need to move out of their way.

Strictly speaking, the differentiation might be more do to the translation of Dragaeran to English.

Tazendra, on the other hand, was flammable. But she was also a sorceress and used to dodging and shielding from explosions, usually ones she might have accidentally caused. "Have a care!' She didn't seem too put out about the fact some of the heat of the reflected spell had made it through and her hair and clothing was a bit singed.

"It did act as a wall. It does not seem to tolerate admission, though it must allow air through or it would be vulnerable to siege. Unless nothing lives within."

Tazendra didn't like sieges, as they were far too long and boring for her tastes, even when she wasn't the one under siege. A siege was when she developed teleportation just to break the siege.

Well, that was an idea. "Have you been within the palace?"

"There's life within," Skulduggery disagreed, completely ignoring the fact that his companion's clothes and hair were singed. It was anybody's guess as to whether he'd even noticed. "There was movement when I flew over. Now, they could simply not need oxygen, but I doubt that. Have you ever tried a hostile takeover? You can't simply kill anyone who gets in your way. There'd be nothing left. Many of the people working in the palace are going to be the same people who worked under Evandau, which means they're still going to need oxygen. And, if we manage to rescue them, possibly therapy."

It was a long tangent for something that Skulduggery believed should have been fairly obvious, but he hadn't spoken to anyone in a couple of days. Speaking his thoughts out loud was not only a good way to make sure they made sense, but also helped Skulduggery keep himself sane.

"I haven't," he admitted with a tilt of his head. "Now's as good a time as any, I suppose." He turned back to look at her, and paused. "Are you aware that your hair might have been on fire?"

"Bah." Tazendra brushed at her hair and clothing, trying to make sure it was out. "If we could find someone who had visited, and a way to show their perception, I could try a teleport. Though it would be dangerous if it failed."

"Plenty of people have visited it," Skulduggery said. That was what he'd been led to understand, since Amelia told him that the Emperor used to hold question-and-answer sessions in the palace. There was, apparently, even a large library. It was a pity he hadn't gotten to see it before the hostile takeover. "That part wouldn't be the problem. The problem would be getting an accurate enough description." He hesitated. "Of course, even if we do, a teleport would be a bad idea. I've seen magical barriers that repel energy. Trying to teleport through them is suicide."

"Yes. It is difficult to test teleportation when it is not in friendly territory," Tazendra said. "I would prefer a more direct approach in any case."

"Direct?" Skulduggery glanced over. "Unless 'direct,' in this case, means 'retreat, regroup, and come up with a better plan among people who likely have more experience than I do,' I'm afraid I'm going to have to stop you. You'll only be getting yourself killed - and possibly permanently. If you're as powerful of a sorceress as you think you are, you're going to be needed."

"it is a preference, but I have the ability to delay my own desires in the name of my duty," Tazendra said, perhaps a bit sharply. "Why, I even assisted my friend in negotiating a peace with an invading army."

Granted, her assistance was in 'not starting anything', but it was proof she could delay when asked to.

"Good for you," said Skulduggery. The comment wasn't particularly malicious or sarcastic, although ill intent could probably have been interpreted through how off-handed it was - like the moment the woman confirmed she wasn't about to try anything dangerous, Skulduggery had lost interest. "Negotiating peace is a noble thing."

He was still, admittedly, biased about peace treaties, considering that the last one Skulduggery had been involved with was struck with the man who murdered his family.

"I wonder," he mused, watching the space where the barrier was. "If trying to touch it would result in an unpleasant death, what would happen to me?"

Tazendra considered. "It would depend on the nature of the damage. There are things that can damage the soul, or whatever connection holds your soul to your body. Or it could break your bones."

Skulduggery chuckled. Broken bones. He'd suffered those, and losing limbs, more often than he could count. He was a little more worried about the connection between his consciousness and skeleton, but if touching the barrier only seemed to turn limbs strange colours...

"Magic," he said. "My mind is bound to my body through magic." He tilted his head. "It would help if we knew what sort of magic is powering the barrier. Any ideas?"

"I am not certain. I am not used to these many forms of magic," Tazendra said. "In the Empire, most magic is, at its root, sorcery and has some structures in common."

Skulduggery nodded. "My world is much the same. Magic spans several disciplines, but it all flows from the same source. It follows recognisable patterns." He extended a hand toward the barrier. "The problem here is that I don't know anything about what this dimension considers magic, or what this... evil man could be capable of."

"I have spoken to a kedan mystic. They believe that our abilities, and our very lives flow from the turtle we reside on. Though our Enemy most certainly does not draw on the turtle."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The affairs of this wizard are not all that subtle sometimes...

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject