Wizards of Breol Forest [PG-13/Started/Accepting/IC]

[Alice Moonflowyr]

The group slowly headed down the path, keeping an eye out. As they drew closer to the end of the path, they could hear delightful laughter from a small distance away. Mel drew closer to the sound, signaling the rest of the group to stay back. Mel encountered a wall of bushes and, peeking through, discovered a wonderful sight. Wood elves danced in a circle around a fire pit, laughing. Some were to the side standing by a long wooden table, eating and drinking. There was a group of about five elves playing instruments of a kind near the fire pit. Small huts were visible in the distance, although as Mel looked up, he saw that many of the hosues were in the trees, and had wooden rope bridges connecting them all. He was rendered speechless. He was about to signal that it was ok to the rest of the group when a young elf girl saw him, shrieked, ran over, and pulled him through the bushes.

The elves all stared at Mel for a few minutes. He rubbed the back of his head nervously and said; "Uhm...hi. Me and my friends were uh...well...". Mel didnt get to finish his sentance. The elves started laughing and laughing, and began to shove food and drink into Mels hands. He started laughing too, and took part in the festivities. He danced a bit with the elf girl that saw him in the first place for about ten minutes, then remembered his friends. When he explained to the girl, she told him she would love to come meet his friends.

Mel stumbled out of the bushes and walked over to the group, smiling and laughing with the elf girl on his arm. "Hey guys, it's alright. Wood elves! And it's one heck of a party." Mel said, still smiling. Looking directly at Beatrice he said; "Tons of pretty elf girls in there. Like Miss Aelile here. But none as beautiful as you!" Mel was already a little drunk from the Elven wine, and made a huge bow in Beatrices direction. He still had an idiotic smile on his face and he headed back towards the elf village with Aelile.

[Astolfo]

En was drifting behind Mel when he suddenly came to a stop. Curiously, he peered out, and recoiled in shock. Elves?! Here? He drew back, and motioned for the rest of the group to be silent. When Mel was suddenly pulled out, he almost grabbed out at him, but stopped just in time.

[i]Surprise is important...[/i]

He worried a bit when Mel hadn't returned for the last couple of minutes, and was about to dash out, outnumbered or not, when Mel came back. Obviously intoxicated, he spoke freely. Calming a bit realizing these elves are friendly, he let Schism morph back into a small dragonet on his shoulder, and sighed. [i]Good grief Mel.[/i] With a sudden flurry of motion, he wound back and slapped him across the face, shaking him to his senses. "Jeezus Mel. Before you go wandering off like that to bed with some pretty elves, warn us. I got pretty worried." Calming down, he set a smile on his face, and carefully motioned for the group to not completely lose their senses, like a [i]certain someone [/i]had.

*cue heavy Elven music*

En was enjoying the joyous mood of the party, not to mention the wine, but he kept a careful watch on his intake, and avoided the strong and lustful tempting Elven maidens, and once again sighed at the sight of his fellow friends drinking and feasting till they would surely regret it in the morning.

[Cray-Crow]

Going down the path had been unsurprising so far. No dangerous creatures had pounced upon the group, which made Reaal wonder what that group of kobolds were doing out here, but what did they matter now? Moments later, laughter and music was heard from behind a wall of greenery. Mel had scouted the situation and was pulled into the bushes. En appeared to take a battle stance as Mel hadn't returned in a while and Reaal made himself ready to charge the wall with him, but before anything rash happened, Mel returned. Drunken and accompanied. [color=#696969][i]Aw yes, an Elven party.[/i][/color]

Now this was Reaal's kind of place. Delicious food and dizzying drink surplussed, numerous pretty Elven girls, wondrous music, Reaal was unsure if he'd want to leave. He smoothly made his way to two Elven females who were eye-pleasingly dancing together and introduced himself. Reaal took their arms and began dancing with them both.

A couple songs and many drinks of Elven wine later, Reaal was leaning against a sort of bedding that was made against a large tree trunk. The girls, Niya and Liselle, were still with him. They helped themselves to fruits and beverage as they laid together, laughing and conversing. [color=#696969][i]Yes, nothing like an Elven party.[/i][/color]

[Love of Ghibli]

Beatrice for the most part was pretty skeptical of this new found path but it was when her three cats started to sniff the air around them smelling food in the distance that she figured it couldn't have been something to threatening. She rolled her eyes in annoyance when Mel went to go venture ahead. Clearly that wasn't the most advisable thing one could do in this situation. Fortunately, Mel returned and he returned with Elves...elves and alcohol. Beatrice was somewhat furious at his display of somewhat buffoonery. She was so angry that she gripping tightly around Silvest neck slowly and accidentally choking the the little familiar. After realizing her folly she quickly let go of the cat and they went in a joined the party.

Silvest would have been angry at the event if he hadn't been so happy watching Beatrice get jealous of all the pretty elf women. Beatrice was a little happy that all of the elves came together and helped feed her cat creatures. With that she was able to quickly dispatch them and have Silvest focus on gaining mana since her showing off means she had quite a long recharge time. Beatrice was trying to have some form of tact at this festival of sorts while seeming a little restrained and thinking about perfecting her magics.

[i]You know we should really try condensing all of the travel spells into one spell that we can manipulate. Giving us more room to learn combat summons.[color=#4b0082] Noted. I can see you only know Genus Feline because of your affinity for cats.[/color] Wait are you saying that there are other combat summons I could've learned. [color=#4b0082]Did you honestly believe that the only creatures you could somewhat summon in a combat scenario were cats? [/color][/i]They rolled their eyes at each other once again like they usually do, but Beatrice kept finding herself marvel at the scenery and by scenery she meant boys. The boys weren't the only ones enjoying themselves.

[Aix]

Jak, despite being generally an antisocial person, was no stranger to elven parties. He had stumbled upon them quite a few times before during his previous escapades into the forest and they were great company. Smoothly, he walked straight in and helped himself to food and drink while his hat chatted up with the elf women around them. [i]"So what romantic notions does a hat have?"[/i] asked Jak telepathically. The hat merely grunted indignantly and Jak smirked.

"Heyyy, Jak," purred an elf behind him. Jak turned at the familiar voice. Standing before him, with a seductive half-smile upon her angular face, was one of the most beautiful elf maidens in the wood.

"'Hi... Selena,' he says," said the hat. "But... don't mind him. Me! Remember me!?" The hat leaped off Jak's head, but the elf promptly swatted it aside. She took a step and advanced right up to Jak. She stood about 5'8", two inches taller than Jak and Jak had to tilt his head slightly up to look into her violet eyes, especially as she was so close to him. Jak edged back. [i]"So, how's it been going for you?"[/i] he asked telepathically.

Selena was of a nomadic race of powerful elven zephyr mages and rangers, but her tribe had been wiped out by some unknown monstrosity and Selena was traumatized to the point where she forgot all about the incident. However, judging from the marks on the ground, the monster appeared to be some sort of flightless dragon-type monster. Other clues include the fact that it's flames were potent enough to melt steel and it had some sort of way to cut down an ancient ironwood tree with a single slash as well. Now, Selena walked the forest seeking more clues upon the monster and hoping someday to slay it.

"I've never seen you venture so far before," said Selena.

[i]"Why, I came to see you of course,"[/i] said Jak with a slight smile.

Selena smiled back. "Those your companions?" Jak nodded. "Always thought you were a lone wolf." She seemed mildly surprised. They looked at each other in comfortable silence, trying to gleam from each other's appearances, gestures, face and eyes about what has changed. Selena broke the silence again. "Where are you going?"

[i]"Have you not felt the death resounding through the forest?"[/i] asked Jak. [i]"As a wielder of the Life Force, I can sometimes feel it... it is like a gong clanging far in the distance. A terrible gong."[/i] He paused to let his telepathy recharge. [i]"A dissonant, painful sound and I wish to hear it no more. The forest cries. You who control the air, can you feel the ripples? Rumors are going around about someone who is damaging the forest."[/i]

Selena nodded with understanding and they were silent for a second time. Then, Selena clapped her hands on Jak's face. "Now's the time to party, let's go! Go! Go! Go!" she cried, turning Jak around and pushing him towards the village. As they passed, Jak quickly snatched his hat back up and placed it on his head, which then it tried to jump again, but Jak held on to it. He allowed the hat to speak. "'See you guys later,' he says," bellowed the hat.

[hr]
"'Okay, if you insist,' he says," said the hat. Jak sat down and orbs began coming out of his hands, out of the fingers, little ones like fireflies. The stream grew and the orbs began merging into bigger orbs. He sprinkled different chemical reagents into them and they changed colors. Slowly, he managed to charge enough so that he was drawing everyone's attention with the glaring light. Then, the orbs began to rise, a few at the time and as they reached a significant height, they exploded with a massive [i]bang[/i].

Selena clapped. [b]"Fireworks!"[/b]

[Asriel Dreemurr]

When Mel, the one among them who was probably the least fit to waltz into a harmful situation, was the one to press on ahead of the group through the bushes, Alaster felt a bit irritated. If any of the group was fit to just walk into a situation which could easily have involved orcs sharpening their axes and getting ready to raid a village, it was the armored battlemage lugging a blade long enough to cleave an orc in twain. Today was certainly giving him a reason to earn the nickname "grumpy" given the number of minor frustrations which kept coming his way. Of course the fact that the rest of the party was left just on the other side of the bushes which did NOTHING to hide the sound of the party beyond.

When Mel's face reappeared flanked by some VERY pretty elven maidens, Alaster wanted to punch him and most certainly would have delivered the armored fist of pain then and there except En got the slap in. Not one to deliver more than was due, Alaster grudgingly made his way into the party without getting with knocking Mel senseless. However, about two mugs of mead in he was willing to forgive the particular transgression which had been brought upon him by the "leader" of the adventuring party. One thing was certain, it looked like the lot of them would be able to get a good nights sleep there with the wood elves. Despite the number of fair maidens around him, this particular mountain dweller had eyes only for one amongst the group.

Perhaps just a little, teensy weensy, bit drunk, Alaster made his way over to where a certain cat-affine was seated and extended his right hand, still encased in a gauntlet, towards her.

"My fine lady, may I have this dance?" The smile on his face was just a bit too silly for him to have been completely sober at that moment, and his cheeks a bit too rosy as well. He wasn't drunk, per say, he just had a heavy buzz going on then and there. And it was enough of a buzz for him to have forgotten the earlier irritation and urge to kill somebody.

[Love of Ghibli]

Beatrice "The Wall Flower" Mest was pretty comfortable partaking in elven wine or whatever elixir was constantly being poured into her cup. Needless to say she was a lightweight it wouldn't take much to get buzzed and with this amount she was rock star wasted. The only thing keeping her from accidentally setting fire to everything or falling out of a tree was the fact that she was sitting down. Silvest on the other hand...there was no other hand. He may not have been a light-weight but he was definitely not one you would deem the responsible driver. Its moments like this that everyone should be glad that all of her creature summons can act independently seeing as they will probably be the ones to drag her around tomorrow or whenever the group departs from this leg of their journey.

Of course this being a wall flower wasn't going to last long apparently. While Beatrice was checking out the other guys and their handy work it seems as if she herself was being approached. There he was this young Alaster holding out his hand for a dance. Like the Grinch's heart Alice's skin complexion turned 3 times as red so they say. Talk about things that has never happened to her in her life before. Never was she the one picked to dance. More like there were those high school slut bags who stuffed their prepubescent bras and would bend....end rant. Anywho not her this was new and since she was drunk off her mind her defenses were down. "Umm...Umm...sure I would love too." [color=#800080]Since when do you..omph.[/color] The sarcastic wise cracking cat couldn't even finish his insult when Beatrice back handed him across the mouth. She tried to get up but that is when she made the staunch almost sobering realization that dancing requires movement and that was not something she was capable of at the moment.

But what was she going to say? What was she going to do? How was she going to let this man down so gently? She reached out and grabbed his gauntlet and was prepared to make some borderline in audible apology but that didn't happen. She some how jumped to her feet and was in his arms. It was her bodies natural sensory reflex for being poked in the behind. She turned around to face her to see Silvest retract his claws and giving a devilish grin. To late to kill the cat now he eye twitched as she smiled at this armored hero while she put an excess of energy into her legs to attempt motion control. Low and behold she was not falling all over herself. It was a sure fire miracle. That or the slight fact that Alaster was so much stronger than her he could easily just keep her steady. No matter this was heaven. She was dancing with a boy and a handsome, strong, most likely muscular one at that. Yep, dying now would not be the worst thing imaginable.

Her mind was filled with uninhibited thoughts and of course her bob-cat, lab coat wearing familiar had something to say about that. [color=#800080][i]Calm yourself child its just a dance.[/i][/color] The cat tried to warn but she was too far gone for any of that to matter. She found herself looking into Alaster's slightly flushed eyes. Her eyes would be that of a meth addict and almost completely red. She looked away out of embarrassment. She wasn't in love she was just in the moment but how long do moments like these last. She's the nerdy girl and she's seen the movies these moments don't come around much for her.

[Alice Moonflowyr]

Around about midnight, a regal elf woman came out into the scene. She was far taller than any of the other Elves, and slowly made her way towards Mel. She stopped in front of him where he was drinking wine, observing the party. "You are the one who has come to us?" She asked. Her voice had a musical ring to it, so it sounded a bit like she was singing. Mel looked at her and nodded. "You must gather your friends and come with me." She gestured to Alastar and Beatrice, and left Mel to find the others.

After about five minutes, and a very annoyed Beatrice for having her dance interuppted, Mel had gathered all his friends and waited for the Elf woman to speak. She started walking towards one of the huts, so the group followed her. Once inside, the Elf woman clapped her hands, and three glowing orbs of light appeared, lighting up the hut. "I am Queen Julia of the elves. I hear you are trying to locate the centre of the forest, and the disturbance of death that comes from it?" The group nodded. "Very well. Sit down." As they all sat, Julia spoke.

"If you have heard of me, congradulations. I tend to stay out of the spotlight, so listen carefully.
Centuries ago, there was a group of powerful Wizards in Breol, which was then called the Valley of Wonders. I was one of those wizards. We, the Wizards Council, ruled over the Valley. The wizards were myself, my brother Meandor, my father Inioch, a human named Merlin, a halfling named Symon, a nomad going by the name of Ke-Nan, my sister Serena, and the Frostling Queen Arctica. We made peace over the valley for a long time.
Then came a wave of death, not unlike what we're feeling now. Meandor decided to investigate, and became corrupted. Although he did eventually master the forces that corrupted him, that is a different story. We all took action, mostly Merlin and myself. We went looking for Meandor. And we discovered a wasteland, unlike anything seen in the Valley before. There were 2 powerful Wizards behind the whole thing. A very powerful Lich named Nekrom, and a beast called the All-Devourer. Fierce battles took place, and the All-Devourer destroyed, and Nekrom banished to the Shadow World. But I fear that Nekrom has come back, and stronger than before.
So, I've enlisted one of my warriors to go by your side." Julia finished, and waved her hand at the door. An Elf which Jak recognized as Selena walked in, with two longswords strapped to her back, and a staff in her hand. She wore traditional Elven armor, which sparkled if you looked at it just right.
"Selena will be traveling with you as my emissary, and my blessing. But do not fear to call upon thy Queen if you need it." Julia said, directing the last part at Selena. "Farewell.."

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The next morning, the group continued their travels. Selena walked with Jak, holding a one-sided conversation. Not uncommon for someone with Jaks...predicament, seeing as telepathic conversations were quite concievable. They trudged slowly towards the center, when they saw a tower rise in the distance. It was made purely of stone, and moss and vines had grown on it. But Alastar could sense a great source of power emanating from the very top of the tower....and he wondered whether to suggest they climb it or not.

[Asriel Dreemurr]

Alaster, perhaps in a move that would have him slapped, shot a wink at Silvest when he was sure Beatrice wasn't looking. Noticing that she was a little unsteady on her feet at the moment, the battlemage made certain to use his significant strength to keep her steady as best he could. It goes without saying, this particular nerdy girl was very light in his arms and before long he had lead her out away from the table and lead her along with the music that the elves had been so kind as to provide for them.

Street urchin that he was, this particular young man had very little to do with social events of this magnitude. He didn't have friends with the resources to put such an event together, and in fact the sort that did have the resources to do so looked down on him too intently to ever bother inviting him. The closest he'd ever come before this evening was a time when he'd been hired to handle security at a noble's birthday party, but now he was living it and he intended to enjoy it every bit as intently as he could. He didn't know how to dance, but he was able to pick up on the rhythm of the music and had managed to find a step which matched it into which he guided his companion for the evening. He couldn't help but be brought to a smile at the way that she looked back at him, and soon he felt the blush growing on his face from something more than just the alcohol.

He was very grateful she couldn't read his thoughts, else he would most certainly have received a nice slap to the face. After a time, the tune dropped to a slower tempo and, caught in the moment as he was, he leaned in with the intent to kiss the girl's lips.

Unfortunately, the woman who was later revealed to be the queen of the elves came along and interrupted their moment. He, obviously a bit disappointed by this, made his way off to where the group was brought to sit down and listen.

He listened intently as the situation was explained, and the idea of this Nekrom having returned to the world certainly did not sound like anything good. He resolved that, so long as the party's intention was to destroy this, he would be sticking with them. Soon, the lot of them went to sleep and, despite what he would have preferred, he had the sense to keep himself in a sleeping place separate from Beatrice's.

Fast forward several hours, and it was the next day with them on the road. Having taken the point as before, Alaster was the first to catch sight of the stone tower in the distance. He felt a great source of power within it and was inexplicably drawn towards it. He turned himself towards it, and began the process of approaching it.

"See that tower?" He asked the group, stretching his right hand with an extended index finger out towards it. "I'm sure you all can sense the power within it, I'm not better than any of you in that regard. Seems like there's something up there we could use on our quest, so I think we ought to check it out." Without waiting for a response, he continued his progress towards the tower and had little intention to stop unless someone saw fit to force him to.

[Love of Ghibli]

Oh this was heaven. In the embrace of another man's arms. She was clearly happy until some elf queen killjoy B***H with unhealthily large breast came and ruined all the fun. Now the unfortunate part of this tale was that she had to move elsewhere. Which involved walking and walking was not something she was up for right now. After barely making it to this inner sanctum like place, which on the way she managed to stumble into a couple of elves, maybe a table or five, all while still trying to get more liquor. Surely she was a sloppy drunk.

Nevertheless she listened to the Queen's tale of the times of old. If she was in her sober state she would've held her tongue on things that made he suspicious, but she wasn't sober. "Okay, so wait a minute. Over half of the council was related to each other? How is that fair? You know what, don't answer that, I'm drunk. This doesn't count as a conversation." More rhetoric later. "HAHAHA Nekrom...how original of course his power is death. Sounds like a pansy to me." She said as she almost passed out on the floor right there. Clearly not best first impression one would have.

Later she and Silvest were able to get some sleep but the consequences of their actions were going to have their toll. The next day came the hangovers. Beatrice was being carried around on some horse like creature while following the others in their usual formation and everything seemed to set her off. Someone stepping on a leaf for example "WHY IS EVERYONE YELLING! ARGH! My head it hurts. I am so going to punch an elf in the face later for this."[color=#800080] [/color][i][color=#800080]Tis your own fault you started this ilghtweight.[/color] Hush cat I still remember what you did? [color=#800080]You should thank me you had a good time.[/color] [/i][color=#800080][i]See there he is now and you still seem interested[/i][/color].

Beatrice immediately looked at Alaster and his new discovery. Hopefully he won't come back with more alcohol like Mel did.

[Cray-Crow]

While spending his time with the two Elven girls, Reaal patiently waited for the night to come to a "close", that way his night with his rather amorous company could really start. Alas, Mel had come by and told Reaal of some urgency. Freeing himself from the girls, he followed Mel and the rest of the group into a hut, led by an unknown elven woman. Therein, the women they'd followed, introduced herself to be the queen of elves and began to tell a story of wizards from centuries ago.

Beatrice had made a rather snide remark of Nekrom classically using Death magic. Reaal couldn't help but feel the slightest bit of self-consciousness since he used this magic. But he remembered she was pretty inebriated and decided he didn't need to say anything.

The Elf queen seemed to believe that the same corrupt wizard, Nekrom, could have returned to wreak his havoc once again. Whether this Nekrom was the source of the rumors surrounding Breol Forest was as much a mystery to anyone as it was to Reaal, but it was viable for investigation, especially when coming from an Elven queen.

After a rather eventful night, Reaal was now traveling with the group again. Again, Alaster was the point man and Reaal took the position behind him. He'd pointed out a tower in the distance, and hastily made for it.

He was right about a certain power emanating from the tower before he went off. [color=#696969][i]Heh, I like this guy. [/i][/color]

[color=#696969]"I've got your back," [/color]Reaal called as he walked after him, readying his staff.

[Aix]

Jak was rather surprised, that pleasantly so, that Selena was coming along with them, though his hat had to be blindfolded and bound to his head, so that it would not leap after the elf each time. The hat also came dangerously close to jumping into the elf queen's cleavage as one might jump onto a bed, but Jak had been quick enough to snatch his hat out of the air. As they walked, Selena continued, from last night, recounting the marvelous things she had seen on her travels, the clues she had gathered, which were next to nothing, and the things she had done. The group came to a halt and Jak was broken out of his dazed, hungover, autopilot walking state.

There was some sort of power source ahead. Jak raised a hand, and started casting Lantern Blasts, allowing them to float around. If there was danger ahead, he would be ready, if there wasn't, well, Jak supposed that he could replenish his power at the top, no harm done, it was better to be safe than sorry.

Selena walked ahead of him. She slid her dual longswords from their sheath and the sun caught on one of them, temporarily blinding him. Startled and magic disrupted, one of his Lantern Blasts exploded. [i]"Be careful with those swords of yours!"[/i] he said, telepathically. The swords were made from a special elven steel with a high reflective quality and Selena took advantage of it by purposely putting the sword at specific angles to catch the light. The swords were enchanted so that they magically brightened the light reflected off and the reflected light also had a strange quality to disrupt the brain in the section devoted to casting magic. Using these special anti-magic swords, Selena was able to match a wizard, but that was not the extent of her abilities. Though she preferred her swords, she also knew the rudiments of wind magic, the signature magic of her tribe.

"The magic isn't turned on," she said. "[i]This[/i] is when it is turned on." Caught by surprise again, he was blinded by the sudden flash of light and three more of his Lantern Blasts exploded. "Woops," she said.

Jak scowled at her and started casting them again.

[Alice Moonflowyr]

Mel smiled and clapped Alastar on the shoulder. "Nice spotting. Let's check it out." Mel followed Alastar and Reeal, motioning for the rest of the group to follow. Alastar smashed the wooden door in with little effort, and the group began to ascend the tower. They disposed of a few minor annoyances, such as giant spiders and a few skeletons. They slowly trudged their way towards the top of the tower, and at the very apex of it, they found a huge orb, crackling with magic energy. An old man stood before it, dressed in blacks and blues, holding a staff with his wrinkled hands. His voice boomed as he spoke; "Brave travelers! You have found your way to Turris perditus Magicam! Now you shall reap the rewards of sucess, or feel the suffering of failure." He waved his staff, and a cell of energy appeared around each member of the party. "I have behind me untold powers! It would give you ancient, powerful knowledge, taught by the Syrons of old. O'neron, leader of the Syrons, and member of the Wizards Council, has charged me with it."
The old man revealed his face, and he had a smile of a madman. "But to obtain this power, I shall put each of you to the test! A riddle for you all..." He said, still smiling.

"I am all, yet I am one.
I have a Law, yet I have none.
One little graze and I taint.
I don't Faze, Yet I faint.

I am not an Item or Living being,
Yet you see me a lot while Living." He said slowly.

"One last warning though...this power will create a door for you. A door that if you open it, you would rule this entire land. But only a madman would create such a door. And only an imbecile would open it." He said, and slammed his staff on the ground. He was gone, in a blast of magic, with the riddle echoing in the minds of the group. [i]Speak the correct awnser, and you shall all be empowered. Speak the wrong awnser, and you will all fall.[/i]

[Asriel Dreemurr]

Alaster had been pleased to find some fighting, even if it was hardly a challenge or even a satisfying victory, on the way up. The only pleasant thing about this was that he'd needed to re-work his fighting style into using his weapon more like a spear due to the cramped quarters. After not much time, they made their way to the top of the tower and were posed a riddle along with the promise of power if they succeeded and certain doom if they failed.

The Battlemage had to stop and think for quite some time. It was one thing and yet it was all things, or at least part of all things. It followed no law, save for one of its own. It could taint any person with but a single wound and could not be disuaded from its course but at the same time it could be stopped. It wasn't an item or a creature, and was not itself alive but at the same time could be encountered commonly. All of these properties together brought one thing to Alaster's mind, and he was going to share it with the party before he answered.

[i]"I think the answer is disease. Does anyone else have an idea about what it could be?" [/i]The telepathic communication was directed at his companions, and he certainly hoped that the old man would not take his suggestion as their official answer.

[Astolfo]

En stumbled back at the sight of the guardian of the supposed powers, and flinched slightly when the riddle was asked, and the man disappeared with a resounding 'BOOM!'. En had heard rumors, albeit just [i]very slight[/i] rumors about the mystical powers, and was stunned to find out this was where it was. [i]Is this destiny? Or a mere coincidence?[/i] En thought of the the riddle:

[i]"I am all, yet I am one.[/i]
[i]I have a Law, yet I have none.
One little graze and I taint.
I don't Faze, Yet I faint.

I am not an Item or Living being,
Yet you see me a lot while Living."[/i]

[i]What on Breol could it be? [/i]En wondered silently. When he heard Alaster's answer of 'disease', he quickly fitted it in, and realized it made sense. Quickly projecting his calculations and proofs to the rest of the group, he silently asked them if they were ready to speak that as their answer.

[Love of Ghibli]

Beatrice didn't even have to use her own summons to get through this tower or what have you. The boys were more than enough to breach these defenses. Upon arrival to what she would assume to be the top of this obstacle she witnessed the magics of this guardian fellow and she then found herself listening to a riddle. One would think that the book smart girl would be good at riddles but in fact it was almost the opposite. She regained enough sobriety so she could tune in on Alaster's mental deductions. She did a mental shrug making sure not to show this madman guardian that they were thinking of what to do. Though at the same time if no says anything for a while he could get suspicious.

"Do you encounter a lot of diseases in your life?" She asked Alaster mentally. A disease could fit in but that was the problem a lot of concepts could fit couldn't they.[i] Ugh this why I hate riddles. Silvest interrupted sharing his thoughts with the rest of the group. [color=#800080]They aren't really quick answer like questions, they're logic test. Its really can you think and mesh with the person asking the riddle. For example, while someone as combat proficient as the battlemage there, may have seen a lot of disease Beatrice the bookworm wouldn't have so she wouldn't come up with disease as an answer. See logic test....its stupid and sujective. [/color]Attacking the riddle because you can't solve it are you?[/i] Beatrice chimed in. [color=#800080][i]Yes that's true but it doesn't make what I said any less true.[/i][/color] Beatrice simply rolled her eyes. The cat did have a point though one could simply make an argument for anything that they thought was an answer and no matter how convincing that argument was they would still be wrong.

[i]I say death. It seems like I could make a broad enough argument to meet all of the criteria. Anyone else?[/i]

[Cray-Crow]

The group ascended the tower as if by montage, making easy pickings of the weakling adversaries inhabiting it. Just as Alaster had described, a great source of magical energy sit atop the tower in the form of a very large orb. Guarding it was an elderly, a man who briefly described this place's history and the nature of the power before the travelers. But of course, the great magic was sealed and would only be granted with the correct answer to a riddle.

[color=#696969][i]I hate riddles.. [/i][/color]Reaal thought to himself. He'd had come up with few answers of his own, such as carbon or water, when Alaster had mentally spoken to the group, saying his answer was disease. Reaal contemplated his comrade's answer and it made sense to him.Beatrice, after a moment, also telepathically spoken with her answer being death.

[color=#696969][i]I don't know.. Death seems too cliche for my taste. I'd would've said molecules of water or carbon, but that seems too specific. Alaster, I'm siding with you.[/i][/color]

[Astolfo]

"We say the answer is dis"- "WAIT!" En suddenly cut in. "There's something I just felt... Not sure... A tip of a memory..."

(Flashback)
[i]"Enny~ Come here. Didn't you say you wanted to learn to paint?"[/i]
[i]"Yes Mam~"[/i]
[i]"Now, watch carefully..."[/i]
*mother takes a jar of something filled with a whitish-liquid*
[i]"Do you see? This is a white paint. Make sure you don't accidentally graze it with any of the other colors, or you'll taint it, alright?"[/i]
[i]"Yes Mother."[/i]
[i]"Do you know what you want to try painting first?"[/i]
[i]"Oh, one last note. Make sure you repaint the white, or it will become faint. Okay?"[/i]
[i]"Yes Mam."[/i]
*silver-haired kid looks out window and thinks, when he sees a crystal like thing, which gave off a rainbow hue when light shone through it*
[i]"Mother! What is that?"[/i]
[i]"It is a prism En. When you shine white through it, you get all the colors of the rainbow! Heehee~"[/i]
[i]"Thanks Mom."[/i]
[i]"Sure.[/i]"
(Flashback end)

"White!" En yelled. "I just remembered some things my mom said when I was little. Think about it. White is all the colors of the rainbow as one, when it is light. It has a so-called law, that if you mix it with other colors, it gets 'tainted'. If you don't repaint it or coat it with enamel, it fades. Obviously, it's not an item or living, and don't you see a lot of white normally during life?"

"So what about it? Don't you think it's white? It would be just the thing a guardian would do. I wonder if he knew about my memory... Well?" En asked tentatively, afraid he'd be laughed at for a "silly" idea.

[Alice Moonflowyr]

As En blurted out 'White' and everyone else gave the guess of Disease, wind began to whirl, stirring up the hair of everyone. The old man emerged [i]from[/i] the ball of energy, and slowly made his way towards them.

"Very well done Silver. I'm impressed." Turning to the rest of the group, he said; "Do you really think a tower built by the ancient Syrons would have something that causes death worldwide as a riddle awnser? Bah. Pathetic."

The old man waved his hand, and four books appeared in his hand. Beams of pure energy burst out of the orb, and blasted inside the books. "Inside these tomes lie ancient fabled magic. Read them, and be empowered with the magic of the Old Races." A blast of thunder was heard. All of a sudden, the old man and the orb were both gone, the tower just looked like any old tower, except for the four sparkling books floating before the party. The cells of energy were gone, and Mel rushed forward to check out the books. "These....look amazing. Tons of knowledge is inside these." He flipped to the first page of one of them, and smiled. "Theres incantations in here. We use the incantation, and all the knowledge that's in the tome is in our brain. And it's reusable....wow. Well guys, take your pick. But pick one. It says here that if we try to cram the knowledge of multiple books into our minds, it'll make us brain-dead." Mel waited for the rest of the group to make their choices.

[Astolfo]

[i]Holy... I had actually gotten it right?[/i] En let out a whistle of relief. He for one, did not want to experience the sensation of punishment he would've probably felt if the group had gotten it wrong. As he gazed at the 4 shimmering tomes radiating power, he noticed a picture on each. One of a hand, another of a strange rune, one of a sword, and lastly, a image of a bow. He thought of what they meant, when he suddenly stumbled back with realization. [i]The lost arts?! Here?[/i] As if by magic -excuse the pun- he heard a whisper in his head describing each briefly.

[i]Conquer with sleights of hand,[/i]
[i]Overpower with runes,[/i]
[i]Decimate with sword,[/i]
[i]Destroy from afar,[/i]
[i]Which shall you choose?[/i]
[i]Choose wisely...[/i]

The voice faded from En's head. Thinking and weighing the pros and cons of each possible Art, he scrutinized each, before moving to lay a hand on the Swordmage's Tome. [i]Seems great for me. I could probably deflect magic with enough work, and shoot some kind of missile from my sword if I learn somehow. Seems great.[/i] En had just lay the smallest portion of his finger on the tome when he was suddenly dragged up almost 2-3 feet in the air. [i]Gaaaugh! What's happening?![/i] He struggled until he felt a sting of power entering him, with a torrent of words and knowledge whispering into his brain. [i]This seems fi-AAAAAGH! [/i]The guttural yell was ripped from him as he felt a searing rush of power, both icy, yet blazing hot. AAAAAAAAAGH! A explosion of power rocked from his core, plainly visible. His friends watched in horrified curiousity. They tried to help him, but were pushed back by some invisible barrier. GGGGGAAAAAUUUUGGGGHHHHH! With a final yell, like something reversed, the icy-blue explosion swept back into him, turning a bright yellow-white, but to some of his group members' curiousity, tinged with almost equal amounts of black, but now having an equal part of icy-blue. The magic let go of En and he slumped to the floor, clearly spent. [i]What is this... It feels... Completely fitting, yet so... alien.... [/i]With a rush of knowledge, he realized it was the power of the Swordmage, and saw a powerful and magically strong looking sword appear out of thin air dropping into his hands. It glowed a radiant yellow and blue, speckled with black on the outside. With a rush of adrenaline, he accepted this newfound power with exhilaration, and tried cleaving the floor, to see the floor nearly get cut in half. [i]Whoops.[/i]

[i]"Your turn guys!"[/i] En now yelled out cheerfully, his appearance now altered partly into the look of a Swordmage. [i]This power.... It is god-like. Unlike anything imaginable...[/i]

[Love of Ghibli]

The answer was white. Beatrice and Silvest both pretty much shrugged at the answer. It was something that neither of them were going to come up with anytime soon actually ever if anything. What did grind her gears though was some old dude appearing out of nowhere and calling them (mostly Alaster and those who agreed with him pathetic). Well we're alive and you're not so suck it. She thought. Riddles was again proving that it was a logical test and you could make whatever argument you wanted for something. Once she began to think about thought white could have been an amusing answer.

"Oh look an old man in a tower insulting kids. OOOOHH my feelings are hurt." She said as she rolled her eyes. Her words contained more sarcasm than actual language if that was even possible. Silvest didn't even honor the insult with more than a moments thought. However the events that followed were pretty astonishing. Magic purple tomes appearing before them promising an abundance of new magics. It was quite interesting for ones as skeptical as Silvest and Beatrice. Though this could have been a trap, but then Beatrice and Silvest only had to look slight to their right to see En undergo his grand transformation. The magical energy that surged through him was quite a sight. He was surrounded by a barrier of some sorts but when he finally stood he seemed to be stronger.

Hearing his mental message to give it a shot Beatrice stepped forward. Well I guess we'll just say ladies second this time around. She said in a light mocking tone seeing as En went ahead of her. She approached the floating magics and the words of the ancients entered her mind.[i] Well destroy from afar sounds like our thing right Silvest? [color=#800080]True but I like the sound of using Runes better. Let these men handle all of the destructive stuff we should just stick to being supportive. You'll be safer that way[/color]. But I want to get in on the action too![/i] Beatrice thought while pouting, but she knew at her core she wasn't good for the rough stuff. She stuck her left hand out while holding Silvest in her right arm and accepted the magics of the Rune Maker.

Her experience was not unlike En's as she was completely overtaken by the ancient magics that she had chosen. Her eyes and mouth turned completely purple and the same happened with Silvest. Lines started to form from their heads down their entire body. It seemed as if they were able to have a very trying experience. Neither of them spoke no words or made no noise, but they were both in some intense pain. If one looked closely at the formation of skin around her eyes one could see tears coming down Beatrice's face. She was in pain because like stated before she couldn't handle the rough stuff. It seemed as if those lines forming around her skin were cracks in her body as the rest of the crew would now witness that she was literally coming apart. Like En though anyone who attempted to come closer would be pushed back by a barrier. Her body came back together eventually though and she simply fell to the ground. With Silvest in her lap as she seemed to have passed out from exhaustion.

[Alice Moonflowyr]

Mel rushed over to Beatrice to catch her. "Whoa there." He muttered. He carried Beatrice over to the side of the tower and gently set her down, Silvest still in her lap. "Bea has a good idea guys. Let's rest here after we're done with this." Mel then approached the tomes himself. "I always fancied myself as a sniper." He muttered as he layed a hand on the Seeker book.

Black magic began to swirl around Mel. Secrets of the Primal Spirits of Breol were whispered into his mind. Mel knew immideatly that this magic was a direct gift from the Primal Spirits, not any gods or humans or tome. The Primal Spirits filled his body, speaking to him of the injustice against nature. The blackness swirled faster, and a series of memories that weren't his flashed into Mels' mind. [i]The forest of Breol, burning, animals being hunted for sport, the Primal Spirits mocked by these so-called gods, the fading away of the spirits. [/i]When Mel returned to the real world, he saw three Primal Spirits in his minds eye. The World Serpent, living beneath the earth and causing its life. Ursa Major, the Bear that guarded the night sky. And The Great Horned One, a mighty elk with gigantic horns, that guarded Breol itself, and the gates of reality as well. They all whispered into his mind the secrets of the Seeker. Then, they produced to him three minor spirits representing themselves. A Bear spirit, a Cobra spirit, and a Deer spirit. [i]Choose one, and it shall be your guide and companion...[/i]

Mel lay a hand upon the head of the Bear. [i]My name is Toklo.[/i] The bear spirit said, mindspeaking to Mel. "Hi...Toklo." Mel said. As soon as he said that, the black magic burst away, and in Mels' hand was a longbow made of a blackened wood, and on his back, a quiver full to the brim of black-feathered arrows. Toklo stood next to him, grinning. Sort of. Like a bear grins. While Toklo introduced himself to the rest of the group, Mel collapsed down next to Beatrice. He yawned, muttered a 'good night' to the general group, and proceeded to fall asleep using Beatrices' shoulder as a pillow. Toklo saw what was going on, and walked over and snuggled down sort of on both Mels' lap and Beatrices'. Silvest muttered a protest in his sleep.

[Asriel Dreemurr]

Alaster chose not to give voice to his thoughts at that moment, since he had nothing even remotely polite to say about the old man and his clever mouth. All the same, he was grateful that someone had solved the riddle the way the old curmudgeon had wanted so that they hadn't had to fight their way out of hell or something equivalent. Watching En and Beatrice undergo their transformations had the battlemage in the mind to undergo one himself. Of course when Beatrice had collapsed he'd wanted to be the one to catch her, but as with the elven party situation Mel got there first. He found himself beginning to dislike the fellow, and when Mel saw fit to fall asleep literally touching Beatrice he made up his mind to deliver the armored fist of pain once he was awake.

Seeing as there was a tome with a sword on it, Alaster immediately gravitated towards it and took a firm hold of it in his hand. His experience was much more gentle than that of En, as he didn't immediately levitate a yard into the air. He slowly opened the book, and as he did so the knowledge and power immediately flowed into his mind. His body was consumed by an icy blue light, but he remained firmly on the ground. The knowledge within was remarkably similar to what he had already unlocked through his own training, and that only brought a wide smile to his face.

As the light faded, he was revealed transformed. His skin had become an icy blue, though due to the armor he wore this was visible only upon his face, and that coppery brown hair of his had changed as well. It was as if each strand of hair was an icicle standing straight up, but a soft gust of wind through one of the tower's windows tousled the hair in a way which proved it was not actual ice. The weapon he carried had changed as well. Though its shape was no different, the runes upon the blade had become the same icy blue as his skin. Though the fact that they were glowing gave it a different appearance.

"I'll take the first watch." With that, he made his way to the window to look outside...but not before pushing Mel over to lay on his side facing away from Beatrice.

[Alice Moonflowyr]

Toklo tumbled off the laps of Mel and Beatrice, and woke up with a bit of a start. He began growling at Alastar, and seemed to be growing. Toklo was currently a cub, but looked like he was growing into a full size bear. When he was nearly full-sized, and letting out short roars at Alastar, a hand appeared on his side. Mel had stood up, rubbing his eyes. "Hey Toklo, I know you're eager to show off, but wait until morning alright? You woke me up!" Mel grinned embaressingly at Alastar. "Sorry. I think he just really wants to show off. Hey! How about this! I'll have him keep watch with you! Just wake me if he starts pissing you off." Mel whispered instructions in Toklos ear, and Toklo shrunk back down to cub size. He glared at Alastar, walked over to him, and plumped his little bottom down to keep an eye out on the stairs. And Alastar. Noticing Reeal and Jak still puzzling over which book to choose, Mel said; "Just make sure you choose quick-like, and settle down for some rest, alright?" Mel then stretched, and resumed his position on Beatrices' shoulder. "Goodnight guys."

Toklo headbutted Alastars leg, and projected a mental message into his head. [i]Sorry I roared at you! I thought you were gonna hurt my Seeker. [/i]

[Cray-Crow]

Reaal found it comedic that Alaster grew peeved at Mel's etiquette with Beatrice. After witnessing the powers harnessed by his comrades, he stepped up to the floating tombs. He looked at his staff. [color=#696969][i]Hm. Maybe some distance from my enemies wouldn't be a bad idea..[/i][/color]

He took a corner of the Seeker tomb in his hand and the swirling black vortex that enveloped Mel now did the same. Wisps of unknown voices filled Reaal's consciousness. They declared themselves as ancient spirits. Primal Spirits. They swarmed Reaal's mind with images of Breol Forest's destruction and the death of its animals. When the mental bombardment ceased, the three Primal Spirits revealed themselves: Ursa Major, the Great Horned One, and the World Serpent. Each then created a companion in their likeness, instructing Reaal to choose one as his own. Raising his hand to the serpent, it coiled itself around Reaal's extended arm. [color=#696969][i]Yes, you will do fine.[/i][/color]

[i][color=#008080]My name is Evesilith. You shan't regret your choice.[/color][/i]

[color=#696969]"I am Reaal,"[/color] he acknowledged the serpentine feminine voice.[color=#696969] [/color]Just then, Reaal's staff began to metamorphose. It glowed in a brilliant opalescence. In its completion, it resembled a light spear. It was black just as it was before with a serrated blade tip that sheered pearlescent, and it weighed next to nothing. Along its shaft were the same three pearls embedded into its build. [color=#696969]"Beautiful."[/color] Reaal stepped off to the side, admiring his weapon with Evesilith now wrapped around his neck and left shoulder. [color=#696969]"Alaster, I'll take next watch." [/color]