Into The Frey [Travel][Heliohapt to Reim]

Azix sat on a small cot staring at the instructions he had received before he got on board the ship to Reim. He mulled over every word, analyzing the way they were written, imagining the hidden context.

'By local decree of the Zou Emperor, you have hereby been removed from your position as Diplomat to Heliohapt. You are to report to Reim for further instructions. You will be expected within a fortnight, any delay would reflect poorly. When you arrive, there will be a tavern, Silver Stallions, near the city gates. The moon casts an eerie shadow.'

Azix understood that the Emperor was toying with him and was furious. He had been surprised when they told him he was to be sent to Heliohapt, he should have been the last person thought of to go. He had assumed that the Emperor just wanted him out of Zou, to forget about him. It had all been another mind game, the Emperor gave Azix something that he had always dreamed of and then taken it away to prove his power. Idly simmering, Azix imagined various scenarios in his mind, wondering what his purpose in Reim would be. A convenient death was his first thought, but he didn't think that would serve a further purpose. If there was one thing Zou politics revolved around, it was making the puppets dance and Azix's strings were shrouded in mystery.

He looked out the window and saw that they were turning into the port. Dropping the paper on the cot, Azix got up and began gathering his things. He grabbed his staff, one made of oak with a long shaft that had two serpents raveled around the length that held an orange crystalline orb in their fangs, and shoved the letter in his black suit with gold trim. With a flourish, he threw a long, matching black cloak with gold trim and crimson red lining over his shoulders. He pulled a tight black mask that covered the bottom half of his face before tying a white scarf around his neck. The entire outfit looked rather theatrical with his cloak's collar extending up from his shoulders puffed out from ear to ear.

As he looked in the mirror he stared disgusted at his left eye. He had spent so long trying to change the color of his eyes when he was younger, his uncle, in a fit of rage, had used a spell that shattered his iris leaving his left eye a pool of purple. He tapped his staff on the ground lightly, calling the ruhk to form an illusion that overlaid his body. The reflection in the mirror looked the same except his eyes had purple irises. He turned from the mirror and strode regally to the deck.

He had watched the sailors preparing the ship as it pulled onto the dock. Before he disembarked, he thanked the Captain giving him a generous tip. The port was the center a small town and it was there he purchased a ride to Reim's Capital city. The view was beautiful and a change of pace from the sand of Heliohapt. The colder, humid air was a welcome relief as well. He arrived at the capital with no problems and he tipped the driver generously as was his custom. He had been living in wealth most people don't get the luxury of experiencing for the past two years. If he didn't freely give what he could to his fellow man, how could they improve their lot in life.

Upon entering the Silver Stallion, he looked around and saw several people inside. He had arrived to the capital on the expected day and figured someone would be here to meet him. No one inside looked to be dressed in a manner that spoke of import so he strode to the bar and sat down near a couple people. A man behind the bar approached and asked what he'd like.

"My good man, if you'd be so kind as to provide me an ale, I'd be ever so grateful." He laid down several gold coins and smiled at the man, "The moon casts an eerie shadow." He spoke the last part rather loudly so everyone could hear.

[140/150 Magoi][709/200]

Abilities Used:

New orders arrived for Garret. He was to meet up with an individual, one who used to be a diplomat in Heliohapt, at the Silver Stallion in the Capital City of Reim. The man's name was Azix, which gave Garret short pause as he read the orders.

Isn't that the prince that was disgraced? He thought to himself, continuing to read the instructions. The portfolio attached provided a certain level of background information, such as looks, political history and his seeming favoritism of the Heliohapt country. Garret frowned as he read further. What is this man doing in Reim? It sounds he would be... Shaking his head, Garret quit his thoughts along those lines.

The mission detailed him to include the newbie in some field work to get the machine working. Garret frowned, skipping down to the bottom of the paper to check who signed the orders. Narrowing his eyes, he saw the orders came directly from the Emperor. This man's background didn't hold the training necessary to be an active field agent. There was nothing particularly impressive in the profile that gave off the feeling of 'this man will bring success to a mission.'

Well, that was the portfolio anyways. He would have to reserve his final judgement for when he saw the man himself. If he didn't measure up to someone useful, Garret would only utilize him in dangerous missions where secrecy isn't so critical. He burned the portfolio in a fire, as well as the orders he had received...


He was waiting for contact from the ex-diplomat, sitting in the tavern and sipping on milk. Dressed in clothing that is expected of a citizen of the Reim Empire, Garret seemed to belong to the middle class tier in terms of wealth. He had arrived early, just in case the contact did as well.

After some time, Garret saw a strangely cloaked fellow arrive. He looked up to the face mask and frowned, then followed up with the eyes. Purple. This was his guy, attracting all sorts of attention to himself with his appearance.

Azix had walked to the bartender and said, loudly, "The moon casts an eerie shadow."

Garret spit out the milk he was drinking as half the tavern roared with laughter. Various jibes were made as the other patrons mistook the man for some sort of traveling entertainer. Reading the general mood, Garret stood up and walked over to the bar. "You know, my wife's been bothering me lately about wanting to see a show. 'The Sun's Light always dispels such shadows, as they are only illusions.' and all that business, by the way." Garret said, providing the countersign while making it seem he was humoring the traveling entertainer. "Anyways, she's been bored out of her wits lately, and all I hear from her is how the wives of other merchants are always going to theaters and the like. Do you happen to book private entertainment, or is there a show scheduled that I could bring her to?"

Azix's remark sent the tavern's patrons into a fit of laughter and he was sure his outfit didn't help, but he ignored them, he had more important things on his mind. Avoiding an attempt on his life was foremost on his mind. A man had approached while the patrons were still laughing and seemed to provide a countersign to Azix's last statement. He looked the man over with a careful eye as he explained how his wife wanted to see a show. The man appeared to be from the middle class and there were some hints of Zou in his features.

Azix extended his hand to the man with a flourish, his cloak swirling behind him, "As a man of principle, your story moves me. I simply can not go on with my day until I bring laughter into her eyes and brighten her day." He put a foot up on the stool and looked the man meaningfully in the eye, "I've traveled from afar to bring entertainment to the masses of Reim, it has been a weary journey. Perhaps, you could show me some lodgings in return for a private show for your wife?"

[135/150 Magoi][Sustaining Azix's Disguise]

Abilities Used:

Garret stared at Azix in disbelief. "If I were a lesser man, I would take offense at what you just said and hit you in the face. However, since I'm not a lesser man, I'll simply mention that if *that* is part of your list of "entertainment" tricks, I would have you leave them out of it. As for lodge, I would be happy to show you a place you could put up for a while, and we can discuss details along the way."

Garret led the man through the streets, making small talk with a joyous smile on his face. In truth, Garret was not all too happy with the turn of events. He felt apprehension on whether or not this man could perform in the field. While trained well for his type of service, Garret's social mask was likely not as good as Azix, and it would come at no surprise if Azix was able to pick up on his general feelings on the matter.

When they arrived, Garret knocked in a rhythmic manner and entered through the front. It was a house belonging to a Facilities Agent. It was a Safe House for their organization. A butler of sorts was there to take care of any cloaks or personal effects that either man wanted to set down. Garret's smile was no longer on his face, and he let out a sigh. The place was decently furnished, and Garret entered the larger guest room. "Take a seat." He motioned to Azix. "We'll get straight to the point. I've looked over your profile, and I didn't see much. How much do you know of what is expected of you here?"

Under his mask, Azix smirked at Garret's reaction to his jest, the man had just revealed an important clue. No man could resist the temptation of committing violence where a wife was concerned and here this man brushed it off as if it were nothing. Azix nodded and motioned for Garret to lead the way, "After you, good sir."

As they walked through the streets, Azix listened to the man make small talk in an amiable manner, but he sensed the man was hiding his true feelings. He wasn't sure what the man was holding back, so he ignored it for now and just nodded as he continued talking. Azix kept an eye on his surroundings as they walked, still worried about what the Emperor's intentions were. The man led them to a house and knocked with what Azix assumed was a code. He hesitantly followed the man inside, now unsure of where this man had led him. He kept a tight grip on his staff as a butler offered to take his cloak. He obliged, twirling it off and handing it to the butler with care. "Thank you." He said with a bow and walked into a guest room.

The man's manner abruptly changed and all pretense of his friendly nature dissolved from his face, "Take a seat." He motioned to Azix. "We'll get straight to the point. I've looked over your profile, and I didn't see much. How much do you know of what is expected of you here?"

Diego smirked under his mask and turned his back to the man, staring out the window. He gathered by the change in attitude that the man felt comfortable removing his disguise and had attained a small air of authority. By the look on the man's face, he wasn't too happy with Azix and was now testing him. With a sigh, Azix dropped the illusion he had been holding since the boat and it shimmered away as his eyes returned to their normal state. He hated people seeing his left eye, but he had to give the man a taste of his abilities. He pulled the face mask down to reveal the rest of his face before turning back to face the man. Azix kept a warm smile on his face and took the man's offer of a seat before speaking, "I would imagine the Emperor would have many things to say of a man like myself." He pointed at a nearby seat, uncomfortable being the only one sitting, "I know enough to realize my usefulness shall be determined here today and I'm sure if I fail to impress, you have orders to dispose of me." He shrugged and brought his fingers together in a steeple under his chin as he watched the man's reactions carefully, "I've been instructed to keep an eye on the dungeon here, but I assume that is a ruse, since I was close enough to one in Heliohapt. So, tell me, why am I really here?"

[130/150 Magoi][Ended Azix's Disguise]

Garret watched after the man turned away from Garret. When Azix turned back towards Garret, his face looked completely different. Garret had felt a flutter of Rukh before the man turned back, which poked at Garret's curiosity. His portfolio mentioned the man had an affinity towards magic, but did not mention any training or uses the magic may have. Regardless of what the man used, he was able to make cosmetic changes to his appearance. That might be useful in the field.

And the man was sharp, that's for sure. While his orders did not explicitly tell him to dispose of Azix, they did tell him that Azix was to do field work. And by the portfolio Garret had read, the man didn't seem to have any real training for field work beyond whatever he learned while working as a diplomat. Garret was sure there were some sort of politics going on, and his team was being used in the middle of it. By intentionally providing an untrained operative, they could get us killed. Me killed. But if I died from something like this, that only shows how far I was meant to go. Garret realized the problem was his to solve. If he had plans to continue to climb the ranks, he needed to prove he had the leadership qualities to effectively run an operation on all levels.

There was a slight shiver of anger that passed through Garret momentarily as he realized how his team was being used. "As you surmised, I am judging how much I believe your usefulness will be. I was given orders to have you do field work for my espionage team, which I was sure was a death sentence after reading your profile." Garret paused. He suppressed the look of anger on his face, but his voice got hard. "But make no mistakes, I'm going to do everything I can to make sure you come back alive, all the while being useful. You should prepare yourself for the rigors ahead."

Azix noted the slight shiver of anger and listened to the man's words intently. By the tone of the man's voice, Azix knew that he would need to prove himself if he were to last. Nodding his head, he stood up and walked back to the window. "A death sentence? That may be, but I was prepared for that when I took the boat here." As he looked out the window, he recalled the shiver of anger and reflected the man's words. He appeared to think of Azix as useless and a threat to the safety of the team, judging by the choice of his words. Azix turned and looked him in the eye, "I must ask you to not worry about my safety. While I may lack weapons and your experience, I do have certain tricks."

Seeing as Azix would be assisting on espionage missions with this man, he reflected on the properties of light. He knew it could be bent, refracted, reflected and could be focused into a beam that could burn, like the sunlight through a lens, but what he wanted was another effect. He wondered if commanding the ruhk to create a prism, void of color, would allow him to suck the light from the room. He issued commands to the ruhk around him to create the prism of light. The prism was 10 cm tall and had a bright shine. When he asked the ruhk to remove all the color, the light seemed to drain from inside the pyramid. Azix then had them draw the light from the room into the prism. As he watched, the light began pulling towards the black prism and long shadows were cast around the room. Azix looked at the shadowy outline of his boss and smirked, "This is just something I've been thinking about for a while." He paused, "Would this be of any use, Mister..."

[315/250 words][Distortion Ability Training][120/150 Magoi]

Distortion:

Garret whistled, genuinely surprised. "Garret. I'll be the cell leader of operations for now. You've got some skill, I see." He watched as the shadows grew deeper in the room, making it more difficult to see. "It could have it's applications," Garret admitted, "however, we will have to see how effective you can be with it during an operation. Ah, a series of readiness questions is in order, speaking of ops. Have you any qualms of killing, stealing or being the cause of a tragedy? Speak truthfully, I need to know what types of missions I can assign to you." The ability was definitely something that could be used, but Garret understood the difference between those who could cast a spell and those who could make it fit into their style, their modus operandi.

This man would need experience under his belt before Garret trusted him to take care of matters on his own. Already, though, he was promising to be a better resource than Garret had originally thought. His initial distaste for the guy had vanished, and now a more neutral feeling towards Azix was established. Azix could be worked with.

Azix dispersed his spell, returning the light and thought for a moment before replying, "I detest those acts of sin, but the Creator made us in sin, so it is our nature to commit them." Azix would perform whatever Garret asked of him without blinking, man was a violent creature with terrible urges. He did wonder of the ripples his missions would send throughout Reim and the Emperor's overall goals. Curious to see what Garret thought of such things, he tested the waters. "Tragedies in nature bring about great change. Violence force is such an interesting catalyst. It is said that the heavens were created in such a manner."

It had been a long journey and Azix was longing for a warm bed. He hoped that he had impressed Garret and that the questions would soon end so he could retire. The future was murky but he felt confident that he could handle the challenges ahead. If he didn't, he only had himself to blame. Only the strong can shape history and he yearned to carve his existence into the foundation of the world. For that he needed experience and to train hard, he would do all that and more, hopefully setting up a foundation to grow on. For now, he would accept his orders and carefully follow the ripples of his actions.

[120/150 Magoi]

Garret glossed over the religious speak that was made. He wasn't much a man of religion, but he understood the gist of what was being said. The man was willing to do what needed to be done to get the mission completed. Nodding, Garret began speaking again. "As you will be expected to work with a team in order to complete the objective, it will is important that you know some things about those you will be working with." Garret stood and turned to the butler. "Fredrick, bring the bucket of water."

"Yes, sir." Fredrick bowed, returning shortly after with some water.

Ice Mirror Pt1 Word Count 402/500:

Garret took out his wand and whispered "Kori O Kagami" as his Rukh rushed, carrying the Magoi he expended, towards the air above the water. The water almost instantaneously disappeared, reforming in a chilling manner above the bucket. The outline of the mirror formed, an plain border devoid of any filigree. It was followed by the water appearing within the center of the borders, fluidly filling out the entirety of the space between and quickly freezing over. It was smooth, very smooth, and as flat as was possible. The angles were perfected with long hours of work that Garret had put in a while back.
(OOC: +105 word count, 507/500)
IC:
Garret looked to Azix and smiled. "Now, before we brief you on other things look in the mirror and tell me; don't you think you might want some less out-standish type clothing while you are on a mission? We've an outfitter for that."

After listening to what Azix had to say, Garret would put off the answers to any questions for another day. He wanted to make sure Azix could get some rest and learn a bit more about the safe house, where he would be sleeping for the day, as well as the knock sequence for the door if he had to leave and return.

OOC: 180/200 Magoi