- Location
- Too Deep in the Midnight Sea
[X] Now. Fuck sleep, some bastard just kidnapped your little brother.
[X] White Knight
[X] White Knight
- Location
- United States
[X] Now. Fuck sleep, some bastard just kidnapped your little brother.
[X] Your older sister, Yuki, joined up with a group of Hunters. Call her up, find out if she pissed someone or something off. Even if not one of the Fair Ones, they could have hired one. And even if not, she'd probably want to know about this. Maybe. You guys last talked five years ago, and that ended with fire.
[X] White Knight: You're out to protect people, and that's what you'll do. Burning building? You'll blow a blizzard spell putting it out.
[X] Other
-[X] Pure Force and precision. You generally carry things that allow you to enhance gravity or mimic telekinesis for a bit, along with a smattering of slightly longer lasting charms for "ensuring precision" (abusing luck magic like a cheating cheater who cheats)
[X] Burnout: Shit happens to you. Often. Very often. Like, holy crap, you just don't care anymore. Well, okay, you do, but not much, and you'll tend to be antisocial and pessimistic.
[X] Your older sister, Yuki, joined up with a group of Hunters. Call her up, find out if she pissed someone or something off. Even if not one of the Fair Ones, they could have hired one. And even if not, she'd probably want to know about this. Maybe. You guys last talked five years ago, and that ended with fire.
[X] White Knight: You're out to protect people, and that's what you'll do. Burning building? You'll blow a blizzard spell putting it out.
[X] Other
-[X] Pure Force and precision. You generally carry things that allow you to enhance gravity or mimic telekinesis for a bit, along with a smattering of slightly longer lasting charms for "ensuring precision" (abusing luck magic like a cheating cheater who cheats)
[X] Burnout: Shit happens to you. Often. Very often. Like, holy crap, you just don't care anymore. Well, okay, you do, but not much, and you'll tend to be antisocial and pessimistic.
Shadlith
Mad Magician
- Location
- The Universe
No more voters seem to be showing up, so closing here.
Prepped Spells:
Other: Pure Force and precision. You generally carry things that allow you to enhance gravity or mimic telekinesis for a bit, along with a smattering of slightly longer lasting charms for "ensuring precision" (abusing luck magic like a cheating cheater who cheats).
Personality:
Lunatic + White Knight. You like helping people, you're just a little bit crazy. Hi there, Emiya. Are you guys trying to hit up all the self-sacrificing wizards for inspiration or something?
(I'm not actually running you as Emiya though.)
Action:
Go Now.
Where? It's a 4 way tie! A tie breaker would be nice. 1 vote each for:
-[ ] Call your sister, Yuki.
-[ ] Ask the Council for help.
-[ ] Check Jack's school for clues.
-[ ] Check Miri (your crazy coworker who doesn't know about the supernatural).
Vote Tally : Original - Modern Mage Quest | Page 2 | Sufficient Velocity
##### NetTally 1.5.12
[x] White Knight
No. of Votes: 6
[X] Now. Fuck sleep, some bastard just kidnapped your little brother.
No. of Votes: 4
[x] Lunatic
No. of Votes: 3
[X] Other
No. of Votes: 3
-[X] Pure Force and precision. You generally carry things that allow you to enhance gravity or mimic telekinesis for a bit, along with a smattering of slightly longer lasting charms for "ensuring precision" (abusing luck magic like a cheating cheater who cheats).
No. of Votes: 3
[X] Burnout
No. of Votes: 2
[X] Battlefield control spells.
No. of Votes: 2
[X] DETERMINED
No. of Votes: 1
[X] Idealist
No. of Votes: 1
[X] Seeker of Knowledge
No. of Votes: 1
[X] In a day. You need time to prepare and to learn more about the Not-So
No. of Votes: 1
[X] Hit up the Council. While you hate talking with them, the Council is, technically, supposed to handle this sort of stuff, especially since you're fairly confident this is a mage vs. non-mage thing. On the other hand, if the kidnapper was another mage, this is going to go badly for you, and you'll end up owing a favor.
No. of Votes: 1
[X] Personal enhancement magic.
No. of Votes: 1
[X] Optimistic
No. of Votes: 1
[X] Miri... something. A crazy dude who works at the same place you do and tried to punch you yesterday for some inane reason. This guy isn't actually aware of the supernatural as far as you know, but hey, last person you'd suspect, right?
No. of Votes: 1
[X] Nerd
No. of Votes: 1
[X] Jack's school. Maybe there'll be something there of note?
No. of Votes: 1
[x] Reckless
No. of Votes: 1
[x] Sociopath
No. of Votes: 1
[X] Your older sister, Yuki, joined up with a group of Hunters. Call her up, find out if she pissed someone or something off. Even if not one of the Fair Ones, they could have hired one. And even if not, she'd probably want to know about this. Maybe. You guys last talked five years ago, and that ended with fire.
No. of Votes: 1
Total No. of Voters: 9
##### NetTally 1.5.12
[x] White Knight
No. of Votes: 6
[X] Now. Fuck sleep, some bastard just kidnapped your little brother.
No. of Votes: 4
[x] Lunatic
No. of Votes: 3
[X] Other
No. of Votes: 3
-[X] Pure Force and precision. You generally carry things that allow you to enhance gravity or mimic telekinesis for a bit, along with a smattering of slightly longer lasting charms for "ensuring precision" (abusing luck magic like a cheating cheater who cheats).
No. of Votes: 3
[X] Burnout
No. of Votes: 2
[X] Battlefield control spells.
No. of Votes: 2
[X] DETERMINED
No. of Votes: 1
[X] Idealist
No. of Votes: 1
[X] Seeker of Knowledge
No. of Votes: 1
[X] In a day. You need time to prepare and to learn more about the Not-So
No. of Votes: 1
[X] Hit up the Council. While you hate talking with them, the Council is, technically, supposed to handle this sort of stuff, especially since you're fairly confident this is a mage vs. non-mage thing. On the other hand, if the kidnapper was another mage, this is going to go badly for you, and you'll end up owing a favor.
No. of Votes: 1
[X] Personal enhancement magic.
No. of Votes: 1
[X] Optimistic
No. of Votes: 1
[X] Miri... something. A crazy dude who works at the same place you do and tried to punch you yesterday for some inane reason. This guy isn't actually aware of the supernatural as far as you know, but hey, last person you'd suspect, right?
No. of Votes: 1
[X] Nerd
No. of Votes: 1
[X] Jack's school. Maybe there'll be something there of note?
No. of Votes: 1
[x] Reckless
No. of Votes: 1
[x] Sociopath
No. of Votes: 1
[X] Your older sister, Yuki, joined up with a group of Hunters. Call her up, find out if she pissed someone or something off. Even if not one of the Fair Ones, they could have hired one. And even if not, she'd probably want to know about this. Maybe. You guys last talked five years ago, and that ended with fire.
No. of Votes: 1
Total No. of Voters: 9
Prepped Spells:
Other: Pure Force and precision. You generally carry things that allow you to enhance gravity or mimic telekinesis for a bit, along with a smattering of slightly longer lasting charms for "ensuring precision" (abusing luck magic like a cheating cheater who cheats).
Personality:
Lunatic + White Knight. You like helping people, you're just a little bit crazy. Hi there, Emiya. Are you guys trying to hit up all the self-sacrificing wizards for inspiration or something?
(I'm not actually running you as Emiya though.)Action:
Go Now.
Where? It's a 4 way tie! A tie breaker would be nice. 1 vote each for:
-[ ] Call your sister, Yuki.
-[ ] Ask the Council for help.
-[ ] Check Jack's school for clues.
-[ ] Check Miri (your crazy coworker who doesn't know about the supernatural).
Shadlith
Mad Magician
- Location
- The Universe
Thanks. Starting up the next post right after I finish filling in known information and prepped spells.
- Location
- Betwixt every moment and its next
[X] Utility magic.
[X ] Burnout: Shit happens to you. Often. Very often. Like, holy crap, you just don't care anymore. Well, okay, you do, but not much, and you'll tend to be antisocial and pessimistic.
[X ] White Knight: You're out to protect people, and that's what you'll do. Burning building? You'll blow a blizzard spell putting it out.
[X] In a day. You need time to prepare and to learn more about the Not-So-Good Neighbors. Jack'll be fine until then, right?
[ X] Your older sister, Yuki, joined up with a group of Hunters. Call her up, find out if she pissed someone or something off. Even if not one of the Fair Ones, they could have hired one. And even if not, she'd probably want to know about this. Maybe. You guys last talked five years ago, and that ended with fire.
[X ] Burnout: Shit happens to you. Often. Very often. Like, holy crap, you just don't care anymore. Well, okay, you do, but not much, and you'll tend to be antisocial and pessimistic.
[X ] White Knight: You're out to protect people, and that's what you'll do. Burning building? You'll blow a blizzard spell putting it out.
[X] In a day. You need time to prepare and to learn more about the Not-So-Good Neighbors. Jack'll be fine until then, right?
[ X] Your older sister, Yuki, joined up with a group of Hunters. Call her up, find out if she pissed someone or something off. Even if not one of the Fair Ones, they could have hired one. And even if not, she'd probably want to know about this. Maybe. You guys last talked five years ago, and that ended with fire.
chocolote12
A Penguin Flailing Against The Keyboard Of Life.
Votes were called for this field. We're using a discount psion loadout.
- Location
- Betwixt every moment and its next
Probably would have helped if that was thread-marked.Votes were called for this field. We're using a discount psion loadout.
Family is Family, Nothing More, Nothing Less
Shadlith
Mad Magician
- Location
- The Universe
Yuki. You need to call her, see what she knows. You pull your phone from your pocket, quickly dialing her number. She picks up after three rings.
"Harry." She sounds somewhat tense. "Not a good time. What is it?"
"James disappeared." You reply immediately. "Did you piss off any fairies or their buddies lately?"
"What?" There's a loud crash from her end. "Shit, hold on. Wait, what happened? Start at the beginning."
"I woke up a few minutes ago, heard a crash from his room. Breaking glass, stuff like that. So I went to see, saw it was torn up, sensed fairy magic. He wasn't supposed to be home yet, so I thought it was nothing, but then I saw his car." You shrug. "That's all I know so far."
"And of course he's the only one in our family to not be a mage." She grumbles. "Fuck. Right, listen. I can't make it home for another week. We're in the middle of the Amazon, and I can't gate us out. And of course, no civilization, so that's out as well."
"Of course not." A familiar voice whispers in your mind, "Since when could she? When were you able to rely on her? Coward, traitor, abandoning us so." Damnit. Looks like he's awake again. You aren't even using any magic.
You ignore the murmurs, instead sighing and collapsing onto a couch. "Right. Any clues though?" Your voice is carefully empty of any resentment.
She hums thoughtfully. "Not much, I gotta say. There's a lot of fey here of course, but they're a different court, and we've been avoiding pissing them off. The Lycans we're hunting aren't the type to hook up with the fey either. I don't know anything about your end of course, I'm not there. Mind sending me a pic and some basic notes?"
"I'll get it to you after we're done talking." You reply evenly.
"Thanks." She says, "Anyway, did you try scrying him?"
You snort. "I'd probably drive myself insane when it backfired." You'd know. You don't say, You were there when I cast the ritual, when everything first went wrong.
"Right." She muses. "You're bad at mind and body magic. Shit, I don't have any suggestions then."
"Useless." The voice repeats.
"Shut up." You hiss at it.
"Harry?" You can practically hear the frown in her voice. "Did you say something?"
"Nothing important." You reply shortly.
"Sure." She agrees after a moment. "Listen, call me when you find out anything else, okay?"
"Sure." You repeat, hanging up. You take a moment to just sit against the couch, thinking. Calling Yuki didn't work out very well, but you're not about to give up. Not so easily. Still however, she has a point. While you're not the best at the path of minds, a spell to find a mind that you already know... how hard could it be? Not hard at all, you're sure. You already know the formulas you'd need, you've used a variation in the Path of Energy when you'd smelled smoke and had to check for a fire.
Well. You have one thing you can still try, though you're certain you'll regret it.
"Shut up for a minute." You order the voice. It turns it's attention, such that is it, on you as you bulldoze forward. "Listen. Listen. I need you to focus on something else. A spell to find someone. How do I simplify that?"
The voice quiets for a moment before it starts speaking again. "Such a problem, with so little skill to apply to it. Invocation of the mind is what we need. The growth of the wilds is the growth of the mind, Harpax's dominion is required. Burnt Holly or Cedar will invoke it. Methiax, the realm of dreams and creation, found in the unborn existence of a shattered egg. Naoth, the invoker of imagery and teaching, found in vervain or bay leaves. The Sanity of Ruax can be called with poppies. Burn all of it, render it ash and dust, and never usable again, and they will accept your sacrifice, and the paths will be smoothened. Runes, places of power, and other such tools may assist as well."
"Right." You take a breath. "Without all that, what can I do?"
"If he is within 70 yards, you may locate him." The voice says 'helpfully.'
"... That's not very useful." You point out. "What if I do add those things?"
"The sacrifices will increase it to 100 yards." You're pretty sure it's taunting you now, with the sort of smug amusement you can hear in it's... it. Fuck. It's taunting you now. This is why you hate calling upon it, even if it is supposed to be a facet of your own soul, separated and twisted into an archive.
"That's still not useful." You growl.
"We are bad at mind magic." The voice informs you.
"Yeah, I noticed." You grumble out loud. "Right. Whatever." You've got more options, fortunately, more things you can try. But, well, which one?
[ ] The Goblin Markets. They trade in everything there, including information. But at what price?
[ ] Your old teacher's house. Even though the old man kicked the bucket, maybe one of his enemies is behind this. You might find something there.
[ ] Jack's school. Maybe there'll be something there of note?
[ ] Lilian Demascus's place. A werewolf who wants you under her thumb, you've managed to avoid it thus far. Is this her way of getting you to obey? Doesn't seem her style, if only due the lycanthropic preference for direct challenges.
[ ] James Smith. A Vampire whom you've clashed with over your dislike of his feeding habits, mainly because the bastard has no goddamn self control and as the only mage in the city, you keep getting called to clean up after him. You recently embarrassed him, so maybe he's trying to get back at you? Seems unlikely, since he is relying on you to clean up his messes.
[ ] Miri... something. A crazy dude who works at the same place you do and tried to punch you yesterday for some inane reason. This guy isn't actually aware of the supernatural as far as you know, but hey, last person you'd suspect, right?
[ ] Try the divination. The voice in your head has helpfully informed you that it's not likely to succeed, but surely it can't hurt. And think of how embarrassing it'd be if he were close by.
[ ] Summon something and ask them.
[ ] Hit up the Council. While you hate talking with them, the Council is, technically, supposed to handle this sort of stuff, especially since you're fairly confident this is a mage vs. non-mage thing. On the other hand, if the kidnapper was another mage, this is going to go badly for you, and you'll end up owing a favor.
[ ] Go visit the local fairy court. This is generally a last resort, but they're almost definitely involved in some way. On the other hand, fairies are bastards who are not to be trusted. Ever.
AN: So, now I know why people rarely offer "what type of person are you" choices. Some combo's can be hard. Lunatic + Ritualist means that this is how it ended up manifesting. The voice is, if it wasn't clear, basically a split off section of your mind purposely designed to serve as a mental archive/spellbook thing. On the other hand, it grew it's own personality, and now you're insane, thus justifying the Lunatic trait. Relatedly, character creation is now over, and your character and his abilities have been finalized. I've put up a general overview of your abilities earlier on, and... yeah. I think that's everything. Anyway, feel free to ask questions as needed, Harry's pretty knowledgeable (comes with being a wizard.)
"Harry." She sounds somewhat tense. "Not a good time. What is it?"
"James disappeared." You reply immediately. "Did you piss off any fairies or their buddies lately?"
"What?" There's a loud crash from her end. "Shit, hold on. Wait, what happened? Start at the beginning."
"I woke up a few minutes ago, heard a crash from his room. Breaking glass, stuff like that. So I went to see, saw it was torn up, sensed fairy magic. He wasn't supposed to be home yet, so I thought it was nothing, but then I saw his car." You shrug. "That's all I know so far."
"And of course he's the only one in our family to not be a mage." She grumbles. "Fuck. Right, listen. I can't make it home for another week. We're in the middle of the Amazon, and I can't gate us out. And of course, no civilization, so that's out as well."
"Of course not." A familiar voice whispers in your mind, "Since when could she? When were you able to rely on her? Coward, traitor, abandoning us so." Damnit. Looks like he's awake again. You aren't even using any magic.
You ignore the murmurs, instead sighing and collapsing onto a couch. "Right. Any clues though?" Your voice is carefully empty of any resentment.
She hums thoughtfully. "Not much, I gotta say. There's a lot of fey here of course, but they're a different court, and we've been avoiding pissing them off. The Lycans we're hunting aren't the type to hook up with the fey either. I don't know anything about your end of course, I'm not there. Mind sending me a pic and some basic notes?"
"I'll get it to you after we're done talking." You reply evenly.
"Thanks." She says, "Anyway, did you try scrying him?"
You snort. "I'd probably drive myself insane when it backfired." You'd know. You don't say, You were there when I cast the ritual, when everything first went wrong.
"Right." She muses. "You're bad at mind and body magic. Shit, I don't have any suggestions then."
"Useless." The voice repeats.
"Shut up." You hiss at it.
"Harry?" You can practically hear the frown in her voice. "Did you say something?"
"Nothing important." You reply shortly.
"Sure." She agrees after a moment. "Listen, call me when you find out anything else, okay?"
"Sure." You repeat, hanging up. You take a moment to just sit against the couch, thinking. Calling Yuki didn't work out very well, but you're not about to give up. Not so easily. Still however, she has a point. While you're not the best at the path of minds, a spell to find a mind that you already know... how hard could it be? Not hard at all, you're sure. You already know the formulas you'd need, you've used a variation in the Path of Energy when you'd smelled smoke and had to check for a fire.
Well. You have one thing you can still try, though you're certain you'll regret it.
"Shut up for a minute." You order the voice. It turns it's attention, such that is it, on you as you bulldoze forward. "Listen. Listen. I need you to focus on something else. A spell to find someone. How do I simplify that?"
The voice quiets for a moment before it starts speaking again. "Such a problem, with so little skill to apply to it. Invocation of the mind is what we need. The growth of the wilds is the growth of the mind, Harpax's dominion is required. Burnt Holly or Cedar will invoke it. Methiax, the realm of dreams and creation, found in the unborn existence of a shattered egg. Naoth, the invoker of imagery and teaching, found in vervain or bay leaves. The Sanity of Ruax can be called with poppies. Burn all of it, render it ash and dust, and never usable again, and they will accept your sacrifice, and the paths will be smoothened. Runes, places of power, and other such tools may assist as well."
"Right." You take a breath. "Without all that, what can I do?"
"If he is within 70 yards, you may locate him." The voice says 'helpfully.'
"... That's not very useful." You point out. "What if I do add those things?"
"The sacrifices will increase it to 100 yards." You're pretty sure it's taunting you now, with the sort of smug amusement you can hear in it's... it. Fuck. It's taunting you now. This is why you hate calling upon it, even if it is supposed to be a facet of your own soul, separated and twisted into an archive.
"That's still not useful." You growl.
"We are bad at mind magic." The voice informs you.
"Yeah, I noticed." You grumble out loud. "Right. Whatever." You've got more options, fortunately, more things you can try. But, well, which one?
[ ] The Goblin Markets. They trade in everything there, including information. But at what price?
[ ] Your old teacher's house. Even though the old man kicked the bucket, maybe one of his enemies is behind this. You might find something there.
[ ] Jack's school. Maybe there'll be something there of note?
[ ] Lilian Demascus's place. A werewolf who wants you under her thumb, you've managed to avoid it thus far. Is this her way of getting you to obey? Doesn't seem her style, if only due the lycanthropic preference for direct challenges.
[ ] James Smith. A Vampire whom you've clashed with over your dislike of his feeding habits, mainly because the bastard has no goddamn self control and as the only mage in the city, you keep getting called to clean up after him. You recently embarrassed him, so maybe he's trying to get back at you? Seems unlikely, since he is relying on you to clean up his messes.
[ ] Miri... something. A crazy dude who works at the same place you do and tried to punch you yesterday for some inane reason. This guy isn't actually aware of the supernatural as far as you know, but hey, last person you'd suspect, right?
[ ] Try the divination. The voice in your head has helpfully informed you that it's not likely to succeed, but surely it can't hurt. And think of how embarrassing it'd be if he were close by.
[ ] Summon something and ask them.
[ ] Hit up the Council. While you hate talking with them, the Council is, technically, supposed to handle this sort of stuff, especially since you're fairly confident this is a mage vs. non-mage thing. On the other hand, if the kidnapper was another mage, this is going to go badly for you, and you'll end up owing a favor.
[ ] Go visit the local fairy court. This is generally a last resort, but they're almost definitely involved in some way. On the other hand, fairies are bastards who are not to be trusted. Ever.
AN: So, now I know why people rarely offer "what type of person are you" choices. Some combo's can be hard. Lunatic + Ritualist means that this is how it ended up manifesting. The voice is, if it wasn't clear, basically a split off section of your mind purposely designed to serve as a mental archive/spellbook thing. On the other hand, it grew it's own personality, and now you're insane, thus justifying the Lunatic trait. Relatedly, character creation is now over, and your character and his abilities have been finalized. I've put up a general overview of your abilities earlier on, and... yeah. I think that's everything. Anyway, feel free to ask questions as needed, Harry's pretty knowledgeable (comes with being a wizard.)
- Location
- Betwixt every moment and its next
[X] James Smith. A Vampire whom you've clashed with over your dislike of his feeding habits, mainly because the bastard has no goddamn self control and as the only mage in the city, you keep getting called to clean up after him. You recently embarrassed him, so maybe he's trying to get back at you? Seems unlikely, since he is relying on you to clean up his messes.
chocolote12
A Penguin Flailing Against The Keyboard Of Life.
Aw, why couldn't we just be irrational like normal crazy people who aren't crazy until suddenly they are? Actual voices in our head are just annoying people in our head, not true irrationality.
Sydney Sand
Bastard of Dorne
- Location
- Under the Bed
[x] The Goblin Markets. They trade in everything there, including information. But at what price?
[X] Hit up the Council. While you hate talking with them, the Council is, technically, supposed to handle this sort of stuff, especially since you're fairly confident this is a mage vs. non-mage thing. On the other hand, if the kidnapper was another mage, this is going to go badly for you, and you'll end up owing a favor.
- Location
- United States
So we have a crazy version of Bob. Just need to get it focused on perversion instead of spite and we will be perfect.
[X] Hit up the Council.
[X] Hit up the Council.
SrForgotten
Fate's Guide
Do we have to use mind magic to try to find him? We're all about energy, so could we use that to track him? I mean, living bodies give off heat, and we could apparently sense the fae's magic in James' room. Following the energy trails from two different sources to the same place shouldn't be too hard right?
Shadlith
Mad Magician
- Location
- The Universe
Energy magic can't really differentiate between his body heat and the body heat of whichever Joe schmuck. On the bright side, that would be a good way of checking to see if anyone's nearby that you can't see.
SrForgotten
Fate's Guide
[X] Hit up the Council.
Shadlith
Mad Magician
- Location
- The Universe
Amusingly, you just re-tied it. I really should have closed it, but I've got a final that I've been studying for... anyway, auto-close when the next person votes and breaks the tie, even if I'm not here to close it.
Visiting The School
Shadlith
Mad Magician
- Location
- The Universe
You consider things for a moment, absently flipping your phone in your hand. Jack's school, you finally decide. There probably won't be anything direct, but if something spent a while enchanting him, or picked him out as a target, that's probably where it met him. With that decided, you shove your phone in your pocket and make your way out the door, and to your bike.
The school's a bit run down, but in... decent condition, despite you living in the bad part of town. It's not spectacular by any means, of course, but it's not like there's gang signs all over the place or something.
You look around, humming thoughtfully to yourself. No immediate tells of fey magic, though you didn't really expect any. A quick spell to make your eyes capable of perceiving magic doesn't take much effort or time, so you quickly apply one to your eyes.
Hm... Well. This is interesting.
The gymnasium is practically covered with the soft red glow of a summoner's art in action. Somewhere deeper in the school, the... library, maybe, seems to glow with a few protective wards, however, mostly those born from a wizard's magic, but you can see the faintest hints of another Ritualist's work there. Might be worth checking out.
Still, even though you can't see even the slightest hint of Faerie magic here, the gymnasium might be a good place to start looking. Summoners deal with faeries and other, similar, creatures of spirit pretty routinely. More importantly, you don't know of any summoners in town, so that's suspicious as hell right there.
Of course, the library's also pretty suspicious. There aren't supposed to be either wizards or ritualists (well none of this age) in the city either. So it could be that one person's responsible for all three of those, which is so unlikely as to be laughable, or you've got three different mages who are attending a high school in your territory without telling you about it, which is... well, the problem with that idea is that there's three kids of around the same age with magic all at once, none of whom were formally trained, and all of whom were good enough to avoid getting themselves blown up.
Magic is both rare and dangerous: A child with the talent will show up maybe once per generation in a good sized town, and if left untrained, tend to somehow get themselves killed before they hit their tenth birthday, let alone their fifteenth, like these guys probably are. Cities boast a higher population, of course, if only due to having a higher population to start with. Still, Graphir City is barely deserving of the name, and the only mages you know of are you, your teacher, the council representative, and his grandson, who's five. Way too young to have set up in a high school.
Point is, you're not really sure where three new mages could have come from. If they'd moved in and were trained by people approved of by the council, they'd have hit up the old man, and he'd have told you about them. A mage can have a drastic impact on the balance of power in a city when they appear, standing policy, enforced by the council, is that if you go somewhere new, you find the nearest representative and tell him, so he can tell the others, so everyone knows to watch the balance of power for the next little while. Nothing worse than joining up with a faction only to find out that oh wait, their opponent has a mage as well, and now you're both trying to blow up the neighborhood at the behest of some random shmucks for no real reason.
Of course, if they weren't trained by someone council approved, then you're curious as to how they're still alive. Being untrained is a good way to end up dead. And since council approval basically just consists of proving that you can be trusted to not blow yourself up at the first opportunity, you doubt there's some unapproved wandering around training people.
Well, either way, you've got a decision to make. Namely, what now?
[] Check out the summoner magic. That's your most likely lead.
--[] Smash your way in. You're too busy to worry about doors, and it's midnight, not like anyone'll see. (Determined boost.)
--[] Sneak in, and try to avoid causing property damage.
[] Go check out the library. That's a bit more suspicious than the summoner, who, admittedly, might not actually be a mage, and therefore wouldn't have been expected to talk with the council representative.
--[] Smash your way in. You're too busy to worry about doors, and it's midnight, not like anyone'll see. (Determined boost.)
--[] Sneak in, and try to avoid causing property damage.
[] Hm. There might be people in here who shouldn't be. Chase 'em out by messing with the electricity in the building. Make the lights flicker on and off, heaters roar to life, and generally fake a haunting. If you're investigating, you want to do so without witnesses who might interrupt you! (Lunatic boost. Proposed by Lunatic.)
--[] Then where?
[] Screw it. Go home. You're tired, and investigating would probably be breaking and entering or something, legally speaking. Illegal's the point. You'll come back tomorrow, get a visitor's pass, and investigate then. Besides, this way you can actually... talk to the three mages first.
[] Actually, go somewhere else for now.
--[] Where?
[] Write-In.
AN: Apologies for the delay, I've only one thing to say, and that's goddamn college.
Edit: Hell fire on a stick, subvote was missing. If you're breaking in, please include your stealth level.
The school's a bit run down, but in... decent condition, despite you living in the bad part of town. It's not spectacular by any means, of course, but it's not like there's gang signs all over the place or something.
You look around, humming thoughtfully to yourself. No immediate tells of fey magic, though you didn't really expect any. A quick spell to make your eyes capable of perceiving magic doesn't take much effort or time, so you quickly apply one to your eyes.
Hm... Well. This is interesting.
The gymnasium is practically covered with the soft red glow of a summoner's art in action. Somewhere deeper in the school, the... library, maybe, seems to glow with a few protective wards, however, mostly those born from a wizard's magic, but you can see the faintest hints of another Ritualist's work there. Might be worth checking out.
Still, even though you can't see even the slightest hint of Faerie magic here, the gymnasium might be a good place to start looking. Summoners deal with faeries and other, similar, creatures of spirit pretty routinely. More importantly, you don't know of any summoners in town, so that's suspicious as hell right there.
Of course, the library's also pretty suspicious. There aren't supposed to be either wizards or ritualists (well none of this age) in the city either. So it could be that one person's responsible for all three of those, which is so unlikely as to be laughable, or you've got three different mages who are attending a high school in your territory without telling you about it, which is... well, the problem with that idea is that there's three kids of around the same age with magic all at once, none of whom were formally trained, and all of whom were good enough to avoid getting themselves blown up.
Magic is both rare and dangerous: A child with the talent will show up maybe once per generation in a good sized town, and if left untrained, tend to somehow get themselves killed before they hit their tenth birthday, let alone their fifteenth, like these guys probably are. Cities boast a higher population, of course, if only due to having a higher population to start with. Still, Graphir City is barely deserving of the name, and the only mages you know of are you, your teacher, the council representative, and his grandson, who's five. Way too young to have set up in a high school.
Point is, you're not really sure where three new mages could have come from. If they'd moved in and were trained by people approved of by the council, they'd have hit up the old man, and he'd have told you about them. A mage can have a drastic impact on the balance of power in a city when they appear, standing policy, enforced by the council, is that if you go somewhere new, you find the nearest representative and tell him, so he can tell the others, so everyone knows to watch the balance of power for the next little while. Nothing worse than joining up with a faction only to find out that oh wait, their opponent has a mage as well, and now you're both trying to blow up the neighborhood at the behest of some random shmucks for no real reason.
Of course, if they weren't trained by someone council approved, then you're curious as to how they're still alive. Being untrained is a good way to end up dead. And since council approval basically just consists of proving that you can be trusted to not blow yourself up at the first opportunity, you doubt there's some unapproved wandering around training people.
Well, either way, you've got a decision to make. Namely, what now?
[] Check out the summoner magic. That's your most likely lead.
--[] Smash your way in. You're too busy to worry about doors, and it's midnight, not like anyone'll see. (Determined boost.)
--[] Sneak in, and try to avoid causing property damage.
[] Go check out the library. That's a bit more suspicious than the summoner, who, admittedly, might not actually be a mage, and therefore wouldn't have been expected to talk with the council representative.
--[] Smash your way in. You're too busy to worry about doors, and it's midnight, not like anyone'll see. (Determined boost.)
--[] Sneak in, and try to avoid causing property damage.
[] Hm. There might be people in here who shouldn't be. Chase 'em out by messing with the electricity in the building. Make the lights flicker on and off, heaters roar to life, and generally fake a haunting. If you're investigating, you want to do so without witnesses who might interrupt you! (Lunatic boost. Proposed by Lunatic.)
--[] Then where?
[] Screw it. Go home. You're tired, and investigating would probably be breaking and entering or something, legally speaking. Illegal's the point. You'll come back tomorrow, get a visitor's pass, and investigate then. Besides, this way you can actually... talk to the three mages first.
[] Actually, go somewhere else for now.
--[] Where?
[] Write-In.
AN: Apologies for the delay, I've only one thing to say, and that's goddamn college.
Edit: Hell fire on a stick, subvote was missing. If you're breaking in, please include your stealth level.
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