NationStates Jolt Archive

A day like any other...

The methods of advertising employed by the Tolarian Academy are not, strictly speaking, normal. They usually involve finding a public notice board (or a wall already covered in posters) and simply transmuting the avalible material into a poster which A) Was a part of whatever surface was below it and B) Was too hard to staple things to and enchanted with some sort of anti-stick spell.
They tended to last until it rained, at which point they often melted. Apparently there is a whole section of the Academy dedicated to finding out why they do this.

In any case, a new variety soon started appear, somewhat a-typical of the usual ads, they were not quite so brightly coloured and of a much more serious nature.

Experienced Adventurers Wanted!

The Tolarian Academy is requesting the services of any interested parties with experience in the recovery of items of a magical nature.

Parties must have prior experience dealing with the various pitfalls which often acompany these missions, as the items in question will undoubtably be guarded quite well by traps and other devices of both a physical and ethereal nature. Expect parties of natives to oppose the expiditions as well.

The Academy will be providing guides and supplies, however parties are encouraged to bring whatever they feel they will need outside of the basic food/shelter, as the Academy cannot provide specialized equipment to non-faculty members.

Any who wish to apply should gather their equipment and sign the poster in the indicated area and then take three steps backwards. Once transport is complete go to the Academy Visitors Office, where you will be directed to the correct Magus. Do not attempt to navigate the Academy grounds without the aid of an experienced mage. Do not rely on any maps you have been sold or given. Do not feed, step on, kick, or speak to the Swamp Dragons.

The Tolarian Academy accepts no responsibility for loss of sanity, limbs, or life which results from acceptance of this contract. The Academy replace any equipment lost as a result of transport.
Any under the relative age of 18 who sign the contract will be devoured by demonic spirits en-route to the Academy. We are tired of sending you back.

Sign here:
X__________________


Wherever the posteres appeared, dissapearances also began to increase. Particularly amoung children.

(OOC: Since nobody appears to have responded who signed up originally, can I join? It'd be a simple matter to send off Karathis and Vaikwur as fully fledged Magi.)

(OOC: I'm still here; I just have to finalize who to send. I have a pretty good idea though...)

OOC: Asking permission to join... I would RP an Asfaltum exchange student who likes adventure...

OoC: Sorry, my computer sometimes eats my posts.

"Experienced" he smirked, tracing one dexterous finger through the miasma of scar-tissue which compromised his haggard countenance. That was the one thing he was certain he definitely had in abundance. Grinning lopsidedly as his hand swiftly tore the parchment from the smooth wall he began to limp away, with a deft flick of his wrist he raised his old hood, stained and battered like the rest of his ragged garments he hunched purposefully piteous. He was but another impoverished individual amid the crowd, blending perfectly with the rows of beggars who permeated the planet.

It was with some surprise therefore on the part of a local merchant that a wandering cripple had managed to dispatch in several clean thrusts his hired "help" and begun the process of cutting off gratuitous limbs until a transport was provided.

A bloodstained individual hobbled through the bustling crowds, hardly out of place in a competitive market he eagerly sought out the most sinister bars and taverns, nursing a potent drink in the corner while he slowly pieced together the necessary information.

Apparently this business would be a high-risk, high-profit orientated affair. Fair enough- At least the payoff would be decent and if you didn't get a fresh wound every now and then you got lazy, something he could never afford to be...

Thus after cautious experimentation with the provided teleportation process a man simply signed as "Lazarus" emerged slightly dazed into the grounds of the Tolarian Academy.

(OOC:
If you like, Hakurabi. I'll have to deny anybody else who hasnt signed up though.)

IC:

As the man materialized amidst the buzz of the Academy lobby, he was almost immidiatly yanked from the circle my some unseen force.

"Sorry about that." A young mage was extending his hand to the man now, "We have to get people out of the circle as soon as possible to avoid certain unpleasant side effects, like losing limbs and so forth. Your name?"

Two young travelers continued on their journey through the world; looking for adventure wherever it could be found. This day, they entered the town of Lycus and happened upon a lone billboard.

"Hey, Fenix!" said the young woman. She was young, yet very skilled. At the age of 25, she was already a fully fledged eldritch knight. She could also do some conjuration and even summoning, and to a very minor degree she had some psychic skills. Her tail swayed back and forth as she started to read the bulletin.

"What is it, Kiera?" asked the young man. He was her traveling companion and longtime friend. Where she was strong in magic, his abilities were more physically oriented. He was very skilled with weapons and had mastered the use of ki through intense martial arts training. He could use very minor magic, but for the most part he let his fists do the talking. He walked over and stood next to his werewolf companion.

"Take a look at this!" exclaimed Kiera. "It says here that they're looking for adventurers to find magical artifacts. That sounds like something we could do. Honestly, our recent adventures have been nothing close to adventurous..."

"You don't have to remind me," said Fenix, recalling their last few attempts at making some money. "It says to sign and then take three steps back."

"Sounds fair enough." Kiera summoned forth a pen and signed her name. She handed it to Fenix and he signed his. They took three steps backwards and were instantly teleported to the Tolarian Academy.

(OOC: I hope these characters are balanced enough... If not, I can always adjust them.)

The mage offering his hand to the previous arrival was somewhat shocked when a pair of humanoids slammed into him, crushing him against the padding tacked to the wall.
"Ah...haha..." He gave a somewhat pained grin and took in the new arrivals, "Welcome to you to, it looks as though we need to...revise the saftey spell a bit. Ow."

Kiera quickly lifted herself and Fenix off the mage and offered her hand to help him up.

"Sorry," said Kiera, "I didn't expect that to happen. Are you all right?"

"I wouldn't worry too much about him," said Fenix. "He's a mage; he can heal himself." Fenix's attention was diverted towards the other man in the room. Fenix couldn't see the man that clearly, but his appearance would suggest he was a beggar or at least someone who was very poor. However, Fenix could see the bloodstains on the man's clothing, and he could tell this man knew how to fight. Fenix wondered who else would show up for this task at hand...

The mage smiled and took the girls hand, "Actually, Im only a student here. I dont...ow...do a lot of healing. Thank you." After righting himself and straightening his robes, the man took a careful step off the mat and coughed.
"I am Jorrin, currently doing duty as a Greeter here in the hall. Since you all arrived at the same time, you should take your things and head to room six. There are maps on the table, be careful to stick to the routes on them. Its my job to clean up the mess you make if something kills you." Jorrin grinned in the 'Im-making-this-sound-like-a-joke-but-it-really-isnt' fashion.

Two wizards entered the lobby, one apparently some sort of small lizard creature, while the other looked to be by all appearances human. "Ah, Jorrin! I see the adventurers we put out for have arrived!"

Karathis was wearing a cotton travelling robe and a broad-rimmed 'Gandalf'-series hat, a bright blue rim identifying him as an abjurer, while the kobold Vaikwur was garbed in an emerald-green silken robe trimmed with intricately woven silver and was holding a polished wooden staff topped by an emerald encased in alchemically silvered steel (it certainly would not do to have someone take the gemstone). The robe also had a fine red weave in the collar's trim, signifying his status as an Evoker.

The two wizards joined the group, reaffirming Jorrin's warning.

Jorrin smiled at the new arrivals, "Ah, just in time. Crowly wants you two in room six as well. Im not sure to envy you or start praying, but apparently your group is going after..." Jorrin raised his hand to his mouth in an exaggerated gesture to conceal what he was saying, "The Primus Mobile. I tell you, Vanima either loves you or hates you."

"A bit of both, really. I don't think she's quite forgiven us for the Exploding Runes incident." said Karathis, with a sigh of defeat. "Roses are red, Violets are blue, Today I prepared, Exploding Runes!" chuckled Vaikwur.

Karathis smiled at this. He regretted being talked into it at the time, but in hindsight it was certainly a fond memory.

"Nor have I, my knee still twinges on cold days, you know." Jorrin smiled, "And I dont think I'll ever quite forget the way that table flew. Remind me and we can supercharge a bit of wood for the Academy Founding Day celebration. Ah well, you had best take these three off to Crowly. He most likely knows youre here, 'chit-chit-chattering away'."

Kiera stood there and listened intently as they spoke of the magic. Fenix was a little bored; he'd much rather be out doing things than standing here listening to this. He kept his patience though; he knew Kiera didn't tolerate him being too impatient. She was a good friend of his, and he knew more than anyone just how stern she could be. Finally, Kiera spoke up.

"Excuse me, but where is room six?" she asked.

His bright eyes watched the proceedings intently beneath his cowl. His features obscured to a certain degree in shadow, two obsidian holes, flecked with a whiplash of amber, kept a constant vigil. His lithe body giving a craggy appearance while it scuttled behind the others, secretly noting nuances of gesture and affection of accent to gauge the others personality's.

Occasionally hunching under his rough garb in a pretence of cold, clinging to his thick yet heavily frayed cloak, he furtively tried to cover the red marks which dappled his clothing.

"I'll keep it in mind." Karathis tapped his hat. "Well then, let's be off."

The journeyman wizards left to head down to Room 6.

The first thing most people noticed about Crowly's office was that it was dark. Dark enough that, for a while, this was usually all they noticed.
The second thing they often noticed was the things in jars, the bubbling things in various bowls and beakers, and Crowly himself.
He was almost always hunched behind his desk, grumbling to himself and flipping through the pages of some ancient looking book, although any book would soon start looking ancient in the atmosphere Crowly maintained.
He looked up as the group entered.

"Took your time." He growled, "Not that it matters to me. Just because Im a zombie. Kick a man while he's dead." Crowly's head clicked into a new position, and his ear fell off.
"Drat. Excuse me a moment." There was a sound of a desk drawer opening, a needle and thread were produced.

"So. Experienced adventurers? Bah. Two pups and what looks like a reject from one of those damn 'action movers'. And you two, of course." Crowly managed to insert a silent 'at least youre wizards.' into the last sentence.

Kiera was shocked to find out this man was a zombie, and while she was a little irritated at the insult, she quickly forgot about it. It was obvious she and Fenix were the young ones here, but that didn't phase her one bit. She was determined to make this trip a successful one.

Fenix clenched his fist at the zombie's spiteful words, but he was also excited to finally get started. He wanted to get out there and do things. Standing around like this was far from interesting. He was lucky to have gained much patience from his martial arts training; otherwise something like this would be too much for him. Kiera being a werewolf didn't help his restlessness either, as she usually had a ton of energy and they would usually go out for a run together. They hadn't done much this day besides arrive in Lycus and then in this academy. The two stood and awaited the professor's next words.

The zombie cleared his throat, "In any case, I dont suppose it matters. Your group has been assigned to locate and retrieve the Primus Mobile, or Prime Mover. An artifact held to be capable of moving entire solar systems and so forth. The artifact is located on the second planet, which, as you may know, is heavily inhabited by a variety of unpleasant creatures." Crowly snapped the thread he was using to sew his ear back on and replaced the needle and thread.
"The payment for retrieval of the artifact is everything you can carry away from the hoard it is located in. If you do not retrieve the artifact you will receive items worth approximatly %20 of the total haul recovered. You will be allowed to select the items you want."
"Your ship departs in two hours, the Solus from Skyship Tower 12. Those two," Crowly indicated the wizards, "Will show you where it is. On the ship you will meet with your Academy guide, who will answer any questions you may have."

The zombie unphased him, it was merely another corpse, and he'd seen enough of those to last an eternity. Undeath in all its forms irked him, maybe because it reminded him of his own fragile mortality. So it was with a certain level of suspicion he watched Crowly's movements, hands warily staying near his concealed weapons.

Nodding respectfully when the sardonic speech was done, he watched the wizards for indication of where they would be headed next.

Information Upload ::: Assignment

The scout drone watched as the large beast chewed on two of its companions. They were still somewhat functional, limbs twitching like spastic cockroaches in its jaw. They might survive yet, many a scout drone had made it through a digestive system alive, if not intact.

It analyzed the acidic and enzyme elements in the beast's copious saliva. Its connection to their group consciousness had fizzled when the pain levels of the other two scouts had become too high. It now perched, spider like, on a cliff wall. Its skin camouflage altering its coloring to match that of the ruddy, grey stone. The sun had warmed the rock, making major temperature alterations unnecessary, and the scout drone's biomechanical body possessed very little in the way of a scent the beast was likely to notice.


Information Upload Processed
Continue with Assignment

For the scout, that meant hanging motionless until the creature moved away. It would be waiting for a long time.

((OOC: Already on the second planet))

((OOC: I feel really awkward, not to mention out of place, bringing a pre-existing character into this, but the hell with it, I'll do it anyway. Also, don't worry, people, I'd already signed up. Look forward to workin' with ya.))

Excel Excel, Second-in-Command and Chief Executive Workhorse (a royal pack mule, if you will) under the Supreme Commander of the Dominion of ACROSS* Lord Il Palazzo, carefully reviewed the flyer found on the unconcious body of one of this world's natives. The person didn't put up much of a fight, but then again most people don't when they're sleeping.

The blonde, 20-ish woman looked normal, but she'd seen and done more than most people would in 5 lifetimes, ever sense her master Lord Il Palazzo took rule over their world. Still, Excel was forced to wonder: if she were still second-in-command, yet ACROSS was in charge, WHY was she still the only one sent on missions such as this?

Well, Lord Il Palazzo's answer to the last question of such a nature was as follows.

"My dear Excel, I trust only one of your bounding determination and enthusiasm with missions of such importance as these."

"Although my Lord says such things, it doesn't really make me feel much better about having to do this thing alone. I mean, I don't even know what this thing's talkin' about. Three steps backward? ..... And I bought this map for nothing? Damnit, this just gets lamer and lamer..."

Still, Excel signed the contract (used a pseudonym as usual) and did as directed.

*Unnecessary parts of title editted out for the reason of saving time and space

"I feel more like Jorrin with every passing day."

And so, off the group went to the Solus. In the interests of plot expidency, they passed through the lobby again on the way.

"Ah yes. You're here from the sign up too? Yes, yes. Come along. We haven't got all day." said Vaikwur, moving quickly. The academy was rather large, and two hours was not long, especially given what could happen on the way as a result of the constant dangerous experiments - entire buildings had been rendered unusable before.

The party eventually arrived at the Solus, with ten minutes to spare.

Kiera looked in awe at the spacecraft they were about to board. She and Fenix had traveled much together, but they had only been into space once, and that turned out to be a bust. Perhaps this time would be more profitable? She was a little concerned about Fenix, however. She could see he was shaking a little. Their previous experience was certainly not a good one.

Fenix shook with anticipation. He could remember the last time they were in space, and it was disappointing to say the least. With the promise of hostile creatures, however, he was sure to have fun this time. He grinned slightly to himself and waited for them to board the craft.

The Solus was, by the standards of most races, one of the oddest craft in the sky. Combined with the fact that nearly a hundred similar craft of various shapes and sizes were clustered around the Academy's Skyship towers, many people had a feeling that they were missing something.
All of the largest ships looked as though somebody had taken an old Ship of the Line, stuck a large pair of engines and a bunch of brass pipes on it, added a few extra sails and called it a spaceship.
The smaller ships were less 'classical' in design, but they were still, for all intents and purposes, made of wood.
The Solus was somewhere between the two extremes, a mid-sized ship which, while it held a certain resemblance to the classical 'tall ship' concept, was much sleeker than the lumbering beasts beside it.
As the gang approached the ramp, a grumbling demon cut them off, hauling a large brass gun.

"Stupid (mumblegrumble) mages, I swear Ill kill the lot of them...here I am older than time itself and theyve got me loading bloody boxes..." The demon glared at the new arrivals when it noticed them, "What do you want? Cant you see Im busy using my enourmous power to load this damn cargo? As if I didnt have better things to do, like, say, scourging worlds of life and so for-...Hey! How did you get here?!"
The demon was glaring at the new arrival, a blond girl of some sort, who had apparently popped out of thin air.
"Stupid bastards cant even get the teleportation spells right...bloody mages."

Academy Naval uniforms were visible, easy to differentiate from standard student robes by the armour plates woven into them, as well as the gold trim. Most of them also had a 'ships logo' on them, Solus's appeared to be a spiral with a number of rays encircling it. Several crewmen were looking at the group suspiciously.

Kiera stood patiently as they awaited boarding the ship. This craft was strange to say the least, and she honestly wondered how it could fly. She wondered why they were being stared at; obviously this trip must not have been one that most of the people there knew about. She subconsciously tightened the ribbon in her hair and her tail was still. She could tell many creatures of different types were here, but werewolves were generally not welcome in many places. She was relieved that Fenix looked past that, even if he did tell her from time to time that he liked her more animalistic features. She looked over to him, and he was busy glaring at the people who were watching them. Fenix didn't like being challenged, and even the harmless looks that these workers were giving him was plenty enough for him.

"The sooner we get out of here, the better," Fenix said to Kiera. "These people make my blood boil."

"Calm yourself," she whispered back. "There's no need for violence here..."

"Tell them that. It looks like they're about to come down here and start trouble."

"Get back to work, Nebiros. Im sure these people have enough to deal with." A voice from behind the group proved to be a mage in Blue House colours (IE: Blue), who bowed as the group turned, "Tiberius Drachus at your service. I will be the guide of this particular expidition, but we should board first, we have a good deal to talk about, and the ship is far more comfortable. Please, follow me."
Tiberius set off up the ramp, leading the group to a small room mostly taken up by a table with a crystal cube set into the center.

"Excuse me a moment, I will return shortly. If you require any refreshments there is a cooler under the table. The Academy produces a particularly fine lager, which you will find several examples of therein." The mage bowed as he stepped out of the room.

"Beverages like that never really appealed to me," Kiera said to Fenix. She opened her hand in front of her and produced a glass of water. She took a few sips before turning to face Fenix. "Would you like any?"

"That sounds good, thanks," said Fenix. She handed him the glass and he took a few gulps before handing it back to her. "That's better. I wonder what that Tiberius guy had to go take care of..."

"I'm not sure," said Kiera as she took back the glass and finished the water. She concentrated for a moment and the glass disappeared. Surely they would find out more about the mission when Tiberius returned, but for now they could only wait.

Karathis rummaged through his pockets and produced a cup, a teabag and a bit of sugar. Taking some milk and water from the cooler, he mixed a cup of tea, employing a small tablet for heat. Vaikwur just relaxed, mixing a couple of potions every so often and shaking them, before examining the results with interest.

Excel blinked inquisitively before looking around.

"How the hell'd I wind up here?" She groaned, and walked off in search of someone authoritative-looking who could tell her where to go.

"Oh, Lord Il Palazzo, your dedicated servant Excel is hopelessly lost in space! Danger, Will Robinson! Danger! I'm in a big pinch!"

The woman groaned and wandered the corridors for a while, ducking behind objects to hide from the various occupants, not really aware she was safe just wandering around. Finally, she stumbled upon a group of assorted strangers who didn't match the natives of the ship thusfar.

"Oho, perfect! Now, to use my mastery of stealth tactics to blend in perfectly without arousing suspicion at all! Ohohohohoh...!" As she was laughing to herself, she knocked over the pile of boxes she'd been hiding behind.

By the time they'd stopped falling and making a VERY horrible-sounding noise in the process, Excel had already appeared at the back of this little tour group, acting like it hadn't happened at all.

Granted, it had taken a while for all the boxes to stop breaking....

As distant cries of "No! The ether bottles!" and similar exclamations echo throughout the ship, Drachus re-entered the room followed by two Goblins bearing a large box.
"Ladies and gentlemen, ah, Miss Excel, please do be seated, I will now give you more specific details of our little...expidition." Drachus pointed at the cube and muttered a word under his breath, causing the crystal to light up and produce something very similar to a holographic projection. The table was obscured by a map of the Jade Star system, eccentric orbits and semi-real planets included.
"We are leaving from here." Drachus indicated the third planet, and graced a line through the air between it and the second, "And our destination. Known to the locals as Geroff. Unfourtunatly, it is mostly inhabited by Orks." He waved at the cube and the view shifted to a depiction of an Ork, "Theyre mostly feral, and all vicious bastards who'll bite your head off as easily as looking at you. Theyre about two and a half meters in height on average, although the Bosses get much larger, quite capable ripping anybody here in half, and, contrary to what you may have been told, quite intelligent when it comes to certain things."
He paused.
"Questions thus far?"

"I have a question," said Kiera. "Do these orks have any known weaknesses, be it weapons, magic, or otherwise? Even the most powerful beings have a weakness..."

Excel sat in the back, feeling like she was in the middle of a group of tourists on a manhunt. However, at least that meant that she wasn't the only one who was horribly out-of-place here. Quite frankly, she didn't get all this magic who-do mumbo jumbo, but if her Lord Il Palazzo ordered it, then damnit, she'd do it.

Still, though, she had to wonder....

"How's this junker hold itself together, anyhow?"

Drachus cast a glance at Excel, "I understand that the ships integrity is maintained with items such as 'screws' and 'nails', as well as 'glue'. Do you have some other method you would prefer? Alas, wood does not weld well."
Then, returning his glance to the table, he nodded to the werewolf, "Indeed they do. Unfourtunatly their main weakness is also a source of great irritation to those unprepared to exploit it. Essentially, if an Ork spots an enemy, they have only one tactic, that is, they shout 'Waaagh!' and run at them with guns blazing and weapons raised."
He indicated the Ork on the table, who was holding an ax which, if blow up to scale, would probobly be about the size of your average human torso. The creature in the hologram waved it around as if it weighed about as much as a feather.
"This can be exploited of course, traps and such. And their aim is very bad, as they prefer melee combat to ranged altercations."

Drachus cast a glance at Excel, "I understand that the ships integrity is maintained with items such as 'screws' and 'nails', as well as 'glue'. Do you have some other method you would prefer? Alas, wood does not weld well."
Then, returning his glance to the table, he nodded to the werewolf, "Indeed they do. Unfourtunatly their main weakness is also a source of great irritation to those unprepared to exploit it. Essentially, if an Ork spots an enemy, they have only one tactic, that is, they shout 'Waaagh!' and run at them with guns blazing and weapons raised."
He indicated the Ork on the table, who was holding an ax which, if blow up to scale, would probobly be about the size of your average human torso. The creature in the hologram waved it around as if it weighed about as much as a feather.
"This can be exploited of course, traps and such. And their aim is very bad, as they prefer melee combat to ranged altercations."

"I understand Duct Tape also works rather well." quipped Karathis between sips.

Thinking about his newest spell, and eager to try it out, Karathis spoke again.

"Do they run through arcane shields?"

"Oh they work fine against a few Orks. The problem," Drachus waved his hand at the cube, "Is this. You are seeing live recordings from the second planet."
The table was quite literally filled with Orks. It was difficult to make out individuals, but that didnt matter much. The entire field of view was filled with a writhing sea of green, dotted with tents and various fortifications. One of these was a massive tent with a large smilie face on it.
"As you can see, there are lots of them. How long do you think your shield could hold out, Vaikwur? I understand skilled mages can deflect a few fireballs at a time, but much more requires assistance." The mage waved again, returning the hologram to a planet-wide view, "Our goal is stealth. If the main camp of Orks is alerted to our presence, it is unlikely that we will survive."

Karathis grinned, both at the concept and the fact that Drachus had just mistaken him for Vaikwur. An understandable mistake, given that Vaikwur was the evoker.

"Hmm... Maybe three hours or so? Besides which, where is our objective - perhaps in that great big tent which makes you want to blow it up from orbit?"

(OOC: *shakes fist*
Damn you and your funny names!)

Drachus shrugged, "The artifact in question is located some miles north of the main Ork encampment...here." the map zoomed in slightly, showing a large ruin, "At one point there was a temple constructed here to house the Prime Mover, and it, of course, is filled with traps of the deadlier sort, as such temples are wont to to be."

"........ W-Wood?"

Now, while Excel rarely showed it, she did, in fact, hold a fairly deep well of knowledge. However, the fact that she herself rarely acknowledged this, coupled with her dislike of thinking too much often led this wisdom to go by the wayside in many cases. At present, her mind was trying to wrap itself around the physics involved in preventing a wooden craft from decompressing in the vacuum of space, not to mention how in the world it could withstand leaving or entering a planet's atmosphere without dissintegrating. As the proverbial hampster spun in its wheel at a frantic pace, Excel wound up missing the last couple parts of the discussion.

Something about traps, something else about temple ruins. Excel was reminded almost immediately of her trips to ACROSS Headquarters on an almost daily basis. It was almost nostalgic; punji pits, land mines, ejection tiles, rope traps, stuff like that. Still, it made her no more willing to have to re-live it.

She raised her hand again, maintaining her normal ".......wut?" expression.

"So, fearless leader, how's about equipment? Any reccomended weaponry? Room an' board (free, hopefully)?"

Frankly, Excel felt more willing to sleep in the RB-79K Ball Type K (which she "liberated" some months ago in the name of Lord Il Palazzo). Hey, at least it wasn't made of wood. Of course, it had been just about out of fuel by the time she'd reached this planet, mainly since it hadn't been intended that it be capable of interplanetary travel without the support of a carrier (honestly, if she hadn't been travelling by momentum alone half the time, she would've been stranded long ago). Things like that made her wonder sometimes if her Lord overestimated her abilities, or if he just liked making things harder for her.

((OOC: Lol, you can talk about magics all you want, but just know that the laws of physics weep at you :P))

Drachus smiled, and rolled his eyes internally (this was a skill acquired in long service to the Arch Mage, who could spot an eye roll at ten yards even if you were facing the other direction), "All of this will be provided, of course. We have arranged for a Academy portal to be brought along to provide maximum comfort and safety, the Orks shouldnt be able to detect it while we are sleeping, and even if they do we can simply shut it off. In terms of weapons, I had hoped that the ad would state that you should bring your own, but the Academy has provided a number of powerstone weapons which you should find quite handy."

"Oh, I get it, you're thinking with portals now..." Excel nodded like she knew what he was talking about and quieted down.

Quite frankly, she had brought along nothing BUT weapons. Despite her conservative ways, the rations she'd brought had been used up long ago. The backpack she carried was purely armament-based. It had some rifles hooked into it, along with some explosives and small-arms weapons. She carried ONE revolver, just in case.

She kept one hand on her pack as it lay beside her, eyeing the other 'adventurers' suspiciously. Sure, she knew she had severe paranoid tendencies, but that didn't rule out the possibility that everyone really WAS out to get her.

Vaikwur looked slowly around the room, sizing up his fellow adventurers. When his eyes fell upon Excel's backpack, he at first squinted as if to get a better look, then looked slightly surprised, and the two wizards began to slowly edge away from the crazy lady.

"How much longer is there left in the trip?"