5 May 1999. Qing and Willow make plans.
(New Character Arrival) (College Esoterica) (Necropolis) (Qing) (Rephidim) (Spheres of Magic) (Willow)
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A demon in Darkside. Fires, corpses, blood, and black, black magic. The rumors that reach the college as well as the few eyewitness accounts get worse and worse with each new tale.

At the College Esoterica, the greatest Mage's school on all of Sinai, preparations are being made for one great strike against the darkness. Something… anything… to stop the flow of blood. After the Skreek healer, Chiri, lost her tent to a demon, she sought refuge in the college as well, but vanished as she planned something with the Life Mages. Time has gone by achingly slow ever since then – but it is time nontheless. Time to plan, hopefully a plan of victory.

In a secluded stone chamber, one dispassionate specialist involved in the struggle stands in the center of an intricately drawn chalk circle. Economy of movement belies a lack of sleep, but the listless reptile continues his work, meticulously calculating and placing each mark. Despite braziers burning in each of the corners of the room, the place seems dim and chilly. If Qing notices, he doesn't show outward signs of it. Evenly spaced around around the circle are four marked stones, and on a nearby table, various odd reagents, from red vials to a grinning skull or two, wait to serve mysterious purposes.

The sound of clawed feet scraping against the stone floor of the hallway outside heralds an arrival. The steps sound strange and uneven, and every so often they stop altogether before resuming again at twice the speed.

The witchdoctor doesn't look up from his chalk outlines, even as the steps approach the door. Instead, he merely hisses, "It's about time you got back, apprentice. I asked for those candles ten minutes ago."

A Skreek pokes her head into the door, sniffing the air as though she had never breathed before until this moment. The rat picks a lock of black hair from her eyes and flings it back across her shoulder absently. "Sorry… it's only me," the rat squeaks, itching at a black stripe under her eye that marks the rest of her charcoal gray fur like a streak of warpaint.

"Ah. Ms. Naochi." At last, Qing looks up, dropping the piece of chalk he was using into a lower set of hands, and dusting the upper pair off. The middle set holds away from himself a lantern he was carrying, to brighten the doorway a little as he turns around. However, when the serpent catches sight of the Skreek, he just stops all movement, the lantern swaying slightly. After a few moments, an upper hand reaches up to remove his dark glasses, revealing crimson eyes and a raised eyeridge.

"Willow. I figured I should change my name." If it is Chiri, she looks quite different. Even her voice sounds a few measures lower. The only thing that seems to be the same is that odd plantigrade leg-chance. Her colors have changed from warm to cold: bright yellow eyes, firey red hair, and earthy fur have been switched for eyes that are gray as an overcast day, hair black as midnight, and fur the color of cold steel. "They managed to fix my scent, too… and even made my nose work again so I could notice it. If I'm dead, I might as well go through with it completely."

The rat leans against the doorway, grinning to herself.

The Rokuga replaces his glasses, his eyes again disappearing, seemingly, into cavernous black sockets. "I see… Willow. It's a pity you regained your sense of smell around me, of all people." The opened door does something to relieve the acidic, biting odor around Qing, but not much. The witchdoctor lowers his body slightly to allow his lower set of hands to return to preparing the circle, his wide hat shading his face as he looks down again. "What are you here for?"

"For someone who's had no sense of smell, it's like perfume to me, Mage Qing. I don't mind it at all." The rat inhales sharply through her nostrils to punctuate her remark. "For starters, I wanted to thank you for finding me when you did. For all I know, that damned demon would have killed me in the explosion had you not shown up." She polishes her claws against her blue tunic, "I also wanted to see if I could help you when you try and deal with the demon's master. He took my shop from me and everything I owned. I'd like to take a thing or two from him in return."

The snake's many shoulders simultaneously bob once, just slightly. Whether because of a laugh or a cough, it's difficult to tell. "Hm." He looks up again, reaching over the circle toward the table. "If I were you, madame, I would take leave of this skyland. Your information was – and I predict will be – of significant help.

"At your advice, I have made certain to spread word to all the physicians on Rephidim to watch for Francisco. If my theories are correct, only the malignant entity allows him to live by now. Escape from the island is unlikely, as is the chance he will be able to remain hidden for much longer.

"I am in the process of preparing a spell of exorcism, which I plan to cast under guard protection once I find the fox. There remain problems and uncertainties in the equation, of course."

One of the smaller skulls on the table, etched with strange sigils and sealed with wax in most spots, finds its way into a pale hand, and the Rokuga begins pouring a fine trickle of sand from one of its empty tooth sockets, describing more strange shapes around the circle with it.

"So when you exorcise him… he'll keel over and croak?" 'Willow' shakes her head, causing more strands of black hair to tumble into her face – apparently she's still trying to get the hang of some of these 'changes'. "I heard a rumor today that a fox killed almost thirty people in Darkside… You think this is our boy, or should I even bother asking?"

"That's my theory. And yours is a safe assumption." Qing continues drawing with the sand. Occasionally, he tips it at odd angles, and the stream of sand changes colour. "It doesn't seem to me that he can sustain his own vital functions anymore. Twenty-four people near Darkside, of various races and… occupations… were found slain, with no visible marks. Autopsy revealed lack of vital essences." The sand-pouring skull is returned to the table. "It isn't a stretch to conclude that the spirit is sustaining itself with this, and in turn, is sustaining Francisco for its own purposes. It is my hope that driving the entity out of Francisco and preventing its re-entry will break its hold and power."

The rat enters the room, keeping her hands to herself for the moment. "I hate to ask… but what if it doesn't work? Do you have any back-up plan?"

The Rokuga's answer is curt. "If it doesn't work, I'm likely to be slain." Qing looks over his circle, double-checking it with a practiced eye. There seems little need, as he doesn't reach down to change anything. "And to be honest, no, I do not have an alternate plan. I will be requesting a retinue of guards to accompany me, but whether they can really be of use remains to be seen."

He looks up from the circle finally. "And there is the thus-far uncalculated risk factor of the Gating Staff."

Willow circles the room opposite the serpent mage. "I have a confession to make to you, Mage Qing. I don't believe in half of this mumbo-jumbo I've been hearing about. I don't believe in a Dagh, a spirit procession, or a Star. I think that when people die, they become fuff'nar food… which leads me to believe that Francisco might just be some nut that mumbles to himself and managed to get his greedy little paws on some funky magical artifact like the staff or his little Shiga-skin cloak. I also know that he bled when my knife hit his gut." She clenches her chisled teeth. "What exactly will your little 'exorcism' do? Send out the magic infecting him?"

The witchdoctor's mouth quirks. It's about the closest thing to a smile he'd ever manage, though it'd be considered a total failure on any other face. "Remarkably perceptive of you, Willow. Most people find this little trade secret of Spirit Mages to be disturbing." He folds two sets of hands behind his back, letting the third hold his lantern, its flickering light creating a wavering boundary of luminance around him. "There is no Star. The Procession has nothing to do with spirits. Dagh could no more eat your soul than I could. Spirits are real, but not in the sense superstitious peasants attribute to them."

His free hand raises, and he murmurs. After a short while, a tiny blue wisp of flame appears over his fingertip, wobbling and translucent. "This is a spirit. All it is is concentrated magic… a curious effect caused by the field of raw improbability that hugs our world. It isn't any more alive than gravity, heat, or any other physical force. However, like those phenomenon, it has capabilities."

"Well well well… I learn more about you every time we meet – even more when I'm not tripping over your tail." She shakes her head, swirling her thick strands of hair like a black halo. "If your little spell works, all this will be over very quickly, and I truly hope it is. But if it's not, there's going to be problems Rephidim-wide. The people of Darkside don't like monsters preying on their kind; they're bound to riot and destroy everything they touch until they get to our boy. I highly… highly reccomend you think up a backup plan. Silver hurt the fox's little puppy, and he mentioned something about cold-forged iron. If I could get my hands on some silver daggers, I could probably poke some nice holes in that fox's hide. I bet burning him would probably work as well. Maybe you could get some fire mages with some held fireball spells to come along, or arm the guards with silver weapons… or… " She throws up her arms, "Or find a ghosthunter or something to lend a hand!"

"I just don't like the idea of going into a battle with a bow when you find you need a sword in your hands," the rat chitters.

Qing nods slightly. "I'm getting to that. You wished to know what the exorcism does, correct? It's like this." The tiny pale wisp moves down around the floor, and begins scooting stray grains of sand around. "Like gravity, heat, and what-have-you, spirits are capable of different things. The can move objects, or inhabit them to move them. Some of them can mimick intelligence, like psychic echoes. That's what happens when severe anguish combined with death gives rise to a haunting type of ghost. The more complex they get, the more intelligent they might seem. Sentient, even."

He leans back into his coils, arching his fingers. "A very complex one is dealing with Francisco, and is by now animating him, in all likelihood. It appears to require a vulpine host, else it would have left Francisco by now. The condition of Francisco's body merely requires a greater need for sustainance on its part … thus, it's still quite lethal, and killing indescriminately. Hitting Francisco with special materials will, in my opinion, merely damage the host." The wisp goes to float near Qing's free hand. "My specialization is in manipulating spirits, which I'm relying on to be able to approach the entity safely." The wisp floats between thumb and index finger, and the Rokuga pinches it out. "However, if you have any ideas on how else we might be able to approach it and Francisco without risk, I encourage you to share them."

Willow shakes her head again. "Besides making him explode from a distance, I've no idea. He… um… doesn't seem all that tactical minded though, and might be fooled by a trap." The Skreek rubs her chin, "There's one little thing. I don't know if it's solid or not. It might even be completely meaningless, but when Francisco was in my tent, something I said actually made him sound scared for just a moment… "

"… The wound on the back of his neck." Willow rubs her own neck in emphasis. "When I said it might be a bug bite, he acted completely terrified. He stammered at the mere mention of a bug, in fact. Oddest thing I ever saw."

"Insects?" The mage raises an eyeridge. "Interesting, actually. Perhaps this can be of use." He rubs his lower jaw thoughtfully. "As for a trap… I don't know of what could bait him to a warding circle, other than the hospitals. However, your idea of a secondary plan is sound. It will be a strain, and I don't know if I have time to do it, but I may try to devise a spell of protection, keeping at least the spirit itself from harming me, or perhaps confining it. That leaves the staff as the final concern. It is dangerous in the hands of this fox, and we must get it away from him somehow."

The rat nods. "Or keep lots of silver shekels around in case more critters pop out of it. Oddest thing when that ruby shattered and the poison puppy came out… " She raises a bony finger to poke at one of the skulls in the room but withdraws her hand before coming into contact with it. "Has the college offered you any support? This guy was a student here after all. It could really hurt the college if folks found out that one of their guys is mucking around Rephidim and killing folks."

Qing shrugs his upper set of shoulders. "The Dean has been keeping to himself. He asked for my aid, and I've been making use of material backing and Collegia authority. There aren't that many spirit mages on Rephidim, and even with my own, there aren't enough hands available to work on this. I must merely wait in this chamber, spell-working, until I hear word. Then I will go out." The witchdoctor eyes Willow strangely, as if pondering. "Perhaps you can help me after all, though… "

The rat arches an eyebrow. "The fox destroyed everything I worked hard to earn for the past five years. He almost had me for dinner and then probably planned to have my slave and his cub for a snack. I'll help even if it kills me… again. Even if all I can do is play bait."

"I believe you may be able to do better than that," replies Qing, rubbing the bridge of his nose where one of the spikes holding his glasses in place digs into the scales. "This Francisco person's aversion to insects may be a loose or nonexistant advantage, but we cannot afford to overlook anything. Do you know where we can gather as many 'bugs' as we can in as short a time as possible? Thinking on this, I plan to assemble a portion of my retinue from Zelaks. The rest of the insects may distract him long enough for us to close in."

"Gooshurms!" Willow snaps her fingers. "Even if he's not afraid of bugs… every fox hates Gooshurms. They'd probably be as good as a Jupani's nose and a hundred times as annoying." She starts pazing back and forth, the gears in her head churning madly. "And if he does have a wound on his neck, some blood-flies would really be interested in him, I'll double bet!"

Qing counts off possibilites, while his hands tally them, seemingly by themselves since Qing doesn't look at them at any point. "Gooshurm, blood flies, coolects, vermites, grabbits… anything we can get. I hear certain races feed chiefly upon insects, so perhaps restaurants may be a place to look. I plan to surround whatever location we finally discover Francisco in. Even if he has no problems with insects, saturating his location with such things will likely distract him anyway. Guards armed with whatever silver is available can watch for things summoned from the Gating Staff. If all goes well, the guards may be able to physically discorporate the fox, or I may be able to drive the entity out and away from him with the exorcism. If I have enough time, perhaps I'll be able to trap the spirit, and disperse it."

"I think my only limitation is money. I've got a couple of coppers in my pockets, but I might need a few more to get the army you want." The Skreek rubs her nose and taps her foot like mad, causing one of the lit candles to rattle. "There's tons of herbs here as well. I bet I could make something that would attract the bugs even more if you splashed some on him… and something to make the bugs keep distance from us. I used to make herbal bags for trips into the jungle. This shouldn't be all that different."

The Rokuga waggles one of his hands dismissively. "Your personal finances are not necessary for this. I'm certain the Collegia and the Temple are willing to fund whatever supplies are necessary to deal with this particular menace. Tell them you are to be considered my assistant, and that any requests you make for the purposes of this problem are being filed in my name." Qing's tail shifts slightly to sit near the candle, stabilizing it. "Those other notions all sound useful. We can equip ourselves and the guards."

"Oooooooh, I get to charge it. Well, as this is for a greater good, I won't take advantage of that." Her expression sobers somewhat. "How far should I go? I bet I could land a couple of horribs if I asked the right people. I may be dead, but I still know some people who will give me what I want, as long as I pay them well. I'd also like to get a few silver daggers. They can just have a little bit of silver on them for all I care, but if that fox comes at me again I want to be able to hit him with something that'll hurt." The rat slams her fist into her bare hand for emphasis.

Qing nods absently, tapping his fingertips together. "There are limitations to the amount of funding we can make use of, I am certain, but you can consult Collegia and Temple representatives for what those may be." The reptile looks over the tops of his glasses briefly. "As this reflects on me, I trust you won't abuse these resources. Is there anything else?"

"Had you been anyone else, I probably would have soaked you. But I tend to give exactly as I get, and you've been good to me so far, Mage Qing." Willow sighs loudly through her nose. "There's something else… one thing that I could potentially do, but it might cause more harm than good. A lot of people in Darkside lost folks they cared about, or at least folks that owed them money. It probably wouldn't be hard to push a mob of folks into taking up arms and going fox hunting in Darkside. And the folks in Darkside are some of the most ruthless and resourceful folks I know. The only problem is that once you get them going, they may be hard to stop, and they don't take orders very well. Still, you could probably triple your guard. Maybe just almost double it if I'm extra picky about who I instigate. Should I consider this option?"

The Rokuga ponders this briefly. "It could create more chaos than we need. I wish to compose my retinue of elite, and others might simply get in the way. Additionally, less disciplined commoners whipped into a frenzy may seek to attack any even vaguely fox-like person they see. Your Temple could not condone such a thing, and it could make for more problems than it might solve. Officially, I cannot recommend it… " One of his lowest sets of hands unfolds, one pallid, boney hand being held out, palm up. It must be the "other" hand.

The rat nods silently. "I'll do my best at being careful who I pick and choose then, and I'll see what I can do to make sure they know that you're with the good guys. We know what he looks like, at least somewhat: a fox with a cloak and staff." She starts to sidle towards the door. "Looks like I'm going to have a busy night… While I'm shopping, I'll also check on a story I heard about a fellow that's supposedly a pretty good spirit hunter. Dunno how legit it is, but every extra blade might help."

"Very well," hisses Qing, crossing his arms again and nodding. "Bear in mind that the Collegia records show Francisco is a mage of the sphere of illusion. He may be able to alter his appearance. Advise your … volunteers of this, and keep a sharp eye out for clues to his identity amongst any you suspect." The mage looks down at his circle again, his eyes tracing over the patterns. "We have little time, so work quickly. I must begin the ritual. Leave me now."

"Good luck, Mage Qing. I truly hope we pull this off." Willow bows and then spins on her heel, jogging down the hallway as she prepares to hit Little Babel for everything it's got.

Qing raises all six of his arms, crooking them into strange patterns, saying nothing until Willow passes through the door. Hissed chanting begins echoing from the chamber, and follows the Skreek down the hall, becoming fainter with each step, until finally, it can no longer be heard.

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GMed by Bambridge

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