February catch-all (open log)

[emet_sulk]

🧙 WHO: Emet-Selch and anyone
⚔️️ WHAT: Ascian keeps himself busy by taking on quests and learning new magic
🕒 WHEN: February
🗺️ WHERE: Around Camelot etc.
⚠️ WARNINGS: Potential NPC death as certain prompts progress

(I will match the format of your tags!)

ONE. Libyrinth 🗡️

The tops of these library shelves are some of the most uncomfortable surfaces he has ever slept upon - and this coming from someone who had napped on the large boughs in the Rak'tika Greatwood. He surfaces from his restless dreams after closing, squinting in the dark. There is a dim bobbing light some ways away which he presumes is the librarian, patrolling after hours.

He is not one for stealth but he isn't a fool. He sets his mouth and tries to stretch out his aching limbs as quietly as possible before looking askance at whoever it is that has chosen to accompany him into the library after dark.

No words from him. Merely a slight tilt of the head to indicate they should get going.

TWO. Pure of Heart 🛡️ (cw: possible NPC death)

"You tricked me!" he says furiously, lunging for Morganna. The witch simply disappears with his golden crystal in hand, leaving him with an old man who is slowly succumbing to poison. Emet-Selch checks over their vital signs, takes their pulse and listens to their breath. Any knowledge of poisons is limited to his world's own, and the longer he waits the less likely it is they will survive.

He makes his choice. Slamming his way out of the old man's cottage, he glances about in the hope that someone happens to be passing by.

"I NEED A HEALER!" he shouts.

THREE. Save a Beast, Kill a Man 🗡️ (cw: possible NPC death)

a) Indecision

Emet-Selch doesn't consider himself a righteous man. He doesn't even consider himself a good one. As he stares at the listing though, that nagging thought that he can't simply let such an injustice go crosses his mind over and over. Turn around and walk away - that is what he would have done once. It isn't his business to save others. It isn't his business to indulge in heroics.

Surely...surely one of the Warriors will take it upon themselves to slay the man. Yes?

He continues to stare at the notice, quite heedless of the people on the street passing behind him. "'Tis none of my business," he mutters. "'Tis none of my business, yet..."

b) Hunting down the pelt

There is the man. There is the pelt, lying amongst their supplies further up the beach. And there is the kraken, watching the man approach as it waves its long arms in warning. Double the pay if he manages to halt the offender before they can kill the creature, the notice had said, but Emet-Selch doesn't particularly feel anything for the beast. It and the man have locked eyes and all he cares is that the clash will provide him the opportunity to sneak down and make off with the selkie's pelt.

Easier said than done though. He's no rogue. He has no magicks with which to conceal himself. Whatever he decides to do, he knows he will have to act soon. Once the fighting starts, he'll have limited time to snatch the pelt.

"Would that I could bend the shadows to my whim again," he mutters aloud. Perhaps you're there with him, or perhaps you're elsewhere waiting for a chance to dash in for the pelt yourself. If no-one else interferes, Emet-Selch will move once the man and kraken begin to fight.

FOUR. Sync Up

Learning new magic is a chance he will never forego. Who knows? Mayhap his magic will be enough to alter the state of larger things, improving its possible applications in combat.

At least, that was the naive way he thought of it until he found himself trapped in one of the tents with someone he doesn't know. There is a suggestion called from the local outside that they ask each other questions or partake of the liquor, but Emet-Selch makes his thoughts on that very clearly known.

"I'll not be forced into this with a stranger!" he snarls, glaring at the silhouette of their local guide. "Let me out immediately!"

FIVE. Wildcard

Got an idea? Feel free to run it by me via PM to either this account or ch1ps0h0y

Comments

3.a

[intrapid]

[ Drink in one hand, the other in his pocket, Karma leans around one side of Emet-Selch to read the notice, paying less attention to the actual words than he is of the fact that this man is so preoccupied that he barely registers anybody else around him. ]

...'tis none of your business, but if you're going to haunt the streets agonizing about it all day, you might as well give yourself peace of mind and face whatever it is. Don't you think?

[emet_sulk]

[ He gives a small start at the words. Chiding himself silently, he directs his frown at the young man instead. ]

I could, [ he allows grudgingly. ] But I am no hero. Forcing a young woman into marriage is more akin to the role I would play in my world.

[intrapid]

But this isn't your world.

[ So... what? Karma doesn't understand being bound to any one role, unless it's one created by yourself or one you make your own. ]

What, you think someone's gonna say your out of character for playing the hero or something? We're all strangers to one another. No one's gonna know. Who's there to care?

[emet_sulk]

[ He crosses his arms looking disgruntled. Well, sure, that's the logic he's been trying to convince himself with until the boy had come along, but-- ]

There are some who do know me here. To them I'm an irredeemable villain. No amount of heroics will convince them otherwise, and whilst I cared little what they thought of me in our world...

[ Thinking about it lately, he doesn't really want to be seen a hero any more than he does a villain. Sighing, he tries to read the other notices, but he's visibly distracted. In the end, he gestures at the board. ]

Are you going to attempt any of these?

[intrapid]

[ An irredeemable villain having a moral crisis, wow. Karma never would have thought he'd see the say, if he didn't know another villain who... well, was frankly all but a villain, save for one irredeemable villainous act he was supposed to be responsible for.

Morality is complicated, and not worth pulling teeth over. ]

Sure am! I'm going to look into each one. Never mind heroics or villainy— I do what serves my own purposes. I hate bullies. I want to know more about that potion. I want to make money.

[ No reason not to do any of these, in Karma's case. ]

[emet_sulk]

[ He gives a soft snort. How very practical of them, he thinks. Whimsical, almost. But whimsy with a purpose. ]

Then would you like to look into the matter of the selkie together? I imagine this thief would not take a young boy seriously on their own.

[ And having company on this quest will help him feel less silly. ]

[intrapid]

Haha, if he doesn't take me seriously, that's just gonna be his downfall.

[ Never mind how young he is, his height and general demeanor is generally enough to put people on edge, even with an innocent smile perfected. Being looked down upon gives him the advantage, but that doesn't mean he likes it. ]

But sure, let's go together! You'll get your peace of mind, and, if you don't care for it, I wouldn't say no to the reward~

[emet_sulk]

Very well.

[ Although a small part of him feels disgruntled. It's not that he doesn't care...

Shaking himself mentally, he starts heading towards the address listed with the quest notice. After speaking with the selkie herself and getting a description of the man who had stolen her pelt (along with a clearer picture of the circumstances), he makes for the beach where the man is purported to be pursuing the kraken. ]

How vile men can be, [ he mutters along the way. ] Wedding another by force...

[intrapid]

[ He said he doesn't care! That means he doesn't care if Karma takes the reward, right? right (:

If he means otherwise, he's just going to have to speak up. In the meanwhile, Karma's more than happy to reap the benefits of the mission, enjoy himself along the way... ]

It's gross, isn't it? He'll pay for that. Though, I almost want to leave him alive, so the selkie can tear him apart herself once she has her full powers back.

[ They could kill the man so easily, but somehow, letting the selkie have the honors seems more fitting. ]

2

[kiss_it_better]

He had come because he felt uneasy about the whole thing (because he felt if it were Gu Yun he would definitely had gone to make sure).

It was the right idea, it seemed, when he saw a familiar person burst out of the cottage. He didn't seem flustered or surprised, but he approached with a little more haste, a slight furrow in his brow the only indication of concern.

"What happened?"

[emet_sulk]

"The old man was poisoned. By what, I do not know." He points back towards the hut. He's not one to give in blindly to panic but he knows well how urgently the man needs medical attention. "That woman, Morganna - she tricked me into thinking her concoction was the poison! Instead it was the antidote!"

She will get comeuppance for that someday. This he swears.

[kiss_it_better]

So that's how it is.

Something so obvious had to have been a trap was what he'd thought though what the nature of the trap was he hadn't been able to guess at all.

At least now he knew.

"I'll see what I can do." He didn't hesitate to step forward. Hesitation will serve no one here. Either he can or he can't heal the poison...he won't know until he tries. "Do you know what sort of poison he's been afflicted by?"

[emet_sulk]

"No. But I still have this." He holds out the bottle which that woman had tried to persuade him into slipping the man. Said man looks well into the later stage of poisoning. "I think it may be too late for it to take effect however. It looks as though he may soon pass. Are you able to use curative magic?"

Emet-Selch doesn't know why he cares. The man's life means little and less to him...yet standing by and watching them suffer seems cruel.

[kiss_it_better]

The moment he's close enough, he takes the man's wrist and feels for the pulse, trying to gauge where the poison was attacking...only to find the situation was indeed very dire.

Chang Geng's expression remains calm and without any hesitation but also without any hurry he releases the man's wrist.

"I can." He wasn't sure how much it will help but there's no time for hesitation. He places his hands over the man's chest. After a moment, his hands begin to glow. At first there's no change but after a while, slowly but surely the man's face eases as the pain lessens.

Still, by then a few heart-stopping moments had passed. There's sweat on his brow as he continues to pour healing energy into the poisoned man.

"Do you know how to take someone's pulse?" He means more than just checking if they were alive, forgetting for a moment that other places may not use the same methods to diagnose health issues.

[emet_sulk]

"I..."

He hesitates, realising that the means by which he used to gauge how close a soul was to passing is no longer available to him. He shakes his head, frustrated with himself.

"No," he admits. "I can find it but that is all. In the past, I have always been able to look at a man and know."

[kiss_it_better]

He kept his focus on pouring healing magic into the man's body. He doesn't look up or show any reaction to that admission.

"Then start by finding the pulse on his wrist. His pulse was abnormal and uneven. When you feel it has returned to a steady rhythm please let me know."

And then he can take a more detailed reading.

[emet_sulk]

He sinks to his knees beside the old man and takes their wrist again, using his fingers to feel the faint, erratic pulse beneath frail skin. How surreal, he thinks to himself. He has gone from destroying worlds to saving strangers he has never met before. It is no penance - there is no penance great enough to absolve his sins.

"...'Tis not settling," he says, beginning to worry although it hasn't been all that long.

ONE

[warbun]

[If he's been paying attention, this particular viera has actually passed by the part of the library where he's been hiding a few times now. Each time, she lingers a bit longer and stares a bit harder.

Why is she in the Libyrinth so late? Don't worry about it.

Once she realizes he's awake, she ignores his unspoken signal to move along and addresses him instead.]

You're an old Garlean someone, aren't you? I've seen your face printed somewhere before...

me: says I'll match format, completely forgets to do just that

[emet_sulk]

[ He barely suppresses a sigh. Is now truly the best time to be getting into this? He's at least ascertained that she isn't the Warrior of Light since he assumes they would know him on sight by now. But then again, Felih hadn't known who he was immediately...

Oh, whatever. Best get it over with. ]

Mayhap you recognise my face from the annals of Garlean history, [ he says, keeping his voice low as he searches for the librarian. ] I am the founding father after all.

no worries on formatting! and sorry for the wait--rl kicked my butt this week

[warbun]

Yeah, that's it.

[Lizzie keeps her own voice on the quieter side despite her obvious excitement for being right. She's not the best-versed in Garlean history, but at the very least she's familiar with Solus zos Galvus.

Although by all accounts this man should be very dead. That supercedes the whole 'you have a lot to answer for' issue, at least for now.]

You, um. You look good for your age.

all good o/

[emet_sulk]

[ He sniffs and rolls his eyes. ]

I do like being able to walk, sit, or stand where I please without aching in every bone. I never liked the aging part of your mortal bodies.

[ Just because he feels old doesn't mean he actually needs to feel it. That said, even this spry body gets its occasional aches and pains from his bad posture. ]

If you could hold off trying to kill me until after we've reconnoitred this library, I would be very grateful.

[warbun]

I'm not stupid enough to put you to the axe in a public place after hours, so don't worry.

[Though the temptation is there. Solus zawhatshisname has a lot to answer for, after all, and there's a certain satisfaction in lashing out that Lizzie is deeply familiar with.

(Lizzie is by no means well-studied on Garlean history, clearly.)

But she's learned there's a time and place for violence, and this isn't it. Plus, there's something else that that catches her attention, although it takes several moments after he's said it for it to truly register.]

Hold on, "your mortal bodies"? Are you not also mortal?

[emet_sulk]

Regrettably, no.

[ And apparently that's all he wants to say about that, for he starts crawling carefully along the maze-like shelves. ]

Curious arrangment. Where do you suppose these lead?

[warbun]

No, no, no. You aren't getting off that easily.

Last I understood, Garleans are mortal like the rest of us. How is it that you are not?

[He may want to move on, but Lizzie isn't about to. She's a common adventurer, completely ignorant of Ascians and the like. This is a big deal to her.]

[emet_sulk]

[ Zodiark grant him patience... He grimaces and sits down on the shelf, twisting around to look back at her. ]

Because I am no Garlean. Merely a soul inhabiting a Garlean vessel. Are you quite sure you want to be doing this now?