A Day at the Library

[Culix]

... He wants to know my other magic, Jannin thought. Had he not been panting after the routine, the nervous, statuesque nature his smirk had adopted would have been obvious. That's no good. The fireball spell was all he had. Though lightly exhausted from all the coordination it had just devoted itself to, his mind whirred furiously on the most graceful answer to give. It's gotta be something that'll make me look good... keep me from doing any 'presentations' at all... and stop all further questions. In the meantime, the beads of sweat from anxiety went unnoticed amidst the sea of their exertion-born cousins. I should take a bath, quietly attached itself to the boy's mental to-do list.

For several seconds, Jannin, by holding up a finger as he breathed deeply, conveyed that he was catching his breath before he answered. However, he knew he couldn't stall that way forever. And no other viable delays came to mind. Granted, setting the field ablaze would certainly put off his reply, if it didn't wordlessly answer, "I don't need any other magic." However, that particular distraction had too many unpleasant side-effects. Like first-degree burns on his ankles or convincing his audience he was a bit of a pyromaniac. After tossing out a few such ideas, the lad decided he would be better off devoting all his energy to puzzling out a solution. Lousy fatigue... he thought, still keeping his inner struggle from Alan and Blank, I'd have gotten it ages ago, if it weren't f--

"So, c'mon, O Great Jannin," Alan pressed, derailing the lad's thoughts, "What other magics do ya know?" The boy sighed, an act that coincided perfectly with one of his gasps. After putting it off for almost forty-five seconds, the truth just seemed easiest. "To be honest... I can't actually do anything--" And, for the second time that hour, the mage's ego caught him and insisted he come up with something mid-sentence -- though it was certainly cutting things rather close this time. "-- Err... more than that... today." He felt better, and pressed on, more secure. "You see, I already used up most of my power takin' out a giant... troll... army. So... Sorry, but I'm outta big spells now." Phew... Almost didn't think I'd get outta that one.

Unfortunately for him, it seemed he wasn't yet out of it. "Well, that's a shame," Alan said, unfazed, "But I think I heard Blank askin' what ya knew. And I could be wrong, but I think if ya know how to shoot, say, a lightning bolt, you can say that without showin' it. So, how about it?" Luckily, inspiration decided to strike the panic-stricken Jannin almost immediately. The lad's smile widened and he threw back his head for a short, deep laugh. "And ruin the surprise? No way." He gave another chuckle. "You'll find out soon enough."

[Lighthawk76]

Blank was really hoping that the question’s answer would give him even more admiration for the young man’s talent. Watching the boy become as winded as he did got him a little worried, though, and then seeing that the boy seem to flail around for an answer made him wonder even more.

Was what Blank saw not the tip of the iceberg, but the bottom of it? Though if the boy was able to conjure fireballs and wield his staff like he just had in battle, maybe it was fine to use the bottom of the iceberg. What worried Blank was the fact that the boy was trying too hard to impress him. If the boy had this much trouble with his ego when it came to someone as unskilled as he, what would happen when he came up against some of the better one’s in the LCC. Would he push himself this hard just to look better? And thus not have the strength to actually win a battle.

He gave Alan a skeptical look as Janin appeared to continue thinking. Alan had always told him to make sure to not exert himself overly so and that sometimes you had to wait for the right blow. Blank hadn’t yet learned to find when the right blow came, but he had learned not to just attack blindly. It was something that had been shown all too clear to him against his last opponent. The kid had laid him out with a kick and had nearly pushed him to rolling off a cliff.

What did Alan have up his sleeve?

Before Blank could speak up, Alan gave Janin a helping hand, a different take on what Blank had said. His look became even more skeptical, wondering if Alan was just trying to give the boy a way out.

Surprises. That was Janin’s answer. Blank didn’t like surprises. Surprises were a group of bandits jumping you on the road, or your traveling companion bringing you to meet a group of witches. Surprises were never good things.

Alan smiled grandly at Janin’s proclamation though, and walked over to Blank. “Well then, that should answer any questions about young Janin’s powers. And don’t think I use young as a bad thing, my good friend,” added Alan quickly, before the boy could see it as a slight, “Youth is a good thing, you already have the power of the elders, so keep that youth.”

“Blank, Janin. Why don’t you two get to know each other?” Alan turned to Blank in order to hide a mischievous smile from Janin. “You should ask Blank to show off some of his skills. I’ll be in the library, I need to talk with someone.”

With that Alan took his leave of the two, and reentered the calmer library.

“So,” said Blank awkwardly, “Where are you from?”

* * *

Alan had a hard time trying to keep from sniggering in the library. The meeting was going just as planned. Blank had a partner for the LCC, Janin’s ego was mostly satisfied, if it ever could be, and the old man had a good show to look forward to.

He continued walking on through shelves of books, each holding pieces of more obscure work than the last, moving towards the back of the library. He had a feeling he knew why Blank had come in here earlier, and if his hunch was right, the only help he would have gotten was from someone who made her home in the back of this library.

The rows of shelves did little to disorient him, and he was able to reach the back relatively quickly. There he came to a small oaken door.

Knocking on the door, he waited quietly. As the door opened, a brown haired woman was ready to greet him with a smile. As she saw who it was though, her eyes grew round, and an intrigued look came upon her face.

“It’s been a while Cassandra.”

[Culix]

"Where'm I from?" Jannin asked, continuing toward the bag. He hadn't been asked that question before, so he considered it an odd thing to ask. The boy had also found it odd that Alan had gone out of his way to assure him 'young' was not a bad thing. Of course it's not a bad thing. Young people look their best. Why would he wanna drive that point home...? Oh, right. The senility. I guess some things just take him a little longer. Although he did remind me of something... And that something was his appearance. After such an exertion, Jannin had decided youth needed a helping hand in maintaining his looks. To this end, he had started for his bag, the keeper of his mirror and hairbrush.

"Well, if you haven't heard of me, you haven't heard of it," the lad continued, by this time reaching the bag. Fishing through it, he cheerfully removed the mirror. This cheer drifted into a more ambivalent outlook once he gazed into the reflective surface; though his reflection looked much better than expected, his vanity refused to let him consider that a victory. As Jannin ran his fingers through the wet hair, hoping to use the sweat to his advantage, he finally gave Blank an adequate answer. "It's a fair-sized town in Corone, around..." The boy fumbled for the correct region as his fingers considered their work, and decided they'd need help from the brush. Leaning his staff against the library and reaching for the object, he guessed, "Oh, around... twelve miles in... that direction." He broadly gestured at random with one hand and began brushing with the other. After a few moments, Jannin frowned at the results. Geography and beauty don't mix, he told himself sagely.

With a sigh from its owner, the brush vanished into the bag. The vain little boy then devoted all his attention to one last maneuver: setting his forefingers on his temples and pinkies at his forehead's center, he pushed back the violet mane. Jannin smiled at himself. That'll do nicely. Finally content with his grooming, he joined the mirror with the brush and faced Blank. "Oh, and it's called Telsan," the lad added hastily, realizing he'd forgotten to mention the name. Coughing he bent down to scoop up his staff, the gem of which reflected the sun's final, fleeting rays. "So, Blank, right?" the boy inquired, "The old guy mentioned something about your 'skills.' Mind giving a demonstration? I wanna know what I've got to work with." With the mention of Thoracis's name still on his mind, the boy had instantly agreed to join with Blank. However, with a cooler head, he had decided the matter might need some further thought; if his potential partner was going to give a laughably pathetic display, he might be better off simply snatching someone off the streets at random. But he would first watch how the young man performed.

[Lighthawk76]

Alan stood in the doorway for the few moments, waiting for the woman surprise to subside. She was as beautiful as he remembered. Slim, but still curvy. The few age lines around her face were the only deterioration he could see, though it was something he never held against a woman. He had plenty of age lines himself.

“I’m debating whether to drag you in here and show you the time of your life, or to slam the door in your face after scorching it with my strongest fire spell.” It was said with a strange look on her face. It seemed to combine both emotions that she verbally explained.

“That could be understood my lovely lady, but we both know that you would be wasting your time on a face already gnarled enough, and sadly I do not have the time to take you up on your first offer.”

Cassandra looked the old man up and down seeming to have become another person from the one Blank had seen earlier in the day. Her eyes were now the eyes of a haughty sorceress sure of her powers. All traces of the motherly woman had been wiped away from her face. This was the Cassandra that Alan knew. This was not a woman to fool around with. Well, it depended about what kind of fooling you were planning to do.

“Did you talk with a young man with a book of gibberish?”

“A friend of yours?”

“Yes, a traveling companion.” Alan made to move into her study but was blocked by her body.

“I don’t want you anywhere near my magic Alan.”

“Oh, come now Cassandra, I don’t know the first thing about magic. Swords are specialty.” The old man smiled mischievously. “Many kinds if you remember.”

“Oh yes, I remember your specialty. Show off your sword skills, disappear for while, and show up when your weapon needs polishing. More often than not with more trouble than I want to deal with.” Cassandra put up her head in mock remembrance, placing a finger to mouth. “Remember last time? My magic tipped off that lich to your location, and my study dealt with the consequences.”

Cringing at the memory, Alan nodded in agreement. “Fine, we’ll talk out here. Amazing that you didn’t scare off Blank.”

“Amazing that the boy’s even traveling with you.”

“Alright, I get it. I’m on your bad list. Anyways, did you have a look at the book?”

At this Cassandra calmed down, allowing the conversation to turn away from her anger at the man. “”Yes, I did. It’s sealed by one of the most complex spells I’ve ever seen. Do you know what it is?”

“I have my suspicions.”

“And these suspicions are…?”

Alan looked off pensively. He didn’t want his suspicions getting back to Blank. Not until he knew for sure. Cassandra could be trusted though. Still, not even those that could be trusted were foolproof.

“He’s part of my circle,” he answered enigmatically, “So nothing at all on the book?”

“Someone doesn’t want it read. What’s your circle?”

“You haven’t pieced it together?” That playful look had come back to his face. “Maybe you’ll have it next time. Until then my lovely lady.” With a flourishing bow, Alan headed back to the entrance of the library.

“Yes, until then,” Cassandra whispered to herself, “I’ll be old and you’ll have aged not a day.”

* * *

The boy was amazing. Blank hadn’t ever seen a person so worried about his appearance. Of course, Blank was really only used to watching fisherman and fishmongers, so had little experience when it came to vanity.

As Janin finally came to the end of his grooming, and finally getting out a name, Blank was asked that which he didn’t want to answer. His skills.

He took the worn staff from his back, and prepared to show off his stuff. “I’m not that good, but I think I know enough.”

With that, went into one of his battle routines, imagining Alan was coming at him with his own staff. His moves weren’t horrific and he knew the basics. It was painfully obvious that he was no master. And it had nowhere near the flash of his future partner.

After a few moves he came to a close. Smiling awkwardly at Janin, hoping the boy wouldn’t look down too harshly on his lack of skill.

It was at this time that Alan also showed up from the inside of the library. “What did I miss?”

[Culix]

Jannin had expertly ignored Blank's display of unencouraging facial expressions as the former had grappled with both his first answer and his appearance. Not that this was difficult, of course; the lad had devoted the lion's share of his attention to these activities. He did, however, note his partner's somewhat awkward bearing and speech in the old man's absence. Guess I'm still overwhelming him, crossed his mind, thinking back to Blank's initially ill appearance. I thought he'd recovered, but I guess he needs more time. Oh, Jannin... he thought, with a sly smile and a shake of his head -- both of which Blank likely assumed were directed at him. Who'd have thought your bounty of power'd be such a curse when dealing with lesser beings...?

These thoughts and gestures frolicked through his mind and over his features just after the 'lesser being' before him made his self-assessment. Once Blank began the demonstration, the lad observed him with the air of a master -- he'd been working with conveying the impression on-and-off for the past week and was quite pleased at how convincing he'd gotten it. Behind the facade, Jannin was about as skilled at judging ability as he was at fighting. Or, for a more colorful analogy, as skilled as a chicken was at doing long division. Blank's movements, though lacking flair, at least demonstrated to a master that the youth had received some basic instruction. The bulk of the mage's staffsmanship knowledge came from observing. Specifically, observing himself in a mirror, as he worked out which maneuvers looked most impressive. Still, from what little he knew of actual combat, he could see his potential partner holding his own with those moves. Not bad, I guess. This could work.

Before he had a chance to share this opinion with the artlessly grinning Blank, the geezer returned. "Nothing you haven't seen before," Jannin answered the question cheerfully; though he'd simply meant Alan had watched his protege's displays before, this statement came off sounding rather pretentious. Particularly because of the words that followed: "But you're just in time for something important." The lad cleared his throat, and then announced, "I've decided Blank's gonna be my partner in the tournament," sounding for all the world like the whole thing had been his idea. He waited a moment, smiling all the while, for the no doubt ecstatic responses.

Regardless of these replies, Jannin turned away with a flourish and pointed dynamically. "Now!" he cried, "Onwards! To Lornius!" And then he was off, racing over the blades of grass toward that random spot on the horizon. It was a testament to his stamina that he could attain such a speed so soon after his taxing display. However, his endurance wouldn't carry him to his destination, as he'd decided to run in the opposite direction of the nearest port and, apparently, to circle the globe. With only the odd torch attached to the brick walls of Sereza to light his way, Jannin rushed away from the library -- and 'The Complete Book of Spells,' which lay alone and forgotten on a table -- with only one thought on his mind: Get ready, Thoracis. I'm comin' for ya!

[Lighthawk76]

Alan stood back calmly as he watched his companions partner finally announce his approval of Blank. He had been a little worried about leaving the two alone, thinking of the small slights that Janin could take from the smallest things. In Alan’s experience, those that fed easily off the golden platter of praise, drank just as easily from the dirty pipe of humiliation, sometimes a little too easily.

Either way, everything had apparently gone for the best. Janin was willing to take Blank as his partner.

Alan looked over at the young man, as the overeager mageling began running off in some strange direction. His face took on a somber expression and he began wondering just what he was about to do.

Was Blank ready for something like this? The LCC had made some of the most unknown faces on Althanas into household names. It had also driven others to insanity over their loss. It wasn’t something you did at the tip of your hat. Alan had his reasons for wanting to have Blank join. It was there that something could happen. If Blank was what he thought he was, then this would be the place for something to happen.

The only question was: who was Blank?

“We better get going,” the young man said to his old companion.

“Yes.” Alan turned than, making his way towards the inn they were staying at and farther on to the nearest port town. “Please be quick about getting Janin. We don’t want him getting too far off.” He turned back to Blank and gave him another mischievous grin.

Blank stared at him in perplexity. “You mean he’s…”

“Better run.”

Blank quickly began running after the boy, screaming his name and pleading with him to stop and turn around.

Alan simply smiled. It was the beginning of what hoped to be a good time and a good run in the LCC.

[INDK]

This thread does not have any real glaring weaknesses. Therefore, my complaints are going to seem quite nit picky. Please don’t let those comments give either of you the impression that I don’t think you are good writers, or that I didn’t like the thread. I just did, but to save a bunch of “oh it was very good!!” comments, I’m going to give you one generic good job on everything here, and then focus mostly on your weaknesses below. Congratulations on a thread well done.

Total Score= 67. Nice job guys! This is a really high score, especially given what a simple plot there was to this.

Introduction – 7 The only thing these introductions really lacked was a hook that made me think that this story was going to be a great one. Nothing here really drove me away, but it was just that your introduction didn’t have me wetting my lips in anticipation of the rest of the story. I think to an extent this was hurt by the fact it seemed you were presenting the relatively mundane plot of getting LCC partners. If Culix’s post had teased a bit more of the plot, this would have been a superb introduction. As it was, it was still good.

Setting – 6 You both could improve by working other story elements into your setting.

Strategy – 8 I like the way you guys thought out getting to join each other for the LCC. It wasn’t the world’s biggest problem but you solved properly, and I liked all the little touches, like Janin insisting defensively that he doesn’t need any other spells.

Dialogue – 7 Culix’s dialogue is very strong, Lighthawk’s is also good. The thing I really like about Culix’s dialogue is that it seems to be quite natural and emotive. Lighthawk, your dialogue never seems out of place, but notice how Culix does a good job of making his dialogue seem character specific. Also, another qualm I had was that Alan’s speech mannerisms changed depending on who was using him.

Character – 7 Culix, Janin is great. You do a great job keeping him from being too gimmicky. Lighthawk, I think you still need to flesh out your character a bit more.

Rising Action – 6 I’m not sure I really got the point of the interactions between Alan and Cassandra. They were well written, and some of your better dialogue Lighthawk, but I fail to see how they had anything to do with the plot.

Climax – 4 The climax of this thread was rather ho hum, especially because it was so predictable. Not really your fault, this thread was a prelude to further adventure, not an adventure in and of itself.

Conclusion – 8 These conclusions had me rooting for the characters. They were amusing in a very warm way.

Writing Style – 6.5 This is admittedly a minor thing, but Culix, please work on your punctuation. It is annoying to see paragraphs that aren’t formatted correctly. Yes its nitpicky, and I didn’t really take much off for it, but please fix that. Also, separate speech from different speakers into separate paragraphs.

Lighthawk, the only problem I see from you is misuse of commas. Check out this website for tips.

Wild Card – 7.5 Good work guys.

Spoils=

Lighthawk receives 600 EXP and 200 GP
Culix receives 600 EXP and 200 GP

[Thoracis]

Rewards added.

Culix is level one now. Congrats buddy!