Archmages Meet at the Observatory

-=--=--=--=--=--=--=<* H05: Shining Chalice Observatory *>=--=--=--=--=--=--=-

         This grand structure appears as an imposing grey dome with a cylindrical projection emitting diagonally upward from the top of the superstructure. The entrance is a hemispherical double door into the side at the end of a long walkway. Across the double doors in an ancient script in Kulthian. If you are able to read it, it is the phrase "Transcend Perception." Across the top is the phrase in the common script "Embracing the Way of Moon and Stars towards Understanding." The handles are patterned in the symbol of the Shining Chalice society, the sign of the Chalice flanked by crescent moons with a star rising from within in the center of the two, with the crescents as the grips by which entrance may be had.

         The dome itself is ringed in subdued iron and bronze where it is apparently able to rotate. This solid ring glimmers dull, emblazoned with the signs of the gods. The symbol of Eluna is proudly situated above the entrance.

         Within the Orrery itself one is greeted with an array of gears and knobs. It takes a lot to move such a grand telescope, but there is more to this place than just a telescope. There is also a formidable collection of scrolls organized under headings referring to regions of the heavens, the positions of major cosmic bodies, and the Soli Maximus. There is also a subheading that is largely vacant concerning the weather and the various impacts of the heavens on worldly cycles.
                       

-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-- Contents --=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-

Cesran          A tall dark-skinned man                               
Telamon         A platinum-blond half-sil man with dancing dark eyes 

The Shining Chalice Observatory, early evening

Needless to say, the events of the last couple weeks have left the Observatory in a bit of an uproar. The great orreries have been shut down for the moment -- the proximity of the rift is causing an incredible amount of distortion in their measurements, and until the rift is sealed, it's best to not try and track such things. The grand telescope is all too often focused at the rift, though few try to view it for long.

Standing in midair in the library is one of the preeminent members of the Chalice. Telamon Lupecyll-Atlon, archmage, sorcerer, adventurer, and currently trying to work out how to -close- the rift in a way that doesn't make the situation worse. A soft curse in sildanyari falls from his lips, as he closes the book, shaking his head.

Drifting down to the table, he sets the tome down carefully, raking his hand through his hair. Clad in a ruffled white silk blouse, leather trousers, and black boots, he looks less like an archmage and more like a noble dilettante. Of course, looks are deceiving.

Cesran lands at the entrance to the Observatory and after a moment spent rolling up the carpet of flying, he stows it on his back. He heads towards the double door and he takes a moment to respectfully incline his head to the symbol of the White Magician, before he opens them. He had sent Telamon a message that he wished to meet with him and was sent back this location. Cesran enters as he hadn’t yet heard that the orreries had been shut down, but given the giant rift in the sky he is not surprised.

Cesran spots Telamon and is impressed by both the appearance of the man and the magical items that he has upon him. He also concentrates for a moment to gauge Telamon’s arcane prowess. His staff gives a low whistle of appreciation and turns towards Cesran, “That’s how you should dress with some style. Not these stuff old robes that you’ve been wearing since you got off the boat.”

Cesran ignores the comment as he strides over towards Telamon, “Well met Telamon, it has been some time since we have last seen each other. Thank you for agreeing to meet with you.”

Sorcerers and wizards tend to move in different circles. But study of the arcane does bring them together more often that not. And so when Cesran arrives, Telamon glances up, before landing on the carpet and offering an elegant bow. "Archmage Cesran. It's been a while. We met in the aftermath of the Heth invasion." His lips quirk. "Ironic -- Heth seems to have brought us back into each other's orbit, once more."

Tel rests his hands on the back of a chair, pondering for a moment before continuing. "There's much to be done, but I doubt you'd bother me about trifles. Please, sit down -- can I offer you any refreshment from the Observatory's kitchens?"

Cesran inclines his head respectfully and gives a bow back, although not nearly as elegant as Telamon. “Please just Cesran will do, yes it is ironic that Heth would bring us back together again. Perhaps that is a small blessing amongst all this chaos. I’m sorry that I could not come quickly enough to help with this whole Spell Cannon business. I was helping others and only came back to the city after it was fired. I should have been keeping closer tabs on the goings on of the city, perhaps I could have shared the information that I had sooner. Maybe this would have turned out different.”

The wizard does move to take a seat. “No thank you, I just had dinner at the Fernwood Pub. I am well. I’ve come to talk to you about a couple of things. The aftermath of the Spell Cannon being one of them, as well as how we might combat these void recreations. I was also told by a now mutual associate, Skyler, that you knew about what had happened to the Shards of Animus. Regrettably that is another thread that I had lost and am now trying to pick back up. I was told that your partner Lady Cor’lana might know of them as well. I believe I met her yesterday, when the city was once more attacked by these void recreations of the city’s villains. Unfortunately, I did not get to ask her about them as it seems that one of these void recreations had a personal vendetta against her in particular.”

Telamon's face grows set, though it's not directed at Cesran personally. "Yes. A shadow of the past, Marsward Seraquoix. Though I'm sure she took some satisfaction in killing him again." He exhales. "Damn this rift. The world is crowded with enough villains, we do not need encore performances." An Observatory servant comes into the library, and Telamon requests a pot of tea and two mugs, before taking a seat as well.

"The Shards of Animus, as I understand it, were believed to be fragments of the god, cast spinning through space and time when he was murdered. The Resurrectionists sought to unite them and hopefully bring about his return." Telamon furrows his brow. "I was sadly never involved with the Resurrectionists, but my wife dealt with them extensively. I know that at least one of the Shards -- the staff of Animus -- was removed from the mortal realm." He grimaces, and rubs his temple in memory. "I don't know if it was reunited with him, or sent to Ni'essa's hand.”

“Aye repeat performances, but in lies the fatal flaw. They can be defeated easily, it would seem, if you defeat them the same way that you had before. I have done my best since arriving back in the city to catch up on what’s be going on since I left. Much had happened, I shouldn’t really be surprised by that, but I believe using the knowledge that we all ready possess we can make short work of these void recreations. Perhaps some guide can be distributed out among the other adventurers so that if confronted by say a void spawned plague ooze, they’ll know just to pour soapy water over it and beat it with clubs, much like it was defeated the first time.” Cesran offers as a solution. “As for the rift, I’m afraid I have not yet had a chance to study it or make my way to any of the observation posts that have been set up. If you need my assistance in researching this rift just let me know I’m happy to lend my help and collaborate.”

“It seems with the recent vision from the Archmage that the Resurrectionists achieved some measure of success. I will follow up then with your wife.” Cesran nods, “Good, something of that power should never be allowed onto the mortal realm. Perhaps in defeating these villains a second time we are helping to purge the Shadow Sorcerer of the void infection. I just hope that this does not lead to the vision that I had years ago. I was researching the outcomes of what Heth destruction would mean. I was toying with the idea to simply Wish him destroyed. The vision of the future was not a happy one and my companions and I found ourselves fighting void monstrosities such as the ones that are attacking the city now, but without form as the stories were not yet written.”

"You may wish to consult with the Resurrectionists themselves," Telamon admits. "They've issued no statement ever since the vision of Animus. I suppose to an extent, it is a sign of their victory -- even as weakened as he was, to be able to lend wisdom is still cause for celebration."

His lips curl up at Cesran's analysis. "I welcome any help or insight into dealing with the rift. I suspect these duplicates are meant to keep us from taking firm steps to -close- the rift. A distraction, in other words. So we cannot let them draw our attention for too long."

The tea arrives at this point, and Telamon pours two cups, sliding one over to Cesran before picking up his own. "Your point about divine artifacts is one I share. I believe I once said that we should never seek to take up the tools of the gods. If nothing else, we might cut ourselves." His eyes twinkle a bit. "No matter how useful such things might seem... they are too dangerous even in the right hands." “I will try, but I suspect that I won’t get very far. As someone who once worshiped the Archmage it was heartening to receive such a message from him, although I have come to accept that the Archmage’s time is done as I remain firmly in the White Magician’s faith.” Cesran inclines his head in thanks as the tea cup is slide over, “Thank you.”

Cesran takes a sip of the tea, “You are probably right that this is all some distraction, while we are busy fighting past opponents, whatever Heth has planned and no doubt his cultists are carrying out goes unchallenged. I had heard that there was an expedition to Dragonier once, and perhaps now that Heth is gone another one should be made. Skyler said that the expedition had seen Heth doing something to the spirits of the dead dragons interred in a vault. Now that Heth is no more we could go investigate this vault and see if it holds any clues to what Heth’s plan was.”

”I refuse to believe that after all these years, after all his plans and machinations that Heth would just fly himself straight at the spell cannon. Perhaps the rift was his end game and without closing it, it would lead to the destruction of the mortal realm, that could have been his plan all along. Something inside of me tells me that there is something more to this, otherwise Heth would have tried to attack the city years go.”

Cesran pauses to take another sip of the tea, “It took me years to come to that wisdom, to start to use my magic to benefit others beyond just blasting monsters to save the innocent. You are right, even with the best of intentions, power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

Telamon offers a faint smile. "Who knows what the future holds? I did not come to Ni'essa's faith initially, but I wound up drawn to her regardless. We shall simply have to see what happens next."

"I have considered that question as well. My speculation -- based on what little evidence is left, for obvious reasons -- is that Heth was not in control of his actions. His behavior was not dissimilar from a creature dominated or compelled -- such poor souls will act directly even when it is not in their best interests." He takes a sip of tea. "Which would make Heth one more victim."

Tel taps a fingertip on the table. "Which does not mean this was unplanned. We were faced with an untenable situation: allow Heth to approach, or fire the Spell Cannon and hope for the best. Sometimes, there are no right answers." Cesran rubs his chin at Telamon’s speculation. “Interesting, that is an angle that I had not thought of.” He takes another sip of the tea, “But who could control such a monster as Heth. I doubt any mortal would have magic strong enough to do that, even the demon binder with all the resources that he had available to him would not have attempted such a feat.”

”I would wager to guess that only a god could have done this. Given the message that we got from the Archmage, combine with the fact that the Shadow Sorceress has in recent years had her hold over the Mul'niessa’s souls broken, perhaps this broke something inside of her. Some part of her is now trying to return to what she was once before, but being the Shadow Sorceress, she cannot be direct in it, she has to work through proxies and subterfuge. Directing Heth towards his destruction, knowing that it would open a rift, a rift that is spawning enemies from our past. Enemies that we know how to defeat, each defeat, we are purging some of that void that is infecting her. She is using us to help her, in her own way, of perhaps regaining herself. I’m not suggesting that she will become a force for good, but in her own way she is taking back control of herself. Purging something like the Void would take an enormous amount of power, if she were to do it herself, it would leave her weakened, vulnerable, something she would never want to be. No, instead she has set it up for us to solve her problem. We fight these old stories, old villains from our past, the more dramatic the better, what’s more powerful that a story? A story that’s told over and over and over again. Stories grow stronger with each telling, and that’s exactly what we are doing here. We are retelling the story making it grow in power, giving her more power to become what she was, the Goddess of Stories.” Cesran falls back in his chair as he finishes.

"Most likely. If that was the work of a mortal caster, we should -all- turn in our spellbooks and accoutrements and take up a new line of work." Telamon snorts. "But yes. The False Hope was... damaged. As unpleasant as I might find her, she is still part of the world. The Void is not, and has never been. I would sooner countenance the footfall of a fiend than a void-spawn."

He makes a face, before his lips curl in a faint smile. "Of course, Cesran, you realize what this would mean." His eyes have an almost mischievous twinkle in them. "She would owe -us- a favor. I'm sure she'll -hate- that part, but you know how it is."

“Yes even with my most powerful spell I would not attempt such a feat, one misplaced word and the result would be even more catastrophic then what we face now.” Cesran nods, “She is, she is part of the balance of this world that must be preserved, going too far one way or the other would be disastrous, it is why the Historian left the gods of good and joined the gods of neutrality.”

Cesran smirks, “She would owe us, but only if we knew about it. What better way to get help for free then to set up something like this. Alexandria, a city known for its heroes and adventurers, we are not just going to let these void creatures take over, we’ll fight them and because we’ve beat them once we can beat them again. It’s as close to a sure thing as she can get. All while doing it under our nose. Unless someone calls her out on it, she’ll get what she wants for free. No fighting on her part, no spending any more of her power than she has to. That doesn’t solve our problem though of the rift, but I think perhaps a trip to the library, ever adventure and battle that has been fought I’m sure someone has written it down, you know how we wizards can get, we can get obsessed with one facet. I am willing to bet that there is a librarian or an archivist that has detailed notes on how to beat each and every villain we might face. If we know how to beat them we can beat them again, even if we weren’t there originally.”

"True. Maybe I'll make a note. Something to pass along. Or to just rub her nose in if she gets too uppity at a future date." It appears Telamon does -not- lack for confidence. "She deserves it, considering she tried to invade the dreams of myself and my friends at one point." That last bit seems to have irked Tel, but he moves on from it.

"Still, at this juncture, we have but one task: to repel the void-duplicates. The gods only know what will come out of the rift next, but I like your suggestion about archivists. I could ask..." He pauses, his expression going blank for a moment, before he continues, "...rather, approach the Navosians and ask them for aid combing through the reports from the Guild."

“No doubt that she does, I doubt even the mind blank that I use upon myself would protect me from her intrusions. I am glad that you were able to prevail over her. We still should be cautious, knowing how the Shadow Sorceress operates, she could merely want us to think that we’ve discovered her plan, when us find out is all part of her real plan.” Cesran says before finishing his tea.

”I agree, we have one task and that’s to repel the attacks on the city. If you have an in with them that would be appreciated. Also, if you can let your wife know that I wish to speak to her, I would be appreciative of that, when she is free, it seems that the Shards of Animus dilemma has been wrapped up. I merely wish to catch up and fill in the gap in my own knowledge, purely secondary to the current crisis.” Cesran sets his tea cup down, “Thank you again for meeting with my Telamon, if I find anything out I’ll let you know, either by meeting with you or by sending the information along to you.”

Telamon nods. "Of course, Cesran. If I've left out anything, Lana would certainly be able to fill in any gaps -- or point you in the right direction." He looks around. "I think we should also schedule some regular meetings here. At some point the rift -will- need to be dealt with. Perhaps we can come up with a solution for it while we are fending off our villains' latest reprise." He pauses, and considers something.

"You know, not -every- villain gets killed. I wonder if there have been any void-duplicates of -living- villains -- rogues who are tucked away in the Arcanist's Dungeon, for example? That might be worth checking out, if only to assure ourselves that the rift won't throw those at us."

He rises to his feet. "If I am not here, I can be found at the Shining Chalice chapterhouse, or at my home in the University District. Look for a silo-shaped greenhouse; I built that in my backyard." He grins a bit. "There is something to be said for gardening in times of peace."

Cesran nods his thanks, “I would agree, I am happy to continue to set up informal meetings at the Fernwood Pub or anywhere else that the young adventurers gather now-a-days.” He says with a self-deprecating laugh. “Keeping everyone as informed as possible should help that way no one is caught off guard because they are being attacked by a villain that they have never even heard of, much less know how to defeat.”

Ceran hmms softly, “That would be a good idea, I’ll work on contacting someone there and seeing if we can get confirmation that they are still incarcerated.”

The wizard rises to his feet as well, “I’ll be here at the city, I usually dinner at the Fernwood Pub, but will most likely be at the city library when I am not there, trying to catch up on all that I missed.” He nods, “Hopefully after this you’ll get to do some more peace time gardening. It was good to see you again Telamon. Thank you again.”

With that Cesran heads towards the exit of the observatory and spreads out his carpet of flying to take off into the night.