Zekic and apprentices

Malchik laughs. "All of El Rhun is very old. We'd have to search the whole city! And it's dangerous. Who do you think would be fool enough to volunteer for that?"

Telador turns to Traxis and Windham. "You two are marginally older than the others by the look of you. Sort out what you are willing to do while Zekic, Sylvian and I head for the archives."

Without waiting for their reply the tall man shepherds you out and teleports you to the ground floor.

"There is a tunnel that links all the towers underground. I will take you there. Then Sylvian we are relying on you."

The girl, who looks to be in her early teens, grunts and says to Zekic. "I haven't seen Windrunners, not real Windrunners, for thousands of years! Must be trouble if you've come back. I doubt if I can help other than dig for you but is there any question you have for me?"

Malchik, whose angry expression indicates he is not easy to deal, with stares challengingly at Windham. "So, Mister in Charge, what are you going to do?"

Jeri looks sulkily after Telador - he feels that he could have helped Zekic with his illusion spells.

Well, there's nothing to be done about that.

"What do you suggest, Windham?" he asks. "Where should we start looking for this 'gate'? We are helping to look for it, aren't we, Windham?"

"Yes, we are." He looks into the air, as if looking at something far away. "Old, huh?" He seems to shudder as he comes bcak to the group.

"I'm not sure if this will help, but there are ancient places under the city. There are areas under each school that were used for trials of the apprentices in the old days. Now, that practice has fallen into disuse. Perhaps I can resurrect it to get myself and maybe another below to try to find it below the tower of the time wizards.

Perhaps the others can do the same for their respective schools as well. For now, I need to know more about these challenges, unless we may be able to bluff our way through."

Malchik grunts. "All I know about Death is the entry point. It's kept locked these days so we'd have to get a key somehow. Beyond that the only way we'll find out what it is is do it. But I have to say that death is not likely to be the easiest of challenges I would rather try one of the others first. But if no one else has a better idea I'll take you there."

Benmerrion, the Earth apprentice, pipes up with: "Come on, we all know where each tower's is. I agree with Malchik. Death is likely to be very unpleasant."

He looks at Jeri and Raggle. "Either of your might be less dangerous. Or we could go for Water, that is probably okay. Well, we have a choice of nine. Does anyone have a favourite?"

"Not again" Shouts Sammi to Kyrykki. "Brace yourself!"

Sammi manipulates the air around him and Kyrykki. Moving the particles behind his and his friend's backs, he sends himself and Kyrykki hurtling towards the bowmen.

"I have heard about the challenges of old, but I do not know where they used to take place," Jeri admits. "But you know, with light....well, you won't know what it looks like. Illusion is one of our skills - it's possible that I have walked past the entrance many times and never recognized it for what it was."

He thinks about it for a minute.

"Perhaps if some of you came with me - several pairs of eyes see more than one - we could have a look for it."

"I'll come with you and help look for the entrancce." Raggle says quietly. "I don't recall any stories about hidden places in my tower though. Perhaps the Healers had another Rite of Passage."

"I believe we should get going," Zekic says. "Show me the way..."

Kyrykki see's the incoming bowmen, he wonders if it is wise to get this close.

<I hope you'll be able to react in time!>

"So where do we go first?" Jeri asks. "Do we all stay together, or do we split up?"

To Sammi and Kyrykki.

Your sudden spurt of speed has alarmed the bowmen. They drop their bows and grab their swords. As you draw close you notice that there is no light of reason in their eyes. These are 'controlled'. It is immediately obvious that it is kill or be killed. If they get to their weapons you will surely be beheaded.

To Zekic

Telador leads you to a point he says is below the Archives of Time and Sylvian, with impossible seeming speed, tunnels vertically up into it. As she does so she says: "Windrunner, I keep getting a strange message in my head, I can't make sense of it. I wonder now if it is for you. 'Dark portals, they make dark portals.' It seems to be nonsense but I don't know.' I've got you in. I won't hang about."

The room you are in has no books of any kind. It is a rectangular in shape and high-ceilinged. All along the walls are small circular wooden objects that appear to be plaques.

"The designer of the archives was a time wizard. He did not want to waste space and so the archives occupies a relatively small land area but is in many different times. Each of these is a door. Unless you are a member of time of at least at the level of mage you cannot work them."

He looks around. "We learn the layout as part of our training. I'm afraid unless you want to be here for eternity you will have to give me some idea what you are looking for."

To the apprentices.

Malchik grunts. "I suppose it's better than mouldering away here. But I don't want to split up. If anyone gets into trouble we'll need all the help we can get. What about you Windham, Traxis? Ben are you coming? Does anyone have a preference as to where we look first?"

The earth apprentice shakes his head. "I'll wait here for Sylvian to come back."

Zekic looks around the room, taking in all the 'gateways'. "Well, I might as well tell you. I'm here to look for some information about the 11 ageless children. In particular, I'd like to know if there is something about the children of Earth, Light and Love. Also, any information on the others would be most welcome. Have you any idea where such text could be found?"

Sammi pulled them from their assault. They stopped just out of sword swing from the controlled men.

Sammi pulls Kyrykki and himself back, further out of range. Manipulating the air particles, he tries to rip the swords from their hands. The force controlling these people must be strong. They seem to have massive strength.

"Kyrykki... a little help!?" Grits Sammi as he uses all his will to move the swords.

To Zekic

"Ah, the Child of Healing. A wonderful myth. I will tell you about it later. I can take you to the room that deals with Elementals. If there is anything about Earth you will find it there. I will search the abstract archives for Light. The school of Love was itself no more than a rumour, a sub-school of Life. Again I will search and bring you what I can. Don't leave the Elemental archive or I will be unable to find you."

Telador waves his hand and one of the plaques is suddenly large enough to be a door. Inside you are in a narrow room facing another door.

"This is a time lock. It prevents accidents occuring in two different times at once. They used to be very messy!"

Through the second door you are in a room full of books. There are large tables and small carrells in which you can take the books you wish to study. The makeshift bandage around your head makes you uncomfortable. There is no one else around. Telador returns quickly with a book called The Child of Love. You find only the Child of Fire and you know already that is Kyrykki.

You jot down what you think you know.

Auriel - Healing
Riff - The Mind
Kyrykki - Fire
Prynx - Water
Ocaranda - Air
Tiemmo - Time
Axana - Death
Liune - Life

When you study the names you realise you have at least another clue and, with further thought you add the Child of Earth at the end.

The story of the Child of Love is interesting but it was never given a name. As you are reading it a voice says.

"I would never have thought Windrunners so sentimental, Zekic."

Startled you look up to see a small man in a blue robe gazing amusedly at the book you are reading. His green eyes are almost popping from his head. You have no recollection of ever seeing him before.

Sammi and Kyrykki

Sammi's spell succeeds in pulling the sword from one man into his hands. Though the men are not using magic, they have some kind of magical protection. The man in question grunts angrily and lunges at Sammi. The other advances on Kyrykki.

Zekic quickly closes the book and stands up, startled at the man in front of him. "Who are you? How did you get here? And how do you know me?", he shoots out without letting the man speak in-between.

Zekic

"I am Saruel, former Grand Wizardmaster of El Rhun. I am, like you I imagine, gatecrashing. I recognise you from the Battle last year. Feeling lonely are we to be reading of love?"

The light in the archives comes from the material of which the ceiling is made. Apart from the odd source it behaves as normal light. While Zekic can see his own shadow quite clearly, the man in front of him has none. He remembers the strange behaviour of the anchor.

Saruel adds: "We used to have stories of the Child of Water. Fishboy he was called. Fishboy at Large, Fishboy Swims Again, Fishboy Saves the Day. They were good honest adventures. Of course you won't find them here. Far to seditious for the school of Time. They'll be in the secure Archive. As a matter of interest, how did you get in?"

He peers across at your list of names, frowning. "Do you know, if you read the initial letters, you almost have a mnemonic. I used to like word games. Is the list by chance incomplete?"

"I don't mind at all where we go first," Jeri says to Malchik. "I think it's a very good suggestion that we should all stay together - as I said, several pairs of eyes see more than one."

He pauses, thinks for a moment, then adds: "Maybe the doors to the challenges are hidden by illusions, so we don't see them for what they are?"

Raggle looks at the others and lets out an exasperated sigh. "We're not going to get anything done if we just stand around here talking. Let's pick one tower and go. Ben will tell Sylvian what's happening when he gets back."

Apprentices

Malchik agrees. "All right, Raggle, since nobody else cares, you choose. Spin something and see which way it points."

On a clock face the approximate positions are
12 Earth
1 Water
3 Air
4 Fire
6 The Mind
7 Time
8 Light
10 Healing
11 Death.

OOC> Make it almost random but avoid Death

Raggle takes out a knife and spins it. "It looks like we go to Healing first."

Apprentices.

You wait until it is dark and sneak from the Tower of Time to that of Healing. The streets are deserted and feel eerie. Raggle carefully tries the door of the tower. It is open and there is no one visible. The one thing that is known about the challenges is that they are beneath the towers.

The entrance hall in each tower is designed to show off the skills of the tower in a series of displays. There are desks for tower sentries, no longer used, the stiarcases leading to upper floors and one leading down to the tunnel that links all the towers.

In Healing the displays are of a medical nature. There are seven of them. Herbs and salves; mining for ingredients; making potions and nostrums; the anatomy of a mage; common diseases; the functions of the brain and 1001 ways to keep healthy.

Malchik looks at Raggle. "Any idea where to start? Or can anyone else sense anything?"

Raggle looks around at the Tower where he has spent a last few years of his life with anger. His eyes flash as he is reminded of what was done to him. "The masters don't know what they created when they freed me. I'll show them...I'll make them pay......" he thinks to himself. Realizing the others are waiting for him, he quickly schools his expression to a calm and pleasant smile.

"Well, all of the challenges are held beneath the towers. We know that. The only things that I know of which have passages that leading down are the kitchens with their cold cellars and the masters' workrooms, and the potions labratory,.... oh yeah, and the mortuary where we keep cadavers." He looks around thoughfully. "I doubt it's the kitchens though; the masters never go there. Let's head towards the workrooms, the lab, and the mortuary. They're this way."

Raggle leads the group towards a heavy oak door and down the stairs behind it.

Apprentices.

The corridors are deserted but you can hear murmuring coming from the laboratories on either side. The mortuary is dead. (OOC> sorry, couldn't resist that one). But instead of the usual corpses you find twisted bits of metal, each carefully labelled and dated.

The chances of finding the test by chance is remote. Your group can muster low level spells of the Mind, Time, Death, Healing and Light and you can share power to try something at a higher level than any one of you might manage alone - is there a way you might persuade a senior member of the Tower to help you? It will need guile and imagination.

Zekic studies the mage and his lack of shadow. "You are not really here, are you? What does this all mean? And yes, the list is incomplete and I'm here to complete it."

Jeri looks at Raggle.

"Who would know where the challenge begins? Telador maybe? Anyone else who is here?"

He looks around, but sees nothing to give him a clue.

"Maybe we could lure one of the older wizards down here....someone who might know. We could pretend that one of us is injured and needs help... a broken leg maybe, so he can't walk..."

His voice trails off as he looks at the others.

Zekic

Saruel smiles. "You could start by completing the mnemonic. I think someone has told you what it is recently. It should enable you to add the last name and school."

The mage has clearly been watching you for some time.

"To find out about the Child of Light you will need to get to the achives in that tower or get into the secret archives here. But the Child of Love is not so easy. The school of life, of which love was considered part was banned and its practitioners exiled to the city of Fezreel. That city was totally destroyed last year. Perhaps the best you can hope for at the moment is the initial letter. One of two you agree?"

He points again at the names you had written down.

"Go to Light, Zekic or the secret archive."

A slight sound made by the operation of the time lock causes you to glance up. It is Telador returning with another book. When you turn to Saruel again, the mage has vanished.

Apprentices

Malchik nods. "But only Raggle has the right sash. It'll have to be him."

Windham has been trailing behind through all of this trying to figure things out. He knew that he could join with some of the other apprentices to pool strength, but what about someone who wasn't an apprentice? What would happen if he tried the same technique on his part with someone who didn't know about magic?

His cloistered life had limited his contact with all but a few, and these he enjoyed torturing constantly with his pranks. Now, however, was not the time for that. As much as he wanted to jump up and down and yell "I found it I found it!", then, when everyone came to him, pick up a rock and put it in his pocket saying that it was his lucky rock he had lost four years earlier. Oh, well, there would be times for things like that again.

"I could volunteer to give you a good whack, if you want." He says to Raggle. "Just to make it look good, of course..." He looks at the others. "What do you think, Jeri, Malchik? It would take more than copmpletely faking an injury, I think to get their attention. They might take umbrage at being deceived so. I think, my friend Raggle, that you are about to come to a small mishap, that no one here is sure of the extent of your injuries. The healing wizard would have to come and make sure you're not seriously hurt. We can work on convincing the wizard while he works on you. When it winds up being a small injury, we are relieved, the mage feels he's done his duty, and isn't as upset at being deceived."

Raggle scowls at the idea of becoming "the victim" but understands the merit of the argument.

"I'll do it, but we'll have to do something serious enough to appear to knock me out or something.... something that would scare the rest of you about my well being. That won't be easy. Maybe if one of you whacks (whacks, that's a medical term you know... ) me in the back of the head down by the bottom of the stairs. You could tell Telador that I slipped down the stairs and was unconscious and you got scared when I didn't wake up. How about that?"

"I'm glad it isn't me," Jeri grins at Raggle, " but maybe I could run and alert a wizard. I think I would need your sash for that, though, Raggle - else they might wonder what a Light apprentice is doing in this Tower. Who do you think I should approach for help? And where would I find him?"

He grins, and starts to sob. He even produces a few tears.

"Please, sir, it's Raggle. He's hurt - it's really bad. He needs help. Oh, please, hurry - he had a bad fall, and I don't know what to do...."

With a laugh, Jeri stops. "How's that?"

Raggle smirks. "Cut the waterworks. We know you can act. Just take my sash but don't wear it or anything. Tell Telador that I was going to show you something in the lab... as for finding him, he said he was going to the Archives with Zekic."

"Do we even have to feign an injury with Telador?" Jeri asks, frowning. "I thought he and that stranger...Zekic...were on our side?"

Malchik scratches his head.

"If they need to dig themselves into the archives, surely they will conceal the hole? And apprentices aren't allowed in as you know so... How about one of us playing hurt - I mean they do still heal all schools here, don't they? I'll do it if you like. And you Raggle can fetch one of the healers working in a nearby room. Make sure that he's a wizard. Maybe you can persuade him to tell us about the challenge by looking naive. You certainly look naive to me!"

He senses the others getting ready to 'whack' him.

"I'll cast 'feel like death', it has the side effect of making you look very ill too!"

"I guess the rest of us had better find somewhere to hide then," Jeri suggests. "I mean, if I had been summoned down here urgently to help an injured apprentice, and found a throng of apprentices all from different schools.... well, I'd get a bit suspicious. We need to stay somewhere out of sight, but ideally where we can see or hear what's going on."

He has a look around the room to see if there are any suitable places where the apprentices can stay out of sight.

To aid Sammi, kyrykki focuses his mind and forms a fireball. When the ball has the desired power he fires it towards the attackers.

Sammi and Kyrykki

Kyrykki's fireball engulfs the second man who burns to death silently. The first attacker has his hand around Sammi's throat. The third, seeing his companion go down, leaves ths girl and comes running up, sword in hand, driving towards Kyrykki.

Kyrykki wonders what to do now.

For now the girl is safe sp he can focus on Sammi, only he has to be worried about the incoming attacker.

Kyrykki decides to try something he has never done before. He creates a fire around him to keep of the attacker and in the meanwhile he also builds up a fireball and fires it towards the man who's holding Sammi his shoulder.

Kyrykki's bursting into flame could be expected to startle normal attackers but these creatures are not properly human. The thing blunders into Kyrykki catching the boy a nasty gash to the shoulder. But as his hair catches fire and the flames sear his eyeballs the man loses any sense of direction. He is soon burning as merrily and as silently as his companion. Unfortunately he had knocked into Kyrykki so hard that his fireball is sent harmlessly into the sand.

The girl is bombarding Sammi's attacker with balls of light but they have no effect.

Suddenly three new Sammis can be seen wriggling out of the man's grasp. The creature does not understand what is happening and drops the real Sammi onto the ground while grabbing vainly for the illusions.

Sammi is unconscious.

The girl shouts at Kyrykki. "Try again. But hurry I'm running out of power."

Kyrykki is in great pain.

Windham looks around for a good place to hide. This is right up his alley, him being the joker and all. He looks for a second, then thinks of the layout of the area above and below. "Perhaps we can be wandering above and follow the commotion down." But, even though he suggests it, believes that a good hiding place below is the best option. Once he finds one, he heads over to see how well he is covered.

Zekic tells Telador about what happened while they were separated, and asks what he had found. "Have any advice for me?"

Zekic

Telador looks very uneasy. "Saruel? Surely he must have died? I don't like this. Or perhaps someone sent you a dream. What did he tell you?"

Telador looks at your scribblings. "That girl muttered something about Dark Portals. If you look, the initial letters of the names you have spell 'ark ortal'. You said you were missing three. And the girl herself Sylvian could be one you seek. To judge from the way she dug here she could be your Child of Earth. If so you only need light and love and you have the initial letters of their names."

He thinks. "You said Vilten was alive and not near El Rhun. He would know about the child of Light. On the other I can offer no help."

He pauses and thinks again. "If we need to enter the secret vault we will have to use her services again. Shall we return to the apprentices?"

Apprentices

Windham finds a staircase leading down and those not involved in the ruse wait. Malchik casts his spell and appears to fall into a coma. He looks very ill. Raggle enters one of the rooms where he hears voices. It is full of healers at all levels. They are all working on small scraps of metal. A tall mage looks up.

"What is the problem apprentice? Can't you see we are busy."

Rather awkwardly just at this moment Jeri senses vibrations on the stairs. Someone is coming up from below. At any moment, you hope, Raggle will be bringing a wizard of Healing into the corridor in front of you. The dark red sash of time, the gold of light and silver of the mind are not ones anyone would expect to see here.

While gasping for breath, Kyrykki tries to ignore the pain. He tries to lift an arm but the pain is to hard and Kyrykki has to cancel his effort. He caughs and then tries again, slowly his arm rises and with great pain Kyrykki succeeds in creating a minor type of fireball, tho the best he can do in his painly situation. In desperation he fires the ball towards the attacker's arm and throat, hoping that the minor fireball would do a great quantity of damage onto those bodyparts.

Sammi and Kyrykki

The fireball stops the man in his tracks but does less damage than Kyrykki would have liked. The girl has managed to pull a dagger from the assailant's belt but she has no idea how to use it. As the man turns back to attack her she throws up a wall of light. She runs over to join Kyrykki.

"Can you use this?" She thrusts the dagger at his good arm and tries to help him up. Sammi is coming round.

As kyrykki pulls himself up, he looks at the dagger. A first time for everything floats trough his mind.

<Sammi, draw his attention!>

"Psst!" Jeri hisses at the others. Trying to attract their attention, he points at his own golden sash, and uses an illusion spell to turn it into the grey of healing. He looks questioningly at the others, trying to determine whether they will let him change the colour of their sashes too.

Sammi looks to Kyrykki. He responds to Kyrykki's nod, and raises himself up on one knee. The assailant starts to run towards Kyrykki and the girl.

"Hey!... Hey you!" Sammi tries to stand, but collapses under his own legs, and tumbles over in a gasp of pain.

The attacker laughs then starts to run over to Sammi.

Sammi and Kyrykki

The girl urges Kyrykki to use the dagger.

Apprentices

When no one notices Jeri's gesture, he turns their sashes grey anyway.

A tall wizard of the school of Healing comes up the stairs.

"Escaping classes apprentices? I'll turn a blind eye this time. Don't be here when I do my next round."

He goes to pass you.

Zekic

Telador assumes your silence to be agreement. "You realise that we cannot leave through the hole we came in without leaving it exposed for discovery. You go down and I will cover it. I can teleport back to time. Do you remember the way you came?"

Jeri is only too aware of Malchik feigning injury, and Raggle due to return at any moment. What will happen if that wizard discovers them? He looks to the others, to see if they recognize the danger. They must distract the wizard somehow...

Jeri looks at the wizard imploringly.

"I'm sorry, sir. We'll leave at once. It won't happen again."

Jeri turns as if to run up the stairs, but somehow he suddenly seems to have become very clumsy. With a startled outcry he trips, and falls, and rolls down the stairs.

Zekic thinks for a moment. "I thing so... It's that way, no that way! .... Refresh my memory..."

Zekic

Telador points down the hole. "Follow it to the tunnel, turn right in the tunnel and take the first set of stairs on the left."

As you decend Telador covers the whole with a blanket.

Although the tunnel that links the schools is dimly lit with phosphorescence, the hole is pitch dark. You stumble along cursing as you bump the odd rocky protrusions. When you reach the tunnel you are about to turn right when you hear voices coming towards you.

One of them is angry. "What do you mean alien magic in the tunnel, Hathor?"

The tunnel's accoustics give you know clue as to how close they are but you must somehow conceal the hole sylvian made and get away. Alien magic or not, the alternative is capture.

Kyrykki realises that he cant fire another fire-ball nor is he able to run over and stab the attacker in the back.

He decides to trie another approach, he lifts his arm with a last effort and throws the dagger, hoping for the best but most of all hoping he wouldnt hit Sammi instead