Affairs of Darkness 2: Twilight Tales

Chance takes her band and activates the magic frequency to test that it's something she can do and while she's at it also tries to detect any other magic on the bands.

((Arcana: 15 + 12 = 27.))

Appearance:

Altara smiles and puts the ring over her head, wearing the necklace with a certain pride. "Do we have time to associate ourselves, or should we be making our way back downstairs?," she asks to Dame Rose, hoping to speak with the other acceptors sooner rather than later.

"Huh. Crafty. I wonder....." Chance says to herself as she finishes examining the band and puts it on, having judged that it's probably safe to do so or that it's at least safer than not doing so.

I grab the chain ad suspend it from my hoof, admiring it. After a moment, I slide the chain around my neck and tuck it safely away in my blouse. Then I look back to the Dame, waiting for her answer on what was to be done next.

Dame Rose shakes her head.

"You are free to linger on this floor or return to the party as you wish. I will require you to return to this office in one hour however."

She smiles a little as the door opens and closes with a quiet creaking. The squire returning and standing quietly besides the knight, whispering something in her ear. She frowns slightly as she considers the news, a look as if she's trying to psyche herself up to speak with someone unpleasant.

"Pardon me, it seems my presence is being requested elsewhere. I will meet you all here at the appointed time."

She says before standing and walking gracefully to the door, her squire shadowing her. She stops at the doorway for a moment and gestures for her squire to stay behind.

"I will be downstairs if I am needed, if you have any further questions please direct them to Velvet here. She should be able to answer most questions and teach you how to use the features of those rings."

The squire for her part seems to stumble slightly when she's left behind, scuffing her hoof on the floor for a moment before smiling awkwardly.

"Um...yes. Hello. ... My name is Caramel Velvet."

She says, then falls silent for a long moment before hesitantly moving back to the desk and climbing into Rose's chair after a moment of staring at it as if it'll start shrieking. It seems the confidence she had before has wavered somewhat without Dame Rose being in charge.

Appearance:

"A pleasure to meet you, I am Sigma Altara." Altara gives the squire a reassuring smile, before shifting to something of a confused look. "I am afraid, however, that I already have a question. Dame Rose mentioned the 'features of the rings' just now. To what was she referring?"

"If anyone asks what we were doing up here, do just say we were discussing our results, right?" asks Tindalos as he fiddles about with his new ring...

"L-likewi-ugk!! ..."

There's a loud thud followed by an echoing silence as the flustered squire attempts to bow while seated at a desk, slamming her forehead into the sturdy oak. A moment passes before she sits up again, rubbing gently at her forehead with a hoof and wincing.

"...likewise... ...ow."

She takes a deep breath and holds it for a moment before continuing.

"You may have noticed those rings are enchanted. In addition to the glowing feature that serves to identify it as a legitimate ring and can function as a poor emergency light source in darkness, there are a number of other spells placed within it to help ensure the survival of guild members and agents."

"The rings constantly scan their owners if they're within range, sending out a simple report on their status. In large scale exploratory operations this can allow your comrades to know if you've been injured or ambushed even if they normally wouldn't be able to see you."

"They also contain a tracking spell, allowing the ring to alert others as to your location if it reports you to be in danger, as well as allowing the Duchess to track you and other agents on the map and determine who can best respond to whatever comes to her attention."

"They also have a beacon spell that allows for scrying, telepathic communication, and teleporting of small objects to your location by the Duchess over vast distances. There's also a reverse of that spell hidden behind wards placed by the Duchess, allowing you to send telepathic messages to either herself or some of her trusted archmages allowing for reports from out in the field. To use this feature you simply have to focus some of your innate magic into the beacon spell and maintain it while you speak."

"There were two other spells placed behind the wards by the Duchess on each ring, if I understood her explanation to milady correctly one keeps anyone from tapping into the endpoint beacon except from a specific location and the other dispels all the enchantments on the ring if the ward protecting them is broken."

She nods at Tindalos' question.

"Correct, it is after all the truth for the most part."

Dr Blight wrote:
"The rings constantly scan their owners if they're within range, sending out a simple report on their status. In large scale exploratory operations this can allow your comrades to know if you've been injured or ambushed even if they normally wouldn't be able to see you."

"Their 'owners'?" I suddenly speak up. "How does it know who those are? It would take some kind of bonding ritual or imprinting for that- and I don't think that happened, we don't have the-" I suddenly catch myself, placing a hoof over my mouth. Quietly, I bow my head and look at the floor, shuffling backward demurely.

Appearance:

Stifling a chuckle at the squire's incident, Altara listens intently as she lists the functions of the ring. She looks toward the lone pegasus after her comment, somewhat more convinced that she might be a witch. She offers, unsure of its truth, "They may have been prepared to bond beforehand, and were linked to us as we accepted them?"

The squire nods.

"C-correct. It's not as complex as a soul-binding ritual used on a-a weapon or such things. The scanning spell is simply keyed to register the unique magical signature of the first one it scans as its owner. Milady activated the spell when she presented them to you, and when you took them they scanned your magic and determined you to be their owner."

Chance ponders this latest information as figures it's a good thing she didn't try to do anything with the bracelet involving her witchcraft. That could have gone south quickly.

"Oh, of course." I say meekly. I look at the ring around my neck, distressed that it was bound to me so quickly and subtly. I would have preferred to try to resist it, items like this can mean trouble if they're used against you- but without Unicorn magic, I can't really do anything about it now. "I think...If it is alright with you," I address the Squire, my schoolmaid instincts are taking over again as I head to the door. "I will return downstairs and see if there is anything else I should be doing. Please excuse me." I bow my head and back out of the door, then head downstairs.

The squire bows in return, this time only halfway mindful of the desk.

"Certainly. Just remember to return here in an hour."

She calls out as Shimmer leaves.

---

-outside the room-

Shimmer can see Dame Rose's tail disappear from sight as she calmly descends the stairs. The guards from before remain, two posted on either side of the office door and another can be seen walking away on patrol. Another pair follow Dame Rose down the stairs.

The sounds of merry making drift up from below and you can smell the sweet scent of mead. The hallway is lit by windows evenly spaced on the walls, cutting bright swaths through the otherwise gentle lighting. The floors are made of a deep reddish mahogany wood paneling with a long plush red carpet stretching down the hallway. The carpet is soft under your hooves and absorbs the sound of hoof steps. The walks are a smooth white marble-like stone seemingly hewed from a single great stone and cast in a slightly reddish hue from the sunlight reflecting of the floor.

Chance shrugs and heads downstairs as well, thinking she'll mingle with the other guild members and get to know them a bit.

Tindalos fiddles about with the ring and chain. "Anything else I oughta know about?"

The squire thinks for a moment.

"The duchess will on occasion send or receive messages to and from the field. She tends to use the scrying portion of the spell as well when doing so so be aware that she can see you. She's caught me in the process of washing off after morning drills before and there's hearsay that one agent contacted her in the process of more... intimate... things to the great embarrassment of all involved."

---

-downstairs-

The first floor is much like the second, though the red carpet is missing. As such the flooring has a little less luster to it and dust motes dance in the sunlight. When you first entered the building the large main room was empty, cleared out to allow the crowd to move easily. Now it is filed with tables and food, resembling nothing so much as a rowdy tavern. You know that across the room from the entrance is a set of double doors that lead out to a walled courtyard where most of your tests were held. The great doors lay open now, allowing a pleasant breeze in. Behind the stairwell set into the left side of the room is a door leading to a smaller room where you were interviewed and where the knight now heads towards along with her two armored shadows. Large banners hang from the walls much like the ones outside.

Among those in the main room you see groups comprised of seemingly every race, both new and old to the guild gathered at tables and sharing tales of their exploits over food and drink. You even see a number of guards among them, helmets at their sides and joining in with their own stories or simply listening to others. It occurs to you that with the exception of the two with the knight all the guards on the first floor are very relaxed.

You also spot the griffin who refused at one of the tables, listening to a red Minotaur over a fish grasped in his talons while she embellishes her story with wild gesticulations of her powerful arms.

There is another door across the room from you, but you don't know where it leads.

Chance walks over to whichever table has the food that is the most tempting to her and sits down and chats with whoever else is there. Introducing herself, asking them about themselves, etc.

Tindalos couldn't help but smirk as the misfortune of the agent of that anecdote. "That everything?"

I decide to follow the Dame downstairs, and when I reach the dining room, I hesitate. Still dressed as a maid, I know I look the part to play a waitress- and partially feel as though its still my job, staying out of the way, quiet, waiting to be called upon to provide food or drink. But I shake my head, knowing that isn't my job here. I walk forward, trying to keep track of the Dame as she leaves. I don't follow her, but instead head to the other door across the room, seeing where it leads.

Appearance:

Most likely a joke that got carried to half-truth, the story is nonetheless amusing. Hopefully the Duchess will knock first, however, when she contacts Altara. "How do we work the functions of the rings? Need we just...focus on them?"

"Correct. Just focus your magic into the ring, it'll handle the rest."

She bites her lower lip in thought for a moment as her gaze drifts to her hooves before nodding.

"Yes... Yes, I believe that's everything.

---

-Dining Room-

Chance sits at a table where two ponies, one of which is a guard, are listening to a griffin recount some tale from his past.

"...so I pinned the poster to a wall and took my position right? And these wankers just keep stopping to gawk! Here I am, takin' 'em out one by one, not even hiding my work and they just keep lining up like a pack of bloody idiots. Turn a corner and see their mates on the ground out cold around a poster of some bird giving them the old bedroom eyes and 'nope, nothing strange here!' Easiest bounty I've ever got. Oh, G'day sheila, didn't see you there."

The griffin tips his hat to you politely and offers an easygoing smile when he notices you there. He's a lanky fellow with a dust broken coat and dark brown feathers. His golden eyes seem sharp and he wears a black vest that looks  well worn. On his head is a similarly worn black Stetson with a band of fangs around it. A similar necklace of teeth hangs around his neck. On his back is an unstrung bow and quiver filled with arrows, you can see the handle of a blade poking out from his vest.

"Name's Redwing, by preference."

"I'm Private Rail."

Says the guard pony enthusiastically, an earth pony with a grey coat and bright red mane with darker red stripes going through it. He frankly appears to be the least experienced combatant at the table at a glance, and seems fairly young for a guard. Regardless he's still easily the most physically brawny individual present, easily filling out his armor.

The third is a unicorn mare with pink eyes, her coat is a very light, nearly white grey,  while her mane is a brighter shade of the same. She wears a pair of blood red silk sashes, one loosely around her neck like a scarf and the other around her barrel, a silvery rapier rests against the table at her side. She seems rather petite, even for such an apparently young mare. Sitting beside the bulky guard she seems even smaller and you can see a slight family resemblance.

“My name is Snowdust, and you madame?”

says the mare with a polite, noblemare’s smile.

---

-other room-

When Shimmer opens the door she finds a long room with rows of simple cots, twelve in total, line the walls. A single large round table with a half dozen chairs around it across from the door. The gentle scent of freshly washed linens mixes with the slightly stinging scent of medicine. Looking into the room you can see that there are three occupants. One is a greying doe with a concerned expression, still tall and graceful in her advanced age, wearing a white doctor’s coat and smock leaning over a cot and its occupant.

Being tended to by the doe is a female diamond dog, her cream and white coat matted with sweat as she tosses and turns in the bed. Her furrowed brow and grunts and whimpers making it clear that her sleep is not peaceful.

The last is a young male dragon with bright blue and gold scales, still having the stature of a very young child. He sits in the next cot over, feet hanging in the air over the edge and head resting in his hands, fretting over the dog as she tosses.

"I am called Chance in the pony tongue." Chance says, mocking old style deer speech stereotypes. "It is my pleasure to meet you." she continues and holds out a hoof to shake. After the shaking she asks, "So how long have you all been a part of the Light of Order?"

I shouldn't intrude I think, watching the scene, but can't help but approach and take a better look. "Sorry to interrupt," I say softly, "but do you need any help?" I ask the Deer, but my eyes wander to the Dragon as well.

Heal:

Appearance:

Altara nods and says, "Interesting...," before facing the three acceptees still in the room with an excited smile. "Well, as I said earlier, I am called Sigma Altara. It is good to meet you all, and I look forward to serving alongside you!"