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In the Name of Science!

Started by DragonSong, February 06, 2018, 09:18:17 AM

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DragonSong

"Oh no, this is fine, thank you." She smiled gratefully as she picked at the food. She was honestly starving, but couldn't quite drown out an instinctive wariness.

"You, um...you're being awfully nice," she noted after a moment. "I- I don't mean to pass judgement, but it's...not something I've really come to expect in this city."

Kingfisher

Samuel smirked as he leaned forward, cutting off a piece of meat for himself.  "Nor should you expect it," he admitted.  "In this city greed, pride, envy are all virtues.  It's a haven for madmen and morons, and someday soon it'll implode.  Until then, it will swallow any misguided fool who thinks they can harness this maelstrom of corruption for anything other then an early grave."

By now, the kettle was already whistling and using his black hand he took it up by the handle.  Samuel poured the steaming water as he admitted, "I am not truly altruistic, either."  Offering one of the ceramic cups and a packet of tea leaves, he explained, "I fancy myself an academic and I find myself interested in that book of yours."  The host turned back to the fire as he hung the kettle over it; keeping it out of reach of the flickering fingers that continued to reach for it.

DragonSong

Her grip on the book suddenly tightened, clutching it to her chest. She eyed him warily. "Interested...how?"

Kingfisher

Sitting back back, the peculiar man eyed Alleaya as he took up his tea.  The contents of the baggy leeched into the steaming fluid now and Samuel set the packet aside as sipped the drink.  "Nothing particularly villainous," he assured her.  "I seek only knowledge, a chance to make coppies of the book's pages.  I cannot be certain they will be of real use to me, but I think it would be better to have and not need, than to need and not have."  The assassin sliced again into the cheese, eating it with a bit of meat before adding, "I won't hold you to any obligation; my hospitality is freely given.  I'd just like you to show me that same kindness..."

DragonSong

That...did not sound like it was "freely given" if he wanted her- her kindness in return.

"I, ah." Ally cleared her throat and clutched her book a little tighter to her chest. "I'm n-not sure- are you even familiar with alchemical works? What could you want with it?"

Kingfisher

"I dabble," Samuel admitted.  "One can never have too many advantages in this city."  Especially given my line of work.  However, he could see the girl was not interested in sharing, so the assassin raised a hand in mock surrender.  "As I said, I won't hold you to anything.  You're free to go whenever you wish.  I'll even escort you to a safe distance from town should you so choose."

DragonSong

"Dabble?" She eyed him warily still, but I curled her protective posture. "How much do you...dabble?"

Kingfisher

"A little, here and there," Samuel admitted.  "I don't have much need of it in most cases, but I have a small lab in the cellar fore when I do."  The assassin tapped the floorboards with the toe of his shoe for effect.

It was hard to tell, but Samuel turned to the front door a fraction of a moment before a sharp rapping came from the front of the building.  "Their early..." he muttered, setting aside his half finished tea.  Standing, the assassin strode toward the door.

Almost as soon as the door was open, two brutish figures muscled their way inside.  They were closely followed by a short, round man with no hair on his head or face.  He had the look of a man allergic to an honest days work and was dressed in silk robes and covered in jewelry.  "Samuel," he 'greeted' in a high pitched voice.  "How good to see you again."  The louse scanned the room, laying eyes on Alleaya and cracked a smile that would have made most women feel dirty by the mere suggestion behind it.  "Why, Sammy, I had no idea you were enteraining a young lady.  Is this a bad time?  I can come back later if you'd like some privacy."[/b]

Samuel did not like the look of the two stooges, but liked dealing with the corpulent employer even less.  "No need.  I have your package.  I'll only take a moment."  Looking toward the nearer of the goons, the assassin said, "Make sure your pets don't pee on the furniture."  Yet, even as he huried to retrieve the heads, he caught a look in the eye of the other.  He had been leering at the guest.  Placing a hand on Ally's shoulder as he passed, Samuel said, "The girl is off limits."  He then hurried off to retrieve the previous spoils.

DragonSong

A lab? A real lab?

Ally nearly burst off the chair as her eyes widened. She'd been working with scavenged materials and a campfire for months, if she had a proper lab, even a rudimentary one-

Before she could question her host further there was a knock and Samuel was speaking to two strangers at his door. She shrunk back a little in her seat, trying to make herself as inconspicuous as possible. It didn't seem to be working.

The girl is most certainly off limits. If she hadn't been quite so terrified, she might have said it aloud. As it was, she just curved her shoulders in and tried not to look at the men. Her cheeks flushed a bit as she realized how it must look, her huddled in place with Samuel's too-large clothes draped over her frame.

Kingfisher

It was not long before Samuel returned, holding the three sacks from earlier.  The vaguely metallic scent of blood might linger, though the assassin did not notice.  Perhaps he was desensitized to it.  Either way, the man returned quickly, showing his half of the exchange.  "I've shown you mine, now where's yours?"

The pudgy man chuckled.  "You don't know much about negotiations, do you."  Flashing his stupid smile, the man opened his mouth to speak further.  "I-"

Samuel cut him off.  "You will be silent while I explain something."  The look of contempt on the young man's face was now obvious.  "You know who I am...What I am.  You hired me to do a job. I did it.  Now you pay me.  Otherwise, I add a fourth head to my little collection."  He had been reluctant to tell Alleaya about his profession, but now she knew.

The tubby midget cringed at the assassin's tone.  "Are you threatening me?"

"Sure, call it that.  Call me a horrible person, a demon.  But first, pay your debts."

And then he saw it; the shift of the eyes, the nervous tension.  Samuel had positioned himself between the Ally and one of the goons and that goon, now behind the assassin, began to move.  He did not get far.  Samuel's right arm looked to be wrapped in some long, black, fleshy glove that vanished into his shirt.  The truth became clear when a large, grotesque yellow eye snapped open and locked on the assailant.  Everything below the eye seemed to shiver for an instant, then the demon 'smiled,' a tulip full of teeth where the demonlord's hand should have been.  The thug froze with the nightmare looming over him.

"Go home," Samuel said over the monster.  "Whatever he's paying you is not enough to die over."  As predicted, the goons, quickly made for the door.  The demon's eye shifted, facing forward now, leering at the fat man with what could only be described as gluttonous intent.  "As I said: pay me, else, I decide to cut my losses."  The toothy maw snapped shut inches from the small man's face.  As the demon retracted, a smirk appeared on the Assassin's face.  "Tomorrow."

The rotund figure could not get out of there fast enough, stumbling over himself in his haste.  The demon returned to looking like an arm, albeit an odd one and as Samuel sat back down, he glanced at the shapeshifting girl.  "So, is it comforting to know you are the least horrifying thing in the room?"  The joke was in poor taste, but at the moment, he did not care.

DragonSong

Ally found herself shrinking further and further into her seat- then one of the thugs was shimmying closer to her, intentionally or not, and she squeaked quietly, unsure if she should try to bolt.

Then...something happened to Samuel's arm and the debate between fight and flight became an easily made choice as she sprang backward, nearly knocking over the small table before she pressed herself back against the wall, eyes large and chest heaving with pants.

She hardly noticed as Samuel drove the thugs from the house, trying desperately to keep a hold on her draconic reflex.

"W-wait," she gasped, holding up a hand and clenching her eyes shut. "Wait...please. I...have to..."

She shuddered violently, a wave of violet scales following the ripple down her form like a wave lapping at sand, her eyes blinked open to reveal vertical pupils. Then she took another breath and in the space of less than a heartbeat her form seemed to settle fully back into human.

Still breathing raggedly, she whispered, "Don't scare me like that." Another deep breath.

A beat of silence.

Breath.

Silence.

"What are you?"

Kingfisher

Raising an eyebrow at the question, an utterance of "Me?" laced with mock wonder.  Touching an obsidian fingernail to his chest, the assassin said, "I'm human.  Completely mortal and limited to what humans can do.  This," he continued, tapping a pale finger to black flesh, "Is just a passenger I picked up a while back.  I gave it my arm and took it as trade.  It is my slave, nothing more."

Tossing the bagged heads to the far corner of the room, the man leaned forward looking into the fire.  Tilting his head, he asked, "What, then, are you?  A girl trying to become a dragon?  Or a dragon seeking to become a girl?"

He shook off his curiosity for the time being.  "Thank you," Samuel said, "For not transforming inside my home.  I'm not fond of the thought of having to rebuild after on little mishap."

DragonSong

Eyeing his arm warily, Ally risked stepping away from the wall, just a bit. "Um, yeah. Well, I've already gotten stuck that way once today, so..." She trailed off, clearing her throat.

"I'm human," she said quietly after a long moment. "I mean, I was born human. My mother, she was this- this amazing figure, this brilliant, witty, beautiful alchemist who was doing things no one had previously thought possible."

Maybe it was because she felt a little trapped, maybe she wanted to get her mind off of Samuel's terrifying display, or maybe she just needed to talk, but suddenly the words were spilling out. "I wanted to be just like her. I don't even really remember her, but I knew I had to be like her. So...I found her old journals. I started performing some of her experiments."

She shrugged, eyes on the floor. "One of the last things she was working on was a- a potion that made you stronger, healthier, more powerful, heavily based in draconic ingredients. So I..." Another shrug. "I tried it. I guess I thought if I could make it work, if I could prove I could finish something my mother couldn't- I don't know."

Ally looked away, flushing. "I guess I'm saying...I get it. Sometimes...things happen to us that- that change us. And we can't always control it." Even if we started it ourselves.

Kingfisher

Samuel thought about correcting the young woman.  He had even openned his mouth to explain that he maintained full control of his arm-shaped demon.  He quickly stopped himself when he realized Alleaya was speaking more of herself.  His mouth quickly shut as the assassin took on a pensive expression.

It was not long before another realization came to the man.  "Is that book one of those your mother wrote?" he asked.  That might explain why she had been so resistant to sharing...maybe.  Sitting up, he added, "If you're still interested, I'm willing to share my lab with you.  I noticed you grew excited when I mentioned it earlier."  He was still being selfish.  Giving the girl an excuse to stick around would give the demonlord more chances to look through the book.

DragonSong

Slowly she shook her head, still clutching the book to her chest. "No, it's...older than that. There aren't many copies left, and I thought maybe there might be...something I could use."

At the suggestion of using his lab her eyes brightened a bit, though she tried not to seem too eager. "That- that would be incredibly helpful, yes, thank you."

Kingfisher

All the more reason to let him make a copy.  Samuel chose not to voice his opinion.  He doubted anything would sway Alleaya.  Still, the girl seemed interested in his lab so the mage resolved to share his resources with her...within reason.  "If you'd like, after we eat, I'll show you what I've put together.  No need to rush."  It would give him time to put his heads away.

DragonSong

The young alchemist nodded warily, though her eyes kept flickering around constantly tacking stock of her surroundings as though she expected them to suddenly change.

"Thank you." She took a seat again and cautiously nibbled at the offered food. Despite the fact that she hadn't eaten since noon the day before, she suddenly wasn't very hungry.

Kingfisher

After putting away his morbid trophies and wrapping up the unfinished food, Samuel unlocked the door to his lab.  The room itself was only a staircase and he took a moment to light a couple of lanterns.  The lab was in a basement only a short way underground.  Packed stone walls acted as the foundation of the room above and a number of luminous crystals flodded the chamber with soft light.

A number of Grimoires filled a bookcase in one wall, another shelf was full of reagents.  Against one wall was a workbench, over which hung a cabinet full of crystal vessels used in alchemy and the center of the room was clear of debris, though the remnants of chalk drawings lingered where the slate flooring had not been scrubbed enough.  It was not a large room, but Samuel found it adequate.  "Welcome to my workspace."  Leaning against the desk, gave Alleaya a chance to take things in.  "As I said, I'm willing to share..."  However, he was still looking for a way to access the book.  He held back for a moment, fully aware he had lost much of the girl's trust.

DragonSong

"Thank you, thank you so much," Ally whispered as she looked around the small lab. The book was still clutched tight to her chest.

Some of her curiosity overrode her sense of wariness and she moved closer to examine one of the glowing crystals. "What are these?"

Kingfisher

"Those?"  Samuel followed the girl's attention.  He sometimes forgot that most people did not respect his school of magic.  "Those are fire demons.  They've been sealed inside crystals and they provide me with a steady source of light, without giving off heat."  Plucking up one of the shards, he offered it to Alleaya.  "I wouldn't recommend leaving with one but feel free to examine it."

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