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Post by Daniel on Aug 20, 2006 21:40:33 GMT -5
Tom chuckled. "Yes. A horrible loss it was." <...students? there were students??> Tom followed, complacently. "You do know im perfectly comfortable whereever i stand,correct?"
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Post by Pathos on Aug 20, 2006 22:04:26 GMT -5
((Oops. Was actually referring to the COMC teacher, but it was somehow translated through Idiotspeak as 'students.' Hooray. me!)) |At that moment, Jesse did something that, a year and a half before, he would never have done. He blushed, rose-pink fading in to color his cheeks. He nudged the door open, letting go of Tom's hand in order to rush over to a sturdy metal table against the back wall. On the table were several small cauldrons, two pewter, one silver, and three gold, and one very large cast-iron cauldron, from which a cloud of purple smoke was rising. He hissed, brushing his hair out of the way and donning some dragonhide gloves in order to ladle some of the viscous green-and-purple speckled fluid into three waiting beakers. "Have a look around," he called, over the loud 'Fwoof!' sound of more purple smoke escaping. He gestured with a beaker towards two comfortably-squashed armchairs sitting in front of a fireplace. Lining the walls were bookcases. At least a dozen of them, stuffed full of books, ranging from thin pamphlets regarding the proper use of hellebore in potions, to thick tomes with uncomfortable titles like 'Aegri Somnia,' and 'Via Dolorosa.' Most of them seemed very Dark, and not to mention illegal.|
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Post by Daniel on Aug 21, 2006 11:11:46 GMT -5
<eh, i figured. Does Jesse know who Tom is??>
He looked over the shelves and table. "You've gotten quite an interesting collection while traveling, havent you?"
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Post by Pathos on Aug 21, 2006 11:26:44 GMT -5
((Mhm. Figured it out when he was still in school.))
|He looked up over the rim of the cauldron, blinking owlishly. "Oh, yes! You wouldn't believe the places I've been! Did you know that Atlantis was a real city? I found a man who had this absolutely *ancient* portkey, but he didn't know where it went. I took some precautions, you know, charms and artifacts to protect from heat and pressure and lack of oxygen, before I touched it. Turns out, Atlantis is just off he coast of Cyprus, but no one ever thought to look. All the libraries were still intact, and there were a lot of interesting artifacts, weapons and the like. Look on the second bookshelf on the right, there's a row on the bottom for Atlantean scripts. Fascinating language." He had quite obviously not only been to the fabled city of Atlantis. There were texts written in Latin, Italian, French, and more obscure languages that defied explanation: the stark characters of the Russian alphabet, long, musical-sounding paragraphs in Finnish and Polish, one or two tomes from Japan and ancient China, and even one written in an obscure Afrikaans dialect. "Feel free to poke around, I'm sure I've left several things out. Watch out for the forks, they'll attack you."|
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Post by Daniel on Aug 21, 2006 11:45:50 GMT -5
<sorry. I'd forgotten..>
"I believe forks and i dont get along to begin with. I prefer the spork." He glanced up. "Atlantians are genearlly kind if i remember correctly. I would love to erradicate them."
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Post by Pathos on Aug 21, 2006 11:51:03 GMT -5
|He turned, giving Tom a strange look. "'And in a single day and night of misfortune...the island of Atlantis disappeared in the depths of the sea,'" he quoted. "Written nearly 2300 years ago. You're a bit late for the eradication bit." He did not mention that, though many believed the Atlanteans to have been peaceful farmers, he himself had found hundreds of ancient weapons, many of them still holding a charge. The Atlanteans had figured out electricity long before the muggles had. He set two of the beakers down on the edge of the table, carrying one over to the squashy armchairs, where he settled down with a muted groan. The creaking of his spine was almost audible. He sat there, sipping at the potion he'd made, grimacing. "Ugh. No matter what I do, I can't get this to taste better. I've tried everything."|
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Post by Daniel on Aug 21, 2006 22:01:44 GMT -5
((oops.. i'd meant -- i would loved to have -- sigh... i think your idiot speak is contagious.))
Tom looked at him casually (the computer continues to insist i call him 'tim') "What is it for, if i might ask?"
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Post by Pathos on Aug 22, 2006 9:20:47 GMT -5
((XD Ahaha! Tim!))
|"Hmm?" He tilted his head back, looking at Tom with half-shuttered eyes. His breathing, which had been somewhat rapid, before, had slowed dramatically. "Oh, this?" He tilted the half-empty beaker in Tom's direction. "Operanum. Literally translated, it's a 'pain potion,' but it's a bit of a misnomer, now. Add a few extra ingredients, and it becomes a powerful restorative, mending bones, healing wounds, and replenishing energy and will in a matter of hours." He sighed, and swirled the potion in its beaker, but did not say anything more. It was apparent by his expression that he was not hiding anything, but rather, that he had completely forgotten that one's pain tended to warrent concern from others. Thus, he had forgotten to explain why and how the pain had come to be.|
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Post by Daniel on Aug 22, 2006 12:12:37 GMT -5
"What part of you is broken?" curiously.
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Post by Pathos on Aug 22, 2006 12:51:49 GMT -5
|He rolled his shoulders, downing the rest of the potion in one go, then leaned his head back against the cushy headrest and gasped for breath. It would be a few minutes before he answered. When he finally stopped panting, he let the beaker drop to the floor (*Clink!* went the beaker, though it did not break) and rotated his head so that he could look at Tom, while still being comfortable. "A lot of things," he murmured. "I've no doubt about your extensive emmersion into the Dark Arts, but not even you have seen or done some of the things that I have. The Citadels in the jungles of Malawi, Beijing, the jungles of Bombay. I've even been to Russia, Tom. I've been *inside* Chernobyl, past those lead walls they've erected, and I came out the other side. Weak, yes, and quite close to dying, but I did it." He laughed, very quietly. "That's where the heart of all power is, Tom. In ruins like Chernobyl. This potion is for a lot of things...but mostly, it's to replenish my will to live, and to keep the radiation sickness at bay until it finally fades."|
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Post by Daniel on Aug 22, 2006 13:41:59 GMT -5
Tom pales, but it really does not show. "So you did it willingly then." He smirked. (if i vote snarry--can i get a 1972 Nissan Ferio? A greeen on, preferably?)
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Post by Pathos on Aug 22, 2006 14:01:31 GMT -5
((Yes! Also, if you vote 'Stick of Butter' for the House of Representatives, you'll win a three week trip for four to Japan!))
|A barely perceptible tilt of the head. "It depends on your definition of 'willingly.' I walked into the shadows, yes, but not without a good, strong push. My father..." He glanced away, and spoke to a bookcase, rather than Tom. "My father was...and still is...obsessed. Most likely he will not rest until my blood can be used to dye his robes." Bitterly angry, this new Jesse was. "The Dark Arts contain the most offensive spells of any branch of magic. So I use it in everything. The more I steep myself in it, the harder it is for him to find me and kill me. Even this building...is protected, by blood magic." Blood magic, the knowledge of which had vanished almost completely during the time of the Founders, and which had since been labeled 'Dark' by the Ministry, and, subsequently, banned from use. The few spells regarding blood magic that remained had mostly to do with paternity charms, in order to identify fathers, mothers, and families.|
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Post by Daniel on Aug 22, 2006 21:55:12 GMT -5
He patted his head awkwardly. "You shall know... and im pretty sure you'll succed." ~i can prolly pull strings.~
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Post by Pathos on Aug 22, 2006 22:07:42 GMT -5
|He peered at Tom, seeming almost...hazy. His eyes were beginning to glaze over. "T-tom? Un...unfortunately, a small side-effect of my modified operanum is that...that it acts as a tongue-loosener, if you will. A mild effect, to be sure, but operanum and veritaserum have...have much in common, the dragon's bone only one of many." He reached up to brush his hand against Tom's sleeve. "S-sit, for a while? I'm...I'm lonely, Tom. It's been ages."|
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Post by Daniel on Aug 22, 2006 22:09:20 GMT -5
Tom smiled. "Well, truth is always... all right, its pure evil, but in this situation its fine." Tom sat comfortably.
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