[IHL] Rogue Scholar

[Inoadar]

20th of Spring, 513 AV

'Into the Dravlak's mouth...' Inoadar smiled to himself as he ventured into the grand gothic Institute of Higher Learning. The main entry was stylized to resemble some architect's concept of the divinely demonic shock troops of Rhysol. He had to admit, the design was inspiring in its ferocity.

He also had to admit, his assistant, Marcus, had been right about the restrictions of enrollment. Though exactly how he knew was still a source of suspicion to him. Inoadar knew he'd certainly given his assistant sufficient hints regarding his interest in the Institute. His last series of tests on the tongue sample had been useful in concluding the physiology of reactions and effects of a number of his "products" in respect to the affected bodily systems. But too many of the remaining toxins were unable to be researched in this way. Marcus had undoubtedly overheard his frequent grumbling on the subject.

It was not truly a requirement for a poison crafter to know why a product worked, so long as it DID work. But he was a perfectionist. He wanted to fully understand the way these toxins attacked the body. He wanted to know if and how they could be modified to work in unique and unexpected ways. He figured the Institute's library, work stations and resident experts would accommodate this pursuit.

When he'd first begun to research the subject, back in Sunberth, he'd learned of a master that could engineer a poison that could be fed to two like individuals and have it only affect one of them. A 'tailor-made' toxin, resulting in the prosecution of the one who'd imbibed it and NOT been affected. 'What dull-minded lynch mob was going to believe such an alibi' he'd marveled at the time, as the pleading, tormented victim had been hoisted by his neck, kicking, to slowly strangle before the cheering crowd.

This kind of 'affinity' to catalysts of bodily dysfunction was Inoadar's goal. He needed more flesh samples to continue his research. Ligaments and tendons, organs and nerve clusters, eyes and ears, skin and bone. All were his targets. It was no different than a weapon master's aim regarding his chosen implements. Where best to hit, how best to disable. How best to gauge the degree of damage. How to prolong suffering to aid questioning. How to inflict fear through the anticipation of the oncoming afflictions of toxic assault. It was heady stuff!

[Inoadar]

His escort had been some friend of his assistant, Marcus, back at the shop. He had not identified himself beyond the name 'Droshek'. Marcus had made some mention of needing a recommendation to qualify for entry. He hadn't gone into detail about what sort of source this 'recommendation' needed to come from. Inoadar surmised that any members of the Black Sun or Ebonstryfe were shoe-ins for such considerations. Likely any servants of the city government. And though he wore no indicators of it, this Droshek had 'Ebonstryfe' written all over him.

Inoadar knew he was going beyond merely 'pushing' his luck. He was flaunting it. Yet, it stood to reason that, as a businessman, he should research the availability of advanced knowledge in his area. He had been fortunate in the past to find a book here and there with some small mentions of useful information on toxins. But more and more, the shops in Ravok were dismally lacking in anything he didn't already know.

And while, he'd had some success making excursions into the wildlands, and would do so again, the last few times he'd very nearly been done in. Once by a wolf pack and once by deserters from the recent military campaign. And this was not to mention the times his discovery of a new toxin was largely through his own suffering from unintended affliction. He'd very nearly drowned once as well.

So the thought of shelves and shelves of categorized volumes just waiting to be perused, and attending masters available to aid his research was just too golden to ignore.

All this was running through his mind as he and Droshek walked down a central hall, the surrounding passages leading off into dimly lit wings and chambers. The floor was patterned with glyphs of every description and the walls bore images of beasts and vistas of glory and carnage, overseen by grim statues of past figures. Inoadar did not recognize these men by their statues, but had no doubt that familiar names of dread and power were tied to more than a few of them. It was a looming intimidation over all who entered, and he approved.

He supposed it was to let newcomers have plenty of atmospheric gloom to give them pause to reconsider their enrollment plans. He also supposed that if someone was to lose their nerve and turn to retreat back to the alleys and canals of the city, they'd never make it. His die was cast, he was not intimidated. In fact he felt at home! Again, that sense that Rhysol is a god I could feel an affinity for...

He shook off this invasive notion of obligation. 'No, it is not a blessing bestowed by a gracious deity to his loyal people to provide learning...It is a self-serving provision to make them stronger to serve him better.' his mind responded.

...And why should it be otherwise?...They serve Him...He serves them...

His steady pace faltered momentarily, 'Where was this coming from?' In truth, he had no answer to this line of thought. It made perfect sense and it seemed to manifest of his own consciousness, but it was gone now.

Droshek tugged at him to maintain his pace. "Do not hesitate now. We are there." He urged him forward to stand before a large set of black steel doors, distorted skull carvings adorning each with a manic glee. On closer look, they looked to be true bone, yet somehow melted as wax. Inoadar started as Droshek knocked.

There was a pause and then the doors opened, seemingly of their own accord.

[Inoadar]

Inoadar found himself stepping into the chamber without any recall of initiating a step. It seemed that Droshek had accompanied him, yet he found himself alone standing before a desk when he stopped, patiently awaiting the Headmaster's pleasure.

The desk was deeply covered in literature and documents, neatly stacked, and the man was a model of focus, turning over large lifts of correspondence and dealing with them swiftly in very little time.

Inoadar remained standing as the Headmaster eventually set several sheets aside as he went through a large stack. He jogged them and set them before him. He lifted the top sheet and scanned it. "You have patience, Mr. Parnell. That is good. I expect, given the particular discipline you seek to expand upon, one must learn patience or risk a toxin accident. It is my understanding you already have a business in Ravok researching and developing toxins and their antidotes..."

"Yes...sir? Headmaster?..." Inoadar felt suddenly conspicuous in his failure to have discovered the proper form of address prior to his arrival. "They go hand in hand." he did not feel it necessary to elaborate, he sensed the man would feel it was obvious. Also the man had his hand up to forestall further comment.

"Patience, Mr. Parnell" he interjected with a tone of mild reproof, "I was not finished. I was not referring to the obvious requirement of possessing toxins in order to have them on hand to research. I was going to ask why, if you have such an establishment, do you feel the necessity of enrollment here at all?...and 'Headmaster' will do." he added.

"The categories in which I have experience, Headmaster, are becoming more difficult for me to find additional texts to reference. In addition, flesh samples, that are not already tainted by magic, bruising, disease, or what have you, are not available to the citizenry by means that do not generate suspicion and scrutiny."

"And being a man already on record as having harbored a traitor, your previous assistant..." he cocked his head to quickly scan a second sheet of paper he'd set aside. "Burkelayan Trovias, you feel yourself unfairly...monitored? You think you might be out-of-sight and out-of-mind by squirreling yourself away here regularly?"

Inoadar had kept his eyes straight forward thus far, but now his brow furrowed and he looked the man directly in the face. "Certainly not, Headmaster. Why would I think that an institution such as this would allow me to avoid surveillance. If anything, it eases my mind to know that I am in a place where my actions will be seen, as a testament to my loyal and productive behavior. I hope to benefit from the knowledge that whatever is available here, has been pre-approved as acceptable."

The Headmaster came around from behind the desk and stood to Inoadar's right, facing his profile as Inoadar continued to face front. "How long have you been considering enrollment, and why did you not approach sooner?"

"It has been a full season or more, sir...er, Headmaster, but my new assistant, Marcus Aventus, mentioned that a recommendation from an alum, or man of comparable credentials, was required. And since he was placed with me by the Vitrax itself, I had no reason to question his statement."

The Headmaster paused curiously. He turned back to his desk and examined one of the sheets again. He turned halfway around and asked over his shoulder, "How do you know he was sent by the Vitrax? Did he tell you so himself? And did he give you any aid in acquiring the recommendation you needed?"

Inoadar's mind locked into analysis mode behind a facade of memory searching. He knew that, literally, the first two words out of Marcus' mouth had been "The Vitrax", but his thoughts were dissecting the reason for an academic like the Headmaster to need to know such a thing.

After a long pause, the only thing he could think of was that Marcus WAS a surveillance plant, put there to spy on him, probably for leads on what contacts Inoadar might have established, And the Headmaster was trying to find out if Marcus had blown his cover and tipped off 'Mr. Parnell' about it. 'Better the enemy you KNOW...' Inoadar thought to himself.

[Inoadar]

Inoadar ventured slowly, as though still unsure, "As I recall...it was the Ebonstryfe soldiers that mentioned the Vitrax...In truth, I guess I don't really know where Marcus came from. I just assumed he was from the Vitrax since the soldiers indicated it."

He suddenly let an inspired look of worry grip his face, "Say, you don't think he's a spy, do you? For the 'Rising Doom?"

The Headmaster betrayed a slight sigh of relief. "Rising DAWN" he corrected. "No, I'm certain he's just a citizen looking for work. There's a lot of instability out there right now, after the disruption of those criminals, Dira take them! Our noble soldiers and public servants are working hard to smooth things out and get everybody a productive task to do. You're lucky you got your business approved when you did."

"Don't I know it! And to think I had a traitor right under my nose! It makes me shiver just to think about it. I'm so glad the soldiers caught him when they did. To think I might have taught him skills he would use against loyal citizens of Our Lord's city!" he gave a very convincing shudder of revulsion at the thought.

He doubted the Headmaster believed his words were sincere. But he knew it did not matter. What mattered was the proper playing of the expected role. He was believing more and more each week that he was under surveillance. This led him to believe Marcus was spying on him. This, in turn, led him to believe Marcus had been planted there by the Black Sun.

It was therefore important that he behave exactly the way they expected him too. This included any facade of phony loyalty, to any random headmaster that might be assessing him, that might be expected of him. If he was to NOT play the part, he would be letting them know that he knew they knew about him. Then all subtlety would be cast aside and it would be arrest, interrogation and death.

He realized the Headmaster was talking and let the little bit that had soaked into his head confirm that he was only mentioning how Marcus was just a simple worker who was just lucky to have a cousin that had been a soldier and that Inoadar should suggest that he, too, capitalize on the great opportunities available at the Institute. "A superior assistant for a superior master makes for superior commercial trade." He was all smiles now.

"I'll be sure and do that." Inoadar acted like a joke just occurred to him and he grinned. "But no studying on MY time." They both laughed.

[Inoadar]

The Headmaster reacquired his dignity. Clearing his throat, he listed the benefits available with the basic enrollment. "You will have access to all facilities associated with the subject you intend to focus on. This will include the library, of course, and any normally restricted areas, while under the supervision or written clearance of the resident Master. Depending on which families of toxin you have selected, there will be related labs available to you. Have you decided on these yet?"

"Actually, yes, I was thinking of 'Fungal' and 'Araneida', Headmaster" Inoadar replied, hoping this narrow category would allow him access to the entire entomology spectrum. This would give him the chance to gain some knowledge of scorpion, centipede, beetle and wasp toxin as well as the spider toxin he'd mentioned specifically.

"Excellent!" the Headmaster clapped his hands appreciatively. "Most prospects call it 'Arachnial' or simply 'spider". He shook his head at such novice designations. "One with such attention to detail will no doubt appreciate the specialized specimens and equipment we have obtained. It allows the pure focus on arachnid toxins, without the concerns of other insect toxins corrupting samples or literature and charts being confused. Now, as far as reference material goes, that will be in the library."

Inoadar concealed his disappointment. "Will I be allowed to remove books from the library overnight, or longer?"

The Headmaster's enthusiasm waned somewhat. "No, I'm afraid not. It took quite some time to amass the collection we have." He leaned in close, conspiratorially. "It is even rumored that more than a few came from the library in Zeltiva. They apparently do not take the wise precautions that we do here. Such are the rewards of carelessness. We learn from others' mistakes."

He returned the discussion to the parameters of the enrollment. "Now this is not a study of magic, so you will not be enjoying the sort of one-on-one tutoring that comes with that. Likewise, there will be no curriculum schedule to follow. You will be free to learn at your own pace, focus on any one thing more than another if this is your desire. The resident Master will be available to answer questions or help find you the best reference material. But mostly, he will be scheduling the use of his department's assets and overseeing their use. He can be persuaded to take part in team lab work with you if you can arrange it when he has available time. I think he sets aside time for field work, and takes some trips to acquire fresh samples and specimens. He would not be averse to having a student or two accompany him on such efforts. Don't fool yourself into thinking this will unlock access to restricted materials or areas, but I believe it's safe to say that it would ingratiate yourself to him to render such aid, and that is never a bad thing for an enterprising student."

"That is very reasonable." Inoadar said honestly. He paused pointedly, "So, uh...when may I begin?"

"You have your entrance fee?" The Headmaster responded.

Inoadar winced and slapped his forehead. "Of course, of course. Sorry, I naturally wanted to hear a little about what to expect before I paid my fee..." he said as he handed over a cinched leather pouch, continuing as the Headmaster took it gracefully. "But I could still have given it to you several stipulations ago. Everything sounds perfect."

There was a new hesitancy in the Headmaster's demeanor. "Well, there is one thing I need to be sure of. This season is already somewhat advanced, AND it will take a week or two to reschedule to fit you in. So unless you are willing to pay for a full season, while only actually benefiting from a portion of one, then you don't start until the 1st of Summer. You will be scheduled in at the start of the season with all the rest then."

"But I can still pay now, correct?" Inoadar's response did not miss a beat.

The Headmaster smiled broadly, "Oh indeed you may. Now you're trying to ingratiate yourself with ME."

"I suspect that this is not a bad thing either." Inoadar said smoothly. Both men smiled. The Headmaster returned to his desk and removed an official looking document and began filling in a few details.

"I will provide you with a voucher to present to us this Summer, then." he finished with a signatory flourish and swept the document off his desk, extending it to Inoadar.

He took it, rolled it and slipped it into an inner coat pocket and bowed. "Until then. Thank you very much for your time. I will see you then." He turned smartly and strode confidently back down the long hall and out to the streets of Ravok.

[Verilian]

. . Thread Award . . Inoadar +1 Observation +1 Rhetoric +1 Acting You Question My Logic? : XP explanation goes here. Lores: Entering the Institute of Higher Learning, The Headmaster, Enrolled at the Institute of Higher Learning Expenses: 100 Gold Mizas for enrollment Notes: Short and simple, but it got done what needed done. Good job, and keep writing! Notice As per the request of the Founders, threads cannot be graded unless your CS is up to date. This means you need to add threads to your thread list when you make new threads, keep your skills up to date, ledger, living expenses, ect. If you aren't up to date, you'll get a PM from me before i grade your thread. If you are up to date, disregard this notice.