Completed [JOB THREAD] Masks of all Kinds

[Huskabar]

Season: Winter/Day: 55th/Year: 513/Time: Dusk In the back alley corner, just across from the Pig’s Foot, sat a scraggly one-eyed man, leaned against the grimy walls surrounding him, laying against the filth covered street. He hunkered down his head, wearing nothing but old gutter rags. Suddenly a figure approached the pathetic sight, looking down to him, but not with disgust, but rather an expression of nervousness and worry. “Excuse me, Sir,” spoke the well dressed young man, as he leaned forward, speaking in a hushed tone, “I am looking for someone who said he would be here. Have you seen anyone else?” His tone trembled as he spoke, and his emerald green eyes tensed, as if he expected the ground to crumble beneath his feet at any moment. “It’s just… I have a certain arrangement with this person, and it is very important that I locate him.” The grubby man gave a large proud smile, displaying all three of his yellow teeth, without an ounce of shame, before walking deeper into the alley, turning his back to the young man, before finally looking back and whispering, “Quick. Follow, follow… He does not like to be kept waiting.” he said, and as the strange dirty man made his way into the darkness, the well dressed gentleman quickly followed suit, and as he did, he noticed the figure before him, gradually stood more upright, losing his hunched posture altogether. The man turned, and as he did, he could see the face was changing. The stubbly, and dirt covered face had grown longer, far more gaunt, and from the face a beard began to grow, until it was long, course, and proud. He leaned down towards the young man, and spoke in a stern much deeper voice, “Next time you seek me out, do not discuss the details allowed. This is your only warning,” he said with a glare. “So what is it you need me to take care of for you?” he asked, with a slightly softer tone. The younger man fidgeted, as he reached into his coat, before gripping something, and gradually pulling it out. It was a brown mask, and when he passed it to the wizard, Huskabar could not help but notice how soft the mask was. “I found this cursed thing one day, and for a long time, everything seemed fine, but slowly I think it is somehow messing with my mind. Sometimes it talks to me, you see… It messes with my head. I was not far from Sunberth when a traveler crossed my path. I told him of my trouble, and he said that he had heard a voider recently came to Sunberth… A little asking around, and I found you!” This was concerning to the old man. Sure, he had been in the area for a couple of weeks now, but how did that traveler hear of him already? Clearly his presence wasn’t quite as contained as he had hoped. “If you can just get rid of that thing… Trust me, the longer you keep it, the worse of you will be.” The wizard passed back the mask to the man, before focusing his concentration, “I need you to throw the mask forward when I tell you to do so. Do you understand?” he asked the well dressed man before receiving a nod in return, accompanied by a nervous gulp of the throat. The elderly man began to focus on the space in front of him, gesturing at the space, muttering incantations beneath his breath, beginning to open a void before him, until finally turning to the other man, ready to give the order, but something was wrong. There was a strange expression on the young man’s face, as if he were no longer in his right mind. He moved the mask towards his face, and it immediately clamped on, as if it were alive. There was something very terrible about this strange little clay mask.

[Huskabar]

“Leave her alone!” came out of the man’s mouth all at once, before he ran forward, pushing against Huskabar’s back, causing him to stumble forward towards the entrance of the void, quickly projecting the void away from him, just before he fell to the ground. He allowed the portal to close, before immediately turning around, his eyes glaring with pure undeniable rage. He reached out, grabbing the man’s jacket, and pulling him close, glaring into his eyes, but as he did, he got a much better look at the odd clay mask. For a moment, he was taken aback, a feeling of fear entering his being, as he stared upon the strange object. It was unclear to the wizard what was happening, but clearly this object had a will of it’s own. “Very interesting. Perhaps it’s some sort of enchantment, but the object seems to actually be moving. Don’t you see, my son? Watch carefully, and you will see that whatever it is, it is in fact alive,” said the voice of the vision of his father.”What I don’t understand is why you are allowing this little being to make a fool of you. We both know that you are better than that.” These words quickly filled the warlock with a new sense of conviction. He reached forward, gripping at the clay mask, and with a sudden pull, ripped it from the man’s face. The gentleman was gasping, and his cheeks were flushed red. The mask seemed to be squirming in Huskabar’s grip, and as he looked down, he noticed a small pair of legs and arms forming on the creature, pushing up on his thumb, as he squealed out for help. “Now I have most definitely seen everything,” said the familiar hallucination. “Let me go at once,” came a chilling cold voice from such an odd little creature, and Huskabar could not help but feel several emotions when receiving this command. Immediately he felt a strange compulsion to obey the being, and secondly despite the small size, there was a clear attitude of intimidation about this creature. These feelings combined and swirled with in his mind, and before he even knew what he was doing, the old man let the mask slip from his grip, and it began to race down the alleyway. It took the elderly conjurer a moment, but suddenly he realized what had happened. The two men began to chase after the odd little creature, when suddenly an idea formed. Huskabar knew these streets, and he knew exactly where he was heading. He leaned in, whispering into the client’s ear, before guiding him down the opposite direction. The two men made their way back to the Pig’s Foot, wear they had both met earlier that evening, and then they waited. Sure enough, a little lost clay mask came screaming by, and as he did Huskabar spoke out, “Where are you going? We wish to serve you.” The little mask turned, a great smile appearing on it’s face, but by his body language it was clear that he was not completely convinced. “You obviously have very special abilities, and are far superior to us. We would both like to help you in anyway possible.” The mask was so distracted by the flattery, he did not notice that the wizard had been dislodging his astral wrists from his body, and was gradually guiding a miniscule void hole just behind the clay being.

[Huskabar]

"Well I knew someday others would recognize my genius!" said the crazy little creature, as he stood proudly at his handy work. "Now, when addressing me, I am to be called Grand Master Mask, and you must bow each and every time. Oh, and I like a back massage every -" The being was cut short, as a void opened behind him, with the most pull Huskabar had ever been able to generate. The little screams filled the air around them, as he called out, "Traders! Tricksters! Cheaters! Liars!" but these screams did not help, as the strange little creature was sucked into the blackness. Once the void had finally closed, a feeling of relief washed over the two gentleman, and for a time they could not speak a single word. “Well… You are certainly worth your fee. I would have had no hope of besting that little devil,” said the well dressed man, before reaching into his pocket, and pulling out a small pouch of money, before placing it in the old man’s hands. “What is your name, Sir? I must let others know of you,” the man said, with a large friendly smile. The old wizard took a moment to ponder this. He certainly did not want to make it easy for magic hunters to track him down, or for the locals to see him in plain sight, but advertisement was indeed necessary for any possibility of a lucrative future. Publicity does indeed have both a cost and a value, but something stirred, and there was a small part of him that laughed at these dangers. Naievety and ego were his cloak and dagger in this world, and clearly he was not disarmed of them just yet. “I am Huskabar. Thank you for your praises. I only ask that you take care of who you speak with when spreading my name,” he said to the man, as he raised his right brow, as some sort of unspoken warning. The two shook hands, and then finally parted ways, and though it indeed seemed to be the end of his day, the wizard could not seem to get that mask out of his head. That little miscreant was indeed powerful, and it had to be magic, he thought to himself. What else could possibly bend his will to such an extent? That little creature did indeed wield and odd form of magic, and he for one felt a need to learn what it was. The old wizard made his way towards his apartment, but he couldn’t help, but get an odd feeling. It felt as if he were being watched, and though there was nothing to see every time he turned his back, this feeling would not subside. Once he was home, the feeling had only increased, as if he were being watched from every angle, and as he spun, he realized just how foolish he was being. Perhaps he was just getting paranoid in his old age, he summised, but then as he turned his body, a figure could be seen, ethereal in appearance, but in the very next moment he was gone. It was a man dressed in long dark robes, and fine long black hair. His nose was rather large for his face, but it seemed to compliment his look, and his small beady eyes were so piercing, that Huskabar could barely remember any other details of the figure. “Who are you?” he called out into the dark.

[Huskabar]

“Only a memory now…” the low voice could be heard, as the form took shape once more. These words escaped his lips like a whirling wind over a distant mountainside. His eyes peered like gateways to worlds unknown. “I have been watching you all night. I practiced magic in Sunberth once.” The figure shifted across the room, under the depths of darkness. “Admittedly events did not unfold as they were expected. Leave this place, and do not look back for even a moment,” The specter warned, but the good advice fell on deaf ears. There is no room for caution when ego and pride reign the mind. “Be gone, Spirit. I have no time for this, and I am nearly certain that I am already at my maximum capacity for all things insane, and that includes departed visitors.” The stubborn wizard opened the door, but the ghost would not move. The phantom simply glared at the old man, without making a single noise, and it had seemed the two had reached a stalemate. Huskabar went about his business, and even went so far as to practice his voiding in the presents of the quite untraditional guest. Gradually the vision of the ghost faded from view, but the wizard was relatively certain that spirit had merely vanished, and that he had not seen the last of him. Several hours went by in the darkness of the apartment, as Huskabar continued to practice his voiding, ripping a small passage way into the dimension of nothingness, gradually allowing the opening to grow larger, slowly projecting it away from himself. He couldn't help but be impressed with the force of the current void's push. It seemed as if all of this practice was paying off nicely, though it was indeed tiring. "Arrogant," came the voice, causing Huskabar to cancel the void, and turn to his accuser. "You are arrogant, and even worse than that, you are not all that intelligent. You barely understand magic, and you don't even appreciate it. It's just a means to an end for you, and no matter what reasons you may think you have, it's all about power... It's always about power. You didn't even know what that creature was earlier, did you? It was a pycon, and I suggest you learn of more races in the future. A little anthropology can be a wizard's best friend... Especially if that wizard just so happens to be a morpher. Furthermore, you had no knowledge of the magic discipline he was using on you, did you? That would be hypnotism, and the fact you didn't even know of it's existence until tonight is utterly pathetic! Watching you in action, is just insulting. I was a much better wizard than you, and look where I ended up! This is your last warning. Leave, or suffer the wrath of ignorance and discrimination." In the next moment the specter was gone, and without even a chance of rebuttal, the elderly warlock was left all by himself. The days events resonated in his mind, as he laid down for rest. Were the words of the strange specter true? Was he indeed nothing but an arrogant foolish pretender bent on power at all costs? Was he truly fated to be dead in a ditch or back alley within the season? No, he couldn't think like that. He refused to think like that, and he knew the more he obsessed over his future, the less likely he was to forge it. He gave out a deep breath, trying to put the memories of the day behind him, as he gradually allowed his body to drift off into the sweet embrace of slumber, in hopes that tomorrow would bring more income, and far less stress. He knew he wouldn't be so lucky.

[Matthew]

Huskabar

Experience Points:

• 1 Intimidation
• 0 Morphing
• 1 Persuasion
• 1 Planning
• 1 Projection
• 1 Running
• 1 Voiding

Lores:

• Cursed Items: Basics of What They Are
• Ghosts: Basics of What They Are
• Hypnotism: Familiar with the Term
• Magic: Many Strange and Unknown Things
• Pycons: Familiar with the Term
• Rumors: They Spread Quickly

Additional Effects: Due to the large amount of Djed needed to force a quicker Morph, Huskabar will find that his reckless attempt has some undesirable results. When he Morphed his face to be longer and gaunt, Huskabar didn't actually Morph all of the flesh. Some of it actually stretched, leaving him with stretch marks and sagging ripples of flesh hanging from his chin and jaw. Over a long period of time the flesh can tighten, returning to normal if not stressed any further.

Additional Notes :

As has been pointed out to you by Edreina in one of your earlier grades, your use of Morphing shows a bit of powerplay. It really shouldn't be possible for him to morph as fast as he does, and seemingly without any concentration. Further on you mention that he is able to "quickly" project a void away, which he would not be able to do. It would once again require effort, and I would question if a Novice would be able to effortlessly affect a void. There are instances of this sort of thing throughout the RP. You DID use some of your skills within your skill range at certain sections, and I tried to award that. Some magic XP was still docked because of the powerplay, as well as one other small side effect as noted above.

I enjoy personally enjoy your writing, I just think you need to work on playing within the limits of your magic.

If you have any questions or concerns relevant to your grade, don't be afraid to send me a private message so that we can work it all out! Please remember to mark your Grading Request as Graded.

A shout-out to Ollic Rimesage, who was kind enough to make this template for me.