[The Sanctuary] A Meeting Of The Minds

by **Caelum** on February 24th, 2014, 11:34 pm

"Nice to meet you, William," Caelum replied evenly. He proceeded to take a long swallow of ale from the mug, washing the dust from his throat. It was lowered with a sigh and his free hand propped on the slant of a hip as he slumped comfortably and delivered Kavala Big Sad Puppy Eyes when she scowled at him.

The moment she looked away, Caelum smirked to himself.

"The isolation lab is pretty neat," he put in, still level and calm. The man would go or he would stay. He could use a little more help around the facility when it came to healing, as that was his chief responsibility; but Caelum was the last person in all of Mizahar liable to force anyone to do a thing against their will.

Not that he wouldn't try to persuade them otherwise.

A deep breath drew the scent of ranuri into his lungs and he tilted his head, rolled a shoulder, stretching out those muscles even as his eyes grew heavy lidded and thoughtful. William was hungry. Terribly hungry, in fact, and it was divine magic that had told Caelum that. His fingers flexed about the mug and he meandered forward, collecting some scones off the plate.

"Hey, do you want some of these for the road?" He asked William. Already, he was thinking about convincing Cadra to drum up a more satisfying meal for their visitor, even if William did leave and never look back.

by **Will Ainsworth** on February 25th, 2014, 5:29 pm

Will took a moment to simply close his eyes and breathe; this had all got awfully stressful very fast. What had once been a simple interview had turned ugly, and while he would have liked to believe otherwise, perhaps it may have been his fault, not that he was willing to admit that to anyone. No, he still stood by his principles and that was something that wouldn't change anytime time soon. To him there was no real distinction between the gods and magic, one was just an extension of the other he felt based on the supposed feats of these deities and stories they would tell each other at home. "A man cannot be corrupted by flint and steel" He reasoned, taking pains to try and reel in his anger as he spoke back to her "I've heard the stories, a mere sixty years ago a magic wielding bastard oppressed an entire city, my city. Flint and steel can be used to harm, but it won't corrupt a man and make people live in fear of it. Ever wondered if someone might not want to live every day of their life worried that their neighbor, friend, wife or husband will be driven mad?"

He turned back to pair "Conjure up any technicality you want, feel free to think of me in a way you want, but for someone who I have just met today, it seems that you a willing to risk an awful lot to win a trivial argument." To Will words were a lot different to swords, and one seldom protected against the other. He shook his head as he was offered food by the strange looking human, the horns provoking the most curiosity but he averted his eyes from them out of politeness. "No thank you, I'm not hungry." He lied, trying to make it clear with his tone that he didn't want any.

His curiosity was piqued slightly by the mention of this lab, it wouldn't hurt to find out more. "Very well" He said curtly to them "Show me to this lab... And make it quick" He added quickly, he was eager to spend as little time as possible around these people, clearly having an affinity to indecency and the primal forces causing Will to only assume that they must be rather backwards, making him wonder why they needed such a extravagant home "Lead the way..."

by **Kavala** on February 25th, 2014, 7:38 pm

Kavala was going to miss him when he finally stormed out for good. She glanced at Caelum wondering why in the world he'd offered the man food but knowing the ranuri was probably giving Caelum more information than she had. Far from dumb, when Kavala turned to lead the group from the Commons towards the hall that lead to the library she passed Cadra who was sound asleep next to the library hearth which was still smouldering and keeping the flagstone's warm.

Kavala knelt by her niece, gently stroked the feline awake, and kissed the ginger cat on top of her head. "Up all night again? You should have come to bed with us. I think Tasival was so tired he didn't even move a muscle all night and you would have gotten some good rest. I hate to wake you, but can you do us a huge favor and start some breakfast? We have a guest that might just possibly want to break his fast here while hes visiting." Kavala said, kissing her niece between her ears again. The cat yawned, stretched, and slowly surged to her feet. Once on all fours, she stretched again, turned a circle, and then in a shimmering bunch of lights reformed into a nude human teen. "Sure Aunt! I would have gotten it started before now but I lost track of... " The cat waved vaguely and Kavala smiled, knowing Cadra loved her naps. The teen turned, completely unashamed of her nudity, and rubbed her jawline across Caelum's for a moment before kissing his cheek and heading back towards the kitchen with a friendly nod for Will.

"I'll introduce you formally when we get back and she's more awake." Kavala said with a laugh, shaking her head at Caelum who always got the jaw rub from Cadra. "I wouldn't have woke her, but she's the best cook we got. If you are hungry by the time we get back, you'll get a real treat if she's got breakfast ready." Kavala said, hungry herself now for some breakfast other than scones and tea. Since the birth, Kavala had been constantly hungry and was packing on the pounds she'd lost but couldn't afford to with a sheer joy that was unmatched. When one went for almost a year being only able to stomach raw seafood, once cooking became an option again, one took advantage of it. The Konti was loosing her skeletal look and building bulk again.

"This way" She said, cheerful at the thought of food, and more than ready to show him the lab. Kavala lead the group - whomever chose to follow - through the library which was made up more of records, journals, and notes than actual books. There were a few - a dozen or so - and a couple of writing desks, a set of couches and chairs before a fire, and hallways leading off in all four directions. Kavala picked the one on the right, turning down the corridor and walking briskly towards a door on the left. The door was massive, with a bolt, that she swung easily open. It lead them into an enormous room that had high vaulted ceilings and two mezzanines that graced either end. Where they walked in was an area for animals - mice kept in cages stretched down one wall. The other end had rows of beds, just in case, with a sea of tables and glassware already set up in distillers and transverters lining tables. There were sinks with hand cranks and every conceivable measuring device stored on one wall.. from scales and their counterweights to calipers and other tools. On shelves on the other wall was a sea of glassware comprising beakers, flasks, tubes, and all manner of brackets and braces for putting it all together.

Kavala lead the party deep into the lab until they were surrounded by a sea of either empty counters or ongoing projects. Then she gestured to both mezzanines. "One's a poison crafting lab, the other is a philtering lab. We make medicines in both for often there are fine lines between healing and harming." Kavala said, stepping back and letting Will get a good look around.

"Wander. Go look and see what you think. Ask questions. This is the heart of our work here." Kavala said, glancing around, glad the place was clean and in good working order for the moment. No one was truly sick and nothing but some ongoing cultures were being handled at the moment, so each station was fairly orderly. She wondered what Will would think of it all... and watched his face for a reaction.

She glanced whimsically at the spiral staircases leading up to the mezzanine's on either side. The Konti wouldn't mind if he went and had a look, but she bet herself thoroughly he wouldn't try sliding down the pole that they'd installed for quick descents. He just didn't seem that adventuresome.

OOC Layout and Info :

by **Will Ainsworth** on February 25th, 2014, 9:32 pm

Will followed reluctantly, his curiosity this time was tempered by apprehension of this place rather than by his own restraint. The Sanctuary by far was the most interesting place architecturally he had been in throughout his life, true the buildings in Sunberth were little more that precariously balanced bits of rotting wood that were liable to fall down at any moment but still, none of this detracted away from all the design of this place. However other views were competing for his favour as he cocked his eyebrow of the sight of Kavala kissing a copper haired cat before ordering it to cook for her, it was a most peculiar sight to surely anyone and even more so when the cat seemingly illuminated the room and transformed into a bare woman. "What problem do these people have with clothes?" He muttered as he gave the ginger teen the most forced smile imaginable while his cheeks reddened deeply, choosing to stare he blankly at the wall behind her as she skipped past him much to his relief.

However, the library more than made up for the flagrant nudity. It may not have seemed like much compared the some of the great libraries in this world but too Will it was a welcomed sight, for years he had packed himself into the dilapidated library, Sunberth's one and only library, as he forced himself to learn how to read with often only Remmy for company as he tried to expand his horizons a little further beyond Sunberth's filth. But it wouldn't be enough to convince him to stay, he was almost certain he could find a better, more well equipped library somewhere in Riverfall that would have a distinct and welcomed lack of magic, something that he would considered a great boon.

Though he had little time to admire the library as he followed her through the foreboding door into what must have been to Kavala, in Will's mind, her pride and joy rather than her children. It had everything he never had, while Doctor Petricious's research lab had mainly consisted of a bloody table with straps and next to it a rusted, stained, and rather blunt saw this facility was clearly equipped with state of the art equipment, and a lot things he didn't recognise. Alembics, retorts, condensers... He could count of the numerous things he had read about that was considered the fundamentals but so many things he didn't recognise, equipment that must have such a specific role that only a handful of people would understand it.

"So what are you currently doing here?" He asked as he tip-toed up the stair cases to the philtering lab, he had decided immediately to stay well away from the poison crafting area; he was intrigued and had no qualms with the actual trade but feared venturing into an area he did not understand and paying the price for it. "You have clearly have invested some money into it" He called out as he snaked through the philtering lab, taking his time to look through a variety of glass, the sight of his own face being deformed greatly if one had looked through the other side "What are you long term goals?"

Did this change anything? He wondered, the library and the lab were drawing him in considerably, but then the magic, the requirement to fight, and the raging nudity throughout this place was pushing him away just as much. Deep down Will knew that this place wasn't going to change for him anytime soon, and perhaps that was for the best. He clearly didn't fit in a place like this so perhaps it was best he didn't stay.

by **Caelum** on February 26th, 2014, 11:19 pm

"Mm," Caelum hummed at Cadra when she rubbed her jaw along his in a very feline greeting, and her kiss to his cheek was met with a slow, lazy smile. If there were sick memories that occasionally surfaced in him when it came to kelvics, Cadra and Larik had acted as agents of change for him in that.

"Do you want help?" He called after the naked teenager. The fact of her nudity failed to phase him. It was not just because he was a doctor, but really because he was accustomed to kelvics. Cadra was not nude to attract attention or in any attempt to disarm or seduce anyone, and therefore Caelum did not view her nudity in that light.

Besides, he would be a fool to complain.

When Cadra shook her head at him, Caelum broke one of the almond scones in half and absently followed Kavala and William through the library and into the isolation lab. While they poked around, he found a comfortable slump against the doorframe and went about breaking the scone in half. He was trying very hard to feed their guest. The man's hunger was making him hungry, and Caelum never required sustenance during the daytime. At the same time, however, Caelum was watching and listening to the byplay between William and Kavala.

They really weren't getting along.

He knew that it shouldn't amuse him, but it did in a twisted way. He kept the humor off his face, though perhaps it glinted now and again in thoughtful eyes while he ate his half of the scone and continued to observe. He figured they might need him as a buffer.

by **Kavala** on February 27th, 2014, 7:45 pm

Kavala had no idea why she was showing the perfect stranger her lab. Well, perfect was a loose term. He had a surly personality. He was opinionated with a seemingly poor education to back up his thoughts – if he thought magic destroyed the world – and was borderline rude if she was actually honest with herself. One generally didn’t come into someone else’s home and instantly start insulting them, laying judgment on their lifestyle, and basically blaming them and their kind for all the wrong doings of the world.

It was clear to her he thought all mages were insane and unstable. And yet here Kavala was being perfectly accommodating, offering him a job, and not insulting him in kind. No harm would come to the man on her watch, at least not while he was here, but then again she had something that would ensure nothing she told him would go past him or be remembered. She’d palmed a single strand of his hair off his shirt as she sniffed it, insuring she had a key to his Chavi and the ability to rewrite his memories if she needed too and things went even sourer than they were already going here.

She met his question with a smile and waved her hand outward. “Look for yourself. You tell me. What does it look like I’m doing here? Do you know what this equipment does and what it is capable of especially configured like this?” She wanted to know the extent of his knowledge and how well he knew his way around a lab. They were up on the Mezzanine in the Philtering lab and laid out there was a bunch of plants (multiple different kinds) that were neatly potted and seemingly being utilized to harvest from since they looked ‘trimmed’ and bits of plant material was scattered on the lab table before them some dried, some fresh but currently wilted, and some powdered and even liquidized. It was a processing station that looked to be investigating something about the plants. A distiller was set up, the small type that had a small burner going generating an oil bath. Attached to that was a Fractionating column with packing in it that was attached to a round bottom flask that was nestled in the oil bath. A thermometer was pressed in the cork top and a condenser ran down to an adoptor that then ran into a distillation flask. It was a slow burn and the material collecting in the flask was a pure emerald green liquid.

Kavala checked it, then raised the whole apparatus up above the charcoal burner a bit more, resetting the heat, and let it go. It looked to be one of those all-day projects.

“Our goals are simple. We investigate new materials for medicinal properties and healing qualities. Some can be gleaned through auristics but for the most part its trial and error. I’ve been working on a drug called Damaru that does something specific to the Akalak psyche that might be useful for the future. We test some things on animals and of course ourselves, but often there is a requirement for other means. We work through it.” It’s sometimes hard finding volunteers She said, her voice a bit flat, as if this part of her work upset her somewhat in terms of being frustrating.

“We’ve also had a good bit of luck working on plants that give out reproductive signals – putting mares into heat and out of heat. If I keep hard to cycle mares on the plant, their cycles regulate and its easier to get them in foal. If it’s a trait they pass on, we don’t want to keep them for breeding, but if its just an individual characteristic, then its helpful. Kelvics to keep them from cycling through their heats at inopportune times or conversely can put them in heat etc if they want to reproduce. There’s other things we are working on too.. some long term, some not so long term. Everyone here seems to have projects.” Kavala said, noting the man was still looking around uncertainly with a certain arrogance. She wondered why he was even still here if they were all that terrible.

And even more upsetting, she wondered why she couldn’t muster the energy to even be remotely be upset at how insulting he’d been. Caelum, on the other hand, was watching the guy with a certain curiosity and an it amused Kavala that he kept trying to feed the guy or else was now starved himself.

"Any more questions?" She asked, curious.

by **Ragdoll** on June 4th, 2014, 6:44 pm

Grade Awarded!

Will, should you ever return to Miz, let me know and I'll grade your portion of the thread. Kavala and Caelum, I withheld from giving you lores about a retired PC, but if either of you want them then let me know and I'll give you a list. There are a lot that could've come up.

Kavala :

Caelum :

Don't forget to edit your grading request! Though I try my hardest to award you what you deserve, I may occasionally mess things up! If there's something you'd like to discuss about your grade, then please don't hesitate to send me a PM and I'll be happy to work things out with you.

Skill	Points
Socialization	2
Observation	1

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