Completed A Trip to the Clinic

[Kynier]

51st of Summer 518 A.V.

The mage was on his way back to the Midnight Gem as the tenth bell came to be. Kynier had gotten up early that morning to run to the market and grab some supplies for what he intended to do today. Some sealing wax and a blank stamp for sealing. After being recovered for more than twenty five days he would follow the next step of an investigation he began half a season ago. Doler had shown incredible patience, and Kynier didn’t want to test it much farther. Perhaps he had let his fear delay him from pursuing it before now. Though he could give plenty of excuses to why he hadn’t. Meeting more mages, trying to expand his network of intelligence, and even changing his life completely. Ultimately, it was time to act.

Kynier walked through the main entrance and bid the night lion a good morning. He climbed the stairs and entered the master suit. Kelski wasn’t there, which wasn’t surprising. She most likely was downstairs in her workshop. The mage unlocked and flipped open his large chest at the foot of the bed. Digging down to the bottom he pulled out a sealed letter addressed to Doctor Petricious, with a star pattern mushed into the sealing wax. Kynier closed the chest and locked it again before staring at the name on the letter. Just seeing the letters of the name chilled his blood. It wasn’t the letter he was seeing it on, but the stone.

Before he had returned to the ship he thought that the doctor had some sort of connection to the stone’s purpose. The shadows had said otherwise. But why would the doctor have enough interest in the stone to get a reaction? Now the mage thought the stone had a consciousness of its own, and was directing him towards the doctor for some reason. He had no facts to support such a theory, and kept it to himself. Never to even hint it to his mate.

Edits in Progress

Ledger Changes :

-3 gm for 3 portions of Sealing wax

Job Thread Word Count: 333

Credit for the boxcode goes to Luminescence!

[Kynier]

He pulled out a clean sheet of parchment from the desk and sat down. On the desk’s surface he laid out the letter, the blank parchment, a stick of gold sealing wax, and a candle. Then he reached down to remove the assassin’s dagger from inside his boot. He examined the shape of Doler’s wax seal meticulously. It was rather simple. A small star with no other embellishments.

The mage lifted the dagger and set the tip of it down on the seal, completely vertical. Bending his head low so that his eyes were level he tried to visually measure how much depth there was to the star’s shape. Not a lot. Next he took the blank stamp in one hand and held the dagger in the other. Carefully he placed the tip of the blade against the bottom of the stamp and started cutting into it. Each motion was slow and carefully measured. In another chime he had a star cut into the bottom of the seal stamp. Kynier gave it a blow to remove the remnant debris. Then he pulled miniscule trace of res to the tip of his finger and willed it to ignite in order to light the candle.

Kynier slid the letter to the side and set the blank parchment square in the center of the desk. Picking up the stick of gold wax he held it to the candle to melt. After several ticks a couple of viscous globs of golden wax were running towards his fingers. Kynier removed the stick from the candle and angled it to drop the wax on the blank sheet. Then he used the newly formed stamp upon the wax and pressed down hard before recoiling it straight up. Setting the stamp aside he pulled the letter closer and compared the two. “The shape is about right. Yet it needs to be just a bit larger,” he commented. The spy retook the dagger and chiseled out more from the stamp to increase the size of the star.

When that was done he repeated the test. Now it looked like a very close replica. Kynier set the blank parchment and the stamp aside and drew the letter close. Finger tips pulled at the sealed edges as the other hand slid the assassin’s dagger into the gap. Using one hand to weigh down the letter, the other used the dagger to slowly cut through the seal. Kynier tried to prevent excess tension on the paper to avoid any rips. Gradually he cut through the seal and was able to unfold the paper.

Good Doctor,
You previously asked for my help and I refused because the task had no interest to me. However, your name has recently peaked my curiosity. Answer the courier of this letter’s questions, and I’ll help you find who you seek.

D.

-Also, refrain from harming the messenger. Not a favor, just a request.

The mage read the letter. Then reread it twice more before leaning back in his chair. For a solid chime he was quiet as he contemplated the contents of the letter. While no real impression of Doler had been set in his mind, apart from reclusive and occasionally deranged, all considerations Kynier had for the wizard had suddenly shifted. There was some sort of working relationship between the two of them. Doler willingly exchanged favors with a man that has the reputation that Doctor Petricious had. Kynier wanted to be infuriated by the revelation. But what the wizard had said when handing him the letter had been enough of a prelude. “’A brutal man to the naïve’” he quoted aloud before shaking his head.

With a sigh he took the letter in hand again. With the dagger he removed as much of the broken seal as he could without damaging the paper. After that he refolded it and melted some more gold wax. Kynier let the semi liquid drop into the middle of where the old seal had been, allowing it to be a bit larger than it was before so the wax appeared to be one whole piece again. Then he stamped it with the replica star seal.

Kynier grabbed his pack from the wardrobe and packed a few yards of the white cloth he used for medicinal purposes, as well as a vial of Belltor and a spare shirt. Walking back over to the desk he took the letter and stowed it away as well. He would also grab some fruits and nuts should they be hungery later and unable to return or visit a tavern. A final check consisted of patting his vest several times to feel the contents. The Mighty Quill, his larceny tools, some coin, the locket of hair, weapons at his belt and in his boot. Everything he could think of he had.

Edits in Progress

Forgery Roll :

Roll result from 1d100+0 = 3

Job Thread Word Count: 750
Total Count: ???

Credit for the boxcode goes to Luminescence!

[Kynier]

The concern for his safety noted in the letter was something he understood immediately. Not because he felt as though he was obtaining a certain understanding of the wizard Doler, but because of what he’d been learning through this style of work. Coins weren’t the only form of currency to be used to gain information. Knowledge for knowledge was generally the second most frequent form of exchange. Doler’s request had just fallen short of the third variety intentionally. The wizard had even specified that it wasn’t to be a favor. Favors were a form of currency Kynier was quickly learning that it was better to be owed, and not owe a favor.

Speaking to the doctor may put him at risk, but he was there to gain information for himself. But he was learning to think in advance of one’s actions and imminent consequences. Yet he was worried about the compromise of finding someone for the doctor. Someone specific. Kynier was immediately thinking about the ramifications of that course of action. With as little information about it as he had, it made him very uncomfortable. The mage wanted to believe that the wizard knew what he was doing. That the doctor provided something valuable enough to tolerate his presence. But it was difficult trying to think so.

Burning the ship so that stone would sink. The mage had considered it before now. And he hadn’t ruled out the option yet.



For a few ticks he stood there and considered the options. Afterwards he looked down the space between the clinic and the neighboring building. When the mage began walking down the gap between buildings his gait changed entirely. The louder heel-toe locomotion that he normally used was replaced with the softer stride of toes to balls of the feet. Like a child of Akajia, the mage sulked into the refuge of his brethren.

The old building was small. Probably smaller than the home that he used to own. And was only one level rather than stacked with several. But behind the building Kynier noticed a shack that looked to be of better quality than the building itself. It descended slightly into the ground with a set of stairs to its door. As Kynier reached the corner of the clinic he glanced around for the presence of others. No one to be seen. Though it was past midday and Syna was not taking refuge behind the clouds, Kynier crouched to three quarters of his natural height and moved across the yard to the shack. His steps were soft though his strides were long. The smaller building looked newer than those surrounding it. Yet it was also… stained. Multiple discolorations decorated the door and the ground surrounding it.

Kynier gently gripped the handle to the door and tried to turn it. The handle rattled with the resistance of a lock that denied passage. While he could’ve tried to pick the lock, the mage decided against it. That was a mystery for another time. So he turned away to climb back up the few steps there were.

BANG!

Nearly leaping out of his skin, Kynier jumped and twisted around, hand gripping the hilt of his weapon. The locked door rattled and throbbed as something inside pounded against it. Several agonized wails flowed from the other side of the door. Kynier swallowed his heart back down into his chest as she ascended the stairs without turning his back on the door.

After a chime those that were making the disturbing noises grew still. Kynier had already gone back to the front entrance of the clinic before then. Before opening the door he retrieved the letter from Doler and held it in hand. With the other hand holding the door handle he paused to ready himself for whatever lay on the other side. The mage let out a more audible exhale through his nose, and turned the handle.

The air inside the clinic made Kynier almost gag. The putrid smell of open wounds and old blood was so thick it seemed to create a little bit of a haze inside the building. Kynier looked around to see no furniture inside except for a few tables and shelves that housed such a variety of instruments the mage didn’t recognize. In the very center there was a table with a naked man lying face down, and chained to the table. An older man with traces of silver tainting his hair stood at the table, dressed in leathers that covered almost his entire body. Blood of various ages stained the leather outfit. The older man, presumably the doctor raised his head to look at the two of them as they entered.

The back of the man on the table, had been cut open and was exposed. But the man wasn’t dead. Kynier could see muscles shifting in the exposure.

“Who are you?” said the doctor, who didn’t move from his position. “I’m conducting important research! Unless it is a dire emergency, which it doesn’t look to be, I demand that you leave!”

The use of almost his entire willpower went into not coughing on the stale air. “I have a letter for you,” he said holding up the wizard’s sealed envelope. Petricious set down the strange tool he was holding and wiped the blood from his hands with a rag nearing the end of its usefulness.

“Oh? Then bring it here.” As Kynier stepped forward the doctor removed his gloves and set them on the table with his instruments. The mage extended the letter across the table. Wrinkled but steady hands took it away from him. Kynier took a couple of paces back away from the table. The smell of blood too thick for his tolerance. But the mage noted how the doctor looked at the letter, and specifically the wax seal. The man’s expression changed multiple times. From peaked interest to suspicion. Petricious looked up at the mage with a slight glare.

Shyke. He knows the seal was broken.

The mage tensed for an instant before forcing himself to relax his body language. But the doctor still opened the letter and held the paper at an angle for the light to illuminate the words. After a time, the letter itself seemed to have been satisfactory. The doctor asked Kynier what his questions were. There were several to ask.

“It concerns the stone slab,” Kynier started, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “The one on the abandoned ship in Byron’s Bank. When I went to inspect it something happened, and a word appeared on the surface. ‘Petricious’. So, good doctor, I’d like to know what it was that you did that caused the stone to react to your presence. What happened? What did you see? What did you hear?” The shadows had mentioned that only four individuals had incited a reaction from the artifact. At the time, Kynier didn’t know who Aer’wyn was. But after moving into the Midnight Gem, that mystery had been solved for him. So only two others were left. The “good doctor” and Stiletto.

“Does the name ‘Stiletto’ mean anything to you? The man also had caused the stone to react to him.” Kynier paused deliberately. “Did his name appear to you on the stone?”

In a way, Kynier was glad that the doctor was aware that the seal had been tampered with. It allowed him to ask the doctor a question. One that would have better luck in getting an answer than if he had asked Doler. “What is the name of the person that you’re looking for? And why are you looking for them?”




Job Thread Word Count: 1,274
Total Count: ???

Credit for the boxcode goes to Luminescence!

[Regime]

And everything was exactly as it should be.

A lone figure, clad in attire coated in the red sanguine of countless desolate souls.

It was beautiful.

That color.

The sensation of letting just enough blood spill to send a test subject into the euphoria of a near death experience through blood loss. Those were the wicked thoughts that flashed through the forefront of Doctor Petricious’s mind when he realized the wax seal on the letter had been broken. What ignorant fool would dare enter his home with a fake letter to him from the 'Bashful Mage'?

Nothing could've prepared Petricious for the raw beauty the world would make for him as he read the letter.

"It seems the letter Is from Bashful. Beautiful."

The Doctor had only gone to a short list of people about his 'hunt', and his new visitors were not on it. He listened to the stripling spy with no true signs of emotion on his face. The Doctor only stood near the tail end of the table, petting his hand along the calf of the bound man laying on it.

"If you are one of Bashful's puppets, then you must have some useful skill. Its clear though that respecting someones privacy is not one of them." He mused to himself in a tone hardly above that of a whisper before placing the letter from Doler back into its envelope to store it within one of the front pockets of his bloody apron. Doctor Petricious turned back towards the man on the table while taking up a sharpened knife in one hand.

“The leader of the Daggerhands can be quite, vicious.” The Good Doctor said with a sly smirk. It was the highest of compliments a person could receive from him. “When it comes to the Slab, Stiletto’s name did not appear to me. In fact, Stiletto was the one who informed me about the Slab when I met with them about the same thing Bashful mentioned in his letter which you saw fit to defile.”

The Doctor motioned his hand holding the knife towards Kynier. "I wonder if the puppet has the ability to properly earn knowledge for itself?" He spoke while shifting the handle of the knife to the fledgling mage.

"Carve the name which the slab showed you into his flesh and I'll give you information well earned. Less, I ignore you as the middle man and tell Bashful what I know of the Slab directly." He shifted the tip of the knife towards the bound man, exposing the wickedly intense scarlet colored veins spreading out across the Doctor's hand like a ruby spiders web.

"Or do you consider yourself a good man? Would you turn the blade against yourself instead? If your constitution is of low measure, you can hold out your arm. I can do it for you. No worries if you chose me, I am a Doctor. I can manage the wound and my hands are quite steady?"

[Kynier]

Something about the doctor’s voice sent shivers up Kynier’s spine. The mage held himself firm from actually shivering at the man’s words. Kynier reorganized how the events around the stone unfolded for this situation to have occurred. Stiletto activated the stone then docked the ship in the harbor. Then the gang leader approached the doctor to examine the stone. The doctor activated it. Both Stiletto and Petricious saw the same name then? The doctor’s been searching for whoever was named and sought Doler’s help. Doler refused probably because he was aware of something. Then the wizard sent Kynier. Kynier got Petricious’s name, and now Doler is willing to help.

Are we all be manipulated by the stone?

It was then that the doctor started indicating the man on the table with the carving knife. The mage’s eyes narrowed at Petricious. A good man? No. But he wanted to be one. Yet good men don’t survive in Sunberth very long. The subject on the table was someone the mage didn’t know. Never seen the man before. Probably never will again. He bore no ill will against him and didn't desire to inflict harm on him. Were those the only two options though? For a long moment Kynier thought it over. He could take the knife and hold it against the doctor’s throat. Demand answers. But the man dealt with the leaders behind the most intimidating forces of the city.

Who was Kynier to the doctor? A “puppet”. And he seemed the sort of man to not be afraid of puppets, even if they held knives against him.

Kynier took a step forward as a hand began to pull up on a sleeve of his arm. Then he stopped. Watching that look in the doctor’s eye. A look of bloodlust. The name would be carved deep into his flesh and scar. Leaving a permanent reminder of these events. And a brand. Kynier snarled a little at the thought. He refused to be branded by anyone. The mage was his own man and made his own choices. And though he couldn’t avoid giving this doctor his sick satisfaction, he wouldn’t let him brand Kynier just for a possible insult to Doler.

The mage stepped forward and took the knife from the doctor carefully, but the handle. Then he stepped away and walked around the table, looking down at the restrained subject. The stranger was still alive though his blood was flowing over the table’s edge. The merciful thing would be to end the misery with death. Even with magic, there was probably no recovery from what the stranger had endured. Kynier shifted one of the chains to expose more of the man’s oblique. The name was long and needed a lot of surface. Kynier could’ve made the carving small, but knew that wouldn’t satisfy the monster in the room.

Raising the knife to the flesh, Kynier was surprised to see that his hand didn’t shake. Had he doused his hands that much in blood? The tip of the edge pressed against the skin before finally puncturing it. Whoever was lying on the table made a moan so soft it was impossible to tell whether it was pain or bliss. Kynier dragged the blade down to begin forming the first letter. Thin streams of blood oozed from each cut as letters the size of a finger were etched into the poor soul. The smell of fresh blood mingled I the stale air, making the mage’s stomach churn and spasm. The act disgusted him, and he hated himself for needing to do it. Akajia expected sacrifices from her Nightstalkers in order to learn secrets. Kynier’s dignity was a painful price, but a necessary one.

P E T R I C I O U S

As the last curve was completed Kynier took a hand and wiped it across the name to clear the blood. Leaving each letter visible to the doctor.



Job Thread Word Count: 656
Total Count: ???

Credit for the boxcode goes to Luminescence!

[Regime]

The look in the Doctors eye did not waiver in the slightest when Doler’s Puppet took the knife. It was almost as if he knew what type of man Kynier was from the moment he set him to the task. The Doctor was mad, but he knew people. However, what ever hidden reasons this little test meant prove remained locked away behind his slight smirk. “How would you like to work for me? I could always use an assistant…” It was an offer he left up in the air, leaving it up to his guest to ask about it before moving on with the conversation.

“The Slab?” He asked while moving to the side of the desk to inspect his name, running his fingers along the open wounds to coat his fingertips in blood. It was an act made more vile as he reached his nails into them, peeling the bit of skin apart to grab onto flesh that formed the center line of the ‘E’ carved the man’s body. If Kynier could not tell if the man yelled in pleasure or pain when he was cut, then the bloodcurdling scream and violent convulsions made it clear.. THAT was pain. The Doctor calmly placed that bit of removed flesh down onto the table.

“Living things are easy to manipulate when faced with terror and pain. From what I know of the slab, it has some manner of intelligence. Just like he is intelligent.” He motioned a hand towards the tortured soul then wiped his hands down the front of his apron, leaving streaks of red. "I heard and saw nothing of importance, or at least such things that would require you to ask Stiletto. That is all I will say about the Slab. The name of the man I look for is my business, now leave... Unless you wish to aid me with it?"

[Kynier]

It had startled him when the man on the table screamed in agony. It didn’t seem that the man had the ability to do so anymore before then. Kynier watched in sick fascination as the doctor set the strip of skin down on the table. To the offer of assisting with this… person’s work… Kynier remained silent. He had no interest in this whatsoever. The smell, the feeling of blood on his hands, the unsettling cries of pain and moans of something else. The “good” doctor can keep it all for himself. Kynier was no more certain than ever to never end up here in the Clinic. Kelski’s warnings had not done it justice.

Kynier listened intently on the doctor’s words about the slab. They were short and lacking the details that he had hoped for. But the doctor referred to it as alive and intelligent. Kynier set down the knife on the table and stepped away. So he had been right about the stone being sentient. But the doctor hadn’t described in detail what he did. From what the mage just saw, Stiletto only needed him for one thing. So then why had the stone given him the doctor’s name?

As for the person that Petricious was looking for, it didn’t seem to relate to the mysterious slab at all. When the mage walked in he had several preconceptions to what was going on. Now it seemed like something else entirely. And he still didn’t know what to think about it all. And when the doctor told him to leave, Kynier had only a tick’s hesitation. No, the mage didn’t want to help with it. The poor soul’s misery, nor finding the person such a monster sought. If Doler was truly going to assist this man with anything, Kynier suspected that the wizard would use him for most of the work. In a way, Kynier was already set to help the man.

So Kynier left the Clinic. Outside he took ten quick paces away from the doctor and began inhaling the fresh air deeply. Getting the scent of stale blood out of his lungs. After several breaths the mage started moving his feet. Staying in the Den was never a good idea, except for those that were part of the Daggerhand. As his feet moved his mind was racing. Going through all the information he had acquired. To his frustration it didn’t allude to anything that would happen, only what had happened. There may very well have been a piece that held that sort of information. Yet Kynier felt that he didn’t have enough to really see what was at work.

Unfortunately, Doler wouldn’t be forthcoming with that information either. Kynier was still just an amateur spy it seemed, getting involved in things he may not be ready to handle. A small itch formed in the place between his shoulder blades. Kynier wiggled his shoulders to try and shrug it off, to no avail. It was potentially some sort of message from his goddess. Whether it was encouragement or a reprimand, it was impossible to say. Regardless, Kynier needed to think on everything he knew. Perhaps try and change his perspective to one that isn’t so close to the situation.

For now, he was heading south. Back to the Majestic in order to give Doler the full account of what just happened at the Clinic.




Job Thread Word Count: 566
Total Count: ???

Credit for the boxcode goes to Luminescence!

[Kynier]

Grades!

Skill Rewards

• Forgery +2
• Intelligence +3
• Interrogation +1
• Investigation +4
• Logic +4
• Planning +1
• Stealth +1
• Torture +1

Lores Learned

• Forgery: Breaking a wax seal without damaging the paper
• Forgery: Creating a duplicate wax stamp
• Location: The Clinic
• Petricious: Says the Daggerhand leader can be quite vicious
• Petricious: Was sent to the Mysterious Slab by Stiletto
• Petricious: Views Kynier as a puppet
• Petricious: Tortured the slab somehow
• Self: Won’t be physically branded by others