Sounds like you've hired someone competent! Well done, they're rarer than people think :)
I might struggle to work 'protegé(e)' into Fabian's story though....
Protegé After a considerable debate about the overall safety of the Halls of Sunset and the wisdom of interfering in spells you knew too little about, Dread and Rystin took one each of Fabian's wrists and dragged him out of the rooms back the way they'd come, warding themselves somehow from the path that was intended to draw visitors through. Fabian, who felt that walking the route backwards was safest and also allowed him to see more of the exhibits, tried not to feel like a naughty toddler caught between angry parents and held his tongue. Back on the main hall with the staircase he shook his wrists free, rubbed them just a little theatrically, and then started up the stairs. Dread looked as though he was about to say something, but Rystin put a hand on his shoulder first and whispered, "We did agree to let him see a little bit more. And... well, we've barely been in here an hour. Aren't you curious to see what else might be in here?" Dread, who was actually slightly nervous that there might be more war-relics or items certain to embarrass him on behalf of the Empire, stood rigidly while he thought about it. "I suppose we did," he whispered back. "But... I hope to all the gods and demons that this whole building isn't going to turn out to be like that floor." The two mages hurried a little to catch up with Fabian, who was stomping determinedly up the stairs as though he was still the toddler, off to prove that he knew better. They were all caught up by the time they reached the next landing, which was laid out similarly to the one below. Now though there were colourful statues set around the central room, and two doors on each side indicated the probably intended routes for viewing. Dread paused, and then hurried forward. "These are the statues of Esmaranth!" He peered up at the nearest one: they were all slightly larger than human sized (and significantly taller than Rystin who barely came to up to Fabian's shoulder when he stood on tip-toe) and they were set on plinths that were waist-height to Fabian as well. "These are legendary!" "Who? And what do they do?" asked Fabian who was walking over to the right-hand door, figuring that walking through the exhibits backwards was safest although it offended his sense of curatorship. "Esmaranth was a protegé of the god Armatur. And the statues are... they're like the figurines," said Rystin, running after Fabian. "Come back, Director, please. I think this floor might be even less safe than the one below." "What?" Fabian stopped, the Staff of Five Elements shaking just a little in his hands. "Less safe? How?" "They activate and perform set routines," said Rystin. "Only these are unusual in that they could perform magic as well. They are mostly written about for their use in performances--" "Oh!" Fabian's face lit up. "I know about these! They were used at the Imperial Crownings! It was supposed to be an amazing sight." "Yes," said Rystin. "Well--" "The problem," interrupted Dread, "is that there's a bit that's only written about in certain books you'd need to borrow from the Mages's College. They were also used for attack. They're a kind of shock-troop in that regard. And they were able to cast some startlingly strong spells; they killed a lot of enemy mages." "What?" Fabian's face lost some of the glow of enthusiasm. "I don't know what triggers them now," said Dread. "And since everything below us has the feel of something we shouldn't know about, I'm betting that coming up here wasn't a better idea. So... we leave now. This place is a death-trap."
Greg - having been hired by her myself, and already seen one other hire since I started, I trust my manager's way of doing things so I'm not particularly surprised my replacement is working out so well. Still a relief though :)
And I knew you'd manage to find a way to make use of the prompt :)
And thank goodness for Dread and Rystin or Fabian 100% would have found a way to off himself long before now. Hopefully he listens to reason and gets out of there while that's still an option.
2 comments:
Sounds like you've hired someone competent! Well done, they're rarer than people think :)
I might struggle to work 'protegé(e)' into Fabian's story though....
Protegé
After a considerable debate about the overall safety of the Halls of Sunset and the wisdom of interfering in spells you knew too little about, Dread and Rystin took one each of Fabian's wrists and dragged him out of the rooms back the way they'd come, warding themselves somehow from the path that was intended to draw visitors through. Fabian, who felt that walking the route backwards was safest and also allowed him to see more of the exhibits, tried not to feel like a naughty toddler caught between angry parents and held his tongue. Back on the main hall with the staircase he shook his wrists free, rubbed them just a little theatrically, and then started up the stairs. Dread looked as though he was about to say something, but Rystin put a hand on his shoulder first and whispered, "We did agree to let him see a little bit more. And... well, we've barely been in here an hour. Aren't you curious to see what else might be in here?"
Dread, who was actually slightly nervous that there might be more war-relics or items certain to embarrass him on behalf of the Empire, stood rigidly while he thought about it.
"I suppose we did," he whispered back. "But... I hope to all the gods and demons that this whole building isn't going to turn out to be like that floor."
The two mages hurried a little to catch up with Fabian, who was stomping determinedly up the stairs as though he was still the toddler, off to prove that he knew better. They were all caught up by the time they reached the next landing, which was laid out similarly to the one below. Now though there were colourful statues set around the central room, and two doors on each side indicated the probably intended routes for viewing.
Dread paused, and then hurried forward.
"These are the statues of Esmaranth!" He peered up at the nearest one: they were all slightly larger than human sized (and significantly taller than Rystin who barely came to up to Fabian's shoulder when he stood on tip-toe) and they were set on plinths that were waist-height to Fabian as well. "These are legendary!"
"Who? And what do they do?" asked Fabian who was walking over to the right-hand door, figuring that walking through the exhibits backwards was safest although it offended his sense of curatorship.
"Esmaranth was a protegé of the god Armatur. And the statues are... they're like the figurines," said Rystin, running after Fabian. "Come back, Director, please. I think this floor might be even less safe than the one below."
"What?" Fabian stopped, the Staff of Five Elements shaking just a little in his hands. "Less safe? How?"
"They activate and perform set routines," said Rystin. "Only these are unusual in that they could perform magic as well. They are mostly written about for their use in performances--"
"Oh!" Fabian's face lit up. "I know about these! They were used at the Imperial Crownings! It was supposed to be an amazing sight."
"Yes," said Rystin. "Well--"
"The problem," interrupted Dread, "is that there's a bit that's only written about in certain books you'd need to borrow from the Mages's College. They were also used for attack. They're a kind of shock-troop in that regard. And they were able to cast some startlingly strong spells; they killed a lot of enemy mages."
"What?" Fabian's face lost some of the glow of enthusiasm.
"I don't know what triggers them now," said Dread. "And since everything below us has the feel of something we shouldn't know about, I'm betting that coming up here wasn't a better idea. So... we leave now. This place is a death-trap."
Greg - having been hired by her myself, and already seen one other hire since I started, I trust my manager's way of doing things so I'm not particularly surprised my replacement is working out so well. Still a relief though :)
And I knew you'd manage to find a way to make use of the prompt :)
And thank goodness for Dread and Rystin or Fabian 100% would have found a way to off himself long before now. Hopefully he listens to reason and gets out of there while that's still an option.
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