Graded [Aslan City] The Foundation of Knowledge

[Elvario]

This RP is part of the Isekai Hell universe. Check the links above to learn more about it.

The RP will follow a fairly strict 48 hour posting time between rounds, starting directly after each narrator post. Missing a round might not be the end of the world, but it's preferable you attempt to keep up with the pacing as much as possible.

The goal of the overall RP is for Victorique and those that join her to get access to the Magic Duchy's library by fulfilling a request of chasing down a lost tome for one of their librarians.

Victorique hopes to find out more about the origin and creation mechanism of titles in there.
Ryan hopes to learn more about guns and about their previous usage in this world.
Tupu hopes to learn and understand more about the world around himself.
Phoebe wishes to explore the world and learn more about magic.

The Duchy Capital City: Aslan - Lake Side

Victorique Sopheana
​

Mentions: Ryan Valkan

As fun as hanging out with fellow halflings in Widersia had been, she'd quickly grown restless afterwards. She wanted new things to investigate. Luckily enough, there was one particular thing she'd been wanted to figure out ever since she arrived in this word. What was op with titles? She was one of the few who seemed to be able to 'read' them without magic devices, along with other people from other worlds. It'd been tough to figure out where to even start, but she'd eventually found her way to the Magic Duchy, its capital Aslan in particular. If these titles were granted by any sort of magical mechanics, this would be the place to know about it.

Sadly enough, the most 'juicy' parts of the library weren't accessible to the public, from what she'd gathered. It's why she'd been trying to arrange a meeting with one of the librarians to see if there was any type of arrangement she could make on obtaining access to the place. The latter had gotten her one option: finding a stolen tome. Well 'stolen' was a big word. The thing was lost, nobody knew how or where, so it was assumed to be stolen. It was deemed to important to merely be misplaced. As there might be some struggle involved, Victorique had used her connection to the Adventurer's Guild to send out a request for back-up, before she'd go meet with the librarian and start this book hunt.

That's the long and short of how she ended up staring out across the continental lake. It was here, near the lake-side, that she was supposed to meet up with anyone who'd wish to join her on this investigation. She surely hoped someone would show up to begin with...

 

[Valkan]

Ryan Kylieth
​

Days were going at a slow pace in the Kylieth Smithy. Not many people had brought requests, and there were no pending works to be done. Due to this, Don had given time to Ryan to work on his own project. A gun. Not a crossbow, or even one of those faulty metal pipes with explosives, but a firearm like those seen in his previous world... Albeit briefly. Given the fact he had some skill on forging and enchanting mythril on top of his ability to work regular metals, he had some concepts going, but nothing he could call a certain success.

He searched information on books that might help, but nothing quite fitted to have a gun as the final product. While this was not surprising, it was a tad bit disappointing. His father was well aware of Ryan's mood, so he suggested him to check on the Library of the Magic Duchy, even relieving his duties while he was gone.

Given the slow pace of the smithy recently, Ryan didn't object, and embarked on a travel to the Duchy's capital. That said, this was something he couldn't achieve on his own. As he knew due to his experience acquiring some other books of magic from alternate sources, they'd be quite unwilling to allow a stranger to research books without restrictions. His concern was somewhat reduced when he found someone with a similar issue putting up a request for something related to his own quest. He decided to take the job and help a halfling named Victorique.

Once he finally arrived to Aslan, he went straight to the set meeting point. After a few moments wandering around, taking in the beautiful scenery for an instant, he took notice of the small, blonde figure idling nearby. He walked up to the figure and spoke up "...Hello, are you by chance Victorique Sopheana? I'm here to meet her."

Elvario

 

[Elvario]

Victorique Sopheana
​

Mentions: Ryan Valkan

Victorique looked at the newcomer. Immediately, instinct took over, as she looked him over from top to bottom using [Ultimate Detective B]. He was a plain human, fairly precise, nothing all that notable otherwise. She clicked her tongue, noticing he didn't even seem to have a weapon on him. “That's me, yes.” She replied, sounding just a tad bit irked. “Considering I doubt you're related to the library, you must've seen my notice on the guild board. I must ask though, how do you plan to be of use? No offence, but you don't strike me as someone who could hold his own should we need a little force.”

She was rather direct. Mostly due to being disappointed that, after the exhibitionist half-giant and the man-eating orc, she might now have to settle for a plain old nothing special human to be her companion. Ah. Right. If she had to settle for that, she should probably try to be a bit friendly, right? “Anyhow, thanks for accepting the request. I'm planning to meet with someone from the library in a bit, although I'm hoping more people will heed the request and show up here. For now, I guess we can take in the sights for a bit. It's quite impressive.”

That's when she recalled something. “Oh, before I forget. I might as well tell you know. I'm trying to learn more about the origin of titles. The ones you see linked to people when using one of those black orbs the city guards use. Or that some people can see naturally if they're strong enough. I've seen a fair few odd ones and I'm starting to wonder who or what gives them. If it had anything to do with magic, I figured the Magic Duchy would have some information on it. Hence we're here. What's your reason for wanting access to their library? Or were you just hoping to get an easy pay-day?”

B Grade CD's energised: (0/3)
Ultimate Detective – Appraisal C, Heightened Senses [Hearing/Sight/Smell/Taste/Balance] B, Insight D, Investigation D, Perception C, Law D, Energised B – Character combines all their applicable senses and knowledge to get to the bottom of a mysteries or to be on high alert for clues, dangers or hints. - Grade B – 3 Post Cooldown.

 

[DSLIX]

Tupu Maa

It had been almost a month since Tupu been to this world and he’s fairly accustomed becoming an adventurer as it’s something he was already used to living in his past life. Though he couldn’t lie curiosity was starting to creep on him. Many questions appeared in his head “Why am I here, What the hell brought me here, and what the hell is up with all this magical shit?“. These questions were frequent in his mind causing him to pick up the habit of reading books in the guild building before choosing a task to meet ends. Soon finding simple request asking for help searching for a book which seemed pretty simple and was a much better pay than you would expect which is a red flag for Tupu but he ignored it anyways. After registering for the request he quickly gets himself together to travel across the land to Aslan.

After a few days of travel he finally arrived at the capital and was now faced with his biggest dilemma of the day…finding the meeting point. Tupu being a large and non-bookish looking type of person intimidated most he approached and struggled to find directions until coming upon a local tavern with a kind bartender. Showing Tupu the way for free Tupu promised to have some drinks at the bar later and set off to meet his crew. After a few lefts, rights, and less than safe alleyways Tupu was met with a huge view of the continental lake and is still astonished by the views every time. Getting back on task he approaches what he believes should be the meeting point and sees two people waiting. From first glance he could tell who was his employer and his fellow employee was and approached with a warm smile and waved at the group “Hello Victoria-I mean Victorike uhh I’m sorry your name is rather hard for me to pronounce but I am Tupu pleased to be of assistance“. He stands next to the other adventurer before slightly bowing towards the lady his large frame only making him see the top of her head. He then lightly nudges the adventurer and offers a handshake“ Pleased to meet you as well comrade may this be an easy adventure“.

Elvario Valkan ​

 

[Clockwork_Magic]

Phoebe Penrose

Mentions: Victorique ( Elvario ) | Ryan ( Valkan ) | Tupu ( DSLIX )​

---

A feeling of awe, excitement, and a slight hint of nervousness washed over Phoebe as she made her way through Aslan. As for why she was there, it started when she decided to visit the local Adventurer's Guild branch in Ryken shortly after she bade farewell to her parents. If she wanted to become a stronger mage and improve her skills, she needed to start somewhere. Combined with her desire to explore and see this world given that she never had the chance to do so before the unfortunate end of her past life, visiting the Adventurer's Guild was seemed like the natural first course of action. Phoebe's eyes scanned over the guild board until one notice caught her eye, one about finding a stolen tome for the Magic Duchy's library. Her eyes lit up. Sounds like the perfect opportunity to learn more about this world's magic, and one that takes me outside of Ryke too!

Phoebe set out for Aslan immediately and, after a few days of travel, arrived in the city. However finding the meeting point itself proved to be a bit of a challenge. Having lived her whole life in this world up until this point in Ryke, Aslan was as unfamiliar and tough to navigate through to her as it was awe inspiring. After getting lost in the scenery and architecture of the city, not having seen a city of such a scale since before the war in her previous life, she finally arrived at the meeting point after asking some locals for directions where then she saw a group of 3 people gathered. She approached the group. "Excuse me," she spoke directed at the blonde woman of the group. "Are you Victorique Sopheana? I'm here about the notice on the guild board." She smiled as she slightly bowed her head, speaking to the entire group this time. "I'm Phoebe Penrose, nice to meet you all."

 

[Elvario]

The Duchy Capital City: Aslan - Lake Side

Mentions: Ryan Valkan | Tupu DSLIX | Phoebe Clockwork_Magic

Victorique Sopheana
​

Now they were talking! Victorique looked over the large man that'd walked up to them. This looked like the kind of person that could throw some fists and crush some skulls, should it somehow be needed. That was her first impression of Tupu, at least. Her second impression was what she learned from using [Ultimate Detective C] on him. Other than learning he was some odd abomination of human and beast, she didn't get a whole lot of valuable information from him. That was a shame. The third impression she got was when he fumbled her name. “Alright, repeat after me.” She said. ”Vik-tore-eek.” She spelled out her name. It really shouldn't be all that difficult. “Anyhow, glad to have you.” She said, already wondering if she'd be able to use him to intimidate folk with.

She didn't get to wait on it for long, however, as another person arrived. A very innocent looking girl. She wondered if looks could be deceiving. However, [Ultimate Detective D] told her they weren't. The girl seemed to be a starting mage, although Victorique couldn't figure out the type of magic, but that wasn't too much of an issue. Having a mage in general might be useful here, as they were in the unofficial magic capital of the entire continent, after all. “Yes, that's me. Nice to meet you too.” She said, as she checked for the time. They'd probably need to get moving, if they wanted to make it to the librarian in time.

“We're supposed to meet up with the librarian on the higher levels of the city...” She was debating something, pondering whether or not to ask it. After a sigh, she just gave in. “Mister Tupu, if you'd be as kind as to go ahead. I'll tell us where to go.” She was tired of getting bumped into by all the much taller Human folk in places like this. If she was alone, she could perhaps just parkour, but with a group, it was probably easiest to have the largest man clear a path. People would naturally move aside, as she doubted anyone would be eager to bump into a guy like Tupu.

As they were heading towards the library, they'd go through various 'levels' connected by stairs, elevators, sloped paths and walkways.

Skies Over The Duchy Capital City: Aslan

They slowly made it to the higher levels of the city. As they were walking, Victorique decided to try strike up a bit of a conversation. “Assuming they added it to the request, you probably already know I'm hoping to learn more about titles. Are the both of you looking for anything in particular from the library, or are you just in it for the pay-day?” She asked Tupu and Phoebe, as she'd already asked Ryan prior and was still awaiting his answer.

B Grade CD's energised: (1/3)
C Grade CD's energised: (0/2)
Ultimate Detective – Appraisal C, Heightened Senses [Hearing/Sight/Smell/Taste] C, Insight D, Investigation D, Perception C, Law D, Energised C – Character combines all their applicable senses and knowledge to get to the bottom of a mysteries or to be on high alert for clues, dangers or hints. - Grade C – 2 Post Cooldown.
D Grade CD's energised: (0/1)
Ultimate Detective – Appraisal D, Heightened Senses [Hearing/Sight/Smell] D, Insight D, Investigation D, Perception D, Law D, Energised D – Character combines all their applicable senses and knowledge to get to the bottom of a mysteries or to be on high alert for clues, dangers or hints. - Grade D – 1 Post Cooldown.

 

[Valkan]

Ryan Kylieth
​

The halfling appeared to be disappointed to some extent as she took a good look on him. Victorique went straight to the point, asking how could he possibly contribute. Ryan chuckled awkwardly "B-Being honest, I had hope this task ended up being a peaceful one. I'm just a humble smith, after all". Luckily for him, Victorique went with a slightly less blunt statement. She informed him that she would meet a librarian soon, while quickly thanking him for coming over. "If anything, I'm grateful to accompany a more seasoned adventurer."

Having said his thanks, Victorique suggested to take in the view while they waited for either the librarian or more people coming in this quest. Ryan took a glance before, but admiring the sight a bit more wouldn't hurt. As he took in the beauty of the lake, Victorique commented on her reason to visit this place and asked him about his own to Ryan. Ryan thought on it for an instant, as his works were a bit difficult to explain to people of this world. "As I said, I'm a smith. That said, some works of mine are not your usual sword, or spear, or armor. I don't know if you have seen adventurers carrying tubes with explosives. I work on more refined versions of such weapons. Since it is a very novel concept, I have just been figuring it all out by myself with the help of some books. I was hoping this library had something that could help me out further..." Excitement could be heard on Ryan's voice, this was quite a chance to achieve more reliable firearms.

Soon enough, what seemed like a seasoned adventurer approached the two. After some stumbling with Victorique's name, he introduced himself as Tupu. Offering a handshake, Ryan complied and shook it. "I'm Ry-..." the blacksmith stopped himself as yet another voice chimed in looking for the halfling. Yet another part of the crew, her name being Phoebe. By now, Ryan realized that he had not introduced himself to Victorique, so he spoke towards everyone while introducing himself "I'm Ryan, Ryan Kylieth. Looking forward to work with you all." With introductions out of the way, Victorique asked for Tupu to lead the way as she guided him, height related issues for her most likely. Ryan kept to himself as they spoke, since Victorique asked the rest of the group the same question from earlier.

Elvario Clockwork_Magic DSLIX

 

[Clockwork_Magic]

Phoebe Penrose

Mentions: Victorique ( Elvario ) | Ryan ( Valkan ) | Tupu ( DSLIX )​

---

Though relieved having successfully rendezvoused with the assembled party, a hint of nervousness still lingered within her. It's only natural, after all it was her first time taking up a request from the Guild board, even if it seemed it would be easy. Working together with strangers on such a request was another novel thing that contributed to her nerves. Phoebe looked over at the other 2 members of the party, with the man wearing the eyepatch introducing himself as Ryan, to which she gave a slight nod of the head in response. She didn't catch the name of the remaining member, an intimidating looking man, though she didn't need to wait long to find that information out, as Victorique referred to him as Tupu while asking him to lead the way.

As the party walked through and slowly ascended the city, Phoebe's eyes were once again captivated by the scenery. The lively streets. The sprawling infrastructure. The diversity of the city's inhabitants. From their vantage point, it all seemed so serene. Before she could get too lost in her own thoughts Phoebe was brought out of her daydreaming by a question posed to Tupu and herself by their blonde halfling. "Hmm? Oh!" She cleared her throat. "Well, to start, I'm a mage, though I'm still inexperienced. That goes for being an adventurer too. So when I saw your request on the Guild board back in Rkye, I thought it would be a good chance to kill 2 birds with one stone, y'know? I figure that the Magic Duchy's library would be a prime place to expand my magical know-how beyond just what I've been taught up until now." She looked out to the city once more and spoke again though mainly to herself, her tone of voice softer. "Getting to see sights like this is a plus too..." As she finished that last statement, Phoebe fell silent and turned her attention back to the group, waiting to hear Zupu's answer.

 

[Elvario]

Skies Over The Duchy Capital City: Aslan

Mentions: Ryan Valkan | Tupu DSLIX | Phoebe Clockwork_Magic

Hoping the task would be peaceful was one thing, having nothing to provide back-up with was another. Victorique wasn't all that happy with the reply. Then again, they had the giant Tupu now. That'd probably be enough, hopefully. “Tubes with explosives?” She raised an eyebrow. “You mean guns?” She nodded. “Yeah, I've seen it before. There's another woman at the Adventurer's Guild who used one as well, from what I recall. Also some folk in Ryken's Underbelly.” It wasn't exactly common, but it wasn't all that novel either. “So you're a gunsmith. Do you use enchantments or gunpowder? Most guns I've seen thus far are just glorified magic tools.”

She nodded at Phoebe's replies. “Fair enough.” Having someone with basic magic knowledge was going to be useful, probably. “Is there a type of magic you specialize at?” She asked, wondering if it'd be something of interest. That said, when Phoebe mentioned the sights, Victorique could only scoff. From her vertically challenged position, the most she had in sight were legs. Perhaps she should become a leg connoisseur? Getting back on track a bit, she focussed on the mission again.

“We should almost be there.” She spoke, trying to look around, but being too short to see much. She debated to parkour towards a higher vantage point, like atop Tupu's shoulders, but decided against it. “When I asked how I'd recognize our contact, I was told we couldn't miss her, as apparently she stands out a lot.” As they'd look around, they'd soon realise there was indeed one person that stood out a lot, as the way they dressed was straight out of some sort of fairy tale.

Spoiler: full image

With Victorique still enjoying a sea of legs in front of her, it'd be up to the others to make the first move and/or inform the unfortunate halfling of the current situation.

 

[DSLIX]

Tupu Maa
​

Tupu after finally meeting up with the crew and not even getting a chance to fully introduce himself they were greeted by another member. Another young lady named Phoebe that looked eager but slightly inexperienced from her wandering eyes. Ready to start the journey Victorique she asked him to lead the way and he simply nods and complies as he was getting ready to offer anyways. After traveling for a good minute the halfling shoots a question towards the group for small talk it seemed like.

Tupu knew his answer would be rather uninteresting so he listened to the other’s response first. He was rather glad he did as his two comrades seemed to be a gunsmith and apprentice mage which was a rather interesting line-up but nonetheless he was more so interested in the gunsmith. Tupu was rather curious if he could make a firearm like in his previous life as the weapons he seen here are not of the same quality but rather efficient still. Victorique then asks the questions on Tupu’s mind keeping him quiet but still very much in the conversation. By the time Tupu realized he was the only one that didn’t answer he had only mustered out the basic response “I’m rather foreign to this place and I enjoy reading.” which isn’t a lie but he didn’t really feel comfortable mentioning he’s from a whole different world. Victorique then mentioned that they should be approaching the meet point and should be looking for a stand-out civilian. Tupu immediately spotting a female that was dressed up in a either really flashy wedding dress or witch costume automatically assumed he found the contact in question. He then suddenly scooped up Victorique in his arms and placed her set up around his neck while facing her towards the oddly dressed lady “I’m pretty sure I’ve found your contact” he says with a slight chuckle escaping leaving a small smile on his face.

Valkan Elvario
Clockwork_Magic

 

[Clockwork_Magic]

Phoebe Pennrose

Mentions: Victorique ( Elvario ) | Ryan ( DSLIX ) | Tupu ( Valkan )​

---

Did I say something to upset her? That thought was what immediately came to mind when Victorique scoffed after mentioning the scenery, though it didn't take much thought or time, along with a split second glance at the halfling, to figure out what probably elicited that reaction. Oh... She felt a little awkward after that, though thankfully it didn't last long as Tupu gave his response to Victorique's inquiry, giving a slight nod in response, though it's not like he would even see the gesture given she's following behind him and all.

"Lightning magic." Phoebe responded succinctly to the follow up question Victorique posed to her. Soon enough, their halfling leader informed them that they were nearing the location they were to meet their contact at, whom she also said they couldn't be able to miss, to which Phoebe was a little perplexed at what that could mean. Still following behind Tupu, she didn't have the chance to search the crowd before he suddenly scooped up Victorique and placed her around his neck and declared that he had located the contact. Phoebe was caught off guard by Tupu's actions, clearly displayed on her face.

The initial shock factor wearing off, she stepped out from behind the 7 foot man to take a better look at whom he was referring to and sure enough she spied a woman dressed in an outfit that seemed straight out of those fantastical tales parents would tell their children in her old world. She took another quick glance at Victorique, now on Tupu's shoulders, before looking back at the woman. "I'll go get her attention." Phoebe broke off from the group and walked towards their contact. "Um, pardon me!" She said with a friendly wave as she approached. "Are you by any chance the person from the library we're supposed to meet? We're with Victorique Sopheana."

 

[Elvario]

Skies Over The Duchy Capital City: Aslan

Mentions: Ryan Valkan | Tupu DSLIX | Phoebe Clockwork_Magic

Victorique Sopheana
​

“How electrifying.” She wasn't sure where she heard the phrase from, but that was the first thing that came to mind when Phoebe answered the question with a short 'lightning magic' for an answer. Add to that the fact that the giant man only said he was 'foreign' and 'liked reading' and they had sure bonded well already, Victorique sighed. Her attention was soon drawn to different manners.

Like a cat begging to be let into the house only to turn around and loose interest in entering the building the moment someone opened the door for it, Victorique lost all desire to get to the higher vantage point called Tupu the moment she was swept up by him. “H-Hey!” She called out. She wasn't a kid, she was full-on adult woman! This wasn't with consent! Yes, she changed her mind. The vantage point wasn't worth the humiliation of looking even more child-like than she already did. As she spotted the target, she bounced off of Tupu with some [Halfling Parkour D] in a flurry of cloth and halfling she made it to their target.

B Grade CD's energised: (3/3)
C Grade CD's energised: (2/2)
D Grade CD's energised: (0/1)
Halfling Parkour - Fast D, Water Speed D, Wall Bouncing F, Wall Running F, Appraisal D, Heightened Senses [Hearing/Sight/Smell] D, Acrobatics D, Perception D, Energised D - Character uses their senses and movement abilities to parkour through the environment. - Grade D - 1 Post Cooldown

Librarian

​

Spoiler: full image

Phoebe, however, had already gotten the Librarian's attention. The woman looked a bit surprised at the girl, then smiled. “Yes, that's me~ How'd you know?”

Victorique, having made it over, answered the question. “We were told you'd stand out. Which seems to be true.”

“Stand out?” The woman asked in surprise. “Huh, I never thought of it that way.” She left it to the others to figure out how in the world she did think of it. “So, which one of you is Victorique?” She asked, ignoring the fact that a simple process of elimination would've left only one possible candidate.

Victorique, meanwhile, was raising an eyebrow. Was this woman serious? “That'd be me.” She replied.

“Are you sure?”

“Uhm, yes?” Victorique, for all her investigative instincts, had no idea what was going on at this rate.

“Alright~” The woman replied with a smile. She then turned to the other three. For just a split second, the crystal encaged in her staff lit up.

The moment after, she smiled and turned to Tupu. “Oh my, a half-beast. So what's the beast bloodline? I'd pick dragon, if I had to guess~”

Ryan was a up next. “Aren't you adorable~ Have you ever thought about working in a library?”

Then she closed by turning to Phoebe. “You've got the most amazing taste in hair-colour, you know. Is it natural or dyed?” She then leaned over to whisper into Phoebe's ear. “I'll let you in on a secret. Mine's the result of some magic gone wrong, but don't tell anyone, I'd like folks to think it's natural~”

It was clear that, if they'd let her, they weren't even going to be able to start their investigation at this rate.

 

[Clockwork_Magic]

Phoebe Penrose

Mentions: Victorique ( Elvario ) | Ryan ( Valkan ) | Tupu ( DSLIX )​

---

"Well..." Phoebe started, but before she could answer the question of how she was able to tell that the woman was their contact, Victorique had made it over as well and answered the question. As she watched the little back and forth between the halfling and their contact, she couldn't help but feel a tad bit sorry for Victorique, the woman eventually finishing confirming Victorique's identity and turning to the rest of the party. The light emitted for a brief second by the woman's staff had caught Pheobe's attention. The gears in her mind, curious about all things magic as ever, started turning. Was that a spell? But she didn't say or do anything... Couldn't have- Oh! Was that... Componentless Magic? I remember hearing about it before. Ahh man, too bad Mom and Dad couldn't teach me that...

Phoebe shook away that train of thought before she could get too distracted. No point in fretting over what she wasn't taught, especially since she was here on this request to remedy that very gap in knowledge. In any case, the woman turned to Tupu first, referring to him as a half-beast. Phoebe was only marginally surprised with that fact, given Tupu's stature the explanation seemed to make sense. The second up was Ryan, to which Phoebe could oddly enough see him working as a librarian as the woman teased.

"Oh, um, thank you." Was Phoebe's immediate response to the contact's remark on her hair color. As she proceeded to whisper into Phoebe's ear, a quick look of surprise appeared on her face. "Really?" She took a closer look at the woman's lavender colored hair. It really did look natural. Phoebe was a tad bit curious on the magic accident the woman mentioned, though out of respect for the woman's little secret, she decided not to inquire about it in front of the others. "Mine's natural as well, I carried after my mom."

 

[Valkan]

Ryan Kylieth
​

Ryan fell silent after answering to Victorique. At first, because she asked the same question to both Phoebe and Tupu. He acknowledged both of their answers with a nod, particularly fascinated by Phoebe's status as a mage, since mages don't come often to the village, let alone the smithy. Victorique then addressed Ryan's answer. He felt a moderately ignorant for trying to simplify things to someone clearly more experienced in how the world worked. "Huh... Well, in that case, yes. I am a gunsmith. But I can forge regular weaponry, armor and mithril tools as well" He paused for a moment to think of his prototypes. "I've tried both. Either by themselves or combined." He decided to be brief, as by now he noticed that Victorique wasn't a big fan of him being here. He already made it to Aslan, no point in turning back.

Ryan thought that amidst this sea of people, it would be rough to find a specific person. Victorique's contact was only recognizable by the fact she "stood out". Ryan wasn't positive on if this was enough to locate someone. How wrong he was. A lady with quite the getup appeared on his field of vision, frilly, colorful, and that hat... yes, it had to be her. Phoebe went to confirm they had the right person. Tupu scooped the halfling to give her more visibility, something he was sure she didn't like, which he confirmed once she was quick to jump off him.

An odd exchange later, the lady addressed the rest of the group one by one. Starting with Tupu, which she somehow figured was a half-beast. Ryan thought he was just quite muscular. But before he could let that sink in, the lady targeted him next, making him twitch in surprise. "I-I'm... fine as a blacksmith, miss..." he then sighed nervously. Once the spotlight was taken from him, he eased up slightly, glad he wasn't the one being whispered to. As for the order of the day, he'd let the leader run that by. He didn't want Victorique to be more annoyed. Then again, she could just be acting as she does with everyone.

 

[Elvario]

Skies Over The Duchy Capital City: Aslan

Mentions: Ryan Valkan | Tupu DSLIX | Phoebe Clockwork_Magic

Librarian

​

Spoiler: full image

“That's lovely~” The librarian replied to Phoebe telling her the hair colour was natural. “Now that I think about it, it really suits the colour of your eyes~”

She then turned back to Ryan. “Oh, that's a shame. I'm sure you'd have made the most adorable library aid~ You should come find me if you ever change your mind.”

Victorique Sopheana
​

Meanwhile, Victorique was growing rather tired of things. “Can we get to the case already miss?” She interrupted, before the librarian could start asking more questions. “We were supposed to look for a book, right? What can you tell us about it?”

“Oh, right! The book.” She replied, as if she'd completely forgotten about it. “Well, all things considered, it's nothing too special. It's a book on theoretical magecraft by a professor that also worked in the Ryken Academy. It's called 'the Foundation of Knowledge' written by C. S. Hubert. He believes that the entire world is made up of magic. Anyhow, it's odd for a book like that to go missing, as it's not particularly rare or valuable. That said, our library has a reputation to uphold, so we'll need to get it back.”

“Do you know when it went missing?”

“Yep! Directly after the one we loaned it t0o hadn't returned it, which was yesterday. Here, I'll give you their address~”

Victorique was baffled. Did her 'investigation' end up entailing no more than a simple fetch quest of someone being lazy with returning their library books? What in the world was this? Her cheeks puffed up at the thought of being taken for a fool. She considered stopping this pursuit on the spot, but sighed and decided against it. She wanted access to that library, after all. “Fine, we'll go get it.” She said, grabbing the note the librarian was offering them. “Let's go.” She said to the others, sounding every bit annoyed as she was.

To make matters worse, she was only a few steps off when she realised something. “Wait, this isn't common, this is in Terran... I can't even read that! You're all Humans right? Here.” She said, as she held out the note with the address, expecting at least one of them should be able to read the Human's native language. She sure has hell wasn't going to ask that librarian again, in fear of getting into another needless conversation about all sorts of random off-topic things.

 

[DSLIX]

Tupu Maa​

​

Half expecting the reaction he got from the small woman he was surprised at how agile she was when launching herself off him as he barely felt pressure when she pushed off. Focusing back on the contact hearing the conversation between Victorique and the librarian made him ready to step in but before he could she approached him of her own will. Her calling out his beastly heritage wasn’t really shocking to him most people could assume as such after knowing him but the most alarming was the fact that she was correct and that was something that threw him off completely. He regained his composure immediately though and chuckled at her comment though keeping silent as he didn’t want to confirm or dismiss her assumption. She then went on to check out the rest of the party suggesting the young gunsmith to become a librarian himself but the young man shyly dismisses her suggestion. She then moves on to the mage of the party and seems to ask about her hair and even whisper among each other making Tupu feel like he’s watching a bunch of little kids gossip. Soon though Victorique stepped in to disrupt the sudden sidetracked librarian as she stressed the importance of the original task at hand. He then suppressed a strong laugh at the dissatisfaction on the look of Victorique face when the lady told her the book we were looking for had just been loaned and not returned pretty much making it a fetch quest. Tupu couldn't lie though it kind of brought his mood slightly down too as he traveled a long way just to knock on a door for a book he may or may not even get the chance to read. Though seeing how Victorique was already annoyed he let a small sigh out as she turned asking for help reading the paper. He became serious though and kneeled down to look at the paper as the handwriting was rather fancy and small but translating it was still very much possible for him. Luckily wandering around the city earlier helped him realize how addresses work as well. He softly grabbed the paper and said “No worries Mrs.V I can lead us.“ Tupu returns to his full size and moves to the front of the group in the direction they needed to go. He then turns to Victorique and lets off a toothy smile while saying“ Well this might not be the adventure you were expecting but it could be a fun one.“ trying to only talk and keep the group in higher spirits so it doesn’t feel too much like a chore.

Elvario Valkan Clockwork_Magic

 

[Clockwork_Magic]

Phoebe Penrose

Mentions: Victorique ( Elvario ) | Ryan ( Valkan ) | Tupu ( DSLIX )​

---

Phoebe let out an awkward little laugh as the librarian in front of her once again complimented her hair, saying it suited her eyes. Before she could vocalize a response, however, Victorique spoke up and managed to regain control of the situation, bringing the group's attention back to the situation that they were gathered there in the first place to resolve: recovering a missing book. The book in question's subject matter was something of interest to the young mage. Perhaps Phoebe could loan a book or two like that herself after this entire situation.

In any case, the librarian gave Victorique a note on which the rogue book loaner's address was written, to which the halfling seemed disappointed. Perhaps this request was indeed as easy and peaceful as Ryan was hoping it would be. Phoebe too couldn't help feel a little underwhelmed at the turn of events, though surely not to the extent as Victorique given her reaction to all of this and tone of voice after she'd grabbed the note. Well... I guess it can't be helped. At least this'll get us into the library... probably... She thought to herself. Seemingly mundane as the request was, it would make for a good first adventure for the apprentice mage.

The group hadn't made it so far as a few steps when Victorique ran into another problem, not being able to read the note. Being a human, she was naturally able to read Terran, though figuring out where a specific address in an unfamiliar city is was an entirely different story. She could instead just read the note while Victorique led the way to the address, but that method quickly proved to be unnecessary as Tupu grabbed the note from the halfling and started leading the way once again. Phoebe chuckled a little in response to Tupu's comment to Victorique. "Seems so, but you're right, this could be fun. Don't you think so too, Ryan? Victorique?" She said, building off of Tupu's comment to try to get a little conversation going while they walked.

 

[Elvario]

Skies Over The Duchy Capital City: Aslan

Mentions: Ryan Valkan | Tupu DSLIX | Phoebe Clockwork_Magic

The halfling couldn't suppress a bit of a chuckle. “I normally dislike nicknames, but that one gets a passing grade.” Miss V. made her sound like some sort of spy, which wasn't too far off from a detective. Besides, she was glad that Tupu was able to read Terran and reminded herself to try and learn some additional languages in her free-time. Just Common and Sylvan wouldn't cut it, it seemed. As for his optimism, he had a bit of a point. “It should, at least, give us easy access to the library.” As underappreciate as she felt by this fetch quest, she reminded herself that it wasn't the goal of this endeavour to begin with. “By the way, you never answered her question about your dragon ancestry. Was she right about it?” Victorique couldn't help but ask, as she'd naturally grew curious. It was about dragons, after all. That wasn't something you'd hear during your everyday chatter.

She decided to leech off of Phoebe's optimism. “Sure, let's go with that.” She wasn't fully convinced this would be 'fun' rather than 'dull, boring and lame', but she could at least give it a shot. “What was she whispering about though? Was it related to the case?” Victorique hadn't paid too much attention to it before, but she almost wanted to find out there was more to this case after all.

However, things were growing increasingly exciting as they moved on, considering they moved down... and down... and down... With each level they headed down, the city grew a tad bit less magical and fancy and a tad bit more mundane and impoverished. Eventually, they found themselves on the lowest levels, just above the city's sewers. Not only that, they were at the lowest levels of the parts with the highest buildings, which meant that sunlight didn't reach here. Only artificial light was keeping these streets lit. A quick gloss around showed that security here was omnipresent, with guard patrolling and magical devices being places to keep an 'eye' on whichever part the guards weren't actively walking through. It was giving them the feeling that every inch of these parts were surveillance 24/7, yet at the same time, it would make one wonder why such a heavy security was necessary to begin with, which would feed into the sense of being unsafe.

Lowest levels of The Duchy Capital City: Aslan

“It's starting to look like we might be up for an adventure after all.” She said, as she accidentally inhaled deeply and got a good whiff of some unpleasant scents and smells. “Oof... ugh... yikes... don't breath in too deeply. It seems like dead animals or sewer or something...” She couldn't quite place it and didn't want to do so either.

The address would continue to lead them to a rather unassuming building (the door on the left of the image) with some pipes and gear besides and a barrel in which 'something' was being burned. Getting closer to it revealed that was where the awful scent was coming from. Were they burning some failed magic experiments or something? Whatever the case, it was plain awful. As they approached the door, there wasn't a sign of a doorbell or anything. “This is it..?” Victorique looked form the entrance to Tupu and back again. “How about one of you do the honours.” She said, not feeling particularly eager to knock on a random door in 'bad' part of town.

 

[Valkan]

Ryan Kylieth
​

Still worked up about how the librarian was treating him, "I'll... keep it in m-mind, thank you" was all he could muster against the forwardness of the extravagant lady. Luckily for him, Victorique got the ball rolling again. Now back on track, it was explained that their mission was, simply put, fetching the book from the previous borrower. That was great! It meant he didn't dropped the ball as to what to bring here. Ryan appreciated Tupu's enthusiasm, along with Phoebe's encouraging comment, answering "I haven't left my village in quite some time, so this already exciting... But that's just me. I imagine you three have some more adventuring under your belt"

The task took an interesting turn, as the request kept leading them further and further down the city. It looked rather precarious and grim compared to the higher structures of the town, with plenty of guards moving about. His thought of being prepared enough went out the window, he should've brought a prototype, or at least a dagger, something. This feeling further enhanced his guilt for not coming prepared when they arrived at the destination. A terrible stench oozed from the house's outer pipeline. Ryan took a step back and covered his nose and mouth with his left hand, in a not-so-effective way of driving the smell away from him. When Victorique asked for a volunteer to knock, guilt of likely not having many chances of helping prevented him from refusing. "I'll do it" he affirmed, as he took his hand off his mouth, and walked up the stairs. He took a shallow breath in order to calm himself, but avoid smelling whatever was burning inside too much. After the few instants he took to get it together, he knocked on the door.

Elvario DSLIX Clockwork_Magic

 

[Clockwork_Magic]

Phoebe Penrose

Mentions: Victorique ( Elvario ) | Ryan ( Valkan ) | Tupu ( DSLIX )​

---

"Ahh... no, not at all..." Her voice trailed off when she responded to Victorique's curiosity on what the librarian whispered to her. "Just stuff about hair color." She chuckled awkwardly. Given how the halfling reacted to the librarian's antics earlier, that response probably wouldn't sit that well with Victorique. "Oh, no, I haven't had much, er... any adventuring experience." She looked over at Ryan before continuing her response. "We're much in the same boat, actually. I hadn't had much chances to get out of Ryke, or Ryken for that matter, so this is a bit exciting for me too."

As they descended the city, the city environment went from scenic and fancy, to mundane, and finally to impoverished. From the general look of the environment to the presence of a considerable amount of guards and magical devices to supplement them, it was clear that they had entered the bad part of the city. While this environment would undoubtedly make for a fitting environment for a few exciting adventures, Phoebe was a bit on edge thanks to it. The pungent smells didn't help either, Phoebe resorting to covering her nose and mouth with a portion of her hood. The smell only got worse once they approached the address listed on the note, the source being a barrel right next to the building. Morbid curiosity made Phoebe want to go and inspect the barrel, but given her sense of smell would never forgive her if she did she opted not to.

Smells aside, when Victorique asked for a volunteer to knock on the building's door, Ryan had volunteered himself. Still feeling on edge during the entire situation, she decided to stand back with the rest of the group whilst positioning her free hand on her hip. While it may look like a normal stance one would do when waiting, that was not the reason why she adopted such a stance, as her fingertips were near the pouch in which she kept her wand. She wasn't about to draw her wand just yet, though, but she wanted to be a little prepared in the case things went south.

 

[Elvario]

Lowest levels of The Duchy Capital City: Aslan

Mentions: Ryan Valkan | Tupu DSLIX | Phoebe Clockwork_Magic

Victorique Sopheana
​

Victorique watched as Ryan headed for the door. Considering both he and Phoebe were apparently greener than grass, she hoped for their (and her own) sake that whomever rented the book would be a 'chill' person, yet the area they were in suggested there might be trouble. Then again, at least they had a tall bloke like Tupu with them. That should probably amount to something.

Ryan's knocking on the door had one immediately effect. Namely that some stumbling and things falling over could be heard from somewhere in the building. It was followed by the sound of footsteps coming over. Victorique, a little on guard, decided to peer a little bit into the future just to get a head-start on who or what was heading for them. It's why she was able to shout “Watch out!” at Ryan a few seconds before it happened.

Then the door swung open with a lot of force. Hard and sudden enough for Ryan to have jump back or risk getting hit in the face with it. Thanks to Victorique's prior warning, he'd have a shot at dodging it, but otherwise he'd probably get quite the slam.

Conrad

​

Spoiler: full image

“For the last bloody time I ain't fucking selling you any more...” An angry mage-like person yelled out, only to look and realise these weren't the people he seemed to be expecting. However, he decided their company wasn't a reason to be any less angry as he continued in the same tone. “What the hell do some kids and a bouncer want with me? I'm not a daycare, you know!” He shouted at Tupu, ignoring the other three. “I don't have time for this!” He shouted, as he turned around and was clearly planning to slam the door shut again. They'd have to act quickly if they wanted to prevent him from doing so.

Victorique scoffed. “How I wish I could just tell you to zap him...” She muttered to Phoebe, still being a bit salty from their previous first meeting with the Librarian and already having to deal with a second annoying first introduction.

E Grade Cooldowns energised (0/0)
Ultimate Future Detective– Appraisal E, Heightened Senses [Hearing/Sight] E, Insight E, Investigation E, Perception E, Precognition F, Energised E – Character peers a few seconds into the future and combines all their applicable senses and knowledge to get to the bottom of a mysteries or to be on high alert for clues, dangers or hints. Also gives a +1 speed boost. – Grade E – 1 Post Cooldown.

 

[DSLIX]

Tupu Maa​

Tupu was glad everyone had decided to take in his enthusiasm as it only boosted his mood more and hearing Victorique enjoy her nickname brought a bright smile to his face. His smile instantly turned into an embarrassed chuckle when Victorique asked him about his beastly heritage but he responded with simple “As lovely as that sounds aren't dragons beasts of myth?“. He disliked lying but until he meets another one of his kind to find out more about how they function in this world he’ll do what he needs to keep his privacy. Though Victorique then moved on to Phoebe giving him a nice breath of fresh air before he decided to make the long trek to the address.

He knew the address was on a lower level simply from the numbers but the trip was only getting worse and worse the slower they went down. You could start to notice the housing quality got worse and security became plentiful the lower they got. Trash started to appear on the walkways and homeless people seemed to roam the streets. Tupu was used to this sight as he grew up in such an environment as sadly despite his heritage he grew up no better than a street urchin but he felt no pity for others as he escaped that reality by himself and expected others to do the same. As they got closer and closer Tupu’s sense of smell was overloaded with a horrible stench that only got stronger. The smell makes him clench his teeth but he didn’t flinch at the growing stench it only resolved him more to finish the trip as he came for answers and thats what he will get.

Arriving at the door he noticed the others were now heavily disturbed by the smell but by now he had grown numb to it. When Victorique had asked for someone else to knock on the door he could immediately tell he was the main one she was expecting to step up. The young man Ryan stepped up and steeled himself to do it , Tupu liking the young mans sudden fearlessness stood behind him to immediately intervene if whatever’s behind that door is less than friendly. Which is kind of exactly what happened as an older man in robes that reminded Tupu of a monk had opened the door yelling clearly expecting someone else. Though even after realizing that it wasn’t who he expected he still yelled and tried to dismiss the group before trying to close the door. Even though he tried Tupu immediately stopped the door from shutting by grabbing the handle and holding it open just enough for him to say “Terribly sorry for disturbing you sir but we’re just looking for a book that has led us to believe it’s in your possession. All we need is a few moments of your time.“ Tupu forced a smile as he was rather annoyed actually and had struggled to not use his full strength as he felt like he was ready to pull the door off the hinges.

Valkan Clockwork_Magic Elvario

 

[Clockwork_Magic]

Phoebe Penrose

Mentions: Victorique ( Elvario ) | Ryan ( Valkan ) | Tupu ( DSLIX )​

---

Ryan's knocks were soon answered, though definitely not in the way they had hoped it would as the building's residence, a man that looked like a mage of some sort angrily burst through the door. Phoebe jumped a bit from the sudden change in the situation, with her hand on her hip quickly moved to draw her wand out of instinct. The initial shock soon wore off, the man shouting something about not selling someone something anymore, evidently expecting some other group of people to come knocking. He corrected himself once he actually looked at the group, saying he wasn't running a daycare with the same level of anger.

Victorique probably shared in the man's sentiment of 'I don't have time for this' given her scoff and remark to Phoebe. Of course she wasn't going to just zap the guy. Well, not intentionally anyways. If the man had burst out of the door carrying a weapon or something that would make him a bit more intimidating and dangerous looking than he already was, she very well might have out of self preservation instinct. Thankfully, that did not happen. Phoebe didn't bother putting her wand back in her pouch, keeping it in her hand at her side.

As Tupu prevented the man from shutting the door by holding it open, Phoebe steeled her nerves with a deep breath as she approached the building herself, stopping a few inches behind Tupu. She removed the hand holding the cloth of her hood over her nose and mouth before she spoke, figuring it would probably a bit more polite if he could see her entire face while she spoke. That and to make her speech a bit more audible and not muffled behind a layer of cloth. "Um... We're looking for a book titled 'The Foundation of Knowledge.' Do you happen to still have it?" She did her best to dawn a friendly smile as she added onto Tupu's statement, despite still feeling a bit nervous.

 

[Elvario]

Lowest levels of The Duchy Capital City: Aslan

Mentions: Ryan Valkan | Tupu DSLIX | Phoebe Clockwork_Magic

Ryan, even with the heads-up, almost got the full brunt of the door to the face. He'd would've seen his vision fade for a bit and would've found himself landed down the three stairs with a bruised and bleeding nose... if it wasn't for Tupu standing at the ready and able to intercept the door. Thanks to the latter's intervention, Ryan got off with just the scare of a door being halted a mere centimetre away from his slamming into his face.

Conrad

​

Spoiler: full image

“The hell do you think you're doing?” The mage shouted in anger at Tupu, as the latter caught the door. When Tupu explained, the mage grunted. “I don't know what book you're talking about, now fuck off!” He shouted, as he tried closing the door, but would be unable to pull it out of Tupu's grasp. When Phoebe mentioned the title, he seemed a bit surprised, but then went back to his previous behaviour. “I already said I've got no clue what you're talking about, now get out of here!”

Victorique Sopheana
​

Victorique sighed, then spoke up. “How about you give us the book, or tell us where it is, and in exchange I won't go around investigating what type of stuff you're not selling any more?” She glared at the mage. “It's clear that you're lying about not having it, or at least about not knowing about it, so how about you make it easier on all of us and just tell us what you know?”

The mage seemed a little caught off-guard by that, his vision going from Tupu to Victorique, glossing over Ryan and Phoebe in the meantime. Then he clicked his tongue. “Fine, if you must know, I brought it to a workshop to inspect a project and forgot it there, yet the project got cancelled, so I lost it there. Happy now?”

Victorique sighed. They weren't asked to make him pay for lost books, but to find the book, so she couldn't really be happy with this, could she? “Where's that workshop at?” She said, figured she'd take the long way. “Actually, just write it down for us. If we find the book there, we'll leave you alone. Otherwise, you can count on us returning.” She said, hoping the latter would be considered too much of an annoyance by the mage for him to throw them off into the wrong place.

Grumpy and annoyed, the mage did as asked, writing down an address (once more in Terran) on a piece of paper and handing it to the nearest person, Tupu. “There, now let go of my door and stop bothering me!” He said, immediately shutting the door the moment Tupu would let go of it.

However, Victorique wasn't entirely done just yet. Using [Ultimate Detective] to its fullest, she quickly checked the area. Predominantly the barrel with the foul burning odour stemming from it. Whilst she didn't know a lot about 'drugs' or 'magic potions' and the likes, her perception, investigation and high senses allowed her to piece things together. However, the discovery led her to a question. She'd ask it to the others as they were heading to their next location.

“I'd like to know your opinions. I'm about eighty percent confident that what he was burning was a type of drug. His yelling was supposed to be aimed at addicts coming to buy it. Considering he was burning it outside, even with this high amount of security, I bet he was trying to make a statement. Either that, or he was just extremely confident that nobody would be able to piece together what was burning in there other than those directly involved.” That much was just the explanation leading up to her question. “Now, here's what I'd like your opinions on. Should we report him to the authorities? I told him I'd leave him alone if he told us where the book would be, which he did and he didn't seem to lie about it. He also seems to be trying to get out of this business. Yet he's also a rather unpleasant person and did seem to be involved in some crime, or at least, I'm estimating the chance of that to be extremely high. Should I let that suspicion slide or should I be an upstanding citizen and forward it to the authorities? Mind you, I'm not sure how strict or lenient the laws on this type of crime is in the Magic Duchy, but if he doesn't have the right contacts and gets the full punishment for it, I've heard that public torture or shaming is common here.”

B Grade Cooldowns energised (0/3)
Ultimate Detective – Appraisal C, Heightened Senses [Hearing/Sight/Smell/Taste/Balance] B, Insight D, Investigation D, Perception C, Law D, Energised B – Character combines all their applicable senses and knowledge to get to the bottom of a mysteries or to be on high alert for clues, dangers or hints. - Grade B – 3 Post Cooldown.
E Grade Cooldowns energised (0/0)

 

[Clockwork_Magic]

Phoebe Penrose

Mentions: Victorique ( Elvario ) | Ryan ( Valkan ) | Tupu ( DSLIX )​

---

The pink haired mage let out a sigh of relief. For a second there, it looked like they weren’t gonna get anything out of the guy. Thank goodness for Victorique. Phoebe wasn’t used to dealing with these kinds of people, being a new adventurer and the whole living under the shelter and protection of her parents in Ryke up until this point in this life thing. Heck, even in her past life she never had to deal with these types before the air raid that took the lives of her and so many others. Phoebe recalled the mission she was given by the god of this world, why she aimed to become a mage and adventurer in the first place. If she was gonna ever actualize those goals, she’d have to learn how to deal with folks like these.

That, though, was for another time, as it appeared their interaction with the man was drawing to a close with him handing Tupu a note, presumably with the address of the workshop. Phoebe was more than ready to get going to the workshop, partially because she wanted to know what kind of project the man needed the book for and partially because the foul stench of the yet burning substance in the barrel was getting more unbearable as time went on, and thankfully they were soon on their way to the location on the note.

As they were walking, Victorique posed an interesting theory. "Drugs...? Huh... I suppose that makes sense... With that stench and all." After posing that theory, Victorique asked the group for their opinions on what they should to in regards to the man. "I'm not particularly fond of people who deal in those things... nor of him in particular either, but... public torture does seem... a bit... um, much." She paused for a second before continuing. "Though, from the way he acted when he answered, it does seem like whatever substance he's made is addictive. I wonder how many people he's got hooked... how he damaged their lives through that..." Her voice trailed off at that last bit, entering into a longer period of silence, tapping the handle of her wand with her index finger as she thought more about it. After a while, she let out a sigh. "Well... if he's trying to get out of the business as you say, he'd probably realized that already, no sense in trying to beat a lesson into him that's he's already learned. Plus, torturing him doesn't change the damage that's already been done to his buyers. I'd say let it slide."