Active Mad Mage's Tower of Azdrukhal

[Gaius Danius Griinia]

Izuru
Mentions: saxon Slowpokie Elijay

Izuru felt relieved the moment he stopped laughing. Laughing itself burnt a lot of energy in addition to flushing out his tear ducts. Any more and he might have needed to worry about a serious case of dehydration. Walking at the back of the group so that he could recover his stamina a bit. The dragonkin was incredibly concerned when the tower itself began to morph and shift around. Originally they had been in a quaint little hallway with six doors. Now they had a single path forward through what presumably was the Mad Mages library. Given that his moniker was the MAD Mage. Izuru wondered if they would be able to find anything useful in there. Hopefully the Mad Mage had some books on otherworldly abominations that he wouldn't mind Izuru taking off his hands. After that the floor shook rather violently and Izuru could only furrow his brow at how the Mad Mage had prepared his place of residence for intrusion. Sighing for a moment given that the path ahead led into even more magic related danger. The dragonkin mage tapped his cane against the ground and did his best to move without allowing the tower to get him down. Once they reached the end of this all, the Mad Mage himself would no doubt appear to challenge them either martially or intellectually.

 

[Elijay]

John

saxon Slowpokie Gaius Danius Griinia​

John listened as Eiru admitted she didn’t know how long the laughing would last. He glanced back at Carmel and Izuru, still laughing to themselves in uncontrollable fits, and sighed. “Uh, yeah… real reassuring. Guess we’ll find out eventually,” he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. He tried not to think about what would happen if the curse didn’t wear off—laughing themselves to death didn’t sound like a great way to go.

When Eiru mentioned the Mad Mage was probably long dead, John tilted his head thoughtfully. “I mean, if he was powerful enough to enchant this whole place, why couldn’t he just prolong his own life with magic or something?” He shrugged. Maybe if he dabbled in necromancy or something, he could definitely do something like that right?

As they climbed to the next level, John took a moment to run his fingers along the vine-like decorations on the walls, admiring the green and gold details. His attention was drawn to the paintings, especially one of Ryken’s royal castle. Was this guy a noble or something perhaps? John thought to himself.

A faint vibration underfoot snapped him out of his thoughts. He paused mid-step, glancing around. “Uh… is it just me, or is the floor shaking a little?” he asked. But before he could say more, Carmel and Izuru’s laughter finally began to taper off. He turned to look at the duo, relief washing over him. “Oh, hey, look at that! It really did stop eventually!” he said with a grin.

Then, just as things seemed to settle, the hallway began to shift. John froze in place, his eyes widening as the walls rearranged themselves like puzzle pieces. The green and gold vines vanished, replaced by dark blue walls painted with silver stars, while the six doors disappeared entirely. At the far end, the room transformed into what looked like an enormous library.

At Eiru’s obvious question, John crossed his arms and answered sarcastically. “Nope, no room change here. Eiru, you sure you didn’t eat any weird fruits lying around that's making you imagine things?” he said, raising an eyebrow at her with a faint smirk.

 

[saxon]

Eiru

F Grade Character

Titles: Monster, Human, Mundane, Student of Mount Cleartunt Academy E, Magic Graduate of Mount Cleartunt Academy F, Abomination

mentions: Slowpokie Gaius Danius Griinia Elijay

Abilities/Actions:


Cooldowns:
F: 0/0
E: 0/1
D: 0/2
C: 0/3
B: 0/4
A: 0/5
Notes:

As two of the others both agreed, the room change happened. She paused for a moment. Then camp the tapping from Iruzu's cane, as the dragonkin tapped and moved forward he would hear the solid thud from the hardwood floor. There were no loose boards, and he would be able to make it past the threshold and enter the Library. The walls were lined with bookshelves filled to the brim with books; some of the books looked like many you would find in any sort of book collection, and then there were even stranger books. Textbooks on various subjects such as history, science, medicine, and others. These books, however were not native books and came from what could only be described as from another world. There were even a few manga books that lined the far wall.

"Yeah, yeah I'll remember that the next time you think you are going crazy," Eiru replied to John with a smirk as she followed Izuru into the library and let out a low whistle as she she was caught off guard by the place. "I bet you could find any book ever written in this library and then probably some, I wonder if there is any books of magic here or if they are somewhere else," She stated walking over to a table of books.

There were several long tables with books spread out across their surface; some of them were closed, opened, and the occasional stack. Though much like the rest of the tower seen thus far there was no speck of dust. To the left side of the room stood a sprial staircase that went up to the higher levels of the library. The higher levels had walkways made of wood with railings which every so often would shift their placement and change direction by turning a different direction. To the right side of the room there was a podium with a book sitting open upon it. Behind the podium was a large painted glass window that depicted a battle with a dragon and the same figure from the earlier carvings from the previous area.

Anyone attuned to magic could feel the mana pulsating, the air was almost electrified with the presence of mana. Almost to the point of it being intoxicating, everyone in the room would feel the thickness of the atmosphere and the pressure that was exerted on them. The longer in the room there was the ever slight feeling of the pressure increasing however it didn't feel like it was going to crush them.

 

[Slowpokie]

Carmel Davour
Mentions: saxon Elijay Gaius Danius Griinia

The hairs on the back of his neck stood tall as they wandered into the library, the magic inside feeling imposing and strong. "Eehh... Feels like I'm stepped on..." Murmured the young pyromantic, keeping close to the group as they ventured through.

Thousands of books laid out before them, so much knowledge in one place. Carmel can't help but gawk, that mage-ish curiosity festering inside of him. "Ooo... Just imagine what all these books hold. Do you think there's anything here about raising the dead? Or dimensions, or..."

As quickly as he had been with the group, he's just as quick to lag behind once more. Plump fingers ghost over several books laid out on the table, examining each one with careful but brief eyes.

 

[Elijay]

John

saxon Slowpokie Gaius Danius Griinia​

“Whatever you say, crazy dragon lady.” John replied Eiru, still feigning ignorance. Stepping into the library, John scanned the massive shelves packed with books. The air inside was thick with magic that felt like it was pressing down on him. Even Carmel was starting to feel it. “Seems like another one of the Mad Mage’s tricks. Although this one’s more like a free shoulder massage.” John said, rubbing his shoulder jokingly.

As Carmel wandered off, gushing about the books, John took a glance at him. “Raising the dead? Dimensions? That sounds like fun.” he said, watching as the young pyromancer eagerly examined the shelves. “Although the real challenge here may lie in actually finding those books in this huge library.”

His eyes skimmed over the shelves, and something caught his attention—books from Earth. Or well, at least they covered similar topics from Earth. He paused, his brows knitting together in thought. His memory of his time there was fuzzy at best, but these books felt oddly familiar. “Hmmm...” he hummed, glancing at the titles. Could the Mad Mage have come from Earth too? Had he somehow brought all these books here himself? If so, how did he do it?

Then his eyes landed on the manga stacked along the far wall, and his jaw dropped slightly. “No way…” He broke into a grin, standing straighter. “I’ve cracked the case, folks! The Mad Mage’s true identity—he was an otaku all along!” he declared proudly, pointing dramatically at the manga. If there was one thing John remembered clearly about Earth, it was manga. But well... judging from Eiru and Carmel’s oblivious reaction to the books, maybe they weren’t from Earth themselves and didn’t know what an otaku even was.

When Eiru mentioned the magic book they were searching for, John let out a groan, gesturing broadly at the endless rows of shelves. “You’re telling me the book we’re looking for could be somewhere in here? Great. We’re basically looking for a needle in a haystack. I’d say we take one of these random science-y books and just hand it over to our guy, and throw in some manga books while we’re at it. Who knows, maybe he will like the manga.” he suggested with a cheeky grin.

As he rambled, his attention shifted to the podium at the far end of the room. Curiosity got the better of him, and he wandered over, peering at the open book resting there. “Well, well, well,” he muttered, leaning closer. “What do we have here?”

 

[Gaius Danius Griinia]

Izuru
Mentions: saxon Slowpokie Elijay

The moment Izuru saw the vast library full of magical books. His inner arcane scholar jumped for joy. No doubt a single tome of knowledge from the mad mage would fetch a decent price in some circles. Looking around at the many kinds of books. Izuru was surprised to see that they were seemingly penned in another language he couldn't quite recognize. It was neither the common tongue spoken by the majority of people nor was it the terrestrial language spoken by many among the human races. Unfortunately Izuru wasn't exactly an omniglot, given that he felt he could barely speak the regular language let alone whatever this was. He was apparently an otherworlder according to his father but that didn't give him any kind of benefit that would help here. "I'd avoid anything too out there Caramel. Playing around with death and dimensions should probably be something you handle after a few weeks of research at the very least. We wouldn't want to punch a hole in the world or summon a bunch of zombies now would we?" said Izuru while casting his eyes about for knowledge relating to his own research on abominations. He hoped the Mad Mage would have something useful that would assist in summoning one of those to this plane so Izuru could keep one as a pet.

Noticing John wandering over the the book at the end of the room. Izuru naturally made his way over there. Looking on at the strange open tome. His adventures in the Caelia Barony came back to him. The dragonkins instincts were telling him NOT to mess around with something that looked like an obvious trap. Hence why he decided on a much safer plan. "John, I'll give you a magic apple if you touch the book" stated Izuru while wiggling his cane in the air between them. Unlike the strange apples he and Caramel had eaten. Izuru could guarantee that the apple he summoned was PROBABLY not poison. He'd only learned how to summon it the other day while chewing on some leaves he bought from a witch. John was the group tank so letting him take the brunt of whatever was about to happen if they touched the book was perfectly fine as long as he received adequate support.

 

[saxon]

Eiru

F Grade Character

Titles: Monster, Human, Mundane, Student of Mount Cleartunt Academy E, Magic Graduate of Mount Cleartunt Academy F, Abomination

mentions: Slowpokie Gaius Danius Griinia Elijay

Abilities/Actions:


Cooldowns:
F: 0/0
E: 0/1
D: 0/2
C: 0/3
B: 0/4
A: 0/5
Notes:

"Well, that is putting it mildly, though I wonder if its a trap or if its another enchantment placed here?" Eiru questioned as she looked up to the higher levels seeing a few books floating about and there was another doorway way up at the top. "Well I think I see the way out of here but, there might be books on undead but where exactly they would be I have no idea, just try to not start a undead invasion or something," Eiru joked as she turned her attention to Jon as he started to speak.

Then the room shook much like the hallway had and the way they had come rotated and a stone wall closed the path they had come off. Needless to say no one was going to go back that way. Which she still found the concept fascinating she hoped there might be some kind of book on the enchantments that were used here or at least she hoped. "What is an otaku?" Eiru asked as she hadn't heard the term before as she brought one of her fingers to her lip. "The book we are looking for could be here or it might be on a different level, and there is a door all the way up there that might lead somewhere. But I'd imagine the book we are looking for would be guarded by something at least," She theorized.

The book on the podium as Jon got closer, he was able to read the title and only him due to it being written in Japanese: A Hitchhiker's Guide to Another World. So far, nothing happened as he approached the book. Those attuned with magic wouldn't feel any mana or enchantments coming off the book. So far it seemed like a regular book. However there was a strong sense of mana that was coming from somewhere up above though the source was currently unknown.

Izuru on the other hand was attempting to get Jon to touch the book with the offer of another Apple. "I mean I wouldn't touch it after the whole apple thing but that doesn't mean everything is bobby trapped. Though does anyone else feel the mana coming from above?" She inquired.

 

[Slowpokie]

Carmel Davour
Mentions: saxon Elijay Gaius Danius Griinia

"I do!" Carmel said with a raised hand when Eiru mentioned feeling magic above them. "I didn't know if I was feeling magic, or feeling those apples not sitting right with me."

Carmel turned away from Eiru, his obscured eyes zeroing in on a small, red book tucked away between the shelves. He looked over the title, 'Necromancy For Dummies.' and took to combing over a few pages briefly.
Despite growing up in a place where the necromantic arts were a staple practice between everyone, the Pyromancer had never been good at it.

"You guys think anything bad will happen if we- I dunno... Took a few things with us...?" Carmel asked the group as he held onto the manual in his hands, slowly inching it into his hat.

 

[Gaius Danius Griinia]

Izuru
Mentions: saxon Slowpokie Elijay

"Oh I've felt it for a while now. The Mad Mage certainly had some interesting choices when it came to his own personal tower" said Izuru to Eiru's observation; whilst nudging John. The strange book would no doubt have secrets which could prove lucrative to the group's pockets. He then turned his gaze to notice Caramel looking at a book on Necromancy. Izuru had no talent for the craft himself so he could understand some curiosity on Caramels part. As for taking some of the books with them. The dragonkin was all for making some money off of the Mad Mages collection. Plus there was his own research to look into. "We should probably get a move on to the higher levels if we're serious about getting that book. As we are right now, we simply don't have the time or stamina to peruse the collection AND deal with whatever guards the thing we were actually sent to find" stated Izuru after taking a moment to adjust his coat. The rain that had gotten into the neck area earlier was making it a bit uncomfortable to wear. Wanting a more concrete direction on where to proceed. Izuru decided to try some magic of his own. Combining his environmental magic with his arcane knowledge. He hoped to find a relatively safe path towards the thing they were supposed to find.

---

Actions:
.Zen Movement F + Control Environment F + Arcana E

 

[Elijay]

John

saxon Slowpokie Gaius Danius Griinia​

When Eiru asked about the term “otaku,” John let out a chuckle, crossing his arms. “Oh, that’s easy—it’s like a super fan. Someone who’s really into those books you see on those shelves.” Saying this, he pointed towards the shelf full of manga. He was pretty curious to see how a native of this world would react to reading manga for the first time though. Maybe they’d be disgusted by all the lewd fan service.

When Carmel inched the book into his hat and asked if taking a few things might be a bad idea, John shook his head. “Uh, yeah, I’d say that’s probably a bad idea. I mean, so far, we’ve had enchanted apples, a hallway that shifts and turns as it pleases, and a library full of books from another world. Add to that the fact that these books are still left untouched after such a long period of time is just suspicious. You best hope that the books you take aren’t cursed with any weird magic.”

John squinted at the book on the podium as he got closer, the strange characters on the cover catching his attention. He tilted his head, muttering under his breath. “Wait a second… I know this language…” As the title clicked in his mind, his eyes widened. “A Hitchhiker’s Guide to Another World?” He read aloud. “If the mad mage was a hitchhiker originally from planet Earth, then maybe this is his guide to this other world. This could very well be his diary. Let’s see… ‘Dear Diary, today I booby-trapped another apple for future adventurers,’” he joked, pretending to be reading from the book.

As Izuru dangled the idea of a magic apple in exchange for touching the book, John rolled his eyes. “Oh sure, and how do I know you're not offering me one of those laugh-inducing apples from earlier,” he raised an eye at him. But deep down, he wasn’t one to back down from a challenge—especially one that might lead to some answers. "But I accept the challenge."

Taking a deep breath, John stepped up to the podium, his hand hovering just above the book for a moment. “Alright, here goes nothing,” he said, grinning nervously as his fingers brushed the cover. “If this thing explodes in my face, you’re covering my hospital bills!” he added, jabbing a finger in the dragonkin’s direction for emphasis before fully placing his hand on the book, bracing himself for whatever might happen next. Still though, Eiru said that not everything was booby trapped, so maybe he'd be fine?