Host's note: This is not an action RP, full of hordes of orcs and skeleton minions led by an evil wizard who wants to start a war. This is a more philosophical, conversation based RP, following the rule that the pen is mightier than the sword, and that the sword is the last resort. Also, magic users are not playable. As such, because this is a conversation based RP, there will be posts shorter than the necessary 40 words, and we will be ignoring the rule for the RP.

Setting: These are the Eighty Eight Planes of Existence. (There aren't actually eighty eight planes, however, as was proven by Ferdel Expedition. The Eighty Eight Planes got its name from a very popular poem.)) Each plane is ruled by a God, or a Power. For example, the Plane of Shadows is ruled by one of the original three, Tormentus the Bitch Queen, or the plane of Forests ruled by the Lias Lord. Only one plane is not ruled by a God, and that is the Plane of Illusions, where the Last Wizard resides. Many worship these Gods, and make churches out of them. It is unknown how one ascends to the status of a God.
Humans will be the only playable race. Humans are the most common, and oldest race living (Gods do not count as a race), although there are variants of them living amongst the planes, they are pretty much the same. Other races include the Stomemen of the Rock Plane, who were forged from stone and flesh, and the Half-Men, who are more of a physical manifestation of their souls, than their bodies simply being shells for their ethereal part. There are countless other sentient races, but they generally keep to themselves due to the extreme racism between the other races.
Only the Gods can use Magic, which really isn't magic, but some force of some sort that binds all the Planes together. It gives the Gods the authority over their own worlds. There was once a plane inhabited by Humans who were able to use magic, but when they were discovered some of the Gods banded together to destroy them. Only one survived.

Plot: A group of people set out to free themselves from the Gods and change the nature of man.


I will be accepting and denying people based upon their grammars, their experience, and their characters. Please don't take it personally. Feel free to try another character if I don't like it.
Character sheet:

Name: (Something original, please)
Age: (No children, please. Your character must be over 18)
Strengths: (What your character is good at, or thinks he is good at. Such as puzzles, riddles, being strong, intelligent, making jokes etc,)
Weaknesses: (Things that your character is not good at. Could be talking to people, planning ahead, riddles, mathematics, etc,)
Brief Description: (I expect you to describe him more in the RP. Please place gender here, also.)
Brief History: (I expect you to tell us more about his past, and in more depths, during the RP. After all, the past is what makes up most of our lives.)

Note: Just a note: your character is limited by how much you know, also. You can't play a master at mathematics if you never got past third grade mathematics because you simply don't know enough. The same can go with riddles and puzzles.) Also, I am not putting down things like your weapons, or style of fighting. The former because often times, you lose your weapons, and will have to make due with a club or something. The latter is because there will be some characters I expect some characters not to be action characters.

That's right. I'd like some people to have some non-fighting characters, like scribes or historians, or stealth specialists. As the host, I will be putting forward many situations where fighting can be avoided by talking your way out, or sneaking by. I will make it perfectly capable to go through this entire RP without fighting, although I doubt that will happen.

I'll start.

Name: Jakalin "Hedge" Maccabeus
Age: 25
Strengths: Persuasion, philosophy, riddles, swordplay, ability to accurately assess other's strengths, and planning.
Weaknesses: Overestimation of other's weaknesses, inflexibility in his planning, and cannot lie.
Description: A large man, with broad shoulders. Short hair, and some stubble. Charming in his own, but can be very intimidation. He wears no armor, and instead prefers mobility. He almost always has a longsword and a short sword at his side.
History: Abandoned as a baby, and was adopted by a priest of Audux, on the plane of Jarr. He showed excellence in athletics and leading, and was chosen by the Church to be a Paladin. He left, however, due to his inability to take orders from superiors. Jakalin earned his nickname Hedge from his role as some sort of freelance knight and duelist, protecting those that mercenaries or lawmen wouldn't protect. He quickly earned a name on Jarr, and became a famous duelist.

The game will begin once I believe that there are enough people to start. Please post your character sheet, and don't take it personally if I deny you.

((accepted by Xeno via PM))

Name: Samuel Stone
Age: 62
Strengths: Philosophy, Science, Intelligent, Strong Mind, People Skills
Weaknesses: Frail, Slow, Elderly, Sight, Trusting
Brief Description: Completely white, shoulder length hair adorns his slightly wrinkled and pale face, brushing past his brown eyes. His face is usually scrunched up due to the cataracts in both of his eyes, making it look like he is always focusing on something. He usually wears a white, cotton shirt and black, denim pants, with a brown shawl over his shoulders.
Brief History: Being orphaned as a child destroyed his faith in life at one point, making him focus more on the afterlife and other realms instead. He was always a curious person, and always loved philosophy and science. Because he had studied so much into the both of them, he had learned a lot for his age at the time, but continued to study more and more. He was always a very friendly person as well, and took to liking people a bit too hastily. His age just recently caught up too him, but he still has the intelligence he had so many years ago.

((Well, Deaths_Legion, it looks like it might just be us. No problem, it'll be hard, but if we coordinate through AIM, we can pull it off. Think I scared people away by saying philosophical, and non-action? Ha! Well, people are allowed to come in later, but not too late. It'd also be really cool, Deaths_Legion, if you weren't invisible all the time on AIM! :p ))

((XD Sorry man, that's just what I do. :P I'll try to go online more often though. Oh, and it shouldn't be too bad with just the both of us. It'll still be fun!. =D))

((Haven't seen you online in a while on AIM, so I'll start off. I was also thinking of a friendship relationship between our characters.))

In the middle of the city was the Dagger, a huge obelus tree thousand feet tall, and five thousand square feet thick. Some say the Mad Witch built it and now lives in it to protect herself from the gods. Others say that it was the gods themselves who built it. Whoever did, however, was lost to history. They called the city the Spiral after the Dagger. This was where Hedge would begin his search.

Hedge walked towards the library, the largest one on this side of the plane. The plan was to meet his old friend and mentor Samuel Stone at the inn, and talk to him about his new project. Samuel wasn't at the inn, however, so Hedge assumed that he was already at the library. It was an easy walk, but some people had tried to pickpocket him. He scared those people into giving his money back by half drawing his blade. The entire city had the color of a pale blue, as if it had been coordinated by all the architects making the city, or the only stone they could get was that color. Either way, the city was very pretty, although reflective which hurt Hedge's eyes.
The library was a massive building which looked like a giant grey-blue square with a big door on it. It was a very foreboding sight. Hedge straightened his back, positioned his brown cloak over his blade, and mustered his courage and walked to the entrance. It had no way to open it, so Hedge knocked. Nothing happened, not even a sound, except for Hedge who winced. Finally, a slit appeared, and two eyes and two bushy eyebrows looked out.
"What do you want?" Said a voice, which sounded like sand paper scratching a piece of rough wood.
"I'm here to look some books up, and meet a friend." Said Hedge. His voice was quiet and nondescript with no descernable accent.
"Come on in, then, sir." Although the words were polite, it was said with sarcasm.
The door opened slowly and Hedge glanced at the inside. There was the handle to the door, and there was the old doorman hunched over keeping the door ajar.
"Well hurry on up," said the doorman, "I can't keep this open forever."
Hedge nodded and mumbled a thank you and walked in. The first thing that struck him was how brown and dusty everything was. It came as a shock from walking for hours in the blueness of Spiral. The walls were brown wood, the bookcases were brown wood, the chairs and tables brown wood. It was dark, too, just barely enough to read. The doorman gave Hedge a candle, and told him not to burn anything. Hedge looked around for Samuel.

(( Stupid me forgot to put my Charactor Sheet in a document folder, so I'm just going from a-top my memory, might even make it better.. but I won't change my charactor's history. ))

Name: Alexander Adzkel

Age: 19

Strengths: Agility, Stealth, Sweet-talking, Puzzles, and Dagger-play.

Weaknesses: Strength in agility gives weakness in strength, big-mouth, kind of shady.

Brief Description: Black kind of brownish hair that covers the top of his head, a black cloak covers his entire body, except under the cloak Alexander wears a Leather Tunic, and Leather pants. He has Oceanic, blue eyes. Is about 4'6" in height and has a skinny build.

Brief History: Alexander as a kid was a street tough, knew how to get around, knew how to act... in the beginning there wasn't any problem at all. He talked to people in a way that either got him a way to work, or got him into trouble. The trouble part of it made him learn how to escape very grueling situations, a escape artist.. basically. Apart from being able to escape trouble, knows how to use a dagger very well. He was poor, so he had no choice but to pickpocket and steal food to survive. Never once did Alexander kill someone, since it is only theft. Its like a moral code. As a kid, he never knew who his parents were. But it didn't mean that he did not try to look for them...

(( I'll wait for a good point in the RP to join in. ))

((OK, Alexdude1255. Do you have AIM? We can talk more about the RP there.

Also, Astro, I've kicked you out of the RP. If you can't even do something as simple as posting a character sheet in the topic, I have sincere doubts as to your ability to roleplay.

We'll begin shortly once Deaths_Legion responds and we can get going.))

(( I don't have AIM, I have MSN though.. and I'd rather not get more then 2 messangers, but I will since I want a different communication method then just posting topics. =o ))

(( Update: I've gotten AIM, I'll leave it on while I'm infront of the computer so I can take any chance to talk to you guys. I've given a bit of thought on what kind of interaction my charactor will make. ))

Name: Jace Windreader
Age: 22
Strength: Calculations, memory, wit sharper than a razor, and can solve any problem, given enough time.
Weaknesses: slightly anaemic, hardly strong enough to lift a sword, finds it hard to talk to people about anything other than solving the problem at hand.
Description: A weedy man with pallid skin and greasy hair. Horn-rimmed spectacles that are constantly covered with grime, and a soft leather hat complete the appearance of medieval-dork. Carries a dagger, but is probably more likely to hurt himself with it than an enemy.
History: The weedy runt in a family of warriors, Jace was bullied severely as a child. He constantly snuck away to the house of a nearby sage, and while there learned reading, writing and arithmetic. After a particularly long visit, his brothers found him on his way back, beat him severely, and left him for dead in the forest. Surviving his ordeal, he struggled, battered and near to death, he made his way to a nearby temple, where the monks aided his recovery. Learning much in his stay, he eventually left to seek further enlightenment elsewhere in the world.

(( Any chance of another player jumping in somewhere? I don't have AIM, but I'll get it if necessary. And if we're on at similar times.))

(( This is just the beginning of the RP, so I'm guessing you have a high chance of joining.. Besides. I was thinking we were lacking a charactor that knows a bit of puzzle-solving/intelligence. =o ))

(( EDIT: Ya know, this isn't getting anywhere.. where is Deaths_Legion? ))

((Rejected, jabor. The OP clearly states to PM me first. If you can't even be bothered to read the OP closely, I don't think you'd be very good in this RP.))

(( Was given the go-ahead. =o ))

In the quiet city of Spiral, with the Dagger that loomed over the city in its grandiose display of its height, Alexander walked through the alleyways, nodding to a group of people that were acquaintances. He avoiding all means of public, creeping towards the Library. He climbed up the library by means of a nearby construction that allowed him to jump onto the roof of the library, where he entered through a hidden hatch. Through that hatch, appeared to be a small attic. Dust was everywhere, but it didn't seemed to annoy Alexander, because a cloak covered his entire body.

A man heard noises in the attic and checked it out, but found it that it was just Alexander, a young man he had met before. "By the gods! You scared the living daylights out of me!" The clerk said.

"Sorry about that, didn't mean to scare ya..." Alexander said, "I'm looking for a good friend of mine, know anything?"
Obviously kind of irritated, the clerk replied "I saw some tough-looking guy come into the library when I came here, looks to be waiting on an old coot. He's downstairs, in the main library." The Clerk was a informant of sorts, when Alexander was doing "jobs" and used the Clerk as a means of information gathering.

"Thanks, see ya later." Alexander waved goodbye.

Alexander made his way downstairs to meet his friend, who was still reading books leisurely. "Hey!" Alexander said, "How's it going?"

Hedge looked up from his book at the short young man before him. He was skinny, and had an almost childish glint in his eyes. Hedge's eyes trailed up and down the man's body, sizing him up a second time for good measure. His hair was a dark brown, probably dyed to prevent a glare from light. The skinny man's shoes were soft, and the colors he wore plain, besides the black cloak which covered most of his body. The man was grinning at him.

"The going is good," answered Hedge mechanically. "Are you the man Gordon sent? What's your name?" He didn't need to say his name.

Hedge already knew he was, but decided to ask anyway. The skinny man reminded him of when Hedge was a boy, making his living in the streets of Jarr as an orphan and thief. Hedge folded his book and put it back into the shelf.

Alexander nodded, but it kind of gave him a chill when Hedge "checked" him out.

"Yeah, I am the one Gordon sent," Alexander replied, "I was given information by an informant here a while ago.. you needed someone that knows connections and can do a lot of scouting? If thats the case.. I'm your man. Thing is.. what exactly am I getting out of this?"

Hedge nodded. "Yes, we need someone with expertise in..." He paused, weighing different words, "Stealth. Scouting, connections are part of that, but we need someone also skilled in hiding and sneaking, and connections as well. Your coming from the attic instead of the front door shows this well." Hedge glanced to the stairs, looked back to Alexander, "However, the rewards in this, um, endeavor won't be very large. I have enough funds, secured from a reliable source, to feed us and clothe us rather well, and any miscellaneous funds, but most of it will be spent on plane travel." He watched Alexander raise his eyebrow. Plane travel was very uncommon, and supposedly dangerous. No one did it without great cause. "Ah, yes, plane travel. We'll be doing a lot of it. Now, I won't be able to say exactly what we're planning to do at this moment since I don't trust you. Rest assured, Alexander, that this cause is very noble, and your name will live forever in history." Hedge smiled pleasantly. "I'm Jakalin ((pronounced Yahk-ah-len)) Maccabeus, but you can call me Hedge."

Hedge wasn't joking about the history part; in fact, he was dead serious. He hoped that his seriousness wouldn't scare off such a mischievous young man. Hedge tried to change his posture so he wouldn't over-power Alexander with his greater height, but he knew that Alexander had much confidence. He didn't want to convince him with force of personality.

Alexander raised an eyebrow, this seemed to be no mere task. He pondered if he should really consider joining in this endeavor. Not only that, "Plane" travel seems kind of risky. But then again... maybe Alexander can find out about his parents.

Alexander said "Alright, I'm in... but hopefully I can find 'some' treasure in this adventure."

Hedge smiled. "Oh yes, you'll fine treasure. Most of it, however, we will actually use beyond selling." Said Hedge cryptically, "In fact, that's why we're here right now." Hedge looked around, and flagged down a librarian.

The librarian wore a dusty and wrinkled coat, with messy hair and dirty pants, but his spectacles were surprisingly clean. "May I help?" Said the librarian, exchanging hands holding the books under his arm so he could push his spectacles back.

"Ah, yes," Hedge undid a button in his coat and reached inside. He fumbled around a bit and pulled out a piece of paper. "The History of the Arbitrarium," said Hedge, saying it slowly as he read the paper. He folded it and placed it back into his pocket, and said while re-buttoning his coat, "Do you have it?"

The librarian frowned, and said, "May I see the paper?" Hedge apologized, and quickly unbuttoned his coat again and got the paper and handed it to him. The librarian studied it for a full minute and said, "Wait here a second, please, I'll need to show this to the Loremaster." The librarian walked off quickly and quietly, his steps portraying a mixture of urgency and nervousness.

Hedge smiled, and turned back to Alexander. "So, Gordon tells me that you grew up on the streets. I find this interesting because I did as well, but I was eventually adopted by a priest. Living on the streets is very hard. What unfortunate circumstance required you to become, a... Ah... Urchin?"

Alexander frowned to his question, but answered never-the-less and said
"I lived on the streets, basically.. because I had no relatives. No one to depend on but myself. I attempted to look for them, but to no avail.. never did find them."

He sighed, not used to talking about the people who gave him life. Alexander asked Hedge "Where did you live? I mostly ran around this area most of the time and some of the nearby towns."

((Rejected, jabor. The OP clearly states to PM me first. If you can't even be bothered to read the OP closely, I don't think you'd be very good in this RP.))

I'm not taking it personally, but:

The game will begin once I believe that there are enough people to start. Please post your character sheet, and don't take it personally if I deny you.

Also, nowhere in the OP does it say to PM you anything.

If you don't like my character, or just plain don't want me in this RP for you own reasons, then fine. I can accept that, and if you just don't want me, then I'll leave it. What I can't accept is you just randomly making up reasons to kick me out.

"I see," said Hedge, nodding as Alexander told about himself. "I used to live on Jarr. Are you aware of this Plane? It's a pretty place. Well, I lived on the streets there as an orphan, and when I was nine years old a kindly priest took me in. He taught me theology and philosophy, and how to think and act. He was my father, no pun intended." Hedge smiled again. "Well, when I was fourteen, I was chosen by the Church of Audux to become a Paladin. Yes, a Paladin! You wouldn't think me to be a Paladin, would you? Marching across the Planes, in dazzling golden armor, waging war against evil... Well, I didn't like it. I didn't want to fight for the Church. I loved the Church, don't get me wrong, but I wanted to fight for something entirely- Ah!" The Librarian returned.

"Follow me, and quietly please." The Librarian said in hushed tones. Hedge nodded, and motioned Alexander to follow. They walked through the Library, and the Librarian grabbed a torch on his way. He came to a locked door near the back of the great hall, and kept on trying different keys on his large keychain. Finally, he found the right one and opened the door. A musty draft blew from the door, and the Librarian stuck the torch through. Stairs leading downwards became illuminated, spiralling downwards into the depths, and Hedge could see cobwebs. He shivered.

"This way, please," whispered the Librarian, "it's only a little ways." He was right, Hedge only walked down the stairs for a little bit until they came upon a door, which was already open. They walked through the doorway into a very large and dark room, with a few librarians walking with candles among huge mounds of books, hundreds of volumes high. The Librarian put doused his torch in a bucket of water, and produced a candle and lit it on one of the dim candelbras which lined the room's walls.

"Too much light can damage some of the more delicate scripts," the Librarian explained. He motioned them to follow him again, and led them through the mountains of books to a small table, which a large leather book with "ARBITRARIUM HISTORIUM" written on the front. The Librarian set the candle down next to the book, and left them.

Hedge checked the book, first its cover, then its back, and finally its binder before opening it. A plume of dust came out, and Hedge sneezed. He could feel the glare of one of the librarians on his back. Hedge cleared his throat, and began searching through the book. Hedge was fluent in a dozen languages, one of them being Ancienti, which this book was written in. Thousands of years ago, all of the civilizations of the planes spoke and wrote in Ancienti, although few manuscripts written in the language survived. Hedge was pleased to see that this was a real edition, and not a copied one. The History of the Arbitrarium was a rare book, and much sought after by scholars. Libraries usually kept their copies secret and safe due to their delicacy. They couldn't allow every random scholar with an interest in theology see it, so they only gave it to the few they allowed. It took a few bribes with the Loremaster, but Hedge was able to finally get it.

"Do you know much about theology, Alexander?" Hedge whispered, then added a moment before Alex could reply, "It doesn't matter, I'm going to tell you anyway. This book describes with amazing accuracy how the original gods, the Arbitrators, came about and how Man was created. It's an extremely interesting read if you're unknowledged, but only that. It takes a literate and learned mind to read it with any fruitation, because you need to sort the fact from mere fiction." Hedge explained quietly, as he skimmed through the pages gently. "I've read this book before. Three times, in fact. Once for when I was in the Church school, another when becoming a Paladin, and a third for enlightenment and pleasure. However, the original version, and the copied versions, are different in sizes. The scholars left some things out of the new versions to save room. When it was first copied, paper and ink were a commodity, and they couldn't copy the whole thing. Nowadays, though, where paper and ink are common, the parts left out haven't been added in since they just copy from the new versions. It's a true shame, but it doesn't matter right now.
"The book is full of beautiful poetry, and you really need to read it some time if you haven't, but I'll paraphrase it for brevity's sake. In the beginning, which can't really be considered a beginning since time hadn't yet been created, there was a single entity in the universe. In fact, he WAS the universe, since matter hadn't been created, and neither had the dimensions. His name was Aeternus, and he simple was. Well, Aeternus did not like being alone, so he split himself in two. This was how the universe became, because instead of a single entity, there were two, and now the universe had dimensions and matter, and so forth. Anyway, these two gods were equally powerful, but they both had different traits of Aeternus. Some traits they shared, though. Tormentus, the Bitch Queen, was the feminine side of Aeternus, as well as the hateful, vindictive, betraying, and general all round nasty part of the First God. At least, by our standard. The other was Audux, the masculine, and righteous, optimistic, loyal, pious, and all around good guy by our standards. The two hated each other at first look, and fought many wars with each other. Their power was immense, but eventually they grew tired. Time still hadn't been created yet, since these beings were timeless. Well, they decided, rather arbitrarily, that they should use their powers to create more beings. This is where they got their name, because not only are they the arbiters of the laws of the universe, but they're also rather... Arbitrary in their way of deciding to do things.
"Well, then Man was created. The Human Man, to be exact. However, the Arbitrarium did not want to give up their immortality to create us, so we became mortal. Mortals require time to exist, so as an effect of our creation, Time was made. Time is currently very debated by philosophers, and I can't really explain it. We think that time passes, but it's really us that pass through time. It's irrelavent right now, though, all we need to know that whatever Time is, Time is. Well, man had both aspects of Tormentus and Audux. We were both good and bad at the same time. However, unlike the Arbitrarium who did not think about morality, but rather about how different they were from each other, we decided that the Tormentus side was bad, and the Audux side was good. We promoted the Audux side because it benefited each other, and although living on the streets that this must not happen often, but being helped by another person is a truly wonderful thing. The Tormentus side, however much it benefits us, only hurts others, and so people condemn people who commit Tormentian things, because they're the one hurt. Understand? Well, the History of the Arbitrarium explains the creation of Gods, Man, the Universe, and the Planes. It does not explain magic, which came much later. Oh, I wish Samuel were here, he could explain magic very well. Well, one of the parts mentions something called 'the Anarch.' It's supposed to be part of a device that somehow sums up the whole universe. Intrigued, are you? Aha! Here it is!"


Also, nowhere in the OP does it say to PM you anything.

((Hmm, you're right, it doesn't. Sorry, my mistake, either I forgot to add it in and thought I did, or I got confused and originally omitted it for a reason and then promptly forgot about it. Either way, I don't like your attitude about it, and still won't be accepting you. I still apologize, though. My bad, really. However, you're still going to have to accept it, because this is my RP, and I'm the host, and I can pretty much do what I want with it. I'm not trying to be a jerk, but your attitude is something I don't like. I probably am coming off as a jerk to you, but whatev.))

((Sleep eludes me, and so I post.))

"Ah, my fellow man, but what is God? According to the Arbitrarium, we were created from Aeturnus, who had split into Tormentus and Audux, who had a war, and then created mortal man and Time. But how do we prove this theory? How are we to decipher between fiction and reality? Are these tables that surround us real, or just parts of our own, mortal-created fiction?"

Samuel had been in a pub debating philosophies for the past three hours, but what seemed like four minutes to him. He had lost track of time, and so had missed his previously scheduled appointment with a friend, and all for a simple debate in which he knew he could win. A pub held people, and people were ignorant, no matter the person; even he. Samuel realized he had been receiving some very quizzical looks from people around the tavern, and others of disgust as well. Apparently people didn't like his outlook of life.

"And even for that matter, how do I know what I say right now is true? Does the word 'true' actually have meaning, or is language a conditioning process? Are we taught, without conscious thought, how to speak? A table is a table, but to this man over here-" Samuel said as he pointed at a foreigner, who clearly had no idea what had been going on the past hour. "-it is something completely different. Do you understand what I mean? Language defines human life. Without language, would you have this table? Would you be holding that Tarneisan Ale?"

The man he had been speaking too had lost all will to even reply after Samuel's first couple of rants, but even still, Samuel didn't stop. He had too much fun in debates; he would do it until the day he died. But he would have to quit, because it suddenly dawned on him how long he had stayed. He looked to the man he had been debating with, gave him a warm smile, and then left the tavern slowly.

He was late, he knew it. Judging just by the position of the sun in the sky, he could tell he was too late; Hedge had probably already left. But it was worth a try. He headed toward the Library. On his way, he thought. He always did. It was one of the things that was good, and also bad about him. Always thinking, and not paying attention, and without knowing it, ending up in the area he always needed to be. This time, however, it took him quite a bit longer to reach the Library than usual. There was a fairly large gathering around the Dagger, probably tourists, but he paid no attention and kept on his way.

Once he reached the giant blue building, he knocked upon the door as he usually did, and heard some shuffling on the other side. Almost magically, a small slit appeared in the door and two eyes stared out at him. "It's me, Samuel." With a grunt, the door slid open slowly, allowing him entrance. Samuel noticed a scowl on the man's face as he closed the door once again, draining nearly all the light from the room. The doorman had never liked Samuel, he was always causing problems for Samuel as well: trying to get him kicked out, framing him for broken books, and all other things associated with unnecessary behavior in the Library. Samuel shot an innocent glare back at the doorman, with a slight smirk of mischief. He always loved playing with people's heads.

Samuel quickly set to his task, however, and found no one in the Library. Not even the normal scholars. Had they gone to the Dagger as well? No matter, it made it easier on Samuel to look for Hedge. Samuel scanned the bookshelves for books as he did so, and went back to thinking. He picked a book off the shelf and started reading it, and walking around as he did so. It was a fairly boring book, about the usual cliche hero saving the damsel in distress, but it was something to think about.

Near the halfway point in the book, Samuel looked up and saw nothing. He had found a seat sub-consciously and been sitting there for yet another good portion of time. A candle had been placed next to him, and only after he saw the candle did it dawn on him that it was night. Where was Hedge? Should Samuel go look around town for him, or wait? After that walk, and the condition his frail body was in, Samuel eventually decided on the option of waiting even longer for his friend. He opened the book back up to the last page he had read and continued.

((I'll cut it short there. I was going to have Samuel go down and meet Alexander and Hedge, but I think I really should stop typing and get some sleep...))

((I can think of something to bridge it for you, Legion.))

The Librarian approached Samuel. "Mr. Stone, correct? Please don't say a word, just follow me. Every precaution must be taken." The Librarian beckoned Samuel to come, and then led him through the locked door and into the basement. He gave Samuel a candle, and led him to the table where Hedge and Alexander were reading the History of the Arbitrarium.

Hedge had just said "Here it is," when he turned around and saw Samuel. A large grin came over his face, and walked over to Samuel and offered his hand. "Oh, you're late, you're late, but it doesn't matter. Have you met Alexander? I asked Gordon - oh, you haven't met Gordon have you? - for a man with special talents, and here he is. I'd offer you a place to sit, but there are none. How are you, Samuel?"

Alexander walked down the stairs with Hedge and the Librarian, not really interested in whats down there, but really interested in how he did not knew that this place existed. He slowly, walked down the creaky stairwell, spiraling down into the depths... all illuminated by the light emitted by the candle.

Alexander exclaimed, "Almost like a haunted basement or something, jeez.."

They went through the depths, stopping at a small table. Where Alexander witnessed Hedge's sneeze, and saw a Librarian give him an evil glare. He stood there, waiting. After a few moments, of Hedge.. swifting through the pages. Hedge asked Alexander if he knew about Theology but was interrupted before he even got a chance to answer. Although, what he was about to say that he was not interested in Theology or Philosophy, Alexander stood there for basically 15 to 30 minutes. Listening to a very long lecture about Philosophy.

Alexander obviously, bored... asked, "So, whats next?"

The long lecture stopped when Samuel came in, introducing himself to Alexander and Hedge.

Alexander said to Samuel, "Why.. hello there, my informant never told me about you. Nice to meet ya."

((Sorry about not posting earlier, I tried too, but just as I clicked the Submit Reply button, my connection died. -_- I saved it though, so that's good. Thanks for the help Xenoknight!))

Samuel followed the librarian, without question, through a locked door and into the darkness. When they had arrived at a particularly large room, with only a small light seen from the other side, the librarian lit a candle with her torch and doused it in the bucket of water to her right. Samuel noticed a few other torches inside, and before the librarian could explain, Samuel raised his hand and whispered, "I understand, ma'am." And she continued on.

As they neared the small patch of light, which Samuel could now clearly see was emanating from a candle, he saw his friend Hedge bending over a book with a sort of shady character behind him. Before he could get a word in edgewise, Hedge had looked up from his book and was speaking, as usual. "Oh, you're late, you're late, but it doesn't matter. Have you met Alexander? I asked Gordon - oh, you haven't met Gordon have you? - for a man with special talents, and here he is. I'd offer you a place to sit, but there are none. How are you, Samuel?"

He responded to the sentences in quick succession. "Yes, I know I'm late. No I haven't met Alexander, and no I have not met Gordon either. Nice to meet you Alexander! No worries, I'm fine, even in my old age. Anything else you'd like to know Hedge?" he asked sarcastically. He was always making fun of the man for talking too much, but Samuel couldn't complain; it was always nice to have someone intelligent to speak with.

Hedge grinned even wider, if that was possible.

"Ahh, you haven't changed at all, old friend!" Hedge said, his excitement contained, but barely, which was shown in his struggle to keep his voice quiet. "I was just explaining Alexander here about the Arbitrarium. He looked so lost! Well, it doesn't matter. I was just looking for the Deus Ex Machina, that mythological device that is said to make you a god. Next stop is the plane of Ambrosia. First, we need to get out of this library. Something doesn't feel... Right. Did you notice anything coming in, Samuel?"

"Hedge, you know me well enough, do you honestly think I was paying attention? Although...I do remember seeing a huge crowd around the Dagger, and none of the scholars were in the library either. Would there be a connection there?" Samuel asked. Those are really the only two things he remembered from the past couple of hours, his memory had been failing him the past days. But a big crowd like that just doesn't up and leave your memory, so he was at least glad for that.

Samuel looked down at the Arbitrarium and scanned the page that was open. He couldn't understand any of it, as usual, but some of the symbols looked familiar to him. He just couldn't remember...he was still having a memory lapse. He looked back up to Hedge, and then quickly gave a smile to hide his current thoughts.

Hedge nodded. He closed the book, and signalled Alexander to follow. "Let's relax when we get out of here. Why would people be at the Dagger?" Hedge wondered aloud. "Let's go."

The librarians were gone. Hedge glanced nervously around and picked up his candle. Somewhere in the back of the room, a light went out. And another. "Let's move. Now." Hedge picked up his candle and set the ARBITRARIUM HISTORIUM on fire, before putting a hand over the candle and walking quickly to the exit. He glanced around every few seconds to see if Samuel was catching up okay. In about half a minute, they were at the stairs and they kept walking. Hedge was unnerved, but managed to keep an outwardly cool appearance.. He had known that there was something shady about that Loremaster. He had felt the Librarian watching him as he read the History of the Arbitrarium. Like an eagle, in fact. Far away, but close enough to see. Why did the Loremaster want what he was looking for?

"Just stick behind me." Hedge gripped his blade which he had kept hidden from the doorman. A draft blew the candle out, and Hedge cussed. "Alexander, take the front. Samuel, you in the middle. I'll guard the back. You keep on going, we'll meet at the Merry Suitor Inn. I'll explain in due time. I swear to the Gods, Alexander, if you harm that old man..." Hedge descended back down the stairs.

Alexander does not understand what is going on, but listened to what Hedge said and took the front. But in that moment, noticed that it was kind of odd that the librarians were very attentive to what we were doing.

He said, "I see what you mean.. they were kind of odd before, they kept an eye on all of us.. that whole time, where did you meet that Lore Master?" and added "Also, I do not have a part of whats going on right now.. the only person I know in this place is that informant that told me of a brewing job that was going on. Although, now that I think of it.. He's odd too!"

Slowly, he takes out the hidden daggers in the depths of his cloak and keeps them close to his stomach. He kept a close eye on the stairs, a gaze shown through the depth of under the hood, directly up the spiraling stairwell.. while Alexander tried to keep the dust out of his eyes.

((Hey guys, I'm extremely sorry, but I'm going to have to postpone this again. For another couple of weeks, I'm not going to be posting often, because my monitor died just last night; it blew a fuse. >_< So right now, I'm on a giant, 30-pound, old as hell monitor, and I can barely read what I'm typing at the moment. I'll try to see if I can sneak on my bro's computer every now and then to post though, because I'm definitely not going to be able to on this one. I can't read anything, really, and with the length of the posts...well, it would be a while before I'd be able to decipher one. I'm SO sorry Xeno, I know it seems like I'm just trying to get out of posting, but I'm not. I swear. All of my electronics hate me now, because my TV died just last night as well. *sigh* If you guys wanna carry on, go ahead, I'll catch up later.))

Hedge descended the stairs slowly, with his back to the wall. He let his right arm feel ahead, and his left hand stay on his dagger's hilt. With each step, Hedge's heart pounded faster and louder. Despite the cool underground, his temples were beaded with sweat. His nose flared, and breathing came easy and slow. As always, Hedge was outwardly calm, but his mind was racing and jumping at every odd noise.

It felt like ages, but Hedge finally made it to the bottom of the stairs. The door was closed, which was not how he left it. Hedge opened it, and the creak of the rusted hinges rang out like a bell announcing his arrival. Everything was dark. There was not a sound or a speck of light to be found. Hedge's night vision had adjusted enough just to barely see the mounds of books, undisturbed.

Hedge walked through the doorway.

There was a flash of red, and every single torch and candle in the room burst into light. Hedge yelled in pain as the dagger he was still holding suddenly became extremely hot, and his sword burned through its belt. His weapons clattered to the floor, all of the metal steaming and red. He could not see it, though, for his eyes were closed to stop the sudden burning of light.

"I could have killed you," called a familiar voice. He recognized it as the Loremaster's. Hedge opened his eyes, and could see a figure walk from behind a mound of books. It was the Loremaster for sure, but he was in the Librarian's clothing. Of course! The Loremaster was disguised as the Librarian. No wonder the Librarian was so dirty, and always spoke in hushed tones. "I decided against it, though, when I realized that you burned the History of the Arbitrarium." The Loremaster walked up to Hedge, a fire in his stare. "Do you have any idea how much that book was worth? More than this entire Library, more than this entire pitiful plane of Jarr. That was one of the ORIGINAL copies, you fool!" The Loremaster was yelling.

Hedge just stared back blankly.

"Good, you know when to keep your mouth shut," sneered the Loremaster. "You know why that copy was so important, don't you? This one was even more important since it had information about the Deus Ex Machina that no other copy except for the original had. I had to get that information! Oh, yes, it was I who contacted YOU. You didn't contact me, like it seems. Who was the barman that told you about the Loremaster's interest in the Arbitrarium? Who was the beggar that was an old librarian? Ha!" The Loremaster took off his glasses, which had no lens. They were just wires.

"I thought you were a Loremaster, not a Runemaster," said Hedge quietly.

"When you have been in this world for two hundred years, Jakalin, names and titles lose their meaning."

"Why didn't you kill me?"

"Tell me what you found."

"No."

"Boy has a backbone now, eh? You're a bladesman, you are useless without your weapons." The Loremaster said, as he put his hand on Hedge's shoulder. Hedge glanced down at the Loremaster's hand and saw a red tattoo. "Ahh, you see those? Let me show you," The Loremaster rolled up his sleeve to reveal a long tattoo of squarish shapes and lines running from his wrist to his shoulder. "That," said the Loremaster, with pride in his tone, "will blow off your arm in one word."

Hedge stared at the Loremaster incredulously.

"I am a Runemaster," said the Loremaster, "I do not threaten, I promise."

It was hard for Hedge to keep his calm demeanor. The Loremaster was not bluffing.

"Gods, what do you want from me?" Whispered Hedge, fear evident in his tone.

"That's more like it," said the Loremaster, smiling, "I want a service."

"A service? What kind?"

Alexander nodded and lead Samuel through the corners of the street, as the cloak of darkness filled the night. As he kept an eye on all directions, they took a shortcut through the side-alleys.. they arrived at the Merry Suitor Inn. Alexander took another look behind him to check if Samuel was behind him, saw that Samuel was..

He briefly said, "We'll enter the inn and stay low until Hedge gets back, don't worry though.. I may look shady in appearance. But I get the job done."

..

Apologies if I am a late comer .... Liked the concept of the Event ... Have dvelt a bit into Calvinism and am very much intrested in being part of this game ..


Name : Scruzhen Nacer

Age : 25

Strengths : Coding and Deciphering , Physics, Astronomy & Geology , Highly Resourcefull , Accurate Aim and a SUdden spark of Genius!!

Weakness : Lack of Common sense , Suffers from Diplopia ( Double vision ) , Allergic to the Scraping of metals ...

Brief Decription : A lean man with a slightly hunched shoulder with a funny cap that covers his ears and a velvet glove . Short black hair with a slight blonde patch on the forehead. Used to have Normal eyes before a terrible prank changed the Orientation of his Eyes leaving him capable of Independent Eye movement. Always carries a card-sized black book with no pages for some reason. Abhors Violence and gets into a Fit when he hears the scraping of metals.

History : Son of a Wealthy Mathematica Scholar and a Healer , Schruzen seemed to be one of those boys born with a Silver spoon. Alas, born also was he of a Neurological disorder resulting in him being regarded as "dumb" as per the normal Human Standards . Disregarded but not Abandoned by his parents who preferred his younger brother , every day bore witness to his grim Humiliation and teasing at the hands of everyone he loved .
Uneducated , UnPolished and dumb he certainly is .... but theres' a certain ability in him that he, nor anyone ever had understood.


((( In the Hope that , this Character Script proves to be a good fit .. I continue with the story Line.... )

....Their Entrance was not unnoticed .....Sitting around the corner, reading the 'Arcadium Updates' but hardly paying attention to the script was Mr. Schruz , a not-so-elegant man with a funny black Hat . For some strange reason the new entrants of the Inn intrested him. There was something in the way that the blue eyed Man interacted with the Old man that caught scruz's fancy. Nay!! They weren't a father and son-pair ..........

He saw them whisphering something to Mr. Garcia , the Inn Owner .... who pointed the dingy old sofa seat right next to him.

The young man gestured to his companions and they propmtly sat next to him. Why on Earth were the pair so familiar ? He sensed that there was some sort of an urgency in them and despite his best efforts at eavesdropping he could hear words like 'ledge' , 'Arbitarium' etc .... of which he had no knowledge ... but then sprung up the word "Lore Master'which made him caught his full attention . As he was about to pounce into the discussion ...

Mr Garcia : Mr Scruz , Of all the things I have seen and heard .... the one that Impresses me the most ...is the One that I am seeing now ...

Schruz : (Feeling like being caught doing something illegal) .... well , it ought to be , Senorita Rosemerta simply seems Stunning ..

Mr Garcia : Nope , better than that !!! Here take a look at this Wood Carving.

Schruz rises and proceeds towards Mr Garcia , Silent but watchful eyes of the blue-eyed Lad follows his wake ...

Garcia : Just look at this !!! The finest piece of Ozamian Wood Carving . Double textured staright from the Carvers of the Azral Plane . Pity it comes with bad luck ........

Schruz : And pray what is it ......

Garcia : Well , the owner of this card would suffer from a starnge Misfortune . He would get whatever he desired but whaterver he desired would come to him in ways that ne never would desire for . It's known as the ...

Schruz : Alkonyinan's Grief ... After the late Alkonyian the Sculptor Suprema of Azara . No one knows about what happened to him after he created it , though sources say that he was ambushed and killed by the lovers of the Women he desired to have. Since then those who have taken possession of it have met with misfortunes.

Garcia : Intresting ( Frowning a bit ..and saying to himslef , rather loudly) If only someone could take it and rid me of my misfortune .......

Schruz : Well , you wouldn't need to look any farther . I would pay for it. So Say , would 2000 Platinum coins be enough ....

Garcaia : (Wonderstruck) ..Hey ..this card is lucky after all!!!! Here ya go ....

WIthout as much taking a notice of it , Schruz picks up the wood carving and places it in his cloak pocket and proceeds towards the pair watching at him suspiciouly. While the young man's stare was Searching , the elderly gentleman was looking at him with a sense of Respectdul Curiosity ...

Ah !!! Yes the Runemaster .... That was what he wanted to talk about .......