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Post by Tug on Sept 16, 2018 19:55:52 GMT -5
A cool chill fell on upon Haverstone Cemetery as Daniel Erdagovern stood before his father, Andrew's, grave on a chilly afternoon in late summer. His father's final words still haunted him... "It's your job now..." What job? What did he mean? Now alone with the ghosts of the fallen, Daniel stood in front of the grave wondering his destiny waiting left behind by his father's last breath... He wouldn't wait long though, as destiny was rather impatient for a pure soul such as his... A man in the shiniest of silvers seemed to approach the grieving boy from out of thin air... "Daniel Erdagovern?" "Yes?" "I would like you to come with me..." "What for?" "It's... complicated... For now, all you need to know is due to your father's passing, you are now the next in line to inherit the title of 'Man in Blue'. Welcome to the Colormen son." ..... 3WSR: Redux Game IV - 4WSR
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Post by Toz76 on Sept 16, 2018 20:29:02 GMT -5
"The what? Who? My dad just worked at Klofroloc Industries." Man In Blue replied.
"Klofroloc industries is a front. Susan Klofroloc is a pseudonym for "Woman In Blue"."
"Hang on, don't I know you? You were at that barbecue."
The silver man stuttered. "Uh..."
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Sept 16, 2018 23:34:16 GMT -5
"Uh... ah hem, I'm afraid that is not important right now" he said as he straightened the tie of his mostly silver colored suit. "What is important is that I need you to report to this location tomorrow, after you finish work" he said as he gave Daniel a piece of paper with an address.
"O...k..." Daniel said with confusion. Obviously a lot was going on in his life at this particular moment, so he couldn't process a lot of what was handed to him.
"All will become clear in due time... I suggest you go home for now and clear your head; come tomorrow, I think you will find that a lot of what you know doesn't tell the full story" he said before turning away.
Daniel stood in solemn silence over his father's grave for a little while longer before finally leaving the cemetery and walking home.
......
Daniel entered the foyer of his apartment building, where his landlord was busy sweeping the foyer. "Ah, good evening Daniel. You're back rather late" he said as he struck the broom across the floor.
"It was a rather slow walk today if you do not mind me saying... it's... it's going to be hard not having Dad around anymore" Daniel said with a sigh.
"I won't pry you for information if you don't feel like it; but know this- it feels hard now, but the best thing you can do is pick yourself up and move on... it is what your father would want, after all"
"Thank you" Daniel said as he went to go to the elevator. It was a big day tomorrow... it was the beginning of the fall semester at the Community College, and Daniel worked there as a professor of history. His specialty: The History of Magic. "I never could quite explain it, but I always was fascinated by the stuff. Stories and legends that pop up all throughout history, who knew that magic played a part of it" he thought to himself. In this world, it was known that magic existed centuries ago, before suddenly and drastically... well, dying out.
As he stepped into his apartment, he thought about how he'd be able to function with that weight of his father's death on his mind. He decided that Arnold was right... he needed to be strong and pick himself up... it was what his father would have wanted.
A nice long shower was all Daniel did before going to bed and dozing off.
......
Next day he took a bus to the college, and went to go prepare for his lesson. He was about to enter a professor's only area...
"Hey! Students go that way" someone pointed out.
"I'm 30 years old and a professor..." Daniel grumbled as he pulled out his ID.
"Oh... Professor Erdagovern, sir. Well, grow a beard or something, will you?" he said before letting Daniel go.
"Every damn time..." Daniel muttered and sighed as he walked by a mirror... that accursed baby face made him look no older than half the students here.
......
He finally got to the classroom and set up the lesson for the day. He looked over the student roster, then, once all the students were it and the clock struck 10:00, the lesson began.
"Magic... it's as old as time itself, like matter and energy, and yet for most of our history nobody knew what it was or if there was a use for it. Who here can tell me when that all changed?" Daniel asked as he looked over the students; then one raised his hand.
"Ancient Greece; 400s BC. As the stories go four men figured out how to harness it" the student replied.
"Correct. That was the beginning of magic history. Now, admittedly there is little known about these four; however the story we do know, is quite a popular tale. As the legend goes, One figured out "how to manipulate, conjure and control fire; using it both as a weapon and a means of survival." Another determined "how to manipulate the winds, and take to the skies with the birds." Yet another discovered "how to control the rock, sand and dirt and use it to his bidding." And the last learned "how to control the waters of the rivers and oceans; manipulating them to his will" Daniel explained as he began writing some information on the board. "Who here can tell me who these four were?" Daniel asked as another raised his hand.
"Well sir; their true names were lost to history, but their chosen names, Pyros, Aeros, Aquos and Terros, are legendary" he explained.
"Correct. These four are collectively known as the Fathers of Magic; with disciplines based on the classical ideas of the four elements- Earth, Air, Water and Fire" Daniel explained.
"Well, what about honey?" one asked.
"Honey?" Daniel asked, confused.
"Yea; isn't there an old tale about a forgotten fifth element?" the student asked.
Daniel was silent for a moment before finally saying, "Yes there are stories, but given the time period we're talking about I think we can all agree that this idea of "honey magic" is rather ridiculous and probably a mistranslation" Daniel said, prompting soft laughter from the other students in the class.
The lesson went on for 90 minutes before finally concluding. "And remember; tomorrow we pick up with the progenitors of the next elements" he said as he began cleaning the board.
"Sir, one question... is magic, well, real? Most times we talk about it as if it were legend or tall tales, yet... yet you treat it so seriously" he asked.
"A good question. See, based on my research I have reason to believe that there is almost certainly a grain of truth to the stories we know... but literally happened? Well, that's anyone's guess" Daniel said with a laugh.
"Guess we'll never know" the student shrugged as he left.
Daniel found a sort of comfort in studying history... admittedly he wasn't the strongest willed person in the world, or the brightest, or the most charismatic, and he didn't consider himself a strong leader. But he did have one thing going for him... a strong desire for knowledge, and to learn all he could. Admittedly, The History of Magic course was considered more mythological history than anything else... but still, he could not help but be enthralled by the stories of the past and sharing them with others. Even if his course only had four students this semester.
"They seem like good guys; I think I'll get along with them just fine. Frank, David, Sean and... Tiberius?" He said, double checking to see if he read that name right.
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Sept 16, 2018 23:49:38 GMT -5
"That's what it says alright," he muttered. "Weird thing to name a kid..."
But hey, who was he to judge?
As he looked around his humble classroom - bigger than a storage closet, but not by much - he felt a sense of pride well up inside him. He'd gotten this far only through sheer force of determination, and was quite proud of all he had achieved. He remembered the day he first heard his father tell him how proud he was of his son... if only those days would return...
Ah well, no need to dwell in the past. Daniel still had a bright future ahead of him. Picking up a pencil, he began planning the next class session.
But his mind began to wonder. He kept thinking of what that one student had asked... "Is magic real?"
Well... was it? He pondered this question for some time.
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Post by Toz76 on Sept 17, 2018 0:07:29 GMT -5
As Daniel made his way towards the teachers lounge, he noticed a strange man in a hideous brick-colored suit approaching him. Daniel felt like the man was staring at him, but he wasn't sure why, so he turned a corner towards a central staircase.
As he walked, he passed two more men in red suits. One was the color of a fresh rose, while the other was more... crimson? That's the word.
Daniel made his way to a courtyard. A man wearing scarlet sat on a bench. Daniel rapidly hurried in a different direction.
Finally reaching the lounge, Daniel made his way to the kitchenette. Alfred Dremin, a technician and acquaintance of Daniel's, was looking through the refrigerator.
"Daniel! How's it going?" Dremin said.
"History of magic was pretty good, but the walk here was weird."
"Weird how?" Dremin looked intrigued as he drank from a Strawberry Fanta.
"There were these four men in red suits. Not the same shade of red, just... red. It was like a full tux too. I don't get it."
"How... peculiar." Alfred Dremin said, closing the fridge to reveal a silver knife in his hand, which stood in stark contrast with his red suit.
"I... um..."
"Cardinal! Ruby!"
Two burly men in red suits appeared out of nowhere and grabbed Daniel by the shoulders.
"Wait, Al, what's going on?" Daniel said, panic in his voice.
"Tell your father that the Man In Red says hi." Alfred said, preparing to throw the knife.
"Wait... but..."
Suddenly, there was the sound of breaking glass as a gold-colored streak burst through the window, knocking Dremin against the fridge. A woman with short, mussed orange hair and a golden catsuit stood and glared at the two men holding Daniel.
"Let him go," she said
"Never," the one called "Ruby" replied, tightening his grip.
The woman charged and rammed Ruby with her shoulder, sending him reeling and causing him to loose his grip. Daniel pulled himself free of "Cardinal" and ran towards the door, only for it to open and the four men in red he'd seen earlier to file in.
"Daniel!" The golden woman yelled. "Close your eyes!"
"How do you know my name?"
"Just do it!"
Daniel squeezed his eyes shut, confused and terrified.
Nothing happened for several seconds. Then, just as Daniel was about to open his eyes, the woman screamed something that sounded like "Blinden Vrön" and a searing light shone through his closed eyelids.
Suddenly, a firm hand grabbed his arm and he found himself being pulled. He opened his eyes and saw the golden woman leading him towards the door as the red-suited men staggered.
"What... who?"
"Introductions later. We need to get you to safety."
"Wait." Daniel frowned. "The teachers lounge is on the fourth floor. How'd you even get in through the window?"
"That's your first question?"
******
Back in the teachers lounge, Man In Red got to his feet.
"Really, you imbeciles? All six of you were hit by it? Even when she shouted a warning?"
"Sorry, boss..." Man In Crimson said.
"I'm not the one you need to apologize to. Now let's see if we can find them before they leave campus."
"Uh, boss..."
"What is it, Man In Brick?"
"We still can't see..."
"GRAAAAAAAAAH!"
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Sept 17, 2018 1:04:42 GMT -5
Meanwhile, Daniel and the golden woman were on their feet, running faster than the wind, when...
The woman stepped on glass!
"AH! Fuq mé böd!" she cried.
Daniel didn't know what she was saying. He kept mum.
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Post by Toz76 on Sept 17, 2018 1:07:13 GMT -5
"Well, this is a problem..."
Suddenly, Daniel noticed an empty classroom.
"In there!"
Soon they were safely inside with the door shut.
"Now that we're stuck and you can't move, how about you explain some stuff?" Daniel asked.
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Post by Tug on Sept 28, 2018 20:55:19 GMT -5
The woman hopped on a table as she began to remove the glass stuck in her shoe.
"I'm... Jane... Aurate... Better known as the Woman in Gold, an associate of ours met with you yesterday and invited you to a meeting. I was put on surveillance duty to make sure no harm came to you before the allotted time. Though it seems our background check on your establishment of work was not as thorough as we thought." replied the woman
"So, wait... Are you with those 'Colormen' I heard about from yesterday? I didn't expect there to be women members with a name like that..." questioned Daniel
"It's a rather old organization, besides we usually go by Colorfolk since there are men and women factions. Though the use of men as a general term for the group stems from our use of the old use of the term man, where werman was used to denote males and woman was used to denote females... But right now that's not important, we have to get you out of here or who knows what those Reds might do to you." answered the Woman
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Sept 28, 2018 23:16:19 GMT -5
“Man, this is a lot to take in” Daniel said in exasperation. Though he had heard stories about them in his younger days, he always considered the Colormen to be... well, stories. But if this woman was here did that mean...?
“No, magic can’t be real, can it?” He began thinking to himself. “But still, it would explain a lot”
“Wait, none of this makes any sense. Even if I assume magic is real it doesn’t exist anymore, it disappeared after the late 1600s!” Daniel pointed out.
“It’s... a bit more complicated than that” Jane informed him. Then she explained “we’re going to make a run for it now” she stated.
“What?”
“Now!” And they bolted for the exit.
......
Five minutes later they were heading for the exit to the college grounds. They almost made it, when...
“This is as far as you go!” The voice shouted. The men in Red, Crimson, Scarlet, Brick, Cardinal, Ruby and Rose stood in a line, as if they were about to attack.
“Get begins me” woman in Gold said.
Daniel, horrified, found himself thinking about a time from his youth, of all things.
......
“Son, there are many things in this world that aren’t clear to the naked eye. There’s a lot I can’t tell you, but know this: someday you’re going to gain something extraordinary. In fact, some of it is already in you.” Andrew explained.
“It is?” The young Daniel asked.
“Yes. Now listen carefully Daniel. One day, you will find yourself in a situation where you cannot fight back. When that happens, here’s what you do. Stand firm, point at the enemy, and say this...”
......
“Dad, I hope you’re right” Daniel muttered as he pointed at the seven men.
“What are you going to do? Shoot lightning at us? You probably can’t even conjure a water drop” Alfred taunted. As the others laughed.
“Listen here, Alfred. I don’t know what’s going on, or what the hell it is you want with me... but my Dad said that this... uh, THIS will deal with you!” Daniel said, hesitating at first.
“Should we...?” The crimson one began.
“Nah, let him. What’s the worse that could happen?” Alfred shrugged it off.
“Glew bahk terdroi vilken shirak...” Daniel began
“Wait a minute, that’s...” Alfred said.
“Tolb nork jirac cilka zeen...”
Then Alfred looked terrified, “no! Not that one! Anything but that one!” He screamed in terror
“...Hirka gilvin!” Daniel finishes.
The seven tried to charge him but it was too late. To Daniel’s shock, large metallic cylinders formed around the seven’s legs. Then, he felt the ground rumble, as flames shot from the feet area and the seven took to the skies!
Daniel looked on with a weird mix of shock, awe, confusion and fear as the seven went higher and higher into the sky, until they became little more than mere specks and disappeared among the clouds.
Daniel let his arm down, still shocked by what just happened. “I don’t believe it. Was that... magic!?” He thought.
The Woman in Gold looked on with a grin. “Seems Daniel’s got some affinity after all” she thought.
“Did... did I do that?” Daniel asked, still just barely processing what was happening.
“Sure did” the woman nodded.
“Oh. Did I win?” Daniel asked innocently.
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Post by Toz76 on Sept 28, 2018 23:40:29 GMT -5
"You drove them off, but they'll be back. We have to get to the Klofroloc compound promptly."
Daniel looked confused. "That ugly bunch of warehouses in the bad part of town? That's where the wizards live in modern times?"
"It's easier to find than an abandoned tower in the forest, and it has wi-fi." Woman In Gold replied.
"Fair enough. Wait... are we just supposed to walk there?"
Woman In Gold fidgeted. "Er... can we use your car?"
"Um, I guess..."
Daniel owned a orange smart car. Woman In Gold was not impressed.
"This thing has zero crumple zones. If we get into a car chase, we will die. It's barely street legal!"
"Aww, don't be mean to Hilda!" Daniel pouted. "She does her best!"
"You named your car Hilda?"
Daniel blushed. "Hildegard S. Carrington IV, if you must know."
Woman In Gold snorted. "Let's just hope you can drive us safely."
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Sept 28, 2018 23:50:29 GMT -5
“Hey I’m not THAT clueless” Daniel muttered.
The two got in the car and drove off. It was lucky that Daniel was done for the day anyway, so no one suspected anything.
“So, what do you know about magic anyway?” Jane asked.
“I know that it doesn’t exist. Or rather... it shouldn’t anymore. It was something Dad told me; the most important tool to a magic user is knowledge. The ability to harness it, cast it, understand it, etc. But every few centuries or so major events happened that resulted in the destruction of irreplaceable knowledge. The fall of Rome, destruction of the library of Alexandria, the Black Death, the Spanish flu... you name it, it affected magic. Dad said in a story... if you want to truly destroy a faction, there’s two things you need to do: kill all its members and...”
“Burn the library” Jane finished.
“Yes, that’s right. So where are we going anyway, the last magic library on Earth?” Daniel asked.
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Post by Tug on Sept 28, 2018 23:59:19 GMT -5
"No, somewhere even better..."
.....
"He got away!" shouted a voice through a gem-like object in Man in Red's hands
"Sir, it wasn't our fault, she got the jump on us with that spell and..." was all Dremin could excuse before the voice on the other end continued to yell
"I knew you idiots couldn't handle this job! I should have sent the Yellows and Man in Green instead... Anyway, at least this confirms they've already scouted him AND that the bloodline still exists... Return to base, we need to reorganize our strategy after this blunder..."
"As you command... Man in Black Sir..."
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Sept 29, 2018 0:03:42 GMT -5
“Just understand... that may take a while!” Man in Red shouted as the seven found themselves flying somewhere over a giant swath of the Atlantic Ocean.
......
Daniel and Jane pulled up upon the warehouses.
“Uh... do I knock?” Daniel asked
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Sept 29, 2018 0:05:48 GMT -5
"Yes, but you've gotta do it the right way. I'm certain that you will know by instinct."
He didn't.
The two of them nearly ended up burnt to a crisp instead, as Daniel felt abused and bemused and Woman In Gold's anger meter was rising fast. She gave the correct knock, and the door opened.
"Welcome, my friends," said a voice.
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Post by Toz76 on Sept 29, 2018 0:13:57 GMT -5
"My name is Man In Grey. Welcome to... the Hall Of Wizardry."
The door opened onto a warehouse full of disassembled computers and stacks of crates.
"Okay, the Hall Of Wizardry is in the basement, actually." Man In Gray said, leading them to a service staircase at the edge of the room.
At the bottom of the staircase, he pushed open a pair of mahogany double doors to reveal a long hallway with a deep emerald carpet and matching floor and walls. Various doors branched off to the side, and at regular intervals, wooden tables stood, covered in piles of gems or strange magic devices. A man in white robes stood over some form of golden mechanical writing apparatus, tinkering with it.
"What is this place?" Daniel asked.
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Sept 29, 2018 1:02:53 GMT -5
“The Hall of Wizardry; our current base of operations” Man In Grey explained.
“This is incredible. All this hidden under a warehouse?” Daniel said in awe.
He looked around and saw all sorts of incredible things he never would have dreamed of. He turned into a hallway, and happened upon a portrait of a man. He seemed somewhat familiar, and yet he never met him before at the same time.
“Matthew Erdagovern, the first... Man In Blue?” He said in confusion. Going down the line of portraits, he seemed to be going down a family tree of sorts “Phillip, Howard, Hubert...Aaron, Richard, Quincy... grandfather?” He said, coming upon the second to last portrait. But that meant only one thing... coming to the last portrait, he teared up as he put his hand up against the wall beside the portrait
“...Dad...” He said sadly.
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Post by Biblically Accurate Angel on Sept 29, 2018 1:37:29 GMT -5
"Yes, dear lad, and one day when you're six feet under, rotting away in the ground, ye too shall be here!"
"I... don't suppose you magic people have discovered an elixir of life, eh?" Daniel asked.
"No, but we can totally trap you inside a fish bowl and turn your clothes into banana peels!" Man In Grey said, clapping Daniel on the back.
"Such progress," thought Daniel.
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Post by Toz76 on Sept 29, 2018 23:46:28 GMT -5
"Well, that's the thing about our order. Without our artifacts, we can't access any of our truly powerful magic. Just healing magic, defensive magic, a few miscellaneous repair spells, that sort of thing."
"Artifacts?" Daniel asked.
"Oh, right, you're new! Well, each bloodline has its own "artifact" that grants it unique and special powers. But until we reassemble the prism, which is impossible, we can't access them, so..."
"Prism?"
Man In Grey did a double take. "Wow, you're really new. Come on, let's go find Woman In Blue. She'll explain everything."
*******
In a dimly lit room, a blue-clad woman sat in front of a desk in contemplation. Five small glowing rocks, looking like pieces of a larger object, lay on the desk.
"Oh, where are those other 20 pieces..."
*****
In a rickety old mansion on the far side of the island, seven more glowing rocks sat in a dresser drawer. Next to the drawer, Man In Red was on his hands and knees, begging.
"Man In Off-White! Woman In Orange! Please understand, we did everything we could! It was Woman In Gold!"
"Please. You outnumbered her seven to one and you still failed. You're pathetic." Woman In Orange kicked him.
"We won't fail again! I promise!"
"You won't get the chance." Man In Off-White said. "Ghost White and I are going tonight to destroy his house. You're going to be on... potato duty."
"No! Not potato duty! Please! I'll do anything! Nooooooooooooo!"
******
On still another part of the island, a teenage boy saw four more shards sitting in a small glass dome in the room at the top of an ancient stone tower.
"What are those?"
"Now, Percy, my apprentice, don't touch those. We need them for the ritual. Just one more and we will finally be able to activate the device..."
*****
Daniel was led into a spacious room dominated by a long wooden table. A woman clad in long blue robes stood at the head of the table.
"Ah, Daniel! My name is Melody Tanjen, and I am-"
"You're Melody Klofroloc, inventor of the Klofroloc refrigerator and the closest thing this island has to a celebrity!"
"The refrigerators are just a front, I'm actually Woman In Blue-"
"Can I get your autograph! OMG what an honor!
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Post by frankthetriviaman on Sept 29, 2018 23:56:17 GMT -5
"No, I don't give autographs to college students" Melody replied bluntly.
This snapped Daniel out of his "starstruck" mode, since she on one of Daniel's nerves, "for crying out loud, I'm 30! I TEACH at a college" he shot back. "And I can't be that much younger than her..." he muttered to himself.
"Beg pardon?" Melody asked.
"... nothing important" Daniel was quick to reply.
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Post by Toz76 on Oct 20, 2018 23:54:34 GMT -5
"Anyway, Daniel, as I'm sure you've gathered, I am the leader of the Colorfolk, a faction of powerful magic knights who defend the realms of Elbaf and Ordos."
"So, magic is real? And it still exists?"
Woman In Blue chuckled. "Oh, Daniel. Of course it does. Thousands of people still use it. They've just chosen to make themselves scarce."
"Why?"
"Around the time of the Renaissance, technology began to outstrip magic. Even a musket could easily best a mage. See, with magic, there's not much room for subtlety. It's either too weak to matter or earth-shakingly powerful."
Daniel looked confused. "So... magic is real?"
"That's what I... *sigh*. This is why your father should have told you more earlier. Come on, I'll take you to our archivist to learn more about our history."
*****
A few doors down, a large, warmly lit room filled with mostly empty floor-to-ceiling wooden shelves greeted Daniel and Woman In Blue as they entered.
"Wow, that's not half bad."
"Oh, it's pretty bad." A voice said. A young-looking middle eastern woman peeked out from behind a shelf. "Most of the the Colorfolk's actual records are in the lost Great Hall Of The Colorfolk back on Ordos. What we have here are very incomplete files. You must be the new Man In Blue. I'm Woman In Silver. Pleasure to meet ya."
Daniel marveled at the files stored in the room. "So you must be the head archivist, then?"
"Oh, goodness no. I just come here a lot because I want to learn as much as I can about the history of magic. Most Colorfolk don't even live to be as old as me, so I guess reading really does lengthen your life."
"As long as you? But... you can't be a day over 25!"
"Oh, no, I'm actually 38! But I'm sure you know what it's like to be mistaken for someone younger."
Daniel blushed. "Yeah..."
"Hey, lovebirds! We're here to talk to the head archivist! Let's go!" Woman In Blue snapped.
"Oh, sorry! I'll get back to the training grounds!" Woman In Silver said. But before slipping out, she whispered some parting advice to Daniel. "Watch out for the head archivist. He's not a bad guy, but he lost his wife and son to a magic cultists a few years ago, and I think he resented your dad for not losing you."
Daniel looked confused, but waved goodbye to his new friend as Woman In Blue lead him through the shelves. The back of the room was much less pleasant. Wooden paneling gave way to bare stone walls and ceiling, and the electric lighting was also unfinished, so honest-to-god torches were the only lighting.
A man in gold robes sat at a bare wooden table at the far end of the room. He was only in his early forties, but grief had aged him. His hair was grey and his face creased, and a look of sorrow was in his deep amber eyes.
"Man In Blue, may I present our head archivist, Man In Gol-"
"Go away."
"Excuse me?"
"The Auxiliary Archive is not accepting visitors at this time. Good day."
"Listen here, Man In Gold, the new Man In Blue is here and he needs to be taught our history. I figured the head archivist would be the right man for the job."
"Any idiot can recite names and dates. I have important work to do translating this ancient Orcish scroll. Get someone else to do it."
"Very well then..." Woman In Blue sighed.
"Sorry about him..." she whispered as they returned to the front of the room. "He used to be a kind, compassionate man, until the Cult Of The Horned One... well, it can't be helped. He knew the risks."
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