[ NPC ] move fast, stay low, be the first for all they know.

[nightwash]

WHO: Ronan Lynch & Ambrose Rhett
WHAT: Ambrose rejects Ronan's scheme to move against Solvunn.
WHERE: The High Mage's Tower in Castle Thorne
WHEN: After Eifstide

"Why the hell not?" Ronan demands.

Maybe that's the wrong tone to be taking with the High Mage, but it's just the two of them now and there's no one here to stop him. Anyway, an explanation's not too much to ask for. It's a good plan. It's a fucking brilliant plan, actually, and the only reason not to let him do it must be because they don't think he can pull it off.

If that's the case, they're dead wrong. He's perfected it. He's been experimenting with it for weeks. Longer, actually, if he counts his time studying under Bryde back home. It's not easy magic, of course. It's expensive, Bryde used to say. But Ronan's paid up. He's put in the time. He could march out of this room and have dozens of people under his enchantment with the detonation of a single elegant dream.

"They wouldn't even see me," he presses on, stalking closer to Ambrose. "It wipes them out for a good hour. At least. They're so braindead they're lucky they remember how to breathe. Then we're gone and it wears off and it's no harm done. They deserve a lot worse after what they just did with the dead. We're being real fucking merciful here."

Comments

[abraxasnpcs]

"Excellent."

He did not expect Ronan to shirk from the task at hand, but it is the agreement he needs nonetheless.

Ambrose motions for Ronan to move back towards the doorway and his study.

"No small amount of effort has been expended to this project. I trust I don't need to impress upon you the demand for confidence... This is something of a personal project."

Not everything needs the sanction and oversight of the Monarchy. Not in the name of progress.

[nightwash]

Ronan's head swims as he steps out of the chamber and back into the study. He can't tell whether it's the reliquary that's gotten him all giddy or the quest itself. He's already forgotten what he originally intended to accomplish here, swept up in the challenge ahead of him. He hadn't imagined Ambrose would allow him to return to the Singularity — at least, not anytime soon. Now here he is, not only invited but tasked with harnessing its energy.

"I'll keep my mouth shut," Ronan assures the High Mage. He's an expert in secrecy, being what he is, and once he's given his word, he's bound to it. Especially since he owes Ambrose in particular a debt he doubts he can repay.

"When it's finished, do I hand it off to one of your people or bring it here myself?"

[abraxasnpcs]

Ambrose gives a curt nod as the door closes automatically behind them, followed by a series of small chimes as the magical wards reapply themselves to the barrier. No one goes in or out without his explicit permission and invitation.

"Bring it to me directly. It's existence is known enough amongst my apprentices, but this is an experiment I want to verify with my own eyes."

He pulls a suitable sack of dark woven cloth from in between a few heavy tomes and hands it over to Rowan pointedly. It is big enough to conceal the reliquary and then some.

"However..."

He pauses, glancing towards a large clock and calendar on the wall near his desk.

"We may find a use for it sooner than later. Make it ready before the land begins to dim. Then will be the true test."