5121/The Mad Magician Comes To Call

The Mad Magician Comes To Call
Date of Scene:	06 March 2017
Location:	Beacon of Progress
Synopsis:	Theurgus seeks out Flamel's bosses after talking to him. Instead, she meets Staren, Nine, and Rhapsody.
Cast of Characters:	Staren, 1103, 325, 269

---

Staren has posed:
    The Beacon of Progress!

    The land juts out into the ocean here, close to water level compared to the high cliffs behind it. The Tooth has long been carved into a tower and many rooms escavated inside -- the League's members certainly have ample ways of doing so!

    Now, there's a decent amount of traffic coming and going, by land, air, and sea. Scientists, engineers and inventors, adventurers and mercenaries -- it takes all types to keep the League running, except the type that would fight against progress! Staren, at this particular moment, is outside where a few people are mingling around, as someone showing off a refinement in oven technology has used it to bake cookies. Mm, fresh, chocolate chip cookies. That's a good reason to come down from your ivory tower for a bit.

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    Click, click, click.

    That's the sound of hard heelboots walking along the stone. The source comes into view a few moments later. A tallish woman, blue hair flowing in the light sea breeze as she holds her pointed hat down so it doesn't blow away. Blue eyes catch the site of the building, and a look of academic appreciation crosses her face. "Facinating. That such things could exist outside of the System..." She keeps walking, and finally the smell of cookies catches her nose.

    Theurgus angles over, and with a lofted hand and a pleasant smile. "Greetings and salutations!" she offers as way of greeting.

Staren has posed:
    Staren's ears turn towards the newcomer, followed by his eyes. He looks her over, chewing a mouthful of cookie. While using his headcomputer to check if she's in the League's personnel file. And then to compare her voice to the one just heard on the radio. After an awkward moment of chewing, he swallows, and smiles a bit. "Hi. You're here to discuss... something about Parsons, I take it?"

Rhapsody (325) has posed:
    Not far from the new marvel of baking technology, a mostly white and 'red headed' dragon is enjoying the sweetened results. Such baking needs to be documented! Though not so much by the guildmaster. There's a pair of magewrights nearby with clipboards drawing a lot of notes. Maybe some of the tech used for heating could be adapted! Who knows?

    Seeing as she was the one to invite Theurgus to the Beacon, the sound of the magician's arrival earns both a wave and an offer of the deliciousness the new oven produced only a little while earlier. "Hello, there!" and then a cookie is presented. "Welcome to the Beacon! That.." A motion at Staren, "Is Staren, I'm Rhapsody Mizzet and .. well the rest can introduce themselves. Can we have your name, please?"

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    Theurgus nods, doffing her hat and bowing in a flourished sweep. "Theurgus, DCC of Diamond Drive of the System, The Mad Magician, at your service." she replies to Rhapsody, placing the hat back atop her head, before accepting the cookie. "I spoke with your colleague just yesterday. I recently reconnected with The System's hub after several terracycles offline. Reasons for this I will not go into."

    She munches the cookie, nodding appreciatively. "Wonderful." she comments, before resuming. "We, discussed his knowledge of The Organization, a terrible threat not only to The System, but to this greater world as well. They have agents everywhere, far wider spread than I had originally feared."

Rhapsody (325) has posed:
    The.. System. Huh. This sounds -fascinating- but something she'd have to ask about later. "Well met, Theurgus. I've actually worked with Agent Parsons on an occasion, very interesting man with some very unique talents. I can't say he spoke of this Organization you've mentioned, though. I'm sure we can help with it, though."

No. 9 (269) has posed:
    Nine is, here. It's probably better that he doesn't, that he isn't, but he is, and he does. Watch, that is. Big, hulking, ugly, oh so ugly... he's watching. With those ugly eery glowing eyes of his, watching. Nostrils flared, watching. Full paranoia mode, watching. And he's watching Theurgus with a deep and open suspicion, head low like some sort of animal and craning to every movement.

    Staren oddly enough gets the strangest sort of helpless blinking glance, the big King Golem just looking sort of, lost, for a moment, before shaking his head out like some sort of beast, blinking, and returning his eyes to the guest. Perhaps someone isn't used to the new changeover yet.

    There's a pause, a blink, and then snffsnffsnffsnffsnffsnff, another blink and Staren is getting sniffed. Huh. Chocolate chip, that's what he's smelling.

    Huh.

    But then he's back to scowling watchful hulking bodyguard monster thing again, and Staren's hair only slightly mussed. Lucky him, eh?

    Rhapsody gets a quick glance, and a bit of a swallow. At least she's too small to swallow him whole. He's had entirely enough of that.

Staren has posed:
    "DCC?" Staren echoes, not sure what the acronym is for. He listens with interest, giving Nine a curious look and smoothing his hair with his fingers after, nodding a quick greeting to Nine before looking back to Theurgus. Then as she mentions The Organization, he sort of... he doesn't actually, sigh, but his body language says 'Oh great, conspiracy theories'. He then straightens up and looks at her. "Parsons is a conspiracy nut. For all I know there may be a shadowy Organization on his world, but I doubt they could have the resources to establish a multiverse-wide network. Trust me, I tried to figure out how we could do the same with the Daedalus Initiative, to look for dangers that need investigating, but in practice all we can do is try to monitor a /tiny fraction/ of what goes on in the internets of some worlds. Even the new Factions can't have eyes everywhere."

    Staren blinks. "Anyway, despite that, Parsons /is/ an expert on psychic and psychological phenomena and on diving into people's minds to help them. Oh! I'm Staren, a researcher for the League." He extends a hand to shake. "Although I'm not actually researching much at the moment... Been kind of taking it easy the past couple of months. It's been five years since I had last had a real break, so..." he shrugs. "But I'm looking for new research opportunities all the same! Um... I'm afraid I have absolutely no familiarity with your world, so, um... how can we help you?"

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    "Ah, Drive Core Controller. I suppose if you must be mundane, I am a 'Goddess'." Theurgus shrugs. "I dislike the term myself." She holds herself with an easy countenance, almost casual in fact. "Ah, this League is a haven for the learned? Facinating."

    She regards Nine with a curious expression. "A facinating piece of engineering, if a bit crude around the edges." she comments, leaning in to inspect the Golem for a few moments.

    Staren's comment about the Organization just earns him a suspicious glance... she steps back a half step, turns slightly away, then mutters something into a small marble she pulls from her pocket.

Rhapsody (325) has posed:
    Drive core? While the Izzet Guildmaster isn't well versed on computer technology, she can at least reconigze it. This world is sounding more and more and MORE interesting. "Oh -wow-," she lets slip before she agrees with the woman's statement. "The League of Progress! All kinds of things are researched here about a number of things by a large contingent of people. It would take a while to go over everything, I'll admit.

    A curious glance is given the DCC as she turns, "Ah, is everything okay? The world I'm from, I have to deal with a 'shadow organization' a LOT. So, if you need a way for us to prove our trust.. I'm sure we can do that."

Staren has posed:
    Staren quirks a brow when she calls herself a 'goddess', but looks approving as she says she has distaste for the term. Then he frowns a bit as she comments on Nine. "He's a /person/." Staren points out, almost growling.

    Staren sighs openly as Theurgus seems more concerned about The Organization. "So, you think I'm in with 'them' just because you talked to him first? Did he give you any actual evidence of this Organization? Is an Organization the best-fitting explanation for said evidence? Come on. You came to a haven for the learned, as you put it. Learned people... everything we've achieved, came from learning facts and truths, and using them to shape the world the way we wanted. ...I'm not saying I know for absolute sure there's no Organization. it just seems pretty unlikely that there's a Multiverse-wide threat noone's heard of but Parsons."

No. 9 (269) has posed:
    Nine's not meaning to be rude but the snort comes out kind of explosively and without intention behind it. "Not all of it." Yeah, he was snorting over the learned bit, not the goddess bit. He's met goddesses, just... it's not ever something he's going to be used to. "Some of us just protect th' folks what do th' thinkin." A headtip to Staren, a glance to Rhapsody. He doesn't really know her well enough.

    Nine doesn't seem to mind the close up inspection, his raspy rattling cough low and somewhat reserved. "Y' should've seen me before they upgraded me." Ah, the Confederate cyberneticists. Blew anything out of the water from back home that's for sure.

    But at the mutter the Golem stiffens, eyes narrowing, suddenly suspicious, body tensing if he has to suddenly move.

No. 9 (269) has posed:
    A glance to Staren, and he snorts. "Barely." It is technically true.

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    Theurgus puts the marble away, giving Staren a look, before she smiles. "That's how they operate." is all she says in response to the catboy scientist. Rhapsody earns a nod. "At least your mind is open... I have met far too many who only think of facts. Sometimes the facts can be clouded and foggy.

Rhapsody (325) has posed:
    "Eh heh.. well, to be -fair-, the world I'm from? I have to deal with a fully existing shadowy organization that is constantly attempting to dismantle everything the guilds and my father worked to build. SO... I can understand trust issues if such an organization -may- exist, regardless of evidence. It may, it may not, but I'd reserve judgement until more information is available. SO.." she offers a small smile, "What can we do to help you, if you would -like- us to help?"

Staren has posed:
    More eye-rolling. Staren opens his mouth to reply, then shakes his head. "You know what? I'm too old for this shit. I couldn't persuade you out of a wet paper bag, anyway. Good luck in your future endeavors, and maybe you'll find a place here if you have some useful skill. But demonstrating that skill will require /evidence/." He turns and goes to get another cookie.

    He imagines how THIS conversation with Twilight is going to go:"You didn't have to be so rude. She's new to the Multiverse. She hasn't seen it all. Would /you/ know who to trust?" "I didn't really trust anyone besides Morg, until you." She sighs. "But think about that. When you were convinced the Union would turn on you at any moment... would you have believed someone you just met telling you they wouldn't?" Staren hangs his head.

    Staren hangs his head in reality too, then turns around and walks back to Theurgus, standing up straight again. "I'm sorry. You have no reason to trust two random people you just met. Be as cautious as you feel you need to be... although I admit I'm not sure what we /can/ do for you, if you suspect I'm secretly an agent of this Organization, but I'm willing to at least listen."

No. 9 (269) has posed:
A low, raspy laugh. "I used t' be part a an organization. Parta, endin, everythin. Half illuminadi, half cult, but... aint, no, power behind it. Not fer sumthin like this. N' now it's all jest so much dust in th' wind, yannow? In th' big picture, aint a place for lil rough bits like us. Like a, small, flame. In th' face a it all, dun take much of a gust t' just blow it out."

    A blink, then, headtip, "Sounds like what yer talkin bout s' a bit more of a ground-in thing, th' real deep stainin, frum th' way y'all'r talkin bout it."

    A glance to Staren. He'll remember that he tried to defend him, to stand up for him.

    There's a very distant whuuuuouummn... and then suddenly next to Nine is a slightly scrawnier figure to his hulking bulk done in red with a face mask, very similar however to his somewhat gangling wrongness. Nine's head turning, he blinks, rasping out, "Whut? I- okay." And then a nod to the others, and he turns. "I gotta go." A glance, and then a deep breath, and a clunky metallic hand is offered to Theurgus. "It was an honor miss Mad Goddess Ma'am, I must away with me. Now, know, if you harm anna a my guys over here while I'm out, I wun bat an eyelid at huntin you down n' extractin it long and painful outta yer hide, deific r' not, n' th' concequences be damned, hey? Alright you two, play nice wif 'er over ere n' Staren, dun you be rude, some a us ARE wif terrible organizations bent on death destruction n' chaos, alright? Jest cus we aint annamore dun mean we have a clear resume so t' speak." And with that he's striding away, metallic whirrs and clicks muffled and distant within him.

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    "I have evidence." Theurgus replies. "Though I originally came here to seek those of like mind. I seek wisdom and knowledge, regardless of the source. Anything to further my efforts to fight The Organization of course." she looks to Nine as he speaks and turns to leave, but says nothing in response. Facinating.

    Rhapsody earns a look. It's an odd look to be sure. A mix of suspicion, pity, and understanding. "Let us hope The Organization does not contact your world until we are ready then."

Rhapsody (325) has posed:
    "Agreed. I have enough to deal with there, a whole second organization would be unhelpful, I have no doubt of that. That aside, if you're looking for assistance, I'd be happy to help at the very least. If you'd like a tour, either here or of my operations in Ravnica, I'd be happy to oblige. I will note, though? I spend more of my time in Ravnica than here, so.." she takes on a rather sheepish look, "I'm not entirely familiar with the League's base here at the Beacon. I'm not sure if you know what 'taxes' are but for the first part of a year, they are the bane of my existence."

Staren has posed:
    Why is she so convinced? Is she a conspiracy nut, or does she have actual evidence she refuses to share because she thinks they might be with the organization? Imaginary Twilight can only do so much. "Regarding finding help, I'm sorry but evidence would really help. Even if it seems like something others would discard or say is silly... If it can well be explained by the existence of this Organization... Honestly, I should have asked Flamel what information he has instead of... I... I'm not good with people, okay? But I'm happy to help if you can give me something to work with."

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    Theurgus eyes Staren curiously... and then with a flick of her left wrist as that arm lifts, she produces a dossier file... it looks like someone took the Folder symbol off a computer and made it a real world object. This is passed to Staren for his perusal. "That is a /copy/ of all the information I have gathered on the Organization's inner workings. They were contained to my Drive, but have rapidly expanded in the time it took to reestablish the System Bus connection. An insidious force."

    The folder contains... an amazing amount of data, crossreferencing incidents withing Locus, the surrounding Drive Space, and more recently, similar incidents within the System Hub and other Drives, that she's been made aware of. All that within only a day or reconnecting. It's kind of astonishing.

    Rhapsody earns a much more pleasant look. This one understands. This one knows. "This is why I sought out Mister Parsons or those he worked with. Assistance would be greatly appreciated. Though the other DCCs would likely be more immediately useful, only one seems to share my interest in knowledge and learning. The others ae barbaric and backward. Using force before thought."

Staren has posed:
    Staren quirks a brow at the physical form of the 'folder' and starts looking through it. "...Okay then. I'll need time to look through this..." He does start reading it.

Rhapsody (325) has posed:
    The Guildmaster imagines the file would be posted sooner or later, so she'd let the most analytical person she knows filter through the file that's offered up. All the tech talk is just that to her. Tech talk. She knows that it sounds like computer parts, but that's the extent of it. Not exactly -what- the words mean. While providing internet access to Ravnica is something the Izzet is -slowly- working toward, it is by no means a priority to a world ran more by magic then technology. Something she realizes she has to admit to.

    "They sound awful, for what it is worth, Theurgus. I'll see about helping however I can, howeeeever, I have to admit that some of the terms you are using I don't understand. I kind of understand the innerworkings of a, .. um.. of your System but my world by no means works in the same way." She hesitates to say 'a computer' mostly because she isn't sure just how everything is perceived by the people of this System. She's willing to LEARN, no doubt, but to do that she has to make sure Theurgus realizes people outside the System may not know how it works.

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    Rhapsody's admission earns an odd reaction. Theurgus lifts the back of her hand up and covers her mouth, and starts to chuckle. "Kukukuku, wahahahaha!" it's the sound of someone who's not entirely there. Somewhere between Cloud Cuckoo and Wally's Wonderful. The laughter doesn't so much end as it fades away, the DCC beaming a brilliant smile. "I had thought as much just by looking at you. You come from a world steeped in magic, with technology being derived from that magic, instead of the other way around, correct?" she asks, though she seems to already know the answer.

    "You would enjoy a stay in Locus. My Drive houses many works of arcane knowledge, eldritch tomes and other such things." She then comes to the point at hand, lifting her left arm and holding up a finger as if addressing a lecture. "A System Bus is the connection point between a Drive and the System Hub. It allows resources from the Hub to enter the Drive. Drive Space is just that. Open space. Locus itself sits on a series of floating islands above the Drive Base Partition, the 'Bottom of the world'. There are other uninhabited islands which are slowly being expanded into as our city grows."

Rhapsody (325) has posed:
    At first, Rhapsody isn't sure what to make of the sudden laughter that is directed her way. In fact, it may be easy to see that if it had gone much longer, the guildmaster may have gotten a bit irritated. At least the wizard makes a REALLY good guess, and then moves on to explain a bit of how her world works. That calms things down in the dragon's mind.

    "I think that may be a really good idea," she says first. A visit in trade for a visit? Certainly! Why not? "First? That's either a hell of a guess or you already know about Ravnica. Either way? Impressive. Second: I think I would! Magic in other worlds is always interesting, regardless of if it can be learned or not. It sounds like your world is really really interesting in how it works. I'm certainly curious, if nothing else.

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    "Well my Drive is dedicated to it. The others, not so much. Britannica is more about the mundane sort of literature, the other, younger Drives are about other things, these do not interest me." replies Theurgus. "As for magic... a demonstration is perhaps in order." She steps away, and with a flourish of her left hand, summons her weapon. A black metal staff with a large block at the head, inlaid with a pulsing gemstone. It cycles through various colours, then the woman turns, and points at an empty section of stone. The gem locks in a deep orange-red. "Burn in the mad fire!" A spark erupts from a point near a series of boulders, then explodes in a pillar of searing flame.

Rhapsody (325) has posed:
    Well, Rhapsody would have said she believed her, but a moment later a boulder is set on fire. Impressive! No doubt of it, so the dragon gives a nod of approval. "Classic," she states, drawing on her red spellblade, "Little secret, there are five schools of magic in Ravnica. Six if you count artifacts. I actually have a bit of trouble with all except the red school, but.." the blade starts to crackle before its pointed outward and a thunderous bolt lances off of it and into a similarly sized bolder. It may not errupt into fire but the it's bright and pretty damn loud. "No reason to give up a weapon that was made for me."

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    Theurgus nods as Rhapsody explains. "There are five elements in the System. Fire. Wind. Lightning. Ice and Sound. I am capable of channeling and using them all, however I do not focus on a single one, unlike my peers." she replies, twirling the staff, and with a shift from orange-red to green, the flaming boulder is buffetted by gusts of wind, sending it carreening off the side of the outcrop, into the water where it steams and the fire goes out.

Rhapsody (325) has posed:
    Another nod, "Very nice. My guild focuses on the Red and Blue schools, and one of our best members works with Green a lot, but beyond that we do not work with White or Black. I could go into a bit more detailed lesson, sometime, if you like. My guild, the Izzet, focus on maintaining Ravnica's utilities, but we are also the innovative center of Ravnica. I'm sure you'd get along with the magewrights very well."

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    "I believe so." replies Theurgus, dismissing her staff in a flurry of numbers and a flash of light. "An amazing accomplishment. I am certain if nothing else, your 'Izzet League' would benefit the Diamond Drive."

Rhapsody (325) has posed:
    "I like to think so! The Izzet League, much like the League of Progress here, is all about innovation, invention, and making things better for those that they service. I would hope we can learn a lot from your world, while you learn a bit from us so we can help you out. We'll have to arrange the visits. I'm curious about your world, though you sound like you already know a lot about mine." The sword is sheathed and then the guildmaster turns back to Theurgus, hand extended. "If it hasn't already been said, welcome, if not back, to the multiverse. A lot has changed recently."

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    "We disconnected from The System before this Multiverse." replies Theurgus. "As for knowledge, merely suposition. I can read people, in my opinion, rather well."

Rhapsody (325) has posed:
    Awkward moment, hand returns to her side. "Well I'm impressed, then," Rhapsody admits. "If you want, I can provide you my frequency as well as the band I give the folks I consider my allies that are outside the League of Progress. All you'd have to do then is reach out via that frequency. I -highly- trust everyone on the Izzet band, too."

Theurgus (1103) has posed:
    Not skipping a beat, Theurgus folds her arms in front of her chest, chuckling softly. "Perhaps a good idea. You understand how The Organization works, even if on a smaller scale. So if you trust these people... I see no reason not to trust them either." she opens her eyes and looks at Rhapsody like a predator at prey, if only briefly. "I can see a very strong friendship, between Locus and Ravnica." and then she throws her head back, laughing. "Waaahahahahaha!"

Rhapsody (325) has posed:
    An actual head tilt is the dragon's first response, but her own arms fold a moment later. That gaze is met and is very telling that this dragon is no one's dinner ticket, nor would it ever be. Four previous massive events have happened and failed in Ravnica, after all. "I don't know about -all- of Ravnica, but the Izzet Sector, yes, I would agree." The laugh is ... mostly shrugged off for now. "You should speak with someone a little more important in the League of Progress. I think you'd get along with the rest of the group pretty well."