The circle illuminated under the shadowy orb, but light did not meet the surface. Instead it bled through to the ceiling, as if there was nothing in the circle. Six’s true form seemed to consume the glow, but the creature's circular shape began to reduce, flattening into more of the shape of a sunken bao.
Some of the runes around the creature’s form would light up indicating a strange pattern for its shape. Six had the same make-up as a druid’s familiar, but with additions that would make that assessment difficult to support.
Moreover, the rune to detect the mental connection remained dark.
“Runes…” the orb gasped, undulating now, “... so familiar… yet so far…”
Ruarc could feel the shadowy ball was regarding him, somehow. “Archdru–... Arch… Flyn-... Maeve… No… Flynn... Agh… What do you intend… to do with me?”
[The Office] An Unwanted Gift
Re: [The Office] An Unwanted Gift
Simply ignoring the entity at this point, Ruarc examined the illuminated runes with the trained interest of an investigator. Crystal glass in hand, Ruarc moved around the circle with no hurry, and only once he returned to his started position did he go to take a sip from the glass and realize he hadn't refilled after his last one. With bottle in hand, the Irishman casually continued ignoring Six.
"I intend to ensure you are not a threat to my school," Ruarc's voice filled the office with a sense of finality. Turning back around his eyes were cold and hard. This school and all of its occupants were precious to him, and he would fight tooth and nail to the bitter end against anyone trying to harm them; and he had proved in the past that he was not above using dark magic to hammer that point home. This was not the Ruarc that welcomed people into his home for tea, nor was this the Ruarc that patiently taught rune crafting or played tag out in the woods. Ruarc didn't like this aspect of himself, didn't like how angry and exacting he could become, but as long as his kin were safe he could convince himself it was worth it.
Walking back, Ruarc reached out, and with a sharp slash the Keeper broke the circle with a strike of his fountain pen; the energy releasing and knocking motes of dust from the ceiling. Ruarc sighed and slumped into his chair as he rubbed at the forehead. Rhythmic tapping began as his fingers drummed on the desk. The world was changing, and whether he liked it or not he needed to be prepared for it. He had increased his arsenal after years of various close calls, but that didn't stop him from almost dying in a French castle. He had been practicing new spells after his and Jane's run-in with Alexei, but that didn't prepare him for the Lamplighters. Even the Druid Order was beginning to feel eldritch to him, but the only choice he was being given was to continuing pressing forward. More than anything right now, Ruarc needed information. The world was changing, and Ruarc needed to keep up.
"No more hiding in the cottage," he thought to himself.
"Alright, Ciarán, we'll start at the top. The letter mentions you were a project of an old druid friend. Who was this druid? What was their connection with Heddwyn and the Lamplighter's? And What kind of project were you?"
"I intend to ensure you are not a threat to my school," Ruarc's voice filled the office with a sense of finality. Turning back around his eyes were cold and hard. This school and all of its occupants were precious to him, and he would fight tooth and nail to the bitter end against anyone trying to harm them; and he had proved in the past that he was not above using dark magic to hammer that point home. This was not the Ruarc that welcomed people into his home for tea, nor was this the Ruarc that patiently taught rune crafting or played tag out in the woods. Ruarc didn't like this aspect of himself, didn't like how angry and exacting he could become, but as long as his kin were safe he could convince himself it was worth it.
Walking back, Ruarc reached out, and with a sharp slash the Keeper broke the circle with a strike of his fountain pen; the energy releasing and knocking motes of dust from the ceiling. Ruarc sighed and slumped into his chair as he rubbed at the forehead. Rhythmic tapping began as his fingers drummed on the desk. The world was changing, and whether he liked it or not he needed to be prepared for it. He had increased his arsenal after years of various close calls, but that didn't stop him from almost dying in a French castle. He had been practicing new spells after his and Jane's run-in with Alexei, but that didn't prepare him for the Lamplighters. Even the Druid Order was beginning to feel eldritch to him, but the only choice he was being given was to continuing pressing forward. More than anything right now, Ruarc needed information. The world was changing, and Ruarc needed to keep up.
"No more hiding in the cottage," he thought to himself.
"Alright, Ciarán, we'll start at the top. The letter mentions you were a project of an old druid friend. Who was this druid? What was their connection with Heddwyn and the Lamplighter's? And What kind of project were you?"
Re: [The Office] An Unwanted Gift
Once the circle broke, the dark bun of shadow on Ruarc's desk began to convulse, and something vaguely avian looked as though it was trying to break out. There was the faint shape of a wing that turned over before the fleshy form of Six rolled free of the ball. The bird flopped over and laid on the flat desk for a moment, before pressing his beak onto the lacquered surface to push himself up. After panting for a moment, he started to pick at his sides before he looked over his shoulder.
"Oh. You mean me? Yes of course. Who else would you... would you be talking to? Ciarán. Ciarán?"
The corpse bird appeared to lose focus.
"No, my name is... I don't have a name... your familiar... she named me. Six Piece… Fried Chicken Bucket. Ciarán…? No… I don’t have a name.”
Six began to become delirious. Heddwyn had clearly charged the bird with enough energy to make his end slow. From Ruarc’s estimate, the familiar had roughly a quarter to half an hour to go at best. Even so, Six fell off his talons, and sat, unable to support himself, even as an image.
“No name… I am… The druids, they… they did not want me… Heddwyn said a druid surrendered me to him… No name… No name… Heddwyn said I never had a name. The druids… did not want me… didn’t want me… because I was a freak. Heddwyn said.”
The bird mumbled, but the failing illusion was now casting the noise straight from the shadowy ball.
“Heddwyn said he made me better… the secrets the druids told him… Name… Name name… Name…
A bit of drool edged off the bird’s beak.
“Name…”
The saliva fell to the desk and disappeared.
“Maeve… Maeve…”
Six repeated the name, and it had a reviving effect. The bird looked up at him, tilting his featherless head.
“Maeve. Do you know her? Heddwyn said nothing… But Maeve. Maeve… Do you know her?”
"Oh. You mean me? Yes of course. Who else would you... would you be talking to? Ciarán. Ciarán?"
The corpse bird appeared to lose focus.
"No, my name is... I don't have a name... your familiar... she named me. Six Piece… Fried Chicken Bucket. Ciarán…? No… I don’t have a name.”
Six began to become delirious. Heddwyn had clearly charged the bird with enough energy to make his end slow. From Ruarc’s estimate, the familiar had roughly a quarter to half an hour to go at best. Even so, Six fell off his talons, and sat, unable to support himself, even as an image.
“No name… I am… The druids, they… they did not want me… Heddwyn said a druid surrendered me to him… No name… No name… Heddwyn said I never had a name. The druids… did not want me… didn’t want me… because I was a freak. Heddwyn said.”
The bird mumbled, but the failing illusion was now casting the noise straight from the shadowy ball.
“Heddwyn said he made me better… the secrets the druids told him… Name… Name name… Name…
A bit of drool edged off the bird’s beak.
“Name…”
The saliva fell to the desk and disappeared.
“Maeve… Maeve…”
Six repeated the name, and it had a reviving effect. The bird looked up at him, tilting his featherless head.
“Maeve. Do you know her? Heddwyn said nothing… But Maeve. Maeve… Do you know her?”
Re: [The Office] An Unwanted Gift
"You said that name before. Maeve. Maeve who?" Ruarc's voice was tinged with urgency. For what it was worth he did feel pity for this creature, but his urgency was the result of him hitting some manner of kill switch. With distinct irritation Ruarc began to make a mental list of potential questions to ask amid deciphering the familiar's diminishing capacity for speech. Whiskey set aside and forgotten, Ruarc was leaning forward with his fingers laced as he stared at Six.
"Who was Maeve to the Druids?"
"Who was Maeve to the Druids?"
Re: [The Office] An Unwanted Gift
"Maeve... Maeve... Who?"
Six's delirium continued, despite the bird trying to maintain some sense of self. If the familiar didn't get some sort of connection, he would likely continue this gentle descent. For Ruarc's sake, Six nipped at his wingless nubs, biting them, and something about this forced some cognizance.
"Maeve. Maeve? Maeve. It hurts… It hurts to think… of her name… She was a… A sage…"
The bird's eyes tracked something on the ceiling as it carried on.
"Maeve… Why does it hurt…? Why does it hurt everything but the body…? She was… she was doing something she wasn't… supposed to do… Outside her lane? Save it… for the Keepers…"
At that he looked at Ruarc again.
"Did she abandon me? … No… She would never… Why? She died."
The bird tipped over to one side laying flat now..
"Oh gods… she died…"
He curled up, mewling a sad noise as he did so.
"No… No, I don't… want to remember. Take it away… keep it away… It hurts. Hurts. Hurts."
The shape of the shadowy ball fell away like an egg breaking open. What remained was the black skeleton of a bird that was laid out the same way Six was. In the open rib cage was a gnarled blue stone that seemed to drink in the shadows around it.
Six's delirium continued, despite the bird trying to maintain some sense of self. If the familiar didn't get some sort of connection, he would likely continue this gentle descent. For Ruarc's sake, Six nipped at his wingless nubs, biting them, and something about this forced some cognizance.
"Maeve. Maeve? Maeve. It hurts… It hurts to think… of her name… She was a… A sage…"
The bird's eyes tracked something on the ceiling as it carried on.
"Maeve… Why does it hurt…? Why does it hurt everything but the body…? She was… she was doing something she wasn't… supposed to do… Outside her lane? Save it… for the Keepers…"
At that he looked at Ruarc again.
"Did she abandon me? … No… She would never… Why? She died."
The bird tipped over to one side laying flat now..
"Oh gods… she died…"
He curled up, mewling a sad noise as he did so.
"No… No, I don't… want to remember. Take it away… keep it away… It hurts. Hurts. Hurts."
The shape of the shadowy ball fell away like an egg breaking open. What remained was the black skeleton of a bird that was laid out the same way Six was. In the open rib cage was a gnarled blue stone that seemed to drink in the shadows around it.
Re: [The Office] An Unwanted Gift
Raising a hand to remove his glasses for a moment, Ruarc then rubbed at his eyes before grabbing pulling the forgotten whiskey back in front of him. Pulling over a notepad and a pencil he began to scribble notes about the familiar's broken rambling. Maeve had been one of the Sages, and had apparently crossed some lines. Save it for the Keepers? Was she doing stuff that should have been done by a Keeper? She had died at some point, and Ruarc cursed the woefully inaccurate guess of Six lasting for another quarter hour. Had he another question he would have asked how long ago Six left Maeve's service, but as is Six could have been working with Heddwyn for two weeks or two decades; Ruarc would not find out from Six.
"Pretty shite gifts, Heddwyn. One piece of potentially bugged information, one piece of useless information, and a hand-me-down with ten minutes of battery left," Ruarc lamented, speaking at least passively at Aurus. Glasses back on, he refocused himself and looked at the stone that had been left behind in Six's carcass. One last attempt at a curse perhaps? Closing his right eye for a moment, he activated the detection magic of his enchanted eye.
"Let's see if this things cursed, shall we?" Ruarc gingerly maneuvered the stone into a better viewing position with the tip of his pencil.
"Pretty shite gifts, Heddwyn. One piece of potentially bugged information, one piece of useless information, and a hand-me-down with ten minutes of battery left," Ruarc lamented, speaking at least passively at Aurus. Glasses back on, he refocused himself and looked at the stone that had been left behind in Six's carcass. One last attempt at a curse perhaps? Closing his right eye for a moment, he activated the detection magic of his enchanted eye.
"Let's see if this things cursed, shall we?" Ruarc gingerly maneuvered the stone into a better viewing position with the tip of his pencil.
Re: [The Office] An Unwanted Gift
With pencil in hand, Ruarc could feel power emanating off the stone. As his hand got closer, he heard the voice of a woman.
”... why are you here…”
There was something bound up in the stone, tightly holding together what Six was. His eye could see the energies fluctuating inward and pulling tightly on the shadowy strands of the skeleton. As it seemed, there was nothing of Six left but the body, but the stone still seemed to function
”... I can’t, they’ll…”
The voice became a bit stronger in his mind as his hand got closer, and then he tapped it with his pencil.
HURGHEEIIIGK!
Almost loud enough to wake the neighbors, Six’s corpse let out a sharp, loud screech, and the blackened beak opened.
“EEEEigggkkhhghgh… ... Nothing… Why… Why did this… Why did this happen… betrayal… she… betrayal… do–... n’t… I don’t… I don’t want to… remember… It hurts… It … hurts…”
”... why are you here…”
There was something bound up in the stone, tightly holding together what Six was. His eye could see the energies fluctuating inward and pulling tightly on the shadowy strands of the skeleton. As it seemed, there was nothing of Six left but the body, but the stone still seemed to function
”... I can’t, they’ll…”
The voice became a bit stronger in his mind as his hand got closer, and then he tapped it with his pencil.
HURGHEEIIIGK!
Almost loud enough to wake the neighbors, Six’s corpse let out a sharp, loud screech, and the blackened beak opened.
“EEEEigggkkhhghgh… ... Nothing… Why… Why did this… Why did this happen… betrayal… she… betrayal… do–... n’t… I don’t… I don’t want to… remember… It hurts… It … hurts…”
Re: [The Office] An Unwanted Gift
It was tempting to say something about a rabbit hole going deeper as he heard a new voice manifest, but it felt more like a golf divot especially once Six once again proved bizarrely resilient as it resuscitated in a totally not startling manner. The woman’s voice had given him nothing beyond what her voice sounded like, and Six’s choked commentary had him sifting details and context through dying gasps. Pulling his pencil back Ruarc began jotting down more notes.
“Betrayal,” Ruarc repeated. “Six. Was she betrayed? Or was she the traitor? What happened? Who else was involved?”
“Betrayal,” Ruarc repeated. “Six. Was she betrayed? Or was she the traitor? What happened? Who else was involved?”
Re: [The Office] An Unwanted Gift
"... stop worrying Ciarán..."
The room darkened as a small power took to the stone, and Six’s body shuddered. His bones heaved with lungs that were not there, and his words gained a little more coherency.
“How could… I… not worry? You’re… you’re–... That’s not what I said… I didn’t… I can’t remember.”
”... stay here, Ciarán, I’ll be right back..."
“That was… that was me… I’m Ciarán… I’m Ciarán… Winfield… He … Winfield… why did… He…"
At that, Six breathed his last, and his bones collapsed, leaving behind the small stone that made up the core of the wretched creature. The shadowy support structure that held him together began to melt away into a foamy dust that was soaked into the surrounding silhouettes on the floor.
All that remained was the stone, humming quietly on the headmaster’s desk.
The room darkened as a small power took to the stone, and Six’s body shuddered. His bones heaved with lungs that were not there, and his words gained a little more coherency.
“How could… I… not worry? You’re… you’re–... That’s not what I said… I didn’t… I can’t remember.”
”... stay here, Ciarán, I’ll be right back..."
“That was… that was me… I’m Ciarán… I’m Ciarán… Winfield… He … Winfield… why did… He…"
At that, Six breathed his last, and his bones collapsed, leaving behind the small stone that made up the core of the wretched creature. The shadowy support structure that held him together began to melt away into a foamy dust that was soaked into the surrounding silhouettes on the floor.
All that remained was the stone, humming quietly on the headmaster’s desk.
Re: [The Office] An Unwanted Gift
“Ciarán… Winfield…” Ruarc repeated plainly as he added the full name to his notes. Once it became evident Six was well and truly gone he sat his pencil down and considered the notes. A few bread crumbs, but little context outside of the Druid association. Pulling out a handkerchief he grabbed the whiskey glass, dried it out, and placed it upside down over the stone. Grabbing another piece of paper, the Keeper began to draw another circle with a series of runes.
“I don’t s’pose any of that meant anything to you, Aurus?” Ruarc asked as he set up a curse detection circle, just in case. “The names mean nothing to me, there’s no dates for context; hmm, what kind of accent did she have?”
As he scribbled on the paper, he dreaded the alternative of needing to find an excuse to visit the Keep so he could search the Archives without seeming suspicious.
“I don’t s’pose any of that meant anything to you, Aurus?” Ruarc asked as he set up a curse detection circle, just in case. “The names mean nothing to me, there’s no dates for context; hmm, what kind of accent did she have?”
As he scribbled on the paper, he dreaded the alternative of needing to find an excuse to visit the Keep so he could search the Archives without seeming suspicious.