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Current Music: "A Retinue of Moons/The Infidel Is Me"-Rasputina

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There's a distinct smell of ozone gathering several feet in the air over the Nexus forum. When a low rumbling starts, that smell grows sharper, more electric. Something grinding, tearing, burning...

A sudden, massive white flash appears, along with it an unnerving and immediate lack of sound. Where one would normally expect something a little more thunderous- a bang, a pop, possibly a crack -there is just white noise that leaves anyone for several yards around with ringing ears. (Assuming they are in possession of ears, of course.) And as immediate as it had been there, the flash it gone, snapping shut like a hastily done-up zipper.

Left suspended in the air by this event is a bizarre, bearded gargoyle-like figure who is now left to gravity's devices. He plummets, clearly startled, but gathers his wits quick enough to avoid an undignified landing. There is a cold swirl of wind, his cape snaps outward into the distinct shape of bat wings, and allows him to settle gently onto his feet.

The man (person? creature?) jerkily looks about, taking brief stock of his surroundings; upon finding them unfamiliar, he wastes no time pointing his gem-tipped staff menacingly at any general gathering nearby, sharp teeth gritted.

"Who is the master of this realm? Speak, fools!" He looks around again, increasingly agitated, adjusting his grip on his staff, before shaking it again and additionally snapping, "Where is the Doctor? The Quickster!? Why did he contain all of YOU to this realm as well as me?! SPEAK!!"

Ixis Naugus has arrived and he demands to speak to a manager.

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"Beetles? I've not heard of their involvement in broader Mobian affairs in years. Fire ants, perhaps. But interdimensional meddling isn't exactly their forte." They are having two completely different conversations. Hooray for pop culture!

A ear pricks upright when the woman asks about his retrieval of the pamphlet. "Trick? You reduce my prowess to the level of a mere charlatan, a simple hedgewitch? I am Ixis Naugus, girl, sorcerer supreme and master of the elements! Though I will concede such a task was trivial compared to what I am truly capable of. Still, I remain amused how easily impressed you Overlanders are in the matters of the arcane." He grins. This is his favourite subject; how superior and powerful he is! Especially when compared to others less magically-inclined.

"No, the Beatles, there were a band... nevermind."

Oh geez, there he goes again. She waits for him to finish before pointing out, "The Sorcerer Supreme where I come from has a much fancier cape."

"Bah. Flash and finery are near always the result of insecurity or attempts at hiding flaws. I need no such distractions from my abilities." He tugs at his cape, pulling it around one arm. He likes his cape...

She doesn't have much of an opinion of his cape. The only people who wear capes where she's from are not known to be snazzy dressers. "I can understand why you wouldn't want to get distracted. So why don't you just magic yourself home, since you're so great at magic?"

He snorts and rolls his eyes.

"Those least in-tune with magic are always the most flippant about it. You can't just go about undoing a foreign spell without determining what caused it in the first place. Would you just as blindly thrust your hand into a dark hole without taking the care to determine what made it, what lurks there? Or pull apart a cage without taking the time to ascertain there are no traps, no tricks, no flaws in the make?" He suspects she would, because his opinions on Overlanders isn't always the highest. Okay, never the highest. Racist.

"Besides, this is clearly a matter of interdimensional breach." He waves the pamphlet in one hand, having skimmed about half of the contents so far. "I am no stranger to the matter, not at all. But these things take...preparation."

"I wouldn't stand around yelling at random people either," she points out. "And as someone who's been dealing with magic pretty much my whole life, I've got to say, it's not my preferred method of dealing with problems. But hey, whatever floats your boat. Or cape."

Of course her "dealing with magic" is having a spell stuck inside her but he doesn't need to know that.

"I was not yelling at random people! I was addressing the gathered population. Loudly." Totally different! (No, not really.)

"As someone who claims to deal in magic, what I've gathered from your methods make me question your credentials. What are your specialties? Your realm of studies? Your mentor?" He tucks the pamphlet into his belt for later, continued reading.

"That's pretty much the same thing. And I said with, not in. That's quite enough for me." She'd be probably the multiverse's worst magician. How can you lie to reality well enough to get it to change if you can't even lie to yourself?

He snorts again, unimpressed. "Pity. While I know finding equals is folly, contemporaries would be welcome so long as I'm in realms unknown." Up until he decides they're not useful anymore, of course. That just goes without saying.

"So you deal with magic. A combatant of it? A nonbeliever?"

"No, I definitely believe in magic. It's just... part of my life I have to deal with." She shrugs. If he can't see the spell she's not going to tell him it's there. "Family traditions and things."

"So...A family history with the arcane. A father, grandfather...or mother," he remembers the earlier chiding of assuming male to be the default, "who was versed? Do be clearer, girl. You make for tiresome conversation at this rate." Because he's the perfect picture of being forthcoming.

"Oh, you're one to talk. We're not magicians. Well. My grandfather might have been. I never met him. But mostly we're guardians. You know how it is, terrible magic thingie must never ever be used so let's make it that guy's responsibility and then he'll pass it on to his kid who'll pass it on, so on and so on." She's not keen on any of this, and is not looking forward to when more crap gets dumped on her, so this is all said with a distinctly annoyed tone.

"Ohhhh! I see." He looks suddenly interested, leaning towards Verity with a keen expression. "And what manner of artifact do you safeguard? What might its purpose and power be?" This is content he can get behind.

Shrug. "I have no idea. My father never told me." She's such a disappointment. However will he endure?

His ears drop. Annoyance.

"...How can you guard something for generations and not know what it is. That is completely stupid."

"I'm pretty sure my dad knows. He just hasn't told me yet because it's not my job yet. Please keep in mind I think my father's a jerk, so, I'm not the best judge of his motives. But I think he thinks he's 'protecting me'." She enunciates air quotes very well.

"Were I you, I'd take that role posthaste. Perhaps by force. No love lost, after all. And then procure the item." He doesn't GET people who aren't immediately thirsty for powerful artifacts once they hear of them. Come on! Nothing can go wrong with this plan! Naugus nods, stroking his beard.

"Why would I want to do that? He can keep the damn thing forever since it's so important to him."

She doesn't have daddy issues or anything. Nope, not her.

"Why would-"

It's like she suddenly started speaking in tongues for how he looks at her, not comprehending her words.

"Really now."

"Really. If it's more important to him than his family, I don't want it." She is a stubborn woman.

It takes him a moment to collect himself. Why would someone NOT want mysterious objects of potential great power? This poor girl has her priorities all wrong!

"Well...Consider if it's so important to your father to keep it hidden and subdued, what better way to vex him than steal it from under him and unleash it? Quite the spit in the eye."

Now she's just looking at him like he's crazy.

"Yeah, no. My grandfather died to protect the damn thing. And since I don't know what it is, I don't know how to stop it. Plus I don't know where my dad is."

And he's looking at her like she's speaking completely nonsense again.

"...And the problem is-...? Aside from the device's unknown location, I mean."

How did they even get on this subject. What is going on anymore.

She's not really sure how they got on this subject either. Why is she even telling him these things?

"I prefer to know how things work before I use them. It seems safer that way."

He heaves a massive sigh from the depths of his wide chest.

"HHHHhhhhh...I SUPpose. Still. An intriguing matter. Were you ever in need of an accomplice to investigate it..." He gestures at himself, all smiles.

"Assuming, of course, you have, er. Passage back to the zone you came from." Unlike some people. He seriously has no idea where to start in his case. Maybe once he's done bothering Nexus inhabitants, he'll sniff around for a way back.

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Yes, let's unleash the Fimbulwinter, that's a GREAT idea!

Naugus will make a kickstarter for it!

Start doing it or he'll kick her?

PROJECTED GOAL: $RAGNAROK