[open] don't you want to come with me?

[kingsroads]

Character(s): anyone who wants to go poke some bones
Status: Open
Location(s): Epithymetikon's fall
Date(s) heading out on the 13th. however, the time at the skeleton can be as long or as short as people want.
About: What's up with that skeleton anyway? Time for everyone to find out.
Warnings: creepy magic nonsense

As the party approaches the skeleton, it becomes apparent as to why there are cursed rumors. No animals can be found near the skeleton: horses and animases both start to get a little uneasy and skittish the longer they remain near the skeleton. The dragon's great mouth is held open, as if by magic. At the back of the dragon's rib cage lies a shrine, the contents of which are magically preserved. All in all, it's a very creepy sight.

Still, the exploration party came here for a reason. Might as well get some magical analysis in before the behavior of the horses and animases force people to turn back.

( ooc: Feel free to make your own starter and tag around! Here is information about the gravesite itself as well as some ""fun"" things that might happen, should your character use some magic + be the dingus who decides to do necromancy. Feel free to have your character notice any/all of these in their explorations. )

Comments

[dorzalta]

"They're not beasts," she corrects, quick as a whip. She's standing again, hand unmarred from the flames which seemed to burst from beneath her palm. Her tone is patient--for now. "They're intelligent. He was intelligent, for all that he allowed strength and pride to cloud his vision."

Her fingers trail along Epithymetikon's rib again, touch gentle like a mother's would be. There's much to relate with: the loss of a parental figure, the way power and authority spiralizes out of control when left unchecked. She shakes her head, looking away from the runes and to Strange.

"I wonder if we could borrow the soil? Or would it lose its potency when far enough away from his remains?" Not that she's necessarily thinking about resurrecting anything, but if the potency leeches from his bones and saturates the land, then it would be safe to assume that everything around Epithymetikon's remains could be utilized to amplify one's magic. "You're proficient in necromancy?"

That look of his... it was fevered in a way that reminds her of an academic, or someone teetering on the edge of a growing obsession.

[kingsroads]

"There's one way to find out," Strange responds. He sticks the pencil behind his ear and shoves the notepad into one of his coat pockets. Then, his hands go to the other coat pocket as Strange rummages around a bit before pulling out a small, corked test tube. At least in his mind, the one way to find out is to take samples.

His trowel is a bit further away, inside his messenger bag, but Strange is the sort of obnoxious show off who would use magic for the smallest things. He bends down to the ground, places the test tube on the earth, and murmurs an incantation under his breath. A small trail of earth starts to move, filling the test tube halfway up with dust and dirt.

"And yes, I am proficient in necromancy. Or at least, I'm proficient enough." Strange knows that there are certainly better necromancers out there, but he's prideful enough that he doesn't want to admit it. "Obviously, this information doesn't leave the dig site."

What with how poorly necromancy's seen, the longer this stays a secret, the better. Still, as Strange talks, it's obvious that he doesn't view necromancy as forbidden or dangerous as most of the population does.

[dorzalta]

Watching the display in silence, a brow aches when her gaze lifts from the test tube to his face. "Showing off, now?"

She looks amused enough. It's an arrogance she's seen enough times when around the Dothraki. And though he seems nothing like a Dothraki, that arrogance is familiar to a point of being near a comfort. She knows how to deal with it.

What she doesn't know is how to deal with a necromancer. There's nothing inherently wrong with them, of course, and he seems fine enough a man. Surprising he would tell her, considering they've had no formal introductions and the stigma against them.

"Obviously." Better for some things to remain a secret. Lest he gave her a reason to make mention of it, this fact wouldn't leave the dig site. "May I ask what your opinion is on our vials?"

And their resurrections.

[kingsroads]

"Guilty as charged," Strange admits, with a wry smile. Yes, this is a little bit of showing off—he can't and won't deny it. He gets to his feet, recorks the dirt, then slips the vial back in his pocket.

Dany's question takes him a little by surprise. Strange looks a little surprised before he gives her a wide grin. The opportunity to talk and speculate about certain magic? It's his bread and butter.

"My opinion is that the vials themselves don't matter. I think we have a sympathetic connection to the liquids inside. To be blunt, it is possible to die and be resurrected again, after we have previously died. But when we're revived, some of the liquid has lowered." Case in point: himself. And he's certain Shura's vial lessened a bit, though admittedly he hasn't studied it enough.

"I think the vial itself is enchanted somehow just to keep from breaking easily and us losing the liquid that we're tied to. But no matter what, the being or group that raised us must have remarkable power."

The more Strange talks, the more obvious it is why he was a little too free with that necromancer information. He likes talking about their situation and talking about magic. Might as well get his credentials on the table as soon as possible, just so that he doesn't have to do the awkward, talking about aspects of his backstory, that he occasionally has to do with others here and certainly has to do with anyone who isn't awakened.

[dorzalta]

"Is it?" Now it's her turn to look surprised. She'd not heard of the liquid being affected by anything, really. Though why would she, when Jon never made mention of dying a second time? None of the others she's encountered bothered to speak of it, either. Likely for good enough reason; who would want to speak of their deaths with little preamble? Or with a stranger? "Your liquid's lowered? By a noticeable amount, clearly, but by how much?"

...And what happens when it becomes empty?

That, she doesn't wish to dwell on, so she turns her gaze back to the rib with its marks.

"One would have to be powerful to do this as well, no?" Anti-necromancy runes. Either it's strength, or stupidity. But--she circles around Strange and runs her fingers along the small shrine. She can sense the magic wrapped around the flowers--if this place is powerful, then it would attract those in kind. Like calls to like, she's learned. "Sentimental. I haven't been alive in this time long enough, but I know that there are a great many who lack the love this individual has for Epithymetikon."

[kingsroads]

"I'd say...a fifth or so?" Strange shrugs a little: it's pure guessing as to how low the liquid lessened. Logically, he should be marking up the vial to try and measure it better, but something just feels wrong about marking it up so much.

Thankfully, Dany's questions about the anti-necromancy runes distract him and get his mind off of that. He can't help but give her a wry smile at her statements. "It's either sentimental or scared. All in all, I'd prefer sentimental." He takes a few steps back, to get a better view of the shrine from afar.

"I wish this time had more love for the dragons. To think that one person, or a group of people, loved them enough to preserve their remains and honor their presence is reassuring."