ic The Magic of Reading (IC)

[Exaccus]

Rude 

That was his immediate thought but he swallowed it, it was unlikely to help him in this situation so he decided to focus on the task at hand.

 

"You from outside the book too or are you a trashy self insert character come to bring enlightenment to the peasants and triumph over magic?" he asks simply, it wouldn't suprise him, his brother had fallen for the temptations of powers and importance, maybe thats what the book prayed on if he had to guess.

 

"either way id grab what you need and get ready to bolt, sky-brit had been talking about something bad happening here and soon."

[Zeitgeist Blue]

The book. It's been a week since she'd been sucked in, counting the sun rise and set, and it all that time she hadn't mentioned it to anyone. If he knew about it then he was involved somehow. A fellow trapped inside the realm like she was or someone with more malicious intent? She didn't know but without her armor or working electricity she did not fancy her chances against a person made of steel.

 

Her grip tightened. Eyes narrowed.

 

"I'm not going to believe a movie voice-over when I can find out what's going on here. You do if you want to, but this is magic and I'm getting to the bottom of this."

 

She paused for a second and then shook her head, opening the door a little wider.

 

"You can stay if you want. Help out."

Edited January 28, 2018 by Zeitgeist Blue

[Exaccus]

"oh thank god you're not a character...." he says putting his arm against his head and sighed heavily in relief, allowing his steel form to fade away "uuh listen, Im a newb hero on the outside, they call me facsimile, or at least i tell them too." he adds with a grin of good humor honestly relieved.

 

"Oh i don't think he's narrating, its more like he's dictating and commenting." he adds with a wave of his hand "the NPCs at least...but thats boring right?" he adds "He's the DM...you ever played dungeons and dragons?" he asks "Its pretty cool, DM runs the world but he needs players to spice it up you know? little bit of chaos in a system otherwise totally under ya control."

 

"So i don't think its a warning, i think its a telegraphed cosmic anvil designed to get us both moving and entertaining is what it has in mind." he reasons "and when you do good exciting things everyone loves and praises you like the kids on the way over."

[Zeitgeist Blue]

"You don't look like him," Nicole crossed her arms, scrutinizing the person standing before her. He was more chiseled, straighter and more broad in the shoulders like a knight in shining armor... Did that make her the princess? Whatever the characters they were playing, there was no denying the physical changes. Alex here looked nothing like Alex in Claremont and so did Nicole now look nothing like herself in her world.

 

"That's good," she said at last, nodding her head, a smile forming on her face just as a plan was. "Then if it really is you, I need some electricity from your energy form. Give me some magic to work with."

 

She put the branch on a nearby table, rubbing her hands in thought.

 

"Pen and paper games aren't my thing but I get your point. It's our lives and I don't like playing it like a game."

 

She started up the stairs then stopped midway, turning to Alex. "Nicole Whitfield-Hall. I'm a sophomore from Claremont by the way."

[Exaccus]

"Pleasure to meetcha, Im Alexander lloydd, please call me Alex." he says taking her hand and shaking it firmly "I'm afraid my powers don't work quite like that...i mimic stuff so its gotta exist for me to copy you see...i could try and mimic whatever doohicky you're using to generate power and spin you some out faster though or turn into air and turn the windmill faster." he offers with a shrug.

 

"You a techie then?" he asks earnestly, surely nobody expected him to remember everyone's powers off by heart right? 

[Zeitgeist Blue]

"You could say that."

She freed her phone from its cage of wires and offered it to Alex, the anticipation running through her system. Just her luck to have not only another hero run into her and one with his powers. She'd been stuck here for a week and already she was going stir crazy from a lack of things to fiddle with or info to gobble up, and another week might see her break down from the stress. How these people ever managed without the wonders of modern life, she wouldn't want to know first hand.

 

She turned on her smartphone and beautifully it began its start up sequence.

 

"Well, do your thing."

Edited January 28, 2018 by Zeitgeist Blue

[Exaccus]

Touching the dynamo she'd disconnected it from he absorbed its properties into himself and without any such needs for fuel or windpower put his copper contact tipped thumb against the charging port "lets see...ampage and wattage are important so..." he mumbles as he starts off slow, pouring power into the port at a slowly increasing rate as his new internal mechanism whirred within him to generate it.

 

"Its a weird feeling growing new...organs? and feeling them working" he confessed, voice crackly  as electricity arched from his own copper tongue around his mouth "what do you go by when you're....working?" he asks, not quite sure "Don't wanna blurt out your secret identity after all." he mentions, the phone now steadily charging with the electricity he poured into it.

[Zeitgeist Blue]

"I read," she said blankly as if he was an idiot for asking that. Genius wasn't all sunshine and rainbows no matter what they say - news was one thing she kept up to date in, atypically enough, but then anything was fair game for her, from car magazines, movie reviews to fashion blogs and Hollywood controversies. She sighed after a moment and began to tick off her fingers. "Youtube videos, movies, tv shows, and social media too. That's about it."

 

There was of course, the local animal shelter over by the South Side which needed a competent assistant vet occasionally but that was another matter entirely and not worth disclosing.

 

She crossed her legs - still a weird feeling - and waited as he charged up. There were a few more things she needed to start any ritual. Scissors for one and chalk for the basics. Then a ritual circle, gouges on wood, sheep blood, an instrument to act as a conductor around her. She'd probably have to cannibalize something of hers and the thought made her nose itch.

 

Electricity-- energy was perhaps only the start to make the things needed to make the things for the big ritual to get out of here while keeping a dimensional marker in place so she could get back in fully suited to face this Sorcerer guy.

Edited January 28, 2018 by Zeitgeist Blue

[Removed.]

With the new and better method of charging what would of been done on hours now only takes a few minutes. However before you are able to use the charged phone you hear the voice of the ever present Narrator...

 

"With the heroes working together to overthrow the Most Evil of Evils victory seemed almost certain. After all good will always prevail but  unknown to them they were being surrounded..."

 

You hear slow rumble in the distance that slowly increases in volume until its near a deafening roar. Heavy footfalls beat in unison as the Black Guard, men shelled within suits of armor black as midnight marched up towards the Windmill before spreading out in a loose ring surrounding it. Beyond their march they made not a sound, no orders given, no heavy breathing from a long march. Something about the way they move seems off almost like they are too rigid. With the rest of them getting into their positions one of them stepped forward towards the Mill. He was the only one with a gold plume, garbed in a black cloak with the insignia of a gold fist centered on a black kite-shield.

 

"Fair maiden from another land, The Great Sorcerer wishes to speak! I know you are in there and will have you know that you are surrounded. This is not a request you can refuse. Come peacefully or we will use force...The Great Sorcerer never said you couldn't be harmed." The Black Guard Captain chuckled. His voice came out as if he was speaking from a very large cave with a sort of distortion of old ham radio.

 

 

[Exaccus]

well that was a lot of dudes to send to pick someone up, this sorcerer guy was the paranoid type eh?

 

"Hmm....two ways we can swing this from what i can gather, we can go quietly, get close to that sorcerer dude and cut off the head of this particular snake...a reasonably safe way to close to this sorcerer guy whilst he feels comfortable meeting you face to face." he offers "on the other hand we could try and fight this small army to make our message clear, send em scurrying back to their boss and attempt to curry favor with the book itself." he humms to himself.

 

"This is your story line though from what i can tell, so ill follow your lead on it., though my own involves finding my brother who also got sucked in so i imagine he's with the sorcerer....maybe learning the dark arts from the master."

[Zeitgeist Blue]

Nicole started muttering curses as Alex finished detailing his idea. If there were worse ideas in all the dimensions of magic and secrets, she hasn't read it yet.

 

"This is stupid. I'm not James Bond in a dress."

 

Just great to be caught in the middle of nowhere just as she was getting somewhere. She had no intention of letting them wrap chains around her wrists to be escorted to their boss, but neither was a fight a situation she wanted to get in. Maybe Alex could beat them, maybe that smug smirk might help him hit harder, but without Bellios she was deadweight in a straight-up brawl.

 

She snatched her phone from Alex's grip in frustration, uncertainty mixing as she paced around the smaller and smaller room.

 

Finally, she stopped in front of Alex. "What're you putting this on me for? You're the senior! What do we do?"

[Exaccus]

"woah, you an engine mechanic or something? you just went from naught to sixty on me." he says suprised by the sudden mood swing. but now as not a good time to be suprised or suddenly distressed now he had a small army of guards to contend with.

 

"Given you're like this i don't think being subtle or sneaky would work, and your batteries are apparently flat too so no super science lasers or whatever either.."  he reasoned "Its fine, don't let shit like this get to you, not every fight is going to go in your favor or on your terms, you're still a genius." he says with a reassuring touch to her shoulder.

 

"So you figure out how we take this sorcerer down, maybe rig up some stop gap measures whilst i keep these loosers busy."

 

and with that he set off down the stairs and out the door towards the fight that was brewing down stairs.

 

"Sorry Gentlemen, the lady is otherwise occupied at the moment...but ill dance with you."  he says with his copper grin, intenral dynamos spinning up with audible resonance as his copper contacts crackling with lightning.that grounded itself into the soft earth around him, burning and running furrows through the ground.

 

"Ready to Shock and roll?"

Edited January 30, 2018 by Exaccus

[Removed.]

The guards give little reaction upon seeing this metal man and ready their weapons consisting of halberds, swords, and maces. The Guard Captain raises his hand above them and with a clench of his fist the knights charge at you. You notice only a few of them approach you while the others still keep the perimeter secured in a loose circle.

[Zeitgeist Blue]

Her eyes take on a steely gaze, jaze set in determination. She remembered nodding once at Alex and telling him to go do what he did but those were things of the past, barely of any consequence, not when she had work to do and a workbench full to do it.

 

Somehow she'd sat down and scattered what little tools she had managed to make. Pentagrammic circles to direct the flow of energy, though the metal wiring was not as refined as what a factory could produce with assembly-like accuracy. She feared a backlash, some seeping of energy from the cracks that would eventually form, so she worked slowly and tuned out the sounds of fighting below her.

 

Slowly, almost ritually, her contraption took form: a hodgpodge of nails, wood, and wiring to encase her smartphone within.

 

Its battery showed 43% on the touchscreen. A jolt of electricity zapped her finger and she pulled her hand back.

 

Soon.

[Exaccus]

Though he had been swift enough to catch the first incoming attack on his now copperforehead, he'd been caught off guard by the following sword attack against a softer part of his composite body and felt the familiar surge of pain spreading through him as his head rang with the maces impact he broke away.

 

"Yowch! Not fans of showman ship huh?" he says with a most displeased huff "Well, im a big fan of stuff like that, you wanna know my favorite band? AC/DC!" he says breaking out into impromtu air guitar and "na na na na na." he he positioned himself to catch as many men as he could in what he knew would follow

 

"you've been....Thunder...struck!" he sang as he let loose with a huge wave of low ampage but high voltage energy from his contact plate palms, one blast punctuating thunder and the other following struck, his energies running wild through the planes before him as they jolted through the metal armour and grounded in the knights within. laying all 8 of the challengers flat before him with a blinding flash of crackling light.

 

"Whatcha think of my low Ampage Rampage?"

[Removed.]

The captain looks in mild disbelieve as a sizable chunk of his guard was defeated with one attack... He recalled the many years of dedication in his training of his loyal guards only to see how little it mattered against one lone man. His men were trained to handle panic but even they have their limits. He knew if he was going to prevent a potential collapse of morale he would need to settle this personally. Stepping forward he withdrew his Halberd.

 

"You're foul magic is nothing compared to that of the Great Sorcerer! You will find that your cheap tricks will have no affect on me." He proceeded to beat his gauntlet onto his chest plate giving off a audible thump as his armor starts having a dim blue glow. "By right of honorable combat, none shall interfere." He begins slowly stomping towards you with death in his eyes.

[Exaccus]

"Sure, lets see how good a dancer you are!" he says as he flings his arms skywards "Its time to split the sky!" as the electricity begins to arc around him like blue wisps of energy that crackle and flare brightly into the air above him, stiring the couds overhead as they boom skywards.

 

Only for him to quickly pull his shoulders back and swing his arms outwards and forwards, lashing out with a Fuluminous tendril of crackling power, "Time for you to ride the lighting, Sir whatever your name is!" he shouts over the sound of it all, aiming for the small gap in his attention as his lighting lash rushes outwards.

[Removed.]

Unimpressed with the display the Captain saw right through his opponents feint and kept his footing solid. Sadly his foe was quicker than he originally thought and managed to strike a blow. Happily the blow left not a mark. Wasting no time for banter the Captain raised his halberd into the sky and swung down with the might of several men. 

[Exaccus]

"ah ah ah...I don't think so!" he says as he throws the harder parts of his copper body against the incomin blow and deflecting it before it can dig in with a shunt of his head "though i must say captain whosit, thats some fancy armour you got there...lets see if the suit fits me." a sly hand darting out from his and pressing against the black metal of the breastplate and his copper contacts turning to obsidian sheathed metal that quickly spreads over him.

 

Smirking with steel teeth at the captains shock 

 

"Well, im back in black, hit the sack!" he chortles as he brings his other hand in, heavier and with intent to do more than make simple contact this time.

[Removed.]

Surprised that this naive has copied his armor with such ease the Captain questioned the Sorcerer's magical defenses he placed upon it before shaking such silly ideas of doubt. Getting hit square in the chest his armor creaked as he was thrown backwards. Not letting his foe press the advantage he struck quickly hoping to finish this.

[Exaccus]

He'd almost been caught of guard by the sudden brutality of the descending blow but had at the last minuit managed to turn himself against it and catch the edge of the falling weapon on his shoulder rather than his head "yowch! ok captain, fair does, you're pretty tough stuff, i admit it." he says with a slight wince of pain as he he flung himself backwards and away from the warrior a great distance.

 

"Hope you don't mind me taking a breather that last one knocked the wind outta me." he yelled in-between exhausted huffing as he slapped at his metal cheeks to bring himself back into the here and now. "be right back with you."

[Removed.]

Glad to have stopped a potential pummel the Captain took a moment to catch his breath as well. He knew he could wound his opponent and if he could wound it he can defeat it. He had to win this or face the wrath of the Sorcerer. With newfound determination he readied for another clash.

Edited February 2, 2018 by Vorik

[Exaccus]

"right, now i know that you're up to snuff, ill stop holding back." he says, a seriousness devoid of humor in his metalic voice as he raised his arms in switch hit boxing style and after a bit of bouncing around to loose himself up on his feet, raced in to melee range at a speed of 100 mph and delivered a solid hit to the captains core body and with practised ease followed through, stepping into and past the captain and racing around the ring of guards back to a safe distance.

 

"No more freebie hits." he explained.

[Removed.]

Coughing as the wind is knocked out of him the Captain stood his ground. His guards looked to help him but he held out a hand keeping them at their post. If he was going to win this, he was going to win this right. He tightened his grip on his halberd and readied for the peasant's next pass.

[Exaccus]

Facsimile carried on the way around the surrounding knights at full speed, fist extended and ready in a showy, telegraphed haymaker as he bolted in only to find himself meeting the descending blade of the halberd of the captain, his own fist meeting with open air  as he felt his brain rattling and his body throbbing within its steel as he stumbled but carried on his way back around the circle to safety out of melee range.

 

"Oof, i clearly underestimated ya again, captain." he huffed as he once more felt his body growing heavier with exhaustion and damage "but i think maybe you underestimated me, too, just a little."  his silvery smirk returning to his face as he waited for what he knew was coming.