Character Meet and Greet

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"You can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality."

I. Exploring Main Street! Take a trip through a little town taken straight from 1890's America. Visit the shops, dine at the restaurants- but don't forget you are here on a mission. As an Apprentice, you will need to gather some supplies. A weapon, or tool for producing magic.

But we understand if that corn dog cart on Market Street is your first stop.

II. Apprentice Class 101! Practice your spell casting and weaponship on the open commons behind the Firehouse. Sparring, casting or just general confusion abound here. Try not to hit anything or...anyone, the paint on the infirmary is still drying.

III. Look out! A level 2 corroded monster has managed to get onto Main Street! Protect the citizens and defeat the cur, and please watch the damage, the paint is still wet!

IV. One Little Spark! Go ahead, show us the strength of your imagination and come up with your own scenarios. Just, stay out of the Corroded Lands...if possible.

Comments

Apprentice Class!

[serpentinthegarden]

Sitting on a nearby stone, which might have been a statue - he really hadn't paid it much attention, Crowley frowned and looked over at the loon with the sword.

"You could start by not calling me, darling."

He lifted a dark wing, regarding the man with cool shade cloaked eyes before, glancing towards the drawn weapon.

"So you're a adventurer or... hero, what ever they call it. Are you actually an good with a sword?"

Crowley bopped his head towards a nearby shrub.

"Why not try your blade on that? See if you can cleave it in two."

Re: Apprentice Class!

[smilingarmor]

"Well alright, if you want to be a party pooper," Sylvando said. "But what should I call you then, Mr. Grumpy?" He wasn't really doing anything yet to dispel the notion of him being a loon, but he almost preferred it that way. Seeing the surprise on people's faces when he showed his real skills was always fun.

He glanced to where the winged being had indicated where a pathway that led into the training courtyard was bounded by a pair of relatively thin, semi-conical shrubs. Sylvando felt it likely he was referring to the one nearer to him, but he eyed them critically, mentally gauging the thickness and flexibility of the shrubs and the strength and sharpness of his blade. Yes, that could certainly work.

"A sword is hardly a tool for gardening," he said. "But if you insist..." Stepping forward toward the shrubs, he took up a stance, then gave a quick slash of the sword, neatly lopping off top of the first shrub at about his waist level. But he wasn't done; almost before the top of the first shrub had finished falling, he spun gracefully on his heel and sliced the top off of the second shrub in an identical manner.

Both shrubs now flat-topped, he relaxed his stance, turning back to face the winged being. "There," he said. "At least that will give the gardener something to work with. And you may want to watch sitting on statues like that, by the by; where I'm from, certain ones have a tendency to come to life, and when they do, they're very unhappy".

[serpentinthegarden]

Living statues? Crowley gave that only a moments consideration as he looked to the stone head he had perched on, but as it seemed in no danger of moving or otherwise being offended at being a seat he didn't bother to leave it.

"That was too easy. I had thought getting you to deface private property might have been a little more challenging."

[smilingarmor]

Living statues with unpleasantly big, stompy feet, yes. Among a great many other types of monsters in his world.

"'Defacing'?", Sylvando said. "No, no, no. If it was just the one, it might have been 'defacing', but this way they still match, so it still looks like it was intentionally that way, you see? If the gardener really doesn't like it, I suppose I could help him plant some new ones, though really, it's likely only a matter of time til they're damaged again; there's a reason we didn't train in the gardens back home, after all."

[serpentinthegarden]

"I don't think it makes it any less defacing if you mangle them both in the same way. I'm certain the gardener won't think so either."

But he had ever met the gardener so who could say. Him personally? If those had been his plants, he would have been absolutely furious. Then he did have what one might call overreactions to leaf spots.

"Why are you bothering to train anyway? You seem to have the whole sword thing down."

[smilingarmor]

"Then as I said, I'll help him replace them, if he asks," Sylvando said. "Though really, once people start practicing magic here, we may all have to lose our attachments to the landscaping. Even a simple Frizz gone astray would do far worse than this to the shrubbery."

"As to why I'm training, well, you know what they say; use it or lose it," he said. "Wouldn't want my skills or my sword to get rusty, you know."

[serpentinthegarden]

"Hm... rust, would be a shame."

But the words were spoken automatically as his thoughts had already turned to something else. That hadn't been nearly as much fun or caused nearly as much havoc as he had wished.

"Going the whole 'hero' route I suppose? Going to do what ever they tell you without question?"

[smilingarmor]

"Oh I have plenty of questions, darling," Sylvando said, sheathing his sword. "I'm a jester, not a fool. But there's very little point in asking most of them until I meet one of the people in charge of this place. Most anyone else wouldn't have any more information than I do, so we'd both just be guessing."

"And as for going the 'hero' route? Of course! After all, one can't bring a smile to people's faces when they're under attack by all kinds of nasty monsters. And besides, with the way things are back home, it's a part I've become rather familiar with playing."

[serpentinthegarden]

Jester... fool... having lived through the Middle Ages he saw very little distinction between the two but the word fit either way. This guy definitely reminded him of the sort of person one might be tempted to behead.

"You were a jester back on your world too?"

A head bob towards the sword.

"Shouldn't you be carrying juggling balls or standing on your head rather than a sword?"

[smilingarmor]

Sylvando shrugged slightly. "It pays to be versatile, whether you're dealing with a monster or an audience," he said. "I can do juggling, dancing, stage magic, acrobatics, even play an instrument or two. But I can also wield a sword, a knife, or a whip, ride a horse, steer a ship..." He grinned a bit at the semi-intentional rhyme.

"Yes, The Great Sylvando is a man of many skills," he said. "And none of them have been going to waste, back home, let me tell you. I spend as much time protecting travelers from monsters as I do entertaining them."

[serpentinthegarden]

"Stage magic?"

Nothing else he said mattered, not in the least! A look of mild horror overtook Crowley's features as he quickly shook his head and cast a furtive look around.

"Never do that! Never mention it again! And certainly never bring it up in front of an angel called Azriaphale. I'm serious!"

The ONLY thing that could make this place less attractive was stage magic!

[smilingarmor]

Sylvando quirked an eyebrow. No, he hadn't missed the mention of an angel, one this fellow was apparently familiar enough with to know his tastes in entertainment. But he kept that to himself for the moment, instead focusing on a more immediate question. "Oh? Not a fan, is he? Or perhaps you're not?" He hadn't missed that mildly horrified look either.

"Any particular reason why?", he asked. "I mean, I know better than most that everyone's a critic, but most people at least wait until they've seen my act to decide whether they like it or not."

[serpentinthegarden]

It was pretty difficult to conceal that Azriaphale was an angel and he was a demon given that the magic of these worlds made it impossible to hide his wings. They sort of stood out in a crowd. So, he hadn't seen any reason to be cagey about it especially since...

"He'll try to join you!"

Spoken with the horror still in his voice.

"It would be you and him and those stupid little demeaning tricks... Ugh, the wiggly wand bit in which you just wave a stick around like it's actually doing anything or making the ball disappear by shoving it up your sleeve... And children's parties! Cake everywhere... Just do us both a favor and don't mention it!"

[smilingarmor]

Hey, Sylvando had been pulled clear out of his world and into another, completely unfamiliar one. He figured it was probably best not to go making assumptions about what the people he met were. Even if they bore more than a passing resemblance to the sacred statues that tended to be placed as protective measures near campsites. After all, for all he knew, having wings could be perfectly normal where this fellow was from.

Sylvando just chuckled at that description though. Both because he knew someone who used wands for very real magic, and because the scenario, however embarrassing, this fellow might find it, sounded amusing in itself. "Now now, never fear, my winged friend," he said. "The Great Sylvando is well beyond the level of an enthusiastic amateur. In fact, I'd bet that I can keep even you guessing as to what's real magic and what's just part of the show." It likely helped that some of his props back home were a little of both, and he didn't doubt that he could find something similar here.

[serpentinthegarden]

It was normal where he was from, all angels did have wings... demons too for that matter, but most didn't chose to display them.

"I doubt anyone, literally anyone in the entire world... no, the entire universe could make that kind of magic the least bit compelling."

Stated dryly as if he could not be any less interested and he certainly felt above being fooled by those cheap parlor tricks. Slight of hand just seemed to beneath people who could actually do magic! He didn't get it and most certainly didn't want to.

[smilingarmor]

"Well then, I suppose it's a good thing that I'm not from your universe, si?", Sylvando said. Too late Crowley; you've challenged his skills as a showman and that challenge must be met! "Once I have a proper act put together here, I'll make sure that you have a front row seat. And afterwards, if you were still truly not impressed or entertained, then the Great Sylvando will gracefully admit defeat." He bowed theatrically. "Truly, I look forward to facing off against such a determined critic."

"But exactly who am I going to be facing off against, hmm?", he said. "You've mentioned that your friend is an angel; I don't suppose that you're one too?" Somehow he doubted it, but it was still worth asking. After all, the statues he'd seen were all unpainted stone, so who knew what colors they truly preferred?

[serpentinthegarden]

"Don't do that..." A slow, very deliberate shake of the head, "I don't do front rows at magic shows."

That seat would remain entirely empty if he had his way! It would be difficult to best the critic if he wouldn't even bother to show up.

"Do I look like an angel?"

Offended he flexed his black wings, not thinking that the wings of angels and demons did look remarkably alike when carved in the white stone those statues Sylvando had seen before were.

"I'm Crowley, Anthony Crowley. A demon, not an angel."