Darklin Manor - IC

[The Emerald Piper]

The jester casually leaned back into the chair, exhaling a breath of slight annoyance. "Yes, yes. I did say that. And I will. However, with that portal's origin of yours being Earth, I did not have the time or patience to open one leading to the Realm. I did not wish to make you feel impatience on my behalf." Mikhail took a moment to pause and tilt his head to glance at the humanoid dragon standing menacing behind him. He regarded the Dragon with curious eyes before restarting his verse of the conversation, the growl from Doragon and a grasp of common sense not failing to detract from his warm smile.

"Because this is your land, m'Lady, I have no jurisdiction over what comes in and what comes out. Though, accounting from this new threat..." He nonchalantly drifted off, letting his tone of voice betray nothing. With an abrupt start, as if awakened from a daydream, he looked directly in the eyes of the Creatrix. "I'll need a portal to the Realm, if you can. Though this might be sudden to them, I have no doubt that they will be ready for this." He tore his gaze away, instead pursuing the task to make eye contact with all the other inhabitants of the map-accented room.

"If any of you wish to know, my entourage should have five members. Not an army, but it shall have to do for what's to come." He moved a hand over the crown symbol on the map, vaguely tracing its shape with a finger. "One is a swordsman, adept in his artes. Another is a mage, however young he may seem. The third is a half-elf; very nimble, very... explosive. Fourth, a Werewulf. It would be wise not to cross his path, though..." His eyes lingered over the human forms of the two dragons. "It is known that predators will often fight larger predators for dominance. Finally, the fifth, an angel strong in the holy artes. Do not doubt any of their skills. I have complete faith in them." Mikhail returned his attention to the Creatrix, taking his hand back with him. "Will it be possible to do it sooner than later? Oh," he took the opportunity to smile brighter, "and will there be the possibility of a warm meal?"  

[Sullen Sweet Juliet]

The platinum haired girl nodded. "Of course, there is always the possibility of a hot meal." She returned his bright smile with a thin one of her own. "And... If I am opening a portal to the Realm, then you will have to be present while I am creating the circle." Turning to Samuel, she gave him a pointed look. "I am entrusting Lord Mikhail into your care, Sam. Show him upstairs to one of the guests rooms, and show him where his entourage may stay." The groundskeeper turned to Kamika, then. "Find Carter and ensure that she is settled."

The Creatrix sighed and ran a gloved hand through her silvery hair. "I will find my supplies and begin work on the circle. Samuel, I trust that you know where I will be casting?"

"Of course." He got carefully to his feet, the links in his silver belt jingling as he moved. He had buckled a small silver-sheathed dagger onto his waist, and he placed a light hand on this as he stood. "Come with me, my Lord."  

[The Emerald Piper]

The jester bade a short farewell to the inhabitants of the map room before taking his leave behind the groundskeeper. He spared a quick glance behind him before he left the room, taking in the complete sight of the unusual-haired Creatrix. His gaze lingered on her for the shortest of seconds, eyeing the person that he knew all too well in another time, in another place.

'Elemental magic and incantations hold no power here.' Her voice acted like a faint echo ringing through his head. A feeling of worry gnawed at his nerves, a force that wouldn't let go as hard as he tried to shake it off. Would this be a problem to Ammie? To Soryn? 'No!' His mental voice shouted at the worry. 'No. No. Soryn will know. If all goes for worst, Soryn will know. If I can't find out how things work around here...' He mentally shook his head, revolted by the thought. 'No! I will find out, and all will be right. All will be right.'

Bright smile returning to its original state, Mikhail sighed with an anxious tone. "So..." He hovered over Samuel, barely paying attention to the continuous dark hallways that almost seemed to trap anyone in a maze to whomever gave it a second thought. "What will my room be like? There'll be enough space for my entourage, right?"

'All will be right... I hope.'  

[Sullen Sweet Juliet]

Samuel led the jester deeper into the maze-like hallways of the manor, never taking his hand off the silver-chased dagger at his waist. "Your retinue will not be staying with you. They will be given rooms on the same floor as you and be within calling distance." His voice was clipped and cold as pushed open a door, indicating that the jester go through. "These rooms will decorate themselves in your elemental colors." Sure enough, as soon as Samuel led Mikhail into the room, it decorated itself in sumptuous royal purple and gold, an old-English style 'M' embroidered into the plush carpet under their feet. "Send a message with Neko-chan should you require anything else." The groundskeeper stalked out of the room, the line of his shoulders tense and angry.  

[The Emerald Piper]

Mikhail held in his breath, both speechless and breathless at the sight of his new temporary room. It was his room! His own room! He let out a sigh of amazement. As he greedily took in the sights of royal purples and glowing golds that enveloped him in a cube of fancified fashions, he twiddled his fingers absentmindedly. 'What first?' he thought. 'What first?'...

A squeal of laughter escaped his lips as he made a show of twirling and prancing towards the center of the room, pivoting on the spot before making a decisive beeline to the four-poster bed that lay adorned with silk covers and feathered pillows. With a flourished leap, the jester dived head first into the closed ocean of golden softness. He rolled to one side, he rolled to the other, all with a contented gleefulness. This continued on for a few moments until Mikhail decided that enough was enough and that people who might be watching would be rather creeped out by his antics. Sighing, he slowly sat back up with a goofy smile on his face. He made a swipe at the bells perched on his hat before peering beyond the rich violet curtains that hung silently above.

"So." He muttered to himself, his voice still marked with a sense of awe. "Gold and purple. Lightning. Huh. Guess fire was already taken." The jester made a slithering motion to free himself of the bed's lovely pull and stood up fully, taking the chance to admire the room even more. "Sigh. I don't mind too much."-a short stretch of the arms- "Though, this is probably a little rich for my tastes. Maybe. Maybe not. Oh well." He began a monotonous pace around the room. "Hrm... I'd like that warm meal... Should I ask?... Hrm... Naw. No. I'll wait. Probably have to help with that circle anyways."

With a quick motion, he threw himself back up upon the bedding. "Oh... This is going to be fun, isn't it..." His head sadly tilted to the side with an accompanied sigh. "Nera and Soryn and all them... Oh dear, oh dear..." The mumblings continued as he absentmindedly played with the bells on his head, watching for the time when he would have to go and participate in the all too important summons.  

[Sullen Sweet Juliet]

The little black-and-white cat sat placidly behind one of the six candles spaced around the tower room. Her soft tail swept slowly across the floor behind her, raising a soft cloud of dust. The candle between her paws wasn't yet lit, and she leaned forward to sniff at the white wick. She flattened her ears and drew back at a reprimanding hiss from the young woman in the farthest corner of the room, who had donned ceremonial Mage's robes over her light mail armour. Kamika, Doragon, and Samuel had taken up places behind candles striped in their house colours. Kamika's was striped in earthy browns and greens, Doragon's in fiery reds and yellows, and Samuel's in ethereal silver and grey. The cat's was striped in pale blue and aquamarine, and the Creatrix's was a black so deep it seemed to suck the light from the air around it. The group exchanged slow looks before the Creatrix waved them all away. Slowly, their candles returned to the snowy white that they had been, and that the lone candle still was.

Gathering the skirts of her robe a bit, she stepped across the circle, making each candle briefly fade dark before returning to its normal state. The black and white cat followed after her, haunting her footsteps. Picking up a stick of white chalk, she started to work the magic runes into the circle. THe more runes and symbols she chalked in, the more the candles flickered through the house colours of the Darklin residents. Finally, when the chalk was hardly more than a pebble between her fingertips, she straightened up, her back cracking gently.

"Samuel, bring Lord Mikhail in. The circle has been cast." The groundskeeper nodded and gave a short, curt bow, his hand on his dagger.

He had left the only non-resident of Darklin that was currently in the Manor in the lavishly furnished bedchamber that had been assigned to him. Raising one gloved hand, he knocked loudly on the door, whose handle was now the rich colour of pure gold. "My Lord, the circle has been cast. We need only your presence to open the portal." He opened the heavy door, and leaned casually on the doorframe, one hand still resting on his dagger.

There was a cold smile on his lips, and a tenseness in his shoulders that made one think of a large predatory animal waiting to leap upon his prey and devour it. Normally warm, kindly brown eyes were cold and hostile, a gleam of icy hatred buried deep inside. What he was thinking was as much a puzzle as life itself, but his intentions were crystal clear. Though there was no rational reason for it, the young groundskeeper hated Mikhail, and, quite possibly, wished him dead.

In a matter of seconds, the smile warmed, the hatred faded from Samuel's eyes, and he let his hand fall away from his dagger as he laughed. "Come, my lord. We are eager to meet your retinue." Icy hostility had been replaced by an almost childlike glee and curiosity. It was an abrupt, unnerving change in the young man. He was far more pleasant with the warmer smile, but it made one think that, perhaps, there was something seriously wrong with the groundskeeper's mental state.  

[The Emerald Piper]

The glittering gold-handled door swung effortlessly on its hinges, allowing the jester, who had decided on the spot to wear a robe of his newfound colors for the special occasion, to pass through while making the groundskeeper take a forced step backwards. Mikhail pulled on his new outfit with a little disdain; it was a little tight, and once again, he thought it was still a little rich for his tastes. All too aware of the presence that would lead him to the casting circle, he closed the door behind him to find what he thought was an abnormally cheery face of Samuel staring back at him, with a hidden intensity that the jester would've raised an eyebrow at, but dared not to at the man's face. Instead, he put on a face of quiet scrutiny, stared at him for a short moment, and turned down the hall back to where, hopefully, he had came from not too long ago.

He heard Samuel's footsteps strolling eerily behind him, one of the only couple sounds reverberating against the dark labyrinth halls. He didn't speak a word, almost fearing to break the silence that lay between them. This occurred for several minutes until the jester ceased his walking, knowing full well that he didn't know the rest of the path, and gestured for the groundskeeper to continue leading. Though Mikhail didn't care for looking at Samuel's expression, he obeyed the path that the man took until, finally, they reached the room that the jester knew full well would be the summoning chamber. Standing at its doorway, he rested against the darkened door frame, his new smile sly and curious.

"I'm here, Creatrix. What's next?"  

[Sullen Sweet Juliet]

The Creatrix dusted the chalk dust from her hands as Samuel pushed into the room. Taking his place outside the circle, he glared at the candle only inches from his toes. The others arrayed themselves accordingly, also outside the chalk circle. The candles flickered fitfully, not settling on any colour as yet.

The pixie-like figure smiled at the jester, pleased that he had, indeed, taken the element she had prepared for. Reaching into a pocket of her robe, she handed him the smallest of blades. "We will need a drop of your blood to open the portal. It is your home, after all, that we are trying to link to." She gave him a slight shove to position him just outside the circle that she had chalked before going to her own spot.