(Official Roleplay) Dawn of a Civil War

[moonlily]

Sheshet flicked an ear toward Akil.

"Yes, there," she said, "atop that very highest rock, there." Sheshet lifted a paw to point up to the place the figure had stood. "He must have climbed up from behind, as he just suddenly appeared. No one saw him climbing up there."

Sheshet considered the tomb robber carefully. With his experience, he would likely know better than her where and how to search.

"Do you have any ideas where to look?" The conversation served to fill the time as well as to form a plan. "When the High Mage gets here, that is. Hopefully, she'll get here..."

Sheshet trailed off, worried that the strange TaRepy might have forgot them after all. She looked back toward the palace, but couldn't see any sign of the mage yet.

[jeanstarwind]

Akil frowned, his tail twitching back and forth in slight impatience. "I most certainly want to take a look myself - I do have some...tracking experience, I suppose you could say." He answered Sheshet. "I think first we ought to walk around behind the area in order to see if we can find where the Sphinx entered and then left."

"But I wouldn't want to do so before the High Mage arrives. I know little of the ways of magic and would not want to accidentally disturb something that she might need."

Akil paused, turning an ear towards the Park entrance and trying to pick up any sounds that might indicate that TaRepy was on her way.

[PookaWitch]

Running a little late TaRepy finally rushed into the park with a bounding gait. She really needed to learn to organize her magical scrolls a bit better, that last tracking spell scroll had fallen behind her scrbing desk. She hoped that she wasn't too late, and felt a touch of relief when the two sphinxes from the palace were waiting near the fountain. She wondered if the others who were talking about this at the palace would show up as well.

"I'm here, I'm here." she puffed while catching her breath, the heavy satchel overstuffed with scrolls swung around her shoulders as she stopped. The mage took a moment to lap up a thirst quenching drink from the fountain.

"So, where was this mysterious figure seen?"

[moonlily]

Sheshet sighed in relief as the High Mage joined them at last. And in fairly good time, too!

"Over here," she stood up and moved toward the playground. "Up on that very top rock. It was obvious at the time that he climbed up from behind. This way..."

Following the advise of the tomb robber, Sheshet led the small group around the tall rocks and logs to the backside of the area, till it seemed she came to a likely spot. Her ears pinned back as she caught the faint leftover traces of the smell of anise seed.

"Maybe around here?" she suggested, stepping back to let Akil and TaRepy put their expertise to use.

[jeanstarwind]

Akil immediately stood as the High Mage came bounding towards them into the park, and followed behind as Sheshet led them towards the rocks.

He wrinkled his nose as they came around the back of the rocky area - obviously scent tracking was not going to do them a bit of good. Eyes were the next best thing, but the rock itself certainly wasn't going to give them anything in the way of paw prints. Still, it was entirely possible that the Sphinx might have accidentally left some small piece of clothing or item behind; no matter if it was dropped or if it had been pulled off by a branch.

"I'm not sure what you need for your magics," he said, turning to TaRepy. "I'd like to go search around in there, maybe even take a look at the top of the rock itself, but would it be best to wait until you've cast your spells or whatever it is you need before disturbing the scene?"

[PookaWitch]

The remnants of the anise seed, placed to obscure the stranger's scent, was still enough to make the inner nose of a sphinx prickle. As TaRepy neared the rock her nose wrinkled and her eyes watered slightly.

"Well' she said with a look of disgust from the strong scent 'I was thinking of a tracking spell. Too many others have probably been around this spot since the gathering, but I may be able to do a directional tracking spell on the anise seed oil... whoever dropped this may still have the container."

TaRepy lept to climb up around the rocks and logs, a large cat's play zone. She paused to gag, making disgusted faces more then a couple of times. When atop the rock she pulled out items from her satchel, some incense that she proceeded to set up and burn atop the rock, and took a moment to get out and prepare inks where she carefully drew the hieroglyphic symbols for 'seeds' and 'mouth' upon the surface before her. She then lay upon her belly and whispered to the rock's surface beneath her, occasionally turning her head and ears if if listening to a quiet sound.

After a moment she gathered up what supplies could be salvaged, such as her inking kit, and pawed out the burning incense. With a bound she lept from the rocks.

"We're lucky! There was enough of the anise seed oil left to speak with, and it informed me that there was more in the container it was poured from."

She looked up at the sky, trying to get an idea of how late it was getting. "I'll do a directional divination, it should lead us towards wherever the container is."

[jeanstarwind]

Akil's ears perked up at this very good news from the High Mage. It looked like his tracking skills wouldn't even be needed in this case, but that was fine with him. Whatever magic TaRepy might cast to give their search direction would probably not only be more reliable, but, most important of all, faster. He was ready to be on the hunt.

"Excellent," Akil grinned, "Is there anything that either of us can do to help?"

[moonlily]

Sheshet watched with interest as the High Mage leapt up the rocks, performed some sort of spell, and descended again, though she had no idea what exactly the mage had done.

"Hopefully the anise is still with the mysterious figure," she commented, more or less just to have something to say. With her role of leading them here done, she felt there was little more she could contribute right now. Though, as Akil spoke, she looked just as eager to be helpful.


((OOC: I have to be gone for most of today for appts, so feel free to push this forward, with Sheshet trailing along in the background, and I can catch up late tonight. If they're going to head south, though, Sheshet would love a way to get a note back to the palace so Min-kalet doesn't punish her for being gone for weeks. XD ))

[PookaWitch]

((Sorry for strong-arming the plot a bit with these guys, it's my fault that they were behind everybody else. ^^; ))


"Mmm..." she made a noise while thinking about Akil's offer for help and Sheshet's eager look to be useful. It sort of made TaRepy wish that there was something that they could do, but it wasn't a difficult spell. "This shouldn't take long, I'll just set up a location tracking spell."

She fumbled around in her satchel for a bit, producing varying scrolls, talismans and items. She took a moment to skim over a couple of the spell scrolls to refresh her memory then lifted a black scarab amulet. Save for the flat bottom it was a full oval, carved so that the wings were tucked in. It was somewhat large, big enough to nearly cover the central pad on her paw, and unlike nearly all scarab amulets it had a loop at it's read instead of the head, which a long, but thin, braid of ribbon was tied to.

First she rubbed some heavily scented oils into it's rounded top, making sure to lubricate the carving's indentations. Then carefully she turned it over, scratched her claws carefully over the flat base to trace out some of the symbols, then lay it upon the ground.

With a bit of a humm the scarab started to move, the dark wings unfolding from it's body. It buzzed while flying up into the air, TaRepy quickly shoving her paw down on the ribbon that strung it. For a moment the black stone scarab circled and swung back and forth until it kept trying to fly in one direction, held into a hover by the ribbon that kept the amulet from escaping... it seemed to point towards the south.

"Well, it seems as if the container is in this direction."
She started to follow the direction that the scarab pointed, making sure that it constantly had a length of ribbon so that it could point in the correct direction.


(The land rp is getting a bit big, so if you guys don't mind I'll have the scarab lead them to the docks, and down the river. ^_^

And no worries about Seshet. When they realise that they're taking a boat TaRepy will send message back that she needs her help for a time. ))

[jeanstarwind]

Akil watched the High Mage closely as she performed the spell, surprised that the magic began without even any incantations being necessary. He was fascinated by how the scarab had come to life - still stone, but moving and flying like any real insect.

"Right then," Akil nodded in reply to TaRepy and took a step forward. "Let's not waste a moment - there's no telling how far this thing might lead."


((OOC: That's fine, Pooka! I certainly don't mind - I'm ready to shove them all in a boat, anyway, lol And Akil would probably want to send a short little note to his lady friend, of TaRepy could mange it - not to actually explain himself, but to at least do her the courtesy of letting her know that he wasn't going to come around that day.)

[moonlily]

Sheshet watched quietly but with great interest as TaRepy worked her magics. For a moment, it didn't really look like the High Mage was truly doing much, but then to Sheshet's wonderment, the black scarab amulet seemingly sprung to life. Sheshet felt her jaw drop in astonishment, and then quickly closed it again, hoping no one had noticed. Such an amazing thing! Sheshet stared at the buzzing talisman intently, wondering exactly how it all worked. For a moment, a brief flicker of thought ran through her head that wondered if she could learn to do such things, too.

TaRepy interrupted her thoughts with her pronouncement that south was the way to head, and Sheshet nodded eagerly along with Akil. Obediently, she followed along behind the mage and the tomb robber as they padded after the scarab.

((OOC: Thanks, Pooka! ^^ And I think Sheshet would get a thrill out of riding in a boat. XD ))

[PookaWitch]

This part of the RP is over, so I'm just locking it.