Cirice was excited beyond words to meet the famed Witch of Moonglade. It had been her aim in joining the Mage’s Guild to find a great teacher to apprentice under and no mage was as well-known as the Witch of Moonglade. When she and Tsarra had returned their findings to the Guild and they’d sent her here with new orders to find out what was going on with the stolen corpses she had been very excited to hear the Witch would be joining her. After all it isn’t every day you get to meet one of your heroes. Perhaps if she made a good enough impression she could even become her apprentice! She just had to prove herself. That wouldn’t be too hard. She’d done that for Morrigan Moonweaver, she could do it again.

She paces around the wagon as the Ars Goetia floats around behind her. “Alright Ars, form up! She’ll be here any minute! Make sure to have the book about her too so I can get her autograph!”

The book bobs in the air as more books pull themselves off the shelves and form into a humanoid figure around the main one¹. Cirice nods in approval and takes a deep breath before stepping out of her wagon library and onto the soft, marshy ground. Time to make an impression.

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1 Book Golem

SPOILER: Click to show

Quest Name: The Great Work (Mage's Guild)
Participants: Two or more (Only guild members get the reward)
Location: Marsh Flats
Post Requirements: 6 post per person, 200 words per post
Reward: +1 Renown
Description: The guild has recovered all of the stolen bodies from the academy, but upon further investigation into who stole them, we have uncovered something far more sinister. It appears as if several different types of doctors and scientist have been working on foul and horrible experiments beneath the swamp. Rumors report that they are stealing bodies from graves all across Charon and are stitching them together. We have no idea why this is, but we need to figure it out. Go in, deal with one of these doctors and uncover any clues that might explain why they are fusing bodies together.

Despite her initial reluctance, the Witch have found a great amount of comfort in taking the skies. At first, she felt her heart beating so fast she surely would have left it on the ground. Maybe the company helped greatly, as the great black drake Kalaf was both a beast of the skies and the earth, showing her that such duality was not only possible, but natural. The wind brushed her hair, and the frost would never be able to get to the Pyromancer, even if the fiery beast that carried her with such grace and patience didn't have a molten core.

Kamille was not particularly known for punctuality, but was respectful enough to not let others wait on too long if she could help. No gestures or words were needed, but when she spotted the wagon down there, the thought was passed along without words: Kalaf directed his head to the ground and began his descending. It was the worst part for her, the landing, though she had started to get used to it. She braced herself for the landing, and soon enough the ground shook under the drake's weight, the nearby trees and bushes bending over the winds created by his wings. Despite landing within a certain distance from the wagon, it was still easy to feel the beast's presence and feel the ground shake. The creature's scorching eyes carried a weight characteristic of old beings, that had seen much and are not likely surprised easily. But like the gentleman that he was, he bended over slightly to allow his rider to slide to the ground with ease.

"I don't know how much time I'll take, Kalaf. I'll warn you when we have decided on our plans."

Kalaf huffed, a puff of black smoke leaving his nostrils.

"Take all the time you need, little one. I will be taking my nap. If....... I'm not interrupted....."

The drake squinted his eyes at her as she chuckled softly at the remark. An old gentlemen at heart, all he wanted was his nap under the sun like an old cat. Pulling her hood down and taking off her mask, Kamille finally turned and shot an intrigued look to the wagon before her. This must be it - there weren't many wagons with that description just laying around, were there? Kamille didn't know much about this member of the Mage's Guild, but was clearly willing to make connections and leave a good impression. Kamille fred a grumpy Mischief from inside her cloak, and he promptly went to perch on her shoulder. The raven didn't enjoy flying like that, but his smaller wings were no competition to Kalaf's large ones.

"Oh. My. Word. Look at your hair! Please, wait a minute, darling..."

The spellbook bound to a chain to her waist started to move on its own, the pages loosen as if struck by wind, but instead rearranging in a tall, thin figure made of paper and notes, with a cosmic swirling nebula where it should be a face. His long fingers made of paper gently started to brush her hair; truth be told, the flight always made her look quite disheveled. As it should.

"There. I couldn't allow you to meet another member of the Guild looking like that."

"Thank you, Zhantal. Now, let's go meet her."

With the spellbook Zhantal behind her and the dragon on the background, Kamille knocked on Cirice's door.

Completely absorbed in making sure that she looked okay and had everything ready to meet her idol, Cirice had totally missed the sound of the dragon landing and the subsequent conversations and knock on her door. So it was that as Kamille went to knock was the exact moment she managed to swing the door open with gusto, effectively wacking her potential mentor upon first meeting.

“Huh?” Cirice blinks as the door makes contact with something or someone and she peeks around to see the beautiful mage and her raven companion standing there. “Oh my GODDESS! I am so sorry! Are you okay? I-I didn’t know you were there!”

She frets over Kamille like a frightened kitten, “Did I hurt you? I can heal!”

She looks over the half-elven woman, noting her long, beautiful raven hair and glittering dark blue eyes. That seems familiar… Like a visage she’s read about. OH NO!

“Oh my goddess are-are you the Witch of Moonglade? I am so sorry I didn’t realize you were already here and-and…” Her words turn into a long string of curses in the language of the Isles as she hides her face in her hands in shame. Behind her the book golem exits the wagon behind her, hearing her plight and reaching its hands out towards Kamille, on hand holding a quill and the other being a copy of Neck Romancer by Iskald, the main spellbook of the golem asking politely, ‘may I get your autograph’ in beautiful calligraphy.

Stars flashed before her eyes, and not in a good way - if there was one. One minute she was standing before a door, and the next she realized Zhantal was utterly scandalized helping her to her feet, waving frantically the arm that wasn’t supporting her.

"HOW DARE YOU LITTLE MISS! DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU JUST STRUCK?! THE GUILD WILL HEAR OF THIS!"

"It's alright, Zhantal," she could hear her own voice saying. "It was an accident, I'm sure...."

"MA'AM THIS IS THE WITCH OF MOONGLADE YOU JUST HIT! Look at your hair, Mistress! So much trouble for nothing!"

Kamille was still coming to her senses, with a hand pressing her forehead, as Zhantal was still all fussy trying to straighten her black hair. The man was entirely made of book pages, with a swirling nebula for his face. Despite not having features to express his exhasperation, his voice did so with much bluntness, trying to shoo away the other book golem away with a waving gesture.

In the background, Kalaf rose his head for a moment, with black smoke rising from his nostrils. With a low grunt, the black drake almost looked like he was rolling his eyes before hiding his face in his wings once again, ready for a nap.

Absolutely scandalized at the other book golem’s words she comes over and tries to help Kamille as well. Reaching out and offering her hand and trying to make things right if possible.

“I-I am so sorry ma’am. I-I’m Cirice, Cirice Lunestre. I really didn’t mean to hit you with the door, I was just so excited. I’m a huge fan of yours and you’re so much prettier in person than Iskald describes you…” She’s rambling in her nervousness, looking Kamille over to see if she’s been so much as bruised.

Ars pays no attention to his talking kinsman, just holding his hands out towards Kamille but not enough to be in the way, still asking for an autograph.

“I’ll make this up to you!” Tears are coming to Cirice’s eyes in her embarrassment and fear and she wants to shrivel up and die. “Please don’t have me kicked out of the guild… I really want to learn to be a great mage… I’ll never find a mentor if I get kicked out of the Mage’s Guild… I'll do anything to make it up to you, I promise!”

Once she was up on her feet again, Kamille was still trying to get a hold of her surroundings, rubbing her forehead, and there were so many people around her, and so much talking and......

"....I'm good! I'm okay, I promise, I.... Iskald? What are you talking about?"

She finally stopped rubbing her forehead and got to take a good look at the young woman before her. Kamille didn't truly know what to expect, but what she saw was a cute young lady with teary eyes wide open and terrified, that quickly made the Witch want to reach out and hug and comfort her. There were paper hands frantically trying to fix her hair, while still keeping the other book golem away. If he could stare daggers at him, Zhantal would.

"I'm.... I'm flattered... I-"

"Young lady, this is Lady Kamille, the Witch of Moonglade, Mother Raven of the Black Quills, Mage of the Sixth Rin-"

"I guess we're past these formalities, Zhantal, thank you. It's nice to meet you Lady Lunestre. I've heard a good deal about you. How.... How about we go inside, hm?"

Zhantal was waving a hand in front of her, but between his paper fingers some kind of book was being presented to her and... someone was asking for an autograph? Maybe she hid her head harder than she thought? She still looked quite confused. Suddenly she realized she could occupy herself by introducing her companions.

"Lady Lunestre, this is Zhantal. He is my....... Spellbook."

It was complicated. Then she gestured to the great beast on the background, a giant sleeping black dragon.

"That is Kalaf. Please don't disturb him while he sleeps. He can get a bit angry... And where.... Ah! That was Mischief."

The infamous raven had just flown by and entered the wagon without invitation. Just like that.

“Oh yes! Of course! Please, come in- Oh!” Cirice blinks as the raven flies right inside. “The pleasure is really mine, ma’am. I have heard so much about you, well read about you… That’s your spellbook? This is mine! He’s Ars Goetia, Ars stop asking for her autograph, you’re embarrassing me…”

“Yeah um… Iskald, he’s my favorite author… He wrote a few books mentioning you…” Cirice shifts her weight from foot to foot, mumbling, “mainly smut…”

“WHOA IS THAT A DRAGON??? HIIIIIIII!” She waves to the sleeping dragon with gusto before ushering Kamille into the library.

The inside of the wagon is lined with bookshelves full to bursting and secured with netting, and lots of cozy pillows and blankets and sparkly trinkets. Its comfy, lived in and definitely been tidied up for a guest. A small table sits on the floor surrounded by cushions with a blanket under it and she sits down. Mischief has made his home on the table and is enjoying a muffin. 

“So um… We’re here to uh… Find the people who were doing bad things with the bodies stolen from the Academy… Right? They are doing necromancy, right? I’ve got a few books on necromancy… Hmmm…” She gets up and picks through a few of the shelves. “Maybe… Not anything useful to this though…”

Ars comes back to Kamille and tries to get her autograph on Neck Romancer again as Cirice is looking through her books, "Cookbook... Marriage... Taxes... OH OH 'Making New Friends Out of Old Friends?' That might be helpful?"

The dragon blinked with only one eye towards Cirice, possibly enough recognition she would have from him for the day. Kamille and Zhantal were quickly ushered into the house, but not before she picked on a crucial information:

Iskald did what?

Usually, she would think it was rather hard to make her blush - unless, of course, you're a hot vampire lord or maybe a tiny criminal bird. It was probably almost a century ago the last time she could remember to have blushed such a deep shade of red, so genuinely out of words.

"I..... he........ I'm.... what?!"

"Worry not, Mistress. We received a copy of such novels and I decided it was a waste of your precious time, so I kept it away-"

"Wait, what?"

"Let's come inside, Mistress..."

Kamille was still much more dazed than she would've liked to meet this member of the guild thay was said to be so full of potential. The inside of the wagon brings her some kind of comfort, as its feeling is not much different than her own house - books and scrolls threatened to overtake the place, while the slight chaos wasn’t enough to take away the comfort of the place.

Mischief was already on the table, helping himself to whatever it was at his disposal. Kamille also took a seat, and when Ars approached to ask for an autograph again, she actually took the book to take a look... and to hide her blush for a moment longer.

"Uhhhm..... I was thinking we could actually get a lot more information on the.... uh.... Crime scene? Where the coffins were kept before being stolen... I haven’t discovered much when I recovered one of the bodies either..." 

"Mistress, are you planning on using Mistress Serrafleur's spell again? That is a wonderful idea! Maybe we can identify who stole those coffins!"

“Yeah we looked at the ones at the Academy but no one really got any good information.” Cirice says, “Unfortunately the body I got back was badly damaged in the scuffle… Tsarra and I tried really hard but we barely got out of there.”



“According to the information from the guild the cemetery that was most defiled was just out there, if we can glean any information from any cemetery it would probably be this one. Its called the Great Marsh Mausoleum, the largest cemetery here in the Marsh Flats. Maybe we can find someone local who knows something too…”



“Will you teach me the spell you’re talking about, ma’am? I’m looking to apprentice under one of my seniors at the guild and… I was hoping to use this mission as an opportunity to learn from the legendary Witch of Moonglade!” Blushing furiously, Cirice gives Kamille a hopeful look. Another bird joins Mischief on the table, giving him an appraising look and opening its mouth wide to chirp at its new friend. “I want to learn as much as possible, please? Will you treat me as your apprentice, even just for today? I would be forever grateful!"

Cirice's excitement was amusing and enough to take her away from the book, even if with a puzzled look. She would need to look into this guy named Iskald... Kamille had finally put the book down, suspiciously glancing at it one last time, before turning back to the young woman.

This place was very cozy and inviting, now that she took the time to take a look around. The books were very neatly organized, and she could see they received a lot of love and respect from the young lady - which was probably more than her own books. It was hard to keep things organized with Mischief around...

"Yes, I assume we're gonna have more luck trying to find something at the place itself. I doubt there would be anyone close that would have some important information, but we never know. It's worth a try."

The Witch looked surprised when Cirice asked to be her apprentice. Whatever it was that she expected when she accepted that task, it was not that. It was not the first time someone walked up to her to ask for apprenticeship, but only twice she accepted, and both of her apprentices were probably out there frolicking on their own just fine, without much of her help. She wasn't cut for this, she thought.

Mischief gawked at the new bird, but instead of excitement, he protected his muffin and glanced over the other rather suspiciously. Mischief was known for being a jealous one.

"Well... I don't want to get your hopes up... Let's see how this day will go. I... supose I can show you a few things today? What are you interested in the most?"

Maybe she should've accounted for that, but it still surprised her when people asked her to be her apprentice out of the blue. Well, it was out of the blue for her. Cirice was so giddy about it, it was hard to outright deny her, so.... a soft yes for today? They had just met, she couldn't compromise so quickly.

“Wonderful!” Cirice squeals in delight, surprised and overjoyed that despite her blunder her hero was willing to give her a little instruction. One day under the Witch of Moonglade was certain to be better than any classes at the Academy. “Well um actually recently I’ve been trying to delve into space magic… I’ve got a bit of the basics down thanks to a book I read, but I understand you’re quite skilled in space magic, do you think you could teach me a little?”

She smiles nervously and goes to pet Arestar a little, winking at Mischief, “I’d be happy to learn anything you’re willing to teach honestly. I mainly specialize in light and dark magics. I’m pretty good at those but I’m sure ther’s more I could learn!”


Looking at Kamille with big, excited eyes she stands and gets ready to leave the wagon. “But I can learn on the go, by doing as they say, right? Thank you so much senpai!”


She honestly didn’t expect that Kamille would agree and she wants to prove herself to her senpai and the best way to do that is solving the mystery they came here for. They’re both members of the Mage’s Guild after all and they have a duty to fulfill. She’s certain she’ll learn a lot just by being in Kamille’s presence and watching her.


“Let’s go into the cemetery!”

"Let's see how the day goes, okay? I'll teach you a couple of things, and we'll see what happens next..."

Truth be told, despite being asked to teach many times, Kamille didn't have much faith on traditional education, having endured it for most of her life. She had truly thrived alone, after given the bases and foundations of magic. As a result, her way of teaching was very much hands off, giving guidance more than taking someone by the hand, and she knew not everyone was compatible with that. Everyone had their own time and path.

But with the promise of moving on with their quest, the Witch looked excited, standing up and straightening her skirt. Mischief flew to her shoulder, with the remains of a muffin still on his beak.

"Let's go then! Lead the way!"

If it was close to her wagon, they could certainly take a little stroll to the cemetery. It would be a good time to chat and get to know each other. As they stepped outside the wagon and the afternoon breeze hit them, they could see the black drake was exactly where he was before, like a giant boulder covered in thousands of shinning black mirrors, his polished scales reflecting part of the setting sun.

"Have you had someone teach you before? It is fairly easy to find someone to teach the Light domain around Charon, but not so much the Dark domain..."

While deeply conflicted most of the times, Kamille had been quite influenced by the Solarian priests and the Moonglade druids, as she would've noticed, making her bang her head against the influence of her father - and, later, of the Lord of Ghouls. There was some kind of respectful stance once they entered the cemetery, a resting place above all else.

Cirice nods excitedly, determined to impress the Witch of Moonglade. She leads them toward the large cemetery, absolutely beaming.

“Actually no, my magic comes from Mother Moon, she teaches me spells as I sleep!” Cirice says chipperly, as if its the most natural thing in the world. “She started with really basic light and dark spells that I learned simultaneously and then she taught me more and more dark spells. Other spells too! I’m a very fast learner. The guild actually said my skill in dark spells was rarely seen. I think they were just trying to make me feel special.”

She giggles and looks across the solemn sepulchers and tranquil tombs. “This place doesn’t look like its been really disturbed… but then again if they made it obvious they’d already have been caught, right?”

She holds out her arm and shakes her wrist slightly. “Kevin, I need your help.” At her words one of the bracelets on her wrist starts to unfurl itself and drops to the ground. The bone snake stretches to its full length and looks at her with empty eye sockets. “Look for anything living, okay? Let me know when you find them.”

The snake bows its head slightly and burrows into the ground. Cirice watches it for a moment then smiles at Kamille. "He'll let us know if he finds them, let's look around."

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1 Baby Bone Naga - Kevin