Conference Headquarters

[Arkhosia]

Kramolagh's Study - Ritual Chamber

Aurelia moves to follow him, almost as if in a trance - which wasn't exactly far off from the truth. A sharper, more startled gasp is pushed from the blonde's lips as Kramolagh's nails scrape against her side through her clothing, but it's not enough to make the substance-addled woman attempt to break free or escape.

So she lets herself be led, obedient and subservient, much quieter than she had been before.

[Hattish Thing]

[Later - 25 Minutes Past Meeting Time]

Immediately after Amity responds, the call drops.

Tracking Myranda is fairly easy, for Amity (and therefore Tank) had spent a considerable amount of time with the secretary the last few weeks. Eventually, the light gray door leading into her dormitory is reached, the entrance closed shut and only somewhat illuminated by the lighting panels overhead.

---

[Chemical Laboratory]

Director Orvhelle purses her lips before smiling politely, yet painfully. "Mm... well, it's a start. Now, certainly you're aware of the existence of magic. There are those, obviously, who have learned over time and study to perform feats thought impossible. Rather than cast magic like a spellcaster, the alchemist captures his or her own magic potential within liquids and extracts he creates, infusing his chemicals with virulent power to grant him impressive skill with poisons, explosives, and all manner of self-transformative magics."

"In short, those without a talent for the arcane can yet replicate it's effects through masterful manipulation of certain properties."

---

[Kramolagh's Study - Ritual Chamber]

Smirking somewhat, as if carnally satisfied by the woman's sudden flinch and pained exhalation, the gray-coated man steps forward, piercing the runic line upon the floor which separates the hidden ritual chamber from Kramolagh's own office. Once Aurelia has been guided inside, he slowly, confidently presses a small panel built into the painfully bright, white chamber, one which promptly causes the wall to shut behind them. The ritual chamber itself appears to be overwhelmingly bright and stark, entirely empty save for a number of glass shelves containing curious vials and tinctures.

At the center of the room, dominating the chamber, a bright white well can be seen, perfectly smooth. Cold mist flows forth from within the well, clinging to the ground as it fills the chamber. Lining the lip of the well, sinister silver runes glow and beat, throbbing as some strange organ would. Kramolagh proceeds to slowly, almost ritualistically guide Aurelia to the well, gripping her tightly. Once close enough to gaze into the depths of the structure, Aurelia will be notice the perfectly smooth surface of what appears to be a thick, silver liquid, the fluid itself seemingly reflective.

Quietly, the man whispers into her ear, his breathy voice echoing slightly within the silent chamber.

"Nervous, sweet zhing? Don't be."

"Vhe are all of us starchildren; the moon itself lives within zhe lining of our s-skin. Vhe must only tear it free."

[billtodamax]

Chemical Laboratory

Nigel dutifully notes down the key points of Orvhelle's lecture, but frowns as he rereads them. So it captures your own magic potential, but that's different from your magic talent? Nigel does not understand magic and distrusts it on principle. This does mean he's got a bit of a blindspot for the terminology.

[Halae]

[Later - 25 Minutes Past Meeting Time]

Immediately after Amity responds, the call drops.

Tracking Myranda is fairly easy, for Amity (and therefore Tank) had spent a considerable amount of time with the secretary the last few weeks. Eventually, the light gray door leading into her dormitory is reached, the entrance closed shut and only somewhat illuminated by the lighting panels overhead.

[Later - 25 Minutes Past Meeting Time]

When Myranda's phone disconnects, neither of the pair hesitates - Tank picks Amity up and in just a moment she's on the deathclaw's back and they're both making swift progress towards Myranda's dorm, with Tank sniffing the air to try and find the most recent example of where the secretary is, intending to follow it to where she is now.

[Arkhosia]

Ritual Chamber

The blonde winces at the sudden glare of light, squinting as she adjusts to it, and looking back as the door seals shut behind the two. Even in her drugged stupor, there was something about this room that felt... wrong as she took in the sterile environs. She had never been the fondest of hospitals and laboratories, and the room reminded her far too much of them with its shelves of glassware. The fog that swirled about the floor and clung to their feet like a smothering blanket didn't help either.

But this unsettled feeling certainly wasn't enough to stop Aurelia from letting Kramolagh lead her to the basin, even as she shivered slightly. Trepidation began to work its way into her mind as she stared at the pulsing runes and the unnatural liquid within; but then Kram spoke, and as if on command, it all faded, giving way to deep curiosity. "and... this will let us reach our full potential?" she asked, turning towards the man.

[Hattish Thing]

[Ritual Chamber - In Memoriam]

As she turns to face him, a small, barely distinguishable smile forms upon his face, the bright light of the room causing shadows to form in the hollows of his face, where his prominent cheekbones jut slightly forward. The shadow, combined wit highly efficient contouring, ensures that Cauvin's face remains impeccably framed, the light causing the gloss upon his lips to stand out perfectly. Partially obscured by the fog, the executor appears as more than a man, almost ethereal in appearance, celestial, supernatural. Still smirking slightly, Cauvin removes his gloves, tossing them delicately into a small pile beside the well, revealing long and slender fingers, the nails sharpened slightly and painted white.

Confidently, Cauvin steps closer to her, grasping her by the middle before setting her down rather firmly upon the lip of the wall. Silently, he reaches for Aurelia's smaller hands, gripping them tightly before guiding them to the front of his coat, allowing her to undo several clasps and buttons as he begins to speak, gazing over her shoulder, deep into the well of silvery water. His first few words are rather quiet, little more than a whisper, sultry yet distant, his mind clearly elsewhere despite the enthusiasm in which he proceeds to guide her.

"Certainly, darling."

--

With a graceful shrug, the thick coat falls behind him, an exquisite crimson vest following soon after. Still glancing towards the well, rather than towards Aurelia, he speaks once more, undoing the belt worn around his hips. "You're quite beautiful, y-you know, for a vhoman. No offense, of course, but I've always preferred zhose of zhe... firmer sex. You remind me, aha, of zhe f-first time I kissed a boy. I vhas very much like y-you, you know; innocent, and naive, and so very, v-very blonde, ha. I vhas twenty, and zhis boy... a year older zhan I vhas. Mm, he vhas v-very pretty. But..." At that, he leans forward, attempting to trace a sharpened fingernail across Aurelia's cheek, the barest hint of genuine sadness forming upon his face. "Mm, you know vhat zhey say about p-pretty young men."

"It vhas all a joke for him, you see. It vhas silly, zhat kiss of ours. Vhe vhere both awfully drunk, but I thought it meant more, so... I asked to m-meet him again, but, you see, zhat m-moment of intimacy for me, for him, it vhas something else entirely, just... another experience, another flavor, as he vhould so crudely describe it. Zhis time, however, others found out. See, his... tendencies, zhey vhere his deepest secret. Unvhilling to admit to it freely, vhen his idiot friends found out, he claimed zhat I had come onto him, zhat it was wholly one-sided, zhat I had... acted predatory towards him. Zhey found me, several days later, on zhe vhay to my dormitory, zhey vhould not listen to vhat I had to say."

"No, zhey drowned me, or tried to, in zhe fountain just outside. Broke my teeth and held me under zhe vhater, vhile all zhe vhile he simply vhatched. His hands weren't zhe ones on my neck, but zhey may vhell have been."

--

Suddenly far less gentle, Cauvin proceeds to attempt to firmly kiss at Aurelia, before casually pushing her backwards, head-first, into the well.

"Zhe satisfaction vhas indescribable, years later. Vhatching zhem, in turn, drowned before me."

---

[Later - 25 Minutes Past Meeting Time]

The trail, it seems, leads directly into her room, accessible via the door ahead.

---

[Chemical Laboratory]

With a curt nod, Director Orvhelle responds. "Mm, you are correct. Every individual is believed to carry within them a shred of innate magic, for many, this shred is inactive for the entirety of their lives, yet alchemy requires no activation of the self, it merely requires the existence of a shred."

"Thusly, a man who will never cast a spell could very well thrive, professionally, as an alchemist."

[billtodamax]

Chemical Laboratory

Nigel studiously writes this down.

Haha.

Nerd.

Ok, cool cool cool. He says after he has it all down. So is there like... a baby's first extract I can make or something? He's ready to cook some alchemy meth babyyyyyy.

[Halae]

[Myranda's Dorm]

Amity will first attempt to open the door the normal way, calling out "Myranda? Are you there?"

What happens next depends on how much of a response she gets, and whether the door is locked. If it's unlocked, she'll open it and the pair will stomp inside to look for the secretary. If it's locked, she nods to Tank, and he'll proceed to open it anyways. They will get inside, regardless of the circumstances.

[Arkhosia]

Ritual Chamber - Requiescat In Pace?

Aurelia's breath hitches as the hands upon her waist take her by surprise, spinning her around and planting her down upon the edge of the well, and triggering a tinge of red and a faint little smirk as they guide her own hands in a firm grasp. Understanding the cue immediately, her thinner, more dainty digits begin to do as Kramolagh bade them. It's an easy task for her even without the reinforcement of her drug-addled mind; the woman has done this before, and now that the substance makes her so tragically susceptible to instruction, feelings of disgust or reticence have been stripped away to make room for compliance.

In much the same way it assists Aurelia in listening raptly as the Executor reminisces to her... even if his gaze isn't exactly towards her, to her disappointment. She hangs onto every word, the compliments as much as the narrative - well, apart from when a sliver of the person below creeps through with an amused smile at the label of "naive", though a caress of the face banishes it - and the sudden change in mannerism takes the complacent heiress completely by surprise.

Aurelia sits in stunned silence as Kram takes her breath away with a kiss before trying to return it, and then the blonde is pushed head-first into the eldritch waters behind her. It invades her parted lips as she falls into the murky basin before she can attempt to prop herself up and raise her head above water, coughing and sputtering. Once she fills her lungs with air, she stares up at Kramolagh with timidity and apprehension, her obedience only reinforced with fear. "A-are you going to do the same to me?"

[Hattish Thing]

[Ritual Chamber - In Memoriam]

The water itself is highly unsettling, bitterly cold to the touch and highly unnatural, flowing and moving unlike any earthly liquid, the substance sticking to Aurelia's flesh before fading away just as easily, thick and heavy and frighteningly cold as it pierces her lips, filling her lungs. With an uncharacteristically aggressive snarl upon his face, the executor plunges an arm into the well, grasping at the younger woman's throat, attempting to roughly grasp and push her beneath the surface, hardly caring that his sharpened nails likely tore at sensitive flesh.

Never breaking eye contact, Cauvin stares forward towards Aurelia, an expression of dull rage upon his face, highly unusual for a man generally too in-control of the situation to consider cold-blooded murder, by his own hand. Should Aurelia claw at his arm, the executor merely gasps and groans, pain receptors having faded long ago.

"Yes, my sweet little thing."

"I am."

---

[Myranda's Dorm]

A familiar, sniffle-y voice can be heard from the other side of the door after a few awkward moments. "Go... g-go away!"

"Please..."

--

The door is locked.

---

[Chemical Laboratory]

Director Orvhelle rolls her eyes before stepping forward to the nearest alchemical chamber, filled all with glassware and components. Delicately, she places her own extraordinarily full formulae book down upon the table, turning to a particular page before gesturing for Nigel.

The page is absolutely full of numbers and alchemical symbols, with few straightforward directions.

"No extract is easy, but this will be a good start."

"A minor curative potion."

[Halae]

[Myranda's Dorm]

"Myranda, I'm not going to just leave. Tell me what's wrong!" Amity calls through the door, "if something is happening let me help."

Meanwhile, Tank paces back and forth along the hallway, clearly agitated.

[billtodamax]

Chemical Laboratory

Nigel frowns, beginning by copying the page over from her book to his.

Once that's done, he starts with anything obvious before he starts asking questions. So do these symbols represent some of these ingredients, or...?

[Arkhosia]

Ritual Chamber - Dulce Et Decorum Est Pro Scientia Mori

Trembling fiercely from the cold embrace of the eldritch waters around her, Aurelia's eyes widen in terror as Kramolaugh's hands wrap around her neck, nails biting painfully into her flesh as he forces her head underwater. The spell of obedience he held on her breaks as her own hands shoot up to clutch at the executor's wrists, struggling to pry them off with surprising strength - it seems his victim has a fair bit of muscle still - and she blindly attempts to kick him. But it's doubtful that attempts to wrench his fingers open or tear his hands away are anything more than futile.