Well I felt bad about the first time I did it and I was all complacent! Anyway, I am going to be posting a lot more given I have to interact with both you and Grim soon! :P
Anyway, soon we'll be seeing a new creation of Scalpels, and doubtless it will be quite deliciously creepy.
EldritchOne
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Nephren-Ka Was Here Bruh.
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I whip my feathered serpent back and forth.
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Scalpel gave a short laugh and bopped her shoulder gently, “No need to act so respectful my dear, goodness knows I have argued my fair share with some of the greatest minds in Equestria, the older us researchers get the more we are stuck in our ways of archaic obsolete thinking.” He gave her a playful wink, “Innovation is a thing of the young, and I believe you have a bright career ahead of you if you explore new untrodden paths. The future is yours after all.”
“Anyway!” he announced, rising from the chair and setting himself down on his hooves again “I believe it’s time to escort you out, hopefully we can continue this conversation tomorrow, if all goes well.”
Levitating the candle once again before him, and casting a spell to end the flames in the centre of the room he continued his way back to the circular door through the web way of tall bookcases. Thoughts tumbled through his mind, most notably an interest in what Prancer would want with this book… he would have to investigate the old professor at some point, doubtless he was working on something intriguing, and Scalpel would have to spread his little birds through the organisation to find out.
Exiting the door he allowed Dr Lens through and then the Risen as they followed close behind them, before pushing it closed with a boom of metal upon metal and the sound of sliding locks. The walk through his old dwelling continued uneventfully until they emerged near the hallway and the door to the outer world once again.
Out of the shadows shambled a group of forms, emerging into the light the revealed the baseline forms of Worker drones, walking on two back legs and carrying heavy sacks over their shoulders.
The Doctor smiled “Ah-ha! A new batch has arrived.” Temporarily forgetting his guest he walked across and began to inspect the cargo. He suddenly frowned as he looked within the first sack, “Hmmm…. This is very badly damaged, bandit stock I assume?… a bit young too, well I suppose I will find a way around it. Thinking about it now I have an interesting idea.”
Closing the sack he turned to face the rest of the worker Drones, “Take them down to the Labs, I will see to them in due course. I do hope the others are in better condition than that one.”
The machines whined with the sound of cracking electricity and twisting blades, almost like hounds which knew their master was disappointed, before continuing across the room and entering the left doorway to the Labs, disappearing into the darkness with only the sound of whirring metal remaining as they moved deeper into the house.
Turning back to his guest, his horn flickered with a slight touch of magic and the front door unlocked and opened, revealing the light of day once more.
“Until another day Dr Lens. Goodbye.”
“Anyway!” he announced, rising from the chair and setting himself down on his hooves again “I believe it’s time to escort you out, hopefully we can continue this conversation tomorrow, if all goes well.”
Levitating the candle once again before him, and casting a spell to end the flames in the centre of the room he continued his way back to the circular door through the web way of tall bookcases. Thoughts tumbled through his mind, most notably an interest in what Prancer would want with this book… he would have to investigate the old professor at some point, doubtless he was working on something intriguing, and Scalpel would have to spread his little birds through the organisation to find out.
Exiting the door he allowed Dr Lens through and then the Risen as they followed close behind them, before pushing it closed with a boom of metal upon metal and the sound of sliding locks. The walk through his old dwelling continued uneventfully until they emerged near the hallway and the door to the outer world once again.
Out of the shadows shambled a group of forms, emerging into the light the revealed the baseline forms of Worker drones, walking on two back legs and carrying heavy sacks over their shoulders.
The Doctor smiled “Ah-ha! A new batch has arrived.” Temporarily forgetting his guest he walked across and began to inspect the cargo. He suddenly frowned as he looked within the first sack, “Hmmm…. This is very badly damaged, bandit stock I assume?… a bit young too, well I suppose I will find a way around it. Thinking about it now I have an interesting idea.”
Closing the sack he turned to face the rest of the worker Drones, “Take them down to the Labs, I will see to them in due course. I do hope the others are in better condition than that one.”
The machines whined with the sound of cracking electricity and twisting blades, almost like hounds which knew their master was disappointed, before continuing across the room and entering the left doorway to the Labs, disappearing into the darkness with only the sound of whirring metal remaining as they moved deeper into the house.
Turning back to his guest, his horn flickered with a slight touch of magic and the front door unlocked and opened, revealing the light of day once more.
“Until another day Dr Lens. Goodbye.”
Besides, Prancer will no doubt be wondering what the Dok wants with a book of meaningless gibberish as well.
Tai Falkenburg said
Poor Lens - her family values science, but has problems trying to figure out romance. :p Actually like many of the Scholars, she doesn't do so well with Romance. Charter and Vast are pretty good at that because their mother was a pirate. They may not have mares at every port, but at least they know how to keep their cool. Also, I'm sort of surprised that Scalpel didn't ask or wonder why Director Prancer is so willing to trade so fast.
I think the assumption he has is that the Director is distinctly impatient to get his hooves on it, given he has been waiting to get it for many years, still it doesn't mean he isn't partly suspicious of Prancers interest in it, and it doesn't mean he won't be watching Prancers actions closely now he knows about it.
kapuchu said
Eldritch: That room of Scalpel's, what exactly is it? I get the feeling that it's a temporal pocket of sorts, but a very, very big one, and in case it is I'd like for you to remember what Scalpel is only a mortal, and there's a limit to how powerful he is. A temporal pocket of that size seems... a bit much. In case it's just a normal room which requires a magical key (of sorts) to enter, then just ignore this.
Its a normal room, with a lot of magical countermeasures, a complicated series of locks, and a shit ton of metal. The reason its so big is that it basically consists of the innards of the House and stretches to the roof. If it was the reference to it "disappearing" thats more to do with Scalpel knowing exactly how to disassemble it in an extremely fast fashion and get the hell out of there within a limited period of time, It really helps that he now has a lot of helpers around him these days.
“Prancer Žemaitukas you say? I am certain I have heard that name before, I believe I heard it bandied around the Canterlot institutes during my studying period at the School for Gifted Unicorns and the University, this was before the your time you understand, when the princesses were still continuing their duties and the races were unified.” Scalpel frowned, “Yes that name certainly rings a bell… I may have read some of his pre-war work during my time there, perhaps even after the school and university was put under Twilights mandate… interesting.”
Inside his mind was turning, devouring the information the young mare was telling him about. He had heard of Prancer, and he remembered certain concerns regarding his disinterest in ethical issues even back then, although they had remained quite muted during his time. He also had heard of these Scholars, who hadn’t? They were rag tag bunch of researchers rooting out old knowledge and protecting it against the storm of swords which assailed the world, like a group of tattered monks without a monastery, now suddenly risen to prominence just within the last few months… an interesting coincidence. In Scalpels opinion they dwelled far too much on preserving the past and not enough in investigating the future of scientific knowledge… but this Manehatten institute sounded like it share his opinion on this matter.
They certainly seemed like an interesting group, and worthy of at least paltry attention, and temporal disruption from his vocational studies.
“Very well, it seems the deal is set, one tome of lore for another, inform me once you have acquired it physically and I will send you a message detailing the location of the exchange. I hope you will not abuse this trust I set in you, or you will be surprised how quickly this” here he gestured around him to the room at large “Can all disappear.”
“As for your question on my interests, I can say that I certainly am a similar scholar to that of your Director. I am a stallion of many talents, most likely if we were having this discussion a few centuries earlier I would be called a ‘Renaissance Stallion’ or a Polymath like Dr Žemaitukas. I have many interests, not just limited to what you see around you, haematology, biological transmogrification, cybernetics, time distortion, at one point I was deeply invested in Necromancy, but I abandoned that due to the crudeness of the subject matter and the little gains that can be made beyond fashioning unwilling servants. Recent decades have seen me move more to the discovery of the prospects of machines and ressurectionism, but my main subject of interest still remains in exploring the fundamental nature of ponykinds connection to magic, and how that might be altered or changed to suit the needs of future generations.”
He grinned at her again, revealing a line of shining white teeth. “You could say I know a little bit of everything Dr Lens, although some matters I am a more proficient in than others.”
A slight coldness returned to his gaze and he stared the Doctor down once more, “I won’t pretend I didn’t notice your hesitation in answering my final question, but I will leave it alone for now. Doubtless your work is not openly acknowledged throughout your organisation; after all, the gods I have met have been sullenly and irritatingly reactionary towards any form of progress. I trust that any help I give to your organisation will remain secret and obscure, as I have no interest in attracting unwanted attention.”
“Regardless, once our first exchange is settled I believe I will have some interest in maintaining contact with your organisation, I may even join it, given a provisionary period where I may observe whether you organisation fits what I would actually desire, certainly your vaults do sound tempting… but one step at a time.”
“Now!” he stated, shifting up into the same position as the mare before him and tapping his front hooves together, “I believe that our business has been arranged, if you have any further questions I will be willing to answer within reasonable bounds, otherwise we will adjourn this little talk and you can rejoin your fellow comrades in research.”
“It has been a definite pleasure to meet you Dr Lens.”
Inside his mind was turning, devouring the information the young mare was telling him about. He had heard of Prancer, and he remembered certain concerns regarding his disinterest in ethical issues even back then, although they had remained quite muted during his time. He also had heard of these Scholars, who hadn’t? They were rag tag bunch of researchers rooting out old knowledge and protecting it against the storm of swords which assailed the world, like a group of tattered monks without a monastery, now suddenly risen to prominence just within the last few months… an interesting coincidence. In Scalpels opinion they dwelled far too much on preserving the past and not enough in investigating the future of scientific knowledge… but this Manehatten institute sounded like it share his opinion on this matter.
They certainly seemed like an interesting group, and worthy of at least paltry attention, and temporal disruption from his vocational studies.
“Very well, it seems the deal is set, one tome of lore for another, inform me once you have acquired it physically and I will send you a message detailing the location of the exchange. I hope you will not abuse this trust I set in you, or you will be surprised how quickly this” here he gestured around him to the room at large “Can all disappear.”
“As for your question on my interests, I can say that I certainly am a similar scholar to that of your Director. I am a stallion of many talents, most likely if we were having this discussion a few centuries earlier I would be called a ‘Renaissance Stallion’ or a Polymath like Dr Žemaitukas. I have many interests, not just limited to what you see around you, haematology, biological transmogrification, cybernetics, time distortion, at one point I was deeply invested in Necromancy, but I abandoned that due to the crudeness of the subject matter and the little gains that can be made beyond fashioning unwilling servants. Recent decades have seen me move more to the discovery of the prospects of machines and ressurectionism, but my main subject of interest still remains in exploring the fundamental nature of ponykinds connection to magic, and how that might be altered or changed to suit the needs of future generations.”
He grinned at her again, revealing a line of shining white teeth. “You could say I know a little bit of everything Dr Lens, although some matters I am a more proficient in than others.”
A slight coldness returned to his gaze and he stared the Doctor down once more, “I won’t pretend I didn’t notice your hesitation in answering my final question, but I will leave it alone for now. Doubtless your work is not openly acknowledged throughout your organisation; after all, the gods I have met have been sullenly and irritatingly reactionary towards any form of progress. I trust that any help I give to your organisation will remain secret and obscure, as I have no interest in attracting unwanted attention.”
“Regardless, once our first exchange is settled I believe I will have some interest in maintaining contact with your organisation, I may even join it, given a provisionary period where I may observe whether you organisation fits what I would actually desire, certainly your vaults do sound tempting… but one step at a time.”
“Now!” he stated, shifting up into the same position as the mare before him and tapping his front hooves together, “I believe that our business has been arranged, if you have any further questions I will be willing to answer within reasonable bounds, otherwise we will adjourn this little talk and you can rejoin your fellow comrades in research.”
“It has been a definite pleasure to meet you Dr Lens.”
And so Herr Dok shows what accumulates when he settles down for some considerable amount of time, like a big show off.
Also we get some world building and nods! woo!
Not to mention the subtle reference to my most cherished Lovecraft story.
Anyhoo, enjoy.
Also we get some world building and nods! woo!
Not to mention the subtle reference to my most cherished Lovecraft story.
Anyhoo, enjoy.
Scalpel had been rather taken aback when she had admired his work, usually the response was one of dread and fear at the attempt to understand and pursue the forbidden, but this mare was different.
She had been ecstatic.
The coldness began to drop a little from his voice and he actually gave her a genuine smile, “My, my good doctor, it’s rare that I encounter someone of your persuasion. Usually ponies are just so” - he pulled a face- “Skittish about these things, but not you…”
He signalled to the two Risen and they ceased their pacing, drawing back just behind their father and standing to attention.
His face changed again, still smiling, but with an underlying curiosity as well as danger and spoke again.
“You interest me.”
“As for my Risen, I have no fears of their replication but by any hooves but mine, they represent years of study and innovation, decades of learning and accumulated knowledge. I believe you understand from your brief glimpse that this isn’t something every hack and their shoddy tools could do, this requires refinement and understanding… understanding which only I will ever have, unless I allow it.”
A flicker of magic coursed from his horn and a shining orb flew out from the shadows behind him and levitated to the centre of the room. On close inspection, it revealed its true nature, a crystal orb covered in runes and magic, pulsing Cherenkov blue and lighting up the room, but not enough to reveal the numerous Drones which lingered still in the darkness.
As the two Risen hooded themselves once again the Doctor continued, his pose less aggressive, but still cautious, his face a mixture of interest, as if he had just discovered something deeply fascinating.
“As for my true name I shall keep it to myself as I have always done, I have had decades to accumulate names and titles all across this nation, but you may call me ‘The Noxferus’.”
The doctor turned and signalled for her to follow suit and continued down a corridor, the floating orb taking point whilst the two Risen moved to take positions either side of her, still silently observing her ever action analytically.
“The Book you refer to? The Marvels of Science? I do indeed have a copy of that volume and have done for many years, in fact I have several editions, varying in age and structure of course, but what would one expect from a book which was banned even before the Inquisition existed? Most of the text is a frustrating mixture of truth and falsehood, real inspirational truths and discovery melded with conspiracy theory and pseudo-science. The trouble is separating fact from fiction, but hopefully you will be able to find what you seek.”
Continuing along a corridor coated in lairs of dust he cast spells of various nature, as he continued the dust rose from the ground and began to slowly sift out of the building, leaving behind the unspoiled nature of the grand house. From underneath the dust arose walls lined with pictures from many centuries ago, doubtless worth a fortune to the correct buyer, fine mahogany floors which now shone dark and polished under hoof, and crisp wallpaper covered in golden patterns of almost alien design. As he passed the various candleholders on the walls, they burst into life with small puffs of flame, lighting up the room further and discarding the darkness which had once ruled undisturbed for years.
“I have already exhausted the secrets and speculations which are hidden within that volume and I have no qualms about trading it, especially given the presence of that volume I acquired from the Manehatten black market within this very house. But as you have stated this is a trade... and I believe you may have something that I require.”
He stopped before a great brass door, a creation of cooper and gold melded together in an unusual near perfect circular design, asides from its flattening at the bottom where it reached the mahogany floor. The entire thing coursed with inscriptions and straight lines branching off in different directions, ending in circular indents in the door. A great indent was set in the centre of the door, a clear spherical cusp covered in matrixes and various changeable locks, requiring a code to fully understand.
Scalpel signalled to the sphere and it whooshed down from above, settling in his hooves as he placed it within the indent in the door. With a solid clunk it sealed itself to the door and began to throb rhythmically. Covering it with his form, Scalpel slowly began to turn the orb in various ways, each turn ending with a definite number of clicks, his ears listening keenly as he did so, every so often he would pause and whisper something inaudibly to it, with a sound returning back as if a bolt lock had just been pulled back. Eventually, with one final thud, the glowing orb stopped and Scalpel lit up his horn and pulled open the door, revealing a dark room within.
Levitating a candle out of its holder, he brought it close to him and stepped into the room, illuminating its mysteries. The room was a large portion of the building, its ends unseen and nestled in shadows, and its vaulted ceiling lost to darkness, but what was seen would have been breathtaking. The entire room made of brass and covered in the same symbols, inscriptions and lines as the door, huge metal bookcases reached far into the sky, towering above them covered in brass metal boxes of uniform sizes, each one big enough to hold one large volume of ancient lore, and each sealed away with the same indentation as the door.
The doctor turned to her and smiled wolfishly, his eyes ablaze with knowledge and an unquenchable enthusiasm for the unknown. “Welcome to the Library, please follow me closely, the darkness is alive with wards against intruders.”
As he progressed into darkness with his companions the metal door closed with a thunderous boom, locked until the houses master decided to open it once more.
“This room is one of many scattered across Equestria, what you see is a fraction, but still… I lack so much for it to be called a complete collection, and this brings me back to what I want from you in return…”
Has he said this he stopped before a circle of bookcases in what seemed to be another circular indent, but this time the size of a boulder, at least three meters across and smooth asides from a ring of circles orbiting around a central circle. With a flicker of magic the indent sprung to life with blue fire, languidly coursing up from nothing and rising high into the air and giving off a heartening glow of warmth. Uncaringly Scalpel ran his hoof through the flames, coming through unscathed despite it flickering around him and grinned.
“Magical fire, it glows, it warms us, but it does not burn.”
The light had revealed two heavily cushioned armchairs, and Scalpel took position in one, motion for Solar Lens to take the other, as one Risen took place behind each of them, standing like statues in the light of the fire.
“What I want is a very obscure and very rare volume of lore. In the wrong hooves it is absolutely useless, and for almost all ponies and lore keepers it has been an inescapable mystery. Only the Sea Ponies of myth are said to have even understood a fraction of what was found there within, and only at considerable loss to themselves.”
“It is called The Black Sun Prophecies and for hundreds of years, perhaps even thousands, it has been indecipherable, written in a strange language or code which no pony now living understands, or perhaps will ever understand. The tome itself is considerably rare, but likely undervalued given its meaningless nature, but I understand there are a few ponies in this nation who still have a copy of it in the hopes that it will be understood one day. I have come upon some… valuable information these last few weeks which could ensure certain possibilities regarding such a book. That, my dear Dr Solar Lens is my price, if you can bring me it I will solidify the deal and give you my copy of The Marvels of Science and perhaps I shall consider even joining your organisation as an independent agent.”
Snapping his attention upwards he sent out a flicker of magic and grabbed a hold of one of the metal boxes far above them. Levitating it downwards he took a tiny orb out of his pocket and began to unlock it in the same fashion as the door. With a click the box unlatched itself and opened, and Scalpel took out a large leather bound tome, turning it to face his guest he revealed the title of the book, The Marvels of Science.
Casually flicking through the various pages Scalpel concluded, “I show you this so that you understand that I tell no lies regarding my possession of the book, and in regards to our deal I will uphold my end of the bargain. When you happen to recover the volume the exchange will take place under my own conditions and under a location of my choosing. But for now I have some questions regarding you and your organisation, most notably your history, just who this Director is and what he stands for…” here his tone grew serious, “and whether your organisation has any involvement with the Gods which now dwell upon our land.”
“If you have questions of your own I will answer them… to a point, I would prefer it if you reserved yourself from ones of a personal matter.”
Locking away the book again and returning it to his position, he relaxed into his chair, legs folded inwards and head propped up on a ornate silk cushion.
“So my dear doctor Lens, are you willing to arrange the deal?”
She had been ecstatic.
The coldness began to drop a little from his voice and he actually gave her a genuine smile, “My, my good doctor, it’s rare that I encounter someone of your persuasion. Usually ponies are just so” - he pulled a face- “Skittish about these things, but not you…”
He signalled to the two Risen and they ceased their pacing, drawing back just behind their father and standing to attention.
His face changed again, still smiling, but with an underlying curiosity as well as danger and spoke again.
“You interest me.”
“As for my Risen, I have no fears of their replication but by any hooves but mine, they represent years of study and innovation, decades of learning and accumulated knowledge. I believe you understand from your brief glimpse that this isn’t something every hack and their shoddy tools could do, this requires refinement and understanding… understanding which only I will ever have, unless I allow it.”
A flicker of magic coursed from his horn and a shining orb flew out from the shadows behind him and levitated to the centre of the room. On close inspection, it revealed its true nature, a crystal orb covered in runes and magic, pulsing Cherenkov blue and lighting up the room, but not enough to reveal the numerous Drones which lingered still in the darkness.
As the two Risen hooded themselves once again the Doctor continued, his pose less aggressive, but still cautious, his face a mixture of interest, as if he had just discovered something deeply fascinating.
“As for my true name I shall keep it to myself as I have always done, I have had decades to accumulate names and titles all across this nation, but you may call me ‘The Noxferus’.”
The doctor turned and signalled for her to follow suit and continued down a corridor, the floating orb taking point whilst the two Risen moved to take positions either side of her, still silently observing her ever action analytically.
“The Book you refer to? The Marvels of Science? I do indeed have a copy of that volume and have done for many years, in fact I have several editions, varying in age and structure of course, but what would one expect from a book which was banned even before the Inquisition existed? Most of the text is a frustrating mixture of truth and falsehood, real inspirational truths and discovery melded with conspiracy theory and pseudo-science. The trouble is separating fact from fiction, but hopefully you will be able to find what you seek.”
Continuing along a corridor coated in lairs of dust he cast spells of various nature, as he continued the dust rose from the ground and began to slowly sift out of the building, leaving behind the unspoiled nature of the grand house. From underneath the dust arose walls lined with pictures from many centuries ago, doubtless worth a fortune to the correct buyer, fine mahogany floors which now shone dark and polished under hoof, and crisp wallpaper covered in golden patterns of almost alien design. As he passed the various candleholders on the walls, they burst into life with small puffs of flame, lighting up the room further and discarding the darkness which had once ruled undisturbed for years.
“I have already exhausted the secrets and speculations which are hidden within that volume and I have no qualms about trading it, especially given the presence of that volume I acquired from the Manehatten black market within this very house. But as you have stated this is a trade... and I believe you may have something that I require.”
He stopped before a great brass door, a creation of cooper and gold melded together in an unusual near perfect circular design, asides from its flattening at the bottom where it reached the mahogany floor. The entire thing coursed with inscriptions and straight lines branching off in different directions, ending in circular indents in the door. A great indent was set in the centre of the door, a clear spherical cusp covered in matrixes and various changeable locks, requiring a code to fully understand.
Scalpel signalled to the sphere and it whooshed down from above, settling in his hooves as he placed it within the indent in the door. With a solid clunk it sealed itself to the door and began to throb rhythmically. Covering it with his form, Scalpel slowly began to turn the orb in various ways, each turn ending with a definite number of clicks, his ears listening keenly as he did so, every so often he would pause and whisper something inaudibly to it, with a sound returning back as if a bolt lock had just been pulled back. Eventually, with one final thud, the glowing orb stopped and Scalpel lit up his horn and pulled open the door, revealing a dark room within.
Levitating a candle out of its holder, he brought it close to him and stepped into the room, illuminating its mysteries. The room was a large portion of the building, its ends unseen and nestled in shadows, and its vaulted ceiling lost to darkness, but what was seen would have been breathtaking. The entire room made of brass and covered in the same symbols, inscriptions and lines as the door, huge metal bookcases reached far into the sky, towering above them covered in brass metal boxes of uniform sizes, each one big enough to hold one large volume of ancient lore, and each sealed away with the same indentation as the door.
The doctor turned to her and smiled wolfishly, his eyes ablaze with knowledge and an unquenchable enthusiasm for the unknown. “Welcome to the Library, please follow me closely, the darkness is alive with wards against intruders.”
As he progressed into darkness with his companions the metal door closed with a thunderous boom, locked until the houses master decided to open it once more.
“This room is one of many scattered across Equestria, what you see is a fraction, but still… I lack so much for it to be called a complete collection, and this brings me back to what I want from you in return…”
Has he said this he stopped before a circle of bookcases in what seemed to be another circular indent, but this time the size of a boulder, at least three meters across and smooth asides from a ring of circles orbiting around a central circle. With a flicker of magic the indent sprung to life with blue fire, languidly coursing up from nothing and rising high into the air and giving off a heartening glow of warmth. Uncaringly Scalpel ran his hoof through the flames, coming through unscathed despite it flickering around him and grinned.
“Magical fire, it glows, it warms us, but it does not burn.”
The light had revealed two heavily cushioned armchairs, and Scalpel took position in one, motion for Solar Lens to take the other, as one Risen took place behind each of them, standing like statues in the light of the fire.
“What I want is a very obscure and very rare volume of lore. In the wrong hooves it is absolutely useless, and for almost all ponies and lore keepers it has been an inescapable mystery. Only the Sea Ponies of myth are said to have even understood a fraction of what was found there within, and only at considerable loss to themselves.”
“It is called The Black Sun Prophecies and for hundreds of years, perhaps even thousands, it has been indecipherable, written in a strange language or code which no pony now living understands, or perhaps will ever understand. The tome itself is considerably rare, but likely undervalued given its meaningless nature, but I understand there are a few ponies in this nation who still have a copy of it in the hopes that it will be understood one day. I have come upon some… valuable information these last few weeks which could ensure certain possibilities regarding such a book. That, my dear Dr Solar Lens is my price, if you can bring me it I will solidify the deal and give you my copy of The Marvels of Science and perhaps I shall consider even joining your organisation as an independent agent.”
Snapping his attention upwards he sent out a flicker of magic and grabbed a hold of one of the metal boxes far above them. Levitating it downwards he took a tiny orb out of his pocket and began to unlock it in the same fashion as the door. With a click the box unlatched itself and opened, and Scalpel took out a large leather bound tome, turning it to face his guest he revealed the title of the book, The Marvels of Science.
Casually flicking through the various pages Scalpel concluded, “I show you this so that you understand that I tell no lies regarding my possession of the book, and in regards to our deal I will uphold my end of the bargain. When you happen to recover the volume the exchange will take place under my own conditions and under a location of my choosing. But for now I have some questions regarding you and your organisation, most notably your history, just who this Director is and what he stands for…” here his tone grew serious, “and whether your organisation has any involvement with the Gods which now dwell upon our land.”
“If you have questions of your own I will answer them… to a point, I would prefer it if you reserved yourself from ones of a personal matter.”
Locking away the book again and returning it to his position, he relaxed into his chair, legs folded inwards and head propped up on a ornate silk cushion.
“So my dear doctor Lens, are you willing to arrange the deal?”
Tai Falkenburg said
Certainly felt that the edge of danger in the entry, nice work. Lens, like most Scholars sent out on missions, have had the sharp end pointed at them so may times they're just used to the danger. This explains her reaction.
Coolo, most likely Scalpel will be a bit surprised but relatively pleased with her enthusiasm -although questioning the existence of her survival instincts :P-, I'll get the next 'un up tomorrow.
grimdarkenigma said
The style kinda reminds me of EE Knight's The Age of Fire. He had a similiar point a then point b styling. Overall good post liked it
Looking forward to your stuff Grim, can't wait for what Crashing and Co are going to get up to, and that dashing rascal Astral.
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