Sinegard Academy for the Wayward

[The_Weeping_Angel]

M’Kael:
“Now see that would be the winning question. I mean sure I’ve screwed some sisters, girlfriends, fiancee’s, wives, and mothers that I shouldn’t have. Maybe it was one of the few guys I’ve been with. I’m not gay, but if a guy wants to suck me off I won’t stop him.”

“And the Inquisitor that wants me to hang by my balls is an ex, so I get that. But as for trying to kill me, or put a bounty on my head I don’t know. But.. The Engineer.. he’s after Ravyn. Down in the tombs after locking you guys in the treasure room. He showed up and tried to make a deal with me. He wanted Ravyn. Specifically, "R'v'n Nyght Sh'd.” Probably the mystical or demon pronunciation of her name.”

Ravyn:
Outside Ravyn was staring at the sky, Gods she’d made such a mess of her life. Her family had basically shunted her hear and disowned her, she’d made a deal with the devil just to find out if she’d died she’d have gone upwards, but because of the deal, she was heading south.

The only two girls that she found attractive hated her and well.. fuck.

 

[Jakcavar]

Ramzaheed
“Please go check on Ravyn,” Ramzaheed mentally asked Angus.
As he heard the name “The Engineer”, he suddenly started to feel uneasy. Though he didn’t fully remember why, he was filled with a sense of dread.
“I think that no one should be alone,” he stated matter-of-factly. Worry, and paranoia played across his face so much that it was plain to see for anyone who looked at him.
“I think we first need to know and understand each of our abilities and powers.”
He looked M’Kael dead in the eyes. “With everything that has happened to you, you seem quite relaxed.”

 

[The_Weeping_Angel]

M’Kael:
Shrugging M’Kael looked at him, rather bored. “What’s to stress about? I’m not being attacked in the moment, unless you’re threatening me. I’ve gotten laid for the first time in like 50 years. And I don’t really do the political thing, I don’t have friends to worry about. Hell I could still be locked in a cell in the Shadow lands and all this is a game of the the Illithid. After a while.. I stopped caring. I’ll either be alive, or dead. Does it matter?”

 

[Jakcavar]

“Sha Doe Lands,” Ramzaheed annunciated like a child who just learned a new word for the first time. “I’ve never heard of such a place. Hell, yes; Heaven, of course; the demonic and spiritual realms, yup. But Shadow Lands?”
Ramzaheed looked both lost and confused.

 

[The_Weeping_Angel]

M’Kael:
“Shadow Lands. Two words, not three. The Shadowlands are like a halfway place. Part of the Demiplane realms. It shares a Semipermeable mystical border with Barovia, The Land of Lord Strahd. There’s a Lich on the other side of him, but the borders aren’t.. stagnant. Their malleable. But some are more.. steady than others.”

“As for abilities and powers.. I don’t know you from Jack Shitt, so that’s a hard pass. Hell, for all I know I should skin you alive. You could be Inquisition playing a game. Another bounty hunter after someone in the group. Or you’re just some nosey fucking idiot that has a chance of pissing me off.”

 

[milkmaiden38]

Angus

Angus heard the voice in his head. Ramzaheed had some power of telepathy. But Angus was not compelled against his will to go outside. However, it seemed like a good idea so he did it.

Angus preferred being outside. He loved working outside on his family ranch. The natural world was a wondrous place, and filled with many miracles to see.

It was dark, but he heard the small bugs flying about, a dog barking in the distance. The gentle touch of the night chilled his face. There was a an earthy, smell in the air. He saw Ravyn looking up and getting lost in a ceiling-less night sky.

He walked over to her. The sound of his hooves crunching on the grass.

“Ravyn, I hope I'm not disturbing you. May I ask what are you thinking about?” Angus said as he got closer.

Inside the House

“Ok, no reason to get so defensive. I’ll go first. I’m a vampire. With your standard vampire abilities. I just look better doing them, than most vampires!” Angela bragged with a big smile.

“I’m a mage” Gem said as she held up her wizard staff

“I support Angela! I can do illusions and I have good connections with the underworld” Van replied as he took a drag on his cigarette.

 

[Jakcavar]

Ramzaheed
“As far as I can remember, I can see and manipulate energies, I am able to communicate with some people mentally, and I have some understanding of alchemy,” he said with a lot of concentration on his face.

He looked at Angela for a moment. “Speaking as a vampire, most can’t handle sunlight. How about you?” Then he gave M’Kael a nice long hard look, “As for the Inquisition, I would rather be raped by a dragco-lich than work with or for them. Most of those assholes wouldn’t know the truth if it bit them. But there was one guy among them that truly believed in the truth, seeking, finding, and understanding the truth, he’s help me avoid their attention for the longest time,” He stated with a sad but determined look on his face.

As he got up, he thought of ways to get through to M’Kael. “Maybe if we grappled you’d be able to understand me better, but I don’t really like to fight, and I don’t really care what a neophyte like you thinks of me.”

 

[The_Weeping_Angel]

M’Kael:
“You could take lessons on being an emo from the girl. The constant sad is boring and over done. But I do like the ‘I'm not getting my way so I’m gonna insult people. Boring. Been there done that by people better than you.”

“If I’m going to work with you learn a few things. Insulting me doesn’t work. I have my secrets you have yours. The Girl is already a depressing ball of annoyance, don’t be like her.”

“Skills and abilities... I’m a biker, a thief, a misogynistic pig, and I’ve been convicted of multiple accounts of Murder. I’ve fucked more women that you’ve fantasized about. Most of them want to do it again or kick my ass because I’ve moved on. I’ve fucked an Inquisitor before she was one. Now she wants my balls. And I killed her brother. Don’t remember why, it happened. An accident, I think. I served time.”

“Anything else?” He asked snidely.

Ravyn:
“What am I thinking about?” Ravyn asked. “A lot. Mostly about shit I’ve done wrong in the past. Fate of my soul. That kind of shit.”

 

[milkmaiden38]

Angela

Angela smiled at Ramzaheed comment about vampires and sunlight

“I’m a creature of the night. Just ask some of the males around here” She joked back at him.

Angus

“Fate of your soul. Now you are sounding like Angela!” Angus kidded Ravyn. But he knew she was really worried “First off, I hear you. I have made mistakes in my life too. It is hard. Just thinking about them can drag you down.”

He was quiet for a moment as they both looked at the night sky.

“I don’t know much about the occult. But I have heard a few tales where the deal with the devil has a bad end, with eternal damnation for the foolhardy person that entered into it. Conversely, I have also heard some with comic twists, in which a wily person outwits the devil, characteristically on a technical point.

Maybe your contract was made without a clear consent, not of free will. Or maybe the best way out of the deal would be to prevent the devil from fulfilling their side of the bargain. If they can't do what they promised the contract is null and void.” Angus suggested "Lastly, hire a good lawyer?"

 

[The_Weeping_Angel]

Ravyn:
“Yeah, a lawyer. Got Daniel Webster in your pocket or on speed dial?”

“It’s never that easy Angus. I wish it was. I made a deal. I’ll burn in hell when I finally die.” Sighing she looked at him,or through him, it was hard to tell, but her eyes were slightly unfocused. Like when looking at a 3-D puzzle poster.

“I can’t have sex, not with any man anyways. If I get pregnant I give birth to.. Him. And then I die. In childbirth. Yeah me. All because my room mates boyfriend lost his shit over my pet.”

 

[milkmaiden38]

"Pet?" Angus asked "I don't think I have heard that story?"

 

[The_Weeping_Angel]

Ravyn:
“Yeah, my Pet.” Ravyn replied. “I had a pet spider. The Boyfriend punched me in the face, the spider postured at him, he lost his mind trying to hit it. Knocked over candles. Kicked me in the ribs. I passed out. And died.” She told him, simplifying the event to what she knew as a mortal, granted once she'd actually died she'd seen more, but it was vague and fuzzy. Hard to remember details.

“Made a deal with the devil, and now I can’t die. Still hurts like a fucking bitch. After all getting her neck snapped isn't a picnic."

 

[Jakcavar]

Ramzaheed
Angela’s response caused him to smirk. “ Funny, You know full well that isn’t what I meant. Just so you know I might loan you my cloak if necessary,” he stated. As he looked around he started to ponder whether or not to share what he could remember about himself. He didn’t know if he could fully trust them with all his secrets.
As he was thinking he reached into his cloak and pulled out a pack of gum and nervously started to chew a piece.

 

[milkmaiden38]

Angus

“Sounds like your boyfriend was an asshole.” Angus said in disgust. “Someone must have a big lack of self-esteem, if the only way they feel good about themselves is to hit someone else. I know there is mental abuse as well as physical, so this goes both ways for men and women, but the abuser looks the weak fool to me.”

Angela

Angela thought back to when she had become a vampire. She had only been dead a few weeks, and already she could feel all traces of her old self slipping away. Most vampire’s emotional attachments wither as once-pure feelings become twisted by undeath. Love turns into hungry obsession, while friendship becomes bitter jealousy. She was becoming evil.

She knew what was happening but did not know how to stop it. It felt impossible to stop. Her own thoughts were betraying her. She was a vampire, but still working as a concubine. Her current client was a wiseman, from the college. After a very spirited round of sex, they lay in bed together. She asked him about thoughts and controlling them.

“Thoughts are our brain’s way of keeping us alert, protected, and engaged. We have no control over them, but we have control over how to process them or reframe them. The more we practice mindfulness and reframing, the more positive links we create in our brain.” He had told her.

She had wanted to bite him and suck all the blood from him. But his statement stuck with her. She reframed her thought. He is old and would taste bad. I won’t bite him I don’t want to get sick.

“Thoughts are just thoughts” She repeated back to him.

“Yes” he said back

It was the start of her journey in mindfulness. Hundreds of years later when science caught up, she realized a thought is a series of neurons firing in the brain, nothing more. She could break her journey towards evil, by simply reframing thoughts. The old Angela returned as she continued to do “good” things vice bad.

She could have been offended by Ramzaheed’s comment about his cloak, but she chose to reframe it as his way of reaching out to her.

“Thank you for the offer” she said to him. Then she looked at everyone in the room.

“Now, anyone have any ideas on killing Nail-face? He is a demon… so we should be able to conjure him into a summoning circle/pentagram. Then we kill him” Angela suggested

 

[The_Weeping_Angel]

M’Kael:
“Wow,, are you sure about that?” M’Kael asked. “Because you’d be very very wrong. And dead.”

“You can’t kill a daemon on the Material plane. Well you can… but it’s nearly impossible. When a demon is killed n the material plane it’s physical body is disrupted and it’s energy is banished back to hell. Or where ever it came from.”

“If you want to kill it kill it, you need a some serious god level magics and weapons. And be on it’s native plane.”

“It’s a bounty hunter. Can’t we just pay it more to not hunt her?” M’Kael suggested.

Ravyn:

“Not my boyfriend, my room mate's boyfriend. I’ve never had a boyfriend, or a girlfriend.”

 

[milkmaiden38]

Angela

“Crap, I forgot about the whole, you need to kill the demon on their native plane thing!” Angela conceded. “I want to kill him, not pay him off!” She thought for a second and then said “New plan, we summon Nail-fuck… and then just leave him trapped in the pentagram. Forever!” Angela suggested with an evil smirk on her face.

“Paying him off might be a better idea” Gem countered. “Not sure we can afford his price however.”

“NO PAYING HIM OFF” Angela yelled. “WE ARE GOING TO KILL HIM”

“Ramzaheed, do you have any ideas?” Gem asked “M’Kael, anymore ideas?”

“I have an idea. We travel to Nail-Fuck’s level of hell… and we kill him! Permanently!”

Angus

“Sorry, he might have been your roommate’s boyfriend, but the guy was an asshole.” Angus said correcting his error. “Who was your roommate?” He asked.

“You know on the girlfriend, boyfriend front, having recently acquiring a girlfriend, I can recommend it!” Angus said with some excitement. “For you, I guess it would be a girlfriend or sterile boyfriend… but it is fun and great for your health. Just make sure it is not a toxic or a unsupportive relationship.”

 

[The_Weeping_Angel]

M’Kael:
“Sure. Kill him. Let me just pull that Holy Avenger Long-sword from my stash of super weapons. Oh yeah, the Paladin I’m secretly fucking to wield it. Pop over to one of the six hundred different levels of hell, in his version. I mean is it the Abyss, the Nine Hells, Avernus, Sheol…”

“Or is it the celestial Vorpal blade beheld by the Golden Minotaur?”

“Wait it could be the copper axe of big ass mucky muck wielded by a virgin..”

Sighing M’Kael looked at Angela. “In all seriousness we need more information. What kind of demon is it? What is its weakness. How much is the bounty on Ravyn? Who paid the Bounty Hunter, i.e. who wants her? What are his/it’s abilities? How often and how many of it’s allies can it summon? Like is it up to four a minute? Up to twelve per half minute?”

“How fast can it heal? What kind of Mystic energy protection guards it? A Ring? Spell? Armour? Straight up ignorance of non-magical attacks? Can a regular sword even hurt it? Didn’t you drive Van’s Van into it? That van was fucked so it was going a descent speed. Forty.. sixty miles an hour?”

As for summoning and keeping it held in place...? Would that work? What do you need to summon him? Plus, didn’t you guys go through a lot for The Goth chick? Did that work?”

Shrugging M’Kael leaned back in the chair doubting any scheme halfcocked was going to succeed. A lot of people were going to get slaughtered. And he’d be blamed for it.

 

[Jakcavar]

Ramzaheed
“I wonder,” Ramzaheed smacked forgetting that he had gum in his mouth.
“Is the demonology building still around? If so I think that would be a good place to start,” he said, “ Though M’Kael was blunt about it, he was right to suggest that research would be the most prudent course of action at this point in time.”
He looked around for a second then asked “ Anyone else hungry?”

 

[milkmaiden38]

The Library

Angela reluctantly agreed “Fine we can do research… BORING!”

“Good” Gem said and she tapped her staff to the ground and suddenly everyone was gone.

They reappeared at the top of a grand staircase, in a rotunda surrounded by stained glass windows.

“Teleportation always makes me dizzy” Angela complained

“Where are we?” Angus asked, who was standing with Ravyn on the other side of the large room.

“The southeast wing of the demonology building.” Gem said with pride. “This wing was constructed in 1935. The original design called for an octagonal carillon tower over 300 feet high. Although it was never built, the shape is reflected in motif of the limestone floor.” She said as she pointed to the floor.

“Where is the library?” Van asked with a smoking cigarette hanging from his mouth.

“Down those stairs” Gem explained.

Everyone walked down the grand staircase and stood before a large door. There were three words craved into the doors "Mastery," "Inspiration," and "Thought,"

“Good things to remember when dealing with demons” Gem explained and opened the doors. The massive room was filled with books. Light was from magic candle floating in the air. All the windows are of leaded and stained glass.

“Let the research begin” Gem announced

 

[Jakcavar]

The Library

Angela reluctantly agreed “Fine we can do research… BORING!”

“Good” Gem said and she tapped her staff to the ground and suddenly everyone was gone.

They reappeared at the top of a grand staircase, in a rotunda surrounded by stained glass windows.

“Teleportation always makes me dizzy” Angela complained

“Where are we?” Angus asked, who was standing with Ravyn on the other side of the large room.

“The southeast wing of the demonology building.” Gem said with pride. “This wing was constructed in 1935. The original design called for an octagonal carillon tower over 300 feet high. Although it was never built, the shape is reflected in motif of the limestone floor.” She said as she pointed to the floor.

“Where is the library?” Van asked with a smoking cigarette hanging from his mouth.

“Down those stairs” Gem explained.

Everyone walked down the grand staircase and stood before a large door. There were three words craved into the doors "Mastery," "Inspiration," and "Thought,"

“Good things to remember when dealing with demons” Gem explained and opened the doors. The massive room was filled with books. Light was from magic candle floating in the air. All the windows are of leaded and stained glass.

“Let the research begin” Gem announced

In a blink of an eye Ranzaheed was off to search for something that he hadn’t told the others about, a hidden door that lead to a very old and supposedly dangerous book.
“DAMN IT. Where are you?,” he said while frantically searching.

 

[The_Weeping_Angel]

M’Kael:
Sliding through the shadows M’Kael followed Ram, listening to his steps in the darkness. It was like an instant targeting. Every step, every touch painted a picture of the new guys path and position.

Ravyn:
Moving through the columns and stacks of books Raven whispered to herself, almost singing in it’s rhythmic nature nearly a chant, but neither. So many books was going to take time. Even with spells and incantations.

 

[milkmaiden38]

Research is so BORING

Angela was bored. She grabbed a book off the shelf, flipped through a few pages and then put it back. She had been doing it for about 20 minutes. Then she saw Callo sitting at one of the reading tables, just thinking.

“You are not going to do any research?” Angela asked

“I’m a dragon. I have lived thousands of years. I was around before most of these books were written. I know what I need to know.” Callo answered with confidence.

“You are thinking about fucking M’Kael again aren’t you” Angela guessed

“Maybe” Callo replied

“Me too.” Angela said wishfully. “He is pretty good in bed. Too bad, he is such an asshole”

Gem came over carrying a big book on demons. She placed it on the table “I’m thinking, we could summon a demon to help us find Nailhead.”

“Can’t trust answers from a demon” Callo replied sadly.

Angela started looking through the book.

“That can be a problem, but there are ways to force the demon to tell the truth” Gem replied.

“Hey, this demon with the six arm and snake body is kind of cute. Image all those hands, stroking your body, pinching your nipples, rubbing your clit.” Angela pointed out

“Marilith, is that demon's name and she is evil” Gem said back

“She is hot!” Angela said back

“Still evil” Gem countered

“Not always” Callo added

“What?” Both Angela and Gem said

“There are some… reformed demons. They have turned from the path of evil.” Callo told the two shocked women.

“I have never heard of this! Perhaps one of them can help us” Gem suggested

“Do you think a good demon would be safe to sleep with?” Angela asked

Callo just shook her head. “The Redeemers of Dawn was first established in 1095. The group was started by a redeemed balor demon, known as Teserazu. I’m not sure who is their leader now. But we could look them up.”

 

[Jakcavar]

Ramzaheed
Just as he was about to give up he barely noticed a book that looked out of place.
“Ah ha,” he thought, “I think I found it.” As he went to touch the book he was instantly teleported into some dark catacombs. “Shit,” he said. He wasn’t afraid of the dark but he knew that he would have a hard time finding his way around without some sort of light and he didn’t know how he would get back to the others.
He didn’t want to just wonder around aimlessly, but he knew he had to find the book. Something inside of him kept pushing him forward, as if the book was calling out to him. “What should I do now,” he thought out loud,” Do I just wait here for the others to find me, or do I just keep going.” He tried to send Angus a telepathic message about what just happened to him hoping that the minotaur would get it and find a way to help.

 

[The_Weeping_Angel]

M’Kael
The new guys sudden shift in location was interesting but the little bitch was still in shadow. What game are you playing at? M’Kael wondered. Was they new guy working for Nail Face and just using the group to get past wards and doors? Was he working for whomever was trying to kill M’Kael or kidnap Ravyn? He hated cloak and dagger shit. Kill me or fuck me. Anything else was a waste of time.

In the darkness around Ramzaheed were sounds. Like heavy breathing and the whispers of the hungry dead. Teeth as the hungry gnashed them together. Something was in the darkness with Ramzaheed.

Something hungry.

Ravyn
Glancing up from the books before her Ravyn looked at the two women talking. “Good Demon’s?” she muttered to herself. “Contradictory terms.”

But the idea of summoning a demon of information, that was an idea….

 

[milkmaiden38]

Rare Book section

Callo looked over to Ravyn. “There are reformed demons. Not many, but a few. Trusting an evil demon that wants to kill you to tell you useful information is very risky. They will tell you a half truth, which is designed to get you killed or further their agenda.”

“No point in arguing. We can do both” Gem suggested

“Good point” Angus agreed with Gem

“Where are the good books?” Angela asked

“Good books?” Gem asked

“You know the really rare ones. The ones reserved for the professors” Angela explained

“The Rare Book section through that far door” Gem said, pointing to the door.

“That’s where I’m going” Angela declared as she walked towards the door.

“I’d better go with her” Gem said to Angus and followed Angela.

Angela reached the door. She tried opening it, but it was locked by magic.

“Locked” she said to Gem

“I have seen professors access this room. They do something with the books on this adjacent book shelf.” Gem informed Angela

“F’ing secret doors” Angela mumbled as she looked at the shelf. There were four older books there. The titles were, Pride and Phylacteries, Of Mice and Half-Men, Eat, Prey, Club - A Guidebook for Orcs, Under Da Sea: In Search of the Kraken.

She stared at for a while and then said “I can’t figure this out. But there are only four books. I just try every combination.” She rearranged the several different ways. Nothing happened.

“Crap” She said

“I think I have it. Use the first letter of each title to spell open” Gem said in excitement

“I thought of that, but I don’t have an n” Angela complained

Gem grabbed the Under Da Sea: In Search of the Kraken book and turned it upside down. The u was now an n. “Try it now” she said

Angela did, and the door opened.

“Wipe that smile off your face. You are not that clever.” Angela grumbled and entered the room.

There were bookcases covering nearly every inch of the walls in this room. The room was only faintly illuminated by small candles set into the bookcases. A glass-paned door sealed each panel of shelves, keeping the ancient tomes stored within free of dust. All of them looked the same, and had no labels. There was one case, where Angela noticed that loose pages in that case seem to flutter slightly, almost as though a draft were blowing over them.