Miaka's thread

[kpjam]

"I'm not completely sure.  You should ask Zaphiel," he replied.

[Corwin]

Miaka nodded. "Okay, I'll do that." Glancing back at Martin, she asked, "Feel like giving me a tour of the grounds?"

OOC:
Miaka will check for magic upon entering every room/corridor during the tour, assuming she's given one, k?

[kpjam]

"It would be my pleasure," Martin beamed.  "This way."

He turned around and led Miaka out of the throne room, down the grand hall they had entered.   Stepping through a doorway, they were outside.

The sun shone down on Miaka as they entered a small enclosed area, another gate in front them, and looking up, the ten foot walls on either side.

Continuing through the gate, Miaka found herself in a lush, but not manicured front lawn.  A road led from the two steps she was descending forward till they went through a gate in a wall a little ways ahead.  

"This is the inner grounds,"  Martin said.

As Miaka walked, she scanned throughout the way, and determined that the walls were all faintly magical.  The outerwalls that surrounded her had a stronger sense of magic.

[kpjam]

Martin nodded, and said, "Let's continue."

Miaka nodded and followed him to the right, through a small path as they headed towards the towering Mountain wall which was extremely close to the young girl.

As the castle slipped away to their right, Miaka noted that the land was broken up into segments, probably for gardens that had overgrown each other.  Finally they turned around the side of the castle, 100 yards seperated the castle walls from the mountains at this point.

They continued on towards the back, the sound of falling water coming to her ears as they finally reached the rear.  

Her sight was taken by the spectactular waterfall that came down in back of the castle.  Martin continued to lead her around the castle.  Their were about ten soldiers mulling around in back, near a small gate into the castle.  As Miaka approached she noted some of them had magical properties.  She also noted a set of stairs that went down into an underground tunnel.

Walking past the soldiers, they walked on a small stone road, that was built inbetween the castle and the collecting pool.  Miaka could feel the fine mist from the falls lightly coating her face as they walked.

The other side of the castle was almost identical to it's twin and they returned to where they had started.

Continuing on, Martin led her through the gates in the wall and into a huge yard.  Miaka could see another massive wall in the distance, as the mountians widened from each other at a percipitous rate.

The road continued forwards toward the other wall, and ended in a small pool of water before the gates.

Two large buildings were erected in this area, both two stories high and built of stone.

In front of both buildings there were two large dirt areas, both featured about thirty people.  The set to the left were going through training manuvers.  The set to the right were looking at each other, before Miaka could see a falsh of light as an object in the middle of them was destroyed.  

Miaka detected a myriad of magics, good, bad, neutral, all over the groups.

[Corwin]

Miaka stopped, and glanced at the soldier accompanying her quizzically. "Martin, why am I sensing evil magic around us? After all, didn't Zaphiel say that he was the one saving the world from Arkanel and others like him?" She frowned. "How can evil magic be used by the forces of good?"

As she spoke, Miaka attempted to isolate the sources of evil magic around her, to use as examples in case Martin tried to claim ignorance.

[kpjam]

"Magic is magic, or so I'm told.  I didn't know it had evil or good associations with it," he replied, sounding completely confused.

Miaka noted that most of the evil magics she felt came from the training set on the right.

[Corwin]

"Well, it does. Evil magic feels icky." Miaka shivered. She then tried to come closer to the two large dirt areas where people were practicing. Pointing at them, she asked Martin, "Can you tell me more about what those people are doing over there?"

OOC:
It'd be nice if Miaka got a bit more of a description of the magic that's being performed on the two sets, from her own observations and from Martin.

[kpjam]

"Those people are practicing," Martin replied.  He shrugged and walked with Miaka.  As she saw the people on the right conferring with each other and the people on the left going through what appeared to be sword forms.


OOC:  the more specific the action or question the more specific the answer.  All she saw was what I said, an object being destroyed.

[Corwin]

Pointing at the set to the right, she asked, "I think I saw something being destroyed over there with magic. Do you know how it was done, Martin?"

[kpjam]

"An explosion spell, it looked liked.  I nonly did the basic training in magic, it's not something I particularly enjoyed,"  the soldier responded.

[Corwin]

Miaka nodded. "Okay, I guess it can't be helped, then." Looking at the people training at the two sets, she asked, "How strong of an opposition do you expect when we make a move against the Ancients? How many wizards, how many brainwashed soldiers?" Shrugging apologetically, she added, "I wanted to ask Zaphiel that, but then he made me the offer, and, well... it was more important than asking for these details."

[kpjam]

Martin looked into the sky.  "More than we have, a lot more...   Zaphiel is hoping to destroy their means of control, rather than risk an all out fight.  I don't think there will be any mind controlled soldiers.  It's very difficult and risky to relly on that type of magic for exented periods of time for that many."

[Corwin]

"Ah." Miaka nodded to herself. "It sounds true enough. After all, the Ancients wouldn't risk letting too many of this world's normal citizens near their fancy toys, especially with the possible complications of mind control on that level."

"If we have about two hundred," she asked after a short pause, which Miaka used to recall Zaphiel's figures, "then how many are there on the other side to be 'a lot more'? Do you have any estimates of the ratio between us and the bad guys?"

[kpjam]

"I know Zaphiel has been trying to determine that.  But he has no hard numbers.   We're not sure how many there are in total, and more importantly, we have no idea what the capabilities of omst of them are.  How many are soldiers?  How many who aren't soldiers know enough magic to be dangerous.  What kind of devices, or traps are set around their untis..."  He grimaced as he looked into the girl's eyes.

[Corwin]

"Are all those estimates for the Ancients on this continent, or only for those at our target, the magical compulsion device? And speaking of that device, what does it look like? Where is it?" Blushing slightly, Miaka added, "Sorry. I just got so excited...." She spread her arms wide helplessly.