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[EM Fiction] Professor's Pride: The Letter

EMTiberies

Journeyman
Stratics Veteran
“Excuse me, miss, aren't you one of my students?”

More than one of her former teachers had asked Theresa this as she sat in the library of the Lycaeum with her.....whatever the polite word was for this kind of relationship was.....Professor Yusef Ad-Din. Every time Theresa beamed and said no, Professor, I am no longer your student but I once was, and indeed I am now a colleague of sorts: the Research Assistant of Professor Yusef Ad-Din.

After years of stalling, Yusef had filed the papers that very morning to employ her, and Theresa was already there with him, doing what Research Assistants do. Getting the books her Professor wanted, finding the pages that appeared most useful to him, and then, while the Professor read more-deeply, sitting there in case she was needed.

“Ah. Pity he's still looking for a fairy tale,” was their near-universal reply.

“He has one more attempt left,” she would respond, “then he will consider the conventional wisdom confirmed.” She was careful to always phrase it this way. Professor Ad-Din was never chasing a fairy tale, he was merely testing the conventional wisdom. What could be more scientific, more academic, than that? Sometimes the conventional wisdom was wrong, after all.

How can they be so rude with him sitting right there? she wondered. Has his mad quest lowered his reputation that badly? Or are they merely as absent-minded as he when not around their students, and literally don't see him sitting right there?

Theresa did, however, note some sincere delight at her reply. They were glad he was moving on, it will be nice to have him back. She had to stop herself from muttering he never left.

It was with surprise that Theresa noted the messenger delivering a letter from the Knights of Crux Anasta, an order whom she knew Yusef greatly respected. She took the letter for him. “I'm his Research Assistant,” she explained to the messenger, "I can take that." The messenger seemed to accept this.

Deciding that reading his letters was proper for both a lover and a Research Assistant, and surely she was both, she read the letter first. Her eyes widened. Her tone....Why so hostile to him? Theresa thought. He'll need to see this. Damn it, my first letter I read for him and already it's something I need to bother him with.

“Yusef?” She was a bit nervous; it was the first time in near-forever that she had called him anything other than Professor in public.

“Yes, love?” responded Yusef, without looking up from the book.

She beamed at his term of endearment, but her face immediately darkened as she dropped the letter in front of him. It was beautiful to Theresa to see his eyes dance from the page in the book to the letter, to see his eyebrows raise as he digested the contents. “I'm sorry Yusef...Seems there's a problem.”

“Yes,” he replied. “So it seems. I will take suggestions.”

“When I have one I'll tell you.....”
 

Demon Wind

Sage
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
She sat at the far corner of the Lycaeum searching for answers to her questions when she heard people talking in the distance. '“Excuse me, miss, aren't you one of my students?”' She looked up from her reading and glanced at the one speaking then to the one being spoken to, finally as she listened and turned to looked toward the Professor, who seemed lost in thought as he turned the pages of the book he read, and also seemed to be a topic in the conversation. She sat silent, watching, easedropping if you will which usually got her into trouble, hopeing no one caught sight of her and continued her search for information.

Her eyes were turned away from the pages before her as a messenger arrived and once again she gazed upon the Lady, A Research Assistant it seemed, from what she could hear of the conversation before. She watched the messenger hand her the note and sat there observing the change in the Lady's features as she opened the note and read. Curiousity which was her nature made her stand and move a tid bit closer hopeing to catch a glimpse of what was written, but fear of discovery made her stay a safe distance nontheless.

As she watched the Lady move toward the Professor she seemed to sence a nervousness in her that had not been there before and she frowned thinking maybe the note contained bad news. Again she inched forward trying to listen to what would be said if anything about this piece of parchment that had been delievered. She heard the lady's words referring to a problem and the Professor asking for suggestions and curiousity was nearly killing her as she listened and watched.

She could only hope the note was left behind unattended so that she could satisfy her hunger for what was to her unknown. She moved back into the shadows and waited in silence almost holding her breath...while her own search for information reguarding the Knights of Crux Anasta was put aside for a later date...

(OOC) 1. Not sure if anyone is welcomed to post so if not you can remove this post. 2. Not sure how my character can have knowledge of the letter's contents if she has not read it directly or is the note public in the roleplay sence? *thinks she should not post this at all but is stubborn*:) This is a repost actually . The server crash ate the original. Alot of posts seem to be missing. Just an fyi to those who haven't seen it.
 

Demon Wind

Sage
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
(EM Event)

As the days passed I had learned more of the professor's search of the object, known as the Virtugreel, but I still did not know what it was for or what it looked like. This was the first time I had even heard about it at all, did it mean I was not worthy of helping him search for it? I did not know nor would I find out from the professor, even if I asked, from what I had read on the notes, that had been left out for all to see. I would keep my ears and eyes open to see what if anything developed. Then one day as I was riding through the city of Britain I noticed a gathering at the Councelor's Hall.

I managed to catch word of a search, the professor's search for the Virtugreel, how lucky could I have gotten to be present at the right place at the right time! I watched and waited as they were told where they were headed. They all were also told of a spell that was to be said at each place. If everything was done correctly it would open a gate to where the Virtugreel was said to be hidden.

The place was the Dungeon Doom, there were four areas to be searched within the dungeon and the spell "Agash-Nor Ban-Virt Nom" was to be said over the sarcophagus at each one. As I had listened I had heard the 4 corners of the dungeon mentioned and it reminded me of other spells that required the four basic elements, earth, wind, water, and fire. It was a fleeting memory though and was forgotten.

We had traveled through the dungeon and spoken the spell. We had fought the demon guardians that had appeared at each location. I had offered my help to those injured and kept moving trying to see what was at the end of the search. In the confussion and multitude of warriors I had lost sight of the professor. As the battle ended at the final place a gate did open, however, what we found inside was not what all expected to find.

We all went through the gate and everyone prepared for the worst, but from what I could glipse, all I saw was a Mysterious Knight who almost immediately after our arrival began an onslaught of verbal abuse. Seems to me we were called everything under the proverbial sun from commoners to greedy mercenaries. Most of what was said after this was lost to me in the crowd but have heard some from a good authority I believe. The following is what I have learned of what was said:

He went on to tell us the Virtugeel does not exist and if it did he would not allow commoners like us nor a desert rat like the Professor to find it. Even though he came off as being a condescending type, who seems full of him self due to seemingly being "better" than anyone else when it comes to following the "right" path, he did admit to him and his order taking both Professor Yusef and Theresa captive. There were far darker things admitted to as well. It seems they have shown Theresa what real Britannian men are made of... over and over and over again.
We all returned to the Councelor's Hall after the battle. It was here that I first learned of the Professor's brother Salah Ad Din. He seemed to figet a bit as he realized his brother was not amougst us. I could see concern etched on his features as he asked the crowd for assistance in the rescue of his brother and his wife when the time came. All I could do at the time was give a nob to his request, yet I knew that if I learned anything I would wholeheatedly assist in any way I could.

As I sat down at my desk hours later a sence of horror seemed to fill me as the words came to mind that had been said about the things that had happened to Theresa. If those were the real Britannian men, I would vow to hunt them down till they were all dead, but this would require more training I realized and the help of the Knights of the Crux Ansata. Surely they could not let such things go unpunished. Somehow I had to find out more...for now I would search for clues reguarding the disappearances of the professor and his wife Theressa...But where to begin, perhaps where they had gone missing?
 
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