Brought In For Questioning: Vheljen Valentine and Zolf

[Aryn Gentlepaw]

By order of the Emperor, the guard has come to the house of Vheljen to take him, and this mysterious mage named Zolf, in for questioning by the Council and the Emperor. He is to stay at the guard tower for the time being, as is Zolf.

The order is signed by LT Solis of the Lismorean Guard

[Husky Dragon]

Lorenz would report that Zolf left the island and returned to his castle on a different island some distance away from Lismore shortly after the incident.

[Ashtyn]

Vheljen and Ike came to the palace to answer for the damage to the Alchemy Guild.

After lengthy deliberation they were ordered to pay for the damages to re-build, repair, and re-equip the facilities.

Zolf is still wanted for questioning. Vheljen was charged with contacting him and arranging for his return to answer for his part of the incident.



(following is the log from the session, as per standard procedure, there would have been guards present, and Miri would have been specifically given a copy of the transcript)



[10:36] Vheljen would smile to the guard outfront as he approaches, moving to untie his sword from his side, and willingly surrendering it at the door, as he speaks, "I'm here to speak with the emperor concerning the incident at the alchemy guild."
[10:38] Xahu Fu Sheng arches his brow as Kian grabs YUna's butt, and he shakes his head a bit and smirks, and asks softly, "...have you told him to be a bit more discrete about that whole... thing?", and he sighs a bit and moves to sit at the throne, "...It's good to see him happy, though. Now if we can cheer up Fletcher, maybe that would help his recovery...". Down by the palace's doors, the lion guard wouldn't refuse the foxramau's sword, and he lets him in, saying simply in his typical stoic voice, "The Emperor is at the throne room."
[10:39] Yuna Fu Sheng sighs a bit. "It's not a secret anymore, Dad." she says. " 'Everyone' knows. I think most people expected it; it's not uncommon among royalty."
[10:49] Vheljen would give his head a nod to the guard as he's directed, before he heads inside, making his way up to the throne room, his pace slightly urgent, as he gives a formal bow to the collection above. "I hope I didn't pick too inconvenient a time."
[10:55] Xahu Fu Sheng perks his ears as Vheljen is announced, and he says softly to Yuna, "...time go get some work done...", and he smiles a slight bit as the foxramau enters the room, and shakes his head a bit, "No time better than the present, Vheljen. I hope the guards didn't startle you too much..."
[10:56] Yuna Fu Sheng steps up to her father's side then as Vheljen arrives, nodding a greeting to him!
[11:03] Vheljen gives his head a shake, "I was expecting I might be asked questions, though I would certainly have come to answer them without the authority of the guards." He says, partly admitting that it did startle him in that, smiling and offering a dip of his head to Yuna, before he looks to Xahu, "I would like to start by saying with little doubt that the incident was entirely accidental, but i'm prepared to answer any questions on the matter to the best of my ability."
[11:05] Xahu Fu Sheng nods a little to Vheljen, and he starts with the obvious, asking him plainly, "...without getting into too much magical talk, ...what the heck were you all trying to accomplish, and what went wrong?"
[11:07] Yuna Fu Sheng listens!
[11:08] Ike Harem makes his way upstairs, grunting a bit in pain as he uses the railings to hold himself up "Bonjour..."
[11:13] Vheljen would frown softly when he hears Ike, the Foxramau fairly quick to take his side, trying to help guide him to a nearby chair to sit. "Ike... Please, settle down and relax." He encourages the cannec, before he nods and speaks to Xahu, "We were attempting to harness a new type of magic. Zolf Alexander, a visiting magical scholar, talented enough I daresay to be called an archmage, has in the past come and demonstrated a new school of magic that he refers to as 'sublimis magus', which is, in simple terms, the ability to create magic that can dynamically learn new magic spells. The applications were endless, and Zolf's work seemed to check out fully, so we were attempting to do an 'initiating' ritual, which is meant to open one's magical pathways, permenantly, to allow the use of this new magic. But... Despite everything seeming right from a logical standpoint, the ritual rebounded severely, as if we were missing a core ingredient. I'm sorry to say that Zolf has left the island, did so immediately after the ritual failed. I don't believe he did so with intent to flee justice, but moreso as a man who's spent his life work on something that seems to have resulted in failure, at least for the time being. Ike may know how to get in touch with him, though."
[11:14] Ani Aunerfal: dynamically learn and cast*
[11:15] Yuna Fu Sheng still listens!
 [11:19] Xahu Fu Sheng perks his ears as Ike comes in, and he asks a little surprised, "Ike, I was told you were bedridden, recovering from your injuries. Shouldn't you be resting?", and he listens to Vheljen and nods a slight bit, though doesn't seem too pleased, but still has questions, "And why did you all do it in the alchemy guild of all places? Were Relina, or Valencia, informed of this experiment? ...and this 'sublimis magus', ...Lieutenant Miriamella described it to me - although she noted that she wasn't fully versed on it and was only repeating what she heard - that it was a form of 'construct', an intelligence, a being of some sort... What was it?"
[11:22] Ike Harem slowly sits down in the chair "Ze situation weighed too heavily on my mind for me to rest..." he explains and breathes a sigh "We did it in ze alchemy guild because it seemed most appropriate for it at ze time." then he shakes his head "We sent out request for aide but we did not tell anyone else directly"
[11:26] Yuna Fu Sheng peers at Ike. "Why?" she wonders. "The Zenko building is made specifically to be able to withstand events like that. The alchemy building was right next to the infirmary and several populated houses. If the explosion had been a little bit stronger, it could've taken out the block. It really makes no sense to me why it had to be there."
[11:29] Vheljen would frown softly to Ike, but he gives a soft nod, as he looks to Xahu... "As complex as the runing was, your majesty, we hadn't the dizziest daydream that such a serious backlash was even a possibility. I can promise you we wouldn't have even done it within the empire's boundaries if we'd known it had the chance of being so destructive." He says, before he shakes his head, "Now, i'm not totally familiar with the details of the initial demonstration, if I understand the story correctly, Zolf demonstrated the magic by creating an intelligent liquid golem. I believe that was during Lucian's time." He says, not totally certain about that, but adds, "Most applications of this magic don't involve making intelligent beings. Another example would be to create a magical sentry, say, a little blue cube that would fire magical spells at our enemies during a time of attack on the isle, and spells cast nearby them enough would be retained and reproducable by the cube. But at the same time, they wouldn't understand o
[11:29] Vheljen  language or have any sort of feelings or sentient thought outside the memorization and reproduction of spells. That alone makes the effort worth it, in my opinion. Having sentries around that require little maintainance and can cast effective spells against our enemies would dramatically increase our defensive capabilities."
[11:29] Ani Aunerfal: our*
[11:36] Xahu Fu Sheng nods, and says a little more stern, "...Vheljen, Ike, I am disappointed with you. And Zeela! You Vheljen deal with magic on a daily basis and yet it didn't occur to you that what's evidently a very high-powered ritual of an unestablished new form of magic could possibly blow up in your faces? First of all you should have gone through the proper channels! Lady Relina and Lady Valencia are the heads of the Lismore Institute of Arcane Arts. Anything magical that's big or new that you want to do around here should have them check it out and give it their stamp of approval. Second, you don't do magical rituals in a public venue! People go in and out of that building to buy their stupid fur-color-changing potions and anti-pregnancy and whatever potions! That was reckless endangerment of the public! We have places that are properly set up for such things! I will even bet you have a place set up for such things in your home, Vheljen, as your role as enchanter is known far and wide so you must be doing your work
[11:36] Xahu Fu Sheng somewhere! The Zenko is set up for rituals, Cruentus has a lovely rooftop where you could perform rituals, if you had gone through he proper channels! And now you have people hurt, our alchemy building is destroyed, and whoever this Zolf is ran away before he could be faced with any consequences - or is he so full of himself that he believes he's untouchable and nobody has authority over him?!"
[11:40] Fletcher: makes his way down stairs from the ballroom, taking his time on the stairs and panting a little to catch his breath.  He perks his ears at the sound of voices below and he sighs, remaining on the stairs so he wont interrupt whatever it is that is going on..
[11:43] Ike Harem would mention "le academie would have been too volatile. Zere are mana crystals growing in ze basement zat could have been ruined if we did it zere... Grandmama keeps her own food supply" he speaks in a weak tone "You are right, maybe ze guild was not ze best place but I had all of our projects moved to le academie before we performed ze ritual"
[11:47] Yuna Fu Sheng nods at Ike. "Then perhaps a more remote location or the Cruentus would have been better." she says. Either way the damage is already done. She then turns to observe Vheljen's explanation!
[11:53] Vheljen would speak softly to Xahu, "The ritual was complex, your majesty, but it shouldn't have been high-powered. I am not disagreeing that we should've planned things better, especially considering the results. But there were no red flags, what happened shouldn't have been possible. There's something very wrong about our results, and it was our intention to get right to work analyzing them. We took all the precautions that we thought were neccesary at the time, closing the guild for business and moving projects out for the duration. Magic is sometimes unpredictable, but rituals like this are an exact science. This should have been no more possible than bread being turned into an apple while baking." He says, managing to keep his voice even and calm, despite his vaguely irritated expression making it obvious that he was not a fan of being talked to the way he was, even by the emperor, before he continues on Zolf, "As I said, your majesty, Zolf did not flee, he simply returned home in defeat. We know where his
[11:53] Vheljen  castle is, and he's offered to at least put up coin to cover all the damages. I'd be willing to wager that he'll accept any other punishment within reason, but I can vouch for the impact that a failed project after years of careful study and calculation can have. It's enough to destoy a man. Right now, the results suggest that he's the only one capable of performing this magic, which suggests that all of his work after the discovery has been a complete waste of time. All of the time, money and sacrifices he may have made towards this may turn out to have been for nothing."
[12:00] Xahu Fu Sheng says now more angrily, "'Maybe' is not the case, Ike! It wasn't the right place for this, period! And you moved all your projects? How thoughtful of you! How about the work of other alchemists and potion makers who also use the facilities? Nicky was working on an antidote for my grandson and her work was destroyed, now she's starting from scratch working out of that white cat's personal laboratory who's charging us a fortune since he no longer works for the city!", and he turns to Vheljen, "Returned home in defeat? Are you going to argue semantics with me, Vheljen? He came here, wrecked a building and then left! Whatever his intentions were, whatever went on through his head, clearly there was no acknowledgment of the impact of his experiments or a sense of responsibility!", and he turns to Yuna, "...and that's why we always insisted you to be supervised in your works with magic, Yuna, because once you get to a certain point manipulating these forces, you believe yourself above answering for the damage yo
[12:00] Xahu Fu Sheng cause! What's the lives of mere mortals, what's some broken glass and ruined work, compared to mister Zolf's lifework after all?! Clearly this person's work was a priority and it got to his head and lead to this reckless endeavor!"; angry Xahu is angry!
[12:04] Ike Harem growls and sort of tears up a bit more as he pushes himself up to stand even though it hurt like hell "Do you really zink I would be so selfish as to not?! All projects were moved! Zere has been no damage to ze antidote!" he shouts and eventually buckles under in pain and fallls to his knees, ghasping for air.

[Ashtyn]

[12:05] Hazel Alchemi: ((Uh, Nicky was working on her thing there at the time of the explosion; and she made no mention of anything having been moved))
[12:05] Ixen Radikal: wha?
[12:05] Hazel Alchemi: ((that's what Xela said))
[12:06] Ixen Radikal: *facedesk....!
[12:06] Hazel Alchemi: ((That Nicky was upstairs working on her thing, and when all hell broke loose she jumped out of the window before the place went boom!))
[12:06] Ani Aunerfal: (There shouldn't have been much damage to the upstairs area)
[12:07] Ixen Radikal: well I gave plenty of time, might have been an excuse for nicky to be there but honestly they werent even expecting Nicky to be there
[12:08] Ani Aunerfal: (The downstairs windows and furniture were damaged/broken by bolts of energy that came from the circle and a directed magical erruption to the front of the building, but none of that really affected the upstairs)
[12:09] Hazel Alchemi: ((I have no idea what was wrecked up, I was just asked to "wreck up the alchemy guild's interior", no distinction between upstairs and downstairs. And Xela has been saying all this time that Nicky's work upstairs was ruined, so....))
[12:09] Ani Aunerfal: (I specifically said the downstairs windows, door and furniture)
[12:11] Hazel Alchemi: Ok, time-out, we need to coordinate things here because this is a mess now. 
[12:11] Elerlissa Ashbourne: Whether or not the upstairs lab was destroyed is ultimately inconsequential though...
[12:12] Hazel Alchemi: Xela has been all over the place with the whole "everything blew up" story.
[12:13] Ani Aunerfal: I'd thought you did all that according to what i'd said on gtalk
[12:13] Ixen Radikal: and its not inconsequential as the antidote would be salvageable
[12:14] Hazel Alchemi: ...here's what I'm thinking to suggest....
[12:14] Elerlissa Ashbourne: Yes it is: Even if the lab is alright, the building will be uninhabitable for a while. Nicky grabbed her notes, so the written-down documentation is intact. If the samples can be recovered then swell! But it's only like, a day or two's worth of progress gained...
[12:14] Hazel Alchemi: ...since Xela has been all over the place with her story already, and there have been a dozen scenes with a bunch of people because of what she's been saying, how about we say Vheljen and Ike weren't even aware that the upstairs was wrecked?
[12:15] Ixen Radikal: that could work I guess.. but if it was so inconsequential then Yuna and Xahu would not be bringing up the antidote to scold Ike
[12:16] Hazel Alchemi: Also Felix, I think it's very improbable that they would re-locate all experiments going on in the building, but that's just me. Still wouldn't affect the outcome on Xela's thing because Nicky was supposedly working on it /at the time of the explosion/, so even if they saved the other stuff, Nicky's stuff would still be gone. Sounds agreeable?
[12:16] Elerlissa Ashbourne: And yeah, there have been way too many scenes IC with way too many people by now for the lab to be suddenly alright. & Neither Xahu nor Yuna have any competence by which to go to even know the extent of the setback. The point is there was a setback, not how big it was.
[12:17] Ani Aunerfal: The lab isn't 'suddenly alright', it was 'suddenly damaged'. lol
[12:17] Hazel Alchemi: ...pretty much.
[12:17] Ixen Radikal: all projects could have been moved in the time I gave for this event to be setup
[12:18] Hazel Alchemi: Anyway, do we go with Vheljen and Ike not having known the full extent of the damage then?
[12:18] Elerlissa Ashbourne: Yeah.
[12:18] Ani Aunerfal: I messaged ashtyn the night of the event specifically asking for him to damage the downstairs interior of the building. Specifically that area
[12:18] Elerlissa Ashbourne: Anyway, will my last post stand or do I need to modify it? Also, want a repost?
[12:18] Ixen Radikal: because it was like almost a week since I made the forum post with times and dates
[12:19] Elerlissa Ashbourne: ...But the fact they moved the experiments prove they knew it could go bad, so... how does that not incriminate them further?
[12:19] Hazel Alchemi: Ok, Ok, that part is for IC arguing. 
[12:19] Elerlissa Ashbourne: Yup
[12:20] Elerlissa Ashbourne: Anyway, reposting since it doesn't appear I need to make any changes to it.
[12:20] Hazel Alchemi: We need to settle on syncing up the facts because clearly Xela took this story and ran away with it in her own way! 
[12:20] Ixen Radikal: *grumbles*
[12:20] Ani Aunerfal: Let's just get on with this.
[12:21] Yuna Fu Sheng nods softly at her father. She sees that now! This is definitely an experience she's going to keep in mind when working on her new magical creations as well... "If he is the one responsible for this, he should be collected and imprisoned. Sounds like he must have known this could happen, and still went through with it-- and as far as I'm concerned, that is intentional destruction of property and endangerment of Lismore." she remarks, before she looks up at Ike again. "Nicky evidently disagrees. She told us all she managed to rescue were the notes. Incidentally, if you moved the items away from the alchemy lab in the first place then you must have known there was a danger it could explode. And that concerns me: If you knew there was a chance it might explode, why would you do it in a public space? Why right next to the infirmary, which is crucial for this city? Why right next to the home of a member of the Council and a bunch of other civilians? What happened at the alchemy guild was nothing short of extre
[12:21] Yuna Fu Sheng  negligence for which you are all responsible, and that is a fact. 'It should not have' is not an excuse; it happened. Precautions were not made. It was foolish!" (( Repost! ))
[12:21] Hazel Alchemi: Ok. So, building was wrecked worse than they originally knew. Picking up from there.
[12:21] Yuna Fu Sheng (Elerlissa Ashbourne) OOC: ... extreme* =P
[12:21] Fletcher: flicks an ear as he continues to listen, leaning against the railing and tilts his head.. though one part of what was said catches his interest quite a bit, and he raises his brows slightly.  An antidote?  He frowns uneasily, and then sighs.. well he had suspected something was wrong with him, and not just a cold!   He shifts a bit uneasily as the topic grows more heated and then sighs and makes his way down stairs..
[12:21] Vheljen would give out a slow sigh, he could tell there was no point in discussion here, and so he simply speaks, "What will be our punishment?"
[12:23] Ike Harem grunts "I tried to give warning to everyone inside..... Nicky should not have been there on that day..." he lets out a heavy sigh as he goes quiet for now
[12:29] Xahu Fu Sheng sighs heavily and takes a moment to recompose himself. As displeased as he is, he isn't about to dish out punishments in anger. And he comments to Ike, "That girl has a talent for getting in trouble!". He looks to Fletcher as he comes down the stairs, and sighs a bit; he probably heard them; how much he heard remains to be seen though. And he turns to Vheljen at last, "...your years of loyal work are not forgotten, Vheljen. ...neither are yours, Ike. If this were in the days of my father's rule each of you would have an eye taken, and would be stripped of all your magical abilities! I'm not going to go that far, though consider this a warning: You can not undertake such experiments recklessly like that! I expect someone to pay for the damage so that the city doesn't have to cover all the loss! Either of you can volunteer or we can appoint someone responsible for it, but I will trust on your sense of duty to take care of this! As for Zolf, send message to him, we want to question him and he better make
[12:29] Xahu Fu Sheng himself available lest be becomes a wanted criminal, which is what he's treading on right now!"
[12:31] Yuna Fu Sheng blinks when she spots Fletcher coming down the stairs. Oh crap... She gestures for him to come closer. Seems like she's got some explaining to do...
[12:31] Vheljen would give his head a simple nod to Xahu, and he volunteers without any delay, "I'll pay for it." He says, before adding, "Is there anything else, your majesty?"
[12:33] Ike Harem sits back down and adds with Vheljen "I will also cover ze damages... I will not ask the city to pay for what we did.." though unknown to him, he did manage to tear open a stitching....
[12:34] Fletcher: offers his book the servant that was following him around, when his mother motions for him to come closer.  He makes his way over to her, keeping quiet still so not to interrupt what his grandfather and the others were doing.
[12:36] Xahu Fu Sheng sighs a little again and shakes his head, and says softly to Vheljen, "...next time please don't get excited with the prospect of new magic and dive in head-first without going through the proper means, please. You are important to us, Vheljen, you could have been harmed...", and he motions to Ike who clearly took the blunt of it, "...or worse! ...And Ike please get back to the infirmary if you have no other business here, you look terrible!", and he calls out a couple of big guards, "...Guards, ...give Ike a hand, carry him if you must, make sure he's comfortable and doesn't get to exert himself!"
[12:37] Yuna Fu Sheng moves to try and pull Patrick into a hug. "...hey sweetie..." she tells him, keeping her volume low. "...you heard all that, huh?"
[12:40] Ike Harem bows his head "I am very sorry emperor... That will be all, thank you.." he tries to get back up with a wince.. yeah the normally bouncy, giddy cannec looked devastated
[12:41] Fletcher: sighs softly and lets his mother hug him, hugging her back.. though he was a bit cross with her for lying to him, and keeping it from him.. But he did understand.  "Yeah I heard.."  He replies, and tilts his head a bit, "You could have told me.."
[12:44] Vheljen would incline his head, the foxramau not looking particularly convinced at the notion that there was concern for his personal safety, though politely, he speaks, "I appreciate your concern, your majesty, i'll use due caution in the future. At the risk of being rude, there's work at home that I should probably get back to."
[12:47] Yuna Fu Sheng nods at Patrick. "Yeah, I know. I just feared you'd stress even more and get even sicker..." she says. "We're working diligently on it though. Soon as everything's prepared, we'll take you to the Temple for examination there, and Simon will look at you, and Mariah, and Serena will too. We're going to get you well again."
[12:47] Xahu Fu Sheng nods to Vheljen, and says softly to him, "You may go! Be careful!", and he motions for the guards to help Ike go as well so he doesn't have to put undue stress on his battered body.
[12:49] Ike Harem relaxes a little as he keeps a paw on his torn stitching while the guards escort him back to the infirmary
[12:51] Vheljen would give a polite bow, before making his way out, only turning around at the last minute to retrieve his sword from the guard outside.