An Attempted Heist (Henry, Dante, Dreamer, Merlin)

[Merlin Emrys]

Merlin sat in one of the many second story rooms of the Guild, his boots propped up on another wooden chair that he rocked back occasionally with his feet. The room was one of the many intermediate rooms in the Guild with several connecting doors, and no obvious use- it contained a few desks, book stands and comfy armchairs, yet it was neither a study, library or parlour.

Gaius, the court physician, had requested Merlin to research the potential magical properties of objects inside a large trunk. It had been discovered in the crypt underneath the castle, and the Uther had commissioned Gaius to look into it. Inevitably, the dirty work of sifting through the dusty rubbish fell to Merlin.
He had enlisted the help of Dreamer, the newest addition to the Guild, a young boy who was fast rising through the ranks. They had been sat in the room for a while, and there was a lapse in their conversation as they each studied an artifact, occasionally consulting books or each other as to what they thought it was.

Merlin's ears pricked up, and he looked up from a rather ugly pendant he was holding- he thought he had heard a noise from the next room down. He shrugged, giving the necklace in his hand one last glance.

"Oh yep, this one's definitely magical. It seems to have the power to look repulsive in every way possible! You couldn't give away half of this junk!" he complained to Dreamer, lobbing the pendant over his shoulder where it landed with a tinny crash amongst the pile of other discarded objects.

"Are you having any luck?" he asked Dreamer.

[Jasen "Dreamer" Masters]

Dreamer rose quickly when he heard the pendant crashing into the pile of junk behind merlins desk. Merlin may have not noticed, but Dreamer did find a magical item. They were a pair of glasses that made the wearer look as if he were awake. They were fasinating, and Dreamer had unintentinaly used them for their designated purpose.

Dreamer looked around, the glasses now in his hand from ripping them off. Then he looked at Merlin and gave him a guilty grin, "Sorry, i must have dozed off". Dreamer sat back down and set the glasses beside him down. He looked back at the book before him, and then look back up. "What time is it?"

[Merlin Emrys]

(We can all add our ideas as this thread goes along in the plot thread, so we all know what's happening?)

Merlin looked out of the window, the sky was dark and he could see the tall glowing lights from the castle's turrets in the distance. "I'm not sure, I'd guess it's pretty late though!" he stretched in his seat, arching his back until it felt better and less stiff. He yawned: "Shall we each take one more and then call it a night?"

Merlin pulled the trunk infront of him, throwing Dreamer an oblong wooden box that looked locked and lifting out a velvet pouch which he placed on his own lap. Straight away his senses tingled, he could sense a magic in the room that was not his own or Dreamer's. He dipped his hand inside the leather pouch and pulled and a heavy stone, or orb- he wasn't quite sure how to class it. It was a deep emerald green and felt faintly warm.

"What's yours?" he called across to Dreamer.

[Jasen "Dreamer" Masters]

Dreamer was looking the other way when he nodded at Merlin's suggestion. When he turned his head, he barely caught the box with his hand, bringing it safely into his chest. He sighed, relived that he hadn't accidentally dropped, and possibly destroyed, the box. He didn't want to know what the consequences of such a mistake would be.

Dreamer set the box down so that he may rub the sand from his eyes. Shaking his head and pulling his hair back behind his ear, he began his inspection of the wooden box. It was rather large, not too large, enough that he needed both hands to carry. It was light though, contrary to its size. Dreamer shook the box, there was defiantly something in it.

Dreamer inspected the lock, and subconsciously figured out which devices he could use to open it. Dreamer looked away then, and back at Merlin with a guilty look of shame on his face. It was only for a moment though, cause he had to pay attention to the box. His life of thievery was behind him, or so he hoped. Maybe if he just picked this one lock, he wouldn't ever do it again. He was rather curious as to its contents.

Dreamer felt a wave of magic rush over the room, but did not look over at Merlin. He dismissed the source as being Merlin, using his magic to discover what is item was or to get to it. Anyways, he probably wouldn't have looked over if there was any other source, he was too curious with the task at hand.

Dreamer decided he would have to wait, seeing as there was no key. Dreamer rose from his seat and picked the box up with his hands. "Its a box, but i cant seem to determine its contents" he said, "I can open it later, if you wish" he said.

[Merlin Emrys]

Whilst Dreamer inspected the box, Merlin turned over the orb-thing in his hands. It was smaller than his head, but much bigger than a fist. He could see it wasn't exactly spherical, rather, tapered at one end much like an egg. He tapped it with a knuckle, it felt like tapping a stone- and it was heavy like a stone- but not as heavy as you would expect for a stone of that size. He then rubbed a thumb over the surface and a small shiver crept up his spine. It wasn't a jewel, but it looked like some kind of smooth precious stone, with thin veins of a deeper emerald flowing across its surface.

"I can open it later, if you wish"

He looked up at Dreamer's words, his face glazed.

"Oh, um, yeah- that'd be great." He held the green egg out to Dreamer. The air practically hummed with magic, and he wondered if Dreamer could feel it too.

"What do you make of this?" Merlin asked, eyes sparkling.

[Jasen "Dreamer" Masters]

Dreamer looked down at the strange green stone that Merlin held out in front of him. Even without touching it, Dreamer could feel the magic coming off of it. He recognized it, it was the source of the magic he had felt a moment ago, not Merlin. Instinctively, Dreamer became curious with the massive object, and set down the box in his hands.

"It's...It's", Dreamer took the stone from Merlin gladly. He was surprised at the weight, which was slightly lighter than he anticipated. He almost giggled as he held it, "Beautiful" he said, finishing his sentence. Dreamer rubbed the surface of it, it was fantastic. Dreamer could feel something else from it that he couldn't quiet place. It was obviously magic, but nothing Dark.

It seemed to throb with Life.

Thinking out loud he said, "It's not evil, its...happy" Dreamer said. Dreamer pulled his eyes away from the stone, with much effort, and started at Merlin. A wide grin on his face, "Are you sure we cant spend five minutes more inspecting this...this..." Dreamer couldn't even put a name to it. "Please...Please...Please..." he said over and over.

He was like a little kid with a new toy.

[Merlin Emrys]

"Please...Please...Please..."

Merlin chuckled at Dreamer's excitement.

"Ok! Ok!" he replied with a grin. "I know what you mean, its magic has a kind of feel to it, like yours or mine..." Merlin reached out and took the egg back, sitting it on his lap and staring at it. "I think we'll need to spend more than five minutes investigating it Dreamer, maybe we should get some books out to find out exactly what it is and does before we tell Gaius or the king?" He gave the egg one last fond stroke before sliding it back into the pouch. He could still feel its warmth through the material.

"I don't think we should leave it just lying about overnight... shall we head down to the vault and leave it there? Then we can meet tomorrow evening after I'm finished at the Castle and you're done at work? It's getting pretty late, I don't think we can do much else tonight!"

Merlin handed Dreamer the pouch to carry, pushing the trunk to one side of the room with his foot. He then grabbed a torch from the wall, and with a hissed word of magic all the lights from the room extinguished and it crackled to life, its flame casting long shadows on the wall.

"The vault's this way..." he motioned for Dreamer to follow him.

[Jasen "Dreamer" Masters]

Dreamer giggled like a child when Merlin gave in and agreed to let Dreamer inspect the stone. Unfortunately the rest of the conversation had not gone as Dreamer had planned. As Merlin took the stone away to put back in the pouch, Dreamer almost cried. It was only when Merlin gave Dreamer the pouch back, with the stone in it of course, that Dreamer cheered up again.

Dreamer wondered if Merlin had actually asked him if they were going to put it into the vault or not. Either way, He had grabbed a torch and started to lead Dreamer out of the now dark Room. Dreamer hadn't exactly been paying attention when the room went dark, so he instinctively casted a light spell.

Light
Bright
Take up flight

Dreamer was better at controlling how much he put into a spell now, so the light he caste was a miniature ball that casted enough light to surround him. It hovered comfortable out of the way above his shoulder, and stayed there. Dreamer smiled, he knew his magic was improving fast, and something inside him always happily stirred when he saw it for himself.

Dreamer noticed Merlin was down the hall now, and almost around a corner. He stopped daydreaming, for a minute, and packed the box he had before in one of his bags and slung them over his shoulder. He had two bags, one with his few possessions and one with his violin. Dreamer didn't have much, so he didn't see a point in leaving them wherever he may have stayed the night before.

Dreamer caught up to Merlin quickly down the hall and smiled at him, the pouch still in his hand. Dreamer petted the pouch, feeling the stone's warmth threw the fabric. Dreamer was finding himself more attracted to the artifact than any other mystery he had discovered.

[Dante Grixis]

Dante was using a torch to light up the vault that he and Henry were in. He grabbes and orb off the tabe, it was made of strange black stone unknown to Dante. He shrugged and stuffed it into his loot sack. The two of them were making a great haul here. He brabbed a few books and slung them into a bag.

He winced as the books clapped loudly on the floor through the sack. He stopped moving for a moment a listened. Silence. He continued filling his bag, a jar with a deep blue liquid, more carefully.

"Get anything good over there Henry?" He whispered.

[Henry Renold]

After scaling the tower and entering some sort of study, Henry and Dante had quickly realised they were in a room with very little promise and at Dante's suggestion they had decided to have a look round the rest of the place.

It was just Henry's luck to break into the one room in the guild that held no magical objects or anything worth real money, still the excitement was enough to persuade him to venture further into the building.

It hadn't taken them long to figure out that most of the expensive things must be in some kind of chamber that was locked or sealed with magic. Nearly all of the rooms were empty save for a desk, a chair and a few books which were thick and dusty, and made Henry yawn just to look at.
It was Henry who first thought that the vault might be on the ground floor, or even in a cellar and for once his idea paid off. They quickly picked the lock, which strangely wasn't secured by magic- perhaps a careless magician had forgotten that night- but it paid off and the pair were soon rummaging through all sorts of junk and artefacts.

"Well, I've got this weird jewel..ly..thing." Henry replied to Dante, holding it up and waving it so it shimmered in the weak light they had brought with them, "And a couple of jewelled boxes filled with weird powders, but not much else." He sifted through a new pile of items, throwing most of them over his shoulder if they looked dull or like they might not sell.
He had little appreciation for items that didn't look like the amount they were worth. In his life he had never had possessions that meant anything, no keepsakes or memories. All of the belongings he owned were useful, clothes, a few pieces of essential furniture and his weapons. It was all he needed.

He sighed heavily and sunk into an antique chair that looked like it might be worth a hell of a lot. It was a shame they were going to have to leave via a window, for he would have bet all the money in the world that this chair would have fetched a fortune.
"We nearly done?" Henry asked his associate, "Only-" His voice broke off as he thought he heard a nose outside the volt.
"Dante?" He whispered, "Was that you?"

[Dante Grixis]

Dante stopped, one hand moving into the bag with a small amulet. He dropped it as the hair stood up on the back of his neck and his heart rate sped up.

Dante? Was that you?

Someone was coming towards the room. Dante began to panic as he though of being sent back to the dungeons. He had only gotten out two weeks ago and that was no where near long enough for him. He quickly ousted the torch and jumped behind a pile of books and drew his weapons.

"Henry! Hide!" He whispered harshly. If they were lucky the time of night would make whoever was coming into the room a little less aware of things going on. This seemed like a great idea but now it was proving to be a dangerous endeavor. Dante had fought mages before, and it was never an easy task. He tried to make his breathing as quiet as possible, he tried not to even think, though it was hard as his thoughts raced through what would happen in the moments to come.

[Merlin Emrys]

Merlin led the way to the vault. He hadn't visited for a while and he hoped he could find the key that was looped on the bunch hanging from his belt. He briefly wondered why the Guild had never thought to have some sort of charm on the lock instead- he supposed the greatest threat was from enemy magicians, and they would have no trouble creating a counter spell to gain access.
Their echoing footsteps fell silent as they reached the vault doors. Merlin hung the torch on the wall so that the door frame was illuminated. Dreamer was close behind him, carrying the pouch and followed by an orb of light.

It took Merlin a few seconds to fumble with the key,

"We'll put a simple protective charm on the pouch as well..." he thought out loud, "Just to be on the safe side." He didn't like the idea of leaving the warm gem in the depths of the cold vault all night- but it was the safest place for it. Merlin turned the key in the lock and pushed the door forwards. It didn't move.

"Wha...?" he looked confused, "Oh, I must've locked it!" he glanced sheepishly at Dreamer, then turned the key anticlockwise and the mechanics of the door ground open.

"I think it was already unlocked." he frowned and swung the door back, sending in his own glowing orbs along with Dreamer's to light the whole room...

[Jasen "Dreamer" Masters]

Dreamer knew Merlin was a slightly forgetfull person, but forgetting to lock the storeroom to all the magical items. Dreamer shruddered at the thought of someone breaking in and stealing even one of the many things trapped within. Magic could come in many physical forms, and Dreamer didnt want to know the possibilites of use each had.

Dreamer sent his light, alongside on of merlins, into the vault. As it entered, Dreamer had it hover above and increased its level of light produced. Now, with Merlins light alongside, the whole vault was illuminated with light.

Oh what a suprise

Dreamer's eyes caught two men, dressed in gray's, darting to each side of the room. He didnt see there faces, but by the way they moved and how heavy thier bag's dragged, he knew they were thieves. He had experience with thieves, he used to be one of them.

"Dont Move!" Dreamer shouted with his voice, hitting a low tone,"Thieves". Dreamer was hoping these were petty thieves who were desperate for cash. Someone of little experience, sadly, may have been able to get in but would be flustered when caught.

Sadly...that wasnt the case.

[Henry Renold]

Henry, who hadn't moved since her heard the sound, agreed with Dante when he told him to hide. He swung himself over the back of the chair in a kind of rolling-backflip and finished crouching behind it, his knives already out.

As the footsteps got louder, Henry began to hear muffled voices, it sounded like two men, but of course there may have been more. Still, he waited until they entered the vault before he judged the situation any better.
When the guild men had finally finished fumbling around with the keys, the door opened and the voices carried into the room, they had obviously noticed that the door was unlocked already, but so far didnt seem too suspicious. An orb of light floated over to the chair Henry was hiding behind- At least one of them was a magician clearly.

In order to avoid being detected byt the light, Henry rolled as quietly as he could to the far wall. However he neglected to take into account the sheer amount of magical artefacts that scattered the floor and it sounded as though he had just shattered a window as he rolled across them.

"Dont Move!"

The words broke the silence just as Henry was darting to the opposing wall for safety, but it was too late.
Now the fun begins, he thought with a smirk.

[Dante Grixis]

That voice sounded familiar. Dante struggled to think of where he had heard it before. Suddenly he remembered one night at the Ram, before he was arrested, that he had spoke to the entertainer, Dreamer. Somewhere in his drunken stupor that night he had thought that he was a mage. He was apparently correct in that assumption.

Dante smirked at the command. He didn't move and first, the he quickly grabbed some kind of orb on the floor next to him and hurled it at the door to the room. He shattered against the wall sending shards of it all over the floor. Using this as a distraction he jumped over the stacks of books and swung his short sword downwards at the boy he didn't recognize. His hood was up, and with any luck he wouldn't be recognized.

He and Henry would leave this place tonight, these two mages were just a small inconvenience in their plan. He imagined that they had never fought opponents as skilled as himself or his friend. If they were lucky, this would be easy.