The Ancient Ones dream as they wait in R'lyeh

[astudyinviolet]

Who: Sherlock and others
Status: Open
Where: Eltrut, Atnam, Nogard, Elah
What: Catch all for MANTA quests and Sherlock learn his newly gained light magic
Warnings: there are some creepy (but motionless) light projections after he accidentally blinds himself

MANTA general: Perspectives in Pursuit (Elturt)

[ Sherlock pours over the three paintings using his magnifying glass. Jin Ramona's signature tiny man has been discovered, but Sherlock is also using other means to identify the fakes in case Ramona decides to switch his methods. He absolutely doesn't care about the reward. This is a puzzle using purely physical evidence. He is in his element and doing his mother's work, authenticating works and discovering forgeries. ]

Hand me that scalpel. I mean to take a sample of some pigments from each of the paintings.

MANTA general: Beta Testers Wanted (Nogard)

[ Anyone who has known Sherlock for any length of time here knows that he drinks a lot of coffee. Indeed, he seems to need it to function as he never appears to have a good night's rest. It only makes sense that he'd test out the Teacaf. He is also a scientist and could make a thorough report of his testing.

There is just one problem. ]

ExcusemeIneedtogetmorewatertotesttheTeacafwithanewratio.

Excuse me, I need to get more water to test the Teacaf with a new ratio.

[ Sherlock says far too quickly. His hands are trembling, and he's practically bouncing from spot to spot. He can't stay still. This is the most awake and active anyone will see Sherlock until he fixes his sleeping problems.

Dear Lord, just how much coffee did he drink? Someone should probably keep an eye on him and keep him away from consuming any more today. ]

MANTA Paladin Bounty: Disguise and Deliverance (Atnam)

[ There is a maid who is probably doing the worst cleaning job despite being very interested in the dust on the furniture and shoe scuffs on the hardwood floors. After each inspection, the dust and marks remain, and the maid has moved on. Anyone who catches up to the maid will come face to face with a tall, dark-haired beauty with grey eyes holding a magnifying glass.

Wait. That's Sherlock impersonating a maid. He looks similar to when he dressed to be a bride's decoy. The main difference is he's wearing a conservative maid's uniform instead of a wedding gown and veil. ]

May I help you?

[ He says in a tone fitting his disguise. ]

MANTA Paladin Bounty: Dragon Tails (Elah)

[ Sherlock is not afraid of the dragon. When he first arrived in this world, he had been afraid of them because he thought he was going mad. That is not the case this time. Here is a creature who is injured and needing help. He gets along with animals generally, and he once befriended a snarling stray dog as a child. He hopes to do something similar here. ]

Here, drink this. It should help keep any infections from spreading through your body and help with the pain.

[ The dragon sniffs at the medicine laced water Sherlock puts down and places its head next to the basin instead. Sherlock sits down in a chair, pulls out his casebook, and waits for the dragon to make the next move. ]

C'mon, Sherry. Concentrate

[ Somehow, despite everything, Sherlock makes it through the process of getting a tattoo at the Inkwave Tattoo Parlor. He can't tell if anything has really changed besides the ink on his arm. There might be a faint tingle upon his skin, but that could easily be explained by the tattooing process.

The element Sherlock chose was Light. His talk with Lyney and learning about the elements from Cid helped him make his choice. Sherlock is not luminous on his own. He is someone who gets lost in the dark, makes games out of shadows, and fears the Abyss swallowing him up every night. No, like Miriam, he's fighting against his circumstances. John's not here to be his Conductor of Light and guide him forward. Sherlock remains, and despite the dark, to spite the dark, he's going to grasp for his light. He'll try to give himself hope for something better and fight for whatever future he still has. It also has practical uses for investigation as light will allow him to better see clues and evidence, but Sherlock must admit that he's tied to the sentiment more than anything. Not the most logically sound reason.

Now, if only Sherlock could get something to happen in this vacant area, so he knows it worked. He should be able to imagine and then feel something, shouldn't he? He visualizes and recreates crime scenes in his mind palace. He lived with an imaginary friend for most of his life, never having to think hard to see him beside him. If he just concentrates. Sherlock starts to snap his fingers like he does during an investigation or whenever he needs to punctuate a point in his mind.

A young man with a bright smile and playful eyes appears, made completely of shimmering blue-green light. ]

Jon?!

[ Sherlock startles back, and the light projection disappears. It never moved, never spoke. It was there, and now it is gone. ]

Oh.

[ This is unexpected, but now Sherlock has an idea. He thinks of his dear John Watson and snaps his fingers. A John made of light appears before him. He snaps his fingers again, and the image of Jon appears again. Snap. John. Snap. Jon. Snap. John. Snap. Now, there's a bee. Snap. A book. Snap. A violin.

If someone doesn't come across him as he's just figuring things out, maybe they come across Sherlock later as he's actively testing his limits. He finds one such limit when tries to see how many light projections he can create at once. The light bursts brightly around him and especially in his eyes.

Sherlock stands there blinded, eyes having gone completely pale. What had he just done to himself? Is this permanent? (It's not, but he doesn't know that time or a healing spell will fix things.) ]

Is someone there?

[ Sherlock's thoughts drift to another blind man who lead a cult. He trembles and is completely unaware that he's causing other unintentional, images to blink in and out of reality in his barely concealed terror of his condition. Large tentacles and chains emerge from the ground. Large chunks of rock float in the air. There are nondescript, wooden artist mannequin figures posed in worship before a large statue of a monstrous being. ]

Wildcard

[ Want to do something else? Write a prompt or drop me a line at Sherry's journal, aviekokyre, or on Discord @ aviekokyre and we can plot something out. ]

Comments

[hasapoint]

Depends. Is the cover leather, or what?

Mind you it would start wearing off if you held it underwater but I can cover it against [Lashan gestures with her chin in the direction the spout had arisen from]

[astudyinviolet]

[ That is a very good question. It is a cloth bound casebook that has seen much better days as the edges have become jagged and frayed. The pages are bound using metal rings which allow Sherlock to remove and add paper as needed. He badly needs to treat himself to a new one. ]

I would never do that to my casebook unless I wanted to purposely destroy it.

[hasapoint]

Hmm.

[A sad, exhausted-looking item, but she has to think it fits its owner. Better not to say that thought out loud.]

I can stitch the word into the cover. Or maybe make a bookmarker.

[She's a little skeptical either way, the ring binding makes her think a bookmark - 'bookmarker' is the archaic term - might just fall out.]

My aunties taught me and my brother this one. It's proof against blood and sweat, too.

[astudyinviolet]

[ No lies there. Sherlock is a sad, exhausted-looking item.

He starts back up his walk towards where the injured dragon is resting. They can talk and walk at the same time. (Best to get out of this area before another spout of water happens.) ]

Either would be immensely helpful. Ah, perhaps the bookmarker would be best. While I usually write in pencil, I would like to still retain the ability to use ink.

[ Although, maybe the spell would still allow that if bound to the cover. ]

I don't know how much such an enchantment would cost, but I trust you to give a fair price for your work.

[hasapoint]

Yeah, that might be important.

[she would have had to tweak it to let ink through, tbh, Lashan is not used to thinking of a book as something that you carry around and add to. She has little to do with books herself, though she'd taught several of her Sisters to enchant their few manuscripts. Completed manuscripts.

Lashan is very savvy with money and has made good headway into understanding what the currency here is worth. She's only feeding herself and a few NPCs who've inevitably wound up in her orbit, but then, she's not bringing in the kind of massive lump sums she'd get from selling her enchanted swords, either.]

I certainly do. [Maybe leather, something with a texture... orrr a good length of ribbon. Hm. Sherlock seems like some kind of a noble or rich layman who's fallen on hard times, to her.] Though what 'fair' is depends on the person. What kind of money do you bring in? I wouldn't turn down barter, either.

[astudyinviolet]

[ Sherlock would not consider himself a rich man here. He has enough to support his work expenses (read: buy disguises) and his pretty style of dress, but given the infrequency of cases and the occasional refusal of a fee, he is just above scraping by. Should he ever eat like a normal person, he'd probably be harder up.

But that is neither here nor there. ]

Would a Bubble Charm be a suitable trade? I believe I mentioned it to you earlier. It is the charm that will allow you to breathe underwater for two hours. I would not give you mine, but I can obtain another.

[ The small necklace charm is Sherlock's constant companion around his neck as he placed it on the ribbon used around his collar. ]

[[ ooc: btw the purchase was approved by the mods, so assume Lashan has it ]]

[hasapoint]

Hmmm. [She acts like she's considering for longer than she really is. Lashan doesn't feel like it pays to be transparent.] Yeah, I'll take it. Sounds like a deal.

[This might be more in her favor tbh, she's not clear on how those are obtained, but on her part making a suitable marker will be the work of an afternoon and some basic materials that aren't terribly expensive.]

Much as I don't want to have to use that kind of thing it's better the option's there. Have you used yours? Is it two hours per go, or two hours total?

[astudyinviolet]

[ He gives a small laugh. He doesn't want to use his bubble charm either, but he will be helpless once he hits the water. This gives him more of a chance to be saved by increasing the time someone else has to save him. He could still drown should be be alone, but that would be the case without the charm. ]

I believe it is two hours per go. Nothing suggested it was a one-time use, and the other charms I have allow for multiple uses.

[hasapoint]

[Lashan purses her lips. She's cautious enough not to like uncertainty like that but can hardly blame Sherlock for not knowing.]

I suppose that's something I could get some rash young thing who loves the water to test. There's certainly a lot of those.

[astudyinviolet]

Should you fail to find one, there is always the MANTA board.

[ Sherlock continues to be amazed by both the variety of requests and those who are willing to fulfill them. ]