[ ♜ ] knife's edge- 1x1 rp with Faecoria

[☼ morgana]

Gaelen shrugged, landing back down on the checkered tile floor of the library.

"I, uh, - I just need to look around a little more. This place is so strikingly familiar to me, but it's like I've never been here before. The answer is close by. I can feel it..." he trailed off, turning back around towards the shield on the wall.

At this angle, Ryuki would notice that Gaelen only had two tiers of wings - unusual for a fae elf of Gaelen's age. His coming of age should have granted him a third tier. Unfortunately for Ryuki, if he asked, Gaelen wouldn't have an answer, you see. Much of his childhood he can't seem to remember, and he's unsure as to why.

Gaelen drew in a breath and focused his arcane energy into his hands, the mystical energy coursing through his arms, his wings glowing once more. Reaching up, with a little struggle and on his tip toes, he touched the shield with his magic, seeing if that did anything.

For a moment their was silence, and Gaelen thought his idea had failed. Gaelen jumped with the shield glowed, and a hidden wall opened to reveal a room, small pieces of the wall falling away as it slid to the side.

The space itself was dusty but full of old scrolls, books, and so much more. Gaelen stifled coughs as he entered the space, waving a hand to drive away dust from his nose.

Looking around more, and reading over some book titles, this appeared to be some kind of... archive? If it was an archive, then why was it hidden away in such a manner? Perhaps whoever lived here had secrets to keep?

Gaelen walked over to a table that had a scroll left open. Much of it had withered away with time, but what was legible made him stop in his tracks.

"The Lightvale name is true, a usurper rules before you" he read aloud. "W-what does that-" Gaelen was cut off by obvious sounds of heavy, armored footsteps entering the manor, unintelligible orders being barked this way and that. Thinking quickly, Gaelen rolled up the old scroll and put it in his bag. His surname was on that scroll. But now wasn't the time to linger. He shoved a few other random books and scrolls in his bag before seeking an exit.

"I think we need to go..." he stated, looking around. In the ceiling was a hole. "That's likely our quickest exit..." he pointed up at it, offering an apologetic look to Ryuki.

[★ Faecoria ★]

Ryuki wasn't all that interested in what Gaelen was looking at as he tried not to fidget, his impatience chafing at such a boring room. But he also knew that looking at these things might give them more information on why the fae elf was a target—and why Ryuki's guild cared enough to put the mage under protection; assassins weren't typically assigned guard duty, after all.

He turned away as the mage stammered in confusion over the scroll and stuck his head out the way they'd come in. At the moment, the library was still, with dust from the disturbed secret wall drifting through the moonlight. The silence was broken a heartbeat later, when the unmistakable sound of footsteps echoed through the shelves. Heavy footsteps that suggested armored trespassers that were incapable of hiding their presence.

Or they felt like they didn't need to. Which could be bad.

When Gaelen spoke up about the hole in the ceiling, Ryuki turned away from the library and regarded the possible escape route with an irritated frown. There was no way for him to climb up there. “Maybe for you. I don't have wings.”

The footsteps were growing louder, and with them came the clank of weapons. If Ryuki had been alone, he would have opted to fight, since any opportunity to have some fun was a welcome one, but he had this mage to think about at the moment.

[☼ morgana]

Gaelen looked between Ryuki, the hole in the ceiling and the sounds of oncoming battle.

"Listen, we have two choices - either we fight our way out, or I can cast a spell and carry you out of here through the ceiling with me," Gaelen was dead serious.

"If we do option two, I need you to trust me. The spell will fail otherwise." he added, meeting Ryuki's stern gaze. "If we fight our way out, I know combative spells, but my mana will run out quicker." Gaelen's face shifted to a serious look.