Into the snake pit

A gloved hand shook some snow off a leather clad shoulder. A sigh could bearly be heard as a dark dressed man stood a bit away off of the majestic fortress, his breath turning into icy mist. Adrian had slightly underestimated how cold it would be here. True, he had worn his warmest clothes but they were not enough. Gloved hands tighteneds a scarf around the redhead's neck, the dark gray wool preventing the cold from touching his skin drectly.


Red hair peeked out from a fur-lined hood as the young mage picked up his pace again and continued walking. Not that he had ever stopped. No, he had merely paused for a second to catch his breath. Yes, he hadn't stopped. Adrian Valentine never stops. Uh...unless it is foolish to continue. But in this case? Climbing this freezing hell is more than worth it. Basilisk Fang is supposed to be a place were no good-for-nothing morons go. A place where maybe Adrian could find someone to call equal. Maybe even...a home?


A fierce breeze sent cold air and a handful of snow towards Adrian's face. The mage winced as snow slapped him on the cheecks, some even falling inside his scarf and freezing his neck. A termmor passed through him as Adrian felt the coldness all the way to his very core.


Adrian Valentine made his way closer to his guild to-be; Basilisk Fang. Bracing the cold and snow -though getitng irittated by them- he put one foot in front of the other steadily closing in on the stone fortress' gateway. All the while humming a tune to himself.


His almost silent singing however abruptly came to an end when Adrian nearly banged his head on the guild's front door. Not paying too much attention to his everwhite and snowy surroundings he didn't realise how quickly he had traversed the not-so-short way to the fortress. Rolliing his eye in frustration with himself, he placed his gloved hand on the doors. Mustering his strength -more in a mental rather than physical way- he pushed forward, the doors slightly opening. Just enough for him to eneter. "Here goes nothing." he spoke in a low, hushed tone not wanting this comment to be heard by any future guildmates.

Taking a look around all Adrian could see was what the outside of the building promised. An old, slightly dilapitated fortress. Once grandiose decor now slowly fadding. A cracked wall or two. Overall however the place gave off a vibe of...superiority. Stealing a few more glances at the place Adrian decided to shout out and see if someone could hear him. "ANYONE HERE?"

Maybe he should have first ventured a bit further in...but that wouldn't be as fun now, would it?

"Uuggghh. No need to shout. Why do newbs always shout?" sighed a male voice slouched in a chair near the fire, nursing a bottle of cinnamon apple whisky. If anything, the young man looked tired for once. Making a booze run by himself and nearly getting shanked by a pack of snow gorillas had been taxing...and very annoying. The buzz he had going was working on coaxing him away from the bad mood ledge, but he had a little ways to go still yet.

As the rush of cold air made it through the great stone hall to blast him in the face, ruffling both his previously perfectly styled hair and the roaring flames, the guild poster boy rose from the worn seat to greet said newb. Before he did so, though, a hand reached up to place every stray lavender strand of hair back in place as well as smooth any wrinkles from his vermilian shirt from being slouched moments before. At the moment he didn't feel much like conducting guild business, but no one else was jumping at the chance to torment the man. Where was Veve, anyway? Wasn't that thing the welcoming committee?

Lengthy legs carried him gracefully toward the front door, expensive boots making a distinct clack against the dusty stone floor. One hand slid into a pocket while the other still coiled around his drink. "Close the door all the way. I've had enough snow for today," he spoke as he drew near, violet eyes searching first the face of the new stranger for a specific feature he checked in every person. What met his eyes brought a scowl of distaste and disappointment. "You're eye...what a shame." That emerald eye he had would have drawn him in, stirred his soul if it had had a mate. But no, the Basilisk Fang member would just be doomed to have rotten luck all day! Presuming that eyepatch to be hiding an empty hole in the red-head's skull, his heart ached. A broken pair just destroyed all potential. Good for this new guy's sake, but bad for the man standing before him, narrowly resisting the urge to chug the rest of his alcohol and call it a day. "I'm Iris, and I guess I'll be deciding if you stay or go. Tell me about yourself, stranger," Iris began, turning and heading dejectedly back toward the fire. "You can have a seat over here as you make your bid to join us snakes."

Rude as it may have beem Adrian's shout seemed to have paid off. His gloved hand pushed against the door -right before whoever was coming requested the door to be closed- closing it and allowing the interrior to once again be protected by the freezing elements of the outside. Gods know he had his own fair share of snow for today too. Actually make that a week. A month maybe. He didn't know who was coming his way but if their voice was any indication it was a male. A guess proven true as a masculine figure appeared the just as Adrian was taking his jacket off.

The readhead spent a few seconds scruntinizing the stranger. Something which -as he noticed- the other man also did. Violet hair, stylish clothers probably expensive too, and a bottle of booze in hand. Taking a sniff of the air Adrian got the impression that it was some kind of whisky with spice in it, probably...cinnamon? Or something along the lines at least. A drink pretty suitable for this weather reckoned Adrian. Then again -he kept thinking- akvavit would also be suitable, perhaps even more so. Then again not many handle akvavit well. He was shaken out of his thoughts by a comment about his eye to which he replied by tilting his head and smiling slightly.

Hearing the stranger's -Iris as he said his name was- made him more than a bit curious. Was this person really in charge of who joins or not? Iris didn't seem strong enough or responsible enough to hold such a position. But Adrian knew that nothing is what it seems to be so he decided to keep his mouth shut and not voice his doubts. Instead he tried to introduce himself. Nothing came out of his mouth. As he had previously expected. New situations are not Adrian Valentine's area of expertise. Before he managed to even say something the mage with hair of violet had invited him to come and take a sit.

Adrian did exactly that and followed Iris. His combat boots thumping on the floor a bit off sync with the sounds Iris' made. It was then that the redhead muster up the courage to speak. "Adrian Valentine" he said. "One-eyed blood mage. That's the short story at least." One of his hands moved in a pocket only to reapear less than a second later holding a flask. "For the long story you'll have to join me for a drink."

Earning some brownie points to even out his one-eyed deficit, a half smile surfaced on the man's lips and he raised his bottle in response to the flask. Anyone he could drink with couldn't be all bad. One eye or no, Iris couldn't get around the man's remaining attractive qualities, and being a fan of all things beautiful, he had to give this Adrian credit. The ocular fanatic could even give the man an eye for the sake of salvaging the package, but he absolutely would not break one of his pairs. Maybe if he found a decent single, he'd offer it to the man. Because he was such a nice guy, and all that.

Seating himself once more by the flames warm glow, his body sagged with thinly veiled exhaustion. He'd used a lot of magical energy today, just managing to keep enough back not to lose his sight for the return journey. That would have made things even more troublesome. This man at least seemed calm enough to chat with while he regained his strength. Lucky for him that Iris was the greeter...and wasn't passed out drunk. "Good thing I got to you first. Some members around here...I don't know if they'd ask before trying to do various things to you, not limited to booting you back out. Though, getting booted would be lucky in comparison?" he wondered out loud, gaze distant. Some were keen to banish newbs, others to kill them. Still yet, there were two he knew of right off who would have fates ready for him far worse than death by rejection or normal killing...and even if Iris had him now, that didn't mean Ambrosia and Veve wouldn't get him later. And then there was their moody Papa Snake.

Taking a sip from his bottle, Iris propped his crossed heels up on the low table between himself and the fire. "Alright, Adrian Valentine. What's your story?" he asked, wiggling around in the old chair enough to puff up some dust, but ultimately shift into the comfortable position he'd been in earlier.

Adrian's face morphed in bewildered contemplation and perhaps slight amusement at the comments about implied inter-guild shenanigans. Despite the other mage not having specified waht he meant by various things. When in a dark guild located atop a snowed mountain, literally in the middle of nowhere various things can only have a couple or two meanings. And they could both fit into the same category...somehow. Unwillingly his emotions didn't settle for a graphic representation only. His lips curled into a smirk as frost-torn lips parted. "Is this a mages guild or a kinky BDSM country club?" Hopefully Iris had not noticed this little comment of his or he at least pretended not to.

Stretching his legs Adrian made himself a tad more comfortable slightly mimicking his apparent host's positioning. Only difference being his legs touching hard, stone floor not wooden table. A now naked hand -gloves having been removed whilst stretching- reached for the flask. With quick movements it was uncapped and brought closer to its owner lips. Amber coloured liquid falling in a mouth. Until it stopped. The flask was shaken. A drop fell. Shaken again. Another drop fell. Realising that it was now empty the hand left the flask at the table in front and reached into a hip pocket. A second flask came out. "A man's got to be prepared, right?" said the redhead as he opened and drunk from the second flask. His finger played with the flask's cap -swirling it around, closing it and opening it- as a green eye darted from here to there trying to spot a bar counter. Failing to do so Adrian ceased his search and turned to directly face Iris.

A thorat-cleaning cough later and Adrian was holding a cigarette. The clanck and spark of the lighter faintly echoing in the room as fire burned paper and tobacco. Drag. Inhale. Exhale. Drag. Inhale. Exhale. The three simple steps to smoking. Really all you needed to master the art's basic. Not chocking from a dry cough fit was another story though. Those were advanced techniques. Sarcastic thoughts came to an end when Adrian realised he should probably reply to the violet-haired mage's question.

His backstory. Now boy, that was a tough subject. What to say? What to say? It's virtually to mention it all. That said a simple 'I was a lonely child with problems and too much boredome who became a lone, bored teen that messed around with blood magic, now I want to conduct intellectual eugenics on the world' wouldn't suffice. Something more adequate had to be said. Alas, Adrian had once again been put in his auto-pilot mode. You see sometimes he gets so nervous around new situations that critical thinking is put on hold and the tongue is let to roam free. So you bet that's exactly what he said.

"Grew up as a lonely child and that kinda messed me up a bit. Truned into a bored and lonely teenager who decided it would be interesting to fuck around with soul and blood magic. Now I seek to conduct intellectual eugenics on the world." Adrian stiffled a half laugh before he added to his statement. "That is to say I want to reserve knowledge for those worthy. For those who are able to handle it. After all, knowledge is power but it is also sin."

Wanting to lif the mood up a bit after his more-than-just-a-tad serious but rather short introductory speech Adrian drunk another sip from his flask. Putting the thing down once again he took another drag of his cigarette and looked Iris in the eyes. Strange eyes. Strange but beautiful. But more strange than beautiful. The redhead cracked a smile and asked "Any hope I can find a bar counter here? It's been too long since I last had a good cocktail."

The cheeky comment about the country club didn't go unheard. Iris's hearing was enhanced from his time of being blind, so not much went unnoticed. However, instead of choosing to comment, he simply gave an even more vague answer in the form of a devious smirk. There was no use clarifying one way or another, because the guild members were about as unpredictable as they came. Adrian remaining prepared for anything imaginable would benefit him in the end. A certainly rare case where presumptions were the key to survival.

Listening intently to the very short story that the stranger had claimed would be long, the "Eugenics, eh? With all the ugly, poor sighted individuals in this world, responsible breeding to ensure desirable traits is okay with me," Iris purred. In fact, it was right up his alley! Finding a good set of eyes what weren't muddled with ailments or just outright uselessness was a problem. He had the ability to collect endless pairs, yet had such limited choices in comparison. It was an interest he could appreciate, and thereby respect Adrian for. "Ahote would probably be--" his words broke, as the devil himself had just appeared. Angling his face to view their leader, a sly grin decorated his soft lips. Always a welcome sight, Ahote. "This is Adrian Valentine. He wishes to join. His hobbies are drinking, smoking, and eugenics. A fine addition, don't you think?" the ocular mage announced in his alluring mid-tones.

Iris could respect was a man always prepared with drink, one who also searched for a bar everywhere he went. So as Adrian asked the last question, he earned more brownie points. Now Iris was dangerously close to liking the new recruit, which elevated his mood. "Of course there's a bar counter here. What sort of guild hall would we be without it?" the mage grinned, hopping up from his seat as if he'd fully recovered his formerly lacking energy. "It's well stocked, if I do say so myself. I just got back from a ghost cellar I found deep in the frozen mountains. Had to fight off a pack of now gorillas to get the stuff home. My team and I often work hard to search out rare and expensive liquors, but Iceberg Pear Vodka, Joya pineapple rum, and Midian honey whisky are worth it~" his voice lilted over the new menu items, a gleam in his eyes. Rubbing his hands together vigorously, he lead the red-head across the expanse of cobbled floor to the sturdy wooden counter, ancient carvings bordering on gaudy and the surface glass smooth from extensive use. Sliding in as bartender, he reached under to the "secret stash", setting all the impressive choices out followed by three tumblers. "Come, you two. Pick your poisons," Iris offered, straying from his general practice of drinking from a bottle for himself in favor of sharing the experience. "Or...would you prefer warm water, dear leader?" he teased the guild master as he leaned easily against the counter.

Sarcasm is a fine art. Hard to master and to practise. Understanding and conquering such an art yields major results of both benefits and drawbacks. One of the later being others' inability to discern when sarcasm is used and differnentiate it from actually literal statements. An inability that only got worse by drinking. It seems Iris fell into the category of people afflicted by this inability. That or he was already too drunk.

Adrian was about to correct the misunderstanding. He wasn't really keen on practicing eugenics. Not in the traditional fashion at least. Getting rid of all the stupid, inadequate people in the world and only allowing the worthy, intelligent ones to bree was a sound plan. A sound plan b. Trying to enlighten the masses was a more effective plan. Long-term and short-term. Besides that way is more reputation-friendly.

Alas the redhead didn't manage to speak. His efforts to do so died an early death at the arrival of a person that cut his stream of thought in two as easy as the government steals from the poor. To say that this man looked worse for wear would not do justice. He looked as if he had been put through hell and back, made to clean all of purgatory's torture chambers without magic and then given an ice cream cone only to discover it was shit and chocolate flavour. Oh, and apparently a cow had spent a few fun minutes licking his hair.

Change of plans for Adrian as he made to greet the new appearance. Iris got to it first though as Adrian's new-found drinking buddy perfectly summed him up using but few words. The eugenics part was slightly off. It wasn't one of his hobbies. Though with as much as it came up as one here he might as well take it up.

He grabbed a flask in each hand, turned to the black-haired man and shrugged as the trio made their way to where Adrian presumed this place's bar was at. As each of them put feet in front of feet and moved in the manner universaly referred to as walking the one-eyed sociopath took the chance to clear things up. At least with one of his to-be guildmates seeing as Iris was engrossed in a small ramble about liquor kinds and booze runs. "Not literal eugenics you know. More like, kill the poor let the smart breed kind of eugenics. Though that's plan B. Plan A is opening the eyes of the commoners to show them that the system is to be overthrown not followed and the typical such." he said to the gloomy man. "Pun indended."

The trio had made its way to the bar. Two men sat down on stools while one slipped behind the counter. After all there exists no bar without a bartender. Flask-clutching hands were ready to deposit their content onto the bar counter when the words of the flamboyant man behind the bar made them stop dead in their tracks. Apparently the other man hadn't thought to infrom him of the exact identity and position of the dusk-haired man that had joined them moments ago. The guildmaster. Well, the leader of the den hadn't shown any negative reactions to what was happening so far. No harm done then.

Turning to the man behind the counter he spoke up. "Let me put those two babies down first." Adrian said referring to his flasks. "Then how about you make me a drink Mr. Violet Hair Bartender?" Flask-clutching hands were ready to deposit their content onto the bar counter once again. Only this time they were stopped by a missile of black and white coming straight from below the counter, admonishing and glaring at the impromptu bartender. Turning around to see them the missile turned out to be a very attractive looking girl. Pale skin, midnight black hair and mismatched eyes. One golden, one red. Interesting combination. Quite easy on the eyes. Eye, in Adrian's case.

And the little missile had a great party attitude to contrast her delicate appearance. Sending one of his flask her way the redhead smiled. "Nice leap you got there little missile. Think of this as my nice-to-meet-you gift. Smoked rum. Local stuff from back home." Now empty hands rummaged through the blood mage's pockets. A sigh escaped his lips. "That does leave me down to my last two emergency flasks though." he said as two other flasks were gently placed on top of the wooden bar counter. "Sambuca and ouzo. Pick your poison, as Iris said. My name's Adrian by the way."

Adrian's one and only green eye now turned its attention to the guildmaster. "So..." he hesitated a bit. "...what does it take to join you fellas?"

"Aw, you think I'm pretty?" Iris asked his teammate in a tone of pure flattered innocence, in itself a jest since he couldn't be further from the meaning of the sentiment. Leaning over to plant an annoying kiss atop her tiny frame's head, it was easy to see that the relationship was a complicated one wrought with delicious tension and endless taunting. Falling quiet to allow all the faces popping up to talk, Iris busied himself making a mixed drink for their newbie. His eyes danced over their resident door sticker as it appeared, wielding the almighty guild stamp with glee. Ahote seemed even more gloomy than usual, slumped by the fire. Taking him his warm water on next on his list.

For Adrian, a negroni would do: 25ml of gin, vermouth and campari, stirred all in a mixing glass until chilled nicely. Strain it into an old-fashioned glass filled with large ice cubes, garnish with an orange peel twist and ta-da! A drink hopefully the newcomer would appreciate! "Here, try this," the well-dressed individual beamed, passing it off to the inquisitive man who was busy selling himself to the top dog of the place. Next, Iris fetched the teacup he assumed Ahote liked to drink his water from. The whole aspect baffled him. How could such a beautiful man have such odd tastes? So many flavors in the world, and this guy wanted water. Luke-warm water, at that. Next he'd be asking to add salt. The first time he'd witnessed the behavior, Iris had assumed the weary guild master had meant to make tea and just forgot to add the teabag somehow. Stress could make people forgetful.

Walking the drink over to the dark haired brooder, Iris remained standing near the fire. In the short time he'd been away from the warm grasp of oxidizing wood, the chill in his bones from his extensive time in the bitter tundra was still present. Shivering despite himself, he turned his magnificent backside to it so his hues could turn onto the group.

Completely informal, bordering on creepy greeting? Check. Actually creepy ghoulish, gloomy guildmaster with weird tastes? Check. Cute, most likely hung-over guildmember leaping from under the bar? Check. Talking, floating triangle with limbs? Check. Well this was a mage's guild alright. Had such a motley crew been sighted elsewhere then it'd be attributed to abuse of illegal substances; absinthe, skooma, shrooms, the usual vision inducing psychedelics. But here? Here this was beyond normal. Here it was essential. Elementary even.

Admittedly Adrian was having a bit of a rough time adjusting to the fast paced, cinematic evolution of tonight's events. First impressions matter. Especially in a place where a possible fate worse than death is hinted at during the first few moments of your arrival. Thus begun a game of social juggling. Ahote, Iris, that cute girl and the floating triangle. Everyone required to be interacted with. Iris -even though his claim was taken with more than just  a grain of salt- is the evaluation man. Ahote is the guildmaster. The little missile is cute and apparently allowed to sass the self-acclaimed evaluator. That indicates at least some status. No words shall be said for the floating triangle. Seriously, who wouldn't want to give a good first impression to such a creepy entity? Especially when its limbs suspiciously resemble tentacles and "poked" is one of the first words you heard it speak.

Receiving his drink from Iris made Adrian chuckle. Mentally. A negroni. An aperitif cocktail invented by a count. Was this a statement and if so of what? Denoting the guild's status? A promise for more to come? Well it could simply be just the drink the impromptu bartender fancied to make and nothing more. Bartenders though rarely tended to be so...simple with their craft. A single green globe eyed the old fashioned glass containing the reddish concoction as bare fingers grabbed it and moved it upwards. Adrian took a sniff of the drink, he smiled. "Negroni. Nice choice, mate. Tell me, what brand of gin did you use?" said the redhead to the fellow mage with unusually coloured hair.

Answering the snake pit's leader's question was a matter of urgent importance. That said there was no reason not to throw a comment at the creepy, flying triangle. "Well don't poke too hard mate and I'm in" said the redhead with a wink.

Drink in hand he turned around to once again face the ghoulish guildmaster. Taking a sip to wet his throat he made his barter. "What I'm offering is me. I can fight with both magic and sword. I have experience with rituals and arcane experiments. Also, if my side benefits then the ends justify the means. Add to that what you know of my so-called hobby and vision." Glassware touched human skin as the mage had once again brought his drink to his lips. A big sip and gulp later. "What do you say Mr. Guildmaster? Care to have another snake amongst your bunch?"