*Trick slams the door of their base open, clanky metal plates rattling together, and quickly steps in to look for Merasmus. They needed to get the old wizard upstairs to the ritual as quickly as they could. Voice steady, cold, and loud, they call out for him.*
Merasmus. Where are you and what was that beam that came from my base.
@askmerasmus
“Nothing to worry about!~” comes a sing-song voice from down the ladder. Absent is any sort of hesitation, either; as if he’s fully confident that there is absolutely nothing important to note here.
Something is terribly wrong with it. Components of his original voice have gone missing, such as the subtle unsteadiness that normally trailed after his words; not to mention a tired level of wariness that suggested this was not his first time doing this.
Yet, as he speaks, it nearly seems to emit its own glow with how much power lies within it, steady and bold, yet unusually friendly sounding.
“What’sit you need? I’m afraid I’m a bit busy at the moment… That is, I am not moving at all! If I do, I fear I may electrocute something! Multiple somethings! Within a mile radius!”
At that, there is an edge of panic to his voice.
Oh, wonderful…
*Trick was not looking forward to yet another dilemma. The power surge would be a huge issue when it comes to getting him upstairs…*
Wait.
*Power surge!*
Oh! Wonderful!
*Trick opens the hatch to the cellar and peeks over the edge, looking for the old wizard without endangering themself.*
I believe you’ are in luck my friend, I have just the place for you to put all that power! Just follow me upstairs and try not to release all of it just yet. Do hurry though, we have to finish before my power runs ou- zzt
*Suddenly, their eye light fades and their joints go stiff. They don’t move for quite some time.*
…
“…Ell me that it ran out already, we haven’t even finished our conversation!”
Seems you booted back up mid-sentence. Upon seeing Trick power off, Merasmus’s expression had taken up a wide-eyed look, hand slightly raised as if he were contemplating if he should try and help- or if it would do more harm than good.
Upstairs… Sounds fun! Unfortunately, he’s not sure if he can get to where all that power can be stored without first electrocuting everything nearby…
…Great. Okay. Well, slowly, carefully, get up and try to hold in that energy, I have an idea.
*Trick reaches their hand down the ladder, signaling for Merasmus to take it*
Once you take my hand, you can release the magical energy, it’ll be fine. Just trust me here, wizard, I have some very important business for us to attend to and I have very little time.
Merasmus very, very slowly, very carefully moves his hands backwards and makes an attempt to prop himself up. Pushing himself to his feet, he vastly overestimates, sending himself flying through the narrow space in the basement and crashing into one of the desks; causing the surrounding trinkets to rattle.
As he shakily raises his hand up from the floor, he unnaturally twists it and slams it onto the tabletop, gripping it tight enough for his knuckles to go white. Harshly, softly, he begins to laugh, subtle at first as he lurches forwards into a kneeling stance, fingers nearly scratching grooves into the wood with how tightly they're holding onto it.
The laughter grows until it reaches full on hysterics, and he doubles over again, other fist balling as he clutches the floor.
Finally, he exhales, wiping a tear from his eye and slowly rises to his feet. The air within the basement has begun to crackle with electricity, threatening to charge across the many haunted books and fry the items he holds dear. But he seems unnaturally calm, shoulders relaxing as he stands perfectly still, one hand still bent on the table in a lean, elbow awkwardly twisted to hold his weight.
His head snaps towards Trick, neck tilting at an impossible angle as he gives them a wide grin, turning the rest of his body to account for the sharp movement as he walks towards them, hand outstretched to take Trick's own.
"O F C O U R S E !"
"ANYTHING F O R A FRIEND!"
*Trick, sensing what’s coming, quickly grabs Merasmus’s hand. They brace themself for what’s about you happen.*
Right. Lets get this over with.
...
Surprisingly, nothing happens. He merely stares at the robot for a second too long, then begins the treacherous climb up the stairs.
Every so often, after a couple of steps, they'll stop and chuckle, or pull away just to stare at the wall.
Well. Alright, good. Let’s move, wizard, I can’t wait much longer.
*Trick ushers Merasmus along by the hand, only out of precaution. They can’t let any wayward magical outburst ruin all their preparations. They make sure to tug him along anytime he gets off track. They’re nearly there.*
“Oh, well you should definitely wait!” He says. His tone remains as chipper as ever, barely giving any indication of whether or not that was a warning, a threat, or an incomprehensible statement.
They’re nearly there… Any time Merasmus is tugged along, he seems to blink away the haze for a moment, only for it to be replaced again by the overwhelming surge of magic.
*Trick stops, nearly at the top of the stairs. There’s a glow coming from the room behind zem, framing zeir cold metal face.*
What? What in the world should I be waiting for? To die? Because that’s what will happen if I wait, wizard.
*This is the first time Trick shows any hint of zeir annoyance with Merasmus. Zey’ve remained fairly chipper (for a robot) up until now.*
Now are you ready to fulfill your end of our deal?
“Oh, yes, of course!”
He skips along the steps, nearly beginning to lead. He doesn’t, however; and is almost stepping on Trick’s heels instead.
After a minute or so of silence…
“It will if you wait, and it will if you don’t…”
He hoarsely whispers the statement with certainty. Moments after, he’s back to humming.
What?- Oh whatever, you probably have no clue what you’re talking about… Anyways, let’s go.
*Trick goes along the last couple of steps, stepping into a rather bare room, aside from two things.
Firstly, there’s a table full of wildly varying items and mixtures of unknown substances, seemingly already used and messed with.
Most importantly, there’s the ritual site. A large altar sits in the middle of the room, an intricate sigil traced onto it. The sigil glows ominously, the light pulsing like a beating heart. Faint whispers can be heard emanating from it. There are two candles on the edge of the altar, sitting opposite of each other. One is red and the other is blue.*
Are you ready?
“Nnno…”
His voice falters, and he hesitates. He shakes his head, then replies with a chipper “Yes!”
Following his agreement, he folds his feet underneath him and sits on his knees, hands on his lap.
His hands seem to twitch slightly, but he takes a deep breath and continues with a smile.
“Are you sure this is safe..?”
Yes. Sit in front of the blue candle, I’ll need you there.
*That was only half true. They knew that they put safety measures, but was this inherently safe? Were they sure the measure would even work? Not at all.
They go to the table and pick up a seemingly empty jar and a pair of modified headphones. They walk over and hand the headphones to the wizard.*
As a warning, this is going to be loud. These headphones should be enough for your human eardrums. And don’t worry, you’ll still be able to hear me.
*They sit themself in front of the red candle, lighting it and the blue one with a flick of their hand. Zey put the jar in the middle of the altar.*
Alright, wizard, time to channel that energy. Just put your hands on those runes next to the candle, and start letting it flow. I’ll handle the rest.
