A Triumphal Entrance

[demonfire]

(( *begs forgiveness I'm SO sorry! I didn't see your post!))

"Yeah, that, or we could just take a boat," Dale said sarcastically, pointing to a small vessel. It looked rotted and termite ridden, and barnacles had already conquered the underside. On one side of it was letters that had worn away from centuries of existence, and now only fragments of their existence remained.

"You are a bit dense. I mean, that had to be the most obvious answer. Ever." Dale walked over to the decrepit boat and hopped into it. It was like hopping onto the back of an 80-year-old man, but somehow, this senior citizen still stood and was intent on taking them across the lake. It was now noticeable that no means of propulsion were visible on the boat--no mast, rudder, or anything of the sort.

[Chris]

((its fine, I've been offline for since then, no worries ))

Lucius's mouth curved in a contemptuous smile as he gazed on to the craft.
"I thou gt solving the riddle would be easy part," he said, his eyes following his mouth, "but it's since been the hard part. i remember a device from translated Barbarian texts from Greece. a small ball was filled with water and suspended over a fire, soon after, the ball began to spin of its own accord around axis." he looked at the water around the craft, "that principle may be of use."
Socrates nodded, "interesting." he said quietly.
"the Challenge would be in boiling the water in the immediate vicinity of the craft," Lucius continued, "and not the entire lake." He then sat down infront of the fire and looked at the area around him with a blank gaze and face as his mind traveled within itself.

[demonfire]

"Ive got it under control. Just get in the boat before it leaves without you..." Dale said, with his voice echoing and slowly drifting farther away as the fog around him thickened. In all actuality, he moved nowhere. He just liked to mess with students. A cold wind swept over the area, blowing away the 'fog' that had concealed Dale and his poor excuse for a vessel. There was a difference though, this time the boat was empty. No trace of Dale ever existing was left on the boat, except for a post-it note stuck on the bench saying, Get in the boat." The chicken scratch was done in a hurry, judging by the penmanship, and dirt clung to it like oppositely charged magnets.

[Chris]

Lucius stood perplexed as he examined the craft. "This man may have taught Zeus a thing or two." he said quietly. He made his way to the craft as instructed and got in, nodding his head to Socrates to enter as well.
Picking up the note, he found himself recognizing the letters but not the language. "This man writes like some German fool." he spat and shook his head.
the craft rocked as Socrates heaved himself, awkwardly, into the craft.
"I thought you were an Athenian boy."
Socrates shook his head, "Indeed Dominus, but my father was the Merchant, not I."
"Too young?" He asked.
"But seven years, not even old enough to die in battle if i was a Spartan."
"A very creepy man." Lucius Stated, referring to Dale, "I'm surprised that Jupiter hasn't struck him down for Hubris
Socrates nodded, "Indeed, maybe he will let Pluto have his way with him."
They Laughed.

[demonfire]

"Death isn't really into homosexual sex games, believe it or not. He's got a wife, and..." Dale said seemingly reappearing from the air and looking up in though, "one kid. I think." He was on the side of the boat, and his reappearance rocked the boat. Already in the head of this chaotic man, that classic hit was ringing in the gray matter between his ears, Rock the boat. Don't rock the boat baby!.

"This is called English, meus amicus," Dale said, pointing at the script of a 'German Fool'. "Get used to it, because it pretty much is the predominant language for the greater part of the modern era. Then Spanish and Chinese duke it out for the big, number 1 spot..." he said, drifting off into his own little world for a moment.

The boat began to propel itself off into the fog when everyone was seated as comfortably as possible (which meant only a small amount of splinters was protruding into the backsides of the occupants).

"Oh! Before it slips my mind, I'll have to give you a schedule. Pick, and ask if necessary," he said. "For the first six, you can't choose. You get Magic, then Weaponry, then Alchemy, Beastry, Master class with moi, and then a break. Your choices for period 7 are Music, History and Potionry. 8 gives you the lovely options of Holy, Flare, and Summoning. 9 allows you to choose either Dragoon, Samurai, or Thievery. And finally, for 10 there's only two: Puppetmaster and survival."

[Chris]

"One kid? and you are not sure?" Lucius Smiled, "Like i said Zeus probably learned something from you." Not referring to homosexuality, but simply the womanizing and the vanishing and re-appearing. He probably would keel-over in laughter if Dale became a golden fog for his conquests.

"It's still coarse German." Lucius said simply, spiting over the side. "i don't understand how they could get beyond their Rhine River, much less become the second most dominate language in the world.
"i honestly can't wait for Period Six." Lucius said smiling, "I'll Take History, Flare, Thievery, and Puppet master."
Socrates giggled to himself and then looked at his Master, "The course any Politician would take."
Lucius Simply nodded. His face posses a calm, proud air and his eyes were closed.
Your Father would be proud.

[demonfire]

"Yeah, one kid. His wife died. Irony!" the strange man said a bit too happily for such a grim subject with a swing of both of his index fingers in harmony.

"And really, it's the bastard offspring of Germanic and Latin, mind you," he said with a childish, stuck out tongue from underneath his umpire mask. Dale dug into the umpire pouch on his side and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. He attempted to smooth it out in vain, as it didn't help much. "Here's your schedule," he said. The paper seemed ancient, like it hadn't been used in years, and the ink was slightly worn away, but it had all of Lucius's classes on it.

"Oh yeah, now I guess you get a present or somethin'," Dale said as neutrally as a DMV clerk. He stuck his hand back into the same pouch and produced an orb that noticeably changed colors when it went into his hand. He handed it to Lucius, along with an explanation in nifty, item format:

Chameleon Orb
The orb changes colors based on the surroundings, much like a chameleon. Be careful: if it is left in the heat too long, it will become very sticky and slimy.
This item can summon the Chamaeloform, or the Chameleon Blob. It originally is a blob of neutral energy, but can elementally transform into a single element of its surroundings and use attacks based upon that element. Should it be attacked with the opposite element, it will disappear to recover.

[Chris]

Lucius nodded, "bastard is right, it explains our letters but nothing else." he said with a twisted smile, "the German must have been a controlling little ancilia." He looked at the paper, thankful that "bastard language" wouldn't be any restricting: he'd simply match the symbol combination with each room and enter. "This looks like it fell out of the Sybil's Books." he said with a smile, "or perhaps its older than them."
Lucius was noticeably more cautious in accepting the gift, and his gaze became more annoyed and fatigue as he examined the writing. "Again with the horrid language of barbarian whores?" he said. He sighed, the fog again began to melt away around his hand. "Where can i get things translated for me?"

[demonfire]

"And there's the fun in it all," Dale said winking as the ship noticeably hit something solid. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, there was the behemoth looming figure of the school just beyond the sandy beach. "And now here is where we part ways, but not before I part with a riddle to pest. What's similar between a flamingo and a vest?" Dale asked, fading slowly away until all that was left was a Cheshire smile that hung in the air until even it succumbed to the body's disappearance. Dale's words hung around even longer than his mouth; they echoed infinitely in the surrounding area. And with a smile, the strange man had brought Lucius to Twilight Moon Academy.

[Chris]

Lucius stepped out of the boat and on to the white sand beach. The wind struck his right side, blowing his cloak off to the side; it waved like a bloodied flag after the Battle of Plataea. He looked at the school looming in the ground in front of him, vaguely reminding him of a barbarian citadel. It was something to conquer, though not with force of arms, but with political savvy. Hearing the crunch of moving sand, he turned his head so that his right eye focused on Socrates. Lucius smiled and nodded before looking forward and taking a step.
After walking forward for about twenty feet Lucius finally stopped and cocked his head.
"What the hell is a Flamingo!?"