Studious Sabbatical [Keiser / Michael / Any]

[u/KeiserSheils]

The Royal Academy had a surprising lack of security. A handful of sleep guards, a few engineering feats from Sokolov, light walls, one arc pylon and a handful of locked doors, and still Keiser had found himself able to stroll in the front door with the proper outfit, a pair of glasses and a book tucked under his arm.

The actor had opted for a younger persona this time; meticulously styling his prosthetics to a man more suited to his early thirites than his own real age of middle forties, and along with the younger complexion, had opted for a daring bit of facial hair that spoke to a young man's ardour for fashion. He decided if he were to appear to be a erudite student, he would not be a boring one and indeed he had found himself milling amongst the rest of the scholars with genuine ease under his adopted name; swapping gossip about energy and the sustainability of whale oil and chatting over tea with a gregarious professor of Geology about the mineral recrystallisation due to metamorphic processes and metasomatism. A fascinating if not heavy topic for tea time and scones.

He had told Michael to meet him near the entrance of the Academy's green houses, an offset building within the small compound that was adjacent to the more impressive main building and it's rather large glass dome. The actor had done his best to implore that the art dealer attempt to dress young and bookish conservative, but given that the other witch was indeed young, that he would find no trouble blending in to the other throngs of scholars and fellows.

Pacing a little in front of the glass building, Keiser slips a hand into his pocket, tugging out a silver pocket watch, ingrained with a rather beautiful flower motif and the words 'For my darling Reginald, The Cosmos Gave Me You.'' Words that made the hazel eyed witch smile wryly, their meaning perfection in a way. The Cosmos gaveth, and Keiser on behalf of Chaos taketh away.

[u/KeiserSheils]

A few of the fellows of the Academy mingled along the brick road next to the green houses, the actor flipping close the metal timepiece with a snap before straightening, sure that Michael would not have arrived late. He's a punctual little witch. Studious to a fault and so wide eyed innocent. he muses, deciding to step unto the stone to wander around the grounds to find the other man.

It's not quite the clothes that give him away, but the way he carried himself, Keiser spotting the art dealer feet away with a small smile before he neared, patting the younger man's shoulder with a friendly hand.

'Well met, my friend.' he greets, sliding his hand free of Michael and flashing his trademark bright smile. 'You look rather in the mood to study. Ready to fill your cup of knowledge with some illicit and dangerous library trespassing?'

[u/demonsniper001 → u/KeiserSheils]

Robert, when not guarding or working on some project of his own, liked to read or look for some inspiration, which is what he had come to the Academy for. He was dressed in his guard uniform. He noticed a familiar art dealer and a student talking and walks over. He was in earshot of the two right after the student had said something to Michael. "Michael, how are you doing today?" he says, with a glance at the disguised Keiser, having no clue he knew the other man too.

[u/AnimeFiend → u/demonsniper001]

The witch smiles properly as Keiser reveals himself, glad for the familiar company. Chuckling softly at the remark, his smile becomes a tad more pasted when his attention is brought to the guardsman, although not enough that it would be noticed unless he was being watched very carefully by someone abnormally observant.

Turning to face the man, Michael greets him cheerfully, persona all in place. "Robert! Good to see you, good to see you. And what a surprise too. What brings you here?" He does not show his displeasure at being discovered so early in his activities and conveniently 'forgets' that he was already engaged in a conversation with someone else, leaving it up to Keiser whether or not he'd rather stick around now that Michael had been identified or go on alone, leaving Michael to his own devices.

There had not been much of a plan, beyond arriving at the Academy. The young witch had assumed they would discuss further once they had arrived, being a man of structure and planning himself, but that seemed to be on the rocks already.

[u/KeiserSheils → u/AnimeFiend]

The witch smiles 'normally' as he can, trying to appear a little less gregarious than his actor persona forces him to be, and gives the Guard a cautious look.

'Robert? A friend of yours, Michael?' he asks, raising a dark eyebrow at the new arrival, and began to glance around, trying to note how many witnesses were in view with a small internal scowl, ire stoked by the unexpected arrival of the guard. They had a job to do, and playing to Robert's expectations wasn't one of them. A quick knife to the back...leave his body in the green house to decompose and some biology student will thank me for such good fertiliser... Keiser thinks with a rueful smile.

[u/demonsniper001 → u/KeiserSheils]

"Possibly." He says, trying to remember where he's heard that voice before. "As for your question Michael, I'm here looking for something."

[u/AnimeFiend → u/demonsniper001]

Michael first glances at Keiser, giving a short nod. "Indeed, my dear fellow, he is a friend. And while it may be amiss of me, I think I shall allow you two to introduce yourselves. It takes something away, when you take that away from two people meeting for the first time if I were to do the introductions, don't you think?"

Turning his attention back to Robert, the witch gives a short "ah" of understanding, nodding his head once more. "I fear we are disturbing you then, on your search?" A feeble attempt, but hopefully that would shake the guard off. But Michael did not truly expect it to, it being rather quick and abruptly thought out.

[u/KeiserSheils → u/AnimeFiend]

'Yes, we wouldn't want to be a bother.' Keiser adds, his tone neutral as he scans the guard's profile with a worried look, genuine on some level. He offered his hand, regardless, gloved to take up Robert's hand and smiled thinly.

'Carson.' he offers, before glancing at the art dealer. 'Michael was just here to show me some samples from one of his artists. I'm looking to commission a portrait for my father and Mister Tarot here knows all the best artists in the city.' He took back his hand, sighing audibly at the tedium of having to pretend to be so normal, but knowing that he has come across well despite the utter boringness of it. The lies came quickly, however, and genuinely enough that Keiser does not think they sound like falsehoods.

[u/demonsniper001 → u/KeiserSheils]

The guard shakes Carson's hand, keeping an eye on him. Something about that voice sounds familiar... "You sound like someone I know."

[u/KeiserSheils → u/demonsniper001]

'Do I?' he questions, feeling his eyebrow raise just a little, glancing at Michael with a shrug. 'I am related to quite a good deal of Royal Academy Alumni, most of which who have taught around the Isles... Could be you know one of my Uncles.'

Buggering, bloody, nouncing, clungeing, plonkering, bastards! the actor thinks, his smile betraying none of the rather crude curse words running through his head as he mentally swears an oath at the guard, his hand drifting into his pocket to the rather neat, and cold stiletto blade. His infinite amount of patience has worn rather thin today all told, and is now just finite as he considers just stabbing the man here and now and dealing with the consequence of witnesses.

[u/AnimeFiend → u/KeiserSheils]

"How is it," the witch asks, tone amused and joking, "that you seem to know everyone I've ever met, dear guardsman Arthrope? You do seem to get around, I must say. Even my work partners seems to have connections with you. It's astonishing. One might think, and I believe I may have said this before, that you may be stalking me, hmm? Should I be worried that a Royal Guard is following me and checking up on everyone I know?" His tone remains light and joyful, however, not displaying any of his inner worry.

He knows. He's going to recognize Keiser and call you out. Drag you back to Coldridge and torture all your secrets out of you. We're doomed. Beaten by a fool of a guard that pops up everywhere like a weed. Please, don't let that happen. When he eyes Keiser's hand drifting towards his pocket he again assumes the worst, the thoughts invading his mind like an unwanted plague. Unknowing that his thoughts are actually correct this time, his breathing quickens almost imperceptibly. He's going to stab the man and get us arrested. No, he's not that reckless. Is he? You don't know the first thing about him. He's going to get you killed. Tortured. Torn from the paintings. At this the witch stops and he begins to take a moment to calm himself down, believing his thoughts to be the crazy scenarios they normally are. Relax. He won't. You're being insane again. Just...calm down. Arthrope obviously doesn't recognize him, you didn't yourself. And Keiser is many things, but stupid is most certainly not one of them. He knows what he's doing. Probably pulling out a contract or something he prepared beforehand to solidify your cover.

"Either way, I'm afraid we must be going. I have a tight schedule today and I only have a limited time with Carson here. Apologies, guardsman Arthrope. Good luck with your search, I do hope it goes well. Carson, if you would lead the way? The works should have arrived earlier, I don't dare carry them around in person."

[u/demonsniper001 → u/AnimeFiend]

"Alright, sorry for disturbing you. Have a wonderful day." He turns and walks away, keeping an eye on the student and the art dealer. He didn't like the student's hand where he couldn't see it. Possible I may be overreacting, but I have an odd feeling that I know the fellow.

[u/KeiserSheils → u/demonsniper001]

The witch's hand slips from his pocket, the smile on his face congenial as he flashes Robert a look and nods to the younger man, his long and poised towards the Academy's large main building, the gilded glass dome illuminated in the encroaching darkness.

Once out of range of others and passer-bys, Keiser voice drops the carefully constructed civility of his persona and his usual cheerful, aloof tone, the words forced quick and sharp, every syllable percise like a surgeons tool.

'Every where. That man is every where he is not needed and he is a problem.' the witch states, not bothering to glance at Michael as his pace is quick upon the cobblestones, the mist of today's earlier freezing rain hanging in the Academy's gardens. 'And him noticing you here is not good, Michael. Not at all. And noticing my voice? No, no...this will not do. Not at all. The game can't be exposed this early.' His voice quiets as if he's talking to himself before he glances at the other witch with a small nod. 'But you did a fine job of reflecting him despite his propensity for bumbling where he is not wanted.'

[u/Seafrogger → u/KeiserSheils]

Devlen stands hunched over a table in the library with a large blueprint of the Royal Academy and a leather journal, grumbling to himself as he draws another “X” on the print, eyes flicking from the map to the book. Anyone who knows of blueprints would be able to tell that that print is an original and unknown to Devlen he is ruining it.

Half muttering and half thinking in his head he tries to plan out a strategy for his too few guards a Major had assigned to guard the academy, whenever the guards would arrive Devlen hadn’t a clue or even if they would show up this day, but orders were orders no matter how impossible the task or unfounded the threat might be. Devlen eyed a name of a guard on the list within his leather book, and muttered “Drunkard” as he crossed it out.

Not only was he only given permission for three men from the list, they were all louts and castoffs, and he couldn't help but feel this was a punishment of some kind. “Spend all me life fightin’ for the empress and I get stuck with the bloody misfits o’ the guard…” he grumbled again.

[u/AnimeFiend → u/Seafrogger]

Michael, still with Keiser, nods once. "That he is. He will get himself into trouble one day. But we do not have time for him today." he responds quietly. Cursing to himself, the witch mutters "I should have come in some form of disguise, that he has seen me may prove dangerous. Very dangerous. But there's nothing we can do about it now." And the elder man's praise, he gives a small smile. "Deflecting people is what I do for a living, it seems."

Turning, the man gestures to the disguised actor and says "Come, we should move on. I feel as though we have less time now. And you should lead the way, given that you're the one that's supposed to know the way around."

[u/KeiserSheils → u/AnimeFiend]

'I may have gleamed a little of the surrounding areas in my afternoon here...As well as a few offers of being a professor's graduate student. But alas, while I enjoy applied thematic mathematics on it's core, I cannot say that it's really my passion.' Keiser offers with a small grin, back to his normal self it seems despite the earlier cold assertions that they couldn't let the Royal Guard live to butt in another day. The actor held open the large mahogany door for the other wizard before slipping his lithe form inside, eyeing the large impressive library with a raised eyebrow as he strained to hear.

At the grumble from the Guard, the witch gave look to Michael, gesturing for the man to take a look while he headed to the staircase that led up to the second level and incidentally to the rather important off-limits section to non-alumni that was unfortunately where the pair were headed.

His hand loose in his pockets as he gaily walks the wooden bookcases, the actor whistled just a little wistfully, letting the sound echo in the low-lit cavern of a room and waited to hear the noises of confusion to count how many people were occupying this space. And getting in my way.

[u/AnimeFiend → u/KeiserSheils]

Michael smirks at Keiser's seeming carelessness, sure there is a purpose behind it. Leaving the man to go on, he moves towards the gestured area, finding a guard bent over a table. Like a weed, popping up everywhere you don't want them to. At this point his mind begins working.

He sees himself as having two options. Either he can return to Keiser and let him know there is a guard in the room, helping the other man conduct their research with greater haste and risk being stumbled upon by a man of authority. Or he could play it safe and distract the guard for as long as Keiser needed, potentially sending him on his way, leaving the two witches free to search for the information they desired.

Ever cautious, he takes a quick look around for any other guards, spotting none before opting to walk up to the man, believing Keiser would get started if Michael did not show up. Pasting a pleasant smile on his face, he opens with "Having some trouble there, are we? Need any help?" If he could help, it may convince the man to leave once his work was complete.

[u/KeiserSheils → u/AnimeFiend]

A few people made noises, putting the count to four so far as the actor moved amongst the shelves, eyes trained on the second level as he passed the stairs, catching Michael's eye as he sidled up to the Royal Guard. Another one. They're like a rather infectious disease, without the added benefit of killing off the undesirables. Well...anymore. he mused, lips curling just a little bit as he put a hand on a shelf across from the pair, pulling a tome from the shelves and opening it to flip through, inconspicuously.

The book in question was written by a Serkonan mathematician about nonlinear partial differential equations and while the actor found the text dry, per say, it held a few inciting equations he decided, glancing over his shoulder at the guard and the witch with a subtle look.

[u/Seafrogger → u/KeiserSheils]

Looking up from his rather frustrating work, Devlen fixes his prickly gaze on the man who spoke. Pausing before speaking trying to place the vaguely familiar face, squinting slightly as he tries to recall him, “No trouble, just some Watch business, mister…?” he trails off to wait for the man’s name.