Lazerus slowly walked through the Byzantine maze that made up his library, he had collected every musty tome that he could find from across Secfenia and stored them in this one place, after all, who else had the intelligence, the wit, the vision to make use of the books but him? Yes they could be in some university somewhere but then they would simply be fingered and damaged and dog eared by hordes of sub-standard so-called intellectuals trying to glean knowledge that their limited minds were incapable of understand. Not that Lazarus looked down upon them, no, the somewhat gifted had their place in society as well, after all, every city and nation needed it's petty bureaucrats and brutish generals. It was just that they lacked the vision that Lazerus had that driving vision that turned a mere genius (which if Lazerus did say so himself, he most certainly was) into a visionary, a man who would change the world.
He suddenly came out of his inner monologue and found himself staring at a great iron door, sealed with a large lock and bolt. He reached a hand out and slowly pulled the bolt open, metal grating against metal producing a great squealing sound that stopped as suddenly as it began. He then put a large ancient looking key into the lock, a click sounding as the tumblers slid into their correct places, finally allowing him to step inside a huge corridor.
It seemed to go on forever, although it was only perhaps 100 feet long at most, every five feet or so there was a great iron door, a sliding window at the top and one at the bottom, each one clearly heavily reinforced as though they were designed to prevent something escaping. Lazerus began to stroll down the corridor, his footsteps echoing in a silence that was not quite silent, a snuffle off to one corner, breathing just loud enough to be heard at the edge of ones hearing, something that could be a growl? a whine? Yet none of this seemed to faze the scientist as he walked towards the final door at the end of the corridor, unlike the others it was wood, oak, well varnished yet somehow... Ominous.
he pushed the door open and stepped inside a vast chamber, it was arrayed with shelves and tables. Each shelf was laden with pile after pile of parchments and books, stacked in what was presumably a very advanced form of organised chaos. Hidden amongst these mountains of documents were jars filled with a yellow-greenish liquid that verged upon putrid, strange objects floating within it, somewhat obscured by the stomach turning liquid that filled the jars. Lazarus strolled along these shelves, pausing to pick up a heavy ledger with the number '3' marked upon it's spine, he made his way to a table at the centre upon-which lay the opened carcass of a dog-sized lizard, it's innards piled neatly in bowls and labelled, a sketch of each component of it's insides piled next to the bloodstained wooden table.
He took out his book and a pencil and began to write, muttering to himself as he went....
[ORP] Lazerus' lab and lair
Moderator: Community Team
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Lazerus
Re: [ORP] Lazerus' lab and lair
some days later....
Lazerus stood over his wooden table, clothed in a thick leather apron not entirely unlike something that one would see a butcher wear. His hands were covered in thin leather gloves and his ever present glasses sat upon his nose. The table was now cleared of all it's previous mess, in fact it was almost pristine, there were a collection of various knives and other tools that looked as though they would have been at home in a surgeons office lying in a tray on the corner of it, each placed perfectly straight and in an order of smallest on the right to the largest on the left. Each tool has been cleaned and sterilised until it shined in even the dimmest of lights. In fact, the whole scene would have looked like a perfect example of order and cleanliness were it not the fact there was the carcass of a 5 foot 11 human male lying sprawled across the table.
Lazerus' gaze flicked down to the paper he held in his hand, the title "Study of subject 001" lay written in Gothic handwriting across the top, underlined and then followed by the section "initial observations." He returned his attention to the corpse of the man in front of him and began to speak aloud as he wrote his observations upon the parchment.
"The subject is a human male of average build, the corpse is remarkably fresh and unlikely to be more than two days old. There is significant bruising around the neck suggesting that he died by strangulation, most likely left by the rope from which he was hanged. He was donated to me by the Bravian government after he was executed for multiple counts of larceny and murder. The subject is missing..."
Lazerus paused as he leant over and picked up a tool, using it to pull the dead man's lips up in a snarl as he observed the teeth "one Canine, one front tooth and his molars have suffered significant decay. The front has been replaced with a golden tooth at some point."
"The subjects body has significant scarring upon the face and arms, suggesting that he spent a lot of time involved in violent pursuits, I shall see if these markings match those on the bone. I have recorded the position of each scar in my sketches."
he stopped speaking and a hand hovered over the tray for a moment before picking up a large knife, Lazerus took a moment to inspect the blade before he leant over the body, tracing a mark along the torso with his finger before turning the blade and holding the blade over the corpse, taking a deep breath as though he were savouring the moment just before he could make the first cut and see what hidden wonders that the body might hold, in many ways the ritual behind hte procedure was just as intoxicating as the actual act of piecing together the strange complexities of what made a creature function, trying to fathom what force could create something so beautifully efficient yet mind-bogglingly complex, to truly understand the beauty... No... Miracle that was life.
Once Lazerus had taken his time to savour the anticipation he released a pent up breath and leaned towards the men, gently but firmly pressing the tip of the blade through the man's sternum, just below the neck. He slowly began to drag the blade down, slicing open the skin and causing blood to bubble out along the cut and slowly trickle down the lifeless corpse like treacle spilled over a tables edge as the keen blade cut through skin and fat alike. Lazerus cut with practised precision the tip of the blade never touching the bone. When he had cut the corpse open from navel to the bottom of the stomach he stopped, picking up a rag and gently pulling it up the blade to remove any blood before placing it back in the tray.
"And the first cut has been made..." he murmured to himself as he picked up a tool that he used to pull the flesh back, revealing the rib cage and the organs that were protected within. With this secure he reached over and picked up something that looked strikingly similar to a nutcracker and he held it around the top rib bone as he said aloud to himself, the rising anticipation clear upon his face as he said "Now the real work can begin." and he pulled the tool closed hard, making a sickening crack echo through the room as the rib was torn free and the autopsy began in earnest...
Lazerus stood over his wooden table, clothed in a thick leather apron not entirely unlike something that one would see a butcher wear. His hands were covered in thin leather gloves and his ever present glasses sat upon his nose. The table was now cleared of all it's previous mess, in fact it was almost pristine, there were a collection of various knives and other tools that looked as though they would have been at home in a surgeons office lying in a tray on the corner of it, each placed perfectly straight and in an order of smallest on the right to the largest on the left. Each tool has been cleaned and sterilised until it shined in even the dimmest of lights. In fact, the whole scene would have looked like a perfect example of order and cleanliness were it not the fact there was the carcass of a 5 foot 11 human male lying sprawled across the table.
Lazerus' gaze flicked down to the paper he held in his hand, the title "Study of subject 001" lay written in Gothic handwriting across the top, underlined and then followed by the section "initial observations." He returned his attention to the corpse of the man in front of him and began to speak aloud as he wrote his observations upon the parchment.
"The subject is a human male of average build, the corpse is remarkably fresh and unlikely to be more than two days old. There is significant bruising around the neck suggesting that he died by strangulation, most likely left by the rope from which he was hanged. He was donated to me by the Bravian government after he was executed for multiple counts of larceny and murder. The subject is missing..."
Lazerus paused as he leant over and picked up a tool, using it to pull the dead man's lips up in a snarl as he observed the teeth "one Canine, one front tooth and his molars have suffered significant decay. The front has been replaced with a golden tooth at some point."
"The subjects body has significant scarring upon the face and arms, suggesting that he spent a lot of time involved in violent pursuits, I shall see if these markings match those on the bone. I have recorded the position of each scar in my sketches."
he stopped speaking and a hand hovered over the tray for a moment before picking up a large knife, Lazerus took a moment to inspect the blade before he leant over the body, tracing a mark along the torso with his finger before turning the blade and holding the blade over the corpse, taking a deep breath as though he were savouring the moment just before he could make the first cut and see what hidden wonders that the body might hold, in many ways the ritual behind hte procedure was just as intoxicating as the actual act of piecing together the strange complexities of what made a creature function, trying to fathom what force could create something so beautifully efficient yet mind-bogglingly complex, to truly understand the beauty... No... Miracle that was life.
Once Lazerus had taken his time to savour the anticipation he released a pent up breath and leaned towards the men, gently but firmly pressing the tip of the blade through the man's sternum, just below the neck. He slowly began to drag the blade down, slicing open the skin and causing blood to bubble out along the cut and slowly trickle down the lifeless corpse like treacle spilled over a tables edge as the keen blade cut through skin and fat alike. Lazerus cut with practised precision the tip of the blade never touching the bone. When he had cut the corpse open from navel to the bottom of the stomach he stopped, picking up a rag and gently pulling it up the blade to remove any blood before placing it back in the tray.
"And the first cut has been made..." he murmured to himself as he picked up a tool that he used to pull the flesh back, revealing the rib cage and the organs that were protected within. With this secure he reached over and picked up something that looked strikingly similar to a nutcracker and he held it around the top rib bone as he said aloud to himself, the rising anticipation clear upon his face as he said "Now the real work can begin." and he pulled the tool closed hard, making a sickening crack echo through the room as the rib was torn free and the autopsy began in earnest...
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Teide
Re: [ORP] Lazerus' lab and lair
The cart jostled back and forth as the cobblestone street was filled with the usual mob. Teide walked along the side of the cart the was pulled by a giant bird. Teide knew next to nothing about horses besides how to charm the dumb beast out of their pens to steal them. She preferred other animals to horses...even cows. She was still wearing her bathing suit with a tied around skirt and fangs hung around her hips from the tavern earlier. She did manage to swipe a table cloth and fashion it into a make-shift shawl to cover herself and her face using some bone and thread. It was quick because she needed to make the delivery to Bravia. Yet as she walked in the familiar streets and bustle it brought back painful memories. She had not returned since....since she left three years ago. She had left behind a painful and very checkered past. She kept her head down low least anyone of the pickpockets that scattered this city recognize her and report her to the thieves guild. She had left on less than pleasant terms. She did not want to cross paths with her old mentor...and even less anyone from the 'Society'. She would not return to any of her past lives in this city...they would not find her again or she'd kill them without a regret. She was not the desperate or jaded teenager anymore. She was a fully trained sorceress now. Just as she was concentrating on keeping her profile low she felt a hand slip against her hip. Idiot. She had no coin or goods to trade this one could want. She'd teach them a lesson. Quick, she grabbed the hand and using her thumb forced swift click in the wrist. The hand yanked back in surprise and she didn't stop to look back. She heard a sharp inhalation of breath with her keen ears and smiled. Whoever they were....they should be more careful. With the nerve to the hand impeded they would be enjoying a keen dose of carpal tunnel. Teide picked the wrong pocket once and she was still paying for it.
She made it through the city and to the secluded oasis of knowledge the scientist called Lazerus home. She could not help a degree of curiosity, caution...and kinship with him. His conversation were always filled with insight...and Teide had often felt on the fringes no matter how much others tried to draw her in or show her affection...there was a gap. She was cheerful and open one moment and cruel the next, withdrawn. Perhaps it was because she could not accept true affections anymore. The one consistent element she had always had was curiosity, the need to know, poke and never believe the common theory had all the answers. Study, formulas and theories busied her mind when nightmares haunted. Research brought comfort and understanding when nothing else made sense. Maybe her reasons for it were shallow but she didn't care. They had brought her to where she was. So as much as Lazerus reminded her of them...he reminded her of herself in some ways and she missed those stimulating comparisons of theories and experimenting with someone. She shook her head out of her reverie and reached up...but couldn't reach the door knocker. So she climbed onto the cart and knocked. It often surprised people how such a tiny, delicate woman could be anything but dainty.
She made it through the city and to the secluded oasis of knowledge the scientist called Lazerus home. She could not help a degree of curiosity, caution...and kinship with him. His conversation were always filled with insight...and Teide had often felt on the fringes no matter how much others tried to draw her in or show her affection...there was a gap. She was cheerful and open one moment and cruel the next, withdrawn. Perhaps it was because she could not accept true affections anymore. The one consistent element she had always had was curiosity, the need to know, poke and never believe the common theory had all the answers. Study, formulas and theories busied her mind when nightmares haunted. Research brought comfort and understanding when nothing else made sense. Maybe her reasons for it were shallow but she didn't care. They had brought her to where she was. So as much as Lazerus reminded her of them...he reminded her of herself in some ways and she missed those stimulating comparisons of theories and experimenting with someone. She shook her head out of her reverie and reached up...but couldn't reach the door knocker. So she climbed onto the cart and knocked. It often surprised people how such a tiny, delicate woman could be anything but dainty.
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Lazerus
Re: [ORP] Lazerus' lab and lair
Quite luckily Lazerus had happened to be in his study when the door knocker clanged. In part because it meant that he wasn't up to his forearm in gore and blood from one of his latest subjects and in part because he had designed his lab so that he couldn't hear that infernal knocking sound and be forced away from important things, like his studies. He adjusted his glasses slightly as he heard the knock and gently slid a red cloth across the page of the book he was reading (A treatise on the lesser swamp trolls of Fenia) and closed it, placing it carefully back into it's place upon his rather impressive bookshelf. In fact, his study was more akin to library that was some sort of rather impressive amalgamation of every church and castle book collection that one could imagine. The walls were hidden behind rows and rows of bookshelves each of which looked as though it might collapse under the weight of it's burden at any moment.
Lazerus allowed himself a momentary smile as he surveyed his collection, a finger slowly brushing down the spine of a nearby book before he spun around on his feet and made his way to the door, intent upon sending whatever creature was lurking there away as quickly as would be possible, after all, he had no time for the petty desires of the others of this realm. As interesting as some of them may be there seemed to be a singular lack of... Well Intellectual vision. The only person he could truly say he liked was the strange half elf, Tiede. She after all shared his near unquenchable thirst for knowledge and at times it was rather refreshing to meet like-minded individuals.
He allowed his thoughts to wander in such a fashion as he stalked towards the doorway through the surprisingly Spartan (when compared to his study at least) hallway that lead to the front door. It took him a few moments to reach it before he threw the door open, about to enter into a rant when he saw the person standing upon a cart in front of him.
Lazerus took a moment to adjust his glasses and cleared his throat, allowing his pointed finger to drop as he said with a hint of a smile "Ah! Miss Tiede. I'm afraid I'd quite forgotten you were visiting." his accent was clear although there was a hint of something northern about it, in a refined sort of way*. He leaned to the side to look past her and saw the cart and his smile only grew bigger as he remarked "And I see you have brought the samples, excellent, excellent!" and with that he stepped to one side and motioned inside his house saying a little dryly "Please do come in, my assistant can deal with the samples while I give you a tour perhaps?"
*Imagine an educted german sort of accent I suppose
Lazerus allowed himself a momentary smile as he surveyed his collection, a finger slowly brushing down the spine of a nearby book before he spun around on his feet and made his way to the door, intent upon sending whatever creature was lurking there away as quickly as would be possible, after all, he had no time for the petty desires of the others of this realm. As interesting as some of them may be there seemed to be a singular lack of... Well Intellectual vision. The only person he could truly say he liked was the strange half elf, Tiede. She after all shared his near unquenchable thirst for knowledge and at times it was rather refreshing to meet like-minded individuals.
He allowed his thoughts to wander in such a fashion as he stalked towards the doorway through the surprisingly Spartan (when compared to his study at least) hallway that lead to the front door. It took him a few moments to reach it before he threw the door open, about to enter into a rant when he saw the person standing upon a cart in front of him.
Lazerus took a moment to adjust his glasses and cleared his throat, allowing his pointed finger to drop as he said with a hint of a smile "Ah! Miss Tiede. I'm afraid I'd quite forgotten you were visiting." his accent was clear although there was a hint of something northern about it, in a refined sort of way*. He leaned to the side to look past her and saw the cart and his smile only grew bigger as he remarked "And I see you have brought the samples, excellent, excellent!" and with that he stepped to one side and motioned inside his house saying a little dryly "Please do come in, my assistant can deal with the samples while I give you a tour perhaps?"
*Imagine an educted german sort of accent I suppose
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Teide
Re: [ORP] Lazerus' lab and lair
Teide looked from the top of her cart at Lazerus as he opened the door. She glanced at the sides subtly wondering if they could be watched from any place outside. Then her eyes met his as he looked out or at least from under the cowl that on a regular occurrence shadowed her features such that they had to take her at her word for being a halfling. She sat and leaned forward on her knee. With a quirk of her head and smirk, he seemed to pause just before speaking. A quick thought entered her mind as his unguarded thoughts spoke to her. He was all keyed up to give the intruder a piece of his mind then he was struck by her appearance. It was very amusing. The habit he had of adjusting his glasses as he was interesting. She noted the particular tune to his accent and found it intriguing and comforting. So perhaps he didn't have any contact with certain unfavorables. He looked at her cart to see the lovely presents she had brought him.
His expression pleased her greatly as his smile was marked cheek to cheek. She stood up and jumped off the cart as a man sidestepped her to get to the cart. She did not impede him in the least and took the invitation quickly. Teide stepped into the door and stopped to admire the scenery which was as fine featured and well dressed as could be expected. It was made in the traditional Bravian fashion....she did not expect him to do much of the decorating just the library and his own little sections. "I would appreciate that if it does not take too much time from your study...no doubt you are excited to see about your latest...by the way a copy of the notes was the agreed on price was it not?" she asked absentmindedly because she could not rightly recall.
His expression pleased her greatly as his smile was marked cheek to cheek. She stood up and jumped off the cart as a man sidestepped her to get to the cart. She did not impede him in the least and took the invitation quickly. Teide stepped into the door and stopped to admire the scenery which was as fine featured and well dressed as could be expected. It was made in the traditional Bravian fashion....she did not expect him to do much of the decorating just the library and his own little sections. "I would appreciate that if it does not take too much time from your study...no doubt you are excited to see about your latest...by the way a copy of the notes was the agreed on price was it not?" she asked absentmindedly because she could not rightly recall.