Private Meeting with Moira

Moira made a follow me motion and and left the room, fully expecting John to follow her. John quickly got to his feet and rushed after the quick moving Moira as she lead him through a twisting maze of hallways, stairs, and corridors. Finally she stops outside of a room.

“This is my room, so everything in here is look but don’t touch, understand?” Moira informed John before she opened the door to her inner sanctum. At least that is how John thought of it before he was led inside.

The room was something straight out of a fairy tale. Against the wall was a huge four poster bed was against one wall, complete with a canopy and drapes down the sides. The drapes with a vibrant red color which offset the pinkness of the bedspread that covered the mammoth bed. John dragged his eyes away from the fluffy monstrosity to take stock of the rest of the room. The walls, thankfully, were not pink, but a tasteful seafoam green.

The rest of the furniture was all rosewood, elegantly polished and intricately carved. On the vanity was a bunch of bottles and jars, more than likely gifts from people, most of which looked only lightly used, if at all. The floor was clean of debris that normally inhabits a teenage bedroom floor, but whether that was because of Moira or a cleaning staff, John couldn’t say.

Moira cleared her throat to gets John’s attention. Once he looked back to her, Moira began explaining the history of the Golden Rose, as it was told to her. She explained that the Lady, and how it was the same Lady of the Lake that gave Arthur his sword that started the Order of the Golden Rose by bestowing a blessing upon certain Maidens. The blessing allowed the Maidens to fight back against the evil mages of the time, and later it was found that through a complicated process it was passed down to their daughters. Moira conveniently skipped over the process.

She than described how a holy order became built around the Maidens and became what is now the Golden Rose, an organization for peace in the Abyss. John, having lost interest after the Lady in the lake, sort of just nodded and made the appropriate noises at times.

“Now we will test your combat prowess,” Moira announced suddenly, snapping John out of his non-listening gaze.

“What? Why?” John asked panicked a little bit.

“Weren’t you listening at all?” Moira asked harshly, “If you are going to join us, or at the very least be contracted by us, we have to know what your strengths are so we can know how you can assist us. Our services aren’t for free.”

‘Damn it,’ John thought to himself as he readied himself, ‘What have I gotten myself into?’

“First,” Moira started, “Do you even know how to make a barrier?” When John shook his head, she sighed heavily. “You are going to be trouble, aren’t you?” Moira asked rhetorically. “Watch me and try to learn,” Moira instructed. She lifted her hand, and in the opposite gesture that Moonstone used, she opened her hand and released her power. The world changed around them as the barrier formed, taking the shape of a field of rolling hills. There seemed to be dummies, which John thought looked like crash test dummies, wandering around. The she closed the hand with a sudden grasp, and the field disappeared. “Now I want you to try,” she demanded.

John grumbled under his breath as he tried to focus his energy into his hand like Moira did. But remembering what had happened in the Fae Hill barrier caused him to shudder and lose his concentration. John’s breath came in gasps as he struggled to get his riotous emotions under control.

It took John the better part of an hour because of the remembered events before he could focus well enough to learn the skill that Moira was trying to teach him. But once he was sure that he wouldn’t cause another incident and created his first barrier, a barren plain of dirt, he got the skill.

New Skill Unlocked: Create Barrier
This skill allows you to create your own barriers (Duh.)
Cost: 15 MP (Yes it costs less to create to destroy. Got a problem with that?)
You can generate certain effects inside the barrier, depending on the level of the skill.

Moira watched John as read the pop-up, then inquired what John saw. “It is a pop-up that informed me that I got a new skill,” John replied to her inquiry.

“Do you get pop-ups for skills very often, or does it take certain actions to get them?” Moira asked as she stared at John inside of his barrier.

“I have to do the skill manually first, then I get the pop-up saying that I have learned the skill, then it is listed on my character sheet,” John explained, to which Moira raised an eyebrow at. John sighed before he explained, “My character sheet has all the information about me, mostly in a quantitative form. Numbers representing my physical and mental abilities, as well as listing all of the skills that I have unlocked already. But so far, I am the only one to see my character sheet, and the only time others see pop-ups is like when we all joined the party in that dungeon.”

Moira nodded her understanding, secretly envious of John’s ability to see his own stats, not that she would admit that in any form to anyone. “Can you see the stats of other?” she asked, secretly hoping that he could, and that he couldn’t in the same breath.

“Not yet,” John stated, causing Moira to let out a breath she didn’t realize that she was holding, “But I think that if I level up a skill called observe enough times, that it might let me do that.”

“That is such bullshit,” Moira exclaimed in an outburst then took a deep breath inwards to calm herself. “I am sorry, but it is certainly a useful skill to have, but it isn’t exactly fair to the rest of us who spend our lives learning how to live in the Abyss.” Moira looks over at the clock and sees how much time has passed. “I will drive you home now. I will pick you up tomorrow so that you can deliver the signed document to my father.” And with those final words she lead John out the door.