((VM, Firebird, and I continued this in chat last night - to summarize, they faked Tzu Mei getting shot to knock him out, and then dragged him inside to recover at least something resembling a safe distance from his firepower. For those who don't believe in teal deer, here's the log:))
Aravind: Er, no. No, we're not under, or expecting, an attack of any kind. *shoots a glance at Tzu* At least, most of us aren't.
Tzu: *grumbles about censorship of information* Of /course/ you aren't. Inside, inside. We'll take care of everything.
Michael: (At Aravind, who seems to have slightly more of a grasp on the situation) "...have I come at an inopportune time?"
Aravind: *patiently, as though speaking to a small child, or a lunatic* Professor. This is a school. We are located in the middle of nowhere, in an affluent area of the country, nowhere near any conflict of any kind. There are no rebels. *to Michael, with a headshake* You know, I don't think there's such thing as an average time, here.
Aravind: Average-- no, not average. *grins wryly* All times are equally inopportune. Welcome to Saint Dymphna's.
Tzu: *peers over at Michael* Should have been sooner. Hurry inside! *Looks back at Aravind* Why do you think they stationed you here? But the rebels found out, and now they are coming!
Tzu: *starts rambling again* They're coming, need to finish this. Where are my comrades? Where...?
Michael decides that not angering the crazy guy with the sniper rifle is probably the safer course of action, continues a ways further up the drive
Aravind: *stares, agape, at Tzu* Professor! There are no rebels! *pauses, running a hand through his hair in utter frustration* There haven't been rebels around here for /centuries/!
Tzu seems distracted. And he keeps shaking his head, as if it hurts him. Aravind is rather torn between stepping closer to Tzu Mei, maybe trying to reason with him, and making a break for the school, to find the Headmistress
Aravind: Wait! *to Michael* Did you say you were a wizard?
Aravind finds himself inexplicably reassured by Michael's voice and gravity ((It's the Morgan Freeman voice! Never fails!)
Michael: "Aye..." *thinks he knows where this is headed, isn't terribly thrilled by it*
Tzu: *more grumbling about censorship* Yes, there were. Just a few years ago, in 2002. They must have brought you from out of the country.
Aravind: Then you're probably more intelligent than me, by a half, at least. *gestures to Tzu Mei* Can you talk sense into him, before some student runs afoul of this wall, (and, he thinks, that sniper rifle) and gets hurt? I'm getting nowhere. ((Aravind doesn't think magic solves problems, and he'd no more ask a wizard to magic the guns/wall away than he'd ask Less to chase gophers out of a garden. He just doesn't want to be left alone with the crazy, armed nutcase.))
01:55 Tzu ((Less would probably agree to chasing gophers if asked, but that's neither here nor now.))
01:56 Aravind ((Yes, but it's more the idea of treating a sentient being like a pet or tool. It's something he learned from the pack in the South, who might be more politically-minded than Less's pack.))
01:57 Michael He's been like this before?
01:58 Tzu *Tzu Mei begins to weld pieces of sheet metal together, though he politely used another piece to shield them from the monstrously nright light*
01:58 Tzu ((*bright))
01:59 Aravind I don't know-- I haven't crossed paths with him much, before this. He built something similar-- a near-lethal obstacle course for his students-- and I've often heard him muttering. But this is the first time this, specifically, has happened.
02:00 Tzu ((Wow, two tense in the same line. Go me.))
02:00 Tzu ((*tenses Go me again.))
02:01 Michael thinks for a moment, rolls a pair of dice
02:01 Michael ((Would a little bit of confirmation be enough to get the rifle away from Tzu?))
02:01 Michael ((Perhaps illusion-reinforced confirmation?))
02:02 Tzu ((If you could convince him that you were a comrade who misplaced his. Or something of the like.))
02:02 Michael ((The dice are a divination - is playing along going to make things worse/last longer, basically)
02:02 Michael )
02:03 Tzu ((Probably make it last longer, but if you can convince him he's injured and needs to go to the infirmary he'll be quiet until it wears down.))
02:04 Michael ((Thank goodness for starting this whole magic thing well before Hippocrates wrote his oath.))
02:05 Michael hunts around briefly, finds good-sized stick
02:05 Michael Let's see here...
02:06 Aravind looks on, ready to play along with whatever looks promising
02:06 Tzu *Continues welding, starts rambling under his breath*
02:06 Michael (quietly, to Aravind)
02:06 Michael The first order of business, of course, is to separate him and that rifle.
02:06 *** July joined #stdymphnasacademy
02:07 +++ ChanServ has given op to July
02:07 Michael ((WB!))
02:07 Aravind ((July! Wb!))
02:07 Tzu ((Hello July!))
02:07 Aravind *nod, as quietly* Of course. What do you need?
02:07 Michael mutters a bit in Akkadian, wraps stick in solidly assault-rifle shaped illusion
02:08 Michael Play along... Look a bit worried.
02:08 Aravind nods, glances over at Tzu Mei, seemingly absorbed in his welding/muttering
02:08 Aravind Should be easy enough.
02:09 Aravind ((...the looking worried, he means.))
02:09 Michael casts some more, disguises self and Aravind as soldiers
02:09 Michael With any luck...
02:10 Michael hurries towards Tzu, holding nonexistant helmet onto head
02:10 Michael Professor! Doc!
02:10 Tzu What? *holds up arc-welder* I need to finish this barricade.
02:10 Aravind follows Michael, looking worried as instructed
02:11 *** Plat is now known as Platsleep
02:11 Michael They're upon us!
02:11 Michael thrusts fake rifle at Tzu
02:12 Michael Here! They're too close for precision work!
02:12 Michael (a little bit quieter, more persuasive) I'll take the old slugthrower, lighten your load.
02:12 Tzu *Grabs fake rifle, slings real one across back, then leaps up to peer through cracks in the barricade*
02:13 Michael is really, really hoping this will... darn it.
02:13 Tzu *glances back at Michael for a second* This isn't really that heavy...
02:13 Aravind The production quality's gotten so much better.
02:13 Michael 's composite. Newfangled. *nodnod hope hope*
02:14 Tzu Ah. These get changed so quickly. *keeps peering through the cracks*
02:14 Michael *mutters* Hippocrates forgive me...
02:15 Michael produces a rather realistic thud-thud-thud of bullets slamming into the barricade
02:15 Aravind winces a bit at that, but stands a bit closer to Tzu, ready to prevent sudden attacks or ease damage from, say, falling off the barricade
02:16 Tzu *Immediately pokes (fake) rifle through the largest crack and begins firing (or thinks he's firing) where he believes the sound is coming from*
02:16 Michael tries to sign "get ready to catch him" at Aravind
02:16 Aravind nods, moves into position behind Tzu
02:16 Tzu The bastards are hiding... I need a grenade.
02:17 Michael magically punches Tzu in shoulder
02:17 Michael You've been hit!
02:17 Michael fakes bloodstains
02:18 Michael tries hard to remember how to fake head injuries
02:18 Tzu *does /not/ yelp, but curses in Urdu* Someone get bandages!
02:18 Aravind Medic! Medic! *looks about frantically* Where are the medics?
02:18 Tzu I can't be the first to fall!
02:18 Michael Dammit, it's low and bleeding hard...
02:19 Tzu *tries to keep firing, but the psychosomatic injuries are interfering*
02:19 Michael grabs Tzu under noninjured shoulder, starts hanging magical weight on him
02:19 Michael *quietly* tired, tired, sleep, sleep...
02:19 Aravind boggles a bit at Tzu's persistence, makes mental note not to cross him lightly
02:19 Tzu Can't be the first... *collapses*
02:20 Aravind staggers for a moment under his weight, but holds
02:20 Michael *gasps for breath
02:20 Michael *
02:20 Tzu *Is unconscious*
02:20 Aravind *glancing at Michael, quietly* Will he wake?
02:20 Michael Not a clue...
02:20 Michael Never done that one before.
02:21 Tzu *He's breathing fine, thanks for checking*
02:21 Aravind *headshake, gently shifts Tzu to a carrying position* Ah well, I'd rather not wait around to find out. Let's get him to... the infirmary? I don't know whether he'll remember this.
02:21 Michael I hope not...
02:21 Aravind ((It's a fake injury! They know he's fine!))
02:21 Michael is either relatively strong, or cheating magically
02:21 Michael ((Psychosomatics are weird things...))
02:22 Tzu ((Fft. The infirmary would be the one Tzu himself set up. In an empty classoom.*
02:22 Tzu ((*)) ))
02:22 Aravind ((True, true. But anyway, wouldn't that make it more convincing?))
02:22 Tzu ((Yup))
02:22 Michael carefully separates Tzu from sniper rifle and stick
02:22 Michael Lead the way, if you would...
02:22 Aravind *starts off towards the school* I take it you're here for an interview? *with a nod of thanks for the rifle*
02:23 Aravind ((*taking the rifle))
02:23 Michael I dare say, if that was part of it, you win top points for originality...
02:24 Aravind *laughs a bit* Ah, don't I /wish/. You could consider it as such, though. This place is... unusual.
02:26 Michael I'd say so... Last time I saw walls manned was... Jerusalem?
02:26 Michael tries to remember
02:27 Michael ((manned like that was*))
02:27 Aravind *raises an eyebrow, looks at Michael a moment longer* Ah. *quietly* You're unusual too, then? *Not that he minds. He'll take a solid-seeming, good-in-a-pinch wizard over most of the "unusual" he's seen here, any day of the week.*
02:28 Michael I've been around the block for longer than most, if that's what you're asking.
02:29 Michael wonders OOC if anyone is going to notice them carrying the apparently shot Tzu Mei into the school
02:29 Aravind ((I am pushing for Cutty to meet them in the entry hall, but July has laundry to do.))
02:29 Michael ((Having forgot to lift that part of the illusion))
02:29 Tzu ((Probably))
02:30 July (Fine
)
02:30 *** July is now known as Portia
02:31 Portia (When is this happening?)
02:31 Aravind *snorts quietly at the vagueness* Fair enough answer. I appreciate the help, by the way. It's bad enough we've got students as dangerous here, without... well, this. ((Early November, I think?))
02:31 Tzu ((Early November on a Tuesday morning))
02:31 Michael mutters something about an ancient Chinese curse
02:32 Michael (("May your life be interesting" being the curse in question))
02:32 Aravind ((Heh. Got that.))
02:32 Portia does in fact notice, seeing as she just entered the hall.
02:32 Portia Goodness! What happened?
02:32 Tzu *shifts slightly in place, though still unconscious*
02:33 Aravind *nearly grins at him* Never thought I'd have such. I've always been the one causing trouble. *wry face* Never thought I'd be the one taking responsibility for cleaning it up. *blinks at Portia* Ah! Headmistress!
02:34 Portia (Would Aravind have given permission/allow his first name to be used by the rest of the staff?)
02:35 Aravind *looks down, somewhat panickedly, at Tzu, visibly relieved when he doesn't wake up* This is... well. *gestures with his head, the only currently unencumbered limb on him, at Michael* This is... *pauses for a moment, trying to remember the name* Freeman. Michael Freeman. *glances again at Michael* Do you prefer Michael, or...?
02:35 Aravind ((Definitely. He's still slightly unnerved by the students calling him Professor.))
02:36 Michael *also encumbered, nods* Michael Freeman, at your service. You were looking for a wizard?
02:36 Portia Possibly. *once she's aware that there are no students about* Aravind, what exactly happened? *is repeating herself a bit, and is sounding rather firm and is focusing on the fact that one of her staff APPEARS TO BE SHOT*
02:37 Michael ((Go ahead - Michael will stay clueless for a moment or two longer))
02:38 Tzu *curses in Urdu. He seems to have moved from unconsciousness to sleep*
02:39 Aravind Well, Tzu Mei just built a wall on the main road-- he was up there with his rifle, anticipating an attack from some rebels? *looks down at Tzu Mei, remembers he's unconscious, notices the wound and remembers /why/, and goes !* Ah... the shot. It's an illusion. *again, double-takes when Tzu speaks*
02:39 Michael *mutters something back in Urdu - the local equivalent of 'no U'*
02:39 Michael ((Alternatively, "your mom"))
02:39 Tzu ((It's probably a good thing he can't hear you, then))
02:40 Michael Oh. Right. *says something else, and the blood vanishes*
02:41 Portia Might I ask why he was made to appear as though he was shot, then? *she is seeming rather calm, considering*
02:41 Aravind ((XD)) We had to get him off the wall, before students started showing up. Michael was coming in-- *pauses, as the blood vanishes* Thanks. And tried to get him to get rid of the rifle-- when that didn't work, we had to knock him out. Michael persuaded him he'd been shot.
02:41 Michael It seemed the best way to defuse a potentially very bad situation.
02:44 Aravind ((Awkward silence is awkward?))
02:44 Michael (I was, however, hoping that he'd make it inside at least mostly on his own two legs)
02:45 Portia *looking between the two men* And given Tzu Mei's past history, it didn't occur to you *looking at Aravid* that perhaps making him believe he was shot is not the best idea?
02:45 Tzu ((You left him his sword, right? Otherwise some bad crap could happen.))
02:45 Aravind ((I think so, yeah. It was just the rifle they took.))
02:45 Michael ((Michael probably would have brought the rifle in as well - no sense in leaving it on the lawn))
02:47 Aravind *raises an eyebrow* With all due respect, Headmistress, I tried to reason with him. Michael tried to simply get him to release the gun. At one point, he called for a grenade. I don't know what weaponry he has at his disposal, honestly-- he was also talking about a minefield, earlier-- but I think incapacitating him temporarily was a better option than merely>
02:48 Aravind leaving him at the main entrance to the school with a dangerous weapon. *in a more apologetic tone* It was the best we could come up with, on the spot. He's a frightening man, with a gun.
02:50 Portia Yes, he is. There is a reason he teaches what he does, after all.
02:52 Michael I feel I would be... irresponsible to leave an armed and delusional man on the lawn. Who is to say what he would do if the postman came?
02:53 Portia *smiles a bit* I think our postman has learnt by now.
02:54 Aravind You see his point, though? It didn't seem right to just leave him there-- our students are hardly the types to obediently look the other way.
02:55 Aravind I mean-- they'd investigate. And more than a few of them would antagonize him. I can't see that ending well.
02:57 Michael Out of curiosity, could we possibly put him down? Not to complain, but he's a slight bit heavy.
02:57 Portia *slightly thoughtful looking* This is true. However, many of them have taken his class at least once, so word would have spread around.
02:57 Tzu ((How much weight can Shiyal carry? Tzu does have a crapload of equipment on him and he's fairly heavy himself...))
02:57 Aravind ((Heh. I was about to type, in my last post, that he was starting to shift under the weight.))
02:57 Portia Of course! *motions towards the side of the hall* Please, do.
02:59 Aravind (assuming Michael's cooperation, of course) moves to the side of the hall, and lays Tzu down on a bench there.
03:00 Michael (cooperation is good)
03:00 Aravind ((By the by, Dann, reading all Michael's speech in Morgan Freeman's voice is /awesome/.))
03:01 Michael ((Shiny))
03:02 Michael adjusts glasses
03:02 Portia (Would he have sent a resume or somesuch?)
03:02 Aravind *looks over at Portia* I don't know about that. There seem to be a few overlapping circles, but word doesn't travel as fast as you might think. *headshake* Besides, there are plenty of students who would antagonize him anyway, just... because.
03:04 Michael ((Yeah - slightly edited to not include the more historic positions (High Seer to Cyrus the Great?), but yes))
03:04 Portia walks over to Michael and outstretches her hand to shake.
03:04 Portia Dr Freeman, yes?
03:05 Michael shakes hand
03:05 Tzu ((Tzu's going to be unconscious for the rest of this, right? So it's alright if I get off?))
03:05 Michael At your service, miss.
)