The Empty Virtuoso(Teagan)
Date: 2026-01-20 21:17
(The Empty Virtuoso(Teagan):Teagan)
[Tue Jan 20 2026]
A Resonant High–Ceilinged Music Room/span
The music room occupies a high-ceilinged space with acoustic panels of dark
wood covering the walls in regular intervals. Several upright pianos stand
against the northern wall, their black lacquered surfaces reflecting the
overhead fluorescent lighting, while a grand piano dominates the center of
the room, its lid propped open. Metal music stands cluster in one corner,
some bearing forgotten sheets of notation that flutter slightly in the air
currents from the heating vents. The floor consists of worn hardwood, marked
with scuff patterns from decades of chair and instrument movement. Built-in
shelving units hold stacks of yellowed sheet music, method books, and
instrument cases, some bearing labels in faded ink dating back several
decades. The windows along the eastern wall have been fitted with heavy
curtains to control sound and light, though gaps in the fabric reveal the
original glass, which vibrates faintly when certain low notes are played. A
metronome sits on the piano, its pendulum still, and the air holds the
lingering resonance of strings and keys, as if the room itself retains the
memory of every note played within its walls./span
It is about 50F(10C) degrees. The mist is heaviest At Plymouth and Oakwood/span
Conrad offers Sebastian a hand to shake, when he makes his own introduction, “Conrad Rothwell at your service.” A glance is then given Teagan, before he turns to look back to Sebastian, “It seems that some of the students in the orchestra have been losing their memories. We’ve found some clues, including a ritual circle.” He cranes his neck briefly in the direction where it was last. “This is a follow-up and hopefully we can put an end to this.”
Darrow nods toward Conrad and then continues tappety tapping on his phone, “Now we just need to wait for them to show up… and in the name of the Ghostbusters — Get’er, Ray.”
And true to her word, Teagan ducks out of the room (just into the hallway) to double-check the schedule. Maybe even get some recon in the (mostly empty) hallways in as well.
The ritual circle is indeed where they’d left it. Unfortunately their pile of chairs and the like around it have been moved: probably for some other group or rehearsal as they are arranged in a semi-circle, the eldritch symbols burned into the flooring just behind them like a strange decoration.
Sebastian just kind of stands there listening with a serious face. Finally, he says. “I see.”
Conrad makes his way towards the ritual circle and just looms over, looking it over. It’s not that he knows much about rituals, so he’ll do this from memory as best he can, though he expects Darrow to be able to tell if everything is in place. After a moment, he takes a sweeping view around the room. Was there anything set up here after they’d left? Things of that nature.
Sebastian looks around, telling Conrad. “I am missing a lot of context, my fellow Courtier.”
Darrow glances from Conrad to Sebastian and asks, “If you have specific questions, we can try to help give it more context.. if we have any.”
Sebastian says “So. Why do we care? Is this relevant to current internal affairs? When and how do I do my job?“
“What context are you missing?” This being where Teagan has stepped back in, tucking her phone away. “So our guy, Kevin, is indeed still on for the room. We’ve got a little bit to setup however we want. I suggest we prepare anything in here and then … either step next-door or hide in here.” There are places one can tuck themselves away. Not a lot, but enough. “We care because I was asked to investigate by the Invisible College and the conductor. Plus, I’m part of the orchestra and it could impact me any day now. We’ve lost most of the string section. The winter symphony has been delayed several times now.”
Conrad arches a brow when he looks to Sebastian, “Well, Sir, as I’m a student here at Windermere University, if there’s something happening with the student body, I’d like to know what the hell is going on.”
“Well, I don’t know why you care. I have no idea why you’re involved at all,” Darrow admits with a slight shrug of his shoulders and a smile. “Other than you offered, so I assume you care for your own reasons? You tell me. I care because I’m a student here and I don’t like the idea of someone brain-whammying other students since if they can do it to the orchestra, they can do it to the rest of us.” k
Darrow says “And because Teagan asked for help, and we like Teagan not getting brain whammied, too.“
Sebastian nods as he listens, looking closely at the ritual circle. “I would like to help, yes. It is pleases the Court, even more so.”
Darrow moves away from the door and off to one side of it, remaining nearby and listening for any sign of approaching footsteps. He watches as the others examine the circle. Quietly he asks Conrad, “Has anything changed since last time?” curiously. For his part, he doesn’t go over to look at it just yet. He’s playing lookout, or listenout as the case may be.
Sebastian looks around, calmly, seeking a spot to hide in, commenting. “I’m decent at hiding.”
“Aww, you like me,” Teagan says with faux-sap to Darrow, chuckling faintly. She starts going around and checking inside various cabinets. A few are left open: empty spaces within large enough that someone could squeeze inside if they wanted. There are stacks of chairs, as well, that people could hunker behind. “What do you three think? I suggest we stay in here and wait. I don’t want to be trying to time running back in from another room.”
Sebastian tells Teagan. “Indeed. I can hide in here.”
For the time being, coast seems clear as Darrow leans near the wall with one ear pressed near the door, listening to the halls outside while the others chatter within. He’s paying attention, but only somewhat peripherally. “I’d suggest we all find a spot to be out of immediate sight once we hear them coming.”
Sebastian searches around for a spot, finding a corner covered in shadow difficult to see from elsewhere, standing in it and seeming to fade into the background.
Conrad eventually crouches down besides the circle and he just point vaguely at nothing in particular, “It looks as if it was freshly drawn, but you can see faint outlines of the older circle. It might have been used and just remade.” He then draws himself up to stand, “Or that’s what I get from all of this.” As to Teagan’s proposal, he nods slowly, “Hiding here is fine. I think it’s a large enough space for all of us.”
Sebastian says “Let me know if you can see me.“
“I can, but I also have incredibly good eyesight,” Teagan notes to Sebastian. before adding with a slight smirk: “I also know where you hid. Hopefully our guy is distracted.” She herself heads for one of those cabinets: being short is an advantage here. “It’s on you, Darrow. Let us know when you hear him coming and then get in cover.” A beat before she adds on, closing the cabinet door most of the way: “Should probably hit the lights, too.” She does cast a glance toward the ritual circle at Conrad’s note of it being fresh.
Darrow nods to Teagan in agreement and remains by the door. He lifts his hand though and waves it at everyone to indicate to be quiet because someone is coming. Listening to the voice he holds up one finger. One someone, it seems, then holds his phone to his ear to indicate that the person might be talking on it. Hitting the lights, he quickly tries to find cover without you know, falling over anything in the dark.
And soon, everyone is hidden. Or as hidden as they can be. It’s never quite perfect, but in the dark room, they are just shadows upon shadows.
The ‘one’ that Darrow had indicated soon steps in and he’s not on the phone, but he is talking to someone. He flips on the lights, mid-conversation with… thin air? “…this one, they’ll have to take me on. They’ll have no other choice.” Kevin Jacobs, it turns out, is a tall, spindly man in his early-to-mid twenties. Unremarkable otherwise with fairly pale skin, a mop of brown hair (that could use a trim), brown eyes, and attire that… perhaps doesn’t fit the image of someone stealing memories. He’s in a blue polo and khakis. He slings a backpack off his shoulder and makes his way toward the ritual circle, kneeling down by it. Items are pulled out, one by one. A grimoire. A few of those etched lighting gels that the group had found. Some other small ritualistic materials.
“Yes, after this one you’ll get your part of the deal, promise.” Did that shadow near him ripple? Maybe it’s a trick of the light.
Darrow squints as he watches that ripple in the air curiously, leaning forward just a little bit to try to get a better look but there in the dark, he doesn’t seem able to figure it out. His expression turns puzzled and then frustrated but he waits, just another moment or two to see whether whatever it is decides to reveal itself.
Jacobs doesn’t look like someone who Conrad would hang out with, if that’s saying anything, and as Conrad sizes him up from his hiding spot near the piano, probably, he doesn’t seem to find anything of use or interest. Nevertheless, he simply lies in wait for now.
There are candles laid out around the circle at cardinal points. Other items are set out as well: small bowls of this or that alongside the candles. Ingredients required for the ritual. Into one of them, Kevin Jacobs cuts open his own hand and lets the blood trickle into the receptacle. He barely even winces when he does, like the gesture is rote. Lastly, one of the gels is set in the center of the circle. But as he does, his head snaps in the direction of the cabinets.
“What?” While his gaze is roaming, he’s looking squarely in the direction of Teagan’s hiding spot. She stays completely still, but it doesn’t seem to be enough. That ripple — that shadow — suddenly takes on dimension, rising up to be six-foot of near-humanoid shape: narrow of frame, bow-legged, long arms ending in clawed hands. And yet still entirely of shadow… though the eyes and gaping maw of a mouth seem impossibly dark yet. “Of course deal with it, Valac!”
At which point ‘Valac’ goes shooting across the room — an impossible bundle of darkness — to slam into that cabinet where Teagan was hiding, throwing the door wide. Before she can even shout or move: the redhead is wrapped up in darkness, a writhing mass of shadow surrounding her. And Jacobs? Well, Jacobs just laughs as he goes about lighting the candles in turn. “Oh, this is perfect. Here I am about to strip your memories away and Valac gets a meal at the same time. Makes my life easier.”
At least the others are still unnoticed. Perhaps because Jacobs lacked some form of connection (the gel) to them that would give them away!
Darrow tries to take advantage of Jacobs’ distraction to tackle him with Strength,Dexterity,Running,Fast REflexes,Melee Attack
Sebastian bursts out of hiding, attempting to draw his pistol and aim it at Kevin Jacobs’ head, ordering. “You will stop what you are doing immediately, sir!”
With Valac attacking Teagan’s hiding spot and Jacobs not realizing that they’re there, Darrow tries to take advantage of the situation and rushes from his hiding spot at Jacobs, attempting to knock him away from the circle.
Conrad looks between Teagan with that thing and Kevin Jacobs. He isn’t sure if he can pry the large minion-ish creature off of Teagan, though there is something that he can do without moving too far from where he’s already standing. Rising from his hiding place, a hand placed upon the piano to help him stand, he calls out, “Kev, call that thing off. Tell it to let Teagan go. Now.” Part of that or all of it is the trigger to make the persuasion happen. Either way, Conrad doesn’t yell it out, but he speaks those words in a firm tone.
The problem with some arcanists is that they are rarely defenseless. And their defenses most often have to do with the less… visible. Something alerts Jacobs to Darrow’s attempt to tackle him and with a gesture, several chairs screech into his path to halt the approach. Hopefully he can stop in time rather than go crashing over them! Another gesture answers Sebastian’s shout, a chair flung at him (that’s telekinesis, Kyle!), leaving him with a similar decision: duck or get hit by a metal-and-plastic chair.
It’s Conrad who has the most success and Kevin Jacobs blinks several times, looking his way. He shakes his head briefly as the imprint takes hold. “I’ll try but… I don’t control Valac.” Still, he must obey the order and so he calls out: “Valac, leave her be.” There is an inhuman (otherworldly; it pains the ears to hear) growl from the shadow surrounding Teagan and Jacobs casts a concerned look to Conrad then back: “You can have a meal later. Let’s focus on the ritual now.” Assuming, it would seem, that their concern is only for Teagan and her physical self, at the moment. The shadow ripples further and for a few breaths, the room darkens… before Valac releases Teagan and retreats to loom behind Jacobs. The redhead falls to the ground on hands and knees, coughing and gasping for air as she is able to breathe again.
Sebastian’s eyes widen as the chair is flung at him, and instead of dodging, Sebastian attempts to raise his arms up in front of himself and simply take ot head on. Surely it can’t be that heavy a chair.
Darrow suddenly finds himself blockaded by chairs and manages to come to an abrupt stop thanks to his fast reflexes, but that still makes him tumble into them, ending up momentary entangled in chair limbs. At least he doesn’t go tumbling over them face first, and instead merely scrambles to right himself, “Why the orchestra? Why their memories? What do you get out of stealing their memories?”
Conrad looks to Teagan when Valec drops her, but he doesn’t make a move just yet. Instead, he turns back to both Jacob and that shadowy thing once Darrow starts questioning the former, before slowly taking steps in Teagan’s direction to ensure that she’s alright. Crouching down he then asks, “You okay?”
Already, Kevin is back to his ritual again. With the candles lit and everything laid out, he just has to start the incantation. He begins reading from the book — surprisingly, not Latin- Greek — and the candle flames flare brighter as he does. He glances to Darrow at the question, but doesn’t immediately stop. When he does come to a point where the ritual requires a lull, he looks to his fellow student. “They will have to take me on. Every semester since I began at this school, I have auditioned. And every single time, they have rejected me. Too amateurish, they say.” He scoffs, loudly, sneering Teagan’s way. “I’m ten times the musician of any of them. And once I’m the only option left, they’ll have to give me the spot. And then I’ll prove them all wrong.” And then with a sniff, he’s back to reading from the grimoire.
Teagan is still recovering, weak and wobbly from the shadow’s assault on her. She nods to Conrad, giving another cough before holding a hand out toward him in the silent, but universal sign of ‘help me up.’
Sebastian attempts to point his pistol at Kevin Jacobs once again, stating in a calm tone with aggression simmering beneath the surface. “Is this worth your life, son?”
Conrad takes one of Teagan’s arms and places it over his neck and shoulder, before he slowly and carefully rises, lifting her up in the process. He is listening to the conversation though and some of it sparks… well, the mean, Schaudenfreude part of the young Rothwell. “Skill Issue.” He calls out, grinning widely. “I mean, c’mon. Have you listened to yourself play? Would you REALLY pick yourself to be a part of your orchestra, if your life was on the line? If it meant that you would receive accolades and adoration because your University orchestra was the best in the all the world?” He then looks to Teagan. “I know in my corner, I’d pick Teagan.” He then asks, his brow furrowed and once Teagan is able to stand on her own, he steps away from her, just in case there’s some retaliation to come his way. His fingers snaps as he looks as if he’s thinking, “What did you play again?” As a Demonborn, he does enjoy making people feel bad. Perhaps he can distract from Darrow’s heroic ritual disrupting.
“If there’s no orchestra left, there isn’t going to be a position to give you, Kevin,” Darrow says with a little shake of his head. “They’ll more than likely cancel the show, shut down the program for the year. There won’t be enough orchestra for you to be a part of one.” He tries once more to disrupt the ritual, making an attempt to leap over the chairs and into the circle.
“Thanks,” Teagan says once Conrad helps her to her feet. She understands why he steps away, but she is still a bit wobbly! Fortunately, there’s a chair nearby and she’s able to grab hold of it to stabilize herself.
Meanwhile, Conrad’s ploy is successful. Maybe not because he’s attractive, per se, but because he is a Demonborn and knows how to needle people. Kevin Jacobs looks between Darrow and Conrad both, but it’s the latter that he points an accusing finger at. “I have thousands of followers on Bandcamp! Thousands! If the orchestra would just give me a chance, I know the major orchestras would pick me up! London, Berlin, New York- they’d all be fighting over me! And I wouldn’t have to keep taking the memories if they’d just give me a position! I haven’t touched the understudies… not unless they give them a chair before me.” Sebastian’s second attempt to intimidate him with a pistol might have worked were it not for the fact that Darrow does manage to leap over the chair and muck up the ritual circle. Jacobs ignores everything else as he tries to run interference, but it’s too late. Whether it be candles or bowls of materials that get disturbed, there is a bright FLASH of light that fills the room. When it clears, Valac seems to be gone- there is no more humanoid-type shadow, at least. No more ripples. There is just Jacobs, blinking rapidly and on his knees, groping at the ground to try to right the candles and everything, waving his other arm blindly to try to fend off Darrow who he assumes is still nearby. “Why does no one support my dream!”
Oh no. He’s whiny.
Sebastian puts his pistol away, back into his overcoat, watching in silence.
Darrow is covered in ritual goo, probably caught his pants on fire at least a little bit landing on one of those candles, and lightly dusted with herbs. And he also gets smacked at by Kevin in the process, blinking and grabbing at his arm. “Hey.. hey. Asshole. I’d support your dream if you weren’t sucking away people’s brains to do it. But this? This was a bad idea. And now you’re going to come with us.. and we’re going to turn you in.. or that nice man over there with the gun is going to shoot you because he wasn’t here when we were told not to shoot people on campus.”
Conrad doesn’t look too distressed when Kevin has his breakdown. In fact, all of the young man’s misery boosts his mood. It’s like he got an adrenaline hit. His arms cross over his chest as he saunters towards him and Darrow and probably Sebastian, since he was threatening the kid with a pistol. It’s not in his nature to make people feel better, even if he does do that sometimes. With friends. So if anyone’s going to try and cheer Kevin up, it would have to be… Darrow probably. Conrad could needle him some more and there’s a lot of things at the tip of his tongue that he could say that would bring Jacob’s mood lower. Oh look. Darrow isn’t cheering Kevin up. Oh well.
Conrad does have one question, “Can you return their memories?” Dark eyes on Kevin.
There is a tilt of her head and Teagan scowls at something, but she’s also not in any state to talk yet. So whatever it is: it must wait.
Jacobs gets his hand on his grimoire again, thankfully, but the ritual? A mess has been made of it. One of the candles, before it got snuffed out (by his or Darrow’s feet, likely) melted the lighting gel to the point of ruining the runes inscribed on it. Jacobs picks it up and stares at it, frustrated. He slams his fits down against his knees as he gets to his feet. He does not look about to go anywhere with anyone. There is a look shot toward Conrad and it holds every ounce of ego that a man like Kevin Jacobs holds. The looking down the nose, the scoff, the holier-than-thou attitude: “Of course I could if I wanted. What kind of arcanist would I be, otherwise?” But there is a slightly nervous glance for Sebastian now because maybe, just maybe, he’s feeling a bit pressed enough with all three of them (and his buddy nowhere to be seen) to actually worry about that gun.
“Then do it,” Darrow says to Jacobs. “Return their memories and prove that you’re a better arcanist than you are a social engineer. Then, maybe we can talk about how we can find you some alternate musical opportunities that don’t involve fucking up everybody else, yeah? You want a chance to make this better? And to prove that you are the musician that you claim to be? Help clean up your mess. Otherwise, no, nobody’s going to be supporting your dream.”
Sebastian continues to observe in silence, brows furrowed.
“Or, we can send you off to jail,” Conrad starts off with, his tone light as he leans in towards Kevin, “And make the rest of your life a living Hell. We come from important and influential families. Don’t think that we can’t.” He then straightens up again to full height. “Imagine, being unable to play music ever again. Or… to hear music ever again.” At this point, Conrad is talking to himself, weighing which might be worse to a musician. “Probably the playing.”
“It appear that things are under control. I mist leave now.” Sebastian pauses to glare at Kevin Jacobs, saying to the others. “Let me know if you need me.”
The disappearance of the man with the gun might have made Kevin Jacobs feel better, but Conrad is doing a good job of being an intimidating Demonborn and the man’s ritual has been ruined. Teagan is near recovered, too, and has collected her staff from the cabinet she’d been hiding in initially. Her voice is still a bit rough when she speaks, but she comes out with: “I am inclined to let this go if you return everyone’s memories, Jacobs.”
The man is at least smart enough to know a good deal when he sees one. His shoulders slump and he sighs, “Fine. But…” a look to Darrow, a look to Conrad, “… you can really help me find other ways for my music? Outside of the orchestra?” Maybe he actually does genuinely care about his music and was just… incredibly, wildly misguided in how to pursue it.
“We can talk once you return the memories,” Darrow says, “But yes. There are other ways, and I have contacts in the art and music scene. I’m a vocalist, myself. And Conrad’s family is.. very persuasive.” There’s a faint wry twist of his lips. “So.. let’s get everyone fixed up right, then we can see where we go from there.” He then checks over on Teagan, giving her a little bit of a dip of his head as well.
Conrad just blinks when Sebastian makes his departure, but it does look as if they have things handled. However, when Teagan joins them, he offers up a reassuring smile, though he is pleased to see that she is faring better. “Of course, we can. You, however, must promise… not only to return their memories, but to practice, Practice, PRACTICE.” His voice grows louder each time he says the word, “We can pull strings, but don’t embarrass us for helping you.” He then adds, “I’m a bit of a pianist, myself.” As if it needed to be mentioned.
“Give,” Teagan says to Kevin Jacobs, keeping things short and clipped for the sake of her throat. What she is demanding seems to be his grimoire. That, it seems, is getting confiscated. She flips through it until she finds the relevant pages. Skimming, she nods absently. She taps the page and shows it to the others: it seems there is a phial that contains the memories. And Jacobs soon produces said phial from a cord around his neck.
He hesitates, looking at the three and looking… quite unhappy about the whole thing. But, perhaps it is the threat of jail (or whatever else he is deeply dreading Conrad will do to him at this point) that has him dropping it to the floor and stomping on it.
As the glass shatters, motes of light come forth and begin to flicker off in several directions, zipping their way off to different corners of campus (and likely the city for those students living off-campus). His shoulders slump, but he soon holds out his phone a moment later to Darrow, “I… can I get your number then? So you can help me get my music out there?”
And so Darrow and Conrad have effectively adopted themselves an aspiring musician who, they will later find, isn’t *terrible*… but certainly in need of, yes, plenty of practice.