Porthca Landing III: Burned Bridges & Broken Chains

Status
Not open for further replies.
Reader mode
For the first time in several days, Virra truly paid attention to the conversation as it unfolded, hardly blinking while Niradnam spoke. "Professor Curveous O'Kill? Duly noted," she said mildly, then shifted away to perch on the edge of the seat next to where the wizard-mystic lay, giving him a tiny bit of space. "Yeah, those monsters don't sound connected at all. They're just... monsters." She bit her lip in irritation. "Y'know, I was kinda looking forward to giving up the "private investigator" bit. Whoever decided to screw up my commute is gonna get it," she grumbled.

Rin's passing compliment helped Virra feel a bit better, but her expression only really began to brighten as Ander and Terminus declared their willingness to help. Then her eyes grew wide, and she waved her hands urgently. "No, no, no. I mean... yeah, great, but no. We can't just go back up to there and volunteer to help, or else they'll know Niradnam talked. So we can't just start throwing truth spells around either." She let out a sigh and scooted closer to Niradnam's head again. "So, where does that leave us?" she asked aloud, glancing at the disguised wizard in the hope that he might offer some help. "The Gate didn't find anything weird, the monsters show up in random places, and the only thing we have to go on is that they only show up at night. So... we're looking for a student vampire, then?" she shrugged, not quite able to make herself laugh.
 
"What if we asssk if there is anything we can do or help with to gain accesss to leave through a circle? Do you think this would be too ssspecific?"
 
Mid-Morning of the Twenty-Eighth Day | Azarad | The Ancient Star:

Egnaro still rested on the table, curled around the dark egg Niradnam had carried earlier. Opening one of his eyes at the large cat's attempts, his ear flicked in response, unsure what the panther really wanted. Niradnam watched the conversation go back and forth, still rubbing his brow occasionally. "Virra's right -- if a group of people suddenly walk up to the doors and demand to help, and start listing specifics, then that just points at me being the one to talk, especially considering I was listed as leaving campus with you all." Running a finger along his braid the scholar thought, "But ... hm. I doubt we're looking for a vampire," he chuckled, "and I don't think pestering them will let on too much that I spoke, especially if you all mentioned you were trying to teleport elsewhere to begin with ..."

Silent for a moment he began again, "However ... there are a few of us here at least with pins from Azarad -- Lord Tyrius, Lady Eliza, and from the sounds of it, Lady Valerie was supposed to be a student here at one point. The Riteghast family can hold a lot of sway with its name, and I have no doubt the university would love to say they have one studying here."

Lestone shifted in his seat, almost protectively next to Valerie, "What are you getting at?"

Setting his cup down, Niradnam continued, "I'm trying to say Valerie might be able to get in if they know she's here, instead of being shooed away. Maybe she can even convince them to allow her an ... escort of some sort from her family, which maybe could be you, or Lord Ander, or someone else, I don't know, but it'd be better than everyone being stuck outside. Obviously Rinmerrion and I have to head back or we'll get Hunters coming to find us, but the prior students might be allowed in." Tapping the delicate teacup with a finger, "In a way you have a solid alibi -- considering you came from a teleportation circle, the Gate didn't register you entering or leaving since whenever you were last here, so at least for this situation I doubt they'd have an easy time trying to pin suspicion on you."

Gesturing to the rest of the party, "Ultimately some of you are going to be stuck outside ... maybe use that time to investigate from the other side of the walls? Maybe someone in a shady alley is trying to sell a tool or item that lets students sneak around outside curfew and it's being abused for more than just tavern runs? Azarad is unfortunately known for its ... questionable magic items."
 
Rubbing her hands together in excitement "Right so the way a Zone of Truth works Ty, it anyone in the "Zone" has to tell the truth. They can't explicitly lie, they can be duplicitous jerks, but can't outright lie. I will also know if the spell effects them or not." The finger quotes around zone made part of her happy.

It seemed the group was going to be split up once again, "It would seem prudent to have either myself or this big chunk of man meat" she thumb toward Ander "With either group. with both of us being able to cast a zone, it should make interrogation much easier." There was a mischievous glint in her eye as she said interrogation, quite possibly unnoticed by some, but certainly the more perceptive saw it.
 
Oh boy, more legwork. If she were honest, Virra would have admitted that an opportunity to go looking for trouble in the city of magic was very attractive in itself, but she hated mingling work with pleasure. It reminded her of the rumour hunt she had gone on with Cate and Winston and how it had all been made redundant in the end. Not that it hadn't been fun while it lasted, of course. Maybe she'd have more luck this time around...?

When Magnolia spoke up, she shook her head. "Sorry Mags, but I dunno if either of you are gonna be allowed to stick around with the wizards," she said. "Sounds to me like it's gonna be Niradnam, Eliza, Ty, Val and Rin on the inside, and me, you, Ander, Lestone and Terminus on the outside." She gave the ancient man an apologetic glance, figuring he'd prefer to stick close to Valerie. But she figured his presence would provoke some awkward questions from the faculty, and having five people in each group felt nice and neat to her anyway.

Then something occurred to her. Did it really have to be just five people on the inside? If they were desperate, maybe they could get some help from... Virra's expression darkening for just a moment. No, that idea was stupid. They could make do with what they already had.

Inviting Rowanne along would create way more problems than it solved.

With that asinine idea wiped clean from her mind, Virra sat forward again. "We can put a pin in that Zone stuff until we have someone who needs interrogating. D'you guys feel up to investigating your old stomping grounds?" she asked, looking at Ty and Eliza.
 
Tyrius looked towards Virra with a grin, "You kidding? It's an opportunity to both do something constructive for Azarad and raid their library at the same time." The red head was never one to pass up the opportunity to hit up a library and he wasn't about to break the habit of a lifetime right then are there. Especially considering that the library had to have books on wyverns somewhere.

Tyrius nodded to Magnolia as he reached for a piece of bread and started chewing on it. Once it was gone, he turned to Niradnam, "Is there anyone inside the university we could trust implicitly?" Then, looking to Rin, Tyrius added, "How'd you feel about having two ex students following you around campus, Ms Rinmerrion?"
 
Rin points to Terminus with a big grin on her face. "Extra pastries for you! That is a superb idea." She settles down with her tea and pastries and listens to the others make a very sensible sounding plan. She can tell that they are used to working together and, as she sips lightly at her mug, she smiles warmly to herself with the similarities that this bore to a family working together. As they all talk she quietly busies herself making sure everyone has something or four on their plate and their mugs are topped up, sometimes gently brushing crumbs off someone's front and cleaning up plates and stacking them to one side as they are done with.

Eventually she stops fussing about and speaks up, finding the lull in conversation when Tyrius asks her a question. "I think this is a wonderful idea that you have all thought of. Being able to investigate two areas at once will certain speed up your chance of finding something useful. My, you do all make a wonderful team." She looks to Virra and gives her a sad but understanding nod. "It is a real shame you won't be joining us in the university Virra darling. That place needs more gnome brilliance instead of stodgy wizards. Have you had enough pastries dear?" She gives a sly grin to Niradnam as she speaks, sliding over another plate of the sweet treats towards the other gnome absentmindedly.

The elderly gnome leans over and pats Tyrius on the forearm as he speaks, giving him a motherly smile. "It would be a delight to have you accompany me, such a brave and strong lad will be sure to keep me safe even against horrible beasts. I'm a little surprised you would want someone so old and doddery following you around in your escapades." She nudges Niradnam lightly and grins. "I'm sure little Nirry can attest to the fact that I am merely a slow and quiet old gnome just looking for a relaxing time." She laughs out loud and nods heartily. "It will be a wondrous adventure I am sure of it. Also..." She pauses for a moment and taps her top lip. "If you need anyone to get around unseen, I do have a small talent for transforming into animals."
 
Terminus listens to the discussion, "I have never had to leverage magical meansss to get anssswersss to my quessstionsss..." turning to Abrahms, who with a strange toothy smile lifts up her front paw and deploys her claws, "while not as clean asss other methodsss, it has worked in the passst. That sssaid, I'd rather not ussse it if we do not have to asss thisss isss usssually bessst leveraged on thossse that dessserve it." As Terminus finishes, Abrahms retracts her claws and puts the paw back on the floor, and goes back to watching the discussion. Her ears do perk up with the mention of a talent for transforming into animals, as that may mean playmates!
 
Virra gave the grinning sorcerer a thumbs-up. "Perfect! In that case, we'll leave that side to you and meet up at some point later -- whenever you can get out of the university without raising the alarm, I guess." She was about to ask Niradnam when that was likely to be, but didn't quite manage to get the words out before Rin offered her a plate full of pastries. She hesitated. "Well..." she said, a slow smile spreading over her face as she pulled the plate closer. "Oh, all right. I did lose a lot of weight while we were on the road. Everyone's said so." As the older gnome kept talking, Virra began to regret taking such a large bite of her first pecan swirl; she was forced to swallow it all in one gulp before she could blurt out, "Transforming into animals. That's --" She coughed. "--Awesome."

Terminus's offer of assistance with interrogation got less of an enthusiastic response. "Yeeeeah, maybe hold off on the kitty claws," she agreed, waving her half-eaten pastry in the panther's direction. "The law enforecement around here sound like a bunch of tight-butts. Don't want 'em getting all up in arms while we're trying to investigate."
 
Tyrius wasn't sure how to respond to Rin's praise so for the moment he stayed silent. He'd never thought of himself as 'strong' in terms of physical strength - especially after travelling with Ander. Still, it seemed that Rin was impressed with them, though Tyrius had a niggling bit of doubt that she'd be so impressed if she learned what they got up to in The Thief's hoard cave.

With The Thief somewhat in his mind, Tyrius tried to keep up with the conversation as best as he could. It seemed Rin had her own hidden talents and Terminus' bond with Abrahms seemed to make them a good team on their own. Though he was much happier the panther was on their side with the claws as opposed to against them. Once again Tyrius' mind drifted to the wyverns, wondering if they'd have such a bond with those that had adopted them.

"How're we going to co-ordinate between the two groups?" asked Tyrius, though he had a suspicion as a graduate he'd be allowed to come and go as he pleased, that also meant he'd be noticed going in an out and questions could arise as to what exactly he was doing.
 
Valerie watched in concern as Niradnam seemed to be suffering from some sort of spell, but luckily it was quickly dealt with. Listening to the frightful circumstances occurring in the magical city, the young warlock was barely able to enjoy her latte. Magical monsters attacking the city? How can it be that a school as powerful as Azarad is incapable of protecting itself from this threat?

The situation was definitely worrying. More worrying, however, was Niradnam’s suggestion of her speaking with officials at the school. It was true that talking her way back in to the school would not be much of an issue at all, but Valerie was unsure what sort of news might reach the Capital from here. Still... it would be interesting for sure to hear who if anyone might have inquired after her.

Valerie frowned slightly despite herself before nodding. “Talking my way into the school should not be an issue. Diplomacy is a talent that I have quite the natural affinity for, which is also a reason that it is perhaps for the best that I work within the school. I also believe that I am an excellent judge of character.” She looked over to Lestone as he seemed to be growing concerned and offered him a reassuring smile. “Do not worry, I will be fine Lestone. I will be with Mr. Niradnam and Mrs. Rinmerrion and the others, as well as your mother. We will take care of each other.”

Valerie has no answer as to how to keep in communication with each other. Thinking to herself briefly, she asked Lestone questioningly. “Pardon me if this is a personal question, but how does the bond between you and the Tempest work? Would it be possible for her to communicate messages to you if I asked her?” She then looked over towards Niradnam as another thought struck her and pet the bird on her chair. “Mr. Niradnam, will Wayne Junior be permitted within the gates or should I perhaps leave him with the others? He gets so frightfully upset when we are separated.” There was little in the bird’s expression to confirm that statement, although he did nuzzle the young noble’s hand.
 
Eliza had waved goodbye to Cate joining the group for their final celebratory night at Porthca. Getting teary eyed, she blushed and glanced gratefully at every member of their scruffy group, old and new, her heart swelling to twice its size. Their little gang had accomplished so much in so little time and now they were putting aside the time to come to her aid. The thought of her parents stuck in a cave somewhere dampened her mood and she found herself joining in the conversation less and less as the worry took a wretched hold of her mind.

Unwilling to bring down the party mood with her misery, she set down her drink and waved a not-so-breezy goodbye rushing back to her room and tried to squeeze in some last minute work before traveling to Azarad the next day. The thought made her skin crawl but she focused on one problem at a time.

Setting down her now overflowing bag, she rummaged through the new scrolls till she got hold of her new message scroll and set about transcribing it. The sooner she personally her her parents' voice, the sooner she would calm down.

Eliza scribbled away, the sound of her scratching quill only pausing at times as her head nodded forward before jerking back and continuing throughout the night. Yawning, she welcomed the dawn and lifted her now complete spell triumphantly in the air.

She tried to rub away some of the exhaustion from her droopy eyes as she stared at her first major completed spell outside of the great hallowed halls of Azarad. She snorted and stuffed back the scrolls (everything else) into her bag and spent a solid five minutes struggling with the clasp before calling it quits.

With a sweaty grasp, she felt thankful for her green skin as she followed the group back to Master Accmour to their doom. She swallowed down some bile and closed her eyes bracing for the impact as a blurry moment later she stumbled into Azarad once more.

Fretfully looking all over, she spotted the wizards with a clenched chest. She took a few steps back bumping into Ander as she felt her heart rip into shreds, her worst fears confirmed. "We can't be stuck here," She breathed out softly, "I need to be somewhere else..."

She stepped beside Virra as the group followed Tyrius to the library, and shrugged. "I...I am sorry you are stuck here too." She whispered fearfully, "Can you still...you know...here?" She waved her hands around trying to not talk about her psionic powers out loud. She stopped short with a smirk as she heard Tyrius' exclamation. Oh, Virra should be fine then, she decided.

If anything, she almost felt bad for him now, she thought snickering. He had absolutely no idea what he was getting into.

The old wizened gnome beside him caught her attention though, she didn't remember seeing her around and wondered if she was a new professor. She tried to surreptitiously search for a pin among her robes.

"Hello, Niradnam. How's your studies been?" She stared at the scholar as he blistered from the elderly gnome's comment and tried to hide her smile. "What's the hairy business stirring up Azarad now?"

She nods as the gnome introduces herself, "That sounds quite lovely, " she remarks to the old woman with a polite curtsy, "Have you been here long then? I hope you are finding Azarad agreeable." She can't help but give Rin a sad grin. She always had a soft spot for old gnomes.

The 'Ex student' remark felt like a cold slap back to reality. "Oh, yeah..." she huffed grumpily and trailed the group. "That was quite unnecessary." She grumbled as bright blue sparks flickered from the end of her hair.

She rolled her eyes at the display remembering the ley lines and tried to calm down before she set anything on fire as she trodded on towards the pub. She squinted suspiciously at the dragonborn waitress, unwilling to let her guard down in this hostile place.

"I will have a black coffee." she ordered with a stubborn frown deciding not too have anymore fun till she was free again.

The wizard gasped as Niradnam mentioned the spell, "They wouldn't!" She exclaimed, "Oh, Niradnam, that sounds awful!" Her lips curled in disgust as he mentioned Professor Oqill and snorted again.

Still, she couldn't help admitting the sound of yet another mystery intrigued her. And if they were able to solve a mystery that the great mages of Azarad couldn't...well, it would do not to get ahead of herself now.

She shifted uncomfortably and shook her head at Niradnam's suggestion, "It is best I stay out of the university. I don't think this has as much weight as you claim." She showed her empty pin before stowing it back into the deepest pocket of her coat. Even the mention of the giant library didn't cheer her up.

"What happened when the monsters were attacked? Did they leave behind bodies or...?" She wondered aloud as she sipped her steaming coffee and mulled over the details.
 
Mid-Morning of the Twenty-Eighth Day | Azarad | The Ancient Star:

Still not sold on the idea of splitting, Lestone turned to Valerie at her questions, "Were she stronger, perhaps, but as weakened as she is, I doubt it would work." He scratched his head, "Just ... still a little anxious, I suppose. It's been a short while since everything happened, I guess I feel more myself around you and the ring, or it's easier to ... forget I suppose, pretend it was just a bad dream."

Niradnam looked confused at Ty's question. "Does no one in your group know the spell Sending? Such a common utility spell, I would have thought at least someone had access to it ... if not then perhaps we can still figure out something else. As for someone to trust ..." He smirked, "I like to think you can trust me, but I understand what you're getting at. If you can convince him you truly mean to help, perhaps Professor Oqill. Gods know he could be a lot harsher to me but for the most part I believe he means well." At Valerie's question of the hawk, "Well, normally the only animals allowed in are familiars. If you truly wish him to come along, perhaps you could claim him as such? The ritual is simple enough, I don't think it would be too strange if it were one you claimed to learn in the meantime."

Finally he nodded towards Eliza, "The bodies were left behind -- as far as the professors can tell, these are normal creatures being brought onto campus. They attacked and fought back when the professors and a few of my fellow students tried to keep things under control." Niradnam picked at his hand for a moment, "I'm ... fairly trained in healing wounds, so they appreciated that I could fix most injuries without needing to involve the clerics or medics." Glancing where she'd stowed the pin he shrugged, "Mine's not filled in either, practically all the students on campus don't have any of the schools lit up. If it makes you feel better, I know you've got far more experience than most of the people wandering campus, pin or not. At the end of the day it can just be a way into the university instead of being locked out. Ultimately if you still don't want to go in, not going to force you."
 
It did not take much to make Valerie cave, let alone hearing that the poor formerly enslaved elemental man felt more comfortable around her than without. She nodded to him her understanding. “Alright, very well then.” She looked towards the others, primarily Virra, and gave an apologetic smile. “I am sorry, but it seems that Lestone and I may be better off together than apart. I hope that it does not offset any plans of yours, but given his recent circumstances I believe it may be for the best.”

Valerie then looked back to Lestone, glancing him up and down briefly before shrugging. “I will just tell them that you are here representing the interests of the Rhitegast family to ensure that I remain at my studies. Hmm...” She frowned slightly. “I will likely have to act rather cold towards you if we utilize that narrative. Still, I doubt they would be so bold as to question the word of a Rhitegast.”

Looking over to Niradnam as he discussed the possibility of sneaking Wayne Junior in by saying he was a familiar, Valerie nodded. “He is certainly well-trained enough to act as one, although perhaps not as expressive as dear Faust is. I believe it may be worth attempting... it may be difficult to convince them with my complete and utter lack of knowledge of wizardry, however. I do hope that they take me at my word, although perhaps the ring will serve as enough of an explanation?” To be honest, Valerie was not sure whether to say anything at all about the ring or not. It sounded like certain sorts of magic were frowned on by the school, and ancient forgotten pacts with powerful elementals likely fell into that category.
 
Tyrius gave a smile as Niradnam smirked towards him. "Of course we trust you," said the red head jubilantly. He remembered the way Rowanne had snapped at Niradnam when they had last seen him, though Tyrius had a lot of sypmapthy for how Niradnam had felt he had to hide his ancestry. "Professor Oqill," repeated Tyrius, trying to fix the name in his mind.

A thought occurred to Tyrius at the mention of familiars, and it had to do with the wyverns. "Um, Niradnam, how much does the university know about the wyvern nest?" asked Tyrius, a slight pang of guilt coming to mind as he remembered he was the primary cause of Bookwyrm's abandoned siblings getting crushed to death.
 
As Valerie turned her way to apologise, Virra shook her head. "That'thh..." she began, releasing a light shower of pecan crumbs before swallowing hard and having just enough dignity to look embarrassed. "That's okay. It's probably for the best that we get as many of our people inside the University as we can -- so long as you can sell that story about Lestone." She smirked at the thought of Valerie acting cold and stand-offish around the water elemental, then soured when she realised whe wouldn't get to see it.

When Tyrius spoke up, though, he only got a groan. "Aw, c'mon, Ty, you can talk about that while you're heading back to the University," Virra said. "We need to -- hold on." Plucking the last bit of pecan swirl from her plate and gulping it down, she stood from the table with an authoritative motion. "We need to get to work! The sooner we solve this case, the sooner we can get to Chilldrift!" she declared, her eyes straying towards Eliza before she remembered herself and gave Niradnam's arm a tap. "Hey, are you okay to stand?" she asked, more quietly. "Mags can top you up with some more magic before you go, if you want it. Don't want O'Kill getting suspicious with you."
 
Rubbing her hands together to warm them up, "All right Mr handsome Wizard fellow we can set you right as rain if you'd like."
Hey mags you should probably mention their communication problem, considering you have the perfect solution for that.
"Oh we can do periodic check in's if you'd like? It's only 25 words at a time but it should be enough to keep us in touch twice a day, it's a pretty costly spell. The only problem I can see is that we wont be able to get in to help you if things go bad. I mean you have this handsome devil to protect you," she elbowed Ander playfully. "Still I suppose its a risk we will have to take."
 
Eliza groaned without much heart at the young gnome, “Yeah, I know...I know.” She sighed thinking back to the ‘ex-student’ label. She grumbled un-ladylike in gnomish under her breath.

“So we only need to figure out who is in charge of this zoo, right? No more dashing into danger apprehending the ‘Zookeeper’” she flashed quotation marks in the air. “We had enough to do with capitalized entities for now.”
 
Rinmerrion smiles warmly at Virra. “It’s just a little trick dear, nothing to the things I’m sure you and your friends can do.” The elderly gnome chuckles to herself as she listens to the conversations taking place and how everyone was planning things. Hearing Valerie's problems with the hawk she frowns and shakes her head adamantly. “Little one, if they give you a problem about that magnificent animal then they shall have to deal with the vim and fury of a Gnomish grandmother and let me tell you that is no small thing. Bring the sweet thing, I’m sure we will be able to make him comfortable.” She looks to the hawk for a moment and chirps a few sentences to it, even though she knows she won’t understand the reply without magic. “<Don’t you worry, I will make sure both of you stay safe.>”

The old gnome druid’s eyes go a little sad at Eliza’s uncomfortability before getting fiercely protective. She leans over and takes the half-orc’s hand, patting it gently and trying to reassure her. Her voice is quiet but full of determination. “Oh sweetheart, do not let other people make choices on your own future. That ex-student stuff is just a load of paff I’m sure.” She gives Eliza a warm and motherly smile. “You choose for yourself. You are powerful and talented and wonderful to be able to get that pin in the first place, no-one can take that away from you. Not even some silly title. If you want to go into the university with us then do it with your head held high and proud.”

“I’m older than most of the old fuddy duddies in there and their parents and I studied and learned and worked and wrote without any pin. You make your own way in the world and you choose your own path and if anyone tries to stop well…” She pauses flustered for a second before chuckling. “Well I will just have to transform into a dog and bite them on the rump!” The gnome pats Eliza’s hand one more time before giving her another smile and leaning back. “Be who you want to be my dear. Not what box they say you have to fit into.”

Hearing the conversation turn back to the beasts and the attacks the gnome eyes up Niradnam and taps her chin thoughtfully. “Nirry sweetie, were any of the attacks near the gardens or the arbor? Or perhaps an orchard of some sort? To be honest even a pot plant or windowsill vegetable garden would do.” She trails off a little as she starts to ramble before shaking her head and getting back on topic. “Anyway, if it was then plants have memories and they always see more than we give credit for and some of my magic can allow me to talk to them. Not saying we can have a perfect description of someone but it might help right?”
 
Tyrius shrugged a little as Virra groaned at his mention of the wyverns. As it was, Tyrius was still very protective over Bookwyrm. Though he appreciated that the only reason they were sticking around Azarad in the first place was to get to Chilldrift that much faster.

As Rinmerrion spoke up, Tyrius nodded in agreement while stuffing his mouth full of breadstick. Once he'd finished eating breadstick and Rinmerrion had turned to Niradnam, Tyirus spoke up. "Eliza, you've more experience than dozens of actual graduates." commented the redhead, "Imagine what Ben would've been like in that cave. You on the other hand managed to get through it and the wyvern attack and the bandits. Plenty of other people would've frozen up. You're a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for." That said, Tyrius looked to Niradnam, wondering what the scholar was going to say next.
 
Eliza blushed a deeper shade of purple with every word, “Oh, well now...yes...well..” she managed to stammer out before clearing her throat trying to dislodge the rock that was now stuck in her throat.

“Um...I can scan the thoughts of people within 30 feet of me.” she volunteered trying to stir the topic into less awkward territory, “It will be even more effective if some of us could interview some of the students or staff, the suspects as it were, to help drudge up their thoughts about the matter to the surface.” She tapped her head.
 
Mid-Morning of the Twenty-Eighth Day | Azarad | The Ancient Star:

Lestone smiled at Valerie's reply, dipping his head briefly, "If it would help sell the charade, I can try to look like one of the servants your family might have?" He ran a hand across his coat and it shifted colors, "I can do even more than just this if I need to," Lestone offered, giving a sideways glance to Niradnam who was busy looking at the wyvern egg on the table.

"As far as they know, I found an abandoned nest with eggs. I decided to take one to see if it would hatch, there's not much known about wyverns when they're young, meanwhile if it didn't hatch within a year, I would consider it dead and would try to use it as research into how dragons are within their eggs." Niradnam grimaced, "I know it's not pleasant to speak like that, but it's the truth and it will ring true if put under a spell like Magnolia mentioned earlier. I suggest none of you are obvious about your own if you can help it." Glancing down at Virra's arm pat he smiled, "Rinmerrion managed to help a lot -- the rest is the aftermath: a migraine. I can try to deal with it over the day if I can avoid moving too fast," he shot a look at Rin, "bright things and loud noises."

Leaning back on the sofa he stared at the ceiling for a moment, "Hm ... only twice a day ... We've still a few hours before noon, perhaps that should be the first check in, then again in the evening? Should give us a chance to get situated on both sides, then an update after a few hours." Niradnam waved a hand, "Obviously if something happens, an update will be sent sooner." Listening to Eliza and Rin he answered, "Ah ... at least one attack was in the courtyard where some of the decorative gardens are. The place we all met up," he explained to the others. "It was a few nights ago, I'm not entirely sure how long plants ... can remember?"

Hearing Eliza's offer Niradnam sat up a little more, "We can't go asking everyone though! And wording will definitely have to be careful or they'll know someone has spoken out about what happened. If anything it might be better to just ... see what people offer on their own in a sense."
 
Valerie stifled a giggle at Virra's reaction and smiled in response to the psychic gnome's acceptance, giving her a nod. "It should not be difficult. I can be very mean if I have to be." Her expression suddenly went extremely stern and cold and she spoke with a heavy air of snotty authority. "If I ever hear that you were doubting my capabilities again, I will be certain that my Uncle hears of this. He is very important, I will have you know. Who are you again?" She stared at the gnome for a long moment before cracking her smile and the cold charade fell away. "Sorry, I could not resist."

Looking over at Rin as she talked to her, Valerie gave her a warm smile, enjoying the thought of the small gnome arguing with whatever wizards might be giving her trouble. As she began to speak to Wayne Junior however, she watched in wonder. Wayne Junior on his part screeched a response and eyed the small creature with curiosity as well as a hint of doubt. "Mrs. Rinmerrion, that is a very impressive talent. How did you learn to speak bird?" At her further mention of being able to speak with plants, Valerie found herself even more impressed with the older woman. "What a marvelous idea! I am afraid my only skills are with communicating with people, not that they re not interesting in their own right."

Hearing Eliza plan to try to read the minds of the teachers, Valerie paused briefly, trying to recall what she knew about Azarad and it's teachers. "From what I have heard, that would be possible but also very difficult. I would be careful not to be caught casting any spells around any of the school's professors, else they will certainly believe that something is amiss." After a moment, her attention fell on the untouched meal before her and Valerie began to eat, expecting to be leaving fairly soon.

Watching Lestone's coat shift colors, Valerie set down what remained of her chocolate muffin and clapped enthusiastically. "Quite the trick, Lestone! I did not expect you to be skilled in the arcane, other than storm magic of course." She then rubbed her chin and thought to herself, offering a crumb of her muffin to Wayne Junior before responding. "Grandfather was not fond of keeping too large of a staff for just the two of us, only the butler, maid, and cook, who he allowed to wear what they wished. During parties and events he often hired more and had them coordinate their uniforms to theme, but I believe that you would be perfectly well suited in what you are wearing."
 
Rin looks to Niradnam with a disapproving frown. "All that education and yet no-one teaches you about plants? It's no wonder they ask me to come and give talks. Trees live for hundreds of years silly boy, there are plenty even older than I am and yet you are worried plants are like goldfish?" She tuts to herself and fusses over a cup of tea for a moment. "Plants have long memories because the earth remembers just as we remember and we share that knowledge with our children and them with theirs. It is all connected lad, everything is shared together. What is the good of knowing how to bend matter and space to your whim if you have no understanding of the basics of life?"

Taking a sip from her tea she sighs contently before opening up her palm and saying a word in Druidic. An illusionary flower appears above her hand and delicately unfolds its petals, white turning to yellow as, instead of the inside of a flower, there is a golden sun showing instead. Nodding, she closes her hand and taps her chin whilst thinking. "It will be sunny for the next day or so and it hasn't rained since I got here. I will need to stop off on the way back and pick up a watering can. No-one likes to answer questions when they are thirsty but believe me flowers can get a little incessant about it. The fussy little buggers."

The elderly gnome looks across to Valerie and smiles at her comments about the hawk. "Speaking to small animals and birds is something that most Shorian gnomes are born with. It comes from the islands' deep connection with nature. My brother Garfels was always better with birds than me to be honest. I need a little bit of magic to really understand them back. I was much more..." She pauses for a moment as if trying to find the right words. "Adept with plants than animals. That's why he leads the Circle at Trices though and I'm off here, running about and making mischief." Rin grins and chuckles to herself.

Her grin goes from mischievous to nostalgic and she sighs a little to herself. "You would love it there my dear, Trices is such a calm and peaceful place. The gardens of the low homes were always so pretty and the views from the canopy houses are just sublime. I don't visit there enough to be honest after my son moved away from his lessons there." Blinking a few times she pulls herself away from memories and takes another sip of tea. "Still, just a few old tricks and talents. If it can help you all fix your problems then all the better. Maybe afterwards I can translate a few things between you and the cute little guy."
 
Last edited:
Eliza half-snorted, half-giggled at Valerie’s comment. Wiping away a tear, “What are they going to do if they find out? Kick me out?”

Enraptured she nestled her head on her crossed arms as she lay listening to Rin recounting some tales from her old life, “That sounds quite delightful! I think my parents mentioned visiting Trices on their adventures.” She seemed lost in memories for a while and smiled, “I love hearing how differently ‘magic’ manifests itself in different cultures. I am more familiar with the Azarad brand of wizardry so I am always interested in hearing what else the world has to offer.”
 
Reader mode
Status
Not open for further replies.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 3 (members: 0, guests: 3)

Similar threads

Brianne13
ISO of RP Partner
Replies
2
Views
205
Brianne13
Brianne13
Back
Top