Babbage sits back in his chair. "Oh it wouldn't bother me at all if you talked with him. He's in the common area (not his room) after all. I'll have Sann--he's our cook--send you up something extra with your next meal."
((OOC: It was something I failed to edit from when I switched from having a viper familiar. I have fixed it now and will also fix the gold as of this post. Sorry about that.))
Takuzei nods and says, "Well, I would offer my help if a fight did breakout, but I am afraid today I would do more harm than good. Most days my magics would not cause any long term damage, but today I had plans that required more aggressive spells. All, I can really offer is to talk to him and hope that he will travel with me through the city getting him out and away from the possible confrontation, but it would also risk me being a bother to one of your guests." He was sincere in his offer to attempt to get Auril out and about, though it was in part for more selfish reasons. He wanted to talk to him and see what information they could share. A person bribing their potential mentor would be a threat to both and if this person was enough of a concern to take up a fight against people based solely on race, it was likely truer threats would evoke the same reaction. Even if he was not going for the same job he might be willing to join in the hope of gaining a shot at it.
Babbage sits back in his chair. "Oh it wouldn't bother me at all if you talked with him. He's in the common area (not his room) after all. I'll have Sann--he's our cook--send you up something extra with your next meal."
He gave a small bow and walked toward the common room. He took as seat on the couch as well making sure to not sit uncomfortably near to the man. He looked over at the book to see if he recognize the tittle. He also looked over the man to get a better impression of him. He was not going to say anything just yet because while asking "How much does a polar bear weigh?" was enough to break the ice not everyone would respond well to it. If he could stick to something that was relatively on topic he was much more likely to be received well. He would find some way to strike up a conversation even if he had to resort to pick up lines.
"Auril" is dressed in white robe trimmed with blue, the cuts and folds of which are noticeably different from the current style in Ebernath. His face is angular with prominent cheekbones, and his blue eyes are surprisingly deep. Propped against the armrest of the sofa is a simple wooden quarterstaff.
He appears to be reading from a spellbook, though the glyphs appear unfamiliar to you. He notices you but ignores you for several seconds while he reaches the end of a paragraph. Then he closes the book with his left hand and extends his right to you.
"Good day, I'm Auril."
His accent betrays the distance he's traveled.
Takuzei smiles and says, "Good day. I am Takuzei." returning his greeting and taking the mans hand. It occurred to him for a moment that this would be a perfect opportunity to infect him with a necrotic cyst making him a more viable target for his spells in the future. He then continued, "I was informed that you have been around for quite a while. Presumably looking to be formally trained. I have ventured here for similar reasons." This was a decent start and stopped him from having to resort to more irritating ways of doing it.
As you grasp Auril's hand, you feel your cyst quiver violently inside you. Once you let go of Auril's hand it continues to shake, though at a reduced rate.
"I am--how you say--pleasured to meet you. You are correct in your information. I am looking for magic education in Ebernath and have been here for two weeks already. Where are you seeking magic education? I had an interview with a famous mage Semndon two days ago but he is interviewing several mages and announcing results tomorrow. If I am not selected I may try to find job and take lessons from the Panthic Order when I can or find another mentor. How about you?"
Auril seems intelligent despite some small grammatical issues with the Anderlar language.
((OOC; I would like to make a spellcraft check to see if I can recognize what spell he cast, if any. I am deferring to you so that if I do not figure something out I will not know if it was due to a bad roll or because there was nothing to see.))
He forced a smile despite the cyst unsettling him and said, "I am going to have an interview with the same person." He laughed a little and said, "So, how did your interview go? I mean, what were your general feelings about it? I would not expect you to give away any information that might give me the upper hand when I go, but I would love hearing how the other candidates are performing. Heck, if you do not mind sharing I would be interested in hearing the details of what you did." He tried to push the fact that this man's touch had unsettled his cyst to the back of his mind but something had to be wrong. Unless this man was spewing healing energies there was no reason it should have been unsettled like that.
Based on your Knowledge (Arcana) and Spellcraft skills, your best guess as to what Auril was doing when you showed up was preparing his spells for the day, not casting anything.
Auril responds: "I thought it went alright. He asked me about my background and goals, about what sort of spells I have experience with--just some background stuff. He told me about his current research goals and some of the stuff he's working on, to see if there was anything of particular interest to me. He quizzed me a bit on magic and had me demonstrate a couple spells to ensure I actually had some talents in magic. Semndon seems like he would be good mentor. He knows much about magic and takes a bit of a different approach with it than what I'm used to. It would be eye-opening to work with him.
I do not know about any other possible apprentices--I have not met any of them. He said he would have decided and posted who he chose to be his apprentice on his door during Midsummer."
DM Note: At this point, I'm planning on playing the presence of Takuzei's Necrotic Cyst as something that has a "mind of its own" and something that Takuzei doesn't fully understand at this point. If you'd prefer to play it as something he fully understands, controls, and simply uses as a tool, we can do that, too, though I thought this may a fun way to play it as well.
((OOC: I am fine with playing it as having a mind of its own and being something he does not fully understand. I still think it would unnerve him to have it react with violent motion to something. I would also assume that he would develop an understanding of its reactions over time based simply on trial and error. His assumption that healing energies would make the cyst react poorly could simply be based on the fact that it is connected to the undead who also react poorly to those energies. His understanding might extend further than that, but I figure at the very least he knows all the effects of the spells it currently grants him and therefore its connection to the undead. Also his belief that there was no other reason evident might speak to how little he knows.))
He nods not really sure what to say in response. His current plan seemed best. He had plenty of research to support him and more spells than most other wizards he knew. His age would also give him an advantage as being capable of such feats at his age would speak of greater talents. He decided the best place to go since he would likely be asked different questions was to simply find out more about Auril and see if he could enlist his help in quickly capturing a rat so that he could sleep and prepare his spells again in time to get an interview. To that end his said, "So, what kind of spells do you favor and what are your plans for today?" It was not the most subtle way to go about it, but it would get them moving in the right direction.
"I have learned almost all my magic from a book that was my great-grandfather's. No one else in my family has been interested in magic, and all the magic from my homeland is not the kind one learns from books. My great-grandfather's book focuses on magics to aid others on battlefields and other defensive spells. So, I suppose these are the spells I favor but I am also open to other types as well, however my experience with these is limited and that's one of the reasons I made the journey to Ebernath.
I do not have much on my agenda today. I am awaiting the decision on Semndon's apprenticeship before I apply elsewhere."
As Auril speaks you notice a man in crimson robes embroidered with gold and black descending the north-eastern staircase. His build is slight, and he wears his black hair tied behind him in a ponytail. From atop his head, two small horns protrude from his skull just below his hairline. He carries a rectangular case under his left arm, and pays you no attention as he walks towards the front of the inn, presumably to leave.
You have one round before he will be within Auril's view should you care to do anything to affect the situation such as distract him.
((I figure this is all I could say within 6 seconds and speaking is a free action. Retreiving an item is a move action and I guess I am going to waste my other action.))
Takuzei smiles and says, "Well, at the very least I could offer allow you to look over my spellbook and see if there is anything there that would be of interest to you." While he speaks he pulls out his spell book. It was a plain book covered in white fur from the sheep that they used for everything as its cover was hide. The pages were stained parchment but did not compromise any of the writing inside. It was flimsy like a trade paperback, but it worked. He hoped by keeping his nose buried in a book his attention would be drawn away from the man coming down.
DM Note: Your Bluff (22) beats Auril's Sense Motive (15).
"That is very kind of you." He takes the book and thumbs through it for several seconds while the tiefling exits the inn. "What sort of magic do you study, anyway?" he asks, holding the book open to the Spirit Worm spell but looking at you, not having read it.
((I am assuming that while they do not have schools of magic, using aspects instead, that that does not necessarily mean that they do not have the words to describe particular styles of magic. So, when I use a word that would normally be attributed to a school it is likely I am just using it as a descriptor. Like, necromancy is the assortment of spells that deals with the dead. Oddly not healing, but that is a completely different conversation and as it does not much matter in this setting should not be problematic. Also, I am figuring that while one might not be able to cast a particular spell it does not mean that it is not part of their on going research. So, while he does not currently know how to animate the dead he could have worked on the spell some.))
He thinks for a moment trying to decide how to spin it to sound better, "I study necromancy and curses. I ply the animating energies of the universe to weaken my opponents or empower the dead to seek vengeance upon those who harmed them. I prefer not to kill those who work against me, instead using magics to insure they learn their lessons. This is also why I pioneered a new way of cursing people. So that they remain physically unharmed, but suffer for their misdeeds. They teach others by their presence and it makes the world a better place." He knew that most considered his crafts evil, but they were justified and for the greater good. He was completely shocked that people could somehow construe one form of bringing the dead back as evil and another as good, but that was the way of things. His way, once he learned it fully, would even make them stronger.
DM Note: Your understanding of the relationship between bonded aspects and traditional D&D schools of magic is correct. Magic is too new for anyone to have made sense of it well enough to divide it into the eight schools of magic. The normal eight schools of magic exist only mechanically and are not necessarily part of the world of Eadar (or at least not yet.) A bonded aspect exists more like a philosophy (or school of thought) for how magic works, how it is powered, and what purpose it serves.
At your description, Auril's expression sours. "I am afraid I am not interested in your sort of magic," he says as he pushes the book towards you. "It is corrupt, and your view of the punishment of others and your "mercy" upon them is horribly skewed. I will take my leave." He rises and begins to walk towards the staircase at A1.
He shook his head thinking to himself that even while one might not like one sort of magic not learning about it was only to ones own detriment. But since he had remained decently polite about it he assumed that Auril was not disturbed enough to consider leaving. And let's face it if one reacted that poorly to the presence of mages that did not appeal to you then he would have left long before now. There had to be other people staying here that had equally odd points of view. He rose as well and said, "I am sorry I could not be of more help to you. I bid you good luck in finding a teacher even if it means I end up having to look for a new one. I hope to see you again someday. Maybe once we have both learned some more we can sit around debating the good and bad of our styles." He kept his tone polite and avoided indicating that he was moderately bothered by his form of magic being called "corrupt".
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