Closed Seeking Sylfrívær II

[Velho]

༺༉❁ April 7th year 124 of the third age ❁༉༻
<notes>

Abraia looked a bit disheveled from the encounter, but that didn't matter– Æhti was just relieved to see that she was unharmed.

"They are! I…honestly, I'd like to explore these caves more, some time. Like, bring appropriate supplies and spend a fair amount of time here– but Velho keeps me so busy," he said with a slight sigh.

"There is a limit, aye. I've, ah…" he thought for a moment. "...four…? More left that I can bind to, though eventually I should be able to push that number a bit farther yet, too. I think the number is similar to Draoidh, but I'm admittedly less knowledgeable about Glamours," he explained.

He had to think for a second about the term she used next, as wasn't an Ensorceller himself– but Velho was, and he recalled the ælf's use of the term Abrogation before. "Abrogations? Like protective enchantments? Yeah, Velho's woven a bunch of those into his house, I think," he said. "If they can protect a building, I'm sure they can protect a person, too– good idea."

"I could help you with that if you're looking for the right, uh…mechanics? Argumentations? For it. Abation can work on multiple targets in a range, it's just Aetherically expensive, so…you might need a heftier amount of Alkahest, but definitely doable."

While he spoke, he had been breaking off a few pieces of the centipede for a total of about a handful of rubies, as Abraia had requested. He slid them into his own rucksack, and then stood up. "Alright, I'll pass off anything else I pick up for you as well on our way out. I…honestly don't like killing things, so I'll just…leave it alone. It'll wake up eventually, in like…a few days, so we'll be long gone by then." He gave her a sheepish sort of smile, knowing that being that soft was a little weird for anyone in Ælheim.

"The sylfrívær is this way, I think," he added, gesturing down a thinner cavern to their left. It was still large enough for them to walk through without being claustrophobic, but smaller than the cave path they'd been walking up until this point. This path, too, was a bit more densely packed with mushrooms.

 

[Abraia]

"A limit, that makes sense when I think about it. I must say that the way you scarfed that down your throat made me think there wasn't such a limit. What possible use could you have for a ruby? It holds no magical properties and you do not strike me as the type to care much about jewelry."

"Yes, you have the right idea. Abation would do marvelously. The cost would be quite extreme but as I've always thought when it comes to ensorcelling, it's better to be poor than dead. I've a single expensive spell in this book and I would not hesitate using it if I felt my life was in danger."

"Ha!!! it can take a nice long nap then."

When they got to the narrow part, there were mushrooms. Abraia did not like eating them and she was definitely not in the mood to try her luck at these ones.

"Anything special about this fungus? I'm half expecting you to say they have rare gems inside after that centipede encounter."

She spotted a brightly colored frog that sat on top of a mushroom. It looked incredibly poisonous but perfectly content with them being there. It hopped away unhurriedly deeper into the narrow space.

 

[Velho]

༺༉❁ April 7th year 124 of the third age ❁༉༻
<notes>

"Fair questions, but ruby is actually an incredibly hard, durable mineral– making improvised weapons out of it is quite a bit more useful than you might think. Most people just don't use gemstones for such large implements because it's inconvenient, but with Terra? Easy. That, and I just…like it, I suppose," he said with a wan smile– it was in part because, yes, it was functional, but the other part was quite literally just: it's pretty, and part of his lizard brain liked shiny things.

Regarding what she'd said about Abation and Ensorcelling, "...you've certainly a point there. In dire straits, I'll throw myself into Mageburn long before I surrender. It's better to suffer as long as one keeps breathing, I think," he'd say.

He chuckled at her comment regarding the centipede's 'nap.' "Aye, it can. The gem creatures don't have a lot of natural predators, either…on account of the fact that such things aren't very, uh…nutritious. Should be largely left alone."

And as they went along, Abraia asked about the mushrooms. "Mushrooms are a bit…beyond my scope," he said. "It's really hard to tell if they're benign or not, though, so I'd just recommend against touching them, if possible. The more colorful ones usually do something if eaten, contact with skin, so forth– even just inhaling the spores, sometimes," he explained, watching as the colorful frog hopped away.

They continued on this path for another several minutes before Æhti stopped, "...here, hold on," he'd say.

And like before, he planted his feet firmly in the ground and placed his hands against the wall, muttering a few words of an incantation. The wall before him split open, the crevasse gradually deepening as his magic wended through the stone. If Abraia peered within, she wouldn't see much; the sylfrívær was nestled within a geode, bland on the outside. And, volatile as it was, he wasn't going to disturb it quite yet.

First, he would clear the myrksteinn away from the geode to loosen it, then he'd retract it from the wall, drawing it to his hands. This geode was quite small, barely taking up much space in his palm– probably the size of a walnut. For standard spelunkers, this would be disappointing, but for a Terrari intending to assimilate with it? It was easier to eat when it was smaller; this was ideal. And so he would pop it into his mouth as if it were a berry or the like, though he didn't chew it, rather, he just swallowed it as it was, bearing with the discomfort until his magic burned the mineral away.

"Gods, I'll never get used to that feeling," he said, shaking his head.

"Well, mission accomplished– but I'm not against gathering some other materials, if you'd like. Uh…what else did you say you were interested in…?" He asked, wanting to double check if he remembered the correct things.

 

[Abraia]

Abraia put her coat sleeve to her nose to make sure she did not inhale anything bad from the mushrooms. Not too long later the terrari found the rock he had come here for and then he ate it. Being able to push through rock made the process simple and quick. Abraia thought that a miner would take weeks or months to dig through that much rock.

"Mission accomplished, indeed. Gold and gemstones are what I came for and we have plenty of that. It sounds like with your ability, we have infinite gemstones, actually. I would say that we have concluded our business here. We can leave and along the way you can describe to me this weapon you wish me to make. How big, long, etc. What you want it to look like, everything. Afterwards we can discuss payment. I will be in need of some good material and I am sure I can find some use for that volatile rock you worked so hard to get."

 

[Velho]

༺༉❁ April 7th year 124 of the third age ❁༉༻
<notes>

"You sure? There's plenty of other colors of gem we might find down here, but, aye, if you'd rather not spend any additional time in the caverns, I get it." Well, he didn't, but he did understand that most people wouldn't actually want to spend any more time than necessary down here.

And so he would, at that point, turn around, leading the two of them back from whence they came.

"I'd like a large mace, something I'd wield with two hands. Probably with a steel sort of handle, and ruby as the head. I'll make you the ruby large enough for that," he said with a short chuckle.

"I don't mind something heavy, so I'll take a weapon that's almost as large as I am, if possible," he continued.

And as they walked, they came across a ledge they'd walked by earlier. It wasn't particularly precarious, but it gave an interesting opportunity. "The sylfrívær can be really useful. You said you had something called Crest? Isn't that one, uh…" he had to think about it for a moment. "Aeris?"

"You can imbue the sylfrívær with that, look," he'd say as he conjured a small, fist sized, opalescent gemstone in his palm– a variety of chromatic colors appeared to bleed across the surface. And then, it would glow as he infused it with Aeris. Next, Æhti lifted his arm and threw the stone with a hard, overhead throw– it sailed over the ledge and hit the ground at the bottom, where a powerful vortex sucked in all the mushrooms and loose stone in the area in an instant.

"I'm happy to make you some, if you'd like. I don't recommend infusing them with any Metaphor until you're ready to use it, though, as that's what'll make the stone extremely volatile," he explained. "If you were careful enough, you could carry around armed sylfrívær– it's just that I would never recommend doing that unless you've found a way to immunize yourself to the Metaphor in question."

 

[Abraia]

"I am quite sure. If you give me some rubies I can make them appear to be emeralds or even diamonds. I could even make them look like sylfrivaer once I study it a little. Crest is funny like that. Besides, I am still shaken by the centipede and have far too much to live for to die in a cave. I feel inadquate to continue. Next time I will bring added protections."

She felt like she was cutting the trip short, but they'd gotten what they came for. She did not see them coming across an even more useful material. Moving on, Abraia did not see why anyone would care to use ruby of all things even with Aehti's explanation. She did not question it, however. Surely he knew more about gemstones than she. A mace was something that could have literally anything at the top so long as it was heavy. A big ass ruby fit the bill.

"I will make your mace," she said while already planning what kinds of effects she wanted to add to it. Some she would run by him, others she would rather ask forgiveness than permission. She found it hard for an average customer to understand the breadth of customization options available. It was hard to convince someone that a wooden stick could be made to look like a staff fit for royalty.

"What of the appearance? I could stick a ruby on top of a metal rod but do you not want it to look differently? Or do you want simple, unassuming aesthetics like your armor?"

When the fancy rock demonstration started, Abraia was taken aback. That much power all from that tiny rock. Correction: the power came from the weilder but the rock enabled it.

"That does look incredibly useful. Crest is wonderful. It can let me change the appearance of myself and things I make. I can even do THIS but none of this actually makes things stronger or gives any sort of advantage."

When she said "THIS" she started twirling between steps. If Aehti wanted to move forwards then he would also have to start twirling between steps. Even a lizard on the ground in front of them spun in circles every so often. The effect would not last long as it was only a demonstration.

"If I carried some around with me I could actually be useful in a fight without burning through alkahest. The downside is that I have to rely on you to get more of it. I am sure if I had to buy a rock like this on the open market that my funds would be better put towards aklahest."

 

[Velho]

༺༉❁ April 7th year 124 of the third age ❁༉༻
<notes>

Æhti eyed Abraia curiously when she spoke of Crest; he only knew vague concepts of what it could potentially do. "That so? Fascinating– I wonder if there's any way to tell the difference once you alter something like that other than, I suppose, going out of your way to test the hardness of the stone," he replied. He also wondered if anyone would actually care to do that, though he knew some people could be oddly particular about things being 'genuine.'

"Thank you," he'd say when she agreed to the craft. "I kind of don't mind the weapon itself being loud, to be honest. Don't disguise the crystal, but you can use your artistic taste on the rest of it. You've likely better taste in that regard than I do," he said with a soft laugh.

And after Æhti had demonstrated the power sylfrívær could contain, Abraia responded with both enthusiasm and a demonstration of her own. At first, the Galsterei was a bit confused, but then when he tried to move, he felt as if he couldn't unless he mirrored what she was doing. He took a few steps like that before stopping again, feeling like he looked ridiculous.

"I…what?" He sounded confused. "That's a fascinating trick," the mage chuckled. "The advantage in a fight, I suppose, would be confusing your opponent– never underestimate how useful that can be. A few seconds of wasted time can spell victory for you," he added.

And it was true– causing somebody to lose their train of thought could easily give one enough time to drive a blade through the ribs or crack a hammer to the skull.

"Yeah, unfortunately we don't quite live too close to one another, but any time I meet up with you or Cælum I can hand some off, right? He'd give 'em to you if I gave 'em to him?" The suggestion made sense to him provided Cælum wouldn't hoard the rocks for himself or the like, though he didn't think the dragon would need them more than Abraia.

And by now, they'd started walking again. Before long, they'd find their way back to the sprawling, darklit city Sværlys. "Have you your own back home? If not, I can have the Exodii I'll be paying make a portal for you, as well," he'd ask.

If she accepted, he'd do just that– it was Velho's money, after all; no inconvenience to him.

 

[Abraia]

The walk back was full of talking. It was uneventful but it was better than being attacked.

"I have not looked into it but a talisman might be able to revert changes. Testing is what I assume people would do if they were suspicious. Seeing if a ruby tip chips when you strike it would be a good judge of its quality."

"That's some good advice. I will try it out next time, but with you being the muscle I fear it might confuse you as well."

"That will work, and he would have no problem with giving them to me. I doubt he has any use for them. His metaphor is saol which I'm guessing would heal and he has plenty of reserves for that. This rock is much better in my hands."

When they got to the city, Abraia said "I wouldn't say no to a free portal. What were your plans for giving me the materials to make your mace? I don't think I can carry all the metal and ruby necessary. Do you think you could make a trip to my shop? Else you could have the materials delivered."

 

[Velho]

༺༉❁ April 7th year 124 of the third age ❁༉༻
<notes>

Æhti eyed Abraia curiously when she spoke of Crest; he only knew vague concepts of what it could potentially do. "Oh, yeah, a Talisman targeting Crest's Metaphor might be able to dispel it if its equal in potency, I suppose," he replied thoughtfully. "Ensorcelling is a bit beyond me at the moment– Velho has tried to teach me a bit but I haven't gotten very far."

About using Crest in combat, "...true, but at least I know you have Crest and would therefore have some awareness its a possibility. The opponent would be fully caught of guard, so it'd still be worth using in a pinch."

About Cælum, Æhti would nod. "Good, glad to hear he wouldn't squirrel them away for himself or sommat."

Once they'd arrived in the city, and Æhti offered to pay for her way home, she reminded him that he still needed to actually make the ruby for her to use. "Oh, yeah, we can just both go back to your shop, then, and I can find my way back to Hespæria from there– I've made that journey enough times that it's not much an inconvenience."

That agreement having been made, Æhti would coordinate with one of Sværlys' for hire Exodii to teleport them near enough to Abraia's storefront, where he'd then make the requested ruby before being on his way again.

 

[Vicissitude]

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Æhti (Velho)

+18 XP (~1,800 WC)

Abraia

+10 XP (~1,000 WC)

Æhti will make however many rocks she wants within reason for his spell reserves at a time; the wind effect would definitely be helpful for Abraia, I think.​

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