Porthca Landing I: Memory of the Sea

Status
Not open for further replies.
Reader mode
Eliza raised an eyebrow in response to Virra’s comment, “No, I haven’t had the pleasure of getting to know mister...?” She looked at the halfling expectantly.

Seeing Ander behave like a lost puppy, she felt sorry for him and tried to mimic placing a tablecloth and using the furthest utensil first.
 
Last edited:
Upon hearing the bell tolling through the house followed by a small knock on the door, Tyrius checked he had his small component pouch hanging off his belt on his right hand side before following the servant who had come to fetch him to dinner. ‘While I’ll leave the weapons behind, I’d feel uncomfortable without my spell components.’ thought Tyrius as he walked down the stairs behind the servant, ‘Though I don’t intend to be casting magic at the dinner table, it’s better to have them and not need them than need them and not have them.’

As he followed the servant to his place at the dining table and was seated, Tyrius said a quick “Good evening,” accompanied by a nod of the head to both Joane and Virra who were sat either side of him. The scent of the roast they were to feast upon filled Tyrius’ nostrils. It smelled pleasant and made Tyrius relaxed. Noticing Anthol trying to catch their attention, Tyrius turned his head so he could give Benito’s father his full attention. Once they started eating, Tyrius heard Virra speaking up. Glancing across the table, Tyrius noticed that Eliza seemed to be miming using a tablecloth and how to start with the utensils. ‘Probably for Ander’s benefit.’ Tyrius thought. His right hand wandered towards his component pouch on his right hip before Tyrius thought better of it, ‘Could message him to try and help out, but Madam Sidwae might notice. It’d be very impolite to start having private magical conversations across the dinner table, not to mention I’ve only just met Ander and don’t know if he’d take kindly to it. Also-’ Tyrius glanced at his right hand as he picked up a knife and started slicing a roast potato, ‘Might not be completely reliable. Last thing I need is to make the situation worse by accidently burning the table or something.’

Instead, Tyrius just waited for the mystery man to introduce himself at Virra and Eliza’s urging.
 
Winston cleaned himself up as best he could, then followed the servant towards the dining area. His eyes were constantly drawn to the many lavish displays of artwork and decoration, knowing full well they would fetch a pretty penny. He was also very aware of the multitudes of servants and guards that scattered the hallway, so Winston kept his head forward and just followed the servant.

Winston wasn’t really surprised to find himself at the end of the table as he had no real connection to this group of people. He recognized a handful of them, having seen them on the streets of Azarad but he did not show any outward recognition. Winston was in the process of spooning as much food onto his plate as he could when he was addressed by the gnome and half orc. Winston grabbed a large hunk of bread and took a large bite out of it, chewing loudly as he responded, “M’Name is Winston, good to meet ya ladies. I’m not exactly a friend of the family, or I probly wouldn’t be stuck at the end of the table. If I’m not mistaken you were almost roadkill earlier this day righ’?” Winston continues to stuff his face with bread, soaking up any gravy or sauce he could find as he replied to the other guests. “And how bout yourselves? What brings you to the De’Porthca manor?”
 
Ander remained quiet, desperate to not embarrass himself, or the young man who had been gracious enough to invite him to this dinner. He saw the lovely green woman beside him gesturing toward him with exaggerated movements, but it took him a few minutes to realise that she was trying to get him to follow her lead. He did everything the half-orc indicated, though the look of panic remained on his face. As dinner progressed, he relaxed slightly and whispered to Eliza beside him, "Thank you."
 
Eliza smiled, “You are quite welcome. I know it looks intimidating at first but I am sure you will get the hang of it soon enough. When in doubt, just do as the host does.”

Looking back at the halfling, Eliza rearranged her expression to be as neutral as she could before answering, “I am here visiting to Benito, we were friends back at Azarad.”
 
Last edited:
Virra watched Winston's plate of food shrink with every passing second, quietly impressed. Clearly she needed to dine with halflings more often. "Also, her name is Eliza," she added helpfully. "I'm Virra Hopalong Nickeltooth, and I'll shake your hand when I can reach. The guy next to me is Tyrius, and the guy next to her is Ander." As she spoke, she indicated each of them in turn with her wine glass before using it to wash down a particularly large forkful of meat. Internally, she resolved to become a noble if she ever retired.

"Personally, I'm here killer-hunting," she cheerfully admitted, eyes turning back to the halfling once more. "But come on, Winston. What's got you at the table? Did a second carriage come along and almost murder you too?"
 
"You had mentioned that big ol' school earlier. What'd y'all learn there?" Ander asked Eliza, genuinely trying to participate in not only the proper way of eating, but as much conversation as he could. He remembered the rambling little monologue that the half-orc had given earlier, and realised that he may have just asked something that might hurt her feelings. Suddenly flustered, he fumbled with his fork, nearly sinking the points into his own leg while trying to catch it.
 
“Well, Azarad is a school that teaches different types of magic. I think they also teach bards and sorcerers but I personally haven’t interacted much or at all with them. I dealt mostly with other wizarding student.

The first couple of years they teach you the basics of magic, how to deal and harness it, how to you it responsibly. Then students can choose a specialty, I chose the school of *Evocation*, that’s mostly to do with working with the elements, fire, cold and such. There are others like *Abjuration* and *Enchantment* too.

Mostly they try to teach the students not to set the school on fire.” Eliza finished smiling.
 
De'Porthca Manor | First Floor: Dining Room

Hearing Benito's comment, Sidewae merely glanced at him over the food on the table before turning to watch Anthol speak. After Anthol sat she moved to help Robern with his meal, trying to encourage him to eat. The rest of you might be surprised at how gentle she becomes, but Benito is used to her having a different attitude when it came to Robern and Joane. Sitting morosely the small boy looks pale and sunken in slightly -- especially compared to Joane : she looks tired as well, but still healthy.

Listening to Benito tell of his time at Azarad, Anthol nods at times while he still eats, however his expression becomes pained for a moment at the small bust that Benito makes in his palm. Briefly he glances towards Sidwae, but she seemed to miss the sight, speaking softly with Robern. He chuckled, "Well, perhaps you can show me at some point. Not for a few days at least, but maybe once things have calmed down a little more."

Placing his utensils down for a moment he gently lifted the crate feeling the weight with a smile, "Hopefully we can manage to get a moment in the study later, discuss things further." He motioned for a servant to approach, handing it off to them. "Please place this in my study for later." Turning back to Benito he smirked, "I think you've got a bit of an audience to your left." Turning to look, Joane is avidly paying attention to Benito's discussion of Azarad -- having attention brought to her she turns back to her plate, idly picking at some of the food before catching Sidwae looking her direction.
 
"Hmm, so you don't just ask your gods to work through you? I'd never even thought of that before." Ander looked genuinely dumbfounded by that realization. "I've seen magic, heck, I've used it on occasion, but it has always been through the grace of Lathander. Those books I had read describing wizards and things, I had always assumed their works were done through the intercession of a god I had not yet heard of." He smiles and seems to relax a bit.
 
Turning to see Joane's interest before she picks at her food, Benito gives her a devilish grins, he turns back to Anthol and remarks quite loudly, to make sure she can hear, "I'm sure the family can support one more member attending Azarad, right?" He then turns back to her, "As you just overheard, I've been away shooting fancy arrows, what have you been up to, Lady Joane?" His tone is respectful and polite, rather than mocking. As he had been told, Sidwae was grooming Joane to follow in her footsteps, so Ben thought it fitting for her to practice polite dinner conversation, like an adult. He glanced at Sidwae, hoping it would be enough to placate her and allow Joane the freedom to share a story. Then looking over Joane to Tyrius and the rest, he smiled, it was nice they were getting to know each other, he longed to be part of that conversation. If he was going to catch his brother's killer, he was going to need help, and Joane, while wonderful, was a bit young to hunt serial killers.
 
Listening as Winston introduced himself, Tyrius sipped at his wine. As Virra introduced him, Tyrius gave a respectful nod of the head towards Winston, not wishing to interrupt Virra as she continued to make introductions. Tyrius smiled as Ander mentioned Azarad. ‘So many happy memories there, would like to go back one day, maybe read from a few more spellbooks in their library.’ A vast structure looking like a temple, the library of Azarad was home to some impressive and rare spellbooks. Tyrius had spent many a weekend browsing its shelves as extra curricular reading. As Eliza mentioned not setting the school roof on fire Tyrius had to suppress the urge to smile. ‘With my magic, I’m lucky I never did that by accident.’ thought Tyrius.

After a brief pause, Tyrius looked over to Eliza, “Funny that you should mention that, I chose Evocation as my speciality too.” said Tyrius with a smile. “What attracted you to specialise in Evocation, Eliza?” Tyrius asked.
 
“Arcane magic, which is what we do, differs from your kind of magic from its origin. We get our magic from the leylines in the earth, and not from gods. The highest concentration of leylines is at Azarad whih is why it was built there. There is so much magic there you can almost feel it in the air.” Eliza finished wistfully.

Turning to Tyrius, she pondered his question for a bit. “If there was the option for it, I would have loved to study pure magic itself both in theory and application but since there wasn’t it was a tough choice. I ended up choosing Evocation because, well, it felt the most magic-y in a sense. You control magic itself to create something like fire, unlike Divination for example where you just use it to see the future.”

Eliza looked over at Benito and made sure he looked fine before asking Tyrius, “What brought you to Azarad too? I would also love to know why you yourself chose Evocation?”
 
De'Porthca Manor | First Floor: Dining Room

Delicately Joane placed her silverware across the plate, sitting straighter in her seat as she prepared to speak, "Why thank you Lord Benito for asking: I have spent my time learning how to be a graceful Hostess like Momm-- er Madame Sidwae, studying literature in the library, and getting fitted for more dresses than I shall ever wear!" She finished with a small laugh before catching Sidwae's eye again over the table.

Joane cleared her throat before continuing, "Recently I have been working through 'Arin's Libram of Astrology', it's very interesting, though I do wish the author didn't go off on so many tangents. When he talks about different clusters of stars, he mentions some of the myths and stories -- recently I got to one based around a bear. I think ... if I remember right, the myth was originally tied to a woman named .. Cali? Ka... Kallisto? The name didn't mean much, but it was interesting all the same, talking about what is actually there and then what people have tied to it..." Realizing she'd been rambling slightly she looked down for a moment.

"Uhm..." she picked up her silverware again, before leaning in closer to Benito, "You think I could manage to go to Azarad...?" Joane lowered her voice conspiratorially, noticing Sidwae's attention was elsewhere for the moment with Anthol, "I've actually been trying to practice the fancy arrows too! Uhm ... but earlier one landed in the roof. Mister Ander helped Tanelye get it down before I got in trouble..."
 
Ben places his silverware down on his plate, leaning over to pick up Joane's and begin cutting a particularly large piece of meat as he spoke to her to avoid Sidwae's suspicions. "I'm sure if you're already doing fancy arrow tricks you'll do even better than me at Azard." He chuckled quietly, "But you've got to be careful. Learn your lady manners and use that to bargain for school when you're older. I'm sure dad'll be glad to send of another kid to graduate. Gods know Rob's not so sharp." He wrinkled his nose and finished cutting the meat, sitting back into his seat and trying to join the conversation at the other end of the table. "You know, Eliza, creation seems pretty generous. Magic is more like borrowing clay and shaping that clay into what you need. And in the case of imbuement, it's even more like taking a thread and weaving it into the metaphysical fabric of whatever you're imbuing. Every imbuer has a Loom, a type of item they use to weave their magic, for me it's bows. For Isotharic probably his cobbler's tool. They don't hold any special power beyond acting as a focus like a more traditional caster might use an amulet, wand, or staff." He smiled, it was nice to share some of what he'd learned, since imbuement wasn't tied to any one school, but a school in its own, his magic was limited, but his knowledge broad.
 
Winston looked at Virra in between mouthfuls as she spoke, and mustered a nod to each of the others as they were introduced. He wiped his mouth with his napkin, swallowing the large wad of food that was only partially chewed in his mouth. "Killer hunting eh? What killer is it that you happen to be hunting? And as for myself, I just returned a package that fell off of Mister Benito's carriage earlier today, and he was kind enough to reward me with a meal."

Winston stopped speaking as the rest of the group continued on talking about the schools in Azarad, and he started to tune them out as the spoke about magics. He remembered as teen, living with Pergil but not really getting involved in the business, speaking to some representatives of the schools. They gave him a multitude of tests to attempt to unlock some hidden arcane power inside him, but nothing worked, he was just not gifted in that way. He did smile grimly as he remembered swiping one of the old wizard's staffs only for Pergil to later inform him that it was simply a walking stick. Having paused in his eating while he reminiced, Winston dove back into his plate ravenously, already piling on seconds of almost everything on the table.
 
Virra cocked her head. "Did no-one tell you?" Plainly surprised, she speared a row of green beans on her fork and swallowed them down before continuing. "Hey, how about we talk after we've eaten? Come find me." It was hardly the satisfying answer she knew Winston was looking for, but openly discussing a murderer at dinner while surrounded by their victim's grieving family seemed a little too crass even for her. As if to make up for it, she began to not-so-subtly compete with Winston's appetite, wolfing down roasted carrots so quickly they barely touched her tongue. By the time she'd finished her plate and was going back for seconds, the conversation had shifted onto matters of magic, and she couldn't resist jumping in.

"So, is it just bows you can put your magic in?" she asked, leaning forward so she could see Benito's face past Tyrius and Joane. "Could you do it with crossbows too? Or the arrows by themselves? Or are you just stuffed if you don't have a regular stick-and-string with you?" She finished off her glass of wine and licked her lips. "Or if we got you a ballista..."
 
Benito smiled, "Just bows, ma'am. Crossbows always feel just a touch too mechanical, every time I've tried. Every Loom produces a Cloth, for someone like me, an Arcane Archer, the imbued arrow is the Cloth, and therefore cannot be the Loom." He took a few bites of food. "Never had the chance to try a ballista, I imagine it's too mechanical similar to a crossbow, but it wouldn't stop me from giving it a go. And don't get the wrong impression, just because I can't imbue bolts doesn't mean I'm not a gifted archer in my own right, runs in my blood." He smiles, a measure of pain in his eyes before turning to his father then continuing to eat his dinner.
 
“Well,” Tyrius began, “Magic runs in my family. Has done for a few generations.”

‘Which is why I wandered into mother’s library one day, grabbed a book and read from it. Didn’t expect that the book would end up on fire.’ Tyrius thought.

“My parents thought I had potential,” continued Tyrius, “so they sent me to Azarad where I ran into Ben.” Tyrius turned his head so he could keep Eliza in view and nod respectfully to Ben at the same time. Noticing that Virra was trying to lean forward to get a look at Ben as he turned back to Eliza, Tyrius leaned a little further back in his chair so Virra could get a better view of Ben, “As for why I chose Evocation, well.” Tyrius glanced down a little before looking up to answer politely, “I wished to be able to control my magic a little better, Evocation seemed a good fit.”
‘Plus Sabine isn’t always going to be around to put the fires out when I accidentally set spell books on fire just by holding them.’ added Tyrius in his mind.

“Speaking of how we discovered our magic, how did you discover yours Lord Benito?” asked Tyrius, using the polite address for his friend due to the occasion.
 
Benito thought back to the first time he'd used magic.

Stepping up to the mark, Ben readied his bow, drew back the arrow. His fingers felt numb and tears rolled down his face. A glance toward the stands, hoping his mother would be there, smiling back, encouraging him to succeed. She wasn't. She'd been buried only a few weeks prior and it was the first tournament he'd competed in without her there. Benito focused, pulling at the bow string a little more. As he released the tension, he felt his anger and rage leave, he watched as the arrow flew across the field, and wondered if others could see the faint red glow. Was he going to get in trouble for whatever that was? He wasn't cheating...was he? The arrow impacted the target and a wave of force radiated out from the impact, splintering the target as well as the protective barriers to either side. Ben dropped his bow, fell to his knees and cried. Shortly after, Anthol had a wizard confirm that Benito did in fact have a gift for the arcane.

Another memory, more recent. The first time Benito understood what happened and that he was the cause. The moment that solidified in his mind that he could learn magic.

Benito sat at a table, cards spread in his hand. The table in front of him was sparse save for a few empty tankards of ale, the coins and trinkets had all gone to the others. His step mother was insufferable, always coddling her children or singing the praises of his brother. Slipping away from the manor to gamble and drink was the only way he ever got attention, not that it was the attention he wanted, but at least they remembered he existed. He looked at the cards in his hand, "I fold." It wasn't a good hand, and he had nothing left he was willing to bet, nothing to use to sell the bluff. His opponent was angry, "C'mon, ya rich prick. I see that brooch you got on ya thar. Fetch a pretty penny from the Master De'Porthca." The man chuckled.

Benito wasn't interested, while most noblemen chose to wear a signet ring, the brooch had belonged to his mother. The brooch and a portrait were all he had left after Sidwae had rearranged the manor."He'd pay anythin' to keep you from sullying his name. Hell, bet he'd offer me a night with your ma. What a..." Before he could finish the table was on end, coin and valuables scattered to the ground, mixed with the remnants of the ale from their drinks. Quick as a flash, Ben was upon the man, his entire weight on the man's chest, his fists pummeling his face. Benito didn't stop beating the man until he was pulled off of the body by the towns guard. His knuckled bruised, cut, and bloody from the onslaught.

He was dragged off to a cell. Waiting to hear his fate, Ben looked down, his clothes and brooch covered in blood. He took the small cup of water they'd left for him and tried to clean himself off, but the more he scrubbed, the worse the blood caught in the fabric, and he couldn't seem to get the brooch clean either. "No... no. Please. Not this. Please, be clean." He mumbled as he rubbed a thumb across the brooch. He felt a warmth and his fingers felt numb. He opened his eyes, the brooch and his clothing were clean...

Benito snapped back from his memories to the table, realizing he'd been silent a bit too long, he attempted to answer the question. "Well, the first time it happened, I ended an archery competition by destroying the target. I was young and didn't understand, but it showed my potential. The, uh..." He stumbled, the memory hanging from his tunic like a lead weight a reminder of both his mother and his mistakes. "The first time, I understood, I cleaned up a mess with a wave of my hand. If only life were always so easy, yeah?" He let out a nervous chuckle, hoping that no one pried. He didn't regret what he'd done. The man deserved it. He regretted the impact it had on his relationship with the family, and more importantly his father. Shortly after, he turned eighteen and went off to Azarad where it took him another three years to master the spell he'd accomplished on accident in a prison cell.
 
Naturally, Benito's reluctance to elaborate caught Virra's attention. Was he just being shy? Not likely. Daydreaming? That was possible. Or, she mused, maybe it was just something really embarrassing to talk about. "Cleaning up a mess, huh...?" she said innocently, hiding her grin behind her wine glass.

Once she'd nursed it for the last drops, she placed the glass down near the edge of the table, wondering if a nice servant might come by and refill it so she'd have something nice to wash down the rest of her meal. Still, all the talk about magic potential had stuck in her mind, drawing her eyes back to the half-orc across the table. "So what about you, Eliza?" she asked. "I never heard anything about your magic talent while I was living in Chilldrift. When did you find out you had it?"
 
"I can't really say, I am afraid. Sometimes when I didn't like my food it would simply vanish, or when I wanted something but didn't want to bother to go get it, it would come flying to my hand. My parents were both wizards so I grew up surrounded with magic so when it was my first time, it must have seemed so ordinary to me that it never left any lasting impression."

Eliza smiled thinking fondly over happier memories. Her parents had done their best raising her, and although she knew she might have had a very sheltered life it was never an unhappy one.

She looked back at Virra, "Enough about me though, I don't recall seeing you in any of the wizarding classes. I take it you studied something else at Azarad?"
 
Virra nodded along, perking up at the mention of Eliza's parents."Carabelli's Magnificent Oddities and Antiquities or something, right? Of course you'd be used to magic, growing up there." She whistled, remembering some of their stock that had fascinated her as a child. "Wonder if it just rubs off on you if you spend enough time around it."

Then Eliza spoke up again, and Virra paused. For a second she stared at her, hard and unsmiling. Then she laughed. "What, a class for tourists and part-time tinkers? Come on, Eliza, I never went to Azarad, you know that." Virra rolled her eyes and pushed her half-finished plate to one side. "No more wine for you, I think," she decided, reaching across the table to steal Eliza's glass.
 
Last edited:
Ander did his best to listen to conversations happening around him, but the discussions of magic primarily went over his head. He wanted to understand how people could have powers without recieving the grace of a god, but it was so foriegn to him that he needed more time to get it through his head.

When Joane leaned over to whisper to her brother, she slightly looked at Ander, who immediately smiled in her direction. He wasn't used to interacting with children, but he did think she was an intruguing little person.
 
"Yes, I'd soiled my mother's brooch and I Prestidigitated it clean again. It surprised me, but the magic did what I wanted, so that's when I knew." Benito deflected the comment from Virra, trying to keep up with the conversation. Between bites he commented, "I didn't realize your family owned a magical goods store. Are they imbuers as well or just distributors? How are they doing?"
 
Reader mode
Status
Not open for further replies.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 9 (members: 0, guests: 9)
Back
Top