RP:A Knight's Request
Part of the The Key to Open the Skies Arc
Hidden Mountaintop Colosseum, Frostmaw
Hildegarde , as the new Steward of Frostmaw, had felt an added pressure to begin training more regularly at the arena and maintain her physique and lethal skillset. After all, she felt it was necessary to make sure the people knew she was strong in more ways than one; that she was strong in heart and mind, but that her physical strength would not waver either. The giants followed the strongest, so she needed to show that she was one of the strongest the city had to offer. The theory was all well and good, but in practise it was a tad different: Hildegarde’s halberd was a distance away from her and the human man had her in a stranglehold; the muscles in his arms flexing with the sheer effort of trying to strangle the Steward. The knight had reached for her halberd uselessly, the panic that most warrior’s felt when their weapon was out of reach and their life very much in danger! But the halberd wasn’t going to up and move to her, nor was she going to move to it. She had to push aside the panic and deal with the immediate threat, to remember that her body is a weapon, not just the steel or mithril she holds in her hand. With a snarl, she pummels her elbow backwards into his gut and is released with a gasp; he’d been winded by the strike! With a furious snarl, the knight clamped both hands on either side of his head and pulled it down while bringing up her knee to render him unconscious and defeated.
Satoshi emerges from one of the various doorways surrounding the battlefield, a pathway normally used to usher in challengers or aggressive beasts. Today, however, it is the magus that steps onto the battlefield, and she looks far from ready, head bent over a black, empty sheathe in one hand and a chunk of glittering amber in the other. Satoshi's expression is preoccupied, sparing only a glance for the scuffle taking place in the arena... that is, until she realizes one of them is Hildegarde. It's enough to bring the kit up short. What luck! She'd visited Frostmaw in response to Hildegarde's letter of request, stopping at the arena's beastmaster to offer him a trade, and here's the knight right before her eyes. Grinning, Satoshi rocks back on her heels and patiently watches the Silver's opponent collapse in a heap.
Hildegarde takes a moment to regain her breath and her temper, staring at the crumpled body of the man before her: his nose was presumably broken, as it spewed blood. “Have him cleaned up and his wounds tended to,” she said to a nearby shaman, who was waiting in the wings for either opponent. The man is quickly gathered up and removed from the arena, leaving Hilde to go and take her halberd up again. As she picks up the polearm, she notices Satoshi, “Satoshi,” she says with warmth and fondness, even smiling at the Queen. “You are here to visit or because of my letter?”
Satoshi matches Hildegarde's smile. "A little of both," the amber chunk is tossed into the air, caught, and promptly pocketed, "and a dash of work thrown in for good measure. At this very moment? I'm here because of your letter. What is this about enchantments~? I admit their a passion of mine." As she says this, Satoshi lifts the heavy sheathe up, exposing lines newly etched into the blackened Ya-Te-Veo wood. The design is that of a Kirin, stormy and writhing as it stretches partway down the sheathe's length, its lines a complex arrangement of arcane symbols and patterns. There is an air of the unfinished about the piece, however, something Satoshi intends to see to after her meeting with Hildegarde. "Said work, in fact, is an enchantment I'm creating for Kasyr."
Hildegarde eyed the sheathe as soon as it was exposed. A beautiful piece, that much she knew. “It’s lovely,” she praised, before taking a few steps closer to Satoshi so they might discuss the nature of the enchantments she desired. “I have realised that there are often times when my weapon will be separated from me or may need to be left behind. An inconvenience, really,” she said, “but one that might be remedied if my weapon could be summoned to my hand swiftly and without the intricacies of an arcane spell that I am unable to cast. The second thing is… much the same but also somewhat different; perhaps more challenging. Is this first request possible?”
Satoshi tries, she really does, to keep a straight face, but by the time Hildegarde stops speaking, the magus is laughing. She realizes in seconds that the self-conscious knight may misinterpret this, however, and so Satoshi straightens and waves a hand in apology. "Aha~. See the markings I've put on this sheathe? They're for the exact same enchantment you're asking after. Kasyr needed a means to call upon Vesper, in the same way that Svilfon and I can summon our Xalious pieces to ourselves. Although, yours would require a bit more thought, as this design is to transport the sword into its sheathe. You want something to pull it back to your hands, yes? Or... hand, rather." Satoshi stares pointedly at the other hand, the one that serves as the owner to the magic-nullifying gauntlet she'd gifted Hildegarde. That would certainly conflict with an enchantment. But Satoshi loves a challenge. "What's your other request, then~?"
Hildegarde’s face wavered for a moment upon seeing Satoshi laugh. Yes, for a moment she is self-conscious and embarrassed, but more strangely she is angry for the briefest of moments: the flash of anger all to odd upon her face to be missed. The dragon was never a woman who was angry with people, her rage and temper took work to break. Yet, since killed Tyler, the sleepless nights had returned. She could not recognise her own reflection, she seemed so different to herself. “To my hand, yes,” she said, “as I have not yet obtained some kind of sheathe for my halberd. Plus, in combat, when I might need it most, I would not wish it to appear in my sheathe and possibly lose my life in the process of trying to wrangle it out,” she said thoughtfully. “The second one is much the same enchantment. But with my armour. There are times that I must rouse from my bed and go fight or when I am in the process of returning to this form… not having my armour nearby leaves me vulnerable. I’d rather that I can somehow summon my armour to me or have it dress me,” she chortled, “if such a thing were possible, I’d save so much time!”
Satoshi's initial mirth abates, expression shifting to a thoughtful one. "It... Hm. It is, in theory, possible to do that. But there's also a reason every knight in the lands still puts their armor on one piece at a time. Each individual piece would need to be enchanted, and then the whole lot enchanted on top of that for coordination and timing, if it's all to fit precisely. Those enchantments are typically made in the form of tattoos, you'd be covered from head to foot." Vesper's sheathe is tapped against the magus' chin while she talks, causing her whiskers to twitch with the hint of sparks. Clearly, Satoshi is thinking alongside her words to such a degree that she misses the static of the sheathe. "The trick about enchantments is, to use them requires energy. If you wanted to enchant a bracer to secure itself to your arm, you can, but it'd cost you the same amount of energy as it would to do it physically. Folks often forget that magic has a cost. What I do with a spell has an equivalent cost to doing a task by hand. Magic is not a shortcut, it is an alternative route. If you had your entire armor set enchanted to attached itself to you, by the time it was done, you'd be as sapped as if you'd just sped through the dressing yourself. While also running the risk of the spells overlapping or conflicting. Magic is a thread, enchantments a loom, the more threads you pull at once, the more likely you'll end up with tangles and breaks. So, to answer your question: Yes, it can be done, but no, I do not think it'd be effective or wise for you to rely on so many spells to put on your armor." Were it not for that flash of anger Satoshi caught on Hildegarde's face earlier, she might have poked fun about knights too lazy to dress.
Hildegarde could see the logic behind Satoshi’s reasoning. It would be much too wasteful to have such an enchantment, plus she wasn’t entirely sure about tattooing her own skin. “Indeed, that sounds much too wasteful and tiresome,” she said thoughtfully. “Armour can be put aside, I am not entirely vulnerable without it,” her scales would protect her, after all, “plus it would be terrible to summon my breastplate and it is somehow secured to me the other way around.” That said, the knight offered a hesitant smile. Attempts at jokes were usually frequent for the knight, but she did sometimes fall upon them in dark situations. “But the halberd is doable?”
Satoshi chuckles in response. "Nor would you want your helm to think it goes on your foot, eh~?" Still with a laugh in her voice, the magus leans forward then to deliver a poke with the sheathe against Hildegarde's breastplate. The clink of tempered wood on metal rings clearly, and Satoshi's eyes light up at the musical sound. "Your halberd I can manage, definitely. How about a slight twist? You're almost always close to the weapon, yes? A set of runes would work then, so that a spark of her will activates them, drawing them to one another. The halberd, being lighter, would come to you... or your breastplate, rather." Like magnets. "I was thinking... with your new rank and all, you're due for your own Coat of Arms, non~? It'd look splendid upon your armor, especially if it doubles as a halberd-drawing enchantment."
Hildegarde smiled at the remark, “Not unless I wished to kick it up into someone’s face to obscure their vision and make their head ache, no,” almost everything, even mistakes, could be turned into a tactical advantage in battle. The knight had come to learn that in her time in Frostmaw, leading her to a difficult journey of attempting to preserve honourable combat whilst preserving her life against those willing to fight dishonourably. “Indeed, I am never far from my halberd. If I am separated from it, it is usually a case of it having been torn away by a good deflection or sheer force,” she answered, “so being able to bring it back to my grasp is something I really ought to be able to do.” The knight pauses, obviously mulling over the idea. “I like this, yes. But in the event that I do not have my breastplate, what then? You mentioned… mentioned these tattoos, yes?” she said with just a slight frown. It wasn’t something she was keen on, but then the knight had done plenty of things she wasn’t keen on doing! If it worked and brought her an advantage, it was well-worth the consideration. “A Coat of Arms?” she chortled, “M’lady, you think I have earned such a token? Kirien always found amusement in my talk of tokens.”
A shrug is given as answer. "It is your choice, ultimately. Enchantments can't be expected to be useful in every situation, so it's best to design them for -most- situations. And in most situations, you have your armor, and your halberd is fairly close by. If you want to brand your flesh instead of engrave your armor, you can. There are benefits and drawbacks to both options--otherwise, everyone would do it. And yes, I do think you have more than earned a Coat of Arms. In fact, you're overdue for one. I prefer to create enchantments from an image design rather than just lace basic runes together, so if you'd like a Coat I can make it functional."
“In the situation that I do not have my breastplate, I always have my sword,” she said, fingers briefly brushing the lion-head pommel of her short-sword. As if she were pausing to consider and weigh up her options, the knight eventually smiled at Satoshi, “Yes. The breastplate would suffice. But, then, I have another request!” she grinned, “You remember that dress? The one I can wear that will still offer some protective measures? Could you do the same to that? It’d be useful if I can summon my halberd to me from across the room whilst dining or enjoying frivolities with guests,” she said softly, “I’d rather not trip on the dress whilst trying to acquire my weapon. Of course, if this asks too much of you in terms of time, effort or will, you need only say no! I will understand,” she said in a friendly and understanding manner, trying to show that she didn’t wish to demand too much of Satoshi. “A Coat of Arms. I’ve never really thought of what mine might be like.”
"I can do that for you, Mithril, of course," Satoshi waves off the knight's humility with a laugh, "Bring your pieces to Gikal, and he can engrave the pattern into both when I've finished designing it, and of course once it's met your approval. After that, it will only take me a few moments to anchor the enchantments to you--after all, we don't want someone else putting on your armor and abducting your weapon too, no~?" Vesper's sheathe is swung up then to rest across Satoshi's shoulders, a resting place for her arms while she regards the Silver. "I've some ideas of what to go with, but is there any symbol or the like you want included? For example, Kasyr chose a Kirin for his, as they're creatures of storms and lightning, and Vesper's hilt is from a Kirin's horn. If an enchantment is to be tied to you, it should bear an image that means something to you."
“Thank you, Satoshi,” she said, “do you have a price for your services?” she didn’t want Satoshi to feel like she was attempting to squeeze a freebie from her! Of course, Hilde had some of her tournament winnings left over, she could afford to use that gold to pay towards her enchantments. But then, she somehow doubted Satoshi was the sort to want gold for repayment. After all the Queen had told her (something she still felt was a tad harsh and upsetting), she doubted gold was the payment Satoshi used, she seemed to deal in favours better. The knight spent a long few minutes deliberating internally on what symbol might bear meaning to her… “The arctic lion,” she said, quietly. “It… It was the symbol of Sabjorn’s family,” she told Satoshi with a deep sadness; a sadness she failed miserably to hide. “It would do me a great honour, if his sigil supported my own,” she said it with all seriousness, as if to not do it would be a great slight upon his or her name.
Satoshi frees one of her hands from the sheathe to deliver a salute to the knight. "You shall have it then, Mithril, give me a few day's time to sort out the exacts, then I'll deliver it to Gikal. Within the week, you will have your enchantments and your Coat of Arms~. As for payment," Satoshi scoffs, whiskers curling with her playful frown, "if my own project is successful, I may need a lesson or two from you then. That can be payment, if you insist upon it." The magus knows Hildegarde enough to not outright turndown the offer, and so presents something that is more suitable to them both. Avoiding wounded pride and awkwardness, and ensuring Satoshi has the gentlest of teachers when the time comes. What the kit has in mind... well, she's not sure she wants Kasyr to be her first lesson.
Hildegarde offered a most respectful dip of her head in response, “Again, you have my thanks. Let me know when you are ready and I shall send my armour to Gikal to have it done,” she smiled. “I shan’t spoil the surprise of whatever your project is, but if I can assist somehow, consider it done.” The knight paused for a long moment, “Satoshi?” she began, “I, er… thank you. For naming me the steward,” she said, extending her hand as if to shake. “I know I have already thanked you, but at the time I was more worried and nervous about the role. Now… Now I am not so afraid.”
Hildegarde will find her hand accepted by an ecstatic Satoshi. Finally, finally the humble knight is growing more comfortable in her position, something the magus has waited a long time to see. So thrilled is she that the handshake evolves, Satoshi pulling Hildegarde forward into a hug--although it can only be called warm in sentiment and not temperature. "You were perfect for the job, Mithril, I should be thanking -you-. However~, if I start that, this will just keep going in circles!"
Whilst some might be adverse to receiving a physical sign of Satoshi’s affections, the knight is not given that the temperature doesn’t bother her quite as much as it would bother other and more warm-blooded people. But Hildegarde is fond of the icy affection, it is a rare occurrence that people brave her appearance and brawn to try and embrace her. With a contented smile, the knight happily pulls the Queen into a strong embrace, “I didn’t think I was fit for the role, until I spoke to Tristram,” she said, truthfully.
"Tristram is a good sort. For a Black dragon, and for someone who consorts with -Gualon- Giants," Satoshi answers, her tone playful and good intentioned. In truth, she has nothing against the governor, and is quite fond of her interactions with him. She still owes Tristram for coming to Frostmaw's aid without being asked, something Satoshi won't forget. Grinning at this, the magus pulls away from Hildegarde, offers the knight a pat on the shoulder, and says, "I should get back to my work, if I'm to have these enchantments done for you both~."
Hildegarde smiled, settling her hand briefly on Satoshi’s shoulder in a mark of respect: a mark usually traded between two warriors or a comrade in arms. “He made me drink something he called ‘rum’. I didn’t quite like it,” she said with distaste. “But yes, I had best let you get on with your work. Remember to stay safe out there,” she said with a smile.
Satoshi pauses to level a gaze on Hildegarde, suddenly suspicious. What had Tristram done? Was it an innocent drink? Were there hidden intentions? This will require some thought, and a sit down with Hildegarde later, to discuss the exacts. For now, the magus only offers her a salute, and a far-too-casual, "Be careful who you drink around, and what they give you, Mithril~."
The knight had just been given a shot of rum in a glass of winter-berry juice, but she hadn’t liked the undertaste of rum. “I do not think I’ll partake of it again,” she said seriously. “I like to keep a sound mind,” she said, “yet sometimes the men do question my lack of drinking.”
Satoshi departs with a laugh, and a curiosity on just how many barrels of alcohol is needed to get a dragon drunk....