RP:A Man of Curses

From HollowWiki

Synopsis: While discussing the potential properties of the faceless mask, and how to get a certain undead to speak, Celaeno and Raevyn meet a mysterious showman!

Date: Dec. 5th, 2017

Mage's Library

As you stand here, towers of bookshelves completely surround you. Most of them look to be magical in nature, but there are books of more mundane subjects in the library. Some are for spell research, some are about the history of spell casting and magic, while others are just lists of spell uses and objects. The cases are of a dark oak or pine, and glow a little at the ends, where runes have been placed to protect these sources of information from aging and decay. There are tables all over the room, with people of quite a few races sitting and studying. You notice a small door behind the rows of shelves to the north, and as someone opens and enters the room you see that it is the dormitory for those who stay here and study. To the east are two massive doors with designs carved into them, a golden dragon on each door.



Celaeno had been holing up in either that library or the mines consistently for the past few weeks as she dug deeper into her work, aquiring new tasks in the new land she found herself a part of all of the sudden. That particular night, she found herself nose deep in a more mundane text on the latest medical theories and surgical techniques--mining for ideas for new enchantments to put on tools she owed certain people. She became so lost in her studying, however, that she'd forgotten a couple things vital to continuing it...like breakfast, lunch, and a nap sometime in the past couple days. It showed in the dark circles and unsightly bags under her eyes, in the way her arms shook some, though her artifical hands stayed steady on the book, keeping the text level.


Raevyn had been fairly busy this week, with so many new developments coming about. There was definitely a change in her initial demeanor as she seemed to be showing more certainty and morale within herself. Though, she was still a bit on the klutzy side- Which would be pretty evident when she came into the library. She pushed through the door, that faceless mask held up to the light as she tried her best to observe the cursed item during her walk into the area of study. She was so into the object that she didn't quite see the chair that was stuck out from a nearby table, and when she hooked her foot on the leg, she tripped and stumbled forward into another table. There was an outcry of pain as her hip connected with the corner, the mask then sliding across the surface of the tabletop and coming to a rest in the center. The undead thing behind the woman grunted sharply, almost as if it had laughed. When Raevyn finally looked up, she spotted a familiar face seated at that very table she had fallen into- The silver-handed elf. "Celaeno." she stated with a red face and a smile. Noting the other's obvious lack of well being, she asked- "Late night?"


Celaeno didn't even stir at the clamor, though others studying turned and hushed Raevyn with a collective shh and fingers over their mouths. It was only when her friend said her name that Cela perked up a bit bleary-eyed from her tome. "Yes. I have a plethora of new tools to make, and need a bit more of a medicinal background to do them justice. I didn't realize how exhaustive humanoid bodies were outside of basic anatomy." She blinked at Raevyn a moment, noting the sorry state of her lip. "Are you quite alright? Nothing odd has happened with that present of yours, has it?" And there was the mask in question, staring at her, even without eyes drawn on.


Raevyn turns to make a face at those who would dare to shush her, although she couldn't fault them, really. This was a place of study and concentration after all. Erecting herself, the girl rubbed at her hip and shook her head with Celaeno's question."No, not exactly. Although, I did discover something a bit odd." She lifted the mask now and lipped it over, peering at the inside of the mysterious object. "It's... sucky." This was probably an odd thing to say until Raevyn brought the mask near Celaeno's face. She held it away, by at least half a foot, and even with this distance, the woman might feel some sort of light vaccum attempting to pull her face forward and into the cradle of the faux face. Of course, it wasn't strong enough to actually pull Celaeno forward, but it would be noticeable. "See? Weird, huh?" Raevyn pulled out a char and sat now, her satchel rummaged through as she took in what Celaeno had said. "Exhaustive, humanoid bodies? Tools? What do you mean?" She pulled out a small bundle of cookies and a glass bottle of water, setting them before her friend. "Here. Maybe you should snack on something."


Ernest appeared from the north.


Celaeno 's lip curled as the sensation pulled at her. She leaned away, on instinct, and tapped a few of the runes on her gauntlets. A subtle barrier formed around her mind and her head, naught but a slight bend in the air to the naked eye. It would diminish the vaccum some, though not altogether. "That thing will take very special care to study I see. Perhaps it has its own entity that's trying to attach to a host. A trapped spirit perhaps?" It was a wayward guess, no concrete evidence behind it, but it was the best whim she at at the moment. She blinked at the cookies, pausing as if confused. Then her stomach decided to growl as the cookie plate reached her nose. Her mouth watering made her suddenly aware of her dry throat. She sets her medical text down and instead takes the offered snack and refreshment. Her cheeks flush with some embarassment, not that this was the first time she'd gotten so lost in her studies. She gives Raevyn a sheepish, "Thank you..."


Raevyn smiles happily as Celaeno indulges. "You quite welcome! I got those in Chartsend. They've very good. Given that sound coming from within, I'd say i came just in time." Smile turned into teasing grin before those pale blue eyes shifted over that mask once more. "That is possible. I was fooling around with the thing in bed and wanted to try it on... but as soon as I felt it trying to suck me in, I figured that there was something more... sentient about it. I..." She looks up at the undead that had come to stand at her side. "I almost want to see what happens if I stuck it on Rawr." The undead so eloquently named kind of just stared at Raevyn. His barren brow shifted, almost asking- Are you insane?


Celaeno smiled a bit, between bites of her cookie. Following her manners, she swallowed between bites before speaking, though some crumbs still show up on her teeth as she speaks, despite her carefulness. "Perhaps not the best idea, but I understand the desire. I also often experiment on myself to...varying derees of success." She glanced toward Rawr, affectionately named she was sure. It gave her a bit of a giggle. "Cute. Perhaps before inflicting another entity onto him, we should see if we can let him speak for himself and measure how much soul he has left of him. Seems a pity if whatever parasitic presence in that thing were to eliminate what was left of poor Rawr."


Raevyn felt a bit bad about wanting to subject her undead companion to cruel and unusual testing. She had forgotten, that despite being a glorified babysitter and a pair of eyes for Larewen, he probably was a person once. Someone with hopes and dreams, and yes, probably a soul. "You... are right. I should have thought better." To the zombified escort, she would state, "I'm sorry." This earned her a grunt and a gurgle and soon she would ask Celaeno, "So how should we go about this, then? Getting him a voice? It would be nice to be able to talk to the guy."


Ernest turned a corner from out of nowhere with the clink of a spurred boot. "Yer sayin' he's missin' a voice?" The mummy's own voice was raspy and dry, but not as bad as it might have been--he'd learned to keep his throat moist. Rather than bandages, however, he kept himself covered with a longcoat, and his face in the shadow of a wide-brimmed hat he kept tilted low over his eyes. "You tried givin' him somethin' to drink?" Whether his grin was intentional or not, it might have been impossible to say--his skin was like leather, and whatever scent one might have expected to come from a corpse was absent. He had in his hand a spellbook--anyone familiar with the library would recognize it as being for very beginners, perhaps even children. "Took me a while t'figure it out, but my throat just don't make the right sounds when it's parched."


Celaeno lights up with renewed enthusiasm, her hunger forgotten as she swallows her cookie in a rush. She coughed on a crumb that got caught going down her throat the wrong way, but a few moments pounding on her chest dislodges it and she breaths again. She opens her backpack and pulls out an odd leather collar with runes painted on with black ink. She hands it toward Raevyn, holding it out all too quickly, excitement evident in her face. "This is meant to stimulate his voice, the muscles in his throat that have decayed. Afterwards, it might take a little bit where his speech will sound jumbled, but it will eventually make a bit more of a...psionic connection you could say with what's left of his mind or spirit. I accounted for both, I admit... If he's willing, you should help it on him. I want to see if I need to make any tweaks." The newcomer made her jump some, and he too earned a collective shushing from the others studying--Cela ignored their repeated attempts at her and the librarian in charge seemed nowhere to be found at the moment. The aspiring scholar and currently unpaid enchanter quirks her head at the oddly bandaged covered man. Her nostrils flare, the woman's background studying under a necromancer making her accustomed to the scent of decaying flesh, though his smell didn't quite fit--perhaps due to the mummification process that made him that way. "You have been...resurrected before? Or are you merely jesting and are covered in disfiguring burns?"


Raevyn took the leather collar quite carefully, those pallid digits slipping over the surface of the runes in a very curious manner. it seems as though Celaeno had been plotting far more than she had! "I see." the girl stated before looking back to 'Rawr'. "What do you say? Would you like to try this?" The undead's jaw unhinged and lazily drifted to the left, nothing more than a grunt sounding out. Before she could further inquire, the newcomer had stolen the young necromancer's attention, those corpse blue eyes settling over the mummified man's features with interest. He was strange in his appearance, his clothing of choice definitely being a focal point for the girl. There was a hint of suspicion in her voice once she finally followed Celaeno's question, "Excuse me? You... have been through this before?" Rawr had never once eaten or drank anything in her presence. She figured that he didn't need to. Perhaps it was something worth trying; What exactly could it hurt?


Ernest firmly snapped his book shut with one hand, once they asked their questions, demonstrating that they now had his attention. And then paused. "Always did like that sound," he said, then opened it up to someplace in the middle before snapping it shut again, harder, listening to see if the sound echoed through the library. "I don't reckon I'd call it a resurrection," he said, turning his attention away from the book and tucking it under his arm, leaning on a shelf. "Given's I never really left. Body stopped workin' long ago, but I ain't one to give up so easy." He chuckled softly, the sound was an ugly one that could have just as easily come from as asthmatic pile of leaves. "Took me ten years to figure out how to make things move again, an' by that point th' sun an' sand had taken their toll." In a motion so fast it seemed as though all the middle parts had been skipped, he had drawn a small hand-crossbow from a concealed holster on his belt and was examining it. "Hasn't done my draw time any good, either." He spun the weapon on his finger--once forward, once backward, twice sideways, once backward again, and then back down into the holster, which disappeared behind the flap of his longcoat again. "But I'm still me in here, an' if yer pardner's anything like me, he's in there, too."


Raevyn lifted a slender black brow as she watched the gruff talking stranger work his 'magic'; A reward given in the shape of a giggle as he showcased that confidence and skill with the hand-crossbow. he was strange and peculiar, and his words seemed to be bathed in mystique. She would glance to Celaeno first and then back at 'Rawr', who just sort of stared at Ernest like some sort of vegetable. There was a hint of scrutiny in the zombie's eyes, but for the most part, he seemed to identify with what the stranger spoke. Raevyn pushed back her seat now and reached into that blackened satchel for another bottle of water, quickly uncorking the item and offering out to her companion with hopes that he could manage all by himself. No such luck. When he simply stared at the young girl with those lifeless, milky white eyes, she sighed and moved closer to the withered corpse, placing one hand atop his head. "Please don't bite me, okay? I'm just trying to help." She pulled then, tipping Rawr's head backward, the bottle of water pushed past his open jaws and emptied by a few gulps. There was a disgusting squelching sound followed by miniature gurgles and burps as the undead made effort to swallow. Whe she felt that the creature's throat should be sufficiently moistened, the bottle was removed and set down upon the table, and she asked. "How is that?" There was anticipation and hope on Raevyn's face as she waited for Rawr to reply, but that look quickly turned to disappointed when he wetly sputtered, "Ghrrdtlrgh."


Celaeno 's mouth pursed at the crossbow trick. She'd seen similar things done with knives a long time ago, by someone she was far more fond of. His words do give her pause. If it was as easy as repairing one's body, then wouldn't death not be an issue? Perhaps he was a mage of some renown? Perhaps even a lich, though she had only heard stories of people transcending to those. She goes quiet for a good while thinking over all of this, but Rawr's sputter makes her start, attention snapping toward him. She crosses her arms, those silver hands of hers clicking together with the motion, hollow as if nothing was inside them when rightfully flesh should fill those odd runed gauntlets of hers. "To speak independently he might have to be regenerated some...though I'm not sure how to do that, just short of taking an intact body part from a different corpse, preserving it, and attaching it to him." The stranger's declaration that his spirit remained in tact, however, did give her some hope as well for Raevyn's resident stalker.


Ernest sneered at the prospect of cutting up corpses and stitching a piece from someone else into this man's throat. "Sounds pretty gruesome," he said, and then a thought occurred to him. "Huh. I wonder if that'd make him immune to one of my curses." Fingers went to his chin and stroked it absently. "His energy'd be all screwed up, integratin' another person's body into his own like that. Ain't sayin' it ain't worth a shot, but if y'all are running experiments on him it'd be interesting to see." He flipped the book back open and searched for the page he was on. (It was very close to the beginning, he hadn't gotten very far with it.) "How d'you make sense outta this horse--" somewhere, a studying mage tripped on a stepstool and fell over, the clattering drowning out whatever it was he said. "I ain't got hair to prickle and I ain't got feelin's on the inside. Book keeps referencin' senses I don't have!"


Raevyn pats her zombified friend on the shoulder in comfort, not even sure if he would understand the sentiment. There were times where he seemed present, and times that he seemed like some sort of reanimated husk. Still, he had been a person once, she thought. He deserved a little compassion. "Huh? Another corpse?" the girl first asked Celaeno. That sounded, as Ernest put it, gruesome indeed. Would 'Rawr' be up for something like that? Raevyn moved behind the undead and slowly slipped the collar around his neck, taking every effort to be quite careful. It was the next immediate remedy in line. She peered around Rawr and looked upon Ernest, his words next addressed. "His energy would be screwed up? I... don't understand." All of this sort of stuff was quite new to her. She had just gotten into sutdying necromancy full time, so their suggestions and ideas, while confusing, definitely piqued her interest. She finally asked, looking to the book. "Are you... a student here?"


Celaeno quirks her head to one side at their funny looks and plants both shiny palms on her hips. "Well it would have to be someone who had moved on completely from it. There are ways to check for that. Though...you do have a point about the potentially conflicting energies. His body might not accept it..." She trailed off as Raevyn decided to try the collar, her train of thought cut off immediately as her interest changed direction. She side-eyes the...by most accounts somewhere between dead and living gentleman. His idle comments toward the book did distract her from Rawr a mite. "What's it supposed to be about?"


Ernest held it up for inspection, figuring that if she was able to help out, he might get through it quicker. "Introduction to elemental manipulation, at least I think so. Looks like it's for kids, lots of pictures. Wanted to try a bit of air magic--keep my hat from flying off in a storm, make my coat flutter even if there isn't a wind, maybe give my shots a bit more punch. Thought it might be easy, given's I already know a bit about curses, but this is talkin' about other stuff entirely than what I know." He shrugged. "So, startin' at the beginning again, I guess." It was likely that several of the mages in the library sniffed down their noses at his entirely petty ideas for what to do with the power to command the air itself--little conveniences and parlor tricks. Pah. What an amateur.


Raevyn finished fastening the runed collar around Rawr's throat and with a nudge, "Okay. Try that." There was some sorts of grunting and gurgling, much like any other time he tried to speak, but something seemed to break through with a bit of effort. It began with a hiss and the click of his tongue, but a word seemed to form. Since he had no lips to push together for certain consonants, the word was definitely broken- "Stoo-hid." She looked to the zombie-man, and then to Celaeno, and lastly Ernest. The girl wasn't quite sure what to make of it. She would ask then, curious about the stranger's background: "Curses? What sort of curses? Were you a practicing witch before..." She nods in his direction, unsure how to phrase the question politely, "..You know..."


Celaeno wrinkled her nose at the word, her own mind filling in the gaps. "Who is stupid?" She points at herself, Raevyn, and a great deal of the other room's occupants, the aspiring aero-tinkerer included. As an aside to said duster-clad reader: "Elemental manipulation, I believe, is about extending your energy outward to said element and bending it to your will. Somewhat like channeling magical energy into rituals. A great deal of focus and awareness until one has gotten the hang of it. Some use a phrase or a gesture to center their commands. I never delved into the science too deeply, though. Very feeling oriented." It was her turn to sneer as Raevyn tiptoed around the occurrences happening in the kingdom not far from that very tower. "If the reach of bigotry extends even this far to a center of learning for such folk, then that infection runs altogether too deep to be purged peacefully."


Ernest perked up a little. Rituals, he knew. "Channeling outward, huh? Opposite of curses, then." He shook his head at the question about being a witch. "Nah. Not a witch. Showman." Wait, what? "See, someone needs someone dead as an example? They call me. I walk in to my guy's bar, challenge 'im to a fight, an' shoot 'im dead. Make it real big and visible, so's everyone knows how not to mess with me. Then I stand in the back and give people the stink-eye while someone else tells 'em what to do." He chuckled softly. "Had a gig with a kid who used me as his 'recurring villain' to make him into a local hero. I cause some chaos, he arrests me, I break outta prison. Good pay, and that kid made a good name fer himself, too." What an... interesting profession. "Anyhow. Rituals, I can do. 's how I curse items, y'know. It's all focused inward, though. Gotta build up enough negative feelings to push 'em into a thing."


Raevyn eyed Celaeno as she questioned 'Rawr'- And a good question it was. Who did he think he was insulting? They were trying to help. Another grunt and a groan before another word pushed out. "..ask." The ebon haired girl was confused- as usual. "Ask what?" She divided her attention then to listen in on Cel's explanation of elemental manipulation, something that she herself had been interested in as a child. However, she never did get around to practicing due to... unforseen consequences. Raevyn didn't think too much on the subject, however, as when the silver-handed woman spoke again, she found herself lost. It would take a moment for everything to click and she said in a hushed tone, "oh no. I meant... before.. he died.." She hoped he didn't hear. The mask that sat upon the table was examined as Earnest spoke of his past, the young necromancer listening with a bit of a chuckle to follow. "A showman? That sounds like an exciting life." Her dead gaze fell upon the cross-bow wielding man when she asked, "So, what would make you want to curse items? How vast is your knowledge on the subject?"


Celaeno feels her face grow very hot as a result of her evident misunderstanding. She takes her book back up, pretending to peruse a few paragraphs while the red tint to her tawny cheeks dies down. Only then could she set the book down and mutter an apology to her friend. "Sorry, I've been spending...a little too much time around Larket." The stranger's sidetracking was welcome as she leans on her elbows and tucks her gauntlets under her sleeves. "A conman, I believe, is the right word for that line of work," she said with an edge of dry, albeit intrigued sarcasm in her voice. "What serves as your inspiration for such things? Do you need an object to attach the curse to, or can you direct it toward a living being, much like a hex?"


Ernest sneered again, putting his hands on his hips. "Now, now. Con man implies that I ain't got what it takes to back up that I'm not someone to cross. An' you've seen how quick my draw is. Match that with a cursed crossbow bolt to the right spot and I can seriously ruin someone's day." He opened his jacket, revealing a collection of crossbow quarrels, each of which glinted with an unhealthy light in a different color. "Curses were a good way of demonstrating superiority. Ain't nobody wants to be cursed. Which is why I -could- theoretically do it to a person all direct-like, but I doubt anyone would sit still while I do it. Takes time to cook up a proper curse. Get it wrong, nothing happens, and you've wasted all that time you spent making yourself feel hateful. 's like baking bread--you miss an ingredient, and it don't rise. I have a list of seven that I have memorized, like recipes, so I can do 'em quicker, but given enough time I could probably cook up something new." Why was he being so open about his powers and weaknesses? Maybe it was the idea that she could help him out with the air, or maybe he just enjoyed the spotlight.


Raevyn would first place her delicate hand upon Celaeno's shoulder, a soft-hearted smile to accompany the gentle squeeze as she reassured the woman. "Don't fret. Look at you, you're obviously exhausted. Perhaps you should rest your mind for a day or two." With Ernest's protest, the girl giggled and made comment- Mostly for Celaeno. "My my, looks like we have a self-assured braggart in our midst." A faux fanning of her face and a teasing smirk would have 'Rawr' roll what he could of his eyes and grunt something inaudible. In a rude fashion, the zombie-man bumps Raevyn as he pushes past and makes for the eastern exit. It was odd, but not exactly something that bothered the young necromancer. "Do you think it would be... possible to obtain a copy of this list? For research purposes, of course. My studies require knowledge of such arts." she asked the undead stranger.


Celaeno 's expression softened and she patted Raevyn's hand in reassurance. "You're probably right. I'll take a rest in the dormitories or the village inn soon. I hope the augmented collar helps you unravel that one." She eyes the undead servant as he departs to imply her meaning. Those darts then sucked up her entire attention as she leaned forward against her table, squinting to see them further. "So they are much like runic combinations, only the wrong combination of those can be rather...explosive at times." She nods along with Raevyn, eagerly adding, "I would be happy to negotiate an exchange of knowledge for a copy of these curses as well. One never knows when such arts will come in handy..." Then she paused, her gaze jerking back around to Raevyn. "What exactly are you studying? I...have never asked your newfound specialty, have I?"


Raevyn could hardly contain her excitement and pulled free from her bag, a black hardcover book. She passed it over to Celaeno with a big grin. The title? 'Minor Book of the Dead'. It was filled with basic arts such as curses, sigils, poisons, and even basic forms of resurrection. "Necromancy! I got into the guild! I met with one of the administrators in Cenril and she offered me entry. Although..." She frowned, knowing this next part may not be something her silver-handed friend wanted to hear. "I have discovered... The Black Library, is off limits. I guess it is under watch by one from House Mahara, and is typically only available to advanced members of the guild. She has written me a note asking to allow me entrance.. but.. it is not for certain. The one that bars entry, Bradyn, is not so welcoming of strangers." She tries to be positive though as she adds, "If I can convince him to let me in, I'll sneak you in. I promise." She winks in a sly manner.


Celaeno 's head cocks to one side as Raevyn sets the book in front of her. Her gut sours some and she takes a deep breath a moment as she runs her fingers across the title. She'd seen something similar before, tried to snatch it plenty of times from her mentor's shelf. Flashes of candles and circles and a woman's body sewn together from different pieces go through her mind, all in a moment as she seems to see through the book. Still, she closes her hand into a fist as she clamps down on the anxiety making sweat bead on her brow. She would be happy for her friend, not discriminating against one art merely because of one particularly nasty practitioner. She'd risen above that. She manages a genuine smile in reply after her quiet moments, leaning forward on her elbows as she used to with her sister when they would talk through the nights. "I may have gotten lost in Vailkrin not too long ago and run into the head of that guild. She was impressive, albeit intimidating. I'm happy for you, to have a group to practice with. It seems like they will help you get very far." The news of the library gives her a bit of a snicker. "I'm glad to know I have an accomplice for getting inside. Who knows, perhaps I'll try to get in legitimately with you. The 'forbidden' nature of that field has always been of particular interest." Among other reasons... She hesitates a moment before standing and closing Raevyn in a somewhat jerky hug. Touching wasn't always her strongsuit, despite how natural it had seemed with the fellow book lover in the past.


Ernest had to take a moment to think about that. "I'm gonna need to think that one over," he said, not quite stealing my narration but using a similar enough thought to set off alarms and put him on a fourth-wall watch list. "I might list some effects, but a man needs some trade secrets, yeah?" Although... the exchange of knowledge part was enticing. If he got something in return, he might be more willing to get her that knowledge she wanted. "I reckon it'd depend on exactly what knowledge you'd be offering in return, you know?" He'd been called worse than a braggart, and he'd certainly cursed people for less, but the place usually wasn't a library full of wizards and he was usually getting paid for it. He let the remark go.


Raevyn took notice of that strange initial reaction from Celaeno, the pale of her gaze darting back and forth over the woman with concern. As she did not know of the troubled past, the girl simply wrote it off as the exhaustion reaching its peak. The smile was mimicked, and she was now curious if they had met the same woman. "Was it Khitti? The redhead?" She knew that her new instructor was high up in the guild's ranks, but she did not know who actually lead the guild. She assumed it was the woman she had met, but there was some doubt. "I hope so. I have been wanting so badly to improve. To... not be so feeble and useless. I may look to also train with the Mage's Guild if I am able. So far, master Oriyan in the training room above has shown me a few new techniques." Raevyn, once again pondering aloud, asks, "What sort of speciality is it that you focus on, again? I would be more than happy to practice with you sometime. I think we would work very well together." The sudden rise and awkward hug threw the girl off for a moment, her hands half-hovering as she tried to process what this was for. Still, she would return the sentiment and give a firm squeeze. Once separated, Raevyn would look past her friend and pout at the lack of willingness to share, but she understood quite well. She, herself, did not have much to trade. "I would be fine with effect, really." She comments with a grin. Inside, the girl hoped that should he and Celaeno make a deal, Celaeno would let the neophyte copy from her homework.


Celaeno raised her brows, but merely shook her head. The name did rang bells, but it wasn't the same woman who had been...a tad more spectral..."Well, she called herself the head of the guild, certainly in it. And she was...convincing. Lady Dragana? Artia mentioned her house once." She bobs her head even quicker in agreement with that strategy. "One naturally augments the other, certainly!" Cela steeples her fingers on the table when she addresses the curse-wielding stranger next, their tips clicking together. "I use runes to enchant things," she says, answering Raevyn's at the same time. "You mentioned your state not helping your draw, perhaps enhancement of your tools would make up for it. For every curse you're willing to exchange, I can trade you a runic combination you can engrave, carve, or write on whatever you wish to make it do what specific purpose you wish. Does that sound even to you? One recipe for another?"


Ernest believed that was certainly fair, and nodded appreciatively. Applying runes to his crossbows would be quite helpful; and definitely in addition to learning a bit of air magic. Being willing to learn had its perks--even if all you were was a novice in everything, you'd be able to combine those skills in ways others would never see coming. "I do believe we have a deal," he said, and extended his hand to shake. "Name's Ernest, by the way. So." He opened up his jacket again, revealing the different cursed quarrels--red, orange, yellow, green, blue, a deeper blue, and violet--one for every color of the rainbow. Rather than an actual rainbow, however, these colors seemed... off. Something about them was malevolent, but it was nothing that could be placed exactly--just a sort of gut feeling. "Don't look at 'em too close, I've found it ain't healthy. Pick a color, I'll give you the rundown." The name of Khitti happened to flit through his head--where had he heard it before--but rather than let it bother him, he just filed it away to puzzle over later on.


If Raevyn could turn any more pale, she would have. There was only one Dragana she knew of, and that woman was intertwined in Raevyn's life in a way that she did not want. No matter where she went, or who she met, Larewen had some sort of connection. Surely it was all coincidence? Still, she began to feel a bit sick to her stomach and would need time to process this information. As Ernest and Celaeno spoke, Raevyn gathered her things quietly and began to tuck them into her bag; That strange faceless was mask wrapped in a piece of satin cloth for safekeeping. "I feel... unwell. I think I am going to go get some sleep." the girl murmured, giving her friend one last smile. "You should do the same, soon." There was that concern again. She crossed over to where Ernest stood then, a bit of a bow offered to the man of curses. She did peak at the quarrels and noted their colors, but did not make it very long. "It was nice to meet you, Ernest. My name is Raevyn. I am certain we will cross paths again, if you are to frequent this tower." As she began to walk toward the dormitory, she turned to look over her shoulder, offering a final wave. "Good night you two. Be well." With that, Raevyn disappears through the doorway to think, and eventually, crash.


Celaeno would take out a pen, paper, and ask something of each color in turn, and for each, ask what sort of combination Ernest would want in return. And not long after that, she would leave her name with him, Celaeno, and give herself some much needed rest.