RP:A Stone Cold Box

Summary: Linn finds Xzavior recovering after his fight with some giants in Xalious. After discussing the city a bit Linn reveals that he was looking for the naga for some of his cryomantic skills to make a magical icebox. Using Xzavior's magic he manages to sustain and power it to chill the inside of the box before going to refine his work and offering his thanks as well as more enchantment of his own as repayment.

Scenic View

Xzavior was still spitting up bits of blood from last night and his rather unpleasant encounter with some giants. He sat next to the edge rubbing a hand around his body, though it didn't look like much else he was applying a cold touch trying to dull the pain from his overworked muscles. He wasn't too upset about the encounter, rather why it happened and the results from it. The night before he had told Pilar he would help out with her combat training. With a sigh he leaned back into his coils looking out over the edge.

Linn came wandering in from the mountains in the north in his usual gear, wearing a leather hood over his head and a black iron gas mask on his face as he began his usual patrols for the remains of the monsters that had plagued the area. Had it not been for the mithril armor and pack he always wore there wouldn’t really be another way to identify the man right now. It had become calm enough though that when he caught a glance of Xzavior curled up by the cliff he could take a small break to sort out a few other things, walking up to the naga as he removed the armor over his head to reveal his face before calling out to the naga in a friendly voice, “Xzavior! I think I found something I could use your help with.” Walking up he sat down, putting the mask to the side as he sent a careful glance over the edge of the cliff before turning to the naga with a slight smile.

Xzavior turned to find the source of the voice with a friendly grin, "Hello there again Linn! It's been awhile hasn't it!" He took a look at the mask and gave him a curious look, "What's up with the gear?" Without waiting for an answer he came turned to face him. "So what is it you need of me? Another test to see if you can get rid of my memories for good this time?" He gave the enchanter a joking grin.

Linn blew out a small sigh at Xzavior’s mention that it was quite a while before grinning. “It has. And things have gone to hell in the meantime.” At the question of his mask he flipped it in his hand to look at it, “Just to keep my face somewhat protected from some of the stuff out here. You know in about this same spot I almost got killed by a gigantic rat. It was big enough I could fit inside its mouth. Luckily stuff like that is on its way out. Was all a result of some really bad magic going on here a while ago.” When the subject of memories came up he snorted before chuckling again. “Actually no. If you’ve heard anything about Frostmaw well… I’m not going back there for quite some time. I’m helping Talyara set up a camp where we can stay considering her house was there and I could use some help… keeping food cold. Of all things.” Such a mundane thing to need assistance with, but he’d rather learn a small mote of cryomancy (or at least figure out how to integrate it) and use a couple gems rather than haul ice back and forth a ton of times.

Xzavior gave him a dry chuckle, "Heard about it? I got involved with it last night! Some giants had tried to exodus the city of anyone non giant before I came along and knocked some sense into them, little to say I won't be heading back to Frostmaw either." When he asked his small task he quickly have him a nod, "No problem, anything for a friend. It's disappointing all of this happened. I really hope this passes by soon, I'll definitely be there to see that happen."

Linn bit his lip as Xzavior talked about the evolving situation in Frostmaw. “Figures. Taly and I left a while before that all happened. Not sure if I’ll be able to get back in to retrieve anything else from her home though.” He eyed the naga’s condition over with a small sigh, looking for any bruises and welts that might have come from such a run-in. Giants weren’t exactly a cakewalk to brawl against. At his acceptance of the project the enchanter nodded, “Thanks. I’ve worked a little bit with temperature control, but not enough to really preserve anything. Just enough to keep something from freezing solid in the cold or boiling away in heat. I figured with a bit of your help we could make something able to do what I’m looking for. As far as everything passing… I doubt it. I’ve got a good reason to believe Hildegarde’s alive and boy, she’s not going to be happy with this. Don’t worry, I’ll be in on bringing things back to the way they were.” With their own work started in his mind he opened his pack, retrieving a fluorite stone before rummaging through until he found a few small chunks of aquamarine and after some debating, turquoise. “Honestly, I’m not too sure how much I can actually learn what you do right now, but I think I might be able to replicate it enough to sustain it…” A small grin spread itself across his face, “Just don’t freeze me.”

Xzavior gave a small nod, "Well, there is still that. I was wondering when she would be back into things recently." When he made the comment about learning about temperature control he chuckled and gave him a sly look, "Well, I can't promise anything. I might just remember that little incident and want some revenge! No, All I can tell you right now without going into everything is that cold is just the absence of heat. Every time I go to use my cryomancy I am just removing all the heat from the area, when I create ice I'm using the moisture from anything I can. It's also the reason I can actually handle the cold. All the heat I gather I use to sustain my body temperature."

Linn returned Xzavior’s jesting with a nervous smile and another chuckle before pursing his lips, intent on what the naga had to say about cryomancy. “A matter of purging…” He nodded passively in thought, recalling his own enchantment and how it had to remove heat from someone. It was more of a shield and insulation than anything, but what the naga had to say made sense. “Well we shouldn’t have to worry about moisture too much. Just the cooling which hopefully leaves things on a fairly simple level.” With the gems set out he pulled a fairly-sized wooden box out of a pouch that really shouldn’t have been able to fit such a thing; in fact it didn’t even show a sign of the bulk inside of it at all. “Welp, this is the little thing we need to enchant to make cold on the inside.” Casually he flipped the lid open, a small hinge keeping it all in one piece. Setting it aside he grabbed one of the aquamarine gems and held it in his hand for a second. “Well, how confident do you feel in chilling this gem without freezing my hand while I hold it?” He didn’t necessarily –have- to know cryomancy to enchant with it, though he still needed a sample to work with and replicate and bind.

Xzavior took a quick look at the gem and shrugged, "Very, though obviously it will still get cold in your hand. I can't do much about that unless you want me to hold it while I chill it."

Linn smirks a little bit with a slight ‘heh’ before holding the gem up in his palm for Xzavior to clasp his own hand over it. “So we have to both hold it. Because I have to hold it to figure out what’s going on.” An anticipating smile spread itself on his face as he prepared himself, shifting the magic that infused him into the gem to form around whatever the cryomancer did while channeling the power remaining in his body to shield and counter any of the effect that decided to find its way to him. If Xzavior took him up on the offer he’d find whatever effect he set on the gem strengthened and amplified beyond what he put in, hopefully not enough to result in an accidental frostbite for either of them (At least Linn had his gloves…)

Xzavior grinned and took his hand, leaving the gem in his palm. Linn would find that only the palm of his hand was growing cold as he focused his power to the area. He only planned on draining the small amount of heat coming from the gem. He quirked a brow as he felt it get colder then he originally intended but didn't question it guessing that it was Linn's doing. After a while of this he let go of his hand, the gem would look as if it had ice surrounding it.

Linn was set in an intense focus on the gem, a small shiver running through his body even though he wasn’t physically effected by the cold right now. Even after Xzavior released it and allowed him to take it back he remained stuck in his focus maintaining the magic that brought it to its current state, though he managed a few words through his work, “How cold can this thing get with the spell you used?” he asked with a note of anticipating mischief in his voice.

Xzavior said to you, "Negative twenty below. Enough to keep even your most short lasting food to survive." He gave him a curious look to match Linn's mischievous one and looked at the gem with a grin, "Why, what are you planning there mister Linn?"

Linn looked perhaps a little disappointed at the news of how cold he could make the gem. Though it was enough to satisfy him. The follow-up question brought another light chuckle, “I was just curious how far I could push the spell. I guess I’ll do that once this is done. So now…” he shifted before shutting the lid to the box at his side before setting the small gemstone on the corner of it, “I have to figure out how to make this happen inside a box.” Grabbing another nearby gem with his other hand he set it on another corner, and with another few seconds of focus moisture began condensing on its cold surface as well. He moved his hand from one gem to the other, his hand motioning as if drawing an invisible thread to connect the two before his foot tapped in thought. “Going to need your help starting the spell again once I make a way to keep it going on its own.” Reaching out he grabbed the fluorite stone, the magic chilling the aquamarine fragments beginning to wane as his focus shifted away. He paused before giving a slow passive nod, “Thanks for all the help with this. All this ceremony for keeping a box cold…” he jested with a chuckle.

Xzavior gave him a sly look, "Well if you ever needed me to lower that temperature even more, say, flash freezing someone in the matter of seconds. Then let me know and I can work something out. But you are very welcome. If you need anything else in the future don't hesitate to ask."

Linn smiled and nodded, “Yeah. At least with something simple like this I can have an idea of what you do is based on. And if you ever want something enchanted, feel free to ask me as well.” Another moment of focus on the fluorite before with a sigh he poured a fair portion of his power into the gem, a small glow coming from the rapid flow before it faded away and he set it in the center of the box. His hand went back to the aquamarine before he sighed, “Yep. Lost it…” he muttered before grabbing the other light blue stones laid out, setting one by each corner of the box. With a small tilt of his head he opened the lid up, the gems somehow remaining fixed where they were before he took a tuft of grass and threw it inside and shut it again before he drew another one of those imaginary lines from the fluorite to the gems with his hand. “Alright, chill one of those gems again and I think we can get this working.”

Xzavior nodded with a grin, "I might take you up on your offer some time." He then placed his hand on one of the gems and started focusing his magic again watching curiously as to what would happen while he did.

Linn couldn’t help sharing in the grin. It was really nice having someone else to help patch up the holes in his own knowledge for the tasks that came out of the world, and with enough time he might even be able to learn enough to start a bit of chilling on his own. “You’re helping me out here. It’s not a problem.” When Xzavior set his hand on the gem it began to chill itself similarly to when it was in the enchanter’s hand, drawing on its link to the fluorite to power and maintain itself. Linn’s hand came in to draw another invisible link, his motions tracing the edge of the box and connecting the blue stones to each other and the fluorite, condensation beginning to form on each one as he went. The grin returned to his face as he worked, the magical construct beginning to take shape. “And now…” his hand came to rest on the fluorite that was the centerpiece of the work before he began focusing intently for several minutes, the cold misty flow beginning to form in the air where he drew those traces, slowly spreading from them over the surface of the box until frost had begun forming on the wood all over. Finally releasing it he blinked slowly and shook his head with a deep sigh, the whole ordeal with the new magic a bit mentally exhausting for him. “Moment of truth…” he cracked the lid open again, the gems still staying in place as he reached inside to pull the frozen grass out and crunching it between his fingers with a satisfied smile.

Xzavior gave a quick laugh of success as the grass crumbled away, "Alright! Well there you go Linn. An icebox for you and Talyara!" He came to a stand and offered Linn a hand, "It's been great working with you again and I'm glad it ended in both of our favors this time."

Linn released a happy chuckle at the success. “You’re the one that made it work. What I knew wouldn’t be able to freeze anything. Thanks.” He remained sitting though he reached up to shake Xzavior’s hand. “I need to refine and tune and make it pretty now but that’s easy. I could even pay you for your help if you want, or you can just take some free enchantments later. Was nice working with you.” He would go back to the new construct in front of him, modifying it to preserve some energy for now as he drew a violet crystal that projected a veil of blue light that folded in on itself until it became a razor-sharp edge, the enchanter using it to carve the gems like wax into forms that could be physically set in the wood. He’d continue if Xzavior wished to watch or leave, eventually having a rather pleasantly decorated box that could keep things cool or even freeze them if he wished.

Xzavior watched for a bit as Linn went to work, "Well, I don't want to take any gold off of you for something this small. Though I might ask for an enchantment later. I have a strange feeling I might need one soon." He looked out back over the edge with a smile "I think I'll be taking my leave here soon. I'm still sore and tired from last night, it was great seeing you again though Linn. If you ever need me drop a letter or something down at my cabin. It's just south of the Sage forest I always check up on the place often so I'll respond to it fast."

Linn chuckled with a nod, “Sounds good. Whatever you need it for we can see what we can do.” Passively he kept working, making sure all of the tiny chips and fragments he flicked off of the stones landed on the box or something else to catch them, Xzavior’s mention of last night bringing a slight wince. “Yeah, you should get some rest after all that. At least you’re still able to walk around. I’ll keep your place in mind. Thanks again!” he’d call out in farewell as the naga left.