A Magical Trade (Clyde)

[L'orlei]

Timestamp: 1st of Spring, 513 AV It was the first day of spring, and the rains had begun early. The world was wet, just like the Konti liked it, and normally such a thing would not bother L'orlei at all. She loved the water, and she loved the spring. Unfortunately, she also needed to make a living. L'orlei's business was nice in that she could set up just about anywhere she wanted, but it relied on good weather to get customers. The konti people loved the water, and half their world was beneath the waves. People who weren't konti were not as fond of the rain, they tended not to be out an about. Normally L'orlei would set up shop right at the harbor, next to the docks where visitors to the island would come and go, but the rain prevented her from doing that. Instead she had to find a place in the city itself. Eventually the young konti found herself a small covered pavilion next to a popular walkway through the city. There weren't many people out, but it would have to do. L'orlei laid her blanket out on the ground, spreading out her wares. There were various plants and herbs, a few scrolls imbued with healing gnosis, some balms and potions. All of it was basic level stuff, but it was all she knew how to make. L'orlei was still a novice at her trade. As people walked by she would call out to them, trying to get them to stop and look at her wares. For the most part, people would just walk on. A few konti stopped to look, but many of them shared the same gnosis as she did, and could heal most of the basic ailments that L'orlei sold remedies for. It was exactly why she didn't like setting up shop in the city itself, her sisters didn't need her products, and most of them could produce better ones if they wanted to. After a while L'orlei spotted a robed man hurrying by. Clyde Sullins, his name echoed in her mind, as did the name of every single person she ever met. "Mister Sullins! Clyde Sullins, can I interest you in some preventative remedies. Perhaps some cream to protect your skin from the island sun, or maybe some paste to clean your teeth and gums?"

[Clyde Sullins]

It was wet out... That seemed to take up a good bit of Clyde's concentration, as he walked through the rain... True, he had his robes on, with the hood up, but they were soon soaked through and were not as helpful in keeping off the wetness from above... He was tempted to use a bit of reimancy, to repel the water from above him... Or petch, to even just pull the liquid out of his wet clothes... Even to be dry for a moment. But he doubted it would be proper, to do so in the midst of town... Plus... Using reimancy, for such a trifling thing? Though a part of his mind urged him to do so, he was able to banish the urge... He should not use reimancy for such things, even if he could do so easily... He had been talking around, trying to find someone who could lead him to the wood he needed, but had not had much luck... It seemed luck was not on his side. He was considering going anywhere to get dry, maybe to get a quick drink or bite to eat, when he heard his name being called out. As he heard his name called, he turned to see who it was saying it. He was a bit surprised to see it was a konti, apparently trying to sell her wares to him. He took a moment longer to look at her, but could not recall having seen her before... So how then did she now his name? He stepper under the pavilion with her, if nothing else a good respite from the rain, as he looked down at the things before her... A lot of green things, plants, flora... Nothing he could pick out... Some things in glass bottles and vials... A bit more interesting. The thing that did pick out his interest, was the scroll... Being an expert glypher, he was quite knowledgeable in glyphs, and could usually tell if they were of good make at a single glance. "Do I know you? I don't recall us meeting... But you seem to know my name. And I don't know yours..." He looked around at the different things, thinking on the fact of the greenery before her... Perhaps she knew of plants? "Did you find and make all this stuff yourself? Even those scrolls? Could I perhaps see one?" If she let him, he would pick up one of the scrolls, and examine it. If she had made it, it would be a good gauge of her skill in the arcane... Unless she had simply bought it from someone else, and then it would be their skills... "Or do you only sell it, and someone else makes it?"

[L'orlei]

L'orlei smiled as Clyde asked the usual questions. Luckily he did not seem overly offended that she knew his name, as some travelers did. More so, he seemed curious. Curious about everything before him. Curious was a good sign, L'orlei thought, because it was something she could work with. Perhaps she would actually make a sale that day. "My name is L'orlei," she replied, the kontinese name rolling off her tongue and sounding out of place between the common words. "I know your name because Avalis wants me to." She didn't have to mention that it was a gift, and that she knew everyone's name. Saying that Avalis wanted her to made her seem far more mysterious, and it made Clyde seem special. It was, of course, just a sales tactic, but one that she found worked form time to time. She watched in silence as Clyde looked over her things, wondering what he thought. He was dressed in robes, and he looked like he was a wizard. There weren't very many people that actually looked like they were wizards in L'orlei's experience, but Clyde certainly looked the part. She could almost feel the djed flowing through him. If she was right and he was a wizard, he was certainly more powerful than she. Asking about the scroll only further confirmed her suspicions. "Yes, you can look at it. The scroll is imbued with a bit of my gift from Rak'keli. They can cure headaches, disinfect wounds, even close minor wounds, and a number of other minor things. All you have to do is open the scroll and then say the words, heal me, which mean 'Heal Me' in my language." L'orlei handed one of the scrolls to Clyde, watching him closely as he opened it. She knew they weren't very good, and he would be able to tell right away. A customer who didn't know anything about glyphing might be fooled, but Clyde would not. They glyphs weren't bad, per say, but they were clearly simplistic and done by a novice. "I made most of what you see here, including that scroll... if I'm right about you, then you'll know I'm still a beginner. But it should still get the job done. Of course.. if you need anything healed right now, I'd be happy to do it for free."

[Clyde Sullins]

Clyde stared back at her, as she said her God was the reason she knew of his name... Which clearly was odd thing to claim, not to mention hard to disprove. He would just have to accept it for know, even if he remained suspicious of her truth. Really though, why would a God intercede, to tell her his name... Unless something important was to happen between the two... He simply nodded, as she told him her name, Lorlei. No wait, he was already remembering it wrong, differently to how she had said... Well, no matter, she could correct him later if it was an issue. As he looked over her wares, he took the offered scroll as she had said he could, rolling it open... He let out a small grin upon seeing it, and shook his head... Very basic work here... In fact, he was surprised it had not already gone off. This was so poorly done, it might go off at any moment. Signifying this, Clyde gingerly put it down, like he was afraid it might explode, as in a way it might, releasing its magic, so he spread it out before his new Konti acquaintance carefully. "Ah, well if you did make this, you might want to work a bit more on that skill. See here and here." He said this, pointing at a few spots of the barrier glyphs, without touching them. "They are certainly weaker and less well done than the surrounding points. Which means they are a likely point for a leakage to occur. I would reinforce them. Symmetry and evenness are very important in glyphing. Or perhaps even add an additional layer of glyphs to the sigil. It will take a bit more time for each scroll, but make them safer. As these are, I would not purchase one, I would be afraid they would go off at any moment releasing there magics. They are far to unpredictable. I am a bit surprised they have lasted this long." Clyde clearly was falling back into teacher mode. While he was certainly very careful when it came to his other magics, and did whatever he could to avoid showing anyone them, glyphing was different for him. He did not feel it was inherently dangerous, and actually enjoyed showing it to others. So while it was not his best skill by far in magic, it was certainly the one he liked to teach and talk about the most. And besides, if they were to have some dealings, it would always be good to start off in a position of strength, having already rendered services to the Konti. Or at least, that was how he explained in his head why he was telling her this, and helping her. In reality, he just liked to teach Glyphing, and enjoyed finding an excuse to do so. As she offered to heal him, he smiled once more. While he did have a few ailments that could be helped by a healer, he doubted such a low level one could have any effect. Most were damage relating to using magic, such as flash damage to his eyes and ears from lightning. Not something though that could be healed as a "minor wound." "I don't think I have much you could help with. Unless you know a stronger healer who could perhaps attempt it. Surely there are some here on Mura, though to be honest I would not even know were to look. But it is only one of the reasons I am here." As he said this, he looked down at the scroll once more, his finger twitching as he wanted to grab at the scroll... Perhaps he could help her out more, with a demonstration, by properly reinforcing that scroll with some of his own glyphs... After all, he did not want it exploding mid conversation.

[L'orlei]

"Well, that's why I sell them so cheap. I'm still just a beginner, my mother was Called before she had the chance to teach me more, but still.. I have to make a living. If they go off, the worst that could happen is they'll make you feel better." Most of L'orlei's training was incomplete, in fact. She had never finished her schooling with the Opal Order. She was only a novice with her gyphs and shields. Her knowledge of herbs and medicines, while enough to make the most basic of remedies, was far below what it should be. She did not know how to defend herself. She had terrible social skills, and knew almost nothing about the world beyond her island home. L'orlei was young and naive. She flaunted her gift, never seeming to realize that some people might not want their name to be known, or might take advantage of her generosity with her healing gnosis. In truth, she had a lot to learn. Clyde intrigued her. He seemed to know a lot about glyphs, which meant he probably had some other sort of magic to go with it. There was little reason to know anything about glyphing without having a magic to use with the gylphs. And then of course there was the bit about his ailments. He did not appear to have anything wrong with him, other than a few scars on his face, which most healers would not even attempt to fix. Which meant there was something wrong with him that she could not see.. something internal? Did he have some disease, some illness that was slowly eating away at him? What could it be? "You should see the healers at the Opal Temple, then. I could show you the way, though it's not easy to miss. Is that the reason you've come to Mura? To seek out healing?"

[Clyde Sullins]

Clyde thought on her words for a moment... And found he disagreed with her. "True, them going off will not damage anyone, such as other magics being stored, but it will also not help them, if they are not currently in need of the healing, or would need it later. It would more or less be money wasted, if they cannot choose the timing of their need for activation. That is why I say it is not right to sell them. Not till you get good enough for them to be predictable and more or less stable." Clyde looked at the glyphing once more, at the way it was set up... She certainly was new to the craft. "Something else to bear in mind, which I have found over my work. The strongest shape in glyphing, is the circle. So you will want to work that as much into any work, that you do. Not necessarily as a actual circle drawn as a glpyh, but in the overall strucuture of the work. A barrier is generally a circle, as it must contain the focus. But if you can work this symmetry and circular nature into the other aspects of your glyphing, perhaps even through repetition, it will enhance the overall work." The Opal Temple... Apparently a place for healers... He would have to visit it later then, he supposed. See if anyone could fix his issues. He supposed such things did build up over time, for anyone having used magic as much as he had. Small little things at first, or one or two, but the little issues here and there gained by accidents in magic, did build up. "No, that did not occur to me, until I got here. Actually the reason I am here, is to look for some wood. Some Vian wood, to be specific. It is particularly good in making staffs. I was hoping I could find it, or find someone who knew of it and could help me obtain some." As he said this, Clyde thought for a moment... She did seem to know a decent bit about plants, perhaps then she knew of the tree?

[L'orlei]

L'orlei considered Clyde's words, and as she thought more on them, her eyes widened a bit and her mouth opened somewhat in horror. He was absolutely right! She had been selling people bad products.. taking their mizas, and hurting them! Not with the product itself, the scrolls were absolutely harmless, bur hurting their purse. What if they needed those mizas to buy some food, and couldn't? Or what if they did need the scroll, but it went off prematurely!? "You... you are right," she whispered quietly, reverting to Kontinese, "I have done a terrible thing." Her eyes shifted back to Clyde. He was going on about circles, and how to improve her glyphs, but L'orlei could not stop thinking about the harm she had done. It felt almost as bad as if she were to refuse her mark to someone.. almost. She nodded silently as he gave her advice, having nothing really to say. It wasn't until he changed subjects and answered her question about the temple, and then brought up the vian wood that she spoke again. "Oh, Vian Wood. Yes, it is very special.. there are plenty of shops that sell things worked from Vian wood.. but, I doubt you will find a staff. You would need a," L'orlei paused, trying to think of the proper word in common, "A.. fresh.. branch, I think. One that has not been worked on." L'orlei thought about it for a moment. Vian wood could be found throughout the island, though without proper knowledge, one might just get lost. And it was never cut fresh from the tree. The konti only used fallen branches. If she just let Clyde go off and find it himself, he might damage one of the trees, or even hurt himself blundering about the island. "The Vian trees are special too.. you can't just take what you want from them. I could show you where they are and help you find a branch.. but I don't like the idea of just giving the branches to a stranger to the island. What can you give me in return? You seem to know a lot about glyphing.. what else do you know?"

[Clyde Sullins]

Clyde frowned, as he tried to understand the words of the konti. But alas, he did not speak her tongue, and was left in confusion as to what she was saying. Though from the tone, and her expressions, he assumed it was not something good. After a bit though, she spoke once more in a language he knew, speaking in reply to his mentioning of the Vian Tree. It turned out, she did indeed know of it. A branch... Honestly, he had not thought of that... Surely, for such a end product, a huge piece of wood was not needed, cutting was not even really required. One could simply turn the branch itself, into the staff. Obviously with a bit of carving needed, but the basic shape of the item would be left unchanged. In fact, that would likely make the task easier for anyone to make it into one. "Hmmm... I had not thought of that... Perhaps you are right... I suppose a branch would work, if it is long enough. Though I need one about as long as I am tall. Perhaps more than one, so I can make a test one first for my... Hmm...." At the end here, Clyde was going off tangent, thinking of his Magecrafting. Now that he thought of it, why not make more than one? Then he could make a staff, as practice, and sell it, before making the greater one for himself. Why had he not thought of that before? But as he thought on this, she responded, in a way he admitted was a bit unexpected, from her earlier words, though that he could find himself saying often enough... She wanted something in return, magics apparently, in exchange for her assistance... "You want magical training, in exchange for your assistance?" Clyde thought on this... Clearly she was a mage, if she knew glyphing, though he did not know what else she knew... But at least, he would not be teaching her her first magic, she was already a mage, even if a weak one... "First of all, what magics do you know? Is glyphing your only one? I would not mind giving you further tutelage in it, as you clearly do seem a bit lacking. I would not mind a lesson in it. As for other magics I know... Well, most I know are of a low level, and I do not know them well enough to teach another... And others... well, I would prefer not to deal in it. Glyphing though, I would not mind giving a lesson" The "other" Clyde referred to was reimancy, his greatest magic, but also the one he taught the least. It was dangerous enough in itself, and he did not want a bunch of unskilled users running around with it. Not to mention, the risks of the initiation itself. He had little qualms over teaching glyphing, but reimancy? Only if the need was dire, and the reward great.

[L'orlei]

"I do not need training in glyphing.. no.. I mean, not from you. Once I begin my classes again, there will be people who can teach me that. Glyphing is useful to healers like me, because we can put our power into it, so a lot of us learn it." L'orlei considered Clyde's words. Her common was not the best, but she pretty much understood what he said. And she understood there was one thing he was trying to avoid bringing up. That of course made her all the more curious. The merchant in her understood that the thing one wanted to give up the least was usually the most valuable, and that meant it was probably also the most desirable. But she would give him a grain first and answer his other question. "The magic I know involves protecting myself from djed, and other things. In your language I think it is called Shielding." L'orlei was very curious. She wanted to know what this "other" magic was. She wondered if Clyde realized his own mistake in leading her on that way. "I don't want to learn something you are only a beginner in. That sounds dangerous. But this other magic?" L'orlei paused, considering her words carefully. "Vian wood is very... oh, what is the word for it? It is very... precious? Yes! Vian wood is very precious to us. I would only expect something equally precious in return." At those words the merchant in her beamed. It was strange. If this were just a social conversation about Vian wood, she would have been shy and reserved. But it was a sale, as far as she was concerned, and when she was selling she shined. It was why she knew she would not excel as a normal healer. While she was willing to share her power with anyone who had immediate need, she knew that her future was in selling her skills.

[Clyde Sullins]

Clyde of course, was no master negotiator, so he did make the simple mistake of letting slip more than he should have. He did not even realize it at the time, what he had done. To him, it had been a simple enough statement, almost absentmindedly. Clyde nodded, as the woman explained why glyphing was in particular helpful to her. Though he shook his head, at hearing her say she did not need a lesson from him. What, was he not good enough? Or was he to good... Perhaps she wanted something better, for what she offered... As she continued on, she mentioned shielding, which she did call correctly, even though she was unsure of the fact. It was another magic he knew a small bit about, but needed to work on. "Yes, shielding, I know a small bit of it also. It is one of my lesser ones. Useful, but I have never found myself to be adept at it. It does not come as naturally to me, as some other ones, like glyphing always has. Perhaps something intrinsic about it, and its ways, does not coincide with me." Clyde found himself frowning, as she pressed on, almost insisting on knowledge of this other magic that he knew. Trying to press on the point, of the value of what she was giving up. At least in that, he did notice her words, and see that she was painting it on a bit thick, likely not being totally honest. She did not outright lie, he did not think, but she was twisting it a bit, to try and make her side seem the more valuable. "Yes my other magic. Well, as I said, I am not as comfortable in dealing with that. And by your own admission, of why you have learned magics, it does not seem to match with you and your reasons. Shielding, to protect you from djed, and other things. Glyphing, it helps to stabilize and focus other magics, and to an extent lets you store it. But my other magic, is not like that. It is deadly, a weapon. Not to be trifled with. And not a magic it is wise to simply be initiated into, and then left to ones own devices. It requires proper training, and tutelage." Clyde paused for a moment, looking her deep in the eyes... He was not sure he could trust this konti with his greatest and most deadly of magics, if used correctly... And if used incorrectly... It could be horrific... "My other magic, is called Reimancy. It is used to control the elements. And in some ways it can be used to help, in small things, but its principle and greatest purpose, is in battle, and destruction. Which seems at odds, with your healing nature, and why you say you want magic. " "Not to mention, while I might want Vian wood... I do not think it alone, would be worth me teaching my magics to you. Not that magic. If that is all you offer, I will find another to help me." In this case, Clyde was in a position of power, in their bargaining. Though he may have made a slip up earlier in revealing to much, he could ask many different Konti to help him find Vian wood. But she only had him, to teach her Reimancy. Instruction in it was hard to find, at least from someone as knowledgeable in it as he was. From anyone lesser in it than he, it was dangerous at best, and fatal at worst. Not to mention, how much mages tended to covet such secrets.