Events of 12-9-1266 TGR - House Affairs
Events of 12-9-1266 TGR
Magic Training
Branwyn rose early, went down to the courtyard, and started laying out the items Phillipe had collected for her. Her plan was to keep it simple, but give them both a variety of different items to work with.
She laid out some rope, a small chest, a pitcher of water, a bucket filled some scrap parchment, some small stones, and about a dozen small clay pots. Then she took a seat with her spell book in hand and looked over some spells while she waited.
After a short bit, Joseph tentatively entered the courtyard and greeted Branwyn. He started to sit and then got up again, unsure of what he was supposed to be doing.
Branwyn looked up from her book and smiled. “Good morning, Joseph. I hope you memorized some nice spells to show me. I had Phillipe bring some things for us to play with for our first lesson.”
She looked Joseph up and down quickly. “Where’s your spell book? I should probably take a quick look at it before we get too far along. Here, you can take a look at mine first and then I’ll let you run and get yours. Just read me what it says on the inside cover and then find the sleep spell for me please.”
Joseph takes the book from Branwyn and turns it over in his hands. Running his hands over the cover he asks, "This is Dragon Turtle Skin? Or is it Alligator? It feels very solid." He opens up the book and flips through a few pages. He runs his fingers over some of the diagrams then looks up. "I think this drawing here is about how to inscribe a circle to bring forth something, but I am not sure what. I am sorry but perhaps you were not told that I cannot read?"
He hands the book back to Branwyn and stands expectantly waiting for the next part of the lesson.
Branwyn put the book down on a side table and gestured for Joseph to sit.
“Joseph, mages read. It’s what they do. If you can’t, then you are not a mage. And if you are not a mage, I need to know why you want to join a Mage’s Guild. It would be like me wanting to join the Thieves’ Guild. I might have a good time there, but I’m not exactly qualified.”
Branwyn thought for a moment. “Now, contrary to popular opinion, I know very little about witches. I know they deal more with herbs and potions than big spell books. Their powers are more limited and they might be able to get away without knowing how to read. Are you a witch, Joseph? Should we go down to my lab and do a bit of tasting? I do have some herbalism skills and I could dig up some interesting things to do down there if that would be better.”
Joseph smiles at Branwyn. "I am not a witch, although I think that more properly that would be a warlock perhaps? or witch doctor? I am not aware of how mages classify everyone."
He pauses to organize his thoughts. "First I think it would be a good thing to join a thieve guild if you wanted to. It would give you more contacts in the City and who knows what skills or people you know from there would be helpful in the future. I have always been interested in learning what I can from those around me." Pauses and proceeds cautiously, "which is why I already know about some of the things in your lab. I helped clean up there and I know better than to touch things and cause problems. You have a nice selection of quills there, having a hippogriff must make that easier to find. You have fewer jars with things floating in them than other's I have seen but I have always suspected that partially those were for show anyway."
He pauses again, "Do you think we should go down there now to continue?"
“I think we will stay here for a bit longer, and yes, Joseph, you would be a warlock.’ Branwyn raised an eyebrow at Joseph’s revelations, but smiled in spite of herself. “And no matter how useful the contacts, I am not sure that it would be proper for the Drillian Ambassador to be discovered as a paying member of the local Thieves’ Guild. Besides, it’s not like the Mage’s Guild where you can just ask directions to get there. I always thought the thieves kept their meeting places quite hidden. Too much work for me to find them and we have others for that sort of thing,” she said with a shrug.
“But back to the topic at hand. I assume your laboratory knowledge comes from your time with the gypsies. Anyone else’s labs you have worked in other than gypsies'?”
"I have always liked exploring and seeing what I can find. The thieves guild here in town keeps a pretty low profile so that those who do get caught tend to be the lone wolf sort of thieves. I helped one of that sort once when he had a task that he needed someone who knew the ins and outs of using a block and tackle to do a second story job in an alchemist shop. It was a bit scary to set up the gear for that, that would be a great thing to know a spell for." He shrugs, "but I do not think that is what you wanted me here for. Yes I have seen a few laboratories but I have never spent a much time in any of them. Gypsies are even more secretive than thieves of some things."
The only things Branwyn understood out of all that was that Joseph had broken into the local alchemist shop in the past, he had a passing knowledge of perhaps what to touch and what not to touch in a laboratory, and that he wasn’t going to be sharing anything he knows about the gypsies. Joseph was getting to be quite an attractive suspect in the Ambassador’s murder as far as means was concerned. Motive still seemed to be lacking.
“I am aware that gypsies like their secrets. I won’t ask you to divulge anything you are not comfortable with,” Branwyn said and pulled out her locket to show Joseph. “This locket was given to me by a wisewoman in Drillian. I am a friend to the gypsies there. I did not study with them, but I understand and do not judge them as others sometimes seem to do.”
Branwyn put the locket back and stood up. “Well, we shouldn’t let all these things Phillipe collected go to waste. When I first learned magic, there were basic spells my master and I thought I had to learn, how to read magic, detect it and so forth. Would you like to see the first spell I really got to choose on my own? It’s funny. I hardly ever use it anymore. The spells I know now are so much more, hmmm, let us say, more effective than this one.”
Branwyn said a few soft words and pointed a finger at one of the ceramic pots. A burst of electrical energy shot forth from her, shattering the pot to small bits. She smiled in satisfaction. “But when I first learned it, it made me so excited. It is similar to magic missile but it delivers its blow in one concentrated blast. When I was just learning, it was far more powerful than magic missile was for me. Now it is just a bit of nostalgia really. I would like you to tell me about your first spell and let me see it.”
"It is well known that Branwyn the Mysterious is a friend to the Gypsy Folk. I believe any most gypsies would trust you. I am not a gypsy so I am not sure that type of protections come to me as well." Joseph says with a slight bow.
"Your destruction of a pot is nothing that I have ever learned how to do. I could heat the pot or freeze it but I have never learned any skills such as that." He gestures to one of the other pots, "would you like me to fill that up and heat it for tea?"
“I didn’t expect you to do the same kind of spell as I just did and no, I will wait for breakfast to have my tea, thank you. What I had asked was for you to cast one of the first spells you learned. But let me change that request now. Show me the biggest, most powerful spell you can cast. Amaze me. It doesn't matter what it is. And don’t be afraid of hurting me if an attacking spell is your most powerful.” Branwyn smiled. “Just try not to kill me outright. If we need to call Tristan, he’s right across the courtyard.”
"I do not have any powerful spell to attack with. I would prefer to not attack with any weapon if possible. It always seems to be a way of having something turned against you. I have always tried to avoid combat if possible."
He walks over the bucket and empties it of the scraps of parchment. "I can do this" he holds a piece over the bucket and it bursts into flame. "Or I can try this" and he holds another piece over the bucket that freezes solid and he drops it into the bucket.
"I am not certain that is enough for what you want but I do not have other flashier things to do."
“Joseph, it is not a matter of what I want. It is a matter of what you can do. And that brings us back to why you want to join the Mage’s Guild. You cannot use their library. You cannot learn spells from them nor have discussions on an even level about the topics that are of interest to most mages. You seem to understand mages in general and especially those in this city from what I gathered during our discussion the other day. So you know all of this. Please explain what you hope to gain from a membership. I am responsible for your actions there and if you do anything to cause problems, I will be called to answer for it. Surely you can understand my concerns.”
"I wanted to join the guild because you were. It will be of great help if one of the staff can access you while you are there at the guild. As I said before I like exploring and learning. I am certain that there are things I can learn there that do not involve reading books. I know that there are mages that like to research and explore without getting their hands dirty. Perhaps I can do some things for them in exchange for something you or I need. It cannot hurt to have more contacts. Mistress Waverlyn would never have joined the Mages Guild so this is a new opportunity for me. "
Joseph smiles, "Quills to write with are always of use to mages. We happen to have a ready supply of them here that we could use to our advantage."
“Well, that first part is the most obvious untruth you have said yet this morning. If I am at the guild and someone is in need of me, all they have to do is knock and ask for me. Do not try to pander to me by saying your reasons are for my best interests. I am also not planning on pawning off your services in order to get what I need. It does seem that Phillipe is not keeping you busy enough if you have so much free time that you can take on side jobs at the Mage's Guild.”
Branwyn took her spell book off the table and pulled her chair away from it a bit. “Now back to magic. I do like your freezing spell but I’d like you to go a little bit bigger. Freeze the table, Joseph.”
Joseph gave Branwyn a tight frown for a moment. He walked up to the table and placed his hand on the top concentrating. A circle of ice extended from his hand. Then he pick up his hand and moved it to another portion of the table top to freeze a new circle. As he continued he said, "I did not mean to imply that I was being altruistic in my joining the mages guild along with you. I will have perhaps more to gain than you do. However you are mistaken if you think just anyone can walk up to their door and be accepted. You do remember that as we approached the door they were already waiting for you. Along with the subtle building schemes inside." He moved over to the last spot on the table top and started to freeze it. "I believe that you will need to have an apprentice to run errands for you, handle small things with the mage guild when your own duties do not let you have so much free time."
He steps back, "Do you want me to do the legs also?"
“No, thank you, I’ve seen what I wanted to see. You’ve done well. But if you can cause fire and ice in this fashion, there are other things you can do as well. We can start with the rope. Put a knot in it and then remove it. Magically, of course. Then you can tell me about what happened to Mistress Waverlyn. I have heard Phillpe’s and Atribella’s scattered stories, but they weren’t in the room like you were and they don’t seem to understand magic like you do. Walk me through everything that happened the day that she was murdered, please.”
Joseph looks at the rope skeptically. "I have no idea how to tie a rope with magic, I could cut it with fire instead?"
"I am glad to answer your questions about Mistress Waverlyn. I walked into her room to see if there was anything she needed for the rest of the day. When I entered the room she was sitting on her bed with a dagger stuck in her belly with a look of shock on her face. As she fell forward off of the bed a flame spread out. I think it was from the candles next to her bed. I yelled out and tried to pull her out of the flame. Then there was a WHOOSH and I was being pulled back by Phillipe."
Joseph pauses for a moment, "It was very hard. We got out of the room and I had to help carry Atribella downstairs. We made it to the street just as a crowd was gathering and the building was burning, smoke was coming out of all the windows. The priests from the city guard stopped the fire from spreading. When it had calmed down a bit Phillipe sent me to secure lodgings for us as soon as I could. I went off to the Naval Yard because I thought they would be the easiest to find a place to stay and if we needed to get away from the City quickly we would be near the docks."
He looks at the rope, shrugs and picks it up. He quickly twists it into a complicated knot. "This I can do, see it is secure until you pull this loop and then, " with a light tug the knot dissolves away, "like so. I think that your knowledge of magic is so extensive that what for you is easy is complicated for others Branwyn the Mysterious."
“What you are doing with fire and ice is cantrip magic. This is how you are able to cast repeatedly to cover a table in ice and why you do not have to spend your mornings memorizing your spells for the day. It is easier for me to learn than for others, but once you have the basic skill in cantrip magic, there are many things you may do with it. The gyspies only taught you those two things? They did not tell you that you may do all sorts of little things with the same magic?” she asked, shaking her head. “It is a waste of a very useful skill to limit it in such a way.”
“But back to the Ambassador for a moment. So you were walking into her bedroom to check on her and found her stabbed. The first fire, you attribute to her falling and bringing the candles down with her. But the second, the one with the WHOOSH as you say, seemed more like magic? Do you remember anything odd in the room? Was the window open, like someone had broken in? Were her things is disarray like someone was searching the room for something? And do you not think it odd that you did not hear screams from Mistress Waverlyn’s room? If someone came into my bedroom and stabbed me in the belly I think I would be screaming for help or from the pain. I don’t think I would be silently sitting there.”
"When I went into her room I did not think to look to see if the window was broken sorry. I think? maybe? that it was open? I think there were drapes flutering around? I was more worried about the Mistress and then getting her away from the fire. None of us heard anything from her room at all, so I cannot explain what happened with why she did not call out."
Joseph looks back at the pile of objects on the table. "I think I can do something with this," he picks up a jar with water in it. He concentrates and a thin column of water starts to grow like a stalk up out of the surface. "I do this sometimes to help me with my cleaning. I can say that the gypsies never taught me any of this, it was from before I really lived with them."
Branwyn watched the water rise from the pitcher and nodded appreciatively. “Nicely done. So if you did not learn magic from the gypsies, who taught you these things?’
‘And there is another issue I have regarding the Ambassador’s murder. Well, there are many more, but let’s start with the poisoning. The priest Philippe hired said that Mistress Waverlyn was poisoned, but Atribella said that she was on her way to the room with refreshments and letters. So this was either a slow acting poison from an earlier meal or Mistress Waverlyn was fond of eating and drinking in her bedroom throughout the day. Did she have a visitor in her bedroom earlier that may have left her something or was she served earlier in her room?”
Joseph smiles at the praise. "I learned while following people around the village at home before my mother brought us traveling with the gypsies."
He lets the water subside back into the pot.
"Mistress Waverlyn would often request a small plate of goodies for eating and drinking at all times of the day or night. Atribella and I would take turns with the cooking and fetching. I was surprised to hear the Mistress was poisoned. I do not remember her acting strange at all. If as you say it is a slow acting poison perhaps she would have died from the poisoning if she had not been stabbed? Is that how those types of poisons work? The only thing I know of is the gypsy powder that puts people to sleep. It does not harm them so I cannot speak to other things that thieves do."
"For visitors I think it would be more for Phillipe to answer, but I can say that it would be a very unusual day for her to not have at least one or two visitors."
“That’s fair enough. I think I need to think about the poisoning a bit more than I have. This is about enough for one morning. I will go ahead and pay your membership fees in the guild for the year, but be careful over there.’
‘Miranda is looking to take on students and she is skilled in things like herbalism and botany, besides reading and magic. There is much you can learn from her if you choose to do so. However, you and I seem to be the only ones in the household who have learned to use the little magic. So, how about this? Once a week come find me and I will show you something. It will be up to you to practice and learn it. I don’t have time for long lessons and would only aggravate you in long sessions. Probably just like this morning,” she said with a grin. “Let’s go to the stables.”
As they walked, Branwyn asked, “Have you ever used the ice magic on a person? Jondar told me the story of the girl found frozen on our steps last summer. Sounded like magic to me, don’t you think?”
Walking across the courtyard with Branwyn, "I did not see the girl that was frozen. I was not in the City when that happened. I was off.... "glances around... lower voice.. "I was off delivering something for Mistress Waverlyn to a pirate ship that was upriver."
He opens the door to the stables for Branwyn, "I would like to learn what I can from you if that is ok with you. Just not spiders please. I saw the cage of crickets in your room, don't they keep you up at night?"
Branwyn sighed, “Can you please tell Phillipe to bring the crickets back down to the laboratory? My spell components are supposed to be there and not in my bedroom. But that’s not important now. What was Mistress Waverlyn sending to pirates? Tell me what you know of these dealings.”
"I can move the crickets for you. As for what she was sending back and forth with pirates I cannot say. It was always a scroll of some sort, although once there was a nice large clear lens. Perhaps like for a spy glass such as yours? I made five, maybe six trips for her. Twice across the peninsula to daggers end and north. The others were often meet someone near the docks, or in the harbor and then they would take me to their ship. "
“Scrolls. So she was using the pirates to send messages then. And of course you could not read them so you were the perfect man for delivering them. You know, if I do ever figure out who killed the former Ambassador, I will probably reward them before anything else I had originally planned. But here is your lesson for the week. Watch carefully. I am going to breathe out like this …. while moving my hand like this and concentrate,” she said demonstrating by moving her hand in a small circular motion. Then she looked at the back wall of the stable and performed the actions simultaneously. A large section of the stable back wall became spotlessly clean. “Simple really. Give it some practice. And now I am off to breakfast. Thank you for an entertaining morning, Joseph.”
