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Post by Althea on Apr 19, 2017 19:53:23 GMT -6
To say that Althea was exceptionally observant was, at the best of times, a questionable claim. Tonight, she could probably would into a tree and not notice. Or a sword. So far she hadn't done either of them, she wasn't too cheap to pay THAT much attention. But her mind was most assuredly elsewhere, wrapped in its own recess. She had followed a tip to somewhere in this location, investigating stories of an ancient stone circle said to possess magical powers, once the focus of a local religion - until the foulest magics ensnared it and claimed those nearby, a curse so vile that it sapped the life from the area and killed anyone who entered it.
Privately she doubted that any of that was actually true aside from it maybe being easier to communicate with Anima magic spirits there, but if it really existed it was likely that SOMETHING had happened there long ago, though probably less fanciful than a mythical curse and more along the lines of a crazy mage or unfortunate accident. Regardless! Simply finding the site, if it actually existed, would at least let her inspect it. Learn if there was some kind of strong magical resonance with the structure, investigate any possibility of a curse, so on and so forth.
"...ey. HEY!" Hm? The shaman's head jerked upwards from its peaceful recline halfway down to her chest, completely taken off guard by the unwelcome intrusion into her innermost sanctum. Thankfully, she hadn't walked into any trees OR swords, that was nice, but after a few moments she realized that there was a rather large and scantily clad gentleman accosting her to the right, a bottle of something that bubbled and hissed in one hand - was alcohol supposed to do that? - and a scowl on his face. "Thinks you're too - hic - good to talk to us, with your fancy..." He was swaying back and forth a bit, apparently angry. Althea frowned as she noted that there were several more men gathered around a nearby campfire, a dozen meters or so off the road, watching the scene with interest but not actively joining their comrade just yet.
She also noticed the weapons strewn about. Hm. Mercenaries at best. Bandits at worst. Neither option was ideal, given that she had neither the coin to hire the former nor the ability to satisfy the latter. "Please let me through," she settled for, not looking particularly imposing in a nice white dress and a sack of material that was getting REALLY heavy after being held for so long. But appearances could be deceiving. Not deceiving enough to give her any sort of advantage in a real fight if the others joined in, though.
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Post by Talus on Apr 19, 2017 21:15:24 GMT -6
Talus yawned as he walked around the place. Night walking wasn't really his thing, but sometimes, it helped to get some cool night air. That, and the noise from the nighttime forges wasn't exactly helping lull him to sleep either. Normally, such machinery would have a soothing effect on him, but the loudness of the forges was just too much for him to slip into the embrace of dreamland. That, and the smell of smoke wasn't exactly pleasant either. Thus, he had taken to the outskirts of town, carrying his tome in self defense. And then, right before he decided to head back, he heard something he indisputably recognize as trouble. He turned his head against his better judgement twoards it. When two drunkards fought each other, after all,it was best not to get involved. Except one of then wasn't a drunkard. It was a woman, and a pretty one at that.
Also, there was a camp nearby that he recognized as belonging to Brigand mercenaries, and probably where that drunkard had come from. While they weren't yet getting involved, he could tell that they were beginning to eye the girl with a certain sort of nasty look that made Talus shudder. He sighed.
That girl was probably going to get herself hurt at this rate, and he had been raised to be a gentleman. Even though he was usually against meddling in other's affairs that did not concern him, this time was not one of those. "She said let her pass. Come on. This doesn't need to turn nasty." he said, hoping that they had some sensibility still. He really wasn't looking forward to a fight, especially not one so late at night.
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Post by Althea on Apr 19, 2017 22:17:44 GMT -6
The boisterous bastard skewered her with his gaze, the one good eye in his face matched by its closed counterpart, covered by a scar that probably had a story behind it. Althea found that she did not care. She was typically rather mild mannered but when focused she could be much more brusque in her attempts to move back onto the path she had been treading. In this case, it meant that Althea's... limited social grace was strained to its limits. Though she wasn't exactly the type to start murdering people in cold blood, and her social limits weren't exactly very far anyways. "Please. I don't want any trouble. I'm just investigating the ruins of-""Ah shut yer meat hole," the much louder voice overwhelmed her pleading in an instant, the slender shaman shrinking back as the drunkard towered over her, seemingly growing in size with each passing moment.
Althea found herself in an interestingly ambivalent state when a young man's voice carried through the clearing, apart from the group, something that distracted the bandit as well. She couldn't see him exceptionally clearly in the deepening dusk, but he looked to have darkish hair and be relatively young, a scholar of some sort perhaps - she noted that actually interested her more than this whole stupid scene for a moment. On one hand, she was getting... very tired of having to be saved time and time again. Circe, Bryn, Drei, Jalid, everyone she bloody ran into ended up saving her life, usually within thirty seconds of meeting her.
On the other hand, she was willing to sacrifice a bit of pride if it meant she stayed alive.
So all in all, she was relatively pleased to see Talus's arrival on the scene. The brigand next to her did not share her sentiments. "And what the f**k are YOU looking at, boy? Your brain as small as you? Me'n the lady is having a disc-scussion here," he paused to hiccup, holding the fizzing bottle of what was probably alcohol up accusatively at the white-clad mage. "So you can buzz off."
Near the fire one of the men was starting to get up and head over towards the arguing trio, something Althea noticed as another part of her realized that the brigand now accosting Talus wasn't paying as much attention to her. Do it, Eris's strident voice shot through her head, and Althea could feel the anger pulsing through her for a moment, almost enough to sweep her off her feet; the rage that was not hers but became hers when Eris's influence grew. But she stayed her hand, barely, though a twisting tendril of shadow wrapped around her right arm for a moment as her connection to the Nether grew.
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Post by Talus on Apr 19, 2017 23:04:32 GMT -6
He overheard her mention ruins, and made a mental note to ask her about it later. The more pressing matter was the bandit, who was getting slowly more and more irritated.
What really got him was the yelling. He could practically smell the alcohol on his breath. Definitely drunk. And then came one of the men from the campfire stood up and came to them. Talus couldn't make out who it was at first,ignoring the yelling buffoon. Once he saw who it was, he sighed in relief. It was one of his old instructors, a Dark Knight named Victor David who had left his teaching post on an extended sabbatical.
"Talus. I wasn't expecting to see you here. Is the girl with you?" The older man said with a smile.
"Um, no. I just intervened because I can't exactly leave a woman in trouble, now can I?" Talus said. Victor smiled, mussing the boy's hair. "Good lad. Your parents raised you well. We should talk later." He said to Talus, turning to face the one eyed bandit.
"Bartholio. Leave her alone, or i'm docking your share next time. Lady, I suggest you apologize to him before you go on your way." he said in an authoritative, stern tone as he walked over to the bandit, a sword in hand. Talus knew from experience that his instructor had been ex-army, and was easily more than capable of beating down the bandit. He had been Talus's combat instructor, after all, so Talus knew first hand what he was capable of as Talus rushed to her side, forming a human wall seperating her and the bandit from each other as he turned to her. "It's okay. My name's Talus. Get behind me. I can take him, no problem." he said, bravado creeping into his voice.
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Post by Althea on Apr 20, 2017 0:04:47 GMT -6
And the situation just kept getting better. Apparently the bandit(?) approaching them was a friend of her so-called savior. At least he wasn't drunk... for better or for worse. A sane man could be reasoned with, if his pride did not get in the way, and if they were indeed mercenaries rather than mere brigands, then they were unlikely to act further unless attacked. So... probably not wise to start magicking all over the place. Good thing to keep in mind. She had no idea what the older man was capable of, but Althea wasn't exactly focused on comparing strengths or fanning the flames of her own ego, so she was QUITE happy not to attack him to say the least.
Things went back downhill rather quickly when he actually intervened, though, and it took the pale shaman a moment to actually comprehend what he had said. He wanted HER to apologize to the drunkard who had one step shy of assaulted her, WOULD have given another moment or two? Now granted she was no esteemed ethicist, but that sounded like just about the exact opposite of Right. In fact, it sounded to her like a completely unreasonable demand. Not even Talus interposing himself between them served to drown Althea's ire as she bristled at the demand, launching back a response at the older man. "I will do no such thing!" Her voice was quiet and soft, but edged with a strength atypical for her. "I was accosted while passing by, not the instigator of this folly."
She couldn't honestly tell if the sword-wielding man was just trying to blunt the disagreement or every bit as worthless a cur as his companion, but either way there was no justice in demanding recompense of her when it was his failure to restrain his colleague that had led to all of this. And she had NO idea whatsoever what to make of the young man, though his movement suggested that he was at least not about to rape or murder her for the crime of... not apologizing. That was the kind of thing she wanted to be sure of, though. She could already feel Eris stirring, drawn by her own wild emotions, and rather than afraid for herself, Althea was beginning to be concerned for the lot of them. "Talus, are you with these... brigands as well?"
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Post by Talus on Apr 20, 2017 0:26:49 GMT -6
And then it all went down to hell. "Why, why, why couldn't some people swallow their pride once in a while?" he thought to himself, as much as the hypocritical statement applied to him. Her words were soft, yet harsh.
"Look. I'm not sure what happened exactly, but I know Victor well enough. He wouldn't demand anything unreasonable here..." he said, trying to calm her down. If this turned into a fight, it would probably wind up with her in the hospital. He looked nervously at Victor, who spoke in a calm an even tone,like an adult trying to soothe an angry child.
"Alright, alright. Calm down. He may be rowdy, but you did bump into him first, and did not acknowledge it as per common courtesy. The least you could do is apologize for that. I apologize on his behalf for causing this whole folly, you're right. I will see to it a portion of his share is docked, and keep a better eye on him in the future." he answered her.
It was the brigands comment that Talus responded to.
"No, i'm not. And they're mercenaries, not brigands." he said. "For one thing, if they actually were brigands, you'd be in huge trouble by now." he thought.
"Please. I'd rather not have to resort to force for something like this... and don't think I didn't notice that tendril of dark energy earlier. I know what that can do... all the more reason not to fight, no?" he said coldly. "She's a shaman? Huh. I've never seen one before... she looks much younger than in the stories. Prettier too." Talus thought in reaction to his words.
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Post by Althea on Apr 20, 2017 1:12:42 GMT -6
Althea raised an eyebrow at Talus's response, somewhat taken off guard by it. She'd half expected him to turn on her or say something entirely stupid, but instead he'd illustrated the amount of faith he had in the older man, for better or for worse. At least it suggested that he knew the older man well enough to have actual faith in him rather than simply defending his boss. It was... POSSIBLE that this was all just some kind of complex trap, she supposed, but didn't really get the feeling that was the case. At least not yet. Didn't mean she trusted any of them further than she could throw them, which... wasn't saying much. She wasn't sure she could even lift any of them aside from maybe Talus.
Victor's explanation of his side of what had happened was what gave her pause further though. Althea didn't remember doing any such thing - she hadn't noticed the other man (Bartholio?) until he was already to her right, not in front of her - which suggested it was not exactly what had happened. But at the same time... she didn't truly KNOW that it hadn't. Maybe she had bumped into him and knocked him to the side, and that drew the reaction? The anger-soaked certainty of a moment before evaporated, leaving Althea standing in its cooling embers, realizing how quickly the anger had overtaken her... a problem that seemed to be happening more and more often lately. Was it possible that she had overreacted? Viewed through the cold lens of objectivity, it was a possibility she could not entirely ignore. Whether it was LIKELY or not was irrelevant. The possibility existed.
...And in that light, there was no value in unnecessary conflict. The shaman's arms dropped down from their ready position as she relaxed her mind and body, still not 100% certain of their intent but in enough of her right mind to recognize that de-escalating the situation was a wise move, and that whether or not this 'Victor' was correct, he wasn't actually wrong regardless. She swallowed, pushing the remnants of her outrage back down, and stepped around Talus gingerly looking somewhat less mutinous than she had moments before. "I understand." She turned towards the drunkard, bowing lightly. "I apologize for disturbing you, Bartholio." She bit her lip, then turned back to Victor. "-And please don't dock his share on my account. No harm was done thanks to your and Talus's intervention. ...Thank you."
Althea found herself realizing that she wouldn't have backed down anyways if she had truly believed she was right, but given the situation, discretion was the better part of valor. She was... less averse to the taking of life than those who accosted her lately realized, but that did not mean she was fond of it in the least, nearing pacifism if not carried away by her emotions - or were they Eris's? - and certainly not looking to throw away anyone's life, hers or that of others, over such a petty squabble. That, and being dead make it harder for her to focus on important things. Like ruins! "If that is all, I will excuse myself." She didn't walk away immediately, waiting to see how they responded, but Althea wanted neither part nor parcel of the group in the remainder of her evening after what had already happened.
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Post by Talus on Apr 20, 2017 11:23:05 GMT -6
She seemed to seriously consider their words, as she finally apologized to Bartholio.
It all seemed to work out in the end, as the drunkard accepted it with a light nod before passing out then and there, dropping his weapon to the ground,
"Alright.You're welcome, young lady. But it would be prudent to pay better attention to your surroundings in the future. Now come on, Bartholio. Let's get back to camp. Can't have you passed out on the open road, after all." he said, smiling.
"You're welcome." Talus said, also smiling as well. He then would have begun to have a short chat with Victor about just what he was doing with mercenaries, but then he remembered what he wanted to ask her when she said she was about to go.
"Say, I heard you mention some ruins earlier. What's that about? Mind if I come with you? I'm curious." he said to her, smiling.
In the days to come, he would find out just why Victor had been with the mercenaries: he had gone on an extended sabbatical,mainly for personal reasons to renew his combat instincts, and pick up new techniques thay had been developed. As Victor reasoned that such things were best developed through experience, and that there were some things one could simply not develop through training. However, since he was beginning to show his age in years, he would have to be content with mercenary work which at least ensured that he would be with a group (as he was getting a bit too old for solo adventuring).
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Post by Althea on Apr 20, 2017 14:03:17 GMT -6
She would have said it was an exciting adventure... if she had a sense of adventure. As it stood, Althea was just glad that the moment seemed to have passed without bloodshed. She couldn't even take on three pirates at once without Eris's help, she didn't think that a whole group of brigands ('mercenaries,' whatever, the difference was inconsequential) would have ended much better. She answered Victor's admonitions with a nod and a thin smile and little else, intent on getting moving again before wasting too much further time.
Interestingly enough though, the young man didn't quite share her sentiments, instead approaching her with questions of his own. The shaman regarded him for a moment as she considered the wisdom of answering in full or part, but that instant in time was enough to reason that it was unlikely to cause harm to answer him; if it was a trap, they would likely find her anyway, and this... Talus didn't seem like such a bad sort. Besides, as she had learned with Bryn and Drei and Circe, even the dry and dusty business of archaeology was a bit more interesting with a friend, or at least companion. "Yes," she answered simply as she did a once over on her person to make sure she wasn't missing anything. "A ritual site that was abandoned about one and a half centuries ago. Supposedly a circle of power that was ruined by a life-stealing curse. There are several interesting legends attached to it-"
Althea had the sense to stop before launching into the complete tirade, given that it was all hearsay and likely to be bull feces anyways. It didn't bother her if he came along, but given how... poorly her last few adventures had gone (well - extremely well by her standards - but very dangerous), she figured she owed it to him to at least warn him. "While the curse is likely mere folklore, it is possible that danger is afoot. Old magic, especially wild magic, is no trifling business. You are welcome to join me if that does not dissuade you." She offered a somewhat more genuine smile at this point, the look a little tired but still possessed of what little warmth she could muster. She wasn't trying to scare him away or convince him to come, simply inform him of possible issues.
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Post by Talus on Apr 20, 2017 14:23:36 GMT -6
He listened with interest. An abandoned ritual site sounded very interesting to it, especially the lore. Although he had to wonder why she stopped there for a second.
Then again, she soon resumed it with a smile this time. That quite frankly, swayed him. Even if it hadn't, he always had an interest in wild magic like that. His magical theory classes hadn't really touched the subject much, and otherwise, all they learned was how to defend against it, not actually how to cast it and the like. He remembered trying to inquire further, but at the time, the classes for that were beyond him.
All of this would have made him say yes before Victor then pulled him aside suddenly. "We need to have a quick word." he said.
"Look, I was going to say yes, master, so I don't know why you-" Talus began before Victor cut him off.
"No, it's not that. It's just that I want you to be careful around her. Please, keep an eye on her. I get the feeling this isn't the first time something like this has happened to her. Also, I know you'll probably find it redudnant for me to tell you this, but I can't always cover for you like this. That being said, you did do good tonight. Go have fun with her." he said, smiling. "Alright. See you around, master." Talus said as the two parted with a wave.
"Sorry. My answer is yes. I'LL gladly come with you on this voyage." Talus said.
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Post by Althea on Apr 20, 2017 14:33:28 GMT -6
Well, it was safe to say that this Victor fellow had certainly risen significantly in her estimation from their initial meeting. From a bandit or worse, to seemingly somewhat of a father or mentor figure to the younger Talus. Without super hearing Althea couldn't make out what the two men were discussing, though given the situation she suspected it had something to do with her or her destination. Call it woman's intuition... or the fact that he had pulled Talus away right after she explained the possible dangers of their destination, before he could say yes. Who knew?
Whatever the case, the young man returned in short order, seemingly not dissuaded from their destination. Good enough for her. She approved of the courage to face danger regardless. Althea knew all too well what it had been like to be nearly helpless. To rely entirely on hired muscle to defend her as she worked. She had been on several digs and expeditions under such conditions. It wasn't until that fight with Circe, until her underground adventure in those strange ruins connected to Nan Madol, until the... fight in southern Lycia, that she had come to realize how necessary both strength of will and strength at arms were to true freedom as a researcher. Thus, Talus's decision rung well with her. "Very well then. Let us be off."
As they began to move, she considered the situation with a critical eye. She... suspected that Talus might be some kind of magic user, at least she didn't SEE a sword, but it was also possible he was a cleric of some sort. Probably best to be certain... and they could probably stand to do some proper introductions for once. "My name is Althea," the slender shaman said with a small smile. It felt almost... strange to be having a normal conversation at this point. She half expected something to jump out of the woods and kill them both before they could react. It would be about on par with her luck. But as far as she knew, this territory of Lycia - called Khathalet apparently - was relatively safe from the monster scourge, owing to its immense tactical value in terms of supplying weaponry and iron to its neighbors. Still, they were leaving civilization and moving towards an area that had been abandoned for nearly 150 years, it was possible they would run into trouble somewhere along the way. "and as your friend suspected, I wield Elder magics for self defense. What of you, Talus?"
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Post by Talus on Apr 20, 2017 15:06:07 GMT -6
"Right." he said,proceeding to follow her. As he walked by her,he found out her name, Althea as they went through the woods.
"Nice to meet you then, Althea." he said. Her response to the confirmation that she used dark magic enthused him.
"I use magic as well. Not dark magic, just regular Elemental stuff. I prefer wind and lightning."[/color] he said.
He had so many questions to ask her now that he was with an actual dark mage for the first time. "Where to start?" he thought as he sifted through the myriad mental mess of questions. Eventually,he hit upon one. "So, um... what's it like using dark magic?" he asked her. He knew that from what Victor had said when he asked him once that from what he had heard, Dark Magic typically ran on negative emotions, but since that was pure heresay, it was to be taken with a grain of salt.
So he had to wonder. Just what did it feel like? He wasn't a sadist or a masochist, but he had to wonder if it was almost painful to use it if it ran on negative energy. The fact that Dark Magic tomes tended to have unusual properties between them also enthused him. Did using a Noseferatu tome feel like using a Flux tome? So many questions that he would have to ask and remember the answers too. Would make great material for a book. Of course, all of this was assuming she'd answer his many questions. So as to keep her from being annoyed, he decided that he would ask her only the most important questions about the practice that he could think of.[/font]
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Post by Althea on Apr 20, 2017 15:25:11 GMT -6
"Anima magic, mm?" Althea nodded approvingly. It wasn't particularly in her sphere of personal interest, but Circe had certainly proven that it was a powerful asset when used correctly. "A... friend of mine uses it as well," she noted the momentary pause when saying friend and was a touch ashamed of it - it still felt a little alien - but such was reality. "It certainly bears great versatility. The mix of speed and power that can be brought to bear offers a range that supplements dark magic's more ponderous offense well." Granted, she wasn't going to drop dark magic to start learning anima. Althea didn't think she'd ever actually bother with anima, personally. But fighting with Circe had absolutely forced her to recognize that the ability to switch between lightning fast but weak magic electric and stronger but slower fire magic, with the noncombat and defensive utility of wind, made for a strong triumvirate even for beginning mages.
Even if Talus apparently didn't care much for Fire magic. Haha. "That is an interesting preference though. Fire is the most typical starting element due to its ease of use and offensive power. What draws you to its counterparts instead?" She didn't think it was any big secret, probably, but then Althea wasn't People Person of the Year 1294 so maybe it was some dark secret about how a fire mage had killed his parents. Who knew? "As for dark magic..." Well, as her discussion with Drei had taught her, it wasn't the same for everyone. "It varies by user. As with Light and Anima magic, there is a direct cost of magical power born by the user, but also an emotional or physical cost to control it effectively. In return for that double cost, it bears supreme offensive power among magics." She did not... volunteer the information that she was not exactly a master of all dark magics, nor the details of what exactly it was like for her, but in this moment Althea was merely answering his questions and holding up her end of the conversation as best she could. "What is casting Anima magic like for you? Do you commune with the spirits directly?"
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Post by Talus on Apr 20, 2017 16:55:12 GMT -6
He listened to her and nodded. He knew that Dark magic tended to be more powerful than most regular magics, although regular mages had more versatility. Her question on his preference was unexpected, but semi-justified. It wasnt the first time he had been asked such athing, so he knew how to answer it. "I...hm. It's because me and fire um... we don't really get along." he said, recalling the incident with the church. Her answer on his question to dark magic was very enlightening, shedding quite a bit of light on the proccess. "If it varies, that would explain why there aren't many detailed books on it. he thought. So he was more than happy to answer her question on how casting anima magic was for him. "Well... um... it varies. When I cast thunder magic,I feel tingly, and when I cast wind,I can feel this slight breeze. As for the spirits, beyond the mental incantation requesting their power, no, not really." he answered. "Actually, um... do you have any dark magic tomes I could take a look at? I've never read one before, and I kind of always wanted to." he said nervously. His heart was going now. Who knew what was inside those things. Excitement was going through him, and it was beginning to show. ... of course, it could have been... other things, and that's what he assumed it was. Either way, this was turning out to be quite good for him. Victor hadn't been wrong, traveling really was a good way to learn things.
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Post by Althea on Apr 20, 2017 19:29:16 GMT -6
Don't really get along. Hm. Althea wasn't always the most... observant... individual when it came to personal interaction, but even she was smart enough not to ask for clarification here. It was clear that whatever had happened had left a scar in Talus's psyche to some degree or another, and old wounds were oft best left unopened. Drei bore his, and she... well, hers weren't far off either. In the end, it cost her nothing to leave them be, and mere idle curiosity was not worth the price of digging into them.
His version of Anima magic didn't surprise her, it was fairly normal, but his description had an unusually personal tint to it that she sorta liked despite its, ah, imprecision. Tingly. Althea wasn't sure that she wanted to feel... tingly, but it helped her envision the sensation far more effectively than more complex wording might have. How intriguing. Slightly ironically his next question did take her more off guard despite its simplicity; while she had learned the basics of magic from tomes same as every other mage, Althea didn't know any other way to do it, the split between 'normal' magic and the tomeless variety was a matter of some debate in the magical community, each side convinced theirs was supreme. She, on the other hand, just hated carrying a tome around. The shaman was clumsy enough to drop the stupid thing in the middle of battle.
"I apologize. I practice tomeless magic, using my body as the conduit rather than a tome. The method comes with downsides, but it is more practical for my needs." She had the decency to actually look vaguely apologetic for the trouble, but on a more general level Althea was quite happy to deal with the downsides compared to the problem of dropping a bloody book. Aside from her research, the only book she carried was the grimoire, and she didn't do anything with THAT aside from try to make sense of it once in a while... and fail horribly... every time. Althea bit back a sigh, trying not to think too hard about that, and considered changing the subject. "You and Victor seemed to know each other well. How did you meet?"
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