All Tallow's Eve (31)

[OGRE MAGE]

Here you go coil......I sure hopes this works.

Let me know if you want that title changed.

[coil23]

initial impressions

The weird old tower is a former windmill found on the north shore of the inlet that is the terminus of the Kingfisher River and looks to be around 50 feet in diameter and some 90 feet tall. Taller than most everything around, this tower was probably built before most of the rest of the town grew up around it. It seems innocuous enough as you walk by on the street. The front yard is fenced in and has chickens wandering around. A sign in the yard announces the store "All Tallow's Eve" which you have heard sells a nice selection of candles (both tallow and wax) and soaps. The weirdness comes in the form of strange lights coming out of the windows at night at times and the woman who resides within is said to be.....odd. People have reported the chickens to be unsettling but no one is able (or willing) to elaborate on these concerns.

All Tallow's Eve store tower.jpg (29.31 KiB) Viewed 1226 times

[hedgeknight]

Burly approaches the tower and enters the fenced in yard, trying not to step in chicken shit, and makes his way to the front door...assuming there is one.
He will knock if there is a door. If not, he will holler, "I'm here to see about magic training. Can someone help me?"

[coil23]

The door opens to reveal a wizened, squinting crone in a black dress. A wide-brimmed, conical black hat seems to barely restrain the tangled wiry mess of her black and grey hair jutting out. She sucks a tooth for a long moment as she looks you up and down. Well, come inside, dear, unless your plan was to stand out there hollering and scaring the chickens.
She looks over your shoulder into the yard and softly says, No, children, that won't be necessary. He'll behave. In your peripheral vision you vaguely noticed chickens lining up in straight ranks on either side of you. As you turn your head to see, they scatter, clucking nervously, and return to pecking in the dirt of the front yard.

She opens the door wide and ushers you inside. As you enter the tower your nose is filled with sweet scents from the myriad candles burning all around you- on walls at varying heights, hanging from the twenty foot high ceiling, on tables and shelves. Beeswax, bayberry, lavender mingles with the scents of dried herbs hanging from the rafters as well.

The tower looks to be fifty feet across though a flat back wall with a hearth thirty feet ahead of you apparently splits the large room. A fire crackles merrily in the fireplace. To the left you see shelves with candles and soaps arranged and some bundles of dried herbs. A table behind the shelves holds some more arranged items. On your right are some tables and more shelves but here is chaos- junk, odds and ends, boxes overflowing under the tables and around the floor as well. A staircase winds upwards along the tower wall.

I have been known as Esmerelda Pootch, young man, though you may call me Missy. She gives a wink. You said something about magic training. Come sit at the table here and talk with me. I have some cider if you'd like- regular cider, mind you. A gnarled finger taps her temple as she stares at you. Keeping the mind clear and focused is a first step, no? Otherwise we risk letting them in when we are vulnerable.

She leads you to the left, ordered side of the room to a table and two chairs and gestures toward a seat. Now, let's start with your name.

[hedgeknight]

Always taught to do as he was told by his elders, Burly follows to the table and takes a seat. He leans his newly acquired staff against the wall. "My birth name is Burleson Sword; my family and friends call me Burly. I know a few charms from my Granny, but I'd like to learn other spells. Can you teach me?"

[coil23]

Esmerelda Pootch

She stares at Burly searchingly and nods slowly. I have a long, scathingly belittling speech that I dearly love to give prospective applicants but in your case…I don’t think that will be necessary. Let’s make sure it never becomes necessary, yes?

Yes, I could teach you. You are an intense, focused young man. But will it be enough? That’s the question we should be asking ourselves. For this is a dangerous endeavor you seek to begin, make no mistake. And your first faltering steps will endanger me as well.

She smooths one hand across the table, staring at it thoughtfully. The other hand is tucked into the folds of her dress. Her head jerks to look to her left suddenly and she practically shouts: Not! Now! and then sighs heavily. Have you had bad experiences with insects in your life, sir? And by bad I mean traumatic- are you especially averse or threatened by the idea or experience of bugs? This is important, now answer me truthfully.

A glance upward and to the side reveals an opossum on top of a bookcase glaring down at you. A low growl is barely audible and the opossum seems to be slowly shaking its head no while its gaze bores into you.

[hedgeknight]

"Well, ma'am, I don't like bugs very much. If weevils get in your flour, you have problems. If folks find roaches in your bakery, they won't buy your products. Ants like sugar and blowflies are a nightmare. But now, I do like spiders > spiders kill just about any kind of bug and folks don't seem to mind if they see a spider's web in the corner.
"So, I guess the answer is no, I haven't been traumatized by insects. I'm just not very fond of them."

Burly glances up at the opossum and wonders if it is part of the rodent family.

[hedgeknight]

In the silence that follows, Burly wonders if she is considering turning him into a bug and feeding him to a toad of something. Then he remembers his books. "I have these books I found and was wondering if you knew what they might contain. Are they worth anything?"
He pulls out the three books and sets them on a table:
The Magical Properties of Gemstones, by Mage Tenser
The Magical Properties of Herbs and Flowers, by Mage Tenser
The Metaphysics of Mathematics, by Mage Nystul

[coil23]

Well, when the first interdimensional rent is torn open as a result of your carelessness- we’ll see how you feel about bugs then, won’t we? Got your stompin’ shoes on?

She winks and laughs uproariously at her own joke then suddenly is serious again.

Just kidding, darlin’- that wouldn’t even come close to saving your life at that point.

Now, to accuracy. Accuracy is paramount in our arcane endeavor. Accuracy and precision is a direct approach to achieving the ends we wish. You could think of it as good manners- in fact, you’d better. But ‘ware the oblique approaches- the shortcuts, the mistakes, the carelessness . That Discourteous Geometry opens rents into dimensions and allows…things through. Things that not only foul the spell but also contaminate the soul and the being of the caster. These Interdimensional Cooties- don’t laugh- infiltrate the caster and begin a…process. A crude analogy could be something akin to ethereal-based syphilis because deformity and insanity do develop though hopefully death comes before the truly horrific end stages. The short version? Don’t make mistakes. Think of it as baking a loaf of bread but your life and your very soul is at stake if you err in any way. Simple, right?

She bestows a kindly smile upon him as she tousles his hair.

Esmerelda demonstrates some verbal and somatic exercises and has him repeat them back to her three times, assuring him that things will go faster after a few basics are covered.

Practice these tonight and come back tomorrow. Those books are excellent reference materials but give me a day or two to find out values for you and any other information. You are a conscientious young man and I believe you are off to a good start. The only bad omen for an initial arcane undertaking is if one sees an opossum and that isn’t very likely now is it? So. There it is! Come back and we will talk more.

[hedgeknight]

Feeling shaken and somewhat sick to his stomach, Burly nods and smiles, leaving the books for his teacher's perusal, as he returns to town. "I'm gonna die horribly by some phantasmal infestation!" he moans to himself as he makes his way back into town. "And then I'll probably be eaten by a giant 'possum!"

[hedgeknight]

Burly eats a quite dinner and then retires to his room to practice the verbal and somatic exercises given him by Esmerelda. He will return to the tower in the late morning of the following day, eager to learn about his books.

[hedgeknight]

"What did you discover about the books, my lady, Ezmerelda?"Burly asks.

[coil23]

Ah, you’ve returned. These books are quite interesting, by the way. Toklar here (gestures to the side as if someone is standing there) was noting how The Metaphysics of Mathematics book makes reference to the dangerousness of oblique angles opening onto other dimensions which you will recognize as related to the dangers of Discourteous Geometry we discussed on your last visit. You are still male, right? Nothing has changed regarding your gender since your last visit? No? Good. Only happened once in the past but you never know. Now on to this book on gemstones. It is beyond your abilities for now, of course, but the diagrams are simply stunning. I find pretty pictures so soothing, don’t you?

The real prize for you at this time is the book on herbs and flowers. While the magical aspects of such are advanced for you right now, the mundane aspects described could be useful. Some examples:

Arnica- pollen from the flowers, if inhaled, causes uncontrollable sneezing

Asarabacca - creeping vine with purple flowers, flowers can be brewed and drink has distinctive purple color and bitter taste
(if drunk, save vs poison or be “rendered docile”, incapable of violence for 3d8 hours)

Atigax - roots can be brewed, when drunk can protect from glare or bright light
(could be used by subterranean creatures to avoid ill effects of daylight)

Arkasu - sap applied to wounds has healing properties
(1d2 healing when applied)

These three could be found a ways out of town, probably take you a good half day just to get out there. The book has diagrams of the plants and I can steer you on where to travel to find them if you like.

Now if your tastes run to the more mercenary then you are still in luck, except for the part about squandering your education and imagination, because these books are worth a pretty penny as well. Each one would fetch more than 100 gold in a real town- you know, one that actually has culture. If you talked to Olinder Sprivey over at The Urchin’s Quill, he would know more on prices and potential buyers.

[hedgeknight]

Burly considers all of the information for several seconds before saying, "I'll keep the book on herbs and flowers and the book on gemstones...assuming you could hold on to the latter for me until I mature in my training enough for it. Perhaps in the meanwhile it could be of use to you. I'm gonna sell the mathematics book; per your advice, I'll ask Olinder's advice about it. Oh, and yes, I'd like directions to find the three (four?) herbs you mentioned from the book."

[coil23]

I'll hold on to this one for you then. Sets aside the gemstone book.

She quickly sketches a crude map with a piece of charcoal on parchment and hands this to you.

This should get you to where you want to go, those symbols there will make sense when you look at the diagrams in the book. Before you go, demonstrate the somatic and verbal techniques we practiced last time. Five times each, please.

[hedgeknight]

Burly practices his arcane exercises for his mistress and then takes the crude map and heads off looking for the plants...
Do we run this separately or just say he ventures out and finds them? I just want to know before I chime in on the main thread.

[coil23]

Until OGRE MAGE descends and steps on my neck for stepping out of line I'll say.....

I'm not prepared to run the collection piece at this time. Pick two plants from the short list given and you have the makings for two doses of the two plants chosen. Any further restrictions on amounts, preparation, time for collection, etc. are at OGRE MAGE's discretion.