trans_9 | (no subject)

The foothills of the Khur mountains were covered by long, slightly sticky, brownish-green grass that made annoying clicking noises when the wind blew through them. That clicking noise, however, was completely covered up by the sounds of battle, as Kang faced off against a group of goblins. He turned sideways to dodge a sword with a jagged, rusty blade, and swung his battle-axe, burying it in the goblin's chest. He wasted no time in yanking it out and spinning around to cleanly behead another one that had come up behind him.

He hadn't consciously thought this particular, familiar, location up; he'd just wanted to blow off some steam. He'd had a lot on his mind since the battle had ended.

Most of that was Crucible.

Why had the bronze saved his daughter, and even let her ride on his back in battle? It made no sense to the bozak. Bronzes, like the other metallics, killed his kind.

Growling, he swung again, muttering a curse when his axe blade deflected off of the third goblin's crappy armor and swiftly bringing it back up to parry its spear. Then, he ducked and spun his tail around to knock his foe's feet from underneath him; it was dead from disembowelment before it even had a chance to get back up.

He continued without pause until all eight were corpses, and took a step back, panting from the exertion.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Elves," he clarified. "That is the name of our people in our own language."

Kang nodded. "And you are an elf, who decided to learn wizardry under a human. How much shit did you get?"

"An elf who decided to learn wizardry, which the majority of elves disdain as being sorcery's bastard, crippled cousin, from a human, which most elves view with anywhere from indifference to outright genocidal mania... and it pains me to admit that the genocidal mania is rather common," he said, neutrally. "So quite a bit, up until the point that we saved the entire continent from having its magic drained from it and conquered by a technological army. Believe it or not, the muttering got a lot quieter after that one."

"Why did you learn wizardry if it was so disliked?"

"Because I value knowledge, learning, and study. Too often I saw my kinsfolk wave their hands and conjure miracles, but they could not answer why. I didn't want to master magic by rote," he said fervently. "I wanted to understand why."

"Ah," Kang nodded, sitting down next to Aibghalien. "You're a scholar. No wonder you like the Tower so much."

"Not just a scholar. Knowledge is one thing, but I could have studied anything if that was all I cared about. There's a great deal of respect for sages and loremasters in elven lands, after all. No, it's... learning how existence itself works." He lifted one hand, balling it into a fist to punctuate the statement. Then the other. "And applying the knowledge. The point isn't the knowledge, the point is the magic!"

Kang quirked an eyebrow ridge, amused, "Does power factor into it at all?"

"Later it did, once I inherited his work, and thus, the duty to keep the lands safe and prosperous." The elf frowned, looking off into the distance, though what he was seeing had nothing to do with where his eyes looked. "There's as much pure academic joy in crafting a small, intricate spell as there is a massive detonation of energy, but generally the massive detonation tends to be more efficient at dealing with an encroaching army."

Good answer. Kang glanced toward the exit, checking to make sure no one else was there, and asked, "Speaking of keeping things safe, I have something I would like to discuss with you. Do you know of any spells that will ensure we're not overheard?"

"How secure?" he asked, glancing over towards the exit himself out of pure reflex. "And if the answer is 'as secure as possible', how claustrophobic are you?"

"Lucky for you, I'm not claustrophobic at all," Kang grinned.

Aibghalien's response was, "Forcecage." Not that there was any immediate outward sign of the spell, save for the slight displacement of grass in straight lines on the hill around them, but any hints of air motion had vanished. They were enclosed in a 10x10 cube of force.

Yes, he always kept one of those memorized. It was so obstinately handy in containing threats or problems of all sorts.

"Not bad," Kang commented, adjusting quickly to the sudden lack of wind. "I have an offer for you, if you're interested. I wouldn't be asking you if I didn't trust you to keep it confidential."

He leaned back on his hands slightly, "I'd like for you to join my spy group."

Aibghalien nodded thoughtfully. He had no moral recriminations or whatnot about espionage in general; one could not rule effectively without information, even as a moral and upstanding sort. Of course, some spy networks had less-savory duties as well...

"What are the responsibilities of membership?"

Kang shrugged, "Go when ordered, which won't be often, and report back to me. I only want information on crew members that are suspicious, or during missions; it's to ensure that we're not caught completely by surprise as often. We've had a few instances where we could have done something sooner or stopped it completely if we'd just known."

Besides, he had the tavern for the regular gossip and news.

"Purely informational, then." No need to ponder further; he had already analyzed the situation quite comprehensively. "Certainly I'll join."

"I was hoping you'd say that," Kang grinned. "And, I'll be needing your services very soon. We'll be having the Daligig as guests, and I don't know about you, but I don't trust them all that much; there are too many unanswered questions."

"Agreed," the wizard said, but with a frown. "I can tell you one thing of interest now: although this ship is not comprised of any enchantment or magical creation, it is nevertheless able to sense and act against purely indirect magic referencing it. Are you familiar with the legend lore spell?"