Ymanye wants you for apprenticeship derp

>nxtsaa'u
(I am glad to see that N!xau still has a solid place in the public subconcious as the face of unfathomable foreignness)

>"What language was that? What'd he say?"

>"The language is nxtsaa'u. A language long forgotten by everyone but us. He said 'I/we speak the true words' with an inflection of absolute conviction. Near the end he shouted the name of a city long gone."

Looks like we will be able to read the book after our apprenticeship.

The hunter lady does not seem bad at all. Apprenticing under the council member might be more trouble as it will bring you in direct conflict with the lady council member. On the other hand, it promises more power.
I would imagine most of the readers do not appreciate too much politics, so perhaps we can see who else we can work under without turning this into ParliamentQuest.

Tiffany 2010/06/15(Tue)05:35 No. 194013 ID: 426169
File 127660535311.png - (119.29KB , 800x600 , 450.png )

Malcolm sat in his chair, staring silently at Tiffany. This had gone on for some time, and Tiffany was becoming quite uncomfortable.

There'd been no sign of Dad or Gareth, only a black-clad guard leading her back to the master chamberlain's office. The silent staring had commenced shortly thereafter.

>>194013
Have you introduced yourself to him? If not, do so. If you have, then this is a staring contest and you must stare him down.

Tiffany 2010/06/15(Tue)05:42 No. 194017 ID: 426169
File 127660575679.png - (119.14KB , 800x600 , 451.png )

"What is this, a staring contest?"

Annoyed, Malcolm snaps out of it.

>"It seems the council has finally gone senile. Accepting a Rothwald as a clan member. I cannot imagine what they were thinking."

>>194017
"That I answered their questions truthfully, that I am a Kinsley, and that I should be given the chance to prove myself worthy of the name."

>>194017
We are no Rothwald. Happily, the council was able to see that. Now, we had been informed that he could give us some instructions on what to do...?

Tiffany 2010/06/15(Tue)06:37 No. 194038 ID: 426169
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"They thought I'm not a Rothwald. I'm a Kinsley. They also thought you had instructions for me."

>"Hmph. Unfortunately, this is out of my hands. You're entitled to the Kinsley name."

He looks like he's passing kidney stones.

>"Thomas' amulet is now yours. You are to wear it at all times, and protect it with your life. Not even the Rothwalds can protect you if you lose it. You are free to use the guest quarters here at the castle. Accommodations will be made for your family in the village. Your luggage and your... your robes will be brought there for you. I understand you've been given permission to try and find yourself a master. In the unlikely event of your success, tell them to come speak with me. Now, if you have nothing else to bother me with, you may go about your business. Gareth will undoubtedly show you around, if he hasn't done so already."

>>194038
Thank him before you leave. Even if he's an ass who hates you because of your heritage, you can be polite at him.

If you're lucky, it might drive him crazy.

>>194038
"Very well. Good day to you, Malcolm."

Ok, head out and ask Gareth if there are any ritualists or healers around who could teach you.
I get the feeling that necromancy is something you should only dabble in, and even then only so far as it takes to help you counter Alexander's own necromancy and save your mom.

>>194041
I like the way that you put this.

>>194042
Perhaps we should just ask for a quick summary of the various disciplines of magic, as recognized by Clan Kinsley. I don't think we've gotten a solid overview yet.

Tiffany 2010/06/15(Tue)07:32 No. 194049 ID: 426169
File 127661232957.png - (125.11KB , 800x600 , 453.png )

You know... I'd much rather ask Duncan or Joyce about different disciplines of magic than this guy. 'sides, I'm kinda beat.

"Thank you very much. Have a nice day."

>"Hmph."

Outside Gareth and Dad are waiting. Dad's looking anxious, while Gareth is chilling.

>"Well? How'd it go?"

>>194049
"I was accepted. Malcolm looked like he would rather make out with an immortal than do his job, but I'm now on the apprentice market.

So, are there any ritualists or healers around here?"

>>194049
"Great. I'm a full member of the clan, rights and responsibilities pertaining, need to find someone to apprentice to, all that. About as much as I could have hoped for."

>I'd much rather ask Duncan or Joyce about different disciplines of magic than this guy
Asking a non-Malcolm someone was in fact the intention of the suggestions.

Tiffany 2010/06/15(Tue)08:50 No. 194060 ID: 426169
File 127661704950.png - (49.85KB , 391x600 , 454.png )

"I'm in!"

>"That's great honey!"

Dad grabs Tiffany for a quick hug.

"They're also giving you a place to stay in town. But yeah, I'm now in the apprentice market, about as good as I could've hoped."

>"Brilliant! It's getting kinda late, so how 'bout I take you guys back to town? I'll give you the full tour tomorrow, take you to see Hakim, then help you pick a master. Sound good?"

>>194060
"Sounds good to me.
Um, sorry your dad took the term 'losing face' so literally. Is there anything I can do to help?"

>>194060
"Sure. Uh, who's Hakim?"

Whoops, I meant Hakun. Got mixed up with Eldritch' token black guy.

>>194060
"Your robe looks different."

Tiffany 2010/06/15(Tue)09:40 No. 194083 ID: 426169
File 127662001540.png - (53.01KB , 391x600 , 455.png )

"Sounds good. What's with the robe? It's different than the others I've seen."

>"You mean this thing? Yeah it's an apprentice robe. Oh don't worry, you don't have to wear it all the time, unless your master tells you to. I'm kinda stuck with it, 'cuz of my dad. Gotta look keep up appearances and all that jazz."

"Your dad seems a little harsh."

>"He's not, really. He's a good man. He's just under a lot of stress."

That's odd. It's like I could hear a different voice while he spoke just now.

>>194083
Concentrate on trying to hear the different voice. Keep him talking a little longer.

"What kind of stress?"

>>194083
"Is that why your words are being puppeted to speak well of him?
Don't bother denying it; the tells are clear."

Tiffany 2010/06/15(Tue)09:49 No. 194087 ID: 426169
File 127662054497.png - (42.09KB , 391x600 , 456.png )

"Huh. What kinda stress?"

>"You know how it is. All the business in America. He's a very important man, you're worthless and he has a lot on his shoulders. coward He just gets a little irritable that's all. I mean, he's normally a great guy, really. you should have died"

>>194087
"So normally he would be cheery towards somebody of mixed heritage?"

>>194086
That's coming on a little strong, don't you think? We don't actually know that's what's happening, though obviously something is up. Besides, once again I point out that we're in mage HQ; if Gareth has been mentally modified in any way, they've almost certainly picked up on it and chosen to do nothing about it. As someone who's been in the clan for all of an hour and has all the exalted rank of a prospective apprentice, we can't really expect to help him in any significant fashion.

We can still try, obviously, but I'm just pointing out that we probably won't succeed in anything more than antagonizing some of our new clan members. And maybe making friends, if someone likes our attitude, but that's less certain.


>>194087
Looks like his dad put some sort of mental torture spell on him which is now breaking down. Motion to go talk to that Hunter mage and ask her about it; she seemed like the friendly sort who might actually care about Gareth a bit.

"Gareth, if it wouldn't be too much trouble, could we stop in and see Joyce again before heading to town? I'd like to ask her a few questions, since we were kind of rushed before."

>>194087
Is this other voice coming from him? Are we picking up his thoughts on... Well, I'm not sure it would make sense for them to be on us... Maybe he's remembering what his father said to him?

>>194092
Anybody who would do something like that is already an enemy. Also, it was probably Malcolm who did it anyway.

>>194087
"Are you sure you're okay? I'm worried about you."

>>194094
My guess- which could be ridiculously off base- is that it's like that guy who everyone knows beats his wife and kids, but no one admits to knowing about it and the victims never complain and always make excuses. An ugly situation, but not something that most people will praise you for forcing to light. Particularly old-fashioned people, or those who have considered/used the same methods themselves in the past, will hold it against you.

That's my read of the situation, anyway. I refuse to believe that in freaking Wizard Central, no one is sharp enough to pick up on the fact that Gareth's been totally mindfucked. Duncan's reaction in >>190523 implies to me that he, and others, know that there are crazy harsh punishments being thrown around and for whatever reason don't want to interfere.

Even if we do, sticking your nose into a familial abuse situation is never pretty. There are a lot of strong emotions bound up in it, and people do not act reasonably.

Tiffany 2010/06/15(Tue)10:12 No. 194097 ID: 426169
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"Oh so he'd be totally cheery to someone with ancestry like mine."

>"It's not like that, Tiff. He's just really wound up."

"Look, are you sure you're all right?"

>"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"What did your dad-"

>"Look, just drop it already."

>>194097
"I can tell something happened. If you're sure you can handle it, fine... but we're here if you need to talk.

We wouldn't be here if it weren't for you. Remember that; you did something important. Not to toot my own horn or anything..."

I think his dad just said lots of very mean things to Gareth, and the voice we hear is him playing it over and over in his head. He didn't want us to see his face before because he was crying.

>>194098
I'll go with this as what to say, then >>194092 since I really do want to talk to Joyce before calling it a day.

You know what let's just tell him we can hear something behind his words, literally. I don't think he's going to open up about this unless we prove to him he's not properly hiding it.

Tiffany 2010/06/15(Tue)10:51 No. 194106 ID: 426169
File 127662427621.png - (40.05KB , 391x600 , 458.png )

"Look, if you need to talk-"

>"Seriously, drop it. I'm fine."

"Well ok. Do you think we could go see Joyce before we call it a night?"

>"Don't see why not. What'd you want to talk to her about?"

>>194106
"You said she's a Hunter, and I'd like to talk to her about what they do, and what apprenticing under her would be like... that kind of thing. We got sort of cut off before."

Tiffany 2010/06/15(Tue)12:12 No. 194135 ID: 426169
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>"Hi there Tiff and G-man. Congratulations! Glad to have you with us!"

"Thanks Joyce. Do you have a minute?"

>"Sure thing, what's on your mind? Take a seat."

"Well, I wanted to ask you about Hunters. What are they exactly?"

>"Well, hmm. I guess you could say we're basically the soldiers of the clan. Mostly we hunt down whatever spirits, monsters or other boogeymen are wreckin shit up. Sometimes we catch em alive, mostly we exterminate. All in all, it's a pretty challenging job. You'd have to get your hands dirty and we're always on the road. Takes a lot of to be a Hunter, you need strong nerves, good reflexes, you gotta think on your feet. There's not a lot of time for fancy-schmancy rituals and complicated spells when someone's trying to pull your guts out through your throat. And of course we take part in any wars the clan gets involved in. Anythin in particular you want to know?"

"Well, what would being an apprentice be like? For you I mean?"

>"Hells if I know. I guess I'd take you along, show you the ropes 'nstuff. You'd be on the move eleven out of twelve months, but hey, if this is a career you're interested in, nothing beats field experience. I hear you handled yourself pretty well with a wraith the other day. O'course, I don't know how big it was, I mean I could pick that twig up with one hand-"

>"HEY"

>"But didn't sound too shabby. Still don't know if I personally am ready to take an apprentice, but I'll think about it. Anything else you wanna ask?"

>>194135
Tell her about the prophesy and what she thinks of it. After that I dunno, advice about what you should do from here, who might be good teachers that don't get caught up in all the usual politics and stuff. Oh and mention that wink you got from the council guy, what's his story.

>>194135
Bring up what happened to Mom. The hunters would be the part of the Kinsley clan called to deal with Alexander, right? Is there any chance that they'd be able to somehow expel him instead of killing him, or would they just kill him since it would probably be easier and safer? Thus far we haven't had much hope, but... we could really use some.

Although based on that prophecy any chance by anyone to stop Alexander before he becomes crazy powerful is basically shot, so maybe it's not worth worrying about this.

Tiffany 2010/06/15(Tue)14:58 No. 194190 ID: 426169
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"Yeah. The seer said-"

>Gareth: "Wait, what? They took you to see the seer? That's pretty wicked."

"Yeah. Not a pretty sight."

>Gareth: "What was he like? I mean, I've only ever heard about him."

"Dirty and crazy as hell. I'll tell you more later."

>Gareth: "Wicked."

>Joyce: "Do go on."

"Ok, so the seer said all sorts of weird stuff. He said something about the darkchild coming, and that the first blood had gathered, and that the Bone King would take over death or something. Then he said that the pact would be broken, and the fields of the dead would be harrowed again. Something about the darkchild seeking the words of Erkunmannar and hearing the words of the Unseen. Right near the end he was screaming that the words must be spoken, and the walls must be raised anew. Does this make any sense to you?"

>"Well, I'm not exactly a scholar, but it doesn't sound too good. The darkchild does have a familiar ring to it, you might want to check the archives for older prophecies. And the first blood... Sorry. I swear I've heard that somewhere, but I can't put my finger on it. I'm pretty useless when it comes to understanding the seers."

"Oh well. I guess I could ask Duncan about it later. Is... Is there any hope for mom? I mean... Are you going to have to kill her?"

Joyce takes Tiffany's hand.

>"Now you listen up, girl. There's always hope. No matter how grim it might look, uou never know what's gonna to happen, even with prophecies. For all we know, the seer could be babbling about events a hundred years from now, or just plain old nonsense. All we gotta do with your mom is catch Alexander, bring 'im here and let the people here work it out. He might be a devious little devil, but we've got experts you wouldn't believe. Whatever he did we can undo. I'd bet money on that. So keep your chin up y'hear?"

>>194190
Even if they could... If you were in their shoes, with a dangerous enemy possessing someone you don't know or even like, would you go to the effort and risk to rescue her or just try to destroy them both?

>>194190
"Thanks, that makes me feel a lot better."

Let's stop bothering her and go talk to the council member that winked at us.

Hug Joyce and thank her. Soldier might not be the profession we want to be in, especially with the clan war bit.

I agree with a dismembered voice above that we should go for the healing route with necromancy on the side.

Random thought --- how about summoning? We seem to enjoy having minions. With our physique, summoned creatures may be more useful. And will provide an army against an undead army. That, or we can focus on undoing necromancy. Counter curse and all that.

Tiffany 2010/06/15(Tue)15:42 No. 194230 ID: 426169
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"Even if they could... Would they risk their own lives to save her?"

>"Now you're just beginning to sound like the emo kid over there."

>"Hey! I ain't- AARGH"

As Gareth turns to object, he gets ambushed by Joyce. She pulls him off his feet, holding him down while giving him a world-class noogie.

>"Aaaargh let me go!"

>"Make me, pipsqueak."

>"Tiffany, help!"

>>194230
"Ok, I'll help!"

Help Joyce that is. Tickle him!

Nah, he's got this.

Tiffany 2010/06/15(Tue)16:15 No. 194252 ID: 426169
File 127664373250.png - (131.71KB , 1000x600 , 462.png )

>"HEY NO FAIR! TWO AGAINST ONE AIN'T FAIR! HE HE DON'T TICKLE ME! OW MY RIBS!"

>>194230
Snap your fingers "Thomas! He said that the Rothwalds and Kinsleys split off from the same family!
And I just heard something whispering to Gareth that he should kill himself...
Oh, fuck."

>>194257
Not that he should kill himself, that he should have died. Past tense. As in, he should have died to keep the amulet from falling into the hands of the family's greatest enemy. Like we have been told they are supposed to do. But it is too late for that now.

>>194286
An obvious problem with relying on powerful arcane seals set to ancient medallions, is it makes it really damn difficult to just change the goddamn locks once in a while.