"I think I would find your people strange and unwelcoming. But tell me, what sort of things do you design? I always thought I had the aptitude for some sort of scholarship, but circumstance denied me the opportunity."
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"I think I would find your people strange and unwelcoming. But tell me, what sort of things do you design? I always thought I had the aptitude for some sort of scholarship, but circumstance denied me the opportunity."
Yeah, Tony's and Cat's son... Toby frowns a bit at his empty glass. Oh, yeah, Hadrian already looks twelve. I think he grew up too fast though, because he acts... weird. Doesn't speak, can't look people in the eye, just reads advanced books at a fast pace.
Krayger laughs.
"Trust me, they're a bunch of blithering idiots most of the time, and I really don't blame the more civilized folk for not trusting us. I mean, humans start a war every ten minutes but at least they understand what a business is. Although I admit I don't understand their obsession with clothes very much.
But I design lots of things. Structures, mostly, but I've dabbled in mechanics. We invented the double cross-bow, you know. "
"Impressive. I find these cross-bow contraptions fascinating. We don't have them back home but I think they would be well suited to our form. Two arms together can tension a string more than one alone, we could reload on while firing another. Accuracy would be lost but I think it would be effective against a large force."
Krayger reaches into his bag and pulls out a set of papers.
"I've got a set of schematics if you're interested. And if I might ask, how exactly did you get here?"
"I would be very interested, though you may need to be patient with your explanations, I am not as schooled as I would like." Abrek takes a drink, "I deserted from the army, I was there as a conscript and war was no place for me. First I rode, then I hid, then I ran, then I walked. I was unable to completely throw off my pursuers until I came to some tunnels. I sought refuge within but quickly became lost. Some time later I stumbled out into an unfamiliar land. Since then I have trekked, finding food and drink and shelter where I can. Searching for somewhere to stop."
(I need to go to sleep, I'll be online again tomorrow :smallsmile:)
The Druid bristles and gives Reinholdt a highly offended look. I do not grow plants, you uneducated beast. ... But it seems like he's some sort of psychic. He has a good intuitive understanding of archetypes too. His precocious brilliance undoubtedly comes from me.
Yeesh, that all reeked of disaster even before anybody else got involved.
"I'm highly educated actually. Sort of a... requirement in my family business back in the day."
"So who's training him and teaching him stuff?"
Trog's Tavern...
Lovejoy had seen enough of the inside of this place in the past week to be well and truly sick of it if not due to familiarity then due to the unhelpfulness of its staff and patrons. In all honesty Lovejoy had started to become exasperated and exhausted much earlier in his search. Kimiko was certainly there, he was sure of it, every fiber of his being screamed it but as far as the populace was concerned Kimiko was a non-entity.
It was about time he invested in something more than the word of random passers by, an investment he had hoped would arrive at any moment.
And in walked Zila, looking around the tavern as she made her way over. "Lovejoy, right? I heard you were looking for magical help to find someone."
"Yeah, that's me" Lovejoy replied, standing up to shake Zila's hand "I really appreciate this. I asked around here; squat, zip, zilch, nada. You'd think I was asking for a kidney."
Zila blinked a little at the offered hand. "Wait... oh, right."
She took it, shaking back a little awkwardly. "Sorry, that's not a thing at all in my home world. Anyway, do you have something of hers?"
"Well..." he begins moving a hand to the hilt of his katana "This was her sword, I'm not sure how comfortable I am giving my weapon to a total stranger, you understand..."
"It won't be damaged in any way, and you can be present for the duration of the spell to make sure it isn't damaged.
Failing that, I'd need to figure out a way to uniquely identify her."
"Not exactly what I meant. I'm just saying, it'd be a sweet racket to convince someone to hand you their weapon and then hold them up with it. Something you might want to consider when a client is trying to stiff you on the bill" Lovejoy sits back down and slides into his seat, head barely poking out from under the table. "Wait, I may have something..." he begins to fumble in his pockets.
"...point. Although anyone trying to shake me down would be in for a few surprises..."
The conjurer waited patiently for Lovejoy.
"I'll keep that in mind" Lovejoy continued speaking as he emptied his pockets on to the table, laying items down one by one. A movie stub, an eraser, a ball of lint, a six sided dice, crumpled bits of foil. While he did this he continued speaking "Her name's Kimiko Hayashiba, I call her 'Kim', she disappeared over a year ago, a few months before my world was... actually I still don't know what happened there. Found it!"
Lovejoy offered Zila a small plastic sleeve with a folded Polaroid photo inside. "That's a signed picture of Larry Csonka, something else that's probably not a 'thing' on your homeworld, eh? I gave it to her for her birthday but she kept it in my car. Don't know if this will work."
"Hm? Sounded like what?" Abrek finishes his drink and signals for a third, "'d appreciate it if you could direct me to one of these organisations, but first let me see these designs."
It sounded like you were on good terms with you people. Regardless, here."
Krayger spreads out the first page. They're pretty technical, but not impossible to read.
Abrek looks at the page, uncomprehending at first but with a few questions about certain points he is slowly able to reach some level of understanding.
(sorry, I'm not sure how to move the conversation on at this point)
Krayger leans back after their lesson.
"So, you asked about the organizations. They're all very different; what kind of job do you want?"
I don't know... I've never really been in a position to choose what to do with myself. Abrek sips thoughtfully, I suppose something academic would be my ideal, although I may be undereducated for it.
"There aren't many concerned with academics; that's usually more of a hobby than a job. There's a library in Inside you could ask about, or check the Wall; sometimes people advertise their expertise as tutors of certain subjects."
"A library... yes, that sounds good. Could you direct me there?"
Krayger provides explicit instructions on how to get to the Philip Memorial Library on Arkham Street. They're clear, concise, and impossible to get lost with assuming they're remembered or written down. Minotaurs are extremely good with directions.
"It IS a library, though. I would recommend against bringing weapons, although I don't know if they actually have rules against them."