Adventurer
IS OFFLINE
22
Renown
Fellblood
173 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Ube Calisto on Jun 6, 2023 10:55:46 GMT -5
As taught, Ube waited in their seat, not touching their food until the host had their’s. They took a slow sip from the stew. The herbs and spices gave it a rich base and flavorful kick to it. Ube dipped the given bread into it and tried a bite, not before adding a piece of cheese that was pulled off. The bread’s texture gave the stew a good mouthfeel while the cheese added a nice savory taste that coincided with the stew. The fellblood had yet to have anything this nice in a long while, being used to picked wild fruits and the occasional fish when they could afford it. It was nice, almost too nice than what they believed they deserved.
After a moment of the three enjoying their food, the witch was the one to break the silence. Asking about their name, Ube responded by taking their booklet and opening it to the first page. Turning it and setting onto an empty spot on the table, it read: Ube Calisto. The last name wasn’t remarkable in any way. If it wasn’t obvious from the fellblood’s lack of proper rations, they definitely did not hail from nobility. As they nudged the book forward, Ube did take notice of the literal stars in Kamille’s eyes. They noted them before as more-so something to do with the lighting at the time but as it stands, they were very much wrong. “Odd… Is that something to be worried about?” They thought. The purple lad snapped out of their staring as she gave Ube the price they’d need to pay for her to help them. “Informant? I wouldn’t have been surprised if she had an all-seeing crystal ball or omnipotence in some capacity. Well, at least its something to do.” Without much hesitation, Ube flipped through their book to find an empty page to write on. If Kamille were to pay any attention to the pages, she could see some filled pages of past conversations, doodles, and what seemed to be landscape drawings. Though 2 pages in particular would hold some concern: plain writing but with dried blood stains dirtying parts of the page.
Once on an empty page, Ube wrote their reply: “Where do I need to go and what do you need to know?” They knew blindly accepting a job isn’t exactly the most rational choice but at this point, they weren’t really worried about what would happen to them. They just needed to do this.
|
|
Noble
IS OFFLINE
25
Renown
Moonglade
1,506 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Lady Kamille Verlithax on Jun 10, 2023 10:21:00 GMT -5
Kamille was certainly paying attention as Ube flickered between his notepad, and her eyebrows did twich when she saw the blood stains. Nonetheless, she didn’t say anything. If Ube agreed to her terms, they probably would have time to talk and get to know each other.
And, to her surprise, Ube quickly agreed to her terms. Truth be said, some of the people who came to her already expected such price. It was common that she would charge a story for a day under her care - a link, a promise to be a Sparrow..... was just a higher price for a more difficult task. Which.... she didn’t know yet.
No hesitation. It was a bit suspicious, even.
"I think we're getting a bit ahead of ourselves here... First I need to know what it is that you want from me, so we can know if I can help you."
It would be a shame if she couldn’t, with Ube so willing to pay whatever the price was. He looked calm, but she couldn’t help but think there was a hint of desperation there. What could have possibly happened? She tried to remember the note he handed her when they met.
"I remember you wrote something about a disease. Could you elaborate on that? Do you know the name of the disease? Have you searched for other healers and druids around your area? Also... Where are you from, exactly? I assume not from the Moonveil village, since I never saw you around..."
|
|
Adventurer
IS OFFLINE
22
Renown
Fellblood
173 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Ube Calisto on Jun 10, 2023 12:46:44 GMT -5
Ube nodded in understanding. They started writing out their response. "I don't know the name of the disease. My family live in the Crescent Isles, a small fishing village on one of the smaller islands to the west." The fellblood's eyes lowered slightly. "Aiti's skin suddenly turned red and spotted one day during work. She slowly had a harder time moving around, getting sick with colds more often. Brother tried to ask the doctors and alchemists in the village but they couldn't figure it out." They paused a moment before writing the next piece. "When I left them and when I sought you out, I asked whoever would listen to me. They either didn't have a clue or didn't want to help. If you could tell me at least how I can help her, that'd mean so much to me." Ube took a drawn-out, deep breath. They sweat, onsetting worry causing their writing hand to shake occasionally. Its been so long since they left their family. What if she couldn't help them? What if whatever's hurting their Aiti is incurable? Ube shook their head as they finished scribbling. No, no. Don't think like that Ube. You'll find a way.
They fidgeted with their charcoal piece, hoping to hear some good news.
|
|
Noble
IS OFFLINE
25
Renown
Moonglade
1,506 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Lady Kamille Verlithax on Jun 12, 2023 6:49:39 GMT -5
Kamille took her time to read Ube's answers. She was clearly pondering over those informations. A cure. Once again, a cure. She wasn't a stranger to searching for cures that looked impossible.
The Witch took a deep sigh, as she returned the notebook to Ube.
"I'll be honest with you, Ube. I haven't heard of anything like what you describe."
This was probably not the answer the young fellblood wanted at the moment.
"But I assume I have more resources than you did at the time. I know a lot of people in the area, doctors, healers, that might have some knowledge of what is going on. I'll get in touch with them. Also, I happen to have a sizeable library myself..."
She gestured to the room they had come through, filled with books to the point it was hard to see an empty wall or surface.
"We can start taking a look at that too. Is her condition stable? When you left, was she more sick than usual or do you think she was stable enough? I want to have a feeling if we have limited time to work with."
If the woman was on her deathbed, it would require for her to pull up more of her resources, and possibly make her a visit herself. They needed to iron out the details, but first...
"Crescent Isles, huh? Sounds good... Do you know your way around the main island? There are a few places I might need a couple of extra eyes on... But certainly we can discuss it later. Do you want to help me search in my library if we might have something about your mother?"
|
|
Adventurer
IS OFFLINE
22
Renown
Fellblood
173 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Ube Calisto on Jun 12, 2023 11:00:20 GMT -5
Ube nodded in agreement to browsing the library but before they got up to begin the search, they wrote a few answers to the witch’s questions. “I’m fairly familiar with the foreboding masses of the islands, the main one included. As for my mother’s condition, she was incapable of walking when I left. Her hands were constantly shaking and she spent most of the day resting in bed. Compared to how she was when she first felt symptoms, it has been a slow decline for her health.”
The response she gave them wasn’t exactly what they were hoping for but it was definitely a start. At the very least, there was finally something they could go off of. Excusing themselves from the table, Ube got out of his seat, giving a quick bow as thanks for the meal, and hurriedly shuffled to the library. Accidentally leaving their book behind in their immediate choice to go search, they stumble a little at the doorway. The stew and comfortable rest aided in recovering from their exhausted state, though their feet were still sore as they felt slight pains in their heavier footfalls.
Ignoring their condition, they scanned through the titles of books, an amount that could probably be used to build a new house. Despite Ube’s rushed behavior, they made sure to hold an extra sense of care as to not make a mess nor bump into anything as they practically darted from each wall to the next. Eventually, among the sea of words that lined the walls of this room, Ube found, what sounded like, a particularly useful study: A Beginner’s Guide to Ailments. That was probably where to start. They could look for things that shared similar symptoms to their aiti. And so, they stood in waiting, not wanting to pull the book without permission. Ube had a chance to fix things, they were determined to find a cure.
|
|
Noble
IS OFFLINE
25
Renown
Moonglade
1,506 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Lady Kamille Verlithax on Jun 14, 2023 18:00:24 GMT -5
It would be a difficult task. Kamille was all too keen on the hope for cures... Ube reminded her of herself a couple of months before, when she was on the path to search for a cure for her father...
But that was before she truly understood what happened to him.
Kamille shook her head, as she read Ube's answer and watched as they eagerly went on to search on her library, holding back a chuckle. For a second, she rose and followed him, but stopped abruptly as she noticed that Ube left his notebook on the table. It wasn't proper to snoop around... But she wasn't a proper lady, right? As Ube browsed her library, the Witch took a quick glance at the young fellblood's booklet, not taking the time to dive into it in depth, but taking a quick glance at the pages smeared with blood.
It didn't take long and, as Ube collected the book on the shelf, they could hear the soft whisper of paper pages being thrown around by the wind... except there was no wind there. One particularly oppulent book left on the armchair by the fireplace sudenly seemed to come to life; pages and pages of manuscripts shaping a somewhat humanoid hooded form, tall and slender with long fingers and a blackness with swirling stars where there should be a face.
The form could look ominous, but had a polite and reverent stance.
"Forgive me, I couldn't help but hear you speaking... Would you want help in finding some book?"
Before Ube could get too scared by the sight of a book coming to life, Kamille showed up from the kitchen, walking straight to Ube to hand him his booklet.
"I'm sorry for not introducing you two before... Ube, this is Zhantal, my spellbook. Zhantal, Ube is in need of a cure. We'll need your help in finding a few books on rare medical conditions, curses and any kind of uncommon ailments."
|
|
Adventurer
IS OFFLINE
22
Renown
Fellblood
173 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Ube Calisto on Jun 14, 2023 21:46:26 GMT -5
As Kamille took a quick glance over the bloodied pages, it was clear that Ube had used this book to converse for a long time. The writing on these particular pages were messy with letters of different sizes and heights. Clearly this was written during their much younger years. The first page would read as follows if she took the time to read it: Father, aiti has told you herself several times over and over, I didn’t do it. We are hurt too. Why can’t you see that? The second page’s writing appeared to be cut short as it said: Matcha wouldn’-
As Ube heard the noises of pages moving, turning and seeing the man made of paper, they didn’t hold any panic or fear this time around. With everything that has happened in the short few moments they’ve been around, Ube has just learned to not question things around the witch’s home. Though, they were getting a little curious about magic as a whole. As Kamille entered and began to explain the book man, learning of his name, they looked at their own book with the wondering thought of “What if you come to life?” They pushed that thought aside. They were getting distracted again. Ube flipped once more to an empty page to write one word in big letters to fill the page. Before Ube turned it to face Zahntal, they hesitated a moment. Would this be offensive to talk to a book with a book?… Ahg, distracted again. They turned the book to him.
Please?
|
|
Noble
IS OFFLINE
25
Renown
Moonglade
1,506 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Lady Kamille Verlithax on Jun 18, 2023 19:13:19 GMT -5
Clearly there was much more to Ube's story than they initially told her, but that much was expected. Hardly someone would come to her and lay out their entire story in a single breath - if Ube stood long enough, she would probably go over the important points anyway.
Perhaps the first thing to have in mind around the Witch's house was to expect for the unexpected. The paperman had no visible face, but it wa clear by his demeanor he looked excited by the request. After respectfully bowing to the fellblood as they were introduced, Zhantal made a wide gesture to one side of the Witch's great collection of books
"Why, of course I can help you, youngling! Rare ailments you say? Perhaps you should be searching to this side!"
Zhantal's excitement was contagious, as he started to babble about the books he begun to take from the shelves, piling them on Ube's arms.
"....and this one, gods! I remember meeting the author of this one many, many years ago! Such insufferable-...! Well! Knowledgeable, for sure. That's what matters.... and this one...!"
"If you give Zhantal too much attention, perhaps you'll need to grow another pair of ears... maybe this will help too..."
While the book golem collected several books on medical conditions, Kamille chose a single one about curses. A gentle movement of the wrist made the book jump from the shelf and onto her arms [1].
"Come and sit here, we'll need some time to sift through this..."
Kamille walked over to the fur rug in front of her fireplace, sitting down with her book in hands.
"So... it looks like her condition deteriorated over the years, right? Did something happen right away before the symptoms started?"
[1]Telekinesis
|
|
Adventurer
IS OFFLINE
22
Renown
Fellblood
173 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Ube Calisto on Jun 18, 2023 22:36:01 GMT -5
The fellblood shared the excitement of the book golem, attempting to balance the egregious amount of books given to them. They would stumble a little in their efforts to follow Zhantal, keeping an ear out to listen to his stories of the many authors who have come to write the books they now held in their arms. After the onslaught of paper, Ube nodded in thanks despite their face being blocked from view thanks to the pile of pages, hard covers, and paper backs. Hearing Kamille behind them to come sit, they slowly turned to where they heard them and took patient steps forward. Being ever careful they don't drop the much needed literature, they crouched down at a snail's pace till they could safely set the books onto the rug. Ube moved around the mountain and sat cross-legged as they begin to write their response to her.
"Before her symptoms were prevalent, mother would complain of being tired. More than usual. My family believed it was just due to her job. She was a popular seamstress until she was bedridden." They paused a moment, thinking back in case there was anything they were missing.
"Aiti did say her body was in noticeable pain and discomfort, mostly just on her skin, if that helps any." Ube sat their book down for Kamille to read as they picked up one of the many books in the pile to read themselves. They began to read from a book that boasted to hold every disease and curse up to when this work was written, the first being about something named "Ashen Pox".
|
|
Noble
IS OFFLINE
25
Renown
Moonglade
1,506 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Lady Kamille Verlithax on Jun 24, 2023 12:55:47 GMT -5
"Is Aiti your mother's name? You mentioned your mother's illness tearing your family apart... Why is that? Is that regard the caring of your mother? Are you in any sort of difficult situation?"
Kamille had a reputation of being especially nosy, but it did help her paint a better picture of the situation. If they were in financial struggle, perhaps it was only a matter of paying better professionals and brews. She had a feeling it wouldn't be that simple, but she needed to eliminate the most obvious first.
Suddenly, her face lighted up as if she had an idea. She walked out of the room, coming back a few minutes later with a medium sized chalkboard, floating towards the living room. Kamille propped it by the side of the fireplace, where a lazy ember still burned slowly. She made three collumns, one written Symptoms, other When, and the last one labeled Treatment.
"Let's approach this in an organized way. Tell me which symptoms she started showing, when that started and what did you do, what kind of treatments you remember using."
Kamille looked willing to help, but for Ube that would come at the cost of having their family household methodically turned over by the Witch. She seemed to treat that as a puzzle - and if what Ube had seen was of any indication, she looked like she loved puzzles.
Not to mention the price of potentially becoming one of her Sparrows...
"Does someone in your family uses magic? Sometimes, complicated spells can rebound in unexpected ways. Or maybe they angered a sorcerer or witch? First order of the day would be to determine whether its of natural source or magical. Magical situations needs to be dealt with magic."
They would probably spend the whole afternoon there.
|
|
Adventurer
IS OFFLINE
22
Renown
Fellblood
173 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Ube Calisto on Jun 24, 2023 14:28:53 GMT -5
Ube tried their best to write out answers as fast Kamille was asking questions. Some only required a short answer, others had... quite the story behind them. Regardless, they moved their hand quickly. "Not exactly. Her name is Ciocolit but we called her aiti. She said it was what my brother and I said whenever we saw her as babies. Aiti was a popular seamstress so when she got sick, we couldn't put food on the table. Father lost his job trying to steal food for us and Matcha-" They promptly crossed out the name, closing their eyes and letting out a sharp exhale. "I'm not sure of their situation currently but I'm alright as is in terms of money."The fellblood watched as Kamille left with a look in her eye, only to be confused by her return with a chalkboard. The confusion moved away as she explained what she planned to do with said board. Ube replicated the board on their book and began filling out the chart as best as they could. It read as:Discomfort | Probable start of illness, more than 10 years ago | No treatment, was unaware of the problem
| Pain in the skin | Roughly 2 weeks from discomfort | More rest in bed |
Red, spotted skin (Was called inflammation by doctors) | A week from pain in skin | Health potion and ice to reduce inflammation | Overall exhaustion | Half a week? from inflammation | Restoration spells and potions (Unsure of what was in the potions) |
They showed their miniature version of the graph to Kamille as well as an added section for her follow up questions. "Father came from a long line of sorcerers, though I never saw him use magic in front of me. Mother had magic but she neglected to use it and Matcha was born with the mana curse. He couldn't use it if he tried. As for me, father only showed me how to do this." Ube waited until she was finished reading before bringing their hand out. The tiger stripes that decorated their arms and legs glowed a bright pink as a black, shapeless energy formed around the hand. 1It coalesced around the fingers, climbing up to the nails before hardening into six inch long claws.
1. Death Swipe
|
|
Noble
IS OFFLINE
25
Renown
Moonglade
1,506 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Lady Kamille Verlithax on Jul 10, 2023 13:41:46 GMT -5
Kamille went over to Ube's side to see what he was writing as an answer, nodding along slowly. When it came to showing their magic, Kamille looked pleasantly surprised.
"Dark domain, huh? Interesting... Have you ever found a Master to help you out with that?"
For a minute, Kamille looked over his notebook so she could pass the information to the chalkboard, quickly writing in an elegant, pointy calligraphy, clearly used to the arts that hanged in the periphery of being a good student.
"If I may interject a bit more in your life... I'd suggest you find someone to help you with that. The dark domain is as powerful as it is dangerous - it is easy for one to get lost there without a proper guide. It may feel at times as a sword without a hilt, where there's no proper way of handling it without also getting hurt. Not to mention that good professors are.... rare on that field..."
When she was done transfering the information to the chalkboard, she stood there staring at it for a couple of minutes.
"Looking at it from this perspective it doesn't sound like a curse... But you said... huh... Matcha was born with the mana curse, right? Anything else on that general direction? For what reason your father didn't perform any kind of magic, do you happen to know? And what about your mother? Do you remember her using magic at all?"
|
|
Adventurer
IS OFFLINE
22
Renown
Fellblood
173 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Ube Calisto on Jul 13, 2023 0:02:59 GMT -5
The given two-cents about Ube's particular magic domain was ironic to them. A sword without a hilt? Ironically apt for how they used their magic. Though, how were they meant to learn more of this power? Their last teacher isn't exactly fond of them.
"Nothing much to go off of for brother. No matter hard he tried, magic always eluded him. Father never explained and I was afra I didn't get a moment to ask. The only reason I knew he used to be sorcerer was because of his knowledge and teaching. He also told stories of his past every so often. As for mother, her usage was rare but not completely ignored. She only ever used it when we had no other choice, such as summoning fire for cooking and emitting light." Ube wrote out, crossing a certain part for lack of an eraser.
All these questions were starting to get to the better of the fellblood. The awkwardly tugged on the sleeve of their half robe in waiting for her response. They understood such things were necessary. The witch needed information in order to be of assistance but even still, going back to those times may unearth some uncomfortable and most regrettable memories. Ube wouldn't reveal them so easily as they did with everything else so far but were she to press further, they recognized they may do so regardless out of return for her kindness so far. They stood up a little suddenly and wrote on the corner of the page Kamille was reading. "Is there a river nearby? I need to take a little break." A good wash would be nice and would give a good amount of time to figure out what they wanted to say.
|
|
Noble
IS OFFLINE
25
Renown
Moonglade
1,506 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Lady Kamille Verlithax on Aug 2, 2023 4:38:26 GMT -5
Kamille read Ube’s response in silence, frowning a bit. It was clear there was much they wanted to keep private for now, but she wondered what was it that Ube feared about their father.
“Sounds like I’ve seen more cases of the mana curse over the last few years than the last few decades… It’s not a requirement for the children of two mages to also be a mage, but it is certainly expected to happen…”
It looked like she was still immersed in thoughts when Ube asked about a river. Yes, they must be tired and tense still. The Witch smiled warmly at them.
“If I remember it right, there is a river where we stopped. To the east, I guess…”
If the house didn’t decide on its own to walk any further, that is…
“But I also have a bathhouse here, in case you’d prefer warm water. I’ll get you something to wear, I guess I have your size…”
As the Witch trailed off and stood up to go upstairs and find something for Ube, the paperman approached. Zhantal had remained silent for most of the time, and his movements always sounded like a the pages of a book being shuffled.
“Mr. Ube would be staying for dinner? Is there any preference? Before you say anything, the Mistress likes to have people over, so don’t bother denying her. And this might take a while, so make yourself comfortable. You leave the research to me, okay? Are these all the symptoms you can recall?”
As Zhantal had his own interview of Ube, a little less aware of their discomfort, Kamille arrived once again, with what looked like a towel and a simple robe on her arms. Either the Witch was really used to receiving lots of visits… or she didn’t live alone.
“I suppose Mischief or Mishap can guide you if you want. But don’t trust entirely on neither.”
|
|
Adventurer
IS OFFLINE
22
Renown
Fellblood
173 POSTS & 0 LIKES
|
Post by Ube Calisto on Aug 15, 2023 20:54:30 GMT -5
Ube's eyes widened at the mention of a bathhouse. It wasn't as if they were unfamiliar with the term, rather such things were not commonplace for their ilk. Excitement and intrigue got the better of them as they nodded rapidly to the offer. In the back of their mind, though, Ube had hoped they weren't overstepping any boundaries.
Fiddling with the pages of their book, they waited before hearing Zhantal call out to them and ask for dinner preferences. Like magic or rather the answer Ube was going to give being obvious, the man of parchment added in that little tidbit of uselessness in refusal. A slightly audible "Heh" escaped the normally quiet lips as it was made abundantly clear by now that they won't be able to outright refuse the hospitality, no matter how odd it was to them. Ube gave it a quick thought, opting for something easy to make, as they drew a little picture of an egg next to a pot over flame and showed it to him. In all honestly, all this talk of their past and the mention of food had the fellblood craving festival skewers more than anything but that'd be a bit of an ask. Plus, if no wasn't a possible answer to give, they could at least settle on being the least inconvenient.
As they went over the symptoms with Zhantal, doing their best to not let out more than needed, Ube turned to the returning witch. They nodded to her offer of having one of her companions help show the way, though giving a little dismissive look to the robes she held for them. Ube approached, giving a quick bow and writing a few words out. "I'll wash my clothes afterwards, I'd rather take care of them. Thank you for your hospitality though, really." They flashed a quick, honest smile before looking around for where that berry-thieving crow may be.
|
|