"I can, but not reliably, and not inexpensively, yet and not without an element of risk. Eventually I intend to create a spell..." Talia goes off into the intricate details of Hermetic Theory, to the extent that she knows them and describe how she can transform the shape of the ship, all of which escape Tealarch. When Talia does notice after a few minutes of going on, she stops and says, "Yes. I can do that. With some luck."
((Talia burned 10 pawns of Herbam vis to guarantee that she could do it on the way out of Loch Ness. On the way into Loch Ness, it's far from guaranteed, even with 10 pawns of vis. Talia is not afraid of botching, with that many pawns, but I sure am.))
When it comes to magic theory, Tearlach doesn't know a thing, but he does know sailing. He considers. "Haven't been up that way in a while, but I think the shallow parts are just past the town. If you ride the high tide -- or better yet, a storm surge -- you might not have to do quite as much work. Of course, waiting for a storm surge could get dicey... unless you can call up winds?"
"Fair winds for sailing, aye. Winds capable of making large swells, or a storm is beyond my capability. My magic is most effective when it affects a ship. A storm falls outside that particular area. And then there's the matter of working magic in a city. It's never easy, even for the most experienced magi. But, I'll figure it out when I get there."
(( Okay. I think we've milked this scene for all it's worth, unless you had anything else. The one thing I need to know is whether Talia was planning to do any spellcasting on the way back to Inverness, and how often. Conjuring winds, messing with sails, etc.))
She'll cast "A Spell of Fair Wind every morning when she rises to ensure we make good time back home. ((I thought you wanted to do something a few days out at sea?))
The sailors are, indeed, close to revolting... or, at the very least, unhappy. Tearlach is a stern task-master: fair and evenhanded, but stern, and for the first week or two seems determined to put the crew and the ship both through their paces. He might suddenly decide to work the ship from one point of sail to the other, wear ship through a 180-degree turn or tack across the wind. Off-watch drills become a somewhat common occurrence, the off-duty sailors being rousted out of their bunks because Tearlach has suddenly gotten it into his head to, say, strike the masts or reef the sails.
Still, it's not all bad. Tearlach obviously works himself as hard, or harder, as he does the rest of the crew. A drill is usually followed by a cheer as he declares it's time to "splice the main-brace", and he's generous with make-and-mend days to let the sailors rest and recover. Aside from one incident at the very beginning which left a sailor nursing a black eye, he seems to be able to maintain discipline with voice alone. Slowly, bit by bit, he's winning over the crew.
He's respectful of Talia and her requirements without being in the least servile about it. (At one point, after Talia had just gone below, she heard a command that she was obviously meant to overhear -- "All right, you wharf rats, our fearless leader has just gone to bed... hoist up the topsheet and spanker!")
And one fine day, about halfway to Inverness, he knocks on Talia's door. "D'ye have a moment to spare, commodore?"
A shuffling sound of papers being moved around a desk and then some scraping noises can be heard before the door opens, "Yes, what can I do for you, captain?"
((Yeah, I know, and he's got better...after all, he and Talia were together for, what, two, three, four years? Had to be something going on. Just didn't feel like playing it out. I figure they can get together over a cask of grog or something and reminisce, talk about the good ol days, and one thing leads to another...I'm sure he still knows how to make her feel tingly in all the right places.))
(( Lemme guess, Aeliophanes is played by Keith Szarabaika?
My wife and I are re-watching Babylon 5. Season 2, episode 7 -- "Soul Mates". The B-plot is about this guy -- played by Keith Szarabaika -- arriving on the station and trying to get into the resident telepath's pants. He used to be married to her, and his "game" is "We had something, once...".
The resident telepath is named Talia.
((Aeliophanes doesn't have an awesome Mentem score like Stoner did. And I like Andrea Thompson, despite blondes not being my thing. Also wondering how Tearlach interacts with Aodhan...there's an opportunity here for that, too.))
"Wanted to talk to you about the ship and the crew... just based on what I've seen so far." Tearlach ducks his head under the low lintel as he steps inside, mentally praying that Talia would actually be dressed for a change. The conversation's going to be hard enough -- he doesn't need the distraction of other things being hard at the same time.
"Why? You're in command. Be in command. Unless you have a problem with how the men spend their off watch time with me, and then we do have a problem. There have been two occasions where you have called someone for duty while he was engaged with me. At no point did they continue to dally with me while they ran to you to execute whatever orders they had. Am I right?" Talia will kick anyone out of bed if they are ordered to duty, and she's done this whenever the first mate needed someone who was with Talia. They may have grumbled, but Talia didn't entertain the grumbling, she just kicked them out and got the next guy.
Tearlach snorts. "I have very little interest in how much you exercise your venerable monosyllable, when, where, or with whom. It does not interfere with the running of the ship -- not overmuch -- and you've been very careful to keep it so. I have no issues with that. The problem is with, uh..." He pauses for a moment, trying to choose his words. "With some of the magic that's traditionally been employed in this ship's running."
He sets his shoulders and waits for the explosion.
"Then find more sailors. You're the captain. Eventually I'll create enchantments that will allow anyone to do the things I do now. But that day is not here, so recruiting sailors is about your only alternative."
Tearlach looks vaguely confused for a second, and then his face clears. "Oh. Oh, no, we're not short-handed. There are enough hands aboard to work the ship, even without the magic. And when you add the magic in, working this ship becomes very easy indeed. Sails which raise and furl by themselves, a soldier's wind every morning, fresh food, fresh water... " ... quim for the asking... "... even the jacks don't smell. It's practically a sailor's dream."
"Your men have been dreaming that dream too long, commodore. They've lost their edge. They have it in them to be a crack crew, no question, but they haven't been truly challenged in a while. So the confidence of the truly elite -- the bone-deep knowledge that you can stand up to anything the sea can throw at you -- they no longer have that. Not about themselves. They've replaced it with a confidence in you, in your spells and your devices, and that's not the same thing."
"The solution is easy, of course. Ask you to not use your spells. Except, of course, only an idiot would discard a potential resource like that. There's a golden middle in there somewhere, a way to challenge the crew and still use your magic to get us where we're going in a reasonable time. I'd like your help in finding it."
"That's not really my concern, any longer. This is your command now. The ship worked they way it worked when I was her captain. Now I am not. The ship needs to work a different way. Your job is ensuring that happens successfully. I will continue to use spells to direct the wind, as that is my requirement that we make best time back to our covenant." The truth of the matter is that Talia has probably only cast that spell when needed, every morning, and also whenever required to keep the timeline. so that they get to Inverness at best speed possible. She probably hasn't been working the rigging like she coul, as that would require her being above decks and not studying her Lungs of the Fish lab text,.
Tearlach nods. "All right. Lets me know what I needed to. There shall continue to be wailing and gnashing of teeth from the sailors, but hard work hasn't killed anyone yet." He thinks for a moment. "Tomorrow morning, when you cast the wind spell, can you try to angle it a bit more aft? A point or two, no more. I think I can get another knot or two out of her on a broad reach."
