Ugh, hate it when the board eats a post... Just an FYI, Soot is female.
Paphos to the girl, "I can make no guarantees, but we shall make every effort to that goal. I still did not get you name or where you are from?
The trio is likely to miss the mother and daughter argument entirely, but that will change when they happen to notice the small but unmistakable form of a dragon walking with the pair! The townsfolk give them a wide berth, but otherwise seem to be familiar enough with the sight. The dragon speaks with a rumbling bellows and hissing lisp,
"SSSoot is not meant to be sssmithy, besssidesss, thisss blacksssmith wasss a fool to give up a dragon at the bellowssss. You ssshall not apprentissse Sssot to a fool. Ssshe is dessstined for Hermesss."
Talus glances over at the mother-daughter pair and gives them barely a glance - just another domestic dispute. Then he does a double-take when he sees the small dragon. Now that was noteworthy. And did it just say 'Hermes?' "Paphos, can you find out who they are and what they're doing with a small dragon?"
OOC: Boy, I wish Talus understood what they were saying. But I'm guessing that "Hermes" was intelligible.
Kathrine rolls her eyes "I don't understand that. Hermes? The old pagan gods? I can't exactly find one of his temples lying around these days. Your dad insists it's time for you to make your own way, but even if you were a boy finding you an apprenticeship would be difficult, people just sense there is something not natural about you. Personally I think we should have kept you in the nest another 5 years, but that's your dad, he gets all authoritarian and dragony and there is just no reasoning with him. Okay, other options for apprenticeship, maybe something more normal for girls, seamstress? Hardly, maybe we could find you a position as a maid somewhere, let me sit and think." The woman plops down at the table next to you.
Paphos was distracted enough by the dragon that he wasn't paying any attention to the conversation, except what the dragon added. At Talus' prompting he'll come over.
"Please forgive my rude interruption, but is the Hermes you are referring to the scholarly Order of Hermes? If so, my companion would be happy to help you with anything you need concerning the Order.
Sparks will casually interpose herself between the interrupting man and Soot. She will look up and down at his ordinary appearance and lack of supernatural air. "I do not thinksss tyou are what wesss are looking for." With that she launches into a barrage of questions to see if the man can match what she was taught by her father. "What is the ssstandard length of an apprentisssessship? What is the name of the ordeal at the end? What Houssse does the man belong to? What is the average air velosssity of a coconut laden ssswallow?!?"
Paphos, still shaken by the prior encounter, wilts under the interrogation of the dragon. "Um, 15, maybe?" Paphos is not actually sure; it's been a long time since his abortive apprenticeship. "Um, I'm only an associate member, my friend over here is a full member. Talus?!?" Paphos will translate as needed.
Talus steps into the conversation, initially speaking to the dragonling in Latin, but then turning to Paphos for a translation when it turns out the small creature doesn't speak Latin. I wonder how he learned of the Order without knowing Latin. Very odd.
"Good day," he says through Paphos. "I am Talus ex Bonisagus, and as my companion says, I am a member of the Order of Hermes. So tell me, why do you think your friend is destined for the Order?" He looks over at Soot, already suspecting the answer. But he'd rather hear what the small dragon has to say before he proceeds. "I'm also curious," he adds "as to why one of your ilk is traveling so brazenly across the streets of Pisa."
Sparks will draw her full two foot height up to seem more important, "Mommy and Daddy couldn't live together anymore, so we spend half the year here, and half with Daddy. The townsfolk don't bother us much anymore, not after Daddy said he was going to burn down the city, anyways. But they still aren't very nice us, I'm not sure why. Daddy SAID, Sparks looks at the woman for a moment, then continues, "SAID Soot should apprentice with the Order of Hermes. And I'm here to make sure she gets what she needs."
Sparks eyes narrow as she eyes you contemplatively. "You don't look like what I was expecting. You should be taller. The dragon starts circling you, much like a predator might toy with prey.
Talus takes in what the dragon says with a few shallow nods. He doesn't react when Sparks starts circling him, but instead focuses his attention entirely on Soot.
"It may be that I can help," he says. "If the girl does indeed have the Gift, then I can instruct her in its use. In fact, it's one of the sacred duties of my House." He holds out his hand to the young girl. "There are ways to test her," he adds. "But they are best done in private, away from prying eyes."
I assume there some ways of determining whether she actually has the Gift and isn't just Offensive to Humans.
Kathrine sighs "My daughters are prone to exaggeration. Their father did not threaten to burn down the city, well not recently, and not to anyone who wasn't already aware. And Sparks is supposed to stay hidden, but she doesn't always listen, its hard enough with a mostly human daughter who doesn't listen, but when you have one that can fly away. I do live with their father, but not all the time, he said something about auras causing warping, so yes I spend most of my time in the city, and a few people have gotten used to seeing Sparks in the neighborhoods we frequent, and more I think convince themselves that a dragon this small is something they shouldn't be telling people they are seeing. I think some may think Soot is messing with them somehow. Look, if you are interested in taking her as an apprentice, I can negotiate as her mother, you said scholarly order, what sort of position would she apprenticing for? Scribe? Bookbinder? If you are going to test my daughter I have to insist on being present."
Meanwhile Kawthar rolls her eyes. "This is what you call laying low? Stopping to talk with a flying lizard?"
Talus can't help but think that Kawthar is right. But his duty to a Gifted child is paramount.
"She would be apprenticed to be a maga - a mage or wizard in common parlance," he replies in a low tone, wary of anyone nearby who may be listening. "By the end of her training, she would be able to work wonders - what you would call magic. It sounds as if you've been exposed to magic already, so I hope that won't disturb you. I think your daughter may have the Gift of manipulating magic. If so, I would offer to take her for a fifteen year apprenticeship during which time she would learn the basics of the magical Arts. By the end, she will be a fully competent practitioner, and can expect a long and rich life ahead of her."
"As for the testing, by all means, you should certainly attend. But may I ask, if your home is close by, may we retire there to continue our discussion?"
"I have a home nearby, my husband, well obviously we didn't have a church wedding, but anyways he has either been very generous with providing me funds to live or has a fundamental underestimation of the value of gold in human society. I suspect the second." She escorts the group to a townhouse, not small but neither is it large enough to be ostentatious, and leads them inside. Paphos quickly realizes the roof is both flat and has been reinforced, in addition to having stairs from the inside leading up.
"Very nice," Talus observes when they approach the house. But once inside, he's all business. "Well then," he proceeds. "Shall we move on to the testing? We can do it right here at the table." He looks down at Soot and smiles. "There's nothing to be afraid of. These tests will just let us know whether or not you have the Gift of magic. With your father, I expect you will. But it's always good to be rigorous."
Soot for her part is eager to start testing. But it doesn't show in her wheezing grating voice "Lets see if I can be a wizard. That would be cool. Would I be able to fly? What do I have to do?" she says as she stands near the table.
"It's possible you could fly," Talus replies. "I can." He smiles. "Now if you sit down here, I'd like to learn a bit about you." As Soot sits down, Talus lowers his Parma for a moment, taking in the full effect of her Blatant Gift. "Oh, you have had trouble, haven't you?" He quickly puts his Parma back up, offering to extend it to Paphos, the escaped girl, and Soot, if they like. "The Gift makes others uneasy," he explains to Soot and the girl. "This will allow you to ignore that uneasiness."
What follows is a series of questions about Soot's past, such as unexplained things that might have happened to her, as well as her habits and personality. At the end, Talus nods his head. "Given the powerful effect you have on others combined with your parentage, I have little doubt that you have the Gift. That being the case, I am willing to take you on as my apprentice. However, I must warn you, I don't live in Pisa; I live in the Germanic states." And may be moving to Malta... "You would have to leave your mother and come with me for fifteen years, that being the length of a hermetic apprenticeship. During that time you must follow my every command. There is no place in the hermetic world for the undisciplined. What's more, there is a fair share of scut work and monotony. And if you fail to do exactly as I say during your apprenticeship, you may be cast out of the Order of Hermes, or worse. Apprenticeship can be a hard time. But it will also open up incredible vistas to you, unlocking the magic you have within you. What's more, at the end of the fifteen years you will have a chance to prove yourself a full maga of the order, gaining the power and respect that title provides."
He looks to mother and daughter. "I will only take her if you both agree," he says. "Do you have any questions?"
Kathrine opens her mouth for a moment, apparently trying to decide on the right reply before saying "sure, I guess, your dad mentions hermes, your dad says apprenticeship, he comes around with an apprenticeship in some order of Hermes, and... certainly." Tallus and Paphos both recognize the warring emotion in the woman's face of a sense of duty and form of love the mother has for her daughter and the years of dealing with her own feelings having a child with the blatant gift, probably compounded by the father being mostly absent and unaffected by the gift.
As she gives her permission there is a pounding at the door "Open in the name of the church!"
Talus isn't certain what the men are shouting. But when people come and bang on your door like that, it's not good. "It might be best if we weren't here," Talus says in a hushed tone. "I can turn us all invisible and we can go up to the roof. If things turn sour, we can fly away from there." He looks over at his soon-to-be apprentice. "Soot might get her wish sooner than expected."
If I follow the way things have gone, Talus, Paphos, and the girl look different than they did before, but not like themselves, right?
By all means, I have no desire to answer that door. Invisible first, then up the stairs. Paphos turns to Kathryn, "I do not know if this has anything to do with us, but it is likely. If so, my deepest apologies. We hve already encountered in this city a man who practices the blackest of arts and poses as a priest. If that creature is outside your door, it will be worth your life, or perhaps your very soul if you answer. Or it might be someone else, genuinely of the church. regardless, I beg of you, come with up and we shall make this up to you, somehow. Paphos nods to Talus to start casting as the group moves up the stairs; the door won't bar for long.
Kathrine hesitates "They are going to break the door!" and she is not part of the group as the spell is cast rendering everyone else invisible. She turns to look, and not seeing anyone else around turns to answer the door.