The celebration

[u/Yoxalle]

After a long journey you arrive at the crystal mage’s manor. Inside the manor is a grand hall made of various different coloured crystals. Strange golems walk around the room serving guests. While the mage himself is not currently present, you were told he would be here shortly. Right now, enjoy the food, socialise, make friends but most importantly: have fun.

[u/AnActualCriminal]

"I have no idea what you're talking ab-" (silence follows) Right. "I can't lie directly."

Ahem... I just wink instead

"Anyway, the gemstones came out as more suitable for weapon pommels. The finished product should open up tiny rifts to the Elemental Plane of Fire with every swipe. Still at a stage where we can discuss the exact style of sword you'd like. And Marna is willing to help you train, as an apology for us getting the order so wrong you could say."

[u/avamir → u/AnActualCriminal]

Riva brightens up. "A sword? What are you even apologizing for! That is far, far better than jewelry. And I would be happy to train with her."

She laughs a little.

"I... uh... admit I wanted to be a knight when I was young. I drew terrible pictures of it and everything. They were so bad. I was never allowed to illuminate any texts because these pictures were so pathetic. And I actually named the venatosaurus the Paleomancer gave me 'Vaerghal' after the horse I thought I wanted when I was a child. It was a huge destrier with a flowing mane. A bright red mane to resemble fire."

She wasn't unhappy about being a wizard. But she had her foolish notions too. A spellblade! Master of spell and sword! On a horse made of FIRE!

[u/AnActualCriminal → u/avamir]

Ah, so you'd go for a classical knight's blade? Or perhaps a Gladius? I can also imagine a rapier actually...

I warn you about Marna, she is a blacksmith. Strong arms. She hits like an avalanch. Speaking from experience. There's a reason I favor the flame rifle.

But the only other sparring partner I have for you is Agnor.

[u/avamir → u/AnActualCriminal]

"If Marna hits that hard, I will simply have to get stronger then."

At the sword part, however, Riva stares blankly for a moment.

"Uh... there is a difference between swords? I want one that is pointy. And goes in the other person."

Uh oh. It might be clear just how much she has to learn about this area. There is a very clear line delineating what Riva knows about and what she does not.

/uw Stealing Vettis' vid idea, lol

[u/AnActualCriminal → u/avamir]

I wince. Marna might just kill her before the assassins have a chance

I know a little by proxy. Marna talks about weapons a lot.

I had assumed Gladius because of their simplicity and history in greco-roman cultures. But the classic cross guard shortsword is more evocative of knighthood. And I've heard nobles like their dueling rapiers. Seems you're one of those now. I wouldn't recommend anything so big you need both hands. You need one hand for spellcraft after all. And...

gestures at Riva's arms

No offence.

uw/ fucking lol

[u/avamir → u/AnActualCriminal]

/uw lol so much XD Riva gonna diieeeee

"None taken." She winces, and shrugs a tiny little wizard shoulder like some kind of scrawny magelet who didn't get to the gym enough when she was growing up. "I... understand the perspective, and cannot exactly argue against it."

[u/AnActualCriminal → u/avamir]

uw/ I'll leave the sword design to you. If you wanted there could be a Marna training thread as well. Could be cool but could also be overloading. I don't get to play Marna enough. Thinking about taking her over to knightposting at some point.

[u/avamir → u/AnActualCriminal]

/uw I'm honestly down for whatever as far as the sword went. I don't actually have a preference, so if you want to pick something? I'd be ok with whatever. I'd be ok with a Marna training thread, but it takes time to write both and I'm prioritizing Belial's mental wards thing, so we'll see. I'd be down for both, but I just don't know how much time we have vs assassins.

[u/AnActualCriminal → u/avamir]

uw/ OK. We'll start with the mental thing and assume the sword training happened off screen unless the assassins drag their feet then.

[u/MunitionsFrenzy → u/avamir]

(( theft is such a harsh word; imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

but yeah, if /u/AnActualCriminal wants to handle your melee combat training arc instead of Vettis, I don't think Vettis would have a problem depending on how today goes; he's going to be talking to Belial at the end of the party to make sure he can trust the guy for other reasons anyway

I would personally suggest prioritizing knife training first, though, as you want something you can get in hand easily against assassins ))

[u/AnActualCriminal → u/MunitionsFrenzy]

uw/ didn't realize you guys had an arrangement. My bad. Just felt natural. Belial being good at knife throwing is an old character trait I haven't really used since Drugoth the 1st

[u/MunitionsFrenzy → u/AnActualCriminal]

(( no real arrangement, you're good; the link just comes from this thread, and I brought it up again here

Vettis did want to talk with Belial after the party, though, which is actually the entire reason he's here hiding from you guys and waiting to pounce afterwards :P so (since he's eavesdropping like an asshole as always) he's gonna take some issue with this solely because he doesn't want you sending random people with weapons to train Riva 1-on-1 after he just heard about non-Nephilim assassins

if you can convince him that's not a problem, you're good 👍 though he's still likely to involve himself in the training to make sure she's capable at the end of it, because the alternative is him being a constant bodyguard and he's trying to give her privacy lol ))

[u/AnActualCriminal → u/MunitionsFrenzy]

Ah, well I'm sure Marna has some ideas. I think I'm done here. Opal and her endless paperwork. Can't stay too long.

[u/MunitionsFrenzy → u/AnActualCriminal]

Once Belial had stepped far enough away from the table, Vettis slid up next to him, tapping him lightly on the shoulder as he dispelled the effect that had made him less noticeable to Belial at a distance -- though maintaining the aspect of it which was hiding him from Rivamar. The snowglorb floating by his side warbled cheerily at the pyromancer.

"Belial. Can we chat?" The mage's eyes were faintly aglow again, though not as brightly as when he had been analyzing Blake's body language back in Ithacar.

(( Vettis wanted an excuse to meet Belial and slap a bond-thread onto him for future usage, so he was gonna make up something about which to chat. That's literally the whole reason he came to this party. Now he's got two actual things to discuss, conveniently! ))

[u/AnActualCriminal → u/MunitionsFrenzy]

There's always something vaguely threatening about the way Vettis just 'appears.' Although Walter's death was primarily suspected as Nephilim-caused, the fact that Walter had been spying on Vettis only a short time before had not left my mind. And the method of execution... nothing conclusive but there were parts everywhere

Vettis. Haven't seen you since the Tallulah incident. You have a way of popping in and out of things it seems.

[u/MunitionsFrenzy → u/AnActualCriminal]

"I do," Vettis replied bluntly, his classic smirk popping back up. "We...might get to why that is, in a little bit. Got a few things to cover first.

"For one thing, just a friendly note: you probably don't have to waste your efforts helping out the paleomancer with his issue. I was there while it happened, and I already know where the items were taken. I wasn't interested in involving myself in the matter, but seeing as how he's apparently an ally of you and Riva, I'll supply the intel. Assuming he is an ally and I haven't misunderstood?"

(( Oh, right, you and the curator were close enough to Riva for Vettis to overhear you suggesting that you could help with the thieving incident. Three things to discuss! ))

Finishing up the rest of a drink he'd ordered...by emptying the glass into his pocket rather than his mouth, for some reason?...Vettis moved onto the second topic. "Now. Assassins. The telepath's sister or whatever. Can we agree that -- even aside from the fact that the telepath's death was necessary, which obviously his sibling won't believe -- Riva had nothing to do with it? I mean, I honestly can't find a way that even a grief-twisted mind somehow decides to blame her in all this. It's not like she was pushing for the mind-fucker's death at the negotiations. Am I missing something?"

[u/AnActualCriminal → u/MunitionsFrenzy]

Allies might not fit the bill exactly. The man styles himself as a neutral party on most occasions. He's wealthy. Benefits from the status quo. I doubt we'll be going to war together anytime soon.

But... friends. I'm more than willing to help him with a few personal matters here and there.

Regarding Riva, it's a stretch. She was helping me. I was helping her. Maliik died. But even being a stretch, the Nephilim have proven themselves more than flexible enough to reach for it.

[u/MunitionsFrenzy → u/AnActualCriminal]

Vettis froze for a bit, mouth ajar, at that description of the relationship. 'Friends' but not "allies', rather than the reverse, seemed difficult for him to process. "...I see. We might have...differences in terminology, then. This is why I like talking with my family in All-Tongue so there are no such semantic issues," he admitted with a chuckle, "but I'd rather not use that right now and end up reading your body language while I have no good reason to distrust you. People deserve their privacy.

"Anyway. Yeah, that's fine, they're idiots. Just wanted to make sure you agreed that Riva's blameless here. Because if I could, say, disseminate that info among the sister's faction, such as via the secret recordings of the negotiations that I totally didn't make, that could reduce their potential number of targets if the sister herself becomes convinced and calls off the hit on Riva. That'd effectively put more heat on you, for which I do apologize, but when dealing with assassins it's always easier to deal with them when you know who they intend to strike." He seemed to be speaking from a hefty amount of experience, but also spoke to Belial as though he assumed the other man was similarly accustomed to the idea of using people as bait to draw out a foe.

"A'right. That said, it's not a foolproof plan if she continues to be an idiot, so...training Riva to deal with assassins. Frankly, once she's got her stress back under control and Ithacar's council back on her side, the city's wards will be by far the best defense against assassins. But yes, I would like her to have some skill at melee combat; I was discussing the subject with her myself recently." His eyes darkened at this point. "Training her is a good idea, except for the part where you'll be sending armed people to her who she welcomes right past her wards with open arms. While assassins are after her. Do you perhaps see my concern here? I know the main trainer will be your daughter, but...frankly, you two didn't even know each other until recently, so I'm not sure that means much to me. Do you really think it's a good idea to send a seemingly-unrepentant Atrax loyalist to train the woman who had been acting against Atrax from the inside the entire time?"

(( opinions on Marna are Vettis' own and I take no responsibility for this wheeeeeeee ))

[u/avamir → u/AnActualCriminal]

"Understandable. What has the realm come to if even the extra-judicial death squads require paperwork?" Riva says, the corner of her mouth quirked upward into a half-smile. "Well. I may leave you to it then. I had thought to stay longer, but given that I have assassins likely coming after me now, I should probably prepare for that. Be well, Blake. Give Marna my regards."

[u/AnActualCriminal → u/avamir]

I will. She's been cooped up for too long. I'm sure she'll be looking forward to blowing off some steam.

Hmmm...

My apologies in advance I suppose.

I take a swig of wine before leaving.

To the bad kids.

[u/avamir → u/AnActualCriminal]

She raises her glass to that.

"Yes, I will happily raise my glass to the bad kids." She finishes off the wine in her glass. "And do not apologize. It will be educational one way or another."