Private Tales A Scholars Interest

[GreekGod]

Marius Alva Demicus walked down the busy streets of Elbion. He stopped for minute to adjust one of the straps of the large backpack he wore everywhere. As he continued on his way he smiled at a group of men sitting outside a tavern and approached the small bookstore. He paused outside it a moment before entering. When he entered, he coughed lightly and took a long look at the shelves around him. He took a few steps forward and began scanning the shelves. He finally settled on one and knelt down, browsing the titles as he mumbled to himself.

"Ancient houses of the Savannah. Ancient houses...ancient houses. Come on!" Marius grunted and stood up shaking his head. He moved over to another bookshelf and scanned it again. He pulled out a dusty book and flipped through a couple pages before sighing and putting it back.

He turned around and saw an orcish girl sitting at a table sipping a cup of tea. Marius grinned slightly at her and said. "I don't suppose you've seen a book called 'Ancient Houses of the Savannah'? I need it for some research of mine over at the college, I'd hoped Ignatius would have it." Marius turned back towards the bookshelves and continued looking as he waited for a reply from the girl, occasionally grabbing a book and flipping through the pages before returning it to the shelf.

 

[Pern]

The Smithy was closed today, being it a rest day of the week, which meant that Pern helped tend the Golden Gryphon while her father gave a lecture up at the college. It was one of the very few days that the orcess was dressed in garb other than her smithing smock and daily work attire; Pern was also bereft of the usual layer of film consisting of soot, sweat, dirt, and grime.

She was clean, and though she wasn't exactly dressed like a lady at the very least she wasn't dressed like a blacksmith, either. Afternoon tea rolled around so the kettle was hot and the table was occupied. Sitting with several books of her own stacked and spread across the open space of the tabletop, the orc sipped at her tea while doing a little light reading. Customers had come and gone and she'd tended to them as-needed, but for the most part those that shopped here knew what they were looking for.

It wasn't a bother ... until it was. Golden eyes glanced up from their current literary perusal to settle upon the man presently rifling through the bookshelves.

Ancient Houses of the Savannah? She pondered this name. No one knew this bookshop better than Ignatius, but Pern knew it almost as well as he did. Her father may have collected the books and tomes that filled his store, but she'd spent the majority of her life reading them simply for the sake of reading. Pern tapped at a tusk before slowly rising to a stand and stepping over to a shelf towards the back, "Yesh -" said the orc as she plucked a book from the top shelf and turned to offer it to him, "it'sh called The Fieldsh of Bethosh: An-shent Houshesh of the Shavannah. I'm afraid it ishn't fully transhlated."

GreekGod

 

[GreekGod]

Marius grinned as he grabbed the book. "Thank you! I desperately need this book and the lack of translation is fine, I can read it in it's original language. You're Ignatius' adopted daughter correct? I think we've met a couple times over the years. The name is Marius Alva Demicus." Marius said as he began flipping through the book. He paused on a page and read the page for a moment. He slammed the book shut and grunted. "There goes that theory, the dates don't match up." Marius says to Pern but then more to himself he says. "Unless it was the brothers friend and not the brother, I think that would be similar to matching." Marius stared off into the distance, deep in thought for a moment before chuckling lightly. "Excuse me, I'm rambling. How much do I owe Ignatius for the book?" Marius looks past Pern at her table. "Seems like you're doing a fair bit of reading yourself, what book are you on now?"

Pern

 

[Pern]

"I am, yesh," Pern nodded as she folded her arms, a faint smile forming behind her tusks. Somedays she was Iggy's adopted daughter, somedays she was the orc smith. It hardly mattered, these sorts of things would never change. Not in Elbion.

A curious brow lofted at the man as he leafed through the book and began muttering to himself. Not so strange to her - she lived with Ignatius Osric, after all. That man could carry a conversation on his own without any problem.

It's the genius at work, Nilli, he'd say.

"I will check the ledger," and she retreated behind the front desk to page through the lists of inventory for price. Upon finding it, she gave the man his fee and waited while he fished the appropriate coin from his satchel. Her eyes trailed over to the table where she'd been reading, "An-shent Runesh," Pern replied, "of the dwarvish variety."

GreekGod

 

[GreekGod]

Marius smiles and draws the coin out of a little bag on his waste. He hands it to her and nods as she tells him what she`s reading.

"I never got into runes myself, although I've certainly had my fair share of experience with them." Marius says as his eyes begin to light up. "There was one time where I was in a ruin near the forbidden city and the man I was travelling with tried to pull a torch off the wall so we could see in the dark. When he pulled it however, a bunch of rune inscribed gems began falling out of a trap door in the ceiling. We thought for sure we'd be killed by them but they did nothing. When we began to pick them up..." Marius chuckles lightly. "We found out that whoever made them misspelled the enchantment and they did nothing. I ended up getting some good information from that trip."

Marius chuckled to himself again before looking at Pern. "I heard you became a blacksmith, you ever think of doing enchantments on armour and swords? There's a good market for that sort of stuff with adventurers." Marius removes his backpack from his back and places the book inside it, before swinging the pack back onto his back.

Pern

 

[Pern]

Pern listened to his story with interest - always happy to hear the stories of travelers and scholars alike. So much had been denied her in her youth, so living vicariously through friends such as Scabhair and her father's pupils was about as best as she could do.

"Shoundsh fashinating," she admitted brightly and then gave a nod to his question, "aye ... about 15 yearsh ago..." there followed a pained expression. That was the downside to scholars, she found. Some were so invested in their studies that they rarely had the time to take note of their surroundings. Pern couldn't remember meeting the man before, so perhaps it had been that long ago. Either way, her chosen career path hardly mattered to his own.

The orc lifted a hand to rub at her neck, "Shertainly," another nod, "but I do not have the required magical abilitiesh for shuch thingsh."

GreekGod

 

[GreekGod]

Marius looked confused. "How don't you have the magical ability to do that? Didn't you attend the college for a few years before dropping out?" Marius was sure that's what he heard happened, wasn't that what Ignatius told him? Or maybe someone else told him that, he couldn't quite remember. Marius looked at the her and finally noticed the expression on her face. Oh. You're an idiot, Marius. She didn't attend the college at all.

"Oh I'm sorry if that was rude, I don't watch my words as much as I should." Marius was kicking himself inside his mind as he thought of what he could say to make it better. "Those crones who run the college are generally bastards. I wouldn't worry to much about what they think." Marius smiled weakly at her. "Hell, I'm not even sure some of them know there are skills other than reading and spell-casting." Marius let out a quick fake laugh before wandering over to her table and picking up the book, examining the pages. He cleared his throat before quietly saying. "Honestly if I recall what happened to you correctly, it was rigged and extremely unfair for you. That happens to much when it shouldn't happen at all." Marius locks eyes with her. "I just wish there was something I could do for people like you, but there isn't. Not without having myself expelled from the college and my works destroyed."

Pern

 

[Pern]

Pern's expression stretched from pained to moderate disbelief. He was joking, right? Everyone knew she didn't pass the magic trials. She didn't have the talent and, so far as she was concerned, that was the end of that dream.

"It'sh no bother," the orcess waved a large, dismissive hand to his apologies and sympathies, "I did not pash the trialsh, I did not have the shkillsh nesheshary. There wash no playsh for me there."

Moving back across the room to her table, Pern took up her seat again, watching the man as he gave her book a cursory glance. She offered a meek smile in return to the consolation, "I am lucky to have a Maeshter of the 5th Order for a father. He taught me many thingsh. I do not regret being denied into the shkool, it meant I wash able to shpend more time with Ignashush."

 

[GreekGod]

Marius nodded. "That's true, your father is a good man." Marius appeared to be about to say something else when the door opened and a teenage boy wearing a blue rob walked in, the boy walked up to Marius and nodded. "Marius sir, I was looking for you. I thought you were just going to be a minute and then you'd come back to the inn. I was worried when you took so long."

Marius laughed at the boy, a glimmer in his eye. "Serbert, dear boy, why would you be worried? I can take care of myself and I wouldn't just abandon you." Marius turned to face Pern. "Serbert this is Pern, the man I was telling you about is her father. Pern, this is my apprentice Serbert. He's a skittish boy but has a good heart." Marius smiled with pride at the boy and patted him gently on the back.

"Do you mind if Serbert has a look around the store? He enjoys reading almost more than I do." Serbert was craning his neck to peer around the store and when Marius asked that question his head snapped back and looked at Pern hopefully.

 

[Pern]

A smile now, less the worry of oversight. Pern accepted her book back from the man as his apprentice walked in and watched in silence the curious exchange between the two. Elbion was hardly a place needing concern for a human - especially within the bounds of the Merchant district. It was safe here, if not without its underhanded prejudices. Even being an orc, Pern had never felt as though she were in danger within the city.

Could have been because she towered over most people here, or that she was an orc, but she hardly thought of herself in such a savage manner.

"Of courshe not," she answered, a smile forming behind her tusks, "jusht take care of the itemsh. Shome are quite old."

Golden eyes regarded the boy before turning back to Marius, "What ish he shtudying?"

 

[GreekGod]

Marius nodded at Serbert who walked off, examining the books in wonder. Marius watched for a moment before turning back to face Pern. "I'm teaching him languages, history and archaeology. He's mainly learning about whatever I happen to be working. At the college itself he's working on magic, although I'm not involved in that." Marius frowns. "Magics the one thing I could never pick up on, if it wasn't for my gift with books smarts and artifact hunting they would've tossed me out of the university I think."

Marius turned around and looked at Serbert, who was reading a book he pulled off the shelves. "My two goals in life are to discover as much as possible about Zeenism and to make sure that boy becomes the best graduate the college has ever had. His grandfather was the reason I know as much about things as I do. When I took him on as my apprentice, it was more of a favour but now I've realized how lucky I am. It's been a joy to teach him." Marius turns around and grins. "Look at me ramble again, enough about Serbert, what about you? Do you have an apprentice at the blacksmith or something?"

 

[Pern]

"I am shertain he will do very well," Pern replied with an easy smile, neglecting to bring up the points that Marius was human - or at the very least, he looked human to her - male, and had the coin to spare. Three things the college hardly deemed appropriate to turn away.

"Pashun ish half the battle, I'm told," and the young Serbert seemed to have it in droves.

With a sigh she gave a shake of her head, "I am the Apprentish," and a small smirk as well, "until the day the Mashter Shmith retiresh. There ish a new boy though, jush shtarted not a moon ago. Shuther..." she tapped at a tusk with a clawed finger, "but I do not inshtruct him, that ish Mashter Gibshon'sh reshponshibility. Shmoll lad, we will shee how well he faresh."

A pause as she lifted her mug of tea to find it empty. Welp, time for another pot. "Would you like shome tea?"

 

[GreekGod]

Marius nods at her. "Ah, I see, it must be fun work the blacksmith, if you like that kind of thing." Marius turns and looks at Serbert for a few seconds before responding. "Yes, I'd love some tea, thank you." All this talk had made Marius begin thinking about his own time as an apprentice and the struggles he faced as a non-magic student of the college. People constantly mocked him for it and it took years to garnish the respected reputation he has now. "Hopefully the new boy in the blacksmith does well, most people deserve to do well in the field they work hard in but if he gives half the effort to your master that Serbert gives to me, he'll be fine."