exsiliumlogs | at the heart of the matter someone wove a secret spell;

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at the heart of the matter someone wove a secret spell;

Date & Time: 8/16, evening, shortly after this & this convo
Location: A bar of Khisanth's choosing.
Characters: Zevran Arainai (

bloodyantivan), Merrill (

yourdistraction) & Khisanth (

onblackwings)
Summary: Khisanth has concocted a spell that might return Zevran's sight... for a hefty price. Zevran wants an expert in magic to inspect the merchandise before accepting it.
Warnings: Elves and dragons all keeping their clothes on a disappointing amount.

[Zevran doesn't hold with magic much: he likes things with outcomes he can predict, with factors he can control. And while it might have been true eons ago that elves all had magic in their blood, he hasn't a touch of it now.

He'd prefer not to trust in an unknown spell. But while he has slowly adjusted to life without sight, and could live on... he's willing to take a risk to have it back again.

Thus, he picked up Merrill in the housing and traveled with her to the bar. She's a dear thing, and though he quite understands by the staff she carries and the clothes she wears that he does not require the help of an Antivan assassin, he somehow wants to look out for her. If only so she doesn't get lost.]

One more thing... if perhaps this thing should go sour, or not work out... Please do not tell Elissa about my deal with Dagger. She would only scold me for not involving her in this.

[Zevran loves Elissa, so much it aches in his breastbone, but she cannot fix every problem, no matter how she tries. He does not want to give her the option to kill herself trying.]

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[ As she follows along, Merrill does her best to try to pay attention both to what Zevran says and to their surroundings. She feels it's especially necessary given that he's blind, even if she doubts it affects his skills too very much.

The mention of it being secret certainly captures her attention, and both hands clasp curiously in front of her as she thinks on it. ]

Can I ask...why didn't you? I mean, not that it's any of my business! Although I suppose it's a little bit my business now. I just think...you would want her at your side for something as amazing as this, especially since you must trust her the most.

Elissa concerns herself too much with the troubles of others, I only wish to relieve her of the burden of worry, should this not work out.

[Zevran smiles. He keeps one hand on Merrill's arm so as not to walk into things... at least he hopes.]

She considers it her job to help others, but I am not helpless. So.

[If Elissa had an inkling of what Zevran was doing, what he was willing to pay, she would surely want to help. She may even be angry with him for not involving her. But the true price - the thought of her disappointment, not in the situation but herself, should she somehow not have the ability to save his sight, is not something he's willing to gamble. He does not want her obsess over fixing him, especially if it truly cannot be fixed.]

[ It's actually nice to hear a little more about Elissa and what kind of human she is, even where an elf is concerned.

Still, she can't shake her reservations about the Warden... Because that is not the Hero of Ferelden that she knows of. Perhaps the idea of a different Thedas isn't beyond her ken, but then wouldn't that mean there's another Merrill out there? ]

Then I hope this this will be a fix that will only result in a pleasant surprise for her!

As do I. I think it would please her to know I am able to gaze upon her in adoration once more.

[It will please him even more, but Zevran is tired of feeling like he burdens her.

He does not want to allow himself the luxury of hope, and he still isn't certain Dagger won't try and double-cross him for the money, or that the spell won't be secretly malicious.

Being blind isn't the worst fate in the world, but he does miss being able to see.]

[ Khisanth — Dagger, she'd told the elf, right — is already there. She's seated at a stool at the bar, chin in hand and looking impatient. If she weren't so proud of her work on this stupid trinket, she'd have left already. (Nevermind that she's actually just showed up early for once, and it isn't as if they're late. Time-keeping is not a black dragon's strong suit.) But as it is, she finds herself actually wanting to see his reaction to her cleverness. She expects praise, and plenty of it.

So she waits, fingernail tapping at the bar, and almost untouched drink in front of her. ]

[ Considering one elf is blind as a bat and the other has the sense of direction of fly, it's a wonder they make it to the location Zevran mentioned at all. She opens the door only to be polite, rather than thinking he absolutely needs it.

Merrill doesn't know who they're looking for, though, so once they enter (wow, this tavern looks so different than what she's used to!), she looks to Zevran. ]

Can you tell if...this is the right place? It seems a terribly crowded place to be using magic.

Public places are better for such business exchanges. Should the deal go poorly, most people are better-behaved when there are witnesses. [Though Dagger's attitude has him wondering if that would be the case for her, it is quite a lot more difficult to slaughter people and disappear in a place like this. So Zevran hopes.

The noise, however, skews his ability to 'see' in the crowd.]

She would be dark-haired woman, gold eyes, with a cruel, queen-like bearing. She said she would meet us at the bar, so check there first.

[Zevran guides Merrill in the general direction of the bar. He knows this is the place Dagger specified - he has been here before.]

Edited 2013-09-03 18:48 (UTC)

[ Lucky for both of them, dragons (even ones in other shapes) have good vision for the poor lighting of a bar at night. Perhaps slightly less fortunate, at least for Khisanth, her keen hearing had been distracted by the dull din, and she'd missed the description. It would have appealed to her.

But spotting Zevran, and assuming the pointy-eared woman next to him must be his mage, she lifts her arm in a lazy wave and raises her voice just as much as necessary. ]

Over here, elves.

[ And just as Merrill is trying to seek out this woman, repeating that one phrase over in her head cruel, cruel... Oh, but then she solves the mystery. Merrill was working her way towards the right woman after all.

She carefully leads Zevran through the occasional scuttling of people, trying her best not to stare at all the new things and keep her attention on this. This is incredibly important.

Upon reaching the woman, Merrill smiles a bows just a little. Someone who could help Zevran must be powerful. ]

Andaran atish’an, friend. I am Merrill. Zevran has come just as promised.

[Zevran bows as well, though the smirk makes it a bit ironic.]

Good evening, my friend. I trust you were not waiting long?

[He gives his most charming smile in Dagger's general direction.] Shall we get down to business? Please tell me what you have come up with.

[ A pair of bows isn't a bad start -- even if she doesn't trust that Zevran's is entirely earnest. But the friend he's brought, there might be hope for her.

Her smile almost matches Zevran's, with how pleased with herself she is. She dips a hand into her pocket and returns with a simple golden band of a ring. She could have made it more beautiful, of course, as her hoard is steadily growing and not unimpressive. But why would she ever surrender something better to someone else? ]

I've made you a trinket. I think you'll like it. [ She holds it out to Merrill, though. ] If you'd like to look it over and make sure it won't turn him to stone, or anything like that.

[ It's actually, she's proud to say, complex magic. It doesn't restore sight, as that's beyond her, but it will grant the wearer to see in terms of shadow. The more shadow a form has to describe its form, the more visible it will be. Shadow, after all, is sort of a black dragon specialty. She smiles expectantly, watching Merrill. ]

[ Cautiously, Merrill accepts the trinket. She's much more concerned about the magic not being controlled enough to do it's work without causing some chaos, and that's mostly what the elf wants to focus on.

But she's also very aware they're in a crowded tavern, and to use her own magic here makes her anxiety spike high. Zevran insists a public establishment is safer, but she hardly thinks so. She became an apostate the moment she walked away from her clan.

So she inches closer to the bar, holding the object somewhat underneath while she half-perches on a stool. It's like any artifact one of them could carry, using the runes inscribed for their benefit. But this is alien magic; not something that she can dismantle and inspect on sight. Then again, that barrier at the beach was alien, and she figured it out...after a few days. She has only moments here, and the magic is so strange that it frazzles her more when she tries to glance around with the strange shadows overlapping figures, then back down to the talisman. There's no special glow, or mysterious mutterings, though she knows for fact using blood magic would help her search this item much more thoroughly, and that would be a little bit showier.

But she is somewhat cowed by the slight familiarity of this magic, which is normally connected to animosity. She feels none here, though, so surely she's wrong on that suspicion. ]

I don't sense any trap. This feels strange, though.

[There's not much Zevran can do but listen to Merrill. On his end, he senses nothing extraordinary: no worrisome smell (which usually accompanies blood magic and lyrium), no particular sound. But he does hear what she says, though, and directs his question more to Dagger than to her:]

And what could be strange about it? Surely our friend would not be foolish enough to curse the item...

[ Her eyes narrow briefly at Merrill. Don't be dissin her magic, man. But then she looks to Zevran, not caring that he won't appreciate the change in glance, and flicks her hair back over one shoulder. ]

Obviously it feels strange to her, we're from different worlds. I'd be more surprised if she recognized it.

[ definitely isn't dragon magic, nosiree.

oh, right, also, slightly belatedly: ] And it isn't cursed.

[ Wondering if she may have offended the woman, Merrill blushes a bit. ]

I meant no disrespect! Of course, you're right... It should be unfamiliar. This is truly a work of art, if it works, I mean.

[ But she's still giving the woman somewhat of a side-eye look before cautiously handing it over to Zevran, blinking a bit once her vision stops being so layered. Better. She wouldn't hand it over if she thought it could be a trap, but this involves magic so she's still ready for anything to go wrong. ]

[Zevran distantly thinks that he really has no reason to trust Merrill, aside that for all his disappointment in what the Dalish truly were that they were honorable in ways most people didn't know how to be. She never once derided him or called him flat-ears and has definitely acted as a friend to him. So he believes she would warn him if there was a problem, if she knew it.

He also has to trust she would know a threat if there was one.

He takes the amulet from her and inhales. Not quite a gasp, but only his years of training give him that kind of control.

He can see. Not like he did before, but he can.

And were he some other kind of man, the thought of it might make him weep.]

...Ahh, I am so happy that I am able to see when I am in the company of two perfectly beautiful women. [Zevran smirks.]

So, Dagger. What do I need to know about this item that you have yet to tell me?

[ She lets the perceived slight from Merrill go, in favor of looking terribly pleased when Zevran takes the ring. She leans an elbow onto the bartop, curling black hair around one finger. ]

I'm sure I don't need to tell you that the magic is finite. It will only last for about two hours before it will need to be removed and allowed to recover its energy. But it should be able to replenish itself without any other influence, if left alone.

Um, I'm sorry, but...

[ Merrill hates to insult someone before, but that just sounds impossible! Then again, she's from another world. ]

How is that possible, without something or...someone to recharge it's power?

--Yes, does it require any sort of maintenance? Or is it going to feed off me while I sleep or something?

[Though at this point he's willing to take the risk.

It's glorious to see again, even if it's in a different way. Zevran pulls off his sunglasses, looking at the world with renewed admiration. His eyes are black, completely: even the sclera.]

Don't you think I'd have mentioned that, if it were?

[ She looks annoyed to have to explain it. ugh, plebeians!! ]

I planted the source in it myself. I doubt the recharging abilities will exhaust themselves any time soon, but if I'm wrong, you're welcome to bring it to my attention then.

Alright.

Your payment.

Pretty baubles are what you said you wanted, yes?

[It is an emerald pendant on a chain of gold. He present it without bravado, sans any sort of bag or box. He simply carried it in an inner pocket this whole time. It's not a gift, after all.]

Will this suffice?

[He doubts a precious gem and some gold will be enough, and he assumes he'll have to owe her a favor as well. But he's not about to offer that out.]

[ Seriously the sharp looks don't even seem to be registered, but then again she lives with Fenris, so--

Oooh! Merrill even makes an oooh! face, but says nothing. This is their transaction. Her part is done! Even if she still has more questions about such magic, she can save them for another time. If this trinket is as miraculous as she makes it sound, from the view of a fellow mage, it probably should be worth a whole trunk of those. But that she won't say, either. ]

[ There's immediately a greedy glint to her eye, but she forces herself to sit with her hands folded around her drink, and not grab for it like she wants to. ]

For the amount of work I put into it for you? [ She cocks a brow, looking mildly offended. ] Services must come very cheaply in your world. Mine are worth more than that.

You drive a hard bargain. I do, of course, have coin as well. Gold - you are free to count it, there are 107 pieces of gold, and several silver and copper bits. [Zevran smiles.] If that is not to your liking, I have also several potions, and poisons of my own manufacturing, that I have held onto since arriving here from my world, out of things that are not available here.

[ La la la you guys just keep talking, she's just trying not to smile like a doofus at 'Dagger'. ~~She will consume you and have your magic for herself. ]~~

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at the heart of the matter someone wove a secret spell;

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so sorry for the late!

and then i was also late

naw y'all are good

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