Who: Gale & various. Status: Closed Where: Various. What: Quests and other various closed threads for the month! Warnings: PG? Necromancy, discussion of magical ethics... rated E for Educational, maybe.
[The alchemist's request is one that's difficult to overlook for a multitude of reasons. Gale still doesn't know that he entirely intends to fulfill it— but he is fairly certain he's chosen the right partner for this particular task. Kaveh will undoubtedly have insights of his own to offer, and he feels there's a very good chance they end up rerouting entirely to try and put a stop to all this.
Still... for better or for worse, Gale has always been the curious sort.
They've yet to leave Elah proper, though the means of doing so are well within their grasp. Gale casts his companion a sidelong glance, looking up from the copy of the request he'd written down.]
I can't say this use of alchemy is entirely unheard of, but I've only ever heard of attempts before now— never a success. What do you make of all this?
[Gale's question is quite genuine, a brow quirking upwards, but even back on Toril, there is a great difference between using a scroll of True Resurrection and what's being described here. He exhales rather than protests, looking back to the request itself.]
This is dangerously close to true necromancy, which is dubious at best. The newly dead might be brought back by a cleric in dire circumstances and it would not be considered an affront to natural law, but toying with life and death beyond that is... questionable where I come from, especially in the wrong hands.
[He presses his lips together grimly.]
I do think you're right. Curiosity aside, he ought not be alone.
...Even bringing back the newly dead isn't possible by magical means, and true resurrection...
[Kaveh shakes his head.] Not even the gods can bring back those they've lost.
[He finds it unsettling, frankly, that death is so...accessible and fluid in Gale's world. What is the worth of a life, then, when the end is so easily cheated? Do people understand the gravity of their own mortality? But that's a morbid subject, and he's not going to get into it now.]
It's obvious he's in pain, regardless. [A pause.] Does he mention anything about her? Or himself? Flowers he loved...they won't serve his ritual, but they may be grounding.
[Such morbidity certainly requires more alcohol than they presently have on their collective person, but may well be something worth revisiting in the future. Whatever else he may feel about the situation, Gale nods firmly in response— they certainly agree regarding this man's mental state.]
Grief can drive people to do terrible, terrible things, including causing them to act against their own best judgment.
[Certainly, that is part of what's happening here. He glances at the billing again, frowning.]
Very little, surprisingly— he seems to want those who accept the task to decide what they believe to be ideal in these circumstances, but it does mention lilies.
It does seem rather strange— which is certainly saying something, when one considers the request as a whole.
[Every part of this is strange, but he nods to Kaveh in agreement, gesturing forward for him to lead the way to the shop in question. They can certainly chat while they walk.]
Perhaps there is something about others' ideal that is key to the spell he intends to use. Our potential selection is what gives it power.
[Gale politely lets the negotiation take place without interruption, easily resuming their conversation once the shopkeep disappears to tend to business.]
I suppose that's fair. Magic here is a touch different from how I initially learned it back in Faerun, but not by much— only in how it manifests, on occasion. Largely, it remains a process of attuning oneself to magic itself as a force of nature, and guiding it to make intent become reality. Though the man in question seeks to use alchemy, they are often close cousins.
[He's certainly brewed more than his share of potions and draughts.]
Your vision is limited to a single element, if I recall? As such, I expect much of its impact would be external, but magic— especially dark magic— uses the caster themselves as a conduit. That, I'm afraid, makes this man's potential efforts especially dangerous.
We cannot, in good conscience, allow that to happen. Not when we have this much warning and an opportunity to intervene. We may save him a great deal of heartache— and quite possibly his life, among others'.
[Kaveh is right; this gentleman needs a talking to.]
[Infiltration means reconnaissance, and for a pair as congenial as Gale and March, wheedling the right information out of people ought to be well within their means. Their arrival on Nogard had gone without incident, and Gale had done his part to use illusion magic to aid in their respective costume changes to help them blend in a bit more among the Corsairs.
He would never, under any other circumstances, smother his hair beneath a bandana, but needs must.
Locating the black market itself had been an easier task than he'd expected, which brought them to the next part: finding a lead that would take them to the source. He presses his lips together as he glances at March, his pace having slowed as they passed through the entrance to the wider market area.]
Perhaps best not to mention it by name right off the bat, but with how quickly it seems to be gaining popularity, we may even be fortunate enough to overhear something of interest before we even ask. It seems to be among Nogard's worst-kept-secrets, at present.
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🔮 kaveh | my lovely wife
Still... for better or for worse, Gale has always been the curious sort.
They've yet to leave Elah proper, though the means of doing so are well within their grasp. Gale casts his companion a sidelong glance, looking up from the copy of the request he'd written down.]
I can't say this use of alchemy is entirely unheard of, but I've only ever heard of attempts before now— never a success. What do you make of all this?
no subject
...Tampering with life and death is one of the six cardinal sins of the Akademiya.
[Kaveh's hands tighten on his copy of the request.] I--think we should talk to this man. I don't--
[A pause.] It's not...I'm not sure it's even possible, to get back what he's lost. But more than that...maybe he shouldn't be alone, right now.
no subject
[Gale's question is quite genuine, a brow quirking upwards, but even back on Toril, there is a great difference between using a scroll of True Resurrection and what's being described here. He exhales rather than protests, looking back to the request itself.]
This is dangerously close to true necromancy, which is dubious at best. The newly dead might be brought back by a cleric in dire circumstances and it would not be considered an affront to natural law, but toying with life and death beyond that is... questionable where I come from, especially in the wrong hands.
[He presses his lips together grimly.]
I do think you're right. Curiosity aside, he ought not be alone.
no subject
[Kaveh shakes his head.] Not even the gods can bring back those they've lost.
[He finds it unsettling, frankly, that death is so...accessible and fluid in Gale's world. What is the worth of a life, then, when the end is so easily cheated? Do people understand the gravity of their own mortality? But that's a morbid subject, and he's not going to get into it now.]
It's obvious he's in pain, regardless. [A pause.] Does he mention anything about her? Or himself? Flowers he loved...they won't serve his ritual, but they may be grounding.
no subject
Grief can drive people to do terrible, terrible things, including causing them to act against their own best judgment.
[Certainly, that is part of what's happening here. He glances at the billing again, frowning.]
Very little, surprisingly— he seems to want those who accept the task to decide what they believe to be ideal in these circumstances, but it does mention lilies.
no subject
[Kaveh frowns, and crosses his arm, tapping one hand against his chin.]
I know some shops that sell them in pots--I think a rooted plant may better serve our point.
no subject
[Every part of this is strange, but he nods to Kaveh in agreement, gesturing forward for him to lead the way to the shop in question. They can certainly chat while they walk.]
Perhaps there is something about others' ideal that is key to the spell he intends to use. Our potential selection is what gives it power.
no subject
[Kaveh greets the shop owner by name, because of course he does, and immediately a negotiation goes by before the owner disappears into the back.]
You'd know more about the magic side of it than I would, I'm afraid. Visions don't...work this way.
no subject
I suppose that's fair. Magic here is a touch different from how I initially learned it back in Faerun, but not by much— only in how it manifests, on occasion. Largely, it remains a process of attuning oneself to magic itself as a force of nature, and guiding it to make intent become reality. Though the man in question seeks to use alchemy, they are often close cousins.
[He's certainly brewed more than his share of potions and draughts.]
Your vision is limited to a single element, if I recall? As such, I expect much of its impact would be external, but magic— especially dark magic— uses the caster themselves as a conduit. That, I'm afraid, makes this man's potential efforts especially dangerous.
walks in a month late with starbucks
[He can willingly hand it over but that's different.
Still, Gale's explanation makes him frown. From the sounds of it...]
So he's likely to hurt himself, if not others, if this goes wrong...and if this goes how he hopes?
welcome to my permanent state of being in 2024 honestly (hello ilu!)
[He frowns deeply, giving a shake of his head.]
We cannot, in good conscience, allow that to happen. Not when we have this much warning and an opportunity to intervene. We may save him a great deal of heartache— and quite possibly his life, among others'.
[Kaveh is right; this gentleman needs a talking to.]
🔮 march 7th | supply side logic
He would never, under any other circumstances, smother his hair beneath a bandana, but needs must.
Locating the black market itself had been an easier task than he'd expected, which brought them to the next part: finding a lead that would take them to the source. He presses his lips together as he glances at March, his pace having slowed as they passed through the entrance to the wider market area.]
Perhaps best not to mention it by name right off the bat, but with how quickly it seems to be gaining popularity, we may even be fortunate enough to overhear something of interest before we even ask. It seems to be among Nogard's worst-kept-secrets, at present.