Merlin nods. "Then we will work out a place for you to stay after we have gotten started."
He finishes his breakfast, wiping his beard on the cloth napkin at the table, and waits for you. Then he leads the way out. To the innkeeper he says, "I expect my friends will return later this evening, at least to get their things, and can settle with you then if there is any outstanding debt."
Once in the road outside the inn, he turns his attention back to your discussion.
"Obviously, you have heard of me. What am I to call the two of you?"
"There are two ways to work magic--or three, perhaps, depending on how you think of it. The outer powers involve tapping into the realm of the gods, bringing to bear within the natural realm supernatural power. This can be done by asking the gods, or their minions, to do it for you; I do not deal much in such powers. The true wizard learns to draw that power through himself.
"The inner powers, though, come from the self, directly from the spirit of the wizard. Guided and empowered by the mind, this magic can do wonders without reaching the other world. That can be very valuable, as an enemy can sometimes cut you off from the supernatural world but cannot easily cut you off from yourself. It is also certainly true that some powers are much easier to do from your own inner power than by invoking supernatural assistance, while others are the other way around."
He is headed for the gate which leaves the city.
"We will definitely learn both; some of that, though, will depend on your own potential and background, what you can already do, and where your talents lie. So, tell me more about yourselves, and what powers you have already explored."
--M. J. Young
*finishes up and follows Merlin and after listening*
"I am Ashe Valerin of the Stonefist, my wife is Jade Bladesong of the same. I understand, what you call Outside magic to be Holy Magic, and I have called apon outsiders for healing, curing of diseases, and prayer before. What you call inside magic is what I call Arcane magic, and I have a lot of spells, but not a lot of ability, as I have been self taught. Jade has no knowledge, but I believe her to have unlimited capacity for learning either as I have.
*pause*
"As for powers, I have powers of the mind which may or may not work here, and I am a novice of them. My wife and I are trained in hand to hand combat, and combat with weapons, and are likely either matches or more than a match for even Uther's Circle. We are strong, and resiliant. Other than that, you'll find us to be around the peak in almost all human abilities. We also have technology not seen in this world, which may or may not work. I think that about covers it, aside from my hawk Horace who is a bit away, and the rest of our items, which are in the same place, we would like to learn how to teleport those things personal to us back to us to save us a long journey. I thank you for your welcome, we were thinking it was going to be a hard process getting an audience with you through Uther. Speaking of which, we should be presented, if not for paying respect for his kingdom, although I have a distrust of authority, I understand a certain amount of deference now solves problems that may come up later."
*waits for the response or further questions*
Adam
"Ashe and Jade, welcome."
"No, I understand the distinction you are making between holy and arcane magics. Both of those are outside magic, as they draw power from beyond the universe. The inner powers come from yourself--as you say, the mind, the soul, the spirit. It sounds as if you have dabbled in these as well, but that you were taught different language--not surprising, as you apparently are foreigners, although your command of Anglish is remarkably good."
"The wolves might be able to help you with that better than I. They have a native ability to travel the space between the worlds. Teleportation, though, requires knowing where you are going--you do not want to wind up inside a rock, and once you have left the physical universe there's no telling where you'll find yourself when you return. Thus their advantage is that their tribes are all connected, so if you can win their friendship they might be able to take you to parts of the world I have never been, never seen, and could not easily reach. However, the wolves are a bit of a challenge--none are what I would call friendly, and some are quite hostile to humans, even, or perhaps especially, to wizards. I've had good relations with some over the generations, but at the moment they are not at all happy with Uther and his wars, and are being particularly hostile to everyone. So take it carefully--even a wary and skilled knight can be bested by an angry werewolf."
"Yes, of course, if you are presenting yourself as a nobleman, you should give him your propers, titles, lands, intentions, that sort of thing. I don't know that he'll care, but I think he will check them, or at least have one of his servants do so."
During this conversation he leads the way down the road and then off the road into the woods.
--M. J. Young
*smiles*
"We want to learn about both the inner and outer magics, we have served as soldiers, and don't wish nor need to learn more about arms or body, if you have need for students, we won't make other plans. Of course, we can also teach you of technology and science. My wife if from an area around Rome, and I am from across the sea to the west from a nation that won't exist for around a thousand years or more. People in my nation speak English natively, her speak a offshoot of Latin called Italian. In any event, she is the linguist among us.
*pause*
"Well I'm a pretty likeable guy, and my items are very far away, perhaps I can use my natural connection to them to bring them here, or pinpoint where they are. I have no problem dealing with wearwolves, either way one thing at a time. I don't wish to present myself as a Lord or a Soldier for him to draft. We just got out of serving someone who gave us little choice on what we do, but the benefits just barely outweighed the lack of freedom, it also allowed me to meet my wife."
*looks around*
"If we are this deep in the woods, it shouldn't be too hard to make a log cabin, just would take hard work, some tools, and perhaps some magic, but might be better to stay out of Uther's direct sight. What is your connection with him, and can you help with introductions?"
*walks with him*
Adam
"My connection to Uther?" He scrunches his face a moment. "Well, I don't know that I have any real formal connection. I knew his grandfather well, and foresaw that Uther's son will be important. He does not yet have that son, though, and such things are often a bit hazy. He does not know that his son will matter more than himself, and probably would be very offended at the notion--the sort of man who might kill his own offspring if he thought his throne was threatened, petty throne that it is. So I won't tell him what he does not need to know. In any case, I am still working through how that is going to happen.
"I visit Uther's court from time to time when it suits me, usually to bring word of something important. He does not particularly like to see me unless he wants me to do something for him, and thinks it outrageous that I, a wizard who has seen generations of petty monarchs like him rise and fall, do not think I must do whatever he commands. I think he would kill me if he did not think me immortal. On the other hand, I have done one or two things for him over the years, and he values my services, no matter how rarely given, too much to risk losing them entirely. He shouts and threatens, but it is all bluster, or mostly so. Not that I take no precautions when I visit him, but that I know he will not carry out his threats if he pauses long enough to think."
"We are not so far in the woods that Uther could not find a--what did you call it? Log cabin? I take it that this is some sort of shelter made of cut timber, such as a lean-to. He cannot find me, because my home cannot be recognized as a home if no one is in it and I do not invite people to visit me there whom I do not wish to have return. However, a shelter in the woods would probably not get much attention from him. He would assume you were hunters or trappers, and that the best way to tax you would be to tax your goods when you brought them to market."
Eventually you step into something of a clearing, a grove between higher ground surrounded by dense trees providing a three-quarter canopy overhead. There are scattered bushes which, with a bit of imagination, might separate the area into rooms. He sits on a low stump, and as he does so you realize that the four stumps surrounding a low flat rock are very like a kitchen set.
"Welcome to my home, my classroom, my base of operations. Memorize its appearance; you will want to be able to see it in your mind when you are not here. You will understand the reason for that eventually.
"So again, tell me: what have you already learned?"
--M. J. Young
*nods*
"My wife and I are immortal, but not invulnerable, if that presents a problem years, decades or centuries down the line, we will deal with the results. I think the log cabin will work, and where I was born, was a common form of home a hundred or so years before I was born, construction is simple, and with a little bit of magic, probably better than I think.
I will tell him everything I can do (it's way too much to type from my sheet, and I will be honest with what I can do."
Adam
He asks many questions; the discussion goes for hours.
He asks where you got the ideas for a number of the skills, including the Jump, the force field, the find familiar, and the Jedi Mind Trick.
He asks you detailed questions about the worlds you've visited, and the people you mention.
He asks you to explain to him how you do the telekinesis, the mind reading, the microscopic vision, the disease cure, the language comprehension, thunderstorm creation.
He asks about the orcs, their culture, their society, and what you did with it. He seems very interested in what an orc is.
He asks many questions about starships, how they work and why men build them.
He asks for everything you know about the history of England from when you were in the future--it is evident that you have been to England twice in what is the future relative to him, and he is interested in what will, or perhaps might, happen.
He asks about the other versers you mention.
He asks what Geneice has already learned.
--M. J. Young
"Well most of them I got from books or movies, and I will explain the concept of both if need be. Most of the spells I got from a book which is a guide for mythical spells and formulas. Not much to it, in other worlds they worked fine, in some they work hardly at all.
Let's see, I tell him about the Tropical Island and Michael Di'Vars, then Starship Destiny, the missions and their crew, then Orc Rising tell them about what happened there, and then finally Why Spy, and the many people and things that were movies in my world, and about C.
Well most of the items, telekinesis, mind reading and the telescopic vision, I just will it to happen, and if it works it works, if not, it doesn't. The disease can be the same way, or I ask apon Odin to grant me the power, the thunderstorm, much the same, Odin is the God of Thunder in Norse religions. The language comprehension, I follow a set of instructions, say words and again, it either happens or it doesn't.
The orcs are very interesting demi humans, I give him a description, in my one book they are evil, but in this world, the humans, elves, and dwarves were more evil then them. I also explain what elves and dwarves are. I will explain how I tried to organize them into a society, so they could better defend themselves from the slavers and the evil orcs. Their culture was a nomadic one, I guess I may have changed them from nomads to settling in one community. I tried to teach them farming, and defending themselves, I never got to see if they were able to do anything with what I taught them.
Well starships are built with metal, use advanced science to move, they are hard for me to explain since for the most part they are just theory to me, I never got to build one, and I only grasped the most basic of concepts when I was on Destiny. As for why men build them, men are curious I guess. They conquered the planet, they wanted to conquer the universe. The stars do offer enticement of something more out there.
England, well I will tell him of the middle ages, the crusades, the split of the church, how England was the world power for centuries, how they founded hundreds of colonies, and The United States, I will tell them of Robin Hood, and of modern times.
Hmm Michael Di'Vars, from his own mouth he has been to thousands of worlds, and I think he lost of forgot who he was. He seemed to be a guy who was broken down, and hooked onto Odin as a god, and Ragnarok as a reason to go on. I'm sure he saw enough to make him lose touch, but he has a purpose. About C, he's English, and under the impression on he could save England. I played along with him to get the training and supplies to survive in future worlds, since before my last world, I wasn't really prepared for much in terms of combat and survival. I met my wife there, took a liking to her, I couldn't tell her who or what I really way, so I did somethings I didn't like to get her to spend time with me. In the end, I think it was worth it, and I am happier for it
Jade knows a lot about combat and technical skills. I didn't teach her magic or mind powers, she might not have been capable of it on her world, the Orcs weren't able to do it on theirs, now she should be able to do anything. I'm not too much ahead of her, I just experimented more."
Adam
Merlin eventually says he'd better get you back to the inn so you can get settled before nightfall, but we'll continue this tomorrow. He says he will meet you in the morning.
He then walks over toward the exit, stops, and pronounces a string of words. A grey mist appears.
"Stay close to me," he says, and steps into the mist.
--M. J. Young
*I will try to memorize those words, and we will follow him into the mist closely*
Adam
Geniece glances at you, but keeps step with you as you enter the mist.
The grove vanishes, but you can see each other and Merlin clearly, as if you were surrounded by misty white walls. He is walking forward slowly, and looking around. As he does, faint images form in the mist--a tree here, another there, and a stump, and a large rock, and then these become clearer as he, and you, walk between them. He pronounces the same, or very similar, words again, and the mist dissipates leaving the images as solid objects.
"This way," he says, and in about thirty feet of walking you are on the road outside the gate of Camelot at the edge of the forest.
"You can, I think, find the inn. Do you need anything else from me before morning? I will meet you at breakfast."
Unless you detain him, he will walk into the forest on the other side of the road and disappear into the trees.
--M. J. Young
We'll let him go and head to the castle to introduce ourselves to Uther, before heading to the inn for the night.
Adam
You find the gates of the castle open but guarded. The guard asks your names and business, and you respond as you did before.
A large blustery man in a suit of fine armor without helmet, a full head of long red hair and beard, calls in a booming voice from the courtyard beyond, "Well, who are they, and what do they want?"
"Nobles from a distant land, sire. He says his name is Ashe Valerin, and the lady is Jade."
"Jade, ey? Well, bring them in. I'll meet them over dinner."
He heads the other direction.
--M. J. Young
*we'll wait and be brought to where we need to be for dinner, and get a read of him myself*
Adam
You are escorted first to the well, too wash and refresh yourself, and from there to the dining hall.
"His majesty should be along at any moment. First, can I get you a libation? There are some fine French wines in the cellar, and some excellent English ales and meads on tap."
The wait is rather longer than you expect.
--M. J. Young
*smiles*
"Some mead sounds good, thanks."
*we wait*
Finally the king roars in. "Where's dinner? I'm starved!" he shouts, and servants start scrambling to get the food from kitchen to table.
He looks at the two of you. "Sit. Please. I am King Uther, the First, of Angland, if I am be so presumptious, although to date there is no second. Girls, my wife gives me. Good for forging alliances, worthless for ruling a country. But that's not your problem, and she has promised to keep trying. I'm told that you are nobles visiting from some foreign realm, but my men don't seem to know who or where. Idiots, of course. I apologize for having to ask you to introduce yourselves again."
--M. J. Young
"I am Ashe Valerin, and the is Jade Bladesong, of the Stonefist. We are fro Center, in the Castle of Six Cities. We are not attatched nor have we ever been to a Lord. We have completed our combat training and looking to expand our knowledge of magic. Merlin found us as we stayed in the inn last night, and will be studying under him. We tried to introduce ourselves last night, but it was late."
Adam
The king is already stuffing food in his mouth, pulled from the platter while he's filling his plate. He waves a utensil at you, which is probably a signal that you should dig in.
"Magic?" he says around a smashed potato in his mouth. "What in blazes would cause you to pursue such a career? You ask me, it's a waste of time, something that women and wastrels pursue. Now, Merlin, there are things he can do, but he'll never have a castle or rule a country, now, will he? Might as well take up thieving, for all it will advance you in life. Have some mutton, it's very good today."
--M. J. Young
*smiles and takes some food and starts to eat*
"We already know how to fight, we just want to be well rounded, as magic has certain advantages that strength alone cannot accomplish"
*we'll let him continue on with his rant*
Adam
"Yes, well--it's fine when you're back in the castle, or even in camp, but I've never seen a wizard pull something out of his cloak fast enough to save him in combat. Merlin, perhaps, excepted, of course. That man has been doing magic longer than anyone alive, I expect. He thinks more of it than it's really worth, I would say, since he is so much better at it than anyone else.
"So, you fight then. I've got some trouble with a lord not far from here who thinks he doesn't have to obey me. We'll be setting up our assault against him soon. Should I roster you as one of my knights? Begging the lady's pardon, but here in Angland our ladies don't fight. Doesn't seem proper. No offense if the lady's traditions are different, I trust."
--M. J. Young
*smiles*
"Unfortunatly Jade doesn't let me fight without her, something about having all the fun for myself. Since we will be close to the castle, if trouble finds it's way here, I'm sure we could lend a hand. I'm sure Jade can better sum up her feelings on the matter better than I can."
Adam
"Indeed," Geneice says. "Meaning no offense to your majesty, but my husband and I have only just arrived in your country, and it would be awkward for us to assume that we knew which side of your battle should have our allegiance. If someone attacks you, we will certainly come to your assistance; but if we had come first to your noble's keep, would we not be hearing him tell of the wrongs, real or imagined, he has suffered at your hand? Probably we would find ourselves helping him defend himself against you. At least until we know all of you better, we should probably keep our efforts to the immediate defense of such lands and fortresses as have befriended us, and not join the aggressors in any battle."
"What, do you think it is not defending myself, to put my nobles in line?"
"If indeed they are your nobles. My father would have agreed with you completely, that those who work for you must be loyal or must pay the penalty of disloyalty. His rivals did not see it that way, and thought they had every right to displace him and discount his claims. You say that this man is your vassal; what does he say? On what do each of you base those claims?"
"I," Uther says with great self-importance, "am King of all Angland. Anyone who opposes that must face my wrath."
"And we will not oppose that," Geneice responds. "However, until we have learned of your right to this title from someone other than yourself, forgive us for taking it with some skepticism. It has happened to us before that we have accepted someone's claim about himself only to discover later that he was not at all what he pretended."
--M. J. Young
*smiles* My wife is a strong woman who doesn't mince words, but she is right. Having two knights stay back and protecting your lands. I can say without hesitation that I have called Thunder and Lightning against unjust foes and have driven off a seige army of thousands doing so. It only works in defense and after trying to talk, but I am certain this would be an advatage no other kingdom would have, and dare say make your kingdom unattackable. We make this gesture, requiring nothing on your part, just the ability to stay and learn with Arther.
*takes a bite of mutton and a drink of whatever beverage is in front of me*
There has been no mention of Arthur to this point. Did you mean to say Arthur, or did your character mean to say Arthur--that is, is this your mistake or his, or is this entirely intentional?
If you meant that your character said "Arthur", Uther will respond, "Who in blazes is Arthur? I thought you were studying with that meddler Merlin!" If you meant that he said "Merlin", or someone else, I'll give it more thought.
--M. J. Young
I meant Merlin.
adam
"You can call thunder and lighting against enemies? That blasted wizard has been holding out on me--he never let on that there were magics of such power. Why, with that sort of force, it will be simple to subdue those rebels who think they shouldn't have to yield to my authority. Pack your things, man; we've a battle to win!"
--M. J. Young
*pauses* I clearly said it can only be used in defense, and specifically if they attack your home base, city or castle. If you were to try to use it offensively, it would decimate your own armies. That is why we should stay here to defend Camelot, instead of attacking others. You wouldn't send an archer to the front lines to fight hand to hand against heavy infantry, they would be decimated, their place is stand behind your forces and rain arrows upon your opponent. We have just discharged our duties for a Lord, were released, and now are looking for some knowledge. We will help defend Camelot, but we cannot be part of a standing army to leave.
Adam
"But, this is a defense. All of Angland is my home base, and anyone who opposes that is attacking me. Bah, foreigners. You don't understand that?"
--M. J. Young
We understand that, you must understand that magic doesn't act the same way as you think. If I were to do as your ask, your army would be in ruins, and you'd have a problem. This way is best, besides we are here to learn, not fight.
Adam
"Bah. All right, I see there's no persuading you. Tell my Castellan where he can find you if there's trouble, so he can send a messenger. Did you get some of the mutton? How about more drink? What are you drinking? Wench, we need more to drink!
"So, tell me about this homeland of yours--the Castle of the Six Cities, or whatever it was called. How far is it from Angland, and what is it like there?"
--M. J. Young
*grins*
The Castle of Six Cities is a world away, it's on the civil part of the continent that it is on. The Castle is a misnomer, there are a group of six cities inclosed with a 30 foot wall, that is imbued with magic to stand the test of time. I'm from Center, the hub of the Castle, it's a merchant town, nearly everyone there is involved with commerce of some sort. The other 5 are close to the wall, Avon is a town of wizards, and anything magical can be learned or gotten at a real high price, it was much too expensive for me to go there for anything for most of my life. Goldfarb is a farming community, it is also the biggest source of Goldrod known, which is a powerful natural healing agent. Kingsteeple is the ruling town of the city, and also the home of priests of many faiths. Darklake is a boating town, full of theives and low brow pirates and assassins, most people leave that town alone, it has it's uses for information. Deathknell is a tomb, not a town perse, but nearby games of all sorts are held all times of the year, it's a good place to test your skills. If your asking me if I miss my country, I don't, my parents were murdered there, my brother, his wife and kids have made a life for themselves somewhere else. My friends were also taken from me there, and my destiny lied elsewhere. I prefer being on the road, exploring, learning, and that's why I'm here. Yes I've had the mutton, it is good.
Adam
He asks several things during your description.
"Six cities inside the one wall? That's incredible! I've never heard of such a wall. Not even the Romans have built such a thing, and Rome stands, they say, on seven hills. And one of them a farm? Your wall must be a thousand miles! How on earth did they build such a thing?"...there are a group of six cities inclosed with a 30 foot wall....
"Priests of many faiths? And they don't kill each other? You live in a strange land, my friend. How can these priests get along with each other?"...the home of priests of many faiths.
"And your knights have not cleaned it out? What's the point of having a walled community if the brigands are within the walls?"full of theives and low brow pirates and assassins....
--M. J. Young
"Necessity is the mother of invention, there was much magic involved, as well as hundreds of thousands of people and demihumans involved. They were giving themselves shelter from the Crimson Pentical Knights, who rule the lands with an iron fist. Imagine your own knights with the power of Merlin, who believe that anyone who doesn't meet their vision of perfection are locked away or killed. They have since been broken and defeated since I left, though I'm certain they remain in other lands.
"They get along, because they have to, violence between priests of faiths means their entire Church is thrown out of the Castle, and no faith can afford to not have their representatives in the Castle."
"Darklake has it's own soldiers and Overlord, and unfortunatly they control the trade in and out of the Castle. They are a necessary evil, better than the Crimson Pentical Knights, or the Tinneans, Follows of Set. I don't like Darklake, and I have had my problems there, it's better than the alternatives."
Adam
"What in blazes is a demihuman? Do you mean Africans?"
"The thieves control your trade routes? I understand your desire to leave--dishonest merchants are undoubtedly a worse curse than dishonest nobles."
--M. J. Young
"Um sure, that's probably the closest thing in your reference. Well, I'm sure your tired, and want to spend time alone, we should be getting back to the inn. It was very interesting meeting you Uther, and may you live in interesting times."
*I'm going to assume he lets us leave*
*when out of earshot*
"That has to be the dumbest, rudest, ignorant man I have ever met, and of course he's in authority. Let's give him a wide birth, I don't know if I won't punch him to death the next time I see him. Anyway, we made our introduction, tomorrow we start making the cabin. With our strength, we should be able to topple and move trees easier than most, move them in place, it's a good thing we left with our army supplies, looks like we're going to use those camp axes and machettes some more use."
Adam
Yes, as dinner ends you depart. There is a fair amount of coming and going in the daytime, so you easily leave the area.
This was dinner, so it is now approaching nightfall--maybe sunset, maybe dusk. What are your plans for the evening and the night?
--M. J. Young
Going back to the inn, having a drink, then to bed.
Adam
The innkeeper offers you supper, and Geneice thanks him but explains that you've already eaten and would like something to drink before you retire.
You have a good night and are up the next morning bright and early and well rested. Breakfast will be available shortly.
--M. J. Young
*We will wait for breakfast, then head out to Merlin's, looking for a good spot to start the cabin*
Adam