(Let's get this back on track. That means I shall post more, especially this weekend.)

@Eviledd1984

Kara smiled as she approached Smith. "I'll help you to the kitchen. Just lean on my shoulder. I'm not as strong as you are, but if you walk with me, it won't be hard to get you there."

@bloonewb

"Don't worry. I can cover you... this once!" Kali joked, reaching down to her pouch of coins. She was hardly rich, but the prices at this place were rather low. "So, I think they have more than one thing here. Er..." Kali waited her turn in line to find a single kobold cook standing in front of a pot.

"What's that soup?"

"Pork."

"Do you have any other kind of soup?"

"Just pork?"

"I see that there's other meats next to the pot. Could you throw some of that chicken into the-"

"No. Just pork today."

"Look, I'll pay a bit extra, it's no problem. I was just hoping that."

The cook gave her a dirty glare. "You're pushing your luck."

"Oh, come on! It's just a little change from the soup you have. I mean, I'm sure the soup you have is good, but I don't really like pork, so could you please-"

"No soup for you!!"

"Kutur, could you give me a hand with this guy?"

@SilverPaw

"Don't be disappointed. Most aspiring mages can't form anything at all the first time they try conjuration with a shape as a focus. You managed to conjure a stable pawn in one try. It took me almost twenty just to get what you have now, no joke. Of course, I had a hard time focusing my mana... I was something of a 'passionate' girl back in the day... female hormones and all. Nothing for me to be ashamed of, but it did make focusing very difficult. Anyway, you'll do better after training and practice. It's not that you aren't a match for it; no one is born able to do this. There's no inherent rule of nature applying to a purely artificial setup, after all." Aerta told him. "Plus, the fact that you did it at all means you are indeed suited for this sort of thing."

@Aristocles

Smith was holding onto Kara and resting his head on her shoulder, "Ummmm what do you think of my mother?" He asked her quietly walking with her. He wondered what she thought of his mother, Even though he has a low opinion on his own mother he just just wanted to hear what she has to say.

Kutur shrugged his shoulders. What was he supposed to do? Money obviously was not going to budge the cook, but Kali was looking at him like he could somehow make the problem go away. How, though? Was he supposed to play the authority card? No, Kali is as high a priest as any. She could have easily done that. Blast him with a spell? Not only was Kali probably able to do the same, setting kobolds on fire would likely draw the ire of Rughoi. Perhaps if he just got a few answers out of the cook, then he'd know what to do. "So . . . why pork today? Are you having family over?" he asked, quieter than he would have liked his voice to be. Maybe if the cook were saving food for special ones in his life, that would make sense.

@Eviledd1984

Kara sighed. "She's a powerful mage, but a poor mother. Learn what you can from her and try to make up with her if you can find it in you, but if you don't forgive her, I understand completely. Look, forgiveness is important, but she has to be willing to be a good mother from now on. While she seems sorry for abandoning you, she isn't really doing much about it apart from giving you magic lessons." Kara explained.

@bloonewb

(You didn't get the Seinfeld reference?)

The cook gave Kutur a nasty glare.

"You don't understand! My soup is like art! No one can tell me what to do with it!"

"We'll take the soup as it is. It's fine. Really!" Kali quickly put down some coins, eager to just be done with the foolish argument. "But maybe you'll think twice about insulting a priestess and a high mage. This is Kutur, after all."

"The-the mage?! I-I... forgive me! I can add some other meats, no problem!" He ran off to do just that.

@Aristocles

"Yeah she doesn't seem to be a good job...being a mother and trying to help mend the wounds she made" He said softly heading to the kitchen with Kara. Being lead to a chair and asking Kara if their was any fruit or fish to eat, "I don't like her...she cannot bandage the problem by doing what she is doing" He added softly.

"Oh," Yssil answered stunned. He couldn't possibly imagine Aerta ever having been stumped on something. She was just so...experienced. He didn't want to think of her as old, because she wasn't, but somehow she seemed to be. "Thank you for telling me that. Will we be doing more of the same, then?" he asked, curious.

Daniel and his wife arrived at their new house. While though only a temporary one it was a home all the same. "Well home sweet home." Daniel Said
"It's such a shame you have to go out searching even though we just got here" His wife said, Frowning
" I know, I would love to stay to help get the house organized but I must start searching immediately" He said with a slight smile "I'll see you tomorrow, Bye" Daniel says, He puts on his light blue cloak and starts up the rode, His brown-oak staff in hand.
An hour later Daniel peers at a crossroad, Lost.

(Yeah, I think so. The soup nazi, right?)

"I'm not sure that was necessary," Kutur mumbled, mostly to himself. He felt like a complete idiot. The pairs of eyes slowly wandering his way didn't help in the slightest. The soup vendor returned quickly, slapping down two bowls of steaming soup. It certainly smelled good. Better, at least, then the exotic delicacies that the Bythesea courts ate daily. Kutur could never completely stomach the lark's tongues or the buzzard's gizzards, and pork (and other meats) sounded pretty good to him.

"Free of charge! Honor to serve companions of the emperor!" gasped the vendor. One didn't need to be an expert psychologist to see the fear in his eyes. Kutur sighed. The vendor was expecting some sort of vengeance! What horrors did he expect to have inflicted on him? It made him a bit sick to even accept the soup.

"You don't have to do that," Kutur said. "I'll get you the gold I owe you tomorrow, promise."

@Eviledd1984

Kara got up and quickly returned with some smoked salmon and an apple, and she passed them to Smith. "In that case, I'd advise that you just try to learn what you can from her and resolve to be a better parent to our children." She paused after taking a bite of her food. "And after we marry, we will have children. You can count on that, my love."

@SilverPaw

"Yes. A few more conjurations for today would be helpful. Give me a moment to reconfigure the shape." Aerta focused on the shape and within moments, it had reformed itself into a triangle inside of a hexagon. "Also note that some conjurations may require the use of multiple shapes. I'd like to summon a slyph from the elemental plane of air. This is just one possible configuration which works for that." Once more, she focused her mana and a moment later, a creature appeared. She seemed to be an angel, looking very much like a winged elf.

The slyph hovered in the air, clad in a long, light-blue robe supplemented with golden bracelets and arm bands, each of them. It was more clothing than a female dracon had probably ever worn. Her hands and feet were bare, but as a paraelemental being, she rarely if ever walked on a solid surface. The sylph looked annoyed, but was hardly angry.

"Sorceress, why have you called me today?"

"For a brief demonstration for a student, noble sylph. I apologize for the inconvenience." The sylph let out a long, echoing sigh.

"Why did the gods allow mortals to summon living, thinking beings? I understand summoning the mindless elementals, but sylphs are just as much a living and thinking being as an elf or a dracon."

"Forgive me, my lady. I have something which will make it worth your while." Aerta held out her hand and there was a brief flash. A small necklace had appeared in the draconess' right hand. "This talisman may be a mere bauble, but it is surely compensation enough for a few minutes of your time." The slyph reached out and cautiously took the necklace, examining it closely. Physically, it was little more than a bronze chain with a light blue gemstone in the middle of it. There was an enchantment on the gem, so the sylph inspected it, way of any curses or maledictions which might have been placed there. Satisfied that it was safe, she put it on.

"Hmph. You are fortunate that I like this color." Without an extra word, the slyph turned to Yssil. "So, you must be the student. Tell me, young one, what is it that you hope to accomplish by conjuration? Do you seek to summon an army? A band of servants to carry out your will? Perhaps you seek to conjure up a lover?"

@bloonewb

(Yup, that's the one!)

"Maybe, maybe not. Sometimes, you have to take the direct approach to get what you need in life" Kali replied, taking her bowl of soup. She sat down on one of the nearby chairs and set the bowl on the table and ate a spoonful of the hot, spicy liquid.

"It's good, isn't it? Oh, don't worry about scaring him. If you wanna pay him, go ahead. You can't be sensitive and make it in this place, y'know. It's a tough world out there, my love. Oh, er... can I call you that?"

@TheForgottenArc

(Everyone say hello to our newest player!)

Kosjurec headed down the same road as Daniel. It was one of the few times he was able to get away from home in a long while. Still, Sasha was able to take care of the place, along with their child, and she had assured him that everything would be fine if he left for a few weeks. Plus, she didn't want him to stop his adventuring entirely, only to slow it in order to care for the family. To an outsider, he cut a very formidable appearance, standing almost as tall as his father, Adykon. In fact, if not for his slightly lighter skin tone and different horns, one might have mistaken him for his father. It didn't help matters that Kos was dressed in a similar manner, with a suit of steel plate armor and a two-handed greatsword.

To his surprise, a human waited for him at the crossroads. Few humans lived in these lands, and many of the ones who did had taken to dracon customs. This one was still dressed very much like humans did in other lands, a sign that he was not born in this continent.

"Excuse me? Hello!" Kos waved at Daniel. "Hello there! Forgive me for saying so, but you seem to be lost. And by the looks of it, you aren't from around here. I'm Kosjurec, son of Adykon. You can call me Kos for short."

@Aristocles

Daniel was surprised by the voice but glad to finally see a citizen of this continent. After a moment he gave a short wave
" Hello Kos, I'm Daniel. Sorry if I seem surprised, I am not used to this land or its people just yet, It's all very new to me..... and my wife, Clerics from my land usually don't come so far out"
He waits for a second but grips his right arm and winces. It has no visual injuries or infliction but it sags low as if hurt.
"I'm looking for the nearest city or town, Or at least people who can point me to the wearabouts to a certain individual I am searching for."
He waits another moment.

"Im sorry for asking as we just met but can you help me find my way?"

He lets go of his arm, which is still sagging abit but he still seems in pain.

@Aristocles

"I would be a much better parents...then my mother and father at least" He said softly taking a bite out of the salmon, "I don't trust her either, She seems to have...alternate motive" He said taking another bite of the apple asking Kara for some water. His eyes watching her scanning her body.

"Just Kutur is fine," he said. It was at this time that the two worlds he inhabited, the two cultures that were so different he had to keep them separate, began to collide. Kali was so direct in her interests. He had been away from the continent for so long that he'd forgotten whether or not it was normal. His master had drilled into him the traditional manners of humans, elves, and orcs, the three great races in the Bythesea Empire. He knew exactly how to behave among any of those peoples, yet when he is here, he is as much a stranger as any of them. How was he to respond? How could she say she loved him, when he didn't even know if he loved anyone?

That was when his mind began to escape, as it often seemed to do lately. He thought back to the contents of his bag, the books needing to be illuminated. Illumination was a complicated process. His job was to imbue the very paper in the books with magic, and in that process place a bit of himself within as well. When doing so, his innermost thoughts regarding the text are made manifest in abstract images that line the margins, and in strong moments of emotion, may even become images of light that hover above the page when it's open. It's as much commentary as bookkeeping, and as much art as science. Perhaps he should ask for help, mage to mage. "So, what do you know of illumination?"

@Eviledd1984

Kara passed a cup of water to Smith, and she noticed that he was checking her out. She gave him a smile. "Well, don't let it get to you, lover. Maybe I could help you take your mind off of it. I don't think we have time to 'do it' until tonight, but maybe I could do something else for you. Maybe a foot massage? Shoulder rub?"

@bloonewb

"Illumination? Making a light source, or pictures in a book?" Kali asked. "I can conjure little balls of light, no problem." To prove it, she raised her right hand and snapped. At that instant, a tiny little orb of yellow light rose from her fingers and hovered near her head for a few seconds before burning out. "As for the other meaning, I'm not an illuminator myself. Never drew anything in a holy book, magic text, or any kind of tome. Did you have something in mind about either of those?"

@TheForgottenArc

"Well, that depends. What city are you looking for, and what individual did you have in mind? Also, if you don't mind me saying so, you seem to have hurt yourself" Kos pulled out his map and pointed to a city. "The nearest major city is Hurthihes. They call it "Hurth" for short. It's built around a fortress, one of the largest in the dracon lands. Maybe that's where we should look?"

@Aristocles

He thought perhaps he should still watch and be cautious about his mother, "Thank you...No but perhaps a back message would help" He said smiling at Kara. Eating his food take a moment to chew, He was wondering as well what he would do after this "training".

@Aristocles
Daniel looks at the map surprised to see the scale of the lands.
"My, This land is giant" He says in a surprised tone.

"Might as well start in this Hurth place" He says, He quickly takes out his potion while walking and motions Kos to join him on this search, as he walks he drinks this odd potion and cast a really strange spell that not any common cleric uses. His arm afterwards returns semi-normal
"You can come with me, I'm searching for a necromancer. I can't say his name but I'll fill you in on his looks and why I'm searching for him when we get into this Hurth city. I will pay you for helping me if you join me." He gives you a slight smile, But then that turns serious as he says "And don't worry about my arm its a recent wound that's damaged me permanently and I am not proud of it. Not even the high priest of our lands could help me." He turns quick and looks forward, Something more happened but Daniel refuses to say more.

Kutur reached into his pack and pulled out a book. It was one of the thinner ones, he knew, but it still thudded as he set it on the table. It was a book on the intricacies of the red discipline, and he noted with pride that of the four authors whose names were honored on the cover, his was third. Quickly, he opened it up to the first page, and pointed to the paragraph at the top. As he read, the margins around the paragraph began to take shape.

The black letters began to expand, then split, the remaining blobs of ink splashing across the blank spaces. They formed whorls of abstraction, spirals and circles, even scales like that on a kobold. He focused hard now, and a pinpoint of red light emerged from the tip of his talon. From it exploded similar patterns, adorning the very air above the paragraph.

Kutur closed the book again. when he opened it, the ink illuminations glowed a faint red. He tapped one of them, and the red began to glow ever more intense, until a projection of the illumination jumped from the pattern and hovered a few fingers above the page. "That's illumination," he said. "It's not hard, but it does take a while, not least of which because the text must first be read. There's . . . " he looked shyly down at his near-bursting sack. "A lot of work to go through, and I was thinking you could help me."

Yssil watched on in awe as Aerta summoned forth a sylph. A sylph! He mentally noted the procedure, from the shape she had used – a triangle inside a hexagon, and from what she’d said that was only one possibility that would work – to the way she focused her mana, her respectful manner of speech when addressing the winged being, and the trinket she had gifted the sylph with. It was a simple necklace, but the elemental being appeared to favour the blue colour of the gemstone. Not too hard to guess with her sky-coloured robe, but Aerta must have known that information beforehand nonetheless. Obviously, she and the sylph had some shared history, and Yssil wondered for a brief moment what the details might be.

However, that thought paled in comparison to the interest he had for the (admittedly beautiful beyond belief) sylph. Was the female air elemental to be his teacher for a while? Or simply a consultant? He supposed he would find out. But truly, he had not often had the chance to be exposed to beings besides Dracons, and was glad for the opportunity to properly speak to one. And yes, he was aware that Adykon and Aerta housed a male half-nymph or some such, but there was much to speak towards the advantages of conversing with a female of one of those ethereally graceful species. Simply observing her was already quite appealing, what with her slender body, noble elven features, and magnificent wings extended behind her. And that was even without mentioning her magic! Yssil definitely felt a kind of a resonance, because she was purely aligned to the subtle and shifting energies of air, and one of his natural magical inclinations was the same.

“Yes...Your Ladyship,” he affirmed that he was a student, though he most likely didn’t need to do so. Also, he wasn’t entirely sure how to address her, but it was probably best to mimic Aerta and be courteous. Then she asked him what he sought to accomplish by conjuration. A deceptively easy to answer question, which he had to ponder over – and would have indeed done so, had she not mentioned that last possibility.

“Lover? N-no,” he answered, somewhat flustered. And honestly averse to the mess doing something like that could create if he thought about it. “The most I could ask would be a trustworthy companion, I suppose,” he began after a cough or two to (poorly) hide his embarrassment. “Someone to offset my weaknesses. Naturally, I am most capable with air and shadow magic. So far, I have found them to be most suited to offense and maneuverability. I can manage a basic form of defense by materializing shadows, but I’m more capable of evasion. Of course, even my best assets require refinement,” he sighed silently, knowing he wasn’t keeping his answer to the point anymore.

“That is, I would appreciate a single being I could depend on to be on my side when needed, perhaps one capable in defense and healing? I can also see the benefit in being able to conjure a multitude of lesser beings that could rush and distract and enemy. And lastly, being able to create some essential items would be nice too. In short, I believe that I am seeking variability,” Yssil trailed off, looking at the sylph hopefully. He was a bit anxious that his answer would displease or annoy her, but changing who he was was no easy task. And being eager to learn was at the core of him.

(Also keep in mind that I try to wait until most players have responded before giving a reply. Don't want to get too far ahead if I can help it.)

@Eviledd1984

Kara walked behind Smith and placed her hands on his back. After taking a moment to assess where the tension was, she gently began to rub his upper back and shoulders. "I know that family issues can be hard, but no matter what happens, always remember that I'm here for you, Smith. Now, how's this feel, love?"

@TheForgottenArc

"Alright, I'll help you" Kos replied as they started to walk down the long road to Hurthithes. "I don't need any payment, however. In fact, it's best that I don't get any. You'll need all the money you can get. Little comes cheap in these lands, especially information. Before your search is done, you will probably have to spend quite a bit of that gold on it. So, is there anything more you can tell me about this necromancer?"

@bloonewb

Kali stared at the display Kutur had shown her. For a moment, she was mesmerized. Only the sound of his voice snapped her from the stupor she had fallen into.

"Sure! As soon as we're done eating, we can review the books. Are they all as hypnotic as that one? If they are, this is going to take us a while. I'll get used to it, I'm sure. It's just... I'm used to the letters staying in one place."

@SilverPaw

The slyph let out a tiny chuckle at the mention of Yssil's 'assets', but said nothing more of them. It was a double-entendre in many languages, including that of the elemental tongue of the slyphs and the draconic dialects spoken by the dracons alike.

"I admire your eagerness to learn, but this enthusiasm must always be tempered with humility. Many a great and powerful mage has met his end at the hands of his hubris. Far more aspirant mages have met with a similar fate, cut down in the prime of their lives when they tried to command forces they were unable to control. You have will and you have potential, but neither are a match for skill and experience." She paused for a moment, letting her words sink in.

"With that warning out of the way, what kind of 'essential items' do you seek to create? Of all the desires you have expressed thus far, this one is the most practical."

@Aristocles

"Alot better thank you..." He said softly relaxing and eating his meal, "I just have a very bad feeling about her..." He said referring to his mother. Then suddenly his mother came back into the room with her hands folded with her arms lowered, "Hello i wanted to check on how you were doing?" She asked Smith who looked indifferent at her.

@Aristocles
He thinks for a moment
"What I am allowed to say about his necromancer is that he isn't human. Not sure what race he is actually. He looks similar to a human though. The only difference is long, pointy ears. He's got black hair though, His hair almost goes to his shoulders, Brown eyes, but he is short. Really short. I would guess about 5'0. If he is in this region he will most likely be dressed like locals so don't bank much on his clothing." He frowns "That's all the grand priest has allowed me to say. I'm sorry I would like to say more" He slips a note to Kos while walking. "Don't read that until we are indoors, It contains more information on this necromancer that I cannot say" He says and starts walking abit faster.