Grade

Sovereign's Will: A Fantasy Roleplaying Game. [CONCLUDED]

"You may take just a few. The horses still need to eat." Henri comes into view, donning on his chest some kind of kite shield that's taking a meticulous duration to fully form. Around one-third of it is still missing, gradually being filled with red-hot iron flowing from Henri's body. There are no etchings or carvings on it that serve a design-like purpose, as he thought it might be easier to break if he did.

The amount of fruit Cedrick just produced would give the stableworkers a delightful surprise once they come back. Henri raises his hand. "I'll have to pass, I don't really eat." Full-stop. What a weird thing to say. Then again, Henri wasn't really secretive about his circumstance. No one just cared to ask him directly.

"Well. If everyone's done with their preparations, let's head to the forest."

Sovereign's Will: A Fantasy Roleplaying Game. [CONCLUDED]

Henri perked up from his examination of the Scroll of Arcane Bolts and waved at the man-bear as his shadow was in view. "Ah, Matilda. Cedrick. Here you are." He slid the scroll into his arm and grabbed the seeds from the inner pockets of his coat, and placed them on the water barrel. The pony harness is still beside the water barrel. "I don't know what seeds these are, I'm guessing fru--"

“I see (...)"

@Randomness

Henri aimed his right fist at the old man that just emerged from the shadows. A plate on his backfist is elevated to reveal several arrays of needles. Realizing who it was, Henri dropped his arm. Curse him, this pompous old man. He exhaled.

He scooted over to Matilda's side. "I'll never get used to seeing such a lack of people in this area. Shall we go, then?"

Sovereign's Will: A Fantasy Roleplaying Game. [CONCLUDED]

Henri was simply there by the stables, sitting on the barrel he carried to there, a mere three feet next to someone's horse. He might've came here too early. He exhaled. It bored him. There was an odd lack of a stableworker today, either. Alright then, might as well do something.

With the town on edge during the recent events, it was oddly quiet in these stables while he embarked in the throes of cleaning this eternally unused water barrel. His telekinesis could only keep up appearances, he needed actual water. Well, he could also use telekinesis on the water, creating a localized cyclone inside the water barrel. He then dumped the dirty water out, and rinsed it again. Nicely done.

Now, for the sprinkling system... It has to be something large enough for Ceddy's paw hands to just pull up, and a diligent spray of water would pour out on the side. Henri began to carve a large rectangular shape out of the side of the barrel, then filled the carved side with steel which he then poked small two-millimeter holes onto at the lower half, alternating to form diamonds if connected. Then, he added a frame outward that would tightly hold another sheet of metal only one-third as long as the first one. This sheet can be moved up or down to seal the watering holes. Then, the last thing is to attach a small hoop to the sheet to tie a long leather rope onto, and tying the other end of it to a smooth metal ring to pull easily from the shoulder.

A few more checks to see if the external sheet slides smoothly, then filling up the water barrel to make sure water stays in when closed. Pulling the sheet up creates multiple tiny streams of water, much like a watering can. Amazing.

After that exciting ordeal, he's back to simply sitting on the water barrel, now with a pony harness by his feet and a Scroll of Arcane Bolts in his hand. It would seem hasty and prone to misshaping if Henri were to turn this pony harness into a backpack sling for this Ceddy, as he knows not of his measurements and might build it too small. For now, he focused on studying this scroll, which if he guessed at the mechanics, should be as simple as pooling your mana at a spot and hurling its condensed form at your enemies... He wouldn't know until he tried, though. It's not safe to test this scroll in this area.

Jazdia, huh... Where has he heard that name before? It's quite the unique name, but he couldn't pinpoint from where.

Sovereign's Will: A Fantasy Roleplaying Game. [CONCLUDED]

Charon. This man, he hasn't aged a day. He does know of the former Henri the painter, but he doesn't yet know of his current circumstance, of being a non-human, non-painter. Henri made a mental note to divulge this to Charon, one of these days.

These must be seeds for fruits and vegetables, with the way he said it. Hmm, he cares not for nutrition for he cannot eat... No, he supposes the others would like to eat healthy. "Thanks, how thoughtful of you."
As for the barrel... "Yes, this barrel will do perfectly. Thank you." Henri grabs the barrel and turns it upside down, invoking his Telekinesis to shake off the rest of the dust. "I doubt any such supervisor would be able to do anything to either of us, although, I might not be able to return this barrel in the next few days if at all... You know what, just tell them that I stole it. What are they going to do? I'm not one to pull rank but... Well, I do not have a rank, to be honest." He jested.
The barrel doesn't have a spigot. Henri might have to design something that can resist the force of a 10-foot bear, lest he drown these seeds. For now, a blob of molten iron seeps out of Henri's hand. Then, he lightly punches one of the metal rings of the barrel to weld some kind of handle onto it. Charon witnesses this and simply nods in admiration.
Henri side-eyed him. Charon won't question this odd feat? Hm. He was going to use this as an opportunity to ask how Charon hasn't aged...

Holding the barrel by this new handle with the seeds inside, Henri offers his other fist to be bumped with another fist. "Well, then. Good to see you again, Charon. I might not be here for the next several days. Take care."
Charon answers the fist bump. "I'll see you soon, Mistah 'Enry.""

Henri then skates away, towards the stables where he presumes the rest of the team already are.
This post edited with Pakde's help because forum posts aren't allowed to be less than a paragraph long.

Sovereign's Will: A Fantasy Roleplaying Game. [CONCLUDED]

Is it due to Henri being soft-spoken that this elf hadn't heard him amidst the voices of these other three people? He sighed in exasperation then raised his hand. "I think I know how to solve this problem. Let me swing by the Royal Garden for a bit. No need to spend your coin, Mister Ceddy... Cedrick?" He then skated away. A constant application of Telekinesis on his body allowed his shoes to just glide along the ground without taking an actual step.

---

The Royal Garden... Yes, this should do nicely. Assortments of odd-looking plants you would rarely find from the market. Although, how would you extract the seeds from this... Henri approached the Royal Gardener. "Hello. It's a bit urgent, but could you get me seeds from these plants? Yes, just all of them. All of them. Let me water the plants for you. Actually, do you also have a water barrel I could use?"

Sovereign's Will: A Fantasy Roleplaying Game. [CONCLUDED]

Henri's eyebrow raised. It feels exceptionally long ago that anyone was this friendly and upbeat, upfront. Especially not an elf, if stereotypes would dictate. "It... Yes, glad to be here, miss...? Forgive me, I know not of anyone's names."

He noticed the man-bear's mumble. Seems he has a need to procure something. But, before that, the document in the elf's hands. He glanced at Matilda, then back at the elf. Guess she's in charge? "Is there anything you'd have me do?"

Sovereign's Will: A Fantasy Roleplaying Game. [CONCLUDED]

"That... does make sense. Thanks." Henri felt slightly more confident about his position in the group.

He made sure not to visibly display his disappointment as Antigone pulled out what could be considered disposable. Essentially, these are magic scrolls, aren't they? He could already feel how much longer it'd take for him to reverse-engineer this and add it to his spellset.

Unless... Is it as easy as just redrawing the diagram itself?

Henri carefully took the tome out of Antigone's hands, shook her hand and stood up. "Ah, nothing else. Thank you for assisting me, Your Grace. I'll be going now."

Just before closing the door... "Please take care of your health."

---

Disassembling the book into its rawest parts. The metal parts, melted and absorbed into him; the bound leather shredded and fused into his clothing. Then, he placed the sheets of parchment into his torso cavity, save for one of the Ward scrolls. This should be the safest to analyze on the way, although, this ink... It could be seen glowing in the shadowy parts of this hallway. Damn. He hoped he wouldn't have to procure this unknown special ink just to cast this spell beyond these scrolls.

A detour. Instead of taking the stairs, Henri instead came out of the window and began sliding down the wall at a safe pace, casting Telekinesis on himself and maintaining friction with the wall with his left hand and shoes. He placed the Ward scroll along with the rest of the parchments in his torso. None of the diagram made sense to him anyway, he could only rely on how the mana is being converted during usage.

Wait, is that Matilda? The rest, as well. He was correct to intuit that they'd be heading towards the stables, but he didn't quite expect it to be this soon. Henri hopped off the wall once he got five feet near the ground, and briskly walked up to them then matched their pace. "Hello. Are we heading out already?"

Sovereign's Will: A Fantasy Roleplaying Game. [CONCLUDED]

Enough rest, his bottom. Well, if Antigone's going to be stubborn about it, there's nothing Henri could do. He pulled out his pocket watch, hovered it above Antigone's desk and then flicked its center with his other hand, shedding bits of glass and clockwork until only the rose-gold frame and the chain remained, dangling from his hand.

"Unusual for you to be unaware. I wasn't exactly trying to hide it." Henri said as he cast Inorganic Repair on the pocket watch. No visual or audible cue, for that is inefficient and needlessly indicative.

The scattered pieces of it slowly fly back towards it, filling their needed spots. The shattered glass too had its cracks just vanish. In no time, it looked more brand-new than when he pulled it out in the first place. Then, with Core Spreading followed by Telekinesis, the watch stayed suspended in mid-air even as he let go of it. He smiled as his hands hovered near the floating watch, as if presenting it. "Haven't you wondered how I've fixed every broken item in this castle without fail?"

Henri's smile dissipated quickly though, as he leaned with his elbow on the desk, his other hand pawing the floating watch to make it swing. "I can only this much, and I fear it wouldn't even get decent mileage due how niche it is... Am I overthinking it?"

Sovereign's Will: A Fantasy Roleplaying Game. [CONCLUDED]

Henri's eyebrow raised as he saw Antigone's face. It's like she hasn't slept for a week. "Antigone... I mean Duche-- Egh, I'm not used to formalities. I'm sorry."

Henri enters and takes the seat, cautious to not hit anything in this narrow space for he wouldn't be able to feel something break until it's too late. "I would like to borrow a book with as many spells in it as possible... so as to not be a burden to the rest." If it's her, then she most likely knows this mission of theirs even if kept in utmost secrecy.

"I'd ask whether you augured our success but you look like you've already done far too much auguring. If only I'm in a position to order you to take a rest..."

Sovereign's Will: A Fantasy Roleplaying Game. [CONCLUDED]

After being dismissed by His Highness and heading into the reception room, Henri leaned and whispered to Matilda as she reached the door. "Please introduce me to them in my stead, I have things to obtain first." He then proceeded to walk in a different direction than the rest.

From this action, it would not be wrong to guess that Henri doesn't exactly approve of this team, possibly going so far as to believing that he could do this task on his own. Yet, he also knew that he wasn't exactly outward with his abilities, and wasn't even considered for this task until he personally asked for it.

It might be too early to have notions of splitting away from them just yet.

---

In front of the door of the Royal Mage's office. He knocks. "It's Henri. I need spells." Quite the curt request.