A Dark Lantern Lit Stroll (Rithaleya)

[Deleted]

"I like that you're telling me to go on adventures for you and think about retirement at the same time," Rithaleya said with a wry smile, waving a finger the way one might after bearing the brunt of a particularly pointed joke.

"I can do without anyone telling me what to do, honestly. It's nice." She didn't seem very willing to discuss terms of service.

[Allyria Allenmorde]

"Very well. I'll get back to work then."

Allyria looked over the other two weapons and reached into them with her powers. Feeling around for additional spells or enchantments on their forms. She wasn't sure what they were made of, probably iron, but they were sturdy as far as weapons went.

"Neither of these seem to be very complex by way of enchantments. That's a good thing. The simpler the enchantment the less that could go wrong."

---

Identifying Axe
Artificing M: 20, Thau M: 20, Knowledge: 60, Simple: 130
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Identifying Sword
Artificing M: 20, Thau M: 20, Knowledge: 60, Simple: 130

---

Allyria sighed once she was sure she got the full read on both of the weapons. They were indeed uncomplicated, she pulled up a small chair and sat in it, wrapping her cloak around herself. Her gaze fell to the half-elf woman. She was waiting for the woman to go fetch payment since she was so keen on paying in gold. Allyria broke out a small journal and started to sketch some designs. She placed the lantern that she had carried earlier onto the work table. Its curse was odd. She wondered if there was a way to strip it.

"When you retrieve payment I'll enchant your silver. Leave the quiver here, as we discussed. You may take the weapons. The sword is enchanted with flame. It will burn your enemies. The axe will freeze them."·

[Deleted]

Rithaleya nodded upon receiving her weapons' assessment. She probably could have learned that on her own... if she were better at handling swords and axes. It was too late to go back on her decision now, though. What a waste of gold! She was looking forward to having a magic light she could carry around with her. The weapons weren't going to help there, but she put them back on her belt, anyway.

It looked like she should have picked up a torch or lamp of her own, before going to move so much gold around in the dark. "Fine, then. I'll be back in a few." She glanced at the lantern on the table. "Can you lend me a lamp while I do that?"

[Allyria Allenmorde]

"Ah... you don't want this lantern. It's cursed. Makes branches hit you in the face while you walk through the forest, roots reach up and trip you. Same with cobblestones. It attracts misfortune. Wait a moment, I'll make you one. I always seem to forget that others can't see as well in the dark as I can. I should be more aware I think."

Allyria went to the back of the warehouse and took out a piece of tin. She brought it over to the forge and heated it, then started to shape it into a lantern with magic. She allowed the lantern to cool before threading a wick and putting some shark oil in it.

"There you are, free of charge. Simple tin lantern. Tell your friends."

---

Iron Smithing II

Power Shaper
-Allyria can use her artificing magic to aid in the crafting process.
-Adds Thaumaturgy & Artificing knowledges to regular crafting rolls.
-Mp Cost: 15 per item

*Thaumaturgy II, Artificing I*

Artif M, Thau M, Iron Smithing II, Know 60: 110
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Iron Smithing III!

[Deleted]

Rithaleya was skeptical of the explanation, but mostly because she hadn't seen Allyria trip on anything while using the lantern. On the other hand, if it was an excuse to give her a free lantern, ... then she should probably save her skepticism for the device that she'd just seen created by magic, in case it turned into a bird or something when she needed it most. "...Alright."

She turned to the door, struck sparks to light it, and walked out into the night, to collect the gold she wanted. It was a good opportunity to think about both what magic could do, and what she could do without it. (Magic made everything look easy, after all.) When she returned, she brought a hundred gold extra with her, just in case.

"Right, here's your money. I thought I should ask if you can make the amulet only glow when it's held the right way, and do something else when it isn't. Something else, like... make it harder to hear me moving around, gear shifting, armour clinking, footsteps and all these things. Since I don't need the light on all the time, and when I'm not using it I might have a good reason for not wanting to. I'm a hunter by trade, after all."

[Allyria Allenmorde]

Allyria would be found with a stack of papers next to her, quill in hand, page covered in scrawlings from her study of the cursed lantern. She would happily accept payment for her services. It was nice to be able to bring a little income into the business instead of spending it in piles.

When asked about the second enchantment Allyria picked up the entire ring and looked at it. She tutted and put it down.

"C. This is just silver. Metals are like an adhesive or sticky substance to spells. Iron, tin, copper, alloys, and silver can only hold one spell. Bring me a gold ring or another silver ring and I can do both enchantments. For now it's one or the other. Or, I can make you a gold ring. Bring me a gemstone and I can fit it into a piece of jewelry as well. Like this emerald quiver, all major gemstones have magical properties."

[Deleted]

Rithaleya grumbled. "I can get another amulet when the market opens tomorrow, then. Even gold is cheap compared to these enchantments." She decided to take a gamble. "There's a gemstone Fyrra found, it's a diamond about this big. Are those any good for magic? There was a ghost trapped in it when we found it, and it powered a force field and spinning rings."

[Allyria Allenmorde]

"Sounds interesting. Diamonds typically harden the materials they're close to, making them more resistant to impacts and cutting forces. You said it was being used to power something. That means the diamond's original property was likely stripped from it, and it was turned into a power source. If there was a ghost inside it, the ghost was the actual power source. If she brings me the diamond I could tell for sure. Diamonds are worth a lot of gold. But the market won't be open for long tomorrow. Like I said before. This town will be a bloodbath. The war is coming here. I've seen it."

Perhaps Allyria also knew how it ended. Perhaps she had seen far into the future and seen everything and the end. But she merely smiled at Rithaleya with her eyes. Her mask didn't give much to her expressions.

[Deleted]

"Alright... Where are you headed, then?" Rithaleya looked around in confusion. If she knew there was going to be a battle here, she would have been leaving tonight. Since the 'countess' didn't look like a soldier, and was running a shop in any case, she couldn't fathom why she'd stay here, either, unless this was all an act. Maybe she could pack very quickly using magic?

[Allyria Allenmorde]

"Nowhere. I plan on defending the town. I am confident I'll be able to contribute. Though I loathe using my powers for mass violence."

With that said, Allyria turned back to the jewelry and looked both the silver pieces over. She picked up the amulet first and then paused before acting on it. Since the customer had brought up additional enchantments she wanted to make sure that she was providing the best service possible. The shield was also a good idea to verify, just in case the half-elf thought it was a better idea to be stealthy over shielded. Yet with the battle that was coming, Allyria's opinion was that it was better to have the shielding on the ring. The best shielding the sorceress could provide. Allyria could see the future, but she couldn't see the fates of others. Not on a small scale. She wouldn't know what Rithaleya would need based on circumstance or divination.

"You said you wanted the lamp spell in the amulet to activate when you held it, correct? Or would you like a custom piece? And the ring is to project a shield over your body. A simple one to protect from physical attacks, correct?"

[Deleted]

Rithaleya shrugged. "Never mind. I thought the enchantments were like little workers you could set to different tasks. There's no need to design it to only work when it's being supervised. Though, it's not like I'll need it to be on all the time, just when I need it... so if you can have the light work whenever it's uncovered, that'll do."

She picked up the ring and held it, like she was wearing a buckler on her arm. "Something like this? I want the wind to sweep aside slings and arrows, or whatever else magic can do. Not like a cloak on my back that might help, but something I can depend on when I need it, when something's coming in fast, or springing up out of the undergrowth. My people use shields for this. Magic works as well as wood, or at least so the mages say, though perhaps using both is best."

Rithaleya recalled that her mother used neither, but the nice thing about being a commander is that they had a thousand others to carry shields for them, so they didn't have to. "An enchantment to control other creatures would be handy, too, but that doesn't sound like a 'silver ring' sort of thing."

[Allyria Allenmorde]

"How about something you depend on always."

Allyria focused her energies on the silver ring and imparted a shielding spell upon it. The magic would act like armor over the entirety of its wearer's body. Her thought wasn't a suggestion honestly. If she had learned anything about Rithaleya, it was that she didn't know what magic was capable of and didn't know what to ask for. Allyria gave her the best she could. The ring coupled with the huntress' own armor would do well to protect her most enemy weaponry and mundane projectiles. When she was done with the ring she worked the amulet over. The spell that the girl had originally asked for was fine. There wasn't a thing wrong with the request. She did mention something else.

"I don't know how to control other creatures myself, so you're out of luck there. I can only enchant what I know. Here are your goods. The ring will protect every inch of you so long as you wear it. No need to strike a pose or anything like that. Someone tries to shoot you in the back, it'll still do its best to protect you. The amulet will shine when its held. Was that everything you wanted?"

---

Artifact
-Allyria's magical powers allow her to impart certain kinds of magical properties onto the items she crafts. So long as she has the knowledge base for it. If the item is something she made herself, 1/2 the MP cost. If it is something someone else made then the threshold of success is the MP cost.

*Artificing I*

Artificing M, Thaumaturgy M, Knowledge 60, Shielding I, Threshold: 105
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Shielding Silver Ring:
-DR: 15 (All Zones)

Artificing M, Thaumaturgy M, Knowledge 60, Arcane III, Threshold: 115


Bright Silver Amulet
-When held, shines a bright light. ·

[Deleted]

Rithaleya was speechless for a moment. She lifted the amulet and put it back on to confirm it worked as described. Unfortunately, it seemed she'd be stuck with a light that didn't give her a free hand, after all... and right after being given a free lantern, too. The ring, she had no idea if it worked or not, and no reasonable way to test it. That was the danger of dealing with unknown enchanters, apparently.

"Great... yes, exactly what I asked for," she lied. "It seems I'm all out of jewelry for today." She took out the gold and paid, frustrated. "I suppose I won't be needing this lantern, then." She dearly wanted to say something sarcastic seeing the countess the next day, if the city wasn't on fire, but it didn't see wise. Instead, she stayed painfully polite in her farewells. "It was a pleasure doing business with you."

[Allyria Allenmorde]

Allyria could sense the client's frustration. But magic behaved the way it did without any rhyme or reason it seemed. Could she create a small round shield like a buckler? Probably, but it'd be so weak that it'd be useless. She thought about relay g this information to Rithaleya.

"Come back and see me in a month or two if you're still alive. I'll give you a free upgrade on the jewelry and enchantments, for the trouble. I will have broadened my skills since then."

Allyria would have frowned if the mask allowed her. She'd let the half elf leave the gold, which she didn't need, or really want. Sometimes people didn't like to feel like owing someone something. She was worried though, elves had a hard time dealing with their emotions, Jorkahn was proof enough of that. Perhaps the half elf just didn't like Allyria because she was a drokagr. And a half breed at that.

"I guess I should get ready for battle myself."

[Deleted]

Rithaleya shrugged. It seemed the countess must have been very confident about what was going to happen tomorrow if she expected the shop to still be here in a month or two, never mind the rest of it. Having nothing more to say, she left the warehouse, though not the district.

It seemed like a good area to find somewhere to sleep for the night, even if she wasn't extended any offer of hospitality; she just needed to find some unused place of storage. An advantage of the new enchantment on her amulet she hadn't considered was that unlike a lantern, it took no effort to light it or put it out, which made it easy to hold it up briefly to get her bearings, then let it go again, without anyone being able to easily see where she was going or what she was doing. Considering she was going to be trespassing, at least, it was good to move quickly. Fortunately, most of the guards couldn't see in the dark, either.