38.6 With New Properties

General Summary

Day 571

Far out to sea, we get to witness who among our little group is at home on the water. Both Kaide and Trillium radiate quiet happiness while Jaeril and Qing Chen battle seasickness. At least Jaeril can take to the air and avoid the deck. Standing at the railings I can't see anything on the horizon but I do hear thunder (unfortunately without any sign of it being from Lyssa). Shortly after this, Magdalena lands on the deck again and calls Kaide and I for a conversation.   Being a senior apprentice seemingly means consulting in the training of new students, and in particular she is thinking of training Qing Chen as an inscriptionist. As a demonstration of the art, which I know nothing about, she shows how she might imbue an object with new properties based on our suggestions (sharpness, barbs) and turns a simple letter opener into a deadly knife.   By teaching Qing Chen to  change the nature of objects, she worries that perhaps he will produce weapons that might be troublesome either to me or Trillium later on if he can't be trusted. My best advice in this matter, unfortunately, is that it is simply too early to know whether he is trustworthy or not. It won't be my decision, but I caution her to take more time before making it.  

Day 572

The next day a white-sailed ship appears on the horizon, having been blown off course yesterday by a storm. Magdalena summons the family and tells Raethien to simply keep his crew out of the way as we engage in what she calls a training exercise. The ship, evidently, has a hold full of dwarven slaves and Osyr artefacts. Our group is more than capable of handling it, and she is interested to see how we can manage our respective roles:

• Using no arcane magic at all, I am to puncture the hull of the ship by making use of a nearby rocky outcrop.
• Liliales will disguise the obstacle and lure them towards it.
• Kaide will keep the ship afloat.
• Trilium will board and put down the crew.
• And Qing Chen will make repairs once the fight is over.

All in all, it is a remarkably tidy and efficient exercise and we handle it easily, though I note Thistle eagerly recording things in a little notebook for later. Once the crew is dealt with we free 20 dwarves and several Osyr spell pearls, along with some small elvish family keepsakes that must have been stolen elsewhere. Before we sleep, Thistle departs with the ship, heading back for the Lost Cove with the prize and newly freed dwarves.   The mood on deck is boisterous and happy at dusk as our own elvish crew celebrates a successful raid. It was a small endeavour for us but for them it is representative of what the leaders of the Empire are capable of, and what we stand for. Even Raethien is cheerful, remarking that Thistle will surely be telling tales of Trillium and Liliales as soon as they come into port.  

Days 573 - 576

The next few days of travel are uneventful until we drop anchor near a reef that Kaide has spotted. Below the waves we swim around amidst an ancient Osyr botanical garden, with Kaide pointing out various corals and useful plants. The day concludes with tea in a most unusual spot - a domed underwater teahouse with a stunning view of the vibrant reef around us. Liliales and I spend some time stabilizing and capturing the image in an illusion to send back to Andstella.