Darwin allows Ida to talk to the Chancellor but raises a small hand in greeting.
He then takes the backpack off his back, and starts going through it to look for the other items they recovered from Volen's room, so he is ready to ask the Chancellor after the other business is done.
The chancellor arches his brow. 'well, Antonius' partner didn't inform us that he'd not returned, but, that being said, you're only a handful of days late, which is nothing to raise a panic over.'
”The way it was explained to me, schemes are afoot that work against this Confederacy of yours, and I know that whoever is behind those schemes are happily abducting your citizens from within your borders”, he says matter of factly, before going back to rummaging through his bag.
The chancellor's lips purse, 'Well, that's a grave and serious claim, young Darwin.' he pulls out a sheaf of unmarked parchment. 'Can you all give me a full account of the events so that I can inform the Duke, and with his consent, the emperor?' he asks.
He pauses for a moment as if only now noticing, 'Where's the Dwarf? And who's the big man? Nevermind, I'm sure it'll all be in your account.'
"We will all be happy to give you our accounts, but the important aspects are simply that there are some powerful forces working against the Emperor, and the Duke. And those beings are conspiring together to do the empire harm."
Darwin’s account is quite short, skipping from a detailed account of the ambush to the journey home with nothing really in between.
He remains quite vague about the Stranger, saying only that a friendly Fey helped them escape.
Once done, he adds, “We did manage to acquire a number of items, and you being the smartest person I know here, I thought you could tell me what they are”.
”He does look smart, a bit serious too”, Caper adds telepathically as he jumps down and takes a sneaky look round whilst invisible.
Caper Stealth (Advantage for invisibility): (13, 20) +7 = 27
Hamish gives a pretty detailed account, but seems a bit detached when talking about the other captives. After trailing off at the end, his gaze focuses as he turns his attention to the Chancellor. "How can I do magic? Darwin apparently gets his from the fey and Ida speaks with an angel, but I don't see anything like that. I just feel the power and it comes out of in the way I want it to ... sometimes. Why would a fey creature think I'm somebody worth talking to?"
The chancellor sighs and rubs at the bridge of his nose. 'There are always people plotting against one another within the Confederation.' he says calmly.
'Unless it is direct threat to this duchy, such is the nature of politics in this world, I doubt anyone will care. Of course, the Duke himself will take precautions to try and protect his citizens but he cannot make any other do the same, and should I forward this report to the Emperor, it is likely to be dismissed.' he spreads his hands apologetically.
'Still, it seems as if you managed to take care of the problem, mmmm?' he smiles. 'No more eco-terrorist Orcs to worry ourselves with, but I'm sure the Duke will want to put in place safe guards against future issues, though as this occurred beyond our jurisdiction perhaps we are already doing enough. A review will likely take place.'
'As far the items you discovered, I can definitely take a look but I fear it may take me a few days to unravel their mysteries, if you don't mind leaving them with me.'
He arched an eyebrow as he turned to Hamish. 'Well lad, I can't say I know the answer. Magic is, in this world, a bit of a mystery in some cases. As I have recently learned, on other worlds it may be deduced with scientific precision, something I am now myself working on, but as far as identifying the precise source?' he shrugged, 'As I told you previously, I believe, you are imbued with Wild magic in your blood, as this tends to come from the Feywild, it seems like not so much a leap that the fey would have interest in you.' he pauses thoughtfully.
'We Elvish kind originally came from the Wilds, you know, so it's not uncommon for your particular brand of magic to develop in our bloodlines. What is curious is...did you say she said 'two' of her 'charges'? Mmmm that is very interesting.'
He glances at his Raven.
'Master Darwin, I assume you have some sort of contractual obligation with this Fey?'
Ida simply nods and keeps her mouth closed. There is little to be gained by trying to convince people they are in danger when they don't want to believe it.
'So that would be her first charge. Since Dane Ida has a divine magic source it is unlikely the stranger was addressing her...' he glances at Agnarr.
'Do you have any magical talent, sir?'
'Just a little affinity for electricity.' he answers with a shrug.
The Chancellor nods, 'Then she was almost certainly referring to you, Hamish, as one of her charges.' he made a quizzical face. 'Mmmm, might you allow me to collect some samples?' he asks, stepping towards Hamish, an intrigued expression about his face.
Hamish narrows his eyes, thinking back to the priest he mistrusted and whose death put him on the path to meet his friends. As Ida and Darwin speak first, though, Hamish holds back, grateful that his friends are protective of him.
The chancellor stops, 'Some samples of his tissue.' he states matter of factly. 'Hair will do for a basic analysis. A vial of blood would be better for more in depth assessment.' he answers the questions.
At Darwin's question, he arches his eyebrow in surprise, 'Oh, Master Darwin, I had thought you smarter than that.' he states, almost disappointed.
“I never claimed to be smart”, Darwin says in response.
”I understand your power comes from somewhere, or someone. I am just interested as to the precise where and who? Is it a fey as well? Is it the same fey as myself?”, he prompts.
“The Stranger once appeared to me in the guise of your raven, is it more apt than I realised at the time”, he says wandering to the raven and looking into its eyes whilst stroking it’s head.
”What do you think Caper?”, he asks of his invisible friend telepathically, wondering if the fey dragon had knowledge of this.
The chancellor smiles, 'A significant portion of my power comes from the fey you know as 'The Stranger', yes.' he nods pleased that Darwin deduced it. 'I had been wondering how long it'd take you to notice that she chose to communicate to you through my familiar, or rather, to ask me about it.' he chuckled.
'However, she is not my only source. I am a sage, I have studied magic for more than a century and have investigated every source known, hence my fascination upon learning there need not be a definitive source and this is common place in other worlds.' he takes a breath and his tongue licks out to moisten his lips.
'An experiment, a long time ago, granted me my other source. I opened a portal, briefly of course, to Shadowfell, hoping to study the plane. I thought I'd taken proper precautions but some of its...energies managed to escape and infuse into me, granting me inate abilities not too far removed from Hamish's, though far less unpredictable.'
He points to the book on his desk, 'and hopefully, soon, I will crack the code of this...'Wizardry' and add another source.' he smiles pleasantly.
'So, may I please collect some samples from Hamish to study? I am intrigued as to why my mistress would be so interested in him, besides his inate fey-bound blood...oh and speaking of the fey, Darwin, I would recommend that, in the future, you guard your name. There's a reason you only know me as 'The Chancellor' and our mutual mistress as 'The Stranger''
Hamish, it's your choice as to whether share samples of your hair and your blood. But from the little I know of magic, those pieces of you can be used against you because they contain a part of you. I do not believe The Chancellor means you any harm, but others might so it is wise to think about giving any pieces of yourself to anyone, but especially those who are magically capable.
The Chancellor grins, 'Brilliant Ida. This seems like a wonderful learning opportunity.' he stride back behind his desk, 'As our esteemed Dame highlights, hair and blood can be used to gain influence over someone, the same as a true name or any other aspect of a being really.' he explains.
'But, as Ida says, she doesn't believe I have neferious intentions, and I assure you that's true. So, why do I want the blood? What can I do with it? Well, I have several questions, and several theories that such a sample could answer or confirm.' he sits, reclining slightly in his desk chair, fingers steepled.
Having worked with you this long, you get the impression that he is beginning to feel comfortable around you and your party.
'First, based on the story you told me of your capitivity, the first thing was that Volen said that none of you trio were what she expected you to be, yes? Darwin is easy, most assume he's a halfling, simply because they don't know that he's not of this world and his kind do not have a native home here.' he waves a hand almost dismissively.
'Ida, well, I would love to study her as well, but I have a pretty strong idea of her deal already and I have no intentions of pulling on strings that have angels on the end of them, they might be displeased.'
He focusses on Hamish, 'But you, I have a theory, based on all the information I have gathered since you arrived in our prisons and frankly, I'm over eager to confirm it and further bolster my own ego where my intelligence is concerned.' he chuckles. 'Put shortly, I believe you may not really be a Half-Elf, but rather a different creature with the Feywild in your blood. I can use samples to examine your very make up and determine this.'
He shrugs, as if such a thing is common place.
'Second, if blood and hair can be used to exert influence, they can also, if you know how to look, tell you if anyone else is already exerting influence. Based on what she said to you, I think she may have a hold on you too.'
The chancellor spreads his hands. 'In short, I can answer all your questions about what you are without a doubt, if you're willing to give me a vial of blood.'
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Darwin allows Ida to talk to the Chancellor but raises a small hand in greeting.
He then takes the backpack off his back, and starts going through it to look for the other items they recovered from Volen's room, so he is ready to ask the Chancellor after the other business is done.
The chancellor arches his brow. 'well, Antonius' partner didn't inform us that he'd not returned, but, that being said, you're only a handful of days late, which is nothing to raise a panic over.'
Darwin looks up to the Chancellor.
”The way it was explained to me, schemes are afoot that work against this Confederacy of yours, and I know that whoever is behind those schemes are happily abducting your citizens from within your borders”, he says matter of factly, before going back to rummaging through his bag.
The chancellor's lips purse, 'Well, that's a grave and serious claim, young Darwin.' he pulls out a sheaf of unmarked parchment. 'Can you all give me a full account of the events so that I can inform the Duke, and with his consent, the emperor?' he asks.
He pauses for a moment as if only now noticing, 'Where's the Dwarf? And who's the big man? Nevermind, I'm sure it'll all be in your account.'
"We will all be happy to give you our accounts, but the important aspects are simply that there are some powerful forces working against the Emperor, and the Duke. And those beings are conspiring together to do the empire harm."
Darwin’s account is quite short, skipping from a detailed account of the ambush to the journey home with nothing really in between.
He remains quite vague about the Stranger, saying only that a friendly Fey helped them escape.
Once done, he adds, “We did manage to acquire a number of items, and you being the smartest person I know here, I thought you could tell me what they are”.
”He does look smart, a bit serious too”, Caper adds telepathically as he jumps down and takes a sneaky look round whilst invisible.
Caper Stealth (Advantage for invisibility): (
13, 20) +7 = 27Hamish gives a pretty detailed account, but seems a bit detached when talking about the other captives. After trailing off at the end, his gaze focuses as he turns his attention to the Chancellor. "How can I do magic? Darwin apparently gets his from the fey and Ida speaks with an angel, but I don't see anything like that. I just feel the power and it comes out of in the way I want it to ... sometimes. Why would a fey creature think I'm somebody worth talking to?"
The chancellor sighs and rubs at the bridge of his nose. 'There are always people plotting against one another within the Confederation.' he says calmly.
'Unless it is direct threat to this duchy, such is the nature of politics in this world, I doubt anyone will care. Of course, the Duke himself will take precautions to try and protect his citizens but he cannot make any other do the same, and should I forward this report to the Emperor, it is likely to be dismissed.' he spreads his hands apologetically.
'Still, it seems as if you managed to take care of the problem, mmmm?' he smiles. 'No more eco-terrorist Orcs to worry ourselves with, but I'm sure the Duke will want to put in place safe guards against future issues, though as this occurred beyond our jurisdiction perhaps we are already doing enough. A review will likely take place.'
'As far the items you discovered, I can definitely take a look but I fear it may take me a few days to unravel their mysteries, if you don't mind leaving them with me.'
He arched an eyebrow as he turned to Hamish. 'Well lad, I can't say I know the answer. Magic is, in this world, a bit of a mystery in some cases. As I have recently learned, on other worlds it may be deduced with scientific precision, something I am now myself working on, but as far as identifying the precise source?' he shrugged, 'As I told you previously, I believe, you are imbued with Wild magic in your blood, as this tends to come from the Feywild, it seems like not so much a leap that the fey would have interest in you.' he pauses thoughtfully.
'We Elvish kind originally came from the Wilds, you know, so it's not uncommon for your particular brand of magic to develop in our bloodlines. What is curious is...did you say she said 'two' of her 'charges'? Mmmm that is very interesting.'
He glances at his Raven.
'Master Darwin, I assume you have some sort of contractual obligation with this Fey?'
Ida simply nods and keeps her mouth closed. There is little to be gained by trying to convince people they are in danger when they don't want to believe it.
Darwin looks from the items he has now unpacked to the Chancellor.
“There is an understanding, yes”, he says reluctantly.
He then turns to the others. “You happy to leave this stuff here, or should we find someone in the city who can identify it quicker?”, he asks.
'So that would be her first charge. Since Dane Ida has a divine magic source it is unlikely the stranger was addressing her...' he glances at Agnarr.
'Do you have any magical talent, sir?'
'Just a little affinity for electricity.' he answers with a shrug.
The Chancellor nods, 'Then she was almost certainly referring to you, Hamish, as one of her charges.' he made a quizzical face. 'Mmmm, might you allow me to collect some samples?' he asks, stepping towards Hamish, an intrigued expression about his face.
"Samples? Samples of what?" Ida steps protectively towards Hamish as she speaks.
Darwin watches for Hamish’s reaction to the Chancellor’s request, also intrigued as to what sort of samples he meant.
As he does so a thought occurred to him. The Chancellor’s magic must come from somewhere as well.
”Where does your magic come from?”, he asks impulsively.
Hamish narrows his eyes, thinking back to the priest he mistrusted and whose death put him on the path to meet his friends. As Ida and Darwin speak first, though, Hamish holds back, grateful that his friends are protective of him.
The chancellor stops, 'Some samples of his tissue.' he states matter of factly. 'Hair will do for a basic analysis. A vial of blood would be better for more in depth assessment.' he answers the questions.
At Darwin's question, he arches his eyebrow in surprise, 'Oh, Master Darwin, I had thought you smarter than that.' he states, almost disappointed.
“I never claimed to be smart”, Darwin says in response.
”I understand your power comes from somewhere, or someone. I am just interested as to the precise where and who? Is it a fey as well? Is it the same fey as myself?”, he prompts.
“The Stranger once appeared to me in the guise of your raven, is it more apt than I realised at the time”, he says wandering to the raven and looking into its eyes whilst stroking it’s head.
”What do you think Caper?”, he asks of his invisible friend telepathically, wondering if the fey dragon had knowledge of this.
The chancellor smiles, 'A significant portion of my power comes from the fey you know as 'The Stranger', yes.' he nods pleased that Darwin deduced it. 'I had been wondering how long it'd take you to notice that she chose to communicate to you through my familiar, or rather, to ask me about it.' he chuckled.
'However, she is not my only source. I am a sage, I have studied magic for more than a century and have investigated every source known, hence my fascination upon learning there need not be a definitive source and this is common place in other worlds.' he takes a breath and his tongue licks out to moisten his lips.
'An experiment, a long time ago, granted me my other source. I opened a portal, briefly of course, to Shadowfell, hoping to study the plane. I thought I'd taken proper precautions but some of its...energies managed to escape and infuse into me, granting me inate abilities not too far removed from Hamish's, though far less unpredictable.'
He points to the book on his desk, 'and hopefully, soon, I will crack the code of this...'Wizardry' and add another source.' he smiles pleasantly.
'So, may I please collect some samples from Hamish to study? I am intrigued as to why my mistress would be so interested in him, besides his inate fey-bound blood...oh and speaking of the fey, Darwin, I would recommend that, in the future, you guard your name. There's a reason you only know me as 'The Chancellor' and our mutual mistress as 'The Stranger''
Darwin rubs his chin and contemplates The Chancellor’s words.
“I guess I need a cool title to go by. I could start a circus so I can be The Ringmaster”, he says with a smile.
He looks to Hamish, “This is all up to you Hamish, no-one can force you to do anything you don’t want to”.
He thinks back to what he knows of Hamish’s life, and what they told him of their recent captivity.
”Not any more anyway”, he adds.
Hamish, it's your choice as to whether share samples of your hair and your blood. But from the little I know of magic, those pieces of you can be used against you because they contain a part of you. I do not believe The Chancellor means you any harm, but others might so it is wise to think about giving any pieces of yourself to anyone, but especially those who are magically capable.
The Chancellor grins, 'Brilliant Ida. This seems like a wonderful learning opportunity.' he stride back behind his desk, 'As our esteemed Dame highlights, hair and blood can be used to gain influence over someone, the same as a true name or any other aspect of a being really.' he explains.
'But, as Ida says, she doesn't believe I have neferious intentions, and I assure you that's true. So, why do I want the blood? What can I do with it? Well, I have several questions, and several theories that such a sample could answer or confirm.' he sits, reclining slightly in his desk chair, fingers steepled.
Having worked with you this long, you get the impression that he is beginning to feel comfortable around you and your party.
'First, based on the story you told me of your capitivity, the first thing was that Volen said that none of you trio were what she expected you to be, yes? Darwin is easy, most assume he's a halfling, simply because they don't know that he's not of this world and his kind do not have a native home here.' he waves a hand almost dismissively.
'Ida, well, I would love to study her as well, but I have a pretty strong idea of her deal already and I have no intentions of pulling on strings that have angels on the end of them, they might be displeased.'
He focusses on Hamish, 'But you, I have a theory, based on all the information I have gathered since you arrived in our prisons and frankly, I'm over eager to confirm it and further bolster my own ego where my intelligence is concerned.' he chuckles. 'Put shortly, I believe you may not really be a Half-Elf, but rather a different creature with the Feywild in your blood. I can use samples to examine your very make up and determine this.'
He shrugs, as if such a thing is common place.
'Second, if blood and hair can be used to exert influence, they can also, if you know how to look, tell you if anyone else is already exerting influence. Based on what she said to you, I think she may have a hold on you too.'
The chancellor spreads his hands. 'In short, I can answer all your questions about what you are without a doubt, if you're willing to give me a vial of blood.'