Brokering a Deal: Part 2 - 28/06/2023 - Archie’s Extracts
Jun 29, 2023 22:41:21 GMT
Zola Rhomdaen likes this
Post by Andy D on Jun 29, 2023 22:41:21 GMT
On Adventuring Through the Eyes of Another
It was a disconcerting experience for the first few minutes at least. Amble, Dwirhian, Lolli and I found ourselves floating incorporeally alongside Zola - on her own - in the Memory Broker’s now fully diamond-walled maze.
Those of us newly incorporeal were able to freely communicate with each other. In addition, the telepathic bond Lolli casted on us still functioned, except for when we tried to reach out to Zola. We were tethered to Zola, we moved with her, we could hover away from her some 15 ft, but that was all.
We recollected words the Memory Broker told us before entering his vault, ‘you are here to help Zola through the maze,’ and for Zola, ‘stay true to yourself,’ and though we were without form, we were in no danger ourselves. So after accepting our then current condition, I was keen to have dear Lolli cast her Galder’s Tower spell, so we could assist Zola with our bodiless forms in a comfy, immaterial lounge. Lolli also has one of those Cocktails of Plenty from the Fiore Popolare. I was looking forward to assisting Zola with comforts, but alas, it was not possible for Lolli to cast the conjuration spell, nor for us to enjoy the cocktail, in our ethereal forms!
Despite the setback, we found ourselves to be quite the magically versatile party - helping Zola would not be easy, but we had the skills to do so. It was difficult casting spells as ethereal beings, but we managed it most of the time. Minor Illusion, the Message cantrip and Enhance Ability; these spells proved their value that day. Suffice to say, communicating with Zola from our disembodied plane was rendered much easier with Message for direct communication, and Minor Illusion for pointing. Amble’s casting of Fox’s Cunning did wonders for ensuring 90% of our spells got through to Zola, and I believe my casting of Owl’s Wisdom did its job for Zola, helping her stay true to herself, as well as be far more perceptive.
I must say a word for my companions; Amble, Dwirhian and Lolli. Not only did they demonstrate great magical prowess, their friendship and support of Zola was very touching to witness. One could not wish for better companions.
Zola, to her great credit, displayed a keen resolve facing her challenge. The Memory Broker had devised a challenge to test Zola’s ability to determine and not get lost in false memories. Zola experienced a relentless, ruthless barrage of put downs from individuals pretending to be people close to her. It was a most terrible of character assassinations. But, Zola, took it all on the chin, so to speak, and stayed true to her resolve that if ever she made a mistake; she would endeavour to correct it, with help or not. She has a mental toughness the likes of which I’ve only really witnessed before in Kavel. They share a state of mind that is so firmly present that neither of them can be easily influenced by provocations that would make others defensive or withdrawn, and wish for fight or flight.
On Fey Bargains
Aside from helping the Memory Broker defend her vault, we were here to assist Zola become proficient in the matter of Fey Bargains. As it happens, entering a fey bargain was the means by which Zola attained the ability to grant such bargains herself.
The fey bargain is a fascinating, and clearly a highly magical proposition. One I feel is worryingly too costly, and quite frankly far too open to bad actors. I do not believe the Memory Broker, however, to be a bad actor. Her character seemed decent.
We witnessed the memory Zola exchanged for her new ability. I do hope she is alright with the exchange. In some sense, she’ll never know what she gave up, which is bittersweet.
I correctly assumed that trading memories for knowledge on longevity would be an unwise trade. The tradeable memories on my part, I would value too highly for exchange. In addition, the Memory Broker informed me that it was quite unlikely she had any relevant memories on longevity in her vault - longevity has always been the case for fey, as well as the strange passage of time in the Feywild, as such; neither have been keen areas of interest for fey.
However, whilst a direct acquisition of longevity or temporal knowledge may not be attainable in the Feywild, the Court of Sorcery is nevertheless very intriguing. The thought that it may be the source of all Fey magic, perhaps even all magic, is fascinating. True or not, the wellspring is a deep and rich source of magic. It is worthy of investigation to understand it better.
Spell Scrolls vs. Magical Tattoos
It seems magical Tattoos have the advantage here. Even non-casters can benefit from a magical tattoo, whereas proficiency for magic, and proficiency at a relevant standard of magic relative to the spell in question is preferable to spell scroll usage.
Storage, retrieval and casting all seem much better for tattoos than scrolls. Furthermore, it seems tattoos are all the rage, magical or otherwise. I wasn’t particularly keen to acquire one myself, but the diamond inked rose on the back of my right palm is actually quite charming.
I wonder if I might learn how to create magical tattoos? My skills with magical herbalism, alchemy and scroll-crafting seem so pedestrian by comparison. However, it is my observation that only extremely powerful magical beings can grant magical tattoos.
Good heavens! Imagine if we all had disease-curing, and healing spells tattooed on our bodies ready for casting when the emergency arrived? The benefit to society is immense! This may be something I need to look into more seriously. What if these spells were paired with the Contingency spell? I already have plans to study that spell soon...