War of Shadows (IC)

[DeTess]

Elva looked at the...confrontation?... between Alyndra and the half-elf in surprise. She didn't know that much about the elf, but she hadn't struck her as the kind of person to earn the kind of icy reaction the girl was giving her. After a moments consideration she decided it'd be best to try not to get bogged down with whatever this was. "Alyndra, I've gotten the permission, and some other information besides. We've only got a couple of hours, so..."

[Tyg3rW01f]

Seeing what looked to be brewing trouble, Josiah walked over to the other two and asked politely, "Is there something the matter, my Friends? Surely this is only a simple misunderstanding that doesn't need to get any worse? I mean, our patron here doesn't wish to be tied up for hours writing reports that expose her own failures; does she? Nor do we wish to be banned from a vast and great resource like this library, either; correct? Certainly we might find the middle ground and the humility to accept the mistakes which have been made--on BOTH SIDES--and work past them, right?"
Josiah looked to the girl, and said with a smile, "It would be a shame if such a simple misunderstanding were to lead to the Order of the Open Palm rescinding any agreements with the Great Library to share in a textual exchange, correct? I mean, the Great Library would be forced to be renamed "the City Library" were such a simple act as toppling a few dozen texts by accident to lead to an Unwarranted Incident that were to reach the Order by myself to Master ((gives his Master's name))."

-----------------
Diplomacy roll... real life D20 as I cannot remember how to do it in post... I am NEVER going to be able to prove this, but a nat 20.

[sarlon]

The girl glares at all of you before a stern look from the human wizard, has her mumbling a vague apology than with an expression that looks almost pained she makes a come hither motion with her hand palm up at almost the same time something glows faintly from around her wrist. Much to everyone's surprise the books that were in her arms hover above the ground, wriggle and fall again slightly, before glowing again and stacking into a neat pile back in her arms, and the man gives her a warm smile.

"Good monk, I know of your master quite well, Altira has a bit of a chip on her shoulder but she's mostly harmless. A bright mind, but stubborn. If you will kindly follow me?"

He leads you to a locked door on the first floor that is flanked by two people standing with the stiff posture of obvious guards, though they wield no weapons. He says something to them gesturing towards the lot of you. They nod and the one on the right turns their back to you and knocks sharply on the door, which then just dissolves into nothingness.

"Someone will come when it is time for closing, otherwise you have free reign to use any material within this hall...nothing may leave this room, but parchment and writing materials are freely used to make copies. When you're ready to leave if no one has come for you, just knock on the door again and you'll be allowed to exit."

The room beyond is easily 4 stories of floor to ceiling bookshelves, books as thin as 5 or 6 pages, others almost as large as the book Ilidari gave Elva. Other people are in this room as well, some sitting at large tables, while others wander the shelves. These people are older than the ones outside and must be the more advanced students of the college. A few glance your way when you enter but no one really says anything. Almost all of them wear robes of a deep blue or green, except a few in robes of pure white.

An elderly human woman sits behind a desk with a sign on it that says "help desk" (in about 7 different languages: common, elven, draconic, halfing, orc, dwarven, gnomish), and smiles at your entrance. She's not wearing robes, but a simple tunic and leggings, a large dog of some sort lays curled up next to the desk beside her, snoring softly. its tail thumps a couple of times at your entrance, but makes no move to rise. piles of books line her desk as well as tightly coiled scrolls of parchment.

[DeTess]

Elva looks around at the room. It was at the same time more and less than what she'd expected from the place the library kept their important books. It was less, in that it felt like any other part of the library, jsut more library-ish, but it was also more in that there where other people walking around and studying. Keeping books locked away because someone just liked having them had always seemed like a waste to her, but she'd seen more than a few private collections that where just that.

She quickly fished the scroll Illidari had given to her and handed it over to Alyndra. "Illidari gave this for you to study. It's a procedure for safely retrieving the essences." She kept her voice down, both because of the sensitivity of their mission, and because this part of the library exuded that inimitable air of...library-ness... that made people naturally lower their voices.

After handing over the scroll she looked for a free desk and started studying the history she'd gotten.

[Imladir]

Alyndra Aramiar - Elf Wizard (5) - HP 30/30 - AC 14

As she followed, Alyndra paused for a last look at the half-elf. She didn't seem angry, just puzzled at the reaction she had had. Surely it could be about the books, at best they were both at fault. But if it wasn't that, she couldn't think of anything else... Or was it because she was an elf? Probably some kind of not too happy family thing then, but... Well, no matter. Shaking her head, she focused on her own business and left the half-elf behind, both literally and figuratively. She paused briefly to consider the golden bird-shaped pin on the man's shoulder, nodded to acknowledge that she understood the rules, then looked around the room, her eyebrows raising noticeably when she noticed the dog. Tilting her head, she studied the people inside for a moment, wondering what signification the colour of their robes had. Before she could do much of anything though, Elva handed her a scroll to study. She looked around with a sigh, obviously desiring to look around more than study a scroll, but she took it and nodded, “Thanks, I will.” Before she did though, she went to the "help desk", and asked the woman, “Hello, could you tell me what's the signification of the robes they're wearing?” With a movement of her head, she indicated the rest of the room.

[Imladir]

(Duplicate, ignore)

[sarlon]

Alyndra:

The dog raises its head and stares at you rather intensely as you approach, but a touch of the woman's hand on his head has him thumping his tail a couple more times before lying its head back down. She smiles at your question and explains that the robes indicate where a student's speciality magic lies, Green are conjuration, Blue was abjuration, white was divination, red was enchantment, black was evocation, illusion was plaid, black was necromancy, and purple was transmutation.

Although her look at you is curious she asks no questions why you are allowed in here, and asks if you have other questions.

Elva:

All the tables have a varying number of students at them, so you look for a fairly uncrowded one. One, in particular, amuses you since its a bunch of humans and a single halfing in such close huddle with occasional chuckles and quickly suppressed laughter (they too are trying to maintain the quiet in this room), that if this were a high school you'd almost think they're up to some sort of mischief. The entire group is wearing purple robes (though unless you heard the woman's explanation would mean nothing much to you).

As you set your book down on the table they glance your way a little guiltily, before going back to the close huddle. occasional words catch your ear "...so mad..." "but so worth it...." "won't he....".

[Tyg3rW01f]

Josiah just wandered within the distance of a harsh "SSHH!", looking at the spine titles on the texts.

[Imladir]

Alyndra Aramiar - Elf Wizard (5) - HP 30/30 - AC 14

“Oh, I see, thanks.” Alyndra's gaze lingered a bit on the white robes - she supposed that should she have to wear one, it would be one like that - but otherwise didn't pay it too much attention. After a brief hesitation, the young elf glanced at the scroll in her hands and went to sit at the nearest available chair - not caring at all who was at the same table - and started to study what Illidari had given her: while she really wanted to know more about the whole situation, being able to do whatever the scroll would afford her to would be more important in the short term. As much as she regretted it, she didn't need to personally know everything there was to know about the whole situation - at least for now - but since she was the only one able to learn what was on that scroll, it only made sense. Though she certainly hoped to be finished long before the evening... As a matter of fact, barely ten minutes later, Alyndra rose and put the scroll away: she had expected a spell, but instead it was only a series of instruction that, as complex as they were, she only needed a few minutes to memorize. Now with plenty of time, Alyndra walked back to the help desk, started to ask something but stopped before half a word had gone through her lips. She looked around with a frown, then took a scroll and scribbled a few things before handing it to the woman. “This is what I'm looking for.” On the scrolls, there were only a few items: Ancient History, the Exode from the previous world to this one, particularly anything regarding the ancient enemy who caused it. The heroes of the time and the four temples anchoring the world.

[sarlon]

Alyndra:

The woman frowns slightly at the list presented, but you get the impression it's more in thought than displeasure at your topics.

She stands and says something quietly to the dog laying beside the desk, who yawns mightily (way to big a mouth and way to many teeth for this to be a normal dog) but it gets up, stretches, shakes itself then sits down on its haunches and watches the room with an almost bored expression.

The woman leads you through a maze of shelves pulling ones out seemingly at random, stopping occasionally to answer a students question, but otherwise focusing on you and your request.

By the time you leave the stacks you have a half dozen books in your arms that she thinks might be helpful, and promises to see if there is anymore that she can't think of right this moment. She politely points to the paper and ink available to use and just reiterates that none of these books are allowed to leave this room.

Josiah:

You actually find several books written with names that you've heard around the monastery. Mostly history, a few of more lore, and most maps, though some of the maps you don't recognize at all.

You run into other students who are politely respectful, and pass by the table that Elva is studying at as well. An old dusty time sits in a corner of a bookshelf, the name of the author is faded to almost illegibility, and you don't know what causes it to catch your eye especially since it maybe a dozen or so pages long.

[DeTess]

At first the students whispering close by where a major distraction to Elva as she slowly pushed herself through the tome, alternating between skimming through chapters and making notes, and straining to hear what the humans and halfling where talking about. After a while though, the history really started to grab her, and distractions like the students started to fade away. It wasn't that the text had suddenly become less dry, but she started to see the pattern and shape of the events that led tot he exodus, and she didn't like it one bit.

The enemy was patient, given that their assault on the old world had taken place over a span of millenia. And they where methodical. They'd started by going after the humans with a disease, then the orcs with some kind of curse, then the elves with another disease, never going so far that the various races would try to create a united front, or that they would even realize that they where collectively under attack in the first place. In fact, though the book didn't mention it, she suspected that this enemy had utilized existing rifts and conflicts between species to ensure whoever they where currently attacking stood alone. This suggested a ruthless and intelligent enemy that worked form the shadows, not the slavering hordes of demons she'd imagined before.

And there was something else as well. Bits in the latter chapters suggested that there had been a rift of sorts between the survivors, with some blaming magic itself for everything that had happened and apparently going off on their own to find a world without magic. Only... That doesn't make any sense. That's like blaming a murder on iron, or a hangover on the existence of alcohol... She flipped back through the book to see if there was an explanation but she couldn't find any, and she could feel her focus starting to slip again.

Elva closed the book with a sigh and looked over her notes. The two major things she'd kept track off were the enemy's methods, and those cryptic comments near the end. The bit about blaming magic looked very off to her, but she doubted she'd be able to do much with it. The enemy's way of attacking on the other hand...

She got up from her seat and went to the help desk. "I'm sorry, could you help me with finding some books, please?" She asked the woman manning the desk. "I'd like to find a history covering the last couple of centuries, maybe up to a millenium back? Focusing mostly on large-scale events like natural disasters, conflicts and diseases if that's possible."

[sarlon]

Elva:

The woman frowns slightly at your request, and you see her eyes shift completely out of focus and her lips move though no words come out.

Her eyes slip back into focus and she smiles, "yes...recent history....." She stands and the dog sitting upright again.

She leads you to some books in the back of the library, not far from where josiah is looking around as well. She gestures to 3 book cases filled with dusty times, she explains they are organized by region and race depending on your preference. Then leave you to your own devices.

[DeTess]

Elva purses her lips as she looks voer the bookcases. She got her history alright, but now she wasn't sure where to start. After a moments deliberation she stepped over to the human section and started pulling out a couple of books. The enemy had begun with the humans last time, so they might do or have done that this time as well. She knew she didn't have the time to read more than a small section of the books here, so she got some parchment and ink to start working out an overall timeline instead. The enemy hadn't exactly been working on a small scale last time, so if she could build up an overall timeline there might be a pattern indicating the start of another attack. And if there wasn't, well that'd be something too, wouldn't it?

[Tyg3rW01f]

Josiah cocked his head at the tome, and gestured to it in a "May I?" manner. When it was apparent he did indeed have permission, the young martial artist picked up the volume and began to read.

[Imladir]

Alyndra Aramiar - Elf Wizard (5) - HP 30/30 - AC 14

Having gone through most of the books she had been given, Alyndra stretched as she considered everything she had learned. It didn't answer all the questions she had, it raised a few new ones, but it did make a few things clearer at least. The problem however was that she hadn't learned anything that could help if they once again met... Well, whoever had been at the Temple. The enemy didn't have a face, didn't even seem to have any agent of note. It was a glaring hole in the stories that had been compiled, as if up until the very end, nothing had been determined of the one responsible for the eradication of 99,96% of a world's population. And if you didn't know what was against you, the only possibility was to flee... And hope. Now though, that enemy seemed to have come finish what he had started. If it hadn't changed its modus operandi, they had time to try and identify what they were up against. But time might not be something they had if something as simple as messing with a few stones would be enough to doom them all. With a sigh, the young elf rose, grabbed the books she had gone through and brought them back to the help desk as she had no idea where they were supposed to go. “Thanks for your help.” She looked around then, trying to find her companions, both with two and four legs.

[Tyg3rW01f]

Josiah opened the tome and found it was a journal, badly weathered and damaged, but highly legible. The handwriting looked oddly familiar. Turning the pages, Josiah discovered the last entry, which made him take definite notice.
"After 3 days I may have found the entrance to the (badly spoiled part of the page, water damage maybe). If I'm right that may solve a lot of the crowding problems (more damage). She spoke so highly of it I wonder if it wasn't a fever dream. Tomorrow I will venture forth

[sarlon]

Josiah:

The book you hold is obviously damaged, water and what might be blood stains cover many pages, and even many more are missing. There seems to be a story that is following these pages, but since so many are missing its nearly impossible to make it out. What you DO know though is the writer was caring for someone who was sick who told them of.....a place? the journal is missing many pages of what you assume is the travel to find this place, with the last pages telling of the writer being close to finding whatever the place was, but no further information.

Alyndra:

Your pet has been all over this library, either wanting pettings from anyone who will vaguely pay it attention or trying to entice the big dog at the help desk to play. You've not seen it for hours when you finally finish your research and find it curled up napping on the back of the big animal, both of whom barely twitch an ear at you. The woman behind the desk doesn't seem to mind at all, almost as if this is a semi regular occurance.

[Imladir]

Alyndra Aramiar - Elf Wizard (5) - HP 30/30 - AC 14

Alyndra looked at Midnight - her Tressym familiar - for a moment. “So that's where you were…” she snorted, a bit amused. “Slept all day have you?” Good thing much like cats, Tressyms could sleep so much, otherwise she'd be impossible that night…hopefully. After looking around for a bit to see if her two companions were still around, the young elf shook her head and added, “Alright, I'm done here for today, let's go out.” Hopefully it would still be early that they'd be able to see a bit of the city…and tire Midnight enough that she'd be content to sleep. And in any case, she was planning on eating at the inn, where she'd be able to share what she had learned with the other two.

[DeTess]

Elva yawned as she put down her pen, then stretched. She wasn't sure how long she'd been busy going over the histories, but her body was definitely complaining, and she'd started feeling hungry. It hadn't been a complete waste of time though... Or rather, it had been, but at least that meant she'd sleep better coming night. Her fear that the enemy had already gotten started decades, if not centuries, ago had proven unfounded. With a groan she got up from her chair, picked up the books she'd consulted and returned them to the shelves. She then headed for the exit.

On the way out, she ran into Alyndra, who was in the process of retrieving her familiar from its soft-looking perch on the dogs head. "I need some food first, but lets compare notes afterwards?" She said to the elf as she joined hor on her way back to the inn.

[sarlon]

The city outside is starting to come to life as the late afternoon sun begins its nightward journey. Guards wander the streets, bars and taverns are starting to come to life, and everyone seems to be moving with more life as the day starts to cool down. There's even faint dampness in the air that almost promises rain.

food vendors waft tantalizing aromas of cooking foods of all kind, sweet, savory, and exotic. There seems to be a good attitude in the air, and everyone seems relaxed. There are talk and frequent laughter and while there's no official holiday happening today, there seems to be a celebration just from the heat being lessened from the oppression of all summer.

[Tyg3rW01f]

While everyone was eating and drinking, Josiah ate only half of his meal, having "accidentally" borrowed the journal and was taking very careful notes to send back to Master Liandra.

Spoiler: Forgery

Show

(1d20+2)[18]

SURELY she'd know SOMETHING about this book's subject matter; right?! He was so engrossed in being meticulous about the exactness of his copy and how he phrased his own request for information that he failed to realize he'd just done something the others would notice as a bit odd.

He didn't touch a single drop of alcohol.

Finally finished, he stuffed the journal into his pocket--for return the next morning--and the copies and letter into an envelope to give to the postmaster. Something was there, at the back of his mind, niggling at him... like a sound just on the edge of hearing.

[Imladir]

Alyndra Aramiar - Elf Wizard (5) - HP 30/30 - AC 14

“Sure.” Alyndra nodded to answer Elva's suggestion. Looking at the sky for a moment, she added, “I was thinking of walking a bit in the streets if you want, It's my first time here after all. Well, second if you count last time, but… Anyway, you could grab things to eat on the way as it's a bit late for lunch but early for dinner.” The way she looked at the few food vendors she saw stated perfectly clearly that it was definitely something she was considering doing herself. Which was exactly what she did overt the next hour or so, buying a few bites here or there, sometimes for herself, sometimes for Midnight. In the last case though, she never handed the food directly to her familiar but instead threw it in the air - and not always straigt up - for her familiar to catch in flight, something that it did quite agilely. Except for once anyway and it wasn't because the Tressym failed to catch it, simply that she didn't even want to: too much green and not enough meat. As a result, the pastry fell on the bald scalp of a portly bystander with a “plop”. At least it wasn't that hot, but still… “Damn it, Midnight!” Alyndra cursed low but with feeling, looking mortified and unable to decide if she should pretend she didn't know anything about any flying pastry. Midnight snickered however, apparently finding that to be the best joke of the week.

[DeTess]

Elva smothered a laugh at the antics of Alyndra's familiar by taking a bite of the food she'd bought. it was some kind of meaty stew contained in flatbread. She didn't know what kind of meat it was, but it was pretty tasty, all things considered.

Between bites, she started talking about the research she'd done. "Illidari was kind of enough to lend me an abridged history of the world before this one. It seems that the enemy is a lot more subtle than I expected. I mean, they literally made a mountain range disappear at one point, but at that point they'd been attacking the world's inhabitants for several millennia without anyone noticing. They used diseases, and massives species-wide curses and similar to isolate and attack only one group." She grimaced again at the sheer ruthlessness it would have taken to commit atrocities like that. "They seem to be a big fan of 'divide and conquer strategies'. In the previous world, they first hit the humans with a disease, then made the orcs all go berserk, then hit the elves with another. Then they framed various races for bloody attacks against others and so on. It seems no one even recognized these events as part of a coordinated attack until they wrecked an entire dwarf-inhabited mountain range." She sighed. "I'd been imagining some kind of slavering horde of demons and valiant clashes between good and evil. This is way worse."

"Well, there's one bit of silver lining, I suppose. I checked some modern histories afterwards, and there were no signs that they've been up to the same tricks. So maybe we really are getting in on all this early enough to prevent worse."

[Imladir]

Alyndra Aramiar - Elf Wizard (5) - HP 30/30 - AC 14

As the man turned in her direction, ready to blow up, Alyndra swiftly moved her fingers and grumbled a draconic word to cast Prestidigitation, making the pastry fall on the ground and leaving the scalp shining. Almost literally. Maybe because he didn't have anything to complain about anymore, or not wanting to mess with a Wizard of unknown powers, the man grunted and turned away after a dark look. With a relieved sigh - and a dark glare of her own aimed at her familiar - Alyndra focused on Elva. “That's mostly what I have learned too yes. But I'm not sure I agree with your conclusion. It feels to me the enemy, whoever - or whatever - it is, proceeded slowly and in the shadows because it both lacked the power for more direct confrontations and had the time for it. Scheming in the dark like it did was thus the best, and maybe the only, way for it to reach its goal no matter how long it took.” For a moment, the young elf looked up, pensive. “Here - and now - however, the situation is different: first, there aren't as many powerhouses as there were in the past. I mean, even without knowing how many there were then and how many there are now, even if in percentage there are ten times as many now as before, when you compare the total population we do not come out of it ahead.” She paused, pensive, “Which leads me to think that the enemy is probably relatively weak in direct combat. Identifying it could be the same as stopping it.” “Anyway.” She shook her head to focus back on the rest of what she was saying. “More importantly, it didn't have then a way to achieve its goal in a short time: it does now. Mess with the temples, mess with the foci and everything could come crashing down.” She grimaced. “Even if we manage to prevent that at the other three, there was a reason the temples and the foci were placed there. If we take those out… It's not quite doing the enemy's job for it, but it's a close thing. Which means the world could come crashing down around us and it leaves us with little time to do anything about it, especially with the enemy doing whatever it can to prevent us from fixing the problem.”

[sarlon]

As you wander the town, there's an air of excitement and talk of the caravans coming for the harvest festival (if asked it's occuring in a week's time).

You do find an open shop of spell supplies (parchment, scrolls, most common spell casting ingredients, etc).

The shop is disturbingly clean and very organized, scrolls are in color coded bins clearly written labels show what's inside.

Behind the counter sits an older wizard (human male) with a very clean appearance, stark white robes, and his hair and beard are very nearly combed and trimmed. You don't think there's a speck of dust in the entire place, and even the counter is perfectly organized.

As he raises a hand in greeting, you notice he too has a bracer/bracelet of stones that gleam whitely and sparkle just slightly. He introduces himself as tommic and asks how he can assist you.

[DeTess]

"The one we encountered killed that temple guardian though. Maybe there aren't enough of them to wage war in the open, but that's not the same as being weak." Elva thought back to their short encounter with the enemy back in the temple. "And don't forget those dwarven mountains. I don't think anyone who can casually disappear an entire mountain range can be called weak." She shook her head. "I understand what you're saying, Alyndra, but don't confuse patience and long-term planning with weakness. For all we know, these monsters are immortal, and a plan taking 6 millenia to come to fruition is like no time at all to them."

"Maybe I'm overestimating what they can do in the same way that I think you're underestimating them, as we just don't know enough. But if you don't know your opponent, its better to assume they're strong than to assume they're weak."

[Imladir]

Alyndra Aramiar - Elf Wizard (5) - HP 30/30 - AC 14

Alyndra blinked in surprise as she hadn't been specifically looking for such a shop. As she looked around, she answered Elva. “Maybe you're right but...” she shrugged “Let's take the dwarves' mountain. Can we be absolutely sure it was done by that enemy? Maybe it was someone else taking advantage of the chaos to do that without being blamed for it. Though of course the enemy could have instigated it without having to do anything directly.” She sighed “One way or another, its true that we need to know more, but we shouldn't hope for much considering that despite what happened in the past, next to nothing came out of it. Well, we'll see tomorrow. If we're lucky we'll learn more.” Turning to the shopkeeper, the young elf nodded. “Good afternoon.” She paused, thoughtful. “Well, I'm looking for a few scrolls of low-level Divination spells. Appraising Touch, Arrow Mind, Comprehend Languages, Magecraft and Spymaster's Coin should do it.” She tapped her lips for a couple of seconds. “Oh and I'll take the materials to copy all of those in my spellbook of course.”

[sarlon]

The man grins a big toothy grin, and with a pointing finger the gems around his wrist glow softly and steadily, and several scrolls lift themselves out of various bins around the store, and land in a neatly stacked pile in front of him on the counter. With another thoughtful look, he points his finger again and various supplies lift themselves from the shelves and come towards him on the counter and settle themselves neatly into a box.

"Are you with the mages guild?" The question is asked politely with no hint of distaste that you received in the library, more polite inquiry. He notices your adventurers guild badge on your shoulder and smiles, "ah my apologies young lady, you are with the other guild...those were the days...I could tell you stories! but you probably don't want to hear the wafflings of an old man." He grins at both of you and shows his own older but still spotlessly clean badge, that's so polished you can almost see your own reflection in it. He turns to Elva and asks if she is in need of anything as well, and quotes you 600 gold for the entire lot of supplies and scrolls.

"Forgive my intrusion, but I couldn't help but hear you speak of the dwarven range collapse? that was so long ago even for an elf, that's beyond your own age...are you a history buff?"

[DeTess]

Elva idly browsed the shelves for a moment, but then shook her head when the shopkeeper asked her if she needed anything. "Scroll are Alyndra's area of expertise, not mine." She resondend with a smile.

When he asked them about their topic of discussion,s he silently cursed herself. She should have been a bit more careful about discussing all that in a shop where the owner was likely to overhear. "We where actually researching a more recent magical accident, but you know how the library can be. One moment you're just looking for some further clarification in the references of a book, the next moment you've got a dozen books open and you've moved on to a completely different area of interest. Only ending up a couple millennia in the past on the same general topic, rather than 'properties of spidersilk armor made from greenwood spidersilk' or something like that actually made it a surprisingly small deviation." Though she wasn't being truthful in this case, she'd gotten distracted like that in the library before, so it was an easy enough story to come up with.

[Imladir]

Alyndra Aramiar - Elf Wizard (5) - HP 30/30 - AC 14

As the shop-owner "grabbed" the scrolls she had asked for, Alyndra tilted her head to the side while she considered his wrist. When he was done, she thanked him, paid and politely smiled when he answered his own question about which guild she was a member of. “I can't say I'm an expert no…” The young elf shook her head after Elva had "explained" things, “Otherwise I would have learned about it a long time ago wouldn't I?” She looked a bit… puzzled… at Elva for a second, then focused back on the old man. “It might be a bit too inquisitive of me so my apologies in advance, but… does that bracer of yours mean something? Beside its obvious use anyway. I recently met someone else with one like that so I'm curious…” Someone who didn't seem fond of her for some reason. She had paid it much attention, but she certainly hoped that half-elf had less gems than he did on his own bracer…