abraxaslogs | [ OPEN ] where the wind blows now

Does it count if the cold makes them feel ancient?

[ That's something he hadn't accounted for with the winter chill, long as it's been since he's existed in anything close both since arriving in Abraxas and the mild winters of the Alliance before that. As Geralt sets the bottle down Claude leans forward to see if he can identify much else about it besides the label proclaiming its contents. The answer is no so he straightens up and then with a mittened hand picks up another flask to turn it carefully in his hands as the liquid inside sloshes. ]

Unfortunately I never learned any warming spells back when I studied magic though perhaps now is the time for that while we're here if I can find the right book in the library. I can offer a bit of healing magic to take some of the sharpness out of it if that'd help.

[ The same he'd once used to heal one of Geralt's wounds from the Pit though it's been refined since through practice - thanks to an unfortunate number of opportunities to use it. Finally skimming over the potion's ingredients in his hands so that it registers as something that might help with joints, Claude holds it out to Geralt next. ]

[ Geralt raises an eyebrow. Claude doesn't look a day over thirty. He supposes human bodies are simply like that. Unless one is a mage. ]

Mm. A pain relief should do.

[ He likes the cold, truthfully; doesn't much feel it in his blood. But his bones are different, between the dampness and the frost, and he knows that that is just the cost of...all that's happened. Of surviving, perhaps.

Could be worse.

He accepts Claude's offering, turning it over in his hand. He's starting to consider if he'll have better luck in the Black Markets he's heard of. Jaskier tells him the Draconae merchants often trade there, and their physiology is much closer to his. Besides, it's not as though he can be easily poisoned. ]

Have you made new friends yet?

[ Pain relief - one of those spells he probably should've paid more attention to when Marianne used them on him to heal a variety of wounds from the war, but he never had. His mind always too busy going over everything else left little space for it and not even being in Abraxas changed that much with... well, a different variety of 'everything else' going on.

As Geralt considers the potion Claude picks up another one to read the label - this one something about hair growth which he sets back since while helpful in ga general sense, not exactly so for this situation - then looks up with an easy grin. ]

Always since I never turn down a chance to get to know someone new as I'm sure will surprise you. Finding ourselves shuffled around has provided plenty of opportunities for it.

[ To say the least. Though there's also multiple ways that question can go beyond just the Summoned and more to their surroundings: like to the merchants of these stalls and the shops around he's also spent time around and then the rest of the castle residents. Claude tilts his head in consideration again before glancing back to the potions briefly. ]

How about you, anyone still here from before?

[ Summoned or otherwise there, too. ]

[ His expression grows amused. Of course Claude has already made friends. Geralt, on the other hand, despite his tendency to prefer solitude, has also found himself surrounded by...not friends, precisely, but acquaintances. The nature of his work, he supposes. He ends up speaking to people even when he'd prefer not to.

Geralt settles on the potion, pulling out a few coins to pay for it. He was at least fortunate enough to be sent here with a fairly full coin purse. Not much he bothered to buy in the Nether. ]

Dion. [ He isn't sure if Claude knows the man. ] Other than that...no one of note.

[ Lucifer, yes, but Lucifer is not exactly an ally in Thorne. ]

Ah, so you've met my roommate.

[ Said with a none too subtle smile which suggests roommate might not be the right term even if it's also a true description at the moment. The smile grows wider still picturing two Summoned he's fond of together, an opportunity for more now that they're here. Despite the uncertainty of when they'll return to Cadens, there's certainly still benefits to being here. ]

Cid and I were invited to take up residence in Dion's room and he's been a good host. [ And certainly tolerated their antics - ] I've seen a few other Summoned I recognize from Nocwich, or at least I'm assuming I do, but I'll have to follow up with them later.

[ The seller's now looking to him expectantly, Claude realizes, given that he'd absently picked up yet another vial while talking without intending to... actually do anything with it. Instead he places it back with a vaguely apologetic smile and turns back to Geralt, ignoring the unimpressed look now fixed on him by the seller. ]

Care for a drink to wash that down? My treat since I was about to head to a tavern I've found I enjoy.

Roommate?

[ He wasn't aware of that. Geralt tilts his head, eyebrow raised, but he asks no further. It should not surprise him Claude and Dion would have become fast friends. Between the wyverns and their disposition, they could've practically originated from the same sphere.

He nods, turning away from the table of wares with Claude. ]

I could hardly turn down an ale. You've been exploring already?

[ He's easily bribed by free food and drink. Besides, he isn't anywhere near as familiar with Thorne. His previous stays did not include a guided tour of the kingdom. ]

[ Geralt gets a deliberate wink in response which is both an answer and not, though on second thought Claude decides to not leave it quite at that as he motions in the direction of the tavern he has in mind so they can head there. ]

And a rather charming prince at that. [ Of which Geralt might've made his own assessment of the man in question given they've met and Dion was who he volunteered as someone known here. Onto the next question, of which Claude offers a too casual shrug of one shoulder he knows won't be convincing. ] I might've done some looking around. Both for the slight change in scenery and to see if there were places we could go with a little less obvious observation.

[ He'll leave it there considering said observation probably is going on at this moment. A change from the Free Cities in that it's more obvious instead of from a (relative) distance when in Cadens, and something which reminds him more than a little of home. The tavern's not a far walk but is conveniently down a side street or two to be removed enough, and there's tables in quieter corners. ]

Found anything of interest yourself? Aside from the potions, that is.

[ Uh-huh. Claude's assessment brings a small curl to his lips. Charming is, funny enough, not the word he would use to describe Dion; the man had always struck him as awkward and stiff. As though uncertain of his place in any given conversation. But Geralt can acknowledge he is not the easiest man to speak to, either.

He hums. Being watched does not bother him overmuch; furtiveness is not his expertise, anyhow, but it's certainly not ideal on principle.

He sits across from Claude. The dress here is different, closer to what he might encounter in Redania or Temeria. After so many years in Cadens, it almost feels foreign now.

His gaze returns to Claude. He shrugs. ] The dungeons are empty. I caught a glimpse. And...it would seem their garrison is short on men after the attack.

[ The latter, he was curious about, after what he knows of John's experience. ]

Empty?

[ Claude doesn't exactly meant to echo that, but as the raise of one eyebrow suggests... that's intriguing. For a variety of reasons, some more obvious and others likely ones they won't find out unless they really are to stay here for some time - though that latter thought isn't one he dwells on often. For now, anyway, since there's plenty to consider for the present; the future can wait. ]

Huh. Can't say that's entirely reassuring for either one, much as I'd like to believe perhaps the monarchy isn't planning on doing something.

[ Like filling the dungeons or being busy with recruiting more soldiers. That's as far as he'll go with it when a server approaches with a couple of mugs and a pitcher of ale to set them down on the table wordlessly. Before Claude can ask about whatever might be on the menu, the server's already heading back to another table farther away. Instead he's left to grin slightly before reaching for a mug to fill with ale before sliding it across to Geralt and then getting his own. ]

I can't imagine the Free Cities aren't looking for some way to take advantage of this either if they've not yet already found one.

Mm. If there's one thing you can trust a monarchy to do, it's to scheme.

[ He is not entirely certain of what lies in the future, either, though he is at least the only one in Thorne. Makes things less complicated than if Ciri had been here, too. He supposes it was sheer luck that did not have her drawn into this side of the kingdom.

As for Yen...he imagines she'll handle herself fine in the Free Cities. Still. He dislikes being apart from his family. And it concerns him, the thought that these nations may not be keen on letting them go where they wish after the dust has cleared.

He considers. ] Ambrose Rhett confessed Thorne targeted specific individuals to summon. I've often suspected others did the same, or at least tried to. I imagine if that's the case...they may want what they consider their rightful property back while hoping to deny their enemies the same.

[ But it remains in question how much more conflict any of the kingdoms can withstand. Much blood has already spilt. ]

[ A wry smile appears on Claude's face fleetingly, one of understanding considering he's been the schemer just as much as he's been on the other side of it, too. Even then there wasn't the matter of being completely at someone else's whims what with having the resources which came along with being in charge; needless to say, he'd quickly had to learn to adjust to that not being true in Abraxas.

Claude idly taps a finger against his mug in front of him rather than answering immediately as he considers the rest of what Geralt's said when it aligns very closely with his own thoughts. ]

I'd considered the same. I'd be surprised if that didn't end up being one more point of contention to go with all the rest in the supposed peace.

[ That last part might be grumbled ever so slightly into his mug under the cover of finally taking a drink, mostly to muffle it so that it doesn't carry too loudly even if there's plenty of ambient noise in the tavern to cover up their conversation. As fond as he might be of pushing a boundary to test it, that applies far less in Thorne, he's found. If he were here by himself then he'd test more, but not at the risk of the others here. Peace is relative, anyway, since he's also seen the signs of conflict enough to read these for what they are: time to scheme, just as Geralt's said. And - ]

I give it a few more days until one of them accuses the others of orchestrating it since they each brought us in specifically. [ That leads to yet another thought as he studies Geralt for a moment longer. Because while he's felt the shift to a new location enough, that's not the same as arriving somewhere once left permanently. ] Is it strange being back here?

[ OPEN ] where the wind blows now

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