abraxaslogs | [Open] November catch-all

Sacrificing his own blood to do his magic is the very essence of Kell's unique brand of magic. It is what makes it so powerful. Though, woefully less powerful here than back home. So Victor would find no opposition to the idea in Kell if he ever mentioned it.

"I can find a coat for you to work on. I just have no clue how the magic worked. It was unusual even back home. I've never seen anything like it. My own magic is pretty unique on its own, but this was something different."

There were odd artefacts floating around from the times when people in Arnes used their magic more freely. Hundreds of years before. Kell encountered a few in his search of more information on his own blood magic. But the coat was not one of them. The person he won it from in a game of cards, probably had no clue how special it really was.

"That would certainly make it easier."

As in, Viktor was probably just going to purchase a coat, or something--but it will be better if Kell gives them something he's comfortable with. Hopefully it will survive their experimentation (he makes a mental note to perhaps do trial runs on other pieces of clothing, first).

"How did you acquire it, if I might ask? Did it have any sort of history?"

"It would not be fair to weigh you with additional expenses because of my whim."

Kell already planned to do it if Victor agreed to his sudden request. They're inventors, not tailors. He might have been raised in a castle, but he knew the difference between crafts.

"That's actually a funny story. I won it in a game of cards on a gambling night with some pretty shady people. We weren't playing for money, but rare, magical items. Some very illegal." Like his own contribution to the pot. A smuggled piece of another world. "The guy who put it in never said where he got it. Could have stolen it, could have been a family heirloom. I don't know. Though the latter is less probable given the company."

The memory does sting. It reminds him of what kind of person he was then. Before everything went down the drain. He's way more cautious now.

"If you didn't bring us a coat, we'd likely purchase one in Cadens." He shrugs. "At least this way it's something you want to wear."

The story is funny, but just adds to the mystery. Without real knowledge of how magic works in Kell's world, all they can do is guess. A card game where the prize is rare, possibly illegal items? Viktor might want to play himself.

"I suppose in the end it doesn't matter--we'll be starting from scratch either way. I wonder if it isn't some kind of illusion magic. If that's the case, I'm sure we can research it."

Kell would happily teach Victor how to play. He'd need to organize a deck somehow - probably order it made - first. He misses the mostly harmless risks involved with Sanct. It strongly depended on the company how truly harmless those risks where. With wrong company, it could end with a broken rib or two.

"If it was illusion magic, it would fool only the people looking at it. But it changed entirely. As if it wasn't one garment, but many. I had put things, small items, coins and such, into pockets of one version, only to find pockets empty when I turned it to another side. Then find them back when I turned to the one, where I put things. It changed shape as well as color. Ornaments like buttons, lining, collar. My guess was always some kind of lost transformation magic."

He did suspect a missing piece of Antari magic. This was the only one capable of extraordinary feats with seemingly no limit. But he found no information on anything even similar. Here, it most likely will need to be created from scratch.

"Ah, I see." That's helpful information to know, and yes, it seems more complicated than a simple illusion or glamour. He and Jayce will have their work cut out for them, but he immediately thinks of Jayce's bag, the one that's bigger on the inside, and he wonders if he can glean something from that.

For now, he nods along. "If you remember anything else about it--even theory, I'm sure we would find it useful. We'll keep you updated, in the meantime."

"That's actually... all"

It feels wrong to admit to it now. As if he was too lazy to investigate more. When the truth is, he really was. Back home, Kell was content with simply having a unique magical object. Now he regrets he didn't dig deeper.

"Thank you, I don't want to interfere with your current projects too much."

Kell didn't bring all those silly trinkets from the other London, risking getting caught, because clever mechanisms mean nothing to him. Jayce and Victor are inventors, people who make such mechanisms. Quite naturally then he's interested in their work. Even if he's pride might make him pretend he's not really that interested.
So there's a moment of hesitation before curiosity, inevitably, wins.

"I must say, I'd like to hear more about what you're working on now, if that's not a secret, of course."

“We like having lots of projects. Keeps us busy.”

The alternative, being not-busy (of course) is nearly unbearable to him. Sure, Viktor prioritizes accordingly, so he might not get to this right away, but he always likes a puzzle to solve. A mysterious coat with an unknown enchantment on it seems like something he and Jayce would greatly enjoy to puzzle out.

“Some of it is a secret,” he says, though the wry smile on his face indicates that he might be a little more forthcoming with a friend. "Most recently we've been receiving an important from Luna--a type of metal. Jayce is excited about it, as you might imagine."

"I do."

Kell smirk proves how easy it is for him to see the picture. The image of how Jayce's impassioned speech about the properties of the new metal could look, and sound, like coalesces in his mind with ease from all those memories Kell heard the man speak.

"What is so special about it?"

Edited 2022-12-25 16:27 (UTC)

Viktor brightens, and it's not hard to imagine how enthused he's been in the workshop, trying to puzzle out all the uses. So much potential--his favorite thing.

"It's incredibly magically resilient. What it lacks in physical durability it makes up for in its ability to receive and hold enchantments. A marvel, really, with an astonishing amount of applications."

Kell can recognize, and very much relate to, the enthusiasm that Victor describes the new metal with. It is fascinating. Everything new about magic is fascinating to Kell, but a material that's able to hold enchantments better than anything else? He'd love to have a piece of it to experiment on.

"Do you think you can make it stronger?" There's limited number of application for a receptacle for a spell if it shatters on use. "Or at least make it a part of something else that could hold it together?" Sometimes you just need a little tweak. It works with elemental magic. Maybe it could work with this new metal too.

"Yes, I think so. Jayce is skilled in metallurgy, and we're accustomed to finding...creative solutions, to problems like this."

Even the very first Hextech rig required testing of various metals, to make sure they could withstand the power that the crystals supplied. Jayce had done most of the work in that department, and he's the one actually smithing the Braerium. Viktor is confident in his ability to puzzle it out.

"It may simply be a matter of forging it with something, to create an alloy. We'll test it, of course."

Kell smiles hearing the understatement. Yes, creative is one way to call it. Most people would rather use the word revolutionary. The point stands, though, if someone were to figure out how to make this unusual metal sturdier, it would be Jayce.

"I will take your word for it. I know a lot more about magic than metallurgy. If you ever needed a second - well, a third - pair of eyes on the magical properties, I'd be happy to help. Forging is way out of my field of expertise."

That he would like to help is pretty obvious. Kell has been fascinated by technology since the first time he has seen things people of the Grey London were able to achieve with it. Ever since, he has a weakness for uselessly complicated trinkets.

"Part of being a scientist is admitting your own shortcomings. You're a real magic user--you likely know more about it than Jayce and I ever will."

Suffice to say, he appreciates the input.

"I'll let you know our progress. It's likely we'll need field testing sooner rather than later."

If they can smuggle it through Nocwich, that is.

"That's not very different from being a magician."

Magic is always more powerful than the person wielding it. It always ends badly if a magician forgets it. The balance must be kept. There's only death and destruction when it's not.

"What kind of enchantments do you think would it be best for storing?"

If he were to suggest anything, he'd choose something that's either complicated or time-consuming. More complicated than a stupid rain spell.

About the smuggling... hmm... that was Kell's illicit hobby for a long time. He likes to think he was quite good at it.

"Then perhaps our disciplines are not so different."

Viktor, of course, knows this already. Magic and science complement each other, and need to be approached in similar ways. Still, he's more than willing to admit that he's been dabbling in it for a comparatively short period of time.

"Right now we're working on various protective charms--physical and magical defense. Until we're able to successfully strengthen the metal itself, it seems more suited to jewelry. Tokens. Things of that nature. Also, much easier to pass off as a gift."

Kell lights up at Viktor's acknowledgment. From what he heard from Jayce descriptions. Even from his worries how both can be misused. Worse still when they work so well together. He agrees. It's really just two ways of approaching the same problem.

"Clever," Kell comments with a smile. "Nobody pays attention to jewellery. Unless they are a thief or themselves a jeweller." If you don't have precious gems grafted into your cheekbones, it's transparent to most people's eyes. "You can pass a lot of magic pretty much unnoticed."

"If they stop us upon entry because they can detect the enchantments, that might get us in trouble, but there's no indication they're looking for that."

Just weapons or other contraband, for now, though he's not so optimistic that he doesn't think it might change, depending on the larger political situation.

"But that's something for Jayce and I to worry about. All we'll need from you are your notes, when you test something for us."

"That I can definitely deliver."

Because it is obvious by now, that unless barred from by external circumstances he can't somehow circumnavigate either by skill or by cunning, Kell is more than willing to test anything they produce.

"I bet simple enchantments are pretty common. Or at least that's the impression I got from the Thorne side of things. Obviously, I don't know how it's on your side."

Kell smiles, fishing out from under his coat the enchanted pendant they all need to have to even pass the portal to Nocwich.

"Besides, we're already coming in wearing enchanted jewellery. What difference does it make if someone has one more item on their person?"

"Well, that's different. Those are sanctioned." But Viktor laughs, then offers a shrug, seemingly conceding the point. The unfortunate reality of the situation is that they won't really know until they try. If they get in trouble, well, Viktor's been caught doing worse.

"Jayce and I are far from experts, so we'll have to start small anyway. Protection charms and the like. Surely they won't blame us for that."

"Is it really that different?" Kell winks, but doesn't follow through with this train of thought.

The thing with blatantly trying to play dumb is that you can only pull this off once. So not a sustainable solution for their smuggling needs.

"I don't think they would. A protection charm seems like a reasonable thing to have, even if they do not allow weapons here. Some people don't need weapons to be dangerous. Hypothetically, of course."

Kell hardly believes anyone could attack any of the Summoned in Nocwich. He's mainly trying to build a plausible explanation for Viktor and Jayce to use on why would they want to bring an enchanted object here.

"Hypothetically."

Viktor offers Kell a wry grin to say that he understands. Besides, he's never cared much for rules and regulations, especially when it benefits him to break them.

"You've given me a lot to think about," he says, like he doesn't always have a lot to think about. "I'll let you know when we've made some headway on your cloak."

See, that's why they understand each other so well. Kell was never one with much respect to rules. And there were so many rules governing his life back home. Some of them he bent only slightly. Some he broke when no one was looking. He was rarely openly defiant - that would be costly - but he had his ways.

"Thank you. I'd love to hear about it, even if you end finding out that's not possible with the local magic or technology."

As much as he'd love to have something close to his coat back. The process itself is interesting.

[Open] November catch-all

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let's get the two nerds talking

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I'd call that a wrap, what do you think?