settling in

[cellio]

October 6 (Friday)

Turok found several good taverns last night. I'm going to join him tonight as he explores further. The city is large and aside from Colm I don't know anyone, and Turok seems to have a way with settling into strange places and meeting people. Prolix has already gone off with a gaggle of wizards.

I asked Colm about sellers of magic and he directed me to a few small shops. I didn't find anything that really called to me, but the fellow who owns one of them -- a kindly older fellow named Anton -- told me that he is looking for an object that provides small-scale movement of objects. I magically picked up a small stone from his counter, made it do slow laps around his head and the shop, and asked if that's what he meant. It is, so I told him I know where to get one and we agreed on a price. I promised to return with it on Monday.

I also stopped by the temple and met the priest of Pelor, an earnest young fellow named Blake. I told him that Brion in Shepford had referred me to him; he had no idea who Brion was, but he was friendly anyway -- especially once he realized that I didn't want anything from him, but just wanted to visit and find out when regular people like me attend and so on. Things have been pretty quiet lately, he said. It would be nice if that continues for a while.

October 7 (Saturday)

Turok is right; there are some interesting taverns here. He introduced me to some friends, and we had fun singing along with a bard who looked like he would have preferred we go away. I didn't drink much because the stuff Turok recommended -- not beer or wine, and I've forgotten his word for it -- seemed awfully strong. Tasty, though.

This morning I went to a jewelry shop and found a pendant in the shape of a hand. The shopkeeper said it was a good-luck charm, so I bought it. After I got back to Colm's and verified that there is in fact absolutely nothing magical about this "charm", I set to work to instill it with some magic. I think Anton will like my choice of pendant -- small and not attention-grabbing, but pretty.

After all that, Hrolf and I went out on our nightly flight (we've found a good location for this, not far away but not too visible). I flew especially well tonight, and managed some nicely-banked turns and even a little loop. Maybe it's a side effect of spending all day doing related magic. There seemed to be several other owls in the area tonight; I wonder what that means.

October 9 (Monday)

I went back to Anton's shop. He is very pleased with the pendant. I asked if he had any charms against falling -- perhaps something that would cause you to gently drift to the ground if you fall off a cliff or something -- and he said no, but he knows someone who knows how to cast a spell to do that. He said he could arrange a meeting tomorrow. It occurs to me that something like that would be handy in case I really screw up the flying, though Hrolf says I'll eventually learn how to fly at least as well as a baby chick. Gee, thanks.

I saw Prolix today for the first time since we arrived. He was muttering something about extra-dimensional spaces and cube-shaped worlds, or something like that. I gave him money for a wand he promised to make me. He said he's not looking for any devices from me right now; he's spending all his money on writing down spells. He seems to have hooked up with a wizard club called the Collegium. I'm glad he's having fun.

The rest of us -- Liandra, Kyle, Turok, and I -- went to a pub that was new to all of us tonight, the Red Dragon Inn. The food was tasty (though a bit spicy); the beer was so-so. They make a nice dessert that involves fruit, alcohol, and fire.

There was a bard there who told the story of Agon and the Dragon's Heart and the founding of Agondre. Turok hadn't heard the tale before. I had, of course, but I still enjoyed this telling. The bard (named Martin) said he has just come to Covanion from the north, though he didn't name a town.

You know, now that I think about it, you never hear tales of what Agon did with the rest of the dragon, other than that he made the parts into something. I wonder what else? The hide ought to have been able to protect his band of warriors from fire, at the very least.