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Post by The Jenn on Dec 15, 2008 22:58:21 GMT -5
Well, at least the man didn't seem to be one of the aggressively academic sorts. Those were always Fun, with a capital F-you to everyone else. Parzi shrugged a little sheepishly at the man's statement. "Maybe. Maybe not. I don't believe everything, but I grew up in the Tulgey. That has to count towards some level of suspension of disbelief, doesn't it?"
He settled more comfortably in his chair as the man made to converse. That was rather unexpected. Maybe he'd been reading for a while and his eyes needed a break? The bird hadn't really meant to disturb him - he'd just been surprised. The only mentalists he'd ever met were Sage's grandparents, and they were just weird.
One claw tapped on the book that the human noticed in an absent gesture. "What, these? The war's always been sort of an interest of mine, since I've gotten to read about it from both sides. There's a lot in the Tulgey language that your scholars haven't gotten their hands on, I'd wager." Mostly because those books were in a very difficult language that was zealously guarded, and because there weren't many copies, most of them guarded by reclusive types. "I'm most interested in the magics used. Some of them were at a level that we don't often see today, and I find it fascinating. I'm not sure whether I'm destined to be a mage or a scholar or... well, I don't know. I just know that the subject interests me. A lot."
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Post by Kari Muffin on Dec 15, 2008 23:21:58 GMT -5
"I assure you, you would need to do more than suspend disbelief when dealing with my problem that I'm trying to solve," he smiled as he listened to the rest of what Parzi said.
It was true there there was a lot of information missing from the Tulgey side of the war. Of course there would be. Not many people trusted the region as it was, let alone trying to get information from the people. And Parzi wanted to find information on the magic that was used during the war?
He glanced down at the books he had chosen. One was an historical account of the event, the two others did contain a bit of information on the magic. The best books, however, probably weren't even in this section. Should he bother to share the information with the stranger?
"This book isn't going to help you with magic. It's mostly an encyclopedia of who died when and where." He picked up the large blue leather bound book, then flopped it back on the table. "To get real information about magic during the War you'd probably need to go into one of the restricted areas."
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Post by The Jenn on Dec 17, 2008 1:04:08 GMT -5
"Fair enough," Parzi agreed with a small shrug. The man was a pure Esterberry who'd admitted at least in part to be a mentalist dealing with extremely esoteric research. There was probably a lot to his work that the bird wouldn't understand. Still, he hadn't understood a lot of Vren's work and had been fascinated by it regardless. He'd seen loads of things that shouldn't have been possible happen by accident, or through very careful planning.
He glanced down at the book the other man had just vetoed and ran a hand down its cover. "Really? That's a shame. I'd glimpsed a few names in there that I'm looking into and had hoped it would be more promising. Thanks for saving me the time." He moved the blue-covered book off to the side and glanced at the other three. Suddenly, they seemed less promising.
"Have you done research in this area, or are you just that familiar with this particular library? Which section would I have to attempt to gain access to for some of the more pertinent information? The magic is really my focus, and the history is all secondary. I've read a lot of what's been published on the subject already and it's mostly reiteration with more bias towards one faction or the other."
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Post by Kari Muffin on Dec 17, 2008 1:15:12 GMT -5
Harold couldn't help but smirk. It was something that looked rather silly on his worn out face, with black ringed, tired eyes. It remained on his face as he spoke, how Parzi read it would be interesting. "I dabble in a lot of things. I've read a good deal of material in this section of the library over the years."
Of course. He had plenty of time to do it. But Parzi didn't need to know about that little problem. No one did.
"Most of the books containing information on strong magics are kept under lock and key. Restricted use and access to scholars of Esterberry. We're terribly protective of our rare books, and the ones you seek are painfully rare. They wouldn't let you see one of the books, let alone look through one.... unless you had permission from an Esterberry professor or had an escort." He shrugged.
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Post by The Jenn on Dec 17, 2008 1:31:32 GMT -5
Considering how difficult it normally was to age humans, Parzi had no idea how old the man was. He didn't seem overly young, but his exhaustion may have been deceptive. He really didn't know enough about it to tell. His former Master had always looked older, and that was that. "Well, I certainly appreciate the fact that you were here today or I would have spent a lot of time flipping through pages that got me nowhere fast. I have a decent collection of notes, but nothing specific enough to actually infer a spell, or even the components of one. I'm not necessarily interested in forbidden magics, though those are fascinating. I'm just curious what types of spells have been lost to the ages, and if there's any way to recreate some of their effects. For purely academic reasons."
Along with the curiosity and fascination of a young man, of course. That much would probably be obvious to the man. He tapped on the edge of his beak with one taloned finger. By now, if the man hadn't said anything about his slow-sounding speech, he doubted he was going to mention it. That was a boon. Most Esterberry that he spoke with immediately assumed him to be retarded or something of the sort, even faster than those of other regions. It was enough to make him beat his forehead against a desk at times. He would have to switch to his human form soon, if he was going to be interacting with many more of them.
"Do you have any recommendations, then, either on alternate books or... well, on how to convince an escort or professor that I'm worth their afternoon? I do have my human form, if that makes any difference." Maybe it wouldn't, maybe it would. It didn't hurt to try.
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Post by Kari Muffin on Dec 17, 2008 1:42:17 GMT -5
If Harold had been fully awake he would have probably cared about the slow speech. However he had been up for twenty four hours and was too tired to actually care about word infliction. The boy had already proved that he had enough smarts to be interested in such unusual subject matter, speech meant nothing to this Esterberry.
It would matter to everyone else though.
"If you had a human form, you probably should have taken it sooner. I can't imagine the people at the door were thrilled to help you." Harold said with a shrug. He turned his thoughts to other matters however. "Well, if you help me out with a little hypothetical problem then perhaps... I'd be willing to get you easy access to the books that you want."
He was a smart boy. Would he take the deal though? Harold could have easily been lying. They didn't even know each others names.
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Post by The Jenn on Dec 17, 2008 2:09:25 GMT -5
Parzi shrugged one shoulder, looking a little bit sheepish. It was an odd expression on an avian face. "The friend I traveled here with hadn't gotten beyond his human form yet, and I don't like making him feel awkward." He stood up, took a step back, and changed forms. The sudden chill on his skin made him glad that it wasn't winter or he would have been begging for a jacket. Or a blanket. As it was, the same red Tulgey eyes watched the other man out of a different face. He felt both less and more naked around him now. The weight of the bracelet on his hanging wrist was comforting, though, and he thought of the pair of feathers dangling by thin metal wires. They were reassuring, in their own way. He sat back down at the table and reached for one of the feathers, sliding his oddly smooth fingers along it. "If you tell me a little bit about your problem, I can tell you whether or not it's something I can help with, Mister..." He was wary about doing favors for strangers, but this was more of an exchange. The man didn't look overly threatening... but looks could easily be deceiving. |
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Post by Kari Muffin on Dec 17, 2008 2:24:31 GMT -5
"It's nice to know you're not stupid and you want to know the situation before you jump into things," Harold said as he looked the man up and down. He had an unusual choice in clothing... well lack of clothing. It might have something to do with the bindings of his, but that wasn't here or there. A human form was a human form. Everything was fine as long as he didn't run around completely naked.
"Two people occupying the exact same space is impossible. However I have seen an actual situation where two separate people are occupying one place mentally and yet remain uniquely different people. Are you interested?" The Esterberry nervously cracked his knuckles as he spoke. "There's more to the problem, of course, but I wouldn't want to explain in such an open place. Anyway... we never properly introduced ourselves."
Names made things easier. They really did. Even if they were fake. "You can call me H."
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Post by The Jenn on Dec 17, 2008 14:17:55 GMT -5
"H, then," the bird repeated dubiously. What did that stand for, if it was even the right letter? The whole situation had just gotten more unusual He didn't see any reason to withhold his own name, though. "You can call me Parzifal, or shorten it as you'd like. It really doesn't matter."
Two people existing in the same space? Yes, he wouldn't have believed that one possible. If the man had actually seen such a case, that was a remarkable magical find. He was almost surprised that he hadn't read about it somewhere. Maybe if the man was being so secretive, it was on a need-to-know basis. The scholars must really be hush-hush about their research. "That sounds... rather extraordinary, I'll admit. I'm interested in learning more, especially if it helps us both at the same time. I don't know how much I'll actually be able to do, but I'll offer what input I can."
Ah, the blessing of his human mouth, keeping him from sounding like a drooling moron with every word.
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Post by Kari Muffin on Dec 17, 2008 14:34:08 GMT -5
Yes!
Small victory for Harold.
"Someone intellectual who can give honest input without being snotty is exactly what is needed for this little dilemma. I'm grateful for you help Parzifel." Harold offered his hand to the young man with a tired smile. At least the smile was something universal no matter what you were.
Now there was the matter of getting into the restricted section. It would take a little bit of creativity since Harold's degree was.... old. However he was still an Esterberry and could talk his way into things when he wasn't nervous about everything. Being tired helped with that.
"For arguments sake," Harold lowered his voice to a whisper, "You're a student studying at Morris University as a History major. Your specialty is magic during the Wars. I'm helping you research because of your instructors orders. I know Morris isn't the best school... but they're more likely to believe you're enrolled in that school because of the lack of Esterberry Elitists who attend. Do you understand the plan? You need to do a bit of talking for this to be convincing at any rate." Harold said, a smile still plastered on his face.
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