Millennial Mage

Tala kept her perception trained both on the seven fox-kin that shared a dimensional alignment with her, and at the vague impressions she got of ‘other’ areas she could sense but not perceive correctly with her threefold sight.

-Likely shielded as Lisa’s home is. I’m just glad that we landed in a somewhat public space.-

Yeah, imagine if we’d popped into somewhere with a fox-kin in the bath.

-As humorously embarrassing as that would have been, did you detect the magics as you were rotating?-

Yeah, I did feel a bit of a nudge, as if my dimensional rotation was being funneled.

-This is likely the ‘landing area’ or front entry area of whatever this place is.-

Well, then they shouldn’t be too startled when someone arrives.

-Tala… if Master Grediv is any indication, you’re likely the only human who can move stone- or starward essentially at will. Rane is close, but even that is in reaction rather than at will.-

Tala grunted internally. I just can’t see the way they do.

Maybe…

The white-furred fox-kin came to stand directly in front of her, some ten feet away. She gave a hesitant bow. “Greetings… Mistress? I fear we were not expecting… any such as you. May I inquire as to your… purpose here?”

The arcane was quite hesitant, clearly seeming out of her element while trying to maintain a cordial atmosphere. Tala decided to help the poor vixen out. “I am Tala, and yes, Mistress is the correct title. I have had dealings with your kin in the past. Lisa sends his regards.”

The little fox’s eyes widened, and she bowed deeper. “Mistress Tala, be welcomed in this humble establishment. All that you can see is at your disposal.”

She then gestured and the harpist tentatively began to play once more, filling the space with a calming melody.

Tala felt the edges of her mouth pull up at the obviously twisty offer of courtesy. “While I would love to avail myself of some of what I see on the other layers”—she did grin then—“and much of what I see is of great interest,” the vixen paled under her fur, her heart beating faster, “I believe that some coffee will do for now. If that is unavailable here, I will accept the closest, tasty alternative that is safe for my kind to consume.”

There was a sparkle in the fox-kin’s eyes as she straightened, but it faded as quickly as it had come. “You have indeed dealt with our kind before, it seems. That is good to know, and I am glad to see that the esteemed Lisa has not fallen so far in his domesticated tendencies as to give a false view of us.”

“Not at all.” She gave a tightlipped smile, waiting. Did she just insult Lisa?

-Yes? No? Probably… I think she called him a dog, in a roundabout way.-

How rude. I’ll have to do something about that… but indirectly. I have no idea what the politics of the situation are.

-Yeah. Put her in her place a bit, but let’s not bring Lisa into it.-

Yeah. Let’s do this.

After a moment that almost stretched into uncomfortability, the fox-kin turned and led the way back to the bar. “Let’s get you that drink.”

Tala didn’t miss the fact that she hadn’t been given a name but didn’t press. She hadn’t missed the implication from Lisa that his folk were the origin of many of the Faen myths and stories, so she was going to be careful.

The stools were a bit low for her, but she pulled iron to herself, and built a seat that was both properly sized and reinforced, ignoring the furniture to either side in favor of one of her own making which was comfortable and sturdy enough for her to rest upon.

That placed the counter a bit low for her, but it was workable nonetheless. The fox hadn’t seemed to notice her creation at all.

The other fox-kin had turned back to their own business—the music likely helping restore the previous atmosphere—but they threw glances her way every so often regardless.

As she was settling in, she finally became aware of an oddity that had been niggling at the back of her mind since she arrived.

There was a feeling that was similar to—if far weaker than—that within the Lunar Hunt. It was a feeling of other auras—other authorities—seeking to gain purchase over her at some level or in some way.

Here, it was as if multiple different authorities were seeking to gain sway, all under the auspices of one overarching will—assuming she wasn’t overattributing to what she felt—but they each slid off of her stalwart resistance that had been hardened by the training she received in the Lunar Hunt.

Her attention was pulled back to the bar in front of her as the white fox-kin placed a steaming drink down before her.

It smelled vaguely like coffee, while also being obviously something else.

“I assumed you would prefer a warm drink to be more inline with the requested coffee. Does this suffice?”

Tala nodded. “This will do as my drink. Yes.”

The utterance of the word ‘my’ held the same authoritative weight as her usual ‘mine,’ as she claimed the beverage in a way that actually sent minor ripples through existence to Tala’s perception.

The vixen didn’t seem to notice anything odd occurring.

Tala took up the drink and took a careful sip.

The warmth was nice sliding down her throat.

The taste was good, if not quite her preference.

The caffeine immediately started working on the little tiredness still in Tala’s mind and body.

The paralytic caused a pleasant flush as it triggered her internal enhancements to draw more deeply on her own gate, shrugging off the effect in a way that was incredibly reminiscent of how she’d handled the toxins in the fight with Eskau Elnar the day before.

This is, after all, just sparring of a different kind. That might have also been why it was a pleasant sensation. Her body responded as if she was in the middle of a good sparring session, without the usually required physical component.

It was nice.

She liked it.

The vixen gave a vulpine grin, smacking her hand down with a sound that caused Tala to purposely freeze in place. “Now that you have been welcomed into my establishment, made yourself comfortable on my stool, and ingested my drink, let us talk about the price for your departure.”

The other fox-kin, who had been glancing their way, gave their own predatory smiles before turning away once more. This didn’t concern them, as entertaining as it was to covertly observe.

Tala flexed her aura and authority in and out, brushing up against something, but it didn’t come from this little whelp.

Still, Tala chose to stay still for a long moment.

The white fox leaned forward slightly. “Oh, I’m sorry, are you unable to respond? I suppose I get to set my own prices then. If you have no objections?”

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Another heartbeat or two passed, and the fox was just opening her mouth again when Tala shook her head, causing the vulpine eyes to widen in apparent surprise.

“Oh, I can respond. I was just in awe for a moment there.”

The bartender stiffened, then shifted a step back, caution overtaking her features and tilting her head to one side in confusion.

“Every word of what you just said was wrong.”

-So kitschy… and inaccurate? How can every word be wrong? Who even talks like that?-

Hush you. It’s not like I hired a professional to work that up for me beforehand. I’m working with what I’ve got. I’ve said it, and it’s done. We’re putting her in her place remember?

-With a line like that?-

Really?

-Fine…-

Tala felt a smile come over her face as she put Alat’s objections behind her, and she didn’t hide her teeth this time. “You are rather young, aren’t you?”

When the fox-kin’s hackles began to rise, that was proof enough of the truth of her assumption.

Probably not even into her majority… Tala shook her head and continued, “You did not welcome me, you acknowledged my entrance and told me to be welcomed. This is not your establishment, you simply watch over it for another. I am sitting on my own stool, and this drink is mine.”

This time, as the drink resonated with Tala’s authority, the fox seemed to feel it, her ears going back even as she flinched downward toward a crouch briefly.

“The paralytic was a tasty addition, I’ll admit. It gave a nice zing to what would otherwise have been a bit of a disappointing coffee imitation. Now, would you like us to continue as opponents or as passing acquaintances?”

There was a pregnant pause. Then, a soft clapping sounded around Tala.

-What is happening? Have we fallen into a badly written drama play?-

Hmmm… You might have a point. I’ll try to be better.

-Thank you…-

A moment later, a fox-kin clicked into dimensional alignment, sitting on the stool a few down from Tala’s wrought-iron masterpiece.

-...You are taking good inspiration from Rane’s artistry of late.-

Thank you.

The new arrival was as black as the bartender was white, all but his eyes, which were a piercing blue. He was giving a slow clap. “Well done, human. Few are so able to evade all snares.”

Tala grimaced. “I accept your praise only as my due.” She lifted a hand, rubbing at her temples. “It seems that you all are intent on giving me a headache. I do not accept that.”

That response caused a seemingly genuine belly laugh from the black fox-kin. “I am Noc, owner of this slice of Astraya.”

-Huh… the name might be false—it is at the very least incomplete—but I believe he was telling the truth about being the owner.-

Yeah, the feeling of authority coming off him matches the most prevalent one I can sense…

“I give you a pledge of safety and indemnity, and welcome you as a guest within my establishment. No boons or obligations shall be owed or assumed from you to me or any in my employ so long as you have come with peaceful intent and remain so disposed.”

Tala only took a moment to parse that before smiling and nodding. “I accept your offer, withholding all obligations of any kind.”

They exchanged shallow, seated bows. “Get the Mistress a cup of coffee.”

Tala almost frowned, but as the white fox shifted to another layer before returning with the beverage, she sighed. She didn’t have it here… word games are annoying.

The server hesitated a moment. “You may call me Blan. If the paralytic actually was a pleasant addition, would you like some in this drink?”

Tala hesitated, tilting her head to the side. “You know what? Let’s try it. It was definitely the best part of that other concoction, but I’m not sure it will go with the real thing.”

It was only then that she noticed that the original drink was nowhere to be seen.

-It disappeared when Noc came into alignment.-

Thank you.

-Of course, that’s one reason that I’m here.-

Noc chuckled as Blan pulled out a small vial and slowly added drops, checking with Tala as she did so, “The same dosage as before?”

Tala shrugged. “That seems as good a place as any to start.”

Blan nodded, stopping after seven drops.

Noc raised an eyebrow. “Seven? Really, Blan?”

The white fox-kin shrugged, seemingly only a little abashed. “She seemed tough? I was clearly right; though, I underestimated her even so.”

He huffed a laugh. “Very well.”

Tala raised her own eyebrow. “Is that a lot?”

Noc grunted. “One would paralyze me. We generally assume a Refined needs three, and history has shown that to be the case.”

That made Tala glower.

He held up his hands. “No one has died due to our games, Mistress. We extract enough to hurt, and send them on their way, training them in the art of binding words as is our role and has been throughout the ages.”

That caught Tala’s attention. “Your role?”

Noc nodded. “Precisely. We are tasked with the training of the sapient races in the importance of words. Others may have forgotten their place in our world, but we have not.”

Tala considered for a long moment. “So, the dwarves' purpose is to… craft?”

Blan snorted, and Noc shook his head. “No, they learned that and took that role from the gnomes. They were to gather the treasures of the earth, plumb the depths, and secure the lower reaches.”

Tala found herself nodding. This was interesting if nothing else, even if she didn’t believe it entirely. Every culture has to have their own beliefs, I suppose.

“The Elves were to manage the flora, beast-kin the fauna—save those given other, more specific tasks. There are more, of course, but I trust that you get the idea?”

She knew he was leading her to ask, and a part of her wanted to stubbornly refuse on principle. Still, she was curious, so she decided to just go for it, “Where do humans fit into this mythology?”

He laughed, gesturing toward her. “It’s one reason the gated are so suspect, so looked down upon, and a factor as to why it took so long for your kind to even start to be accepted at all.”

She arched her eyebrow again, waiting for him to continue.

“Humans were meant to show what can be accomplished without magic. You were meant to be a testament to the power and majesty of mundanity.”

That… Tala grunted. That made too much sense in one way of thinking. She’d consider the implications later. Even if it was just an ancient belief held by the fox-kin, it could hold truths worth sussing out. “I see.”

She picked up the coffee mug and took a careful drink.

It was good coffee, well brewed, and a reasonable temperature.

The paralytic didn’t change the taste at all, as was expected from something meant to be a hidden toxin.

What it did do, was inspire a magical punch across her whole body to accompany the mundane one from the natural caffeine in the coffee.

The previous drink had had caffeine, but it just hadn’t been the same.

Tala found herself letting out a deeply contented sigh. “Oh, that’s good.”

Blan gave a bow and smiled. “I am gratified that I was able to provide what you desired.”

Tala took another sip, enjoying the strain on her enhancement inscriptions more than she thought reasonable.

Like a good, well calibrated workout, but for those inscriptions.

-It seems so. They don’t usually get flexed in this way—the bout yesterday notwithstanding.-

Indeed.

Noc cleared his throat. “So, what does bring you here?”

Tala shrugged. “I noticed a fourth dimensional construction, and thought it reminded me of master Lisa’s buildings. It seemed worth checking out.”

Noc grunted. “That makes sense, even if I wouldn’t have expected a human to have been able to notice us. We are a… waystation, a meeting place for our kin. I cannot say any human has ever wandered in here, though we occasionally interact with those who live on the central layer.”

Tala almost frowned at the different term, but realized that ‘central layer’ was simply another word for what she called the superficial. “Do the leaders of this town know you are here?”

Noc tilted his head and shrugged. “Yes, though I don’t know if they are aware of the extent. When I first arrived—from their perspective—they welcomed me and bid me stay as long as I desired. I asked if my kin were welcome as well, and they said that any who cared to come were allowed to stay as long as they wished as well—so long as I did not see them as a threat to the citizenry and wanted them here.” He gave a vulpine grin at that. “There are very few places with such an open invitation around them. It makes this place valuable, and their caveat, including me, gave me a place of power from which to operate.”

Tala huffed a laugh. “So, they would be surprised to learn that you are still here?”

Noc shook his head. “I speak with them on occasion. They have never visited, nor asked to. I believe they are unsure exactly where I live, but that does not concern them. Does it concern you?”

Tala shook her head. “No, but I likely will warn them about your… training of people.”

Noc shrugged. “Do as you wish. I’ll not break my word.”

“We’ll see what I decide. I might simply mention that they should keep an eye out for anyone who goes missing.”

He sighed. “Prejudiced, but fine. We do not ‘disappear’ people, and the nest of dimensional spiders that were doing that was dealt with ages ago.” He smacked his lips. “They were quite tasty.”

Tala blinked a few times. “Well, isn’t that quite the mental image.” She shook her head. “Regardless, I did have one order of business I’d like to address.”

“By all means. You have my attention at the moment.”

Tala grinned. “I want to know what you can tell me about Lisa.”