• Solo • Immunity

[Doran]

Continued from here.

Ymiden 22, Arc 720

Namira looked much like Doran remembered her. It had been more than two cycles since he had last seen the Naerikk, when she had returned from a trip to Ne’haer where they had met for the first time approximately a decade earlier – and brought him a most interesting sword.

She sat in one of the two comfortable armchairs in front of the marble fireplace where a fire burned and filled the room with a soft golden glow, her legs crossed, and a glass of fine red wine in her right hand that ended in sharp onyx nails.

Most of the time the raven-haired woman wore outfits with short sleeves in order to show off her tattoos, but she had made a concession to the relatively low temperatures in Viden and put on a floor length deep blue dress with long sleeves, a bit of a slit and silver fur around the collar.

“Professor”, she greeted him as he walked up to her, inclining his head, and sat down opposite of her. “It has been a while, hasn’t it? Elias told me that you made an important discovery? How fares your magic, by the way?” she remarked and quirked an eyebrow as she glanced at his hands that were lined with crimson markings, his awakening.

When they had last seen each other, he had just received it.

“I’ve made some progress in regard to the latter”, he replied as he poured himself a glass and leaned back in his armchair, occasionally drinking from his wine while he regarded her. For a few moments, there was a thoughtful expression in his blue eyes as he wondered where his mentor that he had fallen in love with was (talking about magic always made him think of him before long).

Eventually, he turned to answer her other question though.

“As for the former, I have created a new field of alchemy and proven that racial traits, such as an Ellune’s resistance to cold or a Lotharro’s endurance can be put into potions. I’m in the process of writing a thesis about it that will hopefully allow me to advance beyond my current position”, he explained in a calm tone of voice.

“Oh”, Namira made and set her glass down on the table between them as she looked at him, her eyes wide.

[Doran]

“I visited Ne’haer again”, Namira remarked in a comparatively casual tone of voice a few bits later. “Just briefly, on my way north. The worst of the famine seems to have passed, but the winter lasted long, and the planting season started late this arc as a consequence, so the city still faces some problems”, she told him, pausing for a moment before she continued.

“The pharmacist’s widow has decided to reopen his business, and judging by what I’ve seen when I stopped by, things seem to be going well so far. She also seems to have a new man in her life, a doctor from the hospital”, she added and shrugged her shoulders slightly before she grasped her glass again and drank some more wine.

Doran nodded as he appreciated the information. Approximately a decade prior, he had owned a home next to a pharmacy in Ne’haer. The proprietor, a human that had died approximately two arcs prior, had been quite a knowledgeable man, and he had often bought his reagents from him, for his alchemical experiments as well as his medicines.

That he had moved to Viden didn’t mean that he had lost interest in the rest of the world. He preferred to stay informed; and besides, he couldn’t help but wonder about the people that he had known sometimes.

Normally, he might have asked Namira for more details because of that, but there was something else that was on his mind now, the object that he had asked her to find for him when they had last met.

During his research in the Prime Atheneum – besides alchemy, he was interested in unusual and magical items – he had found out that certain people were granted an immunity to diseases and infections and asked her to acquire something that had a similar effect.

Sesser, the Blessing of Syroa, had made him far healthier and more resistant to diseases than most people; to his knowledge, the ability in question didn’t grant him complete immunity though, and certain toxins still posed a danger. The object that Namira had, hopefully, brought would be of great use when it came to his work as an alchemist of doctor – and beyond.

“The …” he began and looked at her. He was normally an exceptionally disciplined and patient man; this was something that he was rather excited about though, he had to admit.

“… ring?” she interrupted him and smirked slightly.

“It takes the form of a ring then?” he asked and raised an eyebrow fractionally.

“This particular item does, at least”, she replied and reached into a pocket of her dress in order to remove a small black box from it that she handed to him, still smirking.

[Doran]

The ring was rather simple, a sleek silver ring with hints of black, and it seemed to be just the right size for him. He didn’t put it on immediately though, but closed the box again and placed it onto the table. It was unlikely that Namira had brought him an item that didn’t work or that had harmful effects – she had always been trustworthy before, and she knew her trade well – but still, he wanted to take a closer look at it before he wore it.

“Where did you find it?” he asked, smiling slightly, as he was pleased and raised an eyebrow and added, “Thank you.”

“A merchant, in Lysoria”, she remarked, but she refused to say more – which was something that he accepted, more or less. He understood why she wished to keep her sources to herself (it didn’t keep him from trying occasionally though – which was something that she accepted).

“The wine’s quite good, by the way”, she complimented him a moment later and raised her glass slightly. “Decent alcohol seems to be a bit hard to come by in Viden. I’m not sure why. Are the people in this city so undisciplined that your government has to impose restrictions on the consumption of alcohol to keep them from drinking themselves to death?” she asked before she waved a hand somewhat dismissively.

He didn’t need to answer.

“There are taverns that serve alcohol”, he pointed out.

Over the course of the next quarter of a break, the conversation gradually moved away from magic items, questions of economics and politics and alcoholic drinks, to another matter that the Mortalborn had recently taken an interest in, an interest that they both shared.

“I have decided to make another attempt at learning the Ancient Language”, he remarked. He had already tried to learn it before, the Eidisi that he had talked to back in Etzos had been a questionable teacher at best though; and teaching himself a new language by reading a book and using various dictionaries in order to figure out what different words meant in the Ancient Language had, unfortunately, not led to the desired results.

Common was the most frequently used language in Viden (the Ancient language was only the second-most frequently used language), and a lot of texts were, as he had found out, translated; he wished to eventually be able to read the original versions though, in spite of how hard to learn the Ancient Language was (and how protective the Eidisi were of it) and how challenging learning a language later in life was said to be.

“Ambitious”, Namira replied before she proceeded to share some of her own thoughts on linguistic matters (unlike him, she had some experience in that regard; having studied languages).

Eventually, she bid him farewell though (she had to take care of some other business in Viden), and the Mortalborn took the box with the ring and retreated into his study where he sat down behind his desk in order to take notes about it (and about the things that Namira had told him) in his notebook and study it in more depth before he finally decided to put it on.

[Saint]

Immunity

Doran

Points awarded: 10
Knowledge:
Intelligence: Contact: Namira
Linguistics(Ancient Language) x3
Resistance x1
Writing x1

Renown: -
Loot: 1 Ring of Immunity
Injuries: -
Consequences: -
Skill Usage: Appropriate to level.

Word count: 1,425
Notes:

A nice continuation of Menochoros V, and an interesting way of acquiring Doran's signature item IC. I do appreciate that you took the time to write out how he learned of such items, why he wanted one, and how he got it - it adds more depth to the item, and it was a great way of getting it without having it appear in his inventory out of nowhere.

Namira's a very intriguing NPC, and once she and Doran parted ways, I found myself still curious to know more about their times together! You tied in bits of Doran's past (such as a previous residence near a pharmacy in Ne'haer) with his present, and I'm glad to see that he still thinks about people he's known before.

You're just a little short of 1,500 words, but I don't think the thread suffered any from it, and you accomplished everything I'd expected and more. I hope Doran doesn't have too difficult of a time if he tries learning the Ancient Language - but with his determination, I'm sure he'll be fine either way.

Enjoy the rewards, and feel free to send me a PM with any questions or concerns.