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[ZBridges]

Not worth it, in my opinion.  Attempt self study for a novice understanding of magic.  Try to sit in on a lecture, maybe, but feel it out and don't attempt it if it feels dangerous/likely to get caught.

I'd also like to decipher the magic symbols, sometime.

[Naturegirl1999]

I vote for only increasing ability to study magic, both theory and practice, let’s not cut back on sleep

[King Zultan]

Not worth it, in my opinion.  Attempt self study for a novice understanding of magic.  Try to sit in on a lecture, maybe, but feel it out and don't attempt it if it feels dangerous/likely to get caught.

I'd also like to decipher the magic symbols, sometime.

+1

[Naturegirl1999]

Not worth it, in my opinion.  Attempt self study for a novice understanding of magic.  Try to sit in on a lecture, maybe, but feel it out and don't attempt it if it feels dangerous/likely to get caught.

I'd also like to decipher the magic symbols, sometime.

+1

+1

[Devastator]

It seems there is a lot to learn, even simply navigating the library.  There's terms to learn, people to know about, and background information you've got to know before you can dive deeply into magical theory.

That said, you do pick up a few things.  In general, magic is about the manipulation of reality.  It's making one thing into something different, or attaching things to each other that normally don't belong there.  It seems that magic is like color or temperature.. it's a thing that is a property of another thing, and not a thing in itself.  Except it sort of is also a thing in itself, as you can have more or less of it, and you can make other, real things, like energy or what not into magic energy.

What you do get is that you can't have magic energy without any source, except for whatever sustains spirits, but when you have magic energy in something it can last a long time if used carefully.  So if you had a flaming sword, you'd need to refill it over time with more fire energy.

Still, you don't have nearly enough knowledge for anything practical, or identifying what runes are and what not.


You are dreaming again.  This time you have a bit of a strange point of view.  You are a similarly small immaterial creature, and you are standing on the saddlebags of a horse, which is currently being held by the reins by a man you haven't seen before, who you know is connected in some way to the evil.  He is talking to another man, presumably the stable keeper, and looks to be stabling his horse for the time being.

Spoiler: Status (click to show/hide)

Week 8

Assets and Abilities:
Prestige = 2
25 silver.
Concealable fighting dagger
Shun Ziji's dark blade.
Steel Dao.  +1 Combat.
Assassin's signet ring.
Adventurer's diary (partially studied)
->Information on southern jungle nations
->Secret locations in southern jungle.
->Information on spiritual beings, spiritual being society, spiritual being outlook.
->Information on animal life of the southern jungle
->Information on magical beings of the southern jungle
->Instruction on spirit-related magical rituals.  Versatile dust triggering rune.  Thought communication? rune?  One ritual remains.
->Instruction on an unknown magical field.
->Instruction on wilderness survival methods
->Instruction on what seems to be the language of the southern jungle nations.
->Instruction on an unknown language.
Miscellaneous magical diagrams, captured from one of your dreams.  Uncertain accuracy.

Skills:
Charming, +1
Combat, +1/+1.  Unarmed combat training.  Also applies while armed.
Magic:
Dabbling magical theorist
Versatile Dust triggering rune.

Allies:
Huan Zhang, diplomat, 2 prestige, 0 favors.
Li Song, martial arts student, 0 prestige, 0 favors.
Upscale Weapon Shop.

Enrolled in advanced Dao training, -2 actions a week, -2 silver.
Appointment for week 9 to have the Black Blade fully identified.

[ZBridges]

Identify the dialect and ethnicities of the men.

[Devastator]

At no point during these visions have you ever heard any sounds.  As for ethnicities, these are foreigners, and they seem to be from different ethnicities, but there are no obvious signs of what particular region they're from.

[Naturegirl1999]

Look to figure out where they are headed

[ZBridges]

Read their lips.  Check the horizons for identifying landmarks.

[Devastator]

(The horse is being left here, not taken out.)

(Also, lip-reading in a foreign language is something you cannot succeed at.)

Outside of the stable, there is a town with wooden walls.  The terrain is rocky and lightly forested, and you see a couple of rough dirt roads.  The sun is high in the sky, not making for any clear compass direction, but there are distant mountains in one direction.  The town doesn't seem alert, with the gates standing open and no guards in the vicinity.  There are a fair number of people around, who mostly look like the stablekeeper and not the traveller.

[ZBridges]

Hmm a foreign language, daytime, and foreigners.  Everything points to something very far away.

Look for scripts or examples of written language in the area.

[Naturegirl1999]

Hmm a foreign language, daytime, and foreigners.  Everything points to something very far away.

Look for scripts or examples of written language in the area.

+1

[King Zultan]

Hmm a foreign language, daytime, and foreigners.  Everything points to something very far away.

Look for scripts or examples of written language in the area.

+1

+1

[Devastator]

You fly into town, and look for some writing.  It takes you a few minutes, with most signs being pictures, but you eventually find a price list outside a shop.  They use different numbers as well as different lettering, and you cannot recognize the writing.  It isn't your language, nor is it one of the ones you recognize, such as the script from the southern jungle nations, nor is it the same as the unknown one in your book.  This one seems more angular and many of the characters are variations of each other, whereas the unknown language was mostly made of loops and circles and whorls.  It's also not the language of the western Steppe, which you haven't seen much of, but you know that's written vertically where this is clearly written horizontally.

At that, you wake up.

The weather this week continues excellent, with only a few brief sun showers to keep down the dust a little, and to keep the crops from getting too dry.  The city is a little less well, with a major warehouse of tools and manufactured goods knocked over by what was presumably a large gang in a single night.

Your martial training doesn't start well, with your instructor being overly harsh and critical, seeming to imitate her master a bit too much.  You do learn a few things, but at this point you haven't really learned that much.

Four actions remain this week.  You also have an appointment to have the Black Blade fully identified.

Spoiler: Status (click to show/hide)

Week 8

Assets and Abilities:
Prestige = 2
23 silver.
Concealable fighting dagger
Shun Ziji's dark blade.
Steel Dao.  +1 Combat.
Assassin's signet ring.
Adventurer's diary (partially studied)
->Information on southern jungle nations
->Secret locations in southern jungle.
->Information on spiritual beings, spiritual being society, spiritual being outlook.
->Information on animal life of the southern jungle
->Information on magical beings of the southern jungle
->Instruction on spirit-related magical rituals.  Versatile dust triggering rune.  Thought communication? rune?  One ritual remains.
->Instruction on an unknown magical field.
->Instruction on wilderness survival methods
->Instruction on what seems to be the language of the southern jungle nations.
->Instruction on an unknown language.
Miscellaneous magical diagrams, captured from one of your dreams.  Uncertain accuracy.

Skills:
Charming, +1
Combat, +1/+1.  Unarmed combat training.  Also applies while armed.
Some progress towards Dao combat.
Magic:
Dabbling magical theorist
Versatile Dust triggering rune.

Allies:
Huan Zhang, diplomat, 2 prestige, 0 favors.
Li Song, martial arts student, 0 prestige, 0 favors.
Upscale Weapon Shop.

Enrolled in advanced Dao training, -2 actions a week, -2 silver.
Appointment for week 9 to have the Black Blade fully identified.

[Naturegirl1999]

Get the blade identified