orientation ♔ others have excuses | i have my reasons why

[bancroft]

♬ Reasons Why - Nickel Creek

WHO || Thomas Bancroft, Merlin, open if people want to bang into them, just threadjack wherever.
WHAT || Thomas sends for his squire
WHERE || Knight's HQ, outside Merlin's room
WHEN || Wednesday morning
HOW || Actionspam

[Merlin would actually be woken by a bird pecking at his door insistently: a fluffy gray owl, to be precise, that hoots and hoots until he opens the door and then flutters a ways down the hall to land on top of a suit of armor there.  It stares at him expectantly, somehow managing to look quite put out. ]

Comments

[bancroft]

[HE WOULD TELL NOTHING BUT THE HONEST TRUTH, ALAINN. Which is bad enough. He watches her sly-eyed as she tells the story, arms folded casually in front of himself. And lets out a 'hmph' at her glee over relating the tale, though he doesn't look at all put out. It's clear, however, as he swoops in between them, that it wasn't the proudest moment of his life]

Don't let her make you think she came away unscathed from the incident either. Half-elves, unlike fighters, spend a great deal of time around trees, when they can. [And he'll leave it at that, with a mysterious grin, putting an arm around Merlin's shoulder and waving at her] I'm taking the boy on a tour, Alainn. You'll have to save the lessons on modern inconvenience for another time. Not to mention, he's interested in learning what we've got to share when it comes to hocus pocus. I'm sure he'll have plenty of time to catch onto the rest later.

[servant]

[She probably isn't helping her case any. She is, however, painting a very vivid picture in Merlin's mind. And in the process, assuring Merlin that he's exactly where he needs to be. But his own acting skills are good enough that he manages to look more shocked than terribly...terribly amused.]

[It seems there's even more to the story, and Merlin resolves to find it out at first opportunity.]

I've never seen a library like this before. [He confirms the other man's words with a smile.] Or got a chance to talk to many sorcerers or wizards...it was mostly just me.

[attollores]

[She huffs out a breath when he mentions the tree hugging half-elf thing, her face tingeing red again but she can't stop a little laugh from escaping her. She waves a dismissive hand, setting out straightening her things that had been scattered all around her.]

Aye, o'course ye best be gettin' on with the tour I suppose. 'Tis likely the only helpful thing ye'll learn from him, Merlin! [She nods her head towards Thomas, her tone and over-exaggerated gestures once more making it clear that she is completely joking, giving Thomas a wink as well.]

Have fun boys! [She looks at Merlin, giving him a warmer smile.] We can catch up later!

[bancroft]

I've no doubt you will. [He steps in front of Merlin so that he can look back at him and shoot him a insinuating smile, lifting his eyebrows once. Thomas ships it. And then he'll lead him off towards the far door of the library] Come along, then! I'll show you the shop.

[servant]

Yeah, later.

[He smiles back at Alainn, then to Bancroft. Truth be told, he didn't even hear where they're going next. He just follows.]

She's nice.

[Y e p. Still smiling.]

[bancroft]

[Man, does he ever know that look. He'll open that far door and usher Merlin through with a hand on his shoulder, just so he doesn't run into the door frame or anything. And add, squeezing his other shoulder once the door shuts behind them:] Single, too.

[And a nice big smack on the back and a laugh, before he moves ahead of him and gestures dramatically towards the shelves and shelves and shelves of bizarre items. Vials and little boxes, each with labels written on them in cramped hands, contain every type of spell component a magic user might find themselves needing - from dragon fangs to pixie dust to filed magnet shavings.]

[servant]

[Single, too.]

[Merlin blinks at that, and his mind stores that away to pick apart later. He does pause for a moment when Bancroft moves ahead, hoping the heat that he feels in the tips of his ears quickly dies down. For someone who can keep important secrets, he can be transparent about other things.]

[He steps towards the shelves with interest though, recognizing some of the things on the labels. There's an herb that he gathered for Gaius. And another, an ingredient of a troll potion that makes his mouth twist in disgust.]

This is amazing...

[Maybe even more than the books.]

How were all these things possibly gathered?

[bancroft]

Well, keep in mind, they've been at this for hundreds of years, gathering odds and ends for the stores. [A shrug, as he idly picks up a vial and holds it over his head, looking up through the bottom of it] A lot of it's purchased from around the world. Some of it's made or collected by our own mages. They like to keep things on hand for emergencies. [And he'll toss the vial to Merlin reflex save of 14 to catch]

There are plenty of shops in most major cities where one can find this kind of thing - the common items, at least. But the prices might be inflated, or you might find your basilisk tooth is actually a clever fake... Everything here should be the genuine article.

[servant]

[Merlin only falters a little bit when he's tossed the vial. But once he has it, he grips it tight. He takes a peek through the glass to try and figure out the contents, but then decides maybe he'd be better off just putting it back on the shelf. He could've sworn it was peeking back at him.]

My guardian was a physician. I used to help him with such things, herbs and such. Perhaps I could help them.

[bancroft]

Sounds like ideal work for a squire, to me. And I promise you that the head of the Dragon's Fire won't be opposed to giving you plenty of work to do, Merlin or no.