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. ]

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[bancroft]

[He blinks at that, then seems to laugh in agreement, and moves to the furthest door on the left, heading inside and expecting Merlin to follow. It leads to a corridor with a number of doors on either side, and he opens one with gusto, making an extravagant bow and gesturing inside]

I believe you mentioned something about wanting to see "more than one book". After you.

[The Mage's Library is far less impressive than the one on the other side of the castle, but still houses a large number of books, with tables set along the outside of the stacks for study.]

[servant]

[Merlin does follow, increasingly curious about every door that they pass. He steps through the one that's opened, circling slowly.]

Wow, they really are dusty. If I were a better servant, I wouldn't be able to read a word without cleaning this place up.

[Fortunately, he's not a better servant.]

[bancroft]

That's why the gods invented 'clean' spells, my boy.

[servant]

...Oh yeah.

[Merlin grins back at him, as if that hadn't occurred to him.]

I wonder why I never used them more myself. They would've been a huge help with the floors.

[Merlin walks over to one of the shelves, running a finger along the spines of several books.]

Have you read any of these?

Alainn is threadjacking this b/c what else is a mage going to do in the morning but study?

[attollores]

[As Merlin and Thomas walk around the end of the bookcase they would notice Alainn there in the next aisle over. She's sitting on the floor in a patch of sunlight with her back against the wall, feet up on the bench in front of her. She has three huge spellbooks open and spread out around her, and in her hands is her PDA tablet on which she is typing furiously.

She doesn't seem to notice their approach and as they get closer they can tell with a spot check of 10 or higher that it's because she has headphones on, plugged into an iPod on the floor next to her as well. Her feet are bopping to the beet cheerfully, her head bobbing along as well.

For a moment it seems as though she is singing along with whatever tune is coming through the headphones, but with a listen check of 10 or more after a moment they would catch on to the fact that she is singing different phrases in Latin.

One of her hands is up in the air, lightly snapping along to the beat of the song. She mutters the word] Fulgeo [reaching for her iPod at the exact moment. Instantly there is a bright torch-like light coming from the body of the iPod as it points right at Thomas and Merlin. Her eyes jerk up to look at the device in surprise and she ends up shining the light directly into her own eyes.]

Shit! Oww!

[bancroft]

[Thomas watches all this with a look of intense amusement on his face, folding his arms, and leaning against the stacks there cozily]

Not a one. [He sounds suspiciously proud of the fact.] Not my kind of magic. But she could probably tell you a thing or two. One of our mages, in the flesh.

[He casts a sidelong smirk at Merlin] Impressive, I know.

[servant]

So would that make you-

[Merlin doesn't finish, cut abruptly short by the curse and shout of pain. He looks back at Sir Bancroft and tries not to grin too much before approaching Alainn.]

All right?

[He crouches down, eyeing the iPod curiously before glancing back to the other man.]

We've met before. At the feast.

[bancroft]

You poor soul. [But his smile is well-meaning, if not definitely teasing towards the girl]

[attollores]

[Alainn jumps at the sound of Merlin's voice right next to her, not having noticed their approach what with the music and her subsequent blinding. She's still blinking her eyes as she smiles at Merlin, obviously trying to get the spots out of her vision.] Oh, well top o' the mornin' to ye, Merlin! What a surprise to see ye here this early. O'course, I'm right as rain, just did a light spell on myself is all.

[She purses her lips at Thomas's quip, cocking her head to the side and wagging her finger at him.] Poor soul indeed! Ha! And a good morning to you too, Sir Thomas! You're just lucky that light spell wasn't intended for your eyes! [She gives him a wide, goodhearted grin from her position on the floor, very obviously happy to see him and Merlin both.]

O'course, I guess I deserve that for not getting in trouble for that last prank I pulled that you uh...accidentally got tangled up in. Good thing you're a better sport than most!

So, what are you lads up to? [She notices Merlin eyeing her iPod and holds it up to him so he can check it out as she waits for their answer.]

[servant]

I always wake early. Though I did have a little help this morning. [In the form of an insistent owl. Merlin grins between them, at how easily they talk and tease.]

Prank? What prank? [Merlin's eyebrows shoot up at that, because he's also already aware of Alainn's mischievous side. Maybe he'll have to help with the next one - just to make sure Sir Bancroft doesn't get caught in the crossfire, of course.]

He was just showing me the library. It's amazing. [He crosses his arms over his knees, squinting at the device before taking it.] What's this?

[attollores]

[She squints her eyes up at Thomas, knowing that if he got the first word in then he's paint her black as a kettle. She was so not willing to let that happen, instead hunching her shoulders defensively and trying to look as innocent as possible. With a bluff check of 19 she does a fairly good job at first!]

Well, you see Kat and I had set up this little...booby trap in the Hide's training area outside this past spring. It, uh, was an ankle-rope-deal that when you stepped inside the spring snapped and whoever was caught would be yanked up into the air feet first. [Her eyes light up mischeviously as she gets more animated, her words coming out faster and her hands begin to move quickly.]

It was actually quite a tricky piece of magic that we had to work out together, which was really fun! You see, we had to obviously make it invisible so it couldn't be avoided, and then we didn't want it by any trees because why would the melee fighters train by trees? So I had to make sure it was workable in open air, which was tough let me tell ye!

[She suddenly seems to realize that instead of defending her case she was more than likely causing more harm by her words, so her explanation is cut short as her face shades a soft red, giving Merlin a "whoopsie" face.]

Well uh... Sir Thomas just so happened to be the one training that day and um... in the middle of a mock-fight also happened to be the one to spring the, um, trap. We had originally intended to catch someone who wasn't a... Dragon's Claw, but in the end it was much more hilarious how it turned out!

Oh, and this is an iPod! You can listen to music with it and lots of other stuff, I can show you how to use it if ye want?

[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.