The Home of Zou, Mentor and Musician

[Jaspenellar]

Naris smiled broadly, mistaking the strange man's invitation as an acknowledgment for understanding their purpose for standing on his doorstep. The only sign of her taking in the fact that his nose was rudely missing was a polite blink of her wide eyes, and not missing a beat, stepped inside the threshold.

Koloque, on the other hand, looked quite unsure at the disfigured face and the strangely coloured eyes. His quiet assessment was slowly burgeoning and he decided that further interaction was required for him to fully trust the man. His sister's eagerness to accept the man for what he offered, along with his ever present need to be at her side, shuffled him inward after Naris.

"Sir, we wouldn't impose on your breakfast, we had something from the inn prior to leaving this morning," Naris chattered on happily. "I'm Naris Jaspenellar, and this is my brother Koloque."

As his sister made the informal introductions, Kol took the opportunity to glance around the residence. Certainly, this might be what the pair had been looking for, as there were innumerable books lining the shelves along the walls. His eye caught a pretty girl astutely eating breakfast at a tiny table on the far side of the room. Reddening, Kol abruptly dropped his gaze as he realized he was staring.

[Aura Thesin]

Aura followed the conversation as they came in, slowly putting another bite into her mouth and chewing. It didn't seem like Zou knew the pair, but it appeared he was accustomed to visitors coming to his house seeking his help. She wondered exactly what it was he did during the day, when he wasn't at a tavern and bringing strange women home at night.

She smiled tentatively at the pair, returning the big man's stare for a moment before turning her eyes down to her plate, just before he also broke the gaze. She wondered at the strange pair, as she had thought she had heard the little one introduce the large man as her brother. It was odd that one of such diminutive stature would come from the same parentage of someone who was that much larger. Perhaps they were only half-siblings...

Aura cut another bit of the pancakes off, again looking up at the pair as she put another bite into her mouth. She chewed, and waited to see what was to come next.

[Zou]

"I'm Naris Jaspenellar, and this is my brother Koloque."

Zou bowed slightly at the waist, back as stiff as his balance nerve would allow for, and smiled serenely. He fetched two chairs, and some pillows, as he spoke. "I am Zou, and this is my breakfast guest, Aura. I am willing to venture that you will find use for these chairs, breakfast or no. Please, sit with us and have some tea, at the very least."

Sitting back down, he waved them towards the table, and scratched discreetly behind his ear. His half-closed eyelids were in danger of letting go of their worries entirely, and it was a swig of rather uncomfortably hot tea that prevented their doing just that. His eyes bulged open as steam billowed out of his nasal cavity, and his scalded tongue let loose a "HUUURGH!"

Now he was awake.

[Jaspenellar]

Naris politely climbed into the chair, the simple thing being not too tall for her, though her feet still dangled as they usually did when she sat in human-sized chairs. Her human brother remained standing and continued to look around the setting, not terribly suspiciously but in a mere curious manner. His gaze roved everywhere but the girl who was calmly finishing her breakfast. The two startled at Zou's sudden screech in the same style, indicative of ones who have been together for long enough to have adopted each others mannerisms. His reaction was easily explained by the tea cup moving swiftly away from his mouth and the odd couple settled just as quickly as they had startled.

"You poor thing," Naris murmured as she looked helplessly at their host. Koloque merely looked aghast at the steam flowing through the torn hole that was not his nose, unable to disguise his slight dismay at the disfigurement.

[Aura Thesin]

Aura was about halfway through her meal when Zou managed to get everything in order to re-join her for breakfast. She smiled at the siblings and took another bite, all the while chiding herself on taking more than she was able to eat.

Aura paused and lifted a brow alarmingly at Zou when he made the horrific noise, watching as steam drifted through his nasal cavity. At least it seemed like the heat bothered him less when he scalded himself, since it evacuated the area quickly without having the trouble of a nose to keep it within.

Aura sat back from her plate and tried not to giggle at the sudden thought. She let out a contented sigh as she rubbed her full, flat stomach. There was still one pancake flap sitting on her plate, untouched, and she waved towards Naris and Koloque.

"Are you sure you wouldn't like anything? I made enough for the two of us to have seconds, but I've found once again that my eyes are larger than my stomach." She winked, more at ease then Zou would yet have seen her.

It was the act of doing things that resided in normalcy. In the little shack she had found outside the city, she had almost been able to forget her plight, which was one of the reasons she decided to come into Marn.

[Zou]

As Zou recovered, he put up a palm to indicate that he was quite alright. Water welled up in his eyes as he stifled what would surely have been a rather messy sneeze, and he made a small snorting, choking sound that was hollow and a tad cavernous for lack of a nasal passage to filter the sound. Not quite yet able to speak, he reaffirmed Aura's offer of food by waving once more at the table, not picking up on her slackened nerves on account of his own troubles.

Once he got his breathing back fully, he smiled at all three. "Please, help yourselves to the tea, it's quite... refreshing."

[Jaspenellar]

The gnome, being ever the polite and unassuming one, smiled at Zou's offer of the tea and reached across the table to help herself. The cup fit snugly in the palm of one of her hands, but was not big enough to require using both. She had long become accustomed to having to deal with human-sized glassware and table things, but Naris could still appreciate the smaller things in life. Koloque made no move to reach for the hot beverage and shifted uneasily behind Naris's chair before finally giving in and pulled the last chair to the side to sit. It creaked in protest under the bulk of the large man but held his weight, even as he continued to move from side to side in a slightly agitated manner. In spite of himself, Kol's eyes kept furtively looking at the pancake sitting untouched on Aura's plate. Although they had a small breakfast at the inn they had stayed at, the barrel-chested man had been travelling on the road long enough to know that the next meal was not always predictable.

"Are you sure you wouldn't like anything? I made enough for the two of us to have seconds, but I've found once again that my eyes are larger than my stomach."

At the girl's behest, he offered a small, shy smile, unbecoming from any other man of such brawny proportions, but somehow fitting the simple Koloque. With as much grace as he could muster, Kol pulled the plate over to his corner of the table. The pancake disappeared within two bites.

After a short, awkward silence, Naris began to speak, looking pointedly at Zou. "So, kind sir, we were looking for something, and perhaps your knowledge would be as extensive as your hospitality." The gnome lowered her voice in a slightly overdramatic, but not necessarily unwarranted manner. "We've heard tell that you are one of the... proprieters of Marn's underground magic society."

Kol gave a sidelong glace to his sister. The man they had talked to last night, as shady as he had appeared, never gave them a clear description of the one they were seeking. He would have at least mentioned the lack of a nose, as grisly as it was, that would have been the easiest descriptor. The blond Jaspenellar brother had a sinking feeling they had been scammed, paying for useless information from a greedy, unsavory character. He started to wonder if Marn even had such a "society". Unfortunately, Naris's blind search for more books like the ones on her back had her stubbornly refusing to listen to her sibling. He gave a short frown and looked back at Zou to see his reaction.

[Aura Thesin]

Aura returned the shy smile of Koloque. She was glad that both he and Zou, at least, seemed to enjoy the meal as much as she did. It did nothing so much as put her in mind of home, and eating meals with her father. Shrugging away the saddening thought, she turned her mind to what the short Naris had to say.

Her brows went up at the mention of an underground magic society, and she turned her eyes on Zou to also see his reaction.

This was something she might need to know about in order to get home. It might turn out that early morning guests to this mentor and musician's home might help Aura find her own way. She even went so far as to lean slightly forward in her chair.

[Zou]

Zou may very well have been what his diminutive house guest thought he was, but he hadn't made it for a full decade in Marn by putting up signs about it. Aura's interest made the goat shifter curious, and he resolved to take it up with her later, under more intimate circumstances. After all, she already knew some of what he could do, and had yet to turn him in for it.

To the pair of strangers, he grew visibly cooler, leaning back and giving their words and their eyes the full scrutiny of his analytical mind. He wasn't much in the way of subterfuge, but he liked to think himself a decent judge of character. The pair seemed kind enough, but he would still have to play this game carefully.

"Miss, I can't say I know exactly what you mean by that, but I do happen, as an occupational hazard, to be acquainted with some very strange people, and I might be able to help you out, if you're having difficulties. Would you indulge me in my curiosity by sharing your troubles?"

He topped up everyone's tea mugs as he spoke, and upon setting the pot back on the table, drew down his sleeves and crossed his arms together in front of him.

[Jaspenellar]

As glib as the gnome appeared, she did not lack complete situational awareness. Both siblings took note of Zou's changed demeanor, but given city's intolerance toward their subject, neither were particularly put off. In fact, Koloque leaned forward slightly, his earlier doubts starting to waver, and Naris smiled broadly. Naris, ever the forward and honest, came abruptly to the point. She unshouldered her large bag, having ample room left on her seat to pull one of the volumes from it without having to put it on the ground. She chose the thicker one, laying it on the table with a solemn reverence like a priest with his scrolls. Even though the book was nearly as wide as the gnome's torso and thicker than Koloque's handspan, the ease with which she handled it belied a familiarity of years of handling.

The cover was so old it no longer had any discernible color. The only remarkable feature was a peculiar symbol in the center. It was vaguely triangular in shape with rounded corners and an intricate detail woven in the middle.

With a broad, proud smile Naris lightly traced her hand over the book. "We can'tell where thiscomes from buti'vbeenable to'terpret th'lettering'side." In her eagerness, the gnome began to run her words together.

[Zou]

Zou had difficulty containing his excitement as the book was brought onto the table. His gentle violet eyes widened when he saw the intricate little symbol, framed by a round-edged triangle, on the well-worn front cover. What in the blazes a book like this was doing in the hands of a gnome, and in Marn no less, Zou could only wonder.

"My word. A book like this belongs in a moisture-controlled display case in a land more tolerant and learnéd. I have seen the symbol and read the writings of the scribes of legend that tell of it, but never in my life have I dreamed that I might one day see a tome of knowledge sealed with the mark itself on my kitchen table. It must be thousands of years old!"

He made no move to touch it, but held his hand out reverently, gingerly, as if afraid that the slightest breath of air, stirred by his fingers, could reduce the hallowed volume to dust. "You say you have deciphered the lettering on the side? What does it say?"

He looked at the lettering as he spoke. It was a runic alphabet, it looked to be an early form of Zhaltevi lorist cipher, although he could not be sure.

[Jaspenellar]

As if Zou's chill manner rapidly evaporating wasn't enough, his recognition and eager babbling confirmed to Naris that they had stumbled into the right place. Too engrossed in trying to glean more information from the noseless man to even cast a 'told-you-so' glance to her brother, the gnome leaned forward happily and plunged into the book. She unceremoniously opened the thick volume, turning the thick, paper-like pages with quick, delicate fingers. Though Zou had exclaimed about the book's aged, delicate state, it in fact seemed to have been built to last and faded as the pages were, they seemed to be in no harm of disintegrating on his table.

As she reached about a third of the way through, her dark brown eyes scanning familiarly through the glyphs, a peculiar, faraway cast came over her face. The gnome's voice fell a little softer, as if she were speaking to a baby, though her speech still came at a fast, excited rhythm. " 'veread upto here, various spellswritten'n'this weirdlanguage 'ardta'splain howta'read... should prolly'monstratatit instead..."

Her words did not exactly cease-instead she half closed her eyes as she continued to mumble in some incoherent language, vaguely reminiscent of Zhaltevi, though not translatable in the modern version of the tongue. Brow furrowed in concentration, losing awareness of the other occupants in the room, for a long moment, nothing happened. Then, with a slight vibration of magical energy, the tea cup in front of Naris began to rise from the table.

Koloque watched, his expression mixed with pride and worry at his sister's efforts. Doing this "magic" always tired her, but he had seen her working on this trick before and he knew that she was familiar with this particular spell. It was the same trick she had shown their half-elven sister, Lo'en, ages ago. He cast a glance at Aura to gage her reaction to this. As nice as she looked, if she bolted for the door, he wouldn't hesitate to grab a hold of the much smaller girl.

[Aura Thesin]

Aura simply watched the conversation between the two, listening to things that were said that she barely comprehended, when they weren't simply incomprehensible.

She leaned back in her chair, letting one hand rest in her lap while drinking some of her tea with the other. She watched Naris as the gnome babbling trailed off and became mumbling under her breath as she closed her eyes. Aura frowned, trying to figure out what the short creature was doing.

It didn't take long for her to figure it out. The tea cup in front of Naris suddenly began to float in the air. Aura nearly spit her tea across the table at Zou, but managed to keep her mouth closed as she pushed back and stood. Instead of spitting, she swallowed the tea as her chair tumbled over behind her, which created an almost as calamitous result. Aura began to cough on the tea as it slipped into her lungs instead of her stomach.

She backed away from the table, though made no move towards the door. Coughing violently, Aura held up a hand to ward back anyone who might be coming forward to help her. She dropped to a knee and coughed a few more times, less violently, as she cleared the last of the tea from her lungs. With a swallow, and ignoring the twin tears dripping down her cheeks, Aura finally got control of herself.

"If that's ..." Aura swallowed and held off another cough, "If that's magic, then why can I see it?"

She only then realized that the big man and his little sister didn't know that magic affected her differently. Or not at all, but that had yet to be fully determined. She looked up into both of their eyes, looking for any type of suspicion, fear or anger.

Aura suddenly didn't want to be in Zou's little house anymore.

[Zou]

Zou watched with a smile on his face as his diminutive houseguest performed a suspensor incantation, and did a rather good job of it too. He would have clapped, had not Aura's sudden and negative reaction given him greater concerns. Leaping up in a manner similar to Aura's quick and awkward rising, he tottered over to her. Gods, am I still drunk? he thought idly to himself.

He remembered the empty feeling that had washed over him at her touch the previous night, but put it out of his mind, braced himself, and put a hand on her shoulder. It was always more important to behave in a gentlemanly manner, regardless of the cost. As the feeling came back, he found himself suddenly at a loss for words, but he stood there nonetheless, leaning over and peering at Aura's tear-stricken face as she righted herself and managed to speak again.

"If that's magic, then why can I see it?"

Zou still didn't have an answer, and instead simply looked at her with concern in his eyes. But the question was a good excuse to take his hand from her shoulder and stroke his mane pensively. He pulled it away as though removing it from a burning plate. A burning plate whose secure and happy feelings he would go to any lengths to preserve.

[Jaspenellar]

Koloque noticed the pleased look on Zou's face, but he was not prepared for Aura's confused reaction. He could have anticipated hate, disdain, disapproval, or suspicion from any resident of Marn, but her utter shock and bewilderment threw the large man into confusion. Never mind how pretty the girl was though, he would not risk his sister's security for anyone, and, at a loss for anything else to do, Kol moved to the doorway and planted himself in front.

The gnome was startled from her concentration by the sudden commotion, though she had the wherewithal to thrust her hand under the cup as the spell broke. The eight inch span between the cup and the table gave Naris plenty of time to catch the china before it smashed back down to the table. She remained seated, placidly looking at Aura and then to Zou as he tried to comfort her.

Both blue and brown pairs of eyes widened at Aura's exclamation. The siblings exchanged a long glance before Naris turned back to Zou in time to see the peculiar retraction of his hand from her shoulder. Filing that away for later investigation, Naris cocked her head toward Aura.

"Why wouldn't you be able to see magic?" She asked in her very forward, pointed manner. Kol's eyes reflected the same question as he crossed his arms across his thick chest, looking very much a permanent, fixed obstacle in front of the doorway to the street.