Oracular Process

chuklfuk-Today at 1:56 PM

The sun shines brightly on the fields of green, just outside the gates of Castle Davona. The soldiers of Floribar begin to prepare for their departure- Albion stands amongst them, cutting a deal with the supply convoy. He finishes his business, walking away with a sack of gold- he carefully counts his pay, eyes fixated on the coins with a furrowed brow. He pays little mind to the small crowd of people, which parts to avoid him as he strolls through blindly. Fighting in the army meant travelling light- and unfortunately, pawning off whatever merchandise he hadn't already sold at a low price. At least it wasn't at a loss- most of the gear and jewelry had been... borrowed, from Castle Albane, and its recently-deceased defenders would no longer be concerned with a few missing items. All that remained were whatever trinkets he could carry (and conceal), a staff to mend wounds, a tome to defend his livelihood, and his crystal ball- unwieldy to carry around, but too precious to let out of his sight.(edited)

LadyDeme-Today at 2:12 PM

Delphine was packed -- Delphine was nervous, smiling as her heart pounded in her ears. She'd managed to keep a small packmule that had followed her down the inner coast of the Sacred Lake, and now she fussed over it, twining little braids into the mule's grey mane. The instant she let go, the ends began to unravel. With a sigh, she shook her head and shook at the mare's mane. As she inspected the job she'd done securing her belongings, she neglected to notice the stranger wandering, counting his coin, approaching her.

chuklfuk-Today at 2:35 PM

Albion seals the bag of gold shut tighly, with a piece of string- his face contorts into a bit of a frown. It was as much as he had expected, but... it wasn't a terribly large amount, anyways. He would have to do better from here on out. Raising his head as he strolls along, Albion is greeted by a smack to the face- recoiling a little, Albion comes face to face with a large pack mule, staring him down in apparent irritation. Or was it? He didn't exactly speak mule, but it seemed he had entered this one's personal space. After a brief moment, he returns the animal's gesture with a pat on the head and an embrassed grin. "Sorry there."(edited)

LadyDeme-Today at 2:46 PM

"Oh, it's --" Delphine answered on automatic, hearing the voice before she looked up from the bag slung over the mule's back -- a change or two of clothes, a heavy cloak for bad weather, a few books or personal belongings. Staff maintanence. It was only when she looked up that she saw he was talking to the mule, or even that he'd run into it. The mule herself, a patient beast, simply stared at him while Delphine leaned over the top, her expression wide-eyed and a little, if skeptically, concerned. "Oh my. She looks fine, though -- so are you OK there?"(edited)

chuklfuk-Today at 3:02 PM

Albion's grimaces a little and jumps back, startled again- turning his head, he notices a friendly cleric addressing him, from over the mule's back. Of course the mule wasn't here alone- why should he be surprised? "Yeah, I'm fine..." He holds a moment, quickly taking the measure of this stranger- though she had a bit of an ungainly demeanor, her attire gave her away. A noble, no doubt. Likely from Floribar, if she was among the crowd packing their things. It wouldn't do to make such a poor impression on one of the prince's trusted vassals... Bowing his head slightly, Albion grins once again, extending his hand in greetings. "Where are my manners? My name is Albion. It's good to meet you, miss..."(edited)

LadyDeme-Today at 3:30 PM

Delphine saw the shift in his stance and just barely held back rolling her eyes; he was trying to be nice, so it was unfair to call him out on it, but defference because she had a nice outfit left her cold. Balancing the two out inside her head, she smirked at the man and accepted his hand. She gave it a quick shake from an easy grip, and went back to her business. "Delphine. Unless, of course, you meant her -- she's Thistle," She added, patting the shoulder of the mule with some affection. The animals' ear swivelled back and forth, listening to the conversation and zeroing in on her own name. Looking over Albion, she saw the travelling clothes and light supplies -- and, perhaps noticably, the purse he still held, tightly-shut, in his hands. Someone had just gotten paid. "Fresh money, huh? Are you a merchant? Or a mercenary?"

chuklfuk-Today at 3:51 PM

Albion's grin fades a little- his posturing had the opposite of the intended effect. This was going poorly. ...just Delphine? She hadn't mentioned a 'Delphine of Whatever', and the first name didn't ring a bell- either he was unfamiliar with her house, unfamiliar with her name, or he had mistaken her background. "Both, I suppose? If you want to earn a living, you don't always have the luxury to choose. When I still had a home, I was just a fortune teller. Now I'm a sellsword, too."(edited)

LadyDeme-Today at 4:29 PM

A bright chuckle escaped her, rolling around like water over a rocky streambed. The young woman nodded, the coronet she'd pinned up her long braided hair with fading in and out of clear view as she moved. She'd avoided mentioning her family name for about the same reason she'd gone a notch chillier at the formality -- bowing and scraping was not her style. "I suppose you've got a point there; I more meant your intentions here, specifically... But I think I get the shape of it." She especially caught the emphasis of home and she couldn't help but soften, her cheerful expression sliding into something that was still clearly a smile, but tempered and thoughtful. That sort of flexibility may have seemed natural, but she knew people who wouldn't turn to mercenary work to survive, or turn away from what they loved. They were fools, but not being foolish was pretty admirable. She wished she knew how to do it. "These are hard times, that's for sure; sounds like you've got a good head on your shoulders, though. What sort of fortune-telling do you do?"

chuklfuk-Today at 4:47 PM

"Well, I tell fortunes, of course! I..." ...what was the pitch, again? I can see into the future? A little redundant, at this point, and she seemed the skeptical type. Subtlety would be his friend, here. "...well, that's about it, really. I give people a glimpse into the future- all I need is a name, a face, and..." Albion reaches into his left pocket, bulging noticeably with the blocky shape of a crystal ball. He pulls it out- the smooth wooden base rests under an orb of amethyst, eerily matching the shade of his eyes. "...this thing, right here." He flips it out with a flourish- the swirling clouds within the gemstone spin about as he does so.(edited)

LadyDeme-Today at 5:16 PM

"Ah, a crystal-ball kind of fortune-teller; and it matches!" She said, picking her enthusiam back up as she examined it, her eyes flicking back and forth between his eyes and the crystal ball before settling on the former. She herself enjoyed astronomy, though not without skepticism -- she did not believe anything decided your fate but people, and occaisonally dumb luck, but she liked to hear about the math, and she liked to learn about the stars, and she liked the stories. It was good enough. "Any name? Any face?" She asked, obligingly; she didn't believe, but she liked a good show, and a good pitch. The clouds were a pretty touch.

chuklfuk-Today at 5:32 PM

Nice! The show had paid off- he had considered shining a few streaks of light out through the orb, but it might have been a little too blatant. Magic tomes were not terribly subtle. "Yes, indeed- any one. Interested?" Any name and face with gold, generally- but he wagered asking for it- verbatim- would be a poor choice, at least at the moment. That swordfighter had hardly responded well to it...(edited)

LadyDeme-Today at 5:39 PM

She leaned back a little, propping one arm up with the other, rubbing her chin with her hand. A sly smile spreading across her face. She wasn't opposed to partying with some gold, but only if the show was good -- it paid to pay for good showmanship. "I don't know," she said, her tone full of deep uncertainty and thoughtful consideration. "Tell me about your oracular process."

chuklfuk-Today at 6:16 PM

"...Oracular process? It's, uh, rather complicated..." ...Some people just had to pry. A magician never reveals his secrets- and when he had a better reputation, he didn't have to sell himself quite so often- but it seemed he didn't have a choice. "W-well... think of yourself as the earth, and every person in your life as a star. Some are close to you, and others are more distant- almost imperceptible, but even the smallest one has its effect. Some drift towards you, and others drift away. If you understand how the earth moves- and how the stars move, in relation to it- you can piece together what will happen, with a little practice." Albion peers into the crystal ball, as he speaks- he appears to be deep in thought. Maybe. "Every one of us is capable of empathy- think of the crystal ball as a magnifying glass. It gives me a better sense of who you are, and what you, and your friends, and your foes will lead you to do."(edited)

LadyDeme-Today at 8:36 PM

Delphine listened to this with a thoughtful smile, her eyes following his motions intently -- and all the while her mind circling over and taking apart everything he said. He started out nervous; points off. She'd seen him sweat. The stars and planets metaphor was perhaps a bit on the nose, she thought, and might remind the listener, for better or worse, of other options they had available, ones vast and grandiose. On the side of better, this could give them a sense of the largeness and legitimacy of this pretty little bauble and its clever owner. On the other, why not see an astrologist, then, who'd calculate you out -- and, having taken that time to The empathy explanation probably had some truth to it; it was a proof, right? If you understand the present perfectly, you could understand the future perfectly. She nodded along, still smiling brightly. "Oh, wow. That's impressive..." She picked one of her thoughts and handed it to him, tossing others on with an innocent tone. "But why shouldn't I go see an astrologer instead? Or just think very hard about myself -- after all, I've got perfect empathy for me."

chuklfuk-Today at 9:34 PM

"Maybe- and maybe not. We're more familiar with how we feel than anyone else, but we're trapped in our own heads- we never objectively see who we are." She was really working him over, wasn't she? Delphine put on a good performance, but he had lived his life around liars- it was becoming clear she didn't buy it. "Stars are beautiful, and wonderful for metaphor. But let me ask you a question- what do you think makes us how we are? People? Or a few distant lights, in the night sky?"(edited)

LadyDeme-Today at 9:51 PM

She tilted her head this way and that -- this might be growing a little tiresome for both of them, but she did have a good counter-argument or two under her belt, and why not let them fly like doves? "People? But who you meet, and those around you from your first moments, are determined often by the placement of your birth, yes? And this is patterned and reflected, and some would say ordained, by the positions of the stars at that moment: and so perhaps those lights maintain your people, as your crystal ball reflects us." She didn't believe a word she was saying -- it was fairly clear from her expression, bobbing gently in accordance with some internal rhythm. She shrugged, though, and added, with a wide sweep of her hand throught the air, "However... I do admit, your words are intriguing. I think I will buy a reading from you, and see what you can really do. Not here, though; I want something with a little more ambiance than this field. If you don't have ambiance, what do you have?"(edited)

chuklfuk-Today at 10:07 PM

Albion smiles genuinely, a little amused by the tangent about grand celestial implications. Still- he didn't spend this much time pitching to people who had paid him already. "I look forward to it, Delphine- but I'm afraid we'll have to postpone that for now. If we're not ready before long, the army will leave without us."

LadyDeme-Today at 10:27 PM

"Precisely so. I hope your pretty little crystal finds that by the people around us, we'll reach a point with some lovely ambiance," she said with a smile and a nod -- her tone now rather clearly joking, prouncing her words grandiosly. She found the end of the lashes that held the pack to the mule and gave them a last, tightening tug.

chuklfuk-Today at 10:42 PM

Albion responds to the comment with a cheerful hum, not genuinely amused. The humor in war's 'ambience' was a little to dark for his taste- if only thanks to his unsteady nerves. "Take care." He walks off, stowing the crystal ball back into his undersized pocket as he leaves.

==END RP==