454 NR

  2 Hammer

  An unexpected bright side to volunteering so much at the Hospice is that the healers on hand are very willing to heal “minor damage” like what Neeshka did to my poor hand, so thankfully I wasn’t having to deal with that stinging pain for long. It really makes me wonder what people see in the things, especially with all the fleas and ticks that would normally be found in the city, though I’ve been purging them whenever I happen to notice them in my range.

  Apparently, it’s been noticed, according to the local gossip I overheard while volunteering, but nobody is sure what's been going on or what the cause is. The lack of parasites seems to have resulted in two different opinions. The more laid-back theory is that it’s some sort of divine blessing or similar altruistic work, though none have come forward to actually substantiate being the cause. The more paranoid and cautious voices theorize it being a prelude to far worse intentions, though why it’s specifically blood sucking parasites like this is unknown.

  Is it actually a smart thing to do while trying to keep my powers secret? No, but it still feels like the right thing to do. I’ve been keeping an eye out while out and about for anyone trailing me, and beyond the curious familiar face (mostly Pelsot), there’s been nothing suspicious.

  This winter hasn’t been too bad compared to the previous ones, though having to actually shovel has left me far more sore and tired. At least I was able to get enough silk to help insulate my gloves and boots, they used to be Pelsot’s and had been fairly worn down. They ought to be in good enough condition by the time I outgrew them that Jespa could make good use of them.

  The lizardfolk are similarly thankful for the silk. Most of it wasn’t quite as cut-proof as I’d hoped, but as an insulator and inner layer, it did an excellent job. A lot of the fall and early winter was spent testing out designs with my three assistants to figure out what sorts of designs would end up being the best use for the silk. They had hides and furs they could wear during the cold, but that was somewhat limited given how their scales would rub and scratch whatever was worn.

  So, I focused my efforts on what was most vulnerable to cold and most likely to damage normal fabrics and hides. Their hands, feet, and tails. The first two were fairly simple; there were large gloves easily purchased, and oversized soles for the boots weren’t too uncommon thanks to some of the larger humanoids that would call the city home. The tails were a bit of an interesting challenge, especially due to the variety of sizes and girths between individuals, but we settled on a sort of “sock” that could be cinched tight.

  Our contacts finally came through as well, after having taken a while for them to sift through the options. The trick is finding someone who is in decent standing to act as a sponsor, is open to taking payments, and isn’t so embedded into the upper crust of society that they wouldn’t work with us.

  The meeting is set for the 14th, so fingers crossed they actually work with us.

  14 Hammer

  The meeting went well enough, though I might want to throttle our contact after I pay them.

  I had to wonder just what people considered to be a “normal” wizard if this was who we were recommended.

  Durah volunteered to come with me, as well as Slaan. Laraek elected to stay at the workshop, which, in retrospect, was likely the right call. I think Durah was worried about my safety, though. From what I can tell, he’s used to acting as security and muscle for the trading group for the clan, and he’s quite suspicious of wizards for whatever reason. Slaan was mostly just tagging along for some language practice, though I think he might have harboured some interest in learning magic.

  From what I understood, Persvek Casein, like most lizardfolk clans, really only ever had shamans for spellcasters. There wasn’t typically an arcane tradition to their society, but that might have simply been a matter of it not manifesting. Tales of lizardfolk allying with dragons would suggest there might be some potential for sorcerers to be born, but Persvek Casein didn’t have any recent history of such alliances.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  The wizard though, she was… eccentric. Also a necromancer by trade.

  Thankfully, she wasn’t in a crypt or something, though there were perhaps a few too many pieces of bone-themed decor in her office. Orsik had told me how Necromancy as a practice varied quite a bit, though things like the raising of undead tended to be outlawed in most societies for safety reasons.

  Seraphina Cross might have been a necromancer, but her trade mostly focused on the creation of magical equipment or seances. Allegedly. I couldn’t find any human-shaped corpses with my bugs in the building I met her in, at least.

  Still, though, she agreed to act as my sponsor and intermediary. A twenty percent cut for any payments I had her handle would help ensure her silence. Truthfully, I think she ended up agreeing at least partially because of Durah. Much as he tried to seem large and imposing, she was more interested in lizardfolk boneworking and carvings. The conversation shifted a few times from her sponsoring me and her wanting to custom order some works from the clan.

  She won’t have to do anything for a while, though, not until at least after my birthday a month from now. We’d have to come up with some sort of cover story for how she met me and why she decided to sponsor me, but that can be arranged in the future.

  For now, I had secured a new ally.

  19 Alturiak

  Tayvra’s birthday has come and gone once again, and now I can claim to be eight. Culturally, it’s a big milestone apparently, the lower end for when you might see kids start apprenticing in a craft or trade assuming a strong family tradition for it. The Truboru family is apparently a bunch of sailors hailing from Luskan, but Pelsot gets easily seasick from what was told of me the time when Tulgor tried taking him out on the water for a day.

  I might have to see about Tulgor doing the same with me. In my previous life, I don’t really remember getting vertigo, but it wasn’t like I was really on many boats before getting my powers, and I have a feeling that it likely helped somewhat in preventing it.

  Today went well, though. I invited Orsik over for dinner with us, to which he seemed quite pleased. We ended up having a lot of small snack types of food. Cheese, crackers, toasted bread, dried fruit, and smoked oysters. We’re well into winter, so it isn’t really like there’s fresh produce available. The oysters get harvested a little north of the city, where there’s lots of rocky coastline and are a staple food for winter after being preserved. It’s not really something I had back on Bet; too much pollution for them to be caught locally, and neither mom nor dad had ever really had a taste for them.

  Virla got me a sewing kit for my birthday after I had expressed some interest while she was mending my father’s torn coat. I have the same stuff at the workshop and more, but it gives me something to do when I’m stuck at home, and the workshop doesn’t need managing.

  Pelsot got me a set of practice adventuring gear. A wooden shield, a padded sword, and some worn, padded armour roughly in my size. Apparently, he wants to practice with me, given how surprised he was with me during the adventure. Thankfully, he seems to simply think I have some sort of natural knack for it. Tulgor and Virla were giving looks during the whole gifting process. Time might tell on what sort of thoughts they were actually having, though.

  26 Alturiak

  Seraphina upheld her part of our agreement.

  She helped spin a tale to my parents of how we had met while I volunteered at the Hospice. She had met me whilst I was on my lunch break outside. Naturally, a young girl eating on a park bench on an admittedly warm winter just outside the temple was an oddity, which prompted her to strike up a conversation.

  The conversation had been quite varied, with her verbally testing me in a sense. My ability to discuss philosophy, theology, history, and some minor degree of magical theory, thanks to Orsik, had piqued her interest in me on a more personal level. So she made an offer.

  She’d help cover tuition and recommend me to the youth courses with the Watchful Order, assuming I could actually do well in my classes. She was tentatively interested in an apprentice at some point in the future, but being able to skip all of the boring and tedious work of actually training one from scratch wasn’t of interest to her, so she’d offload that to the guild.

  It was a decent enough tale, such that Tulgor and Virla were willing to jump at the offer. Suspicious, perhaps, but that was because Seraphina had decided that the meeting with my parents was best done in her most wizardly attire. Her wizardly attire made her look like an oversized crow, with a concealing black feathered cloak and a hood that was a bit too pointy, making it seem like a beak.

  Still though, they agreed to let me accept the offer. I’d be starting in less than a week, with a course starting up in the first tenday of Ches.

  So for the second time I broke my weekly scheduled update rule, at least it wasn't nearly as long as the last one.

  The excuse? I lost power literally as I was sitting down to write the chapter last week. For 13 hours. Admittedly I live somewhere where losing power is hardly uncommon, lots of tall trees and powerlines. Still really disheartening, so I just pushed it back a week to get out of the depressive funk from that happening.

  We're finally to 1485, the big year when things actually start happening during the Second Sundering. Taylor's going to be mostly busy with schoolwork now though. I figured I wanted to get all the pre school stuff out of the way so I can put all the early school stuff together.

  That won't be next week though, because the next chapter I plan to be an interlude covering her meeting with Seraphina. Taylor's new wizard friend is going to be important in the future after all, though I think the POV will be a bit of a surprise.