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Bert: Difference between revisions
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Bert's smart enough to be suspicious but so sure that his own intelligence will be enough to keep him from being scammed. He's also desperate enough for recognition and praise and to leave the Smelter that he takes the offer and with no notice/goodbyes sells pretty much all his meager possessions and maybe some borrowed goods and rides with the caravan with little besides the clothes on his back, burning bridges and probably already in debt before they even reach Erith. | Bert's smart enough to be suspicious but so sure that his own intelligence will be enough to keep him from being scammed. He's also desperate enough for recognition and praise and to leave the Smelter that he takes the offer and with no notice/goodbyes sells pretty much all his meager possessions and maybe some borrowed goods and rides with the caravan with little besides the clothes on his back, burning bridges and probably already in debt before they even reach Erith. | ||
The bookseller sort of tells the truth and did get Bert a job with Hadrian's Quill, a sprawling and prosperous operation owned by an Ubrketi man named Hadrian Corvinus. The work copying books, scribing scrolls, and brewing potions turned out to be much harder and stricter than promised and conditions, in a repeat of the Smelter, was more like a sweatshop attached to a high rent flophouse with immediate demands to work off debt. Again Bert not only works and survives but he also picks up new skills through both the grueling work and studying things of interest on his own in what little free time his job allows him. Hadrian's Quill and the flophouse Bert stayed in are located near the [[University of Flannary|University]] and has many faculty and student clients and over the next several months he interacted with most of the various other book/scroll sellers and libraries. Hakani fluency was somewhat easier to learn by already knowing the Dwarven alphabet, and the nearby [[Circus | The bookseller sort of tells the truth and did get Bert a job with Hadrian's Quill, a sprawling and prosperous operation owned by an Ubrketi man named Hadrian Corvinus. The work copying books, scribing scrolls, and brewing potions turned out to be much harder and stricter than promised and conditions, in a repeat of the Smelter, was more like a sweatshop attached to a high rent flophouse with immediate demands to work off debt. Again Bert not only works and survives but he also picks up new skills through both the grueling work and studying things of interest on his own in what little free time his job allows him. Hadrian's Quill and the flophouse Bert stayed in are located near the [[University of Flannary|University]] and has many faculty and student clients and over the next several months he interacted with most of the various other book/scroll sellers and libraries. Hakani fluency was somewhat easier to learn by already knowing the Dwarven alphabet, and the nearby [[Circus Librorum]] branch offered training in exchange for off-hours book copying work. | ||
After several months and working enough to be trusted on solo deliveries Bert is tasked to deliver a large special order of copied books and papers to an estate of a retired Baron, Henri Tourterelle, and warned to do so quickly and politely as the old Baron was a valued customer from a very important and still powerful family with many well-connected relatives among the university faculty and other city old nobility. Baron Tourterelle is also vaguely infamous as an eccentric and ancient shut-in and weirdo. Bert is let in to some Havisham-style residence to deliver the package by some ancient and silent butler and led a library where an even more ancient and decrepit noble sits behind a large table covered in books and questionable arcane apparatuses. Baron Tourterelle quickly checks the delivered items and asks a few questions about the translations and copying which Bert was able to answer as he had worked on them. He is then dismissed and let back out by the butler (no tip). A few weeks later another delivery there is much the same except the Baron asked Bert about some of the specific arcane theories in one of the papers and Bert offered his opinions of it. A few days after that 2nd meeting Bert receives a letter from the Baron directly, encouraging Bert to apply to the University and lays out detailed instructions on how to do so under whatever vague test-in options exist for poor peasants and landless refugees of promise. The Baron even indicates he would also send a formal letter of recommendation to one of his grand-nieces who was involved in the University admittance process. Despite Bert's doubts the admission process works and he is indeed accepted to the class of (1 ya) and finally leaves the flophouse he had stayed in since coming to the city. His "thank you" letter to the Baron is never answered and Bert never meets him again. He later learns the Baron died of old age during his first year of studies. | After several months and working enough to be trusted on solo deliveries Bert is tasked to deliver a large special order of copied books and papers to an estate of a retired Baron, Henri Tourterelle, and warned to do so quickly and politely as the old Baron was a valued customer from a very important and still powerful family with many well-connected relatives among the university faculty and other city old nobility. Baron Tourterelle is also vaguely infamous as an eccentric and ancient shut-in and weirdo. Bert is let in to some Havisham-style residence to deliver the package by some ancient and silent butler and led a library where an even more ancient and decrepit noble sits behind a large table covered in books and questionable arcane apparatuses. Baron Tourterelle quickly checks the delivered items and asks a few questions about the translations and copying which Bert was able to answer as he had worked on them. He is then dismissed and let back out by the butler (no tip). A few weeks later another delivery there is much the same except the Baron asked Bert about some of the specific arcane theories in one of the papers and Bert offered his opinions of it. A few days after that 2nd meeting Bert receives a letter from the Baron directly, encouraging Bert to apply to the University and lays out detailed instructions on how to do so under whatever vague test-in options exist for poor peasants and landless refugees of promise. The Baron even indicates he would also send a formal letter of recommendation to one of his grand-nieces who was involved in the University admittance process. Despite Bert's doubts the admission process works and he is indeed accepted to the class of (1 ya) and finally leaves the flophouse he had stayed in since coming to the city. His "thank you" letter to the Baron is never answered and Bert never meets him again. He later learns the Baron died of old age during his first year of studies. | ||
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Bert picked up on magical studies quickly but first ran up against issues with religious classes when he produced an improved version of the standard Alexandrian ''Guidance'' prayer. Rather than the standard and well-known 68-syllable Ubrekti chant, Bert proved that the actual verbal components of the spell could instead be compacted to only 22 syllables but the resulting recitation ended with a homophone for a Flannari profanity. His so-called ''Profane Guidance'' cantrip was immediately banned but was spread pretty widely by his classmates and likely still exists among current University students. Bert learned from the official reprimand to hold his tongue and avoid offending but likely has an even poorer opinion of the church/clerics as a result. | Bert picked up on magical studies quickly but first ran up against issues with religious classes when he produced an improved version of the standard Alexandrian ''Guidance'' prayer. Rather than the standard and well-known 68-syllable Ubrekti chant, Bert proved that the actual verbal components of the spell could instead be compacted to only 22 syllables but the resulting recitation ended with a homophone for a Flannari profanity. His so-called ''Profane Guidance'' cantrip was immediately banned but was spread pretty widely by his classmates and likely still exists among current University students. Bert learned from the official reprimand to hold his tongue and avoid offending but likely has an even poorer opinion of the church/clerics as a result. | ||
He loved the access to the libraries and facilities and made the usual friends (mostly other fucked up arcane and crafting nerds, a few Magicians "Physical Kids"-style friendships if nothing else) and rivals (rich assholes, etc). For his senior project (~1 ya) Bert wrote a paper disputing part of paper written a few years earlier by the current Royal Magus, [[Elodie Monceau]] (class of ???? 10-50 ya). Bert wrote the Royal Magus directly, arguing against | He loved the access to the libraries and facilities and made the usual friends (mostly other fucked up arcane and crafting nerds, a few Magicians "Physical Kids"-style friendships if nothing else) and rivals (rich assholes, etc). For his senior project (~1 ya) Bert wrote a paper disputing part of paper written a few years earlier by the current Royal Magus, [[Elodie Monceau]] (class of ???? 10-50 ya). Bert wrote the Royal Magus directly, arguing against her theoretical methods with examples from those papers which Bert personally translated and attempted to model with some over-leveled scrolls purchased from his old contacts at Hadrian's Quill. Bert's small-scale project model favored the Hakani results rather than the Magus's predictions but proved to be a bit unstable and led to some minor structural damage in a university lab. The experiment and results were way out in the weeds, major Arcana nerd shit but led to some degree of notoriety and after a brief correspondence a direct presentation before the Magus and several high level professors led to a job offer upon graduation. | ||
===The Department of the Royal Magus (~1 ya)=== | ===The Department of the Royal Magus (~1 ya)=== | ||
Bert graduates with distinction in Arcana courses but more than a few borderline grades as well. Despite the parts he disliked, the University is extremely important to Bert and he will mention it often and pretty much immediately in conversation. (As per the classic joke of "how do you know someone went to Harvard?"). As the newest and lowest-ranking employee of the Department of the Magus who also is a landless peasant with no meaningful connections or protectors, Bert new job has offered nothing besides setting up or cleaning up magical facilities or hunched over a desk copying or translating and probably at least some hazing and utterly meaningless make-work. Bert is unsure if he is being punished or tested or if this is just normal for starting out, but it's a job and as always he keeps learning and continues his own projects on the side whenever possible and of course keeps reading all the important magical papers. | Bert graduates with distinction in Arcana courses but more than a few borderline grades as well. Despite the parts he disliked, the University is extremely important to Bert and he will mention it often and pretty much immediately in conversation. (As per the classic joke of "how do you know someone went to Harvard?"). As the newest and lowest-ranking employee of the Department of the Magus who also is a landless peasant with no meaningful connections or protectors, Bert new job has offered nothing besides setting up or cleaning up magical facilities or hunched over a desk copying or translating and probably at least some hazing and utterly meaningless make-work. Bert is unsure if he is being punished or tested or if this is just normal for starting out, but it's a job and as always he keeps learning and continues his own projects on the side whenever possible and of course keeps reading all the important magical papers. | ||
Some of Bert's reports received replies from the Magus and other other supervisors, and after a few months Bert was asked to report to the Magus's office for re-assignment. Bert is seconded out of the Department of the Magus to the Chamberlain as a low-level but certified trained arcane investigator for a 1-3 year assignment. The Magus predicts Bert should do well in the secondment and specifically reminds Bert to continues to always keep keep meticulous and very thorough notes during this transfer. | |||
== | ===Royal Vaults (a few months ago)=== | ||
Bert is seconded out to to the Royal Vaults division of the Department of the Chamberlain. His new job is the cataloging and testing a backlog of poorly documented magical items that have piled up over the years in the royal vaults. Chamberlain Edmond Élysée makes it immediately clear he does not want to be bothered unless Bert and his associates have thoroughly exhausted all debates first. Bert works directly in this job with a newly ordained cleric, Alain Vaugirard, 6th son of a cousin to the current Hadriarch. Alain was another Arcana nerd a couple years behind Bert in the College d'Argent Plume but on the Cleric path and like Bert is on a secondment from the Church to the Chamberlain Vault Division to thoroughly examine, magically vet, and test these objects and determine if they are safe to leave in royal hands or should be transferred to either the Magus's or Hadriarch's vaults instead. Bert and Alain both know their jobs are to keep the best objects for their respective Departments and thoroughly document everything they aren't able to keep or is claimed by the Chamberlain for the royal vault. They have frequent loud yelling matches but also count on each other to carefully monitor arcane tests and react with casting Remove Curse, Healing Word, etc when needed in the testing process. Like opposing lawyers or politicians their disagreements are mostly in who benefits while maintaining a day to day agreeable working environment. After they have concluded their study of an object they report to the Keeper of the Vaults and she makes the final determination about where a given item should be stored long term, and only in the case of extended arguments is the Chamberlain directly involved. Most of the work could be done much quicker but both Bert from the Magus and Alain from the Hadriarch have been specifically told to take their time and thoroughly test and document every step and both have done so without formal agreement with each other leading to days to weeks of study for every object they have studied and very slow progress. Bert often works on personal projects using the equipment they have setup in the small basement rooms near the actual vaults that they have been provided as testing areas, and it is not unusual for Bert to spend the night in one of the "labs" after working late into the night. | |||
===Celebration of the Infanta (~4 months ago)=== | |||
As the vaults and lower levels of the palace would be locked down and Bert was explicitly told to leave his work for a while, he went to a few of his old haunts near the University. On a whim he purchased mushrooms from a halfling band at his favorite University bar then proceeded to have a very bad night. Freaking out during a show let to hours? of running around and hiding in soiled alleys. Bert has clear memories of a thunderstorm (though official reports list no rain or thunder that evening), at one point in his visions he was able to catch lightning bolts and refocus their energy. Most of the things he saw he is willing to admit were drug-induced hallucinations, but he is currently somewhat obsessed with trying to setup a situation where he can be hit with lightning. | |||
'''SPOILER [[Bert's Character Sheet]] SPOILER''' | '''SPOILER [[Bert's Character Sheet]] SPOILER''' | ||