(no subject)

[littlemuffinmage]

Characters: Kori and anyone else
Open? Very!
Where: The castle library
When: the 5th of Rebirth's Height, Morning


As often he was, Kori was sitting in the impressive looking, but not quiet as impressively stocked library, his own personal library of huge leather bound tombs stacked around him. Because he'd been told that the Heroes might be coming to see him for information, he'd already summoned a large tray of breakfast treats of all sorts and had already powered through quite a few muffins already.

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[for_that_i_run]

The Commander's first objective was discovering as much about this place and its magic as he could. Only when he had a better grasp on the situation could he form any kind of viable plan. So of course when he heard about the library and the castle's resident mages Eagle made it a point to stop by to see if he could learn anything useful.
What he had not been expecting was the small boy sitting behind a table eating muffins. Maybe this place was like Cephiro and this boy was more powerful than he looked? Of course it could be equally true that he was just some servants child having a nice breakfast snack in some out-of-the-way place. There really was only one way to find out.

"Good morning. Would you happen to know who I could ask to find out more about the magic of this world?" Eagle smiled and gave the room a quick inspection. The boy did seem to be the only one around. "I was told I might be able to find out more about this world in the castle's library."

[littlemuffinmage]

Eagle was rewarded with a very large, childish smile. "You can ask Kori!" the boy chirped cheerfully. "Kori knows almost everything about magic!"

[for_that_i_run]

"Are you one of the mages then?"

It wasn't so odd. Clef looked like a little boy too and he was the most powerful mage on Cephiro.

[littlemuffinmage]

Kori, however, had very little of the poise that Clef had, not having the years of knowledge and experience. Or even manners.

"Kori's the best of the mages," he preened. "The most powerful White Mage in all the land!" There was a tone to the boast that seemed far more likely to come from an old man than a young boy.

[for_that_i_run]

"Then since you are the most powerful mage," whether he believed that or not Eagle still chuckled, quite amused by the boasting, "maybe you could tell me more about these thorns your world is having trouble with? When did they first appear and what have they been doing? Anything you can tell me about them, even if it seems trivial, can only help."

[littlemuffinmage]

"Not sure when they first appeared, they'd already grown a lot by the time they were found, during the last Great Heat." Kori's tone was starting to even out to be more serious as he spoke, losing it's childish edge. "Since they were found, they've been expanding outward, devouring the land and anything they come in touch with. They even grew in the Great Cold, when nothing else does. And Kori can't destroy them with magic," he near pouted, childish tone returning in his unhappiness. "Tried everything!"

[for_that_i_run]

"It even withstood magic?" That didn't bode well. "Have you noticed that these plants have a weakness of any kind? Maybe if they have defense against magic they might be weak to swords?"

[littlemuffinmage]

"Swords can cut them, but they grow back really fast and the more that cut at them the faster they grow."

[loyalbeyonddeath]

It was only a matter of time before Fakir wound up in the library. Not to do research, but to find something to occupy his mind on the nights he couldn't manage to fall asleep. The misplaced stacks of books gave him pause. He peered over its edge.

"I don't think whoever keeps this place up would appreciate you making forts out of the books."

[littlemuffinmage]

Kori shot him a dirty look, turning his nose up. "It's not a fort." The haughty tone was ruined by him taking a big bite out of his muffin.

[loyalbeyonddeath]

"It must be a castle, then," Fakir said, plucking one of the topmost books up.

[littlemuffinmage]

"Leave Kori's book alone!" The boy half whined, reaching out to grab it back.

[loyalbeyonddeath]

Well. That tone seemed familiar, but Fakir couldn't precisely place where from. He let the book fall into Kori's grubby little hands. It wasn't worth the whining.

"They do let people stay in the castle, you know," he said. "You don't have to camp out here."

[littlemuffinmage]

"Not camping! Kori studies here!" the boy pouted, arms crossing. "Kori lives in the White Mage Tower," he scoffed, turning up his nose.

[loyalbeyonddeath]

Of course he lived in a tower. Hopefully he wasn't another boy princess. Fakir had had quite enough of that confusing situation.

"How old is Kori, exactly?"

[sorcerous]

A boy. So very young, and Loki searches for any hint of his own youth in the golden hair and the cheerful aura.

He finds none.

So he steps in, sweeps in, and starts with his requests right away:

"I require a map of the kingdom, of the surrounding area, and the occupied section," he says. "As well as any books of curses you have involving thorns."

[littlemuffinmage]

Kori blinks up from his book before clapping his hands together, causing the books and muffins to vanish from the desk, replaced by a much better drawn map. After a moment of carefully thinking, he reaches into the air to pull out five different thick, leather bound books, which slowly levitate down to rest next to the map.

[sorcerous]

"Well-wielded," remarks Loki, absently, regarding the magic, and he focuses on the map. Traces the route to West Haven and hums to himself.

[goldeneyeball]

It hadn't been a good night.

JW had received a room but hadn't done a whole lot of sleeping. He mostly stared at the ceiling and tried to wake up over and over. It never happened. When the sun came up he was still in a castle and he was still a wizard and he was still expected to fight some horrible thorny evil. Great.

Maybe this was how Dorothy felt.

As he started another day of moping around the castle a smell got his attention. A familiar, muffiny smell that smelled of home. Maybe if he followed it...

...no, JW, that's stupid and you're stupid for thinking it.

The wizard-to-be found himself in the library and in the presence of muffins. D8 OH GOD HE WAS SO HUNGRY he hadn't even realized it with how angry and miserable he'd been. James scurried up to the table where the littlest mage sat and pointed at the plate.

"How much are those?"

Nothing was free. NOTHING. Unless you stole it.

[littlemuffinmage]

Kori looked up from his books, mouth open to answer before it closed and he blinked, head tilting. "Cursed eye?" he asked, curiosity utterly focused on the sickly yellow.

[goldeneyeball]

JW had already reached into his robe sleeves, hoping maybe a hat would be a good thing to trade for something to eat, but the boy's question stopped him.

"Uh..." He retracted his hand from his sleeve and rubbed at the corner of said eye. He couldn't help sounding impressed and a little self-conscious. "Yeah..."

[littlemuffinmage]

"What's it do?" Kori chirped, shifting to stare at it more closely. "Never seen a curse like that before!"

[goldeneyeball]

JW leaned away out of reflex. He'd been poked right in the eye before. By curious children no less! He tolorated kids better than folks his age so he didn't bare his teeth or hiss at Kori. "It sees ghosts...y'wouldn't know where the librarian is, would you?"

If he was going to be a wizard, he guessed, it was time to start looking at spell books. That's what wizards did, right?

[littlemuffinmage]

"There's no librarian, just Kori!" the boy explained. "Just ghosts of the dead or all spirits, be they no longer living or never alive?" he questioned, tone shifting slightly from childish to more studious.

[goldeneyeball]

Just...Kori...alright he'd buy that. Why not? The tall man shrugged. "No longer living, I guess. S'what I've seen the most of." He squirmed. It had been...maybe a year and some since Noelle had grilled him about his eye. Kori had more tact about it than she had. "It was hard to tell back home. Sometimes the ghosts get angry because they don't wanna be seen, but I see 'em anyway."

He hadn't done a tone of studying on it but he was pretty sure fae were a whole other ball game. A whole other terrifying ballgame.