Infinite Consortium, Monday

[deathsmajesty]

Today's shipment was a pair of complementary goblets. The first one earned a sneer, the second a roll of her eyes. "Why do artificers always have more talent than taste?" she grumbled as she set them in the window, along with the day's sign. "Imagine, with those abilities, they might have created something actually pleasing to the eyes."

And then she was off to go threaten lecture the chair about behaving while her advisee was present. It was being particularly recalcitrant lately; with Dean absent, it was lacking in enrichment. Hmm. Perhaps she would tell Sairis one of his duties included walking the chair.

Chalices of Life and Death
The sweet taste of hope's promise and the bitter taste of life's only certainty...

Only certainty? Ha! She was proof that wasn't true.

Comments

[sairis]

Sairis took a look in the window and frowned at the goblets, not at all sure how that would be a very popular party trick. Who wanted to taste those? Then he mentally shrugged and went inside.

"Magus Liliana?" he called while looking carefully around.

[deathsmajesty]

Well, one healed you and the other--

Well, the other, you gave to someone you didn't like.

"Over here, Sairis," she called from behind the check-out counter. "Do you like tea? I have a kettle going."

[sairis]

That was not reassuring about the sorts of things you sold!

"Yes, thank you," Sairis said, coming to join her. "Does it use electricity?" Everything here seemed to, and he was now very curious about it.

[deathsmajesty]

Oh, it didn't kill a person. Well, not unless they were already very close to death. Or it was used multiple times.

Listen, if people wanted to murder individuals, that was their business. Liliana only kept the really dangerous stuff locked away.

"Oh yes, it's a much more convenient than just placing it on the stove." Which also used electricity. "You can even choose what temperature to keep the water at, depending the type of tea you're planning to brew."

[sairis]

"I don't know whether to start by asking about the electricity that lets you do that, or why tea uses different temperatures."

He thought you just made the water hot. Look, Sairis wasn't exactly a gourmand.

[deathsmajesty]

Liliana was just going to sigh. Oh this poor, cultureless child.

"My knowledge of electricity is limited, my knowledge of tea and temperatures much less so, in case that influences your decision any."

A loud CLANG came from behind him. "Just one of my servants, fetching the tea supplies." Like, what, was she supposed to do that? Hardly.

[sairis]

"The tea, then," Sairis said. "Why do you need different temperatures?"

He turned to watch whatever had caused the clang.

[deathsmajesty]

There was a slightly oversized suit of armor walking through the aisles, heading towards a door in the back of the store.

"It depends on the leaves and the blend, darling," Liliana explained. "Delicate greens and whites will turn bitter at a temperature that doesn't even begin to unlock the flavor of a robust black or brewing an herbal. So unless you enjoy your tea scalded or underbrewed and weak, you adjust your water temperature appropriately."

Look at that! Barely in the shop a minute and already learning important lessons.

[sairis]

"Whites?" Sairis asked. Herbs and black tea he knew, he thought he could understand green (though he might have it completely wrong), but white was baffling him.

He eyed the armor curiously. "I've never thought of putting a ghost in a nonliving body." Yet. "Doesn't it need a lot more power to move something without muscles?"

[deathsmajesty]

"The ghost chose the armor," Liliana said. "They came as a set. I don't keep it going, it's autonomous. I just give it orders."

A nicer person would have maybe made them requests. Liliana wasn't a nice person.

[sairis]

"Where does it get its power from, then?" Sairis asked, distracted from tea.

[deathsmajesty]

"It absorbs its own mana," Liliana said. "Do you not have individual ghosts and spirits on your plane?"

[sairis]

"We do, but in order to manifest physically, they still need to get power from somewhere. Generally blood or rituals, or both. Mana is...the power of magic?" he guessed.

[deathsmajesty]

"Correct," Liliana said. "Land generates mana, different types of land generating different colors of mana, and mana flows across the face of the plane in ley-lines, much like rivers."

She conjured a swirling purple-black mist around her fingers. It thickened and brightened as seconds passed "I've tapped into the black mana ley-line that flows through this island and--" A flick of her hand and the light vanished; mere moments later, a flying machine made of gold filigree to look like some kind of wasp or something came buzzing out of one of aisles and over to where Liliana was sitting. "A thopter," she said.

[sairis]

Sairis nodded at the flying thing, which was pretty on its own. "I'm not familiar with colors of magic itself, though of course there are different types. And yes, the land generates some of its own - the Sea even more these days - and there are places where it's stronger or more connected, but I have no idea about different types of land."

For one thing, he'd only ever seen one type of land.

"My magic is stronger where there's life - and thus death - around."

[deathsmajesty]

"Fascinating," Liliana said. "Sit, darling, it's hard to have a discussion with someone looming."

Well. Someone not her.

"There are chairs behind you, feel free to grab one and--don't you do it." Sairis could be understandably mistaken in assuming Liliana was talking to him, but she appeared to be focused on something behind him. "Don't make me put you back in the window with a shame sign," she threatened. "This is my advisee, he is not for eating."

All that was behind him was an armchair.

[sairis]

Sairis gave her a bemused look. He was average height; he wasn't used to being accused of looming.

Then he turned to look behind him when she said that, frowning and focusing on the air behind him. He didn't see anything magical there, though. Certainly nothing that would eat him. "Is there something I should be looking for?"

Though even as he said it, he was expanding his sight. "Is that chair magical?"

[deathsmajesty]

He was when she was sitting.

"Yes, it's an artifact," she said as the chair reluctantly skittered off into one of aisles. "An ambush predator, and before you ask, no, I have no idea how or why somebody decided to turn a chair into an ambush predator."

Her best guess was 'because they could' or 'because it's funny.'

"The other chair is simply a chair, and is perfectly fine to sit in."

[sairis]

Sairis grabbed the normal chair and brought it over to sit near Liliana.

"Someone must have truly hated their guests."

He could easily see reasons for an ambush chair; his master would probably have found it incredibly amusing.

[deathsmajesty]

That's why Liliana kept it in her store. She thought it was hilarious. Though she still likely wouldn't have put the time and effort into creating it.

"So you can understand why I keep it in the store, then," she said, as the armor clanged its way over to them, holding a tea tray carefully in both hands. He set it down on the counter, bowed slightly to Liliana, and then clattered off. "Since you seemed curious about white teas, I decided that's what I would serve," she said, picking up the teapot to pour for them both. "White tea is made from the young, unopened buds and immature leaves. The taste is sweeter and more delicate than other teas and the brew is a much lighter color as well."

A teacup and saucer made out of porcelain so fine it was translucent if held up to the light was passed to Sairis. "Sugar, lemon, cream, or honey?" she asked, nudging each container (matching, obviously) forward a bit, so he'd know what was held where.

[sairis]

Sairis held the cup very carefully and sniffed the tea, though he couldn't tell much about it from that. "Honey, please," he said, reaching for just a little. "So this is the same plant as regular tea?"

[deathsmajesty]

"Correct, just immature," Liliana said. "This honey is from Innistrad, one of the planes I make my own. It's very rich and sweet, so I'd suggest taking less that you normally would until you're calibrated for it."

[sairis]

Sairis nodded and put the barest touch of honey in his tea. He could always add more if he wanted it.

He sipped and made a surprised noise. "It doesn't taste much like tea, honestly."

Possibly because his usual tea was peasant quality and generally steeped for as long as it took him or his master to remember it was there.

[deathsmajesty]

"What that suggests about the quality of your tea is terrifying," Liliana drawled. Her hand with the honey was much heavier.

Once her tea had been doctored to her liking and several sips had been taken, she considered Sairis with deep purple eyes. "So," she said. "You were meant to have questions for me."

[sairis]

Sairis couldn't exactly defend the quality of his tea. It could be horrible or wonderful; it was just what he was used to.

He nodded as he sipped his tea again and added just a touch more honey.

"I'd like to know how to get a phone." He still wasn't sure what they did, but she'd said they were important. "And I'd like to know more about electricity, and how things here work. I'm not used to not being able to do things for myself. Also..." he hesitated. "I'd like to know how safe it is, being a necromancer here."