(no subject)

[sythyry]

Dangerous Partners [19 Trandary 4261]

One must wonder why a Sleeth was allowed into Vheshrame Academy. Sleeth are, by nature, vicious and cruel, murderous and aggressive, secretive and unconcerned with nicities of social or even legal order.

Now, some intellectual honesty should be honored here. By the same token, Orren are, by nature, inconstant and frantic, mercurial and more than a touch silly, and given to awful fits of impartial rationality. (Oh, and intensely cute.) This doesn't mean that all Orren are all of those all the time: Real-Eel, for example, is rarely frantic or silly, and Seeks-Whatever Strenata is generally quite organized when she's rushing. But I defy you to find a single Orren in all Vheshrame who doesn't at least sometimes exhibit all of those.

(And yes, I am trying to act mysterious and wise. It is harder than it looks. Of course, acting mysterious at a personal journal is a ridiculous notion, so I do not do.)

But back to Rhedwy -- the Sleeth has a name. Also she has an apartment, with howling Rassimel heads that haven't been painted over, and I should imagine a strong lingering scent of Spirshash and Tillissa and Oostmarine and a great deal of Orreny anger that she can smell even if I can't.

I must wonder why Rhedwy was admitted to Vheshrame Academy. I suspect that there was a substantial price in amber paid to someone. Rhedwy is rich -- not rich the way that a noble or a merchant is rich, with lands and goods and houses and servants and money in the bank. Rhedwy is rich the way a wild Verticals barbarian murderess adventuress is rich. She's got an enchanted copper torc with cute vicious serpent heads at the ends. She has enchanted ebony and mnenorzion earrings. She has enchanted leather saddlebags on her shoulders -- that's an enchantment I understand at least, and a simple one, so that the saddlebags can hold a great deal of whatnots and not even weigh her down. Gods only know what she keeps in there -- more enchanted whatnots, I know for a fact -- a live pocker for a snack in the middle of class I should imagine -- I don't know.

Now, the Enchantment workshop has only so many tables, and so there are a few more students than tables, and some students must share tables. Now, the daughter of a count need not share a table with anyone, and the Great Baron presumptive of Here-and-There need not share a table with anyone, and Esory who is a family friend of Prof. Alzagond need not share a table with anyone ... which leaves:

Prof. Alzagond:"O Zi Ri, you're small and magic-resistant. You shall share Table Sh with Rhedwy."

Delightful. As the smallest, most vulnerable, most killable, most edible person in class, I am sharing a worktable with a Sleeth. She just grinned at me, no doubt wondering how much of my neck she could get into her mouth at once.

Comments

[perlandria.livejournal.com]

You could parlay this dangerous encounter into SO MANY LEATHERS OF SOUP!
Hoard your gossip, it is valuable.
What a sterling opportunity for reputation building. Quick! act nonchalant. It will go so well with the existing foundation of your roomate for not caring a thing about species.

[cowboy-r.livejournal.com]

Look at it as an oprotunity. Right now, you're not yet the Great Enchanter Sythery... but what could you learn from an adventurer from the verticals that could turn you into the Great, Mysterious, Murderous Sythery?

[chipuni.livejournal.com]

Awwww... Sleeth aren't monsters, and allowing a Sleeth into the Academy isn't doorwaying. If nothing else, she'll have fascinating tales to tell.

And you finally get to ask her which are prets and which are fiaps!

[melskunk.livejournal.com]

Whoo hoo! Finally, after this pirade of boring Rassimel and Orren, a critter I like.
Actually, that was uncalled for. I like the other characters. But much in the same way you have to swear off Orren every week, I must admit a predilectation for the evil and mysterious charms of Sleeth... as long as they're safely far, far away, near you, sharing a table, and not beside me.

[tuftears.livejournal.com]

Sounds like an interesting person! Remember, show no fear, Sleeth can smell fear.

[esory.livejournal.com]

Hey, can I swap tables with you? I'm dying (maybe that's a poor choice of words) to find out more about Rhedwy. I wonder if we could manage a swap without terminally (er, another poor choice of words) offending anyone.

[terrycloth.livejournal.com]

Just think, though. Once you can cast cloak of another god, you can turn any sleeth that you have to share space with into a nice unthreatening gormorror.

[terrycloth.livejournal.com]

Or you could change your enchantment project, and make a talisman which made you taste extremely unappealing. 'Flesh of Arhoolie'.

[sythyry.livejournal.com]

Um ... it's a self-only spell ... and ... um ... why are Gormoror unthreatening?

[rowyn]

Then you could turn yourself into a Sleeth. Umm, Sleeth don't eat other Sleeth, do they?

[sythyry.livejournal.com]

Not very often, I shouldn't think.

But they don't eat anyone very often, I shouldn't think.

[terrycloth.livejournal.com]

Right. If they eat more than eight they're no longer considered a proper citizen.

[sythyry.livejournal.com]

[Sythyry just slinks off to hide in the fireplace.]

[mharreff.livejournal.com]

[Pardon the thread necromancy, but this caught my eye. Cloak is listed in the sourcebook as having touch range and giving "a prime S." etc. Did this subsequently get rebalanced, or was someone just misremembering?

This comment also explains much-later discussions with Mynthe(sorry, can't type nonstandard ASCII easily on this keyboard) about getting zir in bed for THREE cley, not two...]

[sythyry.livejournal.com]

Sythyry evidently has a self-only variant.

We haven't tinkered with the published spell list, even in cases where we'd rather like to.

[bookwurm.livejournal.com]

She just grinned at me, no doubt wondering how much of my neck she could get into her mouth at once.

More likely, she was wondering how many teeth she had to show in order to make you quake hard enough that your feathers fell off. Do not fall for her schemes! Treat her casually, as you would others in the class, and she will get bored with trying to scare you.

If you do decide to work on "Flesh of Arhoolie," make sure that the taste can be changed at will. There may be Orren who are not fond of arhoolie-flavored kisses. ;>

[brennabat.livejournal.com]

Now -- assuming you O Zi Ri don't become an "enchanting" offirrah-stuffed snack for zir table partner -- may be the time to ask your grandparent Glikkonen for zir feather stiffening spell. One can see this as a win-win situation. Benefits include: 1) your grandparent did insist upon a myriad of self-defense spells and surely could not argue with the request 2) one's plumage is bound to become most resilient to mash-age and/or disturbance due to a sudden outburst of "gentlemanly" behavior when it is capable of acting as quite the saw 3) a Zi Ri would be most unsuitable for consumption when zir feather's are apt at Sleeth perforation and 4) you are already studying The Magnificent Do for the purposes of plumage management and the two works of magic are bound to have some manner of similarity. All though one must be careful of poor plumage petrification least one invoke the wrath of Seeks-Stiff-Feathers Strenata!

And one Zi Ri may notice that I no longer refer to you as "Sythery" as I have since dismissed that remnant of most foreign accent to adopt the locally correct "Sythyry". And of course I only waited this long to invoke the correct pronunciation due to a assuredly foreign and mysterious reason and not, not I tell you, out of any form of mistake. Certainly not.

[sythyry.livejournal.com]

[Bard stares at what it wrote last night, which did make use of Sythyry's spelling. But it didn't post that this morning, having gotten a day or two ahead of itself. It is very confused!]