handwritten;

[telvanni]

I have spent the last week painstakingly enchanting a small selection of high quality magical staves. Since I am a wizard, I find my own powers of spellcasting are more than sufficient for my needs. As such, I do not actually need the staves I have made. They were produced simply as a way to hone my craft; nothing more.

This means I am giving them away to certain parties that may be in need of them. If you would like an enchanted staff that fires elemental blasts at your foes, you need only make your case to me. Preference will be given to applicants who as of yet possess no useful echoes and agree to submit to some harmless tests.

No time-wasters.

Comments

[telvanni]

[ By the time Emil returns, Nathaniel has already placed a rather silly-looking walking stick on the shop counter. He's also wearing an impressive scowl, but that's probably less interesting. ]

Your consideration for others is exemplary. Lay hands on the staff. I would like you to tell me what - if anything - you feel.

[ Magically-attuned or exceedingly intelligent people will feel a buzzing, amost crackling sensation. This lessens as intelligence/magic ability weakens, so someone who is neither smart nor magical will feel only a faint hum within the wood. ]

[abhero]

[Emil has been scowled at many times before, looks can hardly bother him. The staff, though… it’s a bunny. He can’t walk around waving a bunny around, how stupid would that be?! Maybe he redesign it, add color, hang things on it to make it look cooler.

He’s kind of a dumbass, but magically inclined - not that he knows it yet - so he pulls his hand back after a moment.]

It’s not gonna blow up in my face, right? 'Cause it's buzzing.

[telvanni]

I resent the implication that my work could do such a thing. The buzzing you can feel is a lightning enchantment. Or, in a layman's terms, you should be able to point the stick and make pretties come out of it. Goody.

[ He's using his especially-patronising "talking to assholes" voice now. FEEL HONOURED. With a spectacularly dramatic eyeroll, he opens the back door of the shop and motions for Emil to follow him into a small, walled-off back yard. There's a rock garden at one end, but the rest of it is rather neglected. ]

[abhero]

[Emil scowls deeply at the condescending tone, but he won’t respond for now, not until he sees how the staff works. He thinks he’s showing amazing self control by not flipping Nathaniel off.

Looking around the yard, it looks pretty bad. Emil is toying with the idea of tracking as much as dirt as he can when they go back inside.]

What now? I get to blow things up?

[telvanni]

Assuredly not. The idea is not to blow anything up.

[ He points at the rock garden, huffing impatiently. GET OUT OF THE HAIR HE DOESN'T HAVE, KID. ]

Aim the staff at the rocks and will the power to strike them. There's no trick to it - just point and allow it to happen. Simple.

[abhero]

[You shouldn’t have agreed to give this kid a magic staff, Nathaniel. He’s a little shit who’s all about power abuse.

Emil complies and points the rabbit’s head at the rocks, frowning a little when nothing happens. More than half a minute passes and still nothing. Emil feels incredibly stupid. He’s thinking really hard about firing lightning, why doesn’t it work?!

He turns his head to look at Nathaniel, irritated.]

Nothing happens! You gave me a defective one -

[He almost turns completely toward the man, staff included, but then he feels a spark and lighting shoots out of the rabbit’s head.

Good thing he didn’t turn around and charred something else instead of a rock.]

Holy shit this is amazing!

[telvanni]

Defective, my foot. A commendable effort! Eventually.

[ Excuse him while he takes a few notes in a dog-eared little notepad. It's nothing too interesting to anyone but him - generic notes on how long it took Emil to use the staff, the relative strength of the blast... WIZARD SCIENCE. ]

If I might hold the staff for a moment, to test the remaining power held within?

[ And he holds out a hand. ]

[abhero]

[Emil hands the staff over, even though he doesn't really feel like letting it go. He can always snatch it again if the Nathaniel doesn't want to give it back...]