Hmm, sadly Fabian has left the lecture hall now, so I'll to think how to make this work in another way :)
The lecturer Both Cass and the Maestro were pleasantly quiet the following morning and Fabian got through the entire pre-lunch period without any disturbances. The monthly budget committee meeting did contribute significantly to that and was it's usual headache, but it was nice to only have the usual headaches to deal with. Then after a quick sandwich at his desk Fabian sat down with the minutes of the previous Directors meeting to review them before the next meeting, which was only a few days away. To his surprise he saw that they were twice the normal thickness and he opened them warily, wondering what had caused this. When he read that the minutes contained two proposals that would be put forward at the next meeting for a vote he cursed for a full minute, secure in the knowledge that his office was soundproof enough that no-one could hear, and wished he looked at these when they'd arrived. When he finished swearing there was a moment of silence, and then someone knocked on his door. He considered telling them to go away, because it was clear that he was going to have to spend much of the rest of the week on these proposals, but then decided that he may as well find out what else was going to compete for his attention and opened the door. "Fab," said Dread, pushing him aside and striding into the room. "Good to see you again." He looked around. "Odd vibrations in here," he said. "Have you been upset recently?" "Sort of," said Fabian, wondering how his swearing could be detected by Dread. "I heard you swearing," said Dread after a moment, calming Fabian's panic. "It was quiet, but it went on for a long time." "Ah," said Fabian. His embarrassment at having been heard warred with his relief that Dread didn't have some kind of magic that allowed him to read emotions after the fact.
"I've brought the Museum some stuff that the Harvester collected," said Dread. He looked at the visitor's chair and then perched himself on a corner of Fabian's desk. "Some of it might be interesting; no Heart of the Umber Hulk though." He grinned, looking almost boyish for once. "There's some standard stuff, things that are probably Elvish -- wisp-elf I think -- from pre-Imperial times. But there's a couple of things in there that might be more interesting: there's what looks like a couple of statues from the Second Kingdom era, and there's a box of what we think are early wands." "Why do they come here?" asked Fabian, his mind churning with things that he'd heard recently. "Wouldn't it make more sense for the Mages to review them?" Dread raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't you have asked that a long time ago?" he said. "No, seriously, shouldn't you already know the answer to that?" Fabian shrugged. "I've never been on the magical side of things," he said. "I'm a historian at base. There are all kinds of things that we do here that I don't know the details of." "So why ask now?" "Something the Maestro said the other day," said Fabian. "He was fighting with that mage again, Sebastian or whatever his name is." "Framer?" "That sounds right. But he said something then about the mages having lost the right to do that some time ago and the reasons were still good." Dread shrugged again. "I wouldn't know," he said. "But it was a while back, and it's sort of why the Halls of Sunset were built. There were a couple of incidents, all around the same time, and it was decided by King Jospeh III that to avoid any more of these all artefacts and magical relics would go to the Museum for analysis and study and that the college of Mages would have to apply to the Museum for the right to study them. The idea was that the Museum wouldn't be tempted to try using the things without knowing what they did first." "You'd make a decent lecturer, you know," said Fabian, his mind returning to the lecture of the day before. "Did it work?" "It has so far," said Dread. "Ah, and that was when they decided to build the Halls of Sunset too, to house the more dangerous magical items." Fabian froze, and then unstiffened. "The Halls of Sunset again," he said. "Did you know the Elves helped build them?" "Yes, of course." "Ah. I didn't. I only found out yesterday, from a lecturer." Dread's shrug was becoming annoying. "You probably should, you know," he said. "You are the Director here." "Don't I know it," said Fabian, indicating the thick folder on his desk with a theatrical shudder. "You're too late for lunch, you know." "I know," said Dread. "Coffee?"
Greg - bah, you moved Fabian out of there more quickly than I was expecting. Glad you found a way to make it work anyway.
Dread is a great character, he really works well as a balance to Fabian and I think he will prove to be an important ally as things continue to progress. Or congress.
3 comments:
Hmm, sadly Fabian has left the lecture hall now, so I'll to think how to make this work in another way :)
The lecturer
Both Cass and the Maestro were pleasantly quiet the following morning and Fabian got through the entire pre-lunch period without any disturbances. The monthly budget committee meeting did contribute significantly to that and was it's usual headache, but it was nice to only have the usual headaches to deal with.
Then after a quick sandwich at his desk Fabian sat down with the minutes of the previous Directors meeting to review them before the next meeting, which was only a few days away. To his surprise he saw that they were twice the normal thickness and he opened them warily, wondering what had caused this. When he read that the minutes contained two proposals that would be put forward at the next meeting for a vote he cursed for a full minute, secure in the knowledge that his office was soundproof enough that no-one could hear, and wished he looked at these when they'd arrived.
When he finished swearing there was a moment of silence, and then someone knocked on his door.
He considered telling them to go away, because it was clear that he was going to have to spend much of the rest of the week on these proposals, but then decided that he may as well find out what else was going to compete for his attention and opened the door.
"Fab," said Dread, pushing him aside and striding into the room. "Good to see you again." He looked around. "Odd vibrations in here," he said. "Have you been upset recently?"
"Sort of," said Fabian, wondering how his swearing could be detected by Dread.
"I heard you swearing," said Dread after a moment, calming Fabian's panic. "It was quiet, but it went on for a long time."
"Ah," said Fabian. His embarrassment at having been heard warred with his relief that Dread didn't have some kind of magic that allowed him to read emotions after the fact.
"I've brought the Museum some stuff that the Harvester collected," said Dread. He looked at the visitor's chair and then perched himself on a corner of Fabian's desk. "Some of it might be interesting; no Heart of the Umber Hulk though." He grinned, looking almost boyish for once. "There's some standard stuff, things that are probably Elvish -- wisp-elf I think -- from pre-Imperial times. But there's a couple of things in there that might be more interesting: there's what looks like a couple of statues from the Second Kingdom era, and there's a box of what we think are early wands."
"Why do they come here?" asked Fabian, his mind churning with things that he'd heard recently. "Wouldn't it make more sense for the Mages to review them?"
Dread raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't you have asked that a long time ago?" he said. "No, seriously, shouldn't you already know the answer to that?"
Fabian shrugged. "I've never been on the magical side of things," he said. "I'm a historian at base. There are all kinds of things that we do here that I don't know the details of."
"So why ask now?"
"Something the Maestro said the other day," said Fabian. "He was fighting with that mage again, Sebastian or whatever his name is."
"Framer?"
"That sounds right. But he said something then about the mages having lost the right to do that some time ago and the reasons were still good."
Dread shrugged again. "I wouldn't know," he said. "But it was a while back, and it's sort of why the Halls of Sunset were built. There were a couple of incidents, all around the same time, and it was decided by King Jospeh III that to avoid any more of these all artefacts and magical relics would go to the Museum for analysis and study and that the college of Mages would have to apply to the Museum for the right to study them. The idea was that the Museum wouldn't be tempted to try using the things without knowing what they did first."
"You'd make a decent lecturer, you know," said Fabian, his mind returning to the lecture of the day before. "Did it work?"
"It has so far," said Dread. "Ah, and that was when they decided to build the Halls of Sunset too, to house the more dangerous magical items."
Fabian froze, and then unstiffened. "The Halls of Sunset again," he said. "Did you know the Elves helped build them?"
"Yes, of course."
"Ah. I didn't. I only found out yesterday, from a lecturer."
Dread's shrug was becoming annoying. "You probably should, you know," he said. "You are the Director here."
"Don't I know it," said Fabian, indicating the thick folder on his desk with a theatrical shudder. "You're too late for lunch, you know."
"I know," said Dread. "Coffee?"
Greg - bah, you moved Fabian out of there more quickly than I was expecting. Glad you found a way to make it work anyway.
Dread is a great character, he really works well as a balance to Fabian and I think he will prove to be an important ally as things continue to progress. Or congress.
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