CaraVela’s eyes fasten on the play of light across the dragonman’s metallic scales and she stands fascinated equally by the shine on the armor and the dragonmans’s tale, and nods attentively at his tale.
Sulta Jikmada, I thank you for your openness. The name rolls off her tongue easily in a complex clash of consonants: unaccented Draconic, with the rest in the Common tongue.
CaraVela continues, eventually gesturing around the room to each of the others in turn.
Oh! I can see a thousand reflections in your scales; what a beautiful polish you have! Thank you for being so revealing about your condition; it seems we run the gamut of visitations from independent corporeal creatures who prefers public appearance like our winged friend and companion, to an incorporeal creature who seems not to prefer appearance, to an independent creature in memory such as you have, to a smattering of memories only such as I have, which I continue to discover seemingly by serendipitous chance, to those with little direct knowledge of what has befallen them except by orderly discovery … so Lord Kensington has told me. He’s been very busy in his laboratory of late, with notebook and ink and chalk and blood and flashes of Magic erupting throughout the day… She trails off as the Centurion takes out his flute, and her eyes fasten on it. CaraVela is so motionless she seems to have stopped breathing entirely, her mouth slightly open in a silent, startled Oh!
Then her hands begin to move, gathering shadow and light in a complex weaving that coalesces into… a flute, a darkly silver color tinted with Mithril, holes mathematically perfectly rounded and placed, beyond the capability of a whitesmith’s hands to shape.
Holomancer, Shadowcall (Shadow Conjuration)
CaraVela gazes at the flute, running her hands over its perfection, then hesitantly raises it to her lips, attention riveted on the duet in progress. She draws a deep, steadying breath, the first in some time, and gently touches down on the lip-plate to breathe across the blow hole. Her fingers traverse the keys haltingly… a few wrong notes punctuate the music… but then she moves more quickly, flickering fingers picking up the tune as they grace the keys with her accompaniment.
Her fingers are sure, but her eyes are anything but sure; she seems bewildered; yet by the middle of the piece, the bewilderment has faded, replaced with sheer delight as she immerses herself in the music and plays along with the other two musicians with precise abandon.
At the end she is flushed and near breathless with excitement. It can’t be plainer: CaraVela has made another discovery.
Oh, thank you! The two of you! Especially you, Centurion! I recognized that first piece you played, an odd bit from some past that floated into memory; but I have always done that… much more frequently now from Time to Time than before, though. But the next piece, for the flute, I knew so intimately it was as if I was there when it was first written, first performed… and an image of a perfect flute to play it with came immediately into my mind, and then into my hand. Remarkable! I… it’s exciting beyond words. But not beyond music.
You have opened a door I did not know I had, and an endless library of music is within; I can almost hear all the pieces at once, yet each distinct. Please, can we play something else, anything the two of you like? Johnathan, Centurion, do you have favorites? Or if we cannot right now, then as soon as we may? I can hardly wait to find out what else I know!! Realizing at the end that if everyone is present, the leisure time may be coming to a close, CaraVela reins in her enthusiasm.
Eternal Moment, Future Sight, +5 to Perform
Perform check “take 10” – there might be some rules debate whether “take 10” is strictly ok for a Perform check (unlike “take 20”, a “take 10” seems to be ok, RAW), but I don’t want to get carried away here, and roll an N20 by accident. That would be entirely out of place.
CaraVela’s Perform check = 27, in the center of “memorable performance” and definitely not as good as the Centurion’s “extraordinary performances” – and beyond!
It may be in her, to come along with her musical companions to higher heights than she just played, but not yet… she’s just starting out. So in the eyes of the Centurion and Johnathan, perhaps she shows some promise to them as a talented amateur… at least she might be worth teaching, or allowing her to accompany. She’ll find out IC whether they are willing to play with her again… since she’ll ask again.
Then she half-turns back to the dragonman who had confided in her, and returns the favor.
it’s just like last week, when I accidentally reached across a scented candle because I didn’t realize it was hot, and found myself holding a piece of map paper aflame in my hand. I could tell it was burning, if I paid attention, but… it didn’t hurt at all. I don’t know when that started, but it has been growing ever since, and I certainly don’t know where it will end. I don’t feel cold as much as I did before, either, though the difference is much less than for flame.
And there’s a lot more to tell than that. Remarkable! She concludes to him quietly.
As Lord Kensington makes his introduction, CaraVela blushes at his compliment and bobs her head in acknowledgement. Then when he speaks in Draconic, her eyes narrow in concentration and she begins unconsciously tapping her forefinger against her lips, apparently trying to recall something. Then she smiles to herself.
Lord Reginald, I just realized… there were times over the past few years when I overheard you in your lab, muttering about some formula in a language I didn’t understand… then. Now I know you were talking to yourself in Draconic. And this time I understood every word… Ha! she laughs in pleasure.
The V in CaraVela should be upper case. Forgot my own convention. Now fixed.