Astarion smiles politely, although in truth he's annoyed at being forced to wait. Sure, this Wizard of Waterdeep is supposedly all-powerful and impossibly busy with his studies, but gods, he could stand to be a little more timely. (Not that Astarion has ever cared about being timely himself.)
He spends much of the time downstairs with the wizard's— cat? Honestly, he's not very familiar with magical beasties. She'd explained what she was when they'd met, but Astarion was too busy looking around at all of Gale of Waterdeep's very magical and very expensive belongings to really listen. Even now, he's wondering if he could fit one of those glittering crystal balls on the shelf in his pack. If he could sell something like that, perhaps he wouldn't even need to ingratiate himself with someone powerful. He could hire mercenaries to protect him instead; they'd be more loyal to his coin than anyone would be out of the goodness of their heart.
But he can't figure out how to sneak any of the artifacts away without being caught by this furry familiar of Gale's, so when the wizard finally makes his way into the sitting room, Astarion is still empty-handed.
"Oh, of course," he lies, because he doesn't really know much of anything about wizards. Might as well jump right into it, so: "That, ah— academic determination is exactly why I'm here. You see, I came all this way hoping to apprentice with a powerful wizard such as yourself."
While Gale is all smiles and bright expressions, inwardly he can't help but be a little annoyed. He's always up for helping to have someone explore the Weave and to learn more about the wonders of magic, but must it be now? When he's about to cast a piece of magic that he knows is very intense, very powerful, and very secretive? He doesn't want anyone to know about this. And yet! Here we are.
He keeps those annoyances to himself for the moment. Instead, he gives Astarion a grin as he muses, "First of all, I am very honored to hear something like that. But tell me more about yourself! Why are you interested in learning magic in the first place?"
Just two dudes, smiling passive-aggressively at each other while they try to conceal their annoyance.
"Ah, well. That is... an excellent question." And one he didn't prepare for. He hadn't expected to get this far. Hells, he hadn't expected to make it one step out of Baldur's Gate — but when he had, there'd been no choice but to keep going.
This plan is all a bit slapdash, is the point. But let it never be said that Astarion can't improvise! He straightens up, hands in his lap. "My name is Astarion"—should he be using his real name? Too late now—"and, as I'm sure you can tell, I'm positively head-over-heels for all of that..." A wave of his hand. "Wonderful magic."
His eyes flick briefly behind Gale to the bookshelf. "Wavius's Thesis on Illusion Magic is my favorite book, of course."
For someone positively head-over-heels for all that wonderful magic, he certainly could do a better job describing it, especially since Astarion seemed to settle on 'wonderful magic.' Magic was wonderful, obviously, but something about that description felt...lacking.
That is, lacking until Astarion mentions Wavius's Thesis on Illusion Magic. Because look. Sometimes you fail your insight check. And sometimes you aren't trying very hard to pass it in the first place because this man mentioned a book you enjoy and you can talk about it. And sometimes it's both. Gale's eyes brighten with excitement as Astarion names the book title.
"Well, may I just say you have excellent taste. I've used some of Wavius's theory on illusion magic myself. There's one passage that offers a remarkable hypothesis on the possibilities of enhancing a Mirror Image, of being able to craft the spell so the illusory double has more action or a defined path instead of simply being a replication—"
Please shut him up, otherwise he'll just continue yapping.
Fucking hells, now he's gotten Gale going. He'd looked a bit skeptical just prior, though, and now he's distracted enough that any suspicion seems to have slipped his mind; it would be monumentally stupid not to capitalize on it. Astarion folds his hands politely in his lap, nodding and giving an enthusiastic amount of mmhmms as he pretends to listen, all the while tuning Gale's lecture out.
Astarion allows it to continue for far too long, in his opinion, before he really can't take it anymore. He waits for Gale to breathe—gods, the lungs on him to talk for this long—and jumps in, interrupting with, "And this is exactly why I found myself so drawn to being your... er, protégé."
It's a half-baked, farfetched plan. Even if this archwizard does take him on as an apprentice, it's only a matter of time before he realizes that Astarion couldn't give two shits about wizardry. Hopefully, he'll be so charmed by Astarion at that point that all will be instantly forgiven.
"If I may be so blunt, you're even more intelligent than they say." He resists the urge to roll his eyes. "It would be an honor to soak up even a teaspoon of the knowledge rattling around in your brain."
Right, this is blatant flattery. Gale might not be the most insightful man on the planet, but he can pick up that much. An honor to soak up even a teaspoon of knowledge? That is a very heavy-handed description for a man who knows he's irritating as hell. The only question now is, what does this man want.
There's one thing Gale's certain of: whatever he wants, it has nothing to do with Gale's own goals, with Mystra and that piece of the Weave. As a matter of fact, it wouldn't surprise Gale if Astarion had no idea what he was talking about if he mentioned his plans. All he had to do was keep working on this and toss out a little lie every once in a while, keep the man off guard and directed somewhere else. He wouldn't understand what Gale was truly doing.
He hopes Astarion won't understand what Gale is truly doing. Gale may be ambitious but he's not an idiot: he knows this plan is risky. The fewer people know, the better.
"I'll admit, I've had students before but never a direct apprentice. If you'll forgive any stumbling blocks or awkwardness along the way, I'd be happy to teach you." If only to keep an eye on him. "Though tell me more about yourself first. What do you wish to learn?"
Astarion beams, the first true bit of authenticity he's shown yet. He couldn't be more relieved at not being unceremoniously thrown out on his (shapely!!) ass; it's in his cynical nature to expect the worst, so it's a pleasant surprise for something to actually go right for once in his life.
Well, unlife.
The question throws him for a bit of a loop, though, because he's not really sure he wishes to learn anything. Sure, wizardry is rather impressive, but it seems an awful lot of work. Half- truths are more believable than outright lies, so he worries his lip for a moment, contemplative, before:
"I'm sure a few defensive spells couldn't go amiss." He could really use them, actually. There's danger everywhere. "—And, of course, the best defense is a good offense."
He pauses. "All for purely theoretical use, obviously."
Defensive spells? That's an interesting thing to want to learn first. Idly, Gale wonders if the man is in trouble with criminals or something like that. Shaky about his intentions, asking for defensive spells, 'the best defense is a good offense'...did he steal something from someone? And who was that someone to begin with?
Frankly, Gale doesn't want to know. The more he knows, the more he's pulled into this, the more trouble he might end up in. So instead, he gives Astarion a cavalier little shrug before,
"We could start off with a simple shield spell. That's easy enough to learn, with many practical applications. Shall we start tonight? Or wait for tomorrow morning?"
Astarion giggles a little under his breath, like it's an inside joke Gale hasn't been let on. Less giggle-worthy is the idea that he's actually going to have to study magic when his only real arcane aptitude is owed to his elven heritage and not at all to hitting the books, but he tries not to let his uncertainty show.
"But I thought perhaps we could spend the evening on less, mm, academic pursuits. You know, get to know each other. Trust is so very important in a mentorship." And it's also very important in persuading a wizard to protect you from your sadistic master, should he send cronies to collect you. "I'm sure you have so many stories with which to regale me."
Trust is so very important in a mentorship. It's also important in persuading your pupil to look the other way if he starts to pry too much into your own activities. Perhaps this arrangement could be useful. After all, there will inevitably be times when Gale needs a second pair of hands, simply for the more menial aspects of casting a spell (or keeping people away from his study when needed).
If Astarion is interested in stories, Gale happily has a few to tell. That being said...
"Oh, but I'm certainly not going to let you off the hook. Come now! Follow me back to my kitchen—I'll pour us some wine, cook up some dinner if you're hungry, and we can swap stories between the two of us. A lovely little evening to start up a good friendship!"
He's not hungry—at least, not for that sort of food—but Astarion nods regardless. Supper will be an excellent opportunity for him to get into Gale's good graces, and once he is, Cazador won't be able to reach him. Not with an all-powerful archwizard on his side.
So, he stands, smiling pleasantly. It's been a long time since he's held a conversation with anyone that wasn't underscored by the hustle and bustle of a Baldurian tavern at night, and he realizes suddenly that he's not quite sure how. —Oh, well. He's aggressively charming. Surely he can figure it out.
The last thing he wants is to actually be regaled by a long, wizardly story, so he steers the conversation toward more pertinent topics. "So, have you ever used your magic against any monsters? Just idle curiosity."
Monsters? Idly, Gale wonders what sort of stories Astarion might have heard if he goes straight to monsters. "I know the form of it," Gale shrugs. "I can summon fire, create darts of force, bend the Weave to my will in ways that could destroy a challenger. But my pursuits have been more...academic than adventuring."
So that's a no. That's a big no. That's a 'why would I go out and adventure when I can stay here and learn things in my cool wizard tower instead'.
As he talks, Gale walks to the kitchen and immediately makes a beeline for the wine. Opening the bottle, he starts to pour two glasses. "That's not to say that I haven't thought about adventuring, of course. But I'm content where I am for the moment."
Mm. Unfortunate. The answer is obviously disappointing to him; Astarion had hoped that Gale would have at least had some practical combat experience. Still, if he can summon fire, bend the Weave to his will — well, maybe Astarion can convince him to look into some sunlight or anti-undead spells.
Then again, Gale might be the sort of person who'd panic and use those spells against him, so better to ingratiate himself a little more first.
"So, you... what? Sit around and read dusty old books all day?" All right. This is not ingratiating himself very well, but it's hard to hide the bemusement. "All that power, and it's only theoretical?"
"It's hardly theoretical," Gale hmmphs, hating how wounded his ego feels and how very obvious it is that his ego is wounded. He can do cool things! He's got to do cool things, he's Gale of Waterdeep! "But it's hardly like Waterdeep is the sort of place where you need to summon a cloud of pure necrotic energy every other day."
There are very few uses when you need to cast Cloudkill when you live in a city and work at university.
"Besides, there are other ways of showing one's power that aren't fighting goblins or bandits. The Weave itself can be very unstable. It takes a very skilled wizard to manipulate it in the ways that I can."
If Astarion could cast Cloudkill, he'd probably never stop casting it.
He can tell by the harumphing that the suggestion that Gale's power is nothing more than academic rankles, and Astarion tilts his head, humming in interest. A fragile ego — of course. Isn't every successful person hiding an ego of glass?
"Oh, of course," he gushes, even though he's less than impressed by these abstract, conceptual versions of power. He wants real power. Burn-your-foes-to-ash sort of power. He turns instead to the only form of power he currently has, which is negging. "It's just that everyone says you're so gifted. I suppose I expected your work to be more..." Hm. "Explosive."
Give it a few days and a poor decision with regards to the Karsite Weave and things will be very explosive indeed.
But for the moment, Gale's ego is the most damaged thing here. He's only barely met this elf but he still wants to prove him wrong. And though Gale keeps up the light, conversational tone he's had for most of this conversation, it's apparent the vampire's words aggravate him. If everyone says he's so gifted, he might as well prove it then.
"If you want a grand demonstration of untapped wizardly power, I am more than happy to show off. Though any showing off will have to happen tomorrow. I've staves and scrolls and rings here, the last thing I want to do is trigger a chain reaction that burns down the entire tower. To start with, it would be a pain to clean."
Can't you just magic the mess away? he absolutely doesn't ask, because gods forbid he sounds like he doesn't know what he's talking about.
"Right," he says instead. "Well, I'll be sure to be appropriately amazed and delighted when the time comes." Depending on how powerful Gale really is, maybe he actually will be. And if not— well, he'll certainly pretend to be, because he doesn't have a backup plan. Gale is sort of it.
"—But!" he continues, waving a hand. "That's enough of talking shop for one evening, don't you think? Why don't we break open your most expensive bottle of red"—all right, this part is just for him—"and get to know each other over it, hm?"
Gale perks up, wide grin on his face, at the mention of breaking open a bottle of red. Yes! Perfect! That's the exact sort of thing that would benefit this conversation—a bottle of wine, a glass or two, and shifting things away from 'well why can't you use your magic to blow up a house' or whatever questions Astarion will ask next. Because frankly, even though he can blow up a house, why would he in the first place?
"A fantastic idea," Gale grins. "Now, if you'll just follow me, I have a lovely vintage that I've saved for a perfect occasion."
He gestures for Astarion to follow him, further into a kitchen. Once there, Gale immediately makes a beeline for a closet obviously serving in lieu of an actual wine cellar. Some people have a wine 'shelf in their closet,' and that's perfectly fine.
Astarion can't stop himself from saying, "Oh." It's just surprising!! Gale has this big, fancy wizard tower. He'd just sort of assumed the wine would be kept in a classier place than the pantry.
But it's fine. This is his first drink of wine in a long time, and although he'd prefer something a bit more... vital, he certainly has no intention of letting Gale know what sort of bloodsucking creature he's invited into his home. Regardless of how hungry he is.
"—What a charming place to keep your wine. A quaint Waterdhavian custom, I'm sure."
"The cellar has been...mmm, indisposed for a bit." Repurposed to serve as storage for magical items and more books. Just taking a glimpse past the kitchen into a study-like area shows that any visible bookshelves are busting at the seams.
"Besides, I occasionally use wine in my cooking. A splash here or there can add so much flavor to the dish. There's an exquisite recipe that uses half a bottle of wine for a beef stew—"
Gale's going to start yapping again. At least this time, as he talks about wine, he pours himself and Astarion a very generous glass.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wow this week got away from me I'M HERE NOW...
He spends much of the time downstairs with the wizard's— cat? Honestly, he's not very familiar with magical beasties. She'd explained what she was when they'd met, but Astarion was too busy looking around at all of Gale of Waterdeep's very magical and very expensive belongings to really listen. Even now, he's wondering if he could fit one of those glittering crystal balls on the shelf in his pack. If he could sell something like that, perhaps he wouldn't even need to ingratiate himself with someone powerful. He could hire mercenaries to protect him instead; they'd be more loyal to his coin than anyone would be out of the goodness of their heart.
But he can't figure out how to sneak any of the artifacts away without being caught by this furry familiar of Gale's, so when the wizard finally makes his way into the sitting room, Astarion is still empty-handed.
"Oh, of course," he lies, because he doesn't really know much of anything about wizards. Might as well jump right into it, so: "That, ah— academic determination is exactly why I'm here. You see, I came all this way hoping to apprentice with a powerful wizard such as yourself."
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He keeps those annoyances to himself for the moment. Instead, he gives Astarion a grin as he muses, "First of all, I am very honored to hear something like that. But tell me more about yourself! Why are you interested in learning magic in the first place?"
And can I foist you off on someone else?
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"Ah, well. That is... an excellent question." And one he didn't prepare for. He hadn't expected to get this far. Hells, he hadn't expected to make it one step out of Baldur's Gate — but when he had, there'd been no choice but to keep going.
This plan is all a bit slapdash, is the point. But let it never be said that Astarion can't improvise! He straightens up, hands in his lap. "My name is Astarion"—should he be using his real name? Too late now—"and, as I'm sure you can tell, I'm positively head-over-heels for all of that..." A wave of his hand. "Wonderful magic."
His eyes flick briefly behind Gale to the bookshelf. "Wavius's Thesis on Illusion Magic is my favorite book, of course."
no subject
That is, lacking until Astarion mentions Wavius's Thesis on Illusion Magic. Because look. Sometimes you fail your insight check. And sometimes you aren't trying very hard to pass it in the first place because this man mentioned a book you enjoy and you can talk about it. And sometimes it's both. Gale's eyes brighten with excitement as Astarion names the book title.
"Well, may I just say you have excellent taste. I've used some of Wavius's theory on illusion magic myself. There's one passage that offers a remarkable hypothesis on the possibilities of enhancing a Mirror Image, of being able to craft the spell so the illusory double has more action or a defined path instead of simply being a replication—"
Please shut him up, otherwise he'll just continue yapping.
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Astarion allows it to continue for far too long, in his opinion, before he really can't take it anymore. He waits for Gale to breathe—gods, the lungs on him to talk for this long—and jumps in, interrupting with, "And this is exactly why I found myself so drawn to being your... er, protégé."
It's a half-baked, farfetched plan. Even if this archwizard does take him on as an apprentice, it's only a matter of time before he realizes that Astarion couldn't give two shits about wizardry. Hopefully, he'll be so charmed by Astarion at that point that all will be instantly forgiven.
"If I may be so blunt, you're even more intelligent than they say." He resists the urge to roll his eyes. "It would be an honor to soak up even a teaspoon of the knowledge rattling around in your brain."
no subject
There's one thing Gale's certain of: whatever he wants, it has nothing to do with Gale's own goals, with Mystra and that piece of the Weave. As a matter of fact, it wouldn't surprise Gale if Astarion had no idea what he was talking about if he mentioned his plans. All he had to do was keep working on this and toss out a little lie every once in a while, keep the man off guard and directed somewhere else. He wouldn't understand what Gale was truly doing.
He hopes Astarion won't understand what Gale is truly doing. Gale may be ambitious but he's not an idiot: he knows this plan is risky. The fewer people know, the better.
"I'll admit, I've had students before but never a direct apprentice. If you'll forgive any stumbling blocks or awkwardness along the way, I'd be happy to teach you." If only to keep an eye on him. "Though tell me more about yourself first. What do you wish to learn?"
no subject
Well, unlife.
The question throws him for a bit of a loop, though, because he's not really sure he wishes to learn anything. Sure, wizardry is rather impressive, but it seems an awful lot of work. Half- truths are more believable than outright lies, so he worries his lip for a moment, contemplative, before:
"I'm sure a few defensive spells couldn't go amiss." He could really use them, actually. There's danger everywhere. "—And, of course, the best defense is a good offense."
He pauses. "All for purely theoretical use, obviously."
no subject
Frankly, Gale doesn't want to know. The more he knows, the more he's pulled into this, the more trouble he might end up in. So instead, he gives Astarion a cavalier little shrug before,
"We could start off with a simple shield spell. That's easy enough to learn, with many practical applications. Shall we start tonight? Or wait for tomorrow morning?"
no subject
Astarion giggles a little under his breath, like it's an inside joke Gale hasn't been let on. Less giggle-worthy is the idea that he's actually going to have to study magic when his only real arcane aptitude is owed to his elven heritage and not at all to hitting the books, but he tries not to let his uncertainty show.
"But I thought perhaps we could spend the evening on less, mm, academic pursuits. You know, get to know each other. Trust is so very important in a mentorship." And it's also very important in persuading a wizard to protect you from your sadistic master, should he send cronies to collect you. "I'm sure you have so many stories with which to regale me."
no subject
If Astarion is interested in stories, Gale happily has a few to tell. That being said...
"Oh, but I'm certainly not going to let you off the hook. Come now! Follow me back to my kitchen—I'll pour us some wine, cook up some dinner if you're hungry, and we can swap stories between the two of us. A lovely little evening to start up a good friendship!"
no subject
So, he stands, smiling pleasantly. It's been a long time since he's held a conversation with anyone that wasn't underscored by the hustle and bustle of a Baldurian tavern at night, and he realizes suddenly that he's not quite sure how. —Oh, well. He's aggressively charming. Surely he can figure it out.
The last thing he wants is to actually be regaled by a long, wizardly story, so he steers the conversation toward more pertinent topics. "So, have you ever used your magic against any monsters? Just idle curiosity."
no subject
So that's a no. That's a big no. That's a 'why would I go out and adventure when I can stay here and learn things in my cool wizard tower instead'.
As he talks, Gale walks to the kitchen and immediately makes a beeline for the wine. Opening the bottle, he starts to pour two glasses. "That's not to say that I haven't thought about adventuring, of course. But I'm content where I am for the moment."
no subject
Then again, Gale might be the sort of person who'd panic and use those spells against him, so better to ingratiate himself a little more first.
"So, you... what? Sit around and read dusty old books all day?" All right. This is not ingratiating himself very well, but it's hard to hide the bemusement. "All that power, and it's only theoretical?"
no subject
There are very few uses when you need to cast Cloudkill when you live in a city and work at university.
"Besides, there are other ways of showing one's power that aren't fighting goblins or bandits. The Weave itself can be very unstable. It takes a very skilled wizard to manipulate it in the ways that I can."
no subject
He can tell by the harumphing that the suggestion that Gale's power is nothing more than academic rankles, and Astarion tilts his head, humming in interest. A fragile ego — of course. Isn't every successful person hiding an ego of glass?
"Oh, of course," he gushes, even though he's less than impressed by these abstract, conceptual versions of power. He wants real power. Burn-your-foes-to-ash sort of power. He turns instead to the only form of power he currently has, which is negging. "It's just that everyone says you're so gifted. I suppose I expected your work to be more..." Hm. "Explosive."
no subject
But for the moment, Gale's ego is the most damaged thing here. He's only barely met this elf but he still wants to prove him wrong. And though Gale keeps up the light, conversational tone he's had for most of this conversation, it's apparent the vampire's words aggravate him. If everyone says he's so gifted, he might as well prove it then.
"If you want a grand demonstration of untapped wizardly power, I am more than happy to show off. Though any showing off will have to happen tomorrow. I've staves and scrolls and rings here, the last thing I want to do is trigger a chain reaction that burns down the entire tower. To start with, it would be a pain to clean."
no subject
"Right," he says instead. "Well, I'll be sure to be appropriately amazed and delighted when the time comes." Depending on how powerful Gale really is, maybe he actually will be. And if not— well, he'll certainly pretend to be, because he doesn't have a backup plan. Gale is sort of it.
"—But!" he continues, waving a hand. "That's enough of talking shop for one evening, don't you think? Why don't we break open your most expensive bottle of red"—all right, this part is just for him—"and get to know each other over it, hm?"
no subject
"A fantastic idea," Gale grins. "Now, if you'll just follow me, I have a lovely vintage that I've saved for a perfect occasion."
He gestures for Astarion to follow him, further into a kitchen. Once there, Gale immediately makes a beeline for a closet obviously serving in lieu of an actual wine cellar. Some people have a wine 'shelf in their closet,' and that's perfectly fine.
no subject
But it's fine. This is his first drink of wine in a long time, and although he'd prefer something a bit more... vital, he certainly has no intention of letting Gale know what sort of bloodsucking creature he's invited into his home. Regardless of how hungry he is.
"—What a charming place to keep your wine. A quaint Waterdhavian custom, I'm sure."
no subject
"Besides, I occasionally use wine in my cooking. A splash here or there can add so much flavor to the dish. There's an exquisite recipe that uses half a bottle of wine for a beef stew—"
Gale's going to start yapping again. At least this time, as he talks about wine, he pours himself and Astarion a very generous glass.