>>5387683>>5387685>>5387686>>5387691>>5387713>Ask why she can’t just skip the potion this month. What’s with the urgency?>Ask why she even has to maintain a human form at all.“I mean no offense, my lady, but.. why not just skip the potion this month? A month’s wait is paltry, really.” You offer. “And why keep a human form at all? You tend toward hermitage, do you not? And I don’t mind whether you’re short or not.”
“Ugh. Did you not take PROF. CORNWALLIS’ class at SAINT AUGUST..? MGT 104? The wine cask analogy?” She takes in your look of befuddlement with a sigh. “Ugh. <span class="mu-i">Fine.</span> I’ll try to simplify it for you. Those idiots at the academy..”
The witch moves to a barrel at her room’s corner. “Now, contrary to popular belief, different species all have the same innate capacity for magic–it’s inherent and consistent between all living things, like what those dogmatists in the capital cathedral might call a soul. A plant has the same magic as an elf has the same magic as a chicken. But what differs is their capacity to <span class="mu-i">use</span> that magic.”
She pokes at the barrel’s side. “Now picture a cask, filled to the brim with REUTLINGER RED. And let’s say you were to stick it with a corkscrew and make a hole to pour forth your drink. The rate and finesse at which you could pour differs based on the size, location, cut of the hole. The wine here is magic, and the hole is a species’ capacity to use it. Do you follow me here?”
You nod. Her eyes narrow.
“Now, a halfling’s capacity to use magic is small.. trifling, really. We’re meant to waste our days away stuffing our faces with cakes and pie, farming our holes in the ground. For a witch of my intellect, that’s not enough.” Sigrid mutters. “So I use transpeciation to use more of my magic. An elf has the best aptitude for magic, but.. elven transpeciation potions are too expensive, too time consumptive to prove efficient.”
“A human body to use your magic, then, my lady?” You glance to the papers on the ground.
“That’s right. I can only just call forth a handful sparks in this damnable half-pint.” A hint of frustration creeps into her tone. “I tried everything for thoroughness sake–elves, humans, dwarves, gnomes, even orcs and kobolds. But a human body was the best fit. I need it to conduct my work–to even <span class="mu-i">use</span> my magic to its fullest extent. I'm useless without it. What if I'm called up to the capital do work, or we get attacked? Do you understand why I need to get back to it so urgently now?”
>Go aid the handyman with the eggs for some reason.>Ask just how she intends to get the ingredients then.>You're a half-elf! Maybe she can make a potion with your blood or something?>Write-In. 