>>5258871"I partially disagree with you plan." You open up with a starting argument. "Kalki is Kushan, but if he gets fingered for a mole we can kiss our only source of Kushan Magic goodbye. The same goes for if any of Griffith's forces go on a killing spree targeting the sorcerers specifically - it's what any sensible tactician would do, given the power they have available. Instead, we could try sending someone less valuable that could also pass for a Kushan with the right disguise - or spy on them more discretely with my ability to discern knowledge from animals, using trained animals such as hawks."
"I was hoping on sending him away because he's the only one I know who can speak with his mind over long distances. Letters would take too long and there is always the off chance of the messenger dying before even reaching close to Ilos. Civillians are too scared to approach us unless we either resort to forced labour, or send a soldier to do the job."
"Would you be willing to compromise if Kalki trained some of us - myself included - in the art of Kushan Sorcery so that we have a far greater level of magic forces available to us when the time comes? I could teach what I know of my style of magic, as well."
"Hmmph... I'm not so sure if one is able to teach magic so fast to amateurs. Even prodigies like you and Kalki don't seem to be fully immersed in that knowledge of the arts, right? I suppose I could agree to this plan, if you managed to teach at least one of these weaklings the art of telepathy." Barnham proposes a big gamble, but out of 50 people, surely at least one of them could pull it off, right?
"How much time do we have?"
"At most, after the first day of spring."
"I'll manage from here." You bluff, not sure if the plan would work in the slightest. Good thing you're the one who can call out lies, and not him. "In the meantime, I would be quite content to stay here for at least a little while, if you wanted to go hunting while I hold down the fort and organise our forces better. I do need some time to heal up, after all. My Od flow was clogged after Griffith's re-birthing, and I was hoping Kalki could help me with that."
"I'm afraid that's not really his area of expertise, you could certainly try to coax him into examinations, but it would be like asking a doctor to fix a horse's teeth. There is only so much he can do."
"I'm sure he can work as an intermediary until I find the real medicine, then. I will try to train them all as best I can, hopefully I'll learn something from it. Serpico and Hyde especially seem to have a lot to offer. Anything else you need to take care of?"
"No. I appreciate the opportunity to explore the world, though. I work better on my own anyway. I'll try to gather more information to our benefit."
