>>5917319You roll your eyes, but whatever her silly affectations, you’re confident in her ability—this is the girl who aced every exam in this particular subject, practical and theoretical, to earn her current apprenticeship.
“Thanks,” you tell her, “I owe you one!”
“Mmmhm!” she agrees, and you realize what you just said. Well, too late to take it back.
“What do you want in return?” you ask warily.
“Hmm...” she muses, though you know she’s already thought of something, and you just pray to whatever Wild Gods are still listening that it will be something you can actually do.
“I don’t suppose you could lend little old me some of your elfy beauty secrets? Tips’ tips, you could call them?”
“Uh, well I don’t really have any...”
“Like the ones you shared with Izirina Henzler?”
You shut your mouth, and stare at the shrewd-yet-unassuming mage before you, who is affecting total innocence.
“You heard about... That?”
“it’s sort of hard to miss a weird little cult starting on the outskirts of the biggest city in the world, you know? Word gets around, even all the way out here!”
“The <Rite>... I mean, that spell, it isn’t for frivolous cosmetic purposes, Testa,” you chastise her.
“Frivolous cosmetic purposes? You mean like... The magic you came to me to get help with?”
You scowl deeply, which Testa politely and demurely ignores until it devolves into a pout. Just sharing the <Rite of Attunement> with two people was enough to set an entire chain of events in motion with such potential for transformation—or disaster—that it put you in the crosshairs of the gods themselves. Do you really want to share it with another?
>Yes, you’ll share knowledge of the Rite with Nicolette >Yes, but you’re only transforming Testa—you're not teaching her how to do it herself >No, it’s too dangerous, but you have something else to offer... [what?] >No, and if she’s going to be like that you don’t need her help [Sociability check to see if she still helps] “Hey,” Testa interrupts your thought, “what’s this all ABOUT, anyway? You never said who this ‘opponent even is.”
>Tell Testa the truth of your target: the Prince Consort of Hawksong, who is secretly a shapeshiftingl lizard-monster >Keep the secret for now, allowing her the bliss (and safety) which comes with ignorance >Write-ins 