Xaviers!

Sean stepped into Raven's Crest, he'd done his best to clean up nice to get past the bouncers without resorting to magic or bribery. He wasn't entirely confident in what he was doing, but went towards the bar to get a drink before trying to get a meeting with Erica. When he reached the bar he fiddled with small silver ring while waiting for service, the runes on the ring glowing slightly as he did so.

After a while, a woman in her late 20s to early 30s approaches, "Enjoying your evening?"

Erica Carlisle wrote:After a while, a woman in her late 20s to early 30s approaches, "Enjoying your evening?"

"Oh, It's quite the establishment. I'm sure the proprietor is quite proud of it, " Sean said after turning towards the woman. "Doesn't hurt that the bartender knows their work well."

"I try to make sure my people know their business," she says, "Erica Carlisle." She extends a hand to him.

"Sean Hall," Sean said taking Erica's outstretched hand. He wore several rings, each with their own enchantment. They certainly would lend his handshake a more... electric feeling to somebody attuned to such things.

"Nice to see new faces around here," she says, her eyes show intrigue, but the rest of her face remains casually friendly. For her part, Erica thrummed with the magic woven through her.

Sean noticed the weave and decided that at the very least this must be the Erica that Isolde and Tereza had talked about. Or Erica had gathered some magic wielding dopplegangers.

"Our community is fairly small," Sean said trying to play the game of intrigue, but he wasn't terribly accustomed to it. "And not many locations where it can gather ."

Sean's magic wove about him tightly. It was bright, full of energy, and something about it was wrong or out of place. It had... 'seams' that made it looked stitched together. As if it was covering something like a new tattoo to cover an old one. Though why or how was unclear.

She gestures for a drink from the bartender and collects it before responding, "Sometimes it's just a matter of the right place at the right time. And there's more places than some people realize, though, if I say so myself, some people have quite the skewed perspective."

Erica Carlisle wrote:She gestures for a drink from the bartender and collects it before responding, "Sometimes it's just a matter of the right place at the right time. And there's more places than some people realize, though, if I say so myself, some people have quite the skewed perspective."

"Skewed?" Sean asked before gesturing for another drink.

"So many people have to always be right," she says, gesturing towards an empty table. "There's no harm in being wrong, so long as you're right at all the important moments. And with people like us, hubris is... well, it can be fatal."

Sean takes his drink from the bar and heads towards the empty table.

"And frequently fatal for friends," Sean said, "But the real trick is having all of the information, aye? To make the best decision in the moment."

"Information is everything," Erica says, taking a seat at the table. "Which is why it disturbs me greatly that I didn't know there was another one of us in the area. So tell me something about yourself."

Sean took a seat and the shadows from the chair seemed to darken and sharpen slightly. A subtle change that Sean seemed unaware of and no magic appeared to be used to do it.

"It's easy to hide yourself as a mutant," Sean said, "Even easier when you attend a university almost entirely attended by mutants and have mutant parents."

"But I suppose I didn't answer your question. I grew up in Birmingham, but spent more of my time at boarding school than I did there. My parents own a large research and development firm called MAGUS, which makes all manner of things for both killing and curing people, and wanted me properly educated and groomed to run the family business. Unfortunately, I prefer reading through dusty old tomes or wandering through forests to engineering."

"I much prefer those activities myself, not that engineers don't make delightful toys, but it's not something I'd pursue either. Do they know about your... gifts?"

"No," Sean said, "And I've done nothing to convince them otherwise. As far as they know the reason I went through half a dozen computers growing up is because I was careless and couldn't control my mutation."

"Ah," she says, smiling behind her glass, "So who told you I was a practitioner?"

"A werewolf on our campus who is on a very short leash," Sean said, "I asked her some questions about a book and when she didn't have answers she said something about selling my soul to you instead. Though not quite so politely."

"I don't deal in souls, handsome. You shouldn't listen to werewolves. They're inherently untrustworthy. Most of them would as soon eat you as look at you."

"I feel like that is exactly what somebody who deals in souls would say. Though such creatures are significantly less beautiful than you in the books I've read," Sean smiled. "And she did threaten to kill me several times when I talked to her."

She sips at her drink and takes the compliment with a smile. "Well, there you go. Werewolves are creatures of violence and bloodshed. Tough and effective, of course, but like any pet dog they're a nuisance if the they're not well-trained and kept in line. And they're nearly impossible to keep in line. I gave up trying to help them."

"You've worked with them before?" Sean asked.

"I've had dealings with them before," she says with a shrug, "The term 'work with' is probably generous."

Sean sipped his drink while he mulled over his response.

"Seems like the old books are accurate enough then," Sean said, "Between the werewolves and Fey the university is becoming a much better environment to study our craft than I expected."

"Good places to study can be found in the most surprising places," she says, "You just have to know what to look for."

"Most of my time has been spent telling junk books from real ones," Sean said, "And the most useful one I've encountered seems to be... in pieces."

Sean paused for a moment.

"Unfortunately a true library of books isn't available."

"Are you fishing for whether I have a library?" She smirks, taking another sip.

"I've been caught," Sean smiled.

"Let us say for the moment that I did," she says, setting her glass on the table and trailing her finger around the edge of the glass, "And I'm not saying I do, but say I did, why would I show it to you?"

"To enlighten young minds?" Sean asked. "Or because perhaps is be interested in finding out if it's worth negotiating for access to it. Though I suppose it's presumptuous to assume you'd do such a thing.

Erica makes a thoughtful noise, "You said the only useful one you'd found so far was in pieces?" She seems to be scrutinizing him very closely.

Whatever makes the magic energy woven around Sean fit badly with reality is not the Darkhold's influence. If anything the taint that would be left is nonexistent. Something else is there hovering at the periphery, but it seems to avoid classification.

"Yes, though other works have helped somewhat," Sean said, "I've found several grimoirs that have proven dependable though out of date. A few journals containing detailed notes on runes and enchantment. Mostly practice and... intuition have served me well."

"Here's the thing," she says, still running her finger around the rim of her glass, "Assuming I have something you want, what would you possibly have that I would want?"

"This would be the sticking point I suppose," Sean said, "The things I have the most of is money, which doesn't seem to be a problem for you. My skills in enchanting are quite good, but you likely have more experienced sources than me."

Sean was quiet for a moment.

"That means the most valuable thing I can offer you are favors."

"To be perfectly frank, some of your magic looks... bolted on and I'm not sure whether to chalk that up to inexperience or something else. That makes it hard to judge the value of your favors."

Sean was caught a little off guard by that comment. The magic around him pulsed with his emotions causing the runes on the rings he wore to glow slightly. At the very least his power ran deep. Deeper than a mortals should perhaps.

Bolted on? Might have something to do with some of the things that have happening...

"That's a... not a descriptor I've heard of it before," Sean said, "I sealed a breach at the lighthouse and banished the beings that came through back across the veil, so I'm not incapable. My abilities are certainly a bit wild and unpredictable at times, but not unreasonably so I think."

"Hmmm." She continues to scrutinize him, "So are you just wanting access to this library that I can't confirm I have or are you looking for something more?"

"The library primarily," Sean said, "Thought it could help find a reason why the winds of magic feel... charged as of late. The last time they felt this way preceded the veil coming apart spilling forth a pestilence of pixies and other more obviously dangerous things."

Sean paused for a moment.

"The theoretical library would also theoretically help with a number of other things depending on the contents of it. Perhaps about the book I mentioned before."

"The ley lines are getting especially charged lately. I'd show you where they lie, but the map I had here was recently stolen."

"I suppose the obvious question is why they're getting charged," Sean said, "And why somebody would steal a ley line map. Though I'll admit being a little surprised you only had the one copy."

"The map I had *here* was stolen. I didn't say it was the only copy."