Soul Bound

1          Soul Bound

1.1        Finding her Feet

1.1.4      An Intriguing City

1.1.4.5    What can't be achieved by one with both patience and providence on their side?

They found Suor Isabella not leading services or doing paperwork, but labouring in a distilling room, full of herbs and bubbling glassware and racks of labelled bottles. She was creating high level healing potions and mana recovery potions, one after another, her brow sweating and an intense look of concentration on her face, her hands working mechanically.

A green haired priest in finely tailored robes was standing behind her, talking: “Suor Isabella, your dedication to caring for the poor is admirable, admirable I say.” he paused for effect, his voice and beringed hands conveying emotion in the style of a practiced orator, “but even though your father is the great apothecary Dottore, and you have inherited much of his skill, I do not think even you can keep an entire district fed and clothed by yourself.”

Isabella, through gritted teeth, replied: “Fra Nerone, I am not by myself. I have Cov on my side. And, there, that is another batch finished. If we send these to the big auction, I am sure they will raise enough money to keep the orphanage going for a few more days.”

Nerone: “Isabella, Isabella. This is just a stop gap. Cov stands for order. Everyone in their rightful place. Everything funded by the right source. You are disrupting Cov’s natural order of things.”

Isabella: “Order, yes, that is true. But Cov also stands for hospitality and protecting homes. The homes of the whole of our race, the Covadan, not just the ones lucky enough to have been born in Alto. The Sanctum is not trying to feed the whole of Basso. Just some of their children, the ones who have been left with neither mother nor father to look after them. As is our duty, as is our policy, as was approved by a vote of the council of guardians. Do you reject their lawful ruling?”

What Isabella lacked in tailoring, she made up for in passion and sincerity. She was also one of the most beautiful women that Kafana had ever seen. Nerone annoyed her but, heeding Massimo’s advice, she restrained herself from butting in.

Nerone: “Not at all, not at all. But the vote was quite close. And you yourself will be retiring soon, I hear. Congratulations on your upcoming marriage to Captain Lelio, by the way. The alliance it will cement with the guild of goldsmiths run by his father, Pantalone, will be most useful to Dottore I am sure.”

Isabella: “Good day to you, Nerone Drago. I have many duties to attend to and, as you can see, someone waits here who I must speak to.” then she added, in case he missed the point “In private.”

Nerone gave a florid bow that involved much hand twirling and left, his voice floating back in a teasing tone “Until later”.

Isabella nearly, but not quite, slammed the thick wooden door behind him. It certainly closed with a very solid thump.

“Thank you Fra Massimo. Never have I been so glad to have a conversation interrupted. And this is Spirit Kafana? Please forgive me for meeting you in such a messy state.”

Kafana: “There is only one solution to you being so messy. I must get messy too. I won’t apologise for interrupting that odious dandy, but I don’t want to interrupt your work here, and I believe I may be able to sing you a song that will aid you, if accepting my help would be ok? I bear a message from Fra Mattheus of Villa Landi. He suggested that I tell you about something.”

Isabella beamed: “I will gladly accept any help. Massimo, you prepare the herbs for the next batch and ask Cov’s aid in upgrading their quality. I shall do the same with liquids. Kafana, please do sing us a song. And then you can relate your tale, in as much detail as you please, while I carry on brewing.”

And that is what they did. Kafana spent a moment considering the lyrics she'd used at Villa Landi, changed “kitchen” to “still room”, and then launched into song. She was pleased to note that the resulting buff now gave +2 to level of occupational skills, though whether that was because there were fewer targets or her singing level had improved, she wasn’t sure. Next she sang a short humorous speed buff, to a quick finger tapping rhythm. Finally, remembering that Bulgaria had reported Dino’s meditation restored mana, she tried to empty her mind of any thoughts but those of Cov, held her pendant in her hand, and sang pure notes without words, leaving the melody in Cov’s hands, just relaxing into it and hoping it would restore Isabella stamina, and maybe a bit of mana. Let her be Cov’s tool.

[System Warning : You are on 10% mana. Further singing may send you into mana shock.]

She was jolted back to herself by the warning she’d set after her previous experience with low mana. She shook her head and stopped singing. What had she been doing? How much time had passed? The shelf before her was now packed full of bright red and blue potions. There were also 10 luxuriant purple ones and 2 glowing gold.

Isabella was also glowing, her pendant blazing like the sun, her hair streaming behind her, on invisible waves of magic power. Standing very straight she turned to Kafana and said in a formal voice:

“Kafana, as Guardian of Cov’s Sanctum I hereby recognise you as a Chosen of Cov. Welcome Suor Kafana.”

[Title “Suor” acquired.]

[Skill “Priestess” acquired.]

Kafana’s pendant blazed to match that of Isabella’s.

Massimo muttered: “I really do need to buy myself a pair of sunglasses.”

Isabella ignored Massimo’s comment, as though she’d had long practice at doing so. She added: “And I offer you an apprenticeship. Cov knows when we’ll find the time, as no doubt you’ll be off on adventures, but you won’t be able to advance without it, and you have far too much natural talent to waste.”

[Do you wish to spend 1 skill point, to advance to the “apprentice” stage in the skill “Priestess”?]

“I accept. Gladly. I think Cov’s been sending me rather unsubtle hints that he wants me to.”

[Skill “Priestess” has reached level 2.]

[Skill “Priestess” has reached level 3.]

[Skill “Priestess” has reached level 4.]

[Skill “Priestess” has reached level 5. You have attained the “apprentice” stage.]

As they walked together to register Kafana’s change in status properly, get her appropriate robes and find her an introductory tome (which ought to have been titled “The duffer’s guide to priestessing : 10 ways to screw up that you should avoid.” but was actually titled “Guidelines for Sanctum acolytes, 3rd revision”) , Kafana told Isabella about the play they’d put on at Villa Landi and asked her if she really wanted to marry Lelio. Isabella confided that she respected Lelio, but he just wasn’t her type, however her father wouldn’t countenance her marrying the person she actually liked, no matter how talented, because he had no house or important connections.

“He’s forbidden me from even arranging to meet Flavio. I either marry Lelio (which will require leaving my post as Guardian, to go live with him instead), or I am disowned by my father and he sends Flavio to work in a different city, in which case I still won’t get to be with him. There is no third choice.”