"We can't heal with magic, either," admits Sir Bevier. "It's possible that some sufficiently learned Styrics might be able to, but - healing is very complicated. Well beyond our level, and simply throwing in more knights chanting doesn't really help."

"Impressive," says Sir Ulath. "Doing all this -" he waves vaguely around at the room - "without magic."

Arkady looks at Sir Ulath for a second, then smiles. "Do you know, when I was studying to be a priest, one of my teachers argued that it was best that the divine did not grant us miraculous power. He said it would make us lazy." Arkady puts down his fork and points at the war axe: "I could make one of those for you from little more than trees, iron ore, and time. I used to make tools of metal to earn my living, and I am very good at it. But would I be as good if I could use magic to help me work? Would I have learned everything I need to know about how if I could just ask the divine to do some of it for me? I think perhaps not."

He picks up his fork and eats a bite of something, then adds "Being forced to do it the hard way, that may be why we learned to build things like this vessel." He shrugs: "Which seems to have problems, and so brought us somewhere where we now need to learn about magic. Nothing but God is perfect."

He's gauging their reaction to this as he speaks, btw.

"As Arkady has said, we're able to do so much despite the lack of magic because we strive so hard to obtain knowledge that lets us better understand how things work," Felix says. "The world operates in certain ways. It has certain behaviors that can be measured and accounted for. Interesting properties that can be exploited to create entirely new substances or phenomenon, which can in turn be used to create more new things and study more phenomenon in entirely new ways. Everything you see before you is a byproduct of that process. We started with sticks and mud and we eventually got ships that explode their way into the sky with people in frozen slumber so that they may explore the stars and settle colonies thousands of years in the future. Pretty amazing, when you think about it."

Felix ponders for a moment, chewing on what he believes to be meat from the hind leg of the Manticore they slew the other day while he does so. After a while he resumes speaking.

"I'd like to know more about the system of magic you use. Who sort of studies does one have to undertake in order to use it? Is there any sort of knowledge that must be learned, or is it an inherited talent passed down through bloodlines? I'd love to know about how you do that, if you're allowed to discuss such things."

"This axe," says Sir Ulath, "if there was any magic in its manufacture, then that would come as a great surprise to me. The blade was made by a blacksmith of my acquaintance, a man skilled in the forge but without the ability to manage even the most minor magic. The handle - I could show you the forest it was cut from, albeit not the tree. But it's nowhere near as impressive as -" He gestures at the ship again.

"There's no inherited talent," says Sir Bevier. "Anyone can learn magic, given enough years of study. We wouldn't be permitted to teach you how to do it - you're not Church knights -"

"And we're not fluent enough to teach, in any case," adds Sir Ulath.

"- but we can say that, in theory, anyone would be able to learn magic, if they were so inclined."

"We can also say that learning magic from the wrong teacher is really, really dangerous," adds Sir Ulath.

Arkady tries to gauge the emotional states and personalities of the natives, as well as he can:

Sir Bevier:

Arkady: Empathy: +4 Roll: -3
Sir Bevier: Resolve: XX Roll: -2

Sir Ulath:

Arkady: Empathy: +4 Roll: +0
Sir Ulath: Resolve: XX Roll: +2

Piper:

Arkady: Empathy: +4 Roll: -1
Piper: Resolve: XX Roll: +2

Wow, those were some unlucky rolls. Unless you want to spend Fate points to modify them, that's three total failures.

Arkady nods. "Don't misunderstand me, Sir Ulath; the ship is impressive. But to a man from a tribe that does not know how to work metal, your axe would be a priceless treasure; especially if he has been using sharp stones to cut wood and fight with all his life."

"I've seen that actually. When I was growing up we traveled alot, and some of the people we visited still used stone tools because they didn't have access to any metal ore to refine. We would bring axe and knife blades as gifts and for barter. Just goes to show that any technology sufficiently advanced from your own will seem wonderous, dispite how commonplace it may seem to the guy who it belongs to."

Nate pulls a lighter out of his pocket and gives it a flick.

"I'm not about to ask you to try and teach me magic," Felix laughs. "Anything worth learning is going to take months or years of time to learn how to do right, and I've got a pretty busy schedule for the next while. I would like to learn how it works eventually, but on a scholarly level rather than a practical one. Show it to me in action so I can document its affects and the underlying principles that make it work. That is the part I'm interested in! Would I have to be a Church Knight for that?"

Piper suddenly puts down her glass of water, her shoulders shaking with silent laughter.

Sit Ulath raises an eyebrow, at her, then turns back to Arkady. "You don't use the same axe to fight and cut wood," he says. "Cutting wood dulls the blade, and a fighting axe must be kept sharp at all times."

For some reason, this seems to cause Piper's silent laughter to only grow stronger; she nearly falls off her chair.

"That's an impressive trick," Sir Ulath adds, nodding at the lighter. "Handheld flint and steel of some sort?"

"To learn how magic works, even in the most scholarly and academic way," says Sir Bevier, "by far the safest way to do so would be to become a Church knight. Of course, a prerequisite for that would be to join the Elene Church."

"Pretty much." Nate says, throwing the lighter to Sir Ulath. "Using naptha or high proof alcohol as fuel."

"And I've used a tomahawk for both fighting and cutting wood, that's why I carry one. Same with a kukri. It's less weight to carry around, and greater mobility in the field."

"What were you expecting to fight at the time?" asks Sir Ulath, catching the lighter.

"I could make something even better, given a bit of time," Felix says, nodding to the lighter. "Given some copper wiring and a battery, I could make you a handheld fire starter like that one, except instead of generating flame it shoots tiny sparks of lightning."

"So... If I want to learn about the processes of magic, I'll have to join your church?" Felix frowns. "Something to consider, but until I have the time for it I'll have to put those thoughts on the back burner while we get our settlement sorted out."

Arkady does not look any happier at the suggestion that joining a local church would be required to understand magic, but contents himself for the moment to look at the laughing girl. What was that...right. "At least they do not have to chop down the mightiest tree in the forest with a fish."

He tries to get a handle on the aliens again. While he's at it, he'll consider the humans as well.

"What's a battery?" asks Sir Bevier.

"You probably wouldn't be accepted into any of the Knightly orders, anyway," adds Sir Ulath. "Too old. And even if you did, it would take years of study just to learn the simplest spell. Decades, if you want to be any good at it."

Arkady's comment seems to cause Piper to laugh harder, lying on her back on the chair and kicking her legs in the air - still completely silent.

Sir Bevier:

Arkady: Empathy: +4 Roll: +1
Sir Bevier: Resolve: +5 Roll: -3

Sir Ulath:

Arkady: Empathy: +4 Roll: +3
Sir Ulath: Resolve: +3 Roll: +0

Piper:

Arkady: Empathy: +4 Roll: +0
Piper: Resolve: +4 Roll: -2

Huh. All successful this time.

Arkady watches the knights, and the little girl, very carefully as they talk with Felix and Nathan.

Sir Bevier, from the tone of voice with which he talks about his faith, sounds like he is a particularly Devout knight. He may have a bit of a missionary streak, and can be expected to try to talk people into joining his church.

Sir Ulath, on the other hand, although he looks pretty close to the stereotypical image of dumb muscle, gives the impression of being a good deal Smarter Than He Looks. He could probably hold his own quite handily in a theological debate, never mind on a battlefield.

Neither of them seem to be, in any way, deliberately deceptive.

Piper, on the other hand, seems - odd - in more than one way. On the surface, she's the perfect little girl - amazingly perfect. One might even say... too perfect. Arkady can't shake off the feeling that there's a lot more to her than the appearance she presents to the world - and, if there's magic in this world, could it be that this is Not Her True Form?

Except for Felix and Nathan, none of the other humans seem to be reacting to anything Arkady is saying - perhaps because they don't speak the local language.

Arkady grins, glances over at the knights and says "It seems that she has opinions about being a lumberjack. How did she come to travel with you?"

"We met her soon after meeting these gentlemen." Sir Bevier indicates Felix and Nathan. "We heard music, Felix followed the sound and came back with a little Styric girl. We have no idea where, or who, her parents are."