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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Carlo-One" data-source="post: 8209966" data-attributes="member: 7015827">Shanni cursed as Dermot asked Aerikoth if the noise was from the child he had seen, to which the wizard dryly replied that it was very likely. More yelling was heard in the night and Dermot quickly used the sound to locate the boy, who was cowering a short distance away on the manor grounds. The child retreated against the nearest wall as Dermot came over, crossbow in hand, yelling at the boy to stop, while the ranger’s eyes attempted to seek out any threats lurking in the dark. Shivering, the boy muttered about seeing a dead body, which apparently had spooked him, then somewhat accusingly told Dermot that he wasn’t a ghost.Sighing, the ranger put away his crossbow, as an invisible Aerikoth confirmed that was the child he had seen. When Dermot asked if he had seen any ghosts, the boy replied that he had seen the manor door open but no one was there, so instead of going inside he had run, thinking it was the ghost. The wizard explained that the boy had seen nothing because of the invisibility spell cast upon himself before exiting. Curious, the boy then asked them if they had seen the ghost, getting a no in reply from Dermot and Darrow.Shaking off the momentary confusion, Dermot then inquired what the boy was doing at the manor – a haunted house in the middle of nowhere, in the dead of night – and what his parents knew about him being there. The boy, mustering some enthusiasm, said he had heard about the ghost and figured he would be the bravest kid in the village if he saw it. Shanni sarcastically asked how that had worked out for him, and the boy shivered in response.Fente Bross, for that was the boy’s name, mentioned that his dad was Kente, who ran the Tallwell general store. Quickly shrugging off his previous terror, Fente with even more enthusiasm told them there was supposed to be buried treaure there, since the Beast’s hoard had never been found; the boy thought that it would help his dad out a lot to have it. Admiringly, he asked if the adventurers were those who had killed the Beast, getting a nod from Darrow in return.Dermot congratulated the kid on having done what he set out to do, which noticeably brightened Fente’s mood. The boy nonetheless grasped the seriousness of the situation, so when Shanni suggested that Aerikoth take him home, the boy was excited at the prospect and jumped as the wizard suddenly appeared. Aerikoth dryly commented that they might as well return to Tallwell and bring the thrill-seeker with them.Curious about the magic Aerikoth had used, Fente asked if he could learn to do that. Darrow explained to the lad that it took a lot of book learning, to which the boy replied that he had the time. Aerikoth reinforced the point to the child that a lot of effort went into wielding magic, but Fente declared that he was not afraid of hard work, or anything else, as his presence at the haunted manor proved. (While the boy's enthusiasm does not necessarily correlate with his ability to learn and perform arcane magic, I expect that this is in fact how many wizard's apprentices are first identified. As with the training for a monk's life, much discipline is required to learn the necessary skills, and not everyone has the personal attributes required for such pursuits. Yet a willingness to consider the prospect and lack of aversion to hard work are, to be sure, the fundamental requirements. --C) After some discussion, it was agreed that Aerikoth would teleport back to the village with Fente, then return shortly afterward to the bedroom inside, which the wizard had used as a destination for the assault on the Beast.</blockquote>

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