Vance made his way into Penny's nook. The building had smooth wooden floors. He dragged his cane across the floor a few feet in front of him and found that walking on this surface would be quite easy.

He could hear somewhere around 4 or 5 people in here with him as he'd expected.

He started constructing a mental layout of the room, everywhere he heard people moving plates and talking was likely to be a table - that's the first few obstacles noted. He heard a conversation across the room, a woman talking to a man, followed by the sound of something sliding on wood, then the sound of coins clacking together - that'll be the bar.

Vance made his way over. He was careful in the movement of his cane, he didn't want to upset anyone on his first day by smacking them in the shins.

He paid close attention to the sounds around him and quickly located an empty stool in front of the bar, which he quickly posted upon.

"Hey, Honey. Haven't seen you here before, I'm Penny."

A feminine voice came from not too far in front of him, she sounded nice. Speaking of nice, Leon told him that the first thing he should do is be exceptionally so to the first people he meets, time to try that out.

"Hi Penny, I'm Vance. I like your nook."

Alright, that could have been worse. It also could've been a lot better. Say something smarter, genius.

"Any chance I could get a bite to eat? I like what I'm smelling around here." Vance had plastered on his best smile and tried his best to look relaxed, it was sort of working.

"Of course honey, what're you after?"

"I'm not sure what it is, but whatever that meat smell is, that."

"You've got a good nose on you boy." A gruff voice from a handful of feet to his left spoke up. "That there is Sallak meat. You ever seen a Sallak?" The man ended his sentence with a quick sound of realisation and he stumbled over a word for a second. This was something Vance was sure he was going to run into a lot, Leon had explained he could turn this into a big social win.

Vance threw his smile up at the man and pointed up at his eyes, he happily replied to the man "Nope, can't say I have, but if they smell like this, I'm already a big fan. What're they like?"

He could hear the tension fade out of the man who was glad he hadn't just been called out for making fun of the new blind kid in the building. He had an accent Vance couldn't quite place, but considering his reaction, he was probably harmless.

The man coughed lightly and said "Big lizards, vermin around these parts. They don't smell anything like this when they're alive, that's a miracle of Penny's making. Some of 'em get plenty big, Devis tells me that he once saw one as big as a man."

"That's enough out of you, Seamus."

"Come on Penny, just talkin' to the kid."

"He hasn't even ordered yet, let the boy breathe!"

"It's alright Penny, I could do with all the information I can get, I'm new in town, watch out for man-sized Sallak, thanks for the tip, Seamus."

"See? No problem, Kid. Vance, right? Welcome to the nook."

"That's my line, Seamus."

"Yeah, yeah." Seamus enthusiastically returned to downing whatever drink he had in front of him. Smelled sweet.

"I think I'd like some Sallak then please Penny and if it's not too much to ask, I'd also like a room and something to drink, what's Seamus drinking? I like the smell."

"Sure thing hon, it'll run you 2 copper for the meal. The drink comes with it. It's a juice I make from apricots, Seamus has the alcoholic one. A room is 3 coppers a night and there's a washbasin here you can use while you stay."

After paying and waiting for a few minutes, Vance was delighted to discover that he really did like Sallak, it was a little tough but it tasted something like chicken and whatever seasoning she was using left an aftertaste which made him a little sad to wash away with apricot juice...which was also pretty great.

He idly chatted with Seamus while he sat there, turns out Seamus was a local but he came from far to the north, he didn't elaborate on exactly where. He was a fisherman and was off-trip at the moment. He was also quite drunk, which explained the almost entirely disjointed topics the conversation jumped between.

"Could either of you tell me where the college is? I was hoping to visit and see If I could get an audience with Sir Elijah, the historian."

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"Hon, that's a tall order. Elijah and the other Arcanists don't just meet with anybody, they're always busy reading or whatever it is they do."

"Right, that makes sense. Of course, they're busy. What do you think my best bet is?"

"Depends what you're after." Seamus chimed in. "If you're wantin' to join the college, you'd best just be signing up and tryin' to get in through the tests and whatnot, though no offense Vance, you might find the written tests a wee bit tricky."

Vance was pretty certain he could feel Penny giving Seamus a glare, but he wasn't sure.

"Written tests? Yeah, that might be a problem." Vance admitted, suddenly feeling quite dejected.

"Chin up, hon." He felt Penny tap him on the nose. "There's more than one way to skin a Sallak."

Later that day, full to the brim with Sallak and Apricot Juice, Vance had made his way through the city to the college. Seamus had offered to come with him, saying "I don't have anything to do today anyway, I'll show you around."

Vance left most of his belongings in the room he'd rented at the nook, then accepted happily. A guide could help save a lot of time. Vance was mapping the city in his head as they travelled, first and foremost remembering the path back to the nook.

Seamus was about his height, but perhaps twice his age. He was also still very drunk, and so his descriptions were sub-optimal.

"That's the church of the shattered God. Weird name for a God."

"That's Megan, she runs a tailor shop, Hi Megan!"

"Hear that? That's a river, runs through the western districts, don't fall in! There are bridges."

Truly insightful.

It took about half an hour to walk from the nook to the college. From Seamus' description, it was a large building built for purpose rather than grandeur. It was a largely symmetrical rectangular building that surrounded a large open garden in the centre. Seamus described a large variety of plants in the garden by distinguishing them by colour, which eventually dawned on him as not particularly helpful for Vance.

Penny had advised Vance to pay a visit and just start asking questions. The most important part for him was to be considered, regardless of if their initial opinion was positive or negative, some information might find its way to Elijah one way or another, which was about as good as he could hope for at the moment.

Seamus took him on what he called the "Scenic route" to the administration office, which he was pretty sure meant that Seamus was lost and didn't want to admit it.

"Alright Vance, you go inside and do whatever it is you're doing here. I'll hang out in the garden or something, I'm sure they won't mind."

Vance thought they'd definitely mind.

"Thanks, Seamus, I'll see you back at the nook?"

Seamus seemed to like the idea of going back to where the booze was even more than going to the garden, so he slapped Vance on the shoulder and stumbled off.

"Good luck, Barnce."

"Barnce? Well, you certainly made at least one interesting friend today." Vance mused.

He made his way inside the administration office, it was much quieter in here, he couldn't hear anyone for the first few seconds, but eventually, he heard the shuffling of paper not too far away, it was harder to gauge this room without much sound and he didn't want to mess anything up, so he called out instead.

"Hello? I'm looking for administration?"

"You've found it, welcome." A few moments passed where Vance reasoned he was being evaluated. "It's a clear shot from you to me, so just head this way."

Vance took a deep breath and made his way over. The floor in here was really smooth, more so than any worked stone he'd ever stood on before, then again, this place was home to Arcanists, it would be extravagant. He eventually found that he touched a table in front of him, good quality wood, solid and he couldn't feel any cracks under his fingers.

"What can I do for you, young man?"

"I don't know if I'm in exactly the right place, but my name is Vance Kalliea. A few years ago, Sir Elijah paid a visit to a small village near here called Wethermane, while he was there he gave me a small task to complete, I've come in the hopes of reporting my progress to him."

Vance was playing up the nature of the "Task" a little, but it was a harmless distinction.

"I am sorry sir, but I'm afraid I can't just let anyone walk in and set up a meeting with Mr Werthing. I'm sure you understand."

"Yes, of course. I wondered if perhaps you would be willing to deliver a message for me?"

"That, I can do."

He heard the man pick up a writing instrument and dip it into an ink bottle. The ink was probably expensive, for them to use it this frivolously must mean they're loaded.

"As I said, my name is Vance Kalliea. I'm from Wethermane. I never had a chance to formally introduce myself to Sir Elijah, so if you could please just let him know that the young blind man whom he gifted a coin has come to visit and believes he has achieved a small amount of success in the task he was given. I have been able to sense the mana within the coin, and also I've been able to move that mana from the coin into another metal object, a sword to be exact."

Strangely, towards the end there, Vance heard the man stop scribbling.

"My apologies, Sir. Did you say that you sensed and moved mana to and from an enchanted object by...feeling?"

Vance couldn't tell, but Thomas, the boy behind the desk had eyes as wide as moons plastered onto his face.

"Yes, sir."

"If it's not too much trouble, could you show me? Sir Elijah would want me to validate such a claim."

"Of course. do you mind If I draw my sword in order to do so? I'm afraid I've only practiced with a sword and a coin."

"Not a problem, please go ahead."

As requested, Vance produced his blade and pulled the coin from around his neck, he transferred the mana from the coin into the blade and back, each time presenting the objects and their current states to Thomas.

"Mr Kalliea, I do apologise for my hesitation earlier. This is indeed an exceptional circumstance and I will report this to Master Elijah in the fastest manner I can. If you would be so kind, let me know where you are staying and I shall have his response delivered to you as soon as possible. The letter will be addressed from me, Thomas Alson."

Vance noticed the obvious shift in the man's manner, he was suddenly treating Vance with a lot more respect.

"Thanks, Thomas, I really appreciate that." He meant it, he honestly didn't think he'd even get this far. He considered quizzing Thomas on his newfound manners and what caused such a shift but he figured he didn't want to press his luck.

"My pleasure, Sir. I hope you have a wonderful afternoon."

With that, Vance made his way back out into the street and back to the nook, where he found Seamus asleep at the bar.

As soon as Vance was gone, Thomas began hastily writing down his findings. He recorded the name of his visitor and every detail of his appearance and their encounter he could think of. He committed Vance's name to memory. Afterwards, he gathered up his finding and made his way further into the buildings, towards Sir Elijah's office.