"Genetics," replied Gunni, smirking a bit. "And environment, too. My dad runs a garage, he does custom work as well as repairs. He's a wizard with anything mechanical. The Legos[sup]tm[/sup] every birthday after my fifth might've been a factor as well. And then there was the baby-sitter who thought that the explosive mirror-forming scene from Bujold's [I]Falling Free[/I] was an appropriate bedtime story for a four year old." She wasn't quite ready to say more, yet...

Jai smiled at Sven. "Yes, that will do just fine. Give me a few minutes and I'll have your paperwork ready."

"I'm hoping that between being able to see the other end," Hypatia said as she gestured at the mirror, "and the Power you can draw on, you'll be able to get me in there. If not, I try from out here. Which reminds me..." She set down the Replica Statue and went to the kitchen, returning with a platter of leftover gyros meats steaming from the microwave.

______________________________________________

Gunni smiled at the shoulder dragon, then said to David, "Power without an 'off' switch. I do not envy you that." She offered Sven a hand. "Hello, Sven. I'm Gunni."

Upstairs

Ron looks at the Mirror. "I try maybe, If it was just seein' I could go anywhere with a live broadcast. I have a range limit and I only can go to one another realm and that is Hel's realm. I could bother Hel a bit she would guide the portal Hate to do so, she tends to ask for a price." the room grew cold and sure enough where the couch was now in it place was a throne of black stone and Hel was there with her legs hidden via a long flowing gown. "Indeed you are learning well my champion. In this case I will ask for something very easy. Jonathan Basarab has been cheating me of my rightful dues for way too long. The situation has became even more of a bother as it seems he has crossed from being mortal to a true Immortal being. This can not be allowed!" for a moment her features turned deathly before reverting back to looking like a pale woman in what could only be called a cross of Victorian and Goth. "Not only has he cheated me with his own life, but with Christopher's as well."

Ron turned "Damn woman ya always looking over my shoulder or somethin'?" Hel let out a playful laugh "More like out or your own eyes."

Christopher was torn between fear and awl. "Kisasszony Hypatia I knew you were of the wiccan kind, and I was from a time where such were burned. I never took part and even publicly condemned such acts. But I am beginning to fear for my soul, and your own dealing with such beings."
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Downstairs

"Yeah I'm learning some self control. A bit of martial arts and meditation hopefully with some more discipline I wouldn't need a device to control it." He turned to Sven and offered his own hand. "A pleasure meeting you Sven welcome to Titan city."

Upstairs

"I have no desire to sell my soul to a ..." he stopped the line of thought figuring saying heathen god might insult Hypatia not to mention the said goddess and her Zombie Champion.

Hel chuckled "Don't fear Christopher this is just one aspect of what I am." With that Hel stood up for a moment her deformed legs were shown, then her form shifted and instead stood an angel in full form and black wings. "I also serve as the Angel of Death. And no Hypatia I will not take my payment now. Thought what life would he have? All his property no longer exists and everyone but his brother has long ago gone beyond the veil."

Ron shrugged at all that stuff really. "The real question is can ya get him out Hel." Hel/Angel of death turned her head and looked at Ron with a slight angered expression. "Of course I can." "Yeah yeah, so ya want us to kill the Man in the Mirror's brother. Don't deny it that ya real price. Christopher here is just icing on the cake." "Seems you are learning more than I thought."
------------------------------------------------
Downstairs

"Well I'm not a tech guy really. It's court order I have the inhibitor, good thing I'm not classed as a Dangerous type power. Thought my imagination figments can do harm, they aren't harmful in themselves. The biggest danger to myself this inhibitor keeps it under control."

Hypatia smiled. "The same as any of us, really. Whatever he can make for himself. Sure, he's a bit short of cash, and we'd need to give him a crash course in modern conveniences and hazards, but he still has his education, his skills, whatever they are... How many languages do you know, Christopher?"

_____________________________________________________

Gunni listened as the others talked, using her smartphone to locate the consulate, banks with ATMs that would accept her card, the bus routes...

Sven waves at marcus and smiles as he leaves he then turns to Gunni "By the way... what odd circumstances where you talking about earlier? I'm curious..."

Upstairs

Hel returned to her Norse Goddess form and sat on that throne. "Your brother used Norse magic when he cast that spell. How about this then I will not claim your soul Christopher if you agree to put an end to your brother before the Summer solstice. That will be June 21st this year." "It been over three hundred years... To long watching the world go by in slivers of mirrors. Very well I accept."

He looked to Hypatia "I speak English of course even if it changed a lot over time. I was able to follow along. There is also my native Hungarian, Latin, some french and even a touch of spanish. Thought to be truthful I haven't followed the changes as much in those languages. Seems Latin has died out for the most part. Only now spoken in catholic churches and in scientific terms."

Ron had crossed his arms listening "I'm Sorry Christopher, and to you Hypatia. I can't be involved in this, I know it risks keeping ya in that mirror prison, but I can't get involved with something that means killin' someone. Even if it's for the old ball and chain here." Hel features for a moment became more corpse like "Ron Bolton you are my Champion." "Right Ya Champion not yar executioner. Like ya tell me often, 'Ya made the deal, now live with it.' So live with it toots."

Hel settled down and even laughed "Even dead you got courage Mr. Bolton. Just so happens you aren't needed for this, or at least this part. The Reaper will retrieve the wayward spirit of Joshua Bassarab, one way or another." If Ron could pale he would at those words, but only he knew what they really meant. Hel looked at Hypatia "What do you know about Yggdrasil?"
--------------------------------------------
Downstairs

"A Norse God? Wow. I seen some powerful heroes growing up here, but Gods are a whole other level."

"Hmmph... trickster gods... never liked them myself... back when I was farmer our god of trickery Rym came along and turned my entire cabbage field into cotton candy..."

"Ah thank you, Comrade" Sven then reads over the contract and signs it

"Better take what beniftis you can get from it then.... when Rym destroyed my cabbage field it almost ruined me... I don't know much about this... Loki.... but it sounds like things could have gone worse...."

[I]Upstairs[/I]

Hypatia winced at Hel's rebuke. As Christopher emerged, she offered her hand. "Welcome to Titan City. We may have a couple of months before Hel's deadline, but the sooner we find your brother the more options we'll have. Do you think you can locate him in the mirror again without him noticing?"
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

[I]Downstairs[/I]

Gunni wasn't sure how she knew. An aspect of her mother's legacy, or recent close contact with Loki? Maybe both. "Close, David. Her name is usually spelled with only one ell. Or if you mean the place it would be Helheim. But either she's gone now or not so ticked off that the wards here can't conceal her presence." She shuddered slightly.

At the ringing of the phone Hypatia said, "Excuse me," and went into the living room. She looked at the Caller ID as she picked up the handset and accepted the call. "Argyros residence. I take it you want to speak with Mr. Bolton?"

"Landlord wants to speak to you, Ron," said Hypatia as she handed him the handset. "He doesn't sound [i]quite[/i] as upset as She was."

A short, petite woman can be seen struggling to enter one of the apartment rooms. The door was stuck, the key didn't fit in the lock, and the handle was hard to reach.

A loud CRASH reverberates though the hallways as she clobbers the door with her sledgehammer. A look of confusion spread across her face as the door stayed fully intact despite the blow.

The petite lady hits the containment field a couple of times to no effect, and then clobbers it with great force; the barrier flickers momentary and emits a loud BZZRT sound but otherwise holds firm. She glares at the mysterious hammer-proof energy wall for a moment and then pauses to look upwards at the man who is four times her height. Despite being the size of a child, the woman has the body proportions of an adult.

"Whoa I umm sorry but the door it won't open..." she stutters. She sets her weapon down and holds up a small water bottle and two broken halves of the keycard for the room.

She then looks down at the floor as if appraising its durability.

[I]Upstairs[/I]

"Too bad," said Hypatia. "We'll have to find him some other way. Food... I just ate, but I can put together a meal for you..." She went back to the kitchen to see just what she had on hand besides the gyros meat.
__________________________________________________________

[I]The Lobby[/I]

"I'm sure other cities have their share of... visitors... from time to time. But Titan City does have a reputation for being a Weirdness Magnet." Gunni started looking up places to eat nearby. "Hmmm, Titan Taco? Sounds almost Mexican..."

"Most likely you won't find a merchant who'll take those coins at face value. You want to look for someone who deals in old, rare coins." Hypatia pulled out a couple of beef pot pies and put them in the microwave, then started prepping a salad. "Hopefully you'll get a lot better than the value of the metals."

Lyndus stares at the portal robot while walking forwards, too distracted to take the card. Not paying attention to where she is going, a loud *THUMP* "OUCH!" is heard across the hallway as she walks straight into the wall right next to the door! She lifts up her warhammer for a moment, then thinks better of it and puts it down again.

"Should I put this away? Is anything in the apartment fragile? Will anything in here try to eat me?" The hammer glows for a moment then turns into a longsword - a heavy blade for sure, rather huge for Lyn. The weapon slides neatly into the scabbard on her back. "Where should I put my stuff? What if the door doesn't open? Could you hold onto this for a moment?"

Lyndus hands Jai her miniature purse with complete disregard to Jai's carrying capacity. Weighing twenty five kilograms, the object is shockingly heavy. She peeks into the room, unsure of what lurks within.

"Oh! How does that work? Can I do it?" Lyndus eagerly runs over to the panel, then nodnods at Jai. "Could you put the computer and Ultra-HD TV over here? And the Molecular Assembler over there, and the magnetic refrigerator, and the wearable PC, and the flower garden, and umm...I guess the bed can go over here..."

She jumps upwards towards one of the food cabinets, but it is too high.

"The Molecular Assembler. The thing that you put stuff in to break it down and turn it into something completely different? Does this apartment not come with one?"

Lyn presses a random button on the panel, then turns to give Jai a piercing stare. "My...weight?! Do I need you to hold my purse again? At twenty pounds this thing would probably break. And then I will trip over it. Instead I'll...umm...can I have a different apartment? This one does not suit my needs."

"Weight?! Well erm..." Lyndus waves her impossibly heavy purse in front of Jai, then unstraps her weapon and leans it against the wall. "Erm...it can vary a bit?" She taptaps the side of the cuirass she is wearing, blushing a bit. "This outfit is a tad...heavy..." She reaches into the purse, first pulls out a carpenter's hammer that doesn't seem like it should fit in the purse, then pulls out a bundle of clothes that definitely should not fit in the purse!

"I'll, umm...find a place to get changed?" She glares at Jai for a moment then waves the carpenter's hammer in front of him. "Don't follow me." Lyn takes both the clothes and carpenter's hammer with her into another room. A little while later, she emerges wearing a modest set of clothes and the carpenter's hammer still in her hand. "Thirty...two...pounds?"

Lyndus sets her purse down on top of one of the pads. Sure enough, the pad rises upwards. "The furniture I can manage. But why are tables made this way?"

After jumping upwards to grab her purse off of the pad, she holds it upside down to empty it. A big pile of stuff falls out - clothes, books, canned food, a meat cleaver, a police baton, and a myriad of other things. "I think I can put my stuff away on my own. ...Thank you?"

"Try sitting in this chair or eating on this table for a moment". Lyndus pushes a normal-sized chair over to Jai. "This entire building is not made for me!"

"Oh, you are offering? Is the next door apartment empty? If so can you remove the wall connecting the two?"

Lyndus just stares upwards at Jai for about a minute before finally saying something. "Wait...I have to pay for..It's fine I will just make do with the pressure pads and the existing furniture." She continues to stare at him, as if expecting him to do something.

Ron Bolton headed on his way and went down to the lobby. Walking out he gave a slight whistle "Seems today movin' day for a lot of folks." David turned "Bloody hell... a Zombie." For a moment a buffed fighter type figure flashed in existence before his inhibitor canceled the figment generation.

"Yup, bloody Hel's own personal Drugar. Ya can call me Ron Bolton, thought the news folks call me Rotten Luck. Welcome to Whitehold."

"Ron... hey we heard someone call your name. Gunni here said it was Hel herself. Oh Hel's own.. I get it now."
----------------------------------------------------------------

Upstairs

"Well M'lady there should be some historical worth. Thought like me they seem to be untouched by the passage of time." He looked into the kitchen "I seen hints of cooking chambers through some of the mirrors but... what marvels people have come up with are astounding."

"Nonono, it's, I...I'll just use the standard furniture!" Lyn's stare manages to become even angrier for a moment, then her eyes grow wise and a grin grows across her face. "Isn't there supposed to be a wrecking room in this apartment? Can I see it?"

"Very well then." Jai said, reentering the lifting pad algorithm.

He nodded at her question, entering a command. "Yes. Second room on the left down the hallway. I'm activating the polarized armor now, so it should be ready in a little over a minute. Right this way."

Jai led her to the room in question, opening the reinforced door and ducking inside after letting her in. The walls were a dull silver and composed of thousands of quarter-sized diamonds. As Jai closed the door, a circuit was completed and an almost inaudible hum came to life. Unseen to the eye was that powerful electromagnets were polarizing the surfaces of the room, making them stronger by several orders of magnitude.

"Your wrecking room, as requested. Every surface is now quite capable of shrugging off a HEAT shell from a main battle tank. But the polarization is power-intensive, so I'd recommend not using it for extended periods of time or it could drastically raise your electric bill. The other feature of the room is a Hard-Lyte holographic system, which can generate advanced interactive holograms of most any target that would fit in this room. Any questions?"

"Whitehold's rental system includes utilities like water, garbage, and natural gas. But electricity and cable-internet are not covered. You're required to pay for those services yourself. The armor system uses a lot of power, especially if active for extended periods. Consequently, using it a lot can drive up your electric bill. This was covered in the lease agreement, which I'm assuming you read." Jai explained as he opened the door and ducked through it again.

"Well I umm fine, I guess social security is paying for it all...let me grab my equipment..." Lyndus glares at Jai for a moment, then walks over to her new apartment. A few minutes later, she walks back to the wreck room entrance wearing the same equipment as before.

"So, how does this work? Does the thingie give me a stationary target to clobber? What if I scratch the paint on the wall? With walls like this do people even still use tanks? Could you open the door for me so I can get in?"

(for a good synopsis up until this post see his profile in my signature)

Dropping through the stratosphere Quentin began to take on a glow as his heat shields shunted the heat around his core systems. He dialed up his telemetry monitor and set thrusters to engage just before setting off a sonic boom to slow his decent.

Onlookers from across the city could look up and see a falling star growing brighter before eventually slowing and fading away above the city center. Even with his heat shields, his armor was still showing a surface temperature of over 1800 degrees F. Quentin decided he could kill 2 birds with one stone by taking some time to fly about the city and get his bearings.
He hoped this would cool his systems off before he could put them in the quantum repository- whose stasis field would have maintained the heat level of the armor, and the last thing anyone needs is popping into 2000 degree armor before saving a kitten from a tree or engaging with anyone directly. He'd made that mistake before and he imagined his initial footprints were still vitrified in that playground on Earth designation JU-36.

"KRIS- It would seem we'll be staying for a while. We'll need some sort of accommodations- can you find us something that meets our specific requirements? I can't imagine in a city this technologically advanced that it will be an issue." he said to his on-board AI.
KRIS replied, "Of course Quentin. I had anticipated such a request and have 5 locations of interest. You will see these points on your HUD now. I can redirect flight control to visit each one, and I'll brief you on each with what my research shows as we arrive. Confirm?"
"Confirmed KRIS- thank you." he replied.

As they toured the city he checked the mass of objects in his personal Q-Cache. "Should be more than enough to bankroll operations here. Unless this world doesn't use Gold as currency. That would be SOOO weird." he said half to himself, and half to KRIS.
KRIS replied as stiff as ever, "My queries confirm this world uses a similar gold standard as your origination dimension. Calculations show we have approximately --"
"No need to continue KRIS- I just did a mass check myself. We're rich. Stinking rich. I get it. Having access to the asteroid belt will do that to a person's bank account. And you said stopping off at that derelict asteroid mining operation was fool-hardy. Enough processing power to run a planet and even you still make mistakes." he said behind an enormous grin.

KRIS ignored the obvious barb & gave a run down of available apartments posted online, and amenities for each as they flew towards Alexandria, straight to Whitehold Apartment Building.

"Man, you sure can't argue with that location can you?" Quentin said aloud.
KRIS replied, "I do my best not to argue with you."
"You know very well that isn't what I meant." he snapped back.
"Correction Noted. Surface temperature approaching Earth standard. Returning flight controls to manual." KRIS replied without a hint of sass.

Quentin flew down towards the building and landed between some very startled pigeons. Thinking a fully armored space-man might at the very least cause some disturbance in traffic he engaged his Q-Cache and directed his armor into it.

The exo-musculature disappeared as he stood- a second later Quentin stood 3 inches shorter in his under-armor; a skin tight neural-suit (that left nothing to the imagination,) and lightly armored gloves that clearly had electronic functions of some sort.
He walked across the plaza towards the building entrance. The door opened as a couple of people walked out talking about Famous Ray's.

Inside he looked around, impressed with the sight of the foyer. "KRIS those pictures you showed me didn't do this place justice. Glad we picked this one." he said to his AI- fully knowing he looked like he was talking to himself. Silently, he hoped this world had self-important jackals who walked around with bluetooth headsets talking about their self-importance rudely without heed of their environment & social cues.
"WE did not pick anything. You directed us here 3min ago after the last place- one Grayson Tower did not fit your 'style.' I note- I have no preference in your living arrangement or neighbors beyond your continued survival." KRIS replied snidely.

Taking note of the entrances and exits, he walked towards the front desk. Only to find it empty.

KRIS: "This world's Yelp, and Apartment Finder reviews state that we are looking for a very large man- approximately 10 ft tall- named Jai. Tenants describe him as 'Helpful and friendly.' He is this location's resident landlord. Scans show no one matching that description on this floor."

"Hmmph. Well he's probably indisposed at the moment. Hopefully this building doesn't have a lot of maintenance issues. KRIS- can you bring up the local newswire? Also any live broadcasts and stream the audio to the headset in order of urgency. Might as well get a feel for the city while we wait." Folding his hands and pulling them apart quickly- a field developed. Inside the field a tablet like device appeared as if out of thin air. Quentin grabbed it and the field disappeared. He powered up the devices display and said "On second thought send the visual feed to the Tome & the newswire as a ticker at the bottom." He took a seat nearest the front desk and started watching the latest news until this Jai arrived in person.

Quentin continues to scan through the feeds absently. He notices that some of these metahumans are insanely dangerous. Some were just madmen with no goal or glory in mind. Some were just scared kids with powers they couldn't control. He thought to himself, "I'm not necessarily out of my depth here- but this isn't going to be a walk in the park either. There's real risk here- Tanto level risk."
KRIS- "There is a high probability that you'll get yourself killed if we continue down this course of action. Need I remind you of the Tanto incident? Also I believe you need clothes- as you are only bringing [i]attention[/i] to yourself. Ever since Rigel-9 in dimension designation XR-91it seems every time you come out of an interstice its like you forget basic human civility."
"I really liked that world. It was a good time." Quentin replied listlessly. "and as usual there is NO reason to bring up the Tanto incident. Your point is made. Do I have any clean clothes in my personal cache? I feel like I emptied that thing out to make room for our little nestegg."
KRIS- "There is something with a mass of 199 grams and a mass of 312grams. Unless that's 155 oyster crackers and 11oz. of coffee creamer I'd say its a safe bet that's a t-shirt and jeans. Though nothing matching the mass of shoes- besides the InfiKnight boots of course."

Quentin sets his tablet down. Then stretches his hands out in front of him. He does the fuzzy field hand trick again but this time pulls out a neatly folded package of clothes. He repeats the process to retrieve his jeans after setting down the first package. He puts the clothes on as comfortably as if he were in the privacy of his own room & plops himself back in the chair. He looks down at his nano-manufactured meta-material covered feet and realized they looked like stockings.
"Argh - give me the boots too." he says lifting his feet up off the ground. The heavy boots materialize around his feet in a field similar to the one he pulled his clothes from & land on the ground with a heavy thud. "I fear you're right. We may need to rethink our deployment strategy." Quentin murmured to KRIS.
KRIS-"I don't believe you've ever thought about a single 'deployment strategy' in the 150 universes since you created me."
"I think better on my feet. What can I say? It's worked so far- again we have the guts of an asteroid. We'll figure it out. Pull up that feed of the Lightning guy robbing that bank. He looks powerful- let's see how the local heroes operate." he says absently returning his gaze to his newsfeeds.

Jai was set to continue helping Lyndus when a black band on his arm pinged and Ivory, Whitehold's V.I., began speaking. "Sir, you have other residents that need attending in the lobby. Including a new arrival that is manipulating quantum portals. Shall I issue a warning?"

Jai replied, speaking into the wristband. "Thank you, Ivory. I'll be right down. Keep an eye on the portal guy and issue a warning if it continues before I get back down there."

Ivory replied in the affirmative and he looked back down at Lyndus. "I'm sorry, but there are other residents I need to attend to. You'll find everything you need to know about the apartments various systems in here." he said, snagging a folder off the counter and handing it to her. "Have a nice day."

With that, Jai waved and exited the apartment, heading for the elevator. A few minutes later, he was back in the lobby. "Sorry for the delay folks. Had an emergency situation that needed attending. Since it's getting on towards dinner time, pizza is on me. Ivory, take orders from everyone and then call up Marco's. Have them expedite the order."

A translucent humanoid appeared next to the desk and resolved itself into a feminine shape. Ivory's avatar walked towards the nearest resident and began conversing with them while Jai sat back down at his desk and began working on Gunni's rental agreement. He was soon finished and placed it on the desk with a pen. "Ms. Swan, please read over this and sign on the line at the bottom."

Upstairs

Christopher shook his head. "I don't know it like... something gone." He then blinked and looked to the mirror then walking over he put his palm to it and it opened like a door. "It is... I can't see where the Mirror I was trapped in is anymore." Walking into the mirror he looked around "I think you can come in as well, The room where the mirror was kept is gone. I can still see the reflection from the car mirror but not the apartment where my brother lives. I'm having trouble even remembering what it looked like, like a memory from my childhood."
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Downstairs

"Seems today a busy day. Well I'm David. As for the pizza I be happy with just pepperoni." On his shoulder a Little Caesars mascot appeared "PIZZA PIZZA!"

Quentin laughed jovially at the dancing mascot- but something in his eyes seemed momentarily wistful. "Hi David- I'm Quentin, it's a pleasure." he said offering a firm handshake. "I have a feelings you and I are going to get along just fine- now how the heck did you do that?"

"It appears that the secrets out. I literally just landed and didn't realize I didn't pack my boots. Not a big deal- I've made do with worse. Gunni, right? Mind if I tag along on your tour? I'd like to see what this place has to offer as well. I probably shouldn't rely on online reviews for everything." He says.
[KRIS- ever in his ear- "My analysis has saved you exactly 89 times- that's only the life threatening instances mind you. So I will ignore that little barb directed at me and continue monitoring newsfeeds since you are otherwise engaged."]

He clearly is avoiding the subject of monitoring the local superheroes until he can better gauge his new acquaintances loyalties.
"So you guys both from around here?"

"Well hot damn! I was hoping to meet some locals and get their perspective of the area. I did a little homework once I found the area but nothing like getting the highlights from a native. I'm obviously engaged with this waiting to see an apartment thing- but afterwards maybe we can grab a beer and you can tell me what's worth seeing and doing around here?" Quentin says cheerfully.

Quentin looks to Gunni and erupts with laughter, "I'm so sorry- you were serious?" He stifles his laughter a bit (though not completely) and still smiling he continues, "I'm sorry- that may be the most crazy hodgepodge name I've ever heard. It's like ...[KRIS- 'Per your own definition you are being an insensitive ass.'] Ugh.. I don't know. It's just funny. I guess that's not a combination of names I've run into in all my travels. I suppose it was bound to happen eventually. Infinity is infinite after all. I meant no disrespect- just caught me off guard... and I'm rambling." he says nervously. His irrepressible urge to rub his neck returns.

"So as I was saying- I'm much more gallant over beers- so how about I make up for that little faux pas and get the first round?" he says straightening up quickly.
[KRIS- 'Oh yes ever so gallant. Even better- we'll add Ethanol, an known psychoactive substance to the equation. Gallant and brilliant. Truly a wonder of the multiverse.']

Downstairs

"Sadly I too am under the legal age for drinking. As for sights, well that really what kind of sights you want. Most tourist go for the Phoenix Park best place to see the heroes. There also the amusement park near that location. For Science stuff there Nerd... er Northeast Research District. Many key building about but for drinks and good food there the Opal Room we can't drink but we can get fine meals. The menu a bit expensive but if you want people watching that's the place, both sides of the Law go there it's kind of a neutral zone."
---------------------------------------------
Upstairs

"Well I let you handle that. A good sword in my arm is my skill of choice, magic was always my brother's choice."