Exposition? Don't mind if I do!

Gamer’s detachment kept Reader from panicking as Karen had every close call imaginable on the way there, stunting in ways that would make a professional blanch. She seemed to enjoy the way he gripped her tighter every time she took a tight corner, and once he realised that she knew what she was doing, he managed to enjoy the ride too, pressed as he was against a beautiful woman.

Eventually they came to a stop at a beautiful English – style manor that screamed old money. Reader only had time for one Observe as Karen parked the unmarked bike, choosing the thick rose hedge they were just outside of. The result was:

Allbright Family Roses
Allbright family gardeners have been tending to this rare breed of rose for generations. Renowned for it’s small golden flowers when in bloom, the bush is currently in fruit.

“Coming?” Karen asked as she led the way. A stern looking middle aged man in a suit was waiting on the porch.

"Lady Allbright, Lord Allbright is expecting you and your guest at the library as soon as possible," he told Karen.

"Of course Reginald, we're on our way," she replied to him, before beckoning Reader to follow.

“Um, hi” said Reader awkwardly, receiving a stiff bow in return.

Reader gaped at the interior of the manor as he made his way behind the underdressed paladin. There were suits of armour and actual tapestries on the walls, and weaponry - lots of weaponry. Reader tried to Observe more of the furnishings as he was half-dragged along, gaining the impression of an old English family, though it was hard to tell how old. There were pieces from anywhere as old as the very first crusade to modern day, and everything was of high quality. Powerful faction reader assessed as he was ushered through an unobtrusive door into a truly spectacular library. Books lined the walls at least three stories high, but the room was dominated by the figure sitting behind a massive wooden desk.

The man who must have been Karen's father sat with his hands steepled, an old fashioned fountain pen and some bits of paperowrk before him. Like his daughter he had a large crown of deep red hair, but he also sported an impressive beard of the same hue. He regarded Reader impassively for an uncomfortably long silence. Reader used the opportunity to try to Observe the man, but all he got in response was the generic Target level too high.

“Reader Numen, age 18. Student at Staveburn Academy. Until yesterday, a civilian unfamiliar with the Abyss”.

Karen visibly relaxed at that statement, but her father was not finished. “You told my daughter you were a biomancer. But that’s not true, is it?”

Her head whipped around at that, and Reader gave an internal Uh oh. Time to tread carefully here. He took the time to invest a couple of those points he’d been hoarding into charisma. “It was not so much an intentional deception as an… uncertainty about classification. I’ve studied biomancy and it’s probably the most useful magic I’m capable of. But I don’t seem to be… limited to that field of study, no.”

Lord Allbright seemed satisfied with that explanation, and Karen’s body language eased fractionally once again. “Please, sit” he said. “Both of you.” He added, as Karen moved to remain standing.

Reader sat in the plush leather sofa facing the desk, and Karen reluctantly sat at the far end, her nakedness under his blazer uncommented on by anyone.

“How much has my daughter explained to you?”

Reader glanced at her, shrugging when her only response was a faint blush. “Not much, Sir. From what I’ve been able to piece together, magic is real. Things called illusion barriers segregate the magical parts of the world from the mundane, and practising outside one of them attracts the wrong kind of attention from the various factions active in the magical community. You are one such faction, an old aristocratic house with a strong sense of nobless oblige, dedicated to preventing harm to, as Karen called it, ‘civilians’”.

Lord Allbright nodded. “If we’re standing on ceremony, my proper title is actually lord. And not a bad summary, as far as it goes – Thank you Reginald” he interrupted himself as the butler came in, setting tea and biscuits in front of the three of them. “You’ve misunderstood only one part – practising magic in the open attracts attention from magical factions, but more importantly from Gaia herself.”

“Gaia?” Reader repeated a little hesitantly. “The Greek goddess of the earth? She’s real?”

“Of course she’s real you-“ Karen began angrily, but her father forestalled the rest of her rant with a raised hand.

“Gaia is the most common name for the spirit of this world within the Abyss – and the Abyss is how members of this ‘magical community’ as you called us refer to the wider world that contains both the mundane world and what is contained in illusion barriers. If you use magic too publicly, Gaia causes… unpleasantness. Factions like ours mostly try to prevent things from getting to that point.”

That didn’t sound like the Gaia that wrote Reader’s quests, if that’s who it was, but he had no time to say so as Karen broke in,

“On that note – there’s an aspect of Reader’s powers I didn’t want to mention over the phone, but which needs to be discussed now. He seems to be some sort of very unusual fateweaver. He only used – “ She blushed again at the memory– “biomancy in the battle, but afterwards – well. Reader, show Lord Allbright what you brought out of the illusion barrier.”

For the first time, the old man’s eyes widened as Reader produced a few jars of slime material. “These… came from an illusion barrier?” he said, staring hard at the items before him.

“The slimes dropped them as they died. He seemed less surprised by that than anything else that happened, and he was able to transport them out using some kind of pocket dimension” Karen explained.

“Impressive… where did you learn to do that, Mr Numen?”

Reader didn’t like the way the two of them were looking at him. He felt like meat. “The pocket dimension appeared as soon as I had my… awakening, if that's the right word. As for the slimes, that’s a bit different. I have an intuition, but it would help to have some shared jargon. Do you by any chance have a cheap book on the construction of illusion barriers?”

Lord Allbright seemed taken aback. “We have several. How cheap would it need to be?”

“Well,” Reader said, “I can absorb the information in a book with **** rapidity and thoroughness, but they get destroyed in the process. If you have something inexpensive, like a primer you give to new recruits – “

“Fascinating!” Lord Allbright exclaimed, looking from Reader, to Karen. “Would a photocopy work?”

“I think so,” Reader allowed, “Modern printing techniques seem to present no issues anyway, though it might have to be bound. I’d be curious to find out myself”

Lord Allbright smiled. “Reginald, would you be so kind as to make a copy of ‘Introduction to the Abyss and its boundaries” for the young master?”

“Of course, sir. Immediately?” he asked.

“As quickly as possible. Will that be a problem?”

Reggie hesitated, but Karen broke in, “There’s a scanner and printer in my room I use for school projects”.

Reginald looked relieved, for a moment, then worried again. “Er-“

“Karen, be a dear and help set Reginald up on the system. And perhaps change into something more suitable while you’re there? It’s evident you’ve seen battle”.

“Thank you father,” she said, clearly relieved to be out of there. She and the butler were gone in a flash of red hair and underbutt, leaving Reader alone with the Allbright family Patriarch.