"You know I've been thinking I should find you a wizard type to bug if you're going to stay being curious. And here we are in this work room, we haven't actually been kicked out. There's a lot of books here. I don't really know which ones to start with, but it might be worth a try for me to read one out loud?"

"Oooh, yes, please, if you wouldn't mind?"

She looks around... "Hmm, 'White Swan Academy Rune Dictionary' or 'The Problem with Bechan-Style Timers'?"

"Probably the dictionary first, though I'm sure 'The Problem with Bechan-Style Timers' is going to be interesting if I can understand the jargon at all."

"Okay, let's see... 'A collection of useful reference tables for known single and simple compound runes... Here's a 'how to read this reference' section. It looks like they use these symbols to note what a rune does? Hmm slight sidetrack, the basic idea of wizardry is that you put energy in on the outside of a circle, and the color and shape of the energy lines when it gets to the middle is what actually causes the spell..." She flips through some pages. "Oh, here- 'Worked example for a delayed double trigger using Nar and Iso'... Step one, use a basic injector and set the energy speed. That's these three here? I think?" She taps a diagram on the page. "This makes energy go in a straight line to the center... Step two, depending on the desired delay between the first and second trigger, the angle the Nar rune is at should be varied... Oh, here, it says on the other page, 'Nar angle duplication is inversely proportional to distance from the source and energy speed of the source'. Step three... Iso curves it back the other way? And there's a much more complicated mathematical formula involving portions of circles here... Uh. So the two lines were going the same speed but one had a longer path... I suppose this might be how that one double firebolt spell does it twice? Or something like this. I don't really get it, sorry."

"Let me just..."

"I am absolutely going to need to take notes on this to understand it properly, which requires things like hands, but - wait, same speed but longer path - oh, no, wait, no, that's just normal physics -"

"...Interesting, nonetheless."

"...Oh, yeah, this just straightforwardly makes sense.  What it's doing is - if I'm understanding what you said right - is, it introduces a signal delay to the second activation charge introduced by the Nar rune by just literally having a longer metaphorical wire.  Interesting that it's color when - oh, but light only has the fastest possible speed in the universe when it's travelling in vacuum, so if there's some sort of thaumaturgic medium whose properties can be manipulated...  And it could just be synesthetic, anyway.  Or just frequency in general.

"Anyway.  If the magic works kind of like - not going to even mention that piece of Earth history, that's dangerous - but anyway, if it's the structure at the critical point...  But then...  ...Uh.  Hm.  Is a functional spell supposed to crumple inward like a tin can somebody sucked all the air out of?  Or was that happening what made his spell explode?  I mean I'm guessing it wasn't supposed to, but I don't actually know that yet."

"...This is certainly going to be a lot to learn, but I almost think I could do it."

"I bet you can. You sound like a wizard pretty often." Ear-ruffle. "I think they're supposed to go inward, but like, cleanly instead of a messy crumple?"

"Yeah.  Can't have all the magic squirt out because the implosion was improperly executed.  ...I can see why some mad genius must've made the Weave.  This whole thing reminds me of science that is famous for having exploded entire cities on Earth.  Though in that case the fizzle would have been less destructive, albeit lingeringly dangerous."

It is at this point that the butler type from earlier shows up again and pointedly asks the guests if they have any further business to discuss with My Lord, or perhaps they would like to have some light refreshment before leaving?

Megi smiles, slightly sheepishly, and carefully puts the book back where she found it, and says some juice would be lovely but she could just as well be on her way.

Butler Guy says he would not dream of keeping her from her business elsewhere. In what is clearly a very polite 'please leave now'. So Megi leaves, Alicia in tow. (The hat, it turns out, has disappeared... Somewhere in her outfit... In the meanwhile.)

Nooo.... Boook....

She will have more opportunities to learn in the future, she's sure of it, but that doesn't stop her from wanting.  Alas.

"...I wonder if Sinnah would appreciate knowing about that prank we pulled," she says, totally completely innocently, once they have left the immediate area.

"If my read is right, she won't really care one way or another. Besides agreeing with you that Shen Farok is not a true wizard. Sinnah is very focused on very few things. An unusual mentality, let's say."

Hmm... Not back towards the shrine. There's a restaurant on one of the streets that makes good noodle bowls. She heads in that direction.

"Ah.  Truly one of my people.  I was and am much the same."

Ooh, she smells food.  Her tail starts wagging, though she will never admit it happened.

"There, let's have a lunch. That place isn't bad for a local spot. I'm rethinking my choice of restauraunt almost as soon as I made it- I'm not sure noodles go down well as a fox! They do have bao too, and rice dishes... Grilled vegetables are usually good."

The place is a bar-seating restaurant built with a lot of metal decorations, mostly copper. Little sculptures and filigrees, shiny doorknob, shiny cutlery inside. The attendant inside greets Megi warmly and asks if she's carrying the kitsune that rumors have been going around about. "It sure is. Meet Alicia- A young kitsune who warned me of a concentration of curses. It's all going to be fine. As fine as it ever is."

"I wouldn't mind bao or vegetables."

"...There's rumors about me already?  Goodness, what are they?"

"Half a dozen bao please, Ama! Whatever flavor is on right now. And a masala curry, and some stir-fry vegetables, please? Yes, rumors can be fun. They're even mostly accurate! For now. A kitsune came running into town chasing after a scared little girl who'd seen a monster, and warned the local priestess! Or so they say."

She fox-sporfles.  "I suppose they're not wrong, except for the way in which almost every word of that was technically false!"