First Impressions [Warhammer Fantasy Wizard Quest]

"Siegfried Magnusson, at your service." You slightly tip your battered woolen hat slightly, as befits a guest imposing on a host.

The woman snorts. "You can call me Little." Without looking away from you, she swings her fish onto a surprisingly clean granite counter. In the same motion, she draws a knife with her other hand and slices it cleanly down the middle. "Don't have much need of service; pay the rent, no fires or magicking my customers."

You nod. "I assure you, I have no desire to breach either the Articles of Magic or the base tenets of hospitality."

She looks you up and down, grunts once, and turns down to her fish. "Any magic shit spoils my stocks, and you pay for the lot."

"Of course." You smile, pass her the first rent payment, and turn to leave.

"Oi, wizard." You crane your neck to look back at Little; she's pointedly not looking up from her fish. "If you need some eats, my boys're due back an hour before nightfall and we'll eat what we can't sell. Take it or leave it."

Before she can say anything more, a man steps into the store, and Little waves you towards the exit while standing up, donning a shark-like smile, and steering the man over to an icebox filled with several large slabs of meat.

* * *

Sure enough, that evening, a stout young man with familiar features knocks several times on your window. When he sees you look up at him, he smiles and shouts "Oi wizard! Catch's in!" before jumping off the balcony to the ground below.

You elect to take the ladder, after double-checking that your master's suggested modifications were all in place.

Little gruffly invites you into the back of the fishery, where she and three men sit around a table; she introduces them as her sons.

The first, who introduces himself as Arlan, is an absolute mountain of a man with a well-groomed beard and steely eyes. An iron pendant bearing the symbol of Manaan hangs heavy around his neck, and he opens the meal with a passionate prayer of thanks to the God of the Seas. The prayer quickly becomes a sermon, and nearly devolves into a fiery denunciation of Stromfels before his mother glares at him and he sheepishly retakes his seat, spending the rest of the meal in stern silence.

The second son, Manfred, seems to be the odd one out; lighter of hair, slighter of build, and completely without the gruff affect of his brothers. It does not take the insights of Azyr to guess that he takes more after his late father. He is the source of the staggering majority of conversation around the table, as he badgers you with questions about life in the Colleges and the nature of magic. It's rare that you even finish an answer before he's followed up with two more questions. Apparently, he's saving his share of their profits to study history at the University of Altdorf, and your Order offers him a new topic of fascination. In return, he shares what he knows of his own family's history; his grandfathers were both members of a tribe of Norscans who kept to Ulric, and were settled into the Empire after they joined the Emperor for his march on Kislev.

Franz, who fetched you from your loft for the meal, has very little to say. His attention seems single-mindedly dedicated to picking every piece of meat from his plate, then enviously staring at his brothers' servings once his own is gone. Eventually, at a slight nod from Little, he stands from his seat, tucks a fish under his arm, and heads out into the streets of the city.

The meal itself is better than you expected; no match for the best of what the College's cooks could offer, but better than what apprentices could usually expect to afford. After the meal's end, Little bids you good night, with a mumbled apology for Manfred's enthusiasm, and you climb back to your loft to retire for the evening.

Accommodations in Altdorf secured: Little's Fishery, run by a family of Norscan refugees, is willing to put you up for a few weeks at an affordable price.

* * *

The Temple of Verena is the oldest institution of learning in Altdorf, predating the University and the Great Library which rose up on its sides. While neither of the latter are formally controlled by the Cult of Verena, the three are connected both physically and spiritually; a strong plurality of the University's professors are Verenans, and only a scarce few of the Library's staff aren't. Students pass through the Temple simply because it is the shortest route between the University and the Library, which in turn makes it their natural gathering place.

The Temple itself is little more than a small, open space filled with an irregular assortment of benches, tables, and stacks of tomes, moved around as needed by the small gatherings of scholars which fill the hall. True worship of Verena is nothing like the unilateral sermons of the Sigmarites; priests should not seek only to teach, but to learn. To blindly recite dogma before a crowd is shameful in Her eyes. Instead, priests of Verena are expected to engage with each other and lay members of her Cult, discussing both the intricacies of Verena's teachings and all manner of worldly scholarship.

As you pass beneath the grand sword and scales atop the Temple's gates, it seems as alive as ever. You walk to one side of the Temple floor, to small enclaves designed for individual study and contemplation, and sit. You thank Verena, as you always have, for the Justice which has allowed you to join the Colleges instead of a pyre; and you ask her for the Wisdom you know you will need for your Journey. Finally, and above all, you hope her Law will shield your fellow Wizards during the times of change in the Empire. Even with your physical eyes closed, you can see the pulse of Azyr through the Temple, drawn by the inspiration and curiosity of the assembled scholars.

As you finish your prayers and turn to leave, you find your attention drawn to...
[ ] An elderly Priest of Verena, wandering the room with a watchful eye.
[ ] A mixture of acolytes of Shallya and apprentices of the Jade College, engaged in debate.
[ ] A group of students from the University, poring over books of law.
[ ] A group of students from the Engineering School, and what appears to be a model of a siege engine.
[ ] A woman wearing the heraldry of the Knights of the Everlasting Light, standing guard before a hardwood door.