Vell found Meli downstairs.
She was helping clear the debris away from the tables.
The innkeeper was still grumbling nearby, though he seemed to have accepted that complaining would not make the roof repair itself.
"Meli," Vell called.
She turned towards him.
"Oh, hello. Is everything all right with the room?"
"Everything is fine. Thank you. But on to more pressing matters. I was wondering where your master lives, or where he studies. I thought we might pay him a visit."
Meli glanced towards the windows. "At this hour?"
Vell followed her gaze. The sky was darkening behind the clouds, and what little light remained was fading quickly.
Most of the light in the inn came from the fireplace rather than the outside.
"Ah. I suppose it is getting late."
"It's already nearly evening. He might still be out, but I doubt it. And even if he were home, he probably wouldn't receive visitors who arrived without warning."
"I see."
Vell considered this.
It was a little unfortunate, but hardly a serious problem. He had already spent enough time waiting for things over the past three years. One more night would not make much difference.
"Then perhaps tomorrow would be better?"
"Yes! I'll be free tomorrow, and I was already planning to visit him anyway. I could take you both there, if you like."
"Fantastic. That would save us the trouble of finding our way around the city, too."
"I'm sure he'll be interested to meet you. Especially Sonder. I've got to tell him what happened outside."
"I'm not such a bore myself. I'm sure we can find something interesting to talk about."
Meli smiled.
"Can I ask you something?" she said.
Vell looked at her.
"Of course."
"Are you a wizard, too? Like Sonder, I mean."
He glanced down at himself, then back at her.
"Don't I look like one?"
Meli hesitated.
"I don't mean to offend you. It's just that…" She looked him over, trying to find a polite way to put it. "You look a little strange."
"Strange?"
"No, that's not what I mean! Not in a bad way!" she added quickly and apologetically. "It's just that Sonder… she looks like a sorceress. Well, at least I think she does. Her dress is clearly expensive, even if it's a little dirty, and she has that staff. And there's that strange sword handle sticking out of her chest. And there's something strange about her… face or head."
Meli gestured around her own head.
"I don't know how to describe it. It's sort of hazy, like I can't quite see what's really there. I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like it."
"And I don't look like a wizard?"
"Well, no. Your clothes don't really suggest anything of the sort. You've got interesting eyes, and hair, and… a face? But other than that? Not really. You don't have the aura of someone truly… magical."
Vell looked down at his clothes, then at himself.
"Fair enough. I suppose I'm not much of a wizard at the moment."
"Not much?"
"I'm somewhat magically inclined, I suppose. About as much as you are, perhaps. I don't have much power to work with right now, and there aren't many kinds of magic I could manage particularly well."
"Really? You mean you can use magic, but you don't have much power?"
"Something like that."
"Then you've studied magic?"
"Oh, yes. Quite a lot, actually."
"How much?" she asked eagerly.
"Enough that I'd find it difficult to explain where I ought to begin. I think I may rival your master in knowledge."
Meli seemed rather taken with that answer.
"Did you study with Sonder?"
"You know, I taught her a fair bit of what she knows myself. Or at least, I was there while she learned it."
Meli nodded eagerly.
"I'd love to learn from someone like you."
"Would you?"
"Yes! I've been studying for a while, but there are so many things I don't understand. Sometimes I feel as though the more I learn, the less I know. And with a teacher other than my master, who knows what new perspectives I could gain?"
Vell smiled, but then his smile faded.
"Sometimes, being too eager to know is a bad thing."
"You sound just like my master."