As Kester started to rise up he suddenly felt a shock to his foot. [i]Hellfires, the way it tingled![/i] He nearly yelped. Somehow he had instinctively managed to smother the yelp, though he couldn’t do anything about the way he jerked backwards for a moment. What could have shocked him? He did his best to glance at his foot inconspicuously, then check under the table, without drawing any more attention to himself. There was nothing down there that could have caused his foot to be shocked. Besides it was a bit too strong to be mere static. In his search for the culprit of the shock, he glanced over at the King’s table, and met the eyes of the court mage. There was a small sharp intake of breath before he began to lower himself back into his chair. Even that far up, she had noticed him. If she had noticed him, who else had? He glanced at the king and his advisor before quickly looking away.

The court mage had saved him. He was grateful to her, incredibly grateful to her. He needed to thank her somehow. Warring with the intense feeling of gratitude were the strong feelings of relief and shame. Relief at being stopped, that someone had managed to stop him, and shame for feeling relieved. He cursed himself again for his cowardice. He looked back up at the court mage, and shot her a look of undying gratitude. Somehow, someway, he would have to find a gift for her, a token of his appreciation. He couldn’t think of anything off the top of his head that she might want. Nothing that a Ross could give her anyway. Not even if he saved up the stipend he received from the Ross family as “Kester” Ross. Not that giving him a stipend was a hardship for them. After all, he was an Abaelard, and an Abaelard always paid their debts. It was simply good business practice and honorable as well. He had always enjoyed being able to say that.

Of course, being from an extremely wealthy family, he'd never had any issues with paying off any debt he incurred. Especially with his parents' money. He turned his mind away from the thought that, as an Abaelard, it was not quite as difficult to pay off an acquired debt than perhaps it would be for a poor man down on his luck. Oh, it was true yes, but that didn't make him any less virtuous. Many nobles didn't keep their promises, even when they weren't difficult to keep. Many didn't seem to care about debts. His family was different. He was different. He was better than them, because he kept his word. He was better than them... and yet, here he sat, terrified of a greedy pig of a king worried sick for his family, and relieved he had not helped someone.

He dragged his unruly thoughts back to the more pleasant thoughts of gratitude and how to repay the court mage. So, what would a mage want? He didn't know that much about the court mage. Observation could only take him so far. He wasn't the kind of person who'd be able to get into her circles. After all, he was Kester Ross, lesser noble and laughingstock of the King's Court. Perhaps he should take to calling himself "Jester Ross" like some of the nobles called him. At times he thought the nickname was far too apt, even though it was an insult against him.

Leithe thought of his brothers. One was a mage, and another was a priest. As far as he could tell, the court mage had a few spells of Restoration. She could also use a very minor shock, and her control of her spell was superb. True, it was a very basic spell, but no one but he seemed to have noticed the minor spell, and she had managed to keep the shock to the level where it would only sting and tingle a bit. Also, she had shocked his foot, no one else's foot, just his. Under the table there was bits of lost silverware, perhaps some anklets and buttons and other metal objects that electricity would love to jump to. The fact that he was the only one to react to a shock further convinced him that her specialty was perhaps in destruction magic. Furthermore, he had heard rumors that she'd been an adventurer in the past. She would likely have needed Destruction spells or some other such spells to protect herself.

Electricity was an unruly element. It had an unfortunate tendency to jump away from the caster towards the nearest targets. Controlling it wasn't very easy either, it was like trying to control a nervous, high-strung horse with an iron mouth with nothing but a rope halter while a pack hungry dogs or wolves nipped at its legs and belly and growled and barked. At least, that's what his brother had told him. He'd had enough ability that he'd been able to try it out himself under careful shields and instruction from his brother. He had to agree, though he probably would have added that there would be no spurs or saddles, he'd be missing one hand, the rope halter would be a frayed old thing, and the horse would be built like a destrier. That description was based upon his experience of the most basic destruction spell of the electricity element: Sparks. To control that so easily just to warn a minor courtier like him was very very impressive. By now he was convinced that she was a highly accomplished mage of Destruction magics. So, what would a mage of destruction magic need?

Perhaps spell components? Something to research? Small experimental subjects? Magical objects? He wasn't sure. He had an idea when it came to his brother, but he'd often been warned that different mages would need different items based upon what spells they specialized in. Destruction Magic was a very broad category. Just knowing that wasn't enough, and as far as he could tell, sparks was a mere parlor trick to the court mage. Sadly, he wasn't too knowledgeable about what a Destruction Mage who specialized in electricity would need. Perhaps it would be best if he paid her a visit at some point, and asked her point blank. It was not wise to enter into a mage's quarters or labs uninvited. Many objects they dealt with could be potentially dangerous and there was no telling what sort of traps a mage might set up to safeguard their workstation and their selves.

That settled it. He would go find her at another time, perhaps when she was less busy. Definitely not at this banquet though, and perhaps after a day or two. Perhaps he should send a servant with a note and set up an appointment. It would be rude to interrupt her at her work. Besides, he wasn't so empty-headed that he'd tresspass into the room of a pretty elven la... mage. [i]Yeah, I'd rather not be incinerated because I startled her— or cause her to accidentally blow up her workplace[/i].

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Glenn followed Kester’s gaze and saw the court mage. Had she done something? That would be very interesting indeed. For less than a moment he pondered what expression to make. In his mind he smiled as he came to a decision, but his expression... his expression was as bland as cream.