Note: It is canon that the Aen Elle king was an addict, but it would stand that he would offer it to his inner circle. Avallac'h being promised to Lara he would have participated in the revels and done the same drugs. I have a headcanon that he saw something while on them...that changed his motives to Train and aid Ciri with her powers and scared him enough to cease taking them.
The morning was met with large cups of what Ciri would learn later were called Coffee. It seemed to be exclusive to human students and elders. Most of the Sidhe avoided it. She found out why when Avallac'h's professional curiosity got the better of him. If a being could literately bounce off objects, that was her mentor for several hours after consuming the beverage. The crash was sudden and left him cursing himself.
"If I ever do that again...hit me over the head and put me out of my misery..." He'd commented to her as he lay face down with a headache from the withdrawal.
She had declined when offered the beverage, she did not want to experience the same.
Pen Watched with some amusement. The Sage's reaction explained why Crevan would look at her coffee mug like it was a demon she'd conjured up from the darkest depths. She knew Avallac'h wouldn't touch the stuff again, neither would Crevan. She would have to apologize for teasing him about fearing her coffee too, now knowing why.
"...I had mushroom trips more pleasant." He told her when she plunked the headache tea in front of him. "And those always gave me nightmares..."
She raised an eyebrow, he looked down into his tea. He was not proud of those years and his arrogance in thinking he was untouchable.
"One does not refuse their king...a night at the Bloody Goblet is tame in comparison to the revels the inner circle of Aen Elle court had when Aubron ruled...and promised to marry his daughter...I was part of it."
She wondered how he could be so calm talking of this, of something that seemed so devastating.
"I stopped such things when I began to train Ciri, and forbid her the same. It was the sickness you saw upon me, controlled but not completely gone as of then." He looked at her. "Do I miss it...the politically correct answer would be no, the honest one..."
"I did not mean to bring up a painful subject..."
"...You found amusement in a past adventure, it was I who did so." He drank down the tea and made a sour face. "...Hoof scrapings..."
She smiled softly as he rose, He kissed her temple. She had not expected the gesture.
"...I think knowing as I do now, it would have been worse..."
He left, leaving her standing there in a bit of awe.
Lunch found Pen looking through an alchemy text, one that had been found in the room of a student. It was the formula for black powder. The student had also been found with other substances, ones that had gotten them expelled and the content of their room confiscated.
"...It's from the restricted archive...and I thought all copies of it were burned." Regis said when he was brought the text.
"Lochain was never one to let the truth go unrecorded, hidden perhaps but not unrecorded..." Pen said. "only you and the other Alchemists have access to this text, the powder itself...exploding things to demonstrate the dangers..."
"Or to simply blow things up...it amazes me how stupid people can be around something so volatile..."
"Humans can be stupid..." She said. "The other substances, those were in the archive too?"
"One...and the elements you would need do not exist here and now..." he said, "The equivalent would be easier to get...and produce."
"This is not making sense..." She said. "First the bomb, then the theft of bottles of grain spirit and black powder. But why make this...it is no more potent than the modern version..."
"I'll do a sweep to see if any other texts are missing." He said.
"IF they wish to build bombs..."
"There are more common texts..." He said. "Go on...you have enough trouble with the Aen Elle..."
She nodded.
Ciri watched Pen move, absolutely deviating the practice dummy. Tam shook his head. Gideon frowned, Their mother was having a bad day.
"...I'd take her to the Orb, but I don't think we have enough trade chits between us to cover the damages..." Tam said.
"...This is bad?" Ciri asked.
"She hasn't pulled out steel so that is a thing..." Gideon said. "And we have a delegation that is asking for the disbanding of the Court..."
"I"m surprised she hasn't thrown a wench at them..."
"Wouldn't work...they have their own Thots..."
Ciri was surprised by the way they were talking. This seemed rather disrespectful.
"Forgive us lady Ciri..." Tam said. "Our Atara rarely gets this agitated,..."
The practice dummy's head landed at their feet.
"Students won't be happy, "Fred" will be up for repairs..."
The arms and legs followed, and the torso exploded in sawdust and stuffing.
"Fred?"
"The name of the practice dummy, Atara named him after a very infuriating student of some years back..." Tam knelt down, lifting up the head. "Yep...its the delegation, he has pointed ears..."
Pen walked passed them, shoved the sticks in Tam's hands, making him drop the head to take them as she stomped off.
"...Told you," Gideon said. "Pay up..."
"You spend too much time with Atar..."
"All the better to get the juicy stuff..."
Tam held the sticks in one hand, reaching into a pouch at his hip, pulled three trade chits and handed them to his little brother.