"Oh, you are welcome to Look at me, if you wish," Leareth clarifies quickly. "It does not bother me. See-through clothes or not." 

He glances around and finds another crate to sit on, and spends about a minute putting up wards, which should hopefully give Sufya a chance to collect herself. (And give him a chance to skim whatever he can get from the little of her mind that's not tucked behind native shields.) 

She blushes a bit, but does close her eyes and hum with interest.

(She's calming down, and - there's the overtones of someone looking at something utterly fascinating and trying to tease out the details and work out what they mean, which Leareth is probably very familiar with.)

If she's examining him with her Sight right now then Leareth is suddenly so agonizingly curious about what she Sees! It's not the time to ask about it, though, and he tells himself firmly to be patient. 

"We can speak now," he says finally. "My name is Leareth. I lead a large organization based very far to the north of here - one that is engaged in several avenues of original research in mage-work. I am visiting Rethwellan to recruit mages for this, but as I mentioned, I also work closely with a Mindhealer. I can confidently say that she is better placed to train someone like you with a Wild Gift for Mindhealing artifact-work than anyone else I have ever heard of. My organization's work is highly confidential, and so I would rather not say too much more until you have made a decision, but if you have specific questions then I can try to address them."  

"...original research in mage-work... avenues not best pursued in Rethwellan despite the presence of the University? I suppose if you're working with a lot of obscure gifts it might not be, there is a lot of academic disdain."

"Indeed. Also academic politics, which I find tiresome. And I was already based there, so it was logistically easiest to continue that." 

What does her emotional reaction seem to be, so far? 

Moderate suspicion, though not more than he usually gets this early in the pitch.

"Why do you believe your - coworker - to be uniquely qualified to help me?"

"For one, she is a highly expert Mindhealer, with better explicit understanding of her Gift and its workings than anyone else I have met. Nearly all Mindhealers are self-taught, as the Gift is rare enough that there are no formal academies and even apprenticeship is uncommon. She has experience teaching - albeit mostly not with that Gift, but many pedagogical skills would still apply. And she is a mage and has done artifact-work, so I think that she could help you analyze what your Wild Gift is doing, which most Mindhealers would not be able to do." 

Sufya nods reluctantly. "Those... are very meaningful qualifications. Hmm."

She thinks of something and laughs quietly. "The only other question I can think of is how does it pay, and I don't actually care about the answer. You wouldn't tell me if you were doing something awful, obviously; I don't have any actual objection to leaving Rethwellan; and you can't tell me what I'm agreeing to until I've agreed to it. So, fine. I'll leave Fana a note, she's selling my bloody Mindhealing hats in Petras and won't be back for a week. And - I can send letters, right, to my sisters? If I don't give too much detail?"

It's - kind of a relief that she's explicitly noting that it wouldn't be reasonable to expect him to tell her if he were doing something awful. Leareth doesn't like the fact that this is relevant, but given that it is, it's better for them to be on the same page without needing further awkward discussion. 

"Yes, of course." Leareth frowns. "Is it going to disrupt your stepmother's livelihood here, if you leave? I could provide some money to make up for your departure. - Oh, and I should pay for this hat. It is really quite an effective hat." 

"I suppose you could leave some coin. She's still got the remaining stock, and if she's sensible about it she can sell them off and retire, I really have been minting her money for five years... but I don't know how sensible she'll really be about it. And, yes, I suppose I can take one last transaction..."

She accepts a reasonable price for a very nice hat, and squirrels it away into the workings of the counter. "There. Whatever you'd like to leave to cover for my loss, I can toss it in there."

Leareth is not particularly strapped for cash; he brought enough to cover several weeks of travel, plus for eventualities exactly like this one. He hands over about fifty times the price of the hat without further comment. "This should make up for your absence for the next year or so, which is how long I estimate you will need for basic Gift-training. If you want to continue making hats while you study and sell them to my organization, we will of course pay a fair price for that as well." 

He pauses, frowning slightly. "Are you in fact happy to leave now, or would you rather have a chance to say your goodbyes face to face?" Leareth doesn't have a good read, yet, on her relationship with her stepmother and sisters, but it seems - maybe not that close? "If you wished," he adds, "we could make a stop by the mage-school that your sisters attend. Only if this is what you want, though." 

"...I would like to say goodbye to my sisters, if that's an option. I was - operating under the assumption it wasn't. How many Adepts do you - that's not the kind of detail you can give me. Speaking of which, would you rather I not tell them the real reason I'm leaving?"

"You are welcome to tell them that I offered you a place to study with a Mindhealer, somewhere far from here, and that you will stay in touch." None of what he's told her so far is likely to be specific enough to pose a risk, but if she's cooperative then he might as well play it safer. "I have no problem taking you to see them, if it is important to you. Where are they studying?" 

"The Academy in Petras. Fana planned to visit on her trip, but she said she'd be on her way back by now."

Nod. "Am I right in guessing that you might prefer not to explain your departure to her face-to-face?" 

"Yes."

(guilt guilt guilt)

"That certainly simplifies the logistics for me," Leareth says lightly. "I have a Gate-location conveniently close to the Academy, but locating someone on the road is much more costly. Anyway, how long do you need to pack and write a note? And would you prefer to wait until the end of the day when you would normally close the shop? I could go back to the inn and pack up my own belongings in the meantime." 

(Leareth has no intention of leaving her totally un-observed, but he is comfortable enough leaving her alone for a few candlemarks. He can put up some discreet wards, and he has enough Thoughtsensing range to keep an eye on her even from the inn; it's not a huge town.) 

"Frankly if you leave me alone until closing I'm half likely to drive myself mad, steal a horse, and ride to Valdemar, and then where would you be," she says drily. "I shouldn't need but a candlemark."

"Of course." Leareth stands up. "...You know, in the spirit of ensuring you know all of your options - you could go to Valdemar. They have five or six Mindhealers, currently, which is a higher prevalence than Rethwellan; you could apprentice to one of them, though I expect they are kept very busy and would have limited time to teach you, I believe that all of them are out traveling on circuit except for the King's Own, who has copious other responsibilities. And is also possible that you would be Chosen by a Companion as soon as you crossed their Border, I am not sure how you would feel about that." 

"...I can't claim it doesn't appeal, honestly. The ballads say it's very nice having a Companion. But I don't think you lied when you said your friend was better, and to be perfectly honest I doubt you'd so readily tell me my other options if your deal wasn't better."

Leareth smiles. "Indeed. I do want to point out that being a Herald is much less romantic than the ballads would make it out to be, and much more likely to consist of spending weeks riding between small towns with wet feet and listening to villagers' petty disputes. You - might like it anyway, but you would certainly not then be able to leave and seek training." 

He wishes he could offer her the assurance that if she did want to study with Nayoki and then leave and make her way in Valdemar, he would allow that. It's - complicated, though. It would be much safer to send her back to Rethwellan, and even that wouldn't be safe. 

And, of course, he's already hoping for much more than that. 

"Anyway. Do you mind if I have a look at some of the other hats while you are preparing?" 

"By all means."

And she heads off to write her goodbye note.

Fana,

I have left, after all these years, to seek my fortune. I am told that I have a Wild Gift, and the man who learned it wishes to teach me to use it properly. I have reason to believe him, and I cannot ignore the potential danger inherent in untrained magic.

I am sorry I couldn't tell you in person. The schedule is tight. We must leave before you return.

I recommend that you sell off the remaining stock, sell the building, and retire, rather than pushing Berta into my role. The shop will not live long without me.

You raised us well.

-Sufya

After that, she packs. A shawl, for the northern weather; she's certain to need more, but she likes this shawl. A knife for meals; a sewing kit; five dresses, three pair stockings, one pair boots.

One hat.

"Are you enchanted too, my dear?" she whispers. She puts it on and looks in the mirror.

A girl looks back - young, small, and boring. Her eyes try to skid off her own reflection.

She takes the hat off, and looks at it in her hands.

She tosses it into the corner, and hefts her bag, and heads out into the shoproom. "Ready," she tells Leareth.

Leareth is watching her when she tries on the hat. He frowns to himself, almost imperceptibly. 

"Yes. I am ready." 

He raises a Gate on the closed door of the shop, to a terminus commonly used by mage-students on the outskirts of the Academy's campus. Gates are frequent enough there that it won't be notable, and he's already fairly sure that there are no trained Adept mages in town to remark on the exact location of this end, or find it odd. 

From Sufya's perspective, it's notable that it takes Leareth less than two seconds from the first glow of magic until the completed Gate is up and ready. He offers her his arm. 

She stares, then takes his arm and hurries across.

"That's... impressive," she comments once they're through. "I've never seen one made so easily."

"I have more practice than most." 

He releases her arm once they're through, and dismantles the Gate just as efficiently; he doesn't look at all tired, despite the fact that it was over a hundred miles. "Well. We are here. Do you know the area or should I bring you somewhere in particular?"