[Mature] A Very Important Book ... Sort of. [Completed]

The young Witch of Fellsguard has a plan, but needs a little assistance in pulling it off ...

Fellsgard is the foundation of Khy'eras' history and through reconstruction, it is now a vibrant and lively city. People reside here due to mild climate, opportunities, and safety and stability. Adventures often start from Fellsgard. Read more...
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Katarya Frost
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Re: A Very Important Book ... Sort of.

Post by Katarya Frost »

Kat was breathing fast, which only deepened when she found herself entwined with Artemis. It wasn't a displeasing place to be, but perhapsa little more grace might be in order. She left it a few seconds, and then gently pulled away, looking down at her dress. "Ny'tha! I must look a right state!" She said, trying to dust off the straw and debris. When she put a hand to her head, she cursed again. "You have no idea how long it takes me to do this bloody thing," she pulled the clip away, shaking her dark hair loose, letting it fall where it may. Then scooped it up and tied it back into a loose tail. "I guess I'll be having a more casual look today."

The witch rose and looked down at him, holding her hand out to him. "Thank you, my hero," she said, with only a slight roll of his eyes. "Are you alright?"
Word count: 157
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"Now is the Time, now is Hour, mine is the Magic, mine is the Power"
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Artemis Black
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Black of the Night
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Re: A Very Important Book ... Sort of.

Post by Artemis Black »

He watched her attempts to organize herself with a grin as he lay on the roof. When she'd risen, he'd felt the loss of the warmth, but it returned when her hair came free. "I can only imagine," he said, a faint lilt to his voice. He took her hand after a moment, carefully rising into a spread stance on the roof. He dusted off his armor and tossed her another grin, "No trouble at all, fair maiden."

With a few careful steps, he guided her to the edge of the roof and moved to gently drop her onto the alleyway below. "Right this way, your carriage awaits," he said as he let her fall the last small bit. He then slipped down to join her, comfortably away from sight in the shade. "Now, earlier you'd mentioned a book. You look lovely by the way." He winked at her before peaking around the corner of the building.

"The way is clear, we can continue on gentle-like if you prefer. Adjust four streets west. I promise to keep my opinions a bit more to myself unless you ask," he said, nodding his head in acquiescence.

"Who knew that things could be so lively in the middle of the day," Artemis mumbled to himself as he waited for her to get her bearings.
Word count: 221
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Katarya Frost
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Re: A Very Important Book ... Sort of.

Post by Katarya Frost »

Kat waved away his compliments, but smiled regardless. "Lead on." She commanded, loftily.

She followed his lead, glad they had put some distance between them and the market. Not that it meant the situation was over and done with. The gossip, Karl, even Cora would all be people and things she would have to deal with when she got back, but she didn't mind so much. The usually sweet Karl had called her a slut, and not just to her, but in front of the entire market. Though she didn't usually care what people thought of her, either being thought of as stupid or easy were two things that really got to her. And to think Karl would say such a thing! Jealousy had brought out an ugly side of him, and if she had been sure she had not wanted to pursue things with him romantically before, it was now set in stone.

Besides ... she had other interests in that department. Speaking which; she turned to Artemis. "I insist on you expressing your opinions," she said. "Even if it does earn you a clip round the ear!" She said, giving him a quick smile. "So, the book. Mr. Tailor is a retired tailor ... very original, I know. He has a small house not far from my own shop, and he's a complete and utter lech. Whenever he visited, he was always paying me compliments, and, before grandmother put a stop to it, he had a habit of tickling me! Right into my teens!" She shuddered. That was all true ... the next part however ...

"He and Lilian were old friends." True. "And they were both avid readers who swapped books all the time." True. "However, one particular book got to him that it is very valuable, in terms of magical knowledge. Though he might not have any idea what is included in the text, as it will either be enchanted so that he can't understand or recognise it, or he simply wouldn't pick up on it. When I asked him about it, he told me Lilian had given him the book ... which I sincerely doubt. She had never given away books; they were too precious to her, but she would lend them to close friends." She looked to him as they strolled. "I need someone with the talent and guts to break into his house and get that book for me. I will pay you for your services, of course." She concluded. "Thoughts?

Katarya wasn't lying completely. Mr. Harold Tailor did indeed have a book that had once belonged to Lilian, but it was nothing more than a common story-book, which had no magic in it, whatsoever. The whole thing had simply been a a ruse to get see Artemis again ... and it had worked.

Now she just had to follow it through, however, something caught her attention, a smell familiar to her as a healer. "Are you bleeding?" She asked, the stepped forward, looking at his shirt. Spots of blood. She looked at him. "Artemis ... whose blood is this?"
Word count: 510
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"Now is the Time, now is Hour, mine is the Magic, mine is the Power"
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Artemis Black
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Black of the Night
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Re: A Very Important Book ... Sort of.

Post by Artemis Black »

They were on their way again, moving through the streets and back to the same wild backstory he didn't particularly need. As they moved, he kept a better eye for guards or ruffians. By the time she asked for his input, Artemis had only gleaned a few relevant facts. 'Retired tailor, one book, possibly magic, paid,' he thought to himself before giving her an answer. "Sounds simple enough. It'll help if I know what the book actually, you know, looks like. Also, a rough estimate of where it's being kept is always helpful. I do charge by the hour after all," he said winking.

Then she was in his space again, asking difficult questions. She seemed to revel in doing this at the most terrible times. "I'm not bleeding, and it's not mine. Whose it is doesn't matter much, but ask Beaky if you're going to lose sleep over it," he said, dismissing the thoughts with a wave of his hand. He paused and offered her a weak smile, "Career man, remember. It gets dirty from time to time."
Word count: 180
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Katarya Frost
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Re: A Very Important Book ... Sort of.

Post by Katarya Frost »

She frowned at his evasive answer. "I won't push you, if you don't want to talk about it ... but I'd say we're friends, aren't we?" 'At least! She thought. "And friends tell each other things, especially the important things. Keep in mind you know enough about me to have me taken off and probably killed for what I am, and yet I know next to nothing about you." She gave him a serious look. "You can duck out of it if you want, but after you do this job, I would very much like to get to know you a little better. I'm not saying give me a day to day account of your life ... but maybe just something tiny ... like why you have someone else's blood on you."

Kat left it at that, for now at least. She turned the conversation to the book, instead. ”The book shouldn’t be too hard to find … though to be honest I’ve not been in his house since I was little. If I remember correctly, his book shelf was in his downstairs front room … I think” She thought for a moment. ”The book is a well-made one; red, leather-bound cover, titled ‘The Whims of Master Wonderful’” She near winced at the words; it hardly sounded like a mystical title! ”Sounds innocuous, but it contains what I need. To my inexperienced mind, it sounds like an easy, in-and-out job, but you know best.” She conceded. "The man lives at number twelve Thistle Lane, it's a nice house. I suppose you can steal anything you want ... I am hardly in a position to tell you not to! Nor will I deign to tell you not to take unnecessary risks. In this matter, I am pretty much ignorant." She gave him a shrug. "Sound doable?"
Word count: 301
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"Now is the Time, now is Hour, mine is the Magic, mine is the Power"
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Artemis Black
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Re: A Very Important Book ... Sort of.

Post by Artemis Black »

He felt an annoyance rising in him, like an itch in his chest. 'Why couldn't she just drop it? These sorts of things happen every day.' He sighed and tensed then released his fists. "We can talk about it when I'm done here, I've got nowhere to be tonight anyway," he said, trying to move past the issue. She moved on and finally got to the meat of the matter. 'Red book, leather, of Master, bottom floor, front room, twelve Thistle, free reign,' he thought to himself as he organized the information he'd need.

"That doesn't sound too horrid. I'll be in and out, don't plan on doing anything too fancy given I've never cased the place," he half-muttered to himself. "Thanks for this Kat, you don't know how much of a boon even irregular work can be. I do car- consider you a friend, and I'll get back with the book as soon as I can." With that, he turned and set off towards a nearby low wall. He'd make much better time to Thistle street over a few rows of houses.
Last edited by Artemis Black on October 6th, 2019, 7:07 am, edited 1 time in total.
Word count: 185
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Katarya Frost
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Re: A Very Important Book ... Sort of.

Post by Katarya Frost »

Katarya watched him go. The flash or frustration in his eyes had not gone unnoticed. Was he hiding something? Was there some things he just didn't want to know about? Worst of all: was there things he did that he felt she might not be able to handle hearing? Her pride didn't like that at all.

"Good luck," She said, after a moment. "And take care."

She watched him leave, feeling a little uncomfortable. There had been a tenseness in those last few moments, and that is how they had left things. Hopefully when he returned with the book, she might be able to smooth things over? She hoped so.

Her reveries was broken by a cawing from above. She smiled and held out her arm, which was soon occupied by Nyx. "I think I annoyed him," she said to the bird, as she moved off in the direction of the shop. Nyx climbed up onto her shoulder. "I really was never any good at keeping my mouth closed, when I ought to." She said, both to herself and to Nyx. Then: "Keep an eye on him, would you? Come back to me if there's any problems." Nyx cawed her assent and took to the skies, vanishing off over the rooftops in Artemis' direction. Kat didn't really know how the raven was able to find him; must be something to do with her being a magical creature, despite her form.

***

Back at the shop, Jack gave her a warm greeting, enthusiastically telling her how he had managed to sell a variety of goods to a variety of people. Kat did her best to look interested, but she felt despondent. She had not liked how things had been left between herself and Artemis.

She assumed he would try and take the book at night, since Mr. Tailor rarely left his house in his old age, so the young witch busied herself with work until the hour struck six, then she sent Jack off home (with some relief), and made her way back upstairs. Since Nyx hadn't returned, she assumed he hadn't started the job, wasn't in trouble, nor on his way back, for Nyx would have returned to let her know.

Reclining at the desk in her small flat, she made sure the window was wide open for her familiar's arrival, and waited. Though he seemed to have taken the job with a nonchalance that suggested he'd pulled off much harder things than taking a book from an old man, she wouldn't be happy until he had returned.

And so, she waited.
Word count: 431
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"Now is the Time, now is Hour, mine is the Magic, mine is the Power"
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Artemis Black
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Black of the Night
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Re: A Very Important Book ... Sort of.

Post by Artemis Black »

Artemis tried to push down his errant thoughts as he moved from a side alley to a rooftop and then to the street. He was on a job, there wasn't any time to let his mind wander. Especially not about the painfully pretty girl who clearly wanted to be kissed again. Even more so when she wanted to know all about him. That was the death knell. Despite many folks' belief, there really wasn't much to a street rat, turned thief, turned professional. No one ever seemed to believe him, and so they always pushed and prodded, hoping to find some deep meaning in his life. 'I kill people because I have to. Because it's easier than trying to live with broken bones and torn flesh. Because the people with the knives are like me, just trying to survive,' he thought, before squelching that line of rambling.

Artemis stepped out onto Thistle Street and immediately moved back into the shadows of the alley. Even this far away, there were clearly still folks riled up from the scuffle earlier. With a wry chuckle, he set to scaling the nearby shop. At the top, he crawled his way into the shadow of a higher building's gable. This was always the tricky part as regular people never gave good descriptions.

From his secluded spot, the Thief found a building with the markings for a street number. Most didn't have them, but the shops tended to. Once he found his place, he hunted for another and counted between them. Some streets simply numbered up one side and down the other. Some nicer places kept the odds and evens across from each other in a hopping order.

He was double-checking his count when he heard a chattering chuckle above him. He rifled in his pockets and offered a blueberry up to the sky, not moving his eyes away from the street. It wasn't a busy place, but all the homes were different sizes, and there were a few smaller buildings attached. These together were making it difficult to get an exact bead on the target home.

Artemis idly scratched at Nyx's head, recounting the buildings. "Which do you think, Beaky? The one there," he pointed at a recently white-washed home with grand front windows. "Or that one, another down?" he asked the familiar, indicating a house with dark stained wood and several carvings in the frame. He was hoping it was the house with the carvings. The people that could afford those often liked to splurge on other valuable but easy to move items.

On a whim, he crawled over to the edge of his building and glanced down the close side of the street. Across from his potential targets, he found two shops with a home nestled between them. They were helpfully numbered '9' and '13'. "Good work Beaky, you've solved the mystery," he said, offering the bird another blueberry. Idly noting he was running low on the fruit, Artemis decided to pick more berries in the morning. He'd taken the habit of having them in moments of stress.

Satisfied with the position of his target, Artemis pulled a copper from his pocket and looked at the bird. "Now we wait, watch, and learn tricks," he said, tossing the coin to the bird. With an indignant squawk, Nyx caught the coin and proceeded to drop it for inspection. 'She is far too smart for her own good,' he mused to himself, snatching the coin to flick towards her again.



There was light, warmth, softness, and he felt a gentle pressure on his side. The world shifted, and the light was replaced. Long dark hair that smelt of herbs draped over him. It caressed his face, trapping him with her and her alone. Pale tawny eyes lit up in the darkness; he couldn't look away. Drops of blood fell from her delicate lips; the black hair started to tighten around his face. The eyes disappeared into the blackness; all that remained the tightening crush of inky darkness and scent of blood.

Artemis gasped awake to the indignant croak of Nyx. She was standing on his chest, and after a moment to preen, returned to rifling through his pockets for treats. He carefully picked the familiar up and set her onto the roof, admonishing her, "You were supposed to watch for visitors, not steal treats. At this rate, you'll never get promoted." The bird tilted her head at him and pecked his pocket insistently. The Thief gave her a smile and reached into his pouch. "Last one until we head to the shop, understand?" he asked her, not expecting a response. Her cackle of amusement caused him to raise an eyebrow in suspicion.

He waved his curiosity away and carefully pushed up into a crouch. The sun had gone down, and the street was empty beyond the faint light of flickering lamps. With a few quick hops, he was on the roof of number twelve. It was time for work to begin.
Word count: 840
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Katarya Frost
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Witch
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Re: A Very Important Book ... Sort of.

Post by Katarya Frost »

The hours passed and darkness fell, Katarya sat with with her feet on a stool reading. For once she didn't have her head buried in the often frustrating Book of Shadows, which was back in her grandmother's enchanted box, but rather a book of medicine she had paid a few coppers to loan out from House Enlann. Though the shop was keeping afloat, because Katarya didn't have the same broad skills that accumulated over years of practice, she wasn't actually making much of a profit. What money she did have spare always went on ingredients for the kind of potions and remedies that the noble house of healing might not approve of.

While reading a particular boring chapter on the workings of the immune system (much of which she already knew, and some of which she didn't find at all interesting), she was startled at the noise of her broom hitting the floor. "When the broom falls; company is coming." Lilian had taught her, when she was a child.

Though it was not unusual for people to come after the shop had called, if they needed a healer (need for such did not just stop when the store closed), she was more concerned that the pendant around her neck grew warm against her chest. 'Whoever is coming, is no friend to me. She thought, getting to her feet.

Sure enough the bell rang, and placing a shawl around her shoulders, she headed downstairs to the shop below, holding her lamp in front of her, which she turned up to illuminate the way, and hopefully see who was calling.

Kat frowned when she reached the shop door and no one was there. She lifted the lamp slightly as she peered through the window onto the dark street beyond, but it was empty. Her pendant remained warm, though, and the young witch felt a shudder of nerves run through her. After a moment, there were still no signs of anyone about, and she was just about to turn to go when her eyes noticed something on the floor. It was a piece of folded parchment that had been slid under the door, and that she had almost completely overlooked.

Bending down to pick it up, Katarya felt a chill run down as her spin as she opened it, and there in bold letters were the words: I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE.

***

Nyx ate the berry in full and then, as Artemis made his way to the roof of the house that was his target, the familiar took flight and settled on the food of a house directly opposite. It seemed the little bird was keeping an eye on him.

The only signs of life in Mr. Tailor's house was a soft glow coming from a room upstairs. It was so dim that it could only be a candle, and also there was no noise coming from the place. The downstairs windows were latch-closed and dark. Below on the street, two guards strolled by, chatting to each other about something, not even glancing upwards, more concerned with the food that awaited them at the guard station than checking on the buildings they were patrolling. Soon, even they were out of sight, and the air grew silent.
Word count: 543
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"Now is the Time, now is Hour, mine is the Magic, mine is the Power"
User avatar
Artemis Black
Character
Black of the Night
Level
04
48 / 48 HP
36 / 36 MP
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Class: Rogue
Posts: 358
Joined: September 30th, 2019, 12:06 am
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Re: A Very Important Book ... Sort of.

Post by Artemis Black »

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The Thief crept along the tiled roof, taking care to place his boots on solid tiles with supports beneath them. He checked each side of the building, looking for lights, listening for sounds, and giving a glance over window locks. The place seemed to be moderately maintained, most of the windows weren't caked in dust, but the shutters could use a new coat of paint. Interestingly, it seemed Mr. Tailor lived entirely alone if the flickering candlelight were any indication. Completing his circuit, Artemis returned to the back of the house. A far window there had the telltale rust of disuse.

The oil drops seeped into the rusted iron like water into the summer dirt. The Thief counted off a hand of minutes before he reached down and jimmied the lock. It slid open with a faint scrape. There was a soft groan of protest, and the window was open and waiting. He lowered his boots down onto the sill and slipped onto a heavy carpet below. Motes of dust drifted about in moonlit clouds as he settled. The room held a medium bed, sheets yellowed with age, two bedside tables, and a dark cherry armoire.

Artemis moved with determined purpose around the room. The tables were both bare, just a slick layer of dust he avoided disturbing. The armoire was practically stuffed full of moth bitten clothes. He rifled through the fabric, only managing 4 small bronze cuff links and several unhappy moths. It made sense why this window was rusted, no one had been here for a long time. With low wide steps, he made his way to the door and inspected its lock. It was clean, and so he slowly pulled the handle and cracked it open a sliver. Careful to keep his body back, he looked through the crack until his eyes adjusted to the dark hall.

The area was empty with a closed door across from him and a closet to his left. With deliberate movement, he let the door swing all the way open before stepping out onto the bare wood of the hall. He leaned his head out into the dark and seeing nothing stepped onto the bare wood floor. The hall was near pitch black, only the barest whisper of light coming from a door to his right.

Artemis opened the side door and felt a grin on his face as a well-stocked pantry revealed itself. He moved through with practiced ease, taking only the more valuable foods that wouldn't decay. The pantry finished, he pulled the door closed and moved across the small hall.

This door would lead to one of the large central rooms, and the Thief leaned his ear against the wood for several minutes. He didn't hear anything concerning, but something told him getting too close to the old man would turn this robbery into a murder. With a bob of his head, he turned and made for the stairs. They were the straight kind, tight walled, without much ability to escape easily. He kept his steps steady only through intense concentration. The stairs did creak as he made his way, but nothing louder than the regular movements of a wood-frame home.

The downstairs hall was a pair to it's brother. Six closed doors arrayed around him, four rooms, one pantry, one bath. He moved through this pantry much the same as the other, though most of the food was perishables. He did manage to grab a nice wedge of cheese and refill his pouch of blueberries. The second larder raided, he moved to the half-open door of the large middle room.

This room was some sort of seating area, large couches and a small bar were spread around the room. Artemis made his way to the bar, carefully identifying the various bottles without touching them. He selected a single crystal decanter of what was likely cognac and nestled it in the padded satchel at his hip. Perhaps he'd be lucky enough to enjoy the bottle that very night.

He made his way out of the room and into what was clearly an attached dining area. A massive display case held various fine plates and platters, but they all looked more artistic than materially valuable. He wasn't ready to take on the possible heat of easily distinguished artwork, and the cutlery looked to be pewter rather than silver.

Leaving the dining area through another open wall, he entered a reception and cloakroom. There were several closed coat holders, a grin split his face as a well-kept set of coats revealed themselves. He moved through them with practiced ease. In the end, his purse was two broaches, four silver, and thirteen copper heavier. He even found a pleasant dark-colored scarf of unknown material that he folded into his chest satchel. This room only had two other exits, one a street-side door, the other another split wall.

He slid past the split wall and into a parlor and reading room. There were several tall bookcases, lined with all sizes of books, ledgers, and tomes. In the middle of the room sat two overstuffed chairs faced out the grand front windows, an empty small table between them. With a silent pat on his greaves, Artemis review what he was searching for, 'Red book, leather, of Master, possible magic.'

As he scanned over the shelves, he counted nine red spines. Of those, three were leatherbound. He made his way to each and collected them to examine. The first book had no title on the cover. When he opened it appeared to be some sort of ledger. The thief figured someone at the Goose could use it, so he tucked it away in his empty side pouch. The second book had gold stylized script on the front, when he opened it there was a title page with similar script and the contents seemed to be a regular book.

He placed it aside to examine the final book. The last book had block printing, but with strange extra symbols almost inlaid. Much like the second book, this one's title page was a match and the contents appeared to be regular book fare. Artemis grunted unhappily and put both books into his largest pocket. Now he just had to leave.
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