A Page Without a Book

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Wish Star
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A Page Without a Book

Post by Wish Star »

In Wish's hand, there was a piece of paper that had been folded and unfolded numerous times, on its way to becoming tattered and unreadable. Prior to bending and concealing the parchment again, Wish examined the unknown symbols on the page - from the circles to the stars to the runes and unrecognizable language - trying to ingrain the images into her mind. It was all foreign to her and everyone else she had questioned in Ajteire and on the journey to Fellsgard. No one could make sense of the book snippet her late father had left her, until recently.

She had gotten wind of gossip that down a dark, seedy street in Fellsgard (and of course it lived up to the name), there was a shop and inside, one of the shopkeepers was known to study and decipher ancient texts. The very idea of such a rumor was occult and arcane in nature, and being in Fellsgard where magic was not entirely welcomed, Wish could grasp neither the name of the shop nor the person she needed to speak to.

So, Wish went, from store to store, trying to act casual while side-eyeing anyone else who might appear to be an expert on languages or dark arts. She would consider any manner of candidate at this point. Six stores later Wish had no worthy leads, no new friends, and only a pent-up heavy sigh that was released before entering the seventh and last store on the block.

A single bell chimed above the door and Wish turned her head upwards to the ceiling, letting her olive-colored eyes drift over the black, lace cloth which decorated the ceiling and weaved through the dimly lit chandeliers. Her gaze lowered as she walked through the narrow store aisles, marveling at the amount of dust in the air and on the shelves. Among this grime, Wish did take notice that there were books of other languages, unfamiliar trinkets and devices, and all sorts of jars filled with mysterious liquids, herbs, and gooey substances.

"This has to be the store," Wish started. "If not, this hand-me-down, good-for-nothing, not-even-a-will paper is going right into a much-deserved fire."

Although she had been discussing limited options rather quietly with herself, Wish heard not far off another voice at the end of the store. Until now, she assumed that if any workers had been present, that they were sleeping. But no, there were definitely voices and as she drew nearer to the end of a hallway, the conversation grew louder and heated.

Before reaching the voices, Wish noticed coming out of another aisle there was a short, pale man with a very bald head grasping onto his broom with tight, clenched hands. He was likely trying to rid Dustville of its inhabitants but was frightened by the on-going argument and possibly Wish's presence. Wish lifted a finger to her lips, motioned the universal symbol for "shhh", and placed a hand on one of the rapiers hanging at her waist. The stout man said nothing. Surprise, surprise.

With a hand on a weapon and a little more assurance in her step, Wish proceeded onward. She had considered going back and talking with the man. Maybe, as uncomfortable as he appeared, he was the key Wish was seeking. But those thoughts would be diminished and lost. As she reached the site of friction in the store, the argument had turned into a strangling match. One person was leaning over the cash register and front desk, throttling the neck of the person behind it.

"You called them! I can't... believe... you called them!" the assailant shouted.

Wish had every intention of drawing her rapier and assisting the person who was gasping for air, but she never got the chance. Not hearing the footsteps behind her, a heavy object - perhaps brass lamp or paper weight - struck the back and side of her head. Wish's legs fell out from under her and her body crumpled to the floor. Distantly, she contemplated that she was a sorry excuse for a Ranger. Then, everything went black.

---

There had been many moments when the cold, cobbled road was the most comfortable bed in the word. That time had passed, however, and Wish found herself waking up, groaning in agony over the pounding sensation in her head and the aching in her back. Somehow - although it was likely that she had been forcibly thrown out - Wish made it out into the street and there she had slept an undetermined amount of hours.

Able to sit up at least, Wish checked for the few possessions she had brought with her to the lovely city of Fellsgard and found that while she was still clothed, had her rapiers, and snacks in her side pouch, she was left with 50 copper and was missing that beloved paper her father had given her that put her into this mess in the first place.

"I should have known," Wish said as she pushed herself to her feet.

Overwhelming dizziness flood her senses as she stood, but through the haze, Wish realized the seventh shop now had its windows and door boarded up with the lights inside off. The place was as good as dead but Wish managed to fall towards a window and began an attempt at prying off the boards. She just felt too groggy though and when yanking a board that did get wrenched off, she tumbled back against the side of the building.

Wish closed her eyes and breathed. Perhaps she had woken up too soon, but so help her... she was going to get into that store and get back that paper.
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Victor Sage
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Lord Of Laughs, Keeper of Secrets, and Amazing Lover...of Cheese
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Re: A Page Without a Book

Post by Victor Sage »

Knowledge is power. Unfortunately the verse isn't true, power doesn't equal knowledge. If you need an example, all you have to do is look at most dukes, earls, and kings. Men (and women) have done horrible things in pursuit of power. Very few of them have done half that amount of work in the search of knowledge though.

My name is Victor Sage, I'm a wizard. Of course saying that out loud isn't always the best thing to do. Being a wizard isn't a welcome thing in some parts. Of course, I've grown used to that.

Currently I was a wanderer. Not much reliable business out there for wizards. Well, not much Legal, reliable business out there for wizards. But I like a challenge. That was one of the things that brought me to Fellsgard. There were rumors going around that there was a shop with mystical and odd items that might be of interest to someone in my profession.

Of course, when you're dealing with things most people thought of as evil or demonic, you couldn't really just go around asking people if they knew where the closest magic item shop was. It was dark by the time I reached the shop. I was beginning to think that maybe detective wasn't the best job for me. As I approached the store front I noticed that the door and windows all seemed to be boarded up and it was dark inside. "Hells bells." I muttered. "Of course I'd be a day late for the going out of business sale." Shaking my head in disgust at myself I leaned on my staff and pondered what I was going to do next.

It was during my time of inner reflection that I thought I heard some shuffling behind the store. Adrenaline rushed through me as I quietly snuck around the alley and behind the boarded up building.

I'm not a naturally violent man, and I don't take joy in cause others harm. On the contrary I really only want to help people. Of course if you can't be a bit of a smartass while doing it, where's the fun? I poked my head around the back corner of the building trying to think of what witty one liner I'd use to distract the interloper when my eyes fell on a woman, who managed to pry a board off the window. Apparently the act of shear strength took her by surprise and she flew backwards against the side of the store.

I hate coming up with smart ass comments and not being able to use them, so instead, I made my way over to the fallen woman and said, "I believe the store is closed. You may want to try back during normal business hours." And I reached out a hand to offer her a hand up.

I really hoped this lady wasn't actually trying to rob the place, otherwise this could get awkward real fast.

"You ok?" The chivalrous side of me couldn't help but ask, almost before I realized I'd asked. One of these days that'll come back to hurt me. Hopefully that won't be today. "I'm Victor." Keep helping Vic, what's the worse that could happen?
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Re: A Page Without a Book

Post by Wish Star »

Victor was lucky. The board Wish had managed to remove in her struggle was flung from her hands in surprise and narrowly missed his legs as it rolled across the thin alleyway. The force of the yank made her fall back against the shop's wall and to catch her balance, she slid down the side of it landing somewhat rather ungracefully on her side.

With palms on the road, she pushed herself up into a sitting position, bottom still firmly on the ground and not quite ready to be lifted from the earth. In her moment of respite, a hand was thrust into her line of vision and she heard a voice prior to looking up.

"You ok? I'm Victor."

It took Wish about twenty seconds or so to realize she should probably face her would-be hero. In elevating her gaze to Victor, her head titled ever so slightly. How curious. Instead of exchanging greetings, Wish narrowed her brows and questioned:

"You look familiar. Do I know you?"

Having only recently left Ajteire, Wish didn't know how it was possible that she had ever met this stranger before. There was something so very distant and recognizable about the man that she couldn't put her finger on. Maybe the elusive memory was caused by the slow leak of blood from the back side of her head where she had been struck, a wound that she had forgotten about.

Speaking of forgotten things, Wish gasped and realized she was wasting precious seconds and that if there were any people inside the shop, they could have made a retreat in the time she was messing around like a clumsy, half-witted oaf. Wish grabbed Victor's hand, if only to steady herself briefly, and bounced to her feet. With an abrupt turn and possibly whacking Victor in the face with her wings due to his proximity, Wish dropped the man's hand and returned to her work at removing boards from the windows.

One came off and another easily. As the third board was more loosely attached to the window, she assumed it had been a job hastily done. There were enough boards freed from the windows at this point. Before Victor could object, Wish climbed through the window, rolling forward, and pushed herself to her feet, enveloped in complete darkness. Although Wish could not see immediately, she recalled the aisles of the shop were narrow and stacked with numerous foreign items. As she reached her hands out though, Wish felt nothing.

Seconds passed and Victor would eventually hear her distant voice from inside the shop, "Well, Mr. Victor. Are you coming in or not? A girl could use help finding a light."
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Re: A Page Without a Book

Post by Victor Sage »

I've never put much thought into "past lives" or things of that nature before. However, staring at this woman before me made me pause. I don't know what it was, but I had this feeling that I knew her from - "You look familiar. Do I know you?" Well hell. Growing up my mother had always taught me that coincidences didn't exist. I believed that to my very core. I apparently took too much time to think cause before I could utter a reply she was gone. While I'd been thinking about my past, she jumped into the building.

I have a problem. I'm chivalrous, to a fault. "How can that be a fault?" I've been asked before, let me tell you a story. Once, when I first set off on this glorious life of private investigating and helper of the helpless or whatever I do, a girl came to me and told me about how her poor kitten had gotten taken from her by this band of bullies. Well, I couldn't just let that go. I asked about and found that the bullies actually had a "hideout" in an old warehouse just outside of town. I went to investigate and sure enough, found the group there. What the girl and the people I'd asked had failed to tell me, was that the "bullies" were actually a cult that worshiped and evil demon. Yes, I know the demon's name. No, I'm not telling you cause names have power. Anyway, I figure, I'd burst into the warehouse, put on a good fireworks show, scare the little brats and set them straight with a wizardly lecture on what goes around, comes around, and putting forth good into the world. Real after school stuff.

I focused my will behind my staff and sent forth a small effort that blew the doors back (maybe a little harder than I had intended and they kind of flew off the hinges and into the wall behind them, oops.). I put more effort into my hands and the tips of my staff and fire erupted from them, it looks so cool, I did it once for a birthday party for a...never mind. Getting side tracked. So there I am, blazing hands and staff ends, I start twirling the staff in one hand and I yell, "Honey, have you seen the dog?" Twelve sets of eyes turn from their summoning circle to glare at the intruder (me!). These bullies where not young boys, but rather 30 - 40 year old men who looked like they made a living out of beating logs into smaller pieces of firewood with their bare hands. "Shit." I muttered.

The moral of the story is, that I sometimes do stupid shit to make a woman a little happier. There are two things I can't abide by and it's harm to women, and harm to children. I could tell that the woman who just ducked into the store was harmed in some way, there was blood slowly dripping down the back of her neck for crying out loud and then I heard it. The nail in my coffin so to speak, "Well, Mr. Victor. Are you coming in or not? A girl could use help finding a light." She'd down it. She'd discovered my weakness. A woman had asked for my help. I sighed and climbed up and through the broken window as well.

"How can I say 'no' to such a request?" I asked myself and pulled out the necklace my mother had given me, a simple pentacle on a silver chain and forced my will into it, making it glow and cast a light around me. "So, what are we looking for Miss?" Victor, one of these days, your chivalry is going to get you killed. Yeah, I know. I know.
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Re: A Page Without a Book

Post by Wish Star »

From behind her, Wish heard another tumble through the window. Turning to peek over her shoulder, Wish breathed a quiet sigh of relief realizing that it was indeed Victor who had followed her and not a random a weirdo off the street. Then again, who was to say that this man who offered to assist her was not a weirdo? Only time would tell.

Rubbing her neck in thought, Wish felt the dampness from the blood at the back of her head and moved a hand over the tender spot. Absently, she let a bit of healing magic flow into the wound - just enough to close it, but not enough to zap her of her own strength. There would be a bruise, but at least she wouldn't succumb to anymore light-headedness. Wish's hand fell back to her side and she smudged her fingertips against her pants to wipe off any blood.

Most people would not be thankful for the radiant trinket Victor wore, especially in Fellsgard, but Wish was glad for the light it cast into the room. It was risky; even inside the abandoned shop, if they were spotted, Victor could be detained for being an obvious flashy magic user. Despite these consequences though, Wish did not tell him to smother the light or put it away. Presently, it was all they had to stumble through the darkness.

Wish wondered why Victor felt comfortable even pulling out his charm in front of her? She assumed it was because she was Fae and as rumor had it (and was often true), most Fae in their homeland of Ajteire and Ninraih were accepting of magic. It was part of their blood and nature.

In response to his question, Wish lifted her arms and gestured about her. "Only a few hours ago, this emptiness was a shop lined with all sorts of artifacts, foreign books, jars of Eidolons-know-what, and various items that I'm sure would interest you." Dropping her hands, she nodded to his necklace. "My father left me with a page from a book - something inscribed with a language he never educated me on. I came here because I was told by several sources that the owners might know how to translate."

Wish took a few steps closer to Victor, until they were about a foot apart, so she could better utilize the light he was shedding, like an enchanted firefly from Ajteire. Maybe that was why he felt so familiar. Wish turned and pointed to the other end of the shop to draw his attention to the blackness that lingered beyond their vantage point.

"Back there... there's a consultation room. I headed that way because I heard a commotion and a shop worker looked uneasy." Wish moved forward in the direction of the room, waving Victor along with her. "When I went into the room, there was an argument going on between two people. The person was flailing about saying that the other person had called... some one. I'm not sure who. Anyway, that is when I got hit on my head from behind and knocked out. Whoever it was took most of my funds and the paper my father gave me, which for the life of me, I cannot understand why. Maybe it was more important that I realized. In any case, here we are."

They had reached the room where Wish had been assaulted by an unknown force. The door was shut, but Wish jiggled the knob and realized it was not locked. Gently, she put her pointed ear to the door and listened not hearing a sound. With a hand still on a rapier, Wish turned the knob. There was an eerie creaking sound and the door swung fully open to reveal yet another mostly empty room. There were two things present: a lantern hanging on the wall that was flickering and illuminating the darkness and a...

"Mrrooooowwwww."

Cat. Wish looked down as the furry orange beast slunk out of its confines. It sat on its haunches in front of them and Wish knelt before the cat, reaching a hand to scratch the creature behind its ears. It nudged its head into the palm of her hand for a fleeting second and then craned its head to gaze past her at Victor.

"Are you a cat?" Wish asked the feline. A person could never be too sure.

"Me-yow?"

Then, without a second glance, the tabby strolled past her and started winding its body all around Victor's long legs. It reached up along the man's legs, trying to touch his knees which not much success. Wish stood and smirked, clapping her hands together.

"You have been chosen," Wish said. "I don't suppose you speak feline, do you?"

As Victor was being loved and bothered by the cat, Wish turned and stepped into the room. She lifted the lantern from the wall, thinking they might use it to explore the rest of the shop, when something fell from behind it. Wish knelt to the floor with the lantern to find the object. It was a scrap of paper, an airship receipt that was dated from yesterday for tickets that departed a few hours ago, when she was lying dazed and on her back in the alleyway.

And just where was it for?

"Shit. They went to Domrhask."
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Victor Sage
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Lord Of Laughs, Keeper of Secrets, and Amazing Lover...of Cheese
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Re: A Page Without a Book

Post by Victor Sage »

I can't say that I've always been a great person. I wish I could, however that's just not the case. I could give you some some sob story about how things were hard for me learning to control both my shifter powers and my magic powers, but it's nothing that a hundred other people haven't gone through and they've turned out ok. I've done dark things in my past and I only have myself to blame for them. And I do blame myself for them, every day.

That is part of the reason that I'm out on the road, trying to do some good. I know that I'll never be able to make up for what I did. All I can do is try to put a little bit of good back into the world. Some people may think that means that any good I do is being done out of self loathing and thus means nothing. I don't care. I'm not doing good for redemption. I'm doing what good I can because I can.

All that said, I don't know exactly where breaking into a store with some lady I don't know puts me, but something about her made me feel like this was the right thing to do. So, I had no problem lighting up my necklace and providing some illumination for her. Of course I had no idea what she was looking for either.

"So, what exactly are we looking for?". I asked as I took a look around the empty store. Something that struck me as odd was that while the store looked like it'd been closed for a little while outside, inside it was empty, and almost completely dust free. "Well, someone went to a lot of trouble to empty this store real quick." I said more to myself than to the woman.

As we went to the back of the shop, a cat came out of no where and started...catting. I was always more of a dog person. I don't know why, I just never really got on with cats. Until today apparently. The creature took some pets from the woman, and then wrapped itself around my legs. I could only assume it was an attempt to trip me and make me look like a fool. Cats.

"I do actually understand a little cat.". I said absentmindedly. "He's a stray. Usually comes here for food. 'Most of the mice are gone now.' he says. That's helpful.". At the mention of Domrhask I turned and looked at the woman. "Really? Domrhask?"

I sighed and motioned back towards the window. "Well, we better head out or we'll never catch up to them.". I turned and headed back towards the window, only to be tripped a few seconds later by the damned cat circling my feet again. As I landed on the floor, I dropped my concentration and the light went out. "Damn cats.". I muttered.

As I started to get up I heard noises coming from outside...city guard making their rounds. If I hadn't fallen and dropped the light, they would have seen us for sure. I glared back at the cat and squinted at him closer. "You did that on purpose." I accused him quietly. In the most dignified cat way, he simply rubbed against me purring. Cats.

I stood eventually and dusted myself off despite there being no dusk. Force of habit. I looked at the woman, who I was sure was holding back a laugh, if only so the guards didn't hear us. "Alright, let's go already.". As I made it to the window I turned and looked at the cat, "You coming Mouse?". I asked and the cat followed.

I'm sure we made for an interesting group, a tall, frazzled, looking redheaded man, a short woman holding back her laughter, and a cat, being all...cattish. "This is going to be fun." I muttered. "I wonder if I'll have to pay extra for the feline? Maybe there's a cat friendly air ship?"
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Wish Star
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Re: A Page Without a Book

Post by Wish Star »

Her mouth twisted into a half-grin as Victor said he did indeed know a bit of cat and then proceeded to tell Wish about their would-be, new furry companion. Wish honestly couldn't tell if Victor was telling the truth or making up the story about the tabby. She knew that Druids could communicate with animals and while she was very much aware that Victor had a mystical aura about him (albeit a bit rough around the edges), she didn't know much else about him. Which begged the question, why was Wish putting her trust into him so much? Perhaps it was because she knew no one else in Fellsgard and if the cat had taken a liking to Victor and his legs, she supposed it would be alright for her to as well.

"Ah, well, we won't stick around for mice here then," she said.

When she came out of the back room with the lantern, Wish handed Victor the receipt for airship tickets bound for Domrhask. He didn't take it, but acknowledged it by nodding at the printed words. Although 56 years of age, Wish only had about a year or so of Khy'eras exploration under her belt after leaving Ajteire. Most of that was the trek through the Ninraih jungles to Verdant Row and then finally to her Fellsgard destination. Some of this journey was by horse, some by train, and some by foot. And now here she was, contemplating - no absolutely deciding - that she was going to board an airship and head straight towards the cold and distant Dwarven city of Domrhask.

All for a paper that Wish's father had left her, which she had no idea to its contents, but now assumed it had an importance since it had been stolen from her, in comparison to her remaining possessions that could have been taken while she was unconscious. Wish left loose a sigh, regretting that she had not paid more attention to Serynthe's words and teachings, her musings cut off by Victor's confusing words.

"Well, we better head out or we'll never catch up to them."

Wish blinked, once, twice, and a third time as she watched Victor head towards the door. "Wait. What?" she stammered following after him. "You're coming with me?" She hadn't expected that and was taken aback, more so when the cat entangled itself around Victor's legs and finally tripped the fellow. The cat let out a questioning meow as Victor hit the ground and then proceeded to head bump against Victor's forehead while he was taken out.

A laugh started to flow from her lips, but Wish covered her mouth and smothered the rest of the sound behind her palm. It was just as well that Victor's light went out with his collapse as the city guard of House Arcaod was on the patrol. She still had the lantern held in her hand, but that was less suspicious then a glowing, circular orb floating around one's chest.

Kneeling slightly, Wish placed a hand around the inside of Victor's arm, helping him back up onto his feet. The patrol passed and they were left inside the emptiness of the shop again. Wish followed as Victor headed towards the exit, in so many ways answering her question that yes - he was indeed going to journey alongside her. But before Victor and Mouse (that was apparently the cat's name), hopped out the window, she stopped them.

"Let's try the front door, shall we?" Wish said. "Less suspicious that way, I think."

If Wish had to guess though, going out the door versus the window likely made any difference. A Fae, a tall man with a pendant, and cat travelling out of an abandoned shop. It reminded her of the title of a book her father had read to her when she was young: That Familiar Feeling. It was a child's book about learning how to communicate with animals and started off with cats as the subject. The text stated a person could learn a lot from felines, in particular by just studying their faces and reactions. Wish wondered if Victor had read it?

Waving them towards the door, Wish tried turning the knob and the thing swung open. It had not been locked. She now knew that manhandling the boards was never necessary in the first place and grimaced, turning her head over her shoulder to look at Victor.

"I suppose next time, I'll check the front entrance."

As they walked, Wish gazed up to look at Victor. He was quite a stretch taller than her and that wasn't merely because she was Fae. When he mentioned the airship fee, Wish coughed and lowered her voice as they entered into the busier streets of Fellsgard. Wish waved a hand nonchalantly.

"Ah well, you see... we may have to do something... strictly non-legal," Wish started and Victor raised a questioning brow at her. "No, not that. I mean, to get onto the airship. I am fairly certain I do not have the required funds, so we may have to improvise."

Oh dear da, please forgive me. Turning into a thief now.

From the bit of exploring Wish had done in the city, she knew the airship ports were in the Northeast corner of the city. As they headed that way, Wish watched as an airship sailed through the sky towards a northern destination. She wondered if the craft had the people they were chasing and that they were on way to Domrhask? A bit of past reading also gave her the knowledge that flights to Domrhask were fairly infrequent as they were considered dangerous because of snow storms and fierce gusts of winds. She hoped that they'd run into neither case - that there would be an airship departing and that the weather would be fair.

Her thoughts had drug on all the way to the airship ports. Although the hour was late, the six airship stations were lively, people coming and going. The train platforms were located in this area, but no train routes would take them to Domrhask and that would have been too slow anyway.

Prior to approaching any ticket booth (they likely wouldn't be buying tickets anyway), Wish scoped out the signs next to each station, listing the airship's next destination. At the fourth, she stopped and pointed to Victor.

"Here," she said. "We'll need to get on this one, but... do you have any ideas? Oh and as we'll be travelling together, my name is Wish. I thought you might need it in case we... you know, get caught or die."
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Victor Sage
Character
Lord Of Laughs, Keeper of Secrets, and Amazing Lover...of Cheese
Level
01
24 / 24 HP
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Race: Shapeshifter
Class: Monk and Wizard
Posts: 4
Joined: June 1st, 2019, 3:56 am
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Re: A Page Without a Book

Post by Victor Sage »

My father once told me, the world was gonna owe me. However, I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed. It took me a long time to realize that my father wasn't right in the head. It always took a little longer for things to sink in for me. I've never been the star pupil, or valedictorian. I've always been just Vic. So it was a bit of a surprise when my dad laughed at me after telling him I'd used magic. I remember his deep laugh as he said, "That's cause you're a wizard Vic.". To which I replied, "But I can't be. I'm just...just Vic." I say all of that to say that I can be a bit thick headed at times. So, when we looked at the available airships it had never dawned on me that we would need money for tickets.

"Well, I don't know about the two of you, but I personally don't have extra money on me at the moment.". I looked around and saw a darkish alley. "Cause what could go wrong in a darkish alley?". I asked everyone and no one. Mouse meowed. "It was rhetorical, man." I'm sure I didn't look like a complete mad man...sure. Not me.


When I was fairly sure that we were out of eye and ear shot, I turned to Wish, ignoring any odd looks from her. "I don't know what you've got up your sleeve, but I'm pretty sure Mouse and I can get in pretty easy." At the quizzical look she gave me, I sighed. "Watch." And with that, I began to shift. Slowly, my body began to shrink, and bits of fur started growing all over my body. Eventually, I looked up, way up, at Wish. "See?". I said. Well, that's what I said, what she heard was a little squeak from the grey mouse that now stood before her.

I was about to go on when a noise made me stop and turn around. The low growl of what could only have been a demon, greeted me. It wasnt until I turned all the way around that I realized it wasn't a demon, just Mouse glaring at me with hunger in his eyes. "Squeak."

I took off back down the alley, I swear it wasn't this long the first time we walked down here. "Mouse!" I yelled back at him, "Mouse, it's me, Vic! Stop!" Oddly enough, Mouse didn't stop chasing me. I don't know if he didn't understand me or… "Fooooood!". I heard him growl. "Stupid fucking cat." He swiped at my legs and I rolled, just barely avoiding him. "Stupid fucking cat, that almost killed me." I ammended.

This wasn't going to get us anywhere. I turned and stood up on my hind legs. "Mouse, don't make me hurt you!". I warned him. He didn't stop. "Can't say I didn't warn you." I didn't have my focus items with me in this form, but I was fairly sure I could pull this off. Fairly sure. I focused all my energy on the cat charging at me's front paw. It took a bit longer than normal, and I totally didn't start freaking out as the perfect killing machine kept getting closer.

"Damnit!" I muttered, "Incendio!" I shouted and poured all of my fear into the spell. Finally a small spark lit at the paw I was targeting before. It didn't catch on fire. It was just big enough to startle him and make him trip, sliding the rest of the way to me. I looked him dead in the eye (I could only make eye contact with one of them), "I said, it's me, Vic." Just before I smacked him in the nose with my little paw. I could see the fog of hunger lift a bit and Mouse tilted his head a bit in recognition. "Bitch." I said under my breath. "Jerk." I heard back from Mouse. I turned and looked at him "You could understand me the whole time?!" I hate cats.

Turning my back to Mouse I look back at Wish. I couldn't tell from here, but I think she might have been laughing. "Well, do you have anything that could work with this?" "Squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak?"
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Wish Star
Character
Level
01
23 / 23 HP
20 / 20 MP
0p / 0g / 0s / 55c
Race: Fae
Class: Cleric and Ranger
Posts: 13
Joined: May 26th, 2019, 11:47 pm
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Re: A Page Without a Book

Post by Wish Star »

A fleeting moment passed where Wish pretended that Victor was a very wealthy man who could buy them tickets onto the airship, meaning they would not have to sneak around. But as it turned out, he had about as much to his name as she did, which was not very much at all. This probably explained part of the reason why he discovered her lurking around dark alleyways and abandoned magical artifact shops.

Speaking of alleyways, Victor seemed to already have a plan in the works and slipped into a murky corner behind one of the airship station buildings, obscured just enough that she could see him. Wish wasn't entirely sure what to expect, but Victor growing tufts of hair certainly wasn't it. Then his body started contorting, getting smaller and rounder. Shapeshifter or Druid, she thought, having met a few of both types in her time in Ajteire. Eventually where tall "Human" Victor stood was now a tiny, grey colored mouse sitting on its haunches and peering up at her with amber eyes. Wish knelt down and the mouse squeaked at her; too bad she had no inkling as to what Victor was saying.

"You're kinda cute as a mouse."

Before Victor could make any other move, there was a menacing sounding growl that departed from the bowels of a hungry beast. Mouse the Cat didn't understand the transformation, forgot Victor was once where the mouse was, and decided naturally that the creature was dinner. Wish didn't have time to reach out and snatch up Victor; the cat pounced, and Victor took off further down the alleyway with Mouse hot on his trail.

"Oh no! Ah, come back!" Wish said raising a hand and then placing her palm over her mouth to stifle a gasp.

Wish could no longer see either of them for a time. All she heard was a bunch of squeaks and then series of long irritated "mrrroowwws" until finally there was a meager poof of fire in the darkness as if someone had struck a single match. Wish's hand dropped as all went silent. It was a minute or two before Victor Mouse and Mouse the Cat both ambled back out of the alleyway towards her (no blood to be had on either), the two still sideways glaring at each other.

"You're going to need to choose your forms more wisely according to your surroundings," Wish said with a small laugh.

Victor replied with a series of squeaks to which she shrugged. She had no idea what he was trying to convey, but the airship made a rumbling sound signaling that it was going to be taking off soon. She didn't have magical abilities or disguises that would help in this situation, but as a Fae, Wish did have natural talents available.

Walking into the alley, Wish tucked her wings into her clothing the best she could, which felt uncomfortable but was necessary. In a rapid flash, Wish transformed into a much smaller version of herself two inches in height. In this miniature form, her wings give off a bright light similar to the fireflies of Ajteire, so keeping them concealed made an option. Unfortunately, she couldn't fly while her wings were hidden and with the airship taking off soon, it meant they had to act fast.

Dashing out of the alleyway, Wish darted past Victor and Mouse waving to them and shouting, "Let's go!" She rounded towards the backside of the airship and found a series of ropes strung six feet apart flowing from the railing of the ship's deck to the airship port. These ropes would be released when the airship was ready to depart, but for now they were a perfect sized ladder for a mini-Fae, mouse, and maybe a cat. Wish began to climb up the ropes, thankful that her time spent with rangers climbing trees and other various obstacles was becoming useful.

Once at the top, Wish kept flat against the railing of the ship and did not yet proceed to find a place to hide. There were people walking back and forth, some of them wanting to get an optimal view of Fellsgard as the airship took off. She would have liked to see the scenery as well, but as they were almost stowaways, they could literally not afford such luxuries.

Her olive hued eyes lifted to check out her surroundings and noticed several men dressed in uniform were walking in and out of a door carrying boxes and suitcases. Cargo Room, she thought. When the coast was clear, Wish moved again remaining in the shadows the best she could and ran through the doorway that opened into a short flight of stairs leading downwards into the cargo area. Gosh, she sincerely hoped at least Victor was keeping up with her as she crept down the stairs, sticking to the side of the wall to keep out of anyone's vision.

At the bottom of the stairs, Wish heard from above the sound of a door locking and assumed that all cargo had been stored and that the airship was ready to move. Breathing a sigh of relief, Wish proceeded to find a spot where she could hide out among the cargo in either this form or her other one. Turning on her feet, Wish grimaced when she saw no one behind her, immediately wondering if she should have taken it slightly slower.

"Victor, are you there?" she whispered.

Wish felt the airship lift off into the air heading away from the grand city of Fellsgard and paused with bated breath, listening for a response or squeak.
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