The Fiery Glazier

Serrana listened as the lutin spoke, willing to treat Nikolov with respect since he seemed to be doing the same with her. She also made a mental note never to call Tubgut that to his face, given the goblin's alleged strength and rank. "It's not a bad idea to keep them, they could be useful for other folks, they just won't do me - or most dancers - a lot of good."

The sorceress took the board and the charcoal and scribbled what she'd already mentioned on it - clothes, books, paper for letters... She tried to think of something she couldn't live without, but there really wasn't much. Her major hobbies were studying magic and dancing, both of which she would be able to do already. And while she enjoyed going home, it was more a place to rest and be secure than a place of sentimental value. Pursing her lips, Serrana tried to think of something else, before scribbling down several books and where to find them in her room. They were just storybooks from back home, but she read them sometimes when she was too tired to dance or study magic... one of them was the one her parents (and sometimes her brother) read to her when she was very little, so it definitely held some sentimental value to her, and likely would help to have here. She handed the board back to the lutin. "Unless they forget something, and assuming you'll feed me and give me a blanket, that should be all I need," the dancer said in an even tone, still not keen on the idea of being abducted, but also not planning on being rude to someone showing her some courtesy. "Thank you."
 
"And thank you." Nikolov nodded as he looked over the list. "I'll be sure you get all of this by some time tomorrow. Preferably morning, but Golbev's lackeys are fairly mindless, and it might take until morning to make them understand what a book is and looks like." He offered a small smirk to her along with his lame attempt at humor. "Hopefully I can make your stay here as pleasant as possible, and make it over as quick as possible so you can return to your life." With that, he turned, ready to walk out of the little room, then paused. "Do you think you need a better door? This is the one the room came with, but I realize human women have need of more privacy than any goblin requires."

(( Ick. Short post is short. ))
 
((And now, a THIRD attempt to get this posted...))

Serrana nodded to Nikolov, a slight smirk as he mentioned the "brilliance" of the lackeys. "They didn't exactly seem the most learned, no... And that would be appreciated. Thank you." The glazier thought about the comment regarding the door briefly, then nodded again. "And yes, it probably would be good to have a solid door - as much for you as for us. If you're planning on holing up a number of women in the same room, you probably don't want to hear the little henhouse clucking all the time just as much as we wouldn't want to be pried on."

Serrana considered asking to see more of this place that was her new home for the time being, but opted to wait. This was all already a fair amount to take in already, and it was pretty good odds she'd have that chance later. Besides, the lutin had given her something else to think on, and she didn't want to tip off that she'd picked up on it. She should have all of what she asked "by some time tomorrow." Given that some of her requests were for very specific things from her home, that narrowed down how far they had gone rather considerably. They couldn't be more than a day away from Driazhek as a result - otherwise, there'd be no way to make that trek in time, even on horseback at full speed. Granted, she had no idea which direction, and a day's travel was still a long ways, but that was a far different prospect than half a continent away. Even if the sorceress still intended to cooperate, there was a huge level of curiosity here now as to where exactly they'd wound up...
 
The man left, and the following days brought her belongings into her possession, and an unkempt man's arrival heralded the start of lessons for dance, and incorporating it more fully into her use of books.

The arrival of a man in the severe styles of Highpoint arrived not long after, and she taught Serrana more about magic itself.

A week passed, mostly uneventful, before a commotion caused Nikolov to stop in his usual paperwork in the office outside Serrana's room—a door hadn't been possible yet, because they were difficult to steal, and every attempt was met with it being melted down for weapons or armor.

Nikolov rose and picked up his crossbow, then looked toward Serrana's room and ran in. "Put these shackles on. You can pick the lock easily with this." He shoved a hairpin into her hair. "Just keep them on until the danger passes. Think of them as protection." He walked to a wall and opened it, then pulled out a set of full manacles—for hands and feet. "I think we're under attack, and if it's some half-cocked plan to eliminate goblins and their allies, they'll label you as not-an-ally." He darted out of the room again.

The commotion grew louder, and Nikolov seemed almost to disappear from sight as he passed through a curtain that Serrana hadn't seen before—despite looking at that section of wall plenty in the past.
 
Serrana had sent the letters to her family, Oran, and the kindly folks from the White Sands who had practically took her in almost immediately. She considered going into some great story, but she instead opted for the the truth - or at least, a shortened version of it. She had been abducted, and while she wasn't sure exactly for what, they hadn't harmed her as yet. She would return to all of them as soon as she could (well, except her family - that would likely need to wait), but for now, she didn't even know where she was. Her letter to Oran may have actually contained three dozen apologies - the old glazier needed her help more than he'd let on, and not having her around would put a lot more work on his shoulders since she couldn't manage things while he was dealing with that young granddaughter of his. Even if the abduction wasn't her fault, she still felt kind of bad...

As for the lessons, the sorceress took to them almost immediately. She'd only had a little rudimentary training with dance, and no formal training with magic, so the idea of being taught such things took a little getting used to. She was quite eager to learn though, and spent long hours studying and practicing, picking up as much as she could, and learning quickly.

**

Time passed, then suddenly there was something happening as Nikolov flew into her room. Wide brown eyes watched as she listened, nodding. She watched him leave, then quickly took the hairpin and tested it on the shackles, making sure she had it figured out. The lutin was right - these shackles were easily picked - and she put the hairpin back in her hair - but not before mussing it notably. She tugged at her clothes, making them look disheveled and put the shackles on, then curled up in the hammock and tried to look like she was sleeping - complete with hiding her face, so as "not to anger her captors" while she kept an ear out for what was happening, making a note of where that newly found exit was...
 
Outside, the sound of weapons continued, accompanied by the occasional sizzle, and then the hall became quiet. A few minutes later, sound emerged—this time, someone's voice.

"You're sure this is where you saw all those monsters? It's empty!" The masculine voice huffed from somewhere not far outside of the office.

"No it isn't. Look! Dust is moving in the air, and there's still fresh blood on the floor. Someone was here recently, and I killed them before I went back to find your lazy ass." Someone more soft-spoken corrected. Annoyance tinged at her voice.

For a few moments, quiet, followed by "You're full of it! Nobody's here now!" The incredulity rang thick in the man's voice.

"One of these days, you'll believe me when you see the blood on my weapons and the floor." The quiet correction held ice to its tone.

Footsteps entered Nikolov's office, and a woman in armor and a man in plain clothes looked around. The woman carried a shield and cudgel, while the man appeared unarmed.

"Hello!" The man called loudly. "We're here to..." He trailed off as his gaze landed on the books. "Free you of your books!" He grinned, clearly under the impression that he was in the right.

"Stop that!" The woman sighed as she smacked her cudgel down on Nikolov's desk. Papers scattered, and she grabbed one. "This ink is still wet." She held it toward the man's face and rubbed it against his delicate-looking nose. A black smudge colored it when she pulled the paper away, revealing a similar smudge on the paper.

"Fine. Someone was here recently." He looked around. "Where are they now?"

"That door way seems an obvious first place to look. It seems like it was taken from... Maybe somewhere around Selvaluvias?"

The man scowled and walked toward the door, then pulled it open. "Doesn't matter where it's from-" He stared down at Serrana. "Wasn't there a woman gone missing lately we heard about in Aridefort City? Big reward for her safe return to that innkeeper?" He spoke as though Serrana couldn't hear him herself.

"I remember that." She walked over and looked around her companion to stare down at Serrana. She shoved her companion aside and knelt. "Hey, can you walk? We can get you out of here." She looked toward her companion. "Find a key!"
 
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The glazier slowly responded to the prodding questions, feigning having just been woken up by them. The glazier had plenty of practice feigning sleep when she was younger, and never lost the skill.

Serrana wasn't sure what to make of the two that had come in here, however. On one hand, they seemed to be there to help - and what was this about a reward? Did Gionni put one out? She would have to slap that man when she returned - she may have felt quite loved at hearing that, but he still had kids to feed and that sickly sweetheart of a wife! Okay, maybe she wouldn't slap him. Hard.

On the other hand though, by the sound of it, there was already some killing going on, and while her captors weren't the nicest folks, she wasn't exactly treated badly or like a prisoner once she'd been there... Nikolov in particular had treated her like, well, a person. The normally sour feelings most have for goblins were muted by the fact they didn't behave, well, like GOBLINS, towards Serrana... and the fact that her dance and magic trainers were human (and seemingly willing) reinforced this concept of being at least somewhat peaceful with them.

"Ughh... yeah, I'm fine, they didn't hurt me or anything... what's going on?" Serrana looked around, figuring that playing dumb might get her a little more information - and also trying to stall for Nikolov. She figured that the more time she gave him, the better his chances of getting clear, and for whatever reason, that seemed the right thing to do...
 
The man grunted and stumbled away, then began to go through the desk, none too careful about leaving a mess in his wake, before he finally pulled out a key and turned back toward the room in which Serrana spent the time between lessons and leisure.

The woman blinked at Serrana and inspected her briefly for injury. "You're in a some desert ruins, near the border. Some goblins infested it. We've pretty well wiped them out and freed the other prisoners." She paused at the sight of what Serrana wore, then looked around at what she thought was a dungeon. There were books, sets of clothes, and even... they let her keep her spell books? The woman's eyes narrowed. "Something strange is happening here... If you're a prisoner, why are your books in a room with you?"

Behind the woman, a glint of metal in the lantern light appeared in a gap between the wall and the flap that Nikolov had hidden behind. Nikolov peered out the gap, crossbow in hand as he aimed at the woman, who he deemed the more immediate of the two threats.
 
To say that Serrana was torn was an understatement. On one hand, these two people were here rescuing people who were kidnapped, captured, and otherwise taken against their will - on the other, the goblins she'd interacted with here had behaved, well, civilly, and honestly were nicer than the humans that were responsible for her arrival. But peaceful resolution wasn't going to get done - not if they saw another goblin.

No, the ritual was scuttled at this point - the most responsible thing she could do was make sure Nikolai would get clear safely, since he'd clearly never threatened her (and even was respectful of her and the others she'd seen), and seemed only to want to feed hungry people. That was hardly the behavior of a savage murderer.

"It was how they kept me pacified," Serrana bluffed, not waiting for a response before continuing. "I'm skilled with Inferno, and I managed to get a hold of a book of it; I knew I was no match for them if they swarmed, but I could guarantee several of them died if they tried. They offered a carrot and a stick - they'd let me study if I didn't use the spells on them. If I even considered the alternative, it was my skin. Rather than giving myself to the afterlife, I opted to stay alive and contemplate future options."

Serrana had no idea Nikolai was still nearby - she was certain he was still fleeing, in fact; but she felt obligated to continue to cover for the kindly lutin, given that he'd actually treated her kindly.
 
Nikolai paused, then withdrew the point of his crossbow. No. Let the humans think them foiled, and if even one of the people involved in the ritual mess could survive, let it be him, who knew everyone involved and who knew how to find others to replace the lost. These two humans took out Golbev and several far finer warriors and archers by themselves, and his pen was mightier than his sword, so to speak.

No. He would try again later.

The woman sighed. "Sounds more like lutins were in charge of you than goblins themselves. Goblins would just kill you." She looked around, then shook her head. "Well, let's figure out why they had you later. My name's Oria. My partner is Armand—not a famous one."

"Key!" Armand chimed in as he thrust a key in front of Oria's face, and she snatched it from him.

For a moment, she looked over the pitted thing, then shrugged and used it to remove the chains. "Can you stand? Did they let you eat enough?" She offered a hand to assist. "We'll get you home."
 
Serrana nodded as Oria asked her questions and made introductions. "Serrana Bahira, glazier; among other things..." The sorceress waited until her bonds were freed, then stood up. "I think it was... Didn't seem interested in hurting me, really; honestly, I thought I was in for far worse when I first saw a goblin..." Serrana scooped up the books, her own Inferno book first among them, then the others as well. It wouldn't do to let them go to waste, after all. "They fed me well enough - I never had to worry about starving or the like..."

Serrana considered looking for her dancing outfit, but opted against it. A replacement could be gotten soon enough - and she certainly was going to have to work to pay Gionni back, no matter how much he insisted otherwise. There was no way she was going to let that kindly man turn out a bunch of money on her and not try to repay him somehow. In being here and studying, she'd enjoyed the chance to learn, but there were clearly those who worried for and missed her, and that wasn't lost on her. Nor was the fact that she was being "rescued", regardless of the intentions involved, particularly when she couldn't deny that there was a pang of excitement when she heard the words "we'll get you home."

"Thank you," she said, preparing to follow on the way out.
 
Oria smiled at her, though her eyes took in each object Serrana gathered. "Well, let's get going. You'll probably be wanting your whites, right?" She pointed to the whites hung from the wall nearby. "Take your time. We can take anything the goblins try to throw our way."

She waited until Serrana was ready before she grabbed Armand's shoulder. "You take point."

The man blinked, then sighed. "Fine, fine." He walked out the door first, then yawned as he absently ran a hand along the dark-colored book hung at his waist before he flipped it from its leather sheath and let it fall open into his hand. He walked ahead, book at the ready, as he flipped to his preferred page. The book was quite thick—likely a level three.

Oria motioned Serrana ahead. "I'll guard our backs."
 
Serrana blinked, looking over at the wall. Of course, whites! Ugh, how could she have not grabbed those, of all things! Grabbing them and adding them to the bundle (intending to put them on when they were closer to the exit and the much hotter desert climes than down here), the glazier blushed, rather embarrassed that she had missed that. Serrana looked over the room one more time, making sure she hadn't missed anything else so painfully obvious, and then pulled her familiar Inferno book out of the pile. A nearly ridiculous, practiced ease, the firedancer opened the book, cast the spell, then closed it as four spheres of flame started to orbit her. She still wasn't sure what all was going on, and it would serve her well if something went horribly wrong on the way out.

Nodding, Serrana moved out in between her two rescuers. She briefly considered taking the Initiate-Level book of Blaze out and using it, but she hadn't gotten that spell down yet in her studies, and figured she was probably more of a danger to herself (or unintended targets) than any foe she may have to use it on. She did, however, put that Level 3 Inferno book on top that she'd also been studying quite a bit on top of the stash she now carried, just in case...
 
"Wait." She paused as she looked back toward the desk covered in scattered papers. "We should take some of those, shouldn't we?

In his hiding hole, the lutin winced.

"Huh?" Armand sighed. "Let's just go."

"They could be important." Oria shot an annoyed glance at the silver-haired darkblood. "I'm going to look through them." She approached the desk

"Can we just go? Clearly the monsters forgot to bring their treasures to this place, so it must not be important to them!" Armand sighed heavily. "I mean, it's good we found a hostage, but goblins usually have gold or something, right? Weapons?" He sighed and shook his head. "If you really saw goblins and killed them, you should have looted them. They literally never go unarmed anywhere, and they leave weapons laying around on every surface. This is probably just slavers-"

"Would you shut up?" The woman stared at the back of his head, then looked at Serrana. "Sorry about him. He's kind of stupid." In her mind, that only cemented the idea that they needed to take the papers, and she began to gather them up from the table and surrounding floor.

Silent behind his curtain, the lutin made choking motions as his eyes bulged out. No! His records!

Only after Oria was satisfied did the pair lead the way out, though there were no obvious signs that goblins had ever been there, save a few fresh bloodstains on the floor.

Finally, Oria cleared her throat. "You might want to pull on your whites." She pulled up a hood, and Armand did the same. "We're nearly out, and it's around midday."
 
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Serrana listened to both of them, half out of surprise at the whole turn of events still, and half out of trying to take in as much as she could. She wondered exactly how much information was in the records, and what it all said. She also wondered if she could potentially get a look at them at some point; all she knew was what she was taught and told, really (though it hadn't seemed like they were keeping too many secrets - she needed to be at least somewhat knowledgeable for what they were planning, and since said plan was about feeding people, the sorceress wasn't exactly opposed to it). That could wait until later though.

There was also the man's bellyaching about a lack of loot, as well as a lack of dead goblins. The glazier took that to mean that there were few casualties - also a good sign. Golbev was tolerable, and they definitely hadn't found Nikolov - that would have been mentioned.

Serrana followed, noting the bloodstains - but no bodies. That was also interesting. Injuries but no fatalities? And if so, did the goblins rescue their own during flight rather than savagely fighting to the last? Her brow furrowed in thought - the more she considered everything, the less it meshed with all she'd learned about goblins growing up. Perhaps the stories were wrong? Or maybe they were right, but the creatures had changed?

The sorceress nodded as they neared the exit - and freedom. Taking her whites out, she put them on over her clothes and rebundled the rest of what she carried, still following behind the pair of rescuers. Serrana still wasn't exactly sure of what to expect, but she did definitely like this idea of possibly going home...
 
Outside, the sun was bright overhead. Typically, a native to the desert would nap at this time of day, or at least take a few hours off work. These clearly non-natives, instead, walked right into it. They shielded their eyes and swore, but walked right into the worst heat of the day. Oria pulled up a hood after a moment, then looked back. "Let's get going." She produced a round object from her pocket and looked down at it, then pointed. "We're headed that way."

"Unless there are monsters nearby that interfere again." Armand smirked.

"I swear, I will shove your nose into your own ass if you don't stop the comments." Oria shook her head.

The path they took cut directly through the desert, and they passed around water skins as they went.

When they arrived at a nearby checkpoint, the sun was dipping below the horizon.

A voice called from nearby. "Serrana?"
 
Serrana frowned... High noon. This would be rather unpleasant. She'd hoped it was later than she suspected, but wasn't surprised when she saw what was coming. The glazier pulled her whites up once they were on and squinted when they stepped out into the oppressive sunlight.

The sorceress had little to say as they made their way, though she frequently would look about (and behind them) in the featureless landscape to see if anything or anyone was following them. Her mind raced for much of the journey - from the lutin and her lessons to her surrogate family at the White Sands to old Oran and the shop... She hoped all was well there. Serrana figured that Gionni and his family were likely fine without her, but she definitely worried about Oran. The old man was on in years, and without his main source of help, the shop work would likely have been very hard on him, particularly helping with the newborn.

Lost in her thoughts, the day passed quickly. Though when they were at the checkpoint, her head snapped up at the sound of a voice she recognized as a sudden gasp caught in her throat..
 
Behind them, the only proof of the dungeon-like compound were some sandstone pillars and a small, elongated pyramid that housed the door and the hallway that led to the underground place.

Ahead of them, sun-scorched sand and bare earth interrupted by hazy mirage slowly gave way to rounded sandstone homes and colorful striped tents. The bright white of the various people stood out against the brown and the colors, and the scent of hardy desert goats seemed to coax her memories of home to the fore.

The checkpoint—in truth a small village—seemed home to an abundance of troops today, identified by their heavy white backpacks and heavy shields, along with spears decorated in colored ribbons meant to aid in keeping the handles cool.

The voice that came from behind was very, very familiar, and for good reason, as her army brother grabbed her shoulder and stepped into view.

"What are you doing out here?" He stared, shocked by her presence. "And with adventurers in the middle of the day?" Sunworn face etched by worry, the man's eyes traveled over her face and white-cloaked figure as he tried to detect any signs of harm on the woman.

Oria held a hand on her weapon as she watched Serrana's brother, eyes narrowed. "You know him?"

Armand looked back, then sighed heavily.
 
Serrana's eyes went wide, and her mouth, which had been caught in a gasp, broke into a huge smile. "Taran!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around her brother, who she hadn't seen since his last visit to the capital. The sorceress always happy to see her family, and Taran was the only one she'd seen more than once since she'd left home, given the distance. Taran's unit would come through the capital every few months, which was really the only contact Serrana consistently had with her family, and she'd always been fond of the younger of her older brothers.

After a moment, she withdrew, still genuinely happy to see him, but realizing that he was still worried, and with good reason. "Um... I... ran into some trouble. Don't give me that look! This time I didn't do anything! I was going straight home from working at the White Sands, honest! And I got kidnapped. These two found me and were helping me get back home..." Serrana's tone went from playfully indignant to slightly sheepish. "Honestly, I was staying out of trouble, I swear... Oran's daughter had a baby, and the old goat's been killing himself trying to keep up, so I've been trying to watch the shop for him to let him rest. I may be up to trouble now and then, but not right now! Or at least, not before I'd been kidnapped..." The glazier got a little quiet, her thoughts going to the old man, hoping he was alright and that the shop was doing well. Gionni and his family would keep the White Sands in order without her, bless their hearts, but poor Oran needed help now with the new baby about.

Serrana glanced at Oria, nodding. "Yes - Oria, Armand, this is my brother Taran. Taran, these are the two who came and found me." She turned back to her brother, still smiling. "So, what news of out here? I've been a little sequestered, so I don't know what all is going on..."
 
Taran hugged his sister back tightly. His uniform whites, adorned with the duke's blue and yellow, were dusty, but he didn't seem to care. "A pleasure." He nodded briefly to Oria and Armand, then looked down at Serrana. "We're about to head toward the capital tonight." He looked toward Oria and Armand. "You're welcome to join us." His flat tone indicated it wasn't an offer to which he'd tolerate refusal.

Oria nodded. "That's fine." She pushed her hair from her face. "Is your superior here? I have some papers swiped from a goblin infestation. I haven't looked yet, but if he's not doing anything important at the moment, I'd like to show them to him."

Taran nodded thoughtfully, then looked over to another soldier nearby. "Take her to the lieutenant, please."

Armand stretched and yawned. "So, if we're not walking anywhere, is there a place for wine and women in this waste?"

Taran's arms pulled Serrana back into a hug automatically. "You'll have to wait until we get to the capital." He snorted.