World Walk

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"I think I'm fine with that." Laurelle forced a smile. "But first, let's eat." She blinked to Prismsphere, coming back a moment later with a bundle of trail rations, a simple grate to set over a fire, frozen meat, and a jug of water. She laid the rations aside, setting up a quick cooking area for the meat. Laurelle was no cook, but she traveled enough to know as much as was needed to get along.
Skye was awoken by the smell. She sat up, yawning. She hadn't realized how hungry she was, so she was thankful Laurelle was cooking. She came out of the tent and sat down by Demi. "Hey, are you alright?" She asked with concern. She hoped she wouldn't come off as rude. She was feeling amazingly better with at least a partial night of rest. And she would feel even better after eating.
 
"Yeah," Demi answered as she placed her tea kettle from her pack atop the cooking grate by the food. "I'm good to go after that night's rest," she reässured Skye. "Which is to say that Laurelle let me sleep through my shift... which is to say I'll be keeping the both of you on your feet today," she teased, stretching her arms above her. "We're gonna cover a lot of ground today, I can feel it!"
 
"Let's hope so." Laurelle said.
"I'm sure we will." Skye said. Her tone was lighter, more cheerful than before. It was obvious she was in a better mood. She had a legitimate smile on her face. It's good to see her feeling better. Laurelle thought. Although I think I still have a long way to go with her.

-

After breakfast, Laurelle packed the supplies away again, clipped her daggers to her belt again, and pulled on her gray traveling dress and rainbow cloak. Skye put on her armor and Focus. Laurelle knew it must have been hard to travel in that tin can, but she was sure the Knight used cantrips to make it easier. She took down the tent, stowing it in Prismsphere again. Skye stamped out the campfire, but there was nothing they could do about about the blood or the area where the foliage was stripped away.

When they were on the road again, Skye couldn't have felt better. Laurelle, however, was still tired. She had a hard time keeping the pace, frequently falling behind. Despite this, she voiced no complaint, although she was clearly struggling.

After several hours on the road, around midday, a city came into view on the horizon. It was impossible to know which one it was; they had no good maps, and the cities in the Fragments usually stay under the same person's control for long. Regardless, it was probably a place to get any supplies they might need, although with the lawless nature of the land, they'd have to tread carefully. Soon after the town came into view, they sighted someone else on the road. They were wearing a grey cloak and seemed to be running. It wouldn't be long before they reached the group.
 
Despite walking at the front as she had promised, Demi found herself worriedly glancing back at the staggering Laurelle every now and then. The sight only made her resolve more to work at her full potential today, to utilise the sacrifice of resting time that her friend had made for her.

Soon enough, although that "soon" had likely felt like an eon for Laurelle, the three adventurers were upon a city, of all things to come upon in the Fragments. And there was someone making right for them.
"Greetings!" Demi gave a wave and hailed the cloaked figure, although it was from a fair distance lest the figure be a hostile one. "May I ask what the rush is?" The traveler could be running from the city for a very good reason, and it would be foolish not to try and find out what could possibly be waiting for them within the city's walls.
 
The man stopped a good thirty feet away from the company. He looked over them carefully, his eyebrows raising as he looked at Skye. "...Perhaps I will tell you." He stepped closer and lowered his hood. His features were noticeäbly Alixien--he definitely wasn't from Estillia. "I'm an arcane researcher. I was taking a commision from a client, investigating the link between Focus, mage, and dimension. He wanted to find a way to make the link stronger. I asked him if it was to strengthen Connection, and he said he was more interested in strengthening the link between the Focus and the mage, not the dimension! But he paid well, so I took the job. That was over a month ago. I made a breakthrough a couple days ago, a Ritual that compounds on the original one and bonds the caster further to their Focus, although what good that would do I don't know. Soon afterward, however, someone broke into my own Dimension and stole my research. I could have started over from memory, so it was just a setback, but then they came to me and threatened me. Said that if I didn't stop my research and leave the city, they'd kill me. So here I am."
He paused.
"You three look like competent enough fighters. Especially you." He gestured to Skye. "I'm fairly wealthy, and you would be compensated well if you helped me get my notes back, and deal with my aggressor. I'd let you keep a copy of the research, too--You can experiment with it all you want. What do you say?"
 
For a moment, the man's offer didn't seem too enticing. But then Demi remembered that the traveling trio was of course coming upon a city now, which meant that they would have an actual use for money. A better staff, maybe try getting some light armor... As she began a grocery list in her mind, the cocoon of bandages covering her left arm reminded her that she would do well to get something a little more protective. And some more talc powder for ward rituals back in Vada... And I wonder if they've got any good wine in that city?
"Caster and focus..." she echoed absentmindedly. And the research, if the man was telling the truth, sounded like something else.
"Where's your enemy based?" Demi asked. "In the city somewhere, yeah, but can you give us an exact location?"

The mission sounded like a heist, something that Demi knew Laurelle as being familiar with. But she already had promised herself to wait upon Laurelle hand and foot today... She thought of Keyer's fortress. Go in, zap dudes, get out: just this time there's a parcel. How different can it be?
 
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"In a warehouse in the middle of the city. I don't know much about him, but I tracked him that far before I had to leave." The man said. "It will probably be in his dimension and not the warehouse itself, but that's where you can find him. I'd recommend capturing him and forcing him to take you to it or catching him while he warps. Anything, so long as you get the research back. It should be fairly recognizable-a folded sheaf of papers held in a folder titled 'Focus' that details affects of various details changed from the standard Ritual to strengthen the bond."

Laurelle was tempted, although she was too tired to take on a stealth heist. There was one unanswered question, though. "...Who's your client?"
"Don't know much about him. Black cloak, carried a bow. Called himself Fen. He offered a trade of knowledge if I could pull this off, in addition to a down payment of gold. He said he was working on some kind of lasting enchantment, and that if his theory worked, he could create magical items a lot more powerful than previously possible. Permanent, too. Don't need to be renewed by a ritual spell."
 
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Demi nodded. "So what's your name? ... Or some way we can contact you if you're keeping it secret." Another question occurred to her: they should perhaps rest after traveling first. "And can we afford to rest up and properly equip ourselves first?"
 
"Hawke." He stuck out his hand to shake. "Yours? And they've done nothing but sit on it since they stole it, so I'd say you at least have a little while, yes." He said by way of answering her question. "So, you'll take the job?" His eyes looked eager.
 
"Demi," Demi gave her name as she shook Hawke's hand before proceeding to introduce the others. "And these are my friends Skye and Laurelle. If we're all up for it, I believe we will take your offer." She looked back to Skye and Laurelle for confirmation... mostly Laurelle.
 
Laurelle nodded. "I'm up for it." She said.
"I'll go along with them, then." Skye responded.
Hawke rubbed his hands together. "Excellent, excellent!" He said. "Let's head on back up to Cygnus, then. The city I just came from. I'll pay for an inn, if you wish." Inns weren't as popular as they used to be, but they offered the advantage of being a comfortable place to sleep to wake up on a normal schedule instead of the often unusual time scales of personal dimensions. As the group followed Hawke up to Cygnus, he talked, telling them about the city. "Cygnus was founded by a warlord, former Estillian knight, a few years ago. Poor bastard was murdered as soon as the city grew to a decent size. There isn't a formal ruler; the only rule is if you can take care of the consequences, you're welcome to do anything you wish. It isn't the safest place, but it's away from politics and laws. It's a haven for mercenaries, people doing illegal research, and anyone with something to hide. Noöne asks questions in Cygnus, and that's just fine with me. The prices are often a little high, but the city's other advantages make up for it, at least for some lines of work. It's mostly Estillian because we're close to the border, but we've got a lot of races, including a surprising amount of Arandish. It seems a lot of them traveled this far because they didn't like the strict laws of Arandland. Can't say I blame them. I'd hate to live there myself. Awful place." Hawke, it seemed, was good at prattling on for a long while.
 
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"Estillians... Do they accept Estillian currency then?" Demi asked hopefully. "And is there somewhere good here to buy weapons and armor, or..." It seemed like a silly question, but Hawke saying that the people did as they pleased led Demi to think that maybe everyone just stole everything from any shop that existed.
 
"Indeed, to both!" Hawke answered. "There aren't a great deal of merchants, but there is a good armory. All the merchants here are experienced; you have to be able to protect your possessions in this city. Most currencies are accepted, but Estillian coins are the most universal." The man's disposition had brightened considerably since they had accepted his proposal.

-

Soon, they reached Cygnus. The city's walls were made of a yellow stone similar to sandstone, but not quite like it. Laurelle wasn't sure if it was a mineral she hadn't heard of or magicall manufactured. Either were possible. The gates were unguarded, but there were a few loiterers milling about. As soon as they entered the city proper, however, there seemed to be people everywhere. Most people wore hooded cloaks and silently hurried along to whatever business they were on their way to. The city as a whole had a hushed, hurried atmosphere. It made Skye a little uncomfortable. She was used to the bustle of Estillian cities. Hawke guided them first to the warehouse around the eastern end of the city to show them where it was, then brought them to the armory. He even offered to pay for reasonable expenses.

The armorer himself was a stocky Arandish man with a wary expression. He had a battleäxe strapped to his back. Evidently he was prepared for shoplifters. All the goods were behind the counter; axes, swords, maces, armor, almost anything made with metal. He didn't say anything as the group entered, although he raised an eyebrow at Skye's ornate Estillian armor and weapon.
 
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Demi stepped up to the armory counter after taking in the sight a little. "Excuse me, sir," she hailed the armorer. "A few questions: do you buy, do you carry magic staffs, and—" she pointed at a set of light armor hanging on the back wall, light in both weight and color— "How much for the breastplate and bracers?" With the lightness of the armor meaning it wasn't very comprehensive, the bracers would mostly just cover the forearms over the gloves she already had on, at which point Demi had no idea whether or not they would actually be bracers anymore— but she decided not to sweat the details.
 
"Fifteen Darics, eighteen Crowns, twenty Talents, or twenty four Shekels. We don't accept Kosman currency here." The armorer crossed his arms. "I have a few staves." He reached under the counter and withdrew four of them; the first was a bog-standard oaken pole with a long iron tip, the second was a willowy cedar rod with a silvered end, the third was made entirely of steel; the heaviest but definitely the sturdiest of the selection. The last one was made of bone; the bone of what wasn't clear. "Which one you want?"
 
"That one," Demi said, pointing out the cedar staff whose inset stone had the telltale glint of silver, a metal that she knew to be very friendly with electricity. She began counting money until she realised that Hawke had offered to cover some expenses. "Hawke, can you pool in for the staff?" she asked. "Consider it my down payment." She produced the amount required for the armor— only several of the gold Estillian coins from Keyer's keep— and waited for Hawke, her fingers holding the coins to the counter. Sliding money onto the counter being maybe a little too brazen of a practice to have here, Demi guessed she was already known to be a foreigner... in a city presumably full of nationless foreigners, so it didn't matter that much. Probably. And while it was nice to have expenses covered, she wasn't about to make Hawke buy everything for her while she had an acceptable amount of money.
 
The armorer quickly counted the coins, stashed them beneath the counter, then retrieved the leather armor and handed it over. Hawke stepped up, retrieving several Alixien Talents and purchasing the staff. He handed it to Demi.
"If we're done here," Hawke said. "I can direct you to an Inn if you wish." It was obvious he was very grateful for the party's agreement to help. Laurelle wondered how much of a down payment Fen had given him.

Skye was wondering just what increasing the bond between a mage and their Focus would do. If it wasn't to strengthen Connection, then what? She was no scholar, but she didn't think there was a way to seperate a mage from their Focus, and that's all she could come up with that reinforcing the bond would affect. Maybe it would make casting easier? Regardless, it couldn't be a bad thing, so what would it hurt? She was wear much more interested in Fen's project; creating magical artifacts. Magical items were very limited in scope, function, and duration, so stronger ones would indeed be a breakthrough. She'd have to track him down and check his progress sometime. She'd ask Hawke about it later.
 
"So that's where we're headed?" Demi asked confirmation after thanking Hawke for the money. "In that case, let's talk about our plans for this little venture over a drink." Though resting on the material plane ensured that they could wake with the sun, Demi had doubts about the daytime being the best time to infiltrate a warehouse.
 
Hawke led them to what was probably the fanciest Inn in the town, the Lion. The outside was fairly ramshackle, but the inside was surprisingly clean. Two bouncers stood by the door; one was a tall, burly Estillian man with ragged brown hair wearing metal armor, while the other was a lithe woman with Velarian features (which meant she could also be Kosman) with pink hair tied in a ponytail and lavender robes. She had a fairly bored expression her face, so Laurelle suspected that her services weren't often needed. Hawke rented one of the larger rooms for two days, although it was unlikely they would stay that long. He paid for any drinks they ordered and then told them where they could find him. "West district, a ways away from the gate, only house on the block with a blue roof." Then he had left.

Laurelle sat down at a table, a cup of wine in her hand. It was surprisingly okay. She had expected cheap wine from this city. Skye had taken ale. The light mage idly wondered what she'd be like roaring drunk.
 
Demi was surprised that the inn had anything other than bog-standard ale, but ordered ale nonetheless. It was the more lively drink in her mind: wine probably tasted better, but both had their places. After a mock toast, she downed half of her first glass promptly. "I never thought I'd be drinking in an inn so soon," she said. It was admittedly very nice for the traveling trio to find such accommodation so conveniently. Yeah, it is a little too convenient... She pushed the thought out of her mind as she was already beckoning an inn-keep to refill her mug, finishing the rest just in time for more to be poured in.
"So I'm guessing that we're waiting at least until evening to take on this warehouse?" she asked her comrades after the inn-keep left their side, leaning into the table a bit.
 
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