Illara: Scythefell street

The group had taken over a table at the tavern at the end of the road. It was a fine establishment, for sure. The tables were thick, and the benches and stools were sturdy. Alvec and Bait were the first two here. The wizard was buried in papers and parchment, frantically jotting notes in black ink on canvas. He hadn't fully explained the problem; he simply said that he needed to develop an actionable business plan and check out the church tomorrow as soon as possible.

"What has you so in a tizzy Alvec? You didn't seem bothered by those flatworms with human teeth, but one day in the city, and you're a right storm of parchment and ink?" Illaria asked.

"Mavec thought the gifts Cellocht was giving away were spite gifts. If he's right, Cellocht just used us as a cat's paw to slight the holiest church in the Empire, one that isn't particularly fond of Tieflings, and if I can't show how we're adding value to society, who knows what manner of issues they might make for us! How much should I even charge for alchemist fire?" Illaria glanced over his shoulder at a long list of alchemical items. Some of which she recognized, others were a complete mystery to her.

"You can make all of these?"

"Yeah, reliably. I didn't put anything on the list I wasn't sure I could produce easily."

"What even is chill cream?" She asked as she read over his shoulder.

Alvec reached into a pocket and pulled out a small tube. "Here, give it a try tomorrow. It's meant to make your skin less likely to burn in the sun."

"And this instant foam, what's that?" asked Illaria.

"Does what the bottle says," Alvec said as he pointed at the label. Creates a thick layer of foam on contact with air. It can soften a fall pretty dramatically. Drop a few of them off the side of a building before you jump, and you'll likely survive the fall without magic."

"Now that I can see how it could be useful. Especially here in the city where the buildings can get quite tall." She frowned at him. "Do you really be thinking you'll need all of this?"

"Look, Illaria people stare at both of us, but for you, it's awe, and for me, it's distrust," sighed Alvec. "I just want to be ready. I hope it goes smoothly, but I can't stand the thought of going in without a backup plan."

Illaria nodded. They had traveled as a group briefly, but she had already seen the difference in how people looked at the two of them. It was similar to the look people gave Bait upon first meeting him. Bait, she could almost understand. He was a goblin, messy, smelly, and a curiosity among city folk. Alvec, she felt, shouldn't stand out as much as he did. "I'll leave you to it, oh wise alchemist," she said before she turned her attention to Bait, who was sitting at the lip of the table, flagging down a server.

Another Aasimar responded to his frantic waving. He was perhaps the most sculpted man Illaria had ever seen. Tall and jacked beyond measure. His locks of hair were a crisp, curly gold that fell in waves behind his ears. It wasn't hard for her to see their shared divine blood's chiseled and angular features. The tieflings were descended from Devils and Demons; the Aasimar were descended from the angels and their like.

"What can I help you with?" He asked.

"Bait want cheese." The man gave the goblin a strange look. Unsure how to process the request.

"Do you have coin?"

"Bait have coin."

"Can I see the coin?"

Bait fished into his clothing and pulled out a copper piece.

The man frowned at him. "That won't be enough coin. Do you have any silver ones, perhaps gold?"

"Muscle-angel meanie head."

"Look, you want cheese; you need to pay coin; it's that simple," he stated. Bait reluctantly plucked a few silver coins from deeper in his clothing and placed them on the table. The aasimar swept them up and returned shortly with a small cheese plate.

"Dis all?" Bait asked, disgusted.

"Yeah, you got more coins or better coins? You give them to me, and I give you more or better cheese. You get to pick which."

"Fine, Bait, pick MORE cheese." He threw two gold coins at the aasimar, who caught them and pocketed them.

"Coming right up, mister big spender."

"Illaria, muscle angle is a poopy-head," Bait said. Illaria just nodded. She didn't agree, but Bait didn't need to be knowing that. Mavec and Naya arrived at nearly the same time. Mavec took one look at the table and scowled.

"I'm just going to head straight to bed; we can catch up in the morning. It looks like you've got a lot of business going on. Are you planning to join me heading to the academy tomorrow morning?" Mavec asked.

"Yeah, sure, we've got some wizard business to attend to after all," Alvec said as he took his bloodshot eyes off the papers before him.

"Yeah, hopefully, someone at the academy can better understand what we ran into on the road. Still makes my skin crawl. Maybe we can also find something about the sleepwalking, too," Mavec said.

"Shouldn't we be heading to the property first?" Illaria asked.

"Nah, they've got a boarding student who studies at the Academy; it will be easier to walk with them than to try to find the academy on our own," Mavec replied. She nodded her head in agreement. Her wanderings around the city thus far had threatened repeatedly to turn her around. Having an escort truly would make learning the city that much easier.

"I see your point, Mavec; perhaps we should be meeting around mid-day instead," Illaria suggested.

"That would be good for me; I wanted to check out the bakery tomorrow morning, then maybe visit Hobo Beans," Naya announced.

"Nope, I'm going to bed; this is not my job," Mavec said before heading off to find the inn next door.

"Ok, I'll be biting; who exactly might this hobo beans fellow be?" asked Illaria.

"I met him in the woods," said Naya. "He worships the spirits too. He gave me a tip on where I might be able to find a child of Akrixi."

"Are you sure you're not leaving anything out?" Illaria asked again.

"Echo and I ran into some fellows arguing; they left in a hurry, leaving behind a sack of stuff."

Illaria shot Alvec a look. "Mind if we take a look at this bag of stuff?"

"Sure thing; they asked me to keep Echo outside; he's guarding it. I'm going to order him some cheese and meat in a moment."

"I'll come take a look, too," Alvec said as he shuffled his dried papers together. "Naya, make sure Bait doesn't ruin these." The pair exited the tavern and found Echo lying down, coiled around a large burlap sack. Alvec whispered a few words in celestial, "Illuminate these five points with the light of the heavens." Light erupted from his fingertips. He casually coiled a few into his palm to better control precisely how much light they needed. Illaria opened the bag and let out a large sigh. No doubt about it, these were stolen goods. Everything here was made of precious or semi-precious metals.

"You're seeing the same thing as me, right?" Illaria asked.

"Yeah, I'm seeing a conversation with the town guard tomorrow or the next day," Alvec said with a sigh.

"Leave it to me. I'll handle this. My Blue Banner status might help us avoid any misunderstandings," said Illaria.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Be my guest," Alvec said. No surprise to Illaria, the last thing a new Tiefling in town would want to do was barge into the town guards' quarters with a bag stuffed full of almost certainly stolen property.

Illaria cinched the bag shut and slung it over her shoulder. "Make sure that Bait doesn't cause too much of a fuss; that Aasimar bartender seems to have him on a short leash, so I imagine he'll be fine, but just in case."

Illaria departed independently to solve this little problem as fast as she could. It only took a few stops for directions to reach the building she wanted. It wasn't exactly a large or fancy building, but it was well-defensible. Stone exterior made assault by fire less damning, with narrow entryways and thin windows, meant it was ready to withstand a minor siege if necessary. A set of bored-looking guards stood watch at the door.

"Halt," one of them said sternly as she got close to them. "State your name and business, please." He was firm but not particularly commanding.

"I'm Illaria, and I appear to have recovered stolen property. I wish to turn it into the town guard. Could I possibly speak with whoever is in charge tonight? Inside, perhaps?" They quickly mumbled to each other under their breath, and one of them went inside. A few minutes later, the guard returned with a man maybe twenty years older than Illaria; his face was a forest of black stubble. He had a strong jaw and steel gray eyes. He stood about the same height as her. His armor and weapons were well-polished but also battle-marked. This man was no stranger to a fight.

"Good evening. I'm Captain Siros. I hear you 'recovered' some stolen property. Might I ask you to elaborate on the subject?" He asked, stepping closer to her. "I'd also appreciate it if you turned over your sword while we discuss this."

"I'm afraid I'll be holding onto my sword; as a member of the Blue Banner army, it wouldn't do to be unarmed in the event of an emergency. I can provide you with my shore leave paperwork if you'd be liking to view it," she said, as she presented out a few well-maintained pieces of paper.

The man stepped forward and took the documents from her before retreating out of melee range. He moved beneath one of the torches and glanced at it. "Alright, looks legit. So tell me, Illaria, what exactly is the story here?"

"One of my companions stumbled across two men arguing," explained Illaria. "They dropped this sack of what we suspect are stolen goods and ran."

"Why would they flee at the sight of your companion?" the guard asked.

"I reckon it might have something to do with the wolf that travels with her," said Illaria. "I can't imagine a common burglar wanting to be anywhere near a wolf and a girl in leather armor with two scimitars."

"Alright, that answers all my questions." He handed her back the note and grabbed the sack of stolen goods, dragging it inside. "We'll take these back and see if we can't track down their real owners. You have yourself a good night."

"You be enjoying your night as well. May all of your interactions go as smoothly as this one." He chuckled at her. She could only imagine that this would probably be the easiest thing he faced tonight. The cities were great but also terrible. With that, she returned to the inn; it would be a long day tomorrow as they started to sort things out.

Mavec: The Academy

Morning came too quick, and the coffee Mavec sipped on was far weaker than he'd preferred. Brewing a new pot in the lobby might have been rude, but he was considering it anyway. Piccora stamped her feet beside him, reminding him how limited their time was. Alvec was running late. The academies started their lectures early, and no doubt, this border across the street from them would need to start walking even earlier. He reached out with magic for Alvec's mind, pushing his thoughts at him. "Hey, you awake yet? We gotta go."

A bunch of chirping caught his attention as Rem barreled down the stairs, Alvec only a few frantic steps behind him. He was trying his best to tidy up, running his hands through his hair in an attempt to tame it. "Sorry, sorry. It's been a while since my academy days. I forgot how hard waking up in the morning is. Remington overslept, too."

"It's ok; you don't exactly have a clockwork familiar to wake you up on time. Anyway, no time for coffee for you; let's go," said Mavec, heading out the door.

Alvec grumbled but agreed, and the pair of wizards headed out of the inn and down the street. Edis and Nora were both standing on the sidewalk. The couple looked overjoyed to see the pair approaching. They weren't alone; a girl just a few years younger than the pair stood a little ways off to the side, looking a smidge annoyed. She was a bit shorter than the pair, and her skin was dark with warm copper undertones. Her eyes were a deep amber hidden behind thick wire-rimmed glasses. The equipment she carried marked her as possibly an alchemist in addition to a wizard in training. Her clothing was clean and casual, what one would expect of someone whose daily life was pretty safe within the city's walls and the hallowed halls of learning that are the academies.

Alvec took the lead, moving in front of Mavec. "Edis, Nora, this is Mavec, a fellow graduate of the academies."

"Pleasure to meet you," Mavec said while pointing at Piccora. "This is my familiar Piccora; I studied clocksmithing."

"This here is Praha; she's studying..." Edis paused for a moment, clearly unable to recall what exactly it was that the girl was studying at the academy.

"Transmutation with an understudy in Alchemy," Praha supplied after a hearty sigh.

"I studied Abjuration myself," Alvec stated. "We might not be experts in your field, but I'm sure Mavec and I can help you if you get hung up on any assignments."

"We... we should get moving." She stated as she started walking down the street. Alvec was but a moment behind her. Mavec frowned. Not exactly the warmest of introductions. He shrugged it off and took his place behind them. The path to the academy was surprisingly straightforward. Though it was a bit further away than Mavec had hoped. He did not miss walking to class every morning when the sun was barely done kissing the eastern horizon.

"So, how close to graduating are you?" Mavec eventually asked, trying to make some small talk. She took a moment to answer.

"If things go well, I'm looking at another year," said Praha

"Any thoughts on what you'll do afterward?" Alvec followed up.

"Hadn't given it much thought yet," Praha said, rubbing her eyes. "There are lots of opportunities for transmuters with the imperial government. Assessing possible mines or working on new metallurgy projects. I'll have plenty of options for sure."

"Just don't become an adventurer; it's not all it's cracked up to be," Mavec grumbled.

"OH, hush you," Alvec replied. "It's a good way to make money fast; it's going to buy me my own craft shop someday."

"Ha, if we live long enough to use any of it," laughed Mavec. "How often do you think we run into strange creatures before one does us in?"

"Just get behind me," Alvec said, clapping a hand on his mithril buckler. "You just keep blasting; I'll hold the line."

"I still think you're nuts," Mavec admitted. "I mean, what wizard goes around charging into the front lines like that? It's gonna get you killed someday."

"I'm with Mavec on this one; a shield wizard is a dumb concept," Praha said.

"I assure you, it's well calculated," Alvec said with a smile, his tail flicking slightly in annoyance.

"Sure, you're not just bad at math?" She asked.

"You said you were minoring in Alchemy?" Alvec responded.

"Yeah."

"A gold piece says I can out-shine you making any product you name," he said, grinning a little too devilishly.

"Come on, Alvec, that's not fair; she's still a student," said Mavec. "You make all of our parties alchemy needs and enchanting needs."

"Really? He makes all your stuff?" Praha asked.

"Everything but the clockwork, that's my darling," replied Mavec.

"Maybe... just maybe, he's decent at math. Shield wizards are still a dumb idea," she stated. The conversation petered out for a few minutes as they continued making progress toward the academy. When the building came into sight, Mavec sighed contentedly. Alvec, on the other hand, looked as if he had gone tense, his head bobbing from side to side as if checking for enemies.

"You expecting to get jumped here?" Mavec asked. His companion was oddly silent for a moment as his tail swept low to the ground back and forth.

"At the academy, I went to... I didn't exactly have a good time. Didn't make many friends," his head tilted down as he spoke. "I don't want to get into the details, but being here feels like home and a warzone."

Mavec couldn't see anything disturbing about the beautiful brownstone buildings before them. "Thanks, Praha, we owe you one. Something from the bakery, perhaps?" Mavec asked.

She nodded her head in agreement. "It was kinda nice to have some company for a change. No need to get me anything."

"Alright, we'll, uh, see you around later," Mavec said, waving her goodbye.

"You do know we still have to get her something, right?" Alvec asked.

"Yeah, definitely something from the bakery. She doesn't strike me as a join us at the tavern type." Mavec agreed.

The campus was far larger than the one Alvec had gone to in Ot Najan- It looked to span dozens, maybe as much as a hundred acres. The one Alvec had attended was just a single brick building. It was large, by his town's standards only. There looked to be at least four or five large brick buildings many stories taller than the ones back in Ot Najan- If this place hadn't made him nervous before, the enormity certainly was doing the trick.

The two wizards headed for the library. Flashing their badges got them access quickly enough, and the two got busy searching for more field guides. When nothing turned up, Alvec switched gears to local accounts. Perhaps something was buried in the local legend that could be helpful to them. Mavec, on the other hand, opted to check out other books on clockworking. Maybe there had been some new discoveries while he had been slumming it in the woods? While the academy had some new tomes, they sadly contained much the same information as what he had studied recently as a few years ago. He frowned; without a visionary like Alusai pushing clocksmithing beyond its limits, it was hard to say if the field would be able to maintain its status. Perhaps clockwork was just a phase after all.

Nah, Piccora was the future, not the last link in the chain. It just meant there was a lot of room for Mavec to do some serious good. A few smaller units to purify water, maybe a more efficient water heater? He had a notebook full of project ideas. He'd only just started to sort out how to possibly process them. Alvec was right about one thing: the money adventuring brought in had already been a massive boon to his refining of Piccora. He was making progress all the time. He could only dream of being funded like Alusai had been. What great inventions could Mavec devise if he didn't have to worry about earning enough money not to starve to death? It was a dream, one he hoped he'd get to realize.

"Alvec, this sucks!"

"Yeah, I'm not finding anything either."

"Let's call it a day and open the locked door already. See what the property actually has in it." The pair left the academy and returned to the tavern; it was time to meet up with the rest of the group and see what Cellocht had given them.