Twokinds ARCHIVE Forums

My feet beat against the wet pavement, splashing water up onto my calfs as I ran. Quickly I grasped the amulet at my throat and gave it a sharp jerk, the thin worn string that held it in place snapped and I tossed it over a fence as I ran onward. I knew that the moment that it had left my skin that my eyes turned a soft green, and my hair became a sugary brown. My freckles returned too, but if they caught me none of that would matter.
Water made my hair cling to me, the storm had been the perfect cover to sneak into the coven. Over their years of security they had become lax, forgotten that storms interfered with detection spells. With patience, a little planning, and a heck of a lot of luck I had snuck in and stolen away their most prized possession.
My eyes came up and I realized the alley I was in was about to end, I had to either turn right or left. I bent low, trying to lower my center so I could better balance going around the corner and keep speed. I whipped around the corner, but my foot landed on some wet leaves, slipping out from under me and I went down. The book crushed into my stomach and took my breath, by the goddess no... not like this. I couldn't let them keep this anymore, I had to steal it away.
Of course while my mind was having hysterics my body did what was necessary and rolled up against the wall of the closest building, something that I'd have to thank the goddess for later. I pressed my back to the wall and hugged the grimore close. I held my eyes tightly shut and muttered a quick spell, drawing on energy I had stored in my spirit, and hoped that they thought I was but a mundane thief.
I felt the shroud fall over me as the rain beat down on me. If I had drawn from the environment they would have surely found me in a heartbeat, but by taking what I had stored, I had a chance. Not a very good chance, but a chance nonetheless. I let my cheek press against the cool, wet, cobble stones as I uttered a silent prayer and tried to breath as quietly as I could.
Within moments footsteps approached, coming so close that one footstep splashed water onto my face. I jerked and almost gasped, but I bit my lower lip to stop myself. I laid there and trembled, not only from having my pursuers naught but a breath away, but from almost giving myself away for a little cold water in the face.
I slowly opened my eyes and looked at my pursuers, all three of them women, but that was to be expected, they were a coven of witches after all. They each stood around five and a half feet. Each wore the black cloak with the witch's star emblazoned on the chest, a violet corset, a long black skirt, leather boots underneath the skirts, and a silver short sword strapped to their waist. Two of them had red hair that fell to their shoulders, feint curls to every lock, and their eyes were a deep emerald green. Their skin pale as the moon full, they looked exactly the same. They were the twins, Calya and Calyaya, the two most dreaded huntresses that the coven had, they were ruthless, and often brought their marks in hysterical and on the brink of death. I was flattered, and scared to the point where my breath simply wouldn't come, if they didn't move on I'd die for lack of air. The third woman I didn't recognize, she must have been a new addition to their ranks. She stood just a little taller than the other two. She had blond hair that fell to her waist, blue eyes like sapphire, and skin that appeared slightly flushed, even in the low light of this stormy night, but that could just have been from chasing me.
They all three glanced about looking for a clue, and they found it. The leaves I’d tripped on were flung about, thankfully in the direction I had intended to go, not where I was currently. All three glanced off in that direction before turning to each other to confer. One of the twins spoke up first, "What are the possibilities?"
The other twin responded, "First, she must be non-magical."
"Why do you say that my twin?"
"The guardians would have detected any foreign magic, or any magic for that matter that crossed our grounds."
"What if they failed, what if something interfered?" the blond said, finally speaking up, their voices made me shudder.
The one twin stepped back, almost on me, which could have made their entire conversation null. All I know is that the only thing I could see was her leather boot, and a small stretch of rain drenched cobblestones, "Sister Kala, you are new to us, trust us when we say that it is simply not possible, I will tell you now, the thief is of mundane nature and probably doesn't know what she has."
I heard a sigh, Kala must have conceded the point, the odd thing was that she was completely right. The twin above me leaned against the wall, the hem of skirt gliding over my head, and I couldn't help but look up, "Now we have a few options, we can go the way that the signs lead us, we can figure she is being clever and forged the sign to mislead us and go the opposite way, or we can split up?"
I couldn't tell who was speaking, with not being able to see, and the skirt muffling the voices, "I'd put more stock in the fact that she's not that smart, so I'll take sister Kala and go where the signs lead me, you go the other way just in case."
"Alright my twin," with that she straightened and they all nodded to each other before running of in their perspective directions.
It was a few minutes before I let myself breathe properly, and it was even longer before I began to move again. I slowly climbed to my feet, letting the shroud slide when I knew no one could see me, and started slowly walking back the way I came. I hugged the grimore tightly to my chest and kept my head bowed low.
It wasn't even a block before I came to an intersection I recognized, I had planned my escape and had run right past the last turn, the home turn so to say. I shook my head and turned down the way, keeping to the walls of the buildings as I made my way. How could I have missed the home turn. My plan had been to do the exact opposite that a thief would, I used magic to hide in plain sight in a place where I should have been caught immediately, I threw away my disguise before I had lost my pursuers, and I had no intention of fleeing the city. In fact my home, where I was heading, was not only where I was going to hide the grimore, but it was in sight of the coven hollow. While they would be searching for it further and further out, the book wouldn't even be half a city away.
I stopped outside my home, it was three stories high, but the first two were not mine, only the third, but even that was twice the size of what I needed. The first two, along with most of the cellar, belonged to an Inn. It was an interesting place to live, that was certain, but the owners of the Inn kept their cliental civil.
I put on a smile and stepped inside the Tapped Spirit, I didn't get the name either. The common room was as lively as normal. The barmaids weaving in and out of the patrons, offering just enough to get that extra coin, men talking and having a good time. People eating their dinners, all that stuff. I hugged the grimore tighter to me and made my way to the stairs, bumping into several people on the way.
I practically flew up of both flights to my floor, and ran inside, barring the door behind me. I had precious time to prepare for what I was about to do, the timing would have to be perfect. I rushed over to the table I had prepared, on it was a small bottle with a potion inside. I set the grimore down upon the table and grabbed the bottle, uttering a few words, casting the last of my stored arcana into it, and poured its content onto my hand. Immediately I stepped up to the wall and began scribing symbols upon it, putting each symbol it its place, writing them clockwise in order, forming a circle of symbols. The moment my finger lifted from the last symbol the wall inside the circle shimmered.
I picked up and held out the book, a breath away from the inscribed portion of the wall waiting, counting my breaths. My eyes were fastened on the closest window, waiting for the tell tale flash of lighting, wanting to use its power surge to hide mine. The glass planes lit up and I shoved the grimore into the wall. The wall was like liquid and took the book willingly. A surge of power washed over me as I withdrew my hands and the wall hardened about the book again, the symbols gone. At the same instant the power wash of the lightning strike overtook it, making it impossible to detect.
I turned to the table and grabbed the soaked cloth from where it rested in a small water basin. I quickly scrubbed the wall, wiping away the symbols, replacing the smell of the potion with the smell of lilacs. Finally I stepped back and smiled, my life was now pretty safe, they couldn't prove I had the book, and even if they searched my flat, they'd probably never find the it, or at least that's what I hoped. Just to be extra safe I hung a mirror over the spot, its silver frame inscribe with a spell of aversion, it would draw the eyes of anyone who looked at it, they would concentrate on their image and ignore the odd placement of the mirror.
I moved the table, careful not to spill the basin, to stand below the mirror. My gaze roamed upward and was caught in the minor spell, drawing them to my image, and I realized I was a mess, my disheveled hair sticking to my wet skin, their was dirt smeared across my face, and I was soaked. I shook my head then stripped out of my clothes. I laid them out to dry in another room before coming back to my bedroom.
I went to the wash basin and grabbed the cloth from it. Looking myself over I noticed I had a few cuts on my lower left calf. I went to my potion cabinet and opened it, grabbing the bottle I wanted without even looking for it, I could retrieve any potion from memory that it contained upon its shelves. I poured a small portion onto my hand the rubbed it into the cuts. Within moments they were cleaned out and healed to nothing but faint marks upon my skin. From there I washed myself up, cleaning off the dirt, and brushed my hair, using a small spell to dry it out, and it obliged as usual, taking on the slight curls that I loved. I wasn't afraid of the coven witches keying to it, it was too small a spell, even if they were in the range to feel it, they'd have ignored its power wash. I slipped on an elegant black dress, the sleeves coming all the way to a point that slipped about my middle finger, the neckline dipped low enough to show off quite a bit of my chest, and its skirt split about mid-thigh on my right, just right for me to hide a small dagger there. I grabbed two silver hair pins, the points honed nicely, and I twisted my hair up, leaving several strands to hang loose and tickle my neck. If my hair had been red I would have fit the perfect definition as to what a witch should look like, but alas it was that sugary brown with honied highlights.
I added a touch of kohl to my eyes and made my way downstairs to earn this nights wages.

"Give me a glass of whiskey with a little flair."
I smiled, flashing my teeth. My hand sought the bottle and brought it above the counter. I spun it over my hand, caught it by the neck and began pouring it out into thin air. I then grasped a glass and set it down upon the bar, with a flick of my wrist I snapped the bottle of liquor up and set it back down it its spot. Now it was time for the flair. I winked at the man then slapped the bar, fire flared from the glass, climbing up and out, spouting up like a geyser, falling just short of the ceiling before dying away, leaving the glass full of whiskey and the man on the floor from the suddenness of the flair up.
Smirking I leaned forward and looked down at him, "At least you didn't piss your pants, that'll be five marks."

Brittany sat in a corner of the bar, watching a bartender put on a little show of pouring whiskey.
She stood up and walked towards the bartender "Excuse me sir. Could I please have a shot of vodka straight."
She took a seat on a stool and waited for her drink to be placed in front of her.

((She's talking to you PF, but I couldn't remember your name in this))

Noramros sat quivering in the corner of the bar, the rain was one of his many fears along with being locked in a place with many people, oh how he regretted entering a bar. He kept his hunting knife clutched tightly in his hand. He would rather be in with multiple people that be in out in a storm.
"Why?" He mumbled to himself "By the power of the Almighty why?" He rambled. "What did I ever do to anger the God's enough to be forced into a place like this?"
He put his arms on the table before him and rested his head on them.

A storm was brewing outside when Cian awoke from his slumber. The light was low, the candle he used to light the room almost burned out. The incessant knocking that had awoken him growing louder as he picked up his drowsy head from the smear of papers in front of him. He rubbed his eyes for a moment, realizing his monocle had fallen onto the desk, still attached to its ribbon. Stretching while he yawned, he looked around his dimly lit office. Piles of books lay along the walls of the round room, just beneath the diagrams and drawing that plastered the wall to the point of obscuring the stony surface completely. He looked down at his disheveled notes, just next to the book he'd been reading the night before. Yawning yet again, Cian rose from his chair, taking time to screw his monocle in. The knocking grew louder still, making his way to the heavy oak door that sealed his office from the rest of the library.

"I'm coming I'm coming. Hold your horses..." he spoke out, yawning yet again. His coat hanging on the hook next to the door, he removed it, draping it over his shoulders. Sticking his arm through the sleeves, he opened the oaken giant to the sight of his father. "Good morning father."

"Morning!?" the man exclaimed, glaring at his son's disheveled hair, dirty, ink smeared face, and smudged monocle. "You've been in there all day! It's already afternoon you twit!" Cian quickly found his way to the nearest window, partially to confirm for himself, but mostly out of shock. Dark clouds were forming in the sky, sunlight shining through in some places. But his father was right... He'd slept the day away... "You really need to stop doing that. It'll lead you to an early grave."

"I know father..." Cian said, sighing deeply, his shoulders drooping ever so slightly. He walked off, making his way to the wash room, in order to clean himself up before going to work in the library. Walking groggily through the hallway, he finally found the washroom. Entering the room, he found it occupied. A loud screech woke him from his groggy state, as something forced him out of the room, causing him to land on his face, which was punctuated quickly by the slamming of a door.

"How dare you!? YOU PERVERT!" a feminine voice yelled from the other side. Cian quickly rose from the pile he lay in, screwing his monocle back in, and brushing himself off.

"Good afternoon to you too Miss Amber. I assure you that I meant nothing by that. I hope you accept my apology..." Cian rubbed his face a little, smearing the ink that hadn't dried around a bit. A small gasp came from the other side of the door as it opened again.

"I'm sorry Mister Vivek," she said quietly, bowing slightly. "I didn't mean to react so rashly." Then she got a look at the poor man she'd just shoved into a heap. He was a mess. Anything that wasn't disheveled before was certainly not in place now. A few giggles escaped her, looking at her superior in such a state.

"It's quite alright Miss Amber. But, it is I that should be apologizing. I'm afraid I was still a little groggy. Please accept my humblest apologies." She nodded, giggling a little more.

"Yes... Head Librarian George said that you had fallen asleep in your office again. You really need to stop doing that," she forgave him, punctuating her speech with a small laugh. "Now... You should really get yourself cleaned up, before one of the library patrons see you like that." Cian bowed a little in thanks before walking up to the wash basin. He finally got a look at himself.

After a small sigh, he removed his coat, monocle, and arm bracelets. He washed his hand and his face, desperately trying to remove the blotches of ink that stained them. After a few minutes of scrubbing, his results were... acceptable. Draping his coat over himself yet again, and placing his braces back onto his freshly cleaned arms, he removed himself from the room, facing his father again. "Is there something you want father?"

"Why yes there is my son," he spoke, the tone of demand in his voice. Cian knew that he wasn't getting out of whatever it was. "We need you to meet with some investors today. You will be my replacement after all. They want to make sure you're worthy."

"Yes father." That was that then. Unless Cian killed him now, there was no way out of this. Begrudgingly, he followed his father to the lobby, a few older gentlemen waiting for him. After chatting it up a bit, they left, seemingly approving of young Cian to succeed his father.

"So... Now that that's done..." Cian recognized that sound. It was the sound of future meddling in his life. An intrusion in 3... 2... 1... "Amber seems to have taken a shine to you. She even forgave you for that little peek you took earlier... Maybe you should court her for a bit..." He knew it.

"I know you want me to settle down and start a family father, but I don't know if I'm ready yet," Cian said, dodging the question of Amber entirely. His father was not amused.

"I started a family when I was 23! A full nine years younger than you are now! When will you be ready?" his father said, his tone beginning to be angry.

"I don't know father! But when I am, I'm sure you'll be the first to know! Even if just so you'll stop bugging me about it!" Cian said. His father obviously didn't like the tone.

"I will have none of that young man! You need to get out of that damn office of yours and meet some women!"

"And you need to stop trying to run my life!" His father glared at him for a second before stomping off, passing Amber as she rounded the corner.

"Another fight with your father huh? What about this time?" she asked, sounding concerned for the poor man. Taking out his eyepiece, Cian rubbed the ridge of his nose for a bit.

"Nothing I want to concern you with right now Miss Amber. You may return to your duties in the library... I feel the need for a drink." Amber looked a bit rejected, but nodded, turning to return to her duty of restocking the selves. The young Vivek walked out of the library into the pounding rain. That storm had formed nicely while he'd been chatting it up with those investors. Oh well... He didn't mind the rain. It helped him clear his head.

He made his way to the Tapped Spirit, being one of his favorite pubs for some odd reason he could never place his finger on. He walked in, dripping quite a bit onto the floor by the door, mud pooling around his boots. He removed his coat, draped it over a chair at the bar, taking a seat next to a clearly nervous gentleman. He looked to the bartender, a smile on his face. No point in looking all down in the dumps was there? "One scotch please."

((Long post is long.))

Seated in a corner booth, Turon watched the fireworks display with mild interest. Sure, her employer would be waiting for her, but he was irritatingly pompous at best.....despite that, he still payed well. Sipping her drink she dropped the empty glass down on the table and picked up her staff. Sitting down at the bar, she casully dropped a few coins on the countertop and ordered, "Bourbon if you have it, whiskey if you don't, thanks."

Asmyae sat at her usual seat, overlooking the patrons. Quite the strange arrangement we have here. She chuckled to herself as she fiddled with her glass, tapping it on the table lightly. Asmyae, the one with a troubled past. She always kept to herself, and almost never socialized unless it was a regular at her work. She smiled as she looked at the bartender who scared a patron with a flare. "What a strange arrangement indeed." She returned to her drink and took a light sip from the glass. "Ahh....refreshing."

Ah, there's some more Lacerto thought as he passed a group of people adorned with various weapons and large packs. For quite a while now he'd been trying to find a group on an adventure, so that yhe might join them and write their tales. So far, no one had actually been adventuring, and Lacerto was beginning to lose hope. "Excuse me" he said as he approached this new group, "but what you happen to be going on some sort of... oh I don't know, some sort of adventure?"

"Yeah" said one of them, "we're making the long and harrowing trek to the pawn shop down the street to get rid of these damned things. No one goes on adventures any more, and so we don't really need weapons no more either." Lacerto almost cringed at the way the man talked, saying things like "no more either" in that way. Sighing, Lacerto walked away from the group, who had started laughing. That was it, he needed a break. Group after group had just been going to the pawn shop, and Lacerto was losing hope fast. What he really needed right now was a drink, and it looked like there was a bar very close, the Tapped Spirit.

He was lost in thought as he approached the bar, and thusly failed to notice that the doorway was about one inch too short, and his forehead hit the top of the door in his way in. Trying it again, Lacerto had the good sense to duck this time. Heading to one of the remaining empty tables. Waiting for the other customers to be served, Lacerto finally said "anything that wan't get me too drunk".

Bellatine smiled as a slew of customers made their way to the bar. The man she'd scared with the bit of magic grabbed his whiskey, grumbling about the price, "Hey, you aske for flare, you got it, you pay for the show and the drink," that was why she worked here, the bartender enjoyed the extra marks she brought in with her bits of magic. Not to mention how the rumors spread, that for the right price, she'd do more than just bartend. But those were rumors that she'd let customers find out or not if they were true. She set four glasses on the bar top, grabbed two bottles of vodka, brought them up, tipped them over the outside glasses and filled them. The bottles twirled in her hands and were set in the rack as she grabbed a bottle of bourbon and one of scotch, filling the two center glasses with them. Once finished she handed one of the vodka's to a barmaid to be delivered to Lacerto. "Incoming." she said out loud as she slid each of the remaining glasses to the proper customers.

Drolok climbed down the wooden ladder from the three-story roof carefully due to the storm. He had already sent his toolbox down on a rope mechanism that he had learned(like pulling the curtains on a stage). His sleeves were rolled up and he had swept his wet hair out of his face in order to repair the chimney damages. At the same time, he had replaced some cracked and/or broken tiles.
As he opened the bar door, he cleaned his face with a cloth which he had soaked with the rainfall. He rinsed it out on the doorstep before closing the door.
"Bellatine, that's the roof all fixed," Drolok called over the noise. "Give me a shot of your finest whiskey, would you?"

Asmyae finished up her drink, and sighed heavily. I guess it's time to go back to work She looked out the nearby window, scowling at the thunderous rain outside. Ah well, looks like I'm staying here. She pulled out of her booth and slowly made her way to the bar.

Smiling, Lacerto said "thank you" to the barmaid as he took his drink. Looking down into it, he took a swig as he thought over how disasterous his trip had been. No one in any of the towns had been on any sort of adventure, and Lacerto was considering just sticking to normal scribing, not first-hand adventure writings. The thought depressed him and he took another swig, wondering if he should try searching for adventureres again after his drink.

Catching the bourbon, Turon half raised the glass in a toast, "Thanks again. Licking her incisors lightly, she enjoyed the feeling of their tips digging into her tongue and looked around. Idly she wondered if the bar had any inn rooms upstairs where she could spend the night. Ignoring it, she finished her drink and started to walk toward the door. A man carryign a set of tools entered and ordered a whiskey. She nodded politely to him and stepped aside to let him pass.

After thanking her for the drink, Cian sipped a bit of scotch, thinking deeply about what had happened earlier. As short as the day had been so far, it didn't look like it would be getting better anytime soon. "Why does father have to be like that?" he asked himself, taking another sip. After making sure his monocle was still there, he pulled out one of the books he happened to be carrying, and began to read, enjoying his scotch as he did so. He just hoped no one bothered him. The idea of dealing with anyone of less than sober intelligence was... irritating.

Asmyae walked toward the bar when she tripped, on a rut in the floor, and was headed face-first toward the ground. "Yeaaaaah!" She let out a cry before hitting her face on the cold, hard, floorboards. She let out a cry of pain as her nose broke. "Ow ow ow!!" She looked around, her face blushed with embarrasment. "Eheheh....sorry." She apologized to the patrons for the commotion, and re-shaped her nose. "Dear lord that smarts." She continued her way to the bar. "One glass of your strongest stuff." and then she added "With a flair." A small smile on her face.

The door to the inn was thrown up, and for a few seconds the cold and wet from outside swept through the room. The man closed the door behind him, turned around, and took a few stumbeling steps into the room. His eyes scanned the room quickly with a wary look, and then they closed.

Istril made a loud thump as he collapsed on the floor. His clothes were soaked and muddy, his left arm was bleeding badly, and some of the runes on his arms were still faintly glowing.
He felt as he started to slip into unconsiousness, but he shook it off when he felt hands grabbing him. He got to his feet at unexpected speed, and made the hands let go of him. They belonged to two barmainds who had hurried to his side. He gave them one short look, and then stumbeled a few more steps forwards.

"Damn crazy@ss b@tches", he muttred rather loud, and fell to his knees. Blood was running down his arm from the wound close to the shoulder, dripping on the floor. With another effort he got to his feet again, and kept stumbeling forwards.
"No not you my ladies, I'm sorry. I was talking about the f@cking witches I ran into", he quickly said with a louder voice and stopped in the middle of the room. "The cowards. It was two against one!"
He looked around, but to his dismay he could not find any vacant tables. He frowned, and went over to the bar. He took an empty seat as far away as possible from any other customers.
"One nothing, please", he said to the woman behind the counter, and grinned faintly to himself. "Just an empty glass, sweety."