1st adventure: the fallout

Mihai pockets his pay without a word.

"Excellent," Konrad exclaims to Breeze with feigned enthusiasm. "The blood bank for the ritual blood donors is on the second sub level and down the hall to your right, you'll see a big sign. There will be a table with cookies and juice, so after they drain you, take advantage of the juice - trust me, you will want to."

Deception 7

OOC:

Breeze makes a funny face and expresses her queasiness by sticking her tongue out and saying, "Bleh". Fedler gestures to the fairy that she wants the quill, to which Breeze acquiesces and hands it over to her. The little creature then turns to Konrad and says, "I'm pretty sure your needles are too big for my arms."

The hunter signs the contract and gives it to her new handler, along with Breeze's copy. Sonlake reviews the signatures, then goes back to his desk to put it in a folder with only one thing written on it; 113th Adjunct.

"This is done. Take a few days to rest. The new barracks we are building will be ready only in a few weeks, so you'll have to do with the inn for now. I know we haven't given you the most glamorous rooms, but we're still covering the price of your stay there. I'll send for you when I receive new orders."

He sits down.

"That is all."

With a nod Steve will shuffle out of the room with everyone else. "Well, that was a thing. Shall we head back now?"

Fedler silently nods while Breeze finishes eating her cupcake.

The group returns to the inn, and before anyone can enter their room, Fedler clears her throat in an effort to grab the attention of her new colleagues.

"Yen is leaving on a ship bound for the Citadel tomorrow morning at 10 o'clock," she says like if she rehearsed it. "If you want to be there, we leave at 9:30."

She looks up at the three of you, then turns away and grabs the knob on her door.

"Goodnight."

The young woman disappears into her room with Breeze.

____________________________________________

At the Coins' office of Highwind

It has been a few minutes since the members of the 113th Adjunct have left. Sonlake Dermold is sitting in his chair, his eyes fixated on the folder he just put the contracts in, a contemplative look on his face. He doesn't even look up at Blackcliff when he comes into the room.

"Everything went well?" asks the commander.

"Yes," responds the handler, rubbing his eyes to fight off the sleepiness. "They didn't even ask about what we talked."

Blackcliff thinks for a few seconds. "That's probably the fatigue."

A silence hangs in the air, as the two men seem to have exhausted all the topics of discussion they could think of. Finally, Dermold's gaze meets his superior's, and he asks, "When will I meet Jacob?"

"Tonight," replies Blackcliff. "He's already waiting for you."

This surprises the handler who immediately stands up. "Well, I didn't expect it to happens so fast."

"There is no reason to delay, and you have proven yourself more than capable to join our cause."

Dermold blows the candles out. "How about the 113th Adjunct? Will they join?"

The commander shrugs. "Maybe one day. I made the offer to the one named Mihai, but he refused, as I expected. He's exceptionally young. They all are."

"Yes," says Sonlake with a smile. "Is Jacob really as old as you told me?"

"Yes, even if he doesn't look like it."

"How about you?" He asks while walking towards the door.

"Depends from your point of view."

"I see."

They leave the office and close the door behind them.

____________________________________________

8:15 AM, 2th of May, 421 A.F.

Most of you are up by that time. Breakfast is offered at the lounge, and there is a public bath connected to the inn with one section reserved for its patrons.

OOC:

Spoiler:

A good night's sleep has done wonders for Steve. It's the most rested he's felt since Waterglass and he wakes up hungry. He rushes through his morning routine so he can get a nice hot breakfast post haste. With a quick "Hello-Goodbye" to the proprietor of their inn, he runs down the street to the restaurant he spotted last night on the way to their meeting. He's hoping it's good.

If he spots any group members on his way out, he'll invite them along but won't wait for any great length of time since he doesn't want to be late to Yen's sendoff.

OOC:

When he passes through the inn's lobby, Steve notices that a small crowd has formed around a table. Then suddenly, Breeze hovers over the crowd, demonstrating her flying abilities with a smile on her face. A yellow mage wearing the uniform of the Citadel is casting a spell directed towards the fairy, while the patrons stare in awe at the little creature.

"Oh, hey Steve!" happily exclaims Breeze. She waves her hand at him and everyone turns towards the young mage.

OOC:

First, bath. Second buy stuff. The plan is to go buy some new clothes, ideally at a tailor shop, and to then buy some dang ink and parchment for reasons that are nobody's business but Konrad's.

Third, just give Fedler the cupcakes and tell her that they are for the kid.

Steve invites him to go eat breakfast. Sure thing, anywhere but here. And sure enough, he notices the mage scanning Breeze in the inn lobby. Alright, which one of you narked? He brushes people aside to make way for his approach to the Citadel lackey.

"An impressive creature, isn't she? A magical marvel, and a free spirit besides." His friendly tone can't cover the subtlety implying that Konrad is placing himself in direct opposition against the Citdadel mage carrying out any additional action with Breeze dictated by his occupational directive. Let's see if he is willing to indulge me and reveal his intentions with the fairy.

skill:

What kind of clothes do Konrad wishes to buy? How many? What quality?

On his way to the bath, Konrad meets Fedler and Yen who are going in the same direction. The girl shyly thanks the red mage for the gift, but asks if Breeze is okay with parting with them.

The yellow mage, a rugged-looking woman in her late-forties, glances at Konrad but quickly ignores him and returns her attention at the fairy. Breeze has now also noticed Konrad, and she waves her hand at him too. The Citadel mage casts another Scan spell.

Explorer's outfit. He's going to pass on the hat in favor of his hooded cloak(or a new one, if that is ruined as well). He'll go for something ordinary. A weathered but definitely well-made look. Are there any tailors that make things made with magical weaving to be resistant to weather/elemental damage? For that utility, he might be willing to settle for something average.

Citadel mage
"Let me be clear: she's not going anywhere she doesn't want to. She's with us."

ooc:

The ink, paper and quill cost 6 gp in total. There's enough to write 12 letters. The explorer's outfit is 10gp. Any magical enhancement would have to be done by a weaver, who can be found in specialized weaving shops. You usually have to bring the item you want enchanted.

The cupcakes are Breeze's, and Yen knows it. She is asking if Breeze is okay with giving away all of her cupcakes.

The yellow mage is still completely focused on Breeze. "Yes yes yes, Velstar has already informed us of the fairy's employment with the Coins."

Mihai:

"She's a grown woman Konrad, Breeze can make her own decisions. If she wants to let a wizard she doesn't know poke and prod her like an experiment that's her business. Now come on, we need to run!" Steve starts jogging in place to emphasize the speediness that they need. "Let's move, move, move!"

ooc:

"Alright relax, I'm not far behind." To the mage, he adds, "Good. Bear that in mind and try to avoid crossing our employers."

Done with that, he pushes his way through the crowd to catch up to Steve and humor his meal plans.

skill:

OOC:

Yen knows that there are more than two cupcakes, but she nevertheless confirms that she will thank Breeze for this gift.

As for the yellow mage, she brushes off Konrad's warnings with a scoff and simply continue to observe Breeze who is now answering the patrons' questions. Konrad can't really figure out the mage's intentions considering the neutral expression on her face, but she hasn't used covert methods to examine the fairy.

Steve guides Konrad to the nice restaurant he found yesterday, and they have a nice breakfast (which costs 5 pieces of silver for each one of you). The special for the day is egg over grilled cheese, along a portion of spicy sausages. The presence of two mages in the restaurant turn a few heads, especially the one with such a large scar on his face, but they quickly go back to ignoring you.

Once Yen has finished packing, Fedler will invite Mihai to join them for breakfast. They go down the stairs and enter the lounge to find a table, which diverts the patrons' attention from Breeze for a short moment. The fifteen or so people gathered around the fairy freeze in place when they see the shackles on Yen's wrists. Breeze, who doesn't understand why they aren't speaking to her anymore, turns her head towards the little girl, only to smile at her friend.

"Hey guys!" she says in a merry tone as she flies on Yen's shoulder. "I've been waiting for you!"

The fairy then proceeds to explain what kind of questions she had to answer, which consisted mostly of refuting all kinds of false preconceptions the patrons had. The yellow mage stands near Fedler and Yen, then gives a reassuring nod at the other people in the room, which seems to be enough for them to calm down and sit back in their chairs. It takes a few minutes, but they manage to discuss something else other than the fairy or the cursed eating in their midst. While she is a little uncomfortable at first, Fedler manages to regain her easy-going attitude and initiate a normal conversation with Yen. Breeze is content in eating her companions' food under the occasional glance of the other clients.

Soon, it is time to leave.

__________________________________

At the docks of Highwind

Steve and Konrad have rejoined the rest of the group on the way to the docks, and they realize that the yellow mage they encountered at the inn is in fact charged with escorting them. The closer they got to the sea, the more fidgety Yen became. Her head down, she started to play with her long black hair, her left hand clenching her aunt's. Her grip got only stronger as they approached Velstar who was waiting in front of a large ship which was ready to sail.

"Velstar," says the yellow mage as a form of greeting.

"Mellisandra," replies the older woman. She looks at Fedler and Yen, and with a somber tone, she asks, "Do you have everything?"

The little girl doesn't say anything, and the only response Fedler can give is a slight nod. Velstar gives a meaningful look to Mellisandra, who answers her back with a nod and boards the ship without saying a word. Breeze, with a sad smile on her face, is the one to break the ice.

"Don't worry bunny," she says, patting the child's forehead. "We'll see each other again. Until then, you make sure to listen to Silver! Oh, Mihai and me are going to send you more books to read, so watch out for that too."

Yen's grip on her aunt's hand weakens, and she peers at the fairy with reassured eyes.

How the fairy read his mind if beyond him, but she's right. - "What she said, kid." - Mihai reassures Yen - "Look forward to volume 2."

OOC:

Yen nods and shows her gratitude with a soft "Thank you".

Steve steps forward and pulls his gifts out of his bag of holding and presents them to her on one knee. He's doing a poor job of trying not to feel sad. "Here, I copied the poem we made so you'd have your own. And I also wrote you a new one. Breeze helped. I hope you like it. I also got you some paper and a writing kit of your own. It may be a while before you can use it but I expect you'll find it useful."

After Yen responds, he'll stand up, brush off his knee, and stand back with the others again.

Yen's eyes grow large with wonder. She opens her bag which is already full, and manages to put her new gifts in it; she then looks up at Steve and says, "Thank you Snow."

Fedler smiles when she hears the nickname.

"You're welcome, Yen." The mage stands up, brushes off his knee, and stands back with the others again.

Konrad didn't have much he wanted to give, but he could impart his special brand of wisdom. "I don't have anything to give you, child, but there is something you can do for me. What happened to you was wrong, but you came out of it blessed. Magic is awesome, and so are you. Even though you're different now, you can still do great things if you want. Anyone who tries to tell you any of that isn't true doesn't know the first thing about Yen."

skill:

Yen, who is but a child, can only tilt her head at Konrad's words. This kind of philosophy is actually rare in the Archipelago -less so in Myr- and Konrad gets a few looks from the others. The little girl doesn't seem to understand how he can use the word "blessed" when the magical affliction she suffers from is called a curse by pretty much everybody, which forces her to wear woven shackles and live away from her aunt. Thankfully, Melisandra, who is leaning on the edge of the ship, prevents any sort of awkwardness of settling in. "It's time," she informs everyone.

The sails are now fully deployed and the sailors are only waiting for their last passenger to board the ship before they cast off. Fedler kneels down to pick up Yen's bag and slip it on her back.

"You make sure to listen to Silver," says the hunter. "She will look after you, so you do what she says. Okay?"

"Okay," replies Yen, who immediately puts her arms around Fedler's head despite the restraints. The young woman is taken aback by this, and even a little embarrassed considering how many people are looking, but she doesn't hesitate to hug her niece back.

"I'll write you a letter everyday," continues Fedler.

Yen nods, unwilling to let go. A long moment passes, until Fedler pulls away, kisses the young girl on the forehead and says, "Now go." Velstar approaches her new student, takes her hand and walks with her onto the gangway leading to the ship.

"Everyone on board!" shouts the captain.

Fedler crosses her arms and stares at the ship as it sails away, struggling to keep an impassive face. Velstar brings Yen to the starboard side of the ship, and they both wave at the group; the hunter raises a hand to do the same, and Breeze immediately follows her example.

A few minutes later, you can only see the stern of the ship receding more and more into the distance. Breeze, who has until now been keeping a merry facade, slumps back on Steve's shoulder.

"...That sucks," she says.