East Meets West (for Weiss Ritter)

[Ecnalab]

The town of Mistheim was every bit as rough as the people who had greeted Aedan. Stout lodges, and long houses predominated, with several shacks and shanties set up by the docks. All of the buildings were set close together so as to fit inside the tall palisade, leaving only a few main streets open enough to accommodate heavy foot traffic crisscrossing the town.

The people proved similarly rustic as they went about their business. All of them were armed in some way, and heavy furs, leathers, and linen cloaks dyed in deep earthy colors seemed to be the norm, as far as casual wear was concerned. If Aedan had been expecting a lot of attention, he was to be disappointed. A few passersby paused to glance at him, but for the most part the people barely acknowledged him. Either travelers were common enough in this town to be ignored, or most of the people of Mistheim had seen things more impressive than a lone man on horseback.

As he walked, Aedan began to realize that he couldn't find any businesses, per se. A few people had small stands set up beside their houses, where they peddled trinkets, and equipment, but not a single building had a sign on it advertising it as a shop or inn.

 

[Weiss Ritter]

Aedan might have been a little surprised by how swiftly the town seemed to be adjusting to his presence, but disappointed? Not one bit. In fact, the young man exhaled a relieved breath as his mount carried him a little further in before he swung off it.

Perhaps all those quasi-paranoid musings of his really were baseless after all. Perhaps he would be able to enjoy Mistheim as a safe place to rest and relax without the fear of bounty hunters or people willing to pass on information to the manhunters.

A cursory scan of the rough and tumble settlement earned a frown from the young mage. He'd spent enough of his life in a farming village to not expect anything resembling the grand cathedral or market district of Hastner, but the apparent lack of an inn was baffling. Surely even hardened hunters could appreciate a warm fire and sturdy walls to sleep behind...right? He couldn't possibly have been the only traveler to come this way...

"Hello there," Aedan offered one of the stall owners a faintly awkward smile as he approached. He still had a pretty respectable pouch of gold to trade and probably could have used a minor bit of equipment like a whetstone to keep his knife sharp. That would be well worth the price of asking where a weary traveler could find shelter in Mistheim while money changed hands.

 

[Ecnalab]

The peddler was happy enough to take Aedan's money, and even gave him directions. It seemed that the closest thing to an inn in the town was a communal longhouse, set aside for travelers down by the docks. "The one with the bass over the door!" the peddler called after Aedan. Once he reached the building in question, and walked inside, Aedan found that he was not the only one who would be using it. The longhouse was divided into seven sections by curtains hanging from the ceiling. Each section had a fire pit in the middle of the earthen floor, and two simple cots set against each wall. Most of the sections were occupied by men that clearly did not hail from the region. They seemed a bit too happy, the way they were sharing meals and laughing, and their clothing was different as well, being decorated with more than just stoic practicality in mind. Aeden suddenly realized that these men might just be from Levareen; the very kingdom he was fleeing to.

 

[Weiss Ritter]

"Hrm..." Aedan hummed to himself as he glanced curiously over the longhouse. It was certainly an interesting twist as far as the accommodation of visitors went. Was no one in the small fort willing to set down the roots needed to be an innkeeper? Did people who lived in such dangerous lands just value a sense of camaraderie and free beds more than some extra income?

His eyes rapidly scanned over the curtains and beds as he advanced through the structure in search of a free corner. It quickly became apparent that the longhouse was somewhat more busy than he'd anticipated. There was scarcely a section in it that didn't seem occupied by bands of men wearing...clothes that seemed rather out of place.

The young mage came to a sudden halt once the thought occurred to him. An expedition from Levareen...? Maybe! These lands were neutral. If that was so...

Aedan drifted near a particularly merry band and watched in silence for a moment or two longer than most would have been comfortable with. "H-hello..."

Hard travel and mostly sleepless nights through the forest had not done wonders for the sheltered man's ability to socialize.

"Are you...what brings you to these lands?"

 

[Ecnalab]

"Hmm, oh, caravan work... Yourself?" one of the men replied. They seemed amiable enough. At least, they didn't seem to mind sparing a moment for a stranger.

Before Aedan could answer, however, one of the men squinted to get a better look at him before piping up. "Hey, I recognize you. You're that runaway mage the Antavians are looking for, aren't you?" he asked, merrily.

"Wait, that's the guy?" asked another.

"Sure is. Almost didn't recognize him with the beard, but that's him," assured the man who had pointed Aedan out.

While other thought were likely flowing through Aedan's head, some part of him realized that, without access to a proper mirror and razor, he was close to having grown a short beard in his time on the road.

 

[Weiss Ritter]

Caravan work...? How much these men could help him would depend on how where they were actually headed, then.

The mage thought for a moment on how to phrase his next question when one of the men beat him to the punch. In an instant, Aedan felt his blood turn to ice and his heart freeze in his chest.

They know...!

Had the manhunters gotten here ahead of him?! Did these men visit Hastner or some other settlement before coming here?! By Malsten, a bit of a beard wasn't really his idea of a disguise, but he though it'd help at least a little if he kept his hood up and-

"What of it?" Aedan blurted out, stopping just short of outright wincing at the waste opportunity to try and lie his way out of it. Not that lying was a skill he'd cultivated under the tutelage of the Antavian clergy...or that these men were likely to believe anything he said after that display at the front gate. "I mean..."

Once again, he was at a loss for words. The young man's expression grew tight and hard. He'd just blown any hope of having a good night's rest and perhaps an earful of useful advice, hadn't he?

 

[Ecnalab]

"We just didn't expect to meet someone famous on our travels," came a low rumbling voice, from the next section of the longhouse. Aedan watched as the flimsy curtain that passed for a door was pulled aside, and in walked a man unlike any he had ever seen. He was big... very big, at least seven feet tall, and built like brick wall with muscles on top of muscle, and a square jaw, that sported braided black beard. His most distinguishing feature, though, were the bull-like horns that grew from either side of his head, parting his thick black hair to reveal that the man's ears were those of an ox; long and floppy. Swishing behind him was a long thin tail, that emerged from just above the seat of his pants. Aedan suddenly realized that he was speaking to one of the beast-folk, the people who were shunned by the greater population of Antavia, and not allowed within its borders. "Didn't think we'd be sleeping next to a celebrity," the great man said, with a chuckle.

 

[Weiss Ritter]

Aedan's strained expression fell as soon as the curtain fell. He had seen large men before, of course. Some of the guards he'd had to fight through to flee Hastner were no doubt among the more impressive specimens the theocracy of Antiva was capable of mustering, but this...this bull-man made even them look like youthful recruits who hadn't even started their first week of conditioning!

The mage reflexively took a step back. One good blow from a man like this would be enough to drop nearly anyone or anything, and Aedan knew better than to assume the beast-folk's size would prevent him from moving faster than he could weave his spells.

It wasn't just that, though. From the way Aedan's eyes darted over the giant of a man's tails, ears, and imposing horns, more than instinctive concern for his life and freedom were at play. Charrla had eventually worked her magic upon him, literally and figuratively, but it had been done over the corpse of a mutual foe, a night he would never forget, and more help than he had ever expected anyone to grant him. Old Antavian-taught habits died hard.

"I wouldn't call it that..." Aedan stopped just short of stuttering nervously, ambling to find a wall he could set his back to. For a moment his mind rushed to come up with some excuse to get himself away from the bull-man and his group, only for curiosity to visibly triumph over the unease in his expression. "...What have they been saying about me?"

 

[Ecnalab]

"Oh, the usual Antavian rhetoric," replied the bull-man, as he took a seat next to the fire; several of his comrades having to move to make room. "Criminal, and blasphemer, fleeing the divine judgment of Malsten, and various other assorted nonsense."

"Ha, just like everyone else who manages to make it over the boarder," one of the other men piped up, bringing chuckles from all his fellows. "So, what did you do, lad? Oh, let me guess, you missed evening prayer? Or, no, no, you cast Malsten's name in vain, right?"

"Oi! Don't go prying," interrupted the bull-man. "The man's business is his own. Though, if you do feel like sharing, I'm sure we can make room for you," he said, motioning to a spot around the fire; a clear invitation for Aedan to sit.

 

[Weiss Ritter]

Blasphemy?!

Aedan visibly tensed and frowned at that. True, he hadn't exactly been performing the daily or even weekly allotment of prayers and rituals that were expected of even the most humble of Malsten's faithful, never had he taken the god's name in vain or cursed him for his current...predicament!

"Nrgh..." It was hard to say whether the mage's irritable grunt was directed at the chuckle-inducing man or the increasingly personal slander being thrown about by the Antavian theocracy.

"I just...wanted to be free..." Aedan stared at the open spot by the fire long and hard, even biting his lip a little. No small part of him wanted to relax, to just lower his guard and enjoy the warmth and company these men were offering him. His foot budged an inch, but no more. It couldn't. He couldn't...

"The priests wanted to control me, limit me..." The young man rubbed his hands together instead. He was half-tempted to just conjure a small fire of his own between his palms, but Aedan honestly wasn't sure if he could even will "normal" fire into being and had no desire to stir the pot further with these men. "Use me. I wanted to see more than just walls and what texts they felt were 'safe' to show me. I caught them drugging my food, so...I left. They tried to stop me..."

 

[Ecnalab]

The mirth of the men faded quickly, as Aedan began telling his tale. They soon sat, waiting with bated breath for him to continue.

"You know, usually, when the Antavian's try to stop someone they don't exactly ask nicely," said the bull-man. "I'm guessing that, by the fact that you're standing here, you won the... arguments that you've gotten into, so far?"

 

[Weiss Ritter]

"Y-yes..." Aedan stumbled a bit when he realized the men were not even whispering to each other now, and that he stood in the center of their collective gaze. All the attention from so many complete strangers probably would have made the young mage squirm even if there were no bounty on his head.

"...I didn't kill them!" He blurted out, jerking and tensing with widened eyes as he realized a moment too late what the bull-man's pause might have implied. "If that's what you think. I-I didn't want to hurt anyone. Well, not really. All I did was push them aside or stun them and...it scared them. Even when I didn't mean it to..."

It seemed a little silly even to the mage who had cast those spells. He'd counted on seeing the elements bent to his will intimidating the soldiers in his path, or at least giving them second thoughts. Aedan just hadn't been prepared for the shock and fear in no only their gaze, but the dozen or so civilians close enough to see that there was nothing natural about the emerald flames, crimson lightning, and churning obsidian earth he conjured as easily as breathing. Not even by the standards of "normal" mages.

 

[Ecnalab]

"Well, you hold back more than most men would then," said the bull-man.

"So, what made you decide to come to this splendid little patch of wilderness?" asked another man. Despite their pestering questions, Aedan got the sense that these men were more curious than accusing. They didn't seem to care, one way or another, if he had killed the ones that had tried to stop him. Weather that said more about them, or their relationship with Antavia, he didn't know.

 

[Weiss Ritter]

"Mgh..." Aedan grunted uncertainly, though his lips twitch upwards in the faintest hint of a smile. He wasn't happy about any of it, but it was...nice to have someone view it like that for a change. The mage didn't expect the Antavian clergy to be lenient when ordering his recapture, but even after everything he had been through there was still something wrong about the idea that those godly men would lie and mislead their own people so.

"It's...just a stop," The words came out uncomfortably, almost forced. They already knew who he was, how much harm could come of sharing any more by this point? "...I don't mean any offense!"

The young man added quickly, his bright blue eyes widening. "It's very...wild out here. Very open, I mean. Free from Antavia or anyone else."

Hrm...when he put it like that, some small part of Aedan was half-tempted to consider giving these lands a chance.The sleepless nights and haunting vision of the massive troll walking past with limp dead men in its grasp put that renegade thought firmly to rest, though.

"I'm pressing on to Levareen...I think. For a time, at least," He fought the urge to fidget or chew on his lip. Really, there was no guarantee Levareen would be much safer for him than Antavia. He wouldn't have a bounty on his head there, of course, but even if the kingdom wasn't half as decadent and corrupt as Malsten's priesthood declared, how could he be sure its leaders wouldn't seek to use or limit him just as his homeland had?

 

[Ecnalab]

"Well, you won't be the only one on the road," said the bull-man. "After the boss finishes business here, she and the rest of us are heading that way to. Gods it will be nice to see home again after so many weeks," he finished, with a smile.

"Ah men," another man muttered. "Pretty as the place is, I could do without the trolls."

"You and me both," replied another. "Remember the last one?"

"Ugh, never seen so many heads on one body before."

 

[Weiss Ritter]

"Boss?" Aedan asked. His tone and expression were curious at first, but that quickly gave way to a sudden and awkward tension. He'd just..assumed that the imposing bull-man was the leader of the rugged crew. The man was so big and....and...well, that sort of thing had been a safe bet with the guards he knew in Hastner. At least when there wasn't a priest or favored noble in the room.

"...Did it kill anyone you knew?" The mage's face contorted at the mere mention of trolls in a way only someone with a very vivid imagination or first-hand experience with what those nightmarish titans were capable of could have. The empty gaze of the hanging manhunters flashed before Aedan's eyes once more. Could they be talking about the same beast, or were such sights truly so common around here? By Malsten, he couldn't wait to leave these lands...

The question was whether to do so alone or not. Normally, Aedan wouldn't have considered trusting any band of strangers like this, but after everything he'd seen and heard just getting to Mistheim, potentially traitorous bounty hunters seemed like a walk through Hastner's gardens compared to sleepless nights surrounded by monsters that would eat him just as soon as look at him.

 

[Ecnalab]

"No, nobody died, thanks to Electra," replied the bull-man.

"Who calls!?" came a decidedly feminine voice from the curtain separating the section of longhouse they were in from the next.

"Speak of the devil," another man quipped, as the curtain was pulled aside.

In stepped a human woman, the likes of which Aedan had never seen before. Her raven hair was cut shorter than most men's and stuck up in a spiked style, and she regarded Aedan with a set of piercing blue eyes that would have been beautiful, if not for the heavy bags underneath them. Her figure was lithe and trim, almost willowy, but almost every inch of her skin was covered in tattoos of arcane runes of warding. And there was much skin to behold. The only clothing she had on was an incredibly small set of short-shorts, and a simple wraparound top covering her modest breasts. "Gods, can you men be any louder? I'm trying to catch up on some sleep in here," she chided.

 

[Weiss Ritter]

(Phew. Again, sorry for the delay here. The good news is that all the papers are turned in and I am packed in at the family home for the rest of Christmas break. I should be much more consistent now.)

A completely different man-slaughtering troll is was then. Wonderful.

Aedan visibly tensed and jumped at Electra's sudden shouting. He reflexively spun around to face her, expecting to find an imposing but otherwise unremarkable leather-armored huntress.

Instead, the young man's jaw visibly dropped and his breath caught in his throat. His own bright blue orbs shamelessly scrutinized Electra's barely-covered form, though their refusal to linger on any of her more...womanly features offered a hint of what the first thing on his mind was. Aedan was familiar with the theory behind enchanting inanimate objects through the use of rune-channeled power and he'd even been exposed to the possibility of accomplishing something similar with tattoos and people. He had never actually seen it, though! The mages tutoring and studying him claimed they didn't want to risk any kind dangerous reaction his...unique condition could cause if interact with conventional enchantments. Later, Aedan suspected the priests simply did not want to risk him finding ways to strengthen himself or create tools that they did not control.

"That's amazing..." Aedan said aloud, his awe as naked as Electra nearly was. He raised a hand and took a step forward, and then his eyes locked with the woman's piercing orbs. In an instant, the mage was snapped back to reality. He was dealing with a person, not a book. And he'd...he'd...forgotten that fact quite publicly.

"O-oh! Sorry! I just haven't seen..." The young man gestured quickly over Electra's lithe form. He could feel the heat rising in his cheeks as it finally dawned on him what else such revealing attire left for him to observe and consider. "Those...markings before..."

 

[Ecnalab]

"Yeah? Well go get your eye candy somewhere else," the woman snapped. "And, the rest of you, pipe down!"

With that, she yanked the curtain closed, and the room was left in stunned silence... for about five seconds, before half the men around the fire broke out in restrained snickers. "Heh-heh, that's Electra for you. Even half naked, the little witch manages to be intimidating," the bull-man said. "Don't worry, she'll be a little nicer when she wakes up."

 

[Weiss Ritter]

Aedan flinched as if physically struck by Electra's sharp words. "Sorry..."

The woman probably wouldn't have heard him even if she had been inclined to linger. The young man was barely able to speak above a whisper, and the snickering men did nothing to relax the tension visible in his form.

"A little?" Aedan glanced back at the bull-man with a faint frown. The wary expression lasted all of two seconds before the same curiosity that got him into this mess pressed back to the forefront of his mind. "Are there many like her in Levareen?"

Now there was a thought. It seemed impossible, and surely not just anyone could ward off a troll as she apparently had, yet Aedan learned first-hand of the restrictions placed by Malsten's priesthood on the study of magic. Officially, they were merely following the divinity's will and acting in the best interest of the faithful. Unofficially...well, Aedan wondered just how far the arcane arts could develop when not shackled by priests too concerned with maintaining absolute power to just...have faith in their fellow man as well.

 

[Ecnalab]

"Oh, aye, the Enchanters come in all shapes and sizes," said the bull. "From the tall and timid, to the short and angry." He motioned to the curtain that Electra had just passed through.

 

[Weiss Ritter]

Aedan's jaw tightly faintly in obvious thought. His eyes followed the bull-man's hand towards the curtain. He could feel his guts clenching slightly, and his extremities tingled as if he were teetering on the edge of a very imposing cliff. Making his own way through the wilds was probably the safer option, assuming he'd already seen the worst they had to offer, but then staying in Hastner like a good little boy would have been his safest bet not so long ago as well...

"If she'll allow it, I think I would like to make the rest of the journey with you and yours," The young man said cautiously, sparing the curtain another wary glance. "I guess we will find out in the morning..."

If there was nothing else, Aedan would have turned back on his heel to claim one of the bunks for his own. Hopefully, the bull-man wasn't kidding about the sorceress being a little less...intense after some much-needed rest.

 

[Ecnalab]

The next morning, Aedan was awoken by the smell of food cooking over a fire. Opening his eyes, he saw that the men were gone, and sitting by the fire was the strange woman from last night. She didn't exactly look better than she had, her hair now stood out in odd angles, and she was still wearing little more than underwear, but at least the bags under her eyes were gone. She busily stirred the contents of a large skillet, not having noticed that Aedan was awake.

 

[Weiss Ritter]

Aedan found himself rooted to the spot, taking nerve-steadying breaths, and staring both at and around Electra a moment or two longer than he would have preferred to admit. It seemed the bull-man wasn't jesting when he said she would only be slightly better even after a full night's sleep. The fact that there wasn't a crowd waiting to see him be verbally flayed was another point that provided the young man some much-needed courage.

"Electra," The mage nodded politely as he approached her. He was making a concentrated effort to keep his eyes fixed on either her face or the skillet and succeeding...so far. The tattoos and blatantly bared flesh remained ever in the corner of his vision. "I...wanted to ask about traveling with your group..."

Aedan tried very hard not to flinch. The words came out more awkwardly than he'd imagined. "I know...I know we're strangers, but I can more than pull my own weight, these lands are very dangerous, and I am curious about where you all came from."

 

[Ecnalab]

"It's a free road, just don't get in the way." To call the response flat would be to brutally understate the word. Her voice wasn't rude or angry, or even dismissive, just completely uncaring. Her deadpan expression betrayed no emotion either, save for a lack of energy. Perhaps she wasn't fully awake yet, the food she was cooking hadn't been touched yet, maybe she just needed a little time. Regardless, Aedan had gotten permission, maybe not a welcome aboard, but permission none the less.

 

[Weiss Ritter]

"Oh..." Aedan just stood there for a moment in slight yet obvious surprise. He really had expected a bit more of a fight on this, not that he was complaining. Even if Electra wasn't holding a grudge over his lapse the previous night, he could hardly believe she really was just...fine with a dangerous stranger following along. Was the sorceress just that confident in her capabilities and those of her comrades? Perhaps the problem was his. It wasn't as if most travelers along these roads had such prices on their heads...right?

"I'll just...get packed...then..." The mage trailed off as he took a step back, though his gaze flickered over the sorceress and her neglected food. Aedan wasn't sure what else he expected from her, but it felt a little wrong to just turn and run completely. "Unless you'd like help with any of your preparations?"

If she turned him down sharply, Aedan would have flinched before returning to his own bunk just long enough to resecure his supplies and tend to his mount for the journey ahead.

 

[Ecnalab]

"If you want to stick around, and stare at the girl in her underwear, that's fine. But, we're not slated to leave for another day, so..." She looked at his cock-eyed as she let the last word hang in the air. Aedan clearly had some time to himself, if her thought he might need anything for the trip ahead of him. Then again, he could take her up on her offer and stick around.

 

[Weiss Ritter]

"Oh..." Aedan winced and froze mid-step. He felt rather stupid now for just assuming the caravan was in as much of a rush to leave these lands behind them as he was. They were the ones who had been menaced by a troll he'd only had the displeasure of seeing, and beast-men or no, there probably weren't any prices on their heads to worry about either. At least, none large enough to tempt manhunters out this far.

"Certainly, then. Sticking around, I mean. Not the staring," The mage inched his way toward a seat at the fire. He sat cross-legged at a respectable distance from Electra, clearly making a rather focused effort not to let his gaze sink beneath her neck during the brief moments he stared at her rather than the skillet and flames. It was exactly as hard as it sounded.

Aedan sat in silence for a moment or two. There were so many things he wanted to ask Electra, but actually figuring out how to ask them and what first...? That was something that gave the young man enough trouble to start fidgeting.

"How...did you save your friends from the troll?" Aedan glanced at Electra after a moment's deliberation. Again, his eyes were tempted by her fascinating markings and the mostly bared flesh that hosted them. "They didn't tell me more than that last night, but I had to avoid a troll during my own journey here. If we run into another, I would not mind knowing how to handle it properly."

 

[Ecnalab]

Without taking her eyes off the fire, Electra raised her arm and the runes on it began to glow. A bolt of searing golden energy sprang from her fingertips, and impacted the floor on the other side of the fire, leaving a small crater of scorched earth. "The big brutes are easily scared off by magic," she said, as a thin trail of smoke rose from the new divot in the floor.

 

[Weiss Ritter]

Aedan watched the rune ignite with naked fascination, but the sorceress's words caused him to chuckle uneasily. "That's it?"

The mage laughed a little bit more to himself, burying his head in his hands and shaking his head in them. "By Malsten...my heart nearly burst when I first saw that troll come from over the hill. I thought...I wasn't sure if I could bring it down in time, but if I'd just lashed out..."

Aedan pulled himself back up and stared into the fire. He imagined himself staring down the troll again with a considerable cooler air. As traces of crimson lightning flickered across his fingertips, his mind painted a portrait of a grand storm of the eldritch thunder mercilessly raining down upon the fleeing monster.

"...Are those meant to help you control your power, or do they augment it?" The young man abruptly glanced back at Electra, his gaze sweeping over her runes. Sitting this close to her, the differences between the two spellcasters felt all the more magnified. The sorceress's nearly naked and rune-marked form contrasting with his covered body and the power that simply resided within it.