East Meets West (for Weiss Ritter)

[Ecnalab]

"A little form column A, a little from column B. But, mostly they're there for protection," she replied. Picking up a fork, she turned it on herself and jammed it into her side. At once, the runes nearest the makeshift weapon began to glow a brilliant white, and the metal prongs barely made an indent on her skin; despite the force of her jab. Aedan had heard of magic runes being used to strengthen metal, and other building materials, but this was the first time he had heard of them being used to provide protection to the human body.

 

[Weiss Ritter]

"That's amazing..." Aedan stared at Elektra with open awe, his eyes sweeping intently over the runes once more and one of his hands raising and clenching as imaginary stone-armor formed over it. That particular trick of his could offer a similar, perhaps even superior, degree of protection to the runes, but slicing the earth into thin enough chunks to comfortably coat him and then willing the suit into place took precious time; nevermind the concentration it took to sustain or the added weight. The sheer utility and convenience of such runes...and what if their functionality did not even have to end there...?!

"Are those common where you come from?" The mage asked, his tone growing audibly more excited.

 

[Ecnalab]

"Nope, only Knight Enchanters are taught how to make them. And they don't part with the secret, even under pain of death." The finality of the last few words told Aedan that continuing that line of questions was probably useless. Still, it did open up other avenues of conversation. The Knight Enchanters were well known as the military officers of Levarene, and powerful sorcerers to boot, but beyond that little was actually known about their hierarchy or ceremonies.

 

[Weiss Ritter]

"O-oh...?" Aedan paused and deflated a bit before Electra's very eyes. All those thoughts and small dreams of dissecting and utilizing this fascinating new form of magic he'd never even conceived of all but died then and there. Perhaps given time and safety, he could figure...something out on his own, but he hadn't fled this far from the Antavian forces just to run into the arms of some other military likely out to exploit him.

"That makes you a...Knight-Enchanter...?" The mage's tone was hesitant as his eyes glanced over the sorceress's distinctly...unknightly attire. Were things really that different in Levarene? And what would a powerful mage be doing with a caravan in these wilds? Come to think of it, none of them acted like any of the soldiers he'd met.

...Well, none of the Antavian soldiers, anyway. Who were either stationed in the single most holy city in the kingdom or trusted to try and capture him. Perhaps that wasn't the best pool to draw upon for comparisons...

 

[Ecnalab]

"Not active, at the moment," she replied. Again, to call her response blunt would be to brutally understate the word. It made it hard to tell if her was bothering her or not, but she had made the offer for him to stay, so if she got tired of him, she would likely let him know.

 

[Weiss Ritter]

"I see..." Aedan said in a tone that made it abundantly clear he did not, at least not really. Several questions sprang to mind immediately, but the sorceress's brusque demeanor gave him pause even knowing that she would have shooed him off by now if his presence truly bothered her.

"What...what are you and your traveling companions doing, then? You aren't just traders, are you?" It seemed only fair to ask. He was fairly certain she overheard the bullman and the others all but confirming that he was on the run from the Antavian manhunters and Malsten only knew what else.

 

[Ecnalab]

"That's exactly what we, or at least they, are. I'm just along for protection." Her tone as bland as ever, Electra continued to eat her breakfast, finishing it off in short order. She then rose from her seat, and turned to the door. "I'm going down to the lakeside for a bath, you wanna' come?" she asked, as casually as anything else she had said.

 

[Weiss Ritter]

Aedan cocked his head at her, staring as if he expected the sorceress to reveal any moment now that she was just being sarcastic. The moment never came.

"What?" His tone was flat and his eyes widened a bit. Granted, Electra's attire left so little to the imagination that bathing would probably reveal less of her body, but...by Malsten.

"S-sure..." Aedan stuttered out, resisting the urge to shake his head and forcing himself to stand as straight as possible. "Do...do you need me to watch out for you? I mean, I know you can defend yourself, but there's monsters in that lake, right? There were some when I first came here. Fish-beast-men."

 

[Ecnalab]

"No, you just smell from being on the road for so long," she stated, as she walked out of the longhouse.
She made her way down to the docks, and then kept walking until they were on a fairly secluded section of beach right next to where the palisade that surrounded the town entered the water. As they walked, Aedan could hear voices, and he realized that there were already people in the lake; apparently washing up. As he and Electra came to a stop at the water's edge, he saw that most of the men from the longhouse were present. "Hey, Electra!" called out the large bull-man. "We were wondering when you'd show up. The water's awfully cold without you," he said, with a smirk.
She didn't reply, merely knelt down by the water, and stuck her hand in it. At once, all the runes covering her body flared with light, and a wave of steam and bubbles issued out into the water as the whole area was suffused with arcane power. She then stood and, to Aedan's amazement, began disrobing. "You should get in, before it cools off," she stated.

 

[Weiss Ritter]

"Mph...!" Aedan came to a sudden halt, clearly surprised at the sight of the men lounging and splashing in the water. Objectively, he had no right to be so taken aback, yet the prospect of sharing the water with so many was one that gave him pause.

Unsurprisingly, Electra had no issue whatsoever. What was unexpected was her use of the arcane.

The young mage stared openly as the runes lit up and the water warmed under her touch. It did not seem all that different from his own manipulation of the water to enjoy hot baths wherever he traveled, and yet even that mundane display gave his senses something to latch onto. The power flowing through the runes, bent according to their design, and seemingly channeled through her...

It did not last nearly long enough for Aedan to get even a rudimentary understanding of how they truly worked, but it was captivating all the same. Not that he looked away from Electra even when the flow of power ceased. And he waited a second longer than necessary to avert his gaze when her hands began to unclasp her scant leathers.

"R-right..." Aedan slowly began to disrobe himself, occasionally glancing almost warily at Electra and her comrades. Malsten...he'd been stripped and ravished by a nymph in the midst of a sprite orgy. This really shouldn't have been so hard! "I can warm it myself too, if needed..."

 

[Ecnalab]

"I don't recommend staying in long enough for that to be necessary," replied Electra. "The sudden heat will keep any creatures away for a while, but it'd be best not to test their courage." At once, Aedan's mind flashed back to the bizarre fish-men he had seen, on his way to the town. Were there creatures even worse lurking under the waves of this lake? If there were, they did not seem to trouble Electra. She finished disrobing, and headed for the water. Before he averted his eyes, Aedan caught sight of the pert nipples that capped her modest breasts, as well as the thick, but well groomed, patch of hair above her womanhood.

Just above said bush, Aedan spotted a rune that seemed to be a bit larger than the others that covered Electra's body. This one seemed to still be glowing faintly with a bull gold light.

 

[Weiss Ritter]

Aedan frowned suspiciously at the deeper part of the lake. By this point, he was barely even surprised that anyone visiting these lands would be anything less than jaded to such dangerous pests.

The young mage's effort to avert his gaze froze halfway. At first because of the glimpse of toned feminine beauty, but then his eyes caught sight of the more imposing rune glowing just about Electra's snatch. Air in his lungs readied and his mouth opened to speak, but he caught himself at the last instant.

The Knight Enchanter had been reluctant to talk in-depth about her runes when it was just the two of them. Trying to get a more detailed explanation of just how that intimately placed rune fit into her protective wards in front of the entire caravan probably wouldn't go too well...

For the moment, Aedan sank into the magically heated water and willed it around him. The blue-ish tinge war warped into a more emerald green wherever his arcane power seeped into the liquid. The lake around him churned and the pressure forced the dirt and sweat off much of his body. All the while, Aedan tried to sneak glimpses at the striking sorceress's runes...both with his eyes and more arcane senses.

 

[Ecnalab]

Sneaking peeks at Electra through the water proved futile, the murky lake seemed to absorb light, making it impossible to see anything without being directly in front of it. At least with his eyes. Once he let his arcane sense reach out into the world around him, Aedan got a much clearer picture of things. The runes that covered Electra's body glowed in a kaleidoscope of colors suggesting everything from protection, to enhancement, and even attraction. These were all subdued at the moment, however, save for the large rune above her womanhood. That one still blazed brightly.
The rune's function was easy to determine, it was clearly protective magic, but it's purpose was a little harder to pin down. Unless Aedan missed his guess, Electra basically had a sheet of plate metal covering her loins. One could probably swing a mace at her privates, full force, and she'd barely feel it. While such an enchantment was obviously useful, why have it positioned only over her groin, and not the rest of her?

 

[Weiss Ritter]

Aedan perked up at the myriad of functional and foreign patterns that were revealed under his more aetheric probing. The sheer amount of uses the admittedly elaborate runes covering Electra's form held were almost baffling. Sustained spells and even permanent enchantments were one thing, but layering that many spells to only activate precisely when demanded...? It was a whole layer of finesse and complexity he had scarcely even dreamed of.

...Which was probably how the priests preferred it, come to think of it. They had failed to contain him even when he and his teachers were limited so. Perhaps they were right to fear for their power without Malsten's direct intervention if the wizards they ruled over ever learned to master such a subtle and versatile art.

He could not help but frown at the abnormally powerful rune above Electra's womahood, however. Groin protection was one thing, but a solid blow to any of Electra's less well-protected vitals would have surely been just as, if not more, lethal than an attack landing there.

The raven-haired mage tried not to look at Electra directly while he splashed water over his body and probed a little deeper.

There were..other forms of assault she may have wished to guard against. Aedan did not like to think about it too hard, but even then it seemed like a strange precaution. More complete protection surely would have served her better against any man. The dead and maimed could not...molest, after all.

Man...

'But, lucky that he wasn't big enough for the thing to take pleasure with. You know, if keeps going like it is, it'll reach that little village outside the woods in a few days. I'd hate to be the 'lucky' girl who gets snagged by it; lots of man prods that want attention on this one'

Charrla's words emerging unbidden from memory were enough to make Aedan tense and suddenly glance to Electra...and the murky water beyond the bathing crew. Perhaps there were worse things in the world she sought to guard against.

...Things whose memory encouraged Aedan to try and wrap up his own bath with that much more haste.

 

[Ecnalab]

After Aedan was done with his little peep show, the rest of his bath passed with little of note. Once the water began to cool back down, everyone started heading for shore to dry off. This gave Aedan one last good look at Electra before she began toweling off.
However, this also afforded him a good view of the men as they exited the lake, before he could avert his eyes. The bull-man in particular strutted up the shore, swinging low and likely tickling his own knees.
Once he was dressed, it was up to Aeden to decide how to pass the rest of his time in the town.

 

[Weiss Ritter]

Aedan's face was flushed from more than just magically warmed water by the time he scampered out of the lake to dry and dress. As fascinating as the foreign caravaneers were, he was going to be traveling with them all the way to Levareen. Non-flustered time to himself was a precious commodity now.

The young mage found himself clad once more in battered robe, sitting atop a barrel by the makeshift inn. A conjured globe of water provided enough of a reflective surface for him to examine his similarly travel-worn features. The bath had rid him of the dust and grim, but the unfamiliar beard itched and felt...strange after years of clean-shaven living in Hastnur. He frowned in thought as he ran his fingers through the curly ebon hair, stopping occasionally to scratch. Aedan almost didn't recognize the face staring back at him. It'd probably take more than some scruff to fool professional manhunters up close, but going back to a picture-perfect match of the young man on those bounty notices would probably just attract a bunch of amateur hunters as well. Still, the thought of spending days, even weeks like this...

Aedan raised his hand and willed an ethereal blade into existence. Then he set about cutting.

It was a somewhat slow and careful process. The young man had never had to contend with that much ill-kept facial hair before, but by the end his burgeoning beard was trimmed into a more refined, restrained, and, most importantly of all, manageable thing.

There was one other errand Aedan needed to tend to before he could rest easy until the next leg of the journey, however. With his lessened but still hefty coinpurse at his side, the young mage found himself walking among Mistheim's peddlers more closely than his bone-tired first visit. He'd bought a whetstone and tried to get a feel for the settlement before, but now that he had a plan and was reasonably certain the fort wasn't packed with manhunters out to get him, there was time for a proper shopping trip.

Food to replace the provisions he'd lost getting here was at the top of the list. Hunting...had not been an option the past week. Something other than fodder for his stolen mount would be good too. Manhunting wasn't exactly a peaceful profession, but this journey through monster-infested wilds had to just as terrifying for it as him...

 

[Ecnalab]

Food, for both man and animal, was easy enough to come by. Any community that saw regular caravans come through was going to have someone willing to cater to them; regardless of how insular the community was. It took some asking around, but Aedan was eventually directed to Clayton's Caravan Supplies; a fairly large, two-story, building with a small stable behind it.
The inside of the place was as rustic as the rest of the town. Barrels of dried nuts, fruit, and salted meats lined the walls, while the middle of the store was a maze of benches and racks displaying every tool and piece of equipment that a wagon, or horse, could possibly need to deal with mishaps on the road. Spare wheels, axles, canvas tarps, and rope were everywhere, as well as typical Mistheim decorations. Several sets of antlers, and other hunting trophies hung on the walls, as did tapestries, and the odd weapon.
However, despite making his way to the back of the store, where the counter was located, Aeden did not find the shop-keep, or anyone else for that matter.

 

[Weiss Ritter]

Aedan's sharp blue eyes swiftly scanned the interior of Clayton's Caravan Supplies with characteristic curiosity. At a glance, it certainly seemed to live up to its name. The dried and salted food on display, while not as appetizing as the fare he'd enjoyed in Hastner or the fresh picks from a farming village, was perfect for the long and likely rough journey still ahead of him. There was no shortage of tools to go over either, though many of them seemed of dubious use to a man without a cart.

The mage was putting together a mental list and fingering his pouch of Antavian gold already when he noticed something that put a frown on his face...or rather, the lack of something.

"Hello?" The young man called out. His voice likely echoed through the seemingly empty store. He stepped deeper into the store and glanced through each row of supplies he passed. Had he somehow managed to miss the shopkeeper? That wasn't like him...

"Is anyone here?" Reflexive apprehension began to fill Aedan. The mage's heartbeat began to quicken and the fingers tapping his pouch began to do so with enough anxious speed to rattle some of the coins inside.

 

[Ecnalab]

The sound of thumping from above caused him to look up, as the telltale sound of footfalls lead his gaze to a set of stairs off to the side of the shop. "Coming!" called a woman's voice, as a young lady descended the stairs. She was maybe a little younger than Aidan, with straw blond hair that hung in thick curls, a round friendly face, and a buxom figure that seemed to naturally put the young man at ease. "Welcome to Clayton's, what can I get for you?" she asked, cheerily.

 

[Weiss Ritter]

Aedan's brow furrowed at the decidedly light and feminine voice that called back to him. The young woman that descended from the steps was neither a Clayton nor the hardened huntress he expected to dominate Mistheim. Not that he was complaining...

"Ah, yes!" The mage snapped out of his reverie, his eyes wandering from her...flattering figure to her warm and inviting smile. "I'm joining a caravan and was hoping to re-stock on provisions for my horse and I."

He went about picking an ample amount of dried meat, fruits, nuts, and the occasional treat for his mount as he spoke. Unless stopped, the young man would have sat his goods on the counter to be accounted for and stared at the young woman with open curiosity before his courage finally won out.

"You weren't what I expected when I entered. Is there a Clayton here, or is that a...title of some sort?"

 

[Ecnalab]

"Oh, my father? No he's out," the young woman explained, as she took his money, and packaged the good he had purchased. "A caravan, huh? You heading out with that bunch of merchants from Levarene?" she asked.

 

[Weiss Ritter]

The same caution, some would say paranoia, that compelled Aedan to flee Charla's sanctuary made him hesitate to respond. Thinking things through, though, he was far from the seat of Antavian power and would be out of its reach entirely soon enough. After everything he'd seen in these monster-infested lands, the idea that manhunters might have managed to get here ahead of him and survived long enough to...somehow set an ambush on the road with their remaining strength was...almost laughable.

"Y-yes, actually," Aedan made an effort to expunge the nervousness from his smile. "You're familiar with them? Or at least the route? Do you have any advice for someone who is new to this?"

 

[Ecnalab]

The young woman's eyes lit up. "Oh, have you met that mage they travel with? What is she like? Is it true those tattoos go everywhere?" The list of question went on, as the young woman's eagerness got the best of her. She also failed to notice that, as she leaned over the counter in her excitement, her generous breasts hung low under her, giving Aedan a clear look down her blouse, if her cared to take it.

 

[Weiss Ritter]

"I, uh..." The barrage of questions almost made Aedan take a step back. It seemed the curiosity that burned within the mage's own heart had failed to prepare him as well for like-minded scholars as he would have liked to believe. "The tattoos are...very extensive! And complex! The protective wards they form are..."

The young man's gaze flickered down an instant. Not long enough to count as a stare, but just long enough that it might have been noticed. Long enough for the shopkeep's more than ample cleavage to be memorized and imagined.

"for...formidable." A few steady breaths helped the flustered man calm down. A few questions of his own managed to push to the forefront of his mind against the freezing tide of shock and embarrassment. "You...you have an interest in magic, or are you just...curious?"

 

[Ecnalab]

"Oh, I've always been interested in magic," she replied. "Being able to move things without touching them, or light fires with a look, just sounds so fun," she said, leaning back a bit. "Don't know if I'd ever trust a mage to teach me, though. If the ones that come from Levarene are anything to go by, they'd probably just use a spell to try and look through my clothes, get into my pants, or something." The shift in her tone toward the indignant at the end, struck Aedan as odd. Either this woman had some strange ideas about how mages spent their free time, or maybe she spoke from experience.

 

[Weiss Ritter]

A frown tugged Aedan's lips downward. The shopkeep had personal experience with perverted Levarene mages? That was...concerning considering how far he'd come banking on at least half of his homeland's claims about their decadent godless neighbor being slander.

Yet, the mage's whiff of displeasure quickly gave way to a more bewildered expression. Electra's caravan-mates weren't shy about their bodies by any measure, but they hadn't even joked about relieving the stress of weeks on the road. It was hard for him to even imagine the stone-faced sorceress herself lowering her guard enough for the sort of carnal intimacy Charrla's embrace exposed him to.

"Levarene mages come here often?" Aedan cocked his head with naked curiosity. Electra claimed to be an inactive knight-enchanter. Reading material on Levarene wasn't easy to come by in Hastnur, as least none that was blatant propaganda, but it was difficult to fathom that any kingdom would just casually let mages trained in such arts roam so freely. Their gifts could be abused, stolen, or...or...was he really looking at things objectively, or still through the Antavian prism?

 

[Ecnalab]

"Well, Levarenes who know some magic come through with the caravans, now and then," she explained. "I wouldn't call them mages, though. Some flashy lights, and colored smoke is the best most of them can do. Still, they think that's enough to impress some of the local girls into the sack. At least, until they find out that we have mages to."

 

[Weiss Ritter]

Aedan wasn't quite certain whether to be relieved or disappointed by just how petty the magic of these Levarene "mages" could get, to say nothing of their lack of vision. Something else the woman said caught his attention, though.

"That's right, you do..." He all but mumbled to himself, thinking back to the elderly man atop the palisade. "Where do your mages come from? Or are they from Levarene as well?"

 

[Ecnalab]

"Hmm, oh the druids?" she asked. "They have a big lodge out in the woods, near the mountains. Probably a few of them actually, now that I think about it. And, no, they are not from Levarene. Every now and then, one of them will take a young boy back with him for training, after he finishes whatever business he has in town."

 

[Weiss Ritter]

"Oh?!" Aedan visibly perked up at that. An entire tradition of mysterious and exotic mages allowed to develop their craft without a leash, Antavian or otherwise, restricting them? It was a veritable wellspring of arcane knowledge just begging to be tapped! A glimpse of what his future could hold once his journey came to an end!

"How far from here are they? Less than a day? And-" The young man paused. A hint of a frown took root in his youthful features once rationalism caught up with sheer excitement. "...They don't share their secrets with outsiders, do why? And why only take boys? I understand...distractions but surely they don't want women's talent to go to waste."