A Different Sort of Alarm

[Devyn]

(Closed to Cards of Fate)

There were lots of perks to being a budding inventor. For example, there was no lazy boss yelling instructions at you, no irritating co-workers ready to pounce on your every mistake, and there was absolutely no risk of getting fired. There were no huge deadlines to meet aside from your bills, and, the most important reason of all: being a budding inventor allowed your creative talents to blossom into their full potential. Yes, being a budding inventor was all well and good. That was a fact of life Devyn Tarrendane wholeheartedly believed in.

Unfortunately, even the best of things seemed to have a downside, another rather disappointing fact Devyn Tarrendane was forced to confront.

While running for her life, she found it much too easy to believe.

Had her pursuers been human, remarkably less fit, and preferably with potbellies or wider waists, Vyn wouldn’t have minded being chased in the slightest. She could run fast enough to escape a slow runner, a fast human runner, and most species should they happen to be out of shape. However, that was not the case, and so she found that she minded quite a bit. Being chased through the streets of Ettermire wasn’t as fun as it sounded, especially when it was by two unsatisfied Dark Elves with a thirst for Tarrendane blood.

Why must I be so fucking short? Why must being short alter the speed at which you can run?

Vyn chanced a peek over her shoulder and instantaneously turned to face forwards once more, green eyes wide. The streets nearby El'inssring were crowded, and rightfully so. It wasn't known as the Great Tavern for nothing. In fact, everything seemed rather crowded. The sky was a sharp cerulean blue but had clouds scudding across its expanse in patterns that seemed to draw the attention inwards, like the roof of their world was slowly folding around its inhabitants. The wind was non-existent, with the air almost completely stagnant, save for the breeze caressing her skin as she ran. Buildings flashed past, signs and ads fading away as quickly as they came, the only constant thing the Tavern/Inn to her left. Traffic in the streets proved to be both an advantage and a disadvantage as Vyn weaved her way in and out of the crowd, elbows flying left and right like daggers. I really don’t want to die right now…

Her curly hair wasn’t helping matters either, as the pins had fallen out minutes before, leaving the unruly mass of dark brown to flop free. The flyaway curls constantly lingered at the edge of her vision, just begging her to blow them out of sight. As well as getting in the way of her vision, her hair seemed determined to stick to her head as closely as possible, while at the same time, getting in her way even more. Vyn turned her head to the side in order to spit a hair out of her mouth and pushed her goggles back onto the crown of her head, nose scrunching up. Her callused hand came away sticky and rather damp, so she wiped it on her leggings before pushing the pace again to make up for time lost.

A wordless cry came from behind her, only spurring the woman to run ever faster, her muscular legs pumping unceasingly. It seemed to be either a cry of pain, a battle cry or a threatening cry. A cry of pain would have been nice, but as the cry sounded again, only closer, she dismissed that option. My golly, these elves are fast. I can’t keep going on like this… There were more options, though, and so Vyn changed her pace, tucked her arms to her sides and charged forwards, ignoring those that she knocked aside.

Letting loose her own battle cry, she pummeled her way into the thicker crowd, people a blurred mass of vivid colours, sweat, and soft flesh. With iron rods banging at the hip, leather jacket flapping and goggles sliding down her forehead, Vyn was probably an odd sight. It was most likely even odder to see the same small woman leap headfirst into a crowd, push those who got in her way aside, and periodically glance over her shoulder. An act like this was bound to gain some spectators.

More and more angry shouts echoed from behind her, prompting another, more horrified glance back. It seemed that quite a few people were not very appreciative of a nice elbow to the ribs. In fact, they seemed quite enraged, or at least angry enough to chase after her. Oh, shit.

All this because of one mishap as well! It was a simple mistake, which could easily have been smoothed over with a bit of wine and some idle chatter. The Dark Elves- whose alarm (one of her latest inventions was a variant of a normal alarm) had inexplicably exploded instead of ringing- hadn’t taken kindly to some singed hair and a burnt shell of a bed. They should have been thankful their house hadn’t burned down. Apparently, they didn’t see it that way, though, and so they had decided that if she didn’t want to give a refund; they would have to beat it out of her. They seemed like the violent sort.

By now, a mini-mob had gathered and the majority of the crowd had scattered, leaving the way clear for both her and the people chasing her. Focus, Vyn, focus. Just keep on running. Maybe they’re less fit than they appear! Narrowing her eyes, she shot one look back over her shoulder and then back in front, only to run straight into another person, bouncing back onto the ground, scowl already fixed in place. Really? Not only did she have a mob on her trail, her ass was quite sore, and she had run into probably the only person on the street. Being an inventor certainly had a darker side than she had expected.

“I s’pose you’re gonna string me up next, huh? Hand me over to the horde? Make a huge fucking ruckus over a different sort of alarm?”

[Cards of Fate]

(OOC: Sorry it’s kinda short and rushed. I was struggling to get something and I didn’t want you to be left waiting.)

“I s’pose you’re gonna string me up next, huh? Hand me over to the horde? Make a huge fucking ruckus over a different sort of alarm?”

Vincent Cain stumbled back slightly, precariously balancing a delicate porcelain cup filled with amber liquid. A small droplet splashed onto his immaculate purple robes, and the scholar let out a hiss. His sapphire eyes snapped to the woman before him, and then darted to the oncoming storm of people. ‘What do we have here?’ he mused to himself. He had all sorts of questions for the young woman, but doubted he’d have time to speak to her here. He chewed his lip for a moment, his blonde hair blowing in the breeze. ‘Fuck it, I didn’t have any plans for today anyways’

Without speaking he took a quick sip from the cup, and then snapped it out of existence in a spark of blue light. As the crowd closed in he cracked his knuckles and took hold of the woman’s arm. “Take a deep breath.”

CRRRRRACK

They were gone in a flash of blue, leaving sparks of teal electricity dancing where they had once been. Instead the pair found themselves reemerging with a flash in a dimly lit coffee shop, which elicited dirty glares from the other patrons. Vincent motioned for the woman to take a seat at a nearby empty table before taking a seat himself. With another snap he retrieved his still steaming cup from a cloud of blue sparks. Crossing his legs he narrowed his eyes at the woman before him.

“So what did I just snatch you from?

[Devyn]

Vyn wasn't sure what reaction she'd been expecting. Maybe something along the lines of anger, confusion or disdain. She certainly hadn't expected the man to struggle with a teacup and then transport her far, far away from the angry mob who seemed to really dislike her. Yes, she was thankful. After all, he'd just saved her from possibly getting her limbs torn off, plus had saved her from having to hand in a refund. Refunds were the absolute worst, since not only did she have to pay someone, she also had to waste resources. However, he was a complete and utter stranger. Vyn was pretty sure it was breaking random stranger etiquette to sort of kidnap someone. What sort of motivation would one have to do that?

The woman had quite unfortunately not taken a deep breath, and so the second she appeared in the coffee shop, she doubled over, wheezing. Stupid teleportation. It felt like her own lungs were clawing at her, dragging her breath away before she could fully register it. Hair flopped all over the place, and so as she straightened once more, round face red, she brushed it back, carefully not to insert any fingers. If that was to happen, her hand would surely be stuck in there for a very long time.

Ignoring the other occupants of the coffee shop who didn't seem to take to teleporting customers, she sat in the designated seat, green eyes focused on the man in front of her. He was tall, slim and a blondie with sapphire blue eyes. There was nothing physically extraordinary about him, and while he was generally attractive, the man was rather normal looking. However, there obviously was something less-than-normal about him, seeing as he could teleport and make teacups vanish into thin air.

The man took a seat too, and Vyn watched in silence as he too took a seat, and with a snap of his fingers, retrieved his cup of tea once more.

"You didn't have to do that. I was perfectly fine without you, and can take care of myself," she said, disregarding his question for the time being. The answer to that was both a bit embarrassing, and also, well, irrelevant. While it might have been her fault that the alarm clock exploded, it certainly wasn't only her fault. The elves hadn't specified what type they wanted, just one that would wake them up. It was almost guaranteed that her alarm clock had woken them, and so really, she'd done her job. She just hadn't done it in the way they wanted. You couldn't request a refund because of that! So maybe their room was a bit damaged. It could be repaired. Hair would grow back as well. Their personal problems were not hers to take care of, and certainly not hers to pay for.

After a few moments of glaring intensely at the wooden table, she glanced up, eyes blazing.

"I made them an alarm clock, it didn't work the way they wanted it to, and so they wanted a refund. I don't do refunds."

[Cards of Fate]

Vincent peered over his cup at the woman he had snatched from the chaos. It seemed his gesture had offended her in some way. He listened to her story with feigned, disinterest until she mentioned the alarm clock. A thunderclap cracked through his subconscious, sending flashes of light dancing across his vision. A million garbled conversations filled his head; a myriad of glimpses of the infinite possibilities filled his eye. His mind cleared in an instant, leaving only a phantom ringing in his ears.

Fate had made itself clear.

Without skipping a beat the scholar took a sip of tea and pretended to wince from how bitter it was. “Needs more sugar….” He mused aloud. He beckoned over to one of the workers, who instinctively brought a tray bearing a jug of cream and a small pot of sugar. The scholar spent several moments adding cream and sugar until his drink was just the right milky brown color. After his charade was done, he turned a more critical eye upon the woman before him. Ever since his promotion to the role of Emperor, one of three leaders of his enigmatic organization that searched out the world best and brightest minds, he had been plagued with visions of the past and future. He never knew when they would erupt, but usually the signified something important. Perhaps this woman was a key for an upcoming endeavor of his, maybe he needed to commission an alarm from any mechanic, or perhaps fate was screaming at him to steer clear of her.

Vincent lacked the skill to truly know.

On closer inspection, the woman seemed rather non-threatening. He had no doubt he could take in her a fight if she didn’t have any tricks up her sleeve. He was well aware of every weapon she carried on her, and as far as he could tell she didn’t have any tricks up her sleeve. He chewed his lips and began to speak.

“They wanted a refund?” He raised an eyebrow. “And the others? Did you mass produce a bunch of shoddy products? Or was it the mistake of untrained Aleran factory workers?” The waitress bearing the tray of sugar shot Vince a dirty glare, only to be shooed away with two weeks’ pay on the tray as tip. A subtle power play to let his acquaintance know he was quite wealthy.

As Vince dealt with the waitress, he noticed the woman once again out of the corner of his eyes. For a moment he could have sworn he saw the visage of another friend sitting across him. His eyes snapped back and the illusion was gone.

‘Rayleigh…’ the thought tugged at his heartstrings. Suddenly he couldn’t see the mechanic in front of him without thinking of his dearest friend. Stranger or not, Vincent knew he had to help her in manner or another. He chewed his lip and awaited her response.

[Devyn]

Devyn sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose with callused fingers, shaking her head slowly. People were too easily angered and prone to destructive emotions. Just because someone elbowed you in a rush didn't mean that you chased after them. Just because you might have been offended, internally bleeding or simply winded didn't mean that you had to physically harm the unfortunate person who caused the mess. That was the problem with sentient beings. They disliked those who did nothing wrong and further attempted to harm them no literally no reason at all. Plus, if they had just moved out of her way and let her go, there would have been no trouble or injuries in the first place.

"Well, I obviously was runnin' from the elves..." she said slowly, green eyes darting up to the stranger's face. "And some people take an elbow to the gut very seriously. They couldn't have just moved, and so found themselves being forcefully removed," she paused to shrug, green eyes darting away for a moment before finding their way back to the man. "They didn't take too kindly to that,"

There was no apparent harm in telling him what happened. The man could come to whatever conclusions he liked, but she didn't care much for that. Vyn was most irritated with herself than others, though blaming innocent people for her troubles was nice. After all, what type of inventor or mechanic couldn't even manage to make an alarm clock without having it explode? For the last few months, something wrong had happened. She had lost her touch, or whatever it was, and now, she couldn't even make an alarm clock. Of course, it would all come back. This had been an attempt to grab whatever was blocking her by the throat and throttle it till it turned blue in the face and passed out. Instead, it ended up exploding. I guess forcing yourself to work through things doesn't always turn out the way it's said to...

Still, having him assume that she was somehow incompetent, or couldn't handle herself was an absolute no-no. While being underestimated might be a good thing in some scenarios, Vyn really wasn't in the mood to fight random people from the street, and she had no idea of his capabilities either. He could teleport and make teacups vanish. That surely wasn't the extent of his powers, and she had to be cautious, in case his intentions turned out to be hostile, as unlikely as that seemed.

"I've been in a slump, and can't craft anythin' for the life of me," Sighing, she leaned back into the chair, seemingly more nonchalant. "Who're you anyway?" she asked sharply. He was mysterious, but not the typical kind of mysterious with the black hood and shifty nature. Instead, he was more of an eccentric kind of mysterious, the reasons behind his actions completely invisible to her. The man could be anything, whether it be a clown or a hired hit-man ready to shoot her at any time. Who knew what lengths the elves would go to get that refund?

"I assume that you don't normally go pickin' people up and droppin' them in coffee shops,"

[Cards of Fate]

The scholar peered over at the mechanic sitting before him as she went on and explained her predicament. He turned over her words carefully in his head, trying to weasel any falsehoods from her statements. As biased as her words seemed, she didn’t seem to be lying. He took a moment, letting the ambient silence of the coffee shop to set in. Occasionally a dish would clink or clatter as someone stirred or set it down. Finally, after about a minute Vincent spoke.

“I am…” he paused. “Vincent Cain, a business man from Raiaera.” It certainly wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t everything. The scholar paused and let his words sink in for a moment before continuing. “Me and my friend Joseph make our fortune chasing the markets, buying things when there is an abundance and selling when there are shortages. We deal in every major country this side of the world, and we even have some assets off in Dhethain.”

Vincent set his cup down, cracked his neck, and then eyed the mechanic up and down once more, not hiding the fact that he was sizing her up. “As for why I scooped you up and brought you here…well…” A grin played across his lips. “I find that the best employees in this field tend to be troublemakers you see. I found my partner by taking a hit out on myself, and I found my righthand man fighting pirates.” He raised the drink once more to his lips and took a sip, draining it of all liquid before snapping his hands and making the cup vanish.

“Who’s to say I won’t find the next greatest mechanic running from an unruly mob in Ettermire hmm?” The scholar raised an eyebrow as he spoke. “I have an eye for talent, and trust me dear; you have a…spark about you. I can see that given the time, a place to work, and the budget, you could make wonders happen.” The scholar smirked once more, crossing one leg over the other as he eyed her down a bit. He hadn’t lied so far, snippets of her future had danced before his eyes, and he was impressed with some of what he had gleamed. He raised his hands up and rubbed the bridge of his nose, feigning some internal debate.

“How about this…” he trailed off as he chose his words. “I would like to offer you a job, but I don’t like my workers having a bad reputation about them. How about we track down those gentlemen and sort things out? I’ll take care of the refund, but in exchange your first project for me is free?” The scholar waited a moment and then waved his hands. “And don’t sweat material or living expenses, my company will take care of food and shelter for you.”

[Devyn]

The whole situation was quite surreal, and while Vyn certainly was delighted, some things seemed too good to be true. Vincent Cain. A businessman who was willing to hire her, take care of an unwanted refund, plus pay for her living expenses and projects. Someone who believed she could accomplish something big, and was ready to support her, even after hearing how she'd messed up. It was the perfect opportunity.

Recently, her siblings had become more successful than ever, and she'd last seen them happy and content. Her father- being his normal, cold self- hadn't seemed unhappy, and so she could leave without worrying too much about them. After all, she'd probably be able to visit them still. Now that she thought about it, there really wasn't anything holding her back. Her period of rent had ended, and her landlord was waiting for the next payment- one that might never come. All of her belongings could be easily packed up, and no furniture was needed. She could ditch at any time.

Vyn sucked in her breath as the concept really hit her. She could go with Vincent to his... whatever it was, and focus entirely on what she loved, while working for him and gaining more experience as well. She could leave (and visit occasionally of course), and get away from this city filled with memories and smog. It was like the chains constrained her had melted away, leaving her free for the first time in years. There were opportunities aside from her mundane life, and she could focus without having to worry about rent or how much she could eat for dinner. There were details that would need to be discussed of course, but after thinking about it, Vyn felt nothing but excitement. It fizzled through her veins, and while no smile appeared on her face, her green eyes shone brightly as she gazed into space, head tilted.

"That would be..." her voice trailed off as her eyes snapped to Vincent's face, still alight. "That'd be great. I do need to know more information, though," she said firmly, hands clasped on her lap. Just jumping into this without thinking of the specifics and what the job would entail would be very bad. Though she highly doubted that this was a scam of sorts, (it could just be her hopefulness speaking, though) finding out its true nature after having accepted, moved out and entrusting her future to this strange man would be disastrous.

"Where in Raiaera is your company based?" Vyn asked, eyebrows furrowing. "What sort of jobs and things would I be doing?" If it was something like making alarm clocks or mass producing shoddy objects, she wasn't too sure if she'd enjoy that type of thing. Vyn wanted to do something with a purpose, and while mass producing things was all well and good, plus necessary, it wasn't her type of work. Doing what factory workers did, or something that anyone could do wasn't too inspiring. While the man seemed like he believed in her abilities, it could also be a way to hook her in. However, assuming that would be like saying that it wasn't possible for anyone to truly see a spark in her, and Vyn wasn't going there. She knew she had the "spark", and she would prove it, even if it meant following a mysterious man to a unknown location in Raiaera.

[Cards of Fate]

The scholar beamed as he watched the reality of the situation set in for the mechanic. He watched her turn over his words, he watched her consider her options, and finally she spoke. ‘This is the best part of the job’ he thought to himself. ‘Giving the world to someone who never thought they could have it.’ The scholar brushed an errant blond bang from his face and tapped his fingers on the table as he waited for all of her questions to spill out.

“We’re mainly based out of Beinost at the moment; it’s one of the easternmost cities in the country and one of the only ones still standing from The Corpse war.” The scholar let this info set in for a moment before continuing. “It’s rather empty though, most people fled Raiaera when Xem’zund ruined the country with his legion of the undead and scarred it with the gnarly plague of his. Beinost is on untainted ground, right on the coast, and for the most part my company controls it. The Raiaeran government is all in exile, praying some hero will come along and save the day. Bearing our seal, you’d be walking around as practically a celebrity.” The scholar leaned back and cracked his neck.

“As for the nature of your work, well, we’ll start you off with some smaller tasks and then work our way up. Recently I have come into the possession of some…classified schematics being worked on over here. The nature of the machinery is truly astounding, leaps and bounds ahead of anything we’ve seen being pushed out in the public eye. As for what you will be doing, well, let’s just say some of the machines you will be working on will change the way the world works forever” The scholar smiled and folded his hands neatly in his lap.

“The end goal will be to have you working on machines that will help administer the cure to the necrotic plague in Raiaera. My company has been dedicating a large portion of its profits into the research and development of a cure. We’re still struggling, however, because the very nature of the plague is to make it deadly to the flesh of mortals. But machines? Machines cannot be turned into zombies, and machines can handle tainted soil without fear, machines can capture specimens and run experiments.”

The scholar’s eyes beamed with excitement as he spoke. “Should your work be an accurate demonstration of the spark I see in you, people would be hailing you as a hero! They’d consider you a herald of a new age in Raiaera, an age of peace and prosperity. And if that doesn’t tickle your fancy for whatever reason, I can guarantee our success would bring more than enough profit our way to compensate you handsomely for you work.” The scholar stopped his speech and sat back, eyeing the mechanic up and down once more trying to read her body language. It dawned on him that perhaps he had said too much, that he’d possibly overloaded the poor woman with information, but what was done was done.

“So, what do you say?”

[Devyn]

Devyn listened attentively as the details were listed, and her excitement grew. It was basically all she'd dreamed of, and even if it didn't come the way she'd expected it to, who was she to complain? Should she accept his offer, she'd be able to do so much. If successful, she could cure a plague, she could do something in this world where so many others had lived and died without leaving a mark. She could make that mark. Cities would rise and fall, eons could go by, and yet, there'd be evidence that she had been on this planet, even unacknowledged. If she was to be successful, the plague would be eradicated, and it would affect generations and generations to come.

Beinost sounded manageable, and if she could see her family before leaving, all would be pretty much perfect.

The man's excitement and passion shone through while he talked as well, dispelling most of her doubts about his sincerity. Though there were many amazing actors out there, he didn't seem to be one of them. Vyn doubted that someone could fake something like this to a very high degree, and so at his questioning of whether she was up for it, was appalled that he thought she'd decline.

"I say yes," she said happily, beaming at him without restraint. After having offered her a job and the reduction of her refund, Vincent was no longer a stranger to be treated carefully, but a very useful acquaintance she was happy to learn more about and let into the spectrum of her gratefulness. The rush of happiness and contentment that she'd been lacking for so long overcame her, and so Vyn had no qualms about letting the man see how much this meant to her. She was sure she'd probably regret it later, but for the time being, it was irrelevant.

"I'll be able to visit and say my farewells 'fore I leave, right?"

[Cards of Fate]

The scholar beamed back as the mechanic as he snatched her hand from the table and shook it heartily. “Welcome aboard miss…” the scholar frowned for a moment. Suddenly he felt incredibly stupid. “Pardon me, but I don’t think I ever caught your name!” The scholar chuckled at himself slightly. In all his excitement, he’d forgotten to even learn the woman’s name. After laughing it off he simply let of her hand and ran it through his hair nervously.

“My names Devyn, Devyn Tarendane.” The woman replied smiling

“A pleasure to meet, and hire you Devyn!” Vince smiled rising to his feet. “Of course you will have time to say your goodbyes! Take your time. I’ll be spending some time trying to track down those angry gentlemen whom you owed money to. When you’re ready to head out you should head back here and wait if I haven’t shown up. If you want a drink or some food, let the lady at the counter know to put it on my tab, you’re part of the RoC family now.” He patted the woman on the shoulder, and with that he was off, vanishing into a cloud of blue sparks.

…

Outside on the streets Vincent stalked the rooftops carefully, his sapphire eyes honed in on each individual below. He’d located the two angry dark elves about an hour ago, and he’d been following them carefully, doing his best to stay out of site. They way they’d treated the poor girl was inexcusable, and he was going to be the one to dispense some justice. He bided his time, waiting until the two has slipped into a dark soot filled ally. Counting to three, the scholar leaped from his vantage point and pounced on the two men. They didn’t even have time to react; they were simply down for the count, knocked unconscious. Grinning, the scholar gave them each a hefty kick in the ribs to leave them with a souvenir , and spat on them.

“Next time you should treat your hired help a little better…: he quipped before walking away. He had plans to make, and things to do.