clues to the past (closed. PM me if you want in)

[Ivana]

It was a new day for Ivana as she awoke in a city she new nothing about, though come to think of it, there was a lot she knew nothing about. She knew her name was Ivana, and she new she had a fancy version of the infinity symbol on the back of her hands. She knew that she also wore a gold medallion with the exact same design on it. the design, when examined closely was actually one long arm curved around in the sideways figure eight pattern that is the infinity symbol. There were hands pointing at each other, touching fingers where the infinity symbol connected in the center. This had to mean something, but Ivana was clueless as to what it meant. In fact she didn't have a clue where she got the medallion or why she was wearing it, she only had the inkling that it meant something important to her.

Another thing she didn't know was why she had the mysterious power she had. She was able to open doorways to anywhere she'd been before, as long as there were walls and she could picture it. Perhaps that is how she ended up in this town, wherever it was. Perhaps she had escaped through a doorway to here, but that didn't explain why she couldn't remember much before that point or why she didn't know where in the world this city could be.

Then there were the visions, brief memories of the past. She remembered teaching in a combat school, which she found highly weird since she didn't consider herself that good at combat. She could use a weapon, sure, but only barely.

Getting to her feet, Ivana decided to take a look about town to try to determine at least what town it was. It looked like a merchant town to her. There were quite a few armor shops, weapon shops, and various other shops. She barely had any money on her, and what little money she did have she was saving for the necessities, like food and a change of clothes. Because of this, she really didn't plan on even tempting herself by window shopping, but there was something that caught her eye, something she knew in her heart was way too expensive. Inside a display case in the window of a weapon shop was a diamond studded emerald staff, but that was not what interested her about it. The decoration on the end of the staff was a sapphire, and inside that sapphire was the exact same symbol that was on her medallion and on the back of her hand.

Ivana's heart skipped a beat. She needed that staff. She didn't care what it cost. She ran at full speed, barely even noticing that she almost ran into a few people as she rushed in through the door. "That staff! I must have it! Where did you find it? What is the cost?" Ivana blurted out as soon as she was inside in an overly excited voice

[Artur Al'Rand]

Artur wandered aimlessly through the marketplace. The crush of humanity sickened him. The stench of poverty and disease. Corruption, hatred, mistrust, dishonesty. All the more prominent here, in the largest commercial district of the largest city in all of Althanas. The Bazaar. But to keep the image of humanity about him, he had to interact with human society. He preferred the solitude of the forests, the inexplicable, savage beauty of the wilds. He had to brave the crush, however. His identity in this world was that of a solitary trapper and fur trader, and it would look odd if he suddenly dropped out of communication.

He had been here to exchange furs for gold, and having completed his mission, he had some extra gold to spend. He rarely carried much, preferring to travel light, so he needed to spend it. Noting an interesting weapons shop that a woman had just run into, he walked over to the window to observe. He surveyed the shop, studying the beautiful weapons laid out on the displays. His eyes were immediately drawn to a well crafted hunting bow, carved in leaves and vines. He wanted to study the bow, possibly purchase it, so he moved to the door and entered. A bell hanging on the jamb rung, alerting the attendant, who was trying to calm down a hysterical woman, seeming upset over something. The attendant motioned for Artur to wait, and then pointed to a shop hand that could help. As the shop hand moved over, Artur picked up a plain longsword, and smiled. It may have looked simple and unadorned, maybe even inexpensive, but the blade was well balanced, expertly crafted, and amazingly sharp.

“Good choice, sir. I crafted that blade myself. One of my better works.” He smiled shyly at Artur, his stance suggesting he was uncomfortable with strangers. Artur turned the blade in his hands, examining the subtle and delicate patterns etched in the metal of the blade.

“If this is only one of your better works, I would be amazed to see what your best work would be,” said Artur, taking a few experimental swings with the blade, and sheathing it. He set it down on the table, and moved over to the bow he had entered to examine.
“And who made this one? It’s well made.”

“Mistress Lauren. She is exceptional with any form of woodwork,” the boy said.

“And how much for this piece?” Artur inquired.

“The price starts at three hundred gold. I’m not allowed to haggle prices, but when Master Elar is done with this woman, he can help you.”

“Thank you,” Artur says politely, and, leaving the bow, walks over to the shop owner and the woman. He stands there, relaxed, one leg out, arms crossed on his chest. The woman was still in hysterics, so he decided to try to intercede.
“What seems to be the matter, Ma’am?” he asks, looking directly at her. “Maybe I could help?”

[Tshael]

"My dear girl," the master said, his voice lulled into soothing tones. While not a fit for everyday, there had been times when the sparkling staff had lured in those who were besot with it's beauty. "The staff is nothing you'd like for everyday use, you see. It's just a trinket for our shop, a very expensive trinket. The gemstones alone are worth thousands of gold!"

He heard his apprentice going on, lying out his teeth. The boy could barely stand outside of the smith without blistering from the heat, and yet here he was, bragging about his craftsmanship. Elar would have to have a word with him, again. The boy, however, was only serving to make Elar forget the importance of the matter before him. There were bigger things on the horizon today, and the matter of a pact that needed keeping. Jerking his full attention back to the woman, the master readied a kind smile. He asked, as he always did, the one question that he had promised to the cowl-hidden face all those years ago.

"Now then, my dear, what was it that attracted you to our beautiful display piece? Perhaps there is something that could be done here to make everyone happy."

[Ivana]

Despite having been expecting the price to be as high as it was, Ivana was noticeably downtrodden. When the man asked her what attracted her about it, and what attracted her to it, however, she had a bit of renewed hope. Taking out her medallion, she placed it on the counter, and pointed to the symbol on it, making sure to also reveal the same symbol was also on the back of her hands.

"I've been living my life in a fog, so to speak. I can remember bits and pieces of my past, but I don't know much outside of who I am. I know, that this symbol has something to do with it, and your trinket seems to have the same exact symbol. I won't ask you to sell it to me, as I understand you have to keep your business up, but I would really appreciate if you'd tell me where in the world you found this treasure."

There wasn't much she could do but hope for the best here. There were a ton of things that could make that request an impossibility or lead her astray in her quest to recover her past. The thing could be a duplicate, or it could have been traded multiple times before the shop got ahold of it. Heck, for all she knew, the shopkeep might remember incorrectly, or maybe the symbol was copied from someone who wore the exact same symbol somewhere on them like Ivana did.

After all these thoughts ran through her head, she decided to add on to what she said earlier, as she put the medallion away. "Any information you might have on the symbol would be useful. Anything you can tell me about that staff and how you acquired it would also be nice, but I'd like something to go off of, then I'll be out of your hair."