Wandering Aimlessly (Closed - Logan and Rehtul)

[Rehtul Orlouge]

The ancient forest of Concordia... the thought came unbidden to the elemental mage as he looked up into the immensely tall trees, deep into t he bright green canopy that spread and otherworldly light through the surrounding area. He could feel the heat of the tropical forest bearing down on his body, even though the shade of the trees did offer some solace from the bright, burning rays of the midday sun.

Sighing, he whisked a small metal container from his backpack, taking a swig of the cooling water within as he continued to look into the trees. There was magic here, but not the kind he was looking for. The great forest of Concordia was a place where natural magics abounded, but it was lacking in any sense of elemental magic. While Rehtul had learned a little bit about natural magic, he had come to conclusion in his youth that the magic was to primordial for him to control effectively. He turned his head toward one of the nearby giant trees and placed a single hand upon the bark.

Pulsing like blood through veins, the magic of the forest was easily identifiable if one merely took the time to listen to the voices carried by each individual type. Here, within this dense and unconquerable wild land, the magic of nature itself, chaotic, unpredictable, and feral, ruled.

“I suppose elemental magic could be considered a more controlled form of the more general natural magic, though,” the mage admitted to himself, pulling his hand away from the bark, bright green energy surrounding his hand before he dismissed the light and placed his hand in his pocket. “Perhaps one day I’ll have the time to properly devote to studying the natural magics of the world. One day... but not today.”

He adjusted his small, mid-back length cape to fit across his shoulders a little more snugly and decided it was best to probe deeper into the forest. While it was true that he was not having any luck finding the magic that he had been looking for, he didn’t want to come back without at least something for his efforts. Sei would not be happy that he took four days off from his duties within the Knights without at least having something to show for it.

An hour later, he was deeper into the forest, but still couldn’t sense anything but pure Nature Magic. Sighing, he stopped in his tracks and leaned against a nearby tree, closing his eyes as he placed a single finger on his right temple, rubbing in slow circles to ease a sudden pain behind his eyes. He slowly slid down to a sitting position and laid back against the tree, head leaning back toward the sky.

“Damn,” he said to himself, realizing that his search was going to end up fruitless no matter what he did. He thought back to Sei, telling him in no uncertain terms that there was no magic for an Elementalist within the forest, to which he smartly replied there would be no knowing unless he himself went to find it himself.

“I was certain I’d find something...” he said, his teeth gritting slightly. “Please... I don’t want to have to admit Sei was right.”

His whining certainly seemed to catch the attention of someone, or something. The bushes to his right were rustling.

“Wonderful... just what I need,” he said, opening his eyes and standing up. “A visitor.” Just as he was about to arm his ice magic, the creature, a white swan, erupted from the bushes, taking off toward the sky.

“Well, that was certainly not something you see every day,” he muttered as he bent down to pick up his discarded backpack. He bent over backwards, popping his stiff back as he thought about his next move.

“I won’t let him be right...” he muttered under his breath as he hefted his pack over his shoulder and looked around, wondering which way to go.

[Logan]

The psion was the first to wake up, rolling over and kissing his sleeping friend on the top of the head. She continued sleeping, though he wasn’t the least bit surprised. The two had quite the night, and even he felt the physical exhaustion working its way through his body once more. A smile crossed his face as he looked down at her slumbering form. Silently, he counted her breaths before leaning down and kissing softly on the cheek. As if on cue, she stirred but then rolled over and returned to her deep sleep. Logan chuckled quietly and then slid from the sheets, leaving her to enjoy the comfort and warmth of his quarters.

He clothed himself silently, slipping his swords into their hilts with the slightest of sound. Again, she stirred, but returned to her sleep without even opening an eye. As he dressed, he wrote a short note and left it on the small nightstand next to her. The psion pulled the sheets up around her and tucked her in a little tighter. His lips pressed against her temple as he whispered softly, “sleep well.”

With that, he exited his quarters and headed through the Retreat toward Daemen’s office. Logan already knew he would be pestered endlessly by his friend, but there was work to do and the business of the Bandit Brotherhood waited for no man...and for no woman for that matter.

The psion knocked on Daemen’s door and before he finished the third rap on the wood, the door opened quickly.

“Well, well. Look who decided to leave his bed. About time, there’s a visitor close by, and I’m pretty sure they aren’t here for us.”

Daemen motioned to the window and the psion obliged by peering out the glass. The form of a man deep in the thickest part of Concordia came into view as Logan squinted his eyes to clear the view.

“Any idea who it is?”

A pause followed then a nod.

“He’s an Orlogue.”

There came no response, and Daemen didn’t really need one. He knew precisely what the psion was thinking. Logan had already met almost every Orlogue, even if the family tree did cover virtually ever person in the greater Radasanth area. This guy, though, he even felt different to Logan, like there was something special to him.

“Well, then, Daemen. Sounds like we have an acquaintance to make.”

Daemen smirked and the two set off toward the man to be acquainted, swords readied.

[Rehtul Orlouge]

The forest was immense, and there was bound to be something out there worthy of study, but Rehtul had neither a map nor the supplies to invest in an expedition into even the outer heart of the forest. Sighing, he wiped his forehead with the back of his sleeve before fishing out his canteen once more to take a drink. A sudden shiver went up his spine and he turned on his heel swiftly, his eyes scanning the area.

He didn’t see anyone in direct line of sight who could be spying on him, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d just been looked at, and in a very intense manner. He reached up to the back of his head and scratched it lightly, searching his memories for any way that it could be done without his knowledge, and without the offending party being caught.

“Scrying magic?” he thought aloud. He had heard of it, and seen his father use it multiple times in order to keep tabs on his brothers, including that raving lunatic Ciato. Thinking back on Ciato, he could still remember the older man smiling slightly when he realized Rehtul’s own Mystic Protection was very similar to his own, instead of a concentrated blast of light, like his father’s. Rehtul himself didn’t care at the time, knowing that it would be a tactical advantage over anyone who knew his father’s Protection, and expected his children to take after him.

Thinking back to the day of the scrying, though, he could see how it would work. Someone with any amount of magical ability could look upon someone else, using a specific kind of crystal as a viewing glass. Hell, there were even people out there who could magically enchant mirrors to do the same thing, even those smaller ones that women used when they had their make-up on the go.

Sighing, he knew he would be unable to track the source of the magic and demand an explanation of why he was being spied on. However, he could assume that the people who were taking such an interest in him would likely come to visit, and sooner rather than later. Perhaps he was a little too close to something they were doing for comfort, but he did not want to jump to conclusions. He could feel his body tensing as he began to worry, paranoid about what this could possibly mean.

Breathing deeply, he forced himself to relax and take stock of his surroundings. Right now, the best thing he could do was avoid panicking, as it would do little more than make him ineffective if he had to protect himself. He glanced around and found a thicket of trees, too crowded for anyone to sneak through, and planted himself at the base of one of the trees, fishing his Elemental Ice book from his backpack and delving deep into it.

He would wait half an hour. The people who had sought him out would have just that much time to find the young man before he gave up on his plans for acquiring research material and returned to Radasanth. The mere news that there were people in Concordia who had a vested interest in spying on an Orlouge, while not research material, would be enough to keep Sei off his back about a wasted expedition.

He quietly licked his finger and turned the page, waiting for what would come next.