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(Conclusion Post)
Dreams and memories were a funny thing.
The last time he encountered The Dark Wanderer was in his youth...
Many centuries prior by mortal reckoning.
He was dreaming of The Dark Wanderer at that point his mind remembering the epic clashes and duels they use dto have on the plains of Ayenee...A jolt of pain forced him out of his exhausted state.
"You looked so peaceful in your sleep. Almost felt bad waking you up right there." She said calmly.
He looked at her his eyes were glossed over at that point. "I was dreaming of him..."
"The enemy you mean yes?" She said in response. "While you were sleeping the rite was completed. Your blood is very potent." She said calmly. "I am going to make a deal with you." She said out loud.
Archanex nodded he was not sure if he was half awake or still dreaming.
"I will grant you freedom from your current state for a price." She said.
"You don't understnad the way this works." Archanex suddenly said to her. "Like it or not we are bound now." He looked at her and half expected her to strike him.
"You meant what you said back there didn't you?" She asked.
Archanex nodded. "I will always be yours for what it is worth. For ALL it's worth."
She kissed him deeply at that point...there at the end of all things.
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The corridor was dimly lit when Sage peeked out from the room he had used to infiltrate the estate. The more he saw the more it became quite apparent that these people did not 'Live' here but were using it as a base of sorts. It was a hideout positioned so close to town and hidden under the noses of the guards and newly minted adventurers seeking fame. The young mage quietly closed the door and retreated back into the room and stared at the blood stained floor long and hard as he contemplated his next move.
Escalating the situation was certainly a possibility he decided, but he also felt that to do so would be foolish even if he did have the element of surprise. He did not feel as though his combat capabilities would allow him to win any sort of conflict or prolonged assault and he was not sure how many of these cultists there actually were and believed more could be waiting further inside.
But they were doing something, plotting something that nothing good could come from it. He was resolute in his opinion, after all no group that called themselves the followers of apocalypse that want and mugged random young mages could ever do anything benevolent. Not one that had history like the Followers of the Apocalypse.
Something was also gnawing at him on the edge of his perception, a scent on the wind or the gentle hum of magic that was beginning to permeate the estate so much that it made his skin tingle not unlike how his eldritch Bolt spell tingled his skin whenever he held it in his hand.
Sage wanted to know what was going on, and yet he also wanted nothing more to do with this place and the duality of his thoughts on the matter made him ever more hesitant to want to commit to any sort of action.
"But the followers of the Apocalypse is not something I want to get involved with" Sage said quietly and sighed trying to come to a decision.
Doubt an unease lingered in his mind but soon crystallised in a course of action that made the wavering boy resolute in his next choice.
But before he could commit to his choice Sage and his familiar perked up with the sound of footsteps that began to creep up the stairs and steadily began to stride ever closer. With a curse at his own indecision Sage retreated around to the other side of the bookshelf that dominated half of the room and knelt down low while his Crow also ducked down low behind a bust of a mans head atop the bookshelf so that it awarded him a better view of the entire room.
"Yeah, yeah, I got it already" A mans voice grumbled outside of the room before the door swung open and a man in his late twenties strode on through before stopping to turn and shout something to one of the other guards downstairs. "Its just in the chest right?"
A distant voice called out a "yes" from further within the estate and the man grumbled and made his way towards the chest on the other side of the room. Sage closed his eyes tightly and tried his best to ignore the sense of dread that lingered at the strangers close proximity. Through his familiar he was able to what the man clearly and what he was doing. He was rather weather beaten and wore a leather jerkin and a quiver of arrows slung over his shoulder though he was missing the bow. He did however have a sword resting at his sides and a dagger located within the small of his back. 'Dangerous' the boy categorized, and off put with how he looked like several of the other adventurers that he had seen down by the towns entrance.
Then the man stopped abruptly and turned to the door that lead to the balcony that had been Sage's entrance. He cursed and scoffed and slammed the door shut with a grunt of annoyance. Sage held his breath while the man opened up the chest and retrieved a crystal blue sphere that was the size of a goblins head.
The sight of it sent a shiver down his spine as it reminded him of the marble sized ruby red sphere that he was also currently carrying. His current experience with such magical spheres was all that great. The sphere had a magic presence about it that gave him Goosebumps just looking at its clear blue surface.
"Is that a Scrying Sphere?" Sage wondered in awe, While he had personally never seen one, he had seen illustrations of such an artefact before and thought the resemblance to be uncanny enough to doubt it was anything else. But where had they gotten there hands on such an item?
It became apparent to the boy that these Cultists were collecting an assortment of magical artefacts, and were Sage to look closer into the estate he was sure he would be able to find a regular treasure trove of all kinds of magical goodies. Sage was not the first young aspiring Mage that these Cultists had mugged and he was certainly not going to be the last, not until this infestation was rooted out of Stonevale and soon.
Sage felt as though he had just been given an opportunity and he felt compelled to take it.
Sage abruptly dashed out from the cover of the bookshelf with an eldritch bolt already pulsing to life within his palm, and the line of sight his familiar had on the bandit was efficiently relayed back to him and allowed the boy to plan a flight of path for his spell for his spell even before he was even able to see his target with his own eyes.
The spell was already mid-flight by the time the bandit head begone to turn around to investigate the noise Sage's robes had made and the spell had already punched into his back like a Warhammer and sent the man colliding headfirst into the wall beside the chest before he even had time to even see his assailant. The Sphere dropped onto the floor with a heavy thud and rolled in the boys location as he scooped it up into his robes and hastily rushed back outside onto the balcony while ignoring the concerned shouts that echoed from within the estate.
It was time to leave.
Sage dropped down from the balcony while his familiar took to the skies once again to keep overwatch. He cut across the yard and once again used the same spell that propelled him upwards and sent him sailing over the wall where he landed in the street beyond with a small grunt at the rough landing. He peeked into his robes at the sphere of his own ill gotten gain he was after all, a Wizard and not a Rouge or a Thief but he currently had no time to dwell on his actions. He stashed the orb back into the folds of his robes and made off down the street until he no longer had a clear line of sight with the estate and rushed around the corner of one of Stonevale many homes when he realised he had forgotten to breath.
Sage sucked in a deep breathe and let himself fall backwards against the brick wall and just allowed himself to breathe. He thought of nothing save for what an incredibly and stupidly rash decision he had just made. All for what, a stupid magical orb that he had no idea if it actually was a Scrying Sphere.
"Oh, right, and while I think about it" The boy whispered and held out his hand and called out through the ether to bring his grimoire to him. And then yet another stolen item that the followers of the Apocalypse had wrongly taken was whisked away from the estate and fell into the boys waiting hands.
Of course He could have done that right from the start, but that would have given the game away, and not to mention with the disappearance of two items it may lead the followers to think that there had been two thieves and not just one. And besides, not summoning his Grimoire back at the start had not only given him the perfect opportunity field test his Familiar spell.
The boys eyes turned to the sky to spy the crow as it swooped in to find a perch the edge of his grimoire where it cawed with pride.
…Which was a resounding success. But it had also allowed him to identify and formulate several advantages and disadvantages by having another set of anonymous eyes keeping overwatch. But his investigation had also uncovered a source of Cultists, the followers of the Apocalypse and that they were collaborating with Goblins who had been a constant menace in Stonevale for what seemed like an Age.
If there was a downside in his actions today was that his rash actions may have tipped off the cultists that their cover was blown and that they may end up relocating before Sage could tip of the town guards or a group of adventurers before they stormed the place. Sage pushed himself away from the wall to make for the guard station that had been in the centre of town, the sooner he could get word out about the cultists the sooner any plots that they had would be uncovered.
And yet …
The boy froze and turned to look back over his shoulder towards the shadows that began to grow darker and darker. They became almost pitch black when a dark clothed figure began to emerge and stepped into the light. Sage narrowed his eyes at the man who had previously assaulted the estate, there was a menace about him, a hostility that promised pain and suffering should he be displeased. And yet here he was stepping out from the shadows like a wraith of flesh and blood and Sage was the centre of his attention as he approached the boy with a slow confident gait.
"There are some question that I would like for you to answer" Rhoughrez said coming to a stop before the boy.
Sage weighed his options, but there was only one correct response the boy could give. The boy turned around fully and held his Grimoire close to his body while his Familiar cawed in displeasure as it relocated itself onto his shoulder. Sage considered the dark wonderer for a moment longer and nodded his head solemnly
"Very well. I will answer what I can"
((Loot: Scrying sphere
A Magical sphere that can allow the user to project memories or what they see into the sphere, if used with a familiar it can allow the user to allow other people to see what the Familiar sees))
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Name of Thread: The Seeker
Participants: Archanex and Sage
Rewards:
Archanex receives:
780 EXP
120 Gold
Sage receives:
750 EXP
5 Gold
Inclusive of 1.5x rewards
Sage granted the following as spoils:
"Loot: Scrying sphere
A Magical sphere that can allow the user to project memories or what they see into the sphere, if used with a familiar it can allow the user to allow other people to see what the Familiar sees."
EXP and Gold adjusted accordingly.
