Invigorating Changes [OnexOne, DNP]

[Korbaras]

This is a private role play between Korbaras and shmallow. Feel free to read all you want, but please refrain from posting.

[Korbaras]

Arys

”I need a love potion”, the enormous woman said with a girlish laugh. Arys squinted through the smoke and dimness at the woman, briefly wondering how she had managed to fit herself into the small shed that he called a workshop.

“Just give me a moment”, he answered with a voice that was hoarse from a day breathing smoke. He turned his back towards the woman and scanned the shelves with dusty bottles for the right one while absent-mindedly scratching a cheek that was covered by a two-day stubble.

“Of course, dear”, the woman squeaked and burst out in that horrendous laughter again. Arys winced at the sound and was relieved to have found the bottle. He took it down and put it on the make-shift table.

“Put something of your love in it. A strand of hair. A drop of blood. Then you put something from yourself in it. Wait until full moon and make sure that you both drink it.”

“Oh, thank you!”

“No problem. That’ll be two silvers.” The woman left the money on the table and then somehow pushed her heavy bulk through the small door. As soon as the door closed Arys sank down into a chair and let his brown eyes rove through the small space, a frown on his brow.

“Another love potion”, he sighed. That was all these villagers ever wanted; love potions, fertility charms, a charm to make the crops grow. He was dreadfully tired of playing the hedge wizard, even though he had only been at it for a few weeks. He had tried to offer the villagers real magic, but when he had explained to them that he couldn’t make someone who hated them to love them they had only stared at him blankly. He had said that it was immoral to tamper with people’s emotions, and that he could only enhance already existing emotions anyways but they wouldn’t listen. They had come to him demanding potions and charms. He had once again tried to explain how magic worked but they still wouldn’t listen. After a while he had given in and started to sell strangely flavored water and picked up a new hobby of stringing odd items together into meaningless charms. That none of the items he sold actually worked didn’t seem to bother the villagers.

“Time to go home soon, eh?”, he said aloud and was answered by a baleful glare from his tiny assistant demon.

“Yeah, I know”, Arys answered the demon’s silent stare. “I wouldn’t want to be skinned alive either. But he must have forgotten by now, right?” He didn’t believe his own words. Deric wouldn’t forget the scandal Arys had caused, even though they were friends.

If he had simply acted quicker he could have tampered with Deric’s mind and he wouldn’t be in this mess, but the shock and hurt on the face of his friend when he found Amelia and Arys together in bed had put him off. Before long everyone among the nobility of Lorn knew about the affair and erasing the memory of such an amount of people would have been an overwhelming task. Arys had chosen to flee the city instead.

“Alright, seems that we will be stuck here for a while then”, he said, and tried to sort out the black mess that was his hair with his hands.

“Stupid, stupid human”, the demon hissed at him.

“No need to be so belligerent, Sparky”, Arys replied lazily.

“If you hate it so much here, move! There are several other cities besides Lorn.”

“Nah”, he said after a few moments of silence. It would be too much of a bother to gather up his stuff and move. And he missed the beauty of spring in Lorn, his home, he didn’t want another city where he would be nothing but just another stranger.

“You lazy son of a b***h”, the demon whispered, gnashing his pointed teeth together. “Do you know what I would do to you if I were free? I would resume my original size, then I would use you as a toothpick! Hah! And after that…”

Arys stopped listening to the creature, his imaginative threats had stopped being amusing quite some time ago. Sometimes Arys played with the thought of freeing the demon, just to see the look on his face when he realized that he wasn’t a giant in this realm, that Arys hadn’t shrunk him after all. But no, even a minor demon could cause mischief.

“I think I’m going out for a while”, Arys said. “Take good care of the customers now, Sparky.”

He left the small shed and the contrast between the dimness inside and the harsh sunlight outside made him blink his brown eyes like a newly awaken owl.

[shmallow]

A young woman sat on top of the town church looking down at the market below. It was the highest point in the whole town and lord knows how she got herself up there. She was sitting on a the bell tower and positioned right on the edge, her feet dangling casually even though the incline on which she sat was deathly steep. Her rust colored eyes scanned the crowd below with a glint of mischief.

Her name was Selavine. She grew up in this town until the age of 12 when she got very bored and decided she needed to see the world. Though the fact that the whole town was kind of tired of her didn’t leave her much of a choice, she never regretted leaving. She visited from time to time over the years but she never stayed long. Just long enough to check on her parents and to make sure the rest of the town didn’t forget her.

This time it has been about 2 years since she has been home and boy did her mom have a lot to say. Mostly she wouldn’t shut up about the new hedge witch in town. She blabbered on and on about how the widow Delfy was using his love potions to try and swoon the married Mr. Hitch. Or about how their neighbors were using his charms like mad in their garden for all manners of reasons from scarring away supposed gnomes to making their flowers brighter.

The entire hedge witch nonsense definitely piqued her interest. Other than her own mischief not a whole lot of magic has seen this small town. She definitely wanted to meet the man who was causing such a stir and of course applaud him. This place needed something other than the occasional adultery and theft.

She knew where his shop was but she also knew like any kind of sane person it’s hard to sit still in this town. So before going to his store directly she decided to stake out the market. Besides it gave her the best vantage to check up on her old neighbors. She didn’t see any new faces yet. New faces in this place tended to be babies and the occasional traveling trader. But it wasn’t the time of the month for the traders to be coming through.

Lost in observations of the widow Delfy eyeing Mr. Hitch and his wife she failed to notice her furry companion creeping up from behind. Pip, her small spider monkey friend, was creeping up onto the peak of the bell tower. Carefully he bunched himself up and in one fluid movement flung himself at the back of Selavines head with a screech one could call a battle cry.

Selavine twitched to life at the sound and with a mere flicker lifted her hand behind her and snatched the back of his neck before collision.

“Tsk tsk Pip, you know me better than that,” she said with a smirk as he chattered madly in her grasp, clawing at her hand to be released.

She laughed and tossed him up before letting go so he could land on her shoulder, “hold on tight!”

He barely had time to wrap his tail around her neck and grab hold of her braid before they were air born. Tucking herself in she somersaulted through the air down to the ground, stretching out at the last second to land without a sound on her feet. She landed right next to the widow Delfy giving her a fright.

“You brat! When did you get back in town? I thought we had an alarm for you,” she growled as she clutched her chest.

Selavine merely shrugged and her eyes flickered in the direction of Mr. Hitch, “you might have notice my return if you hadn’t been so fixated on someone else.”

The widow balked and looked around wide eyed to make sure no one had heard before scuttling off without another word.

Pip slapped her on the head and chattered on probably about how much of a nuisance she was but Selavine merely grinned and started walking through the small crowd looking for her quarry.

OOC| Didn't want to have her run into him too quickly as I didn't know what he might be up to and she may want to stalk him. xD

[Korbaras]

The small city made him restless. He knew who all the people were, and none of them were interesting enough to intrigue him. It did actually have a tavern that served decent ale, but then again he had no one whose company in which to enjoy it. Oh, the villagers were friendly enough, almost too friendly, bordering on intrusive, but none of them had the refined tastes that he was used to in Lorn. He missed the gambling nights were discussions centered on the latest poetry and philosophical discussions about the concepts of beauty, life and happiness. Here, all they discussed were each other and their crops, animals or work.

He walked without a plan, occasionally stopping to pick up strangely coloured stones, feathers or sticks, all of which he dropped into a pocket of his oversized jacket. He found that his walk had taken him to the marked, where most of the small town’s citizens seemed to be crowded together. He decided to take a look at some of the wares, maybe there was some useless and curious item he could use for something, but found that within moments he had attracted a small crowd. He found himself saying things such as “Did you get rid of those mice? Is your cow feeling better? How did it turn out with those crops? Oh, don’t tell me, you’re pregnant, aren’t you?” The last inquiry was asked to a squealing young woman with rosy cheeks and heavy curves and she nodded in delight. He could not help but to marvel at how these people all attributed their success to his charms or potions, when his goods were in fact useless. He had a theory revolving around the power of faith, but he had never held much interest in arcane matters and would not be able to research the issue here even if he had wanted to.

He stopped at the blacksmith’s stall, the man looking at him with small eyes from a heavily bearded face and muscled arms across a broad chest. The goods displayed were all of fine quality, ranging from horse shoes to kitchen knives, but none of them were interesting to Arys.

“Do you have any more left-over metal, preferably with aesthetically pleasing forms?” Arys asked of the large man.

“Ye only want useless things, why don’t ya buy something of this here?” The blacksmith asked him, his voice deep and dark, but with a teasing tone.

“They’re not useless,” Arys protested, and his mind worked fervently to come up with a better explanation than that he didn’t want to spend money. “You see,” he started and hoped that the blacksmith would tire of him and give up before he had to come to a plausible conclusion. “In order for an item to work in my charms, they will need to be as free from human influence as possible; otherwise the charm might become unbalanced. When you create a knife, for example, you give to the metal a purpose and a life and it is difficult for me to –“

“Ah, alright,” the blacksmith interrupted him. “Come by the forge tonight and ye can go through the scraps.”

“Thank you,” Arys said before he continued down the line of stalls. He stopped in front of an old woman selling vegetables and bought a sack of potatoes.

“Are those for your potions?” she asked, her eyes clear and curious.

“No,” Arys replied with a smile. “Even a wizard must eat you know.”

[shmallow]

It didn’t take Selavine long to find who she was looking for. He was the only one in town she hadn’t seen before. Stuck out like a goblin in a field of unicorns. She decided it would be more fun to watch him for a little while. He was already at the center of a small crowd as the men and women of her tiny town mobbing him to share their trivial problems. How could he stand it? She had to give him props for putting up with their trifling matters. Wherever he came from had to be more interesting than this, which made her all the more curious about him. He didn’t look like someone that you would find in an area like this. Too pretty faced to be a commoner. And the way he held himself told her he was definitely a higher class wizard than a mere hedge witch title.

When she followed him to the metal worker she had to withhold a snicker. She may be well out of any normal ear shot, but she had her ways to amplify conversations for her own observation. Her pupils turned to slits as she focused in on the scene. The exchange was simple enough but it still left her snickering. He was a cheap son of a b***h for a wizard that’s for sure. Angus the blacksmith was usually pretty cheap too. He must be keeping good face for when he needed something from the wizard in the future.

When he got to the potato stand she couldn’t hold herself back anymore. Hiding in an alleyway around the corner she crouched down and whispered into Pip’s ear. In a flash he was gone, darting into the crowd, his tail curled with mischief. Selavine’s form shimmered and suddenly she was gone from view. It was time to see how good he really was.

Back at the stand where the wizard was purchasing his potatoes a rotten vegetable from behind the stand suddenly launched forth at him. Following behind it was Pip, armed with a variety of rotten vegetable and preparing to fire without mercy. The stand owner screeched and ran to grab her broom to swipe at the little demon.

While this distraction proceeded an invisibility cloaked Selavine slipped in behind the wizard and in a well-practiced movement she slid her hand inside his pocket and aimed to pick out a few of the rather useless stones he purchased earlier in the market.

OOC| Sorry it’s a little short. Exam week + a 6 day week of work fried my brain a little bit. >.< Now you can either let her pick his pocket or he can catch her, its up to you. I figure if he’s storng enough to sense magic he will notice her even with Pips insanity. xD

[Korbaras]

As he was about to leave the vegetable stand and head for home, something that looked like an old tomato only missed him because he acted quickly and took a step to one side, then noticed a furry little creature carrying more vegetables. He frowned at it, curious as to why it would be carrying such things, which was soon answered as it grabbed another vegetable and seemed to take aim at him once again. He just had time to notice that the old woman who owned the stand had found herself a broom and seemed to momentarily distract the monkey.

He suddenly felt an unpleasant tingling along his skin, as all the hair on his arms stood up in reaction to magical energy. Had he been truly interested in magic, his instinctive response would probably have been to guard himself. As it was now, he looked in the direction of the energy but saw only empty space. There shouldn’t be any magic out here; none of the townspeople possessed any talent. He felt uncomfortable, yet still intrigued by the breach of normality. A few muttered words under his breath and a slight effort gave him true sight. The Sight distorted the world, turning it into a dazzling insanity of colours. Instead of seeing the exterior of a person, he viewed their auras, as personal and differing as a face, with colours shifting and moving in patterns that could be read if one had the necessary skills. He hadn’t bothered to learn it.

What was interesting was that there was a person right in front of him, he could see the aura through a shimmering veil of magic. One of the person’s hands was in his pocket and he felt a sudden fear that Deric had sent a bounty hunter after him. He did not know what he would do if he would find himself in such a situation. Would he flee again? Resist the bounty hunter? Follow meekly? Did he perhaps actually want someone to fetch him back to Lorn, so that he could make amends for his misstep?

“What do you think you’re doing?” he asked harshly, looking at the aura of the thief. He could not read whether or not the person was a man or a woman and he dared not drop his Sight, for fear that the person might flee.

[Don't worry about post length. I don't require you to write a certain length, I usually write as much as I have inspiration for. I also understand that you might have other things to do as well. Also, I'm having an exam next Saturday, so I might reply a bit erraticly.]

[shmallow]

Selavine smirked in the shadow of her cloaking magic as the wizard flung around to face her. She slid her hand out with ease resisting the urge to truly pluck anything and stepped back out of arms reach. It’s not like he had anything worth stealing anyways. Her real prize was knowing he could sense her, that was no small thing. He alarm was a lot more than expected though. For a mere theft he looked more frightened than angry which wasn’t right for someone with magic. Who would fear a simple pick pocket?

She let the invisibility spell dissipate and as her form wavered into human sight she turned her head to the sound of screeching. Pip had turned on the stand owner and had begun pelting her with the rotten fruit as she bat at him with the broom. He chattered like mad with a grin so large there was no question he was having a wonderful time. Selavine snorted and shook her head before turning back to the alarmed wizard. Placing one hand on her hip her eyes ran him up and down.

“You are no mere hedge witch,” she stated completely ignoring his question and his frazzled state, “what fun. And here I thought my visit home would be as dull as the last. Instead I come across a swindler magician who enjoys taking advantage of this town’s stupidity as much as I do.”

There was a loud bang and the stall exploded with vegetables as the owner banged it repeatedly with the broom missing Pip every time. Selavine sighed as more and more people came to see what the uproar was about. She didn’t want everyone to know she was back yet. Where would the fun be in that? Turning she brought her fingers to her lips and let out a sharp whistle. Pip dropped his antics without a second thought and lunged at Selavine, landing with ease on her shoulder. His chest was puffed out in pride as she patted him on the head and spoke a few words of praise. She then turned back to the wizard and let out a sigh.

“I suppose I went a little too far with my fun and it might ruin the rest of my stay if I let them realize who was just here. How well is your sight wizard? Can you keep up?”

Her eyes flashed with mischief and suddenly both her and Pip was cloaked from sight. Turning she dodged through the thickening crowd with a speed and ease no normal person could keep. If he couldn’t keep up or decided not to follow he would see her soon enough, because now that she knew he was far from his shop it was time to check it out for herself.

OOC| Wasn’t sure if you were going to have him follow or not, or if mayhaps he beats her there. So short again. >.> And I have an exam and lab this week and my mom is in town, so I will be spotty as well.

[shmallow]

ninja