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Wanted Wisps (11) : Small, wispy orbs are floating through the city. They can be found during the day but are far more visible at night. They seem to bob along a few feet off the ground and sometimes flicker in and out of sight. They are warm to the touch and seem to be somewhat magical in nature. Anyone can gather them in their hands; they do not quite feel solid but cannot slip through fingers or escape any container. If you find one of these, you must return it to the merchant. If you do not roleplay with him, it will be assumed that you returned the piece to hi anyway; there is no way to keep these. Please see this post for information on turning in the Wisp and claiming your prize.
Finding one of those stupid wisp things was proving to be much harder than Eliot had initially thought. After he stepped away from the barrier and checked for witnesses, he'd powered down, feeling much better when the aura that the force field emitted was much more dulled down. There was not an immediate sense of doom any longer, and that lessened the tightness in his chest and shoulders, enough that he could relax a little more while he walked around, just trying to catch any glimpses of one of these stinking wisps. He sighed heavily, starting to lose hope.
As he wandered, he finally spotted something. At first, he thought it was some neat light trick, but as he stepped closer to the floating, bobbing, little wisp of light, it moved away from him. What? He stepped forward again, and it moved away again. Oh. OH. This is that magic s**t. That the sign asked for. He considered powering up again for a moment, but the festival was just behind his back now, with having to get closer to town again, and it was way too risky to attempt that. Well, if he wanted to catch one of these suckers, he would have to be fast. Inhaling deeply, he gave chase, following the wisp as it bobbed and weaved through a park and some trees, barely dodging his grasp every time he got close.
Scowling, Eliot pursued it harder, ignoring all the warning about Will-O'-Wisps from half-remembered lore in the back of his mind. There was no way he was gonna give up, especially since that lore wasn't even from this part of the world. Who knew how correct or incorrect it would be, anyway? Besides, that was the coward's way out, and there was no way he'd be chicken when he was this close to finding out what the mystery force behind the force field wanted.
"Gotcha!" he said triumphantly as his hands finally closed around the little ball. It felt weird, but he had no time for that. Taking out his thermos of water from his pack, he dumped it out and stuffed the wisp in. It had to be worth something. Certainly something to that weirdo with the magical barrier and the strange sign. He'd have to go back the next day, when it was open, but at least he had the wisp. And then maybe he could finally figure out what was behind that crazy force field and all the feelings of foreboding he couldn't shake about it. But at least he wouldn't go in wholly unprepared. He knew nothing about this whole situation felt right. Maybe he was overusing the bones metaphor, but he really could feel it in his bones, and they quaked at the thought of going back. But that didn't matter, his fear didn't matter when there would be lives at stake here. He had to be ready to protect Earth, no matter the cost.
(500 words)
