|
Post by jenee on Apr 27, 2008 20:57:48 GMT -5
Morning dawned upon Traveler's Meet as it always did. The sun peaked over the horizon, and shops were beginning to greet the city by unlocking their doors and switching from 'Closed' to 'Open'. Jyrra was up early this morning, sorting through various piles of herbs and appearing to be in a cheerful mood. Overall, she was feeling incredibly light-hearted, having improved in her studies over the weeks since her first lesson. Humming, she stuck random herbs and remedies into jars of different sizes, walking back out of the workroom to the main shop where she stored the different herbs where they were meant to go. She was completely oblivious to the sinister plans occuring only a few buildings down.
Four figures were gathered in an alley nearby the shop, each dressed in black cloaks. The hoods were drawn up to shadow their faces, though their eyes glinted from their depths. "Let's get this over with quickly," the smallest muttered, her eyes scanning over her three comrades. "I don't want to draw the attention of wanderers or the authorities. Do we all know what to do?" The other three nodded. Rin smirked. "Good."
|
|
|
Post by m!chelle--✗ on May 24, 2008 15:31:47 GMT -5
Jaclyn bounded down the stairs two at a time, and nearly bowled into Jyrra as she pranced into the front room to open the shop. "Well, someone's up early!" she chirped. "Sleep well?" The young woman headed for the door to unlock it, but paused to straighten up one of her jewelry displays, glancing at Jyrra for her reply.
|
|
|
Post by jenee on May 24, 2008 15:39:05 GMT -5
Jyrra nodded, her fingers tracing over the jars lined up along the wall. "Mhmm," she replied. Even the tone in her voice seemed to have changed. "And yourself?" While she waited, she ran a few things through her head. The herbalist had decided earlier that morning to stop by to take a brief walk through the town to catch up on the current news drift, and planned on leaving soon.
|
|
|
Post by m!chelle--✗ on May 24, 2008 15:44:33 GMT -5
"Fine, fine. What's on the agenda for today?" Jaclyn hopped over to the door, peering out for a few moments before waving her hand over the glass to unlock it. She turned back with a slight frown on her face, although the expression was puzzled rather than worried or angry.
|
|
|
Post by jenee on May 24, 2008 15:47:17 GMT -5
"Nothing much," Jyrra replied simply. "At least, not as far as I'm concerned." She turned and walked over to the coat hanger, grabbing her cloak and fastening it around her shoulders. "I'm going to go out for a quick walk. I should be back in about an hour, and I'll try to stop by the bakery to pick up something for lunch," she offered.
|
|
|
Post by m!chelle--✗ on May 24, 2008 15:53:41 GMT -5
Jaclyn's frown deepened, but she nodded slowly in agreement. "Alright, see you later..." She trailed off, thinking hard, and then added, "Jyrra? ...Be careful, okay?"
|
|
|
Post by jenee on May 24, 2008 16:04:38 GMT -5
Jyrra nodded at the first phrase, then paused at the second, her hand hovering over the doorknob. After a few seconds, she finally pushed the door open and, after closing it behind her, headed out into the busy streets of Tarlonia.
Rin, meanwhile, remained positioned in the darkness of the alley, keeping her eyes on the charter mage as she parted into the crowd. "That's the one...that must mean the other one is still in the shop," one of the other three mentioned into her ear. She nodded...he, after all, had been the one who had spied on them a while ago.
|
|
|
Post by m!chelle--✗ on May 24, 2008 19:16:51 GMT -5
Jaclyn watched her go with shadowed eyes, the frown still etched across her face. Then she shook herserf, pushing away the ominous feeling, and went about her daily work trying not to worry about whatever her instincts told her to worry about.
|
|
|
Post by jenee on May 24, 2008 21:57:39 GMT -5
The group moved to a different alley farther down the road, though one stayed behind to keep an eye on the shop. Rin waited, her arms crossed, while the other two stood beside her. When Jyrra passed by the alley, one of them, with an unbelievable amount of speed only obtainable through his magic, grabbed the mage's wrist and pulled her into the alley. The action took place so quickly that the traveler's in the street took no notice to Jyrra's absence. Everything went by in a blur during those few moments. The mage could only gasp as she was suddenly yanked out of her course and into the darkness of the alley, where she was quickly released and surrounded by the three sorcerers. Rin was in the center. Once she caught her breath, Jyrra became aware of her surroundings using her spell, and quickly got into a defensive stance. Charter marks began to form around her hands. "I don't think you'll find that very neccessary," Rin remarked, glancing at the visible spell as it formed. Yes, this was definetly who they were looking for. "We're here to talk, actually, and it would be appreciated if you heard us out." "Talk?" Jyrra's voice was low, though noticeably confused. She didn't let her spell fade.
|
|
|
Post by m!chelle--✗ on May 24, 2008 22:06:59 GMT -5
Jamison came down a few minutes later, not looking quite awake. He yawned widely, and mumbled a 'good morning' to Jaclyn, who was still straightening up the shop, before he headed out to his workspace. Jaclyn sighed, and cast another glance out the front windows. Something still tugged at the back of her consciousness, as if she were... missing something?
|
|
|
Post by jenee on May 24, 2008 22:10:37 GMT -5
"We're here with an offer," mentioned one of the others-the one who had found Jacyln and Jyrra in the first place. When she was silent, he continued. "First of all, let us introduce ourselves. Our names shouldn't be of any concern of yours right now, but we all come from a land farther north from here...and we all belong to a group of sorcerers. Our leader is very powerful and wise." "And how does this concern me?" Jyrra hissed, her blank eyes narrowing. "Our offer-" the third, who had been silent this entire time, continued. "-is something that I think you would take an interest in. We know you struggle with blindness, Jyrra...your sister is teaching you how to use charter magic now, isn't she? To make up for that lost sense?" Jyrra clenched her fist. "How do you know that?" "We have our own ways of knowing." Before Jyrra could say anything else, Rin spoke up. "Our leader gathers sorcerers from all kinds of lands, offering them a position as one of his followers. We are here to make the same offer to you." "No, thank you," Jyrra said flatly, and turned to walk away. She walked into something beyond her magical sense, preventing her from continuing. Rin held the force field there, her hand glowing red in the darkness of the alley. "You haven't heard everything we have to say." One of the others, who had spied on the triplets before, stepped forward. "What is it that you want most, Jyrra?" Jyrra was silent, frozen in place. "Sight is such a valuable part in most peoples' lives. You've been a burden on your siblings for so long, haven't you? They always have to help you. And while your sister is teaching you how to use magic, do you really believe you can match her in skill? Or your brother? No, your studies are only slowly progressing. But our leader can speed up your training...he can help you discover new limits to magic that you wouldn't have thought possible." Jyrra turned to face the direction of their voices. "He can even give you the very thing you want most," he continued smoothly, stepping forward until he was right in front of Jyrra. He raised two fingers-his index and his middle finger-to her forehead, and his hand began to glow. Jyrra winced as a sharp pain seared into her mind, but then it numbed. She blinked, instantly noticing that something was different. It was still dark...but Jyrra could make out the outlines of the people in front of her, and the small amount of light that made it into the alley made it possible to see the glint off of...were those eyes? After a few seconds-an amount of time that barely allowed her eyes to adjust-the young man pulled away, and she lost sight once more. Jyrra couldn't say anything, only lean against the wall, dazed.
"He can do that, and teach you spells that are incredibly powerful. You have the potential to learn." The mage still couldn't say anything. Even if those few seconds presented even the tiniest example of sight, she began to realize how much she was missing...Jacyln and Jamison always got to see something so much bigger than just outlines and eyes...that must have helped them greatly throughout the years. What did sunlight look like, then? People? Flowers, snow, towns, mountains? Magic? She also saw a glow around the smallest figure's hands...what color was that? "What do you say?" Rin inquired. Jyrra seriously thought this over. What about Jacyln and Jamison? The sorcerers were right..she still believed that she had been a burden on them for too long. And power...Jyrra couldn't bring herself to face the matter, but she had the desire for it. To become stronger...to be able to fight on her own and come out from the shadows of her siblings' protection. Jacyln would no longer be troubled to teach her. They wouldn't need to concern themselves with her...they'd all be better off this way. Jyrra finally nodded, shaking. "I'll go," she murmured, her voice almost a whisper. Rin smirked. The other two glanced at her, and she nodded at them. The one who had spied on the triplets before stayed behind, while the other slowly formed a vortex of dark light that would transport them back to the Dragonlands, then stepped through it. Jyrra followed after him, determined. The three triplets of Traveler's Meet became two.
When they were gone, Rin and the other headed back to the alley where they had originally been, meeting up with their companion. Without a word, they departed for the shop. Out in the sunlight, their hoods were still drawn over their heads as they crossed the busy road, but cloaked figures were common in Traveler's Meet, so they didn't attract a lot of attention. They entered the shop, the small bell announced their arrival as the door opened and closed. Rin looked at Jacyln, then at her comrade, who nodded. This was the one Xoran had been looking for.
|
|
|
Post by m!chelle--✗ on May 24, 2008 22:34:48 GMT -5
Jaclyn looked up, startled by the entrance of the three hooded figures. "Can I help you?" she asked, fighting to keep her voice even and her expression under control.
|
|
|
Post by jenee on May 24, 2008 22:40:22 GMT -5
Rin slowly pulled her hood down, as did the others. One, the one who had viewed Jacyln's and Jyrra's lesson, appeared to be fairly young, with black hair and dark eyes. The other was a woman, perhaps the oldest of the three. Rin was certainly the youngest, her navy blue hair and pointed ears perhaps the first noticeable thing about her, though she usually hid her elfish features in the shadows of a hood. "We're here with an offer."
|
|
|
Post by m!chelle--✗ on May 24, 2008 22:42:10 GMT -5
Jaclyn raised an eyebrow, but kept her face otherwise emotionless, smooth and calm. "Oh? And what might that be?" she inquired, curiosity pricking in her thoughts.
|
|
|
Post by jenee on May 25, 2008 11:45:57 GMT -5
The male glanced around. "This is quite the place you have here," he commented. "We've heard of the residence of a Charter Mage in these parts of the town. After some investigating, we have managed to trace the rumors to this residence. Apparently, there's two of you.
|
|