Madness of magic

[Aryante]

It’s been a few days since Halaster arrived in Galvin’s Marina, a harbour town located seventy-five miles northeast of Fort Revenald.
Halaster had taken a room at the Sea Strom Inn, a room which sported a beautiful view of the waterfront.
When the window was open he could smell the salty smell of the water and the vile stench of sea goods regardless of the time of day.
Halaster was in high spirits because today would be the day when he would purchase transport from a Captain from Galvin’s Marina to Istre-vanka.
Istre-vanka was a place he dreamed of seeing since his master Dorian told him tales of the mysterious place when he was a young boy.
Also Halaster dreamed of founding a wizards college, where magical education would be provided along the line of strict morals.
Those morals were the responsible uses of magic, using magic to provide a better future, and to oppose magical tyranny.
Another moral that he rarely added to this small list was the creation of newer and stronger magics, a moral he had devoted himself to during his length of travel from Dorian Lightan’s abode to Galvin’s Marina.
Halaster sighed with sorrow at the thought of his master who had recently passed away, as he left his room in his burgundy robes that also bore dark blue thread trim along the sleeves and hood.
He locked the door behind him and walked down the two flights of old gnarled wooden stairs to the commons room.
Walking calmly through the entry way, ignoring the smell of cheap ale and drunkards that were still passed out on the floor.
Halaster strolled out onto the cobblestone street and stood watching for a moment as a few children playing a game of some kind together, ran by consumed with their own laughter and self-enjoyment.
Halaster cheerful grin grew across his face as he had never experienced such frivolity when he was with Dorian, who was like a father to him.
Again the thought of Dorian doused his merry mood, and so he walked down to the docks.
He spotted the Harbourmaster in less than a heartbeat, for the man was fairly old about in his fifties and was wearing a basic leather threaded jerkin with an light overcoat with a pair of trousers that matched his dark blue ensemble.
After meeting the man’s gaze Halaster approached the Harbourmaster, and simply asked in a polite business tone, “How many ships are sailing to Istre-vanka?”
The Harbourmaster gave him a sideways look and then quickly answered, “Several.”
“Are any of them taking on passengers?” The Half-elf inquired of the strange Harbourmaster that still stared at him weirdly, the Harbourmaster put his hands in his coat pockets and shook his head briefly.
“Only one is taking on passengers today, The King’s Fisher,” The Harbourmaster replied after another minute of scrutinizing his half-elven customer, before pointing to a fairly new looking vessel that looked large enough to carry fifty passengers plus the crew. Clearly thinking Halaster satisfied the Harbourmaster continued on own his way down the docks, making his rounds and charging fees to newly arrived vessel.
Halaster weaved his way through the busy dock crowds towards The King’s Fisher and climbed the gangplank onto the deck of the sturdy ship.
A crew member quickly realized that the half-elf was out of place on his ship and scurried over to see what the stranger wanted.
“What ya be needing matey? Arrr!” The grisly old seadog greeted as he approached, favouring one leg over the other revealing a slight limp.
“I wish to bargain with your Captain for passage to Istre-vanka,” Halaster told the grey bearded sailor in a-matter-of-factly tone that made the old seadog release a heavy barking laugh.
“Ay then follow me, ye young elfie!” The sailor chortled as he guided Halaster to the Captain’s Quarters, and then stopped just outside the door to say, “Well laddie go on in!”
Halaster nodded his thanks to the sailor before knocking and entering the Capatin’s cabin. He blinked repeatedly for a moment until his eyes adjusted to the rather gloomy cabin, for the room was not designed to allow any light in; so only candles illuminated the cabin making the Captain seem almost inhuman.
The Captain was by far younger than that crewmember, probably the man was just entering his thirties.
He had weathered skin, his charcoal hair was neatly trimmed and his face clean shaven. The Captain wore an almost all black outfit making himself blend in with his shady lodgings, if not for the bright red trim on the seams of his clothes he’d be invisible.
“What you want sir?” The Captain demanded sharply seemingly not in the mood for any bantering. So Halaster hastily replied, ‘I would like to purchase transport to Istre-vanka.”
“Heh! Is that so?“ The Captain grumbling mockingly before adding, “If you have Eleven gold pieces, I’ll let you. Otherwise Take a hike, Kid!“
Halaster nodded politely before searching through his robes and producing a small leather pouch that jingled slight.
After a moment of fishing through the small pouch, he pulled out five gold coins and then tossed the pouch to the Captain.
“There’s eleven pieces in there, count it if you’d like,” Halaster told him courteously as the Captain caught and squeezed the bag between his fingers.
The Captain laughed and smiled as he hide the bag somewhere in the black abyss of his clothes before saying, “Welcome aboard The King’s Fisher, you can call me Captain Garther.”
“I am Halaster Sarinox, and thank you for accepting me aboard,” The half-elf said introducing himself with a handshake and a sharp nod.
“We cast off tomorrow at three. Don’t be late for we wait for no one. Good day Master Sarinox,” Captain Garther dismissed as he turned back to a pile of charts he had been working on when Halaster had come in.
With that Halaster took his leave and went back to the inn for some honey mead and to pass the time.

[xaen]

Esteral Kilsea politely bowed to the Mason Master as he made for the door of the Stonemasons Guild, since he was done terminating his contract with the guild.
Ghost smiled smugly to himself as he made off with more money than he was actually owed, and once again the great Esteral Kilsea wizard-extrodinaire duped yet another ex-employer.
As much self-enjoyment the clash of wits offered Esteral, he wished for grandeur things and the opportunity to expand his legacy as a wizard.
“Evening Ghost,” A passing local jovially of the well known and respected wizard of Galvin’s Marina, Esteral respectfully dipped into a friendly bow as he passed and wished the man well.
Esteral grinned sheepihly when the man called him Ghost; for few knew that the nickname was given to him not only for his pale skin, but for his thieving abilities when he lived on the street before finding the Tome of Arcane Knowledge.
An item he coveted more than his own life, the tome raised the young man from his life on the street to successful spellcaster.
With a shake of his head, Esteral cleared his mind and continued on through the streets of the small town.
The sun was beginning to set and Ghost still had one more contract to void with the local Fishmongers Guild.
Hurrying along he soon arrived at the Fishmongers Guild in short order, it took about an hour though for the intern to find the Guildmaster.

“Goodevening Esteral, my boy. What brings you to my establishment at such a late hour?” The friendly old Guildmaster inquired of Ghost, when he finally sauntered into the Fishmongers Guildhall, “Where not expecting any heavy loads that require the lifting power of your magic for another few days.”

“It’s a pleasure to see again, Sir. But sadly I will not be able to assist your fine gentlemen with the next load of fish,” Esteral answered carefully to the luxuriously dressed Guildmaster, who frowned disappointedly at his chief associate and arched a quizzical eyebrow.

“What in the abyss are you talking about boy?” The Guildmaster asked concernedly as he guided Esteral through the Fishmongers Guild to his private office, Esteral courteously bowed before vocalizing his explanation to the Guildmaster.

“Sadly I’m terminating the use of my services with your guild; it’s got nothing to do with your business or an opposing company. I am simply moving on with my life, so I have come for my due payment,” Ghost calmly explained to the still frowning Guildmaster, whose frown deepened as the only known wizard in the entire region spoke.

The Guildmaster of the Fishmongers Guild nodded his head in acknowledgement of what Esteral said as he rose from the plush seat he had dropped himself into, over to a painting on the wall.
Pulling slightly on the frame, the Guildmaster swung the painting like a door revealing a small safe and then proceeded to unlock it with a thick iron key.
Sighing deeply the man pulled a large sheep skin bag from the safe, its contents clinking loudly together as he locked the safe and replaced the painting.
“Here you are fifty gold pieces for your services as agreed,” The Guildmaster grumbled as he handed the bag to the pale wizard, and then waved his hands towards the office door indacting for Esteral to leave, “Good luck in your endeavors.”

With that last statement Ghost turned and left, not really in the mood to work his swindling charm against the Guildmaster since all he wanted now was to get a stiff drink.
And what better place to get such a thirst quencher than the very Inn he was going to stay while he contemplated where next his lifes journey will go.
After another quick trek through the city’s streets, Ghost soon found the fine establishment at which he would be staying.
Esteral gently closed the Sea Storm Inn’s door behind him as he entered the Inn’s common room; casually he strolled up to the bar and ordered a glass of Venusian Whiskey.
A stranger sat at the bar not far from Ghost, the man wore burgandy robes with blue trim on the hood and sleeves.
Esteral instantly noticed the stranger’s pointed ears and slightly blue tinged skin; these tell tale signs signifying that the stranger was a half-elf, which was odd since the fair folk tended to avoid human cities and human’s in general.
His interest piqued by the oddity of the stranger’s elven heritage, Esteral picked up his glass of whiskey and moved over to the stool next to the half-elf.
“Excuse me sir. My name is Esteral Kilsea, I was wondering what one of the fair folk were doing in a place like Galvin’s Marina,” Ghost asked the stranger bluntly in a still somewhat respectful tone, as he took a sip of his Venusian Whiskey.

[Culmir]

"Gee wiz, you really think that people in this inn here will know anything about magic? really?" the tone Yllaine'Dro used with Yvaine'Dro was quite condescending as she tried to keep her slightly taller sister from storming into the Sea Storms inn.
The look she got from her taller sister was one of pure loathing as she kept her hands firmly clasped around her sisters upper arms "Think about it Yvaine'Dro!" she shouted at her hybrid sister "We're not here to fiddle around in inns, we're supposed to go find whomever it was that the Magister talked about remember" she urged.

Yvaine'Dro repressed the urge to snarl at her younger sister, she knew it was the vampire disease spreading through her veins that made her want to do that, she was fortunate enough not to have received any of the bloodlust that possessed the vile creatures of the night.
She sighed "Fine, you tell me where we're supposed to start and find this illustrious fellow that could supposedly help us out with my little predicament then" she tried to remain calm, pasting a fake smile onto her face, trying to hide from her sister that her fangs were started to extend due to the stress of wanting to go on but not knowing where to start.

Yllaine'Dro looked slightly taken aback by the quick quiescence of her sister who was generally all up for a fight and ready to push through her own way, her mother told her on many occasions that with her sister it was 'Yvaine's way or the high way' as her mother neglected the honorary Dro that was added to their names on insistence of her mothers mother.
Neither sister liked the added Dro but felt forced to use it or they'd know their grandmother would find out and possibly evoke some horrible retribution on them.
Yllaine'Dro sunk down onto a bench sitting out front of the dingy inn, she wrinkled her nose at the ripe odour of stale food and ale wafting from the place, she almost gagged "Well, we got here for a reason, though I don't know why we'd leave Istre Vanka, as The Magister said he would come there, but you insisted on coming here to try and catch him before he boards any ship and not to mention you made us go to Venusia first, and then Cyald and we even stopped on Rash Vok which I still don't understand cause no respectable magae knows not to show their face in that place." she paused, knowing she shouldn't be ragging on her sister the way she was, she understood the desperation that drove them here.
The need to find someone carrying a remarkable book, that supposedly possessed a bunch of spells that might possibly be able to help her sister.
But with an imminent war hanging on the edge of Erumara, a lot of unwilling magae had gone to ground and refused to show their abilities in any form.

Before Yllaine'Dro opened her mouth again Yvaine'Dro tucked her glowing red hair behind her ear, feeling the tips gingerly every time she did that, having gotten the idea somewhere that vampires surely possessed pointed ears and that if hers elongated it meant the vampire virus was winning.
"Listen" she started, reaching out to her sister "I appreciate your willingness to come here and try and help me out, but I have a really good feeling about this inn, something about it compels me" she locked her reddish brown eyes with her sisters startling green ones "Do you understand?"

Yllaine'Dro sighed as she held hands with her sister, noticing the razor edge her nails were getting, glancing down discreetly Yllaine'Dro looked at the hourglass around her neck, was it just her or was the sand speeding up as it fell down?
Shaking the eerie feeling that crept onto her off casually, passing it almost as if she'd shivered "Okay, I get what you mean, even though you said the same thing about the past 3 inns we went by, I'm willing to try again, and this one doesn't smell as bad, and we need a place to stay for the night, as long as we will set back out to home tomorrow?" she tried to look stern like their mother always did.

A sly smirk crept onto Yvaine'Dros face "Sure sister love" she smirked "tomorrow we'll go back home and wander around there to find this man whomever he is" she smiled, a slip of fang showing as it retracted to its normal size slowly.
Pushing to her feet Yvaine'Dro smoothed out her skirt as her sister adjusted the cowl of her cloak, Yvaine'Dro heard the sigh from her sister and chose to ignore it as she pushed open the doors and strutted in as only a 5'6" hybrid vampire could.

Yllaine'Dro rolled her eyes at her sister drama, slinking into the small inn behind her, knowing all eyes were set onto the striking form of her sister whose predator beauty always seemed to entrance male folk wherever she went since her transformation.
She headed over to the large desk behind which a burly man sat "Hi" she smiled at him "me and my sister want a room for the night, and possibly some information on the next ship setting sail to Istre Vanka that's willing to take on two female passengers"
The man eyed her curiously, his gaze slipping from her to her sister a few times "I can help you with the room, it's 10 gold coins for the pair of you as for the ship taking on women, that you'll have to find out for yourself, lot of those folk are superstitious lot you know" he spoke in a conspiratorial tone.
Yllaine'Dro nodded, having experienced that on several boat trips now "So we've noticed, but there's nothing gold can't buy" she smirked as she counted out the 10 gold coins from a purse hidden safely in the folds of her dress.
"Thank you anyway" she turned and ushered her sister to a darker corner of the room before she would really start causing trouble

[Aryante]

Halaster opened the weathered door to the Sea Storm Inn, the stench of cheap ale and stale bread assaulted his noise as he walked to the bar. He sat near a rather pale human in a simple light brown tunic and matching trousers with a beige overcoat, rather miserable looking fellow judging by the constant frown on his face. Halaster only noticed the man because he continuously kept on glancing at him; ignoring the stranger Halaster ordered a tankard of honey mead. Suddenly the stranger was sitting in the seat next to him, moment of silence past before the stranger bluntly asked in a respectful tone, “Excuse me sir. My name is Esteral Kilsea, I was wondering what one of the fair folk were doing in a place like Galvin’s Marina”
Halaster to long slow pull from his tankard before he replied, “Evening, my name is Halaster. If you must know, I am trying to find associates to help me start a guild for the magically inclined based on Istre Vanka, why?”
Before the man could answer him, the sound of the Inn door swinging open distracted Halaster as he turned just in time to see two humans walk in. They appeared to be sisters, but Halaster noticed that the taller of the two seemed almost inhuman. The tall one was wearing a seductively cut red dress and stole the attention of the room while the slightly shorter of the pair ordered a room. The less flamboyant and smaller woman wore a black cloak with the hood pulled up over top of a similarly coloured dress. Both outfits Halaster noticed bore strange a golden stitching, and both girls had thick red hair. The pair soon drifted across the room to a dimly lit corner table, Halaster felt the strange desire to go over and talk to them after he was finished speaking with Esteral.

[xaen]

Esteral politely listened to the stranger quietly as the half-elf explained that he was planning on setting up a school or something for wizards on Istre-Vanka, where magic users tended to be more public with their powers.
He was about to inquire about specifics referring to this academy, but a strange electrical chill ran down his spine.
The feeling caused him to sharply snap his head towards the door at the same instant when two flame haired women entered the quaint Inn; Esteral was so unnerved by the shorter of the pair for some bizarre reason, that he didn’t even notice that everyone in the Sea Storm was now staring at the taller of the two.
The one wearing the brilliant ruby red dress sent another electric chill down Esteral’s spine when he shifted his gaze from the black cloaked woman, though he didn’t need the subtle warning to tell him that their was something unnatural about this woman; maybe it was the unnatural red hue of her eyes, that hinted to Esteral that she was not human.
Esteral’s gaze drifted reluctantly back to the mysterious hooded woman, who rented a room for themselves and asked about a ship to Istre-Vanka.
He studied her for the whole time it took her to usher the taller and unnaturally alluring woman to a secluded table away from the other patrons.
All his examination yielded to him was that the pair of woman were from Istre-Vanka and were possibly sisters, and they seemed to be a pair of travelling nobles judging from their attire and mannerisms.
Still they unnerved Esteral and he felt the overpowering desire to depart to the confines of his private room.
Rising smoothly from his seat at the bar, Esteral politely bid his half-elven drinking partner farewell and headed for the stairs that lead to the apartments; mentally fighting his feet for control as they hastily propelled him across the room in a rather suspicious fashion.
But the power of Vestiar seemed to be shining on him for not one person noticed his rather sketchy departure, that was up until the point when his foot tangled with the leg of another customer’s chair.
With a less than stealthy crash, Esteral crashed into a crowd table causing its occupants to leap up from their seats and shout furious profanities at the magae’s prone groaning form.
Mentally chastising himself for his foolishness as he rose from the pile of splintered wood, spilt beer and four meals worth of roast pork and vegetables.
Esteral staggered a little on his feet once he straightened and proceeded to inspect the mess on the front of his tunic and overcoat as the table’s former occupants continued to scream at Ghost.
Ghost made an irritated clicking in sound with his tongue at the damp brown smear on the front of his tunic in an attempt to make it go away. It didn’t.
Turning calmly to a seething patron, Ghost politely apologized and reimbursed the gentleman with enough coin to buy another two meals similar to the one he and his fellow were enjoying; the red suddenly vanished from faces of those patrons and one even returned the brown satchel that had fallen from Esteral’s arm when he fell.
Taking it with a politely “thank you”, Ghost checked its weight and fell into a panic when it provided no resistance.
Muttering profanities Esteral dived suddenly back into the mess that he had caused and searched frantically, until his darting eyes found the object of his obsession hiding under a nearby chair. His book.
As he picked the old tome off the floor and hastily stowed it into his satchel, Esteral couldn’t help but notice the curious stares of the ladies that had prompted his flight.
Not wanting to make another scene, Ghost briskly walked towards the man behind the front desk and paid for the damaged table before scurrying upstairs to the safety of his chamber.
He stayed there for the rest of the evening and slept the night away.

Esteral rose early the next day and hurried off to the docks where the ship, The King’s Fisher, waited to take him to Istre-vanka; Ghost had wisely bargained his passage with Captain Garther a full week before hand.
Ignoring the crew on deck, the magae scuttled across the deck to the cabins below to stow his precious tome in his cabin before returning to the deck.
Back on the deck, Esteral enjoyed the early morning sun on his face until about noon when three familiar figures scaled the gangplank and they noticed him as well.
Stupidly, Esteral spun away from them and silently began to pray that he was imagining them, but sadly someone moved over to the rail next to him.

[Culmir]

Yllaine’Dro scowled at her sister is dismay, her erratic behaviour as they had entered the inn had cost them to be noticed almost immediately by every man in the inn as her sister simply couldn’t control those animal urges that were leaking through her body like poison.
It had been a mutual agreeance that they would be keeping a low profile so as not to draw any unnecessary attention to themselves, so far that hadn’t been going according to plan at all.
“Look, you really need to stop barging into places like this the way you do” she snapped at her sister under her breath as she settled at the table in the furthest and darkest corner she could find.
As her sister opened her mouth to speak Yllaine’Dro continued, cutting her off before she even got the chance to reply “we’re here to observe, find whomever we’re looking for and then getting back” she bit off at her sister through gritted teeth as she leaned over the table so she could be heard “we don’t want any people to come up to us with their problems or harass us about why we’re not fighting in this stupid war going on in Erumara, you heard they were recruiting magae, do you really want to get involved in all of that?” she narrowed her eyes at her sister who managed to look slightly ashamed.

Yvaine’Dro raised an eyebrow at her sister when she ranted off an impressive scolding directed at her, she didn’t see the harm in causing some mild disturbance within this human population, her vampire side actually craved the attention, urging her on to do more and draw in any unsuspecting victim for her to prey on.
Shock reverberated through her as she realised what she had been doing, unknowingly she had been giving into her vampire senses, the need to feed that showed through the seduction of wanting prey so they would struggle less at the moment she’d sink her teeth into their flesh and rip open a vein.
Half listening to her sisters rant now Yvaine’Dro felt her canine teeth gingerly, they did appear to become sharper the more days passed by, would as days progressed the vampire signs show more and more? Would she become affected by daylight?
Glancing down at her hand Yvaine’Dro noticed the loss of pigmentation in her once tanned skin, she was slowly turning an alabaster white like her sister who so loved to be pale.
Yvaine’Dro looked at her sister, catching onto the last bit of her words as she stared down at the table “I suppose you’re right” she said as fear gripped her heart “the sooner we find this man possessing the book the better” she added grimly as she stared across the inn silently, her vampire enhanced eyes falling onto a man swiftly rising from his stool and trying to make a speedy yet inconspicuous departure.

Yllaine’Dro noticed her sisters eyes sharpening and beginning to glow slightly as she stared into the bar, following her gaze curiously her green eyes locked onto the figure her sister was watching intently too.
She snorted as she watched the man stumble clumsily over a stool from another inhabitant of the inn who gruffly shouted a protest at the man as he leaped from his chair along with his other companions while the man himself went sprawling facefirst into the dirt covering the planked floors of the inn.
The stumble had left him somewhat unbalanced and ended up upending a table with several meals and drinks atop it at the moment, they all went sprawling across the floor with the man.
Yllaine’Dro didn’t even want to consider what vile litter could be on that floor, let alone imagine how it would be like to be intimately introduced to them in such a fashion.
She couldn’t hide the smile on her face when the man finally managed to scramble himself off the floor and attempted to clean himself off by padding down his tunic, only worsening the stains.
As the man made a polite gesture of paying the men whose meals had become floor filling Yllaine’Dro turned back to face her sister whose face remained stoically locked onto not the man, but something that had slid under a neighbouring chair.

Yvaine’Dro’s eyes had watched in slight amusement at the mans predicament as he went sprawling across the floorboards of the inn, she chuckled lowly to herself as he tried to pick himself off the floor, it was then she lost interest and swivelled her head back to her sister, mid gaze her eyes locked onto a large object lying not far from the man, hidden under a chair.
Narrowing her eyes Yvaine’Dro concentrated on her eyesight, it grew sharper as the vampire poison in her veins picked up what she wanted, a perfect view of the object which turned out to be a large weathered book.
Her heartbeat picked up instantly as she thought she recognised the faded runes carved into the back of the book, this was what they were looking for, that man had it.
She turned to face her sister, red eyes blazing “He has it” she spoke the words calmly but the infliction of her voice betrayed her excitement.

Yllaine’Dro turned back to look at the man as he dived under a chair to retrieve something that was beneath it, she caught a short glimpse of the weathered leather before it disappeared into a satchel.
Green eyes locked with the mans for a split second in curiosity as he then locked gazes with her sister before he walked briskly away to the owner of the inn and apparently made some kind of payment to him as the glint of coin glittered in the receding sunlight.
“We have to follow him” Yllaine’Dro said quietly as she rose from the table minutes after the man had made his exit up to the upstairs chambers, sidling over to the large man behind the desk Yllaine’Dro put on her most winning smile as she locked her green eyes with the man, she could already see the effects of her small mindspell taking place as his eyes glazed over slightly.
“That man who spoke to you earlier, you wouldn’t happen to know where he’s going would you?” she asked sweetly, still smiling her most convincing smile.
Dazed and confused the man belched loudly before answering “Naturally, he’s due to sail out with a buddy of mine tomorrow on his mighty fine ship, it’s called The Kings Fisher!” he smiled, showing uneven yellow teeth and a large gap where some were missing.
Yllaine’Dro did her best to keep the smile pasted onto her face as she nodded slowly, backing away slightly “why thank you, that’s all I wanted to know” she stared at the man, blinking slowly once as she released him from the spell before returning to her sister.
She sat down brusquely at the table “we need to get onboard a ship called The Kings Fisher” she stated plainly.

Yvaine’ Dro nodded once before getting up from their table “I will handle it, you keep an eye out for that man, make sure he doesn’t leave until I’m back, distract him if necessary” she spoke quietly before slipping out of the inn almost unnoticed.
It didn’t take her long to locate the ship’s captain, a little persuasion and a lot of coins later she had purchased a ticket for her and her sister, they would leave at dawn.
Making her way back to the inn she joined her sister who had remained vigilant while Yvaine’Dro was away, she settled at the table once more, noticing the empty plate and goblet, it seemed her sister had eaten already, that was good, it would save her the unpleasantness of explaining that she hadn’t been hungry for a few days, just...thirsty.
“you should go to sleep, I‘ll wake you when it’s time to leave” she said as she leaned back in her chair.

Yllaine’Dro nodded once, her eyelids already drooping over her tired eyes, she had been sitting there for a while, even had dinner and nothing unusual had happened, she had even probed a few minds of the inhabitants of the bar to see if they had noticed the man leaving, none had.
She took her leave of her sister silently and retired for the remainder of the night in the rented room upstairs, wondering behind which door lay the object of their quest.

The Next morning Yllaine’Dro was awoken by her sister shaking her shoulder “it’s time” her sister said quietly as she moved away and waited for her downstairs in the inns main room.
Together they wove their way through the streets of the small harbour town until they came upon the large ship, the name emblazoned across it’s bow in shiny black lettering “The Kings Fisher”
Yllaine’Dros eyes locked onto the mans prone form leaning on the balustrade of the ship “let me do the talking okay” she whispered to her sister whose hungry red eyes had begun to glow unnaturally.
Yllaine’Dro slid up beside the man slowly, making her presence known by making extra sounds on the wooden planks of the ships deck “nice day for travel” she said quietly.


OOC: Muahahahahahha this is my 1000st post XD

[xaen]

Ghost silently grimaced to himself when a female voice with the sharp pronunciation skills of the nobles came from behind his right shoulder.
Peeking carefully over his shoulder, Ghost instantly recognized from the night before in the Inn’s common room.
With much restraint he kept himself from spinning around to face the whole of the ship’s deck to search for the woman’s counterpart from the previous evening, the one with unnatural red hued eyes and the overpowering presence in a room.
Esteral knew that he was being rude to the young lady by delaying his comment on her statement, since she was clearly trying to start a conversation.
“Yes it is. The winds currently favour our course through the Kelvish Reef into the open water between here and the Pi’paen Nation, or so Captain Garther has informed me,” Ghost politely added to the currently nameless stranger’s comment, making sure to make eye contact with her as he did so.
Pleasantly he did not see the same curious red hue in her’s as he had spotted in the orbs of the woman’s companion.
As calmly as Esteral could manage, he stepped away from the rail feigning interest in a crew member that scaled the ropes like a spider to the main mast’s crossbeam.
Ghost slowly wandered along the width of the deck towards the gang plank, where Captain Garther stood and collecting coins from paying passengers and carefully watching as goods were carried on board.
Not knowing if the stranger would follow him, Ghost hastily decided to strike up a conversation with the grizzly captain, “Good Captain Garther, I was curious as to when the vessel would be leaving port?”

“We shall depart sir, once my men remove the gangplank and when I say so,” Captain Garther snapped at the magae before storming off towards the prow, ordering a few crew members to remove the gangplank; since he had admitted the last passenger and crate of local products on board, just as Esteral had started to speak.

Watching Garther go Esteral sighed loudly to himself before spinning about on his heels to walk straight...into...the strange woman with red tinted eyes.
With a thunderous crash, Ghost successfully knocked the woman onto her back and landed awkwardly on top of her.
Groaning with pain, Esteral lifted his sore head from the plank next to woman’s head and proceeded to disentangle himself from her.
His cheeks were flushed tomato red as he stuttered out an embarrassed apology to the woman beneath him still as he hovered over her in a partial push-up position; crewmen nearby snickered or howled aloud with laughter at the magae’s blunder.
With an almost feral growl the woman shoved him off and away from her, and rose from the deck in a flash to start the task of regaining her dignity as she fixed her crimson dress.
It didn’t take Ghost long to notice the red eyed woman’s companion standing next to her, whispering something to the other he could not make out.
Rising slowly from the wooden planks with an apologetic grin on his face, Esteral mentally chastised himself for his clumsiness as he spoke, “Forgive me, ma’am. I didn’t see you there.”

[Culmir]

Changed the name to madness of magic

Plot recap provided by Xaen

-------------------

Date: Lotesse 23rd – Tarion 7th, 5000SR

Locations: Galvin`s Port, and the Erumaran Galleon “The Kingfisher”.

Important Characters: Esteral Kilsea, Halaster Sarinox, Yvaine’Dro Lovelace, and Yllaine’Dro Lovelace

Plot: Esteral Kilsea, a self-trained magae, rose from living in the streets to a life of luxury in the matter of a few short years after stealing an ancient tome from a travelling book merchant that had visited Galvin’s Port. Using the tome, Esteral learned how to cast minor magics and used them to perform tasks in the magae-less port city. Life quickly became boring for the energetic magae creating a deep desire in the young man to travel the world and master some of the stronger, and more dangerous spells inscrolled in the massive old book. As the month of Lotesse came to an end, Esteral decided to charter passage to Winterfell aboard the famed galleon “The Kingfisher”. A few days later the young half-elven magae arrived in Galvin’s Port. The half-elf, Halaster Sarinox, was sent by his clan elders to retrieve the source of magical power in the city that was emitting distinct elven magical power. Using a magical tracer, Halaster believes that the item responsible for the magical emissions is stored the hull of “The Kingfisher”. Booking passage aboard the ship that same day, so that he could search the ship or to find the items’ holder. That night Halaster retired to the Sea Storm Inn, which coincidently where Esteral was staying until the ship cast off. That evening the Lovelace sisters arrived in the city in great haste on an important mission of their own. Yvaine’Dro had been attacked by a vampire three nights ago, and infected with vampirism. With no known cure readily available the sisters had the Headmaster of their Wizard Collage in Istre-Vanka cast a spell that would slow the transformation to a few weeks rather than a few hours. The Headmaster told them that the cure has only been discovered by the elves, but the elves refuse to share any of their magical secrets. The Headmaster also told them about an ancient tome that had been pilfered from an elven ruin decades ago, but was lost when the human magae was slain by a greedy apprentice. The sisters travelled far and wide, using what little tracking magic they had to locate the missing tome. They immediately picked up the trail upon landing in Galvin’s Port, and tracked it to the Sea Storm Inn. While in the Commons room the Lovelace sisters’ watched Esteral trip and tumble into another table of patrons. In the aftermath of the chaos, the sisters’ spotted Esteral’s dropped tome before he could scoop it from under a table. Having found the bearer of the book, the sisters’ attempted to follow him but soon lost him. They inquired about the clumsy Esteral and soon discovered that he was departing for Winterfell. Luck was with them the next day for the Captain of “The Kingfisher” was willing to grant them passage. On Tarion 7th, they all boarded “The Kingfisher” and broke port.

[xaen]

They were barely a day out to sea and Esteral’s stomach already churned violently from the endlessly gentle sway of the vessel beneath his feet. Currently he braced himself against the small desk in his personnel cabin that had cost him a small fortune to acquire from The Kingfisher’s Captain. Not far from his pale hands on the desk’s smooth oak surface sat the ancient tome responsible for that fortune and this impromptu trip to Winterfell. In the low light afforded by the small oil lantern hanging on the wall over the desk, Esteral could easily make out the elvish runes that titled the large black leather bound book. They read, “Maevyr’s Tome of Magic”. Who Maevyr was, Esteral didn’t have a clue beyond that he was once an elven magae of considerable power judging from what he had deciphered from the tome. Esteral’s stomach growled in great discomfort making him groan and wobble on his feet, and with some difficulty he straightened and headed for the door. When he finally managed to stumble through the door, Esteral groaned again once he spotted the short flight of stairs to the main deck. He locked the door behind him before he began to waddle towards the stairs, and then practically crawled up the stairs. He nearly lost his lunch when the ship suddenly lurched when he reached the main deck. Now under the comforting early afternoon sky, Esteral hastily rushed to the nearest rail and promptly fed the fishes. A passing crewman that knew him from his time in Galvin’s Port, chuckled and gave him a hearty slap on the back as he walked past. “At least someone is enjoying my condition,” Esteral mumbled to himself when his stomach gave him a brief reprieve, and then returned like a stout kick to the chest from a mule. “Four more days. Only four more days,” Esteral repeated to himself over and over as he stared at the crisp light blue water passing by within his field of vision.