The trip to Ambran was calm and without any noteworthy incident. Neil was indeed a pure and kind boy, he was a good company. His naivety and always cheerful behavior were really refreshing.
Ambran was... a bit different than Freyr had expected... It was a very extravagant town, not just a village. In fact, it could be said that it was almost a city. Merchants, wagons, shops... The almost-city was teeming with people, both buying and selling. Most of them were humans, and only very, very few demi-humans.
The apothecary they were going to see wasn't exactly in the middle of Ambran, not even in one of its more bust streets, instead it was out of the way, not exactly hidden, but it was highly improbable that anyone would pass by the apothecary unless it was specifically searching for it.
After knocking, a cheerful, middle aged alchemist greeted them. The man had almost an juvenile air to his cheerfulness. His smile and his eyes, shining with excitement contrasted with the glasses the man wore. After Neil saying they were from the guild, the alchemist presented himself as Darren.
Darren then proceeded to talk about his discovery, showing them an incense burner with something inside. He seemed to be incredibly excited and confident about his discovery, claiming that his 'Huwana' would make pain go away and bring an incredible sensation of peace, going as far as to describe it as a 'ticket to heaven'.
He seemed to be eager to show them its effects, as he immediately lit the incense burner, letting its fumes fill the room.
"
Oh, ah, do you have any questions? Like, are you following so far?" Darren asked, after he lit the incense burner.
"Mr. Darren, right? The only question I have is why the alchemist guild would make such thing illegal. I know a lot about herbs and even poisons, but that is as far as my knowledge goes. This... 'Huwana' Is basically a painkiller, right? Would it be asking too much to know what its made of?" Freyr asked, waiting to smell the fumes.
Darren seemed to have the best intentions, judging by his cheerful smile and his eagerness to show his discovery, so Freyr wasn't that preoccupied that those fumes could be poisonous or make them sleep. Freyr would be able to smell it and even distinguish some ingredients with his enhanced senses. If Darren accepted to tell them what it was made of, Freyr could know if it was safe or not. It was a gamble, but he had no reason to not trust Darren. The man was so happy with his discovery and eager to show them...
@PaulHaynek
Bast silently listened as Araghast spoke about his reasons... which were exactly as he expected. Without any compassion or mercy, Araghast simply stole everything from Boreal Port, destroyed it and left its survivors and what left from the small city to rot...
He claimed that as a warlord, he should be slaughtering the enemies of Varjo, and bringing glory to the king... But everything he shown until now was just meaningless murder and bloodshed.
Bast really expected he would accept the duel, after all, he was a warlord, and his ego should be quite big judging by the way he spoke acted and the armor he was wearing. But Araghast's next words would soon make Bast's smile to disappear, giving place to a neutral, but surprisingly cold expression.
"
...You talk too much." Araghast said, turning his back to Bast, issuing a last order before walking away.
"
Kill him."
The warriors immediately surrounded Bast, rushing towards him like beasts, wielding swords, shields and axes. Their number was simply too much to count. Their enraged cries were just like a beast. A warrior wielding a two-handed axe was already close to Bast, and ready to swing that weighty, ungraceful lump of steel towards Bast. The movement was slow and easy to predict, but the other warriors would soon be attacking him.
"Disappointing..." Bast said, raising his cane without even unsheathing it, and with a swift and graceful movement, making the warrior's axe touch the side of his cane as Bast inclined it, redirecting the heavy axe and making it hit the ground as he spun behind the warrior and gave him a slight poke with the end of his cane, taking advantage of his failed charge and putting just enough force to make him lose his balance.
"I see... You are nothing more than uncivilized, ungraceful, barbaric beasts... It seems it was just a waste of time to try and talk with you..." Bast said, unsheathing his cane sword, and making a fluid movement with the sword, almost like if he was conducting an orchestra. Cards started to appear from under his cloak surrounding him in an aura of rapidly spinning cards. The cards cut the air with an incredible speed, making an eerie sound resonate through the camp.
It was beautiful and terrifying at the same time, the cards circled around Bast making waves and beautiful fluid movement, protecting Bast and preventing anyone to get nearby without getting shred by the cards as he continued moving the sword in graceful movements, with the cane part of the sword on the ground.
"Uncivilized beasts like you don't deserve any mercy or compassion. I am against meaningless bloodshed, but I will open an exception today. I will take one life, and one life only in exchange for the boy's life. Honestly, I couldn't care less for Boreal Port. But I took a liking to the boy. I was having such fun seeing his reactions... I was really looking forward the expression he would make after killing a person..." Bast said, making a card appear on his hand and throwing on the warrior with the axe. As soon as the card left his hand, it would start burning with a blue fire. Upon touching the warrior, he would immediately combust in extremely hot flames.
"Hm... I guess that isn't enough of a warning..." Bast said, making some of the cards form a cage around the warrior, encasing him inside a circle of cards.
"This stench... I guess its only fitting to beasts such as yourselves... May this show you to not underestimate me." Bast said, snapping his fingers, making the cards start to glow with the same blue flame, sending torrents of fire inside, hitting the poor warrior.
"Retreat at once. I wish not to partake on your petty squabbles and your barbaric, meaningless bloodshed. Continue, and you I shall repay you in the same coin." Bast said, still with his sword unsheathed forming a protective aura around him. Fighting against all those people at once would be problematic... If that wasn't enough to scare the warriors away, he might have to use his Mystic Tarot Deck...
@PaulHaynek
