Ferrin Astra Ferrin tried to keep the grin the threated to spread across his face.
Hmm...an additude they may get her killed someday. Sounds like a familiar problem. I knew I liked this kid. He thought. Instead, he adopted a serious expression as he contemplated her question. Finally, he said,
"I am not going to tell you that." He held up his normal, left, hand to forestall any protest.
"Its not that I don't want you to know, or that I don't trust you enough, but the midgets," He pointed at the Twin.
"Will not tell you, so neither will I. You are a guild wizard, right? Then think of them as my client. A client must know that the hired wizard is trust-worthy, and, in some cases, can keep sensitive secrets related to the job safe. I consider them to be my client and, as such, I will not divulge any information that they refuse to give themselves." Not to mention that this is an incredibly dangerous situation. I may be in over my head, but that is no reason to drag others down with me. He sighed.
"And on that note, we must get going. Tell Time Lord, next time you see him, that I am going to have a word with him about bringing someone else into this." Ferrin turned and walked away, with the Twin right beside him.
They set a quick pace through the city streets, Ferrin in the lead, sticking to well-travled routes and large crowds. Colt tried to ask Ferrin a question, but Ferrin stopped him and told him that they would talk later. Soon they arrived at the edge of town, and they kept going. The sun was starting to set, dieing the world a light red-orange.
Half an hour later, they came to a stop in a small clearing.
"This should be far enough." Ferrin said.
"Far enough for what?" Colt asked.
"Far enough to avoid detection, among other things." He brought his Gauntlet out of his pocket and streched both of his arms to the sky, and streached in a few other ways to work out the stiffness brought by sepnding several hours hunched over books.
"It feels good to be away from all that noise." He said to himself. Colt looked at him, strangely.
"Surely the city wasn't that loud." Colt said. Ferrin shook he head.
"Not noise in the normal sense. It is more like, hrm..." Ferrin thought for a moment, but he couldn't come up with a good metaphor.
"I will just explain it. It has to do with my magic. I am an Aether wizard, and as such, I am very sensitive to high concentrations of magical energy. I can 'feel' them, and my brain tends to interpret the sensation as one of my five senses. More than one, sometimes. I once met a wizard who smelled like manure." Ferrin grinned at the memory.
"He was a mud wizard, by the way. Anyways, I can block, or maybe "limit" is a better word, the imput, and most of the time, that takes care of it, but a city like Crocus? It feels like standing in the middle of a lightning storm, surrounded by a tornado, and staring at the sun. It is a wonder that the whole place hasn't gone up in a massive magical boom." So wizards give off their own..."noise"? Could you identify a wizard's magic by their feel? Colt asked.
"Yes," Ferrin said, slowly. [color=silver]"But it is not that simple. The feeling I get are mostly vage and abstract. Also, there is a surprising amount of magic in the air, which serves to render most to a white static. Only if I'm around the wizard for a while, do I get a feel for them. For example, the feeling I get off of you two is a feeling of uncomfortable warmth on one side of my body, and freezing cold on the other."
"Boring!" Claire said, loudly.
"Are you done lecturing, or should I start taking notes?" Ferrin assumed a somber, teacherly expression.
"I am finished." he said, putting a slight emphasis on the last word. A vein pop appeared on Claire's head, and her eye twiched, but she didn't say anything.
"Now, magic aside, I brought you two away from the city, because I would be too dangerous to spend the night there. The enemy is obviously following our movements with magic, but this far away, and any magical means of detection will be useless. You still are wearing that ring, right?" Claire showed him the ring and nodded.
"Good. That will help hide you for the time being." Ferrin used his requip magic to summon a pair of sleeping bags he kept for such an occasion.
"Have you ever camped before?" Ferrin asked. Colt answered, this time.
"Yeah, lots of times." Ferrin nodded approvingly.
"Then gather some wood for a fire, while I put up a few wards to warn us of any intruders." They each set to their tasks and soon, the Twin returned with a large stack of wood. With a simple fire spell, Ferrin lit the fire. A warm, comforting blazed sprang to life.
Ferrin provided food, which they cooked over the fire, and dug into hungrily. The sun had, by now, dipped below the horizon and darkness had settled over the world, held at bay only by the little blazing fire. In the distance, over the tree-tops, the lights of Crocus could be seen, a distant fortress of light.
Ferrin had pulled a small half-carved chunk of wood out of one of his many pockets, and porceded to, carefully carve more, using his fingers on his Gauntlet.
"Hey, Ferrin," Colt said.
"Hmm...? Ferrin answered, distractedly.
"I've been thinking, "Always a dangerous passtime." Ferrin observed.
"Ha-ha, anyways, why do you seem to have all this stuff on you? And where do you put it? I have seen you pull things out of seemingly empty pockets, that couldn't have fit in there without some sort of bulge." "Sharp eyes. My coat is made with a special sort of material, and infused with a certain spell. I am not sure how exactly; It was a closely guarded secret. But the result is cloth that repells water, resists staining, keeps cool in heat, and stays warm in cold. Another spell, creates a storage space, not unlike requip magic, in a pocket. Anything that fits through the opening can be stored in there without adding weight or mass, essentially, it disappears. The storage spaces are, however, limited in volume, only so much can fit in it. Still, as you can see, it is quite useful. As to why I carry all this stuff, well, I have always been a hoarder, anything that is, could be, or even is not useful, I keep on me, just in case. Sometimes, I find stuff I grabbed months earlier, and forgot about." He fixed the Twin with a steady look, that made them shift uncomfortably.
"I have told you about myself, now it is your turn." They looked away, but remained silent. Ferrin sighed.
"Alright. I am going to turn in for the night." He yawned, and walked over to his sleeping bag, and got in.
The Twin remained staring at the campfire for awhile.
Brother? Claire thought. Yeah, I understand Colt thought back. We will make it somehow. Remember, we are free now. We belong to no one but our selves, and soon, we will find a way to get back to normal. Ferrin heard this through telepathy, but again, he did not tell them that. The Twin got up, got in their sleeping bag and fell asleep.
