Michellin

Wanderers

Narda chuckled at Ruli's question. "You can say that. You never know when you find someone as tall as I am. They laughed at me for that, but looks like I have foresight." She grinned at Envy's comment about making her a bed back at Uvano. She let them talk, then watched Ruli and Gavin take their leave.

She turned to Envy, holding his arm gently so they could sit on the bed. "Now. Are you alright? I know I promised a sunset, but if you would rather stay here to settle you are welcome to it."

--

Gavin listened to Ruli's warnings with a neutral face, though a part of him had considered exploring, especially since he was the only one who hasn't seen the forest up close. But given what had happened today, it was probably better to not take too many risks. "I promise. Staying put."

Kire was having a pint when they returned. She had asked Ysaryn to relieve her for a moment. "I'm probably going to need more than one of these when this is all over," she muttered. "I'll show you up, then if you want a drink you can wander back down here to ask for it."

The inn wasn't too big, but it was cozy enough. The innkeeper looked rather flustered at the idea of hosting the Empress and her friends, but Kire kindly put her at ease, reassuring her the place was more than enough. Upstairs, Gavin and Ruli had rooms on the same floor, with a decent bed each, a small table, and chairs. Gavin thanked Kire and climbed right into bed the moment he was alone.

"Mine's right above yours," Kire said, reaching Ruli's door. "How are you doing?" she asked.

Wanderers

Kire listened as Ruli explained the wards’ functions and exceptions for her portals, noting the discomfort in him, Envy, and even Ysaryn. The Empress wrinkled her nose. “Really made you work for that gold, huh?” she joked, before sighing. “Thank you for the work today.
Narda snorted at Envy’s question. “A couch for my guest? No such thing, good man. There will be a perfectly strong bed for you there, and a good-sized room.”
Kire grinned. “You’ll enjoy the place. Besides, you know, for the company.”
“Now I kinda wanna see what the place looks like,” Gavin admitted. Kire shook her head, though she was amused at the lad’s curiosity.
“Alright, better feed you before you leave, then.”
They were given a simple meal, breaded chicken and mash, and some drink to wash it down. “Unless you’re staying at Narda’s too, I’ll show you to the inn when you come back,” Kire said to Ruli, before turning to Narda and winking at her with a grin. “Be gentle,” she said in Taakalon, to which Narda snorted again.
“That’s rich coming from you, Wyvernling.”


As expected, Narda’s manor was large, built for a woman her size. Her family crest was unusual—a silver star over a mountaintop and a green field. The banners were hung around the great hall, where they had emerged. Gavin whistled. “I know castles and manors are already huge, but looks like all the doors and hallways are, too,” he remarked. “Envy could go around here no problem.”
Narda had immediately called for attendants to prepare guest rooms. They took a few moments to process Envy, though they did also immediately understand his needs and went off to carry out the task.
“Where are your archives?” Daryll asked immediately. “Do you have old maps of the Wild Meadows?”
“Of course.” Narda nearly looked insulted by the question, which Daryll ignored. “Down that hall, near the libraries. Someone will take you.”
“Thanks.” Daryll went off as soon as he could find someone to lead him to it.
“Well. That one’s eager,” Gavin muttered. “Alright, I wanna see Envy’s room before we go back.”

He had been furnished, as promised, a sizable guest room. There were large windows, but at Narda’s request heavy curtains had been drawn. Charm or not, he was clearly not comfortable with sunlight. The bed, too, was large enough for a Kartaian-sized guest to move around in. “You could fit three of you in there,” Gavin mused with a grin, before stretching his arms with a yawn. The sight of the bed, and of their rooms at the inn waiting for them, made him want to lay down and sleep, despite the early evening; though he had been able to nap before lunch earlier today, the lack of proper sleep was getting to him, especially after all the excitement they had seen so far.

Wanderers

Kire nodded. She could understand Narda's unease. Though her ipunin on magic has improved after meeting Envy, Ruli, and the others, as Countess who was also responsible for her land and people, this was worrying. When Ysaryn assented to staying, Kire smiled. Ruli may have made the remark about being more useful had they had Kire's senses for magic, but she was glad that they were here, offering their help within their own abilities.

Myka returned to report that the other tents haven't had any incidents yet, but the healers had separated them depending on who had been hearing the voices along with getting the fevers. There were leaves left over from the new supply Ruli had brought, so these were distributed to the other tents as Kire explained that the whole camp would be warded to negate magic. Arrangements were then made with the town to provide lodging for the Empress and her guests.

After having just warded the Palace, plus with his experience with the negation wards, Gavin was able to work quickly with the other two. And though he knew the situation was dire, he couldn't help the thrill that came with the time pressure of the task. Still, he mulled over the concern Ysaryn had raised. What if they made it worse by suppressing it? A couple of times he would pause to look over the horizon, where the forest-town was just visible; he had asked a healer where it was and had been pointed to that direction. It gave him the same queer feeling the dream had.

Once the wards were done, Gavin stepped back, hands on his waist as he looked to the other two.
"It's done, isn't it?" Kire remarked, having felt the closing of the circuit.
"As best we could, yeah," Gavin answered.
"I trust that. Now it's just waiting and observing," Kire murmured.
"Envy, are you staying?" Gavinasked his mentor.
"There's an inn provided for us not far from the town gates," Kire said. "Could accommodate all of us for tonight, though Narda, you're still going back to your place with Daryll, yes?"
The giantess nodded. "After dinner, roundabouts."

Wanderers

Gavin looked from Envy to Ruli as they talked about magic manifesting in elves. Though Narda kept to his side, Envy clearly was still bothered by the fire, while the question about the elves had somehow struck Ruli, his thoughts far away. What’s the matter with him? But when Envy called his name, Gavin nodded at Ruli. “Here. Yeah. Ready,” he said as he rolled up his sleeves to begin, about to follow Ruli out of the tent.

Kire, meanwhile, watched Ysaryn circle like a bird of prey, wary for any more signs of trouble. She listened as the shadow-elf wondered aloud if negating the blossoming magic using the wards would backfire and make things worse. She turned to Ruli when he addressed her. “I don’t have much to go on,” she admitted, as Gavin spoke to the healers again, distributing the leaves while the others talked it over. “The signature is different. More her, I think. If that makes sense. When there’s a greater power influencing the bearer of the magic, I would detect that signature alongside the individual. Like how Ikegai’s blood-magic was in Akuma, and, for a time, in you, Gavin,” she added, looking at the lad. “The more you had control over the kind of magic you worked, the more you I can sense you’re your signature.” Gavin nodded, wanting to look unbothered, but the mere memory of Ikegai and Akuma in his head still sent a slight shiver down his spine. “I’d only really know for sure if I can sense the same kind of fire magic if another one manifests.” The Paladin sighed. “Looks like I’ll be staying around here for a while, maybe overnight, though I’ll probably need to go back and forth between here and home just to make sure Etta’s okay. How long will the wards take this time?”

“Couple of hours? Maybe shorter, if all goes well. Camp’s smaller than the Palace,” Gavin answered. “But we better start now.”

While he followed Ruli as they began their work, Kire turned to Ysaryn, Narda, and Daryll. “This might be a long night, especially since I don’t really know what else might go wrong, when, or if anything else might happen. But if any of you choose to stay here, I would appreciate the extra set of eyes. I know you have your own mission at Narda’s, too,” she added, turning to Daryll.
“I can stay longer, see if anything else develops, though I might go back with Narda when she decides to go home,” the scholar answered. “The woman in the vision, what if her distress has something to do with what’s happening here? Maybe she’s gaining fire powers, too. Tracking her down might offer some insight, or warn us if this will become more widespread.”
The giantess grunted. “I am likewise concerned about if this incident is isolated here or if the Wild Meadows will start seeing pockets of magic sprouting up like this. Depending on how long the warding will take, I may stay until evening, then go back home.”
Kire nodded at them, then turned to Ysaryn. “How about you? A lot of waiting, not a lot of fighting, I know.”

Wanderers

Feeling next to useless, Narda was still uneasy, even if the situation seemed under control for the moment. What if the other patients suddenly burst into flame, or manifested some other supernatural phenomenon? Frowning in frustration and wariness, the giantess ran a hand through her hair, looking around the room at the others, then spotted Envy. He looked afraid, as ill at ease as she was. No, more, given the way he touched the scars on his face. Even Ruli trying to engage him back to their task didn’t bring him back from his fearful daze. Narda stepped closer to him. "Envy?" She said as she touched his shoulder gently. “You’re alright,” she murmured. She had seen this kind of fear in soldiers and warriors, and in ordinary Amrians after the Black Storm. More than just words, she knew when such fears gripped a person they needed to be reminded that there were others around them to help and that the ground was solid beneath their feet.

Kire exhaled, nodding when Ruli said it wasn’t a coincidence. “Magic is coming back to Amria, huh,” she muttered, frowning.
“I better go to the other tents and let ‘em now we might expect our patients to combust,” Myka said, needing to be doing something, anything, really, while her mind tried to catch up.
“What age does magic usually manifest in elves?” Daryll wondered aloud. He turned to the boy. “Did you hear or feel anything right before it happened?” he asked in what he hoped was a gentle voice.
The boy shook his head, taking the charm out of his pocket. “I dunno.” He turned to his father, speaking in halting Taakalon.
“He says, it is like his fever had left the rest of his body and moved to his hands. Something like that,” the father said.

Gavin rubbed his nape. "We got our work cut out for us, huh," he muttered. "Maybe we should ward the camp like we did in the siege? Nullify magic till they got a handle on it? Or if more of 'em get it?"

Wanderers

Daryll had been closest at that moment. While the healers pulled back the father, helped Ysaryn, or made sure the other patients were safe, Daryll had grabbed the boy, pulling him with clumsy arms off the bed. With several hands working to put out the fire, they made short work of it. Kire and Daryll bent over the boy, looking him over. His clothes looked signed, but he seemed unharmed. He was shaking.
“What happened?” Narda barked in Taakalon.
“Kire, there wasn’t a fire anywhere inside the tent,” Daryll said. “Lad, are you alright?”
The boy kept staring at his hands. “I dunno,” he said, his eyes wide, “I didn’t mean to! I dunno—
Kire smelled it again before she saw it. Pine needles burning. She almost missed the sight of it, but caught it in a blink—the boy’s hands sparking, even as Daryll held them. “Daryll, let go!” she yelled, just as the sparks blossomed into flame. She grabbed them both, disappeared in a blue flash, and in another blink returned. All three of them were soaking wet, though Daryll and Kire both sported singed sleeves. “Fetch a towel please,” she said, bending down to gently hold the boy’s hands. The boy looked about ready to faint from the shock of the portal, the flames, and suddenly finding himself in cold water.

“I’m sorry, that must have been very frightening,” she apologized. She had portalled all three of them in the first shallow body of water she could think of, a river not too far from their current location. She explained as much to the father and the healers as she turned over the boy to them. “Daryll, you okay?”
“Yeah. No burns except on my clothes.”
“And the other patients?”
For now, it seemed it only happened to the boy. Kire crossed her arms around herself until someone gave her and Daryll a blanket each to wrap around themselves.
“Holy fuck,” Myka muttered; everything happened before she could move from her spot. Narda was speechless; certainly, this didn’t help her attitude towards magic. “Holy fuck,” Myka repeated, though she lowered her voice even more. “That—is that going to happen to all the townsfolk?”

Kire rubbed her face with her hand. “I don’t know. But that explains the signature I got from him earlier.” She looked up suddenly, eyes wide in fear. “Etta!” The blanket fell to the ground as Kire disappeared again before anyone could react. She was gone longer this time, several minutes, before she appeared again in a flash. “She’s alright. Thank the gods. Whatever Etta has is probably different from what’s going on here.” Kire pulled wet strands of hair away from her face.

Wanderers

Kire listened as Envy, Ruli, and Ysaryn made their own observations, though when the latter commented about how she could smell Etta’s blood as well as Ruli’s, she paused, observing Ruli’s reaction. She knew he didn’t want Ysaryn having any inkling at all to who his bloodkin were, so if the elf’s senses were keen enough, that might pose a problem for him. But she didn’t pursue the matter further, and Ruli had turned his attention back to her. She listened to Envy this time, weighing the option of warding the forest or the camp.
“Yeah, warding the camp seems like the wiser choice at the moment,” she replied to them. “Alright. Myka and I will meet with the leaders of the town and the lady of the province to let them know what options we have at the moment so none of them get tempted to do anything rash, then come back here before the hour is up. Narda, if anything comes up here before the meeting is over, come get me.”

As Kire and Myka stepped out of the camp, the pirate captain turned to Kire, curiosity in her features. “You’re taking all of this rather well—or, well, better than I thought you would. All this magic stuff.”
Kire shrugged. “The ‘magic stuff’ is going to happen whether I allow it or not. I’m frustrated, sure, but better also to accept that things are going to get much weirder over time than keep my head buried in the sand.”
Myka smirked. “Definitely sounds like a different Kire. ‘Frustration’ for you usually means you gotta punch a tree or two. Or a face or two.”
“You know I’ve learned I can’t rule that way.” Kire smirked. “Besides, who told you I wasn’t doing any of those things when nobody’s looking?”
“Mm.” The captain’s expression turned somber. “Other people have been noticing the change in you, too. They’re wondering if this has anything to do with your new friends, or if you’re becoming more of a Gemini, yourself.”
Kire frowned at that. “They’re going to love the fact that I had wards put up around the Palace then.” She wondered, though, if she should be worried about what Myka had just said. But people always feel fear around the new and the unknown, and she was no stranger to people talking about her behind her back. Until it presented itself as a problem, Kire resolved not to put too much stock into these rumors. She had larger problems to face.

While Kire and Myka were off to the meeting, Narda oversaw the camp, letting Gavin, Ruli, and Envy work on what was needed and coordinating for if any of them require additional supplies. Given the temperature, water and other drink was supplied to them frequently. Daryll, too, made observations, asked the sorcerers about the enchantment process, comparing it with the notes he had made when Ruli and Gavin had first made the wards for the Palace. Nothing much yet had happened to the patients themselves, and from the look of things, the leaves and stone were effective.

The hour passed without much incident yet, and Kire and Myka returned looking satisfied at how the meeting had gone. “Nothing like a little sweet-talking,” Kire said. Myka rolled her eyes.
“It’s rather hard to say ‘no’ to the Empress, you know,” she put in, to which Kire smirked.
“Fair point. Alright. What’s our status here?”

Before anyone could answer, however, the boy let out a cry as flames leapt up from his bed.

Wanderers

When Ruli began explaining to the healers what the herbs and the stones were for, Kire and Daryll translated to make sure everything was clear to all of them. Though there wasn’t a lot in the herb pouch, it was enough for at least the patients within the tent to have a leaf each. As for the stones, the healers gave one to the boy who found the statuette and the other to another patient. “We could give it an hour and see if there are any effects from the herbs, Your Grace,” one of the healers said to Kire.
“What about the stones?” Daryll asked, while Narda frowned, not particularly enthusiastic to be around any kind of magic that afflicted people with mysterious fevers.
The woman who had been given one of the stones, who looked exhausted, seemed relieved; in heavily accented Taakalon, she told them that the whispers seemed to have lessened and she could hear her own thoughts now. But the boy…

“Come on now, lad,” his father coaxed, holding the stone in his hand. The boy looked wary, even shaking his head a little, hugging his knees. “It will help you feel better, and maybe you can sleep throughout the night again. How does that sound?”
After some more convincing, the boy finally took the stone. “The forest doesn’t want me to,” he said in a small voice. Kire glanced at Ruli upon hearing it, a concerned frown on her face.

They waited, though not so close as to crowd the boy and make him feel fearful. Nothing. The father spoke to his boy in Taakalon and it seemed that the stone worked in the same way as in the other patient. “May I take notes?” Daryll asked the father. After being given permission, he sat near them to observe the lad, scribble information about the stone, then gently questioning father and son about the voices.
“Works like a charm,” Kire said to Ruli, then grinning cheekily at her remark. Gavin rolled his eyes. “Oh, lad, you would’ve made the same joke.”
“Yeah, but I’d be funnier,” Gavin said, grinning back. It was Kire’s turn to roll her eyes, before turning back to Ruli.

“I’ll stay here for the hour to monitor them. After that, if there’s improvement, could you bring it some more of those herbs?” she asked. “If we don’t encounter any more surprises after the hour is up, Daryll can get to his investigation, while Envy and Narda can have their date,” she added teasingly. “Things look quiet now, so while we’re here, we can relax a bit—” She paused, her face turning slightly in the direction of the boy, inhaling. Silently, she stepped closer to the others, beckoning for them to step farther from the beds, then spoke in a low voice. “Pine needles burning. Nobody else smells that, I assume?” she said. First Etta, now this boy?

Wanderers

Kire didn’t know how to feel about Etta suddenly gaining magical abilities. Precy looked excited, though to her credit, the young girl knew her cousin and playmate well enough not to fawn over her and make her all the more anxious. Etta nodded when Ruli made her promise to be honest about how she feels should the magic suddenly manifest. The blonde girl looked curiously up at Ysaryn when the elf sniffed her, both anxious and curious about why the elf did so.

“I don’t know if ‘interesting’ is the word,” Kire murmured, overhearing the exchange, though she said the remark more to herself than to Ruli or Ysaryn. She gave the supplies to be turned over to Ruli one more inspection, then handed the gold to him and Gavin.
The lad immediately opened the pouches and counted silently, then looked up at them when he realized. “Sorry. Habit.” He grinned.
Kire shook her head, amused. “Alright, if you’re going to take these back now, we’ll wait for you here and we’ll head on over to the town together. Who’s coming along?”

Later, it would be Narda and Daryll accompanying Kire, with Ed staying behind to attend to business in Kire’s absence. Gavin came back with Ruli, wanting to see this forest-town himself. He wouldn’t tell them outright, but he was hoping to get a vision, too, if only to see if that had anything to do with the dream and the feeling he couldn’t shake about the Tower. “Now, girls, behave. And Etta, remember what you promised Ruli, okay?” Kire said, giving each of them a hug. “We’ll be back.”
“Be careful,” Etta said.”
“Don’t do that usual Kay Thing that you do,” Precy teased. Kire gave her a mock pout and ruffled her hair before joining the others.

They emerged from the shadows into the place where they had met Myka yesterday to find that more guards had been posted around town, tension clearly felt around them. “Your Grace!” one exclaimed, then immediately went towards the group.
“What happened here?” Kire asked in the common tongue.
“The sick town residents had all been moved to a new camp outside the walls. They’ve also been forbidden to make their way back to the forest. Lady Myka is with them to interrogate. Some of people with the fevers—they—” the man fumbled with his words. “They say the forest is calling to them.” The guards directed them towards the temporary settlement where the people afflicted with visions and fevers had been confined. Myka was there to meet them but without her usual swagger, worry in her eyes.

“Well. I hope at least one of you have got answers, because we’re stumped,” she said in greeting. “And I had an argument with the leaders of the town over it. They wanted to get these other folks who aren’t part of their town as far away as possible in case this was a full-on plague, and I had to tell ‘em to wait for you first. This isn’t a plague, right?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” Kire said. “We’ll have to take a look. What have the healers said?”
“They’re doing their best. So far at least the fevers aren’t getting worse, but we’re more worried about the other stuff, like the whispers. There’s talk of trying to maybe destroy the forest, but.” Myka gestured with a shrug.
“Could we take a look?” Gavin asked. Myka nodded and led them to one of the tents. Inside were some of the townsfolk from yesterday, including the man and his boy who had the statuette. The healers eyed the newcomers, first seeing the Empress, then her unusual companions. Kire gestured for them to carry on their work.

Wanderers

Kire, Ed, and Narda stood side by side as they watched Ysaryn, then Ruli demonstrate how the wards would light up. Gavin grinned, immensely pleased with his handiwork, while Ed whistled.
“That’s bloody useful,” the Captain remarked. “Would’ve saved us a lot of trouble in the past.”
“If you had told me that one day the Capital will lift the long-standing ban on large-scale sorcery to put up glowing wards around the Palace itself, I’d have thought you mad,” Narda said. “But then again, Kire’s got a touch of madness in that blonde head of hers, anyway.”
“Hey. Ed already said it’s bloody useful,” Kire said, before stepping towards it. Curious about just how bright it would get, she crossed the threshold. Just as Envy had surmised, the lines lit up even brighter, casting sharp shadows even when Kire twisted the Ring off her finger. “That’s bright, alright. Yeah, we might need to cut a tunnel through that for the portal. But good work all the same. Gavin, well done.” The Gemini rubbed his nape, grinning through a proud blush. “We’ll call on you again when we start to notice the wards faltering.”

While Kire gave instructions for attendants to bring out the gold and supplies as payment, Daryll had been quiet, too busy observing and jotting down notes excitedly, while the girls cooed at the sight. Narda and Ed didn’t register. When Precy put her hand through. Nothing happened. “Aw. Etta, what about you?”
“Did you feel anything?” she asked Pres, who shook her head. Reassured, Etta stepped through it. Pres squinted.
“It looks a bit like glowing, right?” she asked Daryll, who looked up, finally, to see the dull, almost imperceptible glow.
“Huh.”
“What? What does that mean?” Etta asked, suddenly anxious.
“Could you do that again, Et?” Pres asked. Etta stepped out, then in. Sure enough, the wards did respond, if only a little.
The other Wyverns turned to see their little experiment. “Why’s Etta’s setting it off?” Kire said, stepping closer. As she stood in front of Etta, she realized that the strawberry smell wasn’t because she was pilfering from the kitchens again. It’s her signature, she realized, bending down. The smell was too subtle, just as the wards’ glow in response to Etta wasn’t as bright as it had been earlier. “Etta, when you had your fevers, did you have weird dreams, too? What kind of nightmares did you have?”

“Um.” Etta looked up at her, then at Pres and Daryll. “I can’t remember them. I dunno.” The girl blushed. “I just remember waking up like I was running away from something scary.”
Kire could see her younger cousin wasn’t all that comfortable talking about it, or being in the middle of magic-related attention. “Alright. If you feel unwell again, you tell us, okay? We’ll fetch Elva, and she can bring over some hot chocolate for us.”
Etta nodded. “Okay. I’ll tell you.”
“Nothing else happened to her today,” Pres put in. “Just the fever. No magic or anything.”
“Hmm.” Daryll patted Etta’s head. “We’ll just have to watch for signs If nothing happens within the next few days, it might be a fluke.”
“Everything seems to be in order, though,” Gavin put in. “Why would it trip up with Etta? Or is it a Wyvern thing?”
“We’ll monitor it for the next few days,” Kire said, before turning to Ruli. “But for now, I'll let you bring back your payment if you want to do it now before going back to the town."