"Ah, so this is Arca, huh?" Zaryn said as he looked over the city, a gentle breeze tugging at his cream colored tunic. "It's colder than I'm used to, but it sure is a hell of a lot more colorful!" He stretched his arms and turned to Ally. "So... have any ideas on where to start?"
The small dragon tossed her head back to look out over the city.
Home. It felt like it'd been a lifetime.
"I'm afraid not," she said after a few moments. "I guess there's all the places I tried before I went to the jungles- but if they couldn't help before I'm not sure they could now."
She was quiet for a few moments, then added a little more softly, "I should probably call on my father and brother too. They may be worried about me."
"Oh, you have family here?" A smile cracked across Zaryn's face but quickly faded as his eyes narrowed in contemplation. "Actually," he started with a hint of hesitation. "I know someone who lives in Arca who might be able to help... He's not an alchemist, but he's a damn good mage."
"Really?" Allaeya swung her head around to star at him, eyes sparkling. "Oh, that might be helpful anyway. Anything to get me out of this situation."
Zaryn let out a long sigh as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Okay then.." He pursed his lips as an unpleasant look colored his face. "There's no guarantee he'll be home, but it's worth a try."
The two of them made their way through the city, stopping every so often to ask for directions. Eventually, they came across a decent-sized stone house nestled within the nicer part of Arca. Zaryn stopped at the entrance and took in a deep breath before knocking on the wooden door. A moment later a young, freckled face poked her head out from behind the door, her mess of auburn hair framing her clear, emerald eyes.
"Yeah?" the wood elf said as she looked up at Zaryn. The girl's eyes darted from Zaryn to the dragon, then back at Zaryn, but otherwise seemed unfazed by the two imposing figures on her doorstep.
"Uh, yeah, is Rylzyr in?"
"Mr. Snooty-pants isn't expecting visitors, so...."
Zaryn crossed his arms as irritation washed over his face. "Tell him his cousin's here and that he needs a favor."
"'Kay," the girl said before shutting the door. A moment later the door swung open and a man similar in appearance to Zaryn stood on the other side of the entrance. A look of surprise painted his face as his ruby eyes met Zaryn's electric blue.
"Zaryn," he said, his voice practically a whisper.
"Ryzlyr," Zaryn replied bitterly.
"W-what are you doing here?"
"I need a favor." Zaryn tilted his head in the direction of Ally.
Rylzyr's eyes darted in the direction of the dragon, narrowing skeptically as he returned his gaze to his cousin. "A dragon...?"
"Yeah, well, it's a long story." Zaryn turned to Ally. "Will you do the honors, sweetheart?"
"Cousin?" Ally blinked in surprise and looked to her companion. "You never said anything about-"
But then the door was opening again and this Ryzlyr person was standing in front of them. She shuffled her wings and ducked her head awkwardly under his gaze.
"Um, my name's Allaeya, sir," she murmured. "Well, see...it's like this..."
Slowly, she explained her predicament, trying to be as succinct as she could but winding up doubling back and retelling parts of her story inevitably.
Rylzyr's eyes flicked from Ally from Zaryn, raising an eyebrow and giving his cousin a skeptical look. "You do know I'm not an alchemist, right?"
"Yes, yes!" Zaryn waved a hand dismissively. "But you're a mage, right? Couldn't you, oh I don't know, do that blood thing or summon a demon or... or something?"
Mortified by what Zaryn had just blatantly revealed, Rylzyr shot a nervous glance at the dragon before grabbing a hold of his cousin's shoulder. "Zah'rraahn xirach, Zaryn," he hissed as a nervous glint filled his wide eyes.
Ally snorted and drew her head back sharply. "Demon summoning?" she said nervously. "No one said anything about summoning demons."
Her eyes flicked back and forth between the two men as Rylzyr spoke in that foreign language. "Um, excuse me? What's going on here?"
"No one's summoning demons," Rylzyr said to Ally, holding his hands up in a placating manner.
Zaryn turned to his companion and gave her a sly smile. "Don't worry, sweetheart. I've known him for 183 years. He may have an entire tree stuffed up his ass but he's mostly harmless." Turning back to his cousin, Zaryn crossed his arms and arched an eyebrow. "So...?"
"Tch!" Rylzyr placed his hands on his hips scowled at Zaryn. "If you think you can come to my own home, accuse me of being a demonlord and practicing blood magic in front of a complete stranger, insult me, and ask for a favor, then you're crazy!"
"Oooh what a surprise!" Sarcasm dripped from Zaryn's voice as he waved his hands in the air. "Rylzyr doesn't want to help others! Shocking!" Zaryn returned to standing with his arms crossed and glowered at Rylzyr. "Ya know, it sure would be nice of you to help your dear ol' cousin out for once."
A pained expression shot across Rylzyr's face as he quickly averted his eyes to the ground. After a short moment, his gaze swept up and met Ally's. "Fair enough," he said as he gave her a short nod. "I'll do what I can."
"Err..." The dragon glanced back and forth between the two of them as they argued, feeling rather awkward. "I, um, I appreciate the help, really, but I don't want to cause some sort of family drama," she said weakly, though she did take a hesitant step closer at Rylzyr's nod.
"Hey, don't worry 'bout it, sweetheart," Zaryn said with a wide, pleased smile cracking across his face. "We'll be on out best behavior from here on out, isn't that right, Ry?" He slapped a hand on Rylzyr's shoulder, causing the lankier man to stumble forward a bit from the force.
"Erm..." Rylzyr cast an awkward glance to the side before collecting himself and giving Ally a small smile. "Sure."
"Erm...well, alright then," Ally said, relief in her voice though she tried to hide it. She dipped her head to Rylzyr. "Thank you, sir. Truly. Any help you can give is greatly appreciated."
Rylzyr rubbed the back of his neck as he eyed the dragon before him. "I'm not exactly an alchemist, but I'm happy to help in any way I can. Do you have any idea on where to start?"
"Oh, I have notes. A lot of notes." She twisted her head around to try and grab her pack with her teeth, then gave a soft snort of frustration when her strange body wouldn't bend the way she wanted it to. "Um, Zaryn? Would you help me?"
"Ah, sure." Zaryn slipped the pack off of Ally and handed it to her. "I dunno what to give him. Plus, it's rude to be looking through a lady's bag."
The dragoness shuffled her wings demurely. "Well that's awfully polite of you," she chuckled, setting the pack down and rooting delicately through it with her claws. "Ah- here."
She pulled out both her and her mother's journals. "This is the potion I created that changed me, and these-" she pointed to each page in turn- "Are the runes Zaryn helped me retrieve that- well, sort of worked."
Rylzyr grabbed the notebook and squinted as he peered at the page with the runes. "Wow. These look..." He glanced at Zaryn, who had a smug smile decorating his face. "Er... I guess I can make out the details."
"Hey!" Zaryn stamped a foot indignantly. "I did my best, okay?"
Ignoring his cousin, Rylzyr proceeded to flip through the pages. "I assume you followed the steps, right? What do you think went wrong?"
"I really don't know." Ally seemed to be on the verge of tears again. "My mother's spell was experimental, so maybe that threw off my calculations- I just can't figure out why it would only work partway, and what triggered the change back."
"Oh, um.." Rylzyr cast an awkward glance at Ally, then looked back down at the notebook. "I'm sure it's not something that can't be fixed."
"Yeah, don't fret, sweetheart! Ry's got this!" He turned to his cousin and tapped the top of the notebook. "Can't you just put some blood magic into it? Won't that work?"
"Zaryn, really?" The lanky mage cast another nervous glance at the dragon before turning to glare at his cousin.
Ally swallowed and shuffled her wings a little nervously. "Um, I'm not- judging or anything," she said quickly, voice squeaking slightly. "But, um- well, if you think something will help..."
Another nervous little noise. She knew blood magic was widely discredited as "black" magic, but her time in the jungles had taught her that there were some more morally acceptable spells and uses for it. It was just difficult to navigate around a lifetime of dogma.
"If it comes to it I'll use it. However, I doubt it will be needed." Rylzyr shut the notebook and rested his stony gaze on Ally. "If it puts any of your anxieties to ease let me remind you that I am here to help you, not harm you."
"Aaaand with that being said," Zaryn said as he stretched his arms out in front of him, popping his knuckles in the process. "Shall we get started?"
"Oh, I didn't think you would!" the dragon said quickly, though she couldn't help being a little relieved. "Um right. Yes. Let's get started." She looked between the two men. "What should I do?"
"We should get out of the streets, first and foremost. However," Rylzyr's ruby eyes swept over the dragon. "I don't think you'll be able to fit into my home. Perhaps we should find a place that can accommodate for all of us."
"One of the city gardens, perhaps?" Ally suggested with a tilt of her head. "They're usually pretty empty this time of day."
"Wellp!" Zaryn said as he clapped his hands. "You know what they: there's no time like the present!"
Rylzyr watched as his cousin turned and marched in the complete opposite direction of the garden. When he finally called out Zaryn's name, the tall warrior spun to face the others.
"The gardens are this way," Rylzyr said as he pointed behind him.
"Oh." Zaryn smirked and proceeded to walk in the right direction. "I knew that!"
The three of them made their way through the cobble stone streets. As the sun sank lower into the sky, the crowds of people started to thin out. Only a few people meandered through the park, taking their time to examine the way the setting sun glinted off of the pond's surface or to enjoying the crisp, evening air.
"So," Rylzyr said as he stopped in the middle of the garden's clearing. "Did you bring any extra components?"
The small dragon twisted to grab her pack again and set it delicately at his feet. "It's just the basics, really," she said with a small sigh. "Anything more...exotic, I didn't have much of. Ran out months ago."
"No matter," Rylzyr said with a wave of his hand. "Could you walk me through what you did last time?"
Ally nodded and launched into a rather lengthy and sophisticated explanation of her circle and the incantations she'd used. This was where she was comfortable- academia.
As Ally recounted all of her steps -- this time in great detail -- a large, leather-bound book and an elegant phoenix feather quill lifted from Rylzyr's satchel and hovered in the air by the mage's head. The book opened and the quill scratch away at a blank page, seeming to follow each and every one of Ally's words. Once the dragon was finished with her explanation, Rylzyr grabbed the book and the quill from the air and skimmed through his notes, muttering to himself in a foreign language as he jotted down corrections.
Zaryn leaned up against a tree and gave Ally a confused shrug as her eyes met his. Despite being able to understand what his cousin was saying, he felt completely lost within the flurry of magical jargon.
"Okay," Rylzyr said after several long minutes, sending the book and the quill floating out of his hands and into the air. He dug through his satchel and pulled out a pouch of what appeared to be salt. He spread the salt around the garden floor, shaping it into something similar to what Ally had drawn back in the jungle. As Rylzyr finished, he stood back up and and examined his work with a critical eye.
"Wait," Zaryn said as he walked towards the edge of the circle. "Isn't this what she tried last time?"
"Well, yes and no." Rylzyr scratched his chin as his eyes darted between his notes and the circle. "I changed the arrangement of the runes and used magicka salts as a base. I'm hoping that the salts will increase the power of the magic, -- they're quite potent and hard to come by-- but to be perfectly honest, I'm not sure how much it will help. It's a start, though." He crossed his arms and looked up at Ally. "Is there anything you would like to add or change?"
The dragoness cocked her head and paced in a small circle around the design, murmuring to herself quietly.
"No...no, this looks quite advanced, actually." She blinked and looked back to Rylzyr, impressed. "You're really not an alchemist?"
Her eyes flicked over to Zaryn and she offered a small, dragonish smile. "I think he's right- I mean, this is all pretty experimental, but everything he's done should work properly."
She nodded to both men and murmured a heartfelt, "Thank you for all your help," as she took her place in the center of the circle, wings folded tight to her back and tail wrapped demurely around her body.
Zaryn beamed at her. "No problem, sweetheart."
"Wait," Rylzyr said as he walked to the other side of the circle. "Before we start..." He held his hand over a small runic symbol and sent a stream of white light cascading from his palm to the center of the rune. Ally could feel the tingling sensation of magicka creeping around her as the salts gave off a soft, white glow. Rylzyr nodded and backed away from the circle. "Now we may begin."
Ally shivered a bit at the feeling and had to resist the urge to preen her scales and wings. "Right." She shuffled in place a bit, then let out a sharp breath and nodded.
"Okay. Whenever you're ready, Master Rylzyr. I can begin an incantation."
"Hey, Ry." Zaryn walked up to his cousin and placed a hand on his shoulder. With worry coloring his eyes, he whispered into Rylzyr's ear in his native tongue, "what if this doesn't work? Could she die from this?"
Rylzyr turned to meet Zaryn, his gaze calm and confident. "There's always a risk, but I'm confident she'll come out of this fine. Besides, if I notice anything go wrong I'll disrupt the magic. I won't let anything bad happen to her." He turned his gaze to Ally and gave her a small nod. "We're ready."
Ally blinked as they spoke in that foreign language, wishing desperately that she could understand what they were saying.
She gave a brisk nod and a quiet huff when Rylzyr gave her the go-ahead. Closing her eyes, she began the incantation, shifting in place and flexing her claws into the earth as she felt power- hers and the mage's- crawling over her scales.
At first, nothing seemed to be happening, much like what had happened in the jungle. Then light started to gather around her, a soft glow at first that grew into sparks and flashes glinting off her scales until she was almost obscured by the light.
A blinding white light emanated from the dragon, illuminating the darkened skies and casting long shadows across the the gardens. Rylzyr stood alert and ready, his eyes dancing around the circle in attempt to catch even the slightest flaw in case he needed to disrupt the magic. Truth be told, all of this was a shot in the dark. Even though he has read books and alchemy he had only dabbled in it once or twice throughout his life. The whole setup was completely experimental with applications borrowed from other schools of magic. Still, it was better than nothing.
Hopefully.
The light flashed once, twice, three times, then Ally gave a soft cry as an odd feeling rippled through her- not quite pain, or even really discomfort, but it just felt odd.
Then the light faded and she slumped to her knees- oh thank gods, she had knees!
The now very much human girl looked up at Zaryn and Rylzyr, panting lightly, her choppy hair sticking to a thin sheen of sweat that covered her face. "I-" She coughed, then rasped out, "I think it worked."
"Hey," Zaryn said with a grin stuck on his face. "It looks like it did! Hopefully it'll stick this time."
Rylzyr crossed to the center of the circle with his floating book trailing behind him. Every step he took let out a dull cracking sound as the lifeless grey salts shuffled about under his feet. He stopped in front of Ally.
"How are you feeling?" the mage asked.
Curled in on herself, she shivered and wrapped her arms around her body in a rather futile attempt to afford some modesty. "Um, a little sore," she murmured. "But...okay."
Zaryn was right though. She just hoped this time the transformation would be permanent.
A small, friendly smile appeared on Rylzyr's face as he took off his long jacket and wrapped it around Ally's body, its velvety warm fabric swallowing her whole. The mage remained crouched in front of her as the phoenix feather quill scratched away in his book.
"Just okay?" Rylzyr said.
She clutched at the cost, huddling into it, and nodded slowly. "Sort of...out of it, I guess," she whispered, seemingly fascinated by her own fingers. "And- kinda weird. I got so used to having wings..."
"I see." Rylzyr nodded. He pushed himself off the ground and extended a hand to Ally. "Can you stand? I'd like to continue this over some tea at my place. Plus, you appear to be around my apprentice's size. Perhaps she can lend you some clothes."
"Th-thanks." Shakily, she took his hand and got to her feet, swaying as she adjusted to her new center of gravity. "Whoa." She blinked, then laughed sheepishly, "Gosh, I didn't realize how much my tail affected my balance."
Zaryn chuckled as he made his way toward Ally. "Well if you need any help walking, sweetheart, you can lean on one of us."
Another grateful little smile and a murmured, "Thanks." Ally took a few hesitant steps and added with a bit of determination, "I think I can walk."
Zaryn chuckled as the group turned and headed back in the direction of Rylzyr's house, leaving the dusty gray alchemy circle dead in the bright green grass of the garden. They made their way through the empty cobblestone streets, their shadows dancing as the lights of the lamps blanketed the city in their soft glow. As they came to a charming two-story stone house, Rylzyr ducked into the house, followed by Zaryn and Ally. The mage led the two through a dark hallway and into a large room decorated with colorful tapestries and a matching rug. On one end of the room, in front of a large stone arch that led to the kitchen, stood a long table and eight matching chairs. On the opposite side there was a rocking chair which faced the sizable fireplace and two large bookcases. Books and scrolls lined the room and engulfed the table completely.
"Wow," Zaryn said as he walked towards the fireplace. He stuck his hands out and felt as the warmth of the fire tickled his skin. "I like what you've done with the place." He turned to meet his cousin, jealousy painting his electric blue eyes. "Money sure does come in handy, doesn't it, cousin?"
"There's more to life than just money, Zaryn," Rylzyr said. He pulled out a table and gestured for Ally to take a seat. "Please, my dear, make yourself at home. I'll call on my apprentice." And with that, the mage exited the room.
"So," Zaryn turned to the woman, a smirk cracking across his face. "No dragon yet. That's a good sign. Wouldn't it be funny if you turned inside Ryl's house? Hah. The look on his face..."
She more or less collapsed into the chair, too exhausted to do much else.
Ally gave him a weak smile. "Don't joke," she murmured. "We still don't know how permanent this is..."
"Aw, don't be so grim." A reassuring smile appeared across Zaryn's face. "I'm sure it's fine and if it isn't, we'll figure something out."
Ally curled her legs up under her body and nodded at him with a small smile. "Thank you, really," she murmured. "You and you're cousin both. You've done so much to help me, I don't know how to pay you back."
"I got to get out of Essyrn for the first time in years," Zaryn said with a genuine smile. "Even made a new friend. That's good enough for me, darling."
Her smile grew a bit and she nodded again. "Well, if there's anything I can ever do for you, don't hesitate to ask," she told him.
"Sure thing, sweetheart," the warrior said with a wink.
Just a moment later, Rylzyr ducked into the room closely followed by a small Wood Elf girl. She examined Ally with narrowed emerald eyes and turned to Rylzyr. "Is this the dragon lady," she asked.
Rylzyr glared at the girl and crossed his arms. "Don't be rude," he said before turning back to Ally. "This is my apprentice, Bryn. You may follow her up to her room and borrow some clothes from her if you wish.
She chuckled quietly at the girl and nodded, getting shakily to her feet. "More lady than dragon for now, hopefully," she murmured with a small smile.
"Let's hope so," Bryn said as a wide smile spread across her face. Gesturing for Ally to follow, she turned and walked from the room. They walked up a narrow set of stairs, through another hallway, and into the far door on the left. The room was illuminated with the soft glow of the candles. It was a cozy little area, with a soft bed topped with a colorful quilt opposing a large oak armoire. Bryn dug through the armoire and fished out a simple cream tunic and brown trousers. With a contemplative frown, she held it up to Ally.
"I think this will work," she said as she handed her the clothes. "I mean, it might be a little small, but it's better than an over-sized coat. You can change in here. I'll wait outside." With a small smile and a slight bow, the wood elf scurried out of the room.
"Thank you." Ally took the clothes and changed rather slowly, glancing around the room.
This was the longest she'd been human in a year- it felt a little strange.
Once dressed, she moved to leave the room. "Um...I'm presentable."
"Okidoki!"
Bryn led the two down the stairs an back into the living room. Zaryn and Rylzyr sat next to each other at the table, talking rather amicably in their native tongue as they sipped from cups of steaming hot tea. As they saw Ally enter the room, the two of them gave her a warm smile and Rylzyr gestured for her it sit opposite of him.
"I'm sure Bryn's clothes are much more comfortable than my jacket," Rylzyr said. "Would you care for some tea?"
"That would be lovely, thank you." Ally smiled and took a seat cautiously. She gave Bryn a grateful look and added, "Yes. It's nice to be able to wear clothes again."
She shifted a bit, then added with a small chuckle, "Though I still seem to be missing my wings and tail a bit."
"Quite understandable," Rylzyr chuckled. "Bryn,"he turned to his apprentice. "Would you mind fetching a cup of tea for our guest?"
The Wood Elf nodded her head and ducked into the kitchen, returning a minute later with a warm cup of chamomile tea. She set the steaming cup in front of Ally and wordlessly scampered from the room.
"Well," the mage said as he opened his leather book and. With quill in hand, he examined Ally's face with his keen eyes. "If you don't mind, I would like to go over a few things before you leave. First, how are you feeling? Any changes?"
"Well, the adjustment is...odd," she said after a moment, sipping at her tea. "But I think I feel...mostly like myself. Albeit very tired," she added with a laugh.
"We'll make this quick," the mage said as he scratched away in his book. "I suggest you keep a journal on any changes that you notice, even small ones. Be sure to include anything you think may have triggered it. That way, if you were to turn back into a dragon you would have something to work off of."
"Yes, that's a good idea." Ally scrubbed her hands down her face, then offered a rather shaky sort of smile. "I- I truly am grateful for everything you've done, and I don't want to seem rude, but... I haven't seen my family in over six months, and I'm truly exhausted..."
"Right, I understand. I will let you go soon. I would just like to go over a few more things, ask you a couple more questions, maybe run a couple of tests--"
"Rylzyr," Zaryn said softly as he placed a hand on his cousin's shoulder. "Enough with the tests and shit. Just let the poor girl go home, alright?"
"I--alright." Rylzyr let out a long sight as he gingerly set his quill down on the table. "Bryn and I will be leaving for Cerenis very soon, so I'm afraid we won't be around for you to call on if you run into any trouble. However, if you are ever in need of my assistance, don't hesitate to send me a letter or stop by."
"Yes." Ally smiled and hurriedly got to her feet, holding a hand out to him with a smile. "Yes, thank you. Thank you so much, really, I don't know how I can repay you."
"There's not much you can do to repay me, but if I'm ever in the need of an alchemist I may come to you for a favor."
Zaryn let out a sharp snicker as he rested his gaze on Ally. "That's his way of saying don't worry about it. So yeah, don't worry about it, sweetheart!"
"Oh! Before you leave," Rylzyr said as he went fishing through his satchel. He pulled out a small burlap bag and placed it on the table in front of Ally. "Take this. These are the same magicka salts I used in the alchemy circle. They're pretty self-explanatory; in order to activate them they must come in contact with magic, so casting any spell on them should work. They will absorb the raw magicka within the spell and store the energy for future use. They're quite versatile and very handy but they're also very expensive and incredibly hard to come by so please careful on how you use them."
"Thank you. Again." She smiled and scooped the bag up, glancing inside and nodding as she attempted to familiarize herself briefly with the materials.
"Please, if you ever need my help feel free to call on my." She hesitated a moment, then spontaneously moved forward and wrapped her arms around Rylzyr in a grateful, heartfelt hug.
Rylzyr was taken aback slightly by Ally's embrace, but his startled expression quickly morphed into a smile as he wrapped his arms around her and reciprocated her hug.
"It was my pleasure," he said.
She smiled and pulled away, nodding to him. "Well, thank you. And Bryn, tell her I'll have the clothes sent back as soon as I can."
She glanced at Zaryn, considered a moment, then asked, "Would you like to accompany me home? Or are you more comfortable staying with your cousin?"
Zaryn's eyes danced between the two before setting on Ally.
"I think I'd like to stay here for a bit. Do some catching up."
"Very well." She dipped into a shallow curtsy with a smile. "Thank you both, again."
"No problem," Rylzyr said. "Don't hesitate to send me a letter if you need anything. Oh, and please do take care."
"See ya around, sweetheart!" Zaryn said with a smile.