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Addicted To Adventure (Whim)

Started by Eckhart_Von_Musel, October 06, 2017, 04:12:27 PM

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Eckhart_Von_Musel

Randal climbed down the ladder after Ewan, closing the trapdoor behind him. "Careful!" he called to his new friend as he landed in the muck. "We grow stuff down here! Some of this is valuable merchandise!"

The boy carefully stepped down from the ladder, taking a deep breath. The air in the tunnel was cold and damp, and always smelled like mildew. "Um..." Randal said, looking at the fork ahead of them. "It's left, left, straight." Randal began to walk ahead, running his hand along the slimy tunnel wall. "Come on Ewan, we gotta keep together! Taza says bad stuff happens if you get separated down here!"

Whim

"I'm coming! Its just that its getting in my sock and everything..." Ewan splashed after Randal with a stilted gate. Each step was horrible and squishy as filthwater leached into his stockings. "And you weren't gonna try and sell me some plant grown in a sewer were you? And do you grow Mycodentia? They don't actually have teeth but its actually spikes and they trap things and then they melt them. Oh! And how'd you get to working at a flower shop anyway..."

On the very edge of his perception beneath the splashes, drips, and echoes, Randal heard something. It was a ragged, breathy panting just inches behind the boy as if following him very close. It might have been Ewan. Of course, when he turned around the little wizard was sloshing along several meters behind...
Awesome avatar by Eckhart_von_Musel

Guilds:
Wyrdwood Academy of Arcane Science

Events:
The Midnight Harvest
Into the Mouth of Qokagax

Characters:
Ewan ap Rhys - once a great sorcerer, now a small boy
Anwen ferch Rhys - scholar of blood magic
Duke Blackthorn - Duke of Dawn and Dusk, Warden of Weal and Woe, and all-around evil faerie
"Kaliam" - magically conjoined apprentice wizards
Maergath - Magister of Soulshaping, necromancer, angry and hateful wizard
Narlis Thordane - Hero for hire, proud and unrepentant scumlord
Niamh Wayrest - trader in forbidden lore, purveyor of curiosities
OLIVER THE BARBARIAN - a very reluctant hero and monster-slayer
Sage Whitechalk - heir to the Whitechalk Family
Saoirse Nettlefield - Headmistress of Wyrdwood, conniving academic

Eckhart_Von_Musel

"Aw, don't be like that!" Randal said as he sloshed through the tunnel. "This place is gross, but it's like, fun gross!" The boy grinned as he felt the grimy water in between his toes. "I think we sell something like those, yeah! But ours have eyes and make noise..."

Randal was about to tell his friend how he came to meet Taza, but the sound of ragged breathing from behind him got him to stop. He looked behind him. "Um... Ewan? Are you okay? You didn't accidentally inhale something funny, right?"

Whim

"I don't think so. Why? And I guess you're right. Fun gross!" An impish grin washed over Ewan's face, and he reached down to slide off the stockings, twirling one around like a sling. Why the hell was he playing in old well-water? Then again, if you're stuck forever as a kid you'd ought to have some fun, right? Laughing, he lobbed the slimy linen toward the shadowy boy further ahead. "Probably gonna end up with mushrooms growing out of your hair now!"

The hot breath and raspy whispers were gone. A keen eye might have noticed faint ripples of water trail off down a darker tunnel...
Awesome avatar by Eckhart_von_Musel

Guilds:
Wyrdwood Academy of Arcane Science

Events:
The Midnight Harvest
Into the Mouth of Qokagax

Characters:
Ewan ap Rhys - once a great sorcerer, now a small boy
Anwen ferch Rhys - scholar of blood magic
Duke Blackthorn - Duke of Dawn and Dusk, Warden of Weal and Woe, and all-around evil faerie
"Kaliam" - magically conjoined apprentice wizards
Maergath - Magister of Soulshaping, necromancer, angry and hateful wizard
Narlis Thordane - Hero for hire, proud and unrepentant scumlord
Niamh Wayrest - trader in forbidden lore, purveyor of curiosities
OLIVER THE BARBARIAN - a very reluctant hero and monster-slayer
Sage Whitechalk - heir to the Whitechalk Family
Saoirse Nettlefield - Headmistress of Wyrdwood, conniving academic

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Randal shrieked with laughter as the slimy sock hit the back of his head. "Ahahahaha! Oh come on, surprise attacks aren't fair!" He spun around, scooping up a wad of sludge from the ground and flinging it at Ewan. "Haha! Now you'll need a haircut and a bath!"

Whim

"Eegha!" came as a shrill cry as Randal returned fire. Errupting with peels of laughter, the boy ducked down a nearby tunnel. His skinny chest rose and fell, heart pounding. Gosh, it was as fun as when he beat that dumb Amazon witch in a wizard duel. And he got to turn her cat into a lion that ate her!

This place was just a grid of tunnels, wasn't it? Just has to double back around and he'd get Randal from behind! Slowly and steadily, and trying not to splash, Ewan creepy twice and thrice around a bend. Ahead a small figure was huddled against the wall. It must be Randal. "Sneak attack! whose the big villain now?!" he roared, pelting him with mud.
Awesome avatar by Eckhart_von_Musel

Guilds:
Wyrdwood Academy of Arcane Science

Events:
The Midnight Harvest
Into the Mouth of Qokagax

Characters:
Ewan ap Rhys - once a great sorcerer, now a small boy
Anwen ferch Rhys - scholar of blood magic
Duke Blackthorn - Duke of Dawn and Dusk, Warden of Weal and Woe, and all-around evil faerie
"Kaliam" - magically conjoined apprentice wizards
Maergath - Magister of Soulshaping, necromancer, angry and hateful wizard
Narlis Thordane - Hero for hire, proud and unrepentant scumlord
Niamh Wayrest - trader in forbidden lore, purveyor of curiosities
OLIVER THE BARBARIAN - a very reluctant hero and monster-slayer
Sage Whitechalk - heir to the Whitechalk Family
Saoirse Nettlefield - Headmistress of Wyrdwood, conniving academic

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Randal continued running down the tunnel, laughing hysterically. Scooping up another wad of sludge, he spun around to throw it at Ewan...

...But his friend was nowhere to be seen. Randal swallowed nervously. "Um, Ewan?" he called out, eyes wide. "Hiding isn't part of the game, we could get lost down here..."

A cry coming from down a side tunnel caused the boy to jump. "Oh no! Ewan!" he shouted, barreling in the direction the voice had come from. "I'm coming, hang on!"

***

Porcelina Juárez was not having a good day. Not only had she been commissioned five paintings of her boss's room -the most bland, uninteresting thing to paint, she'll have you know- but her mother had cancelled their dinner plans together due to a particularly bad stomach virus. As if that wasn't bad enough, the half-dwarf had been unable to get any work done because that obnoxious Sarah girl had been pestering her all day. Porcelina had finally given up and come here- the tunnels were one of the only genuinely quiet places in the city.

The woman sighed, leaning against the damp tunnel wall. "Porcelina do this, Porcelina do that." she muttered angrily. "Paint me like one of your Adelan girls, Porcelina! Gods, I fucking hate-AAH!"

A screaming child had appeared seemingly out of nowhere, pelting Porcelina in the face with muddy water. Fuming, she took off her glasses and attempted to wipe them off on her dress. It only made them streaky. Scowling, she stared at the child for a moment before loosing her temper.

"You imp!" she screamed. "What is the matter with you? I'm telling your parents about this!"

Whim

A hoarse gasp escaped the boy's lips, and color from his cheeks. His victim was not much taller than him, but big enough, and very temperamental. "Oh-my-gosh-I'm sorry!" It was hard not to giggle. She wasn't some robber or crazy person, just a stuffy librarian dripping with muck.

"I got money to get you cleaned. See?" grubby fingers probed his vest and short-pants for stray coins or jewelry. Not a penny. Wide, stormy eyes darted frantically in search of an escape route. There were lots of tunnels but all were dark and frightening, but in the distance he'd heard faint splashes. Randal seemed clever even to make a diversion. Ewan raised his voice, shrill as ever, trying to draw attention. "I really thought you were someone else. Honest!"
Awesome avatar by Eckhart_von_Musel

Guilds:
Wyrdwood Academy of Arcane Science

Events:
The Midnight Harvest
Into the Mouth of Qokagax

Characters:
Ewan ap Rhys - once a great sorcerer, now a small boy
Anwen ferch Rhys - scholar of blood magic
Duke Blackthorn - Duke of Dawn and Dusk, Warden of Weal and Woe, and all-around evil faerie
"Kaliam" - magically conjoined apprentice wizards
Maergath - Magister of Soulshaping, necromancer, angry and hateful wizard
Narlis Thordane - Hero for hire, proud and unrepentant scumlord
Niamh Wayrest - trader in forbidden lore, purveyor of curiosities
OLIVER THE BARBARIAN - a very reluctant hero and monster-slayer
Sage Whitechalk - heir to the Whitechalk Family
Saoirse Nettlefield - Headmistress of Wyrdwood, conniving academic

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Porcelina stared at the boy, glowering. "Really?" she asked snidely, quivering with anger. "And who, exactly, did you think I-"

"Ewan!"

Looking over, Porcelina saw Randal splashing through the tunnels towards them. "Of course he's a friend of Taza's brat." she muttered. "Porcelina, why weren't you polite to my adopted son and his friend? You should be nicer to people, blah blah blah..." 

***

Randal sloshed over to his friend, who was currently cowering in fear of some kind of muck monster. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was just Porcelina. The young dealer stood in between the two, arms outstretched. "Porcelina, don't yell! It's rude, and Friends aren't rude to each other!"

Whim

Ewan tried really hard to conceal his smirk as his new friend gave the dwarf a scolding. He giggled anyway - there was no sense in not having fun as a little shit. Or imp as it were. Good thing Randal was more polite, especially for a so-called villain. "I really did think you were Randal in the dark. But its good mud if all those mushrooms can grow in it, hey? It'll stop you getting wrinkly!" It probably was awful to be a mousy little dwarf, and get humiliated by two small boys.

Oh no! Porcelina's eyes flickered in the dark. The dim red coals reminded him of Thordane, madly hewing down treants and spriggans through the flame and smoke. Dwarven clans were tight-knit. Would she talk? The boy visibly stiffened, grin fading. "Do you two know each-other?"
Awesome avatar by Eckhart_von_Musel

Guilds:
Wyrdwood Academy of Arcane Science

Events:
The Midnight Harvest
Into the Mouth of Qokagax

Characters:
Ewan ap Rhys - once a great sorcerer, now a small boy
Anwen ferch Rhys - scholar of blood magic
Duke Blackthorn - Duke of Dawn and Dusk, Warden of Weal and Woe, and all-around evil faerie
"Kaliam" - magically conjoined apprentice wizards
Maergath - Magister of Soulshaping, necromancer, angry and hateful wizard
Narlis Thordane - Hero for hire, proud and unrepentant scumlord
Niamh Wayrest - trader in forbidden lore, purveyor of curiosities
OLIVER THE BARBARIAN - a very reluctant hero and monster-slayer
Sage Whitechalk - heir to the Whitechalk Family
Saoirse Nettlefield - Headmistress of Wyrdwood, conniving academic

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Porcelina growled at Ewan angrily, her eyes twitching. "You miserable shit! You can't treat an artist that way!" she thought, balling her fists. "Who the fuck are you? You're nothing!"

The dwarf opened her mouth to tell this to the child, but he spoke up as soon as she did so. He seemed almost frightened of her now- "Good." Porcelina straightened up, looking down her nose as the boy. "Tch. Of course I-"

"She works for Lady Hildegarde too!" Randal interrupted excitedly. "She's our, um..." He looked at the woman, momentarily confused. "Our... Our... Um..."

"Artist!" she finally snapped. "I'm an artist! Gah, you have no respect!"

Whim

"So you forge paintings for something?" the boy chimed in, trying his best to seem interested. But paintings and sculptures were so dull! You admire them for a minute then they collect dust forever. At the dwarf's incessant scolding Ewan crossed his arms in a defiant pout. The ridiculous, stumpy legged, pinch-faced bitch wasn't going to let up! "We said we were sorry. You don't need to be such a b-bi-buttface and keep yelling!" he cringed, wishing for the courage to say worse.

"And you should show me respect! I'm- I'm a great wizard!" who was some dumb ugly girl who painted useless paintings to tell him what to do? In a display of Eldritch power Ewan extended a hand. A phosphorescent rose sprouted from the boy's palm, casting foxfire over the catacomb. The rose stood erect for a few moments before wilting into sludge... leaving behind a filthy boy holding a rotten plant. The little wizard stood tall, trying his best to appear majestic.
Awesome avatar by Eckhart_von_Musel

Guilds:
Wyrdwood Academy of Arcane Science

Events:
The Midnight Harvest
Into the Mouth of Qokagax

Characters:
Ewan ap Rhys - once a great sorcerer, now a small boy
Anwen ferch Rhys - scholar of blood magic
Duke Blackthorn - Duke of Dawn and Dusk, Warden of Weal and Woe, and all-around evil faerie
"Kaliam" - magically conjoined apprentice wizards
Maergath - Magister of Soulshaping, necromancer, angry and hateful wizard
Narlis Thordane - Hero for hire, proud and unrepentant scumlord
Niamh Wayrest - trader in forbidden lore, purveyor of curiosities
OLIVER THE BARBARIAN - a very reluctant hero and monster-slayer
Sage Whitechalk - heir to the Whitechalk Family
Saoirse Nettlefield - Headmistress of Wyrdwood, conniving academic

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Porcelina erupted into shrill laughter at the sight of Ewan's magical flop. "Heeheeheeheehee! Is that really your best?" She pointed at the boy derisively. "And you're calling me a buttface? Ha!"

"Okay~! We should really get going now I think..." Randal said with a nervously. He gently grabbed Ewan by the shoulder, leading him away. "Bye Porcelina! It was nice talking to you!"

As soon as the dwarf was out of earshot, Randal let out an exasperated groan. "Ugghhh! Why does she have to be so rude!" He shot the other boy a frown. 'I'm really sorry about that. I thought your magic was neat..."

Whim

The fuming boy sneered at Porcelina's shrill, nasal cackle.That stupid ridiculous pig girl porcine-lena was going to get her face stuck to ass and her arms turned into crab hands and she'd have to shit out her mouth and she'd never paint again and oh she was really going to get it now! Stringing those vile epithets into a threat, and working up the courage to make it, was a timely affair. There's no rushing art. Real art. But by the time Ewan finished his comeback Randal had tugged him round the bend.

"Thanks. But you don't need to lie. It was pretty dumb. I was much better when I had my books and staff. So what is synchromancy? I went to wizard school eight whole years and never heard of it.

"And, uh, sorry if I got you in trouble..." He jabbed the flower-boy in the arm with a timid smirk. At the end of the corridor a halo of torchlight filtered down through a ceiling a grate.
Awesome avatar by Eckhart_von_Musel

Guilds:
Wyrdwood Academy of Arcane Science

Events:
The Midnight Harvest
Into the Mouth of Qokagax

Characters:
Ewan ap Rhys - once a great sorcerer, now a small boy
Anwen ferch Rhys - scholar of blood magic
Duke Blackthorn - Duke of Dawn and Dusk, Warden of Weal and Woe, and all-around evil faerie
"Kaliam" - magically conjoined apprentice wizards
Maergath - Magister of Soulshaping, necromancer, angry and hateful wizard
Narlis Thordane - Hero for hire, proud and unrepentant scumlord
Niamh Wayrest - trader in forbidden lore, purveyor of curiosities
OLIVER THE BARBARIAN - a very reluctant hero and monster-slayer
Sage Whitechalk - heir to the Whitechalk Family
Saoirse Nettlefield - Headmistress of Wyrdwood, conniving academic

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Randal opened his mouth to answer Ewan's question, then faltered. He stopped walking as the two boys reached the grate, resting his hand on the rusty ladder. "Wait..." he said, his eyes wide. "You went to school for eight years? But you look younger than me!"

Whim

"Uh..." Ewan chewed his lip, mulling over how to get around the slip-up. Telling his story was just horrible; mostly he wasn't believed or got scolded like some dumb kid anyway. "I'm a bit older than a look. See, I was making a spell that reverses aging and makes you regenerate and stuff. Like eternal youth! It just worked real, real good..." The boy puffed out his chest as he explained, looking pompous. And why should he even feel embarrassed? There wasn't a shit-eating wizard in all Le'raana who came close.

"So what's synchromancy?" it was only polite to ask.
Awesome avatar by Eckhart_von_Musel

Guilds:
Wyrdwood Academy of Arcane Science

Events:
The Midnight Harvest
Into the Mouth of Qokagax

Characters:
Ewan ap Rhys - once a great sorcerer, now a small boy
Anwen ferch Rhys - scholar of blood magic
Duke Blackthorn - Duke of Dawn and Dusk, Warden of Weal and Woe, and all-around evil faerie
"Kaliam" - magically conjoined apprentice wizards
Maergath - Magister of Soulshaping, necromancer, angry and hateful wizard
Narlis Thordane - Hero for hire, proud and unrepentant scumlord
Niamh Wayrest - trader in forbidden lore, purveyor of curiosities
OLIVER THE BARBARIAN - a very reluctant hero and monster-slayer
Sage Whitechalk - heir to the Whitechalk Family
Saoirse Nettlefield - Headmistress of Wyrdwood, conniving academic

Eckhart_Von_Musel

"Ohhhhhhhhh..." Randal said, nodding. "So you're like that flower, rafflesia rejuvinatio? Cool!"

"That's gotta be a lie." the florist thought privately. "But saying that out loud would be really rude..."

Starting up the ladder, Randal grinned. "So, synchromancy is like, playing tag. Except, except, you get people high on drugs!" Pushing up on the grate, the boy clambered out of the tunnel and into a back alley. He reached back inside, offering his hand to help Ewan up. "So, like, if I take a drug and then touch you, you'll get high instead of me! Cool, huh?"

Whim

"Yeah! Rafflesia rejuvinatio's where I got the idea! I just made a spell that makes you part plant and some other stuff, just in real tiny ways." Ewan blathered on, full of excitement. Usually no one wanted to talk about fun things like plants that turned back into saplings or lizards without teeth that spit acid onto people and sucked up the goo.

"Sounds kind of like blood magic. Except instead of, um, hurting yourself to mend people you transfuse poison." Cheerful as Randal was about synchromancy it seemed liable to get him killed or worse. A gang of thieves would hardly have his best interest at heart. Ewan was a grown-up, adult rather, and should set the boy straight. "But you're gonna get sick taking all that stuff!"

Zantaric was a good deal quieter than it had been. Or, at the very least, the Grimguts needed to negotiate entry into the seedier districts. Far in the distance two fighters, with one lantern and one leashed to a slavering worg, meandered through the muddy street. Luckily a thick fog had settled over Zantaric. The two small boys, in the shadow of a neatly kept boarding house, went unnoticed.
Awesome avatar by Eckhart_von_Musel

Guilds:
Wyrdwood Academy of Arcane Science

Events:
The Midnight Harvest
Into the Mouth of Qokagax

Characters:
Ewan ap Rhys - once a great sorcerer, now a small boy
Anwen ferch Rhys - scholar of blood magic
Duke Blackthorn - Duke of Dawn and Dusk, Warden of Weal and Woe, and all-around evil faerie
"Kaliam" - magically conjoined apprentice wizards
Maergath - Magister of Soulshaping, necromancer, angry and hateful wizard
Narlis Thordane - Hero for hire, proud and unrepentant scumlord
Niamh Wayrest - trader in forbidden lore, purveyor of curiosities
OLIVER THE BARBARIAN - a very reluctant hero and monster-slayer
Sage Whitechalk - heir to the Whitechalk Family
Saoirse Nettlefield - Headmistress of Wyrdwood, conniving academic

Eckhart_Von_Musel

"I'm not gonna get sick! Honest!" the boy said defensively. Who did Ewan think he was? Randal's dad? The young dealer's expression visibly soured. "How am I supposed to be a bad guy if I don't do bad stuff?"

Peering around the corner of the apartment building, Randal sighed in relief. The coast was clear except for a single person- Joan O'Reilly was leaning against the wall, guarding the door as she usually did. "Okay." he said, motioning for Ewan to follow. "We're here. Follow me, quick!"

Walking up to the door nonchalantly, Randal nodded to the hooded woman. He was met by a raised eyebrow, and when he tried to open the door he found himself being blocked by a ghostly arm. The boy's heart skipped a beat, and he gave the guard a frightened look. "J-Joan! You can't keep me out! I live here!"

"Simmer down, pipsqueak." Joan said, blowing a stray hair out of her eyes. She motioned to Ewan. "You're gonna need to tell me who that one is before I let him in. Last time you made a new friend they turned out to be a psycho."

Randal's ears went red. "Um..." He looked at Ewan for help. "He's a wizard?"

Whim

Four archers, four axemen, and Toad followed Narlis from Zantar's Hill into the Shitholes. They were his best killers. A fight with the Friends, or any gang really, would be a disaster. City would be ruined and he'd be out a job and a few hundred slaves. Still, Narlis intended to win any fights that broke out and that meant going armed. A not-so-secret part of him wanted it. "Ey Toad. Clean my axe, will ya? Don't want these snatchsniffers to get the wrong idea." The lizardling he roughed up earlier had some friends. Some raggedly men with knives had to jump him after, all with dog tattoos. Narlis cracked their skulls well-enough.

The Grimguts made a show of approaching the Friends' Boarding House. Too subtle and it might seem like war. Narlis gave the surly girl watching the door a leery smile. "Got ourselves a bounty here! You and yours ever laid eyes on a thousand Serenian suns? Its a pretty sight. Ya can buy a bath to wash the shitstink off, maybe eat some meat that ain't rat.

"Lady Isaura's lost one of her wards. His name is Ewan. Small, pale and spotty. Reddish hair like a girl. The runt also pisses magic and will make a stir if he ain't looked after. He's slick. Older than he looks. We're paying for him back, you like gold, and that's that."

***

Ewan's heart sank. Randal seemed on the verge of throwing a fit; these sorts probably did push him around for fun. Though he didn't seem any worse for it besides an eerie eagerness to be a villain.

The little wizard stepped forward. Now he was going to have to explain it all, again, to a skeptical grown-up. Adult! "My name's Ewan. I got slavers looking for me, and Randal said I could hide with you guys maybe? It will only be for a few days. I really am a wizard! I could mend you when you get cut up, or make you look pretty, or make your plants grow real fast!" The boy gave a shy smile, eyes just slightly downcast, in his best efforts to look helpless and winsome. That usually helped dodge trouble. But between the tattered clothes and layer of mud, Ewan looked looked more like some horrible little goblin.
Awesome avatar by Eckhart_von_Musel

Guilds:
Wyrdwood Academy of Arcane Science

Events:
The Midnight Harvest
Into the Mouth of Qokagax

Characters:
Ewan ap Rhys - once a great sorcerer, now a small boy
Anwen ferch Rhys - scholar of blood magic
Duke Blackthorn - Duke of Dawn and Dusk, Warden of Weal and Woe, and all-around evil faerie
"Kaliam" - magically conjoined apprentice wizards
Maergath - Magister of Soulshaping, necromancer, angry and hateful wizard
Narlis Thordane - Hero for hire, proud and unrepentant scumlord
Niamh Wayrest - trader in forbidden lore, purveyor of curiosities
OLIVER THE BARBARIAN - a very reluctant hero and monster-slayer
Sage Whitechalk - heir to the Whitechalk Family
Saoirse Nettlefield - Headmistress of Wyrdwood, conniving academic

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