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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 Barlow hummed softly as he finished cleaning up the shop. Business had slowed down, and the orange light of the sunset trickled through the ceiling windows. Taza had already gone home- she said she needed to take an afternoon nap.

Finally finished with sweeping, Randal leaned the broom against the wall. He took a step back and admired his handiwork. "Ok, so the shipment of mustard seeds has been put away, I've watered all the plants, and I've swept the floor. The safe and the basement door have both been locked. Is there anything else I need to before I close up?" Looking around the room and determining that he had no more odd jobs to do, Randal turned around and began to walk towards the door...

*CRASH*

Randal quickly spun around to see that the broom had fallen over and knocked the pot of aloe vera off of it's shelf. Shards of pottery and soil littered the floor. "Aw, come on!" Randal yelled. "I just cleaned up!" Rushing over to the broom, he hastily began sweeping again. "Stupid stupid stupid! This the worst! I'll have to re-pot this too!"

Just then, the door chimes jingled. Randal froze. "A customer? Come on! Not now!"


Whim

The labyrinth of side streets and back-alleys outside the blue orchid always had its share of mischief makers and drunks after sunset, but tonight was different. Zantaric itself was livelier than usual. There had been a mage-duel up near one of the big houses on the hill, with wisps of black smoke still visible against the orange sky. And for the better half of the evening pairs of goblins in heavy armor were stopping travellers at checkpoints. They were looking for a boy.

Ewan let out an audible sigh as he ducked into the flower-shop, planting his back to the door. It was good to be indoors. A boy wearing stockings, shortpants, and a silk shirt - even if they were soiled and burnt - was going to stick out in Zantaric. It was just a matter of making a new wand. Or finding one. The little sorcerer snapped back to reality and looked around the shop, which seemed more of an indoor jungle. At a glance it seemed abandoned, though he hear movement behind one of the shelves.

"H-hello?" Ewan called out in a small voice. He turned the corner, letting out a gasp and jumping back as he came face to face with... a scruffy boy, about his own age, though quite a bit taller. Just a kid. That could be good or bad. Won't ask questions like a grownup - adult - at least. "Oh! Hi! Um, do you work here? I gotta buy a kind of flower..." he trailed off, fidgeting, eyes darting around the room.
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 set down the broom and was about to rush out and greet his guest- but his his guest ended up greeting him instead. Well, "greeting" probably wasn't the right word. "Stumbling upon" seemed a bit more accurate.

The customer was a young boy, a bit younger than Randal- or maybe he was Randal's age, and simply hadn't gone through his growth spurt yet. Either way, Randal seemed to tower over him. The boy nervously asked about buying a flower, and Randal smiled. "Aww, I bet he's getting it for his mom or something. That's sweet."

Randal nodded. "Yeah, I work here every day!" he said excitedly. "We're actually closing soon, but I think I still have time to help you!" Randal began to walk towards the shelf with the most colorful flowers on it. "Now, is this flower for a birthday, or is it for another occasion?" He looked back and shot the boy a sly grin. "A girl, maybe?"

Whim

Ewan turned an alarming shade of red at Randall's smirk, screwing up his face with reflexive revulsion. "It's not for a girl! I need a special kind of flower. It's got to be a blue. And it's got to have been planted under a full moon. Its for a wand. And I am a sorcerer! So if you... lie I'll make you into a frog," he added, a faint smile crossing his face.

The boy's gaze flickered over the shelves and displays. There were roses, orchids, and ropy cacti from Essryn and colorful (and toothy) flowers from yet further south. He sured hoped they'd have stems fit for a wand. Of course this wasn't Serendipity...
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

The boy became very flustered at Randal's suggestion, and was soon threatening to turn him into a frog. Randal's eyes widened. "A sorcerers apprentice! But that's awesome! You're lucky, I only know one spell..."

Randal's ears flushed red, and he quickly shook his head. "No no no! That didn't sound professional at all!" Clearing his throat, he tried to get back to business. "Um, you'll need to be a little more specific... There are two blue flowers that need to be planted during a full moon. Did you want shimmer lilies, or violet gibbous?"


Whim

"I'm nobody's apprentice. I know all sorts of magic already," Ewan added officiously, sounding quite a bit more pompous than he meant to. It would be a shame to escape a witch's mansion only to lose to an 11-year-old at fisticuffs. "One spell's still more than most anyway. I bet you're... a... floramancer?"

His face went back at Randall's question. Was there a difference? He just knew it had to be planted beneath the full moon because that's when the Otherworld touches ours. And blue because blue is the color of knowledge and stuff. Interspection. Introspection! "Um, I don't know? What sorts of flowers do people get for wands? I never even heard of a Violet Gibbous. It sounds cool? Because shimmer lilies are expensive, right?" spoken like a true master of magic.
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

"Nope!" Randal beamed at the boy, happy to be able to show off. "I don't know what kind of 'mancer I am! I think Lady Hildegarde called me a..." The boy paused, trying to remember the exact term. "A synchromancer? I dunno, it sounded super fancy though!"

"Ah! Focus! I gotta focus!" Randal thought. "Um, right. Well, violet gibbous is typically used for alchemy and stuff, so it's probably shimmer lilies you're looking for." Randal grabbed a nearby stool and walked it over to the correct shelf. "It's not that expensive..."

And then the boy's heart sank as he reached the top shelf. He looked as his customer, an apologetic look on his face. "Um... Do you need the wand, like, now? Because we're all out of shimmer lilies..."

Whim

Ewan's shoulder sagged at the bad news. Gosh his shirt was stiff! "I kinda needed it for today.  How long is it gonna to take to get more? Does someone just need to go out to the woods and pick one? Because I can pay extra!" It seemed important not to sound too excited and over-eager. He thrust a fistful of baubles from his pocket toward Randall with an eager smile. There was gold necklace with a green stone set like a flower, a little bronze horse figurine, and a silver ring with writing on it. That was everything he snatched, but so long as he had the wand gold didn't matter.

From outside there was a loud crash, and a screech of pain.

***

"Piss-n-shit you ugly cock-mongler! Get snide with me and I'll chop off that fish-tail, and diddle your ma with it!" came a gravelly voice. Through the dusty window panes a short figure in blackened plate, a dwarf in-fact, was working over a dragon-man of some sort. A pair of smirking goblins gripped it by the arms.

"S-saws nothing!" it hissed.

"Reckon ya should have said so, eh?" the dwarf, Narlis Thordane, slammed his fist into the drakollis' gut and it collapsed with a shriek. "Angsar's ass. Check this street, boys." The dwarf turned away, and the goblins fanned out to the various storefronts. One of them, with Thordane, toward the Blue Orchid.

***

Color drained from the boy's face as he watched the scene from afar. Randall's words fell on deaf ears. "Oh no!" Ewan hissed and darted back behind a shelf, which nearly toppled.
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

"Um..." sad Randal, looking at the trinkets the boy had shoved in in face. "Uh, I don't think I'm allowed the accept payment in jewelry and stuff..." He scratched the back of his head. "You'll probably need to pawn that off somewhere..."

The was a commotion outside the window as Randal spoke. The young florist paid it no mind- stuff like this was normal in Zantaric. "I'm pretty sure we'll need to order more shimmer lilies from our vendor in Adela..." Randal said apologetically. "It could take-"

Suddenly his customer squeaked in fear and hid behind the shelf of mushrooms, nearly knocking it over in the process. "Hey!" Randal exclaimed. "What gives?" Turning around, he saw a man approaching the shop from outside the window. "Calm down, please!" he said as the door began to open. "If you're rude to another customer, I'll kick you out!"

Turning to face the door, Randal gave his biggest grin. "Welcome to Blue Orchid, home to all the colors of the rainbow! How can I help you today?"

Whim

Oh no no no! Ewan's heart was pounding. It was so loud surely someone must have heard. The boy had scuttle beneath a table on the other side of a shelf, and sat clutching his knees to his chest. A rush of cold air filled the room as Thordane entered, giving both Serenian boys a sickly chill. The mercenary was clad in iron. The metal had a tendency to drink down magic like a sponge. Ewan remembered learning it made magic do weird stuff underground and cool mutant mushrooms and worms grew near it. Why was he thinking of that now?

***

Narlis gave a snort of annoyance after passing a display rife with pretty smells and bright flowers. What use were pretty plants that died in a week? What sort of MAN would waste coin on such a frivolous gift? A nice black kettle, or a good sharp cleaver, is what a woman needs. Before him stood a grubby kid grinning like an idiot. The dwarf raised a bushy eye-brow and stared at Randal with incredulity until the boy caught on. The net-wielding goblin who came toddling after, known as Dogstink, seemed to find this hilarious and struggled to suppress a cackle.

"Ain't the flower-buying type, runt. I'm Narlis Thordane, captain of the Grimguts. Saved this stinkpit from a dragon last month. The hero of Zantaric they call me!" Some weeks ago a feathered rainbow dragon had been seen in the hills showering travelers with healing rain and good fortune. The "menace" had since been sold to an Essryni sultan. Narlis forced a smile. Tobacco stained teeth and squinty eyes did not make it an especially heartwarming. "I'm with the guard, in a manner of speaking. Official business!"

"Yup!" Dogstink stood at attention and gave Randal a mock solute.

"A little shitstain, uh, whelp about your age has gone missing. The name is Ewan; he's got fair skin, light hair, fancy clothes. His ma lives up on the Peak and is worried sick ya see." Zantar's Peak was one of the nicer districts. It was home to slavers, sorcerers, and exiled nobility. The Peak was more a collection of fortresses than homes and one of the few bastions of "law" in the city. "Boy's a mage and can't control his power. If ya catch him chasing cats, pissing into letterboxes, or whatever you brats do best give a shout. Ya wanna be a hero, aye?"
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 to smile as the iron-clad dwarf spoke to him, although it was clearly forced. The man gave off an oppressive vibe, and it gave the young boy the chills. Or maybe it was his armor that was doing that- it was very hard to tell. "Taza says I should always be polite and helpful to customers..." Randal thought. "But this guy isn't a customer. What do I do?"

"The hero of Zantaric they call me!"

As if on cue, Randal's entire mindset shifted. The boy gave the shorter man an odd look. It wasn't quite admiration, but it couldn't be called disdain either. This was a good guy- the toughest good guy in Zantaric, apparently. Randal's hand clenched into a fist. "I'm going to beat you." he thought, a determined glint in his eyes.

The dwarf was looking for the boy who was currently hiding behind the shelf of mushrooms- Ewan, he said his name was. "If a good guy like this is looking for him..." the young florist thought. "Then Ewan must be a bad guy too! And bad guys stick together!"

"A boy with fancy clothes?" Randal asked, tilting his head to the side. "I saw him run past here half an hour ago! He had a big bag of stuff with him, that's how I noticed." Walking over to the window, he pointed. "He went that way, towards Ettin Street!"

Whim

"Ettin street, eh? Thanks kid. Ya did good! Might be fit to hold my beer some day." Narlis chortled, flicking a copper coin in Randall's direction. It bore the tarnished face of some old king who died on the Serha plains. It was a fine thing to be good at killing, be rich, and watch scum grovel in hopes your greatness would rub off. It never got old. "Come on, Shitace. Its Dogstink ain't it? Well come on, Dogstink. Let's hope they got someone to tan the brat's hide when we get him back." The Hero of Zantaric, and commander of the Grimgut Company, turned and clanked his way out the door. An assortment of thugs clad in spiky armor rallied to him, and marched off.


***

Ewan let out a loud sigh and slumped to the floor. His head was swimming. "Thanks for not telling," the boy gave Randal a weak smile, brushing some of the dirt from his short-pants. It was a silly thing to do because they were already ripped and muddy.

"Its not my mother who wants me back. The lady is a witch, you see, but she was stealing my magic so she could stay younger forever and making me work in her garden and-" There was hardly a point to giving him that mouthful. What could a boy in a flower-shop really do? Gossip spread fast among kids; all his friends would surely know soon enough. "Well if you don't got a wand for me I'd better go! Unless you got some spare clothes? I'll, um, give you that ring for them?"

Being at the mercy of an eleven-year-old florist was more embarrassing than being captive to a witch, really.
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 waved as the man left. "Thank you sir! If you ever need flowers, we'll be here!" When he was sure the dwarf was gone, he turned around, a smirk on his face. "Ha! Take that, hero! Bad guys win!"

Ewan then emerged from his hiding place, attempting to explain what was "really" going on. Randal motioned for him to stop. "It's ok, you're among Friends here." He beamed. "You really got the hero of Zantaric after you? That's so cool! I never get to meet other bad guys my age!" The boy bounced on his heels excitedly. "What did you really do? Steal something valuable? Assassinate somebody?" He shook his head. "Whatever it was, I bet it was awesome!"

Whim

"I-I'm not in trouble! I'm a transmutationist, not a kid, and they took my magic and I can prove it and-" Ewan crossed his arms defiantly. The little rant was cut short when Randal's words sunk in.

"Wait wait wait... you're a bad guy? What do you do? Trample flower patches to sell extras?" really, the boy needed to screw up his face to stop from giggling. For an aspiring villain the kid sure was... sunny. "Sorry. Um, my name's Ewan by the way. Nice to meet ya."
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 quickly locked the door and closed the blinds. "If that hero comes back, he'll know I lied!" Walking back to Ewan, he beamed. "I'm Randal! And I don't step on flowers, that'd be dumb." The boy's grin grew a bit wider. "Naw, I help to sell drugs! My older friend Taza runs her real business here, we just pretend to be flower people because it makes us look good!"

Randal snickered. "Okay, now you gotta tell me what you did! Big shot heroes like that guy don't just go after anybody you know!"

Whim

"Oh, potions and herbs you ain't suppose to have? Ya mean Like Wendroot and Aetheril?" There was a lot you weren't allowed to grow or bring into Serendipity. Wendroot spores could grow inside a person, bore their way into the head, and make them suggestible if not slaves. Aetheril incense thinned the veil to the spirit realm. What kinda store was this? The boy was awful cheery about peddling poisons.

"Well once this evil priestess was trying to stop me from doing magic and she had magic too and was beating me in a wizard duel so then I cast another spell that put a seed inside her and then she hit me with a fireball and I think I died but then the seed inside her grew into a copy of me and then it killed her and I came back to life!" arms flailed wildly as he tried to explain the mage duel through gestures. As Ewan thought about it he had done some amazing things. Maybe nothing malicious, but he was still great. "I can reverse ageing too! Oh, and once I stole a horse.

"So, um, do you think you can help?"
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

"Whoa!" Randal said excitedly, eyes lighting up. "You really did that to her? That's nasty!" He grinned. "Awesome!" The young florist bounced on his heels. "We sell this one plant, fenshade, that corrupts your soul if you eat it! And we sell opium, and deathblooms, and datura stramonium too!"

Randal crossed his arms. "You don't need to worry about that guy- I have Friends in high places." The boy grinned. "I bet Sarah or Griselda could totally murder him!" He scratched the back of his head. "We'd just need to go ask my boss for permission first..."

Whim

Fenshade. It was forever ago that Ewan was in Serendipity chatting with alchemists by the river. Since going south it was nothing but nightmares and tears. Well... tears just once. Only once. It was nice to have a friendly face around. "Aw man it worked out amazing! So what do you do with all that stuff anyway? Just who buys fenshade and datra stramamium anyways?

"And I-I guess killing him would be awful nice! But she'd need to fight a whole army to save me and I bet that won't he free because there's like a bounty on my head because I'm magic and-" a tiny hand slapped his forehead. Dumb! Randal's boss right want him too. "You know if I changed my clothes and got a haircut I bet I'd be good..."

Traveling without a wand was stupid though. A kid might go unnoticed in the alleys of Zantaric, but the roads were rife with slavers. Could end up a cabin bit for pirates, or chained to a grain mill, or worse...
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

"Bad guys buy it, that's who! And I have some spare clothes at my apartment!" Randal said excitedly. "And Taza cuts my hair sometimes! We can ask her, if she's not asleep!" He looked down at Ewan, head tilted to the side. "The clothes might be too big though. You're a lot smaller than me."

The young florist walked over to a large pot of chamomile on the floor. "I can get us to my place without even going outside, too!" he bragged, lifting the pot and moving it to the side. " You don't have to worry about that guy seeing you!" The boy grabbed a small handle on the floor and pulled it up, revealing a trapdoor. "We have secret tunnels, see! We're the only gang in Zantaric who has them mapped out! I think..."

Whim

Ewan blushed at the thought of Randal's guardian, or older sister, or whatever she was confining him to a stool and cutting his hair. "I'm not that much smaller than you..." he rocked onto the balls of his feet, tracing a hand from a protruding cowlick to Randal's forehead. "See?"

The boys scrambled down a crude ladder and into the catacombs below, leaping the last few rungs. There was a loud splash as Ewan landed in a puddle of stagnant water, crushing a fungal polyp. "Ew! Yuck!" he darted back, screwing up his face in disgust. "Uh, sorry. So which way?" The world around them was dim orange, thanks to the flickering lantern nearby. Zantaric's underworks, at least in this district, were more of a roughhewn cavern than a proper aqueduct. Loose, mold-slick bricks lined the walls and a thatch of roots and fungoid hyphae dangled from the ceiling. It was dark, moist, and already the tunnel branched in three directions.

The echoes of running water and muffled voices, whether from above or beyond, made it difficult to hear.
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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