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Maladies Most Unusual (COMPLETE)

Started by Eckhart_Von_Musel, December 24, 2016, 02:09:55 PM

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Whim

"Sorry! Wait! I bet we can undo-" Ewan was tugged along by the arm after Eckhart. The older boy ran like the wind and Ewan had enough trouble keeping up let alone arguing. At least he was right about the cow's name.

The Farmer was joined by a younger farmhand trailed after them shouting and cursing. Out of fear or loyalty to their neighbor two women, an old man, and a shrieking girl joined the chase. A black cat scampered at the head of the pack. Eckhart and Ewan ducked and weaved their across the green and down main street until they reached the river-dock. There was no losing the posse. Eckhart with his furs and Ewan shirtless and barefoot they stood out like sore thumbs.

"THERE THEY IS!" came the shrill call of an old woman's voice.

"Uh gosh... uh..." Ewan looked from left to right, panicked. They could sprint up or down the river bank but not across. It was fields in either direction where they'd be easily seen. Ahead of them was a rotted old barge being filled with sacks of grain. Ewan gave Eckhart an apologetic look, "Do you got any money? Maybe we can work or trade or uh... we gotta move!"
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

"Fuck." The two boys had managed to make it off the farm and through the town without getting caught, but now they were faced with a dead end in the form of the Ora River. "Well, this is quite the mess I've gotten myself into" Eckhart thought with a frown. When Ewan pointed out the boat being loaded with cargo, Eckhart had an idea. "We don't need to pay if we're the cargo!"

Sneaking up to large stack of wheat sacks yet to be loaded, Eckhart quietly opened one and motioned for Ewan to comply. After the younger boy had gotten inside, Eckhart opened another bag and just barely managed to squeeze himself in. Eckhart could hear the frenzied mob approaching outside, and silently prayed that they wouldn't think to search for the two amateur healers among the the boat's cargo. Luckily, Eckhart could soon hear the voices get quieter. "It worked! I'm a genius!"

Suddenly, something small and hairy crept into the sack he was in, nearly giving Eckhart a heart attack. Before he could try to get his unwanted companion out of the bag, he could feel two pairs of hands lift him up and toss him onto the boat...

Whim

None of the crewman noticed Ewan when they tossed him about the ship. It was actually a fun ride! Well, the grain was itchy, and it was hard not to squirm. He made it. But Eckhart, small as he was, had the sailors straining to lift him. The grain sack landed on the boat with a thud. The black furry thing hissed and dug its claws into the young man, who couldn't help but emit a yelp of pain.

"Eh?!" the bearded sailor exclaimed, staring in shock at the yowling grain-sack. A pair of rough hands tore it open to reveal Eckhart with a black-cat clinging to his shoulder. "Just what the hells are you doing in there, lad?"

Something was wrong. Ewan wriggled forward to take a peak. No sooner had he done so than a pair of strong hands grabbed him by the armpit. "Got another one!" a tattooed woman held up Ewan like a carnival prize.

"Put me down! We we weren't stealing! We, uh, we were... playing?" that sounded stupid. It might work for him but not for Eckhart.
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

Alize

Resting her back against a large sack of grain, Kino Vanden slid the everglass knife beneath her fingernail. The wandering apothecary absentmindedly worked the clear blade back and forth, cleaning out the accumulated grime with the razor's edge. Behind her "plague doctor's" mask, she chewed her lower lip as her mind wandered.

The barge she had chartered passage on was three days from Kia's Court, and from there it would be less than a week to Arca. It would be good to see some of her fellow alumni - the alchemists-in-training she had apprenticed with under the watchful gaze of crotchety old Grandmaster Bevoke. The cantankerous bastard had been a harsh teacher, and few apprentices lasted more than a fortnight. The few who persevered had bonded over a shared resentment of their master, and a shared respect of their master's skill. By the time Kino had gained recognition as a full-fledged alchemist and set out on her own, she was close as siblings with shrew-faced Galma, mischievous Corbec, gluttonous Rawne... By the gods, it would be good to see them all again.

The barge had just cast off when she was brought out of her lazy half-trance by a sudden yelp. Kino tucked her knife away and pulled herself upright. As she ambled over to the cause of the commotion, she discerned from the cries that the deckhands had caught a couple of stowaways. The waters were slow and calm, so they would most likely be given the options of "swim to shore" or "swim to shore right now you damn punks!" Kino readied herself for some good, clean entertainment.

Sure enough, a tattooed deckhand that called herself "Hoss" was holding aloft a scraggly-haired, bare-chested child of about ten. He squirmed in her grasp. Kino's attention then drifted towards the other stowaway. She stopped. Kino Vanden never forgot a traveling companion, and certainly wouldn't forget a traveling companion as amiable as the one who forlornly stood before her.

"Eckhart?"

Eckhart_Von_Musel

*THUD*

Eckhart slammed onto the deck of the boat, letting out a cry of pain as he did so. Whatever had crept into the bag with him sunk claws into his shoulder, cause him to cry out a second time. Almost immediately he was hoisted up and out of the sack by a large bearded man. "Yeah, this seems about right" Eckhart thought gloomily. Looking down at his shoulder, Eckhart saw the mangiest cat he'd ever seen before in his life.
Spoiler
[close]
"What happened to you?" he thought before hearing a familiar, raspy voice say his name. Looking up, he saw the distinctive plague mask of his old friend.

"...No fucking way. Kino?"

Whim

After the drudgery of hauling grain sacks tossing two stowaways into the river was their afternoon's entertain. Hoss and Garrick turned toward Kino with surprise. Eager as they were for fare, the crew was wary of their masked passenger. "You know this one Kino?" Garrick quirked a brow, awkwardly dusting off Eckhart's shoulders... unsure if he should be offering an apology or throwing him overboard.

"Look we... we'll work on the ship or something! We won't eat much either. Or we can trade!" he gave Eckhart an apologetic look. The young healer was going to bare the brunt of whatever promises he rattled off. "Can you put me down at least?"

"Ssh!" Hoss set him down, still gripping an arm. She looked beteen Eckhart and Kino, "Well our larder ain't exactly full. We're going to need a fare or they better be able to pull their damn weights.

"Or swim," the riverboat was only fifty feet from shore. Not that returning to the village was an option.
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

Alize

"They're, er, with me," stammered a rather startled Kino. "That's right. They're with me. I'd sent ahead to meet up with some relatives at that last port. My older 'sis's kids. I've the coin for them right here." She quickly regained her composure, despite quizzical looks from Garrick and Hoss.

"And I'd thank you to stop manhandling my nephew, Garrick. Eckhart Vo- *ahem* Vanden, Eckhart Vanden's got quite the nasty temper, that one. And he's a mage. Turn you into a toad soon as look at you, he will." Kino paused. "And Hoss, the other one bites. Fair warning."

Eckhart_Von_Musel

The man Kino had called Garrick loosened his grip on Eckhart, who proceeded to run up to his old companion. Stopping abruptly in front of her, Eckhart made a motion as if to hug Kino, but then thought better of it and stopped. "It's only been a month or so, her ribs could still be a bit sensitive."

"Auntie Kino, it's good to see you again!" he said playing along with his friend's bluff. "Me and Ewan were playing hide and seek! We've gotten so good at it that the entire town was looking for us." Hoping Kino would get the message, Eckhart turned to Ewan. "You were really young last time you met her Ewan. You remember Auntie Kino, right?"

"Come on Ewan, don't fuck this up."

Whim

A look of bewilderment crossed Ewan's face though he followed it up with a hesitant smile. Masquerading as Eckhart's brother and a complete stranger's nephew was going to be hard. "Oh! Hi Auntie Kino! Yeah I remember. Mostly from the mask. Didn't know this was actually the ship we were sailing on." The boy disentangled himself from Hoss, giving her a particularly toothy smile as if to make Kino's point. Ewan did know a spell called Morrigan's Mangling Maw besides. He never used it, but did bite a pirate once. That sort of counted.

Garrick gave a grunt of annoyance, but did not argue with Kino. "Just keep an eye on your brother, yeah?" the boatman clapped Eckhart on the shoulder and walked off, taking up his pole.

"Thanks. I owe you," Ewan whispered to Kino, then turning to Eckhart with a blush. The boy couldn't meet his gaze. "And you too. Sorry for that whole mess! I swear I did what it said - you got the book right?"
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

Eckhart smiled gently at Ewan. "Don't worry, I got the book." The cat, now sitting on his shoulder, shifted uncomfortably and mewled. Eckhart looked at it nervously, only to quickly look away when it stared back at him. "I don't know where you came from, but you're creepy." Looking back at Ewan, Eckhart tried his best to appear stern. "I don't want to hurt Ewan's feelings, but bringing down his pride a tad wouldn't hurt him."

"You did not, however, follow the instructions in the book. The book called for no chunks of apple to get into brew, but they did. The book was also very specific on exactly how many mushrooms the brew needed, but I saw you throw a handful in without even counting them." Eckhart would smile again, trying his hardest to assure Ewan that he wasn't angry at him. "It was a beginners mistake, but it was a mistake nonetheless. I can help you learn, but you need to let me help you."

Whim

"I'm pretty sure I did it right" Ewan puffed his chest out defiantly. He took the book from Eckhart to show him, and the boy's mouth hung open. Eckhart was right! How could have missed that? Well, he did get over-enthusiastic at times. "But I -- I mean -- I guess I got rusty since I made myself younger.

He swallowed and averted his eyes, "Okay. Maybe I could use some help with my animancy. But I just finished being an apprentice! It'd be awful embarrassing..." Well, really, who would think he was anything but a little urchin anyway? But still.

He cast an apologetic glance at the inscrutable masked woman. Gods, what did she make of all this? "Sorry miss. I mean -- Auntie Kino? -- Its an awful long story."
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

Alize

"Well, I'd love to hear all about it" she crooned. Her throaty rasp of a voice was low and warm. Kino bent down to Ewan's eye level, then inhaled deeply and slid her mask up. A lank strand of hair clung to her brow, and the bridge of her pointed nose was smudged with soot. She smiled. Before the child could say more, Kino preemptively silenced him by pressing an index finger to her lips and letting out a gentle "Sshhh."

Pulling herself up and affixing her mask back into place, Kino turned back to her old friend and traveling companion.

"Eckhart." She said flatly.

Then, catching him off guard, she quickly lashed her hand out and ruffled his hair. Dislodged wheat kernels skittered and bounced off his jacket. The mangy stray perched on his shoulder hissed.

"Where are your... apprentice's, parents?" she asked. "I do hope that he's not yours."

Eckhart_Von_Musel

"His Parents? His parents!" Eckhart went red in the face. "Am I kidnapping him? Oh Ansgar, I am aren't I"

"Ewan... do your parents know you're here?"

Whim

The alchemist was younger than he expected. She really hadn't anytthing to hide besides the paler. Why did she wear it? Sick? Ewan cringed back at the thought. And then she shushed him! The boy stood in silence, giving Kino the stink-eye as she and Eckhart spoke.

"Well my dad passed and my mom and family are in La'marri mostly -- And besides that I'm much older than I look! I'm really twenty five and I don't need minding and I haven't got any reason to lie!" His squawking had turned Garrick's head.

"I've just come to Serendipity to get back into practice with magic." Ewan patted the large grimoire jutting from his pack. It did look rather wizardly.
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

Alize

A warm sun beat down on the odd trio, and blue-green swirls lazily eddied and twisted on the placid river's surface. The barge passed a small farmstead.

Kino was ready to tell Ewan that real wizards were taller and that little boys mustn't fib. She then bit her tongue at the last moment, realizing that antagonizing the lad would only make him dig his heels in further. He'd open up to the real story about his parents sooner or later. It was three days to Kia's Court after all. From there, it wouldn't be too difficult to dump the waif off on some honest folk heading in the direction of the boy's parents - or on a decent orphanage, depending.

"I'm sure you'll make a fine archmage one day, Ewan." Kino left it at that, for now. The cat mewed, almost as in assent.

The lice-ridden stray had made itself comfortably at home on Eckhart's shoulder, and was busy licking the back of its paw. "Does that little fella have a name?" Kino asked as she absent-mindedly rubbed the nape of her neck, trying to work out a stubborn kink in the muscle.

Eckhart_Von_Musel

"Man, Ewan really likes that joke, huh?" thought Eckhart. Snickering, he looked at the cat who'd decided to make a home on his shoulder. "I'm not sure what it's name is. It just kinda... showed up in the bag with me." Slowly, Eckhart removed the mangy cat from his shoulders and placed it on the deck. "I've always wanted a pet," he thought wistfully. "But I have to be realistic. I don't have the money to feed this poor thing and Ewan." Eckhart halfheartedly tried to wave the cat away. "Go on, shoo."

Looking back up at Kino, Eckhart smiled. "So, how are the ribs? They healed OK, right?"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
POV Switch
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well, it had finally happened- somebody checked out Maladies Most Unusual from the library it had been placed in. And of course, it had to be taken by two total amateurs. Belladonna had been waiting three years for this day to come, but it looked like that may have been time wasted. 'I can't believe this." the cat thought angrily. "Why couldn't it have been somebody competent?"

Belladonna couldn't help but feel exasperated at the boy's attempt to dismiss her. "Uh, no. You took the book, you're stuck with me now." Meowing in protest, she began rubbing against the younger boy's legs, hoping he may pressure the older one into letting her stay. "I'm still cute, right? Gods, I hope so."

Whim

Ewan heaved a sigh of exasperation and sat cross-legged besides Eckhart. Maybe his life story just wasn't very believable.

The flea-bitten cat certainly looked affection starved. Ewan picked up the black cat, and idly stroked her while the grown-ups talked. The patchy fur wasn't exactly soft or nice to pet and he could feel her spine. Poor thing. His gaze swiveled from Kino to Eckhart and the cat's followed, both looking equally pathetic. "Do you got anything for her to eat? She looks hungry...

"And you're not really his auntie are you? Do you do herbs and stuff too?" the boy squinted toward the lifeless eyes of the bird mask. Real articulate.
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

Alize

"The ribs have never been better." Kino proudly thumped her solar plexus. "Helps that I had the future world's-best-healer set them back into place. You really did a bang-up job, Ecks. You and I have some catching up to do," she continued.

Their reunion rudely interrupted by the urchin's plea for cat food, Kino sighed to herself and began to fish a strip of dried mutton out of her pocket. She held it out for the ugly stray to nibble on.

Nearby, Hoss and a bald man with several piercings were chatting as they worked to correct the barge's course. Her voice hushed lest they overhear her, Kino addressed Ewan. "You're right! I'm not his auntie. But that's a secret. It'd be bad if pe-"

"It'd be bad if people thought I was a ransomer or a sicko" - like hell I can say that to a kid!

"Erm, it's a super-duper se~cret, m'kay? "

"Damn Kino, you really do suck with the wee ones, eh?"

"And yes, I'm an alchemist. I "do herbs and stuff.""

Between her voice, her mask and the smoke wafting out of the censer in its beak, Kino tended to make less-than-favorable first impressions with children. That was probably why she had never learned how to properly interact with them. Ewan had yet to run screaming from her. This was by far an improvement.

Eckhart_Von_Musel

Noticing the awkward tone in Kino's raspy voice, Eckhart leaned over to Ewan and whispered in his ear. "We used to be traveling companions. She had to go to Connlaoth though, and considering the, uh, magic I have, I thought it'd be best to part ways." Briefly glancing at the cat ravenously eating the food Kino had given it, he turned back to his old friend. "It's feels like it's been forever. I bet my adventures have been crazier than yours!"

Suddenly realizing that he had just boarded a boat without knowing where it was headed, Eckhart began to go red in the face. "Damn it, I'm losing it today!" He gave Kino an embarrassed smile, desperately hoping she wouldn't think less of him for asking what must seem like a silly question. "So... um, where are we headed?"

Whim

A smirk crossed the boy's face and he squinted up at Kino's beaked face, "I think I'm supposed to be your nephew too. According to Eckhart."

Ewan tried to contain himsef as the two adults got caught up. He wanted to see what else was in that book. If a few apples could turn a cow into that THING -- what else could it do?! Evidently the mangy cat was growing restless at well. It squirmed in the boy's grip, beady yellow eyes trained on Eckhart as it mewled. Ewan thrust her toward, "I think she wants you.

"And where-ever we're going do you suppose we could try that again? Or something else. I'm surprised you haven't shown her even!"
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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