Imprisoned Spirit [MadEmperor]

[DragonSong]

She nodded slowly. "It might be best if I...remain human." Her nose crinkled as she said it, as though the idea was vaguely distasteful. "If we are visiting nobility, they may be finicky about the kinds of animals they allow."

While a smaller animal shape could be useful for blending in among humans, she had found--in her incredibly rare excursions into human territories--that those often considered "upper class" tended not to respond as well to a stray cat or strange white bird.

[MadEmperor]

"Excellent!" He smiled merrily. "That just leaves the proper attire. It's a shame we didn't keep those clothes we acquired, though those would hardly do for greeting nobility."

His clothes seemed to whirl as they became the traveling clothes of a lesser lord of some distant duchy. He generated her an outfit as well, in stormy grays to not overwhelm the eye with white. "For until we can secure something tangible." 

[DragonSong]

"Right." Asta shifted a bit, as ever unused to the feel of fabric against her skin--even if it was only temporary fabric. Once she felt a little more comfortable, she nodded at him. "Ready."

Windstrider peeped and climbed up onto her shoulder and tucked himself into the fall of her hair. He gave a regal nod of his own.

[MadEmperor]

Zephyr took a step towards the road into town before chuckling to himself. "Right! Names!"

"Now, what was it is it I called myself?" He tilted his head as it studying the large clocktower that rose above the town. "Orion? Gael? Ah! Baron Hermes Auster. That would make me... Caelum Auster? How does that sound?"

[DragonSong]

She nodded. "Very official," she chuckled lightly. She considered a moment, then noted, "My name isn't actually known--anyone who did know of me back in the forest called me The Ghost. Asta Auster should be fine, right?

She crinkled her nose. "Although I'll admit the alliteration sounds a bit contrived."

[MadEmperor]

"If that bothers you, I could suggest Selene or, perhaps, Thea?"

Facing her again, he said, "Though your real name will be the easiest to remember and the least confusing."

[DragonSong]

She nodded. "No, it doesn't bother me. I'm just imagining the joke that could be made." She smiled a bit. "I--I like my name. I will keep it."

The tiny dragon on her shoulder cooed and curled up against her neck, minute claws digging into her knew clothes to keep himself in place.

[MadEmperor]

"Very well. Asta Auster it is." Zephyr nodded approvingly, and led them into town.


Ardyn's Glade was bustling burg, well on its way to becoming a proper city. Merchants lined the main thoroughfare, hawking everything from local wares to exotic goods brought in by caravan. It was by no means lacking in the variety of its denizens, but the colorless pair drew several curious stares as they passed by.

They could soon see the Norbraith estate looming in the distance on the far side of the town. Before they could proceed, however, they came across an unusually crowded square. They immediately saw why.

In the center was a gallows. Two men, one human and one elf, stood prepared for their execution. Before them stood the young lord and a man in the uniform of a Mordecai, addressing the crowd. "For the crime of magery, these men have been sentenced to death by hanging! Let this be a warning to all who would endanger this great nation."

The human man's hopeless eyes took on fresh desperation. " Please! I'm not even a mage! There's been a--" He was silenced by a town guard, who punched him in the gut.

"Even now, the treacherous fiend lies! Numerous witnesses saw his deed, so have no doubt of his guilt!" the Mordecai declared.

As the Mordecai led a brief prayer, Zephyr looked... ill. It wasn't clear whether it was because of the barbarism on display or the so-called holy warrior leading it. 

[DragonSong]

Asta was horrorstruck; she'd had one arm hooked through Zephyr's, in the way that she'd seen noblewomen do when they walked with a man through the menagerie, and her hand tightened unconsciously as they drew closer to the execution.

She'd never actually been so close to a mordecai before. Her stomach churned uncomfortably, joints aching as though she was struck with a sudden fever. "This--this is madness," she whispered. "Can't we do something?"

[MadEmperor]

Zephyr growled under his breath, a noise as quiet as it was angry. "We can't. Not with one of those here. I... can do nothing to stop this. But, perhaps can prevent the next one. I sense that is what drew our path here."

Though his senses were weak around the range of the Mordecai's powers, he could feel that the accused human was telling the truth. This overzealous magic hunter had either been deceived, or was lying. What troubled him more was the current Lord Norbraith's smug expression, as if this were a personal victory. 

[DragonSong]

"I--" Asta swallowed thickly; she knew he was right, that there was nothing they could do, but the truth of it sat like a stone in her gut. "I can't watch," she whispered, turning her face into his shoulder.

Windstrider peeped sadly from her shoulder and she quickly scooped him down to hide the little dragon between their bodies, hoping to shield him from the sight.

[MadEmperor]

The executioner pulled the lever and the two men dropped, desperately writhing for one more second of life. But it was too late, their necks snapped the instant the ropes jerked tight. Zephyr watched the event unfold with growing certainty that he was meant to stop, not the unjust law, but the sentencing of those innocent of it. 

"It's over. Let us... move on. Something tells me we will find some answers at our destination.

[DragonSong]

Asta could do little but nod, mute, as he led them passed the gallows. She tried to keep her eyes away from the hanging bodies, but she couldn't avoid the sight entirely. A soft whimper rose up in her throat and she pressed a little closer to Zephyr's side as they walked.

"Do you think...they'll know?" She glanced in the mordecai's direction as she spoke softly. "What we are?"

[MadEmperor]

Zephyr answered in a whisper. "Not if we do nothing to raise suspicion. Well, or if I don't enter his domain of influence." 

He didn't look at the Mordecai for fear of lingering too long. Instead, he kept walking. However, they were suddenly approached by young Lord Norbraith and his bodyguards on their own way to the manor. 

"Say... good sir! Are you, by chance, related to a Baron Auster. You do look so like the painting in my late father's study." The lord asked politely. 

Zephyr didn't miss a beat. "Ah, yes, he is my father. Was my father. He, too, has left us." He gave a polite bow, the kind lesser nobles gave their betters. "Baron Caelan Auster, at thy service."  

"A pleasure. I am Count Eryck Norbraith the second. And the enchanting lady traveling with you?" The lord took her hand and kissed it politely. 

[DragonSong]

Enchanting lady. Asta had to keep her lip from curling. She knew it was a common turn of phrase, but after what they'd just witnessed... Gods. These people would welcome her with the right hand and condemn her with the left.

She much preferred the wilds. At least the things trying to kill you out there were straightforward about it.

She managed something of an awkward smile--which she hoped would pass for a minor lady's shyness--and dipped into her best attempt at a curtsy. She was a little wobbly, but hoped it wasn't too noticeable. "My name is Asta, my lord. A pleasure to meet you."

[MadEmperor]

"She's my cousin, on my father's side. Though she is more like a dear sister." Zephyr said with a brotherly smile.

"I apologize for not informing you of our visit. The truth is, we were traveling through the region, and I remembered father's stories of your family's hospitality, so I had the idea to visit and see this lovely town of yours for myself. Sadly, we were waylaid by highwaymen who took everything but the clothes on our backs."

Eryck gave a look of sympathy. "My God. I can forgive the oversight If that is the reason."

[DragonSong]

Asta nodded along with his story, hoping she looked properly skittish about having being "robbed by highwaymen". Lucky for her, "skittish" was never far from her genuine reflex, so she thought she probably did okay.

From under the curtain of her hair, Windstrider suddenly cheeped. She froze, then said quickly, "Everything but our clothes and this little darling, of course." She reached up to coax the teacup dragon into her hands, holding him gently to her chest. "He's, um, such a loyal pet..."

Sorry, little friend.

[MadEmperor]

Norbraith made a face, as if he didn't like such creatures. "Oh. My younger sister adores the things, but I've never seen the appeal." Truly, he was a monster."

Zephyr assumed that, as a child, the young lord provoked one and it bit him. It was the only explanation. The animals were just too precious.

"Do not worry, my lord, Windstrider is quite well-behaved." He figured the little one had been a pet once, from how it wasn't wary of people.

"See that it is." He grew more cordial. "Well, now that you're here, I insist you stay at Norbraith Manor. The inns in town are nicer than they used to be, but they are hardly fit for nobility."

Zephyr gave another, slightly different, small bow. "We would be delighted, wouldn't we, cousin?"

[DragonSong]

"Oh--yes, of course. Thank you." Asta dipped into another shaky curtsy, still holding Windstrider with one hand. The teacup dragon snorted, then scampered back up her arm to resume his perch on her shoulder, eyeing Norbraith with tiny, adorable distaste.

"I'm afraid I am...unfamiliar with the are," she said hesitantly. "Where exactly is the manor?" She assumed it was separated from the main town, as none of the buildings in easy view struck her as "manor-like".

[MadEmperor]

"Just north of town. Come, follow me." Norbraith led the way, smiling in an overbearing effort to be charming. 


The manor was a tad larger than what was normal for a low ranking noble, even for a town on the cusp of becoming a trade hub. Something didn't smell right. Eryck felt corrupt, and could the false charges of magecraft really be a coincidence? 

Zephyr gave Asta a questioning look. You see it too, don't you? The rot beneath the veneer of prosperity?