Running with Madmen

[WallyD]

Julien walked quietly across the green grass, letting the sun beat down on him. To his left was the tree line, though one could see a small river in between the trees, the water could be bearly heard. Off to the left was green grass, mountains off in the distance, a darker shade of blue compared to the sky.

Julien took a deep breath, stretching his arms above his head, and lazily yawned. The air was light, letting the sun warm the land. It was peaceful and Julien liked it. He had been working non stop for the past few months with no break, he forgot what the world was like without the blood dripping off of swords and the bright glow of gold passed between secret hands.

Though Julien still needed to work. He was heading to one of the smaller towns, maybe they had some easy jobs he could do, like, herd cow or slay a beast. The nearest town was still a few days out, but Julien could handle it, he has yet to run into any problems.

[Wrathwyrm]

Yes...that treeline.  He didn't notice, but someone was there, someone skilled in at least keeping quiet and concealed enough while observing at a distance.  He was being followed.  It was a person who had trained very hard and had a number of experiences in different ranges of combat.  This person was actually one who did jobs for others, as he did, though...perhaps under different motivations.  What we have here is a brunette woman clad in armor that looked bronze or brass in color, but was actually mythril.  It was full-body, minus a helmet, and she had a bigass sword on her back with a pair of daggers on her belt.  The sword was magical, but its effects were currently confined to itself.  More on this later.

This was a Serenian woman of not noble birth, per se, but relatively important in the grand scheme of things.  She was for-hire, but she also had responsibilities in Serendipity, especially since they were relatively close to her hometown.  This man wasn't headed there - Her home was a major mining town closer to the mountains - but the region still asked of her to help with matters.  In this case, it was a doozy.  Serenians tend to use bits of magic here-and-there to do their jobs.  It was a skill in the workplace, sometimes.  When skills suddenly stop working for a while, it usually means one thing: A Mordecai.  But...what was a Mordecai doing here?

That was her mission.  She was trailing this guy now.  It was actually quite easy.  Following the reports of where magic stopped working for a while, she could figure that those people were within the range of his power, which had a range of a quarter-mile.  She could judge her distance from him this way, being gifted herself, and get around him to better vantage points even while being out of sight range.  Now that these were these trees, it was easier to close in to find this guy.  What was he doing here?  And...curious...  Why was he not in heavy armor?  Mordecai were usually in armor because magic could not protect them in battle.  Why was this one basically hiding who he was?

For now, she followed, waiting to see if he was going somewhere to a purpose, while debating on whether to confront him directly or not.  She could only conceal herself for so long before he noticed.  Eventually, she'd run out of trees, as well.  For now, he had the next move.

[WallyD]

Julien paused noticing something from the trees. He stopped, turning to the tree line and...

"Hell yeah!" Julien yelled running forward, sliding to a stop by the water. There was a cluster of Blackroots, he used to suck on these when he was younger, traveling along the river side. As the name suggests, they were a dark color, the inside was filled with a bitter taste, very much like coffee. Julien picked a few, quickly washing them off in the cold water, and put one in his mouth. He then sighed, laying back, and closed his eyes as he moved the root around in his mouth.

[Wrathwyrm]

Of course, when he looked in her general direction, she backed up against a tree and waited.  He could move on, he could call out, he could investigate, he could be totally oblivious...  She heard him shout 'Hell yeah!' suddenly and run for the riverbank, basically right past her, only a few trees over.  He'd spotted some blackroot, which admittedly plenty of people in Serendipity used every now and then.  Some actually ground it up to make coffee and tea, while others took it straight from the root like he did.  Still, the sudden action, and subsequent lie-down, took her by surprise.

Uhhh...okay.  I think I can write-off any deliberate malice, at this point.

It was something she'd have to confirm, but at this point, he didn't exactly seem like trouble.  Not intentional trouble, at any rate.  He was still a Mordecai.  His effect was still to be felt, regardless of his personal motivations.  Calming down a bit, she allowed a suitable pause to follow before stepping out from concealment and towards the river.  Relaxed as he was, she decided to keep out of his sun, though she was going to have to interrupt his lie-down.  He would hear her approaching quite easily now, followed by her pleasant-if-business-like voice.

"Excuse me, but you are a Mordecai, aren't you?"

[WallyD]

Julien opened his eyes and watched as a young woman approached him. The first thing he noticed was her weapon and armor. Though she spoke in a professional manner, she was still ready for a fight. Julien grunted, turning around so he was on his stomach.

"Yeah I am." Julien said, answering her question, not taking the Blackroot out, "Can I help you, beautiful?"

[Wrathwyrm]

Yeah, she was good-looking, flattery can wait until later.  Right now, she was on the clock, and that meant that while he was fairly chill, she was...  Okay, she was chill too, but it was her official 'dealing with people patiently' kind of chill, while he was just sort of relaxed.  There's a difference in there, somewhere.  Though she was ready for a fight, he really wasn't, so she wasn't exactly feeling threatened.  Besides, the worst he could do was already being done, the thing with the magic.  Mordecai didn't have any other surprises, in general, because their own power would prevent that.  Nothing she couldn't be prepared for, anyhow.

"Yeah, you can tell me why you're in Serendipity.  I'm not the border patrol or anything, but people started to complain when their magic stopped working."

Magic was common in Seren lands, as stated before.  Unlike Connlaoth, where they actively suppress and control that, people snapped their fingers and lit up fireplaces all the time, or danced to make it rain, or communed with nature, or just cast the odd magic missle...though to be fair there were others who were alot more powerful, some who had even been proper wizards and warlocks.  The point was that people noticed when it was being disrupted, and that was a problem.

"You have to understand, around here, magic's a part of everyday lives, and one of the reasons we get along with Connlaoth is that we don't get in the middle of their problems and they don't cause any for us, and that includes Mordecai.  You're obviously not here on business -  No armor, no papers, no nothing - so what is it?"

Of course, the one possibility that she hadn't considered was that this guy wasn't an official Mordecai for the land of Connlaoth, but then it was common knowledge that they came from there...

[WallyD]

"Aw honey, I'm always on the job. I travel around, er, assisting in odd jobs. And despite how much this place uses magic, most of the people here can't. Even if they did, they don't have the physical strength that most people do have." Julien, pulled at the root, spitting the excess off to the side. "And if their magic don't work and there are no jobs for me, then I leave, no need to stick around if there's no gold to be given. Besides," Julien stood, turning to the girl. "What's it matter to you."

[Wrathwyrm]

Her eyes narrowed a bit at his reply.  Did he not understand that the reason 'most folks can't do magic' was because of him?  Most folks in Seren DID know at least something.  And as for the way he was responding to her...  Harmless flirt or trying to hard?  She really couldn't tell.  The thing that caught her attention was that he wasn't an official Mordecai, but rather a drifter with no training or anything.  It was kind of surprising that Connlaoth would let one go.  Not that it was her's or anyone's job to tell him how to live his life, but they're usually picky about that sort of thing because of their laws regarding magic.  So, what's it to her, then?

"People are complaining, basically.  I'm a Magistrate, and a sword-for-hire.  It's kind of my responsibility to get to the bottom of it.  You're lucky that you're not an official Mordecai, as that would be a breach of the agreements between nations."

He had gotten up while they were talking.  There was no sign from her that his proximity concerned her, but judging from her equipment and this fact, she was use to dealing with people who were amicable and those who were not.

"Something you're gonna have to live with is that people can't use alot of their magic when around you, and there is more magic in this country than any other.  Offering to do work for people is fine and all, but offering to do work that your ability is preventing them from otherwise doing themselves is practically extortion.  You're creating the problem to extract money from people who wouldn't need to hire you if you weren't there."

[WallyD]

Julien shrugged. He didn't actually care about other people. All he was worried about was if there was money, and if there were extra jobs because of his ability, then it was worth it
"Ha, those idiot don't know how much more they can get paid if they do something else than be the Grand Dukes lap dogs. Besides, if me coming through here causes more jobs, than I guess I get paid more. Lucky me. I come though Serendipity every year, best time I get paid, and you or anyone else here is not going to stop me because some person can't fling magic for a day." Julien flung one hand to his head and the other pressed against his chest. "Oh no, what am I to do! I can't magically clean the house or magically lift a spoon. What is one to do for a day!" He said dramatically.

It took Julien years to realize that he was a Mordecai, by then Ekon already had him by a leash. Besides, it's not his fault that he could negate magic, like it's not ones fault that they can use magic. Julien learned that the hard way.

"Now, if you'll excuse me. I have business to attend to in the next town over." Julien said, walking away. "Bye, gorgeous."

[Wrathwyrm]

Well, she kinda' figured the full impact of the problem wasn't making it through his noggin, but she didn't figure on him being rude about it.  Apparently, he did this every year, and he just had no respect for people.  Really, she could've done without that patronizing speech.  People used magic to make life easier, to bump up crop tables and cast off into the sea even if the winds are unfavorable.  It was a boon to society, and he didn't care that he was screwing that up where it wasn't wanted and taking advantage of others.  Oh no, she wasn't gonna let that slide.  So, when he started walking away, she let him get maybe ten paces away before he'd hear it.

...ssssssssSSSSSSSSSSSSZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!...

"I don't think so."

Stranger, take warning!  She's taken her hand and put it on the handle of her sword.  It'd begun to sizzle and spark as she pulled it out, holding it to her side and a little behind with two hands.  At the apex of the noise, lightning was dancing all along the blade.  You don't cancel all the magic as a Mordecai.  Magical objects, for instance, still functioned.

"Maybe you missed the part where I'm for-hire.  In this case, I was asked to do something about you.  So, I think I'll whup your butt and send you packing."

She'd let him get a bit of distance because she wanted a bit of room to work.  Her sword could charge, but it was unable to project lightning right now.  The characteristics she was born with were fine, but her magic perception wasn't working, which is how she perceived that she was in his zone, by no longer being able to see the flow of energy.  Rena Goldswith had never fought a Mordecai before now, but she was suitably equipped for an unofficial one, at least.  She took a low stance briefly, to break into her running start, before launching herself up high with elven agility so she could bring her sword down heavy on him.  The flat of Spark was facing him, so it was an aim to beat and stun, not to slice and kill.  She wasn't going to kill him.  Really, she just needed to touch him with her sword, and the lightning would do the rest.

[WallyD]

Julien watched unaffected as the girl leaped at him. Julien moved off to the side, pulling out his own sword. He quickly noticed the electricity sparking on the sword and cursed, sheathing his sword. Julien was pretty sure he couldn't block that without getting electrified, his hand twitched to reach for his other sword on his back, but he didn't wish to kill her. Yet.

"Hey, beautiful, do you always resort to violence when you don't get what you want." Julien said, rasing both hands up, getting more distance from her.

[Wrathwyrm]

Of course, naturally, a guy like him has been attacked numerous times, so granted he wouldn't very well show if he'd been the least bit worried about a girl with a lightning sword.  But then, only idiots stand there and smirk in the face of one.  He moved, and he stopped himself from trying to strike back with his own blades.  Yeah, blades.  She saw that twitch.  Rena actually smirked at him.

"Don't you?  You're a mercenary, aren't you?"

She did not straighten up from her landing, but rather remained in her crouched position and spun with the sword close to her, then again with the weapon outstretched.  Since all of her attacks were with the intent to use the blunt sides of Spark, this would be attempting to trip him up at about the level of the knees, both times.

"And the name is Rena, 'cause flattery won't help you now."

Assuming he'd been paying close attention, Jules here might've noted a small detail that was gonna make this harder on him.  There are legends about where the people of Serendipity and Connlaoth came from, but there are other tales about Serenians hooking up with elves and producing half-human children down the lines.  Rena didn't look entirely elven, but she had somewhat pointed ears.  Definitely a bad sign.

[WallyD]

"Only when money is involved do I ever attack back. Since I am not on the job, I'll go easy on you." Julien said, answering her question. "And of course my flattery works. I have perfect genetics." Julien winked and waited for the girl, Rene, to move. He was a flirter, though in battle it did sometimes work. If she didn't like the flattery, he could always throw insults.

"Come on now, flower. Let's see what you got."

[Wrathwyrm]

Not only did he consider himself a lady's man, but he ultimate loved himself, as well.  Rena had to laugh at his boast.  Typical mercenary bravado.  She sighed, shaking her head.

"Spoken from the man who doesn't have a prayer in the world."

She could afford to talk that way.  He didn't seem to have any weapon that wouldn't get him shocked in battle, he had no armor while she was well armored, and his only power made any chance of magicking his way out of this basically impossible.  True, his being a Mordecai prevented her from ending this instantly with a lightning bolt, but the only thing he might have to fall back on was his skill...and that didn't rule out her own!

In fact, here was a bit of tactical thinking.  They were still relatively close to that river.  Why not...? Yeah...  Rena shot forwards, but off to his side in a manner that if he didn't want to take the flat of her sword harshly to he beltline, he'd best be practically jumping into the water.  Perfect genetics?  Well, her genetics were giving her some damn fine agility for lunges and jumps and things.  A man would be wise to keep on their toes, on that account.

[WallyD]

Julien smiled as she moved to the side. He'll give her credit for trying to corner him, but he already had his next few steps. Julien turned and ran for the water, last minute he turned, lowering his arm to block the sword and reached out grabbing Rene's armor.

Julien felt the electricity striking his arm, though his leather armor did help block most of the damage. It wasn't the best  non-contuctor, but at least it did knock him out. Julien tighten his grip on the girl and smiled.

"Ready for a swim?" He said as he tossed both the girl and himself into the rushing water. She might be able to control the electricity above land, but within the water...

[Wrathwyrm]

Oh crap.

Sploosh!

He had allowed himself to be struck - taking a jolt in the process - so that he could use her momentum and sling them both into the water.  It's actually fortunate for Julien that he got into the water himself, as his leather armor probably would've been on fire.  Not a conductor, as stated, but lightning tends to burn things that don't conduct it.  Well anyway, the two of them hit the water and...wait for it...no explosion of lightning!  Rena surfaced.

"Works for me."

She jumped out, planting herself in a crouch at the water's edge.  Spark had pretty much halted the electrical output as they hit the water, and she had elven agility to pull herself out of the drink quickly  Yes, she was wet, but right now her sword could not cast lightning bolts from its surface, as per the problems of a Mordecai in proximity.  It would only do what such energies did normally, once it left the blade.  For instance, if she dipped one end of Spark in the water and concentrated, lightning would arc about the water of its own accord, rather than her own willpower.  Some secondary bolts would arc back at her...and Ka-Pwing! off of her mythril armor, for the most part.  Largely, this was going to electrify the water, the water that she'd been planning to get Julien into, in the first place.

[WallyD]

Julien was surprised that she was able to get out of the water so fast. He scrambled out on the other side and watched as the water spiked up. Julien laughed and stood, shaking his harm that was stuck. They were now on opposite sides and he wasn't going to wait for her to cross over.

While she was bent, Julien took off. If there was one thing he could do was run fast. He ducked into the trees, still heading off to the town. Maybe if he got there she wouldn't attack him, to may people. He kept quiet, using his years of training to do so.

As he was running he looked down at his harm. The leather was burnt but it was still good, though his arm was tingling. Julien looked behind him, if he continued to run then he'll reach the town eventually, and it'll cut his time in half. He already spent too much time with Rene, he was going to be late. The next time he sees that girl he'll won't hold back.

[Wrathwyrm]

Hmmm.  He'd gotten out rather quickly himself, a little too quickly for the lightning to reach him.  He'd gotten out and he was running.  Now, she could either give chase - and probably catch him before he entered town - or she could try a different approach.  After all, this one's a big slippery.

What would dad do at a time like this?

Her father had been a clever man, even though he preferred action over strategy.  If a situation could be easily resolved with a sword, he was all over that, but sometimes that wasn't the case.  Sometimes, you needed to be smart, and then remind them after you've got them cornered that you have a sword.  Rena straightened up, but she did not give chase.  She knew where he was going.  And even if he changed plans, her plans would cover that, anyway.

She had a way to handle this that wouldn't cause an international incident, at the very least.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Yahbrook was a small town.  Not a small dirt road village, but rather it was developed enough to have a paved town circle and even cobblestone roads.  It was quaint and small and quiet.  Here be a tavern, there be an inn, and over there a tavern IN an inn.  It had one of everything it needed, occasionally two in the spirit of competition.  Naturally, there were herders that worked the area, here and there.  Julien would arrive first.  And, of course, anybody with a bit of magic who felt like using it at the time would find that they could not cast.

In the inn that had a tavern, a dark-clad figure went "Hmmm.", in irritation.

[WallyD]

It was night when Julien finally got into the town. The sign said Yahbrook. If he was correct, it was only a few miles from his destination. Julien walked straight over to the tavern with the inn inside and started to drink. His arm had started to pulse with pain and the dinks helped. After awhile he was slurring, struggling to stand straight.

"And then I as like, is that a monkey or a fox, cuz it was fucken ugly!" Julien said laughing, the other drunks did too, though no one knew why it was funny, it just was.

"What the big guy do?" Someone asked. Julien faced him and tried to look serious.

"He didn't do nothing! I just turned to him and said 'but it ain't as ugly as you!"

The tavern roared with laughter. Julien stood, still laughing and walked over to the bartender.

"Room for one." Julien said, pulling some coin out. The tender took it and fished for a key. He handed it over and Julien started to walk away but paused. "There any good work here."

"Sorry mate, only thing here is herders."

Julien sighed. "I knew that and I still asked. One more question. Is there a caravan or something heading into Whiteriver?"

"Not sure. If you find Mister Fenwick he usually heads there once a week. Haven't seen him leave yet. He's little bit out of town, heading straight for Whiteriver."

Julien nodded. "Oh."

[Wrathwyrm]

Someone around here was blocking his magic.

Well, not all of it.  The mortal magic, mostly.  The casting of elements, the warping of minds, the...  Look, it's a bit of a list, okay?  He was something of a magus, you see.  It all started a short while ago when he felt sort of a dead zone, all of a sudden.  It bothered him, and so he tried a few spells and got nothing.  Now, there were a few times that he'd been to Connlaoth, but in a less-obvious form than now.

Oh, I do apologize.  Currently, this fellow here was dressed in the attire of some kind of evil warlock.  Seriously, it was a bit over-the-top.  Black torso armor, matching cloak-mantle with shoulder pads, leather belt with a skull emblem, leather pants and travel boots with spikes, and a ram-horned helmet that seemingly left his face obscured in shadow.  It was so shockingly out there that the innkeeper had stared him dumbfoundedly for a solid minute when he simply said 'Room, please'.  He had been afraid not to give him a room, worried that it was the black magus who brought about human misery, Garlock The Destroyer.

Funny thing...  It was.

But at the time, he had been wishing for a rest on a nice firm mattress, and so this right now was the well-rested bane of humankind.  Julien had entered while he was testing out what magic worked and what did not, before getting his attetion.  During the time he was getting drunk, Garlock had called over the innkeeper's cat, a gray female tabby.

"Mow?"

"Yes, I just want to check...  Does that man seem like he's traveled alot, recently?"

She ambled on over, took a whiff of all the men around where Garlock had been pointing, then returned.

"Row!"

"I see, yes...  I thought so, too.  Thank you."

"Merow?"

"Possibly...  I'll try not to make TOO MUCH of a mess."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

And all while that was going on, Rena had entered town.  Rather than seeking Julien out, she had gone to the local scribe, written out a posting, and had it copied.  She kept the original while the scribe would keep copying, before sending over a bunch to the local message man with his messenger birds.  Rena was headed there now.  Other copies of the script were going to be put up in places in town, where people passing by would read it.  The message was to warn of a rogue Mordecai using his ability to take advantage of people, and a fairly-detailed description would follow.  She was spending a bit of coin on this out of her own pocket, but Rena wasn't in it for the money.  I mean, hell, you know where she was sending the original?  Right to the king!