Sword and Sorcery (Aldir, Dals Way)

[Aldir]

Irritated blue eyes glanced around the tavern floor, ears assaulted by drunken laughs and nose offended by the noxious mix of stale beer and piss. Leann wondered not for the first time how she could bear to associate herself with such places, the promise of a job was probably it though it was starting to get less and less enticing. The woman merely sighed at this point and crossed her arms under her breasts, leaning back in her chair as she snatched up her cup in ill temper and sipped at stale tasting water. Certainly she was no great highborn lady though she carried herself with as much arrogance.

It was apparent to her however that she and her compatriot needed some manner of money; the life of a travelling adventurer was not exactly luxurious. Their current funds were starting to run dry, enough so that she was getting tired of rock hard mattresses and poor food. Her options this far out in the country were sadly limited, her true talents were looked upon with no small amount of suspicion and she was unwilling to soil her dignity by turning to other avenues of income. Thus, though this place was as distasteful to her as they came it was a necessary thing to endure.

The woman was dressed rather raggedly to look at her; faded blue robes bore the telltale signs of wear and tear of travelers. The soles of her leather sandals were very worn down and to look closely at them, one would notice the straps had been hastily repaired. Her long dark hair was well kept to a degree, though the occasional frayed strand was visible to the particularly observant. Leann had seen better days, gods willing she would see those times again. Of course, that all depended on the pay for this current job.

Long nails started drumming upon the wooden table, their rhythm a nervous betrayal of her true thoughts as unconscious as they came. A pink tongue deftly slipped out from behind pale lips to gather the residual moisture from her drink. She was not just of ill temper, but this whole affair made her more than a little desperate. Negotiating a good price for this whole thing could be the difference between sleeping in a bed or sleeping on the ground again. Why she had ever, in her more spontaneous states, decided that this life would be better than one behind books she’d never know. Her gaze briefly turned to her compatriot.

“I swear, by every god, if this bastard doesn’t show up I’m going to burn this establishment to the ground. We are on time, seems irresponsible of our erstwhile potential employer to keep us waiting for so long.” The tall sorceress stated.

“If I’d known that being a travelling sorceress was going to cause this much grief I’d have settled for building houses out of rock.” The woman grumbled, much more quietly this time to avoid others hearing of her profession.

 

[Dals Way]

The woman beside Leann gave a chuckle, watching her companion get more irritated by the second. "My, my girl, I haven't even gotten started yet and you already want to burn the place? I'm losing my touch if I can't get us kicked out first." Anya smiled as she watched the mage.

Anya leaned back in her chair, the wood creaking to support her large muscled frame. Anya was a amazon of a woman, standing a good few heads above Leann and having a broader build. Said build was on show for the world since, like most barbarians he had the policy of blocking arrows with her bare chest. Her clothes consisted of a fur bra and lion cloth, leaving the rest exposed, showing her tanned skin and muscled arms to the world. She didn't really much care for decency nor was shy about it, anyone making comments were either ignored or ended up on the ground with a black eye.

Ayna gave her head a shake, clearing her red hair from her face and out the way of her green eyes. She lifted her mug up to her lips, taking a swig of the cheap ale she had gotten from this place, frowning as she tasted it again. She had asked for the cheapest ale from this cheap place, but she hadn't expected it to taste quite that foul.

Ayna kept an eye on her companion for a few reasons, first being Leann's frustration amused her and two she didn't want her doing anything too rash. Even though Ayna tends to be easy going and relaxed about everything, she knew they really needed this job. She couldn't really last too long looting without being caught, nor could she depend purely on the wild, so she had to play by this societies rule, and for that she needed money. If things went well she'd enjoy being able to taste a half decent meal again, something that isn't half way to being rotten.

"Just need to be patient, it's doing us no harm sitting here." Anya pointed out, putting her mug back down as she glanced around the tavern.

 

[Aldir]

Leann snorted, her ill humor apparently not anything that could affect her companion negatively. The sorceress would almost look forward to another of Anya’s little brawls if only to take bets on who might very well win. Considering the woman’s physique, Leann was rather confident the savage of a woman could beat most anyone here. The sorceress’ powers laid in the realm of the metaphysical, she preferred roasting people or smearing them on the wall with solid stone over using her body as a weapon. Though, Anya was rather good a drawing attention away from her and for that they made an effective duo.

Effective, functional, Leann tended to use clinical words to describe their relationship as she considered it still in its nascent stages. Six months she had travelled with Anya, taking work here and there though nothing really spectacular had stood out. Six months and while she was more comfortable around her than most others, she still felt as though they barely knew each other. It suited Leann just fine, ever the professional during a job. The sorceress shrugged off the line of thinking as trivial; they had better things to worry about like getting a job and getting paid from it.

“I’m surprised your insides haven’t turned to mush from just that drink. That smells perfectly distasteful. I’d vastly prefer the scent to burning flesh to that.” The woman commented.

She sighed as she got Anya’s point perfectly well, there was not much to do but wait considering their circumstances. Grousing about the wait and this place would hardly make it any better; still it irritated her that this was what it had come to. How very naïve had she been those six months ago to leave her home city? The promise of adventure had kept her at Anya’s side is some ways, for indeed there was a compulsion in her to see places her books had spoken of. To lay eyes upon the beauty and ugliness of the world.

“Words of some intelligence from your lips? Certainly the heavens must be falling to the ground at this very moment.” She quipped dryly, her own gaze searching around.

As she found nothing, she opted to think of something to pass the time. The sorceress pondered over pulling a book from her pack to read, but that seemed rather a poor idea in this place. Perhaps instead it might be a good idea to capitalize upon her earlier pondering thoughts, that the pair of them really knew little about each other. Leann figured since their jobs tended to involve a fair bit of bloodshed a question like that was a more appropriate one. So on a whim, the next sentence out of her mouth was not an insult or complaint but a question.

“So, I’m curious. You have obviously been doing what you do long before we met. So, who was the first person you killed?” The woman inquired, leaning forward and resting her chin on her hand.

 

[Dals Way]

"Please, this is practically rat piss, nothing of any content to do you harm. Dwarven Ale is where you need to watch what you drink." Anya replied with a smirk, thinking back. She thought of when she first got her taste of that potent stuff, getting into a drinking contest with a dwarf over something, next thing she remembered was waking in an alleyway naked.

Aydan had enjoyed working with Leann, the young mage making up for Anya in aspects she lacked. However she was always somewhat nervous, magic scared the barbarian somewhat, it was something she had no comprehension on how it worked. But she has gotten more trusting of it while working with Leann, she'd still pick the more brute force approach though.

"Hey now, I say plenty of smart things! Like really you should ditch that dress, the more you ware, the slower you move and react." Anya grinned as she said that, doubting Leann would cope at as exposed as her.

She raised a brow at Leann's question, thinking for a moment. "It was a guard... Yeah, small village my tribe was raiding, first raid I'd been on. Must of been 15 or 16 when I did it, shot him with a bow, half way through the attack."

(Sadly that'll likely be it for tonight, will need to get to bed soon.£

 

[Aldir]

Leann made a note to avoid Dwarven Ale like the plague if it was any worse than what Anya was currently consuming. A drunken sorceress was like a hazard others would not appreciate dealing with. The woman however took exception to the comment regarding her clothing, huffing ever so slightly and pulling her tattered robe up closer around her. Robes were a common sight to see among wizards and sorcerer, a typical fashion trend among weavers of the arcane. The sorceress had other reasons to value this robe in particular, though they were not something she was inclined to share at the moment.

“It’s called a robe, I will have you know. It is a common fashion among civilized arcanists. Besides, in my home city we tended to dress at least with some modicum of common decency. Honestly, if your intention is to block every sword with bare flesh I’d say you would quite succeed.” The sorceress shot back.

“In any event, what purpose would mobility serve one such as me? I tend to dispatch foes long before they reach me, and even if I did not I have enough faith in your own martial abilities to handle those that would profane my personal space.” The woman finished with a nod, the closest thing to a compliment she could pay while still holding to her pride.

Leann listened to the answer to her question and she fell deeper into her own mind, pondering over what she had just learned. The sorceress was from a more civilized region of the world, raids and such were a thing of far off places. She had heard stories though of barbarian hordes coming down from their homes and looting and pillaging and raping, typical horror stories. The woman wondered then if her companion had partaken in such affairs, deciding to keep that question to herself at the moment.

Given that she had been given her answer turnabout only seemed like fair play so Leann wracked her mind for her first kill. Unlike Anya, she had no raids to call upon, only the ordeals of a sorceress coming into her power. It didn’t take long for her to recall in terrible detail her first, nowadays it was a thing of the past but back then it had been the start of her journey. All users of magic had stories of their first use of magic, when their birthright became apparent to them and all of them were generally very bad.

“Sounds pretty quick. Lucky for you. Mine was this butcher’s girl down the street from where I lived. I must have been about six or seven at the time. Anyway, she and her friends got in their heads to push me around a bit. I got angry, I wanted her to burn. Next thing I know her head’s on fire. Week after that, I was spirited away to learn my arts.” The woman said, her voice low to avoid too many prying ears.

“I didn’t mean to do it, but she died so it counts I suppose.” Leann affirmed with a nod and a sip of her water.

Her eyes turned towards the tavern floor then and she noted a cloaked figure entering, who looked around and spotted the pair of women rather easily. Leann gave Anya a look, nodding in affirmation for her to get the pair started off with introductions. The sorceress was more of a watch and wait type, she wanted to size up their potential employer and his job before taking on anything that was offered. Besides, Anya was the more personable of the two of them; it only made sense for her to do the talking.

“Excuse me, might you both be the two who contacted me earlier? I heard that a dark haired robed woman and a… distinctive looking battle maiden might be looking for gainful employment, I assume you are they?” The man said as he arrived at the table.

 

[Dals Way]

"Robe, Dress, all the same just sem... Semon...no, whatever that word is." Ayna replied as the word semantics escaped her. To her credit she was smarter than a typical barbarian, but she was still uneducated.

"Can't save your ass all the time, might be a time I'm fighting someone else when a guy tries his luck in close combat with you." Ayna shrugged, doing her best to make up an excuse for her companion to be half naked.

Ayna takes another swig of her drink, listing as Leann told her the story. Ayna was glad she was taking a drink, it allowed her to disguise the gulp and visible unease on her face. Stories liked this about magic scared her. If someone tried to stab her or fire an arrow at her she was fine, she could dodge and block such things. However as far as she knew, on a whim a mage could just set her on fire and she couldn't do a damn thing about it, a fact combined with the fact she didn't understand it, left her quite scared of it.

The barbarian turned her head as Leann pointed out the man, she gave a small smile and sat up, slouching would not do. "Aye that would be, please take a seat." She offered the empty seat next to them with a smile. To her credit Anya had learned to be polite when dealing with someone about a job, too many times before she was denied for being rude and unhelpful.

 

[Aldir]

Leann had lifted an eyebrow over Anya having issues with more complicated words, a reminder of exactly whom she was talking to. Most people were not exactly afforded good education she had found, she had just been lucky to be a sorceress. Unlucky in some ways, but fortunate in being afforded education. The woman often times mistook education for intellect, mixing the two together and coming to conclusions that those without were dim. Often she forgot that the two were not hand in hand as she so liked to imagine. Despite Anya’s academic short coming, and what Leann liked to say, she had her moments.

The sorceress turned her attention to the man as he took Anya’s invitation to be seated, noting first his clothing. It was of a finer cloth than many she had seen here, likely indicating a high society man or wealth. Either one could very well offer lucrative work for the pair, though either one could also likely afford soldiers. She crossed her arms under her breasts and simply leaned back as she waited for their potential employer to speak his piece. The man let down his cowl, revealing a somewhat aged face, black hair streaked grey and a prominent hawk nose.

“Excellent. My name is Alphonse Reric. I represent a… party that, while high of wealth and birth, would prefer to keep this dealing strictly off the record. This job involves discretion and no small amount of danger, though I suspect you both are used to such things.” The man started.

“As you may or may not be aware, our fair empire has fallen victim to a rebel faction attempting to weaken the rightful claim of Emperor Leopold Argus IV. It has come to my patron’s attention that a small splinter of this treasonous band have set up shop along the main road from this village heading south. Naturally this reflects poorly upon my patron to have these people here on his land.” He explained at length, Leann started to get the basic picture of this.

“He would prefer to avoid incident in having to send in soldiers, as well as word possibly making its way back to the capitol. That is where you two ladies come in. One of you appears suitably battle hardened, and it appears to me that the other is not all that she appears either. The job is that you track and hunt down this splinter group and eliminate them. My patron is willing to offer a hefty sum for this service, and would permit you to take liberties on whatever you might find at their encampment, supplies, weapons, slaves of spoil, it matters little to him so long as they are removed from this region. I possess a generous advance payment with me, should you accept.” The man finished, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair.

Leann drummed her fingers across her chin, pondering over this offered job carefully and thoughtfully. The deal itself sounded rather sweet, whatever reward this shadowy patron offered as well as victor’s spoils and there was even an advance payment. However reading between the lines, the sorceress wondered if there was something more sinister at work behind the scenes. She disliked being kept in the dark regarding who she was working for; it reeked of a possible set up often times.

Still, they did need the money regardless and this was a fine way to get whatever they needed. Leann held no great love for the rebellion or its ideals; she grew up in imperial controlled territory and held no ill will towards the current emperor. Anya was a barbarian and the sorceress could bet the taller woman didn’t give a rat’s ass who was who politically, long as there was something in it for her. The dark haired woman opted to keep her silence for now, letting Anya continue to do the talking as well as work out any details she might want.

 

[Dals Way]

Anya listened to the man, running the job through her head. This seemed good to her, a job that seemed as simple as killing people and with a hefty reward by the sounds of it. She had no love for the empire, she didn't care one way or another. As far as she was concerned she was her own woman and had loyalty only to herself and her family.

"A simple job, however lacking in some details. What sort of numbers and defences could we expect from these rebels? Me and my companion can only do so much, so I'd like to know we aren't risking ourselves too much." Anya asked with a smile, watching the mans face.

She did honestly want to know what hornets nest they would be going into, but there was more to it. She had quickly learned that some employers would increase the pay if they thought the two would back out, trying to make sure they took the job. It didn't always worked so she learned not to push it till she was sure, she didn't want to scare the man off with demands.

 

[Aldir]

A fair enough question it was to ask, Leann herself knew that between her tricks and her companion’s prowess they could accomplish a great deal but they could hardly defeat an army on their own. Death was not something the sorceress desired to be visited upon her any time soon. The man however seemed to expect the question and hardly lost his composure over the subject, either he was confident they would accept regardless or that they could handle whatever he wanted to throw them towards. The dark haired woman brushed an errant strand from her face as he responded to the inquiry.

“At our best estimate, no more than fifteen men, though no less than ten. The exact numbers are hazy though we know they have a base within a cave within the forest off the ways from the road. Cramped quarters, beyond that there is little we know.” He stated.

“You mentioned before that your patron would be willing to pay a hefty reward. Care to put an exact figure to that word?” Leann questioned, finally speaking up.

The man’s gaze shifted towards the sorceress, lifting a brow at her question before shrugging and removing a small scroll from the folds of his cloak. He unfurled it and passed it across the table to the sorceress, who took up the piece of parchment and examined it. Her dark eyes widened by a fraction as she looked upon the sum offered in the documentation of the contract. The contract itself was standard fare, simply to finish the job and upon completion the sum would be awarded in full. She did a double take upon the sum however.

“Five thousand gold… Five thousand. Your patron is indeed a generous individual.” The sorceress breathed, placing the contract back upon the table and finding her hand was shaking a bit.

Four thousand gold! It was hardly a sum to balk at, since split both ways that was still two thousand five hundred for both her and Anya. Leann had never seen such a sum of wealth physically in her life. If she was doing her arithmetic correctly that added up to fifty thousand silver pieces and five hundred thousand copper pieces. She swallowed, imaging what exactly she could do with that kind of money. Probably purchase a decent laboratory, or a wagon and horse with plenty left over to spare. That was on top of the spoils from the rebel encampment.

“My patron is willing to pay high prices for talent. He suspects you two are right for the job. If you would both accept, I would need you to make your signatures upon the contract or your mark if you are illiterate.” The man affirmed, offering both a cordial smile.

“Would you mind giving us a moment to talk this over?” Leann inquired if Anya had nothing further to add, which the man would simply nod towards and depart the table to grant the pair the privacy of their own thoughts.

“Five thousand gold. That’s more than I’ve ever seen honestly. It would pretty much solve our financial issues for the foreseeable future. I’m a little leery over the secrecy behind this, but think of it like this. That five thousand is simply a base, on top of whatever the rebels have if anything. If my last assessment of the market value of slaves was correct then each one of those would go for about fifty to one hundred easy. Assuming we leave anyone alive and decide to sell those we do in the next town over. So, speaking strictly moneywise, it seems extremely fair to my ears for the possibility of facing fifteen or so rebels in a cave. What about you, what do you think about this whole deal?” Leann said at length, a little bit of a greedy light entering into her eyes.

 

[Dals Way]

Anya had to stop her jaw from dropping when Leann read out the amount. Before now the most she had ever seen was around five hundred gold, now she was being offered ten times that, more money than she's seen in her life. She tried to think of what she'd even spend the money on, at a loss of how'd she'd spend it, she decided to put more thought into that as they went.

She got back on focus and thought about the numbers they were facing. Fifteen armed men wasn't too bad, sure they were outnumbered but she figured they could take them if the two weren't fighting them all at once.

She turns to Leann, listening to her assessment, nodding her head as the mage worked out just how much they could probably get from this job. "I think our employer must really want these rebels gone if he's throwing this much money at us... But that's way too much money to refuse. I feel that we should be cautious while there, he is clearly hiding something from us." Anya was never one to blindly stumble into a trap, but she could in no way justify the risk of losing this money.

"I'm all for it, will be tough but we can certainly take it, I'll even go easy on them, try and keep one or two alive." Anya smiled, outside of fist fights, she tended to kill anyone she seriously fought. Granted in this situation she didn't mind losing out on slaves, they were going to be rich after this anyway.

Anya looked at the contract, just being a mess of lines in her eyes, giving a small blush. "Uhm... You'll have to sign it for me hun..." She usually got embarrassed when she had to rely on Leann for any sort of paperwork.

 

[Aldir]

Leann nodded, having come to the same concerns as Anya had though they were rather eclipsed by the sheer amount of money offered to them. Still, the sorceress disliked the possibility that they could very well be set up in this scenario as the reward seemed almost a little too good to be true. Fortunately there were two sides to this, which presented a lovely chance to learn a bit more as to the why of the removal itself. It was a bit messy really, but the sorceress figured that they had already gotten their hands dirty by this point in their lives. What was a little more blood?

“It might avail us to take one alive at least, if not to sell then to interrogate. Our employer might not wish to speak of whatever this is really about, but we might very well get one of the rebel songbirds to sing. Best to cover all angles so we don’t end up with daggers in our backs by the end of this job.” Leann stated, casting a look to where the man stood a small distance away.

The sorceress chuckled at her companion’s little short coming, a more light hearted chuckle than a spitefully mocking one. Leann was in high spirits with this reward offered to them; her previous irritation had all but vanished entirely. If there was one thing that was assured to make the sorceress happy, it was shiny golden things in great amounts. The woman was certainly worldly, comfort was something six months of travel had caused her to value very highly. This shadowy patron, if he made good on his promise, would quickly become her new favorite person.

“Not an issue at all, fairest and dearest Anya, after this you’ll be able to hire your own scribe to follow you around.” The woman said in response, giggling a bit before turning her attention to their employer’s representative.

“I think we’ve made our decision, sir, if you have a quill and ink with you I’ll sign for the both of us.” Leann stated, waving over the man who quickly produced the items.

The sorceress dipped the quill in ink and started on her own signature, her handwriting overly embellished but legible as her own. Below that she signed Anya’s name and with that it was done and the contract was accepted. The man took it back, nodding at the signatures and to both women as he produced a coin pouch and placed it on the table. Leann blinked at the fat and jingling thing before shooting a glance up to the man who merely shrugged as he readied himself to leave.

“Your advance. Fifty gold pieces. I suggest the Dipping Swan myself if you are looking for lodgings, they might well be full up though so take that recommendation with a grain of salt. I shall be here for the next week or so awaiting news of your success, upon which you will be delivered the full sum of your reward. Good night, ladies.” The man said before departing, leaving the pair to their own devices.

“Well now, our employer seems to possess quite the estate if he can afford to throw money around like this to common sell swords. Might avail us during aforementioned possible interrogation to learn who exactly he is, Anya. Try to hold back when you can, I’ll do the same.” The sorceress commented.

“In any event, shall we be off to this establishment? Or did you want to try your chances at getting thrown out of here after drinking yourself into a stupor?” Leann inquired.

 

[Dals Way]

"Okay, will use my fists on one of them, that should work." Anya smiled, if there was one thing she was sure if, it was that she would be hard pressed to not kill someone with her axe. She took a swig of drink, smiling broadly, nothing like the thought of a fight and lots of money to get you in a good mood.

Anya gave a frown though when she mentioned the scribe. "Hun, after this is done with. I can pay to learn to myself." She'd dislike the experience of some smart ass teaching her, but she much would rather have that than relying on someone to do something she couldn't like that. She didn't much mind Leann doing it, she had come to trust the girl somewhat over their time together.

Anya watched as Leann signed the document, smiling at thinking about the money again. She watched the bag of gold be presented to them, grinning as he said the amount, some jobs only paid out that much and they were just given that as an advance.

Ayna turns to the sorcerer and gives a nod. "Capture and interrogate, will do my best." Granted she had never interrogated anyone before but she felt fine about doing it right now, couldn't be any worse than other crimes she'd done.

"I think we should go to the establishment and get a nice comfortable set of beds. I'm not enjoying this swill of a drink well enough to want to get drunk off of it." Anya replied, liking the fact she could afford now to be picky with her drink. Well soon enough, they hadn't done the job yet.

The barbarian got to her feet and picked up her battle axe that rested by her chair the whole time. The weapon would be a two handed deal for most people, in her case she was lifting it and carrying it like a simple hatchet, not phased by the weight and size of the weapon. She then headed out with her companion, heading to this 'Dipping Swan'.

 

[Aldir]

With nothing else to say, Leann stood from her seat and led the way out of the tavern and into the moonlit paths. She did not know this village as well as she would have liked, but usually she had found it easy to locate certain establishments as they advertised themselves quite well. The night was a fair bit cold, prompting the sorceress to pull her robe further up around herself. The village itself was a simple fare really, which further raised her suspicions regarding this patron. What prompted the sudden interest in this particular rebel splinter group? Why now? It was very curious.

Finally the pair would find themselves at a somewhat large building that appeared in relatively good condition, a depiction of a swan dipping its head into a puddle the sign. Leann was not exactly picky regarding places to stay at this hour; she just wanted to get enough rest to be able to better go about her new job. She pushed open the door and walked up to the front desk, noting a rather tired looking man on duty there. His eyes widened by a fraction when they fell upon the woman trailing behind Leann, blinking a couple of times to make sure he wasn’t seeing things.

“Do you have a room available for two?” The sorceress inquired, receiving a dumb nod and a key after surrendering a single gold piece.

With that the tall woman headed up the stairs, shaking her head ever so slightly. She had long ago gotten used to the impression Anya seemed to leave upon those less used to the more feral aspects of society. She was an oddity, a warrior woman, and an obvious oddity unlike Leann who tended to hide who she was. Anya obviously took a great deal of pride in her prowess; the sorceress did as well though the difference was one was more accepted than the other. It was irritating beyond belief, but it was the truth.

The woman swept into their assigned room and found it spacious enough, a pair of beds and a small table tucked into the corner with two chairs at it. Candle light flicked and bathed the room in light, curtains obscuring the moonlight from the room itself. Leann wasted no time in removing her robe, untying her binding sash and slowly folding the article of clothing up and placing it at the foot of the bed on the right. She stood in her light blue tunic and trousers, stretching up high before setting about untying the straps on her sandals.

“Well, that was more fruitful than expected. This certainly looks better than the ground by leagues and miles, no? Once this job is over we should head to the capitol, might be able to purchase some property within the city. Set up an actual business for our particular talents, a base of operations. What do you think?” The sorceress suggested as she sat upon her bed and crossed her legs, adopting her meditative position for the night.

 

[Dals Way]

Ayna followed along after Leann, the cold not bothering the barbarian, despite her lack of clothing to protect her from it. She didn't think too much of the job right now, more intrested in enjoying a nice bed and getting on the job in the morning.

She walked into the establishment and gave a small grin as she saw the man behind the desk. She somewhat enjoyed the effect she had on people, liking the attention it brought. Ayna was not a subtle girl and her appearance did well in showing what she was about.


Heading into the room Ayna walked over to the other bed, setting her axe down by the foot of it before sitting in bed, turning to her companion as she spoke. "A property, if I didn't know better dear, I'd say you were trying to civilise me." Anya states with a chuckle, leaning back. Leann was right now, a property to set up would serve them well.

 

[Aldir]

The sorceress chuckled at the concept of civilizing the barbarian woman before her, Leann had given up hope of that possibility and besides that it was savagery that made Anya as effective as she was. Some fought with honor and chivalry, others fought with no concept of such things, and still others melted people in their armor or flash froze them on the spot. Those differences each had an advantage over each other, though in Leann’s mind sorcery was at the top of the pyramid. Why dirty her hands with a sword when she could with a word cause another’s blood to boil in their body, or reduce them to the size of her littlest finger and crush them? The price sorcery took was acceptable for the gain.

Of course, such power often revealed the true nature of a person’s heart and often she wondered over the contents of her own in the moments when she was alone. Leann shook her head ever so, dispelling those thoughts from her mind for the moment and instead crossed her arms and closed her eyes. She was preparing for a bit of meditation before sleeping as was her way, it helped to control the tide of power within her. One slip up and the power she controlled would likely soon be controlling her, and that was not a fate she desired.

“Civilize you? Oh nothing so drastic. Think of it more like this, Anya. The greats of history forge themselves generally, they are those that take advantage of certain situations and make their fortune from them. Azagamd the Great started from nothing, using his money made in sorcery to buy a small home where he took on apprentices. Eventually he forged the Academy, which transcends borders and boundaries.” The sorceress stated, nodding to herself.

“Now, in our experiences with travelling, we have often found difficulty locating work. Do you not think that others might face this problem? Well, if one had say a directory to seek work from it might very well be something that would be used. Of course, that is thinking rather far ahead, but with such a thing the possible wealth gained could be enough to make this reward seem mere throwaway change. Something to consider at the very least.” Leann stated, her mind already forming ideas in that general direction.

The sorceress was an ambitious woman most certainly, looking far ahead at possibilities and goals for herself. As a sanctioned sorceress of imperial training she already held some sway and had some contacts, nothing outside of the capitol and she could bet some might be interested in seeing a venture like that take off. It was something that could very well take years, and might not even succeed but it was a possible direction. Assuming this job didn’t see her and Anya dead with arrows or daggers to the back.

Leann opened her eyes and stared long and hard at Anya, her gaze holding some form of unnatural intensity to it. There was something almost mystical towards it, a power that seemed to originate in the sorceress in her rather than the human. The woman had indeed placed a bit of magic in her gaze, her spiritual energy being forced into her eyes, glazing them in the energy. Leann siphoned her own vital energy into the sight, a minor product of sorcery known as Viewing. Anya was not exactly Anya in that particular gaze; instead she had become a mix of swirls and colors as the sorceress gazed upon her companion’s spiritual energy. All of her senses were caught up in the look at Anya; she could taste the bitter iron of blood from long past enemies upon her and see the swirl of emotions as a rainbow of color.

“Tell me, Anya. What is it you seek most in this life?” The sorceress asked, some weight added to the question and it was clear there was no mocking to it.

 

[Dals Way]

Anya thought about what her partner was saying, giving a small nod as she thought about it. Being set up somewhere certainly had its advantage and would be much easier than walking to realm for work constantly. Anya might miss the trips but being all but guaranteed a good bed and food every night would certainly make up for that.

Anya watched the sorcerer meditate a moment. She was always curious about her companion, seeming to try and figure out this whole magic business. However such attempts were futile. Anya was a simple girl with a simple way of doing things, she wasn't very capable of grasping magic.

Before Leann was staring at her, Anya began to strip off. Anya was not a modest person when it came to her body, a fact Leann learned very quickly when they began traveling together. She casually tossed off her bra, followed by the lion cloth, just being sure to not toss them towards Leann, she didn't feel like annoying the sorceress tonight. Anya, lay back in bed, her large DD breasts on full display yet again.

Anya looked over to Leann as she spoke, noticing the look she gave her, one that creeped her out somewhat. "Well, simply to live a full life before I find the man that can best me. At that point my fate is in his hands." She had mentioned this somewhat before in their travels. She had mentioned she'd only let a man who could best her in battle, sleep with her. Though she wasn't being clear if this was the same scenario or not.

 

[Aldir]

Leann held some small amount of envy in her soul for Anya and the ease in which the barbaric woman handled herself; rather care free in many ways. Such things were anathema to the sorceress naturally; she had been brought up with some senses of societal decency. The magical gaze did not exactly detect the nudity in the normal way, instead picking up the sensations along the other woman’s body. In turn it felt rather as though it was occurring to her, the sensations and feelings moving across her own body in a mirroring fashion. A disadvantage of the sight was bleed over for things one did not wish to detect.

As the barbarian woman gave her answer Leann examined the colors swirling about her, they were calm and held no traces of concealment. The sorceress snorted, cutting off the flow of her vital energy into the minor casting and closing her eyes to focus back within herself. Simple goals for a simple woman, would that such things were all that afflicted her own mind. No, instead she had to constantly worry about her own powers consuming her. Even that little bit of casting had introduced a pleasant buzz in her mind, whispering insidiously for her to cast just a little bit more.

“I expected something similar I suppose. Pity. With your strength I imagine you could do much more than such subjugation.” Leann commented.

“In any event, I suggest you get some sleep. We have a long day ahead of us.” The woman offered before falling completely silent.

Breath was drawn slowly in through her nose and then out of her mouth, her breathing being cycled as she focused only on the act of breathing. In this way she served to clear her mind of distractions and found some degree of clarity, the roiling of self-destructive urges calming. It was a skill most sorcerers learned early on generally speaking, her mentor had been rather harsh in his instruction but the old man had certainly taught her right. After all, she had yet to slip up as a sorceress due to his instruction. Meditation came before sleep, about a half hour of it would help her focus better and then she could rest properly.

 

[Dals Way]

"Strength I never direct my self well to using." Anya added with a chuckle. She was indeed a force of destruction if she just let her rage and strength lose. However she kept herself from doing so, such outburst often doing the situation worse.

Anya lay down on the bed, getting under the soft covers. The barbarian giving a lady like coo as she felt the warm bed wrap around her, enjoying the little comfort. At the sorcerers request she got some sleep, finding it easy for the simple barbarian.

Her dreams were of a similar simplicity. The night was filled with her imagining uses for the vast fortune that would soon be theirs. However as she had stated, most struggled to even us it all, the barbarian was never one who thought about riches.

 

[Aldir]

It was there in her mind, oh gods she could feel it crawling in the brain matter it now marinated in. Her body moved in ways she did not command it, she within silently screaming in sheerest terror and horror. She was a passenger in her own flesh as words not her own left her lips and as her fingers curled around a hilt of treated leather she fancied she’d be crying. It was all to no avail as the new commander of her form was beyond such concepts.

The cold steel of the dagger gleamed in the flickering candlelight, Leann helpless and unable to even move her eyes to look upon the weapon in her hands fully. The blade came up high into the air and she was pleading by this point for it to end, begging to whatever god would listen. None of them did however, not that day or any day hence…

When the early morning sun had risen just over the horizon, Leann had awoken. Her dreams had not been overly pleasant that night, nightmares a frequent thing for her final examination at the Academy. Her fingers unconsciously brushed over her left shoulder blade, knowing full well the scar was still there after all this time. To an onlooker it would simply appear to be a faint ring of scarring, however Leann recalled something far more painful. The crawling in her veins as the worm had forced its way into her body and into her brain, the trial each and every sanctioned sorcerer went through.

The woman was quick to steal a glance at her companion, a rare smile ghosting across her features as she fancied that asleep she looked far more peaceful than awake. Sleep was never a happy thing for Leann after what the Academy had been. Being born with the ability to use magic hardly exempted one from the trials of abuse and dehumanization there. Her mentor had been a hard man, but a fair one, some of her other instructors had been less so. She could clearly remember her first day walking in there, she had walked to her quarters with a black eye for looking at one in a manner the woman had deemed disrespectful.

Leann shook off the remnants of her nightmares and stood slowly from her bed, gathering up her robes and settling them around her. Next she strapped on her sandals and just sat on the edge of her bed for the moment, opting to give Anya more time to sleep. At least someone should be given a good night’s sleep between the pair of them. The sorceress started going through a mental list of her preferred spells for their hunt, narrowing her list to the Puppeteer, the Space Saver, and the Bloodwhip. Useful ones, though the first one would be a little more draining than most.

 

[Dals Way]

Anya slowly woke as Leann prepared, the girl undisturbed by any nightmares. The barbarian slowly sat up and watched Leann, recognising she was s the spells by now. She slowly got out of bed, stretching a moment before doing her far quicker preparation. She put what little outfit she had, barely changing much other than keeping her breasts in place.

With that she turned to the sorcerous, a smile on her face. The barbarian was very chipper today, the promise of a good job getting the carefree barbarian into a good mood. "So, we ready to depart dear Leann? Or did you have any stops in mind before we make our attack?" The girl asked, eager to get going and get killing.

 

[Aldir]

Leann could not exactly think of anything she needed to do before heading out and setting about to finding their quarry, so she stood as soon as Anya herself was ready. A light stretch later and the sorceress figured that she was well enough prepared for whatever might lay ahead of them. Her spells required no prior preparation beyond her own concentration and placing her vital energy into the spell itself. She had made certain to store away their gold within the folds of her robes just in case she noticed something on the way out. Their travel rations would likely serve well enough for food on the road as well.

“I believe we have everything we need. I believe he said it was found a little way off the road, meaning we have to go back down south for a ways until we reach the forest he spoke of.” The woman said with a nod as she opened the door.

Soon enough she would be walking out of town likely with her companion in tow, typically travelling on foot was her preferred method of transport. Besides, if they were going to need to go into a forest then horses would not exactly be the most useful thing in the world to possess. Besides it was not but a half days walk down the road, the sorceress was willing to be patient. The duration of the walk she continued to go over her spells in her mind, figuring it best to sort out everything lest she make a possibly fatal mistake.

Eventually would arrive upon the outskirts of the forest in question, Leann leaning against a tree and slumping down in place. The walk had not been overly long in the grander scheme of travel, but even still the woman needed to rest for a spell. Likely Anya was used to these long marches, especially given her more toned physical physique. The sorceress doubted very much that she herself would ever get used to them. Travel was a rather taxing affair, though this was by no means the longest she had ever marched.

“Let’s rest here for a moment. We need to discuss the battle plan anyway.” The woman stated.

“So, given they are in a cave it would be best to assume tight quarters will restrict us somewhat. In order to compensate for that I’ll keep my spells as more personalized and less area of effect. Before we enter I’ll place a ward around each of us, hopefully it will catch a few arrows they might shoot our way.” The woman started.

“You’ll take the lead in front of us I think, I’ll pick them off from behind. With enough luck we might very well get the element of surprise on our side, after all they are probably not expecting two women to come after them.” Leann added, leaving space open for any further additions Anya might have to the plan that the sorceress was certain she might very well have missed.

 

[Dals Way]

Anya picked up her axe and nodded, following Leann's lead. She was also more fond of walking, never having much of a knack for horse riding. So she marched on with Leann, keeping to her companions pace as she hummed a tune idly.

She came to stop with Leann, letting the girl rest. The barbarian gave a smirk, she barely felt tired at all. "As you wish dear." She replied, leaning back against a tree as they stopped.

Anya listened to the girls plan, usually trusting her to make their plans anyway. Although Anya was pretty smart for her nature, she was still fairly simple in some cases. The usual plan for her was to run in axe swinging, not an ideal idea most of the time.

However she soon had a thought on a subject that annoyed her. "Got anything prepared that would let us see traps better. I'd rather not walk right into a pit trap... Again." Anya very much hated traps over her time traveling. The barbarian on many occasions getting caught up by some sneaky trap, annoying her to no end every time.

 

[Aldir]

Leann pondered the question, giving it some serious consideration and going over her somewhat sizable repertoire of spells in her mind. Unlike what many thought there was no set widely accepted spells from which sorcerers drew from, though many took similar shapes. Most sorcerers learned first how to channel their vital energy and then discovered on their own the various methods of shaping certain types of spells. Every spell Leann knew off was something she herself had created. As such it was sometimes difficult to remember every single spell used and possible variation upon the magic that was used in her personal repository of magic.

“Hmm… possibly… If I were to craft a scroll that could grant you the Sight you might be able to look upon the energy fluxes of the physical world. Possibly even see through surfaces to detect traps. Of course if not properly prepared it could lead to sensory overload… though, if I focus upon simply the sight aspect rather than the others perhaps not…” The sorceress mused allowed, rifling through her pack and producing sheets of parchment and ink.

From here the woman’s eyes became distant, it was as though the entire world had vanished from her mind and the only things in existence were she and the parchment. Her expression was intently focused upon the task at hand, arcane symbols being brought into existence upon the parchment. The symbols were common enough that most any sorcerer would recognize it as a basic scroll, nothing too fancy. Soon enough she had two completed and finished, briefly pulling the Sight into her eyes to cause her vital essence to glaze them over. The magic was carried from her body and into the scrolls, charging both with a form of basic magic.

“Here, hold this up to your face and speak the words ‘Aska Maridenth.’ It should transfer the Sight to your own eyes. Only temporarily naturally.” The sorceress stated with a nod, handing one of the freshly completed scrolls to Anya.

 

[Dals Way]

Anya watched Leann work, waiting for the result. Being both illiterate and unable to understand magic, this made no sense to her. However she watched Leann make the symbols and work her 'magic'. Main reason being is it could be helpful one day, she wasn't sure how but it could be none the less.

Anya takes hold of the scroll as she is handed it, glancing at it. "Well, here goes nothing." The barbarian says, looking the paper up and down. She gets ready to go before holding the scroll up to her face, as instructed. "Aska Maridenth..." The girl mumbled, trying her best to pronounce it just like Leann had.

 

[Aldir]

After Anya would speak the words she would likely find the world shifting and changing, becoming less what she was comfortable with. In this new world there were swirls of colors, some of which she knew and some of which she likely had no word for. The experience was different from person to person, but it could be rather overwhelming and frightening at first. Beyond that she might very well notice a rise in perception, for instance if she focused upon Leann enough she might very well be able to see through her clothing. The sight would last for a few solid minutes but the scrolls effects would then vanish and return normal sight to her eyes, Leann meanwhile was rather pleased that the scroll appeared to have been successful. Of course it was successful, she had made it after all.

“Well, an impromptu first test really, but it looked like it worked for you. Keep the second scroll handy for when we arrive at their stronghold, the Sight will reveal traps and such rather easily to your eyes.” The sorceress stated, standing up and storing her equipment away now that she was suitably well rested.

“In any event we should be off to finding them I suppose; you are the tracker of the two of us so lead on. If anyone can find their hideaway, it’s you.” Leann stated, gesturing to the forest beyond.