30 Ashan 720
Yet he didn't stumble or fall over things. Another wonder of the spark Isabella had given him was that he seemed to have a perfect understanding of his surroundings. He could feel the buildings around him. The few outcropping rocks he needed to lift his foot a little higher to get around. He knew when to stop because some inconsiderate other had walked in front of his path. He knew when to stop because some bastard had stuck his leg out to try and trip the blindfolded wanderer... but he didn't know where he was actually going. That was where the dousing came in.
The omnivision granted to Balthazar by his spark made him aware of the shape of the city as he wandered through it. He knew where to turn and where to walk up and down steps. Yet it was the dousing that drew his path. It was dousing which told Balthazar what direction he would be going. He did not know many notes intimately but there was one note that Balthazar had learned very early on. It was a note he knew he would come across many times in his chosen profession. A dark and sad note.
The note of murder.
Balthazar had chosen to seek this out with the blindfold because he figured that worse case scenario it could lead him to another job... but that was not where it lead him. Dousing was different than seeking out something you held an attunement with. Following a held attunement to the source was like trying to follow a song you heard in the distance. You knew what the song sounded like so you had a relatively clear grasp of which direction would lead you closer to it and what would lead you further. With dousing... it was more vague. You didn't know what the song really sounded like, you just had a vague grasp of it. You remembered what it had been like the last time you heard it and tried to listen for something similar but there were many variations of murder.
Hunters murdered animals. Soldiers murdered enemies. Fighters murdered each other when they fought to hard. The latter was what had created the note in the area Balthazar was searching. The blindfolded mage turned another corner, only aware of how empty the streets had become because he did not feel any more people walking around him. When Balthazar's spark told him he'd come to a dead end, Balthazar pulled the blindfold off. He couldn't be at a dead end, he wasn't there yet. He could feel the note just beyond the wall in front of him but not here, not in this black alleyway.
Balthazar looked around. He'd never been here before. Or had he? Balthazar looked at the ground and then tried to deduce the direction he'd come from but for the first time in a long time- he couldn't. He knew he had come from the outlet of the alleyway but he didn't know whether he'd come from the left or right and when he looked inward for an answer all he got was... blurry vision. Balthazar blinked a few times to try and clear his eyes but the blur persisted for a few trills before his Rupture spark interceded and repaired the mage's eyes for him.
Was that overstepping? That wasn't so bad as overstepping in Defiance. Balthazar had walked around with floppy arms for half a week after he'd overstepped with Defiance so a few trills of blurry vision didn't seem so bad... then again that was the lightest of the punishments that awaited he who overstepped violently in Attunement. Balthazar shook the thoughts from his head. Maybe he didn't know where he was, so what? People discovered islands to settle on by getting lost right? Lost was an empowered state!
It also kinda sucked. Balthazar turned back to the dark alley and walked to the wall the seemed to sing of murder. He could hear thuds beyond the wall. He could hear... cheering? Balthazar pressed his hand to the wall and closed his eyes. He felt the world around him, the walls on either side and the one before him- but he wanted to see further. He wanted to know what was beyond the wall. So Balthazar urged his senses forward from his surroundings to the area passed the wooden barrier. He saw about a dozen men in the next room. Ten of them gathered around two fighting in the middle. Murder? This wasn't murder... was it? Balthazar stopped, cutting himself off from the note and choosing to douse for another he recognized, triumph. He could sense it beyond the wall just as clearly as the note of murder.
Some sort of sparring arena? Balthazar thought to himself as he pulled his hand off the wall. I like to fight too... Impulsively Balthazar knocked on the door. There was no response... if he could hear the cheering from the outside he probably wouldn't get their attention knocking on the door... but he had other methods. Balthazar backed away from the door and reached out with his right hand. Rupture was a loud magic, but he wasn't looking to make a portal. He just wanted the noise. Wisps of smoke materialized in the air as Balthazar scratched at space, causing a loud and sizzling roar. Then he backed away from the wall and not a bit later, a portion of the wall swung open- a hidden door.
There was a shirtless, well shaped man with some of his long hair pulled into a bun to keep it out of his face and a thick beard. His eyes fell to Balthazar who stood, somewhat glowing, alone in the alley. "Hey." Balthazar said with a small wave. The man stepped out of the building and gestured around as if expecting Balthazar to explain himself. As he did Balthazar saw inside the room over the man's shoulder. He seemed to have the attention of the whole club due to his little stunt with the roar, but only the bearded man spoke.
"What was that?" He asked, not seeing the few stray wisps of smoke dissipating in the air.
"I knocked and no one answered." Balthazar replied. "So I knocked louder."
"Who told you to come here?" He asked with a stern look.
"No one." Balthazar said. The man made a face which clearly indicated he didn't believe the mage. So Balthazar added "I'm a mage. I can... find things with a little effort."
"It's illegal to use magic without permission." The man said in a pointed tone.
"It's illegal to duel too." Balthazar replied. A small grin crept over the man's face and he looked back inside the building for a trill before looking to Balthazar again.
"What's you're name?"
"Edward." He hadn't lied about his name in a long time. It felt odd but he was an Element now and he was fairly certain what they were doing was illegal so he didn't want his name tied to it... and he didn't want them to recognize him as an Element.
"Durden." The man gestured to himself. "No time for a Crucible tonight, come back in a few trials. We'll test you then."
"Test me?" Balthazar repeated.
"You'll see. In the meantime, you didn't see anything. Got it?" And with that Durden was back beyond the hidden door and the small passage into the hidden world was shut. Well... that was interesting. Balthazar debated reporting it to the Elements but ultimately decided not to. Something about the place seemed... right. So he would leave it be for the time being. Balthazar looked around to try and imprint the area in his mind. He'd have to remember to come back later... but he had to find a away home first.