• Mature • Mage, Beware!

The Iron Hand is cracking down on illegal arcana.

86th of Ashan 716

The capital city of the of Rynmere, here is seated the only King in Idalos.
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Sabine
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Mage, Beware!

Mage, Beware!


Timestamp: 86th of Ashan, 716
Location: Bram’s Home, Midtown

“That was nice,” Bram murmured, and nipped playfully at Sabine’s flushed neck.

She laughed and dismounted, falling into the soft sheets next to her bedmate. “Nice? That’s all I get?”

“How about really nice?”

“Oh, shut up.” She thwacked his bare chest with the back of her hand.

“I’d arrest you for that, but I’m too damn tired,” he said. His brown eyes danced with amusement as Sabine stuck her tongue out in response.

“Right, because you worked so hard.” She smirked and dragged the sheets up and over their waists.

The two lay in silence for a moment to catch their breath. Sabine’s head rested against Bram’s chest, while he leaned casually against the bed’s head board with a self-congratulatory expression.

Slowly but surely, the rush began to fade and reality drifted back into the picture. Sabine sighed, shifted away from Bram, and propped herself up with her right elbow. She trailed a finger lazily down her companion’s bicep. “So, tell me about The Iron Hand. Anything interesting?”

Her relationship with Bram was… non-traditional. The pair had known each other practically since Sabine’s family had moved to Andaris. They had become on-and-off lovers several arcs later under the influence of terrible ale and far too much sexual tension.

As the two grew older, they found themselves in bed together less and less. Bram had been a Squire when they had first met and, through gruelling training and hard work, had finally managed to work his way up to the title of Moseke Knight. Between the requirements of his profession and Sabine’s family situation, the two had slowly drifted apart.

It was only recently, when Sabine took on her role of journalist for the Rynmere Gazette, that she realized it might be helpful to have ears inside The Iron Hand – someone who might be able to help her keep tabs on the city’s latest events and scandals.

And so, the arrangement was made – though neither of them spoke of it so explicitly. Sabine would come by every ten trials or so, the two would sleep together, and Bram would drop a few pieces of news or rumour that he’d been privy to.

“Hm… we’ve been cracking down on illegal arcana,” Bram said.

Sabine frowned. “What does that mean?”

He closed his eyes. “It means we’re arresting every rogue arcana user we can find. We’ve already thrown a few in the dungeon. I can’t imagine they’ve got much hope in Court, what with them not having a permit.”

“Why the sudden push for arrests?”

“The city’s up in arms about the recent attacks," he said. "Between Lord Quincy Andaris and the ‘Conduit of Ruin’ incident… Well, let’s just say we want to find the culprits and keep the city safe.”

A shiver ran down Sabine’s spine in response to Bram’s words, and the hairs on her arms rose. She didn’t like arcana – at least, she didn’t like what little she knew of it. The few encounters she’d had with arcana users were, for the most part, particularly unpleasant experiences.

For once, she actually agreed with the Kingdom’s restrictions. Rogue mages were a danger to more than just themselves. They had started infringing on the rights of others, and they needed to be stopped.
Last edited by Sabine on Mon May 09, 2016 8:24 pm, edited 2 times in total. word count: 583
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Sabine
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Mage, Beware!

Sabine idly traced a circle over Bram’s heart. “What type of arcana were those rogue mages arrested for using?”

He thought for a moment. “I can only remember two. One was arrested for Gravitation, and the other… I think it was for Illusionism.”

“Remind me of the difference between the two?

“Oh, please,” he said. “You didn’t know to begin with.”

She rolled her eyes. “Just tell me.”

“Honestly, all I know is that Gravitation is the one that makes things move, and Illusionism is the one that makes people believe in false images.” Bram opened his eyes and looked at her soberly. “I don’t have much interest in the arcane besides what I need to know to do my job. You shouldn’t, either.”

Sabine nodded. She wasn’t in the mood to argue with him about the value of knowledge as power. “Doesn’t illegal use of that arcana usually mean just getting a fine? Or am I misremembering?”

“No, you’re right,” he agreed. “We usually issue fines of 50 gold nel for the offense. But like I said, the city’s been on high alert since the attacks. We’re not taking any chances.”

“No permit equals jail time. Got it.” Sabine pushed herself up and extracted her bare legs from the sheet.

“What are you doing?”

“Duty calls,” she said. She bounced off the bed and began to pull on her undergarments. “My boss needs a story by end of day today. You know how it is.”

Bram’s expression darkened as he watched Sabine wriggle into her leather pants and throw on her blouse.

“Thanks for everything, babe. I’ve gotta run.” She gave him a quick peck on the cheek. He opened his mouth as if to protest her leaving, but said nothing as she strode towards the door.

“Oh! One more thing,” Sabine said. “How much are arcane permits?”

Bram stayed quiet.

“Do you know? Or should I ask someone else?”

“100 gold,” he said finally, with a degree of resignation lining his words. “From the Courthouse or the University.”

She waved at him over her shoulder in thanks and let herself out, doing her best to push his wounded expression from her mind.

Sabine knew that Bram was thinking about marriage. It was only natural – he was twenty-five, and both his siblings had already been married off. He even went on dates here and there, but none of them had panned out. Or at least, that was what he claimed. Every so often, she would spot him eyeing her as though trying to decide whether or not she would refuse his request for something more. She always feigned ignorance to his feelings and did her best to manage the situation by regularly dropping hints about her complete lack of marriageability.

It wasn’t that there was anything wrong with the man. She cared about his friendship and enjoyed their time together immensely. In her weaker moments, she even played with the idea of marrying and moving back to Rharne. But it always came back to two things.

The first was that Sabine hated the idea of being reduced to the label of “wife”.

And the second?

She simply wasn’t in love with him.
word count: 547
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Mage, Beware!

Location: Ye Olde Inn

There was nothing quite like a cold beer to help forget the face of a morose lover.

Sabine took a long swig of her drink. She sat alone in the corner of Ye Olde Inn: back to the wall, eyes on the table. She wasn’t usually a patron of the Inn – the rowdy group at The Blacksmith Arms was far more her style – but when she needed a drink and a place to write, the Inn was her best option. Fights rarely broke out, for one, and she was usually left to her own devices.

She picked up her pen and dipped it carefully into the small black inkwell she’d borrowed from the Gazette’s office. A few words already populated the piece of vellum that lay before her, and she quickly scanned what she had written before continuing.

Bram Haywood warns-
Sabine paused. No, that wasn’t right. She couldn’t use his real name. If the information was confidential and it got out that Bram was the one who had shared it, he would be ruined. His career as a Knight would be over.

She may not have been in love with him, but she refused to be the reason for his fall.

Bram Haywood warns A source close to The Iron Hand warns that two at least two mages have been arrested and jailed thrown in the Dungeon for making stupid decisions using arcana without a permit.
Better; but what else to add? Sabine took another sip of her beer and tried to imagine herself in the reader’s position. What would she want to know if she were hearing this news for the first time? If she knew nothing else except that two mages had been arrested, what would she ask?

Why.

Much like her earlier line of questioning to Bram, she would want to know why The Iron Hand was suddenly adopting a zero tolerance policy for rogue mages.

Security forces are on high alert after the recent attack on Lord Quincy Andaris...
The Inn’s muted chatter kept Sabine company as she steadily developed a structure for her thoughts and brought them to life on the vellum. Her page filled as her mug emptied, and by the time she was down to the last dregs of beer, the article was done.

Sabine smiled. That was her favourite part: finishing an article. There was a certain writer's high that came with the accomplishment. Granted, it wasn't quite as good as sex, but it was satisfying nonetheless.

On to the next one.

Mage, Beware!

By Sabine Qe’azour
86th of Ashan, 716


The Iron Hand is adopting a “zero tolerance” policy for illegal use of arcana.

Rynmere law states that all mages must purchase a permit and register their name with the city, or risk a significant fine. A source close to The Iron Hand warns, however, that at least two mages have been arrested and thrown in the Dungeon for using arcana without a permit.

Security forces are on high alert after the recent attack on Lord Quincy Andaris and the mysterious disappearance of a local merchant after the “Conduit of Ruin” painting was discovered at the Rynmere Gazette’s office.

Arcana permits cost 100 gold nel and can be purchased at the Courthouse or through the University.
[OOC Note: -3 sn for mug of beer.]
word count: 569
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Kingdom
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Mage, Beware!

Image
G R A D E S

Skills

Skills
Seduction: 1
Persuasion: 1
Observation: 2
Investigation: 1
Interrogation: 1
Socialisation: 2
Writing: 2

Knowledge

Knowledge
Basic:
Rynmere: The Iron Hand
Bram: Works for the Moseke Knights
Gravitation: Makes things move
Illusionism: Conjuring false images
Location: Ye Olde Inn
Specialised:
The Iron Hand: Rynmere’s collective military forces
Persuasion: Sometimes means abusing personal relationships
The Iron Hand is cracking down on Unlawful Arcana
Magic Permits: 100 gold nel

Comments

Notes: Hello, Sabine! Wonderful thread, I’m a big fan of your writing style, very articulate and easy to read. I went ahead and edited the post to include the mature tag. Though there was nothing explicit I think it’s still appropriate to include that for these kinds of threads. Looking forward to grading more of your work as I really enjoyed this one and love the articles you come up with for the gazette! Let me know if you think I missed anything.
word count: 161
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