• Solo • The Swordswoman and the Thief, Part 1

[Devin]

Ashan 28, Arc 720

It had happened again!

Devin couldn’t believe it.

He stared at the treasure chest that stood in the clearing, next to a gigantic hole in the ground.

It looked deceptively innocent – and completely empty.

What was going on?!

Had he been cursed - by Chrien maybe since she was the Immortal of Luck?

He quickly rolled up his sleeves in order to check his arms for any new und unwelcome additions, but they looked the same as always, covered with feather-like markings that swayed gently in an invisible breeze.

He was just about to take his jacket and his shirt off despite the Ashan chill (it wasn’t as cold as it had been in the beginning of the season, but still not exactly warm) in order to find out if an evil Immortal had placed a curse mark somewhere on his chest when he suddenly heard footsteps.

He quickly closed his jacket again and looked up - only to stare a second time in just as many bits.

It was her!

What was she doing here?!

On the other side of the clearing stood Adeline, the swordswoman that had completely and utterly humiliated him approximately an arc and a half to two arcs earlier and defeated him in a duel.

She was dressed in dark-brown leather-armor and held a slender silver blade in her right hand.

“Hello, Devin”, the blonde woman greeted him somewhat coolly and came closer.

“Hello, Adeline”, the Mortalborn replied curtly and crossed his arms over his chest before he glowered at her.

“Did you take my treasure?” he wanted to know.

“Did you take my treasure?” Adeline asked at almost the same time.

A moment later, the two rivals stared at each other as the terrible truth dawned on them.

A third party had taken the treasure!

[Devin]

A few bits later, Adeline and Devin sat on a fallen tree at the edge of the clearing, some distance away from the empty treasure chest, matching murderous looks on their faces.

Devin glanced at the slightly older woman for a moment before he quickly reached into a pocket of his fancy dark grey and royal purple jacket, pulled his golden cigar case out, removed a cigar from it and lit it before he offered the case to her.

“Want one?” he asked.

Adeline looked at the cigars with thinly veiled suspicion (Devin had the feeling that such was mostly the case because of him and not because she had a problem when it came to smoking).

She mumbled something completely unintelligible, and then she abruptly grabbed a cigar and held it towards him.

He lit it without a word.

For a while, the two rivals and unlucky treasure hunters sat there, smoking and united in their misery and frustration.

Adeline was the first to speak again.

“Fek!” the swordsman said.

“Fek!” Devin agreed and took another drag from his cigar because it made him feel marginally better.

“How did that happen?” Adeline wanted to know.

“I have no idea!” Devin admitted before he asked hopefully, “Maybe they are still somewhere nearby though?”

“I doubt it”, Adeline replied curtly and shook her head. “I checked the area. There aren’t even any footprints! It’s as if a bunch of ghosts took our treasure and disappeared with it!”

“Fek”, Devin remarked.

“Fek”, Adeline agreed.

“So, what shall we do now?” Devin asked.

“I have no idea”, Adeline admitted.

[Devin]

“So, what have you been up to these past two arcs anyway?” Devin wanted to know after another couple of bits during which they had just sat next to each other quietly, smoking - mostly because he hated the silence and not because Adeline was suddenly his new best friend. He just couldn’t stand it when nobody was talking. “Apart from sticking your sword into random people and looking for treasure, that is”, he added.

“Oh, this and that”, the swordsman remarked casually. “I learned magic. And you?” she asked. “Still losing duels against everybody and trying in vain to climb the social ladder?”

“Actually”, Devin replied. “I have a seat on the council, and I’m a priest now, an actual priest of Delroth. He even blessed me! Take a look!” He rolled up his sleeves in order to show her his blessing before he grinned slyly. Within trills, sharp steel blades grew all along his arms. “Neat, huh?” he asked when her eyes widened in surprise. “There’s more though! I can also see the future now – and I have this here!”

The Mortalborn reached into his pocket again to remove a red stone and tossed it towards her. She caught it and held it in her hands for a few moments, frowning, before she abruptly let out a yelp and tossed it back towards him. Devin quickly pocketed it again.

“A Fever Stone!” he explained. “I own more magic items though! My shoes are imbued with some sort of teleportation spell, I have a statue that can turn into a live horse, and I …” He paused abruptly. He had been so focused on trying to impress her and brag about all his achievements so that she would know that he wasn’t useless anymore, that he was in fact better than her now, that he hadn’t paid any attention to what she had said.

“Wait! Did you say that you became a mage? What kind of magic? I want to become a mage! Can you show me?” he asked a number of questions in quick succession because he was so absolutely excited.

[Devin]

Adeline only grinned slyly.

Within less than a bit, she … changed?

Devin blinked in confusion when an Eidisi woman with blue skin, white hair and white eyes suddenly sat there where a pale-skinned human with blonde hair and brown eyes had been sitting only a moment earlier, and then his eyes widened, and he exclaimed, “You are a Becomer!”

Adeline only smiled at him smugly.

Devin smiled back, and then he smiled even more because he realized that the solution to the problem that had been bothering him for a while was right here. He didn’t even mind that she had humiliated him once anymore.

The past was the past, wasn’t it?

Since he had met Kalortah, the Avriel, the cycle before, and since he had sat in Professor Gir’s class on Becoming, he had wanted to learn this magic. He wanted to have wings, just like Kalortah because they would look great on him, much better than on that stupid Avriel in fact!

“Teach me!” he demanded.

“No”, Adeline replied curtly.

“Why not?” Devin retorted. “I’d be a worthy initiate! I told you that I’m a priest and a councilor now. I’m actually a decent swordsman as well now! I’m rich. I own magic items! I showed you my stone! I’m probably the worthiest initiate you can find in all of Scalvoris!”

“Don’t you want to exact revenge on the people that took our treasure?” he asked. “If both of us had magic, it would be much easier! I’d even give you the treasure!” he offered because getting magic was much better than some measly treasure.

He could always find another treasure, but he wasn’t sure how many Becomers there were in Scalvoris!

“It’s not because of that”, Adeline said and reluctantly admitted, “You’ve accomplished quite a bit, but the initiation is painful – and dangerous. A lot of people don’t survive initiation. My mentor had another initiate before me. He didn’t make it!”

If she thought that such would discourage Devin, she was wrong. He was so greedy and desperate to have magic – and so absolutely envious of Kalortah – that he didn’t care about dying for once.

Instead, he saw her refusal as a challenge that he needed to overcome.

“I don’t mind pain”, he claimed, which wasn’t true at all, of course. He hated pain, but this time, the pain might actually be worth it for a change. “I have a pretty high pain tolerance. Have you noticed that my eyes look different now?” he asked and pointed at his face. When they had first met, he had had normal, boring brown eyes, but now they were a vivid shade of violet. He preferred them that way. They attracted attention!

“I had an encounter with a powerful magical entity. It was agonizing”, he lied. In truth, it had not been an “entity” of course, but a magical tree, and he had barely felt a thing. “Look at my hands!” he continued and showed her his fingers that ended in claw-like nails. “A grafter gave me these. That hurt even more than what happened to my eyes!”

Truth to be told, it hadn’t been painful either. The main problem had been that he had had to sit still for several bits while Rakvald had done his magic. Devin was a very impatient man, and he absolutely hated sitting still.

Adeline opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something. Afraid that she might say “no” again, Devin quickly continued, “On top of it, I’m getting a degree in Magical Theory at the university here! I know all about magic and the spark and how dangerous it is. I’ll be a responsible initiate! If you want to, you can ask my professors!” he told her.

This time, he wasn’t lying. He was actually studying Magical Theory - because his roommate had persuaded him to give him a try and because he had thought it might help him decide which magic to get initiated into after he had decided against necromancy.

For a moment, Adeline didn’t say anything, and then she abruptly extinguished her cigar, rose to her feet and demanded, “Show me where you live, Devin! You have a house in Scalvoris Town, don’t you? I’d rather not risk getting a cold while I try to initiate you. And I want the treasure that you promised me if we manage to find the other treasure hunters, of course!” she added. She might have changed her mind in regard to Devin and sharing her magic with him, but she was still a very greedy woman!

[Soren Kvistson]

REVIEW SUMMARY

Word Count: 1755
Total Post Count: 4
Word and Post Count for Player 1: 4/1755
Review Request Link: viewtopic.php?f=242&t=20657&start=320#p143305

I can't tell if Devin is winning over Adeline through endearment or annoyance. Either way, it seems to be working. A bit comical that the entire thought about the treasure seems to have vanished from them both.


Devin
Skill Points - 10

Renown - 0

Skill Knowledges:
Persuasion x5
Deception x1

Non-Skill Knowledges:
N/A

Items and Other Rewards:
N/A