Open Chronicles A Missing Pet in Vel Anir

[Aelita]

By my authority as one of your esteemed Proctors, you are to find and return Major Verdosk's prized dog, called Blackpaw. You are charged with the authority to compel witnesses and use force to ensure its safe recovery.

You will find a depiction of Blackpaw attached. It was last seen in Velkath square.

Signed, Zehrel Utratha

As she walked through the morning streets of Vel Anir, Aelita kept rereading the orders over and over again. Her eyes bounced back and forth between the parchment of words and the drawing of the missing creature. Eyebrows furrowed.

A sigh followed. She panned her head around Velkath square. A good amount of stalls already stood ready. Some contained goods such as tools, cloth, pottery, and more. Others had fresh meat simmering over a small grill - ready for one's breakfast or early lunch. Several small time merchants were in the process of setting up - just in time for a midday rush.

With no other leads than the order, Aelita approached the closest passerby.

"Excuse me," Aelita called out.

The Initiate wore armor and carried a long staff on her back. From that alone, it would have been obvious that Aelita was associated with the Dreadlords.

Shoving the picture of "Blackpaw" into the passerby's face, Aelita then asked, "Have you seen... this?"

 

[Perla Irven]

Shopping mid-morning was preferable than the afternoons or evenings due to the smaller crowds. A scrawny girl wearing a scarf and with dark bags under her eyes stood in front of a stall, speculating over which herbs looked fresher. They had a small garden for the alchemists back in the Academy but it was small and never provided enough for her experiments. Forced to turn to the markets, she simply wished to buy the ingredients and head back to the laboratory as fast as possible. The longer she stayed out, the more likely she'd have to deal with people.

After scrutinizing every single herb for imperfections, much to the annoyance of the merchant, she finally selected some wood nettles, death caps, and black sap. She carefully put on her gloves and placed each herb in its own little bag then grabbed the bottle of sap. Once everything was stored in her satchel, she had a big smile on her face. Today she would be experimenting with creating a new poison called Blazing Blisters. When in contact with an injury, the poison should be able to contaminate the entire body part, creating rows after rows of rashes and massive blisters that the enemy would be forced to scratch.

Or at least that was the plan. She hadn't figured out the exact ingredients she would need but she hoped these new ones would be able to work. As she turned around, ready to rush back to the laboratory, someone shoved a picture of a creature into her face. It looked like some sort of fox... or maybe a poorly made dog? The girl holding the picture looked familiar, so Perla could only assume she was another dread lord.

"...No." She said in a deadpan voice. "What is it?"

Despite her annoyance with the interruption, she was curious as to what that creature was.

 

[Aelita]

To Perla’s question, Aelita frowned. She turned the paper around to look at the picture of Blackpaw once again. Eyebrows furrowed once more. A frown.

Then turning the picture back toward Perla Irven, Aelita confidently claimed, “A dog!”

Aelita’s shoulders then deflated.

“Or so the proctor says,” she mumbled.

A glance to Perla’s swollen satchel followed.

“Do you shop here? Often?” Aelita asked, “Anyone talking about a new pet?”

 

[Perla Irven]

"I haven't heard anything about new pets." Perla responded directly.

An internal battle played out inside her mind between her curiosity and her workaholic nature. She deeply wished to get back to work but that was not a dog. If this creature was allowed to run free, there would never be a chance for her to figure out what that thing was. With a sigh, Perla dug into her satchel, pulling out a small old compass.

"Do you have any of that...dog's...fur? Did it shed on your clothes?" She asked.

Even just a singular hair would work. The girl dug through her satchel and pulled out a quill along with a sliver of an emerald gemstone. She always brought a gem or two to test minor interactions with magic, but she usually didn't bring enough for a large enchantment.

"I might be able to create something to track it down." Perla muttered.

 

[Aelita]

“Scrying?” Aelita questioned, “You’re a Dreadlord? Initiate? I though you looked familiar...”

But Aelita then followed up with a shake of her head, “I’ve never seen... it.”

Even after admitting that, Aelita pulled out the orders given to her. She showed them to Perla Irven. A finger pointed to “Major Verdosk”.

“But there’s probably some fur in his chambers,” Aelita told Perla, “If you have time, would you come with me there?”

 

[Perla Irven]

"Not exactly..." Perla responded to the suggestion of Scrying.

It struck her odd that Aelita had never seen this pet and was about to ask more when she showed the order. Major Verdosk had a pet? And one that was obviously not a dog. The more she learned, the greater her curiosity became. Still, getting involved with a Major was always a risk and she had work to do. Aelita suggested checking his chambers and asked if she would go with Aelita. She knew it was better to reject this offer. Perla knew she shouldn't get involved.

"...Fine. I can help. But would the Major even let us in his chambers?" She asked.

Perla was weak to her curiosities and somebody asking her for help. Stuffing the compass and everything else she had earlier back into the satchel, she turned to follow Aelita to wherever they needed to go next.

Aelita

 

[Aelita]

“Good question,” was Aelita’s answer.

Placing a hand upon her chin, Aelita appeared to enter into deep thought. A few moments passed. Then, she shrugged.

“Let’s cross the bridge when we get there!” she exclaimed.

Having said that, Aelita began to guide Perla Irven toward the Guard’s offices and barracks. Along the way, Aelita kept her eyes peeled. She glanced at every dog they spotted. While many strays populated the streets, none looked even remotely like Blackpaw.

During their walk, Aelita would tell Perla, “I appreciate your time. Were you running an errand for something?”

 

[Perla Irven]

Great. Now they risked their lives for a questionable dog. She rarely interacted with the higher ups and now risked potentially pissing one off. Perla made her agreement and wouldn't go back on it, but she wouldn't be happy on the way down to doom.

"...I work in the labs. Trying to figure out a new type of poison." Perla responded hesitantly.

Most dread lords were focused on the battle and few knew anything about alchemy or enchantments. Mentioning poisons was another taboo that Perla could never understand. All she knew was that mentioning it was the fastest way to terrify others.

"... You use staffs, right?" Perla awkwardly asked.

Fortunately, they were almost at their destination. Small talk wouldn't torture her anymore!

Aelita

 

[Aelita]

As they walked, a few street peddlers tried to catch the two blondes’ attention. They tried to sell simple wares, foot, what-have-you. Aelita responded with a silent dismissal and kept walking.

Instead, Aelita kept her focus on the journey and what Perla said.

“Hmm, poison?” she said, “That’s interesting. Magical poison, too?”

Then when asked about her weapon of choice, Aelita replied with, “Ah yes!”

A gesture to the staff on her back. A blade adorned one end.

“Our peers love swords, but I’d rather stay out of reach from one.”

Eventually, the two reached the building housing the offices and quarters of the Anirian Guard. They approached a pair of guardsmen at the entrance.

Handing over Proctor Utratha’s orders, Aelita asked the guards, “Is Major Verdosk or anyone else here to talk about... this?”

And while the guards looked over the orders, Aelita leaned in toward Perla to whisper, “So, how much hair you need?”

 

[Perla Irven]

The conversation fortunately left her poisons. As much as she loved talking about her work, she knew from past experiences that discussing some of her more.... physically dismembering or damaging potions or enchantments left a poor impression on strangers. Instead, Perla listened as Aelita explained the staff and why she had it, which was mostly a distance issue. When they approached the guards, Perla took a small step behind Aelita. The guards looked over the orders and Aelita whispered over to her.

"Just three or four strands." Perla whispered back, keeping her eyes on the guards.

"We can ask Major Verdosk for permission to let you in." The guard responded to Aelita.

The guard took the order and went off to ask the Major directly. She was fast enough to only leave them waiting for a few minutes. During that time, Perla fell silent. Conversations with her fellow initiates were difficult, if they ever happened at all and she had no idea what most of them talked about. Common ground. That's what she needed. Like how potions always had a common ground in water or another form of liquid. Perla's attention fell back to Aelita's staff.

"I could enchant that." She stated.

The staff appeared to be a normal unenchanted staff. Already Perla's mind was working on the possibilities of the weapon, if she had Aelita's approval, she could do wonders with it. The amount of enchantments was limited, two at most and she would need to gather the right materials. Before she could explain further, the guard returned with a short letter of approval for their entrance into the chambers.

Aelita

 

[Aelita]

At least the guard walked off to make a request.

In the meantime, Perla mentioned that she could enchant Aelita’s staff. Aelita’s eyes widened at the though.

“You could? That’d be fantastic!”

Beyond assisting Aelita in channeling her magic, her staff was a fairly normal piece of steel.

Then after that, the guard returned to inform the pair that they were able to see Major Verdosk’s chambers.

“Excellent,” said Aelita.

As they were guided toward the major’s quarters, Aelita continued the conversation on the staff. It would take a few minutes to get there anyway.

“What kind of enchantments could you do? And what would you need?”

 

[Perla Irven]

They made their way towards the major's quarters and Aelita seemed more interested in the enchantments. Perla was visibly surprised at her enthusiasm, since she was used to that kind of request being shrugged off. A small part of her was relieved that her attempt at socializing worked.

"Um, well it depends on what you want." Perla explained, "I could do a basic elemental enchantment. That'd give you two elemental attacks per day. So if you wanted to strike someone with electricity or fire, then you could do that two times a day."

Most of her enchantments involved the elementals. She wondered what Aelita would be most interested in. There was a wide variety of possible enchantments and each had their own cost. As Perla spoke about her work, her eyes seemed to light up with joy.

"Then there are transformations." Perla continued on, "The staff could transformation into any singular weapon you want. So it could turn into a sword or a knife then turn back into a staff upon command. Or I could design it to transform into a silver ball or piece of jewelry. In case you wanted to hide a weapon."

Transformations were the second favored type of enchantments. Initiates and other dread lords loved having surprise weapons or to start fighting with one weapon before turning it into another. By the time they were at the major's quarters, Perla had been lost in her ramblings.

"There are warnings. Basically you're weapon can warn you of danger." She rambled, "Or basic buffs which make you stronger or faster whenever you hold it. I could also make it harder to break or make it invisible or let it reflect magical attacks or-"

If allowed, she would list every single thing an enchantment could ever do. Perla was speaking far more than she had in the entire month through this one conversation. But when she spoke about her work, that grumpy quiet girl was no longer there, replaced by an excited initiate ready for work.

Aelita

 

[Aelita]

An information dump followed Aelita’s question. Her eyes rapidly blinked as she attempted to follow Perla. Her mouth occasionally opened – as if about to ask a question – but the fellow Initiate continued her explanation.

Finally interrupting Perla, Aelita said, “That’s... a lot. Wow.”

Then with a smile, she added, “Impressive!”

Perla’s explanation took up the entire time to travel to the Major’s quarters. The guard gestured to the door.

“This is it. Please be careful,” he told the Initiates.

Aelita gave a cheerful, “Thank you!” as she opened the door.

Turning to Perla before going in, Aelita told her, “I’ll have to think about enchantments, then. In the meantime, let’s find those hairs.”

Then, Aelita entered Major Verdosk’s room.

Eyes widened.

It was clean.

As in, freshly cleaned. Spotless. Sparkling.

Not a spec or bit of hair in immediate sight.