Fate - First Reply A Morning After

[Ledhros Caur]

The bed was a good one, fine linen and goosedown on springy pine slats, all draped in furs. Ledhros Caur, mercenary commander of the Silver Key, could tell that much without opening his eyes. His memories of last night, though pleasant, were considerably less precise.

He'd come to an expensive inn, certainly. Just how expensive, and what city this might be, and who exactly was on the other side of the bed, remained open and unsettling questions.

Slitting his eyes open against morning light, he shifted a pelt and tried to get a look at his new acquaintance.

 

[Ashieron]

The red haired elf was laying next to a mysterious man, he could tell because this physique was not like the small light frame of most women. Jumping up startled Ash looks at the half elven man, somewhat remembering what happened last night. “How much did we drink?” He says holding his head feeling the familiar pounding start laying back down, hiding his face with a pillow before waving his hand, making blinds fall down to block out the incredibly bright morning sun.

The elf had lost track at ten drinks just when the night was starting to become a blur and it went black for him basically.

 

[Ledhros Caur]

The voice was definitely male, but Elven male, which is basically genderfluid anyway. Ledhros worked past a moment of off-a-cliff panic that had too many factors to bother teasing out. If his foggy memory was right, what's done was done. Conclusively.

"Too many," he said sleepily and yet also grimly. "I think there was a contest. Shot of unicorn blood suspended over bigger shot of aquavit suspended over local beer. It's called a Deflower."

Ashieron

 

[Ashieron]

“So that is what it was called.” Ash was sure that some memories would come back from that crazy night, he did remember a last shot before things went black. Sitting back up at the edge of the bed Ash puts back on his shirt, “It'll be better to know if we lost a anything really valuable to whatever else we did.”

The elf finishes buttoning his shirt up looking around the room and taking a few of his items scattered around. “My name is Ashieron by the way. Incase you didn’t remember.” Ash makes a drinking motion before he uses slme water from the air to wash out his hair and wash his face, having it evaporate back into the air when he was done. He’d put his items in a pile and start to go through it.

 

[Ledhros Caur]

Yes, Elven or not, that was definitely a male. Ledhros grimaced and started following Ashieron's example: shirt, general possessions, introductions that relied on a premise that everything was normal. Gods, but his breath reeked from that shot of unicorn blood.

"Ledhros Caur. I run a sellsword crew, the Silver Key." He buckled on his sword belt. The small coin purse was empty of course. So was the scabbard.

He hissed between his teeth. "My sword is gone. Hoping I didn't pawn it or something. Or gamble it away. Was there gambling?"

 

[Ashieron]

Thinking for a moment while Ash put his scarf around his neck, “Definitely. I probably lost a hundred gold then.” He feels a but of a pang at the thought of losing so much gold. “But I cannot remember if you pawned it or gambled it away.” He shrugs, “If need be I can probably make you another one for the time being with magic.”

He tosses the half elf some of his items, “Looks like both of us need to go find something.” Ash sighs realizing his bow was missing. He was visibly pissed about having lost his bow. It was an elegant silver bow with engravings and gold accents to it. A bit of a vein on his temple, “Someone probably snuck away with my bow while we were blacked out.”

 

[Ledhros Caur]

Ashieron certainly seemed irked about the bow, more than Ledhros felt about the sword anyway. He decided not to raise the very real possibility that the elf's intoxicated judgment had led to, say, gambling the bow away. Instead he just sat on the edge of the bed and got his boots on like everything was normal. That really did seem the best way forward.

"You're a full mage, then? More than just that splashing-water-on-your-face thing-"

The door shivered under repeated impacts: knocking in only the technical sense.

"Ashieron and Ledhros Caur, you are wanted by the City Watch for numerous crimes. Open the door."

 

[Ashieron]

OST of the Guards

“Yep, full mage. Great for when things get sour in battle and situations.” Ash whispers after jumping at the sound of the door being knocked on the the guards saying they were wanted for crimes? His eyes glanced at Ledhros with eyes that said, What in earth did we get ourselves into, type of look.

He’d form an ice dagger out of thin air and toss it to Ledhros, “Just in case they decide to attack.” He whispers looking at the door, “I could disspell it if need be.” He looks towards the window, it would be far easier to run if they were not in the center of Elbion. And apparently wanted for something unknown to him. “Do you have any memory that could make us wanted?” Ash asks trying to wrack his mind for any information. Did they assault someone? Hopefully they did not because the thought of it made him sick.

His hands glowed some as did his eyes as he prepared a few spells to use in the case that he might need them.

 

[Ledhros Caur]

"Ahch, cold cold-" He grabbed a stray sock and used it as a grip for the ice dagger. "And no, I don't remember squat."

Something cracked in the latch and the door swung open vigorously. Six Elbionese guardsmen crammed into the room, each one larger than the last and brandishing truncheons - just like clubs, but respectable.

"Get on the ground, you pointy-ear bastards."

Now, Ledhros was only half elf and his hair generally covered his ears, which weren't all that pointy to begin with. But he did not feel like pressing that particular point.

He ran for the window.


Ashieron

 

[Ashieron]

“Just one of you makes it feel cramped.” Ash comments to the guards using a huge gust of wind to blow open the window, “After you Ledhros!” If his companion made it, he would jump out of the window after him, slamming it shut with more wind, enclosing it within more ice.

He would also hold out one of his hands and form a huge wall of ice between them and the guards after the gust of wind. “Its common curtesy to let us get the rest of the way ready also you assholes.” He’d also for, a wall of ice behind the guards. Then he’d give a peace sign with his hand and run after his companion.

 

[Ledhros Caur]

Ashieron

Magic got thrown around quite a bit behind Ledhros: Ashieron's ice, but also college magic from at least one of the guards. These were men accustomed to handling rowdy young magicians after all. Whatever barriers the elf put up, they could probably break through sooner or later. That meant it was up to Ledhros and Ashieron to create some distance.

But this was central Elbion. The farther they got from those particular guards, the closer they'd get to other guards. Any kind of positive outcome required a new plan.

Behind them, an ice barrier exploded. "GET THE SLANT-EARS!"

On the other hand, just running had its uses.

 

[Ashieron]

Hearing his ice barrier shattered Ash sighs as they ran, “Atleast we got a few second.” He looks behind him not feeling happy about being called a slant ear.

“We need to disappear! At least until the heat dies down!” He yells thinking of all the possible places. The sewers? The river? No they would get looking at the river for anyone swimming, “I’d call my dragon but he is far away right now.” Ash feels a pang of sadness, for once he wished Azi was around to ridicule him. “Do you think that we harmed anyone?” He asks thinking of all the possible places to hide until they could get out of the city. He pushed past a few people on their way hime with groceries, and some with a pile of books.

 

[Ledhros Caur]

Ashieron

"Dragon!?!"

Ledhros joined in the shoving. Though impractical it was therapeutic. It made him feel like he was making progress when he was probably about to get tackled and respectably bludgeoned.

He had no answer to the final question. Between Ashieron's magic and Ledhros' taste for blades, they could very well have harmed someone last night. Or maybe they'd just been tried and convicted in absentia for winning at cards while elven. You never knew with Elbion. If spotty memory served, he'd only come into town because this was the only decent city in north Liadain, ergo the only reliable place to get certain high-end supplies. He had no such supplies and no money either.

They burst into a crowded market square that offered any number of ways to hide, at least in theory.

 

[Ashieron]

“Yeah, he would’ve come in handy right about now but they probably would shoot him down if they see him!” Ash scand the marketplace for places to hide, then he finds a few. Smiling a wicked smile he looks at the piles of hay on the side of the street for when it started to rain. Ash chuckles stirring up more wind causing it to fly everywhere like a hay bomb exploded in the middle of the market place. A few guard were caught up in it and started to caught and try to wave away the hay from their helmets and mouths.

The elf turns sharply and runs into an alley way and turned into a corner with a dead end, “Shit! I hate cities for this very reason!” He looks at its walls and noticies that the stone was broken up and old. “Climb.” He’d tell the half elf looking behind them. “Ill cover you in case they decide to pop in here.” He was not worried about catching up with Ledhros, after all it took was a few blink spells and a gust of air to send him up the few stores of wall.

 

[Ledhros Caur]

Ashieron


The hay spell was a very, very good choice so far as Ledhros could tell. Spitting straw, he scrambled up the broken stone as best he could. A dead end was not his friend right now. He cast aside the melting ice dagger and the dirty sock that he'd used to hold it.

His boots kept slipping on poor purchase. As a small lizard tried to scuttle out of a crevice, Ledhros swung one-handed, grabbed it, and bit its head off.

He spat it out immediately: the sacrifice was made, and mimicry kicked in. Within a couple of heartbeats his fingers hardened, a small and temporary reflection of the lizard's climbing ability. He scaled the rest of the wall with relative ease, then went a little farther, up under the overhang of a shabby tower. Cobwebs in the window suggested this place was severely disused. He pried the window open, hoping Ashieron could follow, and flopped into a dusty storage room.

If nothing came knocking right away, this might be a decent place to lay low and make a plan.

 

[Ashieron]

Ash was a bit surprised at the mimicry Ledhros used, he has heard of such magic but he never was one to use it. Watching his new found friend climb up the wall Ash checks behind him and follows him in suit, but simply by using the tiny cracks in the stone as foot and hand holds.

After a moment or two Ash makes his way into the window, drop down for the window seal and laying his head on the wall behind him coughing up a sort of a storm. “We need to find away past those damn guards without finding an arrow or a blade in either of us.” Ash says quickly before he coughs the wet cough imto his elbow some more. “By any chance can you somehow fly with that mimicry?”

The tower had furniture covered up, what seemed like a table and chair laid against the wall. Cobwebs and dust laid all over the place, with little holes in small bits of the wall. This tower needed some good maintenance it seemed.

 

[Ledhros Caur]

Ledhros flopped on a dusty couch and heard at least three mice scurry away.

"If I had, oh, a whole roost of pigeons to sacrifice, maybe. Wouldn't trust pigeon wings though. I've never had the guts to fly. Usually I just go for little warps like, oh, eagle eyes to see across a battlefield." His fingers were already going back to normal, hints of scales fading away. "I've done gills, though. We're not that far from the Cairou River. We get close enough and I could swim underwater, out of sight. Do you have any magic that could help you hold your breath or something similar?"

All of that presupposed he could find a fish, of course.

Ashieron

 

[Ashieron]

Thinking for a moment with his chin resting in his hand, “No, I don’t do mimicry or stuff like that. Mostly combat based magic. But I could probably figure out something to go invisible or max out my blink spell ranges and uses.” He replies watching Ledhros’ hand go back to normal.

“Worse comes to worse Ill just hop into the swears or tunneling and make my way through there, or get arrested.” He shrugs, “I have been dying to know our charges and my job might bring me back here for a potential lead. And I could probably escape incredibly easily if need be, like being beheaded or something as a punishment.”

 

[Ledhros Caur]

Ashieron

"With how quick they punched through your ice wall? I wouldn't count on it. These boys are used to dealing with mages causing trouble. Guarantee, they lock you up, you'll feel it."

Ledhros put his hands behind his head and stared up at the cobwebby rafters.

"Plus you've been burning a lot of power and you're already winding up to burn a lot more. You'll end up burning yourself sooner rather than later. I'm not much of a magician but I know the First Law doesn't take prisoners."

 

[Ashieron]

Ash sighs, it was a lot easier before he breathed in that chemical fire his ears drooping some. “Not used to not being able to do as much as I used to be able to. But Ill get used to it eventually.” He thinks for anither moment,

“We need to get me a disguise. Maybe something different from this stuff I am wearing.” Ash looks at the clothing he was wearing, “Maybe something to cover the ears.” He rubs ine with his fingers, who knew the trademark of their kin was the most defining and unfortunately the most obvious feature of all their other features.


“Unless you can use mimicry on me also?”

 

[Ledhros Caur]

"Not that I know of. You'd need to consume part of a human. Ears, probably. Mimicry can be messy. I've never used it with people, just animals."

A slow grin started. It did not at all fit the seriousness of the situation.

"Now, if you were to eat part of an animal that has sort-of human ears, assuming you could pick up mimicry quick enough..." Ledhros got up off the grimy couch and crossed to one of the stuffed, dusty shelves. He pulled down a threadbare taxidermied monkey and tossed it to Ashieron.

"It's been dead a while, so it won't help much or for long, and you'll have to eat a lot of it. Enjoy."

 

[Ashieron]

Ash picks up the dead money by its tail and looks at it with unamused eyes, "Yeah....no. I'd rather not get sick with fur stuck in my stomach." He tosses it back to Ledhros before wrapping his head in the scarf and covers his mouth with it.

"Now to find a dress!" Ash hops up and starts to rummage through the tower and its contents. Eventually he found one and looked at th half elf, "Mind helping me?" He asks with a slight laugh in his eyes.

The dress was pink with purple flowers and white trim on it. Luckly for him he was an elf so it should not be too hard to get into. Even with all his muscles.

 

[Ledhros Caur]

"Oh, I'll button you up as necessary, never fear."

While Ashieron arranged his very pretty and entirely out-of-fashion dress, Ledhros got to work on the taxidermied monkey. He might have pawned his sword, but he still had a sharp dagger. With aplomb, he sliced off the monkey's ears and trimmed out the least appetizing bits.

"You know, considering how rough this is going to be, maybe that's a heavier price. Stronger magic." He shrugged and started chewing. Mimicry took hold almost immediately.

A cracked mirror showed him with humanish ears and significanctly heavier features. Even his long hair changed colour and character, from straight red-blond to wiry gray.

 

[Ashieron]

“I used to be able to do more though Ledhros, more magic, more tricks. It wasnt until the Battle of Ninagal I was able to use most magic I learned throughout the years.” Ash examines the dress trying to figure it out before he unbuttons the back of it, “Never tell this to anyone.” He looks af Ledhros with a deadly stare in his eye.

He would never hear the end of it, “Otherwise I will never hear the end lf it from the other dragon keepers.” He sighs just thinking of how Freya might be after she heard of what they resorted to. Iliris would probably be ammused. He unbottons the dress’s back and steps into it, “Help me with the back monkey man?”

 

[Ledhros Caur]

Ledhros engrossed himself in doing up the buttons on Ashieron's dress, a wholly confusing experience for several reasons.

"You know, you'd probably be a little more intimidating about your secrecy and so forth if you weren't trying to fit into thirty pounds of dusty purple silk." He sneezed vigorously and ripped a button off by accident.

"Ninagal...I've never met someone who was there. How bad was it? Hell, who fought? Who won? The stories all contradict each other."