Private Tales A Performance In The Fortress

[Eislyn Gray]

As she finished applying the poultice, her eyes tracked back to Kasim’s. She realized he was being extremely patient with her. Gentle even. That surprised her. Perhaps he was afraid she’d run off on her own into the night. Maybe because of the sudden exposure to magic?

She put the poultice back in its pouch.

Well, he’d most likely end up dead but she didn’t point that out.

“I think he will. Eventually. He’ll be busy in quorums the next few days. My mother will distract him after that as long as she can. That should give us about a week’s head start. Maybe longer. He’ll probably send trackers. So if there’s anything you can do magic-wise to hide our tracks,” fingers waggled through the air. “I’d suggest doing so.”

It was getting a little cool outside and she was grateful for the fire. Pulling up the blankets, she slipped inside the bedroll, facing Kasim. Eyes were barely open and they kept drifting closed.

“Your shirt, Kasim, you can put it back on.” Cheeks flared slightly and her gaze drifted down to the fire. The last thing she wanted was for him to catch a cold and get ill. Then where would she be?

Alone in the wilderness.

 

[Kasim Areth]

Gently Kasim rubbed his face, trying to think of how he could cover their tracks. "I'll see what I can do."

Rune Magic wasn't exactly a magical crutch to lean on, it was more like a stick that you found on the ground. Sure it could be helpful, but really it was just a stick. There were certain things you could use the stick for, but it just wasn't as good as it should be.

Already he was growing frustrated.

Then she spoke again, his lips thinning as she did so. Golden eyes glanced down at his naked torso, then up to her flushed cheeks. He flashed her a smile, and then scooped up his shirt.

"Sorry Princess." He said with a chuckle. "I'll try not to strip randomly along our little journey."

 

[Eislyn Gray]

He wouldn’t see her smile as she turned her back to him. Hair fell down along her slender neck. “I just don’t want you getting sick. Catching cold,” voice was a bit flustered.

Yes. Yes. That WAS it.

“Good night Kasim.” Eyes closed. She was so tired she didn’t even think of what might be lurking beyond the tree line. If she was eaten, so be it.

The princess fell instantly asleep.

 

[Kasim Areth]

Kasim shook his head as the princess almost instantly began to snore...rather loudly.

It was amusing in a way, though it made him wonder what it would be like if they got trapped somewhere and needed to be quiet. Still, he couldn't help but smile, his lips tweaking slightly at their edge. "This is going to be strange."

The Jester reflected to himself.

Eventually though as the small flame began to dwindle Kasim stood. He slowly wandered around the camp, carving a small rune into every other tree and sometimes into the dirt. The rune would would conceal or hide them, but if anything wandered past them they would ring an alarm.

It was a measure of security, a small one, but still there. Content with his defenses, Kasim followed Eislyn to sleep.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

Snoring her royal derrière!

The girl slept well. For the most part. They’d had a hard day’s ride, before. It wasn’t even the beginning shafts of dawn that made her eyes stir beneath closed lids.

It was a blaring ringing sound. Like a bird outside her window gone mad. But she wasn’t in the castle anymore.

Eyes snapped open. Then blinked against the light. Their fire had long gone out, not even heat coming from the coals.

There at the tree line was a lone, black wolf. It sniffed the air. Eislyn inhaled sharply, which brought the wolf’s attention to the princess. It’s eyes were an amber-yellow.

The alarm kept going.

 

[Kasim Areth]

The sound of his sword drawing from his scabbard seemed to be muted by the ringing of his runes.

Kasim had never been a blademastter. He had never been the greatest of swordsman and he had most certainly never been the best in his craft, but he had always tried.

His brother had been ahead of him every step of the way. His sibling had known the steps, had known the forms. Everything had come as naturally to him as magic had come to Kasim. Yet envy stilled filled him about that fact, even as he stood and readied himself against the great black wolf.

The Blade he held was nothing special, a sword of steel and bound in leather, nothing more.

Kasim watched the beast carefully as it slowly stepped towards him. Golden eyes met their familiar, his gaze staring down at the bold little creature.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

Palm pressed against the earth, gaze flickering to Kasim. For a moment he looked like a knight out of the tales of old. Well, a bedraggled - just getting out of bed but still with his shirt on knight. Sans armor.

The wolf froze and shook it's head, looking around a bit spooked.

"Wait," she whispered to Kasim.

The wolf turned to her voice and looked between the two them. Then to the horses. There was a slight tremor beneath her hand and the earth. She felt the smallest of sparks go through her body. And for a moment, she thought she imagined the whole thing. It was small enough that even Kasim probably wouldn't notice.

The wolf gave a soft growl then began to back away.

 

[Kasim Areth]

Kasim didn't move.

He wasn't a mind reader by any means, even his families magic didn't allow him to do that. Not that he would call upon it here. A single wolf was dangerous, but he could handle it easy enough even with a simple rune.

When Eislyn told him to wait however he listened, the beast not stalking or pouncing forward.

He frowned slightly as the princess approached the creature, though only taking a single step before...something happened. He had no idea what, in fact for all he could tell nothing at all happened, but apparently the creature changed it's mind. For a moment The Jester simply breathed, and then the wolf turned and walked away.

Kasim stared blankly. "Well..."

The Jester breathed quietly, somewhat confused.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

She snatched her hand away from the earth and wiped her dirty palm against her bedroll. There was a small handprint left behind and for a moment, it looked as if....

No, no.

Head shook, eyes narrowing. It was just an imprint. "We got lucky," she breathed. Finally, she stood from the bedroll. Eyes flickered to Kasim. "I didn't know jesters knew how to use swords," she stated wryly, trying not to think about what just happened. What she felt.

Kasim must've done something.

Maybe some other magic.

Or maybe it was nothing at all.

"I take it we should head out?"

 

[Kasim Areth]

Kasim stared at her for a moment, golden eyes looking up the Princess up and down almost suspiciously. His lips thinned, but then slowly his head began to shake. "We all have our secrets, Princess."

The Jester said with a smile, leaning down and picking up his scabbard.

The Rune Marked blade slid back into place, the etchings upon it once again disappearing within the wrapped leather. He slung the weapon over his shoulder where it belonged, moving to pack up his bedroll and quickly get their camp in order.

"We should." Kasim confirmed, glancing at her one more time. "We'll try to make it that village today."

He glanced up towards the sky. It was still an hour or two before dawn, but that was a good thing. "Get you those clothes."

His voice sounded sure, but he felt as though something was wrong.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

Secrets?

The girl frowned. "What do you mean?" She assumed she was either a) imagining things or b) HE had done something. The thought that SHE could or would be able to do magic, of course, never crossed her mind.

Magic was something foreign. So untouchable until last night with Kasim and the fire. Taking her bedroll, she stood and went to her horse, rearranging and tying things to the pack. Her palm gently stroked down her horse's neck. The poor animal was still a bit spooked from the wolf.

"My dream of wearing trousers and a tunic will finally come true," she said with that small smile. More like nightmare. But again. It was nothing compared to what she'd do for her sister.

 

[Kasim Areth]

"Everyone has something to hide." Kasim said with a shrug as he packed the last of his things in the saddlebag. "It's just sort of the way of the world."

The Jester had learned that quite a long time ago. Every court he'd traveled through, every royal house, there was always something hidden beneath the surface. "Hell I bet your dad has one hell of a secret behind his crusade against magic."

Perhaps he should have done some digging while there.

It would have been fun to find out the truth of the matter, though he supposed he would have had to flirt with quite a few noblewomen to actually get that bit of information. Maybe even more than flirt...briefly Kasim smiled at the thought, though he quickly pushed it away. "There are worse things than trousers, Princess."

Like shackles.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

Brows like shafts of sunlight rose along her face. “Well. Most of his reasons are not so secret. He lost family in the Great War with the surrounding magicians.”

If she remembered correctly, it was his father. Maybe a brother too. She’d been too young.

With a tug, she pulled herself into the saddle, groaning slightly at protest of stuff muscles from yesterday. “And said a man of trousers, himself.” There was that same small smile along her face. She was a girl who preferred positivity. Hope in the face of darkness. An idealist, which, if she’d met anyone but Kasim it would’ve certainly gotten her into far more trouble.

Guiding her horse with the reins, she began to follow Kasim out from the thicker of trees. Branches and leaves snagged in her hair again as she tried to ride low.

“Please tell me riding long distances gets easier, though.”

 

[Kasim Areth]

Kasim couldn't help but wonder if that was really the whole of the story. War was a travesty, there was no arguing that fact, but dozens of nations, if not hundreds had all been involved in wars with mages. Most of them didn't ban magic. Instead they used it for themselves, taking power and strength from it in order to conquer.

It just seemed off to him, though he would tell that to Eislyn. The issue was not one they could likely discuss very easily. She had clearly lived a rather sheltered life, plus...he didn't want to disparage her father right in front of her. His reputation may have been bad, but he was still her father.

Kasim knew what that felt like. ”It does.”

He told her calmly.

”After a few thousand leagues you don't even really notice it any more.” A wife grin spread across his face. What good was this if he couldn't tease her a bit.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

Fair complexion paled slightly until she caught the flash of Kasim’s teeth in the lightening darkness. “Ha-ha. Very funny,” she stated dryly, finally sitting up in the saddle as they broke through the trees and back onto the road.

She knew there was some truth in what he said. It would take time to build up her muscles. There was no shortcut for conditioning.

“So what can I expect from this town? Should I wear my cloak when we get closer? Will I have to worry about all the town women fawning over you?”

He’d hear the grin in her tone. If anything, she would have to worry about warding off any unwanted advances.

 

[Kasim Areth]

The Jester smiled at her. ”I think they'll ignore me mostly.”

There was always a chance of getting mauled by a farm wife or something like that, but he doubted that would occur. Kasim was objectively handsome, but not enough to bring a woman running across the town square. Not without talking and charming them a little bit first.

Then it was pretty much assured.

”Its just a small farm town.” He explained to her. ”They'll be an Inn, a general good store, really not much more of anything else.”

In short the place would be like every other little village in every other corner of the world. Maybe to Eislyn it would be something exciting and even a little interesting, but for Kasim? For Kasim it was just another day passing through a sleepy little village that nobody cared about. Boring, and entirely uninteresting.

Though that might be a good thing.

”Did you bring any gold?” Kasim mused, asking quietly.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

“I brought a little,” she admitted cautiously, small nose scrunching up in thought as she cast the jester a sideways glance. Fastening the reins beneath one leg, she began pulling at her tangled and matted hair. She was going for a simple braid even if it was messy and would’ve caused her nursemaid’s horror at the state it was in.

“I’d still like to sell the fabric of my clothes, if we can.” Who knew how long their journey would be? The gold would need to last to refill their supplies and other essentials or emergencies.

Looking out at the sprawling farmland as the first rays of sunlight hit it, the girl couldn’t help but muse out loud.

“It’s really beautiful out here. I think I prefer the open spaces to the glens of trees.”

 

[Kasim Areth]

"We'll do that." Kasim assured her with a nod.

It wasn't that he planned to spend all of her money or anything, but it was one of the few resources that would come in handy down the lines. With how expensive her clothes were they would likely be able to get everything they needed and more, but down the line that would change.

Eventually they would need money. For bribes, for food, for a stay in an Inn. Kasim was planning ahead. They had more than a thousand leagues ahead of them in their journey, and he wouldn't be pushing things down the line if he didn't have to.

"Oh?" Kasim mused. "You'd hate the Falwood then."

The Anirian observed quietly, smiling.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

"It has the word 'wood' in it, so I imagine you're right." Her smile widened briefly.

A few hours later, when the sun was well overhead, Eislyn spotted smoke rising in the distance along with a few, simple structures. It reminded her of the outer most circle, just inside the first wall of the fortress. Except it seemed more boisterous.

Dirtier.

But also more diverse.

The girl couldn't help but gawk wide-eyed as they trotted down main street and she saw an elf, orcs, others she couldn't identify, and humans. All co-mingling. She even saw someone selling love potions. As advertised.

The owner of the stall turned his attention to Eislyn right away.

"Pretty lady want to buy a potion?" His long, spindly fingers motioned to the many colored liquids on his cart.

 

[Kasim Areth]

"No." Kasim answered for Eislyn, knowing exactly what the man intended. Merchants who truly intended well were few and far in between. After enough time on the road one could get a sense for them, and it didn't take Kasim long to realize that this man didn't mean well at all.

In fact, if he had to guess this man wanted to rip the Princess off for all that she was worth.

"We're not looking to buy." He waved his hand, dismissing the unseemly merchant. It was a gesture that might have been considered rude by some, but this man? This man would know exactly what Kasim was doing. He was a leech, nothing more. "Just passing through."

It was a lie, but he wouldn't know that.

Kasim and Eislyn needed someone more reputable, someone who would actually take and pay a fair price.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

While she wasn't going to buy a 'love potion,' she'd definitely been curious to know more about what the other jars of colors were for. The salesman eyes them as they passed, unabashed with looking Eislyn's figure up and down. The princess kept her gaze well-trained forward. Her looks were already attracting enough unwanted attention.

She definitely needed to find much simpler clothes and soon.

Eyes flickered to Kasim. "And a shame. I guess you'll never let me buy you that love potion for your next adventures." A soft smile spread briefly across her lips. But her toned turned more serious. "Do you think we'll find a fair trader here at all?"

 

[Kasim Areth]

"Trust me, Princess." He glanced at her. "Any working love potion that exists would have a cost you wouldn't be willing to pay."

Kasim would end the conversation at that.

The magic needed to twist somebodies love was not something you wanted to mess with. Everything cost something when it came to magic, and that? That would fetch a hefty price. More than just a few coins of gold. Much more. His head shook as they walked by another stall, ignoring the salesman again.

"We'll find it, just need an actual...Ah there." Kasim pointed to a large wooden building at the end of the street.

From it hung a sign, two crossed keys and a bag of gold. A general goods store, not a merchant trying to gouge prices.