Open Chronicles Barring Complications

[Teodron]

For once Teodron didn’t have classes, fieldwork, assignments, extracurriculars, or tutoring sessions. It was odd, having time off. While he knew he should’ve probably spent the time continuing his investigation into his mother’s disappearance, after his encounter with that female orc the half-dwarf still hadn’t worked up the courage to go back to that mysterious shop he’d identified. He knew it had to be done—and sooner, rather than later—but he wanted allies he could trust, first.

Plus he’d be working so hard that he knew he needed a break.

So he’d gone home. His father and sisters had been delighted to see him; unfortunately, given his busy schedule, he hadn’t been home as much as he or they would’ve liked. While they had to work and go to school, respectively, they’d had breakfast together, and then Teodron had waved them off. He felt a pang seeing them go: it simply wasn’t the same without his mother.

That thought had him feeling guilty enough that he decided to study a spell he’d been working on for a while. Unfortunately, it wasn’t one that rune magic was particularly well suited for—or at least, he hadn’t discovered an equivalent yet—and so he was using what most called College Magic. It was a mix of general spells that pulled from a variety of schools and disciplines to create standardized versions of.

All students at the college were required to learn at least the basics of it in addition to whatever magics they wished to pursue. Teodron wasn’t the most skilled at it (though he improved every day, always setting aside a bit of time to work on it), but he was competent enough.

This spell he was attempting was a relatively advanced one, at least for him. It was a mix of hypnotism and illusion, or at least that’s how he envisioned it; it was supposed to make him less noticeable. While people would register his presence, they’d have trouble focusing on him, and remembering many details. For a half-dwarf, who was pretty obvious to notice in a crowd, that could be invaluable.

It would also be invaluable in his investigation: already he knew he was drawing unwanted attention to himself, so the less people thought about him moving forward, the better. He wasn’t so naive as to believe he could escape notice entirely, but every little bit would help.

At this point, Teodron felt he had the theory down. Unfortunately, this was a spell that required other people—and unfortunately he couldn’t exactly tell his peers or teachers at the college why he wanted it—so he couldn’t stay cooped up inside forever. He also didn’t exactly want to be home when his family got back. They’d feel obligated to host a fancy dinner, and without Salmira, his mother, their income was much less than it had been. With three kids still at home, Guntyre needed every cent he could spare.

Plus, though the morning had been pleasant, there were too many memories in this home for Teodron to be comfortable for long.

So he’d ventured out to a nearby tavern; the Mage’s Staff was a bit lower class than the pubs closer to the school, but it was a local favorite. The slightly tawdry name, cheap drinks, and decent food did a lot to help that. Plus, the elf who ran the place, Endora had been there for as long as anyone could remember. She knew everyone in the neighborhood, and though she said little, it was rumoured she knew everything going on in the city. Or at least, everything worth knowing.

Teodron thought it was just silliness on the part of the residents. Elves were mysterious, and Endora more than most, but she’d always struck the half-dwarf as no-nonsense, but friendly. The idea of her as a spymaster was laughable. However, even he’d admit she had an uncanny way of remembering every patron.

She smirked as he approached the bar. “Young Master Stonecutter. It’s been a while. College life treating you all right?”

He smiled at her, not minding the rasp in her voice or the smirk in the slightest. She’d always had a soft spot for him. “You could say that. Certainly keeping me busy, hence the lack of your wonderful presence in my life.”

She snorted, but he could tell from the twinkle in her eye that she was pleased. “What can I get you?”

Teodron glanced at the small sign proclaiming the fare for the day: roast chicken and steamed vegetables sounded perfect to him. “A plate of your famous chicken and vegetables and an ale, please.” He slid over the coins, which Endora pocketed in a practiced manner.

Nodding, she filled a mug and handed it to him, before gesturing at the relatively empty tavern. It was early, still, so the rest of the patrons were just slowly trickling in on their way home from work. “Take a seat and I’ll have one of the servers bring it over.”

Making his way over to a small table in the corner, Teodron set his pack down beneath his chair, then pulled out the book with the ‘don’t notice me’ spell in it. He was studying up on the specifics when his food arrived. Nodding, he tipped the server—a male orc, which was unusual, to say the least—and then started digging in.

He was also watching to see when a good opportunity to cast his spell might be. Then Teodron realized he was delaying the inevitable, and murmured the incantation under his breath and poured a small fraction of his power into the spell.

His vision wavered for a moment—though from what, he couldn’t say—and there was throbbing in his temples. However, it cleared after a moment, and he peered around the room, curious to see what effects, if any, the spell might have. Of course, it might take a while (and it might’ve failed entirely), so he kept eating, watching people come and go as the sky darkened and the torches were lit.

 

[Naghi]

Magic had a funny way about him.

Kellen had never really understood it, the abilities that lay inherently inside of himself, but they'd come in handy more than once. In a place like Elbion he had to be careful about it of course, a man absorbing magic could be...curious.

Best not to be curious around wizards and witches who had an eye for the curious.

The last thing Kellen wanted was to end up on a slab of some sort under the knife of a particularly...investigative wizard.

It was why he was keeping such a low profile while in town. Why he'd chosen this very nondescript inn and why he'd done his best to stay away from the College entirely. Kellen had needed to travel to Elbion for business, setting up a smuggling ring had to be done in person, but being here put him ill at ease.

He felt like he was constantly being watched.

The notion was a silly one, but even now he felt as though magic were creeping into his surroundings.

It was an odd feeling, small pinpricks that ran across the back of his neck and slowly raised goosebumps. He shivered slightly, fingers tightening.

What was going on?

 

[Teodron]

So far so good: once Teodron had cast the spell, no one had given him a second look. Of course, no one had given him a second look to begin with, so that was hardly a useful piece of information. Still, it was encouraging that, either deliberately or not, he was beneath notice. That had been the goal of today’s exercise.

However, he needed to know if the magic was actually working, or if people simply didn’t care about a lone half-dwarf. So he bit his lip, trying to figure out the best way to call attention to himself in subtle ways. After all, it wasn’t a powerful spell: if he deliberately tried to call attention to himself in obvious ways, it would overload it.

That meant he had to come up with something not too obvious.

He started by simply drumming his fingers on the table. That didn’t cause anyone to look his way, so he started tapping his hands on the wood, making various erratic beats, with some sound. Again, in the crowded tavern, no one appeared to hear or see him; even the few people who glanced his way immediately went back to what they were doing. This was promising, but again, not exactly proof.

So he knocked her cutlery off the table. It landed on the floor in a clatter, and he kept his eyes trained on the room as he bent down to scoop it up. He figured if anyone was going to be bothered or notice him, it would be that: he certainly looked over when someone knocked something to the ground.