Private Tales Brontide

[Phillipa Ebonheart]

Phillipa was finally unpacked, both here at the College and at her estate. Having been made to uproot her life for something just under a year, she was going to have to make an effort to reacquaint herself with her surroundings. The clack of her boots upon the floor once more was a pleasing sound versus the sound of hooves thundering along the road or against the floor of an inn. The shirt was comfortable compared to the road clothes that she had become accustomed to, and the jacket did not bite into the crooks of her arms like the duster that now hung in her home.

The fur mantle and choker combo was ever present, the blackened heart on the medallion a perpetual symbol of her family and status. Black leather pants finished the look as she passed through the library, checking around to see who all was in attendance in the communal gathering area of the college. The director of acquisitions was pleased to have her back, but also understood the need to have a few days to ones self after a long trip.

She hadn't sat in her office just yet though and read through her favorite collection of journal entries. They came from a mage that had spent the last half of his life studying ancient ruins only to find that it was a not so ancient bath house covered in graffiti inside an abandoned city. Finishing that series was always the sign that Phillipa was truly back and ready to work. Until then, she was doing paperwork to catch herself up and meeting with other teachers or even students for current events.

 

[Smiling One]

Oh, a drop of Nelson’s blood wouldn’t do us any harm,
Oh, a drop of Nelson’s blood wouldn’t do us any harm,
Oh, a drop of Nelson’s blood wouldn’t do us any harm,
An’ we’ll all hang on behind!

Willis began singing the sea shanty out loud while he strolled down the streets on his way to the College of Elbion. The young man held tightly a brown bag containing a Water Hag's head, he began swinging it back and forth beginning to tap dance as he continued his song.

So we’ll ro-o-oll the old chariot along!
An’ we’ll roll the golden chariot along!
So we’ll ro-o-oll the old chariot along!
An’ we’ll all hang on behind!

Willis loves sea shanties when he was pirate serving under Captain Davis, a 12 year old Willis was tasked with leading the crew in singing sea shanties while they sailed across the oceans of Arethirl. He never sang before so he was rather excited and nervous of being the first one to start singing during a laborious day of maintaining the ship: The Sea Dog. "Don't fucking think!" The former singer of the Sea Dog: Peter Pimple told Willis "just fucking sing! Music is all about soul! It don't matter if you don't got a beautiful voice."

Peter Pimple got took a Crossbow bolt to the throat during one of their raids. While he can speak, Peter couldn't reach the high note like he used to so Captain Davis tasked Willis to be the singer. Peter gave Willis his personal book of sea shanties. It was how Willis first learned how to read and write, Peter Pimple taught Willis the lyrics behind the Shanties and advised him to write any catchy tunes he saw fit. It turned out Willis had a decent voice for singing. Captain Davis and Peter Pimple noticed how the crewman would sing more passionately with Willis than they ever did with Peter.

"You got a gift for song Willis Reede!" Captain Davis would tell him. "Your booming voice managed to get these lazy seadogs to enjoy their work!"

Willis never made singing his profession, he preferred the more dangerous and exciting routes like Monster Hunting and Mercenary work. When Willis is out there staring death in the face, that was when he felt alive.

Oh, a nice fat cook wouldn’t do us any harm.
Oh, a roll in the clover wouldn’t do us any harm.
Oh, a long spell in gaol wouldn’t do us any harm.
Oh, a nice watch below wouldn’t do us any harm.
Oh, a night with the gals wouldn’t do us any harm.

The young man finally approached the College gates and the two guards wielding halberds crossed their blades together as soon as Willis got closer. "Halt," one of them said lazily.

"Let me in," Willis said cricking his neck. "I got see a client: A Halfling professor that goes by the name of: Osborn Gawkroger."

"We're not letting a cutthroat in," the other guard snort contempoulsy.

Willis laughed casually swinging the bloodied brown bag around. "Oh great," he said rolling his eyes. "A fucking snobbish asshole. Look buddy I've spent four days in the Wildlands searching for a Waterhag. Profesor Gawkroger wanted her eyes and brain so he can create a potion of kindness or some shit. I fell in a hole, landed in her cave and there was the Waterhag scurrying in her lair calling me a handsome man and walked to me in a seductively."

"Dishonorable sellswords like you deserve a creature like her." the guard said.

"Why thank you!" Willis said smiling. "I am a dishonorable sellsword but as for the last bit, I don't know maybe the creature I encountered wasn't a Waterhag it looked exactly your grandmother."

"You fuck!"

"I mean your Grandmother!" Willis said. "Just went: "Ooooo! A handsome one! She tried grab my-"

"Enough!" The guard roared. "You're not getting in here without clearance!"

Willis smirked. "Clearance," he reached for the bag. "You wanna see my clearance?"

The young man took out the head of the Waterhag, blood dripping out from the stump. Her eyes were glazed over and her tongue stuck out slacking against her mouth. She smiled of shit water and piss. The men recoiled in disgust as Willis placed her head bag. "Now can I come in?" he asked.

The guards opened the gate glaring at Willis. "You may," one of them said. "But one word from a student or a faculty member and you'll hang."

"Don't you worry about me."

Willis entered the college and continued singing a new sea shanty.

“Aloft there, aloft!” our jolly boatswain cries,
Blow high, blow low, and so sailed we;
“Look ahead, look astern, look aweather and alee,
Look along down the coast of the High Barbaree.”

 

[Phillipa Ebonheart]

Phillipa heard in the distance ahead of her the spat between the front door guards and someone trying to gain access to the college. It wasn't readily apparent who was coming in, but if the guards were putting up that much resistance, it may have been a worthwhile thing to investigate for herself who was coming in and with what.

At least, she guessed they had something to deliver if they had been allowed to enter. A song rang out as soon as the man was allowed to enter, and from what she could discern was a song the man had learned out and about on the sea.

She waited for a moment just inside the second set of entryway doors as the man continued inside. Her patience was rewarded as she spied a man with a bag, hand covered in blood and what she could deduce was excrement judging by the smell that wafted into the passageway.

"Have a delivery to make? I should escort you." She smiled with sickening sweetness, her tone making sure it was nothing shy of a command. Men were easy enough to twist around ones little finger if you made them think you liked them, and the gargoyles wouldn't be kind to someone they didn't recognize.

 

[Smiling One]

"My beautiful woman senses are tingling," Willis said smirking. His heart went aflutter just a little bit. Her silky smooth tone of voice penetrated Willis' ears and began dancing around his ear drums It felt pleasant and sweet. Still smiling, Willis turned around to see if the woman's looks matched her voice. "Of course my sweet and lovely-"

Willis cheeks then began to heat up, his normally dark skin becoming a shade of red. The woman is absolutely beautiful with straight black hair that fell passed her shoulders, pronounced cheekbones, striking violet eyes and a slender figure. She had a slightly pointed chin shaped like a heart. "Hello what do we have here?" Willis attempted to turn on the charm. All logic and reason tends to get thrown out when it comes to meeting a beautiful woman.

"It's seems that I encountered a woman who looks like she's been created by the Gods themselves." The guards rolled their eyes at Willis' womanizing. "Mistress Ebonheart!" One of them said. "If this man places a hand-"

"I don't want to touch such beauty! Such perfection!" Willis said. "My name is Willis Reede: Monster Hunter, Mercenary and stress reliever for women."

"Can I kill him now Mistress?" The guard asked annoyed with Willis.

"I'm giving this lovely creature." Willis held the bag up to the woman. "To Obsborn Gawkroger: A Halfling alchemist. Apparently he's making a potion of some kind could you lead to him?"

 

[Phillipa Ebonheart]

The comment about beautfiul woman senses tingling made Phillipa roll her eyes silently. When he turned and looked at her, she could see that he took a moment to examine all of her features. Yes, even she could realize that she was quite pretty as having used that beauty more than once to get what she wanted. The man asked what he had before him, a small noise of annoyance coming from Phillipa as the men before her spoke in unceremonious cacophony.

"Phillipa Ebonheart. Staff member of the college." She informed the man quickly as she waved off the guards.

"A beheading at the doors would do little to endear us to the public. Besides, he hasn't had the sense completely leave his head. You'll notice he has yet to lay a hand upon me. It should be quite alright that I escort him, or have you forgotten that I can readily take care of myself?" Phillipa informed them quietly as she turned and began walking away.

"Follow me." She told Willis without waiting. "Gawkroger always has an interesting project going on, might as well take a look myself."

 

[Smiling One]

For a brief moment, Willis saw Phillipa roll her eyes he learned to be observant when it comes to flirting with women. The raven haired beauty was a little annoyed by that remark so it was best to take a more subtle approach. "Can I do subtle?" Willis thought as he gave the guards a smug look when Phillipa dressed them down. "Of course I can!"

Still holding on to the bag Willis followed Phillipa to wherever Professor Gawkroger was. The Halfling was an eccentric person to say the least. When Willis as soon as Willis grabbed the Monster Hunter contract from the notice board, he saw the Halfling sitting above the ledge staring at him with his circular spectacles. Willis was shocked seeing the Halfling drop down with a flip and land near his leg. He wasn't surprised to see that as Halflings were known to perform some amazing stunts to the point they are commonly part of troupes. Osborn wanted to know if the young man was fit for the job in which Willis hastily assured him that he had plenty of experience.

"I want to summon a Djinn!" he declared. "They're unique from other monsters as they cannot be summoned the traditional way! I have prepare a special ritual!"

Willis can already guess that he wanted to summon the Djinn so it can grant Osborn wishes. Sadly it doesn't work that way as Djinns are notoriously difficult to control. If anything the Djinn will most likely try to trick the user into doing its bidding or just grant the user the wish according to their exact words. There was a story where a human wished for 40 women to be at his side and have sex with him and the Djinn summoned 40 aging female Orcs who surrounded and coddled him. Surprised and confused, the man demanded why he gave him these Orcs and where as the Djinn replied that he gave him exactly what he wished for before disappearing.

Willis hoped Osbron knew what he was doing but at the end of the day he was getting paid a large sum of coin by the Halfling so he couldn't really care too much. "So Philppa," Willis asked smirking. "You teach at the College? Impressive so not only that you are absolutely beautiful, you are very intelligent."

Willis saw a flash of the Professor Gawroger zipping past the two of them and nearly knocking down student nearly causing her to drop her books. "Okay Phillpa," Willis frowned crossing his arms. "What is it with him?"

 

[Phillipa Ebonheart]

Willis spoke as they made their way towards where the halfling usually kept most of hs projects. While she never usually paid the man much mind, finding that he typically had an idea that was so outstandingly strange it was difficult to actually expect the man to produce reliable results.

The smirk that he wore as he spoke of her intelligence and beauty, remarking that he was surprised at her teaching.

"An Ebonheart has typically always been in residence here at the college. My mother was in the position that I currently hold. My brother had no such inclination towards having a tenure here, so it fell to me." Phillipa idly chatted. It wasn't exactly silent knowledge about her position, but the sheer depth of her responsibilities were something that was kept quiet however.

The professor they were seeking shot passed them and nearly upset a student and her collection of books. It garnered a raised brow from Phillipa as she huffed with a small smile.

"Typically energetic, overly so at times as he likely has caught wind of your return with his prize. Lady Ebonheart is typically how I prefer to be addressed." She informed the man as she continued forward.

 

[Smiling One]

A noble huh? As much as Willis does rely on the nobility for big payouts, he can't say he's overly fond of them. Their snobbiness and tendency to look down on the lower class turned Willis off from them. Of course what the nobles decide affects what happens to the common people and it's often for the worse. Wars, taxes being imposed, starting pogroms to mask failures and deflect. Willis had witnessed too much of the nobles bullshit to mingle with them.

Which made the young man a little bit uncomfortable around Phillipa. "So she probably got the position through nepotism," Willis thought. The College of Elbion was rather infamous for favoring legacy students over everyone else regardless of their credentials. Willis remembered a story going around about a simple-minded human who had nothing to offer to the college what so ever getting accepted mainly because he was the son of a famous summoner. This sparked outrage from the rejected applicants who spent months protesting.

"Of course Lady Ebonheart," Willis said bowing to the woman he might as well play along. "I've did not realize that your family has history here," he said. "Forgive my ignorance the college don't like cutthroats like me despite the fact that I do help retrieve the dangerous items that they need for their experiments."

Like the head of a Water Hag.

Willis entered the room that the Professor entered in and was immediately greeted with smokescreen that smelt like a burnt eggs doused in vinegar. "I'm sorry!" Osborn Gawkroger snapped his long bony fingers and immediately the smoke dissipated revealing the Halfling to look quite dischelved.

Professor Gawkroger dressed like a typical Halfling, bright clothing, no shoes preferring to walk with his padded hairy feet. But his gray hair is frizzled and all over the place, his eyes were bloodshot suggesting that he hasn't slept in days and he began looking around appearing jittery. Was it because of excitement or did he drink caffiene? Given his odd nature for a Halfling Willis guessed the former.

"I was making the final preparation Sir Willis," Osborn said rubbing his bony hands together in anticipation.

The young man chuckled. "Please call me Willis," he said placing the bag on Osborn's desk. "Quite a setup you got Professor."

There was ritual like circle on the floor painted with Bull's blood, normally for big summons sometimes a sacrifice must be made. There were numerous rumors about live sacrifices to summon demons and other creatures in the College. The College denies but with incidents like Demon invasion of 103 Chronicles and the Gilded Feather incident 65 years ago Willis highly doubts it. Besides, the Monster Slayers sometimes kept an eye on the Colleges activities in any monsters are let loose and they don't believe a word they say.

"Are you sure that this is safe?" Willis warned. "Summoning a Djinn is dangerous this isn't like you're summoning some zombie and even that can lead to problems."

"I understand the concern," Professor Gawkroger said in his squeaky voice. "But I've made all the calculation and I assure you this will be safe! The Djinn we're summoning is called a Mardid! They are the of Djinns who prefer to reside deep underwater!"

"Fish Djinns and Prophecy Writers," Willis said crossing his arms. "And one of the most powerful types of Djinn who exist in Arethril. With all due respect Professor what you're doing is madness."

"Willis!" Professor Gawkroger said shaking his head. "I assure you that I will be fine! I'm considered to be one of the most powerful mages in this University and I specialize in summoning. In fact I've written approximately 65 books detailing the history, techniques, theories and dangers of summoning. I've spent past 55 years of my life teaching young mages how to summon creatures and for the non magic people I've taught theory and history of summoning. I've recieved quite favorable reviews on Judge your Teacher tome that is displayed on the Library."

Willis raised an eyebrow struggling to keep up with the Professor fast talking. "Quite the accomplishments." he said. "But-"

"Magic may be very rare among we Halfings," Professor Gawkroger said interrupting Willis. "But when they inherit the magical gene, they tend to be phenomally powerful! I think this Marid will be tamed! I want to know my prophecy."

Willis sighed. "You can just go to a seer or a fortune teller." He said.

"But they don't have the clear foresight as Marid has!" the Halfling replied. "They write prophecies! I want know what fate has in store!"

"Fate," Willis said. "Is something you determine."

"Bah!" Professor Gawkroger raised hand in a dismissive way. "Anyway I need more magic to summon and-"

The Halfling saw Phillipa next to Willis. "Ah Lady Ebonheart!" The Halfling clapped hands. "Forgive me! I didn't know you were there! Please help me with my experiment! Remove the Waterhag's head from the bag and place it on the ritual circle if you may!"

 

[Phillipa Ebonheart]

It took him a moment longer to address her the second time. Likely coming to the conclusion that so many other had come to as well. Which was acceptable. Her father had made her into the colleges tool, and whether her mother had known or not mattered little to the young Ebonheart woman now.

He did make a comment about cutthroats retrieving items for the college, which elicited a small smirk from the woman. A number of for hire fools worked for the college in a myriad of capacities, from simple reclaiming to the business of rare ingredient gathering such as this man. She didn't allow herself to think on how many of them had failed to keep up with her when she was on the chase for something.

"It would seem that Gawkroger found himself an excelllent helper then." Phillipa offered before they entered the smoke filled room and were assaulted by the smell. It was quickly cleared away, and for the she was thankful. Then began the long banter between the two of ethics about the experiment and the questions of sanity and safety. The man was in for quite a shock if allowed into the basement.

Then the halfling spotted her and asked for her assistance. While she wasn't keen on speaking with a Djinn, she was curious to see if he would succeed. A snap of her fingers magically removed her jacket and mantle as she motioned for the bag. Both items would appear in her home for her staff to clean and deliver back to her when done.

She reached inside after turning up the cuff of her shirt, rifling for a hand hold as the twin daggers in their holsters glimmered off of her back. The leather harness the blades were in wrapped around her, though they offered no protection as she found a hold and removed the head before quickly plopping it in the center of the ring.

 

[Smiling One]

Magic can be weird sometimes how in the hell can an eye of a newt, shredded up frog legs and a drop of blood from an porcupine create a sweetsleep potion capable of instantly putting a person to sleep? A wave of mundane magic and some heating of the Bunsen burner was able to create a medicine for insomnia and a very expensive one at that. Willis has seen the worst of magic being a Monster Hunter from Liches casting a spell that can turn people into zombies, to crazed mages summoning a meteors from the sky to wreak havoc on a village. Magic is awe-inspiring but it is also dangerous in the wrong hands.

Willis blinked watching Phillipa magically remove her jacket and mantle. He forgot that magic was used for mundane utility, he spent years fighting against high level creatures and people that he forgot that sometimes magic users would often magically summon or dispel items for convivence. "Have you fought a Djinn before Willis?" Professor Gawkroger asked watching Philippa set up.

"One," he replied crossing his arms. "But it was a low-level Djinn I must stress its power was equivalent to a mage of yours and I presume Lady Ebonhearts skilllevel and it was nothing more than just a simple minded Djinn who had a simple motivation. Killing and consuming people."

It seemed that Phillpa was curious about this Marid too making the young man feel uneasy. It was nice that the College promotes learning, discovery and all that shit but Willis knew first hand how powerful Djinns are. He's talked tp Grandmasters ask about their entanglement with Djinns and how a simple snap of their fingers can change the fabric of reality. Of course that's not counting his personal experience completing a contract while protecting Kikwi and Isabeau from a Djinn.

"Thank you so much Lady Ebonheart!" The Halfling said clapping his hands which caused Willis to groan. "Am I going to be ignored?!" he said gratingly.

"And great technique In placing both daggers in the center of the ring!" Professor Gawkroger added. "It's a good thing you were so precise! A single centimeter off would blow us all up for the summoning."

"Nice," Willis rolled his eyes. "I much rather be blown up than face a Mardid."

"I'm sorry Willis what was that?" Professor Gawkroger asked innocently.

"Nothing."

"Okay then!" the Halfling waved his hand as magical tendrils formed around his palms. "Stand back Lady Ebonheart! I'm moving the head to the top of the Circle!"

The hags head began floating to the top of the circle and was gently placed down. Professor Gawkroger closed his eyes and began enchanting in a strange language that Willis never heard of. Sounded like Elvish to him or perhaps Dwarven? The circle began to glow a dark red as the head began to violently shake. "It'll take some time!" The Professor cried out. "Don't be alarmed!"

 

[Phillipa Ebonheart]

After placing the items accordingly, she stepped out of the ring and wandered over to what she assumed was a wash basin. She listened to the banter back and forth before reminding herself to check on the professor more often.

Her head rocked back and forth as the two spoke, and the swirl of magic while not outright alarming given the place they were in, was certainly no direct comfort.

"Oh joy, a wait for inevitable doom." Phillipa remarked sarcastically as she dried her hands and watched.

 

[Smiling One]

At least Phillipa agreed with Willis about this madness. "Oh Lady Ebonheart!" Professor Gawkroger said chuckling as leapt off his desk with another flip landing perfectly on the stone floor on his barefeet.

Despite the sounds of crackling coming from the glowing circle, the young man smirked when the Halfling flipped off his table. Halflings were known to be athletic and sometimes loved to show that off but Osborn Gawkroger was rather..... excessive with it. Before he left Elbion to hunt the Water Hag, Willis remembered overhearing some traveling mages presumably College Professor talking about Professor Gawkroger obsession with staying in shape saying that he would buy fresh fruits and vegetables at the marketplace and would spend time running laps around the College on his free time.

Halflings often appeared chubby due to their love of food and drink. This was the first time Willis has seen one become a health nut. Willis' gaze turned towards the glowing circle which was now producing multiple purple beams from around edges and pointing together to form a bright light. Professor Gawkroger clapped with glee as he saw the Hags head float towards the light and began to spin slowly.

In the middle of the circle, Willis could see a glowing red dot gradually growing beneath Phillpa's daggers. Professor Osborn began to whisting casually as though he's done this multiple times. "So if my calculations are correct I say it'll about an few moments until the summoning spell is completed." The Halfling said with glee before turning to Phillipa.

"So my dear!" He said. "How have your travels been? I presume you have much to talk about!"

Willis leaned against a wooden desk and crossed his arms. "Hey Professor," Willis said. "If this shit goes south. You're paying me extra."

It didn't seem that Professor Gawkroger was paying much attention to the young man.

 

[Phillipa Ebonheart]

"Excellent actually. Lots of time to enjoy the sites and mingle with people. Tasted a few new foods and met a giant from the spine. Rather nice fellow, was covered in tattoos that became incandescent according to his emotional state. Traded stories before he went home." Phillipa shrugged as she put the sleeve right and covered thin white scars down her arm.

The shirt was low enough to leave her collar bone exposed now that the jaxket and mantle were missing, revealing another thin white line that travelled straight down before dissapearing beneath the shirt.

 

[Smiling One]

Though most of his attention directed at the glowing ritual circle, Willis craned his head listening to Phillipa talking to Professor Gawkroger about her journey to the Spine, saying that explored new cultures, met new people. The young man's eyebrows crinkled though when Phillipa mentioned meeting a man with glowing tattoos. Strange.... Willis had never heard of a person with glowing tattoos except for a sailor he met in a tavern in Alliria who claimed that his tattoos glowing to everyone who would listen. Though it was obvious the sailor was taking hallucinogens.

"Wait a minute...…" Willis said removing himself from the table. "You met a man with glowing tattoos? If I had to guess you're saying that this man is a possible practitioner of Rune Magic?"

Rune Magic is a rare ability people who wield this power tend to be covered with tattoos of a lost language that dates back to the Age of Urogosh. Willis heard from one of the Grandmasters that the first magic users who joined the Monster Hunters were ones who specialized in Rune Magic. Now and days it's nearly obsolete as a form, with knowledge of how to use ability lost to time.

The young man noticed Phillipa pull her sleeves up and notice faint scars on her arm there was another scar near collar bone as well. Being a Monster Hunter and a Mercenary, Willis was covered In scars what could be the reason behind Phillipa's? Willis though decided not to ask it may have been too personal for her.

 

[Phillipa Ebonheart]

Her brow came together for a moment as she recalled the details about her encounter. Though initially alarming, it had proven to be an extraordinaryly advantageous moment for her. For one having found a giant that didn't outright try to eat her on the spot. Amd secondly being able to exchange stories and other information so freely. Truly a gentle oaf in her eyes, she remembered that he and his clan had led secluded lives on top of the spine.

"Yes, I believe so. Granted, the clan that giant came from uses runes for ritualistic purposes, rather than actual magic." Phillipa explained, recalling details from the whole conversation.

"Any use of magic had been lost to that groups oral history, but the ritualistic marking of skin had remained because of trained hands. Their was no sign of magic inclination in that fellow save for the tattoos. Which begs the question of what do they use to carve those tattoos if the giants themselves don't remember how to use magic?" Phillipa explained as she leaned against the desk a little, a light and genuine smile across her face as she spoke at length about her encounter.

 

[Smiling One]

"Giants?!" Willis chuckled a bit looking bemused at the young woman. "Giants using magic? What was he a Storm Giant? Because they're one of the few Giants who are capable of using magic. It's very rare amongst them."

And it was a good thing too, It's a fucking pain to take down a Giant armed with their boulder sized fists or any large weapon they can get their hands on. Imagine if a Giant had the power to harness magic entire villages and forests will be razed to the ground and the Monster Hunters will have to make the clients pay triple to take them on.

"And this Giant and his Clan carves ritualistic symbols that resemble?" Willis will need to let the Grandmasters at the Monster Hunter Fortress to keep a close eye out in the Spine. If there were Giants wielding a rare and powerful magic, then it likely meant trouble. Giants were infamous for their short tempers and endless appetites. There were a lot who were friendly sure, but they give In to their animalistic instincts more times than not.

"One thing I've learned Phillipa," Willis said. "Is that things never truly die, not as long as it's preserved in our memories. As long as we hold on to the customs and traditions of the past, they will never die they'll likely evolve."

 

[Phillipa Ebonheart]

Her thoughts gathered together for a moment, recalling all the details she could as he asked his question.

"Seemed more like a hill giant. His clan sticks to the tops of the spine herding mammoths. The one I spoke with seemed to be interested in learning about the world below them. Was keen on trading stories, so I told him fables and myths." She replied, head bobbing back and forth as she spoke.

"Only on the few that could tolerate the pain. They carve them into their own skin, and most of his kin are superstious." Phillipa informed him, but took what he said and mulled on it. "True, as plainly shown by the college. But giants that are willing to trade tales are rare to come across, and the opportunity to speak in peace was something I did not want to pass on."

 

[Smiling One]

Willis needed to visit the Spine more often. It was said that the Spine was where magic was created, there was some credence to that story many supernatural event happened around the Spine such as the Arcane Wars between the Necromancers and the Elemental mages. Awe inspiring magic was unleashed on to the battlefield creating a magical craters that are still affected today. Willis remembered seeing locals of The Spine basking themselves in the affected areas in order to power up their magic. Though for many people being exposed to magic at its purest is dangerous and in some cases lead to death.

"Hill Giants?" Willis asked bemused. "Doing something other than trying to fulfill their insatiable hunger? I'm aware that there are couple of tribes spread out in Arethril but from my experience in fighting Hill Giants they're big dumb brutes only hellbent on eating everything."

Even before the Ousting of the Giants, Hill Giants were considered to be the lowest of Giantkind. They were the most common and embodied most of what people thought of Giants: Mean, dumb and always hungry. While there were books written by the Grandmasters about the Hill Giants having tribes, they were mostly categorized by their brutality and stupidity. Willis never realized that they would have actual culture.

"Well way back possibly before the Age of Urogosh," Willis said. "There was a time when the world wasn't ruled by Elves, Humans or Dwarves but Giants. There were many of them ranging Hill Giants as the lowest of the bunch to the Storm Giants: Creators, and scholars. They had a thriving Kingdom which said to spread all over Arethril For thousands of years the Giants grew arrogant convinced that they were the most powerful species in the world. They've enslaved other species and treated them cruelly for years."

The young man then smiled. "That is until a small group of men and women banded together and became: Monster Hunters. They led the charge against the Giant Kingdom and bought their Kingdom down and forced them into extinction. Now and days you see Giants as nothing than a nusiance with many of their sub species disappearing."

 

[Phillipa Ebonheart]

A growing smirk appeared at Willis's comment about giants doing something other than fulfilling their insatiable hunger. She had seen journals from other professors or students that had detailed much the same about hill giants. On the other hand, considering the experience she had, it was very likely that most people had the unlucky side of the encounter.

"It may be strange as someone who hunts such creatures for monetary gain, but there are deviations from what is perceived as typical behavior simply by changing the environment. Noted in several scientific journals across a myriad of different species, not just limited to sentient ones." Phillipa crossed her arms.

"Would you perhaps dislike some race making an assumption about humans being wanton and vicious killers if all they encountered were hunters in the woods shooting, gutting, and dragging a corpse back?" An eyebrow perked up as she spoke. Sometimes they only encountered one group out of a community, and sometimes when they became alerted to humans, they saw the fighters that community had.

"While I am not arguing that some are just as you say, my encounter leads me to believe that a majority of the hill giants have been sighted while they are hunting. And given a human's size, I would guess that we look like little crunchy snacks for them, however unappealing that is for us." She finished, waving a hand about as she finalized her thoughts. "But that is merely my opinion on the matter, and likely that my encounter is one of a few out of the hundreds of uncatalogued sightings that likely happen in the spine."

 

[Smiling One]

Monster Hunting can get complex than Willis wanted to admit. Sometimes the monster that people wanted him to kill didn't do anything wrong. Some Monsters just found a den to make their nests in, others just wanted to protect their territory. The Grandmasters always taught Willis that Monster Hunters protect both worlds: The world of monsters and the world of people. Too bad they didn't take to account that many Monster Hunters care about coin.

"Granted that there are creatures who are just as intelligent as us." Willis said crossing his arms. "And I've encountered plenty of Monsters. But when an human settlement is being attacked by a Hill Giant as a Monster Hunter you don't have time to philosophize the monsters motives.

Of course Willis has a habit of philophizing the monsters whenever he's out hunting Monsters. In some ways Monsters are just like people, they have feelings, they protect, they love and often times it's the people are the ones who are causing problems. Willis wished that things were simple just hunt a monster and get paid but in this world nothing comes easy and the decisions that are presented to him can get muddled with complications.

"So what other places have you've been at?" Willis asked suddenly interested in this woman. Not only was she beautiful but well traveled.

 

[Phillipa Ebonheart]

"I will give you that point." She offered at the mention of hill giant attacks. It wasn't the correct time to argue semantics of philosophy and reason when a place was under attack generally, regardless of who was knocking at the gate. He asked what other places she had been and she gave a soft snort of disbelief to herself.

"Vel Anir, Alliria, lots of places and points in between. Typically hunting for dangerous items to keep locked away here at the college so bandits and the like can't get their hands on them." Phillipa shrugged. "Lot of footwork to be done and magical items of note typically don't bring themselves in."

 

[Smiling One]

That sounded like an opportunity.

Philippa is a hunter of dangerous items so not only was she beautiful AND likes to see new things she seems to like a danger as well. Willis has dealt with magical items during his time as a mercenary and a smuggler. He's witnessed those magic items being bought in the black market by mad mages trying to enhance their abilities or perform their insane experiments. Perhaps there was a way to not only hang out with the young woman but also make some coin as well.

"So you search for lost items huh?" Willis asked. "Well my sweet Phillipa I got a proposition."

Willis briefly looked at the glowing circle and at Professor Gawkroger who was no longer paying attention to the two. The Halfling was doing pushups against the floor muttering to himself. Willis couldn't hear all of it but it sounded like he was counting his push-ups: "105, 106...."

The young man then came closer to Phillipa leaning against the desk and smirking at her. He made sure, that he was at least far enough where the raven haired beauty had space to herself. "Why don't you have me retrieve the magical items? I'm well traveled as well and I've been at Orc Strongholds, abandoned Dwarven ruins. I've had experience hunting dangerous items, I require coin of course but I guarantee that I can give you the items you seek in a short amount of time."

Willis crossed his arms again and looked directly into Phillipa's eyes. "Or," He added. "You and I could go together if you have the itch to explore. I've always loved going to new places and seeking new things It's a dream of mine when I was a child."

If there was one thing Willis held on as a child was his wonderlust. Willis loved to travel and explore, everyday was a new adventure and the young man didn't like to be in one spot for too long. "And besides Lady Ebonheart." He winked. "You and I can get to know each other very intimately."

Of course if he stayed in an area it will because he encountered a beautiful woman.

 

[Phillipa Ebonheart]

Her brow rose at the idea of a proposition from the man. It seemed he was interested in her continued presence, and if the hags head was any indication of his ability to handle danger, she wasn't going to hold her breath for finding at least somewhat decent help.

His approach garnered a small shift from Phillipa adjusting herself to move better, specifically opening up the small pouch of ball bearings on her hip. She wasn't afraid of him by any means, but it never had played out well to leave herself without an option of attack.

Her amused smirk at having him retrieve items came first before his addition to the offer. It would certainly help her not having to check the authenticity of hired hands to have someone as a constant, but that also limited her to constantly sharing information with one person.

Not helpful if one or both were captured and made to talk. He cut in with another addendum that made her roll her eyes once more.

"As appealing as that sounds, Mr. Reede, I'll have to speak with the professor here about taking his hired hand for my own. I'll also ask you to sign a few wavers for both legal and confidentiality issues, as well as working out payment per job. It would be a process as most of my expeditions have to be signed off by the manager of my department as well as have a solid, credible, source of information for locations." Phillipa informed him, eyebrow still high as she cocked her head to one side.

"I also have a very scrupulous way of doing things. No loose ends, no failures without plausible reason." Phillipa stood and moved close enough to smell him easily before speaking again. "Performance issues do not sit well with me, so a record of service would be welcome before anything else happens."

She finished by giving him what amounted to a snarky smile before addressing the professor once more.

"Is this going to be finished sometime today, by chance?"

 

[Smiling One]

Willis now knew why he preferred to do dirty jobs such as smuggling, it didn't require so much damn paperwork. If there was one thing that the College of Elbion was infamous for among sellswords was that a person had to sign in a TON of paperwork before they join on an expedition or retrieve items. Thankfully there was a work around with Monster Hunters. The College and the Monster Hunters have been close allies for thousands of years with both of them exchanging knowledge about monsters and the ways to combat them.

In exchange, the only work where mercenaries didn't have go through hurdles was through a monster hunting contract. Just bring the contract to the College and it'll function like a regular old Monster Hunting job. Still Willis can't help but feel that the mountains of paper work that a sellsword have to sign was deliberate to keep people like him from mingling with the other students.

"Sweetheart," Willis chuckled a bit seeing Phillpa's snarky smirk appear she did look cute when she smiled. "Trust me when I start a job I finish it with flying colors."

More like flying specks of blood.

The Professor stopped doing his pushups and inspected the glowing circle. "It should be done by now....." he muttered scratching his chin.

"It's probably not working," Willis shrugged. "Djinns are notoriously difficult to summon and for good reason. They don't like to be controlled, If you summon a Djinn after you're done with it you can more or less expect retribution from it."

"Don't treat me like a child Willis," Professor Gawkroger snapped still examining the circle. "I know what I'm doing! I've told you that a billion times already!"

The young man sighed, Djinns were rare but whenever they appear trouble almost always follows. According to the Grandmasters, about 10 deaths to Djinns occur every year because some idiot decided to mess with a them thinking that it can fulfill their upmost desires. "You're the expert," Willis shrugged.

After about 5 minutes of inspecting, Osborn Gawkroger eyes rose up in shock. "Of course!" he said. "I'm missing two items how could I not see?! I'm so stupid!"

"If only you said that when you decided to do this experiment," Willis thought. "What's going on?" Willis said approaching him.

"A Marid Is attracted to prophecy!" Professor Gawkroger said. "It spends its days writing prophecies about the world! It transfers it's powers to its slaves so they can assist them in writing prophecy. Also known as Prophecy Writers! They are touched by a Marid and their minds are taken over glimpses of the past, the present and the future. They are compelled to continuously write about the prophecy when it appears never stopping unless its to take a dump or to eat and drink."

"Get to the point," Wills said.

"A prophecy and an activator is needed!" Professor Gawkroger said. "Normally those are used when it comes casting high level curses but for a Marid, they can't resist allure of prophecy. Now! I've heard that there were prophecy scrolls in the Woodlands not too far from here....."

The Professor approached his desk and opened his drawer taking out larger rolls of paper as long he was tall and began to take out the map. "Right here!" He said pointing at a red dot in the Woodlands. "For an activator..... Well I've heard there's a brain that belongs to a Prophecy Writer but..... We'll talk about that later."

The only thing that was on Willis' mind right now was coin..... and the paper work that he'll have to do since it's not a Monster Hunter contract. "So you want me to retrieve these items?" He asked. "All right but you're paying me triple."

"Of course!" Professor Gawkroger squeaked. "You'll be compensated quite well I assure you!"

"And the paperwork?"

"Wha- well of course you have to sign a few waivers and Lady Ebonheart will assist you on that."

Willis sighed. "Here comes the hard part....." he mumbled rolling his eyes.

 

[Phillipa Ebonheart]

The smile still wasn't genuine at his assurance of flying colors, but it was further from disbelief than the first one. The professor stopped his routine and examined the circle, noting that it should have been finished by now. Phillipa blinked and walked a step towards it before looking pointedly at Gawkroger. Who was now inspecting the circle.

She said nothing until the man piped that he was missing two elements for his ritual, earning a tongue click from Phillipa. "Looks like paperwork is in order." She muttered, not entirely listening to the professor speak about what he needed. She caught the part about needing a prophecy and an activator but gave her full attention to the professor when he produced a map.

The talk of paperwork came up once more and Phillipa sighed, knowing this usually was the hardest part for one reason or another. Either they didn't have a place they were staying, didn't have next of kin to list, or something to that effect.

"Come with me, we'll get started." Phillipa walked out of the room, stopping by human resources to begin Willis on the paperwork. "Stay here when you get done and I will return to fetch you." The people behind the counter did their best to avoid staring at how much skin she had revealed, but it wasn't everyday that Phillipa ditched the high collared clothes and mantle.

She stalked to her office, feeling uncovered and taking the back way to it that put her past several gargoyles but no students. Once there, she gathered the jacket and mantle that had been cleaned after giving her hand a proper wash. She gathered two more daggers and replaced the ones she had left behind, pulled another few pouches on her hip and checked they were all full before putting her ensemble together and returning to Willis.

"Ready?" She asked bluntly, keeping her tone neutral and devoid of emotion.