Gold, the lifeblood of Elbion. It was as much a city of merchants as it was a city of scholars, and outside of the college the merchants controlled the flow of life. That made this life hard for Caddell. He had a gold deficiency that was making the adventurous life of learning and experiences near impossible. Travel was expensive after all and he was barely keeping food in his mouth and a safish place to sleep doing odd jobs for those with coin to spare. If he wanted his lot to change then he would need to find a way to cure this mortal ailment.
While wasting time, er, contemplating the arcane Caddell overheard an interesting conversation. A pair of down on their luck mercenaries and bounty hunters were talking about a new potential job. It seems the college had a bounty out on recovering some artifact from a former member. The guy was one of their mages and had gone rogue. He stole scrolls, tomes, and said relic when he did. The tomes were already copied and the scrolls only contained simple spells and rituals, but the relic held far greater power. Or at least that was what their source from the college said. This information got Caddell's attention. Gold was offered for bringing the item back, and a bonus for the rogue mage as well. That could solve his problem and provide an interesting adventure as well. Lucky him!
Getting up and wandering over to the pair, Caddell smiled. He said as he came up to them, "Greetings new friends! So I happened to overhear you two talking. Now why don't you share more with me?" The two slightly drunk men tensed up. This was going to require a bit more prying but Caddell was going to get what he wanted in the end.
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It took more than Caddell expected to get the information he wanted from those two at the tavern. But he eventually got it. It just took a few drinks and him slipping a helpful reagent that loosed tongues into said drinks. A promise of pay for the information and not to get in their way if they beat him to it was given as well. He would uphold it too, though he didn't expect them to beat him to the mage.
The main issue people were having was not knowing where to begin the hunt. The rogue mage had just vanished without a trace. Clever way to escape, but Caddell was even more so. After wandering over to the college, he got permission to visit the mage's room. Once there he used a ritual of tracking. Dried lavender and rose petals, uncooked grains, and a candle made from suet and bee wax in a bowl at the center of a circle with runes made from powdered bones and salt. All of this was a lure and an offering. A little blood dripped and some water poured into the bowl while the candle was lit. It was the trigger for the spell.
Caddell waited. Seconds then minutes. It might have felt like a long time yet was only a handful passed. The flame went from the yellowish orange to a sickly yellow green. A chill began to seep in where warmth once was. A faint hiss of air passing through sounded. Then out of the shadows it approached. A spirit, but not a friendly one. It held no malice and no mercy. All it wanted was the meal offered to it. Be it Caddell or the contents of the bowl. As it came more into the light it took on the form of a strange spider crab squid thing. Odd, but more on how it seemed more like a horror of the sea than on its appearance.
Another hiss echoed about the room longer this time. Lifeless, cold eyes of an unnatural, indistinct number looked at Caddell. He said in a calm tone, "I seek the one who most recently called this room their own." Knowledge began to form directly into his mind. He know knew where the rogue mage was now at and where he was going. Caddell wanted to smile but didn't. A short hiss was made. He picked up the bowl and set it over the edge of the circle without his fingers going over it. The thing took the bowl and carried it off in its tentacles into the shadows. The light of the candle went out and darkness returned to the room. The warmth slowly returned. He waited for it to fully come back then stood up. It was time to head east and as quickly as he could.
Stardust rider
While wasting time, er, contemplating the arcane Caddell overheard an interesting conversation. A pair of down on their luck mercenaries and bounty hunters were talking about a new potential job. It seems the college had a bounty out on recovering some artifact from a former member. The guy was one of their mages and had gone rogue. He stole scrolls, tomes, and said relic when he did. The tomes were already copied and the scrolls only contained simple spells and rituals, but the relic held far greater power. Or at least that was what their source from the college said. This information got Caddell's attention. Gold was offered for bringing the item back, and a bonus for the rogue mage as well. That could solve his problem and provide an interesting adventure as well. Lucky him!
Getting up and wandering over to the pair, Caddell smiled. He said as he came up to them, "Greetings new friends! So I happened to overhear you two talking. Now why don't you share more with me?" The two slightly drunk men tensed up. This was going to require a bit more prying but Caddell was going to get what he wanted in the end.
=======
It took more than Caddell expected to get the information he wanted from those two at the tavern. But he eventually got it. It just took a few drinks and him slipping a helpful reagent that loosed tongues into said drinks. A promise of pay for the information and not to get in their way if they beat him to it was given as well. He would uphold it too, though he didn't expect them to beat him to the mage.
The main issue people were having was not knowing where to begin the hunt. The rogue mage had just vanished without a trace. Clever way to escape, but Caddell was even more so. After wandering over to the college, he got permission to visit the mage's room. Once there he used a ritual of tracking. Dried lavender and rose petals, uncooked grains, and a candle made from suet and bee wax in a bowl at the center of a circle with runes made from powdered bones and salt. All of this was a lure and an offering. A little blood dripped and some water poured into the bowl while the candle was lit. It was the trigger for the spell.
Caddell waited. Seconds then minutes. It might have felt like a long time yet was only a handful passed. The flame went from the yellowish orange to a sickly yellow green. A chill began to seep in where warmth once was. A faint hiss of air passing through sounded. Then out of the shadows it approached. A spirit, but not a friendly one. It held no malice and no mercy. All it wanted was the meal offered to it. Be it Caddell or the contents of the bowl. As it came more into the light it took on the form of a strange spider crab squid thing. Odd, but more on how it seemed more like a horror of the sea than on its appearance.
Another hiss echoed about the room longer this time. Lifeless, cold eyes of an unnatural, indistinct number looked at Caddell. He said in a calm tone, "I seek the one who most recently called this room their own." Knowledge began to form directly into his mind. He know knew where the rogue mage was now at and where he was going. Caddell wanted to smile but didn't. A short hiss was made. He picked up the bowl and set it over the edge of the circle without his fingers going over it. The thing took the bowl and carried it off in its tentacles into the shadows. The light of the candle went out and darkness returned to the room. The warmth slowly returned. He waited for it to fully come back then stood up. It was time to head east and as quickly as he could.
Stardust rider
