Private Tales The Enchanters Grove

[Selina Della Altas]

A magical nexus was far from a rare phenomenon in Arethil. Whenever two lay lines of magic crossed or interconnected the convergence of wild magic would form such a nexus of magic that usually manifested as a grove or grotto rich with magical plants, animals and treasures. It's even said that if a child were abandoned in such places that they will survive and manifest magical abilities as they grew older.
Selina was naturally more intrigued than skeptical, but more skeptical than naive enough to fully believe the tales without proper evidence or proof.
The college of Elbion and other similar organizations used these groves to craft wands and staffs whenever they could be found.
She'd been to magic nexus groves in the past for the rare magical properties of practically everything there and even created her staff in a nexus of multiple lay lines.

But she never went alone. No matter how many intersecting lines of magic formed the nexus there were always dangerous creatures and guardians protecting the groves and all of their magical secrets.

This nexus would be no different. The explorers that discovered this nexus located a strange artifact before the guardians chased them away, Selina heard of their report and endeavored to follow up on it. She needed a sword at her back to protect her while she worked her magic. And what better place to search for help than the lobby of the local Adventurers Guild?

Selina was dressed in her usual dark travel robes and cloak with her hood pulled up and her twisted runed staff in her hand. She strode through the doors of the guild building and looked about the room. There were a few roughnecks lounging about waiting for a job of their level, copper and silver level adventurers mostly, though there were a few gold levels present. Selina approached the front desk and began the process of filling out a formal request of the guild.

Garrod Arlette

Spoiler: Her appearance

 

[Garrod Arlette]

A grumble left his throat as he entered the adventurer's guild. He was never too fond of these types of places. The bureaucracy of them, the paperwork. Not to mention the smell they always had to them. An abhorrent perfume of piss and sweat mixing with wax seals, candle wicks and spilled ink. Then there were all the little titles and boxes they put you in. Copper level, silver level, licensing registration, adventuring dues, bounty taxes. It was enough to make most souls go mad. Let alone a soul who spent most of their time on the road.

Belephus never helped any either.

Could just take one of them out, you know? Enchant your knife, slit a throat...feed me.

He grumbled some more and made his way to the desk. He always found it best to come dressed for work, armed and armored, with his travel cloak and pack at the ready. If you showed an employer you were packed and prepared, it tended to speed things along. As did a bit of step-to-it-edness. So, when he saw a magely type, what with their staff and robes and the efficient bob and dip of their quill's feather, well, he knew there was an opportunity to be had, and a chance to get the hell out of hear sooner rather than later.

He stopped at the desk, with room enough between him and the mage. "That's a nice staff you have there," he let out as he took one of the forms kept just behind the desk. He took an ink quill next, and began to scrawl out his notice. "Wouldn't need a sword arm, now, would you?" He asked, not bothering to look up at them as he went on scrawling out his information.

Selina Altas

 

[Selina Della Altas]

At his question Selina glanced over, then up, at the armed man signing in beside her.
"Your timing happens to be impeccable, sir!"
She grinned up at him as she held out her recently finished request form to him instead of turning it in to the receptionist. It outlined the expedition to a magic nexus with a promised negotiable reward of an enchanted item crafted directly from the nexus grotto.
She didn't care about his rank or if he was with the guild, this man had experience! And that's exactly what she needed.

"I'm a wizard, but you could already tell that I guess. I'm going on an expedition to somewhere dangerous and would greatly appreciate a skilled sword to watch my back. Would that interest you?"
She gripped her staff as if she were prepared to leave immediately and merely awaited his acceptance of the contract to head out.

 

[Garrod Arlette]

The request form hung in the air before him, and his lone eye looked down at it and his quill came to a stop. He put down his own scroll and writing tool and took up the form from the grinning wizard. He looked over the words, over the outline of the expedition. A magic nexus, and the potential for an enchanted item. That was curious. Curious enough to have Garrod scratch his chin.

"I'm a wizard, but you could already tell that I guess. I'm going on an expedition to somewhere dangerous and would greatly appreciate a skilled sword to watch my back. Would that interest you?"

His eye glanced up and looked her over once more. "Some pretty nasty critters can pop up around a nexus."

All the more reason to go, no, Garrod?

He placed the parchment on the counter and took up the quill again, and with his gauntleted hand, hovered over the line of acceptance. "What of this, promised negotiable reward?" He smirked as he gave her a sidelong look. "A promised negotiation seems like a poor trade for me risking my life." He tapped the parchment with the quill tip. "I'll need an upfront payment, coin, preferably, in addition to this promised item, wizard."

 

[Selina Della Altas]

She shrugged, "My name is Selina Altas. The nature of the enchantment and item is what's negotiable. A magical nexus is a veritable treasure trove of materials with which I can use to craft any item or enchantment of your choice."
She tapped the floor with her staff to emphasize her point with the presence of a powerful nexus crafted tool.
"Even just filching a few leaves off a bush in the grove could bring you enough coin to live comfortably for a full year, if you sell it to the right person."
She sighed and pulled a medium sized pouch from beneath her cloak that rattled with coin.
"If you insist I'm willing to pay fifty gold up front as a bonus to the reward. But I assure you it's paltry compared to what we'll find in the nexus."

 

[Garrod Arlette]

He quirked his good eyebrow looking at the medium sized pouch. "Fifty gold up front, huh?" This mage must have been made of money. If so, he would do well to keep her alive on this little expedition. Nothing quite like a rich patron to help you get along for a while. That, and he liked the idea of seeing this magical nexus. "Alright," he said, and without taking his eye off of her, he reached for the quill, and laid flat her writ of contract.

"With the agreement of..." he penned on a line below the reward portion. "50 gold pieces in advance." He punctuated it, and was proud of his penmanship. He signed the contract, and rolled it up, and handed it to her, leaving his hand splayed out expectantly beneath the fat jingly purse.

"Looking forward to working with you." He said with a soft grin, his green eye gleaming bright.

 

[Selina Della Altas]

With the contract signed and the deal sealed and in hand she dropped the pouch in his hand and grinned up at him again.
"Likewise, I hope you can keep up!"
No sooner than she said this she was already heading for the door.
She called back over her shoulder.
"We have a lot of ground to cover before nightfall!"

(Time Skip)

The trip out of the city and into the wilderness was a swift transition. Selina eventually settled to an even pace because she spent far too much time at a desk and was quickly falling behind.
But she didn't complain. She's traveled before and knew much about the woods and wilderness... "It's just *pant* been a while!"

The track before them plunged deep into the wilderness, Selina seemed to know where she was going but it was obvious that this wasn't a day trip and back. The sun was reaching it's highest point but they were untouched beneath the forest canopy.

 

[Garrod Arlette]

It was a weighty pouch. Weighty enough to put a smirk on the sellsword's face and do away with some of the dour and gloom that were ever so present upon his features. But when he saw that grin of hers, energetic and sunny, he couldn't help but worry, and his smirk was gone. Back down whatever hole it had come out of.

His employer, Selina Altas, turned on her heels and was out the door.

"Well," he started as he slipped the heavy sack of coin into his pack. "This should be fun."

(Time Skip)

The march was steady, his pace hindered only just to keep his charge within reach. "I imagine it has," he said back coolly, and gave her no fuss. He wasn't one to complain about leisurely strolls through the woods, especially ones that paid as well as this one had.

Garrod, I'm hungry.

Belephus whined. But Garrod ignored it, as he was want to do.

Still, he gave Selina a sidelong glance as their trek went on. The wilds grew thicker and the growth more twisted. "When was your last foray into one of these, Nexi...nexuses, yeah, that's it." at least he thought it was. He shifted his gaze back up, his head on a swivel as his eyes looked for any potential danger. His great sword was rested easily on his shoulder, gleaming and at the ready, but he held it as one would a broom or a mop, on the move to the next spot to clean up.

 

[Selina Della Altas]

Spoiler: Sorry

Sorry it's been a while. Real life caught up.

"When was your last foray into one of these, Nexi...nexuses, yeah, that's it."

Selina was focused on walking and keeping her breath. Maybe once they stop for the night she could come up with some physical enhancement spell or something just so she wasn't slowing them down.
"The... Last time I was at a Nexus... I made my staff... *Pant*... Maybe three years ago?"
Once she got talking she was able to forget the aching in her thighs and her breath evened out.
"It was guarded by a tunnel maze with several puzzle doors. I led an expedition there and found all manner of magical artifacts and items. Even the monsters there were incredibly valuable."