One More Time, With Clothing

[Balthazar Black]

57 Ymiden 720

Alright, Balthazar, stay focused this time. The mage had just paid for his last night in the Inn he was staying at in Viden. It had been a worthwhile journey but now there was nothing more to be gained by waiting around. In fact the longer he remained in Viden, the worse things would become for him. Isabella had sent Balthazar a package with his belonging and one of those belongings was not fond of Viden at all. Isabella didn't send everything and Balthazar really missed Tornado, but she sent the mage what she thought he used most and to be fair, she picked some good items. She'd sent his spear, some pieces of his armor, Nimue's anchor (apparently Nimue and Isabella had been getting into too many arguments), and some clothing because she'd seen what happened when he arrived in Viden. It arrived the night he planned on leaving and if things went like last time, Isabella would have just condemned all his belongings to the Untold.

Fortunately he was not going to be traveling the Untold like a blind man this time. He'd been there before. He'd seen the swirling chaos refuse to take form to accommodate his mind and base perceptions before. He was confident that this time he would be able to make some more sense of it but at the very least he knew he'd be able to take his things with him this time. He'd learned how to escort his belonging with him when he crossed into the Untold and the ability allowed him to keep them with him when he emerged back out of it.

It was a cold night in Viden but they were all cold. Some people argued that Viden was actually having a heatwave but Balthazar didn't feel it. It didn't really matter anymore though, he was leaving Viden again... only this time he was not taking a boat. Balthazar placed his hand on the very real door of the inn and it became something more... but only to him. As a Rupturing mage, Balthazar could confirm that if felt like stepping into a portal. Balthazar pushed the door open and stepped through it into the veil, disappearing from Idalos.

There was a path that Balthazar had become familiar with. Most nights the path began in a dreamscape. Most nights he would either enter his own dreamscape or the dreamscape of another and from there he'd cross into the Veil- then from the Veil into the Untold. But not tonight. Tonight Balthazar stepped directly from Idalos into the Veil and from the Veil into the Untold where his journey began again. He was more skilled now than he had been before and now he knew how to keep his belonging with him. Balthazar, standing on a grass field the vast chaos of the Untold, moved forward. It was hard to really know what direction forward was taking him but that doubt did not stop Balthazar. He was going where he needed to be, whether he knew it or not.

Balthazar moved slowly through the Untold, trusting nothing but his feet beneath him to bring him to the next place and after some time he couldn't even really trust them. Was he walking? Was he floating? Was it grass beneath his feet in this place? He saw, or perhaps felt, dreamscapes flashing past him like islands in the sky. As he moved forward in the chaos those islands seemed to swing by on either side of him. Each island, a dreamscape begging the mage to visit it, but when Balthazar peered into the dreams to see what was worth seeing, he was almost always left wanting something more... that was, until he found the dream of fire.

A island on fire with every plant burning under a reddish-orange sky. Men and women in black armor marched with torches setting fire to everything in sight. Balthazar reached out towards the islands and moved slowly towards it. He opened an escape into the veil and from the veil into the dream... and Quacia.

[Balthazar Black]

83 Ymiden 720

There was nothing left in Quacia for Balthazar... at least nothing as important as trying to get home. Quacia was like a drug for the world-wise Yari. He'd been needed and he had met the need. For the first time in a long time it felt as if he was really wanted somewhere. As an Element he had a duty that he performed but his work was often thankless. In Quacia... well it almost felt like if he remained a little longer he'd enter into their odd game of thrones. His mastery over fire could make Balthazar a popular mage in Quacia... but with popularity came enemies. It would only be a matter of time before someone decided to take a stab at him or worse, until someone told Silas where Balthazar was hiding. Silas wasn't the most adept assassin when compared to the skills Balthazar had, but Silas had a clever streak of luring Balthazar into traps and Balthazar did not want to test his luck.

And then there was Isabella. A letter had arrived in Quacia, from her, requesting Balthazar's urgent return to Scalvoris. He knew how she'd found him. She was an attuner as well but she was also the one who'd initiated him into Rupturing. She could look through his eyes and see what he saw at any time. It wouldn't be hard to figure out where he was with an ability like that. She hadn't specified the danger in Scalvoris but Balthazar could not ignore her letter.

So he decided to leave Quacia. Woe would be able to manage without him- or at least Balthazar thought he would. The Creep had been driven back and all that remained was the aftermath. There were always more politics tied to the aftermath of a war than the war itself. Balthazar wrote Woe a letter to assure him he would return if he was needed. Woe managed to get in contact with Balthazar before so he was sure the man could do so again if he needed to. With all his preparations made and his belongings packed into a rucksack (apart from his spear which he had to carry due to it's length and Nimue's dagger at the back of his belt) Balthazar found a doorway and stepped into the Veil.

Nimue never liked the travel. She refused to manifest from the Beneath while Balthazar moved between Idalos, the Veil, and the Untold because it 'made her feel queasy.' He didn't understand how a ghost felt queasy but he wasn't going to argue with her. He'd always traveled on his own anyhow... he didn't need her chatter to distract him. Once he was in the chaos again, Balthazar did as he always did. He walked. He walked for a long time and for no time at all. He walked a vast distance and no distance at all. Why couldn't the Untold bend perfectly to his mind? He'd make it a library where each book was another dreamer's dreamscape and each section of books was another city. Perfectly organized so that he could always find exactly what he wanted to find... but instead he was forced to wander a field of energy he could hardly understand, guided by nothing but the brands he'd left behind.

He recognized the brand on Isabella's dreamscape in Scalvoris but he was not trying to return to Scalvoris so he had to consciously avoid it. Where to next? He wondered as he wandered. He'd learned a lot everywhere he'd gone. Viden had helped him improve his alchemy and Quacia, for all it's creepy problems, had made him a better warrior and leader. He could take both of these gains back to Scalvoris but he didn't feel it was enough yet. He would wander for just a little bit longer. Doran didn't seek out his own reagents, but that was no reason Balthazar couldn't. He didn't know where he'd end up next, all Balthazar knew was that he'd been walking for long enough.

He could feel the Untold clawing at his mind. The chaos was refusing to bend to the laws he knew and more Balthazar pushed, the more it pushed back. For a short time he felt as if he was not walking, but merely moving forward. Balthazar tried to clear his mind but the longer he moved, the less comfortable he felt and so finally he sought out the nearest dreamscape and pushed himself through to Idalos and into Melrath.

[Pig Boy]

Balthazar

Experience: 10 no magic

Knowledge:

Knowledge: Navigation x 3, Endurance - Physical strain of the Untold, Discipline x 2
Non-Skill:
Dreamwalking (Escorting) - Taking items with you to the Untold
Dreamwalking (Crossing) - Turning a door into a door to the Veil.

Renown: none

Skill Usage: Appropriate to level. Navigation was hard to gauge, but I suppose you described that Balthazar was fumbling about in the dark a bit. Still, I'd recommend sinking in some navigation skill xp if you intend to make frequent use of crossing.

Loot/Losses: none

Injuries/Conditions: none

Comments: Whew, I never read an itinerary for a character before, but this was well done enough that it makes me want to consider writing out the travels of my characters that are between cities.

Only thing, I'd be careful presuming success in matters relating to his visits in places such as Quacia. At least in instances where the Calendar says that events might change based on player involvement.

Anyway, nice little solo, enjoy the points!

If you have any concerns about this review, please PM me about them.