Of Brushfires and Weed-Whackers

[Woe]

57th of Ymiden 720

Woe had heard of the arrival of Balthazar. When word came of the strange mage, emerging in the lair and apprehended by the Dragoons, word came down from one of the office of the Guild of Hospitality, to Woe. The torturer had kept his colleagues abreast of his expected guest, and so when the description of the mage arrived at their offices, they were swift to inform him.

He marched down toward the Lair's safehouse for the Dragoons, and the discrete barracks where the Dragoons held their prisoners before their final fate was decided, and they'd be commited to the Fortress' dungeons. The darkened halls of that barracks recalled to Woe the atmosphere of the Dungeons of Andaris. His old Oubliette. What memories lied there. Perhaps when this whole business blew over, he'd moonlight as a torturer again. It'd been too long since he practiced his craft. Yet for all that, he was also enjoying the life of an official. It came with certain perks that a man of Woe's disposition could appreciate.

He arrived at the office where the mage was said to be kept. He'd been cooperative, and so they didn't think to clamp him in magic-nullifying irons. When Woe arrived, the Dragoons on duty perked up, but gave him the same suspicious look that he'd received from most native born Quacians. He was still but a foreigner here, and not yet welcome. Perhaps he'd never be entirely welcome.

But he needed no permission to be where he was. He stood beside the Captain of the Dragoons, and spoke, "Let me in, I have business with the prisoner. I'm here to post his bond."

Woe flashed a small stack of food credits just out of sight. But the Captain noticed, and nodded, then said something in Vahanic and departed, slapping the key into Woe's hand. Woe slipped him a few food credits, and then waited for him to leave.

Once the Captain and his underlings were out of sight and earshot, he unlocked the cell, and entered, without closing the door. "Balthazar, how was your trip?"

[Balthazar Black]

57 Ymiden 720

Balthazar knew he was only a step away from being confined to a dungeon indefinitely as soon as the Dragoons left him alone in the barrack's office. We'll get the captain. They had said... in truth they didn't lie. It wasn't their fault that the captain's decision had been to keep Balthazar locked in the office while they awaited instructions on what to do with the mage. He knew that was exactly what was happening because he watched it all happen. Even locked in a small box, Balthazar was a free man. He sat with his legs crossed on the floor in front of the chair the guards had left him in. Keeping an attuner unrestrained while also trying to lock him in a room was a poor decision but the odds were these people had never encountered an attuner of Balthazar's skill.

As the guards lead him to the room, Balthazar had attuned to them. Once they left his body in the room, Balthazar's senses went out with them. Now his body sat in a trance in the room Woe walked towards and a phantom Balthazar's seemed to exist in a cloud around the guard at the door. He had no body or form, but he could feel his surroundings from a central point that he took to identify as himself... only it wasn't him. It was the guard he'd attuned to. He could feel the guard's surroundings and hear the words he and his comrades spoke. Unfortunately, the guard and his friend spoke in a language Balthazar did not understand for the most part while they idly chatted outside his door.

One could argue Balthazar would have had an easier time by just sticking his ear to the door, but he was hoping the Dragoon would have gone with the others to put store Balthazar's confiscated belongings. Besides, any opportunity to practice was an opportunity Balthazar took. As much as he like to think he'd come out of a moral obligation to help his ally, Balthazar couldn't deny the idea of practicing his Defiance was appealing. When Woe approached Balthazar couldn't immediately recognize the outline of the man but when he spoke, Balthazar recognized his voice.

Balthazar took a deep breath, drawing his senses away from the frequency beyond the door and back into himself just as Woe opened the door to the room. Admittedly Balthazar struggled to fully transition back into his own body and so Woe would see a look of pained concentration on Balthazar's face before his golden eyes suddenly reopened and centered on Woe.

"It was brief and a little uncomfortable. I gambled on the Untold a few times. It's not as easy to navigate as I'd hoped." Balthazar said casually as he rose to his feet. He stumbled slightly once he was upright, a little shaken and unbalanced by his sore Attunement spark, but he recovered. "How have you fared? Whats the situation here?" Am I still a prisoner? He didn't ask that last one out of good faith.

[Woe]

As he approached the captain's office, Woe made an effort to focus static on his divine marks and heritage. You never knew when an attuner capable of detecting such a frequency could be found. Especially in such a place as Quacia. Although He'd confessed his Mortalborn nature while adventuring with Balthazar on the Mountain Induk, he didn't wish to let his loyalties be known. And he hoped Balthazar would have the sense not to reveal Woe's heritage to the rest of Quacia.

Woe stared, blank-eyed at Balthazar, listening to his explanation. The shadows curled and wrapped around Woe like thorns as the torchlight illuminated his outline. "The... Untold. Then you're a dreamwalker." Like Magpie. Woe reflected. He wondered why every other person he met seemed to be a dreamwalker. It was an interesting trend, and perhaps something to do with the Fall of Emea? In any event, he was here, and arriving in a different way than Woe had anticipated.

He spoke in a low voice, so they wouldn't be overheard by nearby soldiers, "I confess I thought you might not come. Not since we've been surrounded by the Creep. I trust you've been briefed or otherwise found out what kind of threat we're facing?" In any event, Woe would go on to explain the nature of it, as far as he Understood. "The Creep is a plant-like parasite. It gains control over a host, and then animates it. As far as we're aware, they have a sort of collective conscious. If you examine their frequency, as I have, you'll find they have something resembling emotions, but quite different. Perhaps you might have more success at discovering their nature than I... but we're not on a diplomatic mission. We're on a mission of annihilation. The Creep must be destroyed, once and for all."

Woe gestured for Balthazar to join him, then he would lead him out of that place. "You're fortunate to have arrived in the Lair. The Creep has launched skirmishes into the Gleam. A part of Quacia previously thought safe, but that is now a Warzone. Currently, we're at a stalemate, having driven much of the Creep from the city proper, but surrounded on all sides, land and sea. The Dragoons have plans to strike out within a tentrial or so... We'll be accompanying them when they do."

Woe opened the door to the barracks for Balthazar. There the Captain was waiting. Woe shrugged at Balthazar, and then handed the Captain a few slips of the food vouchers. While the Dragoons were well fed, they parlayed their excess food vouchers in order to acquire services in the Lair. Corruption was not unknown in the ranks of the Dragoons.

Once the Captain was placated, Woe led Balthazar out of his would-be prison, and into the streets of the Lair. "Now, I don't expect you to fight on our behalf for nothing. I intend to pay you." He brought a hand to his chin, rubbing it for a moment as if considering what he would offer. "I know you're an impressive martial artist, but do you have a preference when it comes to armed combat? I just happened to have commissioned several Faldrunium arms. One of them can be yours."

Woe shrugged, "Or I can give you nels. Your choice."

[Balthazar Black]

57 Ymiden 720

"I am. I have been for a while now." Balthazar admit to Woe when he asserted that Balthazar was a dreamwalker. Unlike Woe, Balthazar was not quite thinking cautiously about what he was. Almost instinctively, Balthazar's reached out to Woe's frequency. Being attuned to an individual was a powerful link when you were working together. He didn't even think about delving into the note he heard once he'd attuned until he recognized a familiar feeling. It was strange. Was he scrambling his frequency? No maybe it was some side effect of the Untold making the frequency sound strange. But it still made the mage curious. What could you be hiding? What more was there to know than that Woe was an Immortal's child? But Balthazar didn't push because Woe was not an enemy. If he wanted to keep something from Balthazar, prying would do no good.

Then Woe spoke in a hushed voice which made Balthazar wonder if the man did not trust the Dragoons. It was probably wise not to given Balthazar's current situation. "My friends have told me various things but I'd rather hear it from you." Balthazar summarized to his savior before Woe explained what was going on. The Creep. Balthazar laughed aloud to the irony of the name and quickly apologized. "I'm sorry, it's just that before I left one of my friends told me that Quacia was creepy. I realize now that she was making a joke. Continue." So... based on Woe's description, the situation in Quacia wasn't great. Plant life with a single consciousness seemingly set on destroying them. Negotiation wasn't an option... why did Woe think Balthazar wouldn't come? This was the dream for a Defiance mage who's kin was fire. Especially one who missed the more rough and tumble lifestyle he'd had in Yaralon. Then again Woe didn't know those things. Or did he?

"How do they gain control of a host?" Balthazar asked. He did want to know but the question was partially a cover. Balthazar looked inward and scrambled his own frequency for a few trills before he got a better idea. His frequency shifted and Balthazar felt a strange sensation wash over him as it began to mimic Woe's frequency. Balthazar wasn't quite familiar with the technique so he didn't try to mimic a frequency he held at a greater distance like Nimue's or Isabella's. Woe was close and Balthazar had a good sense of his familiar notes. He didn't need to know the others intimately, he just needed to copy them.

When Woe gestured for Balthazar to follow him out of the would-be prison, the mage did exactly that. He listened to Woe's report and couldn't help but feel for the Gleam. He was just as likely to have ended up there as he was to have ended up in Lair. The rest of the report wasn't much better. Surrounded on all sides with ten trials before the Dragoons struck. A lot could happen in ten trials. Balthazar was determined to see the enemy at least once before that first attack... but he needed to find a safe way to do it.

Once they were back out on the street Woe mentioned payment which Balthazar seemed a little surprised by. He hadn't really thought of payment when dealing with the Dragoons. It had seemed like his service to them would be involuntary. But Balthazar wouldn't turn down a few nels or Faldrunium. "I'm partial to spears but it so happens that I already have a Faldrunium spear." Balthazar admit to Woe before thinking a little. The only other weapon he really had any experience with was a sword and that was cause he'd disarmed individuals. "I could probably put a sword to better use here than nels. Out of curiosity, where would someone go if they wanted to get a better sense of the Creep? I’d like to attune to it but that isn’t always feasible.”

[Woe]

Woe led him along, and listened. He felt the strange ether signature prying at him, a familiar sensation to when he'd spent a night with Llyr. Whether it was voluntary or if Balthazar truly couldn't help but reach out with attunement, it was probably not important. Woe only wished to keep his Immortal loyalties unknown. Not that being Mortalborn was any less of a danger. Woe whispered to Balthazar, "There are things you should know about Quacia. The Creep is dangerous, but just as well, the people of this city are not to be trifled with."

"If you hold to any Immortals, do not invoke them in public, or try to convert people. And most certainly don't admit to any Immortal connections..." He let that hang on the air for a moment, as a hint. Balthazar would probably recognize it as a signal that he should keep Woe's mortalborn status as a secret.

"The Creep is dangerous. Think of an undead, but instead of needing a necromancer to animate, they only need to spread their corruption like an easily transmissible disease. Now think of countless thousands who have fallen to this scourge, all having been assimilated into an army that doesn't need to sleep, and probably doesn't need to eat, and thinks as one." Woe walked out the door to that guard station in the Lair, and out into the city proper.

The streets were littered with all manner of detritus, from all the refugees pouring in. The Shanty had overtaken the Lair for the most part, and it was becoming increasingly difficult for the proprietors of the various businesses and vice-lords to maintain their operations in the face of so many needy.

Yet it was a short walk out of the Lair, it being less than a village nowadays. Into the Shanty, they walked. Balthazar asked how he might get a better sense of the Creep, and Woe stopped in his tracks.
He didn't quite know how to respond to that. Usually when he was attuning, he needed to be very close, but perhaps... well no probably Balthazar was a far more advanced mage than he, and had ways of remotely attuning. So Woe thought to ask, "That depends, can you do so from a safe distance?" Woe's mouth twisted, "It's not safe to leave the city, where the Creep are prowling in numbers too great for counting. And they'd find in you a prize perhaps very worth assimilating into their army... not... not that I know if they can use magic. I'm not sure.... But one of them did use alchemy to injure the Queen."

Their walk took them through the outskirts of the Shanty, and into the Gleam, although by this point the only difference in function and form between the two places were the bloodlights lighting the way through the avenues. Otherwise the same misery and poverty that surrounded them in the Shanty spilled over into the Gleam. It did get more spaced out as Woe got to where his house was.

Opening a metal gate, Woe gestured for Balthazar to enter, and then locked it behind him. The way to the door was cobbled, with some crab grass popping out of the surrounding earth, along with charred trees decorating the landscape. The house itself was built of stone, carved statues and gargoyles decorated the outside. THe main door was before them, which Woe led him through as he opened it. Once inside, they came to a table in the middle of a large reception. Behind it, a wide staircase leading up to a second story with several doors all along the balustrade and walkway that circled above the reception.

On the table however, was a longish box. Inside, Balthazar would find a faldrunium sword, masterwork, created by the greatest of smiths in all of Quacia, perhaps all of the Southern Continent. An heirloom worthy to pass down for countless generations, and his swords were guaranteed as such. Woe arrived by the sword at a bargain price, for a favor he did the Councilor Perfeita. And now it would belong to Balthazar.

Woe opened the box, revealing the golden salamander leather-bound sheath that hid the burning blade within.

!	Message from: Woe
	Heya, you can describe the sword yourself, if you figure out what kind of sword you wanted. It's a single sword, though, not a polearm or otherwise.

[Balthazar Black]

57 Ymiden 720

"Yes. I learned rather quickly that certain things need not be mentioned." Balthazar replied when Woe told him of the other dangers in Quacia. He had, after all, just been taken by the Dragoons for being a mage of a certain age in the wrong place and the wrong time. "Fortunately I am good at keeping secrets. Thank you for the warning." And that was all Balthazar would say of it. Woe's secret was more than safe with the mage so long as they were allies. Balthazar didn't quite put the Black in blackmail.

Balthazar listened as Woe explained the Creep to him with both scientific curiosity and with some level of discomfort. His last encounter with a necromancer had left him with mental scars he'd never forget. Scars that made him do and say dumb things to people he cared about. "Well at least they'll all feel it when we burn some of them." Balthazar said, trying to use a little dark humor to lighten the mood before moving to the topic of attuning to the Creep. "I'll have to wait till a battle to try it then. No point in taking unnecessary risks." Balthazar decided. "Alchemy? What did they do?"

The mage followed the mortalborn into his home, looking around at the dark decorations with some amusement. Balthazar was coming to realize he liked the way that Quacia looked, even if he didn't particularly like the dangers connected to it. Though, in time he'd probably come to enjoy those as well. Woe lead Balthazar into his home and the mage couldn't hide his surprise. Balthazar certainly did not live in as grand a home as Woe and it made him all the more curious as to what exactly Woe did for a living. "You have a nice home." Balthazar said before he saw the bow on the table. When he saw the box, Balthazar forgot everything else he'd been thinking about. Woe opened it, presenting the sword.

Balthazar had seen his share of weapons- he'd even seen his share of remarkably beautiful weapons, but the sword Woe presented him with left all the other swords he'd seen in the dust. The sword being presented to the mage was no typical longsword or shortsword but instead a single edged blade. It was a long, beautifully crafted blade of Faldrunium which seemed to glow orange hot as Balthazar unsheathed it from the gorgeous sheath bound in golden salamander leather. A student of alchemy, Balthazar would later find the sheath itself somewhat more interesting than the blade- but for the moment it was the blade that the mage fixated on.

The whole sword was thinner than the one's Balthazar normally saw swung at him and it was long. It looked to have been designed more for slashing than stabbing and yet the tip of the blade looked lethal all the same to Balthazar's untrained eye. He couldn't recognize the signs of the intricate craftsmanship that had gone into the sword or the purpose of the subtle curve to the blade, but he knew it was a masterpiece. Just as he knew his spear and his armor were masterpieces. Just as he knew Nimue's dagger was only somewhat decently made. The blade had a small, circular guard that seemed almost to resemble an open flower petal in shape and a handle long enough that Balthazar assumed it was meant to accommodate two hands- however from the weight of the blade as he held it, he assumed it could be used with a single hand. Balthazar carefully slipped the red-hot Faldrunium back into it's sheath and set the sheath back into the box. They had other things to discuss and he knew if he kept the sword near him, he'd do nothing but play with it so he would remember to pick it up on his way out.

It was the perfect payment. It was a task, a challenge, and a gift. A sword with which he would cut the Creep from Quacia... when he wasn't just hurling balls of fire. He'd never be better with a sword than he was with his own hands, but all the same this blade would usher change for the mage. Great change. "It is a beautiful weapon. I'll be glad to use it to help you." Balthazar said once he'd finished assessing the sword.

[Woe]

The more he heard Balthazar talk (he hadn't much of a chance when they met earlier in the previous season), the more evident the Yari influence in his speech was. He thought for certain that if Balthazar wasn't a Yari, he'd at least spent some time there. He would be willing to bet his Hospitality Broach on it. Which was why the words 'unnecessary risks' came as a slight surprise to Woe. Yet not for the worse. Woe appreciated that the mercenary he'd brought in was pragmatic.

"Alchemy, yes. The changeling (that is a Creep that takes the form of a person, and can evade detection), revealed itself to court by peeling off its skin. The Queen took charge and ordered the Dragoons to attack it. Many of them fell to the changeling. Yet in the chaos, they were unable to protect their Queen. As for how it used alchemy, I'm not entirely sure. Some sort of controlled explosion? I'm told the Queen is in recovery. Things are looking grim now."

By the time he'd finished recounting the tale, for which he'd been present, they arrived at his house on the outskirts of the Fortress and the Gleam. "Thank you. You're welcome to the other master bedroom while here, my servant Fargis normally makes his home there, but he's been otherwise indisposed until tentrials hence. I'd ask you not explore the undercroft beneath the house without my supervision."

Woe watched and was pleased with Balthazar's reaction to the payment and the gift of the Faldrunium weapon. Surely a defier, and one who appeared to make liberal use of fire, could make even greater use of a weapon that generated elemental fire. Woe truthfully looked forward to seeing what Balthazar could do with it. That would be a sight to see.

"I'm pleased that it meets your approval. It's made by the famed bladesmith Eapeon Perfeita. One of the greatest smiths of the Southern Continent. And certainly the greatest in Quacia, which is saying something." And Balthazar would have a chance to use it, sooner than he thought, perhaps.

On Woe's hip, an equally exquisite sword hung, yet one made of Tienite where Balthazar's was of fire. It was a concession to the culture of Quacia, as they didn't acknowledge his whip, even one that glowed hot, as a warrior's weapon. The men he'd be set to command wouldn't respect him unless he wore a blade.

"You'll want to bring that blade with us for now, might as well hitch the scabbard to your belt." Woe had plans for the evening entertainment. A way of wining and dining a Yari. A visit to the fighting pit in the Shanty. He wanted to see what Balthazar could do, and needed practice with a blade himself. At least, according to Sa-Ki-Uata. Of course, that'd been a ploy to get him to buy a weapon... As if he ever needed convincing for that.

Woe removed the Hospitality broach from his collar, and raised his hood. The broach he placed in the box where the Faldrunium sword had been taken from.

"How do you feel about fighting for other peoples entertainment?"

[Balthazar Black]

57 Ymiden 720

Woe's generosity made Balthazar wonder if he'd signed up for his own death in agreeing to help fight the Creep. A room in this grand house? Balthazar felt he was being spoiled. The mage would have been content to find a good inn and remain there. It might have even have been more beneficial for Balthazar to stay somewhere with his ear a little closer to the ground. But he'd done that in Viden and was a little tired of the haggling so he'd gladly take Woe up on his offer for as long as the Creep didn't overrun them. "You're more generous than most I work for, I can stay out of the undercroft in return." Balthazar said to Woe. "Thank you for your hospitality." Manners. Time learning alchemy with Doran was causing them to rub off on the Yari.

Balthazar listened with interest as Woe explained the origins of the sword. The white-haired mage did not know of the craftsman but he certainly admired his work and wanted to know more. He'd never learned the origin of his other weapons though he was certain if he asked around at the Scholar's Nook he could find out. Eapeon Perfeita. "I might like to meet him one trial. He sounds like an interesting man." Balthazar said as his eyes lingered on the sword he'd set back in the box for a moment. Then Woe told him he might as well bring the blade with him and the Element perked up slightly. A sword and a chance to use it? Woe certainly knew how to wine and dine a Yari into fighting a battle with horrible odds.

Balthazar attached the blade's scabbard to his belt on the left side of his hip and he adjusted it in slight discomfort. No matter how great the weapon was, Balthazar was not used to wearing a sword on his hip. He typically didn't carry weapons and when he did it was a dagger at the back of his belt, something concealed on his arms, or a spear he carried in hand. Wearing a sword gave all your turns a certain weight that Balthazar took a moment to adjust too. In Yaralon he'd had a lot of interesting encounters because he often didn't carry a weapon... and he didn't really mind it.

"Well it's not very different than fighting for my own entertainment. Can we place bets?" Balthazar asked as he found a comfortable stance with his left hand resting on the hilt of the sword. His fingers seemed to shift, slowly drumming on the handle of the sword as he came to realize Woe probably expected him to use it. Balthazar was not great with swords but he was confident he had enough combat practice to manage so he said nothing of his lack of bladed experience.

[Woe]

Hospitality... Perhaps his job was beginning to rub off on Woe. He had been receiving more guests lately than he was accustomed to. He shrugged it off, however appreciated the mage's courteous manner was.

"You would think to hear of him, but Eapheon is just a smith, and that's what he focuses on. All the same, if you've any interest in hardware and how it's made, he's the man to see." Woe acknowledged with a nod. So they went along, deeper into the lair's sewers and Undercrofts. The mortalborn lifted the grate leading into the underground, and allowed Balth through before entering himself.

Once inside, they twisted and turned through the labyrinthine passages, until coming out into an open area, where a bunch of rough men were standing, bearing weapons and laughing with each other over the corpses of those who'd fallen in their tourney. When asked if they could place bets, Woe had told Balthazar, "Yes I suppose so. If you can find a good bookie here, there should be one skulking around taking bets."

Once they made it to the area just shy of where they'd be let into the circle, Woe began tracing runes on his legs, his core, and his whip arm. Chained runes of strength and endurance so that he would be able to last the bout.

He didn't dare place any traps in an effort to cheat here.

Woe and Balthazar arrived side by side in front of... what looked like a Yaralon Darstrion. Woe didn't ask how he'd gotten into Quacia, but perhaps he'd been laying up here for a while? In any event, it was his to tell them how the tournament was to unfold. "Roight. Men we're here to foight. Magic? Only cast magic on yerself, the man who casts a spell on another forfeits the match and their loife. Casting magic and marks on yoreself is foine. Since most of us arroived in pairs, it'll be two on two. Roight? Ready yourselves for the tournament."

These rules laid out, the Yari Darstrion stood aside, and waited for the bookies to take their bets, and for the rest to organize themselves in challenges against each other.

[Balthazar Black]

57 Ymiden 720

Balthazar followed the mortalborn further into the labyrinth of passages silently reflecting on what had been said. Balthazar's spark committed the path to its memory so the mage wouldn't get lost but Balthazar wasn't thinking of that as he emerged into the world of caves and tunnels. Balthazar liked the dark but he couldn't deny that he stood out a little as the duo traveled towards Lair's arena. His skin literally glowed and the white hair wasn't conductive for sneaking around. Perhaps that was why he'd never made it as the smuggler Isabella wanted him to be? Balthazar looked around at the other fighters when he and Woe arrived to and arena in an unimpressed manner.

A small grin formed on Balthazar's face when Woe said that he could place bets but he still decided against it. In the end he wasn't sure how confident he could be in his skill with a sword so he'd just fight and let others place the bets. Balthazar watched curiously as Woe began to place runes across his body but he didn't ask any questions. Now wasn't the time for a lesson in magic, it was apparently the time to prepare. Balthazar took a few deep breaths to try and clear his mind of distractions while Woe worked his magic. It was always easier to communicate with the elements when you took the time to purge your thoughts.

Unfortunately the sight of what seemed to be a Darstrion momentarily made Balthazar think of Yaralon and the duels he'd fought there but Balthazar took another breath to clear the distraction away. Now wasn't the time to reminisce either. Balthazar listened to the rules as they were explained and gave a curt nod when the man was done explaining. Then he and Woe were left for final preparations while bookies took bets. Balthazar considered placing a bet again but decided- again, that he was better off focusing on the fight and not the chance to make some nels.

"Have you done this before?" Balthazar asked Woe with a gesture towards the runes he'd put over his body. Hone seemed useful in tournament where you could only use magic on yourself whereas all of Balthazar's magics seemed a little more outwardly offensive. He ran through the things he couldn't do before the ones he could. No throwing balls of fire, no shooting burst of wind, no hurling stones, no lightning, no snapshot, no portals beneath enemy feet... most of the moves he'd become familiar with. However he could take advantage of the properties of his faldrunium sword and he could still use portals to move around. He could caress it with fire and heat the blade but he didn't know how hot he could get it. How hot did the sword need to get before it would cut through metal? Maybe he could find out totrial. "You seem familiar with the proceedings." Balthazar had done some organized fighting since Yaralon, but not a lot. He was in fact a member of a club for such activities but he was not allowed to talk about that. "Do you think anyone will have a chance against us? We've beat larger things than these fighters."