The Inori Chronicles (Act 1)

Stepping out of the woods Ausar entered a clearing. There stood a lone house with a trail of smoke coming from the chimney. There was a faint light shining through the window but otherwise there was no sign of life. Ausar did a quick check of all his equipment. He readjusted the brace on his left arm trying to tighten the broken strap. His battle with that damned witch wasted a lot of time and inventory. Focusing on his hearing Ausar attempted to listen for any hint of movement in the house. There wasn’t a sound. The entire area was unnaturally quiet for being so deep in the wilds. Resigning himself to the fact he wouldn’t learn anything from out here he drew his sword and made his way up the path.

Reaching out Ausar’s hand hesitated at the door handle. He suddenly brought his sword out in front of him and braced it with his free arm. Without seemingly any warning the door burst in an explosion of splinters outwards throwing Ausar with such force that he landed back at the forest's tree line. For a moment the world was a brilliant sheet of white. As Ausar’s vision returned to normal so too did the feeling throughout his body. A large splinter had lodged itself in his legs. Fortunately it had missed anything vital. Otherwise he had plenty of new cuts and splinters he could attend to.

His vision of the treetops and sky overhead wavered slightly as it slowly returned to normal. Only to be darkened suddenly as an annoyingly familiar face came into view. “Told you.” the red haired witch spoke, a rather patronising smile crossed her face as she offered a hand down to help him stand.

“I thought I told you to leave and not let me see you again” Ausar groaned accepting the hand and allowed her to help him up. He tested the leg, it was sore but he could walk on it.

“Ummm, you’re welcome.” Hadria shot back as he accepted her help and then walked away. She shifted her weight to one hip, crossing her arms as she watched him.

He made his way to where his sword had fallen. Picking it up he examined the blade. He groaned inwardly as he saw a large fracture traveling the length of the weapon. “What sort of witch has that much raw power” he thought to himself.

“Why are you here?” he asked bringing himself back to attention.

“I told you before. That witch is mean. She would have killed you. What kind of good samaritan would I be if I didn’t come to your rescue.” Hadria’s ever present sarcasm not missing a beat in the face of Ausar’s clear annoyance. “She’s long gone by now though… “ she spoke while yawning, stretching her arms above her head “...with your heavy steps she probably heard you coming from a mile away. Pitty about your knife though. It was pretty.”

Ausar decided to ignore most of the witch’s sarcastic comments. Running his hand the length of the blade once more he returned it to its scabbard. “Don’t feel too bad about it” He said in his own sarcastic tone. “I can fix it”. Ausar looked to where the house had been. As his would be rescuer had so helpfully pointed out it had disappeared. He made his way up the path again limping as his blood continued to pour from his wounds. Once at the edge where he had previously stood in front of the door he reached out with his aura in hopes of catching a hint of any magical energy in the area.

Ausar involuntarily shivered as his aura found a cold dark magic. It was unlike anything he had felt before. Letting out a sigh he made his way towards what must have been a rock pool and began tending to himself.

Hadria noted his sour mood as the man walked toward what used to be the witches house. In spite of their rather rough first impressions, Hadria’s respect for the enhanced in general softened her slightly. She walked after him as he began trying to tend to his wounds. Crouching in front of him to make eye contact. “Yeah… right. With your impressive magic abilities you displayed back there. I’m sure you’ll make quick work of it.” she sighed, somewhat amused “Here…” she extended her hand to him. “Let me see it. I’ll see what I can do.”

“Why the sudden change of heart?” Ausar asked only having to slightly feign the surprise in his voice.

Hadria brushed off his distrust “Tell me, enhanced. Do you want my help or not?”

Despite any suspicion he sat up allowing the woman more room to examine the chunk of wood in his leg. “Ausar”

Hadria paused from what she was doing to glance back up at his face “Yes soreness is to be expected. Did you expect it to tickle?” she was somewhat annoyed by the man’s complaining.

Ausar looked puzzled for the briefest of moments. “No, Ausar. Ausar Dan Inori.”

Hadria took hold of the wood in Ausar’s leg and, without warning, quickly pulled it from the man’s flesh, using magic to ensure any splinters were removed along with it. The spell she used to seal the wound seemed to take very little effort as Hadria performed it while continuing the conversation as though she was barely paying attention to it at all. “Dan?” she repeated, clearly recognising it. “I don’t hear that title often. Not these days, old one.”

Ausar gritted his teeth against the rough treatment. “Efficient” he thought to himself taking in a breath through his mouth. “It’s not often a person recognizes the title these days” he said stretching out his leg. He began to absently remove some of the smaller splinters that had gotten caught on his arms and jacket. “And who are you exactly?”

“One who is well versed in history.” Hadria laughed, straightening herself back onto her feet.

Ausar watched her for a moment before standing up himself. His leg was healed perfectly. Apart from the rip in his clothes and the blood stain you wouldn’t have been able to tell any injury had occurred. “And does the one well versed in history have a name?” he asked again.

The woman shrugged, “It’s Hadria. Just Hadria.” she jabbed somewhat at Ausar’s traditional title. But mostly decided to leave out her own family name, as she had abandoned it long ago.

“Well then, just Hadria. I appreciate the help. Thank you.” Ausar once again took a quick inventory of his gear and satisfied that most everything was in place he made to move past the woman. “Where are you headed?” he asked as he stepped past her.

Hadria hadn’t really considered her next move, the question caught her off guard. She spoke honestly, “I’m not sure. You’ve scared off my target. And used up my equipment at that.” she couldn’t help but be a bit amused by the irony they had both ruined each other’s chances at the same goal. “I’ll have to go back to Fallkirk for now, to replenish some things I suppose.” The idea of it was somewhat daunting. As the town was not keen on witches. But she would manage.

Ausar nodded picking up on the hint of annoyance in Hadria’s tone. “It seems our paths are leading us in the same direction. Maybe we should travel together. I hear these wilds can be quite dangerous for a single person to be wandering about, especially with night fast approaching” he said allowing himself the barest trace of a smile.

Hadria sucked air in through her teeth, “I mean, sure if you still think you need my protection. I could use the company. At least for now. Don’t get used to it though, I have a lot of damsels to rescue from these woods.” Hadria clapped Ausar’s arm a bit playfully and took the lead. “Shall we?”

Ausar watched after her for a moment. She certainly was an odd one. Ausar couldn’t recall ever meeting someone like her. Shaking his head he fell into step beside her. “My hero” he mocked.

(OOC: Firstly thanks for your patience with me for putting this up. For now I just want everyone to work at their own thing within the RP so we can eventually have the characters interact and meet naturally. If you get stuck or need a hand with anything just let me know)

 

(OOC: Apologies for the delay in getting something up. There is a lot of narrative in the post as Hope and I were unable to get a decent amount of time to work on posts together. Hope if you want to change anything your character says or does feel free to do so. Otherwise this is a joint post between myself and Akira. Enjoy.)

Hadria and Ausar had arrived to the small secluded town at the forests edge. The witch must have cast a spell to make it more difficult to navigate the woods to her dwelling as the two made it in before the night had truly settled in. Of course, it also helped that the two weren't busy trying to kill each other. When they had arrived the people very delighted to see Ausar. The same could not be said of his new companion. They were immediately suspicious of her but Ausar vouching for her was enough to settle any possible disputes of her presence. The people were gladdend to hear that the witch causing the problems had moved on and wanted to throw a feast in Ausar’s honour. Thanking them for their kindness Ausar explained that he had to move on as he had other pressing matters. Hadria decided against staying in the small suspicious town even though they had offered the invitation to her. Ausar and Hadria learned that they were heading in separate directions but decided they would accompany each other along the trail to the main road.

“It’s been a pleasure” Ausar said. Hadria gave a slight nod. “Be careful where you are going, there have been reports of mysterious disappearances. Witches and Enhanced alike.”

“At least I won’t have to watch over you this time” Hadria said with a playful tone. Ausar simply smiled and shook his head.

“Donec iterum conveniant” Ausar said extending his hand.

“Hopefully under better circumstances” Hadria replied taking his hand and shaking it once.

The two went their separate ways. Ausar had been travelling for quite some time. He had made good progress the next village was around another two hour walk.

*

It was late in the night and many of the creatures of the night were on the prowl. None bothered Ausar. They had all learned that the nightwalkers with the glowing eyes don’t make for easy prey.

Ausar’s hearing picked up on something and at first he passed off as his imagination. Then he heard it again. It was faint but it was definitely there. Someone was fighting.

It had taken Sam three days to track down the witch hunters; they were incompetent at their job. The red rings around their eyes and the stink of monster showed them to be lesser enhanced, the ones who were normally given the menial tasks in the prison. ‘I’m glad they are this incompetent it means a quick kill, I don’t know how much longer I can maintain control.’

There were four of them. Sam jumped from the bush his blades sinking into the flesh of the necks of the first two. He had disembowelled the third before the fountains of blood started spraying from the open carotid arteries of his first two victims. He took a bit more time with the fourth, he needed to question him and hopefully pick up another lead. The enhanced drew his blade. Sam smiled a menacing smile; he could smell the fear rolling off the enhanced. He parried the wild blows of the hunter with ease and used his momentum to drive his blade into his leg.

Ausar stepped into the small clearing. He hadn’t been expecting the sight he came across. He was met by three dead bodies, all killed very efficiently. There were still two combatants. The younger of the two stood with his blade in his opponent’s leg.

Sam noticed the presence of another enhanced, glancing at his eyes he noted the glow of a full fledged enhanced. ‘Must be their leader, no need to spare the underling’. Sam decapitated the lesser enhanced and in the same motion removed the power capping pendant. He put a subtle read out on the leader's power; as soon as he felt the wall he withdrew his feeler. ‘Incredibly powerful or really weak, best to err on the side of caution.’ Sam cast the hand signal to freeze his opponent to the spot. Then with all the speed he could muster leaped upon the brute driving both daggers into his shoulders. He knew with a flick of his wrist the enhanced would die, but he needed to question him first.

Ausar felt the sign being cast on him. He hadn’t expected it and by the time he used his aura to dispel it the young man was on top of him. ‘Impressive’ Ausar thought to himself. In his younger days this young man may have been a challenge for him. But with experience behind him, Ausar was confident in his own abilities. He made a very short and fast motion connecting his forehead with the bridge of the young man’s nose.

Sam was knocked off his opponent into the pools of blood of his past victims. ‘He shouldn't have been able to move’ Sam thought as he lost control and Sammy took over. ‘NO No no I've put her in danger crap I’m too weak to regain control no no no No’

Ausar reached back with some difficulty as the daggers were still embedded in him. Drawing his own blade he waited for the young man to get up.

Sammy awoke in a pool of blood a man looming over her sword drawn. ‘Maybe this is the end’ she reached for her pendant, it was gone fear flew through her as her power built with incredible speed “I’m sorry” she whispered as the power erupted from her.

Ausar felt the sudden surge of magical ability. Where once there was none there was a sudden rush of pure untrained power. Not having enough time to strengthen his own magical defences Ausar positioned his blade at a downward angle with the point aimed at the new magical threat. With his free hand he reached around his belt and found his remaining dimeritium bomb. He released the tag on it igniting the fuse when without warning magical power erupted headed straight at Ausar.

‘At least he won't survive this’ Sam thought.

He’d had barely any time to react. He had managed to move his blade so that it took the brunt of the attack. Now lying on his back from the impact he could feel the wounds in his shoulders starting to heal. ‘If the kid hadn’t stabbed me first I might not have been so lucky’ he thought to himself. The jewels in the hilt of the blades had acted as a magnet for the magic so that the power had travelled through the blades disintegrating the weapons.

Sam’s reassurance turned to disbelief and fear, a fear he had never before felt as he struggled to regain control he felt himself take over for a split second but could not hold it. ‘Sammy I’m so so so sorry I have failed you’

Sammy curled up into a fetal position and started rocking back and forth “I’m sorry………….. I didn’t mean to hurt anyone” ‘NOT AGAIN SORRY SORRY Sorry sorry’ the tears began to flow.

Ausar brought up his sword arm and was dismayed to see only the hilt and part of his blade in his hand. “My... sword”. Sitting up he saw the young man curled up. A few feet from him was the shattered remains of his blade as well as the jewels from the daggers. Ausar stood and made his way to the shattered blade. “You, you broke my blade!” Ausar called in a rare show of strong emotion.

‘She Is Going Through Enough You Asshole’ Sam wished he could speak but could do nothing but increase in rage while he watched their soon to be captor lose it.

“You're alive, you’re alive” Sammy’s sobs turn to tears of joy. Sammy grabbed the man in an embrace. “I thought I had killed you, I’m sorry about your men, It’s my protective magic I can’t control it, I’m so sorry”.

Ausar was taken aback by the very sudden change in reaction. When he was embraced Ausar finally noticed the difference in the voice that was now speaking to him. When he saw their eyes he noticed they had also changed. ‘Strange’ He thought to himself. Taking the figure in his hands he moved them away from him. Taking a deep breath he regained his composure. “What’s your name?” he asked.

“Sammy” she blushed.

‘What are you doing, don’t tell him anything he’s too powerful to kill, at least in a fair fight’ Sam thought still struggling to build up enough energy to regain control.

“Sammy” Ausar tested the name after a short time. “That is some powerful magic you possess. Have you had any formal training?”

Looking into Ausar’s eyes Sammy felt a sense of comfort she had not experienced since her early childhood, in that moment she decided she liked him and that she could trust him, based on her gut instincts, she decided to tell the truth. “No, when the witch hunters tried I destroyed a wing of the prison” she instinctively went to caress the pendent “I need to find my pendant”

Sam usually relied on Sammy’s gut instincts so far they had always been correct he went into a state of contemplative confusion.

“Witch hunters? Prison?” Ausar asked.

“The ones who took me and killed my family. Even before that my dad use to warn me to be careful or the Witch Hunters would get me. I thought it was a ghoul story he had made up before they came” A sad smile crossed her face it had been so long since she had thought about her family her tears over them had long since dried up. “Some of them are witches some are lesser enhanced with red rings around their eyes some are full fledged enhanced like you, their eyes glow in the dark like yours.”

“Red rings?” Ausar asked mostly to himself. Looking at the bodies he saw that they weren’t standard humans. He made his way to one and began a close examination. “They’ve been mutated.” he said aloud again mostly to himself. “Are there many of these ‘lesser enhanced’?” Ausar asked Sammy.

“The ones I knew are dead but I know there are more, I just don’t know how many. There were two full fledged enhanced that I had contact with, my protective power killed the one, the other one wasn’t there when I escaped. I called him the other Big Boss Man; they never used names around us.”

“You said full fledged enhanced are like me? In that they have the same abilities or their eyes can glow as mine do?”

“I don’t know what your abilities are but the one who was killed could use hand signals to stun and freeze us prisoners to the spot, Big Boss Man could do magic like a witch and had similar equipment to you and both had eyes that were like yours. The sign of a full fledged enhanced. They were always given more respect than the lesser enhanced”

Sammy after searching the ground and through the congealing pools of blood went to wipe some of the sticky clots from between her fingers and felt her pendant within her hidden pouch, with a sigh of relief she returned it to her neck.

“Please, don’t refer to me as a full fledged. It makes it sound as if I’m the same as these... creatures” he said tapping a boot in the ribs of one of the bodies. Taking a dismembered head and wrapping it in cloth cut from one of their garments he tucked it on his belt. Moving his fingers he cast the sign of Quen around the package. This had a number of advantages to it. It stopped the head from decomposing due to the elements, but mostly it would protect Ausar from any leaking body fluids or foul smells. ‘Still have to go see my witch I suppose’.

Sam started memorising the hand signal Ausar used, replaying it over and over in his mind ‘I’ll have to use it to figure out what it does and I need to see it done again to make sure I have the exact movements’

“That pendent. It isn’t augmented for you is it?”

Sammy’s response was to simply look at Ausar quizzically and shrug her shoulders. “My protective power got it for me”

“Interesting” He said mostly to himself. “I can augment it meaning it will work better for you. And with some training you won’t have to remove it you use your magic.”

Ausar stepped towards her and took the pendent in his hand. Using his aura he melded his own and Sammy’s within the pendent. “There” With that he moved towards the remains of the blade. He picked up the shards and took the two jewels in his hand.

“Hope you won’t mind me holding onto these as payment” It wasn’t so much a question as Ausar letting Sammy know he was keeping them.

Sam finally had enough energy to take over but not for long. “I earned those through my blood sweat and fear, they already saved your life you don’t need any more payment then that you prick. They mean a lot to me”

“And that blade meant a lot to me!” Ausar snapped angrier than he had planned.

“Huh okay that's out of the blue... but sure payment for your beloved blade” Sammy smiled and gave him a reassuring hug as from the tone of his voice he needed one.

 

(Joint post by Akira and I. Apologies for the delay and the narrative in the post.)

It had taken quite some time for Ausar to answer the various questions Sam had. When he had answered one another presented itself. He was happy to give the lad an education, but wasn’t looking forward to the idea of having to answer the same questions for Sammy. When he had voiced his concern Sam told him that he wouldn’t have to.

“I can feed the information back to Sammy’s subconscious and she will gain the knowledge.”

‘Interesting’ Ausar thought. “How does it work?”

“I don’t really know. Just things she needs to know seem to get through to her… I guess it’s one of my gifts as her protector.”

The conversation went on with Ausar telling Sam more about the world and the work he does in it. Sam had quite a few questions which Ausar was happy enough to answer when after awhile a silence fell between the two.

“How did you do that?” Sam asked indicating the head at Ausar’s feet.

“You did that” Ausar stated as a matter of fact.

“What?.. No not that” Sam said bringing his thumb across his neck indicating a cutting motion. “I mean the..” he didn’t finish the sentence instead moving his one had in a number of ways mimicking the sign Ausar had used.

“I know what you meant” Ausar said with the hint of a smile. Ausar let a silence fall as he watched the young man. ‘Impressive that he could mimic the sign after only seeing it once’ he thought to himself.

“Surely you know what it is. You cast one on me when we first met”

“I know, but how do you do that one?”

“Where did you learn that first one?” Ausar asked

“It was used on us in the prison.”

“Where was this prison?”

“You still haven’t answered my question, how do you do that?” Sam said indicating the head again.

“I’ve answered many of your questions. I reckon it’s only fair that you answer a few in return.”

“Will you show me how it is done if I answer your questions?”

Ausar hesitated a moment. “I wouldn’t.”

“Why?” Sam asked confused. Ausar had been forthcoming so far. “Why is that different? You’ve answered my other questions.”

“I only teach my apprentices” Ausar replied after a few moments.

Sam stood and walked out of their campsite into the road looking up to the sky. Seemingly satisfied he came back towards Ausar and seemed to take interest in the moss growing on the bark of a tree. After a while he resumed his position. “It’s that way” he said pointing into an apparently indifferent direction.

“What does it take to become an apprentice?”

Ausar examined the young man for a moment.

“You would need me to want you as an apprentice”

“Oh… Ok. I need to sleep for Sammy’s sake” Sam said as he moved about tying off his cloak to the lower branches of a tree. “Will you still be here when we wake?” He thought climbing into his makeshift hammock.

Ausar said nothing as the young man made and climbed into his hammock. He knew he wouldn’t sleep that night. Even if he had wanted to, it had been a strange couple of days. What he thought would be a simple witch hunt ended with him fighting the wrong target. He was then blasted by a magic so strong that it had cracked his sword. Following that he met a young man who was efficiently killing a group of men. Then there were those men, who had been augmented. But not in the same way he had been. Then he was hit with another magic blast that shattered his sword.

The young man had asked a great many questions, Ausar unfortunately hadn’t managed to get any real information regarding who he or Sammy really were or where they came from except that it was somewhere north east of where they currently were. ‘Hopefully she will have some answers for me’ he thought as he looked up at the sleeping body.

The night had passed without incident. Near sunrise Sammy had become restless moving around a lot in her sleep when she suddenly woke with a start. Ausar gave her a moment to collect herself before asking if she was ok. Sammy jumped a little at his voice but quickly remembered the previous day’s events. Climbing down from her hammock she moved to sit beside Ausar by the remains of the camp fire. The two sat in silence as Ausar took some supplies from his pack to prepare a modest breakfast for the two. As he was preparing the meal he noticed that Sammy was slowing moving closer to him. Not bringing attention to it she ended up brushing his arm with hers, and seeming to have sated her curiosity sat with a smile on her face as he handed her, her plate. The two cleaned up their camp and moved towards the village. They didn’t stay in the village long instead passing through and continuing through the woods. Sammy, as Ausar had thought she would asked him a litany of questions, very different from the kind Sam had asked previously. Sammy seemed to take a more personal interest in Ausar then Sam had, and while Ausar was vague in some of his answers he didn’t mind the questions.

They arrived to a small clearing that anyone with a hint of magical ability could tell was different than the rest of the forest.

“We are going to meet my witch” Ausar said to Sammy as he reached toward a stacked pile of rocks. He noted the change in demeanour and eye colour as Sam momentarily took control adjusting his daggers so they could be reached easily if needed before relinquishing control back to Sammy.

Ausar channelled his aura through the stones. Both Sammy and Ausar stood waiting for the witch to respond to Ausar’s call.

 

(OOC - My apologies for letting this go so long without working on it. I want to know if everyone is still happy to go ahead with this RP and come to me with where they want to see it go. I had a general idea in my head but I want to involve everyone and see if we can't get this going. Appreciate all the patience.)

*Post by myself, Oath and Akira.


“Morgana” Ausar greeted the witch. “This is Sammy. Can we come in?” He said making his way to the door. He put a hand on Morgana’s shoulder before stepping into the house. The cages of animals started when he entered and Ausar was assaulted by the cries and calls of the creatures.

‘It’s foolish to walk straight into her domain’ Sam thought to himself as Sammy followed Ausar towards the place in the rock the witch had sprouted from.

“Oh wow” Sammy said sticking here arm in and out of what appeared to be solid rock before bunny hopping through with a giggle. She found the sudden change in scenery disoriating. Sam was working hard on not following his instincts to take control; Sammy was the one who Ausar wanted to meet with the witch. Sam took some comfort in the element of surprise he would have if needs be.

‘I have a bad feeling about this’ he thought as he cautiously descried the new environment they found themselves in glad that Sammy's curiosity had them looking in pretty much every direction.

“Make sure not to touch anything” Ausar cautioned his companion. Sending out his aura he searched the house feeling out the different energies of the place. After a few minutes, seemingly satisfied he turned to face Morgana. “As you said, been quite some time. What have you been up to?”

Bold… but risky. He’s lucky he can trust me. A faint smile tugged at Morgana as she felt Ausar’s aura expand. He was strong, but Morgana knew the move would leave him open to attacks. She had no reason to. But she always found it amusing when he tried to search her home. It meant he didn’t trust her, but he also did or he wouldn’t leave himself open around her in order to search in the first place. Or maybe she was giving him too much credit and he really didn’t know she could sense him spying, or that she could take advantage. Whatever it was, Morgana was charmed by the nostalgia. To silence the yipping of her pets, Morgana waved a hand toward the cages. In a puff of dark heavy smoke they disappeared. “Pardon my pets. They get nervous around strangers.” she smiled, moving around the table to get back to whatever concoction of unusual ingredients she was working on. She set to work crushing dark roots with a knife “Now, let’s not pretend you’re interested in what I’ve been doing. We’re both more interested in what you think I can do for you.”

Ausar watched the witch a moment. He liked her. The way she carried herself with the quiet confidence, how she dismissed his questions so casually, reminded him of a time Enhanced and Witches truly worked together. He let himself relax. No need to sour their relationship with unsupported suspicions. He let a smile play at the corner of his mouth as he reached inside his coat and pulled out a tied package. He placed it on a clear space on the table and untied it. The hilt and pieces of his broken blade. “There was a bit of an incident, I was hoping you could repair it.”

Morgana studied the fragmented blade, tracing it with her finger. “This was an enhanced weapon, no?” She looked to Ausar. “Must have been one hell of an incident.”

“It is, and two incidents truth be told. I was tracking a witch and she cracked the blade. This one” He nodded to Sammy “Did the rest with a blast of magic.”

“I'm so sorry. I don't know how my pendant came off.” Sammy turned a deep shade of scarlet; her train of thought snapped away by the overwhelming sense of sorrowful shame.

Morgana initially looked surprised by something about Sammy’s response. She observed the two of them for a few moments and chuckled softly. “Accidents happen, child. No sense in being sorry now.” she spoke while she swiftly arranged the sword pieces in their proper order. “I need to test the blade to see if it can be repaired. That will take time.” she spoke more to Ausar than to Sammy before taking the same limestone as before and drawing a pattern around the blade on the surface of the table. There were a few silent moments while the golden haired witch worked. She muttered a series of incantations and commands which brought out different reactions from the sword or hilt. Once she was done with that, she frowned as though unsatisfied with her work and used her sleeve to wipe clean a portion of her pattern and replacing it with other symbols.

Sammy watched in sheer fascination as the witch worked. “You have the most beautiful hair I have ever seen” Sammy said without thinking; struggling to take her eyes from Morgana’s golden curls. When she finally managed to take in more of the women's features her curiosity peaked. ‘I wonder if she would be self conscious if I asked her about her cheek, I wouldn't want to upset her.’

Interrupted temporarily from her work, Morgana paused and looked at Sammy with a puzzled expression. After a moment the curiosity was replaced with a soft smile. The girl was unusual… but somewhat endearing. “Thank you, dear.” she leaned on the table, getting a better look at Sammy. “It is a nice distraction from the eye, is it not?” she chuckled and winked before getting back to her work.

“I hadn't noticed the eye” Sammy blushed and went quite ‘I was so focused on her hair and then her cheek’

Morgana spoke casually as she began crushing dark roots with a knife and putting them into a cauldron. “Sammy is it? How old are you?”

“I… I really don't know.” Sammy blushed with embarrassment. “I was taken when I was 14. But I don't know how long I was in the witch hunters prison before my protective power got me out. It was always dark there...I lost track of time. We have been out for a little over a year”

“We?” Morgana considered the choice of wording as if something dawned on her. ‘Well that explains a lot…’ She recalled the odd sense she had gotten of the girl earlier. It was still not entirely clear, but more at least than before. She shot Ausar a reassuring look before placing the broken bits of his blade into the cauldron as well, keeping the handle alone on the table. “Witch hunters.” She repeated with a hint of empathy “That explains it… if you’re willing I can try to fix the augmentation on your amulet. It might help you avoid future accidents.”

“I would be grateful if you would, thank you” Sammy smiled. ‘You are telling them more than they need to know. I wonder if the pendent will affect me differently when she “augments” it, she doesn't seem like any of the witches in the prison, but there's something, something doesn't feel right with her’ Sam pondered trying to pin down what it was. “Will it stop me being a danger to everyone?” Sammy asked her smile disappearing as a depressive mood took hold as she remembered what happened to her friends she had so desperately wanted to help in the prison.

Morgana let out a sigh “It will help. But you shouldn't rely on it forever. We magic users are always a danger to others and to ourselves. The best thing you can do is find a teacher and learn control.” the feeling of nostalgia returned to Morgana as she spoke those words. It had been quite some time since she had done so. She brushed the feeling off, though, and checked the progress of the melting sword fragments in the cauldron. Satisfied with the progress so far she raised an index finger to Sammy “One moment. I need to concentrate…”

She muttered “Eldrvarí” and the flame beneath the cauldron darkened to a crimson red and rose high enough to encase it up to the rim. Something about the result of the spell didn't go as expected. Again, Morgana looked suspicious. With a wave of her hand from open palm to closed fist, the flame was extinguished. For the moment, her thoughts were brought back to the task of repairing the blade. The smoke that came from the molten blade gave off the same red color. “Curious…” Morgana spoke as the cauldron seemingly tipped aside on its own pouring molten metal hovering slightly over the table in the proper shape. It hissed and squirmed as it continued to take form and cool. But the red was not fading. “...Very curious.” Morgana frowned. “Can you tell me anything about the witch that cracked your blade?” She spoke to Ausar once again not looking up as she got back to drawing a series of symbols on the table surrounding the reforming sword.

“Didn’t get much of a chance to meet her if I’m honest. Hadn’t opened the door before she sent myself and her shattered door flying. When I got up, the house along with whoever was its owner was gone.”

A half smile crept on to Morgana’s face. She couldn't help it. The imagery of Ausar being so caught off guard was funny to her. “She caught you unaware? That's unlike you. She must be quite a talented witch. It's unfortunate you can't tell me more about her.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

A few hours had when Ausar and Sammy stepped out of the portal. “I appreciate the help” Ausar thanked Morgana. “I’ll come by next time I’m in the area to check on the blade” he called back with a slight wave.

“We’re going to stop and pick up a few things” Ausar told Sammy as they left the now empty clearing heading towards the village.

‘She gave me the creeps’ Sam thought as Sammy waved goodbye to the rockface and the clearing where the portal had been.

“Sounds like a plan” Sammy smiled still just enjoying having someone to converse with. “I don't have much to trade, I haven't been around people for a long time.” Sammy was a bit nervous with the thought of being around so many people at once. A sentiment echoed and amplified in Sam.

“It will be fine” Ausar reassured her. “You have nothing to worry about, as a student the school protects and provides for you.”

Sam found it hard to take control. “How will the school react to us? Is it for Sammy to learn or myself or both? I’m scared I won’t be able to protect Sammy as well if people find out more about me, us, everything...”

Ausar took a moment to think before answering. “Well, there are two ways this can go. You can remain hidden while Sammy does her training and then follow wherever she decides to go. Or you can ask her teacher to train you at the same time. The choice is yours to make.”

“Will you give a taste of what might be offered if I did the ‘training’ thing? Sam asked ‘could it help me protect her in a better way?’ “I learn fast.”

“I don’t take apprentices” Ausar stated as matter of fact.

“I don't think I take apprentices either, but could you show me?” Sam asked again not sure why Ausar was avoiding the question.

“It means I don’t train people” Ausar responded with an inward sigh.

‘Just showing me would be training then okay’

“Why?... I just wanted to know if it could help me protect her in in a better way. Do you think it could?”

“It could. You are impressive but you have a lot to learn. And as to why, well. That is an entirely different story. Now let Sammy have control. We are nearing the village.”

Sam relinquished control to Sammy lost in thought.

“Wow It felt it was a much longer journey out there then the trip back” Sammy smiled.

Ausar gave a half smile in response. “Stick close to me. We won’t stay long.”