Fantasy RPG Forum - Standing Trials

Twice in one trial, the mage had been taken from what he was doing and brought somewhere unfamiliar. Any other trial it would have been a shocking and befuddling experience but Balthazar was getting used to be whisked away by powerful beings. Would it hurt one of them to at least get him a meal first next time? While he had been fighting in the Decked Hall's the first time he was whisked away that trial, he had been at his home talking with Nimue and Fuego the second time. They were debating what course of action he should take now that he'd returned to Scalvoris. He was there, he could serve the Elements again, and part of him wanted to... but part of him thought it was time to move on. Maybe it was the Rupturing spark in him, pushing his urge to travel. Maybe it was his Defiance spark, pushing his urge to burn the wicked across the world. He doubted it was his Attunement spark. That one seemed content to let him do what he wanted so long as he attuned to things. His transmutation spark... well that one was too young for him to think it had any real say in his decision making.

Nimue supported the idea of leaving. Fuego did not. How could Fuego support it? The diri was of Faldrass. It had been bound to Balthazar so that he could protect Scalvoris and serving in the Elements seemed to be the most clear path to doing that... but seeing the factions in Rharne had begun to convince Balthazar otherwise. When it came down to it there were more people helping to stop the Flameborn in Rharne than there were Lightning Knights. When Balthazar went to relief efforts for the eruption, he saw the same types of people helping out- without badges.

Perhaps, just maybe, he could find a way to unite these people. The Order did good work for those in need of healing but what about those in need of protection? He was no healer. He could not lead healers. He was a warrior and would lead warriors. He was bound by an oath that convinced him he had the means to know right from wrong... but none of the conversation he was having with Nimue and Fuego mattered in light of what had just happened to him.

He was sitting at a table in a rather cozy restaurant with an old friend across the table from him. Woe? Balthazar's eyes lit up at the sight of the companion he hadn't seen since the war in Quacia. Balthazar had heard troubling things about Woe but a sense of relief washed over him as he saw his old friend sitting beside him. Friend. In some ways Balthazar thought of Woe more as a rival. It was hard to consider someone who gained joy by putting you in pain a friend but something about the pain Woe put him through the pain was incredibly educational.

"Saoire, good to see you again." Balthazar said in a somewhat passive tone after the mysterious woman made a similar introduction to the one she had earlier that trial. The small figure that accompanied her was different that the one from before, prompting a strange look from the mage. He didn't know why he thought her having a new friend was strange in light of the fact that the entire setting of this meeting was different, but he did. "Hello, Barlay." Balthazar thought about attuning to the strange creature, thinking it different than the last, but he decided not to. Woe deserved more focus than he'd given the man who he gave his gift too.

But then he turned his attention to Woe, the man deserving of it the most. He listened to his friend's greeting and smirked slightly. The sword had been one of the greatest gifts he'd ever been given. The metal was invaluable to his new magic and the opportunity to learn to wield a sword had made him much more effective in battle against the monsters he faced. Yet it had been more of a payment than a gift. Woe called him Bombeiro and Balthazar's brow arched curiously for a trill before Woe explained what was going on in Quacia. A play about the assault? "A play? Have you seen it? Are you going to?" He seemed more interested in this than he should have because the last play he had seen had been surprisingly pleasant. However his questions had a little purpose behind them. If he knew when Woe was going to see the play, he would know when to project his senses to Woe's location to watch the play. Bombeiro. He liked it. He hadn't really used a bomb, but he still liked it. "If that is the case, maybe I'll have to visit again." Balthazar said in regards to the news about practically being a celebrity there. He felt like, at the end of the trial, he could have done more for Quacia as well if he had not been bound to Scalvoris. If he was free to travel at his whim, he would be able to help in so many more places.

Then came the introduction of the gift. Woe said what Balthazar had thought and the mage instinctively looked to his hip where his sword would normally have been resting but he did not have it on him when he was taken. He really liked that sword. Belated payment seemed unnecessary given his fondness for the blade but Balthazar took the envelope in hand all the same. As he began to open the letter, his Attunement spark reached out and soothed his Rupturing spark. The etheric cracks over his eyes and hands began to fade until there was nothing but a glow like that from a candlelight emanating from his eyes. No point in a letter if he could not read it. As his glowing eyes moved down the paper, they seemed to grow wider and wider in a sort of shock that Balthazar had not felt for a long time. It was more than surprise. This was... this was something he didn't expect Woe to know he'd wanted.

He did not speak much of Xanax. He did not speak much of his youth. He did not like to. However he could not deny that his past had influenced the man he became. Xanax had a laboratory like this in his home. Above ground, not nearly as nice, but similar. A lot of thoughts rushed thought his head. This was too much. He felt bad to think what it must have cost his friend. He felt bad that he had nothing to give Woe in return. If he had been wearing any weapon, aside from the sword, he would have given it to Woe. In Yaralon that meant more than what Balthazar was thinking but he felt he owed Woe something. A visit at least. Shock settled into surprise, surprise into a smile, and then the mage looked from the letter to the mortalborn.

"Thank you, really. This is..." And he'd run out of words to say. "I will put this to good use. When I have, I'll bring you something to repay you for this."

Ah Breen! It was good to see the spirit still accompanied Woe but Breen's arrival didn't seem to prompt any response from Fuego who was sitting beneath Balthazar's chair watching Woe's feet. There was sadness to be sapped from the mage but it was not at the forefront of his mind, especially not now that he was receiving a gift. All the same when the hound came to him and pawed at his lap, Balthazar gave it a pat on the side and a short rub on the head. He didn't say anything to the spirit though, he just pet it and kept his attention on Woe who deserved it most. Woe spoke of the play about them and Balthazar listened closely. He never thought himself the prideful type but he certainly was. He took pride in his successes and so his failures hurt all the more.

He thought about what Woe said- trying to catch the show himself, but he did not think he would have the time with everything else going on. He was due to begin a long journey back to Scalvoris through a dangerous land. He would have to train Elisabeth in Defiance. He would have to settle his affairs with the Elements, one way or another. He would have to get Yeva back to Faldrass, clean a house that Isabella likely did not take good care of, and now find a place to build a lab. He wanted to see the play but he did not know if he would have the time to do it. He would have to find a way to get one of the scripts. That would be enough.

"You're going on a date?" There was some surprise in Balthazar's voice but he quickly dismissed the question much like Woe had dismissed his question about where the lair would be constructed. Balthazar had some ideas. He liked Rharne. He like Scalvoris. He liked Yaralaon. Yet all three of those places had the same problem. Bad thing seemed to happen frequently. So he needed somewhere secluded, somewhere secure. Based on the letter, he would have a space to prepare dreamwalking rituals so he would have the ability to make an access point into and out of the Untold. He needed to start leaving brands on more objects and less people. He needed to think more with his brain and less with his heart. Items. Items could be moved if he changed his mind, a brand on a place could not.

The mortalborn began to make his departure by presenting Balthazar with another gift, a scroll and a way to stay in touch. He was familiar with the echo scrolls by now because of the one Victor had given him to keep in contact. Balthazar took the wooden case into his hands and opened it to look at the scroll before closing it and setting it on the table with the letter. "Thank you again. I'll make sure to keep in contact. If you ever need anything from me, write to me and I will come." It was the least he could do. However with Woe's departure, Balthazar had no reason to remain other than to speak with the creature who had joined them for a little while longer. So Balthazar eventually asked to be returned as well.