Fantasy 1x1 Wyosch & AngelicMusician201

[Wyosch]

Spoiler: History/Premise

History/Premise:
The country of Aridona has fallen to the Dark Warlord, an invader from the south. The capital city of Deleant in the region of Priema has been brought to its knees at the hands of the Warlord's familiars. By air, the Wyvers, monstrous archaeopteryx-like creatures breathing black fire, began the attack by breaking down the castle walls and burning the residential areas. The Darklings, humanoid servants of the Warlord, then came in as infantry to invade the castle. The Dark Warlord rebuilt the castle and keep but a dark cloud now hangs over the newly-restored castle ramparts. The majority of the royal family has been removed, with exception of the heir to the throne, who managed to escape.

Time has passed since the fall of the royal family and a rebellion has slowly built up, a rebellion to take back the country from the Dark Warlord. The key to restoring the country and banishing the Warlord is to collect talismans from each of the seven regions and combine them to create a magical light capable of banishing the evil force inhabiting the castle. Priema is a region in the south with temperate forests. The other six regions are Iviant, the south-eastern mountains, Rioule, the eastern coast of the country, Keppa, the north-eastern boreal forest, Seval, the north-western desert, Extan, the Western coast, and Deiret the southwestern moors. The relics are located in the cities of Alacoire in Priema, Viabola in Iviant, Mariatus in Rioule, Jaiya in Keppa, Qalataine in Seval, Genmalla in Extan, and Ulturaine in Deiret and each is guarded by a monster of the Dark Warlord's invention. He will do anything to stay in power and keep the people of Aridona under his thumb.

Only the heir to the throne can utilise the artefact and recover the country. In the past, each region created a talisman with the special magic of the region and in conjunction, the talismans would combine to form an artefact that would create a divine light and cast out the Darkness. For centuries, the country was prosperous and we grew complacent. The artefact was left in the highest tower of the castle but over time was forgotten. At some point in history, the artefact was taken and scattered once again to the different areas of the country. It could have been mere days before the Warlord came or it could have been decades, no one can say.

The rebellion is working to both find the true heir to the Aridona throne as well as to gather a party of talented people to find the seven talismans. A variety of members will be chosen with various strengths such as magic, weapon handling, or even Dragon-based powers.

Spoiler: Magic / Powers

Magic:

The types of magic that can be found in this world are elemental magics, summoning magics, healing magics, cursed magics, miscellaneous spells, both advanced and basic, and sacred beast magics.

Elemental mages have become quite rare, fearing capture and exploitation at the hands of the Warlord. The Warlord covets mages of all elements, especially those with mastery of multiple elements. Elemental mages were once common, those able to control one or two could be found everywhere. Even those able to control three elements could be found easily enough, even if one had to go a town over. The rare breed of mage with mastery of all four natural elements have either been captured, have escaped, or have been killed for resisting the Warlord. Elemental magics are innate and cannot be learned by one without Potential or Affinity. Elemental magics are not inherited by blood but there is a slight increase in likelihood of the child having Affinity if both parents are multi-element mages. Elemental Mages cannot use Cursed magics.

Healing magics are very specialised and are passed down by blood, although there is a very slight chance that and outsider to the bloodline can learn the magic, 1 in 1,000,000. Some healing magics are in the form of regeneration spells and direct application while others come in the form of potion mixing. Families that have mastered healing magics almost always keep their work hidden from prying eyes, despite the fact that the likelihood of one outside the bloodline being able to utilise the magic is very slim. These families also specialise in shielding and hiding magic to protect their secrets. A mage cannot have Elemental and Healing magic as the two in conjunction overload the user and consume life force in exchange for the power. Those who have both the Affinity or Potential and a Healing bloodline can only hone one or the other skill and leave the remaining skill dormant. Any mage who attempts to hone both will die either the day the mage turns 12 years of age or, if older than 12, the instant the mage attempts to use the other type of magic. Cursed magics are also incompatible with those with healing magics.

Cursed magics are magic that has been attained through a pact with a higher power, be them seraphs or demons. These beings create pacts with the users of cursed magics. The details of the pact is that the being will lend the mage their power in exchange for life force. The mage is marked with the symbol of the being with which the pact is made and the symbol grows as it consumes life force. At the same time, as the curse progresses, the mage's power increases. The power of the mage peaks around the time when three quarters of the curse is complete. Upon completion of the curse, the mage will die. Those with a greater Nature, innate power and life force, are able to harness a curse to its full potential, able to support the curse for longer and gain more power from it, taking in more of the curse than those with a smaller Nature.

Magic of the Old Religion is a runic magic that uses written words as a base for its spells. This is passed down through bloodlines but full utilisation of the power requires a series of crests to be engraved on the body. Mages of the Old Religion are unable to use common magic or curses but can use their own spells to amplify the effects of spells of another mage. Overall, the power of this magic is stronger than that of common magic magicians, but the casting time is not instant. Mana is used in order to invoke the spell but if the writing is stopped before the spell is finished, the mana expended will not return.

Summoning magics can be used on any sort of object or creature, excluding sacred beasts or humans. Most mages who specialise in summoning magics either master creature summoning or weaponry and armour summoning as years of study are required to master either type. Creature and armour summoning have completely different methods of summoning despite the fact that they are technically in the same magic family. While theoretically anyone can learn summoning magic, it requires minimal latent ability to perform effectively. Summoning magic is not inherited.

Sacred beast magics can be utilised only by the beasts themselves and their descendants. Unlike Healing magics, these magics cannot be utilised by those outside the bloodline. The purity of the blood in such a mage must be very high in order for the mage to utilise the magic. Dragon magics are fire based and mages do not have Potential or Affinity. If a mage is from a Healing bloodline and a Dragon bloodline, both magics can be utilised by the mage, but this is quite the rarity. Unicorn magics are earth based. Griffin magics are air based. Leviathan magics are water based.

Dragons can create hybrids with mages called Dragors. They are unable to create human-Dragon hybrids. Dragors have wings and tails and are able to access a dragon form for limited periods of time alongside being able to use dragon magic. ½ Dragors have wings and tails but cannot take on dragon forms and are able to use dragon magic. ¼ Dragors only have access to dragon magic. The more the dilute the bloodline, the less powerful the individual. There is a similar pattern among the other hybrids, with the Gryphins (griffin hybrids), Leviaths (leviathan hybrids) and Unicornia (unicorn hybrids).

 

[Cat.Chrestomanci]

The capital city, Deleant, was in chaos, tiny houses with thatch roofs ablaze, citizens screaming in the night, castle walls crumbling in the distance. He wanted to tear his sapphire gaze from the scene before him: the scene of the citadel being overtaken by the Dark Warlord and his servants, the wyverns. The monstrous archaeopteryx - like creatures bathed everything in black flames that soon flared to red blazes. Their blood - curdling screeches signified the coming of despair for the country. He could hear the anguished cries of his sister and grandmother but as much as he wanted to move, he couldn’t, much as he wanted to scream, not a sound would come.

"Wake up," He felt a hand on his shoulder, shaking him. The young boy with platinum blonde hair woke with a start, covered in a cold sweat. It was a recurring nightmare, the memory of that fateful night. He turned to see his sister’s worried aquamarine gaze, pale face framed with platinum blonde hair that reached her waist.

"What are you doing out of bed?" he asked her, pushing himself to a seated position in the small bed.

"I’m feeling better today and Gran said that you hadn’t gotten up yet so I told her I would go and wake you up. I’m just glad to be up and about." She smiled brightly enough to light up the world many times over, despite her sickly complexion. "But what about you? Did you have that dream again?" He nodded slowly. "And Gran’s tincture has not helped at all?" The worry was very apparent in her melodic voice.

"It has helped a little. I have the nightmare less frequently now." He smiled tiredly in reply. "Did Gran already head out to the apothecary to start work?"

"Yes, but she did not leave too long ago. She also left us breakfast and said that you should eat before going out. She instructed me not to give you the list of herbs that she needs until you’ve finished."

"Have you taken your medication yet?" His sapphire gaze was worried.

"Yep."

"Okay. I’ll get going now then." He heaved himself out of bed and pulled on a clean shirt and pants.

After quickly scarfing down his breakfast, he collected the ingredient sheet from his younger sister, and went to the stables behind their house.

"Good morning," he greeted his three horses who had come to meet him at the fence of their expansive yard. "I’m taking Liza out today dears," he informed them before opening the gate for the palomino. He saddled her and hopped up with a strangely feline grace. The other horses looked at him as though they also wanted to get the chance to roam the nearby forests but had accepted his choice.

--

It was afternoon when he had finally gathered everything his Gran wanted. He returned the palomino to the yard before heading over to the apothecary with the sac full of ingredients.

"Good afternoon Gran," he called to his grandmother.

"Good afternoon sleepyhead," she greeted him. "Just put everything in the storeroom on the counter." Just then the bell at the front rang, indicating a customer. "Welcome to Papillon Apothecary," she greeted.

 

[Wyosch]

A red-haired woman, wearing black and brown attire, made her way into the building, limping.
Her pants had a huge hole on the right side, just above knee length, showing a nasty wound that needed to be cared for.
She carried a beautiful sword with her, the tips of some daggers showing behind her belt.

"Thanks.", she mumbled tiredly at the old lady behind the counter, grabbing all the money she had with her out of her pocket, putting it down in front of the woman.
"Give me everything someone would need to take care of a deep flesh wound, of course only as much as my money allows me to buy."

Aella Tempest was a well-known warrior around this territory, known to protect the few people that lived here with everything she had.
She was a rogue, a loner, yet someone often associated with the resistance that was growing bigger and bigger with each passing day.
She had no special powers, no magic, but there was nobody out there who could fight like her. She was unstoppable with her sword, and known for precisely hitting targets with her daggers from a long distance.

Aella had been doing her usual morning routine, riding around the village on her huge Shire, making sure everything was going fine, when she had heard the cries of a damsel in distress.
There were some of the Dark Warlord's servants plundering her entire store, threatening to kill her and her children if she would move.
Luckily for her, Aella didn't like any people to get hurt on her watch.
She had been able to defeat and chase away the handful of servants, but was left with a bloody wound that needed immediate care, and so she had made her way to the village's apothecary.

 

[Cat.Chrestomanci]

The boy's eyes widened to the point that he rather resembled an owl and he froze for a moment as he took in the grizzly image. After a short delay, he dashed out from behind the counter to tend to the injured woman. "Sit down over here please," he gestured to a small wooden stool. As skilled of a healer as he was, he didn't have much of a stomach for seeing injuries, or perhaps it was his heart that couldn't take it. Some told him that he was overly empathetic, annoyingly so.

His hands ghosted over the wound as he analysed what needed to be done. After a moment of taking note of the depth of the injury and the extent of the damage, he began his magic. Something under his sleeve began to glow but all that could be seen was a dull light beneath the thick tan fabric. Although their bloodline had more effective healing magic, it required much more energy to use. He closed his eyes to concentrate better on the task at hand and sensing the damage. He breathed in deeply in preparation for expending a large amount of energy. He kneeled down to get a better angle to heal the injury.

He started repairing the arteries first and then moved on to close the punctures to the veins. This stopped the majority of the bleeding, leaving only the superficial capillaries open. He searched for any bone damage and repaired that as well. The next step was to regenerate the muscle fibres and bring them together. This step was a tad more painful, given that the new tissues was both being formed and being stretched to match the original form. Once the muscles were repaired, he restored he lowest layer of the skin. There was still some blood left, but it was quickly coagulating.

Once he had finished, his face was pale. "That should be it. I treated the most serious parts of your injury and repaired anything that you might need for immediate use. As for the broken skin, you can put a salve on it and that should do the trick just fine." He smiled reassuringly.

 

[Wyosch]

Aella watched the boy with big eyes as he used magic to heal her wound, her eyes widening even more when she saw that her wound was entirely sealed.
"Thank you.", she said, scanning him for a moment. He looked really young. Now she was still young as well, but she believed him to be at least two years younger than her. Probably more.
"Quite impressive of you to already know how to heal such a deep wound.", she mumbled, tying her hair into a ponytail while talking. "Isn't using healing magic extremely energy-consuming? I've seen some experienced healers that weren't able to keep up, and you did. That's really impressive."
She smiled softly, looking around the apothecary for a moment before searching the eyes of the old woman that had welcomed her inside.
"Do you by chance have some old food I could have? I'll even give more money for it.", she asked, her gaze shifting from the old woman to the door before back at the woman. "And perhaps some food for my horse...? A carrot or two?"

Aella had been traveling for quite a while now, getting into fights with the Warlord's servants, trying to protect the people that lived in ruins of broken down cities.
People were scared. There were some that had the courage to try and do something against the evil regime, but most were never heard of again. Others that were brave enough to try and take matters into own hands were people like herself, riding from city to city, looking for people to join the rebellion, maybe even find some clues as to where the long-lost royal might resident.
Sadly, people like her had prices on their heads. Enormous prices. And even though they helped the poor people, there were enough trying to catch the so called 'Rogues' to get the money promised. This however was never the case, but people these days were so desperate that they'd do anything to at least get a penny to be able to buy some food.

"Whose pretty palomino's standing outside?", Aella asked after a while of having flashbacks to past fights, smiling softly. "It really is a beauty. My brother used to have a palomino too. Though an entire different breed, a Shire, like my Striker."

 

[Cat.Chrestomanci]

"I've had a lot of practice," he replied, colour coming to his cheeks. "And our bloodline is much purer than most others, so it isn't as bad to explend this much energy." He smiled meekly. "It isn't much, but we have some stew. unfortunately, we don't have anything like carrots, but your horse can graze in the pastures just a little ways off north of here."

"As for the price," his grandmother began, "You need only pay for anything purchased in the apothecary. Other services are done out of kindness, for what sort of healer would put a price on helping others?" She smiled reassuringly.

"Come with me," he invited, leading the way to the door behind the counter of the apothecary.

There was a small garden behind the apothecary with a winding path through the herbs. Herbs and squat plants lined the cobblestone path. Taller plants stood behind the short ones. A pergola composed of smooth wooden archways stood as the scaffold for winding vines that provided pleasant shade along the path. At the end of the path was the quaint little cottage that housed the three family members. Outside the garden, there was a path that the horses could walk along to get to the cottage without trampling any of the herbs.

 

[Wyosch]

"Thank you for your kindness.", Aella thanked the elderly woman, following the boy as he asked her to follow him.
Once they walked out into the garden, she smiled brightly at the neatly arranged herbs and plants, a soft sparkling appearing in her eyes at the sight of the pretty, little cottage. The scenery reminded her of where she used to live before the Dark Warlord's servants destroyed her entire village, her family dying in the fight.

"It's pretty here.", she mumbled, breathing in the sweet air of nature around. Used to travel mostly through big cities, she loved when she came by a small village once in a while that was still mostly untouched and surrounded by nature.
"Do you live there?", she asked, pointing her head in direction of the cottage. "The woman in the apothecary, is she your family?"

It was rare to see families still living together without being scattered all around. Most were broken, put to jail or even killed.
Being nice to rogues, rebels or anyone with special abilities could get somebody in real danger, so Aella always made sure that she was never followed before going into a store or just somewhere where innocent people would resident.

"Out of experience - watch who you show your magic powers to. Like I said, people like you, at such a young age and already being that experienced are rare, and valuable, especially for the Warlord's army. Make sure that nobody can see you when helping others like you helped me today."

 

[Cat.Chrestomanci]

"I guess we just got lucky," he replied sheepishly. "Yeah, she's my Gran and I have one more family member." They had come to the end of the quaint path and arrived at the cottage. He pushed the wood door open to reveal the kitchen and dining room. It was a tiny place with one large room at the front and two smaller rooms off to the right. One had a closed door and the other had a door that was ajar, through which a small bed could be seen. The kitchen had a counter to work on and next to it was a fireplace with an iron pot dangling above it. On the walls above the counter hung many different cooking utensils. The cabinets below the counter held cookware and pots.

"Thank you for your concern, but we'll be fine. We can get along well enough. I'm not sure how well-versed you are in magic, but healing bloodlines are able to both heal and protect," he replied ambiguously. It was more than sheer dumb-luck that this much of the family was able to stay together and stay out of danger. There was a spell cast on the apothecary and within the house that would prevent those with evil intent from doing harm to anyone else inside. Unfortunately, the price for the spell was the life of his father, but the love shown in the sacrifice made the barrier even more powerful. In addition to the powerful protective spell, they had strong defensive magic.

The closed door creaked open and a pair of curious sapphire eyes peeked out at the two who had just entered. "Who are you?"

 

[Wyosch]

Aella listened to the boy talk with a soft smile while following him all the way over into the cottage.
Immediately when she stepped through the front door she felt at home. The cottage radiated coziness and she felt that it would make anyone feel comfortable if they'd walk inside.

As the woman saw the young girl asking who she was, she slightly tilted her head, frowning for a moment before she replied.
"I'm Aella Tempest. Your... brother, I assume, just fixed my wound and wanted me to follow him here into your pretty cottage. Who are you?"
The girl was quite small in Aella's opinion, and looked rather sick. She wasn't sure if that was just her appearance, but living with a brother with such developed healing abilities wouldn't end up in being that sick that it'd affect one's appearance.

"I mean no harm if you fear that."

 

[Cat.Chrestomanci]

"My name is Isabella." She opened the door a little widdder to reveal that she was wearing a light blue dress with long sleeves that fluted at the elbow that hung loose on her thin frame. "And yes, Jacob is my brother." She looked Aella up and down, seeming to read the woman's facial expression. "It's because I have a type of poisoning that cannot be cleansed or healed easily. It's no fault of theirs," she replied the the glance. Perhaps it was because she had gotten the questions so often that she could recognise it just in a look. It was mostly because of the state of her health that she did not like going out in public. She hated the pitying glances strangers gave her for her fragile constitution. "I'm not afraid of you or anyone that comes into this house. No danger would be let into this place." She grinned.

"Now that you're out here, did you want to help out?" Jacob asked. Her eyes lit up and she all but bound over to the pot hanging over the fireplace. She closed her eyes, whispered something under her breath wtih her left palm facing the wood in the hearth. The next moment, there was a small flame that began consuming the wood.

"And now all we have to do is wait for the stew to heat up." She beamed.

 

[Wyosch]

Aella listened to Isabella talk, wondering how the girl had been able to guess her thoughts, but then again knowing that she had quite a thing for showing expressions.
She didn't pity the girl, how harsh that may sound. Used to seeing death and sickness, there wasn't lots that moved Aella to the point that she felt bad for people. She saw children, orphans mostly, that had lost limbs or senses. Life was like that around here, and it would stay like that until the Warlord would somehow... disappear. And until the rebellion would grow big and strong enough for that to happen, life would stay as miserable as it was.

She watched the girl mumble something under her breath, a flame appearing out of nowhere as she had finished.
Seeing people use their abilities really made her wish she had some too. Born in a family that was extremely experienced in elemental magics, it was to everybody's surprise when Aella never showed any signs of having powers herself. Perhaps that was good, else she would have probably been long dead like the rest of her family, all taken away and murdered by the Dark Warlord himself.

"Thank you for your hospitality.", Aella said, smiling softly at the siblings. "It's rare to see people as open as your family."

 

[Cat.Chrestomanci]

"In these trying times in which compassion seems to have died, there must be a source of light; be it pinpricks of light like the stars in the sky, a large moon hanging with the clouds, or a sun sitting above, is what my Gran always says," Isabella replied simply with a reassuring smile. "As sentimental beings, should we not help one another?" As idealistic as the words sounded, she knew very well about the true status of the country. Apathy was bred from fear. Neighbours sold out one another in order to survive; but even this was not enough. As much of an empathetic people humans were, sometimes the fear of mortality drove them to commit cruelties of an unprecedented magnitude.

The stew was finished in no time at all it seemed and Jacob ladled some into a bowl before setting it on the table with a spoon. "As a healer, it is your duty to help others. Not only is it the basis of the magic itself, but it is also the sentiment that provides it with so much power." A little colour rose to Jacob's cheeks. He wasn't as poetic or well-read as his sister and saying such poetic and sentimental things as this embarrassed him, as he didn't encounter such lines in his daily life.

 

[Wyosch]

"True true. Sadly many people don't know what empathy and kindness is anymore these days.", Aella replied to Isabella, smiling sadly.
She herself wasn't one to feel empathy or pity for other humans, but she was someone to help whenever and wherever she could.
"As a rogue it's one's duty to stand up for those who can't and to fight against those with evil intentions.", she explained. "That's what brought me here."

Aella sniffed the air, contently closing her eyes when the scent of the stew filled her nose.
"It smells amazing."
She couldn't remember when she had last had a proper meal, so she couldn't wait to taste the delicious-smelling stew.
"Can't I do something to thank you for all this? You've already healed my wound for free, and given my horse permission to graze on your property, and now give me food too."

 

[Cat.Chrestomanci]

"It's fine. We're much better off than many others. This is the least we can do, given that we are powerless otherwise." There were three hard knocks on the door. Jacob went to answer it.

Standing before him was a tall young man with dark hair and an even darker expression. "I know you don't want to hear it about the rebellion from me, about joining and whatnot, but there's been a development, so please hear me out," he began before realising that there was a stranger in their midst. He froze, narrowed eyes looking her up and down. He knew that Jacob wouldn't let just anyone into the house, especially with his grandmother's power of premonition, but he was an overly cautious person by nature, with few exceptions.

 

[Wyosch]

Aella watched Jacob walk over to the door, raising an eyebrow at the foreign man that started talking about the rebellion to the boy.
She had heard about the rebellion before. A group of people that had gathered to take down the Dark Warlord. The group was growing lots, but she'd heard that they apparently were still too weak to take on the Dark Warlord's army.

She greeted the stranger with a nod, her hand automatically shifting a little towards the tip of her sword in case the stranger would attack her.
One could never be too cautious, and especially out of her own experience everyone could turn on everyone, even on closest relatives and friends.

"Aella Tempest. Nice to meet you."

 

[Cat.Chrestomanci]

"Damian," he replied curtly, acknowledging the woman before turning back to Jacob. "Just come to the meeting tonight and you'll know what I'm talking about." He turned on his heel and walked out of the cottage as quickly as he had come. Jacob sighed in response. Damian had really changed since the rebellion had begun gathering support. Jacob hardly ever recognised his childhood friend.

"Don't mind him," Jacob said, smiling meekly. "He means well but sometimes he can come off a little brusque. A lot has happened, as you already know. Everything is in chaos." He looked down at his hands sadly. "If you're not affiliated with the Dark Warlord, you can go to the meeting tonight."

 

[Wyosch]

Aella watched the man walk off, her eyebrows raised. That had been a weirdly odd and short encounter.
Upon Jacob telling her that Damian could be a bit brusque, she just nodded, tilting her head when he mentioned the meeting.

"A meeting of the rebellion?", she repeated, raising an eyebrow.
She wasn't affiliated with the Dark Warlord, that was for sure, but was she really someone who could work with other people after being used to working alone?
"Sounds interesting. When exactly and where is this meeting?"

 

[Cat.Chrestomanci]

"They're meeting at the two moons tavern at dusk," he replied. "I heard that they got their hands on something quite important. It was a book of myths and legends of Aridonna. I don't know any details past that. As a civilian, I shouldn't even know that much." His smile had tinges of sadness and regret in them. "Apparently the rebellion is going to make a move soon." Damian always said that Jacob was much too naive, which was why he was hesitant to tell the boy anything at all that might need to be kept secret. "I've got to get back to the apothecary now, but you can take your time here and rest a bit."

 

[Wyosch]

Aella lifted her eyebrows at everything Jacob just told her, especially when he mentioned the rebellion having found a book about all of Aridonna's myths and legends. Wasn't that book supposedly lost?
She had never thought of joining the rebellion, basically just because she preferred to work on her own instead of with other people. Maybe it was time for some changes, especially now that the rebellion wants to make a move soon. They'll need everyone they can get.

"Alright.", she replied as the boy mentioned having to leave back to the apothecary. "Thanks again for the help and food. Will you thank your grandmother for me, too, please?"

 

[Cat.Chrestomanci]

That evening seemed no different than any other. The sun was just dipping down below the horizon and the colour from the sky faded as day transitioned into dusk. The two moons tavern was bustling with patrons and it seemed as though more people entered than was physically possible for the place to hold. Chattering voices could be heard from the walls, as though there were an assembly on the other side, which could not have been physically possible given that on the other side of the wall was the neighbouring store. With careful observation, one would notice the people seemingly disappearing into the tapestry on the wall. After a careful incantation, the tapestry suddenly became passable and could be used like a doorway.

The platinum blonde heads of Jacob and Isabella were visible for a moment before they disappeared into the tapestry. They had just informed the guard of their guest's presence and he would be able to recognise her when she requested entry to the meeting.

 

[Wyosch]

Aella brought her horse to a stop in front of the Two Moons tavern, jumping off of the stallion and telling him not to go anywhere before she entered.
There were incredibly many people in here, most drunk middle-aged men that used alcohol to escape their miserable lives, but there was no sign of Jacob or Isabella anywhere.
Perhaps she was just early?

She shrugged it off as her just being a tad too early and decided to wait for them at the bar.
"A beer, please.", she told the barista, looking around the room to seek people that could look like rebels, but there were none that fitted the usual description of rebellion fighters.

 

[Cat.Chrestomanci]

A familiar brooding, dark-haired boy strode into the tavern with a mix of confidence and an impatience of sorts. He glanced over at the bar and scoffed with a "tch". Jacob was too innocent for his own good but it was too late for the words to be taken back. Damian approached the tapestry and drummed the wall just to the right of the hanging cloth with long fingers. After a pause, the tapestry became translucent for what seemed to be the time it would take to blink and in that time, Damian disappeared into the dark corridor beyond. Torchlight could barely be made out in the corridor on the other side of the tapestry.