Fantasy Danger and deceit (Completed)

[Cartoonicat]

Louisa blinked almost stupidly at the half-orc girl, initially thrown off by her appearance. And then the girl's voice pulled Louisa back to the present. "Oh, um... thank you kindly," Louisa said. For some reason, she felt warmer under this one half-orc's gaze than the entire bar of men who'd called out to her. Louisa couldn't decide if that was a good or bad thing - Alden had warned her not to trust anyone in Myrr, no matter how safe they made her feel - so she just smiled. A default reaction. Following the serving girl's eyes, Louisa looked to the far end and saw Logan.

She bit at her bottom lip. Suddenly, finding Logan seemed like a very bad idea. How in the world was she supposed to reason with an angry drunk? Louisa considered whether or not she should just bolt out of the bar altogether. Perhaps she could find another contact, someone who she could speak easier with. Someone who didn't look on the verge of a rampage.

But the half-orc girl! She'd been so nice to Louisa, so amicable. Logan would surely be her problem if Louisa gave up her charade and left, though she doubted the half-orc couldn't handle herself. Louisa glanced at her; she seemed fierce enough. Still, the half-orc was only one individual and she had an entire bar of patrons to keep in line. Louisa kind of pitied her.

"Ah, something like that," Louisa said. Every fiber of her body screamed that she was making a mistake, but Louisa had made up her mind. Best not back out now, lest she look a fool in front of the serving girl. "I'll take care of it. Thank you again." Louisa dipped her head before heading towards Logan's table.

 

[ArcticFox]

When she approached the table where the men sat and he slowly raised his gaze toward her, she realized that he was much younger than she looked at first. Probably around her age, with gloomy golden eyes and generally a very unfriendly air around him.

"Who the hell are you?" He offered instead of a greeting, not bothering to stand up or really do anything proper. Well, propriety wasn't something that one should look for in Myrr's lower docks.

If Louisa wanted to find out something about this man, she should approach carefully. He was a complete stranger and agitated to top it all. He looked neat, clean shaven and strangely well dressed. Not smelly at all, like the rest of them in the inn were. He certainly did not look like a dock worker or one of the merchant's aides. The mug of bear that he overturned before was still on the floor, the warm liquid out of it making the floorboards sticky under Louisa's boots.

- Tell the truth.
- Make something up.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Louisa scrunched her nose at the sticky floor beneath her, shifting her feet but unable to rid her soles from the substance. It seemed no matter where she stood, The Mermaid was still covered in a thin layer of half-dried beer. Filthy. Resigned, Louisa's eyes looked him up and down. Logan didn't look like the others; he wasn't dirty and wore nice clothes. It was a little jarring, honestly, for she'd expected Logan to look as washed out as the other men in the bar. And, if she had to admit it, Louisa also thought his hair was nice. Kind of like Ka'ron's, but smoother and not as long. Funny how she only thought of the blue-eyed man's hair so late after the fact. That said, perhaps Logan would be reasonable. She certainly felt more comfortable talking to him, even if he was in a foul mood.

No, she warned herself, he's been drinking. He killed a sea-snake. Louisa gulped. That sea-snake could be me.

"Louisa Marie De Rosa," she said honestly, schooling her features into neutrality. No point in lying about her identity - there was always something to lose when it came to fabricating stories and she'd already started weaving one back with Ka'ron. Any more and things could get complicated. "And you're Logan, the one who killed the sea-snake this morning. Correct?"

 

[ArcticFox]

"Why the hell would you care?" Logan's scowl only got deeper and his tone more irritated. "I don't know you. I've never seen you before in my life." He abruptly stopped and then without any warning lurched up from the chair, knocking it down in the process, almost tipping the table over too. It rocked on its three flimsy legs and then finally came down to a stop. Most of the the people in the common room of the inn were looking their way now. They were making quite a scene.

"Did that sleazy fat bastard send you after me?" Logan hissed, taking a step closer to Louisa. "You can go to him and tell him that no money he has would ever be able to get me back into his service. You know, better yet, tell him to f-" He was cut off by an object that slammed into the side of his head, making him jolt in confusion and look in the direction from which it came from.
"I swear to all gods, if you don't stopping yelling at that sweet girl this instant, I will strangle you with your own guts!" That original threat came from the half-orc serving girl, who had been watching them the whole time. A lot of the patrons of the inn were now laughing. Logan's face was bright red from anger and embarrassment and it looked like he might burst at any moment.

- Take serving girl's side.
- Take Logan's side and explain.

 

[Cartoonicat]

"I- Wait, no, I-" Louisa had tried to explain but Logan didn't appear to be listening. Fear sprouted in her gut. This really had been a bad idea, hadn't it? Mother tried to prepare her for anything, but they'd actively avoided places like Myrr. ("There's no bargaining with the sleazy and the low-life, Louisa. You'll always walk away with less than what you came with.") Louisa's eyes widened when Logan jumped to his feet. She took two quick, sticky steps back.

Smack! Louisa covered her mouth with her hand; the serving girl had come to her rescue! She appreciated it, but that wasn't what Louisa had intended. She'd wanted to try and keep Logan calm, to get her information and get out without him causing more work for the half-orc. By going up to Logan, she'd certainly made a mess of things, though, hadn't she? With the serving girl standing there, Louisa felt more confident.

"Thank you," Louisa smiled at the serving girl, "but this was my fault. I think there has been a misunderstanding." She looked at Logan for the last bit, eyes narrowing. Sweet and gentle was getting her nowhere with this guy. Now, Louisa wasn't sure if he was always this angry, but if he was he certainly reminded her of her real uncle. That guy had been a pain - and, inadvertently, an excellent teacher. (She learned to avoid him, mostly, but also how to handle him on the off-chance they had to interact.) "I am not with your employer," she steeled her voice, "so please sit down and let me speak." Her politeness was one thing that would probably always stick, though - please, thank you's, and excuse me's had been ingrained into her at a very young age.

 

[ArcticFox]

"Yes, sit down and let someone else talk. It will be the first time in your life." The half-orc said with her arms crossed and brows furrowed. To their surprise Logan did obey. Either he knew the serving girl well or he had steamed off already, either way he was now calm. He raised the chair up and sat on it. The girl picked up the mug off the floor and gave an angry order to the rest of the tavern. "Get your noses back into your drinks! Nothing to see here." Her authority was spotless. Every drunkard and criminal in the tavern returned to their own business.

"What did you want?" Logan asked, exhaling slowly and bringing up one hand through his hair. "Talk fast, I really should be out of here."

- Ask about the snake.
- Ask about his job.
- Ask something else.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Louisa subtly released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. A stern tone of voice was rarely her go-to and she often thought it didn't look good on her. She glanced at the serving girl; it did, however, look good on her. Louisa took a second to admire the way the she commandeered everyone back to their own drinks. Admired how they listened.

And then she turned her eyes towards Logan. There was no other chair - at least, not from what she could see - but that didn't bother her. The taller she stood in comparison to him, even if he was sitting, was a beneficial power-play. He had no known reason to help her with Upper Myrr or the Trinity, so she took the second route: "I'm looking for information," she said simply, "specifically on your employer - pardon, former employer. He's paranoid, but I'm sure you know at least a few secrets."

 

[ArcticFox]

"I don't deal in secrets, woman." Logan said with a disgusted grimace twisting his face. "I don't know why you sought me out and I don't know who sent you here, but you are wrong if you think you will find out any gossip."

He was on his feet now, ready to move again, when he abruptly stopped, his golden eyes seeking out Louisa's darker ones.

"I'll tell you what. If you are so eager to find something out, we can make a deal. I have one small thing to take care of right now. Help me out with that and I'll trade you whatever information about the fat douche bag that you require. Or anything else you want to know, really." He shrugged. "So, what do you say?"

- Accept.
- Decline.
- Ask about details.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Louisa frowned, having taken offense. Having a large reservoir of secrets was more powerful than any fully-stocked arsenal and that was a notion she lived her life by. But, then again, she was dealing with someone who probably relied on physical strength to get the job done (you couldn't talk a sea-snake to death, after all.) Louisa resisted the urge to say as much when he next spoke.

One small thing in exchange for all the knowledge about Myrr Logan had on him? Finally, things were starting to look up. Her mother's warning tone reminded her to be careful, cautious. Things are not always as they appear. "While I am inclined to accept," Louisa said, "I'd like to know about the details first."

 

[ArcticFox]

Logan snorted. "If I told you now you would never accept it. It is a small thing to me, but a dangerous one to you." He extended his hand toward her for shaking, that frown never actually leaving his face. "Risk it or don't, it's as simple as that."

He was very blatant about it, not hiding the fact that Louisa might get into a dangerous situation. Then again for now this was her best chance. Midday had passed already and she did not really get anywhere with her quest for today. The contact she was supposed to find was nowhere to be found and when she thought about it, it was high time that she had a meal. She did not eat her breakfast that morning.

- Accept.
- Don't.

 

[Cartoonicat]

She did not hide her bemusement as she looked at his outstretched hand. Absently, Louisa wondered if it was sticky, like the floor. Her eyes trailed back up, meeting his, and she knitted her brows in contemplation.

Whispered warnings from her mother flitted through her mind ("Never sign a contract that you have not read to comprehension. It's a fools trap, always!") and nudged her towards declining. But Louisa knew she was out of options. Night would soon fall over Myrr and she'd made little to no progress at all. She'd never been one for taking risks and this seemed to be quite a great one. What was it that Father once told her? About fear? (Don't be scared to try something knew, Louisa. Caution is your ally, but fear your most powerful foe.)

Her father was right: she'd never get anywhere in her mission if she continued on like a scared little girl. Begrudgingly, Louisa threw her hand out and shook Logan's.

"We have a deal. Tell me what I must do."

 

[ArcticFox]

Instead of explaining what should be done, Logan grabbed her wrist and dragged her out of the tavern. He did not offer a word of explanation, pulling her with him until they exited to the streets of the docks and then through them made their way into some very dubious looking dark alleys. Here Logan stopped and let go of Louisa so he could fumble through his pockets in search of something. After a couple of moments he finally pulled out a small bronze key and unlocked the wooden doors on one side of the alley. He walked inside gesturing for her to follow.

The room they entered was spacious, with wooden floors and high ceiling with exposed beams. There were crates strewn about on all sides of the room, and large woven sacks overflowing with various trinkets. There was a shelf on the far end of the room which Logan approached and pulled out a leather bound heavy book. He flipped through the pages for a couple of moments, before stopping on one and reading the contents, muttering something to himself. Finally he turned around to face Louisa, speaking.

"In case you did not figure it out by now, I'm a mage. I certainly did not wrestle that sea-snake to death. My specialisation is force magic, but I dabble in various experiments." His eyes had a strange glint when he continued speaking. "I need a... volunteer for this experiment. Please stand there, in the centre of the room."

- Obey.
- Refuse.
- Ask about the experiment.

 

[Cartoonicat]

"What-?" Louisa had originally flinched away from him when he'd grabbed her. Then, she'd quickly realized he'd only intended to lead her. Well, I'm perfectly capable of following on my own, she thought. Yet, Louisa let him guide her, his fingers curled around her wrist. Perhaps it was because, up close, he didn't seem to possess the physical strength she had initially assumed. Louisa figured she'd be able to successfully employ some of her father's self defense techniques if need be. That thought alone was reassurance enough for her to follow along, all the way to the door he'd taken her to.

Once inside, Louisa looked around. It was spacious but cluttered and a little run down. Not a place she'd usually find herself in - then again, that was also Myrr itself. Still, Louisa was curious about all of the trinkets.

"A mage?" She echoed. That made sense, then. He hadn't looked like the strongman who'd helped transport the creature's body. That, Louisa could appreciate. Logan was intimidating for his anger and she was still learning how to communicate with him, but it was a nice thought that he probably couldn't physically overpower her. Even if he could, Louisa silently reveled in the fact that he didn't look it. Though when it came to magic, Logan would always have the upper hand in comparison to her. She chewed her bottom lip.

Louisa looked to the center of the room. She had been expecting something more hands-on on her part. If she was simply a test subject, her well being was completely in Logan's hands. Louisa didn't much like having no control over the outcome. "Can I trust that it's not going to kill or disfigure me?" She asked, figuring that if she were to inquire too much, Logan might skirt the question again.

 

[ArcticFox]

"No." Logan shook his head, eyes kept on the book. Then he looked up, looking more through her than at her. "Well, actually..." His voice trailed off. "No, never mind."

It was not much of a reassurance really. Mages were odd creatures at best, dangerous at worst. They could master one ability or the other, but magical world was always too fickle, they could never learn to fully expect every outcome. Surprises were frequent when one dabbled in magic and so was getting hurt. If Logan knew much about the magical world, he did not try showing it. Instead he simply continued reading the page, one finger trailing over the text. When he realised that Louisa still stood there expectantly, he raised his gaze toward her.

"Look, I've been studying this for most of my life. As a force mage I can manipulate the objects around me without touching them. That's all well and good, but I was never satisfied. You've heard about the magical plane, right? The universe parallel to ours, from where the mages draw their powers? Well, I've found a way to open a gate between these two planes, it is not much different than manipulating the objects in this world really, and I need you to test it out. Just go through it, be in there for a moment and then I'll bring you back. As long as you don't tamper with ANYTHING in the plane, you should be alright."

- Do it.
- Don't do it.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Louisa's eyes darted between him and the center of the room. She wasn't loving this idea but, if she had to be honest, Louisa was pretty curious as to what was on the other side. That and she needed information - badly. He seemed less threatening here in his element, yet no less competent. Could she trust him, his abilities, his knowledge of the magical world? Probably not, she stepped towards the center, but I owe it to Alden and the Order. Reminded of her duty, Louisa stopped and stood in the center of the room.

"Understood." And then, she shut her eyes tight.

 

[ArcticFox]

As soon as she agreed to it, Logan began his incantations, reading some from the book and improvising on the others. The air around Louisa shifted. It suddenly became very hot and then freezing cold. A humming noise filled her ears as the air around her seemed to tear and she saw a passage open right in front of her. She did not move forward. She did not need to. Instead the tear moved at her, swallowing her without any warning.

--

When she opened her eyes it was clear that she was not in that storage room. She stood on a field of purple grass, with strange spiral trees reaching high into the air all around her. Everything was eerily silent. The air she breathed was warm and it smelled strangely of almonds. When she looked up she could see a grey sky without any clouds, without the sun, but the world around her was alight with odd greyish light that gave the feeling that everything was enveloped in mist.

Suddenly she heard the sound of hooves thundering on the ground. Before she had a chance to turn around she was hit. A large and heavy body collided with her, but thankfully she was not crushed. Instead, the shape pushed her aside, flinging her to the ground and the hooves thudded past, the sound disappearing into silence.

"What the hell did you do!?" Came Logan's disembodied voice. It seemed to be able to reach her from the human world. He sounded very annoyed when he said. "I told you not to touch anything! The gate is gone now!"

- Panic.
- Argue with him.
- Explained what happened.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Louisa kept her eyes closed the entire time, missing completely how the world in front of her became distorted. Perhaps that was for the best, for her confidence in the mission's sake. Tugged, pulled, ripped; the fabric of reality had been broken, revealing the portal. She barely had time to register how cold she'd gotten before it swallowed her whole.

The smell of almonds prompted her to open her eyes. She did so slowly at first, not entirely sure what to expect. When she caught sight of purple grass, however, curiosity got the best of her and she whipped her head around, looking every which way. The trees, the grass, she noted, they look so-... She turned her eyes to the sky, not finding a single cloud or speck of the light blue she was familiar with. While Louisa felt out of her element, as anyone might when thrust into a new world, she couldn't help but find the landscape enchanting.

She turned her eyes toward the sound of hooves, but couldn't glimpse anything before she was thrown to the ground. "Ah!" Louisa caught herself with her hands, the impact sending a sharp jolt to her wrists. When she sat up on her knees and looked around, she saw nothing. No horse, no figure who'd collided with her.

No portal?

Apprehension seized her chest like a constrictor's grasp, squeezing tight. "What do you- I didn't- where is-!" Louisa scrambled to her feet. The sound of her heartbeat thrummed in her ears. "Someone hit me!" She was vaguely aware of how her pitch rose the more she panicked. But what else could she do? She was no mage, trapped in a world where magic was drawn from. She had her short bow beneath her cloak and a dagger in her boot if need be, but Louisa had always been bad at using them against others. The sound of skin being sliced or pierced always dropped a leaden weight in her gut. Just thinking of it made her break into a sweat. "Logan, tell me you can fix this. Please!"

 

[ArcticFox]

"Ugh, shut up! Let me think!" Logan's frustrated voice. He spoke as clearly as if he was next to her, yet she could imagine him sitting on the floorboards of the room and rubbing his temples in concentration. Perhaps flipping the pages of that large book. "Alright. Okay. Ughh, this is going to take so long. I shouldn't have asked you to help, you are clearly useless." He switched between insults and grunts and murmurs, as he searched for the solution. "Well..." Came a sigh. "You need to find something familiar. An object or a plant or a creature, something that looks like it could be from our world. Then I'll be able to make the connection again."

But, she had not time to think about what Logan had told her. The thundering of hooves returned. And it was now multiplied. Shadows danced between the trees and something was approaching again.

"Hide!" Logan yelled. "I can feel it. That thing is bad news. Hide, quickly!"

There were no good places to hide in the area she was in. One of the spiral shaped trees was split down the middle and Louisa could fit inside that crack, but if whatever was coming found her she would not be able to escape. She could run in any direction in order to find a better place, but the sound was fast approaching from the south, and she could not outrun it. She could also stand there and wait for the figure to approach her, but Logan's warnings were foreboding.

- Hide.
- Run.
- Stay.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Louisa's bubble of panic was split by his insults. That was it! She'd had enough of his attitude. "Useless? That's rich, coming from-!" Louisa scoffed, ready to offer up a snarky retort when she paused to hear the sound of hooves again. Shadows showed her that whatever it was, was near. And then Logan yelled, warning her to hide.

She needn't be told twice.

Instead of stay or hide, Louisa decided to run. Assuming the shadows belonged to whatever had trapped her in this world, it probably had a rough idea if where it'd left her. She wasn't about to be made a sitting duck. Louisa hoped that by running East she'd give herself enough time to hide before they could find her.

 

[ArcticFox]

The drumming of hooves on the ground had gotten louder and louder... and then it passed. The creature had just run through the same path again and when Louisa turned from the path it did not follow her. She continued running just for good measure nevertheless, passing by the spiraling trees and leaving footprints in the strange colored grass.

There was a clearing in front of her, where the trees turned scarce and where she was forced to stop because there was a wall in front, blocking her path. It was twice as tall as her and it was white as fresh snow. Beside that it looked just like a regular wall, but it presented a big problem. It stretched to right and left as far as her eyes could see, there was no going around it.

"Where did you run off to!?" Logan's impatient voice. She wasn't sure how much he was able to see, hear or sense, but it seemed like he did not know about her current predicament. "Where are you? What happened? I cannot sense that thing any more, I think it stopped chasing you."

- Tell about the wall.
- Ask about the thing.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Louisa took a moment to catch her breath before looking over her shoulder. Thankfully, she hadn't been followed. She sighed, though felt little relief. If anything, she was even more annoyed now than before. Why had she agreed to come here?

Right, Alden. Information.

As Logan asked question after question, Louisa turned her eyes to the wall. His voice, the situation, was grating on her nerves. She frowned. Her eyebrows knitted in frustration. A knot coiled in her stomach, ready to spring.

"Logan," she spoke, sounding steadier than before. There was an dangerous lilt to her tone, though, like a mother trying not to snap at a misbehaving child. "Would you like to tell me what that thing was?" It didn't exactly sound like a question.

 

[ArcticFox]

"It's something that you wouldn't like to catch up to you." Logan sighed resignedly. "I'm not too sure, I've only ever read about them. They are the residents of this plane and they do not like to mix with us. Most of the creatures where you are will be hostile, so be aware."

Well, he did not help much. The wall was still there and Louisa was nowhere near finding something familiar. She would need to either climb over it though it was very tall or try to go around it, but it seemed that the wall was endless.

"What are you doing?" Logan asked again. "Did you find anything useful?"

- Go over.
- Go around.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Louisa let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. There was no use getting mad at Logan for this, not really, but the subtle fact that he wasn't there while she might never leave made the anger stay. A particular locket in one of the bags felt as though it'd burned a hole through the leather and linen, all the way to her skin. The voice of her mother came through, reminding her to watch her temper. To remain in control. (You can't very well think when you're upset. Don't let anyone or anything turn you stupid.)

Mother was right, but it still didn't make her feel any less bitter. She would try her hardest not to snap at Logan, for Louisa needed him now more than ever.

"I found a wall," Louisa finally said, craning her neck to look upwards. It wasn't too much taller than her - maybe twice so. "I don't think I can go around it, so I'm going to try climbing over." She jumped, hand reaching out to grab the highest hold it could find before starting her ascent.

 

[ArcticFox]

"A wall is not useful!" Logan insisted, quite unhelpfully. "You need to find something to get you out of there!"

Louisa managed to grab one of the stones higher up. She pulled herself upward and looked for places to put her legs. After this she was able to find her next handhold. The process continued for a couple of repeats until she finally grabbed the ledge of the wall, pulling herself up.

When she stood up on it she could the land ahead. It was a vast field of purple, bare of trees, leading up to a green lake. There was something that might have been a castle behind it, but it looked too dark and too twisted for Louisa to be exactly sure. When her eyes moved over the field she caught movement on the ground. A mouse. A plain brown mouse, just like so many she had seen before. That ought to be something familiar.

"What? What did you see?" Logan asked. "I can sense your aura in there, you know."

- Ask about the mouse.
- Ask about the castle.

 

[Cartoonicat]

"You're-Not-Helping!" Louisa spoke between handholds, before finally reaching the top. Carefully she rose to her feet, focusing more on balance than the incessant voice in her head. After steadying herself, she let her eyes scan the horizon. More grass, less trees, a pond and a possible castle. Louisa squinted but was unable to make out a definitive shape of the faraway building. Regardless, she figured she best stay away from there; where there were buildings there were surely people.

And then Logan cut through her thoughts again, breaking the silence of the strange new world. She nearly groaned. "If you can sense my aura, then you know that I am very annoyed and you are making it increasingly difficult to be patient with you." She tore her eyes from the castle, opting to look elsewhere.

There, in the field of purple grass, was a brown lump of fur. A mouse! Quietly, as though her excitement would somehow scare the creature away, Louisa reported back to Logan: "I found a mouse here. Should I go for it?"