[The Inner Sanctum] Hunting for Hidden Treasure (Harper)

[Lucas Arias]

Fall 15, 511 AV Lucas had decided to skip his training today and pursue his arcane studies, or what he thought of as his arcane studies anyway. Of course it wasn’t wise to go a day without training when the big knighting quest was only a couple of months away, but when had a seventeen year old boy ever been wise? He hadn’t stopped thinking about magic since the day he had met Hadrian in the Stone Garden. When you were a mage, the possibilities seemed endless, no matter how often people talked about the dangers of magic and all the crazy things that had happened during the Valterrian. With magic he would be able to make himself taller. He’d be able to protect himself better, and he’d finally not be the boy that got beaten up by everybody anymore. Hadrian had recommended a man by the name of Devandil Nightshade to him, but Lucas wasn’t in the mood for a teacher right now. He wanted to be independant! So he went to the Inner Sanctum instead. From what he had heard it had once belonged to Akvin Kultra, the previous magecrafter of Syliras. He’d also heard that the man had taken his equipment with him, but Lucas didn‘t believe that. The Magecrafter had to have left something behind, something that he would find and use for himself or sell. There were also supposed to be glyphs and magecrafted items in the Sanctum. He’d decided that he would study them to get a better understanding of magic. But first came the hunt for hidden treasure. The squire made sure that no mages were nearby, practicing their art, and then he snuck into the Sanctum and systematically began to search cupboards, chests and tables. Soon he was sweating a lot from all the work. He took his jacket off, tossed it into a corner where some complicated alchemical apparatus had probably stood, and then he knelt down and began to look under the cupboards. That’s how Harper would find him, on his knees, bright red hair sticking off his head in odd angles and generally looking rather disshelved. He had a strange tatoo that constantly seemed to be moving on his arm, a lot of freckles on his face and a pair of brilliant blue eyes. Was he a mage that had just lost something? A thief? The village idiot? Or somebody potentially dangerous and sinister? There was only one way to find it out.

[Harper]

Fall 15, 511 AV Harper had heard rumors of The Inner Sanctum and how it was abandoned. Twice, technically; once by Akvin Kultra when he randomly disappeared (again, so said the rumors), and another time when the new Magecrafter decided that he didn't like the place enough and relocated. Harper had never even had a real laboratory of her own before, so she didn't quite understand how anyone could not like an official laboratory unless it was utter shyke. So, she wanted to check it out for herself. She still didn't know her way around the city very well, so it took her longer to find it that she had hoped. When she arrived at the building, she was breathing rather heavy and she was hot under her thick robes. She looked around, making sure no one was around, and went to open the door. To her surprise, it was already opened. This perplexed Harper, but she put it out of her mind and went inside. The air in the room was stale and the room itself was bare, with almost nothing inside it. There was no equipment, no magical circles that she could see, no nothing. It was like a waste land compared to active laboratories, she imagined. Harper stepped further inside, interested in what she might find if she looked around more. Then she saw the boy on the floor. What in the world is he doing? Harper thought to herself. The boy looked rather ... insane to Harper. Another overgiven mage, perhaps? Harper surely hoped not, seeing as mages who had overgiven were usually dangerous to a degree.... "Excuse me," Harper said aloud. "But may I ask what you're doing?" Harper looked at the boy with stern eyes and a slight frown, and raised her hands ever-so-slightly to prepare to cast magic if she needed to. There's no telling who this boy was, and what he was capable of.

[Lucas Arias]

There! Lucas was convinced he had found something under a cupboard, some kind of precious magecrafted item or maybe something that had glyphs on it! It certainly looked valuable, and it seemed to shimmer golden. He tried to stick his arm into the narrow space between the cupboard and the floor, but he found that his arm was much too thick which was unexpected. He pushed harder, but it only resulted in his arm almost getting stuck. Since he didn’t want to be trapped here and risk a couple of mages discovering him, he decided to give up – for the time being. He was still on his knees, rubbing his arm that had rather interesting red marks from almost getting stuck when Harper entered. Since he was still occupied with his arm and the treasure he thought he had discovered, he was rather distracted and didn’t notice her right away. As she adressed him he jumped up and spun around abruptly. His eyes were wide, but he wasn’t afraid. He wouldn’t even have been afraid if he had known that the young woman that stood in front of him now had killed her own father which was probably stupid. He just looked very, very embarrassed, and his face had turned almost the color of a tomato. He tried to brush the dust off his clothes and flatten his hair a bit so that he wouldn’t look as if he had been struck by lightning anymore. "Ummm ..." he murmurred and realized that he had never thought about what he would do if somebody discovered him searching the Sanctum for treasure. He had been so sure that everything would go according to plan, that he would slip into the Sanctum and leave again before anybody noticed. Petch! "What do you personally think I’m doing?" he asked and suddenly grinned. "I know what I’m doing, but it would be interesting to hear another person’s opinion. What kind of impression do you have of me, a rather innocent looking young man that is crawling around on the floor of an abandoned magical laboratory?"

[Harper]

Harper raised an eyebrow at the strange looking boy as he rapidly tried to brush himself off. An attempt to make himself look somewhat normal? Harper wasn't sure, but he definitely seemed like a strange character. Harper was even more taken back by the questions he asked her. Why in the world does he want to know what I think he's doing? Like that even matters... "I'm not sure what you're doing," Harper replied to the redhead. "I just know that you're sticking your arm into the floorboards of an abandoned laboratory. An odd sight, to be quite honest." Harper tried to glance inside the hole in the floor, to try and catch a glimpse of what the boy might have been trying to reach. Alas, there was nothing that Harper could see; only darkness and dust. And Harper didn't particularly like dust. "What I'm wondering most of all, Red," Harper began again, hoping that he wouldn't be offended by the nickname, "Is if you're authorized to be here?" Harper raised both of her eyebrows at him this time, and let a faint smile come upon her mouth. Harper was indirectly attempting to find out if the young redhead was an official of the city. If he was, it could mean trouble for Harper, seeing as that she wasn't supposed to be in the Sanctum. She hadn't received permission; she could be fined for trespassing, or even thrown in jail! And Harper wouldn't make it in jail. Harper brought her hand up to her mouth and began to chew on her fingernail, a nervous habit that she wished she could break, and waiting for the redhead to reply.

[Lucas Arias]

„Well, I’m doing that. Sticking my arm into the floorboards, that is“, Lucas agreed and checked his arm again. It was still a little red. He wondered if he could pass it off as a little accident he’d had while he had been practicing with his sword. Bruise was bruise, right? „And yes, it’s quite an odd sight. There’s a purpose to it however. There is something under that cupboard.“ He gestured towards the cupboard in question. „You see, I was practicing and not paying attention for a moment, and then it was already gone. And unfortunately my arm is much too thick to fit under the cupboard.“ He’d decided that it was best to stay as close to the truth as possible. He’d just ommit a few details, such as the exact nature of the object under the cupboard – because he didn’t know what exactly it was and whether it really was valuable. What if he claimed that it was a golden coin, and then it turned out to be part of a magical device – or vice versa? That would be really bad! „I’m learning magic, and this is a place where mages can practice their magic safely, isn’t it?“ he asked as she wanted to know whether he was authorized to be there. He had decided not to give her a direct answer, but let her draw her own conclusions. And he also decided not to be offended by the nickname. His hair was red after all, wasn’t it? It was much better than the nicknames his archenemy/roommate Jokor had given him. „But are you authorized to be here?“ He narrowed his eyes a little and looked at her closely. „You are too old to be a student. You don’t look like one of those mage knights, and I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen you in Nightshade’s company.“ Of course Lucas had never been in Nightshade’s company either. He didn’t know the Magecrafter of Syliras, but Harper probably wasn’t aware of it. Like the young woman Lucas tried his best to find out what kind of person she was and whether he would get in trouble because of her.

[Harper]

"Something is under there, eh?" Harper found that hard to believe. Who would stick something under the floorboards of a laboratory..? It's a pretty random occurrence. "Hm, your arm being too big does seem to be a problem though. Since you're learning magic, you should try a bit of Morphing. Then you can make your arm thinner and get whatever you're after." "If you don't mind me asking, though, what magic are you learning..? I'm always interested in other wizards' work." She let a faint smile creep across her lips. She only wanted to know what this boy could do. "But still, I am not sure that this is where wizards should come. It is an abandoned place, after all." Harper was surprised when he asked her if she was authorized; that told her that he wasn't. Harper figured she should tell him the truth, since lying would probably get her nowhere but into trouble. "Of course I'm not," She laughed aloud. "I've only recently moved to Syliras, and I'm a naturally curious person, so when I heard the rumors about this place, I just had to check it out for myself. I figured I could handle myself if I got into any trouble." Harper crossed her arms across her chest and waited for Red to reply.

[Lucas Arias]

„Yes, there is something under there“, Lucas insisted. „You don’t believe me, do you? It’s golden, and it shimmers, and it belongs to me. People lose things occasionally, you know?“ He rolled his eyes as if he thought that she was stupid for not believing him – and then he made a face and looked rather unhappy for a moment. She had suggested that he try Morphing. Theoretically he knew how it worked – Hadrian had told him, and he had regularly occupied himself with the theory of it, but he was still lacking practical experience. Actually, he had not morphed himself a single time yet. But there was no way he could tell her that! So instead of admitting that he was a liar and not a student of magic at all he grinned and remarked, „Thanks for the suggestion. I’m rather forgetful sometimes, so it didn’t occur to me that I could morph myself. As for what kind of magic I’m learning, Auristics mostly, although I’ve recently begun to study Morphing as well.“ He was pretty sure he could fake being a practictioner of Auristics and talk all kinds of nonsense about the colors of her aura. „And why shouldn’t wizards come here?“ he wanted to know and crossed his arms over his chest. „There is no rule against it. Other wizards regularly come here as well. It would be a shame if nobody used such a fine laboratory anymore!“ „Anyway“, he said, trying to change the topic. „What kind of magic do you practice? And where do you come from? I’ve never left Syliras, so I’m naturally curious about the world outside.“

[Harper]

"Ah, I see," Harper replied. "Well I would offer to help, but I'm not sure that I'd be of any help." Harper was afraid to exert herself too much these days. Ever since she had begun Leeching, her body had grown weaker and weaker. She hadn't been practicing it as much lately, so she wasn't as sick feeling, but she could still feel its effects, often when she overexerted herself. An Auristics user?! Harper thought to herself. Then he can most likely tell that I'm a Leecher.. And other wizards often times do not like Leechers. But at least he cannot hurt me, since it seems that he only knows Auristics. I really don't want to have to defend myself. Harper let out a small sigh, hoping that this young wizard was still sane. "I guess you have a point," she replied to the redhead. "It is a nice place, but it's rather...bare." Harper was then taken back when he asked her what magic she practiced. She wasn't used to the question. Most people either didn't know she was a mage, or didn't care to know. Harper knew that she shouldn't mention her Leeching; that never turned out well. But she had an idea. She wanted to be somewhat of a showoff, just to boast a bit. She let a small grin creep over her face and placed her right palm out to her side. She concentrated her Djed on a point in the air right beside her; she focus and began to open a portal to the Void. She continued to feed the portal until it was about the width of her shoulders and about two feet tall. She let the portal hang for a few moments, and eventually severed the bond between herself and it, allowing it to slowly shrink into nothing once more. She then cocked her head to the side and chuckled a little. "I like to send things into the Void. That's what I practice."

[Lucas Arias]

„They took all the valuable equipment away when the new Magecrafter decided that he didn’t want to use this laboratory“, Lucas informed Harper as she remarked that the Sanctum was rather bare. „I don’t understand why he did it. In my opinion it’s a waste of a perfectly fine laboratory. Maybe I’ll ask Nightshade if I can move in when I’m done with my studies and fill it with my own equipment. I think people would pay if they could use a fully equipped magical laboratory.“ His eyes lit up as he said that. That was a business idea that could really work. His career as a bard had been rather short lived. He couldn’t sing, and the music he made on his lute tended to chase people away. He had been paid, but in foul eggs and rotten vegetables that had been thrown into his face. If he became the manager of a laboratory however ... As Harper opened the portal, the boy’s eyes widened until they nearly threatened to fall out of their sockets. For a moment he was very tempted to stick his hand into it to find out what was on the other side, but then he decided to let it be. Sticking your hands into a portal that had been opened by a stranger probably wasn’t a good idea. So he just gasped and looked thoroughly surprised. „How did you do that?“ he wanted to know. „Could I open a portal as well?“

[Harper]

"Hm, they might pay," Harper replied. "But I must say, I wouldn't. It's just easier to practice within the confines of your own home, in my opinion. Well, that is if you don't require a large amount of space. I suppose you could if you were doing something along the lines of Animation or Alchemy." Harper had never attempted anything of the sorts, preferring Personal Magics over World Magics. World Magics required too many things from the outside; things to build the golems from, things to transmute, things to magecraft... Too expensive and too much time. Harper was impatient, and wanted immediate results. This factor of her personality was quite hindering when she first began to practice Voiding. "Of course you can open a portal," She chuckled. "Although, it's not as simple as it sounds. Starting out it hard, hard work. Not much physical work, but mental. It can take weeks, months even, for you to even open your very first portal. It took me especially long; almost a year went by before I opened my first one." Harper then closed her eyes, remembering the months of constant meditation and isolation she went through, attempting to understand the concepts of Voiding. "I was quite young when I began; my father taught me the concepts, but I had to discover how to do it on my own. And it wasn't easy. It was painful and lonely. I wanted to quit many times, but my father wouldn't let me. Now that I look back at it, I appreciate it." Harper looked at the redheaded boy. I probably shouldn't be telling him my entire life story. "Anyway, my point is: yes, you can certainly open your own Portals, but the road to doing so is long and hard. If you wish to try, you should look for a teacher or go to a library and find as many books on the subject of Voiding as you can. And start meditating. Having an clear, empty mind is key."