Closed Just Desserts [Mirage]

[Annalisa Marin]

78th of Fall, 513 AV

This was bad. This was very, very bad.

Anna was laying upon the mat in the small room she had claimed, curled upon herself with her crudely wrapped wounded hand clutched to her chest. A sheen of sweat covered her flesh, causing her clothes to stick to her skin uncomfortably. She shivered slightly as she tried to move her head to weakly gaze around the room. Her eyes fell upon her waterskin, the precious water within the only clean water left to her on the island. She wanted desperately to down every single drop within, hoping it would stave of this horrid sickness. It was about the fifth time she had considered it and each time was getting worse and worse. Groaning, she forced her eyes away again, resisting temptation.

She felt awful and looked a fair bit worse, the result of the fever that had gripped her earlier in the day. Anna knew that untreated it would only become far, far worse and that thought alone sent a slight trace of fear through her mind. Perhaps Vayt was finishing the job he had started when he claimed her parents, returning for her now to tie up loose ends. It wouldn't have really surprised Anna.

The wound was the problem here, though the wizard wondered why it had waited until now to act up. It wasn't enough that she had lost a fair bit of blood, now she had to suffer from a fever? It had struck at the worst of times and if it got worse than her Judgment probably wouldn't go as smoothly as she had hoped.

It was ironic in a sick way, she could control forces beyond the ken of most mortals and she was suffering due to a tiny cut. If only someone else was suffering that she might laugh at their discomfort and terrible luck. Alas, such was not the case.

The wizard again looked to the waterskin, wish now more than ever to be an Aquamancer to be able to create the precious liquid. The sixth time was the one that broke her, causing her to reach out and grasp the container with unsteady hands. She uncapped it and began to drink, sighing slightly as the cool liquid washed over her tongue and was drawn down her throat in long, greedy gulps. It shamed her to appear so weak, but petch it felt good to quench her thirst.

The wizard managed to stop herself from drinking every drop and drew herself from the water skin, capping it once more. As she wiped her lips dry she estimated that the remaining water would last her through the next day, perhaps two if she was extremely conservative. Learning another element was quickly becoming apparent to be a matter of simple survival rather than a means to more power.

Anna felt tolerably more human for the drink, not recovered but certainly not as miserable as she had been a moment ago. She gritted her teeth as she pushed herself to her hands and knees, slowly standing from that. As much as laying down and wallowing in her misery sounded lovely she knew that doing so would only make matters worse, she need to seek some kind of assistance. No easy task given the undead denizens of the Citadel, but Anna lacked the knowledge to treat such a wound so it was really her only true option.

After getting some semblance of balance the wizard slipped on her weathered boots and started out into the hall beyond her room, making certain to leave her cloak as a means to cover her scroll. She was lucid enough to possess the healthy paranoia that someone might indeed steal her work, something she would definitely not risk. This accomplished, the wizard started off down the hall, making a conscious effort to keep her composure. This was certainly shaping up to be a rather large setback.

[Mirage]

The Quarters seemed empty for the most part, barren save for the random mouse or rat that scurried by. Dust covered every surface, mold grew upon the ceilings and in patches on the stones. At the state of the building it was no wonder infection had set in so quickly. From time to time a head would poke out of a door to empty a chamber pot, before quickly retreating. Most that did show themselves deftly ignored the woman, not bothering to reply or even glance in her direction. They had their own troubles to worry with, after all...

At the end of the corridor, near the ramp that lead down to the next level, a door opened and a man, little older than 20 himself, stepped out. He was thin, haggard like most of the living that resided here, but where as most hunched their backs and looked absorbed in themselves, this one stood with a straight back and firm set to his features. He was dressed in the robes of a Wizard, or perhaps apprentice, with greasy hair cut just short of his shoulders. A rough, unkempt beard was hastily shaved in patches, and light green eyes turned to look back down the hall at Anna.

The man paused in his actions, eyes lingering over Anna, sweeping up and down as he smiled. Perhaps in another life he had been a very handsome man, but Sahova had shoren away much of his looks, though not all of his swagger. He crossed his arms over his chest, resting his shoulder against the wall as he said, "You look fresh off the boat, and the worse for ware. What was it, poisoned meat? Bite from an akaran beetle? Piss off Qiao?" He chuckled at his own dark humor, "You're going to die if you don't get better, just like the other corpses that fill the halls of the Palsa Hydrasa. Amaryllis will be very pleased to have a body like yours I am sure."

His tone was joking, but the subject matter was anything but funny. Thus was the twisted humor of Sahova.

[Annalisa Marin]

Was this what it had come to? That she was mocked by haggard looking fools in the halls, truly this sunk in how very far Anna had fallen. The tall woman halted before the man and regarded him with tired grey eyes, lids heavy from sleep deprivation. How very pitiful she must look that a man like him felt the need to comment, it was enough to fill her mouth with the taste of bile. Her pride flared within her at the dark jokes, but she herself found the observations difficult to refute.

She gazed back the way she had come, realizing that this man's jokes were really the first contact she had really gotten with another person. That was so very sad that she herself allowed a humorless chuckle to escape her lips, regarding the man once more. Perhaps he might offer more than jokes if prompted, though at this point desperation was creeping into her mind. At this point any thread of hope to cling to was something to explore cautiously.

"Fresh? I suppose that is the case, I arrived by boat not a few days past from Zeltiva. As much fun as pissing off whoever Qiao is must be I fear this little predicament is my own doing. I was a bit lacking for supplies for a Glyphing exercise so I used what was at hand as it were." The woman replied, offering her poorly wrapped wounded hand for his viewing pleasure.

"You'll have to forgive my rather poor manners, thus far I've had few words with others here. I am Annalisa, prof- former citizen of Zeltiva. I'd offer to shake your hand but I doubt you'd want to touch a sick woman." She said, politely inclining her head to the man.

Anna had needed to catch herself from speaking her old position, who she was the hardly mattered here. She was simply another untested quantity, just another of the living for the Undead to look down upon.

A slight chill ran down her spine, a minor annoyance born of the fever no doubt. It was likely to only get worse as the man had said, death a distinct possibility no doubt. Whoever this Amaryllis was Anna doubted being told that she would make an excellent body for someone else was a good sign, in fact given her conversations with Tsaba it was distinctly bad.

"I don't suppose you have any advice for avoiding ending up in this so called Palsa Hydrasa? I'm rather lacking for knowledge in things medical in nature unfortunately." She asked, hoping for some kind of assistance.

Anna was a pragmatic individual, she knew how most wizards thought as she herself was one and she had met several others. Nothing came free and everything had a price, but she was desperate at this point and it had likely shown. There was very little she was not willing to do in order to gain some form of assistance recovering from this. Even if this man couldn't help her he might be able to point her to some who could. It wasn't like she had many options here.

[Mirage]

The man raised an eyebrow, "Prof... Professor?" This man was not one to be easily fooled, and he was very quick on the uptake. He looked at Anna with new interest as he said, "Well ultimately for those like us the final destination is the Palsa Hydrasa, that is inevitable. However we can postpone that date with death a while longer." His smile broadened, "Though it will cost you."

Stepping closer he would extend his own hand, gesturing to see Anna's. If she gave it to him he would speak as he examined the wound, beginning to turn green around the edges from infection, "I am Daren by the way. A pleasure to meet you Annalisa. Tell me, what is someone from Zeltiva doing here? We do not get many 'scholars' from the university here." He said the last word with the barest hint of distain. A strange sense of well-being came from this man. He felt trustworthy, and where his hands touched Anna's she would feel a warmth spreading and the pain and weakness in her body would begin to subside ever so slightly.

OOCSorry for the short post, but I am setting it up for the next one!

[Annalisa Marin]

The man wasn't dim apparently, Anna was unsure if that was favorable or not for her at the moment. Her position didn't really matter here from what she had seen, though it had seemed to spark an interest from the man. Interest was something she could use, at least to some degree. She allowed herself thought for a moment before opting to respond.

"Indeed. Former professor. I left the position when I opted to come to Sahova." She offered, keeping some vagueness around the response.

His words about the finality of the end destination struck Anna as rather hopeless, something that even in her fevered state she fought against. The wizard had no intention of meeting Dira anytime soon, nor did she possess much desire to become like Tsaba. Nothing was set in stone, not if you possessed enough drive and ambition. While only a mortal of barely over two decades she had advanced quickly in magical studies, and gained a gift from a god. She'd sacrifice as much as she needed to in order to thrive here.

Anna had not expected any form of assistance to be free, she possessed money and she could likely barter her own considerable skills if needed. It was not as if there was much choice here on her own part, if she didn't get assistance she would likely die before her Judgment. Even if she didn't being sick on the Judgment would certainly cost her dearly, while she had created a functional scroll a display of her own power was what Anna needed to solidify her position as an apprentice.

"I'll pay you in whatever manner you see fit, I simply wish to resume my business and gain my wits as quickly as possible." She said, offering him her wounded hand.

She blanched slightly at the greenish looking wound, the infection was getting worse rather quickly. The wizard was no doctor but even she could tell that if it got worse she could very well lose the hand. The blood had been necessary however, without it then she couldn't have finished her scroll. At this point though she was reconsidering drawing runes on her own body, if she did then it would need to be in ink or someone else's blood. Not a lot of options at this stage.

The haggard man introduced himself as Daren, a name she filed away for future reference. As he asked his question her first thought was to give him a vague answer or a lie, a trusting Chaon was a very dead Chaon after all. However as soon as the thought had appeared in her mind it was dispelled by feelings of well being, a thought that this man was trustworthy to some degree. Were she perhaps more lucid, Anna might have felt something wrong with such a drastic turn of thought and noticed something oddly familiar about the whole situation. As it was she accepted the feeling and opted for the truth, reasoning that to gain Daren's assistance some trust needed to be given. Besides the information was hardly vital.

"I left Zeltiva, as I stated previously. My interests were rather different from that of the University, they were limited by certain rules and regulations that stunted certain fields of research. After hearing about Sahova from a former inhabitant I opted to leave my position for greener pastures as it were. Currently I seek to undergo the Judgment and gain an apprenticeship. Nothing too complex." She explained, feeling slightly better in Daren's presence.

[Mirage]

Daren looked up, and his smile dimmed ever so slightly as his eyes took on a mischievous light, "Maybe I have not lost as much as my humanity as I thought, because even now I cannot bring myself to do as the Nuits do. Take care you think more on what you say before you say it. Words here have a lot of power, more so than any single spell." He released her hand and straighted, though the pain had now passed to a dull thud in the back of her mind, and the fog was somewhat lifted from her thoughts, "If you give me you word to pay me however I see fit, well then I might very well take more than necessary. Your word is your oath, or so the saying goes, but it is not so much true anywhere else in Mizahar but here."

The man shrugged, turning and tilting his head for her to follow, "But then, that is just advice from one who has lost much to words too freely spoken." He laughed, and it was a calm, very friendly sort of laugh. Personal, and from the gut, as if he meant it. With it came that sense of trustworthiness, that he was not someone to fear. Perhaps he could be a future ally, just maybe...

He did not quickly take the lead, as one might expect, but rather he fell back to walk beside Anna as he gently directed her with his own movements down the ramp to the lower floors. As they walked he slipped his hands the pockets of his robes. A ring twisted around the index finger of his right hand, a silver band with the symbol of a half closed eye. The ring was made entirely of silver, save for part of the iris that was visible. It was instead crafted with a tiny ruby gem.

"As ironic as it is, we need to go TO the Plasa Hydrasa in order to prevent you from ending up there. It is the cleanest place in all of Sahova, and the nuits that run it are actually skilled in medicine. I guess they want to keep the bodies as healthy as possible before they croak." He laughed good naturally, his smile and good humor almost infectious. He periodically looked sideways at Anna, searching for her eyes as he continued, "So your preparing for the Judgement, and I assume you want to apprentice under someone who knows a lot about the same magics you practice right? Most Wizards know a bit of Glyphing, even myself believe it or not. Do you want to specialize in it?" The barest hint of a thought crossed her mind, mingled with a mild bit of suspicion, Should I tell him? What if this is a trick...? but the suspicion slowly faded as Daren smiled and asked in a rather coy way, "Oh and why were you preparing your glyphs with blood? Why did you not simply use the materials provided in the common lab for Judgement Preparations? Did they run out of supplies or something?"

[Annalisa Marin]

Daren's explanation was rather jarring, a none to subtle prompt of telling her to watch her words. To find herself in an undesirable situation due to the incorrect inflection of speech and the wrong promise was... a rather scary prospect. Daren seemed disinclined to take advantage of her at the moment, though if this had been a Nuit instead the wizard wondered what they might want from her. The possibilities were enough to send a slight chill down her spine.

It was odd, just being near this man was making everything slightly more clear. She felt slightly less pained and her thoughts were moving a bit more clearly, giving rise to suspicions for a moment that were dispelled once more as he spoke. There was something odd about him that Anna couldn't quite put her finger on.

"I'll be certain to be careful about what I say then, thank you for the advice." She replied, following as beckoned.

His laugh, it had been quite sometime since she had heard a genuine laugh from a living being. He seemed more alive than she did, that much was for certain. She got the feeling that she could trust him once more, an affirmation that he was one worthy of imparting some information to. It was an odd feeling, trust, not one she normally indulged in. Her mind was once more drawn to her betrayal of her best friend Velia, proof that humanity was capable of some extremely black hearted actions. It was probably paranoia but she allowed that little sliver to remain, a warning against giving too much to this man.

She walked as prompted, obviously he was much more familiar with this place than she was. Just getting back to the Quarters after a bit of exploration proved to be a great feat of navigation. The wizard caught a hint of gleaming crimson out of the corner of her eye as Daren slipped his hands into his robes, a ring of sorts no doubt. She was about to write it off as unimportant, just a piece of jewelry until his warning about watching her words echoed back. Nothing was as it first seemed on Sahova, everything seemed to possess some inner meaning to it. For all she knew the robes he wore meant a thousand things that the average Sahovan could take in at a glance. The thought made her feel rather like a fish out of water.

While the exacts of what this ring looked like had escaped her notice the fact a ruby was likely incorporated in the design did not. If it was useful information she'd find out someway. She quickly turned her attention back to what he was saying, filing away the ring and his robes for later thoughts.

The Palsa Hydrasa... from their earlier exchange the place did not sound inviting. However if this was how they could arrange for some treatment of her wound then Anna was all for it. The wizard chuckled despite herself at his jokes, he was quite the character this Daren.

His next questions sent a series of warning bells off in her head, wary of giving up too much information. She liked the odd man to some degree, but she had to wonder if giving up this information could compromise her in someway. Though that suspicion soon gave way to burning embarrassment at his follow up questions.

"I, uh, Sahova is quite maze like. The common labs are rather difficult to locate as I'll occasionally... lose sight of where I am exactly. That and I was unaware that they could be utilized." Her voice and expression looked rather sheepish, genuine embarrassment tinting her cheeks slightly red.

The wizard cleared her throat and quickly segued into the previous questions he's asked her, trying to draw scrutiny away from her own short comings.

"In any event, I would indeed wish to apprentice under someone more knowledgeable in the ways of glyphing than I. I am experienced enough to craft a scroll well enough, though I'm finding my mind more occupied with finding other applications for it. I'm considering ways of possibly warding hostile magic away from certain areas, among other things. Needless to say I still have a ways to go, though I believe the theory is sound. Scrolls can contain my magic, why can something similar not be created to deal with another's magic?" She offered, shrugging her shoulders slightly.

"Beyond Glyphing though, I've a rather experienced grasp of reimancy that could prove useful if need be. I'll likely be demonstrating my control there as well as my glyphing abilities." She explained, ignoring the mental warning that she was giving up too much information as to her capabilities.

It was not as if these talents would be kept secret for long, she was to display them before the judges after all. Besides it wasn't as though Daren could use this information against her if he was indeed not who he claimed to be.

[Mirage]

The pair wound their way down the floor of the Quarters, Daren listening attentively to Anna as she spoke. He nodded at intervals, and smiled at her embarrased face. With quick steps he moved in front of her, leaning down a bit to look up at the reddend cheaks, "You know it is not often that I say this, but for a crazy wizard to be you are rather cute. Definitely a pleasant change to the rotting corpses I usually have to deal with." He laughed, and a rather strange feeling blossomed within Anna's chest along with a soft feeling of warmth that mingled with her embarrassment.

Returning to her side he stole a glance at her once more, a goofy half smile on his lips as he said, "The Citadel can take some getting used to. Maybe I can... show you around sometime. Well, if you can find the time between your research." Clearing his throat he quickly looked away, "I mean, after you pass your judgement of course. But I do not have any doubts that you will."

The exited the Quarters on the ground floor, and instead of passing through the Courtyard Daren let them down a small corridor to the right, saying simply, "I am not really fond of ghosts... or their keeper." He glanced at Anna again, smiling, "So a reimancer are you? I can't say I am very surprised, I got a dangerous feeling from you at the very start. You almost radiate power you know." A small sense of pride arose within Ana, along with another flow of warmth and that strange feeling within her breasts. Almost imperceptible, but very close to a feeling of affection, "I have every confidence that you will succeed in your judgement Annalisa."

[Annalisa Marin]

Anna was rather taken aback by the man's compliments, as well as the feeling they elicited. At what point had she lost control of the conversation? Had she even been in control to begin with? Certainly in her earlier days as a student at the University she had enjoyed trysts with this or that student, occasionally gossiping with Velia and giggling behind books like a literal schoolgirl. Those times seemed a world away, times when worries were less upon her. Yet Daren was reminding her of such times, a dangerous and unexpected thing.

She felt... oddly good from this exchange. As they walked and talked the wizard found herself opening up more so than she would have normally permitted. The warnings in her mind were heeded less and less the more he talked, her guard lowering more and more. At her core she was a very prideful creature, arrogant to an extreme. Daren seemed to have a way of soothing that pride, massaging it in just the right ways and blending it skillfully with humor.

The wizard raised an eyebrow at his proposition, an interesting way of implying that he wanted to spend more time with her. Not that she minded it, considering she could count the people she had shared words with on her right hand the wizard welcomed a chance to talk to someone. A slight chuckled escaped her once more, her grey eyes rolling slightly.

"I might be able to slip you into the no doubt busy schedule demanded by the Nuits. Who can say?" She teased lightly.

As they walked Anna noticed that the corridors were becoming more familiar, the Courtyard was likely nearby if she remembered correctly. Instead of heading for there Anna noted that Daren was guiding them down another way, one unfamiliar to her. His comment about ghost's made some sense, most of the people she had met were uncomfortable around the creatures. Anna was personally fascinated by them, as well as by the art of Spiritism. It remained a branch of magic she was willing to explore in her free time, though it was hardly her highest priority here on Sahova. Perhaps visiting the Courtyard when she gained more free time would be beneficial.

Anna's pride swelled at his compliment regarding her reimancy, pleased that someone recognized its worth. It was her first magic really, that which had grown alongside her as she learned more of glyphing. It was also a branch of magic useful for the status it brought with it, few were foolish enough to anger someone who could bend the natural elements to their whim. If one wanted to radiate power, as Daren claimed she did, reimancy was the best magic for that.

Daren was quickly getting his way into her good graces, a rare place to end up for most. The warmth through her chest resembled that of when she and Velia had spent time together, back before she had betrayed her. That sobering memory allowed her affections to halt before they became too dangerous, she liked Daren, she really did. However her patron was the lord of traitors and lies, to commit these acts were as prayers to him. Just as she had betrayed Velia she could do the same to this man if it came to that, it was just a simple fact.

Though, she supposed that it might never come to that. Besides even if it did, what was the point in not indulging herself in something like this now? If it happened then it happened, not taking a small opportunity to keep some form of connection was foolish. Daren could be trusted, at least that was what she felt at the moment. He knew more than she about this island, which made him useful. It made completely logical sense to stay around him, despite the rather distracting emotions he bred in her. She liked him as well, so really there was every reason to stick around and no real reason not to.

Why then did the voice of caution remain in the back of her mind? As faint as it was it refused to die entirely.

"I thank you for the compliment and the vote of confidence. Its a fair bit more than I've been offered to this point." She replied.

As the subject was upon her own magic she had to wonder where his own talents lay. He had made mention possessing some knowledge of Glyphing, but there had to be more to him than that. What power had allowed him entry into the Citadel?

"Hmm... you mentioned knowing a bit of glyphing. I doubt the undead simply let anyone with a bit of glyphing knowledge entry to the Citadel. Where do your expertise lie?" The tall woman inquired as they walked the path Daren directed.

[Mirage]

Daren's answer did not come for a short time, and they walked in silence as he kept his eyes straight ahead. His face was thoughtful, as if he were contemplating how best to answer. He glanced at Anna and laughed despite himself, shrugging his shoulders as he kept his eyes forward, "Its really not what you think it is. I'm really not that special, and in fact the only reason I have gotten as far as I have is because I am a very good talker." He chuckled and raised his right hand, the hand with the ring on it, to stop her comments before continuing, "No no I promise you its true. You see, the Judgement... Its a new system only added to Sahova recently. Just last season in fact. Before that this place was much more strict, ridged and cold."

He slowly lowered his hand, returning it to his pocket as his eyes darkened and memories weighed heavily on his features. His voice was softer, and the smile was only the barest hint now, "Actually... I was a slave when I first arrived here. Stolen out of my bed, thrown in a cell and shipped to this Gods forsaken island. I would have died a long time ago, but I managed to convince the Wizard about to use me as a test subject that I would be much more useful alive. I've always had a certain talent for words." He looked at Ana in the eye, but he could not hold eye contact long before he laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck, "I was actually a con artist before coming here, and probably because a few of my shady dealings I ended up here in the first place. Ironic isn't it?"

As he talked that feeling of warmth remained, and there was a sense that his words could be taken as true. His expression and emotion was certainly true. He looked at Anna again, and that strange feeling akin to affection would blossom once more as he gave a small, unsure smile, "I hope that doesn't make you think less of me. I've tried to change since being given this second chance."

They now came across a set of beautifully carved double doors. Unlike the rest of the Citadel, these were dust free and looked as if they had been carved and painted only yesterday. Ancient Alahean artwork dotted the surface of this portal into Palsa Hydrasa. Daren stopped before this door, offering Anna his right hand, "Since you have not passed your judgement you are not allowed to pass beyond this point without an escort. Take my hand, and I will open the door for you to pass. You can trust me this much at least right." He winked