Solo Seeing is Believing

[Stefan]

30th of Spring, 514 AV.
16th Bell

The breeze was simply lovely that evening; even though it was slightly chilly, it was still quite pleasant to feel on one’s hair. Winter seemed like a distant memory. The third tier of Riverfall seemed like an especially pleasant place to walk, as the smell of the grasslands impregnated the place. What could be better than this?

Well, it actually could, because Stefan brought a couple of bottles of cheap wine, Bluevein Topaz, early in the day, and was saving them for later. He couldn’t believe that he didn’t know about the Bluevein Winery before, but that just made the place seem more likeable for him. Riverfall was a good place: good food, pretty women –he still had fond memories of his odd, yet pleasant encounter with the Symenestra Sunette –and especially, amazing wine.

Of course, there was the fact that the laws were strict, and the guard was even more so. But for him, that was also an advantage: people thought the city was secure, because it actually was, but for a petty thief that knew how to remain undiscovered, it was a pretty exciting exercise.

And what better opportunity than a new man visiting the city?

Or at least it seemed new, as Stefan didn’t saw him on the city before. It was a human, but the detail that interested Stefan was a box he was carrying with some difficulty; a box full of various books. Stefan was quite far, but could see him clearly, and the sight made his fingers itch.

He needed a simple, yet efficient plan to get the book, though. He couldn’t simply grab it and run: not only it would be incredibly sloppy, but soon he would have a bunch of angry Akalaks on his back. So he just tailgated him, waiting for an opportunity to strike. It was a basic, yet working tactic: check the plants that the Akalak planted, just stroll around, or simply hide behind any surface, and wait patiently for a moment of distraction. The man seemed really concentrated on carrying the crate, because he didn’t notice Stefan behind him. Besides, there books sure looked like they were heavy, so he’ll have to put them down at any time.

Whilst licking the scar on his lip, Stefan waited a good thirty minutes, but in the end it did pay off: on the second tier of the city, the man put the crate down, and leaned on a wall to rest, reading the scroll they gave him in the city gates. Checking for any guards near, Stefan hold his breath and walked silently behind the man, and with a nimble and slow movement of his fingers, Stefan managed to get one of the books on the edge of the crate. The movement was swift, but nobody noticed, and soon Stefan first walked away, then paced rapidly, and then, when he was far enough, started to run towards his house with his new acquisition tucked discretely under his arm.

[Stefan]

Now that Stefan was safe in his house, he allowed himself to drop on his bed, smiling widely. By the gods, he loved the thrill! It was one of the pleasures of life he loved. Boy, it made it feel so alive!

It was funny how he ended up this way... well, funny was not the word. He remembered ending up as a petty thief in Syrlias first, and then moving to Alvadas to avoid the ire of the knights. He never understood what was the big deal about stealing a loaf of bread, but that’s how he got there. He stole to survive for almost five years, living on the streets of the City of Illusions, stealing from the stands, picking pockets and even locks. In the end, he became good at it... and now that he didn’t do it to survive anymore, but because it was exciting, and it became something of a habit.

Oh, but he also remembered fondly one of the memories he had... when he discovered Yshul, the goddess of thieves. He was just a boy when he heard about her, but in the end, he managed to put together that she was the patron of thieves, acting as a mother to them. Cunning, intelligent, calculating... she was that someone that the young Stefan needed, and there she was. He had actually developed a slight crush for her on his youth. And now, to this day, even though Stefan was never especially religious, he thanked her when he managed to do something like this and leave unpunished.

“Oh, look at me, thinking about this nonsense” he thought with a chuckle “better to check the prize!”

Sitting down on the bed, Stefan examined the book; around an inch of thickness, leather-bound, without much pretention, except for a few blue cords that added some colour to the book. Upon opening it, something fell to the floor. Picking it up, the young bard noticed that they were two pills; of what, he wasn’t sure, so he put them at one side to discover later what they were. He was sure that the book would have something about it, so he started to read.

It has been a while since Stefan had been able to read a good book, but the title was intriguing “Seeing is Believing – A Study of Auristics”. Auristics? Now that was odd. He continued reading.

What he learnt about the book was, indeed, interesting. Auristics was a kind of magic, of the called “Personal Magic”, that used the Djed –some sort of source of the magic –to read auras, and in turn, know something, as every object or being has an aura, and every aura had a lot of information. Textures, tastes, intentions, and a bunch of other things... that got Stefan’s interest.

Magic... Stefan didn’t have much experience with magic, but he did meet some mages in his travels. Almost all of them told him about the dangers of it, but it was no doubt something powerful. High risk, high gain, as they say. He also remembered a history he had been told, something he liked to remember, as it was a really funny memory. It was the story about who one person once meet the enemy of a Reimancer –as far as he knew, something to do with fire -, who wasn’t at all eloquent, because it’s really hard to talk to a charred pile of ash about the perils of facing that kind of mage.

He continued to read thoroughly, enjoying the fine piece of literature in front of him. However, soon after he found something estrange with the book. There was a page with the introduction to Auristic; how to learn them, and use them properly. But there was also on the bottom of the page, written in a different style of the text.

Concentration, concentration, concentration... it is really what it takes to use it? There must be something else. The Auristics is about using every sense at once: heard and see a kind of shimmering, see sounds, hear shapes... the sky is the limit, but that's about it. But what if one uses something to boost it? To kick-start it? Would it be like reading a scroll using a magnifying glass, and in the end, discovering something that it would be otherwise really hard to see? I’m going to find it out as soon as I can: these pills of Warp will be of use. I’m not a man that likes the use of drugs, but it is necessary for this kind of experiment.

And with that, Stefan let out a loud laugher. Warp, of course! Stefan could remember it. He tasted it in Sunberth once some years ago... the experience was something intense, but interesting. It was almost like all his senses started to double, and his brain started to play with them like a mad artist. And now there was this brilliant buffoon that wanted to try it to get concrete information out of something.

Still, it was quite interesting... magic was dangerous, indeed, but what could be the advantages of it? Information... that’s something a person like Stefan could use. Know who to trust, what person would be of interest, and who would likely stab him in the back, and maybe the mood of a patron who wanted a song... and maybe the mood of an attractive lass? Indeed, something useful... besides, the book told from the start that the magic was one of the safest.

Stefan thought about it for several minutes, looking at the pill of Warp. A world of knowledge by just looking at someone... indeed something useful, and without too much risk. Stefan uncorked the bottle of Topaz and drank a hearty gulp, and then swallowed the pill, and then concentrated on his senses, as the book said. It would take a couple of hours for it to work, but still he wanted to try to do it first; focus all his senses at once.

[Stefan]

Barely two hours later, the drugs kicked in, but before that, Stefan followed the instructions as best as he could. And it worked, sort of: sitting on his bed, he had to put in all his concentration, but he managed to do it. Concentrate in all his senses, he breathed deeply and focused his mind on what he could feel, sense and hear. He could feel something flowing through his body, caressing his eyes and eardrums, his nose and tongue, and his skin. Was this the Djed the book told about, perhaps?

The place that Stefan saw was nothing like his cottage at all. It was devoid of almost all colours, instead appearing as a different world, all in greyish-blue tones. Was this the aura they talked about? It would seem, because as Stefan waved his hand in front of him; it was of a white-blue hue, almost ghostly and faint, but he could see it. Not bad for a first try. But why limit yourself? He thought as he stood up from his bed and walked towards the door, hearing every step he did as muffled, yet somewhat loud stomp.

However, outside was a complete different experience. The background was the same as Stefan’s house, greyish-blue, and far away, pure blackness, though it might has to do with the fact that it was night at the moment. The persons that walked, however, had something faint to them. The young thief could barely see it, but there was something, and he was sure of it.

And then the Warp kicked in.

Everything changed almost suddenly: Stefan could discern the auras of the persons around him, walking on the streets at night, each with different colours: he could identify the ones carrying weapons, as they were of a blood red colour, and the others were of an intense white. He believed that there were also golden targets, but he couldn’t be sure; still, the colours only appeared when he looked directly at the person and concentrated, but after he did, the person remained of that colour, even if Stefan didn’t focused. The details where vague, but it was a start, after all.

However, something was happened without him even noticing. Each step was becoming louder and more distorted, the auras started to change colours without he even realizing, and even changing sizes. Suddenly, Stefan started to feel exhausted, and not only that... he started to feel something in his skin, crawling.

Everything went downhill from there. His head started to hurt badly, as well as his eyes, there was a horribly and loud buzzing in his eyes, and he could barely stand on his own feet. He tried to breathe and calm down, but every breath he took was like the roar of a beast at his ears.

He couldn’t understand what happened, especially for the fact that his mind wasn’t clear. It was filled with the pain, that damn buzzing and pure confusion and fear, not with clear thoughts. The only fleeting thought was that he needed to get in, and quick... he couldn’t stand to much information.

And then, Stefan looked up, trying to get himself onto his feet, and saw the moon, great and shining on the sky.

It all ended with a loud and desperate scream.

[Stefan]

It has been nearly five hours since Stefan crawled back into his house and into his bed, though he didn’t knew or cared what time it was by then. The effects of the drug dissipated themselves, but Stefan itself was a mess.

His vision was blurry, rendering essentially blind, there was this same annoying and loud buzzing in his ears; it pierced his skull and made him unable to heard anything else, even his own breathing. He couldn’t sense anything as well, simply knowing that he was there but without feeling itself. Not cold, not warmness, no nothing. He was helpless, despaired, without anybody to aid him, and it was his entire fault. It was one of the times where he felt truly alone.

Gasping for air that filled his lungs but didn’t seem to, he tried to remember who he got into this mess. The answer was obvious, however: that damn book, these pills of Warp and the blasted magic... he had to admit, thought, that it felt good at first. That’s something he couldn’t deny: he was able to see secrets, to see who could kill him right on the spot if they wanted. It felt good to know... and the caress of the Djed on his body was actually quite pleasant for a moment. For a moment, he felt that he was capable of more that he thought... but in the end, he just bit off more than he could chew.

But now, there was something else in his mind... anger. It was hard for him to get angry... but now he was, and he was angry at himself. He screwed up. Stefan hated to screw up, and he did it more than he liked to admit. That’s all he could think as he squirmed on his bed, until he felt asleep for the exhaustion.

He woke up several hours later, almost chocking on the air. He couldn’t tell what time it was, but there was the light of the sun that managed to get in through the window. He sat up, scratching his head, hoping that it was all a bad dream. The fact that his vision was incredibly blurry, and he couldn’t discern the details of his own house, made it clear that it wasn’t the case. Still, he wanted to make sure: he snapped his fingers near his ear; he could hear the sound clearly, on both sides when he tried it a second time. He then pinched himself on the arm; it hurt, but it was there. He tried a lot of things to make sure he was fine: stomping his feet, clapping, caressing his own hair, and all leaded to the fact that everything, except for his sight, was quite normal.

Still, his sight was partially gone, at least for now. That way, he couldn’t read about the part about Overgiving on the book. He tried to get up to stretch a little, because even though he wasn’t sure how much time he slept, he was still feeling somewhat tired. Of course, when he did a step, he noticed that the floor was wet. Taking a step back, he sat on his bed again. At this point, it could have been anything, because he couldn’t see exactly what it was.

There was an option, nonetheless, that appeared as a fleeting idea on Stefan’s head: use the Auristics to know what it was. It made sense, because even though his eyes were not working correctly, his others senses were apparently fine, by now. Still, he knew it was too risky... he’ll be damned if what happened to him the other night occurred again, so he shrugged that off.

Other part of his mind, however, was considering it seriously... the information was something important, and he knew it. It could be anything... puke, piss, or even blood, and if it was the latter, the problems were worse that he thought.

Besides, at this point, that’s something he always did. There were times where he bit off more than he could chew... but when there was doubt, he just ate it up and spat it out. Closing his eyes again, he concentrated the same way he did the last night; the Djed flowing freely through his sense organs. The caress was there again, though this time he did expect it. He opened his eyes, and saw everything clearly again, or at least as clear as it could be, with the same greyish-blue hue that appeared in the background.

Even though his normal sight was horribly blurred, this time it seemed fine, because he was using all his senses at once. Hear and see the shimmering of the aura; hear shapes, see sounds, feel smells and the like. And with that, he could recognize the puddle on the floor. He could taste the dry, sour flavour of the Bluevein Topaz he brought the other day, which was now lying on the floor along with a bunch of broken glass.

“Shyke, my wine...” he said concerned and frustrated. Even thought it was cheap wine, it was fairly good. He knew that he must have made it fall from the table whilst squirming into his bed last night. After thinking it about a bit, he started to feel tired again, but this time, he panicked for a second.

He breathed deeply, trying to calm down, to relax and to avoid the same mistakes. Before he could notice, he opened his eyes again, and everything was blurry, but normal. He was fine, for now, even though he was tired.

The young bard lied on his bed again, catching his breath. He was not helpless again, but taking the risk... was it worth it? Now he started to have doubts, but as he tried to reach the table for the other bottle of wine, he caught something else: a small pill of warp.

Touching the drug with his fingers, he sighed, thinking again about how he screwed up everything... but he was a quick thinker, so he had an idea; and a devious one at that, that made him smile. After all, this Auristic thing would probably pay off.

OOCAfter this, Stefan will have blurry vision for a week due to the secondary effects of Overgiving

[Stefan]

31th Day of Spring, 514 AV.
13th Bell

It was quite later than Stefan thought, because the Zhongjie Warren was far too busy to be just in the morning. But to be fair, the young bard took a lot of time to reach from his house to the bazaar, even though they were on the same tier. In fact, if he was lucky, he wouldn’t have to leave the tier at all to get what he wanted.

He started first in the place where the theft of the other day took place. The place had nothing out of the ordinary, and there were even some people walking without a problem, though Stefan couldn’t see them quite right. But leaning on the same wall of the other day, Stefan concentrated, breathed deeply, and activated his newly learned ability.

It was almost like a fleeting glimpse in the corner of his eye; a golden person-like spot, like a point of interest. Stefan took a second to catch his breath, and then followed it along the crowd.

This time, tailgating the man was quite easier: the day meant that there were more people walking on the streets, which mean that he could blend among the crowd quite easily. Still, following the man was not an easy task, because even the slightest distraction could blew it all over. However, it was no wonder that there were so many people, as they were heading to the Riverfall Bazaar.

Among the crowd, in the tented place, the young thief tried to follow the man. He wondered what in the world he was going to the marketplace. But the biggest concern was that there, with all the people, losing him would be an easy task. He couldn’t permit that. Thus he walked from stand to stand, not really looking at anything, but feigning to do so. He had the man on his sight –figuratively speaking –but he couldn’t be sure it was him. He would need to use the Auristics again to gain some cue that it was him, even though he was tired, even after using it before for only a second. Still, as the book said, it was high risk with high gain.

He concentrated again, but this time, to avoid bigger problems, he only focused on the man; the man he could swear was the one. He saw the golden glow again, but this time, there was a one-sided exchange of words. Would it be because he wasn’t paying attention to the other? Still, it was not hard to guess that the soon-to-be-a-victim was talking with the man at one of the shop posts. “Seeing is Believing; you must have that book! It was stolen from me the other day, no wonder somebody sold it to you. No one can trust people on the bazaars, no matter the race!.. alright, I’ll leave, but this will not end like this! I’ll discover who the one who stole from me was, and I’ll make him pay!” and with that, the man stormed off.

Relaxing again, taking a deep breath, Stefan stumbled again, almost scattering some of the merchandise on a spot again. He would need to control it better, but at least he was figuring it out.

Stefan couldn’t discern the details right now, but at least could distinguish the shape of the man; he was crooked, and he could clearly hear some murmurs coming from him; he was certainly pissed, which was a good cue as any. And the fact that the way leaded him towards the Blue Bull just made it obvious, because what better way to blow off some steam than to have a drink?

The Tavern was quite crowded, even though it was only afternoon, and the man was nowhere to be seen. There was music, so he couldn’t distinguish his voice, but it didn’t matter right now. Stefan sat on the bar, and relaxed once again. This was going to be really exhausting, but it was quite necessary: he activated his power again, and concentrated on each person he could see on one of the tables. White, white, blue, white, it took seconds for him to check them, and each second tired his mind and body more and more, white, white, golden... golden? And with a relieved breath, Stefan relaxed again.

“So, what do you need?” a voice came from behind him, the voice of a woman. He recognized it; the barmaid Ann, expert on the art of mixology. “Is something wrong? You look tired...”

“Nothing is wrong at all, my dear” he forced a smile, as he tried to breath “Just had a rough day, but you know what would cheer my mood? One of you especial mixed drinks... oh, but why limit myself? Serve me two of them, the strongest you got!” he chuckled “The only thing that can compete with your beauty and care is your ability with the drinks.” Stefan gave her a wink, and though he couldn’t see her reaction, he could indeed hear a giggle.

A couple of minutes later, two drinks served in elegant glasses were served to him, and he in turn deposited a bunch of coins in the counter, without knowing if they were golden of silver. Carrying both the drinks, he walked to the table of the man, spreading a dusted pill of Warp into one of those; he carried it in his pocket, ready to get a little payback.

Sitting down, he offered the drink to the stranger, and sipped the one he had. It was quite strong tasting, but that was the point. It would mask perfectly the flavour of the pills.

“What the petch do you want? And who are you, anyway?” the man snorted.

“Sorry to storm in like this, good sir” Stefan replied almost immediately “But I couldn’t help but heard something a while before... something about a book thief?”

There was a small pause, and the man continued “...What do you know about it?”

“As much as you do, I’m afraid...” taking a sip from the strong mix, Stefan continued “It is a shame... this city is usually safe, but one can’t know what kind of thrash can enter this city. I’ve been robbed to, a book I really held dear... a diary from a family member. Tragic indeed.” Making lies up as he went, Stefan tried his best to not to laugh as the sheer amount of bullshyke he was saying.

“Tell me about it... the day before, somebody stole a book I was studying... it meant much to me. Sadly, you have quite reason, my friend, and one can’t trust any place to be safe these days...” the man’s voice seemed more calm and friendly. He got him.

Stefan smiled at him, and from his backpack, he gave him something. A leatherbound book, with blue laces from decoration. Stefan couldn't see it, but the man had a extremely surprised look on his face.

“Aye, I caught the bastard, and made it sure he got what he had coming" he smirked "I propose a toast, my friend. To our honour, and to make sure to see these literature thief behind bars!” he raised his glass rather enthusiastically “Come on, mate, don’t let me hanging. Share it with me!”

The man shrugged, with a casual “why not?” and also raises the glass. They both chugged in their drinks, and with one big gulp, they were empty. “...By the gods, what does this thing has?” the man said, quite dizzy.

“Don’t know, but after a couple of minutes, you don’t care anymore...”

The conversation went on and on, as the alcohol started to make the men’s heads spin. Stefan needed to buy some time, to talk to him, but at this point, any trivial point seemed really interesting. They sang songs, shared stories, and continued to talk like they were long time buddies... until Stefan told him something “I have to go... I’m really starting to lose everything... I think I dropped my purse somewhere...” staggering, he stood up and walked right out towards the door, or rather estumbled agaisnt other patrons and the door, without giving more thought at what he just said.

Outside the bar, he waited. He just waited, until it finally happened; he heard the screams of agony of a man that didn’t knew what hit him as his reality was changed drastically. Anybody could have a bad trip, and somebody who couldn’t handle his alcohol was most likely to do. Was he the man that Stefan was looking for? He didn’t know, and actually, he didn’t care anymore. He couldn’t see quite right, after all.