[Ch.X.4] Retreat from Council

[Shark a' Pult]

At some point anyone along the side of the road may have noticed it, as it had been happening for awhile now and building in intensity, but there was the sound of a low humming in the field. Eventually through the air, a visible distortion could be glimpsed, as though an entire spherical area above the grass of about eight feet in diameter was in flux. There was nothing particularly special about this region, and trying to view it was impossible as it was simply like looking at air, but looking through it to something past it like the forest in the distance gave a very warped impression of whatever was on the other side.

Finally the hum came to a head when all the dirt and pressed wheat on the ground was rapidly forced outwards from the zone of clearing, until at last there was a sudden burst from the center point outwards. A collection of floor tiles, polished stone and glass exploded outwards in all directions and rebounded off the ground or embedded in it. Having emerged from the center point of the sphere, two people seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

"Augh... I can't... anymore..."

Kneeling on the ground beside her, Elly had been holding onto another girl of similar age and build, but collapsed into her arms not long after appearing in the area. After walking so much that day and with so many people, she was too tired to hold herself up and needed a rest. Hopefully the other girl would not just drop her like a sack of potatoes, but with a little help Elly might manage to keep upright.

"I can't take us any farther for now, I need to rest... maybe we can find somewhere..."

Although she had been aiming for the Crystal Cave at Astral's behest, Elly's strength was not great enough to walk directly there. She tried, but had to cut short before something horrible happened like ending up in different places in different pieces, emerging inside a mountain or becoming merged with the person she was walking with. That said, while their location was not intended, they could have ended up in worse places. A nice sunny field freshly harvested, a neat little road running along it and some woods well behind. A little town was visible not too far away, down and over a hill or two with a river running through. Smoke from chimneys rose and small glimpses of people like ants in the distance could be seen.

As of yet though Elly had not a chance to look around and see for herself, still clinging to her traveling companion for support, panting and shaking heavily from the strain of the events earlier.

[Hitotsumami]

The last thing Asmoday remembered was being snatched off Elrond's flying rock by Azealya Thorn and feeling a painful prick on the back of her neck.

She didn't know how long she was asleep, but when she awoke, there was a girl in front of her, a girl who looked friendly enough. Asking for help, she was quite quickly warped away with a magic she was not familiar with.

During the warp, she couldn't help but feel it was similar to her teleportation magic, but different too. Speaking of magic, she felt, just for a split second, like her magic was being used, her magic of illusion, but not by her command. That feeling quickly slipped away however as the two girls reached their destination.

Or maybe not.

The first thing Asmoday noticed was the girl almost collapsing. Asmoday was still weak as well, but mustering all her strength, she held both herself and the girl on their feet.

Glancing around, she saw a field and a road, and further down, a town. The sun was slowly getting lower in the sky; it had been noon when she was attacked by Azealya. How much time had passed? What had happened at the Magical Council? Where was Elrond and the rest of her guild? She had so many questions and didn't know where to start, but she guessed a name was the best place.

"Who are you?" she asked.

Since the sun would not be up for more than 2 or 3 hours at most, Asmoday would then attempt to guide the weakened girl down a pathway towards the town to rest unless the girl mentioned they take a different path.

[Shark a' Pult]

"Eliana... or well, just call me Elly if you like. Sorry about grabbing you like that, it was just so confusing with everything going on, I didn't know what to do..."

Thankful for the help, with Asmoday there Elly was able to manage well enough. She was still dead-tired, but she could keep at it long enough to reach town before nightfall. Once they reached the road and started making their way towards town, it suddenly occurred to her that she actually knew nothing about this girl she had walked with. She seemed to be important enough for Azealya to apparently kidnap and protect, since other people were also after her. As well, Azealya seemed pretty frantic about the girl before they parted ways, but exactly why remained unclear.

At any rate, thus far Elly was convinced that this person was at least not any sort of serious or harmful threat, so felt comfortable accepting help from and confiding in her.

"...yeah, I'm glad we're away from that though. What were you doing there though, Miss...? You must be important to end up in a place like Era."

Elly waited for an answer, but didn't get that long of a chance, as the plodding of hooves and the crunch of wheels across gravel sounded behind them. Up trundled a donkey-drawn card with sacks of vegetables in the back, driven by what could be guessed to be a local farmhand with his dog sitting beside. A young man, couldn't have been much older than twenty, who lifted his hat when he spoke.

"Pardon ladies, need some assistance? Making my way into town, if you're headed that a way."

Elly mustered a weak smile, but looked to Asmoday for an answer since she was in more of a position to be calling the shots.

"What do you think?" she whispered.

[Hitotsumami]

"Elly," repeated Asmoday after the girl said her name. "Yes, I... No, don't be sorry, Elly. I'm just as confused as you are, but I could tell things weren't going well there. I should be glad you were there to get me out before things got worse."

Asmoday almost laughed at herself for talking so calmly to a stranger. Just a few months prior when she was part of the dark guild Atrum, when she had used that name herself, she would have been hard pressed to even give a greeting to a stranger, but yet now she was chatting so casually. She guessed she had to thank her time thus far at Renascence for giving her that courage.

When Elly asked her what she was doing at Era, Asmoday said, "Well, I was with a group of fellow mages, and we were going to become official, I think, but then--" Asmoday was cut off by the sound of the cart joining them at their side.

Asmoday listened to what the man had to say, and upon Elly's question, Asmoday considered it. They were two weak girls, it was going to be late soon, they had no place to stay and Asmoday herself had no money, and here was a man who seemed friendly enough. He had a dog after all, and as far as she could reason, a mass murderer or a psychopath would not bond so well with a dog. Her reasoning may had been faulty, but she was tired.

Asmoday gave a smile and a nod to the young man. "We are, and we'd be thankful for a ride."

[Shark a' Pult]

"Thanks Jeff, we'll be sure to stop by if we happen back your way."

"Anytime, Ladies."

The ride had been bumpy but they were off their feet. Since he was driving the cart, the farmhand was able to make the excuse to sit between the pair, so Asmoday got spend time with the dog. Unfortunately in her state, Elly found herself leaning on the farmhand for support, which as far as she could tell gave off the wrong impression. She played it off as being overly friendly however, and learned a fair amount of info about where they were. His name was Jeff, he worked at a local farm nearby, and the town was Chestnut. She even found out about the closest inn, at the cost of promising to stop by his place sometime and try his sister's apple turnover, and a 'mean' cider he brewed.

By the time they reached the town though and he stopped by the inn, she had had a decent rest, at least enough that she could stand on her own now and wasn't struggling for breath. Moving to his feet, Jeff helped both the travelers down from his cart, and with a lift of his hat and a bark from the dog he was off again.

"Right, well here we are. It's getting late, if you'd like we could spend the night here. I've got a little money, and it smells like they serve food."

With the farmhand gone, Elly turned to Asmoday to sort out what the plan was. They totally could keep going, but they had conveniently been dropped off right by the outside porch of the inn, a couple of other people in chairs having seen their arrival.

"Best food around, no doubt. Breakfast is where it's at though, folks coming through stop by just for that."

"Thanks, we'll think about it."

Addressing one of the assumed customers in a rocking chair on the porch, Elly looked inside to make out what they might be in for. The place was fairly crowded, some songs and cheering heard, but nothing out of the ordinary. Not the worst place to hide out. She reached for the door to open it, to get a proper look for herself and form her own opinion about their staying here, but she realized they were missing a key part to their traveling persona.

"I just realized I never got your name? If we're traveling like this we should also probably come up with fake ones, just in case."

[Hitotsumami]

Now that they were off the cart, in town, and the farmer boy was gone, Asmoday had a bit of time to clear her head. As Elly speculated about going inside, Asmoday said, "Well, actually, I should probably be off myself. I have a guild to get back to and I'm sure they're worried about what happened to me."

But she couldn't deny that the sun was going down. It wasn't that she felt vulnerable at night, she had spent plenty of nights alone out in the open. It was just that she had no idea where she was, and she decided she would get better directions in the morning, and maybe even a ride. There was always the option of Elly taking her away with her magic, but she doubted Elly knew where her guild was, and especially didn't want to push her anymore than she already had.

"But I guess we should spend the night here, at least. In the morning I can decide what to do."

Asmoday took the lead and opened the main door, nodding kindly to the people on the porch. Inside, the smell of food and the sound of laughter filled the air. As she entered the building, she looked at Elly, realizing she hadn't said her name. "Oh, my name is Asmoday. Should we find a table? I am a bit hungry."

Asmoday hadn't gotten past the fact that this girl was at least her age. She knew that a lot of young girls went off on their own to become mages, but she was sure she had a home of her own, at least somewhere out there, and once they reached for their table and got some food, she would make it a point to ask about all of that.

[Shark a' Pult]

At first Elly was worried about Asmoday just up and leaving, and thought she was fine with going the distance. It seemed though something changed her mind fairly quickly, at least enough that Elly didn't get a chance to ask what it was that had caused this change.

"Oh, my name is Asmoday. Should we find a table? I am a bit hungry."

"That's a pretty cool name, not one you hear everyday. I like it! Well anyway, see if you can get a table and I'll get a room or rooms."

Clapping her hands together in affirmation, Elly took the lead and went inside. The first room was more like a reception than anything, a nice carpeted room with several chairs and lamps around with a few potted plants aside, and a desk near the door with a person reading a book. The owner perhaps, or a relative?

"Excuse me? We're in need of two beds for the night, if you can manage?"

"Two beds you say? Well most common is a bed to a room, but we have some exceptions, if you care to look at-"

As the desk fellow went on about lodging and accommodations, Elly covertly looked towards Asmoday, and nodded towards the door from the reception room to the dining hall.

---

As it seemed from outside, the place was quite rowdy, with lots of yelling and singing. No fights though, at least not yet, but lots of people hanging onto one another for support. It seemed this was a regular place for locals to get a drink, but there were obviously some travelers about the place, partaking in the revelry or no. The bar was the most crowded, but there were still a good few people strewn about the main floor, where a good few tables and chairs stood about. A big roaring fireplace along with the busy kitchen visible behind the bar and the sumptuous smells coming from it, and the place was quite warm and welcoming if a bit overwhelming. Overall it had a nice country feel to it, with lots of wood carvings or simple art depicting locally famous events or persons. Most of them had to do with hunting it seemed, as evidenced by a few of the large stuffed animal heads.

"What'll it be, Miss?"

A busy waitress in typical tavern dress happened to stop by Asmoday, but not so busy that she couldn't lend a helping hand. Holding in one hand a tray bearing a number of empty glasses, and a stack of menus in the other, she seemed overworked but cheery nonetheless. One thing she did lack though was patience, but Asmoday could just as well find a menu and seat herself without trouble, and service would still find it's way to her.

[Hitotsumami]

After Elly arranged a room for them, Asmoday made her way over to an open table. When the waitress came by Asmoday quickly asked for a salad if they had one. They might not have, but Asmoday was so used to the magical chefs of Renascence who were capable of preparing any dish.

Once seated and waiting, Asmoday found it a good time to ask her own questions to the girl. "If you don't mind me asking... Who are you? Well, I know your name. What I mean is, why were you there at the Magical Council and why did you save me? Surely you have a home of your own you should be at right now..."

Asmoday hadn't thought that this young girl was part of the threat Mark had mentioned on the rock when they picked him up outside of Era.

[Shark a' Pult]

Eventually Elly joined Asmoday, content with the seating arrangement.

"If anyone asks, my name is Emily and yours is Alice."

While salad wasn't something they normally did, the waitress managed to get the kitchen staff to accommodate. Admittedly it was meager since normally, they only used greens to supplement other items on the menu, but it was sufficient. Elly meanwhile just asked for the house special which turned out to be bratwurst. Even though she was clearly hungry, she made poor progress of eating it however, since she seemed to be on edge. Alert as though something were to happen at any moment.

"Me? I was just with some friends- er well, I don't think they even like me, but we went to the council place. Our boss was looking for information about you, not sure what. Maybe some guild you used to be a part of?" she put down her utensils to stop eating for a moment, so as not to be rude while responding, "I don't know that much, I'm just the transport. I helped you though because you looked like you needed it, like you didn't belong." At some point what she said actually registered with her, and chuckled awkwardly to herself. "Ah, sorry. I guess that was pretty dumb of me, to make a call like that and pull you away."

In truth, Elly hadn't put much more thought into it than what she said. She must have been important since Azealya found a need to take the girl with her, but if anyone knew the importance Asmoday might have, it wasn't Elly. She just saw someone in need, and with Azealya unable to help, Elly figured she would step in. There was some awareness that Astral was interested in this person, but for what remained unclear to the walker. She remembered some talk about ancient powers and the crystal cave, but Elly found it hard to believe that the girl sitting with her had anything to do with any of that.

"I don't really have a place of my own though. I think there might be a room or two in some places that are mine, since I still pay rent for them, but I haven't checked for sure in awhile. My... disability, makes it hard to settle down. Not like you though, right? You've got a guild and friends, maybe a special someone?"

It seemed Elly was eager to change the subject from her personal life, to say the least.

"Don't worry, after we go to my boss, I'll take you back right away. You'll probably be home before lunchtime tomorrow."

[Hitotsumami]

Listening to all Elly had to say, she at first wondered why the sudden name change, but as Elly continued, her thoughts were quickly replaced by much more dire ones.

In her mind, Asmoday realized it then. Elly was one of them. One of the threats Mark had told her about. If it was a threat so terrible that Mark needed the help of the Renascence Guild, she knew the girl she sat in front of must not have been any regular girl.

Asmoday tried to glance around without looking to suspicious. Three windows and one door. All she'd have to do was activate an illusion, an illusion just large enough to trick Elly, and she could be out of here before she knew she was gone.

Like you didn't belong.

Elly's words made her stop short of performing the magic. It rang like Mikas' voice when he asked her into his guild and like Elrond's when he had saved her. She never belonged, even now when she felt like Renascence was her home. There was still part of her missing. No memories beyond a year past, just empty darkness.

If Elly's leader, if this man was seeking Asmoday out for some reason, then he must know something about her, something she didn't know.

Sorry, Elrond, she thought to herself. I'll be back soon. I promise.

For some odd reason, she felt as if she'd said those exact words to Elrond not long ago, but she knew she hadn't. She'd been out cold until Elly had saved her. Saved... That was still yet to be seen.

Asmoday wasn't sure if Elly's promise of taking her back to her Guild was true or not, but for now, she'd have to follow along. Elly changing subjects was a nice and took some pressure of the situation off.

"Someone special?" Asmoday's face grew bright and she looked down at her salad, fiddling it with her fork. "Yes, actually, there is one. He's strong and independent, like me, kind of..." Asmoday sighed. "But I don't think he even knows I exist, at least no more than all the other mages in my guild."

Keeping the subject off her worries, she then asked, "Why aren't you at one of those couple of places that are yours?" But she couldn't escape those worries with the followup. "Why are you with your current... guild?"

It wasn't infrequent to see young people in Guilds, she knew some herself, like Celeste and Qi. But they all had reasons for not living with their family and growing up in a regular house, and Asmoday felt Elly had a similar reason.

[Shark a' Pult]

"Eh, you should try talking to him, maybe he feels the same way. At least you don't have to worry about warping away if you get embarrassed."

That was about the extent of Elly's relationship advice. She could recall a few people she had been close with, but things never went very far. Hugs were about as far as she could make it before her powers triggered without her control, and walked her (and sometimes the other person with her) away. A first kiss was the farthest she could recall, and that resulted in a rather poor outcome for many people in the area uninvolved. Aside of all that as well most people tended to react negatively to her being able to walk, and those who didn't, she didn't think it was fair to subject them to a relationship with her.

In the end, she kind of just gave up, and left happily ever afters to the fairy tales.

"Why aren't you at one of those couple of places that are yours? Why are you with your current... guild?"

"Ah well, most of the places I go people don't like me, my powers cause too much trouble. I can't help it, and I don't blame them, but it makes going back to places like that... well, difficult. It's not so bad though, I do get to travel around a lot and meet lots of new people all the time, and learn new things. New jobs, new skills." She didn't make it seem like a particularly nice lifestyle, and it most likely wasn't, but if anything Elly seemed used to it enough that she showed no remorse or regret when she spoke of her life. "As for the current... they're not really a Guild, but group? Well, I sort of kind of accidentally stumbled into their secret headquarters during a secret meeting. I guess it's good they thought my powers were useful enough to keep me around, otherwise your guess is as good as mine as to what they would have done to me. I'm willing to bet though that I wouldn't be sitting here with you right now, if they didn't like what I can do."

This more recent detail of her life Asmoday brought up however, did bring some trepidation to Elly. She still was not clear on even most of the details of the Oracion Seis or their goals, particularly what their stance on her was. Some of them seemed nice enough, but she was fairly certain some of them were dark mages or criminals of that ilk. She was glad they hadn't just killed her when she accidentally met them, but while she didn't want to be associated with people like that, she didn't believe that they would just let her go now.

"I guess it's not like your guild, you've only said a little but you make it sound so nice. You seem really cool though, and you're so pretty. I bet you could get into any guild you wanted, so why'd you pick... what's the name of it?"

By the time she reached the topic of Asmoday's guild, Elly had finished her dinner. It wasn't much but it was filling, though it was breakfast she was looking forward to, that everyone around here said was so great. Eventually she found her eyes drawn to the windows though, waiting for Asmoday's answer, and she was surprised to notice that the sun had already set. A while gone at least, since nightfall was already on them. It obviously couldn't have been late, but it was still later than Elly thought it was. Probably due in part to the lack of clocks in this place.

[Hitotsumami]

Asmoday finished her salad and pushed it to the side.

"You used that power to save me," said Asmoday. She wasn't sure if those Elly worked with were good people, but it appeared that Elly had honestly wanted to help. "It shouldn't be something that sets you against your own happiness. I have a similar magic, I can teleport short distances, no, nothing like what you've done, and I can't take people with me, but perhaps our two magics were at one point in the past, just one. Maybe I can help you take control."

When Elly questioned why Asmoday had chosen her guild, she answered. "My guild is called Renascence. Elrond told me that it means rebirth, a new beginning. I seem to be having a lot of new beginnings recently... Anyway, it really is a great place. Everyone is friendly, and there is always something to do."

Asmoday decided to summon some of her Elrond side and said, "You could join us, you know. I am interested in this group of yours, and what they exactly what with me, but after that, if you don't like them, if you're scared of them, run away with me."

Asmoday's voice had grown quieter, just in case anyone around was listening.

[Shark a' Pult]

"Oh it's not magical, it's just something I can do. I've been arrested before, put in jail with null-magic shackles and bars and everything, didn't stop me from getting out. They told me I do have magic potential, but I've never had any training so I don't know what it could be. Maybe something cool like ice powers or whatever."

Elly didn't doubt that Asmoday was a capable mage, but she was skeptical about how much help she could offer. True, it turned out she could also teleport, but other mages before had tried to help with her ability to no avail, when really what she needed was actual magic training to help her develop whatever latent magical power she had. If anyone could help with her walking disorder, she figured it was her family, since all of them could do it as well. The only problem being, her family had cut her off, so that wasn't really an option.

"Well it does sound like a nice place for sure, and I've never been in a guild before, but I don't think I could just run away. For one thing, I'm pretty sure my boss and the others would get angry and come looking for me, for some real punishment. And another thing, even if I were to run, I don't think going with you to your guild would be a good idea in case it ended up bringing trouble with me. I like the idea, you make it sound good, but I think at least for now I'd prefer to just stay with the current group. You know, continue working and earn an honest way out, so there's no worry of retribution."

Part of her, at least for a short time, imagined running away with Asmoday into the sunset to live happily ever after at her guild. She might be young though, but she wasn't a kid anymore, and she knew that burning bridges with the Oracion Seis was a bad idea, and not just because if she did she wouldn't be able to use them as reference for her next job. She had seen what they were capable of, so she had a feeling that giving them further reason to kill her was a bad idea. As well, there was a smaller but still significant issue, that despite all their hazards and risks involved, they offered a kind of stability Elly was not used to. She didn't have to worry about her next meal or if she could find lodging each night, and all she had to do was provide transport. This dinner in fact, and the room they'd be staying in, was paid for by money gotten from her time being apart of the group. It was a kind of security that was new to her, and she felt she might like.

"I'll definitely think about it though, even get to see it for awhile maybe, when we go back. I'll sleep on it, which works out since I was planing on turning in for the night. Got an early start tomorrow anyway, what do you say?"

Elly pushed her chair back and rose to her feet. Leaving some coins for whoever it was that would clean up their table, she rummaged around in her coat pockets for the set of keys she'd been given to their room for the night. Of course, Asmoday didn't have to do anything, but Elly was dead tired after a day of walking and wanted to get some sleep. Plus she had to set up her bed for the night, so she wouldn't have to worry about causing property damage.

[Hitotsumami]

Asmoday was truly perplexed as Elly explained her power. If magic-negating chains did not stop the power, then surely it wasn't magic, but then, what was it? Asmoday had never heard of a seemingly magical power that wasn't composed of magic. Perhaps it was a magical item? No, it didn't appear so.

Asmoday was also a bit disappointed that Elly turned down her offer, but it wasn't final. Asmoday felt sure that if Elly truly wanted to leave, she would. And Asmoday figured that even if she did have enemies, the mages of Renascence would protect her, just as they had saved her from Samson and Mikas.

"Yes, I guess we should be getting to bed. I'd like to meet these companions of yours by tomorrow, if possible."

---

It had been a long night for Asmoday. She couldn't find sleep no matter how much she looked. She watched the moon outsider her window rise beyond the frame, and soon enough, the sun appeared as well. Her head had been full of home, of Elrond and Qi and Jupiter and...

She wished she could tell them she was okay, but there was no turning back. She'd have to journey to these people, to their leader, and find out just what they knew.

Asmoday decided to skip breakfast. Even though she was hungry, she knew that her stomach wouldn't hold it. So, she waited outside the Inn, leaning against a tree, for Elly to arrive.

"Should we walk?" asked Asmoday to herself, though anyone nearby could hear, "or... walk?"


OOC: I moved on to morning, but if you wanted something to happen during the night, feel free to do so, Shark, and I will edit accordingly.

[Shark a' Pult]

"Yes, I guess we should be getting to bed. I'd like to meet these companions of yours by tomorrow, if possible."

"First order of business it is, won't take but a moment."

With that Elly made for their room. She located a communal washroom which was convenient, but the first order of business was to prepare the bed, which meant stripping everything off it. Only the mattress remained, and she placed all the covers and pillows on a chair. It was not immediately clear why she did all this, but if Asmoday stayed up the night she would see; while she was sleeping, at several points during the night Elly sleepwalked, so to speak. The visual effect that came with it persisted fairly consistently throughout the night, but every once in awhile she would actually end up walking away. While sleeping, it was not enough to take the entire bed with her, but it was probably a good thing she removed the pillows and sheets.

It was never long, since shortly after each time, she would end up entering the room again and laying back down to sleep. Assumedly after walking in her sleep, once woken up she just came right back, reemerging outside in an alley or some similar place before returning to her room.

Each time on return she might have acknowledged Asmoday being awake, but aside of that, this all seemed normal enough for Elly and she had no trouble getting back to sleep.

---

The breakfast lived up to all the hype it had received and more, and Elly was not able to remember a time she had a better cooked omelet. She would have to remember this place, so she could return if she ever wanted more.

"That second one probably, it would take a few days still even if we traveled by road."

Standing beside Asmoday with a piece of toast hanging out of her mouth, Elly rummaged through her coat pocket and busied herself with folding out a nifty little map of Fiore that she had purchased from a general store just down the street. With her finger she scanned for a bit till she landed on a town not to far from Era.

"Here, this is us. Before I take you to my boss though, can you show me where it is that your guild is? I'm guessing that's where you want to go back to? If anything goes wrong or they try to do anything to you when we get there, just grab me or I'll grab you, and I'll take you back immediately. I promise it."

While Elly on a bad day ended up all over the place, Fiore was a fairly big country and there were plenty of places she hadn't been before. She didn't know where Renascence was, but if Asmoday showed her, then even if Elly hadn't been exactly there before she would get them as close as possible. She didn't think that Astral and the others would bring harm to Asmoday, but she didn't know the whole plan either, so she wasn't taking any risks. Worst came to worst, she wouldn't be responsible for Asmoday getting hurt after taking her this far, even if it meant running away from the Oracion Seis just like she'd been told to.