Ok new update, ran a bit long, some info on magic, and I get as close to biowarean writing as I am comfortable with... there are three separate but related choices to make at the end so one vote for each of the big decisions...
Chapter 5:
An evening with the Courtesan:
As you make the long walk back from the Bazaar you run though your options for the evening since you really don't want to go back to your tent yet.
Gareth and Tyrvard are probably at the Hanged Man right now drinking half the city under the table, hopefully they have taken the time to prepare themselves instead of just drinking all of their money away. You have to admit you have never met a man like Tyrvard before and if all the men of the northern tribes are like that it is easy to see why Alric wants their support.
Gareth is a different story, he does not talk about his past much, says he fought in the war and you can believe it based on the scars and the martial aura he exudes. You are just glad to have two such warriors on your side, a little muscle to complement your magic. Still you do not really want to spend your last night above ground drinking at the Hanged Man, you have done that almost every night for the last week, it is time for a change.
You pass the teahouse that Serpent was raving about yesterday, Brown's is its name. You make a note to try it when you get back but you just do not feel like tea tonight.
As you continue on your way you realize that there is really only one place to go, well unless you just want to wander aimlessly, you chuckle at that idea, you are the "leader" of this expedition and you owe it to everyone to check over your supplies and make sure you are not missing anything.
And with that you make for the address that Thaïs gave you. Part of you expects to find nothing, that her whole act was a con and that you have ruined yourself but you shake off the idea, you remind yourself that you are a good judge of people, or at least Henry always used to say you were. You really do believe that she is on the level and she has become something of the de facto quartermaster of the expedition. You have been coordinating with her throughout the day and her help has been invaluable. You stop by one of the better shops in town and grab a few things for dinner, a savoury pie, a bottle of wine, that sort of thing. You pick up a little extra in case Thaïs is working late and wants some and you begin the walk to the safehouse.
As you reach the building you realize that it is no mere shack, in better times this would have been a coaching house. The attached stables are a little worse for wear but everything looks remarkably stable. You approach the front door and knock, you also draw your knife just in case it is a trap. After a little hesitation and noise from the other side a female voice calls from within for the password. You give it and the door unlocks, you palm the knife, as you step though the door it shuts behind you and someone side-steps behind you. You feel some sort of gadget pressed against the back of your head. The voice instructs you to turn around slowly and you comply, you sigh it is just Thaïs.
Gone are the silks and perfume of yesterday, her attire today while still of high quality is all about function, well maybe with a touch of fashion you will concede, she looks the very image of a clerk, tunic and trousers and her raven black hair in a functional ponytail.
In a casual tone you start; "Hi, Thaïs."
She seems relieved; "Oh Derryth, I was not aware that you would be by before tomorrow, you should have sent a message I could have taken your head off with this thing. Nice whip by the way, looking to get into the trade?"
"Very funny, I would have sent a messenger but it was all very spur of the moment and I wanted it to be a surprise." You reply with a quick smile, raising the bag with your dinner in it, "Also would you mind lowering that thing you have pointed at me it looks dangerous."
"I don't know, maybe I like having you at my mercy..." she gives you a grin.
You match the grin; "Well then I would be forced to draw your attention to the knife angled at your ribs."
She looks down at the knife that has slipped back into view and laughs, she lowers the "crossbow". Some gadget that a client that could not pay gave to her. She actually tried to convince her to come along on the expedition, but the inventor was adamant about leaving for the south. Said something about going where her inventions would be appreciated, Thaïs sighs and explains that the inventor really is a dear but just has no luck with people.
Turning the crossbow over in her hand she explains that it is a handheld prototype based on dwarven theory. It fires these tiny but very deadly bolts from a "magazine" inserted into the underside of the device. She demonstrates the action of the piece, loading and unloading it and you must admit the things those dwarves create truly are marvels. You remember the dinner you are carrying and ask her if she would like some. The two of you sit down to a nice warm meal.
Following the meal she gives you a tour of the facilities, there is a single horse in the stable, to pull an old supply wagon if the hand cart proves insufficient, and most of the supplies are stored in one of the lower rooms near the old loading dock. She was about half way through cataloguing it all when you arrived. You offer to help and the two of you spend the next couple of hours going over the supplies, everything looks to be in place but there are about double the herbs and medical supplies than you ordered.
Thaïs explains that she looked over the invoices for the items as they arrived and while most of the prices were fair the herbalist had dramatically overcharged you (you had suspected it but could not prove it). When the package arrived with the herbalist's apprentice she launched into a dramatic appeal to the young man's sense of honour and duty, "how dare he be a party to such vile business practices, swindling two innocent young women" the man was terribly ashamed and threw in an extra order of herbs as recompense. As Thaïs retells the story she acts out both roles as if on stage, you stifle a laugh.
As you finish the inventory and lock up the storage you return to the main house and the two of you settle down in what was once a study. You talk about your pasts, she tells you about the cities of the Province while you tell her about some of you adventures with Henry and about the old man himself. She offers her sympathies and you thank her as the conversation drifts towards the study of magic.
It seems she has had a solid training in arcane theory, she even knows a few things that you do not, but her set of spells is more suited to pleasure and luxury than hard-living and ruin raiding. The night is still young and you decide it may be a useful exercise in trust to teach her a spell. Nothing too dangerous, not that you really know anything too dangerous yet, but something which has proven to be very useful to you in the past.
When you suggest the idea she is all for it, the woman definitely has a taste for knowledge and power. You should probably be careful around her you think but then you remind yourself that she is probably thinking the same thing, and you are forced to smile. It would be nice to have a colleague that you can actually trust and talk to again now that Henry if gone, you will just have to be careful is all.
"Ok," you tell her; "let's go into the back yard and get started."
You lead her into the back and survey your surroundings, a few boxes, a bunch of empty bottles, yes this will do. You light a lamp so you will be able to see better and line up a dozen bottles. You tell her that the spell you will be teaching her is called Zap, a basic attack spell that will not do too much damage unless you get the target in a soft spot. It will often distract your attacker however and can give you time to escape. You tell her that accuracy and steady hands are of the utmost importance, you take a wide and stable stance, and you begin to focus on the bottle, describing the logical and spiritual movements required to bring about the spell. As you finish you begin firing at the bottles, twelve for twelve, you are on fire tonight and Thaïs is quite impressed.
You set up another six bottles and motion for her to try, it takes a while but she manages a shot, it misses wide, reflects of a large chunk of metal and damn near hits you. Thaïs apologies but you reassure her that the first time you tried it you had trouble too. You decide to help her a little with her stance, remembering Henry's lessons from your youth. You walk up behind her and with a little kick spread her legs out a little wider, you straighten out her shoulders and reinforce her arm, with one hand on her hip and the other on her hand you add you consciousness to hers and direct the bolt to the first bottle, a hit. She leans back into you a little and you direct her to the second bottle, again a direct hit. She gives a slight yelp of satisfaction and you believe she is getting the hang of it.
"Ready to do it on your own?" you ask; "try to hit the remaining four."
As you step away from her she focuses, it take five shots but she hits the four bottles. Not bad and the bolts she is creating are already a little stronger then yours. However you notice that she looks a little run down, even as a child you had better endurance than this, oh well as Henry used to say every caster is unique, like pretty, little, sadistic snowflakes.
Thaïs returns to your side with a rather large smile on her face, you know that feeling, that feeling of greater knowledge, greater power even a little more is so very intoxicating. Looks like you are not such a bad teacher after all, it definitely helped when you thought back to Henry's lessons though, he was a real mage and knew how to properly teach someone, you sigh; all things in time. You congratulate her on her shooting and the two of you return inside to the study.
It seems that Thaïs wants to return the favour and she brings out an old lamp and sets it on a table half way across the room. She explains that one of her clients back west (he was a wizard with not a little skill) taught her how to call up small fires and put them out, it is something that she has found to be quite useful. She demonstrates, sitting next to you on the couch she extends her arm and focuses on the lamp. It flickers to life, she gets up and snuffs it out then she repeats herself three or four times explaining the theory behind the spell. You try it but can't quite get it to work, she pouts a little stating that she must not be a very good teacher.
Trying to cheer her up you think back to the Zap spell earlier, you tell her that you copied as closely as possible the setup used by Henry to teach you the spell and that you think it really helped.
A rather mischievous smile appears on Thaïs' face, "All right let's try that."
She removes the lamp and instead stands you in front of the old fireplace, she stands next to you and raises your hand in the direction of the fireplace. Then she tells you to close your eyes and focus on the very concept of heat, agitation, the dance of unseen elements, and sure enough in your mind's eye appear two dancers. You watch them dance, and she tells you to try to speed it up, and you do, faster and faster the figures spin until it is all a blur. You think you can smell smoke but opening your eyes you do not see a flame, and you are about to turn to Thaïs to tell her so. In fact you are so focused on the spell that when she kisses you your mental control collapses, you kiss... and the fireplace explodes...
As you and Thaïs sit there on the ground, thrown back by the explosion in the fireplace she blushes a little and gives you a sheepish grin; "Well you did say to recreate the conditions under which I first learnt the spell, and I am a courtesan after all."
Fair enough, you are not really sure how you feel about the situation but it is hardly something to worry about, you think, and at any rate you now know that you can conjure fire and that feels pretty good.
You brush the soot off and help each other to your feet, she asks you why the fireplace blew up like that. Seems like she does have a few holes in her knowledge of magical theory.
You try to explain, a single mage can cast some fairly powerful spells but a group of mages can manage even more. You tell her that when you were helping her in the courtyard behind the building, you used your greater control of the spell to give her power better direction, however when she kissed you she poured a lot of extra power into a half finished spell without much control and she completely distracted you ensuring you would lose control as well. Thankfully the fireplace contained most of the flames and burnt out without doing serious or permanent damage. With a gasp she apologizes again but you tell her not to worry about it, she did not know what would happen after all.
With that little bit of adventure over with you think about returning to your tent for the night, it is probably early morning by now and it is a long walk back but you need at least a few hours of sleep. Thaïs offers you a bed for the night, just to sleep in, she adds quickly, but you are not sure if it would be a good idea all things considered.
Weighing up the advantages and disadvantages you decide to stay, you really don't want to walk through the dark back to the tent and a bed would be divine, she shows you to one of the better bedrooms and bids you goodnight. As she closes the door she again apologizes for almost blowing you up.
You use the wash basin to get cleaned up and head to bed. As you lay in bed you think about the people you have assembled for the expedition, the good doctor and his apprentice, Tyrvard and Gareth, Serpent and Thaïs and you wonder if you can or even should trust any of them. You really want to have actual friends, the way Henry and Ian trusted each other was always something you envied a little, but it is also a great way to wind up dead. Well you will just have to see what the morning holds...
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thaïs greets you when you come downstairs, she must have been out to the shop early as breakfast is laid out in the study. She also tells you that she has taken the liberty of having your tent collected from the camp. She probably still feels a bit guilty about almost killing you, well that is a risk when it come to magic and she will have to be willing to take it if she wants to pursue that path. The two of you pass the day in conversation, your armour arrives along with a second parcel from Ren for Thaïs, a lighter suit of Tyrian leather, less protection but also easier to wear for someone unaccustomed to adventuring. It seems that Thaïs had paid a visit to the Bazaar right after you had saved her, she had placed an order for the heavily modified armour and picked up a few minor magical items in case of emergencies.
That afternoon Serpent arrives wearing padded armour, a satchel full of mandrake roots over one shoulder and his medical supplies in his pack. He also caries a knife and a shovel of all things. When you ask about it he simply responds that you never know when you may have to do a bit of digging. You and Thaïs share a look of confusion but more information is not forthcoming. The three of you spend the afternoon discussing a variety of subjects from your pasts, to politics, to magical theory. It seems that Serpent has interest in magic and the ability but has never really had a teacher, Thaïs whispers to you that the two of you should "train" him you have to laugh at the thought as the both of you are barely better off than he is.
Still it is a thought worth considering, you are all "independent" talents, in that you do not belong to a circle. You could try forming your own Circle for mutual protection and support, you know Thaïs would support the idea after last night, the woman loves knowledge and power almost as much as you do. Serpent is still a bit of a mystery however, you will have to find out who he is and what he really wants from life.
As the afternoon wears on you leave to go pick up the doctor and his apprentice, you find them outside the Children's offices, today he does look like a wizard, dressed in blue-grey robes with a wide brimmed hat. The apprentice is also dressed in similar if less ornate robes and carries a massive pack, seems he makes her carry the supplies, when she sees you she steps slightly behind her master and gives you a dirty look. You don't know why the kid hates you but it is obvious that she does.
"Doctor Miosguinn are you ready to depart?"
"Ah good, Miss Derryth, we are ready when you are."
You collect the two Children and return to the safehouse to find Gareth and Tyrvard have already arrived. Serpent and Tyrvard are standing at opposite sides of the room staring daggers at one another, Thaïs waves you over and explains. It seems that Serpent is from Gower one of the northern realms of men and he and the Beserk do not seem to like one another. He made an off hand remark about the sanity and hygiene of the Northern peoples and Tyrvard did not respond well.
She has managed to get them each to swear that they will work together during the trip and she thinks they will keep their words but she can not be sure. Great, just the sort of thing you needed, you will probably have to talk to them or get Thaïs to manage them since each is an important asset. Or you could cut one loose...
The entire group files upstairs and you lay out the potential routes you can take to the ruin once the sun goes down. In the centre of the room is Thaïs' map marked with known patrol routs, monster sightings and the points of entry...
Pick one option from each of the sets of options ( 1), 2), and 3)):
1)There are three good points of entry, you point to each of the three markers in turn:
a)The First is closest to our target, it has the highest security but will make for the shortest trip. We will have to move quietly and pack lightly to avoid patrols.
b)The Second is further out but it is the biggest entrance and one of the least secure. You can expect monsters but few patrols or other adventurers. It should not impact the length of the trip one way or another.
c)The Third is the furthest out, it will add two weeks to the trip but almost no one knows about it so there will be less resistance.
2)There is also the question of supplies, thanks to Thaïs you have options:
a) Carry everything, this is the stealthiest choice but gives you the least supplies, about half of what you bought.
b)Use the hand cart, this will let you transport most of the supplies but will slow you down if you hit rough terrain. You can not pick this if you go with 1a.
c)Use the wagon, you will be able to take all of the supplies and even be able to transfer some of the load from your packs. You will travel lighter but will still be dependent on the wagon. You can not pick this if you go with 1a.
3)There is also the question of Serpent and Tyrvard:
a)You and Thaïs will just have to manage the situation, you need both men.
b)Tell Tyrvard to leave, he won't be happy but you need the physician.
c)Tell Serpent to leave, you hate to see him go but you need the muscle