Loremaster of the Amaranthine lands

A part of Regis was anxious, ready to rush towards the gate the moment he heard a horn or a bell going on, but any possible undead attack was still hours away. In the meantime, he managed to reach the secret entrance, and headed downstairs. Bray sat beside the fire with his back leaned to a crate. His quiet snoring was a sure sign of a deep sleep that Regis felt envious of. He wanted to just collapse on the mill sack behind the crates and sleep until morning, but he knew better than to do so.

Tomorrow was going to be a big day and if the seven willed it, his group of ragtag outlanders would get a place on the boats heading to East Fork. If he compared their journey to the scouts before them, then it would take roughly three days of travel upstream. That meant three days of being squeezed into a larger rowboat with other people, having no privacy at all. There was no way for him to practice transmutation to train his craft, so he had to make the most of the evening. Infusion enchanting was more common and he didn’t have to be afraid of others stealing his technique or his collection of runes, since most of the process happened in his mind while meditating.

The raw materials were a different matter however. They couldn’t just lug sacks of bronze ingots and some such around, but elemental stones were a different matter since they were relatively small in size. With that in mind, the young dark elf sat down at the area where he always practiced transmutation and he began to create quartz crystals using the grow cluster spell. When he emptied his arcana reserves, he took a short meditation session and then he continued on with the creation of quartz stones. He spent at least two hours with this repetitive cycle before he managed to amass a decent number of thumb sized clear crystals. Regis looked back at the elderly fellow snoring beside the fire he occasionally threw a branch or two on to keep it burning.

Bray was still soundly asleep and the youth tried to work as quietly as possible to keep it that way. Spell after spell was cast on the quartz crystals he placed in the middle of the re-drawn transmutation circle, slowly changing the colourless crystal into the valuable elemental stones he needed for his enchantments. Hours drifted by with the repetitive cycle of spell casting and meditating, making him yawn as he began to feel the weight of the night. When he was finally done with the last earth elemental stone as well, the youth put it into the pouch holding the rest of his same element aligned stones before he finally decided to crawl over to his sleeping spot and collapse for good. Several shadow filled hours later Regis woke up with a start, clutching his chest as cold sweat ran along his spine.

“Easy there,” Bray called out to him, walking over to pat him on the shoulder. “What’s wrong, lad?”

“Nothing,” the young dark elf shook his head as his mind cleared somewhat. “Just some bad dreams.”

“Bad dreams, huh? It looked worse than that.”

“I’m all right Bray,” Regis got on his feet somewhat flustered. “What time is it?”

“The sun is about to rise.” The elderly man pointed upward to the ceiling where a faint light could be seen through the grates.

“I guess it’s best if I start preparing then.” The youth reached out towards his knapsack, organising his meagre belongings while Bray warmed up some of yesterday’s leftovers.

Regis cleared out most of the seemingly useless stuff from his bag, keeping only the most essential ones such as the book he crafted and filled with runes and their description, or the pouches containing the elemental stones. A small waterskin to bring water along, a few rations and other small stuff also made their way into the bag. He also kept the journals he got during the past few nights along with the beginner enchanter’s booklet he got from Chera, even though the important parts of its contents had already been copied over to his own book.

“Come and sit down,” Bray called out to him. “It’s not much, but it should keep you going for a short while.”

“Will you be fine without me around?” Regis looked at the grey haired elder and the small stack of rations he left for him.

“Of course I will be,” the man nodded as he handed over a bowl of steaming stew. “No one comes down to bother an old man living in the sewers. Well, no one except a certain dark elf brat. You have bigger things to worry about then these old bones of mine. You’re leaving me with plenty of supplies and tradeable stuff, and now that the undead seem to have thinned out around here, life should become somewhat better. I might even try to get my hands on some clay or something to begin working again.”

“Sounds like a plan, but I won’t be away for too long,” Regis pulled out his portal amulet to show to the elderly potter. “Once we’ve managed to clear up the area of East Fork’s spell weavers’ guild, I plan on linking up with their gateway and then I’ll come back to report to Galen and Salvador. I’ll come over when things get a bit safer to visit you. If you want, I could even take you to East Fork in case things don’t turn out here as you’ve expected.”

“Already planning that far?” Bray chuckled as he put his spoon down. “It’s good to look out for the future lad, and I wouldn’t mind a change of scenery myself either.”

“It’s a deal then.” Regis nodded as he finished his food.

The young dark elf put the plate to its usual spot before stepping beside the bucket with the clean water. He used the cleansing spell to commandeer a fist sized ball of water from the bucket so he could wash up before donning his armour. Piece by piece, his equipment found its place, the dark woollen cloak covering his upper body and knapsack. His soulbound staff droned with an almost audible hum of power when he took hold of it, as if it was just as excited about the journey as its master.

“Got everything packed up, lad?” Bray patted his shoulder, earning a smirk and a friendly hug from the youth.

“I’m prepped and ready to go. Take care of yourself while I’m away gramps!”

“You too, Regis.” The elderly man said his farewell before closing the stone door behind the youth.

The morning sun was barely up above the houses, the grey clouds blocking most of its light. He walked with eyes darting from one side to the other, noticing the new people filling up the empty streets left behind the refugees that left the previous day. ‘I guess more of them arrived along the shores. Harmarond must have been hit far worse than Galen made me believe.’ The dark elf thought to himself as he got closer to the river docks, more and more people crowding the street in front of him.

“Regis!” A voice called out to him from the side of the street that turned out to be Aspen.

“Morning Aspen,” the young dark elf greeted the hooded youth. “I thought that you’d be with the others.”

“Osmond told me to find you,” the rogue waved him closer. “He wants to meet up with you in a nearby tavern before heading over to the docks.”

“Why? I thought everyone agreed on meeting at the docks to see if we’ve made it on to the list.”

“He didn’t fill me on what he wants,” the hooded fellow shook his head. “All I know is that he met with some shady wizard and wants your opinion.”

“A shady wizard?” Regis raised an eyebrow after hearing the comment.

“He’s supposed to be another shadow something like Osmond, which is why they’re at a tavern instead of the spell weavers’ guild. You know how people get…”

“Angsty?” Regis chuckled involuntarily. “Yeah, shadow touched people usually get a bad rep. Anyway; if Osmond needs a second opinion then it must be something important. Lead the way!”

Aspen spun around his heels, heading through another alley that ended in a less crowded street. About two or three minutes later the sight of a large tavern came into view with several people merrily drinking at the tables set up in the small terrace in the front section of the place. It was quite peculiar how even when people were fighting over for food; booze was still something they could get their hands on. The rogue opened the door to let Regis in, but as soon as the two entered the tavern, the air froze in the lungs of the young dark elf.

Beside a few humans sitting in a position that was clear to see from the doorway, the tavern only had dark elves in it. A familiar pale silver haired young woman stood not far from them, staring at him with ruby red eyes. On her left stood a tall young dark elf, kitted out in fine carved heavy bronze plate armour that was polished to shine.

“Thank you for accepting my invitation, Regis!” The woman said with a smile, taking a few measured steps towards him while eyeing him up.

“Your invitation?” Regis asked back before the realization of being duped dawned on him.

“Please, don’t blame Aspen! He’s only doing as asked.” The woman defended the rogue with a mock empathy as the angry dark elf turned towards Aspen, seeing him slip behind several other guards.

“I think that you and I have a very different definition of the word ‘invitation’, Natalie. Mine for example, excludes ganging up on people with so many armed guards.”

“Oh,” Natalie chuckled with a honey sweet voice. “They’re not here for you, silly. They’re here to protect me. You night have noticed it before, but dark elves aren’t really welcome in Hunor, or anywhere else for that matter. I’ve been targeted quite a few times since our arrival, so Etienne doesn’t really let me go out without at least a dozen of our people tailing behind. Anyway; I hope that despite the circumstances of your ‘invitation’, you would at least give me the courtesy of hearing me out.” She said as she pointed towards a door at the left side of the tavern’s upper floor.

“It doesn’t look like I have much of a choice, really.” Regis nodded with a sour taste his throat after saying those words.

Natalie just smiled at the comment as she turned around and headed upwards the stairs with dozens of eyes glued on her back. Regis had to admit it to himself; the woman had an ass to die for. He sighed as he began to follow her after hesitating for a few moments. The well-equipped dark elf guard called Etienne picked up his helmet from a nearby table and also followed them, the three of them entering into the room Natalie pointed at earlier. The inside of the room looked like a late baroque style office room with all the necessary posh decorations to show off the former owner’s wealth. Natalie walked over to the neatly carved dark wooden desk, sitting on top of it with a coquettish smile still lingering on her lips.

“Please, have a seat! We have much to talk about.”

“Do we now,” Regis looked her in the eyes before he spoke again. “You touch it and you’re dead.” He said without even turning around, Etienne’s hand stopping barely an inch away from his bladestaff.

“I can’t let you keep your weapon. It’s a precau….”

“I gave your sister the courtesy to act civil for now,” The young dark elf spoke up as the iron tinged blade melt away, seeping back into the tip of the staff. “I suggest you act the part as well.”

“It’s alright, Etienne. We’re only here for a friendly talk, so there’s no need to worry.” The woman said as she watched Regis sit down on one of the chairs in front of the table, leaning his staff to its side.

The armoured elf harrumphed and walked over to stand on his sister’s left side, placing his helmet on the table while his eyes still lingered on the soulbound weapon.

“Now that we have this out of the way; let’s talk business,” Natalie clapped gently as she looked at her brother first, then back at Regis. “I know that Fabien and Valerie are in Hunor, but I don’t care about them. They can leave with those boats to wherever they want to, without the Argent family giving them or the rest of your group any trouble.”

“I do appreciate that,” Regis chuckled. “Even if it’s just a façade, since you can’t do anything to them. Your family don’t have that kind of pull here just yet.” He said with a straight face as he stared at the armoured dark elf, seeing his face tighten as the man gritted his teeth at the obvious mockery.

“That still leaves us with one question tough. Why am I here? I doubt that you just wanted to chat.”

“You’re here because I want you.” Natalie said with a soft sigh as she looked him in the eyes. “As awkward as it is to admit it; my family is in dire need of talents like yours.”

“I doubt you need another blade to point at your enemies. Your brother seems quite ready to do that.”

“Please,” the woman’s tone turned flat in a moment’s wake. “We both know that you have something that makes you very valuable to any outlander guild or large family. That flaming whip you’ve made for Valerie created quite a stir yesterday.”

“Hoh,” Regis breathed out both relieved and surprised that she referred to that incident instead of his other, more valuable secret. “It seems your information gathering skills aren’t too shabby.”

“Thank you, but it doesn’t take a genius to put two and two together. You know; most families barely had any actual knowledge about enchanting beside whatever scraps we could gather from each other through hard struck bargains. Now that we’re here, even though it became easier to get our hands on runes, enchanting is another matter entirely. That whip is a clear indication of your skill and talent as an infusion enchanter. I know that, and so does anyone else with half a brain, which is why I’m offering you a place in the family’s service.”

“I truly appreciate the offer,” the dark elf slowly shook his head. “But I already have a good thing going on with my team, so I have to decline.”

“Please, at least listen to what I have to offer!”

“Fine.” Regis sighed, his mind feeling numb after listening to the woman’s roundabout game of words.