A Conjuncture in Teirm (Open)

[Cirtolthiel]

Rayane ran a hand through his hair. He was seated on the beach, thinking about home and his family. He missed his sisters. And the beach was a comforting place to be. Except it wasn't the same. Back in Reavstone the sandy coast was warm and the water a pretty turquoise blue. There weren't many huge harbors. Here there were hundreds of cargo ships and the water a deep navy hue, while the sky was blocked by gray clouds.

But Teirm was a beautiful city, no doubt. The way the buildings lined each other neatly, the clean streets, the wealthy people. Everything was...green. This had surprised Rayane when he had arrived for the first time. It seemed like the city was growing like an enormous plant. Rayane laughed softly at the thought.

"Rincavor," Rayane said to a chestnut brown horse a couple yards away. The horse perked up his ears and gazed at Rayane. "Come here, you old fool." Rayane smiled. Rincavor trotted over. It seemed the horse liked the beach as much as himself.

Rayane stood up and mounted Rincavor. "We've been here too long, don't you think?" Rayane murmured, stroking him. And then Rayane felt a sudden wave of loneliness. Although he was a very social person, the lack of a familiar face bothered him. He frowned, but then shrugged. "Hup!" Rincavor began to trot away from the shore.

Entering the green city, Rayane jumped off Rincavor to lead him through the city. He passed by a little bar. I could use a drink.. Rayane thought. He tied Rincavor up and entered.

Sitting down at the bar, the bartender shuffled over to him. "Wha' can I get yeh?" he asked.

"Water, please." Rayane said pleasantly. He disliked alcohol very much and water had always been the perfect alternate. The bartender passed him the beverage.

"Not from 'round here, are yeh?" the bartender said. Rayane looked up.

"No, I'm not. How can you tell?" Rayane asked curiously.. He took a sip of the water.

"Can tell from yer accent. Surdan, eh?"

"Yes, sir. From Reavstone." Rayane had never really thought about his accent before. The bartender chuckled and shuffled away.

Sitting back in his seat, Rayane listened casually to other conversations. He wanted to know what was going on. And something he heard greatly interested him...

[Damien]

At the far end of the bar, two men were talking.

“Did ya hear? It seems the king’s got an elf in his cells!” He whispered hoarsely, before glancing around and downing the remainder of his beer in one shot.

“An elf, really? Until recently I thought they were only stories!”

The paunchy man waved a finger. “Nope, real. I hear he don’t like ‘em much, so I’m betting it’ll die real quick.”

A third person, quite young and with vivid orange hair, leaned over. “How much are you betting? ‘Cause I’ll bet fifty bucks that if he’s going to kill it, he’d torture it first. Slowly.” The youth’s smile was so bright it glowed.

Potbelly pushed his stool back and pushed a finger at the teen’s chest. “Yeah!? How’d you know, ya scrawny little brat!” He wasn’t much taller standing than he was sitting, but he still towered over the youth.

The offending finger was shrugged off, and the boy turned to face Potbelly. “Because I do. And I happen to know someone who works in the army.”

Potbelly was livid, but decided to let it go, for now. Killing an army man’s kid (what else could the boy be, anyway) would be dangerous. He simply ignored him, and went back to his skinny companion. This time, his speech was too soft and raspy to be properly heard.

The youth shrugged and went back to his stew, completely ignoring the rest of the world.

[Cirtolthiel]

“Did ya hear? It seems the king’s got an elf in his cells!”

Rayane blinked and slowly leaned on his elbow, towards the direction of this potbellied man. He did not look over, but gradually sipped his water and listened.

“An elf, really? Until recently I thought they were only stories!”

Rayane, of course, had heard the same. Hmm, this is interesting.. The potbellied man's raspy voice went on and made a comment about the elf "die real quick" because apparently, Galbatorix "don't like them much." Rayane chuckled a bit. He felt bad for the elf, though.

“How much are you betting? ‘Cause I’ll bet fifty bucks that if he’s going to kill it, he’d torture it first. Slowly.” A young voice, probably from a kid. Yet, he sounded confident. Rayane frowned and leaned a little closer.

“Yeah!? How’d you know, ya scrawny little brat!” Ooh, Potbelly was angry. He had gotten off his stool. Rayane quit pretending and straightened up and watched. Potbelly towered over the kid, who had bright orange hair. And the kid didn't look a bit intimidated.

“Because I do. And I happen to know someone who works in the army,” The kid replied coolly. He turned back to his soup. Rayane didn't like the look of this kid. For a moment he simply stared, but he shrugged and turned around again, thinking. He wondered who the elf was. It wasn't like he knew many elves...or any, for that matter. I wish I could help him...or her. He sucked on a piece of ice.

[Damien]

Rory finished his stew at around the same time Potbelly was done talking to his scrawny partner. Potbelly turned to face him.

“So, what d’ya know ‘bout the elf, boy?” His tone was civil and he was no longer whispering.

Rory shrugged, calling the barkeeper over. “Not much, aside from its gender and general location. I’d like some more stew and a glass of water, please.”

Potbelly’s voice went completely flat. “Location. Huh.” He gestured for two mugs of beer, which was placed on the bar alongside Rory’s order. “An’ how’d you know that?”

“I said general location, not exact. How did you find out about the elf, anyway?” He asked, a little out of curiosity and mainly to change the topic.

Potbelly’s face colored. “I . . . just heard, tha’s all!”

“You just heard. Right. From whom?” He pulled himself away from the stew to concentrate on Potbelly.

“People talk.” He said, airily. “I was there an’ heard it.”

Rory went back to his stew. “I don’t believe you, but it’s not my business.”

“Yeh? What ‘bout you? Where’d you hear?” He sneered.

“I won’t pry if you don’t. Although,” he tilted his head slightly, “I’ve heard that some people are willing to pay quite a lot to get this one back.”

At the mention of money, Potbelly grinned. He pushed a filled mug towards the boy. “Yeh? Tell me what you know.”

Rory blinked at the beer, and pushed it away. “Sorry, but I’m not allowed to drink. Dad would scream.” He got off the stool and waved for the barkeeper.

“Fifteen gold.” He said, gruffly.

Rory dug around in his pockets and pulled out some change. As he did so a coin dropped from his pocket and rolled across the room, stopping when only it bounced on someone’s boot. “Ah . . .” He left the money on the bar and went after lost coin, finding it a few seconds later by the foot of a tall, tanned man with black hair and brown eyes.

[Cirtolthiel]

Rayane drew his attention away from the conversation, but his thoughts were still on the elf. Where could he/she be? His best guess was in Uru'baen, the capital. He pulled out his pouch and took out some coins to pay for the water he had finished. The barkeeper strolled over.

"Anythin' else, lad?" he asked.

"No, thank you," Rayane answered. He pushed the coins to the barkeeper.

"Ar, it's only four gold."

Rayane shrugged. "Keep it. It's a tip." He tucked his pouch away. But right before he was going to stand up, he felt a light tap against the toe of his boot. Rayane looked down.

"Oh, it's just a coin someone dropped," he murmured. He bent down and picked it up. When he straightened up, the kid with the bright hair was standing there.

"I suppose this is yours?" Rayane asked. He held the coin out for the kid.

[Damien]

Rory accepted it gratefully. “Yes, thank you.” He placed it back into his pocket and made for the door when someone outside started shouting.

“A street brawl? Wonder what they’re fighting about . . .” Curious, he (and half the bar) went to take a closer look.

Two men, one with an empty beer bottle, faced off right in front the building. The man with the bottle was dirty, appeared to be in his early twenties and obviously quite drunk, while the other man was much older, just as dirty and leering. The young man smashed the bottle against a wall, although the end result was not what he’d been expecting. His face twisted in agony as glass shards stabbed into his palm. The older man laughed derisively.

Rory moved to help the drunk; although once the flailing man had been carefully subdued Rory was clueless.

I can’t heal him like this; the wound will just keep re-opening. How’d I get the glass out?

[Cirtolthiel]

“Yes, thank you.” Rayane watched Rory leave. Looking around the tavern for one last time, he followed out a few minutes later. Rayane returned to his horse, Rincavor. "See, I didn't take so long. Heard some interesting stuff, though." Rayane mounted Rincavor again.

Rayane's attention was caught by sudden yelling. "What?" he muttered, and nudged Rincavor closer to get a look. Two men were fighting. Oh, just another crazy drunk riot, Rayane sighed. Rincavor trotted over right when the younger man smashed his bottle against the brick wall.

"Woah!" Rayane yelped as glass shards flew everywhere. Rincavor neighed uneasily. Rayane dismounted him quickly and went over to the young man who now had acquired several glass pieces sticking out of his palm.

The bright haired youth had beat him to the younger man. Rayane knelt down beside him. "Nasty wound," he commented, grimacing slightly. Rayane had never been an expert on healing injuries, but he was intrigued to do what he could.

"Hm, do you have any idea how to fix this?" Rayane asked the kid. "I was thinking about cleaning it out and then bandaging it up, but if you have another idea..." He frowned thoughtfully.

[Damien]

Startled, Rory answered as best he could.

“I’m pretty sure we’ll have to take the glass out first, but I don’t think anyone has tweezers . . .” He pulled out one of the bigger shards while the man screamed.

“I have no idea. Better just to get a doctor, I think.” He thought for a moment. “Otherwise . . .”

He shut his eyes and placed his hand about half a foot above the injured man’s, muttering, “Reisa.”

Most of the glass and several droplets of blood rose from the man’s hand, floating an inch or two above it. Rory moved his palm away from the man, slowly and deliberately. He sagged, releasing control of his magic, and allowing the glass to drop on the ground. Then he opened his eyes and stared at the glass shards, amazed. A dozen pair of eyes stared with him.

“Hey, it actually worked!”

((You’re fourteen!? *gawks at your writing skills*))

[Cirtolthiel]

((hehe, yes I'm fourteen. ))

Rory jumped when Rayane started talking to him.

“I’m pretty sure we’ll have to take the glass out first, but I don’t think anyone has tweezers . . .”

"Yeah, I doubt it," Rayane agreed. He watched Rory pull out a large shard of grass out, and the man screamed in agony. Rayane winced and looked away. "d**n..."

“I have no idea. Better just to get a doctor, I think.” Rory continued. Rayane looked back, wondering if he would pull out yet another shard.

"Yeah, maybe the doctors should-"

"Otherwise. . ." Rory stood up, closed his eyes and placed his hand above the man. Rayane saw the man's eyes flash with fear.

"Oh...no..." Rayane suddenly had a very sickening feeling that something bad was going to happen.

"Reisa," was all Rory said. Blood and glass raised from the man's hand and dropped away a few seconds later. Rayane's mouth dropped in amazement.

"Hey. it actually worked!"

Rayane stood up too. "You...you can do magic?" he asked, awed. "Hey, what's your name, anyways? I'm Rayane."

[Damien]

Rory grinned. “I can do magic, but I’m not very good at it. And I’m Rory. It’s nice to meet you, Rayane.” He took out a water skin and doused the man’s hand to wash away the remaining shards.

“Bandages, bandages . . .” he groused around his pack for a moment before triumphantly pulling out a fresh roll of bandages. “Found it!”

He inexpertly tried to bandage the other man’s hand, but gave up after the third time it unraveled. “Right. Over to you.” He handed the roll over to Rayane and settled down to watch.

((I can remember my writing from when I was fourteen. The shame!))

[Cirtolthiel]

"Oh, I see," Rayane said. "Well, it's a whole lot more than I can do!" he joked.

While Rory searched for bandages, Rayane went to his own pack and pulled out a clean cloth. He went back to the man and applied pressure to the open wound to stop the bleeding. I'm pretty sure this is what Mom did back home, he thought. The man jerked under the pressure, but Rayane held his arm firmly.

"Bandages, bandages... found it!" Rory came back and Rayane moved away to give Rory room. Rory tried to wrap them around, but each time they unraveled. "Right. Over to you."

Rayane took the bandage and carefully wound it around tightly. When he ran out of bandage, he looked around, still holding the edge pinned to the man's arm. "So, uh, anyone happen to have a needle?" he asked casually. "Wait, actually I might have one..." he remembered. He looked down at his belt where a tiny needle was secured. "Ah, I knew I'd use you one day..." he muttered, amused. He pulled out the needle and secured the end of the bandage into the lower layers, making sure that the ends were safely underneath so it wouldn't poke anyone.

Rayane sat back, satisfied. He looked at the man, who was nearly passed out. "As for you, I sure hope you're not planning to get outrageously drunk again anytime soon," Rayane told the injured man. "Someone take him home."

Rayane turned back to Rory. "Well, that was fun, eh?" he smirked.

((haha, well I was never a really good writer a few years ago, but for school I had to write a lot and it's helped a bit!))

[Damien]

Rory watched as Rayane wrapped the bandages around the man’s hand. Rayane seemed to be quite good at this.

"Well, that was fun, eh?"

Shrugging, Rory said, “That depends. Who is it fun for?” He stood up and brushed an imaginary speck of dust off his clothes. “I don’t think it was fun for him and pulling glass shards out of someone’s bloody palm is not my usual idea of fun. Do you consider pulling out shards fun, or were you just being sarcastic?” He watched as the now-sober young man was being led away by his neighbors.

Rory glanced around as the crowd dispersed, waiting for his brother to arrive. Mars was late. That was unusual. Most knights were either punctual or early; it was a matter of pride. So if Mars was late, then he was probably off helping someone. In the mean time . . .

He didn’t have to wait long, however, as a fine gray horse cantered up to him. Its rider, a tall, blue-haired knight, alighted easily and nodded, smiling, at him and Rayane.

“I hope my brother hasn’t been causing trouble. I’m Mars, by the way.” He bowed slightly.

[Cirtolthiel]

“That depends. Who is it fun for? I don’t think it was fun for him and pulling glass shards out of someone’s bloody palm is not my usual idea of fun. Do you consider pulling out shards fun, or were you just being sarcastic?”

"Um, yeah it was a joke. Or sarcasm. Whichever," Rayane said, his eyebrows meeting in a frown. He also watched the neatly bandaged man being carried away. "Anyways..."

A noble gray horse trotted up to them. Rayane looked at Rory; apparently he recognized the person mounted atop the horse. The person looked like a knight, except he had blue hair. Rayane blinked a little but said nothing. The knight was grinning broadly.

“I hope my brother hasn’t been causing trouble. I’m Mars, by the way.” The knight bowed slightly. Rayane smiled back.

"Nice to meet you, Mars. I'm Rayane," he replied. He glanced at Rory and added, "Nah, he hasn't been any trouble. We were just patching up some drunk who had an interesting encounter with a glass bottle..."

[Damien]

“Interesting encounter with a glass bottle?” He stared oddly Rayane. “It’s not shoved up anywhere, is it?” He glanced at Rory, who was trying very hard to keep a straight face.

“Either way, we need to return to the inn. It’ll be a long ride back to Uru’baen, and I’d much rather be well-rested when we start.” He turned to Rayane and asked, “Do you have a place to stay? If you don’t, I'm sure we have extra beds. ”

He pointedly ignored Rory, who was happily feeding Fade some of the sugar cubes he nicked.

[Cirtolthiel]

“Interesting encounter with a glass bottle?” He stared oddly Rayane. “It’s not shoved up anywhere, is it?”

Rayane couldn't help but laugh. "No, thankfully," he said, and was about to give further details but decided against it. Besides, Mars went on talking.

“Either way, we need to return to the inn. It’ll be a long ride back to Uru’baen, and I’d much rather be well-rested when we start.”

"Wait, Uru'baen?" Rayane asked. "Isn't that the capital? I've never been there. It's Empire controlled, right?" He shivered a bit. He didn't exactly like the Empire, and has no means to join them anytime soon. As for the opposing side, he wasn't sure he wanted to join them either, but they seemed like a good enough cause...anyways -

“Do you have a place to stay? If you don’t, I'm sure we have extra beds," Mars offered. Rayane petted Rincavor's head.

"Hey, sure. I don't have a place right now," Rayane said. "You don't mind me staying with you?" Sure hope not, 'cause I'm not passing up a free night at an inn! Rayane thought. He continued to stroke Rincavor.

[Damien]

"Wait, Uru'baen?" Rayane asked. "Isn't that the capital? I've never been there. It's Empire controlled, right?"

Mars noted Rayane’s discomfort when he spoke of the Empire, and smiled.

"Hey, sure. I don't have a place right now," Rayane said. "You don't mind me staying with you?"[/i]

Mars shrugged. “Not at all. Someone,” He glared at Rory, who grinned sheepishly back, “thought we could use our grant to get the biggest room available. I think it was supposed to be family sized. And it would be nice to have some company for the night.”

He helped Rory onto Fade’s back and climbed on after him. “It’s not very far, only about five minutes’ ride. It’s the big cream-colored building over there.” He pointed at it and set off at a steady pace.

“Your accent is Surdan, isn’t it? I think I’ve met a Surdan woman who talked like that.”