The Orëska House

It took the young wizard a few moments to even realise his name had been called. Brushing off the urge to pretend he hadn’t heard, Thero turned, scowl quickly replaced by surprise as he saw the fellow Watcher entering the atrium. “Micum?” Suddenly his foul mood seemed to dissipate as he approached the other man.

“I might as well have been.” Thero noted the dust marks all up his sleeves and legs with a grimace, trying not to mutter over the wild goose chase of the book. “What brings you here?” Nodding towards the backpack, he questioned, realising that even if Nysander or Seregil had sent for the other Watcher, he wouldn’t have been able to arrive quite so soon.

Micum made the hand sign for watcher whilst plastering on a big smile, "O you know, catching up with old friends, doing some shopping and such like. I was hoping Nysander was in, i could do with some of his hospitality and pinch a bed for a night if possible. I'd rather not chance an inn."

He hefted the bag as if it carried something heavy and there was a dull clunking sound of metal grinding. Micum brushed a particularly large cobweb from the wizards shoulder and the grey dust fell to the spotless floor. No doubt a servant would be cursing them both in a few moments.

Catching the Watcher signal, Thero simply nodded along with what his friend said next. "He was in a few hours back, but that was before sending me on a wild goose chase." It seemed strange that the other man could arrived so early in relation to their most recent business, but Thero decided not to think too much of it. Perhaps Seregil had reason to send for him sooner and forgot to say.

"Come on up, I'm sure he'll be around." Going to turn, he suddenly stopped, remembering the injury on Micum's leg. "Can I carry that?"

"No, no, it's fine." he settled the straps on his shoulders firmly and headed off up the five flights of stairs to the main door of Nysanders tower. Why he couldn't have a door on the ground floor was beyond him. Seemed a very strange way to do business, but then he wasn't a wizard, just a horse breeder.

"so, how have you been? It's been...some time." Micum didn't want to refer to the circumstances that had been the reason for their last official watcher meeting, everyone involved had been injured in one way or another. Wait till they got a load of the news he brought and the items...he wasn't happy about doing this but felt there was no other choice but to consult his friends. His steps were heavy on the treads as he ascended.

These stairs had become so familiar to Thero over the years, that he had to stop himself from marching off at his usual pace, though Micum seemed to be coping quite well considering the extent of his injuries the last time they saw each other. "I've been trying to keep busy, which has been difficult. How about you? Your leg seems to be healing nicely."

Eventually they made it to the workroom where Thero dropped the battered tome on the usual table causing dust to to puff up like a cloud of smoke. Coughing slightly, he began wafting it away from himself with a frown. "I already don't like this book and I haven't even opened it."

Leaving the book as it was, the young wizard glance around for his mentor. The book may have driven him mad, but he also wanted to get on with research, however, he knew better than to go against Nysander's warning.

Following the other man into the familiar tower, Micum coughed as dust rose in a cloud around them, wafting his hand in front of his face he smiled, "The legs fine," he lied, "Poor you, looks like being a bookworm is hard work these days!"
He looked around for the older wizard, "Want me to wait here while you find him?" he eyed up the chair by a nicely roaring fire, it was inviting even if it wasn't the sitting room. He carefully put the heavy bag down on the table next to the book, inside objects scraping again.

Seeing no sign of his mentor, it looked like Thero was off searching again, he just hoped this time it would be easier to find what he was looking for. Taking a short breather, the young wizard brushed himself down, nose tickling once again as the dust dispersed into the air.

"You're not exactly travelling light this time, are you." He eyed up the bag Micum just put on the table, noticing the scraping sounds from within. "Right, I'll go and find Nysander..." Just about to turn and leave, he stopped again a couple of foot away.. "Oh, and don't open the book. I was warned against it." Thero didn't think Micum would be nosey, he wasn't Seregil, but it was safer to warn than regret his friend's potential curiosity. With that, he headed out on his second hunt of the day.

“Don’t worry; I’m not like Seregil, picking up any old thing without thinking about it. Plus I know better than to play with anything in a wizard’s tower.” Micum settled by the fire and rummaged around for his pipe knowing neither of the towers inhabitants would object, “Take your time.” Not that he’d admit it but his leg was hurting something fierce now and time sat here to recover from the stairs was welcome. Besides, the tower was actually quite cosy when you thought about it. The old chair creaked as he leaned back and relaxed, just short of removing his boots and going for a nap carefully avoiding looking at the bag on the table.

It was quiet in the room with the crackling of the fire and the odd rustling sound from behind the bookcases. After a short while Nysander popped his head over the top of one of them, "Anyone want some tea?"

The young wizard had done a couple of laps around Nysander's usual places and asked several people if they'd by chance seen him before he headed back in defeat. It just wasn't his day for finding things or people.

Walking back through the door, he started to speak. "I can't find him anywh-." Thero stopped short just as he spotted his mentor. "There you are. Where have you been? I got the book." He pointed to the table it was on as he approached it. "And Micum wanted to speak with you."

"Ahh thank you Thero, I was wondering where you'd got to! Found some interesting journals behind here, did you know my masters master had an interest in dragons? No? Quite fascinating his notes on a fingerling hatching." he disappeared for a moment back behind the bookcase and crawled out on one side.

The old wizard brushed himself down and went to the table, "Ahh excellent work Thero, this was exactly the volume i was thinking of!" he ran his hands lightly over the worn cracking cover with it's odd symbols and rusted metal embellishments lost in thought a moment. He could feel the malice of the book like waves of darkness seeping out from it. Nasty thing but necessary. "Well done!" he smiled at his apprentice

Micum sat observing the old man, knowing he would take his own time in getting around to business, he was enjoying smoking his pipe by a warm fire, who was he to hurry along anyone?

Nysander turned after a time, "I'm so sorry Micum for the welcome, is there anything i can get you?" he knew all about the bite wound on the mans leg, the pain was palpable and only slightly more visible than his own hurts.

Micum merely shook his head, perfectly fine as he was and seeing the empathy in the wizards eyes knew exactly his train of thoughts. "I think you might like to send a message sphere to Seregil and Alec, i need to share something."

Nysander nodded, cast the spell and sent a small blue orb off with a message to his friend.

It hadn't even crossed Thero's mind until Nysander started talking, that his mentor could have been in the room all along. At a total loss for words, he stood in utter dismay, simply staring at the older wizard as he spoke enthusiastically about his findings. It’s not like such a thing was out of the norm between them both, and once it would have wound him up, but now it seemed comforting in some annoying way.

Turning his attention back to Micum as the two men spoke, Thero’s curiosity was overwhelming. Could it be related to what they were already researching or was their friend here for an entirely different reason? For now, he’d use the opportunity for a short break, using the time to catch up.

~~~~~

The faie got a few dirty looks as he walked through the Oreska gardens, making his way towards the building. It wasn’t surprising really, not with his appearance and general ambience, which this time was thankfully mostly down to the sludge built up on his tattered boots. Stopping out of the way, and not to far from the main entrance, he pulled the rank things off, placing the poniard safely through his belt, leaving the muck stained boots outside as he headed in.

Taking a wise guess, he headed to the workroom, soon spotting Micum and Thero sat down by the fire and Nysander stood not too far away. With a bright grin, Seregil headed towards his friend, also grateful for the fire nearby. “Couldn’t keep away, I see.” Clasping hands with Micum, he was genuinely happy to see the man, like always. As much as he felt guilty over taking him away from Kari and kids so often, he couldn’t help but enjoy having his friend around. The man was equally an impressive Watcher as he was a valuable friend.

“Any sign of Alec? He wasn’t with me when I got your message.” Turning to Nysander, he informed the wizard.

Theros’ face was a picture at finding the older wizard in the very room he had vacated earlier. It was tough to school his face into a neutral expression and not offend the young man, but he’d tell Seregil and Alec later and he was sure it would bring a laugh at the wizard’s expense. Micum also had a small smile at as his oldest friend entered the tower, this was the Seregil he knew and loved. All fired up for some adventure. It died on his lips as he realised that his visit would probably wipe that happiness away.

Nysander had tea fetched for them all and sat at the table browsing the small journals he had found down the back of the bookcase while he waited patiently and quietly, knowing the northlander was tired from his journey and needed the rest. That awful book was at the far end of the table away from him thank goodness and he would soon get to work with it. He decided to apologise later to Thero, the older wizard had only half heard them speaking earlier as engrossed as he was in the tales and observation of dragons recorded in the books and hadn’t ment to send his apprentice on a wild goose chase.

Standing briefly to clasp the Faie’s hand Micum sat again fiddling with his now finished pipe but holding on to it like a security blanket, “you know how it is, if there’s trouble I like to assist.”

Nysander poured mugs of strong tea for them all. “Not yet, I did send a message to you both, I hope it wasn’t inconvenient.” The wizard stared at the dark haired man a moment, “I hope Alec is alright. Dare I ask why you are wearing nothing but socks? And is that you I smell?” He pushed two mugs in his direction gesturing for Seregil to take a seat. He quickly muttered a spell to light a few of the scattered candles on the wall sconces to lighten up the dusk that was rapidly falling. He loved candlelight, it was soft and made things cosy and yet mysterious.

"And here I thought you just gravitated towards trouble." Seregil laughed, knowing he was one to speak. They both thrived off their duties, and so did Alec now, it kept them all going, much to the chagrin of Kari. Yet, here Micum was again, and this time without being summoned.

"Inconvenient? I think it knocked a couple of decades off my life." The faie jested, remembering how the blasted thing had made him jump. Suddenly he found himself looking down at his feet, wiggling his toes as he did so; he'd almost forgotten about his lack of shoes. "If you think I smell, you should smell my boots. Eau de toilet in the most literal sense." With a grin he continued. "Perhaps I should have a bath before Alec gets here?"

"That might be a good idea dear boy, you have rather an 'earthy' aroma to you today, why don't you take your tea? We'll wait for you." Nysander smiled at the small childish quirks the man still had. He supposed that he was still considered young by Faie standards.
Micum grimaced after sniffing in his friends general direction, "I'd say he smelled like over ripe soft cheese..."

"'Earthy' is one way to put it." Seregil laughed at his older friend's choice of words. "Though I think Micum's fetching description may be the winner here." With that, he picked up his tea and turned towards the door. "I'll try not to be too long."

Heading out the door, Seregil was quite happy to spare his friends nostrils if it meant he got some time in the baths here. He just hoped he didn't fall asleep as he walked down the down the corridor, stifling a yawn.

Rushing down the halls, Alec finally made it back to Nysander's rooms. Knocking softly, he tried to catch his breath after the events. He hadn't taken any chances on the way over, sticking to the shadows and not stopping for a second. His braid had unraveled into a messy half ponytail, he was sweating so much he had removed his coat half way up the stairs, and to top it all off, his feet were aching. He couldn't wait to sit down with a hot cup of tea.

Nysander could sense the approach of someone to the tower, the anxiety, the interest and the heaving chest of running. "Thero, i believe that Alec has arrived, could you go escort him here" he poured a fresh mug of tea out.

Micum glanced up with a smile, it had been a while since he'd seen the young man who was almost a son to him and he would enjoy catching up. Sipping at his own tea by the fire was nice, "He made good time, Seregil's only been here a short while. I wonder if he will smell awful too."

With a nod, Thero stood, "Hopefully we can get down to business soon." It wasn't that he was so much impatient, but curious about the events that had begun to pan out.

The young wizard made quick time of getting down to the door, pulling it open with unintentional force. "Come in." He stood to the side, giving the half faie space to get by. "We've been waiting for you. Seregil has just gone for a bath." That was when Thero got a whiff of the other man's aroma. It wasn't quite the same stench, but it was bad enough in it's own way... "Maybe you want to join him? He's not been gone long."

Just as soon as he knocked against the wood, the door had opened quickly, revealing Thero on the other side. He let out a startled gasp before nodding and stepping in, nodding to the young wizard. Blushing slightly at his own obvious stench, he followed the man through. "Sorry to keep you all waiting, that might be an idea actually...". He didn't notice the drop of blood running from the small gash across his cheek he'd received his tumble earlier. Stepping into the room to join the other's, he cleared his throat slightly. "Sorry about the wait, I got your message." He stood some what awkwardly in front of the other two men.

Nysander smiled and pushed the fresh mug of tea towards the blond man, "Here, Seregil took his, warm your insides as well. Take your time, we can wait i think," he looked at Micum who nodded, "There you go, i'll have supper brought in as well, nothing fancy but you look as if you need it."

It was just as well Alec had turned up to the baths too, Seregil was almost dozing off as his talimenios entered and having his company helped keep him awake long enough to get out and dressed again. Wethis had fortunately smelled them from a mile away and arrange some simple but clean clothes for them to change into.

As eager as Seregil had been to know Alec's findings, he held off questioning his friend, but couldn't help but comment on the red mark on his face as they headed back to Nysander's work room.. "Run into trouble?" He brushed his fingertip across the skin.

Relieved to see the older man, Alec had been quick in washing, wishing to share what he'd come across. As they made their way back, Alec chuckled awkwardly. "A little...nothing serious." The cut stung a little but no more than his own embarrassment and bruised pride.

Moving back into the room where Nysander, Micum and Thero were, Alec greeted them properly, sitting down at the table, nursing his cup of tea in his hands.

Nysander smiled as the boys (as he thought of them), came back into the tower smelling much fresher and still dripping water from their hair and looking refreshed.
He'd had a small supper brought up for them, a few meat pies, some chicken and rice dishes and a jug of his iced wine from the cache on the mountain. Micum had joined the wizards at the table and was munching on a pasty and swigging down some ale, which he preferred over wine.

The red haired man waited till the others were seated and started helping themselves to the meal, "I know you want to know why i'm here, impatient as always. If you open that bag i brought with me, you'll see what someone dumped on my doorstep this morning along with a dead Faie." he swallowed down a mouthful and washed it down with the slightly bitter drink. "Can anyone tell me why i have two Plenimaran slave collars and the corpse of a woman in my possession."

Nysander frowned, "O dear."

Sat at the table, Thero tucked into some chicken and rice, a glass of wine sat close by as he listened to Micum speak. "You didn't see anything then?" He spoke, clearly surprised by the revelation. "How strange. I don't suppose you brought anything of the faie woman's?" Perhaps it would be possible for himself or Nysander to tell something of how she got there.


As soon as Micum mentioned opening the bag, Seregil had his nose in it, leaving his food to go cold. Rooting around in the large back pack, he pulled out two fine looking metal 'collars'. Twisting them around, he inspected the handiwork. "For being something so foul, they're really quite well made." He spoke with some level of admiration as he walked back to the table. Passing the one he'd already inspected to Alec, he took a closer look at the second. Both appeared to be made by the same smith, the detailing was identical, but one was made of gold and the other copper. Putting it down on the table, he sat back down to his meal, taking a swig of wine. "Watermead is a strange place for Plenimaran slaves. For slaves to escape that far is quite a feat, but to get that far and then be killed and then left there?" The whole thing was bizarre. "We keep stumbling across the strangest things recently... All relating to Plenimar, are we surprised?"

Sipping at his tea, Alec listened to the conversation quietly, starting at what Micum had to say. A faie woman? Why was she this far from home? And the collars...could she have been an escaped slave?

Shuffling closer to the bag and Seregil, the young half faie took the first one from Seregil, inspecting it himself. It was very detailed, and clearly whoever had them made appreciated fine worksmanship. They were clearly made for the slaves of nobility, the thought of this put Alec on edge. The though of people being made slaves...the thought of aurenfaie, such a powerful race being forced into slavery. He couldn't contain a small shudder. That poor woman...

He left his tea forgotten now, brain overworking through several thoughts at once. "How could someone do this? I thought faie had no trade with Plenimar..especially...slaves. It seems everything with such an odd twist comes back to that horrible country."