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Post by Circe on Jan 17, 2021 13:38:00 GMT -6
Catherine nodded, it was a better response than she had expected. At least he'd ridden one before, and it wouldn't be a totally new experience for either him or her teaching him. 'Consider this a crash course then, and follow me.' She hated the idea of having to steal, but it was the unseelie after all, and they would sooner have their fun with them than let them escape. The quicker they were out of the village the better in her opinion, they just had to get out of it first, and without attracting the attention of the town's constabulary.
'Fae are magic creatures, but not all fae are high level mages.' Catherine added as she wove her way through the market. She knew that they had an advantage with Tyrus, after all he knew more spells than most mages she had met. That still didn't change the fact that she thought he could stand to think things through more. But that was likely a symptom of having lived more than a handful of decades like most humans did. 'We're half a day from the border, likely in Lilishara if my guess is correct. They aren't known for their mages, but it's known to be a more porus part though. Easier to get across, and get away with some things.'
While she was explaining all of this to Tyrus, who was no doubt distracted by the effort of having to concentrate on their conversation and follow her through the market, Catherine had picked up a few necessary items of food. A loaf of bread, a hunk of cheese, some dried fruits and meats would at least get them to the next village over the border. At that point she could leverage the credit of her family name and title. Until then, they would have to do whatever was necessary.
'There's a stable up ahead near a tavern. If we're lucky they're distracted, if not well... consider it part of the lesson.'
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Post by demikara on Jan 17, 2021 13:45:17 GMT -6
He didn't notice her thievery. She was right in thinking it still took him concentration to broadcast his thoughts so only she could hear them and walk at the same time. But he wanted to be careful, under the circumstances. Letting anyone else hear their conversation was asking for trouble. 'In other words, we may just have the advantage, at least when it comes to a battle.' Tyrus had no issues with turning the battlefield itself against his foes. 'We'll need weapons also. This close to the solstice, the magic will be more unstable, and likely to overflow.' There would be too much magic in some of the spells, which would result in potential blowback for them.
'I can transfigure us short swords, if you can find me enough material to make them out of. Metal is preferred.' Metal would last longer. He could do it out of other materials as well of course, but metal was their best bet.
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Post by Circe on Jan 17, 2021 14:12:29 GMT -6
'It's a possiblity.' Catherine confirmed, pausing for a moment to consider his request. For now they were successfully blending into the market crowd, and the merchants were so far none the wiser to missing wares here or there. Nor had they realized that they had traded items for little more than pebbles. She might not have much practice with transfiguration, but fae magic illusions tailored nicely into her other abilities with more than enough power to make it seem extremely real.
'Do you even know how to use a sword? Last time I saw you with one you looked at it like it was going to bite you.' She asked. When they had encountered the unseelie raiding force at the market near Molly's, Tyrus had had absolutely no idea what to do with one of the swords that one of the members had dropped. Nor had he had any idea what to do with the horse. 'But I can find you metal...' Catherine had heard the hammer of a blacksmith's shop not far from the edges of the market when they had entered the village. It was a necessary thing, designed to make and repair any metal item that would have seen use.
Distraction had been their best tatic so far. Catherine who spoke the language fluently, could pepper whoever their target was with questions rapid fire, while Tyrus could get what they needed.
The horses had been a bit more problematic, and had resulted in use of more magic than she would have liked. But, they were set and up until now had elluded capture. That small bit of luck however was coming to an end, and the village guard had been alerted. "Time to go Tyrus!" Catherine yelled as she swung herself up easily into the sadle with a practiced and comfortable ease.
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Post by demikara on Jan 17, 2021 14:18:47 GMT -6
'I can use one. I know the basics at least, even if I'm out of practice. But a staff won't help here.' He confirmed. She had gotten the metal and he had manage to transfigure them two swords at least. Then of course, came the horses. With a laugh, he swung up onto his horse, and took the reins. "Let's hurry!" He didn't want to be caught. The mage had the horse at a gallop the second Catherine had hers moving. She's had to lead the way, but they'd need speed for sure. At least his horse seemed healthy. The piebald horse would have to be, for this to work.
He hadn't had this much fun in ages though. Running from the guard was definitely a new activity. They couldn't afford to be caught either, and that just added to the adrenaline of the entire affair. They had to move, and move fast, if they wanted to get to safety. Hopefully the horses could take it. Hopefully they could take it as well.
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Post by Circe on Jan 17, 2021 14:57:17 GMT -6
"Right." Catherine then made a clicking sound and gently kicked the sides of her horse with her feet. "Gee up, boy!" She then exclaimed signaling the horse it was time to run. The creature then snorted and danced to the side for a moment before complying after a gentle correction from the reins Catherine held in her hands. With the village guards bearing down on them, she looked for the quickest way out of town. As much fun as a fight might have been for Tyrus, she wasn't so sure she had enough practice recently to not get her ass handed to her. Life as a cop was vastly different from life as a knight, and while some skills had been drilled in as muscle memory, others had faded with disuse.
She soon had the horse at a gallop and was quickly making headway towards the edge of the town, and after that the forest.
However, the guards intent on catching their would-be theives had decided to form a road block up ahead. They had pulled together a few derilect wagons, filing in front of it with swords and spears drawn. Seeing this, Catherine urged her horse on faster intent on jumping the barricade, but not without having a simple spell at the ready first. It would only jepordize their success to end up run through on a pike, much to the delight of the village constable.
Muttering something under her breath in the ancient language used for so many of the spells of the seelie Queen's own mages, Catherine then held the spell until the last instant. As she and her horse drew nearer to the barricade, she released the spell with devestating effect. The guards were suddenly knocked down, falling like dolls, unable to stand or defend the barricade.
For once it seemed that she was competent and knew how to manage whatever challenge was put in front of her, a change from the constant day to day struggle between MCU and the court.
Leaning forward Catherine gave her horse a gentle squeeze and encouraged it jump, landing smoothly and easily on the other side.
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Post by demikara on Jan 17, 2021 15:05:29 GMT -6
Jumping was not in the skill set Tyrus had for horses. Luckily, the horse knew what to do and launched itself over the barricade, landing delicately on the other side, as Tyrus held on for dear life. That was exhilarating and he never wanted to do it ever again. The mage was rather glad Catherine was on his side right now though, given whatever she had cast had just caused the guards to collapse. He urged the horse on, down the path and following closely behind Catherine. It was able to keep up and that was the important part.
He couldn't believe he was running from guards on a stolen horse, two days away from safety and his only companion on this mad rush was Catherine, of all people, who he would never think she would steal anything. This was definitely exciting at least. He could definitely say that. He would have preferred they landed at the front door of her estate over this though. That would have been much, much better than being on the run in unseelie lands. Hopefully the horses could make it through the forest okay though.
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Post by Circe on Jan 17, 2021 15:17:26 GMT -6
Once out of the village, it was easy to pick up a path instead of bushwacking their way through the forest. It would take some time for word to spread about stolen horses and what had seemed like a pair of mages on the run. Hopefully though, it would be a long enough time for them to put significant distance between them and the unseelie lands.
Slowing her horse to a canter, then a trot, and after that a walk, Catherine breathed a sigh of relief. They were rid of the village and well on their way to safety now. She just had to hope that there weren't anymore hiccups between now and reaching the estate. "That was not anything like the plan I had envisoned."
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Post by demikara on Jan 17, 2021 16:04:53 GMT -6
Tyrus drew up beside her, already sore from jumping a barricade and a gallop that lasted long enough that he had been a bit worried and definitely sore. At least they were at a walk now. "Given the plan was presumably to come out the gate close toy our family's estate, I can agree." He admired the greenery and had no doubt that it would quickly grow very boring. there was only so much forest he could stand to see. Tyrus enjoyed the isolation of his ranch, but when he was out and about, he really did prefer to see a city. This was definitely not that.
"How are we going to handle food and water? I could transfigure a bottle for water if we come across a stream, but how to we make sure the water is safe?" He could probably spell it clean, if it came down to it, but he didn't know that spell off the top of his head so it would be more of a brute force spell than anything else, which would mean using more magic than was, strictly speaking, wise this close to the solstice.
"And do you know how far we are from the border?" He was surprised that there would be a village close to the border between two nations who he assumed weren't overly friendly. The certainly hadn't seemed friendly the last time he was here at least.
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Post by Circe on Jan 17, 2021 16:23:01 GMT -6
"Well, we have food. It's not glamorus, but it'll keep you from starvation, and water here is generally safe to drink." Catherine said pulling a hunk of bread out of one of her saddle bags and tossing it across to Tyrus. "Other forms of food aren't an option here. It's too risky, among other things." No matter how much others in the human realm insisted that she must have made a meal of a fae or two, what they didn't know is that Catherine just couldn't stomach the idea of doing so. Perhaps she was soft, but there was something about that sort of misdeed with people who had taken you in, and treated you as their own that seemed wrong.
"We'll stop at the next stream, and let the horses and ourselves drink." It wasn't ideal to stop, but they had no other choice. The horses would need a break sooner or later, as would they. Tyrus wasn't used to riding long distances, muchless capable of it seemed without stopping. If it had been just her, she would have choosen to ride through the night, only stopping once she reached the border. But it wasn't her on her own, she had Tyrus with her, who still had yet to figure out the fae entirely.
"If we ride hard, we're half a day from the border after tonight. Assuming nothing goes wrong."
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Post by demikara on Jan 17, 2021 16:31:03 GMT -6
"Then we can ride hard." He accepted the bread and broke off a small piece before putting it in his own saddle bags. "I'll be sore as hell, but I've had worse." The water was safe and they had food. He'd be starved for blood by the time to solstice was past, but he could handle it well enough. He'd simply want to be light on magic until he could manage a meal for that hunger as well. As light on magic as he dared to be at least. "How are we handling the night? Watches?" That would be interesting and not something he was experienced with. He had to sit up for spells before, but not like this. They really weren't prepared for this sort of trip, were they? "Next solstice, let's plan a bit better, if we're going to end up here again." Here being the fae realm.
They should have known something was going to go poorly. This was more than him having to spell his clothes clean a few days in a row. Which really didn't get them as clean as a washing machine would.
Of course, that was assuming that the fae realm held up against their solstice woes. It may be that they needed to come up with another plan entirely, all over again. They were still figuring everything out after all. This was only the second solstice. Ra, that meant they had been vampires for almost a year now. It was still insane to think of.
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Post by Circe on Jan 18, 2021 19:16:40 GMT -6
"I'm sure you have." Catherine commented, having overheard Molly and Xiaolian laughing at some of the things that had happened with Tyrus during training. The woman still wasn't terribly quick to praise her unlikely student though, and often said that he needed significant work on one thing or another. But at least she was confident of the possible success of the other not getting himself killed anytime soon. That would have to be as good as it got, because as far as Catherine was concerned Grigore needed to go. But how would and when would be the question.
"Watch?" She asked him slightly confused. Catherine didn't expect much opposition after what they had done in the village, and considered that it was very likely that they were still picking up the pieces after the spell had run its course. "They're going to be looking for two fae, if they even bother fielding the manpower." That much she was confident in. Many of the villages this close to the border didn't have men to spare often. Unless something had changed, then it was likely smooth enough sailing until they reached the other side.
"As for next one of these, need I remind you that you practically said, 'I have a spell for that!'. Seriously Tyrus, where you planning to spend it eating a dirt sandwhich courtesy of Lieutenant Boyuan again?" And she had heard all about it too. How he had resisted everything until it was too late to do much more than damage control. While his stubbornness in any other situation might have been commendable, in this case it had been his downfall.
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Post by demikara on Jan 18, 2021 19:27:43 GMT -6
"If that was what was needed, yes." he admitted. "And the spell is in the works. Spells as big as this one take time to make, and time is a rare thing." Not something he had a lot of. Grigore had decided that the best thing to do to Tyrus was to keep him busy. So Tyrus had been kept very busy at his grandsire's insistence. It was maddening, given he had things he would prefer to be doing. A lot of it felt very much like busy work too. He was entirely too tired of running errands for 'grandfather' and he knew it showed some days. Between the court and his training with Xiaolian he rarely had the energy to dedicate to working on the spell, regardless of how badly he needed it.
The mage shrugged and managed a small smile. "Though this time, I think I'd bring a sleeping bag and a pillow, so I could be comfortable on my all day dirt nap." It would have been a pain the ass, but he could handle it, especially now that he knew what to expect. He'd probably do his best to sleep through the entire thing, even if it was a magically induced sleep. "I'm hardly going to resist, given what happened last time. I'm still not seeing in color." Everything was greyscale still. "Except for magic. Magic is in color."
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Post by Circe on Jan 18, 2021 20:52:31 GMT -6
"Serves you right." Catherine muttered under her breath. Tyrus she hoped had learned a lesson last time, a very valuable one at that. You didn't resist the magic and you certainly didn't argue with someone like Xiaolian. It had been the first time she'd allowed help, instead of simply isolating herself for a time. While she hadn't enjoyed it, it had been appreciated. "Look, I've said this before.. I'm not a mage by any shape." Flexibility was something she had learned quickly when solid plans often went out the window by the time they met with someone like Molly. Pivoting and changing focus at the last minute was a thing she'd gotten used to with her team. "This was the only other option I could think of, so pardon me if things didn't necessarily go according to plan."
Shaking her head at his willingness to spend another 24 hours paralyzed by Xiaolian's sigils, Catherine turned her attention back to the road ahead as they neared a crossroads and frowned.
"Looks like I spoke too soon.. we have company." She said quietly. Shifting her weight in the saddle for a moment, she took that as an opportunity to glance behind them. "Two behind us, and at least three up ahead."
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Post by demikara on Jan 18, 2021 20:58:47 GMT -6
"You know I have enhanced hearing now and heard that just fine, right?" Seriously. He was a vampire now and he was certainly close enough to hear her muttering things to herself. "And its a better alternative than what I came up with. Hopefully the fae realm can handle the overflow." Better than his poor ranch. And if not, well. Catherine seemed certain that her estate would be safe. Even if she had called it her father's estate. She didn't have any siblings that he knew of, other than Scotty who was hardly anyone's sibling, which mean she was the heir and it might as well be hers. Assuming her father was still alive. If not, then it certainly was hers.
"I take it we're assuming their not friendly? I can take the three up ahead if you like." Magic sparked at his finger tips and electricity arced between them. Very few people could handle the voltage he was capable of outputting. And given they were in unseelie lands and had stolen supplies and horses alike, he was willing to bet that they weren't friendly people here to escort them to safety, with enough supplies that they'd be more comfortable than they had right now.
He wondered if they were wearing metal. If so, it would be very easy to electrocute them. Given they were in a forest, he didn't want to risk fire. There was plenty to transfigure as well, if they had horses that needed pinned down.
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Post by Circe on Jan 18, 2021 21:19:26 GMT -6
Catherine in turn gave Tyrus a rather rude, but universal gesture. She didn't often express her thoughts on certain things, but this was one of those times when the filter and restraint was pushed aside in persuit of a goal. "It can, believe me. It holds dragons." Catherine said bluntly as she kicked her horse into a fast trot. She was tired of Tyrus questioning everything, and wished for once that he would just stop and take a moment to think things through. But, it seemed that a year as a vampire hadn't cured him of his ability to overthink everything.
This whole situation seemed to be a lot like the last time they were in the fae realm, with the two of them up against a group of unseelie that would like to cause more than just a little bit of trouble. It was certainly putting her through her paces, and not as a warden either. "Friendly? Sure... they just want to join us for tea and biscuits." She added. There wasn't the energy to cast and hold another spell, so it looked like she was going to have to solve their problem another way.
With the pair being pushed from behind by two horsemen, and with what appeared to be another three on foot up ahead, their work was cut out for them.
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