The oracle arrives

Port Xonan was still in smoky ruins after Trina's last attack and the surprise one of the pirates that unwittingly arrived at the same time. A double whammy you may want to say. The people were weary and it showed on their faces. They trusted no one, especially strangers. The tavern was no longer used for entertainment purposes, it was not serving as a care center, I guess you'd call it lol There were just locals here now, as the bulk of the armies and those that wanted to help in the war had left for the battle field

A faint light drifted aimlessly up and down the alleys and sidestreets of Port Xonan, remaining just out of reach above everyone's heads, but dipping now and then as it meandered through the town. The place seemed like it had been ripped apart and not quite put back together properly. The people were subdued: there was no laughter, only the occassional argument, sometimes developing into a quick fight, over almost before it had begun.

The light cam to rest for a moment in a chink in the stone wall of a house, just by the entrance of an alley way. The glow faded somewhat and now the figure of a very tiny woman could be seen, perched on a piece of brickwork.

The woman glanced along the empty alleyway, then across the street to the Tavern oposite. Or at least it used to be the Tavern. It was not full of rowdy drunks and sly strangers as she remembered it. A low groaning could be heard from within its walls, but otherwise it seemed deserted.

A man walked out of the alley way just below her and she jumped into the air with a sudden shiver of wings and a shower of sparks. Frowning, she stared at the figure as it headed towards the Tavern. She was sure the alley way had been empty only seconds before. Where had he come from?

The glow of her wings hiding her from view once more, she drifted curiously after the strange man.

(Thats okay. I noticed it was quite old, and just tried on the off chance)



Hovering at the entrance to the alley way, she watched the man ruffling through a sack, and frowned. Was he a thief? There didn't seem to be anyone else in the alley to whom the sack might belong to, so who was he thieving from? It was quite a large sack, and she could hear no sounds from its contents, and in truth her curiousity was aroused.

Drifting closer, her wings silent, she decided to try to get a peek in the sack and find out what he was doing. With an effort, she dulled the glow of her wings, the sparks that fell from them fading. By the time she reached his shoulder, she was much less noticeable, but he must have been waiting for her.

With a sudden movement, he swung the sack around at her, clearly intending to capture her. She darted sideways with a frightened squeak and managed to evade the sack. Mostly. The flapping edge of its heavy fabric caught her a blow on her wing and she spiralled to the ground, desperately trying to stay airbourne.

It was no good. Finding herself grounded, one wing bent and painful, she turned to face the man who had attacked her angrily. Her glow had returned, there was no use in staying inconspicuous any longer, and a soft heat now radiated from her small body.

"I am not a pixie!" she exclaimed in response to his words, her voice carrying easily to his ears, but seemingly not to anyone else's near the alley.

"And I am not intending any jokes or whatever cantrips are!"

She stared up at the man who had almost caught her, angrily and not a little nervously. He was a lot bigger than her, and now she was grounded there was no way she could escape him. He had not made any more moves to capture her or harm her, but then he would clearly realise he had the advantage.

Hands on hips, raising her undamaged wing so as to appear larger, she listened to what he had to say silently. She did not recognise the accent, and she could not work out what he was either. His teeth reminded her of a vampire, but he wasn't pale enough. His ears made her think of an elf, but she wasn't quite sure that was right either.

Whatever he was, though, she did not trust him. Regarding the hand that he offered her for a moment, she then glared up at him, the heat radiating from her intensifying.

"Stay away..."

Then, in reply to his question,

"I am a faery. Can you not tell?"

She did not take her eyes from him as he spoke, but her glow gradually began to fade and the heat with it. The fact was, she simply couldn't keep it up without the motion of her wings to power it, especially if she was to keep back some reserves in case he attacked her.

The distance between them seemed large to her, as he seated himself on the ground, but she was well aware that it was not much more than arms reach to him. She was confident that she would be able to evade him if he tried, but she would not be able to leave the area until her wing was healed. Her dark eyes flickered over his body, taking in the various weapons, as well as registering where any others might be concealed.

"I don't know where you are from, but I am not a pixie who harms others for my own amusement."

She didn't let on that in fact many of the fae she had left behind in her own country would do just that, given half the chance. Perhaps this did in fact make her devious, although not malicious.

"Perhaps next time you should check these things before attacking people. I was only curious."

As she spoke, she reached behind herself with one slim arm, taking hold of the tip of her injured wing and giving it a tug. Stinging pain lanced through her, and she winced in spite of herself. Apparently she was injured more badly than she had thought. She didn't feel able yet to take enough of her attention from this man to mend it herself, and she was not sure if she could trust him yet. So she decided to bide her time, and question him.

"How would you mend it? Do you know much about faery wings?"

(Sorry to take so long. Its been a bit mad at work...)

She narrowed her eyes, watching him carefully still. He seemed to be friendly enough now, despite having hurt her wing, but she was on her guard. She came from a race of people who were continually devious and spiteful, and experts at hiding it. Having been on the recieving end of such malicious behaviour in the past, she was wary of all people now.

Perhaps later...

Tilting her head to once side, she appraised him, considering what she should do next. Without wings, she could not leave easily. He was so much bigger he would catch her immediatly should she try to run. But if she moved to her larger form she would have a better chance. He wasn't to know that she was virtually defenseless when large.
Unless he knew more than he was letting on.
Whatever, though, he was not getting a chance to harm her further.

I think perhaps I should find another fae to heal my wing.

She smiled sweetly at him, hoping he wouldn't suddenly become angry or offended.

Wings are quite different from bones, you know.

She had no idea if this was true or not, and suspected that there were no other fae in the area, but she did not trust this man.

At last she made up her mind. This man seemed harmless enough, and although she didn't trust him she was aware that if he intended to hurt her further he could have done it ages ago. This didn't mean that he wouldn't, but it did give her a small amount of hope.

Taking a few steps backwards from him, she kept her dark eyes on him, ready for any movements towards her. The glow that surrounded her began to rise again, although her wings were now still. This new glow seemed paler, coming from somewhere deep within her, and growing quickly brighter than anything she had generated previously. Very soon it was impossible to see the tiny figure that stood within the glow.

There was a sudden explosion, soundless, but spraying a cloud of sparks and mist upwards and then the light was gone.

Where the tiny faerie had stood, there now crouched a woman, someone much closer to normal human size. For a moment behind her there was the impression of beams of gentle blue light rising from between her shoulder blades, at first clear but seconds later it was impossible to tell if they had not in fact been a trick of the sudden blinking out of the light around her.

She was slim, and a little under five foot at full height, and after a moment's hesitation she tretched herself up to this. Thinking he might possibly mistake her for a member of the Danae Sidhe, a regal and downright dangerous faery race. She tried to fix her expression into one of suitable haughtiness, as she stared at the man, but if he was sharp-eyed enough he would see that the pupils of her now silver eyes were wide with fear.

There, you see. I am well able to make my way to find another fae.

She stood still, waiting, hoping he would simply step out of the way and let her past.

“Are there more of your kind nearby?” he asked both in question of her getting healed, and incase he might need to worry about the evil wrath of flying midgets… “That is true”

But before he had gotten to move to terribly far form her she began to glow, explosively it seemed as her glow became to much for him he shield his eyes, and switched how he was seeing so that his hand did not become a barrier to stop sight. What he saw was amusing.. The glow no longer thwarting his eyes he watched her size double, and then triple, and then more

It was only partially her eyes that betrayed her fear, the other half was scent, and heart rate. He couldn’t help to smile as he lowered his hand, and switched back to only seeing normal things. But that brief view of her soul would let him judge how evil she really was, in the grand scheme of things.

Yes his eyes roamed up and down her now human sized body as he took her features in.

“If you are fully certain of your ability to travel alone in this war torn city I shall not keep you, but without a blade perhaps you might want to rethink letting me escort you to a healer?”

(((Sorry I got so lost, and that its so small, hopefully you can forgive me?)))

She shook her hair, now a long, smooth, silvery-blonde mass, away from her face, and tried a smile. It was hard to act like one of the Sidhe when in fact she wasn't at all. A member of the Sidhe would have simply blasted this man out of their way (or attempted to). A member of the Sidhe probably wouldn't even need to bother with that as they could move from world to world with ease.

It appeared, as well, that he either wasn't fooled or didn't know who the Sidhe were, as he seemed to think that she would need protection moving around the city. She didn't know that his special ability with sight had given him a glimpse of her soul, which would have told him that she was not a being of pure malicious and self-centred power. She was not an evil person at all, but that did not mean she was good. She had done good things, and she usually tried to be good, but this was hard for a fae. She was someone who could easily be encouraged in either direction.

Considering the answer to his first question, her eyes flickered past him, and above to the walls that surrounded them in this alleyway before she replied.

I am sure there must be...

She had no idea in actuality. Further, she intended to avoid any others of her kind if at all possible. Her actions in the past meant that any other fae who knew her would immediately attempt to capture her and take her to the Sidhe.

As he suggested escorting her to a healer, her eyes turned quickly back to him, wondering how to discourage him without arousing his suspicions.

Its true, I have no blade, but I... I'm quick, and I don't think anyone will pay any attention to someone like me.

She gave him a sweet smile, hoping this would help to persuade him of her ability to cope alone. How she would, with no weapons, and unable to fly, she wasn't sure. But she was too wary of him to trust him.



((Its fine, lovely. *grin*))

His thought that fae were greedy was correct, but this fae had learned the difference between what she needed and what she wanted the hard way. And had no intention of needing to learn again. His mention of recompense did, for a moment, interest her however. Her eyes seemed to flash purple, but perhaps that was imagination, and she leaned forwards slightly. Then, catching her breath, she shook her head.

Thank you, but I have no need of coins or valuables. I will be fine.

She hesitated for a second, thinking of the one thing she did need, but this man was unlikely to provide it. Looking quickly away, she slipped past him, moving quickly on bare feet towards the entrance of the alleyway, pausing before stepping out onto the wider street beyond.

As she looked to the side, checking the direction she intended to take, her long silky hair rippled, revealing a strange absense where her shoulder blade should be. Her wings in this form could not be seen, and so there was no hole, no wound to show her wing had been hurt. Just a nothing there on her back. Then her hair rippled back into place and she stepped out to make her way through the city.

She wandered along the street, if you could call it that now. There was rubble everywhere, and no one seemed to be living in any of the houses. All looked empty and broken, and she shivered as she passed.

Wrapping her arms about herself, she paused, standing near a broken wall. From above it was pretty easy to navigate through the city, but down here she was completely lost. Having just recently arrived, she had no idea where anything was, and she did not know the way out.

The sound of some explosion echoed from the battlefield, and she looked around quickly, nervously. Wrapping her arms around herself, she sighed. There was no where to go, she knew no one, and even the inns were shut up. Glancing back the way she had come from, she tried to decided what to do.

Seeing the strange man standing near the entrance of the alley she had just left, she hesitated. He was the only person she knew here. She didn't know him very well, true, or even at all, but she had at least spoken to him. She didn't believe that he had hurt her on purpose, so she also trusted him more than anyone else in this city. This trust may well be misplaced, she knew, but it was something.

Ducking quickly behind a wall, she watched him as he looked at his bit of leather, wondering what he was doing. She had never seen a map before and so had no inkling of what he might be looking at. He began to move away, and she made a quick decision. If she stayed here, she was lost. If she wandered off alone, she would get even more lost. But he seemed to know where he was going. If she followed him, then perhaps she would find where she was going as well. This was odd logic; fae-logic.

Slipping out from behind the wall, she began to follow him, keeping well back and close to the wall. If she kept him only just in sight, her keen faery eyes able to see further and clearer than most, then hopefully he would not realise she was following.

AS of yet he did not know he had a giant Fae follower. But even if he had he would have kept on walking at that pace… Richter it seemed was NOT in a rush. And was very accepting of the fact that things either would or would not wait for him. His gait did not fit into a ruined city with few people in its streets. Nor did his clothing fit in with their rags and dirty things… he was truly quite the oddity. But odd as he was he was moving nearly South and away form the alley he had shared so recently with the pixie.

He said something to himself as he rounded a corner headed away form the waters and further into town. But it was not in the common language of the ream so it would not be known what he said. But important or not his words were lost long before they got to the heightened ears of his personal stalker. And He was now getting further into a more business like district…

Well it ONCE was a business district. Now it was very well ruined and crushed. There were only a few stalls still open and they were doing very dismal business since no one had any money. Though Since Richter did have coin when he managed to get some FAST information about what was going on ..and how recently the town had been attacked. Before he was back on his way towards the city proper….. It seemed his boss had a penchant for being an asshole this trip .and he had a few days hike to go to get to his targets…….. Oh well… … …

He might think of her as a 'giant' fae now, but this was actually her true size, and so she was able to blend in much better than as a wingy firefly thing. She was better at blending in than him, as well. She was as thin as many of the undernourished inhabitants of this town, and her dress was as ragged, although its pale colour was rather different to the drab browns that people seemed to be wearing. Only her silver eyes, bright blonde hair and palely transluscent skin caused her to stand out, but with a little effort in toning down the glamour and enchantment she habitually kept around herself she drew only a handful of glances and little curiosity.

She followed him to where the little cluster of mostly empty stalls represented what used to be a market place, and watched as he moved through asking people things in exchange for coins. Few paid her any attention. She had no bag, and her dress had no pockets or pouches that would attract the interest of any beggars or pick pockets, and she took no notice of the sellers near her.

Her pale eyes followed her quarry through the area, seeing him turn into the city proper. She stood still, staring after him, trying to make up her mind. If she remained where she was, she could ask someone in the market place for directions and leave the city quickly for somewhere else. Or she could continue to follow this intriguing man and find out what he was up to. Her natural inquisitiveness was beginning to kick in again.

He had not really hurt he, she reasoned, and he had not tried anything once he had realised that she was apparently harmless. Perhaps if she offered to help him in some way he would help her in return. And she could be very helpful to him as a spy or carrying information. Her wing was healing quickly, the 'hole' in her back gradually closing up, and she would be able to fly again before the end of the day she reckoned. If he did turn out to be scarier than she thought, she would be able to fly away then.

Tucking her hair behind her pointed ears, much to the interest of a small girl seated under a stall, she began to follow the man once more.

He continued on deeper into the city, he needed a few supplies, and was unlikely to be able to get then near the actual docks. However a small girls chuckle made its feint way to his ears and that caused him to pause in his stride. And he almost turned around. Nevertheless he didn’t. he triggered his All Seeing Eye and focused behind him so turning around was actually an unnecessary thing.


It was easy to see the sprite behind him, and that just brought a grin to his lips and he was soon back under way. It was interesting to know that a creature that claimed to want nothing to do with him was now seemingly following him. So with mortal eyes facing forward and guiding him deeper into town and towards a needed stables, his extra sensory ones were now going to be on the look out for her behind him.

SEVERAL blocks later he made another turn in his path but this time once he knew she couldn’t see him he used his powers and blinked to a roof top to wait. He did not bother really hiding because he was fairly \certain she would keep to a horizontal slope while tracking him so he just sat there on the roof with his legs crossed Indian style and he leaned against a chimney that would block her from being able to see him till she had rounded the corner.

It was time to find out more about this Pixie

She slipped through the city, still following this intriguing man, keeping close to any walls and pausing every now and then to keep her distance from him. She was not as far back as she had been originally, but did not want to get too close. For a second she thought he would turn around: his stride slowed and his head truned slightly. Swiftly, she stepped backwards and became transparent, almost invisible in the mouth of a convenient alley. But he didn't turn and after a moment she was following again.

He seemed to be intent on going further into the city, and she wondered why. Did he know someone who lived here, or did he need to find something in the city? She suspected that if it was something he wanted to buy he would have little luck. The war going on just outside the city walls soaked up most available resources.

She was caught up in her thoughts for a moment, and almost missed him turning a corner. Barefeet skimming the paving, she sped up and peered around the corner herself, expecting him to be just a short distance away. But he was gone. Hesitating a moment, she looked further along the road, but could not see him. She knew he would be hard to miss in this city where people seemed to avoid walking on the streets, but she was sure he was gone. With a sigh, she stepped into the street herself, looking from side to side just in case. She had lost him.

Reaching behind herself, her fingers traced the edge of the 'hole' on her back delicately as though it hurt a little. Then with a shake of her head her long straight hair hid it from view once more. Her silver eyes glinted as she shivered slightly. It was strange that she had lost him so suddenly. She did not often track people like this, but she was usually pretty good at it. And in a city it should be easier thand through the woodland she was used to. What would she do now? She wondered if she could find her way back to the market place easily, to ask someone for directions out.

Turning to face the direction she had come from, she glanced back over her shoulder one last time, checking that he had not magically reappeared before she left.