Sneaking out

I stepped out onto my balcony, my ivory boots tapping lightly on the stone surface. It was quite chilly compared to my room where a nice fire was burning, so much so that I could really tell that the Flowering season had come to and end and that the Falling season had begun.

I brought out the golden scepter that had been in the trunk of treasure that the king had awarded me for placing first in the Mage tournament. The scepter was naturally quite heavy and was about the length of a broom. It was embellished with red and green gemstones at its tips and shallow carved patterns all along its surface. It was quite beautiful really.

I took a deep breath and brought the old movies from my childhood to the front of my mind. Sabrina the teenage witch, Kiki's delivery service, Hocus Pocus and Harry Potter. I pictured how all of the witches had flown through the air on magical broomsticks, I couldn't get a broomstick because I would have to go downstairs and someone would probably hear me, so my golden scepter would have to do.

I took hold of my scepter and channeled wind magic into it while visualizing the different movie scenes, willing my broom to do the same. My concentration was perfect and after a moment of channeling I could feel that my scepter was ready to act as a witches broomstick.

I tentatively took my hand off the scepter watching hopefully to see whether is was levitating. Thank goodness it was. So I gently lowered the object so that it was level just above my thighs. I then slowly sat down on the levitating scepter, hoping that it wouldn't suddenly stop levitating and leave me to fall flat on my butt.

To my surprise the scepter stayed perfectly in place, as if I didn't weigh anything.

Then I commanded the magic on my stick and willed it to rise higher. The scepter suddenly jolted upwards, almost causing me to loose my balance and fall off of it but luckily I caught myself by grabbing hold of the top of the stick and leaning some of my weight there. I hovered there for a moment, allowing myself to get used to the unusual weightlessness of being in the air. Then I set my sights Southward and willed the wind magic on the stick to fly me forward.

I couldn't suppress the laugh bubbling in my chest as the scepter swiftly took off South, towards Azmeth.

As a child, I had always envied the birds that were able to fly high in the sky, and glide through the air, but right then, I was just like one of those birds, soaring freely through the air. I looked down on Gismead and smiled at a view I had never been able to see before, a birds eye view of the brilliantly magical Gismead. From my height I could still see the candles levitating around the Royal palace. My eyes peered curiously at the still bustling harbor side, much fewer people were walking about but still many compared to the rest of the sleeping Gismead. I then took a small detour and veered my scepter to the West and flew over the forest, the tall green trees were just inches below my boots.

The feeling was indescribable. I felt so free and unburdened. A sensation I had never felt before. Even after dying and leaving all my Earthly worries back in New York, the gods had simply given me a new task and an instant pile of new worries. But right now I was completely by myself, unshackled by my responsibilities. I promised myself that I would fly like this every day.

I watched intently as the grand nobles house's became smaller and smaller and turned into ordinary houses, then the ordinary houses started to look more decrepit and rundown until I was convinced that I had reached Azmeth.

Agnes was right about the stench, a stark contrast between the beautiful fresh air of the noble sect. I then stopped flying and levitated stationary in the air. I took out the page I had ripped out from the book of Maps and figured out where I was positioned. I was floating over the edge of Azmeth, just above a large pub. Thankfully the map Also showed the pipe lines that ran under and through the district, so locating a pipe wouldn't be a problem.

I then steered my scepter down to land, just behind the big pub, one of the spots where the water pipes were just laying out in the open, a spot susceptible to damage and leakage.

When I landed just behind the pub, I could see that the large pipe was cemented into the ground, but a large portion of the tube was sticking out.

I wasted no time in getting to work. I immediately approached the large pipe and held out my palms. I cast one of my skills so I could get to the bottom of the problem.

"Appraiser."

My eyes vision immediately shifted and I was able to see inside the large pipe. Inside the pipe was a metal barrier that separated the used water from the clean water, water magic also lined the inside of the pipe and barrier so that the water flowed properly. However I could see that the layer of magic was way too thin and to my horror the barrier between the clean and dirty water was fraying, so the clean water was being contaminated with the used water.

The people who had installed this, really had no regard for the people of Azmeth... to think that the people had just been using contaminated water made me pretty angry.

I immediately got to work and used my magic to fix the pipes. I channeled my water magic into the pipes so that magic properly lined the insides. I also used Dark magic to fix the barrier between the clean and dirty water. I had literally stood there for fifteen minutes channeling my magic into the pipes, since these pipes were meant for the whole of Azmeth. When I was finished I was feeling kind of drained.

"Hey!" Came a loud male voice, following by the scuffling of feet and a lantern coming toward me. "Who's there?!" The man shouted.

It was time for me to go...

I hurriedly got back up onto my scepter and quickly took off, I turned my head back just in time to see a pair of startling blood red eyes glaring down at me from a few feet away. With that, I flew off into the night, with heavy breath at the thought of those red eyes. Even as I flew away, I felt those eyes on me.

When I landed back on my balcony, I leaned the scepter against the wall of my bedroom and let the curtains drape over it, so that it was hidden for a while. Then I slowly crept back into my bedroom making sure not to make a sound. I untied the laces of my boots and took off my cloak and put both items back in their places. Then I was off to bed. I eagerly climbed back into the soft warm sheets and pulled the covers over my head. I was home again.

Third Person

Somewhere dark and cold, deep in the forest a man's eyes shot open. His breath was ragged and his body was so stiff, as if he had not moved for days. Thankfully the moonlight wasn't harsh on his sleepy eyes. He desperately looked around as he didn't know where he was, he didn't know why he was there... The last thing he remembered was escorting those nobles back from Pathagonia...

His eyes widened as he began to remember what had happened. He had been walking quietly behind the rest when a giant black blur of fangs leaped for him with such force that it knocked him out. When he woke up again, the beast was dragging him deeper into the forest by his foot boot. He had thought about escaping but had soon realized that he couldn't because one of legs was broken, so he decided to just lay there and play dead, wait until the beast wasn't concentrating on him and then launch an attack.

Strangely enough the beast hadn't tried to eat or kill him, it was simply dragging him through the forest. When Fitz had looked up, he could see that the wolf was dragging him to a small decrepit looking hut. Even stranger, when the wolf had dragged him to the front door of the hut, the creature let go of his foot and just walked away...

Fitz had the struggled to get back on his feet since his leg was clearly broken, but he had somehow managed to get up and was planning on making his way back to the path and then hobbling his way to Gismead, when a sharp painful blow was dealt to the back of his head and he was once again knocked unconscious. Someone from inside the hut had hit him.

Unfortunately Fitz hadn't seen their face, and that was all he could remember of his ordeal.

But now, for some reason he was lying somewhere in the forest completely healed. His leg was fine, there wasn't a scratch on him, in fact he felt great... he knew something wasn't right but he didn't have time to ponder over it, all he knew was that he had to get back Gismead.

Fitz slowly bgan his journey back to Gismead, first trying to locate the path and then following it all the way home. As he walked back along the path, lit up by the moonlight, his mind drifted to his family, and he wondered if they thought that he was dead.

Riley

After I had come back from my little flying trip down to Azmeth I had stayed awake for hours remembering those blood red eyes. During my human life I had always associated red eyes with predators or vampires. Even in this world where people could naturally be born with pink or blue hair, bright red eyes like that still really stood out.

But then again my dark brown hair and eyes were equally as shocking to the people of Girannon as the red eyes were as shocking to me. I just hope that I do not run into that guy because it would be difficult trying to explain away what I was doing there, hovering over a water pipe.

"Thank you Agnes." I smiled as she brought in a tray of breafast. Today it was a yummy and light poached egg on smashed avocado toast with iced coffee.

Since I was planning on going to the church of magic today, Agnes was insisting that I wear something formal and more conservative.

So I ended up wearing a white corseted sleeved gown.

Since Agnes and Bard were going down to Azmeth to collect the sign up sheet for the safe house, Edna and Auberon were accompanying me to the church, now that I was some big-shot second rank noble, it was apparently more proper that I had two people escort me everywhere. Realizing this made me appreciate Alice more... Even though she was a first rank noble she was pretty down to Earth/Arteria and didn't get all caught up in the idea of nobility.

The Grand church of Magic was located on the south edge of the noble sect, so some commoners could access the church as well as the nobles. The church was an impressive building to say The least. As the morning sun shone on it, the ethereal and holy beauty of the building was magnified. The pale colored marble that the building was comprised of gave a sense of wealth and nobility to the building. I almost felt shy to step foot in the place, it like almost like I was unworthy to enter.

I was definitely plying the role of Alice in my own Girannonian version of wonderland as I stepped foot in the hall of the great building. My ivory slippers sliding cautiously against the foreign marble flooring. My eyes were perfectly stimulated as I gawked at the hundreds, no thousands of intricate carvings on the walls: beautiful and elegant women kneeling and praying to the gods, valiant and brave looking stone carvings of men wielding their magic, lifelike children running through open grassy fields with depictions of the gods looking down on them, even the carving of rare magical animals spared no expense as I could definitively recognize the depictions of a phoenix and a crystalline snake.

Auberon then took the lead and lead me and Edna down the beautiful hallway until we reached an even grander circular hall. The insanely good sculptures just got better and where enhanced by the open ceiling that let the natural light flood in. I saw some movement coming from the walls and instinctively left Auberon and Edna's side to go and take a look.

It was truly stunning. The different sections of the halls walls was embedded with thousands even millions of tiny magical gemstones and because of the cluster of so many gems you could see the different types of magic flowing overs the walls; around the different sculptures creating a beautiful shimmering effect to the wall.

"I beg your pardon Milady..." Came a soft yet clear voice that reminded me of a breeze blowing over. Field of grass.

I turned around to see a pair of condescending bright yellow eyes looking down on me, paired with long dark grey hair. The man was tall and lead with strikingly long thin fingers and thin pale lips. Beautiful in an eerie way.

I was both immediately intimidated and distracted by the unusually dressed man.