Unexpected Arrival in Steffson

[Ryan - Loki]

Steffson, located on the North-West edge of the country, was quite some distance from the capitol of Ithoria, the magical city of Warden. By no means was it a difficult journey, but for one who didn’t really know the lay of the land, the spots within the wilderness where warm and comfortable inns lay in wait to dote and feed the bellies of hungry travellers, and for those who owned no steeds or other forms of transportation it was a drawn out journey, free from the comforts of civilisation; the perfect trip for those who enjoyed the company of the flora and fauna more than they did from people.

Horatio was leading Ryan and Dramanius to that very location, and none of them were lucky enough to have any form of transportation to call their own, however, Horatio had explained shortly after leaving the city of Ithoria that a very large river called the Lance ran through the continent like veins run through a person, and though they were able to take a boat straight from Ithoria to the cliffs of Steffson it was far safer, especially for their little group considering the attention they had already brought upon themselves, to travel downstream to the next town, a small town called Stalten.

Though they were on foot they had reached Stalten before nightfall on the second day of their journey. Wasting no time at all they quickly bought passage onto a ship called the Weeping Mistress, which was heading down the Lance and into the Pirus Sea, straight past Steffson. It had been lucky that they had caught the ship as it had planned to sail that very morning, but had been kept at port to make last minute repairs to the mast. Ryan had called it fate, a sign, though Dramanius had grunted a laugh and called it plain and stupid luck; not much had been said between the two after that.

The huge ship looked quite out of place away from the huge expanse of the sea, despite the fact that the Lance was a huge river, more than large enough to accommodate four ships the size of the Weeping Mistress side-to-side. Even so it had kept the main load of her sails down and was being powered by ores along the river; even so they were making great progress.

In no time at all they were docking at the foot of the cliffs that Steffson was located upon. The wind was strong down there, having blown over and across the sea, but as Ryan looked up at the top of the cliff high above he dreaded to imagine how strong the wind would be high up there, especially on their long journey up along the winding path that had seemingly been dug out of the very Cliffside. It was a daunting prospect.

“Am I correct in assuming the two we need is high above us, at the foot of the cliffs?” Ryan asked Horatio, still looking up at the cliff top above.

[Kaworu - Horatio]

Horatio looked around and then looked up making sure to listen to the winds encase their was some surprise waiting for them and so far there was no word of such, so after hearing Ryan's words he nodded "Yes I do believe so, and I suggest we get up here before the next tide inless we wish to be swept out to sea" informed Horatio as he started floating a little.

"I suggest you climb, because taking the path will not only take a lot longer it will also have us run into various people and possibly guards" added Horatio as he started to slowly float up the cliff. Using his wind cloak as a way to lift his body which is fairly light compared to most up towards their destination and hopes that none of the guards see, or at least none of the guards on duty the night he ran away from Steffson at least.

[Ryan - Loki]

"Yes I do believe so, and I suggest we get up here before the next tide unless we wish to be swept out to sea." Horatio replied, now also looking up at cliff tops above. Ryan remained in silence as the both of them continued to look up. Dramanius slowly moved beside them and also silently looked up. Ryan took note of his appearance, but ignored it; this was neither the time nor the place to kick up their grudge.

Suddenly Ryan senses something out of place. It was a small disturbance, one that he was unfamiliar with, but it was there nevertheless and directly to his left; Horatio. Turning his head Ryan looked at him with a mixture of confusion and curiosity. It was a few moments before he noticed that he was hovering slightly above the ground. This wasn’t something special, Ryan knew how to focus his Ki energy into granting him the ability to move through the air (or to fly as it were), but this was different, he couldn’t sense any abnormal concentration of Ki energy resonating from Horatio; how was he doing it?

This made Ryan think. In truth Ryan hadn’t even been able to properly focus his own Ki energy since he had awoken from his involuntary thousand year slumber, and every time he attempted to do so he felt drained. He had originally put it down to a lack of use – though the thousand years had passed in a second to all those caught in the time bubble, the actual duration must have had some sort of effect on the body – but now he was starting to focus on a new theory; perhaps things worked differently in this day and age.

Horatio’s voice brought Ryan’s attention crashing back. "I suggest you climb, because taking the path will not only take a lot longer it will also have us run into various people and possibly guards." Horatio didn’t waste any time before floating upwards into the air with ease.

Looking from Horatio to the cliff Ryan thought on what his new companion had said. It was sound advice, that couldn’t be denied, but Ryan only had the use of one arm and so even the easiest climbs became difficult for him. “Horatio,” Ryan called out, though without raising his voice more than necessary. “I believe I have a problem.”

“Why, do you need me to give you a hand ?” Dramanius said with a snort of a laugh.

Ryan ignored the jib and simply continued to look up at Horatio, waiting for the man to stop and reply.

“Well, I’m not wasting time climbing.”

Ryan felt a concentration of Ki build up within Dramanius’ body. It took longer to build than Ryan expected, though he had to keep reminding himself of all of their limitations now. Suddenly Dramanius sprung up and shot through the air, taking flight. Within seconds he was above Horatio, vanishing into the darkness of the night. With a sigh Ryan found that he had little to no choice, he had to walk. So moving to the small path that winded up the Cliffside Ryan began to long walk up, taking to a steady pace. He wouldn’t be there as quickly as Dramanius, or even Horatio, but he wouldn’t risk more unnecessary injury to his body or draining himself; who knew what the town of Steffson had in store for them, he needed to be ready for anything, and he already wasn’t.

[Kaworu - Horatio]

Horatio wasn't too far away to not here Ryan's call though even if he was the winds would likely tell him so when he looked down and spotted Ryan heading off to the path despite his warnings, he floated down and stopped in front of him "That warning wasn't meant to be taken lightly Ryan, the guards here have gotten quite nasty and brutal over the years. And will attack any stranger with lethal force and that's before they ask questions because this is not the usual way into Stefson, so guards are told to kill anyone seen to be sneaking into the place so if you need help then I have no problem granting it" explained Horatio in a low enough voice not to attract attention.

"I can offer you the same way up as me" commented Horatio as he started searching his pockets for a trinket that he had made when he was here in Stefson, it was something that contained the same wind powers as he himself had but not in such a large degree. But enough to propel someone of Ryan's size up the cliff though not as fast as the other man had gone and probably not the same speed that Horatio could go if he so chose, but enough to get him up without much hassle "Hey take this item and press the button in the middle, it should surround you with a set of winds that you can use to slowly float up to the top of the cliff like I am" expressed Horatio as he threw the man the small trinket.

[Ryan - Loki]

Horatio must have heard Ryan as he stopped his ascent and made his way back down towards him, stopping in front of the path directly in front of Ryan. Ryan’s cloak began to flap about as Horatio landed, causing the samurai to grab a hold of it and hold it tightly against his body.

"That warning wasn't meant to be taken lightly Ryan; the guards here have gotten quite nasty and brutal over the years. And will attack any stranger with lethal force and that's before they ask questions because this is not the usual way into Steffson, so guards are told to kill anyone seen to be sneaking into the place so if you need help then I have no problem granting it." Horatio explained in a hushed whisper.

“I have no doubt that any warning you give me should be taken in the most serious light,” Ryan explained, slowly and quietly. “But I do not have the luxury of two working hands, nor do I have the energy to waste on flight. How else do you suggest I advance?”

"I can offer you the same way up as me.” at that Horatio began to rummage about in his pocket. Finding what he desired he pulled his hand back out of his pocket, holding a small amulet type trinket in his palm. "Hey take this item and press the button in the middle, it should surround you with a set of winds that you can use to slowly float up to the top of the cliff like I am." with that Horatio tossed it through the air.

Ryan caught it easily and merely held the trinket in his hand, studying it closely. Horatio had helped shed some light on Ryan’s earlier curiosity with his explanation of the trinkets power; it would surround the user with a set of the wind. “The wind. You can manipulate the very wind around us, can you not?” Ryan asked, though he was so sure his theory was correct that the question was almost rhetorical.

He was unsure if it was truly wise to use the trinket without more studying of it, or at least knowing some more about it, but Ryan knew time was also not a luxury he had, so throwing a small amount of caution to the wind he pressed the middle of the amulet to activate it. Almost instantly Ryan felt a rush of wind surround him, pulling his cloak out of his hand and causing it to flap about uncontrollably around him. It startled Ryan. He had been forced to battle through strong winds before, but never had they been so isolated specifically around him and never had he felt such a connection to them; he dared not imagine how strong Horatio’s connection to the wind was in comparison.

As if by thought or willpower alone, Ryan’s feet lifted up off of the floor in a sudden jolt. Though Ryan had ample amounts of experience with flying through the air, this sensation was completely different. It felt alien, but it was effective. Within moments Ryan had managed to lift himself above Horatio and was heading steadily towards the top of the cliffs and the small town of Steffson. “This is amazing!” Ryan exclaimed in a hushed voice.

[Kaworu - Horatio]

Horatio went ahead at a reasonable pace so not to show himself up to the man below him as he got his bearings on the device that he had created with the use of his wind ability, and kept it encase he ever had to help someone fly and or get away from somewhere or one quickly. As he ascended up the cliff he made sure to keep the occasional eye on the man that had sped up ahead of them as well as around their area, encase some guard came out for a brake or a smoke and caught some people flying up the cliffs.

And he knew if a guard came along they'd hear Ryan's coat flapping in the wind because it was making a great deal of noise and the only reason it wasn't being noticed is because ship sails do the same thing, and there were a few of those down the river and it gets windy in the caves here so he knew they'd be fine in less someone came down near where they had started off.

As he got closer to the top of the cliff Horatio sped up to the top and attempted to look over so they had an idea as to weather it was safe or not, because he figured their other companion wasn't exactly going to care weather to be stealthy or not so he wanted to be sure that they wouldn't run into trouble since that'd make their way into Steffson that much harder.

[Ryan - Loki]

As Ryan slowly made his accent through the air along the side of the cliff, thanks to the assistance of Horatio’s amulet, he began to consider how ridiculous he must have looked, especially to those who had seen him fly in the past with little to no difficulty. Not having full control over the method in which he was able to move through the air was a strange sensation, to say the least.

It was clear manipulation of the wind, perhaps even to the extend of creating wind rather than just manipulating it, which was something which Ryan was unable to do; he could only manipulate fire, not create it. The feeling of the wind manipulation alien to him, despite his ability to manipulate fire. He had never had a stronger notion of how different controlling the different elements was than right now; he found he held a new level of respect for those who could manipulate the elements.

By this point Horatio was high above him, almost fading away into the darkness of the night, but clearly keeping a close eye on Ryan in case he came into any suddenly difficulties. Luckily he hadn’t, at least not any that were too urgent or dangerous. As Ryan moved above the top of the cliffs edge he was floating upside-down with his cloak having fallen down over his face, by far not his best entrance.

Being upside-down in midair when you didn’t feel like you had control over your movements brought a whole new fear rushing over Ryan. He had never been afraid of heights, but right now he was almost terrified. Arms flapping about in an attempt to turn himself right-side up Ryan managed to move himself close enough to the cliffs edge to accidentally grasp hold of it and pull himself back to solid ground; he had rarely felt more relief in the past than he currently did.

With the feeling of the ground against his body once more Ryan dropped the amulet on the floor next to him, releasing his body of the assistance it had been giving him. He had been thankful for the help, but considering he could not manipulate the wind effectively enough he doubted he would be re-using the amulet anytime soon.

Standing, finally, Ryan’s legs wobbled for a moment, readjusting to coping with his weight; he was still somewhat shaky. As soon as he had regained himself Ryan bent down and picked up the amulet, before moving over to Horatio, who had already arrived, and extending the amulet back to him.

“Thank you Horatio,” Ryan said with a smile. The scars that covered his face ceased together and deepened as he smiled, granting him the appearance of someone a far bit older than he actually was. “it was a, err, experience; to say the least.”

With the amulet back in Horatio’s possession Ryan turned away from the cliffs edge and looked towards Steffson. He was surprised to notice that the small town extended directly up to the edge of the cliff. The back wall of the houses were pressed up against the very edge, some even with porches extended out over the edge; it was a most peculiar and worry site. It was quite, so Ryan’s next assumption of the town was that there was very little nightlife; something that would hopefully play to their advantage. However, then something struck Ryan:

“Where is Dramanius?” Ryan turned his head to Horatio and asked in a hushed whisper.

[Ryan - Loki]

(OOC: Horatio, to move the story along smoothly I’m going to post as if Pro has been with us all along. Ok?)

Horatio didn’t reply. Like Ryan he was probably busy scanning the area for signs of Dramanius, who had seemingly vanished off of the face of the planet. Ryan had expected some form of problem in regards to Dramanius, but he had thought it would come in the form of betrayal, not fleeing like a coward when things hadn’t even got rough. It was most perplexing, to say the least.

Convinced that the coast was clear, clear enough for him to show himself at any rate, Ryan stepped a little more out into the open area in front of him. It was what was usually referred to as a street, but this street was different in that it went straight off the edge of the cliff. It was quite fascinating, at least to Ryan, and for the briefest of moments he studied it with his eyes. However he couldn’t linger on the thought for too long, he had far more important things to focus on.

As Ryan returned his thoughts and vision to searching for Dramanius he noticed a shadow moving towards them. Ryan’s right hand instantly moved down to his left side, groping for the hilt of his blade. It wasn’t there. In a panic he looked down, taking his eye off of his potential enemy, only to find that his blade was positioned on the right side of his body. He had forgotten that he had given Seth the other. Ryan silently cursed himself for his stupidity. By the time his hand had crossed over, grasped the hilt of his blade and he had looked up the figure was directly in front of him, grinning sadistically at him; it was Dramanius.

“Slice,” he said, drawing his sword across the thin air some bit away from Ryan’s throat. “You’re dead samurai.” he gave a short laugh before shaking his head and walking away. Lowering is sword he wiped the blade against the cloth of his top.

He never wanted to find himself at the mercy of Dramanius ever again, especially because of a foolish mistake; he was too old to make such mistake, he should have known better. “Your blade,” Ryan noticed, taking a gulp. “it had blood on it.” it was a stern statement, a statement that asked a simple question without speaking it; ‘where did that blood come from?’

“How very perceptive of you, Jiaoimasu.” Dramanius said, avoiding the ever so subtle question. Finally he gave Ryan what he wanted. “It was from a guard. He spotted me and went to sound the alarm. I put a stop to him…heh, and his friend.” he turned to look at Ryan at that point, that sadistic grin on his face; right now Dramanius reminded Ryan a lot of Loki.

Turning in disgust Ryan looked back at the rest of the group. He hadn’t, until now, thought of how it must have been effecting the youngest of the group. In all fairness this was hard for Ryan, being thrust a thousand years into the future, losing all that you ever knew or loved, but he was a hardened warrior, a samurai, and though Brandon had magnificent powers he was a mere child in comparison. Walking past the boy Ryan patted him on the shoulder reassuringly. “Are you ok?”

[Icarius]

From the very start it was made clear to me that the smartest career move I could possibly make in this new era was to keep my mouth shut and my wits about me. Everything from our unceremonious departure right up to the suspicious scaling of the sheer cliff face had put my nerves on edge and made me hyper-aware of my surroundings. When I noticed that Dramanius had disappeared, I prayed to God that his desertion was a permanent affair. That was quickly put to rest when he emerged from the gloom, wiping precious ruby liquid from his blade.

I felt a little sick to my stomach, wondering who's children had been put to rest by this wicked man. My jaw clenched, and I bit back the words that I so desperately wanted to spit. Though I was somewhat relieved that we wouldn't have to worry about guards catching us with our pants down, I took no pleasure in it.

Ryan patted my shoulder, and I took a calming breath before turning my head to look at him.

“Are you ok?”

I closed my eyes and nodded, sliding my hands into my jacket pockets out of habit.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I just hate to think what he enjoyed doing to that guard. Poor bastard."

It was probably easier on my mind than it should have been because I hadn't actually witnessed the event, seen his lifeblood seep from a grievous laceration, or watched his eyes glaze over as his soul fled his dying body.

I sighed again, slower this time. I wanted to be prepared if I ever needed to defend myself with my newfound powers, but for some reason my confidence in them was beginning to falter. Upon my arrival on Dragonia, pure Energy had become my tool to use and fight. Now, barely two days to me but a thousand years to the world, I felt as if my God-like powers was no more powerful than the magic users that populated the crust of this unknown planet.

"Anyway, you don't have to worry about me. I can hold my own. If Dickless over there tries anything funny, I'll set his clothes on fire or something."

[Ryan - Loki]

(OOC: Kaworu, I know i've skipped your go twice now, but that's only because you haven't posted in a while. As soon as you come back and have the time to post, jump straight back in! )

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I just hate to think what he enjoyed doing to that guard. Poor bastard."

Though he wouldn’t have used the same words, Ryan felt exactly the same. Ryan nodded in agreement. “Taking a life should never be easy, nor rejoiced. Even the life of an enemy.” Ryan said somewhat sagely. It didn’t mean to, but without Seth around to guide and educate he had fallen somewhat, subconsciously of course, towards doing the same with Brandon.

“Anyway, you don't have to worry about me. I can hold my own. If Dickless over there tries anything funny, I'll set his clothes on fire or something."

Ryan couldn’t help but smile at that. It wasn’t just the image of Dramanius being set alight by someone who he would deem worthless that tickled him, not completely at least, but rather the confidence that the boy held. “Good,” Ryan replied, with a nod of the head. “But be careful. Dramanius is never to be underestimated…I made that mistake, once.” he looked down at his arm that was slung across his chest using his cloak, the arm that had no feeling within it anymore.
Underneath the material it was scared, badly. In fact it was the most badly scared place on his body, which was hard to believe considering he had many scars on his face alone. He used to look on at his other scars as a constant reminder of his people, and what he had lost, something to keep him from strolling down the wrong path, but his arm was a constant reminder that though he was experienced he was not beyond harm; it was a hard reminder to live with.

Sighing Ryan moved away from Brandon, taking a few steps out into a slightly more open area. Looking around it was clear to see that this city, or at least this part of it, was not very active at night. This was both a blessing and a curse. Without anyone around they could not ask for information that would lead them to the man they were seeking, but drawing attention to them was not something they needed either, and the darkness of the night would help avoid this.

What to do? he asked himself, but he did not know the answer. Turning back to the group Ryan decided that perhaps it was best if he allowed the others to take the lead for once. It was doing them no good, allowing them no room for personal growth if he was leading constantly. “We need to find this man who claims to have found ‘the source’ .” Ryan said to them all. “However, we do not know where he lives, what he looks like or what his name is…how do we find him?”

[Kaworu - Horatio]

Horatio had been looking around for guards when he heard Ryan mention Dramanius' not being there so when Ryan reacted to a shadow that his wind cloak had simultaneously warned him about, Horatio stepped into the shadows to avoid detection thinking that the man known as Ryan was strong enough to at least take a first attack. And even if he wasn't Horatio wasn't that far away not be able to intervene and was using his hiding place as a site from which to ambush the possible foe, but it turned out to be Dramanius so he was less worried but still far from considered Dramanius a friend or even an ally.

But after Dramanius had finished toying with his head and Ryan started looking around spotting the lack of night life Steffson had the samurai asked them what would be a good course of action, "Well I suggest first finding some lodging, then possibly going to a local tavern or similar place because the night life here is rather limited to drinking or prostitution though sometimes together.

And I know you may see me as a child but I was a slave here once to an important person so I know the general workings of this place though I hope no one recognizes me because then we'll be in another boatload of trouble" expressed Horatio as quietly as he could but loud enough for Ryan to hear him.

[Icarius]

I held back my opinion until I could get a general feel of what people wanted, and it seemed that Horatio, as the only true native of the group, would know what to do in this situation. However, even as he was making his suggestion, I had this feeling in my stomach that it wouldn't really get us straight to where we needed to go. His having mentioned a tavern as well as drinking and hookers in the same sentence made me think that his mind wasn't entirely on fulfilling our mission.

I pulled my hands out of my pockets and stepped a little closer to Ryan, motioning over for the group to come closer. I didn't want to keep any secrets.

"Well... if this 'Source' is as mythical as the Council lead us to believe, then anyone who claimed to have found it would obviously be labeled as an outcast, possibly even a heretic."

I rubbed my chin, my stubble already grown into a dark shadow of a goatee. It felt weird to have, but rubbing it helped me to sort out my thoughts.

"If that's the case, anyone in that position would want to get as far away from society as possible, find a sanctuary that people would tend to steer away from. To me, that would only really be one place."

I pointed dead North to the area that gave the city its full name.

"The cliffs."

I dropped my hand and turned to the others, looking for reactions or comments.

"That's what I think, anyway. I'm all for the bar scene, but I like to steer clear of places where heavy drinking is rife."

[Ryan - Loki]

"Well I suggest first finding some lodging, then possibly going to a local tavern or similar place because the night life here is rather limited to drinking or prostitution though sometimes together. And I know you may see me as a child but I was a slave here once to an important person so I know the general workings of this place though I hope no one recognizes me because then we'll be in another boatload of trouble" Horatio explained.

Ryan stepped towards Horatio and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Horatio,” Ryan slowly began. “You have been a great help so far. You have knowledge of this world that we do not, and I am extremely helpful for everything. Do not fear, you are one of us now and we do not allow any harm to befall one of our own.” He gave a smile, the creases in his face deepening slightly. “At any rate, we are on a mission from the Mages council themselves – I doubt anyone would dare try to harm you.”

With that said Ryan removed his hand from his shoulder and looked around. Dramanius was still standing there, simply listening to what was being said. Ryan was glad for this, he rather Dramanius in a position he could monitor him. At that point Brandon moved closer to the group, as to speak to them quietly. Ryan leaned in towards the young man to listen to what he had to say.

"Well... if this 'Source' is as mythical as the Council lead us to believe, then anyone who claimed to have found it would obviously be labelled as an outcast, possibly even a heretic."

It was a wise deduction to make, Ryan noted.

"If that's the case, anyone in that position would want to get as far away from society as possible, find a sanctuary that people would tend to steer away from. To me, that would only really be one place. The cliffs. That's what I think, anyway. I'm all for the bar scene, but I like to steer clear of places where heavy drinking is rife."

Ryan smiled. “Well assumed young master.” he began. “If there are no disagreements from anyone else I believe we should take this course of action.” Ryan added, looking around the small group. There didn’t seem to be any immediate disagreement so Ryan assumed they were all happy with this decision. “Ok then, agreed. Let us hurry, while we still have the cover of darkness to protect us.” With that Ryan began to move towards the Cliffs, his eyes diligently looking across the houses for anything that seemed out of place.

[Kaworu - Horatio]

Horatio didn't bother agreeing or disagreeing because it's obvious his opinion wasn't valid compared to the other guy and from what he could tell the man had very little combat or mission experience, which gave reason for Horatio to be vexed that Ryan would take his opinion and despite the fact it may have some relevance "First if I was misunderstood about the bar thing then I apologize since I don't partake in such things

But if this source guy is so glad he's found this thing as I've heard been mentioned then maybe he's celebrating. And anyway for this guy to be able to stay here with said source without any trouble he'd have to have interaction with the city, in that he'd have to bribe and or work with some of the people here that's if he wanted to keep his source and or stay alive" explained Horatio.

He then looked at Ryan with a slight raised eyebrow "You don't even know what I've done here to gain such resentment so don't assume you'll take my side, and anyway I wasn't put on this mission by the council you were and I was just found along the way to help as a guide so officially I'm expendable.

And last in less you wish to die a horribly swift death at the hands of snipers I suggest we find someone to take us up there or we'll all be floating down river in body bags" expressed Horatio with a serious tone.

[Ryan - Loki]

As Ryan began to move he heard Horatio speak. So not to seem rude Ryan stopped in his tracks and turned to look at the newest companion to the group.

"First if I was misunderstood about the bar thing then I apologize, since I don't partake in such things. But if this source guy is so glad he's found this thing as I've heard been mentioned then maybe he's celebrating. And anyway for this guy to be able to stay here with said source without any trouble he'd have to have interaction with the city, in that he'd have to bribe and or work with some of the people here that's if he wanted to keep his source and or stay alive."

Dramanius grinned at this and clapped his hands together. “I wouldn’t mind going to the local tavern.” he said agreeing with Horatio. “A stiff drink and a flexible woman would probably even do Ryan a world of wonders.” it was spoken with the most sinister of smirks. Ryan didn’t like it.

Up until this point Horatio seemed to be talking to everyone within the group, but then he turned to specifically look at Ryan. "You don't even know what I've done here to gain such resentment so don't assume you'll take my side, and anyway I wasn't put on this mission by the council you were and I was just found along the way to help as a guide so officially I'm expendable. And last unless you wish to die a horribly swift death at the hands of snipers I suggest we find someone to take us up there or we'll all be floating down river in body bags."

“This hardly appears to be a military based city.” Ryan said. He had only just arrived, but from his deduction of what he had seen this small city, a city that could have even been classed as possibly a town on closer inspection certainly didn’t have a military feeling to it. The houses were positioned wrong for starters, in the instance of defending it from invasion, as well as the entire positioning of the city; the cliffs were a poor choice. He had only just arrived in this time though, so he wasn’t taking his past experience or knowledge as absolute, there was a high chance he was wrong. On top of that snipers seemed unlikely. Ryan’s concept of a sniper did not fit the level of technology that he had seen of this time. Things seemed more medieval here than technological. However, there was the chance that Horatio’s meaning of the term ‘sniper’ was different from Ryan’s; perhaps a sniper was someone who had extreme accuracy with a longbow?

Ryan turned to speak to the entire group now, though his main focus was Horatio. “From what little information the council told us, the ‘Source’ is a term used for the place where magic was created and comes from. It had been impossible to locate and is believed that it is extremely dangerous and powerful. Rumour only has reached the council that this individual has found it.” Ryan looked around to see if anyone was nearby, but the streets were as quiet and dead as the night surrounding them.

“I would assume that this man knows what he has found and the fact he had not directly come forward to the mages council to show them leads me to the assumption that either he intends to harness the power for himself in secret, or these rumours have no depth.” the latter was what Ryan hoped for. “I personally believe this man will want to keep to himself, away from prying eyes and lose lips that would spill his secret.”

Now he looked directly at Horatio. “I am sure your master Horatio that your plan would work, but it would take time to find an establishment and gain the information we require without raising any suspicions. Also, a highly populated place like that would perhaps cause you to encounter someone who knows you Horatio, and I am assuming that you wish to avoid that; correct?” Ryan gave the young master a slight smile and placed a hand on his shoulder. “If this town can be as inhospitable as you say Master Horatio then time is against us. We have until sunrise before things become difficult.”

Ryan removed his hand from Horatio’s shoulder and turned as he walked off. Hopefully this time the others would follow, and soon enough they could leave this place with either the information or the person they required.