a/n sorry for the delay but finals are here. n e who, enjoy.
Disclaimer: see chap 1
The sun crept slowly over the horizon like a man clinging on the edge of a cliff. The bright orange and yellows of the sun grasped the trees and fields, holding on, dragging the sun up. The early morning rays stabbed Briar's eyes as soon as the great giver of life was up far enough to do so. Briar squinted in defiance, and rolled over mumbling to himself, his back challenging the sun. Though his back was turned and his eyes weld shut, Briar could feel the rejuvenating abilities of the light. His precious plants leaned towards him. The flowers around him opened towards the sun with a few leaves reaching for Briar. Niko and Briar had only a day left before they reach Winding Circle. Deciding to spend the night on the road, the pair laid down a ways off the main path in the grass.
Moss has always enjoyed Briar's company and the clump supporting his neck was not any different. The soft moist coldness of the miniature plants comforted him through many nights when he roamed the streets of Hajra as Roach, and they continued to do so. Niko anxious to get to the temple and finally rest in a bed woke up and started to prepare breakfast. Finally surrendering to the morning light, Briar woke and stretched, and gave one last yawn as he greeted the grass, vines, and all the greenery around him. Niko chuckled to himself watching Briar wake up. The first time Niko saw him was at the cells of Hajra, Sotat where Briar was on trial. So uncivil Briar was, unclean, and a mouth to match, Briar grew up to be a great young man. With a grunt, Niko agreed in his mind that taking Briar to Winding Circle was one of his greatest achievements.
Briar squinted, the morning light being a tad bit much. "You're gonna burn da bacon Niko," he pointed "pan's too hot."
"No it's not," Niko replied "I've been cooking before you were even born." As soon as he spoke the bacon strips curled up under the intense heat; crackling and burning the edges, the bacon shrunk half its size.
"Told you," Briar mumbled. Taking a fork from one of the bags on the ground, Briar rescued the bacon. Briar then added eggs to the pan which cooked quickly as well. The food was slightly burned but edible. Briar thought, "I've had worse."
Using a biscuit to clean his plate Briar looked towards the south. "We're gonna reach there soon. Once we hit dat village ova dere, it'll be bout a half's day's ride to Discipline."
Niko nodded in agreement. "Can't wait to get out of these traveling clothes, they look awful." Niko was still a bag at heart, although he's one of the most likable of the lot Briar thought.
Briar grinned. "Let's get going then, don't want to disappoint the girls."
"Discipline ladies?" Niko grinned, "Or the airheads at the Wind Temple."
Chuckling, the dual cleaned up, buried the fire under a shovel full of dirt, and then mounted their horses heading towards the little village ahead.
"Good thing I'm traveling with Niko," Briar thought "it's so nice and quite, Sandry would be chatting like newborn birds."
The village they reached wasn't at all impressive as villages go. The hovels had weak walls, barely supporting each other by lazily leaning against one another. The homes were topped with dirty old straw, and the stench reaching Niko nose made him not want to breathe. Mud caked some of the bare walls covering their original colors. Many homes were beyond repair revealing drafty rooms with nothing but a bed and tables.
"It's been awhile since I've seen this waste up close," Briar thought. "Am I going soft again? I'll visit the Mire when I get back." Growing up in the slums, Briar always thought back to the days were half a loaf of bread lasted him a week. He always gave back to his community mostly upon the urging of Rosethorn. Soon though, he went himself, replenishing clinic's wares as a small service to the many slums he's been. Even at the University, he would leave out a tray of food for a passing street rat in search of an ownerless coin.
Briar shaded his eyes from the sun, his eyes squinting Briar looked around at the meek village. The nicely clothed pair drew the attention of the younger inhabitants of the nameless village. The adults too proud to look upon such finery, looked down at their work, or just simply turned away, some offering a smile full of rotting brown teeth.
"Hey kid, come ova here," Briar said, directing his voice at a young little boy playing with a loop.
Looking up from his wooden loop, "Sir, 'ello, sir," the young lad said. He was skinny even by street standards. His rags were patched like all the others but surprisingly cleaned. He looked well kept as his situation allowed; his hair greased back allowing the bright blue eyes to see clearly.
"Can you tell me where I can find lunch around here?" Briar asked. He didn't want to scare the poor boy. From the looks of the faces staring back at him, he concluded that this village didn't get that many travelers at this time of year.
"Dere's an inn ova dere sir," the scrawny child pointed down the street towards a rickety sign. "Crawn can get you somethin to eat sir."
Briar looked at the sign, a feeble attempt at a picture of a bunch of grapes and a bed. Living on the streets Briar knew that not many could read; pictures were a better way of conveying shop signs than words. He himself didn't learn how to read till he got to Discipline Cottage.
"Thank you kid, come here," Briar told the village boy again.
The kid shuffled his feet and slowly moved towards the horse.
Briar reached into his purse and brought out a coin. Leaning down he reach out towards the boy with a coin in his had. "Here's for the trouble kid."
Grinning, revealing two missing teeth, the boy reached for the coin. The magical tattoos of vines on Briar's hands started to squirm around, astonishing the boy. Briar grinned. "Go on, take it."
"Yous Mage Moss!" the kid exclaimed.
"Indeed I am. Do you want the coin? I can put it back in my purse if you like."
"Yes, sir, mage, sir," the kid babbled, not knowing what title to use. The boy was surprised he had met such a celebrity. Briar's sister and he were famous around these parts and their names were even mentioned from time to time across other continents. The boy reached for the coin again and gently picked it off of Briar's palm. The kid did an awkward bow and raced back towards his shack showing his mother the newly acquired coin. His mother smiled at Briar. Briar could see that the boy's mother, though dressed in rags, was a fine woman.
Nodding, Briar pulled the reins and led the horse towards the inn. Niko smiled. "Bringing Briar to Winding Circle was one of the best ideas I've had," he thought to himself.
Pulling his tired horse up to next to Briar's mare, Niko casually asked, "What was that about? If you had looked up you would have noticed the inn already."
Guiding his horse Briar somberly looked straight ahead. After some silence Briar answered, "Pride, Niko; pride." Briar looked at Niko. "Look at them; they're a very proud people pretending to not even notice us. When you're poor like that, you don't beg for money. You stick it through. I was there once. It was just an excuse to give him some coin."
"Briar my boy, we've raised you well. Let's get something to eat." They had reached the inn quickly. Dismounting they tied the reins onto the poll on the side of the inn. Tapping the wood, Briar let out a tendril of his magic.
Niko raised an eyebrow.
Once again Briar grinned. "If someone tries to steal our horses they're in for a surprise. You're the "all seeing mage," take a look." Briar tilted his head towards the poll.
"I see." Niko noticed some spells casted on the log. Briar must have learned much because he saw a combination of ambient and academic magic intertwined ready to spring upon any thieves attempting to steal their horses. Niko also notice the subtly of the magics, for they would only attack if someone took their horses, they were specifically attuned to their reigns and not others. Amazing Niko gathered.
"Let's eat already, I'm hungry." Briar said knocking Niko out of his thoughts.
The door squeaked on rusty hinges as Briar opened the door. Smoke immediately covered their faces. The noise attacked their eardrums. At a second glance Briar noticed that a lot of old skinny folk were in the inn. Merchants and traders usually avoided this little nameless village and Briar saw why. Not one of the patrons was clean. Most had rags for clothes. It seemed like they wore patches, and on many, their clothes being so patched and rugged the stitches were the only thing visible.
Briar sighed, looking for a clean table. A serving wench his age looked at him and Niko, measuring them with her eyes. Taking in the quality of their clothes, their cleanness, she smiled. "Hello sirs, what can I do for you?"
"Food would be nice," Briar spoke. Always hungry, Briar was blunt when it came to food and his stomach.
"Right this way," the young miss said.
Briar grinned as he followed, his eyes lingering on her curves. "Not bad for a chick that's living in this mess," Briar thought.
"What you got to eat for lunch today." Briar spoke aloud.
"We only have enough for a simple stew, Mage Moss."
"That'll do miss, bring out two bowls and half a loaf of bread." Niko stated.
The maid turned around heading towards the bar. Avoiding all the seedy old men reaching to cop a feel of the curves Briar was admiring before. Amazingly, she slapped every hand that came within her comfort zone and navigated her self to the bar with little trouble much like a hummingbird would zoom from one flower to the next. The bar maid took care of other patrons while still making her way towards the bar to place their orders.
"So how come this village ain't prosperous, I mean this is much worse than a lot of the Duke's other places," Briar asked the older mage. "The Duke usually takes care of his own."
"Briar, I suggest you speak properly when we get back to Winding Circle. Crane would be mad for spending all that money, and you not speaking proper. And Rosethorn would just dangle you over the well by your toes." Niko chided. "About the village, the problem is, it isn't under the Duke's jurisdiction."
"Mage Goldeye is right sir," the server replied placing their bowls down in front of them. She noticed the medallion around Niko's neck. Niko was truly famous around Summersea even more so than Briar. "The land belongs to Duchess of Zhentree. She hasn't visited us in ages, and even now she's at Duke Vedris' citadel visiting him instead of taking care of this land.
The waitress looked sad but continued. "It's as if we don't exist."
"More drinks ova here wench!" one of the burly men in the crowd called out.
Straightening her self up and preparing for another onslaught of hands, the server gave the mages an apologetic look, excusing herself she briskly left to attend to the awaiting patrons.
Briar looked up. He knew how it felt to be alone in the world, his only family was at Winding, and that only included his foster sisters, whose magic was woven together by Sandry in an act of desperation during the major earthquake a few years back. Even before that his gang mates weren't that much of a group; he considered the moss on the floor of the prison cell to be better company. Finishing his meal he left a very generous tip for the lady.
"Let's hurry home," Briar spoke. "I wanna ask Sandy bout this."
a/n thankyou shadowhunter for your review. You are the first yay. Hope u like the chap. Get more ppl to read this too. Im new to fanfic.net so not many ppl know dis storie nor my other stories as well. Hehe. Just tryin to plug in my storie as much as possible.
Disclaimer: see chap 1
The sun crept slowly over the horizon like a man clinging on the edge of a cliff. The bright orange and yellows of the sun grasped the trees and fields, holding on, dragging the sun up. The early morning rays stabbed Briar's eyes as soon as the great giver of life was up far enough to do so. Briar squinted in defiance, and rolled over mumbling to himself, his back challenging the sun. Though his back was turned and his eyes weld shut, Briar could feel the rejuvenating abilities of the light. His precious plants leaned towards him. The flowers around him opened towards the sun with a few leaves reaching for Briar. Niko and Briar had only a day left before they reach Winding Circle. Deciding to spend the night on the road, the pair laid down a ways off the main path in the grass.
Moss has always enjoyed Briar's company and the clump supporting his neck was not any different. The soft moist coldness of the miniature plants comforted him through many nights when he roamed the streets of Hajra as Roach, and they continued to do so. Niko anxious to get to the temple and finally rest in a bed woke up and started to prepare breakfast. Finally surrendering to the morning light, Briar woke and stretched, and gave one last yawn as he greeted the grass, vines, and all the greenery around him. Niko chuckled to himself watching Briar wake up. The first time Niko saw him was at the cells of Hajra, Sotat where Briar was on trial. So uncivil Briar was, unclean, and a mouth to match, Briar grew up to be a great young man. With a grunt, Niko agreed in his mind that taking Briar to Winding Circle was one of his greatest achievements.
Briar squinted, the morning light being a tad bit much. "You're gonna burn da bacon Niko," he pointed "pan's too hot."
"No it's not," Niko replied "I've been cooking before you were even born." As soon as he spoke the bacon strips curled up under the intense heat; crackling and burning the edges, the bacon shrunk half its size.
"Told you," Briar mumbled. Taking a fork from one of the bags on the ground, Briar rescued the bacon. Briar then added eggs to the pan which cooked quickly as well. The food was slightly burned but edible. Briar thought, "I've had worse."
Using a biscuit to clean his plate Briar looked towards the south. "We're gonna reach there soon. Once we hit dat village ova dere, it'll be bout a half's day's ride to Discipline."
Niko nodded in agreement. "Can't wait to get out of these traveling clothes, they look awful." Niko was still a bag at heart, although he's one of the most likable of the lot Briar thought.
Briar grinned. "Let's get going then, don't want to disappoint the girls."
"Discipline ladies?" Niko grinned, "Or the airheads at the Wind Temple."
Chuckling, the dual cleaned up, buried the fire under a shovel full of dirt, and then mounted their horses heading towards the little village ahead.
"Good thing I'm traveling with Niko," Briar thought "it's so nice and quite, Sandry would be chatting like newborn birds."
The village they reached wasn't at all impressive as villages go. The hovels had weak walls, barely supporting each other by lazily leaning against one another. The homes were topped with dirty old straw, and the stench reaching Niko nose made him not want to breathe. Mud caked some of the bare walls covering their original colors. Many homes were beyond repair revealing drafty rooms with nothing but a bed and tables.
"It's been awhile since I've seen this waste up close," Briar thought. "Am I going soft again? I'll visit the Mire when I get back." Growing up in the slums, Briar always thought back to the days were half a loaf of bread lasted him a week. He always gave back to his community mostly upon the urging of Rosethorn. Soon though, he went himself, replenishing clinic's wares as a small service to the many slums he's been. Even at the University, he would leave out a tray of food for a passing street rat in search of an ownerless coin.
Briar shaded his eyes from the sun, his eyes squinting Briar looked around at the meek village. The nicely clothed pair drew the attention of the younger inhabitants of the nameless village. The adults too proud to look upon such finery, looked down at their work, or just simply turned away, some offering a smile full of rotting brown teeth.
"Hey kid, come ova here," Briar said, directing his voice at a young little boy playing with a loop.
Looking up from his wooden loop, "Sir, 'ello, sir," the young lad said. He was skinny even by street standards. His rags were patched like all the others but surprisingly cleaned. He looked well kept as his situation allowed; his hair greased back allowing the bright blue eyes to see clearly.
"Can you tell me where I can find lunch around here?" Briar asked. He didn't want to scare the poor boy. From the looks of the faces staring back at him, he concluded that this village didn't get that many travelers at this time of year.
"Dere's an inn ova dere sir," the scrawny child pointed down the street towards a rickety sign. "Crawn can get you somethin to eat sir."
Briar looked at the sign, a feeble attempt at a picture of a bunch of grapes and a bed. Living on the streets Briar knew that not many could read; pictures were a better way of conveying shop signs than words. He himself didn't learn how to read till he got to Discipline Cottage.
"Thank you kid, come here," Briar told the village boy again.
The kid shuffled his feet and slowly moved towards the horse.
Briar reached into his purse and brought out a coin. Leaning down he reach out towards the boy with a coin in his had. "Here's for the trouble kid."
Grinning, revealing two missing teeth, the boy reached for the coin. The magical tattoos of vines on Briar's hands started to squirm around, astonishing the boy. Briar grinned. "Go on, take it."
"Yous Mage Moss!" the kid exclaimed.
"Indeed I am. Do you want the coin? I can put it back in my purse if you like."
"Yes, sir, mage, sir," the kid babbled, not knowing what title to use. The boy was surprised he had met such a celebrity. Briar's sister and he were famous around these parts and their names were even mentioned from time to time across other continents. The boy reached for the coin again and gently picked it off of Briar's palm. The kid did an awkward bow and raced back towards his shack showing his mother the newly acquired coin. His mother smiled at Briar. Briar could see that the boy's mother, though dressed in rags, was a fine woman.
Nodding, Briar pulled the reins and led the horse towards the inn. Niko smiled. "Bringing Briar to Winding Circle was one of the best ideas I've had," he thought to himself.
Pulling his tired horse up to next to Briar's mare, Niko casually asked, "What was that about? If you had looked up you would have noticed the inn already."
Guiding his horse Briar somberly looked straight ahead. After some silence Briar answered, "Pride, Niko; pride." Briar looked at Niko. "Look at them; they're a very proud people pretending to not even notice us. When you're poor like that, you don't beg for money. You stick it through. I was there once. It was just an excuse to give him some coin."
"Briar my boy, we've raised you well. Let's get something to eat." They had reached the inn quickly. Dismounting they tied the reins onto the poll on the side of the inn. Tapping the wood, Briar let out a tendril of his magic.
Niko raised an eyebrow.
Once again Briar grinned. "If someone tries to steal our horses they're in for a surprise. You're the "all seeing mage," take a look." Briar tilted his head towards the poll.
"I see." Niko noticed some spells casted on the log. Briar must have learned much because he saw a combination of ambient and academic magic intertwined ready to spring upon any thieves attempting to steal their horses. Niko also notice the subtly of the magics, for they would only attack if someone took their horses, they were specifically attuned to their reigns and not others. Amazing Niko gathered.
"Let's eat already, I'm hungry." Briar said knocking Niko out of his thoughts.
The door squeaked on rusty hinges as Briar opened the door. Smoke immediately covered their faces. The noise attacked their eardrums. At a second glance Briar noticed that a lot of old skinny folk were in the inn. Merchants and traders usually avoided this little nameless village and Briar saw why. Not one of the patrons was clean. Most had rags for clothes. It seemed like they wore patches, and on many, their clothes being so patched and rugged the stitches were the only thing visible.
Briar sighed, looking for a clean table. A serving wench his age looked at him and Niko, measuring them with her eyes. Taking in the quality of their clothes, their cleanness, she smiled. "Hello sirs, what can I do for you?"
"Food would be nice," Briar spoke. Always hungry, Briar was blunt when it came to food and his stomach.
"Right this way," the young miss said.
Briar grinned as he followed, his eyes lingering on her curves. "Not bad for a chick that's living in this mess," Briar thought.
"What you got to eat for lunch today." Briar spoke aloud.
"We only have enough for a simple stew, Mage Moss."
"That'll do miss, bring out two bowls and half a loaf of bread." Niko stated.
The maid turned around heading towards the bar. Avoiding all the seedy old men reaching to cop a feel of the curves Briar was admiring before. Amazingly, she slapped every hand that came within her comfort zone and navigated her self to the bar with little trouble much like a hummingbird would zoom from one flower to the next. The bar maid took care of other patrons while still making her way towards the bar to place their orders.
"So how come this village ain't prosperous, I mean this is much worse than a lot of the Duke's other places," Briar asked the older mage. "The Duke usually takes care of his own."
"Briar, I suggest you speak properly when we get back to Winding Circle. Crane would be mad for spending all that money, and you not speaking proper. And Rosethorn would just dangle you over the well by your toes." Niko chided. "About the village, the problem is, it isn't under the Duke's jurisdiction."
"Mage Goldeye is right sir," the server replied placing their bowls down in front of them. She noticed the medallion around Niko's neck. Niko was truly famous around Summersea even more so than Briar. "The land belongs to Duchess of Zhentree. She hasn't visited us in ages, and even now she's at Duke Vedris' citadel visiting him instead of taking care of this land.
The waitress looked sad but continued. "It's as if we don't exist."
"More drinks ova here wench!" one of the burly men in the crowd called out.
Straightening her self up and preparing for another onslaught of hands, the server gave the mages an apologetic look, excusing herself she briskly left to attend to the awaiting patrons.
Briar looked up. He knew how it felt to be alone in the world, his only family was at Winding, and that only included his foster sisters, whose magic was woven together by Sandry in an act of desperation during the major earthquake a few years back. Even before that his gang mates weren't that much of a group; he considered the moss on the floor of the prison cell to be better company. Finishing his meal he left a very generous tip for the lady.
"Let's hurry home," Briar spoke. "I wanna ask Sandy bout this."
a/n thankyou shadowhunter for your review. You are the first yay. Hope u like the chap. Get more ppl to read this too. Im new to fanfic.net so not many ppl know dis storie nor my other stories as well. Hehe. Just tryin to plug in my storie as much as possible.