The Summoner and the Enchantress

Chapter 19

Gideon and Rhordan left the room shortly after their resolution, choosing to carry out their given task as it was already late into the afternoon. Worry filled them as they went down the stairs, after the damaged caused by the emerald eyed teen earlier they were afraid of the possible repercussions. Though, as they stepped into the bar at the end of the stairs they were hit with a wall of thunderous sound, nearly deafening them in the process. The somehow impossibly silent inn was unexplainably now erupting at the seams with noise, a concept the purple eyed girl chalked down to some form of magic barrier mitigating the sound from the different parts of the building.

No one batted an eye at them as they stood there marvelling at the effect a sound barrier could have on a building. It was like they did not exist, or at least they were not worth the effort to notice. They were just two normal teenagers walking out of the rooms behind the bar nervously, looking as if they were looking for something but not knowing what it was.

They made it through the crowd of drinkers laughing boisterously at some joke or tale one of them had told, the door to the place seemed eerily familiar to an old western swivel door from the cowboy movies. The street outside of the bar was simply flattened dirt, the buildings around had a similar old western style only designed with some Victorian flair into it. Buildings made of various shades of brown and somewhat red colours, built on grass with some large light grey stones arranged as pathways outside of the main road. The buildings themselves had light brown thatched roofs, darker set of wooden pieces surround decorated windows which had everything from potted plants to clothes swaying in the breeze.

Though the buildings held much of their interest, it was the people muddling their way through the streets that captivated them. They were dressed in a similar array of clothes that the pair were in, the only exception to the all dreary brown attire was the difference in shirts. The colours ranged from soft dull green to an equally dull red, there were those dressed slightly more extravagant. Some had a more regal set of clothes, having brighter colours and better threads and fabric though they ranged far fewer than the vast majority of civilians.

Gideon shook his head sharply, shaking himself from his admiration of the new world to the reality that the twin suns were slowly meeting the horizon as dusk approached. He grabbed the amethyst eyed girl's hand and pulled her towards what looked to be Bardia's town centre, they needed to register with the guild and hopefully find somewhere else to sleep that night as they didn't want to return to the bar that the silver knight had brought them to.

Rhordan shook herself slightly and pulled her hand from Gideon's, she did not want to let him pull her like a child though the comforting feeling of his hand did somewhat reassure her. She sent him a slight glare before trying to walk ahead of him only to fall short, the emerald-eyed teen easily keeping pace with her.

The two walked silently through the streets observing the other civilians as they went about their lives, they were trying to mimic their movement to help blend in though it was not entirely difficult to disappear among them. The civilians just wandered about much like the people of their world, keeping close to the buildings they just moved as if they were going to the shops in their own world.

As they got closer to the town centre the buildings started to spread out a bit, until it reached a large circle with a decently decorated fountain in the middle. The buildings around the centre had somehow improved drastically, decorated ornately with grander pieces of wood as well as painted with brighter colours than the drabber ones in the outlying region of Bardia. The vast majority had a soft white mingled with the dark brown wood, others had lighter greens and blues. The buildings grew in size as well, some reaching high into the sky while others just expanded to almost twice the size of the standard buildings. Various signs graced the buildings, from a hammer and anvil to a flask.

Taking the signs to indicate the buildings purpose; the hammer and anvil had to be a blacksmith which was to the right of them as they entered the centre, the flask sign on the left could possibly be an alchemist but they were not sure, the other signs took various different shapes and images which they could spend hours trying to work out but they spotted the scroll sign at the far end of the centre on a building made purely out of stone and thick dark oak logs similarly to an outpost styled tavern. Deciding to make their way to the adventurer's guild first before night, they could examine the other buildings later when they had money to actually spend at them.

They quietly made their way across, stopping slightly to admire the beautiful stone statue of a woman that they did not recognise. It was entirely possible that the woman wasn't some form of deity or royal, merely just a decoration though the thought did linger in their heads to remember a woman with soft round features and long flowing hair.

The adventurer's building had a weird placement as it was somehow close to the edge of the town limits but was still at its centre, they ignored this for now as they approached the large heavy duty oak doors that surprisingly swung open the moment the approached them. They walked out of the blazing heat from the twin suns to a somehow bizarrely cool room, boisterous voices roar inside with the pair unable to differentiate one from another.

The interior had a simple stone floor with dark brown wooden walls, a balcony hung over the main area with a large assortment of individuals dressed in peculiar garments. The ground floor was somewhat large though it didn't extend as far as they had thought it did, going back far enough to include the upstairs seating area and the extended row of market stalls to their right. To their left stood a row of inlaid desks in the dark wooden walls, lighter wood made the desks and a set of three girls in ornate white business dresses with a dark crimson blazer. The one closest to them had soft ginger hair and bright green eyes, a dusting of light freckles graced her cheeks and nose. She smiled warmly at the pair and motioned for them to come over to her, hesitating for a second the brothers moved over to her.

"Hello there. How can I help you?" The receptionist asked kindly, her smile not even wavering for a second as she waited for the reply to her question. She had her hands folded in her lap and kept her posture relaxed, creating an air of comfortability that reassured the pair somewhat. "Are you lost? The two of you look too young to be in a place like this."

A slight twitch irritated Rhordan's eye, she knew Gideon looked to be a bit younger than he actually did with their disguises, but she did not think she would too. Something she knew she would have to get use to, though it did not help her ego any more than pretending to be a boy in the first place. Gideon meanwhile ignored the statement; he had had his age mistaken most of the time throughout his younger years due to his smaller size.

"We are here to become adventurers." Gideon exclaimed carefully; he didn't want his voice to come out arrogant nor did he want to cast aside her kindness, he tried to sound as if he was informing her of their decision though holding his tone in reserve to downplay that they actually wanted this. The red-haired receptionist had a brief stunned look grace her features before she took a more professional demeaner, she looked worried for a second before standing up.

"Will you please excuse me for a moment." She politely stated before disappearing behind a somewhat hidden door in the wall, the other two girls passed a worried glance to each other before resuming their disarmingly kind smiles.

The pair waited for what felt like an eternity as they stood in the entrance of this building, many individuals walked past them while giving weird looks at them. The merchants shouting prices of their wares eagerly and approached those who entered the building without thought of personal space, though they were ignoring the pair completely for what they expected to be because they didn't look to have any money on them.

Suddenly, a door opened in the wall past the receptionist desks, the wooden walls shimmering to reveal a somewhat ornate heavy-duty door. From that door stood an elegantly dressed man, his tall lanky frame suited the deep green blazer with a subtle dark blue suit underneath that he wore. His dirty blond hair was combed back into a simple ponytail, his incredible sharp facial features paired well with his overall sharp attire.

His deep green eyes bore into the pair as he scrutinised them from above his glasses, which rested purposely on the tip of his angled nose. The only oddity about the sharp man was the band around his head, it seemed quite out of place despite its dark green colour and the emblazoned symbol of the adventurer's guild on it.

The stout man strode across the smooth grey marble floor with simple purpose, as if he owned the very floor and yet reserved and humble. He stood before the pair and gazed carefully at each of them, detailing them with a practised eye. As briskly as he arrived, he quickly turned on the ball of his heel and strode towards the mysterious door.

"Follow me." His voice soft yet melodious, another oddity of the unknown gentleman, his head dipped slightly to cast his deep green eyes at the pair. Not waiting for an answer, he opened the door with practise ease and disappeared behind it.

Stunned for a second, they were shooed after him by the very receptionist who had returned during the rapid and confusing encounter. Entering through the door, the pair found themselves in a dimly lit dark wooden corridor expanding far past the point of the actual physical building itself. Gideon caught notice of a piece of deep green fabric darting around the corner of a cross section, passing by many unknown doors and quickly striding in the similar direction of the piece of fabric the pair found themselves in front of a door that was held open by the unknown individual.

He stood there staring at the pair, quietly watching them as they approached cautiously. A slight glint of mirth appeared in his eyes but only for a split second, neither of the pair wishing to question the green-eyed man on his apparent enjoyment of their anxiousness.

Walking past him, they entered into a beautifully decorated room with a multitude of flora decorating it. Simple dark wooden bookshelves and an equally dark wooden window frame were covered in various shades of greens as well as other colours, the plants took on a dizzying array of blues, yellows, and reds. The centre of the room held a simple light wooden desk and an accompanying high-backed deep green padded chair behind it, opposite the desk sat two plain chairs matching the rooms décor. The desk held many pieces of parchment as well as a few towers of books, an orderly mess and yet somewhat dignified.

The lanky man familiarly walked to his desk and sat down on the beautiful char, gesturing swiftly to the two chairs opposite for the pair to sit on. Cautiously, they sat down and warily watched for what the dark green-eyed man was going to do, they had already felt nervous as they had caught the surprised glances from the other patrons of the establishment.

"Welcome to the Adventurer's Guild, I am the director of this branch. My name is Baltharn Windshot, though you may refer to me as Bal." The deep green-eyed man spoke in his melodious tone, he could easily pass for a singer if it were not for the hidden note in his voice that cracked the melody occasionally. Something Rhordan identified as a person trying to change the way they speak despite having spoken that way for a significantly long time, it usually accompanies those that did not have the language they are speaking as their first language. "As for why we are speaking, Chrysanthis at the front desk notified me that you two are seeking to become adventurers?"

"I didn't think it would involve meeting the branch director straight off the bat but yes, we are interested in becoming adventurers." Rhordan gruffly spoke, her acting voice still requiring practice to pass as male though it didn't arouse suspicion from the director, or if it did then he did not care. Gideon simply nodded along with her, still taken aback by the voice on Baltharn. It was not that he hadn't heard such a voice before, it was the residual animal instincts he had remaining that had an issue with the origins of said voice. Why or how, he did not know, but he knew not to dismiss his instincts and choose to observe the director for any telling factor that could prove them right.

"Usually no, but you two are quite young. Younger than most applicants for adventurer status." Baltharn spoke mysteriously, quietly observing the pair for some reaction to his state though finding none as they mulled over his words.

"What's the youngest to have applied?" Gideon queried, dodging the unspoken question the director was trying to level at them. Revealing too much information about themselves could prove hazardous despite the director being a friend of the silver knight, they had to play their cards right and hope to get their desired outcome while speaking as little as possible. The deep green-eyed man thought for a second before replying to the equally green-eyed boy's question.

"Well, the age of acceptance is roughly sixteen… though that is just a guideline." Baltharn answered, quoting the company line with evident hesitation in his voice. Though the rules stated sixteen, the pair could tell there was a hidden norm that accompanied becoming an adventurer. "The truth is, most around that age try to apply for scholarship with many of the magic schools first before trying to become an adventurer."

"How did you know we didn't try to go for a magic school?" Gideon exclaimed, shocked at the thought that this individual could tell something like that through their disguises. Rhordan silently placed her head in her hand and sighed, trying to remember why she had thought of him as anything other than an idiot. Baltharn meanwhile chuckled for second before the green-eyed boy understood why they were acting like they were, chuckling slightly and scratching the back of his head before hanging his head in shame.

"The other reason how I knew was the lack of adject disappointment and shame that usually accompanies those that have tried. Trust me when I say that many people don't choose to become an adventurer when they have an opportunity to become something grander." The deep green-eyed man happily chuckled, a sense of commonality exuded from him as if this were something that everyone knew though he didn't take offense to it. "Anyway, why are you two joining the adventurer's guild rather than going to Averia and joining the try-outs?"

"We got robbed on our way to Bardia, we were going to stop here before continuing on to Larravass." Gideon had effortlessly lied, cutting in front of Rhordan before she had a chance to speak. Resisting the urge to look surprised at her teammate, she bowed her head and tried to look ashamed to complete the look of two individuals who had been robbed. "We got lucky and ran into Alex Greyhound, he helped us out and suggested we come here and use our skills to get some money and materials."

"Hmm… Putting aside why you are going to Larravass, if you had the skills to become an adventurer then why couldn't you use them against the bandits?" Baltharn dissected Gideon's words, staring deeply into his green eyes as he watched every movement he made. Gideon nearly bit his tongue as he heard those words, he could lie effectively in a short notice but upholding the story would be difficult if someone truly tried to tear it apart.

"We were ambushed in the night, they had trapped and bound before we could act. They left us for dead in the forest but luckily we had a few tricks up our sleeves to escape." Rhordan spoke up, coming to her teammates defense who equally resisted sending a look of gratitude her way. She had let her fake voice break slightly to help sell the act, understanding that the individual in front of them was not to be taken lightly.

"You were lucky then… not many bandits let their captives live…" Baltharn let his words hang in the air for second before continuing. "Anyway, I know Alex. He is… an odd one… very helpful to those that need it. If he sent you here then I expect he told you to come to me first…"

He left his words hanging once again, he pensively looked at the pair. Sweeping his eyes back and forth between them, thinking about something before he quickly got up from his chair and started to scan his impressive collection of books. The pair waited apprehensively as he muttered softly under his breath a repetition of 'no', looking a for particular book that he eventually found far from his desk and where he had started looking.

Placing a large ornate dark blue book down on the desk, he stared at the pair for another second. A slight glint of doubt entered his eyes before it disappeared and he sat up rigidly, an air of seriousness filled the room as he prepared to speak.

"Depending on how you answer my next question will determine if I give you an extra helping hand…" Baltharn waited for his words to sink in, watching the pair sit themselves upright in a similar manner to his own before he decided to ask the question. "Why are you heading to Larravass?"

The pair had been preparing answers for most of the questions they thought he was going to ask, from their origins to their disguised names, but they weren't prepared for this question. They watched the deep green-eyed man staring expectantly at them, waiting for an answer from the pair. Rhordan casually looked towards Gideon who had done the same, an unspoken conversation was passed between them before Gideon set about making up an effective lie that he hoped the director would buy.

"Truthfully? … We… We have some skills that we thought would be useful in that area…" Gideon sorrowfully spoke, stuttering deliberately to convey feelings of sadness which somewhat confused the director and Rhordan. Though, his female teammate decided to follow suit with his actions and hide her head again, hoping whatever story he was going to make would get them through this interrogation. "Our parents… they… they passed away not long ago… We had a small farm that only produced enough to make ends meet but…"

"May I ask how they died? I don't wish to cause any offense." The director spoke softly, a sympathetic smile graced his sharp features. Gideon looked away for second, hiding the fact that he hadn't thought that far with his lie only to be saved by his purple-eyed teammate once again.

"Infection… we didn't have much in the way of medical equipment or healing magic… nor was the closest medical physician going to help free of charge…" Rhordan carefully spoke, keeping her head down and out of the way. She hoped it looked like she couldn't look the director in the eye, though truthfully, she wasn't as used to lying as Gideon was and she didn't want any of her facial reactions to give away the lie. "There was an attack by a monster… we fought it off but…"

"I see… That is unfortunate." Baltharn thought for a second, pensively staring at the book in front of him before he had a determined look in his eye. He handed the book to Rhordan, making sure to convey that it was delicate by the way he handed it to her. "I've recently been given this book by my colleague in Larravass, they found something of interest that I am passing on to you two."

"Thank yo…" Gideon was starting to say when the steely deep green eyed man held a hand up and waited for him to quieten down, he rubbed his temple slightly before sighing.

"Don't thank me, my colleague isn't what you would call stable…" Baltharn turned to look out of the window, gazing at a beautiful scene of grassy hills and single setting sun. The spectacle drew the pairs confusion and attention until they watched the director place his hand against some crystal, the window changed to a scene of a beautiful city that twinkled with the twin suns. "This interest that my colleague has alerted me to isn't helpful, that is the reward for the quest I am about to give you."

Sitting uncomfortably, the pair waited anxiously for the director's reply. They had had a lot of help from many people who had gone out of their way without any expectation of a return, they figured that the director giving them a helping hand was too good to be true and they felt that whatever this was they were going to have to go to great lengths to repay it. It wasn't that they were selfish, they didn't fully know or understand this world, nor did they have the option of relaxing with the Dusk Legionnaires after them.

"I have been hesitant to give this to any of the adventurers here as it has absolutely no standing in form, I believe that my colleague has once again tried to get people to follow down her delusions." Baltharn unhappily explained, his tone was that of sadness as he spoke of his colleague. A slightly telling hint to his probable affection for her, something that has manifested in him reluctantly requesting this quest. "To put it bluntly, I need someone to investigate her findings and determine if they aren't sound. Honestly, I would normally lie and tell her that I had someone investigate it but this time she has made an application to the Historians guild, if one of her findings is proven true then they wouldn't have any choice but to accept her."

"We understand, we will try our best to investigate this matter." Rhordan confidently spoke, she understood what it felt like to not be believed in. The monks of Azarath wouldn't believe half the things she told them, regardless of if others could corroborate it.

"Thank you, and as I said there is a reward for this no matter your results." Baltharn's gratitude warmed the pair, they finally had someone they could try to help, and they were determined to do what they could to help the director. "The reward is for you to decide, you can have your choice of either an uncommon grade piece of equipment from the guild's stores or a magical book from my personal library."

"That is more than generous, thank you." The green-eyed boy gratefully smiled at the director; he wasn't sure how good an uncommon item was though a magical book could be incredibly beneficial to them. The purple-eyed girl nodded in agreement, quickly diverting her attention to the vast collection of books in the director's office in wonder and excitement.

The director pulled out two sheets of parchment and placed them down on the table, taking out two quills but without any ink. He placed a parchment and quill in front of each of them, settling himself before he spoke.

"These are your registration papers, you need to fill these out and if you are accepted then you will get a guild card. You best keep this card on you at all times as it identifies you as an adventurer, there are some benefits with some of the crafting guilds but don't expect much." Baltharn explained, pulling out a weird small square sheet of crystal. The crystal glinted in the light with a light bluish colour, there was no information on it but as with the window earlier they expect there may be some magical activation to it. "Once you complete these papers, you will be taken to the assessment room where you will be tested by some of our staff. You must pass either physical power or magical power of at least Novice rank to become an adventurer."

The pair picked up the papers, about to read them and figure out how they were going to corroborate their stories without giving away that they were made up when they found they couldn't read the writing. Rhordan tried to look at it differently, hoping one of the many languages she had learned would figure out what was writing and put it down as the handwriting of the director.

"I take it that neither of you two can read?" The director asked, after watching the pair scrutinise the paper he had given them but didn't move their eyes along any of the words written there. The green-eyed boy shamefully nodded his head as he scratched the back of his head, the director simply sighed and held out his hand for the papers to be returned to him. "I will ask Chrysanthis if she will help you two learn to read in her spare time, otherwise there is a local school that can teach but the fee is quite high. For now, I will fill it out for you; name?"

"Rhordan Voidsaber and this is my brother Gideon." Rhordan stated, hoping their false names will hold up as well as the information they had to give wouldn't be too invasive. She also had a slight note of disappointment at not being able to read the written language of this new world, it brought her back to how she knew the language in the first place but she put that thought aside.

"Voidsaber… unusual surname for farmers… there might be a noble heritage behind your names but I doubt it." Baltharn muttered before staring at them intently, the confused gazes he got in return spoke volume to his statement. "Three centuries ago there was a revolt in Averia in which many of the noble families were forced to go into hiding, there never has been a count of the amount of families that went into hiding or if they even made it out of the kingdom. Anyway, just be careful who you tell your surname to as there may be old rivalries still upheld."

"We had thought as much but growing up as we did, we didn't put much thought into it, we will keep the advice in mind." Gideon replied to the director's unspoken question, he could tell there was a hint in the deep green-eyed man's words of his desire to know more of their background after learning their surname.

"Just be careful." Baltharn warned, only continuing once both of them nodded their understanding of his warning. "Age?"

"Sixteen… twins…" Gideon responded this time, making sure to express that they were twins as they have a close connection which he hoped would help explain any peculiarities they have. The director simply nodded and carried on with his task of filling out the paperwork, jotting down their ages without going into the twins claim Gideon had made.

"Which kingdom or guild do you belong to?" The question threw the pair as they didn't know how to respond to that one, they had been warned to stay far away from any of the kingdoms and by saying they are affiliated with one of them could do more harm than good. Baltharn noticed their hesitation and wrote something down before he spoke. "Unaffiliated, don't worry too much about it but make sure to update it once you become affiliated with one. The next parts are about your physical description which I can fill in, its to ensure that your card is matched with your body if it is ever found apart."

That thought alone had them both shuddering in fear, the cards main purpose were essentially dog tags. Neither of them liked that thought but it made them remember that they are now stuck in another world without the hope of a possible return. They had no idea how they got here, who the red eyed man was, or if there is a way back.

"Lastly, the guild needs a code name to register you with" The deep green-eyed man's question shocked the pair out of their daymare, forcing them to push their fears and worries down to deal with at some point in the future. Baltharn noticed the dread filling the pair's eyes when he told them the identification function of the cards, something he knew many didn't like but the looks they had were far more than just abject fear over a potential future. He decided to quickly move on from the subject and leave the pair to whatever it was that haunted them, explaining the reason for the code names. "Code names are used for adventurers to create a reputation for themselves while protecting those that they either know or are related to, many of the quests that are posted have some interested parties that may get upset about how they are handle. If you know what I mean."

The pair knew all too well how people could get angry with them for just doing their job, being titans meant they had many who publicly spoke out at them. Others would curse their name on the streets or online in forums, in any case having their hero names gave them some level of protection when it came to their personal lives.

Gideon had been thinking of using said hero name though he had slight reservations about doing so, if they made a mistake or crossed someone that they couldn't afford to cross then they would lose those names for good. Though, he figured his purpled-eyed teammate would not be able to use hers, at least not without some people suspecting her disguise. Then it came to him, a name they could use. One that would that they could unite under, himself and Rhordan, and any others that stand for justice or those that seek to protect the helpless.

"We are a team… We are the Titans."

Author's Note:

Got somewhat side-tracked and lost track of time, hence the late update. Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter.

I know I am giving centre stage to Beast Boy at the moment but Raven will have her time, at the moment Beast Boy is rather adapt at changing to the situation. Something I believe comes from his past and his animal powers, being able to adapt to any situation. As for the lying, he hid his other side from the titans for a long time which would make him decent at lying but I think his time with Galtry might have given him certain shady aspects. A part I might include I think.

I feel like I have strayed from the path of horror and suspense that I tried to portray when I started this, giving them a helping hand with Alex and Baltharn (Bal-Thar-in) though I suppose I couldn't keep them running from the dusk legionnaires forever. That said, I can play havoc with their first time adventuring…

As for the secret mission, that is going to be a bit of fun… and terror… but mainly fun…

Aurelia is returning…

Comments:

Eris – Thank you for the comment. I have plans for their powers but this is them discovering them, I don't know when I will get to describe how they work as I want to leave the discovery for when the pair discover it. The disguise wasn't actually something I had previously planned on using, as I have stated this is freestyle writing which can easily lead me in many different directions. When I was writing the disguises, I felt that they were appropriate to the story. They fit in, in the sense that they are wanted by many despite none knowing how they look. Because people are looking for at least a single individual with extraordinary power, they wouldn't think twice about two brothers from a small farm out of nowhere trying to become adventurers and later something else. I don't know if I am going to get them to dress up much more than they are, magical equipment yes but not further disguises though it isn't a bad idea. For now they are trying to stay away from any area that holds people who want to capture them, so they don't need much more than a simple get up and a decent back story. Though I will keep that in mind if they ever get into a situation that calls for it.