FUN TO FIRE
"Well, would you care to dance, lady Aariah?" her host, the cloak maker asked.
Aariah giggled slightly, the three glasses of wine were getting to her somewhat. "Why thank you, kind sir." She took his outstretched hand as lively music danced out around the field from the small orchestra. Aariah was actually impressed that the cloak was made well enough to dance in. She didn't think that the cloak maker would think of that when making it, but it flowed and furled along with the steps of the dance. Even the guild members were impressed, for they watched her movements across the grass.
"That cloak fits you well, Aariah. Especially considering it was made for someone other." The cloak maker commented. Aariah didn't answer but opted to smile instead.
After the song was over, the leader of the guild members came up to Aariah, "May I receive the next dance, milady?" he asked.
"Why, yes." She answered. The new song was just as fast paced as the last melody, however the guild leader took much larger steps.
"And how did you come to acquire a cloak made by that man? I can tell from the way you speak, that you are from over the mountains." He asked her as the continued to dance.
"My friend told someone who was heading in this direction, to order for him a cloak from Mataria since he had heard that there was a rather professional cloak maker here." She explained. "This was in fact the one he ordered."
"Did he order it for you, milady? For this cloak gives the appearance that it was made for a mage." The interview continued.
"No, it was made for him. I was traveling with him into the mountains to Amirie's tavern where we were to pick it up. However, he died on the way there" she lowered her eyes for effect. "He told me that I should have it until I find someone I believe deserves it I was his closest friend."
"I... I am sorry, milady. I did not know." The guild leader admitted and fell silent for the rest of the dance.
The celebration had lasted into the afternoon and when it broke, Aariah wondered where her host had gone.
"They accepted me!!" His voice called from behind her.
"There you are, cloak maker!" She turned away from the field's wooded edge to see him come up and give her a slight hug. "Are you leaving right away then?"
"Yes! They want me to travel with them so they can get more information on my technique on the way there!" He answered excitedly.
"Good for you!" Aariah was just as excited. " When are they leaving? Their place was to the West, correct?"
"Yes, they are to the West, and I am leaving right now! I thank you, milady, for helping me out! I couldn't have joined if you weren't there to help me."
Aariah smiled and laughed slightly, "You are welcome! I hope to see you again, sometime."
"Yes! And when you do, I'll make sure to make a cloak for you so that you'll have one to wear after this one of your friend's." He told her enthusiastically.
Aariah saw the navy blue-clad guild members looking at them. "You had better get going. Your guests are waiting."
He turned to see them, "I'll be right there!"
As the cloak maker said this, Aariah slipped away in to the woods behind her. Her stuff was already hidden back there and she really didn't want to say goodbye to him. "I have to get where I am going." She scolded herself out loud when she heard the cloak maker call her name in confusion. "I must get fire. Fire is next, and it's not that far away." She continued. She could still hear him in the distance.
After she had found her stuff, she traveled two miles into the woods before she started to wonder when she was going to encounter Fire. . She reached a river. The woods were calm and inviting around the river. The remnants of a campsite sat still on the other side. She heard a rustle behind her, and she looked. A rabbit hopped away from her quick movement with it's tail high in the air. It had made the rustle. Aariah turned back to the placid river. She knew that if she were to fight Fire, she would need to release the elements within her power in order for them to help her fight it. She stepped up to the water's edged, held out her dagger pendant and began. "I call upon my own might, to release the staff of my right!" The pendant became a staff as tall and long as its owner. There was another rustle across the river, and a deer emerged only to run parallel with the river for several feet and return to the woods from which it emerged. Aariah sighed, "My strength resides in my own heart, but there is a foe out there that I must fight. So outside me there will be a part, to help me battle with all my might!" she poked her dagger into the water's surface, and it began to ripple. Water was released into the river churning it white like rapids. Air was also released, and it flew into the sky as Aariah once again received her white-silver wings. She had to admit to herself, that she enjoyed the feeling she got when the wings graced her shoulders.
There was another sound from the woods across the river. A squirrel scampered across the campsite and over to the blackened wood of a long dead campfire. It picked up an acorn next to the charred material, but dropped it quickly and ran for the woods it had emerged from.
