Chapter 20: An Appraisal and a Rebuke

The Mermaid Inn was quiet as Varus made his way inside. Unsurprising, as it was around midday and the majority of patrons would be working at this time. There were a couple of barmaids, who were apparently setting up one side of the tavern in preparation for that one guard's party tonight. He couldn't remember his name, he never bothered to pay attention to him.

The only other person apparent was Garrick, sitting at the large table on the opposite side of the tavern. He was currently holding a book open in front of him, and seemed to be reading to his crow. Varus shrugged and approached them.

"Finally gone senile, old man?" he said as he sat down at the table opposite him. Garrick paused in his reading, and turned a withering glare onto Varus...one which was simply ignored. He then proceeded to turn the book upwards to allow Varus to read the front. "...How to train your Crow? Seriously?" Varus said in bemusement.

Garrick shrugged and returned to reading the book. "I picked it up on my way back here. Crows are very intelligent. Maybe Karasumaru here may be of help as a messenger in the future." Varus scoffed at that idea. "Please, it's a bird. Like it could do anything of use." At this declaration, the Raven, which was sitting on the table between them, hopped towards him and made a sound that was awfully similar to blowing a raspberry.

Varus turned a scowl on the bird, while Garrick chuckled and threw a scrap of meat from the plate in front of him to the Raven. "See? Intelligent. Shouldn't take long to teach him to memorise places to take messages to." Before Varus could reply with where exactly he wanted the bloody bird to memorise, the door to the tavern opened and the rest of their party trooped in.

Rogon peeled off towards the bar, clearly planning on getting a drink. The rest approached their table upon seeing them. As Alistair sat heavily in his seat, Garrick closed his book and placed it into his pack. "So, find anything of use?" he asked, to which Alistair sighed. "Yeah, the Duke's daughter is naive, it would seem. Like, really naive."

When a look from Garrick clearly requested elaboration, the three of them recounted what they had found in Anya's room, as well as passing him Anya's diary. Part way through the explanation, Rogon sat heavily with several tankards in his large hands. Garrick finished reading the diary, before closing it and passing it back to Indira.

"That is...concerning. It would seem we should check out these docks for more information." Indira nodded, clearly having had the same thought. Alistair did not reply, however, as he had been rubbing his cloak through his fingers, apparently deep in thought. "Are you well, Alistair?" Garrick asked. Alistair shook himself from his thoughts, and dropped the cloak from his hands.

"Oh...er yeah. Just thinking about what that deaf old Gnome said. He said he recognised the "feeling" of this cloak. Got me thinking, it might be magical or something." Indira nodded next to him, "It certainly is well made. Perhaps you should try to activate it?" she suggested. Alistair agreed excitedly, but before he could, Garrick rested a hand upon his arm. "Hold, it is my experience that magic should be treated with the utmost care. For all you know, its power could be to absorb your blood. You did get it from that biting creature, after all."

Alistair sighed and nodded sheepishly. Varus muttered at the corner of the table, too quietly to be heard clearly, though it sounded suspiciously like "weaklings". "So, I need to find out what it does, but get a professional to do it. Hold on, I'll go and ask the bartender!" Alistair then jumped up and went to do just that.

With Alistair at the bar, Garrick started to prepare to leave. He gestured to his shoulder, and Karasumaru was quick to hop up onto it. The others looked to him in interest. "Where are you going?" Indira asked in curiosity. "Any place that will be able to give appraisals of magical items is also likely to stock magical goods. If we can afford any, they may be invaluable in the upcoming journey." Garrick replied.

At these words, Varus was quick to stand and walk round the table, clearly with the intent to follow as well. Rogon looked at his hardly touched tankard with lament. "Bu' I just got me an ale…" he grumbled. "Well, if you want to stay here and become insensate at midday, don't let me stop you" Garrick replied drily. Rogon frowned but was stopped from commenting by Alistair's return.

"Found somewhere! Apparently if it's a magical item you've got, there's a well reputed shop right by the magic college. Come on, it's only a short walk from here!" Alistair informed them excitedly, before starting to stride out of the tavern. Garrick, Varus and Indira soon followed.

Rogon looked to his drink, then to the group. He huffed and decided to stay right where he was. Na'ish had begun to rise, but noticed that Rogon was not choosing to follow. "Are you not going to go with them?" he asked quietly. Rogon took a large quaff of his tankard, before shaking his head. "Nah, don't particularly fancy dealing with Garrick's scowls right now. Besides, never really been one for magic, meself." Rogon shrugged.

Na'ish looked to the tavern door, where the group had now left out of sight, before looking back at Rogon. Making a decision, he sat back down again. He felt he had made the right choice when Rogon gave him a half smile in return.


As the bartender had told Alistair, it did not take long to walk to the recommended shop. Soon, they found themselves standing outside a large shop front, situated on the corner of the Lane of Artificer's, right next to the market in the centre of the city. There was a large bay window displaying an extensive and promising array of enchanted items. The majority of the shopfront was clad in wood, and painted a vibrant purple that assuredly caught the eye. Above the window and door frame, the shop's name was proudly displayed in gold leaf lettering...and quite a name it was too…

"Marlowe's Magnificent Magical Marvels" spanned across the majority of the space at the front of the shop. At the end of the title, a stylised unicorn that encompassed the symbol "M4". This same design was painted upon the sign that hung out into the street.

For a moment, the group simply stood and took in the rather eccentric shop. "...Well. They clearly do not do things by half, do they…" Alistair commented, before striding towards the door and entering the establishment. Varus was swift to follow. Garrick and Indira exchanged a glance, before Garrick shrugged and they both followed their companions.

Upon entry, it was clear that the interior was decorated just as eclectically as the outside had been, mostly in purples and reds. That was not to say that the shop was a mess, indeed the shelves within were very neat and well organised. There were rows upon rows of items, all seemingly categorised based on the items purpose. Most of the central shelves held wares that appeared to be dedicated to smaller pieces that were of most use to the city locals.

Garrick glanced his eyes over a few of the nearest items. While they looked mundane, little plaques that sat next to the item would denote their individual and useful enchantment. Ever-full smoking pipes. Bottomless inkwells. Self-warming slippers. The list went on. A quick glance around the shop showed that Alistair had already been distracted by a section of the shop that appeared to be reserved for numerous weapon racks and mannequins. Most likely displaying an assortment of enchanted weapons and armours. Varus, however, had already moved towards the counter situated off to the side of the shop.

Indira sighed next to him, and started to move in Alistair's direction. "I had best ensure that Alistair remains focused, lest he spend his money on items that then mean he has none for the appraisal cost" she sighed with an air of long suffering, though the soft smile she sported upon her face showed she was merely joking. Garrick returned her smile, before striding off down one of the aisles. "Might as well browse and see if this shop has anything that may be worth spending some coin on," he thought.

Varus had reached the counter and was having a look around. There were more wares displayed upon the counter itself, while behind it the wall was composed almost entirely out of a long purple curtain. There was still no sign of a shopkeeper, but the sounds of clinking metal from beyond the curtain suggested that there was someone working in the room beyond.

Varus shrugged, and was about to vault over the counter to walk into the cordoned off room. As he looked down at the counter however, a small bell that sat upon it caught his attention. Its' purpose is fairly obvious, especially with the little "Ring for Service" plaque beside it. Varus decided to simply give it a ring.

He immediately regretted it. The bell gave out an immensely loud gong, similar in size and tone to that of a local church. Holding his ears, he looked around the shop. To his surprise, the others hadn't seemed to react to the loud sound...strange.

When the ringing in his ears began to die down, he heard a call from the other side of the curtain. "Be with you in a minute! Now where did I put that...oh bother…" came a warm voice, followed by a muffled crashing sound. There was a sound of a constant whistle, before it was swiftly cut off by what sounded suspiciously like a hammer hitting metal. After a moment of silence, the curtains parted and the owner of the voice stepped through.

The lady that appeared was wearing a long sleeveless dress in the same tone of purple as most of her shop. Underneath, she had a dark green shirt with the sleeves folded back to the elbow. She had numerous large golden bangles around her right wrist, and her belt held a harness containing a large leather bound tome. Upon her nose was a pair of large glasses, while her face was framed by voluminous dark brown hair that reached her waist.

"Hello there, Charlotte Marlowe at your service. How can I assist you today?" she said with a warm smile. Varus, never one to mince words, got right to why he had come here in the first place. "Got any bottomless coats?" Charlotte's smile turned to a look of confusion as she thought about that. "Oddly specific question. I could make a coat that resizes to whomever is wearing it. I doubt even you would need a "bottomless" coat though, big guy." she chuckled. Varus simply remained stoic, unamused by her humour. "I meant the pockets" he elaborated.

Charlotte gained a look of understanding, before giving him a curious once over. "Now what would you want something like that for I wonder? No matter. You are aware that enchantments that affect space in such a way are immensely difficult, right?"

Varus huffed and started to turn away from the counter, "If you cannot do it, just say". Charlotte gave a laugh from behind her hand. "Whoever said I couldn't do it? I'm the best in the city at enchantments, never doubt that. The better question is...can you afford it?" Varus paused in his turn, looking to Charlotte once more. "How much?"

Charlotte shrugged before placing her hand to her chin in thought. "Depends what you're after. A jacket with numerous bottomless pockets, well, I would charge per pocket. Each one would need a different enchantment, see? But rather than have just one pocket done, you might be better off with a simple bottomless satchel. Nobles often buy them because they are too lazy to carry all their stuff themselves. They've taken to calling them "bags of holding". Rubbish name I know, but hey, whatever sells them."

"And how much for one of these "bags of holding"?" Varus reiterated. "2250 Gold" Charlotte replied. Varus was very good at keeping his composure, but even his eyebrow twitched at the amount. Charlotte gave him a coy smile "I did warn you. I assume that's out of your price range?" Varus refused to dignify that question with an answer, instead asking one of his own. "And may I see one of them? So I know what I am buying?"

Charlotte chuckled, "I don't keep items of such quality on hand. I would make that to order...once I had seen at least some of the money, of course." Varus huffed, and was about to enquire further before he was interrupted by a loud ongoing conversation between Alistair and Indira as they approached the counter.

"...I'm telling you, that sweet armour could save our lives sometime!" Alistair grumbled. Indira simply sighed and shook her head. "And bankrupt us in the process. The money we got was for essentials, not luxuries. Besides, you wouldn't be able to wear it over your cloak, would you?" Alistair's shoulders slumped, "Yeah, I suppose. Oh, speaking of…"

Alistair approached the counter and addressed Charlotte. "Hey there, you the shop owner?" Charlotte raised a brow at their conversation, and gave him a smile. "That I am, sir. I was just in the middle of serving another customer currently however…" she responded, gesturing to Varus. Alistair casts a glance his way, before nodding and unclasping his cloak.

"That's alright, Varus is with us. He knows what we came for anyways" Alistair said, before placing the cloak upon the counter. "We came to get this appraised, if possible. We have reason to believe it is enchanted." Charlotte looked at Varus, to confirm that Alistair was indeed with him. While it looked as if he wanted to deny his association with the louder pair, he simply scowled but did not say anything. Taking that as agreement, she picked up the cloak and gave it a quick overview.

"I usually charge five gold per appraisal, is that okay with you?" Charlotte questioned, running the fabric through her fingers. She seemed especially curious about the embroidered pattern upon it. Alistair frowned slightly. "Little more than I had expected, to be honest…" Charlotte shrugged and placed the item down. "Sorry, but it's the nature of magical items. Takes years of experience, and even then there's the small chance of the items being dangerous."

Looking up into the worried expression of Indira, she gave a light laugh, "Oh, don't worry dear, I'm good at what I do! Besides, a bit of danger is fun every now and then!" Indira still didn't look convinced of the safety of this, but Alistair gained a more resigned look. "Very well, five gold it is" and passed over the coins.

Charlotte smiled, and scooped up the coins as well as the cloak. "Very good sir. It will take me a few moments to analyse this, I'll just take it through to my workshop, feel free to browse while I work." Charlotte then turned and strode back through the curtains behind the counter.

It was at this moment that Garrick came wandering out of a nearby aisle, walking towards the counter with a couple of items in his arms. "Success?" he questioned as he placed the items upon the counter. "Yeah, she's looking at it now...what is that?" Alistair questioned, looking at the items Garrick had brought with him. Garrick picked up what appeared to be a medium-sized wooden box. It had a symbol of a fire engraved upon the top, and appeared to have a lid that folded outwards from the middle. "This, is what was called the "Alfan's Tinderbox". According to the plaque, it can create an immediate campfire whenever opened. Figured it would be useful on the road ahead."

Alistair nodded, but continued pointing at the counter. "That's great, but I was actually referring to THAT." Garrick looked to the other item, which appeared to be a humble shovel. He then turned and smirked at Alistair. "That...is a surprise. It will be useful to me, that is all I will say." Alistair looked like he was going to continue to ask questions, but they were interrupted by Varus making his presence known once more.

"Garrick, a word" he stated seriously. Garrick and Alistair exchanged a look. It wasn't like Varus to ask them anything. Alistair simply shrugged and went over to the nearest aisle where Indira was amusing herself looking at what appeared to be enchanted household items. Garrick indicated to Varus that he had his attention.

"I had asked the shopkeeper about the possibility of getting a bottomless bag, or "bag of holding" made for us." Varus stated. Garrick took on a thoughtful look. "There is no denying that such an item would be useful for us, but I am sensing a "but" in there…" "It costs 2250 Gold."

Behind them, there was the sound of broken glass, followed by "Ah shit, not again…" from Alistair. Turning, they saw that Alistair had dropped a glass tumbler that he had been looking at. His attention had clearly been on eavesdropping upon their conversation, and so he had dropped the item in shock upon hearing the price. Thankfully, a short time after it had broken, the pieces all flew together and formed a single item once more.

Looking at it in shock, he looked to the plaque next to where it had come from the shelf, denoting it as a "self-repairing tumbler". "Huh...neat" Alistair stated, before picking it up and returning it to its place. Shaking his head, Garrick turned back to Varus. "Useful, but we simply do not have that sort of money; even combined it would be a struggle." "But we would once we return after helping the Duke" Varus pointed out. "... Let's see what we can work out with the shopkeeper." Garrick relented.

It was at this point that Charlotte returned from the back of the shop, carrying Alistair's cloak with a smile upon her face. "Success, and may I say what an interesting item this is!" Alistair quickly approached from his browsing. "Oh? What does it do?" he asked excitedly.

Charlotte placed it upon the counter. "This is a cloak that the Astorian guard of old used to wear. It is likely nearing a couple of centuries in age. This is why it is adorned with the mark of astor, the tree you see here inlaid in silver." she said as she swept her hand across the embroidered tree. "No one knows how to make these anymore, hence why the guard no longer wears them...just where did you get this anyway?" Charlotte asked, directing a curious stare towards Alistair.

Alistair shrugged, "Found it." he said. Charlotte stared at him silently for a short while, but seeing Alistair was not going to elaborate, shook her head slightly. "Regardless of its origin, it still has its original enchantment intact. This cloak can encompass the wearer in magical darkness, making them virtually impossible to detect in the right circumstances." Charlotte had barely finished before Alistair had grabbed the cloak and placed it upon his shoulders once more. "Sweet!" he exclaimed, before recommencing various poses in an attempt to activate it. When none achieved the desired effect, he looked back to Charlotte. "So...er...how does it work?" he asked sheepishly. Indira just sighed and held a hand to her brow.

Charlotte chuckled in clear amusement. "You simply need to pinch the clasp on the top right." Alistair did so, and suddenly an area of deep shadows exploded out from where he was standing. The darkness enveloped the group, rendering them all unable to see. Even Varus, used to being able to see in the dark, was unable to make out Garrick right next to him, something that was very disconcerting to the Drow.

Almost as soon as it appeared, the darkness receded into the cloak, as Alistair released the clasp. "...Sweet" he repeated. Despite his clear excitement, however, he was staring at the cloak with concern while running it between his fingers. Only Indira appeared to notice, but she didn't mention anything while in the shop.

Garrick had taken the opportunity to step forward to make his purchases. "If I may, I believe my companion enquired about a "bag of holding"." Charlotte nodded "Indeed he did. Did he also tell you that I only make them to order, and only if I get a partial payment in advance?" Garrick scratched his beard, "and how much would this upfront payment be?" Charlotte raised a brow, clearly surprised that this group was still serious about the purchase. "Normally ten percent, so around 225 gold…"

Garrick and Varus exchanged a look. They nodded to each other, and Garrick turned back to Charlotte, "Very well, we would like to commission one please." Charlotte paused as she was noting down his other purchases, before a wide smile adorned her face. "Of course! It would be my pleasure." Varus and Garrick pooled their coin and soon they had paid.

Charlotte swept the coins into a box she had under the counter. "The bag will take me a couple of days to enchant; I hope that is okay with you?" Garrick nodded, "We will be outside the city on an errand for a few days ourselves. We will collect it once we return, I assure you miss…?"

"Charlie, it's what most friends and regulars call me. I think you've earned that much given your custom" Charlie replied with a wink. "Just come back with the rest of the funds, and the bag will be ready for you." Garrick gave a quick bow, before turning and starting to stride from the shop. Alistair and Indira also waved goodbye, while Varus simply left without a word.

Outside the shop, the group started to make their way back through the streets in the general direction of the Mermaid's Inn. "Well, that certainly put a dent in our funds...you sure it was worth it?" Alistair enquired, most of his focus still upon his newly appraised cloak. "I believe so. Better to have such an item should we need it. Might be a time where we need to carry far more than we could normally manage" Garrick replied.

Varus, who had taken to walking ahead of the group, suddenly stopped. Garrick nearly walked into the back of him, but just about managed to prevent himself colliding. "Woah...Varus?" he enquired. Varus was currently standing with a frown on his face. He then slipped his pack off and reached within to pull out an old book.

"I completely forgot, I should have had that woman look at this while I was there…" Varus muttered. The rest of the group looked curiously at the item, which appeared to be an aged, though still very much intact, tome. "Where did you get it?" Alistair asked curiously. Varus shrugged. "Bought it today. Meant to be magical or something."

Garrick nodded, "It would be a good idea then. As Charlie said, magical items can be dangerous. Might be best if you took it to her before you played with it and…" He was interrupted by a soft displacement of air and a brief crackle of magic, followed by the figure of Varus flying by him and landing heavily onto the ground in front of him, groaning slightly from the impact.

Unknown to Garrick, while he had been speaking, Varus had been completely ignoring him, and had decided to simply try to open the book and see what it did. However, when he attempted to open it, it remained shut as if locked, despite not having an apparent clasp. When Varus forced the issue, he suddenly felt a pressure upon himself, almost as if his very magic was fighting off the effects of the book. It did not take long for the defences of the book to win, resulting in him being flung away and the book dropping to the ground.

Garrick blinked in confusion briefly, before frowning. "Were you not listening to me? That was dangerous! What if it had exploded instead of hurling you away? We could all have been dead or…" Varus got up and started dusting himself down, before interrupting him mid-sentence. "Spare me the lecture, we're fine. I will, however, be taking this back to the woman to look at" he stated, before walking over and retrieving his book. He then proceeded to walk back the way he came, not even sparing Garrick a glance.

Garrick stood silently fuming for a few moments, before turning on his heel and continuing in the direction of the Inn. Indira and Alistair exchanged worried looks, before Alistair shrugged and the two started to follow Garrick. After all, they had no need to return back to Charlie's shop...nor the funds, for that matter.


A few minutes later saw the group walking through one of the quieter alleys that connected the streets that held Charlie's shop and the Mermaid Inn. Garrick was a few steps ahead, clearly still frustrated at Varus' recent behaviour.

Indira and Alistair were keeping back, lest they upset him further accidentally. They walked mostly in silence, with Alistair still looking at the cloak he wore with a serious expression. "I'm forgetting something, I know I am...wait. I went to get this looked at because of the old Gnome saying it felt familiar...that meant it had magic. But that doesn't explain why old, deaf and delirious recognised this...unless…"

Alistair suddenly stopped. Indira noticed and stopped only a step ahead of him. "What's wrong Alistair?" she asked worriedly. Her voice caused Garrick to also pause. Alistair looked at Indira, an unusually serious expression on his face.

"...That diary we got from the Duke's place...didn't it mention that she used the cloak her father gifted to her…" Alistair started quietly. Indira's eyes widened in realisation, "...and used it to sneak past the guards...if what you're suggesting is true…" she continued "then this used to belong to the Duke's daughter, Anya. It explains why the Gnome thought I was Anya when we met. But how did that vampire get it? Unless…"

Indira and Alistair stared at each other, their faces going palid as what Alistair was insinuating sunk in. However, before they could continue down this decidedly concerning train of thought, they were interrupted by Garrick. "I hate to disturb your detective work...but we are not alone…"

Indira and Alistair looked towards Garrick, then followed his gaze towards the end of the alley. There, blocking off the exit to the main street were two scruffy individuals. They were wielding old and worn looking weapons, a strangely curved sword and a mace respectively. Their armour consisted of mostly leather, with obvious signs of wear upon them. The smirks they were giving them suggested they were there to be anything but friendly.

Garrick drew an arrow from his quiver, and started to draw his bow towards the individuals. As Indira and Alistair also both prepared their weapons, movement from the corners of their eyes had them looking around the alley. More, similarly dressed men were approaching from the side alleys as well, with two men having closed off the alley from the direction they had come.

One of these men was wearing metal armour, far more protected than the others. It was him that spoke. "Now, what have we got here lads? An old man, a damsel and a half-breed, come walking down our alley. There's a toll here, you know…" he stated. His demeanour made him seem like the leader of this group of thugs.

The three of them all backed up to each other, so that they could cover each others' backs. There was a moment of tense silence, before the man in metal raised his hand and clicked his fingers. And the thugs charged.

Garrick released his arrow, striking one of the two men in front of him in the chest. His leather armour saved him from a fatal wound, but he still collapsed to the ground in pain. The remaining thug closed the distance to Garrick, making the use of his bow impractical. Instead, Garrick started to fend off blows from the man's sword using the bow itself.

Indira eyed the lone man approaching from the alley to her side. He was swinging around a weighted chain with a mean blade on the end. "I do not want to get near that…" Indira whispered an incantation, and then pointed towards the man. From her sleeve, the image of a snake burst forth and launched itself at the attacker.

The man instinctively swung at the oncoming snake, apparently missing his first strike as the snake landed onto the floor. The snake then began to weave towards its target, dodging each throw of the chained weapon. Eventually, the man threw a fully sideways swing, cleaving through the snake...and revealing it to be nothing more than an illusion.

Unfortunately for him, that meant his weapon continued on its path, swinging around and tangling up its own wielder with the length of chain. Before he was able to break free, he was swiftly knocked down by a strong kick from Indira, leaving him struggling in his bindings on the floor.

Alistair looked at the two individuals running towards him, and ran towards the one coming from the side alley. He swiftly ducked under the man's weapon as he struck, before flipping up and over him using the man's shoulders as a springboard. Landing behind him, he turned to smirk at the two. The one that had run in behind him raised a loaded crossbow in Alistair's direction.

"Now you see me…" Alistair said, while reaching up to the clasp on his cloak. The alley was swathed in darkness, and the men shouted in panic. "...Now you don't!" came Alistair's voice from within the darkness.

Meanwhile, Garrick was struggling with the close quarters fight. The thug was pushing this advantage, but was unable to land a hit due to Garrick deflecting the blows. "Just give it up old man, your bow is of no use here!" the man taunted in a reedy voice. Garrick frowned, before dropping his bow to the floor and reaching to his back.

"You are right…" he said, as he retrieved the shovel he had bought from Charlie's. The man paused, before laughing at the sight of Garrick wielding a shovel as a weapon. "What are you going to do with that? Bury me?"

Garrick smiled grimly, "now there's an idea…". He then swiftly struck out with the shovel. The thug braced to block...but it was not the man itself that Garrick had been aiming for. The shovel hit the ground directly at the thug's feet, and there was a brief moment of confusion on his face, before a pit opened up directly beneath him.

With no time to react, the man fell into the hole, landing heavily and winding him. Rubbing his shoulder in pain, he looked up out of the hole when the light was obscured by a shadow. Looking up, he swallowed nervously at what he saw the man holding.

Garrick gave a cold smile, "Do me a favour, stay there for a while will you?" he said, before ignoring the man's panicked protests and dropping the bear trap he had in his grip into the hole. A snap ringing out as it closed followed by a shrill scream from the man.

From his place at the entrance to the alley, the leader in metal watched in concern as one by one, his men fell to these travellers. Clearly, they had underestimated them. If he did not turn the tide soon, his men would be dead or arrested. As the pool of darkness that had sprouted faded away to reveal that his men within it had been dealt with, he started to make his move…

Alistair dusted his hands off, giving the nearest man a swift kick just to be sure. When he gave no reaction, he nodded and looked over to the pit Garrick was standing by. "Sweet, so that's what that thing does huh? Useful." Garrick nodded, and was about to reply but he was interrupted by the pained cry of Indira.

Both turned to the source, and saw to their horror that the leader had managed to sneak up on her and now had her in a choke hold, his sword to her throat. "No sudden moves! You're good, I'll give ya that, but if you don't lay down your items and leave, the girl dies!"

"Don't you dare hurt her!" Alistair yelled. "You know what to do to prevent that!" the leader retorted. Garrick gave out a frustrated sigh, before dropping the shovel in his grip. Alistair hesitated, clearly considering simply trying to attack him.

"Now now, I wouldn't if I was you…" he said, placing his sword nearer to her cheek. Indira scowled, while staring down at the pavement slightly. "I am not helpless…" she muttered quietly. It was subtle, but those with a good eye would notice that her hair had started to rustle slightly, almost as if stirred by a breeze. Her hands were clenched, and shaking with both fear and anger.

The leader did not notice this, focussed as he was on Alistair. He did hear her speak, however. "What was that my dear? I didn't quite catch that…" he said with malicious glee. He brought the sword to her cheek close enough to nick her and cause blood to seep from the wound. It would be the last mistake he would ever make.

Indira's head shot up, revealing her eyes to be glowing with a deep red energy. "I said I AM NOT HELPLESS!" she screamed, as the energy spread through her body and blasted out behind her in a flash of crimson. The man grunted and dropped his weapon, rearing back and clasping his now burnt hand.

"What did you do...wait...it's still burning...ah! AHHH!" The man started screaming as the red energy coursed across his body and through his armour. Alistair and Garrick looked on in shock as the man's body turned to ash, the fire caused by Indira's magic unable to be doused, no matter what the man tried. His armour glowed red from the heat, and before long his screaming died out, leaving behind nothing but ash, bones and molten armour.

Indira's eyes ceased their glowing, and she staggered slightly before turning to what remained of the man. She gasped in shock as she stared at what her magic had wrought, tears starting to form in her eyes.


Character Profile:

Name: Charlotte "Charlie" Marlowe

Race: Human

Charlie is the owner of "Marlowe's Magnificent Magical Marvels", a shop in Astor's Artificers lane that specialises in enchanted items. An expert in all items magical, Charlie can both appraise and create a wide range of enchantments. It was for this reason that her shop was suggested to Alistair in order to get his cloak appraised. Although the trip turned out more expensive than expected, and now they owe her a sizeable debt for an ordered "bag of holding"...