Wil is used to getting weird looks from the people of Aura. He always wears long, red robes, and has a habit of causing them to billow out behind him, even when there is no wind, and he isn't walking very fast. His eyes are also unsettling, one being bright purple, the other electric blue. The people of Aura are wary of magic users, but are too afraid to say anything to Wil. They know full well he is an evoker, but don't know the extent of his powers. So, the townspeople generally let him be, lest, they fear, they incur his vengeance on the town.
Today, however, the looks are worse than usual, and he is soon to find out why. Everyone knows about the employer looking for an adventurer, and is waiting to see how Wil will react. As he is walking around town, he sees on the tavern's board a sign that says "Adventuring party wanted. 3 people maximum, 2 preferred. Reward: 1000 gold pieces. Come inside if you want to be considered for this position." Wil reads the sign, knowing full well that he doesn't have a partner to do this with, but he gets the feeling that he won't be the only person walking in alone, and can probably talk around and partner with someone. After all, who wouldn't want a wizard on their side for a dangerous adventure?
The tavern seems completely empty, with just the tavern keeper, and one person sitting in a corner, wearing a dark cloak with their hood pulled up over their face, obscuring it. Wil orders a glass of water, and pulls out his spell book, looking for spells that might be useful for the adventure. As he is flipping through the pages, he absentmindedly casts spells to reshape the water into interesting shapes, freeze it, cause it to glow, re-melt into water, and other things. After a few minutes of flipping through the spell book, he puts it away, drinks the water, leaves a few silver pieces on the bar, and walks over to the hooded figure.
Sweat beads up on a pale forehead as brown eyes glow in the firelight of a forge. A feminine figure with solid shoulders stands up, pounding a rune into the white-hot shield, muttering something under their breath as the symbol glows with what seems like blue starlight for a moment before the shield is thrust into a vast tub of water, steam dancing along the rippling surface. Their head snaps up as a short, sturdy woman stomps in, laughing as she smacks her hand down on the table and speaks. "I bet I've got something for you, young'un." Shield set on a bench, the brown eyes lock onto the woman as she continues. "Saw a sign up there in the town, Saphyre. You lookin' for adventure, right?"
Saphyre grins; it's a wide, mischievous, toothy thing that looks unused to smiling from so many hot-headed, stubborn scowls. The eyes say tell me more as the hands are working to don light armor, a leather pack, and a bow and arrow that seems to glow when they look at it at just the right angle. They speak with a slight accent that's difficult for the untrained ear to discern. "Ok Vikki. Where do I go?"
"Slow down, slow down!" Vikki exclaims, blocking Saphyre from sprinting to the door. "You're going to get yourself killed running into something before you even start. You're going to the tavern, okay? But you have to promise me something."
"What? Yes. Anything. Please?"
"Come back alive," she says with a stern stare. After one heartbeat too long, Saphyre nods, all their enthusiasm dissolving. "I promise," they whisper. The wrinkles in Vikki's eyes betrayed her age as she let out a little huff with her smile. She said nothing else; she only gave Saphyre a strong pat on the shoulder before stepping aside. Saphyre stares at the door for a moment, taking off with a cloak in hand and almost tripping over a stray hammer on their way out.
In the tavern, Saphyre strolls in, notably less conspicuous than Wil in the black cloak that covered their body, the hood down and their caramel, still-fuzzy hair spilling over their shoulders. Once in the door, they tipped up their chin just a little too noticeably and surveyed their surroundings… which were unimpressive. They waited for something to happen, for some grand wise man to come up and begin the adventure. When that failed and the tavern keeper just looked and then glanced back down at his rag, they sat in the corner of the small tavern and waited. Eventually, Wil walked in, and Saphyre stared at him out of the corner of their eye until they were satisfied that he, too, was waiting for this mysterious adventure, thumbing through some ridiculously large book and making the water in his glass swirl round and round and into shape after shape.
Wil walks up to Saphyre and says "Hello there. I'm Wil. Are you the person I am supposed to go to to get adventuring?" Saphyre laughs a little. "Nope. I am waiting here, just like you."
"Busy place. I suppose since neither of us came with a partner, we should partner up for this one?"
"Seems like we're the… only options so far. Um… sure." Saphyre stands up, trying to meet Wil in the eyes as much as possible, and slowly extends a hand to shake. Wil takes it, and shakes.
"Since we are teaming up, why not learn a little about each other? As I said earlier, my name is Wil. I am what other people call a wizard. All you need to know is that I cast spells, and can be alright in a pinch."
"I know what a wizard is!" Saphyre exclaims with an indignant tone, noting his self-assured air. "Well, I knew a wizard. I'm an artificer. You know, a… a… I build things. Trinkets. Magical armor and the like."
"Given the tone that you had, I am assuming your meeting with the wizard wasn't a good experience."
"It's… sure. There's a drop of magic in my blood and all of a sudden someone decides to run off and become a wizard," Saphyre notes, looking away. "Anyways, where's our… what do we call them? An employer?"
After Saphyre says that small part of their story, a flash of recognition — and remorse — flashes across Wil's face, but he quickly hides it. "Yeah. I suppose. They are paying us a pretty good amount for this. And, for what it's worth, I'm sorry about your brother." Saphyre only nods and looks up as they hear a door creak, and footsteps walk over to their table.
"I assume you're here for the task?" a melodic voice says from under the dark cloak that hides a slender form. Wil and Saphyre nod and the hood drops. Wil hears Saphyre stifle a small sound when they see the woman's glassed over eyes, one of them interrupting the six-inch twisting scar that runs from the woman's forehead to her cheek. Despite this, her skin is smooth, almost ageless as she carries an aura of ancient wisdom. Her jet-black hair tumbles in soft ripples over one shoulder and she spreads her arms just slightly as if welcoming a host of children home. "I have learned of the history of this city in which you live. Buried by the people of whom it is about. From the looks of you," she nods at Wil, "the staff you carry on your back, the spell book, and the robes, you are a wizard. I have one of the tomes here; it should help you find the rest of them." Wil looks taken aback, as he keeps his staff invisible at most times, and this was no exception. "Don't look so surprised. I'm nearly blind, I needed to learn some other way of seeing things. How long have you had it?"
"I've had it since before I was trained to be a wizard. My sister made it for me, and it's one of the few keepsakes I have left from my family." After waiting for a few seconds, and looking slightly uncomfortable, Wil starts back up again, "Do you have proof of payment? And the tome, that will be very useful for finding the rest of them."
The woman produces a tome seemingly out of nowhere, with two small bags of gold coins resting on top of it. "A down payment, we'll say." She grins as Saphyre stares wide-eyed at the floating objects before hiding the astonishment. Wil grabs the tome, pockets one of the bags, and tosses the other one to Saphrye. "Thank you for your kindness, we'll get going." The woman nods and disappears with a swish of her cloak. Saphyre looks back and sees the tome disappear in a similar manner with a swish of Wil's hand. "Little trick us wizards learn." He doesn't miss Saphyre's eye roll when they think he's looking away, but he says nothing, only smirking. Saphyre walks to the door. "Alright, let's go!" They feel something invisible stop them in their tracks. They look back, and Wil says "I'm going out first." They glare at Wil, then glare back at the door impatiently as Wil inspects his empty glass, slides it to the tavern keeper, and struts out the door, robes billowing more than they should. Saphyre rolls their eyes and follows.