Quest 11: Merchants And A Mage?

After another long trek the five members of Shin’ya arrive at the merchant guild that Isla told them about, entering the market they immediately went to find the stall that would be selling magic scrolls if the owner had returned from their trip to the northern lands. As they walked through the market examining other stalls for potential purchases once they had acquired something they knew would give them some offensive capabilities beyond just a group attack and a prayer, soon they found a table that had nothing, but scraps of paper strewn about on it. Behind the stall a woman who was dressed like a traditional witch character from media but as it looked like they floated in an invisible hammock they noticed that she too was barefoot, and that she looked to be around the same age as the group that was looking to purchase from the stall.

“Um, hi I’m Lexa and I was wondering if you would be able to help me buy one of these scrolls.”

The person behind the stall takes one look at Lexa, then at Aromi and changes their position to be hovering but in a standing form behind the stall instead of laying down in the air behind it.

“You and your friend there have a huge capacity for magic, the lad my chose any elemental spell that catches his eye. You though lass, will follow me I will teach you some of my own personal magic. I can see myself when I was a fledgling mage within you, as well as that large mana reserve you hold. Come along, I sense you are in a hurry, and I have much to teach you.”

The mage starts to hover towards the end of the market hall beckoning Lexa to come along with her, and so Lexa turns to follow leaving the other four at the stall all wearing slightly stunned expressions. Lexa makes a signal for them to explore the rest of the guild’s items, and she’ll find them once she’s done learning from the unknown witch. The witch opens a door near to the end of the guild’s selling hall and ushers Lexa through it before closing the door behind her as she too enters.

“Lexa you said your name was, I am Evie and I am not a wizard nor am I a witch. I’m a mage that specialises in the major magic of Nature, which is the root for any water; earth; plant and wind magics. Now they might not be the strongest or most interesting, but I do not think that is why you are after magic now is it?”
“No, right now we just need some elemental magic so that we can cause the void beasts to undergo an elemental overload in order to kill them, as one of our friends was taken by one last night. I also think that you know more powerful spells than you let on, do I get yo learn them as your apprentice?”
“You are correct I do know spells beyond what I sell, I will teach you one powerful spell for each of the elements that I control. However before I can do that, I must perform a ritual of sorts as the spells I will teach you require you to be bound to the path of nature magic which will limit your effectiveness with anything but those magical elements I mentioned earlier. Are you still willing to proceed Lexa?”

Lexa takes a moment to think about her options but knows that this might be the only opportunity for her or Aromi to learn any high tier magic, so she agrees to perform the ritual. [name] begins to prepare the room for this ritual to take place, decorating the room with objects that seem to be completely random and have no bearing on magic or any of the elements pertaining to or nature itself. Once the room has been prepared Evie takes Lexa and positions her in the center of the room, and then she begins to speak words that mean nothing to Lexa but the words Evie speaks resonate with the objects around the room each being lifted up by plants growing from the ground from the outer edges inwards. Soon only Lexa and Evie are left on the ground, and a plant begins to grow around Lexa, [name] offers a reassuring look as it closes around Lexa and gros to the ceiling. A small branch reaches inwards and pricks Lexa’s arm then a voice whispers.

“One born of another world, your pact with us has been sealed. You may now control the very course of nature, just like all those before and all those to come. Bloom anew Nature Mage Lexa.”

As the voice trails off the plant around Lexa opens up to reveal itself as a grand flower, lowering itself to allow Lexa to step back onto the floor. She then looks Evie ready to learn the four high-tier spells that she has prepared for her.

“The ritual was a success; I have some old mage-wear that you can change into it will help you with mana control and accuracy. Now onto the fun part right, learning magic itself. I will teach you those four high-tier spells, but I will also teach you some utility spells like the one I use to make it seem like I am levitating off of the ground as well as some others that may some in useful throughout your adventure.”

After learning all that Evie was willing to share with her, Lexa changes into a set of Evie’s old mage-wear and heads back into the market hall to find her companions. She finds them looking over a set of old leather armour that has seen better days, each member having bought a new item to use in the void. Aromi having his magic scroll that gave him the use of a light elemental spell, Ilev bought a baton and both Ami and Arano equipped themselves with a trio of cheap elemental swords, with the remaining funds they were deciding on what armour to get and for who. After an age of deliberation, it was decided that Ami and Arano would get a set of leather armour each and the rest would remain unarmoured for the time being, with everyone’s transactions complete the members of Shin’ya left the Merchant’s guild and began the trek towards the void itself.