[center][h1]Now[/h1][/center]
[center][img]https://i.postimg.cc/FRwJf2zV/sdcheader.png[/img][/center]
He nodded to Cynric. [color=1E90FF]“It is time.”[/color]

[color=DC143C]“Aye,”[/color] Cynric replied. [color=DC143C]“I’ll get my fellas intae position. Dae what ye ‘ave tae, Cap’n. We’ll ‘andle ta’ crowd.”[/color]

With that, he strode off, barking commands and pointing to the crowd. His crew quickly spread out, most of them formed a loose line in front of the mass of onlookers, while others threaded through it, easily slipping between elbows and bumping shoulders as if they’d always been there. Cynric had no intention of merely holding the crowd back, it seemed—he wanted to control it. 

That suited Sjan-dehk just fine. The lower the chance of a bystander getting involved, the better.

He found Hasehnya standing a fair distance away from the tavern—roughly halfway between its doors and the crowd. The girl’s nerves were clearly frayed, and badly so. She trembled from head to toe, her sleeves and skirts swaying like curtains caught in a breeze, and her shoulders shuddering with every breath. Quiet murmurs, vague and half-swallowed, tumbled from her lips. And although the three other arcanists fussed over her—offering encouragement, clearing the ground of rubbish—she barely seemed to notice. 

[color=1E90FF][i]“Hasehnya,”[/i][/color] Sjan-dehk called, his voice gentle. 

She didn’t react. 

[color=1E90FF][i]“Hasehnya,”[/i][/color] he tried again, firmer this time, and set a careful hand on her shoulder. 

[color=FF91FA][i]“Ah!”[/i][/color] The girl cried out, flinching hard enough to almost stumble—and to give Sjan-dehk a little shock. She snapped her head around to face him, looking as if she’d just been pulled out of a nightmare. [color=FF91FA][i]“I–I’m so, so sorry, Captain! I–I didn’t know you were—”[/i][/color]

Sjan-dehk cleared his throat as he collected himself. [color=1E90FF][i]“It’s alright, Hasehnya,”[/i][/color] he said. [color=1E90FF][i]“Are you ready?”[/i][/color]

The colour drained from her face, but she nodded. [color=FF91FA][i]“Y–Yes, Captain! I–I’ll do my best!”[/i][/color]

Sjan-dehk regarded her for a moment. Then, he gave her a warm smile. [color=1E90FF][i]“I’m sure you will. No matter what happens, I know you’d have given it your all.”[/i][/color] Hasehnya’s mouth opened, but Sjan-dehk cut her off before she could get a word out. [color=1E90FF][i]“You’re already going well beyond what’s expected of you just by being here, so if things don’t go according to plan, don’t worry about it. We’ll find another way, or make one.”[/i][/color]

She swallowed hard. Sjan-dehk reached out and gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze, similar to what he’d do were it his sister who was in such a state. [color=1E90FF][i]“To borrow Yehn-tai’s words,”[/i][/color] he said, a confident grin on his lips. [color=1E90FF][i]“Leave being a hero, and leave the difficult work to those of us in uniform. You just do what you can.”[/i][/color]

Hasehnya drew in a deep breath.

[color=FF91FA][i]“O–Okay, Captain,”[/i][/color] she said, a steadier gaze in her eyes. [color=FF91FA][i]“I’m ready.”[/i][/color]

Sjan-dehk gave her a smile. [color=1E90FF][i]“That’s what I like to hear.”[/i][/color]

He beckoned the three other arcanists to follow him. [color=1E90FF][i]“Let’s give her some space,”[/i][/color] he said and led them to a spot that was far away enough to not get in Hasehnya’s way, but still close enough for him to intervene if the situation called for it.

Hasehnya faced the tavern.

Her legs trembled, as did her arms. The weight of the crowd’s gaze—curious, anxious, scared, [i]suspicious[/i], and all others in-between—pressed in on all sides. She felt their eyes on her hands; felt them cutting holes through her clothes and into her back. Heavier still was the responsibility sitting on her shoulders. It turned her body to lead, rooted her in place, and threatened to crush her.

Still, she raised her hands, as she’d done so many times before during practice. 

She closed her eyes. This was all it was. Just another round of practice. The eyes, the leers, the gazes, all of them didn’t belong to foreign people of a foreign land. No, they were simply those of her seniors, and of her master. The weight on her shoulders wasn’t that of responsibility. It was simply the stress that naturally came with being assessed. 

That was all this was. Just an assessment. One she couldn’t fail.

[color=FF91FA][i]“Our Great Elders of Sedaran,”[/i][/color] she whispered, the words barely leaving her lips. [color=FF91FA][i]“Grant me guidance.”[/i][/color]

Her thumbs and forefingers came together, forming a rough rectangle before her eyes, framing the tavern, confining it neatly within them. Hasehnya squeezed her eyes shut and focused on that little space. Arcane energy answered—slowly at first, like a drizzle, and then suddenly, pouring like torrential rain. Between her fingers, the air stirred and swirled. Pale currents danced, and merged, and folded in on themselves. 

[color=FF91FA][i]“O Great Forebears,”[/i][/color] she intoned. 

Her eyes snapped open. [color=FF91FA][i]“Hear now the words of a daughter of the Hallowed Isles.”[/i][/color]

She pushed her hands forward, and pulled them apart.

The rippling air followed her movements, its rough lines stretching and straightening, until it expanded into something akin to a grey-tinted pane of glass. Slowly, tentatively, Hasehnya lowered her hands. The pane remained floating where it was. [color=FF91FA][i]“Formless is the arcane,”[/i][/color] she recited, reaching out to tap two fingers upon the ethereal glass. 

[color=FF91FA][i]“And disciplined is that hand that shapes it.”[/i][/color] Ripples radiated from her fingertips. In their wakes, geometric sigils traced themselves onto the pane. Angles, shapes, and interlocking forms glowed and thrummed with power. Behind them, the image of the tavern shifted. It warped, and bent, and folded, for a moment turning into a mockery of itself. Then, as quickly as it’d started, the image stabilised. The tavern was still the same building of red brick and dark wood, but now darkness seeped from it. Black tendrils trailed from windows, doors, and every slender crevice and little crack. 

Hasehnya slowly pulled her hand back. The tendrils quavered. “Hear me,” she said, her voice rising. [color=FF91FA][i]“Hear me, formless ones, for thou’rt not chained to the hand that cast thee!”[/i][/color]

The tendrils started to turn, their wispy tails pointing towards Hasehnya and the pane. 

She thrust her hand forward, then jerked it back. [color=FF91FA][i]“Thou’rt unbound!”[/i][/color]

A gust burst from the pane and surged towards the tavern. The tendrils danced in the wind, but turned stiff when the same gust receded, as if they were fighting it. Hasehnya clenched her jaw. The pressure started to burn her arm, but she pushed. And pushed. And kept pushing. 

And then, the tendrils turned limp. They oozed, dark and oily, from the tavern, and were immediately swept up by the wind, and dragged screaming into the pane. The sigils flared, and then dimmed as their intricate lines were flooded with darkness. Cracks spider-webbed across the pane. The black energy forced its way through small fractures, turning them into fissures filled by a gaping emptiness. 

[color=FF91FA][i]“And thou’rt claimed!”[/i][/color] Strain thinned Hasehnya’s voice, but she held on. 

The pane creaked and groaned. 

[color=FF91FA][i]“And by mine right,”[/i][/color] she yelled through gritted teeth. Her knees started to shake. Her mind felt like it would soon shatter entirely. But she refused to give in. Not now. Not when she was so close to succeeding. She drew in a hissed breath. [color=FF91FA][i]“I command thee–”[/i][/color]

She slammed a palm onto the pane.

[color=FF91FA][i]“Fracture!”[/i][/color]

The pane exploded. 

A thousand shards of blackened glass flew in every direction. The air itself screamed. Panicked cries and shocked gasps echoed from the crowd. Hasehnya, with great effort, turned her hand towards herself, and clenched it into a fist. The shards stopped, frozen mid-flight. They shuddered, turned, and surged towards her. They didn’t pierce her, but rather dissipated on impact, their black energy absorbed into her body. 

Pain lanced through Hasehnya as this strange, foreign arcane energy surged through her. A strangled cry burst from her throat, and soon turned into a scream. She staggered, but forced herself to stay on her feet until every last scrap of magic had been drawn into her. Every moment felt like an eternity. She felt herself flag, felt her body beg her to stop before she broke. 

Then, all went silent.

Her head swam. Her vision blurred. She swayed, like a puppet cut from its strings.

And finally, she allowed herself to fall.

Sjan-dehk raced forward, his boots thumping and squeaking against the cobblestones, catching her just in time. “Easy, easy,” he said as he carefully lowered her to the ground. His brow creased in concern, and he swept his eyes over her, searching for even the slightest hints of an injury. When he found none, he did so again—after that spectacle, he didn’t believe that Hasehnya could’ve been left unscathed. 

[color=FF91FA][i]“C–Captain Sjan-dehk, I–”[/i][/color] Hasehnya’s voice was weak.

[color=1E90FF][i]“If you’d told me that was what’d happen,”[/i][/color] he cut in. [color=1E90FF][i]“I’d never have agreed to your plan.”[/i][/color]

She shook her head. [color=FF91FA][i]“N–No, I–”[/i][/color]

[color=1E90FF][i]“We could’ve dealt with the arcanists with force—”[/i][/color]

[color=FF91FA][i]“No, that’s not it!”[/i][/color] Hasehnya blurted out, and rolled out of his arms. She fell onto her hands and knees, her back heaving as she retched several times. Spittle sprayed from her lips, some of it too dark, too oily to be saliva. She pressed a hand to her chest. Her eyes squeezed shut in pain. Just as Sjan-dehk was about to call for help, she spat out a black, formless mass. It dissipated into mist before it struck the ground, hissing away into nothingness. 

[color=FF91FA][i]“S–Sorry, Captain!”[/i][/color] Hasehnya said between pants. [color=FF91FA][i]“I–I tried to tell you, but I–I have to expel the energy in me, o–otherwise it’ll be bad. F–For me, I mean! N–No one else would get hurt.”[/i][/color]

[color=1E90FF][i]“Are you hurt, then?”[/i][/color] Sjan-dehk asked. [color=1E90FF][i]“Other than the…Energy thing, of course.”[/i][/color]

[color=FF91FA][i]“Just my eye,”[/i][/color] Hasehnya replied hesitantly, and faced him with just as much hesitation. Her left eye was a solid black orb, as if it’d been cast from volcanic ash. In place of her pupil and iris, were glowing concentric circles, much like the sigils she’d conjured earlier. 

[color=1E90FF][i]“By the Mother,”[/i][/color] Sjan-dehk breathed. He leaned in to take a closer look. [color=1E90FF][i]“That doesn’t look good.”[/i][/color]

[color=FF91FA][i]“I–It’s just temporary blindness! It’s nothing, r–really! It doesn’t–It doesn’t even hurt!”[/i][/color]

He baulked at her words. [color=1E90FF][i]“I don’t care if it’s temporary or not. Blindness isn’t nothing!”[/i][/color]

[color=FFFF00][i]“A–Arcane energy can’t be destroyed, Captain. It–It can only be transformed.”[/i][/color] Yasawen’s voice came from behind. Sjan-dehk looked over his shoulder. The three arcanists approached, their expressions concerned and worried, but not surprised. [color=FFFF00][i]“If–If I’m not wrong, senior Hasehnya, um…I guess you could say she took the magic from its caster? Or maybe saying she freed it would be better…”[/i][/color] He seemed to fall into thought for a moment, but then shook his head. [color=FFFF00][i]“B–But anyway! The energy has to go somewhere, s–so she let it go into her.”[/i][/color]

Sjan-dehk nodded slowly. He wasn’t sure he fully understood everything, but he caught just enough of it to know Hasehnya had just paid a great cost to break the spell. [color=1E90FF][i]“And this happens every time you do this sort of thing?”[/i][/color] 

Hasehnya pushed herself up onto her knees and shook her head. [color=FF91FA][i]“N–No. U-Usually we have talismans or something w–we can direct the energy into, but I–I didn’t think I’d have to dispel something that strong, so I–I didn’t bring any with me when I left[/i] Sudah[i]. It–It’s my fault, really! I’ll be fine, d–don’t worry! It’ll go away on its own.”[/i][/color]

She looked up at Inshahri. [color=FF91FA][i]“And, um, Shahri…?”[/i][/color]

Inshahri closed her eyes and held a hand to her ear, her body leaning towards the tavern. A tune hummed in her throat. Then, she giggled. [color=98FB98][i]“Yes, yes!”[/i][/color] she exclaimed. [color=98FB98][i]“It’s better now. Quiet. You did it!”[/i][/color]

Hasehnya smiled weakly. [color=FF91FA][i]“That's…That’s good.”[/i][/color]

[color=1E90FF][i]“More than good,”[/i][/color] Sjan-dehk said. He patted her shoulder and stood up. [color=1E90FF][i]“I’d say you did fantastic. We’ll all have an easier time now, thanks to you.”[/i][/color]

A blush crept over Hasehnya’s cheeks. [color=FF91FA][i]“O–Oh! Thank you, Captain…Captain Sjan-dehk.”[/i][/color]

[color=DC143C]“Oi, Cap’n!”[/color] Cynric’s brogue, paired with the thumps of his hurried footfalls, caught Sjan-dehk’s attention in an instant. The mirth that usually coloured his words was gone, replaced by alarm and concern. And as he came to a stop in front of the arcanists, Sjan-dehk could see those emotions drawing his face tight. [color=DC143C]“‘Twas some feck—”[/color] he started, but quickly stopped himself when he noticed the youths.

He cleared his throat. [color=DC143C]“What I meant was, ‘twas some impressive magic, aye. But ye’ve also caught plenty o’ eyes, and not aw’ o’ ‘em are friendly, nae. Ta’ crowd’s gettin’ feck—I mean, they’re in gettin’ riled up righ’ an’ proper. My fellas’re keepin’ em back fer now, but that’ll nae last, if ye ask me. Yer arcanists should start makin’ themsel’s scarce, right quick.”[/color]

Only now did Sjan-dehk finally remember the mass of onlookers. They had pressed closer—only by a few steps, but that was enough to be cause for worry. Suspicious eyes glared at Hasehnya. Furious shouts cut through the air. Cynric’s crew stood in their way, some with outstretched hands and demanding peace, but most simply met fire with fire, and barked threats of violence. The few who’d threaded themselves through the crowd darted through the shifting mass, pulling the most belligerent away where they could. 

But despite the efforts of Cynric’s crew, there were simply too few of them. One spark—one person whose hatred was infectious enough to push their fellows into action—and the crowd would overrun them through sheer force of numbers. 

Sjan-dehk placed himself in front of the arcanists. [color=1E90FF][i]“Don’t worry,”[/i][/color] he said, his eyes narrowing as he kept his gaze on the crowd. [color=1E90FF][i]“We’ve got a plan, so we’ll follow it. Tehwasang, get Hasehnya standing. Yasawen and Inshahri, the two of you help her.”[/i][/color]

[color=DEB887][i]“You got it, Captain,”[/i][/color] Tehwasang replied, her voice losing some of its earlier lightness. She knelt, took one of Hasehnya’s arms, and draped it over her shoulders. Yasawen did the same on the other side. Between the two of them, they managed to slowly bring Hasehnya to her feet.

[color=DC143C]“Someone ‘as tae keep an eye on ‘em while we’re inside,”[/color] Cynric said. Before Sjan-dehk could get a word in, he turned and shouted, [color=DC143C]“Oi, Daley! Get yersel’ o’er here right now!”[/color]

A dark-eyed young man jogged over, sweat sheening his skin and matting his mop of sand-brown hair. He gripped the handle of a knife sheathed at his hip with such force that his knuckles were white. “What d’you need me for, Cap’n?” he asked. 

[color=DC143C]“I want ye tae get these two—”[/color] Cynric pointed to Hasehnya and Tehwasang [color=DC143C]“—o’er tae ‘Leida, quick as ye can. Tell ‘er, frae me, that she’s tae keep ‘em safe by any way she can, ye understand? If anyone tries tae be funny, get rid o’ ‘em. I dae’n care if she ‘as tae bribe, or threaten, or batter, or e’en kill, these two lassies cannae be ‘armed in any way.” He paused, fixing Daley with a serious gaze. “They’re like our wee Tommy, and so we’ll treat ‘em like that sour shite.”[/color]

[color=FF6347]“Aye, Cap’n,”[/color] Daley replied with a nod. [color=FF6347]“Anythin’ else, Cap’n?”[/color]

[color=DC143C]“Just one,”[/color] Cynric said. [color=DC143C]“Tell ‘Leida also that if things get too tricky, she’s tae get these lassies out an’ back tae either their ship or Recompense, whichever’s easier. Talk tae our ol’ regulars and use their routes if ye ‘ave tae, an’ tell ‘em Cyn’s callin’ in one o’ the ‘undreds o’ favours they owe me if they gee’s trouble.”[/color]

[color=FF6347]“Aye, Captain.”[/color] Daley turned to the two arcanists and gestured for them to follow him.

Hasehnya gave Sjan-dehk an uncertain look. [color=1E90FF][i]“Go with them,”[/i][/color] Sjan-dehk said, giving her and Tehwasang a reassuring smile. [color=1E90FF][i]“It’s alright. They can be trusted.”[/i][/color]

[color=FF91FA][i]“O–Okay,”[/i][/color] she replied, her voice small. [color=FF91FA][i]“If–If you say so, Captain Sjan-dehk.”[/i][/color]

Cynric gave Daley a nod, and the young man hurried away with Tehwasang and Hasehnya in tow.

[color=1E90FF]“Thank you,”[/color] Sjan-dehk said to Recompense’s captain. [color=1E90FF]“You did not have to.”[/color]

[color=DC143C]“Nae, I did,”[/color] Cynric replied, his voice a shade darker than what Sjan-dehk had expected. [color=DC143C]“Caesonia’s nae a safe place fer anyone wi’ magic in their blood. An’ they’re jus’ wee lassies, aye? They dae’n seem a day o’er twenty tae me. I cannae jus’ leave ‘em tae fend fer themsel’s, nae if I can ‘elp it.”[/color]

Sjan-dehk simply looked at him for a moment. Then, he smiled. [color=1E90FF]“You are a good person, Captain.”[/color]

Cynric chuckled. [color=DC143C]“Oh, I ‘ppreciate it, Cap’n, but I think ye’ll find plenty who’d disagree, aye ye will.”[/color]

A grin tugged on Sjan-dehk’s mouth. [color=1E90FF]“Is that so? You seem to have many secrets.”[/color]

[color=DC143C]“You could say that.”[/color] Cynric returned the grin. Then, he jerked his head towards the tavern. [color=DC143C]“But we’ll ‘ave tae talk about ‘em some other time, eh? Maybe when ye tell me about yer arcanists an’ whatnot. Fer now, we ough’tae take care ‘o business, I reckon. We’ve left ‘em waitin’ long enough.”[/color]

[color=1E90FF]“Yes, we have,”[/color] Sjan-dehk agreed. 

He turned to Yasawen and Inshahri. [color=1E90FF][i]“We’re going in now. Stay close, stay behind us, and you’ll be fine.”[/i][/color]

[color=98FB98][i]“You got it, Captain!”[/i][/color] Inshahri replied excitedly. Yasawen simply nodded, nervousness clear on his face.

The four of them marched over to the tavern’s doors. Along the way, Sjan-dehk and Cynric went over their arms—making sure hammers were cocked, and swords were loose in their sheaths. Sjan-dehk righted his hat, pulling it just a touch lower to shadow his eyes. He tightened the straps of his lamellar cuirass, making sure it sat snugly over his body. Cynric, for his part, simply straightened his coat’s collars and adjusted his sheaths and holsters. 

They stopped just before the threshold. 

[color=1E90FF]“It is your show, Captain,”[/color] Sjan-dehk said.

Cynric chuckled. [color=DC143C]“Aye, it sure is. Time fer Cyn tae show ye 'ow tae be a proper gobby shite."[/color]

He shoved the doors—hard enough to make hinges squeak and rattle locks, but not so hard as to seem threatening. His every move was filled with confidence, as if certain that nothing in the tavern could hurt him, as he stepped into the tavern. The sight of the carnage gave him pause, but only for a moment. Blood and gore wasn't anything new to him, after all. But to see a severed head, a bound man used as a pin cushion, and others held at gunpoint, knifepoint—and many other points—was still interesting. [color=DC143C]"Good evenin',"[/color] Cynric said with a smirk. [color=DC143C]"You city folk sure know 'ow tae 'ave a proper craic, aye?"[/color]

Sjan-dehk followed him into the tavern, keen eyes taking in every detail, every position of every person. His gaze lingered on Kalliope a moment longer than the rest, and his jaw tightened. His palms tingled; the pistols at his belt suddenly felt very attractive. Still, he forced himself to remain calm. There would be time for vengeance later. For now, he just had to let Cynric continue.

[color=DC143C]"Now, my mates and I 'eard that this place wen' under new management,"[/color] the [i]Recompense[/i]'s captain continued. [color=DC143C]"So I thought I'd come by an' see 'ow you're runnin' things. Cannae say I'm impressed, tae be feckin' honest. We jus' walked through a shiteheap-an'-a-'alf, and 'tis what greets us? An' nae e'en a brew as an apology? 'Tis a feckin' travesty, aye it is. The lot o' ye 'ad bet'er start dae'n somethin' tae make it worth aw' our feckin' trouble, otherwise I'll be pissed, an' not in ta' good way, aye."[/color]