A small cottage lay in a copse of trees, an hour's walk beyond the walls of Imperius. The building was small and squat, little bigger than a shed, really, but sufficient to its owner's needs. Fairly nondescript, the house was weathered with age but structurally solid, with moss growing on the roof. Small herb gardens dotted the yard, some marked with runed tags of protection and health, others simply labeled with their contents. Fenced off to one side of the hut was a coop of chickens, the rooster strutting about while his hens clucked contentedly and pecked at the occasional passing insect or kernel of corn. In a startling contrast to the otherwise neat and orderly yard, a rotting log featured odd prominence, mushrooms growing upon its surface. Some feet from the door, stood a sign simply labeled "Herbalist and Alchemical Shoppe".
The interior of the shop was simple and neat featuring a work bench and shelves lined with jars of substances both familiar and exotic, plant and creature, as well as some mineral crystals and other implements to perform alchemy. Dried herbs hung in clusters over the hearth, and small window boxes with flowers added a homey touch while still serving a practical purpose. The rear of the building served as a living quarters, though the space had yet to be used for that purpose for more than a few nights at a time. The room was sparse, featuring a small writing desk with an open book laying upon it, a couple of chairs, a single bookshelf and a small bed, neatly made. A door led out to a covered patio that also served as a kitchenette, screened from the wind by three walls and looking out to the woods beyond the property.
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From these woods, Akantha emerged, a rabbit from one of her snares in hand. She set her equipment down and lit the fire, quickly cleaning and butchering the rabbit for her dinner, cutting some of the meat into strips and setting it aside to preserve, while the rest went into the pot with a bit of seasoning and chopped vegetables. The stew could be ready in a couple hours, and would feed her well through tomorrow. She sat and read for a while, learning more of the language of this land. The tale was interesting, describing the adventures of a bard and the perils he escaped and the battles of wits he won. The bard was just about to answer the final puzzle posed by an evil wizard, when her stew threatened to bubble over.
Akantha quickly set down the novel to rescue her meal, removing it from the fire and stirring while it cooled. The meal was simple, but passable. Not particularly good, but neither was it bad, and certainly she had eaten worse. She chuckled, remembering the pie she had eaten at the Tavern the other day, pranked by a fire demon child with bugs and lots of hot sauce. The insects she did not mind too much. She had eaten worse in her time, but nobody liked getting shells stuck between their teeth. The hot sauce on the other hand, had been far too much for her stomach to handle, and had left her with an upset stomach for days. Though less exciting, it was definitely safer to eat her own cooking.
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The next day, Akantha finished setting up her shop, then stepped out front to hang a second sign on her door. The stylized white text stood out sharply against the black slate, reading
Open for Business
[Open] Akantha's Alchemy Shoppe
Moderator: Community Team
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Akantha
Re: [Open] Akantha's Alchemy Shoppe
Herbalism was not Akantha's primary profession, though it was knowledge she had gained during her Hunter training. One needed to know which herbs and fungi were poisonous, and which held healing properties. In addition, there were creatures whose body parts were useful either for crafting, or for use in alchemy. She was no expert by any stretch of the imagination, but her knowledge was useful. Secfenia was a relatively peaceful place, as far as she could tell. Magic was tolerated here, embraced, in fact, rather than feared as it was in her homeland. She found it strange to be surrounded all the time, yet it was also refreshing. Liberated from the laws of Sethara, she was no longer Outcaste or Untouchable. But she was also unemployed as an Arcane Hunter.
Thus, she decided to utilize her skills in another fashion, forgoing the simple work of a farmer or city laborer to instead spend her days in the woods beyond the cities. There, she gathered herbs for the town: Mint for millers to make tea, Aloe for healing. Occasionally she would find and collect wild roses, which she found people liked to lay on the graves of their loved ones. Impractical in her opinion, but hey, she would not object to profit.
She did find every once in a while, people needed help finding what they seek. Therefore, Akantha hung a mailbox outside her door, placing a sign below. "Hunt requests deposit. If you need to track something down, or someone, please leave your request here. Fees will vary."
Thus, she decided to utilize her skills in another fashion, forgoing the simple work of a farmer or city laborer to instead spend her days in the woods beyond the cities. There, she gathered herbs for the town: Mint for millers to make tea, Aloe for healing. Occasionally she would find and collect wild roses, which she found people liked to lay on the graves of their loved ones. Impractical in her opinion, but hey, she would not object to profit.
She did find every once in a while, people needed help finding what they seek. Therefore, Akantha hung a mailbox outside her door, placing a sign below. "Hunt requests deposit. If you need to track something down, or someone, please leave your request here. Fees will vary."
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koschei
Re: [Open] Akantha's Alchemy Shoppe
The Eye of the Sorcerer moved across the herb gardens. One moment a patch of mist... the next a crisp sound of frost being trod under thick winter's boots... the next a cold wind... it descended into the the gardens, and crept from patch to patch. Some glowed with a forbidding menace; these, the Eye avoided for the moment. But other patches were not so well defended, and here the Eye settled down to observe.
Where Koschei's dread gaze settled, a hoarfrost began to grow, upon soil and plant alike. And away in his tower, he observed the woman and her shop, and he considered her future...
Where Koschei's dread gaze settled, a hoarfrost began to grow, upon soil and plant alike. And away in his tower, he observed the woman and her shop, and he considered her future...
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Akantha
Re: [Open] Akantha's Alchemy Shoppe
Returning from a jaunt in the wilds, Akantha approached her home, stepping cautiously. Traces of magic shimmered in her Sight, and she knew there had been some form of visitor at her home. She followed the path, frowning at the frost's destruction of her herbs. "Tis quite rude to spy on a woman, Sorcerer," she spoke to the Eye, her Sight divining the nature of the magic. "And you owe me for the plants you have killed." With that, she raised a palm toward the point of magic. Part of an Arcane Hunter's training is to dampen magic and make it useless to the caster. With this ability, she sent a dispelling pulse toward the eye.
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Akantha
Re: [Open] Akantha's Alchemy Shoppe
Some weeks later
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Akantha found herself growing accustomed to Secfenia and its people, though she doubted she would ever get used to the cold or the casual use of magic. She had made friends over the past few weeks, and had found something of a romance with Riley. He had been secretive, at first, wary of her perceptive mind and her Sight, and she wary of his magic and less-than-lawful attitude. Yet somehow in spite of this, they had grown fond of one another. Her status as an Untouchable had not swayed him in the least, and had, she thought, contributed to the man's interest in her.
Being with Riley made her happier than she had ever been before - gave her a contentment she had never felt at home. But now she felt disquiet, pacing back and forth in the confines of her little bedroom. The past week or so had been one of mounting stress for Akantha, and she was no longer certain of her relationship. She and Riley had tried on several occasions to become intimate, but Akantha, still unused to touching and being touched, had panicked each time before they could start. It was a great blow to her confidence that she could not fulfill this role. He told her he was willing to wait, yet had recently begun flirting with a tiger-woman, Laxmi. It was just a friendship, he claimed, and that he had only done it to annoy Theo. But Akantha could See the lust in their auras and it only added to her stress and fear.
The night previous, she had argued with Riley about his flirtation. She had expressed her annoyance that he would hurt their relationship with his power games with Theo, told him that what she felt was not a game... He claimed to feel the same way about her, and yet she truly could not be certain, still knowing he and the tigress felt a mutual attraction. Akantha had told him she needed time to think. Time away from him. And so she paced the tiny room in the back of her hut, worrying whether she made the right decision, wondering if he would turn to Laxmi for comfort.
She wanted to hate the woman, hate her for infringing on what was hers. But she could not. Laxmi's personality was different, but they were so similar, the Huntress and the Tigress, through their life experiences and attitudes. And could Akantha really claim Riley as her own? He was bonded to Theo more tightly than he ever could be to anyone, sharing literally everything with the woman, thoughts and feelings included.
That bond annoyed, yet at the same time fascinated Akantha, and while she couldn't exactly claim to like Theo...there was something of an intrigue between them. Despite her constant interference in the newborn romance between Akantha and Riley, Theo was also an essential element. She had noted that her approval of Akantha was far greater than that of Laxmi, which sincerely confounded the Huntress. Laxmi was, after all, less of a threat to Theo herself, was she not? The tigress could not harm Theo and Riley in the way Akantha could, and yet Theo had admitted aloud her preference. It only served to confuse her feelings more.
"Ah, Mattheus, if only you still lived. I could really use your advice now, my teacher."
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Akantha found herself growing accustomed to Secfenia and its people, though she doubted she would ever get used to the cold or the casual use of magic. She had made friends over the past few weeks, and had found something of a romance with Riley. He had been secretive, at first, wary of her perceptive mind and her Sight, and she wary of his magic and less-than-lawful attitude. Yet somehow in spite of this, they had grown fond of one another. Her status as an Untouchable had not swayed him in the least, and had, she thought, contributed to the man's interest in her.
Being with Riley made her happier than she had ever been before - gave her a contentment she had never felt at home. But now she felt disquiet, pacing back and forth in the confines of her little bedroom. The past week or so had been one of mounting stress for Akantha, and she was no longer certain of her relationship. She and Riley had tried on several occasions to become intimate, but Akantha, still unused to touching and being touched, had panicked each time before they could start. It was a great blow to her confidence that she could not fulfill this role. He told her he was willing to wait, yet had recently begun flirting with a tiger-woman, Laxmi. It was just a friendship, he claimed, and that he had only done it to annoy Theo. But Akantha could See the lust in their auras and it only added to her stress and fear.
The night previous, she had argued with Riley about his flirtation. She had expressed her annoyance that he would hurt their relationship with his power games with Theo, told him that what she felt was not a game... He claimed to feel the same way about her, and yet she truly could not be certain, still knowing he and the tigress felt a mutual attraction. Akantha had told him she needed time to think. Time away from him. And so she paced the tiny room in the back of her hut, worrying whether she made the right decision, wondering if he would turn to Laxmi for comfort.
She wanted to hate the woman, hate her for infringing on what was hers. But she could not. Laxmi's personality was different, but they were so similar, the Huntress and the Tigress, through their life experiences and attitudes. And could Akantha really claim Riley as her own? He was bonded to Theo more tightly than he ever could be to anyone, sharing literally everything with the woman, thoughts and feelings included.
That bond annoyed, yet at the same time fascinated Akantha, and while she couldn't exactly claim to like Theo...there was something of an intrigue between them. Despite her constant interference in the newborn romance between Akantha and Riley, Theo was also an essential element. She had noted that her approval of Akantha was far greater than that of Laxmi, which sincerely confounded the Huntress. Laxmi was, after all, less of a threat to Theo herself, was she not? The tigress could not harm Theo and Riley in the way Akantha could, and yet Theo had admitted aloud her preference. It only served to confuse her feelings more.
"Ah, Mattheus, if only you still lived. I could really use your advice now, my teacher."
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Akantha
Re: [Open] Akantha's Alchemy Shoppe
Two days later...
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Things imploded rather quickly had and spectacularly this time, and Akantha was uncertain it could ever be fixed. The day before, she had sought Theo's advice, and come to a decision regarding Riley. She laid claim to him, openly and firmly before witnesses, warning the tigress away from what was HERS. Then later that night, they had finally succeeded in becoming intimate. Akantha had fallen asleep that night with a feeling of contentment she had never before known. That contentment was shattered into bits the following day when she awoke to find Riley had gone completely from her home, then, after stopping by her office, she discovered he and Theo had partaken in an unsuccessful revolt on the castle. But the worst was yet to come. She had gone to the tavern to to tell them to run while they had the chance, giving them the head start she had said she would.
And then Theo told her what Riley had done and what she had felt through him. Akantha felt utterly betrayed at that. Riley had played with her like a toy and then tossed her aside once he had his amusement. Lulled her into complacency before attacking the kingdom in which they lived. Akantha didn't really give a damn about Fenia. She only served as the sheriff of Imperius out of respect for the city's Mayor, Scarlette. But the fact that Riley had deceived her in such a manner, then compounded it by getting close to the tigress again even after everything the previous night. Even after he swore to her that his relationship with her wasn't a game. The news of the revolt got out, and Riley had fled with Theo and Laxmi (though the tigress had not partaken in their criminal act.), not even bothering to try and explain himself. Would she have listened anyway?
The cat, Xeno, had tried to console her afterward, counseling her to look to her skills and her past, rather than the emotions of the present to find the truth. Akantha closed her eyes and thought to Xeno, tinged with youthful rebellion. <Perhaps you are right. But I have no desire to reconnect with my past. You have wisdom and knowledge on your side, but you cannot speak from firsthand experience about human suffering, Xeno.> Her mind swirled with other thoughts that were inarticulate and only partially completed, flashing through tiny fractions of memory or sensations: The scent of cold winter rain on stone and the weak cry of an infant left to die; an old priestess, her face no longer bearing recognizable detail; other unspecific memories from a lonely childhood.
Being Untouchable had saved her from some of the fates that befell women and children left to scrounge a survival in the streets, but it did not protect her from people's scorn or their varying missiles. The array of things that could be thrown at her was very wide, actually, from the more traditional stones, manure, spit, and the contents of one's chamberpot to rotten food and - once - a still-usable cooking pot. After Mattheus had taken her under his wing, she had been provided for, but was the victim to pranks from the other apprentice Hunters: Extra spice thrown into her food, oil spilled just outside her room or near stairs to cause her to slip and fall, vandalization of her things, and more. And Akantha had always been blamed by instructors for being late, messy, or sick from these pranks. Never was she allowed to retaliate.
No. Akantha certainly did not want to look to her past for anything any more.
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Things imploded rather quickly had and spectacularly this time, and Akantha was uncertain it could ever be fixed. The day before, she had sought Theo's advice, and come to a decision regarding Riley. She laid claim to him, openly and firmly before witnesses, warning the tigress away from what was HERS. Then later that night, they had finally succeeded in becoming intimate. Akantha had fallen asleep that night with a feeling of contentment she had never before known. That contentment was shattered into bits the following day when she awoke to find Riley had gone completely from her home, then, after stopping by her office, she discovered he and Theo had partaken in an unsuccessful revolt on the castle. But the worst was yet to come. She had gone to the tavern to to tell them to run while they had the chance, giving them the head start she had said she would.
And then Theo told her what Riley had done and what she had felt through him. Akantha felt utterly betrayed at that. Riley had played with her like a toy and then tossed her aside once he had his amusement. Lulled her into complacency before attacking the kingdom in which they lived. Akantha didn't really give a damn about Fenia. She only served as the sheriff of Imperius out of respect for the city's Mayor, Scarlette. But the fact that Riley had deceived her in such a manner, then compounded it by getting close to the tigress again even after everything the previous night. Even after he swore to her that his relationship with her wasn't a game. The news of the revolt got out, and Riley had fled with Theo and Laxmi (though the tigress had not partaken in their criminal act.), not even bothering to try and explain himself. Would she have listened anyway?
The cat, Xeno, had tried to console her afterward, counseling her to look to her skills and her past, rather than the emotions of the present to find the truth. Akantha closed her eyes and thought to Xeno, tinged with youthful rebellion. <Perhaps you are right. But I have no desire to reconnect with my past. You have wisdom and knowledge on your side, but you cannot speak from firsthand experience about human suffering, Xeno.> Her mind swirled with other thoughts that were inarticulate and only partially completed, flashing through tiny fractions of memory or sensations: The scent of cold winter rain on stone and the weak cry of an infant left to die; an old priestess, her face no longer bearing recognizable detail; other unspecific memories from a lonely childhood.
Being Untouchable had saved her from some of the fates that befell women and children left to scrounge a survival in the streets, but it did not protect her from people's scorn or their varying missiles. The array of things that could be thrown at her was very wide, actually, from the more traditional stones, manure, spit, and the contents of one's chamberpot to rotten food and - once - a still-usable cooking pot. After Mattheus had taken her under his wing, she had been provided for, but was the victim to pranks from the other apprentice Hunters: Extra spice thrown into her food, oil spilled just outside her room or near stairs to cause her to slip and fall, vandalization of her things, and more. And Akantha had always been blamed by instructors for being late, messy, or sick from these pranks. Never was she allowed to retaliate.
No. Akantha certainly did not want to look to her past for anything any more.
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Lucifer
Re: [Open] Akantha's Alchemy Shoppe
Lucifer squatted in the bushes, resembling in sight and speech that man that you walk by in town that always seems to be drunk, even if it is in the middle of the day. He drew a little diagram in the dirt with a stick and mumbled incomprehensible things before looking up to his two Vampires Officers, whom must have been having a fun night with their boss since they were in much the same state. "Ok, simple plan, soldiers. Whoever can go in, guzzle the most potions without dying or getting caught and walks back to this position wins" Lucifer explained very slurred to his men "I go first". He 'silently' (see: very loudly) emerged from the bushes and tried to make his way the couple meters to the house. Just as he was about to reach it his balance decides to leave him as he stumbled for dear life to the left, eventually steadying himself and falling in a heap to the right. He got up to his feet after a few seconds of beings a drunken, feathered heap on the cool grassy floor. Lucifer managed to throw himself the last few steps to the window, pull himself through it (knocking the pie that was cooling on it over) and plopping on the floor inside the store. He ran around the store in excited circles, grabbing potion and poison alike in his mad scramble to win his game. After his 4th one however he felt an odd tingling sensation on his head. By the time he had his 5th potion and a mouthful of pie he noticed some very long hair in his eyes. On further examination he noticed long, almost glowing light blue streaks of hair amongst his natural hair color. He heard muffled laughing from the bushes about his rapidly growing hair and felt the irresistible urge to laugh along with them. Why not? He looked ridiculous and he knew it. This was probably the reason Morg didn't let him get drunk anymore.
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Akantha
Re: [Open] Akantha's Alchemy Shoppe
(Sorry about the delay in reply. I've had a touch of writer's block.)
Akantha woke to sounds coming from within her shop, and quietly rose from the bed,reaching for the chakrams on her bedside table. The ring-shaped weapons were usually worn on her wrists, disguised as a pair of bracelets. She spoke a word softly, removing the wards from the edge of the blades as she edged toward the door that separated her living quarters from the shop. Touching the magical lock released the catch and she slowly -for too swift a movement would draw attention- edged the door open and eased her way into the shop. "Halt, intruder. You have entered my home uninvited and stolen and damaged my property. By the laws of Imperius, I have every right to arrest you."
Akantha woke to sounds coming from within her shop, and quietly rose from the bed,reaching for the chakrams on her bedside table. The ring-shaped weapons were usually worn on her wrists, disguised as a pair of bracelets. She spoke a word softly, removing the wards from the edge of the blades as she edged toward the door that separated her living quarters from the shop. Touching the magical lock released the catch and she slowly -for too swift a movement would draw attention- edged the door open and eased her way into the shop. "Halt, intruder. You have entered my home uninvited and stolen and damaged my property. By the laws of Imperius, I have every right to arrest you."