Post by Wil Frozendagger on Apr 10, 2020 0:14:58 GMT
“I told you lad, river fish just don’t sell as well these days!”
“And I told you, Glen, to fuck off if you know what’s good for you!”
Wil grumbled, looking at the haul in his crate. Glen was right; the River Mirar hadn’t been kind to him today, leaving him with only low grade catfish and some small fry, whereas the boats had brought in a whole host of ocean delights, with even rumours of a large tuna having been hauled. Wil had managed to snag a treasure of his own, but there was no way he was going to sell it to anyone at market. The street that made up one of Luskan’s many fish markets was thinning out fast as the day started to draw to a close. The bare few silver he’d make here wasn’t worth the time he’d spend. He began to pack his things.
“Off to the Seabreeze, then? I don’t know what they could possibly do to those river scraps to make them edible.”
“Rather them than your missus’ cooking, though.” Wil retorted immediately.
“Oi, you take that back you bastard!”
“Catch me if you can and I’ll consider it!”
Against the uphill climb on wet mud and cobblestones, old Glenan Skystriker with his dodgy hip stood no chance, whereas Wil had already scuttled off down a side street, crate in tow, making his way through the backstreets of Luskan. You had to be careful where you went, for even in the afternoon sun, there were plenty of shady corners for dodgy dealings and darkness. One wrong move could spell disaster, or worse, debt. Wil knew the rules of the streets well; keep one eye over your shoulder and never be more than two streets away from a main road alone. He navigated the winding, chaotic paths of a city that had been built and torn apart far too many times, where half of the buildings were nothing more than worm-eaten wooden frames collapsing on themselves before eventually finding himself in front of a medium building that had stood the test of time a couple of doors down from a main street junction, the sign reading ‘The Old Seabreeze’. Wil entered.
“Oh, here comes trouble!” boomed the voice of the short, stout man behind the bar, his otherwise healthy russet hair plagued by a widow’s peak, tied into a braid behind his head. The bar creaked as he leaned a meaty arm on it. “You just can’t seem to keep away, can you?”
“Anything to see you, Rodri!” Wil exclaimed with a theatrical gesture, eliciting a hearty guffaw that reverberated across the room from the man as he returned to wiping the bar down. A clatter of plates came from behind and a different voice, more feminine yet still filled with the same vigour as Rodri’s.
“Is that who I think it is back there?”
“Only if you’re thinking of the most handsome guy this side of the Sword Coast, Sian!”
“Hmm, yeah, that’s literally the opposite of what I was thinking.” She laughed with a mischievous tone as she rounded the corner, a leaner, more refined mirror of her father, with a slightly upturned nose, a constellation of freckles upon her face and a devious glint in her emerald eyes. The loose bun her hair was in bounced as she strode over to the boy while wiping her hands on her apron. “Lanky, pale, gormless and greasy, yep, that’s Wil Frozendagger alright. Don’t quit your day job, mate! Speaking of, what’ve you got for me today?”
Wil rolled his eyes at the insults levelled at him with a smile on his face as he dropped his crate onto the nearest table. “Ah, catfish-” Sian began disappointedly before Wil lifted the crate from the top to reveal a second compartment underneath to reveal four glossy brown crabs, each the size of a dinner plate. “Nevermind, you have just saved the evening menu! Shall we call this three gold and a drink on the house? I’ll even throw in a crab cake and some fish soup for your troubles.”
“Coming from a buck toothed, straw haired pipsqueak like you, Sian Seabreeze, I’d say that’s about the least you could do!”
“Ha, word to the wise, Wil.” She met his gaze as she hefted the crate with far more ease than Wil had. “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you, I keep the rat poison around here!”
“You use that stuff around here? Could’ve fooled me!” Wil retorted as she strode off back to the kitchen. The boy went back to the bar to retrieve his flagon of ale, already poured out by a chuckling Rodri.
“You kids… She keeps trying to turn this place into some fine dining place or something, but look at us, we’re just a cheapo pub. I worry that she works herself to death over nothing, hell, she spent an entire two hours chopping vegetables! A young girl should be enjoying herself, and I told her she doesn’t need to do any of that, can’t you try to talk some sense into her, Wil?”
Wil mused to himself for a small while, taking in a big sip from his flagon before answering. “See, here’s the thing, I hate to be like this Rod but your daughter and sense don’t exactly go together.”
“I heard that!” came the muffled shout from behind the kitchen door. Wil continued, stifling his laughter.
“Look, if you haven’t been able to do anything, what makes you think I can? Just let her do what she wants, it’s not like it’s costing you a fortune, especially if she’s getting her supply from guys like me, right?”
“Aye, I guess you’re right…” Rodri hummed. “Here, it’s getting dark, help me with the candles, lad.”
Evening quickly became night as the Old Seabreeze began to fill with its regulars, mainly tough labourers, all sinew, leathery skin and iron gullets, men and women, young and old, for this was the kind of person that survived Luskan, through famine, disease and injustice from both man and nature. This was just one of many places they turned to, receiving food for the hunger and alcohol for the pain. Wil and Rodri both greeted each and every one of the customers that came in, for everyone knew everyone here. A small community united, fighting the weight of the world. One of the punters called out to Wil.
“Come on lad, give us one of your songs, you’re the best voice here!”
“By the Bitch Queen’s tits, that’s a horrifying thought! No, sorry Luca, I’d love to but I’m shattered.”
“Aren’t we all, lad, eh? Suit yourself!” Luca began singing himself, slamming the table with an off tempo beat while a harsh, braying tone sprang forth from his throat, spinning a tale of a particularly friendly mermaid. It barely got to the first chorus before his party at his table shut him up. Wil quickly made his way back to his seat, already feeling the wrath of the table for allowing Luca to get carried away. He reached into the satchel he had on him and withdrew a rather unusual item to be seen here; a faded, leatherbound book. He placed it on the bar counter in front of him and began to flick through the pages, sipping his ale as he did so. He eventually became so engrossed that he was startled by the clattering of plates and bowls next to him.
“Here we are, fish stew, some bread and my special crab cake!” Sian declared, gesturing at the food on the counter.
“Oh nice, what makes them special?”
“The fact that you get to eat them. Go on then.”
Wil curiously inspected the breaded and fried disk, picking it up in his hand and rotating it while Sian looked on expectantly. After a brief period he finally raised it to his mouth and bit through the crisp exterior, his face lighting up.
“Oh Sian- wow, this, this is a sensation!” He managed through mouthfuls.
“See, told you they were special. You’re a lucky man, Wil Frozendagger. Anyway, what’s with this book?”
“It’s a book on magical theory I found.”
“Oh. Ew.”
“Hey come on, don’t knock it till you try it!” Wil laughed as Sian peered over his shoulder as best she could to look at the pages of the book, furrowing her brow as she attempted to understand the strange words and diagrams that had been inked onto the parchment.
“Are you sure you’ve got enough thinking power to do this? I can barely read this, Wil.” she muttered, concern in her voice.
“It’s a struggle but I get by.” Wil pointed at a passage, turning to Sian as he did so. “See, this part here basically says that wizards each tend to have their own ways of doing the same thing because all their bodies and minds are different, but two things always are the same. The first is that they understand how things work, like fire and wind and stuff, and the second is that they have to believe that they can change that.”
“Wait, I don’t get it, if I know you have to have something to burn to make fire, and I know that other people can do fire magic, why can’t I just shoot fire out of my hands now?” Sian forcefully opened her palm outwards in a shooting motion to prove her point.
“Well there’s a whole bunch to learn about fire, reactions and stuff that I don’t really get at the moment.” He thumbed through the book, picking out choice diagrams that seemed alien to the two youths. “But knowing that someone else can do it and knowing that you can do it are two different things. It talks about ‘superimposing your reality onto the world’ here, I think that means that you really need to fully believe in yourself. That’s why you can’t go slinging fireballs out of the gate, cos you need to believe you can do the small stuff before the big stuff.”
“Hm. Well it’s a shame it don’t work for others believing in you!” Sian gave Wil a hearty back smack, causing him to spit some of his food out. “You’d be turning this entire place inside out with just your mind!”
“...you reckon?” Wil eventually managed, turning to his friend to meet her warm gaze as she nodded her approval. A blast of cold air suddenly washed over them as the door opened once more, the wind outside howling in its wake, blowing through some flecks of snow with it. In Luskan, when the weather turned, it turned hard and fast. “I better go soon.” he said, pointing towards the door.
“So soon? You’re getting too old too fast, lad!” Rodri interjected, reaching under the counter at the mention of Wil’s departure. After a short while he retrieved a large bottle with a brown fluid within. “For Tenra. Give my regards to your mother, won’t you? Tell her it’s from Rodri.” The man shoved the bottle into Wil’s arms with extreme urgency as Wil sighed at the very obvious intent behind the gift.
“She’ll know, Rodri, don’t you worry. Right, I’m off, you two, take care of yourselves.”
Wil waved goodbye to the pair and a good few other people in the bar, loosely throwing his cloak around his shoulders at the threshold of the door before braving the elements on his way home. He barely made it past two buildings before he heard a shout behind him.
“You forgot your crate!”
Sian ran with heavy footsteps towards Wil, crate in hand, wearing her own coat as she strode up to the boy, her face quickly turning to a mix of anger and worry. “Oh, you idiot, you haven’t put your cloak on properly!” She dropped the crate and stood on it so that she could reach Wil, who sheepishly stood there as she adjusted the cloak, wrapping it around his shoulders and neck, tucking it in tightly to keep the heat in. As she brushed off some snowflakes from his shoulders, she suddenly became aware of how close she now was to Wil, the blood rising into both of their faces as they instinctively drew closer still to each other, shrinking away from the cold and towards the other’s warmth so much so that they could feel each other’s hot breath, ice blue eyes staring into emerald green for what felt like an eternity as the snow fell around them in the moonlight.
“Um… the crate…?” Wil eventually managed, breaking the silence and the moment.
“Oh! Right, yeah, the crate, yeah, sorry…” Sian exclaimed awkwardly, quickly hopping off from the crate and handing it to Wil, taking a few steps back from him as she did so. She quickly began to hustle on back to the Seabreeze, but then stopped, spinning on her heels to face Wil once more. “Can I make a request to the future archmage?” She asked, her playful demeanour returning to her which Wil was only too glad for.
“Oh yeah? What do you want now?”
“See, if I’m gonna turn this place into the best place to eat in Luskan, I can’t be wasting my time on the washing up, so if you could magic up a way to deal with all that, that’d be grand.”
“I swear that’s like, one of the first things you learn.”
“Then get on it, I’m waiting!” Sian shouted back with a smile on her face.
“Alright fine, but I have a request for the future restauranter.” Wil retorted.
“Go on, go on…”
“If I end up doing that for you, you have to promise me free meals, cos for all of the wizardry and whatnot in there, I bet you still can’t get a half decent meal in the Host Tower!”
“Deal.”
Wil was almost surprised at the swift response. “Really? That easy?”
“Yeah, those dishes are something else. I’m holding you to that by the way, Mr Frozendagger!”
“Likewise, Miss Seabreeze!” They both laughed into the night as Sian slowly made her way back to the door of The Old Seabreeze.
“Goodnight Wil, take care.”
Sian shut the door, leaving Wil on his own on the street. The wind began to howl with a primal ferocity that demanded respect. It wouldn’t be good to stay here any longer. As Wil made his way back to the main road, the moon illuminated a few figures in the distance, some of which more notable than others. The Pillars of Auril, the white plinths dedicated to the fickle goddess of winter, were present all across the landscape, numbering nine in total, but these were dwarfed still by the Host Tower of the Arcane, its forked spire dominating the horizon, a silent reminder of who the true power in Luskan was, even if the mages were uninvested in the matters of the general populace. Wil moved on against the wind, the wet cobbles under his feet slowly giving way to silty earth as he travelled away from the built up banks of the Mirar River and headed further inland. The shacks they called houses here grew further and further apart, and eventually, Wil entered one with thick smoke billowing from its makeshift chimney.
“Back, are you?” came the harsh voice from the withered form of a once powerful and statuesque, woman, her mottled and wrinkled skin still betraying the strength of her structure, although most of the musculature had faded with the enthusiasm in her eyes, which now gazed sarcastically in shades of gray, beginning to match her hair, once jet black, now fading to gray too. She huddled near the small fire in the shack shivering slightly as she rubbed her dry hands together.
“Yeah.” Wil said humourlessly, instinctively moving to organise the random bits and pieces that were strewn across the floor; bowls, tools, knives and the such, hanging them up on nails in the wall.
“At the Seabreeze’s, I see.” Tenra hummed, pointing expectantly at the bottle in Wil’s hands, which he handed over.
“Yeah. Rodri says hi.”
“Ha! Of course he does!” She cackled as she removed the cork stopper from the bottle, raising it to her cracked lips and taking in what most people would consider to be an unhealthy amount of the spirit all at once before passing it back to Wil, who mirrored her before going back to sorting. “And what about Sian? Any news there?”.
Wil stopped in his tracks. “What’s that meant to mean?”
“Well the girl is fond of you, you know-”
Wil huffed loudly as he tilted his head to face the ceiling. “We’re doing this again, aren’t we?”
“We wouldn’t have to do this if you’d just take some initiative and responsibility for once!” Tenra snapped sternly, rising from her seat to face Wil. “I don’t see what your problem is, she’s bright and hard working, and sure, she may not be the prettiest picture but she’s nice and that’s bloody well difficult to find in this city!”
“Are you even listening to yourself right now?!” Wil shouted incredulously. “Why are you even in such a hurry to see me married anyway? I’m only nineteen!”
“Only nineteen, ha!” Tenra scoffed mockingly, tearing the bottle out of Wil’s hands. “Your grandfather had your father when he was sixteen, you know!”
“Yeah and then he fucked off to be a pirate for more than a decade! Like look at this!” He waved his hands at the time-weathered walls and the few possessions they had. “We have nothing!”
“Frozendaggers and their stupid pride! I didn’t care that your father didn’t have the world to give me so why should anyone else with you? You’re fine as you are!”
“I’m not ready yet, mother!”
“Oh no wait, how could I forget? We have to wait for you to gain fucking magic powers before you actually do anything with your life! Enough with the silly pipe dreams, it’s time to grow up!”
“Every time with you, I keep saying that it’s a process that will work, it just takes time, and once I get there, then I’ll be able to truly provide-”
A sonorous shattering of glass interrupted Wil as the now empty bottle lay broken at Tenra’s feet, the woman quaking with the force that she’d dashed it to the ground.
“You’re only doing this because you think you can find your brother and sister because you can’t just admit they’re gone!”
“And I’m supposed to just give up on them?!” Wil’s voice rose to a roaring crescendo, his knuckles turning white hot as his hands balled into tight fists.
“You’re supposed to move on!”
“Oh yeah, move on, like you’ve been doing, moping around here doing nothing every other day? Tell you what, if you’ve moved on so much why don’t you make Rodri’s fucking day? Mind you the way you are these days I don’t see what he fucking sees in you anymore!”
“How dare you even- Don’t you dare speak to me like that, I love your father and that will never change!”
“Then don’t… don’t tell me to just forget about Faris and Magnatus!” Wil’s voice began to quiver as his eyes glistened with moisture. The two stood, heaving for breath with the force of their argument, before Tenra wrapped her arms around her son and held him tightly.
“Why are we like this to each other Wil? You’re the only thing that matters in this world to me anymore, and I don’t want to see you squander your happiness over the past… Please, at least try to hear me out…”
“Alright…”
“I lied to her that day.” Wil solemnly told the Water Guardian, who was rapt with awe at the story. “I don’t think I ever considered it at all. Stupid proud Frozendaggers, like she said. I just had to get it to work, some way, somehow. As the months and years went by I became ashamed of how little progress I had made, not even a cantrip to show for all the time I had spent. I went to the Seabreeze less and less. I gave myself excuses but really I couldn’t bear to be around Sian knowing that I was failing. Mum eventually didn’t have the energy to argue with me anymore about the issue. I only realised too late it was because she was dying. I left the day I cast her to the sea just a few months ago on the very first pirate ship I could find. I told myself that I was going to earn the money to get tutelage at the Host Tower but really I was just running away from it all. I didn’t even care if I died, really. I guess that’s why the aboleth singled me out, cos I was the perfect storm of desire and despair. How things change so quickly… I still sometimes wonder what would have happened if I’d listened to my mother. Would life be better? I don’t know…”
The Water Guardian swirled around, wondering to herself for a few seconds. “So do you still have feelings for the girl?”
“Honestly I’m not sure. I don’t even know if I did back then. I didn’t really pay attention to who I was or how I felt about things back then, and not much has changed now. I know what it means to be a Frozendagger, but Wil Frozendagger? I haven’t got a clue… anyway, I’m not sure it even matters anymore…”
“But surely it does! You can use Sending now!”
“Ah, yes, the spell that solved the biggest problem of my life coming back to complicate it all over again. What would I even say? ‘Sorry for being a terrible, insecure friend, oh and by the way I’m halfway across the world and I don’t know if I can come back’? That’s not even twenty five words. Maybe some day, but I’ve got too much on my plate at the moment. You know, I thought you’d be more annoyed at me mentioning her.”
“Oh don’t worry, I am.” The Water Guardian replied immediately. “I’m just more glad that you opened up to me about your past.”
“Haha, thanks, I guess…” Wil chuckled. “Anyway, like I said, things on my plate like missing family members. I’ve been slacking on finding that Traverse Master and it’s about time I find whoever’s had contact with that bastard. I’m glad I already know one guy already…”
“And I told you, Glen, to fuck off if you know what’s good for you!”
Wil grumbled, looking at the haul in his crate. Glen was right; the River Mirar hadn’t been kind to him today, leaving him with only low grade catfish and some small fry, whereas the boats had brought in a whole host of ocean delights, with even rumours of a large tuna having been hauled. Wil had managed to snag a treasure of his own, but there was no way he was going to sell it to anyone at market. The street that made up one of Luskan’s many fish markets was thinning out fast as the day started to draw to a close. The bare few silver he’d make here wasn’t worth the time he’d spend. He began to pack his things.
“Off to the Seabreeze, then? I don’t know what they could possibly do to those river scraps to make them edible.”
“Rather them than your missus’ cooking, though.” Wil retorted immediately.
“Oi, you take that back you bastard!”
“Catch me if you can and I’ll consider it!”
Against the uphill climb on wet mud and cobblestones, old Glenan Skystriker with his dodgy hip stood no chance, whereas Wil had already scuttled off down a side street, crate in tow, making his way through the backstreets of Luskan. You had to be careful where you went, for even in the afternoon sun, there were plenty of shady corners for dodgy dealings and darkness. One wrong move could spell disaster, or worse, debt. Wil knew the rules of the streets well; keep one eye over your shoulder and never be more than two streets away from a main road alone. He navigated the winding, chaotic paths of a city that had been built and torn apart far too many times, where half of the buildings were nothing more than worm-eaten wooden frames collapsing on themselves before eventually finding himself in front of a medium building that had stood the test of time a couple of doors down from a main street junction, the sign reading ‘The Old Seabreeze’. Wil entered.
“Oh, here comes trouble!” boomed the voice of the short, stout man behind the bar, his otherwise healthy russet hair plagued by a widow’s peak, tied into a braid behind his head. The bar creaked as he leaned a meaty arm on it. “You just can’t seem to keep away, can you?”
“Anything to see you, Rodri!” Wil exclaimed with a theatrical gesture, eliciting a hearty guffaw that reverberated across the room from the man as he returned to wiping the bar down. A clatter of plates came from behind and a different voice, more feminine yet still filled with the same vigour as Rodri’s.
“Is that who I think it is back there?”
“Only if you’re thinking of the most handsome guy this side of the Sword Coast, Sian!”
“Hmm, yeah, that’s literally the opposite of what I was thinking.” She laughed with a mischievous tone as she rounded the corner, a leaner, more refined mirror of her father, with a slightly upturned nose, a constellation of freckles upon her face and a devious glint in her emerald eyes. The loose bun her hair was in bounced as she strode over to the boy while wiping her hands on her apron. “Lanky, pale, gormless and greasy, yep, that’s Wil Frozendagger alright. Don’t quit your day job, mate! Speaking of, what’ve you got for me today?”
Wil rolled his eyes at the insults levelled at him with a smile on his face as he dropped his crate onto the nearest table. “Ah, catfish-” Sian began disappointedly before Wil lifted the crate from the top to reveal a second compartment underneath to reveal four glossy brown crabs, each the size of a dinner plate. “Nevermind, you have just saved the evening menu! Shall we call this three gold and a drink on the house? I’ll even throw in a crab cake and some fish soup for your troubles.”
“Coming from a buck toothed, straw haired pipsqueak like you, Sian Seabreeze, I’d say that’s about the least you could do!”
“Ha, word to the wise, Wil.” She met his gaze as she hefted the crate with far more ease than Wil had. “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you, I keep the rat poison around here!”
“You use that stuff around here? Could’ve fooled me!” Wil retorted as she strode off back to the kitchen. The boy went back to the bar to retrieve his flagon of ale, already poured out by a chuckling Rodri.
“You kids… She keeps trying to turn this place into some fine dining place or something, but look at us, we’re just a cheapo pub. I worry that she works herself to death over nothing, hell, she spent an entire two hours chopping vegetables! A young girl should be enjoying herself, and I told her she doesn’t need to do any of that, can’t you try to talk some sense into her, Wil?”
Wil mused to himself for a small while, taking in a big sip from his flagon before answering. “See, here’s the thing, I hate to be like this Rod but your daughter and sense don’t exactly go together.”
“I heard that!” came the muffled shout from behind the kitchen door. Wil continued, stifling his laughter.
“Look, if you haven’t been able to do anything, what makes you think I can? Just let her do what she wants, it’s not like it’s costing you a fortune, especially if she’s getting her supply from guys like me, right?”
“Aye, I guess you’re right…” Rodri hummed. “Here, it’s getting dark, help me with the candles, lad.”
Evening quickly became night as the Old Seabreeze began to fill with its regulars, mainly tough labourers, all sinew, leathery skin and iron gullets, men and women, young and old, for this was the kind of person that survived Luskan, through famine, disease and injustice from both man and nature. This was just one of many places they turned to, receiving food for the hunger and alcohol for the pain. Wil and Rodri both greeted each and every one of the customers that came in, for everyone knew everyone here. A small community united, fighting the weight of the world. One of the punters called out to Wil.
“Come on lad, give us one of your songs, you’re the best voice here!”
“By the Bitch Queen’s tits, that’s a horrifying thought! No, sorry Luca, I’d love to but I’m shattered.”
“Aren’t we all, lad, eh? Suit yourself!” Luca began singing himself, slamming the table with an off tempo beat while a harsh, braying tone sprang forth from his throat, spinning a tale of a particularly friendly mermaid. It barely got to the first chorus before his party at his table shut him up. Wil quickly made his way back to his seat, already feeling the wrath of the table for allowing Luca to get carried away. He reached into the satchel he had on him and withdrew a rather unusual item to be seen here; a faded, leatherbound book. He placed it on the bar counter in front of him and began to flick through the pages, sipping his ale as he did so. He eventually became so engrossed that he was startled by the clattering of plates and bowls next to him.
“Here we are, fish stew, some bread and my special crab cake!” Sian declared, gesturing at the food on the counter.
“Oh nice, what makes them special?”
“The fact that you get to eat them. Go on then.”
Wil curiously inspected the breaded and fried disk, picking it up in his hand and rotating it while Sian looked on expectantly. After a brief period he finally raised it to his mouth and bit through the crisp exterior, his face lighting up.
“Oh Sian- wow, this, this is a sensation!” He managed through mouthfuls.
“See, told you they were special. You’re a lucky man, Wil Frozendagger. Anyway, what’s with this book?”
“It’s a book on magical theory I found.”
“Oh. Ew.”
“Hey come on, don’t knock it till you try it!” Wil laughed as Sian peered over his shoulder as best she could to look at the pages of the book, furrowing her brow as she attempted to understand the strange words and diagrams that had been inked onto the parchment.
“Are you sure you’ve got enough thinking power to do this? I can barely read this, Wil.” she muttered, concern in her voice.
“It’s a struggle but I get by.” Wil pointed at a passage, turning to Sian as he did so. “See, this part here basically says that wizards each tend to have their own ways of doing the same thing because all their bodies and minds are different, but two things always are the same. The first is that they understand how things work, like fire and wind and stuff, and the second is that they have to believe that they can change that.”
“Wait, I don’t get it, if I know you have to have something to burn to make fire, and I know that other people can do fire magic, why can’t I just shoot fire out of my hands now?” Sian forcefully opened her palm outwards in a shooting motion to prove her point.
“Well there’s a whole bunch to learn about fire, reactions and stuff that I don’t really get at the moment.” He thumbed through the book, picking out choice diagrams that seemed alien to the two youths. “But knowing that someone else can do it and knowing that you can do it are two different things. It talks about ‘superimposing your reality onto the world’ here, I think that means that you really need to fully believe in yourself. That’s why you can’t go slinging fireballs out of the gate, cos you need to believe you can do the small stuff before the big stuff.”
“Hm. Well it’s a shame it don’t work for others believing in you!” Sian gave Wil a hearty back smack, causing him to spit some of his food out. “You’d be turning this entire place inside out with just your mind!”
“...you reckon?” Wil eventually managed, turning to his friend to meet her warm gaze as she nodded her approval. A blast of cold air suddenly washed over them as the door opened once more, the wind outside howling in its wake, blowing through some flecks of snow with it. In Luskan, when the weather turned, it turned hard and fast. “I better go soon.” he said, pointing towards the door.
“So soon? You’re getting too old too fast, lad!” Rodri interjected, reaching under the counter at the mention of Wil’s departure. After a short while he retrieved a large bottle with a brown fluid within. “For Tenra. Give my regards to your mother, won’t you? Tell her it’s from Rodri.” The man shoved the bottle into Wil’s arms with extreme urgency as Wil sighed at the very obvious intent behind the gift.
“She’ll know, Rodri, don’t you worry. Right, I’m off, you two, take care of yourselves.”
Wil waved goodbye to the pair and a good few other people in the bar, loosely throwing his cloak around his shoulders at the threshold of the door before braving the elements on his way home. He barely made it past two buildings before he heard a shout behind him.
“You forgot your crate!”
Sian ran with heavy footsteps towards Wil, crate in hand, wearing her own coat as she strode up to the boy, her face quickly turning to a mix of anger and worry. “Oh, you idiot, you haven’t put your cloak on properly!” She dropped the crate and stood on it so that she could reach Wil, who sheepishly stood there as she adjusted the cloak, wrapping it around his shoulders and neck, tucking it in tightly to keep the heat in. As she brushed off some snowflakes from his shoulders, she suddenly became aware of how close she now was to Wil, the blood rising into both of their faces as they instinctively drew closer still to each other, shrinking away from the cold and towards the other’s warmth so much so that they could feel each other’s hot breath, ice blue eyes staring into emerald green for what felt like an eternity as the snow fell around them in the moonlight.
“Um… the crate…?” Wil eventually managed, breaking the silence and the moment.
“Oh! Right, yeah, the crate, yeah, sorry…” Sian exclaimed awkwardly, quickly hopping off from the crate and handing it to Wil, taking a few steps back from him as she did so. She quickly began to hustle on back to the Seabreeze, but then stopped, spinning on her heels to face Wil once more. “Can I make a request to the future archmage?” She asked, her playful demeanour returning to her which Wil was only too glad for.
“Oh yeah? What do you want now?”
“See, if I’m gonna turn this place into the best place to eat in Luskan, I can’t be wasting my time on the washing up, so if you could magic up a way to deal with all that, that’d be grand.”
“I swear that’s like, one of the first things you learn.”
“Then get on it, I’m waiting!” Sian shouted back with a smile on her face.
“Alright fine, but I have a request for the future restauranter.” Wil retorted.
“Go on, go on…”
“If I end up doing that for you, you have to promise me free meals, cos for all of the wizardry and whatnot in there, I bet you still can’t get a half decent meal in the Host Tower!”
“Deal.”
Wil was almost surprised at the swift response. “Really? That easy?”
“Yeah, those dishes are something else. I’m holding you to that by the way, Mr Frozendagger!”
“Likewise, Miss Seabreeze!” They both laughed into the night as Sian slowly made her way back to the door of The Old Seabreeze.
“Goodnight Wil, take care.”
Sian shut the door, leaving Wil on his own on the street. The wind began to howl with a primal ferocity that demanded respect. It wouldn’t be good to stay here any longer. As Wil made his way back to the main road, the moon illuminated a few figures in the distance, some of which more notable than others. The Pillars of Auril, the white plinths dedicated to the fickle goddess of winter, were present all across the landscape, numbering nine in total, but these were dwarfed still by the Host Tower of the Arcane, its forked spire dominating the horizon, a silent reminder of who the true power in Luskan was, even if the mages were uninvested in the matters of the general populace. Wil moved on against the wind, the wet cobbles under his feet slowly giving way to silty earth as he travelled away from the built up banks of the Mirar River and headed further inland. The shacks they called houses here grew further and further apart, and eventually, Wil entered one with thick smoke billowing from its makeshift chimney.
“Back, are you?” came the harsh voice from the withered form of a once powerful and statuesque, woman, her mottled and wrinkled skin still betraying the strength of her structure, although most of the musculature had faded with the enthusiasm in her eyes, which now gazed sarcastically in shades of gray, beginning to match her hair, once jet black, now fading to gray too. She huddled near the small fire in the shack shivering slightly as she rubbed her dry hands together.
“Yeah.” Wil said humourlessly, instinctively moving to organise the random bits and pieces that were strewn across the floor; bowls, tools, knives and the such, hanging them up on nails in the wall.
“At the Seabreeze’s, I see.” Tenra hummed, pointing expectantly at the bottle in Wil’s hands, which he handed over.
“Yeah. Rodri says hi.”
“Ha! Of course he does!” She cackled as she removed the cork stopper from the bottle, raising it to her cracked lips and taking in what most people would consider to be an unhealthy amount of the spirit all at once before passing it back to Wil, who mirrored her before going back to sorting. “And what about Sian? Any news there?”.
Wil stopped in his tracks. “What’s that meant to mean?”
“Well the girl is fond of you, you know-”
Wil huffed loudly as he tilted his head to face the ceiling. “We’re doing this again, aren’t we?”
“We wouldn’t have to do this if you’d just take some initiative and responsibility for once!” Tenra snapped sternly, rising from her seat to face Wil. “I don’t see what your problem is, she’s bright and hard working, and sure, she may not be the prettiest picture but she’s nice and that’s bloody well difficult to find in this city!”
“Are you even listening to yourself right now?!” Wil shouted incredulously. “Why are you even in such a hurry to see me married anyway? I’m only nineteen!”
“Only nineteen, ha!” Tenra scoffed mockingly, tearing the bottle out of Wil’s hands. “Your grandfather had your father when he was sixteen, you know!”
“Yeah and then he fucked off to be a pirate for more than a decade! Like look at this!” He waved his hands at the time-weathered walls and the few possessions they had. “We have nothing!”
“Frozendaggers and their stupid pride! I didn’t care that your father didn’t have the world to give me so why should anyone else with you? You’re fine as you are!”
“I’m not ready yet, mother!”
“Oh no wait, how could I forget? We have to wait for you to gain fucking magic powers before you actually do anything with your life! Enough with the silly pipe dreams, it’s time to grow up!”
“Every time with you, I keep saying that it’s a process that will work, it just takes time, and once I get there, then I’ll be able to truly provide-”
A sonorous shattering of glass interrupted Wil as the now empty bottle lay broken at Tenra’s feet, the woman quaking with the force that she’d dashed it to the ground.
“You’re only doing this because you think you can find your brother and sister because you can’t just admit they’re gone!”
“And I’m supposed to just give up on them?!” Wil’s voice rose to a roaring crescendo, his knuckles turning white hot as his hands balled into tight fists.
“You’re supposed to move on!”
“Oh yeah, move on, like you’ve been doing, moping around here doing nothing every other day? Tell you what, if you’ve moved on so much why don’t you make Rodri’s fucking day? Mind you the way you are these days I don’t see what he fucking sees in you anymore!”
“How dare you even- Don’t you dare speak to me like that, I love your father and that will never change!”
“Then don’t… don’t tell me to just forget about Faris and Magnatus!” Wil’s voice began to quiver as his eyes glistened with moisture. The two stood, heaving for breath with the force of their argument, before Tenra wrapped her arms around her son and held him tightly.
“Why are we like this to each other Wil? You’re the only thing that matters in this world to me anymore, and I don’t want to see you squander your happiness over the past… Please, at least try to hear me out…”
“Alright…”
“I lied to her that day.” Wil solemnly told the Water Guardian, who was rapt with awe at the story. “I don’t think I ever considered it at all. Stupid proud Frozendaggers, like she said. I just had to get it to work, some way, somehow. As the months and years went by I became ashamed of how little progress I had made, not even a cantrip to show for all the time I had spent. I went to the Seabreeze less and less. I gave myself excuses but really I couldn’t bear to be around Sian knowing that I was failing. Mum eventually didn’t have the energy to argue with me anymore about the issue. I only realised too late it was because she was dying. I left the day I cast her to the sea just a few months ago on the very first pirate ship I could find. I told myself that I was going to earn the money to get tutelage at the Host Tower but really I was just running away from it all. I didn’t even care if I died, really. I guess that’s why the aboleth singled me out, cos I was the perfect storm of desire and despair. How things change so quickly… I still sometimes wonder what would have happened if I’d listened to my mother. Would life be better? I don’t know…”
The Water Guardian swirled around, wondering to herself for a few seconds. “So do you still have feelings for the girl?”
“Honestly I’m not sure. I don’t even know if I did back then. I didn’t really pay attention to who I was or how I felt about things back then, and not much has changed now. I know what it means to be a Frozendagger, but Wil Frozendagger? I haven’t got a clue… anyway, I’m not sure it even matters anymore…”
“But surely it does! You can use Sending now!”
“Ah, yes, the spell that solved the biggest problem of my life coming back to complicate it all over again. What would I even say? ‘Sorry for being a terrible, insecure friend, oh and by the way I’m halfway across the world and I don’t know if I can come back’? That’s not even twenty five words. Maybe some day, but I’ve got too much on my plate at the moment. You know, I thought you’d be more annoyed at me mentioning her.”
“Oh don’t worry, I am.” The Water Guardian replied immediately. “I’m just more glad that you opened up to me about your past.”
“Haha, thanks, I guess…” Wil chuckled. “Anyway, like I said, things on my plate like missing family members. I’ve been slacking on finding that Traverse Master and it’s about time I find whoever’s had contact with that bastard. I’m glad I already know one guy already…”