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Post by moralhazard on Feb 4, 2019 5:54:45 GMT
Thea occupied something of a strange position in Jhalassan Thond’s workshop. She was not one of his apprentices, of which there were many, nor one of his journeyman, of which there were several, but neither was she precisely above them. Rather, she was somehow off to the side, beholden to Jhalassan, using his materials in exchange for a fair share of whatever profit she made on her own goods. It was, in fact, a very fair share; whatever her mentor, Thaddeus, had said in his letter to Thond had been enough that Thond was taking a considerably lower percentage than he might have been expected to, given that Thea knew almost no one in Waterdeep, and would be nearly unable to work without his support. All of that meant that Thea was more or less independent in the workshop; her time was her own, she was beholden to no one but her clients, and even then, those were commitments she had made herself. She had absolutely no need, for example, to run apprentice-style errands. For someone of her status, they were a complete waste of time, time Thea could be using to fulfill her existing contracts, or work on the freeblown artwork that she hoped – no, she knew – would someday make her famous. And yet… Running apprentice errands for Thaddeus in Sembia had been one of Althea’s favorite parts of her apprenticeship. Once she was strong enough, she had loved the adventure of wandering into some new part of the city, places she’d never been allowed as a girl. It had been a little like the shipboard adventures she so missed, a reminder that ached but was sweet all the same. And, of course, half the time Dominic had been waiting outside of the compound, some sixth sense in him knowing when she had had too much, when she needed that bit of fresh air. Perhaps that was why, when Salantham mentioned that he needed to make a trip down to a Helmstar Warehouse on the docks, Thea had offered to go. After all, most of her time in Waterdeep to date had been spent in the workshop. Productive, yes. Exciting? Well, yes, in its own way; Thea still enjoyed glassmaking, even making molded vials so familiar she knew them as well as breathing. But an adventure? No, the workshop wasn’t that. And so, with her warmest cloak, sturdy brown boots and an empty satchel strapped to her back, Thea had made her way down the High Road, over to the Way of the Dragon, and from there plunged into the Dock Ward. Compared to the North Ward and even the Trades Ward, it was noisy and loud, full of life and chatter, crammed full of people and commerce. Thea stopped, once, in the middle of the street, hood sliding back from her face, and grinned. The wind tugging at her hair smelled of fish, soot and garbage, but she wouldn’t have it any other way. Someone bumped into her, and Thea took stumbled forward – just enough to put her off the street, into one of the many tiny, twisting alleys dotting the ward. “Hey!” Thea turned, eyes widening at the sight of the very tall humanoid blocking the entrance to the alley. She took a half-step back, and felt a hand grasp her upper arm, close enough to the chest of the second one behind her that she could almost feel the rumble of his laughter echoing through it. Thea let out a loud, involuntary scream at the contact, jerking away.
The one at the entry way took a step closer, a nasty grin splitting the matted hair of his beard, revealing crumbling, yellow teeth. |
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Arioch
Approved
Level 6 — Barbarian
Posts: 333
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Post by Arioch on Feb 6, 2019 2:30:41 GMT
He had been living in Waterdeep already for a few weeks and in that time he had learned quite a bit about the city and it's customs. Not enough to pass himself off as one of the locals, and certainly not enough to learn to speak like one and drop his thick, heavy accent but enough to know how things worked around there on a general basis. Thus he had began a relationship with some workers at the dock with whom he could trade fish among other things, and in the market there were some people who would buy pelts from him whenever he got a hand of those. No questions asked, none answered. He was still sleeping outside of the city and that would remain being so for the time being. He wasn't that accustomed to the city yet, and much preferred the safety of knowing he didn't have to worry about anything in his sleep other than the things he knew about.
Plus, there was also the fact that he wasn't what one would call... wealthy, precisely. Staying at an inn was a luxury and he could do without such comforts, as he was used to living off the land. Granted, in winter, that was much harsher. But after trading for salt and other goods he was able to preserve his own food much better and it was entirely possible to live a week off a single kill. Another aspect the really enjoyed about it was the adventure, for instance, the fact that he happened upon a comely half-elf while hunting once. Not what he was expecting, but he doubted such a thing would've of happened in the city. Too many people cramped together. Too many movement. Always in a rush.
He was making his way to one of his contacts when a sound cut through the silence and reached his ears. It was a sound that he had heard before several times, an unpleasant one. His head jerked to the side, and before his mind could really process the information and tell him of an optimal course of action to take, his body was already moving and on his way towards the sound before the "trail" of sound, if such a thing existed, was forgotten. He turned around a corner and ran, and after running for a solid twenty seconds finally turned again to one of the many alleys that dotted the dock ward, something that made the place quite dangerous at night specially. What he found was an unkempt man in front of something, and another figure behind him as well flanking the one in the middle.
He thought about what he was going to do. For about a split second, before using the huge fish he was carrying as a makeshift maul bringing it down over the figure with his back towards him, right on his head. In spite of Arioch's height not being impressive, nor his build being overly impressive and showy to the point where he couldn't close his arms properly, his strength was something that became apparent either when you received a hit from him, or when you touched his body. It was hard like steel, from exercise, practice, and diet. He didn't envy the man. He had been hit with a fish once in the face when he was younger as a joke, and it almost knocked him over. Being hit with a heavy fish on the head was no joke, it was worse than a bottle... But few people would know that, really.
He didn't say a thing really, just hoped for the best. The shriek had been that which did it for him.
His figure could have easily been mistaken for one of the assailants; he wasn't tall but he had an aura about him. A certain calm in the face of danger in his green eyes, and a mask that hid the smug smile on his face of pure excitement at the thought of a fight. A fight armed with a fish. A fish fight. Not that he was unnarmed; he had a greatsword on his back. No armor was he wearing, but clothes made of leather, fur and threaded with care. Some parts had clearly been torn and stitched back together again. It was not a luxurious way of dressing, but it had a certain exotic style that was hard to match... A detail that perhaps would be lost on such a cosmopolitan place as Waterdeep.
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Post by moralhazard on Feb 6, 2019 3:11:46 GMT
“You see, air dancer, there’s a way things work here in Waterdeep,” the man at the front of the alley was still smiling, grotesquely. The hand on Thea’s arm tightened, and another low rumble echoed practically through her.
Thea stared at him, face twitching faintly at the insulting term.
“This is the Dock Ward. In the Dock Ward, if you wanna walk around, free-like, you gotta pay the tax.” The man said. “For your protection. I know you high and mighty floaters, you probably think you’re above that kind of thing, but y’see, my friend here is gonna keep you real close to the ground, and then – “
Then, as if by magic, a gigantic fish arced through the air and slammed into the man’s head, leaving him stunned, mouth hanging open. Slowly, slowly, he crumpled and sank to the side, revealing a shorter figure in hand-sewn furs. Thea could feel her own mouth hanging open, and, slowly, she closed it.
“Hey!” The man behind her was revealed to have a fairly deep voice himself, grittier than the one at the front of the alley, as if he didn’t use it much. He let go of Thea’s arm, starting to push past her. “What d’you think yer doing, you – “
Thea twisted, one finger pushing into the man’s chest, and a bolt of lightning arced from the air above them, striking dead center. The man staggered to the side, gasping, and Thea pushed past him, looking fairly wide-eyed at her rather unexpected rescuer, checking for herself that, yes, that was still a fish he was holding.
“Why you – “ The second man roared, looking dazed and now distinctly angry, stumbling back off the wall and lunging clumsily at Thea. The first man, still on the ground, was just stirring, groaning softly.
Thea let out a second, less frightened shriek, and dashed forward, hopping rather ungracefully over the man on the ground, and darting behind the fur-clad fish-holder. Whoever he was – wherever he’d come from – she felt she’d rather take her chances with him than the other two.
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Arioch
Approved
Level 6 — Barbarian
Posts: 333
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Post by Arioch on Feb 6, 2019 3:37:23 GMT
He was all well and ready to face the second man in fish combat when the figure, which turned out to be a woman herself decided to shock them both. The assailant more literally than figuratively by channeling magic, a lightning bolt at that. Feats of magic were not common to behold for him, so seeing that... was quite something. He figured the man would have died from that but to his surprise he was still alive and complaining. For a split second he suspected that, in a fright, he was going to be the next target of the shock therapy she was freely distributing, but she ran past him.
That was a bit of a relief, both because he wouldn't become the target of lightning magic, and also because that meant the man he had just knocked unconcious had not been a friendly acquaintance. When she ran past him he didn't wait to much, Arioch lunged forward, fish in hand and with a primal growl of holy vengeance discharged the full might of his riverborne punishment onto the man's face, with such strength that an unpleasant, heavy, wet sound could be heard the moment it impacted the side of the second man's face. One would think that the fish would have been dismembered after being used in such fashion, but surprisingly it held together.
Some scales were torn appart, and the thing had lost one of it's eyes which had gone flying off somewhere... But it was not like he would need those any longer. As for the man, he didn't imagine he could be doing very well after being electrified. Even so he did not pull his punches at all. No mercy. It was better to leave the matter resolved once and for all, if you were to defeat a man in combat and let him leave, the defeat should be so painful, so dreadful, that he shouldn't be able to even think about wanting to risk repeating the experience. Cruel, but effective. And such were the ways of the barbarian. The matter was decided in a split instant with that single thunderous strike. His worries then shifted focus. He checked the fish, holding it with both hands as if cradling a lost pet with almost a strange sort of regret in his eyes.
Still intact... for the most part... That was good. Maybe, just maybe he would be able to make a decent price for it... At this rate he would never be able to buy one of the fancy weapons at all. He pursed his lips in a small gesture of frustration. And then immediately remembered the girl, and his body jerked around like if it had been shocked and took a deep gaze into the woman's face. No shame, no hostile intentions either, just the slightest inkling of curiosity.
He had seen her kind... Couldn't remember the name now. A kind of colored humans that were not uncommonly found within the city. Still, they were new to him. There were no Genasi where he was from and this was the very first time he had the opportunity to talk to one.
"Are you alright?" He asked, his voice was young and filled with energy, slowly but steadily developing into a deeper tone as he grew older. Arioch had a particular intensity in his stare that was not of this place, and when he talked, he did so with a rather thick accent as well.
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Post by moralhazard on Feb 6, 2019 3:56:28 GMT
The fish-wielder lunged forward, and whacked the fish across the second attacker’s face, making a dull, wet, thunk sound.
Thea stood at the entrance to the alleyway, fully conscious of the giggle bubbling up in her throat, and doing her absolute best to keep it suppressed. The sight of her rescuer cradling the now-damaged fish only made it worse, and by the time he turned back to her Thea was pressing her face into her hands, shoulders quivering, trying to keep from laughing aloud. She was well-aware that it was the shock as much as anything, and she didn’t want to insult his masculine dignity by bursting into laughter, no matter how amused she was.
His voice was younger than Thea expected; with his face hidden, she had thought him older, and only when he spoke did she realize just how young he was.
“F-fine,” Thea took a deep breath, calming herself, and looked up, hands lowering to her sides. Tears glistened in the corner of her eyes, and she blinked them away. She took a deep breath, letting it out with a little shiver. “Fine, thanks to you,” her lips twitched in a faint smile. It was a bit of creative license, but whether she could have handled it was pretty much moot at this point, and Thea was truly, genuinely grateful for the help. There was no harm in showing it.
The man lying on the ground let out a loud grunt, pushing himself up to his knees – then swayed, and toppled back over onto the alley floor.
Thea watched with wide eyes, having taken a reflexive half-step back. She could hear the noises of the street again from behind her; they’d never been more than a few steps away, but, for those moments, the world had shrunk down to the alley. She looked back at the fish-wielder.
“I'm Thea. Thank you again,” Thea smiled, this time a soft, full-faced smile that crinkled the corners of her eyes. A breeze whipped at her hair, sending a solitary blue-white strand streaming beneath her chin, framing her face. "Is - is the fish all right?"
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Arioch
Approved
Level 6 — Barbarian
Posts: 333
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Post by Arioch on Feb 6, 2019 4:17:33 GMT
He nodded, with a smile that was well hidden within the mask. That was it's purpose after all, to make him look the part of the fearsome warrior he sought to be. For all the things he had learnt in the city he still had to learn about practicality. It didn't help that most of his interactions had been with a strange half elf and with a... firbolg, she had said. A huge firbolg, with whom he had a fist fight. He didn't learn nothing more than how to best avoid being punched by an eight foot tall wall of muscle. Pretty useful knowledge, that one, but it didn't move him into civilized behavior.
He shook his head "It is only a coward he vho not only assaults by surprise but needs two scoundrels to do the vork of one. I repayed him in kind. Though... You seemed to be able to handle yourself I think..."
He turned his gaze then towards the figure attempting to rise up only to slide down back against on the floor. A good thing, he decided. He wasn't sure the fishmaul could take another hit and still be salvageable. He was not good with words at all, how he was going to be able to tell the man what had happened with any credibility at all was beyond him. "I had to use the fish to fight criminals, that is why it looks like I just picked it up from the street. I'm telling you, those hairs are fresh, too." It just... wouldn't really work.
"I am Arioch" he then introduced himself with a small nod, and at her question he just looked at the fish with the same look he had given it back in the alley. He pursed his lips under the mask again.
"The fish..." He began "It vas already dead, you don't need to vorry about that" he said innocently as if he had to plead his case.
"But I'm not sure if I vill be able to sell it like this. Maybe at a discount... Vorse case scenario I'll have to eat it. So, it's good. It's all good." He reassured her moving once again his gaze up from the fish to meet hers. The paleness of her skin was beyond anything he had witnessed, as well as the color of her hair. He had a lot of questions he wanted to ask, but it would have been out of place to do that right then and there. He decided to avoid the subject of her appearence, and instead opted to focus on what was happening right then.
He took the first few steps away from the alley, slowly, inviting her to do the same.
"Are you... a Vizard?" He asked, tilting his head. "The... thing you did" His left hand imitated the gesture that preceded the electric shock she had applied to one of the men. He had almost no knowledge about magic users, and to him, anything that used magic was indeed a wizard. Or a druid. Regardless, he felt a healthy respect for magic itself, and the mistery that sorrounded it's use. It was a wise thing to be afraid of it, and it's unknown possibilities. But being afraid of magic did not mean that he was afraid of the magic users themselves, that was up to them personally. The same thing applied to weapons; it was not a weapon that which struck fear into people but the one that wielded them. Maybe it was not exactly the same thing, but it followed a similar principle on instinct alone.
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Post by moralhazard on Feb 6, 2019 5:10:27 GMT
Thea couldn’t help but giggle at what she assumed was Arioch’s attempt at a joke. At least, she thought that must have been his aim in reassuring her the fish was already dead. She didn’t know where the nearest place one could catch a fish was, but it couldn’t possibly have been close enough for the fish to still be living.
He didn’t strike her as a fisherman; she couldn’t quite imagine him on one of the boats that worked the water outside Waterdeep. And, unless boats here ran on a schedule very different than she was used to, it was rather late for him to be coming back, and rather a small catch to be selling.
“I – “ To her horror, Thea felt a faint heat on her cheeks, blushing a deeper blue. She lifted her hands in a half shrug. “Er, the – “ she stuck one finger off to the side in response to his gesture, very deliberately not pointing at him. “… It’s something like that,” she admitted.
“… Maybe we should…?” Thea took another half-step back, then another, until she was thoroughly out of the alley. She turned halfway back to the street, taking a deep breath and tasting the fresh (well, fresh-er) wind. The breeze ruffling her hair picked up, the strands dancing about for a moment, without rustling her clothing or anything else.
Thea waited for Arioch, hands settled back down at her sides. “Can I help you? With the fish,” she smiled a little.
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Arioch
Approved
Level 6 — Barbarian
Posts: 333
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Post by Arioch on Feb 6, 2019 22:51:23 GMT
He was interested and confused at the fact the her cheeks briefly turned a deeper shade of blue. That it could be a kind of blushing did not occur to him immediately. Certainly she did look magical, to say the least. He received the offer of helping him with the fish open arms, figuratively, after accepting the fact that she "sort of was" a Wizard, whatever that meant. She could do magic, therefore, she was a wizard, Arioch's logic was impeccable. For him. Right at that moment.
He titled his head.
"How?" He asked "Can you... fix him?"
If she could do magic it would be well within the realm of possibility that she could magically fix the fish and make it as good as new. He was already preemtively impressed.
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Post by moralhazard on Feb 6, 2019 23:29:30 GMT
Thea, in all honesty, wasn’t sure exactly how she had envisioned fixing Arioch’s fish problem. She had imagined something more along the lines of helping with negotiations; that was the sort of thing she did quite well.
Magically fixing a fish?
“Well -“ Thea wrinkled her nose, looking down at the damaged fish. She exhaled. “... sort of?”
Casting an illusion over the fish was not the same as fixing it. But if the damage was only superficial - would the vendor really care? The quality of the fish would be the same, really; she would just make it look like it still had two eyes and all its scales, not change the size or anything.
But... Thea wasn’t too familiar with the laws of Waterdeep, but surely selling a fish with a secret illusion making it look better was wrong? She would never cast an illusion over glass she intended to sell, not secretly; it would be an utter betrayal of all glass makers. But, with glass, the look was what one sold. Surely that wasn’t also true for a fish.
Too much thinking on morality left Thea with a faint, stabbing headache in one temple. No, it was wrong. But he’d seemed so hopeful.
“I can’t truly fix it,” Thea confessed. “I think I could make it look as good as new, but it would be an illusion.” She paused, then added, “and it wouldn’t last that long.”
“But...” Thea’s eyes brightened, and the wind whipped at her hair once again. “Is there someone you usually sell to? A particular stall, or a shop?”
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Arioch
Approved
Level 6 — Barbarian
Posts: 333
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Post by Arioch on Feb 7, 2019 0:04:02 GMT
"Oh"
His shoulders deflated a bit at the confession that it wouldn't be nothing else except an illusion. There would be no get free out of jail cards for his poor fish. That did not erase his initial gratitude for the girl's offering, but he wouldn't take an illusion or fool the poor man that was giving him a chance with an illusion. That would also pretty much risk ruining any further deals and... No, it wasn't worth doing it.
He shook his head from side to side, and politely said. "I appreciate it, but I can't take advantage of the man vho would buy the fish from me. It's just a single man, a fisherman. I think he's doing it as a vay of helping me out earn some money, or maybe it's that the fishes outside the city are different from those out at sea or at the docks. I don't know much in the vay of fishes, unfortunately."
He looked back into her eyes again, and it was this time that he noticed the way her hair seemed to move around with the wind whipping at it. It seemed like such a seamless motion. He ended up starting at it for a couple seconds before realising he was actually staring at another person and he shook it off, talking once again.
"You really needn't vorry. It's just a fish, I mean, there should be more where that came from. Unless I just killed the only fish that granted vishes in the river... On hindsight maybe I should have let him finish talking before I killed him."
A small, white smile formed on his lips beneath the mask; most of his expressions had to be conceived by his eyes and upper face, but thus far she seemed really perceptive about his intentions when he spoke.
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Post by moralhazard on Feb 7, 2019 0:12:06 GMT
Thea was thoroughly relieved that Arioch rejected the offer to cast an illusion on the fish; it made balancing her debt to him with the feeling that it was immensely dishonest much easier to have it taken off the table. It sounded like the man who would buy the fish was a good person, which only made Thea feel all the better about her new plan.
Thea giggled again at Arioch’s (second?) joke, relaxing comfortably. The wind whipping at her hair died down, although it didn’t quite die. Arioch wouldn’t be able to feel any rustling against what little of his skin was exposed, nor see anything else moving, but Thea’s hair was never exactly still, even if most of the motion was just a soft fluttering.
“All the same,” Thea said, cheerfully but firmly. “What I have in mind will help all of us,” she grinned at Arioch. “So let’s go! On the way, you can tell me about where you’re from.” She took a half-step backwards, towards the docks, and would beckon a little if Arioch didn’t immediately start heading towards her.
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Arioch
Approved
Level 6 — Barbarian
Posts: 333
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Post by Arioch on Feb 7, 2019 0:26:55 GMT
He smiled once again, and couldn't help but wonder what would be the girl's miraculous (or magical) solution to the fish problem. Odds were she wasn't just going to walk up to the man and tell him "Buy his fish or I'll blast you with a lightning bolt". While he wouldn't argue it's effectiveness it would be... heavy handed. And more than a little bit unexpected. Added to the fact that she also couldn't fix the fish with magic. After learning that the girl was "sort of a wizard" he imagined that everything that she did or could do involved magic in one way or another. After all why wouldn't it? Magic was amazing.
Every now and then he would throw a glance at her hair when she thought she wasn't looking, and then look back to the road. She didn't have to say it twice, and he began to walk slowly in the same direction he had been walking for a while back, slowly, once she invited him, though now he would have to make certain corrections after the small detour he had taken to find her and the thugs.
"I'm from the north, past the shadow valley and into the far icy mountains, where the laughing skull clan makes it's home." He said then as they walked without rush, stealing another look at her eyes. "I haven't been here for long, a few veeks at most." A small pause followed. His expression turned to a slight look for concern. "Does that... happen often around here?"
He didn't know much about how safe did the denizens of Waterdeep felt, or about how it's justice worked. In his tribe, thieves were either killed, flogged, shunned or maimed.
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Post by moralhazard on Feb 7, 2019 0:41:54 GMT
The laughing skull clan of the far icy mountains. Thea’s eyes danced at the thought of such a place. Her home was on the sea of fallen stars; she hadn’t touched its every corner, her few years as a ship’s girl hadn’t been nearly enough time, but they'd had plenty of trips all the same, even if the memories were faintly bittersweet now. Her trips as an apprentice had been rarer, to Tantras across the Dragon Reach, to Arabel of Cormyr, and of course through the Dalelands to Cormanthor. But the north! Her imagination conjured up frozen tundras and icy mountains, glaciers with deep blue cracks glowing in them, and she shivered.
It was rather more comfortable walking through the streets with Arioch next to her. Thea was increasingly sure he was rather young, but nonetheless he was a hand taller than her and must have weighed 20kg more; from the effortless way he carried the fish, Thea would have bet money it was mostly muscle. No one before those thugs had bothered her, but she guessed now that no one would.
“It must be beautiful there,” Thea said, wistfully. “And very cold,” she glanced over at Arioch, and noticed his gaze slide rapidly away from her hair.
“I haven’t been here long either,” Thea admitted. “In fact, this was my first trip to the Dock Ward,” she grinned, sheepishly, a darker blue creeping over her cheeks again. “How do you find Waterdeep? Do you have cities like this one, in the far icy mountains?”
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Arioch
Approved
Level 6 — Barbarian
Posts: 333
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Post by Arioch on Feb 7, 2019 0:58:47 GMT
"It is"
He admitted as he looked straight ahead, but his eyes went further. He wasn't looking at the docks, at the streets they were walking. He was envisioning once again the cold tundras and the tip of the mountains, the way they glowed in the dark and the amazing colors the sky conjured. He thought of the warm comfort the pelt of animals brought, and the feeling of walking through the forest at the valley for the very first time.
"A beautiful, but dangerous place. Blue and white, mostly." He paused a bit, and looked at her with a new sort of appreciation. "Kind of like you, in fact" Declared, and used the chance to sneakily take another peek at her hair.
"Those two colors can sometimes swallow everything else."
Commented, and he looked around trying to see if his sense of orientation was working properly. He didn't want to get lost while acting as a guide but truth be told he only ever took one road to meet the fisherman and repeated that same road every time.
"Really?" He asked then with genuine interest, he had taken her for a local that knew her way around. In fact, he was used to everyone around him knowing more about the city and practically everything else too than him. Her question made him smile, due to the sheer contrast between two things. It was almost like a joke itself.
"No, not at all. There are things I didn't even know existed until I came here, people of so many colors. And so, so many people living together in one place. It makes me anxious just from thinking about it, that I might decide to take a walk and end up bumping on people. And the market? The crowded streets? Nothing like that. We only used money to trade with outsiders, sometimes a ship would meet us, some other times a traveling group... But the coins themselves had little use for us. Every trade was done either in goods or in services."
Explained; they didn't have a mine, or cities, to make coin or give it actual use.
"Waterdeep is fascinating, and terrifying. There are too many things going on at once, too many rules, and laws, and different cultures and customs... I don't think I'll ever get used to it. I learned yesterday only that there is an arena here, where gladiators go to fight and I've been here for weeks"
He declared eagerly, and his own excitement about the event. He then promptly asked.
"So if you're not from here, where are you from? Or was someone keeping you from leaving your house...?"
The change of color on her cheeks, even if only slightly, made him look at that detail the same way it had the first time. With a smile and now starting to think it might actually be her blushing. It struck him as cute, and funny, that summed up with the fact that if that was true, she had been jumped on on her first journey to the docks.
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Post by moralhazard on Feb 7, 2019 1:16:28 GMT
Thea grinned at the comment about her coloring, preening ever so slightly. She didn’t mind the comment, not in the slightest; Thea was quite pleased to think she looked like an icy wind on a mountain peak, or a snowfield glimmering in early morning light. “I’ve heard of glaciers,” she said, cheerfully. “Massive sheets of ice with blue cracks in them, like canyons in the ice. Is that right?”
Thea couldn’t imagine growing up without knowledge of money. She had never been poor – her mother’s family was wealthy, and they’d kept her comfortably before she’d become a glassblower, even after her mother’s – well. But they were a merchant family, and the life she’d known was, she suspected, about as different from Arioch’s as could be imagined.
“Gladiators?” Thea’s eyes went wide. “Oh, I’ve never seen such a thing!” She’d seen plenty of men fighting, even exhibition matches while learning the use of dagger and quarterstaff – but that wasn’t nearly the same as gladiators. She had heard of them, of course, and Dom had told her once of a similar place in the underbelly of Urmlaspyr. She couldn’t remember why they hadn’t gone.
Thea giggled again. “I’m from Urmlaspyr,” She explained, cheerfully. “It’s a city of Sembia, a long ways from here, but - much smaller than Waterdeep. Waterdeep is…” Thea glanced around, eyes bright. “Do they call it the city of splendors in the north too?” There was a little half-skip in her step. “That was how I heard of it, growing up.”
“But since I got here, I’ve been cooped up in my workshop,” she grinned at Arioch. “I’m a glassblower,” her shoulders squared a little, then she paused, eyes wide with a horrific thought. “You do have glass in the far icy mountains, don’t you?”
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