Post by 3personal5me on Jul 11, 2020 9:47:17 GMT
Ana finished casting Alarm on her pack and coin pouch, as she did every morning. When she had first left for Waterdeep, her mother had insisted that she keep a close eye on all of her belongings, because of “all those thieves in the big cities”. She had never had an issue with any sort of pickpockets, but she wasn’t going to stop because of that. And it was a nice morning ritual, a part of her daily routine, just like bathing and eating breakfast. She packed some nuts and dried fruit in her pack, as a snack while she was out, and was ready for the day.
Ana had been all over town when she first arrived, reveling in the sheer number of shops to visit. Back home, in her small village, you would never find a shop dedicated solely to the sale of books, or perfume, or pastries. It was certainly a different life. She had spent the day exploring the city, visiting nearly every shop she found, even if only to look around for a few minutes and leave. She was now in the process of exploring those shops in depth, revisiting those that had caught her interest on the first visit. She visited shop after shop after shop, ranging from perfumeries to bookshops, vendors of magical components and vendors of clothes. She had lunch at a delightful bakery, enjoying an engaging conversation with a man named Craig while she enjoyed a delicious roast beef sandwich and coffee. He told her of his short career as an adventurer in town, before retiring to focus his time on his shop and “finding himself”.
Now she found herself in a small bookshop she had found on that first day, slowly looking over every bookshelf. It was an unassuming building on a dead-end road, the battered front door sporting a peeling red paint job. On the window, painted in flowery script, were the words “Rainy Day Used Books”. Ana couldn’t resist used books. While there was something to be said for pristine, freshly printed books, there was something sublime and magical about used bookshops. She went up and down every aisle in the shop, taking in every possible book she could purchase, even if the subject did not interest her. She found books on magical creatures, adventurers, arcane theory, and even guidebooks on wilderness survival. She brushed her fingers along the leather bound tomes as she went, her head cocked slightly to help her read the titles.
“Anything I can help you find?” The question came from an elven woman, her graying hair tied up in a loose bun. She was the shop's proprietor, wearing a name tag that said “Jowynn”, and had been reading behind the counter for some time before finally speaking up. Ana shook her head and smiled.
“No, thank you. Just browsing”. The older woman nodded and went back to her book, and silence took over the shop again. Ana went back to browsing the shelves again, her eyes tracing over the cracked leather of the used books. She occasionally pulled one from the shelf, flipped through it, and put it back. Even the ones she had no interest in still held something she loved; the smell of used books. Every page turn graced her with that wonderful scent. It was unmistakable, and wholly unique. Or was it? She made a mental note to check in with some of the perfume shops, on the off chance she could go home with a bottle of the amazing scent. She could only imagine spritzing it on her pillows and blankets before bed, curling up with a book, and-
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of commotion coming from the back of the shop. There was a loud crash, presumably a stack of books being knocked over, followed by angry shouting. The elderly woman behind the counter looked up with worry, jumped off her stool with amazing grace for her age, and hurried to the back room. She had barely entered the room, the door not yet even shut behind her, when she began to shout.
“Thief! Thief! Get the Guards! Get the-” she was cut off, her sudden outburst silenced just as quickly as it had begun. Ana drew the wand tucked into her belt, gripping the unassuming oak implement, and rushed to see what was happening. When she entered the back room, she was greeted with the sight of two men standing over the woman. She lay on the ground, clearly unconscious. The two men met Ana's gaze. One was a high elf, clad in what could only be described as thieves garb. Form fitting leather, a bandana covering the bottom half of his face, and clutching a large, leather bound tome in his gloved hands. His partner wore the same outfit, but didn’t quite evoke the same thought of “thief”. A portly dwarf, seemingly stuffed into his leather, with a bushy beard hanging out from under his bandana. Regardless, it was obvious the two were in league with each other.
“Another witness!” Roared the dwarf, drawing a shortsword. “That’s it, let's just kill ‘em both and get out of here!” Anas eyes widened. The dwarf was already charging at her, while the elf hurried to stuff the book into his bag. Her assailant stabbed at her with the shortsword, and Ana acted quickly. She called upon the Weave, just as she had been taught. Tugging at the threads of magic that permeated the world, she conjured a protective barrier around her. The arcane ward flared a brilliant blue as the blade slammed into it, the deadly weapon deflecting off and narrowly missing her. It flared again just a moment later as it blocked a crossbow bolt fired by the elf.
Ana returned fire, unleashing a trio of magic missiles at the dwarf. The darts of pure force slammed into him, sending him reeling and crashing into a bookshelf. Books rained down on him, a particularly large one smashing into his head and causing him to crumple. The other thief fired another crossbow bolt at her. Her arcane ward was drained from the first two attacks, forcing her to cast a defensive spell. The magical shield sprang to life, surrounding her with an invisible, protective sphere of energy that easily stopped the projectile. The elf was making a mad dash for the back door of the shop before the crossbow bolt had even hit the ground. He burst through the door and into the alley way, and Ana had no choice but to give chase.
She leapt over the pile of books the dwarf was buried under, and shouldered through the door. In the alleyway, it took her a moment to spot the elf. He was currently scaling a wall, deftly leaping from window sills to decorative trimming, quickly heading for the rooftop. Ana only had enough energy for one last spell. She traced the arcane symbols in the air with her wand, willing the Weave to obey her command, and prayed it would work.
The elf threw himself from a balcony, sailing across the alley way and to the roof of the bookshop. He seemed to hang in the air for a moment, the picture of grace as his outstretched hands grasped for the edge of the roof. Anas spell struck him in midair, and he suddenly fell asleep. He slammed into the brick wall with a thud, driving the air from his lungs, and jolting him awake as he fell two stories towards the ground. He landed hard on his back, and was immediately unconscious again.
Ana winced when she saw him land, but was quick to tuck her wand back into her belt and rush over. She rummaged through his bag, pulling out the stolen book. A trio of guards, having heard the commotion, rounded the corner to the alley and hurried over. Ana raised her hands over her head in a show of surrender. “He’s a thief it wasn’t me I was just trying to help there's another in the shop please don’t arrest me!” she blurted out, the words tumbling out in a barely coherent stream. One of the guards moved to check on the elven thief, while the other entered the shop and found the dazed dwarf under a pile of books. The final guard did his best to calm Ana, escorting her back into the shop. Jowynn had since awoken, and gave the guard her own recounting of the failed heist. The two thieves were soon taken away, leaving Ana in the shop with the older woman.
“I got your book back”, she mumbled sheepishly, holding out the stolen tome. “What is it, exactly?”
“An old book, quite valuable. Full of fables and legends. It seems some people think it's true; That it will lead them to ancient artifacts or some nonsense. Just old fairy tales.” She happily accepted the book, tucking it under her arm and looking about the mess of a back room. “It’s going to take hours to clean this all up”. She began to pick up the books, gingerly setting them aside. Ana cleared her throat, and spoke up.
“I can help you with that. You had a rough day, and should probably take it easy. Please, let me take care of it”. The older woman looked as if she was going to protest, but simply nodded and left to go to her small loft above the shop. Ana drew her spellbook from her bag, flipping through the pages, and prepared to perform a ritual casting. Twenty minutes later, a pair of Unseen Servants were hard at work, sorting books and cleaning up. The woman came back, carrying two cups of hot tea, and smiled as she saw the magical force setting her storeroom back to normal.
“Well, it certainly looks like you know what you’re doing! Here sweetie, have some lavender tea”. She offered the drink, which Ana happily accepted. “You’ve really done me a great service today. I gave it some thought and decided you can take a free book; it’s the least I can do. And you can expect a nice discount whenever you return”. Ana smiled sheepishly, and held up a book she had set aside earlier. It was a simple book, bound in purple leather, with a flowing gold script that read “On the Nature of Succubi”.
“I was going to buy this one, actually, but I guess I’ll just take it then”. She set it back down, and took a sip of the tea. It was amazing, its mild flavor doing wonders to calm her nerves and help her come down from the adrenaline high. The woman scooped up the book before Ana had realized what was happening, and a sense of dread washed over the young half elf.
“This is what you picked? I’m surprised”, she smiled. “Didn’t take you for the type; but then again, I didn’t expect you to start throwing magic around my shop either. Regardless, it's yours. Just don’t let it get you into any trouble”, she chided. Ana blushed again, her face now a deeper red than her hair.
“I was just-, I mean, I was going to read it for-”, the woman laughed, and slid the book back across the table to her.
“It’s okay, sweetheart. If you want to read smut, that’s your choice”. Ana chewed her lip in embarrassment and slid the book into her bag. She awkwardly sipped her tea and cleared her throat.
“The uhh… the cleaning should be done soon. Twenty minutes at the most''. She took another sip of the tea, and gently set it down. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to keep looking at books until it’s done”. Jowynn nodded silent, continuing to enjoy her drink as she watched the backroom of her shop slowly get put back together. Ana slipped through the door, back into the shop proper, and went back to perusing the shelves. She started where she had left off, quietly working through the aisles and scanning the titles. When she was donem she retraced her steps, looking over all the books she had already seen, on the off chance that she had missed something interesting. Sometimes she flipped through a book she hadn’t checked the last time. Other times, she flipped through a book she had already looked through, giving it a second chance to pique her interest. Eventually, she got a sort of message in her head. The two Unseen Servents had completed their work, and were ready for new orders. She dismissed them, finished with their services, and went back outside. The sun was still high, but it felt like the day had gone on forever. The tea had done well to calm her nerves after the altercation, but she still felt drained. She imagined it was about time to head home and relax for the day. After she went to the perfumery, in search of a perfume that smelled like a used book. And perhaps another stop at that bakery, for a few treats to take home. But she would go home after that. Although she didn’t feel like cooking dinner, and should probably pick up something for that as well. She resolved to head towards her house, stopping at whatever shop caught her eye, and getting home whenever she got home.
Ana had been all over town when she first arrived, reveling in the sheer number of shops to visit. Back home, in her small village, you would never find a shop dedicated solely to the sale of books, or perfume, or pastries. It was certainly a different life. She had spent the day exploring the city, visiting nearly every shop she found, even if only to look around for a few minutes and leave. She was now in the process of exploring those shops in depth, revisiting those that had caught her interest on the first visit. She visited shop after shop after shop, ranging from perfumeries to bookshops, vendors of magical components and vendors of clothes. She had lunch at a delightful bakery, enjoying an engaging conversation with a man named Craig while she enjoyed a delicious roast beef sandwich and coffee. He told her of his short career as an adventurer in town, before retiring to focus his time on his shop and “finding himself”.
Now she found herself in a small bookshop she had found on that first day, slowly looking over every bookshelf. It was an unassuming building on a dead-end road, the battered front door sporting a peeling red paint job. On the window, painted in flowery script, were the words “Rainy Day Used Books”. Ana couldn’t resist used books. While there was something to be said for pristine, freshly printed books, there was something sublime and magical about used bookshops. She went up and down every aisle in the shop, taking in every possible book she could purchase, even if the subject did not interest her. She found books on magical creatures, adventurers, arcane theory, and even guidebooks on wilderness survival. She brushed her fingers along the leather bound tomes as she went, her head cocked slightly to help her read the titles.
“Anything I can help you find?” The question came from an elven woman, her graying hair tied up in a loose bun. She was the shop's proprietor, wearing a name tag that said “Jowynn”, and had been reading behind the counter for some time before finally speaking up. Ana shook her head and smiled.
“No, thank you. Just browsing”. The older woman nodded and went back to her book, and silence took over the shop again. Ana went back to browsing the shelves again, her eyes tracing over the cracked leather of the used books. She occasionally pulled one from the shelf, flipped through it, and put it back. Even the ones she had no interest in still held something she loved; the smell of used books. Every page turn graced her with that wonderful scent. It was unmistakable, and wholly unique. Or was it? She made a mental note to check in with some of the perfume shops, on the off chance she could go home with a bottle of the amazing scent. She could only imagine spritzing it on her pillows and blankets before bed, curling up with a book, and-
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of commotion coming from the back of the shop. There was a loud crash, presumably a stack of books being knocked over, followed by angry shouting. The elderly woman behind the counter looked up with worry, jumped off her stool with amazing grace for her age, and hurried to the back room. She had barely entered the room, the door not yet even shut behind her, when she began to shout.
“Thief! Thief! Get the Guards! Get the-” she was cut off, her sudden outburst silenced just as quickly as it had begun. Ana drew the wand tucked into her belt, gripping the unassuming oak implement, and rushed to see what was happening. When she entered the back room, she was greeted with the sight of two men standing over the woman. She lay on the ground, clearly unconscious. The two men met Ana's gaze. One was a high elf, clad in what could only be described as thieves garb. Form fitting leather, a bandana covering the bottom half of his face, and clutching a large, leather bound tome in his gloved hands. His partner wore the same outfit, but didn’t quite evoke the same thought of “thief”. A portly dwarf, seemingly stuffed into his leather, with a bushy beard hanging out from under his bandana. Regardless, it was obvious the two were in league with each other.
“Another witness!” Roared the dwarf, drawing a shortsword. “That’s it, let's just kill ‘em both and get out of here!” Anas eyes widened. The dwarf was already charging at her, while the elf hurried to stuff the book into his bag. Her assailant stabbed at her with the shortsword, and Ana acted quickly. She called upon the Weave, just as she had been taught. Tugging at the threads of magic that permeated the world, she conjured a protective barrier around her. The arcane ward flared a brilliant blue as the blade slammed into it, the deadly weapon deflecting off and narrowly missing her. It flared again just a moment later as it blocked a crossbow bolt fired by the elf.
Ana returned fire, unleashing a trio of magic missiles at the dwarf. The darts of pure force slammed into him, sending him reeling and crashing into a bookshelf. Books rained down on him, a particularly large one smashing into his head and causing him to crumple. The other thief fired another crossbow bolt at her. Her arcane ward was drained from the first two attacks, forcing her to cast a defensive spell. The magical shield sprang to life, surrounding her with an invisible, protective sphere of energy that easily stopped the projectile. The elf was making a mad dash for the back door of the shop before the crossbow bolt had even hit the ground. He burst through the door and into the alley way, and Ana had no choice but to give chase.
She leapt over the pile of books the dwarf was buried under, and shouldered through the door. In the alleyway, it took her a moment to spot the elf. He was currently scaling a wall, deftly leaping from window sills to decorative trimming, quickly heading for the rooftop. Ana only had enough energy for one last spell. She traced the arcane symbols in the air with her wand, willing the Weave to obey her command, and prayed it would work.
The elf threw himself from a balcony, sailing across the alley way and to the roof of the bookshop. He seemed to hang in the air for a moment, the picture of grace as his outstretched hands grasped for the edge of the roof. Anas spell struck him in midair, and he suddenly fell asleep. He slammed into the brick wall with a thud, driving the air from his lungs, and jolting him awake as he fell two stories towards the ground. He landed hard on his back, and was immediately unconscious again.
Ana winced when she saw him land, but was quick to tuck her wand back into her belt and rush over. She rummaged through his bag, pulling out the stolen book. A trio of guards, having heard the commotion, rounded the corner to the alley and hurried over. Ana raised her hands over her head in a show of surrender. “He’s a thief it wasn’t me I was just trying to help there's another in the shop please don’t arrest me!” she blurted out, the words tumbling out in a barely coherent stream. One of the guards moved to check on the elven thief, while the other entered the shop and found the dazed dwarf under a pile of books. The final guard did his best to calm Ana, escorting her back into the shop. Jowynn had since awoken, and gave the guard her own recounting of the failed heist. The two thieves were soon taken away, leaving Ana in the shop with the older woman.
“I got your book back”, she mumbled sheepishly, holding out the stolen tome. “What is it, exactly?”
“An old book, quite valuable. Full of fables and legends. It seems some people think it's true; That it will lead them to ancient artifacts or some nonsense. Just old fairy tales.” She happily accepted the book, tucking it under her arm and looking about the mess of a back room. “It’s going to take hours to clean this all up”. She began to pick up the books, gingerly setting them aside. Ana cleared her throat, and spoke up.
“I can help you with that. You had a rough day, and should probably take it easy. Please, let me take care of it”. The older woman looked as if she was going to protest, but simply nodded and left to go to her small loft above the shop. Ana drew her spellbook from her bag, flipping through the pages, and prepared to perform a ritual casting. Twenty minutes later, a pair of Unseen Servants were hard at work, sorting books and cleaning up. The woman came back, carrying two cups of hot tea, and smiled as she saw the magical force setting her storeroom back to normal.
“Well, it certainly looks like you know what you’re doing! Here sweetie, have some lavender tea”. She offered the drink, which Ana happily accepted. “You’ve really done me a great service today. I gave it some thought and decided you can take a free book; it’s the least I can do. And you can expect a nice discount whenever you return”. Ana smiled sheepishly, and held up a book she had set aside earlier. It was a simple book, bound in purple leather, with a flowing gold script that read “On the Nature of Succubi”.
“I was going to buy this one, actually, but I guess I’ll just take it then”. She set it back down, and took a sip of the tea. It was amazing, its mild flavor doing wonders to calm her nerves and help her come down from the adrenaline high. The woman scooped up the book before Ana had realized what was happening, and a sense of dread washed over the young half elf.
“This is what you picked? I’m surprised”, she smiled. “Didn’t take you for the type; but then again, I didn’t expect you to start throwing magic around my shop either. Regardless, it's yours. Just don’t let it get you into any trouble”, she chided. Ana blushed again, her face now a deeper red than her hair.
“I was just-, I mean, I was going to read it for-”, the woman laughed, and slid the book back across the table to her.
“It’s okay, sweetheart. If you want to read smut, that’s your choice”. Ana chewed her lip in embarrassment and slid the book into her bag. She awkwardly sipped her tea and cleared her throat.
“The uhh… the cleaning should be done soon. Twenty minutes at the most''. She took another sip of the tea, and gently set it down. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to keep looking at books until it’s done”. Jowynn nodded silent, continuing to enjoy her drink as she watched the backroom of her shop slowly get put back together. Ana slipped through the door, back into the shop proper, and went back to perusing the shelves. She started where she had left off, quietly working through the aisles and scanning the titles. When she was donem she retraced her steps, looking over all the books she had already seen, on the off chance that she had missed something interesting. Sometimes she flipped through a book she hadn’t checked the last time. Other times, she flipped through a book she had already looked through, giving it a second chance to pique her interest. Eventually, she got a sort of message in her head. The two Unseen Servents had completed their work, and were ready for new orders. She dismissed them, finished with their services, and went back outside. The sun was still high, but it felt like the day had gone on forever. The tea had done well to calm her nerves after the altercation, but she still felt drained. She imagined it was about time to head home and relax for the day. After she went to the perfumery, in search of a perfume that smelled like a used book. And perhaps another stop at that bakery, for a few treats to take home. But she would go home after that. Although she didn’t feel like cooking dinner, and should probably pick up something for that as well. She resolved to head towards her house, stopping at whatever shop caught her eye, and getting home whenever she got home.
