Eyes that would normally have recognized the hunter for hire in grand Adeluna passed over Sebastian Black this day. The same vexing effervescence radiating from him that initially obscured his identity to long-held acquaintances was in the world all around him, beheld in his Autumnal gaze that burned with a new-found intensity.
All anyone knew was that he had left the Winking Mermaid on a long work lead, and came back…different.

The warm light of dawn filtering through branches of the astringent-scented alders lining the some of the roads betwixt the more populated areas was a pleasant contrast to the chill spring morning air. Sebastian withdrew a fresh imported apple he had purchased from a cart up the road from one of his many overcoat pockets. The flesh was creamy, with a balance of sweetness…and just enough tartness to make his whiskers tingle upon the first bite. Perfect. He ate as he casually sauntered down the cobblestone paths, his heavy boots barely making a sound with the weightlessness his mood lent to his gait.

"Hey mister, wanna play tag?"

Sebastian had been so lost in a reverie that he hadn't noticed the small boy that had wandered up behind him, with a few younger friends or siblings. He smiled, but before he could respond, their scowling mother, shooed them along the road past him. The lines in her face told him that she scowled an awful lot. Bash chuckled to himself quietly upon the chastising relating to strangers on the road he heard in their wake. The implacable vibe he gave off seemed to have mixed reactions. He noted that right away, but it did not cease to amuse him.

Normally, Sebastian would have constantly steeled his mind away in a figurative tower, keeping his energy to himself, and masking his signature to anything that might be searching for him. He never truly realized how exhausting a ritual that was until he recklessly let it all flow freely. This confidence was almost…intoxicating; but he mustn't let it go to his head.

Squinting and shading his eyes with his free hand, Sebastian quirked an eyebrow upon seeing some familiar glinting trinkets dangling from a caravan he had spotted more than once for many kilometers on the path he took. He glanced around, and took the last bite of his apple before he approached the cart. He pushed a bit of loose soil with his boot at the roadside, and neatly buried the apple's core.

"I don't know if you're aware," Sebastian mused before coming into view of the fair lass caravaneer. "…but you've been tailed for more than a few fathoms."

She would more than likely assume Sebastian being facetious with a bit of false paranoia to strike up conversation.
True, they seemed to have been traveling in the same direction. Though…that was purely coincidence. What he had felt along the roads, just out of sight was not.
At first, he thought he'd acquired a new stalker. It would not be that unusual. With a few detouring steps, and the fact he and this caravan were the only signs of life for far and wide, Bash realized this simply was not the case. He also had a hunch that his presence there might have been the only thing preventing any conflict. He could not read thoughts, but he could always feel intent, even if he could not see its origin. It was without a doubt malign.

The moment Sebastian had neared the caravan, its horse had begun sniffing and nibbling at his pockets. He had paid it absolutely no mind at first, and only absently caressed the creature's vast silky mane. It did not take much for him to relent, however, and he let it freely snatch one of the other apples from his pocket, which elicited a deep, hearty laugh.

The halfling pulled her hood over her head more as he spoke. Pulling the reign softly she stopped the wagon and moved her amber eyes around the cart. "I figured as much. To be honest I was hoping she would give up." She reached out to the drought horse and pet him. "Looks like town might not be as safe as we thought Sehr."

When Sehr stole the apple Kalyani let out a sigh. "Sehr is tired. We've been going for miles trying to get away from the hag. Maybe town will be a bit safer during the day." She pulled on a wooden leg and it came down to hold the wagon at a stop. The bright colors of the wagon would make it noticeable to everyone. Her only hope was that the hag would not try anything during the day.

"We can talk more about the friend I've acquired inside if you wish." She removed the velvet cloak and revealed her natural darker tone. Her black hair in waves and the off shoulder shirt she wore. Her skirts were colorful and many as she jumped off the seat of the wagon. "Come in?" She opened the door and like magic time and space expanded within what should have been a little space.

"I am Kalyani the Fortune Teller. Though currently I've lost all my cards and my seer bowl has cracked…"

Sebastian's demeanor was quietly observant, even as the interior of the caravan expanded before his eyes. His gaze held the gypsy's as she spoke, and averted only momentarily to witness the curious enchantment. "A hag, you say…?" he spoke with a pause. "You are rather trusting of strangers on the road, Kalyani," Sebastian mused with a suddenly grave tone. Another pause - then he cracked a wry grin.
"Very well. My name is Sebastian. My main trade is in the written word, but I am often sought to suit a number of roles. A popular occupation of late is to retrieve things that have been lost."

Running his hand over the ornate woodwork as he entered, Sebastian had learned all that he needed to know…
It was easily discernible with the girl's behavior and the mismatched possessions within the caravan, but now his assumptions were confirmed. He could never see the history of an object clearly, just as he could not invasively peer into another mind; however, the abstract impressions psionically obtained were, more often than not, quite sufficient. Despite the knowledge he held though, he did not mean Kalyani any harm. He would let her tell her story. Perhaps even help her. That did not mean Bash would pass up the pleasure of teasing her a bit first, though.

"This caravan does not belong to you," Sebastian stated with a scathingly accusatory tone, despite the obvious mirth playing across his features. He paced about the cabin, faced away from his host. "With that detail in place, let us start from there."

Bash sank onto a cushioned bench built into the nearby wall, crossing one leg over the other and letting one arm rest over the back. Playing with his whiskers thoughtfully, he looked to Kalyani expectantly, trying to maintain a neutral expression.

Kalyani took a moment to laugh. "I'm a gypsy, aren't we all?" Then his words came as she focused for a moment once more. Did he know? What exactly did he know? There was a moment or two where Kalyani knew that she didn't exactly have to fear the unknown completely.

Entering the wagon she closed the door and froze at the words. "That obvious?" The wagon itself was done in the style of a tudor cottage on the inside. She moved over to a stove that happened to be lit and put a kettle on it. "The beginning eh? Well not quite." She had bought a number of things and even made the wagon very beautiful in a way the hag had ignored it.

"She had been torturing the occupants of the Leaeto Rainforest for some time before I came in contact of her. My occupation has hazards like any other but we gypsies tend to trust the spirits' whispers. When I acquired this place it was covered in their blood on the stove an in the bathtub. I have just gotten the stench out. She is a hag after all."

She moved about to get down some cups from the tall cabinets. Getting up on the tips of her toes to reach the finest of her collection. "I needed it to search for who I thought was my boyfriend… but I'm not so sure now. I thought he would find me. I thought a lot of things. However, like I have always done in the past I got a home. If getting a home meant I have to cheat a savage hag out of her wagon at cards then so be it. I'm not a warrior by any means but I am good at escapes and possibly getting near the Rosenite People everyday until they deal with her or someone else does is my current mission."

"You've done well in your cleansing of the wagon, I must say," Sebastian complimented. Indeed, despite a certain lingering spot of energy, the negative actions of the hag had been purged from the caravan. "Love's a worthy reason as any to cheat a hag. I could deal with her…Maybe. There needs to be something in it for my time though, of course. It isn't exactly my first choice of work, but I surmise her elimination will be a favor to more than just you."

Sebastian rose from his seat and paced about the cab. "Silver is not entirely necessary if you've food or books to barter…coffee is a good start, if you have any," he offered, eyeing the cups Kalyani pulled from the cupboard.

He thought about the curious thing that she had said when they first entered. "You're right, you know. In a sense, I suppose everyone is a vagabond in some sense of the word or another…Tell me more about this elusive boyfriend. That is, if you don't mind."

Sebastian felt that the witch was near, but as before, was keeping her distance with his presence here. An idea had floated across his thoughts as he spoke. Concentrating, but still giving the gypsy his full attention, he pulled his aura in, and sealed himself off from the hag's prying magicks. If she assumed that he had gone, or that Kalyani had incapacitated him in some way, perhaps she would be more bold. It was only midday, but the caravan currently lay on a rather isolated stretch of road.

Kalyani felt pride in the man's words as she puffed out her chest a bit. She had physically scrubbed all the blood off the floors of the place. She had made her home at least whole. "Hags in general are nasty creatures." She moved to cupboards to find the loose tea leaves she had stored. "Do you know how they perform most of their magic? Most of their magic requires flesh but they don't normally wait until their prey is dead. The more alive their prey the better the magic in the flesh. They skin their victims alive. Which I wouldn't put on my worst enemy."

A smile coiled around her face as she moved about her wagon. "Books I can barter all day my friend. I happen to know a goddess quite well that I can get tomes off of. Tomes that were said to be lost to the world. She might give them to me if you were to promise to help me out." She wasn't lying but again this was a deal where Angela had no knowledge of it. "Maybe just looking might have to suffice but I can get you into her temple easily enough."

Thinking about Sirian she stopped dead as he asked. "Well, to be honest I don't know quite if we are a thing still. When we fell through the portals not too long ago he disappeared but I shall tell you of the strange man I came to care for. Originally I was with him and cooperated to stave his savage ways. He killed everything and hardly followed anyone. He made his own rules for life. Deep inside of him remains I guess one would say a human heart. The ability to love and care isn't lost on him. He just shows it in his own way."

Kalyani could feel the hag in the city but she took a sigh as she moved back to the cups. "Sirian never talked much about himself but what I do know is that when I got sick he moved heaven and hell to make sure I was better. He climbed the tallest tower to get me what could cure the illness and not once did he ever complain. He might appear to have a midnight heart but there is a glimmer in there some where."

"A Goddess…? How interesting!" Sebastian commented ecstatically. He wondered if he would be seen at any temple by any of the pantheon, regardless of what actions he had taken. While not blasphemous per se, his perceptions of the world, the immortal soul, and divinity were far removed from what most of Revaliir believed. The Gods and Goddesses as Revaliir knew them, and as DaeLuin had as well, in another life he had known, were not so inhuman and perfect as they were made out to be. They were subject to the same mortal flaws…the same emotions that could cloud judgement. Their knowledge and birthright were undeniable; but the mere fact that others could ascend to such a state of being was proof enough that there was more to deity-hood than was known or freely shared.

Every living thing was only a small part of one vast and wondrous whole. No one was different, really. Not at the core.
Some might say that was a very cynical view, and that every individual was special…
Which was also true. Though everyone was of one mind, everyone filtered reality through a different lens. Some molded their experiences to do great things. Others seemed to lose their way, and see themselves as apart and not belonging in everything that was. This was the other end of the spectrum that caused all of the strife in the world.

One life…they would learn.

Sebastian listened intently to Kalyani as she spoke, speaking only when she had finished. "Don't let go of that hope," he gently urged. "You can't force anyone to do anything, but it sounds like he cares very deeply for you. Even if he may lose sight of that. A heart like yours is clearly what he needs."
He cleared his throat.

"The witch is nearing," he told her, changing the subject from the short silence. He did not do so out of fear of being overly close or sentimental, but so that she could ready herself. Sebastian considered reaching into his coat and donning his gauntlets, but thought better of it. He would not need them, regardless if this ended in diplomacy or violence. She was a hag, not an orc.

"I will help you," Sebastian vowed, striding to the door to watch and listen. "Bandages and herbs prepared for now may be better than drink, though. I don't entirely know what to expect."

Kalyani poured them cups of tea while they waited for the witch to near. She took a deep sigh and smiled a bit at him. "I'll try not to but who knows what the future will bring. In three hundred years I've lost many lovers so I can't really decide what is going on. Fate is odd like that." She took a deeper sigh just for that.

Upon hearing his words she moved about the tudor cottage and gathered all of the things she would need. Moving a large pot to the stove she began to boil water and throw in some plants. "Something Angela taught me to do." The healer knew her stuff. 

Next she pulled out some salve and bandages laying them out on a table. She was prepared but only thanks to her friends in high places. Only coming recently to Revaliir it hurt her in the aspect that she wasn't ready for anything. "Thank you for helping me.  Though I am sure you are helping out more than just myself by taking care of the hag."

Giving one last reassuring glance with a nod, Sebastian opened the door of the caravan and stepped outside. He calmly reached into his coat pockets, pulling from them a small glass pipe, and a sealed package of herbs, which he carefully unraveled. After packing a wee bit of herb into the pipe, he held it up, and snapped his fingers over it. A small pyrokinetic spark, a few puffs, and a deep inhale.
His dark eyes carefully scrutinized the road and the surrounding woods as fragrant smoke billowed from his nostrils.

"For Godsake, just show yourself, would you? I know you're there," Sebastian snapped impatiently.

"Who the f*#% are you!?" the hag's ragged voice rang out from somewhere to his left. Sebastian visibly cringed. "Did that gypsy tart hire you to protect her? What are you, a witch hunter?"

"Nothing of the sort," Sebastian replied after taking another drag from the pipe, and blowing in the witch's general direction. His accent played a bit with the words, as did the tingling of the smoke in his throat. "I'm something of a book collector," he said with a smarmy grin.


Energy.

He had felt it building up before he saw it.

The witch was obviously under the veil of some sort of invisibility spell. He could feel out for her if he cared to try, but he could tell already that this confrontation would not be unlike taming a raging bull. A wrinkly…saggy…foul-mouthed little bull. She was not particularly crafty for a witch. That was a given, seeing that she had the wool pulled right over her eyes in a simple game of cards.

Sebastian was ready for the bolt of fire when it came. It stopped short less than a meter before impact.
It was a simple elemental spell, and did not require much concentration to weave. He stared into the flames for a long moment before doing a clutching gesture towards it, extinguishing it via smothering the fire telekinetically.
"Is that really necessary? Perhaps we can come to an understanding."


Thoughtful silence.


The hag relented, and allowed herself to be seen. She wore tattered, yellowing linen robes, which covered a twisted, hunching figure. In the gnarled fingers of her right hand she firmly grasped a jagged dagger - a kris, painstakingly and obsessively carved from human bone. Visages of her horrific old gods lined the hilt in vivid detail. Her long, greasy black hair covered most of her hideous features. Thank goodness. The wretch was so obscene in appearance, seeing her in broad daylight in the middle of the road was outside the realm of the surreal, and bordered on the absurd.

"The caravan is mine!" the hag screeched. "Stolen! Stolen away by that…that…whore of a gambling vagabond, that scrubbed away my long hours ritual and preparation. I can still hear it….feeeel it. The blood inside still calls to me. Wiped away…but not gone…no, no, no, no. The restlessness still stirs, and I'll add her soul to it!"

Sebastian had taken to tapping the ash from his pipe while the hag rattled on, then wiping the resin out with a kerchief. "I'm afraid I can't let you do that," he intoned calmly whilst cracking his neck.

Kalyani moved about the caravan while listening to the hag outside. Rolling her eyes she knew that it was mostly her fault for cheating but if she hadn't cheated more people would have died. She drained some of the hot liquid into cups before taking the remaining liquid and tossing it outside.

The hag looked at her and Kalyani finished dumping the extra liquid. "WHORE!" The hag yelled a bit but she was more focused on who would get in her way.

"Whore would imply that I am doing some unsavory things. At least I'm not cutting the flesh from children off." She scoffed at the idea and recounted every single vow that Rosenites had from the day they were born. She slammed the door to the wagon and peered outside from a window. It was interesting to watch as she finally met someone who could keep her safe at least for the mean time.

"Hope he knows what he's doing Sehr." The horse himself was wary as he moved away from the hag. His unrest made Kalyani exit the wagon to comfort him. "It's alright Sehr she isn't taking you from me." She held the horse's head to her body as she comforted him.