Nika held her head high as she strode through the city.  Despite her best effort to appear calm and collected, a girlish grin was spreading across her pale face and her violet eyes sparkled with excitement.  For years now, the half-elf had dreamed of travelling to Iria, of exploring the halls of the Mage Academy, learning about the flora kept in the conservatory, even wandering the streets of the city.  She may have been born a simple village girl, but now, she was determined to make a name for herself.  The entire day, she had been searching message boards for "help wanted" signs looking for mages or healers and so far, she hadn't found even one that had suited her.  
Growing exhausted, but still smiling optimistic, she plopped down on a seat outside an inn, setting her wicker basket and light staff down beside her.  For a few minutes, she sat quietly, absorbing the hustle and bustle of early evening in the city.  Then, in a move that was partly play and partly a bid for attention, Nika cast a shadow spell, manipulating them into the shapes of animals that chased each other around the mage.  Once or twice, the shadows flickered and distorted, but it was apparent that on the whole, she had a good grasp on the spell.  And all through her little performance, she kept a careful eye on the passersby, searching for anyone who was paying more than passing attention to her.

Another young half-elf woman was in the crowd that day, and the little show the first one had created had impressed her enough to command her attention. "Shadow magic, I presume? Although I possess no talent for it, I daresay your display is quite good. Is this your first time in Iria?" Liselotte inquired of the girl, giving a pleasant smile to welcome her to the city. With its reputation as being the center of learning for things arcane and magical on the continent, it was no surprise that thousands of new hopefuls flocked to the place to take their chance at being one of the Mage Academy's illustrious alumni. She herself had been in that very position years ago, and was now familiar with the entire process. The rise of the academy revolutionized the city's economy and social structure, having adapted around the influx of new ideas and arrivals that entered every day. From local housing, to commerce, to the inns and restaurants surrounding the academy's stone walls–a great deal was built around the students' presence.

Pubs and taverns competed for the choice of undergraduates' weekend get-togethers advertising their selections of drink and entertainment. Landlords capitalized on foreign students' needs for lodging and made their living through renting rooms from inns and other owned properties through long-term contracts. Even the local markets had a section entirely dedicated towards catering to visitors and mages-in-training with a selection of curios and souvenirs. Here stall vendors could make more in a year selling a single category of items than in Adeluna for three. And instead of hawking their wares loudly, it was how unique and appealing your stock was that brought in customers. And with one of the most diverse populations in the entire world, almost any type of business could find its niche in the framework of Iria. Unfortunately that meant competition was high for limited demand, unless you were employed by the city. It was harder to form monopolies with so many individuals all seeking jobs requiring common skills. The only thing keeping the place from becoming dominated by financial clout like the duchy of Egjora was the free-thinking mindset of the citizens that continued to prevail long after the influence of the gods waned over Parvpora.

Nika quickly dispelled the shadows and stood.  Her heart was racing.  The lady before her seemed to be a noblewoman, elegant and composed.  The juxtuposition between her and Nika in her simple, worn dress left her feeling a little intimidated.  Because of that, and a little difficulty understanding the regional accent, she nearly missed what Liselotte said.  After half a second of processing, she relpied, hoping that her own accentt wasn't too thick.
"It's nothing, really," she said, waving her hand dismissively.  "It's really the only shadow spell I know.  I just spent twenty years practicing the basics!"  She laughed, but it came out a little high pitched.
Oh, gods, what am I doing? she thought.  Finally, someone was speaking to her for something besides strict business or to tell her to watch where she was going, and here she was twitching like a rabbit.  Nika closed her eyes briefly and took a deep breath.  "Sorry, I'm just a litle excited.  You're right, it is my first time here.  I'm Nika, by the way."  She extended her hand to the other woman.  "What's your name?"

"For someone who can't even use shadow magic, it's still impressive. It is a pleasure to meet you, Nika. I'm Liselotte. Like you I'm not from around here either. I used to be a student here for a few years before returning to Adeluna. Seeing such a big city like this must be an incredible sight for you." she replied, taking the woman's hand and shaking it. "Not that I blame you, I felt the exact same way in my first time here. So, are you here for work or for leisure?" Both reasons were commonplace, and it was nice to see how the trends of visitors were leaning. At her family's request, she only came by Iria a few times a year. Each visit was no longer than two weeks, lest mother worry. Even though it was just the next continent over Mrs. Ellebore didn't like the thought of being too far from her children. Her father was more lax and less neurotic, knowing she was capable.

 "There's always something new brewing in Iria, especially in the Academy. Are you thinking of applying as a student?" Liselotte asked. If the woman was, she could give her a few pointers on how to adjust to city life in her first year. The Academy was sprawling and to the newcomer, a veritable maze. With so many rooms and places everyone got lost at least once.

"Nice to meet you."  Well, at least this woman,  Liselotte, rather,  was polite.  Probably intelligent too, Nika figured, if she had gone to the academy.  A real lady for sure.  "This place really is wonderful," the mage affirmed, taking a moment to look around at the towering buildings.  At the very least, they were towering in comparison to everything that she was used to.   So the locals could be a little rough and hard to understand; it was still nearly everything that she had hoped for. "And it's all work and no play for me, I'm afraid."  She shrugged.  "If I find the time, I'd like to take some classes, but employment comes first.  You?"  Nika glanced around while she waited and listened for Liselotte's reply, she picked up her things.  She had momentarily forgotten to keep a careful watch on them, still not quite being used to city life.  She would have to remember to double check that nothing had been stolen while she was distracted.

"The same goes for me, though I've already finished my classes. But when your work coincides with what you enjoy it becomes much easier." Speaking of work, that was the reason why she was here today. "Best of luck to you miss, I've got a shopping list to attend to." Giving a polite curtsy she turned towards the market. She was in need of fulgurite, dragon scales, and ectoplasm. These weren't readily available back home, and she wanted to see how the prices compared to Adeluna. She would've asked her professor if she had any scales, but she was out of her office with the start of Ignius. If her search proved fruitless, perhaps she would have to go on her own collection expedition.

"It's a pity these new items are so rare…unlike obsidian and carbuncles they're always in such limited supply." Liselotte stood before a stall musing to herself. She wanted to find a way to create a device that would automatically regulate the climate inside her greenhouse with the seasons, both to keep conditions constant and to emulate nature's change of course with time. So far she had the nevermelting icicles for Glaciem and quatl feathers for Venti, but she would need something else for Terra and Ignius. 

"Bye.  Thank you!"  Nika watched Liselotte go, then sat down again.  Quietly, she opened the lid on the left half of her basket.  Her pet mouse crawled up toward her hand and Nika obligingly scratched his head while counting the small handful of silver she had in her posetion.  She then checked the right half, which was filled with herbs.  It didn't seem like anything was missing.  She lifted the her basket, placing the strap over her shoulder and balancing it on her hip.  Now, time to find affordable lodgings for the night.  She quickly checked inside the inn that she was outside of, finding it a little outside of her means.  Part of her wished that she hadn't travelled so far.
Nika headed back down the street.  She trying to remember exactly where the scrappy-looking inn she had seen a little while ago was when someone bumped into her hard, knocking her off balance.  A few herbs tumbled out when she hit the ground.  "Hey!" She shouted, as the woman snatched up her goods and sprinted off.  She pulled herself to her feet, not thinking to brush herself off.  Damn it, where did she go?

Liselotte was examining pieces of opal-petrified wood when a woman bumped into her quite roughly and started running. "Ouch! What was that for?" She wondered, when it seemed something wasn't right. Her lips forming a frown, she snapped her fingers and huge brambles rapidly burst forth from the ground entangling around the suspicious person. As the woman struggled to escape the vines simply coiled tighter. The people in the crowd looked at the sight with only passing interest, as feats of magic were commonplace here. Looking to see if a constable was nearby, she strode over to the prisoner caught like a fly in a web. "Ugh stupid vines! Let me go!" The woman cried as she attempted to free herself in vain. "Help! Somebody, help me!"

The alchemist walked up as if she were innocently analyzing an exhibit on display in a museum. As if she were just an ordinary person passing by, she glanced at the vines and politely said: "You should probably stop struggling so much. You'll only make them tighter the more you move." The woman stared wide-eyed at her, eyes shining with fear and apprehension. "What do you want with me?! I said let me go!" Liselotte smiled sweetly, her eyes making contact with the woman's. "Oh I was just wondering why you were in such a hurry. After seeing you bump into me, I was sure you were going to trip and fall. What's the matter? Something wrong?"

Nika ran over, panting.  She wasn't much of a distance runner.  "Thanks," she said to Liselotte.  "Very perceptive.  And very impressive magic!"  She took a moment to slow her breathing to a normal rate and to observe the alchemist's handiwork.  They were beautiful plant, really, very healthy, though probably painful to be wrapped in.  Speaking of which…
"Now," Nika said, sizing up the thief, the woman was small, thin, and subtly muscular.  Her face  had an expression of mixed pain, anger, and defiance.  "You have something of mine, and I want it back."  
A small crowd was forming around them as the woman responded, telling Nika and Liselotte that that had the wrong person.  Nika was starting to falter, not caring for all the eyes on them, but she tried to stay composed.  "Just give it here, and we'll let you go."

((Sorry for the fairly short post.  I haven't been feeling well for a while.))

Liselotte stood by, watching as the woman continued to deny she had stolen anything. That was fine with her, as she had plenty of time to wait for her to come to her senses. She made the vines constrict every so slightly, so that the thorns were beginning to press into the woman's skin. They shouldn't cause any bleeding or pain as long as she didn't move.The brambles also started to sway, to induce a fear of heights as they began to grow taller. Hopefully she didn't mind being the center of attention, as Liselotte had no qualms of making this into a public spectacle. Really whether or not this situation would become humiliating was dependent on how cooperative she was. The long she took to confess, the higher off the ground she would go. Eventually the rocking motion and gradual constriction got to her, and the woman caved. Once the stolen goods were returned, as promised she was let go. The vines that had rapidly grown from the ground disappeared back into the earth leaving behind fractures in the road where they had been.