The morning air was crisp and clear while the trees were softly blowing in the cold wind. The trees were shades of bright red, orange and a soft yellow. Ciara was traveling near the road, wearing a warm blue traveling dress for the chilly weather. She had just finished a piece of artwork that she believed she'd done well. Taking it out of her bag, she admired it for a few moments. It was a sculpture of a hawk midflight carved from wood from the highlands. The details of the wings and the claws made it look almost like it was alive. Putting it back in her satchel, she continued to walk.

She'd recently discovered more and more a passion for the arts. Artistry had always been fun for her but it was slowly changing. Of course she still enjoyed the parties and being wild but now she had a way to vent all that extra energy. Suddenly the world had gone from a plaything to place of wonder. She was able to capture the stories floating around the world, in the minds and hearts of people. Especially those memories she was collecting. There was so much that people experienced and the best way to experience it for herself was to get into their heads.

For now she was on her way to a small village where she'd see if anybody wanted to buy the hawk, after all art needed to be seen, touched, and collected. An unseen art piece was just a waste. The fae woman was lost in her thoughts when suddenly, she noticed her satchel felt a little lighter. Turning around in a flash, she just spotted a nasty green goblin take off into the forest with her sculpture. There was no telling what that fool would do with her creation! Furious, she ran after the idiotic little creature. Little did she know that someone else was having a similar issue…..

A group of goblins were waiting in the shadows of the forest, observing a carriage riding through the area. The greedy goblins began chopping down a thin tree with their axes near the road, causing the trees to fall and blocking the path of the carriage. The mischievous goblins divided up into groups. The first group focused on throwing stones and rocks at the carriage, trying to get the attention of the passengers and driver.

The orc skimmed over the papers and notes about the deal that would be made: a supply of stone, wood, and ore for a village aiming to expand, even just a small bit, and increase in its defenses against the natural threats and bandits that resided in small pocket camps. An easy enough start for the town… and should things need to be kept under wraps on, well, certain deals, he would certainly be able to get the connections… but only after the initial trade has gotten moving. Still, rumble of supplies to sample on the top of the carriage acted as a constant reminder.

A collective sound of crackling and falling lumber soon filled the roads, leading the steeds who were drawing the carriage to halt in a panic, the driver pulling them to a stop. "What is that racket?" Qadim stated, the orc stepping out of the cart before gleaming his mirrored monocle over to the drivers.

"The trees suddenly fell, spooking the horses and blocking the road," one of them replied.

"I will calm them down," the other stated as she kept off her seat. "Once things are normal, we will be able to continue and arrive by sundown." A grunt came from the back of his throat, damning the situation under his breath before stepping forward to clear the rubble as the horses were being tamed. It was not that he hated to get his hands dirty, but more on the inconvenience of it all. Still, it should only be a few minutes top to clear out such debris. Should be no deal.

However, as he cleaned, he took note of the damaged wood… They were severed, no cracked. It's an amb– The orc's thoughts were interrupted as a heavy impact struck the back of his head, turning his world black and the sound around him dulled…

One of the green goblins struck the orc right in the back of the head with a large stone. Once the big orc was taken care of, they swarmed the carriage and wrapped the driver up in rope and tossing the poor man into a ditch. The other driver was just stabbed with a spear in the gut. After swarming into the carriage, they hit the horses and rode off towards their super secret base, leaving nothing else behind but entropy.

Meanwhile, Ciara had been tracking down the nasty goblin that'd stolen her precious sculpture. She'd notice the tracks met up with many other goblin shaped footprints. Although she was incredibly pissed off, she knew caution was a wiser decision. Getting caught in a trap by GOBLINS of all creatures would be a new low for her. The smell of blood and the sounds of terrified horses made her sprint up the road towards the scene of the crime. A knocked out orc, a stabbed woman, and a guy tied up in a ditch. Great. A sigh escaped her ruby lips as she searched her satchel for a few items.

First taking her dagger, she freed the man in the ditch of his rope then moved onto the woman, who was dealing with the feeling of being stabbed. The spear was still in her gut. Ciara rolled up her sleeves and yanked the spear out of her flesh, causing the driver to scream. The fae woman handed her a potion and instructed her to drink it. The potion was strong enough to at least make the wound non fatal. Her eyes finally looked towards the knocked out orc. He was the best dressed out of the trio, leading her to assume that was his carriage stolen. She sighed and reached into her satchel for some strong incense. Her fingers pulled the cork out and she held it under his nose for him to smell. The incense would most likely bring him from unconsciousness.

"Hello darling." She said with an unamused face, "Let me guess, goblins?"

She waited to see his response but the answer was obvious. Goblin tracks were around the area, a goblin spear had been in the woman's stomach, and the place had a distinct disgusting scent that could only come from those ugly green creatures.

The waft of the smelling salts struck a chord into the orc's nose, pushing a groan from his lips as the world went from the black void behind one's eyelids to the blurs and sways and greens and browns. Sounds started to come through muddily, though did come clearer over time, soon too find his sights upon one decorated in waves of blue (not just upon her person, but through her hair as well), her voice coming in fuzzy, though he was able to catch the last bit.

"Goblins, eh?" he muttered, rubbing his head before looking around, spotting the tracks. "More like cretins." However, said search did also showcase something did fall off: his monocle, meaning the magical focus he had to replace his eye was fully exposed, scar and all. Still, it did not stop him from picking it up, dusting it clean, and fixating it over again, as if using the one way mirror to hide said focus.

Once he came to his feet, holding himself to a tree as the world still spun, he looked around to see the conditions of his drivers before a sigh escaped him…. before a glyph forged upon his left palm to be brought to his ear. "Bring a trace over to this location," he barked in Orcish tongue, despite the new face sitting a few feet away, "Linda is badly injured and Brenden is tangled. Also, summon Sailyn and tell her its hunting season." A pause hung in the air before more Orcish barks were ordered before waving his hand in the air as if he just got done washing it, the glyph now dissipated.

His attention turned back to the woman before him as he cleared up his throat. "Please forgive my rudeness for not addressing you as soon as I could, but I had to make sure these loose ends were not left tangled. Now, I would love to thank you with your assistance, but unfortunately my carriage and the supplies they had had been taken by some pest and I should be on my way. After all, I had an important meeting to attend, and if I am to be late, I will be sure these goblins will be taking care of that lost time." Despite the smile he tried to portray with the underbite, it was quite easy to read some racial traits were never easy to let fade…

She found the orc, fascinating. First off, he was very unique among orcs who usually treasured might over brains. Then there was the fact he possessed magic, which typically only shamans or priests had. Ciara wished she could peer into his head and learn all his secrets but that would be very rude. Besides, she had other matters to deal with. The orc barked some orders into the glyph. The language was familiar but she'd never taken the time to learn it. Orc culture wasn't particularly interesting to her since they often focused on war rather than the arts. After he was done, he turned his attention to Ciara.

"No thanks are required." Ciara said in a honeyed voice, "I only request one thing in exchange. You see these little…….annoyances have stolen a sculpture I worked so hard to create."

She placed her hand on her cheek and gave a beautiful smile.

"I'm afraid I'll have to rip out their spines and boil them in tar for this insolence." The fae woman said sweetly.

Pissing off any fae was a bad idea, but angering her was going to be the worst decisions these idiotic creatures made. Ciara didn't take kindly to those who stole her art and would deal out punishments that would make them wish they had just died. If they were back in the Feeorin forest, the punishment would usually result in the goblins becoming suicidal or so mentally messed up they couldn't even move.

"I'd like to have you join me if you don't mind." She said, "With more people these goblins will have a hard time escaping. I'd prefer it if we didn't let a single one of them escape. Having them all dead or tortured is the ideal. So what do you say?"

Her comment was certainly blunt, maybe even more than typical talk of orc tribes. After all, the native feeling of slaughter and combat was an innate trait, and while some found ways to redirect to avoid these instincts, a majority still enjoyed the feeling of a raid. After all, one does not simply get such labeling by looks alone. For such a woman to speak such ill and blood lust with a calm, perky lightness to it, it gave Qadim a bit of a pause… followed by a light snicker. A hearty chuckle. An outburst of laughter.

When he finally centered himself, he remarked, "And here I thought I needed to be polite to such a young lass, but you seem to prove otherwise. With both of us victims of this same crime, how can I say no to such demands? However…" He pushed himself forward to the lass, moving his left hand behind his back, fingers stretched outright and palm exposed to the air, running perpendicular, while his right outstretched to hers. "Business cannot be done without full acknowledgement of one another. I am Qadim Garakh, owner of the Garakh Trade Organizations. I hope I business goes well."

When introductions have passed, Qadim straightened himself back out. "Now then, we should begin our hunt posthaste. Brenden can take of Linda's wounds until my airship arrives to supply aid, so keeping an eye on them should be of no issue. Now, as our first move of attack, I say we should find of of these gremlins alone and, dare I say, convince it to let us know where our goods have been taken." When he stated this, he adjusted the monocle over his eye, as if to hint to her an aspect of his power. After all, she must had seen the focus, so there was no need to keep that ace in the sleeve.

"You may call me Ciara Aeron, its a pleasure to meet you Sir Garakh." Ciara said with a smile, "I do believe our business will go quite well."

The first issue was how to catch one of these little goblins. She knew Qadim had that focus and would be able to use his power against the goblins. The problem was finding a way to attract a goblin. Qadim would have to figure out how to catch it but an idea came to her mind on how to draw it in. Her delicate hands reached up towards her ears, revealing two beautiful amethyst earrings. Taking them both off she held them out for the orc to see.

"Goblins adore shiny things. And I know those creatures won't leave the road unsupervised." She said quietly to him so that any prying ears wouldn't hear it.

The earrings were teardrop shaped with silver wrapping around the top to hold it. The beautiful gems sparkled in the daylight, making it a shiny pretty thing. Yet to Ciara, they were nothing but stones. Stones could be found or stolen or purchased. Or she could blackmail someone for a new pair. There were a thousand ways to get them and she didn't care if these things had to be sacrificed for her more precious sculpture.

"The only thing we would require is a proper way to trap them." Ciara mentioned, "I'm afraid my satchel lacks a rope to tie them with or any cages. I don't suppose your abilities could be of any use Sir Garakh."

Ciara was careful to treat the Orc with respect, as he WAS her ally and a very clever person.

Ah, to surrender such beautiful gems to trap the cretins that didn't deserve a drop of their beauty. It almost made him feel guilty for using such gems as beauties… almost. After all, he would be wrong to dare argue against her request, thus taking the gems by hand. Not only that, but should they be lucky, they would be easy to retrieve afterwards, worst coming to needing some cleaning as his mind ran through some ideas.

They will do finely, but perhaps somewhere else on their route. After all, I doubt they would want to cross the same path they robbed," and before he even let her argue, he began walking down the road. Circling the gems in one hand, he held out his other, concentrating to forge a small rift in the palm, being finished off with a quick crack as what rested in it now was a small jewelry box, flipping it open with his thumb to reveal the comfy pillow to rest the earrings upon. "With a sight like this, they would seem even more luxurious and pricey," he thought out loud, eying the road carefully… before simply tossing the box and earrings aside, letting them scatter on the floor haphazardly near the edge of the road.

"And now we hide," he said, heading towards where he tossed the gems before tucking himself behind the brush, careful he was trapped within its shadow, considering he would otherwise stand out. All that remained was the waiting game, in which he whispered to Ciara, "Tell me, my dear: What exactly do you know about mind manipulation magic and arts?"

The gems could easily be made or another pair found. it was the goblins she wanted. She'd worked so hard on that sculpture and it took far more time than just buying a pair of earrings. She watched as he used his magic to summon a small jewelry box, to make the pair of earrings seem more valuable. They left for a better spot to hunt the creatures, something which Ciara believed to be the right decision as well. She allowed him to fix up the staging of the earrings while she decided to hide. Ciara found herself a comfortable spot behind a bush, using the forest around her to blend in. Normally she would have been spotted, but she used some magic on herself to create an illusion. Anybody who saw her would simply see a small tree instead of anything important.

But to the orc, she would appear as normal since he'd watched her use magic, he would know she was there and thus wouldn't be confused by the illusion. Once somebody knew the truth, the illusion would fail. But for the goblins, it would be more than enough. She could hear his whisper in her ear as he asked her what she knew about mind manipulation magic. A small smile formed on her face as she decided to respond.

"It depends on what kind darling." She whispered, "If we're talking hallucination magic, illusions, hypnosis, or anything that has to do with memory, I consider myself an expert. But if you're referring to telekinesis or mind control, I'm afraid I have less experience in that area."

She went silent as a goblin began to creep towards the treasure. It was hesitant, looking at the forest for any kind of threat. The goblin circled the earrings and box, like a cat stalking prey. An ugly green cat. Once the goblin felt comfortable, it leapt towards the earrings and box with a face of delight. Completely unaware of the danger that lurked in the shadows and trees.

"You are probably the first I heard label hypnosis and mind control as different categories and not a renaming of one another," he chuckled quietly, "but they do tend to follow similar rules as illusionary arts." He hushed for a bit as footsteps came forth, ducking down a bit more as a lone goblin began to stomp forth, a worn out hammer rested on his shoulder. His head was carefully scouting the trail when the shiny items caught his eye, his own eyes soon washed over by the glitter before dropping the hammer to run in for a closer look.

It was then his focus began to resonate, the carvings in the stone that took place of his iris and retina gleaming orange on the dull blue stone. From the side where Ciara sat, the act of the art was all too apparent, but in the eyes of the goblin, who only gleamed up after Qadim move to get his attention, saw nothing more than his own reflection, hiding the act of the mystic art used upon him. "Would you mind showing us where your camp is?" he asked, his tone suddenly a bit enriched by the power, but still felt as ever natural as the words burrowed into the goblin's mind, eyes washing dull for a second before replying with some goblin barks, pointing them in a direction to follow before heading over in that direction, as if to tell to follow.

"The more aware you are to it, the more the mind can fight it. That is a simple rule. However, should you want them to stick more permanently, it has to be done in a slow process, tricking the mind into thinking its their own thought, not yours. What I did now would only give him a feeling of something off if I should try it again, resulting in a stronger mental defense, but we won't need his purposes for long. Once he starts showing signs of questioning his actions, you are free to do away with him as you please."

Pushing himself up to his feet, he brushed off the dust from his suit before scooping up the gems once more, giving them back into the box comfortably before returning the jewelry to the fae before guiding her along to a path of their destination.