Rikaria awakes from a miserable sleep. Her dreams are all a tangle. She’s bleeding out on kitchen cobble stones. She’s standing alone on the roadside while her friends ride away. She’s swept up in a red rage, plunging her dagger into the throat of a shocked goblin, now the throat of Mikel, now the throat of Gerty, now the throat of the mysterious stranger who smelled of lavender. It’s in that moment of screaming hate that she wakes, ready to fight for her life.
But there’s nothing there. It’s just her room, just her bed, just the first cock crow of morning. She lets out a deep breath and calms herself. She gets up quietly, careful not to wake her younger siblings with whom she shares the bedroom. The dream is half forgotten by the time she finishes her morning routine and is changing into her school clothes.
Rikaria takes a good look at herself in her new dress, admiring the flattering cut and the fine patterning in the fabric. She pulls on her new boots, dons her new hat and sheepskin jacket, and the tinted spectacles Sasha convinced her to buy from a traveling peddler. She thinks she looks beautiful, mysterious, and powerful. She thinks she looks every bit the young sorceress. The heroine who rescues kidnapped children from dungeons. Rikaria Calandry, hero of Longsaddle and the Harpells’ newest apprentice, has nothing to fear from nightmares!
“I hope the Harpells will think so too…”she says to herself. In a moment of self consciousness, she removes the spectacles and places them in her jacket pocket. What a silly thing to buy. Sasha never would have talked her into it if she weren’t half drunk and still frazzled from her argument with Gerty…
Rikaria is thrilled to be going to school again. She had loved school! Rikaria had never quite forgiven her parents for making her leave when she was ten to help on the farm. That wasn’t fair, of course. It wasn’t their fault there hadn’t been a good harvest at the orchard in almost a decade. But it certainly WAS their fault for insisting on having more and more babies with each passing year, even when they could barely take care of the kids they already had.
“The money will help with that,”Rikaria thinks as she whips up another triple batch of scones to pass around to her new teachers and schoolmates. “Ma n’ Pa will be able to order cuttings from all over Faerun with my reward money. Revitalize the whole orchard! Hundred gold pieces is Change Your Life Money!”
Rikaria had divided her reward and the treasure as follows. One hundred went to the family for use in elevating the orchard and the lives of the Calandry’s in general. Rikaria then bought for herself what few things she foresaw would be most useful to her in her new life as an adventuring wizard. Namely, three new dresses (one very fine, two fine as well but in a more practical sort of way), one sheepskin coat, one wide brimmed hat, one pair of tall leather boots, one pair of riding gloves, one set of very fetching tinted spectacles, and one crossbow (and accessories). The rest would go to the old woman who lived outside of town. The woman who, despite all the time they had spent together these last few months, still had not told Rikaria her name.
Rikaria regards that woman as a chief reason for Rikaria making it out of that well alive and sane. Rikaria had been visiting her since she moved to town, bringing her food and sharing conversation with her on her front porch. At first, Rikaria had considered it a simple act of charity, spending time with a poor, lonely old woman. But soon the woman’s stories took hold in Rikaria’s imagination, and Rikaria came to crave those evenings on the porch. Something about her stories felt more real than stories ought to be. Like the woman was weaving them especially and specifically for Rikaria’s benefit. Rikaria couldn’t quite explain how, but those stories had been vital down in the well. They had helped her to reach out to the store of magic inside her and to know where she had to push to unstop the door.
Somehow or other, the woman had helped to prepare her for what was to come, and that is CERTAINLY worth a portion of gold.
Rikaria quietly shuts the front door of the Calandry family home. She steps out into the bright autumn morning and breathes in deep. She begins to sing softly to herself as she makes her way into town.
When she reaches the place where her own orchard lane intersects with the Long Road, she stops a moment, thinking of her friends, miles away by now. She thinks of Gerty as she rode away, cutting such a heroic figure in her new armor, and for a moment Rikaria considers hitching up the ol’ carthorse and taking off after them. After her. But no. They had their own journey to make. This was hers. Maybe one day they’d undertake another adventure together, but not today.
Today Rikaria is going to school. Today, Rikaria is going to become a wizard!
Rikaria retrieves her tinted spectacles from her pocket and places them back atop her nose. Without looking back again, she makes her way up the hill to the Ivy Mansion, swinging her picnic basket and singing even louder than before.
She doesn’t think of her nightmares again. She spares no thoughts for killing in the dark, of dying on cold stone, of lost friends. She doesn’t even think of Gerty again.
But as her mind wanders, thinking about the day ahead, she repeatedly imagines, or thinks she imagines, for just the space of a moment, that she sees another figure walking beside her, escorting her to the front door of the Harpells’ mansion. A tall figure in purple, gold and green. Handsome, stately, and terrible…
You are met at the door to the Ivy mansion by a 17 year old girl with chestnut brown hair and piercing hazel eyes. Her face is filled with excitement and she eagerly welcomes you into the mansion.
" hello, come in, come in...I am Alunalore Fairhaven. We have been paired for our studies. The mistress says it is too dangerous to train alone in the arcane arts. I am so happy to be here and to be paired with you. A true hero. The whole town is proud of you"
She pulls you inside, very giddy and practically jumping out of her skin. Her dress is simple, but clean. You dont recognize her from around town and surmise she may be from another town or outlaying farm
As you enter, the silence and spaciousness surprises you a little. Just last night this space was filled to the brim with people, tables, food and music. Now its spotless, quiet and and little chilly.
Alunalore tells you the Mistress Bella Don Harpell will be the teacher today..Bella Don was a true adventurer wizard so it will be very exciting to learn from her.
Rikaria finds Alunalore's enthusiasm infectious, and Rikaria is grins right back at the girl as she’s ushered inside. Rikaria had been so excited to start apprenticing under the Harpells, it hadn't even occurred to her that they might be excited to have Rikaria!
"It's a fine pleasure, Alunalore! I’m grateful to have been partnered up with a guide who’s so enthusiastic! If ya can stand the million and a half questions I’m sure I’ll have for ya in the comin’ days, then I’m sure we’ll be great friends!”
Rikaria takes off her glasses and looks around at the empty hall, then back again at Alunalore. “I’d assumed that class would be a trifle more… Populated,” She says, embarrassedly removing the tea towel covering her picnic basket to reveal nearly three dozen scones. “I hope you and Mistress Bella Don have sweet tooths…”
Rikaria offers Alunalore a scone, procuring butter and jam as well. As they eat, she launches into a salvo of nervous questions that eventually devolve into nervous chatter.
"What's the proper way to behave during lessons? Does Mistress Bella Don prefer a student who stays silent or a student who takes liberties?"
"Who should I watch out for among the apprentices?"
"How long have you been studying, Alunalore? How long until you're a full fledged wizard?"
"Are there special names for levels of apprentices? In stories about wizard schools, there's always special names for everything. What level are you? What level am I?"
"Will I get to go in the library? Gosh but I'd love to see it. Ya know I've read just about every book in town that ain't in the Harpell library, but that only comes out to about twenty so it ain't much to brag about, and anyway, half of 'em are recipe books."
"Will they be expectin' me to move into the dormatories? I'm used to sharin' a room so I think that'd be fine. Though my youngest siblings usually expect me to sing 'em a song before bed so I dunno if they'd be able to sleep without me, but then again Sherry is old enough now that she could take over. Don't tell 'er I said so but her voice is better than mine anyhow."
"Do you have any siblings, Alunalore? I have eight. Sherry, Mayella, Thomas, Brye, Deborah-Anne, Charlie, Maisie, and Nicodemus. And Chauntea preserve us but Ma wants to try for one more boy so it'll be five n' five."
Alunalore responds “ I have only just got here myself about a week. My family was killed in the white dragon attacks early spring and I was trying to keep the farm going by my self. I lived not far from Phandalen. During the attack I had a magic episode, it saved me from the dragon. Mistress Harpell heard about it and came down to see me, and now here I am. Most of the other apprentices have been here a while. The training is very free and we are encouraged to experiment and explore the magic while we receive instructions. Miss Bella Don is very famous, she will guide us.”
She giggles a little as a male apprentice comes out of one of the small side rooms at the mention of sweets, “ did someone say sweet tooth? I am Lyle DeVyking, at your service for taste of your scones..”
you instantly see why Alunalore giggled, Lyle is a handsome looking human boy of about 16 years of age, but his looks are marred by his blue skin..Upon noticing you notice his skin he says “ sometimes magic does the the unexpected especially here in Longsaddle..the magic unpredictability is one of my focuses” he laughs as he hold his hand out for a shake.
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Having recovered from the previous night’s festivities you are eager to formally begin your training and getting to know the other new apprentice
Rikaria awakes from a miserable sleep. Her dreams are all a tangle. She’s bleeding out on kitchen cobble stones. She’s standing alone on the roadside while her friends ride away. She’s swept up in a red rage, plunging her dagger into the throat of a shocked goblin, now the throat of Mikel, now the throat of Gerty, now the throat of the mysterious stranger who smelled of lavender. It’s in that moment of screaming hate that she wakes, ready to fight for her life.
But there’s nothing there. It’s just her room, just her bed, just the first cock crow of morning. She lets out a deep breath and calms herself. She gets up quietly, careful not to wake her younger siblings with whom she shares the bedroom. The dream is half forgotten by the time she finishes her morning routine and is changing into her school clothes.
Rikaria takes a good look at herself in her new dress, admiring the flattering cut and the fine patterning in the fabric. She pulls on her new boots, dons her new hat and sheepskin jacket, and the tinted spectacles Sasha convinced her to buy from a traveling peddler. She thinks she looks beautiful, mysterious, and powerful. She thinks she looks every bit the young sorceress. The heroine who rescues kidnapped children from dungeons. Rikaria Calandry, hero of Longsaddle and the Harpells’ newest apprentice, has nothing to fear from nightmares!
“I hope the Harpells will think so too…” she says to herself. In a moment of self consciousness, she removes the spectacles and places them in her jacket pocket. What a silly thing to buy. Sasha never would have talked her into it if she weren’t half drunk and still frazzled from her argument with Gerty…
Rikaria is thrilled to be going to school again. She had loved school! Rikaria had never quite forgiven her parents for making her leave when she was ten to help on the farm. That wasn’t fair, of course. It wasn’t their fault there hadn’t been a good harvest at the orchard in almost a decade. But it certainly WAS their fault for insisting on having more and more babies with each passing year, even when they could barely take care of the kids they already had.
“The money will help with that,” Rikaria thinks as she whips up another triple batch of scones to pass around to her new teachers and schoolmates. “Ma n’ Pa will be able to order cuttings from all over Faerun with my reward money. Revitalize the whole orchard! Hundred gold pieces is Change Your Life Money!”
Rikaria had divided her reward and the treasure as follows. One hundred went to the family for use in elevating the orchard and the lives of the Calandry’s in general. Rikaria then bought for herself what few things she foresaw would be most useful to her in her new life as an adventuring wizard. Namely, three new dresses (one very fine, two fine as well but in a more practical sort of way), one sheepskin coat, one wide brimmed hat, one pair of tall leather boots, one pair of riding gloves, one set of very fetching tinted spectacles, and one crossbow (and accessories). The rest would go to the old woman who lived outside of town. The woman who, despite all the time they had spent together these last few months, still had not told Rikaria her name.
Rikaria regards that woman as a chief reason for Rikaria making it out of that well alive and sane. Rikaria had been visiting her since she moved to town, bringing her food and sharing conversation with her on her front porch. At first, Rikaria had considered it a simple act of charity, spending time with a poor, lonely old woman. But soon the woman’s stories took hold in Rikaria’s imagination, and Rikaria came to crave those evenings on the porch. Something about her stories felt more real than stories ought to be. Like the woman was weaving them especially and specifically for Rikaria’s benefit. Rikaria couldn’t quite explain how, but those stories had been vital down in the well. They had helped her to reach out to the store of magic inside her and to know where she had to push to unstop the door.
Somehow or other, the woman had helped to prepare her for what was to come, and that is CERTAINLY worth a portion of gold.
Rikaria quietly shuts the front door of the Calandry family home. She steps out into the bright autumn morning and breathes in deep. She begins to sing softly to herself as she makes her way into town.
When she reaches the place where her own orchard lane intersects with the Long Road, she stops a moment, thinking of her friends, miles away by now. She thinks of Gerty as she rode away, cutting such a heroic figure in her new armor, and for a moment Rikaria considers hitching up the ol’ carthorse and taking off after them. After her. But no. They had their own journey to make. This was hers. Maybe one day they’d undertake another adventure together, but not today.
Today Rikaria is going to school. Today, Rikaria is going to become a wizard!
Rikaria retrieves her tinted spectacles from her pocket and places them back atop her nose. Without looking back again, she makes her way up the hill to the Ivy Mansion, swinging her picnic basket and singing even louder than before.
She doesn’t think of her nightmares again. She spares no thoughts for killing in the dark, of dying on cold stone, of lost friends. She doesn’t even think of Gerty again.
But as her mind wanders, thinking about the day ahead, she repeatedly imagines, or thinks she imagines, for just the space of a moment, that she sees another figure walking beside her, escorting her to the front door of the Harpells’ mansion. A tall figure in purple, gold and green. Handsome, stately, and terrible…
You are met at the door to the Ivy mansion by a 17 year old girl with chestnut brown hair and piercing hazel eyes. Her face is filled with excitement and she eagerly welcomes you into the mansion.
" hello, come in, come in...I am Alunalore Fairhaven. We have been paired for our studies. The mistress says it is too dangerous to train alone in the arcane arts. I am so happy to be here and to be paired with you. A true hero. The whole town is proud of you"
She pulls you inside, very giddy and practically jumping out of her skin. Her dress is simple, but clean. You dont recognize her from around town and surmise she may be from another town or outlaying farm
As you enter, the silence and spaciousness surprises you a little. Just last night this space was filled to the brim with people, tables, food and music. Now its spotless, quiet and and little chilly.
Alunalore tells you the Mistress Bella Don Harpell will be the teacher today..Bella Don was a true adventurer wizard so it will be very exciting to learn from her.
Rikaria finds Alunalore's enthusiasm infectious, and Rikaria is grins right back at the girl as she’s ushered inside. Rikaria had been so excited to start apprenticing under the Harpells, it hadn't even occurred to her that they might be excited to have Rikaria!
"It's a fine pleasure, Alunalore! I’m grateful to have been partnered up with a guide who’s so enthusiastic! If ya can stand the million and a half questions I’m sure I’ll have for ya in the comin’ days, then I’m sure we’ll be great friends!”
Rikaria takes off her glasses and looks around at the empty hall, then back again at Alunalore. “I’d assumed that class would be a trifle more… Populated,” She says, embarrassedly removing the tea towel covering her picnic basket to reveal nearly three dozen scones. “I hope you and Mistress Bella Don have sweet tooths…”
Rikaria offers Alunalore a scone, procuring butter and jam as well. As they eat, she launches into a salvo of nervous questions that eventually devolve into nervous chatter.
"What's the proper way to behave during lessons? Does Mistress Bella Don prefer a student who stays silent or a student who takes liberties?"
"Who should I watch out for among the apprentices?"
"How long have you been studying, Alunalore? How long until you're a full fledged wizard?"
"Are there special names for levels of apprentices? In stories about wizard schools, there's always special names for everything. What level are you? What level am I?"
"Will I get to go in the library? Gosh but I'd love to see it. Ya know I've read just about every book in town that ain't in the Harpell library, but that only comes out to about twenty so it ain't much to brag about, and anyway, half of 'em are recipe books."
"Will they be expectin' me to move into the dormatories? I'm used to sharin' a room so I think that'd be fine. Though my youngest siblings usually expect me to sing 'em a song before bed so I dunno if they'd be able to sleep without me, but then again Sherry is old enough now that she could take over. Don't tell 'er I said so but her voice is better than mine anyhow."
"Do you have any siblings, Alunalore? I have eight. Sherry, Mayella, Thomas, Brye, Deborah-Anne, Charlie, Maisie, and Nicodemus. And Chauntea preserve us but Ma wants to try for one more boy so it'll be five n' five."
Alunalore responds “ I have only just got here myself about a week. My family was killed in the white dragon attacks early spring and I was trying to keep the farm going by my self. I lived not far from Phandalen. During the attack I had a magic episode, it saved me from the dragon. Mistress Harpell heard about it and came down to see me, and now here I am. Most of the other apprentices have been here a while. The training is very free and we are encouraged to experiment and explore the magic while we receive instructions. Miss Bella Don is very famous, she will guide us.”
She giggles a little as a male apprentice comes out of one of the small side rooms at the mention of sweets, “ did someone say sweet tooth? I am Lyle DeVyking, at your service for taste of your scones..”
you instantly see why Alunalore giggled, Lyle is a handsome looking human boy of about 16 years of age, but his looks are marred by his blue skin..Upon noticing you notice his skin he says “ sometimes magic does the the unexpected especially here in Longsaddle..the magic unpredictability is one of my focuses” he laughs as he hold his hand out for a shake.