Nausea took a deep pit in Percival's stomach as the two of them translated from one location to another. He had been piecing together the ritual that his magical fiance was cooking up and it dawned on him that it should have been obviously transportation magic. These days, such magic had an ill effect on Percival, as his body constituted an anchor to his living essence inside the Elementalia Magicus. Every time he teleported, his 'soul' had to come running to catch up with him.
Even so, he was more taken by their destination.
He had never been to the middle east, Babylonian origins in the fertile crescent, and their associations of dark Font magic always drove him away. So the arid landscape was new, and the even newer vehicle had him staring for a while.
The man had a hefty back-pack on, and blinked as Miyuki beckoned him along.
When did I become the mundie? Percival wondered as he followed along, dumping off his backpack of tools and material into the back. His normal fire-starter, Jakku, was not there with them, so he had to compensate with a series of tools.
"I didn't know you had a license."
The Alchemist threw himself into the passenger seat, he was wearing a more worn set of normal finery, made of thicker materials that seemed suited for the dandy on the go. With a big smile, he tugged something from under his vest and put it square on his head.
A beret.
"When did you learn to drive? Or buy a car for that matter?"
A small shine took to his eyes, an almost childlike wonder, "What does it run on?"
[Aside] One Last Journey
Re: [Aside] One Last Journey
"I can't exactly take public transport on international missions, now can I?" Miyuki responded to the first question, rhetorically. Once Percival was settled, she started the engine, the distinct rattle of a Diesel power plant possibly answering Percival's fourth question.
"Took driving school during 3rd year of high school, not that you noticed, obviously. I bought this one a few years ago, but it's still pretty new," she said, patting the dashboard before shifting into gear and starting the vehicle forward. "And before you try to tinker with it, it's still under warranty and I haven't paid it off yet, so, No," The black-haired woman warned, seeing the gleam in his eyes
Before Percy could ask another question, Miyuki wheeled around the little clearing that the portal stone was in and aligned the little off-roader down a rough double-track path which quickly obviated the need for such a vehicle by bouncing and jostling quite a bit. The path soon dipped down into a wide slot canyon and skirted one of the walls on a steep narrow trevail before meeting safely up with the bottom of the canyon and winding its way toward more open terrain.
"It's probably somewhere around a three-hour drive from here to the border, but this is the closest I was able to get a portal-stone installed without getting the major authorities involved, so you'll have to deal with the drudgery"
"Took driving school during 3rd year of high school, not that you noticed, obviously. I bought this one a few years ago, but it's still pretty new," she said, patting the dashboard before shifting into gear and starting the vehicle forward. "And before you try to tinker with it, it's still under warranty and I haven't paid it off yet, so, No," The black-haired woman warned, seeing the gleam in his eyes
Before Percy could ask another question, Miyuki wheeled around the little clearing that the portal stone was in and aligned the little off-roader down a rough double-track path which quickly obviated the need for such a vehicle by bouncing and jostling quite a bit. The path soon dipped down into a wide slot canyon and skirted one of the walls on a steep narrow trevail before meeting safely up with the bottom of the canyon and winding its way toward more open terrain.
"It's probably somewhere around a three-hour drive from here to the border, but this is the closest I was able to get a portal-stone installed without getting the major authorities involved, so you'll have to deal with the drudgery"
Re: [Aside] One Last Journey
"It's never drudgery when you're around, Fiance-san," commented Percival off-hand, a big smile spreading on his face, "Besides, who needs a warranty, when you've got an Alchemist who'd work on your car for free? I'm no professional Artificer, but I bet I could get my license."
His beret bounced above his head at the rougher terrain, before they evened out. When he found it safe enough, he leaned forward pulling a small plant from a separate bag he had carried into the front seat. It was in a small globe, where the soil seemed to keep its level like water. The flowering specimen inside immediately began to open its blooms in the Syrian sun.
Then it turned expectantly at Percival.
"Worrywort, I thought it might come in handy in finding our individual," said the Alchemist, "It listens and turns to face the subject of your concern. For example."
In a conspiratorial fashion, he whispered to the globe, in the utmost severity, "Where is the prettiest girl I know?"
The plant seized gently, closing its buds, before it relaxed again. It was now leaning in Miyuki's direction, and the flowers opened all the way, as if to look at her.
His beret bounced above his head at the rougher terrain, before they evened out. When he found it safe enough, he leaned forward pulling a small plant from a separate bag he had carried into the front seat. It was in a small globe, where the soil seemed to keep its level like water. The flowering specimen inside immediately began to open its blooms in the Syrian sun.
Then it turned expectantly at Percival.
"Worrywort, I thought it might come in handy in finding our individual," said the Alchemist, "It listens and turns to face the subject of your concern. For example."
In a conspiratorial fashion, he whispered to the globe, in the utmost severity, "Where is the prettiest girl I know?"
The plant seized gently, closing its buds, before it relaxed again. It was now leaning in Miyuki's direction, and the flowers opened all the way, as if to look at her.
Re: [Aside] One Last Journey
Miyuki chuckled at the idea of Percy being an artificer- Not that she doubted he had the skills- because he just seemed to come upon the idea out of the blue as far as she was concerned. She kept an eye on her Fiancee as he fumbled through his bag and then produced a small plant. "Hmm, that's an interesting one," Miyuki commented as Percy explained what it was, then giggled again as Percy demonstrated. In a joking manner, the Japanese woman looked out of the window, as if trying to find someone outside of the SUV instead of herself "Is there someone out there, then?" she joked, "I'm sure you know far prettier women than myself" she continued, still looking away to hide a little bit of blush before she could calm herself down enough to look straight forward again.
The rest of the drive passed much the same, with small talk, idle chatter, jokes, and flirtations back and forth as the couple finally spent some time alone together, perhaps for the first time in over three years. Miyuki was certainly enjoying the time, and Percy could see some of the nervousness melting off of her, as he was making her feel normal again, and even her driving slowly changed, getting a little smoother and less bumpy as time wore on despite the roads not getting any smoother until they approached the border.
As they did so, Miyuki pulled what looked like an oversized wallet from one of the pockets on her overshirt, which had an official-looking seal on the front of it, and his eye would catch the glimmer of a second object of similar size, this one enchanted to be difficult for mages to see, and impossible for mundies to perceive at all. "You brought your passports, right, Percy?" she asked.
The rest of the drive passed much the same, with small talk, idle chatter, jokes, and flirtations back and forth as the couple finally spent some time alone together, perhaps for the first time in over three years. Miyuki was certainly enjoying the time, and Percy could see some of the nervousness melting off of her, as he was making her feel normal again, and even her driving slowly changed, getting a little smoother and less bumpy as time wore on despite the roads not getting any smoother until they approached the border.
As they did so, Miyuki pulled what looked like an oversized wallet from one of the pockets on her overshirt, which had an official-looking seal on the front of it, and his eye would catch the glimmer of a second object of similar size, this one enchanted to be difficult for mages to see, and impossible for mundies to perceive at all. "You brought your passports, right, Percy?" she asked.
Re: [Aside] One Last Journey
A lot had happened up until this point, Percival thought. What was going to be three hours of idleness came to be a rediscovery of why he fell in love with this woman. They had an odd chemistry that seemed to balance out when they weren't putting on airs in front of others. Around Ruarc, Percy could let out all his physical energy, getting up into antics and chattering about nothing and something all the same. With Riley, he could deflate all his mental energy, with japes, jokes, retorts, and the occasional 'creative' problem-solving they would do together.
With Miyuki, he got all that energy back. He'd hold her hand sometimes through the drive, and while most would complain of the cold to the touch, Percy could only feel warmth. At times there were literal sparks, as between the two of them, they were sporting a lot of mana in their conduits. As she relaxed, he began to relax more too.
It had been a long time since had been able to feel as comfortable in his own skin as he did now.
Passports.
"Passports? Oh shit." answered Percival, coming out of his dovey trance, before knocking on the glove compartment in front of him.
Something knocked back in the compartment, and Percival opened it. A small source of natural sunlight emanated from within, as if it were another window outside, but there was no dry, dusty air, just a temperate breeze.
"Passport," demanded Percival.
Rattle. The answer was in the Spriggan language, and bit of a rattling conversation took place in the background.
A leafy hand extended from the compartment, with a tomato in its rootlike fingers. Percival shoo'd the fruit.
"Not your passport, my passport."
Again, a council of rattling. There was a crunching of gravel among the spriggan voices, another voice of nature in a strange language.
A rocky hand extended now, this time with a set of items similar to what Miyuki just produced. Percival took the documents, but the small hand remained, its fingers wiggling. The Alchemist grumbled, taking off one of his boots, and carefully dumping some tiny rocks into the creature's hand. A grating noise of gravel, almost like laughter, came from the other end, and the hand disappeared. Percy closed the compartment, and looked up at Miyuki.
"Yes. Of course." He finally answered her, holding up the passport.
With Miyuki, he got all that energy back. He'd hold her hand sometimes through the drive, and while most would complain of the cold to the touch, Percy could only feel warmth. At times there were literal sparks, as between the two of them, they were sporting a lot of mana in their conduits. As she relaxed, he began to relax more too.
It had been a long time since had been able to feel as comfortable in his own skin as he did now.
Passports.
"Passports? Oh shit." answered Percival, coming out of his dovey trance, before knocking on the glove compartment in front of him.
Something knocked back in the compartment, and Percival opened it. A small source of natural sunlight emanated from within, as if it were another window outside, but there was no dry, dusty air, just a temperate breeze.
"Passport," demanded Percival.
Rattle. The answer was in the Spriggan language, and bit of a rattling conversation took place in the background.
A leafy hand extended from the compartment, with a tomato in its rootlike fingers. Percival shoo'd the fruit.
"Not your passport, my passport."
Again, a council of rattling. There was a crunching of gravel among the spriggan voices, another voice of nature in a strange language.
A rocky hand extended now, this time with a set of items similar to what Miyuki just produced. Percival took the documents, but the small hand remained, its fingers wiggling. The Alchemist grumbled, taking off one of his boots, and carefully dumping some tiny rocks into the creature's hand. A grating noise of gravel, almost like laughter, came from the other end, and the hand disappeared. Percy closed the compartment, and looked up at Miyuki.
"Yes. Of course." He finally answered her, holding up the passport.
Re: [Aside] One Last Journey
Miyuki seemed a bit confused when Percival opened her glovebox and revealed a portal to some other ethereal world, since as far as she recalled that compartment was stuffed full of registration paperwork for multiple countries, allowing her to drive the car internationally without any fuss. she giggled a bit, however, at the interaction between her fiance and the small creatures contained within the compartment turned portal, and had to stifle some full-blown laughter once Percy announced that he in fact had his passport.
"Well, I suppose that works," she commented, as they rolled upon a border crossing, stopping at the back of a short line of vehicles which were all being checked for documentation and what have you. It was not long until it was their turn which, surprisingly, went entirely smoothly or at least seemed to, until their vehicle was waved off to a secondary search area. Miyuki didn't seem too worried, and after putting away her normal passport, the secondary, hidden passport was still in her hand. A border agent came up to them, and even Percival could tell that he wasn't an ordinary gentleman, an air of magic floated about the man and he held out his hand, expecting their other documentation. Miyuki produced hers, and the man went through it swiftly, handing it back, before moving around to the other side of the vehicle and holding out a hand for his documentation. "Just a warning, since you don't seem to have been here before," the man said to Percy in perfect English, "Open a portal like that inside the borders and you'll get arrested. Here's a list of what is and isn't allowed, and make sure any magic you perform is business-related or self-defense." the border guard grumbled, seeming annoyed by Percy already, despite their minimum of contact. Percy would catch a word in Hebrew as well, which if he knew the language would roughly translate to an exasperated exclamation of 'Foreigners..'
When Percy scanned the list, he would see that quite a lot of alchemical potions and processes were outlawed, though most were revolving around poisons, or transforming worthless substances into valuable ones. The list would more or less mirror those that the occultus had banned from wide use, though a few extra restrictions were added, most notably any form of portals, teleportation, or other transportation magic. He did notice that summons were allowed, so long as they weren't human or sentient creatures, and were not being summoned from another plane of existence.
"Well, I suppose that works," she commented, as they rolled upon a border crossing, stopping at the back of a short line of vehicles which were all being checked for documentation and what have you. It was not long until it was their turn which, surprisingly, went entirely smoothly or at least seemed to, until their vehicle was waved off to a secondary search area. Miyuki didn't seem too worried, and after putting away her normal passport, the secondary, hidden passport was still in her hand. A border agent came up to them, and even Percival could tell that he wasn't an ordinary gentleman, an air of magic floated about the man and he held out his hand, expecting their other documentation. Miyuki produced hers, and the man went through it swiftly, handing it back, before moving around to the other side of the vehicle and holding out a hand for his documentation. "Just a warning, since you don't seem to have been here before," the man said to Percy in perfect English, "Open a portal like that inside the borders and you'll get arrested. Here's a list of what is and isn't allowed, and make sure any magic you perform is business-related or self-defense." the border guard grumbled, seeming annoyed by Percy already, despite their minimum of contact. Percy would catch a word in Hebrew as well, which if he knew the language would roughly translate to an exasperated exclamation of 'Foreigners..'
When Percy scanned the list, he would see that quite a lot of alchemical potions and processes were outlawed, though most were revolving around poisons, or transforming worthless substances into valuable ones. The list would more or less mirror those that the occultus had banned from wide use, though a few extra restrictions were added, most notably any form of portals, teleportation, or other transportation magic. He did notice that summons were allowed, so long as they weren't human or sentient creatures, and were not being summoned from another plane of existence.
Re: [Aside] One Last Journey
Percival blinked his eyes innocently, as if he were a lass trying to get her way. He pointed to himself when any mention of portal use came up, before smiling sweetly and waving his hand.
"Oh that? Just a last minute grab," the Alchemist held up a pen, which had been tucked in the folds of his passport, "Forgot my pen. Thought I would need to sign some things."
He took a look at the list of items, eying the card that seemed geared toward someone of his profession. Percival leaned his head just so that the symbol on his cap was visible. "It's the beret, isn't it? Good day to wear it. Let me see here..."
The mystic documentation, along with a list of the declarable items, was offered up for inspection, "I am a certified Alchemist, so I have a few items worth mentioning that are only permitted by licensed practitioners. It's the silver card behind the state license, yes there it is. Oh, on the declaration list. The Beggar's Weed. It's not Beggar's Reed. Beggar's Weed. Always seems to prompt questions."
With a smile, he looked back at Miyuki, while his documents were inspected, "Have you seen the conjuration restrictions here? No portals or creature summons. The Conjurer's market has to be quite shit. You'd only be able to bet a job as a Robespinner or a Weatherwitch."
"Oh that? Just a last minute grab," the Alchemist held up a pen, which had been tucked in the folds of his passport, "Forgot my pen. Thought I would need to sign some things."
He took a look at the list of items, eying the card that seemed geared toward someone of his profession. Percival leaned his head just so that the symbol on his cap was visible. "It's the beret, isn't it? Good day to wear it. Let me see here..."
The mystic documentation, along with a list of the declarable items, was offered up for inspection, "I am a certified Alchemist, so I have a few items worth mentioning that are only permitted by licensed practitioners. It's the silver card behind the state license, yes there it is. Oh, on the declaration list. The Beggar's Weed. It's not Beggar's Reed. Beggar's Weed. Always seems to prompt questions."
With a smile, he looked back at Miyuki, while his documents were inspected, "Have you seen the conjuration restrictions here? No portals or creature summons. The Conjurer's market has to be quite shit. You'd only be able to bet a job as a Robespinner or a Weatherwitch."
Re: [Aside] One Last Journey
"Yes, well, that's why specialists like me who skirt the rules of conjury are in pretty high demand around here," Miyuki commented, as the border agent rolled his eyes at Percival's jesting, handing Miyuki a stamped permit and waving the pair off. with that, the Japanese woman started the car back up and they took off with the now-familiar quiet rattle of the diesel engine running just in front of them. With the border passed, Jerusalem loomed up in front of them; one of the oldest cities in the world, the center of several religions, arguably the holiest of lands in the world, so it was only natural that they were very careful about magic here.
"Okay, so this is where it all gets tricky. I have an address for our target, but, well, the addresses given don't exactly line up with commercially available direction finding applications, and most forms of magical wayfinding are prohibited within the city, so..." Miyuki smiled at Percival. "It's a good thing that you brought that little house plant for us."
"Okay, so this is where it all gets tricky. I have an address for our target, but, well, the addresses given don't exactly line up with commercially available direction finding applications, and most forms of magical wayfinding are prohibited within the city, so..." Miyuki smiled at Percival. "It's a good thing that you brought that little house plant for us."
Re: [Aside] One Last Journey
"Oh, the Worrywort?" Percy answered her smile with his own and by raising the little glass globe, "It's such a handy little plant. Tends to only grow in far-flung places, deep in forest typically, but I've got a small patch of it growing in the Wilderwood behind the mansion."
The Alchemist set the globe on the dashboard as they navigated through town, fishing for his phone out of his bag. "So the plant hones in on the object you're 'worried' about, particularly the thing you ask of it. It takes your wish, and then bends in the direction of it. Now, the kicker are the blooms. A good Worrywort has healthy flowers, because they only open wide if you're close to your target. Otherwise, they waver between opening and closing. So if we're close, we'll get flowers."
He plucked the globe from the dash, "Just whisper the person's name to the flower, and it will point us the right way."
The Alchemist set the globe on the dashboard as they navigated through town, fishing for his phone out of his bag. "So the plant hones in on the object you're 'worried' about, particularly the thing you ask of it. It takes your wish, and then bends in the direction of it. Now, the kicker are the blooms. A good Worrywort has healthy flowers, because they only open wide if you're close to your target. Otherwise, they waver between opening and closing. So if we're close, we'll get flowers."
He plucked the globe from the dash, "Just whisper the person's name to the flower, and it will point us the right way."
Re: [Aside] One Last Journey
"That seems way easier than it should be," Miyuki joked, "why aren't these illegal or more popular if they're so convenient?" she asked, somewhat rhetorically. However, she wasted no time in pulling out a small dossier with some of the details for the job, which included a name and a few sentences but no pictures or really any important data.
"Ariel... Kala... Samra? Kalasamara?" she said, reading the target's name. If Percy looked over he would see that there really was not much information- a name, an address, a blurb about their charge being targeted by an unknown entity, and not much else.
"I think that's how you say this name, anyway. I think it's a girl, but I could be wrong, I'm not familiar with middle eastern names, despite how much I work around here." She blushed a little and chuckled to herself. "I never did tell you about the time I burst into some despotic warlord's stronghold, and attempted a cheeky one-liner only to completely flub the guy's name and accidentally call out someone else in the room, did I?"
"Ariel... Kala... Samra? Kalasamara?" she said, reading the target's name. If Percy looked over he would see that there really was not much information- a name, an address, a blurb about their charge being targeted by an unknown entity, and not much else.
"I think that's how you say this name, anyway. I think it's a girl, but I could be wrong, I'm not familiar with middle eastern names, despite how much I work around here." She blushed a little and chuckled to herself. "I never did tell you about the time I burst into some despotic warlord's stronghold, and attempted a cheeky one-liner only to completely flub the guy's name and accidentally call out someone else in the room, did I?"