Stormhold Castle, Traveler's Row
Winter 30th, 510 AV
13th Bell
The The sun was high in the sky, though one wouldn't know it by the temperature. Wanda swore she could just about see her breath, and what breezes weren't block by the surrounding walls pierced her coat. But her father was a warm and comforting presence, their arms linked as the duo pressed on.
She loved her father more than anything in the world. And when he discovered how fast she could pick up on her own magical ability, she'd been happy just because he was so thrilled. And she did enjoy the time they spent together. But lately the man had been getting a bit too carried away with the whole hypnotism thing. This was the third time in four days that he'd taken her out to practice.
"Here we are," piped Mr. Endust. He brought up a hand to scratch his beard and shield his eyes from the sunlight as he glanced about. They were in Traveler's Row -- a regular hangout for Wanda and her friends, but her father had never taken her to this area for this particular purpose before.
"Here?" she questioned. It wasn't too crowded today, but there were a number of passers by milling about. "Aren't there a bit too many people? What if they overhear? Or notice?"
A mischievous grin lighted her father's face. "We're going to try something a bit different today." His gloved hand gestured to a couple of shopkeepers across the way. "You should test yourself. I can spend years telling you how to do it, but it'll come a lot quicker to you if you put it in action."
Wanda fought to keep from frowning -- she didn't want to disappoint her father. His suggestion had taken her by surprise; normally, the pair simply found a quiet corner somewhere in an un-busy part of the city and either he'd go over some vague principle of magic or she'd practice a suggestion or two on him. Never anything like this before. "What? Why? I mean..." she cast her uncertain gaze over her would-be targets and bit at her lower lip, not at all comfortable with what her dad was suggesting. "Why couldn't we have just gone to a vendor in the Maiden District? That's closer to home."
Jarvis Endust sighed. He hadn't been expecting this reaction from his normally headstrong and daring daughter. He turned to face her directly, laying a heavy hand on her shoulder. "Relax. You can do this."
A feeling of ease suddenly came over her -- her jaw relaxed, her fingers quit fidgeting, she was no longer shivering in the cold.
She pushed her dad away playfully, aware that he'd just used his own magic influence on her. "That's cheating," she accused jovially, pushing the older man away with a playful shove. At the same moment, a large group -- perhaps twelve or fifteen people -- moved past, bringing Wanda back to her question. "But yeah, why can't we just do this in the Maiden District?"
Jarvis watched the group that passed -- they looked like sailors, with wild hair and foreign clothes, and muttering among themselves in an odd language with a couple Common words slipping in here and there. He lazily switched his gaze back to his daughter as soon as they'd gone. "Because people will pay attention to us in the Maiden District," he eventually explained, dragging a hand through his hair. A quizzical look crossed Wanda's features. "People out here are all busy doing something. They're too caught up in doing their own thing to pay attention to a simple pair of regular folk," he elaborated.
Wanda dug the tip of her shoe into the ground as she pondered his point. He was right. A group in a busy area was generally not as noticeable as it was elsewhere.
But even so, as she turned to face the shopkeepers once more, the pit of trepidation rose again in her. She wanted to make her father proud above all else, but she could not shake the feeling that what he wanted her to do was morally wrong. That made her sad -- did this mean that her father was morally wrong? Of course not!, she mentally chastised herself. He was always kind. He'd never hurt anybody, he'd never break the law, he'd never steal, he'd never lie. He could do no wrong.
Winter 30th, 510 AV
13th Bell
The The sun was high in the sky, though one wouldn't know it by the temperature. Wanda swore she could just about see her breath, and what breezes weren't block by the surrounding walls pierced her coat. But her father was a warm and comforting presence, their arms linked as the duo pressed on.
She loved her father more than anything in the world. And when he discovered how fast she could pick up on her own magical ability, she'd been happy just because he was so thrilled. And she did enjoy the time they spent together. But lately the man had been getting a bit too carried away with the whole hypnotism thing. This was the third time in four days that he'd taken her out to practice.
"Here we are," piped Mr. Endust. He brought up a hand to scratch his beard and shield his eyes from the sunlight as he glanced about. They were in Traveler's Row -- a regular hangout for Wanda and her friends, but her father had never taken her to this area for this particular purpose before.
"Here?" she questioned. It wasn't too crowded today, but there were a number of passers by milling about. "Aren't there a bit too many people? What if they overhear? Or notice?"
A mischievous grin lighted her father's face. "We're going to try something a bit different today." His gloved hand gestured to a couple of shopkeepers across the way. "You should test yourself. I can spend years telling you how to do it, but it'll come a lot quicker to you if you put it in action."
Wanda fought to keep from frowning -- she didn't want to disappoint her father. His suggestion had taken her by surprise; normally, the pair simply found a quiet corner somewhere in an un-busy part of the city and either he'd go over some vague principle of magic or she'd practice a suggestion or two on him. Never anything like this before. "What? Why? I mean..." she cast her uncertain gaze over her would-be targets and bit at her lower lip, not at all comfortable with what her dad was suggesting. "Why couldn't we have just gone to a vendor in the Maiden District? That's closer to home."
Jarvis Endust sighed. He hadn't been expecting this reaction from his normally headstrong and daring daughter. He turned to face her directly, laying a heavy hand on her shoulder. "Relax. You can do this."
A feeling of ease suddenly came over her -- her jaw relaxed, her fingers quit fidgeting, she was no longer shivering in the cold.
She pushed her dad away playfully, aware that he'd just used his own magic influence on her. "That's cheating," she accused jovially, pushing the older man away with a playful shove. At the same moment, a large group -- perhaps twelve or fifteen people -- moved past, bringing Wanda back to her question. "But yeah, why can't we just do this in the Maiden District?"
Jarvis watched the group that passed -- they looked like sailors, with wild hair and foreign clothes, and muttering among themselves in an odd language with a couple Common words slipping in here and there. He lazily switched his gaze back to his daughter as soon as they'd gone. "Because people will pay attention to us in the Maiden District," he eventually explained, dragging a hand through his hair. A quizzical look crossed Wanda's features. "People out here are all busy doing something. They're too caught up in doing their own thing to pay attention to a simple pair of regular folk," he elaborated.
Wanda dug the tip of her shoe into the ground as she pondered his point. He was right. A group in a busy area was generally not as noticeable as it was elsewhere.
But even so, as she turned to face the shopkeepers once more, the pit of trepidation rose again in her. She wanted to make her father proud above all else, but she could not shake the feeling that what he wanted her to do was morally wrong. That made her sad -- did this mean that her father was morally wrong? Of course not!, she mentally chastised herself. He was always kind. He'd never hurt anybody, he'd never break the law, he'd never steal, he'd never lie. He could do no wrong.
