[closed quest] i won't pretend that i make it

[sorser]

WHO: Stephen, Ronan & Kylo
WHEN: Mid to late September.
WHERE: Thorne to Solvunn and back again.
WHAT: A supply run quest!
WARNINGS: Will add as needed.

((ooc; quest info here! various top levels for different points of the quest below.))

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GATHERING/LOADING SUPPLIES AT THE TERTIARY SETTLEMENT

[sorser]

ota—

[carmesi]

[having arrived just right on time to the tertiary settlement, wanda is glad that the hardest part of this supply run is over. the journey back is always the shortest, after all, and it'll help if the caravans are empty and easier for their mules and horses to pull. as it were, said animals are taking their deserved rest by the provided ranch.

wanda, for her part, splits off from the group for a moment, making way to have a look at the delegation from thorne.

of course, she knows they'd be here, as she had communicated with stephen prior to the fact. it's still fascinating, though, to have a glance at actual thorne mages, standing there, as if supervising. last time she had seen them had been at the summit, but even so—]

Careful with those.

[—her attention is driven away from her observations as one young man from the tertiary settlement stumbles on his feet, nearly dropping the precious cargo of supplies (grains, most likely) that would be nigh impossible to sort back into its crate.

a wisp of scarlet magic, and she's holding the row of crates upright while more individuals come over to avoid disaster. wanda, for her part, simply just—fixes it.]

It'd be easier to cart it all with magic.

[she says out loud; clearly meant for others to hear. who can she talk to to get those mages working?]

[sorser]

[Ronan, or Kylo, would probably get some of these mages into gear. Or this guy, too -- a familiar face that approaches Wanda, cutting an equally familiar figure, squinting against the sun that shines overhead. Stephen's cloak whips behind him in the breeze, and he reaches out with a hand to cast a few flourishing motions in the air. Amber magic--mandala-esque, as she would also recognize--blossoms from his fingertips, then appears as a crest on some of the crates.]

That should help.

[Make them lighter. Make them easier to manage. Float a little, even, if the poor kids helping out with the cargo are really struggling. Stephen drops his hand in the next moment, letting the magic on his end fade. Too much and-- well, let's just say that he doesn't want a third eye cropping up on his forehead just yet. Makes for awkward conversation.

Instead:]

Weird, isn't it? Seeing mages here.

[carmesi]

[there he is—stephen. wanda had been awfully aware that they would cross paths, as they had previously discussed. it was only a matter of figuring out when this exchange would happen and, at the very least, they have reason to make it seem unplanned. just two magically-adept individuals helping with making sure the hand-off of supplies goes as smoothly as possible.

satisfied at the fact that the solvunnites bearing the grunt of the work get to have their load eased and make it quite easier and more expedite, she turns to stephen properly now.]

Even stranger to see you in Solvunn. [though they aren't really in the heart of it, it's still... something else.] It's not quite as humid in Thorne as it is here, is it?

[wanda had taken note of the clothes worn by the mages, how heavy the material seemed. for all that she wishes they'd help a bit more, she can't help but note the way they sweat in their garbs. the breeze can be rather pleasant further in, but the coastline is proving a little less forgiving.]

Did it take you long to cross the sea?

[sorser]

[Just two magically-adept individuals with no baggage or history trailing behind them. They can manage that, right?]

No. I like it, actually. A change of weather and scenery is nice.

[He feels safe admitting to that. It's no secret that those who reside in the Castle are restricted to living within its boundaries and the castle town just beyond it. There isn't a lot of sightseeing to be had even around Thorne, and Stephen is one of the few afforded to travel in the past.]

A little sweat's no harm.

[Easy to say when he's not lifting up the boxes himself, physically. But he can't with hands like these, and he is able to use what magic he can to help.]

The ship ride over went pretty smoothly, actually. We made good time, and no one got seasick. [A lopsided grin.] I'm sure I just jinxed myself.

[carmesi]

[no secret, indeed. wanda has heard far too many horrible things about thorne from those who used to live there, and finds herself not wanting to have fate pull her there. while solvunn may lack in having things to do, at least the summoned here are free to do with their time what they desire—go where they like, without fear of being supervised or told where they can or cannot go.

in her experience, anyway.]

Good thing you're a doctor, then.

[and a magical one at that. seasickness should not be an issue. she raises a brow over his shoulder, turning on her heel as she starts walking away from the docks.]

We had some unusual guests in the woods, but nothing we couldn't handle. I imagine our trip back will be easier than yours.

[no precious cargo to worry about; wanda could just fly her way back to the primary settlement.]

I've never come this far in Solvunn before, though. It's — quite different from what I'm used to.

[the people, the settlement, the closeness to the coast.]

How are things in the castle? [she knows she was warned to not talk ill of the queen, or anything like it, but it's fine for her to ask about the well-being of those there, isn't it?] How is Yennefer?

[sorser]

[Unusual things? Monsters or people, he wonders? But Wanda carries the conversation onwards, and Stephen decides that he needn't be too nosy or worried; she's obviously in one piece, and if she were more concerned, she would have lingered on the topic.

Instead, she asks after Yennefer, and he scoffs a little.]

Pissed. [But, a little more helpfully-] She's been recovering just fine, but it was a slow and painful process. She didn't have a lot of patience for the castle mages trying to tend to her.

[To say the least. He still recalls the harried faces of the young mages in the infirmary making a quick retreat as he strode in to visit her.]

I can't really blame her, though. Things at the castle are... tense.

[carmesi]

[as stephen wonders, his thoughts are so openly loud to her. it draws amusement from her—but she keeps those little solvunn secrets to herself. he would be right to assume that there is nothing worth worrying about; the creatures in this world, so far, are far more friendly than the ones she ever had an opportunity to subdue with her witchcraft.

getting to talk about yennefer is better, either way.]

I imagine more so after the Free Cities retaliated.

[—what else was expected? nothing at all? wanda sighs.]

Send her my regards.

[for one, wanda is not afraid to admit that she gets on just fine with the sorceress—her fellow witch sister—though stephen would have to ask yennefer what is the extent of their acquaintanceship. she motions on over to the path ahead, closing the distance towards the tertiary settlement's homes.]

...would you like to see what the settlements look like here?