The sun had yet to crest the horizon when Yngvild had woken up, she stood from the cot she was sleeping on, even at the tallest it could be it was far too close to the ground when compared to her height and stature. After getting up she put on her clothes: a purple and green crop top, black pants, a red shin-length skirt with a blue tabard in the front, tied around her waist with a thick yellow rope, and brown leather sandals, she braided her hair and placed them into copper hair rings each inscribed with a different animal, and put on her makeup, a red diamond around her right eye and blue lipstick, odd to be sure but she liked how it looked.
Breakfast was a simple affair, bread, and cheese, dried meats and fruits, simple foods that travel easily and last long. She sat in her room, wishing to stay unseen from people even if few people would be out to see her. She slung a bag over her shoulder and grabbed her staff, a wooden rod topped with the golden head of a cobra.
Her mission was clear, a flag had been smuggled into the city, enchanted in some way, Yngvild was to obtain the flag and deliver it back to her client in Sanato territory. As she approached the shop the flag was supposed to be at a sign hung on the door, “Closed for Inventory.”
She sighed, “Fine, I suppose I will make a day out of this.” Walking around the Market District was filled with goods from all corners of Mabura, fabrics from the Central Wastes, jewelry crafted by Abilitàn hands, and weapons from the Cobalt Coast. Her eye was caught by a jewelry set, a steel ring attached to a bracelet by a thin chain.
“Caught your eye, did it?” An old woman walked out from behind the shelf that the set was on.
“Um, yes. However I cannot buy it, I have more urgent business elsewhere that I cannot complete yet.” Yngvild silenced herself realizing that she might have told too much, “In any case, I bid you adieu.”
As she started to rush away she felt a small hand grab onto her wrist, “Wait wait wait, you didn’t even hear what I was going to say. You and your generation, no patience, the lot of you.” The old woman said, she placed a small pouch in Yngvild’s hand, “A beauty such as you shouldn’t have your hands so bare, take this I insist.”
Yngvild waited a few seconds before replying, “Okay.” Her face blank and tone neutral. “Uh, thank you.” She realized that just saying okay could be off putting. She then rushed out of the store trying her best to get away from the interaction she was forced into.
In the time between Yngvild entering the shop and her leaving, Carsioli had come alive, just what she tried to avoid in waking before the sun. However as the city had awoken so had someone interesting, a young man walked around the city with a woman dragging him along. The woman, Yngvild felt no pull towards but the man was a different story: long, disheveled hair that was at one point well taken care of, dark skin reminiscent of one who grew up or was born in the desert, oversized clothes that clearly didn’t belong to him, and the most striking feature; one eye brown as the dirt he currently stood on and the other as green as emeralds.
Yngvild let out a long sigh as she wandered through the Market District of Carsioli, the scents of fresh bread, roasted meat, and fragrant spices. With her hand still clasped around the bag her curiosity got the better of her and she opened the bag, waiting inside was a thin copper bracelet inlaid with a small red gem. As she ran her fingers around the band she was surprised by the warmth it gave off despite the morning chill.
Holding the bracelet in her hand, not yet putting it on, Yngvild walked up to a kebab stand. “How much?” She pointed at a large kebab that had multiple types of meat and vegetables.
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“3 Pi Ro for just the skewer, and only 5 for the skewer and a cider.” The man behind the cart was a pot bellied man, his smile as wide as his face and his eyes squinted at the top of his head, his pupils gleaming from under his eyelids.
She dropped 3 copper coins in front of the man, “Just the skewer.”
“As you wish.” He reached behind him and grabbed a skewer, handing it to Yngvild. “Have a good day ma’am.”
Yngvild walked around Carsioli, the skewer dripped grease on her hand and the ground but it was good nonetheless, the blend of beef and carrot, or pork and celery, even the Grazelok and the peppers worked well together. As she finished her meal she acted on the feeling she had since she picked it up, “You can come out now, all 4 of you.”
As she spoke 4 men walked out from behind various corners, surrounding Yngvild as they walked out. “That staff looks mighty pricey.” The first man hisses.
“More than the lives of all 4 of you combined.” Yngvild responded.
“Heh, that’s good. Get ‘er boys!” The first man jumped at the staff grabbing it before being kicked in the stomach by Yngvild falling to the floor. The rest of the thieves stood around stunned, unsure what to do, “Just jump her damn it, she can’t take all of you at once!” The other three jumped for her staff, she ducked under the second, the third charged at Yngvild, knife out but allowing her to hit the attacker's arm causing them to drop the knife, she then kicked them in the solar plexus, knocking them into the wall behind them, the final thief was thrown to the floor on top of the first.
The 4 got up surrounding Yngvild once again, “So, looks like she can take on the three of us.” The thief kicked into the wall said.
“Maybe, but do you think she could take all 4 of us? Cause I don’t.” The supposed leader said. The 4 charged at her.
Without thinking, Yngvild started to float, her hair pointed straight up, waving in a non-existent breeze, her eyes glew a bright white, and her voice boomed. She slammed her staff on the floor creating a shockwave that knocked the 4 to the ground, “Stay down if you wish to live!”
The 4 men scampered away, falling over themselves as they ran, Yngvild put up her hood and ran off. It was bad enough that she used magic, but she did it there, in the middle of the street, where a crowd was forming because she was being attacked. Guards were likely coming at this point she needed to leave quickly.
She made it back to the shop her item was at, the sign was still up but she cared not anymore, kicking the door in she yelled, “The flag, give it to me.”
“HAH, WHAT!” the man behind the counter screeched.
“A flag was smuggled into this city, I was sent to retrieve it. So where is the flag, give it to me.” Yngvild slammed her staff in a show of dominance.
“OH. Um, I’m sorry ma’am but someone came by earlier today to pick that up.”
“What? I was told it was being held in reserve?”
“Uh, yes it was but the person who came in had the reservation number so I sold it to them. Promise that’s all, would lose all my customers if I just sold things that they had held.”
She sighed, “Fine, where did they go, is he still in the city or did he go west?”
“Uh, neither actually, they said they were heading northward, Abilitan territory, I believe I heard something about Gni or Cerg, but I forget.”
Yngvild stormed out of the shop, “Why would they go north? I came directly from the west, if they were hired by the same man they would head back that way. And if they weren’t then how did they get the reservation number? Whatever, up north I guess.” She paid for her room in advance and traveled light, so she didn’t have to worry about going back to retrieve anything or pay.
As she walked through the northern gates of Carsioli she kept her head down, she wasn’t sure about how far the news of her magic had spread and she’d rather play it safe. She wasn’t stopped at any point luckily but she felt eyes follow her until she left. “Up to Gni I suppose.” She said to herself, “Long travel ahead of me and it’s only getting longer.”
