Unforeseen Morality (Job/Solo)

Pier 14 sat near the middle of the complex network of docks that made up Hargeon's outer ring. Although it certainly had boats docked at it, its primary purpose had always been to serve as a kind of tourist attraction; bringing valuable income to the town with its may brightly lit shops, rides, and landmarks. Of course that was all before the sea monster attack that had, for the most part, wiped the pier clean of its once glamorous structures. Now the Magic Council had organized a charity event to help rebuild. The wooden bones of a new generation of shops were starting to push their way up from the huddled crews of volunteer construction workers scattered about the area, giving the entire pier the pleasant aroma of freshly cut wood mixed with sea air, of course the rebuild project would only last as long as the materials held out --supplies had begun to dwindle.

"Is this it?" Elvira inquired as Juno, her young guitar student, led her by the hand through the strange mix of townsfolk and the wizardly upper crust; the sort of aristocratic mages who would rather throw money at people and chat about how they were saving the world over glasses of champagne than roll up their sleeves but of course, their money was desperately needed.

"Yup! Here it is!" She said stopping in front of remains of a modest shop. "This is where mama and papa work...or worked...I guess. They say we can move back soon!"

"I'm sure it'll be wonderful." Elvira replied, wincing as she noticed the charity event staff had already set up a table for her with a banner that read: "Have your picture taken with three time Ms. Fiore Runner-up Elvira Arcade!" She never liked being reminded she'd never actually won the contest and besides, she had many other talents.

"I thought they wanted a wizard." Elvira muttered as she resigned herself to fulfilling her promise to her young friend and sitting down at the table. It didn't take long for a line to form. Elvira smiled and waved, signing copies of Sorceror Weekly while answering the same three or four questions about her current projects over and over again. Juno stood by, holding up a basket and collecting Jewels while enduring countless head pats from the assembled crowd of the aging upper class. Of course much like her career; Elvira's novelty quickly wore off and by mid day everyone had moved on to other things. Juno was spending her time dancing around a strange purple crab that was slowly journeying from one side of the pier to the other while Elvira sat at the stand.

"Hey, what'd we make?" The wizard asked, her feet now up on the table, while she read through an interview with Samira Nassar. Juno skipped over and held up the basket.

"Uhh this much!" She said happily. Elvira glanced down into the receptacle and frowned.

"Abrutis avides..." The older woman muttered.

"What's that mean?" Juno asked innocently. "Did we make alot?" Elvira shook her head.

"Eh don't worry about it, I think we need a new plan though." She said tapping her finger to her chin. If there was one thing she could do well, it was improvise; she borrowed a marker and flipped the banner on her table over, scrawling: "Have your fortune read with the cards of the famous Madame Lockser: Seer of Hosenka."

...

"I don't think that helped Elvi..." Juno whispered an hour later. The mention of fortune telling hadn't attracted a single new customer and the wizard was now biding her time watching a seagull gnaw on her finger out of the corner of her eye as she lay face down on the table. Elvira shook off the strong desire to begin a mediation on what life was like as a sea bird and shot up in her chair. "This is important!" She screamed internally. "Think...think...think."

She slid back and spread her cards out on the table, glancing around until she spotted a well dressed elderly man looking rather nervous as he hobbled by. Quickly she slapped her hand on each of the seven cards in front of her, prompting the hooded figures on the cards to move and change: They pulled back their hoods to show a series of faces with different expressions while the backgrounds behind them revealed a series of varied landscapes.

"You sir!" She said, jamming her finger towards the man and startling him. "You are going to have an excellent evening and if you'll spare but a moment of your time I can tell you why."

"I don't really believe in fortune telling magic..." He said in a shaky voice, coming closer despite himself. Elvira ran her hands across each of the cards again, prompting further changes.

"You're going to meet someone here tonight, someone you love, you found out recently she was in town and arranged a date but...she's late...you don't think she's coming eexxxccceeept..." Elvira said, drawing out the last word as she waited for the dramatic reveal.

"Miles!" A grandmotherly woman shouted, waving from down the pier.

"Prudence!" The man cheered, a joyous smile appearing on his face. "You're quite astounding young lady!" He said, dropping a large handful of Jewels in the basket and rushing off to hug the woman. Several people who had been talking in hushed whispers as they watched the exchange began to move closer, one of them finally stepped forward as the others formed a line.

"I-I haven't heard from my son since he left to join Sylph Labyrinth, is he well?" She asked. Elvira smiled and returned to her chair, shuffling her cards.

"Let's find out..."

...

It was late at night by the time the last person in line finally had their fortune told. Everyone on the pier must have come by at some point during the evening. Juno lay asleep in Elvira's arms; her basket buried under the mound of Jewels which sat on the table. The wizard smiled down at the sleeping girl and waved at the small group of Rune Knight volunteers waiting nearby for her to finish up. One of them walked over and whistled softly at the pile of cash.

"Great work, I didn't think we'd bring in half this much, the Council is going to go nuts." He said as he collected the money. "Oh um...by the way...could you sign this for me?" He asked sheepishly as he held up a magazine.