Ｓｔａｒｒｙ－Ｅｙｅｓ【ｒｅｃｒｕｉｔｍｅｎｔ】

Great. I've 'found' the Sevenwood but I have no way to know which way I need to go to find the center let alone the basin. thought the wizard from Crystal Swan whose clothes were glowing a scarlet red; the aura came from a basic fire enchantment he used to keep warm on his travels through Iceberg. On his back lie a large sack with blankets, food, and clothes which he took with him in his travels to the Pergrande Kingdom. He was on his way back after six months in his birthplace and had to find the basin he had heard only in a passing mention so many years ago. Sevenwood could not be navigated by just anyone, he found out, and he only knew very basic constellations. The trees were no help, either, as they had never left their rooted positions and thus have never seen anything except the same piece of land they have always occupied. From what he could hear, the animals didn't like how he smelled and thus refused to help him. Vincent was hoping for a miracle and, sure enough, one came to him... well, fell on him would be more accurate.

The crack of the branches above him preceded the rapid descent of an orange haired woman with a pink sweater shielding her from the cold. Her fall would be broken by his large pack, leaving the white haired man lying face first after a powerful shock. He would recover as soon as he could and see that the girl was no threat to him at all, but instead was a moderately powerful mage. Vincent was not surprised, given the ratio of mages to non-mages in Seven. Still, he would have thought that a strong mage such as herself would somehow avoid falling from high places. "It's nice to meet you, stranger." he began in a thicker than usual accent from his journey to the Kingdom. "I'm Vincent, a lost Fioren mage. Would you happen to know how to get to the heart of the Sevenwood?" he asked bluntly. She seemed as good a candidate as any to know how to get to where he needed to go given that she was traveling through the Sevenwood at night. He figured she was a native.

Thinking that it was just a bit too dark, he Requipped his Wand of Light and conjured up a bright orb of light that would stick closely behind him to illuminate his surroundings. I hope she's not more dangerous than she looks... he thought cautiously, as he had just revealed to her just what kind of magic he used. He didn't suspect that she was a realistic threat to him, but that didn't make him any less cautious. "I've traveled across Earthland and I really need to find a little basin at the heart of these woods so that I can finally get home. You wouldn't happen to know anything about it would you?"

“I can help you… But then you would owe me a favor. What would I get out of it, stranger?” He couldn't possibly give her an reasonable response with what little information he had about her. She tried to act tough, but to Vincent it merely came off as childish. Before he could reply, she said something he could use. “What, are you? Fioran? Thats west… That’s the magic continent-- with magic revenues-- and all the guilds? Excellent, something I can work with.... "That fair, I don't expect something for nothing. Technically I'm from the Kingdom to the east, but I currently take up residence in Fiore due to their... let's call it wider range of opportunities for magic users. As for your other question..." he began, turning his back towards her and putting his hands under his shirt on both sides. The wizard raised the back of his shirt up to the middle of his back to reveal a majestic cyan swan tattoo. "I'm from the Fioren guild of artists and explorers, Crystal Swan."

She seemed genuinely excited by the ideas she had of Fiore and their numerous guilds. He was quite surprised at how intertwined magic was with the regular citizens of the nation. For the industrious wizard, Fiore was a place practically bursting with opportunity. It had the infrastructure and the demand for skilled mages. Vincent happily took advantage of every opportunity provided and was now a successful guild mage with a growing reputation. "Honestly I'm not too sure what to offer you aside from jewels. I can spare quite a few, so name your price. Aside from currency, though, I've got quite a head on my shoulders. I'm a magical researcher, so I'd be happy to share my knowledge if you're interested. That, however, isn't exactly as universally valued as pure currency. What else.... I'm sure my guildmaster wouldn't mind me extending an invitation to someone who is so freely willing to assist me in my exploration since you seemed to be stricken at the idea of Fiore's guilds."

He thought about it a bit more. "That's just about everything I have to offer you - I'd understand if none of those things caught your interest since aside from the jewels, require some technical knowledge or a willingness to completely uproot your life." After he finished his offers, he began to pick up the weapons that had fallen off of him after she had fallen onto him. The wizard was unusually well armed due to having come from the Kingdom known for its conventional weaponry. Vincent spared no expense in having certain weapons forged before he left for use back in Fiore.

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Vincent patiently listened to her explanation with wide eyes, his interest growing the more she spoke. Elvira was the only real person with which he had extended interactions and she was... terse. She didn't speak much and when she did, it struck him as pessimistic. This mysterious stranger, on the other hand, spoke so knowledgeably of the stars and their corresponding constellations that he couldn't help but be impressed. “You said what you're looking for is in the center of this forest.” He nodded. That's when she finally brought up what is was that she wanted from him in return for her stellar navigational services. “As for what I’m looking for… Passage into Fiore--” Passage into Fiore? That's all? "If that's all you want, then I'm happy to oblige. All we need to do is get to one of Seven's more developed areas and get you a passport. From there, I'm sure Fiore wouldn't mind another powerful mage living within their borders. I don't mind footing the bill for any travel expenses." he told her happily, feeling he was getting the much better part of the deal. "Let's call it fate that we 'ran into' each other then, stranger. I doubt it's a coincidence that I happen to run into someone with so vast a knowledge of the heavens that they could navigate themselves out of the most twisted of woods."

The two would travel north and make any slight alterations in their course as the path demanded until they reached the heart of the seven woods. There, Vincent would find nothing but a clearing and a wooden totem pole facing him. It was colored blue, white, and red with what he assumed was a person at the bottom with some kind of winged creature at the top. This was not was he was looking for, but it did rouse his suspicion enough for him to go in for a closer look. "As you can see, this is not a basin... but locations that are abundantly magical rarely allow themselves to be found so easily." he thought aloud in his navigator's direction. Vincent touched the middle totem of the pole before him and closed his eyes to feel its magical energy, if it had any, and discern any information from said magical energy. In his mind's eye he could feel like the magic was flowing up to the top of the totem pole and, when he looked up, he saw the it flowed diagonally into the ground about two meters away.

The wizard opened his eyes and pointed to the spot near the orange haired girl. "There. I have a feeling that what I'm looking for has something to do with that spot on the ground. But how to open it up...?" he said aloud, once again. He turned back towards the totem pole and walked around it to see if there was anything inscribed on the wooden structure. Sure enough, there was. It was written in an ancient precursor that eventually became what the modern day residents of Seven speak. Thankfully, Vincent was familiar enough with the dead language that he could translate it without much trouble. After writing down the entire inscription in his journal, he walked over toward the spot he pointed at and recited the words as best he could. Thankfully it seemed like he said it right as the ground raised to reveal a well lit entrance into a narrow cave whose walls were covered in thorny vines. "It might be dangerous, but you seem to be able to handle yourself. Come along, it should be interesting" he said, motioning for her to follow him deeper into the cave whose source of lightning was unknown.

The two would travel for about a minute before entering a large dome shaped chamber with the same vines covered in sharp red thorns that they would have avoided scraping past on their way to the room. The ground was full of beautiful red grass and matching flora. Four stone statues carved from what seemed to be a shiny black rock stood facing in towards a crystal blue basin with their hands held in front of them. There seemed to be some kind of barrier they were sustaining, a thought which was confirmed when a small pebble he threw bounced off the glowing and translucent air. "Absolutely beautiful. This is what I was looking for..." he said, his voice trailing off as he observed a few dimly glowing red butterflies flying around the room. There was a stone pedestal facing the entrance and exit to the chamber with the same language. After reading through it as slowly and carefully as he could, he sighed and proceeded to write the inscription in his journal. "Well, I'm happy this place exists and that this basin seems to do what I think it does, but unfortunately I can't exactly use it right now. My mission is accomplished, so let's see to your payment, shall we?"