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Althea once again found herself traversing the Desiertian sand, equipped with just as many clothes as usual. Just like the last time she was in Diestro, however, she wasn’t wearing a school uniform of sorts. Instead, the blonde dressed in a red and black sundress with a matching sun hat. On other occasions, she’d worn a letterman jacket, a different set of sundress and hat, just about anything. She hated to admit it, but Tethys’s tastes must’ve rubbed off on her in that regard. Althea didn’t have any need to wear different clothes at all, she just chooses to do so in the same vein she chose to eat and sleep. In the first place, she tended not to change her outfits much to fit in with the weather. After all, she tended to just use magic to regulate her body temperature.
One might think this would be strenuous to some degree, but Althea was already doing something similar daily. In fact, the magic-based action she did 24/7 was much more complicated than cooling herself down or heating herself up. All she needed to do was apply her magic to her blood, which fit the conditions of “water”. For there she could manipulate it as much as she wanted. Actually, that kind of gave her an idea to mess with her magic. The youth opened her palm, a pool of water forming once prompted by her slayer magic. Before she had gone to see Tethys, she would’ve hesitated before trying anything new with her magic. After all, the tricks Tethys taught were a surefire way to deal with damage while not jeopardizing her humanity. But now that she relearned her old magic, there was no need for such caution. Her magic signature was more stable than it had been in her entire life, so trying out new spells wouldn't be enough to throw her into a state as she had just been in.
But maybe, before she did that, the youth should focus on the task before her. She wasn’t in Deistro for no reason, especially due to her intense dislike for the heat. In fact, she was pretty sure she once swore off wearing light clothes in a desert after going on a very similar job. Althea had no idea how often people disappeared in the sands of the desert, but apparently, it was very often. After all, there were several different slaver groups scattered throughout, each with varying amounts of influence. However, unlike the small-time kidnapping she’d busted in her earlier days as a mage, these were the big leagues. A widespread operation that many important people were involved in. Honestly, it had been a problem for a while, but no request really came in until a rich man’s nephew was kidnapped. The slavers had probably expected the typical payment in exchange for freedom, but this time they’d get a wizard knocking on their door. Well, she wouldn’t be knocking. It was way easier to just get abducted again like she had last time.
The blonde grinned as she continued walking through the desert, her red and black-figure starkly contrasting her surroundings. This was one of the few jobs she really paid attention to the details of, mostly due to the purpose the slaves fulfilled once captured. They were entered into the Ring of Blood, a gladiatorial bloodbath that was enjoyed greatly by many VIPs in Diestro. If there was one thing the water mage liked, it was a good old bout of combat. And thus she was willing to walk around in the heat for hours, looking for any signs of magical power. It shouldn’t be too hard to be picked up by slavers from her experience, especially with a large scale operation such as the Ring of Blood. Althea could barely restrain herself as she thought about it, even though her objective was to shut the whole place down. The only thing she really had to look out for were government officials, killing those guys would mess up relations between Deistro and Fiore.
Finally, her pickup arrived. A group of ragged-looking men riding on camels was slowly making their way towards her. “Oi, girly!” A gruff voice echoed across the sands, prompting Althea to stop her walking. The youth squinted as she gazed upwards at the man on top of the camel, angling her hat in attempts to guide the beams away from her eyes. “You’re lost here, right? Here, I’ll give you a ride on my camel.” Ah, this was a common kidnapping tactic, right? Well, even if she truly was lost, anyone in the middle of Diestro wouldn't have the privilege of double guessing a mysterious group's intentions. However, the mage simply paused before nodding, sliding onto the camel along with the man. Althea simply hoped that her sunhat obscured her grin to a satisfactory degree.
The eternity in the blaring sun finally passed, and the group of camels finally came to their destination. Well, any passerby wouldn’t be able to tell seeing as the entire thing was covered in a cloaking shield. So, even if you blasted the entire desert with magic, it was doubtful if the arena would be uncovered. And the moment the group passed through the shield, the youth was treated to a grand sight. Large, ornate buildings, lush plants, and of course a monstrous colosseum. It seemed like it was made of the very bones of the victims forced to battle within, a bleached white structure that displayed great levels of artistry. In fact, all the buildings bore the same color, yet the establishment gave more of the impression of a city than an institute. The men on camels, however, didn’t take Althea directly to the Ring, and instead dropped her off at something akin to a checkpoint.
“Delivery!” The man that had been riding with Althea slid off the camel, walking up to the door. Not a moment later, it swung open, revealing yet another man. But a feature of his that stood out was the ragged scar that went from his jawline to his chin. However, no one seemed to blink at this, so Althea just stayed quiet and lowered her head.
One might think this would be strenuous to some degree, but Althea was already doing something similar daily. In fact, the magic-based action she did 24/7 was much more complicated than cooling herself down or heating herself up. All she needed to do was apply her magic to her blood, which fit the conditions of “water”. For there she could manipulate it as much as she wanted. Actually, that kind of gave her an idea to mess with her magic. The youth opened her palm, a pool of water forming once prompted by her slayer magic. Before she had gone to see Tethys, she would’ve hesitated before trying anything new with her magic. After all, the tricks Tethys taught were a surefire way to deal with damage while not jeopardizing her humanity. But now that she relearned her old magic, there was no need for such caution. Her magic signature was more stable than it had been in her entire life, so trying out new spells wouldn't be enough to throw her into a state as she had just been in.
But maybe, before she did that, the youth should focus on the task before her. She wasn’t in Deistro for no reason, especially due to her intense dislike for the heat. In fact, she was pretty sure she once swore off wearing light clothes in a desert after going on a very similar job. Althea had no idea how often people disappeared in the sands of the desert, but apparently, it was very often. After all, there were several different slaver groups scattered throughout, each with varying amounts of influence. However, unlike the small-time kidnapping she’d busted in her earlier days as a mage, these were the big leagues. A widespread operation that many important people were involved in. Honestly, it had been a problem for a while, but no request really came in until a rich man’s nephew was kidnapped. The slavers had probably expected the typical payment in exchange for freedom, but this time they’d get a wizard knocking on their door. Well, she wouldn’t be knocking. It was way easier to just get abducted again like she had last time.
The blonde grinned as she continued walking through the desert, her red and black-figure starkly contrasting her surroundings. This was one of the few jobs she really paid attention to the details of, mostly due to the purpose the slaves fulfilled once captured. They were entered into the Ring of Blood, a gladiatorial bloodbath that was enjoyed greatly by many VIPs in Diestro. If there was one thing the water mage liked, it was a good old bout of combat. And thus she was willing to walk around in the heat for hours, looking for any signs of magical power. It shouldn’t be too hard to be picked up by slavers from her experience, especially with a large scale operation such as the Ring of Blood. Althea could barely restrain herself as she thought about it, even though her objective was to shut the whole place down. The only thing she really had to look out for were government officials, killing those guys would mess up relations between Deistro and Fiore.
Finally, her pickup arrived. A group of ragged-looking men riding on camels was slowly making their way towards her. “Oi, girly!” A gruff voice echoed across the sands, prompting Althea to stop her walking. The youth squinted as she gazed upwards at the man on top of the camel, angling her hat in attempts to guide the beams away from her eyes. “You’re lost here, right? Here, I’ll give you a ride on my camel.” Ah, this was a common kidnapping tactic, right? Well, even if she truly was lost, anyone in the middle of Diestro wouldn't have the privilege of double guessing a mysterious group's intentions. However, the mage simply paused before nodding, sliding onto the camel along with the man. Althea simply hoped that her sunhat obscured her grin to a satisfactory degree.
♢♢♢
The eternity in the blaring sun finally passed, and the group of camels finally came to their destination. Well, any passerby wouldn’t be able to tell seeing as the entire thing was covered in a cloaking shield. So, even if you blasted the entire desert with magic, it was doubtful if the arena would be uncovered. And the moment the group passed through the shield, the youth was treated to a grand sight. Large, ornate buildings, lush plants, and of course a monstrous colosseum. It seemed like it was made of the very bones of the victims forced to battle within, a bleached white structure that displayed great levels of artistry. In fact, all the buildings bore the same color, yet the establishment gave more of the impression of a city than an institute. The men on camels, however, didn’t take Althea directly to the Ring, and instead dropped her off at something akin to a checkpoint.
“Delivery!” The man that had been riding with Althea slid off the camel, walking up to the door. Not a moment later, it swung open, revealing yet another man. But a feature of his that stood out was the ragged scar that went from his jawline to his chin. However, no one seemed to blink at this, so Althea just stayed quiet and lowered her head.
Last edited by Althea on 22nd April 2020, 8:41 pm; edited 1 time in total