Ziad
Junior Seaman
Posts: 174
|
Post by Ziad on Jun 16, 2010 12:04:58 GMT -5
(takes place after Ziad and Caipra´s conversation in Kriss´ tavern)
It didn´t take him long to get back to his post, the one that was located closest to the port of all, but when he arrived he could tell with a glance at the moon and stars that it was past midnight already. The bustle on the streets had ebbed to a few lonely shadows here and there, some minding their business, others retreating into even deeper shadows at the sight of his robes.
Ziad entered the guards quarters and closed the door behind him, shaking off the cold of the night and along with them, the fears and doubts that had tried to creep up on him on his way here, instead putting up his usual stern attitude that he always displayed when on duty. He knew that what he was about to do was wrong ... he knew it but also knew that this was not going hinder him.
The young guard, merely 16 years old, jumped to his feet when his captain approached. Apparently the boy had been drowsing but for some reason that was a relief. It told Ziad that the place had not become any busier while he had been away. The man who had come to them earlier was in a cell behind the young one. They had arrested him for now, because he had been drunk and by Allah he didn´t need another one of those hoodlums out on the streets if he could help it. And thinking things over, it looked like that circumstance could come in handy. Ziad glanced at the man behind bars when he took off his coat. The man looked back.
"There was nothing unusual going on, my lord." the young guard started his report, his voice a little slurred from drowsiness but still hectical. "And there was no on else reporting..." "It´s all right, Farid," he said, before the boy could ramble any further. "I think things are about to get solved." The kid gave a nod, but remained standing.
"I need to ask you to not retire to your well earned rest yet." Ziad said, starting to set into motion the plan he had thought of while coming here. "I found another witness and she will be here in a moment. I want you," he nodded at the half drunk civilian "to confirm her story." The man nodded in a way that told him he was not to be questioned. The man felt like he was taken serious and that was all he needed. "And Farid, I will need your help with this. You need to make sure all the witnesses are here, so we can make sure justice is done." While speaking, he placed a hand on the young man´s shoulders, knowing very well how these young ones were. Always eager to please. Proud to serve the Omar, proud to be with the guards and therefore mostly just as eager to suck up to their superiours.
"There was another witness he said," Farid reported "a friend of his, but he wasn´t there to see what the girl did. So...he wasn´t a witness, just someone he told about it later." "I need that man here," Ziad said, taking his hand off Farid´s shoulder. "Instantly. I don´t want to put any unnecessary inconveniences on a kind citizen of Basra." He gave a curt, polite nod to the half drunk one, knowing that he came from an influencial family. It could never harm to know whom to treat how. He himself didn´t think much of the guy, but that didn´t matter. What mattered was that ... that he managed to break yet another law. What a wonderful night.
Farid nodded eagerly, gave a short bow and hurried out after the other man had told him where to find his friend. When he had hurried out, Ziad turned towards the big wooden table that stood at the long side of the room. Without even considering to release the man from his prison, he sat down, took a new role of parchment and a feather and started to write a report of the night.
"What is your name, young sir?" he asked, trying to ban the trace of mockery from his voice. "Amir Ibn Hisham", the man replied, getting up from where he had been crouching, head held high. He was tipsy, but not drunk and Ziad reminded himself to exaggerate on the rate of the young man´s alcohol in his blood.
Amir ibn Hisham he wrote. "You need not worry," he said. "long before the night is over, you will be at your home again, knowing that the matter has been attended to. I hope you understand that as a loyal servant to our honoured Omar you understand the precautions I had to take by putting you behind those bars."
...was taken into custody for half the night... and here he added the date of the current day ...after having drunk too much and thereafter causing turmoil on the streets. Has been found to be no danger and thus been released again ere sunrise.
For a moment, the sound of the quill was the only sound in the room, in those few seconds when young Amir was trying to muster the courage and mild arrogance he had been taught to display towards people of lesser rank (or at least he, as the son of a rich man considered himself above most), but Ziad knew that, had he given a snarky retort, this would have come off as impolite after his own benevolent and polite words. And therefore, just as he had guessed, Amir just nodded, swallowing whatever arrogant reply he had meant to come up with.
Now he knew he had to wait. And he hoped with a mild annoyance that he would not have to wait for long.
|
|
Caipra
Boatswain
"Stop acting like an old married couple"
Posts: 1,775
|
Post by Caipra on Jun 16, 2010 14:46:18 GMT -5
As soon as she had left the tavern, leaving Sinbad and his crew still in the ignorance of her intentions, she got back to her home. She needed to take some tools and plants with her. Fortunately, her house wasn't far from Ziad's post, she could join him quickly.
She was thinking of the spell she planned to cast. She perfectly knew what she had to do, even if she never used it before.
She remembered the first time DimDim had talked to her about this spell. They were younger then, he had read it in a book. It was said that it was a very powerful and very efficient spell, but that it also had to be casted with a lot of precautions. This enchantment needed a lot of ingredients that had to be used cautiously when they were mixed together. A wrong manipulation could have an impact...not necessarily bad, but still unexpected.
Caipra always had a big passion for those kind of spells. She and Dimdim had already casted dangerous spells, but never this one. She never had had the opportunity to do it, actually.
In other circumstances, The old sorceress would be a little excited to try it, but right now she was rather stressed. Of course, she knew simplier enchantments to erase memories, but they were not hundred per cent efficient and she didn't want to take any risks. The wise woman was aware that her action would protect not only Bryn, but also the entire Nomad's crew, Ziad and all people in Basra, including Kriss and her son.
*Stupid Omar for having created that stupid law* she said to herself. Everything would have been so simple without it. But none of this would have happened if Rumina never tried to rob the obelisk from the Caliph. Magic would still be allowed like it was everywhere else.
But it was not the time to think about all this. Caipra had to stay concentrated on the presents events, on what she was going to do, right now.
When she arrived home, she took a little bag and packed all the things she needed. Then, she went to Ziad's post, taking all the less frequented streets. She walked during a few minutes before stopping in front of a door. she raised her hand and knocked.
|
|
Ziad
Junior Seaman
Posts: 174
|
Post by Ziad on Jun 16, 2010 14:58:28 GMT -5
Even though he had expected her to knock sooner or later, Ziad was still startled by the sudden sound. He didn´t show it, but his heart did a jump, a last proof for the fact that he was very well aware that he was not following his orders or worse, that he was about to deliberately break them by having agreed to hush up something that could have become a real issue, if they hadn´t decided to sweep it under the carpet. Why in the world had he agreed to that again?
He shot a glance over at Amir who had gone back to sitting on the ground, looking ahead, probably with his head hurting from the alcohol and from whatever that witch woman had done to him. Then he got up and walked towards the door which was just around the corner and just a bit out of sight of the cell.
It was Caipra, just as he had expected and he cast a quick glance around along the street, noticing nothing suspicious, but he didn´t spot the lad either. He hoped the boy wouldn´t take too much time.
"You are a witness in this." he said, keeping his voice a whisper, instructing her what he expected her to do for now, until they could do what she had come to do. "so keep your head down. There is another witness and you´ll have to deal with him, the victim and a boy from my squad. For now, pretend you´re some kind of healer or whatever suits you. Just something that makes you unsuspicious so you can do ... you know." He cast her a look that was stern and spoke of the anxiety he felt even though he preferred not to display it. then he stepped aside to allow her inside.
|
|
Caipra
Boatswain
"Stop acting like an old married couple"
Posts: 1,775
|
Post by Caipra on Jun 16, 2010 15:46:03 GMT -5
Caipra listened closely to Ziad's intructions. It seemed that he had planned everything already. So there was another witness, and also that other guard. Unless Ziad had a big confident in him, she would have to include him in her spell.
She nodded at what Ziad told her. She made a step do go inside but stopped in front of the chief's guard to say in a whisper. "I don't need to pretend I'm a healer, since I am...a healer." She darted a smirk. She wanted to calm the atmosphere, which was not easy.They were both worried, or worse, and the fear or the worry were not going to help them. She finally entered the room, her head down, as he asked her to do.
|
|
Ziad
Junior Seaman
Posts: 174
|
Post by Ziad on Jun 16, 2010 16:19:36 GMT -5
She understood immediately, and Ziad was grateful for that, grateful for her being reasonable and composed. Probably that came with age, he couldn´t tell. Still, her smirk put him off for a moment, telling him that he was more edgy than he wanted to admit and only with some effort he managed not to give a snort in reply. Instead he pretended he hadn´t seen it and walked back into the main room where Amir had risen to his feet again, apparently curious about the newcomer.
"Can I leave now?" he asked, hopefully, his voice sounding just a very bit slurred. "I´ll have to ask a little more patience of you." Ziad replied, a very faint tinge of surpressed sarcasm in his voice, before he turned towards Caipra, showing her where she could sit - on a wooden bench opposit the table. He knew they would have to play a game now, to keep a facade. When Amir ibn Hisham left these four walls he would hopefully not a bit of his memory left concerning this whole thing, but until that moment came they had to keep him from causing any trouble ... or drawing attention.
"Forgive me I do not remember your name," he therefore said, looking back at Caipra and taking up his quill again. "and I am sorry I had to order you here at such an untimely hour, but it is best to deal with such matters while memories of it are still fresh." It was an ambiguous thing to say, of course and he hoped she would get the clue and play along.
|
|
Caipra
Boatswain
"Stop acting like an old married couple"
Posts: 1,775
|
Post by Caipra on Jun 16, 2010 16:57:19 GMT -5
Caipra perfectly understood the need of this role play. That's why she slowly sat down on the wooden bench Ziad was showing her. She casted a glance to the man behind the bars before answering the guard. "The hour doesn't matter, as long as I can help out the Caliph and his guards to resolve a case. My name is Mariah. I'm a small healer in town. Are we expecting someone else?"
|
|
Ziad
Junior Seaman
Posts: 174
|
Post by Ziad on Jun 18, 2010 15:30:12 GMT -5
Ziad was relieved at her reaction, but didn´t show it. Instead he had taken up his quill again and jotted down the name she had made up, right under what he had written before, hoping that it wouldn´t take long until the boy returned with the second witness. He caught himself listening closely to every noise outside the walls of the building, anxious to detect the faintest sound of footsteps coming closer, but there was nothing to be heard yet and he wondered how long Farid had been away. He came to the conclusion that he couldn´t tell for sure.
"Yes." he replied. "and they should arrive here shortly, I hope. Until then though I would like you to tell me what you overheard about tonight´s incident." ´Play along he thought again. Play along. And by Allah he would have that boy take over night shifts for weeks if he didn´t hurry.
|
|
Caipra
Boatswain
"Stop acting like an old married couple"
Posts: 1,775
|
Post by Caipra on Jun 18, 2010 16:06:07 GMT -5
"Of course. But first, I hope you won't mind..." Caipra took a bowl, a pestle and some plants from her bag and put them on the table. "I would like to prepare my remedies. I always prepare some for the day to come, I was in my way home to make them when the accident happened in the streets. I felt a little upset by all those events and therefore, I haven't had time to make them." The old woman didn't even waited for Ziad's answer. She put some plants in the bowl and started to crush them with the pestle.
Amir ibn Hisham was watching her, a little suspicious. He didn't remember seeing that old woman in the street. However he couldn't have noticed her if she was hidden in a coin of a street, while he was facing the girl who had attacked him. So he didn't say anything and continue watching her.
Caipra ignored him, voluntarily. When she finished crushing the plants, which now looked like a little heap of dust, she looked for something else in her bag and said. "Well, as I told you, I was on my way home when I heard noises coming from a parallel street and..." She was interrupted by Farid, finally coming back. He opened the door and went in, someone following him behind. The man slowly entered the main room and looked around himself, first toward Caipra and then toward Amir. The old woman could see the anxiety in his eyes. He didn't really understand what he was doing here.
The young guard came closer to Ziad and bowed. "Here's the man you were looking for, My lord."
|
|
Ziad
Junior Seaman
Posts: 174
|
Post by Ziad on Jun 19, 2010 2:02:20 GMT -5
Ziad looked up when he heard the two of them enter, hiding the relief he felt. He gave a curt nod, before he got up. "Good, thank you Farid" he said, before facing the other man. He guessed that he was around the same age as Amir and his clothes told him that he was not quite of equal rank. "No need to be anxious." he said, not an attempt to call the other man down, but a mere neutral statement. "you did no wrong." He motioned the new arrival to take a seat next to Caipra while Farid went back to his place where he had been earlier, next to the cell.
"As you will have been told by now, you were summoned here because of something your friend Amir told you." he began, standing in front of the young man now. He looked calm, but his mind was racing, trying different opportunities of how to best give Caipra a chance to work her magic. A warning voice once more told him that he was doing something he shouldn´t, that right now he was risking his job and most likely also his freedom and he felt that feeling become stronger when he caught himself taking a look at the windows. The lids were closed, no one could look in. Amir in his cell could not run away, but there were the two other ones. He hoped that Farid would be too blindly a follower to not even consider disobeying him even if he sensed something strange was going on. As for the new arrival, he was sure he could handle one man with ease.
When the new arrival had sat down and Ziad had written down the man´s name - Kadeem as the other one told him, he leaned forward on his stool. "I need you to tell me what your friend told you." he sad. "as you know magic is a dangerous thing and I am in charge of the safety of this part of the city, I need all the details and whether anyone else knows."
Kadeem still looked anxious, obviously not the strongest of heart, his gaze flickered between the man in front of him and his friend behind bars. "Well,..." he started, "Farid came to me a few hours ago telling me that ... he had been attacked and nearly strangled by ... by this young woman who used magic." With hesitatnt words he retold the same story that Ziad had heard twice by now, so when the young man had finished he nodded and asked: "Does anyone else know?"
Kadeem thought, then shook his head. "I told nobody else." he said. "I was at home all evening." Ziad shot a short glance at Caipra who was still busy with the herbs and whatever else she had brought and a thought struck him. "I thank you both," he said to the two witnesses. "for your help and apologize for the trouble this caused you. Be assured that nothing worse will come of this and that justice will be done on this woman. I might need your help once more once we find her, so do not be surprised if you should be called here again." Then he once more looked at Caipra. "You mentioned you´re a healer." he said. "is there anything you could do for these men to help them have a good night´s rest after the fright this must have caused?" It was a clear hint, but also an enquiry. He didn´t know how this kind of magic worked and the question hinted at that.
|
|
Caipra
Boatswain
"Stop acting like an old married couple"
Posts: 1,775
|
Post by Caipra on Jun 19, 2010 7:19:58 GMT -5
Caipra was listening to the conversation without saying anything. She was impressed to see Ziad remain calm and play his role as if it was a case like any other one. For sure, the 3 other persons in the room didn't expected what was going to happen to them.
When Ziad looked at her, the old sorceress got the signal that it was time to act. Without knowing it, he had just asked her what she needed to hear. Indeed, she couldn't cast "the spell of the forgotten" right now. She needed a little more time to prepare it, and her actions could have warned the other men that something was wrong. That's why she had planned something else. "Hmm, I think I have the perfect remedy for them." She said.
Caipra took the bowl and put the herbs, she had just crashed, in her hand. She stood up and she came to occupy the center of the room, where she could reach the three men simultaneously. "With that, misters, you're going to spend the best night of your lives." She put her hands to her lips and blew on the pile of grass, turning on herself. She made sure that nothing reaches Ziad, and before someone could react, she said three words, in an ancient language. Amir, Kadeem and Farid instantly fell on the ground, sleeping deeply. "They won't wake up before a few hours..." Caipra said, calmly watching the three men on the floor. Then she looked up toward Ziad and added "And when they will do it, they'll have no memory of what happened that night."
She came back to the table, sat down, quickly washed the bowl, and started the other spell.
|
|
Ziad
Junior Seaman
Posts: 174
|
Post by Ziad on Jun 20, 2010 12:09:25 GMT -5
Ziad watched her avidly, his anxiety barely subsiding. The fact that the men dropped asleep only an instant later was at the same time unsettling and calming. unsettling because he felt somewhat uneasy at the prospect of someone wielding such power, calming because he had already started to come up with a strategy to deal with two or three men that could fight back once they noticed something was happening that was not supposed to happen.
He decided that it was not his place to interfere now and part of him was also anxious about any sounds from outside, listening carefully for anyone approaching, instantly hoping that noone would intrude. So he merely rose to his feet, keeping his eyes on Caipra while one hand strayed towards his sword, betraying that he was tense, ready to deal with anything or anyone that could enter right now.
|
|
Caipra
Boatswain
"Stop acting like an old married couple"
Posts: 1,775
|
Post by Caipra on Jun 20, 2010 13:34:34 GMT -5
Caipra knew she had to do quickly. The faster all this would be done, the better it would be. She noticed that Ziad had stood up, but she didn't pay attention.
She started by drawing a pentagram on the table with a chalk. Then she searched in her bag some plants, a white rose and a candle. She passed her hand over the wick of the candle which lighted up itself. She put the plants in the bowl and crushed them. finally, the old sorceress took three petals on the rose, that she crushed in her hand before adding them in the bowl that she put in the center of the pentagram. She had almost finished.
Caipra looked up and watched Ziad. She hesitated a few seconds but finally asked. "You know, I can also erase your memory, if you want to forget about all this." Caipra had to ask him that question. She knew he would think about this for days, wondering if he had done right or wrong. She just wanted to make things easier for him. She owed him that, but she would never do it without his agreement.
|
|
Ziad
Junior Seaman
Posts: 174
|
Post by Ziad on Jun 20, 2010 23:51:36 GMT -5
Ziad shook his head at the question without having needed to consider the offer for more than a second. He knew that what he was doing was wrong and against his orders and everything he should hold up in his position but if anything he wanted to at least hold up what little control he had of the situation and that control lay in his memory.
"No." he just said and kept watching her. Whatver she was doing there was strange to him. he had never tempered with magic and even though he did not agree with the harsh regulations that were being imposed on it these days, it had always mildly irritated or frightened him. He was used to facing his opponents head on, but with a sorcerer or sorceress one never knew what might hit you. He didn´t really like that thought.
|
|
Caipra
Boatswain
"Stop acting like an old married couple"
Posts: 1,775
|
Post by Caipra on Jun 21, 2010 9:28:05 GMT -5
Caipra didn't feel surprised to hear Ziad's answer. As a chief of guards, he had to stay master of his acts, in any circumstances. That's why he completely deserved his place. Ziad was known all over Basra for the great job he was doing. The streets were less dangerous than before his arrival. People respected him, and she did, too. Besides, he was not only a guard to her, he was also a friend. The old sorceress nodded with a little smile, and came back to her spell. She took the candle, closed her eyes, and slowly said.
Cumaþ ond féhaþ ælfena dierneu friðwes ! Þissa bearn áhtedon ofergitolian Dílegaþ þás bearna ingemynda
She leaned the candle over the bowl and poured the wax. Everything happened quickly. The wax triggered a little explosion and the wind invaded all the room. A bright light shone on the face of the three men on the floor during a few second. Then, suddenly, the wind stopped and the room was plunged into darkness.
For a moment, the breath of Ziad and Caipra was the only thing they could feel in the room. Finally, the wise sorceress lit all the candles and lanterns of the room, with a sign of the hand.
|
|
Ziad
Junior Seaman
Posts: 174
|
Post by Ziad on Jun 21, 2010 12:59:56 GMT -5
His body stiffened involuntarily as she started the incantation and when the lights flickered out, extinguished by a small whiff of wind that went through the room all of a sudden even though the windows were properly closed. Magic, he thought. There sure was something weird about it. He had always felt uneasy around it and this sort of ... ritual didn´t change his opinion in the slightest. He just hoped that everything had worked, that things would be over, the men´s memories be altered in a way that the troubles of this night now merely existed in three memories. His, hers and the girl´s.
|
|