Inside Under the Crown of Ogotay

[Rongar]

Ever the gentleman, Rongar offered slices of his orange to the two women with a polite smile, a tilt of the head and raised eyebrows.

He was content now that his stomach had something in it, so he wasn't gaurding his food as he had the loaf of bread back on the Nomad though no one was there at the time.

If she wasn't so hungry, perhaps a slice or two would calm the annoying hunger alerts.

[firouz]

Firouz noticed Rongar's offer. It was just like him.

He then looked at Caipra. Truth, he hadn't said that much but finally found something to talk about. "Caipra, what have you been doing in Basra over the last year?"

[Caipra]

Caipra accepted with a smile, the slice of orange that Rongar offered her.
"Thank you, Rongar." she said before eating a piece.
It's true that she was not very hungry but she still preferred to eat something to prevent her friends worried for her.
The old sorceress turned to Firouz to answer his question.
"Oh ... you know, nothing very special. I often visit Kriss since she arrived in Basra and I cure the sick or injured people as soon as I can. I'm the healer of the village now. I prefer helping people instead of staying at home doing nothing. Besides, with my...abilities... I can prepare remedies very effective! "
Caipra continued to talk softly.
"Of course, nobody knows that I use magic to cure. And no one must know about that!"

[Rongar]

Rongar smiled when she took the slice.

He pursed his lips and furrowed his brow at her words.

Why was it so important that no one knows she uses magic? Not that they'd get it out of him; not that they could; but he would like to know.

[Caipra]

Caipra saw the expression of surprised on Rongar's face. He did'nt seem to understand why she wouldn't let this be known. The sorceress made sure that nobody could hear her then said.
"Things have changed since some time. Now people of Basra are afraid of magic. For them it's more a curse than a gift. So I would rather not tell them not to frighten them. I want them to live a peaceful life without any trouble."
Caipra looked at Aniel. Kriss's son continued to play quietly with his toys. Caipra thought especially about the young woman when she said that. Kriss didn't know that her friend was a magician ... neither that her son had some abilities. The old sorceress feared the reaction of the tavern's owner when the day of revelations would come.

[Rongar]

Rongar's eyes widened is shock.

Dazedly he nodded at Caipra's words.

They feared what which they have known as fact for generations?? But why? What had changed? Where she and Bryn in danger here? Would Maeve be if she returned?

He'd say nothing about the magic of his friends, but still, what had changed? Has another balck sorcerer come about trying to scare the country like Rumina had tried, and since there was no one to stand up to them they feared magic now? What had happened whilst they were away?

[firouz]

Firouz, as well as everybody else, also seemed in shock. He glanced at Bryn then back at Caipra. "Wh....why do you think they fear magic?"

[Caipra]

Caipra was surprised by their reaction. They all were looking at her, shocked. She noticed that Firouz looked at Bryn before talking to her. The sorceress tried to reassure them.
"You don't have to be afraid. We are not in danger, otherwise I would have left this city a long time ago!"

She then tried to tell them briefly the facts.
"In fact, it all started after Rumina tried to steal the obelisk. I'm sure you all remember that day, except Bryn of course."

She looked at the young sorceress and told her.
"Rumina attempted to stole the obelisk that Sinbad was supposed to bring back to Baghdad as a sign of peace. We were very close to a war, that day. Fortunately the crew of the Nomad stopped the witch in time!"

She looked back at the others.
"But since that day, Omar is afraid that someone with strong powers such as Rumina's ones attack the city to take the control of Basra. So he decided to prohibit any kind of magic here. Of course, nobody understood why, and everyone had the same reaction than you. They began to be afraid, to feel threatened. Since then, anyone caught making magic is arrested and expelled from Basra. I tried to explain to Omar that such measures were unnecessary, that all the magicians were not bad. But he don't want to hear anything about it. Fortunately he never executed anyone for having practiced magic. He's not a tyrant. He wants to protect his people. I can understand that. "

Caipra stopped a moment and then resumed.
"So I stay quiet about my practices. I only use my magic when I'm home."

The old sorceress stopped talking and waited for her friends's reaction.

[alex]

Bryn gulped. She didn't like this. Something felt wrong.

[Rongar]

While not agreeing with Omar's reaction, he could understand it. Rumina was a terrible woman to anger and very powerful.

Many times the crew had simply been lucky enough to escape her. No matter how strong Maeve had been or will be, Rumina was still one lady that he didn't want to anger at all.

[alex]

Bryn glanced at Rongar then returned her attention to Caipra. "So what happens if I just happen to unexpectedly use my magic? It is not very controllable." She paused before continuing. "Or worse, what if Rumina attacks us here? Certainly we would have to use our magic."

[Doubar]

Doubar had followed the whole conversation calmly, listening intently to all what had been spoken and not hiding his own surprise about the latest ongoings in Basra. Banning magic from a city sounded way too familiar to him and he certainly didn't like the memories that were connected to this. Hearing Bryn's doubts however made his head turn into her direction while he eyed her for only moment, letting her words sink in. In deed her magic was of a quite uncontrollable kind but in general it only came to life when they were being in trouble - which, had this been a normal stay in Basra, he most likely had not wasted a thought about ... But with Dermott's cryptical warning being still in the back of all the crew's heads, he couldn't help but get a little worried himself. True, the witch hadn't shown up for more than a year and somehow the first mate doubted the possibility that she would now; but he knew better than to negate anything related to magic and he knew well enough that it wouldn't need a Rumina to activate Bryn's powers. Swiftly Doubar took his gaze off the brunette only to let it wander to Caipra.
"Omar cartainly would not imprison friends!?", he finally stated, letting only the slightest uncertainness mix with his words.

[Caipra]

"Well, concerning Rumina, I hope she will never attack Basra again!"
Caipra thought again about what she had felt earlier and had already felt yesterday when she was with Kriss. Something was wrong but she still didn't know what. Did Bryn have felt the same thing on arriving in Basra? And worse, did Rumina could have something to do with all this?

For the rest, the young sorceress was right. Caipra was always cautious when she used her powers, but noone never know what could happen.
"Well the fact that you don't fully control your powers yet, is a problem we will have to resolve. In the meantime, try to be prudent and if, unfortunately, some people should discover that you are a sorceress, I know some ways effective for making them forget if I don't have another choice. "

She smiled at Bryn hoping that all that she said had reassured her a little. Then she looked at Doubar. He seemed worried too. Caipra started thinking that maybe she shouldn't have talked about this to her friends. She didn't want them to feel threatened or even rejected from Basra. But she had to admit that on this point, she couldn't provide a reliable answer.
"Honestly, I don't know Doubar. Omar trusts me, I have often healed him. But I don't know how he would react if he discovered the truth. Besides, Bryn may be a part of the Nomad's crew, he doesn't know her."

[alex]

Unfortunately, Caipra's words didn't seem assuring for Bryn. She let out a sign in half defeat. She nodded and smiled at the fact the Caipra offered to help her learn to control her powers better. And although she didn't like the idea of making people forget, it was worth a shot. About Omar, well, Bryn didn't know if he would accept her as one of the crew.

[Rongar]

Rongar nodded at the words.

Omar hadn't figured Caipra out, yet had he?

Well that was good and bad at the same time.

What would he do if Bryn's magic came to light? Would she be save simply because she was a member of Sinbad's crew??

He sighed.

Only time would tell on that.