RP:Unbound and Adrift

Summary: Dominic collides into Diryon, a mage. He takes the opportunity to inquire about getting an enchanted slave band (meant to track his whereabouts) off of his wrist. Diryon happily obliges. Some foreshadowing happens, probably.

Beloy Street, south of Healing Fountain

Dominic couldn’t remember ever feeling so at a loss as he did now. Here he was, in some unfamiliar town in some land he’d only ever seen before from on board a ship in the harbor, and to top it all off he was alone for the first time in over a decade. No one to follow, no one to serve, no one to tell him where to go or what to do or what to think. He hadn’t the slightest clue what to do with such freedom, though that -thing-, Brand, the voice in his head, seemed insistent upon looking for a way to remove the most obvious mark of his years of slavery posthaste -- the runed bracelet locked around his left wrist. And why not? It wasn’t as if he had any better plan… So lost was Dominic in these thoughts as he wandered the streets that he didn’t notice that he’d quickened his pace until he collided with the person walking ahead of him with enough force to knock himself firmly onto his behind. He picked himself off the ground and was halfway through stammering an awkward, blushing apology: “Oh, gods, I’m s-so terribly sorry, please don’t --” when he noticed the man’s garb. Robes. A mage? “I… er. Well, w-while I have your attention, do you know anything about removing magical locks?” -- If he was going to make a fool of himself, he might as well try and get something productive out of the encounter.

Diryon can hear someone's hurried approach at his back, but he's a bit late to get out of the way. By the time the young mage turns his head, Dominic is bouncing right into him. With a slight grunt of surprise, Diryon stumbles forward a bit before he regains his balance, turning to finally get a true glimpse of this stranger. Dominic's apology is met with a wave of a hand, even if there's a slightly annoyed look about the mage's face. "Nah, don't worry, it's -" Before he can even finish, it appears that this stranger has noticed the fact that he is, indeed, a mage. "Magical locks? It would depend on the kind, I guess, and how powerful the magic binding it together is. We would have to determine if there was a ward too, else we might blow ourselves up trying to open it, and..." Coming to a rather abrupt stop in speech, Diryon shakes his head. "Wait, let's start over from the beginning." Pulling the hood back from his head, the mage is revealed to be a rather young, complete with boyish features that show little in the way of scars or other unsightly lines. "Before I can help you, I gotta know a little more. Who are you, exactly?"

Dominic is perhaps the definition of socially inept. He starts to thrust a hand forward for a shake but midway through the motion seems to think better of it for some reason and turns the movement into a reach for the inside of his pocket. “Terribly sorry,” he repeats, green eyes searching for a good place to rest anywhere that isn’t the other man’s face. They eventually settle for darting intermittently between the mage’s chin and somewhere into the distance past his left shoulder. “I’m, er, not from these parts. I came by ship and making an extended stay here just sort of… happened.” He overtly neglects to mention the particulars. “My name is Dominic, I guess I’m a… a… well, I don’t rightly know anymore to be perfectly honest with you. I was in the service of the ship’s captain, and now she’s gone and I don’t know what to do with myself.” These words come out in a rush, as if he’s decided to just be out with it before he can give himself time to reconsider. He raises his left arm in front of him to show off the runed bracelet locked on at the wrist. “I figured getting this thing off me was as good a start as any. I think it was meant to track my whereabouts. No point if I’m not owned anymore, right?” Dominic swallows nervously. This is more words than he’s spoken to anyone at once in a long time.

Diryon doesn't seem to mind that Dominic reconsidered the handshake, as he isn't big on them anyway. The man tilts his head to the side as he listens to this stranger's story, nodding here and there at certain points in his somewhat nervous retelling. "Dominic, huh?" He doesn't wait for a response. "I think I can help you. You seem harmless enough, anyway. Leave your paw stretched out there, eh?" Stepping closer, Diryon lowers his eyes to this peculiar runed bracelet, silently probing it for any wards or other complicated works. "Unless I'm terribly mistaken in my analysis here - which is rare, honestly - I think we can remove it without a whole lot of trouble. The magic used to track it will be gone, but I'd still recommend just discarding the thing when we're done."

Dominic fidgets in place as Diryon works, visibly uncomfortable with this level of proximity, but does as he’s told. He listens to the entirety of the mage’s assessment, then bursts out with a gruff, “Do with it what you will. It would make a pretty godsawful keepsake, all things considered.” For the moment he’s speaking it seems as if his entire demeanor shifts; his body stiffens, a fire lights in his eyes, and even the timbre of his voice seems coarser. And then it is all reverted, as abruptly as it had begun. Dominic blinks twice and pulls away half a step. He seems disoriented. “Apologies, that was…” he pauses, shakes his head. “You’re being a help and there’s no need for me to snap like that. I’m grateful for any assistance you can offer, ah…” Dominic kicks at the ground with one foot, frustrated. “Well frak, I suppose I’m rude regardless. I never even asked your name. Or anything else.”

Diryon blinks, looking up when Dominic's voice noticably changes. The way this strange individual backs away with a hesitant response gives a bit of a clue that things aren't quite what they seem. "Right, well, don't worry about it, anyway." When Dominic speaks of a name, the mage gives him a quick smirk. "Diryon. Anyway, let's get this stupid thing off." Approachiing Dominic again, the mage's eyes narrow when he takes in the sight of that runed bracelet. Arcane energies are worked into play silently, a sort of crimson glow coalesceing around the enchanted jewelry. The red light slowly shapes itself into a rune itself, first matching one of those found upon the bracelet and then shifting every so often, focusing its energies upon the armlet. The runes upon the ornament come pulsing to life as well, reacting and waging some sort of silent but quite visible war against Diryon's magic. As soon as this tiny magical conflict starts, however, it is apparently over; a startling 'pop' similar to a firecracker bursting sounds out, causing the mage to flinch backward instinctively. "I never get used to that..." He remarks, watching the runes upon the bracelet lose their light and die out like some lamp that has spent its last oil. "...Anyway, try it now. Should be safe to take off."

Dominic flinches, yelps, and jumps back about half a pace at the sound, but seems to recover well enough after a few seconds. Holding his arm out at its full length, he eyes the band warily as the markings fade. His posture suggests he’d try to run away from his own limb should the bracelet do anything further. When some time lapses and the thing remains inert, he hesitantly pulls his hand closer to the rest of his form and gives the runed band a tug. It doesn’t budge at first, but with some persistence he manages to finally wiggle himself free of the damned thing. The skin underneath is alabaster. “I… I haven’t the foggiest what to say,” he murmurs at length, peering with one eye at Diryon through the center of the bracelet and then holding it out before him again. His countenance appears to be in flux through a number of different competing emotions. “T-this… I was but a boy when they put the first one of these things on me. Just a child. It’s been… gods, I don’t even know how long. I’ve had no way to mark the time.” He mumbles something under his breath, as if to himself, then turns his face upward and, surprisingly, actually meets the mage’s gaze this time. “Do you - would you like payment? I was given some coin, though I admit I don’t quite know the monetary value of such magic.” He looks down at the bracelet again. “I’m not sure I have enough worth being freed of this awful thing.”

Diryon declines the offer with a shake of his head. "Nah, it isn't necessary. It was a relatively easy enchantment to break, really. It's a popular one, and impossible for those without some knowledge of magic to remove...but, with the right knowledge, it's like picking a lock. You're lucky, though. It would've blown your arm off if I did anything wrong." That cues up a quick grin, an easy tell as the mage can't hold back laughter. "I'm joking, really. Whoever put that thing on you didn't want it to kill you if it ever came off, so that means something, I guess. Either that or they didn't know how."

Dominic looks completely aghast at the jest, and only manages a weak upturn of the lips when Diryon reveals it to be only that -- a jest. The smile seems wrong on his face somehow, as if any mirthful expression has long gone unpracticed. Mostly it just ends up making him look queasy. “I don’t know, those both seem wrong,” he says, turning the bracelet over in his hands thoughtfully. He’s battling an impulse to hurl it away as far as he can. “As far as I know, they made the things themselves, or had someone in their employ who did. There were some dwarven blacksmiths and enchanters about; I’d be surprised if none of them knew such a thing. And if the first thing were true, if I were somehow so valuable to them that killing me was off the table, well…” he shudders and doesn’t finish the sentence, but the implication is clear: someone at some point surely tried to end him. And failed, evidently. Dominic’s face hardens and he shrugs, some of the earlier coarseness returning to his voice. “It doesn’t matter. It’s done now.” He loses the fight against himself at last; the bracelet flies over the heads of several passers-by and disappears into some gaudy fountain some distance away. It’s actually a rather impressive throw given the man’s gaunt frame.

Diryon watches Dominic discard the bracelet with surprising ease; that, coupled with the gruff edge to the man's voice returning, gives rise to fresh suspicion. "Yeah." He plainly remarks, "Anyway, enjoy your freedom! Randomly as we met, I'm sure we'll probably bump into each other again at some point." Literally. "I've gotta get going. Business and all that to attend to." Before Dominic might move to thank him again, the mage grins and turns on a heel. "Don't mention it. See ya around, pal!" Without another word spoken, Diryon heads down the street and disappears into the thinning crowd.