by S. B Terra
“What was the experience?” asked Alice curiously.
“I’m sorry, Alice, I don’t speak about, it’s very private.”
“I understand. The lecturer told me that the Vision Plant book was banned, why?”
“Yeah, it’s the most powerful aid for journeying and divination that there is, it can be very dangerous for those who aren’t prepared for it.”
“Have you ever tried it before?”
There was a short moment of silence.
“In a small dose, yes” said Katie, grabbing the two empty bowls and walking over to the sink.
“And? What happened?”
“As I said, it’s a very powerful brew and it’s not to be messed around with” said Katie in a serious tone.
“I see. The lecturer told me that most of the copies are now sealed in the archives of the council, how are there not copies still going around?” asked Alice casually.
“I’m sure there are still copies out there, but yeah, most of them are now in the archives, when they introduced fines for people caught with the book most people handed them in. I’m pretty sure the only place it could be found now would be the market in Agara, there’s all types of strange things there, they sell whatever they want, the People’s Forces turn a blind eye because the locals are so independent and they don’t want any upheaval, definitely not a place I would go though.”
“Why not?” Alice asked curiously.
Katie turned around and gave Alice an interrogative stare.
“You aren’t trying to find the book, are you?” she asked, seemingly sensing Alice’s curiosity about the book.
“No, I’m just curious, I saw the article about the hostages in the Terra Times this morning” replied Alice as casually as she could.
Katie paused for a moment, looking at Alice.
“Okay, but if that thought did cross your mind at all, do not go to Agara, Alice. I shouldn’t have told you that” said Katie seriously.
“Katie, relax, I’m just curious, I’ve been reading about all of these diviners, shamans, plants and brews the last couple of days, it’s all new to me, that’s all” said Alice reassuringly.
Katie smiled.
“Yeah, it must be exciting for you to be settling into the world of magic.”
Alice stayed and chatted with Katie for a while before saying goodbye and then making her way back up to her apartment and starting her Introduction to Magic assessment. Bella’s lesson on will power the other day had motivated her to get through her introduction program as quickly as she could.
Agara
Alice rolled up her assessment scrolls and then walked outside and handed them to Blue, who then flew off through the branches. She had had another productive night and had finished another two of her assessments, Introduction to Magic and Introduction to Meditation, which she had found quite easy.
Alice sat out on the balcony and meditated for a while whilst she waited for Blue to return, and when he returned about twenty minutes later, she went and grabbed another scroll.
Brian Hemms
Hi Brian,
If you are free, meet me at the café at 9.30am.
Let me know.
Alice
Alice rolled up the scroll and handed it to Blue, who again flew off into the distance, she then walked inside to the kitchen and prepared herself a bowl of fruits for breakfast while she waited for a response from Brian.
Blue flew inside less than ten minutes later and landed on the kitchen bench, dropping the scroll in front of Alice.
Alice Teller
Hi Alice,
Sounds good, see you at 9.30.
Brian
After eating and washing up, Alice then showered and put on one of her new hooded black dresses and then made her way down to the Student Plaza.
Alice walked into the café and ordered a tea and then sat down on one of the corner couches, and about five minutes later, Brian walked in.
“Hey, how’s it going?” asked Brian as he walked over and sat down on the couch.
“Hey, Brian. Good, how are you?”
“Yeah, I’m good, I’m just going to get some breakfast, I haven’t eaten yet” said Brian, getting up and walking over to the counter.
“Did you order food or just the tea?” asked Brian as he walked back over.
“Just the tea, I had some fruits just before I left.”
“Okay, cool. So, what’s going on?” asked Brian, he looked as though he had just woken up.
“Not much, what are you up to today?” asked Alice.
“Not too much, was planning on going to a lecture this afternoon, you?”
“Have you ever been to Agara?”
“No, my cousin has though, he got a cypondra fang from there, why?” asked Brian with a confused look on his face.
“From the market there?” asked Alice attentively.
“I assume so, why?” he asked, still with the confused look on his face.
“I need to go to the market there, it would be good if someone came with me just in case, what do you say? We would only be there for an hour or two.”
“Are you crazy? Did you not hear about the kidnappings? They are advising people not to go there” said Brian with a nervous look on his face.
“Yes, I read the article, they also said that the People’s Forces have increased their presence there since the attack and the kidnappings. They’re going to have the area more secure as they wouldn’t want any repeats of that, it makes them look bad, now is probably the safest time to go” said Alice, trying to convince Brian.
“Even so, there are cypondras there, there’s no way I’m going anywhere near there after seeing Ghor escape” said Brian, looking spooked.
“Brian, they are deep in the jungle, we’ll stay within the city. I only need to go to the market to find something and then we can get straight out of there, it will be safer if there’s a few of us, plus, we’ll get to see a city that we haven’t seen before” pleaded Alice as the waiter came over with Brian’s food, he had ordered an omelet.
Brian stared at Alice for a moment with a slightly nervous look as if he was in deep contemplation.
“Okay, I’ll go with you” said Brian, letting out a deep, nervous sigh and then taking a bite of his omelet.
“Awesome, thank you, Brian. Do you think we could ask your cousin to come and show us the market?”
“Yeah, we can ask him, I’d feel better going with someone who’s been there before as well.”
“Great, well, we can go to my apartment and send him a scroll, hopefully he’s not busy today” said Alice anxiously.
“You seem quite determined to go to Agara, what do you need from the market, anyways?” asked Brian as he took another large bite of his omelet.
“A book about the Vision Plant.”
“Isn’t that book banned?”
“That’s why I need to go to the Agara market, I heard it might be the only place where you can still find it.”
“Well, look at you, breaking the rules, I didn’t know you were the rebellious type” said Brian sarcastically.
“I’m not being rebellious, I’m just curious, that’s all.”
Brian laughed.
“Alright, well, let’s go to Agara” said Brian in an unenthusiastic tone as he finished his omelet.
Alice and Brian then made their way out of the Student Plaza and up the hill to Alice’s apartment.
Alice opened the front door and walked inside, grabbing a scroll from the bedroom.
“Wow, this apartment is awesome, how did you get this?” asked Brian as he walked out onto the balcony.
“I was lucky, I guess” said Alice as she joined Brian on the balcony.
“Did Bella get it for you?” asked Brian with a mischievous smile.
“Maybe it was because I was the first crossing in a while, I don’t know.”
“Yeah, true, well, this is unreal. There’s the little guy who woke me up this morning, he’s a persistent one
, isn’t he?” said Brian, pointing at Blue who was sitting on one of the tree branches.
Alice laughed.
“Okay, what’s your cousins name?” she asked as she pressed the scroll up onto the window.
“Nate Hemms.”
“Do you want me to write it or do you want to write it?”
“Blue will only take letters from you, so you write it, just say you are my friend and I’m with you at the moment.”
Alice pressed her wand against the scroll.
Nate Hemms
Hi Nate,
My name is Alice, I am friends with Brian, Brian is with me right now.
Brian and I are going to the Agara market today and we would like to know if you would like to join us. It would be great to have someone with us who has been there before. If you are available and would like to come with us, meet us at the entrance of the Student Plaza at 10.30. Let us know by writing on the back of this scroll and giving it back to Blue.
Alice Teller
Alice rolled up the scroll and handed it to Blue, who instantly flew off.
“Okay, let’s hope he can come” said Alice.
“Nice troll” said Brian with a big smile on his face.
“Yeah, he’s the spell dummy” said Alice, shooting a dark orange spell at the troll’s head.
“Nice, you’ve been practicing, huh?”
“Yeah, I try to practice every day” said Alice as she walked back inside to the kitchen.
“How’s your program going?” asked Brian, following Alice inside and sitting down on one of the kitchen stools.
“Good, I’m half way through the assessments, it’s pretty easy to be honest, how about you and your studies?”
“Some of it’s pretty intense but I’m staying on top of it all.”
“Do you want some tea or water or something? I still have some chocolates that I got from Larisha as well if you want some.”
“Nice, with Lisa? No, I’m good thanks, I’m full after the omelet.”
“Yeah, with Lisa and her sister, it was really nice. What’s your favorite city?”
“Hmm, probably Narz, I like the vibe there and all the blue, I like how all the stores are small and modest.”
A few minutes later, Blue flew into the kitchen and dropped the scroll onto the kitchen bench.
Alice Teller
Hi guys,
That sounds awesome, I’m in. I hope you don’t mind if one of my friends, Natalia, comes along, she has never seen Agara.
See you at 10.30
Nate
“What did he say?” asked Brian.
“He’s in, we’ve got fifteen minutes. Do you know Natalia?” asked Alice excitedly, handing Brian the scroll.
“Nope, never met her. Alright, that’s good, I feel better about going now that there’s four of us.”
“Aw, were you a little bit scared, Brian?” said Alice jokingly.
“I wasn’t scared, just cautious.”
Alice laughed.
“Alright, should we head down?” asked Alice.
“Yep, let’s go.”
Alice and Brian then made their way downstairs and back down to the Student Plaza.
Alice and Brian chatted at the entrance of the Student Plaza while they waited, and about ten minutes later, Nate and Natalia arrived.
Nate was taller than Brian and was quite thin, he had longish, brown, scruffy hair and looked to be in his early twenties.
“Hey, Brian, this is Natalia, and I’m assuming you’re Alice? Nice to meet you” said Nate cheerfully.
“Hi, guys, nice to meet you” said Alice.
“Nice to meet you, Alice, nice to meet you, Brian” said Natalia politely, she was of similar height and build to that of Alice and had long, light brown hair that was braided at the back and was wearing glasses.
“Alright, let’s do it guys. How’ve you been, man?” Brian asked Nate as they all made their way into the plaza.
Alice and the others all transported through to the Magic Council and then gathered under the T.P for Agara.
“Okay, so we’ll head straight to the market?” asked Nate.
“Yep, unless there’s somewhere else you guys want to stop on the way?” replied Alice.
“Nope, market sounds good, there’s a little café bakery not too far from the transportation room that I wouldn’t mind stopping at on the way back, they have tanja cookies and cakes, I want to stock up” said Nate.
Natalia laughed.
Brian looked at Alice.
“Tanja is a plant that makes you relaxed and happy.”
“You’ve never heard of Tanja before, Alice?” asked Natalia in a surprised tone.
“She actually crossed just over a week ago” said Brian.
Natalia and Nate both gave Alice a stunned look.
“No way, the crossing channels are closed, no?” asked Nate, looking confused.
Alice laughed.
“Yes, it’s a long story, they were open briefly but now they’re closed again.”
“Wow, I can’t believe it, that’s so cool” said Natalia.
“We can talk about it while we’re walking around the market” said Brian, trying to hurry everyone along.
“Alright, let’s do it then” said Nate.
One by one the group transported out of the Magic Council, and after the others had gone through T.P, Alice smashed her flask and then disappeared through the flames.
The transportation room of Agara was quite small compared to the one in the Magic Council and there were no people inside. The floors and walls were tiled with black and dark green marble throughout and there were a few fountains spread out along the walls.
As they walked out through the entrance wall, they all stopped and looked around, the city was built into the deep jungle and birds and random animal noises could be heard all around them.
The transportation room on the outside was a dark green colored pyramid that blended into the background colors of the jungle. There were small, rustic, treehouses built high up in the trees and there was a large cobblestone pathway leading through the jungle from the entrance of the transportation room with small, clay and wooden stores and houses scattered along each side that backed onto the jungle.
“Wow” said Natalia, swiping at a large insect that was flying around her face.
“Welcome to the jungle city” said Nate as he started walking up the pathway.
“This place feels sketchy” said Brian cautiously.
“Nah, the People’s Forces have upped their presence here now, it’s fine” said Nate.
“That’s exactly what I said” said Alice.
As they walked up the pathway, they passed a local man and a woman that were cooking some type of meat over a fire in front of their small, wooden house, neither of them had a shirt on and both their faces were painted red with black spots all over. The couple paused and stared attentively at the group as they passed.
“What the hell?” said Brian in a shocked tone after they had passed the couple.
Nate laughed.
“It’s normal to see that here, they live in their own ways, remember that we are out in the jungle.”
After walking for about ten minutes and passing a few crossroads and some more strange looking locals, they came to a giant statue of a cypondra that had plants and vines wrapped around and growing on it.
The group stopped and stared up at the giant snake statue, when suddenly, Brian and Natalia both jumped as a small, odd looking monkey with a rainbow-colored face ran out of the jungle and crossed the pathway a few meters from where they were standing. The monkey then ran back into the jungle through the houses on the other side of the path.
“What the hell was that?” said Brian dramatically.
“What was with its face?” asked Alice, laughing.
“It was a rainbow monkey, they’re common out here” said Nate, also laughing.
All four of them laughed and chatted as they continued up the pathway
past the giant snake statue, and after about five more minutes of walking, they came to another small crossroad.
“This is the market street down here. What were you looking for, Alice?” asked Nate.
“The Vision Plant book by Lyra Valeria.”
“Ah, I see. I saw one of the stalls selling a few books last time I was here, hopefully we can find it” said Nate, leading the group down the smaller street to the left.
A few minutes later they approached the market, there was a large, long tin roof that covered the street from where the market began and there were small stalls setup along both sides of the street. The market was fairly quiet, there were a few locals walking around and it had a very strange vibe. The local’s looked like a tough, fierce group of people and were wearing strange clothing, some of them had face and body tattoos, some had their faces painted with strange patterns and colors and others had face piercings with bones and other odd-looking objects.
“This is where I got the cypondra fang from” said Nate, pointing to one of the small stalls that had different snake fangs, flasks of venom and animal skins hanging up behind.
“This is quite a weird, huh?” said Natalia quietly as they continued through the market.
“To say the least” mumbled Brian.
There were stalls stacked with vegetables, strange clothing and objects, animal eggs of various sizes, machetes, axes, different types of weapons and tools, plants, fungi, insects, different types of raw meat and some of the stalls had animal skins hanging up behind.
“This was the stall I was talking about” said Nate, stopping at one of the larger stalls which was stacked with books, strange looking artifacts and a few ancient looking daggers.
The woman standing behind the stall had red and black paint under her eyes and was wearing a modest, old looking, long black dress. She looked to be in her seventies or eighties and had longish black hair, black eyes and a small barbell piercing through the skin of her forehead.
“Hi” said Alice cautiously as she approached the stall.
The woman stared blankly back at Alice, not saying a word.
“Some of the locals only speak their native languages” Nate quietly whispered to Alice.
“What do you seek, young ones?” asked the woman after a moment of standing there in silence, her voice was whispery, soft and rather scary.
