Music and Magic among Knights and Thieves

Chapter 1: The House of Lies Shall Fall

House Arkait was one of the oldest noble houses in the country. They were a family of strong magic, it was what had given them their prowess. Except that in recent years they hadn’t been much more than a symbol of intimidation. Up until Connor and Silas had been born no one in the past one hundred years or so had been able to actually use magic. House Arkait as it was now known was built upon appearances and lies. Connor could use creature magic; he could change his shape as well as understand animals. Silas had been born with pyrokinetic magic which had been interesting to say the least. Richard had been born with script magic, he could see runes and use them as he wished. After generations of nothing House Arkait had three gifted mages within its ranks. It would come across like their place in the council of nobles had been saved. Except Connor had changed shape and made off in the night as soon as he was of age. He sent letters occasionally, but took care not to say where he was in the case that someone other than Silas or Richard had gotten a hold of it. Silas was the next to leave. A mercenary has been travelling through town and caught his eye. They had left together when the mercenary couldn’t find anymore work to do. Which had left Richard on his own, at the mercy of their advisors.

He would the first to admit that he had caught a bit of wanderlust from the letters he received from his brothers. He was left to learn and take on the role of the figure head for the house. Keep their secrets, and continuing to tell lies on the behalf of the house, anything to save face. Personally he would rather the house finally fell, he just didn’t want to be around when it did. Nobility and its ruled were relics from a bygone era. Richard started slowly. He collected all of the spell books  that were in the main house; the rest were too much of a risk. The more out dated ones he sold which left him with enough money to safely travel and about six books he could use in the event that he ran into trouble. He packed as lightly as he could, he planned to spend most of his time on the road and he didn’t want to be overly weighed down. He packed the bare minimum of medical supplies, he was fairly decent with healing magic. Travel clothes that wouldn’t immediately mark him as a noble. Lastly he packed his lute and violin. He was great with magic, but that much better with music, The full moon was high in the star littered sky when the last heir of House Arkait vanished into the night. The last standing pillar began to crumble. Without loyalty in a house of lies, what was left? With the last of them gone all that remained in those once hallowed halls were the secrets and lies. It would only be a matter of time before the house fell to the hands of those it had wronged. Richard slipped trough the iron gates. He looked over his shoulder at the manor house one last time overcome with a sense of freedom. This was the start of something amazing.

Richard’s first few weeks on the road was a crash course in how the real world worked. He might not have looked like a noble, but his lack of knowledge on even the most basic things definitely seemed to mark him as one. The people who went out of their way to rip him off aside, he had not been prepared for how expensive living on the road could actually. Performing in taverns as well as on street corners was making him considerable money, but not quite enough so he had to sell a few more of his spell books. Authentic written magic caught a high price and since they were rare he could always track them down again if he needed to. He sold three of them and went on his way. It was a couple months after he had left when he started to hear the first few whispers of change. He found himself smiling at the ‘rumors’ that the last heir to House Arkait had vanished into the night without a trace. He was having something to drink and a light meal before he performed. As he ate he listened to a rowdy green eyed stranger go on about it. He was in the armor of this city’s knights and given the size Richard had the suspicion that it was stolen, but it was none of his business.

“You see,” The man said gruffly, he sounded just this side of waisted, “I think the little noble was kidnapped. Coming from a family like that would fetch a pretty bit of gold. Not to mention, Imagine being even just a part of the group that caused the fall of House Arkait.” It took everything Richard had in him not to laugh or throw in his two cents.  The acting head of house had put out a reward for his return so he would be wise to keep his head down. The last letter he had gotten from his brothers said they were doing the same thing. Both Connor and Silas were presumed dead because how long they had been ‘missing’, but one small slip up could change all of that. Richard wasn’t so lucky, he had to keep a close eye on himself so he wouldn’t slip up. Richard finished his meal and paid for it. He grabbed his things,  checked the time, and then made his way to the stage to get set up. He put an amplification spell on his lute and another one on his throat to make his voice louder. Performing like this easier on him, but he was only planning on doing it until he was used to performing regularly because it felt too much like cheating.

He sang two sets and felt like he had eaten sandpaper afterward. Normally he only would do one set and maybe an encore if he was up to it. The crowd tonight had been very receptive so he found himself going longer than he should have. He packed up and made his way back to the bar to order something to soothe his throat. Richard hadn’t even put his hand up to flag the bartender when a drink was set in front of him. He looked to his left where the drink had come from to find the ‘knight’ from earlier. He looked a little more sober now. “Thank you?” Richard questioned, “Might I ask what this is for?” “You performance mostly.” The man responded as he settled into the seat beside Richard, “We don’t normally get musicians like you around these parts.” Richard swallowed thickly, it hurt his throat but he needed a moment. Had he screwed up? Did this man know? He took a breath and schooled his expression, “Care to explain what you mean?” “Magic users.” The man clarified, “You lot normally stick to the nobles, they pay better than taverns. So I suppose I’m just curious as to what would bring you to a place like this.”

Richard felt all of the tension melt from his body and he smiled, “I wanted to see more of the world.” He said honestly, “Playing for the same crowds every few weeks paid well, but by doing this I can write my own songs.” “There’s no one you have to worry about pissing off.” The stranger supplied, “That has to be nice.” “It is.” Richard agreed. He used magic to check his drink for poison before he tried it, “Could I ask your name?” “Most people just call me Reed.” He replied, “Got something I can call you?” “Nines.” He replied, and then turned his head away to cough, “Forgive me, I sang more than normal this evening and my throat isn’t too pleased with me.” Reed seemed to understand. He continued to keep him company and told tales of his travels. Richard was relatively certain he was exaggerating quite a few details. Reed seemed delighted when he asked if it would be alright to use some of his misadventures in his songs.  They parted ways reluctantly when Richard found himself struggling to keep his eyes open. When he reached his room and settled in for the night he hoped he would cross paths with Reed again soon. To maybe have an adventure like his someday.

Winter was creeping its way along the coast and Richard had gained a bit of a reputation as a travelling musician. He had been gone for nearly a year when he heard more whispers. It seemed as though House Arkait was finally starting to crumble. Secrets had found their way into the open and people were beginning to demand answers. He would hate to be the acting head of house right about now. She was little more than an advisor, but she had been pulling the strings for as long as Richard had been alive, if not longer. He felt no guilt in leaving her head on the chopping block since she had all but been orchestrating things.  Just like before, he took steps to keep his head down. He would watch as the House of Lies fell, not too unlike one made of cards. When this was over he would at last be free to become whatever he wished. To carve out his place in a world he had only gotten to watch through a window.

Music and Magic again. Assuming it isn’t spoilery, let’s imagine that someone Important recognizes Richard out and about, and starts chasing him. I’d love to see the chase sequence. Is Reed there? Is Richard nimble enough to vault over like wagons and stuff, or is he just dodging? Did nobility leave him strong and a good fighter, or were they so reliant on magic/the threat of magic that being fast/strong was unnecessary and a bad image? Are bystanders more likely to help or hinder him?

//this sounds like so much fun.

This was a problem. Travelling to a bigger city was bound to be of course, but the last thing he had expected was to see a court official so far from the capital, and from the woman’s surprised expression she wasn’t exactly ready to see someone who was presumed to be dead either. City guards were on his trail sooner than he would have liked. He had only come to Nordia for a dagger Connor had seen that had belonged in their house archives, it shouldn’t have been in a shop. Richard had planned to buy it, but now that plan was out the window as he sprinted through town square. He was fit, his hobbies kept him such, but he was by no means an athlete and he would only stay ahead of men meant to chase criminals for so long. He’d used magic to pull a few things into their path, but magic required concentration and right now a majority of his focus was on not getting caught. Some of it probably should have been on watching where he was running because he didn’t take a corner sharp enough and had to jump the counter of an empty shop stall. He cleared barely and stumbled on the landing, in the back of his head he could here Gavin laughing. He wished Gavin had been headed this direction as well, he was always good to have in a fight, even if it was just as a meat shield. He could hold his own in a fight, but he would prefer not to. Magic in his opinion was to be used to make things easier, not to attack with. His family would disagree considering as how they had made their nobility was through war. Combat magic was something that was drilled into it, but it was his personal choice not to use it unless there was no other option. Inconveniencing them would have to be enough for now. Until he could get distance between himself and them.

He was focused on hiding that he almost gave himself away when he was pulled into a shop. He was behind the counter beside a man that made him look short and grinning at him the other side was one Gavin Reed in the armor of this town’s Knights. “This the one?” The stranger asked gruffly. “That would be the missing noble-ling indeed.” Gavin replied not sparing a glance toward Richard. That was all the warning he got before he was shoved to the end of the counter and was handed off to Gavin. He made a show of manhandling Richard on the way out of the shop and then grinned at him once they were out. “So. Wanna go start a fight?” He asked with a grin.

@irrelevantbutfabulous

(Prompt from this list)

Music and Magic among Knights and Thieves Master List

Chapter One: The House of Lies Shall Fall

Chapter Two: Trained to Turn Against (tw: Passive Suicide mention)

Chapter Three: With You at My Back

Chapter Four: Unknown Sides to You