No Such Thing As A Free Lunch [Solo]
Posted: Thu Nov 04, 2021 11:39 pm
21 Ash 121
Low City, Kalzasi
Stepping out of the tailor shop, Charlie could immediately feel the crisp Ash air on his skin. Not so cold that he could see his breath, but chilled enough that he was glad for his black wool jacket. It was buttoned up, tidy, and matched his trousers. The outfit made him stand out among the other common folk of Kalzasi, but hardly so much that it drew unwanted attention. Not that he would have minded if he did, Charlie did so love attention.
Setting out from his work, Charlie swaggered down the city streets towards the more populated markets. The low city had a way of coming to life in the evening, and not even the first true chills of Ash could have stopped anyone truly dedicated to their craft. As Charlie wandered down the busy streets, the sounds of commerce and mirth begun to surround him.
People argued over cart placement, and customers shouted over one another to be heard over the chatter. It was a peaceful night, despite the intensity with which everyone treated each other. A lively night in the low city involved more than a dozen brawls and a hasty exit by all when the peacekeepers arrived. The fact that tonight did not seem even close to such a boiling point was excellent news for Charlie. No, Charlie wanted a nice, boring evening by which to practice his craft, and the gods had been generous in their providence. They always had been kind with Charlie, for there was no other explanation for his carefree confidence than an easy life.
He soon found himself in the bustling, cramped market streets, and Charlie searched for an appropriate prize. There was a man selling low quality cloth out of a cart, but Charlie could see nothing he could not have simply purloined from the tailor shop, so the man was passed by with a kind smile and a swift soothing from Charlie's eyes.
Yes, everyone that met Charlie's gaze was left impacted by him in some minor way. For most it was a warm, fleeting feeling of warmth towards him as he worked their aether only for a moment. Precise melodies took time, but he could adjust the notes already present with far less effort.
Charlie so enjoyed seeing each symphony laid out before him, if even for a moment. Some might have called it an invasion of privacy to delve so casually into the intimate emotions of others, but Charlie had no such reservations. This was a normal part of life to him, and was perhaps why Charlie himself did little to hide his own emotions in an odd show of fairness.
Hearing the instruments and the rhythm, and then taking but a moment to join in the performance always brought a smile to Charlie's face, and tonight was no exception as he slipped through the crowd flanked by a soothed populace. Even when their symphonies left his influence, many still carried that warmth of their own accord. This had been one of the first things Charlie had learned, subtle tugs on emotions could feel natural, and it was common for unaware folk to simply carry on with their manipulated feelings long after Charlie had gone.
But that was not always the case, and certainly was not the case with the butcher that Charlie was making his way towards. He was shorter than Charlie, but thick with muscle from his years of work. He carried a cleaver in his hand and had been chopping his raw cuts into more manageable pieces for sale when Charlie had spotted the roast pig the butcher had only just taken off his spit and stepped to the front of the line. When he spotted Charlie, the butcher raised his cleaver, gesturing with it towards the mage like a teacher might use a ruler.
“You! Oh no no no, not again! Get out!” He shouted. “Come to eat for free again?” The butcher hocked a glob of spit towards Charlie, but did not get nowhere near and left spittle dotting in his beard. “You're lucky I don't call the guards!”
Undeterred, Charlie stepped up to the cart, and took out his wallet. He spoke soothingly, and though he met the butcher's eyes, he did not yet work his magic upon him. The man was too angry for that right now, any adjustment of his emotions would have been felt immediately and called out for what it was. That too had been a lesson Charlie had learned early, that knowing when to refrain from using his powers was just as much an asset as the powers themselves.
“I'm sorry. I really am.” Charlie lied. He lied well, looking truly remorseful as he turned his palms up and hunched forward slightly to make himself look just a bit more pathetic. “I swear Reshi, I'm just here to make it right.”
Reshi eyed him suspiciously, but he looked down at Charlie's book of bank notes. After a long pause, and a spirited grumble, the butcher dropped his cleaver and wiped his hands on his apron. “ It's four silvers you owe me. Not a copper less.” he said coldly.
Charlie scribbled onto his bank note, and handed it over. The butcher took it, and looked it over carefully. His eyes widened in surprise. “A gold?” he asked quizzically.
“For letting me practice my skills on you. I just... Well I should have asked first, and I shouldn't have left without paying.” Charlie's practiced and precise speech mirrored a guild member well, and he successfully buried his accent behind the magnanimous way he spoke. ”I had intended to, swear before all the gods, I do. I just got caught up in the moment, and I've been worrying myself sick about how to approach the mess I've made. I hope you can forgive me.”
Reshi the butcher found it difficult to stay angry at Charlie. No thief would have done what he had just done, and the story sounded true enough. His anger soothed away slowly, but still Charlie waited before tried his luck.
“Well,” Reshi began, tucking the bank note away into his pocket. “It's a start. Say, next time you want to practice? Would you mind givin' old Gilsha a hard time? He's been undercuttin' me from my suppliers, so really you'd just be stealin' a bit back.” the butcher laughed, and it was in that moment of happiness that Charlie struck.
He locked eyes with the butcher, and pushed with his mind. A dim halo of blue light ignited across his irises as Charlie spun the aether. He could see the Reshi's symphony now, and heard the crashing drumbeats and the overwhelming brass section. Charlie had seen it before, and so knew precisely what to listen for in the riotous din. He first isolated the sound that represented the man's happiness and laughter, an energetic bell jingling intensely. Once Charlie hard that emotion well in hand, he drew up its intensity.
He started slowly, dialing it up as he spoke to the butcher. “Oh, I think I could do that.” the young mage said. “I could even convince him to raise his prices.” Charlie added on, a sentence designed as bait that the butcher quickly snatched up.
“You could?” He said in disbelief, but then brought his voice low. “Well, if you can do that, I'd be grateful. We'll forget all this, yeah?”
Charlie had not needed to manipulate the man's confidence at all, it seemed. The young mage pondered the other man's proposal as though it had come as a total surprise.
“Well, I think it's the least I can do.” Charlie finally said, and he felt the man's emotions soar.
“Really?” the butcher asked. “Well, thank you! Is there anything I can do for you?” The butcher asked after Charlie had composed a melody of his own and implanted it into his mind. It was a desire to help, and now it slotted perfectly into Reshi's symphony, adding to it instead of sounding discordant as it would have if he had tried this earlier.
“Would you mind giving me some cuts of that pig back there? I smelled it from down the block.” Charlie asked, and tuned the little blip of pride that formed in Reshi's mind into something a bit more impactful.
Reshi gladly cut off a healthy portion and wrapped it for Charlie. He handed it over with a smile.
“Oh, and one more thing.” Charlie said. This would be the final test. “If you could, Would you mind giving me that bank note back?”
Charlie then smothered the rising pitch of unease and anger in Reshi with a constant battering of positive emotions. It took a lot of aether, and Charlie's eyes held their glow more intensely now. People on either side had begun to notice, but few knew what it meant. Magic was not commonplace in the low city, but he was hardly the first practitioner of it most had seen. Truly most were simply transfixed on his eyes, with the actual magic of his rune going entirely unseen.
Reshi looked conflicted as Charlie composed a blunt melody that was far from his finest work. The indecision slowly melted from Reshi's eyes until finally he shrugged and handed the slip of paper back to Charlie. “Bah, call us even.” He said, the wave of sweet emotions leaving him with a broad smile that showed his teeth.
“Thank you. I'll be back!” Charlie said, taking his foot and quickly walking down the crowded streets. Once he had broken eye contact, Reshi's symphony was gone, and the noise of the world collapsed back in around Charlie.
Not a few minutes later, Charlie heard Reshi shouting for the guards as his senses returned, and the young mage broke out into a run.