opportunity

[Ivar]

123, Glade 7

Ivar met up with someone nicknamed Sin one afternoon. Sin was just someone Ivar knew who knew all sorts of things about people in town. They liked to sit and chat about stuff, like who was the best at throwing darts, or who got the most women. But today, they were talking about something more serious. Sammie told him about a really bad man who had been doing bad stuff. The man was a criminal, like the bad guys in the stories Ivar's mom used to tell him before bed. Ivar always liked hearing about the bad guys who’d get away.

He listened as Sin told him that the bad man had been stealing and even hurting people. Ivar felt scared hearing about it, but he also felt a weird sort of excitement. It was like hearing a real-life story, only it was actually happening in his town.

Then, Sin leaned in really close, looking all serious. He said that the criminal had been caught by the town guards but got away. And the craziest part was, the criminal had been hurt in the chest. Ivar's eyes grew wide. He knew that getting hurt in the chest was bad, very bad. He wondered how the criminal was still running around. Ivar had nothing against crime. He actually liked crime. It was good for business. If someone kills someone else, there’s usually someone who valued that person’s life and would be willing to pay for information.

After hearing that, Ivar and Sammie made a promise to each other. They would keep their ears open and try to find out more about the criminal. They were like detectives in one of their favorite storybooks. Surely the guards would pay for information if they heard anything. Sin had to get going so Ivar waved him goodbye and headed to a tavern.

Ivar liked the tavern lots! It was super cool with lots of people talking, laughing, and having fun. It was loud and jolly, and Ivar thought it was the best place ever to do his homework. And tonight's homework? It was like a worksheet about scrivening that he was supposed to fill out based on a lesson he’d had earlier in the day. You see, scrivening was like drawing, but way more important! It had to do with magic stuff and special things called symbols, like the Mirror and the Path.

He had to work real hard on understanding them. The Mirror symbol was special, like a magical copycat. It could absorb, copy, and throw back any magical energy it touched. Like, imagine throwing a ball at a wall and having it bounce back at you. That's what the Mirror symbol was like, but with magic stuff. Super cool, huh?

Then there was the other symbol, the Path. The Path was kinda like a slide. The magic energy would slide along the path you made for it. You could make the path go up, down, or even sideways! But you had to be careful cause the more magic you used, the harder it was to control. Kinda like trying to control a super bouncy ball!

Ivar was sitting on a stool that was a bit too big for him, leaning over a table that was a bit too tall. He had his homework paper laid out in front of him, and a quill in his hand for drawing. His tongue stuck out the corner of his mouth as he copied the symbols. His eyes kept darting back and forth between his paper and the book.

After finishing drawing the symbols, Ivar got a bit bored of just sitting. So, he began to do his second favorite thing at the tavern eavesdropping! You see, when he wasn't doing homework, Ivar liked to be like a sneaky mouse, listening to people talk and learning stuff. That's what made taverns super fun, not just the yummy pies! It was how he earned his living.

Ivar was at this spy stuff. He had a special trick where he'd pretend to be really, really into his scrivening homework but would actually be listening to people's chit-chats. It was like a game! People talked about all sorts of stuff at the tavern. Stuff about the city, stuff about their work, and even stuff about dangerous rumors. Ivar would listen really, really hard. It was hard to multitask. That was the problem. He would hear something interesting but then get distracted by his reading. The amount of useful information he learned was usually minimal because of this. An entire afternoon might only lead to one sellable piece of information, or none.

But it wasn't just listening, Ivar also watched. He saw people coming in through the big, creaky wooden door, and leaving the same way. Some people were tall, some were short. Some people were big and burly like his dad, and others were small and quick like his mom. Some people wore fancy clothes, and some wore plain ones. It was like watching a parade, but inside a building!

In the middle of his spy work, someone new came in. This person looked different. He wasn't here for fun or food. He was looking for someone. Ivar could tell because he kept looking around, like he was expecting to see someone. He looked kinda worried. Ivar became curious. Who could this person be looking for? Why was he so worried? Ivar's spy senses were tingling, and he was ready to find out more. This was turning out to be a super exciting night at the tavern!

So there was this guy who came into the tavern. He looked like he was looking for someone really bad. He was moving his head left and right like how Ivar does when he loses his favorite toy. Then, this guy spoke out loud, "I'm looking for a guy. He's got blonde hair and green eyes. Anyone seen him?"

Suddenly, it was like Ivar's ears went super big. He knew who that man was talking about! The guy with blonde hair and green eyes had left the tavern just a bit ago. Ivar had watched him leave, because his eyes were so shiny and bright, just like the magic gem in Ivar's teacher's staff.

Now Ivar had a big decision to make. Should he tell this man? He didn't know him. But then, he remembered what his dad always told him.

"Information is worth gold, son."

Ivar knew that gold could buy him more paper and ink for his scrivening. He also knew it could get him more of those yummy pies. So, Ivar walked up to the man, still holding his scrivening homework. He was a bit scared, but he was also excited. He had never done a big person thing like this before. "Mister," Ivar said, his voice squeaky because he was a bit nervous.

"I saw the guy you're looking for. He left a while ago."

The man looked at Ivar, surprised. He was probably not expecting a little scrivener like Ivar to know anything. Then, he smiled and gave Ivar a coin.

"Thanks."

Ivar felt really proud. He did a thing and it felt good! With a big smile on his face, he went back to his table. Holding the shiny coin in his hand. It wasn’t much, but it was something. And it’d been basically free money. He didn’t really consider it work unless he had to put himself in danger to get the information.

With the coin next to him on the table, he picked up his scrivening notes again form this morning’s lesson. He began to put into his own words what a Path actually was. He referenced one of those symbols from his lessons. He was pretty sure it was a line that could be straight or zigzag or curved. The teacher said it tells the magic where to go, like a road for magic. Suddenly, a little thing popped up in his head. He remembered something about the Path! His teacher had said that sometimes, people used a hammer and chisel to make Paths. That sounded really cool, like something a builder would do, but with magic! Ivar thought about it, and he figured that if you chiseled the Path, the magic would probably stay in it better, like how water stays in a river.

Feeling proud of himself for remembering that, Ivar took his tool and carefully drew the chisel and hammer next to the Path symbol. It looked a bit weird, because drawing tools was harder than drawing Paths, but Ivar didn't mind. He was sure his teacher would know what it meant, and that's what mattered. He was just hopeful that he would get a passing grade.

Feeling really tired now, Ivar yawned a big yawn. His eyelids felt heavy, and he knew it was time to go home. But as he packed up his things, he felt a new excitement bubbling inside him. He couldn't wait for tomorrow’s lesson.

[Hikami]

Opportunity

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Points awarded:

• 8 - Can be used for Magic

Lores:

• Spycraft: Eavesdropping
  Spycraft: People watching
  Scrivening: the mirror Is meant to do something with Aether
  Scrivening: the path is like a slide
  Scrivening: the path is chiseled

Loot:

• N/A

Injuries:

• N/A

Notes:

• Great thread! I hope you don't mind, but I feel like Spycraft was the better skill than Detection.
  If you feel I missed anything contact me and we will make adjustments!
  enjoy your rewards!