The Fourth Pick, a Rogue - 2A (Mirrored)

Chapter 2 – Putting the Team Together (continued)

“So what’s next on your list?” Tyrell asked. “You’ve got a good spread of skills, and it looks like you’ve got the scouting and ranging you mentioned covered.”

“Some sort of skirmisher or infiltrator, perhaps with experience in sabotage.” Was Kaylen’s prepared answer.

“So a roguish type.” Tyrell nodded.

“Not sure I would have used that term, but essentially, yes.”

The guild master laughed, “Adventurers come from all sorts of backgrounds, and if an ‘unsavory’ background is the best place to find certain skillsets, then we don’t judge, so long as they put the use of said skills toward the right causes.”

“That makes sense.” Kaylen agreed.

Master Norrison turned back to the assembled candidates and after considering for a moment, motioned for first one, then another candidate to come forward. “Go ahead and introduce yourself to Adept Gallowglass here, explain any skills you think would benefit a mage’s adventuring party. I’ll corroborate your claims as needed from your records.”

The first woman was a head shorter than him, wearing plain clothes in muted colors, the top of her head wrapped in a scarf with the tail ends covering her chin, though it was clear she could easily pull the garment up to cover more of her face if she were so inclined. While most of her was fairly nondescript, her eyes were quite striking. One was a deep brown, almost crimson, the other an off-white icy blue. Her scarlet hair was mostly hidden under her scarf, and she had fingerless gloves on both hands with sharpened black-painted nails. “I’m Janel Tanaka.” She offered.

“Is that a foreign surname?” He asked, after taking in her appearance.

She nodded, “My mother was from a distant kingdom. A mage there mistook her for a demon and tried to banish her and she ended up here, already pregnant with me.”

“If her eyes are like yours, I could see how someone might find that unusual, but it’s hardly demonic.” Kaylen frowned.

“Oh, it’s not just the eyes.” She reached up and unwrapped her scarf, revealing a pair of vulpine ears the same red as her hair emerging from the top of her head.

There was muttering from some of the gathered adventurers, though they quieted when Kaylen swept his gaze across the crowd.

“I guess that does add to the impression.” Kaylen acknowledged. “But I still don’t have a high opinion of a mage who cannot tell the difference between a demon and spirit folk like you.”

“Kitsune, is the word my mother uses.”

“You’re comfortable working for a mage? You seem to have reason to distrust people like me.”

She hesitated, and Kaylen didn’t need magic to know he’d touched on an uncomfortable subject. “I’m not fond of mages.” She admitted at last, “But then I’m not fond of people in general. I think I can work for you. Hopefully neither of us will give the other reason to regret the decision.”

“A good answer.” Kaylen acknowledged. “So you’ve some skill at stealth and infiltration?”

Again, she nodded, “I’m good with disguises, at moving unseen and unheard, at climbing and opening locks, and I even have some natural illusion.”

Kaylen glanced at Master Norrison, who nodded. “You could use illusion to hide some of that?” Kaylen gestured to her ears.

“I can. But not these.” She pointed to her eyes each in turn.

“Those are your tell.” Janell confirmed his guess with another nod. “Why not hide your ears with illusion instead of a scarf then?”

“Scarf is easier. Besides there are other more important uses for my illusion.”

“Such as?”

She looked a little embarrassed, but instead of answering right away she turned to one side, looking down over her shoulder to draw Kaylen’s attention to the space behind her, right before a blur of motion, and in the space between one blink and the next, a pair of tails appeared emerging from her lower back. They matched the red of her ears and hair, but with a white tuft at each tip. Kaylen was impressed, he had detected no hint of the illusion, and she wasn’t a mage like Neiah was. He stopped himself from reaching out to touch the fur and see if it felt real, and a glance at the heated blush on her face when she noticed his halted movement seemed to confirm that she might not want to be touched there without warning.

“That’s impressive. And useful. I’d say your chances of making the team are good, though I still need to interview some of the other candidates.”

“Of course. I’ll be waiting to see who you choose.” She gave a little bow, and moved away, her tails immediately vanishing from sight as she went.

After Janell, Kaylen was faced with a woman named Melody. “I grew up in the circus as an acrobat.” The curly haired brunette explained, “But they also taught me to swindle, cheat, and pickpocket the crowds that came to watch. Was only a matter of time before I was caught, and the circus threw me under the wagon. They gave me a choice, prison, or serve in the military. Wasn’t really a choice. So I’ve now paid my debt as a soldier, and thought I might turn my skills to adventuring. Figure that’s more profitable.”

Kaylen liked her attitude, and she was certainly his physical type as well, with a slender feminine frame and light brown eyes, but she seemed to also be a bit brash, and he wondered if she was subtle enough for what he had in mind. If nothing else, the fact that she’d been caught at least once was a mark against her record.

Still, he kept the woman in mind as he turned to consider the next candidate. Tyrell introduced him to Vesili Tenorei. He almost mistook the half-elf for a teenager, for she was short, thin, and didn’t have much in the way of a feminine figure. But then he noticed her elven features; large eyes, tapered ears, and that fey look around the face; a face which was a pale grey, with hints of blue, marking her as having not just elven parentage, but dark elven. Her ears weren’t long enough to be a full-blooded elf, however, and neither was her hair the typical white. Instead she had straight black hair short enough that she couldn’t put it in a ponytail but kept it out of her face with a headband under her hood.

“You said you’re looking for a rogue. Well, growing up the way I look, I had to learn to be really tough, or really fast and sneaky. Kids are mean to an outsider. Adventuring parties can be too, to be honest. But I was hoping someone like you might be willing to look past who my father was, and judge me for my abilities alone. I’ve never even seen a dark elf other than me. I wasn’t raised by them, and know nothing of their ways, though I have learned a few tricks from my blood. Would you like to see?”

“I’m curious, yes.” Kaylen agreed. “Especially if they will aid the party I’m trying to form.”

And with that, Vesili waved a hand in front of her face and Kaylen found his gaze turned away. The next moment, she was gone, though there was a tugging on his mind. He quickly muttered a spell to enhance his sight and found himself able to look around to where she’d moved, having approached his side and was very carefully lifting the dagger from its sheath at his belt.

Her eyes widened in alarm when he grabbed her wrist, “I’m… I wasn’t… I mean I was just demonstrating…”

Both Tyrell and his associate in the black tunic had turned toward Kaylen and Vesili with swords drawn, though they held back for the moment, waiting to see what would happen between them.

He could still feel the urge to look away, her magic making her unnoticeable to everyone but him. The two guildsmen tensed when Kaylen muttered another quick spell, this one to nullify the illusion that was keeping Vesili concealed. There were gasps from the gathered crowd, including the guild master.

“Next time, go for the purse, it’s a little less alarming.” He advised, carefully pulling the girl’s limp hand away from his belt. She didn’t respond or try to resist at all until he released her, and she could put a few paces between them.

Tyrell sheathed his sword, and nodded to his black-clad compatriot, who did the same, “The mage is right. You generally shouldn’t be using magic on the guild grounds unless you have obtained any participants permission first. Though in Kaylen’s case, it appears he was defending himself.”

“I’m sorry; I was just trying to impress you.” Vesili replied in a soft voice, hiding both hands behind her back, under her cloak.

Kaylen sighed, the atmosphere had turned tense, and that wasn’t what he wanted while he still needed to finish filling out his team. “I won’t hold it against you, this time.” He reassured the half-elf. “Is that the only magic you know?”

“No. I have a few other tricks.”

“Why don’t you explain those to me? But skip the demonstrations this time.”

She nodded, her confidence beginning to return as she described her ability to conjure magical darkness, cold flames, and to hypnotize or charm animals and certain people.

“Most of that is fairly basic, but undoubtedly useful.” He told her. “I will keep you in mind as a potential candidate, but I believe there is one more candidate?” He turned back to Master Norrison.

“There is.” He waved over the man in question, a skinny bearded man who called himself Fox.

“I used to be a burglar, now I work for the military.” He explained, “I’ve trained as a contortionist, and I can get in and out of almost any place you can imagine, and climb surfaces many might consider unclimbable.”

Kaylen asked a few questions, trying to determine the extent of the man’s skills, but it was a struggle for him to feign interest in the wiry man. Even if he hadn’t determined to try to select female candidates, Fox just didn’t seem to have a wide range of skills that he thought might be needed.

So once that interview was finished it left him with the choice in front of him. Of the three women he’d been introduced to, only the kitsune and the half-elf seemed to have the type of well-rounded skillset he was looking for, and while he found Melody appealing, she didn’t quite measure up compared with the other two. So he took a moment to consider his options.

Author's Note

Please let me know which of these choices you prefer, either in a comment, or in the forum here: https://forum.chyoa.com/threads/lonely-is-the-mage-without-love.5879/

Please let me know if the edited poll works for you, especially if you've already voted once. Thanks!

Janel Tanaka, Kitsune Infiltrator

or

Vesili Tenorei, Half-Elven (Dark Elf) Rogue