Very Big Things, [Closed - Alton, Artie, Erinne]

[Yarik]

The Gallows towered imposingly overhead Mako, who was at the fore of the group as they came into the courtyard to meet with Alton's contact about the statuette. That they were to meet here suggested that whoever they were meeting was magically-inclined, but Mako didn't like to make assumptions. Though, it seemed unlikely that Alton would be acquaintances with any Chanter or templar.

Thankfully for them, despite the Uprising two years previously, visitors were still freely allowed in the courtyard as long as they did not make trouble, and Mako was not tempted with all the Templars about.

"I do not know who I should be looking for, Messere captain," Mako said, looking around for anyone who seemed to stand out.

[Artemus]

Based on a letter sent from a friend, who received it from their brother's friend, who had contacted some friends to get some extra cash, Artemus walked into what was known as the Gallows. Odd place for the Tower of Magi here. On second thought, no it wasn't. That elusive letter had told the Enchanter that once Ferelden's Blight ended, things here in the Free Marches weren't any better, especially for Mages.

Alas, Artie's flowing green robes wavered amongst the seemingly scarce population. Stranger yet, is that who ever was outside, gave him a stare similar to the one Irving would give to a student after finding out that the student was a transgender Blood-Mage.

Not bothering to think about his own analogy, Artemus found a Templar who muttered something about Apostates. Tapping the iron staff on the ground, the Mage spoke, "Excuse me, sir. I'm just a bit lost....could you tell me where th--"

Oh, he had almost forgotten. Templars hate Mages. This one in particular, seemed to regard Artemus like....well...like he was Mage where one shouldn't be. The Templar drew his weapon and inched closer.

[Yarik]

Striding up with a look of fake relief, Mako grabbed the robed man by the shoulder and addressed him.

"Geoffrey! What are you doing here, of all places! We've been worried sick about you! And with the Lady's cane, of all things!" Mako bumped him towards Alton and Erinne and out of the way of the templar, whose expression couldn't be seen beneath his helmet. Judging from his lack of action, Mako figured he had at least perplexed the man.

"My sincerest apologies, sir! He's Lady Arigold's son, you see. Dropped on his head as a child, I'm afraid. He's mostly alright, but he insists on wearing the most ridiculous clothing, and sometimes he takes to grabbing the nearest thing at hand and wandering off the estate to Maker-knows-where!"

The templar slowly sheathed his sword, and scrutinized Mako for a moment, who continued to apologize profusely for whatever it was Artemus had done to draw his attention. Finally satisfied, the templar turned and resumed his patrol wordlessly.

With a sigh of relief, this time genuine, Mako returned to others, where Alton introduced they to Artemus and Artemus to them.

"I am Makodo, but you can call me Mako, messere." he said, offering the mage a handshake.

[Erinne]

Erinne watched with heavy eyes as Mako strode forward to save the rather naive mage. This was Alton's contact? No, it couldn't be, the Maker liked her better then that. How this boy survived this long is beyond me. Surely he must have one hell of a lucky charm. she frowned, nodding in confirmation to the Templar as he looked questioningly to her. Frankly, she felt uncomfortable around mages, they seemed to have an unfair advantage...against everything.

She hadn't slept very well the trip back to Kirkwall and any sleep she did have were nightmare ridden. Erinne had hoped that perhaps the "contact" would just say "Oh sure, I'll take that off your hands, here's a few hundred sovereigns and a clear conscience." Her head ached, and just standing was something of a feat as well, but she had followed suit, if only to make sure negotiations, should there be any, went smoothly.

Though she would have preferred to skip the niceties, Erinne watched as Mako introduced himself to the mage and decided it best to follow suit. "Erinne Saval, pleasure. Might I suggest that you move to a less...heavily guarded location with Madam's stick?" she muttered, a little bitterly at that. This boy was, so far, a roadblock in her way to a good night's sleep. With that, she looked to Alton for instruction to continue on.

[Alton Brant]

"Artemus, right?...Must be. No other mage would be daft enough walk around these parts so openly. Er-no offense. I understand you're a foreigner and word sometimes travels slow over distance. Lets just say you're not going to receive a proper welcome here in the north. No time to explain right now, but an old friend asked for a favour, so I'm going to go ahead and escort you to a safe place. What you do from there is up to you and him. I'm Captain Brant of the Rezanaut. Questions? Too bad. Lets go," Alton finished, rather curtly.

Theo had a lot of nerve, asking him to help a mage. He didn't know why the old elf wanted this one to be brought to him, but the timing couldn't have been better. It just so happened they were both headed in the same direction.