~ Come on! The ship's leaving right now! His brother screamed while running out the door.
Saji opened his eyes and felt the panic start to rise. He had managed to sleep in. He grabbed his clothes as he ran full speed after his brother. There was a large gathering of people in the town center. It seemed everyone had come to have a look at the legendary ship. Every few years the " Rising Wind" would come down from the sky to trade with the people of Nilhoy. The first time Saji had seen it was when he was only seven years of age. He was now double that, a young man eager for adventure! His brother ducked out of the crowd and took his hand leading him closer to the ship. Men screamed and threw curses at the young boys as they slipped past, bumping into any and all that refused to move. His brother was of a larger build than himself and rather thickheaded. They arrived at the spot his brother had picked out. His friends already there marveling at the beautiful ship floating in the air. No one knew of any other ship that could sail the skies along with their rulers the dragons. The hull the color blue to match the sky. It's mast a snowy white. Some type of wood he'd never before seen. The figurehead that of a dragon riding a gust of wind. Before he could gaze at it longer people started cheering loudly. Captain Dragrax The Vicious took hold of the rope ladder descending from the ship. He tipped his hat and said a few words Saji couldn't make out from where he stood. Suddenly with a jerk he flew up as the ladder retracted into the ship. Minutes later it came down again as if inviting another to join. That's when he saw him. The mystical man called Gray. He'd heard rumors of a man in a long blackred coat. Some say he was the real captain of the ship and others that he was the first mate. Only a few had ever heard the man speak and none of them ever said anything about it. No matter how much one begged or threaten. In one of his hands he held a a strange lantern. Made of pure orange light It's handle but a simple rope made of the same luminous light as the rest. It reminded him of a warm campfire in the cold dark night. He placed his foot on the first step and grabbed onto the ladder with his right hard. And like that the man was gone. His grey hair was the last thing Saji remembered. He could have sworn his mouth shaped words just for him as he flew upwards. The ship gave off a load dragon's roar as it ascended towards the sky. All stood quietly for a moment before they started splitting apart, back to what they were doing before the ship had called that it was leaving. It had been in the village for eight days. When it descended signs of a battle could be seen everywhere on it's magnificent shape. The shrouds torn apart, the bowsprite barely hanging on as it was cut in half. It's main mast in shambles. It was truly a wonder that they had managed to make it look exactly like it did the first time he saw it in just eight days. Especially since the required materials did not come from around here. His brother and their friends started walking towards the marketsquare as he stood staring after the ship in the distance wondering what it felt like to soar the skies like a dragon.
The Marketsquare was busier than normal today. As per custom the stall owners were not allowed to peddle the wares of the crew until after they had left. A law the town had agreed upon to keep the trade going. They boys all got to work. Saji and his older brother were thieves. They stole whatever food they could for themselves and did the occasional job for the Thieves' Guild. Today they had been ordered to steal a relic from the local magic shop. It was dangerous but his brother was somewhat of a master at the craft. He had been thieving since before Saji was even born. Being the only family he had Saji joined his ranks as soon as he was old enough.
The afternoon crept closer towards evening and they had yet gotten the signal. The boys sat at the corner of a building facing the store playing cards. Saji rarely lost more than he gained. But he was smart enough to know when to stop winning. There was no point in winning big if that meant he couldn't play with the same people again. His brother had been gone for almost two hours at this point and he was getting worried. They did another hand which Saji lost big on. Not big enough to have less than he started with of course. The signal was that of two guards arriving to arrest a man for attempting theft. Ironically enough it was at the same store they were about to actually steal from. The group got to it. Saji and a man posing as his father went into the store while the three other men went to throw curses at the thief caught for stealing and eventually getting him free of the guards. The inside of the store was much bigger than the house could ever allow it to be. There were rows of regular magic items at first, after that there was a stairwell up to a second floor filled with bookshelves of tomes and scrolls. Beneath it was the counter one paid at and behind that what seemed to be more specific and rare crafts. He could see his brother talking to one of the two people owning the shop upstairs. The other was shaking his head still angry about the thief earlier. Saji's "father" started talking with the man behind the counter as Saji took out a scroll well hidden from sight and walked away so that he was barely visable behind a shelf of items. His pretend father yelled after him not to touch anything as he started reading the instructions of the spell. It was a powerful illusion spell that made an exact copy of himself. He stood for a moment doing movements to see if the mirror image would replicate them. It did so with the outmost grace. He was shocked. Never had he seen such amazing magic. His father called after him noting that he was taking to long. His illusion followed behind him perfectly hidden from the man downstairs. If his brother could keep the man upstairs busy they would be able to pull this off without issues.
~ Sorry father there was just a thing of cogs and wheels that was. He was looking for the words to describe it.
~ Outmost beautiful and facinating? The clerk asked. He nodded his head and his father agreed to have a look at it. He pressed himself towards the counter and his father convinced the clerk to show him the wonder. His illusion stayed at the front desk as the two men wandered off to find the magical item. He slid behind the counter and moved to where the item he was to steal was stowed away. He quickly found it. A statue of a dragon head rising from the ground. He took it and a few items next to it to make the robbery that was about to happen later seem less focused on one particular item. He could hear his accomplice talking to the clerk about the item.
~ Haha yes this one. The man namned Gray came in with it before, said it told time. He laughed to himself as it was the wierdest thing he had heard.
~ I have yet to look at it since it was one of the less intriguing items he brought with him. They started haggling about prices of such a unknown thing but quickly settled upon twentyfive gold. Saji slipped back and quickly undid his illusion. His father and the clerk came back and paid for the watch. They chatted some more as the owner sniffed the air before shaking hands with the man and the two of them left the store with Saji's payment for a job well done. They had told him to pick a magical item to buy and that would be his payment for the job. His brother had gotten a similar offer and they had both agreed without hesitation. They arrived at the drop off and waited half an hour which Saji's new item actually showed properly to his suprise. It was the first he had ever heard of, a simple but complex thing called a watch by the man in the store. Saji's brother came back with his own bag of things he had been ordered to buy. A few minutes later a ruckus could be heard coming from the part of town where the magical shop was located. The raid of the store had begun in full. The real distraction the Thieves' Guild had orchestraded. Saji and his brother were in their house that their parents had left for them before they died. His brother was curious about the watch at first but had lost interest when told what it did. He himself had bought a bought a tome that could help him learn magic. He'd always felt the magic around him but he didn't know anyone who could teach him to control it. So he had decided to learn it by himself.
It was late in the night when their front door slammed open and Fluire stepped in bloody at the side. Saji's brother ran to help her and got a strange look on his face as she whispered something in his ear. Saji started heating some water to prepare help with cleaning the wound. He went over and helped her with her room as his brother was off in his room making a mess of things. A few minutes later Saji's brother arrived with three backpacks.
~ We're leaving now. The plan backfired they are on to us. Saji's face turned blank. He'd heard about such things before but never had he experienced them for himself. His mind wandered back and he remembered the man at the desk sniffing the air after he had made his illusion disappear. They ran towards the forest beyound the edge of town, his brother carrying Fluire as she had passed out before they left the house. As they entered the first bushes and trees, dogs could be heard barking behind them. Saji looked at his brother's panicked face as he looked from Saji to Fluire. He knew he'd have to leave them both if he was to act as a distraction. He wasn't sure if Saji would be able to treat Fluire's wound or survive by himself while watching out for her during the time he would be gone. Before he could make up his mind however Saji ran out of the woods into the open field and took off towards the other end of the forest. His brother didn't dare scream after him. He sat down defeated. He knew in his heart that Saji couldn't outrun the trained hunters alone. Even if he in his little heart had found the courage to try and save his older brother and their friend.