Work Text:
Amelia rested on the outside wall of Tilando Outpost, catching her breath after outrunning some wild dogs. She wiped the sweat off of her face earnestly, those dogs had been chasing her all afternoon, she needed to be somewhat presentable for what came next. She pushed her half-gloved hand against the stone bricks of the tower and sat up to get a proper look at her surroundings.
Tilando Outpost was settled in Liene, only past the bridge where her village lay, the tower itself being nestled between some of the few trees in the grassy plains. The pale grass almost felt crunchy beneath her boots, the skinny trees definitely not shielding any of the surrounding land. She could see a dip in the land a little past the outpost, near the bridge she had crossed before, that was where the ocean met land, smelling the ocean scent on the wind.
Amelia looked up at the tower itself, somewhat hard to see close up, it was mostly made of stone grey bricks, looking tattered and chipped. The outpost was pretty tall, taller than anything back home, many windows and a brown roof, probably fired clay if she had to guess. It definitely wasn’t as pretty as Shafelenora, with their beautiful cabins carved into trees, sparkling starry sky and many lanterns lining the road, but it would have to do, this would hopefully be her home now.
Amelia was surprised she was able to get so close without being spotted, especially considering she wasn’t exactly being sneaky about it. She drew herself into a crouch, ears pricked for any sign of life, she could hear talking from inside the tower but the breeze outside was hard to hear over. She shuffled against the side of the outpost, keeping low and mostly behind the bushes that lined the building, attempting to find an entrance.
After a bit of crawling, there it was. A large and stunning wooden door stood beside her, not a single guard posted outside to her relief. Amelia stood, brushing any dirt and sweat from her person before standing steady in front of the door. She went to knock, but used the golden door-knocker instead, it looked like an owl. With a few firm knocks, she was now waiting, she gulped anxiously and shifted her weight between her feet.
When a whole minute passed, Amelia felt like she was burning a hole in her skirt with how much she was worrying it between her fingers, she considered knocking again, there were people inside she was certain. As she made to knock again, the door swung open slightly, she instantly pulled her hand to her side. An older woman answered the door, she looked to be a half-orc, her black locks almost shielding her eyes from Amelia.
“State your business here.” she droned impatiently, her claws pressing into the door she was holding open.
Amelia could feel the energy churn inside her, refraining from getting excited, she simply replied. “I have business with Liaison Rollant, I want-” she cut herself off with a quick breath. “I must see him.”
Oh, the urge to shuffle nervously was in full force once again as the woman stared at her blankly, her dark eyes revealing nothing about how she was feeling. She turned her head to whisper to herself, the words too muffled for Amelia to make out properly.
“What’s your name?” The half-orc asked, her jaw jutting out as she spoke.
Amelia blinked in surprise, “I’m Amelia Grey.”
The woman glared at her through squinted eyes, “Liaison Rollant has no business with someone of that name.” She went to close the door.
“Wait!” Amelia yelped, jamming her foot between the door and the frame.
The woman jumped from the door and growled, “Don’t be foolish to think we can’t take you down if need be, kid.”
Amelia swallowed hard, “Nothing like that!” she reassured. “I would just like to see Liaison Rollant, we’ve met before and now I’ve come because I’d like to work under him.”
At that the woman seemed to relax, loosening her tight grip on the door. She stood for a moment unsure of what to do, before she swung the door open. Amelia smiled, her joy apparent on her face. Finally!
The half-orc stood to the side, inviting Amelia in with a grimace. “Don’t get too excited, I’m just gonna let Liaison Rollant decide what to do with you.”
That was certainly enough for Amelia, as long as she got inside.
Amelia stepped on the soft planks of the floor with her boots, ecstatic at the feeling. Taking a quick peek around as the woman closed the door behind her, the first room was small, with a simple empty desk which probably belonged to the half-orc. The nameplate on the desk read “Vola The Swift”, Amelia smirked as she read the name, her initial guess had to be at least a bit right with a name like that. The desk held papers, an ink and quill and a lantern, the chair behind it equipped with soft cushions embedded into it. The rest of the room was covered with planners and calendars, many notes scribbled over them, mostly illegible to the half-elf. The stairs to the other floors sat right at the back of the room, while the shut doors to the sides supposedly led to the rest of the rooms on the first floor. Lastly, there was a nice plush-looking carpet in the center of the room, seeming to come from a bear.
Alavor would’ve loved that , Amelia thought with a frown.
The woman, Vola, Amelia presumed, beckoned Amelia to follow her up the stairs without a word. Amelia skipped to follow suit.
There wasn’t much in the dim stairwell, the occasional lantern lighting their way or the few workers who bustled down the stairs past them. Vola was not one for conversation it seemed, neither was Amelia, but she would’ve liked to hear a bit of what she was getting herself into. While they walked, Amelia attempted to get a better look at Vola, she had dark long hair that draped over her back, her skin was a nice shade of tan. She wore a uniform of sorts, dark blue pants and a white shirt, as well as black boots. She also had daggers strapped to her sides, and a longsword on her back, Amelia was grateful she wasn’t more pushy when trying to enter, she might’ve ended up sliced and diced instead.
After a few minutes, Vola stopped in her tracks, Amelia almost tripping over herself to ensure she didn’t bump into the half-orc. She turned to look back at the half-elf, “We’re here.” is all she said as she pressed a few firm knocks to the door with the door-knocker.
Amelia was already starting to worry herself sick again but once she heard, “Come in!” come from inside the room, she relaxed again.
Vola sent a sharp look towards Amelia, before opening the door with a flourish, stomping into the room gracefully, Amelia scampered after her.
Inside the room was bright, many windows lined the walls with their curtains pulled back, the sunlight seeping into the tower greedily. The room was fairly decorated with many knickknacks and plants spread around, and then there was the large desk in the center, made of dark and shiny wood.
Not to ignore the man sitting at the desk either, there he was, the man Amelia had longed to see again, Uvior Rollant. The man was older, with grey and balding hair, he seemed human but the whipping tail he sported made Amelia consider otherwise. His face was stern but kind, not that many would agree, his round features coupled with his long wrinkles helped his blue eyes shine brilliantly. He adorned a similar suit to Vola except his shirt was speckled with jewelry pins, truly something eye-catching.
He hasn’t changed one bit from when Amelia saw him last.
“Sir,” Vola’s speech interrupted Amelia’s admiration and brought her back to reality, “I’ve brought this half-elf because she wishes to speak to you, pardon the intrusion.”
Rollant stood, walking to stand in front of his desk, “That’s quite alright, Vola.” he looked at Amelia and his eyes shone with recognition. “Are you… Amelia Grey?”
Amelia beamed and took a step forward in earnest, “Yes sir! You remember me?”
Rollant closed his eyes and nodded his head, “Vaguely, yes. I returned your kitten to you, correct?”
Amelia grinned, “Yes! Alavor!” She was excited that he seemed to remember her.
“That’s right.” Rollant chirped, “That was so long ago, you were so little then. But why have you come here now?”
Amelia shuffled her boots together nervously as the words grew heavy in her mouth, “Well, I was hoping to work under you. I’ve heard a lot about you from my mother and I decided to come and seek you out again.”
Amelia worried her skirt between her fingers again, bouncing on her feet as he thought.
“I think that would be doable, but how old are you?” Rollant mused.
It was that easy! Amelia wanted to exclaim with joy.
“Oh, um.” Amelia stuttered, realizing she had not thought this through, “I’m seventeen…”
Vola and Rollant looked at her in surprise, Rollant hummed in thought. “You’re a bit too young to start any survey work… but, we could start training you at the least.”
“Really?!” Amelia yelped, unable to keep it contained.
Rollant chuckled, “Yes. You would start off with some weight-training to get those muscles up, and while you can’t do any survey work, you can run errands and do chores around the outpost.” Rollant marched behind his desk, pulling out a contract. “But once you have more age and experience under your belt, you can start working as a squire under me, earning yourself a military rank and some reputation in the world.”
“That’s amazing! Thank you so much!” Amelia beamed, running over to sign the contract that he had pulled out for her.
“I do have one question however,” Rollant piped as Amelia looked up from the paper, “Where is your familiar? The one I rescued? Your magic would be a great help around here.”
Amelia froze in confusion, looking Rollant in the face nervously, “My… Magic?” she asked.
“Yes!” Rollant laughed, “Your magic! It’s the only reason I can afford to take you on so easily.”
Amelia felt despair claw up inside her. Magic? I can’t do magic! He thought Alavor was my familiar, oh no, what am I going to do? Amelia worried her lip between her teeth as she continued to sign the contract.
“But we can worry about that later, I’ll have Vola show you around and we can start your training tomorrow.” Rollant smiled as Vola escorted Amelia out of the room.
They started to descend the dark stairwell as Vola chirped, “Half-elf magic? Now I’d like to see that…” Amelia didn’t respond, quietly worrying about her situation.
Well… I guess I’d better figure out if I can do magic.