Aliases are alternative forms of a reference. They can include actual aliases for characters, nicknames, plural variations, gendered versions of some [Classes], and even typos.
“I suppose it would violate the basic rules of hospitality not to inquire. So tell me Runner—what is your name? I am Teriarch. Speak it not but remember it, for what it is worth.”
Teriarch stopped and stared at the place where the Human known as Ryoka Griffin had just been. Desperately, he reached out, but even with magic, she was already out of his grasp. Short of casting multiple undirected spells that would teleport quite a bit of the city back here, she was gone.
Cursing silently in his own language, Teriarch berated himself for not observing basic etiquette. True, it was with a Human, but—how was he supposed to know it was that exact Runner who would show up on his doorstep?
Ah, well. He knew her face, and that would make her marginally easier to locate. Teriarch was still unclear what strange power shielded her from his scrying spells, especially since Ryoka had no magical power or even classes of her own. She was a strange Human, but now he understood part of Reinhart’s fascination with her.
Teriarch winced as in his magical view of the city of Celum he saw Ryoka appear. She was more or less in the center of the city as he’d claimed, but she was definitely too high up. He watched her plummet down out of the sky from roof-height.
Except of course that she had more problems than she’d started out with. Ryoka could still feel Teriarch’s words burning in the back of her mind. But she could ignore them, so long as she reminded herself she still needed to prepare. The strange potion he’d given her was locked in Ryoka’s chest upstairs.
From the High Passes, that’s where. From nearly dying and being helpless even with all the years she’d studied martial arts. From Teriarch and his overpowering magic and arrogance. From the Runner’s Guild and stupid people. From dealing with the ridiculous system of leveling in this world and not least—dealing with some kind of perfect lady knight and a misogynistic Minotaur. It was all bubbling out of Ryoka, and she couldn’t stop it. She wanted to hit something, and Calruz was a big target.
She had escaped with everything important. The ring Teriarch had given her—the letter—her money pouch—and she still had the potions strapped to her rucksack. She left the Goblins behind and ran on.
Pale white…stalks. Long fronds of plants—all covered by a bit of frost. All dead. Or hibernating? Teriarch told me I could do this moderately safely. But I remember Ysara’s words and don’t go towards the Bloodfields. I’m just jogging with rocky slopes leading up to the cliffs beyond. Boring sandstone up there or some local rock.
Kent Scott. Whoever that person was, he wasn’t from our world. He was…fishing for information. First and last names. No one else seemed to get that, but thanks to Teriarch I know that he was trying to use a [Scrying] spell.
“Erin, I came down towards Liscor because I was doing a delivery. A special one. You see, I met this man named Teriarch. And he put some kind of—of spell on me. It made me travel towards the Blood Fields and—”
