The Light Plane: Outerlands Village
Asa Brown walked through the dusty streets of the Outerlands village. He was on his way to the center of the town, where there was a meeting of several scholars and wizards. Maybe he could learn something, but he doubted it. There were few summoners like him these days, and even fewer bothered to come as far north as the Outerlands. Asa continued to hope as he made his way toward the town hall.
"Hey you!" A loud voice demanded from the side of the road. "Come 'ere!"
Asa ignored the voice and continued on his way. The owner of the voice, a large, gruff, and drunk man stepped out of the alley and faced Asa waveringly.
"You! Ya deaf or just 'tupid? I said, come 'ere!" the man glared at Asa.
"No thank you, I think I'll just be on my way." Asa said politely and tried to walk around him. The man lurched forward with surprising speed and grabbed Asa by the collar.
"Now listen 'ere. You got money, and I could use some- so how's about a li'l donation hmm? That staff of yours looks mighty valuable."
Asa was in no mood to be threatened, especially not with the loss of his rod. He whispered a word of command, and the dust behind the thug began to swirl. Meanwhile, the drunk continued his speech.
"Now, you might be askin' yourself: 'Why is this gentleman [here he paused to burp] at all interested in such a magical item as that staff?' Well, there's folks who would pay a mighty high price for magicks, rare as they gets in these parts and-"
The bully never got a chance to finish. What had started as a small dust devil behind him had formed into a man-sized column of swirling wind. The man was too engrossed in his plans for Asa's money to hear the whirl until it was too late. The wind coalesced into a solid form and slammed into the back of the attacker. The bully went down with a strangled cry. Asa spoke another word and the form dispersed. He continued on his way.
Asa managed to work his way into the crowded town hall. Inside, there were six people who were obviously wizards, and two others who looked like summoners. Asa walked to the front of the crowd, which was too busy shouting questions to pay any attention.
"One at a time, One at a time!" One of the wizards had apparently designated himself the leader. "There is plenty of time to hear your questions. We'll begin with the scholars. Magic students-" He gestured toward twenty scattered seats between themselves and the crowd. The crowd quieted down and about five people took seats. Asa, a summoner and not a student of magic, remained where he was.
The magic students asked many questions, and the lead wizard answered them the majority of the time, with occasional comments from the others. After an hour or two, the wizards dismissed the students and called down another group, this one for healers. Asa watched with not much fascination and waited his turn. By the end of the day, nearly everyone had been seen, and the hall was mostly empty.
"We thank you for having us here, and we hope we were able to answer questions. If there is anything else, some of us will be staying in town to answer your questions. But as for myself- I must be going." The wizard stood back, yelled something incomprehensible, and vanished in a flash of light.
What was left of the crowd made their way out then, except for Asa, who approached one of the summoners.
"No more questions please, I have to be going." She said. She looked around nervously.
"I beg your pardon, but you overlooked the students of summoning earlier." Asa said calmly.
"There was nobody to overlook. Sir, do you realize that you are the only person with a summoning rod in this room?" She seemed somewhat impatient. "We did not mean to offend, but we did not see enough people to call forward."
Asa was listening at first as the summoner went on, but he found his concentration waning. Her voice seemed to be coming from further and further away, and the lights in the room grew darker. He tried to say something but found his mouth was sealed shut, and silently he passed out.
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