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Along the side of the road irrigation pipes hovered over the fields that whizzed past as the red red rattling truck drove on. From her perch in the back of that truck, if she unfocused her eyes a little, Tourmaline thought she could imagine a giant spider's web of those pipes and move hovering above the land. It was a better thing to think about than what she was going to have to do in a few minutes.
She sighed and did her best to look at the driver of the truck without moving her head. It had been not that long since the rough cut farmer had picked her up on the other side of town. He'd just been coming back from Phoenix to pick up seeds, sacks of which were making up some padding for whenever they hit a bump in the road. Picking up one of those weirdo mage boys to give em a lift near to their next destination. Along the way out here, just from listening to him talk up the area, she'd learned his name was Bradley, his wife was Nella and that they grew alfalfa mostly, but a few plots were veggies as well. He'd been told that there was a farmhouse out of town about ten miles where a boy named 'Jonah' was expected to be by tonight, and that the boy was out on his traditional walkabout, only that he'd been too broke for his own vehicle and had no parents or really close relatives left.
The guy seemed nice enough, but for the last ten minutes, there had been this creeping sensation crawling all over her, even if there were no pings in her shields at least magically... Glamours though.. The slight tricks she had used might not have been enough. Hair wasn't a problem, it was all pinned up tight under a wig, under a knit woolen hat and pinned like a mother. Shuffling a little, and deciding that the chest bindings under the wifebeater and denim shirt still felt secure, Tourmaline made up her mind. Leaning forward, she knocked on the rear window and waited for the man to slide it open, getting into a crouch. "I think the farmhouse's coming up."
That was a lie, but Brad wouldn't have to know that. She raised her arm up to point at someplace coming up in the distance. There was no farmhouse really in the first place, at least not one close to the road, unless you counted two miles of gravel, rocks, and growing bushes as a road.
"That so?" Brad looked over to the side and squinted at a pair of buildings that hung at the end of a long driveway, the red of the barn towering over the squat brown brick farmhouse. For a moment, Tour waited, heart hammered in her chest as she wondered if she was going to have to jump for it from the moving truck. It began to slow down as the brake was applied and she almost let out a sigh of relief.
First part of this was done, now for round two, she thought, casting another glance towards the driveway that was coming up. Just for a moment, she thought about cracking her mental shields open and getting an emotional taste of whatever was on this man. That would have been an invasion though, of a kind. Still... It was the only way to be sure. Opening the thick shields was a little like peeling plastic wrap from the inside of a bubble, in the fraction of a second there was a symphony of input pouring in and focused on the man in the driver's seat. As the truck began to slow down, there was concern, yes and a hint of...avarice, slightly bitter and metallic. He wanted something, and if it was this high on his emotions, there was only one other person around for him to take from.
The trouble was it was only a hint of avarice, and for all she knew it could only be him wanting someone to be a farmhand up at his place or for his fields to be as rich as the ones that they were pulling up alongside of. Better not to risk it at this point. Still, as the truck pulled to a stop twenty feet past the driveway for this farm, some of her own worries eased.
"You gonna be alright there? Y'haven't said much for the last few miles."
"Just got a lot on my mind, sir." She replied in a voice that was a little heavier and deeper than her own true one. "Thanks for the lift."
"You're welcome kid." Brad beamed from the driver's seat and shook Tour's hand, "You've got a lot of grit to be out here doing this on your own."
"Gonna need it if I wanna be a full adult Mage." There may have been some grinning on her part from that statement, and she ducked her head under the mismatched grey wool of her knit cap. "Be seein' ya."
"See ya."
Walking up towards the farmhouse, Touramline listened for the sound of tires going off in the distance amid all the other sounds and counted off under her breath. After ten seconds she allowed herself a glance to see if the truck was still working itself back up to speed down the road. When thirty seconds had passed and the truck was no more than a plume of dust and exhaust, she picked up the speed.
She was on private property and this man might be the kind that owned a shotgun and not much in the way of patience with trespassers. Running through the field in the twilight of evening, her heart hammering in her chest, Tourmaline cleared the last 50 yards of shooting distance from the house and kept going, listening to the world singing around her as she ran with a heavily packed army backpack thumping on her back.
She sighed and did her best to look at the driver of the truck without moving her head. It had been not that long since the rough cut farmer had picked her up on the other side of town. He'd just been coming back from Phoenix to pick up seeds, sacks of which were making up some padding for whenever they hit a bump in the road. Picking up one of those weirdo mage boys to give em a lift near to their next destination. Along the way out here, just from listening to him talk up the area, she'd learned his name was Bradley, his wife was Nella and that they grew alfalfa mostly, but a few plots were veggies as well. He'd been told that there was a farmhouse out of town about ten miles where a boy named 'Jonah' was expected to be by tonight, and that the boy was out on his traditional walkabout, only that he'd been too broke for his own vehicle and had no parents or really close relatives left.
The guy seemed nice enough, but for the last ten minutes, there had been this creeping sensation crawling all over her, even if there were no pings in her shields at least magically... Glamours though.. The slight tricks she had used might not have been enough. Hair wasn't a problem, it was all pinned up tight under a wig, under a knit woolen hat and pinned like a mother. Shuffling a little, and deciding that the chest bindings under the wifebeater and denim shirt still felt secure, Tourmaline made up her mind. Leaning forward, she knocked on the rear window and waited for the man to slide it open, getting into a crouch. "I think the farmhouse's coming up."
That was a lie, but Brad wouldn't have to know that. She raised her arm up to point at someplace coming up in the distance. There was no farmhouse really in the first place, at least not one close to the road, unless you counted two miles of gravel, rocks, and growing bushes as a road.
"That so?" Brad looked over to the side and squinted at a pair of buildings that hung at the end of a long driveway, the red of the barn towering over the squat brown brick farmhouse. For a moment, Tour waited, heart hammered in her chest as she wondered if she was going to have to jump for it from the moving truck. It began to slow down as the brake was applied and she almost let out a sigh of relief.
First part of this was done, now for round two, she thought, casting another glance towards the driveway that was coming up. Just for a moment, she thought about cracking her mental shields open and getting an emotional taste of whatever was on this man. That would have been an invasion though, of a kind. Still... It was the only way to be sure. Opening the thick shields was a little like peeling plastic wrap from the inside of a bubble, in the fraction of a second there was a symphony of input pouring in and focused on the man in the driver's seat. As the truck began to slow down, there was concern, yes and a hint of...avarice, slightly bitter and metallic. He wanted something, and if it was this high on his emotions, there was only one other person around for him to take from.
The trouble was it was only a hint of avarice, and for all she knew it could only be him wanting someone to be a farmhand up at his place or for his fields to be as rich as the ones that they were pulling up alongside of. Better not to risk it at this point. Still, as the truck pulled to a stop twenty feet past the driveway for this farm, some of her own worries eased.
"You gonna be alright there? Y'haven't said much for the last few miles."
"Just got a lot on my mind, sir." She replied in a voice that was a little heavier and deeper than her own true one. "Thanks for the lift."
"You're welcome kid." Brad beamed from the driver's seat and shook Tour's hand, "You've got a lot of grit to be out here doing this on your own."
"Gonna need it if I wanna be a full adult Mage." There may have been some grinning on her part from that statement, and she ducked her head under the mismatched grey wool of her knit cap. "Be seein' ya."
"See ya."
Walking up towards the farmhouse, Touramline listened for the sound of tires going off in the distance amid all the other sounds and counted off under her breath. After ten seconds she allowed herself a glance to see if the truck was still working itself back up to speed down the road. When thirty seconds had passed and the truck was no more than a plume of dust and exhaust, she picked up the speed.
She was on private property and this man might be the kind that owned a shotgun and not much in the way of patience with trespassers. Running through the field in the twilight of evening, her heart hammering in her chest, Tourmaline cleared the last 50 yards of shooting distance from the house and kept going, listening to the world singing around her as she ran with a heavily packed army backpack thumping on her back.
