Missing Sister [Solo | Job | Plot]

Job Details:

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Ah! And yet again, Reed woke to the sound of incessant knocking on his door. The previous day was filled with a lot of information to process: Lyra desperately searching for their sister, bandits showing up all throughout the Magnostadt countryside, his parents not being responsible for his sister's death? It was...shocking for sure but apparently circumstance would have it that Reed was not allowed to relax the day away. He somberly walked to his door and opened it, bracing himself for whatever loud intruder would probably barge in through his doorway. Reed expected his sister, that was his only friend in this place, but there may have been some odd soul who happened to confuse his room for another person's room. Reed had done the same, so why not some other hapless student trying to find a friend in this college? Unfortunately, no hapless student, just Lyra.

"How deep of a sleep ARE you? I have been knocking for the last hour and nothing! If I wasn't as talented a magician as I already am, I would've assumed you were gone but nothing gets by me, bucko!" Lyra joked, storming in and finding herself a seat at a table by the window in his room. She sat at the table, grabbing an apple and aggressively biting into it. There was something oddly...animated about his sister today, but he wouldn't dare point that out, at least not yet, for fear of reproach. "I found a new job to take out bandits today! Well, actually, I hired someone to do a bit of investigating, but that's irrelevant. Are you coming with me? They're supposed to be out in the plains, but this time way farther out. I bet that's where Coda is." Reed groaned (internally, he wouldn't dare let Lyra know he was annoyed with her demands, or that he was perhaps a bit down on himself to go anywhere today) and walked over to her, offering a bit of brotherly wisdom.

"Don't you think we should take a rest? We have no idea if Coda is even out there. Lyra...I know you're struggling but I saw--" Reed explained, before his sister shot him a cold stare.

"You know nothing. Just as I do. You didn't see her die, you escape too. There's a chance she's alive, Reed, don't you see? There's always a chance. We live in a country of the most talented and proficient magicians!" There was a slight hint of pain in her voice, as if the explanation was more to convince herself than it was to convince Reed. Reed only shook his head and grabbed his travel clothes and wand, ready to accompany Lyra on this trip. She mouthed a simple "thank you" before taking off with him, traversing out of the academy, out of the town, and into the outskirts of Magnostadt, where the plains stretched as far as the eye could see. "The encampment is supposed to be due south, almost near Balbadd. Walking seems like a bore but I'm not too well-versed in gravity magic to take us there...what about you?" Reed only shook his head no in reply. They both sighed and made the long trek south toward the waterside capital.

"Why are you so confident that Coda is alive, Lyra? We both got the letter...I saw it happen...you have to know...you have to..." Reed asked, breaking up the thinly veiled cheerful mood of the journey. Lyra stopped in her tracks, just paces ahead of Reed. There was an air of drama about this positioning, something all of the Harper children were used to--they were all comfortable with the melodrama of traumatic experiences.

"I saw her," She replied and walked off, bored with their conversation. She saw her? Reed was convinced his sister had gone absolutely, raving mad. How did Lyra see Coda? And just why did seeing Coda mean that Lyra was so sure that bandits had captured their sister. There were so many questions Reed wanted to ask and yet Lyra had cut the conversation short. Despite all of his sister's admirable qualities, he was finding her withholding of information a very annoying one. He trailed after her, lobbing question after question about the nature of her seeing Coda. Nothing. Not a word. He would ask other things, like how the weather was, or if she knew anything about the bandits, but when it came to Coda, Lyra was silent as a mouse. Finally, Reed gave up entirely on speaking to her until it came time to do battle with the bandits at the encampment.

"There. There in the distance--that's the encampment it looks like? I don't see...anything else...really..." The tension was so thick it made their close, sibling bond awkward to maneuver. Still, they worked well together, so it didn't really put the both of them at a disadvantage. "There looks to be about ten...I say we take them togeth--Lyra! Lyra! Where are you going!" His sister had ignored all reason and rushed to one side, whipping out her staff to fling magical spells at her assailants. Confound it! Reed chased after her to protect her. He was furious she would put herself in danger like this. He came to the entrance of the encampment where Lyra was fending off against two bandits. Perfect! He could use this time of her being distracted to make his way into the camp and dispose of his enemies. The walls of the encampment and some tents were set ablaze--sheesh, for someone who specialized in ice magic, she sure did have a penchant for setting things on fire. As Reed tiptoed into camp, two bandits made their way toward him--from the looks of it, they were seasoned ones. True highwaymen capable of fearsome things.

"You coming for me? Heh..." Reed only scoffed at the bandits as they encircled him, forming a pincer formation before they lunged toward him. Reed quickly drew his wand, casting a scaled Rondo to reveal a far more powerful sword of sound around his wand. As the first bandit lunged toward Reed, he sidestepped as quickly as he could, his borg deflecting the nearly fully dodged stab before cutting the bandit down. The second bandit charged toward him, slashing downward with impressive might. Reed's borg managed to negate his attack and with some impressive might Reed thrust upward, piercing the bandit through the jaw. The green magician looked around, hoping to find no trace of Lyra in the midst of battle. He wandered further in, only to find two more bandits lying in wait for him. Odd...it was like they were protecting something, or trying to deter Reed from moving forward. He shook this strange feeling before moving forward, hoping to make quick work of the assailants. He whipped his staff around, twirling it with impressive finesse.

"This is my magnum opus--I have no interest in consorting with you ruffians--Rhapsody!" His combination magic was unleashed with more powerful than usual, its power scaled to make quick work of the assailants. The bandits drew closer to the air pockets before they burst directly near them, releasing a high pitched shriek as the seasoned bandits dropped to the ground. Reed kept running through the encampment which seemingly increased in devastation. His was surrounded by fire. But how? In his scouting, he spotted a figure in the distance. It must have been one bandit who was getting away! Not wanting to risk the bandit hunting he and his sister down with reinforcements, he chased after the silhouette, his wand still enveloped with a sword-like green aura. "Hey! Come here! Fight me!" Reed yelled, trying to taunt the figure. Suddenly, it turned around, only to reveal something so familiar. He saw short blue hair shimmer against the light of the flames in the distance before it disappeared just as suddenly. Coda? Was that her? He was afforded no time to think, however, when a sword came slicing against him, piercing his borg and clipping his arm. He felt the steel burn against his body as blood gushed from it.

"Ah! No! Not here! Cadenza!"" The young magician yelled, releasing a bullet of sound toward the bandit. It struck him square in the eyes as he fell backward, felled by Reed's magic. He got to his feet and looked around, the encampment ravaged by flames. "Lyra! Lyra! Lyra, where are you!?" No response. He frantically wandered around the encampment, searching for his sister. Oh no! Was she lost? Was she killed as well? Reed could not forgive himself.

"Reed! Reed! Are you alright?!" It was Lyra's voice! Reed rejoiced and followed it to find his sister completely unscathed. There was something distressing about her mood, though--she seemed too happy. "Did you see her? Did you see Coda? She was here! I saw her! She was here, Reed! Coda! She...she's alive!"

For the first time, Reed believed her. There was no mistaking what he saw in the flames...it was assuredly, most definitely, his sister Coda.

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Word Count: 1526/1000
Magoi: 140/260

Abilities Used: