Wanderer's Refuge

Notes from the tracks 2: branding

When the night came and Agatha was able to leave the train slowly moving forward at "cruising altitude", Ursa, Agatha and Lawrence gathered at the sleeping cart of the train, there were enough bed frames for 12 people to sleep in, but there were currently only 6 mattresses, still more than they'd need. With a small oil lamp brought and lit by Lawrence in the center of the room, they sat and spoke, discussing the events of the day.

"So, you can launch fire from your hands?" asked Ursa.

"I am able to create and control flames to an extent; I also think my body is rather heat-resistant, which is good. I don't like using it for fighting though, so I can't aim it particularly well." Lawrence rubbed his hands together as he spoke.

Agatha was curious, but bashful, not wanting to offend her new companion. "Are you a descendant of the legendary sorcerer Jack Austen, mr. Lawrence? I read about him recently in a book about sorcery."

Lawrence's expression was pained, but he could see from Agatha's gentle eyes that she didn't mean any harm, so he sighed and answered "Yes, I believe that is likely, but don't get your hopes up, I don't think I'm any kind of human superweapon, I am very proud of my hands, my quick and dexterous digits, but the color of my fingers has only brought me trouble so far. I didn't choose it, and it doesn't mean anything about who I am, ok?"

"Oh, alright, I'm... sorry sir." Agatha shrunk in on herself in shame at possibly hurting Lawrence.

Lawrence raised his eyes, changing the subject, "So, steam sorcery and... a flying train? What are you two's abilities? Don't see many people using sorcery these days."

"Well, I don't know a lot about sorcery, but when I really want to move, I think steam bursts out from my body and maybe parts of it become lighter to help me move, throwing me forward and that kind of thing." Ursa answered, turning up her palm and the slightest amount of steam seemed to float up towards her face.

"About the train, I think it is a highly specialized form of iron creation magic, it may manifest like that because of my research of the machinery behind trains, that's just my theory though, I've only just started learning about sorcery," explained Agatha.

"I see, and will you be picking up more people like me in the future? Why did you let me come here anyway?"

"Well, we were already criminals due to our use and research of sorcery, so I felt like helping someone else getting chased for an unfair reason would be a good thing to do, and we've enough space to shelter a couple more so why not?" Answered Agatha, proud of the moving home she'd built.

"Yeah! We're not just gonna sit and watch assholes grab people like us for something that wasn't harming anyone," added Ursa.

Lawrence held his chin in his hand, deep in thought. "So this will be a shelter for other people who can't feel safe in any towns... Well it needs a name! Did you already name it?"

"No, not really," said Agatha.

"Branding is important for these things, what kind of magical escape and home doesn't have a whimsical name? People are going to need a way to refer to us when they tell legends about us. How about "Wanderer's Refuge" ? "

"I like that, sounds like a nice place." Said Agatha.

After this, the trio slept peacefully, unbothered by the rhythmic slow movement of the train, they were following a route passing by many smaller towns and villages, so they could meet people and get supplies without calling much attention to themselves. Lawrence, thankfully, already knew a lot about the country and had a few maps in his bags.

Agatha kept researching in the books she'd stolen from the library about different forms of sorcery, asking her friends to see the marks in their bodies associated with it.

The symbol on Agatha's temple meant "Create Iron".

The one on Ursa's chest, right over her heart,meant "Imbue steam".

Unsurprisingly, Lawrence had a symbol of "command fire" on the back of his right hand.