The life of Artemisia before C: the Dupree workshop

Evening

At noon Artemisia had gotten the kiln to a good temp and lit the wood to maintain it so she could work another task. Her father had come to check on her a few times and he did so again. "Lunch time! and Gwydion asked for you this morning". he said watching his daughter's reaction. Artemisia looked up at him perplexed. "I thought the archaeological guild was done with the Fernbank ruins". she said tentatively, Orazio sighed "well, that's the thing." he placed his hands on his hips "they found a new settlement . . . well it's a temple but you'll need to talk to Gwydion after lunch! Me and your mother want to talk to you about what he's asking."

Lilly had set the table and the servants were bringing in their lunch. Roasted hen, bread and butter, potatoes, and vegetables cut sautéed in oil and spices. They dug in quietly. And after Orazio finished eating he cleared his throat. Lilly looked at her daughter and back down to her food. "Gwydion wants you as a fighter" Orazio said simply.

Artemisia sat there for a second as the words settled. She had been trained; her parents knew that. Hell, they requested it since the ruins they ventured too was a territory known for bandits. But to be asked to be a fighter instead of a living torch was completely different than being trained as a just in case. "Do you think you can handle that?" her mother asked, and Artemisia looked into her eyes. She saw anxiety mingled with a bit of fear, but Artemisia felt at least somewhat confident. She countered her mother's question with her own "do you trust Athena's judgement and that I am capable of doing this?" Her parents looked at each other then back at her. Slowly and with a bit of apprehension, they nodded.

A half hour later Artemisia was walking through the streets towards the academy district. Her hair was tied back in a braid, and she wore a simple tunic, leggings and boots. A bag hung over her shoulder, a book she needed to return inside with a bottle of perfumes to be delivered. After running her errands. She found Gwydion in the middle of a lecture on the history of magic and its tragedies. She took a seat in the back and waited for him to finish. The lecture hall was a half circle with tiered seating there were male and females both writing or watching him. When he finally finished, she pranced up to the front where his desk was. "Uncle! I hear tell that you need a fighter?" she said her eyes gleaming. He sighed "this isn't something to consider lightly, yes you are skilled, but you are still young and if anything were to happen to you then neither your parents nor myself will be able to forgive me for your loss or injuries." he gave her a steady look into her eyes and she calmed herself. "Well . . . was it your idea or Athena's?" she asked and Gwydion winced a smile "Athena, come on let me show you the maps of what we know." he led her to his office and pulled some rolled up maps out of a cubby hole built into the wall. "This is Callagor" he said unrolling a sheet of paper to reveal a rough outline of a fort wall surrounding a block with "seraphim temple" scrawled inside it. Another rough scribble outlined the surrounding forest with three paths diverting in opposite directions from the fort.

"Seraphim?" Artemisia asked and looked up at Gwydion who glowered. "An old god and a dark one, we have very little written about him but the things we do have say he is a corruptor, liar, tyrant. This temple can shed more light on the subject but its crawling with wraiths. He opened a book to a marked page and showed her the page of a sketch. It depicted a haggard manlike figure with face twisted in a snarl. Artemisia looked at the writing on the page next to it and her eyes focused on one sentence "vulnerable to fire." She muttered and looked up at Gwydion who shrugged. "You know fire mages are rare, you're one of two that were born in this city and the other... well I think you know what happened." She nodded remembering the fire that took down a quarter of the scholar district where the child's parents had lived. The child himself had burned out and turned to ash. Artemisia had issues with her magic for three years after that, culminating in the kiln exploding the way it did.

"There will be skilled enough air and water mages as well as an earth mage that can make explosions if you do not wish to come. This is a lot of responsibility and you may witness death, you are only 16. And a rather sheltered 16 year old at that, if you will pardon my saying."

she acknowledged this with a nod as she thought. The mages he was talking about were mages Artemisia knew. They taught her complete control and mastery. Granted, she had been instructed to stay in the back and fight only if necessary. But to be asked to come along as a fighting mage? Part of her was frightened but the other part wanted to. If she went, wraiths were dangerous and tended to attack in swarms. It would be high stress and the others possibly wouldn't be able to smother her if she lost control. She could help but she could also injure herself and others if she wasn't careful. If she went . . . she did enjoy the excavations. She learned a lot when she was with them and her parents were grateful to Gwydion and the rest for helping her get control of her magic. And, if she was honest, she also enjoyed fighting.

"Ok" she said and Gwydion looked up from a sheet of paper he was studying. "Ok?" he repeated "are you sure?" he pressed. Artemisia simply nodded, explained her reasoning and waited as he considered her words. "Then you will be at the western fountain before dawn three days from now. Bring your sketch book, a sleeping mat, a change of clothes, and whatever else you deem necessary to bring. You will be at the site for one night so we can get a general sense of what we are dealing with in terms of the wraiths." he paused then added. "Remember, in those three days you can back out at any time. If you arrive at the fountain though there will be no turning back." She nodded and went around the desk to hug him. "I'll talk it through with my parents and see if they're comfortable with this". He hugged her back and watched her leave with a hop in her step that she always got when she was excited about something.
He put the map and book back and placed his forehead on the shelf before him. "Gods help us, Varlienth protect her from the coming dark."