Chapter 1 (cont.)

"These are Gnolls and birgands Laracell, even here in Qadira we fight them and for what? Fighting evil is its own reward? In Katapesh actually people look out for my bottom line and Family history is important to me, Kelmarane is the homeland of our Djinn Ancestors if I need to remind you" Carrissa remembers saying before leaving Qadira as she rides in the caravan wagon.

Over top the last rise, the caravan camp comes into view. Half-dozen wagons and a large tent clustered around the distinctive tree comes into view. Camels in a nearby pen prance in agitation, and a clutch of confused goats and livestock wander the grounds around the wagons. Perhaps a dozen men and women rush around the campsite, chasing down an animal or hastening toward the center of the cluster, near the Sultan’s Claw the landmark tree, with pails of water in their hands. One of the wagons is on fire! Lush orange and red flames engulf an elaborate wooden wagon emblazoned with painted moons and stars. A gout of smoke pours from an open door, and as you approach an ill wind blows a number of colorful fortune-telling Harrow cards from inside the wagon. Emerric, one of these singed cards blows directly at him, catching against his chest in a burst of orange cinders. It is the Cyclone, signifying a force that tears through whatever it meets at the behest of an intelligent being. The card portends war, arson, and destructive plans. As your dazzled eyes shift their focus from the Cyclone back to the wagon, the whole of the Sultan’s Claw erupts into brilliant flame. The central flap of an elaborate tent flies open and a regal woman who can only be Almah steps out into the firelit night. “Douse that flame!” she shouts to the men surrounding the wagon before turning in your direction. “Ah, Garavel!” she says. “And just a moment later than the nick of time, as usual.”

Looking specifically past her majordomo and directly at the trio of casters, Almah barks out a simple order before running off toward the fire: “Find some way to help!”

Carissa rushes forward as she shouts to her companions. “Emmeric, see to the injured! Voriliax, see what you can do with the flames. I will help the get water to the wagon!”

She moved her hands before her, one palm facing the sky and the other the ground, palms almost touching. She began to rotate her hands in opposite directions from the other as if mimicking the shape of a tiny whirlwind. Her voice had an odd echoing quality to it as she murmured words of power, the air warping between her palms as she flung out her hands, seemingly to no effect.
Carissa pushed out as her eyes watched what others couldn’t see. A small, invisible being of pure magic, sometimes referred to as an unseen servant, formed on the ground before her.

“Follow me,” she said as she raced to where the others were grabbing what buckets and waterskins they could. She picked up whatever could hold water, and gave it to her servant. “Fetch water and pour it on the fire,” she commanded as she joined whatever bucket line was forming. Her helper might not be much, but it would not tire, as the others here might.

(Carissa will help to try to put out the fire with the others as her spells are initially cut out to take care of disasters like this.)

As Carissa worked, she remembered when she first learned the spell…
...
“No. Again. Channel your mana while you speak. The formation of the sounds focuses your intent. Intent shapes your work. Try again.”

Anandus, her tormentor, and mentor, repeated the same refrain for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. He was Zenj, from the lands called Mwangi, and he was a long-time traveling companion of her brother, Laracell. He was a sorcerer like she was, and she hated him at this moment.
Laracell was back home from another of his long trips, with stories and gold to share with his family. This time, he had come back with two traveling companions, the dark-skinned and always jovial Anandus, and Faralene, the strikingly beautiful half-elf that Carissa was sure Laracell was closer with than he would admit.

Carissa felt ugly next to her and was hotly jealous of how graceful and effortlessly she moved within her molded armor and blades.
They wouldn’t be here much longer and were already planning their next adventure, taking a contract with a noble to find something or another. But today, she had a special hatred for the Zenj, who had seemed happy to teach Carissa more about her own abilities in the time they were staying. And by teaching, it was to speak in riddles and half-truths that left Carissa confused and frustrated. Like this spell.

“Cleaning your camp, setting up a tent, fetching water, these are things that just a small bit of magic can take care of for you while you study or meditate,” Anundus has said. With a flourish of his hands, and words that seemed to vibrate the air, the dusty ground had swirled before firewood began to float from where her father had stacked it along the house to the large, outside stove she and her mother would spend time in the morning and evening near in preparing meals.

She had tried, again and again, to repeat exactly what he did, but there was always something just off, a tiny bit of a vowel clipped too soon. She had thought she had been granted the greatest gift of all when she discovered her aptitude for magic. She hadn’t realized it would be such exacting work.
But all that work was worth it when, after days of Anandus’s seemingly endless patience and guidance, Laracell gave her a huge hug and told her how proud he was of her when finally a broom was clumsily moving across the floors of the house. It was a small victory, but it was a memory she still treasured.

OOC:
How familiar are you with pathfinder? – I am fairly familiar with Pathfinder. I’ve been playing it off and on for about 10 years or so.
Im intending as PbEM so it doesnt need to be public – You can set it private, I don’t mind that.

Skill points –
Knowledge – Arcana –
Diplomacy -
Use Magical Device -
Perception

Feats -
Improved Initiative
Spell focus - Conjuration

0 Level Spells
Acid Splash –
Dancing Lights -
Detect Magic -
Read Magic -

1st level spells
Unseen Servant -
Color Spray -