The Collar

When Storm and Nill are let into the Mage's Guild, they come in to see a bustling building. Mage's wearing the silver and blue colors of the guild walk around the main floor. When they enter the Mage's Guild, a young man wearing glasses approaches them.

"Hello. Welcome to the Mage's Guild. How may I help you?" He appears to be human with short brown hair and brown eyes. 

"Yeah. We need something looked at. Magically." Storm nods to Nill. "It's for my friend here. I can pay."

"Your friend... Needs to be Identified?" The young man asks.

"No. Something she's wearing though that she can't take off yet. We want to make sure it's safe for her to do so." Storm reaches into a pouch. "She's got one of those collars and it's hurting her. I want to get it off her if possible."

The man looks at Nill and nods. "Uh... Sure. Wait here. I'll check to see if there's an open circle."

The young man turns on heel and walks off.

Storm turns to Nill. "They'll help us, okay? We just have to let them touch that collar. I don't think they need to touch you though. Are you okay with this?"

“Magic is being… uneasy. And I am not being used to having the touching of me, or near of me…” Nill tugs lightly at the collar, her fingers lingering on the fabric. “But if it will be helping with the getting of collar off, I will be having the ease.”

She turns to Storm, her expression blank as ever, though her voice drops quieter.

“If I am having the dying, I do not have the knowing of how I will be paying back the kindness of you."

"Don't worry about it. It shouldn't cost too terribly much to do this. If it gets you killed though, I'll feel really bad since this was my idea." Storm chuckles awkwardly. 

The young man returns and gestures behind him. "Please follow me."

He turns on heel and begins walking towards a hall. Storm follows after him. He leads them to the third door down the hall and knocks once before opening the door. He gestures them inside.

When they walk in, they see a very bland room. There is a ritual circle on the floor at the center of the room and a small table in the middle of it. On the table are components and a scroll and standing at the table is a tall woman with shoulder length blonde hair. She looks up as they enter.

"Hello there! I was told I'll be identifying an item?" The young woman asks.

Storm nods. "Uh. Yes. This is my friend, Nill. She was rescued from the Fae and has a slave collar. Previously when they were removed from other pixies, they died. We just want to make sure it's not cursed or anything and then remove it safely."

The young woman nods and begins to put items together on the table. "Ok." She looks up at Nill. "Please stand in front of the table and I will identify the collar."

Storm looks over at Nill and smiles. "I'll be right here."

Nill gives Storm a nod and pulls her hood back, then unwinds the scarves and sets the whole bundle carefully aside. Beneath them, she wears a plain black shirt, leaving the metal collar fully exposed. The skin around her neck is raw and discolored, and older scars trace faint lines along her collarbone and across her back where the fabric shifts.

Her small wings flutter once, betraying her nerves, before she steps up to the table as instructed. She stands rigidly straight, fingers twisting together in front of her. Her gaze flicks over the objects laid out there, studying each in turn, before lifting to the woman.

“I have the ready."

The woman smiles. "Ritual beginning."

The circle raises and the woman begins chanting as she picks up the scroll. For the next 10 minutes, the woman chants and combines components. Her hands move skillfully with practiced ease and she seems completely relaxed during the ritual. When the component crumbles to dust, she walks around the table and reaches out to touch the collar. There is a faint glow and then it fades.

"Hm. It seems it is magical. But I don't see any curse or anything really. It's just magic." The woman looks to Storm. "I see nothing here that should cause any harm if we remove it."

Storm nods and looks at Nill. "So. It' just magic so it can't be easily destroyed. Do you want to remove it? Or would you rather not risk it? This is your choice since your life is possibly on the line."

When the ritual finally ends, the tension in Nill’s shoulders eases, and her wings settle instead of twitching. She lifts a hand to her chin, thinking, her face still carefully neutral. After a few quiet moments, she nods once, decisively.

“We can be doing the removing of it.” She gives the collar a small tug. “I will be having the relief with the getting of it off.”