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Evermor
The streets of the former Upper Noble Sector were quiet and empty- much like most of the rest of the city. The outer suburbs, and the newest Outer Market, were bustling, even this late at night, and many of the nocturnal gangs within Evermor were beginning to stir.
The sound of Tetra's sabatons striking the cobblestone ground echoed throughout the street. Behind her helmet, her mouth was set in a grim line. Her right hand was settled on the hand of her warhammer, and her left hand was clutching her shield, ready to lift it to defend herself at a moment's notice.
She wound her way unaccosted through the streets. Several goblins peered at her from second-storey windows as she passed, but they ducked down when they recognized her.
The side street she had chosen for this purpose was still empty, at this moment.
She looked around for something to use as a seat. Spotting an empty barrel, with its lid missing and the metal hoops rusted.
Flipping it upside down, she sat down and waited.
Erith hummed as she did her paperwork. Being such a minor noble had its disadvantages- without the massive wealth of the larger Houses, she couldn't afford to hire a ledger-sorter, and had to do the work herself, which took a lot of time away from her other exploits.
Today, she didn't mind so much. It took her mind off of the wait.
She had heard of the cult of Urgathoa from Nizra. She had wanted to send Tetra to deal with them, but Tetra was busy dealing with Aran at the moment, and that took precedence. Even her usual mercenaries were busy, fighting in a gang war in the old Western Merchant Section, and didn't expect to be finished for weeks yet.
Soon after Nizra had contacted her, she had started to spread the word that she was looking for mercenaries to deal with the cult. She hadn't dared to put up any advertisements, for fear that one of the cult members would take it as proof, so she was relying on word of mouth to eventually cause her request to reach the ears of some mercenaries or adventurers.
It would be quite a trip, she admitted to herself- the Upper Noble Sector was not exactly next door to the Outer City. Most people did not even know of the unspoken agreement between the gangs around the Upper Noble Sector and Tetra, and few of the people who did know of it believed that either party actually respected it. (They both did, but it was an uneasy peace.) The path would be safe, but few mercenaries would know it was safe.
She grimaced, then took her mind off that again. It wouldn't do to dwell until the mercenaries arrived, after all.
Comments
Djanain decided that he would pack simply for this quest. Five days of food and oil, and more than enough money to restock, just in case. With any luck, he'd be able to refill his water, wherever. Gods know he wasn't going to carry five days worth of water at once. Everything was sort of unsure, though. Or, there was a lot of conflicting information. But, then, expunging a cult seemed like a good enough idea, and he could probably help with that now. And maybe get some more items for the collection.
He set out, with three weapons at his sides, and the best at top capacity in his head.
"It's pretty sad that I grew up in this city but I've never been to this place before! Well, I was kid of the streets but still..." Muses to himself Zoras while looking at the old place in front of him. He drops his bag to the floor and carrying his spears on hand he approaches the noble.
Rede Klizz'Osfr was practically skipping.
Adventure and danger were ends of themselves, and when the payday was also decent, with the guarantee of smashing some bad guys, it was a fool who'd pass the opportunity up. At present she had only a small sack with exactly seventy gold pieces in it, her trusty "scepter" (an ivory-capped stick), the clothes on her back, and some goggles. Which did nothing of any importance.
Rede had made it a point to visit the Clan in the Old City before setting out on this adventure--it seemed like it might be a long one, and Rede's home on the edge of the Old City made the journey seem that much longer--and Chief Rokl'Ur had given her a blessing and wished her well.
Now, here was this imposing mansion, where the offer of adventure came from. Tiny bolts of static ran down her fingertips as she drummed on the scepter's hilt, and she cocked a half-smile. What choice was there now, but to step inside?
Djanain reached Erith's mansion with an ease that almost surprised him. He saw a woman with white hair and an ornamented stick moving to go inside, and attempted to catch up. Not sure why, though. If she was relevant to him, they would introduce themselves soon enough. Could have just been the excitement of meeting a new person.
Rede's slightly-pointed ears twitched as she heard the sound of someone running up behind her. She spun around only to find it was, surprisingly, a fullblooded elf.
She didn't really like fullblooded elves, but this might be one of the people she was going to have to work with, so she figured it might pay to be polite.
"[Elven]Hello, sir.[/Elven] I don't suppose you're another adventurer responding to Lady Erith's public request?"
The walk proved more pleasant than Nom had expected: the night was dark, there was a cool breeze and, more importantly, the streets were almost empty. This had not been the case in the outer city; children, merchants, mercenaries and an assortment of bandits blended together into loud crowds. The bandits, in particular, proved to be a major nuisance, for an unarmed man walking by himself seems like an irresistible target, even if they would later regret it.
They would've regretted it had they succeeded, too. A monk travels light, and the totality of his belongings would prove to be a most unimpressive loot: a few coins, some rope, a hook and a dwindling supply of food. The javelins he had bought earlier today; they were unwieldy, and he didn't think he'd get much use out of them, but they'd hopefully be enough to deter further annoyances... and they were cheap.
Sustenance had proved to be harder to acquire in the city than in the wild, even in its current state; nature is more generous than men, after all. Hopefully, this job would remedy that, and having a noble patron would help get acquainted with this place. Besides, cultists are something the city could do without, they deal with forces and beings whose power they clearly do not understand, and are best left out of this world...
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It was a fancy house, but then again so were most in this area. As Nom approached , he saw two people chatting at the main door. One small, one tall, and both with pointy ears. They both looked like children, but he knew better than to make assumptions when it came to elves; after all, they were probably there for the same reason than him.
This was the end of the trip, his future employer would be waiting inside. Nom walked towards the door, hoping they wouldn't direct their idle talk towards him.
Approaching the door, the human sees that some people are already there. "Ah, hello. Are you here for the...adventure thing?"
" 'Adventure thing', yes, you could say that. I am, at least."
"That's an Eidolon. Does he mind being petted?"
Rede lightly scratched the tiger-creature between its ears.
"It's never a bad idea to get along with a tiger with a blade strapped to its back, regardless, is it?"
Hobbes made a sort of rumbling noise that might have been laughter.
"So is this all of us? I can't imagine Lady Erith wants to be kept waiting for too long. Nobles rarely do."
Despite saying this, Thevel didn't seem in any hurry to be the first in.
Rede sighed lightly.
"I suppose we can wait a bit to see if there's anyone else. I guess we should also properly introduce ourselves, as Thevel has. I'm Rede Klizz'Osfr."
"I'm Djanain Djanwa. It's a pleasure to meet you all. Though hopefully it's more than five of us who're doing this, quadrupedal swordsmen included." Djanain didn't make any eye contact as he spoke, but he trailed his finger across the hilt of his scimitar and looked about.
"What's wrong with just five? Fewer people means less splits in the payment."
". . . I suppose we all have our own priorities."
"Perhaps we do." Rede tapped her scepter against her hip.
"I, of course, am doing it for reasons other than the money, too, but getting paid is important when you've got no real income aside from what you manage to scavenge. I suppose you might not understand that."
Djanain pondered his choice of words. "I really don't."
"Evidently."
Rede drummed on her club, and considered saying something further, instead she just sighed.
"I don't think anyone else is coming, we might as well go in."
Inside the mansion, Erith coughed. She could hear the low sound of people talking outside, drifting through the entrance hall and into the study, where she was doing paperwork currently.
She shuffled her papers, sorting them into two neat piles (completed and non-completed), stacking them neatly on the side of her desk, then looked up.
"Please, come in," she said, pitching her voice so it would carry through the entrance hall and be audible outside the mansion.
"I wonder what could bring such a peculiar group together" thought Zoras, as he admired the eclectic group forming in front of his eyes.
He directed his speech at the elf with the scimitar. "I am Zoras Yuell, pleased to meet you, may I see your weapon?"
"Certainly." But, of course, Djanain was uncertain. His hand hesitated, already holding the hilt of the scimitar. But it came out, and he offered it, hilt out to Zoras. He then opened the door, now that Erith had called for it.
"It's pretty nice a weapon." Zoras looks at it and returns it. He then turns attention to the doorway.
"Thank you." Sheathing the scimitar set Djanain at ease. With that, he entered Erith's study and nodded his head to her.
"And greetings to you, Lady Erith."
"Greetings indeed." Rede bowed low.
"I am Rede Klizz'Osfr. I, and I assume my companions, have come to take you up on your offer."
Not entirely sure what to do, Thevel bowed, following Rede's lead.
"I'm Thevel."
Hobbes didn't bow because he was a tiger; he also didn't introduce himself because he was a tiger.