Lexi smiled back at Raseri and said "It's all about practice, which clearly I still need. As far as how good the tales I have to tell are, I can't rightly say, but I have returned with more information than I had anticipated gathering. Where is Lady Brewer?"
"Learning how to fly like an owl, I would wager," Raseri answers. "Perhaps we may work on our skill at spinning tales while we wait."
"I would be happy to, but first..." Lexi looked around dramatically, "Who did lady brewer upset?"
Carnadine would wait for the polite correction that the archives would be closed at night. So, they would be, he responded as if he had yet to get used to activities stopping at night. And, after receiving a proper invitation from the alemaiden, as he is half-vampire, he would accompany the Thorsdottir to the brewery while the dwarf winged it there.
He would notice Lexi before he could see her. Many people and creatures hunted the ghost knight and fewer actually attacked. So, he feigned disinterest until Raseri made contact.
"The Lady Brewer upset some shadow elves at a city gate. And, probably her claim of a owl mount of a shadow elf might upset a great many more." The noble dhampir politely answers the delicious human. They do travel in herds. He was so thirsty.
"Please allow me to introduce myself. Carnadine of Bruvik, Knight Incorporeal. A genuine pleasure to meet you, Lady ...?"
"Tzk. I learned about those beans from a Dragon Empire councillor I was meeting regularly to try and collect support for the Kobold Cause. They use a different technique though. They just let the beans swim in boiling water. It works, but it's not the same. I tinkered, as is the way, with the beans and my ideas for a few years. My clutch has had to suffer many a foul brew before this. Of course, it's not finished. Kobold work never is, but I was satisfied enough before... Well, before someone killed me... Now, I'm not entirely clear how I will continue to work on the machine, as I no longer can taste or smell. I mean, would you go and write a symphony if you were deaf?! You understand, right? Yet... Yet perhaps there is a way I could find to replace taste and smell with colours, or something else... Hmm..." and Deimus seems to drift in Tinkerer Heaven for a few seconds.
Finally, he snaps out of it and asks: "But tell me more about you. You have knowledge of the ancient craft of runes and it seems you not only can read them, but also etch them!? This is truly one the great wonders of this world isn't it? Who taught you this art?"
"Oh, I'm no lady." says Lexi in response to Carnadine's question.
Kjeta feels her heart tremble. Mother of Ales! I wanted to calm this beast, but didn't think it would actually let me... She glances over the edge. Yup. Long way down!
"Ooooh, the thought of flying scares the crap out of me...but Ninkash teaches that a true dwarf always faces her fears (even if it takes a drink to get things going).
"I gotta try this. Meet you three at the brewery? Assuming you don't find me splattered on the cobblestones first. Tell the soldiers down below they're all welcome, if they'd like.
"Oh, and before I go: what's your name, young hero?" She raises her tankard to the halfelf."
After introductions are done, she takes one more sip for Holy Courage and climbs onto the bird.
Hmmmm. How different can it be from riding a horse?
She takes hold of the reins and gives it a gentle squeeze with her legs--and screams as the finds herself in flight! "Whooooaaahhhhhh!!!! Yoowww!! Yikes!!" and then is gone--clinging to the back of the bird--in a looping, haphazard arc.
"OK Weißbier, let's go for a nice, easy landing, OK? Right over th--WHHAAAAAAA!!" In a sudden rush of silent diving wings & screaming dwarf, Kjeta and her newfound mount arrive.
She hops off. "And totally terrifying. You've gotta try it!
"Come on in though. Yall ready to raise a glass to celebrate our victories?"
Before they go in, she coaxes Weißbier (the owl) into the stable beside her donkey Hops.
"Tzk. I learned about those beans from a Dragon Empire councillor I was meeting regularly to try and collect support for the Kobold Cause. They use a different technique though. They just let the beans swim in boiling water. It works, but it's not the same. I tinkered, as is the way, with the beans and my ideas for a few years. My clutch has had to suffer many a foul brew before this. Of course, it's not finished. Kobold work never is, but I was satisfied enough before... Well, before someone killed me... Now, I'm not entirely clear how I will continue to work on the machine, as I no longer can taste or smell. I mean, would you go and write a symphony if you were deaf?! You understand, right? Yet... Yet perhaps there is a way I could find to replace taste and smell with colours, or something else... Hmm..." and Deimus seems to drift in Tinkerer Heaven for a few seconds.
Finally, he snaps out of it and asks: "But tell me more about you. You have knowledge of the ancient craft of runes and it seems you not only can read them, but also etch them!? This is truly one the great wonders of this world isn't it? Who taught you this art?"
”Me da. He was the real expert. A true scholar of the old ways, and the forgotten arts. I’m nay half the smith he was. Then again, he was ne’er much of a warrior.” Hrungnir shrugged. ”But, ye know. With magic much is possible. And there’s different schools. The runes or the ancients may hold the cure to yer problem. Though I doubt such a rune currently exists. Mayhaps a true loremaster up north may know more. But with a body of steel...it would be risky. I’d assume developing something would take many a year to do safely. Maybe more, the craft of runes doesn’t lend itself well to experimentation.” He fell into thought. To him, problems were best thought of with solutions. Feeling sad wasn’t conductive to anything. He’d been taught that there was nothing a determined dwarf with a hammer couldn’t do. ” And there’s also the magic of the fey. It enfuses all in their world. It is a place that blends the senses, and confuses as much as it enhances. What I’m saying is, don’t give up hope on yer craft.”
Raseri looks at the giant owl with no small amount of trepidation.
"Perhaps some other night. As you say, it is time for us to celebrate," she says with a smile, glad that she wasn't going to need to test her nerves with the beast this night. "I do not believe you have meet Shadow here," she gestures to Lexi to indicate who she was speaking of.
"Oh, and before I go: what's your name, young hero?"
The elfmarked turns again, keeping a strong grip on the fey "Most like to call me Bastard of the Night's Watch, but that's a little overdone...so you can just call me Tim."
"Well, you might not perceive yourself a lady, but you most certainly have a name, don't you?" Carnadine deflects the rudeness.
This noble dhampir stands a little over six feet tall with alabaster skin and jet black hair pulled back in a fashionable short tail. He shoulders a shield emblazoned gules, a skull argent. And, his matching crimson tabard is decorated to announce his status as a noble within the Order of Knights Incorporeal and overlays splint armor which tapers to fit a slim build. His weapon’s belt carries a longsword and two handaxes.
"Yes, let us celebrate this small battle against the shadow fey. Considering the hunt that we witnessed earlier today, I suspect this is just the beginning of Zobeck defending its freedom from the Shadow Queen." The ghost knight opines.
"Now, how do you know each other? And Alemaiden, please tell us what it is like to fly among the clouds?" His perfect smile and twinkling eyes exude charm.
"Ah, do you wish to hear the truth or the tale," Raseri asks as she unburdens herself from her arms.
"Of course I have a name." said Lexi with a smirk.
After taking a swig from his flagon of ale, Carnadine replies to Lexi, ”Yes. I would much prefer to hear the truth before the tale. “
“And what do prefer me call you, instead of rude?”. He buries his grin in another pull of ale.
Carnadine's reply deflates Raseri's mood somewhat, but the young looking priestess wasn't one to let a minor disappointment ruin a night of celebration for her.
"Shadow and I had been hired to watch over a nobleman's young and unwise daughter. We worked to get her out of the theatre when a fey hound showed up, then fought beside Kjeta to drive them from the temple of Khors. Not much of a tale, I fear. So what of you Ulf? Where does a southlander noble learn to brawl like you did on the wall?"
"My, my. What manners you have, and to a young woman, none the less. What would your noble ancestors say?" said Lexi with a smirk.
"You man call me Lexi, or Shadow, as you prefer Lord Knight."
”Me da. He was the real expert. A true scholar of the old ways, and the forgotten arts. I’m nay half the smith he was. Then again, he was ne’er much of a warrior.” Hrungnir shrugged. ”But, ye know. With magic much is possible. And there’s different schools. The runes or the ancients may hold the cure to yer problem. Though I doubt such a rune currently exists. Mayhaps a true loremaster up north may know more. But with a body of steel...it would be risky. I’d assume developing something would take many a year to do safely. Maybe more, the craft of runes doesn’t lend itself well to experimentation.” He fell into thought. To him, problems were best thought of with solutions. Feeling sad wasn’t conductive to anything. He’d been taught that there was nothing a determined dwarf with a hammer couldn’t do. ” And there’s also..."Tzk. I learned about those beans from a Dragon Empire councillor I was meeting regularly to try and collect support for the Kobold Cause. They use a different technique though. They just let the beans swim in boiling water. It works, but it's not the same. I tinkered, as is the way, with the beans and my ideas for a few years. My clutch has had to suffer many a foul brew before this. Of course, it's not finished. Kobold work never is, but I was satisfied enough before... Well, before someone killed me... Now, I'm not entirely clear how I will continue to work on the machine, as I no longer can taste or smell. I mean, would you go and write a symphony if you were deaf?! You understand, right? Yet... Yet perhaps there is a way I could find to replace taste and smell with colours, or something else... Hmm..." and Deimus seems to drift in Tinkerer Heaven for a few seconds.
Finally, he snaps out of it and asks: "But tell me more about you. You have knowledge of the ancient craft of runes and it seems you not only can read them, but also etch them!? This is truly one the great wonders of this world isn't it? Who taught you this art?"
Deimus tilts his head at Hrungnir, perplexed: "Solve my problem? The last thing a Kobold wants is for another to fix his problem for him. What's the fun in that?! No, I'll figure out a way to replace smell and taste and perfect this machine of mine further. I have to, and don't you take this away from me! I am in awe of the magic suffusing this world, and I am not entirely lost on its subtleties, though my talent does not dwell with the glyphs but with the harmonies that resonate this world into being. I have become a voice, in more ways than one, for the Kobolds of Zobeck, until someone planted a knife of shadow in the small of my neck. But now I'm back, and there's lots to be done, though these fey troubles seem to suggest we have other problems coming our way... What do you make of that? You think it is a real threat?"
Carnadine lets the manners comment and the shot at his father pass. Educating a commoner on etiquette is clearly not a path to a joyous evening. He nods to her final introduction and replies, "Well met, Lexi. It is a genuine pleasure to make your acquaintance."
Then, the ghost knight turns his attention to the Thorsdottir and replies, "What is an Ulf? I am a dhampir. My sire is the vampire count, Otto of Bruvik, who is a vassal of the Duke of Morgau. I've had martial training as far as I can remember. That's almost six decades now. And when I came of age, I was knighted into the Order of Knights Incorporeal."
After a slight pause, he changes topics to something potentially in common, "Theater when a fey hound showed up? Were you watching the Legacy Chimera troupe last night? Because I was there when a fey hound showed up at intermission before a lutenist played a deadly song. It seems as if the shadow kingdom has started a chaotic invasion of Zobeck."
"Ulf means wolf," Raseri answers with a bit of a mischievous smile curling her lips. "It is an apt name for one of your keen. It seems we did well leaving when we did. I doubt our charge would have been well after that."
She frowns as she considers what Carnadine had said.
"The Shadow Kingdom? I know there are many fey realms and courts, but I had not known of any shadow kingdom."
"According to the expert we spoke to, there are two different courts: summer and winter. Summer is apparently for the nice people, such as there might be."
Lexi draws out a small set of beads on a string, then begins sliding them around as she continues sharing what she was told by both the scholar and the Oracle: "Apparently the Stross family has a formal treaty with the Shadow Fey as they're called, which whoever the ambassador from the Shadow Fey is should have a copy of. Apparently there is some history involving Elves and Kobolds, if it can be believed."
The ghost knight nods at Raseri. "I think we could have more easily prepared with a bit more preparation, Thorsdottir. You and the Alemaiden are formidable warriors who can prevail despite a significant lack of planning."
"Well, there is a shadow realm that mirrors Midgard. And the Master of Roads that we captured mentioned obeying the Queen of Night and Magic, so presumably a shadow kingdom." The noble dhampir takes a sip from his amazing brew to keep his wits.
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Most know of the notorious Stross family, or at least recognize the name. They ruled Zobeck for centuries before being overthrown in a revolution of freedom and independence by the people themselves. This Great Revolt happened only some 90 years ago, but the spirit of rebellion continues: the Free City of Zobeck, the Free Army, the Free Council...all are 'free' from Stross. The Revolt is said to have started with the mistreatment of a single 10 year old boy who worked the mines for Stross.
Someone more versed in militaristic history might have heard of the Battle of Oros Bridge. Here 7000 rebels went up against 1200 Stross retainers and another 2000 of his allies. Led by a wizard named Marcenzo, the rebels were mostly just peasants and kobolds...yet after 2 days the Stross family retreated to its castle, and his allies scattered to the hills. The castle fell shortly after and all 40 of the Stross family were hung from the burning rafters. Tales of riches looted from the castle by so-and-so's grandpa are frequent tavern banter.
Carnadine would also be familiar with the Order of the Undying Sun. This knightly order still exists in the city despite the shame of riding loyal with Stross in the Oros Bridge battle...the current Free Council gives them very little respect. They are renowned for their heavy cavalry, which has no equal in Midgard. Warrior-priests and paladins of Khors are also among their number. The White Riders are a lighter cavalry that act as scouts and skirmishers. Finally there are the Sunset Regiments, pike-fighters who only serve a season. The Order rarely trains archers.
"Stross family you say, Lexi?" Carnadine asks. "I don't know if there are any of the family still alive. Thought the last 40 were wiped out after they lost the Battle of Oros Bridge to the rebels and kobolds. It would fit that the shadow fey would base their actions on a formal treaty with a party who doesn't exist anymore."
"However, if these fey incursions get out of hand, we could try to locate a living descendant of the Stross family who could act on their part of a formal treaty."
"If a man swears an oath, then his kin must uphold it. It sounds as if there are not kin to carry the burden. Would that not unmake the oath? How do they expect ones who did not swear any such oath with them to be willing to uphold it, especially when there is no gain in doing so."
"I'd assume that there is a decent possibility that they don't even know that this Stross family is gone. It's also possible there's one or more members in hiding."
"Then they have broken the oath. I doubt they are in any position to uphold their end of any bargains made with the fey. If the fey do not know, then someone should tell them, as difficult as that might be."
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That night you share a dream, though for certain pairs of you, this is the first time to meet...
The 6 of you stand in a circle along a brick wall covered in dark green velvet...the brick is soft and plush on your fingers... "Confess..." comes a voice, a pale form in the shadows...its a kobold's mouth but the pale form is resting within...the dark of its throat...
Suddenly your view arches into the twilight sky, and a formation of the same ghastly pale humanoids is in flight from the west. Rising to meet them is your castle, your hearth, its western windows shuttered. Within lay a dead body...a man stands over it with a bloody knife and wild grin.
Something seems to push all this away, you are sweating in bed you realize yet still in dream...that odd space between for a moment...but the black returns.
A long road stretches out over chaotic black grasses, sweeping so quickly this way and that its as if water...a bright light hails you...a horseless wagon, one figure standing above all others, his face clear and shadow elven "The Winter's Kiss...do come."
He opens a sealed envelope and a view from high above Zobeck swirls into your tactile senses...you are all falling fast towards a tall house surrounded by mists...giant owls dive at you but their talons are sharp and tear at you...your blood and severed limbs falls with you...
...but you wake, in earnest this time. Covered in sweat (oil in Deimus' case) and feeling not rested at all...
Early that morning, a young messenger kobold implores your attention. "M...missive from the Collegium, c-comrades. Senior Researcher Mackledraw has news about your investments. He says he will send word by nightfall to the Hero of the Hops (), where your other companion stays...the...uh...dark haired girl...Sexi." he picks his nose, having lost interest in the conversation, and his job complete anyways.
A groggy morning greets you all, along with a visitor: Tim the Elfmarked Bastard. He comes in casual clothes, a simple cloth badge on his arm to mark his status in the Watch. "Terrible news, m'ladys and lords...we threw the twisted elf in chains and into prison, right? Then made for the Scully for some proper brew and elations..." he seems really angry at himself, grimacing and trying to settle down "...well...weren't 2 rounds into it we got the word. The treasonous c$&! was pardoned and released, just like that..." he makes a motion with his hand like a bird flying away. "They say he jus' walked right out, nose hiiigh up in the air like. Well, me and my mates don't like that none...just thought you might neither..."
The alemaiden sits at the table, looking uncharacteristically bleary.
Her weary eyes widen momentarily at Tim's story. "What the--?"
"Who the blazes issued the pardon?"
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"Those goons on the Free City Council, who else? Not a pair of marbles between the 12 of 'em...always keepin' the coin flowing in their interest..." he catches himself speaking a bit too loudly and promptly shuts up. "I've a mind to storm over there and see what they're on about..."
Ondil Firedrake - Dwarven priestess of Rava
Orlando - Human archwizard of the Collegium
Lector Strek - A famous guildmaster of alchemy
Ser Jorun Haclav - Field Marshall of the Free Army
Quetelmak - kobold King of Kings
Melancha Vendemic - A popular and gifted artist, musician and orator
Kekolina of the Derry Mine - representative of the kobold miner gangs
Myzi I - Mouse Lord of the Undercity
Lady Wintesla Marack - priestess of Lada
Halsen Hrovitz - merchant with old ties to House Stross
Selena Harbeck - another priestess of Rava
Lord Mayor Olleck - a female dwarven mule driver, recently elected by peers on the Council
It was a scandal of modern times when the representative of the Watch was ousted by the second priestess of Rava. The original promise had given the Watch a lifetime council seat, which typically implied that the seat would go to a successor upon death. But a secretive deal among the others on the council decided to make it instead "a seat for life" that would only extend to that individual. This might explain Tim's bitterness, if releasing the fey wasn't enough. No representative of the Watch currently sits.
"So to be clear, the city is being invaded, and the Free council wants to...capitulate?"
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Dark circles under the noble dhampir's eyes contrasts with his normally alabaster skin and light gray irises. Carnadine takes in the news nonplussed. "We must be cautious. I had heard that the City Council had been affected, so we should assume that some are motivated to support the Faerie Queen, either charmed or threatened. If the vote was not unanimous, we might some allies on the Council who might want to sponsor an open defense of Zobeck. Does anyone have any easy contacts to the Council?"
"No, but if we can find out where they live, I can go round have a nice chat with them." said Lexi.
That night you share a dream, though for certain pairs of you, this is the first time to meet...
The 6 of you stand in a circle along a brick wall covered in dark green velvet...the brick is soft and plush on your fingers... "Confess..." comes a voice, a pale form in the shadows...its a kobold's mouth but the pale form is resting within...the dark of its throat...
Suddenly your view arches into the twilight sky, and a formation of the same ghastly pale humanoids is in flight from the west. Rising to meet them is your castle, your hearth, its western windows shuttered. Within lay a dead body...a man stands over it with a bloody knife and wild grin.
Something seems to push all this away, you are sweating in bed you realize yet still in dream...that odd space between for a moment...but the black returns.
A long road stretches out over chaotic black grasses, sweeping so quickly this way and that its as if water...a bright light hails you...a horseless wagon, one figure standing above all others, his face clear and shadow elven "The Winter's Kiss...do come."
He opens a sealed envelope and a view from high above Zobeck swirls into your tactile senses...you are all falling fast towards a tall house surrounded by mists...giant owls dive at you but their talons are sharp and tear at you...your blood and severed limbs falls with you...
...but you wake, in earnest this time. Covered in sweat (oil in Deimus' case) and feeling not rested at all...
Hrungnir was used to bad dreams. They often plagued him, and they came all too frequently when his research took him into darker avenues. But this one was new, and he learned long ago that with the fey dreams were not to be ignored. ”A warning?” He muttered thoughtfully. ”A lifetime too late to turn back.” He thought. At the very least, the coffee would likely wake him up.
Early that morning, a young messenger kobold implores your attention. "M...missive from the Collegium, c-comrades. Senior Researcher Mackledraw has news about your investments. He says he will send word by nightfall to the Hero of the Hops (), where your other companion stays...the...uh...dark haired girl...Sexi." he picks his nose, having lost interest in the conversation, and his job complete anyways.
”Thank ye.” Hrungnir replied, hiding his annoyance that the missive wouldn’t be coming straight to him. ”Well, friend. Seems like we ought to be there. I’m ready when ye are.”
Raseri looks much different than she did the night before. Without her arms and armor, she appeared as a lanky girl in her teens, and the night of ill omens had not done her any favors. Messy, silvery hair spills over her shoulders, down her back, and in front of her face. Her arctic-blue eyes are dull, appearing gray, and her fair skin makes the dark circles stand out all the more. She listens to Tim's recounting of the fey's release with growing worry.
"'Tis not the first move of stupidity and dishonor they have done," she growls, "I should have expected as much from oathbreakers." She rubs her eyes and turns more fully to Tim, who probably doesn't recognize her.
"Do you have kin in these walls, Bjorn," she asks Tim.
"So to be clear, the city is being invaded, and the Free council wants to...capitulate?"
"I don't be knowing their reasons...money trumps all for them, always been like that. Probably just more of the same..." he speculates.
"We must be cautious. I had heard that the City Council had been affected, so we should assume that some are motivated to support the Faerie Queen, either charmed or threatened. If the vote was not unanimous, we might some allies on the Council who might want to sponsor an open defense of Zobeck. Does anyone have any easy contacts to the Council?"
"The council has a daily open session...maybe it would pay just to watch their moves in action. Then again politicians are hard to read..."
"No, but if we can find out where they live, I can go round have a nice chat with them." said Lexi.
"Caution there...they are some of the most powerful people in Zobeck, not just politically."
"Do you have kin in these walls, Bjorn,"
The bastard shakes his head NO "Just ma...da was an elf of the Margreve, gone befores I knew him, and all the better so me ma has it. The Watch is me brothers."
"I would seek a haven for her, then. The fey that I have meet are not so forgiving, and they sought your death when you revealed your ears. I would not be surprised to learn they have a rule that would allow them to hurt her in your stead."
"Agreed. You should look to your own."
Carnadine replies last night, "They may not be oathbreakers. We don't know the terms of the oaths. Plus, the Stross family are thought dead. They could have been living in the shadow kingdom all this time."
"It wouldn't be the first time nobles in exile use foreigners to reclaim their domains."
"Well, I have business at the City Archives and could meet at the daily open session of the council. Maybe the fey-influenced would reveal themselves. It's not clear how we defend the city, right now."[/b]
Deimus rises early, troubled by the strange dream he's had. When Hrugnir confirms he too had the dream, the he hurries to Kjeta's to discuss it with the others.
He greets Carnadine with confused feelings. He saw Morgau as a potential invader, but this individual had clearly sided with Zobeck in this fight, so there was that.
"I agree, it will prove insightful to see the councillors in action."
"If you are unable to fulfill an oath, then the honorable thing to do is to admit it and either pay the weregild or serve the ones you had sworn the oath to as a thrall until the debt is paid. That is how it is done in the Northlands. The fickle shadows come out and steal what they desire instead of earning or winning it and that proves that this Stross clan has not upheld their oath. The fey act according to rules that would drive us to madness and praising Boreas, the Cursed Wind, his bones be damned, but they are rules nonetheless, and breaking an oath is madness to the fey," Raseri says before she levels a glare at Carnadine, though he isn't the true target of it, "And to use foreigners to reclaim your lost land without raising your banner among theirs is the cowards way. If there is a lost heir of Stross playing like this is a game of... Fjandinn! What is that game with the squares? It's like Hnefatafl, but not."
The priestess shakes her head, as if trying to shake off the distraction.
"They act as if this is a game instead of leading with their banner high as a true ruler should! They hide in the shadows and let others risk life and limb while they relax in safety, and I have nothing but contempt for them."
"If Kjeta and I are to join you, I fear we will need to visit the sewers of the cuttings and seeds that we wear," Raseri says. "I doubt they would appreciate two young women who are plumed as a brewer and a smith, so let us find some plumage more befitting of their sensibilities."
"Ayah...that'd be tragic for ol' ma. One fey left her plump, and another would come to leave her dead. I'll heed yer advice, er...warriors...brew crew? You need a name for yourselves. Anyways, ye've at least a few friends in the Watch...but mind the laws up at the Citadel, different sort. Anon." he waves and heads back out.
The Citadel lay in the northeast quadrant of Zobeck, another wall within the wall...the extra layer of protection that meant free but not equal. It was a far walk from the humble surroundings of the guilds and merchants that made neighbors with Kjeta.
Along the way you passed a crier, who had word of the events at the barbican...but not of the fey's later release. Another bit of news is more novel "...Argent frozen solid! Merchants despair, barge captains fret their wares, children play!" The Argent being of course the largest river of Zobeck, which forms its southern barrier.
You pass a retail outlet of some finery along the way, a place called Stitch Fetish. Inside is a burly half-orc on her knees pushing pins to alter the dress of a skinny little noble girl "*ugh* That's too tight, Dancy. I am already immobile from neck to waist, I need not lose movement in my limbs as well!"
Even though she'd been the one to suggest it, She looks to Carnadine and Kjeta with more than a little trepidation. Fights, she was used. The sweat and ache of a long day at the forge are normal things. The rough joviality of the docks is her fine entertainment. Here among the high society of Zobeck, Raseri feels more out of place than she ever had. The rules are foreign to her, and Tim's warning has left her unusually indecisive. She had followed Carnadine, figuring the man would be the best able to guide them through this maze of rules and etiquette that is so different from the worlds she knows.
"Ulf, I do hope you are not playing a trick on me," she says, her voice even, if strained by the effort it takes for her to keep it from squeaking as the tension was growing tighter around her. "I am not fond of them even at the best of times."
Before her nervousness can betray her into cowardice, she stiffly walks into the shop. In a place full of silks and fine cloth, her simple and study clothing stands out. Her hair is pulled back in a simple tail, not even her customary braid. She waits for a moment, wondering if she'd be chased out or asked to leave as she sees the others in the shop, even the workers, all in much finer clothing than she owns.
Lexi slipped in behind the others and quietly walked among the wares. Looking around, she decided to just take what she needed from the store.