|
The towers of Sharn rise through the clouds and the streets far bellow bustle with people from all around the continent. Warforged walk the streets looking for workk and the nomads from the plains sell carpets and exotic pets. A newest tower in Sharn is the center of unusual activity. Tallest structure in the city, it is a monster of black stone and glass turned to steel. If those at the street level could see it's top, they would gasp in wonder. A large airship is moored there - but strange one. Two elemental rings circle it. One of fire and other of air, and larger than on most ships. The hull is black and golden letters on it's sides say "Darkstar One".
Illmanthonil, wearing a high collared jacket over the freshly oiled chain shirt he had recently uncovered from storage, walks quietly and slowly through the nearby market stands. Despite the looming structure being only a single bridge away, the elf moves over to an apple seller. Picking out one of the fruit and handing over a coin in payment, he asks, "Please, could you direct me to the Darkstar Company headquarters? I had heard they had set up in this district."
She blended into the crowd seamlessly, just another cloak amongst dozens. Out in the open, she had to run, each time offering a silent prayer to the Traveler for guidance. She moved swiftly despite the heavy weight of the pack, managing the twists and turns of the city with the ease that could only come from months of preparation. She had to move fast, before anyone could notice her disappearance.
She rounded the corner, turned left, then right, up a flight of stairs, and suddenly she was at street level, not far from the newest tower in Sharn. She paused for a moment to catch her breath.
"They say it's the tallest tower in Sharn so far." A voice drawled. Amihan turned to see a bestial half-orc grinning toothily at her. To Amihan's infinite horror, the face morphed to something more familiar. "That form may fool everyone else, but you are not the only one to see what Amihan looks like behind her veil. But I suppose you're Amihan now."
"I have to report this, sister. There is no leaving the Tyrants." The newcomer continued conversationally. "But for Amihan's sake, not yours, I'll give you a head start." The face winked once, before morphing back into that of a half-orc. "Go, before I change my mind."
"Thank you." Amihan intoned gratefully, before running the last stretch into the tower.
Dotting.
Fharalkakhad had arrived in the city of Sharn barely a week ago, and already he was feeling overwhelmed by the sites and sounds, which took all of his mental discipline to maintain his stoic mask. Fortunately most of the commoners gave him a wide birth, and if the Inspired were watching him, he could not feel their presence.
It had teaken several days to discover the location to the Darkstar Company, and soon one journey will end, and another will begin.
He approaches the base of the tall tower in Sharn ,and witnesses the altercation between the changlings. Silently, he moves to follow the one who has begun the climb to the top where the airship hovers, waiting for him, it seems like.
Rhiannon wove through the busy streets, her mind focused on what lay ahead. Shw wore a heavy cloak over her armor, rendering her a little less noticable, though with her helm under her arm she couldn't avoid people continuously getting out of her way. After all very fer people wanted to obstruct an hier to one of the houses, even one with questionable affiliation.
As she approached the tower, she unconciously reacged down to run her fingers through the fur of the large mastiff at her side. Bul was as much a brother in battle as a companion, and it felt reassuring to have him at her side.
"Well, there we are. Today we meet the new members of the security unit. Tday we make history."
Fineal works his way through the crowds on his way to the tower. He's sweating, but not because of the heat. He's lived in this town all his life, he's used to it. He's sweating because somewhere in this city are three men who want him dead, and until he's on that ship waving good-bye to this city, he can't be completely sure someone's not going to put a dagger in his back. That's not particularly new, but people usually stop when he threatens to get the Watch involved. But these three are going to keep following him unless he goes somewhere they can't follow.
It was easy to convince them to hire him on as a guard, really. Just making someone get something they don't really need, and Fineal's been doing that for years. They wanted another arcanist, Fineal showed up and told them he had some skill in the arcane arts, and he got hired. If he get less than they expected, well they signed a contract, and Fineal would at least be far away from his pursuers when they dropped him off.
|
|
Illmanthonil, wearing a high collared jacket over the freshly oiled chain shirt he had recently uncovered from storage, walks quietly and slowly through the nearby market stands. Despite the looming structure being only a single bridge away, the elf moves over to an apple seller. Picking out one of the fruit and handing over a coin in payment, he asks, "Please, could you direct me to the Darkstar Company headquarters? I had heard they had set up in this district."
"Set up?! They have built the damned district. Everything you see around you is theirs. They have bought every inch around that damned tower of theirs before they built it. Just go for the black one. You can't miss it." Vendor spits at the ground whill giving you your apple.
"My apologies for the inconvenience, but could you point me in the direction of 'the black one'?" the elf asks, waving his slender fingers in front of his cloudy white eyes to indicate the reason for his request.
He approaches the base of the tall tower in Sharn ,and witnesses the altercation between the changlings. Silently, he moves to follow the one who has begun the climb to the top where the airship hovers, waiting for him, it seems like.
Amihan walked up the stairs, still quite conscious of her surroundings. Someone seemed to be following her. She quickened her pace, ready to run if necessary. She planned this far too long not to fail.
He approaches the base of the tall tower in Sharn ,and witnesses the altercation between the changlings. Silently, he moves to follow the one who has begun the climb to the top where the airship hovers, waiting for him, it seems like.Amihan walked up the stairs, still quite conscious of her surroundings. Someone seemed to be following her. She quickened her pace, ready to run if necessary. She planned this far too long not to fail.
A slight hardening of the elf's face, and an almost imperceptible tightening of his voice, are the only signs that he might be offended by the merchant. "Thank you," he says, turning in the direction he was pointed towards and walking slowly until the black walls of the huge tower come into his rather limited view.
Rhiannon makes her way through the crowd to the building's entrance, brandishing her identification papers to the guards that await. The guard's eyebrow raises as he sees her last name, even moreso as she cuts off any salutory action.
"OH, stop that will you. I work for the company same as you all."
Fineal finally makes his way over to the entrance, quickly flashing his identification papers at them. "Morning gentlemen, the name's Fineal. Got hired to help guard the ship. It's up these stairs, right? Right." Having finished his introduction, Fineal makes his way up the tower.
Rhiannon makes her way up the stairs, the occasionalt rattle of her armor and the soft clicking of Bull's claws on the marble steps strangely calming. This was where she belonged, not politicking amongst the great houses, or taking any contract the house offered, but doing her job with freedom.
And hopefully surrounded by trustworthy companions.
Fharalkakhad stops, unsure which way to go now. He sees the armored lady and her mastiff, obviously her companion, and decides to follow her up the stairs."Excuse me, ma'am, is this the way to the Darkstar Company?"
Rhiannon takes in the tatooed man, a bit surprised by the utter lack of expression on his face.
"Oh, hello. Yes it is actually. Are you here for the launch? Note, I'm overlooking the fact that you called me ma'am." She says with a smile.
Fharalkakhad, not for the first time, is confused by these greeting customs. Searching his quori memories, he figures out what the social faux-pas is."I am sorry for calling you a madam, I know you do not prostitute yourself. I mean no offense."
Rhiannon blinks for a moment before erupting into laughter.
"That's not even close to what I meant. I was implying that ma'am made me sound like an old lady. But thanks for not thinking I'm a hooker."
At first afraid he had insulted her again, he is relieved to see she is amused by this, although he is careful to hide this.
He allows a small smile to cross his face as he replies, "I am Fharalkakhad. It is a pleasure to meet your acquaintance."
Rhiannon extends her hand to the odd man, again taking in his extensive tattoo work. "I'm Rhiannon. Glad to meet you Fharalkakhad." she manages with surprising ease, obviously familiar with foreign pronunciations.
" This.." she says gesturing to the massive dog at her side,"...is Bull"
Fharalkakhad looks down at the mastiff, and waits for the dog to acknowledge his presence. He feels slightly uneasy around the mastiff, because he never dealt with such animals before. Also, one of the Inspired could lurk behind the eyes of any animal.
Illmanthonil enters the looming structure, his keen ears catching the exchange between Fharalkakhad and Rhiannon and following the sound up the stairs. "Excuse me?" he says as he nears the pair, "Did you just mention a launch?"
Rhiannon looks back at the new arrival, unsuprised mainly because of Bull noticing someone coming long before she would have herself.
"And another one joins," she says with a smile. "Yes, the ship is having it's inaugural voyage today. Aren't you here for that? The name's Rhiannon by the way,these are Bull and Fharalkakhad."
She pauses in the midst of extending her hand, unsure of how to proceed after taking in the elf's milky eyes.
Fharalkakhad turns his attention to the elf who has joined then, glad to be away from the mastiffs jaws, it sems he is not enamored of the Kalashtar race.
Noticing the milky white eyes the elf, he pauses and takes note of how the elf uses his other senses to compensate for the weakness of his eyes, the tilt of his neck, the inhaling of the air to taste the surroundings. Realizing now he is not wholly blind, he announces, "I am pleased to be traveling with you." while holding his hand in front his face, in acknowledgement of his condition.
"This is the way to the roof, right?" A man wearing a large green coat and holding what looks to be a small suitcase with a pack slung onto his back comes up the stairs and looks over the assembled group. "I'm guessing you all are here to guard the ship too? A pleasure to meet you all. The name's Ho-" The man moves to shake the woman's hand, only to step back as the dog snarls at him. "Well, as I was saying, I'm Honest Fineal.", he says, flashing a smile.
Fharalkakhad looks the newcomer over, his face a mask, hiding his thoughts and emotions. Surely this one will bear watching closely. He returns the greeting after a few seconds, "Fharalkakhad is my name, I hope you are as honest as your name suggests."
Rhiannon looks at the newcomer, trying to assess his nature.
"Honest huh? I knew a guy named Lucky in the war. Took a Scorching ray in the face during a Featherfall drop. Here's hoping your name suits you better."
"I am Illmanthonil," The elf says, taking the hands offered to him without hesitation and sending a short nod of thanks to Fharalkakhad, "and I do hope to enjoy your company on the voyage, but I have not yet arranged the details... would you happen to know who is organising the launch?"
"Well we should all geet upstairs I suppose. I'm sure some of you will have to go through an interview or two, so the sooner that;s over with the better."
Fharalkakhad nods in acknowledgement, and motions to Rhiannon. "After you."
Reth walked through the streets of Sharn for what seemed like days until he finally reached the dark tower towards the very top of the city. Despite the fact that he knew where he was going it seemed to take forever to get there, he could not believe how truly massive the city was! With his green cloak pulled down over his head and his eyes alert and wary he approached the stairs and began to head up. Hearing voices from up the stairs Reth decided to call out so his approach would not be perceived incorrectly. “Hello, is this the proper place for the Darkstar Company?”.
About to follow the others further up the stairs, Illmanthonil hears the voice from below and calls back, "Yes, I believe this is indeed the headquarters of the Darkstar Company—their offices seem to be upstairs."
"And so we have another." Rhiannon waits on the stairs for the newcomer to make his way up, taking in the group around her, wondering if these would be her new companions for the trip.
Reth heads up the stairs towards the voices that he hears. He is dressed in a dark green cloak that hides his face in shadow. A wooden holy symbol of the Silver Flame is prominently displayed dangling from a leather chord around his neck. "I was informed that there was work to be found with the Darkstar Company which is of course why I am here. Are the rest of you here for the same reason?"
"For the most part. I already work for them, I'm just coming from some downtime to ...visit family."
Rhiannon begins walking up the stairs again, leading the others." A lot of the old security squad are relieved after the last mission so I hear there'll be replacements. I'm assuming that's why at least some of you are here."
"You are correct, Rhiannon. I am here to book passage as one of your security personnel. This is a good chance to, how does it go, see all of the wonders of Eberron, at least according to the Sharn paper of news."
"I'm here for the same reason he is, really. If I'm going to see the world, I might as well get paid while I'm doing it. Besides, it looks like this bunch might need my arcane skills." Fineal punctuates this with a vaguely-mystic wave of his hand.
"Well, good luck boys, you look like a group I wouldn't mind having my back in a fight."
"It is good to hear I did not make this long walk through the city for nothing. I am Reth." Reth bows slightly at the waist to the group assembled before him.
"And I am Fharalkakhad." He returns the bow, marveling silently at the knowledge shown on the proper greeting way.
|
|
An unusual gnome with obscenely long nose and tiny glasses perched on top of it stands by the enormous staircase that leads up to the Darkstar Tower. "There you are! I've been waiting for you. If didn't need and exploring team... Are you ready? The ship is in the final steps of preparation! No time for farewells!"