The world faded in and out infront of Kjeldric as she flew, time seemed to slow and she got a good look at the man who's punch had thrown her that far.
His skin was grey, but none the less his facial features were perfect, every line and dip was formed and placed exactly to give him the perfect appearance, such a thing was far from natural
Her flight path took her through a wall, however she phased out slightly as she traveled though, it only added to the pain however as she travelled during that time and ended up with a few bricks embedded in her back, her eyes closed with a cringe as she hit the ground.
When her eyes opened again a familliar human with a Halberd was standing above her, "Ruthgart, get out of here!" she cried.
"Kjeldric, I.."
-She interrupted him "The information MUST reach the king! I'll be holdin' him back"
Ruthgart nodded sadly, and then hurried away to leave the Dwarf to fight.
She stood up and took a ready stance, hammer in hand, it was difficult with the bricks still in her back, but she managed.
"Words could never express the horrors I am about to inflict upon you", The grey skinned man advanced through the wall, his perfect face now contorted in a huge sadistic grin, he wore black spiked armour and wielded a double sword with nasty barbed blades.
"Come on ye bastard! Lets be gettin' this o'er with" She shouted, adrenalin pumping
The grin on the man's face became even wider, as if it had the gall to suggest that such a thing were even possible, and he turned the flat of his blades so she could see
There was a single rune inscribed upon both blades, "pain", every single barb on the swords would trigger that.
It was too much, even a battle hardened Dwarf will break when faced with that, shaking she took the spike on the hilt of her hammer and placed it to her heart, best to end it now.
"NO!", the hammer few away from her as if pulled by some great force, "I will NOT allow you to back away from this!"
The double sword was swung down at speed and she struggled to dodge the attack, there was another slash as the blade was brought back up again.
Her eyes widened as she realised that he was wielding the thing in only 1 hand, but too late, she was caught by the off hand and held high, she cringed again because she knew what was comming, but convieiniently ceased to exist at that point.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

The city of Myrianon was established by Erion Silverleaf, the hero who brought the end of the great war over 2 millinia ago, Erion seemed not to belong to any of the standard races
His son Neferick, now rules over the city, which is inhabited by a wide variety of people from different races and backgrounds, to some extent they get along, however there is still much segregation, and fights often break out in the streets between rival groups

The city has 4 districts:

The Palace district houses the wealthy nobles of the city, shops here all sell very expensive and often magical products, Silverleaf's Palace is also located here

The Cathedral District is named for Erion Cathedral, a grand structure which stands at its centre and functions as a base for the Clerics Guild in the city, the Cathedral district houses around a half of Myrianon's commoners and is the religeous hub of the city, although most monuments here cater to the Clerical Religeon, the Drakii also have bases here

The Trade District consists mostly of shops selling everything from the mundane to the exotic, with merchant houses on top of them, there are a variety of taverns along with the Market Square, which during the hours of light is constantly packed with people

The Guildhouse District is home to the Fighters, Knights and Bards guildhouses, as well as the other 50% of Myrianon's peasentry, it is the smallest of the 4 districts and is mostly residential, the few shops it has cater entirely to Mercenaries, and the Mercenary Exchange is also located here, where Mercenaries and Potential Clients can meet up and swap contracts

Recently, Neferick Silverleaf put out a call for Mercenaries for a personal job, while this isnt uncommon, most such requests are simply placed at the Mercenary Exchange, this one seems to have cuased posters to appear throughout the city and the city criers to call out the advert

Mercenaries are wanted to travel to the Northern Continent, the job's details are missing, however it is noted to be of particularly high risk
Among the things on the Northern Continent is Morndrak, those of you with many undesirable traits, or from the corrupt races (Gathling, Returned, Racobian, Fallen Angels) all feel some odd compulsion to get to Morndrak
For whatever reason, you have decided to accept the call, and must thus procede to Silverleaf's Palace in 4 hours time

Few of you will know each other, most of you will meet at the palace
That said, where are each of you you and what are you doing?

Download the Myrianon Theme - Lands of the Dead by Erim Ahmet

Bustling cities had never been Celeste’s favourite places, and as she walked through the busy streets she remembered why. One hand on the hilt of her sword kept the blade steady against the side of her leg and out of the way of the hundreds of passers-by, and her wings were folded back as completely as she could manage to avoid knocks, but the vast throng of people still slowed her progress to a frustrating amble. A wingtip twitched with the desire to fly, but finding the space to take off, let alone to land, in the busy streets of the trade district would be impossible.

Her laboured pace, however, gave her plenty of time to read the posters that had appeared all around the city, but though they intrigued her, none of them could tell her more than she had heard from the crier outside the cathedral. Mercenaries to travel to the Northern Continent, and for Neferick Silverleaf no less, but no details given.

She was still contemplating the posters when she finally spotted up ahead the Rusty Puppet, the tavern where she had agreed to meet Firryl. Through careful manoeuvring and judicious use of elbows she was able to steer a path towards the entrance, and stooping her shoulders slightly to make sure her wings cleared the lintel, she walked into the warmly-lit common room, looking around to see if her travelling companion had made it there before her.

Firryl generally enjoys the hustle and bustle of a crowded market, but Myrianon is really an exception to that rule. It is really too busy even for his tastes and he lost count of the times people were bumping in to him and with his bad leg he finds it quite difficult to keep balance. This is made all the more difficult by the large amount of travelling supplies now filling his backpack.

He takes a quick look up into the sky at the sun's position in an attempt to guage the time. He needs to get back and meet with Celeste. As he moved catiously toward the tavern that would be their meeting place he remembers what he wanted to show her. He had taken one of the posters for the mission to the northen continent and made a point to speak with Celeste about it, as it intrigued him.

After a short time the tavern sign came into view, Firryl entered and made his way to the common room. He placed his newly stocked backpack on to the floor and slumped into a chair, glad to rest his legs. He took time to get himself a drink and one for Celeste too, when she arrived.

Surely enough, almost immediately after he had done this she walked into the common room.

"Celeste, over here." He called out to her.

Karariv had only been staying in Myrianon for a couple of days, but already the bustle and myriad of people were familiar.
She had exhausted most of her funds in getting here and she needed work.
Her black cape was immaculate, providing a stark contrast to the rest of her clothing, a torn set of dirty calf-length trousers, stained with blood and dirt they had once been white. Her top had been torn to shreds in a fight, now all she had were the bandages she used to cover herself up, also stained with blood, but less mud. Her she wore a pair of short leather boots, but they needed repairing badly.
She was currently packing her things so she could leave the inn she was staying in. She had seen the posters around the city, the job interested her and she needed the money.
She carefully slipped on her leather armour, making sure it would rub as little as possible. Then she put her cape on carefully, adjusting the silver fastenings to her liking.
She fastened Azaril and Daiyue to her belt then picked up her bag and left.
The sun reflected off her skin, but she ignored it, she needed to get a new top and stop her armour rubbing. She knew what she could afford to pay, but most of the tops she had seen that were suitable had been too expensive. She turned down a side street, hoping that the prices off the main throughfares would be lower. She soon found a shop within her price range and was glad to see an outfit to her liking.
Ten minutes later she emerged completely changed.
She now wore a pair of wide black trousers with a bright orange stripe on the leg hems. The top had two parts, an orange long sleeve layer and a white sleeveless, tight jacket with two orange straps, going from star shaped pins at the bottom of the front of the jacket, round to the back. The straps widened then narrowed as they went round to the back of the jacket. She walked back to the main streets and found a poster.
She tore it off the wall and headed for the Palace.

3 hours 40 mins to go

Karariv: You do indeed reach the palace successfuly, however thre are 2 guards at the gate, one Dwarf and one Human

The human puts his Glave accross the entryway, "Stop right there, we don't want your type in here"

The dwarf lookes up with an alarmed face "Whoa there Sunig, Don't you remember what happened last time you tried this?"

The human grins "Yeh, but that one was a noble, this one clearly aint"

Firryl and Celeste: No DM input required

Karariv was calm, she was used to people acting like this.
She showed the poster to the guards.
"I am here on business," she explained in a neutral tone, "The King is looking to hire merciniaries, and I happen to be a mercinary for hire. I am sure others have come here with the same purpose." she kept a relaxed neutral stance, she had no desire to make trouble, and the Dwarf seemed to be reasonable. Still, she was wary of the human, he seemed a little too eager to make himself look big.

"See, she's a friend, here to help"

Sunig (the human) forces a laugh, "It doesn't matter why your here, we don't want Demons in the palace!"

With this he takes a lunge at you with the Glave, but seems to be frozen in mid swing, there is a Doppelganger standing behind him

The newcommer is odd, he lacks the Cloak of Changing that all Doppelgangers are given when they take their first alternate form and are thus considered adults, instead he is dressed in a dark blue hooded robe

The Dwarf speaks first, "Kaoeth, thank the gods"

The Doppelganger seems uninterested in the dwarf and addresses you directly, "The Silverleaf administration apologises for any grief this man caused you, rest assured that he will be out of work by this time tommorow"

With that, both he and Sunig vanish

Karariv shook her head, "I assume he's never seen a Gathling before." she said to the dwarf, "Not that it matters, is there anything I need to do before sorting out the details of this mission, or is there somewhere for me to wait until the appropriate time?" she asked in the same neutral tone that she almost always used.
A light breeze ruffled the few strands of hair that had escaped the bindings of the braid Karariv used to keep her hair out of her eyes. The breeze also caused her cloak to shift, but she readjusted it to her liking.

"Heh well, Surig bullied a Gathling once before, turned out to be Counsil Representative Kalatear, he nearly got booted out, but Kalatear had kicked his arse already for it an' I guess it must'a just seemed ufair to punish him twice. As for a place to wait, hmm"

He ponders for a few seconds, "Go through the gardens until you reach the main palace wall, follow it right to the guard house an' ask for Ruthgart, you might have to wake him up as you ARE 3 an' a half hours early, but if anyone should be forced to entertain you its him"

Hearing her name called, Celeste looked over towards the sound and, when she spotted Firryl, her eyebrows lifted and she gave a warm smile in greeting. She headed across the room to join her elven friend, finally letting her wings shake free a little from their tight press against her back and stretching out the feathers at the tips out a little.

“The people in this city couldn’t move more slowly if they tried,” she grumbled as she folded herself heavily into a chair next to Firryl, but the welcome seat after her torturously slow journey to the tavern dulled the edge of her complaint and her next words were more cheerful.

“So, how’d the provisioning go?” she asked, leaning back and round to look under the table at Fyrril’s newly restocked backpack, then back up at the elf. “We might be needing that lot soon. Have you seen the posters?”

"Fair enough, thank you for your assistance." Karariv said before going through the gate.
The gardens were enormus, and each section was designed in a different style. She paused briefly at one section, noting it was almost like the Gathling gardens she had seen when she grew up.
"So they designed each garden to look like the gardens of different races." she thought as she walked towards the wall. When she was closer she saw another gate, but turned to the right and kept walking for a little longer before heading to the wall itself. She then turned right again and continued along until she reached what looked like a guard house.
She could see one guard asleep ouside, sitting on a stool, leaning against the wall.
"Excuse me." she said in a louder than usual voice, "Are you Ruthgart?"

He wakes up, "No, of course not, I'm an Elf. Let me fetch him for you"

The elf dissapears inside and a short time later a human appears

He is dressed in Chainmail, with medium length blonde hair, he has a Halberd on his back and 2 Rapiers at his belt "Well now, arent we early? I'm Ruthgart", he offers a hand for you to shake

As Celeste flops down in the chair beside him, Firryl nuges the drink towards her and then takes a sip of his own.

Firryl can't quite explain it, but ever since they met, he and Celeste have been on the same train of thought most of the time. So her query about the posters was not completely unexpected.

"Yes I did," Firryl replied as he took out one of the posters he had rolled up and tucked into a pocket of his bag, and unrolled it on the table in front of them, "and funnily enough I was going to ask you the same question."

Firryl takes a quick look around the tavern to make sure no one could be listening in, as he generally finds it quite hard to trust people he doesn't know personally.

"It did strike me as a little strange though, why has this call been so well advertised? Why not just put a note in at the mercenary exchange? What's your take on all this?"

"Karariv." she said as she shook Rughtgart's hand, "And I apologise to your companion if I caused any offence."
She paused, she was unsure about asking this but after a second she decided to start gathering information.
"I've been to the Northern Continent once before, I know something is going on at Morndrak, though I made sure to avoid that place, I traveled round a bit, but after being in the wrong place at the wrong time in the Havenwood I left to avoid getting involved there again."
She paused again, "That's what I know about the Northern Continent, but since this mission is to go to that continent, I was wondering if you knew anything more than I do."

He rubs the back of his neck nervously, "far more I'm afraid, but it will all have to wait till the meeting."

He pauses a moment to assess you, "You're a Kensai aren't you?"

Karaiv nodded, "Yes, and I understand having to wait, at least I know there is more information availiable." she sat down on the smooth flagstones and leant her back against the wall remembering the feeling she had had when she had been close to Morndrak.
Whatever is at Morndrak is big, and evil, and part of me wants to go, to join in, but that part is only small and has no control, and never will she thought. She came back to reality and sighed, she was in for a long wait.

Tithkinnet stroled down the street of the Cathedral District. He had spent a good night sleeping in the woods outside the city walls and, after a breakfast of freshly caught hare, had decided to offer a prayer to the gods for help on his journey.

Before entering the Erion Cathedral he looked to the sky, the sun's position indicated he had about three hours, "plenty of time" he thought to himself. Tithkinnet brushed his clothes down, removing the few particles of dirt on them that only he could see before entering the cathedral, finding a vacant pew and starting to pray.

Celeste took the offered drink with a grateful, “Thanks,” and drained a fair quantity of the sweet mead in a single gulp that almost turned into a spluttered chuckle as Firryl produced the poster.

“It is strange that would advertise it like this,” she agreed thoughtfully. “I suppose it must be important. They’ll get a lot more people this way, plenty of choice for who they actually want to do the job.”

She looked at the poster for a second before continuing, her lips pursed. “I can’t help feeling I should volunteer.”

Karariv:

Ruthgart gets quite excited at the mention of the fact that you are indeed a Kensai, "Right, I'm going to the kitchins to pick up breakfast, then how about a few sparing matches while we wait for more people, I've been eger to test my skills against a Kensai for quite some time"

Tithkinet:

After you have finished your prayer you are aproched by a female Marasean Knight wearing a guard uniform

"Good morning, I don't suppose you are aware of the battle in the streets last night?"

"Is there no where I can go where I will not be treated with suspicion?" Tithkinet thought to himself. Looking up at the knight with his red eyes he replied

"I arrived in the city only this morning, I was not aware of any disturbance. How large was this battle and who was involved?"

Karariv was startled, not many asked her to spar, then again, it had been a while since she had been in a city.
Well, as long as I don't use Daiyue he'll be alright, and Azaril won't harm him except through physical attacks, plus the exercise will be good.
"Why not, it's been a while since someone has asked me to spar, but I think it would be best if we ate first, I'm guessing you've not eaten since last night, so I won't delay you any longer."
She took what was left of her food from her bag and unwapped the cloth from the bread she had bought the other day.
She tore a piece off and offered it to Ruthgart, "Want some to keep you going between here and the kitchens?"

Tithkinet:

"We woke up this morning to find the streets litterd with the bodies of Clerics, Drakii and Black Drakes, battles like this sadly aren't all that rare," she sighs, "if you see anyone from either group with injuries that look like they were caused by the other side, please contact a guard. And with that I bid you a good day, and a pleasent stay in our city"

Karariv:

Ruthgart is pleased to accept the bread, and thanks you for it, and you now make a quick pace towards the kitchens

Karariv followed Ruthgart to the kitchens, it took a while to reach them.
As they walked, Karariv kept quiet unless asked questions, it had been a while since people had been so hospitable towards her, she was unsure how to act as a result.

"Well I suppose it is possible that they advertised so well just because they want to make sure they get the best people they can." Firryl replied, after taking another sip of his drink.

"If they're going to that much length to get competent mercnaries, then this mission must be fairly important. I really would like to do something especially worthwhile for once, but I just can't shake this uneasy feeling that I have about this."

Ajwz sat quietly in the cathederal and contemplated how to approach the final stages of this assignment. Undoubtedly keeping his head under the radar would be the best approach. The northern continent would be a welcome break from these lands, but for the time being he would have to endure. If only he could find a decent coffee things would seem much clearer.
He stood up and headed out to find one.

Rathgar strode down the street heading for the palace. He had seen the call for mercenaries willing to travel to the north, and being in need of gainful employment intended to offer his services.

Pulling his cloak around him and drawing himself up to his full height, he approached the guards at the gate.

Roughly 3 hours to go (people on different time scales)

Karariv: Fortunatly you don't have to do much talking, Ruthgart is quite happy to boast about his various exploits

You are taken around the back of the palace, and into the kitchins which are seperate, the inside of the palace is covered in rather repulsive marble tiles with clashing yellows and purples

Firryl and Celeste: A dwarf flies through a window behind you into the pub

Ajwz: You do indeed find a nice looking caffe, however you walk into an unpleasent scene

There is a dwarf at the bar shouting "Whaddaya mean theres no Ale!?"

The human woman at the bar stands with a stern look on her face and her arms on her hips "This is a Caffe, if you want Ale, go to a pub"

The dwarf looks confused "Eh? The Caffes in Gavelhem serve Ale"
"Thats because its a DWARVERN city"
"Are you sayin' dwarves arent welcome in this city, that we should all be goin' home?"
"No, I'm saying this caffe doesn't cater for you"
"Well, I-"

At this point an Orc appears and picks the dwarf up, the woman at the bar looks a lot happer, "Thanks Gok, carry him to a pub somewhere far away from here and toss him in"

Rathgar: There is a dwarf and a marasean at the gate, the marasean extends a hand with its palm facing you

"Whoa there, thats close enough, what does such an intimidating figure want at the palace?"

Rathgar replied, " I hear that men of courage are needed for an expedition to the North, I should like to join it. As a warrior of some experience, my skills may prove useful. "

After a few seconds pause he continued, " Have many others answered this call".

"I know, but--"

Though Celeste says more than this, the words go unheard. The first word of her misgivings is masked by the sound of a somewhat perturbed dwarf flying into the Rusty Puppet through the window. The second and third words fail to reach the ears of any around her because of the selfsame dwarf hitting the floor with a resounding and somewhat inevitable crash.

By the time a fourth word should be spoken, the angel has given up trying to pretend she has anything resembling a normal life. Not turning in her chair, she looks over her shoulder towards the inn's newest visitor and almost says, 'well, that's something you don't see every day', then stops herself just in time, not wanting to lie. She turns back to Firryl.

"This is nothing to do with me, and yet I have to step in, right?"

Atanvarda was late, as usual, punctuality had never been her strong point, and curiosity had gotten the better of her. She had not spent much time on the surface world, and so she had spent a lot of time admiring the vivid colours of the plants and sky and the variety of wildlife, which had slowed the pace of the journey considerably. Evin, her drake companion had also been admiring the wildlife, attempting to catch and eat at least one of everything he encountered.
It had been a full 10 days since she was told to go to Myrianon, it was her first assignment from the dragoncult since she was officially ordained as a full cult member, and so she was nervous about her ambiguous mission but elated at the prospect of starting her new life.
As the sky drew to a deep purple hue highlighted by clouds lit brightly by the setting sun she reached the city gates. She was not very tired, as the pace of her journey was hardly strenuous.
"Are you satiated yet" she spoke to Evin. Evin shook his head, He Replied with "Hunger..." telepathically. Evin was still young, and had difficulty in outward communication via telepathy, he rarely constructed sentences for example, however he could understand others easily.
Atanvarda looked around the main street, sighting a bakery she began walking towards it, Evin close in tow. Whilst she had been given a little money by the cult for the journey, she had spent it all quite quickly on a heavy cloak, as she was unaccustomed to rain, a good pair of leather boots, as the cloth leather soled shoes she had were not practical for a long journey, and some basic survival equipment, specifically, a dagger, and a small serrated knife, as using a katar to prepare food proved difficult and dangerous. she had also begun adorning her cloak with an embroidered pattern (see picture) during the evenings but it was only half finished.
This all meant that she had to barter some of her unnecessary belongings for food. after haggling for a few minutes she managed to get some bread in exchange for a rabbit pelt she had saved from her journey to the city.
Atan had found that the food on the surface world was much tastier than what she had lived off before, she was brought up on mushroom stew, beetles and grubs and flat breads in her home town, and at the cult there only a little more variety.
After their meal Atan asked Evin "Do you require rest?" Evin again shook his head, Atan concurred "Neither do I, let us explore this city...". Evin expressed little emotion, however offered no resistance to her plan, so they began walking to the trade district.

Picture pending

Keeping an eye open for people suffering from recent injuries, Tithkinet headed for the palace. As he was about to leave the Cathedral District he saw a dwarf being carried out of a cafe by an angry looking Orc.

Walking closer he saw a copper coloured Doppelganger who, judging by the array of knives he carried was clearly prepared for a fight. Also judging by the Concentric black rings around his eyes he had been badly beaten up recently.

"Excuse me, there was a battle around here last night, You wouldn't know anything about that would you?" Tithkinet asked Ajwz "One of the local guards here told me about it, I'm just a mercenary passing through"

Rathgar:

The Dwarf steps in "Well, its good to see you people are eger, but you aint due for another 3 hours, go on through and look for Ruthgart, he should be with some Gathling lass so they'll be hard to miss"

Firryl+Celeste:

A large ring of space has formed around the dwarf, a green scaled Lizard Man wearing chainmail and adorned with a variety of nunchucks walks into this space to check the dwarf for injuries

Atan:

You get to a hill overlooking the market square, looking into the crowd, your eyes are drawn by a single Black Zamodian moving through it, he is easy to pick out due to the empty space behind him where the centipede portion is (Zamodian are covered in a thick exoskeleton, have an ants head with human jaws behind the pincers, claws, and the lower body of a giant centipede), its upper body shines as the sun glints off its well polished armour

Ajwz+Tithkinet: No DM input required, lets see where this goes

Once at the kitchens, Karariv hovered by the door while Ruthgart sorted the food out. She noticed one or two of the staff gave her odd looks, but she ignored them, there was no point in doing anything, it was just life after all.

Ajwz looked at the strange wood elf: the last thing he had expected to encounter here. While his initial instinct had been to ignore the man, another thought occured to him. Ajwz's eyes gazed of into the distance as though deep in thought. A moment later he regained focus.

"You speak of a battle, *friend*? I regret to inform you that I have heard naught of such an occurence."

Ajwz paused briefly to allow the dwarf-bearing orc to pass by.

"I have only recently arrived in this city myself and I have yet to catch my bearings, although I must profess to possessing a certain curiosity over the activities of the denezines of this city."
"A mercenary you say? I have heard tell that scores of mercenaries have most recently descended upon Myriannon. Might I be so bold as to enquire upon the purpose of your visit?"

Thanking the dwarf, Rathgar entered the palace. As he walked, he gazed at the opulent surrounding. It had been a long tme since he had seen such luxury.

Finally, after asking several people, he was directed to the kitchens. Walking in, he saw a man he assumed to be Ruthgart, and then stopped short as he notice the Gathling woman he was with.

She had the longest and most luxuriant hair he had ever seen. At that moment, Rathgar decided that whatever the cost he had to posess it.

Pulling himself together, he addressed the couple, " Well met, I am Rathgar, son of Wulfgar, here to volunteer for the journey to the north. Sir, if you are Ruthgart, I bid you welcome, Madam, I regret that I do not know your name".

"Karariv." she replied to the man who had walked in, she noted his cloak and shook her head, it was obviously a patchwork of scalps and hair.
disgusting was all she thought. Well it's a good thing, my hair is getting to the length where I need to cut it, hopefully, the spar will give me the right indication. she thought, there was no way that man would add her hair to that cloak and get away unscathed.

Atanvarda surveyed the market square, many people were busying themselves with their day to day lives, however she spotted a black zamodian amongst the crowd. Atan had learnt the basics of zamodians whilst at the cult, and knew that a lone black zamodian was either a crusader or an escapee, either way it would be interesting learn of the state or the rebellion first hand. Evin was less than pleased at the prospect of long meaningful conversation with another weirdo, he communicated to Atan, "Explore,..After...Time...Return..". Atan told him "Dont get in trouble, i havent any gold to smooth over problems" and with that, she parted with him.
Atan, walked down to the market square and approached the zamodian, "Hello" she began, "I am Atanvarda, do you have a name?"...

After acknowledging Karaiv, Rathgar turned to Ruthgart. " Can you tell us any more about this job Sir ? "

Tithkinet smiled, "the purpose of my visit? I had heard the palace here was hiring for an expedition to Northern Continent. Much mystery surounds this however what I do not know about the task is over shadowed by the reasons I have to go."

"But what of you? You do not strike me as a pilgrim here to give charitable donations to the clerics."