Auora: Day 4, Month 11, Year 13,239
Rain fell steadily from the sky, and the ale came even steadier. Tonight was an ideal night for contracts and silent work among the gangs of Auora. Weary travelers huddled in every corner of the Pike and Pint, easy victims for a simple pickpocketing. The tavern wenches ran between the kegs and tables, filling and refilling mugs as they went.
“Are any of you lot brave enough to travel east to the lost ruins of Kherizhan to claim treasures and riches beyond your wildest imagination?” a gravelly rasp called across the tavern. The voice belonged to a man with pointed ears who stood near the fireplace. His clothes were sturdy and well-worn, the sign of a man who lived on the roads. Jette watched him from her table, nursing a mug of dark ale.
Pity we can’t make any quick coin tonight, Jette thought. But we should make a cozy bit from this job.
“Come now. I see some able-bodied men out there! Don’t you want your chance at eternal wealth?” the man continued to prattle, looking around at the rest of the patrons.
Tonight, only a small number of people in the tavern were native to the lands of Promthus, from either the city-island of Auora or the farmlands surrounding the Hourglass Lakes. Many had varying features of the other races: long pointed eared Elviri, short legged and shorter stature Imalarii, mottled skin and large fanged Barauder. Auora was a friendly enough city with its massive bridges on either side of the island, and the city’s inns shared the same policies. This particular tavern usually saw more of the natives of Promthus, but that didn’t mean foreigners were scarce. Jette, a middle-aged Proma herself, sat in the corner of the tavern at the same table that she usually occupied and watched the crowds as they shifted around the room, drinking and eating and generally making noise.
The patron who made the loudest noise, though, was a pointy-eared fellow spewing out one repeated line after another about Kherizhan, eternal wealth, and adventure. Why’s an Elviri so worked up over these mountains? Jette couldn’t remember when he first arrived in the inn; he seemed to just kind of spring up from the floorboards, bellowing out nonsense about some ruins hidden away in the distant southeast mountains. Lately he was in the inn almost every day trying to recruit some sorry men to go off on an “adventure” with him. What do far away mountain ruins have to do with the city-island of Auora? Nothing at all. Jette grimaced.
“Surely one of you wants to embark on a quest that the bards will sing of for ages.”
No one seemed to care for what he was saying anyway. Most of the patrons ignored him and his ramblings. There was always one or two interested in what he was going on about, though. He would give them a rather hefty coin purse and an old map, and they would be off that very night. Days later there would be reports throughout the city of that person missing with no sign of them passing through any of the city gates or leaving from the docks. Plenty of people suspected the noisy man of being behind these disappearances, but no one had been able to prove it yet. The city watch had put out a reward for finding either the missing persons or who was behind the kidnappings. The larger gangs hadn’t even pinned down where the man was from. If the Walkers or Hawks couldn’t do it, then he practically had free reign over the city.
Although maybe the larger gangs don’t care about this man the way the city watch does.
Jette waved down one of the serving girls and raised her mug to get a refill before standing up and raising it toward the pointy-eared fellow. Time to get to work. “I’ll hear you out, good man.”
The man turned to face Jette’s direction, a satisfied grin on his face. “You want your chance at riches beyond your wildest dreams, d’you now, lass?”
The fake smile slid onto her face easily enough. “Aye. Come, join me at my table and we’ll discuss this adventure.”
Jette took her seat again as the man crossed the tavern floor and sat down in the chair across from her. A few patrons let out groans of relief. Out of the corner of her eye, Jette saw a small man jump out of his seat and move away from his table, laughing and raising his mug to the other fellows still seated. He stood no taller than the table itself and his mug was as large as his head. Near the front door, a hulking, hooded figure began to make its way back toward Jette’s table, staying close to the wall.
My mates are moving into place. Good.
“Have you heard much about the ruins of Kherizhan?” the man asked her, folding his hands on the table. He was dressed plainly enough, but there were a few telltale signs of wealth. His belt was brand new leather dyed a dark green to match his eyes. A few ornamental beads hung in his hair, typical of an Elviri from Lithalyon. His jaw was too broad to be an Elviri, though. And his ears didn’t stretch as far out as a normal Elviri’s. He was mixed blood.
Curious that he’s allowed in the city. Does the city watch know this man is a Provira? Jette thought. “A couple of stories. Something about moving stones and loads of gems that could make a girl rich,” she said and took a sip from her mug, giving him her complete attention. Though she intended to play the man like a fiddle, she was honest about her knowledge of Kherizhan. It was a land of myth, often discussed as if it were unreachable. Unobtainable.
He chuckled and nodded, pulling out a rolled-up piece of wrinkled parchment. “Loads of gems indeed. And wouldn’t it be a waste for all those gems to just lie around underground with no one to claim them?”
“Such a waste.” Her eyes wandered to his hands as he unrolled the parchment to reveal a map that looked ancient. Older than my thirty years, no doubt. Arrows and lines were drawn on the map, all pointing to the massive gathering of mountains in the southeast corner.
“There are several different ways to get to Kherizhan, but that’s not the difficult part of the journey. What’s difficult is getting underground and to those gems.” He traced a couple of the lines, which were pretty straightforward with their routes. “Most of the routes pass through friendly cities in either Imalar or Lithalyon where you can stock up on supplies.”
Jette nodded. A few of the routes passed right by the mountains that served as a border between Promthus and Moonyswyn. That was dangerous territory to cross through with the war between the Proma, Elviri, and Provira. Beyond the recurring Provira raids into the farmlands of southern Promthus, the lands down there were full of bandits and thieves.
Only someone who was desperate or who had a death wish would travel through those lands.
“Don’t fret about traveling alone, lass. One of my trusted partners will be waiting on the southwestern shores of the Hourglass Lakes, in the town of Merrioff. From there, he’ll lead you the rest of the way.” The man flashed a grin.
Jette nodded politely and returned the smile. The hooded figure practically hovered over the large-eared man. Nearby, the short man made his way toward her table.
“I wouldn’t be going alone, sir. I have my own partners, and they would very much like to accompany me on this trip.” Jette gestured to the hooded figure behind him, and to the short man who took the seat to her left.
The Provira turned to look behind his seat and jumped a little bit. “You keep strange company, lass.”
“Ya’nah has been in my company for many good years. Tomlin, too. Where I go, they follow.”
The small man, Tomlin, raised his mug and grinned. Tomlin was an Imalarii, as short as they came. When standing he came up to Jette’s hip, which made him ideal for robberies and sleight of hand. He had thick brown hair and a hearty laugh that could fill a room. Ya’nah removed her hood and sat down to Jette’s right, scowling. She was a Barauder with murky green skin and stringy black hair. Fangs jutted out from her lower jaw, curving upward along her lips. She growled quietly, watching the mixed-blood man closely behind narrowed eyes.
“You and your…company could leave on the morrow,” the Provira said calmly despite his small scare with Ya’nah moments earlier. “I’ll give you enough gold to get you to Merrioff in one piece. From there, you’ll have to make do on your own.”
Jette exchanged looks with Ya’nah and Tomlin and received nods from them both. Tomlin was quick and eager with his, while Ya’nah made a show of taking her time with her decision. Ultimately, the small team ended up with a rather plump coin purse and a map.
The Provira stood up and bowed, grinning. “Thank you for your business. I look forward to welcoming you adventurers back once you return from your expedition,” he said.
Tomlin and Jette returned the smile. Jette and her partners had been planning the little scheme for a few days. It would be an excellent way of figuring out what had happened to all those missing people, as well as making some coin on the side.
Get the map, trail the man, find out if he’s the one making people disappear. Not too often that my crew and I assist the fellows wearing chainmail and bearing the king’s name, but if it helps the people of the streets, then it ain’t a bad job. The city guard may even be generous with their reward, Jette thought as the Provira departed from their table, melting away into the crowd. No need to tail that one for now. We’ll see him again soon enough.
Ya’nah finished off her tankard, placing it on the table none too gently. Tomlin snickered, doing the same.
“Tomorrow morning we’ll set off for this Kherizhan place,” Jette said, inspecting the purse. She opened it with deft hands and eyed the generous sum of gold inside.
Ya’nah growled quiet enough that only Tomlin and Jette could hear her. “I don’t like this idea, Jette. We don’t know what we’ll be facing.”
“Isn’t that half the fun?” Tomlin retorted, a cheeky grin plastered on his face. The Barauder rolled her eyes and scowled and grumbled something under her breath in a language only the creatures from the Black Lakes would understand.
“Have I ever led our little pack astray?” Jette asked, her eyes shifting between the two of them. Neither of them made any comment to disagree, so she nodded and continued. “We’ll leave tomorrow morning then. It’s settled.”
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