CH 1 - Eldermere.
With a nervous breath she said to herself. "Guess my adventure starts here," and she took her first step into the city.
The city , daunting was unlike she'd ever seen. The streets were crowded with people, creatures, and beasts of all shapes and sizes; the buildings towered high above her, nearly blocking the sky. The roaring of the crowds overwhelmed her a bit, but she was also exhilarated by the energy of the city.
As she wandered through the city, Lirien saw things she had never imagined. There were shops selling exotic foods and spices, vendors hawking strange and magical items, and performers entertaining the crowds with music and dance. Everywhere she looked, there were new and exciting things to discover.
She wandered the streets for a few hours, gawking at the various street stalls, when something caught her eye. Or more specifically, someone.
A shadow elf with dark skin and pointed ears has a slim and agile build and stands around 5'9" tall. His face was sharp with high cheekbones, and his eyes are a deep shade of green, which seem to glow in the shadow. He has short, messy black hair that falls just above his shoulders and a small goatee on his chin. He wears a black leather outfit that fits tightly to his body. His person was adorned with some glass flasks, along with what seemed to be some paper at his side. His confident and sly demeanor are reflected in his smirk and the mischievous glint in his eyes.
He was standing in the shadows of an alleyway, watching the crowds pass by.
Curiosity getting the better of her, Lirien approached him and asked what he was doing. Zephyr flashed her a sly grin.
"Looking for a partner in crime.... You want to tag along?" he asked
"So you are up to no good. Figures with how shady you're acting. Who just stands in an alley like this?" Lirien scolded.
"Easy there, priestess. I'm on official guild duty," he chided while flashing his guild crest. "So you wanna help or what?"
"My name is Lirien, not priestess." She said slightly annoyed. " Zephyr, Charmed I'm sure" He says in response talking over her introduction. "Anyway, lets go, were burning daylight. "She followed, not wanting him to get away with anything shady.
Lirien and Zephyr made their way through the streets of the city, keeping to the shadows and weaving in and out of the crowd as they approached the Duke's estate.
"The duke and some of the aristocrats are suspected of market manipulation and aiding a foreign nation in weakening support for the current monarch." Zephyr explained.
"So what? Your just going to break into his house and steal a bunch of stuff?
"Not me priestess, We. Besides, don't you want to help people?"
Lirien was hesitant; this was the first time she had done anything like this, and she absolutely didn't trust Zephyr. While it seemed like the right thing to do, she couldn't shake the feeling that if she didn't go with him, something horrible would happen.
"Are you sure this is ok?" She asked nervously as the dukes manor came into sight.
"It pays well, and it helps the people. Probably," he shrugged.
As they approached the house, Zephyr pointed out the guards stationed at the gate. "We need to get past them first," he said. "I have an idea."
He led Lirien to a nearby alley and produced a vial of dark liquid from his pack.
"POISON?" She almost screeches as blood drains from her face.
Covering her mouth and giving her a sharp look, "Chill priestess, its a sleeping potion. One drop of this and they'll be out like a torch." He explained. "We can use it to knock out the guards without causing any harm."
Lirien's muscles relaxed a bit, and her face regained some color. "You should have led with that," she said harshly.
"You jumped to conclusions too fast," he laughed.
Lirien hesitated for a moment, but then nodded in agreement.
They made their way back to the gate, and Zephyr procured two talismans and held them up as they glowed. "Tools of the trade," he said as he vanished.
He walked up to the guards, who were completely unaware, and slipped the potion into the guards' wine flasks almost right in front of their eyes. Within moments, the guards were slumped over, fast asleep.
Rushing over to meet him as he reappeared, "What kind of magic is that?!?" Lirien asked in wonder, "You didn't use any incantation or recite from a book or anything! I thought the moon temple was the only ones with voiceless magic"
"My own invention, actually. These talismans store spells for instant use at any time." He gloated as he handed her one to see. "The only real downside is that they explode if they get wet, and they take a lot of time to prepare."
"That... seems kind of dangerous." she said, not wanting to hold it all of a sudden.
"Anyway. Let's get on with it." He said as he reattached it to his bandolier and turned his attention to the gate.
In a mere instant, he deftly picked the lock on the wrought-iron gate, and they slipped inside. The crunch of gravel underfoot echoed in the silence as they made their way through the gardens towards the main house, peering through the ornate windows as they went.
"Here," Zephyr said as he motioned her to the window. "We got lucky. The Duke's study is on the first floor."
Lirien went quickly to the window. "This was not as bad as I expected" "I like to keep things simple and quick" He chuckled.
The old gilded window slid open easily, and they were in. As she stepped into the Duke's study, she was awestruck at its splendor: a lavishly furnished room with tall bookshelves lining the walls and a heavy oak desk dominating the center.
"This building is absurd! It's even more fancy than the temple." Lirien half-whispered. "Shh. Be useful and keep watch," Zephyr quipped harshly.
Zephyr set to work on the lock on the desk while Lirien kept watch out the window.
After a few tense moments in which only the clicking of lockpicks breaking the silence, Zephyr's tools clicked into place, and the desk's locking mechanism was bypassed, opening all of the drawers.
Inside, they found mountains of evidence—documents and letters detailing the Duke's and other prominent figures, involvement in a nefarious scheme to control the local markets and manipulate prices to his advantage, but not only that. But there was also a letter from a neighboring nation with information on hired militia movements that they were using to restrict trade, along with horrific price gouging that was causing civil unrest among the poorer citizens.
"Hired mercenaries, trade caravan robbery, and even civil discourse plots." Zephyr said as he placed all of the documents into his bag. "This is far messier than I would have liked to get involved in; let's get out and take this back to the guild."
They hopped through the window, both of them failing to notice the dull sigil that activated when the lock was bypassed.
As they made their way through the estate's courtyard, Zephyr and Lirien heard the sound of boots hitting the stone floor, growing louder with each passing second. Suddenly, they saw the Duke's guards rounding the corner, their swords already drawn and gleaming in the sunlight, their numbers at least twenty, ten on each side.
"tch. "It seems we took a bit too much time, they likely found the guards," Zephyr cursed. "I hope you know how to fight."
With staff in hand and determination in her eyes, she said, "I don't like it, but it doesn't look like we have much of an option."
"Soldiers, arrest the trespassers." A man in steel armor gilded with the Duke's crest bellowed. With a resounding cry, they rush the pair.
Zephyr led off by throwing two daggers, which impacted off the thick plate helmets of the guards, causing them to stumble back and fall into a few others. Lirien's staff glowed as she shot a wave of light at the group rushing her, blinding them for a brief moment before thrusting her staff into three of their chest plates in quick succession, knocking them back. Two more on each side advance with no intention of taking them alive, as the remaining of the group were trying to pull the plate armor clad guards that had fallen back up.
Zephyr deftly dodged the two swords and laded a blade in the gap between the armor of the chest plate and helmet, into the thick chainmail that was underneath.
"FUCK. Not deep enough to kill" He yelled, as he delivered a solid kick to the leg of the other guard.
Lirien's side wasn't going much better, as her magic was mostly ineffective against the thick armor. She fired a blade of moonlight straight at the head of the tallest of the two, who deflected it with his gauntlet with ease.
"Their armor absorbs magic," she yelled back to him, as she blinded her two with light briefly, then went for their legs to cause them to fall.
Crunch, crunch, crunch. Twenty more guards showed up, and the few they had knocked down were already back on their feet.
"What the hell do we do?" Lirien said panicked. "Don't worry, I've got a backup plan." He said as he pulled out a flare and shot it into the air.
The guards went still watching the flare for a moment. Unsure of what to make of it.
One guard approached them both. Lirien and Zephyr entirely surrounded put their hands up.
"Might I say one thing?" Zephyr asked the guard. "Out with it mongrel" The guard spat back. "Shouldn't you be more worried about the angry mob at the front gate?"
What seemed to be all of the merchants in the region arrived at the estate, and with a thunderous cry as they busted down the old, wrought iron gate, many yelling for the duke's head. All of the guards turned towards the new threat of over 100 seething merchants and their employees.
Zephyr had contacted the heads of several workers guilds to ask they stand by incase he found something. Letting them know that a flare means they need to take action.
"Here. Attach this to your shirt and run mana through it," he hurriedly said, pressing a talisman into Lirien's hand. "Let's get out of here before they have time to sort this mess out.
She quickly did as told, and like shadows in the midday light, they vanished.
As they made their way through the dreary alleys, Lirien couldn't help but feel a sense of unease at the violence they had unleashed. Outside of training and monster hunting, this was the first time she had ever fought another person. And it was definitely the first time she had fought with the intention of injuring someone.
Lirien stopped sulking a bit. "Come on, priestess, keep up. We aren't done till we get back to the guild."
"Is what we did really right? Did it really have to go that far?" She said in distress. "Perhaps I'm really not cut out for adventuring."
Zephyr sighed and gave a smile, "Look. There's a lot of evil in this world, and not all of it can be solved with prayer and relying on the gods. Besides. You did good out there. I'd be dead if I had gone in alone this time. And if the Duke was allowed to continue what he was doing, thousands of others would be hurt as well."
"I guess," Lirien said, still uncertain.
"With how you fought, I would have never imagined it was your first fight. "You're a natural." He reassured. "Now let's get going. Our payout awaits."
They emerge from the alley with the weight of their haul heavy on their backs. The chaos from the Duke's estate far behind. With the guild now in view, Lirien's eyes went wide in amazement. It was a massive stone building that stood out from the other structures around it. As they approached, they could see the familiar emblem of the guild, a heart with a golden dragon wrapped around it, in the dragons hand a crystalline spear.
As they entered, Zephyr was greeted by the familiar sound of chatter and laughter from the members of the guild, and his face relaxed a bit. All those who were gathered in the main hall, socializing and drinking ale, put his mind at ease. This was the most trouble he had been in during a job in a long long time.
The room was bustling with activity, with people playing cards, telling stories, and cheering as one of the members triumphantly showed off their latest kill.
Lirien stuck close to Zephyr as she was unused to this kind of environment. The music, the smell of ale, and the dull roar of the ambience were all foreign. But not in a way she didn't like.
Lirien and Zephyr made their way to the center of the room, where they found the guild master, an older grizzled man sitting at a large table, grimacing over some documents.
"Ah, Zephyr, back from your mission, I see... And who is this you brought with you?" The guild master said as he looked up from his work.
Lirien quickly introduced herself. "I am Lirien from the Eastern Selune temple. "Devote of the Moon Goddess."
With a surprised look on his face, the guild master stood and introduced himself in return. "I'm Kaelin Stoneheart, the master of this guild. To what do we owe the pleasure priestess?" He bowed his head in respect.
Lirien, slightly panicked, quickly assured him it was nothing major. "Please don't bow; I come only seeking adventure."
Kaelin gesturing to Zephyr. "You've definitely found it then," he laughed heartily. "Still, Zephyr, it's unlike you to take on a party member."
"What can I say? She was the first person to ever notice me while I was out gathering intel. " Let's.... just call it a gut feeling that she would be useful."
Now, with a serious look, Zephyr placed the bag with the documents on the table. "Double the agreed-upon pay for these, and not a word about who took this mission."
Kaelin matched Zephyr's expression: "It's worse than I thought, isn't it?" After a brief pause, he sighs and agrees. "This information is worth more than gold, so you have a deal. Not a word will get out about who took on this request."
He then reached into a nearby chest and pulled out two small bags, handing one to both Zephyr and Lirien. Lirien opened her bag and gasped at what she saw. Inside were several dozen gold coins, each one glinting in the light. She had never seen so much money in her life.
Zephyr also looked pleased with the reward, as he looked inside the bag and saw several jewels and gems.
"Thank you, guild master Kaelin. "Lirien said, still in shock from the amount of money in her bag.
"It's the least we can do. You two have done the country a great service today." The guild master said as he looked at them with admiration.
"ALLLL right," Zephyr said as he stretched. "Let's grab some food and wind down a bit."
Not realizing how hungry she was until now, Lirien wholeheartedly agreed.
They approached the old wooden counter, and Zephyr called out, "Hey Erisa, two of today's specials. "He then placed two silver coins on the counter.
"Coming right up," she cheerfully called back.
The meal was hearty and satisfying, with roasted meats, fresh vegetables, and plenty of ale to go around. As they ate, Lirien and Zephyr shared tales of their own exploits and experiences, and Lirien quickly became the center of attention. Everyone was eager to hear about how life was in the east and what strange creatures could be found there; their eyes sparkled with excitement.
As the night wore on, the mood in the guild hall grew more relaxed, and the members began to drift off to bed. Lirien and Zephyr found themselves alone, sitting by the hearth, watching the embers glow and listening to the crackle of the flames.
"Thanks for the help today," Zephyr said, breaking the silence.
Lirien smiled at him. "I should be thanking you. You showed me a side of the world I never would have seen otherwise."
Zephyr chuckled. "Well, I wouldn't have been able to do it without you. You're a quick learner, and you kept your cool when things got tense."
Lirien blushed at the compliment, and they lapsed into a comfortable silence once more. The warmth of the fire and the soft murmurs of the other guild members in their rooms created a peaceful atmosphere, and they both felt content and happy.
As they made their way to their own rooms, Lirien and Zephyr said their goodnights and settled into their beds, exhausted but exhilarated by the day's events. They fell asleep quickly, with the sounds of the guild's peaceful slumber lulling them into a deep, restful sleep.