Chapter I --------------
Pendicor's Spire was surrounded that day, men and boys just coming of age surrounded the massive ebony tower to read the sign at its base :
"ALL ABLE MEN : who are willing to take up arms against the rising Draconic threat in Clifftown are to report to Lord Trewlian's manor before the third hour of the day. You are to travel to Clifftown in attempts to aid Dwarvish resistance in the battle, any who comes back alive with be paid a sum of 50,000 Gold Siruas."
The entire crowd all spoke with excited and anxious voices, some went home to prepare all they needed and some to ignore the plight all together...why should they care of the Dwarves when the Dwarves cared not for human affairs either?
Finally, when the massive throng had ebbed away only 4 stood at the base of the Spire, all elves and all adorned in heavy black traveling cloaks.
"What do you think Katora?..." one said, obviously female under that cloak. Her head turned to the one beside her, a male elf who said in his loudest tone (though it came out only a level above a whisper).
"Its not my place to help Dwarves...." he muttered with a rather bitter tone.
"Yet...." another decidedly female voice rose from the opposite end of the one called Katora "..we go anyway?"
"Thats right Ryokai....we will go..." Katora said simply.
"Do we need the money that badly?" The last female voice beside the one called Ryokai said.
She and Ryokai laughed though Katora and his other compainion stayed silent. The two turned on a heel and left the front of the sign, their cloaks whipping about behind them as a harsh breeze pushed against them. Ryokai and the other followed closely as though using the two to block the wind that cloudy afternoon.
They walked the length of the town to where yet another large crowd formed, infront of the huge manor of Lord Trewlian, who had declared himself "Grand High Lord of Taio-Taio and its surrounding neighbors"
"The old grick..." Ryokai had said.
The manor was rather impressive, though obviously run down since Trewlian's rule. It had once been much like Pendicor's Spire, ebony in color and covered in magickaly colored blue ivy and roses. Once indeed a beautiful sight. Now, however, the ebony color was chipping away from the stone surface of the ancient manor and the plants around the surface had all but died and withered. The beauty had been sucked away from the building and left it ugly beyond repair.
The woman beside Katora, where she permanetly took her place, shook her head. "I remember this place when Fridrick ruled Taio-Taio...."
Katora glanced over to her from inside his gloak hood and frowed a bit. "Better times eh Ravyn?" The woman nodded simply.
Finally, the crowd grew silent as a rather old, crippled , man hobbled to the front of the rather massive series of stairs before the manor that had been set into the earth itself. He spoke quietly, two rather able bodied young men on his side, bodygaurds perhaps, but his voice rang out like a bell. Most like intensified by magicks.
"Adventurers of all sorts!" He said in his most dignified manor. "Welcome, welcome and thank you for heeding the call to aid our Dwarvish allies...." the old man's nose wrinkled up in an odd fashion at the mention of Dwarves. "Your journey will lead you to Clifftown just north of our fair city. You have been cleared to pass through ---"
"Have you ever been to Clifftown before Lord Katora?" the final woman to be named, Thorn drew her hood back, her rather beautiful white hair fell around her shoulders, lighting her pale features as she squinted in what little sun remained, the Meirgoth's BRIGHT blue eyes wandered over Katora.
-He glanced to her under his hood though as everyone else drew their's down so too did he. Black hair tumbled from where the hood once covered and drew across his pale flesh, looking like wounds on his much paler skin. The elves' dark, near black eyes faltered between Thorn and Ryokai a moment before he just nodded slowly.
"Long before your birth child...." he muttered softly, thinking back to a time when they needent worry about dragon attacks and orc invasions on once peaceful lands. Ravyn, who had LONG black hair with one single white bange extending down her pale cheek looked up at Katora with dull silver eyes, but she said nothing.
Now, their attention was diverted to Trewlian who had suddenly cleared his throat and said : "You will depart tomorrow morning....go and return only when I have heard that Clifftown is safe once again."
The four dark elves hadnt listen to a word he said, and Katora said softly, though his short fangs were bared : "Ryokai...Thorn...gather our things from the Inn...we leave tonight..."
Pendicor's Spire was surrounded that day, men and boys just coming of age surrounded the massive ebony tower to read the sign at its base :
"ALL ABLE MEN : who are willing to take up arms against the rising Draconic threat in Clifftown are to report to Lord Trewlian's manor before the third hour of the day. You are to travel to Clifftown in attempts to aid Dwarvish resistance in the battle, any who comes back alive with be paid a sum of 50,000 Gold Siruas."
The entire crowd all spoke with excited and anxious voices, some went home to prepare all they needed and some to ignore the plight all together...why should they care of the Dwarves when the Dwarves cared not for human affairs either?
Finally, when the massive throng had ebbed away only 4 stood at the base of the Spire, all elves and all adorned in heavy black traveling cloaks.
"What do you think Katora?..." one said, obviously female under that cloak. Her head turned to the one beside her, a male elf who said in his loudest tone (though it came out only a level above a whisper).
"Its not my place to help Dwarves...." he muttered with a rather bitter tone.
"Yet...." another decidedly female voice rose from the opposite end of the one called Katora "..we go anyway?"
"Thats right Ryokai....we will go..." Katora said simply.
"Do we need the money that badly?" The last female voice beside the one called Ryokai said.
She and Ryokai laughed though Katora and his other compainion stayed silent. The two turned on a heel and left the front of the sign, their cloaks whipping about behind them as a harsh breeze pushed against them. Ryokai and the other followed closely as though using the two to block the wind that cloudy afternoon.
They walked the length of the town to where yet another large crowd formed, infront of the huge manor of Lord Trewlian, who had declared himself "Grand High Lord of Taio-Taio and its surrounding neighbors"
"The old grick..." Ryokai had said.
The manor was rather impressive, though obviously run down since Trewlian's rule. It had once been much like Pendicor's Spire, ebony in color and covered in magickaly colored blue ivy and roses. Once indeed a beautiful sight. Now, however, the ebony color was chipping away from the stone surface of the ancient manor and the plants around the surface had all but died and withered. The beauty had been sucked away from the building and left it ugly beyond repair.
The woman beside Katora, where she permanetly took her place, shook her head. "I remember this place when Fridrick ruled Taio-Taio...."
Katora glanced over to her from inside his gloak hood and frowed a bit. "Better times eh Ravyn?" The woman nodded simply.
Finally, the crowd grew silent as a rather old, crippled , man hobbled to the front of the rather massive series of stairs before the manor that had been set into the earth itself. He spoke quietly, two rather able bodied young men on his side, bodygaurds perhaps, but his voice rang out like a bell. Most like intensified by magicks.
"Adventurers of all sorts!" He said in his most dignified manor. "Welcome, welcome and thank you for heeding the call to aid our Dwarvish allies...." the old man's nose wrinkled up in an odd fashion at the mention of Dwarves. "Your journey will lead you to Clifftown just north of our fair city. You have been cleared to pass through ---"
"Have you ever been to Clifftown before Lord Katora?" the final woman to be named, Thorn drew her hood back, her rather beautiful white hair fell around her shoulders, lighting her pale features as she squinted in what little sun remained, the Meirgoth's BRIGHT blue eyes wandered over Katora.
-He glanced to her under his hood though as everyone else drew their's down so too did he. Black hair tumbled from where the hood once covered and drew across his pale flesh, looking like wounds on his much paler skin. The elves' dark, near black eyes faltered between Thorn and Ryokai a moment before he just nodded slowly.
"Long before your birth child...." he muttered softly, thinking back to a time when they needent worry about dragon attacks and orc invasions on once peaceful lands. Ravyn, who had LONG black hair with one single white bange extending down her pale cheek looked up at Katora with dull silver eyes, but she said nothing.
Now, their attention was diverted to Trewlian who had suddenly cleared his throat and said : "You will depart tomorrow morning....go and return only when I have heard that Clifftown is safe once again."
The four dark elves hadnt listen to a word he said, and Katora said softly, though his short fangs were bared : "Ryokai...Thorn...gather our things from the Inn...we leave tonight..."
