"Speak, you dimwitted seadog!" said Alùn, while holding his dagger to the throat of an immensely intimidated mercenary pirate. "Speak, or your demise is at the edge of my dagger!"
"Take it easy," said Urnyras, while searching the corpses of dead pirates and interiors of the pirate tents."I will shpeak," said the apparently tipsy pirate, while trying to hold his bleeding nose. "I will shpeak, I shwear, don't kill me!"
"You better," said Alùn. He pushed the pirate more against the sewer wall and pressed the dagger closer to his throat. He punched the pirate relentlessly, right on his broken nose. The pirate screamed in agony.
"OKAY! Okay," said the pirate. "We were trying to establish a base to shpy on the giant-women's garrishon. The orders were right from above, the Bann-"
An arrow, from somewhere up above where they were standing, flew right towards the pirate's head and killed him. Alùn ducked instinctually, so did Urnyras Jael - they both looked above where they thought the arrow came from. They saw a slim, dark silhouette; shortly peering at them and then running up the passage where they thought he (or she) came from.
"After him!" said Urnyras Jael, running towards the hole up above - swiftly jumping and climbing over the dented wall. Alùn followed her up.
The entrance of the passage where the slim shady figure dived into was smaller than it looked, as Urnyras Jael entered, she realized she had to duck after a while. As they walked further, she realized it got more and more narrow and more suffocating. The walls were slippery - most possibly moldy too - and she tried not to touch the walls and simply walk straight, hoping to walk out of the passage. Alùn was panting behind Urnyras but not talking.
"Where did he go?" he asked.
"I don't see a thing," Urnyras Jael replied. "Ùr."
They followed the green light Urnyras conjured, and after a while they bumped into a dead end. Urnyras Jael spotted that there was a ladder climbing up, most possibly to a street within Calua.
"What time is it?" asked Urnyras.
"I have no idea," shrugged Alùn. "I assume we can't be sure unless we climb up."
Urnyras Jael peered up shortly, and started to climb with a subtle sigh.
...
"Who was that, by the grace of Gosto?" Urnyras whispered to Alùn, as they started to walk through one of the wide streets of Calua Market District, towards the Docks.
"Probably an overlooker assigned by the Bannerlord," Alùn replied, while hooding himself slowly. "The pirate was speaking about something - about the Bannerlord. A camp to spy on the Wundhian forces. These were mercenaries anyway - you pay them, they serve you. Someone pays more, they serve them. Goes like that. I'm sure the Bannerlord is using plenty of mercenaries. Denizens of Calua do not have such notion you call patriotism. They have plenty of pirates. Salty, smelly pirates. That's all they have. The Empire was here - administratively - but practically, that's a different story. We failed to serve our people here, thus they are not ours. They never were."
"They are Solian," Urnyras Jael said. "They just don't know it yet."
Alùn smirked dramatically.
"Well, then," he continued. "Let's go see that... clerk, at the Town Hall. I reckon it is somewhere here, if we are where I think we are."
"What if that assassin is watching us?" Urnyras Jael asked, when Alùn was looking around whether or not he was right about their current location and murmuring. "He knew we would use that ladder up to the city. What is he waited for us to get out from the sewers?"
"You're right," Alùn said, looking more sure about their whereabouts now. "If we head towards the Town Hall right away, it will be suspicious. We better misdirect first. Come."
They walked for a short while before Alùn turned into a narrow alley - Urnyras immediately followed him.
"Where are we going?" whispered Urnyras Jael to Alùn, while walking and occasionally checking her rear, the entrance of the alley.
"To where we are supposed to go," said Alùn, without looking back, peering around. "Just not from the shortcut."
...
After strolling around narrow streets and dirty alleys, avoiding a bunch of drunk pirates trying to engage in a brawl - they eventually made it to the Town Hall from a back street. They halted in front of a backyard entrance.
"Do you think they are observing the Town Hall?" asked Urnyras Jael.
"I do not think," shrugged Alùn. "I know. We have to be cautious. What disguise did you bring with you?"
"Disguise?" said Urnyras Jael, trying to look surprised but feeling a little incompetent for she did not even slightly think she might need a disguise. "Well, I have no disguise. In any case, I am a fylla, no clothing could would disguise my green hue. I have some illusion tricks though, and if I hood myself properly I doubt that would be a problem."
"We should sort out the stench, too," Alùn frowned while sniffing his robe.
Urnyras Jael focused on her body, closed her eyes and silently muttered a spell. A turquoise-purplish glow appeared all over her body, slowly turning her green skin color into a tanned color, her eyes into a glowing, attractive green. Her hair turned into brown and it wasn't straight anymore - she slowly touched her wavy hair reaching down her waist.
"Wow," said Alùn in surprise. "You are even, ahem, more attractive than you normally are."
"Oh, shut up," said Urnyras Jael, feeling a little embarrassed. "This is my incognito shape. I will use the name Claira Maesthe."
"Who is she?" asked Alùn.
"A hermit lady striding the lowlands of Syera," said Urnyras, wearing her hood and casting another lesser spell to change her dreadful smell into a soothing lavender scent. "I doubt the people in Calua have much interest in fyllian legends, so I'll be safe."
Alùn took off his robe. Urnyras then figured why he had that clinging armor sounds when he was moving in the sewers - he had the chest and leg armor piece and a tabard covering his chest of the Lyrant Knighthood - a knight of Dwese City.The entrance of the passage where the slim shady figure dived into was smaller than it looked, as Urnyras Jael entered, she realized she had to duck after a while. As they walked further, she realized it got more and more narrow and more suffocating. The walls were slippery - most possibly moldy too - and she tried not to touch the walls and simply walk straight, hoping to walk out of the passage. Alùn was panting behind Urnyras but not talking.
"Where did he go?" he asked.
"I don't see a thing," Urnyras Jael replied. "Ùr."
They followed the green light Urnyras conjured, and after a while they bumped into a dead end. Urnyras Jael spotted that there was a ladder climbing up, most possibly to a street within Calua.
"What time is it?" asked Urnyras.
"I have no idea," shrugged Alùn. "I assume we can't be sure unless we climb up."
Urnyras Jael peered up shortly, and started to climb with a subtle sigh.
...
"Who was that, by the grace of Gosto?" Urnyras whispered to Alùn, as they started to walk through one of the wide streets of Calua Market District, towards the Docks.
"Probably an overlooker assigned by the Bannerlord," Alùn replied, while hooding himself slowly. "The pirate was speaking about something - about the Bannerlord. A camp to spy on the Wundhian forces. These were mercenaries anyway - you pay them, they serve you. Someone pays more, they serve them. Goes like that. I'm sure the Bannerlord is using plenty of mercenaries. Denizens of Calua do not have such notion you call patriotism. They have plenty of pirates. Salty, smelly pirates. That's all they have. The Empire was here - administratively - but practically, that's a different story. We failed to serve our people here, thus they are not ours. They never were."
"They are Solian," Urnyras Jael said. "They just don't know it yet."
Alùn smirked dramatically.
"Well, then," he continued. "Let's go see that... clerk, at the Town Hall. I reckon it is somewhere here, if we are where I think we are."
"What if that assassin is watching us?" Urnyras Jael asked, when Alùn was looking around whether or not he was right about their current location and murmuring. "He knew we would use that ladder up to the city. What is he waited for us to get out from the sewers?"
"You're right," Alùn said, looking more sure about their whereabouts now. "If we head towards the Town Hall right away, it will be suspicious. We better misdirect first. Come."
They walked for a short while before Alùn turned into a narrow alley - Urnyras immediately followed him.
"Where are we going?" whispered Urnyras Jael to Alùn, while walking and occasionally checking her rear, the entrance of the alley.
"To where we are supposed to go," said Alùn, without looking back, peering around. "Just not from the shortcut."
...
After strolling around narrow streets and dirty alleys, avoiding a bunch of drunk pirates trying to engage in a brawl - they eventually made it to the Town Hall from a back street. They halted in front of a backyard entrance.
"Do you think they are observing the Town Hall?" asked Urnyras Jael.
"I do not think," shrugged Alùn. "I know. We have to be cautious. What disguise did you bring with you?"
"Disguise?" said Urnyras Jael, trying to look surprised but feeling a little incompetent for she did not even slightly think she might need a disguise. "Well, I have no disguise. In any case, I am a fylla, no clothing could would disguise my green hue. I have some illusion tricks though, and if I hood myself properly I doubt that would be a problem."
"We should sort out the stench, too," Alùn frowned while sniffing his robe.
Urnyras Jael focused on her body, closed her eyes and silently muttered a spell. A turquoise-purplish glow appeared all over her body, slowly turning her green skin color into a tanned color, her eyes into a glowing, attractive green. Her hair turned into brown and it wasn't straight anymore - she slowly touched her wavy hair reaching down her waist.
"Wow," said Alùn in surprise. "You are even, ahem, more attractive than you normally are."
"Oh, shut up," said Urnyras Jael, feeling a little embarrassed. "This is my incognito shape. I will use the name Claira Maesthe."
"Who is she?" asked Alùn.
"A hermit lady striding the lowlands of Syera," said Urnyras, wearing her hood and casting another lesser spell to change her dreadful smell into a soothing lavender scent. "I doubt the people in Calua have much interest in fyllian legends, so I'll be safe."
Urnyras Jael couldn't help a smirk - Alùn could never realize if that was for she liked it, or she actually found his outfit funny.
"Ahem, okay," said Alùn. "Let's find that clerk, Aural."
They walked in the Town Hall.
