[IC] The Winds of Eos: Book I - Notus

[GuyFawkes]

Chapter I

"Hey! You told you you could sleep in there!?"

A loud, grating voice echoed inside your head as you felt some cold liquid you could only hope was water hit your face and upper torso.

"We're going to be taking you to the boss in an hour, so you better straighten up," came the same voice.

By then you had come to your senses, and you wished you hadn't. Pain receptors all over your body were flaring; your midsection, limbs, your back. And your head. Felt like those times when you tried to drink those exotic liquor purportedly able to bring down a full-grown giant with just one shot. And with all the pain, you're not even sure you've ever drank one of those, or just heard about them and thought you did. And as if by design, the grating sound of the speaker's voice only made it worse.

You try to get up and try to extend your hand outwards to push off of it to put yourself in a sitting position, but as you do so, you notice one thing: your hands are tied behind your back. Then you notice a couple more. Your feet are similarly tied together, and your mouth is covered by a piece of cloth tied up around to the back of your head.

"But boss. How's he gonna straighten up when he's all tied up like that?" came a second voice, this one high pitched.

You look up and see the sources of the voice. Through iron bars you can make out the silhouette of two figures. The one that just spoke stood to the left, tall, gangly, sporting long hair. The other man to the right, which you gather was the owner of the grating voice, and most possibly the one that threw the water (or so you hope) at you, judging from the bucket he is holding, is rather stocky, and from what you can make out, bald.

"Bah, it's not my problem now, is it? Hey you! If I come back and I catch you asleepin', you won't be lucky to have water splashed at you, ya hear?! Come on, Baccus. We make preparations. The boss doesn't like it when we're late," the stocky man said as he disappeared to the right side of the bars, with the man called Baccus snickering at you as he followed.

With both men gone, you get a chance to finally look around you. You notice you are in a small room which looks to be some sort of prison cell. You are lying down on the floor, made of roughly worked stone, dirt collecting in between the gaps and cracks, the faint but unmistakeable stench of dried sweat, ammonia, and human excrement all mixed up filling up the space. The only other opening in the room beside the barred side was a small window, similarly barred up on the opposite wall, situated high up and center, in your reckoning around 6 feet from the floor. Aside from yourself, there is nothing else inside the room. On your person, all your personal articles are gone. You reckon you are lucky they left your clothes on.

Trying to comprehend how you got there, your mind races back to the last few moments you could remember. Yes, you remember you had heard of a dungeon in the middle of the city of Alba Faluk, and decided to try your hand at it. Despite being told that diving the dungeon was prohibited and reserved only for the boss of the city, you paid no heed and successfully snuck in. And through your abilities, knowledge, and sheer dumb luck, finally you had made your way through the maze of traps and monsters out of this world and reached the treasure room. Inside, you laid eyes upon treasures you could have only hoped to see in your lifetime. Piles and piles of gold, precious stones and metals, as well as what seemed to be works of art, the styles of which you had never seen or heard of in Talfa Rukh. You also noticed what seemed to be scrolls and books of esoteric knowledge and magic.

You began to haul whatever you could carry with you. Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye, you caught a glint of light reflecting off something. You turn around to see an unremarkable bronze ornament. For some reason it drew you in and as you touched it, the whole room disappeared in a blinding white flash. Suddenly, an otherwordly voice filled your head.

"What is your deepest desire?"

That was the last thing you could remember before you woke up there in that room, all tied up and apparently beaten up as well. BUt none of that mattered for now. In an hour you were going to be brought to the "boss", and judging from the treatment you have received from his men until now, it could only mean one thing: bad.

__________________

OOC Link (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=280703)

[FreakyCheeseMan]

Henry winces, shifting in his binds, testing out the generous helping of injuries his captors left him with before straining around, trying to get a better look at his surroundings, in particular at what lies outside the cell window.

Internally, he groans as memories come flooding back to him... to have come that close, and... his mind rested on the question, turning it over in his head.

"Where to even begin?" he mutters, grinning slightly in spite of it all.

[GuyFawkes]

You look around you in the dim light provided by the single lantern across the hallway and from the small window behind you. As you look around, you could acertain the room looked to be roughly around 15 by 10 feet in size, and the ceiling was about 10 feet. Where you lied, you were roughly in the midddle of the cell, with the barred side 5 feet in front of you and the wall with the window 5 feet to your back.

You try to tug on your bindings to help yourself up, and as you approach the window, it only took a little effort to stand on your toes to see outside. From what you could see, the blaring light from the sky meant it was probably around noontime. As for what else you could see, there were a couple of rooftops that line just on the bottom of the view afforded by the window. You could not see much to know where you were, but based on the design of the buildings, you could tell you were still most certainly in Alba Faluk.

As you settle back down and try to think about what to do with your situation, you recall you had concealed your spellbook and of course you had your knee and sleeve blades. You quickly check your person and to your relief, the spellbook, as well as both blades, were still safely hidden where they were.

If it would, surely it had brought a smile to your face. It seemed luck was on your side, or it just showed the competence (or lack thereof) of your captors. Either way, it was good news.

[FreakyCheeseMan]

Henry sighs, shifting uncomfortably in his bindings, staring at the rooftops outside the window. "So much for the easy way out..." he thinks, a plan quickly forming in his head. "Hey! You! Come back here!" he calls out, trying to draw the attention of the gravely-voiced guard.

[GuyFawkes]

As you shouted out, you could hear muffled grumbling from down the hallway. After a few seconds, it stopped. A few seconds more, a click and the sound of creaky hinges of a door opening and a slam could be heard. Heavy footsteps followed, then to your right, the figure of the tall, long haired man appeared, his face and voice having no attempts at hiding his displeasure of being called back there.

"What is it you want, huh?! Want me to give you another beat down?"

[FreakyCheeseMan]

Henry turns towards him, trying to get a good luck this time, his voice weak from the beatings but still trying to be as persuasive as he can. "Come closer. Let me get a good look at you," he says before continuing.

"Your boss is mad that I came in on my own... showed disrespect. But think about it - he's been sitting on that dungeon for how long now? And I'm the one that got through it. He needs men like me, alive, not dead... and that means that in a few hours you and I are going to be on the same side,"

"So how about if we start off on the right foot - maybe get me some water? I'd rather not be dehydrated when I meet my new employer..."

[GuyFawkes]

"Hah! Don't get cocky on me, boy! What? Cause you were so damn lucky you somehow managed to clear that dungeon?" replied Baccus as he stopped and stood a few feet away from you.

"Oh, if you're gonna meet the boss, you ain't gonna be workin' with me. Ever," he continued in his high pitched voice and laughed before he started to walk back where he came. After a minute, his lanky figure reappeared, this time holding a tin cup, which he placed on the floor near the bars.

"Your water. Anything else? Any last requests?" he spoke with a smirk.

[FreakyCheeseMan]

Henry stares up at him for a moment, committing his features to memory before speaking. "No, I suppose not. That will be all."

[GuyFawkes]

"Good. Now be quiet and get yir ass ready. We're gonna leave soon, and you best be good to go when we come for you," Baccus spoke while leaning in before turning around and heading for the exit.

Slam.

Click.

Silence.

[FreakyCheeseMan]

Henry sits in silence, listening until the footsteps have receded into the distance and then giving it another moment before acting. One moment, he's bound in his chair; the next, he's sitting in the hallway outside his door, eyes staring in the direction his jailor went.

Henry bites his lip, contemplating for a moment before nodding, sitting on the floor, scratching a crude diagram into the dirt with the tip of his blade. Taking a moment to steady him, more than aware of the ramifications of what he's about to do, Henry focuses on the seal for a moment.

From nowhere, the image of a black crane flies down, crashing dead into the dirt atop the seal; from the shadows, a three-headed dog stalks forward, dipping its head and tearing greedy chunks of flesh from the fallen bird.

Henry stares for a moment, swallowing, his hands tight as his sides before he speaks, putting as much conviction into his words as he's able.

"Naberius, Kaberon, Cerbere, Serberius, Grinning Hound: I offer you the chance to walk in the world, see its sights, let its people drink in the majesty that is your voice. Bind to me, Naberius; grant me your abilities; the world will never know our name, but will be our stage nonetheless."

Abrupt Jaunt to leave the binds and make it to the hallway.

Binding Naberius - binding check [roll0] vs. 15 - if it fails I still bind him, but I'll have to do some stuff roleplay-wise or take penalties.

Picking Knowledge: Local, Knowledge: Nobility and... hmm, why not, Knowledge: Architecture and Engineering for the 3 untrained skills.

[GuyFawkes]

As the middle head obliviously preyed on the fallen bird, the two heads stared at Henry with so much intensity that the air around him felt heavy. At first Henry was able to handle the pressure, staring back equally as intense, but after what seemed like hours, gave in and looked down. To this, the dog smiled.

"You are quite eloquent for a human. Impressive," came a deep growling voice that seemed to speak directly inside your head.

"But not enough. Let me show how it is done."

As the voice trailed, the image of three-headed dog slowly disappeared. Warmth suddenly spread over your body, and you felt like knowledge began to pour forth into your mind. At the same time, your thinking process began to speed up, and you felt the urge to speak to somebody, anybody.

"Now, mortal. Show me the world. Show me my grand stage."

[FreakyCheeseMan]

Henry shivered but grinned, still half-surprised that it had worked... clearly, there was room for improvement, but the power itself...

He swallowed, focusing, taking a moment to call the guard's features to mind, feeling his own face shift to take on their likeness.

"Let's see if this... huh..." Henry comments, noticing the strange new gravelly quality of his own voice, doing his best to mimic that of the guard's. With one final look around the cell, he starts heading down the hallway in the direction the guard went.

Handful of knowledge rolls, seeing if anything comes up.

Knowledge: Local [roll0] - anything about this organization or it's headquarters that might be relevant?

Knowledge: Nobility [roll1] - not sure if you'd have "Nobility" apply to leaders in general, but if so, do I know anything about the "Boss"?

And, why not... Knowledge: Architecture and Engineering. [roll2] - do I know anything about this building, and was what I saw out the window enough to tell me what floor I'm on?

[GuyFawkes]

As you get over your fascination of the new power you have achieved, you walk down the hallway. Now your mind began to put its processing powers into more important use.

You look around at the layout of the building. The hallway simply ran forward and back, five feet wide, terminating in a wall behind you and a door at the end in front of you, where you imagine was the source of the slaming and locking by Baccus earlier.

The rest of the layout looked simple enough: four cells identical in make to the one you were in line the hallway to your right, two were closer to the door side than the one you were in, the other cell was farthest to the back; you were kept in the third cell from the door. And from what you saw outside the window earlier and what you knew about the typical building in Alba Faluk, most of them were single story houses or establishments, and since what you saw were only mostly rooftops, you gather you were in the second floor. But there were dozens of two-story buildings in the city as well, and so it still didn't help you figure out in which one you were in right now.

Based on your earlier observations, a lack of any noise meant you were alone and you confirm it upon passing by the other cells (the two cells on your way to the door at least).

As you walked, you also thought about this "Boss" your captors kept on mentioning. Alba Faluk was a trading city along the Hogg's Crossing, a busy trade junction connecting the port city of Albons to the north and the rest of the Grassland Kingdoms. It started out as a place were wandering merchants decided to make a stop for caravans to rest and trade their goods, and as time passed, became a bustling city.

From what you heard, it was currently ruled by a merchant lord, who was reported to be the decendant of the first merchants that ran the place. He was told to be vicious and temperemental, and those who offended him were most probably put to death. But the general population agreed that he was fair when it came to upholding trade laws, and he did more than his share to keep the peace, and that was more than enough for a trading city. It was also this merchant lord that put on the ban for adventurers who wanted to dive the dungeon that appeared in the middle of the city a couple of months ago.

And from that, you gather three things: One, this "Boss" and the merchant lord should be one and the same. Two, if it was the merchant boss that wanted you captured, then those two and the rest responsible for your beating must be members of the city guards. And three, if those two were members of the city guard, then you were most probably in a prison somewhere.

[FreakyCheeseMan]

Henry paused for a moment, mulling over his newfound knowledge... and eyeing the windows through one of the cells. If this was only the second story, it was a tempting risk to take... but there was curiosity yet on the line.

Moving more quietly as he neared the door, Henry dropped to one knee, trying to see through the key hole or beneath the door itself, getting any notion he could of what lay on the other side.

Move Silently:
Spot (such as it is: [roll]1d20=4

[FreakyCheeseMan]

Let's try this again.
[roll0]

[GuyFawkes]

You crouch down and peep through the keyhole, but you can't make out anything. You do however, hear conversation. The source is somewhat far from the door, and the voices are a bit muffled, but you can barely make out what they're talking about. One of the voices was easily recognisable as Baccus, however the other one belonged to someone you did not know.

"And then, this huge man came yellin' at me, sayin' he could take me on, and I said sure, and so he sat down before me, stared at me like he's gonna kill me. I just sat there and smiled, and then BAM!! It was over a second after it began! Hahahahaha! Poor guy almost got his hand broke!"

"Hahaha! That fool! Had he been sober, he'd have known who he was challengin'! There's no one who could beat you!" came the high pitch voice of Baccus.

Then, a third voice joined in.

"Hey, Baccus. Where shall I put these?"

"What's that?"

"The prisoner's stuff."

"Oh, just put them in the back room. He's gonna die in an hour from now anyway, so we'll be holdin' a lottery who gets them. Hehehe."

[FreakyCheeseMan]

Henry paused, drumming his fingers once against the stone, quietly. So the guard hadn't been bluffing about his execution... once more Henry turned his head to stare at the window through the nearest cell door. Too quick jaunts - a talent he'd spent painful years perfecting - and one short fall, and he'd be free. The guards would keep his crossbow, but it wasn't that important too him... he still had his spellbook, not to mention these new powers.

But... the other treasure... and most importantly, that ornament. He had to find that ornament.

Henry inhaled deeply... no. He wasn't ready for a fight, not yet, and it wouldn't do to have these men learn of his abilities, newfound or otherwise. Better to come back another day. Still, he could at least try to get his own possessions back...

Henry leaned forward, keeping his ear to the door, trying to tell where the guard with his possessions was going, readying himself to leave in an instant if it seemed like they'd be coming through the door.

Readied action to jaunt into the nearest cell (with a window) if they start to open the door (and I'll try to jaunt the rest of the way out before they see me.)

Otherwise, just trying to tell if they're putting my stuff in a room near the door, or what.

[GuyFawkes]

"Damnit, no dibs? I suck at lottery," the voice of the man who called out to Baccus came.

"Yeah, no dibs, Haz," replied Baccus.

"Yeah, yeah," the man replied and steps could be heard, but they did not seem to come any closer. The sound of an open and closed door could be heard.

"So, he's really gonna get it? That prisoner, huh?"

"What? Oh, dunno. Up to the Boss, really. But you know him. Most probably he'd slash him at the moment he sees him. Who knows what the Boss will do? S'why you'd do well not to cross him."

"Hmm, yeah. I saw this one time, a thief was brought to him. He asked the man if he did it...poor bloke must've thought he'd get it off easy if he admitted, so he did. With a smile on his face, the Boss said he's free to go, then as the man came to shake his hand to show his gratitude, the Boss stuck him down right then and there. Said he should've just left. Ughh...you never know what he's gonna do."

"Yeah...but it is what it is," replied Baccus. "He gets everything good. Like what happened today. He gets the treasure, we get the bum that brought it out."

The conversation went on, and the two talked about trivial topics, like what they did the day before, or which among the wenches in the tavern close by they fancied the most. The man who came in earlier came out of whichever room he came, said his goodbyes and left. Then the two resumed idle talk.

[FreakyCheeseMan]

Henry listens to the rest of the exchange. He'd been playing with the idea of approaching the "Boss" directly and pursuing a job offer, but what he heard did not sound encouraging.

He pressed his ear up to the door a moment longer, the thought of his confiscated treasure burning in his mind. As threats went, the two guards did not sound particularly inspiring, but it wouldn't take much for the fight to go against him, if he chose to start one...

Henry bit his lip, finally making a decision, almost reluctantly letting go of the bars, eyes glancing up and down the hallway for an open cell with a window.

If he finds such a cell:

Henry grins slightly, stepping into the cell and pressing his face up against the window, staring down, trying to judge the distance before closing his eyes, bracing for impact even as he appears outside the walls, his short jaunt taking him as close to the ground as he could manage.

(Walk into cell, abrupt jaunt to get out and as far down as I can manage (10 foot distance, total), assuming the fall doesn't look too nasty. If allowed, burn another jaunt on the way down to minimize fall damage.

If all the window-having cells are closed:

Henry sighs, glancing around one last time before disappearing from the hallway, appearing just as suddenly within a nearby cell. Pressing himself to the window, he prepares for another jump, bringing himself the rest of the way outside and as close to the ground as he can manage.

(Abrupt jaunt into cell, same as above otherwise.)

[GuyFawkes]

You walk to the nearest cell and find that it is unlocked, and so you step in and walk close to the window. Without the bindings you could pull yourself up to see more of what's outside, but the small window still doesn't allow you to see what's directly below.

You press your face up against the window, staring down, trying to judge the distance before closing your eyes. In an instant you find yourself outside in mid air. Luckily you find that the cell you were at was not so high, your teleportation left you suspended only a few feet up, and you manage to touch the ground and roll relatively unharmed.

[FreakyCheeseMan]

Henry winces, checking around him quickly, taking a moment to shift his guise from the guard's face to a random disguise before setting off at a quick run, relying more on speed than stealth to get him away from the dungeon and lose himself in the town.

[GuyFawkes]

Without much pause you run through the maze of houses that lined the side of the prison building. From you reckoning it is around noon, and people are out and about, busy with what is normal in the busy trading city. Luckily, no one was there when you ported out and landed on the street, and so you run through the streets and alleyways without anybody giving you a second look.

After a few minutes or randomly turning corners, the streets become packed with more people, from different races, both peddlers and buyers. You are now in the heart of Alba Faluk: the marketplace.

[FreakyCheeseMan]

Henry slows from his run, catching his breath, a sense of elation welling up inside him - things were far from perfect, but he had discovered something new, something unique, and he'd lost nothing of consequence in the process. He'd have to go back later, of course... there had been far more of value there than he would ever willingly walk away from... but for now, he was free.

Free and poor; the tiny bit of money remaining to him had been lost along with his crossbow. Oh well, that would be easy enough to fix... and he had new abilities he was eager to experiment with.

Henry's gonna look around the market - right now he's just keeping his eyes open for opportunities. In particular, he's looking for people who seem to know eachother or be working together, who get separated - shop keepers who send their assistants off to retrieve something-or-other (or better yet, who leave their assistants to man the shop/stalls while they deal with other business), etc - but, mostly he's just listening to see if anything's going on that he could take advantage of.

[GuyFawkes]

You look around the busy marketplace, eyes and ears opened to any opportunity to make something of what you can do for some easy copper or more. Around you people are bustling to and fro, shouting and running, the noise and the commotions as well as the different stimuli that assault your senses keep you from focusing on your objective.

Suddenly, from your right, a column of men in leather armor bearing swords come running into traffic. Leading them is a familar tall, gangly man, shouting orders in a shrill voice for people to get out of the way. As they come closer, it becomes more unmistakeable; the man leading them was Baccus, and they were clearly looking for you.

[FreakyCheeseMan]

Henry steps back from the column of guards, quickly glancing about the crowd, trying to gauge their reaction and mimic it - though in truth, he isn't too concerned.

Assuming the guards don't pay any special attention to him, he's gonna try to keep his eyes on the market, see if anyone is abandoning their stall, looking away, etc.

[GuyFawkes]

You go about as others had, looking a bit how they reacted, all the while trying to see for an opportunity. Baccus passed merely inches from you and even looked at you for a second, but not tarrying and moving on with the other man.

"You! That way! You! Go that way! The rest, follow me!" he shouted his orders, and soon, they were gone.

Murmurs erupted from the people around you, questions asking what the commotion was all about, but after a minute or two, the hustle and bustle continued as if nothing happened.

It had taken you a while, but finally you managed to spot what you were looking for. Sort of. You find a rather plump, middle aged woman, a proprietress of a small stall that sold carpets from the south. You overheard her telling her workers to watch the stall while she checked on the new deliveries. She passed you by as she walked on her way, so you were able to take a good look at her face, her wardrobe, and whatever trinket she had on. She even threw you as smile as she did so before disappearing into traffic.

[FreakyCheeseMan]

Henry starts towards the shop with a grin on his face, already glancing about for a strongbox before stopping, re-considering. Truth be told, he was in no rush to rob the old woman, but more than that, he remembered just in time that his voice remained unaltered.

"Maybe there's an easier way..." he muttered to himself, turning to head for the Eastern part of the city, hoping to track down the offices of the Paragnostic Assembly. At best, they might be able to help him, and at worst... well, he owed them a report anyway.

[GuyFawkes]

Having thought of another way, you stop in your tracks and make your way back through the busy street and into the market central. You slowly weave through the heavy human and animal traffic and head for the the large road that leads to the eastern part of the city. Along the way, you meet one of the groups of guards or two, still running about trying to find you, but even as they cross paths with you, they were none the wiser.

As you reached the end of the market eastern street, the crowds thin and you are able to walk without bumping into another person. You ask your way around for the Assembly, and you were pointed to an unimposing building, almost derelict in fact.

[FreakyCheeseMan]

Henry pauses, staring up at the building for a moment, then glancing around quickly to make sure no guards were currently in sight. After making sure the coast was clear he quickly dropped his guise, resuming his natural face and stepping quietly into the building.

[GuyFawkes]

A busy atmosphere greets you as you walked through the almost dysfunctional door, people carrying boxes of scrolls and books here and there, others shouting orders. One of them almost collides with you as he made his way hurriedly towards the other end of the room, not really seeing where he was going due to the large box he carried obstructing his view. And as you guessed, it was only a matter of time before he crashed into something, and he did so against one of the shelves, knocking himd down on his bottom and sending the contents of his box scattered all over the floor.

"Hunt!! Again?! How many times is it this day?" came a loud voice, and you turned around to find the source of the voice to be an old female (or was it male, it was hard to disatinguish with them) elf. From the looks of it, she (he) seemed to be in charge of the place, as everyone seemed to cower as a reaction to her shouting.

"Pick those up and for Wee Jas' sake, stop carrying things too big for you to not see where you're going!" the elf said with a shake of the head and a sigh. Then she notices you and gives you a stern look.

"You! Who're you? What're you doing here?"

[FreakyCheeseMan]

"I'm here to make a report, actually. Would it be possible for us to speak in private?" Henry responds, eyes glancing quickly around the room, making a mental note to spend some time reading here before he leaves.

[GuyFawkes]

The elf eyed you appraisingly for a few seconds before speaking.

"Kahr, take charge. Make sure these idiots get the job done on time," she said to one middle-aged man sitting down and writing something to her left, who nodded in response. Then she turned back to you.

"Come with me," she said as she turned and walked towards the back part of the building. The large room ended into a hallway, and you entered the first door to the right.

"Close the door behind you," the elderly elf said as she opened the door and went in. The room is small, with nothing much in it besides a desk and a small bookshelf to the side. The elf circled around and on the chair behind the desk.

"Sit down."

As you settled down on to the chair in front of the desk, she added, "State your name, your affiliation to the Assembly and begin your report." She grabbed one of the blank scrolls on the desk and a pen.

[FreakyCheeseMan]

"My name is Henry Augustus. I'm an initiate with the Assembly, but have no formal rank as of now," Henry starts, eyes darting about the room as he talks, studying the woman across from him only briefly. "And a few days ago, I made my way through this city's dungeon. While the local ruler seems to have taken offence with my actions, I did discover... well..."

Henry begins to speak at length, detailing his discoveries within the dungeon, as well as everything he knows of Binding.

[GuyFawkes]

The sound of pen scraping on paper was the only sound in the room besides your voice, and it kept on a few minutes after you finished your report. When she was done, the elf looked at you.

"Interesting," she began, though her face showed anything but. "Well, this confirms reports we had received from other members who were successful in completing dungeons. Henry Augustus, you say? Well, to your credit, we never had anyone as low as barely an Initiate able to do the job, so either you're good, or extremly damn lucky."

The elf looked down at the report again and browsed through it. "You mentioned there was a hoard of treasures in the central room. Where are they now? Any interesting items, or artifacts perhaps?"

[FreakyCheeseMan]

"Both, in all likelyhood," Augustus replied, answering both comments. "However, either my luck or my skill ran out on the way out, and I was... briefly detained, for my troubles. I believe the goods are still held by the local authority, though I have every intention of reclaiming them."

[GuyFawkes]

The elf looked at you again at the mention of the local authorities and sighed.

"I had feared that. Nevermind getting it back. We are already at odds with the merchant lord as it is now - you might have noticed the sorry state of this building. We could have taken more...drastic response, but that is not who we are. We are fortunate to not have been kicked out of the city completely. Nevertheless, with you conquering the dungeon, most of our work here is done anyway."

"Leave the recovery of those artifacts to us. We will take care of it somehow." The elf began rolling up the scroll, placed it in a case and put it on the shelf beside the desk. She then returned to her chair, sat down, placed her hands locked together on top of the desk, and looked at you.

"What you have done will not go unnoticed. Surely after I submit this report, your position in the Assembly will improve. For now, I gather you need to be scarce around these parts, and I have exactly the opportunity for that. A mission."

She pushed a sealed parchment over to you.

"Should you choose to accept."

The elf then stood up and walked around the desk, past you, and towards the door.

"If you do take it, you will not be working alone. You will meet with him tomorrow at day break at the market. More precisely, he will find you. Then you leave." At this point she reached the door, opened it, and motioned for you to exit.

"Before then, I suggest you stay here. All the resources here are for your perusal, of course. We also have a room at the back where the rest of the staff sleep, you can stay there for the night. And we have a few provisions you might need. Just ask Hunt, that clumsy brat you saw earlier. Any more questions, ask me or Kahr if I am not present."

With that, she turned her back on you and went towards the man whom she called Kahr, and the two engaged in discussion, from what you hear, about organizing the items and books.

Basically, shopping worth 250gp. For potions and scrolls, ask for what you want and let me see if they're available.