Aveliene leaned in the doorway, taking in the sights and sounds of the great city of Novak. The shimmering heat of so many bodies in the street, the thick odor of animal manure that dropped from the various beasts of burden and lay on the streets before the sweepers could get to it, the combined smells of a dozen different culture's food all mixed together, and the tang of salt air. She was close enough to the great ports that the ocean air occasionally swept away the rest of the smells.

She was dressed in leather armor, thick leather straps with metal buckles adorning the arms and legs. Her blood red hair was tightly braided and stuffed beneath the armor. The inhuman planes of her face were covered by the plump softness of a human woman, her eyes a bright green and her cheeks chubby. She wore Von-Lon imperial army boots, with a pair of jackal-men daggers tucked into them. At her waist she carried a folding spear and a short sword.

Her work clothes.

Sighing with the knowledge that she couldn't just stare at the vast teeming mass of city life forever, that she had a chore to do for her Step-Mother, she pushed herself out of the doorway and smoothly moved into the crowds heading for the Great Gates of Novak. From there she could use her own reputation and the reputation of her Step-Mother to have a gate warden activate passage to the wreckage of the Kingdom of Shulafta.

The crowds jostled her as she made her way through the city, taking time to enjoy the sights and sounds. There a merchant was bartering with a massive undead clad in the armor of the Iron Legion. Here a prostitute was leaving a carriage, her hair and silk clothing exquisitely immaculate. Over by that corner as troupe of jugglers and fire breathers performed for the gathered crowd, gathering coins as they plied their skill in return for sustenance. In the air flying mounts swooped, carpets sped, and arcane casters supported themselves with their own power. All of the sights gathered together melded into one huge vibrant example of life that showed that even though the Lich Kings had been thrown down, even though IV and Gor DuMay were dead, life went on.

It was nearly evening, and Aveliene had walked nearly a dozen miles deeper into the city, toward the great mesa known as The Anvil of Novak, to reach the huge emerald field where the Great Gates of Novak hurtled travellers to dozens of destinations within the Six Worlds. She stood in line, humming the ballad from the great elven opera Last Leaf of Summer while she waited, remembering the last time she had performed before an audience in the lavish opera house that was the jewel of Novak Eck's noble entertainment.

Finally she stood before a thin weedy man, who had combed the hair on the sides of his head across to cover a huge balding spot, and from the scent that Aveliene's sensitive nostrils could detect he had used herb infused animal fat to keep his hair to badly conceal the fact he was going bald. The man eyed her coldly, thinking she was another sell-sword, or some penniless mercenary hoping to get cheap travel to one of the kingdoms struggling to reassert their authority in some war ravaged land.

"May I help you?" The words of the Second Trade Tongue nearly dripped with condescension, and he lifted on eyebrow imperiously.

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"I need a gate to the Kingdom of Shulafta." Aveliene smiled.

The man harrumphed and checked the sheets of paper in front of him, searching for the cost of a gate. After a few moments he gave up and stared at Aveliene coldly. "There is no service to that location, ma'am, do you have another destination that may be closer as it appears that there is no gate terminus where you desire to go?"

Aveliene opened a pouch and felt around inside for her Step-Mother's token. "It would not be an active gate, the kingdom was lost during the Lich King war."

"Then I'm afraid we will not be able to accommodate you." The man tried to brush her off.

"I'm afraid I must insist." The token dropped from Aveliene's hand and onto the man's desk.

"Despite what you might think,Hi the Gate Society does not..." When his eyes finally fell to the token his pompous lecture ended in a strangled gasp. On the upright side of the token a black rose was held by a white palm, the stem winding around the thumb, the thorn digging into the flesh with little red specks to denote blood.

"I'm afraid I must insist." Aveliene repeated, pulling the man's bulging eyes from the token to her own. She smiled widely, letting her camouflage drop enough that instead of the small and even white teeth she would normally show he saw the serrated interlocked triangles of her natural dentation. "I'm sure you understand."

With a few frantic gestures the civil servant managed to wave over a woman in a white naka-wool robe, the edging and the embroidery on the cuffs denoting a higher ranking than the man Aveliene stood before, the bleached fabric in contrast to the woman's dark skin. As she approached, the balding man stood up and bowed.

"Is there a problem, Denar?" She asked the balding man, her voice cool and professional.

"I'm afraid so, Mistress Uhline," The balding man said, trying to wave both at the token and at Aveliene in the same movement. Sweat mixed with grease was beginning to run down his forehead.

"How so?" The woman asked, turning to face Aveliene. To her credit only her nostrils flared slightly when she recognized who stood before her.

"I require transport to the Kingdom of Shulafta, to do the bidding of my beloved Step-Mother." Aveliene said, bowing her head slightly to acknowledge the other woman's rank.

"Shulafta you say?" The woman's brow furrowed for a moment. "Ah, yes, I recognize the name." She sighed deeply and stared into Aveliene's eyes. "Sadly, the forces that overran the kingdom during the war not only destroyed the gate there, but also damaged the magical weave when the Younger King Xerinies was destroyed several years ago during Warlord Bloody Elshon's campaign."

Aveliene felt a burn of irritation. She'd spent all day walking to the Meadow of Gates only to find out that she'd have to take the High Roads instead, something she could have done without wasting an entire day. Now it would take another day to reach somewhere that the High Roads could be accessed easily.

"Please understand, we mean no disrespect to yourself or your honored Step-Mother's house." The woman said, and Aveliene could smell the fear on the woman that belied the calm words. The man behind the desk was terrified, and the smell of it almost overwhelmed Aveliene's senses and made it so that she had to restrain herself from leaping on the small man and devouring her.

His fear made between her legs throb in tune with her heartbeats.

"I believe you meant no insult, honorable Gate Keepers." Aveliene answered, reaching down and picking up her Step-Mother's token. She dropped it back into the pouch and buckled it closed with one hand, her long fingers working dexterously.

Aveliene bowed to each of them, then turned and left the building.

Behind her both of the civil servants felt their knees go weak as they finally let their fear show.

It wasn't every day that someone got to deny the leader of the Wraithkiller what they desired and survive.