“Warehouse 45A…53B” Erlia silently counted the warehouse numbers as they blurred by her, the sound of her heels clicking on the floor echoing loudly. As she rushed past them, startled workers jumped out of her way to avoid being knocked over. Ignoring every ache her body had, she continued to push herself forward and recalled the details of an ad that a city official posted on the message board of the tavern she was eating lunch at a few days ago.
‘“The city’s Trade Association is looking for a group adventurers to help escort a wagon of goods to Phandalin! Experience is not a requirement but you do need to be able to handle yourself should you encounter bandits! For each adventurer that takes the job will be paid 15 crowns up front! We will be meeting on the 18th of September at Warehouse 64B!”
Much to Erlia’s frustration, it was clear that the city officials were mainly looking for local adventurers. There weren’t any directions on how to find this ‘Warehouse 64B’ or the district it's located in. She hadn’t been in Uladora for long- had arrived a little over a week ago- and still wasn’t familiar with the city’s layout, so she hadn’t known where most of the districts were. Thankfully while at the tavern she’d grabbed breakfast this morning, the bartender had given her directions to the warehouses and where the warehouse district was before reminding her that today was the 18th. Of course she had completely forgotten and leaped up from her booth, thanking the bartender as she rushed out the door.
After throwing everything she owned- which wasn’t much- into her duffle bag, she took off down the main road towards the warehouse district. Erlia didn’t even have the chance to braid her hair or check her provisions thoroughly. She wasn’t even sure if she had preplanned her budget for the trip, but that was going to have to wait until she was at the warehouse.
As Erlia rounded the corner, almost colliding with an elderly man, who glared at her and grumbled about the poor manners of today's youth. She desperately wanted to snap back at him. If the last 15 years or so had taught her anything, it was that the elderly who were most likely to throw their manners into the wind, not the young. But she kept this thought to herself, instead opting to throw a quick apology over her shoulder.
Trying to go over the mission details in her head, Erlia blindly dodged around potted plants and almost knocked over a small stack of boxes. The contents clanked angrily for a few seconds before settling down with a quiet rattle that lasted longer than it needed to. “Warehouse 59C, 63 D…. 64B is right there!!” Erlia wanted to jump for joy when she saw the big black numbers scrawled on the side of the building to her right. Bringing her run into a light jog, she slowed down enough to examine the building. Judging by its appearance alone, it was clear that the workers who used this building did not care much about maintaining it. It was a large old and decrepit cement building with bits of sharp rusted rebar poking out and splashes of green ivy growing along the edges. The massive wood and steel door looked like it would fall off of its hinges if one were to bump into it hard enough. And from the scent hanging in the air, Erlia could tell that there was something either dead or molding nearby.
In front of the warehouse sat a stack of boxes; One was about her height with three smaller boxes haphazardly stacked on top of it, and the second was the largest box she’d ever seen. Moving the smaller boxes onto the floor so that she could sit on the bottom box, she placed her hands on her knees and took deep breaths. Erlia could feel her heart rapidly beating in her chest, and could’ve sworn that the workers scrambling to their work stations could hear it. With each gentle heave of her chest, she could feel her pulse go through her entire body. Over the sound of rushing blood in her ears, she could hear a grumpy sounding man speaking from inside the building in front of her.
“We’ll give it another half hour to allow others to join us,” His voice drifted through the crack in the door. “But then this wagon needs to be off. Phandalin needed these supplies yesterday and the Trade Association will not tolerate any more delays! I will be discussing the topic of your pay with you once I’ve returned with the wagon and horse.”
The door then swung open as a silver haired guard came out, his armor clanking with every step he took. If he noticed Erlia sitting there, he paid her no mind and continued on his way. As she watched the guard disappear behind the building, a reflecting glint caught her attention and she turned to see what it was. It was a tall thin mirror with an arched ivory white frame and vine decals winding around the side. Erlia froze when she looked at her reflection; Staring back at her with wide amber eyes and a flushed face, was a woman who looked like she had lost a fight with one of the bramble bushes near her temporary camp site. Her long, red and wavy waist length hair was poking up in weird directions and all sorts of tangled. Rolling her eyes in annoyance , she slid the duffle bag hanging off her hip onto her lap and unzipped it.
After rummaging around for a minute, she paused with her hands holding the sides open as panic washed over her. “Please tell me that I didn’t forget my hair brush…” Frowning at the bag, she hoisted it onto a nearby table, angling the giant glow crystal above her to shine down onto it. Her hand plunged back into the pile of clothes and dug around until she felt the cold metal handle. Brush in hand, she walked over to the mirror and began dragging the stiff bristles through her hair, wincing each time they got caught in a mess of hair.
Once her hair was brushed and tied into a neat long braid, Erlia pushed the massive door open and walked in. The warehouse’s interior was large and spacious, with various shelves holding boxes of varying sizes and other knick knacks. Towards the back of the room was another door identical in size to the one she just came through. In the center of the room sat a circular table, maps and blueprints scattered across its smooth shiny surface. Erlia could also see that three people had already arrived before her. The man farthest to her was standing with his shoulder pressed up against a shelf, his long light colored hair falling down his back like a gentle waterfall. His pale skin glowed a hazy orange as the lantern hanging above the table flickered and danced. His clothes were different hues of charcoal gray, shimmery gold decals ran down the sides of his pants. His shirt had a bunch of tiny silver chains that connected in a way that made it look like a ribcage. Judging from the quiver on his back, Erlia assumed that he must be a bow user.
The way he spoke no words and his intimidating presence told Erlia that she should be very careful around him, but she was certain that her imagination was running wild again. Yet still…Something about this man did not sit right with her… Feeling her hackles raise in silent alarm, she tore her eyes away from him and instead focused on examining the other two men.
Sitting at the northern side of the table and leaning back in his chair, sat a man who looked a couple feet shorter than Erlia. His short, wispy, blonde hair was combed in a way that made it point upwards, it reminded Erlia of a type of floss candy she tried a few weeks ago while at a festival. He wore ivory white armor with gold trims, silver shoulder pads with a gold cross on the tops, and a long cape that had clearly seen better days. On his right side, was a sheathed greatsword propped up against his hip. He was also gently humming an old nursery song Erlia often heard bards sing to their awestruck audiences. His eyes were closed and his Adam’s Apple gently bopped with each note.
If her memory was correct, the song in question originated from a little over 300 years ago during a nameless war that took place between two kingdoms here in Stapponia. The story was about a pair of young stars who fell from the heavens and were kept here by a god, forcing the older star to go on a perilous journey to find his sister. By the time the star had completed his journey, he had amassed large secrets about the world and the gods who held dominion over it.
The man sitting across from him was around Erlia’s height. His curly dark brown hair cascaded down his back in tight ringlets, and his beard was neatly separated into two braids. His brow was furrowed in concentration as he read through the book in his hand, the only noise coming from him was the occasional page turning over. His clothes had golden decals of an ancient dwarven clan but Erlia could not place which one. The dwarves are known throughout the land as friendly and cheerful, but also fierce and protective. His porcelain skin took on a light pink color around his cheeks and his face was round. Erlia remembered that wizards aren’t that common in this part of the continent and pondered on what kind of spells this man specialized in. The man seemed to be more interested in this book than what was happening around him, so she decided to leave him be for now and lowered herself onto the chair in front of her.
The silence that engulfed the room was tense and awkward, but other than a few awkward glances at one another, no one made any attempt to disturb it. Erlia suddenly felt very uncomfortable, wishing that she had brought some books to read while they waited for the silver haired guard to come back. At some point, the man who was leaning against the wall had joined the rest of them at the table and sat down. Arms patiently crossed in front of him and his elbows touching the table’s smooth surface. The blonde man began entertaining himself by throwing wadded up pieces of parchment across the room, what he was trying to accomplish, Erlia could not tell but she watched as the paper balls flew by her and landed near the door. Noticing this, blondie gave her a mischievous look and threw one in her direction, which she caught with viper-like reflexes before throwing it back to him.
“Well….” He said, with a sarcastic edge to his voice as he placed his chin on his knuckles. With a playful edge to his tone, he went on, “You three sure are chatty, how bout we go around the table and introduce ourselves and tell each other why we’re here in Uladora?”
His chair let out a small groan as he stood up with a hand on his chest, his caramel eyes gleaming in the lanterns glow, “My name is Harry Olaf, and I am from the city of Mzarok. I came here to fulfill my dream of taking on adventuring after being stuck in the mines for too long.”
Now the decals on his clothes made sense to Erlia, they were the symbols from the clan of Dwarves that lived in the underground city. Mzarok is a dwarven keep, hidden deep beneath the earth, well known as one of the wealthiest gold mines. Many of Stapponia’s legends about the Dwarves came from that very city. And although very few have entered its grand archways, the dwarves who live there do not hesitate to welcome newcomers with fresh mead and a feast.
“Mzarok?” The blonde asked, curiosity edging his voice. “That’s up near the Algna Mountains, right? Name’s Kalistine Troster, by the way. Nothin’ too interesting about me, though, just that I am short on cash.”
“Mm,” The dwarf hummed, eyeing the half elf sitting next to Erlia, pointing at him. “And you, sir?”
“Name’s Basdavaris Neilo, but you can just call me Neilo. I’ve lived in Uladora all my life and have quite the reputation with the guards, though I don’t want to get into it right now. I am looking for something new to do and figured this job would be a start.”
Erlia was surprised when she heard how soft Neilo’s voice was. For someone whose presence is intimidating, his voice certainly does not match the aura he possesses.
“And you, lass?”
Erlia hesitated once the dwarf’s finger landed on her and thought about what to say very carefully, she could not risk letting the others know that she was dragonborn just yet. Especially not while they were in the city, she could not be sure that Ragnorak hadn’t infiltrated the city’s government and she most certainly was not going to tip them off on her whereabouts.
The dragonborn are a race that are a mix between a dragon and a humanoid creature. Some dragonborn are born with scales, wings, or other dragon characteristics. Other dragonborns, like Erlia who was a mix of dragonborn and elven, are born as completely humanoid with very minor dragon characteristics. It all depends on your dragonborn parent’s genetics and how far in your family tree your draconic ancestor is. However, in this world, it doesn’t matter if you have horns on your head or pass as completely human, if you exist, you are dangerous. Many people across the land believe that the dragonborn would one day rise up and retake their Sovereign ancestors’ authority and use it to force other races to bow to their whim. Others simply believe that anyone of Dragon blood is dangerous and would be better off living in rural areas or dead. There are very few places where dragon kin can exist without placing targets on their backs, so most prefer to live deep within the wilderness or in rural areas where the population is tiny, but even in those rural towns…There is a target on your back.
It doesn’t help that about a decade ago, a cult whose sole purpose was to eradicate the dragonborns’ very existence rose up and began infiltrating governing branches. In a sick twist of irony, the cult members all use draconic powers or are dragonborn themselve, solidifying most peoples’ beliefs that the dragonborn are inherently dangerous. On top of that, they’ve been launching attacks on the villages where dragonborn are known to live. Though the residents in those villages don’t take too kindly to one of their own being harmed, they’d sooner turn the dragonborns over than risk a full-blown war. Especially when income and supplies are hard to come by, such is the side effect of the trade war that took place a century ago. One such casualty was Monthira, Erlia’s hometown. Reduced to ash, rubble, gone. She still couldn’t believe that she’d never see another smile on old man Harold’s face or taste some of Ms Shuito’s homemade sweet rolls again. Or hear Feylynn’s beautiful voice singing her to sleep while Aria tucked her in.
Fresh grief washed over Erlia as she recounted each memory she had in Monthira…Ah, to be able to go home again, to run through the hidden trails of Wayurn Forest, to taste the wind on her tongue as she faced the hillside and laid in the golden barley. The memories and sensations gradually faded as she opened her mouth to speak, drawing her back to the present.
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“I am Erlia.” She said, wiping her clenched hands across her forearms. It had been 5 years since Monthira met its demise, and the only thing Erlia really wanted was to hunt down the cult’s leader, who the members only call her Majesty, and make her pay. However, any information about the cult and its leader or where their headquarters is located is very hard to come by. The lackeys that are sent to attack villages are too low on the totem pole to be of any use and the ones tasked with infiltrating governments are too well protected. Other than risking becoming a fugitive and attacking the High Council members directly, waiting until someone catches up to her was the only option.
Besides, she had another mission to accomplish, though it was more to sait her own curiosity.
Years ago, when they had first found her in some ancient ruins and took her in, Erlia’s adoptive parents petitioned the council of Sages to look through the memories contained within the roots of the Aetheris Arbor in order to look for her parents. The Aetheris Arbor is said to be a gargantuan willow growing deep underground with its roots spreading to every corner of the world. Legends say that the tree was planted by a primordial being from another world who had the power to encapsulate a person’s memory and control time.
Right before Monthira was attacked, the town’s only sheriff knocked on her door and told her that their search for Erlia’s birth parents had come up with a new discovery. More specifically the name of her birth mother, Phantilia Mour, and the last place she was last recorded at. Allegedly a retired adventurer who worked as a seamstress for a long since abandoned clothing factory before being called back to the world of purging dungeons and collecting ancient artifacts. Her last known location had been right here in Uladora, though the details of why or how long ago were obfuscated. Sadly, the Arbor did not have any information on her father, which likely meant that he did not originate from this world or had chosen to keep himself hidden from the ancient willow’s gaze.
“And I am here to track down information on my parents,” Erlia continued, fidgeting with her left glove. “Or more specifically, my mother.”
“Hmm, intriguing.” The Dwarf said thoughtfully,”And you are a wizard as well, correct? I sensed your power a while ago, and I've got to say, I’ve never encountered someone with that level of magic energy before.”
“Sorceress, actually.” Erlia responded. While the two often overlap, there is a distinct difference between a wizard and a sorcerer. A wizard is someone who is taught how to grasp the elements and control them, while sorcerers are able to do so naturally from birth.
“A sorceress…Hmmm” Harry rubbed his chin, curiosity growing on his face. His mouth opened to ask Erlia another question, but the large front door opened announcing the guard’s return. The silver haired man looked annoyed as he guided a large black horse with small white spots into the building. The wagon the horse was pulling was filled with large boxes, each containing different supplies. The guard eventually let go of the lead and clanked over to the table, placing a small bag on it. A nervous looking worker followed hesitantly, clutching a small stack of papers.
“The commissioner has asked me to give you your payment up front,” He said, eyeing each of them in turn. “ and go over the route you’ll be taking.” Everyone had gotten up to get a good look at the map and was leaning over the guard’s shoulder. He took a silver gloved hand and dragged it along a path. “This is the route you’ll be taking, although be warned. This particular route is rife with bandits looking for an easy target.” He stood back to talk to workers while everyone else crowded around the map and divided the pay among them.
“This isn’t right..” Neilo frowned at the paper notes in his hand as he counted and divided them between the party members, then turned on the guard. “The ad promised that the commissioner will pay each person that took the job 15 crowns each…This is 10 crowns, we are missing 5.” Erlia counted her share and sure enough, the guard had shorted them 5. Annoyed, she also turned to the guard and glared at him. “What Neilo says is correct…We were promised 15, not 10.” She spoke, trying to keep her voice even as anger began to simmer deep in her chest. The guard’s only response to the accusations was a snort, which made her want to throw him through the wall.
The guard dismissed the worker he was talking to with a wave and glared at the both of them. Clearing his throat, he said, “As it so happens, the commissioner is short on cash at the moment. But rest assured, he will give you the rest of your pay once you’ve completed the mission at hand.”
With a sigh, Neilo crossed his arms. “Either you give us the payment we were promised, or this wagon stays in the city.”
“Do you honestly believe that you’re in the position to be making these kinds of demands?” The guard retorted crossly. “You will be given the rest of your pay once the job is finished and only when the job is finished!”
While Neilo argued with the guard, something small moving behind the silver haired man caught Erlia’s eye. Turning to look at it, her eyes widened with shock. Quietly tiptoeing along the wall towards the guard was Kalistine. The short man was slightly hunched over with his eyes fixed on the guard's back pocket. Seeing that Erlia had noticed him, he placed a finger over his mouth and gave her a wink before reaching into the guard’s pocket. Recovering a small wallet, he tiptoed his way along the wall back towards the table. Somehow not noticing this, the guard eventually huffed at Neilo before leaving.
The horse looked bored as it eyed the party, as if it just wanted the journey to be over. It didn’t take a liking to any of them but did allow Erlia to approach and take the reins. As she climbed onto the driver’s seat, the others began climbing into the back, moving some boxes around to make it more comfortable to sit. “Before I forget, I managed to snag us a little something.” Kalistine smirked and opened the guard’s wallet, handing everyone the rest of the pay they were promised before leaving it on the table. And then they were off, chattering away about interesting things they’ve managed to learn through their travels.
Erlia felt like it had been days since the party began its journey, but she knew that it had been only a few hours. Her hands ached from holding the reins and she was sure that her rear was about to fall off from sitting too long. As the sun slowly disappeared behind the trees, the temperature had gradually dropped to a comfortable chill. Behind her, Kalistine and Neilo were in the middle of a heated argument that she had stopped listening to a while ago. She had managed to gather something about one of Uladora’s founding members being the strongest war general the city had seen, but soon stopped listening.
With a small gasp, Erlia gently tugged on the reins, urging the horse to stop. Shocked and curious, she examined the surrounding forest as the chatter behind her quieted. The clearing they stopped in was large, with scorched earth and blackened aspens as far as the eye can see. Though there were some shrubs and bushes with green leaves, it looked like the undergrowth hadn’t fully grown yet. Beyond the gentle song of crickets and the horse’s spooked snorts, a hush that sent an alarmed shiver down Erlia’s spine fell over the forest. She guessed that whatever had happened here had scared away other animals.
“What on earth do you think caused that?” Harry asked, also noticing the surrounding trees.
“I don’t know, and I don’t think I want to find out.” Kalistine answered, taking in the site ahead of them.
“It was a dragon,” Neilo said in a hushed voice, warily climbing off of the wagon. “About a century ago, a dragon attacked this part of the forest. While I am sure that it has since moved on, we should keep an eye out for anything else unusual.” Narrowing his eyes and glancing between Erlia and the horse, both of whom looked ready to keel over from exhaustion, he added. “We should also stop here for the night, we’ll pick up the pace once we have daylight again.”
With a groan of relief, she slid off the front of the wagon and stretched, enjoying the nice cool breeze that swept through the clearing. Cold air tickled her exposed abdomen as she put one arm up in the air and the other in front of her, twisting her body to and fro. The forest was quiet except for a cacophony of crickets and frogs, and the gentle rustle of leaves dancing in the wind. Feeling more relaxed than she had in days, Erlia looked up at the twinkling stars, enjoying the scent of grass and the forest ambience. Then the calming atmosphere was disturbed by a small squawk of alarm, a muffled thud and then laughter. Turning in the direction the noises came from, she saw Kalistine on the ground rubbing his lower back and Harry holding his sides with one arm as his body shook uncontrollably. The lantern in the dwarf's hand swung wildly with each cackle that fell from him.
As Harry fought to regain his composure, the blonde grumbled and staggered to his feet, swiping his hands across the back of his pants. Erlia could hear the dwarf gasp an apology before succumbing to another fit of laughter, Kalistine shrugged and let out a small chuckle as well. “Gravity obviously has some kind of vendetta against me!” He joked.
Shaking her head, Erlia turned away and began scanning the edges of the clearing. Towards the back, half hidden behind a young aspen and a berry bush, she could see the silhouette of a dead log. Dead leaves crunched under feet as she walked over to inspect it. Crouching down, she rapped her knuckles against the log. Not hearing any forest critters or any large splinters fall off, she then climbed on top of it and gave it a good bounce. Other than a heart racing lurch to one side, the log was perfectly intact and sturdy. Perfect for sitting on while everyone ate.
The footsteps of the others told her that they had busied themselves with setting up the camp. The large rhythmic hammering and humming sounds meant that Harry was busy setting up his tent. The small and quiet footsteps rustling in the forest towards her left meant that Kalistine had gone to gather dry twigs and branches to use as firewood. Wondering what Neilo was doing, she angled her pointed ears slightly and heard him quietly placing large stones down somewhere behind her.
found us a good log to sit on!!” Erlia called over her shoulder, grabbing onto the large branch stumps that putted out from either side. It was a good thing that the log hadn't rolled over when she gave it a bounce test, otherwise she would have had a very long and painful night…
Narrowing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she gave it a strong pull. The log was slightly heavier than she was expecting, but nonetheless it moved. After a few breathless heaves back towards where Neilo was building a fire pit, the log was finally in the correct place. Relieved, Erlia grunted coarsely and threw her arms over it. As much as she wanted to just lay there and go to sleep, she still needed to pitch her tent. Reluctantly, she walked over to a flat area that was close enough to the fire to ensure warmth but not so close that one could set their tent on fire. Reaching into her duffle bag, she pulled out the pack that contained her tent and its support poles, then began setting the tent up.
Around half an hour later, everyone had their tents up and either sitting on the log Erlia found or on the ground, watching as Harry rotated a bunch of charred looking salmon on 4 spits above the fire. Although they had brought very few spices to work with, the scent of freshly cooked fish made Erlia’s mouth water. She so desperately just wanted to rip a salmon off and begin digging her teeth into it but she held herself back, recalling Feylynn’s warnings about improperly cooked fish containing brain eating parasites.
“Alright,” Harry said as his stomach started growling. “Food’s done!! Be careful, though, it is fresh off the fire.”
“Finally,” Kalistine groaned dramatically, reaching for a spit as Harry held it out to him. “I’m certain my stomach would’ve started eating itself.”
As everyone grabbed their spits and began eating, the crickets and frogs continued their orchestra. Somewhere in the distance, an owl hooted, making Erlia’s arm hair stand on end. A faint crunch suddenly sounded a little ways away behind her, too quiet to not have been heard by the others, but also not so quiet it slipped by her sharp ears. Snapping her head towards the forest behind her and surveyed the darkened trees warily. She could have sworn she’d heard something in the underbrush, almost like footsteps.
“Something wrong?” Kalistine asked, noticing that the red haired woman was on edge and locked onto the forest behind them. He had a tent pack up underneath his arm and had been walking towards an empty flat area between Neilo’s and Erlia’s tents.
“It’s probably nothing,” Erlia responded slowly, as if she didn’t want to alert whoever or whatever was lurking nearby, “but I thought I’d heard something.” A strange sense of foreboding washed over her as she spoke, but she couldn’t quite place it. Standing up and stretching, she decided that it must have been her imagination. Surely no sane person, other than them, could be out in the woods at this time of night. “Just in case, I’ll let Neilo know before I hit the sack” She thought to herself. Exhaustion made her limbs heavy as she walked over towards where the man was securing the horse to a tree. Quickly, she told him about what she’d thought she’d heard and told him to be extra vigilant just in case.
A sudden flurry of curses sprang up next to them, making them both jump slightly. Then Erlia relaxed, rolling her eyes as Neilo groaned and drug his hand down his face. The scent of burning cloth and rapid stamping sounds was all Erlia needed to know; Kalistine had managed to set his tent up too close to the fire and was trying to put it out. “If it's not bandits we have to worry about, then it’s most certainly keeping Kalistine alive..” She thought with a flash of amusement. With an exasperated sigh, Neilo nodded at Erlia and made a final pass at the horse before positioning himself in the center of the camp, scanning the surroundings.
The cool night air, combined with a full belly and a warm blanket made it hard for her to not immediately fall into a deep sleep. She lay in her tent for a while, feeling like she was floating away from her body yet also bound to the sleeping sack beneath her. “Such a strange feeling…” Was her last thought before the slow and comforting grasp slumber finally took hold of her.