The portal and beyond (Early TT Chyril 26th)

[Langredoc]

The man was confused while he stumbled out of the portal, he remembered that he entered it at Trothgard, and now he had arrived somewhere else. His first thought was ...Its warm... second Where am I ? ....Third where the nether was Hex ?..... and that's how it went on until..

Why was it dark ?

Langredoc opened his left eye,,, a groan left his lips, because he had never seen this place before.. So he opened his other eye, still the same. Thanks Red Warrrior !

Well nothing was attacking him, so that was at least a positive sign,,,

[Hex da`Bergliin]

From the other side Hex had watched Langredoc go through. She tossed the two cubs in after him and stepped through herself.

...

She was not fully healed, not by a long shot, but she was able to stand on her own two feet. Her gear bundled at her back, glaive in hand she stepped through.

Unfinished business...

The thought left her as she stepped into Langredoc.

"What the...where are we?"

[Langredoc]

The man was pleased to see Hex passing through the whatever the thing was. At least she was a familiar face,,, On the other hand, having a woman around would be a sure thing for calling in trouble, wherever this place was. He padded the two cups to keep from making too much noise.

Several things had to be done, but first a reply to Hex was in order.. "Nether knows that I don't know where in the world this place is. But please keep the frigid Goddess of you at bay. We never know what happens if you start doing whatever your supposed to do when you call her. What I know for sure is that we need money... because I am out of cash, you where not the best employer I had in that area.. Maybe someone needs a bodyguard or something here."

Langredoc checked Hex out, "Yeah I better make some money so you can recover... what if you stay here and I walk around for a while ?"

[Hex da`Bergliin]

Hex smacked him in the back of the head.

"We need money to fix my armour, the rest of me will heal just fine."

Hex snorted as her eyes started to adjust to the gloom.

"I thought the other woman was going to be coming with us..."

Hex looked around the place she was.

"I have been both a mercenary and a bodyguard. It will feel good not to have the weight of the world upon me fro a while. There us much to do before we go back."

Hex snapped her jaw and went to go...nowhere.

"Right, we should find a place to...stay. Lead on he of the warm lands."

[Langredoc]

Langredoc sighed when Hex smacked him on the back of the head and suppressed his first impulse.. that was grab the woman and surely try to kick her ass so hard that those cold eyes would bounds of the walls... Still he didn't do that he just turned around and said "If you do that again I am going to smack or kick you so hard that you have to scrape your eyes of the whateverthisplacemaybe's walls. I am not one of those slimy almost slave males of yours. Besides that, those are also not really what they used to be, so welcome to the real world... Maybe you eaven have to smile at men now... " After a flicker he resumes "Please don't I don't want them screaming in panic when your wolfish grin scares them.. And bloody hell you need rest, your body took enough from the blessing of your Goddess........... I am not going to wait much longer if she doesn't arrive soon enough I am going to find us a place to stay, and you are going to take a rest..."

Annoyed he crossed his arms and waited.

[Eyrekra da' Waelkyrige]

It was hard for Eyrekra to leave her grams, but grams was determined to stay, and wait for her daughter. Eyrekra watch as Hex, and Langredoc enter the portal. She inhaled deeply and walked forward. Before she could finish exhaling she was walking out the other side. The portal left Eyrekra a bite dazed, but non the worst for the experience. She heard Langredoc speak of her, while both him and Hex were bickering.

"Sorry I took so long Langerdoc, I had to say goodbye to my grandmother." "You two talk to loud." "I heard you two 'talking' all the way back in Trothgard." "You are right Langredoc we need to get Hex a warm place to rest, and Hex you need to take the time to rest."

"Hex you need to let me and Langredoc worry about the little things." "Here." Eyerkra pulls out her purse from somewhere on her body. She puts her purse into Langredoc hand. "This should give us a start." Eyrekra smiles at Langredoc, then turned away. "I expect re-payment some day soon." Her purse has one Crown, three Coronets, three Lances, and two banners in it.

"By the way Langredoc did you give Hex the medicine the stranger gave us?"

[Grey Wolf]

As they emerged from the portal, the trio from the icy north found themselves in a sparsely furnished room, the warm Citadelian spring in full swing, the air around them pleasantly warm. The room was well lit, and apart from the actual portal, contained a simple desk behind which sat a robed man, a big leather-bound book before him. The only exit was a stone arch, flanked on each side by a tall guard in finely crafted suit of armor, a halberd in hand, neither of them moving an inch. The robed man was about to rise and greet Langredoc when Hex appeared, preceded by a pair of wolf cubs. As he tried to mouth a greeting a third person jumped through and he sighed, rising and waiting to see if more people would be coming through.

The man coughed, trying to draw attention to himself, and a flicker later spoke in a slightly raised voice, just in case any of them had missed his cough. "Welcome to the Temple of Pecunia. And welcome to Citadel. Take a bit of time to regain your composure, and then I will just take down your names for the records and gladly help you find whatever it is you wish to find." He smiled politely and retook his seat, pretending to write something down, giving the trio a measure of privacy as cubs started a little fight over who would have this new territory and who would be the alpha of the new pack.

[Hex da`Bergliin]

Hex could not figure out what was irritating her more, the constant desire to scratch that came from most of her body or the fact that she had been caught unawares by an old man.

The damage to her body was healing. Tor had given her the gift of ice and if she understood she was going to be around a very long time. Long enough to see the downfall of all she knows and weep, at least that is what he said. As she started to heal she could see the white skin returning to its once smooth nature. She was feeling stronger inside as well, but she was no where near where she should be.

it was not so much that her armour was damaged, mostly it had been from years of neglect from proper cleaning and the combats she had been in had taken their toll. The black flame had taken it toll and the armour was now unwearable in its present condition. It also stank of blood, flesh and death.

The room was coming into focus as Hex gathered her wits and looked around. Hex nudged the cubs to stop their constant bickering and strode forth giving Langredoc her wickedest grin...

"Why good sir, I am know as Hex although some call me the Witch of the North."

Hex, a mess of a person with scabs and scars over her pure white skin. The fire had been magical and what it had done is not so much burn her, but cause her skin to burst like cracking ice. if she moved too fast the scabs broke open and puss would ooze out with her milkish blood once more. She was unsure at times what she was now, but in the end she was still Hex and her time in the frozen wastes of Trothgard was far from over. This old man did not need all of that information, she thought her name would do just fine.

[Langredoc]

Langredoc was relieved when Eyrekra appeared from the portal, he had spend his time visually exploring the surroundings and enjoying the warmth. This was much better then Trothgard, although the place looked like a temple. A temple he had never seen before, so this was not Dort.

"Sorry I took so long Langredoc, I had to say goodbye to my grandmother." "You two talk to loud." "I heard you two 'talking' all the way back in Trothgard." "You are right Langredoc we need to get Hex a warm place to rest, and Hex you need to take the time to rest." said Eyrekra

The man just nodded at words when she resumed with "Hex you need to let me and Langredoc worry about the little things." "Here." Eyrekra pulled her purse from somewhere on her body, and placed the purse into Langredoc's hand. "This should give us a start." she said, Eyrekra smiled at Langredoc, then turned away. "I expect re-payment some day soon. By the way Langredoc did you give Hex the medicine the stranger gave us?"

The man was surprised by the purse, he knew that he had no money at the moment, and this could buy them food and shelter, still he did not like it. He placed the coins below his chain mail, and said to the woman “For a ice lady your waaaaaay to nice, there is alas no need to feel sorry, I wish I could say the same as you, but I have no known family. And about the medicine, no I did not, I can't even remember we got something else from the stranger then stares and wordless words. I changed her bandages when needed, and mostly forced her to rest.”

It was then that the strange man, by Langredoc presumed a priest, spoke

"Welcome to the Temple of Pecunia. And welcome to Citadel. Take a bit of time to regain your composure, and then I will just take down your names for the records and gladly help you find whatever it is you wish to find."

It took Langredoc a few flickers to absorb the words and form a answer, in the mean time he became aware of what the little wolves where doing, he knew what was the cause, and he also knew that there was only one alpha here... HIM.. So he picked the little ones up and growled at them.

"Why good sir, I am know as Hex although some call me the Witch of the North." said Hex, nice words that in some places could have her burned or killed. Maybe this was one of them, Langredoc groaned.

So he bowed to the man to pay him proper respect and said slowly “I am Langredoc, nothing more, nothing less, and what I need are the following I need a source of honest money. A save place to shelter for the Ladies and me, and something to eat. Do you know if someone with good money in this place who would employ someone like me to protect mind and body from harm ?”

Langredoc watched the two women, Hex need some clothing, and both of them needed a save place to stay. As they where with him, so he would take the responsibility.. The Red Warrior still guided his life to strange places. Still it was funny that he was travelling with two women, without having any relationship with them. Two ice cold ladies even, well maybe they would defrost in these temperatures, the man wondered what would be the result for the men around here. Next time he would say my ladies, just to see if Hex or Eyrekra would explode, the thought brought a smile on his face. Even so he decided to tel Hex to keep her cold Goddess out of the conversation... as soon as they where out the reach of listening ears.

[Eyrekra da' Waelkyrige]

She walked towards Langredoc and spoke in a soft tone of voice. "You know ice does melt if you apply enough heat." She smiled at him, gentle touched his face, then turned, and slowly walked towards the man behind the desk.

Greetings sir I am Eyrekra da' Waelkyrige, daughter to Celia da' Waelkyrige, and grand daughter to Agenta da' Waelkyrige. Like my friend over there said." She paused briefly to look over her shoulder then continued. "Can you tell us where we can find work?"

[Grey Wolf]

The man politely wrote down the names as they were given, their arrival through a portal marking them as a more respectable sort and thus not subject to harsh checks by the City Guard, and detailed questioning. Whomever could pay for a portal trip was either rich and visiting for leisure, or had business in the city. While their questions about employment did not label them as either of those two types of people, the portal operator knew not to ask too many questions, especially since their descriptions did not match any of wanted men or women.

"If you will allow me to be bold, I think a lady", he motioned towards Hex, "should visit Mother's Temple and see if the healers there could help her with her injuries. They are a bit busy treating the people injured during last night's celebration, but I am sure they will find time to aid her." He paused after that, looking over their appearances and then came to a decision. "Again, without wishing to intrude, but I think you would find the Burpin Dragon best place to stay at, considering the circumstances. It is near the Temple Lane and in a respectable part of the city and has more than decent accommodations." He chewed on his lip thoughtfully and then added. "Ad for work I am sure you will find plenty of opportunities here in the city. I suggest you look at the Imperial Trade Guild, sir. They are hiring guards all the time and you have the look of a warrior. Without knowing what the ladies are skilled at I fear I can not even try to suggest a course of action."

[Hex da`Bergliin]

Hex was going to say something witty, as was her nature but decided against it at the last moment. She simply ginned and nodded her head. She was going to say little if anything else when a thought crossed her mind.

"Good sir, please tell one ignorant of such things, but is there not a ....building of Trothgard here in this fair town of yours?"

Hex had a trickling of something that she should know going up and down her neck but the troubles in the home land had blinded her to the world out side of Trothgard for some time.

[Eyrekra da' Waelkyrige]

Eyrekra smiled and thanked the kind man behind the desk. She picked up her equipment, and Hex's bundles. She walked toward Langredoc, and stood by him, while she waited for Hex to finished.

[Langredoc]

Langredoc grinned when Eyrekra said "You know ice does melt if you apply enough heat." fully understanding its hidden,,, well not so well hidden meaning. It made him a tat jumpy, afterall the lady was good looking... way taller then him and a witch from Trothgard.. all things not to trifle with,

Still he just listened to what the man had to tell, and the name of the inn, the temple and the trade guild was welcome information.

He would wait until the man answered Hexes question and then he would ask him what was the easiest route to the trade guild from the place called "The Burping Dragon"...

Now he just said "I think that we should go to the inn, after we have settled a sleeping place, I suggest that I go to the Trade guild and you two to the temple to have Hexes wounds well tended. What do you two think about that ?"

Then he waited until he could ask his question.

[Grey Wolf]

"There is of course a Trothgard Embassy up in the Patrician's Ring. Representative of the Kona resides there and handles diplomatic issues as well as take part in the working of the Imperial Council. As a Trothgardian you would of course be welcome there." Langredoc was given fairly detailed directions, the Dragon being only a couple hundred paces away, while he would need to cross to the Harbor if he were to seek out the Imperial Trade Guild. As the portal operator put it, it was a rather imposing structure and easy to find.

[Hex da`Bergliin]

Hex looked at the man, her face a blank.

"The Kona is dead. There is no Kona, only witches, madmen and those that will undo us all."

Hex paused a flicker and then smiled as if she were addressing a child.

"Forgive me, I am not myself and require a mug of mead..."

Hex headed for the door.

Once outside she took in a deep breath. The heat here reminded her of Dort and the sights and sounds once again caught her off guard for a moment. She knew that she would soon long for the quiet of the northern plains of her homeland. The silence broken only by her dogs and the wind telling its tales and secrets. There the air was clean, here it smelled.

Hex thought on that and realized that maybe it was her that smelled...she really wanted that mug of mead.

[Eyrekra da' Waelkyrige]

Eyrekra waited by Langredoc, she traded a few awkward smiles with him. She saw Hex move to leave, with that she too headed outside.

Once outside Eyrekra gagged on the smell that filled the air. The noise was more then her ears could take. She had never seen a city, and if this is what it is like then she wanted no part of it.

Eyrekra looked at Hex, and saw Hex's state of her being which made her look at herself. Eyrekra needed a bath, some rest, but most of all a mug of mead.

She looked at Hex again, the only word out of her mouth were mead.

[Langredoc]

Langredoc laughed, sometimes these women from Trothgard seemed worse then the average mercenary, so the "Burping Dragon" it was was.

"Well ladies", the man said with a smile, "Lets satisfie your needs, lets go to the Inn." He quickly tossed the coins back to Eyrekra. "Your back in charge over the money, I shall make some more.. soon." he resumed for a moment, then he turned ans started to make his way to the Inn, with a quick glance at the women to make sure that they followed..

New places, interesting times... the man thought.

[Turi]

Trampled by a skilling dinosaur. Also summarised, locked and archived