****From The Jornal of Dante MorningLord. **************
I have served my Lord, King Gaius III at his embassy for 6 months. I've managed to go on a few adventures, and I have learned the city of Sharn well. Today, I was released from service and sent on the next phase of my mission.
I met some old friends at the Broken Mug in Cliffside. Dusk, an elven rogue incapable of taking anything seriously. And Ildee a young dwarven Lady with an axe to grind and a chip on her shoulder. How those two struck a friendship, I'll never know. But I feel much better with two such solid friends at my back.
We hooked up with 3 others also looking for employment. Garron, a cleric of the Devourer: A nice enough fellow, certainly nicer than the clerics of the Bitch, er Lich Queen I grew up with. He has a pragmatic flair about him, and thats appealing. But Dusk seems a bit intimidated.
Then there is, Sojinn, a Warforged Warmage. He is tall, gleams with shining Mithral plating, and he tends to speak in monotone. He never sleeps, but prefers to sit and meditate on life. He is searching for something, but he doesn't know what.
Most enigmatic of all is Shee, our elven Scout. Shee spells her name "Sidhe," but it takes an elf to figure out a way to pronounce that like 'she.' Shee is quick to laugh, but never wastes a word. Garron and Sojinn trust her, and thats good enough for me.
************ We Get a Job, and I Get a Reputation ****************
We were in the Broken Mug when a mysterious robed figure came in and posted a message. It was a job! The stranger watched as Dusk snatched the parchment from the wall. Approaching us, he offered a small sack of coins, if we promised to apply in person the following afternoon. After discovering the coins were platinum, we agreed.
Excited with our first job, we were debating a name for our little company when another mysterious robed figure entered. The robes could not hide her stagering figure, and a lock of blonde hair slipped from her hood. She gazed at the empty posting board, and whirled upon our table. Seeing the parchment, she hissed and stalked out. This job is certainly more interesting than I thought!
We went to bed early that night, Sonjinn sitting in a corner of the tavern as usual. I couldn't sleep. So I took a walk. Cliffside is an adventurer's quarter, And its hard to find a more concentrated collection of armed and dangerous people in Sharn. I feel no fear in this district. Most inns are all open all night, and the rain had stopped.
I ended up in a narrow alleyway behind our inn, hoping for target practice on a few rats. With a simple invocation, The night became as bright as day for my eyes. I stepped into the alley with a hunters stealth. I crouched low to the mud. (Yes, even in Sharn, hundreds of feet into the air, the alleys have mud.) I stopped. Startled I stood up. There was a track, of a large cat before me. The paw must have been as large as my head! And the claws as long as my fingers....The rain only stopped a few moments ago, this was fresh!
Looking behind me, I saw it. A tiger! (In Sharn?! ) Eldritch energies played about my fingers (they always do when I am nervous). But I made no hostile move. The tiger just stood there in the midst of the alley-it was huge! I backed up to the corner of the building, it didn't follow. Ducking out of sight, I sprinted to the street. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw the tiger's head peeking around the corner.
Bursting into the tavern's common room, I ran to Sojinn.
"A tiger!" I shouted at the Warforged. "Theres a tiger in the alley!" A few patrons stopped and stared.
Sojinn stood up a full 6 feet, 8 inches."Are you sure?" His voice was a metalic rasp. "Its quite dark out there."
"Yes! I can see in the dark if I want to!"
"Mmmmm. Best get the others."
We gathered at the alley, and saw nothing. Even the footprint was gone. Ildee was still in her nightdress, hefting her axe. All she could do was growl.
"Perhaps you were just seeing things in the dark?" Commented Shee. "Humans do that."
"I wasn't seeing things! I SAW a tiger!"
"Think about it, Dante." Garron said. "How could a tiger get unobserved into the midst of Sharn, and climb halfway up the city unobserved?"
"It could have escaped...from a circus or a zoo. Maybe its a mascott gotten loose...but there is a large meat eating tiger in the city!"
Dusk was deeper into the alley. "Look everyone! I found Dante's tiger!" he held up a striped kitten.
I slapped my head.
"Well, Mmmm. It WAS dark, Dante." Sojinn offered.
It began to rain again.
Ildee just stood in front of me and growled.
They all marched back into the inn. A couple of gnomes whistled at Ildee, but her stare silenced that. She stormed back to her room. Dusk ordered a round of drinks on me. I paid without thought. I hate being the kid.
Garron clapped me on the shoulder. "Don't feel so bad, it wasn't a total waste of time." He hefted his ale.
"Tigers." Shee sniffed.
"Say hello to our team mascot, Tiger!" Dusk was beaming." And Sojinn can have a new familiar!"
"Mmmm. No."
I changed my room with the barkeep (it's window opened onto the alley. The barkeep looked at me like I was a coward).
Locking my (new) door, I noticed my window was wide open. Looking out, I saw nothing but the street. All was quiet.
This is the third floor, no tigers could jump in here. Maybe I did see things. I left the window open a crack, and went to sleep.
I remember waking up cold. The covers were gone. The window was wide open. I started, fully awake now.
At the foot of my bed was the tiger! I didn't move.
With a low growl the tiger stood on its hind legs...and changed.
It became...a beautiful woman. Long, wild -blonde- hair glistened in the moonlight. And she was gloriously...unclad! Wow.
If this is a were-tiger...Bite me! I thought.
With inhuman grace, she lept upon my bed. I looked scared on the outsde, but on the inside I was going, "YES!"
"I need to speak with you." She purred.
"Hi. I'm Dante."
She rolled her eyes, and then gripped my shoulders. She brought her face close to mine. "I know, Dante Morninglord. You worked in the Karnath embassy. I also serve Kaius III"
My mind raced, working for the king is GREAT!
"Look, I don't want you to take this job."
"Oh. Why not?"
"It would...complicate things."
What was this job? The parchment was vague, and now these cryptic 'complications.' The only thing I knew for sure was: lycanthropy is not so bad.
"I have orders too."
"Yes, I know what they are."
"I need to think about this."
She got up and moved to the window, "Don't take too long."
"Will I see you again?"
She half turned, "That depends on the choices you make, Dante." With that, she shifted into tiger form, and leapt out the window.
I need a drink.
******** Next ****** The Test *****************