Session 1, Prologue: Escape
Kanyth was nervous, and perhaps a little frightened.
Why is this taking so long? He felt the situation closing in around him, and it made his skin itch. Suppressing the urge to touch his false mustache and reassure himself that it was still in place, he attempted to affect the appearance of a supremely bored caravan guard as Nibenay’s priestesses searched the wagons.
After all, that’s what I am, am I not? Kanyth the bored guard, annoyed by the delay but well aware that it can’t be helped.
It’s this damn business with Gulg; the entire bureaucracy has gone crazy. The influx of humanity was beyond the government’s ability to effectively monitor, but the outgoing traffic was still fairly normal, and the templars seemed determined to search every last cart and wagon leaving the city.
They’re certainly looking for something… hopefully it’s not me.
A group of drunken sell-swords stumbled across the crowded roadway, singing a drinking song in several different keys, none of them the correct one.
Even a tune as poor as that deserves better. Kanyth sighed.
A musician as talented as I am could be making a small fortune off of the crowds of bored drunkards streaming into the city, and yet here I am, heading into the wastelands on a caravan bound for Raam. Dragon’s breath, how did it come to this? Why did I agree to that job? How was I to know who that poor fool was?
Finally the templars were satisfied that whatever they were looking for was not present. A signal was given and the soldiers at the gate moved to the side. With cracks of the teamsters’ whips, the
kanks began to gradually haul the wagons forward, the caravan guards marching alongside. As he passed in front of the templars, Kanyth caught his hand moving up to touch the hairs fixed onto his upper lip. Rather than suddenly reverse its motion and appear nervous, he took its movement and smoothly continued it past his mustache, to the top of his head, whereupon he ran his fingers through his long blonde hair. The nearest priestess turned her eye towards him, and he looked directly back at her, giving her his most charming grin. With a snort of derision, she focused her attention elsewhere.
That’s right, the handsome lout is beneath your notice. Go right ahead and ignore me. The grin had been a gamble, but it was one that paid off.
My favorite kind!
The last wagon pulled free of the city-state’s eastern gate and moved past the lines of farmers, merchants, mercenaries, adventure-seekers, scam artists, and assorted others looking to gain entry. There were no shouted commands to stop, no soldiers running to catch up with the caravan, no magical hammer of the Shadow King’s justice coming down to smite Kanyth. After a time he began to relax and started telling jokes with his fellow guards, their laughter turning his former anxiety into a faint memory. The city behind him was yet another potential prison that he had escaped; the open road before him was another day of freedom, to be lived on his own terms.
What other way to live is there? None other. None at all.
