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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Aethan" data-source="post: 227124" data-attributes="member: 3270">Chapter Three: Life in the City of WondersEdryn had not yet returned from his “Family business,” but the Seekers decided to head down to Darktown without him. Saqqara decided to retire early to recover from a stomach complaint, Cotterpin declined the chance to go “slumming”, preferring to work on alchemy instead, and Willem decided to head to the halfling neighborhood of Bramblebury for a late halfling-cooked supper instead. And so, Artimus, Madcap, Ranlok, Red Talon, Aldemar, and Temper proceeded to the rather dangerous neighborhood called Darktown.Aldemar did the leading, for he was searching for some information. After trying at a tavern called the Dead Dog, they were directed to another tavern called the Ten Bells, which appeared to also be a house of ill repute. After making a few inquiries, Aldemar was pointed to one man, apparently a procurer of gladiator slaves, who sat drinking and talking with a companion. As he approached, they noticed him and stopped talking at once. Aldemar then surreptitiously hinted that he wanted information about the highly illegal arena fighting in town. The fellow looked Aldemar over, then sized up Red Talon, who was standing behind him. Aldemar hinted that Red Talon would be participating, and the gentleman at the table decided to test him out. Red Talon heard someone rushing at his back, and he whirled, dodging the attacker’s attempt to bludgeon him with an ale mug before punching the man in the gut so hard it made him stagger back into a chair. The procurer nodded, seeming impressed. He gave some information about a match to be held five days later. Satisfied, the Seekers entertained themselves for a couple of hours before heading off to the Copper Bowl Tavern.The Copper Bowl was deeper in the heart of Darktown, and it was a much fouler and seedier tavern, run by Old Zelda, a woman of particularly ugly features and unpleasant manners. After a dubious encounter with the bar’s strongest whiskey (as ordered by Madcap, who then, displaying a rare streak of sense, passed it off on Red Talon), the group settled in to wait, while Red Talon wandered into the alley behind the bar. There, a hooded figure beckoned him deeper, and he, emboldened, perhaps, by too much ale and whiskey, followed.The figure cautioned Red Talon not to react violently, or roof-top archers would be forced to kill him. When the hooded figure revealed his features, he was clearly not the hish’ta’s old mentor. He was, in fact, an aven, one of the dog-like people of Ifildrith. He explained that he had been hired by Red Talon’s old master, Jubali Falhazrad, to locate the missing gladiator. He wanted to give Red Talon a sporting chance, however, so he challenged the hish’ta to a fight. The two battled hard with rebated weapons, but, in the end, the aven’s skill won out. Rather than kill the exhausted hish’ta, however, the aven marked him with a strange-looking dagger. Red Talon bellowed as his rage took over, and he leapt to the fray, even as his companions began to exit the tavern.  Artimus, wondering what had happened to their friend, was already outside, and he witnessed the aven leaping nimbly back as six archers fired from the roof, sending the already exhausted Red Talon into unconsciousness. Thinking quickly, he let fly with a sleep spell, and several archers fell unconscious. The aven grinned and tossed a heavy pouch to the bard. “Your friend has earned this,” he called, as he retreated through the alleys of the city. The others arrived, and Red Talon was revived, and the group, a bit wearied and worse for bad ale, made their way back to their ship.The mark Red Talon had received could not be removed, and, indeed, radiated a faint magic. Artimus surmised that it was the Mark of a band of rangers called The Bloodhounds, trackers who could magickally mark their quarry to aid in locating him later. The pouch the aven had thrown proved to contain a heavy golden torc, set with small red garnets, which had belonged to Dyne. The group decided to keep an eye out for suspicious or unusual characters.They did not have long to wait, in a sense. The next day, Meldias Blackhair showed up with a number of possible recruits for the crew of the Eleniel. The possible recruits included, amongst others, The Old Man, a skyfarer who had been sailing since the very first skyrunner. Artimus relied heavily on his advice, as well as Meldias’. Perhaps the most surprising figure who came aboard was a full-blooded elven druid named Sarn who signed on as ship’s healer. Temper displayed some barely concealed suspicion and alarm, but he insisted that there would be no problem.In the afternoon, tailors showed up to take measurements for court garments, and, in the evening, a summons came that the King awaited them at his castle. And so, the seekers boarded a small, private airship, and began the long descent down to the King’s Court and their first public appearance as the King’s Privateers.To be continued!</blockquote>

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