[center][b]Alexandra Chapter 1: Hall of Silent Marble[/b][/center]

Daytime in the tight corridors of Bulwark's marketplace labyrinth. A thin path of bright light cut its way across dim shadows created by the overhanging rooflines. The alley was no more than ten feet in width, and few spared available space. In whatever manner they could, vendors large and small took the opportunity to furnish the shadows with their wares, though neatly at the very least. Bulwark was no slum, as a whole or in particular areas. It was difficult to come across an area of notable poverty, and even then, it seemed as if they were lacking in any sort of despair. The city practically exuded happiness and satisfaction.

Alexandra Talon worked within the confines of a notable shop in the alleyway, not so hidden due to its colorful wooden sign hanging from the front.

'Vial Venue' was printed in red letters on both sides. The potions shop was headed by a single elderly man and his newest employee; Alexandra herself. Despite the minimized staff, it ran well. Those that could purchase the expensive concoctions did so with relative frequency, and there was no shortage in patronage.

Even moreso enjoyable was her hefty salary. The old man had opted to give her much of the store's earnings, citing his lack of legacy and desire for little as the prime motive to do so. The caretaker did just that; mostly cleaning and dealing with taxes. He left much of the brewing and selling to Alexandra herself. Days were relatively busy, but without a chaotic haste that was apparent in other establishments. Customers came in knowing what they wanted, and received their merchandise promptly and with no trouble.

Alexandra busied herself behind the counter, working to fill an order for a customer that had insisted on standing at the front of the shop to wait. She carefully mixed a measure of powder into the solution, ignoring the gaze that seemed to be burning a pair of holes into her back. The lack of any partition between the front of the shop and the work area did wonders for the more paranoid customers but seemed to make the impatient patrons even more so.

With the final ingredient added, it was time to set the solution to chill. Rather than cross the room to the ice box, Alexandra traced a sign in the air with a finger while muttering under her breath. The spell caught and began to pull heat from the flask and it's contents, depositing it into the larger container of water on the floor. As frost began to form on the sides of the flask she waved her hand and destroyed the connection. At last finished, the potion was dropped into a felt bag and handed to the customer.

"I'm sorry for the wait." She wasn't, not really. A chemist rushing through an order was a sure sign of an amatuer. It brought to mind the words of her first teacher, ‘Haste makes bodies'. It was as true as it was morbid. Even though she would be hard pressed to make a mistake bad enough to turn a cure for heartburn into a poison, it was still well within the realm of possibility.

Her customer accepted the sack with a bowed head, opening it for a brief second as if to examine its contents like he knew what he was looking for. She hadn't seen him before, but given the medication requested, it was likely he was familiar with at least the color and consistency of the concoction. Retreating back into the narrow street, Alexandra was left to her passive work once again, written recipes still needing creation.

For a time she was alone, as the store owner was almost always holed up in the back behind a short and thick wooden door, tending to papers and mulling over his old life. A jingle at the store entrance, however, ended her prior work. Moving to the front, Alexandra faced the new customer, a tall and wide man with an obscene number of facial scars. So numerous were they, it seemed as if they formed the entirety of his wrinkles, making him look old and worn. Removing his dulled red hood, he looked straight to Alexandra, seemingly uninterested in the store itself. He knew what he wanted, it was clear in his eyes.

Alexandra returned to the counter, flashing a sincere smile. She did well to avoid giving his scars more than the most cursory glance. "Welcome, how can i help you today?"

For all his apparent oldness, the man looked at Alexandra with a young, bright pair of eyes. Their unwavering stare reflected an almost sinister focus, practically daggers themselves held at her neck. He returned her brief smile with his own wrinkled one, a mumble of recognition rumbling in his chest.

"Not sure quite yet," he grumbled, his voice gravelly. Turning his attention to the shop around him, he examined a few items and materials, clearly judging them with his eyes and occasionally a light touch. After a minute of wandering, he turned his body to Alexandra, though kept his head and eyes shifting about.

"I'm looking for someone with experience," he began, "experience with chemistry and alchemy. That much should be evident if I'm here." The man laughed to himself. "It is difficult to explain [i]here[/i], though I can say it might prove perilous." He grinned wide.

"In this day and age though, there's plenty of time and reason to dive into danger, right? Forgive me, this must all be sounding quite strange and out of place. I am Anorm. Anorm Geras," he extended a hand in greeting.

She frowned for a brief handful of seconds, mulling over his words. "I'm afraid we might not be able to help you. While we are capable of taking on special orders, we strive to distance ourselves from any illegal activities, lest we give our craft a bad name."

"It is far from illegal, ma'am. Ordered by the King himself," Anorm stated, fishing into his sleeves for a parchment. Unfurling it with a flick, he presented it to Alexandra from a distance, and it seemed authentic enough. He tucked it back in. "You need not worry about a bad reputation."

She remained, outwardly at least, unimpressed by his claims. Planting both hands on the top of the counter, she leaned in slightly closer. "And if I were to take on this job for the king, what might I expect for compensation?" She wasn't exactly hurting for money, not with the generous wages she was currently earning but Alexandra had learned that one should never pass up the chance for something better.

Anorm's smile became even wider. "Money. Adventure. Fame… A chance at ending the Silence of Life."

This sounded like quite the long term offer. This was quite the chance and far too much of an opportunity to pass up. On the other hand, her conscience was reluctant to leave the old man to run the business on his own. these two sides warred for a very brief moment before she made up her mind. There were many other talented chemists in the city, although none with her skillset, and it wouldn't be difficult for him to run things on his own.

"I'm in, when do we start?"

"Eager it seems. Good. We start in a week's time. There is little to do on your end, though I might suggest you brew and gather as many [i]useful[/i] potions as possible. I'll leave it up to you to decide what useful means in the end. I trust your skill and knowledge," Anorm commented, fixing the sleeve around his right wrist. "You are to be at the front gates of the Royal Guard's Second Military Complex in a week's time. I along with all other participants will be there to debrief you fully." Anorm turned away towards the door. "Until then, enjoy your time."

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A week of frantic preparation passed with Alexandra dividing her time between finishing up the last of the orders at the shop, brewing a variety of antidotes and medicines as well as buying up any supplies that she might need. After saying her last goodbyes at the shop, she strode towards the Military Complex, having already checked out the area several days before. Little was gleaned however, as without a form of identification, Alexandra was forbidden from entering particularly far into its walls. As much as she'd wanted to be prepared for any situation only the necessities were brought, fitting nicely into an oilskin bag over her shoulder.

The commonplace appearance of shops, homes, and cobblestone streets broke way into an immense walkway of solid, smooth stone. The monolithic road was wide enough for a parade of horses, she thought, with flags decorating the waist-high walls on either side.

In the distance, formidable iron gates stood closed, and at their feet, a peculiar caravan sat waiting. A huge host of individuals stood or sat around several horse-drawn carts stuffed to the brim with supplies such that rope was needed to hold the side-most packages in place. Many of them were unloaded already, crates being pried open with crowbars and lifted off somewhere else.

Alexandra approached, and countless eyes followed her. The more figures she looked briefly upon, the more it seemed she was in with a rough group, mercenaries, if she could guess. Some were more timid, merchants, seemingly, along with what looked like a gardener, a bespectacled mage, and a weak-looking royal-blooded male. It was difficult to tell if this was a serious mission or a museum.

The longer she stood and observed, the more uneasy she became. It could have been worse, however, given that they were on Bulwark and the most danger that most people faces was getting lost down an unfamiliar street. Try as she might, Alexandra couldn't help but feel that this may be one of those expeditions that become famous for never being heard from again. Putting her reservations aside, she approached the group.

The first one to respond was a heavily tattooed and bald man who insisted on walking about shirtless. He was wrapping some rope around a cylinder, seemingly readying it for a smaller packaging. Looking up, he grinned at Alexandra with a jerk of his head.

"Mornin' lass," he greeted, "you don't look like a military type. Can't say you're headin' in for other reasons. So, you're with us then?" he deduced. A few other individuals turned their attention to the conversation, listening out of the corner of their ears as they tended to their own tasks.

"Not military but I can say that it won't take long before I prove my use." She looked through the group again, scanning faces. "Is Anorm around, I've a question for him."

"Aye, he's around," another individual mentioned, "he should be around the front gates up there." The man threw a thumb to the huge barrier further along the path, past a maze of carriages and boxes. Before Alexandra could leave, however, she was held in place by the tattooed man's words.

"Say, before ye' leave, what's yer' profession?"

"I'm a chemist, among other things. "She paused for a second to speak before continuing to the gate. Threading her way through the assembled mob she made it to her destination without being stopped by anyone else.

At the foot of the gates, a pair of massive guardsmen stood taught, spoken to by a cloaked figure; Anorm's red clothing was easily picked out. Though he himself was a relatively tall man, the knights he spoke to made him seem minuscule. They were either Giants or freakishly tall humans, clad in armor that no weapon Alexandra had ever laid upon could possibly damage, she thought. They merely nodded to his quiet words until he finished.

Anorm turned to find Alexandra before him, and he seemed quite stern. His voice didn't convey the same, however. "Ah, the chemist. Good to see you follow through. Some of ours have failed to show up, no doubt put off by the prospect of danger. He seemed almost poised to give Alexandra a hardy slap on the shoulder, but refrained. "Got everything you need? Good." Anorm didn't wait for her to answer.

"We'll be heading down momentarily, the gates are about to open up." Indeed, it seemed as though the guardsmen had turned to begin pushing open the massive fence. The thick bars and their height made the task difficult even for their presumably immeasurable strength. Anorm walked past Alexandra and back towards the caravan, beckoning her with a hand.

"So, you're probably wondering what we're doing here. You know what this place is?" he asked.

Alexandra shook her head. She was a little bit taken aback that they weren't leaving the Sphere right away but quickly recovered. "I don't, but I doubt that you would organise an expedition without having a clue to get us started. I assume that you believe that we'll find one where ever you're taking us first."
"This is one of the many entrances to the Blade Crypt, the most well-guarded one in fact. It may not seem like it, but it is. Besides those giants, there's a wealth of unseen spells that judge the intentions of all who enter. Only the emptiest of minds could hope to walk past them and go unnoticed. We'll be descending into the Crypt. There's something within the King would like us to retrieve," Anorm explained.

She nodded taking everything in. "So we're taking the most impressive, heavily guarded entrance and making the largest scene so that the king might be seen to be doing something." She quickly changed topics, not wanting to stray too far into politics. "So you're not entirely sure what other dangers might lie where we're going and you've taken this group to make sure that we can tackle anything we come up against."

"As many people from as many walks of life as possible, though not for the reasons you might think. The dangers are unknown, but the path is not. I know what we need for the initial path, but what lies beyond it we'll have to find out," Anorm said, almost with intended crypticness. Once again, his face seemed as though he wished to pat her on the back. "Worry not. You'll see just what I mean once we're inside." Anorm wandered off, yelling towards the rest of the caravan to get up and get ready to move.