The lands of Obrethon were once made up of 5 individually ruled kingdoms: The Kingdom of the Seven Lakes, the Kingdom of the Dragon Mountains, the Kingdom of the Misty Rivers, the Kingdom of the Vales, and the Kingdom of the Barren lands.
The five kingdoms lived in harmony for hundreds of years, and they thrived in the absence of a common enemy. The lands were fertile, each with its own advantage, and the collaboration between the kings was great. Once a year they got to sit together at the round table, and spoke of their wishes, expectations, problems, and solutions. King Armagen, the ruler of the Barren lands came with the same troubles every year – his lands were losing fertility, and for some reason the summer droughts were getting longer and longer. Being unable to produce enough food to sustain his people, he had to buy it off from other Kingdoms. But having nothing much to return the favour, the prices of food soon became too high. Other kings, however, didn't seem to have much compasion for his troubles, blaming him for not being resourceful. So, Armagen furiously left the table, and swore to himself that he would find a way to overrule them all.
His desperation was great, and eventually led him to seek the Witch of Eddor'had. She used to be quite a trouble maker back in the days, until the five armies exiled her to the Island of Eddor'had, where the vulcano erruptions destroyed the lands, leaving them liveless. Upon recognizing the great opportunity, the Witch proposed him a deal he could not refuse. She would make him five magic gemstones, each of them containing the unique power of one of the 5 basic elements. They were known as Meru'rithil - The Stone of Air, Apo'rithil - The Stone of Water, Mag'rithil - The Stone of Earth, Ag'rithil - The Stone of Fire, and Sil'rithil - The Stone of Mind. Each gemstone would allow him to control whatever was made of these elements. Using the Earth stone, he could make his land fertile again, with the Water he could prevent the deadly droughts, and so on. But the most powerful of them all was the Mind stone, which enabled its carrier to control someone else's mind, and consequently his body. And all she wanted in return was that twice a year he would bring her gifts in form of gold, jewellery, food, clothing...anything she'd demanded. King Armagen didn't think twice, and he took the deal.
He installed all the gems into his crown, so he had immediate power of all the given gemstones at the same time. Then he began to transform his dying lands, making them livable again. His Kingdom soon began to thrive as never before, while the others soon began to fear him. They spoke of madness that was corrupting his mind. All that power contained in the gems was slowly taking over his very own mind. Eventually, his insanity completely took over, and he declared the war on all four kingdoms. He wanted their land, and he wanted all the other kings dead. The great war began, and it lasted for about 5 years before the lands of Obrethon were one big pile of blood. There were no more kingdoms, apart from the Armagen's tyranny. He was unstoppable. Even his people that once worshiped him, were now terrified of him. Then one night, his son, Prince Edgar, learnt of his father's deal with the Witch through the vivid dreams that were sent to him by a Sorceress, who claimed to be one of the good ones, and wanted to help. Desperate enough, prince Edgar chose to believe what he thought was only intuition, and went after his own father. Even the King himself with all the powers over his head did not expect his loyal son to cut him in his back. As they were tussling, the Crown had fallen off King's head, instantly weakening him, which have Edgar the opportunity of killing him.
Edgar then took the gems out of the Crown, and wondered what to do with them. He figured he had to separate them from one another, hide them somewhere or give them to someone he trusted with his own life, and make sure they will never be put together like that again. So, he chose his 4 best knights he trusted the most, and gave each of them one stone: Fire,Eearth, Water, and Air. He then sent them out to use the gemstone powers in order to rebuild the old kingdoms, make them forever seperate. As for the Mind stone, he kept it for himself, determined to find the Witch of Eddor'had, and destroy her once and for all.
What he didn't know is that the Witch was now more powerful than ever. During the years King Armagen did what she could never done it herself, she raised an army of Hellhound creatures, and demonic warriors. They were beasts born out of magma, and black magic's intent, closely tied to the gemstone's magick, and the blood that was spilled by them. He goal was now to invade all the Obrethon lands, and get the ultimate revenge. But first she had to find and collect the 5 gems, which shouldn't be so hard since her beasts could smell them from miles away...
Maps
Quest
Prince Edgar and his fellow knights must get to the Eddor'had island in order to destroy the gemstones by throwing them into the heart of the vulcano. They are accompanied by a Sorceress Shi'larra, who holds unique knowledge of the world they are about to face. Their journey begins at mysterious town of Kirin Taq.
Kingdom of the Barren lands, Western border - the Town of Kirin Taq
Where the sands of Nazearth desert met the streams of the Azurdil' lake, there lied the town of Kirin Taq. Its inhabitants often said: ''whoever comes to visit, does never truly leave''. The town was small, and very well hidden, thus being a perfect place for having a retreat. As it happend, the War seemed to completely bypass it, for the housing appeared to be left untouched. For those who knew of its whereabouts it was considered the safest place on Obrethon. Not because there would be the highest walls around it – in fact, there were none – but because of something much stronger than that.
Magic.
Traveller's den, that's how they called it, even before the witchcraft was known to a common man. It was build by a Travellers' clan, know as the Kirindaars, and it kept its invisible gates widely open to anyone who'd come in with goodness in their hearts. No evil creatures could ever enter, as the town would not exist for them.
Shi'larra thought that would make it the safest place to meet the Prince and his fellow knights, for she was still unsure of their intentions. It was clear to her, that the stones were meant to corrupt its carrier's mind. They acted like a fertilizer on a seed of greed. The greedier one was, the more the stone would speak to them, twisting their thoughts.
At least, that was her theory. Knowing her sister Moriana, who was then mostly known as the Witch of Eddor'had, she could assume that greed was in the core of every one of the gems. Everything Moriana did was fueld by her desire to gain more, and more. Little did she know that the hole she felt inside her could not be mended with either blood nor war.
Inside one of the small empty houses, Shi'larra sat in waiting for the knights. They were told to meet with her in the town of Kirin Taq on the night of the third full moon, without any kind of explanation as to why exactly there. She expected some of them to be quite annoyed by that, since they had to travel half the Obrethon to get to the Kirin Taq, only to be headed back to where they just came from the very next day. Clearly, Shi'larra had her resons. She only hoped that their loyalty to the Prince exceeded the doubt they had for her.
There was, however, one Knight she didn't have to be wary of. Although startled by the news of Alexis becoming a knight, she couldn't be more proud. Shi'larra, having no family of her own, considered this girl, who had grown to be more than just an ordinary woman, to be the closest of her kin. And thus the only one, whom she trusted with her own life, making her a valuable companion.
Starting to get impatient, Shi'larra approached the window, and stared onto the streets. They were empty as per usual, since no one on the inside would have any business sneaking around at night. Evil deeds did not flourish here, which was why some people considered this place to be very much boring. Since the locals relied on magic to keep them safe at night, no one bothered to lock the doors or to keep an eye on the possible newcomers. Therefore, it was very unlikely that someone, besides Shi'larra, and Alexis, who was outside on the lookout, would spot a group of armed men entering the invisible gates, and marching past the houses.
* * * Meanwhile, not so far away, a vicious creature walked the earth. A giant wolf surrounded by a scortching heat, its massive body covered all in wounds from which no blood was pouring, only melted rock. The smell of sulphur reeked from its heavy breath, poisoning the air around it. Its aim was near, and it could smell it. ''Run, run, oblivious ones, for you shall never hide...''
Nights in the Traveller's Den were rather eerie, Alexis had decided. There were almost no people in the streets, civilians let alone the groups of soldiers regularly patrolling towns and cities across Obrethon. The war had made a lot of people suspicious of one another; it had also led to an increase in banditry which was the main reason so many guards were employed at town gates and most entrances were sealed at night.
Not so here. There were no patrols and no defencible gates; only the magic and although she had come to grow comfortable with the presence of it through her use of the Water Gem she still put more faith in the things she could predict and control: people, steel and ingenuity. Shi'larra had taught her about how the world worked, how to look after herself and how to treat others. The war had taught her how to fight, what the people who couldn't be saved were like and how far some would go when pushed or threatened. She had made friends and enemies in equal measure while gaining a reputation as a honest dealer but also as a ruthless, dishonourable killer with no regard for the ancient codes of chivalry; somewhat uncharitably.
Resting on her knees was the naked blade of her longsword as she ran a clean cloth up and down the blade. It had been newly sharpened but she had seen too many blades suffer from rust due to lack of cleaning; the edge of a blade wasn't the only important thing. Bad care would lead it to weaken, to rust or simply soften, and then it would fail its wielder when they most needed it to be strong and sturdy. The blade was long since wiped clean of the dirt of her journey to that place, gleaming softly in the moonlight, but Alexis found the activity kept her calm and alert; a habit she had picked up during the wars. Everyone came up with some kind of coping mechanism: some drank, some gambled, some joked and boasted, others found the arms of a lover (paid or unpaid). She simply found pleasure in carrying out a monotonous, basic task that might serve to save her life in the future.
"The question is, who arrives first?" She muttered to herself. All the knights who held gems would have heard of each other and she feared her common background would put her at a disadvantage if the others teamed together; that was not the purpose of their coming together but she knew all too well how petty the aristocracy could be.
Redoran looked at the dying sun, unseeing as he tried to forget. The sun was going down in a flurry of crimson and amber even as the purple fingers of night crept from the east. It was an abstract battle of light and dark, played out everyday. Though he tried not to think or philosophize, the thought came to him that this battle will go on. There was no winner. There was no loser. Just an eternally unstoppable force meeting an infinitely unbreakable wall. To mere mortals with limited sense of morality, light represented all that was good. And dark all that was bad.
As if you can parcel them into neat little packets of two, he thought. Didn't the sun burn the skin on hot days? Hadn't the night provided the soft murmurs of a comfortable sleep? Was there such a thing as purely good or purely evil?
He emitted a soft grunt of irritation. Again, he was letting his mind wander, like a dead leaf carried by the breeze. He had been training everyday to focus his mind, channel its attention to single point of nothingness, to detach himself from reality, to forget the reminders and fly like a bird. Needless to say it had been a total failure so far. And every time he tried to focus, the town behind him kept intruding.
With a sigh, he turned around to face the town that had magically appeared like a sudden rain cloud. For 30 years he had roamed these very lands and thought he knew every fold and crevice. And yet, here he was standing in the eastern borders of his kingdom, and here was a town, plain as a rock, that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. He had been told to expect it, of course. But still, he was supposed to be an expert ranger of these lands!
Kirin Taq. A town of legend, it seemed. And a place where several fates will be decided.
With a grim set to his face, he mounted Shamran, his black warhorse, and let her walk into the town. As she stepped on to the cobblestoned path, he felt a rush of something pass him. It wasn't the wind. He absently fingered the ring on his left hand. Meru'rithil, set in a ring of silver.
The houses looked like skulls, staring out with empty sockets. Night fell quickly around him as he made his way through the 'town' - for want of a better word. There was something decidedly eerie about this place. If Prince Edgar hadn't vouched for this Shi'larra, he would have thought he was walking into the den of the Black Witch herself. He shivered slightly and felt his spine tingle. He turned a corner.
Immediately he tensed. The sight of an armored man is like a beacon to any knight. It is a sign of danger. But beyond a momentary tightening of his thighs on Shamran's saddle, he didn't let his worry show. The Prince had vouched for this Shi'larra and this town was supposed to be the safest place to meet. So many things that he had no control over.
As he approached the armored knight, he realized it was a woman. Wearing the armor of the Kingdom of the Rivers. So this was Alexis Chandle, who, if rumour was to be believed, was a protege of his host. His eyes instinctively went to her sword. It was a thing of beauty, long and gleaming. And she looked like she knew how to use it. Very well.
He approached her and dismounted. "Well met," he said, holding out his hand. "I am Redoran, son of Rhuarn. And unless I am mistaken, you must be Alexis Chandle - the one they call Mia'lithil, Maiden of the River. Am I late?"
The inn was quite empty. Across the room what seemed like two guards were drinking a few pints of ale, and the only other person there was a portly man who was fast asleep. Barring Bron of course.
He sipped his own ale. It tasted like filth, but it had cost him close to nothing, and he was thirsty. He had grown used to the wine served at the Palace in the Vale, but it was better incognito as a poor traveller than dead. His hand kept going to his bag next to him, feeling the hilt of his sword, to check the gem was still there. It had cost the kingdoms their lives. Well, at least, it was partly responsible. The four other reasons were scattered across the kingdoms. He had forged it into the pommel of his sword, to keep it close to him and hide it if anyone saw his weapon. The disguise probably wouldn't work on everyone, but it could at least prolong his life a while longer.
He relaxed. It was only a day's walk to Kirin Taq now, where King Edgar and the woman who had invited him would undoubtedly be. Perhaps the other Knights were already there for council. He noticed his drink getting cold, and placed his hand on the cup. With a quick surge of energy, the drink fizzled and steamed. He leaned back with a satisfied grin. It was useful to have heat and fire at your fingertips. Quite literally.
After quickly finishing his ale, he tossed a coin to the innkeep and left. He paused at the door and looked back. All three other men were passed out. Typical, he thought, and opened the door.
He made it to Kirin Tak. It was nightfall, and the sky was black and devoid of stars. Nature's only means to find your way gone, he thought. An ill omen. He walked along the streets. The houses were very clean, in fact the whole place seemed to have never seen any kind of commotion ever. Quite peculiar, there having been a war. In fact, he had never heard of the place, and couldn't find it on a map. He decided he didn't like this place, a hidden place with hidden going-ons is generally not a place you stay too long if you want to keep your coins on you. Or your life.
He trudged down a small alleyway and came up to a huge road that went along Kirin Taq. At the end were two knights, barely visible. They were both wearing impressive sets of armour, and he could already feel the presence of two other gems. He looked down at his.
"Guess I'm not incognito anymore," he muttered, and pulled out his sword, buckling it to his belt. The gem shone in the night like a flashlight, little flames dancing in it, twirling.
The road to Kirin Taq was long and parched of much sights and entertainment. Horse shoe clatter, and the clanking of various types of metallic items were the only phenomenon uttering some sense of tonality. The fortuitous neighs and sputtering of the horse Prince Edgar sat upon could be added to the sense of vibrant ambiance upon this, otherwise, uncultivated road. Every now and then, he could would find himself briefly accompanied by travelers heading in various other directions, whom he would acknowledge with a fair wave and head nod though he kept his true identity, as Ruler of these lands, hidden under the hooded attire he was currently wearing. Some riders had fallen asleep upon their mounts, seemingly having faith solely in their horses sense of general direction. Others, who were less favorable of a mount were seen setting up various camps of to the sides of the road. This seemed like such an amazing idea to prince, but he knew that his destination grew near, and there was business of much importance to apprehend. With a snap of the reigns he had clasped firmly in his hands, and a verbal command to his horse, he quickened his pace to a swift gallop and set his aim back on the road in font of him.
Many minutes had passed, and he had not slowed his pace any. The eastern gates of the city of Kirin Taq came into his line of sight. He mad ready a Royal Permit, stamped, signed and sealed by the young prince himself; ordering that the merchant he was posing as be permitted though the city to deliver goods to the city just west of Kirin Taq. As he approached the guarded gate, he tugged firmly on the reigns signaling the horse to slow down to a steady trot as they grew closer, finally to a complete halt. With much confidence in his espionage, he forked over the grant letter to the guard that had approached him as he slowly dismounted, knowing that there was going to be very little, if any, exchange in words betwixt them. He had entangled the reigns around his right hand, in preparation to enter the city. With no further delay after reading the consent letter, the closer immediately signaled for the other to open the gates. They two saluted Edgar stiffly and astutely as crossed through the border of the city's walls. The moonlight revealed nothing but a most Machiavellian grin upon his face as the Magic barrier had been placed back up, and cloaked to simulate giant walls with a crackling, shimmering ring.
He felt the Sil'rithil resonate strongly from inside his left glove now that he was in a magic imbued city. He knew some of the others had already made it into the city even more so as he felt the haunting, lingering presence growing stronger, and stronger. He continued further into the city, adjusting the hooded part of his under-cloak, keeping his face immersed deeply into its lengthy brim. He could hear the clanking of patrol knight's armor as they marched by, and the distant chattering of the towns people who were still awake with their windows ajar. Every now and again he would lift his head to navigate the dark parts of some roads, until there was no mistaking that he had made it to the right place. He tied the horse off on a nearby post outside of the meeting area and proceeded to greet the to armored women standing outside.
"Forgive my delay. The voyage here deemed slightly perilous. Not but a few interruptions, but nothing life threatening to the point I couldn't handle."
He looked out towards the road, removing his hood as he sidestepped the moonlight and various flickering light of torches and candlelight, into a concealed, more shadowy part of the area.
"It seems we have a few more stragglers other than myself" he giggled monotonously and proceeded to sigh, "Though I'm certain the wait won't be too much longer" He eyed the road a few time more over before settling on going in side to parch his thirst.
Crying howl pierced through the air. It was the sound of a wolf in distress. Something was after him.
The wolf knew the town was near, and even though he had learnt it was best to avoid the places full of humans, he didn't have much choice. The beast, twice as big as the wolf in trouble, was getting closer, hammering the grounds beneath them as they ran. No creature could out-run them, not when their burning eyes were firmly set on their target. The wolf was almost there. Another three leaps and he was gone, vanishing into thin air. The flaming Hound-beast looked baffled. It could still sense the wolf, it could still smell his fear. But there was nothing before them. Just the road, which seemed to continue into distance.
The wolf turned around, and stared at his chaser. They seemed not to see him, even though they were barely few meters apart. It was as if one-way mirror was set between them, allowing only those inside the town to see the evil that was lurking in front of the gates. Then, the wolf gave ear to the voices comming from the nearby street. There were some humans, three or four, one of them having quite familiar sound. Fearless, the wolf silently walked towards them, eyeing them with warying inspection. He only recognized the woman, who spent the last few days in the company of his human mistress, the sorceress. When Alexis spotted his stare, the wolf slightly bowed his head, as if he was confirming something. Before the other could get the chance to get startled by him, the wolf dashed ahead down the street in the search for his human companion.
Shi'larra who was still standing by the window spotted the wolf waiting by the doors. She stepped to open them, so the wolf could enter in. The smell of sulphur reeking from where wolf's fur got in contact with beast's blazing body soon reached her nostrils. Shi'larra frowned disguisted by the stench, and kneed in order to lower herself to her four-legged friend. She quickly examined him for some possible wounds, but found nothing too serious apart from some parts of his fur being burnt.
''I hope you didn't do anything stupid, Ansel,'' she scolded him like a child, even though she knew he couldn't quite understand her. Or did he? She wasn't intirely sure, since the wolf proved to be much smarter than majority of humans she encountered in her life. ''We must go now. The knights should be here already. But if not...'' she paused, afraid to continue her own flow of thought. She knew it was a long shot expecting everyone to be there on time, but she hoped. After all, the hope was all there was truly left for them.
Shi'larra grabbed her leather bag, where she stored various supplies she usually needed to perform her spells and rituals. Since it was the Traveller's den, it wasn't as hard to get hands on some magical herbs and objects as it was in other parts of Obrethon. Therefore, she made sure, she got everything she needed for the road at Kirin Taq. Shi'larra looked around the house already feeling an unease of leaving the place that offered so much protection. Although she was used to living in constant fear of being discovered, hiding from her own kind was much harder than hiding from common people, who could not her own magic against her. After she made sure, she took all of her belongings, she stepped onto the street closing the door behind her. She continued around the corner where her black stallion named Lomion, which meant moonlight prince in the language of the Travellers. Although he was still a bit wild, Shi'larra valued him for his great stamina.
The horse was saddled and ready as if she knew beforehand their stay won't be as long as she had planned for. She mounted him with ease, and guided him to slowly walk in the direction where she last witnessed Alexis disappearing into the shadows. They didn't stride long before Shi'larra caught sight of four human figures waiting on the side of the street. The stamp of horse's hooves draw attention to her presence as she slowly approached them. She greeted the Prince with a silent nod, then gazed at Alexis with a pinch of a worry in her emerald eyes. Beside these two familiar faces, there were two other knights she never had a chance to meet before. ''Knights,'' she greeted them. ''I'm afraid we can't stay here much longer. Where are the others?'' she demanded to know without caring for her apparent lack of interested in properly introducing herself. After all, there was a long road awaiting them, and plenty of time to chat about the things she never liked to chat about.
Meanwhile, Ansel the wolf strode a few houses further, and peeped around the corner to see if the Hellhound creature was still lingering before the magical barrier. His fur instantly bristled. The Hound was waiting for them.
Alexis continued wiping the cloth along her blade for a moment as the first armoured knight to arrive greeted her. His introduction was polite enough and he showed none of the usual disdain men of his rank would show an upstart such as herself. Slowly and deliberately she admired the sheen on her sword before standing and sliding it carefully into its plain red-leather scabbard before taking the knight's proffered hand firmly.
"You are not mistaken, sir. Well met. As for your punctuality... bar myself I must say that you have been quickest to respond." A wry smile spread across her lips as she took pleasure in the exchange; not often did she have the chance to speak to her fellow knights on a equal level.
Her eyes caught movement behind Redoran as the second of their number arrived. He merely greeted them, making no sign of his identity or knowledge of theirs although those who had been summoned would be instantly recognisable; and not just to Alexis. Finally, the 'most noble' among them arrived apologising for his late arrival. Truth be told, Alexis had expected to find their corpses along the way; knights were rarely known for their ability to pass through lands incognito and the world was not so safe that they could journey by themselves if their identity were known. She was pleasantly surprised by this revelation, perhaps she had underestimated the men simply because they were born into their titles.
Inclining her head in greeting to the Prince, she greeted him neutrally. "Prince Edgar, a pleasure to see you in such high spirits." The knights then stood there in an awkward silence, none wanting to broach the topic of why they had assembled in this place. It was the smell that Alexis noticed first, drawing her attention to the wolf which had quietly approached them. It nodded a greeting to her before bounding off. Without pause the female knight strode towards her horse and set about checking the appropriate straps were tight for an immediate journey.
"I think, gentleman, it might be best if you readied yourselves. We will be off shortly."
Mere seconds passed before Shi'larra appeared atop her black stallion, energetic and prepared to gallop out of the town. She greeted them shortly, clearly disappointed in their fewer than expected numbers. Alexis had not questioned her patron's judgement in assigning the meeting place but had had her doubts about whether the knights would come at all. There was great suspicion of magic in Obrethon and even she, with her personal interaction with it from a young age, preferred to rely on tactics and those things which she could predict.
Alexis trotted her steed, a chestnut coloured stallion with no name she knew of, to the side of their leader. "Not yet here, Shi'larra. I imagine waiting here will only become a trap for those left to reach us, what with the net closing around us." She glanced at the wolf again, the faint smell of smoke apparent again. "It might be best if we attempt to find them on the road. That or their corpses if they haven't been careful enough." She pulled herself into the saddle with fluid ease, adjusting her sword belt slightly so that the rapier resting there would not come loose in the coming ride.
Redoran stiffened momentarily, his hands twitching towards his scabbard, when he saw the hulking wolf. He had been fully ready to come between Alexis and the beast should it pounce. But to his utter astonishment, the wolf merely bowed before skulking away. He failed to conceal his surprise as he looked at the others. No one else was mentioning the wolf. Was he seeing things?
When the Prince arrived, Redoran bowed and touched his gauntled fist to his heart. "I am pleased to see you again, sire," he said, meaning it. But for this man, Obrethon would have been swallowed by the darkness. He would ever be grateful for that.
He ran a professional eye over the newcomer. The knight hadn't introduced himself and stood with his broad shoulders hunched. He was a good head shorter than Redoran, but his eyes blazed in the dim light as a warning to anyone who might take this as an advantage. Not to mention the fact that he very surely possessed a stone.
So this was Shi'larra. He didn't know what he was expecting, but certainly not that ageless face. He didn't have time to fully appraise her though. It looked like events outside were overtaking them. He nodded his agreement and mounted Shamran.
"Where are we headed? South of here lies Naeron," he said, more as an assurance to himself that this was still the realm in which he grew up. "If we are riding into peril, I suppose we must make for the Tower?"And I suppose we must have a plan, he didn't add.
Bron nodded at the Prince. They had seen each other but a few weeks ago, so he dispensed with any formalities.
He'd never liked wolves, or dogs. They were only loyal so long as you fed them, and he'd seen plenty starving dogs go rogue on their masters. He tightened his grip on his scabbard, despite the animal walking off, but didn't let his face betray his emotions. He'd gotten good at that, as a Hvar-täk player.
So this woman was Shi'larra. He'd only heard Edgar speak of her, and was, to tell the truth, expecting what you'd hear in a child's tale. An elderly crone with a pointy hat. She was quite the opposite, she looked younger than Bron, and was strikingly beautiful. He paid no mind to that and instead spoke for the first time since his arrival.
"Why should we listen to you... Sorceress? You've given us no proof of your intentions, nor any reason to trust you. I'm not even sure why I've been summoned half across the fucking country, or who's chasing us. Or indeed what."
((Sorry for the short post)) Before he could firmly step foot in to the house stable enough the shrill sound of a wolf engrossed the center of his being with a rather resonant presence. A swift tingle engulfed the entirety of him, causing him to stop abruptly in still frame. His eyes first, following the rest of his body quickly jolted in an about-face back out the barely shut door. Wolves, were known to roam the majority of their lands, but rarely are any ever found roaming the outskirts of the city streets, and from the sound of it, any particularly this large in size.
Before passing through the door frame, he was immediately greeted by a sulfuric aroma that masked the air around the outside. Instantly, the startled prince firmly entrenched his stance into the ground; aimlessly but firmly grasping the grip of his right cutlass in regards to his suddenly provoked defense. Realizing that a terrorist like threat wouldn't be much of a considerable reason, he disengaged in a more composed stature fixing his expression in a foul manner, fanning the front of his face and sighing in antipathy as the stench crept up his nasal passage. The thought of exploding barrels of gunpowder crossed his mind, though it was highly unlikely that anything of the sort would be found in a place brimming with many a traveler.
He fixed his attention on Alexis as her sudden words drew his attention towards her. "Likewise" he proceeded, still slightly thrown off by the pungent smell. Unsure of her immediate proposal about where the remaining gem bearers, he shrugged his shoulders and shook his head, reassuring himself that they were all indeed, strong trustworthy men. Alexis' sudden action compelled him in the direction of his own steed. He eyed over the back of his horse, pasting his attention back towards the streets, in search of anything seemingly, out of place as he prepared to mount. The familiar sound of trotting horse shoes could be heard off in the distance, followed by the appearance of a random wolf, and a woman perched upon a horse.
As she grew more near, she became instantly recognizable as the one who had been contacting him in his dreams. Her nod of recognition deemed more approving to him than the vague glimpses of her astral appearance would justify, aside from the increasingly more noticeable smell. He nodded back in confirmation of her, and her sense of client to client confidentiality; which was surprisingly poised. He reached into a satchel firmly tied on the side of the horses saddle, and pulled out a palm full of specially made horse feed, listening in at the sorceress but remained without an answer as he palm fed the horse. It was obvious that they wouldn't be there long. None the less, he mounted his horse and hooded himself, snapping the reigns of his horse to prepare it for travel.
