Time: Afternoon
Location: Ironhold
Interactions: Tanithil @Lava Alckon, Amisra @Tae, and Sivaros @GingerBoi123
Mentions: Annya @princess
Kaleb scanned Ironhold with a pensive expression as he had no idea which way to go. For one, everything… looked… the same… Then there were the confusing walkways leading upward, downward, and upward again… Then there were the molten canals to navigate around… Then there was the lack of signs… Then there was a lack of sky because the entire city was in a cavern… Then there were the smells…
But surprisingly enough, Kaleb kept those grievances to himself. He had a singular objective: to get into contact with Annya as quickly as possible to warn her of what occurred in the North Pass.
“Outta the way or get movin’!” A dwarf hollered from behind him. He glared back at the dwarf but proceeded forward. Arguing would be a waste of time and he did not find it to be a luxury at the moment. Besides, he needed these fast-moving dwarves if he was going to have any chance at getting to where he needed to go.
“Actually, excuse me!” Kaleb stopped to turn slightly to address the dwarf. His expression softened, but not by much
“Hm?” The dwarf raised his eyebrows in anticipation of what Kaleb had to say.
“Where’s the king stay? I have business with him but I failed to liaise with the dwarf meant to lead me to him.” Kaleb caught the dwarf’s minor skepticism and proceeded to hammer down the lie. “If you must know, I am a Sun Elf Kingdom official with a dire and classified message for your king from none other than Princess Annya… And if importance doesn’t move you, perhaps amas will.” Kaleb raised an eyebrow and held out a hand to informally solidify the deal.
“All that talking and the only thing that mattered was the last of it.” The dwarf spat in his palm and took Kaleb’s hand who winced but tightened his grip. “Now for the specifics. I ain’t taking you all the way to the other side of Ironhold. This ward is the easternmost ward and you’ll need to head that way until you reach the entrance, and then you’ll need to take yourself up the center path. It winds about a bit but I think… Hmm, my cousin says he keeps right when going that way, but I always keep left… Hmm, the path forks and forks but just try to make it as far as you can until you reach the throne.” The dwarf was nodding as he scratched his bearded cheek with his free hand.
“Well fuck…” Kaleb frowned, but poor verbal directions were better than nothing. “Good enough, friend. 30 amas!”
“Fifty!”
“Fifty? You’re not even taking me. Thirty!”
“Me not taking you is a blessing! You’re wearing those zoomies, so me not accompanying you might be a good thing, yes?” His words caused Kaleb to scowl.
“Yes… Fifty then!” The dwarf had a point and Kaleb couldn’t keep wasting time negotiating payment. The two released their hands and conducted the exchange as quickly as possible. Down to the entrance and then back up through the center! With that in mind, Kaleb dashed forth.
The short work Kaleb thought he was going to make of the route turned out to be him underestimating its length. Zoomies made people faster, but your stamina was what it was and Ironhold was the real-life version of a treadmill’s interval setting. By the time, he arrived near the cave mouth, he had to stop so he could take a breather. But every passing moment meant the Malthemoor soldiers he encountered in North Pass were still… were still doing whatever they were doing without anyone’s knowledge. Kaleb narrowed his eyes at the thought of it before inconveniently hearing something that grabbed his attention. It sounded like an argument, and when his searching found the participants of it, his eyes widened at the sight of someone swooping down using dark magic. He couldn’t make out the words from where he stood but to him, it appeared to be an altercation. Between a light elf and two individuals below, one clearly being a dark elf. Swords were drawn and the definite dark elf was wielding his magic like some sort of clawed gauntlet.
Kaleb made eye contact with one of the Ironhold guards who simply shrugged communicating that what was going on wasn’t their problem. Aren’t they allies? Fuck ‘em then. I’ll step up… and maybe… yeah… that just might get straight to the king. No more hiding. Kaleb tossed his bag down and gripped his staff in both hands
“Hey shitheads!” He spoke as he generated a heat haze as he approached. With each step, the heat haze intensified until his staff was enveloped in white-hot flames. “You dark elf assholes want humans so bad, huh? Well, you got the strongest one, right here!” The fire on the staff almost begged to spread but he kept them tamed and focused on his weapon.