Post by banshi on Feb 25, 2019 22:06:53 GMT
Pouring rain in sheets, the sky was a churning darkness rolling with thunder. The storm, which had raged since the afternoon, had brought rough seas and the occasional bright flash from far off the Sword Coast. The sound overtaking their path on occasion, a lone wanderer approached the City of Waterdeep from the southern coastal road. Each droplet of water was thick, beating down upon every exposed surface and draining through any crack, on its path back to the sea. It is a simple creature, so complex in its indifference. A soaking rain, that easily seeps through the finely knit fibers of cloak and drenches a traveler weary form. Perhaps a wiser person would have sheltered up for the night, but this one was pulled onward, doing the only thing left in attempting to ignore the sensation altogether. The salt air mixed heavily with the rainfall add a sludgy pungence to dowsing scent. With each sluggish step their heavy chain mail boots pressing into the muddy road, the slow-moving adventurer retreated back into their mind, to reflect upon the journey.
Long road… days and days… hope wishes it to be an end, yet it is simply the beginning. Cliches aside, I wonder where will we find what we seek. I worry for the emptiness I’ve left... for those I’ve hurt. I mourn the lost...whose ignorant missteps lead Us to this path. If they were not dead...
One hundred and fifty miles, and though with stunted optimism the warrior knew the walk was nearly over now, and they would reach Waterdeep soon. A tenday passed on the road, stopping only briefly at each outpost or town to rest and resupply, and now in the distance they could see it. Nestled on the coast, the city was a void against the surrounding natural terrains until the lightning struck and revealed its edged. All at once, the traveler felt relief and an eerie dread fall over them. What they would find here in the City of Splendors was a mystery. It would not be an easy task to follow the whisper in a city of over one hundred thousand, but that would be the least of their worries in this city. They were a strange here, an outsider… but if they were honest with themselves, they had become a stranger anywhere. Coming around the next bend the city was growing before their painted mask, shifting in mass around by the whims of imagination, as the torches, sconces and braziers began to pierce the obstructions and bring the cold form of the city to a more lively state. The sight of the gates was welcomed, as the river trickling down the back of their neck had finally broken free of their tunic and dripping into the under-layers. The misery would soon be over.
The walls were patrolled to spite the inclement weather, and the guards flanking the entrance to the city stood uncomfortably. Though protected from the downpour, the droplets splashing the stone walls created a heavy misting effect to glide beneath their cover. "I empathize with you brave guardsmen." With their gentle voice cutting through the splashing cacophony, the deeply cloaked and heavily armored form of the lone adventurer shuffled into the light of their torches, halting as the men jerked upon their city-issued spears. With chattering teeth, they exclaim, "...E-eas-zzzzy..." And very slowly lifted two empty gloved hands from the folds of the stranger's soaked cloak in a good faith show of their peaceful intentions. "S-ss-sorry gentlemen… m-my f-fire was d-doused many hours ago."
The guards, slow to release their caution, eased their postures after taking a moment to inspected the oddly dressed, and thoroughly soaked wanderer shivering before them, as if they might be the tormented spirit of forgotten laundry. They asked its business and asked how long it had been on the road. Lies were simpler and, honestly, more convenient than the overly complex and incoherence of the truth, and so the traveler offered them instead. The torches were lifted, as they were asked to pull back the cowl. The masked-helmet covered in unintelligible inscriptions was next, then lifted to show the men a much less mysterious figure. A pale half-elf's face, androgynous, with vibrant green eyes and a friendly smile to spite looking a bit like a drowned rat carrying their own cage. The guards eased further, as the three on them struct up conversion over the horrid weather. They pitied the traveler and directed them to a decent inn, even thanking them for their patience. They seemed like Good folk.
The city was even large on the inside, feeling shrunken by the noise and motion within the walls. They were not the only one who must work through the discomfort, seeing laborers as they followed the guards directions. Silently reflecting upon the stories of other travelers, the lone adventurer recalled the different wards that interested them, collecting their thoughts on what to accomplish first in the city, after drying out of course...
Long road… days and days… hope wishes it to be an end, yet it is simply the beginning. Cliches aside, I wonder where will we find what we seek. I worry for the emptiness I’ve left... for those I’ve hurt. I mourn the lost...whose ignorant missteps lead Us to this path. If they were not dead...
One hundred and fifty miles, and though with stunted optimism the warrior knew the walk was nearly over now, and they would reach Waterdeep soon. A tenday passed on the road, stopping only briefly at each outpost or town to rest and resupply, and now in the distance they could see it. Nestled on the coast, the city was a void against the surrounding natural terrains until the lightning struck and revealed its edged. All at once, the traveler felt relief and an eerie dread fall over them. What they would find here in the City of Splendors was a mystery. It would not be an easy task to follow the whisper in a city of over one hundred thousand, but that would be the least of their worries in this city. They were a strange here, an outsider… but if they were honest with themselves, they had become a stranger anywhere. Coming around the next bend the city was growing before their painted mask, shifting in mass around by the whims of imagination, as the torches, sconces and braziers began to pierce the obstructions and bring the cold form of the city to a more lively state. The sight of the gates was welcomed, as the river trickling down the back of their neck had finally broken free of their tunic and dripping into the under-layers. The misery would soon be over.
The walls were patrolled to spite the inclement weather, and the guards flanking the entrance to the city stood uncomfortably. Though protected from the downpour, the droplets splashing the stone walls created a heavy misting effect to glide beneath their cover. "I empathize with you brave guardsmen." With their gentle voice cutting through the splashing cacophony, the deeply cloaked and heavily armored form of the lone adventurer shuffled into the light of their torches, halting as the men jerked upon their city-issued spears. With chattering teeth, they exclaim, "...E-eas-zzzzy..." And very slowly lifted two empty gloved hands from the folds of the stranger's soaked cloak in a good faith show of their peaceful intentions. "S-ss-sorry gentlemen… m-my f-fire was d-doused many hours ago."
The guards, slow to release their caution, eased their postures after taking a moment to inspected the oddly dressed, and thoroughly soaked wanderer shivering before them, as if they might be the tormented spirit of forgotten laundry. They asked its business and asked how long it had been on the road. Lies were simpler and, honestly, more convenient than the overly complex and incoherence of the truth, and so the traveler offered them instead. The torches were lifted, as they were asked to pull back the cowl. The masked-helmet covered in unintelligible inscriptions was next, then lifted to show the men a much less mysterious figure. A pale half-elf's face, androgynous, with vibrant green eyes and a friendly smile to spite looking a bit like a drowned rat carrying their own cage. The guards eased further, as the three on them struct up conversion over the horrid weather. They pitied the traveler and directed them to a decent inn, even thanking them for their patience. They seemed like Good folk.
The city was even large on the inside, feeling shrunken by the noise and motion within the walls. They were not the only one who must work through the discomfort, seeing laborers as they followed the guards directions. Silently reflecting upon the stories of other travelers, the lone adventurer recalled the different wards that interested them, collecting their thoughts on what to accomplish first in the city, after drying out of course...
