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A month ago...Court of the Seven Bells
The rain pummeled the streets of Avedon as darkness fell. The wind whipped across the narrow court of seven bells. Usually at this time of night the court was filled with locals drinking and eating around the base of the two ancient oaks that called it home. Now only the sound of rain drops on the stone slabs could be made out. And the sound of two sets of feet splashing.
The sedan chair appeared in one of the many narrow lanes entering the square. Two small koblods with wide brimmed hats to keep out the rain seemed to be trying to move as fast as their legs could make out on the slick stones of the city. As the sedan chair neared the center of the square, four figures emerged from the shadows of the court.
The lead koblod slowed slightly as he saw the figure emerge from the narrow lane which led to their destination. He slowed even more as the tall figure raised a hand and shouted, "Who goes there..."
"We have a Doctor yes? Go to House of Ambassador Empire now...he sick..."
"This way is barred, you shall not pass..."
The koblods slowed to a stop. And a small figure appeared out of the sedan and looked about. "Why have we stopped? The short, orange goblin asked, trying to keep himself as dry in the small confines of the chair.
"Man say way is blocked..."
The goblin emerged more from the chair and calls out..."Who says...I am bringing a doctor to my employer the honorable..."
The figure moves in closer to the chair, as do the other four figures, slowly surrounding the chair. "There is no honor in the Empire...tonight its ambassador dies, tomorrow it shall die..."
The goblin is taken aback by this, but his hand moves to the small morning star on his belt.
The sedan chair rattles as a narrow, tall man in a dark cloak appears. "I am Doctor Youtof, accredited to the Star Chamber itself...let us pass or you..."
The figure cut him off, "I do not fear the minions of Drago or the Serene Court...if you do not leave...you shall be found in the Grand Canal tomorrow morning..."
The doctor stands for a moment, letting the rain be the only sound. His eyes narrow as his figers grasp the end of a peice of ivory in his cloak pocket. Without warning he turns on his heal and drops back into the sedan chair. A sudden white flash of light emerging from his hand and smacking into the figure that had been slowly moving up behind him.
The goblin suddenly charges at the speaker, the one blocking the way. The sound of chuckling suddenly turns into a swear as what should have been an easy kill turns into a rather akward fight.
The doctor hears the thump of something hitting the wall of the sedan chair wall above his head. He looks out the small window to see that his target is now firmly stuck in a glob of white webbing locking him to the nearby oak. A second figure now hides behind the other tree, as the Doctor looks over he see's movement and then another thump into the wall of the sedan chair just a breath away from the small window.
"By the four Gods if I get out of here..." The sound of metal hitting metal draws his attention. The goblin named Merek seems to be distracting the spokesman of the group. The man is flailing around with a long sword trying to hit the smaller goblin but seems to be too slow.
The fourth figure, a massive hulk too large to be a man, slowly marches up towards the two. The Doctor winces and wonders where the koblods have run off to...
*Zhang*, the sound fills the air as the smell of ozone and brimstone mixing fills the air. The large hulking shape is no longer standing but lies prone, the signs of the water actually evaporating from his armor now.
"Ahh...You son of a mother f**** toad squirl..." screams the spokesman as the goblin uses the sudden distraction to nail his opponent squarely between the legs.
Youtof hears someone running around the sedan chair. He grabs one of the small orbs in his pocket and throws it at the running figure. It misses, hitting the ground. But the resulting fireball throws the figure off their feet and into the shuttered window of a wine store.
"Doctor...come quickly..." shouts the goblin and Youtof grabbs his chest and runs from the saftey of the sedan chair towards the Via Natadia and the saftey of the Imperial Embassy. He sees the spokesman attempt to rise. But he drops as a crackling energy bolt zooms where his head had been a moment before. The doctor looks over his shoulder, in the distance a faint blue light hangs in the bell tower of the local temple.
He turns his attention back to the narrow pathway and saftey. His mind wondering who wants the Imperial Ambassador dead, and who was interfering against them.
The tall, thin man in a red jacket looked at the slightly shorter man before him. "Yes, sir...you want a booth under the quarter deck" He said without any inflection in his voice.
"Yeah...I don't need my associate here having to have his damn head against the bulkhead the whole way out. That and I prefer to have my drinks served to me." The Imperial Merchant replied, his lanquage more of the hard knocks part of the empire than one of those from the merchant families.
The steward looked up at the massive bulk of the Orc behind the man. "Just down there sir...take any open booth..." he replied.
He turned his attention back to the dock but noticed that the gangway had finally been pulled back.
The steward stepped up to the rail and looked up at the Skipper working the tiller on the quarter deck. a short stubby dwarf with long locks of fire red hair. "Sir, we're leaving so soon? I only have a few passengers...an elvish lady, a goblin and warrior of some type, that doctor fellow you gave the booth to, four maids and that foul Cook of the Keth'a family, oh and that merchant and his Orc servant..." he protested.
"We got a hold full of port and sherry that needs to be at the dock in two bells. Let alone all that damn produce filling up the forecastle. Yeah, not much in passengers this morning, but most will head out on the noon boat I'd say..." the Skipper replied, focused on watching the dock men throw in the lines.
The steward nodded as the Capel began to move, the lanteen sails being raised by the small crew. "I will open the bar then..."
The steward looked at the main cabin, the hardback seats found the maids, the snoring cook, and the two performers. "The bar will open in five minutes he called before turning into the much more comfortable stern lounge. Here small booths lined the two sides of the ship while a small bar filled in across the stern windows. The ceiling here was much higher, almost six and a half feet, but the doctor was still having problems with the beams when he entered.
The steward moved behind his short bar and then rang the bell to signal the bar was open. He smiled a moment at the elven lady, a woman of obvious quality. Although where she had gotten such a big eared dog confused him. The steward noted that the merchant was looking over the whole room from his chosen starboard stern booth right next to him. He nodded at the order for a spiced rum from the man and waited to see who would order next before fetching it.
