Sapphyre

Chapter 1The Dragon's Flagon, an inn in a town of two hundred thirty people, is crowded on this cold night. Located off the Great Southern Road in the southwest corner of the continent in the hamlet of Tondor, it has a reputation of being welcoming to travelers and for serving cold ale and hearty food. There is a fire keeping the patrons warm while mutton and corn are cooking in the kitchen. Ornik is behind the bar as usual, serving up his good humor along with the fine ale that is renowned throughout the region. He has seen every type of character in his establishment, which he has been running for almost forty winters. Travelers are frequent as the Great Southern Road is just to the west of town, and the port city of Meer is only forty or so leagues to the southwest. He has seen barbarians from the north, dwarves from the Myth Mountains, dark-skinned foreigners from across the Sea Of Tears, soldiers who patrol the entire Kingdom of Martell, and countless other strangers he cannot put a name to. He has no problem with any of them as long as they don't cause trouble and have enough kendra to pay the bill. The inn is full since the roads have become dangerous, and bandits are becoming more brazen in their attacks on travelers. The autumn season is cruelly frigid and sleeping outside without a fire is not the most pleasant experience. This influx of travelers seeking shelter has led to the diversity of the crowd on this night. The regulars from the town make sure the sixty-five-winters-old owner gets no trouble from the strangers. Rarely does a fight break out. The occasional brawl arises when there is a discrepancy at one of the two stasshire tables or if there's a cheat at the dice game. The serving girl with blue streaks in her blonde hair is tiptoeing around the patrons with a pitcher of ale in each hand. She maneuvers between two tables when a drunkard makes the mistake of grabbing her bottom as she passes by. Without losing a step, she spins to her left, gracefully places the pitchers on the table, and in one fluid motion reaches down to her ankle and unsheathes her dagger. Before the drunk patron realizes what is happening, the serving girl finishes her spin and is face to face with the man while her dagger point is firmly pushing into his crotch. As she's about to speak, Ornik screams from behind the bar, drawing attention to the spectacle. “Sapphyre, please don't do it. We don't need another eunuch leaving this tavern thanks to you.” All eyes are now watching Sapphyre. The embarrassed drunkard has both hands up signaling surrender as she allows the dagger to linger a moment longer. She slowly withdraws her weapon and with an icy stare retreats backwards to the raucous laughter of the crowd. The attention shifts to the dice game as Ashcon, the stranger with the yellow eyes, is on a lucky streak. The crowd surrounding the game is growing. Sapphyre had noticed the stranger and his black-clad friend upon their entrance hours earlier right before the evening meal, after which they secured a room on the second floor. Skenn, Ashcon's companion, is one of the largest men Sapphyre has ever seen. He stands almost seven feet tall and has broad shoulders and huge hands. Garbed in black, billowing robes, he has no problem slipping into the shadows and remaining nondescript despite his size. Ashcon is thin with dark skin, no facial hair, and his slanted yellow eyes angle downward toward a sharp, pointed nose. Although he is not extremely good-looking, Sapphyre has to admit he is somewhat handsome and conducts himself with an aura of self-confidence. While his companion in black has no obvious weapons, the gambler has two swords hanging from his belt and two dagger hilts protruding from his boots. The dark-clad giant has situated himself in the corner by the fireplace and is enjoying a mug of ale while fixing his attention on the dice game and his friend on a lucky streak. Sapphyre is in the process of delivering some mead to a member of the dice game when she notices the large stack of kendra in front of the somewhat handsome stranger, who seemed to always be in control of the dice. She pauses to watch a few rolls and sees that each time he throws a winning combination, what looks like a small tattoo of a cat's eye on his neck glows yellow before each toss. As she looks around the dice game, she senses that no one else sees this phenomenon and wonders why. After realizing she's been staring and has been derelict in her duties, she retreats back to the bar to continue with her service. As the evening turns into early morning and the games come to a close, the tavern slowly empties and the patrons who are staying the night retire to their respective rooms. This is true of the lucky dice player and his companion. They head to the second floor to count their winnings and get a night's respite from their travels. As the door closes behind them, Ashcon turns toward it, holds up his hands and gestures to the door. An octagon tattoo on the wrist of his left hand glows blue as his spell of warding is put in place. Activating this spell via his Rune of Warding enables the two companions to engage in conversation without the fear of being overheard. The Rune of Warding is one of the dozens of designs all over his body, which engage a certain power when activated. The fact that there are few people alive who can actually see these runes leads to the current conversation. Skken, knowing the ward is in place, turns to Ashcon with concern in his eyes and is about to speak, when Ashcon holds up his hand and says, “The serving girl saw something. If we are to assume she saw my Luck Rune, then we have much to discuss.” Skken replies quickly, “There is no doubt as to what she saw. While you were busy taking these people's kendra, I was carefully observing her demeanor in reaction to the dice game. At first, she outright stared at your neck and, once she realized that no one else could see it, she became nervous. If she is your seeker, Ashcon, the enormity of that possibility cannot be ignored.” Ashcon sighs audibly and while disarming himself, turns to Skken. “We cannot assume anything, Skken. I admit it is unnerving to know she can see the runes, but let us not jump to conclusions.” “So, when do we apprehend her?” “Calm down, Skken. I don't think we will need to apprehend anyone. We need a few questions answered. That is all. Let us retire as tomorrow looks to be quite an interesting day.” Skken reluctantly agrees and prepares to drift off to a restless sleep. Sapphyre finally finishes her cleanup duties and heads to her quarters for the evening. After putting her dagger under her pillow and washing up, she reclines and ponders what she has seen this night. She considers sneaking up to the second floor and eavesdropping on the two strangers, but thinks better of it. All of her instincts tell her that she must learn more of the yellow-eyed man with the glowing tattoo, but has to decide on the best course of action. She has always followed her instincts and tonight will be no exception. As she lies down on her bed and drifts off to sleep, she begins to think about fate and how it brought her here.