Trip to the Docks (Scene/Episode 1) Keltos/Natrix

Trusting the cybermonk can remember his route back to the plaza, he and Natrix depart from the palace on a jaunt to check on the Veritas and its crew.

Keltos walks slowly back to the dock, pacing himself and taking in his surroundings as fully as he possibly can. Later he will update his map, refining it further.

"I struggle to accept that superficial similarities are what finds us all paired," Says Keltos "Perhaps it’s not the similarities at all, superficial or otherwise that find us walking together. Let me tell you a bit about myself and you be the judge"

"I’ve heard too many men speak of chaos like it is some unknowable, enigmatic thing. That it is the birthplace of magic and demons, and even creativity. Where lazy minds accept that as truth, rational minds instead seek it out. Things are only unknowable and enigmatic until they are not. Once the rules and mechanisms behind their many manifestations become apparent they then become truths, or virtues"

"Regardless if you are a sorcerer or a painter of small things, success in ones art comes not from unknowable chaos, but knowledge. Anything else makes for a dead sorcerer and poor artist."

"Fundamentally, I am driven to explore not to just the realms around us but WHY they are around us. I do not believe in the unknowable, only the unknown. I am here because of that need to know. I am an explorer and a scholar."

Natrix listens, as she walks along with Keltos. Her hood is pulled down over her face and she steadies her gait with the staff, as she is want to do. "I do not think it matterss whether the pairingss are as sssimple as sssimilarities or complex as life itself. The choices were made by Lord Orb and we are not he. Pondering the why is a waste of time."

"As a rule, I don't reveal personal matterss to ssstrangers." She says with a shrug. "Though, I will admit I have a preference for the neutral ground. Neither virtues nor demons appeal to me."

"Undecided then?" Says Keltos with chuckle, "Something that I have learned is that a life with purpose begins when one finds their path. I hope that when you find yours it is grounded in reality and not superstition."

"Regardless," Continues the Monk "Perhaps we can find some common ground from which we can build some trust. The moment we move past being strangers is when we cease being vulnerable to our assumptions of one another."

"Let me start with this small token" Says Keltos handing Natrix his map.

As Keltos hands Natrix the map to look over, their path makes a decided turn to the left and what is at first heard as a faint intermittent sound of metal on metal echoing down the street, becomes more and more pronounced as they continue forward.

The only movement in the streets along their way so far are several noticeably shadowy, and hazy figures moving along the streets in their periphery. From this distance they seem to not have many features, including faces.



At the end of the long straight of the street, both Keltos and Natrix see an open doorway and feel an increase in the temperature coming from it. The sound is unmistakably that of a hammer ringing against anvil. Above the doorway is a sign depicting such; an anvil and the word Blackmantle.

Keltos pauses, distracted by the sound hammering. "Shall we? Says Ketos stepping inside.

Stepping through the large open doorway, Keltos and Natrix find themselves in a forge. A sweaty muscular, dark-skinned, Human male, with white hair and beard is diligently working at an anvil with the blade of sword.






From behind a desk just inside the large doorway to the left comes the voice of a woman. "Hello. Welcome to Blackmantle Forge. We've been expecting new faces around the city. How can we help you? I am Jocelynne." The voice belongs to a young dark-skinned woman, with more than a hint of resemblance to the older man.

Keltos, looks around with curiosity before giving a slight bow, "My name is Keltos, and this is Natrix. We were just on our way to the docks when we heard your work. Since we are new here, I thought it wise to familiarize myself with your city. Perhaps you can tell me more of the Blackmantle."

With a sudden rush of sizzling sound and rising steam, as the blade is quenched in the nearby awaiting tub of water, the older man wipes off his hands on his apron and turns to regard the two guests. "Welcome honored guests. Blackmantle is the name bestowed upon my line. I am Choyle. Ours is descended of the blood of the Nihrain and servants of the Balance. It was the Blackmantle forged the invulnerable armor of the Warrior in Jet and Gold many millenia past and we now hold the honor as the celebrated weaponsmiths and armorers of the Lords of T'Lorn."

"A most noble trade, the honor is mine. I see you are accomplished with blades, are you also familiar with firearms and their like?"

The smith nods his head. "Yes. I have forged a firearm or two in my day. There's not as much demand for them, but I know my way around them."

"There is certainly a bit of complexity associated with the weapons, in both its use and of course construction. Handcrafting quality firearms can be time consuming and expensive. That is an uncommon skill. I am curious, have any of the City Lords ever commissioned a firearm?"

The younger Blackmantle interjects, "Yes. A couple of them have. Some quite exotic to the common users of firearms. I won't go into details, but suffice it to say, these weapons were designed to make big impacts with the enemy."

Turning his attention to the younger Keltos continues, "Facinating. Although I am familiar with a variety of firearms, my interests are mostly limited to theory and design. I'm not much of a marksman. If time and circumstances permit perhaps we can share notes as they say. "

Keltos gives a polite nod before leaving for the docks.

Natrix follows Keltos' lead and departs from the forge. Outside, she comments, "I have never felt the need for heavy armorss, ssswords, or firearmss. They only weigh you down at the wrong time and are lesss efficient than magic." She unfolds the map again and notes places and details along their path to the docks.

Keltos allows Natrix to take comfort in her belief, He nods contemplatively as they continue "Not far now"

The Docks

Continuing onward with purpose, Keltos and Natrix proceed southward until they reach the plaza and the Great Eye where they arrived in T'Lorn the previous night. Beyond the plaza it is a short walk to the docks, where Keltos immediately spots the Veritas moored in the third slip this side of the water.

"Ahhhh there she is!" Says Keltos, "Come, let me introduce you to the crew!"

Upon seeing their captain approaching on the docks, the crew of the Veritas lowers the gangplank for him to board.

Offering a hand Keltos helps Natrix onboard and introduces her to the Marcus IV and the crew.

"I hope the natives have treated you well," Says Keltos while grasping the bosun's forearm in a firm grip, "Meet me in my quarters in 5 minutes. I need an update on what has been happening while I was away and to plan our next move."

"Captain on deck!" Marcus shouts out as Keltos crosses the gangplank. "Look lively boys and girls."

The muscled and scarred cyborg does his best bow at the introduction. "Welcome aboard, Miss."

He turns to regard his captain. "Curious place this." He admits to Keltos. "An odd fellow calling himself Sanguinor paid a call while you were away last night. Asked for a manifest of the goods in our hold."

The crew assembles on deck to await review by their captain.

"Strange fellow indeed. Be careful around that one. He’s a vampire. The kind with plans and schemes. He was probably hoping our cargo was warm blooded. From what I’ve learned, this place receives very few visitors. He’s probably getting bored eating the same thing." Adds Keltos staring hard at the crew."

Below deck:

"It seems a cosmic imbalance is what has drawn us here and that our guest Natrix, myself and handful of others have been charged with its restoration. At least that what I have been told. For now, we go along with that premise. In the meantime, prepare to offload our cargo. If indeed they receive very few visitors it should be no problem to profit from our goods. I will see what can be done regarding shore leave and such, but things are still in flux. I will keep you informed."

"Sadly, we may also have to say goodbye to the Veritas. She has been loyal and served well but circumstances may demand we give one her sisters an opportunity to shine."

"Aye, Captain." Marcus acknowledges. "While here in port, I've visually determined some of the buildings nearby must be warehouses and there's at least a few taverns and inns along the boardwalk."

"I’ll see what I can do about those taverns" says Keltos, "I don’t need to stress, stay professional but keep your guard up. We don’t know these people."

"Tell me more about Sanquinors visit. Did you show him our cargo manifest? I assume that you did as it is quite mundane. How was his demeanor while on board. I’m curious to know if he had other motives. Also, Make sure to do a thourough search the Veritas for anything that does not belong. I would hate if had accidently forgotton something."

"This Sanguinor said he's a procurer for the city and inquiring about our load to see if he might buy some or all of it." Marcus relates to Keltos. "I allowed him to see the manifest, Captain, but stood fast on him getting an eye on the cargo below."

"Good. I will probably see Sanguinor later this afternoon."

After a few more pleasantries with the crew, Keltos returns to city in search of warehouse to store his goods.

Not far back up the dockside avenue he and Natrix traveled down to get to the ship, Keltos spots a likely warehouse. Painted on the large stout wooden doors are a T2. A smaller door can be seen slightly past the large ones and appears to be to an office.

Opening the door, Keltos and Natrix step into a small office. Seated across from the warehouse office door is a human male with dark hair. A long scar runs down the right side of his face.



"'Morning. How can I help you?" He asks, half rising from his seat behind the counter.

Keltos takes few more steps inside and looks around, hands steepled he gives a slight bow "Well met. I have just arrived and I am seeking a safe place to store some cargo. Non-perishable, nothing dangerous. Is that something you can help me with?"

Opening the door, Keltos and Natrix step into a small office. Seated across from the warehouse office door is a human male with dark hair. A long scar runs down the right side of his face.


"'Non-perishable you say? How much do you have and how long will you need the space for?" The man asks scratching his chin.

Keltos gazes blankly for the briefest of moments, his mind racing through a series of volumetric calculations, before he blurts out his storage requirements

"I would say, neatly stacked a 20x20 would probably do. As far as how long. That depends on how soon I can find a buyer. If you happen to know of someone that is willing to pay a premium for quality off world goods, I can offer a percentage of profits."

Cupping his chin as he thinks, the scarred man nods. "I can easily accommodate that volume for you. Sir. Name's Marsh, by the way."

"Usually, the most profitable offers will come from within the Lord's retinue, depending on the actual commodities to be acquired of course. There's always a market for alcohol, foodstuffs, spice, fabrics and clothing, and raw materials for building and crafting."

"Give me a space for a month. I will pay regardless if is empty or full."

"You know there are scholars that argue that Alcohol is the reason that men took to farming and built cities. That may well be true and I would be a poor trader if I didn’t bring along at least a few barrels. Mostly though I have brought textiles, Animal pelts and the like as well as some fine whale oil that I came across."

"As I am new to the city, does T’lorn produce anything for export?"

"The space will cost you a hundred in gold." Marsh tells Keltos. "T'Lorn doesn't export much through to the realms beyond and nothing that can have its origins traced back to the city."

"Very good, I assume you have dockworkers that handle a short ship to shore delivery?"

"I got a crew of strong-backed goons who are capable of the task." Marsh replies to Keltos. "We can hoist it right out of your hold and offload it onto carts. From there, its only a short trip to the warehouse."

"Your terms are acceptable. My ship is the Veritas. I am due back at the palace but will be here later today to inspect the cargo and to make payment."

"Good day sir,"

Turning back to Natrix, "We don’t have much time but if you would like to explore the city a bit more I think we manage."s

End Scene