WELCOME TO RAYVEN'S REIGN.

Krail had not recently been to Porthaven; nonetheless, it didn't seem to have changed much from his last visit. He had arrived via a passenger ship that had just recently docked, and hadn't much enjoyed the journey. He never had gotten his sealegs.

A pale man, with a thin frame and short stature, Krail was not an imposing sight. Luckily, he rarely tried to intimidate anyone at all, and preferred to keep to himself. Today, however, he was in need of some assistance. He walked, though without a limp, with the help of a white cane in his right hand, leaning on it in such a way that suggested he didn't have the strength that someone of his age - or the age he appeared to be - should have. His robes shifted while he walked toward the docks, his second day out since he had arrived in the city.

He was a priest of the Nurallian Order; he wasn't sure if the sect was well-known in these parts or not...but it also didn't matter to him, if they weren't. Nuralli was said to be the goddess of Order, Balance, and Neutrality, and her priests - and priestesses - reflected her doctrine. They dedicated their lives to maintaining order in the world, at the expense of their own soul. Or so the rumors went; they were relatively secretive in the details of what they did, but it was hard to keep a resurrection entirely 'quiet.'

He had inquired at several places around the town - most of them close to the docks - as to who to look for to hire as a bodyguard. There were several mercenaries that he could speak with, he soon found out. Seamus Merlot was the name he'd heard the most often, and thus it was he that the priest sought out.

After asking around a bit more on the docks, he was soon and finally pointed in the right direction. The man was tall - much taller than Krail - and looked capable enough. He approached him slowly but confidently, his expression largely blank. "Seamus Merlot?" He asked, once he reached the man. He was not much of a chatter, and tended to keep things short and to the point.

(Wow your writing flows so well! I'm no match for such style but I'll try to keep up at least.)

It was late afternoon and Seamus found himself wandering around the docking district of Porthaven. He'd just got done with a shipment protection job and he was feeling quite good with a pocket full of gold. Perhaps I"ll buy something.. His eyes roamed the market style stalls that peppered their way down the road next to the docks. None of them really caught his eye so he just stopped at the nearest one. This old woman was selling embroidered gloves and moccasins. Neither of those interested Seamus really, but he was polite in telling the lady he wasn't interested.

His sword hung loosely at his left hip as he walked. Seamus was quite adept with the blade, he'd had this particular one for about a year and a half now. The warrior loved to wear it on his left hip, despite being left handed. It threw opponents for a loop to see that he was perfectly ambidextrous with his weapon. Breathing the strong sea air, he stopped at the next stall and eyed the cooking fish. There seemed to be some sort of squid and a couple of smaller fish. They all looked somewhat disgusting to him.

Letting out a sigh, Seamus turned away from the stall only to be stopped by a man. Compared to the warrior's loose tank top and brown leather slacks this man was dressed quite.. nicely. The man's robes caught Seamus' eye before he actually even looked at who was standing in front of him.... and saying his name. It wasn't really that uncommon for people to approach him with contracts nowadays, but it still caught Seamus off guard.

"Hello, yes I'm Seamus." He cocked his head at the man and looked him up and down again. What a strange outfit he had on. Hmm. He must be foreign or somesuch. I wonder what he wants. Seamus shifted his weight and folded his arms. He wasn't trying to appear annoyed or guarded, but after a long job that had just come to an end, the prospect of another one so quick made him a bit wary. Or maybe this man just wanted to sell him something? Doubtful.

ooc: Oh! Thank you very much. n____n That makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside to hear that. <3 Your writing style is really quite nice, too!

It was good to hear that he had the right man. He looked tired, but that was none of Krail's concern; all he really cared about was whether or not Seamus was agreeable to taking on his assignment.

"My name is Krail," was about as descriptive he was likely to get at that particular moment as an introduction. "I have heard you are a mercenary of some renown in this area." He wasn't sure exactly how accurate that was, but a little bit of flattering never did any harm, and from what little he'd gathered, it was true enough. "I am looking to hire a bodyguard."

He had a veiled, blank method of speaking; not really a monotone...but that sort of voice that suggested little or nothing could truly excite him, for better or for worse. The nature of his mission was such that he wanted and needed the very best bodyguard he could find in the area. "I pay quite well," he added for extra incentive.

Seamus listened quietly as Krail introduced himself. "A bodyguard?" He unfolded his arms and extended a burly hand to the man ahead of him. "What kind of situation are we looking at?" Seamus was all for protecting the underdog in a good cause. This man seemed strange and mysterious, which made Seamus think he might not be the good cause type, but he was open if the pay was good. As long as he wasn't murdering innocents. "I've got quite a bit of experience as far as protection goes. Have you heard of Lord Carver of Fallsreach? Its a township further inland.. Anyways a couple of cycles ago it was under seige from a pack of werewolves. I stood and fought next to the Lord when the beasts invaded his keep. We staved off the attack and a treaty was formed with the savages." Seamus wasn't usually one for boasting, but he hadn't told many people of that expedition and was eager to share tales of the victory. Realizing he'd gone off on somewhat of a tangent Seamus blinked apologetically, waiting and listening for Krail to speak.

Krail listened patiently at the description of the man's talents. He didn't mind the small bit of gloating, and in fact it helped him to judge whether or not Seamus was the right man for the job, given that he wasn't exaggerating or outright lying. "A quest," he answered simply. "There is a relic known as the Orb of Thaskin," he began, "it is useless to most, but I believe it will help my efforts as a Nurallian priest."

It occurred to him that Seamus probably had no idea what he did as a Nurallian priest; however, it wasn't something he liked to spread around. More than a few people had loved ones that had passed away, and frankly...most people didn't fully understand what exactly transpired when he brought the dead back to life, so to speak. If Seamus didn't ask, he didn't plan on explaining.

"I commend you for your success," he said in a neutral tone, referring to the werewolves. "I cannot say I've been in any such situation." In fact, the idea of Krail being in any sort of position where he had to fight was all but ludicrous; he had no physical strength, and although he had some small, tiny defensive magics, they would do nothing but prolong the inevitable, if he were attacked on his own. Unfortunately for Seamus, he was not the curious type, and so would not ask much about the man's exploits, beyond what he needed to know.

The orb of what-now? Seamus rubbed one of his eyes. This man didn't seem inclined to explain any more than he was going to have to, so Seamus figured why bother asking any more questions. There was only one more question that he actually had to ask. "Alright, show me my payment beforehand so that I know it actually exists, and we can depart immediately. There is the question of rations, but I am skilled at hunting. If we find ourselves on the road with no food it shouldn't be hard to find some." He didn't like to seem greedy but Seamus had learned long ago about being taken advantage of. This Krail seemed very... wily. The warrior felt he should probably be wary around this man, just to be safe. It didn't help that he was dressed so strangely too.

Seamus was indeed curious about the function and purpose of this orb that Krail wanted to retrieve. The warrior figured it would be locked in a ruin somewhere, with multitudes of undead conveniently nearby for him to fight. Breathing an inward sigh at the prospect of fighting undead, he turned his eyes on Krail and waited for the priest to either show the gold, lead the way, or get lost.

Krail nodded. "Sensible," he admitted. He took from an inside pocket of his robes a decent-sized bag of gold, and handed it to the man. "This you can carry with you now," he suggested. "I will pay you the other half when we return successful."

He picked up the cane he carried, showing Seamus the top of it, which held a rather large sapphire at the tip. "The jewel will be yours, as well. I will have no need of it when we return." It aided him in the few defensive cantrips he knew; but the Orb would accomplish the same thing, he hoped, and so very much more.

"Will that suffice?" he asked, head tilting slightly to the side.

As for rations, he merely nodded. "I have gold enough for purchase two horses and some rations. Beyond that, your hunting expertise would be appreciated," he explained, setting the jeweled cane back on the ground, and once more using it to lean on in the slightest bit.

Seamus tried not to gawk at the amount of payment being offered. He was a very pleasant and actually nice fellow but he couldn't bring himself to turn down this gold. "This must be," He stopped talking as a few large sailors stumbled by, singing some sort of song. The trio was obviously drunk. After they were a couple of paces away Seamus resumed what he was saying. "This must be a job with some serious danger." He took the bag of gold from Krail and deposited it in a fold inside his tunic.

"So shall we be underway? I can show you to the stables, which should probably be our second stop, assuming you still need to purchase some rations for the road." His eyes watched the sailors as they stumbled further down the dock. Seamus often got drunk, but he never acted so obnoxious like that. Frowning a bit, he turned back to Krail.

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