Surna was alive with men and women from the Watch trying to settle the aftermath of a fire. A poor dverfar's house had burned away in shadowy flames, and rockets of darkness had come down like hail. At least, that's what the gossip around was. Many of the officers on duty couldn't believe their ears, but those who were present before them said they couldn't believe their eyes. The chaos continued to ensue, for such a bizarre and disastrous event had far-reaching effects. Many of those would eventually wind up at the personal desk of the Watch's commander.
The acting commander of the Watch pushed open the door to his temporary office and sauntered over to his desk. He turned back to the open door to a pair of soldiers, one towering over the other. "One more thing. Both of you, in the office." Stom Razel moved over to the desk but refrains from sitting. The former Commander's affairs remain scattered across the desk as they were last left.
"Jawohl." The giant, Robyn Kluge, followed after. Her shaved head was ducked down, barely an inch from the ceiling.
"Put out a public bounty." Stom tapped his fingers on the desk, staring at his past. "Five thousand shillings for his capture. One thousand dead, if he can't be taken alive." He remained afoot; a certain anxiety of the needle-laden seat of guilt had kept him from the comfort of the chair.
Robyn stood stalwartly, as well as one could when the room could hardly contain them. "Wehrt gemacht."
"Hush with that Occitanin tongue, Kluge. You're better than that." Razel's eyes spoke with disdain, but his focus shifted in that moment. "Now... Each day we don't find that bastard, our odds drop considerably." A knock came at the door, but it went ignored while Razel spoke. "Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes." Robyn responded with a nod.
"How don't y' know he hasn't gone to some other place, sir?" The other soldier, Wolfgang Swift, had secured himself a corner and stood at attention in a manner considerably more lax than the steely Kluge.
"Cause there's something here he needs." The sound of the door swinging was joined by some heavy footsteps- a distinct voice joined the conversation, unhindered.
"Smith," said Stom, as if he was almost sighing his response, "kindly knock in the future..." The exhasperation faded into the original authorative tone. "But, since you're here, get in here where I can see you."
"I did knock, ya asshole." Alec Smith, in all his uncouth glory, rounded the corner and settled himself against the inner walls of the office and crossed his arms.
"Knock louder," scoffed Razel.
"Yer goin' deaf from all the guns. Well, I'm no better. I got something you wan'a know."
"Which is exactly why Corporal Kluge isn't giving you a big, friendly bear hug right now. Spit it on out."
"No," Alec raised his hand and spoke with an authority that rebelled against the acting Commander "I wan'a know somethin', first."
"Hm?"
Smith set the arm down and rested back against the wall. "Terri. Where is she? What's happened to 'er?" He furrowed his brows and eyed Razel with a certain cold scrutiny. "I know you know. It's the Watch's business to know."
Stom Razel shrugs a bit. "I don't bloody well know. I've been acting Watch commander for a grand total of..." He checked the clock on the wall. "Twenty two hours."
"Am I dismissed?" Kluge interjected.
Alec gave her a stare. "Right... And the guy that would know is dead n' gone..." He exhales with a shake of his head. "Well, you might wan'a get rid'a your troops 'ere before I start talkin'. This is heavy stuff."
"Very well, Corporal." Razel motioned for the giant to take her leave. "Send the Cleric from the other day in, if you can find him."
"Jawohl." And she left.
Stom then gestured to the other soldier. "Swift, dismissed." Wolfgang followed after Robyn. Alec followed them to the door and locked it before he stepped back and took his place on the wall.
Noticing this, Razel eyed Alec. "Keep the door unlocked, I'm waiting on a third member of our party."
"...No." Alec shook his head, a hint of darkness rising from his tone. "Trust me... no."
Stom didn't quite understand. He elaborated, "It's the Cleric from the other day, he's technically the one in charge of this lich hunt. Officially, anyways." His tone shifted again, expecting some sort of understanding.
Smith sighed and looked back toward the window. "This is way too heavy." The 'no' was implied again and Alec made no move to unlock the door. "Y'know what's in those ruins that Vorn wants, right? Or do ya not?..."
"Can't say so." Stom shrugged. "Either some sort of super weapon or a map or key to a superweapon. That's how ruins usually work, ain't it?"
"Somethin" like that," Alec nods. "It's a dvergar observation post, built around the time'a the Sharic Invasion..."
"The one two hundred years ago?" Stom raised his tone.
"Yeah," Alec nods. "Considerin' what it was built to withstand, you can imagine what it's loaded with."
"Don't tell me. It has something to do with the Black Tower?" The hint of concern mixed with disbelief continued to grow in Razel's throat.
"They built it to watch that," affirmed Smith "That's the bad news. Here's the really bad news."
Stom Razel snorts a bit. "Yhe Lich wants something from the Tower? Well, the Lich and Vorn."
Alec shrugged a little as he delved into the matter. "I don't know about the Lich, but Vorn wants the dvergar ruins, or whatever's in them. The whole thing. Constructs, weapons, armor, the whole... The "Installation," he called it. The worst part..."
"You're gonna say he has access to them now?"
Alec sighed and returns another nod. "The house Vorn burnt down t'day belonged to a dvergar, apparently a "High Engineer." He took some artifact, this amulet that basically identifies him as one. If he gets in, he owns the place. That's a lot more trouble than a Lich."
"Well... It's stil buried under Goblin land," Razel searched his mind for some security or assurance that it wouldn't be that easy. "He won't be able to get in."
Smith frowned at the assessment. "Someone helped him." Oh no. It would be that easy. "Someone I know. If he keeps helpin' him, the Goblins don't mean a thing..."
Still on his feet, Commander Razel inclined his head and leaned toward Smith's position. "Care to elaborate?"
Alec shook his head. "Couldn't, even if I wanted to. It's not like somethin' I know of, like a Lich, or a vampire."
"You said it was 'someone you know'."
"Yeah, it is. I had t' fight him off. No, that ain't right." Alec shook his head. "I had to keep 'em busy while I ran... ran for a while; not sure why he stopped. It's.. a drow. A massive drow."
Stom cocked his head slightly to one side. "A massive drow?... Like, physically big?"
"Uses shadow magic like you wouldn't believe- Yeah. I've never seen drow that big."
Stom shrugged. "Haven't heard of a shadow magic user in... Well, not since the Black Tower."
Alec nodded slightly. "My magic hardly compares. He's got tons'a spells I've never heard of... he's the reason Tyrr got away today."
"Great; a wildcard..." Razel couldn't look any more unhappy. "Well, in any case, as much as I'd like to march an army out to those ruins an' dig 'em up, I can't. Not so long as they're in Goblin land." Then, a look of intrigue slipped on his face. "But..." His thoughts slowly left his mouth as he turned back to Alec, "I might be able to get you and a few others in there."
Smith frowned at this, and replied with less than excitement. "I got some prior business t' handle. Seen any Shades around here lately?" Then, he shook his head. "Forget it. If you had, they're not the one I'm after..."
Razel lofts a brow. "And you'd leave Vorn free to prance about the ruins at his pleasure? I'm disappointed in you, Smith."
Alec raised his brow in turn, or perhaps defiance. "Listen. Your town ain't one'a my problems. I ain't obligated to do anything for you n' yer people. Terri comes first, you all come second. Maybe you'll get it when you find a woman'a yer own."
"And you think I haven't?" Perhaps he'd be less dignified if his role could allow. Razel held back his displeasure much like the man before him. "There's more to life than one's selfish desires, Smith. But, then again I suppose there's a reason we live in the Age of Dead Heroes. Thank you for your time, in any case."
Barring his teeth, Smith eyed him scornfully. "Don't give me that." His tone turned to venom and laced each word. "If there was somethin' good in this city, maybe I'd bat an eyelash." But there wasn't; words he didn't say that Stom could clearly hear. "Yer only here 'cause it's yer damn heritage that put you here, isn't it?"
The edge of each letter pierced Stom's extiorer and cut into his heart. He raised a hand and slammed it down, palm first, on the wooden desk. "...His name was David Halberry. He was my friend, a husband and a father. He worked to protect the people of this city," Stom's own tone became laced with the bitterness of his heart, "and I cut his fucking head off yesterday." Staring down the lone hunter, Commander Razel stood upright again and composed himself before he concluded the conversation. "I'll say it again... Thank you for your time."
Alec eyed Stom for a moment. He shook his head, perhaps with disagreement, disappointment, or even pity. He turned away at last and took his leave. "We're the same," Smith unlocked the door, "n' you know it." He roughly pulled it open and stepped through, "I'm just honest about it," and slammed it shut, leaving only the reverberation of his final words.
Stom Razel watched the monster hunter go, waiting for the sound of the door to the Watchhouse. He then sighed, turning to the desk that once belonged to Commander Halberry. Stom reached down, grasping the picture of the Commander's wife and children. "The age of dead heroes..." The temporary commander scoffed a bit, setting the picture down. "Fitting."
