Fantasy [Raileih] Sarifal Kingdom

[Hexblood Bandit]

Lady_Minerva​

Nothing is visible to you, not even yourself. Your voice cannot traverse the darkness and only silence answers you.

Just as the panic sets in, a fluttering of wings is heard, and you see a scaleless dragon rapidly approaching your location. With every beat of its powerful wings stars appear and paint the sky behind it. It harmlessly soars just above you and continues on to a now visible lake. The dragon dives into the waters and a red haze erupts from the lake. Snap!

The raucous snapping sound signals the arrival of a new day in the Wet Knuckle Inn. Sunlight peeks through the holes of makeshift curtains, and over the scuffed wooden floorboards. A small nightstand with a worn down candle is placed near the surprisingly comfortable bed Raileih is on, and a chamberpot lies across the room.

Snap! Cedric the Mad must be downstairs breaking firewood with his bare hands again.

 

[Lady_Minerva]

Raileih sat up with a start, throwing sheets off of her body in a flurry of grey and brown. The usually brave and unflinching tiefling woman's chest shuddered as she wiped sweat from her brow. She had been woken from her slumber by Cedric hand-splitting. Raileih sighed heavily and slid out of her bed, her raggedy nightclothes drifting lightly around her soft red skin. She did her best to shake off the nightmare that had tormented her dreams that night. Despite the tiefling's rough and dangerous line of work, she was still very attractive with curves and smooth blemishless skin.

Raileigh walked over to a small bed-chest against the white plaster cement wall in her room. The chest and bed were the only items in the barren room besides the nightstand holding a solitary candle. A set of two nice blue steele knives and commoners ragtag cotton and fur clothes were revealed upon her lifting the lid. She didn't take long to get dressed and pull on her leather boots. She put her knives in a rough sheeth hanging under her arm from a shoulder sling and pulled her jerkin closer to cover it. Raileih's stomach growled eliciting another sigh from the tieflings lungs. Feeling a pathetically small coin purse she considered whether she had enough to buy breakfast. Hanging her head, Raileih walked to her door. "Guess I need to go out again." She muttered to herself.

Moments later Raileih was taking a seat at the bar on the first floor and watching Cedric use his absurd strength to crack logs into pieces like a bears jaws crushing bones. "Hello Cedric." The deceptively youthful tiefling said in an alluring voice. She was hoping to get a free meal out of Cedric if she could.

 

[Hexblood Bandit]

The old fistfighter clothed in a simple tunic and trousers stokes the fire and gives a grunt as a greeting. He was a burly fellow, time did not wear down his physique like most men his age, only the gray in his straw-colored hair and crows feet reveal the truth. “You want food Raileih? I’ve got some fish stew boiling.” Cedric pauses for a moment and grouses, “I didn’t have the chance to tell you yesterday, but some kid showed up here and asked for you by name. I reckon he’s a messenger from those Forsworn people, but can't be sure.”

 

[Lady_Minerva]

Raileih smiles smally, exposing the very tips of her sharp teeth. "I would love some. Thank you." She replied to the big man splitting wood. The tiefling falted at Cedric's next words. There had been a messenger from the Forsworn. Surely they were seeking her for recruitment. 'I'm fine on my own.' Raileih thought to herself. A growling stomach weakened her confidence on the thought. "Did the boy give you any information Cedric?" Raileih asked as she gracefully whisked herself around the bar counter to get a bowl.

 

[Hexblood Bandit]

Cedric lumbers into a kitchen to grab the stew, "No, nothing." Today must be one of the innkeeper's better days, because after setting the stew on counter he elaborates, "Only asked if you were lodging here. I politely refused to answer and the boy walked off. Didn't even say he was from Forsworn, but well you know." He gestures towards Raileih's horns, "Not many folk around here interested in tieflings besides them, and the Mthunzi."

Unfortunately for guests, the building is not the only thing to suffer from a lack of funds. The stew has a paltry amount of fish, floating bits of carrots and onions, and little else. Heavy footsteps fall down the staircase as the elf veteran turns up at the smell of food. She was average-looking, by elven standards, long blonde hair pulled neatly into a severe ponytail. Ruffled garb of someone in the military, although there is nothing to indicate the rank she had. Her bitter gaze lands on Raileih for a brief moment before switching to Cedric.

"Sehi, you're up early than normal, food?" Cedric breaks the conversation to address Sehi, who manages a small yes and joins Raileih at the bar counter.