23 January 2010

Onward, to Cheydinhal!

27th of Last Seed, 3E433
Today is my first day of freedom in two years.  I hardly know what to do with myself.  After making it out of the sewers, I headed up to the city to outfit myself and to sell the loot I'd nabbed from the goblins in the catacombs. The sunlight stung my eyes at first, and I had to shade them with my hand so that I could see the path in front of me.  I was giddy with joy and my newfound freedom, and so I whistled as I strolled by the guards into the city.  The sights and sounds assaulted me as soon as I entered.  The Market District was bustling, people moving to and fro, hawking goods and directing people to stores.  The Legion stood watch over it all, keeping a careful eye out for thieves and pickpockets.  It was overwhelming, really.  I'd only ever been to the Imperial City once before my imprisonment, and it had been on an errand for the Mages Guild in Cheydinhal.  Someone was waving fresh bread in my face, and another was shouting something about books.  A woman with a shrill voice was yelling about Jensine's something-or-other, and I found that I could barely think! I ducked into the closest shop, and breathed a sigh of relief when the only sounds were the rhythmic clang of a hammer and breath of a bellows.  I walked towards the back of the shop, where the smith was beating red-hot metal that vaguely resembled an axe.  She looked up and smiled, and asked if she could help me.  I set my heavy ruck down on the floor and nodded an affirmative.  She raised her eyebrows at the clank it made as it hit the floor, and I smiled a bit. "Goblins..."  I removed an old war axe, a couple rusty daggers, a beat up iron cuirass, and some assorted gems and silver items.  The smith's eyes widened, and she raised an eyebrow quizzically.  "You go into a goblin den or something?"  I nodded.  "Yeah, just about."
After completing the sale, I left with an empty ruck and a full coinpurse.  I headed to the armorer, and got a good pair of gauntlets and boots, along with a nice set of fur greaves.  The armorer even fixed up my leather cuirass!  I sauntered out of the store feeling ten feet tall, and looking much better than when I had walked in.  A loud growl brought my attention to the thing I had so far neglected: my stomach.  I stopped a woman and asked her where the nearest tavern was.  "The Merchant's Inn, just over there." she said, pointing behind me. I thanked her and headed for the inn, thoughts of food dancing across my mind.
The inn was nice, good atmosphere.  The innkeep was a good guy as well, very observant of the level of ale in your tankard.  I drank and ate my fill (venison and ham and potatoes and bread and cheese...), and retired to a rather nice room upstairs to sleep off my full stomach. (Ok, perhaps I was a bit drunk as well...)
28th of Last Seed, 3E433
The morning brought bright sunshine, and I woke to an intense sunbeam creeping across my bed.  I threw back the blanket and yawned, then got up and did my morning stretches.  I was sore from my ordeal in the sewers, and I found a couple of scratches on my arms and hands.  They didn't look too bad though, nothing some quick wortcraft wouldn't fix.  I packed up my things and bought a little bit of food, and with my bow on my back and magic tingling at my fingertips, I set out for Cheydinhal.

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