The Great Bazaar in the Market Ward of Sigil was alive with the buzz of activity that never ended. Stalls and tables and tents were packed together cheek by jowl, displaying a dizzying variety of items which were sold by an equally diverse selection of vendors. Horned tieflings did business beside fine-featured Githzerai without blinking, their patrons as likely to be a white winged Deva from the Upper Planes as a black skinned Fiend from the Lower. The City of Doors welcomed nearly all manner of beings, from the locally born Planar races to those birthed on the distant Prime Material Plane. Only the Powers themselves were not welcome, a dictate handed down and enforced by the mysterious and deadly Lady of Pain who controlled the countless portals that had given the city its name.
Lexius made his way through the thick of the market crowd, deftly dodging the occasional tail that swayed out behind its owner and sidestepping the greasy trails of black smoke that drifted from the burning pans of oil some of the merchants had set out to better showcase their wares in the twilight gloom. The air was filled with a cacophony of sound from the raucous chant of the haggling vendors to the chirps, growls and coughs of fantastical creatures carefully caged and displayed. The Elf spared only a small part of his attention for the selection of goods, the bulk of it dedicated to evaluating the species he passed and ensuring the slinking cutpurses working the throng didn?t bother him.
More than anywhere else in the multiverse and beyond, Sigil reminded him of RhyDin. It was the resemblance to that place, a mirroring nexus for the Prime worlds, that kept the Elf from visiting it too much or lingering too long when he did. Soon enough, he broke free of the crowd and climbed the steps leading into The Flapping Dove Inn.
Situated on the southwest side of the Bazaar, the inn shared the same building as a glassware shop, both businesses fronted by the same sooty grey stone, the shared roof topped with bristling iron spikes. A prominent bronze placard etched with the symbol of a flying dove hung above the main door, which was wide enough to easily accommodate the large, centaur-like Bariaur who owned the place. As the Elf stepped into the main room, he saw Brill positioned in his usual place behind the bar.
?Hey, Cutter.? Brill greeted him with an upraised hand, maneuvering easily behind the expanded bar. Lexius ignored the few looks that turned his way from the sparse crowd as he moved through the room, the beads strung from his belt clicking accompaniment to his stride.
?Brill.? The Elf murmured, his voice raspy from disuse. Lexius had spent the better part of the last two years exploring the inner elemental planes and he?d had very little contact with anyone but the native inhabitants of those planes, beings that didn?t usually want to have long chats. Thankfully, the owner of the Flapping Dove didn?t require words beyond the three platinum coins he slid across the wooden bar counter.
?Was thinkin? I?d be seein? ya soon, blood. Got some paper for ya.? The Bariaur gave him back a folded leather packet, the strings tied into an intricate knot, and made the coins disappear into one of the many little pouches dangling from a harness that crisscrossed his chest. ?Ya usual room be open.?
?My thanks.? Slipping a strip of muslin from around his neck, Lexius folded the cloth over the packet and stepped away from the bar without another word. He was through the common room and up the stairs within a minute and few who had seen him would remember the passage of a inconsequential elf.
The upper level of the inn was lined with doors, the hall wide and airy. Paintings of Ysgard?s rolling plains and expansive forests decorated the walls. The Elf bypassed them without a glance, slipping a small crystal from behind his belt which he fit into the space where a lock should be on a door at the end of the hall. It clicked open quietly and Lexius slipped past, the crystal sent floating in the air ahead of him to cast dim light on the small room.
The polished wood of a table and chair gleamed faintly in the low light, a simple sleeping pallet the only other furniture in the room. Lexius settled himself down to the pallet, the beads gathered and pooled in his lap before he set the packet Brill had given him to the floor and untied the strings of it with a deft, mental touch.
Unfolded, the inside of the leather was lined with crushed crystal shards cunningly fixed into place. They glittered in the light of the hovering crystal, casting tiny rainbows across the scaled trousers Lexius wore. He ruined the effect when he splayed his hand across the top of the shards and pressed his palm flat to the cutting edges. Drops of his blood pooled between the crystals, bringing the message within them to life.
When the Elf pulled his hand back, the image of a man formed above the unfolded leather. Lexius hadn?t seen his prot?g? in the flesh in nearly a decade, but he had no trouble recognizing Jason?s face even when it was tainted crimson. He listened in silence as the image spoke with the man?s personable voice.
?Hey, Boss. Here?s hoping you haven?t gotten crushed, burned, drowned or blown away.? Even the holographic version of Jason?s friendly grin was contagious, but Lexius? only reaction was a vague twitch of lips no matter that there was no one there to bear witness. ?Since I know none of that has happened, here?s the news from the Nexus.?
At least once every RhyDin year, Jason sent him a status update on things of interest from the place the Elf had called home for the majority of his life. More than a decade past Lexius had abandoned that world in favor of travelling countless others, a restless wanderer forever waiting for a call that never came. He?d known even before he?d left RhyDin behind that it never would, but he was compelled to abide regardless of that reality. It was that compulsion, instilled into his very cells, which had him watching and listening with unwavering attention as Jason began his report as he always did, with news that hadn?t changed in years.
?Alvaka?s the same as ever, practically a city in its own right. There?s still been no concrete sign of the Turk or his shadow.? Jason delivered the information without emotion or any particular emphasis and carried on in the same manner as he continued to report on all the things the Elf had missed during his travels. Lexius listened to the rest closely, but without quite the same interest as he?d displayed in the beginning. It wasn?t until the man was winding down that something else he said sharpened his attention once more.
?The Old Temple District has seen some new activity these past few weeks. Looks like the Greeks are trying again. I?ll keep an eye on it, but this one has lasted more than three weeks, so I thought you might be interested.? The Elf?s brow furrowed and the beads sprawled across his thighs shifted of their own accord, clicking quietly together. Lexius dropped his gaze to the string of worn, sandalwood spheres as it wiggled about, but in his mind?s eye he saw a different scene as a snippet from his past played itself out. Jason?s voice interrupted the remembrance.
?Finally, the Alpha is requesting a visit. He says his boy is getting antsy and you should probably come have a look at that.? Jason paused a moment, breaking the smooth flow of information to offer an uncharacteristic bit of prompting. ?Maybe you should bring him here to learn a thing or two. You know I wouldn?t mind?helping out.? Jason?s image flickered out without another word, leaving the Elf alone with his thoughts once again. Key sentences from the message stood out.
?The Greeks are trying again?.this one has lasted more than three weeks??
?He says his boy is getting antsy...?
Lexius had left RhyDin, sure he would never have reason to return. Suddenly, he was presented with more than one. The first was tangled up in an old promise he?d failed to fulfill, the second bound to a man and a youth that he refused to forsake as he had so much else. It seemed somewhat ironic that there in the City of Doors, where he could take any of a million portals to as many distant worlds, the Elf now had only one real option.
Reaching out, Lexius carefully folded up the leather and began to plan his return.
Lexius made his way through the thick of the market crowd, deftly dodging the occasional tail that swayed out behind its owner and sidestepping the greasy trails of black smoke that drifted from the burning pans of oil some of the merchants had set out to better showcase their wares in the twilight gloom. The air was filled with a cacophony of sound from the raucous chant of the haggling vendors to the chirps, growls and coughs of fantastical creatures carefully caged and displayed. The Elf spared only a small part of his attention for the selection of goods, the bulk of it dedicated to evaluating the species he passed and ensuring the slinking cutpurses working the throng didn?t bother him.
More than anywhere else in the multiverse and beyond, Sigil reminded him of RhyDin. It was the resemblance to that place, a mirroring nexus for the Prime worlds, that kept the Elf from visiting it too much or lingering too long when he did. Soon enough, he broke free of the crowd and climbed the steps leading into The Flapping Dove Inn.
Situated on the southwest side of the Bazaar, the inn shared the same building as a glassware shop, both businesses fronted by the same sooty grey stone, the shared roof topped with bristling iron spikes. A prominent bronze placard etched with the symbol of a flying dove hung above the main door, which was wide enough to easily accommodate the large, centaur-like Bariaur who owned the place. As the Elf stepped into the main room, he saw Brill positioned in his usual place behind the bar.
?Hey, Cutter.? Brill greeted him with an upraised hand, maneuvering easily behind the expanded bar. Lexius ignored the few looks that turned his way from the sparse crowd as he moved through the room, the beads strung from his belt clicking accompaniment to his stride.
?Brill.? The Elf murmured, his voice raspy from disuse. Lexius had spent the better part of the last two years exploring the inner elemental planes and he?d had very little contact with anyone but the native inhabitants of those planes, beings that didn?t usually want to have long chats. Thankfully, the owner of the Flapping Dove didn?t require words beyond the three platinum coins he slid across the wooden bar counter.
?Was thinkin? I?d be seein? ya soon, blood. Got some paper for ya.? The Bariaur gave him back a folded leather packet, the strings tied into an intricate knot, and made the coins disappear into one of the many little pouches dangling from a harness that crisscrossed his chest. ?Ya usual room be open.?
?My thanks.? Slipping a strip of muslin from around his neck, Lexius folded the cloth over the packet and stepped away from the bar without another word. He was through the common room and up the stairs within a minute and few who had seen him would remember the passage of a inconsequential elf.
The upper level of the inn was lined with doors, the hall wide and airy. Paintings of Ysgard?s rolling plains and expansive forests decorated the walls. The Elf bypassed them without a glance, slipping a small crystal from behind his belt which he fit into the space where a lock should be on a door at the end of the hall. It clicked open quietly and Lexius slipped past, the crystal sent floating in the air ahead of him to cast dim light on the small room.
The polished wood of a table and chair gleamed faintly in the low light, a simple sleeping pallet the only other furniture in the room. Lexius settled himself down to the pallet, the beads gathered and pooled in his lap before he set the packet Brill had given him to the floor and untied the strings of it with a deft, mental touch.
Unfolded, the inside of the leather was lined with crushed crystal shards cunningly fixed into place. They glittered in the light of the hovering crystal, casting tiny rainbows across the scaled trousers Lexius wore. He ruined the effect when he splayed his hand across the top of the shards and pressed his palm flat to the cutting edges. Drops of his blood pooled between the crystals, bringing the message within them to life.
When the Elf pulled his hand back, the image of a man formed above the unfolded leather. Lexius hadn?t seen his prot?g? in the flesh in nearly a decade, but he had no trouble recognizing Jason?s face even when it was tainted crimson. He listened in silence as the image spoke with the man?s personable voice.
?Hey, Boss. Here?s hoping you haven?t gotten crushed, burned, drowned or blown away.? Even the holographic version of Jason?s friendly grin was contagious, but Lexius? only reaction was a vague twitch of lips no matter that there was no one there to bear witness. ?Since I know none of that has happened, here?s the news from the Nexus.?
At least once every RhyDin year, Jason sent him a status update on things of interest from the place the Elf had called home for the majority of his life. More than a decade past Lexius had abandoned that world in favor of travelling countless others, a restless wanderer forever waiting for a call that never came. He?d known even before he?d left RhyDin behind that it never would, but he was compelled to abide regardless of that reality. It was that compulsion, instilled into his very cells, which had him watching and listening with unwavering attention as Jason began his report as he always did, with news that hadn?t changed in years.
?Alvaka?s the same as ever, practically a city in its own right. There?s still been no concrete sign of the Turk or his shadow.? Jason delivered the information without emotion or any particular emphasis and carried on in the same manner as he continued to report on all the things the Elf had missed during his travels. Lexius listened to the rest closely, but without quite the same interest as he?d displayed in the beginning. It wasn?t until the man was winding down that something else he said sharpened his attention once more.
?The Old Temple District has seen some new activity these past few weeks. Looks like the Greeks are trying again. I?ll keep an eye on it, but this one has lasted more than three weeks, so I thought you might be interested.? The Elf?s brow furrowed and the beads sprawled across his thighs shifted of their own accord, clicking quietly together. Lexius dropped his gaze to the string of worn, sandalwood spheres as it wiggled about, but in his mind?s eye he saw a different scene as a snippet from his past played itself out. Jason?s voice interrupted the remembrance.
?Finally, the Alpha is requesting a visit. He says his boy is getting antsy and you should probably come have a look at that.? Jason paused a moment, breaking the smooth flow of information to offer an uncharacteristic bit of prompting. ?Maybe you should bring him here to learn a thing or two. You know I wouldn?t mind?helping out.? Jason?s image flickered out without another word, leaving the Elf alone with his thoughts once again. Key sentences from the message stood out.
?The Greeks are trying again?.this one has lasted more than three weeks??
?He says his boy is getting antsy...?
Lexius had left RhyDin, sure he would never have reason to return. Suddenly, he was presented with more than one. The first was tangled up in an old promise he?d failed to fulfill, the second bound to a man and a youth that he refused to forsake as he had so much else. It seemed somewhat ironic that there in the City of Doors, where he could take any of a million portals to as many distant worlds, the Elf now had only one real option.
Reaching out, Lexius carefully folded up the leather and began to plan his return.