Whispers of Dissent - Part 1

Our story follows three people as they journey through the streets of The City Of Bareshield. The first is Elysha, a young Alvain woman who serves as a Warden for The City Of Bareshield. The Wardens are responsible for the investigations and duties that are above the ability or station of the local town guard. They are a prestigious and powerful organization, and the sight of their uniform is often enough to coerce most people into co-operation. Elysha is not a typical for an Alvain. She was not raised in a large city like Bareshield. Instead, she was raised in a remote Alvain enclave where she has spent the majority of her youth. Despite her lack of political connections, Elysha has worked hard to build a strong reputation for herself within The Wardens.


Next with have Heidi Brackfissure, a Kinderstärke woman who also serves as a Warden in Bareshield. Much like Elysha, Heidi's family position does not give her much in the way of social advantage, however her eclectic charm and unorthodox methods have brought her a mixed success and infamy among her peers. Despite their stark difference in personalities, Heidi and Elysha work well together and have built a strong partnership built on trust and friendship. Unlike her more stubborn friend, Heidi often looks for alternatives to using force when solving her problems, however even she is not foolish enough to walk the streets of Bareshield without her firearm.


Last we have Solus pre Invantis, a young Alvain arcanist who has declared his intention to join The Virtutem Dynasty, one of the Great Dynasties of The Alvain. Solus is a brilliant arcanist and researcher, who despite his young age has caught the eye of many powerful and influential members of the Alvain race. Unlike the other two PCs, Solus is not a Warden, and he is joining the investigation at the request of the city's Lord Governor. While Heidi and Elysha may resent having a stranger forced into their investigation, they both suspect his presence in the city is the result of political maneuvering beyond their station, and know better than to complain openly about the interference. Solus is a polite, soft spoke Alvain, who seems untroubled by his unwelcome presence in a Warden investigation.

Elysha pushed through the throng of people, her hand tight on the hilt of her sword as the swarm of people hustled and jammed themselves against her armour, as oblivious to the Warden's emblem on her chest as they were to the determined look across her slender Alvain features. Behind Elsyha, Solus was having similar difficulty navigating the tight crowds of the cobblestone streets, his task made even more difficult as he attempted to maneuver a long and cumbersome staff along with him. He frequently had to twist and twirl through the crowd of oblivious humans as he maneuvered the long magical implement through the dense crowd. Elysha frowned for a moment, scanning the crowd behind Solus until at last she caught eye of her partner, and last of their trio, lagging even further behind than Solus. Heidi's short Kinderstärke stature was almost invisible among the bustle of humans pushing up and down the narrow street. "How much further ahead?!" called Heidi, her voice barley audible over the deep roar of the city around them.
"It's not much more", Elysha called back, as she began pushing back into the crowd with a growing sense of frustration. The trio continued shoving through the mass of humans for another ten minutes or so, before Elysha at last caught sight of a narrow strip of grass pressed neatly against one of the slatestone buildings that loomed over the narrow street on both sides. It had rained for most of the evening, and while the streets had long been stomped dry under the weight of a city's worth of footsteps, a thin trail of dirty water was still dripping down onto the patch of grass from a crack in the building's gutter above. This had apparently been enough to discourage any of the vendors currently pressed against the other walls of the street from setting up shop under the rafter, but it would serve them well as refuge from the crowd, and give them a moment to regroup while they caught their breath.
A moment later, the three of them were harbored safely from the pushing crowds, nestled awkwardly on the side of the street, the dripping overhang above them. The steady stream of water was falling onto Elysha's armour, making a soft "tap, tap tap" noise as it splattered against the steel plated pauldron that Elysha wore across her shoulders. Beside her, Heidi was grumbling loudly to herself while rubbing her neck, as Solus leaned patiently against the cold wall beside her - apparently unruffled by the discomfort of their journey so far.
"You know... I could probably live as long you Alvain, and I would never understand why humans insist of clumping together like this." Heidi growled, more so to herself than to her companions. "A whole wide world for them to explore in their little short lives, but they all insistent on living as close together as they can damn well get."
Solus chuckled soflty to Elysha's right, "You should see some of the island cities to the east. While their populations might be lower than Bareshield, they are all pressed together into a even tighter area."
Heidi made an exaggerated gagging noise, "I have an even greater dislike for the sea than I do for crowds Solus." The arcanist smiled politely at the Kinderstärke woman but offered no other comment.
Elysha raised a thin questioning eyebrow, "You've spent time at sea Solus?" The question was framed politely enough, but Elysha worried she may have caused offence to the other Alvain by asking it. Too many of the immortal lives of an Alvain were cut short by cruel waters at sea, and all but the most reckless or foolish of race kind avoided open waters. Solus, with his calculating eyes and thoughtful but gentle demeanor did not seem the type to chart his course over the oceans.
If Solus was offended however, he did not show it. "I've had the privledge of seeing much of the world in my travels, but yes - I've spent some time at sea."
Elysha let a few second pass to see if he would offer anymore, however when it was clear that Solus had said his piece, she turned instead to the shorter companion to her left. "Heidi, where exactly did your contact say this tavern was ?" They had been pushing against the crowds for the better part of an hour in a frustrated attempt to reach the heart of the city's Harbour District. But now Elysha could smell the cold salt and wet fishy stench that meant they were drawing closer to the wide tangle of docks that stretched out from Bareshield and into the sea to it's northeast.
"He didn't say, actually." replied Heidi, 'I don't think he's been to the place himself, he just said it was west of the Friendly Widow. Mind you, half the damn district is west of The Friendly Widow..."
Elysha frowned as she mentally considered the layout of the district, troubled that her usually crystal clear memory was missing considerable gaps in the layout of the city's most important district. "Do we at least have a name for this place? There is half a dozen bars and taverns on this street alone."
Heidi laughed sarcastically, a high pitched bark that drew looks from a few of the passerbys, "Oh I got a name alright... "Rose's""
"Rose's?" Elysha asked, her mind tumbling clumsily through the names of a dozen bars and taverns in the area.
"Yup. :Rose's"... except there is no bar called "Rose's" in this whole damn city... let alone west of The Widow."
Elysha rubbed the palms of her gloved hands against her face, here eyes suddenly tired. "So what, this whole thing has been a chase after nothing?"
"Rose's might just be the name of the owner." Solus' soft voice answered from behind Elysha. "If there is no establishment by that name on record, then it is likely the name of the proprietor herself."
Heidi clicked her tongue as she considered the suggestion, "Yah, that's more or less what I was thinking too. Except that still doesn't help us, as we can't exactly kick in the door of every tavern, bar, and inn in this district and ask to speak to "Rose"."
"What, can't we?" smiled Elysha, her short friend rolling her eyes back at her.
Solus took a few steps form under the rafter, and moved so close to the torrent of people pushing past that they were almost trekking on the thin fabric of his stylish robes. "While we could certainly just demand answers from the humans, there might be another way to get the information we require..." Solus' voice trailed off, his face turning back to his companions studiously. "The dockworkers at the harbour itself would likely know where all the best places for entertainment are. If we can make our way down to the docks we might be able to find someone familiar with this "Rose's" and can point us in the right direction.
Heidi barked sarcastically once again "Or... they could just as likely tip Rose off so she knows were coming. We've all heard the stories coming out of the east... If my contact is right and rebels have infiltrated Bareshield, then they'll likely have moved meeting places long before we catch up to them."
Solus pursed his lips in a smile that did not reach his eyes. "Perhaps so. Regardless." he then turned sharply to address Elysha directly "This is your investigation Warden. Shall we proceed to the docks, or would prefer to deal with these crowds for another hour in blind hope of stumbling upon this tavern?"

Elysha paused as she considered her options, finding herself suddenly unable to meet Solus' piercing blue eyes. Instead, she took a deep breath, rubbing her fingers against her temples as she tried to concentrate over the noisy street around them. "This informant of yours," Elysha asked, turning once more to Heidi, "how reliable is his information usually?"
Heidi shrugged modestly, "Reliable. Or... atleast as reliable as his kind gets? He didn't seem too worried that we wouldn't be able to find the place, but frankly he isn't the... brightest silver in my purse - so to speak."
Solus nodded definitively at Heidi's admission, and looked to Elysha. "I would say that settles things then. We'll head to the docks and see if we can speak to a few of the men unloading the ships. It's still early enough in the afternoon that we should be able to catch a few of them before they slip off to spend their day's silver."
Solus turned back to the crowd, and was about to step into the river of people pouring past them when Elysha placed her hand politely on his slender arm, and tugged him gently back towards the grassy patch of land. "Forgive me arcanist, but your presence here - while more than welcome - does not grant you the title of Warden." Elysha's voice was firm but polite, a tone she had taken care to practice these past few years. "I'm in command here, and I trust my people. If Heidi feels we should continue searching for Rose's ourselves, then that's what we shall do."
Elysha held the other Alvain's gaze for a moment, trying in the back of her mind not to wonder if he saw in her the confidence of an senior Warden, or the naivety of a rural girl who had to take lessons to hide her country accent. But if Solus thought of Elysha in either of those ways, she could not tell, as he merely looked back into her eyes, his blank expression unreadable.
After a long moment, he at last spoke. "Very well Warden." and with a slight step back he gestured politely for her to lead the way.
She did.


The three of them pushed back against the downward tide of humans for another quarter hour, before finally break free of the tight confines of the narrow street and out into a wide plaza. The plaza was a long rectangular opening in the city streets, wardened off with narrow grey buildings that dominated most of the Harbour District. In the wider spacing of the square the crowds were able to thin out, as they suddenly found themselves with an unprecedented amount of space. Even the local merchants were able to barter from proper stands instead of selling their various tradegoods out of burlap bags. Despite the thinning of the crowds, Elysha was displeased to notice that the noise and clamour around them had not diminshed. Instead, the various merchants dotted throughout the plaza were calling out their prices and wares to the crowds passing through the plaza, and all around them Elysha could hear various squabbles and arguments as people negotiated for everything from fish to grain, to even a silver necklace. Glancing around the square to get her bearings, Elisha nodded appreciatively at a small glass sphere that rested atop of a tall iron pole in the corner of the square. The scrying sphere atop of the pole sat unmoving, however Elysha suspected that there was someone watching from within it at this very moment. No doubt watching them from the town's garrison in case they ran into trouble.
Elysha led them through the square, winding her way through the various stands and crates arrayed haphazardly across the street - cursing under her breathe as she stepped in a particularly fresh pile of horseshit. However a minute or two later the group found themselves at the base of an old bronze statue of a woman. The woman had a sultry grin and was arching her back in such a way that it emphasized the heavy pair of breasts that sat exposed on the statue's chest. The statue was old and tarnished by the elements, and Elysha noted with distase that the statue's breasts were slightly discolored and worn down, apparently from a thousand men walking past it each evening and groping at the statue's exposed chest. Behind the statue, bolted onto the side of the building behind it, was a simple wooden sign with an elegant script carved deep into it's face. "The Friendly Widow."
The Friendly Widow was an old 3 story building of white brick and peeling redwoods. At it's front rose a wide set of cracked stone steps with a wide groove worn into smooth stone down the middle from centuries of feet climbing up and down its steps. While the building was not noteworthy on it's own right, the juxtapositon of it's warm white bricks against the narrow and stark grey buildings that surrounded it made it a useful landmark for navigating the district.

Solus paused at the base of the bronze statue his expressionless face looking up at the woman's features. "Well isn't this... tasteful."
Heidi chucked next to him. "Oh yeah, this whole place just screams elegance."
Solus didn't reply, and merely turned his gaze to Elysha. "I take it this lovely maid is our "Friendly Widow"?" he asked, gesturing simply at the statue. "If so, our destination should be a short distance to the west."
Heidi sighed, and looked down the long winding street that lead west our of the plaza. "If it's going to be somewhere... it's likely down this way." Heidi adjusted the belt on her hip, and rested her hand absentmindedly on the holstered pistol that rested there. "C'mon. We'll give it a quick look and if we can't find it we'll see if Solus can make his friends at the dock."

They continued down the street, this time working their way west, away from the bronze woman and the inn she lent her name. The western street was just as narrow as the one they had taken to the plaza, however as it wasn't such a direct route through the city; it was significantly less crowded than the others. The merchants that had crammed into every nook in cranny of the last street were fewer and farther between, and in their place they could see squat, humble little houses pressed between the towering tenements on either side. Behind her, Elysha could hear Heidi and Solus chatting politely, apparently taking the opportunity to discuss thier opinion on the Eastern Rebellions effect on grain prices in The Western Protectorate. Elysha on the other hand, continued to watch the streets for trouble, her keen Alvain eyes peering deep into the cramped alleyways that wormed their way through the city. While most of the buildings were grinding right up against each other - the occasional break in the wall of stone and wood left long dark alleys where people loitered in deep shadow. Most of the people lurking in them would avert their eyes at the sight of her Warden's uniform, but others peered back at her with unblinking stares that unnerved Elysha more than she cared to admit.

As they continued down the narrow street, the bars and shops became fewer and the tall grey tenements began to give way more often to shabby and squat row homes that seemed to lean against each other like drunken men in the back of a carriage. The crowds thinned out even more as they moved west, and most of the people on the street seemed to shy away from the three of them, suddenly wary of the Warden's emblem across Heidi and Elysha's chests. She was certain that she had been down this street before, but for the life of her she couldn't remember if the locals had behaved so coldly to in the past. Behind her, Solus and Heidi also seemed to have noticed the change in atmosphere, and their conversation died down as the two of them renewed their search with a nervous energy. On two separate occasions they thought they had found the unlisted tavern; the first time it was a small shop nestled between a stonemason's shop and a butcher, however upon closer inspection it was clearly a florist shop called "Rosa's." The second false alarm came about twenty minutes later, when Solus nudged Elysa and pointed to a two story bar that overlooked an old pear tree. Heidi shook her head at the suggestion however, and said "I know the owner of that place. His name's Bynard, and he's not the sort to get pulled into this rebellion sort. Plus it is just him and his daughter who run the place,and her name is Jean, not Rose."
They continued to push their way up the street, and as the first hour dragged into the second Solus quickened his step and joined up beside Elysha. "We are going to run out of sunlight in another hour or so. While I admire your conviction Warden, I would strongly suggest we head back soon and try again in the morning. If we head to the docks early enough we might -" but Solus was cut off by a squeak of excitement from behind them. Both of the Avlain turned back in puzzlement to see Heidi hopping up and down excitably and pointing off to her right. There, nestled between two tall grey buildings was a squat little structure, so unassuming that the two of them had passed by it without taking notice. At it's front sat a heavy red wooden door and on each side of that door sat two dirty bay windows, each cracked open to let the pipe smoke waft away into the summer air. From inside the building Elsyha could hear a humming chorus of music as a man sang off-key and plucked at a lute while the warm smell of fresh bread wafted though the open windows and mixed with the sweet smell of fresh flowers
Outside of it's potential to be overlooked, the tavern looked to be the same as the dozen other places they had passed on the street - except for one small difference. Where most establishment in this area had elaborate signs to announce the clever names their proprietor's had adorned them with, this place did not. Instead, wrapped along the both sides of the building, and nestled tightly under the open windows sat a thick and thorny rose bush. The roses swirled their way across the frame of the building, dancing their way from the windowsill up to the smoking chimney above. The colourful shock of red flowers was oddly beautiful against the cold stone of the building under it, as if the squat little stone building was covered in a hundred shining crimson jewels.
Elysha grinned in triumph, "Rose isn't the person who owns the bar... It's literally just called "Roses!" and without wasting another second, she pulled open the heavy wooden door and ducked into the darkness of the tavern.

Despite it's namesake, Roses had the same salty smell of sweat and cheap wine that seemed to fester in human establishments like this. The first whispers of dusk were sweeping in through the bay windows at the front of the bar, but a healthy fire was already burning in the back corner of the bar, casting the entire room on its soft orange glow. The place was crammed with a tangle of chairs and tables, most of which were filled with a variety of patrons in various states of sobriety. In one corner a group of human sailors were laughing and hollering at each other over a game of cards, while in another two women were giggling halfheartedly at a young man's misguided attempts at flirtation. At first glance, the place seemed hardly the type of meeting place for a rebellion, however as the heavy wooden door closed behind the three of them the entire room glanced up at the newcomers and - as if they were suddenly caught in a spell - the entire room become immediately and eerily quiet.

The silence held over the entire tavern for a moment, as if the room's two dozen patrons had just been caught in a compromised situation, and were still deciding how to react. A crowd of men of women filled the room before Elysha, and stared at her with wide eyed surprise and fear. Elysha found herself holding her breath without meaning to, somehow concerned that drawing air would shatter the momentary spell's effect and caused the room to break into full blown panic. Apparently dumb struck by the Warden's arrival, a barmaid was gawking at them open mouthed, not noticing the small round glass rolling slowly towards the edge of her serving tray. With a loud crash it hit the stone floor of the tavern and shattered - and with it the silence broke as well. As quickly as the shock had broken over the room - it seemed to have evaporated, with a half dozen conversations resuming around them as if they had never faltered. A slim man with pale skin even resumed playing a brightly painted lute in the far corner of the room, but despite the cheerful music the man was playing, Elysha could feel an almost tangible aura of fear and tension in the air around her.
Solus' soft voice purred from behind her, as Alysha felt his slender fingers tight around her wrist, "See if you can shake things up in here. These men aren't used to dealing with our species, and if we press on the right nerve someone might talk."
Elysha nodded slowly in agreement, her eyes not blinking as they swept the room in front of them for threats. Adjacent to the slender man playing the flute a small group of sailors were deep in a game of cards with some apparent longshoreman, one of which had a long jagged sword tucked into his belt. In another corner, a gruff heavyset man with silver grey hair sat in the shadows, his eyes drifting everywhere in the room that wasn't Elysha or her companions. At the far side of the room, a large wooden bar was squeezed into an alcove, and a thick-necked woman with a deep frown was watching Elysha with a hand concealed behind the bar between them. Elysha had little doubt the woman's hand rested on a pistol, but whether her frown was the result of this potential disruption to her night's employment - or the only warning sign she may get of an imminent attack - Elysha could not say. In all her time serving as a Warden in Bareshield, she had never felt more unwelcome amognst the humans who called this city its home. With a soft sigh and a furtive glanced shared between Heidi and herself, Elysha began to slowly make her way among the the tightly packed tables to the left of the tavern doors, while Heidi did the same to the right. Solus merely leaned comfortably on his staff by the entrance, an impossibly bored look on his handsome Alvain features.
Elysha continued to sort though the mess of chairs and tables, her eyes studying the patrons as she walked past each table, hunting eagerly for the barest hint of a guilty conscience. An exceptionally ugly man with a bright orange beard grunted rudely as he scooted his chair closer to his table so she could pass by, and a dark skinned woman in an immodestly cut dress seemed far too interested in her companions story as Elysha passed by her table. But despite the air of tension around them, none of the individual patrons seemed unusually stressed - especially when considering the three potential predators that had just casually strolled into their relaxing evening. Across the room, Heidi seemed to be progressing with same results as herself. Elysha was considering regrouping with her to discuss their next steps when her eyes suddenly locked with a slender jawed man two tables over. Their eyes met for only the slightest instant, but in that moment the man had jolted in his chair as if he had been stung by a wasp - and proceeded to dump nearly half his beer down the front of his shirt. He was still valiantly combating the sticky mess on his shirt when Elysha approached his table, the other two men at his table sitting awkwardly straight as they watched Elysha approach.
Elysha cleared her throat politely, causing the thin faced man to freeze stiff, his trembling hands still shiny with the spilled ale. "If you ask the bartender politely, she might have a rag you can borrow to tidy that mess up ?" The man looked up slowly, his eyes wide with the same blind fear that Elysha saw in every guilty person when she had them cornered. "Although... I suppose that means she's likely going to have to take her hand off that pistol she keeps behind the bar? And what do you think the chances are that she's willing to do that?"
Elysha's tone was friendly, but had a hard, cold tone beneath it that dared any of them to challenge her. This surprised Elysha herself, as she could feel her own heart pounding in her chest like a great drum. Moments like this - when she had chased down a lead and could just feel how close she was to a big break - these were the moments that made all the rest worth it. In moments like these, Elysha felt alive.
The man looked up at Alysha from his chair, the two men sitting with him staring down at their drinks. "Wha... what... who are you?" The man barely stammered the words out, and Elysha noticed that the man was more than a little drunk.
"My name is not important. Only my purpose." Elysha could feel the eyes of the entire room on her, and most of the room had once again fallen silent - save for the slender man in the corner, heroically playing his lute through the tension as if he wasn't watching this unfold. To her surprise, Elsyha was rather impressed with him.
The slim jawed man at the table turned to look at the his two companions, who in turn stared back at him with open mouthed expressions of their own, seemingly overwhelmed by the presence of an Alvain Warden at their drinking table. Encouraged by their deference, Elysha turned to address the room as a whole, her voice echoing powerfully off the stone ground beneath her, "I won't pretend that you don't know why I'm here. I understand most of you resent Warden interference in your affairs, and I know first hand how unwelcome outside interference can be in local affairs, so believe me when I say we wont be here long." Elysha began slowing patrolling the tavern again she spoke, "But there are some among you who wish to do this city harm. Who instead of working together to build a better world would instead look to destroy the accomplishments of better men." Elysha's watchful gaze carved across the room as she spoke, confident that her two companions were doing the same. "We know the conspirators have met here more than once. Which means that some of you might know who they are. Maybe even what they are planning." Elysha continued to survey the room before her, but the patrons all stared inconspicuously at their drink, avoiding her gaze like a hot iron.
Across the room Heidi spoke up, her small voice having no trouble filling the airy silence of the cramped room. "I know some of you might think these people are doing good with their deeds. That they have some great ideas, but are maybe just going about things in the wrong way?" Heidi's tone was hopeful and compassionate and Elysha thought she even saw a few heads in the crowd nodding in approval. "But I can promise you they are not going to succeed. Whatever it is they are planning is already unwinding. They are going to fail whether you tell us where to find them or not, but if we act now we have a chance to prevent innocent people from getting hurt!"
Elysha thought Heidi sounded convincing, but apparently some of the patrons did not. A deep voiced boomed from the distant corner of the room, the voice's exact owner impossible to determine among the crowds, "You're not welcome here Alf! Go back to Alvantes!"
The challenge barked across the room and echoed along the exposed brick of the inner walls. The whole room took a collective gasp, and the man playing the lute stopped with an abruptly off key note. The tension in the room tightened closer around her as Elysha slide her hand down to the sword at her waist. Heidi and her began to make their way to the corner from which the voice originated, both at the ready for any sudden movements from the crowd pressed tightly around them. "We are here at the invitation of your city's governor. Unlike the traitors from the rebellion who have entered this city." Elysha's voice was hardly more than a whisper, but is echoed across the room none the less, "We will find each and everyone of them, and I will ensure that anyone who helps them in brought to justice!"

Elysha and Heidi both continued to converged towards the far corner of the tavern at a cautious pace. Elysha's hand was still gripped tightly around the hilt of her sword, her eyes sweeping the room unblinkingly for the slightest sign of movement. The skin on the back of her neck crawled as she twisted between the occupants of the room. Their faces still turned down to their drinks, afraid to catch her eye, but every fiber of her being was warning Elysha that her quarry was nearby. Then... all at once - the tension snapped - and the room exploded into motion.


As Heidi was squeezing between the legs of two tightly packed tables, her own short limbs got tangled together with that of another patrons. With a yelp of surprise - the Kinderstärke woman was flung onto the floor - and the patrons nearest her scrambled out of their chairs in surprise. Cursing - Elysha darted forward to help her fallen friend - the humans packed tightly around Heidi making it impossible to tell if Heidi was under attack or was already climbing to her feet. Fearing the worst, Elysha drew her blade from it's sheath and roared angrily at the swelling mass of people in front of her. "Stand back, or I'll cut every one of you down!"
Somewhere behind Elysha, she heard an abrupt crash, as two bodies collided and one sprawled out onto the floor. Ripping her head around behind her, Elysha saw Solus sprawled out on the ground by the door. "Leave her! He's getting away!" Solus called to her, clambering back to his feet and he made his way towards the tavern's entrance - it's heavy wooden door now open to the outside air. As Solus had expected, they had created enough noise to force their bounty into action - but they had apparently used Heidi's ill timed collapse as the opportunity to tackle past the Alvain arcanist guarding the entrance.
Furious with the other Alvain's failure to hold the only exit in the place, Elysha turned back to where Heidi had fallen, only to see her pushing her way past the slack jawed and wide eyed humans who were now scrambling to put distance between themselves and Elysha's exposed blade. Waving her friend to follow, Elysha sheathed her sword and burst towards to entrance of the tavern, and then poured back into the streets of Bareshield - into a startled crowd of humans yelping in surprise at her sudden appearance. Above, the ever deepening dusk continued to settle over the city, casting long shadows across the city's narrow streets.
Solus was already a dozen steps ahead of Elysha, his long cloak billowing through the air behind him as he pursued their quarry back towards the city centre. Wasting no time, Elysha tore off after him still not able to see who they were chasing amidst the renewed crowd of pedestrians. The heavy red door slammed shut behind Elysha as she took off, and the sound of rapid and dense footfalls assured her that Heidi was following closely behind.

Sprinting up the city streets, Elysha closed the distance to Solus without much difficulty. As she drew shoulder to shoulder with him, the Alvain flung his hand forward and pointed towards a man fleeing into an alleyway up ahead. It was the ugly man with the bright orange beard who she had passed within a few inches of back in the tavern. "I had been so close to him... but now he was getting away !?"
Elysha pushed the thought from her mind as she darted down the alley after the man. Solus was shouting something back at her as she passed him, but his voice was swallowed up by the throng of people now between them. Hurling past an old beggar with his hands held out hopefully and a naked child playing in a dirty puddle, Elysha continued to sprint down the side street after the orange haired man. He threw a cautionary glance over his shoulder as he approached a fork in the alleyway, his beady eyes filled with panic at the sight of armoured Warden barreling down the street after him. The man hesitated at the fork for a brief moment, and then darted to the left - his pursuer only a short distance behind him now.
Clumsily leaping over a set of overturned crates, the man continued his flight - his rasping breathe now audible to Elysha as she tightened the distance between them even more. With the grace only an Alvain could posses, Elysha soared casually over the same crates the man had, now only a few feet away from her prey. She had him, and she knew it before he did.
With a precise kick of her heel Elysha tangled the man's feet together and sent him hurtling down onto the hard stone of the city street. The man hit the ground hard, and slid for a good three feet before collapsing into a heaving mess against the alley wall. There were only a few others in the alley with them, and the few humans who had seen the man fall quickly disappeared down other streets and alleys like mice.
For a moment, Elysha and the man were alone. She looked down at him, his chest heaving as he breathed heavily, the air still ragged in his inferior human lungs. The man looked up slowly at the Alvain towering above him, and in his eyes Elysha could see the unmistakable burn of hatred.
As the two of them squared off, Solus and Heidi caught up and quickly surrounded the man on either side - the sound of his own heavy breathing adding to the strange stillness of the air around them. The human said nothing, but simply lay in a crumpled mess on the ground, his breath catching in his throat in a wet and sickly cough. Still fighting for breath, Solus' voice seemed to echo along the stone of the now abandoned alleyway. "Well done Warden. The city's councilor will hear of your actions today."
Elysha nodded slowly, but continued to stare down at the pitiful creature in the alleyway before her. Heidi was now patting the side of his shirt and trousers, searching him for weapons. After a moment she removed a pair of small knives and tossed them carelessly over her shoulder. Elysha didn't know this man. Not that she remembered at least... But the man was looking at her with a hatred she couldn't comprehend. It was as if she had just committed some great act of treachery against him that could never be forgiven. But he was the treacherous one... Not her...
She had no time to dwell on this though, as no sooner had Heidi discarded the man's weapons than she was stooped over the prone man and angrily dragged his heaving his weight back to it's feet. "Listen here human." The man refused to look at her, instead staring back at the two Alvain flanking him. "Hey! Look at me !" Heidi barked at him, turning his face to her roughly with her gloved hand. "What's your name?"
"Eat shit, dwarf." The man growled these words, and than spat directly into Heidi's face. Heidi did not seem to appreciate the gesture, as she threw the man back forcfully to the stone below, his head bouncing hard on the rocks at their feet.
"Be careful!" Hissed Solus behind her, "We still have questions we need to ask him."
Heidi waved Solus away dismissably, "If the human wants to call me shit like that, then he's going to face the consequences." Heidi wiped the man's spit from the side of her cheek with her glove, and reached back down to raise the man to his feet. Stepping forward, Solus placed his slender hand on Heidi's shoulder, and whispered something in her ear that Elysha couldn't hear. Rolling her eyes with exasperation, Heidi stepped away from the man and instead stood sentry at the mouth of the alleyway.
Instead of raising the man back up, Solus lowered himself to the man's level, squatting down in the middle of the alley to look the man directly in his watery eyes. "Hello. My name is Solus pre Invantus. I am not a Warden, and I do not serve this city's rulers. Might I have your name?" Solus spoke with a surprisingly soft tone, and he extended a hand to assist the human back to his feet.
The human didn't take Solus' hand, but he did stand back up on his own accord. Solus rose to his feet beside him and the man seemed to take in the situation completely for the first time. "An Alf is an Alf. Doesn't matter much to me who you serve now, doesn't it ? You're still gunna do whatever it is you came here to do." The man spoke with a steady and deep voice, but Elysha thought she could hear his voice tremble slightly. She wanted Solus to reproach the man for using such a vulgar term as "Alf", but instead he continued speaking in the same compassionate tone he had used before.
"I'm not entirely sure what we've come here to do yet actually. But perhaps that is something you'd be able to help us with... mister...?"
Solus held the last word of the sentence expectantly, and to her surprise the man answered. "Braker."
"Mister Braker", Solus continued. "Well Mister Braker, my friends and I visited Roses today because we heard word that you had been in contact with agents for The Eastern Rebellion. Is that true?"

Braker chuckled quietly to himself at Solus' question, a dry weezy laugh that made Elysha think of an old dog. "The Eastern Rebellion? Is that really what you fuckin' Alfs are telling yourselves this is?" His laughter grew as he looked from each of his captor's to the next. "Is that what your masters in Alvantes have been telling you? That this war is just some distant upstarts on the other side of the world?! Look around you!" Braker roard as he gestured wildly toward the towering city around him. "Did you not pay attention in that tavern?! The people are sick of living under the boot of you fuckin' immortals. We live and die on your whims, fight our brothers and fathers in your wars over cock and piss! And for what ?! All while you sit back in your towers of glass and eat the bounties we harvest..."
Whatever resemblance of control Braker had had over himself vanished as he spoke. His anger grew as he spoke, his voice growing louder but shakier with each sentence. "Humans have had enough! all across Alwaus we are rising up against the likes of you." Braker pointed rudely to the two Alvain as he spoke, before spinning over to Heidi. "And don't think for a second you're much better dwarf! You kneel and beg at the feet of the same masters we do! A time is coming soon when all the races of Alwaus will need to decide where they stand on the side of justice and freedom." A dark smile grew across Braker's ugly face. "And time... time is running out for you Alfs. The days of human servitude are numbered, and all across Alwaus we will be rising up against you" Braker laughed heartily at his last point before wheezing loudly, his hacking coughs quickly filling the silence that had otherwise settled over this lonely alleyway in Bareshield. Solus looked at Elysha out of the corner of his eye as Braker continued to cough crudely into his hands, the Alvain's eyes were trying to communicate something, but the exact intent behind the look was a mystery to her. As the orange bearded man recovered from his fit, Solus turned to him once again, his voice the same gentle tone that he had held before. "If you truly feel this way, then you should take it up with the city's Lord Govenor, not plot conspiracy with traitors to your race in the back of some tavern."
Breaker shook his head slowly, "You think we haven't been asking the govenor, hell even the Minister for change for the better part of a decade?! We know it's not the Lord Govenor that has any say around here. It's you!" Breaker pointed a bent finger at the two Alvain. "You pretend like we have our own people leading us, but they've shown me the truth. You hide behind others so you don't have to fess up when things go wrong. But we know... ya we know who really runs things around here!" Braker nodded in agreement with himself as he spoke, despite the looks of apprehension his captors were sharing among themselves.
Solus replied carefully, "But surely you must realize... a decade is hardly enough time to -" but Braker cut him off before he could finish.
"A decade is plenty time enough... Besides, we don't get nearly as many of them as you immortals Alfs now, do we ? Besides... we ain't the only ones who have been asking for change. Why is it you think that "Eastern Rebellion" of yours started in the first place ? Do you really think for a second Alvantes gives a damn about a bunch of humans on the other side of the world ? No. But they will soon enough..."
Braker shook his head slowly, "Nah. We tried to reason with you. We tried to talk. But in the end, you can't reason with someone who don't even think you're an equal." Breaker turned to look at Elysha now, his eyes still filled with the same hatred that she had seen in them before. "In the end... it's strength that you people understand. If you won't respect us. Than you're damn well gonna fear us."
The silence gripped the alleyway in it's claws yet again as Braker's words settled on them. If Braker was telling the truth, then the seeds of dissent that the Wardens had sent them to investigate had taken root long ago, and the time needed to prevent them from spreading throughout the city had long since passed. Suddenly the slate grey walls that surrounded Elysha seem taller, and more sinister, and Elysha felt a chill run down her spine that had nothing to do with the ever approaching nightfall.
Stepping forward, Elysha grabbed the human by his neck and slammed him effortless into the alley wall behind him. Braker hit the surface with a hard grunt, and tried feebly to flail at the woman's arm now gripped around his windpipe. 'Listen to me, you worthless piece of filth. I don't care if you don't like how your own damn people govern you, that's not my problem. But if you've helped agents of the rebellion gain access to this city then people might get hurt." Elysha gripped the front of Braker's shirt with her other hand and slammed him against the wall once again. "Don't you understand what you're doing !? People will die if you don't tell us what they're planning! Tell us what you know!"

Braker wheezed pathetically under Elysha's grip as he tried to speak, her strong fingers still gripping him tightly by the throat. "He can't breathe!" Heidi shouted the warning to Elysha, but she was already releasing her grip. Braker collapsed once more onto the cold stone ground beneath them.
Coughing and gasping for air, Breaker groaned as leaned back against the wall behind him, his hands rubbing his throat gingerly. The man's hands were trembling slighty, but his eyes kept the same fire she had seen in them at the start "You really think I would sell out my race to the likes of you Alf? You think my life has more value to me than the freedom of my people?"
Elysha drew her sword out in a single motion, pressing it lightly against the man's throat with blinding speed and precision. "Let me be absolutely clear with you human. There is absolutely nothing - NOTHING - that I take more seriously than the welfare of this city. If you've done anything to jeopardize that, I'll put you in the deepest cell of the Grey Tower, and I'll ensure you'll never see so much as blink of candlelight for the rest of your miserable life."
Elysha felt Solus' hand press gently only her shoulder, pleading with her to ease off. But Elysha was furious, and more frightened than she cared to admit. She had spent years living in Bareshield, and in some ways it had become her home. She dealt with humans every single day. Purchased groceries at their markets, and drank with them during festivals. She had even befriended some, and served besides several with the city's Wardens. But the sudden realization that many of them resented her presence here, possibly even hated her, filled her with existential dread. Did they all see her this way? As an intruder? A tyrant? After everything she had done for them?
Elysha shook the thought from her head. No. The man must be wrong. He must be lying. Maybe the sort his lot drink with feel this way, but she refused to believe that her friends, or colleagues, or even the woman she purchased fabrics from this morning saw her as anything but another citizen of Bareshield. He had to be wrong.
Braker looked up slowly from his position on the ground, his body now shaking as he assessed the Warden's blade at his throat. "You don't get it. Even if I wanted to tell ya what I knew - I couldn't!" He looked around at the others hopelessly, his voice cracking with emotion, "The men who are planning this, they ain't like the rest of us. They've seen the real shit ya know? They'd kill me, and everyone I care about!"
Solus shook his head slowly as he considered Braker. "You knew people like that were coming into this city, and you did nothing?"
"No! It's not like that! You don't get it!" Braker protested to Solus, his voice now openly trembling as tears filled his eyes. "It's not like I could do anything to stop them anyways. Besides, they aren't here to hurt anybody - They're only after the shipyards!"
Elysha heard Heidi inhale loudly at this, and saw for the first time a surge of panic cross Solus's pale face. "They're after the what?!" Heidi gasped the colour in her face vanishing. "What are they doing in the shipyards?"
Braker looked confused, but pressed on none the less, "They've got some of that blackpowder you use in those ship cannons. They're just gonna blow up some of those frigates you're always building. Said it should stop you from sending supplies to the armies out east." Braker looked to Solus for reassurance, but the Alvain only looked back at him with a look of pity and barely contained fury. "You don't get it do you?!" yelled Heidi, "If they blast the shipyards the whole damn harbour will be filled with debris form those wrecks. It would be months before we could get the harbour back open."
Braker stared back blankly without understanding, "But... they said nobody was gonna get hurt."
"They lied! You bloody fool!" Heidi's voice echoed down both sides of the alleyway, and as the last of her voice trailed away, the significance of this began to dawn on Elysha. Her stomach turned beneath her armour, and what felt like an iceberg settled in her gut.
Elysha spoke quietly, her voice now shaking with panic. "Braker, listen to me carefully. If they destroy those frigates, the harbour won't be able to take in new transports. Food supplies will run out within a few weeks. This entire city will starve... Tens of thousands will die."
Braker stared back horrified, his eyes now threatening to pour with the tears he was hardly keeping at bay. "No... no... you don't understand. They said.. they said - "
"Damn it you fool!" It was Solus who roared with anger this time, except when he spoke his voice poured over the surrounding walls like a torrental wind, and a bolt of white lightning crackled threateningly from the tip of his staff. The Alvain arcanist seemed to physically grow as the ground shook beneath his rage, and even Elysha felt herself taking a step away from the Alvain without meaning to. When he spoke next, the buildings around him shook and rattled to their bones, and a deep rumbling could be felt in the ground beneath Elysha's boots. "When are they planning to do this? Tell us now, or those lives will be on your head human!"
Braker shriveled up against the wall, the full force of the arcanist's rage seemingly rooting the man to his spot. Whimpering and sobbing, Braker finally found the resolve to speak. Struggling, he blurted out only two words: "N-n-nightfall. Tonight."
Then - as if on cue - the sun slipped behind the last crevices of the horizon, and darkness spilled across the City of Bareshield.