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Entry 2 The Journal of Kai Aynsthil {Continued}
31st day of Midsomner, 166A.S.
...It has been a hard and unflattering adjustment becoming this creature, I don't know how I could possibly get used to it. First of all is the legs, they aren't at all like what I used to have, it feels as though I am constantly balancing on my toes - or claws - and my joints aren't where they should be. I practically felt like a toddler the last two days, re-learning how to walk and, now, I'm supposed to accomplish a near impossible task in order to have a chance at ever regaining what I had lost...
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"Very well," The lord says after coming to a decision, "Follow me up to my office, if you are who you say you are then you may be of use to me, even in your current... condition." Sologuard waves at you dismissively and walks past his house guards. He turns to one of the tall Qaths, "Clean up this mess and be quick about it, have one of the others haul these Skalds down the street to the lock up. Don't let anyone near them, I'll be questioning the filth personally." The tall, cat-like guard nods and proceeds to perform his duties, you and Allyn follow Sologuard out of the destroyed room.
You take it slow, walking on your strange new legs, though you still stumble frequently. Your tail... and it makes you feel strange regarding it as your own... sways back and forth like a weird pendulum and makes your balance shift from side to side, adding more difficulty to an already awkward task. You miss your footing again and fall forward, luckily Allyn is right beside you and grabs your arm before you tumble, you nod and manage a weak, "Thanks, Al." feeling absolutely pathetic. You try to put on a strong face, but too much is happening at once and you can't stand it. A warm, reassuring hand rests on your scaly shoulder.
You look up at Allyn and see a reassuring smile from your old war-buddy, it has an effect on you as a calmness spreads through your body. You take a deep breath and relax a little, at least you aren't going to die today and maybe you can still manage to get a contract from Sologuard. You were supposed to be starting a new life here and this job was going to give you the means to reach that goal, you guess you got what you asked for, but more literally than you had anticipated. What kind of life can you hope for now?
You can see people milling about the trade house now as you make your way to the grand staircase, the midday foot-traffic bringing in many entrepreneurs and lobbyists vying for the lord's attention or patronage. The crowd makes you incredibly conscious of your nakedness, you keep your claws folded in front of your nethers and hope no one notices you're unclothed except for your feathers. You do get the odd glance, however, as you are paraded up the stairs and into Sologuards private offices, but this might have more to do with a Skald being seen in the company of a merchant lord, rather than one being naked.
At last, you are secure in the secluded confines of a well-appointed office, Sologuard takes a seat behind a large, wooden desk and motions for you to sit as well. Another challenge. No matter how you attempt to angle yourself or sit yourself down, you can't avoid sitting painfully on your pendulous tail, the chairs having been designed with human posteriors in mind. Ultimately, you decide to forgo sitting down and stand up instead. You can see Sologuard better this way anyhow, he looks amused by your plight, a smile is also present on the features of his assistant who has taken his place behind his master. Allyn sits in another empty chair.
A long moment passes as you wait for the lord to speak, Sologuard pulls out a few sheets of parchment and begins to scribe a few words upon its surface. You look at your friend to the other side of you and are about to speak, but Sologuard beats you to it, "What do you know about the Magic-Industrial Revolution?" The question catches you off guard, you don't know what to say other than you know it has made mass production of items of convenience and other such articles possible. You tell him that it has made some people incredibly rich and it provides a logistical edge to the industrialized nations during war-time. Sologuard nods at all your points but makes a caveat, "It also allows us to produce 'magic-power'. The refining process that allows magics to be used to power our machines creates potent by products that can be harnessed in ways that couldn't have been imagined before now. Think of an engine, similar to the ones used to power our factories, only small enough to fit into an average augor-pulled cart. The engine provides power to the wheels and no augor is needed, no clean up, no other mouth to feed, no animal."
You can start to see where Sologuard is going with this, "And the one who has the means to make these fantasies real will be the one who reaps all the power that it would bring..." The lord nods at this and Allyn shakes his head in bewilderment.
Sologuard continues, "Furthermore, the development and manufacture weapons more powerful than any magic-slinger is also within our grasp!" His eyes begin to gleam with excitement, "Imagine! Weapons capable of harnessing combustible magics to defeat any foe! Soldiers carrying such weapons would be unstoppable and turn the most inexperienced combatant into a deadly adversary. And the nations that can afford to equip their soldiers in such a way would surely reign supreme..." You can see the greed behind the man's eyes, he is counting every coin that such devices could make him. You shudder to think of such a battle, the slaughter that would be possible...
Unbidden, visions of mud and flying debris fill your mind. You're there again... The field is full of death, arcs of cast lightning flash across your eyes as your comrades, the enlisted men and conscripts of Endaria, desperately attempt to fight back the surprise attack on your flank. You should have seen them coming, but it was too late...You're fault... You should have died there... You killed them -
A hand is on your shoulder, you are staring into the face of your last surviving friend. "Kai, look at me... I need you with me, buddy. I'm here, the war is over and we've pulled through, we're going to be okay." Allyn attempts to comfort you, he's followed you every where since you were kids. You've helped pull each other through tough times again and again, you almost lost him at that battle, your best friend and brother in all but blood. You lower your muzzle to look at the ground, you see tears roll down and drip from your snout, not realizing you had been crying.
Sologuard looks at you with a bored, pitiless expression and hands you a document, you grasp it gingerly in your claws. "Here's the agreement for your contract with us. Due to your involvement in the apparent destruction of a priceless artifact, you are hereby indentured in service to the House of Sologuard until you've completed your task in reparation for property lost." You stare down at the piece of paper, why would you sign away your life like this, you did nothing wrong! You tell Sologuard as much and he just chuckles, "Even if I believed you were telling the truth, the only witnesses to the event are the suspects and my employees. I have custody over all the suspects and my employees are loyal to me and me alone. So, you either do this for me or I throw you into a cell for the rest of your days. How's it going to be?"
You hate yourself for admitting it, but he has you cornered. You wont be able to make it out of here alive if you ran and you'd rather not spend your remaining days in the squalid conditions of an Arendonian prison. You sign the contract and pass it to Allyn, he does the same. The assistant comes around the desk and retrieves the contract. "You know we are asking you to retrieve a piece of Starfall, I presume?" Asks the man. You nod, you had your suspicions, he continues, "It is a dangerous task, no doubt, but well worth the risk. Some say that pieces of Starfall, also known as Starshards, contain the power of Creation itself; the Event being believed to have given rise to many of the colloquially named "Conscious-Races". Even more amazing is that you might just be proof of that concept, if you are telling the truth..."
"Galden, that is quite enough..." Sologuard chides his wiry assistant, but Galden continues to look at you with a keen interest. Sologuard turns to you, "Alright, get your mind on straight. You wont survive out there if you can't focus and, more importantly, you wont be able to retrieve my artifact. Now get going, you're wasting my precious time and money!" You and Allyn make your way out of the office and head through the foyer to leave. You still cover yourself in embarrassment being seen in public as you are.
You hear someone running up behind you, turning around you see Galden dashing up the hallway, "Here! I forgot this, it is a voucher for the inn just by the gates. I implore you to rest before you head out, I shall send supplies to you in the morning to ensure you have a successful mission!" You accept the voucher from him and watch him run back to his master. You don't know if you should trust the man, he seemed too keen on believing your plight and looked at you with eyes that seemed to dissect you like a scientific anomaly. Still, you would be grateful for anything that could even your odds out there, given your new circumstances... and some clothes would be nice. You look at Allyn and decide to...