Southwest Gate - Kelethen

[Charlie Wallace]

The walled city faced southwest with its back to the Great Sea. From either side of the corner towers, tall masts could be seen in the harbor. The stone walls displayed neither crumbling nor weathering. The rooftops, towering above the walls, bore gray paint that matched the water beyond.

The Sapphire Guards watching the road wore a skull cap, chainmail and the guard tabard: Light blue on the left accented with dark blue on the right. The guards held wooden spears with a metal spearhead. They also carried a shield. They kept a silent vigilance on the road.

[Kelethen]

Timestamp: Some time in Immanis, Winter, Era 1 of the Celestial Mandate, Era XV PF

[OOC: I hope this is where I'm supposed to post to enter the city - please excuse my newbieness ...)]

After a long, long journey full of farmers' dogs, two-horse towns (well, compared to Taralon, anyway) and unconversational trees, Kel wasn't feeling terribly optimistic about Portshire. In fact, in retrospect, civil disturbance and foreboding darkness in the sky weren't looking quite so bad any more - at least they were happenings.

Still, nothing for it, really.

Pausing a few hundred yards before reaching the gates, the faerie unslung a meagre bundle of possessions, unfolded The Blue Doll Dress - which by now had seen far, far better days - and practiced the appropriate pitch and quaver while changing. "I am a refugee from war-ravaged Taralon ... nah, too dramatic ... An it please, sirs, I am a refugee from Taralon ... Please help me, I've no visa and very little money, but I need to find a place to stay ..."

The whole visa business had been a rather annoying revelation, actually. Kel had rarely left Taralon before, and hadn't really thought about a piece of paper being able to prove one's existence. There had been a lot of fuss about it elsewhere.

Finally Kel finished smoothing down the natty skirts and flew the rest of the way to the gates, alighting on the ground in front of the guardsmen. "Please excuse me, sirs ... can you help me? I've come all this way from Taralon, and there was so much fighting going on, and I haven't a visa or anything at all ... what should I do?"

[Charlie Wallace]

Woovold Vend stood with his arms crossed on his muscular chest. The human was not as tall as his companion, but his girth was massive and his uniform was well-filled.

Lexy Ford needed to shave. His young face was stubble and his expression sour. The guard looked suspicious. He called to Woovold, "No visa. Says its a refugee."

Woovold lumbered over. His perception of the small creature was curiosity. The stout human said, "We do not allow persons without visa access, however I will say that we don't get many faes passing the gate. There is little protocol for refugees, we would normally send you to Prime, less than a brightening's walk south. Without proper legitimacy, we must prevent blackguards from entering the city."

Lexy scratched his cheek. He said, "She doesn't look threatening. Do you think we should ask the Captain?"

Woovold asked Kelethen, "It is beyond our providence to allow you access without a visa. Do you want to talk to the Captain?"

The view of the city beyond the gates was limited by the large buildings. The street contained many carriages and men and women walking with haste towards the different establishments. Their dress and mannerisms were noble. Servants bustled behind them carrying their packages or opening the doors to the shops. No refuse littered the cobblestones. No horse manure or dog droppings marred the pristine street.

[Kelethen]

Kel let out a faint sigh of almost-relief; yes, counting eggs still in the proverbial chicken was a bad idea, but this was definitely the most promising start so far. Granted, the other 'starts' had been handled a little less productively on Kel's part (and a little more shrilly).

"I would really, really like to talk to the Captain, yes - please," the faerie agreed, shading both eyes with both hands to look up at the burlier of the pair. Maintaining eye contact was a real nuisance from this angle, but Kel wasn't quite game enough to chummily perch on a shoulder. "If it's not too much trouble, sirs."

It was about as hard to take a preemptive peek through the gates as it was to look the guardsmen politely in the eye from where Kel stood, but Kel had a brief try all the same. First sight of the city of Portshire was the rather inauspicious legs of a horse hitched to a carriage, though the gleaming vista of clean cobbles several moments later made for a much nicer impression.

[Charlie Wallace]

Captain Bole Green wore the blue tabard of the Sapphire Guard. His rank was indicated on his shoulders by striped bands. He wore a black cloth on his muscular bicep. The human had pale skin, black eyes, and grey-blue eyes. He was slim and wore his uniform smartly. He responded to the message from the guard room.

Bole nodded to Kelethen. He too was unfamiliar with faeries. Woovold explained Kelethen's lack of visa. Bole said, "How did you come all this way without one? We're there not guards stationed along the way from Taralon?"

[Kelethen]

"Yes," replied Kel, memories slightly souring the 'plaintive suppliant' tone, "there were."

What a pain! Kel had always rather enjoyed occasional little runarounds through Taralon's streets, a guard with an egged helmet in hot pursuit (the ones with a sense of humour at the end of it were best, thin on the ground though they often were), but being chased around while travelling all tired and fed up through the countryside just wasn't amusing.

Sometimes it had been necessary to take long detours - intentional or not, since Kel's sense of direction wasn't first-class outside Taralon - through suspicious, sleepy backwater villages rather than highway-fed towns. Sometimes the faerie had tried to sneak into towns or villages, been caught, and been summarily thrown out.

Sometimes it had all seemed like too much bother, and a bit of wheedling or nagging at larger settlements along the road had actually worked; sometimes it hadn't. Certainly the best result so far had been a closely monitored, limited stay before being asked to move on and become someone else's problem.

Kel sighed and squinted up at the imposing, bright-eyed Captain again, summing it all up in rather shorter words. "Oh, sir, travelling without a visa has been very, very hard, and I can tell you now that being a homeless refugee is hard enough as it is ... much to your very nice city's credit, this is one of the few places I've had time to say the words 'no visa' before being thrown back out on the empty road ... alone ..."

[Charlie Wallace]

Captain Green was a hardened warrior, but the fae had found a soft spot. Bole said to Kelethen, "I cannot let you into the city unguided. We shall go to the Aedile and have a temporary visa drawn up. They are good for a short time determination, but it will keep you from being kicked out into the wilds. Will you follow me?

Captain Green allowed the fae to walk into the city. His boot heels clicked on the cobblestone streets. The two storied building was located near the Rak Temple. A white sign hung from brass rings indicated: Aedile.

Oaken doors opened into a foyer with polished slat floors. A human sorted papers behind a desk. Poma Sori nodded to the Captain and his companion. She said, "Serale."

Captain Green explained the fae's predicament. Poma asked, "I can make a temporary document. The fee is ten crowns. What name should be inscribed?"