LORE STORIES 1: Age Of The Dragons - Preparing For The Storm
By: Laochan
*** Author's Note: In an attempt to bring the lore to life, I have decided to write (hopefully a few) stories from the different eras in the rift timeline from a commoner's viewpoint. ***
Jalob pulled the harsh material down further over his eyes to keep the driving sand out as his feet fought for footing in what was the fifth sandstorm of this trip. The season had been a particularly harsh one and he prayed to the gods for his safe arrival in Eboni. So far, Thontic had seen it fit to allow him a great deal of profit from Fortune's Shore. Despite the cities name, it was often not the place for a man to make his fortune but for him to loose it. Gamblers filled the dark corners and caves and anytime one left Fortune's Shore with more then he had when he entered he was considered favored by the gods. Jalob had planned on visiting to sell a few of his wares and finally sleep in a bed for a night. Being the smart businessman he was, he had traded the trinkets he had gotten from his travels to the various Eth settlements for something he had not had the pleasure of holding before in his life. Deep within the folds of fabric that the wind and sand tried desperately to get into in this storm hid five glowing sourcestones. How the gambling man had come across them, Jalob did not care, but he did look forward to selling them for a nice profit. Sadly the gambler did not seem quite so excited at the exchange that had been made and Jalob had missed out on the warm bed for the night as he had run from the town and into this storm to avoid the man's blade.
As he pushed on though the now weakening sandstorm, Jalob became aware of the pulsing of the stones against his thigh. He would be glad to find a buyer for them as they made him more and more uncomfortable as he held them. By the evening the storm had passed and he was once again following the road to Eboni. Far in the distance, he could see the bridge to the front gate. He decided that coming upon a gate in the dark of the night was a good way for a traveler to die outside it, and made his tent against a small outcropping of rocks to wait for morning.
The clanging of the carts and cattle of a caravan on the road woke Jalob from his fitful sleep. He had dreamed of dragons flying and churning up the sands of the Eth and of blood boiling from the ground as the pulsing stones made his thigh nicely numb so that he had to shake it awake before getting up. He hurriedly tumbled out of his tent and untied it and packed it. He would have to hurry if he wanted to catch his luck. Jalob nearly ran to the front of the caravan to find its leader. After a few pleasantries, Jalob had secured a walking spot among the caravan, he had learned after years of traveling among the 13 tribes of the Eth that there were less questions when one was part of a caravan and not traveling alone.
In fact, there had been no questions of him when they passed through the gate, so Jalob had the time to look about as they passed under the towering archway of stone and into the streets of Eboni. When he had last been here, the city was in the process of building the double thick walls connecting the towers which had surrounded the city. Truly, this was now the jewel of the Eth. On each section of the new completed walls hung a large plaque with an open jaw of gold. Jalob quickly looked away as it brought back thought of his dreams the previous night. As the caravan rounded a corner, Jalob broke away and turned down a familiar alleyway to a pub where he liked to hear the talk of the town. Even this early there were sure to be a few about and the watering hole had always made him feel comfortable. Pushing the door open, he let his eyes adjust to the dim interior with its heavy smoke and smell of rich brew in the air. He took a seat in the darkest corner and paid the barmaid to bring his a tall mug of water and to stay quiet for the day he planned on spending there. Jalob let the day pass as he sat and sipped his "beer" and listened to the various conversations to see what how the gods would favor him. Sometimes a good piece of information could keep a man from being ripped off or make sure he made a great profit. He heard of a butcher's wife wanting to have more kids, of a merchant who was raising his prices, of the beautiful daughter of the leader of the clan trying to convince him to join forces with the Mkhai tribe, and many others, but throughout there was the overarching theme that the group that seemed to control nearly everything in the city now was the Golden Maw of the Queen of Avarice herself, Laethys. This was the first big step the dragon gods had made into Eth society and Jalob worried a great deal. He also noted that the locals seemed to take it all in stride, even calling the city "charmed" Eboni due to the Golden Maw's influence. They didn't seem to think the take over of nearly all the ins and outs of business by the cult was such a big deal, but Jalob kept thinking of the golden dragon in his dreams.
After nearly a day among the locals, Jalob decided that he would rather not have the golden dragon cult have their hands on the stones that pulsed at his side. He was about the leave as he heard a loud drunk's conversation over the others. The man wobbled and tumbled nearly on top of a small seated man and seemed quite upset over some transaction that had completed earlier in the day. The smaller man wore the cloths of a traveler and the drunkard kept referring to him as a Mkhai. Seems the drunk had sold the man something he wanted back, but the small man kept refusing, saying that the deal had been a fair one. Jalob would have left them up to their devices had it not been for the pulsing of his stones at his side becoming insistent. About that time the small man had looked over at Jalob with eyes of pleading and the drunk turned his attention to Jalob assuming the two where together. Jalob watched as the drank man tried to make his was to him and the small man slipped out from under him and out the back. Jalob pushed his way to the door and slipped out into the dark of the ally. He hid himself behind a set of water barrels and crates and waited out the drunk man who now stumbled into the street. The pulsing of the stones at his side pounded and he almost felt sick with their power. Jalob was about to get up when a small hand came out from behind him and cupped over his mouth, "Don't say a thing. I will not hurt you. I am here to make you a deal you can't refuse." Not liking this conversation in the dark but fearing the blade that was likely waiting for him if he made a sound he tried to seem relaxed in the grasp of this stranger.
Jalob was led through the alleys to a small cart in a part of the city that seemed much too far out of the way for any merchant of any repute. Once he caught a look out of the corner of his eye and saw the cloak of the small man from the tavern. He should have known, he should have run, but right now all Jalob could feel was the pulsing stones at his side and the cold hand on his face. Finally, at the cart the man released Jalob and stood across from him behind the cart and away from prying eyes. The small man put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a glowing stone similar to the ones Jalob held and the closer it came to Jalob the more his stones ached. "I know you have seen something like this before. I can feel them on you... four no five of them. Care to rid yourself of the burden? The Mkhai tribe pays well for them...well enough to keep them from the jaws of the dragon queen," he whispered. The pulsing was in his head now, and Jalob could do nothing but nod in response and pulled out the sack of stones. The small man pulled out a sack of coins nearly the same size and placed it into the hand of Jalob as he took the sack of stones. Until that moment, Jalob had not realized what a burden the stones had been. The pulsing in his head and the world around him seemed much quieter and lighter on his shoulders.
The next morning, Jalob passed through the arching gates of "Charmed" Eboni for the last time: he would not return. The city was not itself. As he walked across the bridge out of town he could not help but think of the way the small man had thanked him and said the stones would help save the world. Only later would Jalob understand that his stones helped to build the great war machines of the Eth which would be used in the coming blood storm. Jalob would not understand until the day he saw his dream come to reality there on the shimmering sands.