Amber's Residence

[Amber Brightwing]

Set along the road between the Vortex General Store and the old temple of Jalat stood a small shop that belonged to a young hobbit lass named Amalthea Arrowhead. And above on the second floor of that shop there was an even smaller apartment, belonging to one of Vortex’ tiniest residents.

The apartment had two rooms, and only the biggest one had a window. Still, because of the stained glass and the rather small size of the window the room was never completely illuminated. Not that the owner cared much about such things. She only used her house to sleep at night and to have a place where she could store her things. Otherwise she preferred to be outside, preferably some place that had lots of plants and animals like the Vortex Park.

And that attitude towards the home reflected in the rather sparse amount of furniture. There was a table that held a lamp and some vegetables and fruit. A single chair in one of the corners had a pillow and was used as a bed. A small closet was standing with it’s doors open and although it was mostly empty there were a couple of shelves that held the few possessions she had.

[Surge]

Last Darkening of the Month of Ioannes, Season of Summer.

The time had come for the little one to be called again.

Shuffling through the streets of Vortex with nothing more than a haphazardly scrawled note received through the postage in his hand, a cloaked figure garbed in midnight attire shuffled his way towards the residency of one Amber Brightwing with little more than tidbits of information to sate his curiosity. The note in itself was mysterious, not because of its origin…of which the stranger knew intimately well, but rather because of the fashion in which it had been written. With a keen eye for such matters as handwriting and forgery, the stunted figure could easily tell that it had been the true name’s own handwriting but had been…so quickly written it didn’t necessarily make sense. Trouble? Worry? Concern?

Stopping at the hobbit’s store, the cloaked figure stopped briefly and slid the note back into his pocket. This must be the place. His tail swishing behind him wistfully, the entity walked into the store and briefly checked for any nearby clerks or the owner herself. Nobody. A wicked grin contorting his indescribable features, the figure ducked behind a counter before stealthily darting for the stairwell and making his way up the flight without so much as a singular creak on the third step. A quick fumble with his pockets and he was soon picking the door to the Fae’s apartment, opening it easily enough and sneaking in just in time for a new record.

Turning to inspect the room, sleek black paws reached upwards to remove the hood of his black cloak, a narrow snout and beady dark eyes turning to observe the room around him. A Ratta. His tail rose agitatedly as he checked for the owner – two large front teeth baring into a bestial grin.

“Come out come out wherever you are…little one. The time has come for you to return to Paxia,” he mumbled like a child at play, still looking for the one Slade had sent for.

[Amber Brightwing]

Amber had been sleeping on her pillow when there was suddenly a draft of air that stirred her in her sleep. As it was followed by a voice that certainly had no business whatsoever in her house, it only took a split second to awake up.

Huh? What… How did you… I locked…

She immediately flew up and towards the window, her mind still only half awake and her survival instinct guiding her body, but gradually the words started to get through her mind and were given a meaning. Paxia… She had almost forgotten about the necromancer there. It had been months since her visit and she had figured that he had got himself killed or that he suddenly no longer had the need for her help anymore. She stopped in front of the window, still ready to push it open and flee if the rat made any sudden movement towards her. It wasn’t really closed, so a simple push should be able to open it.

Like right now?

As she started to get a grip of herself she grew bolder towards the intruder – although she kept on her toes to make a swift retreat when necessary.

And have you ever heard of knocking?

If he hadn’t been send by Slade she would have made sure he didn’t survive the night. You didn’t break into people houses like that. It was just being unnecessarily rude. She would definitely mention it once back in Paxia.

And she would need to look into a better way to lock her door. It couldn’t be that people just entered like that.

[Surge]

“Welcome to Vortex, little one. Not everyone plays by the rules here,” the Ratta shrugged off her remark dismissively, as if it was not worth the time of day to ponder upon. She would either learn soon enough, or she would die without so much as a lift of the finger. The door had not been trapped, as most should or probably would have been, and thus he could have just as easily robbed her blind as opposed to waking her up and encouraging her to get a move on.

The naivety of innocence was rather unamusing at times.

“Slade requests your presence. Tomorrow there will be a jump of power, and I was asked to make sure you were there for the few cycles afterwards. There’s money to be made in Paxia, m’dear, and it’s high time someone got around to grabbing it,” he turned his back on her and began to make for the door. His business here was finished; concluded. No more ties to Paxia, no more services owed. With a sigh a furry paw rested heavily upon the doorknob, turning it slightly so that it wouldn’t make the preferred click when it eventually closed.

“Be there or be Pracenda,” he cackled underneath his breath before walking through the doorway and closing the door behind him.

If Amber were to check, he would be gone.

[Amber Brightwing]

She could certainly be called naïve at times, but innocence was something that she had lost along the way. She didn’t mind skipping the rules now and then – she had broken into the Blood Alley Gang headquarters herself some time ago – but she did believe that it shouldn’t be done when not necessary. After all, knocking would have given the same result, minus one annoyed fae. He was lucky that she didn’t play things the same way as he did or he would be walking out of her door dead.

As for her door not being trapped, well she hadn’t even used it in a few months. And it wasn’t the main door after all. One had to enter through the front door first and if they indented to rob this place then she figured they would be plundering the ground floor first. There were much more valuable things to be gathered there then they would be able to find in her little apartment. Still, she would be looking into putting a lock of her own making on her door once she got back.

Yeah, I’ll be there.

She eyed the ratta as he left again. After waiting for a few moments she went to see if he had been gone. Once she had confirmed he had left the building she dug up her key and locked the door again. Apparently that didn’t stop people all that much, but it was better then nothing.

Thinking a moment about what to do next, she decided to start gathering her stuff. If she packed things now she could leave first thing in the morning.