Chapter 4 – Arrival

CHAPTER IV -- ARRIVAL

Norren was among the last to disembark from the fully occupied airship ferrying people from Oakshroud to Windswept Port Town. It was an uncomfortable ride for him, considering he had mostly refrained from participating in society for the last several decades. Nevertheless, he bade his time, leaning against the furthest corner with friend Adi not far off until he could make easy passage out of the ship.

Stepping out onto the wood planks of the dock, he cringed that the claustrophobic feeling did not fade as if anything the dock was even more crammed as several vessels struggled to disembark their passengers. Norren inched through the crowd, making his way to the connected pier, which was even more congested due to the various vendors taking up significant space that pedestrians would otherwise be walking -- not to mention those that slowed the process even further by standing around to gawk at the various good being peddled.

A familiar, but different, strange yet comforting odour then caught Norren's nose from further down the pier. He craned his head to get a better whiff of the scent, and there was no mistaking that odour of grilled white fish. Yet, it was somehow a little bit different, perhaps with a more intense aroma of oil than he had remembered.

Adi took note of her elvish friend, now licking his chops and smiled as she realized the smell for herself.

"Pan-fried fish?" Norren salivated as he spoke the query aloud.

"Aye, not quite the same as fish by the fireside." Adi cut into a gap the crowd, pushing forward to come out onto the elevated pier, and gestured for Norren to follow.

"Nay," Norren shook his head, and produced a short chuckle. "Ironically, I do quite recall feeling the same way about fish scorched by the fireside, when I'd first began ranging."

"As do I", Adi agreed. 

As the two rangers were preoccupied by their search for whatever was producing that smell on the pier, they fell short of noticing the crowd behind them making way for a new disturbance. Heavy footsteps creaked the wood with every footfall as the monstrous cloudforged named Sije parted the crowd and made way for his companions in tow. A space cleared around Norren and Adi, who then turned to face the fiendish looking fellow.

Sije looked down at Norren and spoke, "Hello."

Staring, save for the odd blink, Norren stood speechless. After an uncomfortable amount of time had already past, Norren jolted at an elbow received to his oblique by Adi.

"You're staring," she whispered into his ear.

"Oh right," Norren shook his head. "Pardon my rudeness, I've been away from social encounters for quite some time. My name is Norren." He held out his hand for a shake.

"Curious," Sije tilted his head and reached forward with his index finger to poke Norren's offered hand.

Norren laughed, "Like this." He then reached forward grabbing Sije's outreached hand to show him how a handshake worked, pumping his wrist with a few shakes for good measure. "And that's how you exchange pleasantries, formally."

"I see."

The two then stood there staring, though, not as long as the first exchanged stare before Norren spoke once more. "Then, uh... you're supposed to also tell me your name."

"My name is Sije," the beast replied. "Could you get out of my path please? I'd like to go further down this pier with my friends."

Norren then heard chuckling from behind the creature, and bent over just enough so that he could see round Sije's arms. Behind him were a number of unlikely companions exchanging words; a dark elf, a pureblood, a gnome, and a human. The pureblood was near doubling over as the human rolled her eyes at something he said. The gnome meanwhile looked at the pureblood with a dumb grin, while the dark elf stood tapping his foot with impatient crossed arms.

"Don't let us keep you waiting," Adi crept into the conversation, dumbly maneuvering the awkward Norren aside enough that the unlikely troupe could pass.

The creature and his four companions the walked by, with the gnome audibly overpowering the chatter of the disperse crowd. "A nice spot for an ale, just round the corner and down the next street."

Norren turned his head to Adi then. "I haven't seen a cloudforged since I was a boy, and never one such as that."

"I've never seen one like that," Adi shrugged. "Even in the Always Dark."

"But one thing is certain," Norren continued, Adi then looking at him with concern. "A spot of ale would be most pleasant with what we may procure on the pier for foodstuffs."

The smell of fish frying led the pair of rangers further down the pier, where Norren laid eyes on a more familiar oddity. Standing there was yet another Cloudforged, though, this one was more recognizable to his sensibilities. The fellow sported a round polished metallic head, with bolted on hinges to support its metallic jaw. Its broad upper torso was similarly constructed of metal, however the rest of the construct was obscured by the bobbing heads gathering round it.

Norren and Adi joined the crowd, not knowing entirely what the fuss was about but nevertheless fully aware that the sweet odour was coming from the creature. Sliding into the small, but tightly packed crowd, they then were able to get a full view of the goings on of the situation.

The cloudforged had constructed in his torso, a cylindrical cauldron sizzling with oil. The creature reached into the cavity in its belly to grab the pot by its handle, revealing some sort of heated element underneath as it removed the pot.

The sizzling inside then became all too noticeable as the metallic creature reached inside with two elongated fingers, procuring two golden, fried and battered fillets. Returning the cauldron to its belly, the creature then reached down to its side where a spool of rolled up paper hung attached to its waist, and pulled out a square of paper which ripped easily from the spool. 

The cloudforged then wrapped up the two fried fish, handing the package off to a patron who then exchanged two gold coins, which it promptly tucked away in some compartment on its chest. The process repeated, with the creature grabbing two more fish from a basket laying on the ground next to it.

Norren watched with intent as the creature went through the motions several times. Watching each exchange take place. He noted then, the slender arms of an elf reach out and grab one of the packages, though realized quickly from the skin tone that they were the arms of a dark elf. Reflexively, he traced the arm back to examine the elf, and produced a coy smile on realizing Ahlyssaria, the dark elf who had helped him board the airship in Oakshroud was then purchasing two of the fish for herself.

Ahlyssaria met eyes with Norren as she tucked away the packaged fish, and offered a coy smile and nod in return. She made no pleasantries however, as she turned away and made off from the pier and down the paved wharf it was attached to.

"How may I serve you, elf," a metallic resonant voice spoke in Norren's generally direction.

Norren twisted back to face the Cloudforged and said in a hurry, "Yes, I would like two fillets."

The creature then went about its business, soon producing two fried fish for Norren. "That'll be two gold pieces," it held out its expectant palm.

Norren then realized in a panic, he didn't have a gold coin to his name. But before he could dismay, Adi placed a hand on Norren's shoulder and leaned forward to offer two gold pieces from her own coin purse. The creature then pushed the wrapped fish into Norren's hands.

"Get some coin, and then you can pay me back," Adi gestured down the wharf while she spoke.

"Thank you," Norren responded, packing the fish away. "I suppose you might be able to aid me with that spot of beer as well?"

Adi giggled, betraying Adi's stoic nature with a hint of femininity. It was something which Norren wasn't used to from his companion.

The two slunk off then, through the crowd, and down the wharf toward town. As they walked, they kept in mind the general directions to the pub that they overheard from the gnome moments earlier.