An Evening
The clouds had finally broken. The day had been dreary beforehand, non-stop rain that had started the night before had been pelting the towers and factories of Quicksilver until now. This wasn't unusual. The city was situated in a swamp, damp weather was commonplace, but today he was over it. Most of his day had been spent in the grand hall. A Tower meeting was called, to discuss the politics and running of the state. It had started before the sun even rose, much to his dismay, and had carried on without break until now. He had to call for the meeting to adjourn for the day, the other members agreed. Everyone was tired, crabby, and annoyed, barring him for reasons unknown to the rest of the Tower.
As soon as the meeting was formally ended, Frank bolted back to his familial home. Though it was only him living there now, it still held his family's crest over the door, something deeply rooted in Quicksilven tradition. He checked his clock: 1830, perfect, he had just enough time. He shedded the bulky dress uniform that was required for such high end meetings, slipping on more comfortable clothes. Their colors were bright and bold, in a stark contrast to the grays, silvers, and golds of the dress outfit that he'd worn all too often. He grabbed a few more things, including his Hunter Blade, something he never left home without.
To those untrained, such weapons looked like a hilt, with no blade to speak of. Frank spun the hilt in his hand for a moment, before gripping it tightly. A pulse of redstone energy would prove the untrained wrong, a thin blade building itself from the hilt, with small clicks as it locked itself in place. The metal glinted in the sunlight that was now pouring through the breaking clouds and into the homes window. A marvel of engineering, and one of the best melee weapons in the Hunter Corps arsenal. Another pulse and the blade retracted back into the hilt, allowing Frank to slip it into a holster on his belt. He performed one last check, pat of the pockets, a quick glance over the "ready" stand that he had by his door for anything he might have forgotten. Nope, all there, checklist complete. After one last glance at the clock, he was off, a small click reverberating around the house as he locked the door behind him.
He had to go back through the factory block first, which was now well lit, the sun glinting off of the large metallic steam stacks. The wide roads that made a methodical grid around the factories were mostly quiet. The sound of water running down gutters, and the deep thrum of machinery drowned out any human noise that occurred from the few workers that were outside. Most of them were eating their lunch, or beginning their commute home, a few were loading wagons and cargo containers with the last of the day's goods. There were a few civilians traversing the paths as well, people on walks, or on their own commute, or simply taking the time to enjoy the evening sun. A deep rumble of distant thunder echoed between the towers, a reminder of the gloom that had just passed.
After a few turns and another few minutes of walking, Frank arrived at his first destination, the central market. The roads changed almost instantly from nearly deserted, to rather bustling. The colorful garb of the people of Quicksilver creating blazes of color as people went about their business. The market was built around Quicksilver Spire, still one of the tallest buildings within the city. It once served as the Tower's Chamber, a meeting hall, a focal point for all official business to be conducted. Now however, it's a hub for the people. Frank smiled, taking a moment to watch, to soak in the sight of children playing, parents conversing, and workers chortling. This made the maddening days within the Tower worth it.
Frank boldly stepped into the fray, pulling a list out of his pocket as he instinctively knew were to go. The plaza held everything from food and alcohol, to armor and ceremonial clothing. Stalls would shift from day to day, but the families that manned them had been there long before he had. Follow the voices.
An older man calling out an order in a unique accent, someone from off Bermuda that made excellent food, a unique blend of flavors and cultures, the smell of spices and roasted vegetables filled his nose. Most of the mobile food stands shifted in the evening to be upwind from the factories. A bartender calling out drinks in a more familiar accent. One of the newbies from Blacksand, handling herself quite well considering the rush hour pressure. He continued however, ignoring the good smells and rowdy patrons of the food carts, coming about to his goal.
An older woman stood proud in her stall, shimmering armor and weapons of various makes hanging off of hooks and displayed on racks, her family crest displayed proudly on the front of the stall. She was tending to another consumer, who seemed to be looking for a ceremonial sword for some kind of occasion. Their clothes clearly weren't Quicksilven, it looked closer to the clothing of N'ra, a rather rare sight, regardless of the city's relationship with Quicksilver itself. The woman tending the stall looked to Frank and smiled, beckoning him over. The N'ra patron backed away, continuing their search for the perfect sabre.
"May I speak to you?" Frank asked politely.
The stall keeper nodded, turning to the N'ra patron, "Please, excuse me." She stated, before returning her attention to Frank. "Well if it isn't the man from the tower himself" she opened, with a grin. "Come here for the pickup?"
Frank gave a nod, chuckling a little. "Ji, you don't need to call me that junk. Never liked those fancy titles anyway. Yes, I am here to pick up my order."
Ji gave a bit of a grin, before turning and rustling around in a box. "So you're finally doing it hm?" She asked, her voice slightly muffled as she searched.
"Finally, yeah. I... think it's been long enough, for both of us." He replied, tapping his fingers on the desk of the stall gently.
"Well, Jo and I have been telling you to do this for a while now, 'bout time you listened." Ji replied with a cheerful grin as she stood up, brushing the dust off of her sleeves. "I assume you'll want to view the merchandise?"
She got a small nod in reply. With that, she hefted a slightly curved blade over the counter, handing it to him. He took it carefully, "Thank you." he stated, as Ji let the full weight of the blade rest in his hands. He took a moment to admire it, his gaze slowly crawling over every inch. The finely tuned metal and workings glinting softly in the fading sunlight. If his blade was a marvel of technological capabilities, this blade was pure passion. No complexities, no compromises. Forged, assembled, wrapped, all by Ji's hands.
"She's my most proud piece yet." Ji interjected as Frank was looking it over. "I imported the metal from N'ra, no big mining there, but I've got a friend. Minimum redstone content, good material. I got that glowstone inlay to work as well." She mentioned, pointing out the lines that danced around the blade, nearly indiscernible from the metal around it. "Straight from the fire forest. Should work beautifully".
Frank took the blade and clenched his hand on the hilt, a pulse of redstone and the glowstone within the blade lit up. While not much while the sun was still up, even if it was ebbing, it would be more than enough to light the way in a dark cavern, or over an unlit road. The inlay glowed orange, a mixture between the minute amount of redstone powering the equally small amount of glowstone. As he pulled his hand off the sword the glow faded into nothing.
"Good, right?" Ji asked with a chuckle. Frank gave a smiling nod in reply. "Now, the wraps are made from Void Mantis leather. Sturdy, good grip, and weather proof. Hard as nails to get that stuff to take shape, you know that right?"
"I've cut enough of them to know, and what about the crest I showed you?" He inquired, looking back to Ji.
"Right on the pommel, you think I'd forget a detail like that?" Ji said with a knowing smirk. A quick check on the pommel, and indeed there was the crest, it clearly wasn't Quicksilven.
He smiled a bit "It's perfect Ji... Thank you. Now, what do I owe you?" He asked, setting the blade down on the counter.
"This time, nothin'. Think of it as a gift from our family to yours. Besides, you and your Hunters bring more than enough business to me." She said with a warm smile, taking the sword and putting it in a scabbard. "Now... take it, and make your evening, and don't forget to let me know how it goes." That warm smile got even bigger as she offered the sword to him.
He took it, returning the smile "Ji... are you sure? I know this-"
"Uhp uhp uhp" Ji interrupted, "I said what I said. Now go, before I change my mind." She said. "Off with you!" She demanded, waving Frank away, immediately returning her attention to the N'ra patron, who had now selected a rather decorative rapier.
Frank smiled a bit, hooking the scabbard onto his belt for now, before heading to his next destination. At this point, shadows were long and distorted; it was nearly twilight. He had wandered into a residential district. The towers scraping the clouds had been replaced with smaller homes. They still held the same stark metallic outside. Family crests above the doors, several buildings being rather large compared to the "standard" home. Housing multiple families.
The sun was all but gone now. The lights built into the Quicksilven streets flickered to life, bathing the town in a warm glow from underneath. Even the towers and stacks sprang to life, lights shining up the steam stacks and spires of the city. Frank paused for a moment, stepping to the side of the road to let others pass as he looked towards the heart of his home. Quicksilver Spire was lit in a beautiful gold, a few brighter areas scattered around for Mag-Copter landing pads. The citadel could be seen even further in the distance. "Good riddance" He thought. A whole day spent in that particular building doesn't make for a good one.
He returned his attention to the task at hand however, and resumed his walk. He was almost there now. The wall had come into view not too long ago, as well as the gate. It was one of the lesser ones, but a decent number of people came through it each day. Mostly Quicksilven traders that lived in the district. For now however, the only one there was the gate guard. Perfect. He walked past him, flashing his identity, the guard gave him a nod as he continued into the birch forest beyond the gate.
It wasn't long now, a couple more minutes. His hands shook a bit as nerves got the better of him. Wasn't the first time, wouldn't be the last, but this was something new. As he crested a hill, he spotted her. The twitch of an ear later, she turned to face him. He gave a warm smile as he approached. Her ability to emote was... questionable at best, and while she was capable of it, it took very trained eyes to notice. His eyes were well trained however, countless missions as a Hunter and as a mercenary meant he could read her face well. Maybe not as well as some, but more than enough.
Another twitch of her long, pointed ears, and just the faintest tugging at the corners of her lips. It was a warm smile in return, at least, in her own way. She was as happy to see him as he was her.
