The floating city of Argenta is booming despite the fact that it is only seven in the morning. So many conversations are happening at once that no matter where you go, there is a constant noise that seems more like one long, drawn-out drone rather that multiple sounds. Possibly the only way to escape it would be to leave the massive trade city into either its western fields, where people go to picnic, walk its various trails, or rest and relax away from the hustle and bustle, or its eastern side to go to the various small camps for travellers or walk back to the multiple checkpoints and docks for airships.

You, Drallic, find yourself leaving the _Cloud Furs_, a buyer of animal furs and parts. You had just come in from a good haul and know that Vector, the Wolfborne owner, would give you the best price for the rare furs you found. Standing by your side is El'lans, your Reborne first-mate captain hybrid. He was once some sort of elf, but never told you what he was before he died. You can only tell based on his ears and the remains of his features. A long coat covered leather armor with metal plates covering various vulnerable points of his body, and at his side is a longsword with a barrel welded to replace one edge, and at the small of his back is a rapier with one side of its hilt being wider than the other.

At his side was his eidolon, which unless you knew what you were looking for, you would not see the arcane mark on its left thigh. It looks like an armored female knight wielding a massive greatsword, and you have never seen what it is under the full-covering armor. It was looking all around you, like a bodyguard waiting for any threat to appear while El'lans seemed unconcerned with anything around him, which you know is certainly untrue.

"Where to?" He asked, "We have all day since you gave the crew shore-leave."

In contrast to the elven Reborne, Drallic was a massive minotaur, brutish at his 8'9'' height and standing tall with his thin, brown hide. Across his muscular frame were a heavy assortment of scars from his old mercenary days, including a rough one over his right eye that was damaged beyond healing. His mane, measuring four inches in height, flowed gently with Argenta's sky breeze as if it his hair were living embers. His clothing, a little uncustomary for a pirate captain, was a simple pair of leather trousers with a cloth shirt. Unlike El'lans, Drallic preferred his pirate coat for when he was traveling on the ship. And between his unique fighting style and sheer bulk, armor was often redundant at best.

His lively green eyes and hearty smile, a contrast to his rough-and-scarred appearance, looked over at his first mate and fellow captain. "Well first, we gotta get food!" Drallic's deep, gritty voice coincided with his jolly tone, the tapping of his hard black hoof gently on Argenta's stone ground, and the patting of a pouch around his black belt. "We been running a lil' low on rations for the crew. Good time as any to fill up our stomachs before we fill our storage crates." Drallic looked proud with that toothy smile across his snout and payed no offense to however a reborne might ear, or otherwise got their needed substance.

He looked up at the skies, a clear blue with gentle white clouds hung overtop. No elemental rain, no crazy weather, almost pure bliss compared to the booming and frantic rush of citizens, sailors and pirates that passed down Argenta's many trading streets. It was beautiful, though the surrounding buildings blocked the skies in the distance. After a moment of silence, he suggested, "Wind's comin' west. Oughta be a good lookout by the fields," as a place to eat, as well to check the upcoming weather.

The Reborne let out a small snort, "We just got that coin and you already want to lose it, eh?" He shook his head, "But the fields sounds like a good place to rest. I've been on a ship too long."

You see his eyes quickly dart along the buildings of the southern square, "Clothing, knick-knacks, fancy clothing, pet shop. Everything dealing with fur except the meat under it. If I remember right, the butchery is at the western square, lucky us." He tilted his head toward the path that would lead you to the next square, "Might as well start now. Neither of us are getting younger."

The armored eidolon starts following its master, silent and threatening as ever. Its presence seems to help convince people to step out of its way as you all make your way down the long, crowded path. You can tell that El'lans is used to it as he holds his head straight ahead and keeps his hands in his pockets. The sight of a careless man just waiting to be jumped. Which you have seen backfire on those who would prey countless times.

Drallic walked just shortly behind El'lans, letting the Reborne's careless and carefree-appearing state take point. The minotaur wasn't one for bluffing or scoundrel-esque flair given his heavy muscles, even with his relatively casual clothing. He looked down the busy street in front of him with his hooves stomping on the stone ground. He felt more like muscle for a suave captain than a proper leader.

But this was partly why he and his partner shared the role of captain. Drallic was the more experienced and stronger pirate, someone who kept the crew's heads together and dealt with the worst that Gallys could throw at them. But he wasn't clever, nor extremely resourceful, nor someone confident enough to make every decision on his own. And there was where El'lans excelled at. Neither of them worked better on their own compared to together.

Drallic kept his bullish head up as the western square was in sight. The lively place looked like a wave of colors; animalborne, dragonborne, orcs, bugbears, even other reborne ran around, traveling, shopping, or even just sightseeing. Even the biggest crew on the smallest ship paled in comparison. "Alright, no more need for the 'ain't give a damn,' look," Drallic playfully told El'lans before the minotaur slowly walked forward. His bulk, not even including the worn old wounds on his body, was enough of a sign for other travelers to move out of the way.

Up on the hard, wooden steps of the butchery, Drallic gently knocked on the open door, triggering the light sounds of an entry bell. "Ahoy!" he shouted with a joyous boom and took a step in to meet with the storekeeper.

As you enter the butchery, you hear from behind you, "That's the only look I have."

When you enter the butchery, you see a room that is a bit claustrophobic for you, one of the tallest races on Gallys, but would be only slightly larger than a standard size for most others. Inside is a waiting area with a couple of tables. Each table has three chairs and have various objects to entertain those who need to wait for their order. Currently there are two people waiting at one of the tables, playing with a deck of cards. No one else could be seen in the room until you let out your call.

Answering your call is a female goblin. She wears an apron that almost goes down to her feet with a tanned and burn-pocked shirt underneath. You cannot see much below her torso behind the counter, and you get the feeling that she would be able to easily toss you out the store if needed.

"Ah," she says with a neutral expression, even though her tone was excited, "It's the captain pair. What can I do for you today?"

"Rations an' supplies, of course!" Drallic cheerily responded to the goblin and gave her a wave while walking up to the counter. The smile across his brown snout hid his discomfort with the room's small space; his body hunched forward to keep his horns creaking into the stone ceiling. The humid sweat of the butchery stuck to his short fur. There's a reason he enjoyed the open skies of Gallys.

How the heck did some people work in these buildings for most of the day?

He briefly looked back to see El'lans enter before speaking with the goblin again. "Erh, well, bit early to haul 'em back now. Gotta get something to eat first." Meat wasn't Drallic's favorite kind of food; in fact, most minotaurs preferred greens. But a decent source of meat kept him from eating hour after hour each day, however much his blunt teeth struggled to chew it. He wouldn't need much to eat anyway, as there was a lot to purchase and haul back to the ship later.

Looking at the door behind the counter, he curiously asked, "Whatever you got in surplus'd be great for me. El'lans can tell you what he needs." He tilted his head towards the Reborne, allowing his fellow captain to get something for the morning.

The Reborne gives you a strange look before giving her his order both for the ship and then for himself. As he speaks, the goblin woman writes it all down, making meticulous notes about any specifics that she is given. When he finishes the rather long list, she nods, "I should have all of that for you. Give me a couple of hours and I will have it ready to pick up."

El'lans smiles, "I hope that our personal food won't take that long."

The goblin's face does not change, but her voice's tone rises in amusement, "Of course not. I just need a moment."

She then steps into the back of the store. In a few moments, she returns with your orders and sets them on the counter. El'lans takes them to one of the tables and sits down. When you join him, he asks, "What's our next plan? If I remember right, don't we have the job down at Redshire?"

"Aye, we did agree to that," Drallic responded, attempting to coming off like he'd forgotten that. The captain set his meal down on the wooden table: a large leg of cooked chicken, and got himself a seat on the only huge stool big enough for his size. Grabbing the chicken leg by the bone and feeling relatively little heat from the hardened skin and fur of his hand, he opened wide and ate a chunk of the cooked skin and meat out. "Mmm, mm, still hot," he mumbled during a long period of chewing meat with his blunt teeth.

Eventually, he swallowed the chunk and looked back at El'lans with a wide smile. "We'll check the weather later then. Current job's done, so need to get started on somethin' else." He paused to take another chunk of meat off his chicken leg, which took a rather agonizing minute to properly chew and swallow it. He couldn't be more thankful of El'lans and his patience, whether just cause the undead were naturally patient, or simply a part of how he was.

Drallic finished his second gulp of chicken and looked out the nearby glass window, showing the crowded streets of Argenta. "Redshire's a short walk... far as I remember." Drallic considered how long this could potentially take. They had a couple hours; should've been long enough, right?

"Ready to go once you're done eating," he said as he lightly waved his chicken leg in the air. "Good thing 'bout this sorta food: easy to eat on the go!" He always did like efficiency.

"We'll have to get grounded at Meadows." El'lans said, taking one of his last bites of food, "As far as I know, Redshire doesn't have an air-"

He was interrupted by a cacophony of sound blasting from all around you. It sounded as if fifteen different wardrums hit slightly different notes all at the same time and the force of it nearly sent even your bulky, muscled form to the ground. After the instantaneous blast disappeared, you could hear ringing in your ears. At first, you wondered if your hearing had been damaged. But there was a pattern to it.

A pattern you were all too familiar with.

When an elemental storm was approaching or suddenly appeared, a city or ship's defenses would spring up immediately, designed to minimize the casualties that could happen from even the minor storms. Once the defenses were up, a bellringer would ring a bell large enough to produce sound that would travel across the city, alerting the masses to what was happening. You hear that bell now, ringing its pattern for what had recently become your worst nightmare: ding-ding------ding-ding-ding. It repeated over and over again, and you did not need to go outside to see what was happening.

Argenta was being bombarded by the worst airstorm in years.

El'lans, when he could move again, stood up as his eidolon, who was outside guarding the building, stepped in with weapon in hand. He turns to you, drawing his own dual blades, "It's not just an airstorm."

With that, he and his eidolon rushes out of the butchery, into what was quickly becoming mass hysteria amongst the citizens of Argenta.

Drallic immediately stood up as the shaking started, groaning with grit teeth. "Bah, knew we should've had a look out 'fore we eat," he cursed. He always made a habit of checking the skies when he could and determined if and when storms hit. But he couldn't recall the last time the sky went from clear to storm in the span of a few minutes, especially to a large trade city like Argenta.

Which was exactly why El'lans was right: this was more than a storm.

The minotaur stamped his hoof down on the ground before he rushed outside. His half-eaten chicken leg was left lying on the table. "Hang on there, cap'n!" It was no surprise that the captain took off; the reborne was a free spirit who liked doing his own thing. Trying to command him around like a superior was, has Drallic learned, a losing battle; hence why both of them were captains of their ship.

Outside, Drallic stomped his way past the panicked and hysteric crowd. Even if he was taller than anyone else, trying to find El'lans right now wasn't going to happen. Instead he looked upward to see what exactly was going on.

You are confused when you look up. Because what you see looks like a standard airstorm. The dome defense of the city is fully activated, its purplish-blue energy flashing constantly as the sharp blades of air slam down into it then dissipating. Hundreds of them seem to be coming down at once, leaving the ground below in a purple light.

However, getting a closer look, you can see that something is off. Focusing past the pulses of energy, you can see that the "storm" is instead focused into multiple columns instead of being spread out like a normal storm. You also think you can see shadows beyond the