The East Gate [POST HERE FIRST]

The young woman had been walking for hours, and her feet were feeling weary. Her stomach was growling from hunger, but she did not have time to stop and rest. She had to find a place to stay for the night, a job and perhaps some food. The air felt chilly, and light rain fell from the sky. Her long hair felt moist by the rain, and she shuddered from the cold and draped her cloak around her, pulling up her cloak and hoping it could keep her dry for a little bit longer.

Her face and body was covered with bruises. Her former masters had not been pleased when she said she would never steal again, and she had been severely punished for it. They did not like to lose their best thief and burglar. But she just couldn't bring herself to steal anymore. The former master thief had grown a conscience.

Her eyes scanned the area where she had arrived. It looked like a nice place, not like the place she had left behind. She shuddered and shook her head, as to shake off the bad memories. She had promised herself not to think of that place anymore. She would never return, never again would she be forced to steal. This was a new life, a new start...

That was if someone let her inside. Then and only then could her new life begin...

The elf had been waiting for several hours by the time the priest appeared. She was soaking wet from the rain. Her hair plastered itself to her head, and she felt right outspoken annoyed. Not to mention bummed. She silently cursed the guards who were sleeping on their jobs, wondering what the citizens paid them for. All in all, she was every bit as pissed as a hungry and tired Dark Elf could be.

"The White City my butt," she grumbled. "It doesn't even look white anymore. It looks grey. It could be the fog of course, but still!"

She scowled as she saw the man arriving, her eyes narrowing when he spoke to his horse about getting it a nice, warm stable for the night. "Great," she muttered to herself. "Even the animals are better off than I am."

She was trembling from cold and longed to stay somewhere nice and warm. At this point even a stable sounded nice. Perhaps she could sneak into the stable of this horse when the priest was sleeping. She didn't think of stealing anything, she only wanted to get warm.

Unfortunately for her the man had noticed her and dismounted the horse. The elf girl froze, fully aware that strong human males meant bruises, yelling and pain. But the blow she had expected never came. Instead a kind voice asked if she needed a hand. The language was easy to understand, even if it had a strong accent.

"No thank you," she replied in a strong accent from her own native village. "I've got two hands of my own. Now I only need to find work for them."

The elf girl shook with cold from the rain, and her teeth were cluttering as she tried to drape her ragged clothes closer around her to keep out the chill. She heard the stranger saying she was going to get sick if she stayed here for much longer, and honestly he did have a point. She already felt the first warning signs of a cold, and hoped she didn't start her new life by getting sick. When he asked if there was a problem with the gate, she shrugged and looked up at the man.

"I have been here for several hours," she said. "And I haven't seen any signs of the guards yet. I suspect they are either drunk, dead, or possibly both. I don't know what they are doing, but I can assure you that they are not doing their job."

She waited for a moment as the man spoke to his horse, not wanting to interrupt the tender moment between man and animal. After all she had been through it felt nice to see someone behaving nicely to each other. She thought he was checking on his luggage, but to her surprise he fetched a thick lump of gray fabric from his saddle bags, offering it to her with a smile on his face. She looked up at him in childlike disbelief, not used to anyone giving her things willingly. "For me?" she asked and looked up at him. "Oh, you are too kind. Thank you..."

She gratefully draped the cloak around her thin body, the first trace of a smile spreading over her face when she felt warm for the first time in ages. She listened when he spoke of how to get into the city, her fingers playing with the lockpicks in her leather bag. She had hesitating before bringing them along, as she hoped to start a new and better life. Now she was glad she had brought them, as they might be their only way inside the city unless the guards showed up.

"We could check if the doors are bolted," she said. "Most cities tend to bolt their doors, but perhaps it is not this important in a place where the guards sleep on their post?" She nodded towards the main gate. "You look stronger than me," she said. "Perhaps it is best if you check the gate. Nobody heard me when I knocked upon my arrival. Or perhaps they just ignore me, not wanting to accept the likes of me in their pretty little town..."

There was something hurt in her voice when she said this, the resignation of a girl who had doors slamming in her face most of her life. She studied her frozen hands as the priest spoke of getting into the town. She studied his face, pondering on whether or not she could trust him. He looked like an honest man, and he had proven his kindness by offering her a cloak when her own rags no longer could keep out the chill. After a moment of hesitation she decided to take a risk. Anything was better than drowning in this rain.

"I may have a way to get the doors open if they are locked," she said. "We could try that if the guards don't show up soon..."

Wild heard the shock in the man's voice when he heard how long she had been waiting for the gates to open. If the sun had been visible today, she could have showed him by the place of the sun for how long she had been here. But sadly all she could see today was rain and gray clouds. "It feels like several hours," she said. "I came here by dawn, and as you can see I am still here. I don't know what the guards are doing in there or why they don't reply. I am cold, wet and hungry, and I only want somewhere to stay the night and a warm meal. I can't even remember the last time I had a full belly." Her stomach growled, as if it understood she was talking about it.

She blushed when he spoke of the current state of her clothes, knowing he was right. They were little more than rags now, and dirty on top of that. Luckily her face was so soiled with mud that it was hard to notice her blushing. She noticed the man smiling, the first sign of kindness she had met in a very long time. "Much better," she confirmed as she draped his offered cloak tighter around her. It was warmer than any clothes she had carried lately, and she sent him a brief, trembling smile to show her appreciation for his kindness. "Thank you."

She waited patiently when he tested the gates, not the least surprised that they were closed. She only nodded when the man finally confirmed they were not getting in the usual way. "I have a feeling they do not like strangers here," she said, sighing deeply when she realized she would need her lock-picks sooner than she had hoped for. It had been no problem in her former job, when she went on quests alone. But now she had a witness. Would he accept something illegal going on under his very nose? Yet he had been kind to her at first, when he offered his cloak.

"I may have a different idea," she confirmed with a sigh. "But it is also an idea I had hoped I wouldn't have need of. You see, it is not quite legal..."

As the young elf told him she had come here already by dawn, Joseph shook his head in disbelief. He could see for himself that she was still waiting outside, and was deeply upset by her predicament. It was a long time since morning; how long he dared not even think of. Looking briefly up toward the sky, the sun was hiding at the moment, behind a veil of dark clouds. But even so, if he were to measure time approximately according to his 'inner clock,' so to speak, it was around noon.
It was no wonder why her belly was growling so hungrily upon the mention of a hot meal, if she had been exposed to the elements for this long.

Poor child. Joseph looked at her ever more sympathetically, and he wished he could do more than just pass on his cape to her. Alas, he could not propose they share a meal; warm or otherwise while they figured out what to do next, as he simply didn't have anything either of them could eat.
As he'd been heading for the White City, Joseph had not planned to stop for a snack, until he had reached his destination. He wagered there would always be a tavern where he could go to eat when the need arose - the idea had not even occured to him that he might not even get past the city gates.

"Maybe not," he muttered a somewhat absent-minded response when the elf suggested that 'they' did not like strangers here. The prospect didn't sit too well with the priest, whom on the contrary had heard people speak favorable about their experiences visiting the famed Aaedan city. "Could not the townspeople be in some kind of trouble, as well?" he questioned. He couldn't quite determine whether the silence where disapproving of such an idea - or confirming it. But surely the elf would have heard some kind of noise, indicating that something extraordinary had happened before his arrival, if indeed it had.

As it dawned on him they might need to succumb to breaking the law in order to gain entrance, Joseph gave his companion a serious look. "What, exactly is the not so legal way of getting in?" he demanded. He might as well hear what she had to say, though he knew he was going to have a hard time with it.
Splendid; I have the choice between starting my stay here in White City by violating its laws - or, alternatively not starting my stay here at all! He groaned, rubbing his forehad as if the moral crossway he now faced was becoming a physical discomfort.
What other choice did they have? He simply couldn't turn back to where he had come from; and the elf probably even less so.

It was quite as if the guards had somehow caught notice to the subject of their converation, though how that might have happened, Joseph had no idea, whatsoever. One moment there had been nobody present beside himself and his pointy-eared little friend; then the next second there were fully armed guards swarming all over the place. He had to give them that; when at last these men had arrived to greet the weary travellers, they were pretty quick.
Even if he did feel a slight bit uneasy in their presence, given the previous development in his conversation with the child accompanying him, the holy man stood perfectly still.

"I understand, Monsieur," he calmly replied, as the man appearing to be leading the soldiers explained the common purpose of this particular city gate. "I am afraid neither of us were informed of this, otherwise we would of course have approached a different angle from the very start of our journey."

Watching the military leader offer his cloak for trade, Joseph observed a troubled look forming on the elf's face. She didn't appear all too enthusiastic about the deal; and making an educated guess based on her ragged appearance alone, he found it very possible she might not have very much to give up in return of the man's fancy piece of clothing.
"It is kind of you, Monsieur, but I cannot allow her to trade my cloak in place of yours, though it is a very nice one, indeed," he offered the man a valid reason to explain why the girl was hesitant to respond positively to his request. "I have a few personal belongings in its pockets, that I rather not part with, if I can choose."
(Minor godmodding, with Morrighan's permission/encouragement.)

"We better head on into the city, then," Joseph suggested, offering a smile and a courteous nod to the men in armor. "I'm sorry we couldn't trade you - we do appreciate the offer, though."


He turned again to face his two companions; one being the horse faithfully waiting to carry its master the last part of his journey, while the other one was, of course, the elfin girl he had just met.
"Will you be alright on your own?" he asked her kindly. "I mean, do you have any means of providing for yourself until you find a job? I must admit I'm not very familiar with the city, apart for the kind of information you may find in a book; but if you wish, then perhaps I could help look around for one. Do you have any particular preference, or experience in a field?"

"Not the military, then," Joseph agreed, listening to what the girl had to say about her skills and preferences.
He found it somewhat alarming that she had no means at all providing for herself until a job was found - however given her apparent speciality in all things practical, he imagined a wide number of possibilites opening themselves to her.
"You know how to use tools and how to repair things? I would be very surprised if we can't find anyone needing those skills. And even if you are no warrior, maybe you could put yourself up as a hunter, with the bow and arrow," he mused out loud.


He accepted her hand into his, offering her yet another, wide smile as she introduced herself. "And I am Joseph," he said in return. "I am from a small village myself, or to be more specific; the abbey overlooking said village."


"Yes, I do think we should stay together," Joseph added, preparing to bring his horse and himself through the gates. "As you say, it is a risky business traveling alone - and might I add, a bit tedious never to have somebody to talk to during all those hours on the road."

The priest gladly welcomed Wild's company, if indeed she took herself up on the offer and followed him as he began moving forward, into the settlement ahead.


(Exit to the city. )