The city of Rexxentrum in the Dwendallian Empire, the capital of the long standing Empire that ruled over a large portion of the continent of Wildemount. The Empire under the rule of King Bertrand Dwendall was one of the two major powers of the continent that had dated back centuries.
In the city was the Soltryce Academy. Run by the Cerberus Assembly, the Academy is a center of learning in the Empire as well as where many magic users come to hone their skills.
In one of the libraries of the academy, a young half-elf woman with long dark blue hair with two small streaks of pink and purple in it and dressed in reddish robes was seated reading a book. Her eyes were glowing as she read, having cast Comprehend Languages in order to understand the language. She was so engrossed in her reading that she didn’t even notice that the door behind her had opened.
“Twilight?”
“Huh?” She asked as she looked up to see a purple Dragonborn dressed in similar robes standing there. “Oh, sorry Spike. I was just busy with something, what’s up?”
“You’re late for class, your teacher went to come and get you,” Spike said as he looked at her nervously for a moment before chuckling a little. “I suppose I should’ve expected that you had your nose buried in another book.”
“Oh darn it sorry… I lost track of time again,” Twilight said as she put her book down on the table and got up. “By Ioun, I shouldn’t be getting distracted like this. I should get to class!”
She got up and brushed herself off as the two of them headed out of the library. Spike chuckled a little, this wasn’t that unusual for Twilight to do honestly. While the Half-Elf was a skilled wizard, she was notorious for being easily distracted by books. Spike chuckled a little as he pushed the door open and they walked out together.
“Did you find something interesting?” Spike asked curiously. “You seemed pretty interested in that book.”
“Oh, yeah it was quite fascinating actually,” Twilight said, her eyes lighting up with excitement. “It was an old text that was about Aeor, you know one of the old cities from before the Calamity. It’s talking about some type of magic that I’ve never heard of before, something called Dunamancy.”
“Dunamancy?” Spike asked curiously? “That’s weird, I’ve never heard of that before either.”
“Yes, which means it may be some sort of magic that has long been lost to the ages,” Twilight said as they walked together. “The book didn’t go into detail about the spells themselves, but it talked about what it could do. Practitioners were able to manipulate both time and gravity. At least that’s what the book said, I’m not sure what to think.”
“So, what are you going to do?” Spike asked.
“I don’t know, maybe I’ll talk to one of the instructors and see if they know something,” Twilight answered with a shrug. “Really I’ve got nothing to lose at this point. It’s just a minor curiosity, probably a legend or something from Aeor.”
“Yeah, maybe,” Twilight said as she stroked her chin thoughtfully for a moment. “But at the same time I can’t help but wonder. Maybe there really is something to this after all, I mean it’s kinda hard to tell. The books are very old, and I can only read them because of Comprehend Languages. I don’t even know if anyone else has read them in centuries.”
“So, what are you going to do?” Spike asked.
“Honestly? I don’t know,” Twilight admitted sheepishly. “I think we need to…”
She is cut off suddenly when a man comes into view. He has long grey hair and a sullen face with a beard lacking a mustache and dressed in red and gold robes. He looks at the two students with a coldness in his eyes as he eyes them both.
“You two should be in class, shouldn’t you?” He asked coldly.
“Yes, sorry Master Ikithon,” Spike said as he pushed Twilight away, whispering to her. “Come on Twilight, we don’t want to get on his bad side.”
Trent Ikithon stared at the two as they started to walk off before speaking up again. “You were looking into the old records of Aeor, weren’t you?”
“What?” Twilight asked. “How did you…”
“You talk very loudly, I could hear you all the way down the hallway,” Ikithon said with a chuckle that sounded like it had no joy. “You’re looking into dangerous things, young lady Sparkle. Dunamancy is not a power that the average magic user is capable of commanding.”
“Then it is a real thing?” Twilight asked, turning to look back at him with her eyes shining brightly with excitement.
“Yes, it is a real thing, but it is not something you can learn here,” Ikithon answered calmly. He stroked his beard thoughtfully for a long moment as he thought about it. “Though, if you were interested in such things. I have heard rumors that it is being studied to the East,
“Do you mean by the Kryn Dynasty?” Spike asked as he narrowed his eyes a little.
“Perhaps, perhaps not,” Ikithon answered. “But if you do wish to learn more then you may need to go that way.”
“Okay, thank you for your help, Master Ikithon,” Twilight said with a bow. She wasn’t sure exactly how she was going to go about actually asking for that kind of thing when she had to go to class, but she would have to figure something out. “Uh, but I have…”
“I will arrange something, you have proven yourself more than worthy,” Ikithon said as he waved his hand. “Consider this your final exam. I will work it out with your teachers. You will have to report your findings back to the Assembly of course.”
“Really? You’re just going to let her go like that?” Spike asked. “No explanation at all?”
“Well, of course she is one of our brightest young pupils,” Ikithon said as he eyed Spike for a moment. “Dunamancy is after all merely a story. The Cerberus Assembly would require more than hearsay in order to fully investigate the possibility of such magic. If you can provide evidence that Dunamancy is more than just a story, then you will be greatly rewarded by the Assembly. You would be remembered forever as the magic user who uncovered the secrets of Dunamancy.”
“I won’t fail you, sir,” Twilight said as Ikithon walked away. She looked back at Spike with a grin on her face. “Did you hear that? This could be exciting, I mean a chance to study an entirely new style of magic that hasn’t been seen outside of Xhorhas in a thousand years.”
“Yeah, but I doubt the Dynasty would be willing to be forthcoming with their secrets,” Spike said with a sigh. “So exactly what are you going to do?”
“Spike, this is my chance to actually prove myself,” Twilight said softly. “And I want to learn more about magic, to find something no one else in the Empire ever has. I may never get a chance like this again. I just… this really is a good opportunity, and I don’t want to let it pass me up.”
Spike sighed a little and reached forward and placed his hand on her shoulder. “Alright Twilight, but you’re going to have to explain this one to your parents.”
“Yeah, I know,” Twilight sighed.
“And your brother isn’t going to be happy either.”
“Yeah, I know, well it’s my choice, I’m a grown woman.”
“And I’m coming with you.”
“What? I thought you though this whole thing was crazy,” Twilight asked in shock.
“I do, but at the same time I don’t want to leave you to do this on your own,” Spike said with a chuckle. “And I don’t trust Trent Ikithon. I feel like he’s setting you up for something.”
Twilight paused a moment as she thought about that. There were a few rumors going around about Trent Ikithon, some even tying him to the Volstrucker, mythical magical assassins that were in the service of the Empire. But that was mostly just rumors, and she discounted them for the most part.
So, for now they just had to get ready for their trip. And see what they were going to do next.
00000
Miles away from Rexxentrum, in the Zemnian Fields a distance away from the city of Zadash was a small farm that grew a variety of different crops. Known to the locals as the Sweet Apple Acres because it was the crop that they most prominently grew and sent out around Wildemount (as well as the name of the family that lived there, it was a pretty nice farm that had stood there for generations.
In the barn, a woman with tanned skin and long blonde hair was facing a practice dummy. She clenched her fists and hit it hard with several successive hits, each one hitting with more force than the last.
She finally swung her fist around and slammed it hard into the head of the dummy and it fell off. She took a step back, breathing heavily as she rubbed her hand and reached over, picking up a hat and flipping it onto her head.
“Well, that wasn’t too bad,” she said as she smiled a little and looked around. She was about to head out of the barn when from out of the corner of her eye she spotted something, or someone up in the loft. “Hey!”
There was an eep from up in the loft and she ran for the ladder, climbing up it as there was the sound of scrambling. She chased after the figure, just barely managing to catch them before they dove out of a window.
“Yah might not want ta do that,” the blonde commented as she held the figure’s arm. “Ah don’t think yah would stick that landing.”
She blinked in surprise when she realized she had grabbed the arm of a female Tiefling with white skin and long curled purple hair. She struggled a little against the other young woman’s grip.
“Unhand me you brute!” She said as she glared at the blonde. “You have no right to grab a lady like that.”
“Yer tha one who trespassed on mah family’s land,” she said as she glared at the Tiefling, but she reluctantly let her go. “What are yah even doin’ here?”
“That is none of your business,” the Tiefling said as she brushed herself off. “I have my reasons, and they’re my own.”
“Then yah might want ta get off our land before we have a problem.”
The Tiefling paused a moment as she looked at the woman. Then looked back in the direction of the road. She didn’t look particularly happy as she let out a huff.
“What’s yer name?”
“What? Uh, Rarity,” Rarity said as she blinked a little. She hadn’t expected that.
“Well Ah’m Jaqueline Apple, but just call me Applejack please,” Applejack said with a chuckle as she looked the Tiefling over for a moment. “So how about yah tell me exactly what yah were doin’ in mah barn?”
“I was hiding,” Rarity said softly, her tail swishing a little behind her unconsciously. “Some dangerous people are after me from the Menagerie Coast. I don’t really want to talk about it, but right now I just… I just need somewhere I can stay for a night or two.”
“Alright, fine, but yah ain’t gonna sleep in this barn,” Applejack said as she crossed her arms and looked at Rarity. “We have a guest room in tha farmhouse. Yer gonna stay with us as long as yah need ta get back on yer feet.”
“And what about the people from the Menagerie Coast?” Rarity asked quietly. “I don’t want to put you and your family in danger.”
“There’s nothin’ Ah can’t handle,” Applejack said with a grin as she reached down and picked up a quarterstaff that she gave a twirl. “Ah’m no slouch in a fight, and mah family will be willin’ ta help yah out too.”
“Thanks…” Rarity said softly. “But I don’t understand why you’re doing this.” Rarity said softly. “I’m nothing that special, you haven’t even met me until now.”
“Maybe, but yer someone who needs help,” Applejack said with a soft smile. “Besides, mah Granny is puttin’ together her special dinner tonight. Ah ain’t gonna be tha only one who suffers.”
She chuckles a little as she leads her out of the barn and towards the farmhouse.
00000
“So, yer really from tha Menagerie Coast?” A younger girl with long red hair and a bow in her hair asked as she looked at Rarity curiously. She had been introduced as Apple Bloom, an odd name to Rarity but she wasn’t going to judge.
“Yes, from Port Zoon actually,” Rarity answered as she poked at her food a little. She looked at the younger girl with a slight smile on her face. “I guess I’m a long way from home then.”
“Yah certainly are, Ah didn’t expect to see someone from that far away,” the old woman who had just been introduced to Rarity as Granny Smith said with a smile. “We don’t see much folks from out west in this area.”
“Well, other than tha Monks,” Apple Bloom commented.
“The Monks?” Rarity asked as she raised an eyebrow. “There’s a monastery around here?”
“Yeah, from an Order from Marquet,” Applejack commented. “They trained me in how ta fight, it’s been pretty handy if Ah do say so mahself.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” Rarity said softly. “Really, I just want to get out of here as soon as possible. I’m sorry that I can’t stay long, but I just need to get as far away from the Menagerie Coast as I can. And honestly… I don’t know if I can stay in the Empire either.”
“What exactly happened that means yah have ta run?” Granny Smith asked.
“I made a lot of mistakes back home,” Rarity admitted as she brushed her hair back, finally taking a bite of food. “That’s actually pretty good, thank you.”
“Yer welcome,” Granny Smith answered with a smile. “Now yah were saying?”
“Well, it’s something I’d rather not discuss,” Rarity admitted with a sigh. “But needless to say there are some very dangerous people coming after me. The less you know, the better. I don’t even know where I’m going to go next at this point.”
They sat in silence for a while longer before there was a sudden knock at the door. Rarity’s eyes went wide as she waved her hand and her face changed to that of a human woman with dark skin and short black hair.
“How did yah…” Apple Bloom started to ask.
“I can use magic, it’s a long story,” Rarity said in a voice with more of an accent from the Menagerie Coast. “Don’t worry, it’ll be fine. I’d rather hide at least for now.”
“Cool,” Apple Bloom said as Applejack got up and headed to the door.
“Ah’m sure it’s nothin’ though,” Applejack said as she opened the door, looking back at the others for a moment. “It’s probably just…”
She was cut off when she realized that two people dressed in monk robes were standing at the door when she opened it. She blinked a little in surprise before bowing before them. “Abbottess, Ah wasn’t expectin’ yah ta come out here.”
“Yes Sister Jaqueline, I apologize for the abrupt arrival,” the woman said with a slight bow. “We come looking for your assistance on a matter. There has been a recent incident involving our people in the settlement of Talonstadht.”
“What kind of incident?” Applejack asked as she blinked a little. “Why do yah want ta send me specifically?”
“There was a conflict between our missionaries and the Dragonborn living there,” the Abbottess said with a sigh. “Unfortunately you are the most qualified to deal with this particular situation due to your history with the Dragonborn from Draconia.”
“Especially in light of what happened last year,” the Abbottess’ companion added.
Applejack paused a moment at that. Her family had some dealings with the refugees from Draconia, they had occasionally hired people from the tent city of Talonstadht. The past year she had been involved in a land dispute between a Draconian family and a Ravenite family over a nearby farm. She had barely managed to keep everything from boiling over, and apparently it had caught some people’s attention.
“That Land Dispute wasn’t much honestly… anyone would’ve handled it,” Applejack said sheepishly. “Ah just did what needed ta be done.”
“Well, that’s all that matters, but you certainly caught the attention of the Dragonborn,” the Abbottess said. “They asked for you specifically, so I guess they heard about what you did.”
Applejack thought for a moment before an idea came to her. With luck it would be able to solve two problems at once.“Ah’ve got a friend who needs ta get ta tha Eastern Valley. Ah’ll head ta Talonstadht, but Ah want her ta come with me.”
Rarity’s eyes went wide at that. She had overheard the conversation and she had to admit she wasn’t expecting that kind of request. It was strange for this farmgirl to ask that kind of thing, but maybe it was exactly what she needed.
She placed her hand on a talisman around her neck for a moment. She thought about how she had gotten it, and exactly what it had cost her. It scared her, and she didn’t like putting people in danger because of it.
So, should she take Applejack’s offer?
“Well, I suppose if that would help,” the Abbottess said with a slight nod. “But you will have to talk to your friend yourself. I would tread with caution though, sister. I don’t like what things I have heard out of the East in recent days.”
“Ah will,” Applejack said with a bow. “May her wisdom guide yah.”
“And may her light shine upon you,” the Abbottess said and the two of them left together.
“So, what are you going to do?” Rarity asked from the doorway leading into the dining room. “Sorry, I couldn’t help but overhear.”
“Look, Ah need ta head East anyway,” Applejack said. “That’ll get yah pretty far away from tha Menagerie Coast. When we get ta Talonstadht yah can stay there, or head ta wherever yah want from there.”
“Thank you!” Rarity said and hugged Applejack tight. The monk felt her face turning hot as she blushed deeply. “Oh… sorry I should’ve asked first.”
“Nah its fine, ain’t no big deal,” Applejack said sheepishly as she rubbed her head a little. “Come on, we need ta eat and then get a few things together.”
00000
A tall woman with grey skin and strangely colored rainbow hair gripped a sword in her hand. She grinned, showing a pair of short tusks as she grabs her sword, staring down at her opponent, a taller full Orc that was holding a greataxe.
“Well, well, Rainbow half girl thinks she can beat Vorg,” the Orc said with a grin. “Come on, you’re joking right?”
“No, you’re not gonna stand a chance,” Rainbow said as she gripped her sword in both hands. She glared at Vorg, swinging her sword around a few times as practice. The two of them looked ready to fight. They were standing in the middle of a makeshift arena where more orcs and half-orcs were watching. “This isn’t gonna be like last year.”
“We’ll see about that little girl,” Vorg said as he pointed his axe at her.
“Alright you two, you know the rules,” an Orc said as he stepped forward. “No kill shots, whoever goes down first is the loser. Kord is watching. The winner will be blessed with his favor, so let’s see what you two are made of!”
The crowd let out a roar as the two combatants prepared to fight. Rainbow grinned as she gripped her sword in both hands and then ran right at Vorg. She let out a battle cry, as she swung her sword around, slashing him across the chest as he stepped back, laughing.
“Not bad girlie, but I’m not gonna let you win this one,” Vorg said as he let out a roar, fury burning in his eyes as he swung his axe down on her, catching her hard, but she managed to brush it off.
“Not bad… but I’ve got a trick of MY OWN!” Rainbow shouted, fury burning in her eyes as well. Lightning crackles across her body as lightning cracked out and struck Vorg, causing him to grunt with pain, but he shrugged it off. Rainbow tried to slash at him but he managed to sidestep her.
Vorg swung his axe around, his first strike missed her wide as he slammed it into the ground. He grunted before drawing it back up and swinging it around, catching her across the leg. Rainbow cried out as she felt it slash her, blood pouring from her wound as she gritted her teeth.
“I… WILL… NOT… LOSE!” Rainbow shouted as she swung her sword around recklessly. The sword slashed through the Orc’s chest, causing him to grunt and stumble backwards. The lightning crackled around her again and struck at Vorg, causing him to cry out in pain as the lightning coursed through his body.
Even with the electricity coursing through him. Vorg held his Greataxe and slashed through her again. He swung his axe around, but she blocked it with her sword this time. She quickly followed it up with a powerful slash and Vorg fell to the ground, breathing heavily as she raised her sword to the sky.
“AND THE WINNER AND NEW CHAMPION, RAINBOW OF CLAN DASH!” The man who had spoken before shouted over the roar of the crowd.
Rainbow smiled a little as she looked around, the lightning finally dying down around her as she returned the sword to its sheath. She reached down and offered her hand to Vorg. “Come on big guy, it was a good fight.”
“Yeah, a good fight,” Vorg admitted as he let himself be pulled up. While Rainbow was tall, the Orc still towered over her. “Now you’d better not lose after that.”
“I won’t,” Rainbow said with a grin as she waved to the crowd.
In the crowd, a figure with pointed ears and dressed in robes with feathers and other animal parts lining it was watching the fight. She stroked her chin thoughtfully before smiling and looking down at her younger companion.
“What do you think?” She asked softly.
“I think she’s what we’re looking for,” the younger figure said with a smile.
00000
Back in the primary village of the Orcs, Rainbow was taking a long drink of her ale as she slammed it down on the table. “Another!”
She didn’t look up when another ale was placed in front of her. She reached forward and grabbed it, shrugging a little. “That was fast.”
“Rainbow of Clan Dash?” A soft female voice asked.
“Depends, who’s asking?” Rainbow asked as she took a long drink. “And I prefer Rainbow Dash, it’s much faster and easier to say.”
“Umm, my name is Fluttershy,” the voice said and she finally looked up to see a young looking elf with long pink hair and pale skin. “I’m here on behalf of the Wood Elf clan of Deepwood. I know we’ve never met before…”
“No kidding, we don’t exactly talk much with Elves,” Rainbow said as she raised an eyebrow. “What brings you here?”
“Well, it’s kind of a long story,” Fluttershy said as she took a seat. “But you see, I need your help. I came here looking for a great warrior to help us. We are on a long journey, and I had hoped to find someone here.”
“I see,” Rainbow said as she took another drink. “I don’t know exactly why you want me though. I’m a warrior sure, but I don’t know why you’d expect me to go somewhere. Exactly what do you want me to do?”
“I don’t expect you to do anything,” Fluttershy said softly. “But it’s complicated. We’re heading East towards Xhorhas and…”
“Xhorhas?” Rainbow said in shock. “Why in the name of the Storm Lord would you go there? And who are you traveling with? Another Elf?”
“We’re going to Xhorhas because my traveling companion needs to go there,” Fluttershy answered with a sigh. “We need some extra muscle on the road, I know there are a lot of dangers out there. We’ll pay you of course, and once we get to Xhorhas you’ll be paid more.”
“So you want to hire me as a sell-sword?” Rainbow asked as she raised an eyebrow. “Or a bodyguard?”
“Basically…” Fluttershy said softly.
Rainbow paused a moment as she brushed her hair back. It was a strange request, and not exactly something that she was sure about. In truth, she had mostly run out of challenges in her village, maybe this was a good opportunity to learn more about the world around her, and maybe learn about herself.
“Yeah, I guess I could try that,” she said with a shrug. “I’ll have to say goodbye to a few people. And Vorg would probably be happy to see me go. So, who’s our traveling companion supposed to be?”
“Scootaloo, you can come out now,” Fluttershy said softly as a younger Elf dressed in traveling clothes with a bit of armor stepped out.
“Hey, I saw your fight, it was pretty awesome,” Scootaloo said with a smile.
“Heh, I thought Elves weren’t interested in that kind of thing,” Rainbow says with a chuckle. “So, exactly why are you heading to Xhorhas?”
“It’s a personal matter,” Scootaloo admitted as she rubbed her arm a little. “It’s kind of a long story honestly. But needless to say I need to get there as soon as possible.”
“Alright, well, I could use some gold, and I guess there’s worse places to go,” Rainbow said with a shrug. “Alright, you’ve got yourself a bodyguard.”
She just had to hope that she wasn’t about to get into more trouble than it was worth. Something about this whole thing felt weird to her.
00000
Talonstadt had been made as a refugee camp after the fall of Draconia at the hands of the Chroma Conclave, Chromatic Dragons that had laid waste to the Dragonborn nation 20 years prior. Today the settlement was mostly Dragonborn refugees and their children, but there were a few other races here and there.
The Stormwind’s Grief was a rough bar put together in the town. A few patrons were already there, mostly Dragonborn but a couple of humans were intermingled among them.
Seated on a stool up on a makeshift stage was a female Halfling. She had poofy pink hair and was dressed in simple entertainer’s clothes. She was strumming a tune on a lute, with only a few of the patrons actually paying attention.
“They say Zan’s a comin’ back,
That there will be justice in the world.
But the dragons are still on attack.
So don’t let go of your sword.”
She finished the song as she leaned back and sighed a little. She hadn’t been in Talonstadht or this close to the Kryn Dynasty in what felt like years. She slid the lute onto her back and headed over to the bar, hopping up onto a stool.
“Not much of a haul, Pinkie,” the bartender, a Dragonborn with silver scales, commented as she looked at the tips she had gotten.
“Well, it’s fine, it’s something at least,” Pinkie said as she put the coins away and flipped the hat onto her head. “So, is there anything interesting happening around town, Caedor?”
“Not really, things are pretty quiet around here, at least right now,” Caedor said with a shrug as he poured her a drink. “Some trouble happened recently, but it sounds like that’s going to be taken care of quickly enough. I haven’t really heard anything else, at least not anything that might interest you.”
“Well that’s no fun,” Pinkie said with a pout.
“Sorry, not a lot has been happening lately,” Caedor said with a shrug.
Pinkie shrugged and took a drink. She kept an ear out for anything that might be interesting, but if all else failed she might have to go somewhere else. If nothing interesting was going on in Talonstadht, then there wasn’t much point of her hanging around here.
“So, did you hear about what happened with Aeidor?” She heard a Dragonborn talking to another. “Apparently she got into some trouble with those missionaries from Marquet.”
“Weird, I haven’t heard of anyone having any problems with them,” his companion commented as she took a drink. “Do you know what it was about?”
"Who knows, Aeidor is always getting into some sort of trouble," the male Dragonborn answered with a shrug. "I don't really like it though, even if they seem nice enough it feels like they're just here for their Goddess."
"Well, whatever floats their boat I guess," the female Dragonborn said with a shrug. "But I've heard that they're sending someone to help. I think it's that lady who helped the Onyxscales with their land problem at least. She's at least good people."
"Yeah, well I'd rather not have to deal with this kind of thing at all," the male Dragonborn said with a shrug. "Truth be told, I don't know why we're bothering to entertain these people. The Empire basically gave us this territory, this is our home now. After what happened to Draconia we're going to need a home and we shouldn't have to deal with the followers of the Lawbearer here too.”
Pinkie raised an eyebrow at that. She had met some of the Missionaries and they didn't seem to be that bad, though they were worshippers of Erathis which tended to be kind of an odd group. Still, she had never had any problems with them, so what was going on all of a sudden in Talonstadht?
“What do you know about the missionaries?” She asked as she looked over at Caedor.
“About as much as anyone I guess," Caedor answered with a shrug. "They started coming to town not long after it was founded honestly. They worship the Goddess Erathis, which I'm guessing you already knew, but I don't know what they've been doing here recently. Kind of an odd bunch really, but nice enough, always comes by and buys a round for the place whenever they've been having a good day."
"Huh, interesting," Pinkie said as she took a drink and smiled. "Well thank you for the drink, Caedor. I'm going to go around town, I'll see you later."
"See you later, Pinkie," Caedor said as the Halfling got up and headed out.
Pinkie started to think about it for a long moment. In Exandria, Erathis was worshipped as a Goddess of Law and Civilization. Her missionaries had been sent out in order to try and spread the word of the Goddess and helping maintain law and order. This group from Marquet was odd, and not really something that she was too familiar with, so why were they causing problems all of a sudden?
She smiled, a mystery was always fun especially if it was one that piqued her interest this much. She headed out into the town of Talonstadht proper as she made her way along the main street. She removed her lyre off her back and started to play again, playing a bright, happy tune to try and get some spirits up at least.
00000
"And exactly what do you want, Halfling?" A tall gold Dragonborn asked as he looked down at Pinkie over his spectacles. He was dressed in the uniform of a member of the Crownsguard, having been sent by the Empire to help maintain order in Talonstadht.
"Well, I will admit that I was curious, I heard a few stories about what happened recently in town," Pinkie Pie said with a smile. "Did something happen between the locals and the Missionaries?"
"If you mean the worshippers of the Lawbearer, yes," the Crownsguard Dragonborn answered. "However this is hardly your business. We will get everything settled soon enough when the Order's representative arrives to mediate the situation before it get's worse."
"Sounds like you need a mediator and I..." Pinkie started to say.
"You're not exactly the Mediator we agreed on, so don't even try," the Dragonborn answered with a light snort. "You're a Bard anyway, what's it to you? There are more important things you can do."
"Yes, but at the same time, if there really is a problem here in town then shouldn't more people know about it?" Pinkie asked with a smile. "So why don't you tell me exactly what happened? After all, I'm just a concerned citizen of the Empire who would rather not have anything happen to this lovely town."
The Dragonborn stared at her for a long moment before shrugging. "Look, you didn't hear this from me. But apparently one of the Missionaries got into a fight with one of the locals. This isn't exactly unusual, but the fact of the matter is that the locals, mostly due to everything that's been going on since the fall of Draconia, haven't exactly been the happiest about the situation."
"Right, because of the two types of Dragonborn, right?" Pinkie asked and the Dragonborn shrugged.
"Yeah, well that doesn't make many of the local Ravenite Dragonborn happy," the Dragonborn answered. "And with foreigners coming in, some people are afraid of losing their new homes too. So both sides agreed to a mediator, hopefully it'll help."
"Yeah, hopefully," Pinkie said with a sigh. She nodded and gave him a smile. "Thanks Mr. Golden Dragonborn, I'll see you later."
She hopped off, but she knew that something else was happening here. She just had to hope that everything really was going to be okay.