Ulfgeir, Part 2

Teleportation was never his favorite mode of transport. Especially not with Remi. As much as he liked the woman, her magic was powerful, but very unrefined. She must have used a scroll to get to him last night as not to wake him, for the explosion that usually followed her appearance when she used her own teleportation magic could be heard for miles. Such was the case when they materialized again not an instant later. The grove they arrived in was familiar. The soft grass and gentle sun spots had been a welcome respite from the duties and dangers of working together with Remi's guild some years ago. He shuddered and he could swear a couple scars started to ache as he thought back on the assignments they had taken on during his two years at Tooth Claw and Coin. A legendary group of monster slayers, brigands, carousers and allround troublemakers. He rubbed the guildmark on his right wrist instinctively and grinned. Those were good days. It was well past noon here and he could never truly get used to the time difference that was a side effect of teleportation. But he was happy to be back in his second home and have something else to do than wander through the mountains of Khorramsharr, hoping to find clues about ancient artifacts that could help him silence the dreams, and save his people.   He waited for the ringing in his ears to stop before speaking. "So, my dear, why do you need me for this rescue mission? I'm hardly the skilled wizard you need that can tame a dragon." he said jokingly. The tone of the reply was less jovial.   "I need you my dear Prince, because you might be the only one who'd be willing to kill him"   He was taken aback by that. "Why? I thought you wanted to save him." "I do" she said with a sigh "By the gods I do. But he is old Ulf. Older than you or I can even imagine. And there might just not be anything left to save." Her gaze drifted into the distance, clearly reminiscing about something that had to do with this Dragon but she was quickly interrupted as the light blue skin of Ulfgeirs arms contrasted the bright red sash around her waist as Ulfgeir pulled her in an embrace. He kissed her forehead softly. "I won't let it come to that." He said resolute. "If he's important enough for you to track me halfway across the world and use all of the charm and guile you have at your disposal to get me to agree to this then we'll find a way to save him from whatever rut he's in."   "Thank you." she said softly as the tucked her head under his chin. They stood there for a few minutes. Each in their own thoughts. Each drawing comfort from the other. "Shall we go?" she asked eventually. "I'm pretty sure Mergran has destroyed the place with me gone for so long." Ulf raised an eyebrow, "You were gone an evening, surely not that fast?" "An evening?" she exclaimed in mock indignation. "It took me two weeks of tracking, scrying, bribing and begging to find you, you insufferable devilspawn" and somehow during that sentence the indignation had lost it's "mockness" and had become real "You are impossible to find, you leave no trace, you talk to no-..."   Her quickly rising anger was suddenly interrupted by a deep menacing growl from behind Ulfgeir's right shoulder. Stoic and Remi had never seen eye to eye, on anything. And the dire wolf had always been extremely protective of her master. Ulfgeir put a hand on Stoic's forehead. "It's ok girl. Let Remi be herself. She means well." he muttered softly as he scratched the white beast's ears.   They didn't speak for a while after that. Remi had always been driven by her emotions and Ulf liked that about her. She had none of the manners of the courts that he was so used to. No strict upbringing no silver spoon she had to keep polished. A self made woman at her core she was prideful and impulsive. Why she'd chosen Ulfgeir as her lover was a mystery to him and he suspected she didn't really know either. But the times they spent together were usually as fiery as her magic in both passion and dangerous undertakings.   As they crested the hill that stood between them and the open fields before the western walls, the city came into view. Markaryd, The Jewel of the West, the Capitol of Svendor, the City of the gods. Whatever you chose to call it, Ulfgeir had always found the city to be a savage assault on the senses, but a very welcome one. For Markaryd, though somewhat primitive for someone like Ulfgeir was a city of wonder. Anything and everything that one could ever desire could be found here. The Cloth Forest, as the docks were called here was in clear view and dozens of ships of all shapes and sizes were either making their way to far away destinations or joining the hundreds of other ships docked here, laden with goods and people. Further north, a thick curtain of soot and smoke kept the Welders Ward from view as Markaryd's industrial district churned out uncountable products to keep the city and the nation's demands satiated. The Reach and The Commons were not visible behind the great white walls from where Ulf and Remi stood. Those were the fun parts of the city according to Remi. With the guild being located in heart of The Reach it was always lively and sometimes a bit dangerous to wander the city's main trade quarter. Lots of wannabe heroes found themselves in the stockades after a night of heavy drinking and boasting about deeds they hadn't done. The Commons on the other hand was a completely different beast. As Markaryd's poorer district with the most residential buildings it appeared dreary during the day were it not for the main thoroughfare that led from the main gate to the markets. During the nights though, one could easily find themselves mugged or murdered by members of one of the many criminal gangs that used the maze of houses as their playground. But the Azureview, the city's wealthiest district and the Azure Spire were on full display from the top of the hill. Gilded villas, colorful banners depicting the crests of many a noble house and displays of magical wonder were the norm in the Azureview. Ulf had asked off handedly why Remi didn't join the mages of the Azure Spire. It was the most prestigious magical institution on the continent he'd put forward and was swiftly met with a tirade about stuffy old men and their beards being too useless to get anything done. He'd left it at that.   It didn't take long for them to make their way to the western gate that led directly to the Azureview. They were met with a small contingent of guards hoping to find a reason to detain the strange couple who'd so casually walked up to the most heavily guarded gate in the city. The guards demeanor quickly shifted from bravado to compliance as Remi and Ulf held up their Guildmarks. One of the many perks of being high ranking members of The Coin, Ulf thought as he grinned at the sour faced guards who were now forced to escort them as if the royal Venetoi themselves had arrived at the gates.   As they passed through the gates Remi turned to him and smiled. "Welcome home" she said. Ulf was glad that her temper quenched as quickly as it flared. He wasn't looking forward to a silent walk through the city. He smiled back and nodded as he offered an arm and the two of them made their way through the streets.