ONE: A Return Home

Drakhaven, capital of the Pfeil Empire, was located along a crescent-shaped bay at the eastern edge of the Golden Continent. It was one of the largest cities in the world, a center for both arts and commerce. The residents often bragged that they were the cosmopolitan capital of the world, and that you could find anything within the streets of Drakhaven.

The city also had the distinct honor of being the oldest city in the world. Built in the mid-Second Age by the ancient elves, Drakhaven has withstood the test of time. For over four thousand years the city has endured wars, plagues, the collapse of civilization, barbarian hordes, the resurrection of civilization, and much, much more. The history of Drakhaven is perhaps the history of Erde itself.

And it is in this city that Edelweiss found herself once more. It was her birthplace, but it wasn't her home.

The flight from Leronte took a boring four hours, but thankfully the seats in mid-class was comfortable. The crew, upon discovering that she was an elf, was nice enough to bump her up from the third-class seat she originally had purchased. Although Edelweiss never purposefully used her race to solicit special privileges, if others were willing to be generous out of the goodness of their own hearts then who was she to refuse?

The cocktail nuts they served as snacks were pretty good, too.

As was to be expected, going through customs was a headache. Although she didn't spend as much time there as her flight took, it easily seemed longer simply because of all the bureaucratic red tape. It was a good thing that she had dotted all her i's and crossed all the t's. Eventually, after a rigorous search through her paperwork and finding nothing wrong, the customs agents (reluctantly) let her through. She was sure to thank them with a winning smile, one that was sure to make the bureaucrats even more grumpy at their failure to find anything wrong with her documents.

After picking up her luggage, she exited the Skyport and hailed a taxi. It was a ground-based vehicle since, unlike in Leronte, the aircab business never took off due to Drakhaven's restrictive airspace policies. Edelweiss didn't really mind though, as she preferred the smooth, easy ride of an automobile to the somewhat bumpy flight of aircars. The taxi let her off at the Port District, but the driver was reluctant to let her go since he was concerned about her safety; the area wasn't the best in terms of crime rate.

"Don't worry," she told him with an easy smile. "I'm capable of handling myself."

She heard a distinct scoff in her head. "That's an understatement if I ever heard one."

The Port District of Drakhaven was located in the city's southeast side. This was where all the commercial sea traffic entered the city. Shipments from all across the globe arrived at the dockyards every day, making it one of the busiest ports in the world.Thankfully the Port District didn't just have its massive wharf; there were residential areas, various businesses, places to eat, etc. True, the vast majority of people who lived in the district were of low income and mostly worked at the docks, so most of the things found there were of questionable quality. Many of them were even of dubious legal status.

But Edelweiss loved it. To her, such places had character; character that was lacking in the more upper crust areas of most cities. The Port District was its own self-contained world, independent of the rest of Drakhaven. It was a city within a city.

Plus, everything was cheap. Relocating from Leronte in Aegis to Drakhaven in Pfeil was quite the expense, and her savings was feeling the hit. Hopefully she could set up shop here quickly and find some jobs. She hated having to build up her reputation again, a rep that she had spent forty years cultivating in Leronte. But Edelweiss was confident that she'd be able to establish herself here quickly enough. Drakhaven was her birthplace, after all. Even if she hadn't been to the city in decades.

The elf was enjoying a leisurely walk through the somewhat busy sidewalks, taking in the breadth of the new city around her. She was wearing her usual gray suit and tie (minus the jacket) and carried a silver briefcase in her left hand while a clothing-filled knapsack's strap was draped over her right shoulder. It was a bit warmer here than in Leronte, and Edelweiss felt a comfortable sheen of sweat build upon her forehead. She was gazing up at the somewhat ramshackle looking buildings around her when she heard a familiar voice. Unlike before, this time the voice sounded to her right rather than inside her own head.

"Do you think they'll follow you here?"

Edelweiss turned to the voice and saw a tall figure riding a skeletal horse striding right beside her. The mount was bleached-white bones held together by leathery sinew, whilst its rider was a middle-aged human with a rugged complexion and the beginnings of a rough beard. He wore a wide-brimmed hat that shaded his pale gray eyes from the sun's rays, and was dressed in sturdy leather chaps, blue jeans, and red flannel shirt. The man carried a long, rusty iron lance tucked into the crook of his right arm, while his left hand held the reins to the dead but still mobile horse.

"I doubt it," the elf told the rider. Although many people passed by both figures, not a one stopped to gawk or question the frightening-looking figure. "The Families hold no sway here in Pfeil. They wouldn't risk a war with the Syndicates just to come after me. Besides, Morte gave me his word that none of them would pursue me if I left town. And I have."

The man atop the horse nodded. "What about that Sallows boy? Last we saw him, he was very eager to see you buy the farm."

"Duke, you worry too much," she told him with a grin.

"Well, someone has to," the spirit said in his usual drawl. "You certainly don't."

A gnome backpacker was walking in the opposite direction of the two on the sidewalk. Without even noticing, he stepped right through the horse and rider, as if they were nothing but thin air. Once again, this garnered no reaction from the crowd around them.

"Sallows won't disobey a direct order from his capo," Edelweiss frowned. "But if he does come for me, I'll be ready for him."

"Humph. Famous last words," Duke grumbled. "Where are we headed to, anyway?"

This time the elf smiled. "I'm looking for a someplace to eat, I'm starving. Afterwards I'll have to ask around for a place to stay. We need to set up an office if we're gonna be looking for jobs."

"Seriously? That's why you've been walking around for hours building up a sweat?" Duke grumbled. "You know that you can use the scrolls on your grimoire to look up the nearest restaurant, right? Or that you can visit the Trayd List netsite to buy whatever it is you need?"

"Yes, I'm aware," Edelweiss rolled her eyes at the grumpy spirit. "But looking stuff up on the Aethernet just isn't the same as finding it on your own. There's no sense of discovery when you just press a button to find what you want. You don't feel any sense of accomplishment if you just let a computer tell you where to go instead of going on the journey yourself."

The elf stopped walking as she saw something in the distance. There, just a few yards away, was a small hole-in-the-wall shop with a sign proclaiming "BORT'S BEST MIKKUSU!"

"See, what did I tell you?" She gave her companion a lazy smirk. "We wandered around on our own and found this city's best mikkusu! I haven't had mikkusu in ages. C'mon!"

"Sweetheart, I don't think you should put too much stock on what that sign there says," Duke called out to her as the elf began to head towards the skeezy looking food establishment. "I don't think anything they sell will be the best of anything. Bort's or not." He then sighed when the elf entered. "You are so gonna get food poisoning."

*****

Despite Duke's complaints, the mikkusu turned out very serviceable. It wasn't the best Edelweiss had ever eaten, but it certainly wasn't the worst, either.

After paying for the meal, she asked the old orc manning the register (whom she assumed to be Bort) if there were any places he knew that were for rent.

"For rent, huh?" the orc scratched his grizzly beard, all the while busily puffing on a cigar that was tucked in next to his right tusk. "I think there's some rooms being rented out along 217th Street, right by the old dockyards near the fisheries. It ain't the fanciest place, but it's cheap and the folks down there won't cheat ya on the price."

Edelweiss thanked him and exited the shop. She was met outside by Duke and his skeletal mount, both of whom appeared out of thin air like a dream.

"Where to now, boss?" The spirit asked her.

"Two-seventeenth Street, in the old dockyards," Edelweiss told him. "We'll be looking for a place to rent."

"The old dockyards? You mean one of the poorest areas in the city?" Duke sighed when she nodded her head. "You really are trying to get robbed, aren't you?"

A forty minute walk got the elf and her spirit to the old dockyards area. To their surprise, the surroundings were much cleaner than what they had been expecting. In fact, it looked more like a rural fishing village than a section of a huge metropolis like Drakhaven. The tall, gray structures of the inner Port district soon gave way to smaller, more quaint buildings. There was also much more vegetation here than in the other parts of the city she'd been in, with various trees and shrubs growing along the variously painted buildings around them. It was also much less traveled, as Edelweiss only saw a few other people as she walked through. Those she did see were haggard looking humans or orcs, all of whom had tanned faces and rugged clothing.

Edelweiss asked around and was directed to numerous places that were being rented out by their owners. Apparently, business wasn't so good for the local fishery since they were getting a lot of stiff competition from the larger fishing firms. Most of the people in the area were either independent fishermen or worked for the fishery, and there had been recent layoffs. Many of the residents had left, mainly going further into the city to find work.

The elf and the spirit saw numerous spaces being rented out, but rejected each in turn for one reason or another. One place was simply too small, another was a commercial space that didn't have room for a living area or even a bath. The last one they saw seemed to have been infested with a long lost cockroach civilization, so that was out.

It was the mid-afternoon when they found the perfect place. A soft-spoken dwarf took them to a small, empty warehouse right by the docks. The smell of the sea permeated the place, as did the cool ocean breeze that blew in through several open windows. The dwarf explained that the warehouse space itself wasn't for rent, as he often used it to store some items from his business. He took them up a set of stairs which led to an upper office area.

"Five hundred square feet, one bedroom, restroom with toilet and tub," said the dwarf as he showed Edelweiss the space. "There's a kitchenette with an electric stove, no fridge so ya gotta buy that. This place also ain't connected to the 'lectric grid, but there is a generator down da stairs that takes thunder cells. I'll be given it to ya for four hundred a month. That price ain't negotiable, so don't even bother trying yer elven tricks on me. I ain't falling for none o' it."

Edelweiss walked further into the apartment and looked out the large bay windows that were in the main area. They looked down onto the docks, where she could see various fishermen working by their ships and boats.

"I suppose it's… cozy," Duke mumbled inside her head.

She unlatched one of the windows and pushed open the large glass and metal frame. A gust of ocean wind swam through, causing her light golden hair to flutter. The breeze was cool and smelled of the salty sea.

"It's perfect," the elf said aloud.

"It smells like fish," the spirit complained.

"I'll take it."

Edelweiss pulled out her grimoire and transferred 800 bits to the old dwarf's account. Half of that was for the first month's rent while the other served as a security deposit. The dwarf seemed satisfied with the transaction, and pretty soon he left the premises leaving the elf alone in her new apartment.

"Well, what now?" asked Duke.

"First of all, I'm gonna test out that shower," said Edelweiss. "I'll get myself cleaned up, get my makeup redone, then go pay my respects to the local powers that be." She popped open her knapsack and rummaged around, looking for body wash and some towels.

"You mean the cops?"

The elf snorted as she walked over towards the bathroom. "Hah. No."

After a quick shower, cold water only since the generator was off, and some minutes putting her face back on, Edelweiss got fully dressed in a fresh suit. She straightened her tie in front of the bathroom mirror, then headed back to the living area to where her luggage was. She picked up the silver briefcase and placed her thumb on the lock. The biometrics computer read her thumbprint, and a few seconds later, she heard the latches on the lock click. The lid popped open, revealing two pistols strapped inside as well as several boxes of ammunition.

One gun was a gleaming silver; the other a dark ebony. Edelweiss picked up the silver revolver and flicked at a fastening at its side. The top of the gun's frame swung down from the bottom half, allowing access to the chambers in the cylinder. If the gun had been loaded, this action would also have ejected the spent cartridges from the chambers. Instead, the elf popped open some of the ammunition boxes and began loading the cylinder with .44 caliber rounds. After all six chambers were filled, she then swung the two halves of the frame together and felt the latch automatically lock. With gun loaded, she placed it into the leather holster attached to her belt at the small of her back.

Her gaze found the black gun that was still in its place inside the briefcase. She smiled fondly and reached down to run a soft fingertip along the warm metal. Her eyes misted slightly, but before tears could form she shook her head, then closed the briefcase. The security systems reengaged the lock, sealing the contents away.

After making sure her appearance was immaculate once more, she exited the apartment and headed towards the center of the Port district. She had a visit to pay to the queen.

*****

Genevieve Strain was not a woman you wanted to mess with. For almost fifty years she's had a grip on every criminal enterprise in the Port district. Whether it was gambling, prostitution, or smuggling; if it was on the wrong side of legal then chances were that Genevieve had a finger in its pot. Her grip on the area was so strong that she even managed to keep the Syndicate from gaining ground in her territory. The Port was her kingdom; nothing happened within it that she didn't know about.

Which was quite disconcerting when one of her underlings came into her office and said that there was an elf outside that wanted to see her.

An elf? Here? she thought. What the hell is one of their kind doing so far from their upscale high rises?

"Let 'em in," she said out loud to her subordinate.

A few minutes later, the man and several of her bodyguards entered the office, leading a woman in a light gray suit inside. At least Genevieve thought it was a woman; you could never tell with elves. The bodyguards took up position surrounding the elf though they took the initiative to look as non-intimidating as possible. It would be really ugly if a fight broke out, and Genevieve wasn't certain about their chances.

The elf bowed low as she introduced herself. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Ms. Strain. My name is Edelweiss. Thank you for agreeing to meet with me, I know you're a busy woman."

The hell? the crime boss thought. An elf deferring to a human? She must want something.

Out loud she asked, "What can I do for you?"

"I am a Freelancer from abroad," the woman said. "I have recently just relocated here. I wish to ask for permission to operate in your territory."

Genevieve almost sighed in relief. The elf being a freelancer meant that she was broken, and thus unable to use magic. She saw that a few of her bodyguards had relaxed upon hearing the information. Idiots, she'd have to give them a thorough dressing-down later. Elves were dangerous even without magic.

"Huh. I gotta say this is surprising," Genevieve said. "I haven't had a Freelancer come to see me for my operational consent in a long time. I thought the Guild was too high and mighty to bother dealing with us riff-raff?"

Several of her men nodded in agreement, their faces scowling in distaste.

"I am not affiliated with the Freelance Guild," Edelweiss replied.

"Really?" the crime boss asked, surprised, before letting out a bark of laughter. "A freelance Freelancer? Hah! I like that." She gave the elf a smile, one that seemed to smooth out all the lines on her wrinkled face. "Fine. Ten percent of your earnings and you've got yourself a deal."

Edelweiss returned the smile. "Your terms are fair and generous. I accept. Thank you."

After the elf left, one of her underlings came up to her. "Should we keep an eye on that one, boss? An elf snooping around could prove trouble to our operations."

"No," Genevieve said. "She showed me respect by coming here and following Freelancer tradition. We'll return that respect by not messing with her. Is that clear?"

"Yeah, sure thing, boss."

"Good." she leaned back in her leather chair and smirked. An independent Freelancer, huh? She didn't think those still existed. Much like independent crime bosses, if you thought about it.

Two endangered species.

*****

Edelweiss watched the sun set through the open partitions of the bay windows in her apartment. She was seated languidly on the windowsill, enjoying the red and golden view outside. Many of the fishermen had left for home, leaving their boats tied up at the docks below.

Edelweiss reached into her pocket and drew a lighter. Shelit up a cigarette and took a puff, relishing the warmth of the smoke filling her lungs. She then exhaled, casting ghostly gray vapors out into the breeze.

"You know those things will kill you, right?" Duke asked.

"So I'll live 900 years instead of a thousand," she retorted, not for the first time. It seemed that every time she wanted to smoke a cigarette, Duke was there to warn her of the dangers of lung cancer. Must be a spirit thing.

"Well, you've certainly had a productive day."

"You can say that again," Edelweiss yawned while stretching her arms. "I am beat, and my feet are killing me. I think I'll turn in early today. We've still got a busy day tomorrow."

"Sounds like a good idea," Duke said. "Except tell me this… just where do you intend to sleep, anyway?"

The young elf blinked, then turned her eyes towards her all but empty apartment. Everything was bare except for her knapsack and briefcase, which had been left carelessly in the middle of the living area.

"Say, Duke. Tell me about that Trayd List netsite again…"

*****

Glossary of Terms:

Aethereal Network: Also known colloquially as the Aethernet. A vast, unlimited network of information systems, one that exists on a separate wavelength from the physical world. It is here where all information is kept, from private files to historical documents to government systems. Vast reams of commerce and entertainment are also available through the Aethernet, and all this can be acquired through the use of devices called grimoires. It is unknown how long the Aethernet has been around, though many speculate that it was constructed some time during the First Age.

Spirits: Sentient programming that oversees various sections and systems within the Aethereal Network. see also Angels and Demons.

Mikkusu: A dish originating from Malkovis in Pfeil. It consists of rice, noodles, and meat fried then baked inside an egg flour roll. Very popular due to its quick preparation and cheap ingredients.

Credit Bit: Also known colloquially as bits. A form of digital currency, most often used to pay for large purchases that make paying with gold, silver, or bronze difficult or inefficient. Though amounts may fluctuate, one bit usually equals one silver.