The morning’s in Runeport could be quite cold, since it was a coastal town, a frequent seabreeze would constantly wake the townspeople with it’s chilling humidity. In the summer, the breeze was usually welcome, but this was the dead of winter. Even being at a higher elevation and being surrounded by stone walls could not protect one from the chills icy grasp. One such breeze sneaked it’s way into the lord of Runeport’s manor through the tiniest of cracks in the guards quarters and decided to bother one of the youngest men, who was sleeping peacefully.
Carth begrudgingly woke up with goosebumps due to a sneaky breeze. Normally, he would never get up this early for rounds, but it seemed that his bed was now no more than a haven for the cold. He quietly cursed the weather. Making sure not to wake his fellow guardsmen, he made his way over to the community wash basin and made himself fully alert by splashing chilly water onto his face. He started to rub himself down with a washcloth and once done, he geared himself up in light armor with a simple long spear and set about doing his rounds on the town. The sun had barely peaked above the distant horizon, but already it was a sight to behold as it reflected across the ocean. Carth blew on his hands while rubbing them to try to get some warmth. He glanced once more at the beautiful sunrise, where he saw a tiny dark blob in the distance.
After a while, the dark blob became an outline of a distant ship.
The port was the true namesake of Runeport, so it was always bustling with the imports and exports of the Sandora Kingdom. Today though, it was bustling due to a Rachnidian military ship that had docked in the early morning. Carth had alerted Captain Belfast, his superior in the garrison, the moment the origins of the ship became apparent after witnessing the flag it sailed. Rachnid was a friendly neighboring country to Sandora that was surrounded by a massive inlet. There are two ways for Rachnidian’s to get to Sandora; either cross the perilous mountains that surround the two countries or take a ship around their western inlet and sail for Runeport. Either way, it ends up being a long journey.
Carth shook nervously as he stood at attention just behind Captain Belfast; the chill from the sea spray didn’t help either. The two stood in front of the ramp to the docked Rachnidian ship, awaiting whatever representative was surely sent their way. Rachnid merchant ships are a common site, but a military ship usually meant an envoy had been sent for some sort of discussion. Noise could be heard from the deck of the ship and soldiers began to line up before the ramp. It was all a presentation on the soldiers' part, eventually a woman wearing regal clothing started towards the ship's ramp, but stopped just before she made her way down. An attendant stepped out from behind her and announced with a loud voice,
“Please welcome, first princess of the Rachnidian throne, Princess Eleana!” With the final shout the attendant made a deep bow and the princess finally started down the ramp towards Carth, Captain Belfast, and the rest of the guards that were sent to greet the ship. Belfast bowed deeply as the princess approached, remaining silent. Carth shakily copied the captain's bowing move, along with the rest of the guard. Eleana looked around and spoke in a commanding tone,
“Where is the baron? I need to urgently see him at once!”
“Apologies, M’lady. We did not receive word that you would be coming, so the baron at this time does not know of your landing.” Belfast broke out of his bow and addressed the princess’s question.
“Take me to him, immediately.” Belfast stead-fastly obeyed and looked to his attending guardsman, until his eyes met Carth’s.
“Carth, with me.” Belfast began to lead the princess and her entourage towards the baron’s estate.
“Y-Yes, captain!” Carth fell in behind the entourage to cover their rear and together with them headed for the estate.
