A very faint, almost undetectable puff of smoke whisked through the air outside. If one were to study it, they would find it odd. Where would smoke come from in a city as damp as the city of Ebb? The small puff of smoke floated into the mayor's house, through the gaps in the door. Down the hall and into the parlour. It wound through the room, almost undetectable. It wound its way to the shadows by the window. Unseen, it collected with small embers and more smoke. The smoke collected into the shape of a man. The smoke solidified, and he appeared. Ash appeared in the shadows, smelling of smoke.

Ash stayed in the shadows. He'd studied his soon-to-be colleagues for a time, and he'd tried to find out as much information as he could. There were some of which he was skeptical about. Ash wasn't sure he'd appreciate working with them, and he wasn't sure they would even work with him in the first place. Regardless, there were things he could only make sure of if he met them in person.

That was why he agreed, of course. Besides the usual lucrative payment, and he couldn't miss the chance for information. There were some people he'd heard of taking part in the expedition, some he didn't. But he couldn't miss a chance to work with the daughter of a noble snow elf family, if only to gauge her political impact, and there were other points of interest.

Ash had known his 'colleagues' would arrive early, but he didn't speak up. He stood back in the shadows, out of sight, watching. His role in the expedition was mainly information, so he didn't feel the need to make his presence known. He thought of it as a little test. He could gauge his colleagues' perceptional skills by finding out whether they saw him or not. 

Ash was certain that the dire wolf could sense him, but its behaviour had signified that it was devoted to protecting its master, and Ash had done nothing to suggest he wished harm on her. There would be no reason for the dire wolf to move against Ash, as Ash had no reason to move against its master.

Ash leaned back on the wall quietly, waiting for the rest of the group to show up.

---------------------------------

[color=598527]"Ach!"[/color]

A loud curse echoed from a nearby sewer drain, scaring several passers-by. They looked to the drain in confusion, wondering what made the noise. The bars on the sewer gate burst forth and a bearded man emerged from the drain, giving off a bad smell.

[color=598527]"Hurgh, I'm late!"[/color] Aron cried in a heavily accented voice.

He jumped up from where he lay. He reached into the drain and pulled out his boots. He then began hopping on one foot, struggling to put his boots on.

[color=598527]"Hogh, a tight fit. Need a new pair..."[/color] Aron said, despairing.

This meant he had to buy or find some boots bigger than the current pair. Certainly, he could find one boot by fishing, but a good pair without holes was rare. He finally struggled the boots onto his feet and looked around. The onlookers were being repelled by his bad smell. Aron sniffed his armpits but immediately regretted his decision. It smelled incredbly bad.

[color=598527]"And a shower."[/color] Aron said, adding it to his list of things he needed.

WHile that and a pair of new boots was on his list, there was one thing that was always higher than the rest, and that was money! And speaking of money, he had to get to the mayor's house!

Aron broke into a sprint down the road, looking for the highest point in town.

[color=598527]"Money, money, money, money..."[/color] He chanted as he ran.

Soon, he found an old tower. Jumping up, he grabbed onto a handhold and quickly scrabbled up the derelict building. He was always skilled at climbing, and he'd climbed this particular tower a lot. Scrambling to the top of the tower, he looked out like he did in his childhood. Scouring the landscape, Aron found what he wanted quickly.

[color=598527]"Haha!"[/color] Aron said in triumph. [color=598527]"The lake! And the Mayor's house!"[/color]

Aron scrambled down and landed on the ground with a thump. He quickly started sprinting towards the lake (well, the sea really). It was a good thing that it wasn't far, but what he was about to do would be considered insane by most people.

As Aron reached the waterfront, he jumped straight in. Many pedestrians ran to the water front in horror, believing he was commiting suicide. However, Aron resurfaced a dozen meters away and began swiftly swimming towards the mayor's house. Now the pedestrians didn't think he was suicidal; they just thought he was crazy.

The advantage of swimming to the mayor's house was that it was faster. The land route curved around the bay, and one would have to twist through the cluttered streets and bridges to get there. If one swam, however, it was a straight line towards the mayor's house. The reason no one did it, though, was because it was dangerous. You had to swim all the way to the mayor's house in a straight line without stopping, and that wasn't even mentioning the fish in the bay. Most were relatively docile, but some...

A shark circled the oblivious Aron. There were sharks in the water. Sharks ignored boats, of course, but a single swimmer was easy prey. The second reason why no one wanted to swim in the lake. However, Aron wasn't no one, he was someone. Someone special.

As the shark went in for the kill, Aron kept swimming. The shark lunged for Aron, but he twisted quickly, turning to face the shark in the water. He twisted out of the way and grabbed onto the shark. It thrashed in his hands, but Aron was too strong. He'd taken manual labour jobs when he was young, and he realized he had to be strong. With his powerful legs, Aron kicked the water and burst out in a shower of glory. Shark and man flew through the air as water flew around them. He drew in close to the shark and then opened his mouth.

[i]Chomp.[/i]

Aron bit the shark. Blood blossomed from the fresh wound Aron had inflicted, before Aron let go. The shark ran away, bleeding from the wound he received from Aron, next to the other few holes it had. Aron floated in the water, chewing the shark meat before swallowing it and grinning.

[color=598527]"3 for me, 1 for you!"[/color] He yelled at the shark.

They had a kind of rivalry, you see. Or, Aron did, anyway. The shark bit him once, but he'd escaped and gotten revenge. Now they just traded attacks, but Aron won most of the time. Aron floated a bit before continuing his swim.

[color=598527][i]A bath and free breakfast.[/i][/color] Aron thought. [color=598527][i]Lucky me.[/i][/color]

He continued swimming down bay. He was almost at the mayor's house, his next source of money.