Somewhere in the Shantytown stood a gnome. He was shorter than the average gnome. He stood at 3 feet rather than 3 and a half. His full head of hair and somewhat bushy eyebrows were turquoise, as was the luxurious beard that many a day of inventing rather than shaving had produced. While his eyes were green, you wouldn't be able to tell because they are covered by a pair of goggles that the gnome never takes off. While he wasn't what you'd call muscular, he wasn't scrawny either. There was a sharp pencil behind each of his ears and a canister of blueprint paper hanging from his hip. 2 small matchlock pistols sat in holsters attached to the back of the upper-legs of his leather armor and a 3rd rested in a holster attached to the lower back of his armor. And from his upper back hung a matchlock rifle and a large steel monkey wrench.

As he watched the armored dwarf walk away, Hobbit 'Hobnob' Nobson began to wonder if his day had gotten a lot more interesting. The turquoise haired gnome looked down at the note he'd been handed. "If you're looking to get into Starkvale, and looking for some bounties to grab, meet me and my friends at the ruins of the old guard tower, north east of the field. Meet us at dusk. I contacted you because I believe you'll be of some use. Hope to see you. Captain Kayden" Hobnob read aloud to himself. Hobnob smiled. He didn't think that the stop that he and his crew had made at Starkvale would be all that interesting. Although they had come for the contest, all they planned on getting were a boat load of bounties. But now Hobnob had a chance to get himself and his crew into the city. Not to mention the whole getting a company house near Hightown and being recognized as a legitimate guild thing. Today was going to be very interesting indeed.

A little while before dusk, Hobnob set off towards the old guard tower. He had to cut it a little closer than he had liked to, but he had to wait for his crew to return from bounty hunting so that they could watch the tent while Hobnob looked into the opportunity that had presented itself. As he walked through the forest, a thought came to Hobnob. He pulled out the note that the dwarf had given him and read the signature. "Captain Kayden" Hobnob read aloud "Kayden. Why does that name sound so familiar?". Hobnob vaguely recalled hearing that name back when he and his crew were traveling around Eilean, but that was about all he could recall. Hobnob always had a hard time remembering stuff that didn't either further his goals or keep him alive.

Dusk was just beginning to set up shop as Hobnob cleared the trees. He peered up to the top of the hillock and spotted the tower. As he approached the tower, Hobnob spotted the dwarf that had given him the note standing at the entrance. Hobnob waved at the dwarf before tapping a glyph on his goggles. The lenses on the goggles began to emit a bright orange glow as he examined the tower with thermal vision. Along with the dwarf's heat signature, Hobnob spotted a human heat signature inside. The gnome assumed that the human was Kayden. It was quite unheard of for a captain to go around delivering invitations himself. Hobnob then tapped the glyph again, shutting off the glow and restoring his vision to normal.

"Master Dwarf" Hobnob said as he passed the dwarf and entered the tower. "I'm assuming you're Captain Kayden" Hobnob said to the human as he approached the table "If that's the case, then I'm pleased to make your acquaintance. My name is Hobbit Nobson, but most people call me Hobnob". With that said, Hobnob took the seat opposite his host and completely ignored his pint of ale. Hobnob wasn't 1 for alcohol. It messed with his head and after it wreaked havoc on his uncle's liver, Hobnob vowed never to touch the stuff.