The city was no stranger to Malkai. The Desert, on the other hand, wasn't something he was prepared for. While he packed the necessities like food supplies and a caravan service, he thought that perhaps putting on clothing would help protect him from sun burns. But his choice of attire was practically roasting him alive, and he was forced to strip down to his bare essentials. He would have gone entirely nude if the caravan master insisted he maintain some modesty. Malkai obliged, wearing nothing but his loincloth, leaning his hide armor draped over his shoulder to provide shade during the day, and warmth at night.

Flying in the skies, but also occasionally resting on Malkai's head, was his falcon "Falchion", who's eyes and wit were as keen as the blade he's named after. Falchion was much larger than most falcons of it's type, nearly as big as a hawk (which is quite big for a bird). Malkai and Falchion had a natural bond towards each other, or at least a partnership. Falchion would be Malkai's eyes in the sky, while Malkai would ensure Falchion's safety and health. They seemed to be an odd pair to outsiders, but regardless the two are staunch allies. As Falchion flew about, he would occasionally stop by to tell Malkai of his findings, typically things like enemies in the distance or possible ruins to explore later. Malkai would use this information to barter with the caravan master, and information like possible ambush locations have saved the caravan more than once. Though sometimes Malkai purpose stayed quiet so he could fight; he didn't like being bored.

Eventually the caravan reached the city of Saphire. This was Malkai's final destination with the caravan, as they only intended to stop by the city for a short rest. Here Malkai would seek his fortune and glory. With Falchion perched on his head, the orcish warrior moved into the crowds, not bothering to disguise himself. His skin was fairly dark as it was, with only a slight hint of green. To a passerby they may not notice the pigment. His mask also helped disguise his more obvious orcish features such as his eyes, nose, and ears. Though his tattoos were certainly tribal, they were much more complex than the sort of designs orcs would use, almost elvish in design really. His dress and overall demeanor certainly screamed "Barbarian" however, the bird aside.

The first place Malkai stopped to look at was the tavern. There was always jobs to be done there. Leaving Falchion to hunt outside, Malkai entered the establishment and was met with only a few stares. While certainly an outsider, outsiders weren't a strange thing in these lands, so no one aside from those curious about his origins bothered to notice him. Moving over to the notice board Malkai sought out any quests to slay great beasts or to topple a powerful band of raiders. However there were no such quests at the time; most of it was guard duties for caravans or excavation groups. Malkai was not a bodyguard; he would not sell his blade merely to protect peasants and merchants. He kept looking for better quests but the only quests he could find was one from the mage guild. Malkai has met with a few mages from the guild, most who had the decency to respect his druidic ways and his half-orc heritage, though those types were odd ones who also wanted to do things like commune with zombies or fuse plants together. Fools with more intelligence than they had insight.

The mage guild wanted a group of adventurers to find a silver chalice for them. Treasure hunts weren't really Malkai's preference, but it certainly beat guard duty. With any luck he might be able to take the silver chalice for himself, if he can figure out it's properties. Surely the adventure to obtain the chalice would be worthy of his time at least. Looking for the representative nearby, Malkai noticed a comely womea also waiting at the table, along with an old man. Malkai assumed the old man was the representative and woman a possible adventurer. This would be... Very interesting. Malkai approached, his form hard to miss, and made himself known. 

[color=00a651]"You are the representative of the Mage Guild?"[/color]

[hr]


Finally arriving to the city of Saphire, Veridis stretched his arms out and gave his prayer of thanks to Shelyn. He had taken a long boat ride to this gem in the sands, and it wasn’t the most pleasant experience. The boat was very crowded and they got attacked by pirates. Fortunately the ship was able to elude the pirates until the navy scared off the brigands. Thus finally being on dry land made Veridis happier than a dog with a steak.

But he didn't travel to Saphire to sightsee. Here he would find adventure, friendship, and perhaps even love. A romanticized view, sure, but a man can dream. The best place to find a quest would be the taverns of course. Perhaps a peasant who would beg Veridis to save his village from raiders. Or perhaps a quest to delve into a dark dungeon and retrieve a sacred artifact. Anything was possible, though first Veridis needed to get to a tavern first.

Veridis then learned that the city of Saphire was very busy, and very crowded. He quickly found himself stuck in a mob of travelers, workers, and merchants trying to get somewhere. Veridis managed to escape the wave of bodies by ducking into an alley, bland much to his fortune he noticed signs leading to a tavern just on the other end of the alley. Veridis made his way over before he found more trouble. Or rather, trouble found him.

A shifty fellow appeared before him, brandishing a dagger. "Your money or your life! Give up one of them!" Veridis feigned fright. One of the core skills of the bard college was acting, and pretending to be a frighten tourist was as easy to do as breathing and eating. [color=7ea7d8]"Oh, please don't hurt me! Here, just take it, please."[/color] Veridis handed the thug a bag. He snatched it from Veridis and looked inside. But what he saw wasn't gold, but marbles. "Argh!? What is this, some sort of-"

Suddenly underneath the thug's feet, a large puddle of slippery oil appeared. Before he could realize what was happening the thug slipped and fall onto his back, causing the bag of marbles to spill out. [color=7ea7d8]"A trick? Why yes."[/color] Chuckling, Veridis acrobatically danced around the spilled marbles and over the large oil slick, avoiding the wild flailing of the thug and reaching the other side of the alley. The thug tried to stand up and give chase, having difficulty getting up from the slippy oil. By the time he managed to get on his feet and take a step however, he slipped on the marbles and fell down again.

It was unfortunate. Veridis won those marbles from a trader, and thought maybe he could sell the colorful stones for a good price. But that bag of marbles weren't even worth five silvers, so it was no loss on his part. With that bit of excitement over, Veridis went to look for that tavern. Once inside, he took note of how bustling everything was. Men and women of various professions were drinking in merriment, sorrow, and anger. There was a noticeboard not too far away offering jobs, so Veridis looked here first. There was an interesting job for finding a chalice deep in the desert. That sounded exciting! So Veridis followed up on the job, looking for the mage guild representative. Once he found the right place, the bard introduced himself.

[color=7ea7d8]"Hello! My name is Veridis Quo. Are there still openings for this quest?"[/color]