[center][h1]Roaring Thunder[/h1][/center]

Thunder had been sitting next to his younger brother Rain on the cart for a while as they traveled together towards the estate of Abraham Garrick. The truth was that the alchemist didn’t like it at all that his younger brother was tagging along. Not that he disliked Rain, it was quite the contrary. His younger sibling was actually one of the family members Thunder gets along with the best. It was the job and employer that concerned him the most. Mister Garrick had a reputation. People in town were talking about him and not always in a positive way. Lots of it was probably pure gossip and urban legends but if some it were true, this drive might actually be a dangerous endeavor. The ludicrous amount of money that was offered did not help to ease Thunder’s worries. That fact was that it did the opposite. No one in their right mind would offer 15 thousand gold coins to a farmhand in order to transport some animals to a different city. If it wasn’t for the desperate situation Thunder had put his family into, he would have let this opportunity pass. 

The truth was that Thunder had actually tried to convince their father to not let Rain go. But of course that talk quickly went from a heated argument to a big fight. The family was in this mess because of him and letting Rain join would be the quickest, maybe even the only way out. There was no other way around it. They both had to go. All the dangers that Rain would get exposed to, all the hardships and pain his younger brother would suffer on this journey were because of Thunder. And it was just as his father yelled at the Alchemist; “Bringing Rain back home safe and sound is your responsibility!” 

As they continued their trip towards the estate all Thunder hoped for was that Rain did not notice the fight he had with dad from last night. Luckily his younger brother never brought the subject up. In fact, he asked what he knew about mister Garrick.

“O boy, Abraham Garrick. Well, the dude’s pretty infamous. Lots of people in the saloons share all kinds of stories. I think it was drunken Joe who once told people that Garrick ate babies for breakfast. I think there even was some guy that claimed that he decorated his house with Tabaxi pelts. So better watch out when we enter the estate. Nah, that one is probably not true. I know one thing for sure and that’s that the guy is filthy ass rich and into all kinds of magical creatures. Wait.. those are actually two things.” 

Spoke Thunder while knowing all too well that his younger brother wasn’t the talkative person. He would probably get a little bit annoyed by all the crap that was coming out of Thunder’s mouth but as long as the conversation didn’t go into the direction of his complicated relationship with dad and the unspoken bits about their family’s financial perils Thunder didn’t mind.

As both Tabaxi brothers entered the gate of Garrick’s estate they were approached by some half elf butler. Thunder had a few butlers in his life. All the higher ups in the mining company he used to work for dragged along servants wherever they go and they all tend to be as stuck up as their bosses. As the butler inquired about their business Thunder could not help but notice the man’s condescending look in his eyes.  He probably thought that they both were some kind of beggars or something. 

“Yes, sir SERVANT” Thunder paused a bit to make sure to make the emphasis on the servant's part even greater before he continued to speak. “How about you go do your job and inform mister Garrick that his guests have arrived.” Spoke Thunder firmly as he pulled out both his brother’s and his own invitation. The Tabaxi knew from experience that butlers and servants had certain behavioral standards to meet and staying out of petty arguments and shouting matches was one of them and he quickly led both men to the front door.

As some young lad took the cart and Delaila to the stables Thunder quickly shouted “Don’t touch my stuff otherwise you turn the estate into a smoking crater.!” Of Course it was an exaggeration but still, most of Thunder’s alchemy supplies were lying in that cart. If someone without any knowledge would mess around with the various chemicals it could produce dangerous results.

Thunder looked at his little brother as he moved through the house. The contrast between the extravagant wealth of Mr Garrick and the son of the impoverished local farmer could not be greater. It was actually a pretty sad scene as it was more than obvious how out of place Rain was feeling. A feeling that Thunder had known all too well when he stepped into the university for the first time. It felt like being alone in an alien world with all creatures just staring down at you. He quickly gave his brother a pat on the back and whispered in his ear;

“Don’t let all this wealth get to your head. Behind it sits just some douchebag who can’t even take a dump without some butler wiping their ass. All they do all day is bark commands and push money around. But without their money, they are nothing. Give them a farm to take care of and they would die of starvation in a week.”   

Thunder hoped that his comments made his little brother relax a bit. It was bad enough to be nervous but even worse to show your insecurity in these kinds of situations. Many people love to take advantage of it.

As the butler opened the door he noticed that there were other people in the room already. None of them seemed to fit the descriptions that people gave of Abraham Garrick. Maybe these people received an invitation too? 

What surprised the older Tabaxi the most was the diversity of the group. One of them was a tiefling, a sort of humanoid that you don’t come across much in this part of the world. Most people’s experience with tieflings was based on hearsay. Stories that people told about devilspawn doing evil stuff. Thunder had met one during his time at the mining company and learned that tieflings were just people, like everyone else.

The other seemed to look like an elf but yet she was clearly not. Her hair looked like fire and the tone of her skin was way darker than any elf he had ever encountered. It took him a second to remember the teachings about various magical creatures from different planes of existence. One of these stories was about the Efreeti. Creatures from the plane of fire who sometimes travel to the material world to do whatever they please, including knocking up women. Could she be a child of the plane of fire?

And the third one was clearly an orc. Big, hulking and green. Not to mention clad in armor. And yet this orc looked vaguely familiar. As if he had seen him before. Maybe he was an orc living in Forsaken. Who knows. The one thing that was clear was that these three strangers all looked like hired guns. All the more reason for poor Rain to feel even more out of place. Hopefully they weren’t biting off more than they could chew.
“Howdy fellas, it seems to me that Mr Garrick is forming one hell of a party here. I guess  you all are here on his invitation as well? The name is Thunder by the way and this here is my little brother Rain. You have a familiar face, Mr Orc, you’re local? Like from Forsaken?” Spoke Thunder as he found himself a seat. “Rain, go sit down as well, better get comfortable while we wait for the man himself to show up.”