Sigma Triad (first draft) Entry #5 (8/7/10)

As soon as Terios returned, they ate breakfast and got back on the road. Now that Umbris was conscious, they were able to cover a lot of ground, and B’Talah was in sight late that afternoon. The small metropolis was very diverse and varied looking, with buildings of dozens of architectural styles, made of stone, metal, wood or even carved out of the living earth. Outside the city was a twenty-five-foot tall, twelve-foot thick wall of solid rock, with a gate of samsonium, a local metal almost as strong as silver-steel. There was some coming and going through the gate, mostly skiffs, though there were also people on foot, and in the surrounding fields, some small airships were parked. The city was once a small smuggling post, but it had grown so much in recent years that Terios wondered how it remained unnoticed by the State of Utopia. B’Talah is a gathering place for smugglers, mercenaries, treasure hunters, assassins, and other such characters. For all of that, it is kept fairly safe and orderly by the B’Talah City Council, the city’s legislative body.


The Sigma Triad is quite well known in B’Talah, as they are among the most successful of the mercenaries and treasure hunters that frequent the town. For this reason, B’Talah is also the place where the Resistance contacts the Triad whenever they need extra hands for a raid. Terios hoped to avoid the Resistance on this visit, however, as the latter often do not have enough money to properly pay them, and money is the main reason for this visit.

When they reached the gate, the guard challenged them. Terios recognized him immeadiately, as this guard was often on duty when the Triad entered B’Talah. Though he is slightly portly man a non-Warrior, Terios knew that it would be a dangerous thing for anyone to underestimate Thelo Narsi of the B’Talah City Guard, as he has extraordinarily quick reflexes and it a deadly aim with his plasma rifle. “State your names and your business!” he challenged.

“Not this again, Narsi,” Umbris replied, “you know it’s us.”

“I asked for your names and your business, not for some smarty-pants comment from you, Moonshadow!”

“See, you already know my name!”

“Anyone can tell a Moonshadow from miles away! What with that hair and those clothes, what else could you be, huh?”

“All right, Thelo,” Terios interrupted. “We’ll play your game. I am Terios Sigma, and this is Umbris Moonshadow and Pyrik Maxentius. We are here to purchase supplies and look for work. Happy now?”

Thelo puffed up his chest and smiled. “That’s more like it. Don’t cause any trouble now, the City Council is still unhappy about that incident.”

“Still?” Pyrik asked. “Are they never going to get over that?”

“Doesn’t look like it,” replied Thelo. “Just to be safe, you’d better stay away from that inn, especially you, Moonshadow. Also, just don’t use your Power under the influence, and I don’t care if all they have left is two-year-old wine.”

“You have to admit, though, it was a pretty good idea,” Umbris protested.

Thelo chuckled heartily as he replied, “That it was, I probably would have done the same myself, were I from your family. Just don’t do it in the city, where someone could get hurt. Otherwise, enjoy your stay, and good luck finding a job!”