Nightwind Unveiled - Eldred's Cross shoulders the burden of too many souls on this day. Nary a room for let could be found. Anticipation hung in the air like a smith's bellows awaiting a downward thrust. The docks were bursting with the arrival of new recruits and the line into town through the gates was no less crowded. Peddlers and con-men alike worked the streets with vigor. Many a purse would be drained here on this last night of freedom.

I chanced across a notable establishment on the boulevard as I strode toward the enlistment center. The Black Bison by name. The marque read Spiritz, Wines, Ales, Entertainment, and Companions. Any one of those words would have garnered my full attention, but I was soon to be witness to a singular event I shall carry to my grave. Within an hour of my arrival the parade of womanly delight confounded my senses. Each more beautiful than the next. I reached for my purse with eager anticipation as each descended the stairs and entered the parlor. I eagerly sipped at my ale to satisfy the one thirst I had in my control.

The ritual of shaking my coins failed me when she entered the room. Elsha was her name. I am sure goddesses despise her for her grace. The man next to me said she was an exclusive. Which ment that no amount of coin in my purse was going to secure her attention. He muttered something about she rarely chose anyone and to not get my hopes up. I did my best to present myself well when she passed within arms reach of me. I felt unable to move, I could scarcely breath. The lacy chain belt beneath her body-length black veil uttered the soft patter of metal against flesh. The sound accented by the occasional chime of the bejeweled chain. In her wake I could smell the scented oils applied to her skin.

She paused for a moment in the center of the room, seemingly unsatisfied. A table of soldiers adjacent to her sat in anticipation. Just as she seemed poised to depart, one of them addressed her direcly. I could not hear what he said over the din of the bartenders activities behind me, but after a brief pause she moved closer to their table. The lamp on the far wall shone through her veil. My heart raced at the realization that I was viewing her delicious form. The pangs of longing were too much, I could bear no more. Cupping my ale I took a deep draw from the mug. The foam ran down the sides of my mouth as I allowed the vision of her to etch itself into my memory.

When I returned my gaze to the table she was holding the hand of a man who carried himself with confidence. A man of the woods if my reckoning is correct, by the cut of his cloak I would guess he hailed from Astoria. He would be the one to collect the prize on this occasion. Would that I were as lucky. Tapping my coins once more, I returned to my ale. Tomorrow will find me on a long journey. Tonight I will seek comfort in the arms of those who may be acquired by coin.