the adventures of hornsy and the blacksand mercs

the city of steel

A few days pass as the caravan sells their wares; in the meantime, grimmus had to explain the fight incident to the chief of police.

Grimmus: And that what happened.

Police chief: I see, well next time I suggest you take the fight outside the town walls.

Grimmus: Duly noted.

He then exited and met back up with the caravan which was about to leave.

Grimmus: So...where next?

Hive prince caravan boss: Iron Sand City, it's to the west of here, should take a few hours to get there.

Grimmus: Neat.

Hive prince caravan boss: I've heard It's one of the newest cities as well as the largest; as well as the fastest-growing in terms of population and wealth that it has become a major hub for trade.

Grimmus: Wow, whoever runs that place must be very smart huh

Hive prince caravan boss: Yep, the people who run it call themselves the black sand mercenaries, their leader is taller than an average shek, and he's also known for his generosity and compassion, along with his humour, wit and strategy; amongst the shek race he's quite the anomaly.

Grimmus: Huh, what the guy's name?

Hive prince caravan boss: He goes by the name Hornsy.

Grimmus: Hornsy?

Hive prince caravan boss: Yea an odd name, but don't let that fool you, he's fast, strong, a skilled swordsman and can adapt of the fly; making him very dangerous, even when he's ganged up on.

Grimmus: *in his head* Damn, this guy would be a total beast back home.

Grimmus: So we're heading out now?

Hive prince caravan boss: Yep

They then proceeded south-west out of squin and towards the city of iron sand. as they reached a local waystation, grimmus looked down into the dry lakebed; to the south-east was the swamps and to the west was large rocky sandstone hills, and to the south-west, was Iron sand city; it's luminous glow lit up the sandy dusk as he can see swarms of people like ants walking around the streets and building of sandstone stood firm, though the one thing that caught his attention was the massive building in the back behind 2 sets walls.

Grimmus: wow...

Hive prince caravan boss: Yep, welcome friend, to Iron sand city.

they then start making their way down. As they approach, the massive 14m high thick outer walls of solid stone seem to dwarf them; it's faces reinforced with metal plates and bracings of steel. they then reach an open-air market with hivers, shek, skeletons and humans selling their wares. The gate is almost as tall as the walls and is rather thick, with it being made of black iron and reinforced with silvery grey steel.

 The prince heads to a guard by the gate and produces a slip of paper while gestures towards the rest of the caravan, after looking over at the group he nodded and gestured to another guard on top of the gate. a few seconds later, a loud groan from the gate is heard as it begins to sink into the ground as the chains above it are lowered down. as they enter the city grimmus noticed several sandstone houses built close together and sat slightly sunken into the ground with wooden catwalks running across the tops. the centre was bustling with life as several other caravans, its members consist of several races; the cacophony of voices filled the air as exploits of profit and dangerous encounters can be heard as they pass

grimmus: huh, pretty lively here

Hive prince caravan boss: i did say that it was a major trade hub

grimmus: yea, but I didn't expect this

out of the corner of his eye, grimmus noticed a rather tall shek with greyish-blue skin, a robotic arm all while wearing an Ashlander hat and assassin rags with a blue shirt; a smile is drawn across his face as he confidently walks across the centre of the city greeting passersby on a large building with a bar sign.

the bar was a massive building, way bigger than the one in squin, it is made of dark chiselled granite and it's supports decorated with basalt and sandstone. the entrance consists of an awning with 2 black obsidian pillars and is connected to the main building by crimson silk. it guarded by 2 strong shek with large swords along with heavy and intimidating armour. the hiver prince caravan boss made his way and showed another slip of paper before gesturing again to the caravan.

as they made their way inside they found spectacles of fine art under heavy guard in the corridor, one is a leviathan's pearl expertly carved to show a village cut into the side, another is a fine set of noble clothing and a few paintings of the environment

the one peice that caught grimmus's eye was at the end of the corridor, it resembled a sort of tribal outfit set in an alert pose, the helmet is made of a beakthing skull with bull horns attached to the top; the chest menaces with plates of goat bone and is encircled with bands of gorillo hide along with a cape of studded hide. on one of the epaulettes depicts a swam of blood spiders attacking a beakthing. finally, the leggings consists of long but dense bone sewn onto a thick black leather. but in its hand is a spear, the shaft of which is made of an odd black metal with red marking, similar to grimmus's body, and where the spearhead should be, emanates a wicked intangible crimson energy.

Hive prince caravan boss: wow, I've never seen anything like that at all, that shaft almost looks like your tattoos on your back eh?

grimmus stood there silent, staring at only the spear. his hood covered his emotions

Hive prince caravan boss: grimmus?

grimmus: huh?

Hive prince caravan boss: you alright? you spaced out there for a moment

grimmus: y-yea...im good, shall we get going?

Hive prince caravan boss: yea, were staying here for 2 days before heading out north

grimmus: nice. oh by the way...

Hive prince caravan boss: hm?

grimmus: i didn't get your name

Hive prince caravan boss: oh, it's neal ((came up with something short so I don't have to copy-paste his name))

grimmus: well nice to properly meet you 

neal: *to the rest of the caravan* alright, get some shuteye, and tomorrow, we do business