Constable of Time
"Are you waiting for someone in particular?" the clerk asked. She peered down at the man sitting at the slender bench along the wall. He looked up at the old crone of a woman on the towering administrative pulpit. He could barely see her little beady eyes over the stack of papers and tomes perched precariously on top of the desk.
"Yes, the Chief Procurator," he said.
"Do you have an appointment?" she crooned.
"Yes," he sighed. "I told your colleague the same thing on the last rotation. I've been here for a few days now at the Chief Procurator's behest."
"Name?"
"Kaeru Pertronic, Warden Second Clasp. Mortal Sectorum". The woman muttered something unintelligible and flipped through the heavy parchment pages of a massive book on the desk.
"I don't have an appointment under that name," she droned back. "Perhaps it was cataloged under a title or another moniker?"
Kaeru sighed and ran his hands through his hair in frustration.
"No," he said through clenched teeth. "As I said to your colleague, I was summoned by the Chief Procurator herself. I provided my ledger of recall, nullified my wardings, and provided my weapons to the sergeant-at-arms four days ago," he said with emphasis at the end. "I have explained this to the past nine clerks that have come before you," Kaeru said, his patience eroding by the moment. The clerk glared at him. Kaeru could feel every iota of disdain the woman had for him but at this point he no longer cared - he had a request from the Chief Procurator of Nexus Point and he did not intend to make his superior officer wait any longer. He stood up and moved towards the pulpit, very aware at the two hovering defense constructs which seemed to be, at the moment, incredibly interested in him.
"I understand that the Chief Procurator is very busy and his attention is a prized commodity here at Nexus Point," he began. "I also understand that he can become quite animated when he is made to wait. Even though our precinct of planar justice is outside time it has been quite a while since he sent the original summons. I would hate to be the one that caused that delay," Kaeru said.
"Is that a threat Warden Pertronic?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Absolutely not, I would say you've inherited quite a terrible situation from your fellow clerks, all who could have resolved this situation expeditiously. Imagine if one of them simply walked into that chamber there and inquired with the Chief Procurator about me - a simple statement about how the past nine clerks have failed to inquire but you...the smart and inquisitive..." he said, trailing off as he didn't know the woman's name.
"Cathrin."
"Cathrin!" Kaeru said snapping his fingers. "-the smart and inquisitive Cathrin performed her diligence as a clerk of Nexus Point and opened the door to ask a question. Can you imagine how gracious the chief procurator would be?" Kaeru finished. Cathrin continued to glare at him, face completely unreadable other than her inherit dislike for the Warden. Kaeru surveyed the waiting room quickly and considered his options. Short of pushing past the frail woman, battling two elemental security constructs and barging into the office he was out of options. He doubted the Chief Procurator would take kindly to battering one of his elderly clerks and destroying two costly constructs - he did have to get in though - his duty demanded it.
"Fine," the woman said, breaking Kaeru out of his strategizing and scheming. "Please sit and wait," she said and moved away. She stopped for a moment and looked up at the closest construct.
"Vaporize him if he causes any more trouble," she added. The construct nodded and raised an ethereal gauntlet to point at Kaeru. The nebulous mass of rotating shale rock began to glow a dark red. Kaeru tried his best to ignore the construct and sat down on the bench.
What seemed like an eternity later, an ironic concept given Nexus Point's position in time, the door opened and Cathrin scuttled out. She slowly climbed the steps to the pulpit and positioned herself on the chair. She diligently began to sort through some of the papers in front of her with glassy eyes and a unenthused look on her face. Kaeru cleared his throat and the elderly cleric slowly looked up at him.
"And...the Chief Procurator?" Kaeru asked.
"He will see you now," she said. Kaeru set out a long sigh of relief and stood up, dusting off his clothes and trying to compose himself. He patted one of the constructs on the arm as he walked by and smiled at the clerk.
"As you were," he said and he opened the large wooden door.
The offices of the Chief Procurator of the Mortal Sectorum were surprisingly ornate. An ivory rug ran from the one end through the center and split into two paths leading out while rounded banners with golden embroideries swung slowly from the walls. Between each banner hung a small luster, a few of them have been lit and in turn illuminate the murals of Wardens fighting terrible beasts and arbitering justice, below them the townsfolk of the planes celebrate their victories.Tall windows were shrouded by veils colored the same ivory as the banners. The curtains were adorned with fancy tassels and fine patterns. The right side of the room is open to the air, pillars framing a banister which exposes a breathtaking view. Over the banister Kaeru could make out the distant city center of Sigil, the City of Doors. Below it the crests of the thin peaks reach high into the sky but ever-higher is the floating ring-shaped city. In a mind-bending suspension of disbelief, the toroid shaped city wrapped around itself as the city filled the floating ring. Peering up would reveal more city as the winding and bending streets of Sigil wrap around themselves. The bustling metropolis seems to pulse with life. Nexus Point sits off at the planar east of the main spire mountain. The tall spires and golden sepulchres glinting in the false planar light of Outlands. Although located in Sigil, the headquarters of the Vigil was Nexus Point. From here the Wardens of his secretive order retained planar dominion and policing over all 16 cities of Outlands and the connecting planes - a daunting task to say the least. It was easy to forget that just staring out at Sigil, the gravity of their solemn duty not able to manifest in its entirety, Kaeru found himself slowing as he walked, becoming entranced at the picturesque vantage beyond. Catching himself, he stumbled and then quickened his pace to recover. He couldn't have the Chief Procurator see him gawking like an acolyte on his first day.
The room was a long rectangle and a series of pedestals lined the ivory route to cross it. Kaeru studied each as he walked past, some he recognized, others completely unknownable. A metal and wooden dwarven hand-cannon, a golden gauntlet with gems inlay into the knuckles, a small necklace with an hourglass in the center, and countless other treasures. He strode forward with purpose towards the desk at the far end of the room. Sitting at the desk was the large robed tiefling. Ralthor Thecius, sits studiously at the table and reviews a series of scrolls and parchments stacked at one corner of the desk. He is quite large for a tiefling, large dark horns curling backwards atop his head. Streaks of grey line the obsidian black hair and his red skin has a more weathered complexion. Kaeru strides towards the desk with a purposeful gait. On the wall behind Ralthor, a series of weapons hand on racks. Energy gauntlets from Ravnica, Elven Polearms from the Coronel Guard, and fiendish weapons from the demon plane. All of them look as new as if they had been pulled glowing from the forges the day before. Kaeru clicks his heels together and straightens his back, raising his chin proudly.
"Kaeru Pertronic, Warden Second Clasp. Mortal Sectorum. Reporting as request Chief Procurator," he says briskly. Silence follows and then a low mumbling. Kaeru breaks his stoic and regal composure to sneak a glimpse at the tiefling. He is still reading his documents and doesn't seem to have noticed him.
"Sir Thecius, you requested I attend you," he finally adds. More silence. Finally the tiefling blinks and looks up at him.
"Yes, of course. I did. Please sit," he says and motions to a small hovering disk which slides out from under the desk. Kaeru sits atop the disk and it bobs precariously. Ralthor continues to read the forms, muttering to himself all the while.
"Your offices are quite beautiful Sir. And your selection of weapons is phenomenal. The Coronel Guard polearm in particular. Fourth dynasty. Quite rare," Kaeru said.
"Third," Ralthor replies.
"Pardon Sir?"
"It's from the third house line, the elves didn't celebrate dynasties in Myth Drannor although I do appreciate your passion for the histories of Faerun," he adds. He replaces a quill on his desk into a ink bottle and steeples his hands in front of him, studying Kaeru.
"Korbu is it?" he asked.
"Kaeru...Kaeru Pertronic." Kaeru corrected politely.
"Quite," Ralthor says curtly. "I trust you are a little confused on the summons. It is not common for a junior warden such as yourself to be summoned personally by the Chief Procurator. Second clasp is it," he says and pulls back the lapel of his robes to where twenty-five smaller clasps are running down the side. "I remember my second clasp. It must have been...oh...five hundred years ago," he said and laughed quietly to himself. "Things seemed simpler back then - much simpler," he added.
"Is there anything I can assist you with?" Kaeru asked.
"Ah yes, there is one small trifling concern. I have reviewed your dossier. Quite impressive given your age and experience. We need more agents like you in the field. Protecting the planes from the forces that would seek to destroy them. The Vigil has remained the secret guardians of Outlands and it's connecting dominions for thousands of years - it is men like you that make that possible," he said with a small smile. Kaeru blushed slightly and had to catch himself to not explode with pride at the compliment. Ralthor Thecius was known to be sparse with praise - this was a high honor.
"Unfortunately, at my level the politics and bureaucracy can become almost stifling. We lose our ability to react as quickly as we once could. Bah, I remember a time when our scryers would detect a planar anomaly and I would just rally with Xoros Hilsen and Azys Colmur - charging off blindly to strike down some demon whelp that got a little too bold. Oh the battles we had..." he said wistfully. Kaeru smiled and tried to stifle his own awe at how casually Ralthor had mentioned two of the greatest Wardens ever to serve Nexus Point. Xoros Hilsen, the Prince of the Plains had been the Chief Palatine of the Elementus Sectorum and a legendary warrior. It was said the gnome rode a dire ram into battle and his shining lance was imbued with all five elements, a gift from the Primal Elementals themselves. Azys Colmur, Brightsword of the Dark was said to be the only Warden of the Vigil to ever reach the Far Realms through and ancient elven waygate and return to talk about. Azys and Xoros were more than just famous, they were legends. Paragons of the Vigil and famous throughout all of Outlands. There were statues to them and a select few others littered all around Nexus Point and to hear Ralthor mention them so casually put the Chief Procurator's abilities into perspective.
"You didn't come here though to hear an old Warden reminise. No - there's work to be done," he said and patted a hand on the table. He pushed himself up and out of his chair and strode slowly towards the bannister. Kaeru rose as well the moment the Tiefling had stood up but Ralthor motioned for him to settle.
"In my years of service to the Vigil I have made many friends and acquaintances. Most of them are people whose lives I have saved or bettered in some manner whereas a select few have actually saved my life. I made an oath to one such elf - many years ago and it appears as if that debt has been called in," Ralthor said.
"Are you being blackmailed my Lord?" Kaeru said with a cold edge filling his voice.
"No, no. Nothing like that. Besides - do you not think I couldn't deal with some petty extortionist myself?" Ralthor said with a frown. "No this is someone who I owe a great deal to. Someone who without I would not be standing here today," he said stoically.
"Who is it, if I may ask?" Kaeru asked.
"You may not actually. My friend has little that he cherishes now in life with the exception of his anonymity with these sorts of things. It doesn't matter anyways who asked me as your job is to do what you are told." Ralthor said, voice growing stern. Kaeru bowed his head in compliance.
"I have been told you are quite the justicar when it comes to obeying protocol. That is good. The laws of our order have been established for a reason. You will find though, that to complete this task - you must be able to see the room for interpretation with those laws."
"I'm not following my Lord. You want me to break the laws of the Vigil?' Kaeru asked.
"Bend perhaps...not break...unless it comes to that," Ralthor said quietly. "I am sending you to Faerun on a mission of dire importance to me personally. I trust you understand the gravity of that task and the rewards that could be reaped from accomplishing this with...discretion?" Ralthor said. He had turned to face Kaeru and was looking at him intently.
"Of course my Lord," Kaeru nodded. The insinuations within the discussion were quite plain. As the Chief Procurator for the Mortal Sectorum, Ralthor Thecius was second only to the Palatine himself, a colossal Loxodon named Rin Erdov. Ralthor could open any and every door for Kaeru with his reputation alone. Kaeru had felt passed over in certain occasions, his peers getting promotions and postings he felt he deserved. He knew his stoic determination and unwavering abiding by the laws of the Vigil had cost him some of these opportunities but he refused to subject himself to the politicking. Instead he had focused on doing what he did best: field work, in the hope that his hard work and determination would speak for themselves. After nearly 100 years of this, he was beginning to think it would not.
"What is the mission my Lord?" he finally asked.
"There is a town called Phandalin within the Sword Mountains. It is nowhere of note and you likely haven't heard of it. I had not until my contact brought it to my attention. There appears to be some trouble with a local cultist of some kind known at the Black Spider. He has captured some dwarves, the Rockseekers, who claimed to know the location of Wave Echo Cave. I trust you haven't heard of that either. Cathrin has a dossier for you to catch you up," he began. He strode along the bannister, running his hand pensively over the cool stone. "There is a group of companions hired by the Rockseeker brothers to assist them. They have become quite famous in the region after some lucky encounters. You are to travel to Phandalin and befriend them," Ralthor said. Kaeru nodded and waited for more. Ralthor looked at him expectantly and Kaeru frowned.
"Befriend them? Are they agents of another plane? Do I need them to destroy the Black Spider?"
"Who?"
"The cultist you captured the dwarves? Is he not the target?" Kaeru asked.
"Ah yes - no he is not. I suspect he is a problem so I would hope you would do you duty to the Vigil and deal with him regardless," Ralthor added.
"So my mission, if I may clarify my Lord, is to arrive in Faerun and...well...befriend these companions?" Kaeru asked.
"Precisely. I will contact you in the future with further information on your objective. That will be all Warden," Rathlor said and turned back to his desk. Kaeru stood there for a moment, completely bewildered.
"If I may my Lord-" he began.
"You have your mission Warden. I expect you to carry it out." Ralthor said, shooting a stern look at Kaeru before sitting down at his desk. Kaeur stiffened at the rebuke and then stood to attention. He crossed one arm over his chest, display the emblem of the Vigil on the back of his vambrace.
"Steadfast in Duty," he saluted with the Vigil's motto.
"Bound till Death," Ralthor said back, not looking up from his scrolls. Kaeru turned on his heels and strolled from the room with more questions than when he had first come in.
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