Snippet #2746408

“What’s this then? Two unfurnished souls consigning themselves to the footpath?”

When at the coastline, there are things one might expect to see. A fisherman or two wouldn’t warrant a glance. Nobody would bat an eye at a boat or two. Travelers flitting about would be as exciting as seeing your upteenth fish. Such things were seen, yes, but there was that odd presence strolling along that stood out rather badly. The black clothing and shining buttons were one thing, the odd feeling of magic radiating from him another. It was as if a mage had decided to invest sensibly and started reaping the rewards.

Oh, and he was a skeleton. One supposes that bears mentioning.

“Come now! No soul shall want for decent transportation in my presence!”, the lich said, his voice as dusty as a forgotten crypt. An upper-crust accent still rang through, about as archaic as they come. Tapping his cane against the cobbles, the figure brought it to bear with a twirl. It came to rest pointing at a black-and-gold airship moored at a distant dock. From the looks of it, the craft was quite well-furnished and undoubtedly roomy. From where they were, those with keen eyes could spy the words ‘Avaritia’ emblazoned on the side. In gold, of course.

“Provided one is willing to compensate for the privilege of being a passenger on such a mighty vessel, one would be allowed to fly free of questions. I’ve a queer feeling we’re all on the same path, as it were.” The undead gentleman lowered his cane, clearly pleased with his own generosity. Before he could ever-so-humbly state such things, however, something crossed his mind. Fishing out a timepiece from somewhere in his finery, he clicked it open and ran his sockets across it. A skull shouldn’t be able to make a tutting sound, but that wasn’t stopping it.

“Ah. I must be off lest those scoundrels loading the casks decide to skim off what they have yet to earn (Never hire local labor, let me tell you), and rob me of some rather exquisite sherry. The invitation holds. Simply say that Goldbones sent you and you’ll be on quick as a blink.” He doffed his top hat, snapping the watch closed and sliding it back into place. “Right then. Good day!”

Maximilian walked a few steps before fading into sickly green motes, the swarm of lights buzzing like corpse-flies before fading away. The whispers of his muttering were still heard, trailing in the air. “A blind girl and an elf. How novel...”