Rectangular marble structures rise from the fluffy-looking cloudlands. Most of them ought to be a dozen floors or more. Residential spaces. As Kellid Bleeze walked through the street, the pattern of buildings slowly transitioned to commercial, signifying that he was approaching the center of the city. Examples of the change included two-story buildings with eye-catching signs that broke the monochromatic appearance of the white city, and ornately embellished governmental buildings. All the buildings were made of marble, though. If not for the merchants' signs and visitors' diverse tribal colors, the entire city, bustling population of natives included, would be painfully plain.
Kellid finally arrived at the town square, which would be more aptly named the "town circle". It was indeed a circular plaza with six roads extending away from it. The entire city had a radial pattern emanating from this clearing. Bordering the "square" was the guild hall, the Gemguard's office, the soldiers' barracks, a theatre, the transportation gate, and a worn cathedral to a nearly-forgotten god. A single tree grew from the center of the plaza with high, sky-blue, heart-shaped leaves fluttering in the wind.
"'Tis a shame." his short, stocky companion muttered. Kellid followed the dwarf's gaze, taking a second look at the crumbling religious building.
"Are you a religious man, Kaiax?" he inquired.
"Aye. IRL, I'm quite devoted." His normally heavy accent melted away as he spoke. Sorrow and perhaps pity were easy to read from his eyes and facial expression.
"Not all you Travelers are monster-slayers. If you truly wished, you could take up care for the cathedral."
"Nah. It ain't my place." His accent was back in a moment. "Someone'll come back for it one day."
Kellid watched his companion break his gaze away before asking, "Is this where your friend said that they would like to meet us?"
The short man started scrutinizing the crowd. "Aye. She oughta be 'round here somewhere."
Suddenly, someone put their hand on Kellid's shoulder. He spun around to find a tall woman with aqua-blue skin. She wore a closed vest of white-blue furs and a large battle-axe strapped to her back. Purple eyes were filled with laughter, and long silvery hair blew in the breeze.
The dwarf had also turned around. "Yoi! I was looking for you!" he exclaimed.
She laughed out loud. "I've been right here the whole time. I was beginning to wonder if you were ever going to realize it."
"Is this your friend, Kaiax?" Kellid asked in a professional tone.
"Of course I am!" the woman said, hugging the short man.
Kaiax nodded in agreement and pulled his red robe in a little closer. "I don't know how you can wear that in this weather, Yoi."
"This is nothing. You're being a crybaby about it. Let's kill some monsters!"
"Perhaps we should take on a quest before haphazardly running into a battle. That way, we would gain extra rewards for what monsters we defeat." Kellid suggested.
"I like that plan." Kaiax agreed quickly. "Anything to get out of this wind. I don't get why anyone'd want to come to this frozen wasteland."
Kellid starts leading the group to the guild hall. "If you complain about Diel being a frozen wasteland, what does that say about Sapphic?" he asked his dwarven companion.
"Ne'er been there, ne'er will." He replied tartly.
Kellid shrugged and opened the doors to the guild hall. A handful of attendant windows lined the far wall of a short, wide hallway. Four distinct, organized pinboards lined the walls. Kellid turned to one that had a large label overhead saying, "Kill Quests".
"What do we want to kill today?" he asked.
"If we did a wolf hunt, we could use the pelts for pretty boy." Yoi said, glancing at Kaiax and trying to hold back a laugh.
"That don't sound like too bad an idea." Kaiax admitted. "An' wolves are tough enough to make it fun."
Kellid pulled a paper with a sketch of a wolf off the pinboard, and it dissolved into a chain of lights, which circled around his hand before fading away. "Let's go."
-<*>-
They left town, going south to an open plain of off-white fluff. A chill wind blew gently in the thin air, rustling Kellid's regal white-blue fur coat. There was empty sky in every direction except behind them, where the city still loomed. In the distance, Kellid could make out the forms of various beasts and monsters.
To his right, Kaiax opened his pouch, and tapped at the air above it. A glass vial with red-orange liquid materialized in his hand. He removed a cork from the top and downed the contents.
"Let's go." he growled.
Kellid pulled his shortsword and shield off his back and led a charge to the nearest wolves.
Yoi pulled ahead of him and swung at the nearest wolf, sending it flying. Kellid leapt in the way of a second as it pounced at Yoi, and deflected it with his shield. Two more attacked Kellid, but found only metal for their jaws. The last one leapt at Kaiax, but he incinerated it with flames bursting from his hands.
In a second moment, Yoi slammed her axe down at another wolf, which narrowly dodged the strike. It retaliated with a quick nip. The two others on Kellid knocked him down and tried to bite past his armor, still to no avail. Kellid retaliated with a glancing blow, and Kaiax blasted it with a small bolt of flame.
Yoi ripped her axe out of the stiff fluff and caught the wolf she was dueling with a sideways cleave. The two other wolves finally found a bit of purchase under Kellid's armor and started cutting into his hit points. He swiped at one again and Kaiax finished it with another fire blast.
Kellid shoved the last one off of him and right into Yoi's axe. It crumpled in a flash of white light. With the light gone, all that remained were coins, a white gemstone, and a pelt. The other wolves had left similar.
"That wasn't too bad." Yoi said.
Kellid got to his feet. "Sure. Whatever."