Azen's POV

The great Ashae city of Amradur was a cavern so large it stretched for over a thousand square kilometers. Its plethora of streets, hanging walkways and avenues were submerged in darkness with the occasional mild light from glowing fungus, magic moss, or one or two glowing gemstones. Anlirae Street was in this regard different from the rest of Amradur's streets for it had the soft glow of candlelight breaking the darkness. It was an unremarkable street with plain stone buildings lacking any architectural flavor. 

On this night, however, the golden glow of candlelight made it stand out from the rest of Amradur's streets. Arranged in a square formation, four candles burned bright in Anlirae Street. Within the candle formation were two figures with a curious rectangular object between them. People in the street who saw this light came closer to take a look, curious to see what manner of wonder needed candle light to be displayed. For surface folks, the light of a candle may be meager, barely able to produce sufficient reading light. But here in the underground world of Suterra, the four candles shone like a beacon. 

The light of the candles revealed the two figures to be short bulky humanoids with dull gray skin, bald heads, and impressive white beards that reached all the way to their prodigious bellies. In the common tongue of the Suterra, they were known as 'drugars' though surface folks preferred to call them 'dark dwarves.'

Light from the dwarves' candles illuminated the street around them, revealing dumpy two-story houses, simple in design and devoid of decoration. Anlirae Street was part of the network of streets that made up the marketplace of the common ashae and so, lacked the indulgent and lavish architectural designs that were popular among structures meant for noble ashae. 

While denizens of Suterra were not fond of light, their curiosity drew them in droves from their various houses, shops, and holes, curious to see what the dwarves had to offer. Many figures began crowding the dwarves, their obsidian skin and white hair marking them as ashae. Their taller forms made the dwarves look dumpy and squat in comparison.

As numerous ashae began crowding the dwarves, a cloaked figure burst out from one of the buildings and began moving towards the candlelight, his impatient features betraying some of the annoyance he felt. Candlelight was a thing known to the ashae, but candles were relatively expensive in Amradur. It was even rarer to see merchants using it on the streets to display their wares when they were cheaper alternatives like glowing gemstones and incandescent fungus. Like the rest of the other ashae, he was curious.

On getting closer to the range of the candlelight, he slowed his pace, his footsteps light but confident, giving off a haughtiness only an ashae of higher station could possibly muster. The cloaked figure was Azen. He had no surname as he was a commoner like those around him. However, if things went well this night, the noble house he served would elevate him to nobility. He tucked an errant strand of yellow-white hair back into the hood he wore and continued approaching the two dwarves. The other ashae surrounding the dwarves made way for him when he got closer. Why wouldn't they? His overbearing swagger and expensive cloak screamed 'I am a noble, don't mess with me.' 

He stopped just shy of the range of the candlelight, giving his eye time to adjust from ashae darkvision to normal light. For the little time it took his eye to adjust, he imperiously surveyed the crowd and the dwarves as if measuring their worth. It was necessary to show these commoners that he was highly trained and that bright light did not discomfort him like them. 

In his most authoritative voice, he barked in Suelish, "What is the meaning of this blockade?"

Using Suelish, the common language of Suterra, instead of the Ashae language showed the dwarves he was directing his question at them. Afterall, ashae spoke their own unique language when communicating among themselves.

The dwarves were by no means blocking Anlirae's wide street, but the crowd that was quickly swelling around their candles could do so if things continue as they were. Not knowing if he was nobility or commoner, the dwarves inclined their heads towards him in a show of respect. 

"Good Sir," the larger drugar croaked, his prodigious beard long enough to reach his knees, "I am but a humble merchant advertising an amazing artifact." 

It was always better to err on the side of politeness when interacting with a possible noble ashae. They could be highly vindictive and the punishment they visited on offenders swift and merciless. However, the dwarf judged Azen to be male which meant he did not need to grovel all the way.

The large drugar who spoke also took a closer look at Azen to ascertain what type of noble he was dealing with. His eyes widened on seeing Azen's boots. He stepped closer to Azen and bowed his head even lower. What increased his opinion of Azen was the quality of the boot around Azen's leg. It looked exquisitely designed and the drugar using his merchant's instincts could infer that it was a powerful enchanted magical item. 

A smile made its way onto the rough face of the drugar which he quickly concealed. A wealthy male noble was the kind of customer every drugar merchant loved. They loved buying useless baubles to display their station in ashae society. 

Azen meanwhile was not pleased with the dwarves' explanation. 

"Is that why you had to light up Anlirae and blind the rest of us?" He scowled, tapping his foot to show his displeasure. "Your light makes Anlirae's pleasure houses even less pleasurable."

"Forgive me noble lord, but the artifact requires light to function." The drugar bowed even lower, his prodigious beard threatening to scrape his boots. "Would you like to see the artifact?"

Being called a noble lord seemed to mollify Azen somewhat. Besides, He was also intrigued by the artifact. He knew it was a mirror. When speaking with the larger drugar, he spied the smaller drugar collecting money from one of the commoners and allowing them to stand in front of the artifact. Most ashae had never seen their reflection in a mirror and most of them did not know what a mirror was. Seeing one must be a novel experience for most of the commoners here. That is why most of them, after seeing their reflection, had to be prodded by the smaller drugar to leave the mirror and allow others to use it. They simply stood transfixed like a deer in front of the mirror, surprised to see their image for the first time in their long lives.

Azen, on the other hand, had learned about mirrors in the warrior's academy so it wasn't all that novel to him. Their curriculum about the vile surface world covered a variety of topics and objects, including potential artifacts they could encounter during a surface raid. However, learning about it in school was different from seeing the real thing in person. Seeing one physically was also novel to him but he made sure to appear unimpressed. Common rabble did not need to see him excited like a child with his first toy. He wanted to use the mirror but he had to be tactical about it to not appear like a commoner.

Swiping his hand back and forth, he tapped the dwarves shoulder. It was the ashae's universal hand sign for 'you are pardoned but for a favor'. True forgiveness was a foreign concept to the ashae as compassion was most times viewed as weakness. He wanted the drugar to know they owed him a favour if he forgave their worthless hides for disturbing his pleasure time.

"I will forgive this disturbance," he drawled, turning around to let his words encompass the whole crowd, showing he meant the other ashae contributed to the disturbance.

"But I will need to see the artifact," his gaze finally resting on the larger drugar to show the seriousness of his intent. 

"That will not be a problem, Noble Lord," The drugar replied, lifting his rough face to look at Azen. "I am also open to discussing a price if you are interested in buying the artifact outright."

"We will see about that," Azen replied, imperiously brushing the larger duegar aside and coming to stand in front of the large mirror. 

The smaller drugar who stood beside the mirror pulled off the black velvety cloth covering the mirror and gestured to Azen to step even closer to the mirror. Azen complied, stepping closer and sweeping back the hood to reveal his face. 

Seeing his reflection for the first time in normal light was indeed a surreal experience. The face looking back at him from the mirror was angular, sharp, and harsh with a small scar close to his eyes. The skin of his reflection was obsidian and its hair was short-cropped and milky in appearance, tending more to yellow than to white. His hands unconsciously went to touch the scar around his eyes. 

He was mesmerized by his own reflection. 

'So this is what people see when they look at me' he thought. 

He quickly recovered though, pulling his hands from his eyes and stepping away from the mirror. It wouldn't do for commoners to see him enthralled by his own reflection.

"I am done," he proclaimed aloud. "I can't stand here and admire myself all day. I am a noble with important things to do."

With that statement, he returned his hood to his face, drew his cloak closer to his body, and swept away, leaving the candlelight behind and moving to the shadows. He indeed had important things to do today. If he succeeds, he will truly become a noble and acquire a surname. The leader of the noble house he served had given him an important task this night. The reward was what every ashae desired. A rise in station.