WoW - Paki Egwu
Paki is trying to figure out what to do with his life. After his father's recent death, he and his sister were left to handle their small shop in the mage market, which is quite an accomplishment for two young Kkala. Paki and his sister Nenne, however, were not prepared to take their father's mantle as an accomplished trader. And as much as it pained him, Paki realized his decisions in the last few months brought their shop to near ruin. Luckily, as any Kkala, they were never truly alone. Worrying for his sister's future, Paki took Nenne to Ordon, where their uncle lived. Now, confident that his sister is in good hands, he goes back to the Royal City to try and carve success by trade, magic or the strength of his back.
Though Paki was not particularly bright, no one could say he was stupid. His main problem, however, was how stupidly naive he could be, which had cost him many a time when it came to handling his late father's business. Still, the young Kkala seemed not to get it, and whenever a pretty face or a fast talking merchant got him listening, they could usually convince him they were right. In this case, and with the Shah girl, it was a pretty face talking to him. Regardless of his preferences, the attention of a soft spoken woman who was not his sister was always welcome.
For a second, there was something deeply... unsettling, about the Shah girl Paki and Ferrah were talking to. It seemed like, for an instant, she had looked straight at Paki with eyes as cold as the eternal winter.
Paki was seriously concerned about the little girl he'd seen flying through the room, wherever she came from. The Shah girl he had been talking to might be cute, and Daguerrians were usually untrustworthy, abusive folk, but to harass and accuse a child like that was certainly not something Paki wanted to be a part of.
Paki was a bit surprised to hear the young girl had actually stolen the money, but now that she did say it, it was obvious she truly needed it. She was small, her clothes were raggedy and old, and she probably knew much more than a child should about going without eating. Who were they to come down on her over a couple lost coins?
Peering at the treeline where the creatures had come from earlier, Paki failed to see anything approaching. He did not think he could trust his eyes, however, as he had always had rather poor eyesight. Whatever might have been out there in the woods, Paki didn't feel like sticking around and finding out. The Kkala looked on towards the locomotive and wondered how they could manage to get the thing moving.
Paki still had the falx Ferrah had given him in his hand when the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen suddenly approached from the front of the train. Though she was a Majai (but not Kkala, like him), he didn't remember her sitting in the Majai cart, and he sure would have. She seemed like the kind who always graced the arm of the most powerful merchants and aristocrats, the kind Paki could only hope to be someday. When Zahrah spoke, Paki found himself nodding before he had even heard her request entirely. He would be happy to do as she asked, he could show off his strength, clear that barricade and court some of the young woman's favor.
Paki clutched the weapon Ferah had given him close to his body as he saw the creatures advance from the forest towards them. When Rill managed to skewer one of the beasts with an arrow, he felt a small surge of confidence. Maybe they could get through this, clear the barricade and escape on the train. Tetra, however, quickly suggested it was best to escape, and Paki found himself listening to her, wondering if it would not be best to make a hasty retreat to the locomotive and forget about the barricade.
Paki looked around and saw two more creatures coming out of the woods on either side. Though he could not tell exactly how many more of the monsters lurked under the darkened trees, it was obvious they had carefully set up this ambush point and they had enough numbers to overwhelm Paki and his companions.
Paki had little reason not to do Zahrah's bidding, and a lot of reason to do so. Few times had he seen a woman as graceful and beautiful as her, and soon found himself wanting to gain her favour however he could. The only thing lacking to make her perfect in Paki's eyes was the fact she was not a Kkala, as he was already fantasizing about marrying her someday.
Nkiru's tattoos seemed to glow and glisten, almost dance with the lights projected by the fires in her makeshift temple. Something struck Paki right then and there... Nkiru had many adornments on her, but nothing that stood out more than her tattoos. There was something unsettling about her tattoos and the fact she was lacking something every user of magic had... try as he might, the kkala man was unable to determine what was her magical focus.
Paki knew that, since the beginning of the winter, organic dyes were hard to come across. Most of the dyes he knew of came from minerals obtained in the very city. Of course, this would mean the ink Nkiru used was far more pedestrian than what she implied. If it came from an organic source, he knew that some the strange creatures that once lived in the now frozen seas were known to produce a black, viscous ink... but those had not been seen in 100 years, and it was nearly impossible that Nkiru would have been able to secure their ink.
Unfortunately for Paki, he had NEVER heard of the Shadowswords, tho whatever they were, having both the word shadow and sword in their name, he assumed they weren't friendly.
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