Scara brae, depending on who you asked, the place could have been called the pride of Queen Valeena, a thriving country that had formally been a backwater colony. Or they could have called it a shit stain on the map. Umbra was of the opinion that it was both and neither at the same time, both statements were true, Scara Brae was certainly a place of opportunity, a good place to get your feet wet when it came to starting out as a no name mercenary.

But that didn’t mean that everyone here had your best intentions in mind either.

Either way Umbra had no intention of staying, the pay was measly and they were capable of doing more than guarding milk runs from the main port city to Stonevale and back.

The iron clad warrior currently stood as a silent sentry outside of the silver wolf pub, watching vigilantly as hired men unloaded the shipment of goods, of what exactly, Umbra didn’t know and didn’t care to ask. The day was a gloomy one, and the crowds of people wore even gloomier faces. It would have been easy to be distracted by the cacophony of noise of a hundred voices that told fleeting glimpses of insight to the true face of Scara Brae.

Umbra deigned not to listen to a gilded lover’s complaints as they were thrown out of their home for cheating on his wife, or the drunken slurs of a private party with a promise of untold depravity. Instead, Umbra turned their attention to the merchant that was now approaching them with a small bag in his hand, the reward for a job well done no doubt. The red stain marring Umbra’s gauntlet could attest that their service was certainly a needed one.

The merchant was a relatively young man, with an oncoming patch of fuzz around his chin, dark medium length curly hair and a smile to charm a hag. And said smile was currently being directed at Umbra who was keenly scrutinised the man carefully for a hidden weapon from under the privacy of a solid metal visor.

This was Scara brae after all, charming smiles were often accompanied by a sharp blade.

“Will you be available for the return journey?” He asked with a slight foreign accent Umbra was unfamiliar with, and shifted the bag of gold from one hand to the next, causing the coin within to jingle appealingly.

“Depends, when are you setting off?” Umbra replied after a moment of thought, their voice tinged with a metallic ring as they gave the man their undivided attention. A job offer was only good if it was consistent.

“In three days, we will be leaving at noon at the main gate if your still in need of work” The merchant said with a widening smile.
“I’ll be there” Umbra said simply, hiding their disappointment.

“Well, it will be a load off of my mind if ya do show up, you did a good job with the goblins” The merchant said with an earnest tone while holding out the small bag of gold and rolled it over into Umbra’s waiting hand.

“Oi, watch how you’re handling that or you will be paying for the damages” The merchant called out displeased as he turned back to the hired men, and started cursing their mothers with the language of his homeland. Umbra only paid them enough attention to learn a new swear before testing the weight of the sack in their hand and upended the contents into their palm.

Clink, clink, clink.

Ten gold coins stood a neat little pile, a paltry amount that was apparently worth the lives of five ill-fated little goblins. For Scara Brae, it would have been just enough to pay to spend those three days in a decrepit hovel.

Umbra silently placed the bag of coins somewhere within the confines of their armour and marched over towards the entrance of the silver wolf. Work was plentiful enough if you knew where to look for it…