Kor and Edria: The Merchant, the Baron, and the Necromancers

[Lord of Kor]

The Seventh of Talyr, 1,078 EM.

Autumn comes early to the Principalities.

Above Karn, the skies are rich with pastel clouds, casting their purple-and-gold shadows against the sunset. The warm zephyrs have begun to bite, and the first storms of the season roil in the Silver Sea. The trees that line the city's boulevards and grace its ornate mansions bloom with the colours of a raging bonfire, and, far above, the sails of its merchant fleet flutter in the breeze.

The Sky Court, teeming with throngs of mercenaries, explorers, and vagrants even on its quietest days, is full almost to bursting. The merchant lords of Karn send their attendants to ply the crowds, looking for the best, brightest, and most ruthless to fill their crews before the first snows of winter. The two Consuls of Karn are rarely in attendance - but when they are, the most renowned adventurers of the lot vie fiercely to make their acquaintance, hoping for a grave and secret assignment from the city's rulers. Today, however, the twin marble podiums at either end of the amphitheatre - one black, one white - stand empty. This has only made the rabble beneath that much more anxious, and the merchant lords meet with no shortage of willing and able volunteers for even the direst of missions.

One of these merchants, Jaros Memnon, has just found himself a crew.