The autumn rain was pouring heavily over the harbor of City Titan... the night sky was illuminated by the glowing orange light of the blast furnaces and the towering gas lamps that lined the docks.
Despite the terrible weather, the harbor was entirely alive with activity... however, tonight, the usual rhythm of the harbor work was disrupted by a highly unusual sight.
Standing still at the very edge of the primary royal pier, ignoring the freezing rain soaking his expensive dark coat, was Lord Eirik.
He was Lord Commander Leofric's right-hand man, the Chief Port Manager, and one of the highest-ranking bureaucratic officials in the entire Iron Kingdom.
A few dozen yards away, a group of soot-covered dockworkers stopped pulling their ropes, whispering and chattering anxiously among themselves.
"Is that Lord Eirik?" a burly dockworker muttered, wiping the rain from his eyes.
"...what the fucking hell is he doing out here in the mud?"
