Darklight was a strange, enchanted place. Arcane powers rippled from the pyramid and the temple, and somehow the vegetation grew even without sunlight. It didn't thrive by any means, but it did survive. The animal denizens had learned to get along well in darkness and low light, and were surprisingly abundant. The inquisitor knew that he needed to get some cash together, and as he observed the wildlife he got the idea to approach some nearby Teir'Dal. Their disdain was evident, but they did point him in the direction of an encampment where some merchants displayed their wares.
His luck was good that day; a couple of merchants and a guard had some work they needed done in a hurry for customers. Easy enough; all he had to do was bring in bounty and furs. His pay might be cash or barterable goods. For a skilled combat artist like himself it was no great effort to bring down the beasts needed to fill the orders. Even with a club made of a tree branch he could do some damage. It wasn't very long before he had amassed enough gold to afford to stay in Neriak that night.
Once inside the gates, guarded by Dark Elves mounted on armored wargs and nightmarish horses, he looked around and saw a swirl of blue light on the floor a short ways inside. Standing near it was an Elf with a ledger. He watched the inquisitor with amusement as the big man tried the portal and got no response. "It's not keyed to you," he smirked. "How do I use it then?" the Barbarian asked. "Ah, but it costs a bit to use this system. Not money but loyalty to my employers. You need to get this list of people to sell their businesses to us. Just have them sign on the dotted line."
It wasn't something he liked doing, not in the slightest; somehow the brainwashed soon-to-be conscript bothered him more than the drunken ex-owner of a prosperous textile decorating business. This was a man who ranted and raved as he signed then requested the inquisitor portray him as satisfied with the transaction, so as to not give any satisfaction to the ones taking over his life's dream. But the Barbarian did get one interesting item from a cowardly Teir'Dal ex-owner. A most strange recipe. Maybe there was more to it than cookies.
He took the completed paperwork to the man who checked it over and then said some chant. The portal shimmered a bit, and the Dark Elf motioned him to try it out. The inquisitor stepped in and got the impression that it was waiting for him to choose a destination. The marketplace, he decided, and a momentary vertigo seized him as he was transported there. Interesting, he mused as he moved away from the device and had a look around. "Hey, you there! Take this crate to the dock and be quick about it!" He turned and saw a winged woman, an Arasai, pointing to a box and actually stamping her foot in impatience. "Huge lug, you can move this down there right now, and maybe I won't call a guard and tell him you were bothering me." No way he could afford to argue; the Barbarian picked up the box and took it to its destination, the Arasai following as he did so.
Maybe there was some advantage to being thought of as a half-brained oversized laborer. Certainly he wouldn't be seen as some sort of threat. "Is there any work?" he beseeched the dockmaster. "I need money." "Probably for drink, you slob, but I do need a hard worker. Take this package to the Library immediately. Go by way of the service entrance and leave this for Dirith N'Veyk. Be quick about it and I might give you a permanent job." The inquisitor moved as rapidly as he could to find a portal, use it, and get near the Library. He dropped off the package, then walked back out to see a strange scene. There was a knot of children with a Dark Elf herding them along. The youngsters looked grim, old beyond their years. Also, they were human, which wasn't all that strange, and definitely from faraway Shin, which was.