Hasqen arrived in Czen'ha and grumbled as he looked at the decaying town. He hated this place. The earth was unnatural, the trees were twisted and wrong, the balance was off. He heard laughing and turned his head to see several prison guards pushing around the old elf that runs the tavern. They met Hasqen's gaze as he scowled, then turned away and continued their torment.
As much as Skarr would chastise Hasqen for how undisciplined the Leocan Clan were under his leadership, they were Dragon Scouts compared to Warden Zephyrial's guards. He looked behind him and motioned to one of his Leocan to start making camp as he made his way to the tower.
He entered the partially destroyed tower and approached a large stone door with a small barred window to the side. He tapped on the wood a few times with his knuckle and stepped back.
"Uh. One moment! The window is sort of stuck. Who is it?" a voice called back.
Hasqen sighed. "Hasqen Leocan," he responded with a grumble.
"Oh... no, I don't see a Faskenly O'Con on this list," the voice yelled back, muffled by the closed wooden window. "Do you have an appointment?"
"HASQEN LEOCAN," he yelled back louder.
"Oh, Dasqen! Hey buddy, you owe me money!"
"HAS-QEN," he yelled back, feeling his fingers dig into the palm of his hand as he clenched it tighter. "HASQEN LEOCAN. I AM THE LIEUTENANT OF SAWYN."
"No, Sawyn's already here! You can't pull a fast one on me!" the voice called back. "You'd probably have better luck pretending to be one of her lieutenants! Did Cam put you up to this? That joker."
Hasqen's heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest as he raised a fist and slammed it into the barred window, bending the bars inward and splintering the small door. A hand came out from the other side and opened the window fully. A half-elf was standing there, wearing a purple bandana, and next to him was a tall female half-orc holding a handle that had been affixed to the window.
"Oh, Hasqen! Did you see whatever joker was just talking to me? I wanted to write him up for insubordination," the half-elf said, leaning forward and looking from side to side. "We run a tight ship here, and he was trying to bring us down."
Hasqen reached through the bars and grabbed the half-elf by the collar, pulling him forward. "Open these doors now," he said through his teeth.
"Yeah, yeah, of course," the half-elf said calmly. "I'll have to walk you down at least part of the way. There's a lot of construction, and this place is like a maze, so I'll take you on the fastest path."
Hasqen let go of him. The stone door started moving slowly to the side as sounds of the half-elf struggling came through the window. "Just a minute... it's a heavy door," he called out.
Hasqen turned to the half-orc, who was sitting in a chair with her arms crossed. "Can't you help him?" he asked.
"I'm on break," she responded matter-of-factly.
Hasqen closed his eyes to hold in his anger as the stone door finally opened all the way. He stepped through, and the half-elf smiled and waved him to follow. As he took a step forward, the half-orc stepped up to the mechanism that controlled the door and effortlessly turned the wheel, causing it to glide and slam shut. Hasqen took a deep breath and followed the half-elf out of sight.
A few minutes later, a tall hobgoblin in black and red armor came through the entry of the tower and walked up to the now bent and broken window. The half-orc stood up and walked over. "Name?" she asked unenthusiastically.
"Skarr," he responded with an air of authority in his voice.
"What? Where?!" she exclaimed as she picked up a small metal cup and inspected her face.