Chapter 07 - Rebel Base Crew - Eleri & Hockrup Meet

Image - Eleri and Hockrup meet up at the Christmas market outside of the Lehmitz Tavern It was in the frosted weeks before Yuletide, when the snow began to settle like powdered lace on the cobblestones of Kleiner Alter Hof, that Hockrup met once more with Eleri. The streets bustled with townsfolk swaddled in cloaks and woollen scarves, their breath curling in the chill air like dragon smoke. The scent of roasted chestnuts, beeswax candles, and spiced glühwein drifted over the market square, mingling with the sounds of carollers and the clink of coin. Hockrup, a towering Pitfighter with a scar-laced jaw and the bearing of one who had spent more time in the blood-slick sands of the arena than under open sky, moved through the crowd like a prowling bear. Despite his fearsome reputation—many a tale told of him breaking a man’s helm with his bare hands—his eyes lit up when he spotted her. Eleri, the Wizardess of the Hedgerows, stood by a vendor stall inspecting bundles of dried winter h...