Only a few minutes after the tide had ebbed from Irin's mind, people had begun gathering at the table, and starting with a rather overly-chivalrous knight, began introducing themselves. The next sounded like he was a pirate, and smelled of the sea. The third was a doctor, and sounded confident in her ability. Irin took note of that, making sure to talk to her later. Still in a rather dark mood from being separated from his other half, he took a couple deep breaths, then introduced himself in a lowered voice, and in as few words as possible. "I'm Irin Wyrda, a sellsword. Thought Merrik was just another client, then he proved otherwise. Now I'm here." He finished the slice of bread he was nibbling on and stood up. He couldn't let himself be seen too much in the mood he was currently in, so he sacrificed learning about the others and took his leave from the table for a bit, ignoring any looks and reactions. He wandered around the vast field as he waited for Uram to return, frequently glancing around for her. Soon a familiar wave of thought and emotion rushed back into his mind and he looked up to see Uram quickly approaching.

[i]Did you miss me?[/i] She said in a teasing tone, then quickly realized how badly he missed her. [i]Oh, you did.[/i]

Irin waited until she landed in front of him, and responded in an angry tone. "I felt like an empty shell while you were gone. Surely you felt the same too?"

[i]I did feel a little empty, but it didn't bother me [/i]that[i] much.[/i] She nuzzled Irin with her snout, which knocked him back a few steps. [i]It's normal to feel as you do, but... [/i] Twin strands of smoke rose out of her nostrils, [i]For it to hurt that much, that's a bit unusual, if I'm not mistaken. You may want to talk to Master Merrik about that.[/i]

"Maybe I will." Irin sighed, calming himself. "While we're at it, why don't you come with me to our quarters?"

They walked side by side to the large building that they would now call home. Uram pushed the large door open with her silver talons, and they walked in together. They arrived at the fifth stall on the right and walked in. 

The stall was quite big. Big enough for a dragon, anyway. Room to stretch and room to walk around in it. Near the back was a massive dish, lined with fabric that was as blue as a clear sky, with large white cushions scattered about within it. A bed fit for a dragon of the sky. To the left of it was a fountain of crystal clear water, the sound of delicate splashing resonating from it. Uram walked up to it and tilted her head to the side as she lapped up some to wash down her meal. Irin made his way to the ladder to the left of that, and climbed his way up into the loft that stood at the top.

His breath was taken away as soon as he got a look at the inside of the loft. The room was more luxurious than anything he'd ever seen. The first thing to catch his eye was the bed frame. Ridiculously ornate carvings of dragons soaring across a sky, with every detail down to the scales carefully etched in. Irin ran a finger across the carving, and sniffed the frame. Looked like wood, but felt and smelled like stone. Petrified, no doubt. Judging by the color, as well as the straightness of the grain, put together with what trees were outside, Irin deduced that it used to be white oak. A great wood for furniture. Carving it, though, would not be very easy to do. This frame was made by a master among masters, for there wasn't a single missing chip in the entire frame, not even a single splinter.

The rest of the furniture was almost as impressive as the bed frame. All of it was petrified white oak with intricate carvings depicting dragons, albeit they weren't quite as detailed, but not a single flaw could be found in any of the carvings. Irin was taken aback by it all, then it occured to him: Maybe this was made with magic. The idea both disappointed him and marveled him. On the one hand, it meant he might be able to do this one day, but on the other, it felt to him like the maker cheated if they used magic. Irin stood there and marveled at everything for a minute or so, then it was back to business. He set his pack down on a chair and rested his bow and sword against a wall, and climbed back down the ladder.

Already knowing where Merrik's stall was, he took a right at the door to the outside, and entered Merrik's stall. The stall was relatively the same as his own, except the large dish was black with red cushions, resembling a hell instead of a heaven. Irin was prepared to bow, but stopped when he realized Obsidian Nova was not in the vicinity. He heard noise from the loft, which reassured him that Merrik was, in fact, there. He climbed up the ladder into the loft, which was adorned with equally impressive woodwork. At the back, hunched over some strange tools and ingredients, stood Merrik Tetra.

"Master Merrik." Irin spoke, with a respectful bow. "I have a few things I need to speak to you about. First, I'd like to thank you from the bottom of my heart. Until today I never realized just how incomplete I was, and now..." Irin held his hand up in front of him, staring at his fingers as he twisted his hand in and out. "I feel incredible. However, there seems to be a bit of a problem. When my dragon—Uram, that is—headed out hunting, I felt like a mere shell of a man. Almost as though someone I loved had just passed away. When she returned, Uram said that the feeling was normal, yet—" Irin lowered his hand and stared directly at Merrik, "That from what she knew, it wasn't supposed to be that severe. This worries me greatly, because although I feel blessed with her, I also feel cursed. I don't think I could spend the rest of my life with a curse like this without some kind of help coping with it."