Separ quickly studied the supplies of Carver, Alula, and the scarf wearing elf. Carver barely seemed to have anything, Alula on the other hand seemed to have tons of gold, as well as some miscellaneous items that Separ could make neither heads nor tails of. Lastly the scarf wearin elf seemed to have a modest sum of money as well as some various items which made Separ question why he had them in the first place. Disregarding those items Separ listened to the elf talk about buying various food items and such, only for a girl who identified herself as Rose Anew, aka 'Phoenix' to step forward and ask if she could go along with the group.

Separ was immediately impressed by her, as she said she was both a capable fighter and a great cook. "A fighter and a cook? You've instantly sold me, I'm happy you could be on the team. So what kind of dishes do you specialize in?" Separ then looked around at his fellow group members. "No one has any objections right?"

"Everyone found gold? I think we have enough for a sword or two."
Furnace held his heavy bag of coins and shook the bag have it make a sattisfying jingling sound.
"Though the metal is soft and not ideal. We can make do."

Alula watched with strange interest as Carver tossed the rock out of his bag. She watched it roll and skid away from the group, until it finally settled into a grassy patch several yards away from them. It would have been impossible for anyone to just see the rock if they were walking past, and yet Alula knew it was there, so she could see it. She shivered despite the heat. She turned her blurred attention back to the group.

She allowed the punching man who look through her bag, which she had hidden within her robes. She didn't really have anything of importance on her. Her bag was actually a blanket all bundled together with twine. In her bundle was nothing but a few torn up pieces of canvas, likely at one point a tent, and some random odds and ends. Nothing of value, more like junk you would find laying around. She wondered where they came from.

And then there was another girl. Alula pulled down the rim of her hat, muttering softly. "A life is cut short so another can begin. Lives are lost in the forest of life to allow the young to grow." She felt horribly dizzy and a bitter cold spreading though her veins. She leaned forward for a moment, resting her weight against Carver until the cold was replaced with the burn. At this point she was hoping no one else would approached the group.

Vis watched the rock skid to a halt and walked over to it to pick it up off the ground and into his pocket, a man walking past gave him a glance, most likely because of his damaged face but Vis decided to believe that he glanced about the rock, who knew, he might find use for it later. He turned to the group and once more spoke up, "I'm going thu go thearching for bread, anyone wanth thoo thag along?" he asked, hoping someone would want to come with him, though he wasn't too talkative, he didn't mind the company when he had it, it made him feel a little better about being bad at socializing. 

Carver extended a hand to the newcomer as Alula leaned against his back, muttering something incoherent. "No objections at all. My lady Anew, you are quite welcome to travel alongside us. I am Sir Carver, Paladin of the Sun. Our bare-fisted leader here is Separ, the lady is Alula, over there is Kelvin, and I believe the rest of our friends as yet have the advantage of me."

The half-elf was saying something about going shopping. Carver was loathe to let anyone travel alone, but he rather doubted that the girl currently passing out on his shoulder would be up to a crowded marketplace, and he knew for a fact that he wouldn't leave her alone. "I think I'll remain here, but you may take my coin with you. It's not much, but I would hate to be a burden on the group already." He smiled as the gnome jingled his coin purse and spoke of golden swords. "Perhaps you could take this one? It seems he could use an education in the wonders of commerce."

Rose politely smiled and shook the hand of the paladin, Carver. "It is always a pleasure to meet a man of the cloth and defender of the faith." She then answered the man introduced as Separ inquiry, "I can cook up any game animal. I am good at stews and roasted meats. Of course, I think I could make any dish at request given the right ingredients." She considered elaboration more but she was cut off by the approach of a cloaked woman. Alula spoke cryptically and Rose was unsure if she was even the one the woman was speaking to, if she was speaking to anyone at all. One life cut down for another. Well yes that is the way of the world. A wildfire is a healthy thing for even the most ancient forests. As a mage, Rose understood the role of destruction and reconstruction very well. It was fundamental to the magic arts on many levels, but did this woman intend to imply more.

Rose took a step away from the woman, Alula cautiously. Changing the subject she addressed the man who was going for bread. If she was going to cook, this seemed like something she should be involved in, "Sir, I would like to accompany you to find bread."

Vis took a long hard lookout the new woman to join the little group, she seemed polite enough and hoped that she wouldn't bring the scar up. "All righth then, leth go." Vis turned on the spot and started to make his way to the market again, there was bound to be a bakery somewhere in the maze of stalls and booths and if not there was probably a proper bakery somewhere in the town, though he wished to avoid proper bakeries as they were expensive. But as Vis walked with the company of the of the new one, he found that he wandered into the fleece market, looking around for the exit, his eyes fell on a booth selling scarves.

Vis felt compelled to go towards it and so he did, to take a look at what the vendor had on sale, there were many intricate designs but he longed for something simple like the scarf he gave to the girl, 'what was her name?... Alula'. He found what he was looking for, a simple black scarf, though it wasn't identical to his old one as this one had white ends, "How much?" Vis asked calmly, knowing that that phrase never lisped.

"25" Said the man, avoiding looking at Vis' disfigured face, Vis counted out the coins and bought the scarf, instantly wrapping it around his face and feeling much more comfortable that no one could see his scar.

"Now we thearch for bread." he said, turing to look at his companion.

Alula finally found the energy in herself to stand back up straight, no longer able to stand the burn from leaning against the Paladin. She tugged her hat down over her eyes, finding her spinning vision extremely disoriented. She listened for a moment, picking up that the new girl and the half-elf were going off to buy bread, and were perhaps planning on taking the gnome along. She wanted to peek out and confirm her suspicions, but didn't want to risk another wave of dizziness. She listened to the paladin and new women speak to each other. The paladin introduced himself to the girl, and Alula mentally scolded herself for not being able to remember their names.

The girl sounded pleasant enough, she spoke to Carver in a respectful tone. And yet she knew that the newcomer was already distrustful of Alula.

Suddenly, almost too quickly, Alula's hat tipped back. She revealed her glowing eyes to a man who was passing by, a bag full of purchased goods. She took a step away from Carver, speaking to the man in a distant and knowing tone.

"Talk to your wife about what you long for, she will understand and heed to your request."

The man looked flustered as he looked Alula up and down and hurried off.

She tipped her hat back down, dizziness again washing over her as she spoke. "That man wants his wife to tie his hands to the bedpost, I couldn't guess why though."

Carver watched the man walk off in spite of himself. "Hmm... some things it's best not to know."

He turned to sit on a nearby tree stump, regarding Alula quizzically. "So, how does that work, milady? If you don't mind me asking? Are you an oracle, or just particularly intuitive?" In the monastery, he'd heard some stories of oracles - priests and channelers who could predict things that had not yet come to pass. His knowledge on the subject was limited, however, due to the fact that such miracles were generally the providence of night-time deities, the followers of whom the Crusaders that had trained Carver got along with... poorly (rather like rival groups of school-children.)

Carver wasn't sure that was what he was seeing now, but it seemed a good start, especially given her vague reference to the moon, earlier. He felt a sudden stab of worry that the question might send her into another panic - being the vessel to some future-telling power seemed rather like the sort of thing someone might get antsy about. "I'm just making small talk while we wait, of course. Don't feel obligated to give me an answer."

A strange sense of familiarity came over Furnace as he watched Rose.
The way she moved with confident certainty, talked clearly and boasted extensive knowledge on food creation.
Using many arcane terms Furnace wasn't familiar with. Though strangely she specifically called the iron giant 'a man of the cloth'.
All of her was completely alien to Furnace. And yet something resonated with him and he couldn't figure out what it was.

"Perhaps you could take this one? It seems he could use an education in the wonders of commerce."

Education
The steel-clad friend had proposed Furnace forged a bond with the uncloaked man like the one with the voice.
This idea made Furnace see Vis in a different light. Could he and the voice be alike? Furnace was sceptical, but intrigued.

The food conjurer wished to join Vis, she probably also wanted an education in 'the wonders of commerce'
If they were indeed alike, perhaps the idea made sense. Furnace now wished to follow as well.
They would learn these wonders, and then maybe she would demonstrate her food conjuring.
Furnace followed the two trough the market.

The uncloaked man moved swiftly and with calculated step. He knew where he was going.
Furnace chose to walk next to the food conjurer. He felt compelled to find out more about her.
"Uhm. It is a pleasure to meet a woman of stews and roasted meats."

Furnace stood next to her and struggled to divide attention to her and the uncloaked man who suddenly took a turn to approach one of the tables with crafting materials. Presumably so he could demonstrate the first lesson.

The first wonder was a small ritual riddle.

The instigator chooses a fabric and speaks the incantation "How much"
The man at the table gives a number, the instigator must meet that number in golden sheets.

A simple test if you know the ritual. Why the sheets were golden or what the purpose of this ritual was was unclear to Furnace.

He had had plenty of time to think over Separ’s words while assembling his crossbow, but honestly, he wasn’t sure at all. This was certainly a strange travelling group- and Kelvin wasn’t all that interested in adventures so much as the next mechanical project to work on. There was nothing left to do here though. He might as well move on. Kelvin waited for the group to separate off, some going shopping with the new warrior, others staying. He approached Separ. ”I’ll stay.” Kelvin sighed and lowered his bag to the ground, holding up a hand to stall the other man. ”Sorry, but you will have to trust me here; going through my bag could be dangerous for others.” He shifted things around a bit, careful not to disrupt his organization. It had to be packed carefully to make everything fit- and to ensure all the explosives and paper would stay dry.

”I am sorry to say I will be a bit of a burden, as I don’t have any food supplies, or much money to compensate for that.” Kelvin shrugged. ”As for my gear… I have… rope, in multiple sizes, stakes, a tarp, some paper, extra crossbow darts… ” Kelvin straightened and put his pack back on, coughing. ”And, uh…” He held up a hand and counted on his fingers. ”Some gunpowder, a couple of sticks of dynamite, a bucket,” Do most people even know what gunpowder is? ”In general, stuff that can make a big bang.” He scratched his cheek and looked down at his belt, brightening. ”Right, and these. Just tools of the trade, hammer, some screwdrivers and bits. A bear trap- you know.” Kelvin shifted nervously on his feet.

”I just need a bit of food here and there, and I should be alright.”

Alula fiddled her thumbs anxiously, watching Carver casually sit down on the tree stump. Was she supposed to sit down too? Was that appropriate? A calming voice recomposed her, telling her that she could remain standing and that there was no need for her to sit in the grass and dirty her robes. And yet Alula still looked bothered, gnawing on her lip. She tugged her hat down over her eyes.

Could the paladin be trusted? Would he understand? Did she even understand? She shook despite the warmth of the air. Voices screamed to her, telling her that the man was a monster of the sun and was a danger to her. She should keep herself quiet, it was the only way to keep herself safe.

And yet his intent was still gentle. He added that he didn't need an answer. That she didn't feel like she needed to give an answer. She swallowed a lump in her throat, trying to calm her shaking. She attempted to speak, but her voice came out much weaker then she intended.

"Y-yes...an oracle of sorts. The girl was an oracle. But...how it...works..." She paused, tugging the hat down over her eyes. "That...is a bit more..." She struggled for words, as if they were being pulled back. "Complicated..."

"Knowing your own darkness helps you understand the darknesses of other people."

Perhaps it was time to change the subject. She shifted nervously. "So...uh..." She struggled to find something to talk about. "What's it like...being a paladin...of the...uh...sun?" She blinked. "Is it hard to wear so much armor?" She smiled, as if comfortable talking about something for once. "It must be heavy!" Maybe this was because she was used to wearing cloth and carrying a stick as opposed to a sword.

"Alright, well I'm going to go an buy some supplies as well for everyone else, feel free to join me if you wish." As Separ was about to head out towards the marketplace he saw Kelvin approach him. "I'll stay." Separ couldn't help but smile at this as Kelvin lowered his bag on the ground and told him it would be better not to go through his bag as it could be dangerous. "That's fine with me, I wouldn't want to risk anyone injuring themselves, though I must say I'm really glad you decided to stay." Separ smiled happily as he watched Kelvin continue to reorganized his backpack. You sure have a lot of stuff in there, don't you? Separ thought to himself as the bag Kelvin had seemed to be stuffed with many different materials, and what Separ guessed were explosives.

"I am sorry to say I will be a bit of a burden, as I don’t have any food supplies, or much money to compensate for that.” Kelvin shrugged, as he then went on to list what supplies he had available to him. Sure he didn't actually have any food supplies or coin, but what he did have lots of gear and equipment that would be a great asset for the team for sure. "Surely you must be joking, you have quite a bit of gear and equipment here. I doubt you'd slow us down at all. I'm sure you'll be a valued member of the team, so you need not worry Kelvin." Separ looked around at the remaining members of the group who had chosen to stay here rather than go on the shopping trip for food. "If anyone wants to come with me I'm going to go and get some tents and sleeping bags, maybe some snacks as well or anything else provided I have enough money for it." As Separ said this he took out a rather large bag filled with golden coins. It was larger than anyone elses, though only just slightly above Alula's.

And with that Separ headed off to a different section of the marketplace, and after a bit of walking approached a store which sold general gear. Entering the building he saw various non-magical gear and equipment all stored on racks as well as a couple shelves of dried food. Upon seeing some tents though, Separ went up towards them and picked up four boxes of them, as well as a backpack for himself. With his items in tow he went up to the shopkeeper, a young woman who, while Separ guessed wasn't the actual owner, was probably related to them in one way or another. "How much here for the tents and backpack?" Separ asked, as he laid them out on the counter and reached for his coin bag.

The girl looked up at Separ, "120 gold all together, will that be all?" She asked, she smiled at the size of his coin bag, showing that she upped the price since he had a lot of money, sadly Separ is un-perceptive and didn't notice. "You going on a camping trip or something."

"120 gold pieces? Isn't that a bit much?" Separ asked as he started to pull out the money regardless. Sure he was surprised by the price, but the gear seemed to be of at least decent quality, and well Separ didn't actually know how much these usually rang up for. Maybe all tents were this expensive? Whatever the case, Separ shrugged it off and naively handed her the money. "I'm not really going camping by the way, more like going on an adventure with some people I just met. They're all pretty nice." Separ turned around and looked a little bit more around the store, then realized he had forgotten to pick up sleeping bags. He quickly rushed over and picked up all eight of them and laid them on the counter as well. "And how much for these?"

"4 each, so 32." Once again she upped the price, and once again Separ took no notice. "So you and 7 others huh? You sure 4 tents is going to be enough, you may need one more."

"Sure thing, here you go." Said Separ as he handed her the cash, but just before he could hand it to her she asked if he needed one more tent. "Huh? Why would I need one more tent? There's eight of us after all so that would be two per tent. Wait are you just trying to get me to buy more stuff so I can spend more money than I should? Well your plan isn't going to work if that's what your suggesting. I'm just going to pay for this stuff and that's it." And with that Separ handed her the money, though as he prepared to leave he saw some simple medical supplies as well. Bandages, gauze, disinfectant, the works. "Uh, but first, how much are those?" Separ asked, pointing at the supplies.

"No, of course not, but there may be that one person who wants to be alone." She stops when Separ says something and looks to where he's pointing. "Oh, the medkit, that would be 40 gold." This Separ catches, he's been through enough bandages to know that the medkit is only 20 at best.

Separ shocked at the price picks up the medkit and examines it thoroughly, there's no way the medkit should cost this much money at all. Confused and a bit annoyed he went up to the woman and placed the medkit on the counter. "This is just a normal medkit, there's no way it should be this expensive. It's double the price of other medkits." Separ sighed as he realized she may have even cheated him on the other prices as well. What a fool I have been. I fell for her trap so easily. "Did you increase the price of everything I have bought in here?" Separ questioned her sternly.

"Noooo, why would a merchant ever exaggerate prices, besides you already bought it with no complaints so you can't do anything now, as for the medkit, you're right, it shouldn't be that expensive, but due to supply and demand, especially since you have 8 people going off on an adventure where injuries are certain and the demand for meds will be high, the price of the supply is also, you guessed it, high. Now pay the 40 gold or get out of here."