Morning dawned on Soren, a small, independent village founded on racial harmony. The citizens awoke, and went about their daily business. One citizen in particular, Emtardas, the eccentric general store owner, walked to the edge of town, peering at the horizon in anticipation.

"What are you looking for?" asked the small, dark-skinned young child behind him in a deadpan voice.

"Reas! Get back to the store and man the counter!" Emtardas said, exasperated.

"I left clipboard out so our customers can write their requests in. I'll deliver the goods afterwards," Reas explained.

"Still, it leaves a bad impression if our customers can't get what they want when they want, and instead have to wait for your delivery..." Emtardas explained, but Reas refused to budge, staring up at him with zir piercing, red eyes. "...fine, the traveling merchant that used to come? She's retiring, but she told me she'd find someone to replace her. We've recently run out of a few things so I'm waiting for the caravan to arrive and to see what her replacement's like."

"I'll keep watch; you should go back to the shop, our customers are waiting," Reas said, not without a little mischief.

"You get back to work!" Emtardas cried.

Meanwhile, three elves were travelling towards Soren, accompanied by a caravan that was being pulled by a young, brown mare. The young elf and since recently the owner of the caravan let out a sigh, looking at his father. "How much longer is it?" Ryul asked.

"We should be close now." Illithor answered to the boy. In all honesty he was getting tired from being on the road the whole time. He much more preferred a nice house and a soft bed rather than being on the road.

"Well either way, I have no intentions of staying long. Just one day and I'll be travelling again." Ryul answered.

"It's a shame that you're leaving so quickly. It's nice to have you around." Talila said to the boy, at which Ryul snorted.

"Yeah, right. As if you care. You just want to screw my dad."

"Ryul! Don't talk to Talila like that!" The onder elf said, not sounding pleased with his son's behaviour.

"I see a cart!" Emtardas said, taking a few steps forward. Then turning to Reas, "Go get Malkas, I'm sure he'll want to meet our new merchant."

"I thought you wanted me to watch the shop," Reas said.

"Get going!" Emtardas yelled. As Reas slowly made zir way back to the village, Emtardas approached the caravan. He turned to Illithor, "Welcome to our humble village. I'm Emtardas, the general store owner, and the one you'll most likely be doing the most business with. I presume you're our new traveling merchant?"

---

Back in town, Reas went straight to Malkas' house and let him know that the caravan had arrived. Ze then went back to the store and checked the clipboard for any orders that had been placed.

"My name is Ilithor and these are my son Ryul and my girlfriend, Talila, but I'm not the new merchant, that would be my son. Talila and I are simply looking for a place to settle." Ilithor answered.

Ryul looked at the man and showed him a friendly smile. "It's good to meet you, sir." He said, hoping to make a good first impression.

Talila showed Emtardas a friendly smile, but didn't say anything for the moment.

Emtardas looked at the family, trying to extract more information out of them beyond what had been said. His lazy gaze seemed to momentarily pierce them in an unsettling way, but the sensation soon faded. "A place to settle?" Emtardas asked, "How wonderful! We are a tolerant community, and are very accepting of...unorthodox lifestyles." He said this as his eyes darted between Illithor and Talila, noting their light elf/dark elf relationship. "You'll get along with our mayor just fine." He seriously hoped that Reas was getting Malkas right now, as new citizens was definitely something the mayor needed to be notified of immediately.

"Good to meet you too, Ryul," Emtardas said, turning to the younger elf. "I'll be relying on the goods you bring; I think we'll get along swimmingly as long as you don't mind a few...eccentricities..."

Malkas soon arrived. Emtardas noticed that Reas was not following him, making him wonder where the child had run off to. He hoped she was watching the shop. Emtardas introduced the family, "This is Illithor, his girlfriend Talila, and our new merchant, his son, Ryul. The couple are looking to settle here in Soren."

"I see, I'm them mayor of Soren, Malkas," Malkas said with some seriousness, "We'll have Harin and Gil build a house for you, which will take some time. In the meanwhile, we've got room at the inn, run by my wife. But as you can see, Soren is a small community so every household needs to contribute. What skill or profession will you be providing?"

---

Seeing that nobody had placed any orders on the clipboard, confirming that Emtardas was a worrywart, Reas left the shop and headed to the healer's place. Being a creature made with magic, Reas felt a special connection with Elizabeth, who was a fairy, and enjoyed spending zir free time with her. Reas checked to see if Elizabeth was home.

"Not at all, sir." Ryul said when Emtardas mentioned something about eccentricities. Of course it was possible that he would meet odd people, or would get odd requests, but to him, that made job only more fun and enjoyable.

"I do have skills, but I don't think that they'll be of any use for you." Talila admitted to Malkas. She had been a thief for all her life before meeting Ilithor, but she didn't see how that would be useful for the village. More of a bother, if anything.

"I worked as a fisherman back at the village where I came from, so I can do that if you still need a fisherman." Ilithor suggested. It was something he was good at, so it was the best thing he could offer.

Elizabeth, who wasn't busy with her work at the moment, got up and walked over to the door when she heard someone knocking. It didn't sound like the urgent, panicked knock of someone in need, so the fairy doubted that something was wrong. When she opened the door and saw Reas, Elizabeth smiled at zir. "Hello Reas." She said, stepping aside so that ze could come inside. She knew that Reas enjoyed being around here, and ze was a fun person to have around, so Elizabeth didn't mind the visits.

Malkas smiled upon hearing Illithor mention his profession, and turned to Emtardas, "I think one of the triplets fishes, but only for fun; we don't have a professional angler in the village." Turning back to Talila, "I apologize if I made it sound like Soren only accepted people with useful skills, that wasn't my intent. But as mayor, I have to keep track of these things. Even if refugees came seeking shelter, Soren would welcome them, in fact, pretty much everyone here is a refugee in their own way. Well then, Please come with me, I can show you to the inn and have my wife prepare a room for you three. Of course Ryul, if you'd like to go with Emtardas to see the general store first and sell your wares, feel free to do so."

Malkas and Emtardas began heading back towards the village.

---

While Reas liked Elizabeth, ze still kept up a stoic, emotionless front around her. Ze was only really ever mischievous to Emtardas, to everyone she was respectful and to the point, though there would be moments where Reas' affection would shine through to Elizabeth. "If you're in need of foreign herbs, the new merchant has arrived," Reas said plainly. Ze looked around the building; no matter how many times ze looked at it, ze appreciated the tidiness of the medicine cabinets and the overall cleanliness of a house of healing. But this one didn't feel sterile and cold, it was warm and welcoming. Ze didn't like labs where unethical experiments were performed.

Illithor and Talila followed after Malkas, not at all seeming to mind the fact that they would have to sleep in a room at the tavern for the time being. If anything, it was still better than having to sleep at the side of the road after so long, so neither of them saw a reason to complain about the situation they were going to be in.

Ryul followed after Emtardas, unlike his father and Talila. If anything, he would indeed like to sell his goods first and just get on the road after a few days again. If anything, to him it was much better than being around his father and Talila.

Elizabeth smiled when Reas told her that the merchant arrived. "Thank you for letting me know. I believe I still had enough in stock, but I'll check to make sure if there isn't anything I need." She said, noticing Reas looking around, as ze usually did. "Say, Reas, would you like it if I told a bit more about the herbs I use sometime? I know you help your father out at the store, but if you get a day off, you can always come over here and I'll gladly tell you more." Elizabeth suggested to Reas, looking at zir.

Malkas, Illithor and Talila arrived at the inn, the largest building in town which also doubled as both Town Hall and Malkas' home. Each section was separated into separate wings. Upon entering the inn, they were greeted by Anya and Teann. "This is my wife, Anya, and daughter, Teann," Malkas introduced, "These are Illithor and Talila, new prospective residents. Their son is the new merchant," Malkas added mistakenly.

"A pleasure to meet you," Anya said, glad to see other elves.

Teann smiled and gave a polite bow.

---

"So, I take it Talila isn't your mother?" Emtardas asked Ryul, cutting to the chase. he had been perceptive enough to so some animosity between Ryul and Talila, and this was his first guess.

He led Ryul to his shop, and seeing that it was clearly unmanned, give a quick, "Tch!" followed by, "That child..." Behind the house was a small warehouse. Emtardas went in and took out a list of the items he needed to restock and handed the list to Ryul.

---

Reas' eyes lit up, which was pretty rare for zir, and nodded vigorously. "I would like that very much," Reas replied.

"Actually, Ryul isn't Talila's son. His biological mother passed." Ilithor corrected Malkas. It didn't make much of a difference, though, as he knew that Ryul wouldn't accept Talila as his mother regardless of what was being said.

Talila smiled to the two of them. "It's very nice to meet you two."

Upon hearing Emtardas' question, Ryul shook his head. "No, she isn't. My mother died when the village I was born in was attacked. While we were on our way to find somewhere else to live, my father met Talila." He explained, taking a look at the list that Emtardas handed to him and taking the items he had out of his caravan.

Elizabeth smiled upon seeing Reas' reaction. She knew that ze usually didn't show much emotion, but ze looked excited about it. "Alright, like I said, you can come over anytime and I'll gladly teach you a thing or two."

"I'm sorry about your loss," Malkas said, wondering how she died. Was it war, or perhaps the famine and pestilence that was often brought about by war? In his mind Malkas disapproved of the existing nation, and renewed his resolve to make Soren a peaceful place free of the tragedies of constant conflict. "Well either way, I was thinking of giving you and your wife a room, and your son a neighboring room. Actually, Teann? Can you go and get Harin and Grom if they're not busy?"

"Yes father," Teann said with a small bow and left the building.

---

"Ah, another casualty of war," Emtardas said with a slightly indifferent look in his eyes. "Did any orders come from any of the neighboring towns?" he asked. Soren produced a little bit of extra produce and other goods in order to cover the costs of the things they bought from the merchant. Harin also produced furniture.

---

"Can you teach me now?" Reas asked excitedly, having no intention of helping out at zir father's shop.

Ilithor nodded, not seeing anything wrong with that. In fact, it was probably much better than putting the three of them in just one room. Ilithor had no doubt that Ryul wouldn't like the thought of sharing a room with Talila at all.

"Yeah, they ordered a few things." Ryul said, searching through the caravan and taking out a list with the ordered items on it.

Elizabeth smiled. "Sure, I don't see why not. What would you like to learn first?" She asked. Elizabeth had no customers at the moment anyway, and anything would be better than just waiting until someone sick or injured walked in.

"Here you are," Malkas said, showing them to their room. It wasn't big, but it didn't feel cramped. At the moment, all the rooms at the inn were unoccupied. "We usually house new residents at the inn until our carpenter, Harin can build a house for them. Otherwise, we don't usually get many guests except for maybe a few adventurers just passing through every once in a while."

By this time, Teann returned with Harin, a short thick dwarf with graying red hair, and Grom, a strong, muscular orc with black hair. "These are Harin, our carpenter, and Grom, our hunter and rancher," Malkas introduced, "While I am the mayor, these two are, along with me, co-founders of Soren. These are Illithor, a fisherman, and his girlfriend, Talila, our new citizens."

"Welcome," Harin said stroking his flaming red beard, "We can talk about the specifications for your new house over dinner."

"Welcome to Soren," Grom said. Unlike other orcs Illithor may have seen, Grom did not have fangs. Without fangs, he appeared much friendlier, and also did not suffer from bad breath, "It will be good to have an alternative source of food, especially during bad years."

---

Emtardas looked over the list. "Looks like Harin's handiwork is gaining a reputation. Hmm...there seems to be a need for wool too...are people expecting a harsh winter? Alright, we'll prepare these items in preparation for your next visit. I have the items that were ordered previously in the warehouse. Would you like any help loading and unloading? I could always call some of the younger folk."

---

Reas looked at the medicine cabinet. "Which ones can be found around Soren?"

Ilithor nodded. He noticed Grom's lack of fangs, but didn't find it needed to point it out or ask about them. Not only did he not want to seem rude, it was of no importance why the orc had no fangs, neither. "Thank you for welcoming us. We look forward to living here."

Ryul nodded. "Yes, some help would be nice." He said, although he already got started with unloading the items himself already, figuring that they could always start helping out once they got there.

"There are a few. This one can be mixed with this one, and help to reduce the pain of a burn wound." Elizabeth explained, showing Reas a light green leaf first that seemed to have a bit of a white glow in it, and a similar one, although it had a darker colour of green.

"Alright, we'll let you two unpack your belongings," Malkas said, "If you need anything, Anya will usually be in our side of the building, Teann's usually around the front desk or kitchen, oh, and I have a son, Kalram, if he's not running chores, then he could be anywhere. We're planning on having a modest dinner for the whole village. It's a good opportunity to meet everyone." Malkas, Anya, Harin, Grom, and Teann left Illithor and Talila to their business.

---

"Yes, well, normally I'd call my child, Reas to go fetch some help, but ze's not here right now, probably ran off somewhere. I'll be right back," Emtardas said leaving, and muttering under his breath.

---

Reas listened intently to Elizabeth's words, trying to learn what ze could. Then a though crossed zir mind, "If there are new people, Mr. Malkas will probably have a village dinner." Ze remembered when Elizabeth came, as well as when Eline and Elliot came, that such a thing had happened.

Ilithor sat down when everyone but he and Talila had left for the moment, pulling the dark elf down to sit next to him and smiled at her. There wasn't anything he had to unpack, anyway, having lost most of his belongings when his wife had died. "So, what do you think of this place?" He asked her.

"It's small, for as far as we have seen, and the people er have met until now seem friendly. I think this village looks like a perfect place to live and raise a child." Talila answered, giving Ilithor a kiss.

Ryul nodded and continued to unlead the items, figuring that it was no use to waste time doing nothing while he waited for help to arrive.

Just when Elizabeth had put back the two herbs and wanted to show Reas some other ones, she heard zir mentioning about a village dinner, making her look up. "Have you already seen the new villagers?" She asked with mild curiosity.

Emtardas came back with a young dwarf with red hair. Slightly out of breath, Emtardas said, "This is Ryul, our new merchant, Ryul, this is Gil, apprentice carpenter. There are more coming, I got one of the kids to help me get more people."

"Pleasure to meet you," Gil said, extending a hand. "I hear you've got some orders for my father's goods?" he said, making small talk while helping to unload.

---

"No, I haven't," Reas replied, "I only saw the caravan before father told me to watch the store."

---

"Mr. Elliot!" Kalram, a young elf boy said as he went into the blacksmith's shop, "Mr. Emtardas said that the merchant's here and needs help unloading the carts."

"Yeah, a few chairs and tables, I believe." Ryul answered as they were unloading things. The dwarf seemed nice enough, and it couldn't hurt to get to know some people.

"Shouldn't you be in the shop then, in that case?" Elizabeth asked Reaa when ze said ze was supposed to watch the shop. Though ir wouldn't be the first time ze did something like this.

Elliot paused his work when one of the younger elves told him that the merchant needed help unloading things. He nodded and put his equipment aside, following Kalram to Emtardas' shop.

"Great," Gil replied and continued to help.

Meanwhile, a young, tall, strong-looking orc came. "Kalram said the merchant was here?" he asked before seeing Gil and Ryul, "Name's Bormash, a pleasure."

Kalram arrived with Elliot soon after.

---

Reas looked away mischievously. "What's that?" Reas asked, pointing at a herb, trying to change the subject.

"It's good to meet you." Ryul said to Bormash with a friendly smile.

"You must be the new merchant. My name is Elliot, I'm the blacksmith." Elliot introduced himself, to which Ryul responded by introducing himself again and continuing with the work afterwards.

Elizabeth smiled when Reas changed the subject. Though she wasn't going to send Reas away, zir reaction made it clear that ze wasn't supposed to be here at the moment. "That's a foreign herb, it grows in more tropical climates, as it's too cold around here for the plant to survive." Elizabeth explained, picking up the herb that had a fiery colourisation. "It helps greatly in case of hypothermia, but there's something unique about it. If you want, you can feel it for yourself." Elizabeth continued, holding out the herb to Reas. If ze would hold the herb, or even just touch it, ze would realise that it radiated a soft and pleasant warmth.