Morning came and the sun was already held highly aloft, as it almost never ceases to be present in the sky. What ultimately woke Arianna was not the light, but the smell of the kitchens downstairs preparing the inn's breakfast. In her excitement, she scurried on downstairs, taking only her staff and nearly forgetting her cloak.

For now, as it was still early, there were few patrons sat in the tavern at the bottom floor. The facilities were moderately sized and spacious, especially for one of Arianna's height. The inner walls were layed with wooden boards as opposed to the stacked logs on the outside of the building. The floors were made with boards of assorted ages and types as they needed to be replaced more often due to drunken foolery. The furniture was especially mismatched, being so commonly replaced that the owner simply purchased any chairs and tables that were available at the time. The bar was long and lined with stools high enough for a Dwarf to comfortably sit upon. One of these stools had a small block of wood underneath it, making it effectively taller. Arianna claimed this seat as her own, peering into the kitchens that were visible just beyond through a little window opening in the wall and inhaling the scent happily.

You know what the worst part of this job is? Getting up in the morning after a hard night's drinking. Mayu never understood why some patrons would stay up until after midnight and others would get up at six in the bloody morning. SIX. Even the gods didn't get up that early, and she would know.

Regardless, Mayu was downstairs as the cooks began breakfast, her usual not-so-cheery self amplified by the early morning rays of sunlight and the growling in her stomach. Plus that blasted hangover. You'd think Aasimars wouldn't get hangovers after a couple hundred years, but instead they just kept coming. Probably something to do with the amount of alcohol she consumed. What did she even do last night? She was pretty sure she went to bed alone, as she found no patrons next to her that morning, but something in the back of her mind told her that she had agreed to something important.

Oh. Right. Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiittttt....

Mayu immediately remembered as soon as she saw the bright and cheerful look on Arianna's face. "An adventure? I suppose it couldn't hurt. I've been here long enough anyways..." That wouldn't have been too bad, except now she realized the true folly to her answer. Arianna was, for some reason unknown to gods and men, a morning person. Was it too late to take back her response?

As she often did when she was unsure of things (which funny enough, didn't happen very often), she closed her eyes and directed her thoughts heavenward. So, Daddy. What do you think? Should I go with her? As she prayed, she set her head down on the counter, feeling the cool, smooth countertop against her aching temples. Please, for the love of all the gods, say no.


Mayu felt her throbbing headache fade and the imposing sense of pressure on her temples lift for a moment after the prayer was completed. But only for a moment, as it came back suddenly and violently, causing a sharp ringing in her ear as the front door of the tavern was slammed shut in the same instant. "Thanks, Dad," she muttered out loud, lifting her head to see what asshole thought slamming the door during breakfast was a good idea.

Ilumen anxiously rubs his hand across the cloak. He is gazing far into the distance, nearly the horizon. He is able to see land, meaning that this trip is nearly over after about a week of sailing. The trip wasn't particularly bad, this ferry may have been very good at some point; but, the many years seem to have caused it a lot of damage. The rails are more rust than metal at this point, the floorboards have been cracking in some portions of the ship, and he has even seen some repairs done by tying two of the parts together.

Still though, Ilumen is thankful he managed to make it this far. It had taken him nearly an hour of talking to the sailor, showing the sailor Ilumen's ticket, and avoiding giving away personal information before the sailor agreed to take him to the mainland. Ilumen knew that if the sailor knew he was a frost tiefling then the sailor would probably throw him overboard. Lucky for him, he had a nice, semi-new cloak to rely on for some semblance of a hiding place.

Ilumen sighs quite loudly now, his shoulders slump beneath the cloak to indicate the twinge of sadness and regret he had for leaving behind Brick. Brick, of course, had fully supported the decision for him to explore the mainland, but Ilumen had just not felt like he was fully prepared to leave him. Before Ilumen had traveled to the pier where he would be taking the ferry, Brick had decided to talk to him. Alongside their exchange of farewells and good lucks, Brick had given him the cloak that he is wearing at the present moment. The cloak was, and still is, a wonderful article of clothing. It is dark, navy blue with a gold yellow trim and several small, complex designs on it. Unfortunately, the cloak was probably pulled out of an old box that belonged to Brick; as the edges showed minor damages, like it had been through a lot in its time.

Ilumen Really hoped that this adventure would pay off, and that he wouldn't regret traveling with Arianna in the near future. Ilumen had, after all, put a lot of faith in the chance that he would earn respect from adventuring.

---

Ilumen is making his way through the town, trying to keep a consistent and normal pace as to not draw attention to himself. Ilumen is inconspicuously glancing side to side at the buildings, hoping to find the tavern soon. Ilumen may not be known in this village, but previous experience has taught him that not very many people like tieflings. A few glances at his direction were nearly enough to cause him to attack the nearest person and run, but Ilumen controls his actions, for now. Ilumen is thankful for the one blessing he had: there are no nearby spiders.

Ilumen does not have to look for the tavern for long; the town was not extremely large, probably a few buildings less than the town on the island. The building with a sign that read "The Frozen Ogre" stands nearby, causing Ilumen to internally give a sigh of relief. Ilumen had thought that he would cave and attack someone before finding it. Ilumen makes his way to the tavern, taking steps that are longer than usual in order to make it there faster. Ilumen makes haste to open the door the moment he reached it and, during his panic, accidentally closes the door behind him much more roughly than intended. He winces slightly at the sound it makes, hoping that he didn't just attract the attention he hates.

This was not the greeting Merrillka expected. She had only just entered the town and stood near the tavern door when someone else passed before her and slammed the door in her face. She supposed it was her fault. Most people didn't pay any attention to her presence. To be fair, that was a good thing. It gave her the feeling of being dead, or at least a ghost. She was only half of either. Regardless, The Frozen Ogre was the right place - it's not an easy name to forget, nor is it a common one.

She opened the door, stepped in, and closed it much more gracefully behind her than the previous door-enterer. Casually stepping up to the bar, as if she'd been here many times before, she looked to the barkeep. Before she could utter a word (but after she raised her hand like she was going to say something profound), she noticed two things. First, the bartender looked ridiculously hungover. Second, she saw her question didn't even need to be asked. She may not have the best of facial recognition for dead people, but ones she expected to see again tended to stick. She lowered her hand and sat next to the woman who had summoned her here with a chain of dead souls.

"Arianna." She said, not so much a question as a 'this is who you are, I remember you, and I am acknowledging your existence.'