Dannisus nodded quietly along with the commentary being made about his people. While his lifestyle in the forest was hardly comparable to slavery, men were not acknowledged or given positions of power. He looked to Lui and shrugged with a feint smile, nodding at her comment about the loud women behind them. His eyes went back to the table scratches again shortly after. "Myti women don't treat our men like garbage, it's not like that. They just treat us like..." He puckered his lips to one side and thought about it for a second while tracing some of the scratches in the table with his finger. "Children?" He looked up. That seemed right. They certainly treated him like he didn't know any better at home, like a little boy. Then again, he was still 14 when he ran away. His perspective of Myti culture had matured quite significantly since his adolescence. "Myti females... Mature very quickly. Our men just... Don't." He shook his head and began tapping on his leather-bound booklet. "We age slowly during our childhood, like humans. Biologically, male Myti are completely inferior to our female kin. So they act as our protectors. It's pretty important to keep men alive, especially during-" He cut himself off and shook his head. "Ah, regardless, people are rather mean outside of the forest." His nose twitched yet again and he looked Lui over. "Sorry," he huffed, leaning towards he slightly, "I know you're likely busy, but do you mind me asking about your eye?" He pointed at it. His expression wasn't one of sheer curiosity, though. Something about it worried him. He pulled himself back and waved his hand. "It's ok if you don't want to talk about it! I just can't- What I mean is I, uh- My nose," He pointed at his nose, "I have a very good nose for mana and it's- Well it's uh.." Dannisus found himself stumbling over his words. Before Lui could affirm or deny his curiosity, he pulled his book up from the table in a hurry and showed both Lui and Aelih a random page of its contents.

"Magic!" He blurted out, "I study magical artifacts!" He pointed towards his book, and then towards her eye. "Your eye reeks of mana- I mean, it doesn't reek, it smells fine, but mana... Well..." He stopped short and lowered his book slightly, before mouthing the word 'research' with a frown. Maybe he shouldn't have said anything.

Lui curiously listened to the Myti's story. He spoke of the differences between males and females among Myti. So it wasn't just humans who had genders? Then is it just elves who don't have genders? Or do elf genders just not look different at all?

I should ask Aelih. They seem nice enough. Oh and I should ask Dani about his ear.

Then he began talking about the Myti females maturing very quickly. Lui never really 'grew up' so she had no clue what it was like to 'mature'. Dani seemed about to explain why it's so important to keep male Myti alive, but then he suddenly stopped.

Why'd he stop? Is it some kind of big secret he's not allowed to tell us? Are Myti males crucial to a Myti plan to conquer the entire island? Do Myti males become Weapons of Mass Destruction when they grow up? Why won't he tell us!

Lui was about to ask him when Dani beat her to asking a question. Or, well, trying to ask a question. It seemed like Dani hadn't quite mastered the art of conversation yet, but that's normal. Neither had Lui after all, so it must be normal, right?

But nevertheless, the point came across. Dani researched artifacts and he was able to tell that Lui's eye was magical. Apparently he smelt it or something? Whatever the case, Lui had already anticipated someone asking her about it...

"It's... a long story, really. Basically, the person who owned me decided it would be a good idea to replace my eye with some thing he found..." Lui quietly said, hoping that what she was saying wasn't audible in other parts of the room. After all, the Myti and the Elf seemed trustworthy, they hadn't yet tried to tie her up when they had the opportunity so they were at least more trustworthy than most people she'd met. She wasn't very sure about the other people around though...

"...I'd take it out to show it to you but it really doesn't want to get out... Last time I tried all I did was get my hands and clothes covered in blood." Lui said, sighing.

"But, now that you've asked me a question I get to ask you one! What happened to your ear?" Lui blurts out, trying to change the subject before people with... bad intentions overheard the conversation.

Jack merely watched Fauve as she laughed at the heavily simplified story of how he had obtained his gauntlets. Not surprising in the least; Jack was well aware of how it sounded. Drinking from the moonshine she had previously slid towards him as she continued, followed by Gabriel's own assessment of his story, Jack set down the drink as he responded, "Believe what you want, but that's what happened... more or less." Jack turned to Gabriel as he continued, "There is indeed more to the story, but I don't expect either of you intend to listen to some stranger's history."

He shifted the moonshine to the side, thinking for a moment before adding, "As for the traveler, eccentric is one way to put it. He was, however, responsible for my freedom, and as such I choose not to question him or his reasons." Jack lifts the moonshine, drinking from it once more. Finishing it off, he slid the now-empty mug over to the side of the table again. "Now. If that's all, I'd like to return to my meal." Of course, given how these sorts of encounters usually went, he didn't expect that it would be, but he would take the chance that it might.

However, before either of them had the chance to answer- or he had the chance to continue his meal without letting them answer- Jack's focus was drawn from the two at his table by the entrance of another unusual individual. He was tall, tall enough to strike his head on the way in- the sound of which being what caught his attention in the first place. Taller even than Jack was, something that he hadn't seen in anyone even roughly human-like since his childhood. Looked fairly strong as well, and appeared to belong to a race of some sort that Jack didn't recognize. Something he'd have to ask about, should a conversation between them occur.

It was only then, with his focus drawn away from Fauve and Gabriel, that Jack noticed that the hooded woman had returned from the upstairs; in addition, another person had joined the Myti and the Elf at their table. A bored teenager that had wandered off to the tavern, perhaps? Unlikely, given the time. Like with Gabriel, something about this person struck Jack as being odd, but from where he was he couldn't tell what. Perhaps time would tell; with the way things seemed to be shaping up, it was only a matter of time before some event occurred that would bring all the unusual and interesting patrons of the tavern together.

Or perhaps it was just coincidence and such things don't happen outside of books and fables. Still, it was an entertaining train of thought.

Lui's explanation, although short, brought a frown to Dannisus' face. Humans weren't usually as used to the kind of prejudice he, or any of the other races had to put up with, especially not slavery. But she seemed awfully fine with it, though, immediately directing her attention to his ear. It flapped slightly, and his eyes darted upwards for a second. "Oh," He chirped, reaching up to gently rub the length of his stubby ear, "I was tagged a few years back while passing through Thoris." He flapped and bent his ear a little more, revealing where the flesh was scarred underneath his fur. "Well, tagged, um- Like with a tag, a Mana trap. It's a type of piercing that fuses with your flesh and suppresses mana flow. So I uh..." He swept his hand across his ear. "Sliced it off and escaped." His ears wiggled slightly. "It hurt a lot at first, but now it's fine. Makes it kind of hard to hear though- Like there's always a bunch of water in my ear or something, or ah- Um, that thing that climbers get on top of the mountain that I keep hearing about?" He snapped his finger next to his ear a couple times, and then rested both hands comfortably on the table. "It's not so bad though." He wiggled his nose slightly, and sniffed. Something about the room was starting to get stuff him up. "Nggya, I don't mind being a little deaf. What's worse is the smell in here." He slowly put his booklet away and swayed his body around to take a look at the rest of the bar. "Humans have a really pungent odor, their sweat is like vinegar. He turned back to Lui and then realized something that he probably should have picked up earlier. She didn't smell like a human at all!

The sound of hoof beats and an abrupt thump pulled his attention back towards the tavern's entrance. He snapped towards it quite quickly and let out a very quiet mya. With the new guest, the tavern was slowly turning into a racial convention. Elves were more common than Myti, but an Ipotane? He'd only seen one outside of Sylsashia, and they'd been very rude to him. Dannisus still remembered the smell they carried. It gave the newcomer away almost immediately, and reminded him of a very unpleasant conversation.

As he looked to see who it might've been though, he caught eye of that mean woman from earlier, as she was descending the tavern staircase. Dannisus' face went pale and he immediately turned to address Aelih, huffing quietly with a small smiled. "What about you, Ayleh?.. Ah- Ehm, that wasn't right.." He looked away, towards the ground, and shook his hand gently. That troublesome accent of his was starting to show. "Ayli- Ah.. I can't quite pronounce that properly, ha- I'm sorry." Something about the room was starting to get under his skin. Slowly but surely, the tufts of fur, most notably around his ears, were starting to stand on end. He whipped his tail impatiently. There were a great deal of people in the tavern now. People with significant amounts of mana. "I don't know much about elves!" Dannisus said quickly, trying to distract himself from his nerves, "Or you- Like, where you came from, and why you carry an enchanted spear around- You know, uh..." He took a deep breath, quietly, and looked past her at the Ipotane that entered the room. Thankfully he didn't recognize him. Dannisus looked back at Aelih and tilted his head. "...Stuff, heh."

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The Myti's reaction to Fauve's outburst played on her thoughts. It wasn't that it made her angry at all, it was just kind of irritating to let the cat think, or anyone for that matter, that they could get away with being supercilious towards her.

To rid the irritation from her system she twisted back in her seat with a delayed response, and yelled at him; "Settle down, you big pussy!"

Fauve had to hand it to the Gabriel, though, he wasn’t the sensitive Orchid Child she had first taken him for. He didn’t care at all for the insult she slung at him. Regardless, he still seemed to have a knack for annoying her. His cordial demeanor and unctuous manner of speech made her want to punch him in the face. Jack, on the other hand, still hadn’t managed to piss her off. Most people would have at this point.

“Well, you hit the nail on the head right there.” She said, in response to Jack’s comment about not wanting to hear a stranger’s history. When Jack’s attention diverted to the Ipotane that walked into the tavern, she eased back in her chair and kicked one leg up discourteously on the table. “And how about you,” She said to Gabriel, and wagged her foot to and fro in his face. “Something tells me you’re just dying to tell us a little about your fine self.”

The barkeeper turned up at their table, delivering a new round of drinks to Gabriel and herself. “Thanks, Tubby, this round is on me!” She told him, and flipped a few coins carelessly in his direction. While the barkeeper scrambled to collect a couple of said coins from the floor, she took her own moonshine in one hand and commenced to her badgering of Gabriel. “So how about it, Tender Love, any stories about your secret life of crossdressing?” She took a swallow of her beverage and gave him an exaggerated wink.

Aelih calmly listened to Lui tell her story after Dannisus had told more about himself, and about the eye. ”Well that’s rather odd. So she is either a magic construct, or was a slave to a wizard, based on that. Let’s go for the first option.”

Aelih then turned to Dannisus as he started telling them about himself, and about an encounter with a mana tag. Nasty things, those. The only time those were in the elf city, the one Aelih grew up in, at least, was to destroy them. Elves liked freedom, of themselves and of magic.

”Hmm?” Oh, the Myti asked about the spear, and all. Aelih smiled, noting some signs of... irritation? Nervousness? ...something. The Myti was not relaxed, that much was for sure.

“It’s fine, don’t worry about pronouncing it too exactly. As for my story... well, to put it simply, I grew up in an elvish city than I think Wasn’t too far from here? I don’t remember how far it was at this point... anyways, after that city got burned down, somehow, I’ve spent my life wandering. As for the spear, well, that’s what I was trained in, so I kept it with me.” ”Oh, and he knew it was enchanted, intriguing. Not surprising but intriguing.”

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Barnaby eyed the whiskey as it was slid over the counter to him. He sure knew how to appreciate alcohol. Being so big, however, came with a high alcohol tolerance, which often kept Barnaby at an inn's bar all night, and certainly took his money away from him. Such was a price to pay, for a good drink. As far as this one went, it was decent for whiskey. He was fixing to drink his troubles away, whether the alcohol was good or not, expensive of cheap. It would take a lot of drinking to forget what had happened a few nights before.

When he felt a tapping on his shoulder, he lifted his head off his hand to look glumly around. Not seeing anyone who looked particularly like they were interested in talking to him, he couldn't tell who had tapped him. Most people were wrapped up in their own conversations with others. Unlike him. He let out a soft sigh, returning to his whiskey. He finished off his drink, turning back to the bartender.

The bartender eyed him wearily, unsure if he should tell him to slow down on the drinks. It seemed he was afraid that he might anger the larger creature, but really, Barnaby was quite docile. On good days, he was outgoing and jocular. On bad ones, quiet and tending to keep to himself. In response to the bartender's look, he gave him a weak smile, jokingly commenting, "No worries, bud, I don't kick. I just want another whiskey, and strange request, but do you have an apple? I've been traveling a couple days, and all the meat I've been eating is upsetting my stomach. I'm not looking to order dinner, but I'll pay for the apple."

Barnaby really wasn't a fan of meat, domestic or game. Like a horse, he preferred fruits and vegetables and grains. However, if it came to it, he would eat meat. His food supply had run out two days after he'd started traveling, since there was nothing left of the farm to restock on. Now, he was just glad to be able to rest easy, even if he was hallucinating being tapped on the shoulder.

Major Interaction: @Hokum
Minor Interaction: @lozi

There were two ways one earned a living back in Aryali, and it differed little even here in this quaint tavern in Nadska. During the early hours of night, Ren's flute sounded off in vibrant melodies which serenaded the otherwise grumbling drinking house. The tavern owner was kind enough to employ him as a musician for his establishment, though, with the condition that he gets a portion of Ren's earnings from his midnight trysts. The works of the flesh earned greatly in these times of worry and blood; the more stressed anyone became, the more likely they sought comfort in the arms of another. Whether the soldiers be men or women, it mattered little so long as the coins kept flowing. He was a filthy vermin, stained with the sweat and spit of countless denizens who warmed only Ren's pockets. But, pride and purity found it impossible to fill the pockets of a beggar, or the belly of a famished child. The young lad gripped his flute tighter at the memory of judging stares and scornful glares, but he quickly shoved the visions away with the smile of the orphans who came into Nadska after their villages were torn asunder by forces beyond man.

Ren swore that what happened to Alaya would never happen to these poor souls caught in a war that they know not of, and if it meant desecrating his whole being, then, so be it-- if only to make sure that these children would never know the horrors of this merciless world.

Ren always had a soft spot for those alone and forgotten, and as such, it came as no surprise when his purple orbs caught sight of a hooded loner at the edges of the bar. With back bent and head lowered, this isolated creature seemed to be having a terrible night. The strong Nordic ale sitting on the guest's table only strengthened the prior point as Ren knew that no one drank one of the tavern's strongest drinks if it wasn't to kill the monsters inside one's head. Oh, he would know. Ren did try to drown the monsters with one or two pints of mead, and still, the horrors came upon the light of the morrow. The melodies from his flute stopped as Ren's lips parted from the embouchure. He breathed out a silent sigh before prodding over to the barkeep.

As he arrived there, he bore witness to the rare sight of a man... horse... hybrid...? Whatever. The ipo-something's request caught in Ren's ear before he smiled at the barkeep. He placed a few silver pieces on the table, gesturing to the basket of fruits sitting near the casks of ale and mead. The barkeep, Queno, peered at the tavern musician as he nodded his head in agreement. The stout barkeep had known Ren since the lad moved in almost two fortnights ago. He quickly realized that Ren was liberal in paying for peculiar customers, most probably ones that seemed to need help. Ren returned Queno's stare with a wink before the annoyed man huffed. He swiped the silver pieces, and retrieved the basket of assorted fruits whilst handing it to Ren. In return, the musician bowed to the barkeep and turned to the horse-man hybrid with a grin. Ren offered the basket to him, his right hand gesturing from his chest to the horse-man as if saying 'this one's on me'.

Whether or not the man would accept it, Ren turned again to Queno, bringing out a precious gold coin. Ren made a series of movements with hands, like a stirring motion over what seemed to be a bowl as well as bringing an imaginary object to his biting mouth. Queno nodded, understanding this as signs for porridge and bread. The man promptly brought out the warm foods which Ren received with another bow. He soon went in the direction of the loner once more.

No one deserved to be alone in this cruel land. Ren believed that while it was impossible to change the entire world, if he could just help as many as he could, then, for those people, he would have at least changed their own world. To help another was a small, insignificant thing, but for him, there was nothing more precious than giving your own time to someone else who needed it. So, there he was setting the tray on the hooded figure's table. Without hesitation, he sat opposite what appeared to be a woman. She held a terrifying scowl, but Ren had his own fair shares of death glares. This one was no different.

He raised his hands, pointing at the porridge and bread before gesturing to the woman. He lifted his right hand to his lips as if with a spoon. Then, he pointed to the Nordic drink and tapped his left bicep; and, afterwards, he swiped his fingers across his forehead before ending his signs with a circular rub on his belly. He hoped that he got his message across as he wanted to express that she should eat since the drink she chose tended to have an amazing (and, by amazing, he meant being passed out on the floor kind of amazing) effect if people are on an empty stomach. He was a terrible conversation partner mainly due to his inability to speak, but he really was worried for her health. He wondered what monsters she needed to kill, and while he never wanted to pry, a spark of curiosity entered his mind at the thought of who this woman really was.

Ren raised his hands again, pointing at his throat before shaking his hands sideward and shaking his head to indicate that he was mute. His eyes landed on the food once again, and gestured to the food before making a sign of pulling out a coin from a purse before pointing to himself-- as if saying 'I'm paying for it'. He tried to smile at her, hoping, praying that she would at least try to open up to him, so that he could help her with her problems. But, Ren figured that he should start with basic conversations rather than jumping the barrel, and going straight to the real questions. In all fairness, she looked easy on the eyes, and while her scowl still terrified him to some extent, he figured that if she wanted him dead, then, she could have done it already.

Not that she could kill him easily, though.

His hands rose once more before pointing at the woman, and then, Ren placed the side of his right palm over his eyebrows before moving his head side to side, accompanied by a shrug of his shoulders to ask her if she was looking for something. Then, he pointed to himself before making a motion of lifting something and then pointing at her, as if asking how he could help her.

There was something about her that reeked of darkness. Ren already had a wide array of experiences with that kind of aura. Brooding alone at the margins of society was always a sign of trouble, and while most people would just leave them alone, Ren could not fathom how everyone else would just ignore this cry for help. She was strong, that was for sure (probably, stronger than him, really), but no one has to be strong forever; after all, for Ren, there was nothing wrong with asking for help, because true strength was not about being able to do it alone, but in admitting that you still need help, no matter how small or large.

More and more mana poured into the little tavern, quickly turning it into a practical little lake for anyone with poor intentions. Dannisus nodded along with Aelih's explanation quietly, doing his best to ignore Fauve's crude comment. He'd heard that same nonsense before, but not often enough to associate it with the usual slurs. "Seems like the elves have their own share of problems. I'm sorry about your village," he croaked whilst pushing himself away from the table, "And I'm sorry to be leaving so suddenly too, but this place is getting a little crowded- Mya," Dannisus quickly stood up and looked around, before nodding at both Lui and Aelih. "It was nice meeting you two- Ah, and that," He pointed at Lui's ruby eye, "I'll be in town for a day or two, at least. Once you've settled your business, I could take a look at that for you." He offered her a curt little wave, and the same to Aelih. "Myao!"

In quick fashion, before either of the two could respond to him, the little Myti scampered off and out of the tavern. He'd had a room, but the day was still young. He could always just come back later, or not at all. Having so many magic users around him at once made him feel like he was back at home. It wasn't a pleasant feeling in the least.

Outside the tavern, he took a deep breath. Fresh air! Smells of freshly cut stone was off-put by the river's misty thrall. It was much kinder to his nose, but still stung, if only slightly. He didn't exactly like being around running water, but it gave the town an ounce of charm it might've lacked otherwise. Dannisus stood outside the tavern quietly, setting himself beside the door. "Mraa..." There probably wasn't really anything to worry about inside. Maybe all he really needed was some fresh air to clear his head, after all.

Lui curiously listened to Dani's story. Apparently he'd gotten tagged by a Mana Tag? What's a Mana Ta-

Oh... it disrupts Mana? That sounds scary. I hope I don't run into any of those...

Lui simply shudders at the thought of getting tagged by one, and continues curiously listening to Dani's story and his complaints about the smells of Humans. Personally Lui had never really paid much attention to how people smelt. She rarely got close enough to people to smell them anyway, since that meant getting dangerously close to potentially dangerous individuals. Who knows what they might do to her!

As Dani gets startled by the Ipotane, Lui turns to look in the same direction as well, only now noticing the Ipotane.

What's that? It looks like some kind of Half-horse human? Like a Horseman? Yeah, that's probably a Horseman. Now I know what Horsemen are!

Apparently though, the sight of a 'Horseman' made Dani nervous. He was already a bit stuttery but now it looked like he was actually scared! Maybe Myti were afraid of horses? That'd explain a lot, horses are much bigger than cats, after all.

Anyway Dani soon turned his attention to Aelih, and after several attempts to pronounce the Elf's name - of whom Lui still wasn't sure if they even had a gender - asked them about their spear.

Wait, they have a spear? Why did I not notice that! They're armed and dangerous! But it's probably fine since I don't think I've been impaled yet.

Deciding it'd be a smart idea to check, Lui looks down to inspect her torso and look for the clear signs of impalement: holes. And blood.

Nope, no holes. That should mean I haven't been impaled.

However, in doing so she completely missed Aelih's story! And so she had no clue what the duo was now talking about. Afraid to ask them, Lui simply settled for listening. Apparently they were talking about burning villages?

Then, suddenly, Dani stood up, said something about offering to take a look at Lui's eye, and left before she could respond.

"What was that about? Did something happen?" Lui asked the Elf. "Do you think we should follow him?"

Aelih raises an eyebrow up as Dannisus quickly fled the tavern, and shrugged, sipping st the water. Aelih then looked at Lui, who had asked a question, something about following him.

Aelih simply shrugged, replying dryly “None of my business. You can if you want, but I’ll be staying here for the time being.” With that said, Aelih’s chair scraped against the floor as it turned, Aelih now instead watching the other group, including that annoying girl.

Let’s see here... there was a man with gauntlets of some kind, eating a steak. Those gauntlets... without doubt magical. You wouldn’t just wear those, especially at a meal, unless you were afraid to have them taken. ”Probably the girl. She smells like a thief.” Aelih thought wryly. Elf noses were nowhere as sensitive as Myti’s were, but Aelih was referring more to the feel of the woman rather than any actual scent.

”Note to self, avoid her in any public spaces.” Aelih was quite attached to the spear, thank you very much, and all else being carried too.

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Major Interaction: @Hokum

A look of confusion overtook Ren's face: brows furrowing and teeth nibbling on his bottom lip in thought. Try as he might to throttle his memory in order to get a logic from her accusation, his mind drew blank before Ren shook his head at the woman. He really had no idea of what she was talking about. Ren was rather, er, occupied the last few hours, and when he began his hours as a musician, he did not catch sight of this lass until that recent moment that she went down and isolated herself from the others. The remark did jab a bit at his core, but Ren attributed this kind of reaction to a lack of trust on her part. Whatever happened to this poor soul had shattered whatever trust she had for the world. Her earlier comment of needing no friends amplified Ren's musings. It was always easy to depend on oneself: no liabilities, no concern for others-- just you and whatever works your hands wrought.

But, it was utterly limited. You could accomplish things fast, but speed did not equate to reach. Ren felt a pang of pity for this woman, because from how she viewed the world, everything she grabbed might just slip through her fingers like sands in the deserts of Akripola. There was a reason why there were gaps between the fingers of men: it was a sign that one could not fill the spaces alone. A sad smile replaced the frown as Ren leaned against the chair.

His hand went to the sling bag he kept near his waist, and, after pulling out a piece of crumpled parchment, the musician began scribbling haphazard letters unto the sheet. He set down the quill, causing a small blot of black ink to run beside the small ink canister precariously set beside the edge of the table. Ren pushed the parchment to the woman's partition as a lone glint of light reflected upon the midnight ink written on the paper: 'is it so strange to lend a hand without asking for payment?'

Ren tilted his head, returning her inquisitive gaze with a sincere and unflinching look. A silent chuckle parted his lips before he took his flute and placing the embouchure upon his mouth. Purple orbs deigned to cast one last look at her before they closed in contemplation. Soon, Ren's skilled fingers danced over the holes on the flute as his chest rose when he blew air. Soft melodies seeped from the flute as it joined the cacophony of tunes within the tavern. The melody sung the tale of a man from the Merchant Union of Akripola. Though wealthy, the man saw the plight of the people. So, he left his glory behind and journeyed to the different lands where he used his riches to help out the poor who suffered under the heels of their masters.



Ren sang the song in the recesses of his mind, the hum of his flute never abating in its passion and intensity. However, it soon stopped. Ren lowered the flute in favor of looking at the woman once more. His tongue darted out to moisten his lips as he set the flute down on the table. He raised his hands pointing to her first before using his index and middle to point to his own eyes; then, he gestured to the environment around them, following it up with a shake of his hands to indicate that whatever she was looking for, she would never find it here in the tavern. If anything, the wide variety of individuals gathered in this tavern meant that they were also hunting for something beyond Ren's comprehension. Nadska was an uneventful place: literally, no new happenings ever occurred to this town. Everyone in this tavern had little to no knowledge of anything that ever happened in Nadska, and they made the mistake of conversing with fellow ignoramuses when it came to finding information regarding the town. As it seemed, even this lass was trying to pick up information by listening in on the conversations around her.

Suddenly, Ren placed both of his hands, palms up, on the table as he bowed his head. This was a tell-tale sign that the person meant no harm and malice. The lad figured that this was a good gesture to start with if he was to help her open up to him. He wondered why he was so adamant in helping her out, but perhaps it was the cry for help that he saw in her. Ren had no idea, but, in any case, as long as she was not opposed to fighting the dead, it would work out in the end. The undead attacks reached the ears of Nadska a few weeks back, and already rumors of ruination proliferated around the village. With their village guards being glorified farmers, the quaint village of Nadska stood no real chance should the dead bring their claws and teeth to their doorstep.

Ren picked up the quill, dipping it into the ink before scribbling something on the other side of the parchment.

'Town Hall. Good place to start. Nothing but rumors and guesses here.'

Ren tapped the bottom of his fist on his palm as a thought entered his mind. The less than decadent food in this establishment varied on who was asking. Queno was a bit of a stiff when it comes new customers. He liked to discard the old meals in order to profit from otherwise disgusting leftovers. The trick was to know the right people, the right connections to make the barkeeper bring out the good ones. In order to express this thought, Ren pulled out another parchment with which he wrote something on again.

'Leftovers every night. Good ones selective. Use my name for good food. Ren Verte.'

He handed the parchment to her; however, not before pulling out his own pouch which jingled with various gold and silver coins. He placed on the table three silver pieces and one glinting gold coin. When he returned his pouch, he gestured to the coins before raising his index and thumb, squeezing them together. He followed it up by pointing again to the coins and performing the lifting motion once more-- only to end it by pointing at the woman, as if to say 'this is not much, but may it help you well'.

The musician reclined, grabbing the flute once more. And, when Ren was about to put the flute on his lips when one of the armored guards tapped his shoulder-- a demented smirk curving his lips which caused the musician to release a deep, almost nervous sigh. Ren stood up from his chair before looking at the woman with a smile-- he placed his index and thumb over his right eye, then, pointing at her.

'See you.'

The guard shoved him forward, causing the lad to stumble a bit, but ultimately he regained his footing. However, the force removed the scarf around his neck. Thus, as the cloth fell to the floor, the dim light of the tavern illuminated the myriad of cuts littering Ren's neck. His hands quickly rose to cover them, retrieving his scarf and wrapping it around his neck. It was that time once more. Queno looked at him for a split-second, raising his brow to confirm their agreement of giving the barkeep a portion of the soon-to-be earnings. Red nodded slowly in return, and he placed his lips on the flute to blow out a sad tune to serenade his entrance into the dark room upstairs. He wondered what Tavas would do this time. Incise his skin until a major vessel pops? Contort his body in different positions whilst he pounded his rage into him as his bones broke? Well, the last time he got particularly violent (probably, from him losing his daily wage from gambling), and actually cut off his right arm.

It took a week until Ren fully grew that appendage back. Perks of having an ability which made it difficult for you to die. But, mankind be, oh so, creative when it came to exploiting the powers of others to inflict pain and misery.

Breathe in, breathe out.
Just be glad that this is happening to you...

And, not to them...

As long as it never happens to them...

Lui sighed as Aelih didn't seem very keen on following along. While Lui herself didn't have much reason to follow, she didn't have much reason to stay either.

I could stay here with the Elf and those other people, or go and follow the Myti...

Both options seemed like good options. Outside there could be dangerous people, while inside she could see everyone approach.

At the same time however, inside she was trapped with no way to go, and the only remotely trustworthy person nearby was Aelih, who seemed to be short enough on initative that she might not bother helping her.

Outside, on the other hand, there was more room to run away, and Dani seemed like a good enough person to help Lui out if she got into trouble.

"So you really want to stay here? With those noisy people? Who knows what they might be up to? Probably no good." Lui said quietly while gesturing towards the people at the other table, especially Fauve. "Well, have fun with them. Maybe they'll join you and be noisy and smelly at this table."

Smiling, Lui finishes her drink and grabs her Magelight, getting up. "Why not come along? It can't be worse outside." She simply said before heading out the door and looking to see whether or not Dani was still around.

---

---

Aelih listened quietly as Lui spoke, making a very good point. Maybe Lui had motivations of her own to get Aelih out of a public place, but doubtful. If so Lui was either very unskilled, or very skilled, at subterfuge, and neither one particularly worried Aelih, especially since the former option seemed far more likely.

Aelih sighed, downing the rest of the unsatisfactorily fresh water, then standing up and setting the empty glass onto the bar and following Lui outside, casting a final look on the tavern then sighing, smiling as the fresh air replaces that of the tavern’s crowded air. A satisfying smell, to say the least.

”So where’s... oh there she is.” Aelih nodded, seeing Lui, and approaches her without a word.

Dannisus prodded at the loose dirt with the tip of his shoe methodically, moving pebbles and dust around while he thought on his panic induced retreat. He couldn't shake the feeling that something nasty was going to make its way towards Nadska, and soon. Unlike most, he wasn't too learned on the recent rise of beastly attacks across the island, least of all the effects it might have had on Sylsashia. Did they target towns rich with Mana? Or were they simply drawn towards dense populations? Or was it all random? Or did-

"Oh," Dannisus murmured, "Hello again." Looks like he'd been followed. Either that, or Lui was looking to get some fresh air as well. He sniffed the air between them quietly for a moment, noticing Aelih not a moment later. Aha! He was being followed! His left ear flapped anxiously and he pushed himself off of the tavern's outer wall.

Lui smiled as she spotted Dani leaning against the tavern wall outside. He hadn't gone far it seemed, so Lui fortunately didn't have to go far to find him.

"Hiya! Wow yeah it really is much better out here than in there, isn't it?" Lui said, stabbing her magelight into the ground so it would stay upright for a few seconds to give her time to stretch her arms.

Completely oblivious to Dani's anxiousness and Aelih's presence, Lui happily continued chatting.

"I asked Aelih if they were coming too, but they didn't seem to really care much, so I think they're not coming. Unfortunate, they seemed like a fun person." Lui said, sighing.

"Anyway I was curious... You mentioned something about being willing to check out my 'eye' before, right? Does that mean you know of some way to actually replace it with a normal eye?"