Sett tried his best to ignore that Alice was redressing herself nearby. He tried very, very hard indeed, and succeeded partially due to the fact that Geradin had asked him what he was doing a tad angrily. 'It's only fair,' he'd responded immediately, 'that one who has assisted us in defeating our foes ought to be given their freedom, granted that they do not in turn become a foe of ours.'

Another part of his success came from the Scorely's seemingly-mocking imitation of Settionne's own velvet tones- how dare he, by the by- before he began to... grope her? Ah, no, he was searching for weaponry, of course. And doing a poor job of it, given that he'd made the poor girl laugh via apparently tickling her. Obviously, he hadn't meant to, but Sett was obligated to give him a disapproving glance, complete with a shake of his head. He was, after all, a priest of the gods.

Nonetheless, the Skolly seemed satisfied with his search, and the Dark Elf seemed contrite and honest enough to be trustworthy... no matter. With just the slightest bit of tentative movement, perhaps wondering whether he couldn't have given the key to another to use, Sett unlocked the woman's shackles, stepping back with them in hand before placing them neatly on the ground. Chances were, they wouldn't be needed again.

'And may the gods bless your future travels,' he blessed the Dark Elf, shortly before Beren suggested that she have lunch with them and join them on their quest, in turn followed by Geradin rudely interrupted. He had no idea what Beren and the dwarf were saying to one another, but it seemed Geradin was the loser of that argument; whilst Sett would otherwise have agreed with him, given that this was a Dark Elf and all, he wasn't exactly going to ignore the fact that he'd been shoved for no reason.

'Well, dare I say,' he murmured to the Dark Elf with an air of conspiracy- falsified, of course, even if it sounded truthful- 'we as a group could do with a few extra hands, and you're clearly a skilled enough fighter that you'd be no burden.' Never mind that technically, Settionne was more of a burden than any other person here, but he'd assisted them from time to time, not to mention succeeded at keeping Fineki's favour and anonymity both. If he could do a decent job, why not her?

@POOHEAD189@Gardevoiran@The Fated Fallen@Fetzen@Stormflyx

"Thanks, Geradin." Ursaren didn't have much to add to the events going on currently. He took a seat on a nearby stone as he opened his bag, pulling out his alchemy tools and beginning to mix a few ingredients he carried around. Ursaren was originally an alchemist before he became the werebear, and he always maintained his chemical skills as he brewed strong potions to heal, to harm, and to bolster. Sometimes he did it for fun, sometimes he did it for the future, and sometimes... well... sometimes he did it to give those who needed a final rest just that.

Flipping through one of his small notebooks, Ursaren looked at the mushrooms around the party as he somehow managed to use a mortar and pestle with one hand. It was rather odd to watch, but it was definitely interesting. "Friends, does anyone know the name of this species of fungi? I wish to take some with me to study it's properties." Who knows? Maybe this mushroom species could be used to create potions that put people to sleep when they come into contact with it. It'd be a pretty good thing to use when the party goes to fight a dragon, or even when someone just doesn't shut up for five seconds.

One couldn't say that An-Hasst cared mugh about anyone being ticklish. After all he was not so much and there were higher priorites, like, for example, making sure that noone would be able of surprising them with armed aggression. "Alright, she's clean." was his primary comment on the situation after he had let go of her clothing. If anyone thought that the Skayleigh was actually interested in any human female's curvy properties he'd probably find out why his own body was so... curvy. By brute force.

Luckily this had not taken place at least until An-Hasst had found his way back towards the other side of the river. It seemed like the usual 'we're going to tell every friggin' stranger about our quest even if it means that we'll be stuck even longer in an underground, drow-infested network' issue -- thanks to Geradin's rapid intervention -- was merely on the verge of occurring again and surprisingly so even not due to the small cleric man. In other words there wasn't much that still caught his interest compared to his greed for food.

As the Skayleigh was rampaging through the more or less unorganized contents of his bags one of his ears was still listening to his surroundings, capable of picking up Ursaren's question. "I don't. However I guess that the fungi's name is rather irrelevant when it comes to the question if it is permitted to take a sample. Is it safe to transport or can it leak any substances that will diffuse through sturdy leather and contaminate your or any other's food supplies ?"

@Stormflyx@Gardevoiran@POOHEAD189@The Fated Fallen@BCTheEntity@Mortarion

"I have always been free" she snapped back with a sharp tongue, some of what this band of adventurers had been saying had rubbed her the wrong way. Was she an animal that they could fuss over to feel better about themselves for a moment? Before mending it and setting it back into the wilderness. No.

She composed herself, before taking several strides back into the river, wading across to the other side to the lifeless body of one of her captors. Beside him was a sword, and a satchel. She picked up the sword with her right hand, letting it swing in a graceful fashion as she felt the weight of the hilt in her hand, and let herself be re-acquainted with her trusty blade before sheathing it at her side - but not before she made eye contact with her 'saviours'. She wanted them to know she was dangerous - and not some sad case.

She put the satchel over her shoulder, checking it's contents and that nothing was missing. There was still a small pouch of gold, some dried meat strips, and two small steel daggers. With a grin, she tucked the daggers away in her belt.

"I can help you out of here - if you're lost" the words, this language felt alien to her - so did listening to it, but she tried her best with it. "Now I sleep and rest, I'm leaving at the morning. Follow or don't. Your choice."

From laughing and feeling some sense of camaraderie, to being cold and stand-offish, holding her distance now - such was the ping pong personality of the Dorcha half breed.

Argon tilted his head as Alice returned to the group wearing one of her better dresses, curious as to the change in wardrobe. "Friend Alice, did you shed your skin?" The bestial warrior asked, his tongue flickering out as he looked curiously. Calanon gave a smile and said she was quite pretty in the dress, with Brogach giving a 'hoof' noise and stamping lightly. Clearly the Elk was still somewhat perturbed with being underground for so long.

For Geradin's part, he tried to distract himself by taking an interest in Ursaren and An-Hasst's questioning of the mushrooms. "Ginnogr," the Dwarf stated. "That's the mushroom's name. Ye won't find too much information on it in yer manling books. They only grow 500 feet below the surface or further, from what I've heard. I had to work with the stuff a few times when I was a wee apprentice. It's tough stuff, but safe tae carry."

Beren decided to get a headstart on sleep after he gave a nod to the Dorcha, laying back on his pack as they all of their conversations quickly turned into silence, the members taking turns every few hours.

Once dawn broke (at least, when Geradin claimed it had), they all took a few bites to eat and set off. Beren stretching in the corner of the camp as Calanon gazed outward to make sure the coast was clear. Aeryn lead the way, the group in tow but wary. They made it through the mushroom jungle relatively unscathed, with no other contact with any aggressive denizens. Usually it would be Geradin leading within the underground, but as Aeryn strode at the vanguard, only Beren and Calanon stayed somewhat ahead of the others. Geradin and Argon had taken the rearguard, ready to defend the group from any attacks from pursuit.
@Stormflyx@Fetzen@Gardevoiran@BCTheEntity@The Fated Fallen

The Dorcha mutt woke first to the gentle sound of the adventurers snoring away - deep in sleep. It was nice that they felt so safe that they could do that. Curiosity got the better of Aeryn, and she walked quietly over to their camp, creeping over each of the sleeping bodies - getting a good look at them in their slumber. She wondered what kinds of dreams such creatures had. What nightmares they might journey through each night. She was curious at what each of them had tucked away in their packs. It would be so easy to let her hands wander and pilfer from them - but she knew that they had nothing of worth to her. At least, not yet.

Her footsteps soft on the earth, she stalked across their camp - getting rather close to a few faces, breathing in their aura - their scents.

"This is why we don't have friends...." she thought to herself as she eventually reached the serene looking rogue who had quite literately, swept her off her feet the day before. A few hours of rest had softened her - and she felt less on edge. Her wounds had done some healing, her face less swollen and bloodied at least. In her own tongue she whispered softly to him - "thank you". The language of the dark elves making more sense to her. Perhaps in his sleep he might have heard it.



She had done her investigations, and made her way over to the running water of the steam, to clean her face and to drink. She was reminded as the cold splash hit her skin, that they had been eluding to some kind of quest. In the quiet and stillness of morning, she had time to ponder it. It made sense really, when else would such an eclectic bunch of people meet together and be traveling through here of all places.

Maybe they would find use for a self-proclaimed Master Thief on their travels. It's not like she had anything better to be doing. She knelt at the stream for a while longer, running her fingers through the knots in her silver hair as she unfurled the messed braids, scooping out dirt from the day before, dipping her head into the water, and then back out again, over and over until the water ran clear and she could braid her hair tightly against her scalp, without sand catching under her nails, or scratching at her skin.

She heard the others start to wake up in the camp finally, as they talked amongst themselves and clattered pots around for breakfast she rose from the stream and made her way into the camp, she cleared her throat, realising she had not yet introduced herself;

"Umm... Good morning, I forgot to yesterday introduce myself. My name is Aeryn." She did not have a great handle over the common grammar and sentence structure, but she was oblivious to it being incorrect - perhaps the party before her might pick up on it though. She bowed her head, and made her way to the clearing of the mushrooms - allowing them to pack away their things and chat to each other and get ready for the journey out of the tunnels.



Aeryn led them through the tunnels - she could sense the rogue close by, as well as the older Elven gentleman. There was a soft calm to the elf that she couldn't distinguish from his party-mates. He seemed to be very moderate in personality - and his calm demeanor almost slipped over to Aeryn. He seemed very unlike other people she had met - from the offset she felt at ease by his presence. It was nice to not have to be skittish or worried.

She led the party away from the stream and for a while, it would seem to the party that they were only getting deeper in, as opposed to out. The ground was a lush thick moss, spotted with dew and luminous fungi which caused the tunnel to have what some might find to be an eery glow - but to Aeryn it was peaceful and homely. The only sound was footsteps, the occasional snuffling exhale from the Elk, and the chatter of the group. The Dorcha stayed quiet as she led them further into darkness - and began to really worry that some of them might start to wonder if she was up to something treacherous.

Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks, pointing her eyes to the ceiling of the tunnel, reaching her left hand out to prompt those behind her to stop. She turned her head, a finger in front of her lips as she made a gentle "shhhh...", before pointing her other finger upwards to show everyone that the up on the ceiling was a few little leather cocoons. As they all drew quieter, the sound of the 'cocoons' became more apparent, there were snuffling sounds, and the occasional squeak.

"Moss Bats..." she whispered to Calanon. "They're going to help us find out way out... You'll see..." a smile crept upon her face and her eyes widened as she got ready to clap. She knew that the sound would startle them, and have them rush to the exit. Anyone who had any doubt about where Aeryn was taking them, wouldn't for much longer. She was sure to cup her palms to make the clap ring louder. As soon as the sound hit, the bats woke from their sleep and began to squawk. They burst from their positions and rushed forwards in the direction that Aeryn had been walking. Their sounds helping to guide them out, they led the way.

Truth be told, Aeryn wasn't one hundred percent sure of which exit she had led them too, she knew there was a village out there but there was a few different sides she could wind up on. She watched as the bats charged forwards, and so she followed a little quicker than the pace she had been taking. The ground stopped being a thick and slippery moss, and became rock again, and there started to be a slight incline. "Almost there... Feel a breeze, around the rock."

The path grew narrower; luckily not too much so that they could not get the larger part members through - or the elk for the matter, but what had been a straight pat now became a series of twists and cracks in rock face. "There... there is a village here. This is the shortest path to Durriuchii... We are... on the Western side... I think". As she broke out of the tunnel and stepped away from the last crack to sunlight, she squinted her own eyes. They were not used to sunlight like this, it always took her longer to adjust and she opted to let them adjust while everyone got out. They would see a small village ahead of them, at the top of a hill they were now standing at the bottom of.

Stepping outside of the cavern, Ursaren stretched his back as he let out a primeval roar, the bear in him vocally escaping as his voice boomed through the area, leaving quite the reverb. "Even though it was only a day, I had missed the warm embrace of the sun," Ursaren chortled as he looked out upon the area, getting a lay of the land together in his head as he went through everything that had happened since the meeting of the Dorcha. Aeryn seemed like a good Dorcha, which was hard to come by often considering the quirks and the nature of the race. It wasn't impossible, but it definitely wasn't something you saw every day. He wanted to talk to her about things, continue to fill his journal with incredible information.

One question riddled Ursaren's thoughts as he dug through his bag, making sure everything was accounted for, including the small slices of mushrooms he had grabbed earlier. "Roughly how far away are we from the place that we entered the cave system from?" Ursaren asked, his eyes looking over the town. Boy, he wished they had a clothing store or something. His robes were incredibly torn from the transforming and fighting, and he needed something new to wear. Maybe something red this time. Or maybe blue. He didn't know, but he needed to go and check what they had, assuming there even was a clothing store.

Unbeknownst to a lot of the rest of the party, or so he hoped, Sett had not spent his whole time sleeping as the others had. Partway through the night, or what he supposed was night, he'd managed to awaken himself with the good old-fashioned clock of bodily urges, light as his sleep often was; once those were handled, he returned to his tent and drew forth from his elven bag his prizes from the day before: the helmet of the Rog he'd slain, and the Dark Elven stave, carefully hidden until now. In hindsight, the helm was perhaps a bit large for his skull... not that a bit of padding couldn't fix that issue, only he'd need to figure out what to pad it with in the first place.

But that wasn't the point of his awakening. He'd intended, earlier, to bless the helmet and cleanse it of its bloody past - or something to that effect, he honestly wasn't fussy as long as he could make sure it was just a helmet after all - but the second was a difficult proposition. Magically potent, for sure, but what sort of magic? Usable, or just vile? Two Dark Elves had slain each other over it, Fineki apparently wanted him to bear it, and so bear it he did. What more could he do, but pray that it didn't fail him?

For the next hour or so, he spent his time quietly praying over both objects. "Blessing them", arguably, though in his church, his blessings had always been as shallow as a puddle, and he had very little idea about the process of imbuing a true blessing into an item at all. In the helmet's case, then, he prayed that it would shield him from harm when worn, that it wouldn't fall off, and that the others wouldn't realise where he'd gotten it from. For the staff, he prayed that whatever power it held wasn't... well, evil, or corrupting, or anything like that, and that whoever owned it wouldn't come after him to get it back. He had enough of those problems with the Valdium sword, after all.

Sharp hearing and keen awareness of his surroundings were what brought his prayers to a halt. Something was moving around - and from the sound of things, entering everyone's tents. Shit, were they under attack again? Well, they'd have to try harder than that to catch out Settionne Maralanna the Inconsiderate! As quickly and silently as he could, Sett packed himself and his stolen goods beneath his sleeping blanket and feigned restfulness, one hand on each of the daggers at his side, ready to be drawn and swiped at whatever chose to target him, to take them as hostage, to slay them, whatever was appropriate.

It turned out that whatever it was, it was bipedal, apparently interested in breathing on him- no, smelling him, and as it happened smart enough not to try either to attack him or steal anything before leaving. Though he eventually fell asleep again, his items by his side until he stuffed them back into his bag again, it wasn't until the morning rolled around that it clicked for him - the trespasser was the newcomer, named Aeryn according to the girl herself. He did wonder what her motivation there was.

But, it mattered not. She was apparently able to lead them out of the caverns they had found themselves in, and with her at the head of the pack, and both Geradin and Argon at the back, Sett was more than happy to stay roughly in the middle of the group. To pass the time, he figured he might as well chat with the dwarf and the lizard. Was that not what a good priest did for his flock, after all? Though much of it was meaningless, intended merely to get them blathering about themselves so that he could avoid discussing his own past, he at some point asked the both of them these two lines of questioning: 'What made you decide to take up the warrior's path?' and 'What opinion do you hold on the gods? Are there any in particular you prefer over others?' Whatever answers he received, he'd store them away in his mind for later reference. Perhaps they'd be of use.

Soon enough, the previous night's prediction proved true: Aeryn's skills did indeed prove useful, upsetting a swarm of bats that they might show them the way to the exit of the cave, a show of animal handling that Sett himself had little awareness of. How impressive of her... and, to wit, he couldn't disagree with Ursaren's insight into the nature of sunlight on his skin, embracing the sunlight as though for the first time again. Not that he'd know what his first time in the sun had been like. Unlike the average Dark Elf, he'd lived most of his life above ground, thank you very much.

'Aeryn, my lovely lady,' he exclaimed, strolling to her side and patting her on the back, 'your expertise is matched only by your beauty. It's as I said yesterday: your ability in all regards will be much appreciated in our journey.' Did he need to specifically point out her appearance? Not at all. But then, he hadn't had a chance to say so earlier on, either, and he had always had a womanising streak, as he was sure the Elven nobility they'd interacted with knew full well. Gosh, had it only been two nights since their journey began? Time sure seemed to slow to a crawl when one was attacked in rapid succession by ogres, Rogs, and Dark Elves.

@POOHEAD189@Gardevoiran@The Fated Fallen@Fetzen@Stormflyx

Alice, though at first disturbed about how easily a Dark Elf could gain the trust of her comrades, thought well of the new party member. If Geradin thought she was alright, then she must be. She was surprised when no-one offered their interloper medical aid, or food, but the elf seemed none too offput by that.

Alice was among the first to lie down to sleep, the events today had left her in desperate need of rest. After realising no-one else had put up tents she didn't bother herself with the extra effort. She did need to perform some arcane rituals to try and restore her power, as well as smooth over the arcane influence left in the cavern, but she decided to leave that until morning. And if anyone ambushed them she was pretty sure she would sleep through it. And if any sort of..... zzzzzzzzzzz... Oh, it was time to get up.

---------------------------

She heard the hubbub of the party getting ready for the day ahead and stretched. As always, sleep had gone too quickly. She did feel better though, and while others were fussing over sorting out breakfast or their ablutions she sat over near the water and started performing a few minor rituals. She waded through the river and scooped up a hand sized rock from the centre. She carved and intricate series of 'c' marks upon it and then restored it to where it came from.

There, that should help pull the excess magic into the river and downstream, where it can dissipate naturally or at least collect in a lake somewhere. She smiled to herself, Vrettonnian's where one of the few races of people to actually exercise environmental care with their spellcasting, a responsibility too often left until too late when monsters start cropping up after a couple of centuries, or the dead rise.

Onto the next ritual.

---------------------------

Alice travelled by herself, in the middle of everyone. She mainly studied her spellbook as to try and sort herself out, occasionally shooting looks at any who might be getting too close. Of course it was ciphered, but one can never be too careful. What most of her thoughts idly dwelt on was who made these tunnels? Why were they so large, and why did so many of them open up next to villages? Maybe no-one knew, maybe no-one ever would

Aeryn had led them true enough though, something that spoke well to her character, and they eventually came out into the light. Alice felt a cold chill in her bones she didn't even realise had fallen on her dissipate. The Dark Elf had been scarce on details as to what village this was, maybe she just didn't know, but the general attitude of the party was that they didn't care.

Alice lacked anyone to share in her amusements, but she didn't miss the opportunity to childishly snigger at Settionne's heavy handed attempts at flirting with the next feminine thing that had walked into their lives. One part of her did so out of force of habit, cruelly mocking other court girls for similar attempts. The other part of her did so out of much more refreshing reasons. It was always nice to see romance not as some scandal, or as some huge life changing thing. Just a few quick words, maybe a blush and then nothing. No gossiping for the next few months. No enforced social isolation from overdramatisation.

Gods did Alice not miss that part of her life, she shared a few of her thoughts with the hulking lizardman, who seemed to listen in-between bites of a possum he had somehow found along the way. She was sure he only heard one in five words, but she didn't care. The whole world seemed a better place today, and Alice could hardly wait to get to the village and see what was in store for them all

--------------------------------

@POOHEAD189@Gardevoiran@BCTheEntity@Fetzen@Stormflyx

The light of the world suddenly appeared, blindingly brilliant to the companions. They had been underground for near two days, and their rations, while not running low, were being used more than intended, for ideally they would have gone from frontier town to frontier town whenever they could, and perhaps hunt along the way as well if possible. But so far they had been beset by monsters and tragedy, and underground perils before they now made it to safety.

Argon and Geradin walked beside Settione after he had conversed with Aeryn. Arguably the two most inhuman members of the party, it was almost comical to see the sophisticated 'priest' of the trickster God converse with them casually. For his part, Argon was quite confused. "Path?" the Saurdraxus echoed. "I have always been a hunter and slayer of beasts...When I wasss young, I was taken from a hunt and made to fight in the arena. I won my freedom, one might sssay."

"I don't bother with your human Gods, if that is what you mean." Geradin replied gruffly. He seemed somewhat suspicious of Settione for even asking, and held his tongue for a moment, regarding the man. "Our Gods and what they bestow upon us are sacred. I do not 'prefer' any of them. Each deserves proper respect! But I am beholden to who some might call the most grim God. Ragnarok."

---

Through the brush and thick trees that surrounded the first mile outside of the cavern, they could see a village. Slightly bigger than a hamlet. In fact it looked to be an almost enlarged Motte and Bailey, with the ground dug up around the outskirts of the village. Of course the buildings were made of timber, and it seemed, foolishly so, they had no palisade wall up. Though the basic defenses did look halfway finished within the ditch, for spikes poked out of the bottom.

It was only necessary in the Southland. It was necessary in the Northland, but in the Southland the old magic and beasts still roamed. Villages popped up nearly as quickly as they disappeared, but disappeared they often did. If it wasn't for the stream of refugees that braved the seas and mountains that led to the primeval forests of the South, much of the human presence would cease to be in a few generations, for foolishly they settled in areas they made for themselves within the jungles, and did not have the experience or eldar expertise of the Dwarves or Elves.

As they made it toward the village, they would see a short and stout bridge that led over the half formed ditch. Beren crossed his muscled arms as he regarded the opened gate. Out stepped a few men in beraggled chainmail and longbows aimed at the companions. Calanon had his weapons up and sheathed, and Beren did not reach for his axe. Geradin seemed cranky, but he made no move to show aggression other than a glare. Argon was oblivious, but it was only by sheer luck the Saurdraxus did not have his huge and wicked sword out. Instead his tongue flickered out, tasting the air.
@The Fated Fallen@BCTheEntity@Gardevoiran@Stormflyx

Aeryn flinched when Settione patted her back, not really understanding why this group of strange folk were so keen on... touching, and being handsy. THEN he had... he had the NERVE to address her appearance. He was obviously being sarcastic - after all, she looked like a bruised fruit right now, but still she gave him a smile. She was outnumbered by this group and so if she decided to pick a fight she might find herself on her arse very quickly. "... I guess thank you" she said, her already arched and pointed eyebrow raising even higher at his comment. She hoped this was a less aggressive indication to him that she was slightly perturbed and uncomfortable by his being so close to her.



A daylight trek followed. By now, Aeryn was getting rather hungry, no, starving - she hadn't eaten much the night before, she placed a hand on her stomach and felt it grumble from behind the leather. It felt as though it was quite loud and so she looked to each of her sides to make sure nobody had heard. It was very unlikely, but she couldn't help but feel a twinge of embarrassment over it.

She wondered if maybe she would be less hungry now if only she'd had more of a chew and swallow on her Dorcha captor.

The human half of her was suddenly disgusted.

She reached into her bag and found a single shred of dried meat, and began to chew on it. It was that old it felt like she was gnawing through a stone. It had lost it's chewiness and instead just seemed to crumble unpleasantly. Not to mention it tasted so bland... She sighed and threw it to the ground. Useless snack.

The village got closer. She remembered this one, she had been on more than one occasion on her visits out of the underground. It was always at night, and it was always to bring stolen goods through and collect coin. They wouldn't recognise her now though, back then she had some finesse about her work and managed to be covered. Now she was exposed, and in the harsh light of day just looked like a stinking Dark Elf. The inhabitants of the village might not be too pleased to see her, and all of a sudden she began to get a little bit worried. These people didn't know her enough to help her out of a scrape...

And then of course, they were approached by the guards. Aeryn slunk to the back of the group, using her short height to her advantage, choosing to duck and cover behind the Skayleigh.

Well, it was worth a shot. He raised his hands and stepped away from Aeryn after that to show he meant no harm, since she was obviously uncomfortable with his presence- perhaps he'd been a bit too forward? Much as he hated the thought of leaving the conversation on such an implicitly sour note, he reckoned he'd said enough for now. Best to just remain a priest for the time being, perhaps.

Instead, he mulled over what Argon and Geradin had told him. From the sound of things, Argon hadn't chosen to be a fighter at all, but had instead found himself a slave gladiator for a time, and gone from there after finding his freedom. And as for the dwarf, well, "the most grim god" certainly implied that adherence to Ragnarok's tenets involved a lot of violence. Both good to know, then - the dwarf fought by choice, the lizard because he'd never known differently.

The village they consequently approached was, for want of a better word, quaint. Apparently, its inhabitants were also rather naive, if they imagined the Southlands would be so kind to them without a wall to hide behind. But at least they were armed, with crossbows, which were being pointed at them... oh boy. Sett really wanted to hide away from those, but as the priest of the group, he felt obligated to try and talk to these people. Slowly, he stepped slightly ahead of the group, hands raised again in supplication... that was becoming a theme today, apparently.

'My friends, I greet you most graciously,' he spoke, already slipping into the charismatic and priestly tones he was so used to utilising in his church. 'Be not afraid, for we are but weary and humble travellers through these lands, and all told quite agreeable to those who would be our friends and acquaintances. If it would not trouble you, sirs and ladies, I might ask that you be so kind as to allow us to partake of what your abode has to offer, for we have spent many a night in peril, and seek only shelter and refreshment in a land that is distressingly short of both.' Hopefully, that would tug on some heartstrings. Hopefully, his own would not be damaged in any way during his speech, those crossbows could be viciously destructive.

@POOHEAD189@Gardevoiran@The Fated Fallen@Fetzen@Stormflyx

What had made him stay in the village for so long, Nicademus couldn’t say. He had spent almost half of his life as a travelling knight for the Order of the Dusk, doing his part to keep the Southlands just a little safer for those who dared to settle in the untamed land, and had passed through countless other villages like this one not saying for more than a week at most in any of them, and yet here he had stained for a whole month already. “Maybe I’m getting nostalgic in my old age.” He thought idly as he walked through the road that led through the town.

Ever since he had arrived he had taken it upon himself to patrol the town through the night and, eventually, to help train the town’s guards. Luckily for him the night was peaceful and as far as he could tell it; a wistful smile briefly crossed his face, if he closed his eyes he could almost imagine that he was back at his old village. However, as soon as the thought entered his mind, Nicademus froze, his fists clenching in anger as he stood there for a few seconds that, in his mind, stretched for an eternity. “There's no use to reminisce about such things.” He muttered bitterly to himself “Focus on the present, that's all that matters.” He said as he shook his head to dispel his errant thoughts, continuing his patrol of the town until it was his turn to be relieved for the night.

---

After he had been relieved from duty patrol the last night Nicademus had returned to his small accommodations in the village inn to get a bit of rest but, unfortunately, sleep eluded him during that night, anxiety keeping him up, his mind turning towards memories of the past seemingly of it’s own volition, despite his best efforts to fall asleep. Knowing that he wouldn’t be able to fall asleep, Nicademus decided that it’d be for the best to keep himself busy instead of staying in his room and welling up in anxiety over past memories. Having made up his mind, the knight got up, got dressed, and put on his armor before going out of the inn and towards the little area that had been designated as the training ground for the town’s guard. Once there he started his usual training routines, letting his mind fall into the familiar concentration that came up with training.

Time passed by and, eventually, the training ground was filled with new recruits, the sergeant assigned to train them, and a few older guards with enough free time to train. Having regained his composure after his training routine, Nicademus decided to help some of the sergeants with training the new guards. He circled through the training grounds, correcting errors in footwork, stances, and guards amongst those that were training unsupervised. He was starting to consider findign a sparring partner when suddenly a voice cut his thoughts.

“Sir Vahlen, Sir Vahlen!” A guard was shouting as he ran towards him, coming to a halt. The man bent over, putting his hands on his knees, and began panting “Thanks Guandet that I managed to find you sir.” He said between pants, taking a few more seconds to catch his breath “A group of individuals were approaching the village, a few of our men stepped out of the gate to stop them, luckily they don’t seem hostile but there are a few non-humans in the group.” The guard said turning to look at Nicademus in the face “I was told to go and get you sir, the guards near the gate are unsure of what to do and want to know your opinion on what we should do.” The man finished his explanation.

Nicademus nodded and made his way towards the open gate that led towards the bridge that crossed the ditch. By the time he arrived to the gate a priest seemed to be addressing the guards near the gate, he wasn’t sure for how long the man had been speaking but he at least heard the man imploring shelter and refreshment in the village. “And we would like to help Your Reverence, but I’m afraid to say that you and your fellow travelers are a suspicious lot and it’s often dangerous to trust blindly here in the Southlands” The Knight said as he took out his valdium blade, planting the tip on the ground before resting his hands on the crossguard of the sword. He let his eyes wander through the colorful party of individuals quickly moving from one individual to the next until he caught sight Aeryn, his body tensing immediately after noticing the Dorcha's presence in the group. “I’ll do you the courtesy of assuming that you aren’t here with ill intent.” The Knight said, his voice colder and more tense than before “But before we let you in I’d like to know what’s your objective here, and how did you come to this place.” He said, waiting for an answer from anyone “Did your Dorcha friend over there guided you here?” He asked, disdain palpable in his voice, pointing towards Aeryn with his finger before laying his hand on the crossguard of his sword once more.

@POOHEAD189@Gardevoiran[@TheFatedFallen]@Fetzen@Stormflyx@BCTheEntity

It was almost a relief to see this village without the same raging fires as the last poor place. Gods, she even dared to imagine they wouldn't have to fight their way tooth and nail through the streets this time. Geradin's military eye pointed out early on the almost imperceptible dip in the landscape that marked a fortified ditch, built so that cavalry raiders or monsters would only see it at the last moment, which was more protection than the last village had to be sure.

As they approached the local militiamen moseyed their way forwards with fairly typical weapons. Alice did suppose her party looked very suspicious, especially with the large lizardman. As a wizard she briefly considered throwing up a few wards on herself and her companions if possible, but she was far too burned out from the events of yesterday to cast even basic spells let alone the subtle spellcasting needed in a tense situation like this. Their new Dark Elf friend prudently moved her way to the back of the group, Alice gave a small nod as she did trying to relay her thoughts of Thank you, this will help.

As they drew closer Alice considered stepping forwards first, to take the ire in place of her comrades. Ragnarok would hardly accept her cowardice just because of being tired should she be judged today. To her great surprise the priest beat her to the punch, and was probably best for it having the experience he did with common folk.

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'My friends, I greet you most graciously,' he spoke, surprisingly loudly to Alice's ear. She wondered if it was experience or blessing helped him speak as such. 'Be not afraid, for we are but weary and humble travellers through these lands, and all told quite agreeable to those who would be our friends and acquaintances. If it would not trouble you, sirs and ladies, I might ask that you be so kind as to allow us to partake of what your abode has to offer, for we have spent many a night in peril, and seek only shelter and refreshment in a land that is distressingly short of both.'

Alice took it upon herself to hold her hand out, calling the group to a stop, before speaking out herself. "We may be an odd lot, but we have coin and news if you'll have us. We can do business outside of your village if needed, truly we only require supplies and guidance although as our priest here says," she gestured towards Settionne, hoping her utterance of his occupation would endear them all, "A warm bed and warm food would not go to waste."

She tried to read as many of the faces as possible, seeing how these Southlanders would react to the two Vrettonian foreigners.

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The few guards were reluctant to speak until a particular individual strode with purpose out of the gates behind them. He was clearly military; if the walk, scars and recently shaven heard were anything to go by. A damned good one if he was as seasoned as his weathered armour and built frame looked.

“And we would like to help Your Reverence, but I’m afraid to say that you and your fellow travelers are a suspicious lot and it’s often dangerous to trust blindly here in the Southlands” He raised a good point, namely his sword, which he brought to rest upon the ground in a clear statement. Damn, an Andred all the way out here, what are the chances? Alice thought, and hoped he'd left his prejudices for her own rival nation back in his homeland.

The other guards and militia were emboldened by their leader's presence, as it became obvious that he must indeed be as such. Their stares had been anxious before his arrival, not taking their eyes off of the visitors; trying to get a read and preparing to bolt as soon as they caught scent of danger. But now this Andred Knight was here they stood much more ready, hands were clasped around weapons and their gazes looked to their own numbers, judging their own strength and always keeping an eye on their leader, ready to attack as soon as the command came. They were evidently better trained than the average rabble, and that might work in everyone's favour since it was less likely an arrow be accidentally loosed or anyone would act too hastily.

“I’ll do you the courtesy of assuming that you aren’t here with ill intent.” The man continued, though his armament and tone did little to show his belief in those words, “But before we let you in I’d like to know what’s your objective here, and how did you come to this place. Did your Dorcha friend over there guided you here?” His gaze seemed to part it's way through the gathering, and even courtly Alice couldn't refrain from cussing in old Dwarvish under her breath. Though even such a foul word to describe warm ale was nothing when compared to the sourness in this knights voice as he pointed with an accusatory finger at their companion, which he then returned to the hilt of his weapon and resumed his dangerous stance.

Alice spoke up first and quickly, she hoped, as she knew there was little as guilty looking as an awkward pause. "Yes, she did indeed lead us here. Out from the heart of Dark Elf homeland, from tunnels beneath us even now. As a group we slew more than a few of her kind," a little exaggeration never hurt anyone. "She has been true enough so far, and if you don't believe me then believe Geradin's honour here. How many Dwarves do you know that would stand within a hundred feet of a Dark Elf without weapons raised without a good reason to?"

She gestured towards her friend, to make sure he was not lost in the crowd due to his more diminished stature. "We ask not that you accept us or trust us, only that you either allow us service or passing in peace." she was really hoping for the former but either would be better than what the situation was quickly building up to be.

@POOHEAD189@Gardevoiran@Mortarion@Fetzen@Stormflyx@BCTheEntity

The sun was an enjoyable sight for it was the clear indication that they had left this largely unexplored subterranean mixture of dwarfish and dark elven infestation behind for good. The Skayleigh spent a lot of time on looking downwards, waiting for his eyes to do what any dwarven eye would have done long ago and adjust. The moment pain ceased to be the reward for looking into the distance, An-Hasst raised his senses and inspected the environment himself. A village. Inhabitans ? Humans. Or should one say... daredevils ?

While he had never participated much in the struggle on the Kaelic Isles himself, he still could recognize how terribly wrong the order of construction appeared to have gone here. Wouldn't have it been a much better idea to try and get a decent defensive ring completed first before upgrading improvised shelters to nice little houses ? Without a wall they'd have to try and shoot their bows from inside the houses and await any enemy there after he had broken through the gate. Or simply get slaughtered outside by virtually any projectile on any arbitrary trajectory. An-Hasst silently hoped that those people at least knew that there was this massive cave entrance nearby ?

He noticed how their most recent addition opted to seek cover behind him -- and in fact he started to support this move. The woman was horribly exposed and who knew how badly her reputation in this village was biased by either previous confrontation on the personal level or general vilification of her race. Her getting held up, probably caught and possibly even be killed would only help to give their own cause a boost downwards. So he started to move more slowly and barely enough to make his stance and position not appear odd. Sometimes being the largest member of the group could be quite advantageous. If only there was be more he could do to make her drow-ish appearance just vanish for a brief, decisive moment. The old 'we have captured this individual and would like to perform our investigations' trick wouldn't work on such short notice, would it ? At least he decided not to dare and try it single-handedly. If she'd decide to pull it off, he'd assist her though.

Maybe though this wouldn't even be necessary: Maybe Settionne would succed in wrapping this guard into so much of his disgusting verbal slime that the poor fellow would simply slither along the ground of arguments no matter what part of his mind or body he'd deploy to try and gain a foothold ? Time would tell in a few moments, and so long he'd have to try and move this rog captain's halberd into a less prominent position. What if they'd recognize what kind of species it originated from ? And last but not least there was the not so enjoyable brain wave that those humans likely were refugess from any of the northern battlegrounds. This included the one his own kind was involved in. So... maybe someone would step into the breach and boldly claim that both he and Aeryn were captives ?

Events didn't fail to quickly pass the Skayleigh's mental position. A man in shiny armor and with a damn precious looking sword appeared, even though he obviously had the bad habit of letting its tip rest in the dirt where sand and stones could make it lose its edge very rapidly. He noticed the drow, probably a glitch in An-Hasst's footwork that had exposed her legs, but nothing dangerous happened. At least so far... crossbows were still aimed at them. Not having to conceal anyone anymore, he decided to step forward. The bridge's floorboards protested precariously beneath his feet, something that made him wonder if those spikes had also been placed in the ditch beneath them.

He felt a little flaw in the arguments exchanged so far. What was money worth in a place as remote and cut off from any trade like this ? "If it would assist in the matter we maybe could also offer our workforce for the time we'd stay here. I could imagine that your ongoing construction effort could need it."

@POOHEAD189@Gardevoiran@Mortarion@Fetzen@Stormflyx@BCTheEntity

"Are ye suggesting we would deal with the likes of Dorcha?" Geradin asked dangerously, glaring balefully at the townsfolk that had come to see them at the edge of town. Alice's suggestion of using the Dwarf's honor as insurance did strike a cord in the guardsmen's memories. Even men who had never seen a Dwarf in their life knew they had a long standing disdain for Elves, and a particular hatred for their Dark kin. More so than the other races, at least. "The lass speaks true. Me honor remains, and yer tae trust ir. Do ye doubt?"

"We're no friends of Dark Elves." Beren said at the fore, crossing his arms and gesturing toward's Aeryn with his chin. "But neither is she. The Dark Elves we killed were going to kill her. We helped her so she would help us, and she's under our protection for now." The warrior said. One of the village guards gestured toward Beren, and whispered to his comrade. Only Nicademus and the Elves would be able to hear it.

"He looks like a savage."

Calanon's brow lowered in disdain at the slur. He considered Beren a friend, and at that moment, the Wood Elf came to realize just why the monk felt sympathetic to Aeryn. His eyes flicked to Beren, standing tall and strong, with a different perspective.

He was half blood as well.

Beren continued with. "I don't think we'd mind helping out with fixing the defenses, either." His manner had changed from strong to friendly, a smile on his face. He gave the others behind him a wink. Truth be told, the Warrior Monk would love to help out. Calanon couldn't help but give a small smile at that, and stroke Brogach's mane as he did so.

Argon was perhaps the most menacing member of the group, standing head and shoulders over everyone save An-Hasst. And he looked far more monstrous and bestial. Though at this moment, he also seemed to be the most congenial member of the group past Settione, simply waiting in the back, his forest-green scales glinting in the sun, and his white teeth that could pierce chainmail firmly shut within his mouth.

Ursaren sat idly by as he watched the group converse with the newly-arrived knight, a slight smile on his face and his weapons sheathed. He listened to the speaking of Nicademus and the reasoning of his group. The argument to help fix the defenses of the town was quite a good idea in Ursaren's mind, and it'd no doubt help get the group into the town without much argument. That being said with the arrival of the newest member of the plucky party, Aeryn, it was less of a possibility to get inside without any caution by the townsfolk.

At first, Ursaren had nothing to say. The old man could tell stories and stories for days, but he wasn't experienced with getting people into towns. He'd imagine that the other people he had joined could get them in without his need, but that wasn't exactly going to plan. Finally, the old man spoke to the men keeping the party from going in, seeing that his word might actually help.

"If the word of an old man means anything, I'd be more than happy to repair the walls of your fine town. In addition," Ursaren continued, stepping forward with a gesture of compliance. "I'd imagine that you men must have some people in need of medicinal aid, what with this being such a dangerous part of the world to be in. I would be ecstatic to be someone who can help heal those that need it. I know quite the fair bit of magic and alchemy, and my friends can vouch for me here."

The old man put his arms to his sides as he stared at Nicademus, not showing any aggression or any hostility. "We all simply need a place to stay for a few days. We've been traveling for the better part of a few days, and it's been quite some time since I've personally seen a bed, though I can't say much for these folks."

Nicademus looked on as the other women in the group tried to justify the presence of the Dorcha in their midst, first by the argument that they had murdered more than enough of her kinsmen on their way to the village and then by using the fact that the Dwarf amongst their group trusted the Dorcha enough to let her be a part of their group, words that were backed up by the Dwarf himself. Still, Nicademus wasn't wholly convinced something that was plain by the suspicious look still etched on his face. Then another man amongst the group tried to defend Aeryn with the fact that she been a prisoner of the Dorcha that they had encountered, one slated for execution no less. At this Nicademus couldn't help himself and let out a brief, mirthless and bitter, laugh, the sound startling the guards near him briefly. "Her own kinsmen were trying to kill her? Does this really surprises you?" Asked the knight, who shook his head slightly. "Theirs is a cruel, vicious, race. One that is capable of great deeds of evil, you might as well have told me that it was her own family that tried to butcher her and I wouldn't be surprised, nor would I be any more sympathetic or trusting." He said, looking at the man directly in the eyes "I know full well what they are capable of, young man, I've seen what they can do, and suffered as a result of their actions....mere words won't be enough to convince me of the trustworthiness of the Dorcha that accompanies you and your group." He said, weariness palpable in his voice for the first time in the conversation, before shaking his head to refocus.

Before he could add anything more, another one of the group spoke offering what medical expertise he had to help heal the sick and wounded in the village and to help repairs the walls on the town. After this Nicademus fell silent for a long while as he thought on what to do. "Very well, we'll let you in." Said the Knight. "But, before we let you in, there are a few certain terms we must discuss before letting you into the village." He said, raising one armoured finger. "Number one, you will surrender your weapons before we let you in. All of them." He spoke, raising a second finger before proceeding once more. "Second, you'll provide help around the village. Like you said before, we have no need of coin and we do need help here. You are free to do as you please when it comes to the help you give, be it healing the sick and wounded, helping to train the town guards, or contributing to the defences of this place such as the wall and the ditch." The same motion as before repeated itself as Nicademus raised a third finger before stating the next term. "Three, you will tell me what brought you here." At last, he raised a fourth finger before speaking again. "Finally, you will have a member of the town guard accompany you when you go around the town. As I'm sure you've noticed by now, no, I still don't fully trust you, and the people of this village are my wards, so I'd like for someone that I trust, people I've known for months, to accompany you if you decide to wander around the village."

He placed the hand that he had raised on the crossguard of his sword once again. "I understand that I demand a lot and that my suspicious of your group are plain. But, if you accept, I'm willing to give you what you want, furthermore I'm giving you the chance to prove me wrong in my assumptions." Said the knight, sheathing his sword as, hopefully, a sign that he was willing to give them a chance. "I understand if you are angry at me, mistrustful of me, but my actions are borne from my concern for this village. As I said before, prove me wring in my assumptions, show me that you can be trusted." He finished speaking, his hand resting on the pommel of his sword as he waited from the various members of the group to reply. In truth he wished to have no conflict with the group, despite his continuous misgivings about Aeryn, but he wasn't willing to give help to them blindly and put any extra risk on the village on top of its existence as a frontier settlement in the Southlands. The only thing left now for the knight to do was to wait for the groups reply, and hope that they wouldn't react violently and try and force their way into the village.

@POOHEAD189@Gardevoiran@The Fated Fallen@Fetzen@Stormflyx@BCTheEntity

After hearing the rest of the travellers defend her character, and being unable to keep her trap shut - she just had to work in a response to Nicademus's diatribe about her. As if he knew anything at all about her. As if any of them did, really. Her saviours and... friends, at least deserved some answers to the questions that they had been kind enough to not have asked her thus far on the journey.

"They were not my kin...."

The tiny dorcha-human stepped forward, nodding to An-Hasst, and any of her fellow companions who may have given her a 'look' as she did so.

"They want to kill me because I-" she paused briefly to get the right word on her tongue "humiliate them."

"I hatch a plot to free human slave boy from the markets" she looked right into the blue eyes bursting out from behind scared flesh. She aimed her words like a weapon at the human as she told her story to him.

"But of course, it was the human who betray me in the end... And they locked me away for it and he walked free..." The story of betrayal still stung her, she felt a knot grow in her chest that was a bitter mixture of anger and sadness that had been sitting like a festering poison on her heart for the years since. If Nicademus was looking back he might see her emotional scars etched across her face as she scrunched it up, her lip twitching.

"And I am no Dorcha. Just as I am no human. I am nothing and I will not pretend otherwise, you needn't look so hard over your shoulder at me, I will have a painting made if you love the sight of me that much..."

It felt freeing to speak so openly about her past and about herself, vulnerability was not something she was experienced with, and she suddenly felt just slightly naked in front of the small crowd.

"I won't have you look down your nose to me, certainly not to my friends because of me. So how about this, you have my weapons and I will stay where you want me to, in chains should it please you - if it is your kink - but my friends are free to do as they please..."

The overall tone had somewhat shifted from hostile to straight out suspicion. This was already better than what could have been, and everyone was at least a little relieved by that being the case. The knight seemed to embody the crowds moods perfectly, though his eyes spat a thousand hatreds. Ursaren tried to calm him a little more, and was met with an abrupt laugh which startled Alice, as she was studying him so closely and it was so unexpected.

"Theirs is a cruel, vicious, race. One that is capable of great deeds of evil, you might as well have told me that it was her own family that tried to butcher her and I wouldn't be surprised, nor would I be any more sympathetic or trusting." He spoke, she didn't have to check to know he was looking Beren in the eyes. "I know full well what they are capable of, young man, I've seen what they can do, and suffered as a result of their actions....mere words won't be enough to convince me of the trustworthiness of the Dorcha that accompanies you and your group." She found it hard to disagree with him, though she noticed his words came from a place of experience, marked by his sudden weary tone. She supposed it was probably better for everyone that he had spotted Aeryn at the gate.

Ursaren offered healing and repair making Alice realise she herself probably should have offered something more concrete than coin. I still have much to learn about the borderlands Alice remarked to herself. Thankfully such an offer was well received, though it was hard to tell from the knight's face. The man fell silent, which was good. Silence meant thinking was happening, as oppose to mindless violence.

Eventually he gave them three conditions in which they may enter the village.

One, they surrender any and all weapons. Alice was extremely unsure of how to deal with this. The quarterstaff would have to go. It was the 'any' part that she had problem with. Would anyone here be able to identify her as a wizard at sight? She could feign being a translator, or diplomat. She could hand over her hidden dagger as a gesture of good will, but her disguised wand would stay with her. And she would NEVER give up her spell tome, not after so many years. The idea of it being left in a musty stockroom, or worse being perused like some child's storybook by illiterate peasants who knew no such thing as book-care or etiquette! Her mind was whipping her into a frenzy, but her body remained calm and collected as the knight spoke the second condition

Two, the party would have to contribute towards the village's defences while they were here. Once again Alice was at a conundrum. She knew very little of fortifications. When she had been with the Dwarves it would have been hard enough even getting close to any construction, Dwarven pride not allowing a human, even as honoured as her, get close to them. Not to mention she hardly had the physique of a manual worker. She supposed she could try and cast spells on some of the walls and gates, but her knowledge of such things was extremely limited. And even if she had the power to do so normally, she most certainly didn't now, still recovering as she was. She thought long and hard as the knight went on to his next condition

Three, the party share their goal. At least this one was a bit more straightforward for Alice

Four, a member of the 'town' guard would accompany any member of the party should they decide to wander the village. This instinctively irked Alice somewhat, but she understood wholly why.

It was as she considered all of these things did she realise the knight was waiting for a reply. She spoke up "Of course, we'll take a few moments to consider the terms but they seem reasonable. May I also ask for your name, Ser knight?" she thought it probably worth asking now they were out of the woods

He replied, and his posture returned to a more casual one. She knew that this Ser Nicademus' gesture meant little more than it showed, she was betting he could draw that sword to deadly effect in an instant, but thankfully it was enough to re-assure most of the assembled militia who started to return to what they were doing beforehand.

"I understand if you are angry at me, mistrustful of me, but my actions are borne from my concern for this village. As I said before, prove me wring in my assumptions, show me that you can be trusted."

"A noble sentiment," Alice bowed her head in thanks, "We won't let you down, Ser Nicademus." True, she didn't know if he was a knight or not, but he damn well looked like one and she didn't think he would object too loudly to the title.

Everything was wrapping up neatly, until their latest addition took it upon herself to open diplomacy. Alice wanted to say a thousand things to Aeryn, but her thought process just kept repeating the words "Oh no," incrementally getting louder. She wanted to sigh. She wanted to scream. She wanted to run for cover.

What Alice did do was shoot Geradin a look. Whether that look meant "Shut her up," or "Get ready," Alice didn't know. What Alice did know was that one of her hands was firmly clutching her wand, and the other hand was in a pocket on her backpack and wrapping itself around a holy medallion of Ragnarok.

@POOHEAD189@Gardevoiran@Mortarion@Fetzen@Stormflyx@BCTheEntity