@Ouroborrean@ZAVAZggg@Raptra

Harlund pulled out a small wooden pipe, smiling he motions you all over to the fire "Take a seat friends you must be tired from your journey," the wrinkles on his face deepen as he smiles, most likely from years of laughter and happiness "So tell me friends where did you come from and where are you going" Harlund strikes a match lighting the pipe.

Vitius trudged over to the fire and took a seat on a bench nearby, the wood groaning in protest beneath the weight of his armor. Crossing his arms, he met the wizened man's gaze from across the flame.

"Tired isn't the right word for it friend," he said softly. "Before we get into where I come from however, I have a question for you."

He paused, his eyes narrowing into slits.

"Where am I exactly?"

Robin needs no further invitation. He plops down onto the floor with a sigh of relief, eager for the opportunity to allow the fire's warmth to melt away his road fatigue and the lingering dampness of his clothing. He'd given himself a once over in a river not long before, and though the bath had allowed him to wash away the worst of the road grime, he is still pungent and being wet never helps with things like that.

"Ugh...I been hikin' for near on two months now! Not really sure where I'm goin', though I'm pretty sure I'll know where it is once I get there."

Robin fished around in the sack he'd pilfered from the back of a barn he'd passed on the road, hand emerging slightly wet and clutching a somewhat overripe apple. He sets into it with gusto.

@ZAVAZggg

"Well by my memory," Harlund thoughtfully puffed his pipe, casting his gaze to the ceiling "We're nestled between King's Pass and between the Gray Plains and the Vale of the Horsemaster" Harlund explains looking at you passively "Vampire hm?" he smiles "Don't see many your kind these days" the old man nods.

@Ouroborrean

"Hungry?" the old man guffaws "You should try our food! Fill you up a bit more than an apple could" Harlund looks back and his expression lights up. "Oh ladies and gents' let me introduce my tapmaster and my wife Julia," the woman walking towards the three of you carrying a wooden tray with flasks looks taller than her husband and far more muscular. "Har you need to tell me when customers show up," she sets the tray down, the fire light catching her green eyes and short black hair. Julia looks young but her face has the telltale signs of age yet looks remarkably healthy, more so than her husband.

@Blackmist16

A low rumble rose in the depths of Vitius throat as he steepled his fingers beneath his chin and gazed deeply into the flickering flame, his mind lost in the depths of thought. After a rather lengthy period of silence, however, he spoke.

"Unfortunately none of those places sound familiar to me," he remarked, bringing his chin to rest against the tips of his fingers. "So I'll assume my most recent shift took me somewhere far from Duncaster or even the Crimson Heights..."

Upon hearing his comment on vampires, Vitius shifted his attention back to the man.

"You can thank the Hoods for that, the murderous bastards. Although I will admit that my kind don't exactly do much to avoid attracting attention, unwanted or otherwise. Still, one can hardly blame us for doing what we need to survive. In the same way man consumes cattle, so to does a vampire consume the blood of man. And even then we do not need to take it all."

Falling silent, Vitius merely gave the slightest of nods at Julia's approach, but said nothing otherwise. He was still busy trying to figure out where on Tenebris he'd ended up. Currently his best guess was another continent, as all of the locations the man had mentioned hadn't rung any bells, though the possibility that he was in another world entirely didn't leave his mind. Hell was a massive place after all, and who knew where the most isolated parts of it could lead?

In response to the elderly man's invitation, Selestra made her way over towards the fire and took her seat, the lyre she held emanating a soft melody as delicate fingers expertly plucked its strings. The tune ceased abruptly, however, when he spoke again, curious to know more about the inn's current occupants. She listened intently as the other two spoke first, instinctively playing with a lock of her jet-black hair as she did so. The first seemed to be a lost vampire, and the other did not give much information. These companions were as good as any for the time being, she supposed.

She glanced around at them with a light smile as she started to speak. "It's a pleasure, gentlemen. I've been a wanderer for as long as I can remember. I once thought that I had found a place to call home, but it was not to be. Who knows what the future holds? Perhaps I'm never to find one..."

She lowered her eyes, her smile fading for a moment at such a thought, but returning when a woman appeared with a tray. She reached for a flask, addressing and thanking the elderly but sturdy-looking woman.

The door of the tavern swung open; a short lanky looking figure slowly stumbled his way into the tavern. A noticeable part of the figure’s attire was a well-preserved goat head that was being worn like a mask; other patrons would wonder why the figure was trying to hide his face. “We would like a glass of your coldest milk please” The figure rummaged through his robes before slamming down some gold pieces onto the tavern table.

His robes were tattered with many holes; perhaps this mage was not maintaining his wardrobe. Or perhaps he had recently been in a difficult battle; escaping with only his life. The figure looked around at the other patrons; keeping his long staff close to him. He seemed paranoid of everyone around him; and rightfully so because of what he just experience a few hours ago.

@Eviledd1984

Harlund spotted the ragged looking man adorned with the head of a goat, he was unfazed as he had seen much worse in his time. Julia went over to the odd fellow and welcomed him but stopped short at the ghastly shape the stranger was in, gasping Julia blinked hard "By the gods sir," she glanced at his robes "What manner of creature did you cross paths with," quickly she ducked behind the bar fetching a glass of warm goats milk she had been tending for her husband.

A minute or so later she appeared from the door behind the bar and set the glass onto the sturdy wooden counter with a thunk. "The names Julia," she introduced herself "What brought you into these parts sir?" she asked.

@ZAVAZggg@Raptra@Ouroborrean

Harlund returned his attention back to the vampire Vitius, nodding sagely he leaned back in his chair. After a moment of silence had passed he blew a puff of smoke from his pipe and sighed "Well I've heard tale of these Hoods but their not of this world," Harlund arched his bushy eyebrows and looked fascinated "You either got magiked here or used your powers to get here but I think neither are correct...right?" he leans in looking at the three of you "You see an odd occurrence has been causing these issues yet nobody has a bloody clue where or how it all started but maybe it has something to do with the ruins down south..." he mused shrugging "But I could be wrong...Just food for thought" he chuckled as he nursed his pipe.

@Blackmist16



The stranger looked up at Juila; the goat’s eyes staring back at her. He found it somewhat amusing that she would think he was half man and half animal, but that was far from true. “We are no half-human half best; we are evolved from apes the same as you. And our name is Micah” He was smirking underneath his mask. Lifting it up so that the one named Julia could see his mouth; something she noted was the many scars and also how pale his skin was. Taking a big sip from the glass of milk; He made a sour-looking face since he hated goat milk ironically enough.

Letting out a sigh and wiping his mouth with his sleeve before continuing to speak. “We are here to gain knowledge; our journey took us to a forest filled with the unnatural. We were the only ones to escape; the others were not so lucky” Putting his mask back on he was staring at Julia. “We found a lot of ancient knowledge; we have the book in our possession. But we fear that we are being followed; someone might steal our book” He said now eyeing the doorway of the tavern.

"How could you have possibly heard of them then? They didn't travel worlds last I checked," he said, shaking his head slightly while shooting the man a questioning stare. "And no, but I'm not one to divulge my entire life's story to someone I just met, so you'll have to just trust me when I say I am here but do not know where here is."

Vitius fell silent, staring into the flame a while before speaking once again.

"You said there were ruins to the south? Those might be worth investigating then."

@Blackmist16

Robin watched the exchange with a mixture of curiosity and confusion. You got all sorts of creatures, out in the Fae-wilds. Strange beings, with access to magic far beyond his own piddly understanding, often used the area as a crossroads of sorts, and the natives weren't normal by any means.

So, still munching on his apple, Robin thought that it would probably be entertaining to go check out some ruins. Never really knew what you'd find in a good ruin.

He noticed that a pixie and a sprite were working together to tie a small piece of string around his ankles. It wasn't exactly brilliant work, but catching them in the act would only encourage them to be more disruptive in the future, so he decided to just go with it.

"Whatchoo think we'll find there? Somethin' fun?"

@Eviledd1984

Julia took a moment to contemplate Michah's predicament, pursuing her lips yet she shrugged "I don't quite understand where you came from," Julia rolled up her sleeves as she took a glass and started cleaning it with an old rag. Her arms taut with muscles and tattoos of arcane sigils, she smiles at Michah "You know what kind of mage I am sir?" Julia chuckles "I'm practiced in sigil magic with years of tenor as well as kicking ass so your safe here sir!" she assured Micah as she turned her attention back to cleaning the glass.

@Blackmist16



His interest sparked when she mentioned she was a practitioner of sigil magic. He knew someone long ago that practice sigil magic, but he had not spoken to that person in a very long time. He was afraid of mentioning to her and the others what manner of magic he practices. He was sure that they would not take kindly to someone who can control the dead. “We are glad to see other sigil users in this place” The strange man spoke. “We have come from a faraway land, and somehow ended up here” He finally answered her.

His hand moving into his robes making sure the book he mentioned before was still on his person. He could feel the strange formation of the book’s front cover; something that made his blood run cold.

@Ouroborrean@ZAVAZggg@Raptra

Finished with his pipe Harlund begins cleaning it out, he throws you both an errant glance "Fun maybe," the innkeeper cleared his throat before continuing "Danger will find you faster" Harlund coughed then he sighed looking at the minstrel woman "You haven't said much dear," the old innkeeper studies you then rests his gaze on your musical instrument.

"The lyre now that is an instrument," nodding appreciatively "You no doubt would search the ruined kingdom for something all bards in these parts would give their right arms to obtain it!" Harlund said seriously "You see the king's daughter went missing 20 years before the kingdom fell," the man sounded as if he were reciting lines for a play "You see Rastlar Grey the king of that forsaken land was struck with grief so he had his court bard compose a song but it was more like a magical scroll so to speak"

Harlund stood slowly and stretched, watching Julia and the stranger talking but turned his attention back over to the three of you "I'm sure there's plenty of plunder if your brave enough to make the trip that is? Anyways I'm off to see what my wife is doing and you can have your rooms on the house," the old man got a faraway look in his eyes but shook his head "It's been awhild since we had so many a traveler pass through so enjoy your stay we can discuss payment at a later date" with that he made his way over to the bar.

Vitius nodded as he rose to his feet, his armor making a faint chinking sound as plate was brushed against plate from the sudden movement. As he made to go to find a room, however, two thoughts suddenly occurred to him. The first was that one, there was no food for him to eat here since his diet consisted of either human or animal blood, and the second was that he didn't have any money with which to pay. This place was foreign to him after all, and he doubted they just accepted the same currency he'd used for the last three hundred years.

"Excuse me," he said, raising a gauntleted hand as he moved to get Harold's attention. "But I'm afraid I lack the funds with which to pay you, being a foreigner to these parts and all. Furthermore..."

Vitius leaned in closer, his voice falling to a whisper.

"You lack the one thing I need to survive, namely blood. I will find myself athirst before long, and I'd hate to have to slake it on any of your fine patrons during the middle of the night."

@Blackmist16

Selestra took a sip from the flask in her hand, and then turned to glance at the disguised individual who had just entered the inn. The newcomer appeared to be rather jittery, and projected quite an unsettling vibe. She turned back to her companions by the fire, deciding that it was probably not the best idea to catch this figure's attention, at least for the moment. The innkeeper seemed to take a keen interest in the vampire, and she listened as the topic of their conversation shifted to 'the ruins down south' possibly being the cause of this supposedly-strange occurrence. The other guest by the fire piped up once more before the innkeeper's interest shifted to her. She attentively leaned forward as she took in what he had to say to her.

"I suppose that the true potential of this highly sought-after treasure's magic is still a mystery, and that none has succeeded in obtaining it. You mentioned danger at those ruins. I must question if such an elusive object is worth the risk, but I do admit that I am intrigued."

When the elderly man stood up, she did too, setting her flask down. "Understood. Your hospitality is much appreciated, Sir."

"A very good night to you, gentlemen," she said to the other two before making her way to one of the rooms, a soothing tune coming from her lyre as she did so.

It is late and most of you are weary from your travels. Conversation lulls and fatigue sets in signalling that it was high time you all should get some rest. An agreement is struck that if you decide to travel to the ruined kingdom and survive the endeavor; you will share a cut of the treasure with Harlund in return for room and board.

---

The dream he had the previous night was quite frightening; The dream itself was himself back inside of the forest surrounded by those tall imposing trees. In the distance, he could hear the screams of his former companions. There was another noise deep in the forest; coming closer towards him. As the noise came closer he could see a pair of many eyes lurking inside of the nearby bush. A sudden blur of shadows lunging towards him causing him to wake up. Wiping beads of sweat off of his forehead and frantically putting on his robes and goat mask.

Once he was fully dressed; he headed downstairs towards the tavern. His staff in hand and the book hidden in his robes."A glass of water pleases" He asked the bar maiden. Quickly handing her the correct payment of gold. He scanned the tavern; noticing the adventurers from before in the room; or coming down the stairs. All of this seemed too familiar to him; the sudden realization that he had done this before on his previous adventure. More sweat was running down his forehead, and his skin becoming cold.