[IC] The Village of Soren (a 1x1 Harvest Moon/Rune Factory-inspired Village RP for FaithfulMuse and Stern Algorithm)

[Stern Algorithm]

"No I don't," Reas replied, "But that won't stop me from showing you some hospitality." Reas led Freya through the forest until they came out into the village. An area near the river was being cleared by Harin, who was digging to lay the foundations for what would become Illithor and Talila's new home.

[FaithfulMuse]

Freya couldn't help but smile upon hearing Reas' reaction. "It is a wise decision to not trust everyone you meet." She said, looking around as Reas lead her to the forest Freya had come from.

[Stern Algorithm]

"The world is a dangerous place," Reas agreed, "but I trust everyone in this village." Reas led Freya to Malkas' home, specifically, the town hall half. Kalram was playing around outside, so Reas called to him, "We have a visitor looking for an inn, please get your father."

Kalram looked over at Reas and Freya, and then ran inside.

Malkas soon came out and walked towards Freya, "Welcome to Soren, I am Malkas, the mayor and innkeeper."

[FaithfulMuse]

Freya looked at Malkas and shook his hand. "My name is Freya." She said, although that was all that she told him about herself. It was already more than she had told to Reas and Elliot, so in a way, there was some improvement, even if it wasn't much.

[Stern Algorithm]

Reas gave Freya a somewhat accusatory glare for having withheld her name earlier and giving it freely now.

"Well, glad to have you, Miss Freya," Malkas said, "We've got free rooms at the inn, so you're more than welcome to stay. How long were you planning on staying, if you don't mind my asking? Because if you've got nowhere else to go, you're free to stay as long as you'd like." Malkas couldn't help but try to convince people to become part of Soren, though some questioned his willingness to just let anyone stay. In this case, Reas was one such person, already having qualms about Freya.

[FaithfulMuse]

Freya hesitated a moment before answering. While she indeed had nowhere to go to, she had originally intended to leave the country to a place where she wasn't known, and she doubted if Malkas would really want a wanted criminal to be a part of his village. "I have no intention to stay for long. I am just passing by." She finally decided.

[Stern Algorithm]

"Oh," Malkas replied, a bit crestfallen, "That's a shame, as you can see, Soren is a small village, so we could do with more people. Anyways, let me give you a room." He led Freya to the inn half of his house where Teann was manning the registration desk.

"Welcome to Soren," she greeted, as Malkas gave her the details of Freya's stay. She had been assigned the room across the hall from where Illithor and Talila were staying.

[FaithfulMuse]

"That is understandable. I am just looking for a calm and quiet place to live, but I do not believe that I have found it just yet." Freya told Malkas, seeing no harm in telling him that. After all, it didn't give away anything that the elf could use against her.

[Stern Algorithm]

"Well, if you change your mind, know that Soren welcomes people of all backgrounds," Malkas said, eyeing Reas, whom he could tell was more than a little suspicious of Freya.

[FaithfulMuse]

Freya nodded. "I will keep that in mind." She said, although she doubted if she would really consider living here. Even if she was miles away from home, she wanted to be further away from the places where her face was known. And besides that, they had planned to leave the country. Even though her fiance had died before she had even started this journey, they had that destination set together, a place where they could live together peacefully and just grow old together. Perhaps it would be good if she could at least make a part of that still happen, although it would be impossible to grow old together.

[Stern Algorithm]

"If you need anything, please let Teann, my daughter or Anya, my wife, know," Malkas said, gesturing to Teann when he mentioned her. "There's also a general store run by Reas' father. You should be able to find most things you might be looking for there."

[FaithfulMuse]

Freya nodded. "Thank you, I will keep that in mind." She said to Malkas. She as quite sure that she didn't need anything, though, except for maybe something to eat once she'd start travelling again.

[Stern Algorithm]

"Alright, I'll leave you to it then," Malkas said, giving Freya her privacy.

---

Meanwhile, Illithor, Jeel and Lannis had made a sizable net. "I think that should do for now," Jeel said, "Of course, you'll want a few extra in case one gets damaged, but we can make those some other day. It was a pleasure working with you; you never really know someone until you've worked with them."

[FaithfulMuse]

Ilithor nodded in agreement. "It was indeed a pleasure to work with you." He said, before heading to the river to test out his new net, when he noticed a fairy there, one he recognised as one of the villagers. "Hey there." He greeted her, causing the woman to look up and smile to the man.
"Oh, hello. You're one of the new villagers, right? The fisherman?" Elizabeth asked, at which the elf nodded.
"Yes, but you can just call me Ilithor."
"It's good to meet you, Ilithor. My name is Elizabeth, I'm the healer here." She introduced herself.
"It's good to meet you. What brings a healer over here to the river, though?" The elf asked.
"There is a certain kind of flower that grows close to the edges of rivers. The powder of its dry, grinded leaves can be mixed into an ointment, to help numb the pain of an injury." Elizabeth told him.

[Stern Algorithm]

Harin and Gil, who were laying the foundation for Illithor's new house nearby saw Illithor and Elizabeth and decided to take a break, coming to the riverside to join in on the conversation.

"Hey Illithor, Elizabeth," the two greeted. "I see you got a net," Harin stated, "Maybe I'll build you a trough to hold your catch. Oh, and you'll probably need barrels and salt to preserve the ones you don't sell fresh."

"Our mines have ores, but not salt, we buy it from the neighboring towns, so you'll find salt at Emtardas'," Gil added.

[FaithfulMuse]

Ilithor smiled and nodded. "Those would be valuable things to have." He said, agreeing to the ideas of the two dwarves. They seemed nice enough to him.

Elizabeth kept her mouth shut,not seeing how she could add anything useful to the conversation.

[Stern Algorithm]

Gil looked over at Elizabeth. He and his father had an agreement with Elizabeth and Eline not to chop down too many trees from the forest as Elizabeth collected precious herbs there and Eline hunted there. Gill took a deep swig from his canteen and pulled out a box of sandwiches. "Want some?" Harin offered to Illithor and Elizabeth.

[FaithfulMuse]

Elizabeth smiled. "Thank you, Gil." She said, taking a sandwhich.

"Thanks for the offer, but I think I'll pass. I'm not hungry." Ilithor said kindly to Gil.

[Stern Algorithm]

As Harin, Gil, and Elizabeth ate, Reas wandered by, having left Freya at the inn. Reas noticed that Elizabeth had a basket of herbs and knew she had been picking them. Reas came over, seeing this as an opportunity to learn more about medicine. Reas curtly nodded at the men in greeting and walked over the Elizabeth and looked in her basket. "Where did you pick these?" ze asked.

"Reas is shy, as usual," Harin explained.

---

Meanwhile, in the small clearing outside the entrance of the mine, Balio and Sunder had decided to take their lunch break as well. Sunder kept looking out into the woods, hoping to catch a glimpse of Eline.

[FaithfulMuse]

"Those? They grow close to oaks." Elizabeth told Reas, glad to see zir.

Ilithor nodded.

Eline was still hunting, when she spotted a deer. Standing still and remaining as quiet as possible, she readied and aimed het bow.