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Fantasy Aerumen

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The Westlands, Mission didn't know if there was much work for a smelly mercenary over there. But on top of that, it was very far away and Mission didn't really know of Yefadorei too much. If they had an inch of surviving they would have to gain coin on their travels. For an entertainment caravan such as these lot, that wouldn't be too difficult - but Mission wasn't an entertainer and she didn't really fancy being a freeloader.

The attention was taken off her as the conversation moved from Blu to Eddie. Glamour, she knew a bit about that - annoyingly it really screwed up fighting Impline and is what made them very difficult to deal with. Especially when they could use it to infiltrate the ranks of your own men, made trusting hard. An amusing conversation about non-elemental magic surfaced from the conversation about the Impline, and Mission knew there was more than just elemental magic as she'd fought against it. It was scarier because of how unknown it was. She loved when Eddie called fortune telling hogwash and couldn't help but let slip a laugh in the form of air blowing out her nose.

Bast conjured a sword in front of them, hard to deny the truth of Magic right then and there and she could see the struggle in Eddie's face. Mission wanted a drink, she'd find this way more amusing and feel less stressed out. Polly then asked the question that Mission took advantage of.

"Your boy will be safest with a band of travellers in their caravan. I won't be joining them there is no need, but I'll keep your secret of course. I have commitments here I need to tend to." She lied. Her chances of getting work here in this village were gone so she'd have to take her time elsewhere and had no other set destination in mind. She could just barely even look at the boy now without feeling horrible, at first it was easy to ignore the fact he was an Impline especially with that stupid helmet clanging around on his head. Speaking of which she walked towards it and swiped it off the floor, flicking some dirt from it. "You guys don't need me dulling your getup, plus I think I've caused enough attention committing murder for the boy. I've got one piece of advice for you, Sir and Ma'am - don't leave a trace of your son, burn everything or hide it so you don't even remember where to look; because if they find out you've been harbouring the Impline here when they come look for me, well lets just say you may as well be enemies of the state."

If Mission knew anything, she knew the politics of the lands - how men thought and the opinions of people. She had been subject to them way too many times and in such a negative fashion. She has strolled back over to the door at this point, speaking before leaving through it.

"You have enough guests for the night, I'll take my leave. I can't say the circumstances of meeting you was nice boy, but I had an ounce of fun at least and you're... sweet. Thank you for your hospitality."

She walked back towards the stable to pick up Ludo, it was a cold night now and an eery breeze chilled her to the bone. Like the world was sad that she had left them to it, but she didn't feel as guilty as she did when all she could thought of was the slaughter she was apart of. Mission brought Ludo out and tied her Helmet back onto the saddle before mounting it. Her exit may have been swift, but she needed it - she didn't expect to be going so quickly. In a way the travellers had saved her an inconvenience. Ludo trotted passed the caravan and Mission spotted a blonde Dwarf, hairy as usual eyeing her as she rode passed - he was sitting upon the pedestal high above the horses he lead the caravan with whilst fiddling with an ornate spherical item in his hands. She returned his nod at least, but hurried passed.
 
"Well, there you have it." Mircea said once Mission had left the cottage, "It looks like Blu will be coming with us, then."

Polly, still reluctant to let Blu go, was holding on to the boy now tightly, a worried look now familiar to her features.

"We will take care of him, M'am," Bast spoke and, for a moment, his voice was almost as sweet as Mircea's, "He needs to do this."

"He's too young.." Polly said, though her grip had loosened.

"He will grow quickly, as I'm sure you know," Mircea interjected, humor in his voice, "I hope that you are well enough to recognize him should he return." He stood from the seat, Bast already coming to move with him. "We will leave you for the night, but will be back before the sun fully rises. Please, prepare yourselves."

With that, the two left the cottage to an odd quiet. The fire cracked and spit, Eddie sat staring at his family with a sad light in his eyes. For a few minutes they sat in silence before coming to chat with each other. Ed trying to calm Polly, Blu trying to understand- They danced this dance for almost two hours until sleep beckoned them through the chaos.

Blu slept with his parents that night, something he hadn't done since he was more of a child. The bed just barely fit them all, but it was more comforting than the cot, less isolated from the ones he loved.

Mircea and Bast reached the carriages and entered their respective holds, not bothering to share words together, not bothering to update the others on what happened. Only Mircea spoke to the others, letting those awake know that they wouldn't be leaving until morning.

Sleep came that night to many like a chore.
 
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Mission's night was a short one, she got some rest before tending to business again. She had a target on her mind since she left the boy in that House, and to others it may have been stupid; but she believed she could pull it off - returning to the village to retrieve her rune logs. She stuck to the thick woodlands, moving carefully on foot to where she had made camp when she first arrived; the tiny clearing within the bushes, hopefully no one else had stumbled across it looking for clues. They didn't. She found her logs piled upon one another, a piece of clothe she used to lay on and a couple bits of rubbish scattered around. She rolled up the logs in the cloth and put them in the satchel she brought with her off Ludo. She then moved on as quiet as possible.

She made her way to the edge of the flora, spying comfortably from behind the green - hidden in it's darkness as she had a great view of the path and the entrance of the Village. It was stupidly risky to be doing this, but she was curious to see what was being done. She saw three riders talking to the scarred man from last night, the man she knew - he stood next to his men at the entrance whilst the riders were outside; it was a serious conversation. The Riders wore armour, dark blue almost purple in colour with what looked like black scorch marks upon them, their cloaks were black and so was there chain-mail. What looked like the leader of the Riders wore a helmet with a long single horn protruding the middle of it's forehead, the other two wore a similar helmet but with no horn, however their carved designed made it unique to each one. Mission knew what these were and why they were here was obvious to her. One of the helmets cracked it's head in her direction, but his gaze fell upon nothing; the pulsating red eyes piercing the darkness of his visor whipped around to see anything, but they seemed to give up and turn back to the man they were talking to.

Mission's chest palpitated, her back pressed against a tree trunk - she kept her breaths as silent as possible. And she felt a bit of fear and frustration, but at least she wasn't spotted. She slumped her head down to relax, looking at her chest that had betrayed her cool so quickly. She remembered something and reached down her top, pulling out the letter she was given. Those men would hunt down that boy and the travellers, relentlessly. Maybe they needed her after all. She looked at it, her free hand's thumb tucked under the seal ready to apply a small amount of pressure to pop it open. She was truly torn now, if she didn't do anything those men would cause a whole world of hurt. But then again, she could just forget about it and go about life as normal. The letter opened and she took the paper from it's envelope hastily and read the note. It took her seconds before she dropped her hand and looked up at the leaves dancing in the breeze above her, sun rays painted her face as she silently cried.

"Black hound, how ye have scorned
Their blood taints your fangs and darkens your sword
If ye wish to clean your blade, and fix the path that they have paved
Seek and ye shall find
A woman both fair and kind
To the west, she shall wait
Beside blue fire and lemon sweet"​

Mission pressed the letter against her chest and bit her bottom lip in frustration, her other hand pressed against her forehead, elbow rested on her raised knee as she sat. Looking away to the distance her wet eyes glistened in the morning sunlight. She never thought her nickname would come up like this. The past twelve hours had really been a test of her belief on fate. Mission got up and retreated back into the depths of the Forest to find Ludo.
 
The day started like any other day, if any other day included preparing for a departure. Blu was awake well before sunrise, even beating the birds to their morning duties. He did a few things around his home, not wanting to leave his parents with too much, or cause them to despise him in his absence. He was quiet, unusually so for someone who had so much thrust on to him in one night. Exhaustion clung to his features in the guise of puffy eyes and spontaneous yawns, something no one saw for now.

It wasn't long before there was another acknowledged presence with him. Blu had watched the tall man hop from the caravan and stretch, emitting a yawn Blu could hear from Petunia's fence. The goat nudged him away wishing to chew at the grass where he stood, and Blu moved, glancing at the approaching man with hair like silk.

"You're up early, tyke," Bast greeted, as if he'd been waiting for the boy to wake. He hopped over the fence with ease when he made it, "Need help with anything?"

However, it wasn't a friendly smile and nod that greeted him when he landed on the other side. Petunia ran at the man and knocked her horns against his shin, something she often did to the farmers. "Ou," Bast said, lifting lifting his leg,"That's a rough greeting."

Blu was giggling though, "Sorry...Petunia does that to anyone who climbs the fence."

Another figure approached the two, almost invisible in the early morning for his dark skin. His eyes were a dead give away to the boy, though, as they still shined a vibrant silver and gold.

"Good Morning, Mircea," Blu said in a weak but sincere tone of voice. Bast shifted on his feet to see behind him.

"Ai, it will be. Perfect day for traveling." Mircea smiled, his glowing gaze trailing over a horizon only he could see. The man wasn't wrong, the air was already dry and the weather calm, a day that came so rarely. "Speaking of, we must get you ready. Can't stay long after sunrise."

The boy looked like he was going to object, the sun hadn't even begun to rise yet. Bast only nodded.

"I want to get your things so that you can spend the rest of the time with your family." What Mircea said eased the boy a bit, tufts of white curls waving with his nodding head. He lead the men inside of the cottage, his father already awake and warming stew.

"Morning, sir," Mircea sounded, and Eddie only grumbled. The elf seemed unfazed by this, as if expecting nothing more.

It wasn't long before they had moved all of Blu's things in to the caravans. He didn't have too many belongings, and most of them were already conveniently packed in to a trunk. The two men left the home in peace to prepare for the journey. The boy sat inside his home with his parents, eating left over stew from the day before and talking with them for the last time in a while.

"You know, son, I used to be an adventurer." Eddie said, his voice and manner of speaking much softer than usual, "I wasn't much older than ya' when I set off. Had a family I left behind, an' even had a lover. This was before I met Polly, of course. I like to say the world was different then, but it's just the same problems under different faces in reality."

"Is that what I'm going to be? What do they do?" Blu questioned, his long ears flicking.

"Possibly. An adventurer is something like your friends outside- You travel and experience great things, except you wont be ripping people off like they do."

"Did you experience great things, pa?"

"Ai, I did. I got to do many things, like visit the sand mountains, an' bask in the light of the crystal caves at sundown. Real magic, that is. I stopped, though. Joined the guard to pay for food. Spent most of my younger years there, before I met Polly and was discharged. You're already ahead of me. I could never get in to that elvish city, never had an elf traveling with me."

"That's amazing," Blu's amber eyes gleamed in awe from the new information, bits of stew escaping the edge of his mouth. Eddi's brows furrowed.

"Blu, close your mouth, an' don't take it just one way. Traveling is a good time, but it's dangerous, especially for you."

"Because I'm an 'impline'?" The boy's tone was somewhat flat, as if it were a topic he was tired of hearing already. His eyes had moved to his food as he continued to eat.

"Don't pout, it's just what you are. There's also a few things I want to give you. Now, you may not like all of them, but you'll take them anyways." Eddie's tone now held that bit of sternness the boy was so used to. He stood as he finished his food and opened his large chest again, taking out that soft looking material as well as some form of bag Blu hadn't seen before.

"This is a travel bag. It's a little old, but I want you to use it- carry your things with you." He stuffed the soft material in to the bag as well as a few small books, and what looked like a journal. "Now, I know you aren't the best at readin', an' that's my fault, but you'll get better." He then moved to the trunk again and pulled out a dagger, something he'd only seen his father wield once. "Take this, too. It's no sword, but it should help." Once his father had added what he wanted in to the bag, including a few wrapped up pieces of bread, he tied the leather straps together and handed it to Blu.

By that time Blu had already finished eating and was leaning on his mother's shoulder. She was unusually quiet, prodding at her stew weakly with a wooden spoon. "I know...I know you must go, but don't ask me to be happy about my boy leaving." As if on cue to Blu's frown she spoke, and left the little blue boy frowning harder.


"Oh cheer up, Polly. You don't want him leaving with you like this."


The three conversed for a good while before Blu, Eddie, and Polly left the cottage. Blu had the travel bag wrapped around his shoulders, and Eddie seemed to be moving through the fences with an objective. Bast and Mircea approached them, meeting them near the fences only for Eddie to come to them with Petunia in his arms. He plopped her in to Bast's arms, to which petunia looked at all of them and licked at the air.

"You can take Blu and Petunia."

"Why-" Bast paused at Petunia struggled in his arms, "Why are we taking the goat?"

"That goat is over thirty years old." Eddie said, his arms crossing.

"So?" Blu chimed curiously.

"A common goat doesn't usually live past twelve to eighteen years, let alone thirty." Mircea said, a sudden interest in the animal apparent in his voice.

"You folk are not as simple as you say." Bast, holding an air of knowing something the others didn't, moved with Petunia to the caravans, carefully holding her as she attempted to bite at his hair.

The sun had just begun to raise on his departure. Mircea bid the farmers farewell, and reminded them of what Mission told them to do. Blu embraced his parents, even if they weren't his blood, it was difficult for him to let go. Polly cried, the tears she'd be holding back that morning finally expelled. It was what one would expect of a parent, of a mother, having to watch her son leave their care before most would.

Blu walked with Mircea down to the caravans, the man's hand coming to pat his head when Blu sniffled through the silence of the morning. The large caravans were something he had expected from the company that traveled in them. The outsides were decorated in an array of colors, some had closed shutters, others had trinkets and various symbols hanging from the roofs. The man suddenly grabbed Blu, lifting him in to the open door of the middle Caravan. Inside, the decor was almost shocking to someone who didn't have much. Banners, symbols, and various clutter lined the walls. Four pillowed cots were nestled against them, separated by chests and casual things he couldn't name right away. In one of the beds a familiar figure sat with her Lither curled on her lap. Esra beamed at him, waving a small hand in greeting.

"Will you show him where he will rest? I need to speak with Arbonath about heading out."

Esra did as he asked, moving Silte onto a maroon pillow before she lifted herself and helped Blu settle in. He had a feeling Mircea wouldn't be staying in the same wagon, considering the cots were all too small for a man of his size.

Mircea moved to find Arbonath, keeping his eyes peeled for the little tinker. Once he found him, he asked how soon they could head out, giving him a sense of urgency.
 
The Dwarf was pretty pleased with the progress on his spherical item, though just as he was about to go in at it with his pick he was caught off guard by Mircea, the silk-footed elvish sod. The Sphere slipped out of his hand and he reached to catch it, but it bounced off his palm - so he tried for it again reaching further off the edge of his seat he almost fell from the height but managed to catch it okay. He let out a relieved sigh and placed the orb into a bag hanging from the seat of the wagon.

"You know I can leave whenever!"

The Dwarf hopped up onto the seat and stood almost like a conductor ready to play his music. He whistled to gain the attention of the horses pulling this cart and their ears twitched in response. One even looked back at the Dwarf and he replied to it.

"Eyes front now come come."

His hands came together as he clapped twice and whistled a melody. Then the crystals on the horses saddles begin to light up, reacting to the melody as the horses moved slowly forward, picking up pace eventually with the weight of the wagon they were pulling - it also gave enough time for people to hop on. The Dwarf then shuffled around on the spot, facing the back of the Wagon, looking over it at the other. He clapped twice again and the other wagons, that weren't being pulled by horses, seemed to react - following single file without the need of rope to pull them along. The symbols carved on their wheels reacted to a similar fashion to the crystals on the horses. The Dwarf smiled contently and sat down, facing the front now - he took the reins in his hand and continued to whistle the old dwarvish melody. The Caravan would leave the land and find the path...

The Village wasn't a small one, but it wasn't exactly humongous either. The fact that these pathetic cretins had let the Northern Impline and their companion run away was frankly, not good enough. Celebrations or not, an incursion on a settlement could happen at any moment - guards should always be on duty as normal, a murder right under their noses? And what would have happened to all these people if they were attacked by a group? They'd have been absolutely slaughtered. This whole situation was making Mana very angry, but that is all Mana ever really felt. Anger. His single horned helmet pointed directly at the scarred man who talked up at him on his horse.

"Yes it's good you contacted us, rumours of a Nothern Impline in our midst must be investigated. You say the woman is an Ex-Knight under the Old King Artemis?"

Mana spat out the name like it was disgusting on his tongue. With everything he caused and failed to accomplish, this would just be another item on that agenda; plus the fact that he had taken the biggest fall of grace a King could, now becoming nothing more than an evil criminal that needs to be killed. King Ballard should've had his head. The scarred man answered the question.

"Yes... uh... she's a good soldier, she was just TOO good. Her name is Mission Allura, you may know her Father."

"Allura?" Mana had definitely heard that name before, he just couldn't remember where specifically. That would annoy him, not being able to pinpoint that in his mind. He then heard a sudden movement from the Rider on his left, looking at the trees. Mana didn't bother looking and just spoke instead.

"Yes, Bastion?"

Bastion replied in a language that only they would understand, telling Mana that it was nothing. Mana turned his attention back to the Scarred man, slightly pulling on the reins of his horse as it obeyed and began to slowly turn on the spot.

"It is good you contacted us since you cannot do your own job, we will do ours. Rook - take the evidence."

The Rider on Mana's right trotted forward and reach for the Evidence that the Scarred man handed to her, she took the segment of wood that looked as though it was ripped from a bigger piece. It was dyed red, a couple drops of blood had stained it. The three riders took off side-by-side to each other away from the Village - Rook now on the left and Bastion on the right after turning around. Rook took a small bird cage from beneath her cloak, a small creature with insect like wings - most would know it was a Fairy. Rook's ring seemed to glow in reaction to the revelation of the Fairy, glowing the same colour as the aura the creature gave off. She crushed the wooden splinter in her armoured hand like it was nothing and held it over the cage, sprinkling the shards into it. The creature looked up at the atoms as they poured down on it, it's aura reacted and changed colour - becoming a deep red like the blood that had stained the wood. Rook opened the cage and the Fairy whizzed out - flying up into the air it bolted in a direction. Rook lifted her ringed hand and the closed it into a fist, the piece of jewelry glowed and the Fairy - like it was tethered to an invisible string - jerked back and slowed. The Riders whipped at the reins and their horses whinnied before sprinting off along the path like it was for their lives. The Riders covered a couple miles before Mana spoke up in the language Bastion had used earlier;

"Keep your sights fixed on the...."

Mission wouldn't sit idly by knowing she could stop the bloodshed she was responsible for. Ludo vaulted from the thick bushes on the right side of the road, out of the darkness the horse whinnied a war cry loudly as Mission roared hers, sword in her left hand - not her best hand but it was the fightin' side. Her sword went to swipe at the rider closes to her, but he reacted quick and blocked the blade with his right vambrace, the metal of his armour and sword rang as the initial strike of battle. Ludo clashed with the enemy rider's horse, bouncing off him as they rode side by side. Mission continued her attacks, but the Scorched Rider blocked with precision, her sword seemed to struggle to even dent the arm armour. The rider swiftly draws the Battleaxe from his left side and passes it over to his right hand to strike Mission with the point of it but she jerks back pulling Ludo away slightly before clashing into his side again; this time they would exchange blows - but he was skilled, so was she.

The Leader of the riders growled with frustration in the middle, he was shouting in a language Mission couldn't understand but it was no matter. She had to deal with them on this path quickly before they could use the Fairy to find Mircea's caravan. The Man she was fighting didn't attack again giving her the opportunity to strike, however she noticed him pull back on his reins, slightly slowing so that he moved back out of the way. This gave her line of sight of the rider furthest away, again Heavily armoured and Mission could only tell she was a woman from the breastplate she was wearing. Though the alarming thing was how well coordinated this next attack was, as her current target pulled away the Woman rider threw a shadowy spear straight across at Mission. She jerked backwards, trying to keep balance on her horse by wrapping the reins around her wrist so she didn't fall off, the spear passing over her busty chest, slicing through her shirt hitting a tree with a loud shatter. Mission up righted herself, but the rider closest to her had taken the opportunity of the break in her attack to strike at the back of Mission's head with his battleaxe. As quickly as she uprights herself she ducks down and hugs Ludo the strike passing straight over her head and this allowed her to lunge out and backwards - stabbing the Rider straight in the gut, she let out a roar with her successful strike; this caused the now wounded rider to slow and retreat backwards clutching his stomach.

One down, Mission diverted Ludo between the Leader and the rider on the Left, she cut between there horses because the Leader was in front with his two now one subjects slightly behind. As she passed through Mission swiped at the rider on the left with her sword but of course she would be just as difficult to deal with. She deflected Missions two attacks with her sword like it was nothing, the rider summoned another shadow spear into her left hand and tried to throw it over her head. It was easy to dodge. Since the woman rider was using magic, Mission thought that now would be a good time for her to do so as well and just as she raised her sword to block the female rider from attacking, Mission felt a sharp pain in the right side of her upper back - she grit her teeth and hissed under the pain; this was followed by another strike from the female rider which sliced through the side of her gut. Mission keeled over and screamed out. The first rider she had "wounded" had stabbed her in the back with the shadowy spear the female intentionally missed mission with the second time.

"Ludo!!" The Horse responded to it's master's anguish and pelted forward, overtaking the other riders quickly. Mission managed to straighten her posture even with the pain and raised her sword above her head, two runes glowed an orange colour - side by side on the blade near the crossguard. Mission turned Ludo and swung her sword through the air at the riders that were coming at her, a wall of flames jetted from the point of her blade that covered the width of the path and split the two sides from clashing with one another. The scorched riders halted abruptly, skidding to a stop.

She didn't waste any time looking at them, she winced as Ludo took her down the path at some speed. Leaving the Riders behind. She was curled over her horse, her right arm was wrapped around her body to hug her wound. She weakly whipped at the reins and breathed heavily. The pain in her shoulder felt worse as time went on too, like the magic of the spear had a lingering effect on her back. Mission kept riding for a while until she found the farm, Ludo trotted to a stop - the Caravans were gone, she was half glad. She didn't venture onto the land and instead rode on - following the wagon tracks.
 
"To the westlands, Arbonath. We're headed to Yefadorei." Mircea sighed happily, glad to be on the move again.


There was a slight jolt of the wagons to signify that they had begun moving. A lump of blankets and pillows in the cot across from Blu began to stir from it, a head of short blond hair emerging to look at the Blu and Esra with a tired scowl.

"Are we moving?" The blond male said, taking Blu a little by surprise as his voice cracked.

"We are, you can go back to sleep," Esra answered with a soft tone, only causing the blond to groan.

"You know I can't sleep when we move, Es."

"Oh, right." Esra said, as if she didn't fully believe it.

"Who is that?" The blond asked, his green eyes peering at Blu through that still sleepy scowl. He seemed to correct himself when he saw Blu's tail, "What is that?"

"This is..."

"Blu."

"This is Blu! He's going to be joining us on the way to the westlands."

The blond was quiet for a moment, a rough hand coming to slide along his face. "You didn't answer my other question."

"I'm an impline." Blu said flatly, making it obvious that he didn't want to talk about it. "Who are you?"

"...Correll. I'm human." The blond human, apparently named Correll, answered as he rolled over to face the opposite of Blu and Esra.

"I guess that means he's done talking." Esra groaned, in a way that Blu couldn't tell if she was happy or sad about it. A snore emitted from Correll, one that even Blu knew was fake.

"Is he my age?" Blu asked Esra curiously, his ears flicking.

Esra leaned onto her hand, "How old are you?"

"Almost thirteen, I think."

"Then no, he's a few years older. Implines are quite large, even at your age."

Blu took a moment of silence to think, his eyes dancing around the caravan watching the various trinkets bounce with the move. "How big will I get?"

"Hmmmmmm," Esra tried to think of how show him, but with her being half the size he is now showing him wouldn't have been possible. "Mircea is pretty tall and you can get as big as he is, maybe bigger, but it depends on how big your parents were. Your blood-related parents, I mean."

The boy's eyes widened, "Woah, really? Could you imagine be bigger than him?"

"Yes, you'd be terrifying." Correll commented from his cot.

"Correll..." Esra scolded, oddly gentle, "I think... I think he means that you'd be intimidating to some. Other than high elves, there aren't many species who can reach those sizes, and Implines are naturally strong creatures. Stronger than most humans, anyways."

"Then, Mircea is a high elf?" Blu asked, still curious." What are the differences?"

"Ah-" Esra was caught off guard by how much this child didn't know about the world. They really must've kept him secluded like Mircea had told her, though in the midlands there wouldn't be too many examples to show him anyways.

"Lets see..High elves are very tall people who are beautiful and have pointed ears like me, but they don't usually have skin like yours or Mircea's."

"Then-"

"Hush, I'm getting there!" Esra interrupted his question with a smile. "There's also dwan elves, which are shorter and have longer ears, like yours! They look kind of like Implines, too, except they don't have horns or tails."

"Or claws."

Esra ignored the comment from Correll this time, continuing her lecture." Their skin can be like yours and Mircea's. And, there's also sprites, like me! We're small folk."

"Kind of like those small humans..."

"Dwarves. Don't call them small humans, it's rude." Mircea had a slight serious to her tone with that correction, but it lightened. "Then there's implines, like you. There are other implines, but you come from a type in the north. There aren't many northlings left."

"I understand," Blu said, soaking the information she gave him up.

"Mircea looks strange because he is a halfling- He is of two species: High elf and Dwan elf."

"That's possible?" The boy's nos wrinkled, his brows raising.

Esra could feel a less comfortable topic of questions coming on. She shifted in her seat and cleared her throat, "For some. Now, what do you know of the westlands?" The sprite carefully dodged the questions before they could be brought up. She spent a few more minutes telling him about Yefadorei, so called the city without humans. She told him of the three kings, and of lithers.

After a moment of them discussing things, there was a thud behind the second door of the caravan, and a familiar figure showed itself as the door slid open. Blu could see that they were still moving, and could only assume Mircea was walking between the planks connecting the wagons together. The fringe of fake jewels that cover the door rattled as Mircea entered and closed the door behind him. He walked gracefully, but with purpose, his eye focused on the back door that Blu was previously lifted in to. "Bast is in that one, yes?"

"Yes, he decided to ride with Mal'lur and that goat." Esra answered, only for Mircea to continue through the back door and into the next Caravan with ease. Blu caught a glimpse of what was inside: Bast sat talking to another tan skinned person, and Petunia stood between them and gave a bleat at Blu just before the door was slid closed.

Esra moved and closed the door behind Mircea with a huff, "He always forgets to close the door."

"I think he is just used to you closing it for him." Correll was now sitting up, giving Blu a better view of him. He was about the same size as Blu, maybe a little taller, but definitely more experienced. Blu could tell by the lean yet obvious musculature of him, and the various scars and burn marks on his skin which was leathery and tan, but didn't look to be his natural tone. There was a mark on his skin that led from his mid-arm to his jaw, but it wasn't the same as Mircea's or Bast's. It looked as if someone had painted an image in to his skin. Correll caught him looking curiously at the picture, his brows furrowing.

"Never seen a tattoo before?"

"No.." Blu said weakly, taken off guard.

"Tch."

Correll looked away from him then, moving to do his own thing. Esra had to go calm Silte after the Lither woke from a abrupt bump on the road. Blu sat in silence for a moment before grabbing his travel bag and taking things out, trying to decide what to look at or read first.
 
"Right you Are Mircea!"

Arbonath had only ever been that way once before with his Father, he knew in which direction he needed to go - he tried to picture the lands in his mind. Which towns and villages they could pass by, he'd have to refresh his memory later and look at a map.



"I'm sorry Ludo..."

Mission's voice was low and her words were broken up by breaths. The reason she was apologising is because she was hugging his neck tightly and bleeding on him, she tried to keep looking forward to see if she could see anything - but even her vision wanted to give up. Even though her side was the worse wound, the one in her back was the one that hurt the most and she could feel it crawling through her like a tree root through earth. Her eyes closed...

"BAST! MIRCEA!"​

A woman's voice rang in Mission's ear and her eyes opened again, time had passed in the instant she had closed her eyes, she managed to jerk her head up. There was a beautiful face looking down at her from atop a Wagon. Mission noticed the rest of the Wagons in front of this back one. She managed to blurt out some words, she didn't have time to be nice and was rather blunt with her command.

"Just don't stop the Caravan!"

Mission bashed her fist against the side of the Caravan and then felt her wrist get grabbed, she let it. She didn't resist as she then felt another hand grab her and both pulled her up onto the Wagon like she was nothing. Mission passed out in her arms.

ca55b0969b0faa8b202c47d1500bca59.jpg
Name: Evangeline Fox

Nickname(s): Foxy

Age: 27

Species: Human

Status: Alive

Description: Pushing 7" she's A woman with flair and quite eccentric, once a noble she lost favour with King Artemis at a young age after her clear opposite views and spoke out against him politically. She lost everything, her lands and titles and her people. This did a number on her mentality, she still wears the only piece of high-fashion clothing she managed to keep, though she has had Arbonath tinker with it adding the odd bits of metal - leather and patches as she eventually started growing out of it. The colour has dulled over the years, but she refuses to wear anything else when out and about.
Foxy trained to use a sword when she was a noble and fought her own soldiers to keep them on their toes and also herself. Though where her skill comes from is the fact that she has Super Strength and Impenetrable Skin, a walking Tank and it's a perfect talent to perform for audiences. Because her magic isn't elemental, it's easier to trick most civilisations that aren't elvish that her raw strength is natural. However she uses her magic to augment her muscles, skeleton and skin. Mircea picked her up and she now commits her loyalty to the Caravan, she can lift a wagon so that Arbonath can fix a broken wheel or carry a large amount of goods from one wagon to the other without needing to stop. She's usually patrolling on the ceilings of the Wagons and acts as their bodyguard.

Image: https://i.pinimg.com/564x/ca/55/b0/ca55b0969b0faa8b202c47d1500bca59.jpg

"The Moody woman has come back! She also said not to stop so don't do that I guess."​

The strong woman looked down at the wounded woman, she had blacked out. She let out a sigh and stood up, picking Mission up in her arms and walked across the roof of the wagon before hopping down onto the plank between them. She reached with her hand and opened the door with Mission still in her arms, quickly sliding into the Wagon and laying her down. She found some cloth and pressed it against Mission's side wound, she also turned her over slightly to get a look at the back wound. It had black roots stretching from it like some form of poison.

"Need some medical help over here!"​
 
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It was a rush, one that Blu didn't see at first, but could hear. From the caravan behind them there were movements, quick thuds of feet against the wooden floors. A bleat of a goat was lost somewhere in the ruckus. He could hear muffled voices and the sound of hooves straining against dirt.

"Bast!" Mircea called from the other caravan, his voice louder than usual. There was a distinct "on it!" in the distance, seeming to become farther away.

Bast darted through the caravans the moment his name was sounded by two people. However, he didn't stop at the second to last, which was soon inhabited by Foxy and the woman he didn't like much. He rushed to the last Caravan and jumped from it, landing on the side of the horse and pulling himself on to it. "Woah, there," He patted the horse's neck gently while stabilizing the animal with it's reigns, "She'll be fine. C'mon."

Esra jumped to her feet when she heard a familiar voice calling familiar names in urgency. She scrambled for the door, where Mircea met her.

"Let Arbonath now there's been an emergency, and to not stop the caravans. Tell him we're changing course, take us to Lythrope."

Esra saluted and ran to the other side of the caravan, sliding the door open and disappearing in to the one ahead. Blu was surprised at how quick her little body could go. She opened the door to the first caravan and huffed, "Arbonath, We're changing course to Lythrope. There's been an emergency, Mircea says don't stop the caravans."

Mircea collected a box from their caravan and returned to the one behind them, his long strides quickened in to jog. He could never run much inside, being as big as he was. He rushed to the caravan where Mission was being held, his brows risen at the sight of the inhabitants. By this time Blu had gotten much too curious of what was going on, but what he saw wasn't satisfying in the slightest. Mircea was cleaning a wound on Mission's side, a stranger holding her body. He grabbed a needle and tied some sort of thread through it, preparing to close the wound when he noticed the boy's gaze through the open doors.

"Close the doors and keep him in there!" Mircea yelled, some sort of aggression in his voice. Blu didn't have time to object, as Correll wrapped an arm around his shoulders to hold him in place and the big man from the caravan between them closed the doors.

"A friend of yours?" Correll asked, his tone serious and almost stabbing. Blu only nodded.

"She'll be fine. Sit."


Mircea had to be careful. He knew this. The unstable movements of the wagons and bumps in the road could cause him to injure her more, but he had to close the wound. He plunged it in to her flesh carefully, and continued the process, stopping only when he knew the wagon would shake. Once the side wound was closed he turned her gently to look at the back, his brows furrowing at the sight of black in her flesh.

"Lythrope has a healer. This will have to do for that one. But, this, does this look familiar to you?" He cleaned the back wound, the blood and water spilling on to the floor.


Bast was behind, but that was just how it needed to be. He brought the horse to a halt, talking him down for a moments rest. He climbed down, eyeing the blood staining its coat before he took a few steps away. Unlike Mircea, he didn't lose that dance-like flow to his walks, even now. His bare feet dug in to the dirt, toying his toes around in it. It wasn't like the sands of the east, but it would have to do. Yes, it would. He kicked the dirt towards the sky with one swift movement, his body turning to land onto his palms before pushing off of them. When he landed back on his feet, he muttered something, it was more of a whisper than anything. The falling dirt froze, and then fell. Nothing seemed to come of it at first. But, the ground shook behind him, soon rising in to thick walls that spread across the trail a good ways on both sides, farther than Bast could see anyways. He smiled, quickly moving to calm the spooked Horse. It wasn't often that he got to use magic for more than parlor tricks, and he knew that it would eventually crumble back to dirt, but it would give them enough time to gain some ground between who or whatever attacked the moody woman.
It didn't end there for Bast, he got to use another one of this tricks today. He climbed on to the horse and hugged its neck, his eyes closing to picture the inside of the last caravan. There was a distinct thud of hooves against wood, and Bast looked up at the ceiling that was barely an inch from his head leaned over. It probably wasn't the smartest thing to do, but it worked. The horse was spooked, though, and Bast had to slide down from it after having his head beat against the ceiling. He took a moment to calm the horse, easing it to lie down.
 
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"Lythrope, Yefadorei - make ya bloody minds up. Horses got plenty of pelt in them yet, wasn't planning on stopping anytime soon."

Arbonath looked back, realising that Esra had gone and he was talking to himself. He blinked a few times before looking forward with a shrug - he continued to whistle his dwarvish tune not really in understanding of what had been going on at the back of the caravan. He just did as he was told. The path to Lythrope was easier to picture in his head, even with the history of it being notoriously difficult for anyone to find - they had been through there a few times for refuge and because of that and it's proximity compared to Yefadorei it was much easier to picture the whole route. Aye, Lythrope it is - he clicked his tongue and whipped at the reins.

Foxy watched as Bast ran passed her like it was normal for him to just ignore their situation, understanding what he was about to do. Mircea gracefully appeared next with the box, this prompted Foxy to do a number of things as he lay down and begun rummaging through the supplies. With all the leather and straps around Mission's side it would be difficult to do anything to help her, let alone it must be suffocating her. She swiftly undid all the buckles and took apart the straps; following it up by pulling at the knots on her underbust corset - slipping it from under her when it came apart and opening her shirt up, slipping it passed her shoulders. .

"Oooh la la."

Foxy lay Mission over so that Mircea could deal with her wound; she basically just watched him next as he delicately plunged the needle into her - crafting stitches into the woman's side. They both then observed the black in her flesh, racking their brains on how to deal with it. Foxy's index finger tugged at Mission's collar - pulling it down her back further as she revealed that the black roots have spread a bit - touching her spine and lower back. Mircea dabbed at the wound to clean it and spoke to her.

"Hmm, whatever it is it's spread quite a bit already." Foxy adjusted herself over Mission and pressed her ear against the black hound's chest, listening to her heartbeat. "Her heart is weak."

Foxy then sat up quickly, clicking her finger, "OOOH MIRCEA, I REMEMBERED I REMEMBERED.... Oooh wait no, this is real bad - I have seen this before for sure. Back when I had some sway with the King though, wow." Foxy went from clapping her hands excitedly that she remembered where she saw the wound from and then got sad suddenly and her uppity mood came down, her body slumped over as she seriously spoke out her next few words, "All those poor men were covered in wounds like this. It's a water based infection, someone who uses water magic can push it out of her - but if it's spread to anything vital it'll kill her, I think she's okay now. When it was done on my men, it sounded excruciating... Mircea the people who are after us are intense, Moody is right we can't stop and if we do we need to have at least a day on them."
 
"Brilliant, Foxy! Don't worry, where we are going, they won't be able to find us even with magic." Mircea thought to himself for the few seconds that he could, before he turned his head to the last caravan.

"Bast!" There was a moment of silence before the tan skinned man slid the door open, eye's squinting at the passed out woman with a carefully blank expression on his face.

"How did you get here so fast?"

"I brought the horse into the last caravan."

There was a few seconds of shock on Mircea's features, a dumbfounded shock. A horse would never fit through the doors of the caravan on their own.

"What do you need?" Bast asked, looking at his nails. Something in his tone made Mircea's brows furrow in annoyance.

"You know well that we she's close to death, Bast. All three of us do. We need your help, do you know water magic? It's a water based infection."

"No, not much." His yellow eyes moved to look at the black veins of water in the moody woman's flesh. "Are you needing me to pull it out? You could just have Mal freeze it until we get to Lythtrope."

Mircea had so many questions, but he knew most would go unanswered. "Bast, that wouldn't work. Freezing the infection would also freeze her veins."

"Ah, right." Bast gave a shrug, "then I'll try."

"If she dies, we're all in trouble." mircea reminded him as his reluctant companion crouched down beside him. He placed a hand on the woman's skin where it had most recently spread, letting his fingers feel over the the veins and the flow of the water inside them. He started to drag his hand towards the infection site, the veins slowly but surely shrinking. Water dropped from her wound as it was being pushed outwards, Bast's free hand shook as it joined the other, allowing him to quicken the process some. It was difficult, as he had to stay with the flow of the black veins or he could end up harming her more.

Mircea moved out of the way as more water was expelled from Mission. Now crouched so that he could still hold her steady for Bast. It took a few minutes, maybe longer. Bast had to move slowly, and at times the infection seemed to escape him for a second. However, he did eventually succeed in removing it. His free hand coming to glow a bright orange as he held it a few centimeters from the wound.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm drying out whatever is left in the wound. Keep her still unless you also want her burned."

Mircea sighed. "Poor kid."

"She's an adult, Mircea."

"You're all much younger than me, Bast."

Bast only side eyed him, giving mircea a glimpse of what looked like thin pupils, but could have easily been a trick of the light. The elf smiled and turned his attention to Foxy, "Foxy dear, thank you for helping her. Will you keep a look out behind the caravan? Don't want anyone following us."

There was a very small chuckle from Bast, and then silence. His hand ceased it's glow and he looked at the wound to make sure it was clean.
 
Mission's eyes burst open as she is being worked on, the poison being forced out of her back causes her to go through the excruciating pain that Foxy mentioned. She lets out screams as Bast works on her, she can only slightly jerk around as Foxy holds her down without really breaking a sweat. As the poison is drawn out of her body, Mission passes out again - but her breathing becomes a little more steady and healthier.

Foxy rests her ear on Mission's chest again and her lips curls up into a smile, "She sounds better, we don't have to panic." She sits up and lets out a sigh of relief, Mircea spoke to her then and she nodded; the tall woman stretched her right arm up over her head and pulled on it's wrist with her free hand so that her arm strained behind her head - limbering her joints up.

"Will do! We got a free spot for her to rest up till she wakes? If not she can have mine?" Foxy's voice went sweet at the end, her shoulder's flicking up innocently. She shifted out through the door and jumped up, grabbing the edge of the wagon's roof to pull herself up quite gracefully. Her footsteps on the wagon's roof resonated with her strut until she reach the opposite end, her butt drops down so that she sits, crossing her leg over the other humming to herself.


There was a small light flickering in the darkness of her vision, slowly growing until she could clearly see the large flame fill the borders of her sight. It overtook her and the room just seemed orange, shades of reds and hints of yellow dances through each other as wisps of glowing energy. She felt like she could turn her head and did so, looking left and right she saw the edges of the flame where it met against the pitch black. Then feelings in her arms she lifted her hands so that she could see them, her hands flipped over - her eyes scanned over them. My Name is Mission? The light filled with white, erasing everything else and a breeze whipped at her hair, something sped into view and she was suddenly surrounded by houses. They all looked like an empty void through the windows, except the one directly in front of her.

Mission walked towards the house slowly, looking around. The sky was filled with that white void that she was in before, the gaps between the houses led out towards it - the ground looks like a generated square of grass and earth, ending at a point and becoming the white void again. This house, looked like an ordinary cottage with a single orange light leaking through the window like a candle was lit in the room. As she approached the door she slowly grabbed the handle, turning the latch and slowly opening it. Though what was inside looked like it shouldn't be on the inside of this cottage, a single room with columns running down either-side of it, torches hugging each pillar. In the middle of the room was a throne facing away from her, Mission only spotted one thing, a red forearm and hand tapping away at the armrest coupled with a menacing giggle.

Mission's eyes bolted open, seeing the roof made of wood, beams over it. A Small room with a couple of people in it, the two she recognised - she then heard the familiar sound of wheels against the ground and deduced where she was. She was aching and could barely move, but she managed to pushed herself against the wall of the wagon clearly wincing and sat up to speak to them, "Mircea? D-did you manage to get away?" Mission noticed she felt a little cooler than usual and looked down at her body; her shirt was open and hanging off her. She deadpanned, "Could've at least dressed me."


He was angrier, even angrier than before. Their progress was impeded by the Black Hound, Mana would've known who it was if the Scarred man had just used that name - he had recognised her instantly. Already he wanted to do nothing but put his hands around her throat and choke the breath from her lungs. He violently cracked the reins and his horse stormed the dirt path, kicking up clouds behind it - Bastion and Rook flanking him. Though Bastion said something in their language, Mana noticing what he pointed out pretty quickly after - in the distance the path had changed. Their horses slowed to a trot and then stopped entirely in front of a large earthen wall than spanned the width of the path and even further still.

"What an entirely aggravating bunch... We need to reassess how we approach this."

Mana's words were draw out slowly, coated in the constant rage that he felt for... well everything. He turned to face both of his subjects, Rook was sitting on her horse with a perfect posture. However, Bastion was slightly slumped over - he looked like he was carrying a heavy burden.

"She got you good huh?"

Bastion didn't say anything much, he just sat there on his horse silently, he knew that Mana knew the answer already. The horsemen turned around on the path and went back the way they came. Mana had an idea, it may set them back - but it was a good idea. Rook held up her ringed hand and commanded the fairy back to her, it zipped around the rider for a couple of seconds before disappearing under her cloak.
 
Mircea had just finished closing the second wound and Bast was covering the side wound with a bandage when Mission stirred. She jolted awake and moved away from them, giving a flat remark after realizing how exposed she was.

"Yes, we're safe for now." Mircea responded casually, placing the bloody needle into the small bowl of water he had previously used to clean her wounds, "Sorry about that, but we only just finished."

Bast didn't look very amused, in fact his expression was that careful blankness Mircea noticed he used when he was deep in thought or holding something back. "You're welcome." His tone had a hint of defensiveness to it, his sharp eyes shifting their gaze towards the back door.

"Try not to move too much," Mircea interjected the silence before it could set in, his hands gently taking the partially unwrapped bandage from Bast, "None of us are healers, so we had to close your wounds without magic. Whoever attacked you released a poison into your system, and Bast here removed it for you. Ah- I can help you finish applying the wrappings, but I'm sure you're no stranger to bandages if you'd like to do it yourself." He offered the rest of the bandages to her while Bast stood and moved away from them, heading towards the caravan ahead.

"I'm going to check on the boy. Your horse is asleep in the last caravan." With that, he left the two in quiet strides, sliding the door closed behind him.

"Right, no idea how he did that, but your horse is indeed safe as well." Mircea commented with a somewhat amused tone, a smooth bell chiming through the remnants of urgency. "I could leave to give you privacy, but I wont leave you in here wounded. You'll have to deal with my presence a little while longer." While he spoke he shifted on his feet and turned, face away from the woman as if to try and lend her some form of comfort.


Blu sat in Correll's cot, his head hanging low into his hands. The blond was sitting beside him, seeming somewhat uncomfortable with the crying coming from the boy. Yet, he didn't leave his side, and Blu was thankful for that even if it was under command.

Bast entered the caravan, a kind smile on his features as he looked at the boy and Correll. The blond gave a shrug, mouthing that he didn't know what to do over the Impline's shoulders. The man came to sit on the cot across from them, Blu's cot, and leaned to look under the boy's head. He was crying, as he had thought, but Blu caught his gaze and looked up at him. Bast lifted upwards with him, the same smile on his face.

"She's okay, Why are you crying?"

"M-mission...she's hurt." He managed to speak through gross sniffles.

"Ah, but that's no reason to cry! Mircea and I stitched her up, she'll be at full head-bashing strength in no time!" Bast's voice wasn't loud, but there was a liveliness to it that made Blu crack a small, broken smile. "Come here."

Blu did, taking the man's hand that was offered to him and letting it guide him to his bed. Bast continued to speak gently to him. "It's not your fault she got injured, alright?"

The boy nodded his head, sniffling.

Bast wrapped an arm around his shoulders and buried a balled fist against his head, ruffling the white curls. Blu laughed at this, pushing him away.

"I told you, she's okay. " He wanted to tell him not to cry when a comrade is injured, but didn't how to word this in a way to make less it insensitive. Instead he patted the boy's back and looked up as Esra moved Silte around to feed him.

"He's getting so big, I wont be able to carry him anymore," Esra said, a slight sadness in her tone.

"Ai, he's grown a lot. Are we still headed to the city of elves?" Bast inquired, as if he didn't know where Mircea would take them during an emergency in this part of the midlands.

"Nope, we're going to Lythrope! It's only a few days off."

"Alright," Bast sounded excited, his hands clasping his knees.


Correll laid back on to his cot with a pleased sigh, "Finally."


Blu was, as usual, confused and not in the know. He attempted to ask about it, but he was only given obvious half answers and avoidance.
 
A sigh of relief escaped between Mission's lips when Mircea assured her that they were safe, at least for the moment. She notices the needle and winces, lightly pressing her finger against the stitched wound on her side - though it was her back that was stiff and hurt the worst. A flash crossed her mind remembering being stabbed and the spreading pain, her hand reached back and she felt over it with her fingers. They dealt with it somehow, that means they had the knowledge to get rid of it - Mission didn't expect that, she was hoping she wouldn't pass out before she could tell someone how to deal with it. The only time she was lucky today, guess it had to even out somewhere.

"You're welcome."
​
The voice snapped Mission back from zoning out, she looked at him. She was about to say something as the silence almost took over, but Mircea regained the attention of the room. Mission nodded in response to what the elf said and took the bandages for her to apply to herself, he guessed right. She just looked down, unravelling the bandages around her hands and analysed her body - purposely ignoring Bast as he made his exit.

Her gaze shifted upwards noticing that Mircea had taken upon himself to be a stubborn doctor but also a gentleman. She couldn't help but let a smirk paint her deadpan face, looking back down at her wound, she spoke masking her amusement.

"You don't have to look away, I'm a woman it's not a secret."

Mission fully took off her white top stained with blood and held it up in front of her, folding it twice and lay it beside her gently. She was essentially naked now, she wasn't one to be embarrassed by her situation, she was in doors and she could still defend herself - sometimes better like this. Funny how flustered people get. Though enough on the topic of flashing people to death, Mission spoke again as she begun to apply the bandages to her side would.

"I appreciate the help, even after I got aggressive with you. And if you wouldn't mind, thank your friend - Bast too. I've got the feeling he doesn't like me too much."

Her mind tried to interrupt her train of thought, she just realised how impossible the fact Ludo was in the back Caravan - somehow he got him into the moving wagon without stopping. Pretty impressive. Bast helped her out, but he still had something against her - Mission didn't really care if she was disliked or not - she was just curious and hoped it didn't get in the way of the actual task.

"The men were tracking Blu using a Fairy, it'll have his trail for a week before wearing off. Also how did you know what to do with the poison? I thought I was a gonna, scorched riders are mean bastards, but you only really know of them if you're a soldier or in the King's court. Don't mean to be rude, but you don't look like the type."

Mission finished wrapped the first wound and then begun to wrap the poison wound, it hurt a lot more to do this one and it was a bit more awkward as well. She huffed, dropped the bandages between her and the facing-away Mircea, tied up her hair into a pony and shuffled around on the spot exposing her back pulling her hair over her shoulder. She coughed to get her company's attention.

"Mircea. I need a hand."

The Black hound stroked her hair, looking down at the floor as she sat with her legs crossed. Waiting for him to turn around and help her bandage up her back wound.
 
Mircea shrugged at her response to him turning around. He fiddled with the box beside him as he waited, listening to her thank him for saving her. A small chuckle escaped him at the comment on Bast.

"I don't know how he picks who to like at first; however, he'll probably warm up. The first night we met, I distinctly remember him trying to run a dagger through me when he thought I was sleeping." His voice sounded as if he was trying not to laugh at the memory, though it faded with the silence before Mission spoke up again.

His ears twitched, as they rarely did, this information giving him some confusion. Fairies were fairly rare and hard to tame, but it wasn't surprising that they'd be using one to track something. He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, "No, I don't blame you for thinking that. Lets just say a little monkey told me- It's not my information to tell." There was a hint of a smile in his voice. The sound of a cough drew his attention towards her and he stifled a chuckle at her admitting needing help. Mircea barely knew her, but she didn't seem the type to ask for help often. He moved to her and grabbed the bandages, crossing his legs so that he could reach around her to wrap it properly. He covered the wound first with a clean linen rag, proceeding to bandage the wound.

"Ah- We have changed course, by the way. We'll be heading to..well, lets say it's just a safe place for folk like us caravanners. I'm not at liberty to divulge much information." He finished wrapping the wound and secured it as tightly as it needed to be, "Apologies if that hurt- We can stay there for a number of days before we must leave. There's also a healer who can properly mend your wounds without worry of infection."

Mircea stood when he finished securing the bandages, coming to scavenge through one of the chests tied to the wall. He pulled a top from it, it was thin and dyed a deep red, and probably a touch too big for the woman.

"Here's something you can have. May be a little big on you, but it'll have to do." He handed her the shirt, placing it over her head, "We have an extra bed you can use, too. If you find that it is a bit snug, you can use my bed or Foxy's. Oh, right. Foxy is the massive woman who pulled you in here. A sweetheart, but I'd be wary of her while you're injured, she gets too excited sometimes."

Mircea moved to offer Mission help up after she was (hopefully) clothed. "Come, I can move you to the caravan ahead. Blu is quite worried about you."
 
Mission pouted a little but straightened her face, hearing an answer that she didn't want to hear. Though at least he was bandaging her up now, she couldn't help but feel slightly uncomfortable but she shrugged it off as a natural reaction to being so defenceless in her current state. Afterall this was a stranger who didn't fully trust her, and she - him. But they were allies and she could shrug it off as a professional courtesy for that exact reason. At least he told her that they had changed their course. Mission jerk back and hissed as he tightened the bandages as they needed to be, as delicate as he was - there was no helping the necessary pain of a good job.

When he was done she flicked her hair back over her shoulder behind her, but left it in a pony. Her vision was then impaired for a moment as the top was placed on her head, she pulled it off quickly and gave it a look. It was baggy, but that she didn't mind - it looked like something Mission could easily relax in. She slipped it on and adjusted it, letting it hang loosely and leaving it open.

"I'm sure I'll find somewhere to sleep, don't worry - I don't want to take anyone's spot." Mission already planned to sleep with Ludo, even if it was a tight fit it'd be snug - she wouldn't mind. Mircea mentioning the big woman reminded her of just before she passed out the first time, seeing her face - she was pretty and Strong. She'd have to remember the thank her for the literal hand. Mission's face lit up with surprise as she spoke accepted Mircea's hand.

"He is?"

Mission had refrained from mentioning Blu since she got here, though it didn't mean she didn't want to know how he was doing. He was indeed a nice, caring, but clueless boy. She thought however that he may have had a dislike for her as well; his life had changed a lot from meeting her and not for the good. She followed Mircea, it would definitely be interesting to see his face.
 
"Yes, I imagine so. The last he saw of you was me cleaning your side wound, and he looked quite shocked. He is still a child, after all." Mircea spoke to remind, and his voice was somewhat of a whisper, "take caution on the bridge, there aren't any rails for you to grab." He walked close behind her was they went on to the caravan ahead, only lengthening the gap between them to close the door. It was merely to be sure she didn't end up falling, or even nearly falling, with a bump or sudden jolt of the caravans. The next wagon as almost empty of living things. Two large cots, a few chests, and weird symbols hung around and embroidered in to banners. There was a mass of a man sitting at one of the cots, his thick braids held back from his face with a leather band. He watched Mircea lead the woman out of the caravan and in to the next.

Blu sat with Bast in his cot, well, more like he was leaning against Bast and the wall behind them limply. Within the man's thin fingers was an old book he was gently leafing through as Blu snored at his side. He peered up from the book when the two entered, coming to make a 'shh' motion with his free hand and whispered, "He just stopped crying completely."

Correll didn't say a word, laying down in his own bed and staring at them. Esra was playing with Silte.
 
Mission had to carefully balance her way across the wooden planks, with her body aching and so she had to focus at lot more attention just getting from one wagon to the other. What a pain this would be. Successfully reaching one she saw a man she didn't recognise before - she just nodded a greeting at him, but in no time she was once again trying to balance herself to cross the wagons. This time she fell on Mircea, catching on him whilst letting out a massive groan of frustration - eventually making it over.

She scanned the room, keeping quiet as Bast had asked - noticing the boy was having a little bit of a snooze. Mission recognised the Sprite who was playing with the Lither from the performance at the Village, there was another stranger to her - staring at her, she stared back for a moment before introducing herself,

"I'm Mission."

She then returned her gaze to the Boy. She saw the same thing in the Impline she saw at the village, an innocent clueless child. She slumped down against the wall on Blu's side , heading leaning back and knees up - she rested her arms on them and tried to relax. Mission now directed what she said to Mircea, she spoke quietly about her resolve;

"I changed my mind, I'll accompany the boy. Heh, I can see why you listened to your Wispa friend." She referred to the letter and how he had accurately predicted that she'd read it. "I have ties to the history of all this that's why I was so against coming along because I didn't want to be defined by it, but If I can make that right - I might just feel a little better."

Her gaze fell on the snoozing boy. She knew that she could never truly make it right, she could never bring them back.


Arbonath stretched his arms and stood on the pedestal he used to drive his horses, now confident he had set them on the correct path he went to do his routine check up and climbed onto the roof of the leading wagon - his Wagon. He walked across it slowly, from edge to edge checking over it's sides and wheels. He continued to whistle his tune as he did, repeating this check as he cross each Wagon. Though he grumbled every time he had to jump across the gap - he was a short dwarf after all and so had to exert himself more than usual so that he didn't plunge down the middle... that had happened way too often. His feet hit the roof the other ceiling, now on Mircea's Wagon he checked it over a little more thoroughly than he did for his own wagon.

He jumped to the next ceiling, letting out a huff - he didn't walk across it straight away. His face grinned as he started fake tap dancing across the roof whilst zig-zagging to each side to do his check of the wagon. He knew Correll and Esra were in here, not knowing that someone other than Correll was trying to sleep he just thought he'd try to annoy them. Finishing with the flourish once he reach the end of the wagon. He jumped to the next one, almost slipping off the edge as he forgot to concentrate. Though he caught himself and pulled himself up with a wheeze - karma.


Mission looked up at the ceiling as someone walking across the roof of it seemed to be making a bit of a spectacle, she mouthed the words, "What the?" to herself.


Arbonath checked the next couple of Wagons normally and finally reached the end, noticing Foxy sitting right at the back watching the path they had just taken. He walked up beside her, she was a very tall woman and even when sitting down her height was substantial. He didn't bother sitting down for that reason. He just watched the path they had used disappear into the distance. The tall woman spoke after noticing him beside her,

"Arbie! Checking up on lil' old me?"​

Arbonath let air escape from his nose as he let out a short gruff laugh, "The day you need checking up on is a day I don't want to be around for, sounds like a whole lot of trouble."

"Wow, so you wouldn't be there for me when I need you? Heartbreaker!"
​
The Dwarf looked at her and then looked back at the path, "Guess I got no choice now." this drew out a cheeky laugh from his company as she shook her head.

"The moody woman seems to think we're bein followed by Riders, surely they'd have caught up by now if she had."​

Arbonath wondered what moody woman Foxy was on about, Esra was usually always cheerful and Foxy wouldn't be rude enough to refer to her as that. He then remembered the night at the farmland, the woman who had left in the middle of the night, did she come back? Who knows, he would find out in due time. Though the being followed by riders was troubling, a large caravan like this isn't the fastest. He took out the spherical device he had been working on from the sack he had now tied to his waist and threw it into the air behind the caravan. The metal started to jolt and work as it unfolded into that of a bird with crystal eyes spreading it's mechanical wings it glided off into the distance. He took out a pair of what looked to be goggles, he closed his eyes and pulled them over his head covering his vision. The black of his vision tuned in to that of the bird's. He was quiet as he concentrated on what the bird could see, Foxy didn't interrupt and just swung her legs at the edge of her seat.
​
 
There was the sound of tapping against the roof, drawing the attention of most of the caravan's inhabitants. Mircea shook his head, knowingly amused, his attention falling to Blu when the boy stirred some in his sleep. Bast closed the book in his lap and carefully placed it into Blu's travel bag.

"Looks like Arbonath is checking the roof again." Bast murmured, a brow raised towards the ceiling with his gaze. Correll groaned, bringing Bast's eyes back down. "Ever the diligent worker."

"Reading anything interesting?" Mircea questioned, commenting on the book now hidden away. He usually didn't mind calm silence, but he knew Bast, and he knew Esra. The two could never go too long without at least talking, and if there wasn't a subject to pursue Bast typically ended up annoying the others.

"Depends on what one finds interesting. The book was about the sand mountains, in the eastlands." Bast fiddled with the sash at his waist as he spoke, "Says they're bound to crumble one day."

Mircea looked disappointed, his lips a thin line. He couldn't tell if Bast was honestly interested in a subject like that, or if he was lying to avoid the question. "That's not the least bit interesting."

Bast shrugged, an amused smile curving on to his face when Esra let Silte down from her cot and the Lither crept over to him. He played with it- well, more like annoyed it. Silte was snapping at his fingers gently as he would poke its head and then retreat. It was fun and games until Silte missed Bast's hand and ended up biting Blu's tail. The boy jolted awake with a yelp, his tail coiling in to his hands. There wasn't blood, barely even a mark on his skin. It took him more by surprise than anything.

"Oops," Bast said, almost as if he did it on purpose. He picked up the Lither and held it away from him- Silte was obviously too riled up now.

"Bast, why do you always annoying my poor Silte when he gets time down? You're going to make him lose scales quicker." Esra was now in front of the two, taking the animal from Bast and putting Silte away from Basts's eyesight. The silk-haired man huffed boredly.

"Sorry Blu. How long until Lythrope?"

Mircea cleared his throat, "soon."

Blu was sitting up now, scanning over the room until Mission was in his view. A wide smile grew on his face and he almost jumped from his cot, but instead moved to the very edge of it. "Are you okay now?"
 
Mission didn't really join in to the conversation, she just observed and let herself relax with the noise happening around her. It was quite content, watching them act like some strange family. She did wonder how long they'd all been travelling together. They're all used to each other's annoying habits and even their confrontations with each other were nice. It was amusing watching Silte play with Bast, though a part of her really wanted the Lither to actually manage to bite him mainly for her own amusement, but it ended up just happening to poor sleeping Blu. Which woke him up, he seemed fine and the Lither was confiscated from Bast.

Though a word was mentioned that perked Mission's interest, the name of the place they were going to - Mircea kept it to himself for a time. She had heard of it before, but it was never a real place - just folklore, a myth, a travellers paradise. Unless it was a code word. She didn't interject to it's mention as Blu had turned his smiling gaze on her. It was hard to not smile back at him with that face, the side of her mouth curled up,

"Good as new, thanks to our allies... How are you getting on?"


Arbonath was still cruising the path with his Bird Device, staring through his goggles with closed eyes he stood at the edge of the wagon quite still as he had been. Foxy really wanted to talk to him, but she had no idea what he was doing under there and might require concentration, it was killing her not to speak. Until finally the Dwarf broke the silence, speaking to her without looking and carrying on with his current thing,

"Foxy."

"Arbie!?"​

"We should be coming up to a diverge in the path, can you go check the horses stay on course and take the right?"

"Will do!"​

Foxy lifted herself off the edge and stood on the ceiling, she spun on a heel and moved across the tops of the wagons with a lot more ease than the Dwarf. She gracefully made each gap across and didn't have to put too much needless effort in doing so, also since she wasn't checking up on the wagons she simple walked across them in no time, her long legs covering ground in moments. She reached the first wagon and knelt at the front edge leaning over the small bit of wood that separated the ceiling from the pedestal Arbonath used to drive. She watched the path seeing the split up ahead. The horses slowed down slightly looking as though they had to think about it, but the tall woman gave a tug on the right rein and it beckoned them in that direction, picking up speed to normal once again.


Arbonath's bird device came upon a strange sight, seeing the blockage in the road, a wall of earth that split the path and more. He tilted his head and the bird did too, it flew around and saw that there was someone on the other side, but it just looked like an angry merchant kicking rocks at the wall. No pursuing riders on the other side or this side of the path, they must've come across the wall earlier and given up or taken a longer route around. Arbonath shrugged and the bird flew back, he knew it would take a while but he didn't need to see anymore since he had scanned the Path already. The Dwarf opened his eyes disconnected the vision with the bird and took off his goggles, placing them back into the sack. Foxy had gone and done as she was told. He let out a big sigh and made his way back over to driving, however since he had already checked the wagons he decided to walk through them this time.

Upon reaching the populated wagon he peaked in through the door and made a gruff cough, surprised at how many there actually was in here and how little there were in the rest. He expected to say hi to more occupants until now.

"Oh you're all here... Well, Mircea I scouted the path behind us and the Riders are no where to be seen - a big earth wall is in the middle of the path so I expect they've gone a different way giving us a couple days on them. You can all relax."

He noticed the new woman at the other end of the wagon near the Impline they had picked up stir a bit, she seemed confused and also relieved at his news. He smiled at everyone

"Any stops you want us to make or do we carry on just in case?"
 
"E-earth wall-?" Mircea stumbled over these words, his confused surprise made very apparent on his features. However, instead of going in to it more he decided to focus something else. "Ah- no, we'll only stop to let the horses rest. Please carry on." For a moment he had forgotten about Mission's horse, moving out of Arbonath's way.

"Oh, right..Mission, do you mind if your horse is used to help pull the caravan there? I'm sure Bast can do whatever he did to get him in there, to get him out." Mircea seemed very conscious of his words, his eyes pointing scolding daggers at Bast who was sunk in to the cot with air held in his cheeks, looking away. He let the air out with a huff, his fingers waving from his stomach as if to say 'Yeah, Sure.'

After some discussion about the horses and sleeping arrangements, the days passed. Slower for those easily bored, but it was relaxing in a way. Like the quiet air after a storm. It wasn't long before they arrived to a small opening in the forest. Fireflies danced in the colors of twilight, the dark of night slowly beginning to take over dusk. Mircea hopped from the caravan as it pulled to a stop. He made sure he was alone, and for a moment he thought he was, but he noticed Bast sitting on the roof of the second caravan. He huffed before whispering something inaudible to the forest. A dwarven woman came to peek at him from behind a tree of amber leafs before approaching.

"Ahh, Mircea!" Her arms were stretched outwards in exclamation. She was aged and armored, but looked something like a hermit. Her blonde-faded red hair was matted in a few places with various flowers protruding from the wild curls, her armor dented and scratched, not matching in metals.

"Leeda, how beautiful you've become," Mircea smiled, a hand coming to rest on his hip, "Age suits you."

"Now, now- Don't talk sweetly to me if you don't mean it." Leeda chortled, her cheeks pink, "How many do ya' got?"

"Eight, I believe."

"That's a few more than ya' brought last time, dear."

"Yes, I picked up some people in need of help." Mircea spoke with some restraint, though he didn't show it. "I do hope that wont be an issue."

"There should be room for now, I'll soon let ya' know when you'll be on your way. Remember the rules, tell 'em to any newcomers. "

Mircea nodded and sauntered back to the caravans where Arbonath was prepared to enter. He gave the Dwarf a whistle like a bird as signal to continue and hopped on to third wagon where the newcomers were gathered. He had told them to wait there, and hoped they listened to him. Upon entering he cleared his throat to gain their attention.

"Now, before I can let you leave the caravan there are a few rules that you'll need to follow while you're here. One, do not step out of the boundaries of the encampment. You may not be invited back. Two, no killing unless it is in self defense. Three, do not steal from the vendors, patrons, or other visitors. and last, but definitely not least, speak a word of this to anyone outside and you wont even remember your name before the night is done. Oh- Blu and Mission, please stick with me for now."

He huffed and straightened his shirt, as if relieved to get that over with. Various sounds of life started to muffle against the caravan's walls. Lively music, the clash of hammer against metal, people laughing and chattering. Something most people only heard during days of celebration. Mircea turned on his heel with a smile, moving to leave the caravan, "Welcome to Lythrope. Come along!"

Blu scurried to follow Mircea. It was easier to move in what he had on now. Correll had reluctantly given him clothing to wear after getting scolded by Esra for criticizing the boy's farm attire. It was a bit big on him in some places, but also fit him well. A deep maroon top, trousers that lacked patches, and a light leather vest that came with some form of compartments in them Blu had never seen before. Correll called them pockets, and he could fit his hands in to them easily. Blu felt that he looked like more of a traveler now, though he lacked the metals and embroideries many in the caravan had on them. Reaching the outside came as a sort of shock to Blu. He was half expecting it to be a town judging by it's name, but it wasn't. There were some buildings, but most of it was tents made of a thick material. Lamps were strung carefully between them, three bonfires burned a good few feet away from the buildings. Magic lit parts of the air with various colors. One of the buildings had two forges, only one being used by someone hammering hot metal. People came and left the tents and buildings, only a few were left alone by the crowd. His attention was caught when Mircea's long strides became somewhat of an issue. Blu's distracted walk had to be sped up to keep up with the man. Bast jumped down from the caravans beside Blu, ruffling his hair and half jogging forward. The man jabbed Mircea in the side with his fingers before running past him, approaching one of the open tents with enthusiasm.

"What are a bunch of scumbags like you doing here?!" He exclaimed, being met with cheers and a few scolding 'Bast!'s. Blu's brows rose when more than two feminine hands pulled the man into the tent beyond where Blu could currently see. The impline shifted his attention towards a coughing Mircea, attempting to keep pace and ignoring some of the stares he was getting.

Mircea brought them to one of the few large tents that wasn't being frequented, Holding the makeshift door open for them to enter. Inside was a high elf woman, from what Esra described. She sat beside a bed inhabited by an injured dwan elf, looking towards them with confusion. Her hair was blonde, so blonde it looked almost white, and her eyes a vibrant silver. A light emitted from her hands as she turned her attention back to the wounded, the open gash in the man's side slowly mending.

"What is it you need, Mircea?"

Mircea hesitated, looking towards mission (if she followed).

"I've brought a human I need you to look at. I sewed the wounds shut, but..."

"But you would like for me to heal her?'

"Yes, dear."

"She isn't like the last human you brought, is she? And the impline, is he in need?"

"No, not at all."

"Do you plan on paying me?"

"No, not at all." Mircea repeated, a tinge of amusement in his voice. The woman huffed.

A moment of silence passed as the woman focused her attention on her patient, soon healing him entirely. She gave him a potion and told him to rest, leaving his side to face Mircea and the group.

"Fine, but you still owe me for last time."

Mircea nodded, shaking a bit of coin from the pouch he kept tied to his hip. He handed her two gold pieces and the woman placed it into a pouch on the desk beside them.

"I'll do this one for free, only because you're family. Don't expect hand outs every time you come."

Blu stood quietly, unsure what to do as Mircea gestured the woman forward.
 
Arbonath nodded his head and flicked the reins, the Horses moved into Lythrope's field and they entered with no problem. The dwarf grinned being allowed to see this spectacle made him chuckle, magic like this was rare to come by and had history and he respected it greatly. As they were pulled through the treeline it opened up massively revealing the glorious waypoint - tents littered the grounds with the odd building, Arbonath recognised some areas knowing a lot of people would spend months even years here; but then you had the parts that changed and people that left and their spots been taken by something new. Lythrope changed everytime.

Arbonath found a spot suitable for them, he moved the wagons so that they arced around making a crescent shape. He was content with this, it was open but also allowed for some privacy. The dwarf hopped off his Pedestal on the ground, first thing he'd do was uncouple the horses, with Ludo who had now joined the ranks it made it slightly awkward with the odd number; ah well. He let the horses free from their straps and moved them to the inside of the crescent of wagons, keeping them near the first one. He pulled out a water trough that was folded against the side of the first wagon and snapped the legs out so that it rested against the ground; the horses sniffed at it but there was obviously no water in it yet.

"Foxy!"


There weren't many rules for this secretive place, but Mission had been to a lot of places and usually the less the rules the more well enforced they are. Places with more rules usually had the worst kind of corruption and criminals, but this place was just 'Behave, Shut up or else'. She respected it and could hardly believe that it actually existed. She nodded at Mircea and followed him out, she assumed that everyone else except her and Blu had been here before - sticking with Mircea would be the smarter and safer option anyway. She strapped her Dagger to the back of her waist and also took her sword with her this time, she didn't know what to expect - plus it was a good deterrent for any trouble by just having it on one's person. Upon leaving the Wagon she noticed Arbonath tending to her horse and the rest.

"Coming through! Oh hey Mission." Foxy walked between her and Mircea & Blu, carrying a large Hay Bail on her right Shoulder and a Keg of Water under her left arm, she flashed a wink at Mission and walked towards Arbonath, "Yes yes I'm coming!"

Mission was left in a bit of awe, she had never witnessed Foxy do this yet and thought 'oh yeah she's tough and big for a woman', but she didn't expect her to be the one that did the actual heavy lifting. Not just a pretty face after all. She then realised she had to speed walk to catch up with the Elf who had gained a bit of ground whilst she was left staring. Bast had his own 'business' or whatever Bast does to attend to and split off from them. It was a different tent that Mission and Blu would be taken to, she thanked Mircea for holding the tent open for her to enter and she looked around; an elvish woman with very blonde hair and as elves were quite glorious to behold. Mircea immediately spoke to her and of course, he knew her. When their amusing exchange was over Mission walked over to the elf and pulled the right side of her collar over her shoulder,

"I was poisoned in the wound on my back and cut across the side of my gut." She gestures to both, getting the examination and healing process over with. It was rare that Mission got healed for free so it's not like she wasn't going to say no, she had a lot of scars over her time that she had to just let heal naturally unless she managed to get her hands on a potion.


Foxy dropped the bail of Hay by the first Wagon and poured the keg of water into the trough until it was full enough for all the horses to enjoy some. She let the barrel down next to the trough and gave a wave to the dwarf she had aided and then pet Ludo on the shnoot,

"Anything else?"

The Dwarf shook his head as he took out the Rune Logs that Mission had given to him to use for setting up Camp. Foxy however, shrugged her shoulders and moved over to the Cabin with Esra in it, she didn't bother squeezing in and just looked through the door. Scanning the room for inhabitants she beamed a large grin at her friend.

"What are the plans??? We going to look around? I want to get our newcomers some souvenirs!"


The Dwarf strolled to the center of the land they had occupied with their crescent of Wagons and dropped the rune logs there, it was a little small for all of them so he had a look around for rocks and more ordinary logs or branches. He eventually created a campfire that he thought was suitable and knelt beside it holding his hand over it he concentrated and then CLICK! His fingers snapped together and... nothing. He let out a huff, his moustache responding the air of disappointment let out of his mouth. Mission said that it simple, but she seemed to forget that he hadn't used these before and she had for a while. Arbonath clicked again and again and got a bit frustrated reaching in for the rune log and holding it in his free hand, yanking it from the logs it was buried under and furiously snapped his finger at it point blank. It lit up. He let out a victorious bellow before he let out a high pitched yelp remembering he was basically holding fire. The Campfire began to catch fire now.
 
Mircea nodded in confirmation as Mission told the woman about her wounds. The woman's brows rose, though she didn't question why she wounded. However, Mircea didn't stay long after the woman started preparing to heal Mission. He may be a man, but Blu was just a child, and didn't need to be exposed to too much so soon. He lead the boy from the tent with a hand held at the back of his head, coming to stand outside with him. In the distance, he could see that Arbonath had begun preparing their fire. He smiled slightly, his eyes trailing over the camp with familiarity.

At the building some odd feet away he could see that Correll had begun his work. The short blond was eagerly rubbing his hands above the embers of a heating forge, having already prepared most of the workplace. Mal'lur was with him, organizing the ingots that Correll had carelessly left in disorder. It wasn't Mal's usual line of work, but Mircea knew well that the man couldn't stand idly by doing nothing for too long.

Blu stood, eyeing the people who passed, those who stood around talking at their fires, and those who played their music with zeal. Many of them dressed similar to the caravanners, but they were of all different types of races. Two in particular caught his eye, standing at the corner of a tent with drinks in hand and talking to the others around them. They were a male and female who looked almost like Blu, but also different. The woman had unmistakably red skin with patches of dark plates on her arms and horns. The male was an earthy brown with red tints and glowing hints of yellow catching the boy's eye from a distance. Different from one another, but they also held the same indistinguishably dark hair. Blu's hand came to feel at his filed horns as he watched them chatting merrily. At least, until the healer emerged from the tent to let them know she finished healing Mission.

Mircea thanked the healer and left her with a kiss on the temple before peeking in to the tent and speaking to Mission.

"I'm going shopping before they close the vendors down. Join us if you want."

He then gestured for Blu to follow him and started walking towards one of the few wooden stalls near the collection of bonfires, his pace slower than before so Mission could catch up if she came along. Blu fancied this, having an easier time at staying on foot with the man. Once he made it to the stall, the small vendor sprite smiled up at them.

"Lookin' to buy some herbs? I got them fresh if you want 'em, just picked 'em this morning!"

Mircea nodded and the two spoke of prices, incense and if there was a rune carver in Lythrope this year. After buying a few herbs and incense he moved on to the next, then the next. This continued until they had circled back to the building where Correll was vigorously working hot metal down with a hammer.

"It's uneven on the left side." Mircea commented, only for Correll to groan and move to the side Mircea pointed out. He walked passed him and in to the building, greeting the main person who stood behind a bar-like counter. It was a Dwarf, stood atop a stool, his brown beard was grayed and half his size even while braided.

"Good evening, Dorrick."

Dorrick nodded, a smile on his wrinkled face, "Evenin'. Good ta see ya' back. Whatchu' be needin'?"

"I need a few weapons, and a carver, if you have one around. I'm sure Arbonath will be here before long to buy some metals."

"Aye, he's around." Dorrick hopped on to the counter and waddled to the window that sat above the smiths. "ALLTTERRRR-" The man yelled, causing the beat of the smiths' hammers to become an unsteady rhythm. A distinct "Shaddap" sounded from a familiar voice Blu couldn't place. He walked back to where Mircea stood, still not as tall as the half-ling elf. "Place your order. Carver'll be here in a jiff."

Mircea proceeded to order a few weapons, including arrows. He was almost done with his order when the brown impline Blu saw earlier entered the building in a rush.

"You called?"

"Yep, got some people lookin' to have something carved."

Mircea took this moment to interject, "I'm Mircea, it's a pleasure to meet you. I need you to look at a few things I have- See if they are materials you can carve, and check on one or two I already have carved. I think one might be a little unsteady."

"You can call me Alter." Alter, as the impline was named, peered at Mircea with something in his expression that looked similar to suspicion. "Alright." He simply responded, his tail flicking at the air behind him. Blu peeked out from behind Mircea curiously, catching Alter's attention. The male's jaw dropped slightly, his tall posture lowering in to a bend to look at the boy. Blu could see him more clearly now, noticing more of the differences. The yellow light that had caught his attention before were horn-like ridges on his flesh that slightly glowed with a fiery substance below and trailed onto his horns. It matched the color of his eyes, which were neighbored by black sclera. He also had one of those markings Correll called tattoos on his chest and shoulder, made visible by his lack of a shirt.

Alter cocked his head to the side, and Blu's head followed. "What have they done to your glorious little horns?"


Mircea had a slight sternness to his voice, "Come along, I'll show you the weapons I need looked at." He walked forward, at Alter and the Impline shifted backwards out of the building, turning to follow Mircea. Blu followed after them, too curious about this Alter person to stay behind.
 
Mission sat down so that the healer could easily perform on her back and then side. She was pretty quick, it was quite a relieving sensation and in no time she was done with Mission's wounds. The ex-knight felt the wounds and her side looked like it hadn't been sliced at a few days ago - same with her back. Mission stood from the seat and thanked the healer for her service before readjusting the red top Mircea had given her, she tucked the excess of it into her bottoms.

Mircea invites her out to shop around. She had no reason to say no and might as well take a look.

There was a lot of activity, people laughing and drinking, eating with each other. Then you have the vendors dotted around the campsite, Mission followed behind Mircea as he spoke to a sprite for herbs. Whilst he did this she looked around herself, browsing at people's stalls - looking at the items on tables or clothes laid out for potential customers. She crouches down to get a closer look at some interesting jewellery laid out on a beautifully sewn cloth, it reminded Mission of her mother's sewing. Though she wasn't really interested in what was actually on offer, she stood and moved on - keeping an eye on Mircea as he bought his herbs and moved to other stalls.

"You look like a woman who could use a bit of Luck!"

Mission's attention was grabbed by a Dwan Elf who seemed to be watching her with shifty looking eyes, though her expression was bored and she was leaning on her hands pretty ungracefully for an elf. Her skin was a dull, pale blue She spoke againm her eyes glancing down at her own merchandise.

"Get a Lucky Charm and change that hmm?"

"I'm okay thanks."

"Ah well, if you buy a lucky charm, the scales' tip in your favour and you won't get cut up next time."

Mission didn't really believe in luck charms either, and with this woman offering her a lucky charm whilst also telling her she won't get hurt after just being beaten in a fight. It'd been a strange week for sure; she seemed to be coming across more psychics than usual and it was creeping her out with her current mindset of 'ok fair enough you know'. She was slightly tempted to purchase something just out of respect.

"Not many people want to put their lives on the line for a Blue Impline like that."

Mission flashed a sudden serious look at the Dwan Elf, taking her eyes off the merchandise; she wasn't amused by the words coming out of the Elf's mouth. The elf had backed up with her hands raised, grinning at Mission with a smirk that annoyed her suddenly.

"Sorry, take that - on the house. Because I was rude."

The Elf gestured at one of the charms, it was quite simple with a blue gemstone and various carved / polished orbs dotted across the chain. Mission looked at it, she didn't fancy taking it for free so flicked a coin at the Elf who managed to just about catch it before it hit her in the face.

"Pleasure!"

Mission didn't say anything and took the charm, pocketing it for now whilst following Mircea to the building where Correll was working on metal. She entered the building after Mircea gave some pointers and spoke to a dwarf named Dorrick. Though they were soon joined by an Impline, a good looking Impline that had impressive horns and well designed tattoos, she tilted her head at him whilst observing the creature as Mircea spoke. Mission only ever dealt with one Carver before and that was for the sword she was currently wearing on her side, resting her hand on it's handle. The Runes on her blade were intricately and carefully designed, a lot of work was put in it - which she told was a lot more than it needed to be for some reason. There were 3 circular hieroglyphic runes located on her weapon, two on the blade and one on the pommel and they all had different abilities.

The Impline that was serving Mircea took an undoubted interest in Blu. Mission put her hand on the boy's shoulder and squeezed protectively before letting go and then following them out of the building. She observed the back of the Carver Impline without realising that she was probably staring a bit too long.

"Mircea, I've seen a lot of things in a couple days with your strange lot that I wouldn't have seen in a year of travelling on my own. What kind of place have you brought me to?"
 
Mircea chuckled a bit. "Come, surely even you have heard the stories. Lythrope, the traveller's way-station. Said to move from place to place and pick up all manner of folk. People tell about nights spent there that they couldn't remember the next morning, couldn't even remember where it was or how they got there." The caravanner paused, an obvious smile in his voice, "but, that's just the way-keeper, she's a mischievous one. Likes to lure people in when she gets bored. In reality, they don't remember because of the magic surrounding this place. It doesn't travel across the map, but more of- hm, it is in multiple places at once. You get all manner of folk here because of it. It's mostly fun and games, people looking for quick coin or a place to relax without the worries of the world outside. It's good for finding unique wares, as well."

Alter added, "Not to say you shouldn't keep your wits about you."

"Indeed," Mircea spoke as if he had some experience with it. "Way-station or not, rotten apples will be rotten."

They reached Mircea's caravans and he gestured for Alter to wait outside. The brown impline's attention being caught by the fire. Blu stood close to Mission, staring at Alter who was popping his knuckles by pulling on his fingers idly. He turned to look at Mission and Blu. His tail was held just above the grass, moving slowly as if he was thinking. "Need anything carved or looked at, I'm the only one around for a few days."

It was only a few minutes before Mircea returned from the caravans holding five weapons in his hands. He placed them on to shelf on the side of the caravan that had been flipped down from the outside wall. Mal was behind him, bringing out a giant of a sword the likes Blu had never even heard of. It somehow made sense that it would belong to him, seeing as Mal looked to be quite strong.

"I have two daggers, a scimitar, a short sword, and a bow. Mal here also has something for you to carve. I also have something made of Ebenoak in the caravan, should be simple enough since it's wood."

"Ah, don't try to fool me. I've worked with Ebenoak before." The impline seemed somewhat amused.

"Good, then there shouldn't be a problem!" Mircea smiled in a pleased way, his smooth voice ringing some mischief.

Alter simply chuckled and moved to the shelf to look at the weapons. He picked up a dagger made of a faded metal, flipping it in his hands. "I'll start with the smaller ones, they are harder to carve. But, you're looking at a hefty price for this lot."

"I'm aware, and can pay you."

They discussed the details of what times they wanted, some of which Blu didn't understand. The boy moved with them as they went from the shelves to the fire, Alter holding the two daggers between his clawed fingers.

Blu sat near Arbonath, giving him a wave in greeting that he wasn't sure the dwarf saw. Alter called out towards the crowd.

"Falma!"

The red skinned woman from before peeked out from behind some blond man.

"Be a dear and bring me my tools?"

Falma didn't look amused at first, but she then smiled and moved. Blu watched as she jogged into unlit tent and immerged with a toolset sling, heading towards their fire.

"More work already?" Falma asked, and Alter nodded, studying the blade. He took the toolset as it was handed to him, laying it out over the ground. "This is Mircea, and..."

"Right," Mircea pointed at people as he introduced them,"Mission, Arbonath, Foxy, Blu, and Mal."

The two implines followed his introductions with their gazes. The woman coming to hold her arms when her attention fell on Blu.

"Are you...but, how, and a child?"

Blu felt his ears fall some and Mircea cleared his throat. "It's complicated, but yes, he is a northling. I'm sure you can tell he's never actually been to the north."

The two nodded, Alter speaking up, "ai, he doesn't have crystals, or ice."

"Or plates." Falma added, though her expression fell to some guilt when she noticed the look on Blu's face. "There's nothing wrong with you not having them, Blu. It just means you haven't been there yet."

"Aye. I do have a problem with his horns, however."

Falma shot orange slits at Alter when she looked his way, the man beginning to carve the faded dagger as he continued.

"It's just not right for an impline to be without their horns. I'm not saying it's the boy's fault, just that it's wrong."

Blu chimed in curiously, "Why are they important?"

"Uhhh," Alter nearly messed up his carve, he lifted the pick just soon enough to miss. "Well.."

"Your horns show your maturity." Mircea intercepted, as if it was a game of hot rocks. "They grow and change as you do, you'll understand it better when you're older."

Blu didn't seem satisfied with that answer, his nose scrunching, but he didn't pry too much on the subject. "Will mine look like yours?"

"No," Falma smiled, "Your horns will be your own, and look it too."

Blu huffed, as if dissatisfied. Staring at the fire, "Where are you two from?"

"Dragon tooth canyon, in the eastlands." Alter answered, though he was too focused on his work to see Blu's confusion.

"It's not someplace you would want to go, little one. Northlings can't handle that environment."

"Why not?"

"It's extremely hot. A volcanic canyon said to be created by a dragon big enough to swallow half of the continent." Alter answered.

"An exaggeration." Mircea commented.

"Of course, half of the continent would be gone if it wasn't. However, Blu, northlings are better off in cold environments." Alter continued, finishing his sentence as he moved on to the next carving.
 
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Mircea was right she had heard rumours as she had reminisced of before, though it wasn't anything she kept her attention on as she paid no mind to tales and rumours - maybe in the future she should, they come from somewhere it seems and things that she thought were false have been spoken of as if common knowledge lately. Next she'll see a Celestial riding a Griffin wielding a Trident through the frozen winds of Farsiniel. Maybe that was an over-exaggeration. Interesting wares and rotten apples, sometimes the two come hand-in-hand; she hoped the lucky charm she just purchased wasn't from some bad apple and they were just using a fancy sales tactic. Alter turned his attention to her and Blu, she stayed next to the boy as she spoke, her hand clutching her blade's hilt for a moment as she spoke about it,

"My Sword is pretty perfect already thanks, but if that interests you enough to have a little look at it. Maybe later after you're done working?"

Maybe a bit too forward for Mission to be offering the Impline she just met to hang out later, though she had no doubt in her mind that he looked good - she really fancied a drink and some good company. Mircea returned and Mission spun around as if she had done something, looking at Blu for a little moment before finding a spot to lean against the wagon. She scanned over the weapons Mircea wanted carving, and a large blade that Mal was wielding. It seemed like an expensive purchase, but with a carver around it was an opportunity they couldn't waste. She understood it.


Arbonath was setting up the Camp, placing stools around the fire and setting up a table near the edge of their campsite. This was for his own wares he'd try and sell, he knew that they were unique enough to do well here and whatever the travellers spend he could almost make up for... almost. He turned around almost glancing passed a wave thrown his way, but he did a double take and saw the Impline boy sitting on one of the stools he put out, he put his hands on his hips and beamed a big smile at him before waving back with his big stubby hand.

"I Reckon you could help me later." The Dwarf told him before they were introduced to the other Impline that had been invited onto their camp. The Dwarf did another wave after his name was called out on the register, less animated than it was to the boy.


Foxy blew the Impline's a kiss, as was her usual greeting to people she had just met. The tall woman was keeping herself warm by the fire, thinking of the many things she could get up to whilst she was here. Usually people hire her for her strength services, so that'd probably be where she made most of her money again - however, she still thought about what she could get Blu & Mission. She also half-listened to the conversation the Implines were having.

Mission became a little annoyed at the Implines for talking about Blu, they were allowed to have their opinions - but he was still just a boy who had only just been experiencing the world and some choices he did not make himself. She moved away from the Wagon and crouched in front of the Northern Impline - directing what she said to him, but loud enough for others to hear.

"Your horns don't define you Blu, and if anything they'll be the most unique out of all - because you'll actually have a story to tell."

The Black hound stood up and looked at Falma, then to Alter's back as he worked, "Dragon tooth canyon - the King was pretty against going in that direction if I recall, it's easy to wrap up for the cold but it's very hard to shed your layers for the heat. Count yourselves lucky." Mission bit her lip, she said too much and let out a huff before walking away from the crowd of people, she was slightly upset with herself more than anything and went to check up on Ludo on her own.

Foxy watched her walk away with a sad expression, "She has so much weight on her shoulders, Mircea will she ever let go?"
 
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