Closed.

The assassin shrugged. "It is a simple matter, really. I pick on travellers for practice in hiding and killing. I assumed you would be no match, especially when I saw your... pet." He pointed at the Minimite, making him cower again. "It seems I was wrong." He bowed his head again, either out of respect, or due to his injuries. "You are going to Khare?"
"What's it to you!" Yan chimed in, flustered. He clearly did not appreciate the assassin.
"I'm going that way as well. I will not travel with you, but once you are there, you can seek me out. If so, I will not forget the debt I owe you." He finished.

- Ask about his business.
- Ask about Khare.
 
Dhea looked back at the Minimite, her eyes flashing with an almost motherly anger. She cared about Yan, but...he overestimated himself, and that could be dangerous.
"He's not my pet. He's my companion."
She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Would you tell me about Khare? I've heard only a few things about it. Mainly that it is a rather dangerous place."
She chuckled darkly.
"That applies to the whole bloody world..."
 
He looked deeply into Dhea's eyes before answering. "There's trouble in Khare. The Nobles of the City have heard rumours about Goblins re-opening the old mines. Something is brewing." He stopped for a moment as if recalling something. "You know the history of these Hills, perhaps? They were not so unpopulated once. Great and powerful men had lived here. Men of great knowledge and sorcery. They had a mine in these hills and collected the metal. The Crown was forged from this metal and it is what the Goblins are now after. Everywhere around Khare they are festering." He took a deep breath. "I think that Mampang is rising."

- Reveal your quest.
- Stay silent.
 
"Shit."
That was all Dhea could say. She inhaled, her eyes closed with the stress of what she was going to say.
"I'm not just a random traveller. My King sent me on a quest to retrieve the Crown and stop the Archmage or die trying."
She let out a dark chuckle, before opening her eyes.
"My King has set me an impossible task. Which is just brilliant."

Dhea looked wrathful and her eyes were blazing, but after a moment, she controlled that anger. She didn't want to lose control, not until after she completed her quest.
 
"I'm glad you defeated me then." The assassin's eyes wore a glint. He nodded. "I'll see you in Khare." But a groan cut him off, making him bow, definitely from pain this time. "Go. Don't stay for too long in these woods."

- Bandage him.
- Give him a Blimberry potion.
- Leave him.
 
"Oh, for..."
Dhea rubbed her forehead and sat him down, quickly setting to work bandaging him.
"Why are people always so reluctant to ask for help? You are very clearly not fine and don't say any different."
Despite her heated tone, her touch was gentle and careful.
"I already spared your life, I'm certainly not going to kill you like this. It's bloody unfair."
 
"You don't look like a doctor to me." The assassin smirked, though he did not protest to being bandaged. With the supplies in her back, Dhea was able to bind his wounds tightly so that the bleeding lessened. "You shouldn't be kind to people who tried to kill you." He murmured, lowering his gaze.

When he was treated Dhea made her way out of the forest leaving the assassin behind.

"How much longer do you think we'll be travelling today?" Yan whined after another stretch of road passed. "I'm hungry and tired and we have gone such a long way."

- Stop to rest.
- Leave the Minimite.
- Continue ahead.
 
Dhea admitted that she was tired and hungry and needed to rest. She was conflicted, however, with making it to the next town before nightfall and resting.
When she heard Yan complaining, she sat on the side of the road and started eating some of her rations.

She needed to do it quickly so she could get going. She didn't want to waste time.
 
Yan slumped down on her shoulder as she sat on the ground, taking a bit of her bread and nibbling on it.

Ahead, down the road Dhea could now see a hut. It was set on splayed struts like an insect, jutting over a river that sloped downhill making the Crystal Waterfall. She squinted to observe the house. There was an old woman in front of it. Sitting in a rocking chair. Suddenly she raised a hand and motioned at Dhea, beckoning her to approach.

- Go toward the woman.
- Try to slip past.
 
Dhea looked cautiously at the old woman, before moving towards her. She had been surprised many times over the past few days, so if this old woman tried to kill or harm her, she would not be fazed.
"Hello?"
Her steps were careful, cautious. She even rested her hand on her dagger, just watching for any sign of danger.
 
"Come over here, won't you?" The woman called back. "I can barely hear you!"

As Dhea approached the old woman she gave her a toothless smile, getting up from her rickety chair. "Come in, please." She stepped to the doors, opening them for Dhea. "I get so lonely out here on my own, away from the villagers."

- Go in.
- Stay outside.
 
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Dhea followed the old woman, again preparing for the worst.
"It must get awful lonely up here."
She smiled, but it was restrained. She just wanted to continue on the road, but the old woman could have some rations or supplies she could buy. It wasn't as if she didn't have the coin.
 
As the woman motioned with her hand once more anxiously, Dhea followed her in. The room they walked into contained a long and sturdy wooden table and the woman motioned at a chair for Dhea to sit in.

"I'll bring us some tea." She said with a smile, her voice shaky, almost nervous.
"Careful, I don't trust her." Yan whispered in Dhea's ear as the woman disappeared into the kitchen. But she was back before Dhea could respond, holding two large cups of smoking hot liquid.

- Drink the tea.
- Try to make a conversation.
 
Dhea looked at the old woman, her hands slotting over the hot cup. Her smile was concerned, and so was here voice.
"Are you alright? You seem rather...nervous."
She sniffed the tea delicately and took a little sip.
 
"I'm fine, I'm fine." The woman waved a hand dismissively. "I am just old." She smiled. "And glad to have a guest finally." Then she let out a loud sigh. "I am called Gaza Moon. I used to be very well known back in the day. " Dhea had no knowledge of this woman however.

- "Why are you alone?"
- "This place is beautiful."
- Drink the tea.
 
Dhea didn't frown or even show her distrust on her features.
"This place is very beautiful."
She wasn't lying. The area around the waterfall was stunning and she would always admit that.
She sipped again at the tea.
 
"This is the top of the Crystal Waterfall." She answered. "The river runs right under my house. They say it carries all my goodness and youth when I sleep and the villagers bathe in it for luck." She croaked a not completely sane laughter. "I'm sure that's not exactly true."

As Dhea reached to sip at her tea the woman stopped her, hand outstretched. "Careful, it's hot." Then, as if she remembering, she added. "Oh, I forgot the pot on the stove." And quickly she disappeared in the kitchen again.

- Continue drinking your tea.
- Switch cups.
- Run for it.
 
Dhea looked at the cups, finally able to wear her emotions plainly on her face. She didn't want to distrust the woman, but she also didn't wish to die.
She sighed, before continuing to drink her own tea. She did sip at it, trying to avoid taking in as much as she could.
 
The woman returned from the kitchen with a smile, stepping to the table and taking her cup of tea. As she drained the cup, her hand started shaking. The cup fell to the ground, shattering. Yan screamed then, hiding beneath the folds of Dhea's cloak. The old woman reached for a cabinet behind her, taking something out of the drawer and popping it into her mouth. Then finally she turned to face Dhea, again with a smile.

"Well." She said finally. "Don't mind me. Old age is just difficult." But it was clear that her tea had caused her distress, even though she did not want to admit it. She sighed and set back into the chair. "Tell me, girl, about your quest." She spoke, her voice sounding much less old now and much more sinister.

- Tell her the truth.
- Say you are just travelling to Khare.
- Stay silent.
 
Dhea crossed her legs and set aside the tea. She wondered how the supposed old woman would know of her quest, but the crone in question was seeming less and less like a harmless old woman.
"My quest?"
She seemed thoughtful for a moment, before telling her the basics.
"I was sent to go retrieve the Crown from the Archmage, to stop his evil and all that."
She seemed dismissive, but she didn't want to give out details.
 
"I know." The woman nodded. "Good, you are not a liar." Then she stood up, motioning at Dhea, quite uninterested all of a sudden. "Well, thank you for the company. I'm afraid it is time for you to leave now." She searched for something in the pockets of her dress, before producing a small white stone. "Take it. You will need it more than I will." She shoved it into her hands. As soon as the stone touched Dhea's skin she felt it's warmth. It was a Sun Stone, she knew. It served to produce a spell of light. It will certainly come in handy.
"Let's go." The Minimite piped. He was eager to leave.
"Do you want me to get rid of that thing for you?" The old woman asked. "You can't cast your spells with it around. Minimites have a nullifying effects on magic."

- Accept.
- Refuse.
 
Dhea looked at Yan and the old woman, before looking rather forlorn.
"Thank you, but I'm sure...there is something I can work out with my friend."
She put an emphasis on the word friend, mainly for Yan's benefit.

Dhea looked back at the witch, before inclining her head.
"Thank you for the gift and the tea."
 
The woman waved Dhea away and she set to the path once again. The path is much the same as it was all throughout Shamutanti. A dirt road that curves left and right, uphill and downhill.

By the afternoon they went over the brow of a hill to spot the village of Torrepani stretching beneath it. It spread from one side of the valley to the other, like a flood barrier. It was the domain of Orcs. A thuggish race of warriors who do not like mixing with outsiders, but generally not hostile to anyone. The innkeeper from Birritanti had mentioned they were in trouble, however, so that may not necessarily be the case now. The village was eerily quiet.

- Go into the village.
- Go around it.
 
Dhea decided to go around the village. There was no point in possibly enraging an already troubled town. She also didn't want to run into whatever was troubling them.
And the area was eerily quiet, which didn't help.
 
Still the path into the hills was very steep and took her by the last houses of the village, tiring her out just after half an hour of walking. Even from there she could sense the depression in the air. She could see the Orcs in the streets going about their business, slowly and miserably. Some looked up from their work, noticing her creep on the slope and pointing at her. A couple of voices called out to her.

"I think they need help." Yan said, his voice a bit saddened. "Also, I'd love a beer." He whined.

- Go into the village and find an inn.
- Go into the village and talk to the Orcs.
- Ignore them.
 
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