The Amorian Conflicts » Places

         Exchanging stories of drunken stupors and blatantly idiotic attempts of courting women Gander found the four men to be, at the least, a good time. He smiled and laughed with them, only pausing when someone else approached the group. He looked her up and down and couldn't place a finger on what gender they happened to be. They could have passed as young boy, or boyish woman to him, but the scars he saw along the arms told him to avoid the topic until someone else asked. The iron mask looked crab like to Gander, great horns as pincers rose up and an open mouth made him think of the tiny crustaceans that scurried across the beaches up North. Had it been painted a bright red he would have let out a chortle at her attire, but again stayed quiet. The others weren't so smart, but Gander caught them with a swift cock of the head, as though pleading with them not to be that foolhardy.

The biggest of the men shrugged and continued on his story about a woman from the plains he tried to woo, only to be chased away by her father. He enthralled everyone with his words and would have undoubtedly made a grand storyteller had fate dealt him a separate hand. Gander was so enthralled by the muse in his voice that a second one startled him and he jumped, a hand going to his chest to catch his heart from jumping out while his feet spun him towards the noise.

Staring blankly for a moment he tried to remember what was said that actually startled him. Before he could though one of the guards spoke up. "Him a mage? Ha! If he's a mage then by my ma's tit I'm a knight!" The same one that had joked before. Gander realized he was likely the jester in the crowd, entertaining for a while, but an annoyance after a fortnight. The others must of thought the same as none of them even so much as smirked. "Naw, he's just a hunter Sir. See the arrows? Was telling us he used to hunt Vaerios." All four nodding in unison. "If y'er lookin for a mage we still got one more person to come, but then there's Ms Mystery on the wagon too."

So she is a she Gander realized and snapped his fingers as though he'd just earned some great prize. Turning up at the woman to see her reaction he wondered if she'd known that he hadn't realized, though above all else, if she was their mage.